Search

Ultra‐high‐performance cementitious composite (UHPCC) incurs higher economic costs and resource wastage due to its high cement/silica fume (SF) content. The paper aims to achieve sustainability and environmental friendliness of UHPCC by substituting cement/SF with glass powder (GP). The influence of various GP particle sizes and substitution levels on the mechanical properties of UHPCC was investigated. X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were employed to analyze the impact of GP on the hydration process of UHPCC from a microscopic perspective. In addition, the internal damage pattern of GP‐UHPCC was simulated by the RFPA3D program. The results show that the addition of GP could achieve superior fluidity than GP‐0. Compared to conventional UHPCC, GP‐20 exhibits improved strength, initial flexural toughness, and residual flexural toughness. Furthermore, finer GP particle sizes contribute to enhanced matrix strength and flexural energy absorption capacity to some extent. Additionally, the incorporation of 5%–20% GP leads to an increase in the characteristic peaks of hydrated lime and C‐S‐H gel, which are beneficial to improving the internal microstructure of the matrix. Based on the RFPA3D program, the crack area, principal stress distribution, and acoustic emission energy of specimens with 15%–25% GP substitution levels were significantly higher than those of specimens with low substitution levels (0%–10%). Generally speaking, a GP substitution level of 15%–25% is found the most effective range for improving strength, and toughness behavior in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic refrigeration (MR) technology possesses the potential to substitute conventional gas compression technology. It is necessary to find MR materials suitable for a variety of applications. In this study, La 0.65 Sr 0.35- x Eu x Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.075, 0.10) (LSE x MNO) ceramics were prepared using a sol-gel synthesis process. The LSE x MNO ceramics were confirmed to be the R ‾ 3c space group (rhombohedral structure) by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The particles of LSE x MNO ceramic particles were irregular polyhedral particles by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition of LSE x MNO was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Magnetic Property Measurement System (MPMS) demonstrated that the LSE x MNO ceramics display second-order magnetic phase transitions (SOMPT) around Curie temperature (T C). When the Eu3+ doping level increased, the Mn–O–Mn bond angle and length increased, weakening the exchange coupling of the Mn4+-O2--Mn3+ channel and decreasing the T C. As the amount of Eu3+ doping varied, the maximum magnetic entropy (– Δ S M Max) of the LSE x MNO ceramics peaked at 4.03 J kg−1K−1 and cooling efficiency parameter (RCP) = 291.2 J kg−1 at x = 0.075. The Modified Arrott plots (MAP) and Kouvel-Fisher (K–F) approaches were applied for the purpose of certifying the critical exponents of LSE 0.075 MNO ceramics conform to the Mean Filed model. Compared with other magnetic materials, it displays an excellent magnetocaloric effect (MCE) with a T C of 299 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grinding force directly affects the grinding equipment performance, the grinding tool wear, and the machined surface quality, and it is an important grinding performance indicator. In this paper, a tangential force prediction model is established for robot abrasive belt grinding (RABG) of nickel-based superalloy. According to the shape characteristics of grits and the interaction mechanism between grits and workpiece, the tangential components of cutting force and frictional force on the grits are determined. On this basis, the tangential force prediction model is established by the grit protrusion height distribution and the elastic contact theory. In addition, according to the wear characteristics of the structured abrasive belt, the expression of grit distribution density (i.e. the number of grits per unit area) is obtained and applied to the tangential force model. The force model is evaluated by the verification experiment, and the results show that it has good prediction ability. At the same time, this paper discusses the influence of grinding parameters on tangential force, and reveals the material removal characteristics of RABG of nickel-based superalloy based on the analysis of the tangential force and the morphology characteristics of grinding surfaces and chips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy was treated by deep cryogenic treatment combined with T6 treatment to obtain excellent properties. The hardness of the alloy was measured by a Vickers hardness tester. The corrosion behaviors of the alloy were monitored by electrochemical techniques and scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the microstructures of the alloy were examined by transmission electron microscope. The results show that after deep cryogenic treatment, the hardness and corrosion resistance of the alloy will be optimized, and the corrosion resistance and hardness will be strongly affected by the precipitate state. When the distance between grain boundary precipitates becomes larger and discontinuous, the corrosion resistance will be significantly improved. When the amount of matrix precipitates is large, the fine dispersion distribution can well increase the hardness. The best combination of the hardness and corrosion resistance is exhibited for the alloy treated at −196°C for 10 h with aging treatment at 120°C for 16 h, the hardness, the intergranular corrosion depth, the current density, and the corrosion rate are 189.6 HV, 31.8 μm, 0.0019 mA/cm2, and 0.0022 mm/a, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Soil fauna are potential regulators of plant pathogens and soil nutrient cycles. However, direct evidence demonstrating faunal controls over pathogens and plant diseases is still limited. Interactions between diverse faunal groups, soilborne pathogen, and microbial community remain elusive. Methods: The fungivorous nematode Aphelenchus avenae, two collembolan species (Hypogastrura perplexa and Sinella curviseta), and their combinations were introduced to test their suppression effects on the soilborne fungus Pythium ultimum in tomato, and impacts on microbial biomass and activities in soil. Results: The introduction of A. avenae, H. perplexa and combinations of three faunal species decreased tomato seedlings damping-off incidence, and nematode suppressed P. ultimum population in the microcosms. The damping-off disease suppression efficiency is different between faunal treatments, with A. avenae and diverse faunal treatments were more efficient, followed by H. perplexa. The disease suppression effects of S. curviseta were poor. This may be attributed to the non-specific feeding preference of collembolan, different spatial niches and body size of three species. Furthermore, A. avenae and H. perplexa inoculation increased the soil respiration. S. curviseta increased the microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in microcosms compared with other faunal treatments. These suggest that activities of soil fauna may promote microbial turnover and nutrient cycling to alleviate plant disease. Conclusion: Fungivorous nematode A. avenae and collembola H. perplexa can promote the activities of soil microbes, and alleviate damping-off disease incidence caused by P. ultimum in tomato. Effective management of soil fauna is recommended to control root pathogens and maintain tomato health in organic farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of perfusion strategies supporting ultra-high cell growth and productivity for the intensified perfusion cultures (IPC) is very challenging. In this study, a novel approach was developed to address this issue by utilizing the shake tube semi-continuous bioreactors (ST) combining with a concentrated feed from the traditional fed-batch (TFB) platform. First, the impact of operating conditions in the ST were evaluated to identify those that best reflected the cell performance for the benchtop perfusion bioreactors (STR). Subsequently, the optimization of several key process parameters was performed in the ST along with the metabolic data obtained for the design of the IPC. Further, an empirical model to predict culture osmolarity was developed, verified, and subsequently utilized to determine the best combinations of the basal and feed perfusion rates ensuring the optimal osmolarity at the targeted viable cell density for the IPC process. Finally, the designed perfusion strategies were successfully validated in two IPC processes operated at 80 and 100×106 cells/m in the 3-L STR with an approximate 9-fold increase in cumulative titers compared to the TFB process. Overall, this study offers a novel and prospective method for the effective development of the IPC process to achieve significant process intensification. • A novel method was presented for the effective development of the IPC. • An empirical model was developed for the design of suitable perfusion strategies. • Significant reduction in medium consumption and increase in productivity were realized in the IPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subunit vaccines with high purity and safety are gradually becoming a main trend in vaccinology. However, adjuvants such as interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) are required to enhance immune responses of subunit vaccines due to their poor immunogenicity. The conjugation of antigen with adjuvant can induce more potent immune responses compared to the mixture of antigen and adjuvant. At the same time, the selection of linker, indispensable in the construction of the stable and bioactive fusion proteins, is