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Foxtail millet husk (FMH) is generally removed and discarded during the first step of millet processing. This study aimed to optimize a method using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) combined with ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) to extract phenols from FMH and to identify the phenolic compositions and evaluate the biological activities. The optimized DES comprised L-lactic acid and glycol with a 1:2 molar ratio by taking the total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC) as targets. The extraction parameters were optimized to maximize TFC and TPC, using the following settings: liquid-to-solid ratio of 25 mL/g, DES with water content of 15%, extraction time of 41 min and temperature of 51 °C, and ultrasonic power at 304 W. The optimized UAE-DES, which produced significantly higher TPC, TFC, antioxidant activity, α-glucosidase, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities compared to conventional solvent extraction. Through UPLC–MS, 12 phenolic compounds were identified, with 1-O-p-coumaroylglycerol, apigenin-C-pentosyl-C-hexoside, and 1-O-feruloyl-3-O-p-coumaroylglycerol being the main phenolic components. 1-O-feruloyl-3-O-p-coumaroylglycerol and 3,7-dimethylquercetin were identified first in foxtail millet. Our results indicated that FMH could be exploited by UAE-DES extraction as a useful source of naturally derived antioxidants, along with acetylcholinesterase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change in natural runoff is highly relevant to total river flow dispatch and water resource utilization in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Based on the annual mean temperature and total precipitation records from 70 meteorological stations from 1961–2020, the impact of climate change on the natural runoff of the YRB is investigated using the Mann-Kendall (M-K) test and Bivariate Wavelet analysis methods. Results show that the annual mean temperature over the YRB increased by 0.33 °C decade−1 during 1961–2020, with a warming rate of more than 0.40 °C decade−1 observed in its northern part. The annual total precipitation increases by 10–20 mm decade−1 in the northwest YRB, while it decreases by 20–30 mm decade−1 in the southeast YRB. The result of the M-K test shows abrupt variations in temperature and natural runoff, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The decrease in natural runoff is closely tied to the increase (decrease) in temperature (precipitation), especially for the period 1993–2020. The bivariate wavelet coherence analysis further suggests that the decrease in the natural runoff, which has persisted over the past 60 years, is primarily driven by precipitation reduction rather than regional warming. In the stage of rapid warming, the inter-decadal influence of precipitation on natural runoff gradually changes to the influence of inter-annual fluctuation. The finding contributes to providing an important scientific basis for evaluating the optimal allocation of water resources in arid and semi-arid areas against the background of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical neural networks (ONN) have become the most promising solution to replacing electronic neural networks, which have the advantages of large bandwidth, low energy consumption, strong parallel processing ability, and super high speed. Silicon-based micro-nano integrated photonic platforms have demonstrated good compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing. Therefore, without completely changing the existing silicon-based fabrication technology, optoelectronic hybrid devices or all-optical devices of better performance can be achieved on such platforms. To meet the requirements of smaller size and higher integration for silicon photonic computing, the topology of a four-channel coarse wavelength division multiplexer (CWDM) and an optical scattering unit (OSU) are inversely designed and optimized by Lumerical software. Due to the random optical power splitting ratio and incoherency, the intensities of different input signals from CWDM can be weighted and summed directly by the subsequent OSU to accomplish arbitrary multiply–accumulate (MAC) operations, therefore supplying the core foundation for scattering ONN architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays a critical role in regulating innate immunity and metabolism by producing prostaglandins (PGs) and other lipid mediators. However, the implication of adipose COX-2 in obesity remains largely unknown. Using adipocyte-specific COX-2 knockout (KO) mice, we showed that depleting COX-2 in adipocytes promoted white adipose tissue development accompanied with increased size and number of adipocytes and predisposed diet-induced adiposity, obesity, and insulin resistance. The increased size and number of adipocytes by COX-2 KO were reversed by the treatment of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) but not PGI2 and PGD2 during adipocyte differentiation. PGE2 suppresses PPARγ expression through the PKA pathway at the early phase of adipogenesis, and treatment of PGE2 or PKA activator isoproterenol diminished the increased lipid droplets in size and number in COX-2 KO primary adipocytes. Administration of PGE2 attenuated increased fat mass and fat percentage in COX-2 deficient mice. Taken together, our study demonstrated the suppressing effect of adipocyte COX-2 on adipogenesis and reveals that COX-2 restrains adipose tissue expansion via the PGE2-mediated paracrine mechanism and prevents the development of obesity and related metabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though copper nano-pillars (CNPs) filled in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film has been developed for many years, the high pore-filling percentage in AAO is still a bottleneck. We have demonstrated a new electrodeposition method to fill CNPs in AAO without the seed layer which is required in the traditional electrodeposition