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This paper provides novel evidence of information asymmetry in exchange-traded fund (ETF) markets. By decomposing daily ETF flows, we find that the unexpected flow component, orthogonal to the components driven by market making and arbitraging, wields substantial power in predicting next day's ETF returns. Informed traders are able to exploit their information advantage to realize an annualized open-to-close return of 19.16% or close-to-close return of 22.42%. The informativeness of the unexpected ETF component is further confirmed by its strong power of predicting next day's macroeconomic and ETF-related news, while the market-making- and arbitraging-driven components are not closely related to forthcoming news. KEYWORDS authorized participant, exchange-traded fund (ETF), information asymmetry, public news JEL CLASSIFICATION G12.G14, 1 | INTRODUCTION Most exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are passive investment vehicles that track their designated market indexes. (1) Is information asymmetric in these markets of passive composite securities? Is it [...]

A quartz-enhanced photothermal spectroscopy (QEPTS) sensor for acetylene (C2H2) and methane (CH4) detection based on time division multiplexing (TDM) technology was developed. The QEPTS based on internal excitation inside tuning fork arm was implemented for the signal improvement. In the excitation structure, the part silver layer on the surface of quartz tuning fork (QTF) is chemically etched to guarantee the laser beam was injected to another side of the QTF arm at a certain angle for achieving roundtrips between both sides of the QTF single arm. The photothermal excitation presents a continuous linear form. The photothermal excitation presents a continuous linear form. Compared with the traditional excitation, the proposed detection scheme has the longer excitation path length of the photothermal signal, the better response of QTF to the laser in the refraction process inside the tuning fork arm, and the higher photothermal signal intensity. Moreover, the C2H2 and CH4 detection were achieved by the TDM of the corresponding distributed feedback (DFB) laser driver current. The experimental results showed that the minimum detection limits (MDL) of C2H2 and CH4 were 1.1689 and 1.17 ppmv, respectively. Moreover, the normalized noise-equivalent absorption (NNEA)of C2H2 is $4.534\times 10^{-9}~{\mathrm {cm}}^{-1}\,\cdot \,{\mathrm {W/Hz}}^{{1}/{2}}$ and that of CH4 is $3.283\times 10^{-9}~{\mathrm {cm}}^{-1}\,\cdot\,{\mathrm {W/Hz}}^{{1}/{2}}$ . In addition, C2H2 and CH4 samples with varying concentrations ranging from 400 to 2000 ppmv and 400–2500 ppmv were generated and used for linearity measurement, respectively, and the linear regression analysis resulted in an R-squared value of 0.99884 for CH4 and 0.99826 for C2H2.

Supervised person re-identification (ReID) has attracted widespread attentions in the computer vision community due to its great potential in real-world applications. However, the demand of human annotation heavily limits the application as it is costly to annotate identical pedestrians appearing from different cameras. Thus, how to reduce the annotation cost while preserving the performance remains challenging and has been studied extensively. In this article, we propose a tracklet-aware co-cooperative annotators’ framework to reduce the demand of human annotation. Specifically, we partition the training samples into different clusters and associate adjacent images in each cluster to produce the robust tracklet which decreases the annotation requirements significantly. Besides, to further reduce the cost, we introduce a powerful teacher model in our framework to implement the active learning strategy and select the most informative tracklets for human annotator, the teacher model itself, in our setting, also acts as an annotator to label the relatively certain tracklets. Thus, our final model could be well-trained with both confident pseudo-labels and human-given annotations. Extensive experiments on three popular person ReID datasets demonstrate that our approach could achieve competitive performance compared with state-of-the-art methods in both active learning and unsupervised learning (USL) settings.

ABSTRACTThis study was conducted to illustrate the origin of these PE-related ncRNAs in maternal circulation and their underlying transport methods into target cells. We selected 10 women with severe pre-eclampsia (PE group) and 10 healthy participants who served as controls (NC group). Exosomes were isolated from their sera and their origin was determined by a specific marker, placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP). We compared the ncrna associated with PE in exosomes and whole serum to observe the exchange of serum exosomes with trophoblast cells. The results showed that PLAP was enriched in the isolated exosomes. Seven PE-associated ncRNAs, including lnc-SNHG5, miR-26a-5p, miR-221-3p, miR-30a-3p, miR-18a, miR-152 and miR-155, were analyzed in placenta-derived exosomes and whole serum from both groups. miR-26a-5p, miR-152 and miR-155 were upregulated in the PE group compared with the NC group. 152 and miR-155 were upregulated. 152 and miR-155 were upregulated, while miR-18a and miR-221-3p were downregulated (P<0.05). ncRNAs were altered in serum and placenta-derived serum exosomes in a consistent trend. Fluorescence microscopy results showed that the nuclei were counterstained in HTR-8 cells exposed to PKH26-labeled exosomes. PE-associated ncRNAs can enter the maternal circulation through secretion and encapsulation into placenta-derived exosomes and participate in the development and progression of PE by targeting trophoblast cells. differential expression of ncRNAs in exosomes has the potential to be used as predictors for targeted therapy, providing new ideas and perspectives for improving maternal and infant outcomes.

