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The incidence of cerebrovascular diseases increases significantly with aging. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that aging may influence the protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent vasodilation via RyR/BK(Ca) pathway in the middle cerebral arteries (MCA). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control (4–6 month-old) and aged (24-month-old) groups. The functions of MCA and ion channel activities in smooth muscle cells were examined using myograph system and patch-clamp. Aging decreased the isoproterenol/forskolin-induced relaxation in the MCA. Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated-K(+) (BK(Ca)) channel inhibitor, iberiotoxin, significantly attenuated the forskolin-induced vasodilatation and hyperpolarization in the young group, but not in the aged group. The amplitude and frequency of spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) were significantly decreased in the aged group. Single channel recording revealed that the mean open time of BK(Ca) channels were decreased, while an increased mean closed time of BK(Ca) channels were found in the aged group. The Ca(2+)/voltage sensitivity of the channels was decreased accompanied by reduced BK(Ca) α and β1-subunit, the expression of RyR2, PKA-Cα and PKA-Cβ subunits were also declined in the aged group. Aging induced down-regulation of PKA/BK(Ca) pathway in cerebral artery in rats. The results provides new information on further understanding in cerebrovascular diseases resulted from age-related cerebral vascular dysfunction.

Camel milk has unique compositional, functional and therapeutic properties compared to cow's milk and also contains many protective proteins with anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-bacterial properties. In this experiment, fresh camel milk was heat-treated at different temperatures and times, and the changes in Millard reaction products were analyzed. Meanwhile, headspace-gas chromatography-ion migration spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), electronic nose and electronic tongue were used to analyze the changes of volatile components in camel milk after different heat treatments. The results showed that the Maillard reaction was more severe with the increase of heat treatment, and the contents of furosine and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural increased significantly when the heat treatment temperature was higher than 120°C. HS-GC-IMS results showed that the contents of aldehydes and ketones increased obviously with the increase of heat treatment degree. The study clarifies the effects of different heat treatment degrees on Maillard reaction degree and flavor of camel milk, which has practical production guidance significance for the research and industrialization of liquid camel milk products.

This paper evaluates the thermo-economics of power-to-chemicals using solar energy, with the chemicals being methane, methanol, and gasoline. In addition to the optimal technology sizing and heat cascade utilization, this paper also considers the optimal molten-salt solar power tower (MSPT) design, as the MSPT significantly affects the levelized product cost. A bi-level optimization is proposed, employing mixed-integer linear programming at the lower level with heat and mass integration for optimizing sizes and operating strategies of technologies, and with heat cascade utilization and a genetic algorithm at the upper level for optimizing the MSPT design. In the upper level, the full-load storage hours, design direct normal irradiance, solar multiple, and sizes of the MSPT are optimized. The electricity sources considered are the MSPT, photovoltaic (PV) with daily electricity storage, and the electrical grid as a complementary technology to satisfy the targeted daily product demand. Cost-competitiveness of solar-driven chemical synthesis is thoroughly assessed via considering sensitivity analysis on 1) regional solar resource endowments and actual local demands; 2) electricity sources, that is, PV vs. MSPT; and 3) the scale effect represented by different chemicals’ yield. The results show that the levelized methane cost ranges from 4.5 to 8.5 €/kg, depending on the location, plant size, and annual power contribution of concentrated solar power. Due to the larger mass production, the levelized cost of methanol and gasoline is lower: 1.5–2.2 €/kg for methanol and 4–6 €/kg for gasoline. The findings highlight the significance of location choice, that is, natural endowment of solar radiation and carbon sources. Using the syngas co-electrolysis pathway and direct solar radiation 100 kWh/m2 higher, the methane production cost is decreased by 2.4 €/kg. Sensitivity analysis performed on plant scale reveals that a compact, small-scale system is far too expensive. The levelized cost of methane could be decreased by 1.2 €/kg when the plant is scaled up from 4,000 to 20,000 kg/day H2. Due to its expensive electricity storage and limited working hours, PV is typically not chosen as a power source. Overall, solar fuels are unlikely to be cost-competitive in the near future when compared to market prices for all three compounds under consideration.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been widely adopted in dual-function radar-communication (DFRC) systems, where radar and communications are performed simultaneously with a common signal. However, with random communication symbols (CS) in DFRC, the transmit signal has a random ambiguity function that affects the radar's range-velocity estimation performance, whose influence is remained uncovered. Hence, this paper focuses on minimizing the outlier probability (OP) -- the probability of incorrectly estimating a target's range-velocity bin -- in OFDM DFRC w.r.t the CS probability distribution (i.e., the \emph{input distribution}). Conditioned on the CSs, the OP only depends on the CS magnitudes. Hence, we consider the following two schemes for the above optimization: CSs with (1) constant magnitude (phase shift keying input), and (2) random magnitude (Gaussian input). For (1), the problem reduces to the familiar power allocation design across OFDM's subcarriers and symbols, with uniform power allocation across subcarriers and a \emph{windowed} power allocation across symbols being near-optimal. For (2), the mean and variance of the Gaussian distribution at each subcarrier is optimized, with an additional communication constraint to avoid the zero-variance solution where no CSs are carried. We observe that subcarriers with strong communication channels feature strong variance (i.e., favour communications) while the others are characterized by a strong mean (favouring radar). However, the overall power allocation (i.e., the sum of mean and variance) across the OFDM subcarriers and symbols is similar to (1). Simulations show that CSs with random magnitudes degrade the sensing performance, but can be compensated significantly with the proposed input distribution optimization., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

