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Previous studies have suggested that adamts9(a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type-1 motifs, member 9), an extracellular matrix (ECM) metalloprotease, participates in primordial germ cell (PGC) migration and is necessary for female fertility. In this study, we found that adamts9knockout (KO) led to reduced body size, and female-to-male sex conversion in late juvenile or adult zebrafish; however, primary sex determination was not affected in early juveniles of adamts9KO. Overfeeding and lowering the rearing density rescued growth defects in female adamts9KO fish but did not rescue defects in ovarian development in adamts9KO. Delayed PGC proliferation, significantly reduced number and size of Stage IB follicles (equivalent to primary follicles) in early juveniles of adamts9KO, and arrested development at Stage IB follicles in mid- or late-juveniles of adamts9KO are likely causes of female infertility and sex conversion. Via RNAseq, we found significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes involved in ECM organization during sexual maturation in ovaries of wildtype fish; and significant dysregulation of these genes in adamts9KO ovaries. RNAseq analysis also showed enrichment of inflammatory transcriptomic signatures in adult ovaries of these adamts9KO. Taken together, our results indicate that adamts9is critical for development of primary ovarian follicles and maintenance of female sex, and loss of adamts9leads to defects in ovarian follicle development, female infertility, and sex conversion in late juveniles and mature adults. These results show that the ECM and extracellular metalloproteases play major roles in maintaining ovarian follicle development in zebrafish.Arrested primary ovarian follicles and female to male sex conversion in Adamts9 KO zebrafish are due to dysregulation of extracellular matrix.Graphical Abstract

Purpose: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) plays an important role in tumorigenesis in several endocrine-related cancers. Few studies have shown the effect of non-HDL-c in malignant tumors. The present study aimed to identify the association between non-HDL-c and high-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs). Methods: A total of 197 PNEN patients who underwent surgery were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical and histopathological features, such as patients’ age and sex, tumor location and size, tumor grade, the level of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and fasting plasma-glucose levels were obtained. Non-HDL-c was calculated as total cholesterol - HDL-c. The relationships between those features and high-grade PNENs were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: Among the 197 patients with PNENs, a lower HDL-c level was more common seen in patients with poorly differentiated PNENs than in those with well-differentiated PNENs (P< 0.05). The non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio was greater in patients with poorly differentiated PNENs than in those with well-differentiated PNENs (P< 0.01). Similarly, a greater proportion of patients with a non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio larger than 5 was found in patients with poorly differentiated PNENs than in those with well-differentiation PNENs (P< 0.01). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio was positively associated with poorly differentiated PNENs (odds ratio (OR) = 1.45, 95% conference interval (CI):1.13–1.87). Similarly, the risk of poorly differentiated PNENs increased significantly in patients with a non-HDL-c/HDL-c greater than 5 (OR = 14.13, 95%CI: 2.98–66.89). The risk of high-grade PNENs increased in patients with a high non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.04–1.55), and the risk also increased markedly when the ratio was greater than 5 (OR = 5.00, 95%CI: 1.28–19.49). Conclusions: A high ratio of non-HDL-c/HDL-c was associated with high-grade PNENs or poorly differentiated PNENs.

While substantial amounts of antibiotics and pesticides are applied to maintain orchard yields, their influence on the dissemination and risk of antibiotic resisitome in the orchard food chain remains poorly understood. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities and differentiated both antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in the soil, Chinese bayberry (matured and fallen), and fruit fly gut, collected from five geographic locations. Our results showed that fruit fly guts and soils exhibit a higher abundance of ARGs and VFGs compared with bayberry fruits. We identified 112 shared ARGs and 75 shared VFGs, with aminoglycoside and adherence factor genes being among the most abundant. The co-occurrence network revealed some shared microbes, such as Bacillusand Candida, as potential hosts of ARGs, highlighting the vector risks for both above- and below-ground parts of the orchard food chain. Notably, the elevated levels of antibiotics and pesticide residues in orchard soils increase ARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and VFGs in the soil-bayberry-fruit fly food chain. Our study highlighted that agricultural management, including the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides, could be the key factor in accumulating resistomes in the orchard food chain.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas with various production pathways. N2O reductase (N2OR) is the primary N2O sink, but the distribution of its gene clades, typically nosZI and atypically nosZII, along urbanization gradients remains poorly understood. Here we sampled soils from forests, parks, and farmland across eight provinces in eastern China, using high-throughput sequencing to distinguish between two N2O-reducing bacteria clades. A deterministic process mainly determined assemblies of the nosZI communities. Homogeneous selection drove nosZI deterministic processes, and both homogeneous and heterogeneous selection influenced nosZII. This suggests nosZII is more sensitive to environmental changes than nosZI, with significant changes in community structure over time or space. Ecosystems with stronger anthropogenic disturbance, such as urban areas, provide diverse ecological niches for N2O-reducing bacteria (especially nosZII) to adapt to environmental fluctuations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analyses revealed that pH significantly influences the community composition of both N2O-reducing bacteria clades. This study underscores urbanization’s impact on N2O-reducing bacteria in urban soils, highlighting the importance of nosZII and survival strategies. It offers novel insights into the role of atypical denitrifiers among N2O-reducing bacteria, underscoring their potential ecological importance in mitigating N2O emissions from urban soils.

ABSTRACTEfficient aggregation of temporal information is the basis for achieving video super-resolution. Most researchers have employed alignment or propagation to exploit the temporal information of consecutive frames. However, they frequently overlook the centrality of the reference frame in the model reconstruction when using temporal features. Thus, in this paper, we design a novel recurrent feature supplementation network. We divide the temporal information into three parts: surrounding, back propagation and forward propagation, and extract and fuse them separately. A new grouping approach is proposed for extracting features from the reference frame and its surroundings. The backward temporal fusion module and the forward temporal fusion module are designed to aggregate the backward and forward temporal information at a distance. The temporal fusion module is designed to aggregate temporal information from different parts. Moreover, we propose a feature supplementation mechanism to improve the stability of the model. The feature supplement module is devised to improve the utilization of input features and the stability of the model. Experiments demonstrate that our model achieves the state-of-the-art performance.

