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Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially life-threatening vascular abnormality, that, if ruptured, is almost universally fatal without repair, and is associated with up to 50% mortality even if repaired in hospital. To date, there is no drug therapy that has clinically proven benefit to reduce or prevent expansion of AAA. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Daxx could affect AAA through inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/ID2 signaling pathway mediated by transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ1). Methods: The AAA model was constructed by injecting angiotensinⅡ(Ang-Ⅱ) into rats, and the Daxx lentivirus vector was constructed. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to detect the wall thickness of the abdominal aorta in rats. The gene and protein expressions in abdominal aortic tissues were detected utilizing western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Finally, the concentration of TGF-β1 in abdominal aortic tissue was determined by ELISA. Results: The abdominal aortic wall thickness was decreased in the Daxx expression group (by HE staining), and Daxx overexpression markedly reduced the protein expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9. Proteins related to the PI3K/AKT/ID2 signaling pathway were highly enhanced in the aneurysm wall of rats, but were reduced following Daxx addition. Moreover, Daxx reduced the damage to elastin (by IHC), and the expression levels of a-SMA and SM22a were up-regulated by Daxx (by qRT-PCR). The concentration of TGF-β1 was correlated with the activation of the PI3K/AKT/ID2 signaling pathway (by ELISA), whereas AKT overexpression weakened the inhibitory effect of Daxx. Conclusion: Daxx ameliorated several mechanisms that contributed to expansion of AAA suppressing the tissue concentration of TGF-β1, thereby inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/AKT/ID2 signaling pathway. This evidence might form the basis to develop a therapeutic target for AAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the following degenerated Schrödinger equations: {-Δγu+λV(x)u= f(x,u)u∈Eλ, in RN, where λ>0 is a parameter, Δγ is a degenerate elliptic operator, the potential V(x) has a potential well with bottom and the nonlinearity f(x,u) is either super-linear or sub-linear at infinity in u. The existence of ground state solution be obtained by using the variational methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we construct toy models of the black hole and the white hole by setting proper boundaries in the Minkowski spacetime, according to the modern definition. We calculate the thermal effect of the black hole with the tunneling mechanism. We consider the role of boundary conditions at the singularity and on the horizon. In addition, we show that the white hole possesses a thermal absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international human rights regime, a product of postwar liberalism, is increasingly falling under the shadow of authoritarian countries that try to influence the regime in favor of their illiberal agendas. This Article uses the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) as a prism to examine the changing dynamics among leading authoritarian and democratic actors as they contend to shape global human rights norms and institutions. This Article argues that China, the most resourceful authoritarian party-state, is engaging in what can be understood as tribal international politics, forming coalitions with authoritarian governments and developing countries that have different state interests but share a common distaste for human rights scrutiny. These countries have coalesced as the "Like-Minded Group" in the HRC and thereby sought to blunt the force of the international human rights system. Democracies and other nonstate stakeholders, however, can and should respond to this challenge by taking a proactive approach that engages more alliances to rebuff these authoritarian advances. This Article contributes to the timely discussion of the possibility of "authoritarian international law" by discussing how authoritarian countries affect the international legal order, proposing the importance of studying group dynamics in any given political international institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The associations between vitamin D and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and clinical outcomes are controversial. The efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in COVID-19 is also not clear. Methods: We identified relevant cohort studies that assessed the relationship between vitamin D, COVID-19 infection and associated death and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported vitamin D supplementation on the outcomes in patients with COVID-19 by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, and medRxiv databases up to June 5th, 2021. Evidence quality levels and recommendations were assessed using the GRADE system. Results: Eleven cohort studies with 536,105 patients and two RCTs were identified. Vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) or insufficiency (< 30 ng/ml) was not associated with an significant increased risk of COVID-19 infection (OR for < 20 ng/ml: 1.61, 95% CI: 0.92-2.80, I2 = 92%) or in-hospital death (OR for < 20 ng/ml: 2.18, 95% CI: 0.91-5.26, I2 = 72%; OR for < 30 ng/ml: 3.07, 95% CI: 0.64-14.78, I2 = 66%). Each 10 ng/ml increase in serum vitamin D was not associated with a significant decreased risk of COVID-19 infection (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.79-1.08, I2 = 98%) or death (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.40-1.06, I2 = 79%). The overall quality of evidence (GRADE) for COVID-19 infection and associated death was very low. Vitamin D supplements did not significantly decrease death (OR: 0.57, I2 = 64%) or ICU admission (OR: 0.14, I2 = 90%) in patients with COVID-19. The level of evidence as qualified using GRADE was low. Conclusions: Current evidence suggested that vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency was not significantly linked to susceptibility to COVID-19 infection or its associated death. Vitamin D supplements did not significantly improve clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. The overall GRADE evidence quality was low, we suggest that vitamin D supplementation was not recommended for patients with COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A previously undocumented association between city-level degree of hukou-based labor market discrimination and migrant's individual entrepreneurship engagement is examined. Applying the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis on the micro data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) suggests that hukou-based labor market discrimination can on average explain a 6.3% differential in personal income for rural migrants relative to otherwise identical urban migrants. A one standard deviation increase in a city's average hukou-based labor market discrimination is associated with roughly 2.9 percentage point higher of entrepreneurship rate among rural migrants, holding other things equal. Furthermore, city-level hukou-based labor market discrimination is associated with much higher propensity for engagement in necessitybased entrepreneurship compared with opportunity-based entrepreneurship. Our empirical work also suggests that the association between city-level hukou discrimination and migrant entrepreneurship is more prominent for people with middle level of education, young people, married people, and renters. Policy implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), mainly targets the respiratory system. However, recent studies also show its role in causing gastrointestinal hemorrhage, potentially