Search

In the last few decades, tear-based biosensors for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) have provided new avenues for the diagnosis of diabetes. The tear CGMs constructed from nanomaterials have been extensively demonstrated by various research activities in this field and are gradually witnessing their most prosperous period. A timely and comprehensive review of the development of tear CGMs in a compartmentalized manner from a nanomaterials perspective would greatly broaden this area of research. However, to our knowledge, there is a lack of specialized reviews and comprehensive cohesive reports in this area. First, this paper describes the principles and development of electrochemical glucose sensors. Then, a comprehensive summary of various advanced nanomaterials recently reported for potential applications and construction strategies in tear CGMs is presented in a compartmentalized manner, focusing on sensing properties. Finally, the challenges, strategies, and perspectives used to design tear CGM materials are emphasized, providing valuable insights and guidance for the construction of tear CGMs from nanomaterials in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing artificial nano-enzymes for scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in chondrocytes (CHOs) is considered the most feasible pathway for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the accumulation of ROS due to the amount of nano-enzymatic catalytic site exposure and insufficient oxygen supply seriously threatens the clinical application of this therapy. Although metal–organic framework (MOF) immobilization of artificial nano-enzymes to enhance active site exposure has been extensively studied, artificial nano-enzymes/MOFs for ROS scavenging in OA treatment are still lacking. In this study, a biocompatible lubricating hydrogel-loaded iron-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Fe/ZIF-8/Gel) centrase was engineered to scavenge endogenous overexpressed ROS synergistically generating dissolved oxygen and enhancing sustained lubrication for CHOs as a ternary artificial nano-enzyme. This property enabled the nano-enzymatic hydrogels to mitigate OA hypoxia and inhibit oxidative stress damage successfully. Ternary strategy-based therapies show excellent cartilage repair in vivo. The experimental results suggest that nano-enzyme-enhanced lubricating hydrogels are a potentially effective OA treatment and a novel strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotic exchanges between Taiwan and Mainland China have shaped the biodiversity and ecosystems of both regions. Exchanges from Mainland China to Taiwan have received more attention, mainly studied in terrestrial vertebrates, while the reverse direction and invertebrates have largely been overlooked. Here, we explore the dispersal events between these two regions based on the moths of three species groups of Obeidia, including Taiwan taxa and its relatives from mainland. We conducted mixed methods and analysis, including reconstructing a phylogenetic tree, estimating associated divergence times and inferring ancestral areas and source regions, to explore the phylogeographical structure and genetic pattern of three groups based on eight genes. Our results revealed a structure of three clades and every clade included at least one Taiwanese taxa and its closest relatives of mainland of China, and also served Taiwan as an important source region of two mainland taxa. Our study revealed various origin pattern and dispersal models on the basis of three species groups of Obeidia. Bi‐directional biotic exchange via a land bridge were found: four Taiwanese taxa originated from mainland, and two of them migrated back to mainland. Both eastern Himalayas and south China are important origin areas for Taiwan biota, and the dominant source region may need multiple insect cases to confirm. Our study also provided evidences for disjunct distribution from the perspective of insecta molecular phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In repaired marine concrete structures, generally, an interface exists between old and new concrete, however, the influence of this interface on durability has yet not been well understood. In this study 18 reinforced concrete beams with new‐to‐old concrete interfaces (N–O interfaces) were designed to investigate chloride transport through a cracked interface. The effects of crack widths at the interface, concrete strain, and the chloride exposure time were considered, respectively. Results showed that the N–O interfaces having crack widths between 0 and 0.13 mm posed no significant impact on the chloride transport in the depth direction of the N–O interfaces, however when the crack width exceeded 0.13 mm, the chloride concentration gradually increased as the crack width increased. Chloride transport through the horizontal direction of the N–O interface was different between new and old concrete matrix when the crack width reached 0.18–0.20 mm. The surface layer with a range of 5–10 mm depth of concrete was sensitive to the