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This study investigates disparities in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and attitudes towards digital technology integration among primary mathematics teachers in urban and rural China. In response to the post-pandemic era's rapid technological advances, this research highlights the digital divide in primary education. A survey of 366 teachers assessed TPACK proficiency, technology access, professional development, and demographic impact factors like age and gender. The instrument, refined through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and confirmed with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), provided reliable measures. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis) to explore differences across demographics. Findings reveal stark contrasts between urban and rural educators. Urban teachers exhibited higher TPACK proficiency and more favourable attitudes towards technology, likely due to enhanced access to resources and professional development. Conversely, rural teachers, challenged by limited access and support, displayed lower proficiency and less positive attitudes. Furthermore, younger teachers showed greater ease with technology integration than older counterparts, with no significant gender differences. The study's implications highlight the need for tailored professional development in rural areas and equitable policymaking for technology access across all educational environments. These findings illuminate the urban-rural digital divide in China's primary education and contribute to the global understanding of technology integration in diverse educational settings. Also, this research enriches the academic discourse on technological equity in education, providing a framework for comparative international studies and policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional numerical model of the vacuum sintering furnace was established, combined with the custom program of temperature-voltage feedback regulation. Through simulationand experimental validation, the heating and holding stage as well as the thermal hysteresis phenomenon of the furnace were analyzed, a dimensionless quantity of hysteresis temperature difference was proposed and calculated, the distribution of the electric field and temperature uniformity of the furnace were discussed in detail, while the structural improvement approach was proposed based on simulation. The results show that: during the heating process, the maximum of thermal hysteresis temperature difference between the graphite cylinder and the heating tube is 0.4. The relative error between the simulation and measurement is within 4%, which verifies the accuracy of the model. By optimizing the structure of the heating tube and graphite base plate, the thermal hysteresis effect of the furnace can be effectively reduced, the surface load and the temperature difference between the surface of the heater can be significantly reduced, the temperature field and uniformity of the heating zone can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quantitative study examined the dynamics of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework within mathematics education, centring on the role of Contextual Knowledge (XK). The research, conducted with middle school mathematics teachers in Chongqing, China, employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the relationships between various TPACK components. The study establishes discriminant validity and demonstrates an excellent fit for the SEM model. Notably, it uncovers significant correlations within the TPACK framework, with a special emphasis on the influence of XK. The findings indicate that XK, in conjunction with Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), and Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), considerably impacts the overall TPACK construct. The research highlights the critical influence of XK on key TPACK components, such as Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), PCK, and TPACK itself. These results underline the importance of integrating XK in professional development programs focused on TPACK, accentuating its vital role in effectively integrating technology in mathematics education. This study significantly contributes to the academic understanding of TPACK's complex dynamics. It provides essential insights for enhancing technology integration in mathematics education, offering valuable guidance for educational practitioners and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PowerPlex® 35GY System (Promega, USA) is an advanced eight-dye multiplex STR kit, incorporating twenty-three autosomal STR loci, eleven Y chromosome STR loci, one sex determining marker Amelogenin, and two quality indicators. This multiplex system includes 20 CODIS loci and up to 15 mini-STR loci with sizing values less than 250 bases. In this study, validation for PowerPlex® 35GY System was conducted following the guidelines of SWGDAM, encompassing sensitivity, precision, accuracy, concordance, species specificity, stutter, mixture, stability, and degraded DNA. The results from experiments demonstrated that the PowerPlex® 35GY System could effectively amplify DNA samples, with complete allele detection achieved at 125 pg. Moreover, over 90% of alleles from minor contributors were detected at a mixed ratio of 1:4. Additionally, the system was found to yield full profiles even in the presence of hematin, humic acid, and indigo. The PowerPlex® 35GY System demonstrated superior performance in the sensitivity and degraded DNA studies compared to a six-dye STR kit. Hence, it is evident that the PowerPlex® 35GY System is well-suited for forensic practice, whether in casework or for database samples. These findings provide strong support for the efficacy and reliability of the PowerPlex® 35GY System in forensic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was first found that porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) could catalyze the Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes and ethyl acetoacetate under solvent-free conditions in this paper. Under solvent-free conditions, the highest yield of PPL catalytic reaction was 99.38%, and the Z/E selectivity of the product was 3.93. In addition, the reaction conditions were optimized, and the factors affecting the product structure were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common disease with complex pathogenesis. However, the treatment is mainly symptomatic with limited clinical options. Asiaticoside (AS), a Chinese herbal extract, has protective effects against LPS-induced ALI in mice and inhibits nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 synthesis; however, the specific mechanism of AS in the prevention and treatment of LPS-induced ALI needs further study. Sema4D/CD72 pathway, mitochondrial dysfunction, and miRNA-21 are closely associated with inflammation. