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Skillful subseasonal forecasts are crucial for various sectors of society but pose a grand scientific challenge. Recently, machine learning-based weather forecasting models outperform the most successful numerical weather predictions generated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), but have not yet surpassed conventional models at subseasonal timescales. This paper introduces FuXi Subseasonal-to-Seasonal (FuXi-S2S), a machine learning model that provides global daily mean forecasts up to 42 days, encompassing five upper-air atmospheric variables at 13 pressure levels and 11 surface variables. FuXi-S2S, trained on 72 years of daily statistics from ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis data, outperforms the ECMWF's state-of-the-art Subseasonal-to-Seasonal model in ensemble mean and ensemble forecasts for total precipitation and outgoing longwave radiation, notably enhancing global precipitation forecast. The improved performance of FuXi-S2S can be primarily attributed to its superior capability to capture forecast uncertainty and accurately predict the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), extending the skillful MJO prediction from 30 days to 36 days. Moreover, FuXi-S2S not only captures realistic teleconnections associated with the MJO but also emerges as a valuable tool for discovering precursor signals, offering researchers insights and potentially establishing a new paradigm in Earth system science research. This paper introduces FuXi-S2S, a machine-learning model that outperforms conventional numerical weather prediction models at subseasonal timescales globally, extending the skillful Madden–Julian Oscillation prediction form 30 days to 36 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of an aging population and declining birth rates, urban Chinese families are grappling with a new challenge of simultaneously caring for both elderly parents and children. This study employs a three-generational analytical framework and a mixed research method to examine the intergenerational distribution of care resources and its consequences for urban Chinese families. The findings reveal intergenerational competition for care resources within families, with a general tendency to prioritize children and only respond to crisis situations for elderly parents; this leads to a care deficit for older individuals. Furthermore, social care resources are ineffective in bridging this care gap, thereby inducing anxiety within families as they strive to balance the care needs of both elderly parents and children. The study argues that insufficient support from care policies exacerbates the resource squeeze on the elderly side by the children's side within families, which calls for enhancing the policy support system to help families balance eldercare, childcare, and work commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the intricate dynamics of family resilience within the Chinese productivist regime over the course of seven decades, emphasizing the instrumental role of public policy in shaping this resilience. Drawing on a dynamic approach, the research demonstrates how, across distinct periods of central planning and economic reform, policies have persistently harnessed families to advance economic objectives. Showing that the productivist regime's double-edged role on family resilience emerged while public policies bolstered short-term family resilience in times of sustained economic growth and favorable demographics, and signs of family sector downturn—declining fertility rates, family dysfunctions—became evident, the current article underscores the challenges of a model that primarily perceives families as economic instruments. Advocating for a policy paradigm shift that harmonizes economic ambitions with family well-being, this study offers valuable insights for policy-makers and lays the groundwork for future research in comparative welfare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP) is considered a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its open and stable framework structure. However, its poor conductivity prevents its direct application as an anode material. In this paper, a dual strategy of La3+ doping and carbon coating is proposed to improve the conductivity of NTP. The results show that the NTP-La0.06@C electrode doped with 6.00% La and 5.00 wt% of carbon coating has excellent electrochemical performance, and the coulombic efficiency is up to 95.31% in the first cycle. The initial specific capacity is 103.05 mAh·g−1 with a capacity retention of 97.30% after 1000 cycles at 10C rate. Even after 2000 cycles, there is still a specific capacity of 98.62 mAh·g−1 with a capacity retention of 92.71%, and as well as the NTP-La0.06@C has a higher Na+-insert diffusion coefficient of 3.19×10−11 cm2·s−1 than the pristine NTP@C of 2.35×10−11 cm2·s−1 during charging. Therefore, the La3+ doping and carbon coating strategy shows great potential in improving the performance of NaTi2(PO4)3 anode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few years, the rapid development of machine learning (ML) models for weather forecasting has led to state-of-the-art ML models that have superior performance