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A two-dimensional (2D) piston electro-hydraulic pump has been proposed further to enhance the power density of the electro-hydraulic pump. The 2D piston pump, characterized by high power density and a slender shape, is embedded within the stator of the motor in a co-rotor configuration where the piston and the motor’s rotor are in tandem. The intimate design of the hydraulic pump and the motor results in a coupling between the two, with intricate relationships and influences existing between the geometric parameters of the piston pump and the dimensions of the motor’s rotor. Based on the operational requirements and structure of the 2D piston pump, a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) designed for use with a 2D piston electro-hydraulic pump is developed. This study examines the impact of the motor’s stator iron core geometric parameters on both the electromagnetic and mechanical properties of a PMSM and completes the necessary performance validations. The optimization objectives of the motor are determined through an analysis of the influence of the key parameters of the rotor and stator on torque, torque ripple, and motor loss. A surrogate optimization model is constructed using a metamodel of optimal prognosis (MOP) to optimize the torque, torque ripple, and motor loss. Evolutionary genetic algorithms are utilized to achieve the multi-objective optimization design. A finite element simulation is used to compare the electromagnetic performance of the initial motor and optimal motor. Based on the optimal motor parameters, a 2.5 kW motor prototype is manufactured, and the experimental results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the motor design and optimization.

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been employed as an emerging metal-free catalyst in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the catalyst has a poor activation property for peroxymonosulfate (PMS). In this study, Bi-Fe oxide co-doped g-C3N4 (Bi@Fe/CN) was synthesized for PMS activation to degrade sulfamethoxazole (SMX). In particular, Bi@Fe/CN-3 presented remarkable catalytic performance with 99.7% removal of SMX within 60 min in the PMS system. Additionally, Bi@Fe/CN-3 presented good stability and recyclability through the cycling experiments. Moreover, it was shown that free radicals (O2•−, •OH, and SO4•−) and non-free radicals (1O2) were the primary active species in the Bi@Fe/CN-3/PMS system. Bi, Fe, and surface lattice oxygen were confirmed to be the main contributors to the active species. This work elucidates the mechanism of activation of PMS by Bi@Fe/CN-3, which is beneficial to promote the application of bimetallic oxide-modified g-C3N4/PMS systems in wastewater treatment.

The features of stationary random processes and the small parameter expansion approach are used in this work to examine the impact of random roughness on the electromagnetic flow in cylindrical micropipes. Utilizing the perturbation method, the analytical solution until second order velocity is achieved. The analytical expression of the roughness function ζ, which is defined as the deviation of the flow rate ratio with roughness to the case having no roughness in a smooth micropipe, is obtained by integrating the spectral density. The roughness function can be taken as the functions of the Hartmann number Ha and the dimensionless wave number λ. Two special corrugated walls of micropipes, i.e., sinusoidal and triangular corrugations, are analyzed in this work. The results reveal that the magnitude of the roughness function rises as the wave number increases for the same Ha. The magnitude of the roughness function decreases as the Ha increases for a prescribed wave number. In the case of sinusoidal corrugation, as the wave number λ increases, the Hartmann number Ha decreases, and the value of ζ increases. We consider the λ ranging from 0 to 15 and the Ha ranging from 0 to 5, with ζ ranging from −2.5 to 27.5. When the λ reaches 15, and the Ha is 0, ζ reaches the maximum value of 27.5. At this point, the impact of the roughness on the flow rate reaches its maximum. Similarly, in the case of triangular corrugation, when the λ reaches 15 and the Ha is 0, ζ reaches the maximum value of 18.7. In addition, the sinusoidal corrugation has a stronger influence on the flow rate under the same values of Ha and λ compared with triangular corrugation.