As an internationally renowned American artist in the late 19th and early 20th-century European art world, Henry Ossawa Tanner did not gain the recognition he deserved. The reason lies in the persistent and systematic exclusion of African Americans from art historical canons, which has led to a race-centered study of his paintings. Contrary to popular belief that his African-American genre paintings are his most successful accomplishments, most of Tanner’s oeuvre lies in the religious context, which gained him multiple Salon medals throughout his years in Europe. Thus, this paper examines the less studied religious genre in Henry Ossawa Tanner’s works through the connections of his use of light, both in literal and symbolic ways. Using his brushes as his preaching tools, Tanner hoped to transcend the superficial differences of races and call in for humanity through the lenses of spirituality.

We study channel estimation for a beyond diagonal reconfigurable intelligent surface (BD-RIS) aided multiple input single output system. We first describe the channel estimation strategy based on the least square (LS) method, derive the mean square error (MSE) of the LS estimator, and formulate the BD-RIS design problem that minimizes the estimation MSE with unique constraints induced by group-connected architectures of BD-RIS. Then, we propose an efficient BD-RIS design which theoretically guarantees to achieve the MSE lower bound. Finally, we provide simulation results to verify the effectiveness of the proposed channel estimation scheme., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to conference for publication

Supplementary Material 1

Protein homeostasis is tightly regulated by protein quality control systems such as chaperones and proteases. In cyanobacteria, the ClpXP proteolytic complex is regarded as a representative proteolytic system and consists of a hexameric ATPase ClpX and a tetradecameric peptidase ClpP. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms of ClpX in cyanobacteria remain unclear. This study aimed to decipher the unique contributions and regulatory networks of ClpX in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (hereafter Synechocystis). We showed that the interruption of clpX led to slower growth, decreased high light tolerance, and impaired photosynthetic cyclic electron transfer. A quantitative proteomic strategy was employed to globally identify ClpX-regulated proteins in Synechocystis cells. In total, we identified 172 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) upon the interruption of clpX. Functional analysis revealed that these DEPs are involved in diverse biological processes, including glycolysis, nitrogen assimilation, photosynthetic electron transport, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, and two-component signal transduction. The expression of 24 DEPs was confirmed by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) analysis. In particular, many hypothetical or unknown proteins were found to be regulated by ClpX, providing new candidates for future functional studies on ClpX. Together, our study provides a comprehensive ClpX-regulated protein network, and the results serve as an important resource for understanding protein quality control systems in cyanobacteria.

