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Multi-stage reinforced SiCf/SiC-SiCw composites were prepared by introducing SiC whiskers into SiCf/SiC composite, and BN interphase was deposited on the surface of SiC whiskers by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). The mechanical properties of composites were evaluated. The results show that the compressive strength of the composites can be significantly improved on account of the reinforcing mechanism of SiC whiskers, such as the whisker pull-out, whisker bridging and crack deflection, which can extend the crack propagation path and increase the energy consumption capacity. The compressive strength of the composites is increased from 549.7 MPa to 673.9 MPa, with an increase of 22.6%, when the addition of SiC whisker is 20%(volume fraction). After depositing the BN interphase on SiC whiskers, the tensile strength, flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites were 414.0 MPa, 800.3 MPa and 22.2 MPa·m1/2,which are increased by 13.9%,8.8% and 19.0%, respectively, compared with the composite reinforced with the uncoated whisker.

Simple Summary: An updated classification system for the Aporia agathon group is proposed after the re-examination of a long series of specimens with mitogenomic data. Our results showed that A. japfuensis, A. bifurcata, A. moltrechti, A. kuangtungensis, and A. omotoi should be recognised as full species, while lemoulti, gigantea, and fanjinensis should be recognized as subspecies of A. largeteaui. In addition, two subspecies, A. kuangtungensis yufeii and A. kuangtungensis josephi, are described herein. Pierid species of the Aporia agathon group are among the largest Sino-Himalayan members of genus Aporia, with four conventionally recognised species, namely A. agathon, A. largeteaui, A. gigantea, and A. lemoulti. Recent publications indicated that some of these species may contain more than one species despite their similar morphological characters. The present research analysed this group of butterflies using mitogenomic data, and proved that A. japfuensis stat. nov., A. bifurcata stat. nov., A. moltrechti reinst. stat., A. kuangtungensis stat. nov. and A. omotoi stat. nov. should be recognised as distinct species, while lemoultistat. rev., gigantea stat. nov. and fanjinensis stat. rev. should be subspecies of A. largeteaui. Two new subspecies, namely A. kuangtungensis yufeii ssp. nov. and A. kuangtungensis josephi ssp. nov. were described. Illustrations of specimens and male and female genitalia of each taxon were provided in this article with an updated classification system. Variable melanism and yellow tinge are two major factors causing historical taxonomic confusion; thus, such characters should be less crucial for this species group. Future research is still necessary to elucidate the evolutionary history of these species along with other Aporia taxa, as well as the mechanism of variable melanism and yellow coloration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxyria (Polygonaceae) is a small genus only comprising two species, Oxyria digyna and O. sinensis. Both species have well-documented usage in Chinese herbal medicine. We sequenced and assembled the complete mitogenomes of these two species and conducted a comparative analysis of the mitogenomes within Polygonaceae. Both O. digyna and O. sinensis displayed distinctive multi-branched conformations, consisting of one linear and one circular molecule. These two species shared similar gene compositions and exhibited distinct codon preferences, with mononucleotides as the most abundant type of simple sequence repeats. In the mitogenome of O. sinensis, a pair of long forward repeat sequences can mediate the division of molecule 1 into two sub-genomic circular molecules. Homologous sequence analysis revealed the occurrence of gene transfer between the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes within Oxyria species. Additionally, a substantial number of homologous collinear blocks with varied arrangements were observed across different Polygonaceae species. