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To address the challenges of sparse point clouds in current MIMO millimeter-wave radar environmental mapping, this paper proposes a dense 3D millimeter-wave radar point cloud environmental mapping algorithm. In the preprocessing phase, a radar SLAM-based approach is introduced to construct local submaps, which replaces the direct use of radar point cloud frames. This not only reduces data dimensionality but also enables the proposed method to handle scenarios involving vehicle motion with varying speeds. Building on this, a 3D-RadarHR cross-modal learning network is proposed, which uses LiDAR as the target output to train the radar submaps, thereby generating a dense millimeter-wave radar point cloud map. Experimental results across multiple scenarios, including outdoor environments and underground tunnels, demonstrate that the proposed method can increase the point cloud density of millimeter-wave radar environmental maps by over 50 times, with a point cloud accuracy better than 0.1 m. Compared to existing algorithms, the proposed method achieves superior environmental map reconstruction performance while maintaining a real-time processing rate of 15 Hz.

Electromagnetic exposure has become increasingly widespread, and its biological effects have received extensive attention. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in the metabolism profile of the brain and serum and to identify differentially expressed proteins in the brain after exposure to the 4.9 GHz radiofrequency (RF) field. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a Sham group and an RF group, which were sham-exposed and continuously exposed to a 4.9 RF field for 35 d, 1 h/d, at an average power density (PD) of 50 W/m 2 . After exposure, untargeted metabolomics and Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) quantitative proteomics were performed. We found 104 and 153 up- and down-regulated differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in the RF_Brain group and RF_Serum group, and the DEMs were significantly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism. Moreover, 10 up-regulated and 51 down-regulated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were discovered in the RF group. Functional correlation analysis showed that most DEMs and DEPs showed a significant correlation. These results suggested that 4.9 GHz exposure induced disturbance of metabolism in the brain and serum, and caused deregulation of proteins in the brain.

In this paper, a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR)-based patch antenna is proposed as a microwave sensor to measure the salt concentration of NaCl solution. The microwave sensor consists of an RF-4 substrate, where a small copper disc is attached on the top as the radiator, a larger copper disc integrated with two CSRRs is attached on the bottom side as the finite ground plane, and a coaxial feeding port is introduced at the ground plane center. During salt concentration sensing, only the top disc is immersed into NaCl solution. The results indicate that the proposed microwave sensor can measure salt concentrations ranging from 5‱ to 35‱ with a maximum sensitivity of 0.367 (kHz/(mg/L)). The proposed microwave sensor is low-cost, low-profile, electrically small, lightweight, and easy to fabricate, and it also can be applied to other solutions' concentration sensing.

Leaf angle (LA) is an important trait of plant architecture, and individuals with narrow LA can better capture canopy light under high-density planting, which is beneficial for increasing the overall yield per unit area. To study the genetic basis and molecular regulation mechanism of leaf angle in rapeseed, we carried out a series of experiments. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was performed using the RIL population, and seven QTLs were identified. Transcriptome analysis showed that the cell wall formation/biogenesis processes and biosynthesis/metabolism of cell wall components were the most enrichment classes. Most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the synthesis of lignin, xylan, and cellulose showed down-regulated expression in narrow leaf material. Microscopic analysis suggested that the cell size affected by the cell wall in the junction area of the stem and petiole was the main factor in leaf petiole angle (LPA) differences. Combining QTL mapping and RNA sequencing, five promising candidate genes BnaA01G0125600ZS , BnaA01G0135700ZS , BnaA01G0154600ZS , BnaA10G0154200ZS , and BnaC03G0294200ZS were identified in rapeseed, and most of them were involved in cell wall biogenesis and the synthesis/metabolism of cell wall components. The results of QTL, transcriptome analysis, and cytological analysis were highly consistent, collectively revealing that genes related to cell wall function played a crucial role in regulating the LA trait in rapeseed. The study provides further insights into LA traits, and the discovery of new QTLs and candidate genes is highly beneficial for genetic improvement.

Breathing is one of the body's most basic functions and abnormal breathing can indicate underlying cardiopulmonary problems. Monitoring respiratory abnormalities can help with early detection and reduce the risk of cardiopulmonary diseases. In this study, a 77 GHz frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) millimetre-wave (mmWave) radar was used to detect different types of respiratory signals from the human body in a non-contact manner for respiratory monitoring (RM). To solve the problem of noise interference in the daily environment on the recognition of different breathing patterns, the system utilised breathing signals captured by the millimetre-wave radar. Firstly, we filtered out most of the static noise using a signal superposition method and designed an elliptical filter to obtain a more accurate image of the breathing waveforms between 0.1 Hz and 0.5 Hz. Secondly, combined with the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) feature extraction algorithm, K-nearest neighbours (KNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), and HOG support vector machine (G-SVM) were used to classify four breathing modes, namely, normal breathing, slow and deep breathing, quick breathing, and meningitic breathing. The overall accuracy reached up to 94.75%. Therefore, this study effectively supports daily medical monitoring.

Quantum secure multi-party summation (QSMS) is a fundamental problem in quantum secure multi-party computation (QSMC), wherein multiple parties compute the sum of their data without revealing them. This paper proposes a novel QSMS protocol based on graph state, which offers enhanced security, usability, and flexibility compared to existing methods. The protocol leverages the structural advantages of graph state and employs random graph state structures and random encryption gate operations to provide stronger security. Additionally, the stabilizer of the graph state is utilized to detect eavesdroppers and channel noise without the need for decoy bits. The protocol allows for the arbitrary addition and deletion of participants, enabling greater flexibility. Experimental verification is conducted to demonstrate the security, effectiveness, and practicality of the proposed protocols. The correctness and security of the protocols are formally proven. The QSMS method based on graph state introduces new opportunities for QSMC. It highlights the potential of leveraging quantum graph state technology to securely and efficiently solve various multi-party computation problems.

Conventional trajectory planning for lower limb assistive devices usually relies on a finite-state strategy, which pre-defines fixed trajectory types for specific gait events and activities. The advancement of deep learning enables walking assistive devices to better adapt to varied terrains for diverse users by learning movement patterns from gait data. Using a self-attention mechanism, a temporal deep learning model is developed in this study to continuously generate lower limb joint angle trajectories for an ankle and knee across various activities. Additional analyses, including using Fast Fourier Transform and paired t -tests, are conducted to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed attention model architecture over the existing methods. Transfer learning has also been performed to prove the importance of data diversity. Under a 10-fold leave-one-out testing scheme, the observed attention model errors are 11.50% (±2.37%) and 9.31% (±1.56%) NRMSE for ankle and knee angle estimation, respectively, which are small in comparison to other studies. Statistical analysis using the paired t -test reveals that the proposed attention model appears superior to the baseline model in terms of reduced prediction error. The attention model also produces smoother outputs, which is crucial for safety and comfort. Transfer learning has been shown to effectively reduce model errors and noise, showing the importance of including diverse datasets. The suggested joint angle trajectory generator has the potential to seamlessly switch between different locomotion tasks, thereby mitigating the problem of detecting activity transitions encountered by the traditional finite-state strategy. This data-driven trajectory generation method can also reduce the burden on personalization, as traditional devices rely on prosthetists to experimentally tune many parameters for individuals with diverse gait patterns.

