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Aminophenyl sulfone compounds (ASCs) are widely used in various fields, such as the pharmaceutical and textile industries. ASCs and their primary acetylation products are inevitably discharged into the environment. However, the high toxicity of ASCs could be released from the deacetylation of acetylation products. Still, the occurrence and ecological risks of ASCs and their acetylation products remain largely unknown. Here, we integrated all of the existing ASCs based on the core structure, together with their potential acetylation products, to establish a database covering 1105 compounds. By combining the database with R programming, 45 ASCs, sulfonamides, and their acetylation products were identified in the influent and effluent of 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants in 4 cities of China. 13 of them were detected for the first time in the aquatic environment, and 12 acetylation products were newly identified. The cumulative concentrations of 45 compounds in the influent and effluent were in the range of 231–9.96 × 103and 26–2.70 × 103ng/L, respectively. The proportion of the unrecognized compounds accounted for 60.6% of the influent and 62.8% of the effluent. Furthermore, nearly half of the ASCs (46.7%), other sulfonamides (49.9%), and their acetylation products (46.2%) were discharged from the effluent, posing a low-to-medium risk to aquatic organisms. The results provide a guideline for future monitoring programs, particularly for sulfadiazine and dronedarone, and emphasize that the ecological risk of ASCs, sulfonamides, and their acetylation products needs to be considered in the aquatic environment.

To fully explore the potential of 18F-labeled l-fluoroalanine for imaging cancer and other chronic diseases, a simple and mild radiosynthesis method has been established to produce optically pure l-3-[18F]fluoroalanine (l-[18F]FAla), using a serine-derivatized, five-membered-ring sulfamidate as the radiofluorination precursor. A deuterated analogue, l-3-[18F]fluoroalanine-d3(l-[18F]FAla-d3), was also prepared to improve metabolic stability. Both l-[18F]FAla and l-[18F]FAla-d3were rapidly taken up by 9L/lacZ, MIA PaCa-2, and U87MG cells and were shown to be substrates for the alanine–serine–cysteine (ASC) amino acid transporter. The ability of l-[18F]FAla, l-[18F]FAla-d3, and the d-enantiomer, d-[18F]FAla-d3, to image tumors was evaluated in U87MG tumor-bearing mice. Despite the significant bone uptake was observed for both l-[18F]FAla and l-[18F]FAla-d3, the latter had enhanced tumor uptake compared to l-[18F]FAla, and d-[18F]FAla-d3was not specifically taken up by the tumors. The enhanced tumor uptake of l-[18F]FAla-d3compared with its nondeuterated counterpart, l-[18F]FAla, warranted the further biological investigation of this radiotracer as a potential cancer imaging agent.

The doping of carbonyl iron powders (CIPs) with small particle sizes and high ferromagnetism can effectively enhance the magnetic conductivity of soft magnetic composites (SMCs). However, the poor fluidity and the direct contact between CIPs will increase the effective eddy current size, resulting in increased core loss. To address the negative effects, the ectopic reconstruction of CaCO3insulation layer in CIPs was realized by heat treatment. A composite powder of Fe–Si–Cr matrix/CaCO3insulation layer + CIPs was fabricated, exhibiting a unique core–shell heterostructure. Furthermore, the effect of the doping amount of CIPs on the permeability optimisation and core-loss reduction in the SMCs was investigated. Findings demonstrated that simultaneous execution of insulation coating and CIPs doping can promote the ectopic reconstruction and nucleation of the CaCO3insulation layer on CIPs surfaces during heat treatment. This coating-doping method is expected to prevent the direct contact between different magnetic powder particles, potentially mitigating the magnetic dilution effect caused by the non-magnetic phase. The SMCs exhibited best soft magnetic performance at 15 wt% doping level, where the saturation magnetisation peaked at 185.4 emu/g, permeability increased to 38.6 and the core loss was minimised to 466.0 kW/m3(at 30 mT and 200 kHz). Compared with conventional doping techniques, the proposed method enables CIPs doping within the insulation layer and enhances the intergranular insulation between the Fe–Si–Cr soft magnetic powders and CIPs, improving the SMCs performance.

