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Ni60 alloy is one of the important brands of nickel-based self-fusing alloys. It is widely used in industries such as metallurgy, mining, and other fields for the repair and protection of fragile parts. However, there is little literature on the effect of C content on its properties. In this study, two Ni60 alloy coatings with different C contents prepared by flame spraying and remelting were investigated by means of XRD, SEM, EBSD, friction wear testing, thermodynamic calculation, etc. The results showed that the calculated freezing range (FR) of Ni60 decreased from 983-1165.90 °C to 980-1154.28 °C and the melting range (MR) of Ni60 decreased from 966.27-1089.28 °C to 958.91-1045.41 °C when the C content increased from 0.72 wt.% (S1) to 1.01 wt.% (S2). Besides, the Cr7C3 phase size of the Ni60 layer increased with the increase of C addition. The coating shrinks during the remelting and solidification process, and the inner pores do not have sufficient time to escape, caused by the decreased FR, leading to the generation of holes and the degradation of surface quality in S2. However, the hardness of the S2 was 66 HV higher than that of S1, and the wear resistance of the S2 coating was superior as well because of more precipitated carbides therein. This work would give a hint at balancing the processability and mechanical properties for the development of high-performance coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fisheye camera calibration is an essential task in photogrammetry. However, previous calibration patterns and the robustness of the adjoint processing methods are limited due to the fisheye distortion and various lighting. This problem leads to additional manual intervention in the data collection. Moreover, it is arduous to accurately detect the board target under fisheye's distortion. To increase the robustness in this task, we present a novel encoded board "Meta‐Board" and a learning‐based target detection method. Additionally, an automatic image orthorectification is integrated to alleviate the distortion effect on the target iteratively until convergence. A low‐cost control field with the proposed boards is built for the experiment. Results on both virtual and real camera lenses and multi‐camera rigs show that our method can be robustly used in calibrating the fisheye camera and reaches state‐of‐the‐art accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a solar-assisted DX-PVT heat pump (direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal) is intimately relevant to the system configuration. Inappropriate system configuration will undermine the system performance. This work assessed the effect of the equipment area of PVT modules on the PVT heat pump system driven by novel direct-expansion roll-bond PVT modules, and aimed to propose optimal system configuration. An analytical model was developed for the PVT heat pump system and validated by the experimental results. Simulations were conducted to reveal the effect of A / V t h , a proposed parameter to describe the system configuration, namely the ratio of the modules' area to the theoretical displacement of the compressor. The results showed that the larger A / V t h lead to higher COP but lower HGF (heat gain factor). With A / V t h increasing from 0.768 to 2.303 m2 h/m3, the COP increases by 61.3% (from 3.1 to 5.0) but the HGF decreases by 39.6% (from 0.91 to 0.55). Higher levels of solar irradiation strengthens the positive effect of the increasing A / V t h on thermodynamics performance and weakens the negative effect of that on the heat collection performance. The enhancement in COP is 42.8%/70.9% with A / V t h increasing from 0.768 to 2.303 m2 h/m3 when solar irradiation is 500 W/m2/800 W/m2, while the decrease in HGF is 49.2%/39.2%, respectively. A configuration optimization was also conducted to balance the thermodynamics and heat collection performance. The A / V t h varying from 1.535 to 1.919 m2 h/m3 was suggested as the optimized configuration when solar irradiation is 500 W/m2. After optimization, the IPLV and HGF can exceed that of air-source heat pump and flat-plate collectors by 40%, showing considerable performance advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the window-opening behavior in a three-star green building with an operation mark in Ningbo was investigated. Four single offices facing south were selected, and the measurement lasted 20–40 days in the cooling season. An analysis of the relationship between window use and environmental factors was assessed by monitoring the occupancy state, the window action and window state, the time, and the temperature and humidity. A statistical analysis method was conducted to reveal the similarities and differences in window use among different occupants. The main findings were as follows: The window adjustment behaviors of different people vary significantly. In terms of adjustment time, there are two modes of behaviors. In addition, the occupancy state had a great impact on window action. Moreover, some people prefer to open the windows in the morning and close the windows at departure time, However, some of them prefer to open the windows at departure time and close the windows at the arrival time. Some irrational window opening behaviors were found in this research. Through correlation analysis, it was shown that the longer time the occupants were in the office, the higher window-opening duration and window-opening frequency would be. If the window was closed at arrival time, the total opening duration of window was significantly reduced. Also, window opening duration and closing duration are proportional to each other. With the help of principal component analysis (PCA) of the 12 features that affected window adjustment, the correlation between the window opening behaviors and the features could be clearly illustrated. A stochastic model of window-opening behavior based on logistics regression and uncertainty analysis was used in this paper. The cooling energy consumption of the stochastic model is 99.9% higher than the energy consumption generated by a fixed number of air changes, and the average energy consumption exceeds the fixed value by more than 21%. The findings of this study have certain guiding significance for promoting energy conservation by occupants' behaviors in green buildings in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the current state-of-the-art in the detoxification and valorization of solid residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), especially fly ash, using plasma vitrification. The principles and advances in hazardous material elimination, resource recovery, and system integration using plasma vitrification for MSWI fly ash are identified. The global production and the characteristics of MSWI fly ash are first reviewed. Then, the features and principles of plasma technologies used for MSWI fly ash treatment from the thermodynamic and physical aspects are provided. The mechanisms of detoxification of MSWI fly ash from the perspectives of dioxins destruction and metal separation by plasma vitrification are also discussed. Moreover, the recovery methods of valuable elements for vitrified slag are introduced. Finally, the improvement pathways of plasma vitrification processes from the domains of engineering performance, environmental impact, and economic viability are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the contributions of chemical components in the particulate matter in Lhasa, the size distribution characteristics of the chemical components, such as carbonaceous species (organic carbon, OC; elemental carbon, EC), water-soluble ions (NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3−) and trace elements (Na, Ca, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, K, Mg, and Pb), were investigated from August 2018 to May 2019. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also used to simulate the source of the particulate matter. The chemical components showed bimodal size distributions, except for Cu. The highest mass concentration of OC appeared at < 0.49 μm, and the second highest one existed at 1.5–3.0 μm in winter or at 3.0–7.2 μm in other seasons. The maximum concentrations of NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3− were at < 0.49 μm and peaked at 0.95–1.5 μm or > 3.0 μm. For seasonality, the concentrations of NO3− and SO42− were considerably higher in summer and autumn; trace elements (except for Cu, Zn, V, and Ni), OC, and EC presented higher values during late autumn and winter. The ratio between OC and EC (4.15–33.80) indicated the existence of secondary pollution in Lhasa. The [NO3−]–[SO42−] ratios during summer and autumn exceeding 1 suggested that the currently predominant vehicle exhaust made a greater contribution to the aerosols. According to the results of a PCA, the main pollution sources of particulate matter in Lhasa were suspended dust, biomass burning, fossil fuel combustion, secondary pollution, and vehicular emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microbes are an abundant source of enzymes with unique properties that may be useful for industrial applications. As most wild-type strains show low chlorogenic acid esterase expression and activity, and most microbes cannot be cultured in the laboratory, a metagenomic approach provides methods of identifying new enzymes. In this study, a gene encoding a chlorogenic acid esterase, named Tan410, was isolated from a soil metagenomic