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Biomass carbon materials, which are environmentally friendly, have received significant attention and rapidly developed in the field of electrochemical devices. In this study, rice husk carbon (RHC) was prepared using calcination and activation methods, and a layer of nickel–cobalt double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) was grown on the surface of RHC using a hydrothermal method, resulting in the formation of the NiCo-LDH@RHC composite. The open nanoflower structure and the synergistic effect between RHC and NiCo-LDH increased the conductivity and stability of the electrode material, as well as its specific capacitance. The NiCo-LDH@RHC electrode delivered a high specific capacity of 8542.5 mF cm−2 at a current density of 2 mA cm−2 with a good cycling stability of 80.45% across 5000 cycles. Furthermore, a high-performance all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled using Fe2O3/CC as the anode material and NiCo-LDH@RHC as the cathode material. It displayed a high energy density of 61.44 μW h cm−2 at a power density of 3.99 mW cm−2 and an excellent cycle retention rate of 86.54% after 10 000 cycles. This research demonstrates that NiCo-LDH@RHC is an environmentally friendly and high performance electrode material with great development potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localization of multiple small pulmonary nodules is the major obstacle in surgical resection. Here, we report a novel noninvasive localization technique based on a life‐size 3D printed "emulation pulmonary nodule localization model" which is simple and efficient. In the case reported here of a patient with synchronous multiple pulmonary nodules, the nodules were successfully and conveniently localized without any trauma by navigation of the emulation localization model. All 12 nodules were resected precisely and thoroughly, while normal lung tissues were considerably well preserved. Pathological examination confirmed malignancy of the major nodule and some other small nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) carry molecular information from their source cells and are desired biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. We establish a machine learning-assisted dual-marker detection method to analyze the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in serum sEVs for the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We find that the serum sEV EGFR and CXCR4 are significantly higher in advanced stage NSCLC (A/NSCLC) patients compared to early stage NSCLC (E/NSCLC) patients and the healthy donors (HDs). A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis demonstrates that the combination of EGFR and CXCR4 in serum sEVs as an efficient diagnostic index and malignant degree indicator for NSCLC. Machine learning further shows a diagnostic accuracy of 97.4% for the training cohort and 91.7% for the validation cohort based on the combinational marker. Moreover, this machine leaning-assisted serum sEV analysis successfully predicts the possibility of tumor relapse in three NSCLC patients by comparing their serum sEVs before and three days after surgery. This study provides an intelligent serum sEV-based assay for the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of NSCLC, and will benefit the precision management of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the changes in the cortical thickness of the region of interest (ROI) and plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and phosphorylated Tau (P-Tau) concentrations in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) as the disease progressed with surface-based morphometry (SBM), to analyze the correlation between ROI cortical thickness and measured plasma indexes and neuropsychological scales, and to explore the clinical value of ROI cortical thickness combined with plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and P-Tau in the early recognition and diagnosis of AD. Methods: This study enrolled 33 patients with AD, 48 patients with aMCI, and 33 healthy controls (normal control, NC). Concentration changes in plasma Aβ42, Aβ40, and P-Tau collected in each group were analyzed. Meanwhile, the whole brain T1 structure images (T1WI-3D-MPRAGE) of each group of patients were collected, and T1 image in AD-aMCI, AD-NC, and aMCI-NC group were analyzed and processed by SBM technology to obtain brain regions with statistical differences as clusters, and the cortical thickness of each cluster was extracted. Multivariate ordered logistic regression analysis was used to screen out the measured plasma indexes and the indexes with independent risk factors in the cortical thickness of each cluster. Three comparative receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of AD-aMCI, AD-NC, and aMCI-NC groups were plotted, respectively, to explore the diagnostic value of multi-factor combined prediction for cognitive impairment. The relationship between cortical thickness and plasma indexes, and between cortical thickness and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores were clarified by Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and P-Tau proteins in the NC, aMCI, and AD groups increased with the progression of AD (P < 0.01); cortical thickness reductions in the AD-aMCI groups and AD-NC groups mainly involved the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, superior marginal gyrus, insula, right entorhinal cortex, right fusiform gyrus, and cingulate gyrus. However, there were no statistical significances in cortical thickness reductions in the aMCI and NC groups. The cortical thickness of the ROI was negatively correlated with plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and P-Tau concentrations (P < 0.05), and the cortical thickness of the ROI was positively correlated with MMSE and MoCA scores. Independent risk factors such as Aβ40, Aβ42, P-Tau, and AD-NC cluster 1R (right superior temporal gyrus, temporal pole, entorhinal cortex, transverse temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, superior marginal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior temporal gyrus) were combined to plot ROC curves. The diagnostic efficiency of plasma indexes was higher than that of cortical thickness indexes, the diagnostic efficiency of ROC curves after the combination of cortical thickness and plasma indexes was higher than that of cortical thickness or plasma indexes alone. Conclusion: Plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and P-Tau may be potential biomarkers for early prediction of AD. As the disease progressed, AD patients developed cortical atrophy characterized by atrophy of the medial temporal lobe. The combined prediction of these region and plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and P-Tau had a higher diagnostic value than single-factor prediction for cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop a novel high-temperature microwave absorber, B4C/Al2O3/CNTs composite powders were prepared by a combustion synthesis method. The experiment results show that the products are mainly composed by B4C, α-Al2O3, and residual CNTs. The better crystallinity B4C particles had a grain size about 0.5–1.0 μm and embedded in the Al2O3 matrix, while the CNTs cracked and dispersed in the composite powders. The results of combustion synthesis process illustrated that as CNTs increase, the product zone decreased, and the combustion temperature (Tc), the adiabatic combustion temperature (Tad), and the combustion wave velocity (VC) decreased. The dielectric permittivity of prepared composite powders has been determined in the X band. The results show that the dielectric real part ε´ and dielectric loss tanδ have a growing tendency with the increase of the CNTs. The dielectric real part (ε′) and the loss tangent (tanδ) reached the highest, when the molar excess coefficient of CNTs was 0.2 (CS-2). The different mass ratios of CS-2 and paraffin binder were combined to test their dielectric properties. The results show that both ε′ and tanδ increased with the increase of the CS-2, while the impedance matching ratio decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety and reliability of inverters play a significant role in stable power electronic system operations. Considering a railway vehicle air-conditioning inverter as a case study, this paper presents a generic open-circuit fault diagnosis method that can be applied to various inverter and control schemes. First, a detailed model of three-phase output currents under both normal and fault status is derived, and then the concept of space trajectory is introduced based on the three-phase output currents. The open-circuit faults of the inverter lead to output phase current distortion. Therefore, different types of faults have different space trajectories, and the corresponding shape of the space trajectory is considered to be a fault feature. Then, the fault is located by the direction vector and center-of-mass coordinate. The effectiveness and reliability of the diagnosis method are verified and analyzed using a hardware-in-the-loop test platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Complete and highly accurate reference genomes and gene annotations are indispensable for basic biological research and trait improvement of woody tree species. In this study, we integrated single‐molecule sequencing and high‐throughput chromosome conformation capture techniques to produce a high‐quality and long‐range contiguity chromosome‐scale genome assembly of the soft‐seeded pomegranate cultivar 'Tunisia'. The genome covers 320.31 Mb (scaffold N50 = 39.96 Mb; contig N50 = 4.49 Mb) and includes 33 594 protein‐coding genes. We also resequenced 26 pomegranate varieties that varied regarding seed hardness. Comparative genomic analyses revealed many genetic differences between soft‐ and hard‐seeded pomegranate varieties. A set of selective loci containing SUC8‐like,SUC6, FoxO and MAPK were identified by the selective sweep analysis between hard‐ and soft‐seeded populations. An exceptionally large selective region (26.2 Mb) was identified on chromosome 1. Our assembled pomegranate genome is more complete than other currently available genome assemblies. Our results indicate that genomic variations and selective genes may have contributed to the genetic divergence between soft‐ and hard‐seeded pomegranate varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method based on the comprehensive transition criteria of speed, flux position, and voltage vector to solve the transition problem in hybrid direct torque control. In addition, the control angle is introduced that is adjusted by the smoothness and rapidity. Peak current, flux distortion, and torque ripple can be significantly reduced by the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cobalt pyrophosphate (Co2P2O7) has shown promise as a potential electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), its electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has rarely been explored. In this work, a novel composite catalyst with in situ grown Co2P2O7 on nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets (Co2P2O7/N-rGO) was fabricated by a facile one-step pyrolysis method. Pyrolysis temperature was found to have a significant effect on the morphology, structure and ORR performance of the composites. The catalyst fabricated at 800 °C (Co2P2O7/N-rGO-800) presented ultrasmall Co2P2O7 nanocrystals (below 5 nm) anchored on N-rGO and the highest pyridinic-N