complicated and time-consuming. The development of immunoinformatics and structural vaccinology approaches provides a means to address the abovementioned problem. Therefore, in this study, a E2-IFN-γ fusion protein with an optimal linker (E2-R2-PIFN) was designed by bioinformatics approaches to improve the immunogenicity of the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) E2 subunit vaccine. Moreover, the E2-R2-PIFN fusion protein was expressed in HEK293T cells and the biological effects of IFN-γ in E2-R2-PIFN were confirmed in vitro via Western blotting. Here, an alternative method is utilized to simplify the design and validation of the antigen-adjuvant fusion protein, providing a potential subunit vaccine candidate against CSFV. Key points: • An effective and simple workflow of antigen-adjuvant fusion protein design and validation was established by immunoinformatics and structural vaccinology. • A novel E2-IFN-γ fusion protein with an optimal linker was designed as a potential CSFV vaccine. • The bioactivity of the newly designed fusion protein was preliminarily validated through in vitro experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zr55.7Cu22.4Ni7.2Al14.7 alloy bars were prepared by copper mold suction casting, and the structure and thermodynamic properties of the prepared specimens were characterized by X-ray diffractometer and differential scanning calorimeter. Furthermore, isothermal crystallization mechanism and crystallization activation energy were investigated by Johnson–Mehl–Avrami model and Arrhenius equation. The results show that the structure of the specimen is amorphous. The glass transition temperature (Tg), onset crystallization temperature (Tx) and crystallization peak temperature (Tp) are 713 K, 779 K, and 781 K, respectively, and supercooled liquid region ( Δ T = T x - T g ) is 66 K. The crystallization incubation times are shortened and the crystallization transformation rates increase with temperature rising. As the crystallization volume fraction increases, the crystallization nucleation rate shows a trend of first increasing and subsequently decreasing, while the activation energy decreases monotonously, in the same time, the crystallization behavior transforms from interface-controlled to diffusion-controlled growth. The thermal stability of amorphous alloy is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption materials are a cost-effective and simple method for oil spill remediation, but their efficiency is limited by high crude oil viscosity. Additionally, non-degradable materials pose another risk of secondary pollution, such as microplastic debris. Here, an environmentally-friendly stereo-complex polylactide composite (SCC) aerogel were developed via water-assisted thermally induced phase separation. The SCC with 3 wt% carbon nanotubes had a hierarchical structure of micro/nanoscale pores and high content of stereo-complex crystallites (35.7 %). Along with the excellent water repellency (water contact angle: 157°), SCC aerogel was 2.7 times as resistant to hydrolysis than poly(l -lactide) aerogel (Ph = 13, 37 °C). Additionally, a maximum absorption capacity of 41.2 g g−1 and over 97 % oil/water separation efficiency after 10 cycles were obtained in low viscosity conditions; while in high viscosity conditions, it displayed excellent photothermal performance, reaching a surface temperature of 85 °C under 1 sunlight, reducing crude oil absorption time from 42 min to 60 s (97.6 %-time savings). Moreover, it facilitated continuous crude oil spill recovery under sunlight with an adsorption rate of 3.3 × 104 kg m−3 h−1. The SCC aerogel presents a potential route for utilizing solar energy in crude oil adsorption applications without additional environmental burden. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the unknown power history of fuel elements in a pebble-bed High-Temperature Reactor, the traditional method of calculating transuranic isotopes through forward burnup calculations using initial loading data is not applicable. This paper presents a novel method for estimating transuranic isotopes within fuel elements in pebble bed HTR. It involves the power history inversion model using activity vector detectable by the online Burnup Measurement System of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Pebble bed Module to predict the power history of the fuel elements. Subsequently, transuranic isotopes are calculated through a forward burnup process. To check the performance of the burnup equation inverse model. Nuclear Inventory Tool were used to generate database that provides known activity vector as target and corresponding power history of a fuel element. Results show that the inverse model leads to a more stable convergence, effectively reconstructing the complex power history. The integrated power estimation error remains below 0.2%, with prediction errors for ten transuranic isotopes of interest below 1.5%. • A novel method for precise transuranic isotope calculation in pebble-bed High Temperature Reactors. • A robust power history inversion model enabling the reconstruction of fuel element power histories is introduced. • The model employs equal weights of activity vector and virtual power curve to adapt to real rector conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cause of cancer-associated deaths; however, its treatment options are limited. Despite clinical improvements, chemotherapy resistance and metastasis are major challenges in improving the prognosis and quality of life of patients with GC. Therefore, effective prognostic biomarkers and targets associated with immunological interventions need to be identified. Solute carrier family 2 member 2 (SLC2A2) may serve a role in tumor development and invasion. The present study aimed to evaluate SLC2A2 as a prospective prognostic marker and chemotherapeutic target for GC. SLC2A2 expression in several types of cancer and GC was analyzed using online databases, and the effects of SLC2A2 expression on survival prognosis in GC were investigated. Clinicopathological parameters were examined to explore the association between SLC2A2 expression and overall survival (OS). Associations between SLC2A2 expression and immune infiltration, immune checkpoints and IC50 were estimated using quantification of the tumor immune contexture from human RNA-seq data, the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0 database and the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database. Differential SLC2A2 expression and the predictive value were validated using the Human Protein Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. SLC2A2 expression was downregulated in most types of tumor but upregulated in GC. Functional enrichment analysis revealed an association between SLC2A2 expression and lipid metabolism and the tumor immune microenvironment. According to Gene Ontology term functional enrichment analysis, SLC2A2-related differentially expressed genes were enriched predominantly in 'chylomicron assembly', 'plasma lipoprotein particle assembly', 'high-density lipoprotein particle', 'chylomicron', 'triglyceride-rich plasma lipoprotein particle', 'very-low-density lipoprotein particle'. 'intermembrane lipid transfer activity', 'lipoprotein particle receptor binding', 'cholesterol transporter activity' and 'intermembrane cholesterol transfer activity'. In addition, 'cholesterol metabolism', and 'fat digestion and absorption' were significantly enriched in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. Patients with GC with high SLC2A2 expression had higher levels of neutrophil and M2 macrophage infiltration and a significant inverse correlation was observed between SLC2A2 expression and MYC targets, tumor mutation burden, microsatellite instability and immune checkpoints. Furthermore, patients with high SLC2A2 expression had worse prognosis, including OS, disease-specific survival and progression-free interval. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that SLC2A2 could independently prognosticate GC and the nomogram model showed favorable performance for survival prediction. SLC2A2 may be a prospective prognostic marker for GC. The prediction model may improve the prognosis of patients with GC in clinical practice, and SLC2A2 may serve as a novel therapeutic target to provide immunotherapy plans for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article mainly investigates the problem of tracking the flight trajectory for a quadrotor aircraft with uncertain parameters and external disturbances. Combined with the model structure, the quadrotor aircraft system can be divided into position system and attitude system. Firstly, for the position system with unknown parameters, some adaptive finite‐time position tracking controllers are designed based on the homogeneous system theory and finite‐time parameter estimators. For the attitude system, the uncertain parameters and external disturbances are regarded as lumped disturbances. Based on the homogeneous system theory and sliding‐mode observers, some adaptive finite‐time attitude controllers are proposed. Finally, some numerical simulation results are given to verify the control performance of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 7075 aluminium alloy was treated by combining pre-aging and thermomechanical treatment to obtain excellent comprehensive properties. The properties of the alloy were investigated by hardness, exfoliation corrosion, intergranular corrosion, and electrochemical corrosion test. The microstructure of the alloy was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the relationship between microstructure evolution and performance change was investigated. The results showed that the hardness and corrosion resistance of the alloy were improved after the combination of pre-aging and