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Background. Chronic urticaria (CU) can severely impair the quality of life. Acupuncture and related therapies have been widely used in the treatment of CU in China. This study aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of relevant systematic reviews (SRs) and present objective and comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and related therapies for CU. Methods. Eight electronic databases were searched from inception to October 2021 for SRs examining acupuncture and related therapies for CU, and gray literature was manually searched. Two authors independently identified SRs and extracted data. The methodological and reporting quality of these SRs were assessed by the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) tool and preferred reporting items for SRs and meta-analyses (PRISMA, 2020), respectively. In addition, the risk of bias in systematic reviews (ROBIS) was used to evaluate the risk of bias. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was applied to evaluate the quality of evidence for outcome measures. Results. In total, 23 SRs, including a total of 11 outcome indicators, were published before October 2021. The AMSTAR-2 results showed that the methodological quality of all SRs was critically low; items 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, and 16 were found to have particularly low quality. For PRISMA, the reporting quality of the included SRs was unsatisfactory, and major reporting flaws were observed in the search strategy, synthesis method, certainly assessment, reporting biases, registrations, and financial support of the included SRs. For ROBIS, 22 SRs (95.65%) had a high risk of bias. Among the 55 outcomes assessed using the GRADE framework, there were 3 (5.45%) outcomes with moderate-quality evidence, 6 (10.91%) outcomes with low-quality evidence, and 46 (83.64%) outcomes with very low-quality evidence. We found the moderate quality of evidence indicating that the total effective rate and curing rate of the acupuncture group were higher than those of the western medicine group, and the recurrence rate was lower than that of the western medicine group. Conclusions. Acupuncture and related therapies for the treatment of CU are supported by low-quality evidence-based medicine. However, considering the poor quality of these SRs, we suggest that studies with more rigorous designs, larger sample sizes, and higher methodological and reporting quality are necessary to provide stronger evidence. Registration. The protocol for this study has been registered (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021259131). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the primary research vehicle, rural tourism is used in this paper to examine urban visitors' "homesickness." This research explores the effects of homesickness on tourists' perceptions of travel destinations and consumption intentions through qualitative analysis, logistic empirical analysis, and questionnaire survey. This work also explores the behavioral traits of customers' purchase intentions from the perspective of a "big data" environment, and it constructs the relevant consumption behavior model for rural visitors in accordance with those behavioral traits. Through questionnaire design and investigation, this paper makes statistical analysis on tourists' basic information, expected value, and actual experience and explores the related factors that affect their consumption behavior, so as to understand the consumption behavior law of tourists in rural tourism consumption. The research shows that the MSE (mean squared error) of this algorithm is about 4.16, and the RMSE (root mean square error) of this algorithm is about 0.508. Finally, combining the influence of tourists' consumption behavior, this paper tries to put forward some countermeasures and suggestions on rural tourism. This paper aims to study the development and planning of rural tourist destinations, and provide corresponding basis for the destination selection of tourists with homesickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first total synthesis of the monoterpene indole alkaloids ophiorrhine A via a late stage bioinspired intramolecular Diels–Alder cycloaddition to form the intricate bridged and spirannic polycyclic system. Several strategies were investigated to construct the indolopyridone moiety of ophiorrhiside E, the postulated biosynthetic precursor of ophiorrhine A. Eventually, the Friedel–Crafts‐type coupling of N‐methyl indolyl‐acetamide with a secologanin‐derived acid chloride delivered ophiorrhine G. Cyclodehydration of a protected form of the latter was followed by the desired spontaneous intramolecular Diels–Alder cycloaddition of protected ophiorrhiside E leading to ophiorrhine A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first total synthesis of the monoterpene indole alkaloids ophiorrhine A via a late stage bioinspired intramolecular Diels–Alder cycloaddition to form the intricate bridged and spirannic polycyclic system. Several strategies were investigated to construct the indolopyridone moiety of ophiorrhiside E, the postulated biosynthetic precursor of ophiorrhine A. Eventually, the Friedel–Crafts‐type coupling of N‐methyl indolyl‐acetamide with a secologanin‐derived acid chloride delivered ophiorrhine G. Cyclodehydration of a protected form of the latter was followed by the desired spontaneous intramolecular Diels–Alder cycloaddition of protected ophiorrhiside E leading to ophiorrhine A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study is aimed at investigating the clinical intervention effect of afatinib targeted therapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods. The research object was a retrospective analysis of 86 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who were admitted to our hospital from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2021. The patients were divided into two groups. The patients in the two groups received conventional chemotherapy intervention, and the patients in group B received afatinib targeted therapy intervention on the basis of the treatment in group A. The clinical intervention effect, immune function, serum EGFR level, serum pro-GRP level, and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups of patients. Results. After afatinib targeted therapy intervention, the total intervention effective rate of patients in treatment group B was significantly higher than that in patients in treatment group A. Compared with the treatment group A, the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+ of the treatment group were significantly upregulated. After the intervention, the serum EGFR levels of patients in treatment groups A and B were significantly decreased, and the serum EGFR levels in patients in treatment group B were significantly lower than those in patients in treatment group A. The serum pro-GRP level in group B patients was significantly decreased. The overall incidence of adverse reactions in treatment group B was significantly lower than that in treatment group A. Conclusion. Afatinib targeted therapy has a significant clinical intervention effect on patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, which not only helps to improve the immune function of patients but also effectively improves the serum EGFR and pro-GRP levels of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instabilities of high-enthalpy flat-plate boundary layers in thermochemical equilibrium conditions are studied using a linear stability theory (LST) and parabolized stability equations. A supersonic radiation mode is found to be unstable at the downstream location of the second mode. This mode synchronizes with the second mode as its phase velocity approaches c r = 1 − 1 / M a . The amplification rate is expected to be comparable to the second mode when M a > 14 and T w < 14 T e . The results of disturbance evolution indicate that the radiation mode is generated by the second mode through a synchronization process. The coefficient for the amplitude response of the radiation mode to the forcing second mode is around 1. After the radiation mode is excited, the second mode itself still exists in the boundary layer, leading to a co-existence of dual unstable modes. Owing to the competition between the two modes, the disturbance amplitudes exhibit significant oscillations. A two-mode amplitude prediction model based on the LST is proposed by properly superposing the two modes' amplitudes. The accurate prediction of the N-factor demonstrates that the proposed model can be used to predict a high-enthalpy boundary layer transition involving these two modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let f be a non-degenerate Laurent polynomial over a finite field and L ⁎ (f , T) the associated L -function of the toric exponential sums of f. The Newton polygon can be used to study the p -adic valuations of roots or poles of L ⁎ (f , T) , which has a lower bound called the Hodge polygon that depends only on the Newton polytope of f. These two polygons coincide when the coefficients of f are not zeros of the certain Hasse polynomial. Using the Dwork trace formula, we find a formula for the Hasse polynomial of the slope one side for a class of Laurent polynomials, which generalizes the results of Zhang, Feng and Chen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethyl α- d -glucopyranoside (α-EG) is detected in sake (Japanese rice wine), that has moisturizing and skin conditioning effects. The production of α-EG by fermentation or enzymatic synthesis to date generates unwanted by-products such as maltooligosaccharides and/or organic acids. In this study, we employed a reaction involving selective α-glucosylation of ethanol by the α-glucosyl transfer enzyme (XgtA) of Xanthomonas campestris WU-9701. Under standard conditions, when 0.80 M ethanol and 1.2 M maltose were used as substrates with XgtA (2.5 units) and incubated in 30 mM HEPES–NaOH buffer (pH 8.0) at 45°C, only one form of ethyl glucopyranoside was selectively obtained as a product. The isolated product was identified as ethyl α- d -glucopyranoside by 1H NMR, 1H–1H COSY, and NOESY analyses. In the reaction mixture, other glucosylated products such as maltotriose and ethylmaltoside were not detected. Under optimum conditions, 180 mM (37.5 g/L) α-EG was produced in one batch production for 80 h. Further, the reaction rate of α-EG production decreased with an increase in glucose, especially more than 500 mM. In contrast, the addition of glucose isomerase decreased the concentration of glucose and was useful for maintaining a glucose concentration of less than 500 mM in the reaction mixture. Thus, owing to the enzymatic reaction with XgtA and glucose isomerase, as much as 260 mM (54.1 g/L) α-EG was produced in one batch production for 100 h. Altogether, this study reports the highest concentration of α-EG produced by enzymatic reaction. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation is a widely researched epigenetic modification. It is associated with the occurrence and development of cancer and has helped evaluate patients' prognoses. However, most existing DNA methylation prognosis models have not simultaneously considered the changes of the downstream transcriptome. Methods. The RNA-Sequencing data and DNA methylation omics data of ovarian cancer patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The Consensus Cluster Plus algorithm was used to construct the methylated molecular subtypes of the ovary. Lasso regression was employed to build a multi-gene signature. An independent data set was applied to verify the prognostic value of the signature. The Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) was used to carry out the enrichment analysis of the pathways linked to the gene signature. The IMvigor 210 cohort was used to explore the predictive efficacy of the gene signature for immunotherapy response. Results. We distinguished ovarian cancer samples into two subtypes with different prognosis, based on the omics data of DNA methylation. Differentially expressed genes and enrichment analysis among subtypes indicated that DNA methylation was related to fatty acid metabolism and the extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor. Furthermore, we constructed an 8-gene signature, which proved to be efficient and stable in predicting prognostics in ovarian cancer patients with different data sets and distinctive pathological characteristics. Finally, the 8-gene signature could predict patients' responses to immunotherapy. The polymerase chain reaction experiment was further used to verify the expression of 8 genes. Conclusion. We analyzed the prognostic value of the related genes of methylation in ovarian cancer. The 8-gene signature predicted the prognosis and immunotherapy response of ovarian cancer patients well and is expected to be valuable in clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the grinding process, the workpiece is not only cut by abrasive grains but adhesive wear also occurs due to high temperature and heavy load, reducing the surface quality of the workpiece. In this paper, a wear test method considering speed, force, wear coefficient, temperature and hardness was proposed. A new physical model of wear prediction was established based on the finite element method and numerical simulation technology. The wear test was carried out on a grinding machine. Comprehensive research on the relationship between the force, temperature, surface morphology and wear volume of the grinding process was studied. The relationship between workpiece speed, grinding depth, cooling lubrication conditions and wear volume of the grinding process was studied. The results show that the wear model can achieve numerical prediction and trend prediction of grinding temperature, surface profile and wear volume, with relative errors between the theoretical and actual values of wear and grinding temperature of 9.84% and 2.07%, respectively. This study provides support for wear prediction and surface quality control of the grinding process from the perspective of temperature and micro material removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary craters (i.e., secondaries) formed by the landing of impact ejecta are an important crater population in planetary geology. Typical secondaries on planetary surfaces occur in chains and clusters, and they have irregular-shaped crater rims and/or floors. Background secondaries are a special type of secondaries that were formed by more-dispersed impact ejecta, and they have similarly circular morphology and dispersed spatial distribution with same-sized primary craters (i.e., primaries) that are formed by asteroids and comets. While individual background secondaries have been recognized at different planetary bodies, there is no reliable method to differentiate populations of background secondaries from those of primaries. In this work, we design a novel method to extract background secondaries based on multiscale and multifacies topography characteristics of impact craters. To characterize the complex topography fluctuations across continuous ejecta deposits of secondaries, we design a multiwavelet method to present their full-wavelength topography variations. Selecting three populations of secondaries formed by the Orientale basin and a population of primaries, we investigate and compare their crater interior slopes and roughness of continuous ejecta deposits, determining the threshold ranges that can differentiate background secondaries from same-sized and coeval primaries. The two sets of threshold values are then fused together to create a standard T-score terrain indicator, which are combined with our modeled theoretical spatial distribution of secondaries, and abundant previously unrecognized Orientale background secondaries were discovered. Our results demonstrate that the production of background secondaries is much more efficient than manifested by the observed spatial density of obvious secondaries in chains and clusters. This study establishes a promising method to detect populations of background secondaries, which can be extended further to smaller primary craters on various airless planetary bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel SiC superjunction MOSFET with Schottky diode containing N- and P-type barrier is proposed to improving short-circuit and reverse recovery ruggedness, investigated by TCAD simulations. The adoption of superjunction and p-shields structure can reduce saturation current, and thus, improve short-circuit capability. A fine gate oxide providing long-term reliability of the device is obtained. Also, N-type Schottky diode for electrons is used to dampen bipolar conduction of the parasitic body diode, while P-type Schottky diode for holes is introduced to constrain the hole inflow and extraction attributed to the transient variation of the superjunction. As a result, compared with an SBD-wall-integrated trench MOSFET (SWITCH-MOS), a low on-resistance and high breakdown voltage of the proposed structure are gained. More importantly, the proposed device exhibits stronger temperature-dependent immunity. As expected, simulation results indicate that the proposed device under 10 nH stray inductance shows a 30%–50 % reduction in the peak reverse recovery current and a 50%–70 % decrease in the current rising slope of reverse recovery, compared to only a single superjunction, when the metal workfunction varies from 5.1 to 5.6 eV. Moreover, the short-circuit withstanding time of the proposed structure increases roughly 2 times longer than that of SWITCH-MOS. • Dual-type Schottky diodes. • Improving short-circuit capability. • Good reverse recovery robustness. • A good tradeoff between breakdown voltage and specific on-resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light plains on the Moon are distinctive smooth deposits formed by large impact basins. Featuring diverging morphology and frequent spatial association with large secondary craters, light plains were interpreted to be formed either by ground-hugging ejecta flows and/or debris flows triggered by landing of impact ejecta. Light plains located in closed depressions, term ponded light plains (PLPs) here, cover ∼3% of the lunar global surface. They lack diagnostic geomorphology that could be ascribed to secondary impacts or primary ejecta, suggesting a possibly different emplacement mechanism, which has not been investigated before. PLPs feature comparable morphology with both lunar mare that were mainly emplaced by effusive volcanism and large impact melt pools that were deposited by melt-rich ejecta in rims and terraces of large impact basins. For such smooth plain materials, topography roughness at small scales might be an indicative information for their different emplacement styles. This study analyses topography roughness for PLPs and similar-sized melt pools that were formed by the Orientale basin and also coeval mare units on the Moon. We find that mare units have smaller roughness than same-aged melt pools, because large entrained blocks are abundant in melt pools that likely yielded larger viscosity. We further notice that PLPs have a medium topography roughness between coeval mare units and large melt pools, and the topography roughness of PLPs is closer to that of mare units. Correlated observations using high-resolution images suggest that the smoother topography of PLPs than cogenetic melt pools are mainly due to the minor existence of entrained blocks in PLPs. This comparison suggests that while PLPs and melt pools are both basin-related smooth ejecta deposits, PLPs may feature a lower viscosity during the emplacement, and they are most consistent with being melt-rich primary ballistic ejecta that were accumulated in local depressions. Considering that the youngest multiple-ring basin on the Moon, the Orientale basin, is capable of forming numerous PLPs across most parts of the entire Moon, this work predicts that both disrupted and sandwiched melt-rich ejecta deposits should be widespread in the