variation of concrete strain, and the evolution of chloride concentration with concrete strain presented a logarithm relationship. Within the exposure period between 60 and 90 days, the increasing rate of chloride concentration was higher than that between 30 and 60 days. The study can provide some recommendations for repair of concrete elements exposed to a chloride‐laden exposure environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile one-step solvothermal method was developed to synthesize Ir-doped Co-based metal–organic framework (CoIr-MOF) nanoarrays as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for water–glucose co-electrolysis. It was demonstrated that in situ incorporation of a low-content of Ir cations could modulate the electronic structure of Co active centers and thus boost the electrocatalytic performance towards both the hydrogen evolution reaction and glucose-to-formate oxidation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, insect pollinators that are linked to increased yields in many crops have experienced severe population declines. Crop diversification is often proposed as an effective conservation measure to boost pollinator populations. Here, we investigate the potential benefits of mixed oilseed rape/milk vetch cultivation for wild pollinator communities by comparing it with oilseed rape monocultures. Studying 8 mixed and 10 monocropping fields positioned along a gradient of increasing semi‐natural habitat coverage in mountainous agricultural landscapes, we found that agricultural landscapes with mixed cultivation harboured higher wild pollinator diversity than oilseed rape monocropping landscapes. This positive effect was observed irrespective of the proportion of semi‐natural habitat. Meanwhile, the pollinator community composition in mixed cultivation landscapes was similar to that of oilseed rape monoculture landscapes, and, contrary to expectations, mixed cultivation did not benefit specific pollinator trait groups like cavity‐nesting bees. Overall, we believe the higher pollinator diversity linked to mixed cultivation can increase insect‐pollinated crop yields, and mixed oilseed rape‐milk vetch cultivation might represent a potential mitigation measure for the negative impacts agricultural intensification has on wild pollinator communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated two waveform design problems for a dual-functional radar communication (DFRC) system, taking into consideration different constrained communication quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. Our objective was to minimize the mean-square error (MSE) of radar beampattern matching as the cost function. To this end, the multi-user interference (MUI) energy constraint and constructive interference (CI) constraint were, respectively, formulated to ensure the communication QoS. It is important to note that we designed a strict per-user MUI energy constraint at each sampling moment to achieve more accurate control over communication performance. Additionally, we introduced a constant-modulus constraint to optimize the efficiency of the radio frequency (RF) amplifier. To tackle the nonconvex waveform design problems encountered, we employed the alternative direction methods of multipliers (ADMM) technique. This allowed us to decompose the original problem into two solvable subproblems, which were then solved using the majorization–minimization (MM) method and geometrical structure. Finally, we obtained extensive simulation results which demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational construction of advanced electrocatalysts that can realize coupling of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with electrooxidation of organic compounds, rather than the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction, will make the catalytic efficiency of electrolytic hydrogen production more efficient. Herein, we report a bifunctional chainmail catalyst composed of NiGd nanoparticles wrapped by N-doped graphene shells (NiGd@N–C) for both the HER and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Benefiting from the unique architecture, the NiGd@N–C catalyst exhibits excellent HER activity under alkaline conditions (η10 = 45 mV), and also performed with high activity for selective methanol oxidation to formate. Theoretical analysis verifies that introducing the rare earth Gd element could enhance electron penetration from the NiGd core to the N–C shell, which was responsible for enhanced HER and MOR performance. Impressively, the methanol–water co-electrolysis system based on bifunctional NiGd@N–C catalysts only needs 1.34 V of cell voltage to reach 10 mA cm−2 for co-electrosynthesis of hydrogen and formate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel transmit waveform design method of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) dual functional radar communication (DFRC) system based on an optimal constellation, which takes into account the waveform diversity advantages of MIMO radar in view of the competition between electronic information devices