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Despite extensive studies of spin transport in metallic structures, it remains a challenge to achieve spin relaxation length well above 1 μm in metals even at low temperatures. We explore nonlocal spin transport in Cu channels with a cross section of 0.5 × 0.5 μm2, which exhibit superior values of electrical conductivity and residual resistivity ratio (RRR). Based on structures fabricated in a single batch, we found an average spin relaxation length of λ C u = 3.2 ± 0.7 μ m and an average spin relaxation time of τs = 120 ± 50 ps at 30 K. Substantial variations of λ C u , RRR, and resistivity ρ C u are found among the structures and the three quantities correlate well to one another. The most conductive Cu channel in the batch yields λ C u = 5.3 ± 0.8 μ m and τ s = 250 ± 80 ps. These superior values exceed expectations for metals and can be attributed to reduced spin relaxation from grain boundaries and surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CEO activism has the potential to inspire employees' activism and engender a broad societal impact. Yet, few studies have provided empirical evidence exploring the impact of CEO activism on employees' cognition, emotion, and behavior. Drawing on multidisciplinary insights from moral psychology theories, signaling theory, social learning theory, and build-and-broaden theory of positive emotions, we theorize a conceptual framework that delineates how CEOs' communication stressing the moral value of ethics of care triggers employees' other-directed positive moral emotions of gratitude, admiration, and elevation, which in term enhance employees' perceived organizational virtuousness and their advocacy behavioral intentions in accord with the CEOs' stances. The framework was supported by an online survey with 575 full-time U.S. employees. Our study sheds light on how CEOs can unleash the power of their activism in promoting a moral climate within their organization and producing a collective impact among their followers to enhance societal well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advances in scientific computing and mathematical modeling, complex scientific phenomena such as galaxy formations and rocket propulsion can now be reliably simulated. Such simulations can however be very time-intensive, requiring millions of CPU hours to perform. One solution is multi-fidelity emulation, which uses data of different fidelities to train an efficient predictive model which emulates the expensive simulator. For complex scientific problems and with careful elicitation from scientists, such multi-fidelity data may often be linked by a directed acyclic graph (DAG) representing its scientific model dependencies. We thus propose a new Graphical Multi-fidelity Gaussian Process (GMGP) model, which embeds this DAG structure (capturing scientific dependencies) within a Gaussian process framework. We show that the GMGP has desirable modeling traits via two Markov properties, and admits a scalable algorithm for recursive computation of the posterior mean and variance along at each depth level of the DAG. We also present a novel experimental design methodology over the DAG given an experimental budget, and propose a nonlinear extension of the GMGP via deep Gaussian processes. The advantages of the GMGP are then demonstrated via a suite of numerical experiments and an application to emulation of heavy-ion collisions, which can be used to study the conditions of matter in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. The proposed model has broader uses in data fusion applications with graphical structure, which we further discuss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the association between mtDNA genetic information and the risk of SF, individuals were conducted in the drinking water endemic fluorosis area in northern China, sequenced the whole genome of mtDNA, identified the SNPs and SNVs, analyzed the haplogroups, and diagnosed SF, and then, the effect of mtDNA genetic information on the risk of SF was evaluated. We find that, D5 haplogroup and its specific SNPs reduced the risk, while the D4 haplogroup and its specific SNPs increased the risk of SF. The number of SNVs in coding regions of mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) is different between the controls and cases. This suggests that D5 haplogroup may play a protective role in the risk of SF, while the opposite is observed for the D4 haplogroup, this may relate to their specific SNPs. And SNVs that encode the MRC complex may also be associated with the risk of SF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chrysanthemum tea is popular because of its health benefits, although different varieties vary in effectiveness and role. The rapid identification of the variety is critical for consumers and the tea industry. This study employed near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in combination with feature extraction methods to characterize chrysanthemum tea varieties. To improve the recognition accuracy, a fuzzy improved pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (FIPLDA) algorithm was employed to extract discriminant information from the NIR spectra of chrysanthemum tea that were preprocessed using the Savitzky-Golay (SG) algorithm. Next, the dimensionality of the data was reduced by principal component analysis (PCA). The spectral features were extracted by pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (PLDA), improved pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (IPLDA), and FIPLDA. Five chrysanthemum tea samples were classified by k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machines (SVM), respectively. The results show that KNN performed better than SVM in classification, and the classification accuracy of FIPLDA-KNN reached 98.33%. Hence, the combination of NIR spectroscopy with FIPLDA suitable for distinguishing chrysanthemum tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improper end‐of‐life treatments of C−O‐linked plastics have caused serious environmental crises and resource waste. One effective method to solve this issue is the catalytic alcoholysis of these plastics. Traditional homogeneous catalysts or metal‐based heterogeneous catalysts for alcoholysis have some drawbacks, such as difficulty in complete separation, environmental threats, and economic burden. Thus, finding a green, low‐cost, recyclable, and highly efficient catalyst substitute is critical. Here, we reported that polymeric carbon nitride nanosheets can serve as a metal‐free heterogeneous catalyst for the methanolysis of polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and polylactic acid. The catalyst exhibits remarkable performance and could be reused at least four times. NHx was found to be the predominant active site of the catalyst by characterization and experiments. These results show promise for the design of metal‐free heterogeneous catalysts to depolymerize C−O‐linked plastics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional liquid–liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was improved for the determination of twelve synthetic musk compounds (SMs) in water samples by consideration of pH and organic solvents for extraction. Samples collected from eleven different points of the Han River estuary and a coastal area were analysed, and the overall concentration of SMs downstream of the Han River was higher than of the coastal area. The extraction efficiencies were above 74% for the twelve SMs from three different classes when using the optimum pH and extraction with dichloromethane (DCM). Results for method detection limit (MDL), method quantification limit (MQL)and recovery obtained by the established analytical method showed that it is adequate for the determination of SMs in real samples. Among the SMs, Galaxolide (HHCB) and Iso E Super (OTNE) had the highest concentrations and detection frequencies. By using the established analytical method, our study showed regional and seasonal distribution of SMs originated from the Han River in estuary and coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines startups' social media communication practice in China through the theoretical lens of dialogic communication. Drawing interdisciplinary insights from public relations and computer-mediated communication, this study explored conversational human voice and social presence as antecedents of startups' dialogic communication with publics on social media and explored publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth as potential outcomes of this process. Results from an online survey with 1061 social media users in China who had followed at least one startup organization revealed that startups' conversational human voice and social presence on social media helped drive organization–public dialogic communication, which in turn fostered publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth toward startups. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An implicit truly self-starting time integration method for nonlinear structural dynamical systems is developed in this paper. The proposed method possesses unconditional stability, second-order accuracy, and controllable dissipation, and it has no overshoots. The well-known BN-stability theory is employed in the design of algorithmic parameters, ensuring that the proposed method can stably solve nonlinear structural dynamical systems without restricting the time step size. The spectral analysis shows that compared to existing second-order accurate time integration methods, the proposed method enjoys a considerable advantage in low-frequency accuracy. For nonlinear problems where the currently popular Generalized- α method and ρ ∞ -Bathe method fail, the proposed method shows strong stability and accuracy. Further, for nonlinear problems in which all methods' results are convergent, the proposed method has greater accuracy, efficiency, and energy-conservation capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a survey of 600 U.S. employees, this study investigated the effect of transparent leadership communication on employee engagement, from the interpretivist approach, in the context of CEO activism. This study examined employees' perceived psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) as mediators. Results showed that transparent leadership communication is positively associated with employees' psychological needs. In turn, employees' psychological needs mediate the impact of transparent leadership communication on employees' information sharing and activism participation intentions in a CEO activism campaign. Ultimately, this study discussed theoretical and managerial contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs highly accurate and efficient time integration methods for the solution of transient problems. The motion equations of transient problems can be described by the first-order ordinary differential equations, in which the right-hand side is decomposed into two parts, a linear part and a nonlinear part. In the proposed methods of different orders, the responses of the linear part at the previous step are transferred by the generalized Padé approximations, and the nonlinear part's responses of the previous step are approximated by the Gauss–Legendre quadrature together with the explicit Runge–Kutta method, where the explicit Runge–Kutta method is used to calculate function values at quadrature points. For reducing computations and rounding errors, the 2m algorithm and the method of storing an incremental matrix are employed in the calculation of the generalized Padé approximations. The proposed methods can achieve higher-order accuracy, unconditional stability, flexible dissipation, and zero-order overshoots. For linear transient problems, the accuracy of the proposed methods can reach 10−16 (computer precision), and they enjoy advantages both in accuracy and efficiency compared with some well-known explicit Runge–Kutta methods, linear multi-step methods, and composite methods in solving nonlinear problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere has been continually monitored since their toxicity became known, whereas nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) and oxy-PAHs (OPAHs), which are derivatives of PAHs by primary emissions or secondary formations in the atmosphere, have gained attention more recently. In this study, a method for the quantification of 18 NPAH and OPAH congeners in the atmosphere based on combined applications of gas chromatography coupled with chemical ionization mass spectrometry is presented. A high sensitivity and selectivity for the quantification of individual NPAH and OPAH congeners without sample preparations from the extract of aerosol samples were achieved using negative chemical ionization (NCI/MS) or positive chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (PCI-MS/MS). This analytical method was validated and applied to the aerosol samples collected from three regions in Northeast Asia—namely, Noto, Seoul, and Ulaanbaatar—from 15 December 2020 to 17 January 2021. The ranges of the method detection limits (MDLs) of the NPAHs and OPAHs for the analytical method were from 0.272 to 3.494 pg/m3 and 0.977 to 13.345 pg/m3, respectively. Among the three regions, Ulaanbaatar had the highest total mean concentration of NPAHs and OPAHs at 313.803 ± 176.349 ng/m3. The contribution of individual NPAHs and OPAHs in the total concentration differed according to the regional emission characteristics. As a result of the aerosol samples when the developed method was applied, the concentrations of NPAHs and OPAHs were quantified in the ranges of 0.016~3.659 ng/m3 and 0.002~201.704 ng/m3, respectively. It was concluded that the method could be utilized for the quantification of NPAHs and OPAHs over a wide concentration range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated nonprofit organizations' (NPOs) emotion-based content strategies on Facebook and publics' engagement behaviors. More than 52,000 Facebook posts and corresponding comments were collected from the top 100 NPOs in the United States. The emotion-carrying status and valence of the messages were analyzed with computer-assisted sentiment analysis procedures. Results confirmed emotion-carrying posts and posts with negative emotions led to increased public engagement as indexed by the volumes of likes, shares, and comments. The presence of emotions and valence of the NPOs' posts were also found to have a diffusion effect on user comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amylose content, fine structure, and protein content affect the hardness and stickiness of cooked rice. However, the mechanisms of those effects have not been fully understood especially the fine structure of amylose. Here, 22 rice varieties with large ranges of both starch chain‐length distributions and protein content are examined, and the starch structural results are parameterized using biosynthesis‐based models. The ratios of the activities of branching enzyme and starch synthase for amylose showed positive and negative correlations with rice hardness (coefficient 0.556 and 0.838) and stickiness (coefficient −0.498 and −0.639), respectively. Protein content is strongly positively correlated with hardness, with nitrogen application up to the panicle development stage (coefficient 0.640). New findings could be obtained from these correlations, which reveal that in the whole region of amylose, the shorter the amylose is, the harder and less sticky the cooked rice is, which has not been reported previously. In addition, protein is found to influence rice hardness significantly, while rice stickiness is less affected by it. Therefore, a comprehensive mechanism of protein effects on rice texture is proposed. This work provides information for breeders to develop improved rice varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Using a pressure washing system shortens the length of time for delamination. • Fractional factorial design is used to screen factors. • Particle size, morphology, and acid leaching of products are evaluated. Recycling cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries has the potential to reduce damages to the environment and human health due to hazardous waste treatment, and mitigate supply risks of raw materials. Related political incentives or regulations have led to increased research and development efforts on cathode recycling. Promising approaches include direct recycling and hydrometallurgical processes, where delamination is the first step after collection of cathodes. In this study, we examined a pressure washing system's ability to harvest cathode materials. A high-pressure water jet provides strong forces to overcome the adhesion provided by organic binders. Four factors (water pressure, distance between nozzle and cathode, incident angle of water jet, and nozzle type) were investigated using a 34-1 fractional factorial design to screen important parameters and find the optimal conditions. Compared with other delamination processes where chemical reagents and heating are involved, the chemical-free pressure washing system can achieve separation in a few seconds (∼74 min/m2) at room temperature, which remarkably improves the efficiency of delamination. The particle size of recycled products (D50 of 31.87 μ m) is significantly reduced without Al contamination from current collectors or morphological damages. In addition, three types of recycled cathode materials were used as inputs for the acid leaching process. High leaching efficiencies of lithium (>90 %) and cobalt (>85 %) suggest that the pressure washing system could be a practical, economical, and eco-friendly pretreatment process to harvest cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the long-term concentration trend and profiles of twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occurring as airborne particulate matter in Seoul, Republic of Korea (Korea) between 1993 and 2018 to evaluate the human health effect and the effectiveness of air quality management policies. Total PAHs (∑PAHs of 12 compounds), benzo [a]pyrene (BaP), and BaP toxic equivalent (BaP TEQ) concentrations increased from 1993 to 1999 but decreased thereafter. Moreover, the BaP concentration has remained below 1 ng/m3 since 2010–2011. Benzo [b+k]fluoranthene (B [b+k]F) accounted for the largest ∑PAHs fraction (approximately 24%) for the entire period. Based on the PAH profiles, as well as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) results and diagnostic ratio analysis, vehicular emissions and coal combustion were identified as major sources of the PAHs in Seoul. Additionally, contribution of vehicular emissions increased from 2002 to 2003 to 2018, whereas that of solid fuel combustion decreased in the same period. PAH levels increased 8-fold in winter compared to summer mainly due to increases in local and regional emissions. The implementation of policies to regulate the use of solid fuels and vehicular emissions in Korea effectively reduced Elemental Carbon (EC) and PAH emissions, as demonstrated by CO, EC, and PAHs reductions and a good correlation between EC and PAHs. Moreover, aggressive air quality management policies in China have also contributed to decreasing PAH concentration trend in Seoul. Following the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) estimations method for 8 different population groups, males in the 0–1 age group was the only group still at potential risk of PAH inhalation in 2018, while other groups have been in the acceptable risk since 2012–2013. [Display omitted] • PAHs level in Seoul decreased 80% in 2018 compared to 1998–1999. • Vehicular emission has been a major source of PAHs. • Policies on solid fuels and vehicles in Northeast Asia were effective for the reduction of EC and PAHs. • All population groups are in the acceptable risk caused by PAHs inhalation, except for age group 0–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a new implicit solution procedure for multibody systems based on a three-sub-step composite method, named TTBIF (trapezoidal–trapezoidal backward interpolation formula). The TTBIF is second-order accurate, and the effective stiffness matrices of the first two sub-steps are the same. In this work, the algorithmic parameters of the TTBIF are further optimized to minimize its local truncation error. Theoretical analysis shows that for both undamped and damped systems, this optimized TTBIF is unconditionally stable, controllably dissipative, third-order accurate, and has no overshoots. Additionally, the effective stiffness matrices of all three sub-steps are the same, leading to the effective stiffness matrix being factorized only once in a step for linear systems. Then, the implementation procedure of the present optimized TTBIF for multibody systems is presented, in which the position constraint equation is strictly satisfied. The advantages in accuracy, stability, and energy conservation of the optimized TTBIF are validated by some benchmark multibody dynamic problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium, which has severe toxicity on animal and human health including reproduction. Previous study showed that zearalenone exposure inhibited oocyte polar body extrusion, while in present study we found that high dose zearalenone disturbed oocyte meiosis resumption. Our results showed that a high concentration of 100 μM zearalenone reduced the rate of germinal vesicle (GV) breakdown in mouse oocytes. Further analysis indicated that zearalenone caused the decrease of Cyclin B1 and CDK1 expression, indicating MPF activity was affected, which further induced G2/M arrest, and this could be rescued by the inhibition of Wee1 activity. We found that the oocytes under high concentration of zearalenone showed lower γ-H2A.X expression, suggesting that DNA damage repair was disturbed, which further activated of DNA damage checkpoints. This could be confirmed by the altered expression of CHK1 and CHK2 after zearalenone treatment. Moreover, the organelles such as mitochondria, ribosome, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus were diffused from germinal vesicle periphery after zearalenone exposure, indicating that zearalenone affected protein synthesis, modification and transport, which further induced the arrest of G2/M transition. Taken together, our results showed that high dose of zearalenone exposure induced G2/M transition defect by affecting organelle function-related CHK1/2-Wee1-MPF pathway. • High dose ZEN exposure induced G2/M transition defects in mouse oocytes. • ZEN exposure caused Wee1-related decrease of Cyclin B1 and CDK1 expression. • ZEN exposure affected the expression of CHK1/CHK2 for DNA damage. • ZEN exposure disrupted mitochondria and ribosome distribution. • ZEN exposure induces the defects of ER and Golgi apparatus distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of NMR methodology and technology during the past decades, solid-state NMR (ssNMR) has become a particularly important tool for investigating structure and dynamics at atomic scale in biological systems, where the recoupling techniques play pivotal roles in modern high-resolution MAS NMR. In this review, following a brief introduction on the basic theory of recoupling in ssNMR, we highlight the recent advances in dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy recoupling methods, as well as their applications in structural determination and dynamical characterization at multiple time scales (i.e., fast-, intermediate-, and slow-motion). The performances of these prevalent recoupling techniques are compared and discussed in multiple aspects, together with the representative applications in biomolecules. Given the recent emerging advances in NMR technology, new challenges for recoupling methodology development and potential opportunities for biological systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the Yangtze River Basin, which carries hundreds of millions of people and a substantial economic scale, has been plagued by water quality deterioration, threatening considerably sustainable development. In this paper, a sample set is established based on the water quality indexes of chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen obtained by week-by-week monitoring on the main stream of the Yangtze River in Panzhihua, Yueyang, Jiujiang, and Nanjing from 2006 to 2018. The twelve characteristic variables are selected by random forest technique, and the week-by-week dynamic prediction models of chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen at each section of main stream are established by the projection pursuit regression, which can effectively predict the water quality dynamics of the Yangtze River main stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Solid-State synthesis improves the stability and cycling performance of layered Na-cathode. • The lattice O2−/(O 2)n− redox reaction can be significantly suppressed. • The detailed structural features have been clearly revealed by solid-state NMR. • The migration of Li+ ions from the transition- to alkali-metal layer is inhibited. Improving the electrochemical performance and stability of layered sodium oxide cathode materials is of essential importance for developing sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Recent studies showed that additional capacity can be obtained by triggering the O2−/(O 2)n− redox reactions at high voltages (>4.0 V) for a novel Li-doped P2-Na 2/3 Ni 1/3 Mn 2/3 O 2. Here, we present that surprisingly, such an involvement of lattice oxygen redox reaction can be suppressed by using solid-state synthesis, which leads to improved cycling stability upon simplification of the preparation procedure. Specifically, P2-Na 0.79 Li 0.11 Ni 0.21 Mn 0.67 O 2 was prepared via a solid-state synthetic approach and showed no sign of lattice O2−/(O 2)n− redox reaction at high voltages (>4.0 V) compared to the sol-gel synthesized analogy. The former yields higher crystallinity and much less defects or impurities, as demonstrated by 23Na and 7Li solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Such a material remains more stable at > 4.0 V, evidenced by the inhibition of Li TM to Li AM migration (transition metal layer to alkaline metal layer), which is usually a sign of phase change or meta-phase changes upon charging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that vibration- or rotation-based techniques can effectively mitigate the fouling and concentration polarization during membrane filtration. However, it is difficult to incorporate these active enhancement techniques with spiral wound modules (SWMs), which are widely employed in drinking water and wastewater treatment. In this work a prototype membrane system was developed to accommodate angular vibrations with a modified SWM. With this prototype system, a series of filtration experiments were designed and implemented to investigate the effect of angular vibrations on the ultrafiltration algal fouling process in an SWM. The experimental results indicate that the algal fouling in an SWM can be effectively controlled (up to ∼28.5 % at 15 Hz) by applying angular vibrations in conjunction