lunar highland crust due to earlier-formed impact basins. • Light plains and melt pools formed by the Orientale basin and contemporaneous mare units are compared. • Small-scale roughness of light plains in closed depressions is closer to that of mare units than melt pools. • Light-plains in closed depressions were emplaced by filling of low-viscosity melt-rich primary ejecta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• All dispersants considered acted in synergy with resins in peptizing asphaltenes. • Ionic liquid yielded the best dispersing power and the highest self-association. • Significant electron-withdrawing sites were main contributors to dispersing power. • Steric hinderance associated with molecular structure affected dispersing behavior. In confronting the global climate change, reusing waste asphalt materials stands out as a key strategy for the transportation sector to preserve natural resources and reduce the carbon footprint. Recycling additives or rejuvenators are usually required in this practice, especially for boosting the recycling rate. Given the imperative need for a general compositional design principle of rejuvenators, we previously proposed an innovative formulation concept by combining softeners with asphaltene dispersants, and reported that the use of dispersants largely reduced the total quantity of rejuvenators needed and thus would minimize the environmental impacts. The present study is aimed for probing the molecular mechanisms underlying this observation, with additional interest focused on the synergistic effect of the dispersants with resins and also on the impacts due to their self-association. Selection of representative materials consisted of three types of dispersants including an ionic liquid, a phenolic amphiphile, and an ester plasticizer, in combination with an aromatic oil as the softener. Long-time molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was employed to inspect the aggregation of asphaltenes. Quantum chemical (QC) computation was performed to provide insights into the source of different dispersing behaviors. The results indicated that the three dispersants all acted in concert with resins in dispersing asphaltenes. The dispersion characteristics of asphaltenes could be viewed as a net result of the two competing mechanisms of the dispersing capability and self-association of the dispersant used. The ionic liquid exhibited much higher propensity to self-association at increasing concentrations than the phenolic dispersant, and yet the optimum performance was achieved for both when they were added at low dosages. The ester plasticizer showed minimal self-association and yielded improved dispersion with increasing concentrations. In all cases, the dispersing functionality mainly originated from the presence or formation of significant electron-withdrawing sites, collectively due to the highly electronegative cation and anion, hydrogen bonding, and polar groups. Comparison of the dispersing power was also conducted from different perspectives. The findings are expected to provide molecular insights for formulating versatile and more environmentally benign asphalt rejuvenators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rejuvenators were formulated by combining asphaltene dispersants with softeners. • All rejuvenation schemes effectively restored the rheology and moisture resistance. • Rejuvenated asphalts exhibited similar or better long-term performance than virgin. • Ionic liquid yielded the best dispersing efficiency and aromatic softener the least. • Polar groups and forming hydrogen bonding were speculated as primary contributors. The search and development of various asphalt rejuvenators have been following a trial-and-error methodology in essence; the imperative need of improved efficiency and versatility yearns for a general principle/framework of formulating rejuvenators. In this study, we propose one such formulation concept that rejuvenators can be designed by combining asphaltene dispersants (interacting with and dispersing asphaltenes) with softeners (diluting asphaltenes). This concept was preliminarily validated in an experimental program involving three rejuvenation schemes, namely using an aromatic softener alone (as the reference) and using it together with an ionic liquid or a phenolic compound (both acting as dispersants). Immediate and long-term rejuvenating effectiveness was evaluated based on viscoelastic properties, fatigue resistance, and moisture susceptibility. The results indicated that at respective optimum dosages, the three schemes all yielded satisfactory immediate performance of rejuvenation. After long-term aging, the rejuvenated asphalts demonstrated more desired viscoelastic characteristics in resisting high-temperature deformation and low-temperature cracking, and were more fatigue resistant, as compared to the virgin binder. Rejuvenation in all cases also recovered the moisture resistance nearly to the virgin level. Infrared spectrum analysis indicated that the performance restoration was accomplished by the agents blending physically with the aged binder, which decreased the concentrations of oxidation functional groups (carbonyl and sulfoxide). The incorporation of dispersants improved the aging resistance (in terms of high temperature viscoelasticity), and substantially reduced the need of aromatic softener while providing similar or better performance compared to using the softener alone, which would lead to pronounced environmental and economic benefits. The much higher dosage efficiency was ascribed to the capability of the dispersants in peptizing and dissociating the asphaltenes, as investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The different dispersing behaviors of the additives were examined with reference to their chemical compositions and molecular structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative aging is an inevitable environmental factor that accelerates asphalt pavement deterioration. This study employed a molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the impact of aging on asphalt cement from the perspectives of thermodynamic properties, and diffusion and adhesion characteristics. Results indicate that aging increased bulk density from 1.008 to 1.081 g/cm3 and cohesive energy density by 15.6%, which was attributed to the promoted molecular polarity and intermolecular attractiveness. The enhanced molecular interactions also reduced molecular mobility, which led to an increase in the glass transition temperature by 30 K, suggesting that aging diminished the resistance of asphalt to thermal cracking. Simulations of the diffusion behaviors across different temperatures demonstrated that the Arrhenius relationship described well the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, and that aging considerably slowed down the diffusion process as represented by Arrhenius prefactor D0, which dropped by 38.2%. The asphalt–aggregate adhesion was assessed using layered models with and without a water interlayer of different thicknesses. The adhesion was enhanced upon aging due to the significantly improved electrostatic interactions at the interface. Evaluation of the residual adhesion with the presence of interfacial water suggested that aging would raise the moisture susceptibility of asphalt pavement. The increase in molecular polarity was considered to be highly responsible for these aging consequences, and was thus further investigated via the electrostatic potential surface and dipole moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematite concentration is an important climatic proxy for environmental (climatic) studies of soils and sediments. However, the accurate quantification of naturally occurring hematite has always been a difficult question, especially for those areas with lower hematite concentrations. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is an effective method for hematite identification and quantification with lower detection limits. In this study, we synthesized a set of samples with well-determined concentrations to explore the exact detectable range of hematite and propose the most effective transfer function between the DRS proxy and hematite concentration. In addition, natural sediments from Inland Asia and the Western Pacific Ocean were used to further test the feasibility of the new transfer function. Results show that the lowest DRS detection limit for hematite could reach ~0.00078%, but is affected by the natural matrix. We also find that the second derivative of the Kubelka–Munk (K–M) function is monotonically correlated with the hematite concentration (0.00078%–100%), but ambiguities exist for the first derivative. Therefore, the second derivative of the K–M function is highly suggested for the hematite quantification, especially when concentration exhibits a wide range of variations. This study provides important references for the application of hematite proxy and promotes the popularization and development of the DRS method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. In recent years, with a large number of rural people going out to work, the mental problems of left-behind children have been widely concerned by people from all walks of life. Objective. The purpose is to improve the teaching quality of music education of left-behind children and solve their unique mental problems. Methods. Based on the questionnaire survey, the mental state of left-behind children is studied, and the mental problems of left-behind children are intervened based on musical practice classes. First, the left-behind children's mental status is studied. Second, through the questionnaire, the left-behind children's music classroom status is studied and analyzed. Then, the musical classroom intervention experiment is designed to prevent and adjust the left-behind children's mental problems. Results. The results show that more than 90% of left-behind children spend less than one month with their parents every year. Most of the left-behind children are supervised