This study delves into the intricate deposition dynamics of submicron particles within electric-flow coupled fields, underscoring the unique challenges posed by their minuscule size, aggregation tendencies, and biological reactivity. Employing an operando investigation system that synergizes microfluidic technology with advanced micro-visualization techniques within a lab-on-a-chip framework enables a meticulous examination of the dynamic deposition phenomena. The incorporation of object detection and deep learning methodologies in image processing streamlines the automatic identification and swift extraction of crucial data, effectively tackling the complexities associated with capturing and mitigating these hazardous particles. Combined with the analysis of the growth behavior of particle chain under different applied voltages, it established that a linear relationship exists between the applied voltage and θ. And there is a negative correlation between the average particle chain length and electric field strength at the collection electrode surface (4.2×105to 1.6×106V·m–1). The morphology of the deposited particle agglomerate at different electric field strengths is proposed: dendritic agglomerate, long chain agglomerate, and short chain agglomerate.

The rapid evolution of viruses generates proteins that are essential for infectivity and replication but with unknown functions, due to extreme sequence divergence1. Here, using a database of 67,715 newly predicted protein structures from 4,463 eukaryotic viral species, we found that 62% of viral proteins are structurally distinct and lack homologues in the AlphaFold database2,3. Among the remaining 38% of viral proteins, many have non-viral structural analogues that revealed surprising similarities between human pathogens and their eukaryotic hosts. Structural comparisons suggested putative functions for up to 25% of unannotated viral proteins, including those with roles in the evasion of innate immunity. In particular, RNA ligase T-like phosphodiesterases were found to resemble phage-encoded proteins that hydrolyse the host immune-activating cyclic dinucleotides 3′,3′- and 2′,3′-cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP). Experimental analysis showed that RNA ligase T homologues encoded by avian poxviruses similarly hydrolyse cGAMP, showing that RNA ligase T-mediated targeting of cGAMP is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of immune evasion that is present in both bacteriophage and eukaryotic viruses. Together, the viral protein structural database and analyses presented here afford new opportunities to identify mechanisms of virus–host interactions that are common across the virome.

As the world’s second most consumed resource, sand is being depleted at an alarming rate. China accounted for nearly half of the world’s sand consumption in 2012. Here we present a material flow analysis of sand from 1995 to 2020 that shows China’s overall sand supply surged by approximately 400% over the study period, yet the proportion of natural sand dropped from ~80% to ~21% due to the increasing use of manufactured sand. From 2010 to 2020, China’s natural sand supply nearly halved due to the strict policies on natural sand mining and the promotion of manufactured sand. This shift demonstrates a possibility for mitigating impacts on natural sand resources during industrialization and urbanization.

The pursuit of increased efficiency of photoelectric energy conversion through optimized semiconductor structures remains highly competitive, with current results yet to align with broad expectations. In this study, we discover a significant enhancement in photocurrent performance of a p-3C-SiC nanothin film on p-Si/n-Si double junction (DJ) heterostructure that integrates p-3C-SiC/p-Si heterojunction and p-Si/n-Si homojunction. The vertical photocurrent (VPC) and vertical photoresponsivity exhibit a substantial enhancement in the DJ heterostructure, surpassing by a maximum of 43-fold compared to the p-3C-SiC/n-Si single junction (SJ) counterpart. The p-3C-SiC layer and n-Si substrate of the two heterostructures have similar material and geometrical properties. More importantly, the fabrication costs for the DJ and SJ heterostructure devices are comparable. Our results demonstrate a significant potential for using DJ devices in energy harvesters, micro/nano electromechanical systems, and sensing applications. This research may also lead to the creation of advanced optoelectronic devices using DJ structures, where employing various semiconductor materials to achieve exceptional performance through the application of the concept and theoretical model described in this work.

International arsenic trade, physical and virtual, has resulted in considerable transfer of arsenic pollution across regions. However, no study has systematically captured, estimated, and compared physical and virtual arsenic trade and its relevant impacts. This study combines material flow analysis and embodied emission factors to estimate embedded (including direct and indirect trade) and embodied arsenic trade during 1990–2019, encompassing 18 arsenic-containing products among 244 countries. Global embedded arsenic trade increased considerably from 47 ± 7.3 to 450 ± 68 kilotonnes (kt) during this time and was dominated by indirect arsenic trade, contributing 94 and 90% to global arsenic trade in 1990 and 2019, respectively. Since the 1990s, global arsenic trade centers and the main flows have shifted from European and American markets to developing countries. The mass of arsenic involved in embodied trade increased from 87.5 ± 26 kt in 1990 to 800 ± 236 kt in 2019. Direct trade and indirect trade aggravate arsenic environmental emissions in major importing countries, like China, while embodied trade aggravates arsenic environmental emissions in major exporting countries, like Peru and Chile. The trade-related arsenic pollution transfer calls for a rational arsenic emission responsibility-sharing mechanism and corresponding policy recommendations for different trading countries.

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a tracked self-propelled tea harvesting machine is designed. The machine is composed of a tracked chassis, a picking unit, a collection unit, a tea canopy sensing unit, and a cutter height adaptive adjustment unit, The tracked chassis is designed with a narrow width to accommodate the planting mode of Chinese tea plantations. The tea canopy sensing unit and the height adaptive adjustment unit of the cutting platform allow for real-time adjustment of the picking unit’s height based on the tea canopy’s height, improving the tea production rate of fresh leaves. Kinematic analysis of the reciprocating cutter was conducted. To optimize the parameters of the entire machine, a three-factor, three-level quadratic rotational orthogonal test was established, and regression analysis of the test data was performed using Design Expert. The optimized parameters were: machine speed of 3.170 km/h, crank radius of 18.737 mm, average cutter speed of 0.951 m/s, and processable tea rate of 91.38%. To validate the optimization results, field trials were conducted. The findings demonstrated that the processable tea rate was 91.26%, which closely aligned with the optimized results. This study provides a theoretical reference for the tea harvesting machine in tea plantations on hilly slopes.

Pathogenic viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive on plastic. The biohazard risks of this ‘plastisphere’ shouldn’t be overlooked in efforts to tackle the pollution crisis.