The ocular mucosa (OM) is an important and unique part of the vertebrate mucosal immune system. The OM plays an important role in maintaining visual function and defending against foreign antigens or microorganisms, while maintaining a balance between the two through complex regulatory mechanisms. However, the function of ocular mucosal defense against foreign pathogens and mucosal immune response in bony fish are still less studied. To acquire deeper understanding into the mucosal immunity of the OM in teleost fish, we established a study of the immune response of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) infected with the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). Our findings revealed that IHNV could successfully infiltrate the trout's OM, indicating that the OM could be an important portal for the IHNV. Furthermore, qPCR and RNA-Seq analysis results showed that a large number of immune-related genes were significantly upregulated in the OM of trout with IHNV infection. Critically, the results of our RNA-Seq analysis demonstrated that viral infection triggered a robust immune response, as evidenced by the substantial induction of antiviral, innate, and adaptive immune-related genes in the OM of infected fish, which underscored the essential role of the OM in viral infection. Overall, our findings revealed a previously unknown function of teleost OM in antiviral defense, and provided a theoretical basis for the study of the mucosal immunity of fish.

Dendrobium nobile Lindl., as an endangered medicinal plant within the genus Dendrobium , is widely distributed in southwestern China and has important ecological and economic value. There are a variety of metabolites with pharmacological activity in D. nobile . The alkaloids and polysaccharides contained within D. nobile are very important active components, which mainly have antiviral, anti-tumor, and immunity improvement effects. However, the changes in the compounds and functional genes of D. nobile induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) are not clearly understood. In this study, the metabolome and transcriptome of D. nobile were analyzed after exposure to MeJA. A total of 377 differential metabolites were obtained through data analysis, of which 15 were related to polysaccharide pathways and 35 were related to terpenoids and alkaloids pathways. Additionally, the transcriptome sequencing results identified 3256 differentially expressed genes that were discovered in 11 groups. Compared with the control group, 1346 unigenes were differentially expressed in the samples treated with MeJA for 14 days (TF14). Moreover, the expression levels of differentially expressed genes were also significant at different growth and development stages. According to GO and KEGG annotations, 189 and 99 candidate genes were identified as being involved in terpenoid biosynthesis and polysaccharide biosynthesis, respectively. In addition, the co-expression analysis indicated that 238 and 313 transcription factors (TFs) may contribute to the regulation of terpenoid and polysaccharide biosynthesis, respectively. Through a heat map analysis, fourteen terpenoid synthetase genes, twenty-three cytochrome P450 oxidase genes, eight methyltransferase genes, and six aminotransferase genes were identified that may be related to dendrobine biosynthesis. Among them, one sesquiterpene synthase gene was found to be highly expressed after the treatment with MeJA and was positively correlated with the content of dendrobine. This study provides important and valuable metabolomics and transcriptomic information for the further understanding of D. nobile at the metabolic and molecular levels and provides candidate genes and possible intermediate compounds for the dendrobine biosynthesis pathway, which lays a certain foundation for further research on and application of Dendrobium .

This paper studies the decay law of low-temperature crack resistance performance of rubber powder basalt fiber composite-modified porous asphalt concrete (CM-PAC) under medium- and high-temperature water erosion. Firstly, the prepared Marshall specimens were subjected to water erosion treatment at different temperatures of 20 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C for 0-15 days. Then, the processed specimens were subjected to low-temperature splitting tests, and acoustic emission data during the splitting test process were collected using an acoustic emission device. It can be seen that the low-temperature splitting strength and low-temperature splitting stiffness modulus of CM-PAC gradually decrease with the increase in water erosion time. The maximum reduction rates of the two compared to the control group reached 72.63% and 91.60%, respectively. The low-temperature splitting failure strain gradually increases. Under the same erosion time, the higher the temperature of water, the more significant the amplitude of changes in the above parameters. In addition, it is shown that as the water erosion time increases, the first stage of loading on the specimen gradually shortens, and the second and third stages gradually advance. As the water temperature increases and the water erosion time prolongs, the acoustic emission energy released by the CM-PAC specimen during the splitting process slightly decreases. The application of acoustic emission technology in the splitting process can clarify the changes in the failure pattern of CM-PAC specimens during the entire loading stage, which can better reveal the impact of medium- to high-temperature water on the performance degradation of CM-PAC.

Background: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) was identified as a novel diagnostic biomarker in gastric cancer (GC). However, the functions of lncRNAs in immuno-microenvironments have not been comprehensively explored. In this study, we explored a critical lncRNA, LOC339059, that can predict the clinical prognosis in GC related to the modulation of PD-L1 and determined its influence upon macrophage polarization via the IL-6/STAT3 pathway. Methods: To date, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the dysregulation of LOC339059 plays an important role in the pathological processes of GC. It acts as a tumor suppressor, regulating GC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumorigenesis, and metastasis. A flow cytometry assay showed that the loss of LOC339059 enhanced PDL1 expression and M2 macrophage polarization. RNA sequencing, RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, Chip-PCR, and a luciferase reporter assay revealed the pivotal role of signaling alternation between LOC339059 and c-Myc. Results: A lower level of LOC339059 RNA was found in primary GC tissues compared to adjacent tissues, and such a lower level is associated with a poorer survival period (2.5 years) after surgery in patient cohorts. Moreover, we determined important immunological molecular biomarkers. We found that LOC339059 expression was correlated with PD-L1, CTLA4, CD206, and CD204, but not with TIM3, FOXP3, CD3, C33, CD64, or CD80, in a total of 146 GC RNA samples. The gain of LOC339059 in SGC7901 and AGS inhibited biological characteristics of malignancy, such as proliferation, migration, invasion, tumorigenesis, and metastasis. Furthermore, our data gathered following the co-culture of THP-1 and U937 with genomic GC cells indicate that LOC339059 led to a reduction in the macrophage cell ratio, in terms of CD68 + /CD206 + , to 1/6, whereas the selective knockdown of LOC339059 promoted the abovementioned malignant cell phenotypes, suggesting that it has a tumor-suppressing role in GC. RNA-Seq analyses showed that the gain of LOC339059 repressed the expression of the interleukin family, especially IL-6/STAT3 signaling. The rescue of IL-6 in LOC339059-overexpressing cells reverted the inhibitory effects of the gain of LOC339059 on malignant cell phenotypes. Our experiments verified that the interaction between LOC339059 and c-Myc resulted in less c-Myc binding to the IL-6 promoter, leading to the inactivation of IL-6 transcription. Conclusions: Our results establish that LOC339059 acts as a tumor suppressor in GC by competitively inhibiting c-Myc, resulting in diminished IL-6/STAT3-signaling-mediated PDL1 expression and macrophage M2 polarization.

