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Serious earthquake disasters not only cause power outages in distribution network, but also destroy transportation networks, which hinders the transportation of resources for restoration of distribution network and slows down the restoration. This paper proposes an improved resilience evaluation method and a resilience enhancement strategy of distribution network considering the effects of seismic attack on transportation networks. First, a seismic attack model is established to describe the relation between earthquake disasters and failure probability of transportation-distribution networks based on peak ground acceleration. The impact of earthquake disasters on transportation-distribution networks is quantified, and the failure scenarios are generated. Then, a resilience evaluation index is proposed by introducing the waiting time for road repair of emergency repair teams. Afterwards, a bi-level optimization model for distribution network restoration considering the fault line repair, the road repair, and the emergency resource scheduling is established and solved. The upper layer aims at the minimum power loss load, while the lower layer takes the minimum waiting time of the repair team as the goal. Finally, case studies on a coupling example of a 12-node transportation network and an IEEE 33-node distribution network verify the feasibility of the improved resilience index and the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the resilience index considering seismic attack on transportation networks is accurate, and the restoration strategy can effectively enhance the resilience of distribution network in earthquake disasters.

The dominant bacteria isolated from grape surface (Vitis vinifera cv. Kyoho) were identified as Escherichia coli and Kocuria and inactivated by treatment with gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) prepared by the indirect reaction between NaClO2 and dry ice, and the effects of ClO2 gas on bacterial inactivation were evaluated by measuring the logarithmic reduction of total bacterial counts. Meanwhile, during storage at 4 ℃ for 30 days, the color parameters, fruit hardness, percentage mass loss and total soluble solid (TSS) content of artificially inoculated grapes were measured to evaluate the effect of ClO2 gas on the quality of grapes. The results showed that ClO2 gas had a good inactivating effect on Escherichia coli and Kocuria inoculated on surface of grapes. When the cumulative concentration of ClO2 was increased from 131 to 599 μL/(L·h), the logarithmic reduction of Escherichia coli increased from 1.6 (lg(CFU/g)) to 3.5 (lg(CFU/g)), and the logarithmic reduction of Kocuria increased from 1.0 (lg(CFU/g)) to 4.5 (lg(CFU/g)). During 30 days of storage, the color of grapes treated with ClO2 gas did not obviously change compared with that of the untreated control group. The softening and mas loss were obviously inhibited and the consumption of soluble solids in grapes treated with the high cumulative concentration of ClO2 was obviously reduced after storage at 4 ℃ for 30 days compared with that in the control and low cumulative ClO2 concentration groups. Additionally, the residual ClO2 on grapes treated by ClO2 gas was less than 0.4 mg/kg during storage at 4 ℃ for 30 days. The ClO2 gas treatment method is convenient, efficient, and low cost, which can effectively kill bacteria and improve the quality of grapes. This study provides a technical basis for the application of ClO2 gas to fruits and vegetables.

Regulating the crystal morphology of low aspect ratio, short columnar α‐hemihydrate gypsum (α‐HH) is crucial due to its distinctive physical and chemical properties, which make it widely applicable. In this work, succinic acid, malic acid, and maleic acid were selected as the research objects, among which the number and spacing of carboxyl groups were the same, while the auxiliary functional groups were different. The adsorption energy, Mulliken charge population, electronic state density, and charge density difference of the three organic acids on the surfaces of α‐HH were calculated by well‐defined ab initio calculations. The results showed that the synergistic effect of ‐COOH groups is necessary for the effective crystallization of α‐HH. Organic acids interact with the Ca atoms on the crystal surface, as evidenced by their preferential adsorption on the top surface of α‐HH crystals (002). This interaction occurs through a double‐dentate chelation between the carboxyl oxygen atoms at both ends of the organic acid and the Ca atoms on the crystal surface, resulting in the formation of a six‐membered cyclic organic acid calcium complex. This complex hinders ion diffusion and the stacking of crystal surfaces, leading to a decrease in the growth rate along the c‐axis and promoting more extensive crystal development and larger crystal sizes. The work provides insight into the preparation of short prismatic α‐HH using organic acid crystallizing agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractEpimedium is a Chinese herb known as “yin and yang fire,” first mentioned in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Many of the proprietary Chinese medicines used in clinical practice contain Epimedium as an ingredient, and its main active constituents include icariin, icaritin, and icariside II, among others. In addition to its traditional use in treating fatigue and sexual problems, modern research has confirmed that the main bioactive compounds in Epimedium have pharmacological effects such as antidepressant, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as inhibiting bone destruction, promoting bone growth, improving immune regulation and protecting the cardio-cerebral vascular system. With the continuous development of extraction and purification techniques, the development and use of bioactive compounds in Epimedium have significantly progressed, and the anticancer effect has received widespread attention. Since natural herbs have few side effects on the human body and do not easily develop drug resistance, they