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A new method is developed for the simulation of atoms and molecules interacting with ionic surfaces. This approach, based on a quasi-two-dimensional Ewald sum and a two-dimensional Fourier transformation, is capable of evaluating the long-range Coulomb interactions for a semi-infinite ionic solid. We have applied this method to investigate the photodissociation dynamics of CH3I on a LiF(001) surface. All the degrees of freedom of the adsorbed molecule are considered and the excited state dissociation potentials of CH3I are described by analytical functions derived from a recent ab initio calculation. The substrate (LiF) is represented by 6×6×3 movable atoms surrounded by static ions at their equilibrium positions. The adsorbate/substrate interaction is modeled as a sum of Coulomb and Lennard-Jones pairwise potentials. A phenomenological term is introduced to account for the adsorbate/adsorbate interaction. The equilibrium configurations of the system at a given temperature are obtained by a Monte Carlo method, which shows that there exist two stable configurations with the CH3I molecular axis perpendicular to the surface, either methyl up or down. The dissociation dynamics of the adsorbate is studied with a classical molecular dynamics method and the angular, kinetic energy, and rovibrational distributions of the fragments are calculated. When the molecule is adsorbed with the methyl up, the methyl fragment dissociates into the vacuum promptly with kinetic energy and internal state distributions similar to those in the gas phase. If the molecule is adsorbed with the methyl down, however, the methyl fragment could collide with iodine after rebounding from the surface, transferring a significant amount of kinetic energy to the iodine. A much broader and more energetic kinetic energy distribution of the iodine fragments is observed under such circumstances. The energy transfer is most effective when the parent molecule orients parallel to the surface... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photodissociation dynamics of CH3Br adsorbed on LiF(001) is investigated using a classical molecular dynamics method. The adsorbate is modeled as a pseudodiatomic molecule and the LiF surface is represented by a cluster surrounded by static walls. All the particles involved are allowed to move in all three dimensions. It is found from Monte Carlo simulations that CH3Br binds to the LiF surface perpendicularly with a binding energy of approximately 0.3 eV. Both methyl up and Br up orientations of the adsorbate are found to be stable. The results from the dynamical simulations of the photodissociation process indicate that the experimental data for the CH3Br/LiF(001) photodissociation can only be explained on the basis of one dissociation channel open for the CH3Br photodissociation, in contrast to dual channels in the gas phase. When the methyl is up, its translational energy distribution resembles the corresponding gas phase result. In the case of methyl down and Br up, however, the dissociating methyl rebounds from the surface and collides with Br. With only a single collision, the kinetic energy of Br can be increased up to 1 eV, in agreement with experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer simulations are performed to study the dynamics of the photodissociation of a single HBr adsorbed on a LiF (001) surface. A cluster model, including 50 moving atoms in two layers surrounded by five static walls consisting of 274 fixed atoms, is used to represent the surface. Since only one HBr molecule is allowed to sit on the surface, interactions between coadsorbates and possible collisions between adsorbed species are not considered in this model. The equilibrium properties of the HBr molecule on the surface prior to the photon absorption are obtained through Monte Carlo simulations, while the subsequent dissociation dynamics is described by molecular dynamics. Two dissociation channels corresponding to the ground and excited spin–orbit states of bromine are explicitly considered and transitions from one excited-state surface to another are treated with the Landau–Zener model. The kinetic energy and angular distributions of the dissociated H atoms as well as the Br/Br* ratio are determined from 600 trajectories. At 100 K and 193 nm, the calculated kinetic-energy distribution of the H fragment agrees with experimental data very well, as does the Br/Br* ratio. Neither the H kinetic energy nor the Br/Br* ratio is significantly affected by the presence of the surface. The energy exchange between the H atom and the surface is minimal, but increases when H is replaced by deuterium. The calculated H fragment angular distribution deviates from experimental data by approximately 15°. The deviation can be attributed to the scattering of the dissociating H fragment by a coadsorbate. We have also investigated the influence of the bulk temperature and the incident photon wavelength on the dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is an effective method to join dissimilar materials, such as composite and aluminum alloy. In this paper, the dynamic loading response and the impact damage mechanism of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates and AA6061-T651 self-piercing riveting joints were investigated using the drop weight tests at energy levels between 7.5 J and 20 J at room temperature. The effect of diverse damage mechanisms on the impact resistance and quasi-static mechanical properties of the SPR joints were evaluated. The results showed that the low-velocity impact position has a great influence on the strength of SPR joints, and the strength of the joints is seriously decreased when impacted at the center of the rivet. There are two impact damage mechanisms. One was the internal damage of CFRP laminates and it was the dominant damage mechanism before the impact energy of 10 J. Another one is the plastic deformation of aluminum alloy when the impact energy was above 10 J. The composite damage played a leading role in the absorption of the impact energy. Moreover, the impacted joints present residual strengths of 83 % (5 J), 76 % (7.5 J), 71 % (10 J), 57 % (12.5 J), 51 % (15 J), 48 % (17.5 J), 38 % (20 J) of the non-impact SPR joints. The axial impact resistance was more sensitive to the plastic deformation of aluminum alloy, while the quasi-static mechanical properties were more sensitive to the internal damage of CFRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A potential non-fullerene acceptor used to fabricate NIR OPD with low dark current. • The wider applicability of the non-fullerene acceptor is also demonstrated. • The NIR OPD with extremely low dark current (7.04 × 10-10 A/cm2) at –1 V. • The OPD displayed a high value of D * in the NIR region and sub-microsecond response times. By tuning the band gaps of their active layer materials, organic photodetectors (OPDs) can display good responses in the near-infrared (NIR) region, making them useful for applications in biomedical imaging and optical communication. Nevertheless, NIR OPDs have tended to suffer from low specific detectivity (D*), due to a high dark current. In this study, we employed 3TT-FIC, a non-fullerene acceptor (NFA), to develop OPDs capable of operating with extremely low dark currents and high response speeds. After fine tuning the blend ratio of the donor (PM6) and acceptor (3TT-FIC), we obtained an OPD that operated at a low dark current (7.04 × 10-10 A/cm2) at –1 V with a high value of D* (2.6 × 1013 Jones) at the wavelength of 850 nm. We also describe the wider applicability of 3TT-FIC and its good potential for applications as an NFA in NIR OPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under investigation in this paper is the interactions between the solitons in a dispersion-decreasing fiber, governed by a variable-coefficient higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the effects of third-order dispersion, Raman self-scattering and self-steepening. With the help of symbolic computation and Hirota method, the two soliton solutions of the equation are obtained. Based on these solutions, the interactions between the linear, parabolic-like and periodic-type solitons are illustrated and all the interactions are elastic. Through the interactions, soliton amplitudes and shapes keep invariant except for some phase shifts. Beside, we can also see that the soliton amplitude can be affected by the attenuation constant: When the attenuation constant is given a larger value, we can obtain the soliton with a larger amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In probabilistic approaches, where uncertainties in pedestrian motion are counted, the distance model is important for the accurate and robust collision risks evaluation. Focusing on the typical frontal pedestrian-vehicle collision, the conflict distance model with the merit to distinguish front