proportion. Benefiting from the full exposure of active sites on the ultrasmall Co2P2O7 nanocrystals, abundant pyridinic-N species and the synergistic effect of Co2P2O7 and N-doped graphene, optimized Co2P2O7/N-rGO-800 not only demonstrates excellent ORR catalytic activity with a positive cathodic peak potential (0.823 V vs. 0.833 V of the commercial Pt/C catalyst), but also shows superior durability and methanol crossover resistance to Pt/C in alkaline solution. In addition, the composite catalyst also exhibits reasonable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance and impressive OER stability in KOH solution. These findings suggest that the Co2P2O7/N-rGO catalysts may be promising candidates as oxygen electrocatalysts for future energy conversion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A noninvasive diagnosis method for open-circuit faults of a locomotive inverter is proposed. Two different voltage transients are defined according to output voltage values, and the ratio of them is used for diagnosis. Faults can be detected immediately when they occur. The method and its robustness are verified on dSPACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instability of the switching frequency in an inverter with hysteresis current results in a high failure rate of the power switching components of the inverter. To address this hurdle, a low-cost fault-tolerant control strategy is proposed in this paper to effectively correct the faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of sheet-shaped Co2P grown on carbon cloth (sheet-shaped Co2P-CC) through a facile route. Electrochemical measurements indicated that sheet-shaped Co2P-CC with a loading of 0.6 mg cm−2 Co2P (denoted Co2P-CC-0.6) exhibits exceptional electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with an overpotential of 94 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 80 mV decade−1 in 1 M KOH. Similarly, sheet-shaped Co2P-CC-0.6 was also found to be an excellent electrocatalyst for the HER in 0.5 M H2SO4 and in 0.5 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS), with overpotentials of 95 and 231 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, respectively. Sheet-shaped Co2P has a large surface area, meaning that it can provide a relatively large number of active sites on its surface, and CC is an highly conductive substrate that, when used in conjunction with Co2P, can enhance the conductivity of the electrocatalyst. These outstanding results show that sheet-shaped Co2P-CC could be an excellent candidate for a highly efficient electrocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, the lamellar-shaped Bi2S3 grown on a porous TiO2 monolith was obtained by a two-step method including a sol–gel route and hydrothermal treatment. The photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized Bi2S3/TiO2 composites was evaluated for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution under the visible-light irradiation. Based on our experimental results, 5% (molar ratio of Bi2S3 to TiO 2) Bi2S3/TiO2 photocatalysts exhibited a maximum photodegradation rate of MB up to 96.9% under visible-light irradiation for 120 min. Our findings indicated that the lamellar-shaped Bi2S3 can extend the light absorption up to visible areas, and porous TiO2 can provide enhanced specific surface area and more mass transfer pathway to enhance the photodegradation efficiency. Furthermore, porous TiO2 can accept the electrons from the Bi2S3 conduction band due to the relatively positive electrode potential to impede the photoproduced electron and hole combination to result in advanced photocatalytic performance. In this work, the lamellar-shaped Bi2S3 grown on a porous TiO2 monolith was successfully synthesized by a sol–gel method using PS hard templates, followed by in-situ sulfuration of Bi2O3 via a hydrothermal method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A “core–shell” hierarchical architecture is highly efficient for enhancing the performance of flexible electrodes for wearable energy storage devices. Thus it is important to clarify the correlation between the properties of flexible electrodes, including the electrochemical kinetics, structure stability, mechanical properties, flexibility, etc., and the microstructure of the “core–shell” architectures. Herein, new insights into the factors that determine the performance of the core–shell hierarchical structured electrodes based on a silver-coated textile and nanostructured active materials are obtained. A comprehensive study is conducted using a variety of active materials, including metal hydroxides (e.g. Ni(OH)2, Ni–Co layered double hydroxide (LDH)), hydrates (e.g. NiMoO4 hydrate), and sulfides (e.g. Ni(Fe)Co2S4) with three typical nanostructures of a 1D nanotube array, a 1D nanorod array, and a 2D nanosheet network. The silver coating is produced by in situ electroless deposition. It not only promotes the electronic conductivity of the textile, but also strengthens the connections between the active materials and the textile fibers. When the flexible electrode is nearly flat, the 1D nanotube array-based hierarchical structure achieves the best high rate capability because of its high surface area, but the performance is degraded under high-degree and high-frequency deformations. In contrast, the 2D nanosheet network-based structure can endure severe deformation due to its excellent structure stability, but the interconnected architecture diminishes the contact area between the active material and electrolytes. Moreover, the all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors with the Ni–Co LDH nanosheet network electrode have excellent cycling properties (up to 10 000 cycles) and high tolerance to repeated high-degree bending, and