for spatial spectrum resource. Firstly, we constructed an optimization design model for the transmit waveform of the MIMO-DFRC system is constructed. Secondly, the communication information embedding strategy is designed based on the joint constraint of communication signal of amplitude and phase. Simultaneously, the constellation of the expected communication signal to further reduce the bit error rate (BER) of communication information transmission is optimized, which efficiently solved the BER by utilizing the sequential linear programming algorithm based on the first-order Taylor expansion (SLP-FTE). As the designed waveform can achieve the integrated functions of radar target detection and communication information transmission simultaneously, it can effectively solve the problem of spectrum congestion. Finally, the simulation analysis verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The full potential for using DNA barcodes for profiling functional trait diversity has yet to be determined in plants and animals; thus, we outline a general framework for quantifying functional trait diversity of insect community DNA and propose and assess the accuracy of three methods for achieving this. We built a novel dataset of traits and DNA barcodes for wild bees in China. An informatics framework was developed for phylogeny‐based integration of these data and prediction of traits for any subject barcodes, which was compared with two distance‐based methods. For Phylogenetic Assignment, we additionally conducted a species‐level analysis of publically available bee trait data. Under the specimen‐level dataset, the rate of trait assignment was negatively correlated with distance between the query and the nearest trait‐known reference, for all methods. Phylogenetic Assignment was found to perform best under several criteria; particularly, it had the lowest false‐positive rate (rarely returning a state prediction where success was unlikely; where the distance from query to the nearest reference was high). For a wider range of compiled traits, conservative life‐history traits showed the highest rates of assignment; for example, sociality was predicted with confidence at 53%, parasitism at 44% and nest location at 33%. As outlined herein, automated trait assignment might be applied at scale to either barcodes or metabarcodes. With further compilation and databasing of DNA barcode and trait data, the rate and accuracy of trait assignment is expected to increase to the point of being a widely viable and informative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In bistatic spaceborne High-Resolution Wide-Swath SAR systems (HRWS-SAR), the azimuth reconstruction to obtain a uniform sampling signal or Doppler spectrum is a crucial step in image processing because azimuth signals are generally of non-uniform sampling type. In this study, the variant transmitting distance to receiving distance radio is approximated to be a constant, the equivalence between the bistatic and monostatic SAR azimuth interchannel transfer functions is deduced, and the azimuth signal model in spaceborne HRWS-SAR with general bistatic configuration is established. Furthermore, the matrix inversion algorithm to reconstruct the azimuth signal is proposed; in addition, to measure the reconstruction performance, the formulae for the signal noise ratio scaling factor and the azimuth ambiguity signal ratio are provided. The azimuth reconstruction is simulated in several spaceborne HRWS-SAR systems with typical bistatic configuration, and the results show that the azimuth Doppler spectrum can be correctly reconstructed via the matrix inversion algorithm when the azimuth sampling is conducted without coinciding samples.

Rationally designing advanced electrocatalysts and innovative energy-efficient electrolysis systems for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added chemicals or fuels is of significance yet challenging. As for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), the electrocatalytic efficiency is largely limited by the CO2 adsorption and activation capability of active sites. Herein, B-doped Bi nanosheet arrays grown on Cu foam are synthesized by a galvanic replacement combined with in situ doping strategy. It was demonstrated that the B dopant could serve as Lewis acid sites for promoting the adsorption of CO2, and more importantly, regulate the electronic structure and crystallinity of Bi nanosheet arrays, and create abundant amorphous/crystalline two-phase interfaces, which boost the CO2RR activity. Moreover, coupling the CO2RR with the thermodynamically more favorable methanol oxidation reaction (replacing the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction) within a pH-asymmetric electrolysis system could realize highly efficient pair-electrosynthesis of formate with a much-reduced energy consumption compared with a conventional electrochemical CO2RR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile strategy was developed for one-step synthesis of yttrium(Y)-doped cobalt-based metal–organic framework (CoY-MOF) nanosheet