impacts from side ones is presented. Based on stochastic pedestrian model and Unscented Transformation (UT) method, the time-to-collision (TTC) and conflict distance are sampled, and their probability density functions (pdf) as well as the collision probability are deduced. The presented distance model and probabilistic method are verified with Monte Carlo (MC) as the reference, and show the high accuracy and potential for real-time application. Utilizing the estimated collision speed and its probability distribution, a unified model assessing the injured probabilities of pedestrian in front collision is proposed. A pedestrian-vehicle conflict scenario is constructed to evaluate the effectiveness of the probabilistic injury assessment. Simulation results show that the proposed method is sensitive to evasive maneuvers, and provides more useful cues for the optimization of collision avoidance control than the deterministic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of local, effective pollinators may potentially limit plant reproductive success but the plant-pollinator interactions could be rescued if the plant does not reject other pollen vectors. Firmiana kwangsiensis H.H. Hsue (Malvaceae) is an endangered tree endemic to limestone areas in South China. Although its preservation status is listed as "critically endangered", its reproductive ecology is little known. We compared floral visitors in three wild populations and one transplanted population. Such a comparison allows us to see whether the pollinator assemblage varies geographically and to examine the plasticity of plant-pollinator interactions, informing sustainable ex situ conservation. Our pollination experiments indicated that fruit/seed set in F. kwangsiensis largely depended on pollinator visits, and was greatly reduced under hand self-pollination or exclusion of bird visits. Floral visitors included sunbirds, butterflies, and bees (honeybee and wasp) but their visitation frequency varied in the four populations. The sunbird Nectarinia jugularis was the major pollinator in the three wild populations, but was replaced by the other sunbird Aethopyga christinae in the ex situ population. This tree is showy, with orange-red flowers blooming before the leaves emerge. The calyx tube accumulates a large volume of dilute nectar (sugar concentration was 9.5%) in the morning, rewarding sunbird pollinators. Our investigations indicated that sunbirds rather than insects served as a functional group of pollinators for this endangered species. Successful ex situ conservation of this type of plant needs to consider the availability of potential pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we fabricated a novel PVP conjugated CuMo2S3 nanocrystal, which can be used as an efficient photosensitizer. The CuMo2S3 nanocrystals were synthesized via a facile one-pot reflux method and exhibited high biocompatibility, strong NIR absorbance, low cytotoxicity, high stability, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and effective generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the combined treatments of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) generated by the CuMo2S3 nanocrystals under NIR irradiation drastically inhibited tumor growth. Thus, CuMo2S3 nanocrystals have a great potential for synergistic effect of PDT and PTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio frequency (RF) heating has great potential for achieving rapid and volumetric heating in foods, providing safe and high-quality food products due to deep penetration depth, moisture self-balance effects, and leaving no chemical residues. However, the nonuniform heating problem (usually resulting in hot and cold spots in the heated product) needs to be resolved. The inhomogeneous temperature distribution not only affects the quality of the food but also raises the issue of food safety when the microorganisms or insects may not be controlled in the cold spots. The mathematical modeling for RF heating processes has been extensively studied in a wide variety of agricultural products recently. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent progresses in computer simulation for RF heating uniformity improvement and the offered solutions to reduce the heating nonuniformity. It provides a brief introduction on the basic principle of RF heating technology, analyzes the applications of numerical simulation, and discusses the factors influencing the RF heating uniformity and the possible methods to improve heating uniformity. Mathematical modeling improves the understanding of RF heating of food and is essential to optimize the RF treatment protocol for pasteurization and disinfestation applications. Recommendations for future research have been proposed to further improve the accuracy of numerical models, by covering both heat and mass transfers in the model, validating these models with sample movement and mixing, and identifying the important model parameters by sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential for embryogenesis, fibrosis, and tumor metastasis. Aberrant EMT phenomenon has been reported in endometriotic tissues of patients with endometriosis (EM). In this study, we further investigated the molecular mechanism of which lipoxin A4 (LXA4) suppresses estrogen (E2)-induced EMT in EM. Study Design: The EMT markers were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot in eutopic endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) or investigated by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR in endometriotic lesion of EM mice. The invasion and migration under different treatments were assessed by transwell assays with or without Matrigel. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and activities of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 were determined by qRT-PCR and gelatin zymography, respectively. Luciferase reporter assay was used to measure the activity of zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1(ZEB1) promoter. The level of E2 in endometriotic tissues was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: In eutopic EECs, stimulatory effects of E2 on EMT progress, migration, and invasion were all diminished by LXA4. Lipoxin A4 reduced E2-induced ZEB1 promoter activity. Lipoxin A4 also attenuated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase induced by E2. Co-incubation with Boc-2 rather than DMF antagonized the influence of LXA4. Animal experiments showed that LXA4 inhibited the EMT progress, MMP expression, and proteinase activities of endometriotic lesion in an LXA4 receptor (ALXR) manner, which suppressed the progression of EM. ZEB1 mRNA expression was upregulated and well correlated with E2 level in human endometrium. Conclusion: Lipoxin A4 suppresses E2-induced EMT via ALXR-dependent manner in eutopic EECs, which reveals a novel biological effect of LXA4 in EM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the essential components of environment perception techniques for an intelligent vehicle, lane detection is confronted with challenges including robustness against the complicated disturbance and illumination, also adaptability to stochastic lane shapes. To overcome these issues, we proposed a robust lane detection method named classification-generation-growth-based (CGG) operator to the detected lines, whereby the linear lane markings are identified by synergizing multiple visual cues with the a priori knowledge and spatial-temporal information. According to the quality of linear lane fitting, the linear and linear-parabolic models are dynamically switched to describe the actual lane. The Kalman filter with adaptive noise covariance and the region of interests (ROI) tracking are applied to improve the robustness and efficiency. Experiments were conducted with images covering various challenging scenarios. The experimental results evaluate the effectiveness of the presented method for complicated disturbances, illumination, and stochastic lane shapes. ©2018SPIE and IS&T [DOI: 10.1117/1.JEI.27.2.023025] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant sap-feeding insects of Hemiptera often form intimate symbioses with microbes to obtain nutrients. The cicada Subpsaltria yangi is the only species of the subfamily Tettigadinae known from China. Using high-throughput sequencing combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, we characterize the bacterial composition of the bacteriomes, testes, ovaries and eggs of two representative populations of this species which occur in different habitats and feed on different plant hosts. In both populations, the bacterial community diversity in the testes was significantly higher than that in other tissues. The obligate endosymbiont Candidatus Sulcia muelleri was observed in all samples and was dominant in the bacteriomes, ovaries and eggs. The usual co-resident endosymbiont Candidatus Hodgkinia cicadicola found in some