As a pioneering multi-DOF motor, the Integrated Magnetic Suspension Spherical Induction Motor (IMSSIM) presents many advantages. Nonetheless, the IMSSIM presents a complex magnetic coupling challenge. This paper addresses the magnetic coupling issue in IMSSIM through a comprehensive investigation using the 3D finite element method (FEM). The magnetic coupling coefficients which reflect the magnetic coupling degree are proposed and analyzed. Moreover, the dynamic coupling effect inside the IMSSIM is analyzed and studied. Finally, accuracy of FEM is verified by prototype experiments.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of intraoperative frozen biopsy of central lymph nodes in central neck dissection and thyroidectomy in patients of unilateral, clinically negative nodes (cN0) papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) without extra-glandular invasion. Methods: The clinical data of 465 patients were collected retrospectively. Part of prelaryngeal, pretracheal and ipsilateral paratracheal lymph nodes were taken for frozen pathological examination during the operation. Then the thyroid lobe on the tumor side and isthmus were excised, and central neck dissection of the affected side was performed in all patients. The number of metastases in entire central lymph nodes of the affected side can be obtained by postoperative paraffin pathology. If the number of positive lymph nodes during surgery is ≥3, contralateral gland resection was performed. Results: In this group of 465 patients, there were 186 cases with central lymph node metastasis. The Kappa coefficient of consistency between frozen pathology and paraffin pathology in central lymph nodes was 0.605. The ROC curve for the number of intraoperative frozen metastases-postoperative pathological metastases over 5 showed that the AUC of the curve was 0.793, while the maximum Youden index was 0.5259, whose corresponding number of positive lymph nodes was 3. Conclusion: Intraoperative central lymph nodes biopsy can be used as an important indicator for the status of central lymph node metastasis in unilateral cN0 PTMC patients without extra-glandular invasion and a determinant for central lymph node dissection. While the number of positive lymph nodes intraoperatively is ≥3, total thyroidectomy should be considered.

The magnetic properties and magnetic phase transition critical behavior of Gd3Ga5O12single crystals subjected to high-pressure heat treatment were investigated. The results show that high-pressure heat treatment reduces the Curie temperature and magnetization of the sample. Under a magnetic field change of 5 T, the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy of the sample is approximately 19.73 J/(kg·K). High-pressure heat treatment increases the phase transition temperature range and leads to an increase in the magnetic refrigeration power. Both Gd3Ga5O12single crystals and the high-pressure heat-treated sample undergo a second-order phase transition. The critical behavior of the samples aligns with the mean field model acquired via critical model fitting. This indicates that the samples exhibit long-range exchange interactions in the system near the Curie temperature. Thus, this material can be used as a magnetic refrigerant for low-temperature applications.

Electron acceptor possessing strong electron-withdrawing ability and exceptional stability is crucial for developing donor–acceptor–donor (D-A-D) structured aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) with second near-infrared (NIR-II) emission. Although 6,7-diphenyl-[1,2,5] thiadiazolo [3,4-g] quinoxaline (PTQ) and benzobisthiadiazole (BBT) are widely employed as NIR-II building blocks, they still suffer from limited electron-withdrawing capacity or inadequate chemo-stability under alkaline conditions. Herein, a boron difluoride formazanate (BFF) acceptor is utilized to construct NIR-II AIEgen, which exhibits a better overall performance in terms of NIR-II emission and chemo-stability compared to the PTQ- and BBT-derived fluorophores. With finely tuned intramolecular motions and strong D–A interaction strength, TPE-BFF simultaneously exhibits high molar extinction coefficient (ε=4.31 × 104M–1cm–1), strong NIR-II emission (Φ = 0.49%) and photothermal effect (η = 58.5%), as well as high stability. Thanks to these merits, the thermosensitive nanoparticles constructed by integrating TPE-BFF and the antiglycolytic agent 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG) are successfully utilized for imaging-guided photothermal antitumor lung metastasis by regulating glycolysis and reducing ATP-dependent heat shock proteins. Combining experimental results and theoretical calculations, BFF proves to be an outstanding electron acceptor for the design of versatile NIR-II AIEgens. Overall, this study offers a promising alternative for developing multifunctional NIR-II AIEgens in biomedical applications.

Discovery of highly efficient and thermal stable phosphors is the focus of the studies in phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Herein, a tetraphenylethylene-based cerium metal–organic framework (SYNU-2) was synthesized and characterized. The intricate architecture of SYNU-2shows an overall 3D → 3D 2-fold interpenetration framework. SYNU-2exhibited good luminescence properties, and its latent fingerprint developer was prepared, which showed good fluorescence and stability under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It is worth noting that a prototype WLED device can be designed using SYNU-2and red phosphors (Ca,Sr)AlSiN3:Eu2+with CIE coordinates of (0.33, 0.33) at an applied 3 V bias.

Long persistent luminescence (PersL) materials have revolutionized many fields of optoelectronics and photonics due to their applications in anticounterfeiting, information encryption, and in vivo bioimaging. Here, we reported a novel PersL crystal prepared by the heterovalent doping of Sb3+into perovskite tetragonal phase RbCdCl3, comparing with the pristine non-perovskite orthorhombic phase analogue without PersL property. Surprisingly, under the UV light irradiation, the title crystals concurrently exhibit green ultralong PersL (>2400 s), high photoluminescence quantum yield (49.1%), and antithermal quenching in the range from 148 to 328 K. It was revealed by experimental results and theoretical analyses that green ultralong PersL and antithermal quenching of perovskite-phase RbCdCl3/Sb3+crystals originate from the electron transition between the 5s2level of the dopant Sb3+and the electronic defect-induced trap states. Enlightened by the excellent optical properties, the tetragonal perovskite-phase RbCdCl3/Sb3+PersL materials show promising application prospects in anticounterfeiting and encryption of information.

Zintl compounds have continuously received significant attention, primarily due to their structural characteristics that align with the properties of the electron crystal and phonon glass. In this study, the crystal structure and thermoelectric properties of the quaternary Zintl chalcogenide BaScCuTe3are investigated. The band structure calculations for BaScCuTe3reveal a slight energy split of 0.08 eV between the second valence band and the valence band maximum, suggesting the presence of multiband-transport behaviors. Substitution of rare earth Gd for Sc is conducted, which significantly increases the hole concentration from 4.1 × 1019cm–3to 8.2 × 1019cm–3at room temperature. Meanwhile, the Seebeck coefficient increases because of the participation of the second valence band. A maximum power factor of 6.56 μW/cm·K2at 773 K is obtained, which is 72% higher than that of the pristine sample. Moreover, the lattice thermal conductivity decreases from 0.57 W/m·K for BaScCuTe3to 0.48 W/m·K for BaSc0.97Gd0.03CuTe3at 773 K, owing to the introduction of point-defect scattering. As a result, there is a noteworthy improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit zT, increasing from 0.44 for the undoped sample to 0.85 for BaSc0.98Gd0.02CuTe3. Considering these findings, BaScCuTe3exhibits great potential and holds promise for further investigation in the field of thermoelectric materials.