by their grandparents, and 68% of them have been accompanied by their grandparents for more than nine months. Due to the lack of parents' company, most of the left-behind children are lack of self-confidence and timid and tend to care about others' opinions. Musical practice classes have a good effect on the regulation and prevention of left-behind children's mental problems. Conclusions. This study uses a questionnaire survey method to explore the new form of left-behind children's music classroom, preventing and regulating left-behind children's mental problems, which provides a reference for the research in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel beam‐controlling antenna based on a single‐layer digital coding metasurface (DCMS) is presented. A transmission‐type DCMS is placed in the near‐field of the source antenna to form a low‐profile structure with the height of 0.15λ0 in total. These DCMS elements have two kinds of particles with different transmissivity responses to y‐polarized wave, corresponding to two basic digital element 0 and 1 respectively. By designing the coding sequences on DCMS carefully, the radiating mode can be dynamically and real‐time controlled. The proposed antenna has multi‐function that can realize wide‐angle beam‐scanning and wide‐to‐narrow beam switching simultaneously. The scanning angle ranges from −85° to +85° in H‐plane with the gain fluctuation less than 2dBi. The simulation results are verified by experiments. This type of antenna can be applied in a variety of wireless communication systems with the outstanding advantages of low‐profile, low‐cost, and multi‐function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the effectiveness and safety of zoledronic acid combined with chemotherapy for lung cancer spinal metastases, 96 patients with lung cancer spinal metastases were averagely classified into the experimental group (gemcitabine, cisplatin, and zoledronic acid) and the control group (gemcitabine and cisplatin). An optimized noise variance estimation algorithm (OMAPB) was proposed based on the maximum a posteriori Bayesian method (MAPB), and the algorithm was applied to the patient's computed tomography (CT) scan. The results indicated that in terms of curative effect, the number of complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) cases, effective rate, and clinical benefit rate of the test group was significantly higher than those of the control group. The number of progress disease (PD) cases was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The disease progression time of the test group patients was 6.2 months, and the disease progression time of the control group patients was 3.7 months (P < 0.05). The test group patients had 8 cases of bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal reactions after treatment. In the test group, there were 8 cases of bone marrow suppression, 9 cases of gastrointestinal reaction, 3 cases of fever, 4 cases of pain, and 2 cases of hair loss. The patients in the control group were complicated with bone marrow suppression in 14 cases, gastrointestinal reaction in 17 cases, fever in 5 cases, pain in 4 cases, and hair loss in 6 cases. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). It showed that zoledronic acid combined with chemotherapy could effectively improve the treatment efficiency and clinical benefit rate of patients with lung cancer spinal metastases, prolong the progression of the disease, reduce the degree of bone tissue damage, and would not increase chemotherapy adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are prospective photocatalysts for removing pollutants. However, the large size of MOFs results in unsatisfactory photocatalytic performance, thus restricting their further usage. Herein, ultrasmall Ti MOF (NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti)) nanodots (diameter: < 10 nm) were prepared on carbon fiber (CF) (diameter: ∼7 μm) based MoS 2 (thickness: ∼20 nm, length: ∼200 nm) via a facile method and used as an efficient and reusable photocatalyst. The weaved CF/MoS 2 /NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti) cloth (0.15 g, 4 × 4 cm2) shows good reusability with an easy reusing process. Compared with large size NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti) based sample, our well-prepared NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti) nanodots based sample shows the improved surface area (290.1 m2 g−1) and it can generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS), which enhance removal performance (81.1% levofloxacin (LVFX), 67.9% acid orange 7 (AO7), 94.3% methylene blue (MB) and 100% Cr(Ⅵ)) in 120 min. Additionally, the recycling test for 4 cycles indicates high stability. This work highlights the function of easy-recyclable NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti) nanodots-based heterojunctions in wastewater purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology is an important means to obtain three-dimensional information of trees and vegetation. However, due to the influence of scanning mode, environmental occlusion and mutual occlusion between tree canopies and other factors, a tree point cloud often has different degrees of data loss, which affects the high-precision quantitative extraction of vegetation parameters. Aiming at the problem of a tree laser point cloud being missing, an individual tree incomplete point cloud restoration method based on local features of the point cloud is proposed. The L1-Median algorithm is used to extract key points of the tree skeleton, then the dominant direction of skeleton key points and local point cloud density are calculated, and the point cloud near the missing area is moved based on these features to gradually complete the incomplete point cloud compensation. The experimental results show that the above repair method can effectively repair the incomplete point cloud with good robustness and can adapt to the individual tree point cloud with different geometric structures and correct the branch topological connection errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a semi-open holder, the homoepitaxial lateral growth of single-crystal diamond (SCD) was carried out via microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). Via tuning and optimizing two different microwave plasma reactor structures, single-substrate and dual-substrate reactors, off-angles of 1.30–1.72° were self-formed on the diamond (001) crystal face. Then, SCD without a polycrystalline diamond rim can be synthesized in the different reactors. In the single-substrate reactor, the distribution of radicals was uniform and dispersed, which was suitable for the lateral expansion growth of SCD with smooth surface morphology and a low dislocation density. After 52 h of growth, the top surface of SCD grown in the single-substrate reactor expanded to 1.58 times that of the initial surface area. In the dual-substrate reactor, the intensity of carbon-related radicals increased significantly under the same process parameters. Furthermore, the lateral growth rate doubled in the dual-substrate reactor. The lateral surface of SCD grown in the dual-substrate reactor also displayed typical layered growth morphology with good uniformity and flatness. In addition, high-quality polycrystalline diamond film could be grown on the upper substrate via plate-to-plate MPCVD when using the dual-substrate set-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The respiratory tract microbiota are deemed as the gatekeeper to health. Consequently, microbiota dysbiosis can lead to the development of diseases. To identify the exact origins of the localized pathogenic bacteria, we investigated bacterial composition in the upper airway tract. Methods: Separate mucosal swabs were collected from nostril or oropharynx of each participant. Meanwhile, the lymphoid tissues including adenoids and tonsils were collected during operation. DNAs were exacted from all the samples for the following 16S rRNA analysis. Results: At the phylum level, the basic bacterial structures in the adenoids, tonsils, oropharynx, and nostrils were generally similar: five main phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Fusobacteria form the majority of the microbiota. However, across these four sites, the microbiota composition differed. More specifically, the bacterial composition in the nostrils was unique. There, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla, while Bacteroides and Fusobacteria were the least abundant. At the genus level, Staphylococcus, Dolosigranulum, Corynebacterium, and Moraxella were the most plentiful, while Fusobacteria was the least ample. Across all sites, Streptococcus displayed similar abundances. Fusobacteria exhibited higher abundances in the lymphoid tissues and oropharynx. Haemophilus and Neisseria were more plentiful in the tonsils and oropharynx. Notably, Klebsiella, which is normally localized to the gut, was abundant in the adenoids and tonsils. Conclusion: Our data indicate that promising pathogenic bacteria originate from all sites in the upper airway. The upper tract lymphoid tissues, normally considered as immune organs, may also serve as reservoirs for pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A nonlinear numerical model is developed by permafrost thermal degradation. • The permafrost evolution process of SAYR is showed from 1400 to 2100. • The "Permafrost Life Cycle" is presented by degradation simulation results. Permafrost degradation is currently receiving as much attention as global warming. Permafrost evolution is a particularly slow process, making it impossible to examine the entire process by observation. Based on the heat conduction theory, in this study, a nonlinear numerical model for the entire process of permafrost evolution was developed with consideration of phase transition. The numerical simulation model was used to retrospectively analyse the evolution process and degradation pattern of permafrost in Tangchama beach-land in the Source Area of the Yellow River (SAYR) from 1400 to 2100; this analysis was performed using ice core inversion results obtained from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since the Little Ice Age and various future climate change scenarios from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. The simulation results showed that: 1) since 1900, permafrost temperatures have substantially increased, exceeding the range of change between 1400 and 1900; under the RCP2.6, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 scenarios, permafrost will degrade and disappear in the next 100 years, and the degradation rate will subsequently accelerate. 