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While multiple system atrophy (MSA) presents with high heterogeneous motor and nonmotor symptoms, the associations between clinical phenotypes and prognosis are unclear. We aimed to evaluate clinical phenotypes of MSA using data-driven approach and measure the impact of phenotypes on survival and bedbound status. 193 MSA patients were recruited from Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, whose history, motor and non-motor symptoms were examined using cluster analysis. Ninety-five participants were followed-up via telephone after a mean of 31.87 months. We employed Kaplan– Meier analysis to examine survival and performed Cox and logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with survival and bedbound status. We identified four clinical profiles of MSA: cerebellar symptom-dominant, sleep and mood disorder-dominant, rigid akinetic-dominant, and malignant diffuse. The overall median survival was 7.75 years (95% CI 7.19–8.31). After adjusting for years from symptom onset to diagnosis, age and sex, patients in the malignant diffuse and rigid akinetic-dominant clusters had greater risk of death than sleep and mood disorder-dominant cluster. Furthermore, patients in the malignant diffuse and rigid akinetic-dominant clusters had higher risk of being bedbound than cerebellar symptom-dominant cluster. The malignant diffuse and sleep and mood disorder-dominant were identified besides the two classical subtypes, parkinsonism, and cerebellar symptom-variant. Patients with rigid-akinetic motor profiles have a worse prognosis than cerebellar symptom-dominant profiles in general. Diffuse symptoms, especially postural instability, and cognitive alterations at diagnosis, indicate rapid functional loss and disease progression. The different profiles and prognoses might indicate varied underlying pathological mechanisms. Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a complex disease that can affect both movement and non-movement functions of patients. However, we do not know much about how these different symptoms relate to how the patient’s health might change over time. In this study, we looked at 193 MSA patients to learn more about if the patients can be distinguished into different subgroups at diagnosis and if the subgroups might be associated with their survival and ability to move in the future. We found four main subgroups of patients: group 1 characterized by the dysfunction of cerebellum (a part of the brain), group 2 characterized by sleep and mood problems, group 3 characterized by rigidity and slow movements, and group 4 with diffuse symptoms mentioned above. After tracking 95 patients for nearly 32 months, we found that those characterized by rigidity and slow movements, and those with diffuse symptoms had a higher chance of dying compared to those characterized by sleep and mood problems. Group 3 and 4 also had a higher chance of becoming unable to move out of bed. This suggests that patients with severe symptoms of rigidity and slowness at diagnosis tend to have a worse outlook than those without. And if multiple MSA symptoms are found when the patient is diagnosed, especially trouble with thinking, are also signs that the disease is getting worse quickly. By understanding these disease patterns, we can better tailor treatments and provide better support for people with MSA.

Theoretical studies on chemical reaction mechanisms have been crucial in organic chemistry. Traditionally, calculating the manually constructed molecular conformations of transition states for chemical reactions using quantum chemical calculations is the most commonly used method. However, this way is heavily dependent on individual experience and chemical intuition. In our previous study, we proposed a research paradigm that used enhanced sampling in molecular dynamics simulations to study chemical reactions. This approach can directly simulate the entire process of a chemical reaction. However, the computational speed limited the use of high-precision potential energy functions for simulations. To address this issue, we presented a scheme for training high-precision force fields for molecular modeling using a previously developed graph-neural-network-based molecular model, molecular configuration transformer. This potential energy function allowed for highly accurate simulations at a low computational cost, leading to more precise calculations of the mechanism of chemical reactions. We applied this approach to study a Claisen rearrangement reaction and a carbonyl insertion reaction catalyzed by manganese.

To establish a rapid detection method for norovirus GII.2 genotype, this study employed reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with CRISPR/Cas12a and lateral flow strip (RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS). Here, the genome of norovirus GII.2 genotype was compared to identify highly conserved sequences, facilitating the design of RT-RPA primers and crRNA specific to the conserved regions of norovirus GII.2. Subsequently, the reaction parameters of RT-RPA were optimized and evaluated using agar-gel electrophoresis and LFS. The results indicate that the conserved sequences of norovirus GII.2 were successfully amplified through RT-RPA at 37°C for 25 minutes. Additionally, CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated cleavage detection was achieved through LFS at 37°C within 10 minutes using the amplification products as templates. Including the isothermal amplification reaction time, the total time is 35 minutes. The established RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS method demonstrated specific detection of norovirus GII.2, yielding negative results for other viral genomes, and exhibited an excellent detection limit of 10 copies/μl. The RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS method was further compared with qRT-PCR by analyzing 60 food-contaminated samples. The positive conformity rate was 100%, the negative conformity rate was 95.45%, and the overall conformity rate reached 98.33%. This detection method for norovirus GII.2 genotype is cost-effective, highly sensitive, specific, and easy to operate, offering a promising technical solution for field-based detection of the norovirus GII.2 genotype.