have long been the direction of research in cancer treatment. This review summarizes the latest research on the anticancer effects of Epimedium and its extracts, describes the bioactive compounds, pharmacological efficacy, and antitumor mechanism of Epimedium, and gives a new view on the administration and development of Epimedium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is currently an endangered species due to a combination of factors, including climate change, anthropogenic activities, and habitat fragmentation. Captivity plays a crucial role in mitigating the decline of the Chinese alligator population. Currently, there is a lack of clarity regarding the influence of host development and captive conditions on the gut microbiota of Chinese alligators. The aim of the study was to investigate the gut bacterial communities of Chinese alligators and their surrounding environmental bacterial communities using 16S rRNA sequencing. The primary gut flora of Chinese alligators consists of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Proteobacteria is the most abundant and efficient settler in the gut, water, and sediment. PCoA and Adonis test revealed significant differences in bacterial communities across these habitats. Venn analysis revealed overlap in OTUs among the gut, water, and sediment, varying with growth stage and density stress. Different growth stages of Chinese alligator guts harbor distinct pathogenic bacteria, requiring attention. Density stress leads to an increase in pathogenic bacteria, a decrease in gut absorption efficiency. PICRUst2 predicts more abundant metabolic pathways related to gut function during high‐density stress, possibly linked to Roseburia. SourceTracker Analysis indicated that water bacteria have a greater impact on Chinese alligator gut bacteria than sediment, and density stress significantly affects the contribution of environmental microorganisms to the gut microbes of Chinese alligator. BugBase analysis identified water body microbes as the main source of "potentially pathogenic" phenotypes in the gut microbiota. RDA analysis found dissolved oxygen (DO) in water to be the most significant factor influencing water microorganisms, positively correlated with certain pathogenic strains. These findings enhance our understanding of the significance of microbial communities in the gut and surrounding aquatic environment of the Chinese alligator. Furthermore, they provide theoretical support for environmental regulation, disease control, and healthy breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An energy-saving control strategy for wheel loaders is proposed in this paper to address the issue of high energy consumption during their operation. The strategy is based on the intelligent identification of working stages, allowing for staged power matching and resulting in reduced energy consumption. Each work stage of the loader is identified by matching it to the main pump pressure waveform and actuator pilot pressure waveform. Using a sliding time window method, pressure waveforms from each working stage are subjected to feature extraction. A bidirectional long short-term memory neural network (BILSTM) algorithm is then used to establish an intelligent recognition model. Based on work stage identification, an energy-saving control strategy based on power matching is proposed for the shoveling stage of the loader, and the Grey Wolf optimization (GWO)-PID algorithm is utilized for control parameter tuning. Finally, the effectiveness of the energy-saving control strategy based on work stage identification is verified through experiments. The research results indicate that the BILSTM recognition model outperforms other models with a recognition accuracy of 96.1%. The optimal time window width is 0.6 s, and the proposed energy-saving control strategy achieves a fuel-saving rate of 6.81%. This method provides feasibility for reducing energy consumption in construction machinery and achieving energy-saving and carbon-reduction goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen energy is now a crucial technological option for decarbonizing energy systems. Comprehensive utilization is a typical mode of hydrogen energy deployment, leveraging its excellent conversion capabilities. Hydrogen is often used in combination with electrical and thermal energy. However, current hydrogen utilization modes are relatively singular, resulting in low energy utilization efficiency and high wind curtailment rates. To improve energy utilization efficiency and promote the development of hydrogen energy, we discuss three utilization modes of hydrogen energy, including hydrogen storage, integration into a fuel cell and gas turbine hybrid power generation system, and hydrogen methanation. We propose a hydrogen energy system with multimodal utilization and integrate it into an electrolytic hydrogen–thermal integrated energy system (EHT-IES). A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) optimization scheduling model for the EHT-IES is developed and solved using the Cplex solver to improve the operational feasibility of the EHT-IES, focusing on minimizing economic costs and reducing wind curtailment rates. Case studies in northwest China verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. By comparing various utilization modes, energy storage methods, and scenarios, this study demonstrated that integrating a hydrogen energy system with multimodal utilization into the EHT-IES offers significant technical benefits. It enhances energy utilization efficiency and promotes the absorption of wind energy, thereby increasing the flexibility of the EHT-IES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature melting vitrification is the safest and harmless disposal technology for fly ash from hazardous waste incineration. Fly ash with high calcium content was used as the research object to melt fly ash with low temperature by introducing SiO2, H3BO3 and CaF2 fluxing agents. The melting temperature, phase change and heavy metal leaching of fly ash were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, ash