compared to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)'s high-resolution forecast (HRES), which is widely considered as the world's best physics-based weather forecasting system. Specifically, ML models have outperformed HRES in 10-day forecasts with a spatial resolution of 0.25∘. However, the challenge remains in mitigating the accumulation of forecast errors for longer effective forecasts, such as achieving comparable performance to the ECMWF ensemble in 15-day forecasts. Despite various efforts to reduce accumulation errors, such as implementing autoregressive multi-time step loss, relying on a single model has been found to be insufficient for achieving optimal performance in both short and long lead times. Therefore, we present FuXi, a cascaded ML weather forecasting system that provides 15-day global forecasts at a temporal resolution of 6 hours and a spatial resolution of 0.25∘. FuXi is developed using 39 years of the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis dataset. The performance evaluation demonstrates that FuXi has forecast performance comparable to ECMWF ensemble mean (EM) in 15-day forecasts. FuXi surpasses the skillful forecast lead time achieved by ECMWF HRES by extending the lead time for Z500 from 9.25 to 10.5 days and for T2M from 10 to 14.5 days. Moreover, the FuXi ensemble is created by perturbing initial conditions and model parameters, enabling it to provide forecast uncertainty and demonstrating promising results when compared to the ECMWF ensemble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common pediatric renal malignant tumor in the world. Overall, the prognosis of Wilms tumor is very good. However, the prognosis of patients with anaplastic tumor histology or disease relapse is still poor, and their recurrence rate, metastasis rate and mortality are significantly increased compared with others. Currently, the combination of histopathological examination and molecular biology is essential to predict prognosis and guide the treatment. However, the molecular mechanism has not been well studied. Genetic profiling may be helpful in some way. Hence, we sought to identify novel promising biomarkers of WT by integrating bioinformatics analysis and to identify genes associated with the pathogenesis of WT. In the presented study, the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus was used to download two datasets of gene expression profiles related to WT patients for the purpose of detecting overlapped differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The DEGs were then uploaded to DAVID database for enrichment analysis. In addition, the functional interactions between proteins were evaluated by simulating the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs. The impact of selected hub genes on survival in WT patients was analyzed by using the online tool R2: Genomics Analysis and Visualization Platform. The correlation between gene expression and the degree of immune infiltration was assessed by the Estimation of Stromal and Immune cells in Malignant Tumor tissues using the Expression (ESTIMATE) algorithm and the single sample GSEA. Top 12 genes were identified for further study after constructing a PPI network and screening hub gene modules. Kinesin family member 2C (KIF2C) was identified as the most significant gene predicting the overall survival of WT patients. The expression of KIF2C in WT was further verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we found that KIF2C was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration in WT. Our present study demonstrated that altered expression of KIF2C may be involved in WT and serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for WT patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-rich layered cathode materials LiNixCoyMn(1-x–y)O2 (x ≥ 0.8) suffer from capacity decay due to structural deterioration during electrochemical cycling. To overcome these problems, the fast-ion conductor Li0.33La0.56TiO3 (LLTO) is coated on the surface of LiNi0.83Co0.12Mn0.05O2 (NCM83) cathodes through the sol–gel method, which can stabilize the electrode/electrolyte interface of cathode materials and facilitate Li+ transport and charge transfer. As a result, the LLTO-coated NCM83 exhibits better cycle stability and higher rate performance. The NCM83 modified by 5 wt% LLTO has the discharge capacity of 185.9 mAh g−1 at 1C rate after 100 cycles and with higher capacity retention of 92.9% than the pristine NCM83 of 86.2%, and as well as the 5 wt% LLTO-coated NCM83 has a higher Li+-insert diffusion coefficient of 1.143 × 10−11 cm2 s−1 than the pristine NCM83 of 8.757 × 10−12 cm2 s−1. Therefore, the fast-ion conductor LLTO coating strategy shows great potential in improving the performance of Ni-rich layered cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 holds tremendous promise for alleviating the energy crisis. Despite the progress that has been made, there are still some challenges to overcome, such as the realization under real sunlight rather than the simulation condition. In this work, ultrathin Ni2(OH)(PO4) nanotubes (NTs) prepared through hydrothermal route are applied as a novel catalyst for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under real sunlight. The