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The double-stacked gate dielectrics (DSGD), which consisted of either NbLaO/Al2O3 or NbLaO/SiO2, were used to improve the electrical performance of zinc oxide thin-film transistor (ZnO-TFT) with single-layer NbLaO gate dielectric (SLGD). Compared to ZnO-TFT with SLGD, the ZnO-TFTs with DSGD exhibit better electrical performance, specifically for the device with the NbLaO/SiO2 DSGD, with an increase of the field-effect mobility from 5.77 cm2V − 1 s − 1 to 39.64 cm2V − 1 s − 1 , an enhancement of the on/off current ratio by two orders of magnitude, a reduction of the subthreshold slope from 110 mV/decade to 70 mV/decade. The performance enhancements are attributed to a low root-mean-square surface roughness of less than 0.3 nm and a low trap-state density of less than 6 × 1 0 1 1 cm − 2 (even 2. 4 × 1 0 1 1 cm − 2 for the NbLaO/SiO2 DSGD) in the bulk of the channel and at the ZnO/NbLaO interface. The results imply that ZnO-TFTs with DSGD have the potential for the application of high-resolution flat panel display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the state estimate problem for a class of discrete-time complex networks. The target plant involves Markovian jumping parameters and mode-dependent distributed time-delays. It is assumed that the measurements for the estimate purpose are just from a portion of network nodes, and corrupted by a certain stochastic noise. A unified framework is developed to cope with the state estimation issue based on the outputs from the fraction of nodes for the discrete-time complex networks with distributed time delay and measurement noise. By employing the Lyapunov stability theory and some new techniques, the sufficient conditions are established to ensure the state estimation error is exponentially ultimately mean-square bounded. As the special case when the measurement is noise-free, the resulting criteria are to guarantee that the dynamics of state estimation error is exponentially stable. In addition, the estimator gain matrices are given in the explicit formula. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the differential privacy-based containment control problem for a class of discrete-time multi-agent systems (MASs) with time-varying topology. The classical containment control implementation relies on the explicit information exchange between agents, which will lead to the possible leakage of agents' private information, especially the initial states. In this paper, to prevent such data disclosure to neighbours inside the MASs and the outside eavesdroppers, uncorrelated noise is injected into the data during information transmission, which will bring about a more complicated scenario to the containment control. Under a milder assumption on the connectivity of the MAS – 'average graph topology', by resorting to the Lyapunov stability theory and algebraic graph theory, and utilising stochastic analysis techniques, sufficient conditions are derived to ensure that the discrete-time MAS subjecting to the privacy protection mechanism can achieve bounded containment control. Then, convergence accuracy is studied from the viewpoint of probability. Specially, Markov inequality is first utilised to estimate the lower bound of the probability that followers' states converge to the neighbourhood of the convex hull formed by leaders' states. Besides, differential privacy analysis is carried out to verify the validity of the proposed privacy protection mechanism in protecting the followers' initial states. Finally, two numerical examples are simulated to verify the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust H ∞ design approach is proposed to accomplish the state estimation task for a class of continuous-time gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in the finite-time framework. For the GRNs under investigation, the distributed inter-node time delays and intra-node time delays are, respectively, taken into account in the feedback regulation function and the translation process. Moreover, the parameter uncertainty with convex polytopic constraint is introduced to characterize the unavoidable modeling errors induced by parameter sensitivity, calibration accuracy, abrupt structural changes and failures, etc. The primary objective of this paper is to design a robust state estimator for the considered GRNs based on the measured concentrations of messenger ribonucleic acid and protein such that the finite-time boundedness and the H ∞ performance are guaranteed. By resorting to the Lyapunov stability theory, the Jensen's inequality and the Gronwall inequality, some sufficient conditions are established in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Subsequently, a set of parameter matrices with special structures is designed by means of the convex optimization techniques. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the finite-time boundedness and the robust performance of the developed state estimation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy conservation in the petrochemical sector holds the key to its financial viability. The pervasive application of Heat Exchanger Networks (HEN) exemplifies the industry's efforts in heat recovery. Yet, despite its widespread adoption, an alarming quantum of low-grade heat remains squandered, underscoring the potential for augmenting energy savings through more effective utilization of this heat. Recognizing the pivotal role of the synergistic interaction between the process and the heat recovery system in maximizing energy retrieval, an innovative approach is proposed. This methodology initially entailed the development of a process model and an enhanced heat recovery system, the latter embodying the integration of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with HEN. Subsequently, a strategic diagnostic was proposed to incorporate these sub-systems into a cohesive, optimisation framework. Following this, an array of energy, exergy, and economic analyses were conducted to appraise the system's performance. The findings suggest a considerable improvement in heat recovery and an amplification in ORC efficiency from a mere 7.64%–11.38%. The enhanced heat recovery further translated into a reduced need for cold utility, thereby minimizing cooler deployment. Given the substantial exergy destruction associated with coolers, their lesser usage bolstered the system's exergy efficiency. Moreover, the optimised ORC manifested in heightened net power generation, consequently elevating electricity revenues. Despite a nominal surge in equipment costs, the aggregate profit witnessed a substantial hike from 165.19 M$/year to 178.79 M$/year. The proposed system substanitally improved thermodynamic and economic performance. This study offers valuable guidance for the design and operation of petrochemical industries, serving as a roadmap to energy conservation and enhanced profitability. • A new simultaneous optimisation framework proposed. • Interactions between process and heat recovery system considered. • Stream classification strategy applied to connect the ANN and MINLP models. • Process operating conditions and layouts of HEN optimised. • Energy, exergy and economic analyses used to evaluate system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare the metastatic pattern and prognosis of female colon cancer (FCC) to that of male colon cancer (MCC) to ascertain the independent factors impacting the prognosis of patients with FCC. The data of the present study population were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Descriptive analysis, the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Cox regression were used to evaluated FCC characteristics and factors associated with prognosis. There were 56,442 patients diagnosed with FCC, of whom 8,817 had distant metastases. Compared to patients with nonmetastatic FCC, a greater proportion of metastatic FCC patients was less than 60 years of age, black race, and grade III-IV. The primary sites were mainly located on the left side and have more possibility to receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Compared to metastatic MCC, a higher proportion of metastatic FCC patients ranged over 60 years of age, black race, treated without chemotherapy, and insurance, while the primary site was located on the right side. Liver and lung were the two most common sites of solitary metastases in CC, and among patients with solitary metastases in CC, patients who had lung metastases had a better prognosis than those who developed other types of metastasizes. Patients with FCC with metastases of the liver had a worse prognosis than their MCC counterparts. Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that the risk ratio was higher in metastatic FCC patients compared to those without metastases. We report the survival comparison of metastatic FCC with nonmetastatic FCC through the SEER database. Our results suggest that it has unique clinicopathological features and differs from metastatic MCC. Furthermore, patients with liver metastatic FCC have a worse prognosis than those with MCC. Emphasis on screening for colon cancer in women and additional clinical care should be paid for, especially for patients with FCC with metastatic liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermochemical energy storage offers a cost-effective and efficient approach for storing thermal energy at high temperature (∼1100 °C) for concentrated solar power and large-scale long duration energy storage. SrCO 3 is a potential candidate as a thermal energy storage material due to its high energy density of 205 kJ/mol of CO 2 during reversible CO 2 release and absorption. However, it loses cyclic capacity rapidly due to sintering. This study determined that the cyclic capacity of SrCO 3 was enhanced by the addition of either reactive SrTiO 3 or inert SrZrO 3 , where the molar ratios of SrCO 3 to SrZrO 3 were varied from 1:0.125 to 1:1. Thermogravimetric analysis over 15 CO 2 sorption cycles demonstrated that both materials retained ∼80 % of their maximum cyclic capacity on the milligram scale. Repeated measurements using gram scale samples revealed a decrease in maximum capacity to 11 % using a sample of SrCO 3 – 0.5 SrZrO 3 over 53 cycles, while the use of SrTiO 3 additives allowed for the retention of 80 % maximum capacity over 55 cycles. These findings highlight the potential of reactive additives in enhancing the performance of thermochemical energy storage systems, while providing valuable insights for the development of cost-effective materials. [Display omitted] • SrCO 3 is a cost-effective thermochemical energy storage material. • TGA shows both SrZrO 3 and SrTiO 3 additives increase cyclic capacity up to ∼80 %. • SrTiO 3 reduces sintering whereas SrZrO 3 does not prevent sintering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early postoperative small bowel obstruction (EPSBO) is a common complication after colorectal cancer surgery. Few studies have specifically studied risk factors for early small bowel obstruction after right colectomy, especially in establishing predictive models. The purpose of the current study was to establish an effective nomogram to predict the incidence of EPSBO after right colectomy. Methods: The current study retrospectively analyzed data from a total of 424 patients who underwent right colectomy in a local hospital from January 2014 to March 2021. A logistic regression model was used to identify potential risk factors for EPSBO after right colectomy. A nomogram was established by independent risk factors, and the prediction performance of the model was evaluated using an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration chart. Results: A total of 45 patients (10.6%) developed early small bowel obstruction after right colectomy. Male sex, emergency operation, history of abdominal surgery, open surgery, long operative time, anastomotic leakage, and preoperative albumin were closely related to EPSBO. Analysis of postoperative rehabilitation indices showed that EPSBO remarkably slowed the postoperative rehabilitation speed of patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male sex, open surgery, operative time, and anastomotic leakage were independent risk factors (P < 0.05), and the operation time had the greatest impact on EPSBO. On the basis of multivariate logistic regression, a nomogram was constructed, which showed moderate accuracy in predicting EPSBO, with a C-statistic of 0.716. The calibration chart showed good consistency between the predicted probability and ideal probability. Conclusion: The current study constructed a nomogram based on the clinical data of patients who underwent right colectomy, which had moderate predictability and could provide reference value for clinicians to evaluate the risk of EPSBO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D metal–organic complex nanosheets with the merits of high stability and structure tunability are an emerging topic in recent years. To extend the promising ultrathin architectures, a new Co(II) complex nanosheet (Co-nanosheet) is designed and prepared via a readily operated interface-assisted coordination reaction between the ligand 4,4′′,4′′′-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridyl) (L) and Co2+ ions. The as-formed Co(II) complex nanosheet exhibits both a uniform layered structure and good thermostability as proposed, which were verified by various chemical and physical analytical methods. Moreover, it is first utilized as an electroresponsive medium to tune the surface plasmon resonance behavior of Au nanoparticles, expanding the applicable fields of this type of 2D materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the intermittent dynamic event-based state estimation problem is investigated for a class of delayed complex dynamic networks (CDNs). The estimate is implemented based on the measurements from a fraction of network nodes. In the framework of aperiodic intermittent measurement outputs, a dynamic event-triggered mechanism is introduced to save communication resources and reduce actuation burden. The aim of this work is to design a dynamic event-based state estimator by adopting intermittent dynamic event-triggered (IDET) strategy, such that the dynamics of estimation error system is exponentially stable. By resorting to Halanay inequality and switched system method, the sufficient conditions are derived for ensuring the existence of the desired state estimator, and are characterized by the ratio of the average working time to the average rest time. In the meanwhile, the estimator gains for partial nodes are explicitly obtained by solving some matrix inequalities. Furthermore, it is also proven that Zeno behavior can be excluded under the proposed IDET strategy. Finally, a numerical simulation is provided to verify the effectiveness of the derived results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a broadband continuous class‐B/J power amplifier (PA) based on a novel output matching network (OMN). In order to realize a compact and broadband OMN design, a multiband harmonic control network (MHCN) with a simple structure consisting of a combination of open‐circuited stubs and a microstrip radial stub (MRS) is designed, which is capable of tuning the second harmonic impedance at the upper and lower sideband frequencies and at the center frequency well and consumes low power. Also, a fundamental matching network (FMN) is designed by means of the simplified real frequency technique (SRFT) algorithm of the computer‐aided program, which improves the efficiency of the circuit design. Both of them satisfy the requirements of a wideband PA and enhance the frequency‐selective performance of the OMN. For validation purposes, practical measurements of the designed and fabricated continuous class‐B/J PA with size of 61 × 51 mm2 have been carried out. The results show that at an operating frequency of 2.4–4.4 GHz, the 53%–73% drain efficiency (DE) at the output power of 38.4–42.4 dBm, and the maximum gain is 13.3 