other cicadas was not detected. Instead, a novel Rhizobiales bacterium which shows a ~ 81% 16S rDNA similarity to Ca. Hodgkinia cicadicola was detected. Given that the genome of Ca. Hodgkinia cicadicola exhibits rapid evolution, it is possible that this novel Rhizobiales bacterium is a related endosymbiont with beneficial trophic functions similar to that of Ca. Hodgkinia cicadicola hosted by several certain other cicadas. The presence of the novel Rhizobiales species in other cicadas and its involvement with the adaptive evolution of related cicada hosts require further investigation. Discrepancy of bacterial communities associated with testes between the two populations may be closely related to the geographic isolation and divergence of habitats and host plants. Our results are informative for further studies of evolutionary divergence of related endosymbionts hosted in cicadas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although great efforts have been paid on identification of genetic predisposition in the inherited retinal disease (IRD), genetic causes of a large proportion of patients remain a mystery. This dilemma makes us attempt to speculate that genetic components other than coding genes might be an additional pool predisposing IRD. In this study, we aim to perform a mutational screening in a large cohort of IRD patients with a particular focus on retina-specific or abundant microRNAs (miRs). Material and methods: A total of 324 unrelated patients with IRD were recruited. Targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) was performed to survey genetic mutations in 32 known miRs highly expressed in the retina, followed by validation with Sanger sequencing, co-segregation analysis in each family, and computational assessments. Results: Novel genotype-phenotype associations have been uncovered. In total, six different variants in the miRs were identified, including four rare ones, miR-216a (n.56C>A), miR-216b (n.43_44insG), miR-7–2 (n.107C>T), and miR-7–3 (n.95G>A). The other two variants, miR-182 (n.106G>A) and miR-216a (n.105T>A), were considered as polymorphic. Conclusions: We for the first time screened candidate retinal miRs in patients with IRD. Although there is no convincing evidence that these variants are responsible for the IRD, the results enhance the current knowledge of the associations between IRD and miRNAs variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ischemic cerebral stroke is a leading cause of death and long‐term disability world‐wide. Neuronal injury following cerebral ischemia initiates a complex series of signaling cascades that lead to neuronal cell death. MicroRNA 29b (miR‐29b) has reported involvement in the pathogenic process of ischemic brain injury. Dexmedetomidine (Dex) is a highly selective α2 adrenergic receptor stimulant that exerts a protective effect on brain tissue. To determine whether Dex might directly influence miR‐29b expression after an ischemic injury, human neuroblastoma SK‐N‐SH cells were subjected to oxygen‐glucose deprivation (OGD) for the purpose of creating a neuronal injury model that mimics the effects of brain ischemia in vitro. Next, the association of miR‐29b with the protective effect of Dex against ischemic brain injury was studied through the enhancement or inhibition of miR‐29b expression by transfection with an miR‐29b mimic or inhibitor. We demonstrated that Dex treatment could reduce miR‐29b expression, increase cell viability, and inhibit cell apoptosis in the OGD‐induced neuronal injury model in vitro. Furthermore, down‐regulation of miR‐29b expression produced effects on OGD‐induced neuronal injuries that were similar to those produced by Dex treatment. Moreover, up‐regulation of miR‐29b reversed the protective effect of Dex treatment against OGD‐induced neuronal injury. Therefore, down‐regulation of miR‐29b expression might play a role in anti‐apoptotic signaling similar to that played by Dex. Elucidation of the role played by miR‐29b in ischemia, and identification of a definite association between Dex and miR‐29b may lead to the development of new strategies for treating ischemic brain injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of triblock copolymers, containing a CO-switchable block poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDM) block and two symmetrical hydrophilic blocks polyacrylamide (PAM), were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. The pH and conductivity tests showed that the triblock copolymer exhibited switchable responsiveness to CO, i.e. a relatively low conductivity of solution could be switched on and off by bubbling and removing of CO, and the triblock copolymer aqueous solution displayed a CO-switchable viscosity variation. The changes were all attributed to protonation of tertiary amine groups in PDM blocks and proven by H-NMR. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering characterization demonstrated that the viscosity variation was the result of a unilamellar vesicle-network aggregate structure transition. The release of rhodamine B from the vesicles with and without CO stimuli showed the potential application in drug delivery domains; after CO bubbling, the drug release rate could be accelerated. Finally, reasonable mechanism of CO-switchable morphology changes and CO-induced drug release was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mud logging system presents the most promising tool for exploring oil and gas resources, which relies on the multi-component analysis of gases to evaluate the hydrocarbon reservoirs. Higher detection efficiency, especially relating to the high-throughput analysis, can offer an important means to enhance the oil and gas recovery of hydrocarbon reservoirs. However, fewer technologies can measure both hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases in a timely manner. In the present work, a method based on data driven Raman spectroscopy (DDRS), which allows simultaneously accurate analysis of 12 hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases, has been proved. By developing a data driven strategy that incorporates higher-density discrete wavelet transform (HDWT) and template oriented frog algorithm (TOFA), the spectral resolution of Raman spectroscopy was significantly improved in both time and frequency domains to extract the target gas information from the Raman spectra, facilitating the detection of hydrocarbon reservoir. Theoretically, it is considered that the DDRS represents a promising tool for extracting the quantitative information from multi-component gases in the presence of dominantly uncontrolled variance. Our work has tested and refined the DDRS by performing a comprehensive analysis of three gas mixtures established to yield challenges representative of those encountered in a common mud logging analysis. The DDRS compared favorably with the gas chromatography (GC) method. The satisfactory results indicated that the DDRS has the capability to continuously detect 12 hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases in real time, which could be extended to online multi-component analysis of any other gas and fuel systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, graphene/polymer (GE/polymer) aerogels have been extensively studied and applied in flexible strain sensors. However, for most GE/polymer aerogels, it is difficult to satisfy both high elasticity and excellent conductivity, which restricts its application as wearable strain sensors. Therefore, it still remains a great challenge for fabricating highly elastic, conductive, and stable sensing aerogels. In this work, a highly elastic and conductive GE/carboxymethylcellulose (GE/CMC) aerogel is prepared by a facile solution mixing-freeze-drying process. Thanks to the strong hydrogen-bonding synergistic interactions between GE sheets and flexible CMC chains, high C/O atomic ratio, and inerratic conductive network, our GE/CMC hydrophobic aerogels exhibit stable high elasticity (4000 steady compression cycles at 50% strain), superior electrical conductivity (86.73 S m under 70% compression strain), and excellent compression sensitivity (gauge factor can reach 1.58 under 45-70% strain). With above outstanding performances, our GE/CMC aerogel can be expected to be applied in wearable strain sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When paired with sophisticated multivariate calibration methods, spectroscopy techniques stand out conspicuously for high-throughput analysis of complex samples. However, despite the identification capability of multivariate analysis, fluctuant spectral interference and complicated chemometrics procedure often combine to limit conventional spectroscopy techniques. In this regard, we proposed a novel strategy, higher-density multiscale regression (HDMR), to adaptively process Raman spectra for quantitative analysis. HDMR firstly splits the Raman spectra into frequency components at