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Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) offers a new paradigm for the design and deployment of future RANs. The unique architecture of O-RAN presents two main challenges when designing a scheduler. First, it is impractical to obtain accurate and full Channel State Information (CSI) due to estimation errors and limited bandwidth of the fronthaul link between Open Radio Unit (O-RU) and Open Distributed Unit (O-DU). Second, the large-scale processing at an O-DU introduces difficulties in meeting the stringent time requirement in O-RAN, especially in the real-time (RT) control loop. To address these challenges, we propose R3—a real-time robust Multi-user, Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) scheduler for O-RAN. R3 serves as a comprehensive scheduling solution encompassing RB allocation, MCS selection, and beamforming calculation. Most notably, R3 utilizes a limited number of CSI samples to offer probabilistic QoS guarantees. To meet the timing requirements of O-RAN, R3 decomposes the scheduling problem into two distinct sub-problems and integrates them into separate control loops. Moreover, each sub-problem is designed with a parallel structure, utilizing a reduced search space, and implemented on a GPU platform to accelerate the computation time. Experimental results demonstrate that R3 offers competitive throughput performance as the state-of-the-art while simultaneously fulfilling the QoS guarantees. Further, R3 meets the timing requirements of various control loops in O-RAN over a wide range of operating conditions.

The dual recognition method has been applied extensively as an attractive strategy, which effectively improved the specificity of detection. Herein, a novel silver-coated hollow fiber (HF) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a dual-recognition strategy for high-sensitivity detection of dopamine (DA) was presented. The 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (PMBA) monolayer was self-assembled on the silver film surface in the sensor as the recognition layer. Meanwhile, 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA)-modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were adopted as the signal amplification tag to enhance the wavelength shift of the SPR phenomenon excited by the light transmitted in the wall of the HF sensor. Experiments of detection for DA were taken in the concentration range of 0.1 nM– $10~\mu \text { M}$ to investigate the performance of the biosensor. The influences of concentrations of palladium chloride (PdCl2) in pretreatment and the AuNPs size were investigated to improve the performance of the HF SPR sensor. The experimental results showed that the limit of detection (LOD) for DA achieved as low as 0.1 nM. The presented HF SPR sensor with a dual-recognition structure based on self-assembled recognition monolayer and AuNPs shows a large potential for the detection of small biomolecules in biosensing.

Quench protection is used to ensure the safety of superconducting magnets. Only by understanding the quench characteristics of superconducting materials profoundly can we take reasonable protective measures to avoid the damage of magnets caused by local normal zone propagation. An experimental insert set-up has been accomplished and preliminary tested at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP). Measurements are performed as a function of normalized current ratio and magnetic field for several operating temperatures between 20 K and 50 K. This paper focuses on the measurement of experimental data and the fitting comparison of a simplified adiabatic models about normal zone propagation velocity (NZPV) and minimum quench energy (MQE). These studies provide necessary theoretical guidance for the thermal stability of superconducting materials.

Molecular bottlebrush (MBB) has been considered as an important type of unimolecular nanomaterial for widespread applications ranging from energy to biomedicine, due to its typical one‐dimensional molecular conformation with tunable aspect ratio and chemical composition. In the recently decades, the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) combined with the grafting‐through strategy has emerged as a powerful tool for synthesizing MBBs with various architecture, including (multi)block MBBs, core‐shell MBBs, random MBBs and Janus MBBs et al. In this review, the recent advances on the synthesis of MBBs including the rational preparation of NB terminated macromonomers (MMs) and the grafting‐through ROMP are briefly summarized. Moreover, the emerging progress on the grafting‐through ROMP performed in the aqueous media is also highlighted.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been demonstrated to be potent and well‐tolerated vehicles for delivering mRNA in vaccination and therapeutics. However, the presence of anti‐poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) antibodies in the body resulted in the problems of hypersensitivity reaction, accelerated blood clearance and high systemic reactogenicity after repeated dosing of PEG lipid‐contained LNPs, thus limiting the utility for in vivo messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery. Here, we synthesized well‐defined polysarcosine functionalized lipids (pSar‐lipids) with various hydrophobic tail lengths and molecular weights by the accelerated ring‐opening polymerization of sarcosine N‐carboxyanhydride (NCA). The obtained pSar‐lipids were utilized as PEG lipid alternatives to explore structure–activity relationships of pSar‐lipid‐based LNPs. The results demonstrated that pSar‐lipid‐based LNPs by intravenous administration represented higher mRNA delivery efficiency in the liver and spleen with the increased hydrophobic tail length of pSar‐lipids. Importantly, more significant preference for mRNA delivery into the liver was identified by increasing the molecular weight of pSar segments. As a result, this work elucidated the effect of structural variations in pSar‐lipids on LNP‐mediated in vivo mRNA delivery, providing clues to optimize pSar‐lipids as potential alternatives to PEG lipids for developing next‐generation of LNP delivery systems.