with appropriate operating conditions; the underlying mechanisms are discussed using a mathematical model that accounts for the relative motion between the fluid and membrane when they are subject to external accelerations, related to the vibration frequency, filtration period and position along coiled membrane leaves. A quantitative analysis is also presented to demonstrate the potential of using angular oscillations to control the algal fouling in an SWM with a lower energy consumption compared to the conventional method of increasing the cross-flow rate. [Display omitted] • An angular vibrating spiral wound membrane system is developed in a lab scale. • Angular vibration effects on the cell trajectory and flow velocity were simulated. • EOM could enhance the angular vibration effect via promoting algal cell aggregation. • Increasing crossflow rate may weaken the fouling control efficiency by this vibration. • Power for fouling control by the vibration was less than that by increasing crossflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of cystic biliary atresia (CBA) and evaluate the midterm follow-up outcomes after laparoscopic treatment. Methods: We analyzed and compared data retrospectively on CBA patients (group A) and nonsyndromic type III biliary atresia (BA) patients (group B), who underwent laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) during the same period. Results: There were no significant differences in operative time, conversion rate, or the incidence of any postoperative complications between groups A and B (P > 0.05). The mean age at surgery (P < 0.01), rates of clearance of jaundice (CJ), cholangitis (P < 0.05), and 5-year survival with a native liver (SNL) were significantly lower in group A than in group B. Among the 35 patients with CBA, the CJ and 5-year SNL rates were significantly better in those with type I (n = 27) than in those with type IIId (n = 8) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: LKPE is a feasible and safe procedure for CBA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE was better in patients with CBA than in those with nonsyndromic type III BA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE for type I CBA was better than that for type IIId CBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most newly proposed explicit time integration methods may have one or more of such problems as unexpected stability limits, accuracy order loss for damped systems and unsatisfactory computational accuracy for the case of zero initial conditions and initial external load. For addressing these problems, a three-stage explicit time integration method is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is second-order accurate for linear systems with and without damping, and it is completely explicit if the mass matrix is diagonal, even when the damping matrix is not diagonal in linear analysis or the internal force is a function of velocity in nonlinear analysis. The stability limit and numerical dissipation are exactly controlled by the parameter ρb, the spectral radius at the bifurcation point. For undamped systems, the stability limit of the proposed method ranges from 5.5608 to 6 with the increase in ρb from 0 to 1 and its degree of numerical dissipation is exactly controlled by ρb. The recommended values of ρb for different types of dynamics systems are determined by analyzing the algorithmic eigenvalue properties and the dynamics system properties. Numerical experiments show that the new method has advantages in accuracy and stability over most up-to-date explicit methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An adult C. miniata had an autonomous, sympodial, and modular growth system, the stem apical meristems produced four leaves and terminated by a flower bud. • The focus of anthesis regulation was the regulation of scape elongation rather than flower bud differentiation. • A metabolomic profile suggests that sugars, amino acids, plant hormones, and glycerophospholipids have affected the vegetative and reproductive stages. • The scape appearance rate of 50 mg/L GA 3 treatment reached 100 % and 200 mg/L GA 3 treatment advance anthesis by 42 days. Clivia miniata Regel, a globally renowned ornamental plant, is used in China to celebrate Lunar New Year (the Chinese Spring Festival). However, its anthesis in greenhouses often misses the timing of this festival. Understanding the mechanism of flower bud differentiation and scape elongation is critical for the accurate and stable regulation of anthesis. Currently, little is known about the molecular mechanism of anthesis regulation in C. miniata. In this study, a hypothetical model for its growth and the flowering mechanism was verified by systematic observation over a whole year. Once ripe-to-flower a C. miniata plant followed an autonomous, sympodial, and modular growth system in which the stem apical meristem produced four leaves before terminating in an inflorescence. Paraffin section observation revealed six stages of flower bud differentiation. Moreover, a metabolomic profile of a young leaf adjacent to the scape, at each of four stages of scape development, enabled us to identify metabolites involved in various pathways that correlated with regulation of anthesis. A total of 510 metabolites were identified as present across the different development stages of scapes. Of them, 159 metabolites were differentially expressed, and were enriched in the pathways of amino acid, sugar, glycerophospholipid, and glutathione. Amino acids, sugars, glycerophospholipids, and hormones were suggested to participate in development to anthesis by regulating the molecular network involved in scape elongation. The rate of scape appearance was highest (100 %) following spray application of 50 mg/L GA 3. While all treatments could advance anthesis, a spray treatment at 200 mg/L GA 3 advanced anthesis by 42 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delamination has been widely used in direct recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as the first step to harvest cathode materials from cathodes. The variations of the recycling performance have been documented in many studies. The main mechanism of delamination is the inactivation of bonding forces provided by the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. It is believed that the storage environment (air exposure time) will affect the performances of delamination to some extent. Three representative methods (direct calcination, pressure washing, and NMP solvent extraction) for delamination were studied to elucidate the effect of air exposure time on delamination efficiency. The peel-off efficiency (98–99%) of the direct calcination method was barely influenced by air exposure time. The pressure washing system or NMP solvent extraction method also exhibited high peel-off efficiency using samples after a long air exposure time (1 month), however these methods may have problems regarding Al contamination, i.e., 11.5 mg/g of pressure washing system and 134.4 mg/g of NMP solvent extraction. Results suggest that enhanced adhesion (0.11 MPa/month) could be a potential reason why air contact time affects delamination, with O 2 and/or H 2 O acting as contributors. This finding may help to maximum performance of delamination, as it highlights the importance of storage conditions of the spent LIBs prior to direct recycling. [Display omitted] • Air storage of cathodes affects the representative direct recycling methods. • Identified aging as Al corroded and more adhesive forces at CAM-Al interface. • Degradation of electrolyte due to O 2 and H 2 O causes aging of cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Florbetapir 18F (AV45), a highly sensitive and specific positron emission tomographic (PET) molecular biomarker binding to the amyloid‐β of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is constrained by radiation and cost. We sought to combat it by combining multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images and a collaborative generative adversarial networks model (CollaGAN) to develop a multimodal MRI‐derived Amyloid‐β (MRAβ) biomarker. We collected multimodal MRI and PET AV45 data of 380 qualified participants from the ADNI dataset and 64 subjects from OASIS3 dataset. A five‐fold cross‐validation CollaGAN were applied to generate MRAβ. In the ADNI dataset, we found MRAβ could characterize the subject‐level AV45 spatial variations in both AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Voxel‐wise two‐sample t‐tests demonstrated amyloid‐β depositions identified by MRAβ in AD and MCI were significantly higher than healthy controls (HCs) in widespread cortices (p <.05, corrected) and were much similar to those by AV45 (r >.92, p <.001). Moreover, a 3D ResNet classifier demonstrated that MRAβ was comparable to AV45 in discriminating AD from HC in both the ADNI and OASIS3 datasets, and in discriminate MCI from HC in ADNI. Finally, we found MRAβ could mimic cortical hyper‐AV45 in HCs who later converted to MCI (r =.79, p <.001) and was comparable to AV45 in discriminating