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore whether AS exerts its therapeutic effect on ALI by influencing Sema4D/CD72 pathway and mitochondrial dysfunction, restoring the balance of inflammatory factors, and influencing miRNA-21 expression. Cell and animal experiments were performed to investigate the effect of AS on ALI. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to establish the ALI model. CCK8 and flow cytometry were used to detect the cell viability and apoptosis rate. HE staining and wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D) of lung tissue were determined. The expressions of Sema4D, CD72, NF-κB p65, Bax, Bcl2, and caspase 3 in RAW264.7 cells and lung tissues were detected by western blot, and the levels of IL-10 and IL-1β induced by LPS in supernatant of RAW264.7 cells and BALF were measured by ELISA. And the expression of miRNA-21 in cells and lung tissues was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. The result shows that AS treatment suppressed LPS-induced cell damage and lung injury in mice. AS treatment could alleviate the pathological changes such as inflammatory infiltration and histopathological changes in the lungs caused by LPS, and reduce the ratio of W/D. AS significantly alleviated the decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by LPS, inhibited the increase of ROS production, and reduced the expression of mitochondrial fission proteins Drp1 and Fis1. The high-dose AS group significantly downregulated the expression of Sema4D, CD72, phosphorylated NF-κB p65, and apoptosis-related proteins, decreased the pro-inflammatory factor IL-1β, and enhanced the level of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10. In addition, AS promoted miRNA-21 expression. These effects inhibited apoptosis and restored the balance between anti- and pro-inflammatory factors. This represents the inaugural report elucidating the mechanism by which AS inhibits the Sema4D/CD72 signaling pathway. These findings offer novel insights into the potential application of AS in both preventing and treating ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let G be a reductive group, and let X be an algebraic curve over an algebraically closed field k with positive characteristic. We prove a version of nonabelian Hodge correspondence for tame G-local systems over X and logarithmic G-Higgs bundles over the Frobenius twist X ′ . To obtain a full description of the correspondence for the noncompact case, we introduce the language of parahoric group schemes to establish the correspondence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between hysteroscopic findings of chronic endometritis and CD138 immunohistochemistry positive in endometritis and to analyze the pregnancy outcomes and associated risk factors following embryo transfer in women diagnosed with chronic endometritis via hysteroscopy. Methods: A retrospective observational study carried out at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tangdu Hospital of Air Force Medical University, from January 2021 to December 2021, was performed by obtaining data from 194 medical records of women who underwent hysteroscopies for infertility and were diagnosed with chronic endometritis based on Delphi criteria. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between hysteroscopic findings and endometrial CD138 immunohistochemistry. The study also observed the differences in relevant indexes between the CD138-positive and CD138-negative groups after embryo transfer and analyzed factors influencing implantation failure using logistic regression analysis. Results: The correlation analysis between hysteroscopic findings and CD138 immunohistochemistry showed that micropolyps were correlated with CD138 immunohistochemistry positivity. The correlation coefficient was 0.32 (P < 0.01). After embryo transfer, the clinical pregnancy rate of the CD138-positive group was lower compared to that of the CD138-negative group [64.79% (46/71) vs. 81.30% (100/123), P < 0.05]. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (P = 0.43) and CD138 immunohistochemistry positivity (P = 0.008) were the independent risk factors for predicting whether or not embryo implantation was successful. Conclusion: Hysteroscopic findings do not correlate strongly with endometrial CD138 immunohistochemistry, and chronic endometritis cannot be diagnosed by hysteroscopy alone. CD138 immunohistochemistry positivity is an independent factor contributing to the decrease in clinical pregnancy rate following embryo transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) have no effective treatments. Drug repurposing offers a rapid method to meet therapeutic need for ALS and FTD. To identify therapeutic targets associated with ALS and FTD, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and colocalization were performed. Genetic instruments were based on transcriptomic and proteomic data for 422 actionable proteins targeted by approved drugs or clinical drug candidates. The publicly available ALS GWAS summary data (including a total of 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls) and FTD GWAS summary data (including a total of 2154 patients with FTD and 4308 controls) were used. Using cis-expression quantitative trait loci and cis-protein quantitative trait loci genetic instruments, we identified several drug targets for repurposing (ALS: MARK3, false-discovery rate (FDR) = 0.043; LTBR, FDR = 0.068) (FTD: HLA-DRB1, FDR = 0.083; ADH5, FDR = 0.056). Our MR study analyzed the actionable druggable proteins and provided potential therapeutic targets for ALS and FTD. Future studies should further elucidate the underlying mechanism of corresponding drug targets in the pathogenesis of ALS and FTD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Currently, it is unclear whether serum Cystatin C can be used to evaluate the prognosis of ALS. We aim to study the relationship between serum Cystatin C and survival in ALS. Methods: Sporadic ALS patients diagnosed at the Department of Neurology, the First Medical Center, and the Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2016 to December 2019 were enrolled in this study. Experienced neurologists followed up the participants regularly every 6 months until January 2022. According to the levels of serum Cystatin C, the participants were divided into high and low Cystatin C levels groups. The comparison between groups was performed with parametric or non-parametric test. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression model were used to calculate survival analysis. Results: Three hundred fifty-six sporadic ALS patients were enrolled in this study, including 203 males and 153 females. Among all ALS patients, 26 cases (7.3%) were lost to follow-up, 226 cases (63.5%) died, and 104 cases (29.2%) were still alive at the last follow-up. The median survival time of all ALS patients was 42.0 months. Patients with high Cystatin C levels had shorter median survival than those with lower Cystatin C levels (38.0 months vs. 48.0 months, P = 2.58 × 10−4). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, onset form, age of onset, diagnostic delay, disease progression rate, creatinine, and serum Cystatin C levels were associated with ALS survival. Conclusions: Our study found that serum Cystatin C was associated with ALS survival, and serum Cystatin C level might be an independent predictor of ALS survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an essential crop. Unfortunately, it is hypersensitive to abiotic stresses, especially drought. Recently, chemical applications have proved to be a prominent approach for enhancing plant abiotic stress tolerance. Although acetic acid application has been reported to rescue plants from abiotic stresses, the function of acetic acid in drought responses in the common bean remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of acetic acid on enhancing drought tolerance of common bean and their underlying phenotypic responses, and physiological and biochemical mechanisms. Our results showed a higher survival rate in acetic acid-pretreated than water-pretreated plants after the recovery from drought treatment. Acetic acid-pretreated plants exhibited greater chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin contents, higher relative water content, and a lower rate of electrolyte leakage compared with water-pretreated plants under drought. In comparison with water-pretreated plants, acetic acid-pretreated plants maintained higher photosynthetic performance as indicated by higher gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in responses to drought. A higher antioxidant capacity was shown in acetic acid-pretreated than water-pretreated plants, which helped plants detoxify drought-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby providing better adaptation to drought. Our results indicated that acetic acid pretreatment enhanced drought tolerance in common bean plants by increasing the photosynthetic performance and maintaining ROS homeostasis. This study will provide an avenue for agricultural applications using acetic acid pretreatment to mitigate drought stress in common bean and other crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, miRNAs are involved in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and identifying circulating miRNAs that are causally associated with ALS risk as biomarkers is imperative. Methods: We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization study to evaluate the causal relationship between miRNAs and ALS. Our analysis was conducted using summary statistics from miRNA expression quantitative loci (eQTL) data of the Framingham Heart Study and ALS genome-wide association studies data. Another independent miRNA data was used to further validate. Results: We identified eight unique miRNAs that were causally associated with ALS risk. Using expression data of miRNAs from an independent study, we validated three high-confidence miRNAs, namely hsa-miR-27b-3p, hsa-miR-139-5p, and hsa-miR-152-3p, which might have a potential causal effect on ALS risk. Conclusion: We suggested that higher levels of hsa-miR-27b-3p and hsa-miR-139-5p had protective effects on ALS, whereas higher levels of hsa-miR-152-3p might act as a risk factor for ALS. The analytical framework presented in this study helps to understand the role of miRNAs in the development of ALS and to identify the biomarkers for ALS risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coreless induction furnace is one of the most widely used equipment in the steelmaking sector, while the lining refractory are the key factors in determining the lifetime of the induction furnace. The multi-physics field dominates the operating conditions of the lining refractory which can be well-studied using numerical simulation techniques. Based on the technique, and adopted frequency domain-transient method, the thermal-electromagnetic flow coupled multi-physical fields is simulated and the effects of multi-physical fields on the furnace lining refractory are analyzed as well, which provides a numerical simulation guiding approach for the design of the lining refractory of induction furnace. The results indicate that the excitation magnetic field distribution dominates the multi-physics field distribution, and shows a concentrated field distribution at the bottom corner and slag line, the inner wall of the furnace lining is influenced by the liquid steel impact, the temperature, velocity and stress at the bottom corner, reach 2046 K, 0.127 m/s and 2.34 × 102 MPa respectively. With regards to the simulation results, the service conditions of these two regions and the furnace waist lining should be focused on when designing refractory for induction furnace lining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fiber properties and chemical compositions of Fargesia yunnanensis, Neosinocalamus affinis and Dendrocalamus farinosus sheaths at different growth stages were investigated. Sheaths contained short and medium-sized fibers. Both the slenderness ratio and Runkel ratio showed good suitability of the sheaths as raw material for papermaking. Shedding sheath of N. affinis were found to be the best as they exhibited a better slenderness ratio and Runkel ratio, as well as low ash, moderate SiO2 and greater holocellulose content, whereas F. yunnanensis sheaths provided the poorest results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sertoli cells (SCs) preferentially use glucose to convert to lactate. As an energy source, lactate is essential for survival of developed germ cells (GCs) due to its anti-apoptotic effect. Failure to maintain lactate metabolism homeostasis leads to infertility or germ cell apoptosis. Several Sertoli cell-expressed genes, such as Foxq1 and Gata4, have been identified as critical regulators for lactate synthesis, but the pathways that potentially modulate their expression remain ill defined. Although recent work from our collaborators pointed to an involvement of STIP1 homology and U-box–containing protein 1 (STUB1) in the