affecting morbidity and mortality-related outcomes of the patients. There is still no consensus on the risk factors, characteristics, and the overall outcome of the gastrointestinal hemorrhage in COVID-19 patients. The main aim of this study was to summarize current evidence, assessing risk factors that promote the onset of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in COVID-19 patients, and to compare the incidences of the different sites of gastrointestinal lesions, the events of abdominal pain, diarrhea, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality between COVID-19 patients with or without gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: A search of the academic literature was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines across five databases i.e., Web of Science, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Scopus, and MEDLINE. A random-effect metaanalysis was conducted to analyze the influence of the history of drugs consumption, gastrointestinal bleeding, the different incidence of gastrointestinal lesions, events of abdominal pain, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality between COVID-19 patients with/without gastrointestinal bleeding. Results: Out of 458 studies, three eligible studies with 663 participants (mean age: 69.7 - 4.3 years) were included. A meta-analysis showed a medium-to-large influence of the history of gastrointestinal bleeding (Hedge's g: 1.01) and anticoagulant drug consumption (g: 0.33) on the gastrointestinal bleeding in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, the incidence of gastroduodenal ulcers was higher as compared to esophagitis (37.5% versus 9.9%). Conclusions: The study provides preliminary evidence regarding the risk factors associated with the onset of gastrointestinal hemorrhage among COVID-19 patients. The study also outlines the characteristics and the outcomes of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate positioning in space is an important foundation for ensuring the stability of autonomous flight and successful mapping and navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). At present, the SLAM algorithm based on the Cartographer algorithm for real-time positioning and mapping is widely used in fields such as robot navigation and autonomous driving. However, in the context of UAV applications, this algorithm has a high dependence on the amount of point cloud information in the surrounding environment, and cannot achieve precise positioning in open spaces with insufficient lighting and fewer feature points, resulting in significant mapping errors. In order to solve the problem of low positioning estimation accuracy in the Cartographer algorithm in above environment, this paper proposes a precise positioning algorithm for UAVs that integrates VIO and Cartographer. This algorithm can continuously output more accurate position estimation information during UAV flight, compensating for the problem of inaccurate position estimation caused by partial feature loss or coordinate system drift in point clouds. In addition, this algorithm ensures navigation obstacle avoidance in narrow spaces by improving positioning accuracy and mapping accuracy, making it more applicable in the field of UAVs. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed positioning algorithm was verified through experimental analysis of the Cartographer dataset and practical testing of UAVs in real scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To study the influence of miR-497-5p on osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation (OOD) of SCAP, and the signal route involved. Methods: Four groups were set up: miR-497-5p overexpression group (OEG), overexpression control OEC), miR-497-5p inhibition group, and inhibition control group. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was assayed, and calcified nodules measured. Protein expression levels of dentine salivary phosphoprotein (DSPP), collagen type I, ALP, osteoblast-related factors (Runx2, OSX and OPN) were also assayed. The mRNA expression levels of osteogenesis/dentin-related genes were determined. Results: ALP activity was significantly higher in miR-497-5p overexpression cells than in control, but was reduced, relative to inhibition control group (p < 0.05). The miR-497-5p OEG had significantly more calcified nodules than OEC (p < 0.05). There were markedly up-regulated protein expressions in cells of miR-497-5p OEG than in OCG. Furthermore, protein expressions of Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4 in cells of miR-497-5p OEG were significantly up-regulated, relative to those in OEC, but wer lower in miR-497-5p inhibitory cells than in inhibitory cells. Conclusion: MiR-497-5p enhances the OOD of SCAP via a mechanism involving TGF-β Smad pathway and Smurf2. Thus, Mir-497-5p may be used as a target for OOD-related drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) normally signals to necroptosis by phosphorylating MLKL. We report here that when the cellular RIPK3 chaperone Hsp90/CDC37 level is low, RIPK3 also signals to apoptosis. The apoptotic function of RIPK3 requires phosphorylation of the serine 165/threonine 166 sites on its kinase activation loop, resulting in inactivation of RIPK3 kinase activity while gaining the ability to recruit RIPK1, FADD, and caspase-8 to form a cytosolic caspase-activating complex, thereby triggering apoptosis. We found that PGF2a induces RIPK3 expression in luteal granulosa cells in the ovary to cause luteal regression through this RIPK3-mediated apoptosis pathway. Mice carrying homozygous phosphorylation-resistant RIPK3 S165A/T166A knockin mutations failed to respond to PGF2a but retained pro-necroptotic function, whereas mice with phospho-mimicking S165D/T166E homozygous knock-in mutation underwent spontaneous apoptosis in multiple RIPK3-expressing tissues and died shortly after birth. Thus, RIPK3 signals to either necroptosis or apoptosis depending on its serine 165/threonine 166 phosphorylation status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the imperfect network language environment has adversely affected to cultivate the adolescents’ language quality. Therefore, it is urgent to use modern information technology to design a new algorithm model for the cultivation of the adolescents’ language quality. Through in-depth research on the current research status of youth language quality training in recent years, it is found that the introduction of Bayesian network into the cultivation of adolescents’ language quality can effectively improve its training effect. A data mining algorithm and Bayesian network are used to design a BOPPPS model, with the model used to cultivate the language quality of adolescents. To verify whether the BOPPPS model can achieve good results in the cultivation of adolescents’ language quality, a simulation experiment on the BOPPPS model was conducted, evaluating the actual effect by using the multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. Results show that the adolescents who are trained with the BOPPS model has significantly improved overall language quality before training, and thus it can be inferred that the BOPPPS model plays a positive role in improving the language quality of adolescents. The conclusions can provide some reference for the cultivation of adolescents’ language quality and has certain theoretical research significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depletion attraction induced by non-adsorbing polymers or small particles in colloidal solutions has been widely used as a model colloidal interaction to understand aggregation behavior and phase diagrams, such as glass transitions and gelation. However, much less attention has been paid to study the effective colloidal interaction when small particles/molecules can be reversibly attracted to large