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Herein, we report a nanocomposite electrocatalyst with coupled Cu and NiO, showing a high Faraday efficiency of 97% and excellent ammonia production rate (450 mg h−1 cm−2) for nitrate reduction. In situ UV-vis spectroscopic studies confirmed that the synergy between NiO and Cu could avoid NO2− enrichment and promote tandem nitrate reduction to ammonia synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deep-sea mining, the accurate and rapid prediction of the pressure drop in a solid–liquid two-phase pipe flow (SLPF) with different parameters including particles, pipes, and flow fields, remains an issue yet to be fully resolved. In this study, an extensive investigation of the pressure drop in a slpf is conducted using machine-learning techniques. By collecting 1290 sets of data from 13 experimental papers and performing analysis and processing, we obtain a machine-learning ensemble algorithm capable of accurately predicting the pipe-pressure drop based on random forest (RF), back propagation (BP), and polynomial regression (PR) algorithms. The performance of the ensemble algorithm surpasses that of the other three algorithms, whether applied to pure substance (PS) particles or mixed particles (MP) containing PS and equivalent particles. For PS particles, the particle concentration and particle diameter-to-pipe diameter (PTP) account for the second and third weights influencing the pressure drop. Using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-discrete element method (DEM), this can be attributed to the significant kinetic energy loss caused by the collisions and friction between the particles and pipe wall and the excessive gravity of the particles, which influences the pressure drop. • An efficient and accurate machine learning algorithm based on an ensemble model is proposed for predicting the pressure drop of solid-liquid two-phase pipe flow. • The predictive accuracy of the ensemble algorithm for the pipe pressure drop, which involves particles of varying sizes, densities, and shapes, is more efficiently and accurately as well. • By altering the particle size and feed concentration, collisions and friction between particles and the pipe wall, and the excessive gravitational force acting on the particles, can all influence the pressure drop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The 2045 W laser is used for laser cladding. • This Gaussian light into a rectangular beam conversion facilitates high speed and efficient cladding. • The ball valve is crack-free and its surface hardness has been increased by 2.7 times. In this paper, the laser cladding of Ni60 + WC powder on the stainless-steel ball valves is investigated to improve the corrosion resistance and the wear resistance of industrial ball valves. A 2-kW high-power diode laser source based on beam multiplexing is used as the processing source to clad the ball valves. To make this diode laser source more reliable for laser cladding, a homogenizing optical system is designed and optimized to transform a circular beam spot output from the optical fiber to a rectangular spot with a flat-top distribution. Employing this diode laser source, the laser cladding of the stainless-steel ball valve is successfully achieved by use of the pre-set powder feeding. The hardness testing experiments are then performed on the ball valves of different diameters, followed by the evaluation of the thickness and hardness of the cladding coating. It is experimentally demonstrated that the microhardness of the ball valves is improved by 2.7 times and the cladding layer has no cracks, which proves the superior performance of the stainless-steel ball valves by use of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Previously observational studies did not draw a clear conclusion on the association between fatty liver diseases and bone mineral density (BMD). Our large-scale studies revealed that MAFLD and hepatic steatosis had no causal effect on BMD, while some metabolic factors were correlated with BMD. The findings have important implications for the relationship between fatty liver diseases and BMD, and may help direct the clinical management of MAFLD patients who experience osteoporosis and osteopenia. Purpose: Liver and bone are active endocrine organs with several metabolic functions. However, the link between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and bone mineral density (BMD) is contradictory. Methods: Using the UK Biobank and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset, we investigated the association between MAFLD, steatosis, and BMD in the observational analysis. We performed genome-wide association analysis to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with MAFLD. Large-scale two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analyses examined the potential causal relationship between MAFLD, hepatic steatosis, or major comorbid metabolic factors, and BMD. Results: After adjusting for demographic factors and body mass index, logistic regression analysis demonstrated a significant association between MAFLD and reduced heel BMD. However, this association disappeared after adjusting for additional metabolic factors. MAFLD was not associated with total body, femur neck, and lumbar BMD in the NHANES dataset. Magnetic resonance