In order to fulfil the demands of high current, high magnetic field and superior mechanical characteristics of high-field magnets for next generation fusion devices, the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) has designed and developed a high-temperature superconducting Twisted Stack Slotted-Core Cable (TSSC). In this paper, the dependence of AC loss mainly about hysteresis loss induced by variations in the applied magnetic field is investigated by numerical simulations using the H formulation and the T-A formulation model, which are based on the finite element method (FEM). We initially study the hysteresis loss of a superconducting tape-stack to compare the computational results and efficiency of the two simulation models at 77 K. Additionally, hysteresis losses of TSSC cable at 4.2 K with different magnitudes and directions of the external magnetic field are calculated by the parametric scanning method. The results show that the T-A formulation model gives the same results as the H formulation model, but with a significant advantage in terms of the solving speed. Within a certain range of external field orientation, hysteresis loss increases with the growth of external magnetic field magnitude.

Electrocatalytic urea synthesis provides a favorable strategy for conventional energy-consuming urea synthesis, but achieving large-scale catalyst synthesis with high catalytic efficiency remains challenging. Herein, we developed a simple method for the preparation of a series of FeNi-alloy-based catalysts, named FeNi@nC-T(nrepresents the content of nanoporous carbon as 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 g and T= 900, 950, 1000 or 1100 °C), for highly performed urea synthesis viaNO3−and CO2co-reduction. The FeNi@7C-1000 achieved a high urea yield of 1041.33 mmol h−1gFeNi−1with a Faradaic efficiency of 15.56% at –1.2 V vs. RHE. Moreover, the scale-up synthesized FeNi@7C-950-S (over 140 g per batch) was achieved with its high catalytic performance and high stability maintained. Mechanism investigation illuminated that the Ni and Fe sites catalyze and stabilize the key *CO and *N intermediates and minimize the C–N coupling reaction barriers for highly efficient urea synthesis.

Traditional deep learning methods typically deal with single-source events in $\Phi $ -optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) event recognition, and the classifier training requires a significant amount of data that must comprehensively cover all expected event types. Given the enormous combinations of multisource events, which consist of several single-source events, it is impractical to obtain all types of multisource events in practice when the single-source events increase. Driven by the concept of feature fusion, we implemented a mixed class and reinforcement learning guided training method (MC-RLGTM) to synthesize multisource event features from single-source event samples, thereby circumventing the substantial workload of collecting actual data and avoiding the immense effort involved in data collection. With the synthesized features of multisource event, the final classifier can be then trained in a supervised way. The experimental validation demonstrates that the method can achieve 66% accuracy for multisource events in a seven-event classification task, with a 45% improvement compared to the traditional classification method.

Preparing of Sb2S3 precursor by sol gel method and the post selenization is a simple and low-cost method for preparing Sb2(S, Se)3. In the preparation process of this method, the number of spin-coating of Sb2S3 precursor determines the film thickness, structure, and S/Se ratio. In this work, the effects of different spin-coating times (1 to 5) on the structure, optical and electrical properties of the film were studied. The results showed that when the number of spin-coating increased from 1 to 5, the thickness of the film increased from 0.24 μm to 1.17 μm. When spin-coating twice, the strongest diffraction peak of the film changed from (120) to (230); as the spin-coating frequency continued to increase, the film gradually exhibited Sb2S3 characteristics, accompanied by a small amount of Sb2O3 impurities. In addition, excessive spin-coating cycles can cause large voids to appear on the surface of the film. From the UV-visible spectrum, it can be seen that as the thickness of the film increases, the light absorption also gradually improve, and the band gap increases from 1.34 eV to 1.66 eV. The Mott-Schottky test showed that the prepared thin films were all P-type semiconductor. When spin-coated twice, the carrier concentration of the thin film reached 5.8×1015cm-3.