GeTe stands as a promising lead-free medium-temperature thermoelectric material that has garnered considerable attention in recent years. Suppressing carrier concentration by aliovalent doping in GeTe-based thermoelectrics is the most common optimization strategy due to the intrinsically high Ge vacancy concentration. However, it inevitably results in a significant deterioration of carrier mobility, which limits further improvement of the zTvalue. Thus, an effective Trojan doping strategy via CuScTe2alloying is utilized to optimize carrier concentration without intensifying charge carrier scattering by increasing the solubility of Sc in the GeTe system. Because of the high doping efficiency of the Trojan doping strategy, optimized hole concentration and high mobility are obtained. Furthermore, CuScTe2alloying leads to band convergence in GeTe, increasing the effective mass m* in (Ge0.84Sb0.06Te0.9)(CuScTe2)0.05and thus significantly improving the Seebeck coefficient throughout the measured temperature range. Meanwhile, the achievement of the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity (κL∼ 0.34 W m–1K–1) at 623 K is attributed to dense point defects with mass/strain-field fluctuations. Ultimately, the (Ge0.84Sb0.06Te0.9)(CuScTe2)0.05sample exhibits a desirable thermoelectric performance of zTmax∼ 1.81 at 623 K and zTave∼ 1.01 between 300 and 723 K. This study showcases an effective doping strategy for enhancing the thermoelectric properties of GeTe-based materials by decoupling phonon and carrier scattering.

Low-dimensional organic–inorganic metal halides (OIMHs) have been explored as single-component white light emitters for applications in solid-state lighting. Herein, we report a zero-dimensional (0D) In-based OIMH (TMPDA)[InCl5(H2O)] (TMPDA = N,N,N′,N’-tetramethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine), which crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric P212121space group and contains hydrogen bonds between the adjacent [InCl5(H2O)]2–octahedra in structure. It exhibits a large optical band gap (4.10 eV) and dual-band emission under UV light. Spectroscopic analysis and theoretical calculation indicate that the high (404 nm)- and low (513 nm)-energy emissions are attributed to the bound excitons in organic ligands and self-trapped excitons in [InCl5(H2O)]2–units, respectively. It is found that Sb doping in this 0D hybrid provides additional orange (590 nm) emission assigned to the 3P1→ 1S0triplet radiative recombination. By adjusting the doping level, the emission color can be turned from turquoise to orange, and interestingly, a single-component white-light emission is realized by balancing the high-energy emission from organic ligand, the turquoise emission from [InCl5(H2O)]2–, and the orange one from [SbCl5(H2O)]2–. This work not only provides a new OIMH showing the single-component white light emission but also demonstrates the potential of In-based hybrids with hydrogen bonds for solid-state luminescence.

•We observed an increase in the number and clone size of TP53 CH mutations after chemoradiation therapy.•We found an association between increased TP53mutations after chemoradiation therapy and shorter overall survival.

Background Supraglottic laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is the second most common type of laryngeal cancer with a poor prognosis. Current population-based estimates of the early death rate and associated factors for early death of supraglottic LSCC are lacking. The purpose of this study was to assess the early death rate and related factors for early death in patients with supraglottic LSCC.Methods We identified 3733 adult patients diagnosed with supraglottic LSCC between 2010 and 2017 for whom the vital status at 3 months was known from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Patients were staged according to the seventh edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system. The early death (survival time ≤ 3 months) rate was calculated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors associated with the early death rate.Results 313 (8.38%) of the 3733 patients died within 3 months of diagnosis of supraglottic LSCC. Of these, 225 patients died from cancer-specific causes. Multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed that advanced age, male sex, advanced T stage, advanced N stage, advanced M stage, and not undergoing treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) had significant correlations with all-cause early death in supraglottic LSCC. In addition, advanced age, advanced T stage, advanced N stage, advanced M stage, and not undergoing treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) were significantly correlated with cancer specificity in supraglottic LSCC.Conclusion When a tumor is newly diagnosed, we should pay close attention to sex, age, unmarried status and AJCC TNM staging to quickly detect supraglottic LSCC patients with a tendency toward early death. These findings have implications for precise prognosis prediction and individualized and personalized patient counseling and therapy.

Resorting to the principle of rigid body kinematics, a novel framework for a multirobot network is proposed to form and maintain an invariant rigid geometric shape. Unlike consensus-based formation, this approach can perform both translational and rotational movements of the formation geometry, ensuring that the entire formation motion remains consistent with the leader. To achieve the target formation shape and motion, a distributed control protocol for multiple Euler-Lagrange robotic vehicles subject to nonholonomic constraints is developed. The proposed protocol includes a novel prescribed performance control (PPC) algorithm that addresses the second-order dynamics of the robotic vehicles by employing a combination of nonsingular sliding manifold and adaptive law. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed formation framework and control protocol is demonstrated through the numerical simulations and practical experiments with a team of four robotic vehicles.