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV), one of the most serious pathogens threatening grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), can lead to grass carp hemorrhagic disease (GCHD). Currently, GCRV can be divided into three genotypes, but the comparison of their pathogenic mechanisms and the host responses remain unclear. In this study, we utilized the Ctenopharyngodon idella kidney (CIK) model infected with GCRV to conduct comparative studies on the three genotypes. We observed a cytopathic effect (CPE) in the GCRV-I and GCRV-III groups, whereas the GCRV-II group did not show any CPE. Moreover, a consistent trend in the mRNA expression levels of antiviral-related genes across all experimental groups of CIK cells was detected via qPCR and further explored through RNA-seq analysis. Importantly, GO/KEGG enrichment analysis showed that GCRV-I, -II, and -III could all activate the immune response in CIK cells, but GCRV-II induced more intense immune responses. Intriguingly, transcriptomic analysis revealed a widespread down-regulation of metabolism processes such as steroid biosynthesis, butanoate metabolism, and N-Glycan biosynthesis in infected CIK cells. Overall, our results reveal the CIK cells showed unique responses in immunity and metabolism in the three genotypes of GCRV infection. These results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the pathogenesis and prevention and control methods of GCRV.

The microspring is a typical type of device in MEMS devices, with a wide range of application scenarios and demands, among which a popular one is the microelectroformed nickel-based planar microspring prepared by the UV-LIGA technology based on the SU-8 adhesive. It is worth noting that the yield strength of the electrodeposited nickel microstructure is low, and the toughness of the structure is not high, which is unbeneficial for the enduring and stable operation of the spring. The paper mainly presents the methods of preparing high-aspect-ratio Ni/SiCw microstructures for MEMS devices based on UV-LIGA technology, developing Ni/SiCw-based microspring samples with a thickness of 300 μm, and applying a DMA tensile tester for mechanical property tests and characterization. In addition, the paper explores the influence of heat treatment at 300 °C and 600 °C on the tensile properties and microstructure of composite coatings. The results show that the W-form microspring prepared from Ni/SiCw composites not only has a wider linear range (about 1.2 times wider) than that of pure nickel material but also has a stronger resistance capacity to plastic deformation, which is competent for MEMS device applications in environments below 300 °C. The research provides a frame of reference and guidance for improving the stable cyclic operating life of such flat springs.

In recent years, the number of traffic accidents caused by road defects has increased dramatically all over the world, and the repair and prevention of road defects is an urgent task. Researchers in different countries have proposed many models to deal with this task, but most of them are either highly accurate and slow in detection, or the accuracy is low and the detection speed is high. The accuracy and speed have achieved good results, but the generalization of the model to other datasets is poor. Given this, this paper takes YOLOv5s as a benchmark model and proposes an optimization model to solve the problem of road defect detection. First, we significantly reduce the parameters of the model by pruning the model and removing unimportant modules, propose an improved Spatial Pyramid Pooling-Fast (SPPF) module to improve the feature signature fusion ability, and finally add an attention module to focus on the key information. The activation function, sampling method, and other strategies were also replaced in this study. The test results on the Global Road Damage Detection Challenge (GRDDC) dataset show that the FPS of our proposed model is not only faster than the baseline model but also improves the MAP by 2.08%, and the size of this model is also reduced by 6.07 M.

Robot measurement systems with a binocular planar structured light camera (3D camera) installed on a robot end-effector are often used to measure workpieces' shapes and positions. However, the measurement accuracy is jointly influenced by the robot kinematics, camera-to-robot installation, and 3D camera measurement errors. Incomplete calibration of these errors can result in inaccurate measurements. This paper proposes a joint calibration method considering these three error types to achieve overall calibration. In this method, error models of the robot kinematics and camera-to-robot installation are formulated using Lie algebra. Then, a pillow error model is proposed for the 3D camera based on its error distribution and measurement principle. These error models are combined to construct a joint model based on homogeneous transformation. Finally, the calibration problem is transformed into a stepwise optimization problem that minimizes the sum of the relative position error between the calibrator and robot, and analytical solutions for the calibration parameters are derived. Simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the joint calibration method effectively improves the measurement accuracy, reducing the mean positioning error from over 2.5228 mm to 0.2629 mm and the mean distance error from over 0.1488 mm to 0.1232 mm.

The emergence and fast development of carbon dots (CDs) provide an unprecedented opportunity for applications in the field of photoelectricity, but their practicability still suffers from complicated synthesis procedures and the substrate dependence of solid-state fluorescence. In this study, we design a unique microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis route for preparing tunable fluorescent CD powders with yellow, orange, and red fluorescence (Y-CDs, O-CDs, R-CDs) by simply adjusting the mass ratio of reactants, a method which is suitable for the large-scale synthesis of CDs. The Y-/O-/R-CDs were systematically characterized using physics and spectroscopy techniques. Based on the perfect solid-state fluorescence performance of the proposed fluorescent CD powders, the Y-/O-/R-CDs were successfully applied for the construction of multi-color and white light-emitting diode devices at low cost. Furthermore, the Y-CDs displayed much higher yield and luminous efficiency than the O-CDs and R-CDs and were further used for fingerprint identification on the surfaces of glass sheets and tinfoil. In addition, the R-CD aqueous solution fluorescence is sensitive to pH, suggesting its use as a pH indicator for monitoring intracellular pH fluctuations. The proposed series of fluorescent powders composed of CDs may herald a new era in the application of optical components and criminal investigation fields.

The trends of "fashionalization", "personalization" and "customization" of wool fabrics have prompted the textile industry to change the original processing design based on the experience of engineers and trial production. In order to adapt to the promotion of intelligent production, the microstructure of wool fabrics is introduced into the finishing process. This article presents an automated method to extract the microstructure from the micro-CT data of woven wool fabrics. Firstly, image processing was performed on the 3D micro-CT images of the fabric. The raw grayscale data were converted into eigenvectors of the structure tensor to segment the individual yarns. These data were then used to calculate the three parameters of diameter, spacing and the path of the center points of the yarn for the microstructure. The experimental results showed that the proposed method was quite accurate and robust on woven single-ply tweed fabrics.