The aerosol optical property products of Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis dataset have been extensively investigated on a global or regional scale. However, the understanding of MERRA-2 aerosol component products on an extensive temporal and spatial scale is inadequate. Recently, the aerosol component products have been derived from the observations of Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectances/Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectance for Atmospheric Science coupled with observations from a Lidar (POLDER/PARASOL). This study presents a quantitative evaluation of the MERRA-2 reanalysis dust and black carbon (BC) column concentration using independent satellite-based aerosol component concentration retrievals. Both GRASP/Component and MERRA-2 reanalysis products can capture well the temporal variation in dust column concentration over the dust emission resource and downwind dust-dominated regions with the correlation coefficient (R) varying from 0.80 to 0.98. MERRA-2 reanalysis dust products present higher column concentration than GRASP/Component dust retrievals with relative differences of about 20~70%, except in the Taklamakan Desert and Bay of Bengal, where the relative differences can be negative. The differences in dust column concentration over the African dust regions are larger than that over the Asian dust regions. Similar temporal variations in BC column concentration are characterized by both GRASP/Component BC retrievals and MERRA-2 BC products with R of about 0.70~0.90, except in the North China Plain region. We should pay more caution with the regional applicability of MERRA-2 component products when large differences and high correlation coefficients are obtained simultaneously. The results are favorable for identifying the behavior of MERRA-2 reanalysis component estimation in a new view and demonstrate a practical application of the satellite-based component retrievals, which could make more contributions to the improvement of model estimation in the near future.

Torenia fournieri (T. fournieri) is one of the most widely used horticultural flowers and is considered a potential model plant for the genetic investigation of ornamental traits. In this study, we optimized an efficient protocol for high efficiency preparation and transformation of T. fournieri protoplast. The transformation rate reached ~75% when a 35S:GFP construct was used for the transformation. Using this system, we characterized the subcellular localization of several TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR (TCP) transcription factors (TFs), and found a distinct localization pattern between the CIN and CYC classes of TCP TFs. Furthermore, we also demonstrated the feasibility of the expression of dual luciferase assay system in T. fournieri protoplasts for the measurement of the activity of cis-regulatory elements. Taken together, a well-optimized transient expression system in T. fournieri protoplasts would be crucial for rapid exploration of the gene function or cis-regulatory elements.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a lethal disease occurring in women worldwide. Due to the lack of obvious clinical symptoms and sensitivity biomarkers, OC patients are often diagnosed in advanced stages and suffer a poor prognosis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), released from tumor sites into the peripheral blood, have been recognized as promising biomarkers in cancer prognosis, treatment monitoring, and metastasis diagnosis. However, the number of CTCs in peripheral blood is low, and it is a technical challenge to isolate, enrich, and identify CTCs from the blood samples of patients. This work develops a simple, effective, and inexpensive strategy to capture and identify CTCs from OC blood samples using the folic acid (FA) and antifouling-hydrogel-modified fluorescent-magnetic nanoparticles. The hydrogel showed a good antifouling property against peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The FA was coupled to the hydrogel surface as the targeting molecule for the CTC isolation, held a good capture efficiency for SK-OV-3 cells (95.58%), and successfully isolated 2–12 CTCs from 10 OC patients’ blood samples. The FA-modified fluorescent-magnetic nanoparticles were successfully used for the capture and direct identification of CTCs from the blood samples of OC patients.

Based on the electrical conductivity model built for graphene oxide, the thermal crosstalk effects of resistive random access memory (RRAM) with graphene electrode and Pt electrode are simulated and compared. The thermal crosstalk effects of Pt-RRAM with different metal oxides of TiOx, NiOx, HfOx, and ZrOx are further simulated and compared to guide its compatibility design. In the Pt-RRAM array, the distributions of oxygen vacancy density and temperature are obtained, and the minimum spacing between adjacent conduction filaments to avoid device operation failure is discussed. The abovementioned four metal oxides have different physical parameters such as diffusivity, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity, from which the characters of the RRAMs based on one of the oxides are analyzed. Numerical results reveal that thermal crosstalk effects are severe as the spacing between adjacent conduction filaments is small, even leading to the change of logic state and device failure.

