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Enhanced catalysis for organic transformation is essential for the synthesis of high-value compounds. Atomic metal species recently emerged as highly effective catalysts for organic reactions with high activity and metal utilization. However, developing efficient atomic catalysts is always an attractive and challenging topic in the modern chemical industry. In this work, we report the preparation and activity enhancement of nitrogen- and sulfur-codoped holey graphene (NSHG) with the anchoring of atomic metal Pd. When employed as the catalyst for nitroarenes reduction reactions, the resultant Pd/NSHG composite exhibits remarkably high catalytic activity due to the co-existence of dual-active components (i.e., catalytically active NSHG support and homogeneous dispersion of atomic metal Pd). In the catalytic 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction reaction, the efficiency (turnover frequency) is 3.99 × 10−2 mmol 4-NP/(mg cat.·min), which is better than that of metal-free nitrogen-doped holey graphene (NHG) (2.3 × 10−3 mmol 4-NP/(mg cat.·min)) and NSHG carbocatalyst (3.8 × 10−3 mmol 4-NP/(mg cat.·min)), the conventional Pd/C and other reported metal-based catalysts. This work provides a rational design strategy for the atomic metal catalysts loaded on active doped graphene support. The resultant Pd/NSHG dual-active component catalyst (DACC) is also anticipated to bring great application potentials for a broad range of organic fields, such as organic synthesis, environment treatment, energy storage and conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Mammals have circadian rhythms that regulate their behavior and physiology. Improper feeding can disrupt these rhythms and harm animal health. This study looked at the effects of feeding time and amount on growing rabbits in northern China during spring. Four groups of rabbits were given different feeding regimens, and the results showed that nighttime diet-unrestricted feeding had the best outcomes. This regimen improved the rabbits' growth, circadian rhythm, and body temperature while reducing the risk of diarrhea and death. The group that had whole day diet-restricted feeding had higher daytime body temperatures but no significant difference in feed conversion rate. The study aimed to explore the impact of feeding timing (whole day vs. nighttime) and feeding amount (unrestricted vs. restricted) on the growth, behavior, circadian rhythm, and overall well-being of growing rabbits in northern China during spring. It is essential to consider feeding methods when raising animals to maintain their health and well-being. Mammals exhibit circadian rhythms in their behavior and physiological activities to adapt to the diurnal changes of the environment. Improper feeding methods can disrupt the natural habits of animals and harm animal health. This study investigated the effects of feeding amount and feeding time on growing rabbits in northern China during spring. A total of 432 healthy 35-day-old weaned rabbits with similar body weight were randomly assigned to four groups: whole day diet-unrestricted feeding (WUF), whole day diet-restricted feeding (WRF), nighttime diet-unrestricted feeding (NUF), and nighttime diet-restricted feeding (NRF). The results showed that nighttime diet-unrestricted feeding improved performance, circadian rhythm of behavior, and body temperature, while reducing the risk of diarrhea and death. WRF group increased daytime body temperature but had no significant difference in feed conversion rate. The study suggests that nighttime diet-unrestricted feeding in spring can improve the growth and welfare of rabbits in northern China. Our study underscores the pivotal role of feeding timing in enhancing animal health. Future investigations should delve into the underlying mechanisms and expand the application of this strategy across seasons and regions to improve rabbit husbandry practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organelles play core roles in living beings, especially in internal cellular actions, but the hidden information inside the cell is difficult to extract in a label-free manner. In recent years, terahertz (THz) imaging has attracted much attention because of its penetration depth in nonpolar and non-metallic materials and label-free, non-invasive and non-ionizing ability to obtain the interior information of bio-samples. However, the low spatial resolution of traditional far-field THz imaging systems and the weak dielectric contrast of biological samples hinder the application of this technology in the biological field. In this paper, we used an advanced THz scattering near-field imaging method for detecting chloroplasts on gold substrate with nano-flatness combined with an image processing method to remove the background noise and successfully obtained the subcellular-grade internal reticular structure from an Arabidopsis chloroplast THz image. In contrast, little inner information could be observed in the tea chloroplast in similar THz images. Further, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and mass spectroscopy (MS) were also used to detect structural and chemical differences inside the chloroplasts of Arabidopsis and tea plants. The preliminary results suggested that the interspecific different THz information is related to the internal spatial structures of chloroplasts and metabolite differences among species. Therefore, this method could open a new way to study the structure of individual organelles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 1 September 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amended the Chinese Civil Procedure Law which will come into effect on 1 January 2024 ('the 2024 CPL'). The 2024 CPL brings significant changes to the entire procedure of transnational civil and commercial litigation in China covering jurisdiction, service of process, the taking of evidence abroad, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It is critical for foreign states, courts, and parties which conduct business in China to understand this new legal development and to prepare for the changes. Adopting comparative-law and empirical research methods, this commentary aims to explain the new provisions for transnational civil litigation in the 2024 CPL and how they may be implemented in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aurivillius‐type compounds ((Bi2O2)2+(An–1BnO3n+1)2−) with alternately stacked layers of bismuth oxide (Bi2O2)2+ and perovskite (An−1BnO3n+1)2− are promising photocatalysts for overall water splitting due to their suitable band structures and adjustable layered characteristics. However, the self‐reduction of Bi3+ at the top (Bi2O2)2+ layers induced by photogenerated electrons during photocatalytic processes causes inactivation of the compounds as photocatalysts. Here, using Bi3TiNbO9 as a model photocatalyst, its surface termination is modulated by acid etching, which well suppresses the self‐corrosion phenomenon. A combination of comprehensive experimental investigations together with theoretical calculations reveals the transition of the material surface from the self‐reduction‐sensitive (Bi2O2)2+ layer to the robust (BiTiNbO7)2− perovskite layer, enabling effective electron transfer through surface trapping and effective hole transfer through surface electric field, and also efficient transfer of the electrons to the cocatalyst for greatly enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting. Moreover, this facile modification strategy can be readily extended to other Aurivillius compounds (e.g., SrBi2Nb2O9, Bi4Ti3O12, and SrBi4Ti4O15) and therefore justify its usefulness in rationally tailoring surface structures of layered photocatalysts for high photocatalytic overall water‐splitting activity and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and accurate identification of precipitation clouds from satellite observations is essential for the research of quantitative precipitation estimation and precipitation nowcasting. In this study, we proposed a novel Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based algorithm for precipitation cloud identification (PCINet) in the daytime, nighttime, and nychthemeron. High spatiotemporal and multi-spectral information from the Fengyun-4A (FY-4A) satellite is utilized as the inputs, and a multi-scale structure and skip connection constraint strategy are presented in the framework of the algorithm to improve the precipitation cloud identification. Moreover, the effectiveness of visible/near-infrared spectral information in