those with the metal sulfide nanotube array-based electrode display a superior high rate capability when the supercapacitor is nearly flat. The distinct advantages of different “core–shell” hierarchical architectures make them suitable for different practical applications. Therefore, this work not only provides a comprehensive understanding on various “core–shell” hierarchical structures, but also provides some critical clues to the optimization of wearable supercapacitors for extended applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooling char, which is prepared in an inert atmosphere and then reacted with oxygen after cooling, has been widely used in the kinetic study of char combustion. However, there is no cooling process in commercial combustion systems and thus the impacts of the cooling process on char reactivity remain unclear. To illustrate this question, a two-step reaction analyzer was developed to study the combustion kinetics of in-situ char, which was produced at a constant high temperature in an inert atmosphere and then directly reacted with oxygen at different temperatures. Two types of Chinese coal, Shenhua sub-bituminous coal and Yangquan anthracite, were selected as samples. The results showed that the reaction rate of in-situ char was about 1.1–1.25 times of that of rapid cooling char, suggesting that the cooling process has a significant effect on char reactivity. Then the combustion rate and structure of chars cooled at different cooling rates were investigated to determine the reason for char deactivation during the cooling process. The cooling char reactivity decreased with the decreasing cooling rate, but the specific surface area did not decreased considerably. This result revealed that char deactivation during the cooling process was independent of specific surface area. As the cooling rate decreased, the oxygen chemisorption capacity (active surface area) of cooling char decreased for Shenhua coal, indicating that the observed char deactivation during the cooling process might be caused by the decrease of active surface area. In addition, Yangquan anthracite, as a high rank coal, was less sensitive to the cooling process due to its higher carbon crystallites and provision of fewer active sites for oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous NiCo2S4 networks have been successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot solvothermal method without the use of any surfactant or template. Crystal structure, morphology, composition and surface area of the as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller techniques. Owing to their porous nature and small crystalline size, the as-prepared NiCo2S4 networks based supercapacitor electrodes showed a high specific capacitance of 1250Fg at 1Ag, and excellent cycling stability with the retention capacity of 70.3% after 5000 cycles in the KOH aqueous solution electrolyte. Porous NiCo2S4 networks have been successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot solvothermal method, without the use of any surfactant or template. Owing to their porous nature and small crystalline size, the as-prepared NiCo2S4 networks-based supercapacitor electrodes showed a high specific capacitance of 1250Fg at 1Ag, and excellent cycling stability with the retention capacity of 70.3% after 5000 cycles in the KOH aqueous solution electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) by reducing orf224 gene transcript levels in oilseed rape, while mentioning the morphology of flowers, pollen grains and anthers of the pol CMS plant and also mentions Red Fluorescent Protein expression patterns in selected tissues.

Heritage trees have important ecological, historical, and landscape values in cities. Rapid urbanization may cause dramatic change of ecosystem functions of cities, thereby inevitably affecting the growth performance of ancient trees. However, few studies have explored their species diversity and spatial differentiation on the medium scale in the scenario of urbanization in China. Here, we took Jiangsu Province in China, with developed economy in recent decades, as a typical case. Based on the provincial forest inventory data, we addressed the abundance, species richness, tree density, and species diversity of ancient trees in 13 cities, and their tree habitat, growth status, and tree age, as well. Then, we compared the spatial differentiation of tree attributes by 13 districts and nine tree habitats. We also applied detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) to determine the leading factor influencing their distribution pattern. The 7678 heritage trees in Jiangsu belonged to 215 species. More than half of the trees were native with domination by Ginkgo biloba. Villages and farmlands accommodated the most heritage trees while parks and gardens harbored the most species. This indicates that sparsely-populated rural community and scenic areas with open space are conducive to accommodating more urban heritage trees. The tier 3 heritage trees (100–299 years) accounted for about 80% of the total. Overall, most ancient trees in Jiangsu grew well. The species diversity index (H) of 13 cities was between 1.98 and 3.39. The H value among the 13 cities was largely affected by elevation range shift, while the tree density by GDP per capita. DCA showed that the ratio of unique species was >40%, and that dominant species presented little habitat preference. Therefore, species diversity among different cities are affected by climate and topography, as well as human factors. With the accelerating urbanization process, tree habitat, cultural tradition, and urban history should be taken into consideration for management and conservation of heritage trees in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]