prepared Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs exhibit a 11.3 µmol·h−1 CO production rate with 96.1% CO selectivity. Interestingly, Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs have a positive impact on the facilitation of photoreduction in diluted CO2. Notably, when the system is performed under real sunlight, Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs afford an accumulated CO of ca. 26.8 µmol with 96.9% CO selectivity, exceeding most previous inorganic catalysts under simulated irradiation in the laboratory. Our experimental results demonstrate that the multisynergetic effects induced by surface-OH and the lattice strain serve as highly active sites for CO2 molecular adsorption and activation as well as electron transfer, hence enhancing photoreduction activity. Therefore, this work provides experimental basis that CO2 photocatalysis can be put into practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new-type multiple-source heat pump cycle with two-stage compression was established on the basis of the problems of similarly existing heat pumps. The equivalent temperature levels of typical evaporators are applied to the different heat sources of the proposed cycle, and the high-temperature heat sources are shown to enhance vapor injection. Then, the mathematical model and prototype are developed, and the results from experimental simulation and validation showed that the solar collector can improve the heating performance of the proposed heat pump system. In the middle-temperature heating period, the outdoor temperature is less than −25°C, and the average coefficient of performance (COP) value of the proposed heat pump was 4.2, which was greater than the COPs of conventional ground source heat pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor charge transfer and separation rate are the major bottlenecks for the activity and stability of BiVO4 photoanode. Here, we introduced oxygen vacancies into MoO3/BiVO4 heterojunction film by post-annealing the film in argon-saturated environment for improving its photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation activity and stability. In comparison with the normal MoO3/BiVO4 film, the MoO3/BiVO4 film with oxygen vacancies is of better PEC water oxidation performance. Specifically, a higher photocurrent density of 4.1 mA/cm2 in 0.1 M Na2SO4 at 1.1 V versus SCE was achieved on the MoO3/BiVO4 film with oxygen vacancies, which is about 200% improved over the normal MoO3/BiVO4 film (1.83 mA cm−2, at 1.1 V versus SCE). In addition, the MoO3/BiVO4 film with oxygen vacancies shows more stable activity and faster kinetics for water oxidation, without significant activity loss for 5 h reaction at 1.23 V versus RHE. The enhanced performance on such a MoO3/BiVO4 film photoanode can be attributed to that the oxygen vacancies accelerate the charge transfer and separation rate between film/electrolyte interface, and thus improve the water oxidation activity and restrain the anodic photocorrosion simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cubic PtCu nanocages (NCs) were successfully synthesized through a redox reaction using cuprous oxide (CuO) as a sacrificial template and reducing agent. The porous PtCu NCs were composed of amounts of PtCu nanograins with an average particle size of 2.9 nm. The electrocatalytic performance of the PtCu NC electrode towards HO was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry. The prepared PtCu NC electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards HO, with a wide liner range from 5 μM to 22.25 mM, a relatively high sensitivity of 295.3 μA mM cm, and a low detection limit of 5 μM (S/N = 3). The hollow porous nanostructure has potential applications in biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniature vapor compression refrigeration equipment prototype was developed for a range of microclimate control applications, including man portable cooling and distributed space conditioning. The miniature refrigeration equipment has dimensions of 260 mm × 250 mm × 120 mm, and weighs approximately 2.85 kg. The optimal motor and its transmission ratio, the optimal dimension of capillary tube and the optimal quantity of refrigerant charge were obtained by matching and operating performance experimental study. Experimental results show that the miniature refrigeration equipment can provide 300 W cooling, and its COPc is above 2.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted to the central portion of the bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) genome, and overlapping the 3′ untranslated end of the gI glycoprotein, was used to amplify BHV1 genomic sequences. PCR products generated from cell cultures infected with BHV1.1 were consistently smaller than the corresponding products from cells infected with BHV1.2. The nature of the sequence differences between these isolates within the target region was found to be a consequence of variable numbers of small GC rich repeats, particularly the sequence 5′-G(A/T)CC-3′, present in the region downstream of the gI coding region. Based on these differences a modified PCR protocol which readily discriminated between several BHV1.1 and BHV1.2 strains was devised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]