library and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant enzyme, with a predicted molecular weight of 54.88 kDa, was purified to homogeneity. The Km and Vmax values for Tan410 were 1.26 mM and 0.33 mM min–1, respectively, with chlorogenic acid as the substrate. Its optimum temperature and pH for reaction were 30 °C and 7.5, respectively. The enzyme exhibited moderate thermostability and broad pH stability (3.0–10.0). Tan410 was also able to hydrolyse ethyl ferulate, methyl caffeate, propyl gallate, ethyl gallate, methyl vanillate, methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, methyl 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate, and methyl 3,5-dihydroxybenzoate, and it released caffeic and ferulic acids from agricultural byproducts (destarched wheat bran and coffee pulp). Tan140 has potential for industrial application in biomass valorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micronsized spherical CL-20/RDX composites with uniform size were prepared by an electrospray method. After preparation, the morphology, crystal structure, thermal decomposition property, explosion performance and mechanical sensitivity were characterized. Different structures existed in the CL-20/RDX composites with different molar ratios. The CR11e composites had the lowest apparent activation energy and the lowest critical temperature of thermal explosion. The explosion pressure and mechanical sensitivity of CL-20/RDX composites were lower than that of raw CL-20 and decreased with increasing RDX content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Thalassemia (β-thal) is one of the most common monogenic recessive inherited diseases worldwide. The mutation spectrum of β-thal has been increasingly broadened by various genetic testing methods. The discovery and identification of novel and rare pathogenic thalassemia variants enable better disease prevention, especially in high prevalence regions. In this study, a Chinese thalassemia family with an unclear etiology was recruited to the Thalassemia Screening Program. Blood samples collected from them were primarily screened by hematology analysis and clinical routine genetic screening. Subsequently, targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing were performed to find and identify a novel deletion variant. The deletion, discovered by targeted NGS, was validated through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). First, a large novel β-thal deletion (3488 bp) related to a high Hb F level, NC_000011.9: g.5245533_5249020del (Chongqing deletion) (GRCh37/hg19), was found and identified in the proband and her mother. The deletion removed the entire β-globin gene and led to absent β-globin (β0). We then validated this large novel deletion in the proband and her mother by qPCR. We first discovered and identified a large novel β-thal deletion related to elevated Hb F level, it helps broaden the spectrum of pathogenic mutants that may cause β-thal intermedia (β-TI) or β-thal major (β-TM), paving the way for effective thalassemia screening. Next-generation sequencing has the potential of finding rare and novel thalassemia mutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mass transfer and related electrochemical reactions in the catalytic layer (CL) are crucial for the performance of high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs), but there is a lack of understanding of the optimal phosphoric acid content and Pt/C catalyst loading in the CL. In this work, we investigate the influences of Pt/C catalyst numbers (N Pt/C) and phosphoric acid film thickness (δ PA) on mass transfer and electrochemical reactions of the cathode CL using a pore-scale model (300 × 300 × 300 nm3). The results reveal that larger N Pt/C and δ PA can impede oxygen diffusion, while lower N Pt/C and δ PA lead to fewer reaction active sites and lower conductivity, both of which result in lower current density. Therefore, the balance of three-phase transport is extremely important for CL. There is a 3D volcanic relationship between current density, Pt/C catalysts, and phosphoric acid film. At N Pt/C = 200 (7407 per μm3) and δ PA = 4 nm (the volume fractions of 37.22 % and 17.87 %), the highest current density can be achieved at a potential of 0.5 V (vs. RHE), which increased with the decrease of potential. This work is valuable for understanding the optimizing the microstructure and three-phase transport pathway of the CL to improve the performance of HT-PEMFCs. • Catalyst layer is reconstructed numerically in a HT-PEMFCs with a pore-scale model. • The influence of Pt/C catalyst number and phosphoric acid film thickness is studied. • The balance between the three phases of the transmission pathway is very important. • A 3D volcano-shaped relationship is obtained to describe the current density, N Pt/C and δ PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of reaching the peak of carbon in the construction industry is urgent. However, the research on the feasibility of realizing this goal and the implementation of relevant policies in China is relatively superficial. In view of the historical data of energy consumption and building CO2 emission from 1995 to 2019, this paper establishes a BP neural network model for predicting building CO2 emissions. Moreover, the influencing factors, such as population, GDP, and total construction output, are introduced as the parameters in the model. Through the scenario analysis method explores the practical path to accomplish the peak of building CO2 emissions. When using traditional prediction methods to predict building carbon emissions, the long prediction cycle will increase the possibility of significant errors. Therefore, this paper constructs the calculation model of building carbon emission and forecasts the future carbon emission value through the BP neural network to avoid the error caused by the nonlinear relationship between influencing factors and predicted value. It will effectively predict the feasibility of the carbon peak and the carbon-neutral target set by government, and provide a useful predictive tool for adjusting the new energy structure and formulating related emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry widely uses WC coatings to protect vital machine parts, including industrial gas turbines, ball valves, and aircraft landing gear shafts. To enhance the comprehensive performance of WC-10Co cemented carbide coatings, this study added VC and Cr 3 C 2 grain inhibitors to refine the WC particles. Two novel powder compositions, S1 (WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC) and S2 (WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr) were developed using the spray granulation method, alongside a commercial WC-10Co-4Cr powder as a control. These coatings were applied to 316 stainless steel substrates using the HVOF technique and subjected to XRD, SEM, hardness, friction, and electrochemical analysis. The microstructures, phase compositions, and various properties of WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC and WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coatings were systematically investigated. The results indicate a significant reduction in decarburization and porosity in S1 and S2 coatings compared to the commercial WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. VC and Cr 3 C 2 suppressed the Ostwald ripening phenomenon, leading to smaller WC particle sizes in S1 and S2 coatings. In terms of performance, WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC exhibited the highest hardness and superior wear resistance, while the WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coating displayed the lowest corrosion rate in a 5 wt% H 2 SO 4 solution at 25 °C, all while maintaining excellent mechanical properties. This study opens potential directions for the creation of high-performance WC-based coatings. • VC and Cr 3 C 2 suppressed the Ostwald ripening phenomenon, leading to smaller WC particle sizes. • WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC exhibited the highest hardness and superior wear resistance. • WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coating displayed the lowest corrosion rate in a 5 wt% H 2 SO 4 solution at 25 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column is a new form of CFST columns, consisting of an outer elliptical tube filled with concrete. Although the study on mechanical performance of the elliptical CFST members is receiving more and more attention, they have been limited to static behavior. Against this background, an experimental study on elliptical CFST columns was carried out under combined axial compression and cyclic lateral loading. The failure modes, hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, load carrying capacity, deformability, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation ability was obtained and discussed. The test results indicated that the elliptical CFST columns possess excellent seismic performance and ductility. Valuable experimental data were provided for the formulation of the theoretical hysteresis model of the elliptical CFST columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of D-dimer for acute aortic dissection (AAD) by the method of meta-analysis.Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases from the establishment of the databases to December 2020 were systematically searched, and the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) system was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. STATA 15.0 software was applied to calculate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR) to draw summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curve and calculate the area under the curve (AUC). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to explore the source of heterogeneity.Results: A total of 16 clinical studies were enrolled in this study, including 1135 patients. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity was 0.96 (95% CI 0.91-0.98), the pooled specificity was 0.70 (95% CI 0.57-0.81), and the pooled DOR was 56.57 (95% CI 25.11-127.44), the pooled +LR was 3.25 (95% CI 2.18-4.85), the pooled -LR was 0.06 (95% CI 0.03-0.12), and the AUC was 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.95). Meta-regression and subgroup analysis results showed that publication year, sample size and cutoff value might be sources of heterogeneity. When the concentration of D-dimer was less than or equal to 500 ng/ml, the sensitivity significantly increased.Conclusion: D-dimer has an excellent diagnostic value for AAD. It is a useful tool for detecting suspected AAD because of the excellent pooled sensitivity. D-dimer ≤ 500 ng/ml increases the potential to identify the suspected patients with AAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWCNT) films require high-quality preparation and optimization for use in carbon-based electronic devices. Tremendous progress has been made in s-SWCNTs sorting technology with conjugated polymers to obtain high-purity s-SWCNT films. However, one drawback of this technology is residual polymer wrapping on s-SWCNT surfaces. These residual polymers have poor conductivity, impeding the charge transport between the nanotube-electrode and the nanotube-nanotube. To address this issue, a rapid annealing and cooling method was developed for cleaning the s-SWCNT films, which can thoroughly remove the wrapped polymers from the surfaces of s-SWCNTs, effectively reducing the contact resistance between the nanotube-metal electrode and the nanotube-nanotube. Our results show that thin-film transistors made of cleaned s-SWCNTs exhibited improved performance when compared with pristine s-SWCNT films rinsed with an organic solvent. The contact resistance between the s-SWCNTs and the electrode was reduced by 700%, while the on–state current density of the CNT-TFTs increased by nearly 600%. These results thus demonstrated the effectiveness of our developed method for removing polymers from the surfaces of s-SWCNTs, which is essential for the further development of carbon nanotube electronic devices and circuits. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of apricot kernel skins (AKS) addition and ultrasound treatment were investigated on the rheological and texture properties of the dough, and the specific volume, texture, and sensorial properties of bread by a three‐factor Box–Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM), so as to make full use of the by‐products of AKS in industry. The results indicate that the incorporation of AKS in bread making did have some negative influences on the physical properties of dough and the quality of bread. Interestingly enough, the adverse effects from AKS addition could definitely be decreased by ultrasound treatment, with which the specific volume, springiness, cohesiveness, and resilience of bread could be improved to an extent, resulting in a good taste and sensory acceptability of the bread. In a word, this research could provide a novel approach for the AKS utilization in processing industry of apricot kernels. Novelty impact statement: The acceptable amount of apricot kernel skins (AKS) added to bread ingredients is no more than 6%.The optimal parameters for ultrasonic treatment of dough to reduce the negative effects of AKS on bread are 350 W power and 40‐min processing time.Ultrasound could improve the specific volume, springiness, cohesiveness, and resilience of bread with AKS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postural instability and gait disorder dominant (PIGD) is one of the most common disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), which seriously affects patients' quality of life. Therefore, it is essential to identify PIGD and develop targeted interventions to reduce the risk of PIGD in PD patients. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the gait characteristics of PD patients based on wearable devices and to establish a predictive model for their related influencing factors. Methods: The retrospective medical records of patients from January 2020 to September 2023 were collected, including 159 patients with PD (divided into PIGD [n = 73] and non‐PIGD [n = 86] groups) and 200 healthy patients (as the healthy control group). Information from social demographic data, a blood test, scale scores, gait analysis based on wearable devices, white matter lesions, and the Fazekas scale was extracted and analyzed. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, the mean step length, mean rate, mean angular velocity, and step length were lower in the PD group, while the mean steps were higher in the turning test. The incidence of PIGD was 46% in PD patients, and PD patients with the non‐tremor onset mode were more likely to develop PIGD than those with the tremor onset mode. Compared to the non‐PIGD group, the PIGD group showed more serious gait problems in different experimental tasks and had a higher Hoehn and Yahr (H‐Y) stage, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, Hamilton Depression Scale score, periventricular white matter (PVWM) score, deep white matter score, and Fazekas scale score, but they had lower hemoglobin levels, D‐dimer levels, Tinetti Balance scores, Tinetti Gait scores, Berg Balance Scale scores, and Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Logistic regression analysis showed that the MMSE score was negatively correlated with the occurrence of PIGD, while the HAMA score, H‐Y stage, PVWM score, and non‐tremor form of onset were positively correlated with the occurrence of PIGD Conclusion: The incidence of gait disorder in PD patients is higher than that in the normal population. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety state, H‐Y stage, PVWM score, and the non‐tremor mode of onset can be considered independent risk factors for PIGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively reduce building energy consumption and enhance indoor thermal comfort, this study developed a sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization method for an office building in Hangzhou considering the effects of parameter interactions. We utilized Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) to sample the parameters and subsequently simulated the energy consumption and discomfort hours for the building's four orientations. Following this, Gaussian process regression models were established, and the feature importance ranking method (FIRM) alongside an interaction effects method were employed to quantify the sensitivity of 10 parameters. Lastly, a multi-objective optimization was performed for total energy consumption and discomfort hours, yielding a set of Pareto-optimal solutions. Through the VIKOR method, the optimal solution within the Pareto set was identified, resulting in three sets of optimal solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two previously undescribed nitrogen-containing compounds, penisimplicins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from Penicillium simplicissimum JXCC5. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configuration of 2 was determined by Marfey's method, ECD calculation, and DP4+ analysis. Both structures of 1 and 2 feature an unprecedented manner of amino acid-derivatives attaching to a polyketide moiety by C-C bond. The postulated biosynthetic pathways for 1 and 2 were discussed. Additionally, compound 1 exhibited significant acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of 6.35 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Reducing the usage of Sc element, as well as improving the thermal stability of nano-precipitate L1 2 –Al 3 Sc are critical in expanding the application field of Al–Sc based alloys. Previous experiments showed that the impurity Si plays a leading role in accelerating the precipitation and strengthening the thermal stability of Al–Sc-Zr alloy, but the micro mechanism of these effects are not be given at atomic and electron scale. Herein, we performed a first-principles calculations to focus on the segregation behaviors of Si and Zr at Al (0 0 1)/L1 2 -Al 3 Sc (0 0 1) interface. The results show that the ahead segregated Si atom, which prefers to occupy the Al site of Al 3 Sc precipitate side, contributes to induce Zr substituting the Sc atom that is the nearest neighbor of Si rather than the Sc site in Al matrix side. A quantitative calculation suggests that the reduction of Sc usage can at least reach 12 % as the concentration of added Si in Al bulk is about 0.06 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical image segmentation holds significant importance for doctors, patients, and the entire health care industry. For doctors, it provides more accurate information about cardiac structures, aiding in improving diagnoses and treatment decisions. For patients, segmentation techniques enable personalized medical care, enhancing treatment outcomes and satisfaction. The entire health care sector benefits from the advancement of this technology, driving the development of medical science