This study aimed to investigate the immunoenhancement effects of low molecular weight peptides (SCHPs-F1) from red shrimp ( Solenocera crassicornis ) head against cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressed mice. ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with 80 mg/kg CTX for 5 consecutive days to establish the immunosuppressive model and then intragastrically administered with SCHPs-F1 (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg) to investigate its improving effect on immunosuppressed mice and explore its potential mechanism using Western blot. SCHPs-F1 could effectively improve the spleen and thymus index, promoting serum cytokines and immunoglobulins production and upregulating the proliferative activity of splenic lymphocytes and peritoneal macrophages of the CTX-treated mice. Moreover, SCHPs-F1 could significantly promote the expression levels of related proteins in the NF-κB and MAPK pathways in the spleen tissues. Overall, the results suggested that SCHPs-F1 could effectively ameliorate the immune deficiency caused by CTX and had the potential to explore as an immunomodulator in functional foods or dietary supplements.

The B-box (BBX) protein, which is a zinc-finger protein containing one or two B-box domains, plays a crucial role in the growth and development of plants. Plant B-box genes are generally involved in morphogenesis, the growth of floral organs, and various life activities in response to stress. In this study, the sugar beet B-box genes (hereafter referred to as BvBBXs ) were identified by searching the homologous sequences of the Arabidopsis thaliana B-box gene family. The gene structure, protein physicochemical properties, and phylogenetic analysis of these genes were systematically analyzed. In this study, 17 B-box gene family members were identified from the sugar beet genome. A B-box domain can be found in all sugar beet BBX proteins. BvBBXs encode 135 to 517 amino acids with a theoretical isoelectric point of 4.12 to 6.70. Chromosome localization studies revealed that BvBBXs were dispersed across nine sugar beet chromosomes except chromosomes 5 and 7. The sugar beet BBX gene family was divided into five subfamilies using phylogenetic analysis. The gene architectures of subfamily members on the same evolutionary tree branch are quite similar. Light, hormonal, and stress-related cis-acting elements can be found in the promoter region of BvBBXs . The BvBBX gene family was differently expressed in sugar beet following Cercospora leaf spot infection, according to RT-qPCR data. It is shown that the BvBBX gene family may influence how the plant reacts to a pathogen infection.

In this work, a reconfigurable ultra-wideband transmissive terahertz polarization rotator based on graphene metamaterial is proposed that can switch between two states of polarization rotation within a broad terahertz band by changing the Fermi level of graphene. The proposed reconfigurable polarization rotator is based on a two-dimensional periodic array of multilayer graphene metamaterial structure, which is composed of metal grating, graphene grating, silicon dioxide thin film, and a dielectric substrate. The graphene metamaterial can achieve high co-polarized transmission of a linearly polarized incident wave at the off-state of the graphene grating without applying the bias voltage. Once the specially designed bias voltage is applied to change the Fermi level of graphene, the polarization rotation angle of linearly polarized waves is switched to 45° by the graphene metamaterial at the on-state. The working frequency band with 45-degree linear polarized transmission remaining above 0.7 and the polarization conversion ratio (PCR) above 90% is from 0.35 to 1.75 THz, and the relative bandwidth reaches 133.3% of the central working frequency. Furthermore, even with oblique incidence at large angles, the proposed device retains high-efficiency conversion in a broad band. The proposed graphene metamaterial offers a novel approach for the design of a terahertz tunable polarization rotator and is expected to be applied in the applications of terahertz wireless communication, imaging, and sensing.

Elevational gradients provide an excellent opportunity to assess biodiversity patterns and community structure. Previous studies mainly focus on higher elevations or are limited to small areas in mountainous regions. Little information can be found on amphibian biodiversity in middle- and low-elevational areas, hence our study was devoted to filling up the current gaps in these research areas. To understand the variability of biodiversity of amphibian species in the Fujian Junzifeng National Nature Reserve in eastern China, our study included taxonomic and phylogenetic components to describe the various patterns of regional and elevational distribution. The results showed that (1) most of the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity metrics were correlated; with regard to the surveyed area, Faith's phylogenetic diversity index ( PD ) and net relatedness index ( NRI ) were positively correlated with the Shannon-Wiener index ( H' ), Margalef index ( DMG ), and species richness ( S ), while negatively with the Pielou index; whereas for elevation, only the Pielou index was positively correlated with the nearest taxon index ( NTI ), but negatively with other indices; (2) taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities did not differ among the three survey locations but differed significantly along the elevational gradient; Simpson index, H' , S , and DMG had a hump-shaped relationship with elevations, and PD decreased gradually with the increase in elevation, whereas NRI and NTI sharply increased at the elevation above 900 m; (3) the species range size and the corresponding midpoint of amphibians were affected by a strong phylogenetic signal, which supports the elevational Rapoport's rule upon removal of Pachytriton brevipes and Boulenophrys sanmingensis from the study.

This polymer microstructure expands more available application, which is a milestone for the development of micro-electro-mechanical system devices towards intelligence and multifunction. Poor interface bonding between the polymer and Si or metal is a particular problem, which restricts the application and promotion of polymer materials. In this study, a transition strengthening layer is proposed to obtain a highly stable polymer microstructure by enhancing the interfacial adhesion strength. The transition strengthening layer is activated by a pushpin-like nano/microstructure array with micromachining technology. Given its good graphical qualities and compatibility, epoxy negative photoresist SU-8 is applied to evaluate the strengthened capabilities of the pushpin-like nano/microstructure array. The microstructure of SU-8 is prepared by the same processes, and then the adhesion strength between the SU-8 microstructure and various activated substrates is tested by the thrust tester. It was determined that SU-8 with an activated pushpin-like microstructure array possessed a highly stable adhesion ability, and its adhesion strength increased from 6.51 MPa to 15.42 MPa. With its ultrahigh stable adhesion ability, it has been applied in fabricating three typical microstructures (hollow square microstructure, gradually increasing adjacent periodic microstructure, and slender strip microstructures) and large-area SU-8 microstructures to evaluate the feasibility of the transition strengthening layer and repeatability and universality of the microfabrication processes. The drifting and gluing phenomenon are avoided by this method compared with the traditional design. The proposed pushpin-like nano/microstructure array is promising in enhancing the stability of polymer microstructures with a substrate.

This study explores the potential of using nanocellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) as a biomaterial ink for 3D printing. The research focuses on using nanocellulose hydrogels for the controlled uptake and release of proteins, with the specific protein solution being Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). To provide a suitable material for the bioprinting process, the study examines the characteristics and properties of the printed hydrogels through various analyses, such as morphology, functional group, crystallinity, and compression test. Several parameters, such as initial concentration, temperature, and the presence of calcium chloride as an additional crosslinker, affect the protein uptake and release capabilities of the hydrogel. The study is important for biomedicine as it explores the behavior of protein uptake and release using nanocellulose and 3D printing and can serve as a preliminary study for using hydrogels in biological materials or living cells.