Background: Danyikangtai powder, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula, shows promise to become a novel drug candidate for the simultaneous treatment of chronic cholecystitis and chronic pancreatitis. However, the pharmacokinetic behavior of Danyikangtai powder remains unclear. Objective: We investigated the comparative pharmacokinetics of four flavonoids in rats after oral administration of Danyikangtai powder and three compatibilities. Materials and Methods: The comparative pharmacokinetics was studied by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed on a Universil XB-C18 column with a gradient mobile phase containing 0.1% (v/v) aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile. All analytes and internal standard were quantitated in the multiple reaction monitoring modes with a positive electrospray ionization interface. Results and Discussion: Danyikangtai powder and Scutellariae radix have similar pharmacokinetic behaviors in rats after oral administration. However, the elimination of four flavonoids in rats after oral administration of Danyikangtai powder was accelerated, which was possibly related to the reduction of the potential hepatotoxicity of Scutellariae radix. The varying degrees of change in pharmacokinetic parameters after oral administration of different herb combinations suggested that herb–herb interactions occurred in vivo. Conclusions: This study will be helpful to reveal the safety, rational and mechanism of Danyikangtai powder formula compatibility, thereby providing pre-clinical research data for its new drug development and guidance for its rational clinical application.

As a convenient means of transportation, high-speed rail (HSR) plays an important role in green development. In the context of the rapid development of China’s HSR, this study selects the SBM-DDF-SML model to construct the green total factor productivity (GTFP) index to measure urban green development; moreover, it empirically tests the impact of the opening of the HSR on GTFP using the spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model. The results show that the opening of the HSR could significantly promote GTFP for HSR-served cities. In addition, the opening of HSR has a positive effect on the GTFP for neighboring HSR-served cities but a negative impact on that for neighboring non-HSR-served cities. The mechanism test shows that HSR can influence GTFP by promoting urban green innovation and entrepreneurial vitality. This study is a supplement to the research on the impact of HSR on the GTFP, in order to provide corresponding policy advice. The government should optimize the layout of HSR and help cities achieve green and sustainable development.

This study proposes a multi-objective optimization methodology for planning multi-energy complementary distributed energy systems considering process synergy and thermal integration. The process integration tech-nique is integrated into the Energy Hub model to deal with the multi-process synergy and temporal source-load matching. The system design and dispatch strategy are optimized by an augmented epsilon-constraint method with three objectives (economics, carbon emission, and fossil fuel consumption), and then the optimal tradeoff so-lution is identified by the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution. Moreover, a novel multi-energy complementary distributed energy system is developed, which includes comprehensive utilization of solar energy (photovoltaic, photothermal, and thermochemical) and middle-low temperature heat utilization technologies, as well as hybrid energy storage technologies. Finally, a case study located in Beijing is selected as an illustrated example. The obtained single-objective optimization solutions and Pareto optimal solutions are further analyzed and compared in terms of system configuration, hourly/yearly energy balance, and thermal integration condition. The results show that the multi-energy complementary distributed energy system presents an economic benefit (reducing 25% of the annual total cost) compared to a gas turbine-based integrated energy system. Considering thermal integration contributes to 5.13% of the cost reduction. The configuration of the energy storage devices will reduce 18% energy supply cost, 9% fossil fuel consumption, and 42% carbon emission with the storage devices' boundary increase from 2 MWh to 60 MWh. Moreover, the optimal design of the system provides a reference for decision-making and a basis for flexible operation. The annual total cost, carbon emission, and fossil fuel consumption of the optimal solution in the Pareto frontier are 8.19 million CNY, 2.91 kt CO2-eq./year, and 18.4 GWh, respectively.

Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL), a non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is thought to arise from mature tissue-resident memory T cells. The most common subtypes include Mycosis Fungoides and Sezary Syndrome. The role of skin microbiota remains unclear in the symptom manifestation of MF. Among 39 patients with MF, we analyzed bacteria colonizing MF lesions and non-lesional skin in the contralateral side and characterized regional changes in the skin microbiota related to MF involvement using the difference in relative abundance of each genus between lesional and contralateral non-lesional skin. We investigated the relationship between these skin microbiota alterations and symptom severity. No statistically significant difference was found in bacterial diversity and richness between lesional and non-lesional skin. Different skin microbiota signatures were associated with different symptoms. More pronounced erythema in the lesions was associated with an increase in Staphylococcus. Pain and thick skin in the lesions were associated with a decrease in Propionibacterium. The results of this pilot study suggest that the skin microbiota plays an important role in changing skin phenotypes among patients with MF. Larger skin microbiota studies are needed to confirm these findings and support the use of antibiotic treatment to mitigate CTCL symptoms.