2) The permafrost table steadily goes downward at first, and the onset of fast permafrost degradation is signalled by the appearance of a residual thawed layer at a depth of 3–4 m. The permafrost layer then gradually thins out as the permafrost table rapidly descends and the permafrost base slowly ascends. The permafrost will fully deteriorate and vanish once the permafrost table and the permafrost base bounds overlap. 3) Due to permafrost degradation, the ground temperature curve can be divided into the following stages: uniform gradient stage, C-type stage, zero-gradient type stage and phase transition stage. The four stages of the "permafrost life cycle" are initial temperature warming, continuous temperature rising, residual thawed layer, and final permafrost disappearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the discharge coefficient of a cylindrical hole with gas jets in liquid crossflow in a cavitation tunnel. Utilizing the Π theorem, the research examines the dimensionless parameters influencing the discharge coefficient. The results indicate that an increase in the Froude number notably diminishes the discharge coefficient at low-pressure ratios, primarily due to intensified crossflow shear effects, which constrain the effective flow area of the gas jet. However, as the pressure ratio increases, the gas jet velocity rises, attenuating the shear effect of the liquid crossflow and augmenting the discharge coefficient. Examining the correlation between total pressure ratio and discharge coefficient reveals that below a total pressure ratio of 1, the inhibiting effect of crossflow static pressure on the discharge coefficient is more pronounced than that of dynamic pressure. Conversely, beyond a ratio of 1, dynamic pressure imposes a more substantial inhibiting effect compared to static pressure. Additionally, the study assesses the impact of the jet Reynolds number on the discharge coefficient, demonstrating that the viscosity of gas jet has a negligible effect compared to the shear effect of the liquid crossflow. Furthermore, it is found that with an increase in the Euler number, the discharge coefficient increases at the same pressure or velocity ratio, decreases at the same momentum ratio, and remains unchanged at the same momentum flux ratio. Comparing the effects of those above non-dimensional parameters on the discharge coefficient indicates that the momentum flux ratio is the most significant dimensionless parameter that affects the discharge coefficient. • Experimentally studied the discharge coefficient of a gas jet in a liquid crossflow. • Proposed an equivalent total pressure ratio based on the incompressibility assumption. • Found that the effective flow area of the jet directly affects the discharge coefficient. • Provided a method for correlating the discharge coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid simulation is a well-established research field in computer graphics that aims to generate realistic and visually appealing simulations of fluids, including water, smoke, and fire. Divergence is identified as a crucial factor in achieving realistic fluid behavior. This article presents a GPU optimization of the pointwise incompressible fluid simulation technique, which uses pointwise incompressible velocity interpolation to ensure divergence at arbitrary points, rather than grid cells. Pointwise incompressible velocity interpolation at arbitrary points is the curl of velocity potential. The velocity potential can be obtained from the divergence-free velocities by solving a Poisson equation. To enhance the computational efficiency of the simulation, an odd–even geometric multigrid method is introduced to solve Poisson’s equation on non-power-of-2 resolution grids. Additionally, to recover the potential on grid cells, a warp-level method is proposed via divergence-free velocities on grid cells. The proposed warp-level potential recovery method offers GPU optimization and enhanced efficiency, in contrast to the sweeping method that only provides CPU optimization for potential recovery. Furthermore, a locally enhanced method is proposed to recover the detailed velocity potential within small domains through the use of the odd–even multigrid. The experiments show that the odd–even multigrid outperforms Weber’s multigrid by an average speedup factor of 4.32 across various grid sizes. On the other hand, the warp-level potential recovery method demonstrates notable speedups ranging from approximately 2–6 times for 2D grids and about 1.35–2.64 times for 3D grids when compared to the parallel sweeping method on GPU. The results of these contributions demonstrate remarkable improvements in the efficiency and performance of fluid simulations in computer graphics, harnessing the computational capabilities of modern GPUs to achieve visually appealing and realistic fluid behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence has indicated that the alterations in gut microbiota and metabolites are associated with cognitive performance. However, whether these associations imply a causal relationship remains to be definitively established. Here, we conducted two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) studies to explore the causal effects of gut microbiota and metabolites on cognitive performance, using large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We identified seven positive causalities between host genetic-driven gut microbiota and cognitive performance, including Class Clostridia (p = 0.0002), Order Clostridiales (p = 8.12E-05), Family Rhodospirillaceae (p = 0.042) and Ruminococcustorquesgroup (p = 0.030), Dialister (p = 0.027), Paraprevotella (p = 0.037) and RuminococcaceaeUCG003 (p = 0.007) at the genus level. Additionally, a total of four higher abundance of gut microbiota traits were identified to be negatively related to cognitive performance, including genus Blautia (p = 0.013), LachnospiraceaeFCS020group (p = 0.035), LachnospiraceaeNK4A136group (p = 0.034) and Roseburia (p = 0.00016). In terms of plasma metabolites, we discovered eight positive and six negative relationships between genetic liability in metabolites and cognitive performance (all p < 0.05). No evidence was detected across a series of sensitivity analyses, including pleiotropy and heterogeneity. Collectively, our MR analyses revealed that gut microbiota and metabolites were causally connected with cognitive performance, which holds significant potential for shedding light on the early detection and diagnosis of cognitive impairment, offering valuable insights into this area of research. • This is the first two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to explore the causal effects of gut microbiota and metabolites on cognitive performance. • We employed a range of analytic methods including inverse-variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, MR-Egger, and a series of sensitivity analyses. • Our findings provide a valuable insight for the early identification and diagnosis from the onset of cognitive decline to dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of magnetic hybrid films containing diblock copolymers (DBCs) and magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) by printing is a highly promising method for scalable and low‐cost fabrication. During printing, the drying and arrangement kinetics of the DBC and magnetic NPs play an important role in the film formation concerning morphology and magnetic properties. In this study, the morphology evolution of ultrahigh molecular weight DBC polystyrene‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) and magnetic iron platinum (FePt) NPs is investigated with grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering (GISAXS) in situ during printing. For comparison, a pure DBC film is printed without FePt NPs under the same conditions. The GISAXS data suggest that the addition of NPs accelerates the solvent evaporation, leading to a faster film formation of the hybrid film compared to the pure film. As the solvent is almost evaporated, a metastable state is observed in both films. Compared with the pure film, such a metastable state continues longer during the printing process of the hybrid film because of the presence of FePt NPs, which inhibits the reorganization of the DBC chains. Moreover, investigations of the field‐dependent magnetization and temperature‐dependent susceptibility indicate that the printed hybrid film is superparamagnetic, which makes this film class promising for magnetic sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of the rate of penetration (ROP) is a difficult issue in the drilling process, especially under complex formation conditions. Many methods, such as mechanism and machine learning, were introduced to investigate it. However, most of them are offline prediction methods which may not be capable of capturing the online trend of ROP. In this paper, a novel dynamic model for ROP prediction is proposed considering the process characteristics, which consists of three stages. In the first stage, the correlations between ROP and eight drilling parameters are analyzed, and the rotational speed, weight on bit, depth are selected as the model inputs. In the second stage, the drilling data are pre-processed by using the filtering and re-sampling techniques. In the last stage, the moving window strategy, extreme learning machine, and 10-fold cross validation are used to