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The nanoscale cracking behavior of rejuvenated asphalt binder was investigated for the first time. • Oxidative aging enhances the π–π stacking and reduces intermolecular rearrangement and mobility. • Rejuvenators can deagglomerate and lubricate aged asphalt molecules during the cracking process. • Rejuvenators prolong the fracture process of aged asphalt and increase the system's fracture energy. For achieving the sustainable utilization of reclaimed asphalt pavement, a popular approach is to incorporate rejuvenators to restore the cracking resistance of aged asphalt. However, research on the nanoscale rejuvenation mechanisms and the relationship with the cracking behavior is limited. To address this challenge, this study utilizes molecular dynamics simulations to explore the fundamental cracking mechanism in aged asphalt and elucidate how rejuvenators affect this process. A multiphysics analysis, including mechanical response, morphology relationship, energy evolution, deagglomeration and lubrication behavior is developed to comprehend the nano-cracking mechanism. Computational findings reveal that the cracking failure originates form cavitation, and the process primarily includes nanovoid formation, enlargement, filamentation, and separation. Oxidation enhances the aggregation of asphaltene molecules and reduces intermolecular rearrangement and mobility, which fundamentally accelerates the nano-cracking process. Owing to the diffusion of rejuvenators and their disturbances to asphaltene π-π stacking, rejuvenators can penetrate into aged asphalt molecules, lubricate and reduce intermolecular friction. This facilitates molecular rearrangement during the cracking process, thereby improving the cracking resistance and energy performance of aged asphalt binder. The finding from this study contributes to elucidating the fundamental cracking mechanism in rejuvenated asphalt binder and promoting the sustainable utilization of recycled pavement materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an extended temperature current–voltage (I–V) model for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is proposed. Since there is no carrier freeze‐out effect in GaN HEMTs, the current density, switching characteristics, and heat dissipation performance are significantly improved with the decrease in temperature. The threshold voltage drift phenomenon can be accurately described at various temperatures by the trapping effect control potential model. Based on Matthiessen's law, the applicable temperature range of the mobility model is further extended. At cryogenic temperatures, the saturation current, saturation velocity, and sub‐threshold swing of the device tend to saturate as well as be temperature‐independent, which can be accurately modeled by using the equivalent temperature and applying the crucial temperature to quantify the turning point. Furthermore, the SHE modeling incorporates the temperature dependence of the material's thermal conductivity. The accuracy of the model is verified by experimental data at low (4.2–300 K) and high (298–773 K) temperatures. The proposed model overcomes the limitations of existing models applied at wide ambient temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel molecular modeling approach is developed to study nanoscale moisture damage. • Non-uniform diffusion of interfacial moisture is discovered for the first time. • The efficiency of interfacial moisture migration depends on the aggregate surface. • Calcite exhibits stronger hydrogen-bonding interactions with interfacial moisture. The asphalt-aggregate debonding behavior in moisture environments is a fundamental but unresolved issue in pavement engineering. In this study, a novel molecular dynamics (MD) modeling method was developed to address this challenge. Compared with previous layered modeling methods, the new method considers the moisture diffusion and migration at the interface, which better reflects the real debonding process. Based on the results, we found a layered diffusion phenomenon at the interface, which significantly affects the efficiency of moisture migration and interfacial debonding. The strong interactions between water molecules and alkaline aggregates (represented by calcite) restrict the interfacial moisture diffusion and migration, making it more resistant to moisture damage than acidic aggregates (represented by quartz). This study highlights the limitations of energy-based parameters obtained from the layered modeling method and resolves a long-standing controversy over whether calcite or quartz is more susceptible to water damage. Findings from this research contribute to comprehending the fundamental debonding mechanisms and provide an atomic-level perspective to investigate moisture damage in pavement engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the photoelectric conversion evolution of PM6:N2200 solar cells. • The morphology of PM6:N2200 would be changed with time. • The morphological change of PM6:N2200 had little influence on the exciton behaviors within a certain period of time. • The aging of the active layer with time increased the probability of charge recombination. In this work, to study the performance degradation process in PM6:N2200 all-polymer solar cells, including the optical absorption, morphology, photo-physical process of the active layer and current–voltage characteristics of the device were analyzed by employing multiple characterization techniques. The results showed that the morphology (phase sizes and phase separation scales) of PM6:N2200 would change with time. Unstable morphology of active layer determined the changeable photoelectric conversion process in operating solar cells. Besides, we found that morphological change of PM6:N2200 had a little influence on the exciton behaviors (diffusion and dissociation) within 40 days. However, it showed an undesired impact on photogenerated charge behaviors (transport and recombination). Unstable morphology of active layer and high charge recombination probability were essential reasons for the performance degradation of polymer solar cells in operating time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pyrolysis characteristics, kinetics, volatile products, and chemical reactions of a novel potential alternative for halon extinguishing agent in aircraft namely superhydrophobic and oleophobic ultra-fine dry powder extinguishing agent (SHOU DPEA) and ordinary dry powder extinguishing agent (ODPEA) are studied in the present study. The results illustrate that the thermal degradation process of SHOU DPEA and ODPEA may be divided into two stages (threshold: α = 0.8) and three stages (thresholds: α = 0.1 and α = 0.7). Therein, both of stage 1 of SHOU DPEA and stage 2 of ODPEA can be considered as one-step reaction, which can be well predicted by the calculated kinetic parameters. Besides, the pyrolysis of SHOU DPEA is more favorable than that of ODPEA. The relative concentrations of SHOU DPEA and ODPEA pyrolytic products from most to least are CO>H 2 O>CH 4 >C 2 H 6 >CO 2 and CO>CO 2 >H 2 O, respectively. In addition, the chemical reactions occurring in the pyrolysis of SHOU DPEA and ODPEA are revealed. [Display omitted] • The pyrolysis process of SHOU DPEA and ODPEA may be divided into two and three stages. • Both of stage 1 for SHOU DPEA and stage 2 for ODPEA can be considered as one-step reaction. • Kinetic parameters can well predict the pyrolysis of stage 1 of SHOU DPEA and stage 2 of ODPEA. • The chemical reactions occurring in the pyrolysis of SHOU DPEA and ODPEA are revealed. • The fire extinguishing efficiency of SHOU DPEA may be larger than that of ODPEA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The petrochemical industry is an energy-intensive process. Heat exchanger network (HEN) is widely applied in existing petrochemical plants used to save energy. However, there is still some amount of low-grade heat wasted. No mathematical model can directly tackle the problems with majority of phase-changing process streams. Therefore, this study aims to optimise an extended low-grade heat recovery model for the petrochemical plant by integrating the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with HEN. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming steady-state model was first developed. Then, the ORC operation conditions were optimised simultaneously. Finally, the thermodynamics (energy and exergy) and economic analysis were performed to evaluate the system performance, with 41 MW more heat recovered, 2.01% higher exergy efficiency and 3219 k$/year less total annual cost, compared with HEN only. Furthermore, the optimisation results indicate that the proposed energy system performs with 386 MW of recovered heat from the process streams, 82.13% of the overall exergy efficiency, 3.94 MW of net power generated from ORC, and 4416 k$/year of electricity profit. Research presented in this paper hopes to shed light on design and operation of the petrochemical industry for energy savings and cost reduction. • A novel low-grade heat recovery system proposed for a petrochemical industry. • An extended MINLP model developed to represent the majority phase changing stream. • The decomposed strategy applied to solve the medium-scale problem. • Thermodynamics (energy and exergy) and economic analysis to evaluate the system's performance. • Optimal operating conditions and system configuration obtained simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by electrocatalytic kinetics, the design of hollow hierarchical structure through the integration of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds and two-dimensional (2D) sheet-like materials was considered as an effective approach to achieve superior electrocatalytic activity. Ni(OH) 2 nano-boxes@CuS nanosheets hollow hierarchical structure (Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs HHS) was synthesized by a sulfidation involved coordinated etching and precipitation (CEP) process for the first time. Interestingly, CuS nanosheets were vertically distributed on Ni(OH) 2 NBs. As a sensitive electrode for dopamine, Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs HHS modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) showed a sensitivity as high as 1011.7 μA mM−1 cm−2, which was greater than those of Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs fragmentized HHS/GCE (Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs FHHS/GCE, 354.1 and 717.2 μA mM−1 cm−2), CuS NBs/GCE (646.2 μA mM−1 cm−2) and Ni(OH) 2 NBs/GCE (472.1 and 848.2 μA mM−1 cm−2). Moreover, Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs HHS/GCE showed an ultralow detection limit of 3.2 nM. According to theoretical calculation, the excellent electroactivity was attributed to the enhanced kinetics issued from the combination of 3D Ni(OH) 2 NBs and 2D CuS NSs. Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs HHS was expected as an ideal electrocatalyst for dopamine electrochemical sensing, and the integrating of transition metal-based hollow scaffolds and 2D materials provided new thought to acquire high electrocatalystic activity. [Display omitted] • Ni(OH) 2 NBs@CuS NSs HHS was designed for the first time to detect dopamine. • The products of CEP step were employed as the reactant of sulfidation step. • The modified electrode exhibits high sensitivity and low detection limit. • This work paves an effective way to obtain high-performance electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention of infection and elimination of excess reactive oxygen species are the key factors to achieve wound healing. In this study, we have developed a multifunctional poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofiber membrane modified by ε-poly (L -lysine) (ε-PL) with the assistance of mussel-inspired polydopamine. The morphology of the nanofibrous membrane were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The chemical structure characterization by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated the successful modification of polydopamine and the immobilization of ε-PL. Photothermal effect assay proved that the temperature of the nanofiber membrane after near infrared photothermal treatment could reach the temperature required for antibacterial effect. The release of ε-PL exhibited an initial burst which was beneficial to achieve rapid bacteria inhibition. By combining ε-PL with near infrared photothermal therapy, a synergistic antibacterial effect was achieved against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results of antioxidant activity assessment indicated that polydopamine on the nanofiber membranes served as an antioxidant agent to scavenge reactive oxygen species. Additionally, the nanofiber membranes showed good cytocompatibility and suitable mechanical properties close to the skin. In summary, the prepared membrane possessed intrinsically multifunctional properties showing great potential to be used as promising wound dressing materials. [Display omitted] • The surface functionalization of nanofiber was realized by DA self-polymerization. • ε-PL was loaded on the surface of the nanofibers by covalently binding. • The membrane showed photothermal and drug synergistic antibacterial effect. • PDA on the nanofibers could clear excessive reactive oxygen species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty theory is a field in axiomatic mathematics committed to disposing of belief degrees. By dint of uncertain theory and Hurwicz criterion, this article mainly addresses optimal control and non-zero-sum differential game of uncertain delay dynamic systems, which are depicted as a sort of uncertain differential equation with multiple input delays. Employing the technology of dynamic programming, the optimality principle is put forward and the optimality equation is formulated simultaneously to deal with the optimal control problem. In addition, an equilibrium equation is derived to solve the Nash equilibrium for the multi-player non-zero-sum uncertain differential game on the strength of the proposed optimality equation. An example is devised to illustrate the availability of the results in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference 1 Zheng H, Liu Y, Chen Z. Novel nomogram for predicting risk of early postoperative small bowel obstruction after right colectomy for cancer. B Correction to: World J Surg Oncol 20, 19 (2022) b B https://doi.org/10.1186/s12957-022-02489-2 b Following the publication of the original article [[1]], the author reported that Figure 1 was not updated as per correction and that Table 1 corrections were incorrectly carried out. [Extracted from the article]

This paper investigates the stability for a class of distributed-order nonlinear systems via event-triggered control method. First of all, an inequality of the solution is established for distributed-order nonlinear inequality systems by employing Laplace transform. And then, by designing an appropriate state feedback controller and event-triggered strategy, and using Lyapunov stability theory and matrix inequality technique, a sufficient condition to ensure the asymptotic stability of the considered distributed-order nonlinear systems is obtained in the form of linear matrix inequality. Moreover, a criterion to exclude Zeno behaviour in event-triggered strategy is provided. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by a simulation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the stability issue of quaternion-valued neural networks with neutral delay, proportional delay and leakage delay. Taking use of the principle of homeomorphism, techniques of matrix inequality and Lyapunov stability theory, a main stability criterion is derived in the form of quaternion-valued linear matrix inequality for ensuring the unique existence and global stability of the equilibrium point for the considered quaternion-valued neural networks. An illustrative example and its simulations are given to show the effectiveness of the theoretical result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Light and heavy carbonyl compounds would have different behaviour at high pressure. • Acid-catalysed reaction would not cause the significant consumption of carbonyls. • The base (e.g. NaOH) could remove carbonyl compounds more effectively than the acid. • Based-catalysed aldol condensation and neutralisation can remove carbonyl compounds. The carbonyl compounds are mainly responsible for the instability and corrosiveness of a bio-oil. To upgrade or utilise a bio-oil, it is important to stabilise the carbonyl compounds. This study mainly investigates the conversion of carbonyl compounds in bio-oil via high-pressure reactive distillation in the presence of acid and base catalysts. It is found that high pressure could affect the distribution of carbonyl compounds in the bio-oil to accelerate the reaction of light carbonyl compounds and inhibit the reaction of heavy carbonyl compounds. The acid could not remove the carbonyl compounds significantly because it can not only catalyse the aldol condensation of carbonyl compounds but also help produce more carbonyl compounds by accelerating the hydrolysis of sugar compounds. The base (e.g. NaOH) could remove carbonyl compounds by acting as a catalyst to the aldol condensation reaction of aldehydes and ketones and neutralising the carboxylic acids during the high-pressure reactive distillation. Even though the based-catalysed aldol condensation could lead to the increase of the average molecular weight, the average boiling point of the distillation product is still in the acceptable range for fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective vehicle, uncertainty theory is applicable for handling subjective indeterminacy. Based on uncertainty theory, the Hurwicz model of the zero-sum uncertain differential game with jump is formulated, in which the dynamic system is portrayed by an uncertain differential equation satisfying both the canonical Liu process and V-jump uncertain process. An equilibrium equation for solving the saddle-point of the above game is proposed. In addition, the game with a linear dynamic system and the quadratic objective function is further analysed. At last, a resource extraction problem using our theoretical results is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is devoted to the investigation of the p th moment synchronization problem for stochastic impulsive neural networks (SINNs) with time-varying coefficients and unbounded delays. First of all, one novel impulse generation rule is proposed, which generates the more general impulsive sequences. In order to cope with time-varying coefficients, unbounded delays and impulsive disturbances, some impulsive differential inequalities are developed by utilizing the comparison principle. With the help of the established impulsive inequalities, the synchronization of SINNs is analyzed in detail, and both p th moment exponential synchronization and asymptotical synchronization are realized by designing appropriate feedback controllers. Finally, several simulation examples are provided to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Quercetin suppressed protein digestion in the intestinal fluid by inhibiting trypsin. • Quercetin enhanced the intestinal absorption of proteins rather than small molecules. • Quercetin promoted protein absorption at a dose lower than recommended as supplement. • Quercetin promoted the internalization of oligopeptides in the intestinal villi cells. • The enhanced cellular uptake associates with its flavone backbone of quercetin. Quercetin is a well-studied natural product with multiple pharmacological properties. In this study, we demonstrated that quercetin suppressed protein digestion in the intestinal fluid by inhibiting trypsin, a key digestive enzyme. However, we also observed a previously unknown property of quercetin: promoting the intestinal absorption of proteins. In addition, the promoted protein absorption was mediated by internalization of digested oligopeptides in the intestinal epithelia rather than increasing the intestinal paracellular permeability. Notably, four other flavonoids also achieved such enhanced intestinal absorption, suggesting that this effect was associated with the aglycone flavonol backbone, but not related to their inhibitory potencies against trypsin. This study demonstrates that quercetin exhibits dual effects on protein digestion and absorption: 1) suppressing protein digestion by inhibiting trypsin in the intestinal fluid; 2) promoting the intestinal absorption of oligopeptides in the intestinal villi cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bio-oil produced from the renewable biomass is a sustainable source of aromatic compounds. The aromatic compounds in bio-oil would generally contribute to the coke formation during its further processing, which is a bottleneck problem for its further application due to the complex composition of bio-oil. In this study, the distribution and reaction of aromatic compounds during the high-pressure reactive distillation of bio-oil are investigated to achieve the enrichment of aromatic compounds to the distillate fraction. It is found that pressure could help transfer aromatic compounds into the distillate fraction. In addition, the increase of pressure could contribute to the reduction of polymerisation and the production of aromatic monomers due to the hydrothermal environment. Besides the process parameters, methanol could also be used to inhibit the polymerisation of aromatic compounds. Furthermore, the transfer of aromatic compounds could also be intensified using Ca(OH) 2 based on the acidity of phenolic compounds. • High-pressure reactive distillation could enrich aromatics in bio-oil to distillate. • High pressure could help reduce polymerisation and produce aromatic monomers. • High temperature would lead to the severe polymerisation of the aromatic compounds. • Ca(OH) 2 could help transfer phenolic compounds to the paste distillate fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The presence of biochar catalysts increase the formation rate of H 2. • O-containing groups in biochar is more important than pore volume for enhancing its catalytic activity. • The non-oxygen-containing tar compounds are mainly converted via O-containing functional groups in biochar. • O-containing functional groups in biochar promote the formation of tar radicals. Biochar is an efficient catalyst for tar removal from syngas during biomass gasification. The aim of this research is to investigate the mechanism of tar reforming using biochar as a catalyst. A series of in situ steam tar reforming experiments were carried out using a two-stage fluidized-bed/fixed-bed reactor at 800 °C. Mallee wood biochar (106–250 μm) was activated in 15 vol% H 2 O balanced with Ar for different times (0–50 min) and then used as a catalyst for tar reforming. The on-line gas composition, light tar composition and the pore structure of biochar were analysed using mass spectrometer (MS), GC–MS and synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) respectively. An increased ratio of H 2 /CO was observed after reforming with biochar compared to reforming without biochar. The destruction of light tar compounds, especially the non-oxygen-containing compounds, was significantly enhanced when activated biochars were used. Steam activation increased the specific surface area (SSA), micro- and mesopore volumes in biochar while the values stayed almost unchanged during tar reforming. Results indicate that the micro- and mesopores in biochar promote the diffusion of both small and large tar molecules into the internal surface of biochar. However, the catalytic activity of biochar for tar reforming mainly depends on the content of O-containing functional groups in biochar. The O-containing functional groups facilitate the dissociation of tar molecules to form tar radicals, giving rise to the enhanced tar removal efficiency. Moreover, the formation of tar radicals over O-containing