Amid the world’s escalating energy needs, rechargeable zinc–air batteries stand out because of their environmental sustainability, with their performance being critically dependent on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The inherent slow kinetics of the ORR at air electrodes frequently constrains their operational efficiency. Here, we develop a new self-catalytic approach for in situ growth of carbon nanotubes with new cathode material Co@CoN3/CNTs-800 without external additives. Density functional theory calculation reveals this method integrates nonprecious single-atom catalysis with spatial confinement, facilitating large-scale, in situ fabrication of CNTs, which can support dispersed atomic CoN3sites and enforce spatial confinement on Co nanoparticles. The Co@CoN3/CNTs-800 electrode achieves an electron transfer number close to ideal (3.9 out of 4.0). In rechargeable zinc–air flow batteries, it achieves a peak power density of 169.5 mW cm–2and a voltage gap that is only 1.6% larger than the original after 700 h. This work surmounts critical challenges in the ORR kinetics for zinc–air batteries.

Objective This study represents the inaugural attempt to systematically review and analyse the efficacy of bright light therapy on depression among women experiencing major depressive disorder or depressive symptoms during the perinatal period, encompassing its efficacy on depression scores, remission rates, and response rates.Methods We searched 10 databases for randomized controlled trials examining bright light therapy's efficacy on perinatal depression up to January 2024. Data extraction was performed independently by 2 investigators. The Cochrane Handbook guidelines appraised the study quality, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) approach assessed evidence certainty.Results We incorporated 6 studies, encompassing 151 participants. When contrasted with dim light therapy, bright light therapy did not significantly alter depression scores (standard mean difference = −0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.62 to 0.04, P= 0.08, I² = 34%) or response rates (risk ratio [RR] = 1.56, 95% CI, 0.98 to 2.49, P= 0.06, I² = 0%) in women experiencing perinatal depression. Conversely, bright light therapy was associated with a substantial increase in remission rates (RR = 2.63, 95% CI, 1.29 to 5.38, P= 0.008, I² = 2%).Conclusion Bright light therapy did not show efficacy in treating perinatal depression in terms of depression scores and response rates. However, regarding the remission rate, bright light did show efficacy compared to control conditions. Due to the limited sample size in the included studies, type II err or may occur. To obtain more conclusive evidence, future studies must employ larger sample sizes.

This paper focuses on the combined path following (PF) and direct yaw-moment control (DYC) problem of unmanned electric vehicles (UEVs) based on an event-triggered Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy method. First, to describe the parameter uncertainties and nonlinear tire dynamics of UEVs, a T–S fuzzy dynamic model is developed for performance analysis and controller design of the vehicle lateral dynamic system. Second, as the signal transmission inevitably suffers from delay and data dropouts because of the limited network bandwidth, an event-triggered scheme is constructed to complete the communication scheduling and save the communication resource. Third, considering that there is an unavoidable asynchronous constraint between the fuzzy system and the fuzzy controller due to the communication delay, a hierarchical event-triggered fuzzy controller design approach is given via a new Lyapunov functional. Moreover, a differential distribution scheme is introduced to obtain the desired torque of each tire of the vehicle. Finally, experimental results validate that the presented controller in this paper is able to improve the path following accuracy by 61.93% with a resource economization 92.04% compared with the existing method.

Two sulfur-containing heterodimers of a cytochalasan and a macrolide, sucurchalasins A and B (1and 2), and four known cytochalasan monomers (3–6), as well as four known macrolide derivatives (7–10), were obtained from the endophytic fungus Aspergillus spelaeusGDGJ-286. Sucurchalasins A and B (1and 2) are the first cytochalasan heterodimers formed via a thioether bridge between cytochalasan and curvularin macrolide units. Their structures were elucidated by detailed analysis of NMR, LC-MS/MS, and X-ray crystallography. In bioassays, 1and 2exhibited cytotoxic effects on A2780 cells, with IC50values of 3.9 and 8.3 μM, respectively. They also showed antibacterial activities against E. faecalisand B. subtiliswith MIC values of 3.1 and 6.3 μg/mL, respectively.

Reperfusion injury represents a significant impediment to recovery after recanalization in an ischemic stroke and can be alleviated by neuroprotectants. However, inadequate drug delivery to ischemic lesions impairs the therapeutic effects of neuroprotectants. To address this issue, an ischemic microenvironment-targeted bioinspired lipoprotein system encapsulating lipoic acid (LA@PHDL) is herein designed to sequentially penetrate ischemic lesions and be readily taken up by neurons and microglia. In transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mouse models, LA@PHDL accumulates rapidly and preferentially in the ischemic brain, with a 2.29-fold higher than the nontargeted nanoplatform in the early stage. Furthermore, LA@PHDL effectively restores neurological function, reduces infarct volume to 17.70%, prevents brain cell necrosis and apoptosis, and attenuates inflammation in tMCAO mouse models. This design presents new opportunities for delivering neuroprotectants to cerebral ischemic lesions to improve the outcome of an ischemic stroke.

In this work, three unique TbIII-carboxylate frameworks with the formula {[Tb2(OH)2(H2O)2(abtc)]·2H2O}n(1), {[Tb2(abtc)1.5(H2O)3(DMA)]·H2O}n(2) and {[Tb3(abtc)2.5(H2O)4]·H3O}n(3), each displaying structural variations, have been successfully synthesized by the solvothermal reactions of Tb(NO3)3·6H2O with the azo-containing ligand 3,3′,5,5′-azobenzene tetracarboxylic acid (H4abtc) under varying conditions. Detailed single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) analysis manifested a remarkable diversity in these structures, demonstrating various coordination patterns of TbIII-metal nodes with the carboxylate groups of the organic linker, which contributed to the generation of intricate three-dimensional (3D) coordination networks with remarkable chemical resistance. Furthermore, frameworks 2and 3, characterized by porous networks containing two and three independent TbIII-metal nodes, respectively, were both demonstrated to be efficient heterogeneous catalysts toward the cyanosilylation of imines under mild conditions with excellent reusability. In addition, direct current (Dc) magnetic susceptibility measurements conducted on frameworks 1, 2, and 3indicated that there were obvious antiferromagnetic interactions among the TbIII-metal nodes, which suggests the involvement of intricate intra- and intertrimerexchange channels, adding another fascinating dimension to their physical properties.