Most viruses start their invasion by binding to glycoproteins’ moieties on the cell surface (heparan sulfate proteoglycans [HSPG] or sialic acid [SA]). Antivirals mimicking these moieties multivalently are known as broad-spectrum multivalent entry inhibitors (MEI). Due to their reversible mechanism, efficacy is lost when concentrations fall below an inhibitory threshold. To overcome this limitation, we modify MEIs with hydrophobic arms rendering the inhibitory mechanism irreversible, i.e., preventing the efficacy loss upon dilution. However, all our HSPG-mimicking MEIs only showed reversible inhibition against HSPG-binding SARS-CoV-2. Here, we present a systematic investigation of a series of small molecules, all containing a core and multiple hydrophobic arms terminated with HSPG-mimicking moieties. We identify the ones that have irreversible inhibition against all viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and discuss their design principles. We show efficacy in vivoagainst SARS-CoV-2 in a Syrian hamster model through both intranasal instillation and aerosol inhalation in a therapeutic setting (12 h postinfection). We also show the utility of the presented design rules in producing SA-mimicking MEIs with irreversible inhibition against SA-binding influenza viruses.

The interfacial solar evaporator has emerged as a leading solution to mitigate the global water scarcity challenge. Current research predominantly concentrates on augmenting the evaporator efficiency through enhanced light absorption, improved water transport, and superior heat insulation. Nonetheless, the evaporation process is a water vapor transport process driven by gas diffusion theory, which involves a concentration gradient and airflow along with boundary layer effects. Inspired by highly efficient water vapor diffusion in plant leaf stomata, we propose a leaf-inspired design for solar evaporators. In this study, simulation and calculation by COMSOL were utilized to identify the optimal configuration for the array pore arrangement. Subsequently, a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) sponge is employed to replicate the characteristics of leaf mesophyll, while a polyimide film featuring a meticulously engineered array of pores is applied onto the sponge to mimic the structure of leaf stomata. Our experimentation on seawater desalination tests has revealed an enhancement in the evaporation rate of the evaporator (1.69 kg m–2h–1under 1 sun irradiation for a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution), representing an impressive 11.9% increase compared to the uncovered evaporator (1.51 kg m–2h–1). Remarkably, the evaporator also showcases exceptional stability and resistance to salt deposition. The outcomes of our study provide a direction for designing highly efficient solar evaporators.

Bone defects are common with increasing high-energy fractures, tumor bone invasion, and implantation revision surgery. Bone is an electroactive tissue that has electromechanical interaction with collogen, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts. Hydrogel provides morphological plasticity and extracellular matrix (ECM) 3D structures for cell survival, and is widely used as a bone engineering material. However, the hydrogels have poor mechanical intensity and lack of cell adhesion, slow gelation time, and limited conductivity. MXenes are novel nanomaterials with hydrophilic groups that sense cell electrophysiology and improve hydrogel electric conductivity. Herein, gelatin had multiple active groups (NH2, OH, and COOH) and an accelerated gelation time. Acrylamide has Schiff base bonds to cross-link with gelatin and absorb metal ions. Deacetylated chitosan improved cell adhesion and active groups to connect MXene and acrylamide. We constructed Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel with improved elastic modulus and viscosity, chemical cross-linking structure, electric conductivity, and good compatibility. Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel exhibits outstanding osteogenesis in vitro. Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel promotes osteogenesis via alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alizarin red S (ARS) staining, improving osteogenic marker genes and protein expressions in vitro. Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel aids new bone formation in the in vivo calvarial bone defect model via micro-CT and histology. Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel facilitates neurogenesis factors nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, and aids newly born neuron marker Tuj-1 and sensory neuron marker serotonin (5-HT) and osteogenesis pathway proteins, runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), osteocalcin (OCN), SMAD family member 4 (SMAD4), and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) in the bone defect repair process. Mo2Ti2C3MXene hydrogel promotes osteogenesis and neurogenesis, which extends its biomedical application in bone defect reconstruction.

Both liquid metal (LM) and metallic filler-based conductive composites are promising stretchable conductors. LM alloys exhibit intrinsically high deformability but present challenges for patterning on polymeric substrates due to high surface tension. On the other hand, conductive composites comprising metallic fillers undergo considerable decrease in electrical conductivity under mechanical deformation. To address the challenges, we present silver nanowire (AgNW)-LM-elastomer hybrid composite films, where AgNWs and LM are embedded below the surface of an elastomeric matrix, using two fabrication approaches, sequential and mixed. We investigate and understand the process–structure–property relationship of the AgNW-LM-elastomer hybrid composites fabricated using two approaches. Different weight ratios of AgNWs and LM particles provide tunable electrical conductivity. The hybrid composites show more stable electromechanical performance than the composites with AgNWs alone. In particular, 1:2.4 (AgNW:LMP w/w) sequential hybrid composite shows electromechanical stability similar to that of the LM-elastomer composite, with a resistance increase of 2.04% at 90% strain. The sequential approach is found to form AgIn2intermetallic compounds which along with Ga–In bonds, imparts large deformability to the sequential hybrid composite as well as mechanical robustness against scratching, cutting, peeling, and wiping. To demonstrate the application of the hybrid composite for stretchable electronics, a laser patterned stretchable heater on textile and a stretchable circuit including a light-emitting diode are fabricated.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are ancient but have become a modern critical threat to health. Gut microbiota, a dynamic reservoir for ARGs, transfer resistance between individuals. Surveillance of the antibiotic resistome in the gut during different host growth phases is critical to understanding the dynamics of the resistome in this ecosystem. Herein, we disentangled the ARG profiles and the dynamic mechanism of ARGs in the egg and adult phases of Tetramorium caespitum. Experimental results showed a remarkable difference in both gut microbiota and gut resistome with the development of T. caespitum. Meta-based metagenomic results of gut microbiota indicated the generalizability of gut antibiotic resistome dynamics during host development. By using Raman spectroscopy and metabolomics, the metabolic phenotype and metabolites indicated that the biotic phase significantly changed lipid metabolism as T. caespitumaged. Lipid metabolites were demonstrated as the main factor driving the enrichment of ARGs in T. caespitum. Cuminaldehyde, the antibacterial lipid metabolite that displayed a remarkable increase in the adult phase, was demonstrated to strongly induce ARG abundance. Our findings show that the gut resistome is host developmental stage-dependent and likely modulated by metabolites, offering novel insights into possible steps to reduce ARG dissemination in the soil food chain.