melting point analyzer and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer. The results show that when the alkalinity of fly ash is adjusted to 1.10 by SiO2 (27.9%, mass fraction), CaSiO3 minerals with low melting point are formed, and the melting point of fly ash decreases from above 1 400 °C to 1 300 °C. H3BO3 (4.5%, mass fraction) and CaF2 (7.0%, mass fraction) are introduced as fluxing agents, and the melting temperature is further reduced to 1 200 °C, but SiO2 is overdoped. After optimization, the composite fluxing agent formula is SiO2 (20.0%, mass fraction), H3BO3 (4.5%, mass fraction) and CaF2 (7.0%, mass fraction), and the minimum melting temperature of fly ash is 1 124 °C, the vitreous content of the melt product reaches 87% (mass fraction), and the harmful substances of acid leaching are lower than the limit value, meeting the technical requirements of GB/T 41015-2021 standard for vitrification products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Consumer acceptance of Keitt mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) is significantly affected by their slow postharvest ripening. This work used gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO2(g)) to prepare the ready-to-eat Keitt mango and explored the potential mechanisms for the mango ripening. Harvested mangoes were treated with 20 mg·L−1 of ClO2(g) or ethephon for 3 h (25 °C) and left in a climatic chamber with a temperature of 25 ± 1 °C and a relative humidity of 85 ± 5% for 4 d. The results showed that ClO2(g) treatment significantly promoted the orange coloration of mango flesh compared to the untreated control group. Moreover, ClO2(g) treatment significantly elevated the total soluble solids, total soluble sugar, and total carotenoids content of mangoes, whereas the firmness and titratable acidity were reduced. ClO2(g)-treated mangoes reached the edible window on day 2, as did mangoes treated with ethephon at the same concentration, except that the sweetness was prominent. The residual ClO2 level of the mangoes was <0.3 mg/kg during the whole storage time, which is a safe level for fruit. In addition, ClO2(g) significantly advanced the onset of ethylene peaks by 0.5 days and increased its production between days 0.5 and 2 compared to the control group. Consistently, the genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis including miACS6, miACO1, and miACO were upregulated. In sum, ClO2(g) can be a potential technique to reduce the time for harvested mango to reach the edible window, and it functions in modulating postharvest ripening by inducing ethylene biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separating wake vortices is crucial for aircraft landing safety and essential to airport operational efficiency. Vertical wind, as a typical atmospheric condition, plays a significant role, and studying the evolution characteristics of wake vortices under this condition is of paramount importance for developing dynamic wake separation systems. In this study, we employed the SST k-ω turbulence model based on an O-Block structured grid to numerically simulate the simplified wing model. We analyzed the variations in the wake vortex structure and parameters of the Airbus A320 during the near-field phase under different vertical wind directions and speeds. The results indicate that favorable vertical winds cause a "flattening" deformation in the wake vortex. Vertical winds reduce the initial vortex strength, accelerate the rate of vortex decay, and influence the trajectory of the vortex core. Notably, under wind speeds of 1~3 m/s, the decay rate is more significant than under 4 m/s. When vertical wind speeds are substantial, it can lead to irregular motion and interactions within the vortex core, forming secondary vortices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are works have reported the crystal structures and mechanical properties of ferrite cement (C4AF) at the atomic scale with deviation owing to the omission of the Coulomb interaction effect (Ueff) between 3d electrons of Fe in C4AF. In this work, the DFT+U method was used to evaluate its effect on their electronic structures and mechanical properties of C4AF with two different phases I2mb (C4AF‐I) and Pnma (C4AF‐P). The FeO bonds of the two phases are all weaker and display Ueff due to the presence of Fe ions. The mechanical properties of C4AF calculated using DFT+U method significantly differ from those obtained without considering Ueff, in which the former shows lower inferior mechanical properties than the latter. This work presents a comparative study the effect of Coulomb interaction to the internal electronic structures and mechanical properties, which will pave the way for designing high hydration reaction cement and high toughness materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose the regularized linear programming discriminant (LPD) rule with folded concave penalty in the ultrahigh-dimensional regime. We use the local linear approximation (LLA) algorithm to redirect the model with folded concave penalty to a weighted ℓ1 model. The strong oracle property of the solution constructed by the one-step local linear approximation (LLA) algorithm is verified. In addition, we propose efficient and parallelizable algorithms based on feature space split to address the computational challenges due to ultrahigh dimensionality. The proposed feature-split algorithm is compared to existing methods by both numerical simulations and applications to real data examples. The numerical comparisons suggest that the proposed method works well for ultrahigh dimensions, while the linear programming solver and alternating direction method of multiplier (ADMM) algorithm may fail for such high dimensions. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus is a food‐borne pathogen that quickly forms biofilm on meat contact surfaces and thus poses a serious threat to the safety of the meat industry. This study evaluated the attachment, survival, and growth of S. aureus biofilm with exposure to environmental factors in the meat industry by simulated ready‐to‐eat (RTE) cooked beef product contamination scenarios. The results indicated that the meat‐borne S. aureus biofilm formation dynamic could be divided into four different phases: initial adhesion (4–12 h), exponential (12–24 h), slow growth (1–3 days), and stationary (3–7 days). Meat‐borne S. aureus has strong adhesion and biofilm formation ability, and its biofilm exhibits persistence, high‐intensity metabolic activity, aerotaxis, and strain heterogeneity. This study has also demonstrated that in the long‐term existence of meat‐borne S. aureus biofilm on stainless steel and plexiglass surfaces (>7 days, 7.2–8.8 log CFU/cm2), expose to RTE cooked beef products, may cause it to become high‐risk contaminated food. Meat‐borne S. aureus that forms a dense and rough concave‐convex in the shape of biofilm architecture was observed by scanning electron microscopy, consisting of complex components and adhesion of living and dead cells. This was further confirmed by the meat‐borne S. aureus biofilm on the stainless steel surface by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, and the dominant peaks in biofilm spectra were mainly associated with proteins, polysaccharides, amino acid residues, and phospholipids (>50%). These findings may help in the identification of the main sources of contamination within the meat industry and the subsequent establishment of strategies for biofilm prevention and removal. Practical Application: This study revealed the meat‐borne S. aureus biofilm formation mechanism and found that it exhibited strong colonization and biofilm‐forming ability, which can persist on the contact surfaces of ready‐to‐eat beef products. These initial findings could provide information on the behavior of meat‐borne S. aureus biofilm attached to meat contact surfaces under conditions commonly encountered in meat environments, which help to support the determination of the main sources of contamination within the meat industry and the subsequent establishment of strategies for biofilm prevention and removal. It was also helpful in controlling biofilm contamination and improving meat safety to minimize it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member C3 (AKR1C3) plays an important role in prostate cancer (PCa) progression, particularly in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). It is necessary to establish a genetic signature associated with AKR1C3 that can be used to predict the prognosis of PCa patients and provide important information for clinical treatment decisions. AKR1C3-related genes were identified via label-free quantitative proteomics of the AKR1C3-overexpressing LNCaP cell line. A risk model was constructed through the analysis of clinical data, PPI, and Cox-selected risk genes. Cox regression analysis, Kaplan–Meier (K–M) curves, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to verify the accuracy of the model, and two external datasets were used to verify the reliability of the results. Subsequently, the tumor microenvironment and drug sensitivity were explored. Moreover, the roles of AKR1C3 in the progression of PCa were verified in LNCaP cells. MTT, colony formation, and EdU assays were conducted to explore cell proliferation and drug sensitivity to enzalutamide. Migration and invasion abilities were measured using wound-healing and transwell assays, and qPCR was used to assess the expression levels of AR target genes and EMT genes. CDC20, SRSF3, UQCRH, INCENP, TIMM10, TIMM13, POLR2L, and NDUFAB1 were identified as AKR1C3-associated risk genes. These risk genes, established using the prognostic model, can effectively predict the recurrence status, immune microenvironment, and drug sensitivity of PCa. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and several immune checkpoints that promote cancer progression were higher in high-risk groups. Furthermore, there was a close correlation between the sensitivity of PCa patients to bicalutamide and docetaxel and the expression levels of the eight risk genes. Moreover, through in vitro experiments, Western blotting confirmed that AKR1C3 enhanced SRSF3, CDC20, and INCENP expression. We found that PCa cells with a high expression of AKR1C3 have high proliferation ability and high migration ability and were insensitive to enzalutamide. AKR1C3-associated genes had a significant role in the process of PCa, immune responses, and drug sensitivity and offer the potential for a novel model for prognostic prediction in PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although runway separation, based on the probability of collision, has been studied for decades, the mathematical methods proposed by the majority of studies cannot handle complex situations, such as the operation of non-intersecting diverging runways at an airport with multiple runways. By applying a combination method of computer simulation and collision probability calculation, the arrival and departure window (ADW) separation for non-intersecting diverging runways of a multi-runway airport was studied under the emergency avoidance (EA) situation. Combining the example of runways 01L/19R and 11L of Beijing Daxing Airport, the ADW separation settings for the airport's northward and southward operations were determined to meet the target level of safety. Moreover, the effects of range-type parameters on the ADW separation were quantified. When the EA maximum speed limit and EA minimum climb rate were 200 kt (102.9 m/s) and 10%, respectively, the results were such that no ADW separation was required for northward operation, and the ADW separation was from 3.2 km to 7.1 km for southward operation. Furthermore, the results showed that the proposed method could more accurately describe the nominal trajectories of aircraft and improve the precision of collision probability calculation. Meanwhile, the sensitivity analysis method for range-type parameters could help airports and air traffic control facilities to set reasonable constraints to improve theoretical runway capacity, while satisfying practical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]