arrays. It was demonstrated that in situ doping with a low content of Y can tailor the electronic structure of the MOF structures, thereby improving their electrocatalytic performance for both hydrogen evolution and glycerol oxidation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrena camellia , an effective pollinator of the economically significant crop Camellia oleifera , can withstand the toxic pollen of C. oleifera , making An. camellia crucial for resource conservation and cultivation of C. oleifera. In this study, the whole genome of An. camellia was sequenced on the Oxford Nanopore platform. The assembled genome size was 340.73 Mb including 50 scaffolds (N50 = 47.435 Mb) and 131 contigs (N50 = 17.2 Mb). A total of 11,258 protein-coding genes were annotated; in addition, 1,104 noncoding RNAs were identified. Further analysis shows that some chromosomes of An. camellia have a high level of synteny with those of Apis mellifera , Osmia bicornis , and Andrena minutula. Thus, our reported genome of An. camellia serves as a valuable resource for studying species evolution, behavioral biology, and adaption to toxic pollen of C. oleifera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbiomes associated with bee nests influence colony health through various mechanisms, although it is not yet clear how honeybee congeners differ in microbiome assembly processes, in particular the degrees to which floral visitations and the environment contribute to different aspects of diversity. We used DNA metabarcoding to sequence bacterial 16S rRNA from honey and stored pollen from nests of 4 honeybee species (Apis cerana, A. dorsata, A. florea, and A. laboriosa) sampled throughout Yunnan, China, a global biodiversity hotspot. We developed a computational pipeline integrating multiple databases for quantifying key facets of diversity, including compositional, taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional ones. Further, we assessed candidate drivers of observed microbiome dissimilarity, particularly differences in floral visitations, habitat disturbance, and other key environmental variables. Analyses revealed that microbiome alpha diversity was broadly equivalent across the study sites and between bee species, apart from functional diversity which was very low in nests of the reclusive A. laboriosa. Turnover in microbiome composition across Yunnan was driven predominantly by pollen composition. Human disturbance negatively impacted both compositional and phylogenetic alpha diversity of nest microbiomes, but did not correlate with microbial turnover. We herein make progress in understanding microbiome diversity associated with key pollinators in a biodiversity hotspot, and provide a model for the use of a comprehensive informatics framework in assessing pattern and drivers of diversity, which enables the inclusion of explanatory variables both subtly and fundamentally different and enables elucidation of emergent or unexpected drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision electronic warfare is a hot direction for future jamming technology development, and distributed precision jamming (DIPJ) is one of its typical application scenarios. The task objective of DIPJ is to design jamming waveforms so that the jamming energy generated by a set of ultra-sparse array transmitters can be focused in the jamming region of interest while being suppressed in other specific protected regions, which can be viewed as a distributed multiple-input and multiple-output system waveform design problem under a three-dimensional scenario. This paper extends the jamming signal model in DIPJ from narrowband to wideband based on previous work to address a broader range of jamming tasks. After extending the model to wideband signals, a method based on the traditional maximum total energy difference optimization objective is first given for comparison. A wideband jamming waveform design method based on the majorization minimization algorithm with the desired power spectrum matching as the optimization target is designed for the problem that the maximum energy difference method cannot focus energy well in the jamming region. The simulation results show that the presented method can make the jamming energy well concentrated in the target region and evenly distributed over the whole bandwidth, while the energy in the whole bandwidth is suppressed in the protected region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent advances in phylogenomics, the early evolution of the largest bee family, Apidae, remains uncertain, hindering efforts to understand the history of Apidae and establish a robust comparative framework. Confirming the position of Anthophorinae—a diverse, globally distributed lineage of apid bees—has been particularly problematic, with the subfamily recovered in various conflicting positions, including as sister to all other Apidae or to the cleptoparasitic Nomadinae. We aimed to resolve relationships in Apidae and Anthophorinae by combining dense taxon sampling, with rigorous phylogenomic analysis of a dataset consisting