Optimising solid-phase reactions at the interface between an iron-based soft magnetic powder matrix and an inorganic oxide ceramic insulating layer in soft magnetic composites is an effective method to overcome the inverse relationship between magnetic conductivity and energy losses in these materials. However, solid-phase reactions at the interface are currently based on using highly reactive aluminium within iron-based soft magnetic powders. Herein, an interface reaction between ZnSO4and FeSiCr was successfully conducted to afford formation of FeSiCr-based soft magnetic composites, which are characterised by a three-layer structure comprising FeSiCr, a Si and Cr-rich layer and a ZnO·SiO2·Cr2O3composite insulating layer. Thermal decomposition of ZnSO4releases O2, which induces the migration of Cr and Si atoms from the FeSi3.7Cr4.5soft magnetic powder matrix towards the interface and their subsequent reaction; this increases the magnetic phase content and enhances the crystalline structure order of the powder matrix. Furthermore, the ZnO·SiO2·Cr2O3composite insulating layer effectively insulated the FeSiCr soft magnetic powder matrix. The resulting FeSiCr-based soft magnetic composite materials with the ZnO·SiO2·Cr2O3composite insulating layer exhibit low core losses (58.5 kW/m3), high magnetic permeability (39.1) and high saturation magnetisation (166.5 emu/g), indicating they are an ideal choice for high-performance electromagnetic components. The proposed innovative strategy of oxygen release through the thermal decomposition of salt compounds affords an insulating coating on soft magnetic composite materials fabricated based on interfacial solid-phase reactions.

In the realm of modern cryptography and anti-counterfeiting, innovative approaches are crucial to encode sensitive information securely. Tailored responsive structural colors have garnered significant interest due to their feature-rich spectra and high sensitivity to external stimuli. However, high costs and complex processing involved in integrating the various delicate microstructures have impeded their widespread development. In this study, we present a straightforward multilevel chromatic encryption scheme utilizing direct-writing gradient-crosslinked microdomes. The solvent-responsive structural color of each microdome, arising from the synergistic effect of total internal reflections and interference, is adjusted independently across the entire visible region. Each microdome functions as a signal recording unit, enabling multilevel color variations through a solvent-dependent development step. This approach facilitates the encoding of enhanced information into a single pixel. To demonstrate the efficacy of our method for advanced applications, we have prepared a collection of solvent-dependent multilevel codes for algorithm cryptography, showcasing its potential for high-level anti-counterfeiting and high-density optical data storage.

CuOx/C catalysts have been used in the selective catalytic reduction of NOxbecause of the exceptional low-temperature denitration (de-NOx) activity. A fundamental understanding of the reaction between CuO and C is critical for controlling the component of CuOx/C and thus optimizing the catalytic performance. In this study, a transmission electron microscope equipped with an in situheating device was utilized to investigate the atomic-scale reaction between CuO and C. We report two reaction mechanisms relying on the volume ratio between C and CuO: (1) The reduction from CuO to Cu2O (when the ratio is < ∼31%); (2) the reduction of CuO into polycrystalline Cu (when the ratio is > ∼34%). The atomistic reduction pathway can be well interpreted by considering the diffusion of O vacancy through the first-principle calculations. The atomic-scale exploration of CuO/C offers ample prospects for the design of industrial de-NOxcatalysts in the future.

This article mainly investigates how to reduce the communication cost in multiagent system (MAS) for distributed optimization. First, a continuous-time distributed optimization model based on MAS is proposed for resource allocation (RA) with periodic communication. All agents in the system do not need to be in constant contact with their neighbors, but contact at set intervals. This will greatly reduce the communication consumption of the system. Second, to further reduce the communication cost, MAS with event-triggered communication is proposed based on periodic communication. It is proved that the system is convergent to an optimal solution of the investigated problem subject to bound and equality constraints. Finally, two examples with simulations are given to verify the performance of the proposed system.

The key to construct high-energy supercapacitors is to maximize the capacitance of electrode and the voltage of the device. Realizing this purpose by utilizing sustainable and low-cost resources is still a big challenge. Herein, N, B co-doped carbon nanosheets are obtained through the proposed dual-template assisted approach by using methyl cellulose as the precursor. Due to the synergistic effects form the high surface area with the hierarchical porous structure, N/B dual doping, and a high degree of graphitization, the resultant carbon electrode exhibits a high capacitance of 572 F g−1at 0.5 A g−1and retains 281 F g−1at 50 A g−1in an acidic electrolyte. Furthermore, the symmetric device assembled using bacterial cellulose-based gel polymer electrolyte can deliver high energy density of 43 W h kg−1and excellent cyclability with 97.8% capacity retention after 20 000 cycles in “water in salt” electrolyte. This work successfully realizes the fabrication of high-performance all-cellulose-based quasi-solid-state supercapacitors, which brings a cost-effective insight into jointly designing electrodes and electrolytes for supporting highly efficient energy storage.