them from stable HC (p >.05). In summary, our work illustrates that MRAβ synthesized by multimodal MRI could mimic the cerebral amyloid‐β depositions like AV45 and lends credence to the feasibility of advancing MRI toward molecular‐explainable biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Socially shared regulation is a vital factor that affects students' collaborative programming performance. However, students' weak group metacognitive skills or inability to adopt shared regulation mechanisms lead to unsatisfactory collaborative programming learning. Objectives: This study proposes an approach to support socially shared regulation in collaborative programming learning in order to enhance students' programming achievements and group metacognition. Methods: A quasi‐experimental study was conducted in a junior high school over a 10‐week period to investigate the impact of the proposed approach on programming achievements, group metacognition, and cognitive load. Forty eighth‐grade students participated in the study, with the experimental group learning via the proposed approach, while the control group used the conventional collaborative programming learning approach. Results and Conclusions: The analysis included data from 38 participants. The experimental results showed that the programming achievements and group metacognition of the experimental group were significantly better than those of the control group. Additionally, the proposed approach did not increase the cognitive load of the students. Implications: This study has important implications for teachers, learners, and researchers in collaborative programming and social regulation. Our proposed collaborative programming learning approach enhances learners' social regulation and performance, providing teachers with an effective tool for improving collaborative programming learning. This study also extends the field of socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL), demonstrating its potential to improve the effectiveness of collaborative programming learning and highlighting the need for future research to explore the mechanisms of SSRL in this context. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: Programming learning is difficult for most learners.Collaborative programming is an effective method of programming learning.Students' weak group metacognitive skills or inability to adopt shared regulation mechanisms lead to unsatisfactory collaborative programming learning. What this paper adds?: This study proposes a method to enhance collaborative programming learning by supporting socially shared regulation among students.The study utilized a quasi‐experimental to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach in improving students' programming learning performance.The shared regulation approach was found to significantly improve students' programming achievements and group metacognition when compared to conventional collaborative programming approaches.Importantly, the shared regulation approach did not increase the cognitive load of the students, indicating its potential for practical implementation in programming education. The implications of study findings for practitioners: This study has shown that an approach that supports social shared regulation can improve student performance in collaborative programming learning, and that teachers can use this approach to help students learn programming better collaboratively.This study also contributes to the field of social shared regulated learning by demonstrating how it can support collaborative programming and improve its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stickiness is a major factor determining the eating quality of cooked rice, but the molecular mechanisms governing this property are not fully understood. In the present study, two different starch structures were examined: that in the uncooked grain, and that of starch leached out of the grain during cooking, and these results were parameterized by fitting to biosynthesis-based models. Protein content and stickiness were measured using a Kjeldahl apparatus and texture analyzer, respectively. In addition to protein content, the spatial distribution of the protein in the grain was obtained by microscopy after fluorescence labelling. Results showed that the extra-long amylose (ELA) chains were largely leached out during cooking. The amount of leached ELA chains was positively correlated with the amylose content in rice grain and negatively correlated with the stickiness of cooked rice, respectively. The difference in average chain length of ELA between parent and leached starch was negatively correlated with protein content. This implied that the protein network was wholly or partially entangled with ELA chains, which could retard ELA-chain leaching and consequently influence the stickiness of cooked rice. This suggests that stickiness, a quality important to consumers, could be managed by rice breeders through manipulating genes controlling the chain-length distribution. [Display omitted] • Both short and extra-long amylose (ELA) chains leach out during rice cooking. • ELA chains influence the stickiness of cooked rice. • Protein network retards ELA-chains leaching by entanglement. • The higher density protein network and longer ELA chains make entanglement stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch accounts for about 80–85 % of the dry weight of grains and determines yield by impact on grain weight. And, the content and composition of starch also determine appearance, eating, cooking and nutritional quality of rice. By coordinating crucial reactions of the primary carbohydrate metabolism in all eukaryotes, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P 2) is a traffic signal in metabolism. However, the metabolic regulation of starch in plant sink tissues by Fru-2,6-P 2 remains unclear. Here we isolated rice mutant floury endosperm23 (flo23) which has opaque endosperm and anomalous compound starch grains (SGs). flo23 mutant grains had reduced contents of starch, lipids and proteins. Map-based cloning and genetic complementation experiments showed that FLO23 encodes a cytoplasmic Fructose-6-phosphate-2-kinase/Fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (F2KP). Mutation of OsF2KP2 decreased Fru-2,6-P 2 content in endosperm cells, leading to drastically reduced phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and pyruvate contents and disordered glycolysis and energy metabolism. The results imply that OsF2KP2 participates in the glycolytic pathway by providing precursors and energy for synthesis of grain storage compounds. • flo23 displayed floury endospem consisted of anomalous starch granules. • FLO23 encoded a fructose-6-phosphate-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-bisphosphatase. • OsF2KP2 functions through homo and heterocomplexes. • Glycolysis and storage product accumulation were defective in the flo23 mutant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study the spin relaxation processes in the submicron copper channels of nonlocal spin valves (NLSV). • Long spin relaxation lengths up to 3.0 μm at low temperatures. • Anisotropic spin relaxation caused by the surface spin–orbit effects. • An unusual scaling of the Kondo spin relaxation is established experimentally and can be explained by overlapping Kondo screening clouds. We review our recent experimental studies of the spin relaxation processes in the submicron copper channels of nonlocal spin valves (NLSV). Long spin relaxation lengths up to 3.0 μm at low temperatures are demonstrated in highly conductive copper channels with residual resistivity ratios up to 6. An unexpected anisotropy of spin relaxation is observed and can be attributed to the surface spin–orbit effects. An unusual scaling of the Kondo spin relaxation is established experimentally and can be explained by overlapping Kondo screening clouds. Our results demonstrate the technological potential of copper as a spin transport channel in spintronics and highlights unanswered fundamental questions related to the spin relaxation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand of electric vehicles and rapid consumption of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) require recycling of spent cathode active materials (CAMs) to reduce hazardous wastes and supply raw materials to LIB production. To separate CAMs from the cathode, direct calcination of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder is widely applied, which leads to high energy consumption and release of toxic hydrogen fluoride. It is desirable to have an environmentally friendly and effective alternative to traditional direct calcination. In this study, five lithium salts, LiOAc (lithium acetate), LiNO 3 , LiCl, Li 2 CO 3 , and Li 2 SO 4 , were deployed and compared for their performance in recycling CAMs. A peel-off efficiency of up to 98.5% was achieved at a LiOAc to LiNO 3 molar ratio of 3:2, salt to cathode mass ratio of 10:1, and temperature of 300 °C at a holding time of 30 min. This system avoids corrosive chemicals