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Recent advancements in nanomaterials have enabled the application of nanotechnology to the development of cutting-edge sensing and actuating devices. For instance, nanostructures’ collective and predictable responses to various stimuli can be monitored to determine the physical environment of the nanomaterial, such as temperature or applied pressure. To achieve optimal sensing and actuation capabilities, the nanostructures should be controllable. However, current applications are limited by inherent challenges in controlling nanostructures that counteract many sensing mechanisms that are reliant on their area or spacing. This work presents a technique utilizing the piezo-magnetoelectric properties of nanoparticles to enable strain sensing and actuation in a flexible and wearable patch. The alignment of nanoparticles has been achieved using demagnetization fields with computational simulations confirming device characteristics under various types of deformation followed by experimental demonstrations. The device exhibits favorable piezoelectric performance, hydrophobicity, and body motion-sensing capabilities, as well as machine learning-powered touch-sensing/actuating features.

Atrazine (ATR) is a widely used herbicide worldwide that can cause kidney damage in humans and animals by accumulation in water and soil. Lycopene (LYC), a carotenoid with numerous biological activities, plays an important role in kidney protection due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The current study sought to investigate the role of interactions between mtDNA and the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in LYC mitigating PANoptosis and inflammation in kidneys induced by ATR exposure. In our research, 350 mice were orally administered LYC (5 mg/kg BW/day) and ATR (50 or 200 mg/kg BW/day) for 21 days. Our results reveal that ATR exposure induces a decrease in mtDNA stability, resulting in the release of mtDNA into the cytoplasm through the mPTP pore and the BAX pore and the mobilization of the cGAS-STING pathway, thereby inducing renal PANoptosis and inflammation. LYC can inhibit the above changes caused by ATR. In conclusion, LYC inhibited ATR exposure-induced histopathological changes, renal PANoptosis, and inflammation by inhibiting the cGAS-STING pathway. Our results demonstrate the positive role of LYC in ATR-induced renal injury and provide a new therapeutic target for treating renal diseases in the clinic.

•Optimal scheduling of smart islands with cutting-edge TLBO for diverse energy sources.•GRU Deep Learning for renewable energy forecasting over a robust system optimization.•Balancing economy and environment in a novel scheme for smart islands.

Traditional Chinese medicine plays a significant role in the treatment of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Tanreqing Capsule (TRQC) was used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of TRQC in the treatment of COVID-19.

Alginate oligosaccharides (AOS), belonging to the class of functional marine oligosaccharides, are low-molecular polymers linked by β-1,4-mannuronic acid (M) and α-1,4-guluronic acid (G), which could be classically obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of alginate. With low viscosity and good water solubility, as well as anti-oxidant, immune regulation, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, AOS have been widely used in medical science and functional food, green agriculture and other fields. As new bio-feed additives, AOS have broad potential applications in animal husbandry. In this review, the sources of alginate, chemical structure and preparation methods of AOS, and their biological activities and application in livestock and poultry are summarized. We expect this review could contribute to lay a foundation of application and further research for AOS in livestock and poultry.

Recently, the system parameters of Cygnus X-1, i.e., the black hole mass M, the orbital inclination iand the source distance D, have been updated. As the input constraints of the continuum-fitting method, it is necessary to refine the spin with these new parameters. The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope(HXMT, also named Insight) was successfully launched on June 15th, 2017 in China. In this work, we analyzed spectra obtained by the Insight-HXMT during 2017-2018 and re-estimated the spin via the continuum-fitting method. We first re-estimated the spin using old parameters and found the dimensionless spin parameter to be a⁎>0.934(3σ), which is consistent with previous measurements both from the continuum-fitting and iron-line fitting methods (Gou et al. 2011, Gou et al. 2014; Fabian et al. 2012, Walton et al. 2016, Tomsick et al. 2018). Then, when the new parameters were applied, we obtained an increased spin: a⁎>0.967(3σ), which is also consistent with the recent measurement (Zhao et al. 2020, submitted to ApJ) and also confirms an extreme Kerr black hole lying in this system.

The electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an important factor affecting the efficiency of many energy systems, such as hydrogen production from water. However, there are still some problems with the electrocatalytic OER, for example, high overpotential and sluggish kinetics. Herein, we prepare 15 nm-thick two-dimensional (2D) composite nanosheets containing Co9S8and NiS on nickel foam. In the electrocatalytic OER, the overpotential at 50 mA cm–2of the composite nanosheets is 253 mV, with a Tafel slope of 43 mV dec–1. The electrocatalytic efficiency of the composite nanosheets is much better, as compared with the pure Co9S8, pure NiS, and conventional IrO2catalysts. The 2D composite nanosheets are flexible for electron transfer to trigger water splitting, thus enhancing the efficiency of the composite nanosheets in the electrocatalytic OER. Besides, theoretical calculations imply that the Co9S8–NiS interface on the composite nanosheets is the active site for the adsorption and splitting of the water molecules and promotes the transfer of the electrons from both Co9S8and NiS to the water molecule. This also favors for improving the efficiency of the composite nanosheets in the electrocatalytic OER. The results of the present work are beneficial for developing efficient noble metal-free catalysts for electrocatalysis.

Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are advantageous over gravity and cantilever retaining walls in terms of cost effectiveness, construction time, and tolerance to differential settlement. However, voids and moisture changes behind mechanically stabilized earth walls have previously led to distress and failure, and effective non-destructive evaluation tools for their detection are yet to be developed. In this study, a wideband (1 - 4 GHz) microwave synthetic aperture radar imaging technique was employed to generate 2D slice images of a mechanically stabilized earth wall system at various depths. Two 1.52 x 1.46 x 0.178 m reinforced concrete wall panels with backfill sand were investigated. The effects of surface roughness, voids, and moisture change were investigated. The effect of change in moisture content behind the wall and in a 3 5 0 x 250 x 76 mm sandbox was clearly detected. Two foam blocks to simulate voids, measuring 127 x 127 x 51 mm and 2 5 4 x 2 5 4 x 51 mm, respectively, were also successfully located and imaged. The proposed and implemented imaging technique was proven to be robust and a promising technique for detecting voids and moisture changes behind MSE walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phthalates are widely used synthetic chemicals that determine endocrine disruption effects on female reproductivity and oviposition. Our study demonstrated that the mitochondrial quality in ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) is associated with a poor prognosis in female reproduction. However, the molecular mechanism of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure on the quail ovarian GC layer is still unknown. To validate the effects of DEHP on the GC layer, 8 days’ old 150 female Japanese quail were treated orally with DEHP (250, 500, and 750 mg/kg BW/day) for 45 days to explore the toxic effects of DEHP on the ovarian GC layer. Histopathological assessment and ultrastructure observation found that DEHP decreased the thickness of the GC layer, resulted in mitochondrial damage, and activated mitocytosis. Additionally, the results further suggested that DEHP impacted the secretion of steroid hormones (reduced FSH, E2, and T levels and boosted Prog, PRL, and LH levels) by triggering mitocytosis (enhanced transcription of MYO19and protein of KIF5B levels), mitochondrial dynamics (increasing mRNA and protein levels of OPA1, DRP1, MFN1, and MFN2), mitophagy (increasing mRNA and protein levels of Parkin, LC3B, and P62), and inducing GC function disorder. In conclusion, our research provided a new idea to explain the mechanism of DEHP toxicity of the ovarian GC layer in quail and presented insights into the role of mitocytosis in DEHP-induced ovarian GC layer injury.

A series of star-shaped oligofluorenes end-capped with carboxylic acid groups were synthesized. Different numbers of carboxyl groups that can form hydrogen bonds, and long alkane chains that have stabilizing effects, were intentionally introduced. The resulting molecular architectures of the so-prepared star-shaped oligofluorenes at the liquid–solid interface were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. It is found that the number of hydrogen-bonding groups and the symmetry of the target molecules have crucial influences on the structures of the ordered assemblies.

The wind turbines have gained a wide range of applications in Renewable Energy Sources (RES) by virtue of its dominant advantages, and it has achieved almost the state-of-the-art from the engineering point of view. Nevertheless, the starting behavior which plays a prominent role in wind power generation has achieved few studies up to this moment. We conducted this analysis of a micro horizontal axis wind turbine (MHAWT) on its starting behavior to give insight into its start-up torque as well as its start-up speed on an assumption that it is rigid body, and some relative simplification on its structure are adopted meanwhile. The wind turbine's power coefficient CP, tip-speed-ratio l along with torque coefficient CT were taken into consideration and discussed to a large extent in order to having a relative clear cognition of its operational characteristics.

The molecule–molecule and molecule–substrate interactions play an important role during the formation of two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular nanostructure. In this paper, the self-assembled monolayers of four stilbene derivatives possessing different chemical structures at the liquid–solid interface were investigated by employing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Chemical structures that affect the 2D molecular self-assembly, such as number of alkoxyl chain with carboxylic acid end-group and length of alkoxyl chain, were elucidated in detail. Systematic investigation indicated that various self-assembly structures consequently formed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface, via a combination of intermolecular hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. It is proposed that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions competitively control the morphology of the monolayer, and the self-assembled 2D nanostructure is determined by balance of these two interactions.