The existing researches on local differential privacy mainly focus on low-dimensional data. These may be faced with high computation cost or low data accuracy when handling high-dimensional data. LoPub published high-dimensional crowd-sourced data, whose precision decreases with the increase of attributes pairs. In this paper, PrivPJ, a method to preserve local differential privacy of published high-dimensional data, is proposed, which can capture a tradeoff between the availability of results and privacy preservation. In PrivPJ, we design mVAE, a multivariate joint distribution algorithm that can alleviate the effect of increasing attributes pairs on accuracy. Then the complete graph is obtained based on the distribution and Markov network, and a local-differential-private junction tree is built based on the graph. PrivPJ can publish a locally private synthetic dataset with the approximate joint distribution. PrivPJ satisfies local differential privacy, and performs well on computation cost, estimation accuracy and misclassification rate of the algorithm on high-dimensional datasets. • The solution achieves the publication of high-dimensional data with local differential privacy. • Keeping the correlations among attributes. • Alleviating the influence of increasing attributes on accuracy and improving the availability of data. • Obtaining joint distribution for discrete and continuous attributes. • The solution captures a tradeoff between results availability and privacy protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The atomistic plastic deformation mechanisms in nano-sized Fe are revealed by combining both the in-situ transmission electron microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. • Fe NWs show three distinct size regions, in which the full dislocation slip (d < 2.5 nm), twin variant reorientation (2.5 nm < d < 17 nm), and TB cracking (d > 17 nm) dominate plastic deformation, respectively. • The sample dimension can be utilized to construct the Fe interconnections in nano/micro-devices with specific deformability. Deformation twinning serves as an important mode of plastic dissipation processes in nanoscale body-centered cubic (BCC) metals, but its origin and spatio-temporal features are mysterious. Here, applying in situ tensile experiments, we report a strong size effect on mediating the twinning behaviors and twin boundary (TB)-dislocation interaction mechanisms in BCC iron (Fe) nanowires (NWs). There exists a critical diameter (d) of ∼2.5 nm, above which the deformation twinning rather than dislocation slip dominates the plasticity. Unlike the traditional reflection TBs, the intermediate isosceles TBs are consistently observed as mediated by the 1/12<111> partial dislocations. Moreover, we uncover two distinct TB-related deformation mechanisms, including twin variant re-orientation and TB cracking for NWs with d < 17 nm and d > 17 nm, respectively. Further molecular dynamics and statics simulations provide the basic underlying mechanisms for size-dependent plasticity, which have been largely overlooked in previous experimental investigations. Our findings highlight the importance of grain size in mediating the deformation behaviors in Fe, serving as possible guidance for exploring single-crystalline and poly-crystalline Fe-based materials (e.g. steel) with optimized mechanical performance. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of a method to select the suitable silicone gel from various commercial silicone gels for encapsulation in next-generation high-voltage high-power electronics modules has become a challenge. In this article, a comprehensive evaluation approach of three commercial silicone gels is carried out via multiple characterizations in terms of surface microstructure, main internal components, dc volume resistivity, dielectric properties, breakdown strengths under dc and ac voltages, thermogravimetric properties, and glass transition temperature. This study shows that the analytical tools set proposed in this article can be used as an efficient guideline for comparing different types of silicone gels and selecting suitable silicone gels for different applications. For example, the drawn radar chart intuitively shows that Gel 3 has the best all-around performance in both electrical and thermal properties, and Gel 1 has the highest thermal stability. The surface microstructure and internal functional groups of the three silicone gels are almost the same. The glass transition temperatures of the three silicone gels were also measured, and the thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the three silicone gels had high thermal stability. According to the test results and analytical tools established in this article, we were able to identify silicone gels suitable for different applications. In this regard, Gel 3 is suitable for applications with higher voltage levels (10–20 kV), while Gel 1 and Gel 2 are suitable for lower voltage levels.