colloidal particles. At the strong attraction limit, small particles can introduce bridging attraction as it can simultaneously attach to neighbouring large colloidal particles. We use Baxter's multi-component method for sticky hard sphere systems with the Percus-Yevick approximation to study the bridging attraction and its consequence to phase diagrams, which are controlled by the concentration of small particles and their interaction with large particles. When the concentration of small particles is very low, the bridging attraction strength increases very fast with the increase of small particle concentration. The attraction strength eventually reaches a maximum bridging attraction (MBA). Adding more small particles after theMBA concentration keeps decreasing the attraction strength until reaching a concentration above which the net effect of small particles only introduces an effective repulsion between large colloidal particles. These behaviors are qualitatively different from the concentration dependence of the depletion attraction on small particles and make phase diagrams very rich for bridging attraction systems. We calculate the spinodal and binodal regions, the percolation lines, the MBA lines, and the equivalent hard sphere interaction line for bridging attraction systems and have proposed a simple analytic solution to calculate the effective attraction strength using the concentrations of large and small particles. Our theoretical results are found to be consistent with experimental results reported recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion-mediated electrostatic interactions play an important role in RNA folding stability. For a RNA in a solution with higher Mg2+ ion concentration, more counterions in the solution can bind to the RNA, causing a strong many-body coupling between the bound ions. The many-body effect can change the effective potential of mean force between the tightly bound ions. This effect tends to dampen ion binding and lower RNA folding stability. Neglecting the many-body effect leads to a systematic error (over-estimation) of RNA folding stability at high Mg2+ ion concentrations. Using the tightly bound ion model combined with a conformational ensemble model, we investigate the influence of the many-body effect on the ion-dependent RNA folding stability. Comparisons with the experimental data indicate that including the many-body effect led to much improved predictions for RNA folding stability at high Mg2+ ion concentrations. The results suggest that the many-body effect can be important for RNA folding in high concentrations of multivalent ions. Further investigation showed that the many-body effect can influence the spatial distribution of the tightly bound ions and the effect is more pronounced for compact RNA structures and structures prone to the formation of local clustering of ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The objective was to assess the efficacy and safety in treating gastric stromal tumours by laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning surgery. Methods: The randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which are about the efficacy and safety of laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning surgery in treating gastric stromal tumours were searched from the PubMed (1998–1990–2018.6), Wanfang Data (1990–2018.6), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1979–2018.6) and International Statistical Institute (1998–2018.6). The data were extracted from these trials, and the meta-analysis was made through from RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Six RCTs involving 451 patients were included in the study (227 patients in the laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group and 224 patients in laparoscopic surgery group). Compared with laparoscopic surgery group, this meta-analysis showed that laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group could shorten the post-operation hospital stay (P < 0.05) and reduce the intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in others between the two groups, such as operation time (P > 0.05), post-operative time of recovery of intestinal peristalsis (P > 0.05) and the total hospital stay (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with laparoscopic surgery group, the better total effect occurs in laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group for the treatment of gastric stromal tumours is better. Laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group for the gastric stromal tumours is acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Inconsistent associations between long-term exposure to particles with an aerodynamic diameter =2.5 μm [fine particulate matter (PM2.5)] components and mortality have been reported, partly related to challenges in exposure assessment. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the associations between long-term exposure to PM2.5) elemental components and mortality in a large pooled European cohort; to compare health effects of PM2.5) components estimated with two exposure modeling approaches, namely, supervised linear regression (SLR) and random forest (RF) algorithms. METHODS: We pooled data from eight European cohorts with 323,782 participants, average age 49 y at baseline (1985–2005). Residential exposure to 2010 annual average concentration of eight PM2.5 components [copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), nickel (Ni), sulfur (S), silicon (Si), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)] was estimated with Europe-wide SLR and RF models at a 100 × 100m scale. We applied Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the associations between components and natural and cause-specific mortality. In addition, two-pollutant analyses were conducted by adjusting each component for PM2.5 mass and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) separately. RESULTS: We observed 46,640 natural-cause deaths with 6,317,235 person-years and an average follow-up of 19.5 y. All SLR-modeled components were statistically significantly associated with natural-cause mortality in single-pollutant models with hazard ratios (HRs) from 1.05 to 1.27. Similar HRs were observed for RF-modeled Cu, Fe, K, S, V, and Zn with wider confidence intervals (CIs). HRs for SLR-modeled Ni, S, Si, V, and Zn remained above unity and (almost) significant after adjustment for both PM2.5 and NO2. HRs only remained (almost) significant for RF-modeled K and V in two-pollutant models. The HRs for V were 1.03 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.05) and 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.10) for SLR- and RF-modeled exposures, respectively, per 2 ng/m³, adjusting for PM2.5 mass. Associations with cause-specific mortality were less consistent in two-pollutant models. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure to V in PM2.5 was most consistently associated with increased mortality. Associations for the other components were weaker for exposure modeled with RF than SLR in two-pollutant models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the high demand for the torque response speed and torque pulsation of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) Electric Power Steering (EPS) system, this paper proposes to apply the Model Predictive Current Control to the all-terrain vehicle EPS system. A Novel Three-Vector Model Predictive Current Control (N3V-MPCC) is proposed in this paper to reduce the current ripple and reduce the calculation load. Two effective voltage vectors and a zero vector are selected in the control period through only six times of prediction and application of the Sector Vector Selection method. The duration of each voltage is calculated and output to the Voltage Source Inverter (VSI). Simulation and experimental results show that, compared with PID cascade Field Oriented Control (PI-FOC), N3C-MPCC can effectively reduce the ripple current of the d-axis and the q-axis. In the simulated electric power mode, the q-axis current ripple of the N3V-MPCC is reduced by 66.67%. Experimental results show that the current ripple of the motor is reduced by 60%, and the torque pulsation is reduced by 62.5%. Therefore, N3V-MPCC has a faster current response speed and smooth steering torque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drosophila male courtship is controlled by the male-specific products of the fruitless (fruM) gene and its expressing neuronal circuitry. fruM is considered a master gene that controls all aspects of male courtship. By temporally and spatially manipulating fruM expression, we found that fruM is required during a critical developmental period for innate courtship toward females, while its function during adulthood is involved in inhibiting male-male courtship. By altering or eliminating fruM expression, we generated males that are innately heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or without innate courtship but could acquire such behavior in an experience-dependent manner. These findings show that fruM is not absolutely necessary for courtship but is critical during development to build a sex circuitry with reduced flexibility and enhanced efficiency, and provide a new view about how fruM tunes functional flexibility of a sex circuitry instead of switching on its function as conventionally viewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the role of internal climate variability (ICV) in climate change impact studies, this study quantifies the importance of ICV [defined as the intermember variability of a single model initial-condition large ensemble (SMILE)] in relation to the anthropogenic climate change (ACC; defined as multimodel ensemble mean) in global and regional climate change using a criterion of time of emergence (ToE). The uncertainty of the estimated ToE is specifically investigated by using three SMILEs to estimate the ICV. The results show that using 1921--40 as a baseline period, the annual mean precipitation ACCis expected to emerge within this century over extratropical regions as well as along the equatorial band. However, ToEs are unlikely to occur, even by the end of this century, over intratropical regions outside of the equatorial band. In contrast, annual mean temperature ACC has already emerged from the temperature ICV for most of the globe. Similar spatial patterns are observed at the seasonal scale,while aweakerACCfor boreal summer (June--August) precipitation and additional ICV for boreal winter (December--February) temperature translate to later ToEs for some regions. In addition, the uncertainty of ToE related to the choice of a SMILEismostly less than 20 years for annualmean precipitation and temperature.However, it can be as large as 90 years for annualmean precipitation over someregions.Overall, results indicate that the choice of a SMILEis a significant source of uncertainty in the estimation of ToE and results based on only one SMILE should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear transport properties and macroscopic flow features of rarefied plane Couette flows from low speed to high speed for a monatomic gas are investigated in detail using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The effective viscosity and thermal conductivity are directly computed from the DSMC results according to the linear constitutive relations. The detailed structure of the Knudsen layer (KL) and the functional dependence of the effective transport coefficients on local Knudsen numbers in the whole system are presented and compared with existing theoretical models. The results show that the effective viscosity and thermal conductivity distributions in the KL for different Mach number flows can be recast into the same profile (i.e., isothermal scaling function) in terms of a scaled wall distance η = ∫y0 1/λ(y)dy, though the local flow is nonisothermal. For all cases, the shear-stress Knudsen number distributions across the channel show a well opposite trend to the effective transport coefficient profiles. The functional dependence between them in the bulk region always coincides with the normal solution that is derived from the Boltzmann model equations for unbounded shear flows, while that in the KL for low-speed cases shows a large difference with the normal solution. As the Mach number increases, the DSMC data in the KL can also agree approximately with the normal solution at a large shear-stress Knudsen number. These results can be very useful for developing phenomenological models to describe a wall-bounded rarefied shear flow, showing a good prospect in both microflow and high-altitude applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the addition of grazing incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS) geometry to a standard pinhole small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) setup. GISANS is a surface-sensitive technique that can be used to investigate thin films. The article describes the addition of XY slits and a sample mount to achieve GISANS measurements on a pinhole SANS spectrometer. The article also explains the basic principles of SANS and GISANS and provides information on sample stages and experimental conditions for GISANS measurements. The article concludes by highlighting the need for further research and analytical methods for analyzing GISANS data. [Extracted from the article]

HLA‐A*24:561:02 differs from HLA‐A*24:02:01:01 by one nucleotide in exon 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we make use of holographic Boundary Conformal Field Theory (BCFT) to simulate the black hole information problem in the semi-classical picture. We investigate the correlation between a portion of Hawking radiation and entanglement islands by the area of an entanglement wedge cross-section. Building on the understanding of the relationship between entanglement wedge cross-sections and perfect tensor entanglement as discussed in reference [18], we make an intriguing observation: in the semi-classical picture, the positioning of an entanglement island automatically yields a pattern of perfect tensor entanglement. Furthermore, the contribution of this perfect tensor entanglement, combined with the bipartite entanglement contribution, precisely determines the area of the entanglement wedge cross-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Interspinous spacer (ISS)-based and pedicle screw-rod dynamic fixator (PDF)- based topping-off devices have been applied in lumbar/lumbosacral fusion surgeries for preventing the development of proximal adjacent segment degeneration. However, little attention has been paid to sacroiliac joint (SIJ), which belongs to the adjacent joints. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to compare how these 2 topping-off devices affect the SIJ biomechanics. Methods: A validated, normal finite-element lumbopelvic model (L3-pelvis) was initially adjusted to simulate interbody fusion with rigid fixation at the L5-S1 level, and then the DIAM or BioFlex system was instrumented at the L4-5 level to establish the ISS-based or PDF-based topping-off model, respectively. All the developed models were loaded with moments of 4 physiological motions using hybrid loading protocol. Results: Compared with the rigid fusion model (without topping-off devices), range of motion and von-Mises stress at the SIJs were increased by 23.1%-64.1% and 23.6%-62.8%, respectively, for the ISS-based model and by 51.2%-126.7% and 50.4%-108.7%, respectively, for the PDF-based model. Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that the PDF-based topping-off device leads to higher increments in SIJ motion and stress than ISS-based topping-off device following lumbosacral fusion, implying topping-off technique could be linked to an increased risk of SIJ degeneration, especially when using PDF-based device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilisation of plant-based temper in Songze culture pottery incorporated a substantial proportion of fibre and exhibited a microstructure resembling a fully oxidised rice husk temper (Grog). However, during the Liangzhu and Guangfulin periods, these plant-based tempers underwent a transformation into quartz and other mineral tempers. Notably, amphibole tempers were identified in pottery from the Liangzhu culture, particularly in black pottery coatings. The structure of the low-aluminium ceramic coating was determined to be porous, and initially, this type of temper was thought to be debris resulting from jade processing. However, experimental archaeological studies have demonstrated that it is difficult for jade fragments to develop a similar petrographic structure. In pottery from the Guangfulin culture, white pottery coatings turned black when compacted. This colour alteration may have been achieved through simple sintering processing, suggesting the potential utilisation of a two-step pottery processing technique under low-fire conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributed drive electric vehicle is a complex hybrid system including discrete events and continuous events. In order to coordinate the longitudinal and lateral motion of the distributed drive electric vehicle, a hierarchical control method was proposed. In the upper layer, the body attitude tracking controller based on sliding mode control algorithm was established to accurately analyze the driving expectation and to track the longitudinal speed, the lateral speed, and the yaw rate of the vehicle. In the lower layer, the switching controller based on the hybrid theory was established to improve the driving stability under various working conditions. The switching controller can switch between control strategies according to the working conditions. The joint simulation was carried out under various working conditions using Simulink and CarSim software. The results showed that the controller can coordinate the longitudinal and lateral motion of the vehicle well in linear acceleration and sinusoidal acceleration conditions and can strictly track the driving expectation and maintain the desired body posture. And another, the controller can be switched according to the working conditions and control strategies accurately and smoothly and can ensure stable driving in the constant speed single lane change condition. The controller can reveal the continuous behavior characteristics of the vehicle and reflect the characteristics of discrete events by coordinating the longitudinal and lateral motion of the vehicle. It improves the stability and control performance of the distributed drive electric vehicle under various working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and safety in treating gastric stromal tumours by laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning surgery. Methods: I searched the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the efficacy and safety of laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning surgery in treating gastric stromal tumours from the PubMed (1998~2018.06), Wanfang Data (1990~2018.06), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1979~2018.06) and International Statistical Institute (1998~2018.06). I extracted the data from these trials, and I got the meta-analysis from RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Twenty-six RCTs involving 1710 patients were included (870 patients in the laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group and 840 patients in openresection group). Compared with open resection group, this meta-analysis showed that laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group could reduce the intraoperative blood (P < 0.05), shorten the post-operative time of recovery of intestinal peristalsis (P < 0.05), shorten the diet recovery time (P < 0.05), reduce the incidence of the incision infection, intestinal obstruction and pneumonia and also shorten the post-operation hospital stay (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the operation time (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with open resection group, the total effect of laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group in the treatment of gastric stromal tumours is better. Laparoscopy combined with gastroscopy positioning group for the gastric stromal tumours is acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), with its expansive membranous system and a vast network of chaperones, enzymes, sensors, and ion channels, orchestrates diverse cellular functions, ranging from protein synthesis, folding, secretion, and degradation to lipid biogenesis and calcium homeostasis. Strikingly, some of the functions of the ER are exploited by viruses to promote their life cycles. During entry, viruses must penetrate a host membrane and reach an intracellular destination to express and replicate their genomes. These events lead to the assembly of new viral progenies that exit the host cell, thereby initiating further rounds of infection. In this review, we highlight how three distinct viruses -- polyomavirus, flavivirus, and coronavirus -- co-opt key functions of the ER to cause infection. We anticipate that illuminating this virus-ER interplay will provide rational therapeutic approaches to combat the virus-induced diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of oxalate co-precipitation assisted with microwave is used for the synthesis of pure barium titanate (BT) particle with a diameter of 30-50nm by choosing tetrabutyl titanate Ti(OC4H9)4 (98.0%), barium nitrate Ba(NO3)2 (99.5%), oxalate H2C2O4 (99.5% purity) and nitric acid HNO3 (65~68%) as starting materials. Lanthanum oxide is doped in barium titanate powders to prepare ceramics by pelleting, forming, dumping, sintering and other steps. The structure and morphology of ceramics are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are obtained by dielectric frequency analyzer. The results show that grain size and tetragonality of the barium titanate ceramics doped by lanthanum oxide sintered at 1270 °C for 3 h are found to decrease with the increase of dopants concentration. Dielectric constant increases at first and then decreases as La2O3 concentrations grow, reaching the maximum value when the concentration is 0.3 mol%. The ceramic samples transform from normal ferroelectric to the ferroelectric with diffused phase transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on Immune checkpoint blockade therapy (ICT) which has shown potential in the treatment of multiple tumors, but suffers poor response rate in clinic. It mentions Cocktail therapy consisted of two kinds of tumor microenvironment-responsive drug and gene delivery nanoparticles to achieve specific delivery of doxorubicin and codelivery of plasmids expressed small hairpin RNA of PD-L1 (pshPD-L1) and hyaluronidase (pSpam1) in the tumor area.