process. CNPs with uniform heights were obtained and the pore-filling percentage reached up to 97.5%. Low current density is beneficial for the high pore-filling percentage due to the uniform growing rate in different nanoscale pores. The high temperature increased the diffusion velocity of ions and enhanced the pore filling percentage but also corroded the AAO film simultaneously. Results showed that CNPs grains with <220> orientation were fabricated. Electrodeposition with low electric current could contribute to the forming of CNPs with (220) preferred orientation due to the promotion of dehydration reduction processes. The thermal conductivities of Cu-AAO interposers reaches 92.34 W/(m·K) and 3.19 W/(m·K) in vertical and horizontal directions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely reported that the microstructure refinement of TiAl alloys can be achieved by massive transformation and subsequent annealing in α2 + two phase field. To achieve this goal, several heat treatment parameters must be adjusted, including the heat treatment temperature around single α phase field, the annealing temperature, and the annealing time for the precipitation of α2 phase. Thus, a systematic study is needed for each alloy with different compositions. In this study, the heat treatment parameters for grain refinement via massive transformation of a high Nb-containing TiAl are investigated. Precipitation of α2 phase during annealing is observed by transmission electron microscopy. It is found that 30 min at single α phase field is appropriate for the massive transformation; a full, massively transformed microstructure cannot be obtained by oil or water quenching. A short annealing time can result in a refined microstructure, whereas the sizes of the precipitated α2 phase increases with the increase of annealing time. The α2 phase can form at the interface of twin boundaries of the δ phase, following the Blackburn orientation relationship with both sides. The Vickers hardness is measured for the annealed samples, which remains relatively stable for different annealing times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Previous works showed that supplementation of lysophospholipid as a feed additive improves animal growth and milk yield in beef and dairy cattle production. However, its effects on fattening lambs have not been reported before. In this study, we fed fattening lambs a diet with no or 0.5 g lysophospholipid in a kilogram of diet. We found that lysophospholipid did not or slightly improved the growth of fattening lambs. Feed digestibility, ruminal fermentation parameters and rumen bacterial community were altered, which may be associated with decreased fiber digestion. However, lipase concentration in serum was decreased, which might enhance fat deposition in muscle and thus may increase meat quality. Effects of lysophospholipid on sheep observed in this study are different from those on cattle, which warrants further study. Five experiments were conducted to examine effects of lysophospholipids (LPL) on live weight gain, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation parameters, serum biochemical parameters and rumen bacterial community profile in fattening lambs. Two dietary treatments (pelleted complete feed supplemented without (control diet; CON) or with 0.05% LPL on dry matter basis) were tested in these experiments. Feed and water were provided ad libitum to lambs. The results showed that average daily gain (ADG) tended to increase or was not affected by LPL supplementation. Compared with CON, the supplementation of LPL resulted in an increase in dry matter, crude protein and organic matter digestibilities, and a decrease in neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber digestibilities. Ruminal pH values did not change with LPL supplementation, but the concentrations of ammonia and total short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were increased. The molar proportion of major individual SCFAs and the ratio of acetate to propionate were not affected by LPL supplementation. While the activity of lipase was decreased with LPL supplementation, all other serum biochemical parameters did not change. Rumen bacterial community was altered by LPL supplementation with the relative abundance of fibrolytic bacteria in the total bacterial population, such as Prevotella, decreased. In conclusion, LPL supplementation can alter feed digestion, but may not result in consistent positive responses in animal growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, nanosilver pastes have emerged as one of the most promising high temperature bonding materials for high frequency and high power applications, which provide an effective lead-free electronic packaging solution instead of high-lead and gold-based solders. Although nanosilver pastes can be sintered at lower temperature compared to bulk silver, applications of nanosilver pastes are limited by long-term sintering time (20–30 min), relative high sintering temperature (>250 °C), and applied external pressure, which may damage chips and electronic components. Therefore, low temperature rapid sintering processes that can obtain excellent nanosilver joints are anticipated. In this regard, we present a review of recent progress in the rapid sintering of nanosilver pastes. Preparation of nanosilver particles and pastes, mechanisms of nanopastes sintering, and different rapid sintering processes are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the properties of sintered joints obtained by different sintering processes such as electric current assisted sintering, spark plasma sintering, and laser sintering, etc. Although the research on rapid sintering processes for nanosilver pastes has made a great breakthrough over the past few decades, investigations on mechanisms of rapid sintering, and the performance of joints fabricated by pastes with different compositions and morphologies are still far from enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]