The transfer of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) has been known as a strategy adopted by organisms for survival and adaptation to the environment. The rhizosphere, where microbes and plants coexist, is a hotspot of MGE transfers. In this review, we discuss the classic mechanisms as well as novel mechanisms of MGE transfers in the rhizosphere. Both intra-kingdom and cross-kingdom MGE transfers will be addressed. MGE transfers could be ancient events which drove evolution or recurrent events which regulate adaptations. Recent findings on MGE transfers between plant and its interacting microbes suggest gene regulations brought forth by such transfers for symbiosis or defense mechanisms. In the natural environment, factors such as temperature and soil composition constantly influence the interactions among different parties in the rhizosphere. In this review, we will also address the effects of various environmental factors on MGE transfers in the rhizosphere. Besides environmental factors, plant root exudates also play a role in the regulation of MGE transfer among microbes in the rhizosphere. The potential use of microbes and plants for bioremediation will be discussed.

This study assessed three commercially available cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extraction kits and the impact of a PEG-based DNA cleanup procedure (DNApure) on cfDNA quality and yield. Six normal donor urine and plasma samples and specimens from four pregnant (PG) women carrying male fetuses underwent extractions with the JBS cfDNA extraction kit (kit J), MagMAX Cell-Free DNA Extraction kit (kit M), and QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit (kit Q). Recovery of a PCR product spike-in, endogenous TP53, and Y-chromosome DNA was used to assess kit performance. Nucleosomal-sized DNA profiles varied among the kits, with prominent multi-nucleosomal-sized peaks present in urine and plasma DNA isolated by kits J and M only. Kit J recovered significantly more spike-in DNA than did kits M or Q (p < 0.001) from urine, and similar amounts from plasma (p = 0.12). Applying DNApure to kit M- and Q-isolated DNA significantly improved the amplification efficiency of spike-in DNA from urine (p < 0.001) and plasma (p ≤ 0.013). Furthermore, kit J isolated significantly more Y-chromosome DNA from PG urine compared to kit Q (p = 0.05). We demonstrate that DNApure can provide an efficient means of improving the yield and purity of cfDNA and minimize the effects of pre-analytical biospecimen variability on liquid biopsy assay performance.

The soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an important oil and food crop. Its growth and development is regulated by complex genetic networks, and there are still many genes with unknown functions in regulation pathways. In this study, GmNMHC5, a member of the MADS-box protein family, was found to promote flowering and maturity in the soybean. Gene expression profiling in transgenic plants confirmed that the 35S:GmNMHC5 T3 generation had early flowering and precocity. We used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit GmNMHC5 and found that late flowering and maturity occurred in Gmnmhc5 lines with stable inheritance. Remarkably, in the 35S:GmNMHC5 plants, the expression of flowering inhibitors GmFT1a and GmFT4 was inhibited. In addition, overexpression of GmNMHC5 in ft-10 (a late flowering Arabidopsis thaliana mutant lacking Flowering Locus T (FT) function) rescued the extremely late-flowering phenotype of the mutant A. thaliana. These results suggest that GmNMHC5 is a positive transcription factor of flowering and maturity in the soybean, which has a close relationship with FT homologs in the flowering regulation pathway. This discovery provides new ideas for the improvement of the flowering regulation network, and can also provide guidance for future breeding work.

Realization of open online control of diverse in-situ sensors is a challenge. This paper proposes a Cyber-Physical Geographical Information Service-enabled method for control of diverse in-situ sensors, based on location-based instant sensing of sensors, which provides closed-loop feedbacks. The method adopts the concepts and technologies of newly developed cyber-physical systems (CPSs) to combine control with sensing, communication, and computation, takes advantage of geographical information service such as services provided by the Tianditu which is a basic geographic information service platform in China and Sensor Web services to establish geo-sensor applications, and builds well-designed human-machine interfaces (HMIs) to support online and open interactions between human beings and physical sensors through cyberspace. The method was tested with experiments carried out in two geographically distributed scientific experimental fields, Baoxie Sensor Web Experimental Field in Wuhan city and Yemaomian Landslide Monitoring Station in Three Gorges, with three typical sensors chosen as representatives using the prototype system Geospatial Sensor Web Common Service Platform. The results show that the proposed method is an open, online, closed-loop means of control.