modulation of Sertoli cell response to GCs-derived IL-1α, a true physiological function of STUB1 signaling in SCs has not been demonstrated. We therefore conditionally ablated Stub1 in SCs using Amh-Cre. Stub1 knockout males exhibited impaired fertility due to oligozoospermia and asthenospermia, possibly caused by lactate deficiency. Furthermore, by means of chromatin immunoprecipitation, in vivo ubiquitination, and luciferase reporter assays, we showed that STUB1 directed forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1)-mediated transactivation of the lactate dehydrogenase A (Ldha) gene via K63-linked non-proteolytic polyubiquitination, thus facilitating lactate production in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)-stimulated SCs. In agreement, overexpression of LDHA by lentivirus infection effectively rescued the lactate production in TM4Stub1−/− cells. Our results collectively identify STUB1-mediated transactivation of FOXQ1 signaling as a post-translationally modified transcriptional regulatory network underlying nursery function in SCs, which may nutritionally contribute to Sertoli cell dysfunction of male infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel α-tocopherol-producing bacteria strain was isolated and identified as Bacillus tequilensis QH1 (QH1). The effects of QH1 strain inoculation alone (QH), combined with cell wall degradation enzyme (QC), or Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum YM3 and cell wall degradation enzyme (QLC) as the additives on the fermentation characteristics, structural carbohydrates, and α-tocopherol content of rice straw and corn stover silages were investigated, and without additives as the control (CON), in 4 replicates. After silages were kept in a laboratory cabinet (26–34 ℃) and the dark for 42 d, experimental silos (polyethylene plastic bags) were opened for analysis. The results exhibited that the control and additives-treated rice straw and corn stover were ensiled well, indicated by high lactic acid content and little butyric acid content. The QH and QC degraded structural carbohydrates, demonstrated by lower (P < 0.001) neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) than the control, but did not enhance lactic acid fermentation, evidenced by lower (P < 0.001) lactic acid content in QH-treated silages compared with the control silages. The effect of QLC on degrading structural carbohydrates was influenced by material factors, evidenced by no role in decreasing the contents of NDF and ADF in rice straw silage and a good role in decreasing the contents of NDF and ADF in corn stover silage. However, the water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) contents in both rice straw and corn stover silages were increased (P < 0.001) by QLC compared with the control. The control and additives-treated silages had much higher (P < 0.001) α-tocopherol content and lower (P < 0.001) chlorophyll content compared with the material before ensiling. Compared with the control, higher α-tocopherol content was found in QH-treated rice straw (P = 0.071) and corn stover silages (P < 0.05), and QLC-treated corn stover silage (P < 0.05). Therefore, the QH1 strain had the potential to be applied in rice straw silage production, and QLC was recommended to be applied in corn stover silage production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How glasses relax at room temperature is still a great challenge for both experimental and simulation studies due to the extremely long relaxation time-scale. Here, by employing a modified molecular dynamics simulation technique, we extend the quantitative measurement of relaxation process of metallic glasses to room temperature. Both energy relaxation and dynamics, at low temperatures, follow a stretched exponential decay with a characteristic stretching exponent β = 3/7, which is distinct from that of supercooled liquid. Such aging dynamics originates from the release of energy, an intrinsic nature of out-of-equilibrium system, and manifests itself as the elimination of defects through localized atomic strains. This finding is also supported by long-time stress-relaxation experiments of various metallic glasses, confirming its validity and universality. Here, we show that the distinct relaxation mechanism can be regarded as a direct indicator of glass transition from a dynamic perspective. The mechanism governing structural relaxation in metallic glasses remains elusive, hampering their stability and engineering applications. Here, the authors reveal a distinct relaxation mechanism with a stretching exponent of 3/7, providing new insight for understanding the nature of glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Laparoscopic central pancreatectomy (LCP) has been implemented in pancreatic surgery; however, open surgery is still the predominant approach for central pancreatectomy (CP). Our objective was to compare LCP with open CP (OCP). Methods: Data were collected from patients with tumours located in the pancreatic neck and proximal body who underwent CP in the Department of Pancreatic Surgery West China Hospital from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2019. A comparison between the LCP and OCP groups was performed. Results: Fifteen patients underwent CP via the laparoscopic approach, and 96 patients underwent CP via the open approach. Using 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM), 12 patients in the LCP group were matched to 21 in the OCP group. Regarding safety, postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) was not significantly different between the two groups (13.3% vs. 12.5%, P = 1.000), even with PSM (16.7% vs. 14.3%, P = 1.000). However, regarding effectiveness, the operative time in the OCP group was significantly shorter than that in the LCP group before (307.0 ± 92.3 ml vs. 220.6 ± 63.6 ml, P < 0.000) and after (300.3 ± 90.2 ml vs. 212.7 ± 44.4 ml, P = 0.002) PSM. Regarding length of stay (LOS), there was no difference between the two groups before (13.1 ± 13.7 days vs. 12.7 ± 10.1 days, P = 0.376) and after PSM (14.4 ± 15.1 days vs. 14.5 ± 16.2 days, P = 0.985). The length of the resected pancreas was shorter in the OCP group than in the LCP group before PSM (50.0 ± 13.2 mm vs. 41.1 ± 11.1 mm, P = 0.043). However, there was no difference between the two groups after PSM (47.9 ± 12.5 mm vs. 37.9 ± 10.4 mm, P = 0.084). Moreover, the other variables showed no difference between the two groups before and after PSM. Conclusion: LCP can demonstrate similar safety and effectiveness to OCP, even in the early stages of the learning curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of orthogonal states in multipartite