establish the ROP model. Our main idea of online prediction of ROP lies in this last stage. Specifically, two steps (modeling and prediction) are executed alternately in the moving drilling depth windows so as to predict the ROP more accurately. Finally, the proposed ROP prediction model is applied to the drilling well ZK3 in Xiangyang area, Central China. The prediction accuracy is improved by at least 7% compared with seven well-known ROP prediction methods, two online and five offline, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed method. It is believed that the proposed model provides a basis for intelligent optimization control in drilling process. • A novel intelligent dynamic model is proposed for the online prediction of drilling ROP. • The influence of the length of moving window and distance between two windows are investigated thoroughly. • The proposed model can learn autonomously in the drilling process and has a fast computation speed. • The proposed method has a higher prediction accuracy than two online and five offline well-known conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is known to cause respiratory inflammation such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung fibrosis. NLRP3 inflammasome activation has been implicated in these diseases; however, due to the complexity in PM 2.5 compositions, it is difficult to differentiate the roles of the components in triggering this pathway. We collected eight real-life PM 2.5 samples for a comparative analysis of their effects on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and lung fibrosis. In vitro assays showed that although the PM 2.5 particles did not induce significant cytotoxicity at the dose range of 12.5 to 100 µg/mL, they induced potent TNF-α and IL-1β production in PMA differentiated THP-1 human macrophages and TGF-β1 production in BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cells. At the dose of 100 µg/mL, PM 2.5 induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation by inducing lysosomal damage and cathepsin B release, leading to IL-1β production. This was confirmed by using NLRP3- and ASC-deficient cells as well as a cathepsin B inhibitor, ca-074 ME. Administration of PM 2.5 via oropharyngeal aspiration at 2 mg/kg induced significant TGF-β1 production in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and collagen deposition in the lung at 21 days post-exposure, suggesting PM 2.5 has the potential to induce pulmonary fibrosis. The ranking of in vitro IL-1β production correlates well with the in vivo total cell count, TGF-β1 production, and collagen deposition. In summary, we demonstrate that the PM 2.5 is capable of inducing NLRP3 inflammasome activation, which triggers a series of cellular responses in the lung to induce fibrosis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population. However, there are no reliable diagnostic biomarkers for PD, and the pathogenesis of PD still needs further study. The aim of the current study was to identify potential biomarkers and explore the pathogenesis of PD. We conducted an integrative analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression profiles of PD using data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The GSE110720, GSE110719 and GSE133347 data sets were selected and analysed. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and gene set variation analysis (GSVA) were performed for annotation, visualization, and integrated discovery. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) and competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were constructed, and hub genes were identified. Meanwhile, the immune infiltration analysis of hub genes was analysed. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to verify the diagnostic value of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Finally, the genes with high area under the curve (AUC) values were verified by human samples. We identified 464 DEGs closely related to PD, including 154 mRNAs, 134 miRNAs, and 176 lncRNAs. The GO analyses indicated that changes in PD were mainly enriched in receptor ligand activity and cytokine receptor binding. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs were significantly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, signalling pathways regulating the pluripotency of stem cells and Th17 cell differentiation. GSVA suggested that growth factor binding, IL2-stat5 signalling, and IL6-jak-stat3 signalling were crucial in the development of PD. A total of five hub genes (NPBWR2, CXCL10, CXCL5, S1PR5, and GALR1) were selected via the PPI network. A ceRNA network of the CXCL5, CXCL10 and S1PR5 genes was constructed, and target genes of the three genes were screened. The immune infiltration analysis showed that there were significant differences in a variety of immune cells between the hub genes. The expression of DEGs was validated in clinical human samples by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The expression levels of hsa-miR6895–5p, hsa-miR6791–5p, hsa-miR518f-5p, hsa-miR455–3p and TEKT4P2 were decreased, while the levels of TPTE2P6 were increased in human samples. These findings are consistent with the bioinformatics analysis results. We found that the immune inflammatory response and immune cell regulation were involved in the pathogenesis of PD. Five hub genes involved in the immune infiltration biological processes of PD based on bioinformatics. We verified the DEGs with significant differences by qRT-PCR. These findings might provide new insight into the pathogenesis of PD and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for PD. • A total of 464 differentially expressed genes in Parkinson's disease were identified by bioinformatics. • Five hub genes were identified by network construction. • The relationship between hub gene expression and immune infiltration was analysed. • The interesting and meaningful genes were verified by qRT-PCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China accounts for 25% of the global greening. There are temporal and spatial differences of China's greening and intrinsic driving forces. Thus, it is crucial to determinize the contributions of human activities and climate change on greening at region scale. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region (BTHR) is one of the most active areas with human activities in China. It is necessary to explore negative or positive impacts of human activities on the regional greening or browning under climate change. A time series of annual vegetation coverage from satellite data was selected to quantify regional greening in the BTHR from 2000 to 2019 and their responses to climate change and human activities. Results showed generally widespread greening over the last 20 years at an average increased rate of 0.036 decade−1 in vegetation coverage (P < 0.01). Overall warmer and wetter climate across the BTHR were positively correlated with regional greening. The positive effects of human activities on greening accounted for 48.4% of the BTHR, especially the benefits of ecological restoration projects and the agricultural activities. Increases in vegetation coverage had resulted from the combined effects of climate change and human activities. Climate change had a stronger influence on vegetation coverage than human activities. Contributions of climate change to greening and browning was about 74.1% and < 20%, respectively. The decrease in vegetation coverage was mainly the results of the inhibition of human activities. More detailed socioeconomic and anthropogenic datasets are required for further analysis. Further research consideration would focus on the nonlinear responses of vegetation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a synthetic protocol for the construction of polysubstituted five‐membered heterocycles via TMSOTf‐catalyzed formal [3+2] cycloaddition of electron‐rich alkynes, which features free from any metal, atom economy and water as the main by‐product. Furthermore, alkenyl ether adduct has been verified as the key intermediate. Notably, by utilizing this approach, we can synthesize a broad range of polysubstituted furans, thiophenes and pyrroles, and extend this transformation to deliver fused‐polyheterocycles. This reaction can be achieved on a gram scale and the corresponding products are intermediates for producing diverse potentially useful scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) catalyzed by transition metal and starvation therapy catalyzed by intracellular metabolite oxidases are both classic tumor treatments based on nanocatalysts. CDT monotherapy has limitations including low catalytic efficiency of metal ions and insufficient endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Also, single starvation therapy shows limited ability on resisting tumors. The "metal-oxidase" cascade catalytic system is to introduce intracellular metabolite oxidases into the metal-based nanoplatform, which perfectly solves the shortcomings of the above-mentioned monotherapiesIn this system, oxidases can not only consume tumor nutrients to produce a "starvation effect", but also provide CDT with sufficient H2O2 and a suitable acidic environment, which further promote synergy between CDT and starvation therapy, leading to enhanced antitumor effects. More importantly, the "metal-oxidase" system can be combined with other antitumor therapies (such as photothermal therapy, hypoxia-activated drug therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy) to maximize their antitumor effects. In addition, both metal-based nanoparticles and oxidases can activate tumor immunity through multiple pathways, so the combination of the "metal-oxidase" system with immunotherapy has a powerful synergistic effect. This article firstly introduced the metals which induce CDT and the oxidases which induce starvation therapy and then described the "metal-oxidase" cascade catalytic system in detail. Moreover, we highlight the application of the "metal-oxidase" system in combination with numerous antitumor