of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) acquired from multiple sources, including low-coverage genomes. Across a diverse set of analyses, including both concatenation and species tree approaches, and numerous permutations designed to account for systematic biases, Anthophorinae was consistently recovered as the sister group to all remaining Apidae, with Nomadinae sister to (Apinae, [Xylocopinae, Eucerinae]). However, several alternative support metrics (concordance factors, quartet sampling, and gene genealogy interrogation) indicate that this result should be treated with caution. Within Anthophorinae, all genera were recovered as monophyletic, following synonymization of Varthemapistra with Habrophorula. Our results demonstrate the value of dense taxon sampling in bee phylogenomics research and how implementing diverse analytical strategies is important for fully evaluating results at difficult nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthidiini, a large bee tribe characterized by light-colored maculations, represents nearly 1,000 pollinator species, but no genomes are yet available for this tribe. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of Anthidium xuezhongi collected from the Tibetan Plateau. Using PacBio long reads and Hi-C data, we assembled a genome of 189.14 Mb with 99.94% of the assembly located in 16 chromosomes. Our assembly contains 23 scaffolds, with the scaffold N50 length of 12.53 Mb, and BUSCO completeness of 98.70% (n  = 1,367). We masked 25.98 Mb (13.74%) of the assembly as repetitive elements, identified 385 noncoding RNAs, and predicted 10,820 protein-coding genes (99.20% BUSCO completeness). Gene family evolution analyses identified 9,251 gene families, of which 31 gene families experienced rapid evolution. Interspecific chromosomal variation among A. xuezhongi , Bombus terrestris , and Apis mellifera showed strong chromosomal syntenic relationships. This high-quality genome assembly is a valuable resource for evolutionary and comparative genomic analyses of bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter deals with the joint design of transmit waveform and receive filter bank for airborne multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar under the target uncertainties. Assuming that the spatial angle and the Doppler frequency of the target are unknown, we formulate the maximin joint design problem by maximizing the worst-case signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) under the energy constraint, flexible modulus constraint, and similarity constraint on the transmit waveform. To tackle this problem, we develop a computationally efficient algorithm based on iterative feasible point pursuit successive convex approximation (FPP-SCA). Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcing steel bar can exert its strength and ductility by bonding to concrete. However, corrosion of steel bars reduces the bonding effect. This study mainly investigated the coupling effects of fly ash (FA) and corrosion on bond behavior. The impressed current method was utilized to achieve the target corrosion degrees. Three crucial factors that have impact on bond behavior was considered, which were FA content, corrosion degree and stirrups. The bond behavior was discussed using the bond‐slip curves. The results showed that the slight corrosion (less than 2.1%) can improve the bond behavior, the supplement of 15% FA can result in a higher ultimate bond strength and to a substantial extent offset the reduction in bond strength owing to the severe corrosion of rebar. The effects of stirrups on bond strength mainly focused on fly ash concrete (FAC) and had an almost negligible impact on ordinary concrete. The results and discussions can be of great significance to establish the bond‐slip constitutive model under multi‐factor coupling conditions and also can give some important advices to the design of engineering structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regeneration of tubular epithelial cells (TECs) after acute kidney injury (AKI) is crucial for the recovery of renal structure and function. The mechanism by which quiescent TECs re-obtain a potential to regenerate remains unknown. In this study, we observed a transient re-expression of embryonic gene Paired box 2 (Pax2) in adult rat TECs in vivo during ischemia-reperfusion induced AKI and most Pax2 positive TECs co-expressed kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), a tubular injury marker. The re-expression of Pax2 was accompanied by increased levels of intrarenal Angiotensin II, which is a crucial injury factor of AKI. Furthermore, we also found a temporary re-expression of Pax2 in NRK-52E cells under the stimulation of Angiotensin II. This stimulatory effect could be blocked by PD123319 (Angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) inhibitor) and AG490 (Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) inhibitor). As Pax2 is essential for the phenotypic conversion from mesenchymal stem cells to TECs during kidney development, we proposed that the re-expression of