different scales using higher-density discrete wavelet transform (HDDWT), yielding a larger number of subbands to benefit a good separation of spectral bands. Parallel member models constructed with these decomposed components are then fused into a final prediction through partial least square (PLS) reweighting strategy. With HDMR, the pre-treatment process and multivariate calibration are integrated into a unified calibration model for Raman spectra at hand, regardless of its structural characteristics. This would definitely avoid of information leakage in multivariate calibration, thus promoting the application of Raman spectroscopy technique as a general tool for analytical chemistry. To validate the performance of the HDMR, two industrial Raman spectral data sets were investigated to yield challenges representative of those encountered in Raman spectroscopy. This proposed strategy has improved calibration performance through the reweighting way. Satisfactory calibration results suggest that HDMR provides a universal tool for reliable Raman spectral analysis, which may well extend to other spectral data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of long-term use, the uncertainty of an engineering structure often presents time-variant or dynamic characteristics due to the influence of stochastic loads and material performance degradations. In such a situation, the structural design optimization will involve an important problem of time-variant reliability-based design optimization (TRBDO). Performing TRBDO involves a nested optimization, which will lead to extremely low computational efficiency. In this paper, a single-loop approach (SLA) is proposed to convert the nested optimization in TRBDO into a sequence iterative process composed of the time-variant reliability analysis (TRA), constraint discretization, and design optimization. In each iteration step, the TRA method based on stochastic process discretization is first used to calculate the time-variant reliability of constraints; second, through introducing the concept of the target reliability index of discretized time period and proposing the corresponding algorithm, each time-variant constraint is discretized into a series of time-invariant constraints to formulate a conventional reliability-based design optimization problem. The approach exhibits a good comprehensive performance in terms of efficiency and convergence. The validity and practicality of the SLA are validated by two numerical examples and a design problem for the chassis of a self-balancing vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Flame stabilization mechanisms of a hydrogen-fueled laboratory model scramjet combustor are numerically studied. The combustor consists of a sonic fuel jet injected paralleling into a supersonic air flow at the base of a wedge-shaped strut. The numerical calculations are based on an Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) solver using the large eddy simulation method. A skeletal mechanism for hydrogen-air chemistry including 9 species 27 reactions is used to depict the combustion dynamics. Three cases with air stagnation temperature of 568 K, 460 K, and 960 K, are respectively studied under the same equivalence ratio and entrance Mach number. Damköler number based on the subgrid turbulent mixing time scale and the instantaneous chemical time scale is used to distinguish the role of mixture self-igniting from flame propagation in different air inflows. Flame stabilization in such strut-based combustor is compared with that of cavity-based one. It is found that the basic working principles for the two types of combustor are similar. However, the strut shows more simplicity in flame stabilization locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a simple method of synthesizing dual-scale dome-like micro/nanostructures on copper using temperature controlled surface oxidation. The produced surfaces show two conflicting attributes, large contact angles and large droplet departure radii. Together, these two attributes promote water collection from air. A range of 80%-100% collection rate enhancements was observed for copper surfaces with a number of different wettability characteristics. Theoretical results showed that large departure droplets introduce strong disturbances in the diffusion boundary layer, which may be responsible for decreasing the vapor mass transfer resistance and enhancing the rate of water collection through moisture condensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum key distribution (QKD) research has yielded highly fruitful results and is currently undergoing an industrialization transformation. In QKD systems, electro-optic modulators are typically employed to prepare the required quantum states. While various QKD systems operating at GHz repetition frequency have demonstrated exceptional performance, they predominantly rely on instruments or printed circuit boards to fulfill the driving circuit function of the electro-optic modulator. Consequently, these systems tend to be complex with low integration levels. To address this challenge, we have introduced a modulator driver integrated circuit in 0.18 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The circuit can generate multiple-level driving signals with a clock frequency of 1.25 GHz and a rising edge of ∼50 ps. Each voltage amplitude can be independently adjusted, ensuring the precise preparation of quantum states. The measured signal-to-noise ratio was more than 17 dB, resulting in a low quantum bit error rate of 0.24% in our polarization-encoding system. This work will contribute to the advancement of QKD system integration and promote the industrialization process in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture harvesters with favourable attributes such as easy synthetic availability and good processability as alternatives for atmospheric moisture harvesting (AWH) are desirable. This study reports a novel nonporous anionic coordination polymer (CP) of uranyl squarate with methyl viologen (MV2+) as charge balancing ions (named U‐Squ‐CP) which displays intriguing sequential water sorption/desorption behavior as the relative humidity (RH) changes gradually. The evaluation of AWH performance of U‐Squ‐CP shows that it can absorb water vapor under air atmosphere at a low RH of 20 % typical of the levels found in most dry regions of the world, and have good cycling durability, thus demonstrating the capability as a potential moisture harvester for AWH. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on non‐porous organic ligand bridged CP materials for AWH. Moreover, a stepwise water‐filling mechanism for the water sorption/desorption process is deciphered by comprehensive characterizations combining single‐crystal diffraction, which provides a reasonable explanation for the special moisture harvesting behaviour of this non‐porous crystalline material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naja atra bite is one of the most common severe snakebites in emergency departments. Unfortunately, the pathophysiological changes caused by Naja atra bite are unclear due to the lack of good animal models. In this study, an animal model of Naja atra bite in Guangxi Bama miniature pigs was established by intramuscular injection at 2 mg/kg of Naja atra venom, and serum metabolites were systematically analyzed using untargeted metabolomic and targeted metabolomic approaches. Untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed that 5045 chromatographic peaks were obtained in ESI+ and 3871 chromatographic peaks were obtained in ESI-. Screening in ESI+ modes and ESI- modes identified 22 and 36 differential metabolites compared to controls. The presence of 8 core metabolites of glutamine, arginine, proline, leucine, phenylalanine, inosine, thymidine and hippuric acid in the process of Naja atra bite was verified by targeted metabolomics significant difference (P<0.05). At the same time, during the verification process of the serum clinical samples with Naja atra bite, we found that the contents of three metabolites of proline, phenylalanine and inosine in the serum of the patients were significantly different from those of the normal human serum (P<0.05). By conducting functional analysis of core and metabolic pathway analysis, we revealed a potential correlation between changes in key metabolites after the Naja atra bite and the resulting pathophysiological alterations, and our research aims to establish a theoretical foundation for the prompt diagnosis and treatment of Naja atra bite. Author summary: Naja atra bite is one of the most serious tropical and subtropical diseases, and the pathophysiological mechanism of injury caused by Naja atra bite is still not clear, meanwhile, large animal models of Naja atra bite are rarely reported. In this study, a Naja atra bite Bama miniature pig model was constructed and evaluated. In addition, 22 and 36 