Hypersonic argon flows over circularly blunt flat plates in near-continuum regime are numerically investigated in this study. The flows are, respectively, simulated using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, the Navier-Stokes-Fourier (NSF) equations, and the DSMC data-improved Navier-Stokes (DiNS) model that is an improved continuum model with consideration of local shear nonequilibrium effects. The influences of nose radius, angle of attack, and freestream density on the local nonequilibrium characteristics and body surface aerodynamics are investigated in detail. The numerical results show that both the nose radius and the angle of attack present significant influences on the local nonequilibrium effects. Furthermore, it is found that the inaccuracy of the NSF equations for predicting aerodynamics mainly results in the error of the axial force. Compared with the NSF equations, the DiNS model exhibits remarkable improvements for predicting surface aerodynamic properties, especially the axial force, in all the simulated cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new idea for the preparation of ultrafine nickel powder. • The interaction among primary nickel particles can isolated by NaCl. • NaCl can prevents agglomeration among the primary nickel particles. • Particle size of the obtained nickel powder is nearly spherical. This paper explored a solid-phase reduction method to prepare ultrafine nickel powder under different conditions. The effect of a NaCl separator agent on the morphology, primary particle size and specific surface area of the prepared nickel powder is discussed. The results show that direct contact among primary Ni particles can be effectively inhibited during the reduction of nickel oxalate due to the presence of the NaCl separator agent. An ultrafine nickel powder with a primary particle size of between 80 and 150 nm can be prepared with NaCl as the separator agent at temperatures from 400 °C to 460 °C. The powder reduced at 430 °C has a uniform particle distribution and a decreased amount of agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of low accuracy in indoor positioning, a system based on ultra‐wideband and optimized time difference of arrival (TDOA) is designed. The optimized algorithm of TDOA is adopted to solve the problem of synchronization between anchors and improve the positioning accuracy. The use of LoRa technology for wireless data transmission between anchors improves the flexibility of anchor layout. According to the test, the system can work stably in corridors, rooms, warehouses and other scenarios, and the positioning error is controlled at about 13 cm. The positioning accuracy is 10 times that of the positioning system using WiFi and Bluetooth technology, which can meet the requirements of accurate mobile positioning in complex indoor environment. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inland tropical cyclone (TC) impacts due to high winds and rainfall-induced flooding depend strongly on the evolution of the wind field and precipitation distribution after landfall. However, research has yet to test the detailed response of a mature TC and its hazards to changes in surface forcing in idealized settings. This work tests the transient responses of an idealized hurricane to instantaneous transitions in two key surface properties associated with landfall: roughening and drying. Simplified axisymmetric numerical modeling experiments are performed in which the surface drag coefficient and evaporative fraction are each systematically modified beneath a mature hurricane. Surface drying stabilizes the eyewall and consequently weakens the overturning circulation, thereby reducing inward angular momentum transport that slowly decays the wind field only within the inner core. In contrast, surface roughening initially (;12 h) rapidly weakens the entire low-level wind field and enhances the overturning circulation dynamically despite the concurrent thermodynamic stabilization of the eyewall; thereafter the storm gradually decays, similar to drying. As a result, total precipitation temporarily increases with roughening but uniformly decreases with drying. Storm size decreases monotonically and rapidly with surface roughening, whereas the radius of maximum wind can increase with moderate surface drying. Overall, this work provides a mechanistic foundation for understanding the inland evolution of real storms in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensemble weather forecasting generally suffers from bias and under-dispersion, which limit its predictive power. Several post-processing methods have been developed to overcome these limitations, and an intercomparison is needed to understand their performance. Four state-of-the-art methods are compared in post-processing precipitation and air temperature of the Global Ensemble Forecasting System (GEFS) reforecasts using a simple bias correction (BC) method as a reference. These methods include extended logistic regression (ExLR), generator-based post-processing (GPP), Bayesian model averaging (BMA) and affine kernel dressing (AKD). All these methods are tested over 659 national standard meteorological stations in China. The research concerns are the influence of region and forecast date and the role of BC on ensemble weather forecasting. It was found that: (1) the deterministic methods (GPP and ExLR) are more skilful than the probabilistic methods (BMA and AKD) in obtaining the well-calibrated and skilful ensemble forecasts; (2) the forecast skill of the postprocessed ensemble weather forecasts is comparably high in the northern arid areas for precipitation, while the forecast skill for air temperature is only low in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area; (3) the skill difference of the post-processed forecasts on different forecast date is only evident for air temperature, while not apparent for precipitation; and (4) only correcting bias for the ensemble weather forecasts can achieve about 0-70% (for precipitation) and 30-100% (for air temperature) forecast skill improvement for deterministic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered explosive activities in searching for cures, including vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. As of April 30, 2020, there are at least 102 COVID-19 vaccine development programs worldwide, the majority of which are in preclinical development phases, five are in phase I trial, and three are in phase I/II trial. Experts caution against rushing COVID-19 vaccine development, not only because the knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 is lacking (albeit rapidly accumulating), but also because vaccine development is a complex, lengthy process with its own rules and timelines. Clinical trials are critically important in vaccine development, usually starting from small-scale phase I trials and gradually moving to the next phases (II and III) after the primary objectives are met. This paper is intended to provide an overview on design considerations for vaccine clinical trials, with a special focus on COVID-19 vaccine development. Given the current pandemic paradigm and unique features of vaccine development, our recommendations from statistical design perspective for COVID-19 vaccine trials include: (1) novel trial design (e.g., master protocol) to expedite the simultaneous evaluation of multiple candidate vaccines or vaccine doses, (2) human challenge studies to accelerate clinical development, (3) adaptive design strategies (e.g., group sequential designs) for early termination due to futility, efficacy, and/or safety, (4) extensive modeling and simulation to characterize and establish long-term efficacy based on early-phase or short-term follow-up data, (5) safety evaluation as one of the primary focuses throughout all phases of clinical trials, (6) leveraging real-world data and evidence in vaccine trial design and analysis to establish vaccine effectiveness, and (7) global collaboration to form a joint development effort for more efficient use of resource and expertise and data sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the characteristics of BRAFV600E mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in Chinese coastal areas. We intended to identify noninvasive methods to determine BRAFV600E status in thyroid nodules prior to surgery. BRAFV600E mutation and the sonographic characteristics of thyroid nodules were investigated in 670 PTC patients in our hospital. We aimed to determine the relationship between BRAFV600E mutation and the clinicopathological and sonographic imaging characteristics of PTC. The mutation rate of