IMPORTANCE: Adding fulvestrant to anastrozole (A+F) improved survival in postmenopausal women with advanced estrogen receptor (ER)–positive/ERBB2 (formerly HER2)–negative breast cancer. However, the combination has not been tested in early-stage disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether neoadjuvant fulvestrant or A+F increases the rate of pathologic complete response or ypT1-2N0/N1mic/Ki67 2.7% or less residual disease (referred to as endocrine-sensitive disease) over anastrozole alone. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A phase 3 randomized clinical trial assessing differences in clinical and correlative outcomes between each of the fulvestrant-containing arms and the anastrozole arm. Postmenopausal women with clinical stage II to III, ER-rich (Allred score 6-8 or >66%)/ERBB2-negative breast cancer were included. All analyses were based on data frozen on March 2, 2023. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received anastrozole, fulvestrant, or a combination for 6 months preoperatively. Tumor Ki67 was assessed at week 4 and optionally at week 12, and if greater than 10% at either time point, the patient switched to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or immediate surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the endocrine-sensitive disease rate (ESDR). A secondary outcome was the percentage change in Ki67 after 4 weeks of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) (week 4 Ki67 suppression). RESULTS: Between February 2014 and November 2018, 1362 female patients (mean [SD] age, 65.0 [8.2] years) were enrolled. Among the 1298 evaluable patients, ESDRs were 18.7% (95% CI, 15.1%-22.7%), 22.8% (95% CI, 18.9%-27.1%), and 20.5% (95% CI, 16.8%-24.6%) with anastrozole, fulvestrant, and A+F, respectively. Compared to anastrozole, neither fulvestrant-containing regimen significantly improved ESDR or week 4 Ki67 suppression. The rate of week 4 or week 12 Ki67 greater than 10% was 25.1%, 24.2%, and 15.7% with anastrozole, fulvestrant, and A+F, respectively. Pathologic complete response/residual cancer burden class I occurred in 8 of 167 patients and 17 of 167 patients, respectively (15.0%; 95% CI, 9.9%-21.3%), after switching to neoadjuvant chemotherapy due to week 4 or week 12 Ki67 greater than 10%. PAM50 subtyping derived from RNA sequencing of baseline biopsies available for 753 patients (58%) identified 394 luminal A, 304 luminal B, and 55 nonluminal tumors. A+F led to a greater week 4 Ki67 suppression than anastrozole alone in luminal B tumors (median [IQR], −90.4% [−95.2 to −81.9%] vs −76.7% [−89.0 to −55.6%]; P < .001), but not luminal A tumors. Thirty-six nonluminal tumors (65.5%) had a week 4 or week 12 Ki67 greater than 10%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this randomized clinical trial, neither fulvestrant nor A+F significantly improved the 6-month ESDR over anastrozole in ER-rich/ERBB2-negative breast cancer. Aromatase inhibition remains the standard-of-care NET. Differential NET response by PAM50 subtype in exploratory analyses warrants further investigation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01953588

Oncogene-induced replication stress generates endogenous DNA damage that activates cGAS–STING-mediated signalling and tumour suppression1–3. However, the precise mechanism of cGAS activation by endogenous DNA damage remains enigmatic, particularly given that high-affinity histone acidic patch (AP) binding constitutively inhibits cGAS by sterically hindering its activation by double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)4–10. Here we report that the DNA double-strand break sensor MRE11 suppresses mammary tumorigenesis through a pivotal role in regulating cGAS activation. We demonstrate that binding of the MRE11–RAD50–NBN complex to nucleosome fragments is necessary to displace cGAS from acidic-patch-mediated sequestration, which enables its mobilization and activation by dsDNA. MRE11 is therefore essential for cGAS activation in response to oncogenic stress, cytosolic dsDNA and ionizing radiation. Furthermore, MRE11-dependent cGAS activation promotes ZBP1–RIPK3–MLKL-mediated necroptosis, which is essential to suppress oncogenic proliferation and breast tumorigenesis. Notably, downregulation of ZBP1in human triple-negative breast cancer is associated with increased genome instability, immune suppression and poor patient prognosis. These findings establish MRE11 as a crucial mediator that links DNA damage and cGAS activation, resulting in tumour suppression through ZBP1-dependent necroptosis.

Virtual Reality (VR) offers an immersive 3D digital environment, but enabling natural walking sensations without the constraints of physical space remains a technological challenge. Previous VR locomotion methods, including game controller, teleportation, treadmills, walking-in-place, and redirected walking (RDW), have made strides towards overcoming this challenge. However, these methods also face limitations such as possible unnaturalness, additional hardware requirements, or motion sickness risks. This paper introduces “Spatial Contraction (SC)”, an innovative VR locomotion method inspired by the phenomenon of Lorentz contraction in Special Relativity. Similar to the Lorentz contraction, our SC contracts the virtual space along the user's velocity direction in response to velocity variation. The virtual space contracts more when the user's speed is high, whereas minimal or no contraction happens at low speeds. We provide a virtual space transformation method for spatial contraction and optimize the user experience in smoothness and stability. Through SC, VR users can effectively traverse a longer virtual distance with a shorter physical walking. Different from locomotion gains, the spatial contraction effect is observable by the user and aligns with their intentions, so there is no inconsistency between the user's proprioception and visual perception. SC is a general locomotion method that has no special requirements for VR scenes. The experimental results of our live user studies in various virtual scenarios demonstrate that SC has a significant effect in reducing both the number of resets and the physical walking distance users need to cover. Furthermore, experiments have also demonstrated that SC has the potential for integration with existing locomotion techniques such as RDW.