Research has demonstrated the difficulty associated with degrading the conventional 1–2 carbon aliphatic halogenated byproducts of disinfectant reactions with organic matter [disinfection byproducts (DBPs)] within advanced oxidation process (AOP) units in potable reuse trains, but the efficacy of AOP units for treating the emerging classes of halogenated aromatic DBPs is unclear. We herein demonstrate more effective removal of 28 halogenated aromatic DBPs in the UV/H2O2AOP at 222 nm (UV222) than in the conventional UV/H2O2AOP at 254 nm. Direct photolysis of 28 halogenated aromatic DBPs was greatly enhanced at 222 nm with fluence-based photodecay rate constants of 4.31 × 10–4–1.53 × 10–2cm2mJ–1, which was mainly attributed to the higher molar absorption coefficients of halogenated aromatic DBPs at 222 nm than 254 nm. Generally, quantum yields of halogenated aromatic DBPs at both 222 and 254 nm followed the order of halophenols > halohydroxybenzaldehydes > halonitrophenols. All 28 halogenated aromatic DBPs exhibit high reactivity toward HO•with second-order rate constants ranging from 2.18 × 109to 1.15 × 1010M–1s–1determined by X-ray radiolysis. The UV fluence required to achieve 90% loss of halogenated aromatic DBPs in the UV222/H2O2AOP was 75–95% lower than that in the UV254/H2O2AOP, and 90% removal of most tested halogenated aromatic DBPs can be achieved in the UV222/H2O2AOP within the UV fluence levels commonly applied in potable reuse (700–1000 mJ cm–2).

Purpose To assess the relationship between visual acuity and OCT angiography parameters in diabetic retinopathy eyes after treatment, and to analyze the relative factors in PDR eyes.Methods A total of 89 eyes, including 42 eyes with non-PDR (NPDR), and 47 eyes after vitrectomy with PDR were included and underwent OCTA. All images were processed by Python or FIJI. Multivariable linear regression models were used to analyze the associations between postoperative BCVA and OCTA parameters in PDR patients.Results Postoperative OCTA parameters including deep capillary plexus (DCP) parafoveal and perifoveal vessel density (VD), DCP parafoveal and perifoveal vessel length density (VLD), DCP fractal dimension (FD), choriocapillaris plexus (CCP) VD, CCP VLD, were significantly lower in the PDR group than in the NPDR group. In the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), we found a negative correlation between the postoperative BCVA and VD (parafovea: β coefficient = -0.351, p= 0.023; perifovea: β coefficient = -0.338, p= 0.036). Perifoveal VLD (β coefficient = -0.343, p= 0.031) and FD (β coefficient = -0.375, p= 0.016) of the SCP were also negatively correlated with postoperative BCVA. Regarding the DCP, perifoveal VD (β coefficient = -0.396, p= 0.008), perifoveal VLD (β coefficient = -0.334, p= 0.025), vessel tortuosity (VT) (β coefficient = -0.369, p= 0.015) were negatively correlated with postoperative BCVA. In CCP, VLD (β coefficient = -0.373, p= 0.023) and number of flow voids (β coefficient = -0.334, p= 0.036) exhibited a negative association with postoperative BCVA.Conclusions Postoperative BCVA of PDR patients was related to OCTA parameters of the SCP (parafoveal and perifoveal VD, perifoveal VLD and FD), DCP (perifoveal VD, VLD, and VT) and CCP (VLD and number of flow voids).

With increasing vehicle ownership and utilization in urban areas, parking robot systems have become a promising tool to cope with both the parking difficulties and hazards in parking lots. With assistance of the parking robot systems, vehicles are not human-operated in parking lots but fetched by a parking robot to the target places. This study starts by depicting the parking robot allocations and movements consisting of empty-loaded and loaded trips as well as picking-up and setting-down operations. Then, with multi-stage processes aiming to minimize the empty-loaded and loaded travel time, respectively, a two-stage allocation model was proposed to assign parking robots to vehicles and allocate the vehicles with target places. Furthermore, a cellular automaton (CA) simulation was introduced and extended with additional priority rules to solve potential travel conflicts occurring in parking lots. Basing on a campus parking lot in Shanghai, China, the flowchart of the CA simulation was proposed to implement and validate the proposed allocation model. The results demonstrate that, compared with the one-stage allocation model, the proposed allocation model has the potential to decrease queue length and waiting time both at parking lot entrances and parking spaces, which may assist in design and operation of future parking lots.

Spatial trajectory prediction is a fundamental problem for diverse location-based applications. However, existing methods fall short in learning and generalization, and cannot sufficiently capture users’ spatiotemporal preferences, especially for cold-start users. Moreover, these methods do not explicitly consider the diversity of moving patterns among users and trajectories, i.e., the learning difficulty of different user and trajectory samples, thus hindering the improvement of prediction accuracy. To solve these problems, we propose a novel Curriculum and Contrastive Learning Enhanced Meta-Learner (CCML) that transfers knowledge from users with rich data to cold-start users. Specifically, a Contrastive-based Trajectory Predictor (CTP) is designed as the base model, which utilizes contrastive learning technique on both user-level and trajectory-level, aiming to facilitate a more profound understanding and differentiation of the varied travel behaviors and preferences exhibited by individuals. Meanwhile, CCML also incorporates the curriculum learning and the hard sample mining strategies. It simultaneously considers the learning difficulty of both user and trajectory samples, and presents the learning tasks by an easy-to-hard curriculum. By learning more challenging combinations of user and trajectory samples in each meta-learning iteration, the meta-learner can converge to a better status. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of our models.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention in biomedical applications. However, the rapid, efficient, and unbiased separation of EVs from complex biological fluids remains a challenge due to their heterogeneity and low abundance in biofluids. Herein, we report a novel approach to reconfigure and modify an artificial insertion peptide for the unbiased and rapid isolation of EVs in 20 min with ∼80% recovery in neutral conditions. Moreover, the approach demonstrates exceptional anti-interference capability and achieves a high purity of EVs comparable to standard ultracentrifugation and other methods. Importantly, the isolated EVs could be directly applied for downstream protein and nucleic acid analyses, including proteomics analysis, exome sequencing analysis, as well as the detection of both epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Viral Oncogene Homologue (KRAS) gene mutation in clinical plasma samples. Our approach offers great possibilities for utilizing EVs in liquid biopsy, as well as in various other biomedical applications.