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that mitogenome genes can serve as reliable markers for constructing phylogenetic relationships within Polygonaceae. Comparative analysis of eight species revealed Polygonaceae mitogenomes exhibited variability in gene presence, and most protein-coding genes (PCGs) have undergone negative selection. Overall, our study provided a comprehensive overview of the structural, functional, and evolutionary characteristics of the Polygonaceae mitogenomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is a prevalent malignancy, with the rearrangement of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene being responsible for a minority of cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC patients harboring ALK fusion proteins demonstrate sensitivity to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In this report, we describe the case of a female patient with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, identified through NGS to carry a rare inverted SQSTM1-ALK (S5, A20) fusion. The patient received ensartinib as first-line therapy, resulting in a partial response (PR). At the time of publication, the patient's condition remained favorable. We have, for the first time, identified the presence of SQSTM1-ALK fusion in pericardial effusion, with the favorable response to ensartinib validating the oncogenic potential of SQSTM1-ALK fusion. The substantial advancements and extensive utilization of NGS have facilitated the identification of rare fusion variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the efficacy of autologous fascial retropubic midurethral sling, anterior vaginal wall epithelial flap midurethral suspension, tension-free vaginal tape-obturator and adjustable urethral suspension with a single incision for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. Materials and Methods: A total of 243 SUI patients who were admitted to Minda Hospital of Hubei Minzu University, were chosen and split into four groups based on various surgical techniques: the AFS group (59 cases), TVT-O group (61 cases), epithelial flap group (62 cases) and ASIS group (61 cases). A comparison of four patient groups' quality-of-life scores, urodynamic indices, urethral structure-related indices before and a year after treatment, complication rates and perioperative-related indices. Results: There was no discernible difference in the treatment outcomes among the four groups(P> 0.05). However, the ASIS group exhibited significantly reduced intraoperative hemorrhage, hospitalization duration and operative time compared to the mucosal flap and TVT-O groups(P< 0.05). Both the TVT-O and ASIS groups demonstrated significantly higher hospitalization expenditures than the mucosal flap and AFS groups (P< 0.05). No significant differences were observed in postoperative indwelling catheterization, IIQ-7 and I-QOL ratings, urodynamic indices or urethral structure-related indexes across the four patient groups(P> 0.05). The TVT-O group showed a significantly higher incidence of postoperative medial thigh pain compared to the AFS, mucosal flap, and ASIS groups(P< 0.05). Similarly, the AFS group had a significantly greater incidence of postoperative urine retention compared to the mucosal flap, TVT-O, and ASIS groups(P< 0.05). Conclusion: While all four surgical techniques demonstrated good efficacy and improved patients' quality of life, our study suggests that TVT-O had a significantly higher incidence of post-treatment medial thigh pain and ASIS may be a safer and less problematic surgical approach for the treatment of female SUI. This has important therapeutic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Zhuo Jiang [sup.1] , Xiaohui Xu [sup.1] , Yanhang Ma [sup.2] , Hae Sung Cho [sup.2] , Deng Ding [sup.1] , Chao Wang [sup.1] , Jie Wu [sup.1] , [...], Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).sup.1-3 are known for their specific interactions with gas molecules.sup.4,5; this, combined with their rich and ordered porosity, makes them promising candidates for the photocatalytic conversion of gas molecules to useful products.sup.6. However, attempts to use MOFs or MOF-based composites for CO.sub.2 photoreduction.sup.6-13 usually result in far lower CO.sub.2 conversion efficiency than that obtained from state-of-the-art solid-state or molecular catalysts.sup.14-18, even when facilitated by sacrificial reagents. Here we create &apos;molecular compartments&apos; inside MOF crystals by growing TiO.sub.2 inside different pores of a chromium terephthalate-based MOF (MIL-101) and its derivatives. This allows for synergy between the light-absorbing/electron-generating TiO.sub.2 units and the catalytic metal clusters in the backbones of MOFs, and therefore facilitates photocatalytic CO.sub.2 reduction, concurrent with production of O.sub.2. An apparent quantum efficiency for CO.sub.2 photoreduction of 11.3 per cent at a wavelength of 350 nanometres is observed in a composite that consists of 42 per cent TiO.sub.2 in a MIL-101 derivative, namely, 42%-TiO.sub.2-in-MIL-101-Cr-NO.sub.2. TiO.sub.2 units in one type of compartment in this composite are estimated to be 44 times more active than those in the other type, underlining the role of precise positioning of TiO.sub.2 in this system. Investigation of a chromium-based metal-organic framework shows that the location of added TiO.sub.2 inside specific mesopores strongly affects the ability of the material to catalyse photoreduction of CO.sub.2.