metabolites were found to be significantly altered in ESI+ and ESI- mode by untargeted metabolomics assay, respectively. More interestingly, 8 of them co-occurred in both ESI+ and ESI- modes. We quantified these 8 metabolites absolutely by targeted metabolomics and validated them in the serum of Naja atra bite patients, which showed the same trend as the untargeted metabolomics results. We also compared the differences in the levels of these 8 metabolites in the serum of the Naja atra bite patient group and the normal human group, we found decreased expression of inosine, proline and phenylalanine. Based on this, we compared the blood metabolic profiles with those of Bungarus multicinctus and Trimeresurus stejnegeri, and finally we confirmed that inosine, proline and phenylalanine are likely to be the key metabolites in Naja atra bite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal ions are difficult to determine directly by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) due to the lack of Raman characteristic peaks for heavy metal. Herein, a SERS platform was promoted for the determination of divalent manganese ion (Mn2+) with the properties of cost-effectiveness and simplicity. The SERS platform was constructed into a hybrid system of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), 6-mercaptonicotinic acid (MNA), and melamine (MA). The likely principle of the SERS analysis platform for Mn2+ is that 6-mercaptonic acid cooperates with melamine to combine manganese ions to cause the aggregation of silver nanoparticles, resulting in the rapid enhancement of Raman characteristic peak signals of 6-mercaptonic acid. The established SERS platform for the Mn2+ determination obtained good linearity in the range of Mn2+ concentration of 1.0 × 10−5–1.0 × 10−4 mol/L with a limit of detection (LOD) of 4.0 × 10−6 mol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a neuropeptide‐enriched brain region that modulates a wide variety of emotional behaviours and states, including stress, anxiety, reward and social interaction. The BNST consists of diverse subregions and neuronal ensembles; however, because of the high molecular heterogeneity within BNST neurons, the mechanisms through which the BNST regulates distinct emotional behaviours remain largely unclear. Prior studies have identified BNST calretinin (CR)‐expressing neurons, which lack neuropeptides. Here, employing virus‐based cell‐type‐specific retrograde and anterograde tracing systems, we mapped the whole‐brain monosynaptic inputs and axonal projections of BNST CR‐expressing neurons in male mice. We found that BNST CR‐expressing neurons received inputs mainly from the amygdalopiriform transition area, central amygdala and hippocampus and moderately from the medial preoptic area, basolateral amygdala, paraventricular thalamus and lateral hypothalamus. Within the BNST, plenty of input neurons were primarily located in the oval and interfascicular subregions. Furthermore, numerous BNST CR‐expressing neuronal boutons were observed within the BNST but not in other brain regions, thus suggesting that these neurons are a type of interneuron. These results will help further elucidate the neuronal circuits underlying the elaborate and distinct functions of the BNST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio frequency (RF) heating has been considered as an alternative method to traditional thermal treatments for postharvest pasteurization and disinfestations. However, the non-uniform heating in food samples is the main obstacle to be urgently solved. In this study, mica plates were placed on top of the samples with polypropylene blocks placed in between the samples as a new strategy to improve the RF heating uniformity. A computer simulation model was developed based on the commercial software COMSOL to evaluate the temperature distributions. Experiments with peanut samples placed in three dimensions of containers were conducted to validate the simulation model. The results showed that adding mica plates with the similar dimension to the cold spot of samples and increasing the plate thickness effectively improved the RF heating uniformity. Adding polypropylene blocks raised sample average temperatures and finally optimized the RF heating uniformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three novel bipolar deep-blue emitters, 1-(4-( tert -butyl)phenyl)-2-(4-(9,9-diphenylacridin-10(9 H )-yl)phenyl)-1 H -phenanthro[9,10- d ]imidazole ( DPACTPI ), 1-(4-( tert -butyl)phenyl)-2-(4′-(9,9-diphenylacridin-10(9 H )-yl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-1 H -phenanthro[9,10- d ]imidazole ( DPACPhTPI ) and 2-(4-(9,9-diphenylacridin-10(9 H )-yl)phenyl)-1-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1 H -phenanthro[9,10- d ]imidazole ( DPACFPPI ), employing the donor 9,9-diphenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DPAC) and the acceptor, phenanthroimidazole, were designed and synthesized. The highly twisted conformations between DAPC and phenanthroimidazole in the molecules efficiently interrupt molecular π-conjugation and inhibit π-π intermolecular interactions, resulting in good thermal stability and efficient deep-blue emission. The three phenanthroimidazole derivatives in non-doped OLEDs exhibited deep-blue emission. In particular, DPACPhTPI -based nondoped device showed an excellent performance with maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 3.50%, maximum current efficiency (CE) of 1.38 cd/A, maximum power efficiency (PE) of 1.40 lm/W and CIE coordinate of (0.156, 0.047), which is among the best results for OLEDs with a similar color. The high radiative exciton utilization could be resulted from hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To identify potential biomarkers and to uncover the mechanisms underlying asthma based on Gibbs sampling. Methods The molecular functions (MFs) with genes greater than 5 were determined using AnnotationMFGO of BAGS package, and the obtained MFs were then transformed to Markov chain (MC). Gibbs sampling was conducted to obtain a new MC. Meanwhile, the average probabilities of MFs were computed via MC Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm, followed by identification of differentially expressed MFs based on the probabilities of MF more than 0.6. Moreover, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their correlated genes were screened and merged, called as co-expressed genes. Pathways enrichment analysis was implemented for the co-expressed genes. Results Based on the gene set more than 5, overall 396 MFs were determined. After Gibbs sampling, 5 differentially expressed MF were acquired according to alfa.pi > 0.6. Moreover, the genes in these 5 differentially expressed MF were merged, and 110 DEGs were identified. Subsequently, 338 co-expressed genes were gained. Based on the P value < 0.01, the co-expressed genes were significantly enriched in 6 pathways. Among these, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis contained the maximum numbers of 35 co-expressed genes, and cell cycle were enriched by the second largest number of 11 co-expressed genes, respectively. Conclusions The identified pathways such as ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and cell cycle might play important roles in the development of asthma and may be useful for developing the credible therapeutic approaches for diagnosis and treatment of asthma in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cisplatin resistance is still one of the main reasons for failure of clinical therapy for cervical cancer. But the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in cisplatin resistance of cervical cancer have still remained unclear. Recent studies reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel nonprotein-coding transcripts, which might play a key role in cancer biogenesis and prognosis. One of the lncRNAs, urothelial cancer associated 1 (UCA1), has been shown to promote different types of cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study showed that overexpression of UCA1 confers cisplatin resistance by promoting cancer cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. In addition, knockdown of UCA1 remarkably decreased cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer cells. Moreover, results also indicated that UCA1 was involved in signaling pathways modulating cell apoptosis and proliferation. UCA1 suppressed apoptosis by downregulating caspase 3 and upregulating CDK2, whereas enhanced cell proliferation by increased level of survivin and decreased level of p21. This study reports for the first time that UCA1 might play an important role in the cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer, and also explain partially how UCA1 promotes cisplatin resistance in cancer cells. These results provide evidence to support that UCA1 can be used as a potential target for a novel therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid analytical/numerical conducted an electromagnetic interference (EMI) modeling approach, which adopts both numerical method and analytical method, is proposed in this paper. In this model, the noise source is calculated directly with the original data from oscilloscopes. The noise path at different operating status is extracted from the original converter topology and its analytical expression is then derived. Also, according to the EMI receiver detector mode, the algorithm of the EMI receiver is proposed in this paper. Peak (PK), average (AV), and quasipeak (QP) values of the EMI can then be calculated to analyze the impact of each relevant component. The analytical method is provided to carry out PK, AV, and QP simulations accurately and fast. The simulation and experimental results for common mode leakage currents validate this EMI model. Furthermore, two analysis examples are given to illustrate how this model is applied for engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent few years, an increasing number of studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in many fundamental and important biological processes. As one of pathogenetic factors, the molecular mechanisms underlying human complex diseases still have not been completely understood from the perspective of miRNA. Predicting potential miRNA-disease associations makes important contributions to understanding the pathogenesis of diseases, developing new drugs, and formulating individualized diagnosis and treatment for diverse human complex diseases. Instead of only depending on expensive and time-consuming biological experiments, computational prediction models are effective by predicting potential miRNA-disease associations, prioritizing candidate miRNAs for the investigated diseases, and selecting those miRNAs with higher association probabilities for further experimental validation. In this study, ath-ased iRNA-isease ssociation (PBMDA) prediction model was proposed by integrating known human miRNA-disease associations, miRNA functional similarity, disease semantic similarity, and Gaussian interaction profile kernel similarity for miRNAs and diseases. This model constructed a heterogeneous graph consisting of three interlinked sub-graphs and further adopted depth-first search algorithm to infer potential miRNA-disease associations. As a result, PBMDA achieved reliable performance in the frameworks of both local and global LOOCV (AUCs of 0.8341 and 0.9169, respectively) and 5-fold cross validation (average AUC of 0.9172). In the cases studies of three important human diseases, 88% (Esophageal Neoplasms), 88% (Kidney Neoplasms) and 90% (Colon Neoplasms) of top-50 predicted miRNAs have been manually confirmed by previous experimental reports from literatures. Through the comparison performance between PBMDA and other previous models in case studies, the reliable performance also demonstrates that PBMDA could serve as a powerful computational tool to accelerate the identification of disease-miRNA associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper numerically investigated the dynamic characteristics of combustion in a model scramjet. Three-dimensional compressible large eddy simulation was performed on a hydrogen fueled combustor and pressure fluctuations were recorded. The analysis of pressure data showed that the combustion processes are intrinsically unstable under supersonic air inflow conditions. Flame dynamics were convinced by the fluctuations in flame lift-off distance away from the strut base. Combined with the corresponding time interval, instantaneous flame speed was calculated. Results indicated that pressure oscillations at different locations show difference in amplitude, frequency, and the underlying control mechanism. Flame front oscillation analysis showed that the flame–shock interaction in the strut recirculation zone was responsible for the combustion instability. Flame dynamics were compared with low-speed turbulent lifted flames. The transition between flame propagation just after the strut and shock-induced combustion in the subsonic bubble at the intersection of two wall-reflected oblique shocks made for the flame stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fully understand the bacterial processes in tomb environments, it is necessary to investigate the details of the bacterial communities present under such oligotrophic conditions. Here, high-throughput sequencing based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences was used to fully evaluate the bacterial communities at different sites in the tomb of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. We also aimed to identify the soil factors that were significant related to bacterial diversity and community composition. The results showed the presence of a broad taxonomic diversity that included nine major phyla. Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated the bacterial profiles in all tomb soil samples. However, significant differences between deposited soils (DS) and covering soils (CSA, CSB and CSC) were revealed by chemistry-based principal component analysis (PCA), the number of OTUs, and the Chao 1 and Shannon indexes. At the family level, hierarchically clustered heatmap and LefSe analyses showed differences in the bacterial community compositions at different sampling sites. Notably, CSA contained significant populations of Nocardioidaceae, Pseudonocardiaceae and Streptomycetaceae, which are often reported to be associated with biodeterioration in cave environments. Further, the most abundant group (>10%) in all soil samples was Streptococcaceae, whose abundance decreased from 34.66% to 13.43% with increasing soil depth. The results of redundancy analysis (RDA) and the Monte Carlo permutation test indicated that soil pH and Cu and Mn levels were significantly related to the bacterial communities in this tomb. This research offers new insight into bacterial communities in cave environments and also provides important information for the protection of this historically important tomb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:: Properties of floral nectar have been used to predict if a plant species is pollinated by birds. To see whether winter‐flowering plants evolve nectar properties corresponding to bird pollinators, nectar properties of several Camellia species (including the golden‐flowered tea), as well as the role of floral visitors as effective pollinators, were examined. METHODS:: Potential pollinators of Camellia petelotii were identified at different times of day and under various weather conditions. A bird exclusion experiment was used to compare the pollination effectiveness of birds and insects. Nectar sugar components (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) from C. petelotii growing wild and another seven Camellia species and 22 additional cultivars (all in cultivation) were examined by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). KEY RESULTS:: The sunbird Aethopyga siparaja and honeybees were the most frequent floral visitors to C. petelotii. Honeybee visits were significantly reduced in cloudy/rainy weather. The fruit and seed set of flowers with birds excluded were reduced by 64%, indicating that bird pollination is significant. For the wild populations of C. petelotii, a bagged flower could secrete 157 μL nectar; this nectar has a low sugar concentration (19%) and is sucrose‐dominant (87%). The eight Camellia species and 22 cultivars had an average sugar concentration of around 30% and a sucrose concentration of 80%, demonstrating sucrose‐dominant nectar in Camellia species. CONCLUSIONS:: The nectar sugar composition of Camellia species was characterized by sucrose dominance. In addition, the large reduction in seed set when birds are excluded in the golden‐flowered tea also supports the suggestion that these winter‐flowering plants may have evolved with birds as significant pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclic polymers have attracted more and more attentions in recent years because of their unique topological structures and characteristic properties in both solution and bulk state. There are relatively few reports on cyclic polymers, partly because of the more demanding synthetic procedures. In recent years, 'click' reaction, especially Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), has been widely utilized in the synthesis of cyclic polymer materials because of its high efficiency and low susceptibility to side reactions. In this review, we will focus on three aspects: (1) Constructions of monocyclic polymer using CuAAC 'click' chemistry; (2) Formation of complex cyclic polymer topologies through CuAAC reactions; (3) Using CuAAC 'click' reaction in the precise synthesis of molecularly defined macrocycles. We believe that the CuAAC click reaction is playing an important role in the design and synthesis of functional cyclic polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper reviews history and evolution of layered oxides. • The challenges and prospects are included. • This review paper also offers some guidance for further designing layer oxides. Rapid exploitation of renewable energy sources for replacing the conventional fossil fuels drives the development of electrical energy storage (EES) systems. Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are considered as the promising low-cost candidates for the application in large-scale energy storage by virtue of the abundant reserves of sodium and potassium resources. In NIBs and KIBs, cathode plays a critical role in the electrochemical performances, and hence searching for appropriate cathode materials becomes the key point. Particularly, layered oxide cathodes with superior specific capacity and appropriate operating voltage are the most fascinating electrode materials for NIBs and KIBs. In light of performances, the fundamental and recent researches of layered oxide cathodes are reviewed for NIBs and KIBs. However, several major challenges including irreversible phase transition, low energy density, poor air stability, oxygen redox chemistry and inferior cycling stability need to be overcome. All in all, a comprehensive review for the layered oxide cathodes is present accompanied with solutions for these problems, especially mentioning the different functions of different elements and ionic potential (Ф) for guiding the design of layer oxides with exceptional performances. The challenges and prospects are also included with the hope of these materials applying in the next-generation energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ni and S atoms in Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 /GO had negligible contributions for catalysis directly. • Electron transfer via "GO-C-O-S-C-Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 " bridge was important for catalysis. • S atoms were more favorable for generating connection bridges than N and O atoms. Electron transfer capability as crucial properties of anode is directly related to electrocatalytic performance. However, the contributions of electron transfer were always under estimated due to the ambiguous mechanism of electrocatalysis. In this paper, a new electron transfer bridge was constructed in Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 /GO to provide a new insight into electrocatalytic performance enhancement. The contributions of active sites candidates, including metal sites, ligands (metal bridging atoms), and electron transfer bridges were innovatively separated. As replacement experimental results (of metal sites and metal bridging atoms), both metal sites and metal bridging atoms contributed slightly as the active center directly for the electrocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). The great improvement was attributed to the generation of "GO-C-O-S-C-Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 " bridges, in which S atoms from ligands were critical anchoring sites for the connection of two 2D layers (Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 and GO layer). The experimental and density functional theory results showed Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 could donate electrons to GO layers, leading the electrostatic imbalance of charge density to facilitate electron withdrawal from pollutions (not only TCH, but also dyes and complex microbial flora). The results of this paper provide a new strategy for improving electrocatalytic efficiency by adjusting electron transfer for novel practical applications of Ni 3 (HTTP) 2 /GO composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) used for electrocatalytic applications have the drawbacks of poor conductivity and instability. Herein, a Cu–1,2,3,4,5,6-benzenehexamine (Cu-HAB)/graphene oxide (GO) composite was prepared for the electrocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). Our characterization results show that Cu-HAB/GO has more active sites (I D / I G = 1.0030), larger surface area (S BET = 395.3441 m2/g), and faster electron transport (Rct = 20.69) than Cu-HAB. Simultaneously, the improvement in the number of active sites, surface area and electron transport leads to a superior TCH electrocatalytic degradation efficiency. The reaction rate constant (0.70575 min−1) of the composite was higher with a 51.81% improvement observed when compared to Cu-HAB under the optimum conditions of 1 g/L NaCl, 20 mA, and 20 °C. In addition, 100% of the degradation efficiency was maintained after five cycles. A detailed study of the mechanism revealed that 1O 2 and active chlorine were the critical active species for the degradation of TCH via quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies. The possible TCH degradation pathway has been proposed. This study provides a novel and feasible method for the preparation of MOF-based electrocatalysts to expand their application to environmental fields. • Numerous active sites were created and exposed with the combination of Cu-HAB and GO. • The charge transfer between Cu-HAB and GO was accelerated with the combination of Cu-HAB and GO. • O2.•− and active chlorine were the main active substances for tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) electrocatalytic degradation. • The degradation efficiency of Cu-HAB/GO-2 reached 100% within 8 min at a current of 20 mA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of stress ratio on fatigue properties of a titanium alloy (TC-17) in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) and very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) were investigated by electromagnetic and ultrasonic fatigue testing. The S – N curves at R = −1, 0.1, 0.5 and 0.7 at 110 Hz and 20 kHz were obtained and discussed. The effects of frequency on fatigue strength was also investigated. It was concluded that the fatigue strength with 50% fatigue failure probability at R = 0.1, 0.5 and 0.7 is lower to the Goodman line and shows a bilinear decreasing trend. Cleavage fracture of primary grains in the surface and interior initiation zone were observed. The formation of the facets induced by the basal or prismatic slips of the H.C.P grains decreased the fatigue strength with variation in mean stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the combustion oscillation features in a three-dimensional (3D) rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC) engine combustor under flight Mach number ( M flight ) 3.0 conditions both experimentally and numerically. Experiment is performed on a direct-connect ground test facility, which measures the wall pressure along the flow-path. High-speed imaging of the flame luminosity and schlieren is carried out at exit of the primary rocket. Compressible reactive large eddy simulation (LES) with reduced chemical kinetics of a surrogate model for kerosene is performed to further understand the combustion oscillation mechanisms in the combustor. LES results are validated with experimental data by the time-averaged and root mean square (RMS) pressure values, and show acceptable agreement. Effects of the primary rocket jet on pressure oscillation in the combustor are analyzed. Relation of the high speed rocket jet oscillation, which is thought to among the most probable sources of combustion oscillation, with the RBCC combustor is recognized. Results reveal that the unsteady over-expanded rocket jet has significant impacts on the combustion oscillation feature of the RBCC combustor, which is different from a thermo-acoustics type oscillation. The rocket jet/air inflow physical interactions under different rocket jet expansion degrees are experimentally studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents case study of a 27-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD). It mentions her treatment with infliximab (IFX) infusion and isoniazide was given for tuberculosis (TB) chemoprophylaxis. It also mentions that ultrasonography revealed cephalic vein thrombophlebitis in the left forearm.