• Effects of twin orientation (θ) on the Ni nanowire (NW) ductility are investigated. • NW ductility with θ ∼55° increases with decreasing twin boundary (TB) spacing. • In-situ TEM reveals distinct deformation behaviors in NWs with different θ. • Atomistic observation reveals different roles of TB can play during deformation. • The different ductility can be related with microscopic deformation mechanisms. Spreading twins throughout nano metals has been proved to effectively mediate the mechanical behaviors in face-centered-cubic (fcc) metals. However, the experimental investigation concerning the roles of twin boundary (TB) during deformation is rarely reported. Here, with the joint efforts of in-situ nanomechanical testing and theoretical studies, we provide a systematic investigation regarding the effects of TB orientation (θ , the angle between tensile loading direction and the normal of TB) and spacing on deformation mechanisms in Ni nanowires (NWs). As compared with single-crystalline counterparts, it is found that nano-twinned (nt) NWs with θ ∼0° exhibit limited ductility, whereas TB can serve as an effective blockage to the dislocation propagation. In contrast, in nt NWs with θ ∼20° and 55°, TB migration/detwinning induced by TB-dislocation reaction or partial dislocation movement dominates the plasticity, which contributes to enhanced NW ductility. Regarding nt NWs with θ ∼90°, dislocations are found to be able to transmit through the TBs, suggesting the limited effect of TB on the NW stretchability. Furthermore, decreasing TB spacing (λ) can facilitate the detwinning process and thus greatly enhance the ductility of NW with θ ∼55°. This study uncovers the distinct roles that TB can play during mechanical deformations in fcc NWs and provides an atomistic view into the direct linkage between macroscopic mechanical properties and microscopic deformation modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HFO-1336mzz(E) is considered a potential eco-friendly insulating gas, with a low global warming potential and high dielectric strength. This study investigates the insulation properties of HFO-1336mzz(E) and its mixtures with CO2 or dry air to evaluate their feasibility as eco-friendly alternatives to sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) for medium-voltage switchgears. The physicochemical properties of HFO-1336mzz(E) were first introduced and its saturated vapor pressure characteristics were analyzed to determine the optimal mixing ratio to meet the minimum operating temperature requirement for applications. Then, direct current (dc) and lightning impulse (LI) breakdown tests were conducted under uniform and nonuniform electrical fields. Under uniform fields, the dielectric strength of pure HFO-1336mzz(E) is approximately 1.6–1.8 times higher than that of SF6. For HFO-1336mzz(E)/CO2 and HFO-1336mzz(E)/air mixtures, equivalent dielectric strength of SF6 can be reached when the volume fraction of HFO-1336mzz(E) is around 40%. The synergy in HFO-1336mzz(E)/air is better than that in HFO-1336mzz(E)/CO2. Based on the breakdown results under nonuniform fields, the HFO-1336mzz(E) and its mixtures are more sensitive to the field inhomogeneity than SF6. This is also verified by the partial discharge (PD) experiment, which shows that HFO-1336mzz(E) mixtures exhibit lower PD inception voltage (PDIV) and more PD activities under the same condition.

In this article, the influence of interface roughness on the ferroelectric (FE) performance of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) films was experimentally investigated. The HZO capacitor with a rough interface structure shows a higher remnant polarization ( ${P}_{r}{)}$ than that with a flat interface structure. However, although the device with the rough interface can achieve an improved ${P}_{r}$ value, it generates a higher electric field within the HZO film and causes more obvious charge injection at the TaON/HZO interface, leading to the increase of interface traps ( ${D}_{\text {it}}{)}$ and leakage current ( ${J}_{\text {leakage}}{)}$ as well as the degradation of endurance. The study is helpful for understanding and optimizing the growth technics of HfO2-based FE memory for advanced node technology.

In this article, the effect of starting layer on the ferroelectric properties and reliability of HfO2-ZrO2-HfO2 (HZH) and ZrO2-HfO2-ZrO2 (ZHZ) superlattice (SL) films were systematically investigated. Compared with that of the ZHZ device, a higher value of remnant polarization ( ${P}_{r}{)}$ for the HZH device was achieved. However, the ZHZ structure exhibits a better wake-up performance and frequency stability than HZH, as well as a higher inversion speed and more endurance cycles. Accordingly, a hybrid model involving ferroelectric (FE) polarization and interfacial ion migration is proposed. This study is helpfxg1ul for understanding and optimizing the HfO2-based FE films for non-volatile memory applications.

A sulfur-modified Li surface is constructed and demonstrated to induce the selectively fast decomposition of LiTFSI to generate a robust inorganics-rich solid-electrolyte interphase (IR-SEI), thereby achieving highly reversible Li plating/stripping behaviors.

Recently, in IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing (TDSC), the VERSA scheme proposed by Hahn et al. uses a double aggregation method for verifying the correctness of results returned from the server. The authors proposed that the correctness of the model aggregation can be verified with lower verification overhead by utilizing only a lightweight pseudorandom generator. To support verifiability of results returned from the server, a method of sharing a pair of vectors $(a,b)$(a,b) by all clients is proposed, which is one of the most important work in VERSA. Unfortunately, in this paper, we show that the method is incorrect, which leads clients to consistently conclude that the aggregated results are incorrect. Furthermore, the model training process in federated learning is forced to abort. Finally, we demonstrate our view through theory analysis and instantiation verification.