and contributing to better health care quality and patient well-being. Additionally, segmentation plays a crucial role in research and education, facilitating the accumulation and dissemination of medical knowledge. In summary, the application of medical image segmentation has profound implications for progress in the medical field and patient welfare. In recent years, with technological advancements and innovative algorithms, medical image quality has greatly improved, with higher resolution and reduced noise and artifacts. Simultaneously, the application of deep learning techniques has made the automatic analysis and diagnosis of medical images more precise and efficient. However, due to the complex structures and diversity often present in medical images, models tend to have limited generalization across different datasets, leading to unstable segmentation performance. Considering the excellent image segmentation performance of the three-dimensional (3D) U-Net model, this study introduces an improved spatial attention mechanism on the basis of the 3D U-Net model to enhance its segmentation performance. The spatial attention mechanism enhances the model's feature extraction capabilities. The enhanced network can capture dependencies among features across both channel and spatial dimensions in the entire global scope. Additionally, it can strengthen any two correlated features within the input feature vector, thereby enhancing the model's representational capacity. Through detailed experimental validation, the effectiveness of the proposed model is thoroughly demonstrated. Its superiority in performance and computational efficiency positions it as a significant breakthrough in the medical image segmentation field, providing a strong foundation for future research and clinical practice in medical image processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the practical effect of environmental planning methods, this paper combines neural network artificial intelligence technology to study the environmental planning methods. Based on the idea of multi-layer DEM's stratum 3D modeling, this paper uses the spatial interpolation analysis in ArcGIS to fit the surface of the environmental data to obtain the surface layer of the stratum interface, and combine the geographic information system to construct the system frame structure. Moreover, based on neural network and artificial intelligence technology, this paper uses the prediction algorithm based on the comprehensive index and the BP neural network model to process and calculate the sample data, and conduct experimental analysis on the system of this paper through experimental research. The research results show that the environmental planning method based on neural network and artificial intelligence technology proposed in this paper has good results and can be applied to current environmental planning for auxiliary planning. • The practical effect of environmental planning methods. • Based on the idea of multi-layer DEM's stratum 3D modeling. • The spatial interpolation analysis in ArcGIS to fit the surface. • The stratum interface, and combine the geographic information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sirtiun 5 (SIRT5) is a NAD+-dependent protein lysine deacylase. It is emerging as a promising target for the development of drugs to treat cancer and metabolism-related diseases. In this study, we screened 5000 compounds and identified a hit compound 14 bearing a pyrazolone functional group as a novel SIRT5-selective inhibitor. Structure-based optimization of 14 resulted in compound 47 with an IC 50 value of 0.21 ± 0.02 μM and a 100-fold improved potency. Compound 47 showed substantial selectivity for SIRT5 over SIRT1-3 and SIRT6. Biochemical studies suggest that 47 does not occupy the NAD + -binding pocket and acts as a substrate-competitive inhibitor. The identified potent and selective SIRT5 inhibitors allow further studies as research tools and therapeutic agents. [Display omitted] • Hit compound 14 bearing a pyrazolone skeleton was identified as a SIRT5 inhibitor. • Extensive SAR studies guided by molecular docking were conducted. • Compound 47 showed a 100-fold increased potency as compared to the original hit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction of building energy consumption is indispensable to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency and achieve carbon neutrality. The stochastic adjustment of shading has an important impact on energy consumption due to the uncertainty in the use of window shades in common office buildings. This study is based on a stochastic shading building model established in the previous study and uses time, temperature, solar radiation, and shading coefficient as input variables for predicting shading related energy uncertainty. Firstly machine learning algorithm is used for modeling, then Shapley Value Method is applied to refine the model variables, and finally, the model is optimized by hyperparameter optimization. The resulting model can perform uncertainty prediction of building energy consumption under stochastic shading adjustment. The results indicate that the Gaussian process regression is suitable for the prediction, and the final model prediction accuracies of R2 are all above 0.9, which can be used in practical applications. This study is the first to address the uncertainty prediction of building energy consumption under stochastic shading adjustment using machine learning methods without the use of energy simulation tools. • Energy uncertainty fluctuation under stochastic shading adjustment was predicted. • Machine learning method was used for prediction instead of physical energy models. • Shapley value and hyperparameter optimization are used to reduce prediction errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women. Cell division cycle-associated 5 (CDCA5) is closely associated with the behavior of various cancer types. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of CDCA5 on breast cancer. Western blot analysis and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR were used to detect the expression level of CDCA5 in human normal mammary cells and human breast cancer cell lines. To determine its function in MDA-MB-231 cells, CDCA5 was silenced in MDA-MB-231 cells by transient short hairpin RNA transfection. Cell Counting Kit-8 and clonogenicity assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to detect cell invasion and migration. Western blot analysis was used to detect the protein expressions of Ki67 and PCNA associated with proliferation, MMP2 and MMP9 associated with migration. CDCA5 was found to be markedly increased in breast cancer cell lines. CDCA5 knockdown was able to suppress cell proliferation, invasion and migration. CDCA5 inhibition downregulated PDS5 cohesin-associated factor A (PDS5A) expression in breast cancer cells. PDS5A overexpression was found to reverse the effect of CDCA5 inhibition on breast cancer cell proliferation and migration. CDCA5 knockdown was shown to suppress the malignant progression of breast cancer cells by regulating PDS5A. The present findings may provide new potential targets for breast cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize low-carbon and high-quality development, this study took the carbon emissions of each district and county in the Chengdu–Chongqing region from 2005 to 2017 as the research object and used the spatial autocorrelation model to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of carbon emissions in the counties of the Chengdu–Chongqing region, so as to fill in the research blank of carbon emissions in the counties of the Chengdu–Chongqing region. Then, the geographical detector model is used to explore the interaction among influencing factors of carbon emissions and reveal the time changes and regional differences of influencing factors, so as to improve the lack of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of influencing factors of carbon emissions by geographical detector. The results show the following: (i) The overall carbon emissions of counties show a year-on-year growth trend with the main urban areas of Chengdu and Chongqing as the core, but the growth rate slows down after 2010. (ii) The carbon emissions showed a significant positive spatial autocorrelation, and the neighboring counties showed a spatial clustering characteristic of "high-high" or "low-low", and the clustering status tended to be enhanced. (iii) The carbon emissions are strongly influenced by industrial structure, economic development, investment level, financial situation, urbanization rate and social consumption, and their interactions are all enhanced, but the influence mostly tends to rise first and then fall. (iv) County carbon emissions can be divided into four types of geographical types, such as population size influencing type, urbanization rate influencing type, economic development influencing type and industrial structure influencing type. Therefore, a variety of factors need to be considered comprehensively, a multi-pronged approach, and a comprehensive policy to realize low-carbon transformation in the Chengdu–Chongqing region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromium (Cr) and tannin are two major pollutants in leather industry. However, little is known about the co-migration of leather tannins and Cr in soils. In this study, column experiments were conducted to estimate Cr leaching behavior from topsoil and the environmental risk of the leachate at