thermomechanical treatment. With the change in the pre-aging temperature, the microstructure of the alloy changed significantly. The matrix precipitates were numerous, fine, and uniformly distributed, which significantly improved the hardness of the alloy, resulting in a peak hardness of 195.2 HV. The grain boundary precipitates were rounded and independent, the distance between the precipitates became large, and the discontinuous distribution was very obvious, which destroyed the formation of corrosion channels, hindered the development of corrosion, and effectively improved the corrosion resistance of the alloy. The exfoliation corrosion rating was P. The minimum depth of intergranular corrosion was 29.3 µm. The self-corrosion current density and corrosion rate were the lowest, 0.0013 mA/cm2 and 0.0427 mm/a, respectively. • Combined with pre-aging and T8 treatment make alloy achieve excellent comprehensive properties. • Pre-aging treatment promotes the formation of precipitated phases. • The synergistic effect of the GP zones and dislocations leading to a more uniform deformation. • Discontinuous distribution of grain boundary precipitates after pre-aging treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hypoxia stress damaged intestinal morphology and barrier in Eriocheir sinensis. • Hypoxia stress induced antioxidant and immune response, and apoptosis in intestine of Chinese mitten crab. • The diversity and composition of gut microbiota were perturbed by hypoxia stress and reoxygenation. • Hypoxia stress and reoxygenation induced changes in gut microbiota were closely related with hepatopancreas and gut health. Hypoxia causes irreversible damage to aquatic animals. However, few reports have explored the effect of hypoxia stress and reoxygenation on intestinal homeostatic imbalance and consequent hepatopancreas-intestine axis health in crustacean. Herein, 180 Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) were equally divided into control (DO 7.0 ± 0.2 mg/L) and treatment groups. The treatment group was exposed with continuous hypoxic stress (DO 3.0 ± 0.1 mg/L) for 96 h and then reoxygenated (DO 6.9 ± 0.1 mg/L) for 96 h. The effects on intestines and hepatopancreas of Chinese mitten crab were investigated, and the role of gut microbiota in hypoxia induced damages was explored. Hypoxia impaired intestinal tissue structure, and decreased swelling and the number of goblet cells, which are features that did not significantly improve after reoxygenation. With prolonged hypoxic stress, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (LDH, SOD and CAT) and MDA content in intestine were significantly elevated. Moreover, the level of oxidative stress increased, which led to upregulated apoptosis rate and expression of apoptosis-related genes (Caspase 3, Caspase 8 and BAX). In addition, the expression of immune related genes (MyD88, ALF1, Relish and Crustin) in hepatopancreas and intestine was both significantly induced under hypoxia, which activated the immune defense mechanism of Chinese mitten crab to adapt to the hypoxic environment. Furthermore, diversity and relative abundance of gut microbiota decreased noticeably during hypoxic stress; the number of beneficial bacteria downregulated. Finally, KEGG pathway analysis revealed that nine pathways were significantly enriched in intestinal microorganisms, including autoimmune disease and environmental adaptation. Collectively, these results suggested that hypoxia negatively affected E. sinensis health by triggering oxidative stress, altering the composition of the gut microbiota and inhibiting the immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Alkaline salts promote the formation of elastic egg white gel with low lightness. • Ionic strength and pH act differently in modulating the protein aggregation state. • The extent of protein aggregates cross-linking affected digestibility of the gel. In this study, the thermal gelation and digestion properties of hen egg white (hen EW) proteins with different salts were investigated. Results show that the addition of neutral salt - sodium chloride (NaCl) decreased the gel hardness/resilience, increased gel lightness, aggregated particle size and digestibility of hen EW proteins significantly. In contrast, alkaline salts – phosphate and carbonate addition increased the gel resilience and strain tolerance as well as reduced the aggregated particle size and gel lightness of hen EW proteins due to the increase of solution pH and negative charge. Correlation analysis shows that the digestibility of hen EW gels was affected by gel viscoelasticity, molecule forces and texture. In conclusion, thermal gelation properties of hen EW proteins could be modulated by salts with different pH/ionic strength, and thus affected the protein digestion and peptide released. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zr 55·7 Cu 22·4 Al 14.7 Ni 7.2 alloy rods with a diameter of 3 mm were prepared by copper mold suction casting. The microstructure, thermomechanical properties and high temperature plastic deformation behavior of the alloy specimens before and after uniaxial compression in supercooled liquid region (SLR) were investigated by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimeter and microcomputer-controlled electronic universal testing machine. And the effects of different deformation conditions on the thermomechanical properties and microhardness of the specimens after high temperature deformation were analyzed. The results show that during plastic deformation in SLR, this alloy exhibits stress overshoot in the low temperature region - high strain rate conditions, exhibiting non-Newtonian fluid properties, while alloy softening occurs in the high temperature region - medium to high strain rate, showing the deformation behavior of a Newtonian fluid. The alloy crystallizes after deformation at high temperature and low strain rate (750 K, 2 × 10−4 s−1 and 760 K, 2 × 10−4 s−1∼5 × 10−4 s−1), generating dendritic τ 3 phase (Zr 51 Cu 28 Al 21), while still maintaining an amorphous structure in the low and medium temperature region, but this structure has part of the amorphous matrix that has been transformed into ordered clusters of atoms, and the degree of transformation increases sharply with decreasing strain rate, which in turn causes a sharp reduction in the crystallization incubation period and the exothermic enthalpy of crystallization. And the effect of high temperature deformation on the Vickers microhardness of metallic glass was analyzed. • Zr-based metallic glass shows superplastic deformability in the supercooled liquid region. • The alloy deformed at high temperatures and low strain rates will crystallize and produce τ 3 phase. • Deformed at the lower temperature, the structure of alloy is changed into ordered atomic clusters. • Ordered atomic clusters in the alloy lead to a shortening of the crystallization incubation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• As the K concentration increases from 0.05 to 0.15, the Tc of the sample gradually increases. In A site doping, the Curie temperature (Tc) of La 0.75 K 0.05 Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 is nearer to room temperature. The Tc of La 0.75 K 0.05 Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 sample is 305 K. • We use Banerjee's criterion and phenomenological universal curves to prove that the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic (PM-FM) transformation of the samples is a second order magnetic phase transition. • The K+ doped La 0.7 K 0.1 Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 sample has a maximum magnetic entropy change of 4.11 J/kg K at a temperature of 315 K, and its RCP is 288.15 J/kg under external magnetic field variation. This material can potentially be one of the candidates that can be used to develop the magnetic refrigeration technology. • By comparing with other magnetic materials, we know that La 0.8-x K x Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) samples have large magnetic entropy change and RCP compared to other magnetic materials. Indicating that the samples have good potential for magnetic refrigeration applications. This paper investigated the effect of A-site doping K+ on the structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3. La 0.8-x K x Sr 0.2 Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 (LKSMNO) were synthesized by the sol–gel (S–G) method. The XRD analysis and refinement have revealed that LKSMNO were the rhombohedral structure of the R-3c space group (No. 167) and the cell volume increased with increasing K+ doping. The ratio of Mn4+/Mn3+ becomes larger with the increase of K+ content. The magnetic studies indicate that the Curie temperature (TC) of LKSMNO increases from 305 K to 320 K with the increase of K+, and the second order magnetic phase transition occurs around the TC. When the external magnetic field (H) is 5 T, the maximum magnetic entropy changes (- Δ S M m a x ) were 4.00 J/(kg K), 4.11 J/(kg K), and 3.39 J/(kg K), respectively, near TC. The relative cooling power (RCP) of LKSMNO were 272.28 J/kg, 288.15 J/kg, and 304.90 J/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zr 55.7 Cu 22.4 Ni 7.2 Al 14.7 alloy rods with a diameter of 3 mm were prepared by copper mold suction casting. The structure, thermodynamic properties and plastic deformation behavior of the specimens before and after compression in supercooled liquid region were studied by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and uniaxial compression machine (equipped with a high-temperature oven). The range of thermal forming process parameters was also discussed. The results show that the alloys have obvious glass transition and crystallization kinetics, and the crystallization activation energies obtained by the Kissinger