This paper investigates a multi-agent system with quantized event-triggered communication mechanisms to reduce the communication expenditure. The event-triggered communication mechanism is proposed to reduce the utilization of communication bandwidth, which lowers the communication expenditure in communication frequency. The quantized communication mechanism quantizes the communication information in the multi-agent system with limited communication capacity. First, a quantized periodic communication mechanism system is proposed, which provides a lower bound of the communication interval for the quantized event-triggered communication system to avoid the Zeno behavior. Then the system with quantized event-triggered communication is proved to be convergent to an optimal solution of distributed constraint optimization. With the quantized communication mechanism, the system can reduce the communication cost in the frequency of communication and the amount of transmission data. The proposed method has a tradeoff between energy saving and precision. Finally, the simulation results with comparisons verify the convergence of the system and exhibit the accuracy with different quantizer densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the research of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) scheduling, the most critical issues are the optimization of task allocation to AGVs and the handling of conflict scenarios. To address these challenges, we propose a scheme for AGV scheduling optimization and conflict resolution. To begin with, we introduce a novel improved genetic algorithm grounded on a combination strategy that re-encodes tasks into compound groupings, effectively simplifying large-scale integer programing problems into smaller, more manageable ones. Subsequently, the simplified problem is solved using an improved genetic algorithm. Test results validate that this method not only quickens the pace of finding solutions but also significantly improves the quality of those solutions. This is particularly evident when it comes to managing larger-scale optimization challenges. Furthermore, within AGV system conflict scenarios, this paper divides them into two primary categories: navigational conflicts and task quantity changes. For navigational conflicts, three resolution approaches are designed to address four different types of conflict situations: head-on, crossing, occupation, and chasing conflicts. Considering the fluctuations in task quantity, we developed strategies for rescheduling, non-rescheduling, and insertion rescheduling. Their performances were experimentally compared across various scales of scheduling problems, providing data support and theoretical basis for the selection of scheduling strategies in practical applications.

d-Amino acids such as d-alanine are substrates for bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis and are selectively taken up by bacteria and not mammalian cells. Consequently, d-amino acid metabolism is an attractive target for antibiotic discovery and the development of bacteria-specific imaging agents. d-Fluoroalanine and the deuterium-labeled analogue fludalanine (MK641) were originally explored as antibiotics by Merck but failed in clinical trials due to unaccepted toxicity. Herein, we synthesized a fluorine-18 labeled d-fluoroalanine, d-3-[18F]fluoroalanine (d-[18F]FAla), and its deuterated analogue, d-3-[18F]fluoroalanine-d3(d-[18F]FAla-d3), and evaluated their capability to image bacterial infection. Both d-[18F]FAla and d-[18F]FAla-d3can accumulate up to 0.64–0.78% ID/cc in the infectious area at 15 min postinjection. Despite the reduction of in vivodefluorination not being observed for deuterated 18F-labeled d-fluoroalanine, these radiolabeled d-alanine analogues were able to differentiate bacterial infection from sterile inflammation in a soft-tissue model of S. aureusinfection.

Ten undocumented carbazole derivatives (2–11) along with the reported analogue (1) were isolated from the mangrove-derived Streptomycessp. OUCMDZ-5511, cultured with NaBr-supplemented liquid medium. Compounds 1–7are brominated carbazoles, and 8, 10, and 11feature an additional thiazole or 2,3-dihydro-1,4-oxathiine rings, respectively. Their structures were identified through spectroscopic techniques, computational chemistry, and X-ray crystallography. Notably, compounds 6and 8effectively inhibited immune cell migration, indicating anti-inflammatory activity in vivo, potentially via Myd88/Nf-κB pathways, as suggested for compound 6.

For battery thermal management, the phase change material (PCM) has demonstrated its advantages as a thermal buffer. In this paper, we proposed a novel thermal regulator that intelligently utilizes the volume changes to modulate heat transfer. The thermal regulator establishes a passive and negative feedback mechanism between the PCM and the cooling system, enabling a consistent and optimal operating battery temperature. This innovation negates the need for sensors or external logic devices, using a resilient valve passively adjusted by PCM volume changes. This in turn modulates coolant flow rate and battery temperature. Its thermal management performance is compared to other configurations like natural cooling, pure PCM, and composite PCM (cPCM). Extended dynamic tests are conducted at different ambient temperatures (Tamb) for evaluation. The results indicate that batteries without thermal regulators fail to operate when Tambexceeds 30 °C. At Tamb = 35 °C, the thermal regulator with cPCM exhibits repeated switching and effectively keeps the battery temperature lower than 38.13 °C. At Tamb > 40 °C, both thermal regulators active to achieve faster heat dissipation. At 45 °C, the thermal regulator with cPCM successfully reduces the battery temperature to 35.02 °C. Integrating AlN in pure PCM lowers the battery module's peak temperature by 7.94 %. The thermal regulator also diminishes cyclic temperature variances, underlining its potential for enhancing battery thermal management.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been widely suggested as contributors to the aquatic insect biomass decline, and their bioavailability is affected by engineered particles. However, the toxicity effects of emerging ionizable POPs mediated by differentially charged engineered nanoparticles on aquatic insects are unknown. In this study, 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate (F-53B, an emerging perfluoroalkyl acid alternative) was selected as a model emerging ionizable POP; the effect of differentially charged nanoplastics (NPs, 50 nm, 0.5 g/kg) on F-53B bioaccumulation and gut toxicity to Chironomus kiinensiswere investigated through histopathology, biochemical index, and gut microbiota analysis. The results showed that when the dissolved concentration of F-53B remained constant, the presence of NPs enhanced the adverse effects on larval growth, emergence, gut oxidative stress and inflammation induced by F-53B, and the enhancement caused by positively charged NP-associated F-53B was stronger than that caused by the negatively charged one. This was mainly because positively charged NPs, due to their greater adsorption capacity and higher bioavailable fraction of associated F-53B, increased the bioaccumulation of F-53B in larvae more significantly than negatively charged NPs. In addition, positively charged NPs interact more easily with gut biomembranes and microbes with a negative charge, further increasing the probability of F-53B interacting with gut biomembranes and microbiota and thereby aggravating gut damage and key microbial dysbacteriosis related to gut health. These findings demonstrate that the surface charge of NPs can regulate the bioaccumulation and toxicity of ionizable POPs to aquatic insects.