A novel Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating, a high-temperature corrosion-resistant material for water wall protection of power plant ultra-supercritical boilers, has been prepared via arc spraying. A systematic study was conducted to evaluate the high-temperature corrosion behavior of this coating, and its resistance to corrosion at high temperatures was scientifically assessed. The results indicate that the thickness of Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating is approximately 350 μm, exhibiting typical amorphous characteristics as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope characterization. During each stage of the 750 °C corrosion test, the oxygen content of the amorphous coating was significantly lower than that of the contrast coating (PS45 alloy coating), indicating a superior corrosion protection effect at high temperature. After 100 h of continuous testing, the corrosion mass gain of the amorphous coating was only 28.62% that of PS45 coating and 3.89% that of T12 steel substrate, indicating significantly depressed high-temperature corrosion kinetics. The excellent high-temperature corrosion resistance of Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating is primarily attributed to the stable Fe/Cr oxide film generated by the metastable state of the amorphous state, which serves as an excellent barrier. Furthermore, under the influence of heat in a high-temperature environment, the amorphous structure gradually transforms into a nanocrystalline structure. In contrast, the oxide film of the amorphous/nanocrystalline coating has low thermal stress, leading to better adhesion with the coating and resistance to cracking and peeling, thus providing excellent sustained protection.

The traditional method of manufacturing foldable acrylate intraocular lenses (IOLs) involves injection molding and ultraprecision diamond turning. Due to the lack of in-depth research on the material removal mechanism for soft and flexible biomaterials, traditional processing methods cannot produce high-quality surfaces of foldable IOLs. This paper presents a new manufacturing method of low-temperature-assisted electrorheological polishing to improve the surface quality of foldable IOLs. The effects of temperature on the mechanical properties, including the mean azimuth shift at the end of the molecular chain, diffusion coefficient, stress-strain response, etc., and the evolution of the material removal mechanism of abrasive particles under the electrorheological effect with temperature were systematically studied by molecular dynamics. With decreasing temperature, the mechanism of material removal from the IOL surface by abrasive particles changed from compaction removal to furrow removal, and the surface roughness decreased, which revealed that the machinability of the acrylate material could be greatly improved at low temperatures (approximately −20 °C). In addition, a new low-temperature-assisted electrorheological polishing system for IOLs was designed. An orthogonal test showed that the temperature had the most significant influence on the surface roughness, consistent with the molecular dynamics analysis results. The surface roughness of the material polished at −20 °C decreased from 491 nm to 9 nm, which indicates that low-temperature-assisted electrorheological polishing is an effective method for fabricating foldableacrylate IOLs with high efficiency and quality.

Ar–N2-O2ternary shielding gas is employed in dissimilar welding between high nitrogen steel and low alloy steel. The effect of O2and N2is investigated based on the systematical analysis of the metal transfer, nitrogen escape phenomenon, weld appearance, nondestructive detection, nitrogen content distribution, microstructure and mechanical properties. There are two nitrogen sources of the nitrogen in the weld: high nitrogen base material and shielding gas. The effect of shielding gas is mainly reflected in these two aspects. The change of the droplet transfer mode affects the fusion ratio, N2in the shielding gas can increase nitrogen content and promote the nitrogen uniform distribution. The addition of 2% O2to Ar matrix can change the metal transfer from globular transfer to spray transfer, high nitrogen base material is thereby dissolved more to the molten pool, making nitrogen content increase, ferrite decrease and the mechanical properties improve. When applying N2-containing shielding gas, arc stability becomes poor and short-circuiting transfer frequency increases due to the nitrogen escape from droplets and the molten pool. Performance of the joints is improved with N2increasing, but internal gas pores are easier to appear because of the poor capacity of low alloy steel to dissolve nitrogen, The generation of pores will greatly reduce the impact resistance. 4–8% N2content in shielding gas is recommended in this study considering the integrated properties of the dissimilar welded joint.

Bacteremia is a severe complication of infectious disease. Patients with a high bacteremia risk in the emergency department (ED) but misidentified would lead to the unscheduled revisits. This study aimed to develop a simplified scoring model to predict bacteremia in patients with unscheduled ED revisits.

In this work, the impact of metallic and dielectric conducting substrates, gold and indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass, on the whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of semiconductor π-conjugated polymer microspheres is investigated. Hyperspectral mapping was performed to obtain the excitation-position-dependent emission spectra of the microspheres. Substrate-dependent quenching of WGMs sensitive to mode polarization was observed and explained. On a glass substrate, both transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) WGMs are quenched due to frustrated total internal reflection. On a gold substrate, however, only the TM WGMs are allowed in symmetry to leak into surface plasmons. An atomically flat gold substrate with subwavelength slits was used to experimentally verify the leakage of WGMs into the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). This work provides insight into the damping mechanisms of WGMs in microspheres on metallic and dielectric substrates.

We present the deterministic linkage of short and long gold nanorods into one‐dimensional (1D) alternating nanorod chains in a head‐to‐head manner using click reactions. By precisely controlling the surface chemistry, we achieve orientation‐specific and robust covalent linkage between nanorods with high‐product yield. The optical response of the alternating nanorod chains exhibits Fano‐like resonances. This method enables the high‐throughput production of covalently linked plasmonic particle networks consisting of heterogeneous nanoparticles with specifically chosen spectral responses. A click reaction was used to assemble plasmonic two different kinds of gold nanorods into one‐dimensional chains. Nanorods are covalently linked in a head‐to‐head manner with an alternating rod sequence. The ultrasmall gap (<3 nm) allows strong coupling between the bright and dark modes of the short and long nanorods, respectively, resulting in Fano‐like resonances in the extinction spectrum.