Two kinds of knee airbags and dummy crash simulation models are established, and the accuracy of the models is verified by comparing the knee module impact test data and CAE simulation data. A knee airbag and dummy crash simulation system is established, and the frontal collision finite element simulation of the Chinese 50th percentile dummy is carried out under the three conditions of no knee airbag, bottom-mounted knee airbag, and rear-mounted knee airbag. According to the regulations of China-New Car Assessment Program (CNCAP), the injury data of major body parts such as the head, chest, femur, and legs are compared and analyzed, and the differences in damage to the dummy caused by the bottom-mounted knee airbag, the non-knee airbag and the rear-mounted knee airbag are focused on. Conclusion: Compared with the HIII dummy with knee airbag, the chest compression and tibia compression force of the Chinese dummy with knee airbag are larger, and the compression force of femur is smaller; compared with the condition without knee airbag, the value of head acceleration, tibial index, chest deformation, etc of Chinese dummy can be reduced with knee airbag, but the tibial axial force and knee side displacement have increased; compared with the condition of the rear-mounted knee airbag, the bottom-mounted knee airbag has better protection performance for the dummy’s head, chest, upper leg, and lower leg, but the knee side displacement of bottom-mounted knee airbag is greater, and the axial compression of the tibia is greater. This paper can provide a theoretical basis for the design of knee airbag in the Chinese market and the development of Chinese human dummy.

The microorganisms present in kindergartens are extremely important for children’s health during their three-year preschool education. To assess the risk of outdoor dust in kindergartens, the antibiotic resistome and potential pathogens were investigated in dust samples collected from 59 kindergartens in Xiamen, southeast China in both the winter and summer. Both high-throughput quantitative PCR and metagenome analysis revealed a higher richness and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in winter (P< 0.05). Besides, the bloom of ARGs and potential pathogens was evident in the urban kindergartens. The co-occurrence patterns among ARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and potential pathogens suggested some bacterial pathogens were potential hosts of ARGs and MGEs. We found a large number of high-risk ARGs in the dust; the richness and abundance of high-risk ARGs were higher in winter and urban kindergartens compared to in summer and peri-urban kindergartens, respectively. The results of the co-occurrence patterns and high-risk ARGs jointly reveal that urbanization will significantly increase the threat of urban dust to human beings and their risks will be higher in winter. This study unveils the close association between ARGs/mobile ARGs and potential pathogens and emphasizes that we should pay more attention to the health risks induced by their combination.

AbstractLow mental energy can contribute to decreased productivity, altered life balance, decreased physical performance, and ultimately affect quality of life. As such, there is a great demand for food and beverage products that positively impact mental energy. Numerous products claim to alter mental energy making continued review of the scientific evidence critical. The objective of this study was to conduct a scoping review of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of 18 dietary ingredients on mental energy outcomes in adults without severe disease. Methods: A literature search, completed using PubMed, resulted in the identification of 2261 articles, 190 of which met eligibility from initial abstract review. Full-text review was completed on the 190 studies which resulted in 101 articles that fully met eligibility for inclusion in this study. The search strategy for two ingredients did not yield any eligible studies, leaving studies for 16 ingredients that were extracted and summarized by reported significantly improved outcomes for cognition, mood and perceived feelings, and sleep assessments. The preliminary results for several dietary ingredients directionally suggested a mental energy benefit (≥20% of outcomes), including ashwagandha, chamomile, dark chocolate, ginseng, green tea, lavender, lion’s mane mushroom, maca, tart cherries, turmeric, and valerian root. The results of this scoping review suggest that of the 16 dietary ingredients reviewed, 11 may be promising for further exploration on their potential benefits in supporting mental energy. Given consumer demand and market growth for food and beverage products that positively impact mental energy; continued efforts in assessment method alignment and additional evaluation in well-designed trials is warranted.KEY TEACHING POINTSOf the 16 dietary ingredients reviewed, 11 (ashwagandha, chamomile, dark chocolate, ginseng, green tea, lavender, lion’s mane mushroom, maca, melatonin foods, turmeric, and valerian root) may be promising for further exploration on their potential mental energy benefits.Dark chocolate, ginseng, ashwagandha, and lion’s mane mushroom were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the cognition domain of the ingredients evaluated.Turmeric, maca, lavendar, and ashwagandha were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the mood and perceived feelings domain of the ingredients evaluated.Ashwagandha, chamomile, green tea, melatonin foods, valerian root were the most promising ingredients for further evaluation in the sleep domain of the ingredients evaluated.Additional, well-designed, consistent, clinical trials and systematic reviews are warranted as the challenge of heterogeneity in mental energy study design remains.

The mortality of patients with severe pneumonia caused by H1N1 infection is closely related to viral replication and cytokine storm. However, the specific mechanisms triggering virus replication and cytokine storm are still not fully elucidated. Here, we identified hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) as one of the major host molecules that facilitates H1N1 virus replication followed by cytokine storm in alveolar epithelial cells. Specifically, HIF-1α protein expression is upregulated after H1N1 infection. Deficiency of HIF-1α attenuates pulmonary injury, viral replication and cytokine storm in vivo. In addition, viral replication and cytokine storm were inhibited after HIF-1α knockdown in vitro. Mechanistically, the invasion of H1N1 virus into alveolar epithelial cells leads to a shift in glucose metabolism to glycolysis, with rapid production of ATP and lactate. Inhibition of glycolysis significantly suppresses viral replication and inflammatory responses. Further analysis revealed that H1N1-induced HIF-1α can promote the expression of hexokinase 2 (HK2), the key enzyme of glycolysis, and then not only provide energy for the rapid replication of H1N1 virus but also produce lactate, which reduces the accumulation of the MAVS/RIG-I complex and inhibits IFN-α/β production. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the upregulation of HIF-1α by H1N1 infection augments viral replication and cytokine storm by cellular metabolic reprogramming toward glycolysis mainly through upregulation of HK2, providing a theoretical basis for finding potential targets for the treatment of severe pneumonia caused by H1N1 infection.