and Ozawa equations are 297.1 kJ/mol and 294.9 kJ/mol, respectively. The amorphous alloys exhibit stress overshoot in low temperature region at high strain rates and deformation behavior of alloy softening in high temperature region at medium to high strain rates. Meanwhile, the viscosity of the alloy remains approximately constant at 740 K and 750 K, showing Newtonian fluid characteristic. It can be concluded that the optimal thermoplastic forming process ranges from 740 K to 750 K, 5 × 10−4 s−1 to 5 × 10−3 s−1. The crystallization activation energies of the specimens after deformation are slightly higher than before, and they increase with the increase of strain rate. • Zr-based bulk amorphous alloy has a good thermodynamic stability, which facilitates thermoplastic forming. • The amorphous alloy shows superplastic deformability at high temperatures and strain rates. • The crystallization activation energies of the deformed specimens are higher than that of the undeformed. • The crystallization activation energies of the alloys after deformation increase with increasing strain rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large quantities of antigens are required since protective antigens, such as classical swine fever virus (CSFV) E2 protein, are widely used in diagnostic reagents and subunit vaccines. Compared to clonal cell lines and transient gene expression, stable cell pools provide a potential alternative platform to rapidly produce large amounts of antigens. In this work, firstly, Human embryonic kidney 293 T (HEK293T) cell pools expressing E2 protein were developed by transduction of lentiviral vectors. On the one hand, the SP7 was selected from 7 well-performing signal peptides to remarkably increase the production of E2 protein. On the other hand, it was found that high MOI could improve the expression of E2 protein by increasing gene copy numbers. Moreover, the HEK293T cell pools were evaluated for stability by passages and batch cultures, demonstrating that the cell pools were stable for at least 90 days. And then, the performance of the cell pools in batch, fed-batch, and semi-perfusion was studied. Among them, the titer of E2 protein was up to 2 g/L in semi-perfusion, which is currently the highest to the authors' knowledge. Finally, the aggregations and immunogenicity of the E2 protein were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunization of mice, respectively. There was no significant difference in aggregations and antibody titers of E2 protein in three culture methods. These results suggest that stable HEK293T cell pools are a promising and robust platform for rapid and efficient production of recombinant proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Firstly, a robust discrete-time non-smooth consensus protocol solves that consensus problem for the first-order leaderless multi-agent systems with external disturbance and discrete-time feedback. • Then, a discrete-time super-twisting observer is proposed to estimate the multi-agent systems disturbance. Combining the robust discrete-time non-smooth consensus protocol and discrete-time super-twisting observer, we get a new consensus protocol. The superiorities of this method contains two aspects, i.e., the disturbance rejection ability and a smaller consensus error. To the best authors' knowledge, the presented results in this paper are novel in the literature. In this paper, we firstly consider the consensus problems of first-order leaderless multi-agent systems with external disturbance. Then, we propose a robust discrete-time non-smooth (RDTNS) consensus protocol, which makes agents reach consensus within a region. Besides, we design a disturbance observer based on the discrete-time super-twisting algorithm (DTSTA), which can improve the disturbance rejection ability and decrease the consensus error for the multi-agent systems. At last, we get a robust discrete-time disturbance rejection control consensus protocol by combining the RDTNS consensus protocol with the discrete-time super-twisting observer (DTSTO). The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Design constant modulus waveform for MIMO radar based on the Riemannian manifold and get higher SINR. • Based on the proposed method, the total optimization time is reduced while the convergence performance is satisfactory. • The proposed method can view the constrained problem as unconstrained problem on the Riemannian manifold. • The proposed method with Riemannian manifold optimization provides some new ideas for constant modulus waveform design. This paper concentrates on MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) radar waveform design to improve SINR (signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio). Due to the constant modulus constraint, the problem is essentially an NP-hard and high dimensional problem. Many conventional methods generally transform the original problem to a convex optimization problem through relaxation. To address it more efficiently, we propose a new approach based on a Riemannian manifold, which is the product of complex circles and a Euclidean space. The original constraint problem in our proposed method is considered as unconstrained over a restricted search space. Then, the reformulated problem is solved by Riemannian conjugate gradient (RCG) algorithm efficiently. Numerical results reveal that the proposed algorithm can achieve higher SINR via different input SNR while consumes a lower computation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, nickel slag was used as raw material to hydrothermally synthesize zeolite and modified to prepare a phosphorus adsorbent. The adsorbent was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and EDS. The effects of adsorbent dosing, contact time, dosing volume, and initial concentration of solution on the adsorption effect were investigated. The results showed that the adsorbent had good adsorption performance at the optimum dosage of 8 g/L and at the solution pH at 3–11. The adsorption kinetics were in accordance with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model, and the adsorption equilibrium was reached at a contact time of 30 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity was predicted by Langmuir to be 16.61 mg/g. Therefore, the study not only effectively used industrial solid waste nickel slag to prepare adsorbents, but also effectively removed phosphorus in real water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harmless disposal of lead paste in the spent lead-acid batteries (LABs) remains an enormous challenge in traditional pyrometallurgical recycling. Here, we introduced a hydrometallurgical method for the recycling of the spent LABs' waste to obtain the β -PbO as a novel zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) active material. The obtained β -PbO exhibits ultra-flat charge/discharge voltage platforms (0.21 mV/(mAh g−1)) and stable specific capacity. During the charge/discharge, the β -PbO spontaneously triggers the formation of (ZnSO 4)[Zn(OH) 2 ] 3 ·5H 2 O (ZHS) micro-sheets as a surface passivation layer. Moreover, the ex-situ X-ray spectra reveal that the reversible phase transformation occurs between PbSO 4 and Pb with the assistance of ZHS by adjusting the PH value on the electrode-electrolyte interface. The synergistic two-phase-reaction mechanism generates ultra-flat voltage platforms upon the charge/discharge. This "energy-saving and environment-friendly" recycling route eliminates the major source of emission of pollution particulates/gases compared to the traditional pyrometallurgical recycling, while at the same time replacing energy-consuming and environmentally detrimental processes of synthesis of current ZIBs cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most common sensory disorder associated with human aging. Chronic inflammation is supposed to be an important contributor to ARHL. Yet, the underlying mechanisms of developing cochlear inflammation are still not well understood. In this study, we found that the inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and necroptosis signalings are activated in the cochlea of aged C57BL/6 mice. ER stress activator tunicamycin (TM) induced necroptosis in cochlear HEI-OC1 cells and cochlear explants, while necroptosis inhibitors protected cochlear cells from ER stress-induced cell death. The antioxidants inhibited necroptosis and protected HEI-OC1 cells from TM insults. Necroptotic HEI-OC1 cells promoted the activation of the co-cultured macrophages via Myd88 signaling. Moreover, necroptosis inhibitor protected from TM-induced hearing loss, and inhibited inflammation in C57BL/6 mice. These findings suggest that ER stress-induced necroptosis promotes cochlear inflammation and hearing loss. Targeting necroptosis serves as a potential approach for the treatment of cochlear inflammation and ARHL. • ER stress, necroptosis and inflammation signalings are activated during cochlear aging. • ER stress induces cochlear cell necroptosis partially by ROS production. • Necroptotic cochlear cells activate macrophages via Myd88 signaling. • In mouse, ER stress-induced necroptosis promotes cochlear inflammation and hearing loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Liquid nitrogen (LN) is usually used for semen cryopreservation. The most significant point is that it has no time or space restrictions, maximizing the use of high-quality males for breeding. Dry ice is also one of the earliest media used in animal semen cryopreservation. The efficiency of dry ice cryopreservation is lower than that of LN. However, compared with LN, dry ice has an advantage in transportation, as it permits express delivery and can be carried on trains and high-speed railways. Therefore, using dry ice as a cold source for preserving and transporting