systems is called to be locally stable if to preserve the orthogonality of the states, only trivial local measurement can be performed for each partite. Locally stable sets of states are always locally indistinguishable yielding a form of nonlocality which is different from the Bell-type nonlocality. In this work, we study the locally stable set of product states with small size. First, we give a lower bound on the size of locally stable sets of product states. It is well known that unextendible product basis (UPB) is locally indistinguishable. But we find that some of them are not locally stable. On the other hand, there exists some small subsets of minimum size UPB that are also locally stable which implies the nonlocality of such UPBs are stronger than other form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a significant prognostic factor in some cancer types. However, the prognostic value of SII in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of SII in patients with PC through a meta-analysis. This meta-analysis is aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of SII in patients with PC. Relevant articles were obtained through a systematic search. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the association between SII and survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Seven studies with 2132 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that elevated pretreatment SII was associated with poor OS (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.34–1.78, p < 0.001) and inferior CSS/DFS/PFS (HR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.27–1.80, p < 0.001). The prognostic role was reliable in a subgroup analysis conducted according to regions, disease status, survival analysis, and cutoff value. High SII was associated with poor OS in patients with PC. Therefore, SII is suggested to be a cost-effective biological marker for monitoring survival in patients with PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) samples prepared with three different reducing agents, such as sodium borohydride (NaBH4), hydrazine hydrate (N2H4·H2O), and N, S dual-doped thiourea (CS(NH2)2), were prepared (respectively labeled as B-RGO, N-RGO, N/S-RGO) and compared with commercial RGO samples (represented as C-RGO). The changes of their structures and properties over time have been studied to explore the stability of electrochemical performance. Samples preserved for 0 day (fresh sample), 7 days, 30 days, and 90 days were obtained by storing the prepared RGO powder for different times under natural conditions and characterized by means of analytical methods. The results suggested that even though the phase structures and electrochemical performance of the samples were relatively stable, their surface morphology and oxidation degree varied slightly, and the electrical conductivity even changed dramatically, which decreased significantly at the initial stage of storage. It is found that among different reducing agents, N-RGO samples prepared in this work have similar stability in performance and approximate specific capacitance of around 150.0 F/g at 1 A/g compared to that of C-RGO. As for N/S-RGO, it shows the highest conductivity of 107 S/m, but its decline rate is faster than that of N-RGO, which possesses the conductivity of 76 S/m. In this work, we compared the electrochemical performance of different chemically reduced RGO at different storage times and tried to explain the principles of their performance changes over time. This work has focused on investigating the performance stability of RGO during a long preservation period of up to 90 days, complemented extensive relevant test data of various performance changes over time, and especially, filled in the remarkable data gaps in the less-reported conductivity test of different storage time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greatest challenge of electrostatic levitation for containerless material processing is the stable control of charged material during heating. Recently, high-precision self-adaptive control of electrostatic levitation has been achieved in China's Space Station. Based on the 1D and 3D co-simulation analysis, an optimal scheduling of control strategies of sample release and retrieval in space is developed. Both simulation results and on-orbit experiments demonstrated that the inversion of surface charge is responsible for the heating induced material instability. On-orbit experiments indicated that under laser illuminations, the net surface charge of metal Zr changed from positive to negative at 900 K and from negative to positive at 1300 K. The possible physical mechanism of the charge inversion of heated material is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we construct the Poincare line bundle for the stack of Higgs bundles on smooth projective curves and show that it induces a fully-faithful Fourier-Mukai transform on the category of quasi-coherent sheaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of GPS positioning and wireless communication, more and more trajectories are collected. How to accurately and efficiently detect abnormal trajectories from a large number of trajectories has become a focused issue. The similarity measurement method adopted by the existing abnormal trajectory detection technology often ignores the situation that the abnormal sub-trajectory has enough neighbors. If a trajectory is composed of multiple such sub-trajectories, this anomaly will not be detected. At present, the trajectory outlier detection algorithm based on common slices sub-sequence(TODCSS) has improved the above problems. However, it is not accurate enough in feature extraction. Its detection scope is limited to 2D-plane and the time dimension is ignored, so it can't detect abnormal vehicle behaviors such as multiple stops, detention, too slow speed and so on. Based on the above problems, this paper proposes a spatio-temporal trajectory anomaly detection based on common sub-sequence (STADCS). Firstly, in order to obtain accurate and reasonable similar trajectories, the length of sub-trajectory is added to the common sequence of trajectories, and non-common parts between two trajectories are added to the similarity measurement. Then the time is added to detect trajectories of time anomalies. It improves the accuracy and rationality of detection. Finally, we conducted experiments on real datasets and used F1 − measure to evaluate the accuracy of this algorithm. Compared with existing algorithms, the accuracy of STADCS is improved by about 15.15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most significant study directions is node positioning