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The study aimed to develop an effective methodology that allows for an actual assessment of the sustainable development of rural areas in the realities of the modern economy. To achieve the goal of the research, a multi-stage multi-country research project was developed and implemented, tested on the example of rural areas of Serbia, Hungary, and the Russian Federation. The informational basis of the study was the primary information obtained as a result of the field phase of research. The proposed methodology is based on a combination of general scientific and specialized knowledge acquisition methods, including correlation and structural analysis, as well as graphical data representation. The outcome of the research is an author-developed methodology for assessing sustainable development in rural areas, which does not require specialized software and enables monitoring studies of sustainable development at the municipal level. The results of this study will enable municipal and government specialists to objectively evaluate the dynamics of rural area development to ensure their sustainable development in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the findings of this research can be valuable to academic researchers, including the formation of prospective directions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional carbon nanotube (CNT) exhibits excellent mechanical properties and is considered to be an ideal candidate material for the space elevator. However, subtle changes in its chirality strongly affect its physical and chemical properties, including mechanical properties (such as Young's modulus, YM). Theoretical studies reveal that the YMs of perfect single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are in the order of TPa and related to their structures. Nevertheless, due to the lack of SWCNTs samples with well-defined structures and the difficulties in mechanical tests on individual SWCNTs, the theoretical correlations between YM and structure of SWCNTs have not been verified and are still in debate, which directly influences the practical utilization of the excellent mechanical properties of SWCNTs. In this work, we have developed an experimental method to measure the YM of an individual micrometer-scale suspended CNT by atomic force microscopy. A distinct regularity is found between the YM and chirality (i.e., chiral angle and diameter) of SWCNT in the experiment for the first time. By comparing the YMs of SWCNTs with similar diameters and different chiral angles, it manifests that the SWCNT with a near zigzag configuration has a larger YM. This finding suggests that the effect of SWCNT's structures on the YMs cannot be ignored. The developed method of measuring YMs of SWCNTs will be valuable for further experimental research on the inherent physical and chemical properties of SWCNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable devices, such as data gloves and electronic skins, can perceive human instructions, behaviors and even emotions by tracking a hand's motion, with the help of knowledge learning. The shape or position single-mode sensor in such devices often lacks comprehensive information to perceive interactive gestures. Meanwhile, the limited computing power of wearable applications restricts the multimode fusion of different sensing data and the deployment of deep learning networks. We propose a perceptive fusion electronic skin (PFES) with a bioinspired hierarchical structure that utilizes the magnetization state of a magnetostrictive alloy film to be sensitive to external strain or magnetic field. Installed at the joints of a hand, the PFES realizes perception of curvature (joint shape) and magnetism (joint position) information by mapping corresponding signals to the two-directional continuous distribution such that the two edges represent the contributions of curvature radius and magnetic field, respectively. By autonomously selecting knowledge closer to the user's hand movement characteristics, the reinforced knowledge distillation method is developed to learn and compress a teacher model for rapid deployment on wearable devices. The PFES integrating the autonomous learning algorithm can fuse curvature-magnetism dual information, ultimately achieving human machine interaction with gesture recognition and haptic feedback for cross-space perception and manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount of time spent on employment and commuting is a crucial aspect of one's quality of life. The changing patterns of work and commuting in rapidly developing cities like Beijing provide insights into how people's lives evolve as cities develop. In our study, we combined data from the Beijing Time Use Survey from 2001 to 2021 on paid work and commuting schedules and conducted a sequence and cluster analysis to identify seven work-commuting schedules, of which three are non-standard work-commuting schedules. Over the years, we observed an increase in both paid work time and commute time. People have started and finished work much later, with one group emerging that returns to work after dinner and commutes at very late hours, indicating a shift in daily schedule to later hours. Younger individuals, males, and those with higher household incomes are more likely to work long or extremely long hours, while younger individuals or those who are single tend to spend longer time commuting. These findings suggest that long/late working-commuting schedules are becoming the norm in Beijing, implying a decline in the quality of urban life. Our study provides valuable insights into how people's lives are evolving as cities develop, highlighting the need for urban planners and policymakers to prioritize the creation of more accessible and sustainable urban areas that promote a healthier work-life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shear bond of interface between concrete and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars during freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles is crucial for the application of BFRP bar-reinforced concrete structures in cold regions. In this study, 48 groups of pull-out specimens were designed to test the shear bond of the BFRP-concrete interface subjected to F-T cycles. The effects of concrete strength, diameter, and embedment length of BFRP rebar were investigated under numerous F-T cycles. Test results showed that a larger diameter or longer embedment length of BFRP rebar resulted in lower interfacial shear bond behavior, such as interfacial bond strength, initial stiffness, and energy absorption, after the interface goes through F-T cycles. However, higher concrete strength and fewer F-T cycles were beneficial for enhancing the interfacial bond behavior. Subsequently, a three-dimensional (3D) interfacial model based on the finite element method was developed, and the interfacial bond behavior of the specimens was analyzed in-depth. Finally, a degradation bond strength subjected to F-T cycles was predicted by a proposed mechanical model. The predictions were fully consistent with the tested results. The model demonstrated accuracy in describing the shear bond behavior of the interface under numerous F-T cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate whether infants with prenatal diagnosis of meconium peritonitis (MP) have a poorer prognosis. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data from infants treated with surgery from January 2008 to December 2020 was conducted. The patients were divided into prenatal diagnosis group and postnatal diagnosis group based on the timing of diagnosis. The intraoperative and postoperative parameters of the two groups of patients were compared. Results: A total of 71 cases of MP were included in the study, with 48 cases in the prenatal diagnosis group and 23 cases in the postnatal diagnosis group. The comparison of preoperative indicators between the two groups of patients showed no statistically significant differences in baseline (p > 0.05). Intraoperative indicators, including blood loss, anastomosis, retained intestinal tube length and excised intestinal tube length, showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, the postnatal diagnosis group had a significantly shorter operation time than the prenatal diagnosis group (p < 0.05). Postoperative indicators, including fasting time, albumin usage, complications, and abandonment or mortality rates, show no difference (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the postnatal diagnosis group exhibited significantly shorter hospital stay and time to first bowel movement compared to the prenatal diagnosis group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Prenatal diagnosis of meconium peritonitis is associated with increased surgical complexity, prolonged hospital stay, and delayed recovery of intestinal function. However, there is no evidence of higher mortality or more complications compared to infants diagnosed postnatally, and there is no significant difference in long-term prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robot touch is a vital interaction mode for emotional communication and human mental support in HRI. However, little is known about how robot touch characteristics influence the users' subjective perception of emotion and physiological reactions. Therefore, a within-subject experiment of robot touches was conducted with the touch type (contact versus grip), length (long versus short), and location (hand versus forearm) as independent variables. The subjective perception was measured with PANAS scales. Electrocardiography (ECG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were utilized to measure the participant's cardiac autonomic nervous system responses and cerebral central nervous system responses. Results showed that touch type and length jointly affected users' subjective perception of emotion and cerebral activity, and location affected users' heart rate variability and cerebral activity. The results suggest that robot short-grip and long-contact behaviors might bring users more positive emotions. Although robot touch on forearms might not induce more positive emotional perception, it might be helpful for emotional regulation and might mobilize more cognitive resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate characteristics of continental shelf wave (CSW) on the northwestern continental shelf of the South China Sea (SCS) induced by winter storms in 2021. Mooring and cruise observations, tidal gauge data at stations Hong Kong, Zhapo and Qinglan and sea surface wind data from January 1 to February 28, 2021 are used to examine the relationship between along-shelf wind and sea level fluctuation. Two events of CSWs driven by the along-shelf sea surface wind are detected from wavelet spectra of tidal gauge data. The signals are triply peaked at periods of 56 h, 94 h and 180 h, propagating along the coast with phase speed ranging from 6.9 m/s to 18.9 m/s. The dispersion relation shows their property of the Kelvin mode of CSW. We develop a simple method to estimate amplitude of sea surface fluctuation by along-shelf wind. The results are comparable with the observation data, suggesting it is effective. The mode 2 CSWs fits very well with the mooring current velocity data. The results from rare current help to understand wave-current interaction in the northwestern SCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in investigating fertility, embryonic development, and pregnancy is of academic interest. However, there is ongoing controversy regarding the impact of DFI on pregnancy outcomes and the safety of offspring in the context of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). In this study, we conducted an analysis of clinical data obtained from 6330 patients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) at the reproductive medical center of The First People's Hospital of Shangqiu and The Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. The patients was stratified into two distinct groups: IVF group and ICSI group, Within each group, patients were further classified into three subgroups. IVF: group A (< 15%) included 3123 patients, group B (15–30%) included 561 patients, and group C (≥ 30%) included 46 patients. ICSI: group A (< 15%) included 1967 patients, group B (15–30%) included 462 patients, and group C (≥ 30%) included 171 patients. Data were collected and subjected to statistical analysis. There were no significant differences in the basic characteristics among the three groups, and the sperm DFI did not significantly affect the fertilization rates, pregnancy rates, stillbirth rates and the number of birth defects. However, the incidences of miscarriage rates in IVF/ICSI groups with DFI > 30% and DFI 15–30% were significantly higher than those in IVF/ICSI groups with DFI < 15%, and the miscarriage rates in ICSI group with DFI > 30% were significantly higher than DFI 15–30% group, the smooth fitting curve shows that there is a positive correlation between miscarriage rates and sperm DFI (OR 1.095; 95% CI 1.068–1.123; P < 0.001). The birth weight of infants in the IVF/ICSI groups with DFI > 30% and DFI 15–30% exhibited a statistically significant decrease compared to those in the IVF/ICSI groups with DFI < 15%. Furthermore, the birth weight of infants in the ICSI group with DFI > 30% was lower than that of the DFI 15–30% group. The smooth fitting curve analysis demonstrates a negative association between birth weight and sperm DFI (OR 0.913; 95% CI 0.890–0.937; P < 0.001). Sperm DFI has an impact on both miscarriage rates and birth weight in assisted reproductive technology. The smooth fitting curve analysis reveals a positive correlation between miscarriage rates and DFI, while a negative correlation is observed between birth weight and DFI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A systematic summary of current research trends in the development of transition metal disulfides (TMDs) electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials. In-depth comparisons on the structures, preparation methods, application merits of VIB- and VB-group TMDs. Structure engineering modulation of TMDs in achieving superior EMW absorption is outlined from the viewpoints of heterostructures, defects, morphologies, and phases. Exclusive insights into the challenges, strategies, and opportunities in the design of EMW absorption materials with outstanding performance are provided. The laminated transition metal disulfides (TMDs), which are well known as typical two-dimensional (2D) semiconductive materials, possess a unique layered structure, leading to their wide-spread applications in various fields, such as catalysis, energy storage, sensing, etc. In recent years, a lot of research work on TMDs based functional materials in the fields of electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) has been carried out. Therefore, it is of great significance to elaborate the influence of TMDs on EMA in time to speed up the application. In this review, recent advances in the development of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers based on TMDs, ranging from the VIB group to the VB group are summarized. Their compositions, microstructures, electronic properties, and synthesis methods are presented in detail. Particularly, the modulation of structure engineering from the aspects of heterostructures, defects, morphologies and phases are systematically summarized, focusing on optimizing impedance matching and increasing dielectric and magnetic losses in the EMA materials with tunable EMW absorption performance. Milestones as well as the challenges are also identified to guide the design of new TMDs based dielectric EMA materials with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cytokines that mediate the immune responses are important in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. The genetic polymorphisms of IL-10, TNFAIP3 (A20), and NF-κB1 (p105/p50) and their association with the risk of periodontitis were investigated. Method: Venous blood from 102 clinical periodontal healthy participants and 100 patients with periodontitis was collected to genotype the IL-10 (rs1800872), A20 (rs2230926, rs5029937, rs6927127), and NF-κB1 (rs28362491) SNP loci by Sanger technology. Univariable and multivariable logic regression and path analysis model was used to analyze the genotypes and alleles. Result: Single-gene mutations in the A20 (rs2230926, rs5029937, rs6927127) and IL-10 (rs1800872) genes were not associated with the risk of periodontitis. NF-κΒ1 (rs28362491) gene influenced periodontitis susceptibility by affecting CAL. The combined effect of A20 and IL-10 was related to the risk of periodontitis (ORa = 0.123-0.151). One site mutated in the A20 (rs2230926, rs5029937, rs6927127) gene or IL-10 (rs1800872) gene reduced the risk of periodontitis. Conclusion: Single gene polymorphisms in A20 and IL-10 genes were not associated with the risk of periodontitis. NF-κB1 gene polymorphism indirectly affects susceptibility to periodontitis. The combined effect of anti-inflammatory gene polymorphisms (A20 and IL-10) correlated with the decreased risk of periodontitis. Clinical Relevance: This study helps to explore the potential mechanisms underlying the role of anti-inflammatory genes in the progression of periodontal disease and provides a basis for the selection and development of appropriate periodontal treatment strategies based on the genetic profile of the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic images of Earth’s interior have revealed two continent-sized anomalies with low seismic velocities, known as the large low-velocity provinces (LLVPs), in the lowermost mantle1. The LLVPs are often interpreted as intrinsically dense heterogeneities that are compositionally distinct from the surrounding mantle2. Here we show that LLVPs may represent buried relics of Theia mantle material (TMM) that was preserved in proto-Earth’s mantle after the Moon-forming giant impact3. Our canonical giant-impact simulations show that a fraction of Theia’s mantle could have been delivered to proto-Earth’s solid lower mantle. We find that TMM is intrinsically 2.0–3.5% denser than proto-Earth’s mantle based on models of Theia’s mantle and the observed higher FeO content of the Moon. Our mantle convection models show that dense TMM blobs with a size of tens of kilometres after the impact can later sink and accumulate into LLVP-like thermochemical piles atop Earth’s core and survive to the present day. The LLVPs may, thus, be a natural consequence of the Moon-forming giant impact. Because giant impacts are common at the end stages of planet accretion, similar mantle heterogeneities caused by impacts may also exist in the interiors of other planetary bodies.Computer simulations show that mantle material from Theia, a proto-planet theorized to have struck the proto-Earth in the Moon-forming giant impact, may be the source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Urbanization can severely damage the river ecosystem. This study investigated the effects of various types of urbanization, such as urban human activities, pollution by the chemical industry, port industry, and fungal communities in the sediment from the Haihe River to the Bohai Sea Estuary. Materials and methods: Based on the metagenomic sequencing results, the impact of urbanization on the river ecosystem in terms of fungal communities' composition, diversity, and function potential in the sediment was studied. Results and discussion: The results showed that the sediment in the urban area accumulated large amounts of N, P, and PAHs, thus increasing the abundance of the fungal genera Beauveria, Verticillium, Metarhizium, Tolypocladium, Tuber, and Coccidioides but decreasing the relative abundance of key rate-limiting enzymes in the pentose phosphate pathway while increasing the relative abundance of sulfur-activated genes. The effect of industrial pollution on the sediment was mainly reflected in the increase of salinity. In terms of fungal functions, industrial pollution inhibited the pentose phosphate pathway but promoted the sulfur reduction function. In addition, the content of salinity and nitrate nitrogen was relatively high but the fungal diversity was low in the port and estuary areas. KEGG results demonstrated that the fungi of these two sample areas had high glycolytic functions. Conclusions: The fungal community composition and function in the sediment of the Haihe River were reshaped under different urbanization types, suggesting the negative impact of urbanization on the river ecosystem and also providing a basis for the management and restoration of the sediment of the Haihe River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers (HNFs) have shown excellent sensing capabilities due to their large specific surface area as well as the simplicity and mildness of the preparation process. However, coupling HNFs to electrodes to fabricate a uniform and controllable enzymatic electrochemical sensing interface remains a challenge. Here, we proposed an aptamer-induced in-situ fabrication strategy for preparing an HNF-based electrochemical sensor with ideal performance. Central to this strategy is the introduction of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-specific binding aptamer (Apt), which induces the in-situ growth of AChE-copper phosphate (Cu3(PO4)2) HNFs on the surface of carbon paper (CP). In addition, a dense gold nanoparticle (AuNP) layer was electrodeposited on the CP for anchoring Apt and further extending the electroactive surface area. The prepared AChE-Cu3(PO4)2 HNF/Apt/AuNP/CP biosensor exhibited a wide detection range from 1 to 107 pM for the four organophosphorus inhibitors, including isocarbophos, dichlorvos, methamidophos, and parathion, with detection limits down to 0.016, 0.028, 0.071, and 0.113 pM, respectively. With the reactivation of pralidoxime chloride, the electrode can still recover 98.1% of the response after five times of repeated use. In real sample detection, the biosensor achieved high recoveries from 96.45% to 100.13%. The detection target may be extendable to other AChE inhibitors (e.g., drugs for Alzheimer's disease). This study demonstrates for the first time the feasibility of using aptamers as an inducer to fabricate an electrochemical enzyme sensing interface in-situ. This strategy can be used to fabricate other enzyme-based biosensors and therefore has broader applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The oncological role of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) remains debated in locally advanced rectal cancer (RC) after neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), especially ypI RC. In this study, we used population-based data to evaluate the benefits of ACT in stage ypI RC after NAT and surgery. Moreover, we tried to differentiate what kind of NAT (radiotherapy alone or chemoradiotherapy) was administered because this may affect the further efficacy of ACT. Methods: All patients with stage ypI primary rectal malignancy were diagnosed in the SEER database between 2004 and 2017. The Kaplan–Meier method was applied to estimate the effects of ACT in survival analysis. Cox regression was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and the prognosis factors of survival. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the parameters between therapy groups. Results: The overall cohort's median follow-up time was 105 months. For 5-year OS and CSS, there were no significant differences between the ACT (+) and ACT (-) groups (p = 0.105; p = 0.788). However, subgroup analyses according to the kind of NAT found that ACT improved overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients who received neoadjuvant radiotherapy (nRT) (p < 0.001, p = 0.015). Among patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), no significant survival benefits were found between the ACT (+) and ACT (-) groups (p = 0.526, p = 0.288). Conclusion: Our population-based cohort study suggested that the efficacy of ACT was associated with the kind of NAT. The ACT provides survival benefits in stage ypI RC for patients who received nRT. However, among patients who received nCRT, ACT did not improve long-term survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy remain debated rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma (MC). Our study aims to delve into the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in pathologic stage III rectal MC by a large population-based database. Methods: The Chi-square test was performed to examine the parameters between treatment groups. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of treatment groups were conducted by using the Kaplan–Meier method. The impact of factors on survival was assessed using Cox regression analyses. To balance the covariates and reduce the selection bias, we employed propensity score matching (PSM) to narrow the differences between treatment groups. Results: The median follow-up time for overall patients was 80 months. In the pre-operative chemoradiotherapy (pre-CRT) group, patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy had significantly better 5-year OS and CSS. Multivariate analyses found that adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with better OS (p < 0.001, HR (95% CI): 0.66 (0.51–0.86)) and CSS (p = 0.012, HR (95% CI): 0.71 (0.54–0.93)). However, adjuvant chemotherapy was not an independent prognosis factor in both OS (p = 0.149, HR (95% CI): 0.76 (0.53–1.1); Supplement Table 1) and CSS (p = 0.183, HR (95% CI): 0.74 (0.48–1.15)) in patients who did not receive pre-CRT. After PSM, similar results were found in the pre-CRT and the no pre-CRT groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, our population-based retrospective cohort study indicates that the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with the pre-CRT status in patients with stage III rectal MC. In patients who underwent pre-CRT, the receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with better survival outcomes. Conversely, adjuvant chemotherapy does not seem to confer significant survival benefits to patients without pre-CRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Producing liquid steel in H2-rich environment is known as one of the promising processes to achieve the carbon-neutrality goal of steel industry. However, this process is expected to have one problem of producing molten steel supersaturated with hydrogen that, thus, must be reduced in the subsequent refining process through an exclusive degassing apparatus. In this study, an integrated mathematical model representing dynamic coupling of computational fluid dynamics and thermodynamics is established to firstly clarify hydrogen degassing in a VD from liquid steel supersaturated with hydrogen. The model accounts for three potential dehydrogenation routes, and, thus, can explain dehydrogenation mechanism of liquid steel supersaturated with hydrogen in detail. The results indicate that for the liquid steel supersaturated with hydrogen, the dehydrogenation by bubble surface contributes the most hydrogen removal, following by steel-free surface, and little by bulk steel where the dehydrogenation mainly occurs at the early stage. The hydrogen removal ratio seems independent on the initial hydrogen content, showing that it is difficult to efficiently reduce the hydrogen content in the liquid steel to an expectantly low level through the normal operating conditions of the VD, unless excessively increasing the argon purging rate. In this case, the hydrogen removal ratio by the bubble surface and steel-free surface increases while that by the bulk steel declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) represent an emerging class of materials that have attracted enormous attention in many fields. By comparison with other biomaterials, MNPs own unique optical properties which make them a potential alternative to conventional therapeutic agents in medical applications. Especially, owing to the easy access to the skin, the use of MNPs based on their optical properties has gained importance for the treatment of a variety of skin diseases. This review provides an insight into the different optical properties of MNPs, including photoprotection, photocatalysis, and photothermal, and highlights their implications in treating skin disorders, with a special emphasis on their use in infection control. Finally, a perspective on the safety concern of MNPs for dermatological use is discussed and analyzed. The information gathered and presented in this review will help the readers have a comprehensive understanding of utilizing the photo-triggered activity of MNPs for the treatment of skin diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge graph embedding has been proposed to embed entities and relations into continuous vector spaces, which can benefit various downstream tasks, such as question answering and recommender systems, etc. A common assumption of existing knowledge graph embedding models is that the relation is a translation vector connecting the embedded head entity and tail entity. However, based on this assumption, the same relation connecting multiple entities may form a circle and lead to mistakes during computing process. To solve this so-called circular relation problem that has been ignored previously, we propose a novel method called ContE (Contextualized Embedding) for knowledge graphs by exploring collaborative relations. Specifically, each collaborative relation combines an explicit relation and a latent relation, where the explicit one is the original relation between two entities, and the latent one is introduced to capture the implicit interactions obtained via the context information of the two entities. With the collaborative relations, the same relations will be embedded varying across different contexts, and the sharing of similar semantics will be guaranteed as well. We conduct extensive experiments in link prediction and triple classification tasks on five benchmark datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed ContE achieves improvements over several baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visual complexity of interface plays a crucial role in user experience. Previous studies have extensively investigated website complexity, while the visual complexity of mobile applications gets seldom attention. This study explored the effect of interface complexity of mobile news apps on user search behaviors and satisfaction by dividing visual complexity into quantity complexity and layout complexity. Thirty-four subjects were invited to take part in the task-oriented eye-tracking experiment. The results revealed that a high level of quantity complexity increased users' revisit counts, fixation counts, and saccade counts. A high level of layout complexity increased users' revisit counts and saccade counts while fixation counts decreased first and then increased. Additionally, user satisfaction was negatively correlated with quantity complexity levels, while there was an inverted-U shape between user satisfaction and layout complexity levels. Understanding the effect of visual complexity of mobile news apps on user search behaviors and satisfaction would contribute to providing better guidelines for designers to develop mobile news products with an appropriate complexity layout and improve user satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for neodymium (III) and samarium (III) due to their extensive high-tech applications has drawn much attention to their recovery. In this work, the copper-based metal-organic framework HKUST-1 was prepared and used for the adsorption of neodymium (III) and samarium (III) in the media of an aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity of the material for neodymium (III) and samarium (III) was 284.11 and 503.45 mg g−1 at a pH of 5.5, respectively. The adsorption removal rate could achieve nearly 100% at the solid-to-liquid ratio of 1.0 g L−1, which is relatively excellent among such adsorbents used for rare earth elements uptake. The mechanism and reversibility of neodymium (III) and samarium (III) adsorption were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, suggesting that the mechanism for the adsorption was ion exchange and complexation between trivalent rare-earth ions and the oxygen atom in the hydroxyl group. The reason behind the material displaying a more robust affinity for samarium (III) may be caused by the energy difference between fn and fn+1 states of samarium (III) was larger than that of neodymium (III), thus forming stronger covalent bonding. HKUST-1 exhibited high adsorption capacity towards Nd (III) and Sm (III). The reason behind the material displaying a more robust affinity for Sm(III) was caused by that the energy difference between fn and fn+1 states of Sm(III) was larger than that of Nd(III), thus forming stronger covalent bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-profile broadband circularly polarized (CP) crossed-dipole antenna is proposed. In this antenna, the dipole uses a fractal-based structure with multiple similar