The physical properties of an ABA triblock copolymer-based thermoplastic elastomer, containing a poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) midblock and poly(methyl methacrylate) endblocks, were enhanced through neutralization of the methacrylic acid (MAA) repeat units with NaOH to form ionic interactions in the midblock. Rheological properties of the midblock and mechanical properties of the triblock copolymer were investigated as functions of the acid (MAA) and ion content. Midblock relaxation times (τ) increased with increasing acid and ion content; however, the activation energy extracted from an Arrhenius analysis appeared constant for all acid and ion contents. Meanwhile, the factors of enhancement of the strain at break and tensile strength (as compared to the baseline polymer without ionic interactions or hydrogen bonding) collapsed onto master curves when plotted as functions of log τ, indicating that the mechanical behavior of the triblock copolymer could be tuned through varying the relaxation time of the midblock. The tensile strength increased by as much as a factor of 17 times greater than that of the baseline polymer. More moderate enhancements were observed in the strain at break, with the maximum strain at break occurring at intermediate relaxation times. This suggests that midblock chain dynamics are a governing factor for the mechanical property enhancements due to the effects of the ionic aggregates and chain mobility on stress dissipation under tensile deformation.

Constant-current anodization of pure aluminum was carried out in non-corrosive capacitor working electrolytes to study the formation mechanism of nanopores in the anodic oxide films. Through comparative experiments, nanopores are found in the anodic films formed in the electrolytes after high-temperature storage (HTS) at 130 °C for 240 h. A comparison of the voltage−time curves suggests that the formation of nanopores results from the decrease in formation efficiency of anodic oxide films rather than the corrosion of the electrolytes. FT-IR and UV spectra analysis shows that carboxylate and ethylene glycol in electrolytes can easily react by esterification at high temperatures. Combining the electronic current theory and oxygen bubble mold effect, the change in electrolyte composition could increase the electronic current in the anodizing process. The electronic current decreases the formation efficiency of anodic oxide films, and oxygen bubbles accompanying electronic current lead to the formation of nanopores in the dense films. The continuous electronic current and oxygen bubbles are the prerequisites for the formation of porous anodic oxides rather than the traditional field-assisted dissolution model.

In this article, a neural adaptive intermittent output feedback control is investigated for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) with full-state quantitative designs (FSQDs). To achieve the prespecified tracking performance determined by quantitative indices (e.g., overshoot, convergence time, steady-state accuracy, and maximum deviation) at both kinematic and kinetic levels, FSQDs are designed by transforming constrained AUV model into an unconstrained model via one-sided hyperbolic cosecant boundaries and nonlinear mapping functions. An intermittent sampling-based neural estimator (ISNE) is devised to reconstruct the matched and mismatched lumped disturbances as well as immeasurable velocity states of transformed AUV model, where only system outputs after intermittent sampling are required. Using the estimations of ISNE and the system outputs after triggering, an intermittent output feedback control law incorporated with hybrid threshold event-triggered mechanism (HTETM) is designed to achieve ultimately uniformly bounded (UUB) results. Simulation results are provided and analyzed to validate the effectiveness of the studied control strategy with application to an omnidirectional intelligent navigator (ODIN).

As a subtask of the comprehensive research facility for fusion technology, the superconducting conductor experimental testing platform (Super-X for short) can evaluate the performance of future superconducting conductors with large section dimension under fusion reactor operating conditions. The direct current magnet providing the background magnetic field 15 T is a crucial component of the super-X facility. In this article, the final design of the background magnet is described first. Its innovative preload structure is adopted to solve the problem of limited space. The length of the titanium alloy boom used to hang the magnet is about 6 m, which can effectively reduce the heat leak. Next, a finite-element model of the background magnet containing the structure component is established. Then, electromagnetic analysis is conducted to obtain the magnetic field distributions and Lorentz loads. Finally, the 3-D global mechanical analysis is performed, and the detailed mechanical robustness of the background magnet is illustrated and discussed. The analytical results indicate that the present background magnet design satisfies mechanical criteria.