imaging-measured steatosis did not show significant associations with reduced total body, femur neck, and lumbar BMD in multivariate analysis. TSMR analyses indicated that MAFLD and hepatic steatosis were not associated with BMD. Among all MAFLD-related comorbid factors, overweight and type 2 diabetes showed a causal relationship with increased BMD, while waist circumference and hyperlipidemia had the opposite effect. Conclusion: No causal effect of MAFLD and hepatic steatosis on BMD was observed in this study, while some metabolic factors were correlated with BMD. This has important implications for understanding the relationship between fatty liver disease and BMD, which may help direct the clinical management of MAFLD patients with osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The starch synthase (SS) plays important roles in regulating plant growth and development and responding to adversity stresses. Although the SS family has been studied in many crops, it has not been fully identified in sweet potato and its two related species. In the present study, eight SSs were identified from Ipomoea batatas (I. batata), Ipomoea trifida (I. trifida), and Ipomoea trlioba (I. trlioba), respectively. According to the phylogenetic relationships, they were divided into five subgroups. The protein properties, chromosomal location, phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, cis-elements in the promoter, and interaction network of these proteins were also analyzed; stress expression patterns were systematically analyzed; and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis was performed. Ipomoea batatas starch synthase (IbSSs) were highly expressed in tuber roots, especially Ipomoea batatas starch synthase 1 (IbSS1) and Ipomoea batatas starch synthase 6 (IbSS6), which may play an important role in root development and starch biosynthesis. At the same time, the SS genes respond to potassium deficiency, hormones, cold, heat, salt, and drought stress. This study offers fresh perspectives for enhancing knowledge about the roles of SSs and potential genes to enhance productivity, starch levels, and resistance to environmental stresses in sweet potatoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a hydraulic lifting pipeline structure widely used in deep-sea oil, gas transportation, and sediment dredging projects, the pipeline configuration is related to the improvement of transportation efficiency and pipeline safety. Particularly, the bending section consumes the most energy and withstands severe erosion. Understanding and predicting the conveying characteristics of two-phase flow in bends is therefore crucial. In this study, CFD-DEM (computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method) simulation method is employed to calculate various cases, considering five parameters: pipeline bending radius and angle, conveying velocity, particle diameter, and concentration, to explore the influence of these parameters on pressure drop and erosion rate of pipeline and result in a data set of hundreds of cases. Based on this data set, seven machine learning models are trained to predict pressure drop and erosion rate, respectively. To enhance model accuracy, the stacking method in ensemble learning is employed to combine multiple models with good performance. Additionally, the Optuna and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanation) methods are utilized to optimize hyperparameters and explain the degree to which parameters impact the predictions. The result demonstrates that pressure drop is almost unaffected by bending radius, while erosion rate initially decreases and then increases with bending angle, and both increase with other parameters. Among the evaluated models, artificial neural network, XGBoost, and random forest all demonstrate high prediction accuracy. The stacking model further improves the accuracy, with mean absolute error improving by 21.7% and 32.2%, and the SHAP method demonstrated good interpretability, which is basically consistent with CFD-DEM results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects many populations, and screening out the high‐risk populations at an early stage is a challenge. As a sarcopenia index, the relationship between creatinine to cystatin C ratio (CCR) and MASLD remains unclear. This cross‐sectional, prospective study aimed to explore the relationship between CCR and MASLD. Design Firstly, explored the correlation between CCR and MASLD in cross‐sectional analyses. Then excluded the population with baseeline diagnosis of MASLD and analyzed the association with baseline CCR levels and the onset of MASLD in the population with available follow‐up data. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) to evaluate the association between CCR levels and MASLD. Patients and Measurements: This study included 368,634 participants from the UK Biobank for cross‐sectional and prospective analyses. The demographic characteristics and laboratory measurements of all participants were obtained from the UK Biobank. MASLD was diagnosed according to the multi‐society consensus nomenclature. Hepatic steatosis was defined as FLI ≥60. Results: We grouped the study participants according to CCR tertiles. In cross‐sectional analyses, participants in CCR tertile 1 had the highest MASLD risk (OR: 1.070, 95% CI: 1.053−1.088, p <.001). And the similar association was observed in the prospective analyses (CCR tertile 1 OR: 1.340, 95% CI: 1.077−1.660, p =.009; CCR tertile 2 OR: 1.217, 95% CI: 1.021−1.450, p =.029, respectively). After stratification by gender, the significant association between CCR and the onset of MASLD was only observed in males (CCR tertile 1 OR: 1.639, 95% CI: 1.160−2.317, p =.005; CCR tertile 2 OR: 1.322, 95% CI: 1.073−1.628, p =.005, respectively). Conclusion: Our results indicated that lower CCR was significantly associated with higher risk of MASLD, based on which predictive models can be developed to screen populations at high risk of developing MASLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LBD family is a plant-specific transcription factor family that plays an important role in a variety of biological processes. However, the function of IbLBD genes in sweet potato remains unclear. In this study, we identified a total of 53 IbLBD genes in sweet potato. Genetic structure showed that most of the IbLBD genes contained only two exons. Following the phylogenetic investigation, the IbLBD gene family was separated into Class I (45 members) and Class II (8) members. Both classes of proteins contained relatively conservative Motif1 and Motif2 domains. The chromosomal locations, gene duplications, promoters, PPI network, and GO annotation of the sweet potato LBD genes were also investigated. Furthermore, gene expression profiling and real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of 12 IbLBD genes altered in six separate tissues and under various abiotic stresses. The IbLBD genes belonging to Class I were mostly expressed in the primary root, the pencil root, and the leaves of sweet potatoes, while the genes belonging to Class II were primarily expressed in the various sweet potato roots. The IbLBD genes belonging to Class I were mostly expressed in the primary root, the pencil root, and the leaves of sweet potatoes, while the genes belonging to Class II were primarily expressed in the fibrous root, pencil root, and tuber root. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), distant metastasis is the leading cause of death. Our previous studies have shown that TNBC progression is greatly facilitated by circKIF4A, but uncertainty remains regarding its role in TNBC brain metastasis and the molecular mechanism. In this study, we found notable upregulation of circKIF4A in TNBC cell lines and brain metastases. Inhibition of circKIF4A impaired the ability of TNBC to proliferate, migrate, and cause brain metastasis. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that circKIF4A competed for binding to miR-637 with STAT3 3' UTR. Western blot analysis revealed that inhibition of circKIF4A decreased STAT3 and p62 expression, while increased the LC3B-II/LC3B–I ratio and the expression of Beclin, indicating that downregulation of circKIF4A induced autophagy by competing with STAT3 for binding to miR-637. By employing a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism, the circKIF4A-miR-637-STAT3 axis coordinates brain metastasis in TNBC. circKIF4A can therefore be used as a prognostic biomarker for brain metastasis in TNBC and as a therapeutic target. • CircKIF4A was notably upregulated in triple-negative breast cancer brain metastases and cell lines. • Inhibition of circKIF4A impairs invasion and brain metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer cells. • Downregulation of circKIF4A induced autophagy by competing with STAT3 for binding to miR-637. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Yak is found in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and represents a meat of high nutritional value and good flavor. However, the production of yak is limited, and yak meat adulteration is a growing concern in the marketplace. To protect consumer rights and prevent unfair competition, it is necessary to use an efficient assay to identify the species of yak meat rapidly and accurately being sold. Methods. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with hydroxy naphthol blue (HNB) was used to identify potential adulterants. The specificity and sensitivity tests of yak-derived components were carried out to achieve the monitoring of yak-derived components. Results. The optimal color development was achieved with an external primer-to-internal primer ratio of 400 nmol/L : 1200 nmol/L, 1.5 mmol/L dNTP, and 0.32 U/μL Bst DNA polymerase with 5 mmol/L MgSO4 at 62°C amplification temperature. The detection sensitivity of LAMP-HNB for yak-derived DNA was up to 1 pg/μL. Conclusion. The LAMP-HNB assays provided a valuable tool for the identification of yak gene from adulterated meat. This further enabled the LAMP-HNB assay to be applicable in the identification of other meat products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum well (QW) diodes have the capability to function as a light-emitting diode or a photodiode and inherently feature a partial emission-detection spectral overlap. Therefore, QW diode can sense light emission from another diode sharing the same QW active region. In association with distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) technique, we here present a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) visible light communication (VLC) over a single channel by using vertical assembly