patches for obtaining broadband CP radiation and impedance matching. The incorporation of the crossed-dipole antenna with four triangular parasitic patches improves both the impedance and axial ratio (AR) bandwidths. Four parasitic coupled inverted-L metal plates are loaded on the ground plane to significantly enhance the AR bandwidth and reduce the antenna profile. The measured results are in agreement with the simulations, which demonstrates that the proposed antenna has a low profile of 0.18 λ0, a − 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 91% (2.78–7.42 GHz), a 3 dB AR bandwidth of 81.5% (2.99–7.1 GHz), and a good right hand circular polarization (RHCP) radiation pattern with an average gain of 7.9 dBi over the whole operating band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impeller blades in Kanbara reactors for hot metal desulfurization often fail due to extreme erosion induced by the hot metal. Computer simulation has made it possible to evaluate the degree of abrasion and predict wear locations. In this work, a numerical model coupled with the erosion formula was used to quantitatively assess the shear stress and abrasion rate. Based on the simulation results, nonuniform local erosive wear was identified, showing that the zones of high erosion concentrated at the lower part of the blade and along two rings of the ladle lining. The impeller immersion depth has a negligible influence on the blade abrasion but remarkably affects the ladle sidewall and bottom. The quantitative correlations of abrasion rate as a function of blade dimension and rotation speed were obtained. The results can be used to identify the erosion problems and optimize impeller design and operation to extend the service life of both the impeller and the ladle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the 25-h continuing hydrographic observations at three successive stations in February 2012 and the mooring time series of current observations from January to March 2015, the tidal currents and tidal energy fluxes in the coastal waters east of Hainan Island in the northwestern South China Sea were analyzed. The diurnal and semidiurnal (using K1 and M2 as proxies, respectively) tidal currents and associated isopycnal undulations were derived with harmonic analysis. Results show that the velocities of the diurnal and semidiurnal tides derived from the 25-h observations are comparable to those from the mooring series. The semi-major axes of the tidal ellipses were O(4–7 cm/s) for barotropic tides and O(2–4 cm/s) for baroclinic tides. The directions were in NE-SW at deeper stations to N-S at the shallowest station for the diurnal tide and from NW-SE to NE-SW for the semidiurnal tide. Both the diurnal and semidiurnal isopycnal fluctuations reached O(5 m), O(8 m), and O(10 m) at the cross-shelf stations (H03, H04, and H05) from 35 m, 45 m, to 55 m, respectively, showing insignificant vertical variation, and the barotropic signals were predominate. The baroclinic diurnal tide showed first-mode structures at H03-05, as does the semidiurnal tide at H03. The semidiurnal tide at H04 and H05 exhibited higher-mode structures. The time series of both the alongshore and cross-shore components reveal the vertically propagation features of the baroclinic tidal phase and energy. The calculated horizontal energy fluxes of the diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides decreased from O(0.1 W/m) at H05 to O(0.01 W/m) at H03, implying a propagation and dissipation of energy from offshore to inshore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active damping (AD) methods with extra feedback provide a high rejection of the resonance peak caused by LCL-filters, and have the advantages of simple implementation and strong robustness. Among them, capacitor current proportional-feedback AD has been proved to be effective and robust with only a proportional calculation. However, a large capacitive current pulsation restricts the detection accuracy. Based on a theoretical derivation, the same damping effect but with a better rejection of grid harmonic can be obtained by grid-side inductor voltage differential-feedback AD. However, the measured inductor voltage usually contains a parasitic resistance voltage that is difficult to separated, and it deteriorates the performance of LCL-filters. To solve this problem, a differential-negative proportional method based on the vector relationship between the voltages of the grid-side inductor and its parasitic resistance is proposed in this paper. In addition, the influence of control delays is considered and a solution is given. Experimental results based on a 3 kW LCL-type grid-connected inverter prototype are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxysemicarbazide (HSC) as a novel salt-free organic reductant has the ability to accomplish the reduction of Pu(IV) fast in the nuclear fuel reprocessing. The radiolysis products of reductant varies along the absorbed does of aqueous solution suffered as a result of increasing fuel burn-up, which potentially imperil the separation process. Accordingly, it is necessary to determine the speciation and amount of radiolysis products of HSC in the media of nitric acid solution to lay the foundation for its later application. The experiment of HSC irradiated by α-ray in nitric acid aqueous solution was carried out and the yields speciation was analyzed in this paper. In addition, the G(HSC) and radiolysis products influenced by variation of radiation (α-ray, β-ray, γ-ray) was researched parallelly in our work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine risk factors and develop novel prediction models for chemotherapy-induced adverse effects (CIAEs) in Chinese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients receiving capecitabine. Methods: A total of 233 Chinese CRC patients receiving post-operative chemotherapy with capecitabine were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a validation set (30%). CIAE-related hematological/body parameters were screened by univariate logistic regression. Based on a set of factors selected from LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) logistic regression, stepwise multivariate logistic regression was applied to develop prediction models. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Hosmer–Lemeshow (HL) test were used to evaluate the discriminatory ability and the goodness of fit of each model. Results: In total, 35 variables were identified to be associated with CIAEs in univariate analysis. Developed multivariable models had AUCs (area under curve) ranging from 0.625 to 0.888 and 0.428 to 0.760 in the training and validation set, respectively. The grade ≥ 1 anemia multivariable model achieved the best discriminatory ability with AUC of 0.760 (95%CI: 0.609–0.912) and good calibration with HL P value of 0.450. Then, a nomogram was constructed to predict grade ≥ 1 anemia, which included variables of age, pre-operative hemoglobin count, and pre-operative albumin count, with C-indexes of 0.775 and 0.806 in the training and validation set, respectively. Conclusions: This study identified valuable hematological/body parameters related to CIAEs. A nomogram based on the multivariable model including three hematological/body predictors can accurately predict grade ≥ 1 anemia, facilitating clinicians to implement personalized medicine early for Chinese CRC patients receiving post-operative chemotherapy for better safety treatment. Trial registration This study was registered as a clinical trial at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03030508). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen-powder injection from a BOF lance has received much attention in attempts to improve refining efficiency, but knowledge of particle-induced erosion to the lance nozzle, as one of the foreseeable concerns in such a process, is still limited. Thus, numerical studies on gas-particle flow through a Laval nozzle were performed to clarify what the nozzle erosion distribution is and how it is influenced by particle motion. The results show that the most serious erosion occurs in the nozzle convergent section, where nozzle erosion can be further intensified by increasing the powder feeding rate or particle size. The powder blowing parameters have a significant influence on the erosion rate and distribution. Increasing the powder feeding rate or decreasing the particle size worsens erosion downstream of the nozzle divergent section. Therefore, in order to reduce erosion, the powder feeding rate and particle size should be smaller than 2.0 kg/s and larger than 10 μm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Here, we cloned a phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene from Rehmannia glutinosa, and realized RgPDS1 knock out in R. glutinosa resulted in the generation of albino plants. Rehmannia glutinosa is a highly important traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with specific pharmacology and economic value. R. glutinosa is a tetraploid plant, to date, no report has been published on gene editing of R. glutinosa. In this study, we combined the transcriptome database of R. glutinosa and the reported phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene sequences to obtain the PDS gene of R. glutinosa. Then, the PDS gene was used as a marker gene to verify the applicability and gene editing efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in R. glutinosa. The constructed CRISPR/Cas9 system was mediated by Agrobacterium to genetically transform into R. glutinosa, and successfully regenerated fully albino and chimeric albino plants. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) confirmed that the albino phenotype was indeed caused by RgPDS gene target site editing, and it was found that base deletion was more common than insertion or replacement. Our results revealed that zCas9 has a high editing efficiency on the R. glutinosa genome. This research lays a foundation for further use of gene editing technology to study the molecular functions of genes, create excellent germplasm, accelerate domestication, and improve the yield and quality of R. glutinosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Although low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) screening is used for the detection of lung cancer in a high-risk population, false-positive results of LDCT remain a clinical problem. Here, we developed a blood test of a novel panel of three established lung cancer methylation biomarkers for lung cancer detection. Short stature homeobox 2 gene (SHOX2), ras association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A), and prostaglandin E receptor 4 gene (PTGER4) methylation was analyzed in a training cohort of 351 individuals (197 controls, 154 cases) and validated from an independent cohort of 149 subjects (89 controls, 60 cases). The novel panel biomarkers distinguished between malignant and benign lung disease at high sensitivity and specificity: 87.0% sensitivity [95% CI 80.2–91.5%], 98.0% specificity [95% CI 94.9–99.4%]. Sensitivity in adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, and other lung cancer was 89.0%, 87.5%, 85.7%, and 77.8%, respectively. Notably, cancer patients in stage I and II showed high diagnostic sensitivity at 82.5% and 90.5%, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic efficiency did not show bias toward age, gender, smoking, and the presence of other (nonlung) cancers. The performance of the panel in the validation cohort confirmed the diagnostic value. These findings clearly showed that this panel of DNA methylation biomarkers was effective in detecting lung cancer noninvasively and may provide clinical utility in stand-alone or in combination with current imaging techniques to improve the diagnosis of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations are performed to explore the basic blowing characteristics of a dynamic free lance converter applied to hot metal dephosphorization technology, in which the sliding mesh model (SMM) is used to regulate the rotation motion of the top lance and the volume of fluid (VOF) model is inducted to simulate flows of gaseous oxygen, liquid slag and metal. The fundamental phenomena such as the motion of phase interfaces, slag–metal emulsion and mixing, and shape and magnitude of the velocity field inside the slag–metal bath are predicted reasonably well, and effects of lance designs including the lance twist angle and rotation speed on the blowing characteristics are evaluated. The results show that the rotation motion of the lance improves the flows inside the molten bath and induces remarkable circumferential and swirl flows around the hot spot. Such flows change the splashing mode and accelerate the dispersion of the splashed metal inside the slag layer, consequently producing a quite uniform distribution of metal phase in emulsion and promoting slag–metal emulsion and mixing. The slag–metal emulsion is strengthened when increasing the lance twist angle, but achieves its minimum at the lance rotation speed of 1.0472 rad/s. The effects of the lance twist angle and rotation speed on flow fields inside the molten bath vary with the bath depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Serum myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-mediated idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease (IIDDs), a type of central nervous system demyelinating disease with MOG antibodies positive in serum, referred to as MOG antibody disease. Combined with the imaging characteristics of these two patients, the intracranial lesions of juvenile MOG antibody seem to be more similar to ADEM-like lesions. In order to further understand the clinical characteristics of MOG antibody disease, we present two patients with MOG antibody disease admitted in our hospital. [Extracted from the article]

Numerical simulations of a gas-particle jet through a Laval nozzle are performed using a modified point-particle Euler–Lagrange approach. By excluding the particle-occupied fluid fraction when solving the fluid phase equations and accounting for gas-particle and inter-particle interactions in the mathematical framework, the particle motion behaviors in gas stream and their impact on gas stream structure are studied, and the nonequilibrium dynamics of the two-phase flow are revealed by depicting the particle velocity and temperature evolution in gas stream. The results indicate that the preferential concentration of particles occurs in gas stream, resulting in nonuniform jet structure. The preferential concentration mainly occurs in nozzle divergent section and makes the local flows there lie in dense regime even if a dilute two-phase flow is predetermined. The level of the preferential concentration increases when the powder feeding rate or the particle size increases. Thus, it is necessary to consider the volumetric displacement effect of dispersed phase when modelling such a gas-particle jet system. Based on the impact of powder blowing parameters on particles motion and distribution and oxygen jet structure, the powder feeding rate no more than 2.0 kg/s and the particle size of 50 to 100 µm are suggested for real industrial operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) in the lowermost mantle are key to understanding the chemical composition and thermal structure of the deep Earth, but their origins have long been debated. Bridgmanite, the most abundant lower-mantle mineral, can incorporate extensive amounts of iron (Fe) with effects on various geophysical properties. Here our high-pressure experiments and ab initio calculations reveal that a ferric-iron-rich bridgmanite coexists with an Fe-poor bridgmanite in the 90 mol% MgSiO3–10 mol% Fe2O3 system, rather than forming a homogeneous single phase. The Fe3+-rich bridgmanite has substantially lower velocities and a higher VP/VS ratio than MgSiO3 bridgmanite under lowermost-mantle conditions. Our modeling shows that the enrichment of Fe3+-rich bridgmanite in a pyrolitic composition can explain the observed features of the LLSVPs. The presence of Fe3+-rich materials within LLSVPs may have profound effects on the deep reservoirs of redox-sensitive elements and their isotopes. Dense Fe3+-rich bridgmanite can explain the seismic features of Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces, as it can form large-scale thermochemical piles in the deep mantle that remain stable throughout Earth's history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are associated with the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). LncRNA potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 overlapping transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) plays an important role in diabetes, but the role and mechanism of KCNQ1OT1 in DN are largely unknown. Serum samples were collected from 30 DN patients and normal volunteers. High glucose (HG)-challenged human mesangial cells (HMCs) were used as a cell model of DN. KCNQ1OT1, microRNA-18b (miR-18b), and high mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2) abundances were examined via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or western blot. Cell proliferation was assessed via 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide. Oxidative stress was assessed via the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and SOD2. Extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation was investigated by the levels of fibronectin (FN), collagen I (Col I), and Col IV. The relationship between miR-18b and KCNQ1OT1 or HMGA2 was determined via dual-luciferase reporter analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation, and pull-down. KCNQ1OT1 expression was increased and miR-18b expression was decreased in DN patients and HG-challenged HMCs. miR-18b was targeted via KCNQ1OT1. Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 weakened HG-caused proliferation, oxidative stress, and ECM accumulation of HMCs by increasing miR-18b. HMGA2 was targeted via miR-18b. miR-18b alleviated HG-induced cell proliferation, oxidative stress, and ECM accumulation by decreasing HMGA2. Silence of KCNQ1OT1 reduced HMGA2 expression via miR-18b. KCNQ1OT1 knockdown attenuated HG-induced proliferation, oxidative stress, and ECM accumulation of HMCs by regulating miR-18b/HMGA2 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biodegradable soy protein isolate-based waterborne polyurethane composite sponge (SWPU) was prepared from soy protein isolate (SPI) and polyurethane prepolymer (PUP) by a process involving chemical reaction and freeze-drying. Effects of SPI content (0, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%) on the micro-structure and physical properties of the composite sponges were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the reaction between -NCO of PUP and -NH2 of SPI formed porous SPI-based WPU composite sponges. The results of the water absorption ratio measurement, solvent resistance measurement and compressive testing showed that water absorption, hydrophilicity, and tensile strength in the dry state of the composite sponges increased with the increase of SPI content. Especially, the tensile strength ranged from 0.3 MPa to 5.5 MPa with the increase in SPI content. The cytocompatibility and biodegradability of the composite sponges were evaluated by in vitro cell culture and in vivo implantation experiments. The results indicated that a certain SPI content in the sponges could promote the adhesion, growth, and proliferation of cells, enhance the cytocompatibility and accelerate the degradation speed of composite sponges. During the in vivo implanting period within 9 months, SWPU-50 sponge containing 50% of SPI brought out the lowest activated inflammatory reaction, most newly-regenerated blood capillaries, and best histocompatibility. All results indicated that SWPU-50 composite sponges had greatest potential for tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using mesoscale eddy trajectory product derived from satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 2017, this study analyzes the statistical characteristics of spatiotemporal distribution of mesoscale eddy propagation velocities (C) in the South China Sea (SCS) deep basin with depths >1 000 m. Climatologically, the zonal propagation velocities (cx) are westwards in the whole basin, and the meridional velocities (cy) are southwards in the northwestern basin, and northwards in the southeastern basin. The variation of cy with longitude is consistent with that of the background meridional currents with correlation coefficient R2 of 0.96, while the variation of cx is related both to the background zonal currents and β effect. The propagation velocities characterize significant seasonality with the minimum magnitude occurring in summer and the maximum in winter for cx and C. Interannually, larger values of cx and cy mostly occurred in La Niña years in the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Mesoscale eddies move fast at the beginning and end of their life span, i.e., at their growth and dissipation periods, and slowly during their stable "midlife" period. This trend is negatively correlated with the rotating tangential velocity with R2 of −0.93. Eddies with extreme propagation velocities are defined, which are slower (faster) than 1.5 cm/s (15.4 cm/s) and take 1.5% (1.9%) of the total eddies. The extremely slow-moving (fast-moving) eddies tend to appear in the middle (on the edge) of the basin, and mostly occur in summer (winter). The mechanism analysis reveals that the spatiotemporal distributions of the propagation velocities of mesoscale eddies in the SCS are modulated by the basin-scale background circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the particle-induced effect on gas flow by a developed mathematical model simulating the supersonic oxygen–limestone powder mixture jet from a newly designed, freely swinging oxygen lance for dephosphorization in a converter. The model was validated first and then employed to analyze the gas flow dynamics with respect to the jet structure, pressure wave sequence and velocity distribution, and particle motion behaviors over a range of powder particle sizes and mass flowrates. Numerical results reveal that the powder causes significant changes of the oxygen jet structure and weakens the pressure wave sequence outside the nozzle despite the higher gas flow static pressure of the powder-laden oxygen jet than that of the single-phase oxygen jet there. Furthermore, the powder creates nonuniform radial distribution of the gas velocity as an "M-type" curve and greatly restricts the gas jet flowing along the nozzle axis, which results in the smaller gas flow velocity but slower velocity attenuation. These phenomena become increasingly remarkable as the powder particle size is decreased or the powder mass flowrate is increased. The particles are accelerated but the acceleration declines gradually along the nozzle axis. The greater powder mass flowrate or particle size induces the lower particle velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon support in commercial Pt/C suffers severe corrosion in harsh electro-oxidation environments caused by anode potentials. Alternative support should be developed to improve the quality, activity, and durability of platinum by studying the relationship between platinum and support. Here, we prepare fluorine-free Ti3C2TX (T = –OH, –O) powder via a sodium hydroxide etching process to fix Pt nanoparticles. The resulting fluorine-free Ti3C2TX/Pt composite features stable layered structure and metallic properties. As an electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the overpotential of fluorine-free Ti3C2TX/Pt in a 0.5 M H2SO4 water solution at − 10 mA/cm−2 is only 180 mV and 25% lower than that of fluorine-containing Ti3C2TX/Pt. The HER performance remains stable after 80 h of reaction. The improvement in HER activity of the fluorine-free Ti3C2TX/Pt can be attributed to the excellent electrical conductivity, more active sites, less inert surface groups, and electronic effects between the Pt and surface functional groups of alkali-etched Ti3C2TX. This work broadens the application of fluorine-free Ti3C2TX in the field of hydrogen evolution reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is metabolic syndrome and a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction-related diseases such as dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is associated with chronic inflammation and abnormal insulin signaling pathway. Exercise, a known potential therapy for diabetes, can also alleviate neurodegeneration. We evaluated the effects of aerobic exercise on inflammation and insulin signaling pathway in the prefrontal cortex of diabetic rats. Male SD rats were fed with a normal diet or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. Then, part of the HFD rats