In the present study, we evaluated the effects of various stocking densities on the tracheal barrier and plasma metabolic profiles of finishing broilers. We randomly assigned 1,440 Lingnan Yellow feathered broilers (age 22 d) to 5 different stocking density groups (8 m−2, 10 m−2, 12 m−2, 14 m−2, and 16 m−2). Each of these consisted of 3 replicates. The interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-10 concentrations were substantially higher in the 16 m−2treatment group than they were in the 8 m−2and 10 m−2treatment groups (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, IL-4 did not significantly differ among the 5 treatments (P > 0.05). The tracheal mucosae of the birds in the 16 m−2group (high stocking density, HSD) were considerably thicker than those for the birds in the 10 m−2group (control, CSD). Relative to CSD, the claudin1 expression level was lower, and the muc2 and caspase3 expression levels were higher for HSD. Compared with CSD, 10 metabolites were significantly upregulated (P < 0.05), and 7 were significantly downregulated (P < 0.05) in HSD. Most of these putative diagnostic biomarkers were implicated in matter biosynthesis and energy metabolism. A metabolic pathway analysis revealed that the most relevant and critical biomarkers were pentose and glucuronate interconversions and the pentose phosphate pathway. Activation of the aforementioned pathways may partially counteract the adverse effects of the stress induced by high stocking density. This work helped improve our understanding of the harmful effects of high stocking density on the tracheal barrier and identified 2 metabolic pathways that might be associated with high stocking density–induced metabolic disorders in broilers.

There is no information regarding the influence of heat stress (HS) on host metabolic profile. In this study, we investigated the effects of different environmental temperatures on oxidative status, hormone levels, HS indicators, and plasma metabolites in broilers. A total of 1,680 yellow-feather broilers (28 D old) were randomly allotted to 4 groups with 6 replicates. The broilers (29–57 D old) were maintained in thermostatic rooms (20°C, 25°C, 28°C, and 30°C) for 28 consecutive days. The results showed that the plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels and creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities gradually increased when the temperature increased from 20°C to 30°C. However, the insulin-like growth factor-І level decreased gradually. Furthermore, heat shock protein 70 expression significantly increased in the liver and breast muscle (P < 0.01). As the temperature increased, the total anti-oxidant capacity in the plasma and liver gradually decreased, whereas the malondialdehyde level increased. The activity of plasma glutathione peroxidase and total superoxide dismutase in the liver showed a similar increasing trend (P < 0.01). In addition, 15 metabolites were identified at higher (P < 0.05) levels, whereas 2 metabolites were identified at lower (P < 0.05) levels in the 30°C treatment group than those in the 25°C treatment group. Most of these potentially diagnostic biomarkers are involved in carbohydrate, amino acid, lipid, or gut microbiome-derived metabolism, indicating that HS affected the metabolic pathways in broilers. Six candidate metabolites (tartronic acid, l-bethreine, tartaric acid, allose, glutaric acid, and neohesperidin) were selected as biomarkers, as they showed high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in diagnosing broilers under HS (P < 0.01). In conclusion, in the final stage of growth, we identified 6 plasma differential metabolites as potential biomarkers of HS-induced metabolic disorders in yellow-feathered broilers. This work offers new insights into the metabolic alterations of broilers exposed to HS and provides a new perspective for further study.

In nature, many species can protect themselves and communicate with peers by changing their body color, which innovates the significant applications of the color variation in security, communication as well as other visual areas. Electrically responsive photonic crystals (PCs) are the most promising tunable photonic systems to imitate the nature and to apply in real technological applications. Recently many electrically responsive PCs have been demonstrated and show great advantages for versatile optical devices. According to the design strategies of the electrically responsive PCs, they are classified into four categories: (1) electrophoretic organization of recyclable colloidal systems, (2) electroactive materials induced colloidal crystal lattice constant variation, (3) inverse opals made from electrically responsive materials and (4) electrically recyclable infiltration in porous photonic structures. In this Review, the design and fabrication of the electrically responsive PCs for functional optical devices are covered and the next steps for this important field are described.