improving daytime precipitation cloud identification is explored. To evaluate this algorithm, we compare it with five other deep learning models used for image segmentation and perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of long-time series using data from 2021. In addition, two heavy precipitation events are selected to analyze the spatial distribution of precipitation cloud identification. Statistics and visualization of the experiment results show that the proposed model outperforms the baseline models in this task, and adding visible/near-infrared spectral information in the daytime can effectively improve model performance. More importantly, the proposed model can provide accurate and near-real-time results, which has important application in observing precipitation clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress granules (SGs) are cytosolic biomolecular condensates that form in response to cellular stress. Weak, multivalent interactions between their protein and RNA constituents drive their rapid, dynamic assembly through phase separation coupled to percolation. Though a consensus model of SG function has yet to be determined, their perceived implication in cytoprotective processes (e.g., antiviral responses and inhibition of apoptosis) and possible role in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia) have drawn great interest. Consequently, new studies using numerous cell biological, genetic, and proteomic methods have been performed to unravel the mechanisms underlying SG formation, organization, and function and, with them, a more clearly defined SG proteome. Here, we provide a consensus SG proteome through literature curation and an update of the user-friendly database RNAgranuleDB to version 2.0 (http://rnagranuledb.lunenfeld.ca/). With this updated SG proteome, we use next-generation phase separation prediction tools to assess the predisposition of SG proteins for phase separation and aggregation. Next, we analyze the primary sequence features of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) within SG-resident proteins. Finally, we review the protein- and RNA-level determinants, including post-translational modifications (PTMs), that regulate SG composition and assembly/disassembly dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very attractive property of the mixed integer-valued autoregressive model is that it can capture structural changes. Inspired by this, we propose a mixed generalized Poisson integer-valued autoregressive model with a mixture of the quasi-binomial and generalized Poisson thinning operators. The first-order and higher-order mixed models are introduced, respectively. Some properties of the mixed models are presented. Conditional maximum likelihood estimation is considered for the parameters of the proposed model. The mean, median and mode of the conditional distribution are used to predict the one-step-ahead values. Furthermore, an approximate Bayesian model averaging prediction with the Bayesian information criterion is introduced to the higher-order models in the application to real data. Some Monte Carlo simulation results are presented for assessing the performance of parameter estimation and forecasting methods. At last, the applications of proposed models to real data are given for illustrating purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The development of scientific research in acute bone loss after fracture was elaborated in a complete and clear perspective. • The possible mechanisms, including the new achievements in microgravity, muscle-bone crosstalk and the sympathetic nervous system, of acute bone loss after fracture were reviewed. • Several key molecules and current treatments as well as the potential targets and promising therapies were also briefly reviewed and compared. • The challenges we faced and the future directions are also summarized and elaborated. Acute bone loss after fracture is associated with various effects on the complete recovery process and a risk of secondary fractures among patients. Studies have reported similarities in pathophysiological mechanisms involved in acute bone loss after fractures and osteoporosis. However, given the silence nature of bone loss and bone metabolism complexities, the actual underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated. To elaborate the latest findings in basic research with a focus on acute bone loss after fracture. To briefly highlight potential therapeutic targets and current representative drugs. To arouse researchers' attention and discussion on acute bone loss after fracture. Bone loss after fracture is associated with immobilization, mechanical unloading, blood supply damage, sympathetic nerve regulation, and crosstalk between musculoskeletals among other factors. Current treatment strategies rely on regulation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, therefore, there is a need to elucidate on the underlying mechanisms of acute bone loss after fractures to inform the development of efficacious and safe drugs. In addition, attention should be paid towards ensuring long-term skeletal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has identified the crossover of burnout among spouses or colleagues in workplaces, but little is known about how burnout crosses over from one student to another. This two-wave longitudinal study examined the mediating effects of changes in academic self-efficacy and value in the crossover of burnout among adolescent students based on the Expectancy-Value Theory. Data were collected from 2346 Chinese high school students (Mage = 15.60, S = 0.82; 44.16% boys) over a period of 3 months. The results reveal that after controlling for T1 student burnout, T1 friend burnout negatively predicts T1-T2 changes in academic self-efficacy and value (intrinsic value, attachment value, and utility value), which in turn negatively predict T2 student burnout. Thus, changes in academic self-efficacy and value completely mediate the crossover of burnout among adolescent students. These findings highlight the importance of taking into account the decline of academic motivation in understanding the crossover of burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid blockchain structure (hybrid directed acyclic graph, or H-DAG) is proposed in this article to solve the existing problem of blockchain architectures using symmetric key encryption technology by combining the characteristics of single-chain blockchains and DAG distributed ledgers. By improving the block and transaction structures and optimizing the consensus mechanism, the H-DAG confirmed transaction orders while maintaining the high-throughput characteristics of a DAG, thus solving the transaction order dependence problem. We introduced a lightweight PoW mechanism to the H-DAG to improve the anti-fork ability of the blockchain. An incentive mechanism was adopted in our model to compel honest nodes to be more enthusiastic about participating in, maintaining, and enhancing the security of a given network. The blockchain states achieved strong levels of consistency, and their transaction confirmation times were predictable. We evaluated the performance of the H-DAG by comparing and analyzing multiple experiments, and we modeled a forking attack strategy, verifying the resistance of the H-DAG to this attack strategy. The experimental results demonstrated that the order of transactions in the H-DAG was globally consistent, and the confirmation time of transactions was predictable. The H-DAG improved the anti-fork ability and enhanced the security of the blockchain to ensure a degree of decentralization of the blockchain system. Therefore, the system throughput was enhanced by improving the block structure using symmetric key technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone is one of the key components of the musculoskeletal system. Bone and joint disease are the fourth most widespread disease, in addition to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, which seriously affect people's quality of life. Bone organoids seem to be a great model by which to promote the research method, which further could improve the treatment of bone and joint disease in the future. Here, we introduce the various bone and joint diseases and their biology, and the conditions of organoid culture, comparing the in vitro models among 2D, 3D, and organoids. We summarize the differing potential methods for culturing bone-related organoids from pluripotent stem cells, adult stem cells, or progenitor cells, and discuss the current and promising bone disease organoids for drug screening and precision medicine. Lastly, we discuss the challenges and difficulties encountered in the application of bone organoids and look to the future in order to present potential methods via which bone organoids might advance organoid construction and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Practice guidelines recommend that patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) be treated in units with acute neuroscience care experience. However, most hospitals in the United States lack this degree of specialization. We sought to examine outcome differences for patients with nontraumatic ICH presenting to centers with and without advanced neuroscience care specialization. Methods: This was a retrospective study of adult patients presenting with nontraumatic ICH between 1/1/2011 and 9/30/2020 across 21 medical centers within Kaiser Permanente Northern California, an integrated care system that employs a "hub-and-spoke" model of neuroscience care in which two centers service as neuroscience "hubs" and the remaining 19 centers service as referral "spokes." Patients presenting to spokes can receive remote consultation (including image review) by neurosurgical or neurointensive care specialists located at hubs. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality. We used hierarchical logistic regression, adjusting for ICH score components, comorbidities, and demographics, to test a hypothesis that initial presentation to a spoke medical center was noninferior to hub presentation [defined as an odds ratio (OR) with an upper 95% confidence interval (CI) limit of 1.24 or less]. Results: A total of 6978 patients were included, with 6170 (88%) initially presenting to spoke medical centers. The unadjusted 90-day mortality for patients initially presenting to spoke versus hub medical centers was 32.2% and 32.7%, respectively. In adjusted analysis, presentation to a spoke medical center was neither noninferior nor inferior for 90-day mortality risk (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.84–1.74). Sensitivity analysis excluding patients admitted to general wards or lacking continuous health plan insurance during the follow-up period trended closer to a noninferior result (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.69–1.44). Conclusions: Within an integrated "hub-and-spoke" neuroscience care model, the risk of 90-day mortality following initial presentation with nontraumatic ICH to a spoke medical center was not conclusively noninferior compared with initial presentation to a hub medical center. However, there was also no indication that care for selected patients with nontraumatic ICH within medical centers lacking advanced neuroscience specialization resulted in significantly inferior outcomes. This finding may support the safety and efficiency of a "hub-and-spoke" care model for patients with nontraumatic ICH, although additional investigations are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a novel lifelong learning method with Shared and Private Latent Representations (SPLR), which are learned through synaptic intelligence. To solve a sequence of tasks, by considering the entire parameter learning trajectory, SPLR can learn task-invariant representation which changes little, and task-specific features that change greatly along the entire parameter updating trajectory. Therefore, in the lifelong learning scenarios, our model can obtain a task-invariant structure shared by all tasks and also contain some private properties that are task-specific to each task. To reduce the parameter quantity, a ℓ 1 regularization to promote sparsity is employed in the weights. We use multiple datasets under lifelong learning scenes to verify our SPLR, on these datasets it can get comparable performance compared with existing lifelong learning approaches, and learn a sparse network which means fewer parameters while requiring less model training time. • Comprehensively consider model performance, parameter storage space, and model training time. • Disintegrate the model into Shared and Private Latent Representations through Synaptic Intelligence. • Achieve similar performance with comparative lifelong learning algorithms. • Obtain almost the minimum training time while considering the parameter quantity. • Learn the capacity of shared and private modules and sparse parameters from the dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In photo‐induced olefin synthesis, the photocatalysts with high triplet energy could cause the isomerization of olefins. This study demonstrates a new quinoxalinone photocatalytic system for highly stereoselective alkenes preparation from alkenyl sulfones and alkyl boronic acids. Our photocatalyst could not convert the thermodynamically favored E‐olefin to Z‐olefin, guaranteeing the high E‐configuration selectivity of the reaction. There is weak interaction between boronic acids and quinoxalinone according to NMR experiments, probably decreasing the oxidation potential of boronic acids. This system can be further extended to the allyl and alkynyl sulfones to give corresponding alkenes and alkynes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nash equilibrium seeking over networks of N players has been studied under the assumption that the network is static and strongly connected or switching and every time strongly connected. In this paper, we further consider the case where the network is jointly strongly connected. Since a jointly strongly connected network can be disconnected at any time instant, the existing approach cannot handle such a case. Like the literature, assuming the pseudogradient dynamics has a globally exponentially stable Nash equilibrium, we first establish a distributed estimator for actions of all players over jointly strongly connected networks. Then we compose the pseudogradient dynamics with the distributed estimator to obtain an extended gradient system with N + 1 subsystems. Under the assumption that the pseudogradient of the game is strongly monotone and Lipschitz continuous, we show that, starting from any initial condition, the state of every subsystem of the extended gradient system will exponentially converge to the Nash equilibrium of the game concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hole position accuracy and perpendicularity are significant factors in aerospace drilling. This study presents a novel compensation method with reference holes to reduce the hole position error and initial normal deviation for automated drilling systems. The hole-pose error and related generalized addition and subtraction methods are first defined using quaternions. Subsequently, approaches for accurately measuring the pose of the reference hole and calibrating the coordinate system are proposed. On this basis, the position error and initial normal error are estimated by bilinear interpolation based on the error similarity on the two-dimensional manifold, where the manifold coordinates are obtained by Hermite surface reconstruction. Subsequently, the hole-pose error is compensated for by generalized addition. For the initial normal modification, a compensation strategy utilizing the data of processed adjacent holes for interpolation was adopted. In addition, for situations in which it is inconvenient to arrange real reference holes on the product, a compensation approach employing virtual reference holes was designed. Finally, simulations and experiments are conducted, and the results demonstrate that the position error and initial normal deviation are effectively reduced by at least 42.25% and 74.68% with the proposed method, which further ensures that the indicators meet the requirements of aerospace drilling. • Define hole-pose error and generalized addition and subtraction using quaternions. • Reconstruct the surface by piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation. • Reduce hole-pose error with reference holes and processed adjacent holes. • Pose error compensation for drilling system based on virtual reference holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As metal ions play important roles in the process of immunomodulation, immunotherapy based on metal ions has attracted tremendous interests in recent years. Here, we screened common metal ions and found that Mn2+ could enhance the immune function in vitro. A new type of nanovaccine is thus fabricated by a biomimetic approach using nanoscale coordination polymer formed by Mn2+ and 2-methylimidazole (2-MI) to encapsulate ovalbumin (OVA) protein, a model antigen, obtaining OVA@MM nanoparticles. Compared to free OVA, OVA@MM nanoparticles could more effectively induce the maturation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and their subsequent antigen cross-presentation. The particles made of Mn2+ and 2-MI could activate immune-regulated signal pathways to enhance the immune functions of BMDCs. Such OVA@MM nanovaccine could not only provide prophylactic effect to inhibit the growth of B16-OVA tumor on immunized mice, but also significantly inhibit tumor growth in the mice with B16-OVA tumor combined with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody. Therefore, this nanovaccine platform based on Mn2+, 2-MI and antigen may provide a simple, effective and broadly applicable strategy to enhance adaptive immunity against cancer and other diseases. The nanoscale coordination polymers formed by manganese ions and 2-methylimidazole to encapsulate ovalbumin could enhance the maturation of BMDCs, promote the antigen cross-presentation, and trigger the specific antitumor immune response. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important physical quantity to understand the internal structure of polymer chains, the structure factor is being studied both in theory and experiment. Theoretically, the structure factor of Gaussian chains has been solved analytically, but for wormlike chains, numerical approaches are often used, such as Monte Carlo simulations, solving the modified diffusion equation. In these works, the structure factor needs to be calculated differently for different regions of the wave vector and chain rigidity, and some calculation processes are resource consuming. In this work, by training a deep neural network, we obtained an efficient model to calculate the structure factor of polymer chains, without considering different regions of wavenumber and chain rigidity. Furthermore, based on the trained neural network model, we predicted the contour and Kuhn lengths of some polymer chains by using scattering experimental data, and we found that our model can get pretty reasonable predictions. This work provides a method to obtain the structure factor for polymer chains, which is as good as previous and more computationally efficient. It also provides a potential way for the experimental researchers to measure the contour and Kuhn lengths of polymer chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procyanidins (PCs), which are organic antioxidants, suppress oxidative stress, exhibit anti−apoptotic properties, and chelate metal ions. The potential defense mechanism of PCs against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI) was investigated in this study. Pre−administration for 7 days of a PC enhanced nerve function and decreased cerebellar infarct volume in a mouse middle cerebral artery embolization paradigm. In addition, mitochondrial ferroptosis was enhanced, exhibited by mitochondrial shrinkage and roundness, increased membrane density, and reduced or absent ridges. The level of Fe2+ and lipid peroxidation that cause ferroptosis was significantly reduced by PC administration. According to the Western blot findings, PCs altered the expression of proteins associated with ferroptosis, promoting the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 while reducing the expression of TFR1, hence inhibiting ferroptosis. Moreover, the treatment of PCs markedly elevated the expression of HO−1 and Nuclear−Nrf2. The PCs' ability to prevent ferroptosis due to CIRI was decreased by the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385. Our findings showed that the protective effect of PCs may be achieved via activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and inhibiting ferroptosis. This study provides a new perspective on the treatment of CIRI with PCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying influential spreaders in complex networks is critical for information spread and malware diffusion suppression. In this paper, we propose a novel influential spreader identification method, called SpreadRank, which considers the path reachability in information spreading and uses its quantitative index as a measure of node spread centrality to obtain the spread influence of a single node. To avoid the overlapping of the influence range of the node spread, this method establishes a dynamic influential node set selection mechanism based on the spread centrality value and the principle of minimizing the maximum connected branch after network segmentation, and it selects a group of nodes with the greatest overall spread influence. Experiments based on the SIR model demonstrate that, compared to other existing methods, the selected influential spreaders of SpreadRank can quickly diffuse or suppress information more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain a high‐quality TiC coating on the diamond (D) surface and improve the interfacial properties of metal matrix composites, the optimized molten salt method is used to prepare TiC coatings on the D surface. The effects of NaCl, KCl, and NaCl–KCl molten salts on the uniformity, surface morphology, composition, and bonding ability of TiC coatings are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), X‐ray diffraction, and cold–hot cycling experiments. The results show that the boiling and pickling processes after the molten salt reaction can effectively remove the residual chloride salts and Ti powders to obtain clean TiC‐coated D. The TiC particles of the coating surfaces prepared by NaCl and KCl molten salts are finer and more uniform, which is due to their higher melting points and shorter real reaction time compared with NaCl–KCl mixed salts. The TiC coating prepared by KCl has the best bonding ability and can withstand 50 times as many cold–hot cycles due to its uniform fine deposition particles and appropriate thickness. And, during cold–hot cycles, it can be found that the TiC coating cracking and shedding occur primarily at the edges and corners of the D with internal thermal stress concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locally resonant phononic crystals are a kind of artificial periodic composite material/structure with an elastic wave band gap that show attractive application potential in low-frequency vibration control. For low-frequency vibration control problems of ship power systems, this paper proposes a phononic crystal board structure, and based on the Bloch theorem of periodic structure, it uses a finite element method to calculate the band structure and the displacement fields corresponding to the characteristic mode and vibration transmission curve of the corresponding finite periodic sandwich plate structure, and the band gap characteristics are studied. The mechanism of band gap formation is mainly attributed to the mode coupling of the phononic crystal plate structure. Numerical results show that the sandwich plate structure has a double periodicity, so it has a multi-stage elastic wave band gap, which can fully inhibit the transmission of flexural waves and isolate the low-frequency flexural vibration. The experimental measurements of flexural vibration transmission spectra were conducted to validate the accuracy and reliability of the numerical calculation method. On this basis, the potential application of the proposed vibration isolation method in a marine power system is discussed. A vibration isolation platform mounted on a steel plate is studied by numerical simulation, which can isolate low-frequency vibration to protect electronic equipment and precision instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green development, an essential part of sustainable development transformation, is spatially correlated intra- and inter-regionally. However, previous research has not fully addressed the spatial characteristics of green development. This study investigates the spatial correlation structures, core–peripheral positions, and factors impacting the spatial network formation of China's green development. Based on the green development evaluation index system modified by the entropy method, this study applies social network analysis, block model analysis, and quadratic assignment procedure analysis to data from 30 provinces in China. The results confirm the spatial spillover effect is overwhelmingly present in China's green development. The findings further distinguish the core roles of provinces including Hunan, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Henan, and Xinjiang, and underline factors of green economic growth, governmental policy support, spatial adjacency, and geographic distance as significantly affecting the spatial network formation of China's green development. Policy