This article presents an asymptotic prescribed output-feedback control method for robotic systems without function approximation techniques such as neural networks (NNs) and/or fuzzy logic systems (FLSs). The derived controller can not only drive the tracking error to zero within the predefined transient and steady-state boundary but also avoid the conventional recursive controller design procedure. To realize such objectives, a novel high-gain observer is first constructed by employing a sliding mode-like modification term, such that the finite-time (FT) convergence of the observer error can be achieved. Then, an adaptive proportional–integral approximation-free output-feedback controller is designed. Unlike known results, a tracking error surface is involved into the suggested control framework, which is dedicated to allowing one-step controller design procedure. This control is more straightforward to implement with reduced computational burden. Rigorous theoretical analysis is studied via the Lyapunov stability theory to prove the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. The superiority and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated with comparative numerical simulation and experiment with a robotic test-rig.

Promotion of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics, to a large extent, depends on the rational modulation of the electronic structure and mass diffusion of electrocatalysts. Herein, a ferrocene (Fc)–assisted strategy is developed to prepare Fc-trapped ZnMo–hybrid zeolitic imidazolate framework (Fc@ZnMo-HZIF-50) and the derived Fe single atom coupling with MoC nanoparticles, coembedded in hierarchically porous N-doped carbon cubes (MoC@FeNC-50). The introduced Fc is utilized not only as an iron source for single atoms but also as a morphology regulator for generating a hierarchically porous structure. The redistribution of electrons between Fe single atoms and MoC nanoparticles effectively promotes the adsorption of O2and the formation of *OOH intermediates during the ORR process. Along with a 3D hierarchically porous architecture for enhanced mass transport, the as-fabricated MoC@FeNC-50 presents excellent activity (E1/2= 0.83 V) and durability (only 9.5% decay in current after 40000 s). This work could inspire valuable insights into the construction of efficient electrocatalysts through electron configuration and kinetics engineering.

The electronically controlled semi-active air suspension systems have been widely used to improve the vehicle ride comfort and road holding performance by adjusting the damper stiffness. This work focuses on the design of a damping force controller to enhance the ride comfort, road holding and stability under the presence of unknown air spring pressure. Firstly, an improved skyhook suspension reference model is developed to generate the desired dynamic criteria (i.e. vehicle body acceleration, pitch and roll angles). Secondly, by employing the backstepping technique, a novel damping force controller is proposed to approach the desired dynamic criteria. Thirdly, a parameter estimation method is also designed to estimate the air spring pressure to obtain the air spring force. Comparative studies are carried out among passive suspension systems, and the semi-active air suspension systems with the proposed model reference damping force control, traditional backstepping control and existing sliding mode control. Numerical results show that a significant improvement of ride comfort can be observed with the semi-active air suspension system based on the proposed model reference backstepping controller.

Process industry indicator describes the production status and is crucial to the stable process operation. Its low sampling frequency makes it difficult to meet the indicator perception needs for real-time process control. Indicator estimation is a promising alternative to improve its obtaining frequency. However, the low sampling frequency of indicators leads to observation scarcity, discouraging shortening the estimation period. Moreover, fluctuations in working conditions (WCs) result in difficulty in reliable estimation. Therefore, a variable-period estimation method is proposed to change the estimation period reliably in the absence of observations. First, the WCs are identified by extracting semantic information from logs. Second, the network group is proposed, which achieves variable-period estimation by adjusting the number of subnetworks. Moreover, two mechanism constraints and a continuous accumulation mapping are proposed to ensure the estimation credibility. A case study of the zinc electrowinning process is provided to validate the method.

Lane detection is one of the most fundamental tasks in autonomous driving perception, but it still faces many challenges in some special driving scenarios. For example, in dazzling light, crowded roads, etc., lane detection is very dependent on surrounding visual cues. Previous segmentation-based lane detection methods have not paid enough attention to the surrounding visual range, resulting in poor performance. In this paper, we design a novel lane detection network namely HW-Transformer, which is based on row and column multi-head self-attention. It restricts the attention only to their respective rows and columns, and transfers information across rows and columns by intersection features. In this way, the attention to the visual range around the lane is greatly expanded, and the communication of global information can be achieved through intersecting features. In addition, we further propose a self-attention knowledge distillation (SAKD) method for the Transformer model, where higher-level attention guides lower-level attention to learn. SAKD not only helps to improve the performance of lane detection, but also has universality in better learning semantic features from general images. Extensive experiments on BDD100K, TuSimple, CULane, and VIL100 datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art segmentation-based lane detection methods. We also apply the proposed SAKD to DeiT-tiny, and it achieves 1.51 Top-1 accuracy improvement on ImageNet-1K dataset. Our code will be available at https://github.com/Cuibaby/HWLane.