Pax2 in mature TECs may be an indicator of “atavistic” transition which mimics but reverses the processes of development of TECs. This could be proved by that a progenitor marker, CD24, was also found to be transiently expressed shortly after the expression of Pax2 in NRK-52E cells stimulated with Angiotensin II. The expression of CD24 was also suppressed by PD123319 and AG490. Moreover, knockdown of Pax2 by RNA interference could significantly reduce the expression of CD24 in NRK-52E cells stimulated with Angiotension II. Those findings suggest that mature TECs can trans-differentiate into progenitor-like cells by “atavistic transition”, which may participate in the recovery of tissue structure and Pax2 may play a pivotal role in this process. That might have important implications for further understanding of tubular regeneration after injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) remains the reference standard for benign prostate hyperplasia(BPH), the concern about complications promotes researchers to develop alternative surgical methods with fewer complications. In this study, we compared the safety and efficacy between the transurethral plasma kinetic enucleation of prostate (TUPKEP) and transurethral plasma kinetic resection of prostate (TUPKRP), mainly including absorption of irrigation fluid, the operation time, the weight of prostate tissue removed and severe complications. Methods: Sixty BPH patients were randomly and evenly assigned to the TUPKEP or TUPKRP group. The irrigation fluid used in both groups was 1% ethanol-containing saline solution. The ethanol concentrations in the subjects' end expiration were measured during operation. The volume of irrigation fluid absorbed was calculated accordingly. Results: No significant difference was found in operation time between two groups, whereas the weight of prostate tissue resection was significantly higher in the TUPKEP than that in the TUPKRP group. Conclusion: The study provides evidence for the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of both bipolar transurethral techniques. Further, compared to the TUPKRP group, the TUPKEP group has more efficient for resection of prostatic hyperplasia tissue, even though in terms of fluid absorption, no difference has been found in both groups. Ethanol monitoring is simple, safe and effective, which is beneficial for enhancing safety procedures. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acid rain severely decreases the durability of ordinary concrete structures; however, the effect of acid rain on recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) remains unclear. To fill this gap, this study investigated the freeze-thaw resistance of RAC in response to simulated acid rain spraying. The effects of replacement ratios of recycled coarse aggregate (20%, 35%, and 50% by mass), acidity of simulated solutions (pH of 2.5 and 3.5), erosion time (0, 20 d, and 40 d), and the number of freeze-thaw cycles on the apparent state, quality loss, and relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDEM) of RAC were evaluated. The results demonstrate that the freeze-thaw resistance of RAC with different replacement ratios is unsatisfactory in comparison to ordinary concrete. Acid rain attack has no obvious effect on the mass loss rate of RAC, but it significantly influences the RDEM. The RDEM results indicate that acid rain attack weakens the capacity of RAC to resist freezing and thawing. Moreover, the freeze-thaw resistance of RAC decreases strongly with prolonged acid rain spraying time or with increased acidity of acid rain. These test results indicate several theoretical suggestions and potential implications for government and industry to increase energy conservation, pollution reduction, and recycling of resources. Image 1 • The freeze-thaw resistance of RAC after acid rain spraying. • The freeze-thaw resistance of RAC is inferior to that of plain concrete. • High acidity of acid rain greatly weakens the freeze-thaw resistance of RAC. • The freeze-thaw resistance of RAC decreases with the acid rain erosion time goes on. • Differences between plain concrete and RAC eroded by acid rain on frost resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow fields over a simplified 3D hill covered by vegetation have been examined by many researchers. However, there is scarce research giving the three-dimensional characteristics of the flow fields over a rough 3D hill. In this study, large eddy simulations were performed to examine the coherent turbulence structures of the flow fields over a vegetation-covered 3D hill. The numerical simulations were validated by the comparison with the wind-tunnel experiments. Besides, the flow fields were systematically investigated, including the examinations of the mean velocities and root means square of the fluctuating velocities. The distributions of the parameters are shown in a three-dimensional way, i.e., plotting the parameters on a series of spanwise slices. Some noteworthy three-dimensional features were found, and the mechanisms were further revealed by assessing