functional groups appears as the rate-limiting step in the process of catalytic reforming of tar over biochar catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the privacy-preserving-based bipartite consensus control problem is investigated for a class of discrete-time nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs). The classical bipartite consensus control implementation relies on the explicit information exchange between agents, which will lead to the possible leakage of agents' private information, especially the initial states. Therefore, to prevent data disclosure to neighbors inside the MASs and the outside eavesdroppers, the data is encrypted by means of Paillier encryption scheme during information transmission. This means each agent first sends the relative data in the form of ciphertext to its neighbors for further encryption process, and then restores the control protocol based on the returned encrypted information from the neighbors. Since homomorphic encryption only works for integers, the data must be quantized before encryption, and it will inevitably result in the quantization error. On the other hand, for the purpose of saving communication resources, both decentralized and distributed event-triggered schemes are also proposed. Resorting to the Lyapunov stability theory and algebraic graph theory, sufficient conditions are derived ensuring that the MASs subject to a confidential communication agreement can achieve the bounded bipartite consensus. Two numerical examples are presented to verify the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the dynamic event-triggered state estimation problem for a class of spatial-temporal networks (STNs) with time-varying delays under an encoding-decoding strategy. For the sake of reducing the unnecessary resources wastes, we establish a dynamic event-triggered mechanism to determine whether the current measurement output data is transmitted to the filter, where the threshold is dynamically adjusted according to a certain rule. In order to enhance the robustness of signal transmission, an encoding-decoding strategy is exploited in the process of the data transmission. To be specific, the original signals encoded as a bit string are transmitted through binary symmetric channels with certain crossover probabilities and then restored by a decoder at the receiver. By constructing Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, we obtain a sufficient condition to ensure that the estimation error system is exponential mean square ultimately bounded. Subsequently, the desired state estimator is designed in terms of the solution to a certain matrix inequality. Finally, a numerical example is shown to demonstrate that the proposed state estimator is valid for time-delayed STNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are concerned with the sampled-based consensus problem of multi-agent systems with bounded distributed time-delays and quantisation effects. A dynamic quantisation scheme is introduced to save the constrained communication resources, where some adjustable parameters are introduced to exclude the phenomena of quantiser saturation. In addition, to reduce the actuation burden of controller and quantiser cost, a sampled-data control strategy is employed to investigate the consensus problem. Several sufficient criteria are derived to achieve consensus of multi-agent systems based on the matrix theory and Lyapunov control techniques. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the derived results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to select the optimisation criterion of the performance function is a pivotal research topic for the uncertain differential game. The Hurwicz criterion is a flexible optimisation measure to allocate some weight between optimism and pessimism to achieve balance for both of them. Based on uncertainty theory, this paper considers the Nash equilibrium and bang-bang property for the multi-player non-zero-sum uncertain differential game model by applying the Hurwicz criterion to optimise the performance function. To coordinate onto the Nash equilibrium, an equilibrium equation is derived. In addition, the application of bang-bang optimal control in the multi-player game problem of the uncertain linear system is investigated. Finally, an example is shown to validate the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study focuses on the guaranteed cost control problem for interval type‐2 stochastic fuzzy coupled neural networks (NNs) elicited by the observer framework with Markov switching topology, external disturbances, and quantization effect. In particular, the guaranteed cost controller is developed with an upper bound of the guaranteed cost function and also ensures stability of the addressed networks. Also, the integration of lower and upper membership functions are incorporated to relax the stability condition of the networks. Notably, the randomness phenomena are incorporated by the agency of stochastic variables that satisfies the Bernoulli distribution characteristics. Specifically, the state feedback controller considered with quantization effect is designed through undirected communication graph subject to Markov switching topology. In consequence with Lyapunov–Krasovskii‐functional and algebraic graph theory, sufficient conditions are established to assure the stochastic stabilization of the NNs with some specified cost value. Explicitly, the optimal upper bound of the guaranteed cost function and the controller gain fluctuations of the state and the observer are effectuated through the developed conditions. Finally, the reduced conservatism and efficiency of the proposed analytical design are demonstrated through a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the optimal control problem via reinforcement learning for a class of nonlinear discrete‐time systems. The nonlinear system under consideration is assumed to be partially unknown. A new learning‐based algorithm, T‐step heuristic dynamic programming with eligibility traces (T‐sHDP(λ)), is proposed to tackle the optimal control problem for such partially unknown system. First, the concerned optimal control problem is turned into its equivalence problem, that is, solving a Bellman equation. Then, the T‐sHDP(λ) is utilized to get an approximate solution of Bellman equation, and a rigorous convergence analysis is also conducted as well. Instead of the commonly used single step update approach, the T‐sHDP(λ) stores finite step past returns by introducing a parameter, and then utilizes these knowledge to update the value function (VF) of multiple moments synchronously, so as to achieve higher convergence speed. For implementation of T‐sHDP(λ), a neural network‐based actor‐critic architecture is applied to approximate VF and optimal control scheme. Finally, the feasibility of the algorithm is demonstrated by two illustrative simulation examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recombinant tissue‐type plasminogen activator (rtPA) is the clot lysis drug approved for clinical use, and is characterised by a short half‐life and substantial inactivation by plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1). We previously discovered that a tPA mutation (A419Y) at the protease domain led to enhanced fibrinolysis activity. In the present study, we studied the mechanism of such mutation in enhancing the proteolytic activity, and whether such enhancement persists in reteplase, an United States Food and Drug Administration‐approved tPA truncated variant. We constructed and expressed a series of reteplase‐based mutants, including rPAG (glycosylated rPA), rPAG‐Y (with A419Y mutant at rPAG), rPAG‐A4 (tetra‐alanine mutation at 37‐loop of rPAG), and rPAG‐A4/Y (with both) and evaluated their plasminogen activation and PAI‐1 resistance. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that the rPAG had fibrin affinity comparable to full‐length tPA. Moreover, rPAG‐Y had 8·5‐fold higher plasminogen activation and stronger tolerance to PAI‐1 compared to rPAG. We also found that the mutations containing tetra‐alanine (rPAG‐A4 and rPAG‐A4/Y) had dramatically reduced plasminogen activation and impaired clot lysis. In a pulmonary embolism murine model, rPAG‐Y displayed a more efficient thrombolytic effect than rPAG. These results identified a novel mutant reteplase variant of tPA with increased fibrinolytic activity, laying the foundation for the development of a new potent fibrinolytic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 greatly challenges the human health sector, and has resulted in a large amount of medical waste that poses various potential threats to the environment. In this study, we compiled relevant data released by official agencies and the media, and conducted data supplementation based on earlier studies to calculate the net value of medical waste produced in the Hubei Province due to COVID-19 with the help of a neural network model. Next, we reviewed the data related to the environmental impact of medical waste per unit and designed four scenarios to estimate the environmental impact of new medical waste generated during the pandemic. The results showed that a medical waste generation rate of 0.5 kg/bed/day due to COVID-19 resulted in a net increase of medical waste volume by about 3366.99 tons in the Hubei Province. In the four scenario assumptions, i.e., if the medical waste resulting from COVID-19 is completely incinerated, it will have a large impact on the air quality. If it is disposed by distillation sterilization, it will produce a large amount of wastewater and waste residue. Based on the results of the study, we propose three policy recommendations: strict control of medical wastewater discharge, reduction and transformation of the emitted acidic gases, and attention to the emission of metallic nickel in exhaust gas and chloride in soil. These policy recommendations provide a scientific basis for controlling medical waste pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the issue of input-to-state exponential stability (ISES) for stochastic complex-valued neural networks with neutral delay (SCVNNs) and discrete delay is considered. Without separating the SCVNNs into two real-valued systems, two criteria expressed through linear matrix inequality (LMI) to pledge ISES of the considered SCVNNs are derived based on Itô formula in complex-valued field, Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional approach as well as some relevant inequality skills. Two examples are furnished to verify the raised results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the ℓ 2 – ℓ ∞ output-feedback control problem for a class of two-dimensional (2-D) switched systems described by the general Fornasini–Marchesini second model under the stochastic communication protocol (SCP). In a networked 2-D switched control system, the sensors and the controller are typically connected through a shared communication network of limited bandwidth, which is likely to result in data collision problem. To circumvent this network-induced problem, a new SCP is dedicatedly put forward for the 2-D switched system in order to orchestrate the transmission order of sensor nodes, under which only one sensor node obtains the privilege to access the network at each transmission instant. Then, based on the nominal system information compensation, a set of new mode-dependent output-feedback controllers is designed for 2-D switched systems subject to SCP and external disturbances. Moreover, using the average dwell-time approach, sufficient conditions are established to ensure the existence of the desired controllers that guarantee both the exponential mean-square stability and the ℓ 2 – ℓ ∞ performance. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller design method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a delay-dependent synchronization criteria for Markovian jump complex dynamical networks subject to time-varying coupling delays and external disturbances are proposed via Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy approach. The class of Markovian jump complex dynamical networks is described by a fuzzy model composed of two levels such as a crisp level which represents the jumps and a fuzzy level which describes the system nonlinearities. An asymptotic synchronization criterion is obtained by employing fuzzy controller with the mixed H ∞ and passivity performance index ν > 0. Further, by constructing a novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional along with the extended integral inequality and using the properties of Kronecker product and convex combination approach, a set of sufficient constraints is derived in the form of linear matrix inequalities and checked for its feasibility using MATLAB software. At last, numerical simulations including the Lorentz system are given to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the developed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbes inhabiting deep soil layers are known to be different from their counterpart in topsoil yet remain under investigation in terms of their structure, function, and how their diversity is shaped. The microbiome of deep soils (>1 m) is expected to be relatively stable and highly independent from climatic conditions. Much less is known, however, on how these microbial communities vary along climate gradients. Here, we used amplicon sequencing to investigate bacteria, archaea, and fungi along fifteen 18‐m depth profiles at 20–50‐cm intervals across contrasting aridity conditions in semi‐arid forest ecosystems of China's Loess Plateau. Our results showed that bacterial and fungal α diversity and bacterial and archaeal community similarity declined dramatically in topsoil and remained relatively stable in deep soil. Nevertheless, deep soil microbiome still showed the functional potential of N cycling, plant‐derived organic matter degradation, resource exchange, and water coordination. The deep soil microbiome had closer taxa–taxa and bacteria–fungi associations and more influence of dispersal limitation than topsoil microbiome. Geographic distance was more influential in deep soil bacteria and archaea than in topsoil. We further showed that aridity was negatively correlated with deep‐soil archaeal and fungal richness, archaeal community similarity, relative abundance of plant saprotroph, and bacteria–fungi associations, but increased the relative abundance of aerobic ammonia oxidation, manganese oxidation, and arbuscular mycorrhizal in the deep soils. Root depth, complexity, soil volumetric moisture, and clay play bridging roles in the indirect effects of aridity on microbes in deep soils. Our work indicates that, even microbial communities and nutrient cycling in deep soil are susceptible to changes in water availability, with consequences for understanding the sustainability of dryland ecosystems and the whole‐soil in response to aridification. Moreover, we propose that neglecting soil depth may underestimate the role of soil moisture in dryland ecosystems under future climate scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the stability and Hopf bifurcation for a fractional-order Susceptible-Vaccinated-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SVEIR) computer virus propagation model with a nonlinear incident rate. By employing the linearization technique and Routh-Hurwitz method, the sufficient criterion is established for the locally asymptotic stability of endemic equilibrium point. The Hopf bifurcation is also studied for the SVEIR computer virus model by taking time delay as the bifurcation parameter. The research results show that the stability and Hopf bifurcation of proposed model are significantly affected by both time delay and the order of the fractional derivative. Examples with proper parameters and several simulations are given to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemetry data are the most important basis for ground operators to assess the status of satellites in orbit, and telemetry data-based anomaly