Anisotropic nanoparticles such as worm-like micelles have aroused much attention due to their promising applications from templates to drug delivery. The fabrication of worm-like micelles with tunable structural stability and control over their diameter and length is of great importance but still challenging. Herein, we report a kinetically controlled ring-opening metathesis polymerization-induced self-assembly (ROMPISA) for the robust preparation of kinetically trapped worm-like micelles with tunable diameter/length at enlarged experimental windows by the rational manipulation of kinetic factors, including solvent property, temperature, and π–π stacking effects. The resultant worm structures were thermodynamically metastable and capable of excellent structural stability at room temperature due to the kinetic trapping effect. At elevated temperatures, these thermodynamically metastable worms could undergo morphology evolution into vesicular structures in a controlled manner. Moreover, the structural stability of worms could also be significantly enhanced by in situ cross-linking. Overall, this kinetically controlled ROMPISA opens a new avenue for PISA chemistry that is expected to prepare “smart” polymer materials by manipulating kinetic factors.

A large-scale superconducting magnet cryogenic performance research platform is being built in China to perform the large-scale superconducting magnet research on mechanics, thermology and electromagnetics properties and evaluate the superconducting magnet system compatibility, reliability and stability. Performance research platform has an oversized test space whose dimension is 24 m × 15 m × 6.5 m, including a pair of the high temperature superconducting current lead with current carrying capacity of 100 kA. Cryogenic system of the performance research platform can provide the supercritical helium of mass-flow about 700 g/s at 3--6 bars. The detection accuracy of the quench detection and protection system can reach 99.99%. Performance research platform will be utilized for superconducting magnet tests, such as DC hipot test, helium leakage, Paschen test, maximum operation current test, joint resistance, Tcs test and Fast discharge test.

As one of the sub-systems for comprehensive research facility for fusion technology (CRAFT), the SC material testing facility will be used for performance research on superconducting wires/tapes, structural materials, insulations, and other sub-elements of fusion magnet systems. The SC material testing facility consists of 6 platforms including the superconducting material performance research platform, the AC loss research platform, the structure material performance research platform, the thermo-hydraulic research platform, the non-destructive examination technology research platform, and the high voltage research platform. The following key technologies are expected to be solved during the establishment of the platform: the design and manufacturing technologies of a 19 T hybrid superconducting magnet with an aperture larger than 70 mm, the design of the multifunctional critical current characterization sample holders, precise control of the vertical and radial deviation of a loading system simulating cyclic loads for AC loss measurement, the establishment of multi-media and complex structural parts simulation model for NDE. The SC material testing facility is planned to be accomplished and open by the end of 2024.

The 15 T DC magnet is one of the key components of the Super-X testing facility. It is composed of layer coils and pancake coils. The insulated conductor is wound into a layer coil by a pretension bending process. The plastic deformation simulation and the winding experiment for the layer coil are conducted. The key process parameters are obtained by comparing the results of the plastic deformation simulation and the winding experiment. The conductor insulation and coil dimension meet the technical requirements, and the feasibility of the pretension bending process has been verified. This article mainly introduces the research on pretension bending for layer coil of 15 T DC magnet.

