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porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection, is an important swine infectious disease that causes substantial losses worldwide each year. PRRSV is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is highly susceptible to mutation and recombination, making vaccine and drug research for the disease extremely difficult. In this study, the binding of PRRSV nsp2 to HSP71 protein was detected by using the IP/MS technique. And the inhibitory effect of HSP71 on nsp2 antagonistic activity was validated by measuring NF-kB luciferase reporter. According to stress from inhibitory effects, the amino acid variation profile of PRRSV nsp2 under HSP71 stress was further analyzed using second-generation sequencing. Surprisingly, the results indicated that HSP71 pressure limits the random mutations of PRRSV nsp2 and maintains the dominant PRRSV strain within the population. Mutant strain showed weaker antagonistic activity and replication capability in cell. These results imply the binding of HSP71 with PRRSV nsp2 may lead to maintain the stability of highly virulent strains of PRRSV. • Hsp71 binds and inhibits PRRSV nsp2. • hsp71 binding contributes to the stabilization of PRRSV nsp2. • PRRSV nsp2 is prone to random mutations in normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Aspergillus and G- bacteria are the predominant strains in FN children. • mNGS is far superior to TPD in detecting fungal infections. • mNGS is conducive to targeted therapy and improved prognosis of FN children. To investigate the application value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in children with hematological diseases presenting with Febrile Neutropenia (FN). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 49 hematological children with FN, and compared the results of mNGS with those of traditional pathogen detection (TPD) and the prognoses of mNGS positive group and negative group. A total of 77 pathogenic strains were identified, of which 70 strains were detected by mNGS, 19 strains by TPD, and Aspergillus and G- bacterias were the predominant strains in FN children who developed bloodstream infections. 42 cases were in the mNGS-positive group, of which 17 were simple infections, 25 were mixed infections, and 7 were in the negative group; the TPD-positive group contained 19 cases, all of which were simple infections. The detection rate of total and mixed pathogens was higher than that of TPD, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The mNGS positive group was detected earlier than the negative group, and with lower mortality and drug-related adverse events (DRAE), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). For FN children with hematological diseases, early mNGS can effectively improve the efficacy of pathogen detection, and precise treatment after clarifying the pathogens can reduce mortality and avoid antibiotic abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of interproximal contact loss (ICL) associated with implant-supported fixed prostheses (ISFPs) have typically used dental floss or metal strips to determine ICL and have shown a high prevalence of 34% to 66%, which does not match the authors' experience. Moreover, the implant prosthetic factors contributing to ICL have seldom been reported. The purpose of this clinical study was to examine follow-up radiographs of ISFPs to determine the prevalence of open contacts between the ISFP and adjacent teeth and to assess the risk factors associated with ICL at patient, implant prosthesis, and adjacent tooth levels. Patients treated with ISFPs at a single clinical center were included. Digital radiographs obtained at the time of ISFP delivery and subsequent follow-up were assessed, and a total of 180 ISFPs with 296 interproximal contacts in 147 patients were screened for analyses. The prevalence and risk factors of ICL at the levels of patient (age, sex, diabetes, smoking, and bruxism), implant prosthesis (follow-up period, arch location, splinting, ceramic or metal materials, screw or cement-retained, and abutment-fixture connection), and adjacent tooth (mesial or distal side, contact with unrestored tooth, composite resin restoration, or fixed prosthesis, vitality, bone height, and contralateral spacing) were analyzed with logistic regressions and generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses (α=.05). The onset of ICL was from 6 to 96 months after ISFP delivery. The prevalence of ICL at the patient level was 15.0%, at the implant prosthesis level 13.3%, and at the adjacent tooth levels 8.8%. Twenty-six of the participants had 2 or more ISFPs. The multivariable GEE analysis reported that sex at patient level; longer follow-up period and implant prostheses with external hexagonal and internal octagonal connections at implant prosthesis level; and contralateral spacing, contact with composite resin filling and mesial side of ISFP at adjacent tooth level were significant risk factors of ICL, where contralateral spacing had the highest adjusted odds ratio of 20.88 (P =.002). Most of the ICL were found at the mesial side of ISFPs, and the odds of ICL was significant in participants with longer follow-up periods. Internal hexagonal connections reported relatively lower risk than others. Factors relevant to the anterior component of occlusal force, such as male sex, contralateral spacing at adjacent tooth, and proximal contact of ISFP with resin filling, seem to be high risk factors for ICL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Risk compensation effect of helmet use is studied based on selected bicyclists. • Targeted maximum likelihood estimator and ensemble learning are applied in this study. • Our results suggest the existence of risk compensation effect due to helmet use. Introduction: Safety is a critical factor in promoting sustainable urban non-motorized travel modes like bicycles. Helmets have shown to be effective in reducing injury severity in bicycle crashes, however, their effects on bicyclists' behaviors still requires deeper understanding, especially amid the emerging trend of using shared bicycles. Risk compensation effects suggest that bicyclists may offset perceived gains in safety from wearing a helmet by increasing risk-taking behaviors. A better understanding of these compensation effects can be useful in assessing various bicycle safety related programs. Method: Using a sample of 131 bicyclists from the San Francisco Bay area, this research studies how bicyclists respond with respect to risk-taking behaviors under various urban-street conditions, as a function of helmet use. Study participants were each shown 12 videos, shot in Berkeley, California, from the perspective of a bicyclist riding behind another bicyclist. A fractional factorial experiment design was used to systematically vary contextual attributes (e.g., speed, bike lane facilities, on-street parking, passing vehicles) across the videos. After each video, participants were asked to indicate if they would overtake the bicyclist in the video. With the help of data adaptive estimation techniques, targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) was applied to estimate the average risk difference between helmeted users and non-users, controlling for self-selection effects. Individual-based nonparametric bootstrap was performed to assess the uncertainty associated with the estimator. Results: Our findings suggest, on average, individuals more likely to wear a helmet are 15.6% more likely to undertake a risky overtaking maneuver. Practical Applications: This study doesn't try to oppose mandatory helmet laws, but rather serves as a cautionary warning that road safety programs may need to consider strategies in which unintended impact of bicycle helmet use can be mitigated. Moreover, our findings also provide additional evaluation component when it comes to the cost-benefit assessment of helmet-related laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive lymphoma that primarily affects the central nervous system. Current treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and whole-brain radiotherapy, often fail to achieve satisfactory results. The prognosis for patients with refractory or relapsed (R/R) PCNSL is bleak. The optimal treatment for refractory or relapsed PCNSL is poorly defined due to a limited number of studies in this setting. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, as part of targeted therapy regimens, have undergone testing in several clinical trials against PCNSL and have shown promising results in the treatment of R/R PCNSL. In this meta-analysis, we aim to explore and critically appraise the evidence regarding the efficacy of BTK inhibitors in the treatment of refractory or relapsed PCNSL. A systematic search was conducted on multiple databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and CNKI, covering the period up to November 2023. The inclusion criteria for studies were patients with R/R PCNSL who received BTK inhibitors, and reported data on overall response rate (ORR) and complete remission (CR). The pooled rates were calculated using a random-effects or fixed-effects model with a double arcsine transformation, and 95% CIs were determined for all outcomes. In total, 1 studies involving 185 patients were identified and included in the meta-analysis. The pooled complete remission (CR) rate of BTK inhibitors-based treatment for R/R PCNSL was found to be 50%. Subgroup analysis revealed that the CR rates for BTK inhibitor monotherapy, BTK inhibitor combined with chemotherapy, and BTK inhibitor combined with radiotherapy for R/R PCNSL were 7%, 68%, and 80%, respectively. The ORR for BTK inhibitors-based treatment for R/R PCNSL was 70%. Subgroup analysis showed that the ORR rates for BTK inhibitor monotherapy and BTK inhibitor combined with chemotherapy for R/R PCNSL were 55% and 83%, respectively. The most common adverse events (AEs) reported were hematologic AEs, including neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Severe nonhematologic AEs included rash, febrile neutropenia, increased levels of aspartate aminotransferase, and increased blood bilirubin. BTK inhibitors can be regarded as a safe and effective treatment option for R/R PCNSL, thereby providing a potential new avenue for R/R PCNSL treatment. However, it is important to note that further large-sample prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these findings and establish their wider applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly is an effective approach for construction of the theranostic nanoplatforms. • Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly is capable of modulating the nanostructures and physicochemical properties. • High performance theranostics are highlighted including multiple, responsive and enhanced theranostic applications. • Small biomolecules are promising candidates for the development of coordination-based supramolecular nanoplatforms. Theranostics possessing great potential in the treatment of various diseases gain attentions in recent years. Coordination-assembled supramolecular nanoplatforms are emerged as promising candidates for theranostic applications. With the facile, robust and versatile fabrication, these systems overcome the drawbacks of many existing theranostic nanoplatforms. Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly offers the possibility for modulating the physicochemical properties, thus paving the way for theranostic applications. We highlight the most recent advances on the modulation of structures and properties of coordination-assembled supramolecular nanoplatforms and their exploration in theranostic applications. The long-term goal of this field is to achieve high-performance theranostics in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) has long been the primary air pollutant with alarming public health risk in China. PM 2.5 pollution control in China still mainly concerned concentration declining. The qualification and identification of PM 2.5 -attributable health loss is crucial for China's air quality improvement and pollution prevention. This study assessed the annual health loss and economic impact attributed to PM 2.5 exposure at a city level in China from 2015 to 2017. The health benefits from achieving specific PM 2.5 concentration control targets were estimated for 2020. The economic value of health loss in China was 3205.05, 3223.51, and 3344.80 billion Yuan in 2015, 2016, and 2017, representing 4.34%, 4.07%, and 3.85% of the gross domestic product of China. The health loss value in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and surrounding areas and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration in 2017 was 731.93 and 520.27 billion Yuan, accounting for 21.88% and 15.56%, respectively, of the total economic value of all assessed cities. The economic value of health loss in provincial cities was high. From 2015 to 2017, high health loss in BTH and surrounding areas showed a diffusion trend toward cities in Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi Provinces. High health loss in the YRD urban agglomeration transferred to cities located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. If PM 2.5 concentration control targets can be achieved by 2020, premature mortality attributed to PM 2.5 exposure will fall by 91,860 cases, representing 11.20% of which in 2017. This study, for the first time, highlighted the spatial distribution and temporal variation characteristics of health loss in Chinese cities based on ground-monitoring PM 2.5 concentration data and annual real-time population data. Distributional feature and time-trend analysis would provide a measurable assessment of health loss in Chinese cities to policymakers for effective allocating their efforts on air quality improvement. Graphical abstract Economic value of public health loss attributed to PM 2.5 exposure at the city level in 2017. Image 1 Highlights • We assessed the annual health loss and economic impact of PM 2.5 exposure in China. • We used PM 2.5 and population data (2015–2017) of prefecture-level cities or above. • Health loss declined from 0.91 (2015) to 0.82 (2017) million premature mortalities. • Annual economic value of health loss increased but declined as a percent of GDP. • Meeting updated PM 2.5 targets by 2020 could reduce mortality by 11% of 2017 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The structural stability and equation of state (EoS) of sodium formate (NaHCOO) up to ∼6 GPa have been investigated using in - situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique, at room temperature. The results indicate that sodium formate remained the monoclinic structure at high pressures and exhibited anisotropic compressibility, the b - and c -axes are more compressible than a -axis. The experimental pressure-volume data are fitted well with the third-order Birch-Murnaghan EoS, yielding a bulk modulus of B 0 = 26.0(1) GPa with its first pressure derivative B 0 ' = 4.5(7). The present results can provide some insight for better understanding of the structural stability of alkali and alkaline earth metal formates under high pressure. Highlights • High-pressure behaviors of sodium formate were investigated up to ∼6 GPa. • The isothermal bulk modulus is B 0 = 26.0(1) GPa and its first pressure derivative is B 0 ' = 4.5(7). • Axial compressibility shows obvious anisotropy, the crystallographic b - and c -axes are more compressible than a -axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Apply ensemble learning techniques to improve airline fuel burn prediction. • Propose a prediction interval based discretionary fuel estimation approach. • The new approach can achieve $61 million annual fuel savings for the study airline. • CO 2 emission can also be reduced by 428 million kg per year for the study airline. Abstract Reducing fuel consumption is a unifying goal across the aviation industry. One fuel-saving opportunity for airlines is the possibility of reducing discretionary fuel loading by dispatchers. In this study, we propose a novel discretionary fuel estimation approach that can assist dispatchers with better discretionary fuel loading decisions. Based on the analysis on our study airline, our approach is found to substantially reduce unnecessary discretionary fuel loading while maintaining the same safety level compared to the current fuel loading practice. The idea is that by providing dispatchers with more accurate information and better recommendations derived from flight records, unnecessary fuel loading and corresponding cost-to-carry could both be reduced. We apply ensemble learning techniques to improve fuel burn prediction and construct prediction intervals (PIs) to capture the uncertainty of model predictions. The upper bound of a PI can then be used for discretionary fuel loading. The potential benefit of this approach is estimated to be $61.5 million in fuel savings and 428 million kg of CO 2 reduction per year for our study airline. This study also builds a link between discretionary fuel estimation and aviation system predictability in which the proposed models can also be used to predict benefits from reduced fuel loading enabled by improved Air Traffic Management (ATM) targeting on improved system