the turbulence kinetic energy budget and the spectrum energy. Subsequently, the instantaneous flow fields were illustrated, from which the coherent turbulence structures were clearly identified. Ejection-sweep motion was intensified just behind the hill crest, leading to a spanwise rotation. A group of vertical rotations were generated by the shedding of the vortex from the lateral sides of the hill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine has been studied in detail due to its good stability. However, the occurrence of typhoons are very frequent in China's offshore area, putting forward a higher requirement for the stability of the floating wind turbine system. By changing the connection mode of the mooring line as well as the structural form of the platform based on the original OC4 model, two groups of models were examined by an in-house developed code named as the Analysis Tool of Floating Wind Turbine (AFWT). The influence of the arrangement of the mooring lines and the inclination angle of the upper columns on the motion response were clarified. It was found that the surge motion of the platform would be obviously decreased by decreasing the length of the upper segments of the mooring lines, while the heave motion of the platform would be significantly decreased as increasing the inclined angle of the columns. Therefore, a new model integrating the optimized multi-segmented mooring lines and the optimized inclined columns was proposed. The examinations showed that compared with the response motions of the original OC4 semi-submersible model, the proposed model could reduce both the surge and heave motions of the platform effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How many species of life are there on Earth? This is a question that we want to know but cannot yet answer. Some scholars speculate that the number of species may reach 2.2 billion when considering cryptic diversity and that each morphology‐based insect species may contain an average of 3.1 cryptic species. With nearly two million described species, such high estimates of cryptic diversity would suggest that cryptic species are widespread. The development of molecular species delimitation has led to the discovery of a large number of cryptic species, and cryptic biodiversity has gradually entered our field of vision and attracted more attention. This paper introduces the concept of cryptic species, how they evolve, and methods by which they may be discovered and confirmed, and provides theoretical and methodological guidance for the study of hidden species. A workflow of how to confirm cryptic species is provided. In addition, the importance and reliability of multi‐evidence‐based integrated taxonomy are reaffirmed as a way to better standardize decision‐making processes. Special focus on cryptic diversity and increased funding for taxonomy is needed to ensure that cryptic species in hyperdiverse groups are discoverable and described. An increased focus on cryptic species in the future will naturally arise as more difficult groups are studied, and thereby, we may finally better understand the rules governing the evolution and maintenance of cryptic biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Synergetic effects of FA and GGBS on enhancing the durability of RAC are analysed. • The combined addition of FA and GGBS is better than single addition of FA or GGBS. • Simultaneously incorporating FA and GGBS exists an optimum ratio to replace cement. • The combined addition of 15% FA and 15% GGBS effectively enhances the properties of RAC. In this study, the synergetic effects of fly ash (FA) and ground-granulated blast slag (GGBS) on the compressive behavior and durability of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) were comprehensively investigated. FA and GGBS were incorporated separately or simultaneously into the RAC containing 0%, 35%, and 50% recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) to replace partial cement. Moreover, the frost resistance and chloride penetration resistance of RAC, respectively, were experimentally determined by the rapid freeze–thaw cycle test and rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT). Results showed that an optimum replacement ratio could exist for improving the properties of RAC by partially replacing cement with FA and GGBS. The optimum ratio of the simultaneous incorporation of FA and GGBS to replace partly cement for improving the 90-day-compressive strength and the chloride penetration resistance of RAC were 10% and 20%, respectively, but for enhancing the frost resistance of RAC were 15% and 15%. In addition, the synergetic effects of simultaneously incorporating FA and GGBS were more effective than the effects of separately incorporating FA or GGBS on enhancing the performance of RAC. When adopting the simultaneous incorporation of 15% FA and 15% GGBS, the 90-day-compressive strength, chloride penetration resistance, and frost resistance of RAC incorporating 50% RCA were better than those of ordinary concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]