The activities of the traffic department mainly contribute to the generation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The swift expansion of the traffic department results in a significant increase in global pollution levels, adversely affecting human health. To address GHG emissions and propose impactful solutions for reducing fuel consumption in vehicles, environmental considerations are integrated with the core principles of the vehicle routing problem. This integration gives rise to the pollution-routing problem (PRP), which aims to optimize routing decisions with a focus on minimizing environmental impact. At the same time, the retail distribution system explores the use of an omni-channel approach as a transportation mode adopted in this study. The objectives of this research include minimizing total travel costs and fuel consumption while aiming to reduce GHG emissions, promoting environmental sustainability, and enhancing the convenience of shopping and pickup for customers through the integration of online and offline modes. This problem is NP-hard; therefore, the Non-dominated Sorting Simplified Swarm Optimization (NSSO) algorithm is employed. NSSO combines the non-dominated technique of Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) with the update mechanism of Simplified Swarm Optimization to obtain a set of Pareto-optimal solutions. Moreover, the NSSO, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, is adopted to address multi-objective problems. The PRP benchmark dataset is utilized, and the results are compared with two other multi-objective evolutionary algorithms: NSGA-II and Non-dominated Sorting Particle Swarm Optimization (NSPSO). The findings of the study confirm that NSSO exhibits feasibility, provides good solutions, and achieves faster convergence compared with the other two algorithms, NSGA-II and NSPSO.Graphical Abstract

Due to the advantages of beamforming technology in multi-antenna wireless communication systems, it has been widely studied and applied. However, its effectiveness in high-mobility scenarios may significantly deteriorate due to severe channel aging. In this paper, we propose an improved Lévy induced stochastic differential equation network (LDE-Net) based on the Euler-Maruyama method for channel prediction. The proposed scheme captures the stochastic and rapid changes of wireless channels, by dividing the neural network into fine-grained stages while maintaining a moderate model size by parameter sharing among stages. In order to verify its performance in practice, we conduct channel measurements in Line-of-Sight (LoS) and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLoS) scenarios on our campus, respectively. In both scenarios, LDE-Net performs better than the conventional and widely-used autoregressive model, long short term memory, and recurrent reural network schemes. In the LoS scenario, its throughput is 19.615% on average higher than all other schemes at various speeds, and 10.64% for NLoS.

The quench phenomenon is an abnormal process caused by disturbances during the operation of superconducting magnets, which can lead to irreparable damage to the magnet. The DC magnet of the Super-X test facility is wound by cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) with a maximum field of 15.7 T and is forced flow cooled with 4.3 K supercritical helium. The heat transfer between layers and pancakes affects the diffusion rate of the normal region in the quench process, therefore a quasi-3D model is proposed to analyze the quench behavior of superconducting coils. A 1D assumption is made for the CICC axially, while taking into account the thermal coupling effect through the inter-turn insulation. The quench process of DC magnets of the Super-X test facility is analyzed and calculated for different operating parameters.

Catalytic decomposition of NO by Cu-ZSM-5 has potential application. In order to reveal the mechanism of the process, the adsorption of NO over short-range Cu+pairs in Cu-ZSM-5 was simulated based on density functional theory. The reaction pathways of NO decomposition assisted by the by-products N2O and NO2were also proposed. The results showed that the double nuclear copper-oxygen species was an important active centre. During the reaction, the highest activation energy (171.39 kJ/mol) was required for the decomposition of the by-product NO2on the binuclear copper-oxygen species. While that for the decomposition of N2O was 86.92 kJ/mol, suggesting that the decomposition of NO2was more difficult. The desorption energy of N2and O2were 28.43 and 100.78 kJ/mol, respectively. The rate determining step was O2desorption. NO acted both as a reactant and a key reductant for the redox cycle of the active centre of Cu-ZSM-5 during the process.

In this study, we compared the growth, development, and fecundity of Arma chinensis(Fallou) reared on pupae of the geometrid Ectropis grisescensWarren fed on tea shoots during different seasons of the year. The raw data on life history were analyzed using the age–stage, 2-sex life table. When reared on spring or winter geometrid pupae, the duration of the immature stage of A. chinensiswas significantly longer than in those produced during the summer or autumn. The survival rate of immature A. chinensisreared on autumn geometrid pupae was significantly lower compared to other treatments. Reproductive diapause was observed in adult A. chinensisreared on winter geometrid pupae. The adult preoviposition period (APOP), total preoviposition period (TPOP), and total longevity were significantly longer in A. chinensisreared on winter pupae than in the other treatments. The fecundity of A. chinensisreared on spring geometrid pupae was significantly lower than in the other treatments. The higher intrinsic rate of increase of the A. chinensisreared on summer pupae (r= 0.0966 day-1) and autumn pupae (r= 0.0983 day-1) resulted in higher fecundity, shorter immature duration, and shorter TPOP compared to the winter and spring populations. These findings can be utilized to enhance and sustain biological control of E. grisescensin tea plantations.Graphical Abstract