With the development of science and technology, the combat effectiveness of equipped has higher requirements, the wide-field helmet-mounted display with the function of following head movement opens up a series of new possibilities for modern high-tech weapons warfare. In the interface design, to improve the pilot's situational awareness, it is necessary to follow the human visual range, visual search mode, visual cognitive characteristics and other cognitive-related physiological and psychological factors. By collecting and sorting out relevant literature, this paper analyzes the current research status of the interface layout, element coding and other display information of the helmet-mounted display, and establishes a pilot visual cognition model based on interface features. In this paper, the influence of interface design on pilot's cognitive load and situational perception are analyzed, and the visual cognitive mechanism of helmet display interface layout, symbol coding and color coding to pilots are discussed. Finally, the coding specifications to be considered in the future design of the helmet-mounted display interface are prospected to provide reference for further research.

Stroke is one of the diseases that threaten human life and often leads survivor’s motor dysfunction. Rehabilitation training is an important means of treating sequelae. Traditional methods lack patient active participation, and doctors cannot monitor patient movement in real time. Therefore, an interesting and efficient upper limb rehabilitation training system was designed using virtual reality technology. The system design mainly involves: System management interface, rehabilitation training game, rehabilitation effect evaluation. The patient realizes human-computer interaction through VR glasses and data gloves. The sensors collect the posture change information of the main joints during patient training and upload it to the patient information database, so that the doctor can grasp the patient training situation in real time and update the training plan. The use of virtual reality technology to guide patients in active rehabilitation training has a positive reference for achieving highly efficient rehabilitation training.

For the Indicators recommendation problem of a power report system without user grade but a large amount of browsing records data, a novel algorithm of mining association rules based on information entropy and Fp-growth is proposed. Firstly, though normalizing the browsing frequency, the information entropy is used to determine the weights of items so as to calculate the interesting measurement value for users. Besides, the forgetting function is introduced to reflect the interest transfer. Then, the FP-growth algorithm is improved by dynamically adjusting support and activity. Finally, the browsing records data of the power report system were used as the test dataset for experiments. The results showed that the algorithm can effectively recommend interest items for users, and the recommendation performance is significantly improved compared with other algorithms.

There is an urgent need for an effective video classification method by means of a small number of samples. The deficiency of samples could be effectively alleviated by generating samples through Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), but the generation of videos on a typical category remains to be underexplored since the complex actions and the changeable viewpoints are difficult to simulate. In this paper, we propose a generative data augmentation method for temporal stream of the Temporal Segment Networks with the dynamic image. The dynamic image compresses the motion information of video into a still image, removing the interference factors such as the background. Thus it is easier to generate images with categorical motion information using GAN. We use the generated dynamic images to enhance the features, with regularization achieved as well, thereby to achieve the effect of video augmentation. In order to deal with the uneven quality of generated images, we propose a Self-Paced Selection (SPS) method, which automatically selects the high-quality generated samples to be added to the network training. Our method is verified on two benchmark datasets, HMDB51 and UCF101. The experimental results show that the method can improve the accuracy of video classification under the circumstance of sample insufficiency and sample imbalance.