ultralow-temperature-preserved semen liquid has received extensive attention from scholars. It has been demonstrated in frozen semen from mice and cattle that dry ice can be used as a reliable cold source for transportation. For this reason, we simulated a dry ice transportation environment by placing ultralow-temperature-frozen semen in a foam box with sufficient dry ice to maintain it for one week. We found that one week of storage in dry ice did not cause significant damage to porcine spermatozoa. The effects on the semen were essentially the same as those of LN storage when the dry-ice-preserved spermatozoa were transferred to LN again after one week. To address the safety problems posed by the transportation of boar semen using LN, this study was conducted on the short-term storage of frozen boar semen in dry ice (−79 °C). Boar semen frozen in LN was transferred to dry ice, kept for 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, or 8 days, and then moved back to LN. The quality of frozen semen stored in LN or dry ice was determined to evaluate the feasibility of short-distance transportation with dry ice. The results showed that 60 °C for 8 s was the best condition for thawing frozen semen stored in dry ice. No significant differences in spermatozoa motility, plasma membrane integrity, or acrosome integrity were observed in semen after short-term storage in dry ice compared to LN (p > 0.05). There were no significant changes in antioxidant properties between storage groups either (p > 0.05). In conclusion, dry ice could be used as a cold source for the short-term transportation of frozen boar semen for at least 7 days, without affecting sperm motility, morphological integrity, or antioxidant indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify effective genetic markers for the Antigen Processing Associated Transporter 1 (TAP1), α (1,2) Fucosyltransferase 1 (FUT1), Natural Resistance Associated Macrophage Protein 1 (NRAMP1), Mucin 4 (MUC4) and Mucin 13 (MUC13) diarrhea-resistance genes in the local pig breeds, namely Shanghai white pigs, Fengjing pigs, Shawutou pigs, Meishan pigs and Pudong white pigs, to provide a reference for the characterization of local pig breed resources in Shanghai. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLR) and sequence sequencing were applied to analyze the polymorphisms of the above genes and to explore the effects on the immunity of Shanghai local pig breeds in conjunction with some immunity factors. The results showed that both TAP1 and MUC4 genes had antidiarrheal genotype GG in the five pig breeds, AG and GG genotypes of the FUT1 gene were detected in Pudong white pigs, AA antidiarrheal genes of the NRAMP1 gene were detected in Meishan pigs, the AB type of the NRAMP1 gene was detected in Pudong white pigs, and antidiarrheal genotype GG of the MUC13 gene was only detected in Shanghai white pigs. The MUC13 antidiarrhea genotype GG was only detected in Shanghai white pigs. The TAP1 gene was moderately polymorphic in Shanghai white pigs, Fengjing pigs, Shawutou pigs, Meishan pigs and Pudong white pigs, among which TAP1 in Shanghai white pigs and Shawutou pigs did not satisfy the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The FUT1 gene of Pudong white pigs was in a state of low polymorphism. NRAMP1 of Meishan pigs and Pudong white pigs was in a state of moderate polymorphism, which did not satisfy the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The MUC4 genes of Shanghai white pigs and Pudong white pigs were in a state of low polymorphism, and the MUC4 genes of Fengjing pigs and Shawutou pigs were in a state of moderate polymorphism, and the MUC4 genes of Fengjing pigs and Pudong white pigs did not satisfy the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The MUC13 gene of Shanghai white pigs and Pudong white pigs was in a state of moderate polymorphism. Meishan pigs had higher levels of IL-2, IL-10, IgG and TNF-α, and Pudong white pigs had higher levels of IL-12 than the other pigs. The level of interleukin 12 (IL-12) was significantly higher in the AA genotype of the MUC13 gene of Shanghai white pigs than in the AG genotype. The indicator of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the AA genotype of the TAP1 gene of Fengjing pigs was significantly higher than that of the GG and AG genotypes. The indicator of IL-12 in the AG genotype of the Shawutou pig TAP1 gene was significantly higher than that of the GG genotype. The level of TNF-α in the AA genotype of the NRAMP1 gene of Meishan pigs was markedly higher than that of the AB genotype. The IL-2 level of the AG type of the FUT1 gene was obviously higher than that of the GG type of Pudong white pigs, the IL-2 level of the AA type of the MUC4 gene was dramatically higher than that of the AG type, and the IgG level of the GG type of the MUC13 gene was apparently higher than that of the AG type. The results of this study are of great significance in guiding the antidiarrhea breeding and molecular selection of Shanghai white pigs, Fengjing pigs, Shawutou pigs, Meishan pigs and Pudong white pigs and laying the foundation for future antidiarrhea breeding of various local pig breeds in Shanghai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, four types of surfaces were prepared as follows: untreated one, dry grinding (DG), wet grinding (WG) and minimum quantity lubrication grinding (MQLG) for Ni-based single crystal superalloy. The effects of grinding conditions on the surface roughness and microstructure evolution were studied. Dry sliding tests of ground surfaces were carried out at room temperature. Through the quantitative characterization of the wear rate, the area, width and depth of the worn profiles, the friction and wear mechanism of superalloy prepared by different grinding conditions were analyzed. The results show that the MQLG surface with low surface roughness and work hardening behavior has the best wear resistance. The element transfer behavior from the GCr15 ball to the worn surface was detected by EDS analysis. The wear type is mainly abrasive wear, accompanied by slight adhesive wear and oxidation wear. It is shown that high-quality surface with nanocrystalline and high density dislocation structure produced by MQLG improves the tribological properties of superalloy, which provide theoretical guidance for the surface machining of single crystal blade to reduce fretting wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Logic gate-based fluorescent probes are powerful tools for the discriminative sensing of multiple signaling molecules that are expressed in concert during the progression of many diseases such as inflammation, cancer, aging, and other disorders. To achieve logical sensing, multiple functional groups are introduced to the different substitution sites of a single fluorescent dye, which increases the complexity of chemical synthesis. Herein, we report a simple strategy that incorporates just one responsive unit into a hemicyanine dye achieving the logic gate-based sensing of two independent analytes. We introduce boronic acid to hemicyanine to quench the fluorescence, and in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), the fluorescence is recovered due to removal of the boronate. Interestingly, the subsequent decrease in pH turned the red fluorescence of hemicyanine to green emissive because of protonation of the phenolic alcohol. This unique feature of the probe enables us to construct "INHIBIT" and "AND" logical gates for the accurate measuring of intracellular H 2 O 2 and acidic pH in tandem. This study offers insight into the simple construction of logic-gate based fluorescent probes for the tandem sensing of multiple analytes that are correlatively produced during disease progression. Logical probes HCyBA for tandem sensing of H 2 O 2 and pH by using of just one reactive unit and the construction of logic gates for diagnosis of H 2 O 2 and acid related pathological cells are reported. [Display omitted] • A general strategy to develop logic gate-based fluorescent probes for tandem sensing of H 2 O 2 and acidic pH. • Red fluorescence of the probe is activated in the presence of H 2 O 2 , and then turned green when pH decreases. • Construction of "INHIBIT" and "AND" logic gates for precise sensing of H 2 O 2 and acidic pH in cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop straw and N fertilizer applications impact paddy rice yield and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, their interactive effects have not been well documented. This study investigated the effects of straw (S), no straw incorporation (NS), and three levels of N fertilization rates (N0, N1, and N2) on single rice (SR), double rice (DR), and rice-wheat (RW) cropping systems. Straw incorporation significantly increased total CH4 emissions by 118.6%, 8.0%, and 79.0% in the SR, DR, and RW, respectively, compared to the NS. The total GHG emissions in DR are significantly 72.6% and 83.5% higher than those in RW and SR, respectively. Compared to NS, straw incorporation significantly increased yield-scaled emissions by 27.8%, 15.0%, and 89.0% in SR, DR, and RW, respectively. Straw with N application significantly increased average rice yield over N1 and N2 by 39.4%, 50.0%, and 6.7% in SR, DR, and RW, respectively. There was a significant correlation between methyl coenzyme M reductase (mcrA) and CH4 emissions in rSR = 0.87 (p < 0.05) and rRW = 0.85 (p < 0.05), except in rDR = 0.06 (p > 0.05). This study scientifically supports straw incorporation combined with a moderate N application rate in rice-based cropping systems to maintain high rice yields and mitigate GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Croplands account for ~ one‐third of global anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. A number of recent field