Improving bonding and mechanical strengths is important for the application of bond coats used in the construction of steel deck bridges. Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are attractive nanofillers for polymer modification because of their low cost, ultra-high aspect ratio, and extraordinary thermal and mechanical performance. In this paper, GNPs were used to reinforce the epoxy asphalt bond coat (EABC). The morphology, viscosity-time behavior, contact angle, dynamic mechanical properties, and mechanical and bonding strengths of GNP-reinforced EABCs were investigated using laser confocal microscopy, a Brookfield rotational viscometer, a contact angle meter, dynamic mechanical analysis, a universal test machine, and single-lap shear and pull-off adhesion tests. GNP dispersed non-uniformly in the asphalt phase of EABC. The viscosity of the neat EABC was lowered with the inclusion of GNPs and thus the allowable construction time was extended. The existence of GNPs enhances the hydrophobicity of the neat EABC. When adding more than 0.2% GNP, the storage modulus, crosslinking density and glass transition temperatures of both asphalt and epoxy of the neat EABC increased. The mechanical and bonding properties of the neat EABC were greatly enhanced with the incorporation of GNPs. Furthermore, the mechanical and bonding strengths of the modified EABCs increased with the GNP content. GNP-reinforced EABCs can be utilized in the pavement of long-span steel bridges with long durability.

A method based on an interval arithmetic is proposed to analyze uncertain factors such as the curvature radii, excitation amplitude, and excitation phase of a spherical conformal array antenna. An interval description of element factors under different curvature radii of spherical substrates is established using the surrogate model based on the data obtained through a full-wave analysis method. The interval formula of the spherical curvature radius and array element position error is derived and the effects of the spherical radius tolerance, excitation amplitude tolerance, and excitation phase tolerance on the antenna power pattern are studied. To evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed method, a set of representative numerical results are reported and discussed and a comparison with the Monte Carlo methods and full-wave simulation is described. This method can be widely used during the antenna design and before the antenna prototyping/manufacturing to predict the effects, on the radiation performance, of possible errors/tolerances in the antenna structure to guarantee the antenna working 'in operation'.

The kidney is a mitochondria-rich organ, and kidney diseases are recognized as mitochondria-related pathologies. Intact mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) maintains normal mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial dysfunction caused by mtDNA damage, including impaired mtDNA replication, mtDNA mutation, mtDNA leakage, and mtDNA methylation, is involved in the progression of kidney diseases. Herein, we review the roles of mtDNA damage in different setting of kidney diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). In a variety of kidney diseases, mtDNA damage is closely associated with loss of kidney function. The level of mtDNA in peripheral serum and urine also reflects the status of kidney injury. Alleviating mtDNA damage can promote the recovery of mitochondrial function by exogenous drug treatment and thus reduce kidney injury. In short, we conclude that mtDNA damage may serve as a novel biomarker for assessing kidney injury in different causes of renal dysfunction, which provides a new theoretical basis for mtDNA-targeted intervention as a therapeutic option for kidney diseases.

African swine fever (ASF) caused by ASF virus (ASFV) is a fatal disease in pigs and results in great economic losses. Due to the lack of available vaccines and treatments, serological diagnosis of ASF plays a key role in the surveillance program, but due to the lack of knowledge and the complexity of the ASFV genome, the candidate target viral proteins are still being researched. False negativity is still a big obstacle during the diagnostic process. In this study, the high antigenic viral proteins p30, p54 and p72 were screened to find the antigenic dominant domains and the tandem His-p30-54-72 was derived. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) coated with His-p30-54-72 was developed with a cut-off value of 0.371. A total of 192 clinical samples were detected by His-p30-54-72-coated indirect ELISA (iELISA) and commercial ASFV antibody kits. The results showed that the positive rate of His-p30-54-72-coated iELISA was increased by 4.7% and 14.6% compared with a single viral protein-based commercial ASFV antibody kits. These results provide a platform for future ASFV clinical diagnosis and vaccine immune effect evaluation.

The olfactory system is essential for honeybees to adapt to complex and ever-changing environments and maintain cohesiveness. The Eastern honeybee Apis cerana is native to Asia and has a long history of managed beekeeping in China. In this study, we analysed the antennal transcriptomes of A. cerana workers and drones using Illumina sequencing. A total of 5262 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (fold change > 2) were identified between these two castes, with 2359 upregulated and 2903 downregulated in drones compared with workers. We identified 242 candidate olfaction-related genes, including 15 odourant-binding proteins (OBPs), 5 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 110 odourant receptors (ORs), 9 gustatory receptors (GRs), 8 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) and 93 putative odourant-degrading enzymes (ODEs). More olfaction-related genes have worker-biased expression than drone-biased expression, with 26 genes being highly expressed in workers’ antennae and only 8 genes being highly expressed in drones’ antennae (FPKM > 30). Using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), we verified the reliability of differential genes inferred by transcriptomics and compared the expression profiles of 6 ORs (AcOR10, AcOR11, AcOR13, AcOR18, AcOR79 and AcOR170) between workers and drones. These ORs were expressed at significantly higher levels in the antennae than in other tissues (p < 0.01). There were clear variations in the expression levels of all 6 ORs between differently aged workers and drones. The relative expression levels of AcOR10, AcOR11, AcOR13, AcOR18 and AcOR79 reached a high peak in 15-day-old drones. These results will contribute to future research on the olfaction mechanism of A. cerana and will help to better reveal the odourant reception variations between different biological castes of honeybees.

Using the heavy rare earth Dy element to improve coercivity is the most common solution for hindering the reduction in magnetic properties in the Nd-Fe-B magnet, and the effective utilization of Dy has become the focus of research in industrial society. In this work, we investigated the influence of DyH x addition and diffusion methods on the microstructure, magnetic performance, and thermal stability of the Nd-Y-Fe-B magnet with a Y-rich core structure. The coercivity of the DyH x addition magnet increases from 9.45 kOe to 15.51 kOe when adding 1.6 wt.% DyH x , while the DyH x diffusion magnet increases to 15.15 kOe. According to the analysis of the microstructure and elemental distribution, both Dy-rich shells were basically formed due to the diffusion process of Dy atoms. The Dy-rich shell in the DyH x addition magnet was similar with the original core-shell structure in the Nd-Y-Fe-B magnet. However, the distinct dual-shell structure consisting of a thinner Dy-rich shell and a Y-lean shell was constructed in the DyH x diffused magnet, contributing to the superior coercivity increment and Dy utilization efficiency. Furthermore, the remanence of the DyH x diffused magnet is up to 12.90 kG, which is better than that of the DyH x addition magnet (12.59 kG), due to fewer Dy atoms entering the 2:14:1 matrix grain to cause the antiferromagnetic coupling with Fe atoms. Additionally, the thermal stability of the DyH x diffusion magnet is also better than that of the DyH x addition magnet, owing to the elevated coercivity at room temperature, which expands the application range of the Nd-Y-Fe-B magnet to a certain extent.