The photochemical reactions of stilbene and its derivatives have been extensively investigated in the gas and liquid phases but less on surfaces. In this work, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been employed to investigate the photoisomerization and photodimerization of two stilbene derivatives on HOPG surface. After UV-light irradiation, one stilbene derivative performs photoinduced trans to cis isomerization and a well-ordered Kagomé network with two types of cavities forms at the 1-phenyloctane/HOPG interface, which is totally different from the lamella structures (before irradiation). Another stilbene derivative can also perform trans to cis photoreaction and the assembly structures have two conformations. With the increase of the irradiation time, one of the two conformations according to the topochemical postulates can further perform [2 + 2] photodimerization reaction. The difference in alkoxy substitution is reflected in the self-assembled monolayer and consequently also in the photoreactivity.

The approximate realization methods of system with Gaussian characteristics for inductive micro-displacement sensors were studied in this paper. It was assumed that the sensors used were the first-order systems, for such sensors, it was first proved that cascaded systems formed by an infinite number of first-order systems, its characteristics will infinitely approximate to be those of the Gaussian system. In other words, the cascaded system of a finite number of the first-order systems which have the same characteristics is a Gaussian approximation system. This law can also be applied to the second-order systems, and to the first-order and second-order mixed systems. Theoretical analysis shows that the maximum deviation of Gaussian approximation that 16 cascaded first-order systems is 1.4%, and the maximum deviation of the Gaussian approximation that 16 cascaded second-order systems is 0.1%. This law provided a theoretical guidance for the design of the Gaussian system, which makes the application of the Gaussian system for the geometric multi-probe measurement system to be easy and possible.

This paper introduced the method that developed model and frequency analyses of powertrain mounting system based on ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems ). The six vibration frequencies and its corresponding modes were obtained and compared with experimental results. Mount stiffness of the four mounting parts were optimized to use Adams/Insight. The former low decoupling degrees and the new part stiffness were observed to improve the disadvantage and can reduce the vibration transfer.

Ants System is one bionic algorithm developed in recent years, lacking rigorous theoretical instructions. In this paper, studies on the properties of Ants System are made and several parameters concerned, include: ant initial number m、transfer control parameter q0、importance of visibility β and stigmergy decay parameter , are analyzed, which is of reference significance.

The compound of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid (PTCA) has been synthesized and characterized. By varying the concentration, it can be used to modulate the supramolecular self-assembly morphologies. Atom force microscopy (AFM) images show that the nano-layer structure will be obtained in relatively high concentration. This structure mainly depends on the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and π–π stacking interactions.

The formation of helical nanostructure is investigated for donor/acceptor system. The helices of the supramolecular nanofibres can be revealed by atom force microscope (AFM) and circular dichroism (CD) measurement. The expermental results show the Py-Per-Py can self assembly into helical nanofibres. The controlled experiments on the compound Py-e-Per-e-Py with symmetrical conformation indicates the formation of helical nanofibres may be attributed to asymmetrical conformation.

The difficulty of measuring the run-out of engine valve seat related to the centerline of the valve guide is the determination of the datum axis. A method that the gauge was fixed on the conical surface of the valve seat was chosen. One sensor on the conical surface of the gauge measures the run-out of the valve seat related to the centerline of the gauge. Another two sensors of the gauge measures the centerline of the valve guide. The mathematic model of measurement is established, the run-out of the valve seat related to the centerline of the valve guide can be archived.

There is no literature mentioned the modeling of the microstructures subjected to traveling electrostatic forces. This paper is the first time to present an analytical approach to investigate the dynamics of a micro-ring structure driven by the traveling bias voltage. The traveling electrostatic forces may come from the sequentially-actuated actuating electrodes arranged around the flexible ring. A linearized distributed model considering the electromechanical coupling effect is derived based on the small deflection assumption. According to the analytical results, the stiffness of the micro-ring will be softened periodically with the traveling speed of the driving voltage and the variation increases with the increasing of the voltage.

The electronic or pneumatic multi-section and multi-probe gauges are widely used for diameter and coaxiality measurements due to their high measurement efficiency in workshops. However, their measurement accuracy is determined mainly by the manufacturing errors of the assembly coaxiality master, therefore, how to establish coaxiality measurement datum reference is the key technology. The physical coaxiality masters are expected to be the impossible "zero error datum reference". The higher manufacturing accuracy of the masters, the more expensive for their manufacturing costs. A novel mathematical method on the basis of error separation principle was proposed in order to separate the manufacturing errors of the master. The basic principle is that the eccentric error of the coaxiality master can be expressed as the first harmonic function and the ideal zero-error datum reference could be established by the mathematical method of two sampling operations in phase difference of 180° in coaxiality master for gauge initialization. This method can be called as "mathematical datum reference" for coaxiality measurement. Experimental results indicate that the coaxiality measurement results of the multi-section and multi-probe gauge by the novel mathematical method coincide with those of the three-coordinate measuring machine and the maximum difference of both is about 0.0014 mm. The new coaxiality measurement principle can separate the datum error of the coaxiality master theoretically and can improve the coaxiality measurement accuracy greatly with the common accuracy coaxiality master.