of red, green, and blue (RGB) QW diodes. The identical QW diodes separately functioning as a transmitter and a receiver establish a wireless communications link. The DBRs enable the transmission of longer-wavelength photons or the reflection of shorter-wavelength photons, creating an optical bandpass filter in conjunction with emission-detection spectral overlap, effectively boosting the capacity of an initially single communication channel. Both the transmitter and the receiver can be switched freely by software, forming time-division multiplexing (TDM) wireless light communication system using single optical path. We unite TDM and WDM together to demonstrate real-time TDM multichannel bidirectional communication using the vertical integration of RGB QW diodes, offering the great potential to establish TDM-WDM VLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP450s) play a crucial role in various biochemical reactions involved in the synthesis of antioxidants, pigments, structural polymers, and defense-related compounds in plants. As sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) holds significant economic importance, a comprehensive analysis of CYP450 genes in this plant species can offer valuable insights into the evolutionary relationships and functional characteristics of these genes. Results: In this study, we successfully identified and categorized 95 CYP450 genes from the sweet potato genome into 5 families and 31 subfamilies. The predicted subcellular localization results indicate that CYP450s are distributed in the cell membrane system. The promoter region of the IbCYP450 genes contains various cis-acting elements related to plant hormones and stress responses. In addition, ten conserved motifs (Motif1-Motif10) have been identified in the IbCYP450 family proteins, with 5 genes lacking introns and only one exon. We observed extensive duplication events within the CYP450 gene family, which may account for its expansion. The gene duplication analysis results showed the presence of 15 pairs of genes with tandem repeats. Interaction network analysis reveals that IbCYP450 families can interact with multiple target genes and there are protein-protein interactions within the family. Transcription factor interaction analysis suggests that IbCYP450 families interact with multiple transcription factors. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed tissue-specific expression patterns of CYP450 genes in sweet potatoes, as well as their response to abiotic stress and plant hormones. Notably, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) analysis indicated the involvement of CYP450 genes in the defense response against nonbiological stresses in sweet potatoes. Conclusions: These findings provide a foundation for further investigations aiming to elucidate the biological functions of CYP450 genes in sweet potatoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfabricated gas chromatography (μGC) offers a powerful portable vapor analysis solution for various field applications. Here, we developed a microfluidically integrated architecture of a microfluidic photoionization detector (μPID) on a microfabricated column (μcolumn) via a silicon-on-insulator platform. By eliminating the off-chip interconnects, the microfluidically integrated column PID (iCPID) demonstrated a narrow peak width compared to the off-chip benchmark μPID. Furthermore, the iCPID sensitivity as a function of the bias voltage and temperature were characterized. Finally, an ultracompact (0.9 L, 0.9 kg), automated, and battery-operated μGC system without any benchtop components was constructed based on the iCPID. Rapid (2 min) isothermal separation of eight volatile compounds at room temperature was demonstrated. • Integration of a microfluidic photoionization detector with a microfabricated gas chromatography column on a chip. • Wafer-level batch processing on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform with a high yield. • Ultracompact, battery-operated μGC system with rapid chemical separation in ambient temperature using air as carrier gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affected by limited computing resources and energy, intelligent terminal devices in edge computing systems cannot perform computationally intensive mining tasks in blockchains based on the PoW (proof-of-work) protocol. Therefore, rational terminal devices, as miners, choose to offload mining tasks to other devices or edge computing servers. Aiming at the problem that lightweight devices cannot complete the blockchain mining tasks, this paper firstly proposes a blockchain mining task offloading strategy based on D2D-EC (Device to Device Communication Assisted Edge Computing). Miners offload mining tasks to CMN (Collaborative Mining Network) integrated by mining devices or edge computing server. Secondly, the mobility of devices increases the risk of failure in the blockchain consensus process. Therefore, we develop a prediction method based on Lagrange interpolation to predict the track of devices. The mobility prediction of devices enable miners to make rational offloading strategy, that is, offload fewer tasks to devices with strong mobility to reduce consensus failure costs. In this paper, the interaction between miners and resource suppliers is modeled as a two-stage multi-leader