In metal processing, exit burrs are usually inevitable, which is a huge challenge for high-precision manufacturing. This paper innovatively proposes an ice boundary constraint (IBC) method to actively suppress exit burrs to obtain better workpiece edge quality. Firstly, the formation mechanism of the exits burr is analyzed from the perspective of material flow at the edge of the workpiece, and the principle of the IBC method is explained. Secondly, a finite element model (FEM) is established to analyze the stress distribution and flow at the edge of the workpiece, so as to reveal the suppression mechanism of IBC on the exit burrs. Finally, the feasibility of IBC method and the validity of FEM are verified by the milling experiments. The experimental results show that the IBC method can reduce the exit burr height by 51.4% on average, and FEM can effectively predict the height of the exit burr. The IBC method proposed in this study can provide some reference and guidance for the active suppression of exit burrs in industry.

The alkali digestion pretreatment method in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Method 3060A could underestimate the content of Cr(VI) in Cr-contaminated soils, especially for soils mixed with chromite ore processing residue (COPR), which leads to a misjudgment of the Cr(VI) level in soils after remediation, causing secondary pollution to the environment. In this study, a new pretreatment method to analyze Cr(VI) concentration in contaminated soils was established. The impacts of soil quality, particle size, alkali digestion time and the rounds of alkali digestion on Cr(VI) detection in contaminated soils was explored and the alkali digestion method was optimized. Compared with USEPA Method 3060A, the alkaline digestion time was prolonged to 6 h and multiple alkali digestion was employed until the amount of Cr(VI) in the last extraction was less than 10% of the total amount of Cr(VI). Because Cr(VI) in COPR is usually embedded in the mineral phase structure, the hydration products were dissolved and Cr(VI) was released gradually during the alkaline digestion process. The amount of Cr(VI) detected showed high correlation coefficients with the percentage of F1 (mild acid-soluble fraction), F2 (reducible fraction) and F4 (residual fraction). The Cr(VI) contents detected by the new alkaline digestion method and USEPA Method 3060A showed significant differences for soil samples mixed with COPR due to their high percentage of residual fraction. This new pretreatment method could quantify more than 90% of Cr(VI) in Cr-contaminated soils, especially those mixed with COPR, which proved to be a promising method for Cr(VI) analysis in soils, before and after remediation.

The grain boundary diffusion process (GBDP) of heavy rare earth Tb is an effective method to improve the coercivity of Nd-Fe-B magnets, and the matrix grain size has a crucial effect on the diffusion efficiency and depth of the Tb element. In this work, magnets with different grain sizes have been fabricated using powder metallurgy to investigate the effect of grain size on Tb diffusion efficiency and the microstructure of Nd-Fe-B-type magnets. After the Tb diffusion process, the coercivity increment of the magnet with 4.9 μm large grain is 8.60 kOe, which is much higher than that of the magnet with 3.0 μm small grain (~5.90 kOe), which clearly demonstrates that the coercivity increment decreases as the grain size decreases. Microstructure analysis suggested that grain refinement significantly increases the total surface area, resulting in narrowing and discontinuity of the grain boundary phase (GBP). Therefore, as the channel for diffusion, the narrowing and discontinuity of the GBP are unfavorable for diffusion, resulting in a decrease in diffusion efficiency.

The quality stability and batch consistency of laser powder bed fusion products are key issues that must be solved in additive manufacturing. The melt pool radiation intensity data of laser powder bed fusion contain a significant amount of forming process information, and studies have shown that the analysis of melt pool radiation intensity using data-driven methods can achieve online quality judgment; however, there are still speed and accuracy problems. In this study, we propose a data-driven model for hardness predictions of laser powder bed fusion products based on process parameters fused with power spectrum features of melt pool intensity data, which quickly and accurately predicts the microhardness of laser powder bed fusion specimens and can make constructive guidance for closed-loop feedback quality regulation in practical production. The effects of three integrated learning models, Random Forest, XGBoost and LightGBM, are also compared. The results indicate that random forest has the highest prediction accuracy in this dataset; however, it has the limitation of slow training and prediction speeds. The LightGBM algorithm has the fastest training and prediction speeds, about 1.4% and 4.4% of the random forest, respectively; however, the prediction accuracy is lower than that of random forest and XGBoost. XGBoost has the best overall comparative performance with adequate training and prediction speeds, about 23.7% and 37.9% of the random forest, respectively, while ensuring a specified prediction accuracy, which is suitable for application in engineering practices.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration, is an acute enteric infectious disease of pigs. The disease is caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), which infects the intestinal mucosal surface. Therefore, mucosal immunization through the oral route is an effective method of immunization. Lactic acid bacteria, which are acid resistant and bile-salt resistant and improve mucosal immunity, are ideal carriers for oral vaccines. The S1 glycoprotein of PEDV mediates binding of the virus with cell receptors and induces neutralizing antibodies against the virus. Therefore, we reversely screened the recombinant strain pPG-SD-S1/Δ upp ATCC 393 expressing PEDV S1 glycoprotein by Lactobacillus casei deficient in upp genotype (Δ upp ATCC 393 ). Mice were orally immunized three times with the recombinant bacteria that had been identified for expression, and the changes of anti-PEDV IgG and secreted immunoglobulin A levels were observed over 70 days. The results indicated that the antibody levels notably increased after oral administration of recombinant bacteria. The detection of extracellular cytokines on the 42nd day after immunization indicated high levels of humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. The above results demonstrate that pPG-SD-S1/Δ upp ATCC 393 has great potential as an oral vaccine against PEDV.

Dongxiang wild rice (DXWR) ( O . rufipogon Griff.), which has the northernmost worldwide distribution of a wild rice species, is a valuable genetic resource with respect to improving stress tolerance in cultivated rice ( Oryza sativa L.). In the three-line hybrid rice breeding system, restorer lines play important roles in enhancing the tolerance of hybrid rice. However, restorer lines have yet to be used as a genomic background for development of substitution lines carrying DXWR chromosome segments. We developed a set of 84 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) from a donor parent DXWR × recurrent parent restorer line R974 ( Oryza sativa indica ) cross. On average, each CSSL carried 6.27 introgressed homozygous segments, with 93.37% total genome coverage. Using these CSSLs, we identified a single QTL, qDYST-1, associated with salt stress tolerance on chromosome 3. Furthermore, five CSSLs showing strong salt stress tolerance were subjected to whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism chip analyses, during which we detected a common substitution segment containing qDYST-1 in all five CSSLs, thereby implying the validity and efficacy of qDYST-1 . These novel CSSLs could make a significant contribution to detecting valuable DXWR QTLs, and provide important germplasm resources for breeding novel restorer lines for use in hybrid rice breeding systems.