predictability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implantable nanogenerator (i-NG) has shown great promises for enabling self-powered implantable medical devices (IMDs). One essential requirement for practical i-NG applications is its long-term bio-compatibility and bio-safety. This paper presents a systematic study of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and PDMS/Parylene-C packaged polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) NGs implanted inside female ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice for up to six months. The PVDF NG had a stable in vitro output of 0.3 V when bended for 7200 cycles and an in vivo output of 0.1 V under stretching. Multiple advanced imaging techniques, including computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, and photoacoustic were used to characterize the embedded i-NGs in vivo . The i-NGs kept excellent adhesion to the adjacent muscle surface, and exhibited stable electrical output during the entire examine period. No signs of toxicity or incompatibility were observed from the surrounding tissues, as well as from the whole body functions by pathological analyses and blood and serum test. The PDMS package was also able to effectively insulate the i-NG in biological environment with negligible stray currents at a pA scale. This series of in-vivo and in-vitro studies confirmed the biological feasibility of using i-NG in vivo for biomechanical energy harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Atypical clinical features make it hard to identify VL in HLH in non-epidemic area. • VL is difficult to diagnose when traditional tests are ineffective, while mNGS is. • mNGS can be used as a detection method of HLH in children caused by rare pathogens. Visceral leishmaniasis-related hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (VL-HLH) is a secondary hemophagocytic syndrome, which can be life-threatening, caused by leishmania and transmitted by infected sandflies. Rapid and accurate identification of leishmania is crucial for clinical strategies. Here, we report an infantile infection in a non-epidemic area of China. The infant was a 9.5-month-old girl with fever, pancytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly, which meet the HLH-2004 standard, and the negative gene results exclude congenital HLH. However, chemotherapy is ineffective and is accompanied by severe infection. Fortunately, she is diagnosed with VL-HLH (visceral leishmaniasis-related hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), as leishmania is detected by next-generation meta-genome sequencing (mNGS) and quickly relieved after treatment with libosomal amphotericin B (L-AMB). mNGS can detect leishmania in pediatric HLH, and should be performed as a new detection for VL-HLH, particularly for infants, who may not respond to HLH-2004 regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growth of air traffic, airport surfaces are congested and air traffic operations are disrupted by the formation of bottlenecks on the surface. Hence, improving the efficiency and predictability of airport surface operations is not only a key goal of NASA’s initiatives in Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) operations, but also has been recognized as a critical aspect of the FAA NextGEN implementation plan. While a number of tactical initiatives have been shown to be effective in improving airport surface operations from a service provider’s perspective, their impacts on airlines’ scheduled block time (SBT) setting, which has been found to have direct impact on airlines’ on-time performance and operating cost, have received little attention. In this paper, we assess this impact using an econometric model of airline SBT combined with a before/after analysis of the implementation of surface congestion management (SCM) at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 2010. Since airlines do not consider gate delay in setting SBT, we find that reduction in taxi-out time variability resulting from SCM leads to more predictable taxi-out times and thus decreases in SBT. The JFK SCM implementation is used as a case study to validate model prediction performance. The observed SBT decrease between 2009 and 2011 at JFK is 4.8 min and our model predicts a 4.2 min decrease. In addition, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is used as an example to demonstrate how different surface operations improvements scenarios can be evaluated in terms of SBT reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictability in the aviation system affects costs to airlines and passengers. We propose a predictability metric based on a flight's gate-in fuel (GIF) which can be directly measured and monetized by aviation stakeholders. We estimate GIF for six major U.S. airlines. Since GIF data are not directly available, we develop an estimation methodology to obtain GIF from pushback weight and fuel burn, including a conversion from passenger to weight payload based on an econometric model. The methodology accounts for aircraft operating empty weight and payload. We find that GIF varies across airlines and time of year, and is highest during the summer period. We monetize GIF through a cost-to-carry analysis as extra fuel loading results in additional fuel burn. Our estimates reveal that, in 2012, airlines spent an additional $59 million to $667 million on carrying GIF, with a total across all six airlines of $1.46 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recorded information on marine sediments is affected by mineralization. In this study, we collected sediment samples from Bohai Bay, where human interference is typically high. Overall, the CO 2 fluxes in the columnar sediments decreased with increasing depth. The change in constants revealed a "C-curve" in which the mineralization rate first decreased significantly (i.e., from the 2020s to the 1980s) and subsequently increased slowly (i.e., from the 1980s to 1965). This may be explained by the fact that sediments from the 1980s–2020s were markedly influenced by the sedimentation rate, whereas sediments from the 1960s–1980s were predominantly influenced by microbial action. The loss of organic carbon due to mineralization accounted for approximately 15–20 % of the initial total organic carbon; therefore, when performing an inversion of the historical environment change using information derived from organic carbon in marine sediments, the influence of mineralization on this information should be fully considered. [Display omitted] • Exogenous input of organic carbon has higher CO 2 fluxes than organic carbon produced by marine organisms. • The mineralization rate constant of organic carbon in sediments of Bohai Bay in the past 50 years shows a "C"-type trend. • Mineralization significantly changed the trend of organic carbon in the sediments of Bohai Bay over the last 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduled block time (SBT) is the time between gate departure and gate arrival assumed by airlines for use in published timetables and operations planning. SBT setting has critical impacts on airlines’ operating cost and on-time performance. Air carriers regularly update their SBTs to respond to changing operating conditions and evolving business strategies. Most existing studies have focused on investigating the impact of SBT on on-time performance or predicting SBT based on historical performance and market characteristics. However, the dynamics of adjusting SBT, which may allow deeper understanding about the trade-offs airlines make between SBT and on-time performance, have been rarely studied. In this paper, we assume that SBT adjustment choices reveal preferences. Based on airlines’ practice in setting SBT, hypothetical SBT scenarios and their corresponding on-time performance profiles are re-constructed to mimic the situations faced by airline schedulers. This enables us to infer how airlines trade-off between SBT, on-time arrivals, and earliness. By using correlated mixed logit models, we find that our five study airlines are willing to increase SBT from 0.38 to 0.54 min to increase on-time performance by 1%. We also find that both on-time performance and early arrival are valued by airlines, but the former is considerably more valuable. The estimated models can also be used to predict airlines’ SBT adjustments in response to changes in operational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main disadvantage of electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) is their inefficiency in generating ultrasound. A new design of Rayleigh-wave EMAT is proposed with improved ultrasonic generation efficiency on non-ferromagnetic