and minimizes particle agglomeration of recycled products. Compared with sodium salt systems (NaOAc-NaNO 3) or direct calcination, the LiOAc-LiNO 3 system prevented high reaction temperature or further lithium loss, and minimized crystal structure and morphological changes. A decomposition mechanism of PVDF through adsorption of HF and fluorine substitution was proposed. [Display omitted] • Delamination of cathodes using lithium salts is systematically studied. • Lithium acetate and lithium nitrate eutectic system achieves effective separation for different cathode chemistries. • The LiOAc-LiNO 3 system minimizes HF emission and energy consumption compared with direct calcination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined employees' self-serving and genuine attributions of CEO activism as mediators, focusing on how they explain the process through which CEO's transparent leadership communication impacts employees' company advocacy and issue advocacy behaviors. With a survey of U.S. full-time employees, results showed that genuine attribution mediated the influence of transparent leadership communication on both advocacy variables. However, self-serving attribution was not identified as a significant mediator. Furthermore, though transparent leadership communication was not significantly associated with self-serving attribution, the latter was positively related to both issue advocacy intention and company advocacy intention. Highlighting the mediating roles of employee attributions, the findings of this study provide an advanced understanding of employee advocacy behaviors as impacted by transparent leadership communication in CEO activism. • Transparent leadership communication increased genuine attribution. • Transparent leadership communication did not impact self-serving attribution. • Genuine attribution mediated the impact of transparent communication on advocacy. • Genuine and self-serving attributions influenced employee advocacy positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time integration methods are frequently used in the analysis of general dynamic systems. Numerical experiments have shown that for nonlinear dynamic systems, some time integration methods that are unconditionally stable for linear systems may fail. Inspired by this phenomenon, this work first proposes a parameter spectral analysis theory to examine the stability of time integration methods as applied to nonlinear systems. The trapezoidal rule is found to be unstable when stiffness softens, which validates the effectiveness of the present theory. Furthermore, it can be found that the present theory is consistent with the BN-stability theory. Next, according to this parameter spectral analysis theory, a two-step time integration method possessing desirable stability for both linear and nonlinear systems is designed, which has second-order accuracy for undamped systems, first-order accuracy for damped systems, and controllable dissipation. The superiority in accuracy and stability of the present two-step method is illustrated by comparing the present method with the trapezoidal rule, the OALTS method and the TGCD method. • A parameter spectral analysis theory for time integrators for nonlinear dynamics was developed. • The theory can be used to investigate the stabilities of time integration methods. • Based on the theory, an unconditionally stable two-step method was designed. • Theoretical analysis has shown the effectiveness of the new theory. • Nonlinear experiments have shown the stability and accuracy advantages of the new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Aramid-pulp (AP) was used for interfacial toughening inside laminar CFRP and at the interface between CFRP and honeycomb. • Stronger adhesive bonding from resin pre-coating (RPC) surface treatment at the interface between CFRP and honeycomb. • Enhanced structural performances of the sandwich even the number of carbon-fiber layers in face-sheets was reduced. • Failure and toughening mechanisms from AP inside CFRP panels and at the interface between CFRP and honeycomb were explained. This study proposes three interfacial designs for CFRP/aluminum-honeycomb sandwich to enhance interlayer of CFRP panels and adhesive interface between CFRP panel and honeycomb using sparsely distributed Aramid-pulp (AP) micro-/nano-fibers as interlayers. In laminar CFRP, AP-fiber free-ends protruded into adjacent carbon-fiber plies generate strong cross-ply fiber-bridging to prevent premature delamination. Adhesive joints with AP at the interfaces between CFRP and honeycomb form in-situ fillets and a randomly AP-reinforced composite layer. Meanwhile, Resin Pre-Coating (RPC) on the sanded CFRP and honeycomb core is used to improve the bonding capacity and create rounded fillet joints at the honeycomb edge. Three-point-bending tests show the sandwiches with toughened interfacial designs have higher peak load (+43.04%–57.60%), post-peak average load (+28.38%–163.25%) and energy-absorption (+15.52%–81.69%). The AP-toughened sandwich with 8-plies CFRP is stronger than the common sandwich with 10-plies even 12-plies CFRP. Failure and toughening mechanisms from both interfaces (e.g., delamination with fiber-bridging, matrix cracks in CFRP, debonding, cohesive failure with fiber-bridging, pulling-up of fiber, buckling of core, etc.) were explained by micrographs combined with schematic illustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-loop acceleration autopilot is designed using the twin-delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) strategy to avoid the tedious design process of conventional tactical missile acceleration autopilots and the difficulty of meeting the performance requirements of the full flight envelope. First, a deep reinforcement learning model for the two-loop autopilot is developed. The flight state information serves as the state, the to-be-designed autopilot control parameters serve as the action, and a reward mechanism based on the stability margin index is designed. The TD3 strategy is subsequently used to offline learn the control parameters for the entire flight envelope. An autopilot control parameter fitting model that can be directly applied to the guidance loop is obtained. Finally, the obtained fitting model is combined with the impact angle constraint in the guidance system and verified online. The simulation results demonstrate that the autopilot based on the TD3 strategy can self-adjust the control parameters online based on the real-time flight state, ensuring system stability and achieving accurate acceleration command tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape delamination cracks in carbon fiber composites were successfully repaired utilizing the capillary action of acetone-diluted resin solutions (without hardener). Resin pre-coating (RPC) solutions with 5, 10, 15, 30 and 45 wt% resin were tested and their repair effectiveness were compared. Resin curing inside narrow delamination cracks was achieved by applying the normal resin/hardener mixture at the open delamination edge so the hardening process could take place inside the resin-filled delamination cracks with time. Compressive tests were performed after 7, 21 and 42 days of repair to study the influence of curing period. The edge delamination was introduced through light impact at the edge of CFRPs panels. Compressive failure loads after repair showed that the 30 wt% of RPC solution yielded the most favorable repair result for the 7-day curing time. With 21- and 42-day curing times, even the least favorable repair condition of 5 wt% of the RPC solution produced significantly improved repair results. X-ray scanning was used to reveal the internal delamination before and after repair. [Display omitted] • Resin Pre-Coating (RPC) is effective for repairing delamination damage in CFRP. • Sharp Delamination tips in CFRP were filled by RPC through capillary action. • Resin % in acetone-diluted solution can be optimized to meet repair requirements. • Strength of RPC-repaired CFRP is increased with time after repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OPAHs) are of increasing interest due to their high toxicity. Thirteen particulate PAHs and ten particulate OPAHs were analyzed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in atmospheric particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 μm (PM 2.5) for the period between May 2020 and January 2021 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The mean concentration ten OPAHs (5.49 ± 2.40 ng/m3) was higher than that of thirteen PAHs (3.96 ± 3.36 ng/m3), respectively. The concentration of total OPAHs was high in winter (9.40 ± 2.50 ng/m3) and low in summer (3.58 ± 0.78 ng/m3), showing the same trend with PAHs (9.16 ± 3.30 ng/m3 in winter and 0.62 ± 0.15 ng/m3 in summer). When comparing this study results with the measurement results on 2006 in Seoul, PAHs concentration dropped by 68% while only 22% was reduced for OPAHs. It suggests either improvement of combustion technology, i.e., high temperature combustion process in the region or higher ambient