Autophagy is a conserved mechanism among eukaryotes that degrades and recycles cytoplasmic components. Autophagy is known to influence the plant metabolome, including lipid content; however, its impact on the plant lipidome is not fully understood, and most studies have analyzed a single or few mutants defective in autophagy. To gain more insight into the effect of autophagy on lipid concentrations and composition, we quantitatively profiled glycerolipids from multiple Arabidopsis thaliana mutants altered in autophagy and compared them with wild-type seedlings under nitrogen replete (+N; normal growth) and nitrogen starvation (-N; autophagy inducing) conditions. Mutants include those in genes of the core autophagy pathway, together with other genes that have been reported to affect autophagy. Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS), we imaged the cellular distribution of specific lipids in situ and demonstrated that autophagy and nitrogen treatment did not affect their spatial distribution within Arabidopsis seedling leaves. We observed changes, both increases and decreases, in the relative amounts of different lipid species in the mutants compared to WT both in +N and -N conditions, although more changes were seen in -N conditions. The relative amounts of polyunsaturated and very long chain lipids were significantly reduced in autophagy-disrupted mutants compared to WT plants. Collectively, our results provide additional evidence that autophagy affects plant lipid content and that autophagy likely affects lipid properties such as chain length and unsaturation.

Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) is considered as one of the major use cases in 5G networks to support the emerging mission-critical applications. One of the possible tools to achieve URLLC is the device-to-device (D2D) network. Due to the physical proximity of communicating devices, D2D networks can significantly improve the latency and reliability performance of wireless communication. However, the resource management of D2D networks is usually a non-convex combinatorial problem that is difficult to solve. Traditional methods usually optimize the resource allocation in an iterative way, which leads to high computational complexity. In this paper, we investigate the resource allocation problem in the time-sensitive D2D network where the latency and reliability performance is modeled by the achievable rate in the short blocklength regime. We first design a game theory-based algorithm as the baseline. Then, we propose a deep learning (DL)-based resource management framework using deep neural network (DNN). The simulation results show that the proposed DL-based method achieves almost the same performance as the baseline algorithm, while it is more time-efficient due to the end-to-end structure.

This study prepared 4,4-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM)-functionalized graphene oxide (GO)@silica dioxide (SiO 2 ) nano-composites through amidation reaction and low-temperature precipitation. The resulting modified GO, that was DDM-GO@SiO 2 . The study found that DDM-GO@SiO 2 showed good dispersion and compatibility with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) substrates. Compared with pure TPU, the tensile strength of the TPU composites increased by 41% to 94.6 MPa at only 0.5 wt% DDM-GO@SiO 2 . In addition, even when a small amount of DDM-GO@SiO 2 was added, the UV absorption of TPU composites increased significantly, TPU composites can achieve a UV shielding efficiency of 95.21% in the UV-A region. These results show that this type of material holds great promise for the preparation of functional coatings and film materials with high strength and weather resistance.

Dongxiang wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon Griff.) (DXWR) has strong seed storability and identifying its elite gene resources may facilitate genetic improvements in rice seed storability. In this study, we developed two backcross inbred lines (BILs) populations, with DXWR as a common donor parent and two rice varieties (F6 and R974) as recipient parents. Bulked segregant analysis via whole genome sequencing (BSA-seq) was used to identify seed storability-related loci in the DXWR and F6 population. Two main genomic regions containing 18,550,000-20,870,000 bp on chromosome 4 and 7,860,000-9,780,000 bp on chromosome 9 were identified as candidate loci of DXWR seed storability; these overlapped partially with seed storability-related quantitative trait loci (QTLs) discovered in previous studies, suggesting that these loci may provide important regions for isolating the responsible genes. In total, 448 annotated genes were predicted within the identified regions, of which 274 and 82 had nonsynonymous and frameshift mutations, respectively. We detected extensive metabolic activities and cellular processes during seed storability and confirmed the effects of the seed storability-related candidate loci using four BILs from DXWR and R974. These results may facilitate the cloning of DXWR seed storability-related genes, thereby elucidating rice seed storability and its improvement potential.

Nuclear Factor-Y ( NF-Y ) transcription factors play vital roles in plant abiotic stress response. Here, the NF-Y family in Brassica napus , which is hyper-sensitive to nitrogen (N) deprivation, was comprehensively identified and systematically characterized. A total of 108 NF-Y family members were identified in B. napus and categorized into three subfamilies (38 NF-YA , 46 NF-YB and 24 NF-YC ; part of the Arabidopsis NF-YC homologous genes had been lost during B. napus evolution). In addition, the expansion of the NF-Y family in B. napus was driven by whole-genome duplication and segmental duplication. Differed expression patterns of BnaNF -Ys were observed in response to multiple nutrient starvations. Thirty-four genes were regulated only in one nutrient deficient condition. Moreover, more BnaNF -YA genes were differentially expressed under nutrient limited environments compared to the BnaNF -YB and BnaNF -YC subfamilies. Sixteen hub genes responded diversely to N deprivation in five rapeseed tissues. In summary, our results laid a theoretical foundation for the follow-up functional study of the key NF-Y genes in B. napus in regulating nutrient homeostasis, especially N.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of biochar on the diversity of bacteria and fungi in the rice root zone and to reveal the changes in soil microbial community structure in the root zone after biochar application to provide a scientific basis for the improvement of albic soil. Rice and corn stalk biochar were mixed with albic soil in a pot experiment. Soil samples were collected at the rice maturity stage, soil nutrients were determined, and genomic DNA was extracted. The library was established using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The abundance, diversity index, and community structure of the soil bacterial 16SrRNA gene V3 + V4 region and the fungal internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS1) region were analyzed using Illumina second-generation high-throughput sequencing technology on the MiSeq platform with related bioinformatics. The results revealed that the biochar increased the soil nutrient content of albic soil. The bacteria ACE indexes of treatments of rice straw biochar (SD) and corn straw biochar (SY) were increased by 3.10% and 2.06%, respectively, and the fungi ACE and Chao indices of SD were increased by 7.86% and 14.16%, respectively, compared to conventional control treatment with no biochar (SBCK). The numbers of bacterial and fungal operational taxonomic units (OUT) in SD and SY were increased, respectively, compared to that of SBCK. The relationship between soil bacteria and fungi in the biochar-treated groups was stronger than that in the SBCK. The bacterial and fungal populations were correlated with soil nutrients, which suggested that the impacts of biochar on the soil bacteria and fungi community were indirectly driven by alternation of soil nutrient characteristics. The addition of two types of biochar altered the soil microbial community structure and the effect of rice straw biochar treatment on SD was more pronounced. This study aimed to provide a reference and basic understanding for albic soil improvement by biochar, with good application prospects.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are known to be essential regulators for wood formation in herbaceous plants and poplar, but their roles in secondary growth and xylem development are still not well-defined, especially in pines. Here, we treated Pinus massoniana seedlings with different concentrations of exogenous BRs, and assayed the effects on plant growth, xylem development, endogenous phytohormone contents and gene expression within stems. Application of exogenous BR resulted in improving development of xylem more than phloem, and promoting xylem development in a dosage-dependent manner in a certain concentration rage. Endogenous hormone determination showed that BR may interact with other phytohormones in regulating xylem development. RNA-seq analysis revealed that some conventional phenylpropanoid biosynthesis- or lignin synthesis-related genes were downregulated, but the lignin content was elevated, suggesting that new lignin synthesis pathways or other cell wall components should be activated by BR treatment in P. massoniana . The results presented here reveal the foundational role of BRs in regulating plant secondary growth, and provide the basis for understanding molecular mechanisms of xylem development in P. massoniana .