materials. The new EMAT's magnet is narrower than the meander-line coil used in the transducer and the coil itself has an uneven distribution of conductors. The principle of the new design is informed by finite element simulations, which show that the EMAT generates Rayleigh waves more efficiently by taking advantage of both horizontal and vertical magnetic fields of the magnet simultaneously. Experimental measurements verify that the maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic signal generated by the new design of EMAT working under a pulse-echo configuration has been enhanced by 90%, when compared to conventional designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of the western development strategy, large areas in western China are experiencing rapid industrialization and urbanization phases. Simultaneously, increasing energy consumption linked to CO 2 emissions is becoming a serious problem. The stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology model and the random parameters model were developed to assess and quantify the strength of the relationship between CO 2 emissions that are attributed to energy consumption and their major drivers (i.e., population, economy, and technology). The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is a typical region in western China with low energy efficiency and rapid economic growth, was selected as an example. This study determined CO 2 emissions attributed to energy consumption from 1991 to 2011, and assessed the effects of the major drivers of CO 2 emissions at the county level. The following results were obtained. (1) The CO 2 emissions of Ningxia increased rapidly throughout the study period. (2) Increasing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, urban employment, and the contribution to GDP of secondary industries would promote CO 2 emissions. By contrast, increasing the growth of the per capita annual disposable income of rural households, the contribution to GDP of tertiary industries, and population density would restrain CO 2 emissions. (3) The county-level heterognerity was found to be significant which suggests adopting a uniform policy might not be optimal. Finally, the study method, effects of CO 2 emission factors, and policy suggestions could also be applied to other provinces and autonomous regions in western China because of the similar characteristics of these areas such as vast lands, rich resources, and low development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Magmatism formed during the initial stage (ca. 480Ma) and advanced stage (ca. 450Ma) of exhumation of subducted continental crust have been recognized in South Altyn western China. • Two stages of magmatism exhibits evidence for the partial melting of subducted continental crust during differential exhumation process of South Altyn in Palaeozoic. The early Palaeozoic continental subduction–collisional belt in South Altyn (SA) western China distributes a large amount of (ultra)-high-pressure ((U)HP) metamorphic and granitic rocks associated with subduction, collision, and exhumation. In this study, four granitic rocks were collected from Bashenwake located in eastern SA. The ages of the garnet-bearing alkali-feldspar granite (GAFG), garnet-bearing granitic gneiss (GGG), alkali-feldspar granite (AFG), and syenogranite (SG) are 458.0 ± 4.1, 483.0 ± 4.1, 450.0 ± 2.4, and 482.0 ± 4.9 Ma, respectively. Whole-rock major and trace elements and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope, and zircon Hf isotope compositions for all samples exhibit characteristics of a continental crustal source. Based on partial melting modeling, the source temperature of the GGG, GAFG, AFG and SG was concluded as 750–780 °C, 730–760 °C, 730–770 °C and ca. 800 °C, respectively. The source pressure was estimated as ca. 0.8 GPa for the GGG, GAFG and AFG, and ca. 1.2 GPa for SG. Combined with studies on (U)HP metamorphic rocks in SA, this study reveals that GGG is formed by metamorphism while SG is formed from partial melting of upper crustal rocks heated by upwelling mantle during the initial stage of exhumation (ca. 480 Ma) of subducted continental crust in SA. During further stage of exhumation of the subducted continental crust at ca. 450 Ma, the GAFG and AFG were formed from partial melting of GGG as a result of decreased pressure and further mantle upwelling. Consequently, the exhumation age of subducted continental crust in eastern SA is ca. 30 Myr earlier than that in western SA. Thus, the geochronology and petrogenesis of four granitic samples in this study exhibit one of very few evidence for partial melting of subducted continental crust during the exhumation and also provide magmatism exhibits evidence for the differential exhumation model of eastern SA in Palaeozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal-spatial distributions of DDT-related contaminants (DDXs), including DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) and DDD (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane), in the sediments of Lake Chaohu and their influencing factors were studied. p,p-DDE and p,p-DDD were found to be the two dominant components of DDXs in both surface and core sediments. The parent DDT compounds were still detectable in sediment cores after the late 1930s. Historical usage of technical DDT was identified as the primary source of DDXs in sediments, as indicated by DDT/(DDD + DDE) ratios of less than one. The residual levels of DDXs were higher in the surface and core sediments in the western lake area than in other lake areas, which might be due to the combined inflow effects of municipal sewage, industrial wastewater and agricultural runoff. The DDX residues in the sediment cores reached peak values in the late 1970s or early 1980s. There were significant positive relationships between DDX residues in sediment cores with annual DDT production and with fine particulate sizes (<4.5 μm). The relationship between the DDXs and TOC in sediment was complex, as indicated by the significant differences among the surface and core sediments. The algae-derived organic matter significantly influenced the amount of residue, composition and distribution of DDXs in the sediments. The DDD/DDE ratios responded well to the anaerobic conditions in the sediments that were caused by algal blooms after the late 1970s in the western lake area. This suggests that the algae-derived organic matter was an important factor and served as a biomarker of eutrophication and also affected the DDX residues and lifecycle in the lake ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change materials (PCMs) are potential candidates in passive thermal regulation and energy storage fields due to their high latent heat capacity around phase transition temperature. However, the leakage problem and low thermal conductivity are two obstructive factors for the extended application of PCMs. Herein, a series of paraffin@silicon dioxide microcapsules (Pa@SiO 2)/graphene sheets (GS)/silicone rubber (SR) phase change composites (PCCs) were prepared. It is found that the inorganic SiO 2 shell is conducive to enhancing the thermal conductivity of PCCs and the double encapsulation by the SiO 2 shell and SR skeleton can restrict the leakage of liquid Pa during phase transition. With a Pa@SiO 2 content of 70 wt%, the PCCs have a high latent heat of 126.1 J/g and enhanced thermal conductivity of 0.37 W m−1 K−1, which is 131.25% higher compared to that of pure SR. In addition, the introduction of graphene sheets further boosts the thermal conductivity of PCCs to 2.69 W m−1 K−1. The obtained PCCs lead to a surprising temperature decline of nearly 35 °C of a commercial lithium-ion battery during a high discharge rate (7.4 C). This work provides an efficient route to fabricate microcapsules-based PCCs for passive thermal regulation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel adaptation of transformers for handwriting recognition tasks, bypassing recurrent neural nets. • Competitive results achieved in low resource scenario with synthetically pretrained model. • Extensive ablation and comparative studies conducted to understand and modify transformer properly for HTR. • Implicit language modelling ability proved. • The state-of-the-art performance achieved on public IAM dataset. The advent of recurrent neural networks for handwriting recognition marked an important milestone reaching impressive recognition accuracies despite the great variability that we observe across different writing styles. Sequential architectures are a perfect fit to model text lines, not only because of the inherent temporal aspect of text, but also to learn