AbstractAims/Background:Insulinoma is an extremely rare condition in pediatric patients. This study aims to examine the pathological and clinical characteristics of pediatric insulinoma.Methods:A retrospective, single-center study was conducted involving five pediatric patients diagnosed with insulinoma. The study involved evaluating the postoperative status of the patients during follow-up and analyzing their clinical manifestations, diagnostic work-up, pathological findings, and therapeutic approaches.Results:The study cohort comprised four males and one female, aged between 4 and 9 years. Common symptoms included dizziness and fatigue. The insulinomas were located in various parts of the pancreas: two in the head, one in the neck, one in the body, and one in the tail. After undergoing subtotal pancreatectomy, four patients experienced no side effects during a follow-up period of 41 to 153 months. One patient, who underwent an incomplete pancreatic resection, required ongoing postoperative treatment with 150 mg Creon due to pancreatic enzyme deficiency. Postoperative pathological results indicated that all cases were low-grade neuroendocrine tumours, classified as grade 1 (G1) or grade 2 (G2). Two cases exhibited capsule invasion, and one case showed microvascular invasion. Despite these invasions, no recurrences or metastases have been observed to date.Conclusion:Surgical resection is a viable treatment option for pediatric insulinoma, yielding a favorable prognosis. The presence of capsular and microvascular invasions does not seem to affect the overall prognosis in these cases.

Gemcitabine (GEM) is widely employed in the treatment of various cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Despite their clinical success, challenges related to GEM resistance and toxicity persist. Therefore, a deeper understanding of its intracellular mechanisms and potential targets is urgently needed. In this study, through mass spectrometry analysis in data-dependent acquisition mode, we carried out quantitative proteomics (three independent replications) and thermal proteome profiling (TPP, two independent replications) on MIA PaCa-2 cells to explore the effects of GEM. Our proteomic analysis revealed that GEM led to the upregulation of the cell cycle and DNA replication proteins. Notably, we observed the upregulation of S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (SKP2), a cell cycle and chemoresistance regulator. Combining SKP2 inhibition with GEM showed synergistic effects, suggesting SKP2 as a potential target for enhancing the GEM sensitivity. Through TPP, we pinpointed four potential GEM binding targets implicated in tumor development, including in breast and liver cancers, underscoring GEM’s broad-spectrum antitumor capabilities. These findings provide valuable insights into GEM’s molecular mechanisms and offer potential targets for improving treatment efficacy.

In this paper, a PZT (lead zirconate titanate)-based absorber and energy harvester (PAEH) is used for passive control of friction-induced stick-slip vibration in a friction system. Its stability condition coupled with PAEH is analytically derived, whose efficiency is then demonstrated by numerical simulation. The results show that the structural parameters of the PAEH can significantly affect the system stability, which increases with the mass ratio between the PAEH and the primary system, but first increases and then decreases with the natural frequency ratio between the PAEH and the primary system. The impacts of the electric parameters of the PAEH on the system stability are found to be insignificant. In addition, the PAEH can effectively suppress the stick-slip limit cycle magnitude in a wide working parameter range; however, it does not function well for friction systems in all the working conditions. The stick-slip vibration amplitude can be increased in the case of a large loading (normal) force. Finally, an experiment on a tribo-dynamometer validates the findings of the theoretical study, in which the vibration reduction and energy harvesting performance of the PAEH is fully demonstrated.

In this study, a novel method is proposed for producing perovskite rare-earth manganese oxide magnetic refrigeration materials that exhibit superior properties compared to similar materials. The maximum magnetic entropy change values for this sample are 1.44 and 3.75 J·kg−1·K−1for magnetic fields of 2 and 7 T, respectively. Additionally, its relative cooling power has been calculated to be 101.96 and 404.78 J·kg−1, indicating good performance. Both results were obtained using the sample synthesized under a pressure of 4 GPa, and the sample has undergone a second phase transition. The critical behavior of the sample fits well with the mean field model. For different magnetic fields, there is a significant overlap between the values of the maximum magnetic entropy change and the temperature-averaged entropy change, indicating that the refrigeration performance of the sample after high pressure can approach its maximum capability.

Recently synthesized two-dimensional (2D) monolayer quasi-hexagonal-phase fullerene (qHPC60) demonstrates excellent thermodynamic stability. Within this monolayer, each fullerene cluster is surrounded by six adjacent C60cages along an equatorial plane and is connected by both C–C single bonds and [2 + 2] cycloaddition bonds that serve as bridges. In this study, we investigate the stability mechanism of the 2D qHPC60monolayer by examining the electronic structure and chemical bonding through state-of-the-art theoretical methodologies. Density functional theory (DFT) studies reveal that 2D qHPC60possesses a moderate direct electronic band gap of 1.46 eV, close to the experimental value (1.6 eV). It is found that the intermolecular bridge bonds play a crucial role in enhancing the charge flow and redistribution among C60cages, leading to the formation of dual π-aromaticity within the C60sphere and stabilizing the 2D framework structure. Furthermore, we identify a series of delocalized superatom molecular orbitals (SAMOs) within the 2D qHPC60monolayer, exhibiting atomic orbital-like behavior and hybridization to form nearly free-electron (NFE) bands with σ/π bonding and σ*/π* antibonding properties. Our findings provide insights into the design and potential applications of NFE bands derived from SAMOs in 2D qHPC60monolayers.

Organic–inorganic hybrid halides have gained attention for their ease of processing and remarkable optoelectronic properties. However, the relationship between the structure and optical properties requires further exploration. In this study, the butyltrimethylammonium cation (C7H18N+) was chosen, and seven compounds were synthesized: (C7H18N)3Sb2X9(X = Cl, Br), (C7H18N)3Bi2X9(X = Cl, Br, I), and (C7H18N)(C2H8N)MBr5(M = Sb, Bi). Crystals with a single organic cation exhibit a zero-dimensional structure, while the introduction of dimethylamine ions increases the crystal dimensionality from zero-dimensional (C7H18N)3Sb2Br9to one-dimensional (C7H18N)(C2H8N)SbBr5. Under 372 nm excitation, (C7H18N)3Sb2Cl9showed broad orange-red single-band emission with a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 88.4% and an external quantum efficiency of up to 56.9%. A white light-emitting diode based on (C7H18N)3Sb2Cl9achieved a high color rendering index of 96.3. Moreover, dual-band emission was observed in (C7H18N)3Sb2Cl9under 308 nm excitation, which exhibits an absolute temperature sensitivity of 1.96 × 10–3K–1(320 K), and a flexible film was prepared by incorporating polydimethylsiloxane. This shows the promise of hybrid metal halides as photoluminescent materials and their possibilities for temperature sensing.