This paper proposes and implements a lightweight, "real-time" localization system (SORLA) with artificial landmarks (reflectors), which only uses LiDAR data for the laser odometer compensation in the case of high-speed or sharp-turning. Theoretically, due to the feature-matching mechanism of the LiDAR, locations of multiple reflectors and the reflector layout are not limited by geometrical relation. A series of algorithms is implemented to find and track the features of the environment, such as the reflector localization method, the motion compensation technique, and the reflector matching optimization algorithm. The reflector extraction algorithm is used to identify the reflector candidates and estimates the precise center locations of the reflectors from 2D LiDAR data. The motion compensation algorithm predicts the potential velocity, location, and angle of the robot without odometer errors. Finally, the matching optimization algorithm searches the reflector combinations for the best matching score, which ensures that the correct reflector combination could be found during the high-speed movement and fast turning. All those mechanisms guarantee the algorithm's precision and robustness in the high speed and noisy background. Our experimental results show that the SORLA algorithm has an average localization error of 6.45 mm at a speed of 0.4 m/s, and 9.87 mm at 4.2 m/s, and still works well with the angular velocity of 1.4 rad/s at a sharp turn. The recovery mechanism in the algorithm could handle the failure cases of reflector occlusion, and the long-term stability test of 72 h firmly proves the algorithm's robustness. This work shows that the strategy used in the SORLA algorithm is feasible for industry-level navigation with high precision and a promising alternative solution for SLAM.

Flavonoids in Rosa sterilis were studied. The flavonoids in Rosa sterilis were extracted by ultrasonic method, and the extraction conditions were modeled and optimized by response the surface methodology and the artificial intelligence method. The results show that the ultrasonic method can effectively extract total flavonoids, and the extraction rate is close to the prediction value of ANN-GA algorithm, which proves the rationality of the model. The order of the effects of the parameters on the experiment was material liquid ratio > extraction power > extraction time > ethanol concentration. In addition, the scavenging effects of flavonoids on DPPH, O 2- · and ·OH were also determined, and these indicated that flavonoids have strong antioxidant activities. The kinetics of the extraction process was studied by using the data of the extraction process, and it was found that the extraction process conformed to Fick's first law.

Both surface microstructure and low surface energy modification play a vital role in the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces. In this study, a safe and simple electrochemical method was developed to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces of Zr-based metallic glasses with high corrosion resistance. First, micro-nano composite structures were generated on the surface of Zr-based metallic glasses by electrochemical etching in NaCl solution. Next, stearic acid was used to decrease surface energy. The effects of electrochemical etching time on surface morphology and wettability were also investigated through scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements. Furthermore, the influence of micro-nano composite structures and roughness on the wettability of Zr-based metallic glasses was analysed on the basis of the Cassie-Baxter model. The water contact angle of the surface was 154.3° ± 2.2°, and the sliding angle was <5°, indicating good superhydrophobicity. Moreover, the potentiodynamic polarisation test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy suggested excellent corrosion resistance performance, and the inhibition efficiency of the superhydrophobic surface reached 99.6%. Finally, the prepared superhydrophobic surface revealed excellent temperature-resistant and self-cleaning properties.

Acidic aggregates have the merits of high strength and good abrasion resistance capacity. However, its poor adhesion with asphalt binder constrains its application in pavement construction. Among these, the granite aggregate is the typical one. Therefore, this study modified granite aggregates' surface to improve their adhesion property with the asphalt binder. Specifically, the silane coupling agent (SCA) KH-560 was adopted to achieve the modification purpose. Subsequently, asphalt mixtures with modified and unmodified granite, basalt, and limestone were subjected to the boiling test, immersion test, and freeze-thaw splitting test to estimate the asphalt adhesion property. Moreover, a molecular dynamic simulation was employed to characterize the asphalt-aggregate interface from the molecular scale. The radius distribution function (RDF) and interaction energy were used as the primary indicators. The results showed that the SCA could efficiently improve the adhesion between asphalt and granite aggregates, comparable with the alkaline aggregates. In terms of the molecular scale, the incorporation of SCA could significantly increase the concentration distribution of asphalt molecules on the aggregate surface. Meanwhile, the interaction energy was correspondingly increased due to the considerable growth of non-bond interaction.

This study was designed to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of Astaxanthin (AST) on high-fructose-induced hyperuricemia (HUA) from the perspectives of the uric acid (UA) synthesis and excretion in rat models. Following six weeks of a 10% fructose diet, the level of serum UA effectively decreased in the AST groups as compared to the model group. The enzymatic activities of xanthine oxidase (XOD) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) were significantly inhibited, and the mRNA expression levels of XOD and ADA significantly decreased after the AST administration. These results suggested that the AST reduced UA synthesis by inhibiting the mRNA expressions and enzyme activities of XOD and ADA, thereby contributing to HUA improvement. On the hand, the relative expressions of the mRNA and protein of kidney reabsorption transport proteins (GLUT9 and URAT1) were significantly down-regulated by AST, while that of the kidney secretion proteins (OAT1, OAT3 and ABCG2) were significantly up-regulated by AST. These results indicated that the AST promoted UA excretion by regulating the urate transport proteins, and thus alleviated HUA. This study suggested that the AST could serve as an effective alternative to traditional medicinal drugs for the prevention of fructose-induced HUA.

Water-foamed asphalt is capable of improving the workability of asphalt mixture. It has been extensively used for its energy-saving and emission-reducing features. Water plays an essential part in improving the workability of water-foamed asphalt mixture. However, there is still lack in profound studies of moisture dissipation of the water-foamed asphalt over time and its influence on workability. In this study, the evolutions of residual water content and rotational viscosity of the water-foamed asphalt with time were respectively measured by the analytical balance and modified rotational viscometer (RV). The atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis was conducted to discuss the mechanism of viscosity reduction of water-foamed asphalt. The results showed that moisture evaporation is significantly influenced by the foaming water content and ambient temperature, which results in the different stabilizing time of water-foamed asphalt. When water-foamed asphalt was stabilized, the residual water inside the asphalt was less than 0.01% relative to the asphalt mass. The AFM analysis showed that the foaming process changed the distribution of wax in the water-foamed asphalt resulting in reduction of viscosity. The viscosity reduction of asphalt is highly related to the initial foaming water content. After the foaming process, the viscosity keeps stable and is independent of moisture dissipation.