ZrO2-strengthened porous mullite insulation materials were prepared by foaming technology utilizing ZrSiO4and Al2O3as primary materials and Y2O3as an additive. The effects of Y2O3contents on the phase composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, and heat conductivity of the porous mullite insulation materials were investigated. A suitable Y2O3content could promote phase transition of monoclinic ZrO2(m-ZrO2) to tetragonal ZrO2(t-ZrO2), reduce pore size, and improve the strengths of as-prepared specimens. The cold crushing strength and bending strength of as-prepared specimens with a 119 µm spherical pore size using 6 wt.% Y2O3were 35.2 and 13.0 MPa, respectively, with a heat conductivity being only 0.248 W/(m K).

Violaxanthin is a plant-derived orange xanthophyll with remarkable antioxidant activity that has wide applications in various industries, such as food, agriculture, and cosmetics. In addition, it is the key precursor of important substances such as abscisic acid and fucoxanthin. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) chassis, provides a good platform for producing violaxanthin production with a yield of 7.3 mg/g DCW, which is far away from commercialization. Herein, an integrated strategy involving zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP) source screening, cytosol redox state engineering, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) regeneration was implemented to enhance violaxanthin production in S. cerevisiae. 58aa-truncated ZEPfrom Vitis viniferaexhibited optimal efficiency in an efficient zeaxanthin-producing strain. The titer of violaxanthin gradually increased by 17.9-fold (up to 119.2 mg/L, 15.19 mg/g DCW) viacytosol redox state engineering and NADPH supplementation. Furthermore, balancing redox homeostasis considerably improved the zeaxanthin concentration by 139.3% (up to 143.9 mg/L, 22.06 mg/g DCW). Thus, the highest reported titers of violaxanthin and zeaxanthin in S. cerevisiaewere eventually achieved. This study not only builds an efficient platform for violaxanthin biosynthesis but also serves as a useful reference for the microbial production of xanthophylls.

The combination of ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and the arm-first strategy is a widely employed “one-pot two-batch” approach for synthesizing star polymers. However, the intramolecular cross-linking during the core formation in a homogeneous system significantly restricts the production of high-molar-mass star polymers with complete conversion of arms. In this study, we present a successful synthesis of star polymers with diverse chemical compositions and high molar mass using a monomer emulsified ROMP (ME-ROMP) approach based on the arm-first strategy. The arm-first ME-ROMP method involves sequentially injecting CH2Cl2solution containing a G3 catalyst and hydrophobic cross-linker into aqueous solution of norbornene monomers under stirring. Benefiting from the confinement effect provided by ME-ROMP, the intermolecular cross-linking during core formation was greatly enhanced, resulting in well-defined star polymers with varied chemical compositions and up to 95% conversion of arms within minutes. Furthermore, the star polymers containing cationic copolymer arms exhibited low toxicity and demonstrated potential applications in inflammation inhibition.

Purpose: During the construction process of the China Railway Track System (CRTS) I type filling layer, the nonwoven fabric bags have been used as grouting templates for cement asphalt (CA) emulsified mortar. The porous structure of nonwoven fabrics endowed the templates with breathability and water permeability. The standard requires that the volume expansion rate of CA mortar must be controlled within 1%–3%, which can generate expansion pressure to ensure that the cavities under track slabs are filled fully. However, the expansion pressure caused some of the water to seep out from the periphery of the filling bag, and it would affect the actual mix proportion of CA mortar. The differences in physical and mechanical properties between the CA mortar under track slabs and the CA mortar formed in the laboratory were studied in this paper. The relevant results could provide important methods for the research of filling layer materials for CRTS I type and other types of ballastless tracks in China. Design/methodology/approach: During the inspection of filling layer, the samples of CA mortar from different working conditions and raw materials were taken by uncovering the track slabs and drilling cores. The physical and mechanical properties of CA mortar under the filling layer of the slab were systematically analyzed by testing the electrical flux, compressive strength and density of mortar in different parts of the filling layer. Findings: In this paper, the electric flux, the physical properties and mechanical properties of different parts of CA mortar under the track slab were investigated. The results showed that the density, electric flux and compressive strength of CA mortar were affected by the composition of raw materials for dry powders and different parts of the filling layer. In addition, the electrical flux of CA mortar gradually decreased within 90 days’ age. The electrical flux of samples with the thickness of 54 mm was lower than 500 C. Therefore, the impermeability and durability of CA mortar could be improved by increasing the thickness of filling layer. Besides, the results showed that the compressive strength of CA mortar increased, while the density and electric flux decreased gradually, with the prolongation of hardening time. Originality/value: During 90 days' age, the electrical flux of the CA mortar gradually decreased with the increase of specimen thickness and the electrical flux of the specimens with the thickness of 54 mm was lower than 500 C. The impermeability and durability of the CA mortar could be improved by increasing the thickness of filling layer. The proposed method can provide reference for the further development and improvement of CRTS I and CRTS II type ballastless track in China.