The numerical calculation for nuclear reactor coupled system is the fusion, integration and upgrade of the existing numerical technologies in various related fields. Generally, the whole nuclear power plant has several different coupling mechanisms inherently, such as the multiphysics coupling, multiscale coupling and multisystem coupling, which is an ultralargescale strong nonlinear coupling system. Moreover, each coupling mechanism has its own mathematic features. The combination of different coupling mechanisms is such complicated, which is still an open issue for nuclear engineering community. Simultaneous solution methods, such as Jacobianfree Newton Krylov (JFNK) method and NewtonKrylov (NK) method, are a promising choice for effectively solving such complex nonlinear largescale system. In the first part of this work, the recent progress of numerical calculation for nuclear coupling system worldwide is reviewed, especially, several existing coupling methods are summarized and compared. In the second part, it focuses on the development of simultaneous solution methods as well as the coupling platform for high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) full coupled system by Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology (INET), Tsinghua University. Due to the multiphysics, multiscale, multicomponent, multicircuit and multimodule coupling features in HTR, the key technologies, such as the JFNK method with nonlinearelimination, scaling factor and steam generator model, were presented and discussed. In detail, the JFNK method with nonlinearelimination was firstly proposed to deal with the multiscale temperature coupling between the global pebblebed and the local fuel sphere. The scaling factor technology was used to transform the illposed Jacobian matrix into the wellposed one in the multiphysical coupling issue. For the steam generator model, the dynamical residual method is conducted for the twophase flow in the second circuit to avoid the multisolution issue when the phase generation or the phase disappearance occurs. Moreover, a unified framework was proposed to tackle the multi-level coupling structure in HTR system, after several attempts were made. In this framework, the whole coupling system is gradually decomposed into systemlevel issue, componentlevel issue and physical fieldlevel issue, and solved as a whole system by the simultaneous solution method. However, to completely solve the whole HTR nuclear power plant system, there are still many works to do, such as the fundamental algorithm research, program framework development and engineering applications.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a class of enzymes that catalyze the disproportionation of superoxide anion radicals into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. It can remove excessive free radicals in organisms and acts as a potent antioxidant, cleaning free radicals generated by radiation and protecting cells from oxidative damage. In this study, we obtained a MnSOD gene from the radiation-resistant bacterium Radiobacillus sp. (RsSOD) and constructed its recombinant expression vector through gene synthesis. The recombinant RsSOD protein was efficiently expressed using IPTG induction, and purified via repeated freezing and thawing, heating, and DEAE anion-exchange chromatography. The purified RsSOD exhibited an enzyme activity of 2072.5 U/mg. Furthermore, RsSOD was demonstrated to have robust resistance to high temperatures, acid, alkali, and artificial intestinal fluid. Further studies were performed to investigate the radiation resistance of RsSOD against ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in human corneal epithelial (HCE-T) cells. The results indicated that a low concentration of RsSOD (6.25 U/mL) could promote HCE-T cell proliferation and protect these cells from damage caused by both long-term and short-term UV exposure, effectively reducing apoptosis induced by short-term UV irradiation. These findings suggest that the RsSOD protein possesses significant anti-UV irradiation property and is expected to be a candidate for treating ocular radiation-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ongoing advancements in the modern industrial economy, the global ecological environment is encountering a multitude of challenges, prompting the increasing dissemination and global acknowledgment of the concept of sustainable development. Governments have formulated green development strategies aimed at incentivizing enterprises to enhance their environmental performance and mitigate environmental risks. This study utilizes a research sample comprising 3313 firm-level environmental performance scores and primary business data for 276 Chinese enterprises from 2007 to 2017. Based on the empirical evidence from the fixed-effects model, it is evident that technological innovation overall enhances the environmental performance and reduces the environmental risks of Chinese enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that internal innovation within Chinese enterprises exhibits heterogeneous impacts on environmental performance. The study shows that, compared to enterprises in the primary and tertiary industries, technological innovation in the enterprises of China's secondary industry has a greater impact on enhancing environmental