experiments found substantial fallow‐period N2O emissions, which have been neglected for decades. However, the global contribution of the fallow‐period emissions and the associated drivers remain unclear. Based on 360 observations across global agroecosystems, we simulated the ratio of the fallow to the whole‐year N2O emissions (Rfallow) by developing a mixed‐effect model and compiling cropping‐system‐specific input data. Our results revealed that the mean global gridded Rfallow was 44% (15%–75%, 95% confidence interval), with hotspots mainly in the northern high latitudes. For most cropping systems, soil pH was the dominant driver of global variation in Rfallow. Global cropland emission factors (i.e., the percentage of fertilizer N emitted as N2O, EFs) in EF‐based models doubled to 1.9% when the fallow‐period N2O emissions were included in our simulation, similar to EFs estimated by process‐based and atmospheric inversion models (1.8%–2.3%). Overall, our study highlights the importance of fallow‐period N2O emissions in annual totals, especially for single cropping systems and croplands in acidic areas. To accurately estimate N2O emissions for national greenhouse gas inventories, it is crucial to update current EFs with full consideration of the fallow‐period N2O emissions in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shiitake mushrooms are an important edible fungus, and their nutrient content is related to their quality. With the acceleration of urbanization, there has been a serious loss of population and shortage of labor in rural areas. The problem of harvesting agricultural products after maturity is becoming more and more prominent. In recent years, deep learning techniques have performed well in classification tasks using image data. These techniques can replace the manual labor needed to classify the quality of shiitake mushrooms quickly and accurately. Therefore, in this paper, a MobileNetV3_large deep convolutional network is improved, and a mushroom quality classification model using images with complex backgrounds is proposed. First, captured image data of shiitake mushrooms are divided into three categories based on the appearance characteristics related to shiitake quality. By constructing a hybrid data set, the model's focus on shiitake mushrooms in images with complex backgrounds is improved. And the constructed data set is expanded using data enhancement methods to improve the generalization ability of the model. The total number of images after expansion is 10,991. Among them, the number of primary mushroom images is 3758, the number of secondary mushroom images is 3678, and the number of tertiary mushroom images is 3555. Subsequently, the SE module in MobileNetV3_large network is improved and processed to enhance the model recognition accuracy while reducing the network size. Finally, PolyFocalLoss and migration learning strategies are introduced to train the model and accelerate model convergence. In this paper, the recognition performance of the improved MobileNetV3_large model is evaluated by using the confusion matrix evaluation tool. It is also compared with other deep convolutional network models such as VGG16, GoogLeNet, ResNet50, MobileNet, ShuffleNet, and EfficientNet using the same experimental conditions. The results show that the improved MobileNetV3_large network has a recognition accuracy of 99.91%, a model size of 11.9 M, and a recognition error rate of 0.09% by the above methods. Compared to the original model, the recognition accuracy of the improved model is increased by 18.81% and the size is reduced by 26.54%. The improved MobileNetV3_large network model in this paper has better comprehensive performance, and it can provide a reference for the development of quality recognition and classification technologies for shiitake mushrooms cultivated in greenhouse environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: FLT-PET/CT can accurately identify and locate functional bone marrow (FBM) with hematopoietic capability, the FBM were divided into two levels as FBM1 (strongest hemopoietic ability region)and FBM2 (moderate hemopoietic ability region) via FLT-PET/CT. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dose-volume parameters of pelvic FBM and hematologic toxicity (HT) during radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy for uterine cervical/endometrial cancer. Methods: From December 2016 to September 2021, ninety-seven uterine cervical/endometrial cancer patients received intensity-modulated radiation therapy were prospectively recruited in this single-arm, prospective, phase II trial. Blood counts were reviewed weekly during radiotherapy. Single- and multifactor regression methods were used to analyze the relationships between dose-volume parameters of FBM1/2 and grade ≥ 2 HT. ROC curves were used to determine the cutoff values for the dose-volume parameters of FBM1/2. Results: The incidence of grade ≥ 2 leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia in patients during radiotherapy was 63.9%, 45.4%, 19.6% and 38.8% respectively, and the median occurrence time was the 29th, 42th, 35th and 31th day, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the Dmax of FBM1 was significantly related to grade ≥ 2 leukopenia (OR = 1.277 95% CI 1.067–1.528, P = 0.008), Dmean of FBM2 was significantly related to grade ≥ 2 thrombocytopenia (OR = 1.262 95% CI 1.066–1.494, P = 0.007), and V10 of FBM1 was significantly related to grade ≥ 2 anemia (OR = 1.198 95% CI 1.003–1.431, P = 0.046). The incidence of grade ≥ 2 leukopenia for patients with FBM1 Dmax < 53 Gy was lower than that for patients with FBM1 Dmax ≥ 53 Gy (53.4% vs. 95.8%, P < 0.001). The incidence of grade ≥ 2 thrombocytopenia in patients with FBM2 Dmean < 33 Gy was lower than that in patients with FBM2 Dmean ≥ 33 Gy (0 vs. 28.4%, P < 0.001). The incidence of grade ≥ 2 anemia for patients with FBM1 V10 < 95% was lower than that in patients with FBM1 V10 ≥ 95% (24.4% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.003). Conclusions: Grade ≥ 2 HT usually occurs in the 4th week of radiotherapy for patients with uterine cervical/endometrial cancer. The Dmax and V10 of FBM1 and the Dmean of FBM2 were significantly associated with the occurrence of grade ≥ 2 HT. The recommended optimal dose constraints were FBM1 Dmax < 53 Gy, V10 < 95%, and FBM2 Dmean <33 Gy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of K+ doping on structure, magnetic characteristics, magnetocaloric properties, and critical behavior of La 0.7-x Nd 0.1 Sr 0.2 K x Mn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O 3 (LNSKMNO) ceramics (x = 0.00, 0.05, and 0.10) were investigated. The X-ray diffraction and refinement findings revealed that LNSKMNO exhibited a distinctive rhombohedral structure of the R-3c space group (No. 167). To validate the chemical composition of LNSKMNO ceramics, EDS spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were utilized. The magnetization of LNSKMNO exhibited a temperature-dependent behavior, revealing a phase transition from the ferromagnetic (FM) phase to the paramagnetic (PM) phase at approximately the Curie temperature (Tc). By utilizing normalization and Banerjee's criterion, the magnetic phase transition of LNSKMNO was determined to be a second order magnetic phase transition. The maximal magnetic entropy (− Δ S M max) of LNSKMNO around Tc was 4.24, 4.53, and 4.07 J/(kg K) at the 5 T external magnetic field (H). The Kouvel-Fisher approach and modified Arrott plot were used for determining the values of the critical exponents of β , γ , and δ. The critical exponents for LNSKMNO ceramics generally conformed to those obtained based on the Mean-field model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF) is a serious side effect of radiation therapy, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. B10 cells, as negative B regulatory cells, play important roles in regulating inflammation and autoimmunity. However, the role of B10 cells in RIPF progression is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the role of B10 cells in aggravating RIPF and the underlying mechanism. The role of B10 cells in RIPF was studied by constructing mouse models of RIPF and depleting B10 cells with an anti-CD22 antibody. The mechanism of B10 cells in RIPF was further explored through cocultivation of B10 cells and MLE-12 or NIH3T3 cells and administration of an interleukin (IL)-10 antibody to block IL-10. B10 cell numbers increased significantly during the early stage in the RIPF mouse models compared with the controls. In addition, depleting B10 cells with the anti-CD22 antibody attenuated the development of lung fibrosis in mice. Subsequently, we confirmed that B10 cells induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and the transformation of myofibroblasts via activation of STAT3 signaling in vitro. After blockade of IL-10, it was verified that IL-10 secreted by B10 cells mediates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of myofibroblasts, thereby promoting RIPF. Our study uncovers a novel role for IL-10-secreting B10 cells that could be a new target of research for relieving RIPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline powder samples of La0.67Sr0.33−xKxMn0.95Ni0.05O3 (x = 0.1, 0.125, 0.15) (LSKMNO) were prepared using the sol–gel method (S-G) in this study. The influence of K+ doping was systematically investigated on the lattice structure, morphology, and magnetic and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of LSKMNO. Through the X-ray diffraction (XRD) to confirm the rhombohedral structure of LSKMNO. The magnetic results showed that the Curie temperature (TC) and the maximum magnetic entropy change ( - Δ S M max ) increase with the K+ doping for LSKMNO. The TC and - Δ S M max for LSKMNO (x = 0.15) were 319 K and 3.59 