probability distributions over sequences of characters and words. However, using such recurrent paradigms comes at a cost at training stage, since their sequential pipelines prevent parallelization. In this work, we introduce a novel method that bypasses any recurrence during the training process with the use of transformer models. By using multi-head self-attention layers both at the visual and textual stages, we are able to tackle character recognition as well as to learn language-related dependencies of the character sequences to be decoded. Our model is unconstrained to any predefined vocabulary, being able to recognize out-of-vocabulary words, i.e. words that do not appear in the training vocabulary. We significantly advance over prior art and demonstrate that satisfactory recognition accuracies are yielded even in few-shot learning scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HOXB9 is an important transcription factor associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, its degradation mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that HOXB9 is a substrate of AMP kinase alpha (AMPKα). AMPK mediates HOXB9 T133 phosphorylation and downregulates the level of HOXB9 in mice and LUAD cells. Mechanistically, phosphorylated HOXB9 promoted E3 ligase Praja2-mediated HOXB9 degradation. Blocking HOXB9 phosphorylation by depleting AMPKα1/2 or employing the HOXB9 T133A mutant promoted tumor cell growth in cell culture and mouse xenografts via upregulation of HOXB9 and KRAS that is herein identified as a target of HOXB9. Clinically, AMPK activation levels in LUAD samples were positively correlated with pHOXB9 levels; higher pHOXB9 levels were associated with better survival of patients with LUAD. We thus present a HOXB9 degradation mechanism and demonstrate an AMPK-HOXB9-KRAS axis linking glucose-level-regulated AMPK activation to HOXB9 stability and KRAS gene expression, ultimately controlling LUAD progression. [Display omitted] • AMPKα mediates HOXB9 phosphorylation at T133 and reduces the level of HOXB9 • HOXB9 T133 phosphorylation leads to HOXB9 polyubiquitination by E3 ligase Praja2 • HOXB9 targets and upregulates KRAS expression and promotes LUAD progression • AMPKα-HOXB9-KRAS axis reveals a mechanism for metformin inhibition of LUAD Wang et al. find that AMPK activation mediates phosphorylation of HOXB9 at T133, which induces ubiquitin-mediated proteasome degradation of HOXB9. HOXB9 targets and upregulates KRAS and promotes LUAD progression. The results uncover a mechanism underlying energy metabolism controlling LUAD progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe a new modification of the Koyanagi technique for the one-stage repair of severe hypospadias and its short-term outcomes.Patients and Methods: Our modified Koyanagi technique was performed in 24 patients with severe hypospadias between February 2012 and January 2015. The age of the patients ranged from 1.9 to 11.9 years (mean = 3.5 years). The flap design was similar to the Koyanagi technique, but our modified technique highlighted the following points: after the chordee was completely corrected, the urethral plate was recreated using foreskin, and then a U-shaped incision was made on the original and recreated urethral plate (as in the Duplay technique); a pedicled flap of the tunica vaginalis or scrotal dartos was used for additional coverage of the neourethra.Results: The operation time lasted from 120 to 150 minutes (mean = 140 minutes). There were 5 patients (20.8%) who developed complications: 4 patients (16.7%) developed a fistula and 1 patient (4.2%) developed dehiscence of the urethra. There were no reported urethral strictures, meatal stenosis, or urethral diverticula. The complications in the 5 patients were successfully addressed with secondary repair, and all patients achieved satisfactory cosmetic and urethral functional results.Conclusion: The modified Koyanagi technique simplified the operation and better preserved the blood supply to the flap. The additional coverage of the neourethra using a pedicled flap of the tunica vaginalis or scrotal dartos significantly decreased the rate of fistula formation. This technique is highly suitable for the one-stage repair of severe hypospadias with penoscrotal transposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bicycling and walking are gaining popularity for both commuting and recreation. However, when faced with limited right-of-way width, many transportation agencies find it impractical to designate separate space for bicyclists in urban roadway corridors, instead devoting their limited funds to other projects. As a result, some bicyclists – feeling threatened by motor vehicles – use sidewalks for at least part of their trip. Laws governing bicyclist use of sidewalks are not consistently enforced in various cities and countries. Pedestrian-bicycle shared space has rarely been studied from a pedestrian's perspective in an urban context. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence pedestrian attitudes toward sharing a sidewalk with bicyclists can be useful in evaluating shared space strategies and guiding investments in bicycle facilities. Using the responses of 114 persons to 15 carefully constructed 60-s video clips of urban sidewalks in four Chinese cities, this study characterizes pedestrian attitudes regarding sharing sidewalks with bicycles under different sidewalk configurations. By estimating a random parameters ordered probability model (to account for unobserved heterogeneity across respondents), we found pedestrians who wanted a “safe distance” greater than 1.5 meters were more likely to possess a less tolerant attitude. Attitudes of pedestrians toward bicyclists on sidewalks also depend on the presence or absence of dedicated bicycle facilities. The effects of other significant factors are also quantified in this paper. Implications for policy makers in evaluating shared-space strategy can be drawn from this empirical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose We investigated whether a 99m Tc radiolabeled anti-miRNA-155 oligonucleotide (AMO-155) could visualize the expression of miR-155 in multiple kinds of tumors in vivo . Methods AMO-155 was chemically synthesized and modified with 2′- O -methyl (2′-OMe) and phosphorothioate (PS). It was radiolabeled with 99m Tc via the conjugation with NHS-MAG3 at 5′ end. The characterization of radiolabeling and serum stability was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and agarose gel electrophoresis. The expression of C/EBPβ, one of the miR-155 target proteins, was assessed using Western blot. The cellular uptake and delivery of AMO-155 was further evaluated in tumor cells. 99m Tc-AMO-155 was tested in vivo in multiple tumor models, including miR-155 over-expressed and low-expressed tumor models. Finally, biodistribution of 99m Tc-AMO-155 was evaluated. Results 99m Tc-AMO-155 was prepared with high yield and radiochemical purity. It showed high stability in fresh human serum for 10 h. 99m Tc-AMO-155 displayed comparable capacity as unlabeled AMO-155 to increase the expression of C/EBPβ protein in MCF-7 cells. 99m Tc-AMO-155 showed an increased radioactive uptake in MCF-7 cells after 8 h of incubation, whereas no change of 99m Tc-pertechnetate uptake was observed. Carboxyfluorescein (FAM) labeled AMO-155 had higher fluorescent delivery than Control in HeLa and HepG2 cells by confocal microscopy. In miR-155 over-expressed tumor models, 99m Tc-AMO-155 showed significantly higher tumor accumulation than 99m Tc-Control. Furthermore, 99m Tc-AMO-155 was capable of discriminating between MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 tumors based on their expression of miR-155. Conclusions Our study successfully prepared and proved 99m Tc-AMO-155 as a prospective imaging agent for the noninvasive visualization of miR-155 expression in vivo . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report zircon U–Pb dating, Hf isotopes, geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic data, with the aim the petrogenesis and regional tectonic evolution of Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rock in the South Altyn, NW China. New LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb isotopic data constrained them at ca. 406 Ma. The mafic samples are characterized by high Fe, Cr and Ni contents, low Ti and Mg contents, slightly enriched LREE patterns, and low (La/Yb) N , La/Nb and La/Ta ratios, and positive ε Nd ( t ) values (+3.3 to +3.4), indicating that they were likely derived from strong batch-melting of the asthenosphere in the spinel facies field. The felsic rocks show an A-type affinity, with high alkalis, Fe, Ga, Zr, Nb, Ce and Y contents, low Mg, Sr content, high Rb/Sr and Ga/Al ratios, enrichment in LILE (e.g., Rb, K, Th, U and LREE) and depletion in Ba, Sr, Nb, Ta, P and Ti, and fractionated REE patterns with very strong negative Eu anomalies. These features, along with distinct ε Nd ( t ) values (−0.5 to +2.3) and mostly positive ε Hf ( t ) (−0.29 to +5.18), indicate that the felsic rocks were mainly generated by partial melting of the crust in low pressure and high temperature conditions, and simultaneously underwent slight magma mixing of such melts with mantle magma. According to the petrogenetic schemes and geological background of the Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks (tholeiite and A-type dacite–rhyolite), they should have formed in a post-collisional extensional setting. Moreover, on the basis of spatial and temporal distribution, and formation mechanism, the tectonic magmatic evolution of the early Paleozoic South Altyn Tagh could be divided into three stages: ① 505–472 Ma (continental collision), the magmatite formed under high-pressure conditions due to the deep subduction and initial tearing of continental slab; ② 467–450 Ma (continental slab break-off), the magmatite formed at high temperature and low pressure in virtue of felsic upper crust uplifting and mantle magma underplating; and ③ 432–385 Ma (post-collisional extension), the magmatite consists of A-type granites and bimodal volcanic rocks, which are the products of the interaction between mantle and crust, and asthenosphere upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a symbolic ceramic oxide, the reaction of SiO 2 as an insulating layer with the Fe–Si–Al/SiO 2 soft magnetic composites (SMCs), substrate during heat treatment, as well as the resulting microscopic phase transition of the core–shell structure and its influence on the magnetic properties, are worth investigating. In this study, based on the successful synthesis of Fe–Si–Al based SMCs using fluidised chemical vapour deposition combined with an electric hot–press sintering method, the evolution of the insulating layers was investigated under different heat–treatment temperatures and closely linked to the magnetic performance of the composites. During heat treatment at high temperatures, the formation of high–resistivity oxides (Al 2 O 3) after heat treatment results in a low inter–particle eddy current loss, while excessive temperature causes disintegration of the core–shell heterostructure. This leads to a discernible increase in eddy current and hysteresis losses and a decrease in permeability and resistivity. The SMCs had an Ms of 115.8 emu/g, a resistivity of 6.86 mΩ cm, and a hysteresis loss of 56.3 kW/m3 at 10 mT and 100 kHz when heat-treated at 1373 K for 120 min, which was the best among all samples. This research provides a novel approach to building SMCs with inorganic ceramic insulating layers and a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the heat–treatment process parameters, microstructure, and magnetic properties which is highly significant for industrial production. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The amplitude of an ultrasonic signal generated by electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) is typically low when compared to those generated by contacting transducers, which restricts the application of EMATs in the fields of nondestructive testing and nondestructive evaluation. The transmission process of a surface wave EMAT is studied, based on a previously established 3-D model, with the aim of enhancing the amplitude of ultrasonic waves generated by the EMAT. The effect of changing various EMAT parameters on the surface wave is investigated, by utilizing the orthogonal test method. Results indicate that after optimization, the signal amplitude of the EMAT has increased by 25.2%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] A video-clip based survey was conducted to investigate pedestrian perceived level of service. [•] A random parameters ordered probit model is developed. [•] Bicycles are found to have a strong negative impact on pedestrian perceptions of level of service. [•] The results provide guidance for making sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Surface wave electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are becoming preferred sensors of automatic inspection systems for the detection of surface-layer defects in hostile environments. Aiming at establishing a 3-D model for meander-line-coil surface wave EMATs operating on the Lorentz principle, a novel modeling method is proposed by combining numerical calculations and analytical solutions with special attention to the influence of the dynamic magnetic field. Simulation and analysis find that the frequency of the surface waves due to the dynamic magnetic field is twice that due to the static magnetic field; the excitation of surface waves with two frequencies can effectively improve the sensitivity of EMATs to flaws; and the force due to the dynamic magnetic field generates surface waves more efficiently than that due to the static one when the excitation current exceeds 528.9A. The accuracy of the established model is verified by experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A novel integrated language model for handwriting word recognition. • A sequence-to-sequence approach for handwritten word recognition.. • Candidate fusion incorporates language statistics and commonly produced errors. • We achieve state-of-the-art performances challenging datasets. Sequence-to-sequence models have recently become very popular for tackling handwritten word recognition problems. However, how to effectively integrate an external language model into such recognizer is still a challenging problem. The main challenge while training a language model is to deal with the language model corpus which is usually different to the one used for training the handwritten word recognition system. Thus, the bias between both word corpora leads to incorrectness on the transcriptions, providing similar or even worse performances on the recognition task. In this work, we introduce Candidate Fusion, a novel way to integrate an external language model to a sequence-to-sequence architecture. Moreover, it provides suggestions from an external language knowledge, as a new input to the sequence-to-sequence recognizer. Hence, Candidate Fusion provides two improvements. On the one hand, the sequence-to-sequence recognizer has the flexibility to not only combine the information from itself and the language model, but also choose the importance of the information provided by the language model. On the other hand, the external language model has the ability to adapt itself to the training corpus and even learn the most common errors produced from the recognizer. Finally, by conducting comprehensive experiments, the Candidate Fusion proves to outperform the state-of-the-art language models for handwritten word recognition tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally investigate the reflection behaviors of negative permeability metamaterials (NPMs) consisting of a periodic array of copper hexagonal split ring resonators (SRRs). Results show that, for the two-dimensional (2-D) NPMs samples, a reflectivity peak with the height of 10 dB appears near the resonance frequency, and the reflectivity is remarkably weak on both sides of the transmission gap; the reflection behaviors of 3-D samples similar to that of the 2-D ones are strongly affected by the lattice constants; the reflection phase increases with the frequency, and an inflexion exists at the resonance frequency of 2-D samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed in situ Raman scattering and synchrotron angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction (ADXRD) investigations to explore high-pressure behaviors of azodicarbonamide (C 2 N 4 O 2 H 4 , ADC) to 21.6 and 23.8 GPa, respectively. ADC exhibits the representative two-dimensional (2D) hydrogen-bonded networks, and is the most hugely used foaming agent in industry both under ambient and high pressures. Careful identification of external modes and indexation of Bragg diffraction peaks under different pressures demonstrate ADC crystal remains the P 2 1 / c symmetry in this study. The bulk modulus (B 0) and its pressure derivative (B 0 ') are determined to be 13.2(7) GPa and 8.2(2) by fitting the isothermal third Vinet equation of state (EOS). The conformation change of ADC molecule has been observed at 12.7 GPa. And this is evidenced by the splitting of skeleton atoms vibrations and the discontinuous evolutions with respect to hydrogen bond donor (NH) vibrations. First principle calculation reveals the observed confirmation change arises from the discontinuous variation of the torsion angel between H 2 NC=O and CN=NC skeleton groups. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the extensive hydrogen bonds within 2D networks dominate the intermolecular close contacts even under high pressures. The intermolecular interaction energy calculation also implies that the energy between neighboring molecules in the 2D layer dominates the networks stability, whereas the energy between neighboring molecules in the second nearest adjacent layer is the primary factor for crystal instability. The cooperativity of the molecular flexibility and directional hydrogen bonds is responsible for structural stability under high pressures. • The conformation change of ADC molecule has been observed at 12.7 GPa, which is evidenced by the splitting of skeleton atoms vibrations and the discontinuous evolutions with respect to hydrogen bond donor (NH) vibrations. • The intermolecular interaction energy calculation indicates that the unique 2D layer is a dominant factor for the stability, whereas the molecules in adjacent 2D layers play a prominent role in the instability of ADC under high pressures. • The intermolecular hydrogen bonds are strengthened through inspect of N and H contact contributions to Hirshfeld surfaces at high pressures. • The bulk modulus and its pressure derivative are determined to be 13.2(7) GPa and 8.2(2) by fitting the isothermal third Vinet equation of state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high through-plane thermal conductivity (TC), softness, and electrical insulation are highly desired for modern electronics. However, it is challenging to simultaneously achieve these properties. Boron nitride (BN)-based polymer composites are promising candidates for advanced TIMs owing to the high TC and great electrical insulation of BN. However, previous works perform either low TC (< 8 W m−1 K−1) or high stiffness. The ultimate properties of BN-based TIMs remain largely unclear and unrealized. Here, we fabricate BN film-filled silicone rubber composites by a facile stacking-cutting method, which maintains the high degree of orientation the BN film, so that a record-high though-plane TC of 19.1 W m−1 K−1 and a low compressive modulus of 5.42 MPa are achieved. The low BN content (37 vol%) ensures the softness and resilience of the as-prepared TIMs. This work presents a highly efficient strategy to enhance the performance of BN based TIMs, promoting their large-scale manufacturing and practical applications. • Thermal interface materials based on boron nitride film (BNF) were fabricated by a facile stacking-cutting method. • The composites exhibit a high degree of orientation and densely overlapped structures. • The composites show a record-high though-plane TC of 19.1 W m−1 K−1 at 37 vol% BN content and a low compressive modulus of 5.42 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High thermally conductive materials with good electrical insulating and mechanical properties are indispensable for electronics. Aiming for all-polymer composites with light weight, electrical insulation and high thermal conductivity (TC), ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers/epoxy composites with two kinds of fiber orientation structures (0°/90°, ±45°) were fabricated by hot-pressing. It is found that the in-plane TC of ±45° composite is approximately 1.3–1.4 times that of 0/90° one, and the corresponding mechanism is verified by finite element simulation and model calculation. Thermally conductive pathways formed by UHMWPE fibers endow 0/90° and ±45° composites with the in-plane TC of 9.94 and 13.61 Wm−1K−1, respectively. Through depositing polydopamine (PDA) and grafting polyether amine (PEA) onto the surface of fibers, the poor fiber/epoxy interface was improved, resulting in 40.7% and 52.3% improvement in interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and shear modulus, respectively. Simultaneously, a higher in-plane TC as high as 15.76 Wm−1K−1 is achieved. The heat dissipation evaluation indicates that the composite can reduce the temperature of the resistance wire by 14 °C. This work reveals the great potential of UHMWPE fibers in heat dissipation and provides a strong candidate for electrical insulating support materials with high TC for heat management of electronics. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation community is actively investigating initiatives to reduce aircraft fuel consumption from surface operations, as surface management strategies may face fewer implementation barriers compared with en route strategies. One fuel-saving initiative for the air transportation system is the possibility of holding aircraft at the gate, or the spot, until the point at which they can taxi unimpeded to the departure runway. The extent to which gate holding strategies have financial and environmental benefits hinges on the quantity of fuel that is consumed during surface operations. A pilot of an aircraft may execute the taxi procedure on a single engine or utilize different engine thrust rates during taxi because of a delay. In the following study, we use airline fuel consumption data to estimate aircraft taxi fuel consumption rates during the “unimpeded” and “delayed” portions of taxi time. We find that the fuel consumption attributed to a minute of taxi-out delay is less than that attributed to minute of unimpeded taxi time; for some aircraft types, the fuel consumption rate for a minute of taxi delay is half of that for unimpeded taxi. It is therefore not appropriate, even for rough calculations, to apply nominal taxi fuel consumption rates to convert delayed taxi-out time into fuel burn. On average we find that eliminating taxi delay would reduce overall flight fuel consumption by about 1%. When we consider the savings on an airport-by-airport basis, we find that for some airports the potential reduction from reducing taxi delay is as much as 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first two members in the quaternary A/A′/M/Q (A = alkali metal; A′ = alkaline-earth metal; M = As, Sb, Bi; Q = S, Se, Te) system, namely the KBaMSe 3 (M = As, Sb) selenides, have been synthesized by solid state reactions. They are isostructural and crystallize in the centrosymmetric space group P 2 1 / c of the monoclinic system. In the structure, the trivalent M atom (M = As, Sb) is coordinated to three Se atoms forming a trigonal pyramid with the Se atoms serving as the triangle base, showing the stereochemical activity of the ns 2 lone pair electron. The MSe 3 (M = As, Sb) trigonal pyramids are totally isolated from each other with K + and Ba 2+ cations located between them. The optical band gaps of 2.26 (2) eV for KBaAsSe 3 and 2.04 (2) eV for KBaSbSe 3 , were deduced from the diffuse reflectance spectra. The first principles calculations were performed to study the electronic structures of KBaMSe 3 (M = As, Sb) compounds and the results indicated that these two compounds are indirect band gap semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread application and interest in awake prone positioning stems from its ease and availability and its ability to enhance patients' oxygenation. Nevertheless, due to the absence of consensus over the regimen of awake prone positioning, the efficacy of awake prone positioning remains uncertain. To explore the optimal regimen for awake prone positioning, including the timing of initiation, ideal daily duration, and strategies for improving patient comfort and encouraging adherence. Retrospective observational study. Two university-affiliated hospitals in Shanghai. Between December 2022 and February 2023, a total of 475 patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia who received awake prone positioning were observed. The data were collected from the hospital's electronic medical record system. The differentiation efficiency of peripheral blood oxygen saturation [SpO 2 ]:fractional oxygen concentration in inspired air [FiO 2 ] ratio at first awake prone positioning for different outcomes was tested by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the relationship between time to occurrence of 28-day outcomes and collected variables. Kaplan–Meier curves were plotted with the percentage of 28-day outcomes according to the SpO 2 :FiO 2 ratio at first awake prone positioning after controlling covariates through Cox regression. The best efficiency in predicting patient outcomes was achieved when the cutoff SpO 2 :FiO 2 ratio at first awake prone positioning was 200. Patients with a reduced SpO 2 :FiO 2 ratio (≤ 200) experienced