Graphical Abstract:

Traditional surface processing measures for free-form surface parts are unable to distinguish the curvature of the surface to be machined, nor can they identify the concave and convex characteristics of different areas of the surface, as well as the time-varying characteristics of the contact between the tool and the surface of the part, making it impossible to tailor the processing parameters to the different mathematical characteristics of each area of the part surface. The result is that different areas of the same surface cannot be machined uniformly. In order to solve the above problems, this study proposes a discrete partition algorithm for free-form surface parts from the perspective of free-form surface parts simplification. The algorithm takes the spatial coordinates of each triangular patch after meshing the 3D model of the free-form surface part as input parameters. The partition of the free-form surface part is realized by the criterion for determining the spatial position of triangular patches, the method for detecting overlapping edges of triangular facets based on the principle of co-linear determination and the strategy for determining the difference of normal vectors between triangular patches. The 3D solid model after the corresponding surface partition is further obtained by reverse modeling. In addition, in order to effectively improve the machining efficiency of the free-form surface parts after partition, this study proposes an optimal machining path planning algorithm based on the principle of genetic algorithm. This algorithm ensures that the processing equipment can finish each sub-surface and plan the polishing path based on the results of surface partition, and then achieving the complete polishing process of the surface in the shortest time. Finally, the simulation software was used to simulate and analyze the surface polishing quality before and after the partition processing, which proved that the proposed surface partition algorithm can effectively improve the machining accuracy of free-form parts.

An interlayer and intralayer co-modified flexible V2CTXMXene@SWCNT films are used as self-supported anode for Li-ion capacitors with enhanced Li+ions storage kinetics and improved Li+ions storage capability.

ABSTRACT Fine recycled aggregates produced by crushing concrete wastes can be used as a replacement for fine natural aggregates for manufacturing concrete. Two methods were adopted for production of fine [...]

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) are promising energy storage devices because they feature the high energy density of lithium-ion batteries and the high power density of supercapacitors. However, the mismatch of electrochemical reaction kinetics between the anode and cathode in LICs makes exploring anode materials with fast ion diffusion and electron transfer channels an urgent task. Herein, the two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2MXene with controllable terminal groups was introduced into 1D carbon nanofibers to form a 3D conductive network by the electrospinning strategy. In such Ti3C2MXene and carbon matrix composites (named KTi-400@CNFs), the 2D nanosheet structure endows Ti3C2MXene with more active sites for Li+ion storage, and the carbon framework is favorable to the conductivity of the composites. Impressively, Ti-O-C bonds are formed at the interface between Ti3C2MXene and the carbon framework. Such chemical bonding in the composites builds a bridge for rapid electron transportation and quick ion diffusion in the longitudinal direction from layer to layer. As a result, the optimized KTi-400@CNFs composites maintain a good capacity of 235 mA h g−1for 500 cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1. The LIC consisting of the KTi-400@CNFs//AC configuration achieves high energy density (114.3 W h kg−1) and high power density (12.8 kW kg−1). This paper provides guidance for designing 2D materials and the KTi-400@CNFs composites with such a unique structure and superior electrochemical performance have great potential in the next-generation energy storage fields.

Feedrate scheduling in computer numerical control (CNC) machining is of great importance to fully develop the capabilities of machine tools while maintaining the motion stability of each actuator. Smooth and time-optimal feedrate scheduling plays a critical role in improving the machining efficiency and precision of complex surfaces considering the irregular curvature characteristics of tool paths and the limited drive capacities of machine tools. This study develops a general feedrate scheduling method for non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) tool paths in CNC machining aiming at minimizing the total machining time without sacrificing the smoothness of feed motion. The feedrate profile is represented by a B-spline curve to flexibly adapt to the frequent acceleration and deceleration requirements of machining along complex tool paths. The time-optimal B-spline feedrate is produced by continuously increasing the control points sequentially from zero positions in the bidirectional scanning and sampling processes. The required number of knots for the time-optimal B-spline feedrate can be determined using a progressive knot insertion method. To improve the computational efficiency, the B-spline feedrate profile is divided into a series of independent segments and the computation in each segment can be performed concurrently. The proposed feedrate scheduling method is capable of dealing with not only the geometry constraints but also high-order drive constraints for any complex tool path with little computational overhead. Simulations and machining experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness and superiorities of the proposed method.