in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Because the existing RSSI-based triangle centroid localization technique is susceptible to the surrounding environment, this paper proposes an improved triangle centroid localization algorithm based on point-in-triangulation (PIT) criterion (ITCL-PIT) in terms of positioning accuracy and response speed. When combined with the actual placement situation in conventional triangle centroid localization, the suggested algorithm considers the estimated coordinates of the junction points as extra beacon nodes. As a result of the new beacon nodes, the size of the triangle in the junction region is decreased. Then, using the PIT criteria, keep calculating until the predicted position of the node is outside the triangle. Finally, the unknown node's coordinates are determined using the centroid approach. Based on the guaranteed response time, when the communication distance is 15–30 m, the ITCL-PIT method may enhance localization accuracy by up to five times when compared to the standard triangle centroid localization approach. Furthermore, the proposed technique has higher localization accuracy and faster response speed than the centroid iterative estimation approach, and the response time of the ITCL-PIT algorithm is reduced by around 17%. In addition, the experimental platform is built to ensure that the proposed strategy effectively lowers positioning error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Although preoperative splenic artery embolism (SAE) has been widely used for splenomegaly, the efficiency and safety of preoperative SAE in patients with sinistral portal hypertension (SPH) is unknown. Methods: We designed a retrospective cohort of SPH patients who received preoperative SAE in our hospital (February 2018 to September 2020) and compared to those who received splenectomy only, in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Results: In all, 59 patients (18 patients received preoperative SAE) were analyzed. The median age was 44.7 years. Preoperative SAE reduced the intraoperative blood loss (637.0 vs. 420.3 ml, P = 0.041) and operation time (174.0 vs. 141.5 min, P = 0.012). The incidence of complications including postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), bleeding, and thromboembolism was comparable. Multivariate analysis showed that SAE was a protective factor for intraoperative blood loss and operation time, while prior pancreatic pseudocyst/abscess was a risk factor. Conclusions: Preoperative SAE could reduce intraoperative blood loss and operation time in SPH patients without increasing the incidence of complications compared to splenectomy only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Pingwu Fuzhuan brick tea (PWT) is considered the "Sichuan western road" border-selling tea. The taste and quality of Fuzhuan brick tea (FBT) is greatly influenced by microorganisms. Considering the dearth of studies on the taste and microbial community of PWT, this study aimed to investigate the taste characteristics using electronic tongue system and microbial community structures using high-throughput sequencing, followed by comparison with FBT from other regions and determining the correlation between microbial communities and chemical compositions. The taste strengths of sweetness, bitterness, umami and astringency in PWT were all at lower level compared to other regions FBT. Regarding microbial diversity, the fungal communities in PWT were distinct from those of other regions FBT in terms of taxonomic composition and abundance. Unclassified_k_Fungi and Aspergillus were the most dominant fungal genera in PWT. Candidatus_Microthrix, norank_f_Saprospiraceae, and norank_c_C10-SB1A were dominant bacterial genera in PWT, only distinct from those in Hunan FBT (HNT). Principal component analysis results showed that fungal or bacterial community structures of PWT and other regions FBT were distinctly different. Correlation analysis revealed important links between the top 50 microbial populations and metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entanglement network is an important structural feature in concentrated polymer solutions and polymer melts, which has a great influence on the transient rheological behavior and molecular configuration evolution. However, the existing constitutive models have limitations in describing the influence of dynamic entanglement behavior on molecular chain motion, resulting in inaccurate descriptions of the transient rheological behavior. Thus, a molecular configuration evolution model for polymer solutions considering the dynamic entanglement effect is proposed by introducing an intermolecular force that changes with the orientation of the molecular chain in this work. The intermolecular force is introduced by considering the friction coefficient as anisotropic, and the orientation effect is considered by introducing an excluded volume dependent anisotropic diffusion. The proposed model can better describe the stress relaxation, stress growth, and dielectric anisotropy of polymer solutions compared with the anisotropy FENE model and FENE model. In addition, the influence of different model parameters on the transient and steady shear response of polymer solution is investigated, and the results show that the influence of volume loss on the friction anisotropy factor kσ increases as the solution concentration increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) in electrochemical sensing has aroused great interest. However, it is still a great challenge to improve their poor conductivity. Here, we reported a novel phenol electrochemical sensor based on Fe2O3/MIL-53(Fe)/rGO, which was fabricated by the thermal decomposition of MIL-53(Fe). The composition and morphology of Fe2O3/MIL-53(Fe)/rGO were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, and mapping analysis. Meanwhile, the electrochemical behaviors of phenol on the Fe2O3/MIL-53(Fe)/rGO/GCE were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. Under optimized conditions, Fe2O3/MIL-53(Fe)/rGO/GCE had enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward phenol due to the larger surface area and excellent conductivity of the Fe2O3/MIL-53(Fe)/rGO. The electrochemical sensor exhibited a wide linear range (0.5–600 μM) and a low detection limit (0.1 μM) as well as good reproducibility and stability. The proposed sensor has also been applied for the determination of phenol in the refinery wastewater samples with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transferability of random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) for estimating daily global solar radiation using long-term data of measured sunshine