more adverse respiratory outcomes (RR = 5.42, 95%CI [3.35, 8.76], p < 0·001) and higher mortality (RR = 16.64, 95%CI [5.53, 50.13], p < 0.001). Patients with a SpO 2 :FiO 2 ratio of ≥ 200 at first awake prone positioning, longer duration between first awake prone positioning and admission, more awake prone positioning days, and better awake prone positioning completion were significantly protected from 28-day adverse respiratory outcomes and mortality. Initiating awake prone positioning with a SpO 2 :FiO 2 ratio exceeding 200, increasing the number of awake prone positioning days, prolonging the time between first awake prone positioning and admission, and achieving better completion of awake prone positioning were found to be significantly associated with reduced adverse respiratory outcomes and mortality. ClinicalTrials.gov ; No.: NCT05795751 ; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ag–Cu NAs effectively inhibited the E. coli and S. aureus growth. • In Ag–Cu NAs, the strong charge-transfer leads to an earlier dissolution of Ag+. • The Ag+ ion dissolution is correlated with the antibacterial activity of Ag–Cu NAs. Immiscible bimetallic Ag–Cu system has been synthesized by the pulsed plasma in liquid method with a graph of one pulse duration. Herein, by combining X-ray power diffraction, K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, our results indicate that homogeneously alloyed Ag–Cu nanoparticles (Ag–Cu NAs) have the average diameter about 2.1 nm, composed by 48.5 at% Ag and 51.5 at% Cu with chemical analysis and the estimated lattice parameter was 3.873 Å. The antibacterial property of Ag–Cu NAs was detected against E. coli and S. aureus strains according to the colony formed abilities of bacteria on agar plates covered with the nanoparticles. With very short incubation period, Ag–Cu NAs completely inhibited the E. coli and S. aureus growth at an ultralow concentration. The mechanism of antibacterial property of Ag–Cu NAs was performed by the inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and the plane wave pseudopotential method implemented in the CASTEP package based on the density functional theory. The Ag+ dissolution is correlated with antibacterial activity for Ag–Cu NAs-assisted antibacterial treatment. These findings obtained revealed that our Ag–Cu NAs could be served as a containing material of numerous bacteria-free products in order to avoid their bacterial contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart Meters (SMs) degradation trend evaluation (DTE) is critical for accurate electricity metering and improved energy efficiency, particularly in extreme natural environments. However, environmental noise and insufficient interpretability often limit the performance of DTE. To remedy this problem, an optimized local density-based (OLD) method is first proposed for outlier identification, where a modified distance measurement and double nearest neighbors are used to improve the identification performance. Next, a DTE model, namely multi-kernel twin support vector regression (MTSVR), is presented to combine multiple environmental features using the proposed up- and down-kernel combination method. Integrating the MTSVR and OLD, real-world SMs datasets collected from a high dry heat area in China are utilized for model verification. The results demonstrate that the OLD-MTSVR framework has a superior performance for SMs degradation trend analysis. More importantly, the feature diversity can be analyzed quantitatively through the model interpretability. • Profound outlier detection performance using the optimized density-based method. • Accurate and efficient degradation trend prediction capacity for smart meters. • Evaluate the feature diversity through the model interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Anataxis of the Grt-bearing biotite gneiss was identified in the Jianggalesayi area. • Protolith, peak & retrograded metamorphic, anatectic ages were obtained for the gneiss. • Protolith ages of 1099–1072 Ma and formation age of 417 Ma were for the felsic veins. • Biotite dehydration accounted for the anatexis of the gneiss between 456 and 417 Ma. • Crystallization of the melt took place at the amphibolite facies stage of the gneiss. Abstract Partial melting of the garnet (Grt)–bearing biotite gneiss from the Jianggalesayi area in the southern Altyn Tagh high pressure (HP) – ultra high pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt has been identified and reported here. Felsic veins were distributed along the foliation plane and deformed together with the Grt–bearing biotite gneiss, which dominated the main outcrop and preserved diagnostic features of anataxis. Highly cuspate and irregular quartz (Qz)-melt and plagioclase (Pl)-melt surrounded or stretched into biotite and/or quartz grains with obvious eroded boundaries further provided the microstructural evidences for partial melting of the gneiss. CL images showed that zircons from the Grt–bearing biotite gneiss were characterized by multizone structures of core – Rim I – Rim II – Rim III. The different zircon zones from the gneiss had integrated recordings of the protolith ages 836–1613 Ma; the peak metamorphic age of 503 ± 5 Ma; the retrograded age of 456 ± 4 Ma; and the anatectic age of 418 ± 3 Ma. Zircons from felsic veins also exhibited core – rim structures on CL images. The felsic veins yielded similar protolith ages (1099–1072 Ma) and anatectic age (417 ± 2 Ma) as the host gneiss. The zircons from the host gneiss and felsic veins had plotted identical crustal evolution curves in the εHf(t) vs. U-Pb age diagram with identical T DM ages. The U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotope both suggested that the felsic veins were internally derived by the partial melting of the host gneiss. Moreover, the high content of Al 2 O 3 and Rb in felsic veins indicated that the decomposition of biotite accounted for the partial melting of the gneiss. The temperatures calculated by Ti–in–zircon thermometer for the anatectic zircons from the felsic veins (582–694 °C) were identical to the conditions of the amphibolite facies stage of the Grt–bearing biotite gneiss (T = 619–646 °C), which indicated that the crystallization of the melt had taken place during the amphibolite facies stage of the exhumation. The anatectic ages (418 ± 3 Ma and 417 ± 2 Ma) of the gneiss and felsic veins were determined to be within the range of the fourth episode of the early Paleozoic magmatism (420–385 Ma), which had formed in a post-collisional extensional setting. Therefore, the combination of the magmatic heat events and stress release may have played an important role in the partial melting of the gneiss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution and climate change are issues of worldwide concern. Synergizing air pollution control and climate mitigation have been an important national policy of China. This study develops bivariate and integrated synergy indexes (BSI and ISI) to investigate the synergy states between air pollution and CO 2 emission. The synergy indexes are based on the correlation coefficient and established from exploiting the internal comparability of the data. Using the BSI and ISI , we evaluated the correlation and synergy states between air pollution (involving ambient PM 2.5 and ozone) and CO 2 emission in Chinese cities from 2015 to 2020. The results present the city-level trends and heterogeneities of synergy between air pollution and CO 2 emission. The averaged value of BSI PM2.5-ozone , BSI PM2.5-CO2 , and BSI ozone-CO2 for all cities and assessing years were −0.239, −0.291, and −0.242, indicating a generally and globally weak synergy. The synergy states between air pollution and CO 2 emission were relatively significant and complex in specific regions. Combined with the local spatial association and decoupling analysis, we further identified the primary variables and key areas for synergistic control. This study provides a systematic idea and case demonstration for city-level synergy assessment through transforming and expanding the data usage capacity. The method and process are applicable to various scales and regions, which would be of reference value for synergy assessments in other countries and regions. [Display omitted] • We developed the bivariate and integrated synergy indexes. • We evaluated the synergy between air pollution and CO 2 emission at the city-level. • Local spatial association and decoupling analysis supported the synergy assessment. • Most Chinese cities show insignificant synergy of air pollution and CO 2. • BTHS, YRD, and the JJAH are key areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]