In this paper, we demonstrated a very competitive RGB tandem OLED based on ViP technology that showed low power consumption and long lifetime. Compared to the traditional single OLED for mass production, panels based on tandem OLED can reduce power consumption by 29% and increase lifetime by more than 3.3 times. In combination with ViP technology, 8% efficiency improvement was obtained by optimizing the light‐emitting layer positions of RGB tandem OLEDs and thickness of cathode and capping layer (CPL), respectively, achieving a white light emission current efficiency over 134 cd/A.

ABSTRACTParasite-specific CD4+Th1 cell responses are the predominant immune effector for controlling malaria infection; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study demonstrated that ATG5 deficiency in myeloid cells can significantly inhibit the growth of rodent blood-stage malarial parasites by selectively enhancing parasite-specific CD4+Th1 cell responses. This effect was independent of ATG5-mediated canonical and non-canonical autophagy. Mechanistically, ATG5 deficiency suppressed FAS-mediated apoptosis of LY6G−ITGAM/CD11b+ADGRE1/F4/80−cells and subsequently increased CCL2/MCP-1 production in parasite-infected mice. LY6G−ITGAM+ADGRE1−cell-derived CCL2 selectively interacted with CCR2 on CD4+Th1 cells for their optimized responses through the JAK2-STAT4 pathway. The administration of recombinant CCL2 significantly promoted parasite-specific CD4+Th1 responses and suppressed malaria infection. Conclusively, our study highlights the previously unrecognized role of ATG5 in modulating myeloid cells apoptosis and sequentially affecting CCL2 production, which selectively promotes CD4+Th1 cell responses. Our findings provide new insights into the development of immune interventions and effective anti-malarial vaccines.Abbreviations: ATG5: autophagy related 5; CBA: cytometric bead array; CCL2/MCP-1: C-C motif chemokine ligand 2; IgG: immunoglobulin G; IL6: interleukin 6; IL10: interleukin 10; IL12: interleukin 12; MFI: mean fluorescence intensity; JAK2: Janus kinase 2; LAP: LC3-associated phagocytosis; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; pRBCs: parasitized red blood cells; RUBCN: RUN domain and cysteine-rich domain containing, Beclin 1-interacting protein; STAT4: signal transducer and activator of transcription 4; Th1: T helper 1 cell; Tfh: follicular helper cell; ULK1: unc-51 like kinase 1.

Wavelength tunability in lasers plays a crucial role in broad applications ranging from communication to manufacturing. Compared to traditional semiconductors, metal halide perovskites have attracted broad interest in optical applications due to their tunable band gap, outstanding gain properties, and solution synthesis process. However, further advancement of the solution process is hampered by phase segregation, which introduces inconsistencies and compromises the reliability. Here, the mechanism of the growth of perovskite sheets with a solution saturation-controlled method is proposed. By employing high supersaturation conditions with antisolvents in the solution, the phase segregation and ion-exchange processes are suppressed. Consistent phase composition is achieved across perovskite sheets with varying halide ratios, enabling wavelength-tunable lasing spanning a spectral range from 425 to 542 nm. High gain and clear boundaries of these sheets contribute to the lasing behavior, with a quality factor of up to 4211. In addition, perovskite sheets are synthesized rapidly in a low solute concentration but high saturation environment, reducing the completion time by approximately 80%. These results pave the way for low-cost manufacturing of wavelength-tunable microlasers.

Soil-borne diseases represent an impediment to the sustainable development of agriculture. A soil-borne disease caused by Ilyonectria destructansseverely impacts Panaxspecies, and soil disinfestation has proven to be an effective management approach. Here, diallyl trisulfide (DATS), derived from garlic, exhibited pronounced inhibitory effects on the growth of I. destructansin vitrotests and contributed to the alleviation of soil-borne diseases in the field. A comprehensive analysis demonstrated that DATS inhibits the growth of I. destructansby activating detoxifying enzymes, such as GSTs, disrupting the equilibrium of redox reactions. A series of antioxidant amino acids were suppressed by DATS. Particularly noteworthy is the substantial depletion of glutathione by DATS, resulting in the accumulation of ROS, ultimately culminating in the inhibition of I. destructansgrowth. Briefly, DATS could effectively suppress soil-borne diseases by inhibiting pathogen growth through the activation of ROS, and it holds promise as a potential environmentally friendly soil disinfestation.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common pathological type of external and middle ear malignancy. Squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal and middle ear is closely associated with long-term chronic inflammatory irritation. The patient was admitted with a major complaint of a “stuffy feeling in the left ear for more than three months.” The results of the otoendoscopic examination were as follows: The left external auditory canal was filled with a granuloma-shaped mass with an unsmooth surface that showed obvious oozing of blood. The tympanic membrane was not visible. After the completion of the relevant examinations, radiofrequency resection of the external auditory canal mass was performed under otoendoscopy and the wound healed well with postoperative dressing changes. Pathological results revealed a well-differentiated keratinizing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and there was no recurrence throughout the next 5 years after the operation. Proper preoperative evaluation and the correct selection of surgical approaches can be of great importance. The primary complication of ear squamous cell carcinoma was local recurrence with a low incidence of metastasis. Early and complete resection was determined to be the optimal course of treatment.