therapies, especially in combination with immunotherapy, expecting to provide new ideas for tumor treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines local residents' place attachment (PA) to the city or town they live and investigates how this attachment influences their perceptions and support for tourism development (ST), as well as comparing the differences of these relationships among the city and town residents in a linear World Heritage Site (WHS) setting. Structural equation model was used to analyze samples of 226 city residents and 235 town residents along the Grand Canal Yangzhou Section, China. The findings suggested that residents' PA is positively correlated their ST. Results also suggested that the PA-ST effect is partially mediated by residents' positive perceptions in the city area while fully mediated by residents' positive and negative perceptions in the town areas. This study could help local governments make heritage development and management policies accordingly for cities and towns along the Grand Canal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater images require further enhancement to improve the image qualities caused by medium scattering and light absorption. Based on Contour Bougie (CB) morphology, we propose a new enhancement method to enhance the scene contours and improve the visibility of images captured underwater. Two structuring elements with different sizes are considered as the roving windows. Multiple morphological operations are designed for highlighting the rich details on the origin images. The enhanced images are normalized and stretched to improve the white balance of RGB channels. The comprehensive study of state-of-the-art algorithms is conducted to interpret the improvement of image quality by the proposed method. In addition, we use 890 raw underwater degraded images as the testing data. The quantitative and qualitative evaluations of these data demonstrate that the proposed method achieves better visible contrast for highlighting the details of the undersea creatures. The comparison with different underwater scenes proves that the proposed method improves the color balances of the degraded images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many contributions have focused on the pitting analysis in gear transmissions. However, studies on pitting fatigue in spiral bevel gears are limited due to the complexity of tooth contact and lubrication analysis. This paper is to present a reasonable methodology to simulate the pitting crack nucleation of spiral bevel gears considering the real three‐dimensional (3D) rough surface contact where the intermittent asperity stress concentrations is prominent. The proposed model includes a loaded tooth contact analysis model, a mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication model proposed previously, 3D stress filed formulation, and multi‐axial fatigue criterions. In order to determine an appropriate multi‐axial fatigue criterion for spiral bevel gear, a characteristic plane approach and a conventional critical plane approach are employed in this study. The predicted micro‐pitting lives are compared to published micro‐pitting investigations to assess the reliability of two fatigue criterions in simulation of the micro‐pitting failure. It is observed that the characteristic plane approach is better to reveal the failure mechanism in spiral bevel gears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many dedicated accelerators are gaining popularity for their performance and energy efficiency in the deep neural network (DNN) domain, high-level programming support for these accelerators remains thin. In contrast to existing researches targeting the whole DNNs, we choose to dive into details and review this problem from a finer-grained level, operators. Due to performance concerns, operator programmers may have to take hand-written assembly as their first choice, which is error-prone and involves many programming chores. To alleviate this problem, we propose TOpLib, a compiler-assisted template library. By providing a unified user-view abstraction, TOpLib allows programmers to express computational kernels with high-level tensor primitives, which will be automatically lowered into low-level intrinsic primitives via expression templates. Moreover, considering memory management is performance-critical and the optimization strategy of expression template is limited to enumeration based rewriting rules, we implement TOpLib with a compiler-assisted approach. We address the memory reuse challenges into the compiler, which allows TOpLib to make full use of on-chip buffers and result in better performance. Experiments over 55 typical DNN operators demonstrate that TOpLib can generate scalable code with performance faster than or on par with hand-written assembly versions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferometry, a key technique in modern precision measurements, has been used for length measurement in engineering metrology and astronomy. An analogous time-domain interferometric technique would represent a significant complement to spatial domain applications and require the manipulation of interference on extreme time and energy scales. Here, we report an all-optical interferometer using laser-driven high order harmonics as attosecond temporal slits. By controlling the phase of the temporal slits with an external field, a time domain interferometer that preserves both attosecond temporal resolution and hundreds of meV energy resolution is implemented. We apply this exceptional temporal resolution to reconstruct the waveform of an arbitrarily polarized optical pulse, and utilize the provided energy resolution to interrogate the abnormal character of the transition dipole near the Cooper minimum in argon. This novel attosecond interferometry paves the way for high precision measurements in the time-energy domain using all-optical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although antiretroviral therapy effectively controls human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication, a residual chronic immune activation/inflammation persists throughout the disease. This aberrant immune activation and inflammation are considered an accelerator of non-AIDS-related events and one of the driving forces of CD4+ T cell depletion. Unfortunately, HIV-associated immune activation is driven by various factors, while the mechanism of excessive inflammation has not been formally clarified. To date, several clinical interventions or treatment candidates undergoing clinical trials have been proposed to combat this systemic immune activation/inflammation. However, these strategies revealed limited results, or their nonspecific anti-inflammatory properties are similar to previous interventions. Here, we reviewed recent learnings of immune activation and persisting inflammation associated with HIV infection, as well as the current directions to overcome it. Of note, a more profound understanding of the specific mechanisms for aberrant inflammation is still imperative for identifying an effective clinical intervention strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving high visibility and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from a single-shot image captured in low-light environments is an under-constrained problem. To cope with this issue, the intrinsic relationship between the image domain and the radiance domain is first established based on the human visual model, the atmospheric scattering model, and the camera imaging model, and the ideal exposure is derived. Using the illumination-reflection-noise prior, a new convex optimization by employed gradient constraint and the Krisch operator is then presented to estimate the noise-reduced illumination and reflection components. A high SNR image in the optimal exposure is generated in radiance domain, which is finally inversely mapped to obtain a high SNR image in image domain. Experimental results in subjective and objective tests show that the proposed algorithm has a high SNR and pleasant perception in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charge migration during light–matter interaction is one of the most fundamental processes which plays a key role in chemical and biological processes of molecule. The measurement of this process requires the extreme temporal and subatomic spatial resolutions. Here, we show that a scheme based on infrared pump and short extreme ultraviolet probe technique enables us to trace the laser-controlled electron motion with high spatiotemporal resolution. By numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for combined with a simple double-slit model, we demonstrate that the laser-controlled charge migration can be directly reconstructed from the interference patterns of the photoelectron spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Achievement of superlubricity is an effective method to reduce friction and wear, which has a prominent influence on the operational efficiency and lifetime of a device. However, some burning issues still remain to be solved for the practical applications of superlubricity, such as the poor load-bearing capacity, especially in liquid superlubricity. Therefore, exploring an effective method to enhance the superlubricity performance is essential to accelerate the application of superlubricity. The friction properties between two different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)—a perfluorocarbon SAM and a hydrocarbon SAM—and graphite in water were explored and compared by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Enhanced superlubricity performance due to the fluorination was observed. Specifically, we observed an approximately 85% reduction of the friction coefficient after fluorination, and superlubricity was achieved with extremely low friction coefficient of 0.0003. Moreover, 2.4-fold greater load-bearing capacity of the superlubricity was obtained after fluorination. The molecular origin of the superlubricity enhancement by fluorination was revealed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, indicating that the greater load-bearing capacity of the perfluorocarbon SAM was ascribed to the enhanced interaction between the water and SAM by fluorination to form a more robust layered water structure confined in the contact zone, which played a pivotal role in the superlubricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia nowadays. The occurrence of AF is closely associated with obesity. Cadherin‐11 (Cad‐11), as a member of the cadherin family, can make a contribution to diet‐induced obesity and it will be informative to know whether Cad‐11 exerts its effects on atrial remodeling and AF vulnerability in a diet‐induced obesity model. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of Cad‐11 was significantly upregulated in the left atrium of AF patients with obesity and mice following 16 weeks of high‐fat diet (HFD) feeding. Further confirmed that Cad‐11 could regulate the activity of atrial fibroblasts by participating in inducing proinflammatory cytokines production. At animal levels, we found that although there was a lack of statistical difference in body weight, Cad‐11−/− mice could markedly improve impaired glucose tolerance and hyperlipidemia. Adverse atrial structural remodeling, including atrial enlargement, inflammation, and fibrosis provoked by HFD feeding were mitigated in Cad‐11−/− mice. Mechanistically, Cad‐11 activated mitogen‐activated protein kinases and nuclear factor‐κB for interleukin‐6 production in atrial fibroblasts that may contribute to the atrial fibrosis process in obesity‐related AF, suggesting Cad‐11 might be a new therapeutic target for obesity‐related AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonists have been employed in selective patients after endovascular therapy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), yet application in patients without EVT is debated. This meta‐analysis of randomized controlled studies on AIS patients without EVT assessed the effectiveness and safety of platelet GP IIb/IIIa antagonists compared with traditional antiplatelet or thrombolysis therapy. Articles were retrieved from databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane. The risk of bias and certainty level of evidence were assessed. Fifteen studies were included. GP IIb/IIIa antagonists increased the proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0–1 (odd ratio [OR] 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.81, p = 0.03), mRS 0–2 (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.12–1.46, p = 0.0004), and Barthel Index (BI) 95–100 (OR 1.25, p = 0.005); decreased the proportion of stroke progression within 5 days (OR 0.66, p = 0.006); and lowered the mean mRS score at 90 days (mean difference [MD] −0.43, p = 0.002) and the National Institute of Health stroke scale score at 7 days (MD −1.64, p < 0.00001) compared with conventional treatment. Proportions of stroke recurrence within 90 days (OR 1.20, p = 0.60), any intracranial hemorrhage (aICH) (OR 1.20, p = 0.12), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) (OR 0.91, p = 0.88), and death (OR 0.87, p = 0.25) had no statistical difference between both groups. This meta‐analysis finds that compared with traditional antiplatelet or thrombolysis therapy, GP IIb/IIIa antagonists administered within 24–96 h of ischemic stroke onset significantly improve functional prognosis of patients with AIS not receiving EVT, as indicated by mRS and BI at 90 days, and do not increase the incidence of aICH, sICH, and death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether serum inhibin A at 14–20 weeks of gestation is associated with the occurrence of pre‐eclampsia. Methods: A retrospective cohort study using propensity score matching was conducted on 11 682 singleton pregnant women with established deliveries at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University between January 2017 and July 2019. We investigated serum inhibin A levels at 14–20 weeks of gestation and calculated the relative risk between inhibin A and pre‐eclampsia by multifactorial logistic regression analysis. Smoothed, fitted curves were used to observe the effect of inhibin A in relation to the occurrence of pre‐eclampsia. Results: The risk of pre‐eclampsia occurrence increased with elevated serum inhibin A. After full adjustment for confounders, the risk ratio for pre‐eclampsia in the group of pregnant women with high inhibin A was 2.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.08–4.11) compared with those with normal inhibin A. The results of sensitivity analysis suggested a consistent effect of inhibin A on the risk of pre‐eclampsia in different populations. Conclusion: Elevated serum inhibin A at 14–20 weeks of gestation is associated with pre‐eclampsia and may provide an early warning signal for pregnancy outcomes associated with pre‐eclampsia. Synopsis: Serum inhibin A can provide early warning signals for pregnancy outcomes related to pre‐eclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabric motion in tumble dryers, particularly the motion observed from the cross-section of the rotating drum, contributes significantly to the heat and mass transfer between textiles and the surrounding hot airflow. However, the wider picture for this process is not yet clear and requires further study. In this article, fabric motion with different drum rotation direction settings was analyzed experimentally to determine the effect of drum rotation direction on drying performance. A high-speed video camera was used to record the fabric motion during the entire drying process. The recorded movies were then processed, and the velocity and occupancy distributions of the tracer fabric and several motion indexes were analyzed by using OpenCV and Matlab. The results indicated that changes in the drum rotation mode cause significant variations in the dynamics of fabric motion in domestic tumble dryers across different drying conditions with variations in fabric size, drum rotation speed and load size. Constantly changing drum rotation direction plays an important role in enlarging the motion area and reducing the passive motion area, lifting the textiles up to a higher place and agitating the mixture inside the rotating drum. This means that the fabrics can be effectively scattered instead of tangling together, and because this drying condition provides more opportunities for them to be exposed to the surrounding hot airflow, it enhances convective heat and mass transfer within the drying chamber and reduces the formation of wrinkles on fabrics. This study could lead to new guidance for obtaining effective fabric motion patterns that lead to an optimal drying performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For hypersonic boundary-layer flow, the effects of entropy layer on the boundary layer are investigated by theoretical analysis combining with direct numerical simulation over 5 ° blunt cones. The boundary-layer similarity is first discovered after entropy swallowing. Entropy swallowing is the phenomenon that the entropy layer gets swallowed by the developing boundary layer downstream. Compared with sharp cones, the boundary layer under entropy layer can be divided into two regions—the outer layer and inner layer. The outer layer is strongly affected by the entropy layer, whereas the inner layer near the wall is mainly dominated by viscous effects. It is found that after entropy swallowing, the entropy-layer effects do not fully disappear. The boundary-layer-edge variables of the blunt cone reach sharp-cone values at entropy swallowing point, while the flow inside the boundary layer takes a longer distance to reach sharp-cone solutions entirely. After that, the entropy-layer effects vanish. The blunt-cone boundary-layer similarity then shows up. Linear stability theory results show that, for blunt cones, the lower branches of the neutral curves always overlap with those of sharp cones, which further proves the existence of the inner layer. The neutral curves of blunt and sharp cones entirely overlap at somewhere downstream of entropy swallowing point, and at this location, the first-mode growth-rate curves of blunt and sharp cones completely overlap. The second-mode growth rates, however, are found to overlap somewhere further, at the location where the blunt-cone similarity shows up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coordination polymer {[Mn 2 (BTIA) 2 (H 2 O)]·7H 2 O} n was synthesized solvothermally. • The structure is a 4,8-connected 3D framework. • Antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions exist between Mn2+ ions. • The porous Mn-MOF shows a small uptake capacity for CO 2. One three dimensional metal organic framework {[Mn 2 (BTIA) 2 (H 2 O)]·7H 2 O} n (Mn-1) was synthesized from the multidentate organic linker 4,6-bistriazole isophthalic acid (H 2 BTIA) and MnCl 2 ·4H 2 O under solvothermally condition. The structure of 1 exhibits as a three-dimensional framework fabricated by the binuclear subunits [Mn 2 (COO) 2 (H 2 O)] and the organic linkers (H 2 BTIA). Topologically, it displays a binodal framework with Schläfli symbol (44 · 62) 2 (416 · 612), which contains one dimensional channels along a direction. The magnetic behavior of Mn-1 was investigated, which discloses the antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions between Mn2+ ions with the coupling constant J = −1.38 cm−1. In additin, the porous Mn-MOF shows a small uptake capacity for CO 2. [Display omitted] One 3D coordination polymers {[Mn 2 (BTIA) 2 (H 2 O)]·7H 2 O} n have been successfully obtained based on multidentate linker 4,6-bistriazole isophthalic acid (H 2 BTIA). The structure of 1 fabricated into a 3D MOF by the binuclear subunits [Mn 2 (COO) 2 (H 2 O)] and the organic connectors (H 2 BTIA). It displays a binodal framework with Schläfli symbol (44 · 62) 2 (416 · 612) with 1D channels along a direction. The magnetic behavior of Mn-1 discloses AF couplings between Mn2+ ions in every subunit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]