Graphical abstract:

Understanding the effects of plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems is a priority in environmental research. A central aspect of this suite of pollutants is that it entails particles, in addition to chemical compounds, and this makes plastic quite different from the vast majority of chemical environmental pollutants. Particles can be habitats for microbial communities, and plastics can be a source of chemical compounds that are released into the surrounding environment. In the aquatic literature, the term ‘plastisphere’ has been coined to refer to the microbial community colonizing plastic debris; here, we use a definition that also includes the immediate soil environment of these particles to align the definition with other concepts in soil microbiology. First, we highlight major differences in the plastisphere between aquatic and soil ecosystems, then we review what is currently known about the soil plastisphere, including the members of the microbial community that are enriched, and the possible mechanisms underpinning this selection. Then, we focus on outlining future prospects for research on the soil plastisphere.

Terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) is critical to global carbon and nutrient cycling, climate change, and human health. However, how the spatial and compositional differences of soil DOM affect its dynamics and fate in water during the carbon cycle is largely unclear. Herein, the biodegradation of DOM from 14 spatially distributed grassland soils in China with diverse organic composition was investigated by 165 days of incubation experiments. The results showed that although the high humified fraction (high-HS) regions were featured by high humic-like fractions of 4–25 kDa molecular weight, especially the abundant condensed aromatics and tannins, they unexpectedly displayed greater DOM degradation during 45–165 days. In contrast, the unique proteinaceous and 25–100 kDa fractions enriched in the low humified fraction (low-HS) regions were drastically depleted and improved the decay of bulk DOM but only during 0–45 days. Together, DOM from the high-HS regions would cause lower CO2outgassing to the atmosphere but higher organic loads for drinking water production in the short term than that from the low-HS regions. However, this would be reversed for the two regions during the long-term transformation processes. These findings highlight the importance of spatial and temporal variability of DOM biogeochemistry to mitigate the negative impacts of grassland soil DOM on climate, waters, and humans.

Astrocyte-derived IL-3 activates the corresponding receptor IL-3Rα in microglia. This cross-talk between astrocytes and microglia ameliorates the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. In this study we investigated the role of IL-3/IL-3Rα cross-talk and its regulatory mechanisms in ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke was induced in mice by intraluminal occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) for 60 min followed by reperfusion (I/R). Human astrocytes or microglia subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/Re) were used as in vitro models of brain ischemia. We showed that both I/R and OGD/Re significantly induced decreases in astrocytic IL-3 and microglial IL-3Rα protein levels, accompanied by pro-inflammatory activation of A1-type astrocytes and M1-type microglia. Importantly, astrocyte-derived VEGFD acting on VEGFR3 of astrocytes and microglia contributed to the cross-talk dysfunction and pro-inflammatory activation of the two glial cells, thereby mediating neuronal cell damage. By using metabolomics and multiple biochemical approaches, we demonstrated that IL-3 supplementation to microglia reversed OGD/Re-induced lipid metabolic reprogramming evidenced by upregulated expression of CPT1A, a rate-limiting enzyme for the mitochondrial β-oxidation, and increased levels of glycerophospholipids, the major components of cellular membranes, causing reduced accumulation of lipid droplets, thus reduced pro-inflammatory activation and necrosis, as well as increased phagocytosis of microglia. Notably, exogenous IL-3 and the VEGFR antagonist axitinib reestablished the cross-talk of IL-3/IL-3Rα, improving microglial lipid metabolic levels via upregulation of CPT1A, restoring microglial phagocytotic function and attenuating microglial pro-inflammatory activation, ultimately contributing to brain recovery from I/R insult. Our results demonstrate that VEGFD/VEGFR3 signaling contributes to the dysfunction of the astrocyte IL-3/microglia IL-3Rα cross-talk and drives pro-inflammatory activation, causing lipid metabolic reprogramming of microglia. These insights suggest VEGFR3 antagonism or restoring IL-3 levels as a potential therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke.

Soft and stretchable strain sensors have found wide applications in health monitoring, motion tracking, and robotic sensing. There is a growing demand for strain sensors in amphibious environments, such as implantable sensors, wearable sensors for swimmers/divers, and underwater robotic sensors. However, developing a sensitive, stretchable, and robust amphibious strain sensor remains challenging. This work presents an encapsulated stretchable amphibious strain sensor. The conductive layer, made of silver nanowires embedded below the surface of polydimethylsiloxane, was sandwiched by two layers of thermoplastic polyurethane. Periodic sharp cuts were introduced to change the direction of flow from across the sensor to along the conductive path defined by the opening cracks. The crack advancing and opening is controlled by a unique combination of weak/strong interfaces within the sandwich structure. The cut design and the interfacial interactions between the layers were investigated. The strain sensor exhibited a high gauge factor up to 289, a linear sensing response, a fast response time (53 ms), excellent robustness against over-strain, and stability after 16 000 loading cycles and 20 days in an aqueous saline solution. The functionality of this amphibious strain sensor was demonstrated by tracking the motion of a robotic fish, undertaking language recognition underwater, and monitoring the blood pressure of a porcine aorta. This illustrates the promising potential for this strain sensor for both underwater use and surgically implantable applications.

Recently, the application of deep learning techniques has provided significant advances in solving nonlinear electrical impedance tomography (EIT) problems. However, when state-of-the-art performance is pushed further, these models become bigger and more difficult to use in computation-limited scenarios. In order to reduce the computational overhead and memory footprint, an EIT-specific compressive learning-based scheme (CLS) is proposed. The CLS is implemented in a two-stage strategy. First, a noniterative inverse operator, named the dominant current-based method, is introduced to map the EIT measurement data to approximate conductivity images. Second, a wavelet-based compressive convolutional neural network (CNN) with separable convolution is learned by rough image and target image pairs, where a custom loss function with mixed structural similarity (SSIM) metrics is proposed for training. Our proposed CLS has only 0.26% trainable parameters and 0.61% network size of benchmark methods, including the dominant current deep learning scheme (DC-DLS) and the deep D-bar method. Nevertheless, extensive numerical and practical experiments demonstrate that it achieves a comparable level of reconstruction quality when compared with these benchmark methods. As a learning-based approach, it also exhibits advantages over traditional iterative methods, such as the subspace optimization method (SOM). It is anticipated that the suggested CLS would encourage further compression studies and applications in EIT.