performance. Furthermore, within the secondary industry, the positive impact of technological innovation on environmental performance is more pronounced for the traditional sectors. Based on these findings, government authorities should actively encourage technological innovation among enterprises and formulate differentiated environmental policies tailored to different enterprises and industries. This research holds significant implications for the implementation of green strategies, enhancement of enterprise competitiveness, achievement of long-term sustainability, and improvement of global ecological environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra high static pressure processing technology holds promise for food sterilization, improving food quality, and extracting active ingredients. Traditional research typically assesses the analysis of the structure and function of organic matter under high static pressure after pressure release, capturing only irreversible changes occurring during compression. In-situ monitoring under pressure is rarely conducted. Insitu technology provides dynamic insights into sample behavior, offering a deeper understanding of its transformation process. Consequently, recent years have witnessed a surge in-situ studies performed under high pressure. This article reviews the advancement of high-pressure in-situ analysis technology and its application in high static pressure food processing. Key areas covered, include structural changes and phase transition intervals of protein folding and denaturation under high pressure, in-situ investigations into the mechanism of starch gelatinization, microbial in-situ monitoring and the challenges of in-situ technology in food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoanode has been widely used, the solar‐driven oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance is constrained due to the substantial bulk recombination and poor mobility of charge carriers. Herein, a facile solvothermal post‐treatment approach that employs N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) is developed to induce a VO4 vacancy gradient from bulk to surface of BiVO4 film, which not only improves the charge diffusion but also establishes an advantageous upward band gradient to promote the bulk hole transport. Under Air Mass 1.5 Global (AM1.5G) simulated solar illumination, the optimized BiVO4 photoanode with a VO4 vacancy gradient (denoted as B(VO)1‐δ) exhibits excellent OER performance with a charge separation efficiency of 74.4% at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and incident‐photon‐to‐current conversion efficiency of 30.7% at 445 nm, 1.2 and 1.4 times higher than that of the pristine BiVO4, respectively. After loading nickel‐iron hydroxyl oxide (NiFeOOH) as a cocatalyst, the photocurrent density of B(VO)1‐δ escalates to 5.92 mA cm−2 in a hole scavenger (Na2SO3) solution and 5.07 mA cm−2 in a potassium borate buffer solution at 1.23 V versus RHE, far superior to the pristine BiVO4. This work highlights that the gradient‐tuned VO4 vacancies can effectively modulate the bulk band structure and charge transfer in BiVO4 photoanode, providing a new strategy for boosting solar water splitting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melt infiltration method is one of the main preparation method of SiC matrix composites. Complex reactions and multi-component diffusion are involved in molten-Si infiltration of a C-based preform. In this study, SiC-TiSi2 was fabricated by Si melt infiltration and the TiSi2 was in-situ formed in the matrix of SiC. In order to explore the reaction mechanism of SiC-TiSi2, SEM, EDS and micro-beam XRD were determined to characterize the phase constitute and micro-structure in different regions along the Si melt infiltration direction. The results demonstrate that SiC, TiSi2 and Ti5Si3 which concentrate on the Si/SiC interface are found to be formed through the Si melt infiltration into the C-TiC preform. With the increase of temperature, the liquid phase of Ti-Si appears when exceeding the Si-TiSi2 eutectic temperature. And the liquid Ti-Si eutectic precipitates TiSi2 in the Si region during the cooling period of the sample. Moreover, the isolated SiC grain in Si region is produced by the precipitation from the dissolution of solid C in liquid Si.

Flake graphite iron, compacted graphite iron and spheroidal graphite iron with various tensile strengths were cast. They were selected and grouped according to roughly the same tensile strength, and then the main cutting force in each group was measured and compared. The microstructures of different cast irons were characterized. The relationship between the cutting force and microstructure was established. Results show that the graphite morphology in cast irons determines the strength. In order to obtain the same strength of the cast iron with sharply edged graphite, more or finer pearlite in the matrix is needed. Graphitic cast irons with high pearlite content and smaller pearlite interlamellar spacing have higher hardness. For the cast irons with different graphite morphologies, but almost the same tensile strength, the main cutting force is obviously different, along with the hardness. Harder cast irons have a greater cutting force, but the difference in cutting force is not proportional to hardness.