recommendations for green development are then put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are recently identified as a class of non-coding RNAs that participate in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, circRNAs expression pattern in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with AMI remains unknown. The aim was to investigate circRNAs expression alteration in serum exosomes derived from OSA patients with AMI. Methods: The serum exosomal circRNAs profile of three healthy subjects, three OSA without AMI and three OSA with AMI were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. Bioinformatic analyses were carried out to assess potential core circRNAs and functional analyses were conducted to study biological functions. Results: Compared to healthy subjects, there were 5225 upregulated and 5798 downregulated circRNAs in exosomes from OSA with AMI patients. And our study also identified 5210 upregulated and 5813 downregulated circRNAs in OSA with AMI patients compared to OSA without AMI. The differential expression of 2 circRNAs (hsa_circRNA_101147, hsa_circRNA_101561) between healthy subjects and OSA without AMI, and 4 circRNAs (hsa_circRNA_101328, hsa_circRNA_104172, hsa_circRNA_104640, hsa_circRNA_104642) between healthy subjects and OSA with AMI were confirmed by qRT-PCR. In addition, we demonstrated that miR-29a-3p targeted hsa_circRNA_104642 directly. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that there were a number of dysregulated circRNAs in exosomes from OSA with AMI patients, which might be effectively served as a promising diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the composition of binary nonazeotropic working fluids is explored from the perspective of improving OTEC-ORC efficiency, and the turbine is designed to accommodate with the working fluid. It is found that the OTEC-ORC using a R152a/R32 mixture as the working fluid is significantly higher than the OTEC-ORC thermal efficiency and system efficiency of the pure NH3, and the optimal composition of the mixed working fluid R152a/R32 is determined to be 85 : 15 with the thermal efficiency and the system efficiency of 2.8% and 1.7%, respectively, improving by 35.7% and 151.2% compared to the NH3 ORC. According to the determined working fluid, a one-dimensional (1-D) design and CFD simulation analysis simulation are carried out on the turbine. The 1-D calculation results are in good agreement with the three-dimensional (3-D) results. At the design point, the turbine output is 83.84 kW, and the isentropic efficiency is 87.53%. At the off-design point, turbines have better off-design performance, indicating that the designed turbine also has good adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is composed of 12 subunits that collaborate to synthesize mRNA within the nucleus. Pol II is widely recognized as a passive holoenzyme, with the molecular functions of its subunits largely ignored. Recent studies employing auxin-inducible degron (AID) and multi-omics techniques have revealed that the functional diversity of Pol II is achieved through the differential contributions of its subunits to various transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. By regulating these processes in a coordinated manner through its subunits, Pol II can optimize its activity for diverse biological functions. Here, we review recent progress in understanding Pol II subunits and their dysregulation in diseases, Pol II heterogeneity, Pol II clusters and the regulatory roles of RNA polymerases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound projection is a method of using highly focused sources to project sound onto reflective surfaces to create the impression of surround sound, which can be realized via beamforming using loudspeaker arrays. Generally, these devices are mounted near a surface with a finite acoustic impedance, such as a TV accent wall. The beamforming performance degrades in this half-space with an impedance boundary when the filters are designed using transfer functions measured in the free field. This paper proposes a model for predicting the beamforming performance in a half-space with an impedance boundary in terms of the transfer functions in the free field. A mathematical model is presented, and the results are compared with practical measurements for a 16-driver line array in real-use environments. The results show that reflections from the boundary lead to "dark bands" in the beam, causing the beam to deviate from the designed direction. Using filters designed with transfer functions calculated by the proposed model yields improved beamforming performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several methods have been proposed for detecting zero modification in the first-order integer-valued autoregressive (INAR(1)) process. A basic problem of these tests is that they rely upon asymptotic results. In this paper, an alternative test is introduced which makes direct use of the approximate distribution of the number of zeros, which can be described by a beta-binomial distribution. A hybrid estimator of the mean parameter of the marginal distribution of the Poisson INAR(1) process is given. A simulation study shows that power and size of the proposed test are competitive. Finally, real data examples are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the drilling process, horizontal drill strings are often subject to stick-slip and back-pressure phenomena, which undermine drilling safety and affect drilling costs. However, most of the models proposed in the existing literature apply only to the analysis of the drill string motion state and are irrelevant to the rotary drilling process in coal mines. This paper presents a lumped-mass model of a drill string in a horizontal coal mine well. First, based on reasonable assumptions, the drill-string system was considered as four lumped-mass units. The lateral-torsional dynamics model was established based on the Lagrange dynamics theory. Further, combined with lateral movement, the intermittent contact between the drill string and borehole wall is described, and the friction torque due to this intermittent contact is calculated. Combined with the Karnopp bit-rock interaction, a drill-string dynamics model of horizontal wells that considers intermittent contact friction was developed. The proposed horizontal well drill-string model is more suitable for rotary drilling in a coal mine, and the nonlinear influencing factors are considered more comprehensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian monsoon circulation is the primary driver of the long‐range transboundary mercury (Hg) pollution from South Asia to the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau region, yet the northward extent of this transport remains unknown. In this study, a strong δ202Hg signature overlapping was found between Lake Gokyo and Indian anthropogenic sources, which is an indicative of the Hg source regions from South Asia. Most of the sediment samples were characterized with relatively large positive Δ199Hg values (mean = 0.07‰–0.44‰) and small positive Δ200Hg values (mean = 0.03‰–0.08‰). Notably, the Δ199Hg values in the lake sediments progressively increased from southwest to northeast. Moreover, the Δ199Hg values peaked at Lake Tanglha (mean = 0.44‰ ± 0.04‰) before decreased at Lake Qinghai that is under the influence of the westerlies. Our results suggest that transboundary atmospheric transport could transport Hg from South Asia northwards to at least the Tanglha Mountains in the northern Himalaya‐Tibet. Plain Language Summary: The fragile ecosystems of the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau region have been suffering transboundary Hg pollution from South Asia. However, the northward extent of this transport of atmospheric Hg pollution remains poorly understood. In our study, sediment core Hg isotope compositions from four lakes (Gokyo, Namco, and Tanglha in the south of the Tanglha Mountains and Qinghai in the north) along a southwest‐northeast transect in the region were combined to constrain the northward extent of transboundary Hg pollution by examining both mass‐dependent and mass‐independent fractionations. Our results suggest that transboundary atmospheric transport could transport Hg from South Asia northwards to at least the Tanglha Mountains in the northern Himalaya‐Tibet. Key Points: The δ202Hg signatures among the three lakes in the north are indistinguishable without spatial distribution differencesMost of sediment samples were characterized by positive Δ199Hg and Δ200Hg valuesThe