A compact surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) device has been developed, which comprises a monolayer silver nanoparticle substrate and an optical fiber taper. The analysis of cavity modes in both plasmonic and dielectric resonators offers valuable insights into the light-matter interactions. To rigorously determine field enhancement factors, Purcell factors, effective mode volumes, and quality factors, we employed classical and quasi-normal mode (QNM) calculations. By using a simplified silver spherical dimer as an example, we were able to establish connections between simulation, theoretical calculation, and experimental results. Furthermore, we investigated the directional antenna (DA) effect of the fiber taper. Our research lays the foundation for further exploration of “resonance,” “leaky nature,” “quasimode,” and “antenna radiation” phenomena in realistic situations.

Multiparameter spectrophotometry (MPS) provides a powerful and environmental-friendly tool for the characterization of turbid materials, including foods, without additives. The existing methods of MPS, however, lack either modeling accuracy or capacity for translation into ease-of-use instrument. We have developed a novel method of MPS to rapidly retrieve the spectral data of absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, and anisotropy factor within the framework of radiative transfer (RT) theory without using integrating spheres. To demonstrate the feasibility of our MPS method for food analysis, the RT parameters have been determined between 500 and 1000 nm for four types of milk samples and skim milk samples spiked with either Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acid.) or DH $5\alpha $ Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The spectral data have been shown to agree with the published results on milk composition. We have also found the threshold of number density for the detection of E. coli in skim milk to be about $2\times 10^{4}$ (mm−3). These results show clearly the potential of the presented method for the development of accurate, ease-of-use, and cost-effective instrument for routine analysis of turbid materials by MPS.

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) accounts for about half of the C reserves worldwide and is considered more stable than soil organic carbon (SOC). However, soil acidification, driven mainly by nitrogen (N) fertilization can accelerate SIC losses, possibly leading to complete loss under continuous and intensive N fertilization. Carbonate-free soils are less fertile, productive, and more prone to erosion. Therefore, minimizing carbonate losses is essential for soil health and climate change mitigation. Rock/mineral residues or powder have been suggested as a cheaper source of amendments to increase soil alkalinity. However, slow mineral dissolution limits its efficient utilization. Soil microorganisms play a vital role in the weathering of rocks and their inoculation with mineral residues can enhance dissolution rates. Biochar is an alternative material for soil amendments, in particular, bone biochar (BBC) contains higher Ca and Mg that can induce even higher alkalinity. This review covers i) the contribution and mechanism of rock residues in alkalinity generation, ii) the role of biochar or BBC to soil alkalinity, and iii) the role of microbial inoculation for accelerating alkalinity generation through enhanced mineral dissolution. We conclude that using rock residues/BBC combined with microbial agents could mitigate soil acidification and SIC losses and also improve agricultural circularity.

As a practical and challenging task, deep learning-based methods have achieved effective results for fabric defect detection, however, most of them mainly target detection accuracy at the expense of detection speed. Therefore, we propose a fabric defect detection method called PEI-YOLOv5. First, Particle Depthwise Convolution (PDConv) is proposed to extract spatial features more efficiently while reducing redundant computations and memory access, reducing model computation and improving detection speed. Second, Enhance-BiFPN(EB) is proposed based on the structure of BiFPN to enhance the attention of spatial and channel feature maps and the fusion of information at different scales. Third, we improve the loss function and propose IN loss, which improves the problem that the original IOU loss is weak in detecting small targets while speeding up the convergence of the model. Finally, five more common types of defects were selected for training in the GuangDong TianChi fabric defect dataset, and using our proposed PEI-YOLOv5 with only 0.2 Giga Floating Point Operations (GFLOPs) increase, the mAP improved by 3.61%, reaching 87.89%. To demonstrate the versatility of PEI-YOLOv5, we additionally evaluated this in the NEU surface defect database, with the mAP of 79.37%. The performance of PEI-YOLOv 5 in these two datasets surpasses the most advanced fabric defect detection methods at present. We deployed the model to the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 embedded development board, and the detection speed reached 31 frames per second (Fps), which can fully meet the speed requirements of real-time detection.

Objective: Sepsis is considered a major cause of health loss in children and had high mortality and morbidity. Currently, there is no reliable model for predicting the prognosis of pediatric patients with sepsis. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of sepsis in children and assess the risk factors associated with poor prognosis in pediatric sepsis patients to identify timely interventions and improve their outcomes. Methods: This study analyzed the clinical indicators and laboratory results of septic patients hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. Risk factors for sepsis were identified by logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 355 children with sepsis were enrolled, with 333 children (93.8%) in the good prognosis group, and 22 children (6.2%) in the poor prognosis group. Among them, there were 255 patients (71.8%) in the sepsis group, and 100 patients (28.2%) in the severe sepsis group. The length of hospital stay in the poor prognosis group was longer than that in the good prognosis group (P&lt;0.01). The levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group (P>0.05), and the platelet (PLT), albumin (ALB), and hemoglobin (Hb) levels were lower in the poor prognosis group (P&lt;0.01). The IL-8 levels in the severe sepsis group were higher than those in the sepsis group (P&lt;0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that lower Hb levels, ALB levels, peak PLT counts, and higher IL-1β levels were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in children with sepsis. Conclusion: Lower Hb, ALB, and PLT counts and elevated IL-1β are independent risk factors for poor prognosis in children with sepsis.