duration, extraterrestrial solar radiation, and theoretical sunshine duration was evaluated across different climate zones. Root mean square error (RMSE), Pearson correlation coefficient (R), and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (LCCC) were applied to evaluate model transferability performance. Generally, RF and SVM gave better transfer performance in the climate zone where they were developed. On average, RF (RMSE = 0.881 kWh/m2, R = 0.918, LCCC = 0.885) performed better than SVM (RMSE = 0.93 kWh/m2, R = 0.913, LCCC = 0.87) over the study area. RF had narrow ranges of RMSE, R, and LCCC, indicating that RF was more stable for transfer. The transferability performance of RF was mainly affected by the difference in elevation between source and target sites, and SVM was mostly controlled by the distance and difference in elevation between source and target sites. The results indicated that RF might be applied to estimate daily global solar radiation using sunshine duration at the sites within 500 km distance and 1000 m difference in elevation, and SVM within 500 km distance and 500 m difference in elevation between source and target sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative description and theoretical research on the stability of the electromagnetic field interfacial wave in aluminum electrolysis cells are the key to achieving high energy efficiency and operational safety. The magneto-hydrodynamics equations were established based on the theory of electromagnetics and hydrodynamics and applied to a 500-kA cell. The Fourier series expansion and finite element methods were used for modeling and simulation of interfacial stability. Detailed analysis was conducted on wave mode coupling regimes by custom code in MATLAB. Based on the characteristics of total modulus, a modal analysis method was proposed to clarify how anode–cathode distance (ACD) and length-width ratio of cells affected interfacial stability. The results indicate that the stability is enhanced as the increase of ACD for a 500-kA electrolysis cell and the critical ACD is derived as 0.041 m, which is preferable for stabilizing the cell and reducing energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the feasibility of sugarcane top (ST) application in the goat’s diet was evaluated. A total of 20 goats were randomly divided into four groups. The dietary treatments were set as follows: animals were fed with king grass (KG), KG with exogenous enzymes (KGE), ST, and ST with exogenous enzymes (STE). The animals were given free access to feed and water. After 15 days of adaptation and 60 days of the experiment, the growth performance, plasma parameters, and rumen microbiota of goats were assessed. The results showed that the KG, ST, and exogenous enzyme supplement had no significant effects on the growth performance and plasma parameters. The diet affected the rumen microbiota diversity and structure, and the alpha and beta diversity in the animals fed with ST were dramatically greater compared with the animals fed with KG. The abundances of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Elusimicrobia were significantly decreased in the animals fed with KG or KGE, while the abundances of Firmicutes and Euryarchaeota were significantly higher in the animals fed with KG or KGE. Furthermore, the microbial communities were also different at the genus level. Moreover, the exogenous enzymes had a slight effect on rumen microbiota. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that the greatest differences were found in bacterial taxa, and these specific taxa could be used as biomarkers to distinguish rumen microbiota. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) functional profile prediction indicated that the dietary treatments of ST and KG could also alter the gene expression pattern in nutrient and energy metabolism, as well as replication and repair of genetic information pathways. Collectively, the dietary treatments of KG and ST in the absence or presence of exogenous enzymes had similar effects on the growth performance and plasma parameters of goats. Besides, the KG and ST diets could affect the rumen microbiota community and function of goats. Therefore, ST could be used as a promising alternative feed resource for ruminants without the addition of exogenous enzymes in tropical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An in-line high efficient polarizer, composed of magnetic-ionic-liquid-adorned (MIL-adorned) hollow-core anti-resonant fiber (HARF), is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The protocol is based on the selective conversion of polarization mode into leaky mode and attenuates quickly in MIL and the polarizer is featured by the magnetically tunable polarization extinction ratio (PER) and the thermally controllable operation bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal maturation in the shale oil/gas system is inherently complex due to the competitive interplays between hydrocarbon generation and retention processes. To study hydrocarbon generation characteristics from shales within different stages of thermal maturation under the influence of retained oil, we performed Micro-Scale Sealed Vessels (MSSV) pyrolysis on a set of artificially matured lacustrine shale samples from the Shahejie Formation in the Dongpu Depression in Bohai Bay Basin, China. Experimental results show that hydrocarbon yields of shale samples with or without retained oil at various thermal maturities follow different evolution paths. Heavy components (C15+) in samples crack at high temperatures and generally follow a sequence, where they first transform into C6–14 then to C2–5 and C1. Methane accounts for most of the gaseous products at high temperatures in all samples, with different origins. The cracking of C2–5 is the main methane-generating process in samples with retained oil, whereas the source of methane in samples without retained oil is kerogen. In the studied shales, retained oils at early-mature stage retard the transformation of liquid to gaseous hydrocarbon and prompt the cracking of C2–5 to C1 to some extent. TSR reaction related to gypsum in the studied samples is the primary reason that can explain the loss of hydrocarbon yields, especially at high temperatures. In addition, transformation of volatile hydrocarbons to gas and coke also accounts for the loss of generated hydrocarbon, as a secondary factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the large-scale application of wireless sensor network, the position information of sensor nodes is more and more important. The position information of the unknown nodes are mainly depended on the beacon node the in wireless