AbstractBackgroundHeart failure (HF) remains a major cause of mortality, hospitalisations, and poor quality of life. The mortality and readmission rate of HF patients after discharge are still high due to poor self-care and adherence, or inability to detect signs of deterioration. Telehealth programs may benefit a broad range of patients and reduce the suffering from HF. We aimed to investigate the impact of a 12-week telehealth program on outcomes among discharged patients with HF.MethodsStudy population was consisted of 425 patients discharged between Jan 2020 to Aug 2020. All enrolled participants were diagnosed as HF and underwent standard treatments. At discharge, they were randomised into the telehealth or control group. The intervention was based on telephone support biweekly. After 12-week follow-up, patients’ outcomes including mortality, readmission, disease condition, adherence, self-care behaviours, and mental health were compared between the groups.ResultsThe telehealth program significantly improved the HF symptoms in patients (p < 0.001). Patients in telehealth group showed better adherence compared to control (p = 0.002). Moreover, the intervention enhanced patients’ self-care skills, indicated by the increased ratio of individuals knowing how to evaluate the cardiac function (p = 0.009) and purchasing medicines (p = 0.03). In addition, the telehealth program significantly improved the mental health status of patients (p = 0.03).ConclusionThe telehealth program is beneficial for improving HF symptoms, adherence, self-care skills and mental health status of discharged patients and support the future use of this program to manage patients and reduce the burden attributed to the condition.

A homogeneous diffusion layer provides uniform transfer resistance, contributing to compact lithium deposits. The mechanical stability of the layer is enhanced by blending rigid and flexible polymer chains in a hybrid membrane.

Miniature scalpels are mainly used in microsurgeries such as ophthalmic and cardiovascular surgeries. The size of a miniature scalpel is only a few millimeters, and the precision of the blade shape is high, which makes production of miniature scalpels extremely difficult. This study proposes a new sharpening process for grinding miniature scalpels on a four-axis machine tool. A post-processing algorithm for a four-axis grinding machine based on a kinematics model is established. We then propose a corresponding parameter calibration method for the parameters used in the kinematics model. Because of possible errors in the parameter calibration, a contour-based error compensation method is proposed for accurate adjustments to the edge shape following grinding. This can solve the problem of large deviations between the actual edge shape after grinding and the ideal edge shape. The effectiveness of the proposed process planning and error compensation method is verified experimentally, and the grinding process parameters of the miniature scalpel are optimized to improve its surface processing quality. The sharpness of the optimized miniature scalpel is less than 0.75 N, and the blade shape is symmetrical, which meets the technical requirements of miniature scalpels.

The increasing availability of building operational data has greatly encouraged the development of advanced data-driven technologies for smart building operations. Building operational data typically suffer from data quality problems, such as insufficient labeled and imbalanced data, making them incompatible with conventional machine learning algorithms. Recent advances in data science have provided novel machine learning paradigms to tackle such data challenges for practical applications, such as transfer learning, semi-supervised learning, and generative learning. This review aims to present the progress and perspectives on the effective utilization of novel machine learning paradigms for three major building energy management tasks, i.e., building energy predictions, fault detection and diagnosis, and control optimizations. In-depth discussions have been provided to demonstrate the pros and cons of different learning approaches in terms of data compatibility, modeling difficulties, and possible application scenarios, which could be helpful for enhancing the feasibility of data-driven technologies for smart building operations.

Permafrost degradation has been widely reported on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, directly observed evidence of permafrost thawing processes and degradation rates are very limited, although it is expected to be prevalent near the periphery of a permafrost area. Here, we report permafrost changes and disappearance in the Qilian Mountains (northeastern TP) based on three boreholes instrumented along a 100 m transect during 2014–2021. Our results show that permafrost has significantly degraded in the study area: the mean downward thawing rate from the permafrost table was about 0.16 m per year while the mean upward thawing rate from the permafrost base was about 0.23 m per year. We estimate the mean lateral degradation rate of permafrost in this area was ∼4.14 m per year. More dramatically, the 1.5 m thick permafrost layer at one of the boreholes thawed completely between April of 2018 and December of 2019. Our results indicate that changes in climatic condition may have played only a limited role in controlling the active layer thickness in the vicinity of the altitudinal limit of permafrost; moisture content and soil conditions play key roles in site-specific permafrost thawing. This study provides new quantitative insights for understanding changes near the altitudinal limit of permafrost, and we suggest that land surface models or Earth system model studies of the lateral heat exchanges should be implemented in order to better represent permafrost thawing processes.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are an attractive alternative for flexible energy storage devices due to their excellent safety and low cost. One of the main challenges that plagues their practical applications is the restricted variety of cathode materials with fast reaction kinetics and good mechanical properties. Herein, we prepared rose-like VS2nanosheets which have decent specific capacities, metallic conductivity, and open-enough channels and further incorporated them into a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) network, achieving a C–V chemical-bonded freestanding VS2@SWCNT (C-VS2) composite. Such chemical bonding in the composites builds a bridge for rapid electron transfer and ion diffusion in the longitudinal direction from one layer to another layer. As a result, the reversible Zn/C-VS2system in core cells exhibits a high specific capacity (205.3 mA h g–1at 0.1 A g–1), an excellent cyclic stability (115.4 mA h g–1was obtained after 1500 cycles at 5 A g–1), and a remarkable rate capability (135.4 mA h g–1at 10 A g–1). Furthermore, the freestanding C-VS2films with good flexibility and conductivity can serve as a flexible cathode to assemble soft-packaged ZIBs. Meanwhile, the soft-packaged ZIB has good electrochemical stability even under different bending conditions (the discharge capacity dropped by only 2.1 mA h g–1after bending). This work offers insights into the rational design of zinc-ion hosts throughout chemical bond engineering.