This study reports combustion characteristics of a rocket-based combined-cycle engine combustor operating at ramjet mode numerically. Compressible large eddy simulation with liquid kerosene sprayed and vaporized is used to study the intrinsic unsteadiness of combustion in such a propulsion system. Results for the pressure oscillation amplitude and frequency in the combustor as well as the wall pressure distribution along the flow-path, are validated using experimental data, and they show acceptable agreement. Coupled with reduced chemical kinetics of kerosene, results are compared with the simultaneously obtained Reynolds–Averaged Navier–Stokes results, and show significant differences. A flow field analysis is also carried out for further study of the turbulent flame structures. Mixture fraction is used to determine the most probable flame location in the combustor at stoichiometric condition. Spatial distributions of the Takeno flame index, scalar dissipation rate, and heat release rate reveal that different combustion modes, such as premixed and non-premixed modes, coexisted at different sections of the combustor. The RBCC combustor is divided into different regions characterized by their non-uniform features. Flame stabilization mechanism, i.e., flame propagation or fuel auto-ignition, and their relative importance, is also determined at different regions in the combustor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infection by the simian malaria parasite, Plasmodium knowlesi, can lead to severe and fatal disease in humans, and is the most common cause of malaria in parts of Malaysia. Despite being a serious public health concern, the geographical distribution of P. knowlesi malaria risk is poorly understood because the parasite is often misidentified as one of the human malarias. Human cases have been confirmed in at least nine Southeast Asian countries, many of which are making progress towards eliminating the human malarias. Understanding the geographical distribution of P. knowlesi is important for identifying areas where malaria transmission will continue after the human malarias have been eliminated. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 439 records of P. knowlesi infections in humans, macaque reservoir and vector species were collated. To predict spatial variation in disease risk, a model was fitted using records from countries where the infection data coverage is high. Predictions were then made throughout Southeast Asia, including regions where infection data are sparse. The resulting map predicts areas of high risk for P. knowlesi infection in a number of countries that are forecast to be malaria-free by 2025 (Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam) as well as countries projected to be eliminating malaria (Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines). Conclusions/Significance: We have produced the first map of P. knowlesi malaria risk, at a fine-scale resolution, to identify priority areas for surveillance based on regions with sparse data and high estimated risk. Our map provides an initial evidence base to better understand the spatial distribution of this disease and its potential wider contribution to malaria incidence. Considering malaria elimination goals, areas for prioritised surveillance are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• M. speciosa polysaccharide conjugate fabricated emulsion exhibited excellent stability under adverse conditions. • M. speciosa polysaccharide conjugate could effectively retard lipid oxidation. • M. speciosa polysaccharide conjugate stabilized emulsion showed better protective effect on β-carotene. • The β-carotene bioaccessibility was markedly enhanced with polysaccharide conjugate based emulsion. In this study, a natural antioxidant emulsifier, Millettia speciosa Champ polysaccharide conjugates (MSC-PC), was used for fabricating oil-in-water emulsion, and the influences of MSC-PC on β-carotene stability and bioaccessibility were studied. Results suggested that MSC-PC stabilized emulsion exhibited excellent resistance to a wide range of salt levels (0–500 mM of Na+), thermal treatments (50–90 °C) and pH values (3.0–11.0). MSC-PC also exhibited an outstanding inhibition capacity on lipid oxidation. Besides, MSC-PC stabilized emulsion had a better protective effect on β-carotene than other systems. Interestingly, in spite of similar lipolysis extent, β-carotene bioaccessibility in MSC-PC fabricated emulsion (14.75 %) was markedly higher than that in commercial Tween 80 fabricated emulsion (10.08 %), likely due to the steric-hindrance effect and antioxidant ability of MSC-PC, building interfacial layers that prevented β-carotene from degradation. This work supplied a deep insight into elucidating the mechanisms of emulsifying performance and β-carotene protection effect of MSC-PC fabricated emulsion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chickpea protein has the unique advantages of high yield and high bioavailability, and is used in the food industry. The existing research on the modification of chickpea protein has been focused on chemical modification. In this study, high-pressure homogenization (HPH) (physical) modification was attempted to explore the effects of HPH modification on the rheological properties, thermal properties and microstructure of chickpea protein dispersion (CPD). The results demonstrated that when CPD was modified by 90 MPa pressure, the apparent viscosity was increased from 185.69 to 521.16 Pa s, the frequency dependence was the highest, the recovery rate was raised from 42.80% to 54.27% and the protein solubility was the best (0.448%). The D [3,2] of CPD was decreased from 11.43 to 0.677 μm and the D [4,3] of CPD was reduced from 28.86 to 1.89 μm after HPH modification. The denaturation temperature of the protein was 110.56 °C at 150 MPa pressure. It was also found that with increasing pressure, the surface morphology of CPD was smoother and more regular after drying. The results demonstrated that the functional properties of chickpea protein were improved by HPH modification, which provided a potential strategy for the application of chickpea protein. • The D [4,3] of CPD was reduced from 28.86 to 1.89 μm after HPH modification. • The denaturation temperature of the protein was 110.56 °C at 1500 Bar pressure. • With increasing pressure, the surface morphology of CPD was smoother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five isocoumarin derivatives 1 – 5 , along with known compounds 6 – 10 were isolated from the fermentation of endophytic fungus Phomopsis sp. RJ-21. Among them, six compounds (2 – 7) were reported for the first time from the genus Phomopsis. The isolated compounds were screened in vitro for their antimicrobial activities. Amongst the tested compounds, vertixanthone (6) exhibited activities against three Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with inhibition zones of 13–15 mm (diameter). This work expanded the knowledge of the chemical diversity of the genus Phomopsis , and the chemotaxonomic significance of the isolates was also discussed. • Ten compounds were isolated from the endophytic fungus Phomopsis sp. RJ-21. • Compounds (1–5) are isocoumarin derivatives. • Compounds 2–7 were reported for the first time from the genus Phomopsis. • Compound 6 was active against three Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). • The compounds' chemotaxonomic significance and natural distribution were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometritis is a severe postpartum inflammatory disease that puts cows' reproductive health at risk and causes the dairy industry to suffer significant financial losses. The present study aimed to investigate the regulatory role of miR‑26a in LPS‑induced bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEECs) and the implication for endometritis. Here, we found inflammatory cell infiltration and destruction of endometrial structure in cow uterus, and dramatic increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) in endometritis. Meanwhile, miR-26a was down-regulated, but MAP3K8 was increased in the uterine tissue of endometritis. Similarly, the expression of miR-26a was significantly decreased in LPS-stimulated bEECs, while MAP3K8 was risen. In addition, we further verified that MAP3K8 was a target of miR-26a by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Under LPS stress, over-expressing miR-26a markedly decreased MAP3K8 expression levels, along with the reduced expression of inflammatory factors, such as IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6, whereas this effect was countered by the inhibition of miR-26a. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-26a overexpression prevented the MAPK pathway from being activated by targeting MAP3K8. Then we carried out experiments in LPS-stimulated mice uterus to expound that MAP3K8 was essential in endometritis development, which further confirmed the reliability of the above results. In conclusion, overexpression of miR-26a effectively inhibited the expression of MAP3K8 in LPS-induced bEECs and thereby partially suppressed the activation of MAPK signaling pathway. miR-26a and MAP3K8 may be a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for dairy cow endometritis. • MiR-26a was down-regulated, but MAP3K8 was increased in cow uterine tissue of endometritis. • MiR-26a serves as an anti-inflammatory regulator via targeting MAP3K8 in LPS-challenged endometritis. • Knockdown of MAP3K8 suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokine production in endometritis by inactivating MAPK signaling pathway. • High expression of miR-26a may be a potential molecular target for future endometritis treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]