sensor network. First, the concept and characteristics of wireless sensor networks of the positioning technologies are briefly described. Then, the calculation methods of existing node positioning technologies are introduced. Next, the wireless sensors are described in detail from two aspects: range-based and range-free. Finally, summarizes the possible defects of positioning technology and looks forward to the future development of the node positioning technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniature/micro-drilling of holes is increasingly utilized in manufacturing. While non-conventional machining methods (laser and spark erosion) were applied successfully for micro-drilling, mechanical drilling still of interest to industry due to its unmatched geometrical accuracy. However, tool wear and burr formation would hinder the economics of mechanical drilling supremacy. Hence, the need for understanding of tool wear, burr formation and cutting forces progression with process variables is a step towards comprehensive modelling of micro-drilling mechanics and subsequent enhanced process economics. The current research details experimental trials involving mechanical drilling of steel 1008/CR4 using twin-fluted twist drills of diameters 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mm. Full factorial design of experiments was utilized, and analysis of variance was accomplished to study the effects of feed rate and tool diameter (each of them at 3 levels) on tool flank wear and drilled hole quality. Entry and exit burr heights were increased by 80–150% when tool diameter and feed rate were two times higher. Progression of tool flank wear and usage of bigger tool diameter conversely reduced hole surface roughness. In addition, tool flank wear was increased when reducing of feed rate and using larger tool diameter. Catastrophic failure of 0.5-mm-diameter tool was noticed (after drilling of 46 holes at high feed rate level and after drilling of 97 holes at low feed levels) due to chip packing/jamming in the insufficient flute area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer technology provides new conditions and possibilities for art creation and research, and also expands the forms of artistic expression. Computer-created art has thus become one of the important forms of art. In this paper, we proposed a novel method of generating abstract paintings. We used the public painting dataset WikiArt and designed a K-Means algorithm that automatically finds the optimal K value to perform color segmentation on these images, and divide the picture into different color blocks. We proposed the concept of the collection of color block (CoCB), which records all color block information of the segmented image and serves as an intermediate vector for the generation of abstract painting. We extracted the CoCB as an empirical sample and used a learning model based on deep learning to automatically generate brand-new CoCBs. We then converted the CoCBs into an abstract painting, so that the generated abstract painting also followed certain aesthetic rules. Experiments showed that the resulting abstract painting have great visual impact, and some of them have been installed as decorations in public and private spaces, as well as art institutions. Also, some artists and designers have used the results in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azadipyrromethene derived polycyclic aromatic complexes (HBPs) containing thirteen fused rings have been synthesized, which show highly selective intense absorption in the near infrared spectrum (NIR) region with high photo- and thermo-stability. The periphery alkoxy and alkyl substituents greatly affect their molecular packing structures in thin films and their thin film transistor performances. With the simple changes of the alkyl substituents, the packing structures changed from discrete-grain with H-aggregation type absorption to lamellar packing with J-aggregation type absorption, and the semiconducting properties were modulated from p-type to interesting ambipolar-type in solution-processed organic field effect transistors (OFETs) with hole and electron mobilities reaching to 0.42 and 0.17 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study the local distinguishability of maximally entangled states (MESs). In particular, we are concerned with whether any fixed number of MESs can be locally distinguishable for sufficiently large dimensions. Fan and Tian et al. have already obtained two satisfactory results for the generalized Bell states (GBSs) and the qudit lattice states when applied to prime or prime power dimensions. We construct a general twist-teleportation scheme for any orthonormal basis with MESs that is inspired by the method used in [Phys. Rev. A 70, 022304 (2004)]. Using this teleportation scheme, we obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for one-way distinguishable sets of MESs, which include the GBSs and the qudit lattice states as special cases. Moreover, we present a generalized version of the results in [Phys. Rev. A 92, 042320 (2015)] for the arbitrary dimensional case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single rich-stimuli-responsive organometallic polymers are considered to be the candidate for ultrahigh information storage and anti-counterfeiting security. However, their controllable synthesis has been an unsolved challenge. Here, we report the rapidly sequence-controlled electrosynthesis of organometallic polymers with exquisite insertion of multiple and distinct monomers. Electrosynthesis relies on the use of oxidative and reductive C–C couplings with the respective reaction time of 1 min. Single-monomer-precision propagation does not need protecting and deprotecting steps used in solid-phase synthesis, while enabling the uniform synthesis and sequence-defined possibilities monitored by both UV–vis spectra and cyclic voltammetry. Highly efficient electrosynthesis possessing potentially automated production can incorporate an amount of available metal and ligand species into a single organometallic polymer with complex architectures and functional versatility, which is proposed to have ultrahigh information storage and anti-counterfeiting security with low-cost coding and decoding processes at the single organometallic polymer level. The controllable synthesis of organometallic polymers that can be used in ultrahigh information storage and anti-counterfeiting security has been an unsolved challenge. Here, the authors show sequence-controlled electrosynthesis of organometallic polymers with exquisite insertion of multiple and distinct monomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]