was selected for aerobic exercise training. Our results show that aerobic exercise can improve the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins and reduce the phosphorylation of Tau by inhibiting the inflammatory signaling pathway and ameliorating the insulin signaling pathway in diabetic rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ordered mesoporous zirconia microspheres and nanorod arrays were achieved by manipulating the evaporation rate of the solvent. The crystalline mesoporous walls are tetragonal zirconia. The selective hydrogenation of stearic acid can be catalyzed by the ordered mesoporous zirconia microspheres and nanorod arrays loaded with nickel. The mesoporous zirconia nanorod arrays show high activity because of their large specific surface area and accessible porous structures, and high selectivity owing to the confinement effect of mesoporous channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with a unusual cooling event after Typhoon Mujigea passed over the northern South China Sea (SCS) in October 2015. We analyze the satellite sea surface temperature (SST) time series from October 3 to 18, 2015 and find that the cooling process in the coastal ocean had two different stages. The first stage occurred immediately after typhoon passage on October 3, and reached a maximum SST drop of −2°C on October 7 as the usual cold wake after typhoon. The second stage or the unusual extended cooling event occurred after 7 d of the typhoon passage, and lasted for 5 d from October 10 to 15. The maximum SST cooling was −4°C and occurred after 12 d of typhoon passage. The mechanism analysis results indicate that after landing and moving northwestward to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP), Typhoon Mujigea (2015) met the westerly wind front on October 5. The low-pressure and positive-vorticity disturbances to the front triggered meridional air flow and low-pressure trough, thus induced a katabatic cold jet downward from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) passing through the YGP to the northwestern SCS. The second cooling reached the maximum SST drop 4 d later after the maximum air temperature drop of −9°C on October 11. The simultaneous air temperature and SST observations at three coastal stations reveal that it is this katabatic cold jet intrusion to lead the unusual SST cooling event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, large uncertainties of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) reside in the eastern Indonesian seas, such as the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea. In this study, the water sources of the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea are diagnosed at seasonal and interannual timescales and at different vertical layers, using the state-of-the-art simulations of the Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) for Earth Simulator (OFES). Asian monsoon leaves clear seasonal footprints on the eastern Indonesian seas. Consequently, the subsurface waters (around 24.5σθ and at ~150 m) in both the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea stem from the South Pacific (SP) during winter monsoon, but during summer monsoon the Maluku Sea is from the North Pacific (NP), and the Halmahera Sea is a mixture of waters originating from the NP and the SP. The monsoon impact decreases with depth, so that in the Maluku Sea, the intermediate water (around 26.8σθ and at ~480 m) is always from the northern Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea water is mainly from the SP in winter and the Banda Sea in summer. The deep waters (around 27.2σθ and at ~1 040 m) in both seas are from the SP, with weak seasonal variability. At the interannual timescale, the subsurface water in the Maluku Sea originates from the NP/SP during El Niño/La Niña, while the subsurface water in the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. Similar to the seasonal variability, the intermediate water in Maluku Sea mainly comes from the Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. The deep waters in both seas are from the SP. Our findings are helpful for drawing a comprehensive picture of the water properties in the Indonesian seas and will contribute to a better understanding of the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the maritime continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a Kuroshio main path (KMP) cut-off event east of Taiwan Island occurred in fall-winter 2013–2014 and its impacts on the South China Sea (SCS) by analyzing satellite altimetry and mooring observations. Satellite altimeter sea level anomaly (SLA) images reveal a complete process that a huge cyclonic eddy (CE) from the Pacific collided with the Kuroshio and the western boundary from 15 October 2013 to 15 January 2014. Mooring observations evidenced that the Kuroshio upper ocean volume transport was cut off more than 82% from 17×106 m3/s in September to 3×106 m3/s in November 2013. The KMP cut-off event caused the Kuroshio branching and intruding into the SCS and strengthened the eddy kinetic energy in the northern SCS west of the Luzon Strait. Using the total momentum as a dynamic criterion to determine the role of eddy collision with the Kuroshio reasonably explains the KMP cut-off event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cavity oscillation and splash characteristics dominate the operational stability and refining efficiency in converter steelmaking processes. These characteristics under excitation by bottom gas blowing in a steelmaking converter were evaluated using a developed filter-based multifluid model. The cavity oscillation mechanism was examined by reference to cavity surface flows, and its characteristics were quantified in terms of frequency and amplitude using the fast Fourier transform approach. The splashing distribution describing the splashing droplet size and rate under various operating conditions was clarified. The results reveal that the cavity oscillation and splashing distribution are mainly controlled by the cavity surface flow velocity, which itself is influenced by the operating conditions. Use of bottom gas blowing intensifies the cavity oscillation in terms of both frequency and amplitude, and increases the splashing rate, but decreases the droplet size by accelerating the cavity surface flow. The lance height plays a dominant role in forming the cavity oscillation and controlling the splashing distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A supramolecular gelator based on the bistable [c2]daisy chain rotaxane is designed and synthesized. The reversible actuation of the [c2]daisy chain renders the formed supramolecular gel with acid/base-responsive switching between gel and monomer solution. The efficient switching process is attributed to the ring-sliding effect of the rotaxane in response to acid/base stimuli. The ring-inhibited hydrogen bonding stacking results in a nearly quantitatively disassembly of the gel network after addition of base which is hard to be realized by traditional heating strategy in hydrogen-bonding-supported gel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, pompon-like structured g-C3N4/ZnO composite photocatalyst was fabricated by a two-step method and characterized through different characterization tools to determine the photophysical properties. It is discovered that the synthesized pompon-like g-C3N4/ZnO photocatalyst is composed of flake g-C3N4 coated on the pompon surface of ZnO to form a heterojunction structure. In the composite photocatalyst, the pompon ZnO has large surface area (41.81 m2/g) which can provide more reactive sites for composite catalysts, the g-C3N4 can absorb the visible light which can effectively expand the absorption range of the composite, and the heterostructure formed between g-C3N4 and pompon ZnO can effectively reduce the coincidence efficiency of photo-generated carriers. The photocatalytic performance of pompon-like g-C3N4/ZnO photocatalyst was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) organic dyes under simulated solar light irradiation and the optimum doping amount of g-C3N4 is 10%. The stability of the composite photocatalyst was tested by five runs of RhB photodegradation under simulated visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]