The notorious lithium (Li) dendrite formed due to the poor protection of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is the major obstacle to the practical utilization of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). The high reduction potential and nitrogen-containing character of imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) make them a promising candidate for SEI-forming additives. Herein, an imidazolium-based IL, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazole hexafluorophosphate (Im1(8)PF6), is used as an additive to regulate Li deposition by forming a Li3N-rich SEI on metallic Li anodes. A stable Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 97.4% in Li||Cu cells and a constant polarization voltage lower than 25 mV in Li||Li symmetric cells have been achieved. The Li||LiFePO4cell exhibits a high capacity retention rate and improved rate performance. These results demonstrate that Im1(8)PF6has extensive application prospects as a dendrite-suppressing additive in LMBs.

In order to reveal the spatial and temporal distribution of COVID-19's economic impact on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, this study uses the NPP/VIIRS night light remote sensing data from January to September in 2020 to compare the development trend of COVID-19 and analyze its economic impact on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. At the same time, the regional economic resilience measurement algorithm is introduced by coupling the regional night light greyscale value to obtain the economic resilience data of various cities during the epidemic. The findings show that: 1. there are structural differences in the spatial distribution of COVID-19 outbreaks in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region present a "core-adjacent-external" structure and the spatial distribution pattern of Tianjin-Beijing-Shijiazhuang prominent in the inverted "L" shape. 2. There are differences in the economic resilience of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the face of the epidemic, with high economic resilience in the core urban areas close to Beijing and Tianjin. Therefore, strengthening regional cooperation and establishing relatively stable economic ties with surrounding areas are the key to improving the overall economic resilience of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

ABSTRACTDrug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a chronic condition derived from spontaneous changes and regulatory effects in the epileptic brain. As demethylation factors, ten-eleven translocation (TET) family members have become a focus in recent studies of neurological disorders. Here, we quantified and localized TET1, TET2 and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in the temporal lobe cortex of DRE patients (n = 27) and traumatic brain hemorrhage controls (n = 10) by immunochemical staining. TET2 and ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) expression patterns were determined in the isolated brain capillaries of DRE patients. TET2 expression was significantly increased in the temporal cortical tissue of DRE patients with or without hippocampal sclerosis (HS) compared to control patients, while TET1 and 5-hmC showed no differences in expression. We also found that a particularly strong expression of TET2 in the vascular tissue of DRE patients. ABCB1 and TET2 have evidently higher expression in the vascular endothelium from the neocortex of DRE patients. In blood–brain barrier (BBB) model, TET2 depletion can cause attenuated expression and function of ABCB1. Data from a cohort study and experiments in a BBB model suggest that TET2 has a specific regulatory effect on ABCB1, which may serve as a potential mechanism and target in DRE.

Venus flytrap can sense the very small insects that touch its tactile receptors, known as trigger hairs, and thus capture prey to maintain its nutrient demand. However, there are few studies on the trigger hair and its morphological structure and material properties are not fully understood. In this study, the trigger hair is systematically characterized with the help of different instruments. Results show that trigger hair is a special cantilever beam structure and it has a large longitudinal diameter ratio. Besides, it is composed of a hair lever and a basal podium, and there is a notch near the hair base. The cross-section of the trigger hair is approximately a honeycomb structure, which is composed of many holes. Methods to measure mechanical properties of trigger hair are introduced in this paper. Based on the mechanical tests, trigger hair proved to be a variable stiffness structure and shows a high sensitivity to the external force. These features can provide supports for the understanding of the high-sensitivity sensing mechanism of trigger hairs from the perspective of structure and material, and offer inspirations for the development of high-performance tactile sensors.

High nitrogen stainless steel with nitrogen content of 0.75% was welded by gas metal arc welding with Ar–N2-O2ternary shielding gas. The effect of the ternary shielding gas on the retention and improvement of nitrogen content in the weld was identified. Surfacing test was conducted first to compare the ability of O2and CO2in prompting nitrogen dissolution. The nitrogen content of the surfacing metal with O2is slightly higher than CO2. And then Ar–N2-O2shielding gas was applied to weld high nitrogen stainless steel. After using N2-containing shielding gas, the nitrogen content of the weld was improved by 0.1 wt%. As N2continued to increase, the increment of nitrogen content was not obvious, but the ferrite decreased from the top to the bottom. When the proportion of N2reached 20%, a full austenitic weld was obtained and the tensile strength was improved by 8.7%. Combined with the results of surfacing test and welding test, it is concluded that the main effect of N2is to inhibit the escape of nitrogen and suppress the nitrogen diffusion from bottom to the top in the molten pool.

Ascidians (tunicates) are widely recognized as one of the most prolific producers of bioactive natural products in the marine environment. This present study reviewed the chemical diversity of marine ascidians from the Aplidium genus and their pharmacological applications since Jan 2005. The resources of this genus from China Seas, including the changes of their names in the family Polydinidae were also summarized in this paper. In addition, a concise outlook on their chemical and pharmaceutical investigation is made to support further development.

Spatially controlling the Fermi level of topological insulators and keeping their electronic states stable are indispensable processes to put this material into practical use for semiconductor spintronics devices. So far, however, such a method has not been established yet. Here we show a novel method for doping a hole into n-type topological insulators Bi2X3(X= Se, Te) that overcomes the shortcomings of the previous reported methods. The key of this doping is to adsorb H2O on Bi2X3decorated with a small amount of carbon, and its trigger is the irradiation of a photon with sufficient energy to excite the core electrons of the outermost layer atoms. This method allows controlling the doping amount by the irradiation time and acts as photolithography. Such a tunable doping makes it possible to design the electronic states at the nanometer scale and, thus, paves a promising avenue toward the realization of novel spintronics devices based on topological insulators.

Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) is frequently applied as a model protein for research on protein folding, unfolding, and fibrillization identified by featured fluorescent probes. Here, a series of hydrophilic, pH-sensitive tetraarylethene (TAE)-type AIEgens are synthesized via a geminal cross-coupling (GCC) reaction and evaluated for their capabilities of fluorescence sensing and super-resolution localization imaging of HEWL fibrils. With superior optical and sensing properties, the selected TAE-type AIEgen probe is weakly emissive in aqueous media, without dependence on the pH value and buffer concentration, but exhibits “turn-on” fluorescence upon interaction with HEWL amyloid fibrils in a spontaneous and reversible way that just meets the requirement of fluorescence random switching for super-resolution imaging. The selected probe has the strongest fluorescence response to HEWL amyloid fibrils exhibiting a limit of detection of 0.59 nmol/L and enables super-resolution fluorescence imaging of amyloid aggregates with a high resolution of 40 nm.

A robust and stable artificail SEI is achieved by polysulfone fibers with optimal areal density and interfacial resistance so that deposition underneath the layer is resulted for long-term cycling and dendrite-free morphology for high Coulombic efficiency.

This paper focuses on the static output feedback synchronization problem of Markov jump complex dynamic networks with time-varying delays. First, a Markov process is introduced to model random mutation phenomena among topologies of complex dynamic networks. Then, a sampling controller is designed to address practical needs. At the same time, some sufficient conditions are provided to enable the system to meet a mixed H ∞ /passive performance index. Moreover, the article adopted a free weight matrix combined with a novel decoupling method, which removes the equality constraints, the requirement on the rank of the output matrix, and the use of some inequalities. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical framework in this paper is demonstrated through a set of numerical examples and their application in image encryption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Panax japonicus(P. japonicus) belongs to the Panaxgenus of Araliaceae and is used as medicine mainly with the bamboo whiplike rhizome, which has the functions of dispelling blood stasis and hemostasis, attenuating swelling and pain, eradicating phlegm and relieving cough, tonifying, and strength.Purpose This review intends to summarize the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of P. japonicusto provide a scientific and systematic basis for better utilization of its rational applications.Methods The literature was searched using PubMed, Baidu Scholar and Science Hub search engines.Results The chemistry components isolated from P. japonicusare mainly saponins, besides also including polysaccharides, amino acids, volatile oils, inorganic elements, etc. P. japonicusexhibits extensive pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, lipid lowering activities, and therefore show extensive protective effects on the central nervous system, cardio-cerebrovascular system, digestive system.Conclusion This article included a thorough summary of the botany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of P. japonicusand provided evidence for its further research and clinical applications.

The tooth of end milling cutter is an important part that affects the milling performance and the machining quality. Grinding is one of the most common methods to repair worn edge of the milling cutter. Fewer machine tool axes involved in grinding process is conducive to improve machining precision and equipment stability. Thus, a new composite grinding wheel structure was proposed to complete all flat-end milling cutter edge repairing in one clamping on a four-axis grinding machine tool instead of using a traditional five-axis machine tool. Based on the kinematic model of the four-axis grinding machine tool, the inverse kinematics solution was deduced to calculate the movement of each axis. The grinding point and tool vector of the end face of the opposite milling cutter were modeled by geometric description method, and the tool path of the grinding wheel was planned by combining the mathematical model with the grinding method. The effectiveness and superiorities of the proposed milling cutter edge repairing method was verified by a series of machining experiments.

A new concept for second-harmonic generation (SHG) in an optical nanocircuit is proposed. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the symmetry of an optical mode alone is sufficient to allow SHG even in centro-symmetric structures made of centro-symmetric material. The concept is realized using a plasmonic two-wire transmission-line (TWTL), which simultaneously supports a symmetric and an antisymmetric mode. We first confirm that emission of second-harmonic light into the symmetric mode of the waveguide is symmetry-allowed when the fundamental excited waveguide modes are either purely symmetric or antisymmetric. We further switch the emission into the antisymmetric mode when a controlled mixture of the fundamental modes is excited simultaneously. Our results open up a new degree of freedom into the designs of nonlinear optical components and should pave a new avenue toward multifunctional nanophotonic circuitry.

Facile metal-free splitting of molecular hydrogen (H2) is crucial for the utilization of H2without the need for toxic transition-metal-based catalysts. Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) are a new class of hydrogen activators wherein interactions with both a Lewis acid and a Lewis base heterolytically disrupt the hydrogen−hydrogen bond. Here we describe the activation of hydrogen exclusively by a boron-based Lewis acid, perfluoropentaphenylborole. This antiaromatic compound reacts extremely rapidly with H2in both solution and the solid state to yield boracyclopent-3-ene products resulting from addition of hydrogen atoms to the carbons α to boron in the starting borole. The disruption of antiaromaticity upon reaction of the borole with H2provides a significant thermodynamic driving force for this new metal-free hydrogen-splitting reaction.