Highly reduced polyoxometalates (POMs) are predicted to be used as rather high energy density materials; however, it still suffers from the limited cluster species and reduction ratio. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to employ the building block strategy to generate a highly reduced polyoxomolybdate (C2H8N)14(NH4)4H14[MoV48MoVI26O202(OH)12(SO4)6]·46H2O (Mo74). The fundamental Mo-based {Mox} (x= 4, 5, and 6) building blocks, which are templated by tetra-coordinated anions {MoO4} or, not only lay foundation for the formation of Mo74featuring an unprecedented reduction ratio of 65%, but also give rise to SBBs-mediated (secondary building blocks) supramolecular dense packing interactions among the isolated Mo74clusters that are favorable for proton conduction. Remarkably, high proton conductivity (2.04 × 10−2S cm−1) had been realized at 50 °C and 90% relative humidity, revealing one of the well-known POMs-based crystalline proton conducting materials. This result highlights that this building block approach possesses great potential in producing highly reduced POM systems that can achieve controllable reduced ratio and desirable properties.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stands as the fifth most prevalent malignant tumor on a global scale and presents as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. DNA damage-based radiotherapy (RT) plays a pivotal role in the treatment of HCC. Nevertheless, radioresistance remains a primary factor contributing to the failure of radiation therapy in HCC patients. In this study, we investigated the functional role of transketolase (TKT) in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in HCC. Our research unveiled that TKT is involved in DSB repair, and its depletion significantly reduces both non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR)-mediated DSB repair. Mechanistically, TKT interacts with PARP1 in a DNA damage-dependent manner. Furthermore, TKT undergoes PARylation by PARP1, resulting in the inhibition of its enzymatic activity, and TKT can enhance the auto-PARylation of PARP1 in response to DSBs in HCC. The depletion of TKT effectively mitigates the radioresistance of HCC, both in vitro and in mouse xenograft models. Moreover, high TKT expression confers resistance of RT in clinical HCC patients, establishing TKT as a marker for assessing the response of HCC patients who received cancer RT. In summary, our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which TKT contributes to the radioresistance of HCC. Overall, we identify the TKT-PARP1 axis as a promising potential therapeutic target for improving RT outcomes in HCC.

Targeting the simultaneous wireless charging of multiple receiver (RX) coils, we developed a coupling coefficient ( ${k}$ ) sensorless wireless power transfer (WPT) system enabled by the proposed adaptive magnetic field distributor (AMFD) IC. By simply measuring the voltages and currents on the transmitter (TX) side free of knowing the ${k}$ between each pair of coils, the system can optimize the current in each TX coil to optimize the generated magnetic fields at each RX coil to maximize the system efficiency ( $\eta _{\mathbf {SYS}}$ ). A current sensor calibration (CSC) technique was also proposed to guarantee the accurate on-chip current sensing in the AMFD IC. The AMFD IC was fabricated by a $0.18~\mu $ m CMOS process with 1.8 V devices. Owing to the CSC technique, an accurate on-chip current sensing could be performed with a percentage error within ±4.5 %. A WPT system consisting of 2 TX coils driven by 2 AMFD ICs and 2 RX coils was implemented. Experimental results showed that, compared with the conventional WPT method, $\eta _{\mathbf {SYS}}$ in the developed system was increased from 16 % to 65 % with a load power of 276 mW when the RX coils were perpendicular to the TX coils. When the RX coils were parallel to the TX coils, a high $\eta _{\mathbf {SYS}}$ of 78 % was also obtained.