northward extent of atmospheric mercury transboundary transport could be anchored by progressive shifts of Δ199Hg signatures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The most prevalent malignant tumor in a human brain nervous system is called glioma. Peptide is a compound formed by the peptide bond of α-amino acids, and the development of polypeptide drugs has been widely used in many fields. We plan to investigate the underlying peptides with clinical value in glioma. Method. Based on public databases, we targeted the common genes between glioma differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and peptide genes related to glioma prognosis. Then, these common genes were analyzed by LASSO-Cox analysis, prognostic risk model, and nomogram to identify key prognostic peptide genes and the target gene in this study. Next, the mechanism of target gene in glioma was explored by bioinformatics analysis and functional experiments. Results. We obtained a total of 26 overlapping genes for the following study. After that, 6 independent prognostic factors (REPIN1, PSD3, RDX, CDK4, FANCI, and ARHGEF9) were obtained and applied to construct the prognostic nomogram, and ARHGEF9 was the target gene in the study. Next, peptide ARHGEF9 was found to inhibit glioma cell development. Through Spearman's correlation analysis, ARHGEF9 had a close relation with PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. In functional experiments, peptide ARHGEF9 could suppress the protein expressions of p-PIK3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR, while IGF-1 could reverse this effect. Conclusion. This study identifies 6 new prognostic biomarkers for glioma patients. Among them, peptide ARHGEF9 gene is an inhibitory gene functioning by targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The YABBY gene family plays an important role in plant growth and development, such as response to abiotic stress and lateral organ development. YABBY TFs are well studied in numerous plant species, but no study has performed a genome-wide investigation of the YABBY gene family in Melastoma dodecandrum. Therefore, a genome-wide comparative analysis of the YABBY gene family was performed to study their sequence structures, cis-acting elements, phylogenetics, expression, chromosome locations, collinearity analysis, protein interaction, and subcellular localization analysis. A total of nine YABBY genes were found, and they were further divided into four subgroups based on the phylogenetic tree. The genes in the same clade of phylogenetic tree had the same structure. The cis-element analysis showed that MdYABBY genes were involved in various biological processes, such as cell cycle regulation, meristem expression, responses to low temperature, and hormone signaling. MdYABBYs were unevenly distributed on chromosomes. The transcriptomic data and real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) expression pattern analyses showed that MdYABBY genes were involved in organ development and differentiation of M. dodecandrum, and some MdYABBYs in the subfamily may have function differentiation. The RT-qPCR analysis showed high expression of flower bud and medium flower. Moreover, all MdYABBYs were localized in the nucleus. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical basis for the functional analysis of YABBY genes in M. dodecandrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Telemedicine's dramatic increase during the COVID-19 pandemic elevates the importance of addressing patient-care gaps in telemedicine, especially for patients with limited English proficiency. Objective: To examine the associations of patient language and patient-provider language concordance with telemedicine visit type (video versus telephone visit). Design: Cross-sectional automated data study of patient-scheduled primary care telemedicine appointments from March 16, 2020, to October 31, 2020. Setting: Northern California integrated healthcare delivery system. Participants: All 22,427 completed primary care telemedicine visits scheduled by 13,764 patients with limited English proficiency via the patient portal. Measurements: Cross-sectional association of electronic health record–documented patient language (Spanish as referent) and patient-provider language concordance with patients' choice of a video (versus telephone) visit, accounting for patient sociodemographics, technology access, and technology familiarity factors. Results: Of all patient-scheduled visits, 34.5% (n = 7747) were video visits. The top three patient languages were Spanish (42.4%), Cantonese (16.9%), and Mandarin (10.3%). Adjusting for sociodemographic and technology access and familiarity factors and compared to patients speaking Spanish, video visit use was higher among patients speaking Cantonese (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.18–1.52), Mandarin (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.16–1.52), or Vietnamese (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.09–1.47), but lower among patients speaking Punjabi (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.62–0.91). Language concordance was associated with lower video visit use (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.80–0.93) and moderated associations of speaking Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean with video visit use. In addition, for all language groups, those with prior video visit use were more likely to re-use video visits compared to those with no prior use (p <.05 for all languages except Hindi with p = 0.06). Conclusions: Among linguistically diverse patients with limited English proficiency, video telemedicine use differed by specific language. Disaggregating patient subpopulation data is necessary for identifying those at greatest risk of being negatively impacted by the digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Skin and soft tissue infections are common because of exposure to aquatic environment, while severe infections caused by Aeromonas veronii are rare. Case presentation: We report a case of severe skin and soft tissue infection of the left upper limb caused by Aeromonas veronii. A 50-year-old Chinese woman, who had a history of cardiac disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, accidentally injured her left thumb while cutting a fish. Early antibiotic therapy and surgical debridement was performed before the result of bacterial culture came back. Whole-genome sequencing was further performed to confirm the pathogen and reveal the drug resistance and virulence genes. The wound was gradually repaired after 1 month of treatment, and the left hand recovered well in appearance and function after 3 months of rehabilitation. Conclusion: Early diagnosis, surgical intervention, and administration of appropriate antibiotics are crucial for patients who are suspected of having skin and soft tissue infection, or septicemia caused by Aeromonas veronii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that the aligned electrospun fibers are a convenient platform for studying the mechanical effects on nanomaterials, particularly when using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering as a sensitive tool of monitoring. The ligands on the surface of the embedded Au nanoparticles fall off easily with the shear force from the stretching, in contrast to the counterparts protected by polymer/silica shells. Upon stretching, the chains of Au nanoparticles will reversibly break, as revealed by the dramatic changes in the longitudinal plasmon absorption. It is believed that such a platform will open a window for understanding mechanical effects at the nanoscale, and also a new means for synthetic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth-regulating factor (GRF) is a kind of transcription factor unique to plants, playing an important role in the flowering regulation, growth, and development of plants. Melastoma dodecandrum is an important member of Melastomataceae, with ornamental, medicinal, and edible benefits. The identification of the GRF gene family in M. dodecandrum can help to improve their character of flavor and continuous flowering. The members of the GRF gene family were identified from the M. dodecandrum genome, and their bioinformatics, selective pressure, and expression patterns were analyzed. The results showed that there were 20 GRF genes in M. dodecandrum. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the 71 GRF genes from M. dodecandrum, Arabidopsis thaliana, Camellia sinensis, and Oryza sativa can be divided into three clades and six subclades. The 20 GRF genes of M. dodecandrum were distributed in twelve chromosomes and one contig. Furthermore, the gene structure and motif analysis showed that the intron and motif within each clade were very similar, but there were great differences among different clades. The promoter contained cis-acting elements related to hormone induction, stress, and growth and development. Different transcriptomic expression of MdGRFs indicated that MdGRFs may be involved in regulating the growth and development of M. dodecandrum. The results laid a foundation for further study on the function and molecular mechanism of the M. dodecandrum GRF gene family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the leader-following formation tracking problem for multiple quadrotor helicopters via the distributed observer approach. In contrast with existing results in the literature, our approach offers the following features. First, our results apply to jointly connected switching communication networks, which are more general than static communication networks. Second, our control law is fully distributed in the sense that we do not assume that every vehicle can access the information of the desired formation trajectory. Third, with the virtual leader system being modeled by an exosystem, our control law can accomplish the formation tracking for a large class of leader’s trajectories. Two numerical examples are used to illustrate our design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change material (PCM) water tanks have a major influence on the efficiency improvement of solar energy systems. This article discusses the effects of PCM under various inlets in a tank based on related research. So as to research the performance of the water storage tank, this paper built a set of water tank experimental systems using sodium acetate trihydrate. The thermal characteristics of two different water tanks were analyzed at 2, 6 and 10 L/min when the inlet temperature was 20 °C and the initial high temperature was 80 °C. The test results indicate that adding PCMs helps to provide an extra 1.4% of stored heat, prolong the hot water outlet time, and has a better thermal stratification, compared with ordinary water tanks. However, PCMs do not give off heat quickly at high flow rates. Besides the exergy efficiency (EE) gradually decreasing, the MIX number first decreases and then increases; the fill efficiency (FE) has the opposite trend with the flow increasing. FE has a max of 0.905 at 6 L/min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine cold‐air outbreaks (CAOs) are vigorous equatorward excursions of cold air over the ocean, responsible for the majority of wintertime oceanic heat loss from the subpolar seas of the North Atlantic. However, the impact of individual CAO events on the ocean is poorly understood. Here we present the first coupled observations of the atmosphere and ocean during a wintertime CAO event, between 28 February and 13 March 2018, in the subpolar North Atlantic region. Comprehensive observations are presented from five aircraft flights, a research vessel, a meteorological buoy, a subsurface mooring, an ocean glider, and an Argo float. The CAO event starts abruptly with substantial changes in temperature, humidity and wind throughout the atmospheric boundary layer. The CAO is well mixed vertically and, away from the sea‐ice edge, relatively homogeneous spatially. During the CAO peak, higher sensible heat fluxes occupy at least the lowest 200 m of the atmospheric boundary layer, while higher latent heat fluxes are confined to the surface layer. The response of the ocean to the CAO is spatially dependent. In the interior of the Iceland Sea the mixed layer cools, while in the boundary current region it warms. In both locations, the mixed layer deepens and becomes more saline. Combining our observations with one‐dimensional mixed‐layer modelling, we show that in the interior of the Iceland Sea, atmospheric forcing dominates the ocean response. In contrast, in the boundary current region lateral advection and mixing counteract the short‐term impact of the atmospheric forcing. Time series observations of the late‐winter period illustrate a highly variable ocean mixed layer, with lateral advection and mixing often masking the ocean's general cooling and deepening response to individual CAO events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between brain areal activity and the entire brain's activity is unknown, and understanding this relationship is imperative for understanding the neural mechanisms of human brain function at systems level. The complex activity of human brains varies from area to area and from time to time across the whole brain. BOLD-fMRI measures this spatiotemporal activity at a large-scale systems level. The BOLD time signal of an area reflects a collective neuronal activity of over one million neurons under that area, and the temporal correlation of this time signal with that of every point in the brain yields a full spatial map that characterizes the entire brain's functional co-activity (FC) relative to that area's activity. Here we show a quantitative relationship between brain areal activity and the activity of the entire brain. The temporal correlation coefficient r of the signal time courses of two areas quantifies the degree of co-activity between the two areas, and the spatial correlation coefficient R of their corresponding two FC maps quantifies the co-activity between these two maps. We found that a modified sigmoid function quantified this R with r, i.e., R r = 1 + r a − 1 − r a 1 + r a + 1 − r a , revealing a relationship between the activity of brain areas and that of the entire brain. The parameter a in this equation was found to be associated with the mean degree of the temporal co-activity among all brain areas, and its value was brain functional state dependent too. Our study demonstrated a novel approach for analyzing fMRI data to holistically characterize the entire brain's activity quantitatively for any brain functional state in individual humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tower cranes with slender jib transporting bulky loads are commonly applied in the construction site. Human-operated commands induce vibrations of the cantilever jib, swing, and twisting of the suspended load. Coupled oscillations among jib deflection, load swing and load twisting exhibit complex dynamic behavior. Furthermore, coupled-system frequencies significantly differ from uncoupled frequencies of the jib and pendulum. Unfortunately, little attention has been directed at the coupled-oscillation dynamics and control of jib deflection, load swing, and load twisting. A dynamic model of a tower crane slewing a slender jib and moving a distributed-mass load is derived. The fully coupled effects among jib deflection, load swing, and load twisting are described in the model. Then, an equation for predicting coupled-system frequencies is presented from the analytical model. Meanwhile, a hybrid piecewise smoother is proposed to filter out coupled oscillations among jib deflection, load swing and load twisting. Many experiments validate the utility of frequency-estimation equation and verify the success of the smoother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of bisimidazolium tungstate ionic liquids were synthesized and applied to catalyze the reaction of ethylene carbonate (EC) with alcohols. A detailed investigation was carried out on the relationship between catalyst structures and catalytic activities. The result showed that 1-butyl-3-methyl-bisimidazolium tungstate ([Bmim]2WO4) containing double C2–H in bisimidazolium and WO42− had more effectively catalytic performance than other bisimidazolium tungstate and conventional imidazolium salt (OAc−, Cl−, Br−). Under the optimized conditions of 1:15 molar ratio of EC and ethanol, 5 mol% [Bmim]2WO4, 85 °C and 0.5 h, the yield of diethyl carbonate (DEC) was nearly 100%. The detailed DFT calculations and NMR spectroscopy indicated that the high catalytic activity of [Bmim]2WO4 was not only because the strong nucleophilic ability of WO42− could activate ethanol, but also the special structure of double C2–H in bisimidazolium could cooperatively activate EC. The reaction was catalyzed by synergistic effect in double C2–H and WO42− of [Bmim]2WO4. In addition, [Bmim]2WO4 could be used seven times without significant loss of catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Five loci related to soybean protein and amino acid contents were colocated by performing linkage mapping and GWAS. The haplotype analysis showed that Glyma.08G109100 may be useful to improve the soybean seed composition. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seeds are good protein sources. Although genetic variation is abundant, natural variation in seed amino acids and their derived traits is lacking across soybean accessions. Here, we determined the contents of protein and 17 amino acids, obtained 36 derived traits based on the protein and total amino acid contents, and derived 34 traits based on seven amino acid family groups. Furthermore, we performed a linkage analysis of the contents of 17 amino acids and 73 amino acid-derived traits based on the recombinant inbred line (RIL)-derived Kefeng No. 1 × Nannong 1138–2. Six hundred thirty-nine quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, explaining 6.07–39.00% of the phenotypic variation. Among these loci, five were detected in diverse soybean accessions using a genome-wide association study. A network analysis revealed that some loci that were significantly associated with multiple amino acids were tightly linked on chromosome 8 based on linkage disequilibrium values, which also further confirmed the results of the correlation analysis among amino acid traits. Through a combination of a genome-wide association study, linkage analysis, qRT–PCR, and genomic polymorphism comparison, Glyma.08G109100 on chromosome 8, which may affect amino acid contents, was selected. The haplotype analysis showed that Hap-T of Glyma.08G109100 may be useful to improve the contents of protein and 16 amino acids in soybean. This study provides new insights into the genetic basis of the amino acid composition in soybean seeds and may facilitate marker-based breeding of soybean with improved nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of polypeptoids with dual photo/thermo-responsiveness were prepared by incorporating both azobenzene (Azo) group and oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) segment into the side chains. Firstly, the N-substituted-N-carboxyanhydride (NNCA) monomers with different Azo and OEG groups were synthesized, and then a single NNCA ring-openning polymerization was performed to afford dual-responsive polypeptoids without any post-polymerization modification. The ultra-violet/visible (UV/Vis) photo-responsive behaviors of the polypeptoids were achieved by cis-trans photoisomerization of the Azo group and confirmed by both 1H-NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The thermo-responsive behaviors were realized by both OEG segment and Azo group and confirmed by UV/Vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. This work demonstrated the synthetic pathway for dual responsive polypeptoids using NNCA monomers with two responsive groups and revealed the potential of polypeptoids as smart materials that could respond to different environmental stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is one of the principal macronutrients for plant growth and productivity. Although the phosphate (Pi) transporter (PT) of the PHT1 family has been functionally characterized as participating in Pi uptake and transport in plants, information about PT genes in stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis), an important tropical forage legume that exhibits good adaptability to low-P acid soils, is limited. In this study, stylo root growth was found to be stimulated under P deficiency. The responses of PT genes to nutrient deficiencies and their roles in Pi uptake were further investigated in stylo. Four novel PT genes were identified in stylo and designated SgPT2 to SgPT5. Like SgPT1 , which had been previously identified, all five SgPT proteins harboured the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) domain. Variations in tissue-specific expression were observed among the SgPT genes, which displayed diverse responses to deficiencies in nitrogen (N), P and potassium (K) in stylo roots. Four of the five SgPTs exhibited high levels of transcriptional responsiveness to P deficiency in roots. Furthermore, SgPT1 , a Pi-starvation-induced gene closely related to legume PT homologues that participate in Pi transport, was selected for functional analysis. SgPT1 was localized to the plasma membrane. Analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis showed that overexpression of SgPT1 led to increased Pi accumulation and promoted root growth in Arabidopsis plants. Taken together, the results of this study suggest the involvement of SgPTs in the stylo response to nutrient deprivation. SgPT1 might mediate Pi uptake in stylo, which is beneficial for root growth during P deficiency. • Five SgPTs were characterized in stylo. • SgPTs were differentially regulated by nutrient deficiencies in stylo roots. • SgPTs exhibited a high transcriptional response to P deficiency in stylo roots. • SgPT1 is a plasma membrane-localized Pi transporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The computational analysis of real-world engineering structures is typically evaluated using time-consuming simulation calculations, which means that it is difficult to balance computational burden and precision when applying traditional algorithms to large-scale complex structures. To solve this expensive structural optimisation problems, a new optimisation algorithm (CPSO-GPR) is proposed, based on particle swarm optimisation with a constriction factor (CPSO) and a dynamic Gaussian process regression (GPR) surrogate model. In the CPSO-GPR, the CPSO is used as a global optimisation framework, and the GPR is trained to accelerate local searches. The acceleration strategy consists of two parts. First, a local high-accuracy GPR is dynamically provided to approximate complex real fitness around the current best particles. Second, based on the explicit GPR output, the best particles are rapidly predicted using Newton's method. Moreover, the GPR is retrained at each iteration of Newton's method by a continual updating of training sample datasets. Using the above strategy, the number of function evaluations is significantly reduced. To validate the proposed CPSO-GPR, it was compared to several existing algorithms on eight benchmark functions and two engineering cases. The results demonstrate that the CPSO-GPR has clear advantages in terms of higher efficiency and higher precision than the existing algorithms, and it offers promising performance in computationally expensive engineering optimisation problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a great challenge to study the mechanical property of nanomaterials because it is difficult to get a hold of them and apply force. A convenient alternative method via electrospun fibers is shown, where silica‐coated fivefold twinned silver nanowires are well aligned in the fiber and the fibers are aligned in the membrane to a similar direction of macroscopic stretching. The product silver nanowires show necks whereas the fractured silica shell acts as the internal marker for the extent of stretching. Surprisingly, the stretched neck length depends on the nanowire diameter but is independent of the degree of stretching, indicating that the necks have arrived at a limiting intermediate state, which is otherwise hard to achieve for nanomaterials. The necks are studied by transmission electron aberration‐corrected microscopy and steered molecular dynamics simulation, revealing that the build‐up of dislocations and stacking faults (the Lomer–Cottrell (LC) locks) are responsible for trapping the necks at similar limiting states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the thermal protection efficiency of carbon/phenolic (C/Ph) composites used as the heatshield of hypersonic vehicles, it is essential to find out the components of its thermal protection mechanism. In this study, a pyrolysis layer model considering pressure is established to simulate the percentages of heat dissipated by different thermal protection mechanisms. Numerical results reveal that the thermal protection mechanism of C/Ph composites mainly comprises of surface radiation, the heat absorbed by the heat capacity and thermal blockage effect (TBE) of pyrolysis gas, but the TBE weakens as heating time increases. Furthermore, the evolution laws of different thermal protection mechanisms of C/Ph composites with resin content are given. Based on the components of thermal protection mechanisms, both reducing the thermal conductivity of the resin matrix composites and increasing the material emissivity are effective approaches to enhancing the thermal protection efficiency of C/Ph composites exposed to severe aerodynamic heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]