oxidation reaction rates on 2020 than 2006. Major sources and their contributions of PAHs and OPAHs were identified based on correlation analysis and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) modeling. Two cases were carried. Case 1 is for source apportionment for PM 2.5 and case 2 is for OPAHs and PAHs. The number of factors or sources in the two cases was determined as 7 and 4, respectively. The results of the PMF modeling using diagnostic ratios (DRs) in case 1 identified 7 factors; secondary nitrate (23%), secondary sulfate (21%), vehicles (20%), biomass burning (16%), coal combustion (12%), waste incineration (5%), and OPAHs (5,12-NAQ) emission-related (3%). The PMF modeling results in case 2 revealed 4 factors; vehicles (36%), coal combustion (30%), biomass burning (25%), and OPAHs (5,12-NAQ) emission related (9%). Significant correlation between OPAHs and indicators of primary emission sources, and high contribution from sources with emission characteristics implied that most sources of OPAHs were heavily influenced by primary emissions rather than secondary formation. • 13 particulate PAHs and 10 OPAHs were analyzed in Seoul, Korea for four seasons. • The mean concentration of 10 OPAHs was higher than that of 13 PAHs. • OPAHs were heavily influenced by primary emissions rather than secondary formation. • OPAHs reduction ratios were lower than PAHs from 2006 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still challenging to accurately detect the small point cloud objects in the density-varying scenes, such as autonomous driving scenes where the measurements in nearby regions are much more than they in farther-away regions. Most previous methods detect objects with uniformly sampled key points, which may miss small objects. We propose a semantic-aware 3D-voxel CenterNet for 3D object detection (SA-Voxel-CenterNet) to address the above challenge. Specifically, SA-Voxel-CenterNet contains a cluster-enhanced center regression module (CCRM) and a semantic-aware proposal refinement module (SPRM). CCRM designs a voxel-wise semantic class segmentation branch and a center offset learning branch to extract centers of objects based on an improved Connected Component Analysis algorithm. Besides, SPRM generates the interesting region around each candidate with a predefined size. The experiments on the KITTI benchmark show that SA-Voxel-CenterNet delivers high detection accuracy, especially for the small object, e.g., cyclist, achieves state-of-the-art performance. • A voxel-wise class-aware segmentation branch is designed for the center location learning. • A cluster-based strategy is applied to sample all potential objects. • The tasks of proposal regression and center learning are decoupling. • Coarse proposals are generated with handcrafted class-aware proposal region size. • Region proposal features are aggregated with the voxel ROIAlign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • ZIF-FeCo MOFs derived FeCo fluoride is active for oxygen evolution reaction. • Temperature dependence of fluorination and their catalytic performance are observed. • An efficient synergism of Fe and Co in the catalyst system is demonstrated. • Facile high valence state of Co active phase formation from the high polarity of chemical bonds. • Expanding application of MOF derivatives in the field of energy conversion. Novel and efficient MOF derivatives are significant to high-performance catalyst fabrication and application. By combining the MOF derivation and fluorination approaches, herein, we demonstrated an efficient catalyst of ZIF-FeCo MOFs derived FeCo fluoride hybrid with efficient catalytic synergism for electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The temperature dependence of fluorination for derivatives is observed by the physical characterization and electrochemical measurements. The optimal catalysts show the best catalytic performance for OER with 250 mV overpotentials (No IR correction) to offer 10 mA cm−2 loaded on glass carbon electrode, which is much better than that of the pristine ZIF-FeCo MOFs and the traditional carbonization derivatives of ZIF-FeCo/C. An efficient synergism of Fe and Co in the catalyst system is demonstrated compared to the single metal MOF-derived fluorides. The specific activity and TOF value at 1.53 V are 2.34 mA cm−2 and 0.055 s−1, respectively, about 17 and 55 times higher than the pristine ZIF-FeCo MOF, and 5 and 14 times higher of ZIF-FeCo/C samples. High catalytic performances of catalytic stability, kinetics, charge transfer ability and active sites efficiency can be attributed to the combined techniques of MOF derivatives and fluorination etching induced high electrochemical surface area, more active site exposure, conductivity improvement and the facile high valence state of Co active phase formation coming from the high polarity of chemical bonds. The current work expands the application of MOF derivatives in the field of energy conversion and catalysis reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As most teleosts are unable to synthesize vitamin C, supplemental diets containing vitamin C diets play a crucial role in fish health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary vitamin C on the intestinal enzyme activity and intestinal microbiota of silver pomfre (Pampus argenteus). Four experimental diets were supplemented with basic diets containing 300 mg of vitamin C/kg (group tjl3), 600 mg of vitamin C/kg (group tjl6), and 1200 mg of vitamin C/kg (group tjl12), as well as vitamin C-free supplemental basic diet (group tjl0), respectively. The four diets were fed to juvenile P. argenteus (average initial weight: 4.68 ± 0.93 g) for 6 weeks. The results showed that the activity of SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CAT (catalase) increased significantly while that of MDA (malondialdehyde) decreased significantly in group tjl3 compared to vitamin group tjl0. At the genus level, groups tjl0, tjl6, and tjl12 contained the same dominant microbial community, Stenotrophomonas, Photobacterium, and Vibrio, whereas group tjl3 was dominated by Stenotrophomonas, Delftia, and Bacteroides. Among the fish fed with a basic diet containing 300 mg of vitamin C/kg, the intestines exhibited a notable abundance of probiotic bacteria, including lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus) and Bacillus. The abundance of Aeromonas in groups tjl3 and tjl6 was lower than that of the vitamin C-free supplemental basic diet group, whereas Aeromonas was not detected in group tjl12. In addition, a causative agent of the disease outbreak in cultured P. argenteus, Photobacterium damselae subsp. Damselae (PDD) was the dominant microbiota community in groups tjl0, tjl6 and tjl12, whereas the abundance of PDD in group tjl3 was the lowest among the diets. Taken together, the diets supplied with vitamin C could influence the composition microbial community of P. argenteus. The low level of vitamin C (300 mg of vitamin C/kg per basic diet) supplementation could not only improve the antioxidant capacity but also resist the invasion of pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, emerging nanoadsorbents, such as graphene/(reduced) graphene oxide (GO)-based nanomaterials, have been prepared and used in different environmental applications, particularly water purification. This study is a review of the research progress on adsorption mechanisms for bisphenol A removal, which is significantly influenced by the physicochemical properties of various graphene/(reduced) GO-based nanomaterials and water quality conditions. In addition, this study presents the beneficial knowledge for the application of these nanomaterials for water purification. Results on the removal of bisphenol A and several other comparable contaminants using various graphene/(reduced) GO-based nanoadsorbents suggest that their removal can vary significantly depending on the properties of compounds or adsorbents and water chemistry conditions. Therefore, the bisphenol A adsorption performance of these nanomaterials is discussed: (i) to evaluate the overall adsorption capacities of various graphene/(reduced) GO-based nanomaterials based on the properties of nanomaterials and comparable contaminants; (ii) to summarize the influences of main water quality factors, such as pH, temperature, background ions/alkalinity, and natural organic matter or other organics, on adsorption; (iii) to discuss the key mechanisms that affect adsorption on these nanomaterials; and (iv) to describe the possible desorption and reusability of these carbon-based nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by brain network dysfunction. Few studies have investigated whether the functional connections between executive control networks (ECN) and other brain regions can predict the therapeutic effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the functional connectivity (FC) within ECN networks and the efficacy of rTMS. Methods: We recruited AD patients for rTMS treatment. We established an ECN using baseline period fMRI data and conducted an analysis of the ECN's