In Taiwan, lung cancers occur predominantly in never-smokers, of whom nearly 60% have stage IV disease at diagnosis. We aimed to assess the efficacy of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening among never-smokers, who had other risk factors for lung cancer.

Immunotherapy has showcased remarkable progress in the management of gastric cancer (GC), prompting the need to proactively identify and classify patients suitable for immunotherapy. Here, 30 patients were enrolled and stratified into three groups (PR, partial response; SD, stable disease; PD, progressive disease) based on efficacy assessment. 16S rRNA sequencing were performed to analyze the gut microbiome signature of patients at three timepoints. We found that immunotherapy interventions perturbed the gut microbiota of patients. Additionally, although differences at the enterotype level did not distinguish patients’ immunotherapy response, we identified 6, 7, and 19 species that were significantly enriched in PR, SD, and PD, respectively. Functional analysis showed that betalain biosynthesis and indole alkaloid biosynthesis were significantly different between the responders and non-responders. Furthermore, machine learning model utilizing only bacterial biomarkers accurately predicted immunotherapy efficacy with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.941. Notably, Akkermansia muciniphilaand Dorea formicigeneransplayed a significant role in the classification of immunotherapy efficacy. In conclusion, our study reveals that gut microbiome signatures can be utilized as effective biomarkers for predicting the immunotherapy efficacy for GC.

Refill friction stir spot welding process is difficultly optimized by accurate modeling because of the high-order functional relationship between welding parameters and joint strength. A database of the welding process was first established with 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and DP780 galvanized steel as base materials. This dataset was then optimized using a backpropagation neural network. Analyses and mining of the experimental data confirmed the multidimensional mapping relationship between welding parameters and joint strength. Subsequently, intelligent optimization of the welding process and prediction of joint strength were achieved. At the predicted welding parameter (plunging rotation speed ω1= 1733 r/min, refilling rotation speed ω2= 1266 r/min, plunging depth p= 1.9 mm, and welding speed v= 0.5 mm/s), the tensile shear fracture load of the joint reached a maximum value of 10,172 N, while the experimental result was 9980 N, with an error of 1.92%. Furthermore, the correlation of welding parameters–microstructure–joint strength was established.

Glycosylation profoundly influences the interactions between cancer cells and microenvironmental stromal cells during the peritoneal disseminated metastasis of ovarian carcinoma (OC), which is the major cause of cancer-related death. Although the characteristic cancer glycoconjugates are widely used as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, our knowledge about cancer glycome remains quite fragmented due to the technique limitations in analyzing glycan chains with tremendous structural and functional heterogeneity. Given the dysregulated cancer glycome is defined by the altered glycosylation machinery, here we performed a systematic loss-of-function screen on 498 genes involved in glycosylation for key regulators of OC dissemination. We identified neuraminidase 4 (NEU4), an enzyme capable of hydrolyzing terminal sialic acid from glycoconjugates, as a vital peritoneal dissemination-promoting modifier of OC glycome. In human patients with high-grade serous OC (HGSOC), increased NEU4 was detected in the disseminated OC cells when compared with that in the primary tumor cells, which significantly correlated with the worse survival. Among three alternative splice-generated isoforms of human NEU4, we revealed that only the plasma membrane-localized NEU4 isoform 2 (NEU4-iso2) and intracellular isoform 3 promoted the peritoneal dissemination of OC by enhancing the cell motility and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We also identified NEU4-iso2-regulated cell surface glycoproteome and found that NEU4-iso2 desialylated the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), in particular at N196residue, for the hyperactivation of EGFR and its downstream tumor-promoting signaling cascades. Our results provide new insights into how the OC glycome is dysregulated during OC progression and reveal a functionally important glycosite on EGFR for its abnormal activation in cancer.