various tannin dosages and different ways (tannin either directly adding to the Cr-contaminated soil or adding stepwise through simulated rain) into the soil. The total Cr concentration in leachate was positively related with tannin content in soil, while Cr (Ⅵ) concentration was negatively correlated. The maximum cumulative leaching efficiency of total Cr from soil after six leaching events was 44.65% with 3 mg/g tannin adding into soil directly, and the maximum cumulative leaching efficiency of Cr (Ⅵ) was 38.75% with simulated rain leaching Cr-contaminated soil. With 3 mg/g tannin adding into soil, tannin concentration in the top layer (0–7 cm) lost by 32.67% after leaching, the amount of decomposed tannin was 0.25 mg/g, excluding the amount of tannin in leachate (3.63 mg/L) and the original amount in the soil (0.34 mg/g), indicating a slow degradation under natural condition. Both of the total Cr and Cr (Ⅵ) concentration in each layer of the soil columns decreased under tannin treatments compared with control. Compared with tannin adding stepwise into simulated rain, adding tannin into soil significantly (p < 0.05) affected the migration of Cr. Tannin increased the residual fraction while decreased the exchangeable fraction of Cr in the soils. Overall, this research can provide reference information for environmental risk assessment of contaminants in tanning sites. [Display omitted] • We examined the effect of tannin on release and fractionation of Cr in soils. • Tannin increased the total Cr while decreased the Cr (Ⅵ) concentration in leachate. • The degradation speed of tannin is slow under natural condition. • After leaching, the percentage of residual Cr-fraction in soils increased. • This result reflected that the tannin caused immobilization of Cr in soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of augmented reality (AR), 3D reconstruction, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), and autonomous driving requires off-the-shelf camera calibration solutions that are adaptable to cameras of different configurations in different complex scenarios. To this end, we propose a generic, robust, and accurate camera calibration framework, called Meta-Calib, by using single or multiple novel designed ArUco-encoded meta-board(s), which is dedicated to estimate accurate camera intrinsic parameters and extrinsic transformations of different multi-camera configurations. The ArUco calibration board has been redesigned to facilitate learning-based robust detection and obtain higher precision control point coordinates, which is termed the meta-board. This completely replaces the widely-used chessboard based on the corner extraction scheme to greatly alleviate the impact of image distortion on control points, especially when it is located at the boundary area of the fish-eye camera. A robust two-stage deep learning detection strategy is applied to reliably localize the ArUco-encoded inner coding region of the meta-board followed by identifying two categories of circular shapes representing "0" and "1" encoded in the ArUco pattern for decoding and orientation determination. The center points of circular shapes on the meta-board in the distorted image taken under the perspective view can be approximated through elliptical fitting with contour edges. The deviation between the fitting center points and ground-truth can be greatly suppressed when the refined sub-pixel contour edges extracted on the original image are projected to the orthographic projection view based on the camera intrinsic parameters, distortion coefficients and the prior information of the meta-board. Based on this observation, we propose a systematic iterative refinement approach to achieve the high-precision intrinsic calibration of a camera. This process involves improving the estimation of camera intrinsic parameters and fitting the center control points of circular shapes on the meta-boards in an iterative manner. The progressive nature of our approach permits reliably calibrate large distortion camera models under the presence of noisy measurements, which ensures good convergence. In addition, we also propose a graph-based multi-camera extrinsic calibration method via the corrected control points to reliably estimate both the relative poses of the meta-boards and cameras in the multi-camera system. The proposed method is not constrained by the number of cameras and meta-boards used, which makes our strategy accessible even with inflexible computer vision experts. Furthermore, we have derived the mathematical form for computing the covariance of the extrinsic transformation, which makes it possible to evaluate the uncertainty of the calibration results. Extensive experiments on a large number of both real and synthetic datasets, including perspective, fish-eye, and multiple overlapping cameras, are performed to prove the effectiveness and robustness of the developed Meta-Calib calibration framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) are widely used in urban underground tunnel construction due to their fast and efficient features. However, shield-tunnel construction faces increasingly complex geological environments and may encounter geological hazards such as faults, fracture zones, water surges, and collapses, which can cause significant property damage and casualties. Existing geophysical methods are subject to many limitations in the shield-tunnel environment, where the detection space is extremely small, and a variety of advanced detection methods are unable to meet the required detection requirements. Therefore, it is crucial to accurately detect the geological conditions in front of the tunnel face in real time during the tunnel boring process of TBM tunnels. In this paper, a 3D-ERT advanced detection method using source-position electrode excitation is proposed. First, a source-position electrode array integrated into the TBM cutterhead is designed for the shield-tunnel construction environment, which provides data security for the inverse imaging of the anomalous bodies. Secondly, a 3D finite element tunnel model containing high- and low-resistance anomalous bodies is established, and the GREIT reconstruction algorithm is utilized to reconstruct 3D images of the anomalous body in front of the tunnel face. Finally, a physical simulation experiment platform is built, and the effectiveness of the method is verified by laboratory physical modeling experiments with two different anomalous bodies. The results show that the position and shape of the anomalous body in front of the tunnel face can be well reconstructed, and the method provides a new idea for the continuous detection of shield construction tunnels with boring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical benefits of establishing an enteral nutrition (EN) pathway via percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography drainage (PTCD) catheterization in patients with late-stage malignant obstructive jaundice (MOJ).Methods: We selected 30 patients diagnosed as having late-stage MOJ with malnutrition. A dual-lumen biliary-enteral nutrition tube was placed via PTCD along with a biliary stent implantation. Postoperative EN was provided, and we observed the time taken for tube placement, its success rate, complications, and therapeutic efficacy.Results: Tube placement was successful in all 30 patients with an average procedural time of 5.7 ± 1.4 min with no tube placement complications. Compared to preoperative measures, there was a significant improvement in postoperative jaundice reduction and nutritional indicators one month after the procedure (p < 0.05). Post-placement complications included tube perileakage in 5 cases, entero-biliary reflux in 4 cases, tube blockage in 6 cases, tube displacement in 4 cases, accidental tube removal in 3 cases, and tube replacement due to degradation in 8 cases, with tube retention time ranging from 42 to 314 days, averaging 124.7 ± 37.5 days. All patients achieved the parameters for effective home-based enteral nutrition with a noticeable improvement in their quality of life.Conclusion: In this study, we found that the technique of establishing an EN pathway via PTCD catheterization was minimally invasive, safe, and effective; the tube was easy to maintain; and patient compliance was high. It is, thus, suitable for long-term tube retention in patients with late-stage MOJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new limonoids, named as trichiconlide G (1), 2-hydroxyltrijugin F (2), 23-oxo-21-hydroxyltrijugin F (3), 21-oxo-23-hydroxyltrijugin F (4), along with sixteen known analogues (5 – 20) were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Trichilia connaroides. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by spectroscopic analyses, X-ray diffraction analysis, and TD-DFT-ECD calculations. Trichiconlide G (1) is one rare naturally occurring 1,2-seco phragmalin-type limonoid bearing a C-7/28 δ -lactone ring. Additionally, 2-hydroxyltrijugin F (2), 23-oxo-21-hydroxyltrijugin F (3), and 21-oxo-23-hydroxyltrijugin F (4) are three naturally occurring limonoids with a rare C-16/8 δ -lactone ring. All isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. None of compounds exhibited cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines A-549, HepG2, 5-8F, Siha, and SCC-4 at the concentration of 40 μM. Compounds 16 and 17 showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity with IC 50 values of 28.45 ± 2.51 and 22.66 ± 2.01 μM, respectively. [Display omitted] • Four new limonoids were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Trichilia connaroides. • The structures were determined by spectroscopic methods and ECD calculations. • Selected compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. • Compounds 16 and 17 showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) have excellent optical properties, low toxicity and easy preparation, which have led to them being widely used in biomedicine, sensing and optical devices. However, although great progress has been made in the preparation of CDs, the detailed exploration of their photoluminescence (PL) mechanism is still under debate due to their complex structures and surface functionalities. Here, we proposed a single change in the pH of the synthesis condition, which had no effect on the CDs intrinsic core states and avoided the mutual influence of multiple PL origins. The m-phenylenediamine (m–PD) served as a carbon source, whose protonation degree determined the surface state of the resulting CDs and the accompanying fluorescence characteristics. The as-obtained CDs materials can be applied in the chemical sensor and anti-counterfeiting fields in a targeted manner. Therefore, our work not only contributes to the explanation of the CDs PL mechanism, but also obtains a series of CDs materials with controllable PL properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a distributed aerobic composting system was proposed and simulated assisted by a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) heat pump. The PV/T heat pump was adopted to provide the electrical energy and heat energy required by the aerobic composting system. In addition, the area of solar photovoltaic panels required for compost fermenter at different volumes was calculated, and the effects of ambient temperatures, wind speeds and solar radiation intensities on the performance exhibited by the hybrid system were investigated. As indicated from the result, when the temperature of the composting tank was maintained at 60 °C, the C/N ratio can be reduced to 11.5:1 and the GI can reach 101.7%, satisfied the compost maturity standard. Moreover, as the ambient temperature decreased, the heat loss of the composting system and the energy consumption of the hybrid system increased. The wind speed did not significantly impact the comprehensive performance exhibited by the system. Under the average solar radiation of 600 W/m2, a maximum of 10 m2 PV/T panels could be installed on the top of a standard container, and a maximum of 6000L of aerobic composting system could be installed within the container. Accordingly, the 6000L composting system coupling with PV/T heat pump could generate 85.64 kWh electricity in one period (10 days) without consuming energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of color consistency correction for multiple images mainly arises from applications like orthoimage producing, panoramic image stitching and 3D reconstruction. In these applications, images usually have been geometrically aligned. So correspondences can be easily extracted and used to solve color correction models. Almost all previous methods assume that the color residuals of correspondences follow Gaussian distribution and solve color models based on least squares. However, correspondences often contain unreliable ones due to altered areas and misalignments, which results in unusual large color residuals, namely, outliers. Imposing color consistency constaints on unreliable correspondences significantly affects the performance of color correction since Gaussian is highly sensitive to outliers. In this paper, to solve this problem theoretically, we first propose a unified probabilistic framework that formulates global color correction as a maximum posteriori probability (MAP) estimation. It is flexible enough to allow for any assumptions of residual distribution. And most color correction methods can be explained in this unified framework. Then, to robust against outliers, we use t -distribution with heavier tails than Gaussian to fit the color residuals. It is more robust because higher probabilities can be assigned to outliers. We show that the MAP formulation based on t -distribution actually leads to weighted least squares, which downweights outliers adaptively. Besides, our framework requires no user-defined robustness parameter. Because all parameters of color models and t -distribution are optimized jointly. In addition, to decrease the huge computational cost of large scale dataset, we extend the proposed framework to a parallel vesion which can achieve efficiency and global optimal at the same time. In the experiments, we compare our approach with the state-of-the-art approaches of Shen et al., Xia et al., etc. on several challenging datasets with outliers. The results demonstrate that our approach achieves the best robustness (average color consistency scores CD= 5.4 , DeltaE2000= 5.7 and PSNR= 24.0) and the best efficiency (given 100 images, non-parallel/parallel runs more than 5/50 times faster than others). The implementation is available at https://github.com/yinxuanLi/ColorConsistencyCorrectionForMultipleImages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure from motion (SfM) recovers scene structures and camera poses based on feature matching, and faces challenges from ambiguous scenes. There are a large number of ambiguous scenes in real environment, which contain many duplicate structures and textures. The ambiguity leads to incorrect feature matches between images with similar appearance, and makes geometric misalignment in SfM. To address this problem, recent methods have focused on investigating the inconsistencies in feature topology among multi-view images. However, the feature topology is directly derived from 2D images. Thus, it is susceptible to feature occlusion caused by changes in perspective. Therefore, we propose a new method that disambiguates scenes using pose consistency rather than feature consistency. The pose consistency is conducted in 3D geometric space which is less sensitive to feature occlusion. Thus, the pose consistency is more robust than feature consistency. Our core motivation lies that the incorrect matches between ambiguous images will cause pose deviation from the global poses generated by correct matches. To detect this pose deviation, we first combine local and global information of the scene to generate the global reliable camera poses. The local information of each image is obtained by image clustering, and it strengthens the global information that is represented as the verified maximum spanning tree of clusters. Then, the global poses serve as the reference for further pose consistency verification. The global poses also enable us to perform both rotation and translation consistency verification for uncertain matches. During the pose consistency verification, the pose deviation calculated on image-level may be too small to be noticed. Thus, we propose to perform pose consistency verification at cluster-level instead of image-level to amplify the pose deviation. In the experiments, we compared our approach with several state-of-the-art methods, including COLMAP, Geodesic-SfM and TC-SfM, on both ambiguous and regular datasets. The results demonstrate that our approach achieves the best robustness, only our approach succeeds on all ambiguous image sequences (14/14). The quantitative evaluation results on image sequences with ground truth also show that our approach achieves the best accuracy (average RMSE of translation = 0.109, average RMSE of rotation = 0.827) among all methods. The source code of our approach is publicly available at https://github.com/gongyeted/MA-SfM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The McKeown minimally invasive esophagectomy (McMIE) procedure has various limitations, including surgical contraindications and a high rate of postoperative pulmonary complications. A novel mediastinoscopic esophagectomy procedure was described in this study by using esophageal invagination and a transhiatal and bilateral cervical approach (EITHBC). Methods: According to the mode of operation, a total of 259 patients were divided into two groups, among which 106 underwent EITHBC and 153 underwent McMIE. The number of lymph nodes dissected, intraoperative outcomes, and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups of patients. Results: The results revealed that the average number of resected lymph node in the EITHBC group was significantly higher in the recL106 and TbL106 stations (recL106: 1.75 vs. 1.51, p = 0.016, TbL106: 1.53 vs. 1.19, p = 0.016) and significantly lower in the 107 stations (1. 74 vs. 2. 