A binary solid solution of Er3+-doped (1 – x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–xK0.5Na0.5NbO3(x= 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, 0.12) ferroelectric ceramics has been developed, and a reversible photochromic (PC) reaction and its associated luminescence modulation are realized via alternating the 405 nm light irradiation and thermal stimulation (200 °C). The basic crystal structure, domain structure, ferroelectricity, and dielectric behavior of the ceramics were measured. A moderate luminescence contrast ΔRtover 50% is obtained in the fresh samples. Meanwhile, a greatly enhanced luminescence contrast ΔRtis obtained via an electric poling for compositions x= 0.02, 0.04, 0.06. For example, ΔRtis promoted from 53.4 to 85.3% for x= 0.02. However, the luminescence contrast ΔRtof compositions x= 0.08, 0.10, 0.12 is depressed after poling. The mechanisms of enhanced PC reaction and luminescence contrast ΔRtare discussed and proposed. The present study may open a window for enhancing the PC reaction.

Pure organic luminogens with room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have drawn much attention due to their fundamental importance and promising applications in optoelectronic devices, bioimaging, sensing, etc. Fluorescence-phosphorescence dual emission at room temperature, however, is rarely observed in pure organic materials. Herein, we reported a metal- and heavy-atom free pure organic luminogen with tert-butyl groups, DtBuCZBP, which is ready to form organogels in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). It emits prompt and delayed fluorescence, as well as RTP, namely dual emission in as-prepared solid, gels and polymeric films. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first example of metal- and heavy-atom free pure organic gelator with RTP emission. Such unique RTP and moreover dual emission properties in different states make DtBuCZBP a potential material for diverse applications.

The (5 × 5) Moiré pattern resulting from coadsorption of Cu atoms and chloride ions on the Au(111) electrode is one of the most classical structures for underpotential deposition (UPD) in electrochemical surface science. Although two models have been proposed to describe the pattern, the details of the structure remain ambiguous and controversial, leading to a question that remains to be answered. In this work, we investigate the UPD behaviors of Cu on the Au(111) electrode in a chloride-based deep eutectic solvent ethaline by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Benefiting from the properties of the ultraconcentrated electrolyte, we directly image not only Cu but also Cl adlayers by finely tuning tunneling conditions. The structure is unambiguously determined for both Cu and Cl adlayers, where an incommensurate Cu layer is adsorbed on the Au(111) surface with a Cu coverage of 0.64, while the Cl coverage is 0.32 (only half of the expected value); i.e., the atomic arrangement of the observed (5 × 5) Moiré pattern in ethaline matches neither of the models proposed in the literature. Meanwhile, STM results confirm the origin of the cathodic peak in the cyclic voltammogram, which indicates that the underpotential shift of Cu UPD in ethaline indeed increases by ca. 0.40 V compared to its counterpart in a sulfuric acid solution, resulting in a significant deviation from the linear relation between the underpotential shift and the difference in work functions proposed in the literature. The unconventional electrochemical behaviors of Cu UPD reveal the specialty of both the bulk and the interface in the chloride-based deep eutectic solvent.

One of the most important technological challenges that photoconductive devices in terahertz systems encounter is the viability of cost-effective and large-scale device production. We introduce an economical and mass-producible approach to fabricating a substrate material for photoconductive devices. By using an electron beam irradiator, the material properties of GaAs were engineered in a controllable manner, achieving comparable performance to that of a well-known photoconductive substrate, LT-GaAs. THz emission of the irradiated substrates was tested and found to be superior to a commercial device in terms of high-power THz signal emission and ability to withstand a high bias voltage.

The blocking voltage level of silicon carbide (SiC) can reach 10–25 kV, which will significantly increase the power density and capacity of power modules. However, high voltage can induce a high electric field, increase the risk of partial discharge (PD), and threaten the insulation reliability. This paper focuses on the triple points between the metal electrode, silicone gel, and ceramic in power modules. The influencing factors of the electric field at different triple points are fully analyzed. PD experiments are performed and the results show that the interface between silicone gel and ceramic is a weak area of insulation. Therefore, this paper demonstrates that area of weak insulation and high electric field meet at the triple point. To solve this problem, a new structure of the ceramic substrate is proposed, which isolates the interface area from the high electric field. At the same time, the new structure can significantly reduce the high electric field reinforcement.