multi-follower Stackelberg game to obtain the best resource requests of miners and best pricing of resource suppliers. To find the NE (Nash Equilibrium) of the Stackelberg game, this paper develops a gradient search-based best response distributed algorithm (BRD). Simulation results show that the algorithm can optimize miners’ utilities and suppliers’ profits quickly, and the proposed prediction method can effectively enable miners to optimize allocation of mining tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the dynamics and flow characteristics of coarse particles within vertical lifting pipes is essential to ensure safe and efficient pipeline transportation. This study combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the discrete element method (DEM) to investigate the behavior of coarse particle solid–liquid two-phase flow in a vertical pipe utilized for deep-sea mining under forced vibration and compares it with that in stationary pipes. This study examined the effects of pipe amplitude, vibration frequency, and initial internal flow velocity separately. The amplitude values tested were 0 D (static), 1 D , 2 D , 3 D , and 4 D , where D represents pipe diameter. The vibration frequencies of 0 Hz (static), 0.25 Hz, 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, and 2 Hz were tested, respectively. Finally, initial velocities of 1 m/s, 2 m/s, 3 m/s, and 4 m/s were tested. Compared with stationary pipes, particle-induced turbulence gradually disrupts the flow field, leading to a more dispersed particle volume distribution during pipe vibration. An increase in the amplitude and vibration frequency of the pipe results in an augmentation of the pressure drop within the pipe. By comparing the results of the vibrating pipe with those of the stationary pipe, the effect of the pipe vibration gradually weakened as the initial velocity increased. • Compared to stationary pipes, the particle-induced turbulence leads to a more dispersed particle volume distribution during pipe vibration. • An increase in the pipe amplitude and vibration frequency results in an augmentation of the pipe pressure drop. • The effect of pipe vibration gradually weakens as the initial velocity increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a novel eco-friendly lightweight sand fine (LSF) to prepare green lightweight and high-strength ECC (GLH-ECC) for 3D printing. Orthogonal design, analysis of variance, and analytic hierarchy process were first employed to explore the influence of water-to-binder ratio (WBR), LSF replacement rate (LRR), and fiber volume content (FVC) on the printability of ECC fresh mortar. The influence degree of three factors on the fluidity, consistency, and setting time of fresh ECC was FVC >WBR >LRR, LRR> FVC > WBR, and WBR> LRR >FVC, respectively. Besides, the scopes of fluidity, consistency, and setting time for ensuring the favorable printability of fresh GLH-ECC were 172–183 mm, 7.4–8.0 cm, and 5.3–5.9 h, respectively. A novel mechanistic parametric model was developed to establish a direct correlation between the fluidity, consistency, setting time, and buildability of GLH-ECC. Additionally, higher effective fiber content along the direction of printing and incorporated LSF in printable GLH-ECC provided more appropriate interfacial bonding between the fiber and matrix and resultant better fiber bridging ability, in contrast to the casting ECC. Moreover, the fiber orientation in the printable GLH-ECC tended to be arranged along the direction of printing, and the well-organized fiber orientation and more matrix pores in the interlayer interface of printable GLH-ECC led to the notable anisotropy of mechanical properties. This study inspires applications of 3D-printed GLH-ECC in digital construction without reinforcement in terms of excellent printability, impressive mechanical properties, light weight, and effective waste utilization. • Novel LSF replaces quartz sand for GLH-ECC in 3D printing. • Orthogonal design, variance analysis, and hierarchy process assess GLH-ECC workability. • Mechanistic parametric model correlates fluidity, consistency, setting time, and buildability. • Tensile properties compare between printed and cast GLH-ECC. • CT scanning evaluates structural, microscopic features of 3D-printed GLH-ECC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 12 abietane diterpenoids were isolated and identified from Rosmarinus officinalis in which 6 ones were undescribed compounds. Their structures were illuminated by the HRESIMS, NMR, and ECD methods and named as rosmarinusin Q-V (1 – 6). It worthy mentioned that rosmarinusin Q was a novel abietane diterpenoid with 6/6/5 skeleton whose C ring was an α , β -unsaturated five-element ketone. All the compounds and four compounds (13 – 16) reported in our previous paper were evaluated their anti-neuroinflammatory activities on the LPS-induced BV2 cells. Compounds 5 , 8 , 9 , 11 , and 15 displayed significant anti-neuroinflammatory activity at the concentration of 10, 20, and 40 μM respectively. These results confirmed that R. officinalis contained abundant abietane diterpenoids and these compounds showed potential values of anti-neuroinflammation which could be developed as neuroprotective agents for the treatment of nerve damage caused by inflammation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]