FC throughout the brain. Concurrently, the support vector regression (SVR) method was employed to project post-rTMS cognitive scores, utilizing the connectional attributes of the ECN as predictive markers. Results: The average age of the patients was 66.86±8.44 years, with 8 males and 13 females. Significant improvement on most cognitive measures. We use ECN connectivity and brain region functions in baseline patients as features for SVR model training and fitting. The SVR model could demonstrate significant predictability for changes in Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores among AD patients after rTMS treatment. The brain regions that contributed most to the prediction of the model (the top 10% of weights) were located in the medial temporal lobe, middle temporal gyrus, frontal lobe, parietal lobe and occipital lobe. Conclusions: The stronger the antagonism between ECN and parieto-occipital lobe function, the better the prediction of cognitive improvement; the stronger the synergy between ECN and fronto-temporal lobe function, the better the prediction of cognitive improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that nucleus pulposus cells (NPs) play an important role in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), and a previous study indicated that the stiffness of NP tissue changes during the degeneration process. However, the mechanism underlying the cellular response to ECM stiffness is still unclear. To analyze the effects of extracellular matrix (ECM) with different degrees of stiffness on NPs, we prepared polyacrylamide (PA) gels with different elastic moduli, and cells grown under different stiffness conditions were obtained and analyzed. The results showed that the spreading morphology of NPs changed significantly under increased ECM elastic modulus conditions and that TRPV2 and the PI3K / AKT signaling pathway were activated by stiffer ECM. At the same time, mitochondria released cytochrome c (Cyt c) and activated caspase proteins to promote the apoptosis of NPs. After TRPV2 was specifically knocked out, the activation of the PI3K / AKT signaling pathway decreased, and the release of Cyt c and NP apoptosis were reduced. These results indicate that TRPV2 is closely linked to the detection of extracellular mechanical signals, and that conversion of mechanical and biological signals plays an important role in regulating the biological behavior of cells. This study offers a new perspective on the cellular and biochemical events underlying IVDD which could result in novel treatments. [Display omitted] • Stiffness of extracellular matrix changes during intervertebral disc degeneration. • Cell morphology such as spreading area, cell height, cell tension changes. • Increased expression of TRPV2 activated PI3K / Akt signaling pathway. • Apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells developed in a mitochondrial dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We combined the LS-SVM model with the 4D-copula model to jointly correct the errors in different forecast periods. • After preprocessing the initial error, the final correction result was better. • The Martingale model was used to statistically analyze the bias between before and after the correction. The nonlinear relationship between runoff and time is a major challenge in hydrological forecasting. It is important to improve the prediction accuracy of models for disaster mitigation, thus allowing decision makers to make decisions in advance. This paper proposes a method called joint error correction. First, we cluster the initial prediction errors. Then, the moving average method is used to smooth the classified error series. Finally, we establish a 4D copula function model for errors in different forecasting periods. After a sampling test, we compared the errors before and after the correction. We found the system corrected the initial error of the Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM). The overestimation of flood in LS-SVM model is reduced. Taking the runoff data from the Fu Yu hydrological station from 2004 to 2018 as an example, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) The correction effect of errors after pretreatment is better than that without pretreatment. Compared with the initial error, the NSE values of the revised models in four different forecasting periods increased by 8%, 5%, 5% and 16%, and the decreases in the RMSE values were 39.37%, 12.25%, 10.38% and 32.6%. 2) After the initial error was corrected, the errors in ω t,- were correlated with each other, and the variables in ω -,h were independent of each other. After preprocessing the initial values, the joint error improvement value groups ω t,- and ω -,h displayed independent characteristics. 3) The revised forecast was unbiased. Therefore, the overestimated actual runoff predicted was corrected to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the mode superposition method is combined with a time integration method like the trapezoidal rule to improve solution accuracy for linear dynamic systems. In this combination strategy, the essential thing is to decompose a dynamic system into two sub-systems, a small-scale low-frequency system and a high-frequency system. The former can be analytically and efficiently solved with the mode superposition method, and the latter is dealt with through a time integration method such as the Newmark method. The summation of the responses of these two sub-systems is the responses of the original dynamic system. It is concluded that, with little sacrifice of efficiency, the combination method based on the strategy is more accurate than the combined time integration method, but it has the same accuracy order as that of the combined method. Numerical experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a rare intermediate vascular tumor with unclear pathogenesis. Recently, three dimensional (3D) cell spheroids and organoids have played an indispensable role in the study of many diseases, such as infantile hemangioma and non-involuting congenital hemangiomas. However, few research on KHE are based on the 3D model. This study aims to evaluate the 3D superiority, the similarity with KHE and the ability of drug evaluation of EOMA spheroids as an in vitro 3D KHE model. Results: After two days, relatively uniform morphology and high viability of EOMA spheroids were generated by the rotating cell culture system (RCCS). Through transcriptome analysis, compared with 2D EOMA cells, focal adhesion-related genes such as Itgb4, Flt1, VEGFC, TNXB, LAMA3, VWF, and VEGFD were upregulated in EOMA spheroids. Meanwhile, the EOMA spheroids injected into the subcutaneous showed more obvious KMP than 2D EOMA cells. Furthermore, EOMA spheroids possessed the similar characteristics to the KHE tissues and subcutaneous tumors, such as diagnostic markers (CD31 and LYVE-1), cell proliferation (Ki67), hypoxia (HIF-1α) and cell adhesion (E-cadherin and N-cadherin). Based on the EOMA spheroid model, we discovered that sirolimus, the first-line drug for treating KHE, could inhibit EOMA cell proliferation and downregulate the VEGFC expression. Through the extra addition of VEGFC, the effect of sirolimus on EOMA spheroid could be weakened. Conclusion: With a high degree of similarity of the KHE, 3D EOMA spheroids generated by the RCCS can be used as a in vitro model for basic researches of KHE, generating subcutaneous tumors and drug screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium metal is the most promising high‐energy‐density anode. However, it is incompatible with high‐voltage cathodes in ether solvents due to their narrow electrochemical window. Herein, fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) co‐solvent is introduced to regulate the Li+ solvation structures in ether solvents, including cyclic ether (1,3‐dioxolane [DOL]) and linear glymes with different chain lengths (1,2‐dimethoxyethane [DME], diglyme [G2] and triglyme [G3]). The apparently different effects of ether solvents on solvation ability and interaction strength with FEC are revealed. FEC plays a diverse role and function in 1 m lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI)‐ether/FEC electrolyte, thus relevant batteries perform distinct performances due to various ionic dynamics and solid‐electrolyte interphase. The Li+‐solvation structures are explored by Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Specifically, part of FEC molecules are inserted into the first solvation shell in 1 m LiTFSI‐DOL/FEC because of the weak solvation ability of DOL and strong interaction of DOL‐FEC, leading to few coordinated TFSI− and sluggish interfacial kinetics. In sharp contrast, FEC as a weak coordinated solvent almost exclusively occupies the second solvation sheath in 1 m LiTFSI‐glyme/FEC, favoring TFSI− coordination and rapid de‐solvation dynamics. Ultimately, the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2/Li battery in G2/FEC presents the most excellent performance, derived from abundant free‐FEC and rapid ionic kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]