07, p < 0.001) than in the McMIE group. The intraoperative blood loss in the EITHBC group was significantly lower than that in the McMIE group (63.30 vs. 80.45 mL, p < 0.001). The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in the EITHBC group was lower than that in the McMIE group (14.15% vs. 27.45%, p = 0.008). The incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis in the EITHBC group was significantly higher than that in the McMIE group (26.41% vs. 10.46%, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Compared with the McMIE procedure, the EITHBC procedure has advantages in terms of removing the upper mediastinal lymph nodes and reducing postoperative pulmonary complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flowering loci of cabbage must be understood to boost their productivity. In this study, to clarify the flowering mechanisms of cabbage, we examined the three flowering repressors BoFLC1, 2 and 3, and the flowering regulators BoGI, BoCOOLAIR, and BoVIN3 of early (CAB1), middle (CAB3), and late (CAB5) flowering cabbage genotypes. Analysis of allele-specifically amplified genomic DNA and various sequence alignments demonstrated that maximal insertions and deletions influenced cabbage flowering behavior, notably in CAB3 and CAB5. Phylogenetic studies showed that BoFLC1, 2, and 3 in the CAB1, 3, and 5 genotypes had the highest homologies to other Brassica species, with CAB3 and 5 the most similar. Although CAB3 and CAB5 have comparable genetic patterns, flowering repressors and flowering regulators were investigated individually with and without vernalization to determine their minor flowering differences. The expression investigation revealed that vernalized CAB5 downregulated all BoFLC genes compared to CAB3 and, in contrast, CAB3 exhibited upregulated BoCOOLAIR. We hypothesized that the CAB3 BoFLC locus' additional insertions may have led to BoCOOLAIR overexpression and BoFLC downregulation. This study sheds light on cabbage genotypes—particularly those of CAB1 and CAB5—and suggests that structural variations in BoFLC2 and 3 bind flowering regulators, such as COOLAIR, which may affect cabbage flowering time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic intestinal inflammatory diseases with unknown etiology. Gap junctions composed of connexins (Cxs) have been recently validated as an important factor in the development of IBD. Under IBD-induced inflammatory response in the gut, gap junctions connect multiple signaling pathways involved in the interaction between inflammatory cells with other intestinal cells, which altogether mediate the development of IBD. This paper is a narrative review aiming to comprehensively elucidate the biological function of connexins, especially the ubiquitously and predominantly expressed Cx43, in the pathogenesis of IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Freezing injury is a devastating yet common damage that occurs to winter rapeseed during the overwintering period which directly reduces the yield and causes heavy economic loss. Thus, it is an important and urgent task for crop breeders to find the freezing-tolerant rapeseed materials in the process of breeding. Existing large-scale freezing-tolerant rapeseed material recognition methods mainly rely on the field investigation conducted by the agricultural experts using some professional equipments. These methods are time-consuming, inefficient and laborious. In addition, the accuracy of these traditional methods depends heavily on the knowledge and experience of the experts. Methods: To solve these problems of existing methods, we propose a low-cost freezing-tolerant rapeseed material recognition approach using deep learning and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images captured by a consumer UAV. We formulate the problem of freezing-tolerant material recognition as a binary classification problem, which can be solved well using deep learning. The proposed method can automatically and efficiently recognize the freezing-tolerant rapeseed materials from a large number of crop candidates. To train the deep learning network, we first manually construct the real dataset using the UAV images of rapeseed materials captured by the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. Then, five classic deep learning networks (AlexNet, VGGNet16, ResNet18, ResNet50 and GoogLeNet) are selected to perform the freezing-tolerant rapeseed material recognition. Result and conclusion: The accuracy of the five deep learning networks used in our work is all over 92%. Especially, ResNet50 provides the best accuracy (93.33 % ) in this task. In addition, we also compare deep learning networks with traditional machine learning methods. The comparison results show that the deep learning-based methods significantly outperform the traditional machine learning-based methods in our task. The experimental results show that it is feasible to recognize the freezing-tolerant rapeseed using UAV images and deep learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monochiral single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are promising materials with potential applications in 3D integrated circuits and optoelectronic hybrid circuits. However, the purity and device performance of monochiral SWCNTs are still far lower than expected. Here, the authors demonstrate that specific monochiral SWCNTs can be wrapped by conjugated polymers containing pyridine units, and the supramolecular assemblies show surprising suspension stability even after high‐intensity ultracentrifugation. Additionally, two novel methods are developed, namely, enhanced ultracentrifugation (E‐UCG) and stepwise extraction processing (STEP), which successfully achieve isolation of (10,8) and (12,5) SWCNTs with respective diameters of 1.24 and 1.2 nm at high monochiral purity (92.3% and 95.6%). Their S11 absorption and fluorescence emission peaks are both at ≈1.5 µm (optical telecommunications C‐band). Both micro‐ and nanoscale field‐effect transistor (FET) devices can be fabricated from the as‐isolated (10,8) SWCNTs, and these FETs exhibit excellent electrical performance and a high semiconducting purity of up to 99.94%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new isobenzofuranone derivatives (1 and 2) together with six known compounds (3–8) were isolated from the roots of Phlomis betonicoides, a highly sweet plant in China. Their structures were determined by means of HR-ESI-MS and extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies. Compounds 1–8 were tested for their anti-rotavirus activity. The results showed that compounds 1–8 exhibited potent anti-rotavirus activity with therapeutic index value 7.5–16.4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four panels with a semicircular arch structure comprised of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates are subjected to low-velocity impact, compression-after-impact (CAI), and quasi-static compression tests. Mechanical response and the failure mechanism of the complex structure are investigated with the assistance of a three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) system and numerical simulation based on Hashin’s failure criteria in Abaqus software. The results show that the addition of a semicircular arch can absorb more incident energy during the impact process. The failure modes of the panels are depended on the semicircular arch dimension, and excellent anti-impact performance is found in the semicircular arch with a diameter close to the impactor. Meanwhile, the CAI strength is increased with the semicircular arch size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a comprehensive multi-classification model that combines radiomics and clinic-radiological features to accurately predict the invasiveness and differentiation of pulmonary adenocarcinoma nodules. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort comprising 500 patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma between January 2020 and December 2022. The dataset included preoperative CT images and histological reports of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS, n = 97), minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA, n = 139), and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC, n = 264) with well-differentiated (WIAC, n = 99), moderately differentiated (MIAC, n = 84), and poorly differentiated IAC (PIAC, n = 81). The patients were classified into two groups (IAC and non-IAC) for binary classification and further divided into three and five groups for multi-classification. Feature selection was performed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm to identify the most informative radiomics and clinic-radiological features. Eight machine learning (ML) models were developed using these features, and their performance was evaluated using accuracy (ACC) and the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The combined model, utilizing the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, demonstrated improved performance in the testing cohort, achieving an AUC of 0.942 and an ACC of 0.894 for the two-classification task. For the three- and five-classification tasks, the combined model employing the one versus one strategy of SVM (SVM-OVO) outperformed other models, with ACC values of 0.767 and 0.607, respectively. The AUC values for histological subtypes ranged from 0.787 to 0.929 in the testing cohort, while the Macro-AUC and Micro-AUC of the multi-classification models ranged from 0.858 to 0.896. Conclusions: A multi-classification radiomics model combined with clinic-radiological features, using the SVM-OVO algorithm, holds promise for accurately predicting the histological characteristics of pulmonary adenocarcinoma nodules, which contributes to personalized treatment strategies for patients with lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photovoltaic-thermal heat pump system, which integrates multiple energy technologies, can meet the building's diverse energy needs. This study evaluates the energy, economic, and environmental performance of a direct-expansion photovoltaic-thermal heat pump system for domestic hot water supply through a life cycle approach. The annual thermal and electrical outputs are estimated. On this basis, economic analysis is conducted with indicators of life cycle cost, levelized cost of heat, and investment payback time. Moreover, a