the BRAFV600E was 78.2%. BRAFV600E mutation was significantly associated with central node (univariate analyses, P = .005; multivariate analyses, P < .001, odds ratio [OR] = 10.255) and lateral node metastases (univariate analyses, P = .001; multivariate analyses, P < .001, OR = 22). It was less frequent in PTC coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (univariate analyses, P = .016; multivariate analyses, P < .001, OR = .034). Nodules without blood flow had a significantly higher mutation rate of BRAFV600E in PTC patients (univariate analyses, P = .026). BRAFV600E mutation was significantly associated with high suspicion in the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System 5 (univariate analyses, P = .004; multivariate analyses, P = .014, OR = 6.456). Our results strongly suggest that BRAFV600E mutation plays a potential role in lymph node metastasis (central node metastasis, OR = 10.225; lateral node metastasis, OR = 22). Some sonographic imaging features might be helpful in estimating the status of BRAFV600E preoperatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): To investigate the effects of paeoniflorin (PEF) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis feedback function of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). cSingle-prolonged stress (SPS) was used to establish a PTSD-like rat model. The contents of plasma corticosterone (CORT), adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) were measured by ELISA. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), adrenocorticotropic hormone-releasing factor I receptor (CRF1R), and adrenocorticotropic hormone-releasing factor II receptor (CRF2R) in the hippocampus and amygdala were measured by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results: The results showed that on day 8 after SPS, model rats showed enhanced HPA axis negative feedback lasting to day 29. On day 29, plasma CORT levels increased in model rats, while plasma CRH levels had no significant difference on days 8, 22, and 29. The expression of GR and MR of model rats significantly increased in the hippocampus, while the expression of GR, MR, and CRF1R significantly decreased in the amygdala. After 14 days of continuous administration of PEF, the enhanced negative feedback was inhibited, and the plasma CORT level significantly reduced after 21 days of administration. Moreover, PEF could significantly decrease the expression of GR and MR in the hippocampus, and increase the expression of GR, MR, and CRF1R significantly in the amygdala. Conclusion: PEF could regulate HPA axis dysfunction in a rat model of PTSD, which may be related to regulating expression of GR and MR in the hippocampus and amygdala and regulating expression of CRF1R in the amygdala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) suggests potential function of cancer cell-produced ECM in initiation of cancer cell colonization. Here, we showed that collagen and heat shock protein 47 (Hsp47), a chaperone facilitating collagen secretion and deposition, were highly expressed during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and in CTCs. Hsp47 expression induced mesenchymal phenotypes in mammary epithelial cells (MECs), enhanced platelet recruitment, and promoted lung retention and colonization of cancer cells. Platelet depletion in vivo abolished Hsp47-induced cancer cell retention in the lung, suggesting that Hsp47 promotes cancer cell colonization by enhancing cancer cell-platelet interaction. Using rescue experiments and functional blocking antibodies, we identified type I collagen as the key mediator of Hsp47-induced cancer cell-platelet interaction. We also found that Hsp47-dependent collagen deposition and platelet recruitment facilitated cancer cell clustering and extravasation in vitro. By analyzing DNA/RNA sequencing data generated from human breast cancer tissues, we showed that gene amplification and increased expression of Hsp47 were associated with cancer metastasis. These results suggest that targeting the Hsp47/collagen axis is a promising strategy to block cancer cell-platelet interaction and cancer colonization in secondary organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses escape of large macromolecular complexes from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), such as a viral particle or cellular aggregate, induces mechanical stress initiated on the luminal side of the ER membrane. Topics include the action of RTN counters presumably by deploying curvature-inducing activity to provide membrane flexibility and stability to limit mechanical stress; and the cytosolic leaflet ER morphogenic protein reticulon (RTN) protects ER membrane integrity.

Sediment geochemistry is affected by sediment granularity and chemical partition, which may greatly influence the accuracy of sediment source identification. In this study, we analyzed Ca, Co, Zr, V, Cr, Ti, Sc, Th, and Al in the sediments of major rivers and a Holocene core along the eastern coast of China to reveal the constraints on sediment geochemistry related to granularity and chemical partition and to try and identify the sources of the sediments present in the core. The results reveal that the element concentrations have a significant positive correlation with Al concentration in all these riverine sediments. There are significant differences in the element contents of the bulk sample and the residual sediment leached with acid, including in their ratios. The ratios of Cr/Th-Sc/Th, which is often used for provenance discrimination, reveal that uncertainty of provenance discrimination will increase if the impact of sediment granularity and chemical phase on the index system is not considered. We applied this geochemical approach for provenance on a Holocene core of the East China Sea using Cr/Th-Al, Sc/Th-Al, Ti/Zr-Al, and Cr/Th-Sc/Th with the same granularity as the residue sediments. Based on this approach, we identified the core sediments to have had a large component derived from the western Taiwanese rivers since the mid-Holocene. This study sheds light on the sediment geochemistry used to identify the provenance of marginal seas with multiple rivers entering them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we prove the existence of nontrivial ground state solution for a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation coupled with Born-Infeld theory in R2 involving unbounded or decaying radial potentials. The approach involves variational methods combined with a Trudinger-Moser type inequality and a symmetric criticality type result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell-collagen interactions are crucial for cell migration and invasion during cancer development and progression. Heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) is an endoplasmic reticulum-resident molecular chaperone that facilitates collagen maturation and deposition. It has been previously shown that HSP47 expression in cancer cells is crucial for cancer invasiveness. However, exogenous collagen cannot rescue cell invasion in HSP47-silenced cancer cells, suggesting that other HSP47 targets contribute to cancer cell invasion. Here, we show that HSP47 expression is required for the stability and cell-surface expression of discoidin domain-containing receptor 2 (DDR2) in breast cancer tissues. HSP47 silencing reduced DDR2 protein stability, accompanied by suppressed cell migration and invasion. Coimmunoprecipitation results revealed that HSP47 binds to the DDR2 ectodomain. Using a photoconvertible technique and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we further demonstrate that HSP47 expression significantly sustains the membrane localization of the DDR2 protein. These results suggest that binding of HSP47 to DDR2 increases DDR2 stability and regulates its membrane dynamics and thereby enhances cancer cell migration and