Near-infrared (NIR) photothermal transduction agents (PTAs) with large rigid π-extended and planar structures are prone to aggregate in a physiological environment where their emission is often quenched due to the strong intermolecular dipole–dipole or π–π interactions. This aggregation-caused quenching effect greatly impedes their applications in image-guided photothermal theranostics. Herein, we made an interesting finding that engineering a bioinspired protein corona (PC), once thermodynamically stabilized in preferred orientations on PTA nanoaggregates, can produce brilliant NIR fluorescence with a high quantum yield (∼6.2%) without compromising their photothermal properties. Both experimental data and computational modeling suggest that the mechanism of fluorescence enhancement is due to the high-affinity binding of nano-sized PTA to albumin, which regulates the molecular conformation and aggregation state of PTA. High spatial and temporal resolution imaging of albumin PC-coated PTA aggregates enables image-guided photothermal therapy for cancer cells in sentinel lymph nodes to remarkably inhibit pulmonary metastasis. Such a treatment combined with the surgical removal of the primary tumor can prolong animal survival, which is a promising candidate for clinical applications in the treatment of advanced metastatic cancers.

Heterostructures have attracted enormous interest due to the properties arising from the coupling and synergizing between multiscale structures and the promising applications in electronics, mechanics, and optics. However, it is challenging for current technologies to precisely integrate cross-scale micro/nanomaterials in three dimensions (3D). Herein, we realize the precise spatial allocation of nanoblocks on micromatrices and programmable 3D optical heterostructure patterning via printing-assisted self-assembly. This bottom-up approach fully exploits the advantages of printing in on-demand patterning, low cost, and mass production, as well as the merits of solution-based colloidal assembly for simple structuring and high-precision regulating, which facilitates the patterned integration of multiscale materials. Importantly, the luminescent nanoparticle assembly can be accurately coupled to the dye-doped polymer matrix by regulating the interface wettability, enabling facile multicolor tuning in a single heterostructure. Thus, the heterostructure can be specially encoded for anticounterfeiting and encryption applications due to the morphology-dependent and interface-coupling-induced luminescence. Moreover, with the capability to achieve single-nanoparticle resolution, these findings have great potential for designing photonic superstructures and advanced optical devices.

Carbendazim (CBZ) is a broad-spectrum fungicide widely used in many nations for foliar spray as well as seed and soil treatment. The resulting contamination and environmental pollution have been drawing public attention. In particular, CBZ was reported to cause liver damage in rats and zebrafish, and the mechanisms of its toxicity have not been clarified. The purposes of this study were to investigate the metabolic activation of CBZ and to determine a possible role of the reactive metabolites in CBZ-induced liver injury reported. One oxidative metabolite (M1), one glutathione conjugate (M2), and one N-acetyl cysteine conjugate (M3) were detected in human and rat liver microsomal incubations fortified with glutathione or N-acetyl cysteine after exposure to CBZ. CYP1A2 was the major enzyme responsible for the metabolic activation of CBZ. Biliary M2 and urinary M3 were detected in rats treated with CBZ. CBZ-derived protein adduction was found in cultured rat primary hepatocytes treated with CBZ. The increase of administration concentration intensified not only the cytotoxicity but also protein adduction induced by CBZ, suggesting a correlation of the cytotoxicity with the observed protein modification. The findings facilitate the understanding of the mechanisms of toxic action of CBZ.

Underground coal gasification (UCG) technology is an innovative coal in-situ chemical combustion mining method. Affected by complex geological conditions and poor controllability, UCG has not yet realized large-scale industrial application. The gas tightness control of UCG is an important factor to ensure its safe production, but there are deficiencies in its research at this stage. In the process of UCG, complex physical and chemical changes will occur in the overburden of the gasifier under high temperature, resulting in thermal damage and fracture development of the overburden, which makes it difficult for the underground gasifier to maintain good gas tightness. In this paper, the important significance of gas tightness to underground gasifier, the influencing factors of gas tightness and how to detect and maintain gas tightness were discussed, and some suggestions were also put forward on how to reduce gas leakage and improve gas tightness.

To determine incidence and risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) development of in-hospital venous thromboembolism in urological inpatients who underwent non-oncological surgery in a tertiary hospital in China.

Positive and unlabeled (PU) learning is to learn a binary classifier with good generalization ability from PU data. A variety of PU learning algorithms with promising performance have been proposed. However, most of them assume that PU samples are "clean", which is not true in real applications due to the existing noisy or redundant samples. Thus, how to obtain a robust PU classifier with better performance is a challenging problem. To this end, we propose a novel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to tackle it, named BPUSS-MOEA. Specifically, we firstly transform the robust PU learning into a bi-objective PU sample selection (BPUSS) problem, in which two objectives are designed. One is the number of selected "clean" PU samples and the other is the PU accuracy. Then, a dual-coding scheme is designed to represent the selected "clean" PU samples and the labels of U samples. With the dual-coding scheme, a novel offspring generation strategy is developed to achieve the offsprings with high quality. To further improve the performance of BPUSS-MOEA, an effective population initialization strategy is designed. Experiments on 10 datasets with different noise levels show that compared with the state-of-the-arts, the proposed algorithm demonstrates its robustness in terms of the PU accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]