For several models of random constraint satisfaction problems, it was conjectured by physicists and later proved that a sharp satisfiability transition occurs. For random $k$-SAT and related models it happens at clause density $\alpha$ around $2^k$. Just below the threshold, further results suggest that the solution space has a "1RSB" structure of a large bounded number of near-orthogonal clusters inside the space of variable assignments $\{0,1\}^N$. In the unsatisfiable regime, it is natural to consider max-satisfiability: violating the least number of constraints. For a simplified variant, the strong refutation problem, there is strong evidence that an algorithmic transition occurs around $\alpha = N^{k/2-1}$. For $\alpha$ bounded in $N$, a very precise estimate of the max-sat value was obtained by Achlioptas, Naor, and Peres (2007), but it is not sharp enough to indicate the nature of the energy landscape. Later work (Sen, 2016; Panchenko, 2016) shows that for $\alpha$ very large (roughly, above $64^k$) the max-sat value approaches the mean-field (complete graph) limit: this is conjectured to have an "FRSB" structure where near-optimal configurations form clusters within clusters, in an ultrametric hierarchy of infinite depth inside $\{0,1\}^N$. A stronger form of FRSB was shown in several recent works to have algorithmic implications (again, in complete graphs). Consequently we find it of interest to understand how the model transitions from 1RSB near the satisfiability threshold, to (conjecturally) FRSB for large $\alpha$. In this paper we show that in the random regular $k$-NAE-SAT model, the 1RSB description breaks down already above $\alpha \asymp 4^k/k^3$. This is proved by an explicit perturbation in the 2RSB parameter space, inspired by the "bug proliferation" mechanism proposed by physicists (Montanari and Ricci-Tersenghi, 2003; Krzakala, Pagnani, and Weigt, 2004).

Insufficient labeled training datasets is one of the bottlenecks of 3D hand pose estimation from monocular RGB images. Synthetic datasets have a large number of images with precise annotations, but the obvious difference with real-world datasets impacts the generalization. Little work has been done to bridge the gap between two domains over their wide difference. In this paper, we propose a domain adaptation method called Adaptive Wasserstein Hourglass (AW Hourglass) for weakly-supervised 3D hand pose estimation, which aims to distinguish the difference and explore the common characteristics (e.g. hand structure) of synthetic and real-world datasets. Learning the common characteristics helps the network focus on pose-related information. The similarity of the characteristics makes it easier to enforce domain-invariant constraints. During training, based on the relation between these common characteristics and 3D pose learned from fully-annotated synthetic datasets, it is beneficial for the network to restore the 3D pose of weakly labeled real-world datasets with the aid of 2D annotations and depth images. While in testing, the network predicts the 3D pose with the input of RGB.

The energy-saving analytics of coal-fired power units in China is confronting new challenges especially with even more complicated system structure, higher working medium parameters, time-dependent varying operation conditions and boundaries such as load rate, coal quality, ambient temperature and humidity. Compared with the traditional optimization of specific operating parameters, the idea of the energy-consumption benchmark state was proposed. The equivalent specific fuel consumption (ESFC) analytics was introduced to determine the energy-consumption benchmark state, with the minimum ESFC under varying operation boundaries. Models for the energy-consumption benchmark state were established, and the endogenous additional specific consumption (ASFC) and exogenous ASFC were calculated. By comparing the benchmark state with the actual state, the energy-saving tempospacial effect can be quantified. As a case study, the energy consumption model of a 1000 MW ultra supercritical power unit was built. The results show that system energy consumption can be mainly reduced by improving the performance of turbine subsystem. This nearly doubles the resultant by improving the boiler system. The energy saving effect of each component increases with the decrease of load and has a greater influence under a lower load rate. The heat and mass transfer process takes priority in energy saving diagnosis of related components and processes. This makes great reference for the design and operation optimization of coal-fired power units.

We prove that reconstruction in the $k$-colouring model occurs strictly below the threshold for freezing for large $k$., Comment: 34 pages, 1 figure

A low-cost mini-missile is designed in this paper to substitute the real missile, which is extremely expensive. The proposed mini-missile, with compact configuration and miniaturized size, reveals RCS in the region -8°

Compressive sensing (CS) is a novel signal sampling theory and it can recover sparse or compressive signals with lower rates than their Nyquist rates. Greedy pursuit algorithms are important recovery algorithms in CS. In this paper, we study the performance of subspace pursuit (SP) greedy algorithm and propose a modified SP termed as regularized multipath subspace pursuit (RMSP), which divides the test set into several subsets in each iteration by means of regularization, and gets several candidates of the support set by subsequent SP processing, then selects one candidate with the minimal residual as the estimated support set in the iteration. Finally simulation experiments are made to demonstrate that the performance of the RMSP is superior to that of the classical SP algorithm.