J/(kg·K) when the external magnetic field (H) was 5 T, respectively. Arrott curve and normalized magnetic entropy curve ( Δ S M / Δ S M max - θ ) are plotted to prove that LSKMNO undergoes a second order magnetic phase transition at the TC attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burning of straw is a very destructive process that threatens people's livelihoods and property and causes irreparable environmental damage. It is therefore essential to detect and control the burning of straw. In this study, we analyzed Sentinel-2 data to select the best separation bands based on the response characteristics of clouds, smoke, water bodies, and background (vegetation and bare soil) to the different bands. The selected bands were added to the red, green, and blue bands (RGB) as training sample data. The band that featured the highest detection accuracy, RGB_Band6, was finally selected, having an accuracy of 82.90%. The existing object detection model cannot directly handle multi-band images. This study modified the input layer structure based on the YOLOv5s model to build an object detection network suitable for multi-band remote sensing images. The Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) network attention mechanism was introduced based on the YOLOv5s model so that the delicate features of smoke were enhanced, and the Convolution + Batch normalization + Leaky ReLU (CBL) module was replaced with the Convolution + Batch normalization + Mish (CBM) module. The accuracy of the model was improved to 75.63%, which was 1.81% better than before. We also discussed the effect of spatial resolution on model detection and where accuracies of 84.18%, 73.13%, and 45.05% for images of 60-, 20-, and 10-m resolution, respectively, were realized. The experimental results demonstrated that the accuracy of the model only sometimes improved with increasing spatial resolution. This study provides a technical reference for the monitoring of straw burning, which is vital for both the control of straw burning and ways to improve ambient air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to investigate and optimize the flexural behavior of functionally graded ultra‐high performance cementitious composite (FGUHPCC), and to optimize the design of FGUHPCC by using a numerical simulation program named RFPA3D. The equivalent flexural strength and corresponding deflection capacity of double‐ and single‐layered FGUHPCC beams were analyzed by carrying out four‐point bending test. Furthermore, with the numerical model set in RFPA3D, the crack evolution and acoustic emission (AE) event of specimens at limit of proportionality (LOP) point, modulus of rupture (MOR) point, and 30% of MOR are, therefore, discussed. The results indicate that functionally graded design can help to improve the flexural capacity and fracture toughness of all specimens. In addition, the main crack of FGUHPCC looks more irregular and larger damage areas are formed. Higher principal stress and more AE events can be identified in FGUHPCC than that of single‐layer UHPCC. Based on the recorded test data, the influence of bottom layer thickness was also investigated with respect to the peak flexural load and the AE energy. The results indicate that the optimum load capacity and flexural energy can be obtained when layer thickness ratio is about 0.6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the population grows, the development of conservation tillage offers a means of promoting the sustainability of agricultural engineering. Remote sensing images with high spatial and temporal resolutions enable the accurate monitoring of conservation tillage on a broad spatial scale, further promoting conservation tillage research. This paper describes using streamlined time series Sentinel-2 images based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform for mapping maize tillage practices in the Songnen Plain region of Northeast China. Based on the correlation with the normalized difference tillage index (NDTI) and maize residue coverage (MRC) data, the optimal time series and streamlining functions in the GEE cloud platform are determined. Estimates of MRC and the mapping of tillage practices in the Songnen Plain for 2019–2022 are then determined using GEE and a previous model. Geostatistical analysis using ArcGIS is applied to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of MRC and conservation tillage over the Songnen Plain. The results show that time series images from 20–30 May achieve an r value of 0.902 and an R2 value of 0.8136 when using the median streamlining function. The mean MRC for the study area in 2022 is 2.3%, and an overall upward trend in conservation tillage is observed (from 0.08% in 2019 to 0.25% in 2022). Our analysis shows that MRC monitoring and conservation tillage mapping can be performed over a broad spatial scale using remote sensing technology based on the GEE cloud platform. Spatial and temporal information on farm practices provides a theoretical basis for agricultural development planning efforts, which can promote sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw incorporation promotes rice productivity and soil fertility. However, the effects of tillage practice with straw on GHG emissions in paddy fields are not well documented. Under three rice-based cropping systems of China (single rice, double rice and rice-wheat cropping systems), we investigated rice yield, CH4, N2O, area and yield-scaled emissions arising from different straw-incorporated tillage patterns. Tillage with straw affected rice yield by −6.8~3.2%, −9.1~9.0% and −9.8~2.1% in single rice, rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems respectively. Straw impacted CH4 emission but tillage influenced its impact irrespective of the rice cropping system. The highest CH4 emissions occurred in RedT + S, RoT + S and RoT + S under single rice, rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems respectively. Cumulative CH4 emission of PT + S decreased by 46.8% (p < 0.05) compared to RedT + S in the single cropping system, while under rice-wheat and double rice cropping systems, cumulative CH4 emission of PT + S decreased by 19.0% (p < 0.05) and 13.2% (p > 0.05) respectively compared with RoT + S. Lower methanogenic abundance of PT + S translated into the lowest cumulative CH4, area and yield scaled emissions in single rice and double rice cropping systems. To maintain high rice yield and reduce GHG emissions from straw incorporation, PT + S is recommended for a rice-based cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic value of serum transferrin (TRF) level before intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) on radio-sensitivity and overall survival (OS) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: From October 2012 to October 2016, a total of 348 patients with NPC in the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University were retrospectively analyzed in our study. The concentration of serum TRF was detected by the method of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the whole group, 46 patients received IMRT, and 302 patients received IMRT plus chemotherapy. The radio-sensitive tumor was defined when the local tumor lesions disappeared completely in the nasopharyngeal MRI scan and no tumor residues were found under the electronic nasopharyngoscope one month after the end of radiotherapy. Results: The serum TRF level before IMRT was (1.34–3.89) g/L, with a median of 2.16 g/L and a mean of (2.20 ± 0.42) g/L. In the whole group, 242 cases (69.5%) were radiosensitive, and 106 cases (30.5%) were insensitive. The number of radiosensitive patients in the group of HTRF (transferrin > 2.16 g/L) and LTRF (transferrin ≤ 2.16 g/L) before radiotherapy was 129 (74.6%) and 113 (64.6%), respectively. The difference in radio-sensitivity between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2 = 4.103, p = 0.043). Logistic regression analysis showed that the level of TRF before radiotherapy (OR = 1.702; 95% CI 1.044~2.775; p = 0.033) was an independent factor for radio-sensitivity. The log-rank test showed that patients in the LTRF group achieved a significantly worse OS (χ2 = 5.388, p = 0.02) than those in the HTRF group. Cox regression analysis showed that baseline TRF level (HR = 1.706; 95% CI 1.065~2.731; p = 0.026) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Conclusions: The low level of TRF before IMRT is a risk factor for radio-sensitivity and a prognostic factor for poor OS in NPC patients. It may be a promising marker to predict radio-sensitivity and OS in NPC patients who accept IMRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-based single crystal superalloy has experienced high temperature and extreme strain rate during grinding process, resulting in white layer and plastic deformation layer on the subsurface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) techniques were used to characterize the microstructure changes such as dislocation distribution, crystal structure and orientation information at the nanoscale of the ground subsurface. The mechanism of dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement of the single crystal superalloy were obtained. The results show that the high-density dislocation structure is easy to form in the stress concentration areas, which are the nucleation sites of dynamic recrystallization. With the accumulation of misorientation, the subgrain boundaries (SGBs) are transformed into low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) and high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs). Moreover, equiaxed nanograins are formed near the top surface due to the cooperation mechanism of dislocation movement and twins. Under the condition of high strain rate, the deformation mechanism of Ni-based single