Supramolecular π-conjugated polymer-based gels (SCPGs) are one important kind of semiconducting soft materials. Herein we demonstrate a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) based on SCPG in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). The PFO/DCE gel exhibits a characteristic photoluminescence profile distinguished from other polymorphisms. The emission peak at ca. 550 nm evidences the aggregate or excimer mechanism of the low-energy emission band in polyfluorenes. Thermoreversible sol−gel transition of PFO/DCE gel has been investigated by temperature-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The formation mechanism of PFO/DCE gel has been proposed according to the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis. The obtained xerogel via freeze-drying exhibited regularly interpenetrated pores with the size of about 2−5 μm. Gelation of π-conjugated polymers paves a promising way to prepare porous soft semiconductors with potential applications of sensors and actuators.

An oligo(phenyleneethynylene), with hydroxyl as end-groups of cross-shaped four alkoxy side chains (OH-OPE), was designed and synthesized to investigate the effects of the symmetry of molecular structure as well as the hydrogen bonding and interaction between alkoxy side chains on its supramolecular assemblies by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). OH-OPEs fabricate by themselves two distinct patterns on highly orientated pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface with dissimilar surface coverages, symmetries, and stabilities. The surface coverage of both patterns shows a clear dependence on the concentration of OH-OPE. Contrary to the general concept, in the present case, the D1 pattern with higher packing density is favored at low concentration, which is possibly due to the existence of specific interactions (H-bonds) between the molecules and the difference in the number of H-bonds in these patterns. Coadsorption of diacids of shorter alkyl chains could help to stabilize the low density, porous pattern, whereas diacids with too long alkyl chains destabilize it. Due to the flexibility of the side chains, the coadsorption of shorter diacids does not significantly change the packing of OH-OPE. Our results point to the conclusion that the coadsorption is due to host−guest accommodation rather than hydrogen bond complexation.

A series of tetratopic C2-symmetric quasi-planar oligomeric phenylene−ethynylenes bearing carboxylic groups (OPE-COOHs), including the shortest 1,4-di((3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)ethynyl)benzene (TCB), midlength 4,4′-di((3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)ethynyl)biphenyl (TCBP), and the longest 4,4′′-di((3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)ethynyl)-p-terphenyl (TCTP), were synthesized via Pd(PPh3)4−CuI-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction. Their molecular structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), matrix-assisted laser desorption−ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS), and element analyses. The molecule length effect of OPE-COOHs on two-dimensional (2D) assemblies at the octanoic acid−highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) interface was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) technique at ambient temperature and simulated by molecular modeling. The patterns and domain sizes of OPE-COOHs strongly depend on their molecule length with Kagomé network only for TCB and parallel network for TCBP and TCTP. TCTP with the longest rigid-rod OPE backbone exhibits clearly larger ordered domain size than that of TCB and TCBP. Besides, TCBP exhibits tight boundaries transition among different orientation domains via the acute or obtuse V-shaped chevron arrangements. Those different two-dimensional (2D) assembly behaviors will be favorable to get a further understanding of the condensed architectures in conjugated organic semiconductors.

The structural basis of the recently recognized renal impairment after infusion of trichosanthin (TCS), a type I ribosome inactivating protein, is uncertain, but functionally it appears to be related to a lesion in the renal tubules. In this study, renal dysfunction in experimental rats was induced by a single dose of TCS. Creatinine clearance and tubular proteinuria were used to assess renal function. Light microscopy and ultrastructure of the kidneys were examined and apoptosis in proximal tubules was evaluated by thein situTdT-mediated nick end labeling technique. TCS-treated rats demonstrated a significant dose-dependent decrease in creatinine clearance together with a mild degree of low-molecular-weight proteinuria. The proximal convoluted tubule was the site of lesions showing individual tubular cell death, which was more abundant in rats receiving high doses of TCS. Apoptotic cell death, together with heterophagosomes and large residual bodies, was observed. DNA fragmentation was confirmed by thein situtechnique. There was also a dose-dependent density of apoptotic cells. Other portions of the nephron were spared, and it was not accompanied by any inflammatory infiltrate. In conclusion, these findings are consistent with TCS-induced proximal tubular toxicity resulting in reduction of glomerular filtration rate and tubular proteinuria. The extent of injury is dosage dependent. Both necrotic cell death and apoptosis participated in the loss of cells from the proximal tubules. Such toxicity may be mediated through intracellular events induced by trichosanthin.