A design of compact X-band dual circularly-polarized offset reflector antenna is described for the radar satellite system. The antenna is composed of a metallic reflector and a horn feed. By introducing the septum polarizer in the horn feed, it makes a more compact size for reduced space. Meanwhile, it is easier for the horn feed to reach the far field boundary condition. The offset reflector has obtained the circularly polarized radiation pattern of above 30dB gain, which the side lobe is less than -24dB; The axial ratio of the direction of the maximum radiation is below 1dB. And the two ports isolation is under -20dB at the center of the frequency of 8GHz. This configuration meet the reliability and consistency requirements for the space.

This paper proposes a design for low profile, compact, circularly polarized double-layer horn antenna integrated with the planar corrugated polarizer with high gain and low cross polarization for THz applications. In particular, the novel polarizer with the planar corrugates is introduced to make the horn antenna circularly polarized. Based on such corrugates, the antenna gained better performance at 420 GHz to 480 GHz. Due to the proper designing and optimization, an excellent axial ratio of -1.5 dB has been achieved at the center frequency of 450 GHz. Moreover, the low cross-polarization of rotationally symmetrical radiation pattern is observed profile without any obvious side lodes. It possesses good impedance matching showing VSWR

Electricity production and consumption must be balanced for the electrical grid. However, the rapidly growing intermittent power sources are now challenging the supply-demand balance, leading to large flexibility needs for grid management. The plant integrating biomass gasification and reversible solid-oxide cell stacks can be potential means of flexibility, which could flexibly switch among power generation, power storage, and power neutral modes. This paper investigates the economic feasibility of such grid-balancing plants, i.e., plant capital expenditure (CAPEX) target, via a systematic overall decomposition-based methodology for real geographical zones and flexibility-need scenarios. The plant CAPEX target (euro/ref-stack) is defined as the maximum affordable investment cost for each reference stack (active cell area 5,120 cm(2)). The results show that, for a 5-year payback time, 5-year stack lifetime, and 40 euro/MWh grid balancing price, the plant concept with 10-100 MWth gasifier has high economic potential with target reaching 17,000 euro/ref-stack; however, the plant concept with 100-1,000 MWth gasifier has a limited commercialization potential with the target reaching below 1,000 euro/ref-stack due to high biomass supply costs. Considering the sale of chemical product, plant CAPEX target can reach up to 22,000 and 3,000-12,000 euro/ref-stack for the plants with 10-100 and 100-1,000 MWth, respectively. The plant CAPEX target is decreased by increasing the total capacities of all plants deployed since more and more capacities will be put into power neutral mode (isolated from the electrical grid) via the coordination of multiple plants. The plant CAPEX target can be further increased by higher grid up/down-regulating price and longer payback years.

The design of user-level integrated energy systems is challenged by a variety of combinations of energy converters, complex cascade utilization of multiple energy flows, as well as sequential matching between stochastic energy resources and periodic energy demands. These issues can be addressed by an optimal energy hub based planning framework considering the synergistic effects under multiple uncertainties. The energy hub model is extended to analyze energy-level matching and source-load balance with time-varying coupling factors representing part-load characteristics. The optimization problem is formulated as a bi-level planning model with uncertainties evaluated by a two-stage global sensitivity analysis. The bi-level planning model determines the system structure and component sizing at the upper level and identifies the optimal operation strategy at the lower level by employing piecewise linearization of part-load characteristics of components involved. The global sensitivity analysis reduces model size with the elementary effect method, identifies the most influential uncertain parameters with a variance-based method. A case study in Beijing is demonstrated for the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed method can effectively plan the integrated energy system considering sequential source-load matching with the rational scheduling strategy of components. The demand-side response influences the system configuration and renewable energy penetration. Integrating the components' part-load characteristics help avoid the mismatch between the component capacity and energy demand, reducing 6.8% cost compared to the scheme with constant energy efficiency. The three most influential factors identified among 551 uncertain parameters are natural gas price, valley electricity price and nominal efficiency of the gas turbine.