In deterministic polishing, solving the dwell time is one of the key factors. Usually, dwell time is solved by the tool influence function (TIF) and residual error. In previous research, single-point TIF (sTIF) is usually used in calculation, but it is not consistent with the TIF in the actual polishing process. In addition, when using the linear equation to solve the dwell time, a large TIF matrix results in a normal computer not having enough memory for calculation. In order to solve the above problems, a continuous TIF (cTIF) that changes with the polishing path is proposed: first, by the discretization method to simulate the continuous movement of the polishing tool in actual polishing, and then an optimized grouped least squares (LSQR) orthogonal decomposition algorithm is proposed to solve the dwell time. In this paper, an x−y polynomial free-form surface with different initial residual errors (RMS=30nm, PV=120nm; RMS=70nm, PV=280nm; and RMS=100nmPV=400nm) were simulated by the proposed algorithm, respectively. The final residual error was RMS=1.8nm, PV=13.3nm; RMS=2.6nm, PV=10.1nm; and RMS=2.8nm, PV=17.4nm, respectively. The convergence rate of RMS and PV basically reached 95%, and the validity of the algorithm is proved.

The mechanical behavior of polyethylene (PE) co-polymerized with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was studied by using molecular simulations. Simulation configurations consisted of aligned PE chains with POSS attached to the central chain and amorphous PE chains with different content POSS. From the simulations with aligned PE chains with POSS, it was found that the method for reinforcement was due to dislocation pile-up at POSS, and above a critical stress the dislocations traverse the POSS causing a sawtooth variation in the load-displacement curve. The stress-strain curves for amorphous PE-POSS bulk showed distinct elastic and plastic straining stages. Plastic straining consisted of hardening and slipping segments attributed to dislocation pile-up and chain sliding. Computational results were used to develop a reinforcement model to describe the mechanical response of PE-POSS bulk under uniaxial tension.

Well-designed plasmonic nanostructures can mediate far and near optical fields and thereby enhance light–matter interactions. To obtain the best overall enhancement, structural parameters need to be carefully tuned to obtain the largest enhancement at the input and output frequencies. This is, however, challenging for nonlinear light–matter interactions involving multiple frequencies because obtaining the full picture of structure-dependent enhancement at individual frequencies is not easy. In this work, we introduce the platform of plasmonic Doppler grating (PDG) to experimentally investigate the enhancement effect of plasmonic gratings in the input and output beams of nonlinear surface-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SECARS). PDGs are designable azimuthally chirped gratings that provide broadband and spatially dispersed plasmonic enhancement. Therefore, they offer the opportunity to observe and compare the overall enhancement from different combinations of enhancement in individual input and output beams. We first confirm PDG’s capability of spatially separating the input and output enhancement in linear surface-enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering. We then investigate spatially resolved enhancement in nonlinear SECARS, where coherent interaction of the pump, Stokes, and anti-Stokes beams is enhanced by the plasmonic gratings. By mapping the SECARS signal and analyzing the azimuthal angle-dependent intensity, we characterize the enhancement at individual frequencies. Together with theoretical analysis, we show that while simultaneous enhancement in the input and output beams is important for SECARS, the enhancement in the pump and anti-Stokes beams plays a more critical role in the overall enhancement than that in the Stokes beam. This work provides an insight into the enhancement mechanism of plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy, which is important for the design and optimization of plasmonic gratings. The PDG platform may also be applied to study enhancement mechanisms in other nonlinear light–matter interactions or the impact of plasmonic gratings on the fluorescence lifetime.

In order to meet the needs of underground engineering, a new type of basalt fiber reactive powder concrete (BFRPC) was developed in this paper. In different materials ratio, the mechanical properties of BFRPC were studied by experimental methods. And compressive strength and bending strength of BFRPC were obtained. The optimal fiber content of BFRPC was got, and the stress-strain relationship was revealed. It would lay the foundation for the application of BFRPC materials in underground engineering.

Protein misfolding and denaturation, represented by amyloid fibrillation, are associated with many diseases. However, as a general chemical biological process, the dynamic structure information on amyloid fibrillation has not been demonstrated categorically. Herein, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) was used as the model protein of interest to realize in situnanoscale imaging of protein fibrillation process using the fluorophores with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) activity. The AIE-active fluorophores exhibit the reversible capability of association and dissociation with β-sheet structure and thus dynamic binding-induced emission, which causes the spontaneous switching of fluorescence. The entire HEWL denaturation process induced by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at ambient conditions was demonstrated in detail by using two AIE-active fluorophores (TPE-NaSO3and PD-BZ-OH) through reversible electrostatic interaction and specific labeling between AIE probes and β-sheet structures of amyloid fibrils, respectively. The results indicate that PD-BZ-OH is more specific AIE probe for amyloid fibrils than TPE-NaSO3. In comparison, the SEM and TEM results show the same denaturation process of protein fibrillation induced by SDS at different concentrations. The static super-resolution imaging of amyloid fibrils is performed with a resolution of 35 nm using PD-BZ-OH aqueous solution without additional auxiliary conditions. The dynamic evolution process of HEWL amyloid fibrillation is in situvisualized through super-resolution fluorescent microscopy with nanoscale resolution. Both static and dynamic super-resolution imaging of amyloid fibrillation provides detailed nanoscale structure information exceeding 50 nm resolution, which is of great significance in the exploration of amyloid fibrillation and related diseases.