detailed life cycle assessment is performed to evaluate the environmental impact, following three methods: cumulative energy demand, IPCC 2021 global warming potential, and ReCiPe 2016 Endpoint. Results show that the proposed system is highly effective, with a 9.67% increase in annual electricity output over traditional photovoltaic systems and a self-sufficient rate of 88.21%. The system also has a significantly lower environmental impact than conventional heating systems, with a life cycle environmental impact of only 3–5% compared to electric boilers. The environmental payback time ranges from 0.33 to 5.18 years, according to the three methods used in the study, which is shorter than the investment payback time of 2.49–5.21 years, suggesting the need for cost reduction for future promotion. Moreover, electricity consumption during the operation stage accounts for 32–52% of the total environmental impacts. Thus, decarbonization of the power grid and improvements in system efficiency can significantly reduce the system's environmental footprint. Overall, the photovoltaic-thermal heat pump system is an intriguing strategy for building energy conservation, offering high energy efficiency, acceptable costs, and low environmental impact. • A direct-expansion photovoltaic-thermal heat pump system for hot water production. • Operation simulation, life cycle cost, and life cycle assessment are conducted. • Investment, energy, CO 2 , and total environment payback time are evaluated. • The main factors impacting environmental performance are identified. • The system outperforms conventional systems in energy and environmental aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A code was developed for numerical simulations of both nano- and micron-sized aluminum dust combustion in air. This code incorporates a combustion model that provides a comprehensive framework for modeling the burning of an aluminum particle under a transition regime, enabling accurate modeling of aluminum dust combustion across a wide range of particle sizes. The pseudo-transient approach was employed to solve the steady multiphase governing equations of aluminum dust combustion. The predicted variation trend of burning velocity with varying dust concentration exhibits good agreement with experimental measurements for both nano- and micron-sized aluminum dust combustion. Analyses exploring the effects of dust concentration, oxygen volume fraction and thermophoretic force on aluminum dust combustion were conducted. Simulation results indicate that introducing thermophoretic force in micron-sized aluminum dust combustion further enhances burning velocities and increases flame thicknesses compared to nano-sized aluminum dust combustion, primarily attributed to reduced gas entrainment of micron-sized aluminum particles. [Display omitted] • A code was developed for simulating nano- and micron-sized aluminum dust flames. • A model was proposed for aluminum particles burning under a transition regime. • The pseudo-transient approach was adopted to solve the steady-state flame. • The effects of thermophoretic force on aluminum dust combustion were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration of the environment, shortage of resources, and frequent occurrence of food safety issues have made people increasingly concerned about themselves while maintaining their health and protecting the environment through food. Organic food, as a healthy and eco-friendly option, is gradually gaining attention. Based on the value-belief-norm theory, this study explores why individuals consume organic food and the range of factors that lead to this consumer behavior. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from conveniently selected 300 youth participants in Bangladesh using an online survey. The findings revealed that health values and motivation have a significant positive effect on healthy eating beliefs, which, together with the awareness of the consequences, affect personal norms toward organic food consumption. Personal norms also have a significant positive effect on organic food consumption behavior among Bangladeshi youth. Finally, trust on organic food positively moderates the effect of personal norms on organic food consumption. The findings of this study are expected to foster the development of a comprehensive framework to promote programs and policies focused on organic and healthy food consumption culture among youth in developing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a radiomics nomogram based on dual-phase enhanced computed tomography (CT) for predicting the Ki-67 index status in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: 137 patients with NSCLC who had undergone dual-phase enhanced CT scans and Ki-67 examination within 2 weeks were retrospectively enrolled between January 2020 and December 2022. Clinical and laboratory data were collected, and the patients were categorized based on low or high expression of Ki-67 index, with a cut-off value of 40%. The cohort was randomly divided into a training group (n = 95) and a testing group (n = 42) at a ratio of 7:3. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm was employed to select the most valuable radiomics features from the dual-phase enhanced CT images. Subsequently, a nomogram that incorporated the radiomics score and clinical factors associated with Ki-67 index status was established through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The predictive performance of the nomogram was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC). Results: The AUC values of the radiomics features of artery phase and vein phase CT in the testing group were 0.748 and 0.758, respectively. The AUC of the dual-phase enhanced CT was 0.785, and the AUC of the developed nomogram was 0.859, which was higher than those of the radiomics (AUC, 0.785) and clinical models (AUC, 0.736). Conclusions: The radiomics nomogram based on dual-phase enhanced CT images provides a promising method for predicting the Ki-67 index status in patients with advanced NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure from motion (SfM) is used to recover camera poses and the sparse structure of real scenes from multiview images. SfM methods construct a view‐graph from the matching relationships of images. Redundancy and incorrect edges are usually observed in it. Redundancy inhibits the efficiency and incorrect edges result in the misalignment of structures. In addition, the uneven distribution of vertices usually affects the global accuracy. To address these problems, we propose a coarse‐to‐fine approach in which the poses of an extracted key‐subset of images are first computed and then all remaining images are oriented. The core of this approach is view‐graph key‐subset extraction, which not only prunes redundant data and incorrect edges but also obtains properly distributed key‐subset vertices. The extraction approach is based on a replaceability score and an iteration‐update strategy. In this way, only vertices with high SfM importance are preserved in the key‐subset. Different public datasets are used to evaluate our approach. Due to the absence of ground‐truth camera poses in large‐scale datasets, we present new datasets with accurate camera poses and point clouds. The results demonstrate that our approach greatly increases the efficiency of SfM. Furthermore, the robustness and accuracy can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has shown that etoposide (ETP), an immunomodulatory medication, can have cytotoxic effects. When accompanied by nano-drug delivery, this possibility can lead to a more effective treatment for cancer. This study involved the delivery of ETP via PDA@SPIONs (termed as ETP-PDA@SPIONs), which are superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) that have been coated with polydopamine (PDA) and utilized to treat C6 and U87 glioma cancer cell lines. The particle diameter, polydispersive index (PDI), zeta potential, and shape of nanoparticles were determined. The fabricated nanoparticles had a mean particle size of 164 ± 7 nm and a − 37 ± 3 mv zeta potential. Cell lines were tested for sensitivity to PDA@SPIONs, free-ETP, and ETP-PDA@SPIONs. On the cell lines, we tested the proliferation of PDA@SPIONs, free-ETP, and PDA@SPIONs loaded with ETP. The cytotoxicity of ETP-PDA@SPIONs was substantially higher than that of free-ETP-treated cells. The cells' morphological changes were examined by dual staining (acridine orange/ethidium bromide, AO/EB) and nuclear staining methods. Interestingly, this inhibitory impact was not ascribed to the known cellular membrane destruction, cell membrane damage, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Further tests demonstrated that the nanoparticles substantially impacted mitochondrial functioning, resulting in an aberrant mitochondrial shape, and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Future studies into glioma cancer therapy may want to investigate using the proposed ETP-loaded nanoparticles. [Display omitted] • We establish that Etoposide with polydopamine coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. • The particle diameter, polydispersive index, zeta potential, and shape of nanoparticles were determined. • C6 and U87 glioma cells were tested cytotoxicity by MTT assay. • The cells' morphological changes were examined by acridine orange/ethidium bromide and nuclear staining. • Nanoparticles were induced apoptosis in mitocandrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]