detection has become a key tool to improve the reliability and safety of spacecrafts. Recent research on anomaly detection focuses on constructing a normal profile of telemetry data using deep learning methods. However, these methods cannot effectively capture the complex correlations between the various dimensions of telemetry data, and thus cannot accurately model the normal profile of telemetry data, resulting in poor anomaly detection performance. This paper presents CLPNM-AD, contrastive learning with prototype-based negative mixing for correlation anomaly detection. The CLPNM-AD framework first employs an augmentation process with random feature corruption to generate augmented samples. Following that, a consistency strategy is employed to capture the prototype of samples, and then prototype-based negative mixing contrastive learning is used to build a normal profile. Finally, a prototype-based anomaly score function is proposed for anomaly decision-making. Experimental results on public datasets and datasets from the actual scientific satellite mission show that CLPNM-AD outperforms the baseline methods, achieves up to 11.5% improvement based on the standard F 1 score and is more robust against noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A distributed filter is designed for time-varying systems over sensor networks. • Stochastic bias is governed by a dynamical equation. • Transmission delays are present in communication channels • A distributed yet recursive filter is constructed to account for packet disorders. • Upper bounds on error covariances are given and minimized. In this paper, a distributed filter is designed for time-varying systems corrupted by dynamic bias and packet disorders over sensor networks, where the plant under consideration includes stochastic bias which is governed by a dynamical equation. Moreover, the transmission delays are present in all sensor-to-filter communication channels, and such delays are described by using random variables that have known probability distributions. We focus on constructing a distributed yet recursive filter under the corruption of dynamic bias plus packet disorders. By means of the inductive method, upper bounds (on attained error covariances of the distributed filter) are first given and later minimized by properly parameterizing filter gains. Subsequently, a sufficient condition is presented to rigorously ensure the mean-square boundedness with respect to attained filtering errors. Finally, an example is given for effectiveness validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel dual-pathway-fusion-based sequence-to-sequence learning model (DPF-S2S) is proposed for text recognition in the wild, which mainly focuses on enriching the spatial information and extracting high-dimensional representation features to assist decoding. In particular, a double alignment module is developed to solve the problem of text misalignment, where both position and vision information are well considered. Moreover, a global fusion module is deployed to enrich 2D information in the aligned attention maps, which benefits accurate recognition from complicated scenes with arbitrary text shapes and poor imaging conditions. Benchmark evaluations on seven datasets have demonstrated the superiority of proposed DPF-S2S model in comparison to other state-of-the-art text recognition methods, which presents great competitiveness on identifying texts in both regular and irregular scenes. In addition, extensive ablation studies have been carried out, which validate the effectiveness of applied strategies in proposed DPF-S2S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The fibrous membrane with hierarchical structure was fabricated by sequential electrospinning. • The trilayered fibrous membrane had high filtration efficiency and low pressure drop. • The fibrous membrane exhibited antibacterial activity and biodegradability. • The trilayered fibrous membrane possessed directional water transport performance. Particulate matters (PMs) pollution and bacteria severely affect human health. Fibrous filters have shown great potential in intercepting PMs and bacteria. However, developing a novel respirator material endowed with multi-functions, such as efficient filtration, antibacterial activity, directional moisture transport and biodegradability is still challenging. Herein, a multifunctional air filtration membrane with hierarchical structure was fabricated by sequentially electrospinning poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous membrane, PCL/gelatin fibrous membrane and PCL/gelatin/ε-poly (L-lysine) (ε-PL) fibrous membrane. The fabricated trilayered fibrous membrane exhibited high PM filtration efficiency and a low pressure drop. Moreover, the fibrous membrane possessed excellent antibacterial activity due to the incorporation of ε-PL. In addition, the trilayered fibrous membrane provided directional water transport performance by the combination of hydrophobic fibrous layer and hydrophilic fibrous layer, thus improving the comfort of the wearer. Importantly, benefiting from the biodegradability property of PCL, gelatin and ε-PL, the fibrous membrane was biodegradable, which could decrease the burden on the environment. The fabricated trilayered fibrous membrane not only shows promising potential as a highly efficient, antibacterial, moisture-wicking and biodegradable air filtration membrane, but also offers a versatile strategy to design a multifunctional face mask. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial communities play critical roles in fixing carbon from the atmosphere and fixing it in the soils. However, the large‐scale variations and drivers of these microbial communities remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a large‐scale survey across China and found that soil autotrophic organisms are critical for explaining CO2 fluxes from the atmosphere to soils. In particular, we showed that large‐scale variations in CO2 fixation rates are highly correlated to those in autotrophic bacteria and phototrophic protists. Paddy soils, supporting a larger proportion of obligate bacterial and protist autotrophs, display four‐fold of CO2 fixation rates over upland and forest soils. Precipitation and pH, together with key ecological clusters of autotrophic microbes, also played important roles in controlling CO2 fixation. Our work provides a novel quantification on the contribution of terrestrial autotrophic microbes to soil CO2 fixation processes at a large scale, with implications for global carbon regulation under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), as a well-known point-of-care testing (POCT) technique, is of vital significance in a variety of application scenarios due to the advantages of convenience and high efficiency. With rapid development of computational intelligence (CI), algorithms have played an important role in enhancing LFIA performance, and it is necessary to summary how algorithms can assist LFIA improvement for providing experiences. However, most existing works on LFIA are from biochemical field which pay more attention to material and reagent. Therefore, in this paper, a systematical survey is proposed to review works on applying mathematical tools to promote LFIA development. Particularly, a novel two-level taxonomy is designed for a better inspection, including LFIA-oriented mathematical modelling, CI-assisted post-processing and quantification in LFIA, and each level is further subdivided for in-depth understanding. In addition, from a higher viewpoint, outlooks of jointly developing POCT with other state-of-the-art techniques are presented from perspectives of implementation principle, technical approach and algorithm application. Moreover, this survey aims to highlight that applying CI methods is competent for boosting POCT development, so as to raise attentions from more areas like information science, extend deeper researches and inspire more interdisciplinary works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]