To investigate how soil fertilization/amendments alters arsenic speciation grain off-take in paddy rice, rice was grown to maturity in growth chambers fertilized with standard mineral fertilizer, wood ash (rich in silica), pig slurry (rich in organic matter), and non-amended control. The soil was sourced from a Chinese paddy field. The primary fertilized elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) were kept constant across treatments. Porewater chemistry and soil microbiology were monitored throughout the experiments. Total grain arsenic, sum of inorganic arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), was significantly different between treatments (P= 0.024), with inorganic arsenic varying from 0.025 to 0.08 mg/kg and DMA from 0.08 to 0.16 mg/kg for control compared to fertilized, respectively. Fertilizer source made no difference to arsenic speciation concentration in grain. Porewater analysis found that as anaerobism set in, inorganic arsenic, phosphorus and manganese greatly lowered in concentration. Methylated arsenic species concentrations increased over time, concurrent with an increase in pH, decrease in Eh, and increase in total organic carbon and iron, with no strong treatment effects, except for pig slurry that enhanced pH and decreased Eh. Methanogenic archaea, sulfate-reducing bacteria and Acidobacteria increased with time and some Actinobacteria and Firmicutes increased due to slurry, but then decreased with time (P< 0.01). Methanogenic archaea and sulphate-reducing bacteria correlated positively with porewater DMA and negatively with porewater inorganic arsenic (P< 0.05). Genera within the Actinobacteria and Burkholderiaceae correlated negatively with DMA, while genera with iron-reducing capacity (Clostridiales) correlated positively with porewater inorganic arsenic and DMA (P< 0.05).

With the rapid development of deep learning and communication technology, the application of streaming media services and social software have gone deep into life. However, in the face of many uncertain factors in data dissemination, protecting privacy and security is particularly important. In order to solve the abovementioned problems, this study proposes a deep face forgery forensics method with frequency domain and noise features. In this method, discrete cosine transform is proposed to perceive the forgery trace features of different frequency bands in the frequency domain. At the same time, the spatial rich model is used for guidance to enhance the traces of forged noise. Then, large-scale network and single center loss function are introduced to improve the forensics ability of the model. Experimental results on several databases such as faceforensics++, celeb DF, and DFDC show that this method can effectively improve the accuracy of forensics.

Therapeutic resistance and metastasis largely contribute to mortality from breast cancer and therefore understanding the underlying mechanisms of such remains an urgent challenge. By cross-analysis of TCGA and GEO databases, LINC00460was identified as an oncogenic long non-coding RNA, highly expressed in Doxorubicin resistant breast cancer. LINC00460was further demonstrated to promote stem cell-like and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics in breast cancer cells. LINC00460interacts with FUS protein with consequent enhanced stabilization, which further promotes MYCmRNA maturation. LINC00460expression was transcriptionally enhanced by c-MYC protein, forming a positive feedback loop to promote metastasis and Doxorubicin resistance. LINC00460depletion in Doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer cells restored sensitivity to Doxorubicin and increased the efficacy of c-MYC inhibitor therapy. Collectively, these findings implicate LINC00460as a promising prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target to overcome Doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer.

Though the evidence for antibiotic resistance spread via plant microbiome is mounting, studies regarding antibiotic resistome in the plant seed, a reproductive organ and important food resource, are still in their infancy. This study investigated the effects of long-term organic fertilization on seed bacterial endophytes, resistome, and their intergenerational transfer in the microcosm. A total of 99 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and 26 mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were detected by high-throughput quantitative PCR. The amount of organic fertilizer applied was positively correlated to the number and relative abundance of seed-associated ARGs and MGEs. Moreover, the transmission of ARGs from the rhizosphere to the seed was mainly mediated by the shared bacteria and MGEs. Notably, the rhizosphere of progeny seedlings derived from seeds harboring abundant ARGs was found to have a higher relative abundance of ARGs. Using structural equation models, we further revealed that seed resistome and MGEs were key factors affecting the ARGs in the progeny rhizosphere, implying the seed was a potential resistome reservoir for rhizosphere soil. This study highlights the overlooked role of seed endophytes in the dissemination of resistome in the soil-plant continuum, and more attention should be paid to plant seeds as vectors of ARGs within the “One-Health” framework.

Thermal spray techniologies are very efficient to deposit metal coatings, which have been applied to different industrial fields for protection of metals from wear and corrosion. However, severe oxidation during inflight of spray particles introduces large amount of oxide inclusions in the coating which limits lamellar bonding formation and thus full utilization of coating material performance potential. In this project, the spray powders containing the deoxidizers such as carbon and boron are designed to develop in-situ deoxidizing effect to generate oxide-free molten metal droplets by air plasma spraying (APS) in ambient atmosphere for depositing dense coatings with sufficiently bonded splats. The thermodynamic and kinetic conditions for continuous deoxidization during whole in-flight molten droplets are presented. The experiments were conducted for NiCr, NiCrCu, CuNi coatings with boron as deoxidizer and for NiAl and FeAl coatings with dispersed diamond as deoxidizer. Results show that through powder design and spray condition optimization different spray particles can be heated to temperatures from 2100°C to 2500°C. It was found that the oxide contents in all coatings decreases with increasing spray distance, which indicates that deoxidizing effect of deoxidizer is maintained during whole spray particle in-flight. The examination shows that all APS coatings present dense microstructure. The electrochemical test reveals that the corrosion only occurs to coating surface and no trace of corrosive solution penetration into coating. As a result, the corrosion-resistant metal coatings can be realized by APS in ambient atmosphere through developing in-situ deoxidizing effect and subsequently oxide-free molten droplets with using deoxidizer-containing spray powders.

Metallic thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) consisting of a bond coating and a top coating have been extensively utilized for protecting the walls of rocket combustion chambers. However, standard coating systems often encounter failures due to the significant differences in coating composition and thermal expansion coefficient compared to the substrate under high heat flux conditions. To protect liquid rocket combustion chamber walls, a novel metallic multilayer TBC system applied with atmospheric plasma spraying is developed in the present work. It attempted to deposit dense Ni-based alloy and Cu-based bonding coatings with low oxide contents achieved by introducing boron as a deoxidizer element through atmospheric plasma spraying. The structural stability of the TBC was assessed through high temperature thermal exposure experiments, while the thermal cycle life is evaluated using laser thermal shock. Results show that the NiCrCu2B and CuNi2B bonding coatings prepared through in situ deoxygenation effect of boron exhibit dense structures, low oxide content, and excellent bonding quality. The high temperature thermal exposure experiment reveals that the multilayer structural TBC can withstand 850 °C for 10 hours without the formation of Kirkendal effect pores. Moreover, the thermal cycling life results indicate that the multilayer structural TBC designed in this study, employing a composition gradient transition and the in situ deoxygenation effect of boron, possesses a significantly improved thermal cycle lifetime compared to traditional structural TBCs.