invasion. Given that DDR2 has a crucial role in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and cancer progression, targeting the HSP47-DDR2 interaction might be a potential strategy for inhibiting DDR2-dependent cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exposed active sites of semiconductor catalysts are essential to the photocatalytic energy conversion efficiency. However, it is difficult to directly observe such active sites and understand the photogenerated electron/hole pairs' dynamics on a single catalyst particle. Here, we applied a quasi-total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and laser-scanning confocal microscopy to identify the photocatalytic active sites at a single-molecule level and visualized the photogenerated hole-electron pair dynamics on a single TiO2 particle, the most widely used photocatalyst. The experimental results and density functional theory calculations reveal that holes and electrons tend to reach and react at the same surface sites, i.e., crystal edge/corner, within a single anatase TiO2 particle owing to the highly exposed (001) and (101) facets. The observation provides solid proof for the existence of the surface junction "edge or corner" on single TiO2 particles. These findings also offer insights into the nature of the photocatalytic active sites and imply an activity-based strategy for rationally engineering catalysts for improved photocatalysis, which can be also applied for other catalytic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proximal tibial buckle fractures are often called "trampoline fractures," but mechanisms are more varied.Objective: To assess the frequency of trampoline or bouncer etiology among children with buckle fracture of the proximal tibia, characterizing demographics, alternative etiologies, and fracture patterns.Materials and Methods: We performed retrospective chart review of mechanisms, age and gender of children with radiographs interpreted as proximal tibial buckle fracture between 2010 and 2016. Two pediatric radiologists assessed presence of cortical impaction, cortical break, increased anterior scoop deformity, and oblique extension of fracture toward the physis. We studied the associations among demographics, etiology and fracture appearance using analysis of variance and chi-square/Fisher exact tests.Results: We identified 145 exams interpreted as proximal tibial buckle fracture (median age 34 months, 64% girls). Bouncing surface was the most common mechanism (44%), and 80% of those cases reported multiple people on the bouncing surface. Falls were the second most common mechanism (30%). Children injured while bouncing were older (median 41 months) than others (median 21 months, P<0.005) and more likely to have oblique extension of fracture toward the physis (P<0.05). Buckle deformity was associated with a younger age (F=8.67; P<0.01), while oblique extension to the physis and concurrent fibula fracture were associated with older age (F=18.62, P<0.001; and F=8.02, P<0.01, respectively).Conclusion: Trampoline use was the most common single mechanism of injury in children with proximal tibial fracture interpreted as buckle deformity. However, non-bouncing mechanisms were overall more common and occurred in a younger age group at risk for "toddler fractures." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the robust consensus problem for a set of discrete-time linear agents to coordinate over an uncertain communication network, which is to achieve consensus against the transmission errors and noises resulted from the information exchange between the agents. We model the network by means of communication links subject to multiplicative stochastic uncertainties, which are susceptible to describing packet dropout, random delay, and fading phenomena. Different communication topologies, such as undirected graphs and leader-follower graphs, are considered. We derive conditions for robust consensus in the mean square sense. The results show that under a fundamental condition relating the network synchronizability, the unstable agent dynamics, and the channel uncertainty variances, the consensus can be ensured and consensus protocols can be designed based on the state information transmitted over the uncertain channels, by solving a modified algebraic Riccati equation. Furthermore, this condition is guaranteed to hold whenever the agents contain no eigenvalues strictly outside the unit circle and is thus necessary and sufficient under the circumstance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicle (EV) charging will bring new challenges to the coordination of grid and EV load. To facilitate largescale EV applications, optimal scheduling of EVs has become essential. However, the power grid has no power to force EV users to charge or give up charging. The actual type and mode of user's charging, may deviate from the expectations of grid. When the number of deviation's EV is sufficient, the power grid schedule will not achieve the expected results. In this context, a multi-objective scheduling method considering user's charging selection is proposed to determine the optimal EV charging. The novel contributions of this paper lie in the exploitation of the user's preferences and their criterion of charging selection in form of functions based on concepts from economics. Three types of charging preferences for EV users including radical, conservative and balanced are used to influence the charging cost of EVs and load variance of grid. Finally, the ideal scheduling and actual scheduling are used to simulate various scenarios. The extensive results show that by introducing a method considering the influence of EV user's selection, the efficacy of the proposed scheduling can be further improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) are significant optical objects for extreme ultraviolet and x-ray microscopy, both of which are powerful tools due to their high spatial resolution and large penetration depth. Fabrication of FZPs is challenging as it requires high accuracy to achieve the narrow outmost zone and large aspect ratio. The focused ion beam (FIB) has been practically demonstrated as a potential alternative to electron beam lithography for its precision, rapidness, and mask-free essence. However, the common redeposition effect in the FIB process is a major obstacle to distort actual patterns from designed ones, especially for FZPs with outmost zone width of 100 nm and simultaneously aspect ratio beyond 2. We proposed an efficient method noted as single-pixel line-assisted sputtering (SLAS) to eliminate redeposition in situ during FZP fabrication. Through systematically optimizing parameters predominating ion dosages and, particularly, the positions of SLAS, we successfully obtained high-quality FZPs with outmost zone width down to 100 nm, perpendicular side walls, aspect ratio of up to 3 and diameter of 38 µm in 1.5 h. The application of SLAS also provides instructive guidance for other FIB processes to finely modulate the nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphite/thermosetting composites were prepared via a melt blending and compression–curing process using epoxy and phenolic resins as polymer matrices. The flexural strength, flexural modulus and electrical conductivity of the composites were investigated. The composites containing 55 wt% graphite showed the maximum flexural strength and modulus. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the thermosetting resins and graphite were uniformly dispersed on the fractured surface of the composites. The electrical conductivity of the composites increased with an increase in the graphite content. The flexural and electrical properties of the composites improved significantly by the addition of a carbon fibre cloth (CFC) or a CFC and carbon nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]