crystal superalloy is continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) dominated by subgrain rotation. This work illustrated the grinding-induced microstructure evolution and mechanism of dynamic recrystallization, which provides theoretical guidance for machining of single crystal blade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the remote sensing monitoring of conservation tillage, the acquisition of remote sensing data with high spatial and temporal resolution is critical. The current optical remote sensing images cannot realize both temporal and spatial resolution, especially under cloud and rain interference. Thus, this study employs the enhanced spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (ESTARFM) to obtain the normalized difference tillage index (NDTI) with both temporal and spatial resolution estimated by Sentinel−2 and MODIS using the Index−then−Blend (IB) and Blend−then−Index (BI) fusion schemes. After comparison, the IB scheme was better than the BI scheme in predicting results and prediction efficiency. The NDTI predicted by ESTARFM and Sentinel−2 on June 12, 2020 was compared. A coefficient of determination R2 of 0.73 and RMSE of 0.000117 was obtained, indicating a high prediction accuracy, which meets the prediction requirements. Based on the predicted ESTARFM NDTI of the study area on May 17, 2021, the maize residue cover (MRC) of the study area was estimated using the previously constructed MRC unary linear regression model. The MRC of the sampling points of the remote sensing images was estimated by verifying the predicted ESTARFM NDTI with the MRC of the sampling points taken in the field extracted by the maximum likelihood classifier, which has a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.78 and RMSE of 0.00676, signifying better prediction results. The proposed method provides considerable data sources for the remote sensing monitoring studies of conservation tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal gradient is inevitable in a lithium-ion battery pack because of uneven heat generation and dissipation, which will affect battery aging. In this paper, an experimental platform for a battery cycle aging test is built that can simulate practical thermal gradient conditions. Experimental results indicate a high nonlinear degree of battery degradation. Considering the nonlinearity of Li-ion batteries aging, the extreme learning machine (ELM), which has good learning and fitting ability for highly nonlinear, highly nonstationary, and time-varying data, is adopted for prediction. A battery life prediction model based on the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is proposed in this paper to optimize the random weights and bias of the ELM network and verified by experimental data. The results show that compared with traditional ELM and back-propagation neural networks, the prediction results of ELM optimized by SSA have lower mean absolute error percentages and root mean square errors, indicating that the SSA-ELM model has higher prediction accuracy and better stability and has obvious advantages in processing data with a high nonlinear degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice paddies supply the staple food for 50% global population, but contribute 48% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from croplands. Temperature is the key factor of rice yield and GHG emissions, but warming effects (i.e. elevated temperature ≤ 2°C) are still unclear, especially in hotspots. Therefore, we collected the global in-situ observations of warming experiments and corresponding environmental factors to identify the key drivers of warming effects, and developed the statistic models to assess the effects of warming on GHG emissions from China's rice paddies. Our results indicate that the variation in warming effects on rice yield, methane (CH 4) emissions, and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions are primarily explained by ambient temperature of post-anthesis, ambient temperature of flooding stage, and soil pH, respectively. Considering these key factors, we estimate that warming does not significantly affect China's total rice yield, while can increase CH 4 emissions by 13.6% °C−1, N 2 O emissions by 30.5% °C−1, and area-/yield-scaled GHG emissions by 14.9% °C−1 from China's rice paddies. Warming reduces rice yield but increases GHG emissions more strongly in East, South and Central China, compared to North, Northwest, Northeast, and Southwest China. Our findings quantify the warming effects on rice yield and GHG emissions, and provide new perspectives for the hotpots of warming effects on China's rice production. In the warmer future, we still need more efforts on smart adaptation strategies to maintain rice yield and curb GHG emissions from rice agriculture. • Temperature and soil pH can explain variation in warming effect on GHG emissions. • Warming effect on N 2 O emissions shows a negative relationship with soil pH. • Warming does not affect China's total rice yield while increases GHG emissions. • Warming increases yield-scaled GHG emissions by 14.9% °C−1 in China's paddies. • East, South and Central China's rice paddies are the hotspots of warming effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil nutrients in deep soils are important for nutrient cycling and plant growth. Organic amendments have been widely used for enhancing soil health and crop yield. However, little is known about the effects of organic amendments on the vertical distributions of soil nutrients. Based on a 32-year long-term organic amendment experiment, the objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the vertical distribution of nutrients in a soybean–wheat system Vertisol. The results showed that NPK with manure or straw application significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), total N, total P, alkali-hydrolyzable N, available P and available K above the 40 cm soil layer. Variations in soil micronutrients primarily occurred above the 20 cm soil layer, and the highest contents were observed for NPKWS and NPKPM, respectively. Nevertheless, large amounts of NO3−−N contents accumulated in the 120–200 cm depth with manure but not straw application, indicating a high potential risk of nitrate leaching in manure treatments. These findings suggested that the application of organic amendment (manure or straw) could be recommendable for improving soil nutrients along the soil profile. Straw incorporation could be used as an alternative option for sustainable agriculture in regions with inadequate manure resources or severe nitrate leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Including green manure into a rice-based double-cropping system has effects on both crop production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, few studies have considered the trade-off between crop productivity, profitability, and carbon footprint (CF) in this cropping system of China. Thus, the impacts of different cropping regimes on crop productivity, economic benefits, carbon footprint, and net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB) were investigated. The treatments were rice–wheat (R–W), rice–rape (R–R), rice–hairy vetch (R–H), rice–barley (R–B), rice–faba bean (R–F), and rice–fallow (R). Compared to R–W treatment, planting rape (R–R), green manure (R–F, R–H), or fallow (R) in winter season tended to improve rice yield, but they were not conducive to yield stability. Treatments of R–H, R–F, and R reduced both direct and indirect GHG emission, and thus mitigated the area-scaled carbon footprint by 34.4%, 44.2%, and 49.7%, respectively, compared to R–W treatment. The economic benefits under R–R, R–B, or R system were not different from those of R–W treatment, while R–H reduced the economic benefit by 70.1%. In comparison with R–W treatment, R–H treatment reduced the NEEB, while R–F significantly increased the NEEB by USD 4065 ha−1. The present results indicate that as a measure to realize the combination of food security and environmental cost reduction, substituting leguminous crops with wheat can mitigate carbon emissions while ensuring profitability, on the premise of yield stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilization is an effective agronomic management technique for increasing crop production. However, the overuse of chemical fertilizer stimulates energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are antagonistic to sustainable wheat production. In this study, we estimated the energy and GHG performances of different fertilization regimes based on a 32−year fertilization experiment. In this long−term experiment, there are five treatments: CK (no fertilizer with wheat residue removal), NPK (chemical fertilizer with wheat residue removal), NPKPM (chemical fertilizer and pig manure with wheat residue removal), NPKCM (chemical fertilizer and cattle manure with wheat residue removal), and NPKWS (chemical fertilizer with wheat residue retention). The results indicated that NPKCM and NPKPM consumed higher total energy than NPK and NPKWS, which was attributed to the extra energy usage of farmyard manure. Although NPKCM and NPKPM increased energy output by 4.7 and 2.8%, NPKWS stood out by delivering the highest energy use efficiency (EUE) of 6.66, energy productivity of 0.26 kg MJ−1, energy profitability of 5.66, net return of 1799.82 US$ ha−1 and lower specific energy of 3.84 MJ kg−1. Moreover, the yield scale carbon footprint of NPKWS decreased by 66.7 and 52.3% compared with NPKCM and NPKPM, respectively. This study shows that the application of chemical fertilizer in combination with wheat residue retention is a good strategy to increase EUE and economic benefits while decreasing the carbon footprint of wheat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]