Antibiotic residues in reservoirs threatens ecosystems and human health. Whereas numerous studies have been conducted on their occurrence and distribution, overall quantitative and comparative analysis of antibiotic contamination in reservoirs is challenging due to scattered data and scale differences. Here, we integrate antibiotic data from 520 samples in 80 reservoirs and provide an overview of the distribution, determinants, and potential risks of these emerging contaminants in reservoirs at a cross-continental scale. A total of 69 antibiotics were detected in reservoirs, with sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, macrolides, and β-lactams occurring more frequently. Concentration and type of antibiotics varied among continents and reservoirs between data generated from sediment and water. Geographic location, seasonal variation, artificial impervious area around the reservoir, reservoir characteristics, and water quality also influenced reservoir antibiotic distributions. These factors enhanced the explanatory power of antibiotic distribution through linear or non-linear interactions. Cumulative risk for 44 antibiotics in reservoirs is low, but it is essential to further assess the environmental behavior and integrated risk of antibiotics from an interdisciplinary perspective and at the human-food chain-ecosystem interface, particularly antibiotic resistance under “One Health” framework.

Background Intervertebral degenerative disc (IDD) disease is one of the most common clinical conditions causing low back pain. The main objective of this study was to investigate the repair effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and ferulic acid (FA) hydrogel compound on degenerative discs in rats in combination with bioengineering technology, which may provide a strong theoretical basis for the future treatment of IDD.Methods Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups A-F; MRI was performed in each group at 0, 4, and 8 weeks after injection; and disc tissues were obtained after executing the animals. The histomorphology, apoptosis, and protein synthesis of intervertebral discs in each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin, Masson, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining, and Western blot.Results The release concentration of all groups reached the peak at 12 hours, and the highest concentration was found in the hydrogel/PRP/FA group at the same time. The MTT assay showed that hydrogel/PRP/FA is well-cytocompatible. The results of animal experiments show that hydrogel/PRP/FA has a good effect on degenerative intervertebral disc in rats.Conclusion PRP/FA-rich hydrogel compound plays an active role in promoting extracellular matrix synthesis, strengthening and repairing degenerated intervertebral discs in rats.

The soil priming effect (PE), defined as the modification of soil organic matter decomposition by labile carbon (C) inputs, is known to influence C storage in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how chronic nutrient addition, particularly in leguminous and non-leguminous forests, will affect PE through interaction with nutrient (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) availability is still unclear. Therefore, we collected soils from leguminous and non-leguminous subtropical plantations across a suite of historical nutrient addition regimes. We added 13C-labeled glucose to investigate how background soil nutrient conditions and microbial communities affect priming and its potential microbial mechanisms. Glucose addition increased soil organic matter decomposition and prompted positive priming in all soils, regardless of dominant overstory tree species or fertilizer treatment. In non-leguminous soil, only combined nitrogen and phosphorus addition led to a higher positive priming than the control. Conversely, soils beneath N-fixing leguminous plants responded positively to P addition alone, as well as to joint NP addition compared to control. Using DNA stable-isotope probing, high-throughput quantitative PCR, enzyme assays and microbial C substrate utilization, we found that positive PE was associated with increased microbial C utilization, accompanied by an increase in microbial community activity, nutrient-related gene abundance, and enzyme activities. Our findings suggest that the balance between soil available N and P effects on the PE,  was dependent on rhizosphere microbial community composition. Furthermore, these findings highlight the roles of the interaction between plants and their symbiotic microbial communities in affecting soil priming and improve our understanding of the potential microbial pathways underlying soil PEs.

This article presents a bandpass filter (BPF) based on substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) using modified through glass vias (TGVs) technology. Optimized TGV technology realizes fine feature size, proper via sidewall shape, and good via surface profile, which accommodates SIW design rules in millimeter-wave (mmWave) band and precisely actualizes the SIW structure. In addition, a novel defected ground structure (DGS) loading half-mode SIW (HMSIW)-DGS unit is proposed to miniaturize the BPF. The proposed DGS unit efficiently exploits the available area on the top metal layer of the HMSIW structure to increase the equivalent capacitance and inductance of the guided wave structure. Compared with the conventional DGS units, it actualizes a smaller size at the same bandgap frequency. To prove the validity, the mmWave BPF with three cascaded HMSIW-DGS units is constructed and designed at 28 GHz. The proposed BPF is numerically optimized and experimentally verified, and the simulation results are in good agreement with the measured results. The measured results indicate insertion loss (IL) of 1.12 dB, 3-dB fractional bandwidth (FBW) of 27.7%, and electrical dimensions of $0.37\lambda _{0} \times 0.12\lambda _{0}$ . In comparison with the existing designs, the proposed BPF shows the superior advantages of small size, low IL, and advanced process flow.

As a global concern, environmental protection and energy conservation have attracted significant attention. Due to the large carbon emission of electricity, promoting green and low-carbon transformation of the power industry via the synergistic development of clean energy sources is essential. Rotating machinery plays a crucial role in pumped storage, hydropower generation, and nuclear power generation. Inspired by bionics, non-smooth features of creatures in nature have been introduced into the structure design of efficient rotating machines. First, the concept and classification of bionics are described. Then, the representative applications of non-smooth surface bionic structures in rotating machineries are systematically and comprehensively reviewed, such as groove structure, pit structure, and other non-smooth surfaces. Finally, conclusions are drawn and future directions are presented. The effective design of a bionic structure contributes toward noise reduction, drag reduction and efficiency improvement of rotating machineries. Green and ecological rotating machinery will remarkably reduce energy consumption and contribute to the realization of the “double carbon” goal.

A deep learning (DL)-based cluster delay estimation method using prior sparsity is proposed. Firstly, the columns of the covariance matrix of channel frequency response in the time delay domain are formulated as undersampled noisy linear measurements of the delay spectrum. Then, a deep convolutional network (DCN) is used to recover the delay spectrum from the measurement vector. Compared with conventional model-driven methods, the proposed data-driven DCN can be used to estimate cluster delays with smaller delay intervals and also has an excellent generalization ability. Finally, numerical results show that the proposed DL-based delay estimation method has advantages in both precision and computational efficiency.