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Astaxanthin (AST), functioning as an efficient antioxidant and pigment, is one of the most expensive additives in shrimp feeds. How to improve the uptake efficiency of dietary astaxanthin into farmed shrimp is of significance. The present study investigated the effects of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), an emulsifier, on dietary astaxanthin efficiency, growth performance, body color, body composition, as well as lipid metabolism of juvenile Pacific white shrimp (average initial body weight: 2.4 g). Three diets were prepared: control group, the AST group (supplemented with 0.02% AST), and the AST + LPC group (supplemented with 0.02% AST and 0.1% LPC). Each diet was fed to triplicate tanks, and each tank was stocked with 30 shrimp. The shrimp were fed four times daily for eight weeks. The AST supplementation improved the growth of white shrimp, while LPC further promoted the final weight of shrimp, but the whole-shrimp proximate composition and fatty acid composition were only slightly affected by AST and LPC. The LPC supplementation significantly increased the astaxanthin deposition in the muscle. The LPC supplementation significantly increased the shell yellowness of both raw and cooked shrimp compared to the AST group. Moreover, the dietary LPC increased the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol content but decreased the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol content in the serum, indicating the possible regulation of lipid and cholesterol transport. The addition of astaxanthin significantly up-regulated the expression of npc2 in the hepatopancreas compared to the control group, while the addition of LPC down-regulated the expression of mttp compared to the AST group. In conclusion, the LPC supplementation could facilitate the deposition of dietary astaxanthin into farmed shrimp and further enlarge the beneficial effects of dietary astaxanthin. LPC may also independently regulate shrimp body color and cholesterol transportation. This was the first investigation of the promoting effects of LPC on dietary astaxanthin efficiency.

The lattice Boltzmann method is employed in the current study to simulate the heat transfer characteristics of sinusoidal-temperature-distributed heat sources at the bottom of a square cavity under various conditions, including different amplitudes, phase angles, initial positions, and angular velocities. Additionally, a machine learning-based model is developed to accurately predict the Nusselt number in such a sinusoidal temperature distribution of heat source at the bottom of a square cavity. The results indicate that (1) in the phase angle range from 0 to π, Nu basically shows a decreasing trend with an increase in phase angle. The decline in Nu at an accelerated rate is consistently observed when the phase angle reaches 4π/16. The corresponding Nu decreases as the amplitude increases at the same phase angle. (2) The initial position of the sinusoidal-temperature-distributed heat source Lc significantly impacts the convective heat transfer in the cavity. Moreover, the decline in Nu was further exacerbated when Lc reached 7/16. (3) The optimal overall heat transfer effect was achieved when the angular velocity of the non-uniform heat source reached π. As the angular velocity increases, the local Nu in the square cavity exhibits a gradual and oscillatory decline. Notably, it is observed that Nu at odd multiples of π surpasses that at even multiples of π. Furthermore, the current work integrates LBM with machine learning, enabling the development of a precise and efficient prediction model for simulating Nu under specific operational conditions. This research provides valuable insights into the application of machine learning in the field of heat transfer.

Abstract Background Insulin like growth factor II mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) is an RNA binding protein with multiple roles in regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and is implicated in tumorigenesis and progression of numerous cancers including gastric cancer (GC). Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a diverse endogenous noncoding RNA population that have important regulatory roles in cancer. However, circRNAs that regulate the expression of IGF2BP3 in GC is largely unknown. Methods CircRNAs that bound to IGF2BP3 were screened in GC cells using RNA immunoprecipitation and sequencing (RIP-seq). The identification and localization of circular nuclear factor of activated T cells 3 (circNFATC3) were identified using Sanger sequencing, RNase R assays, qRT-PCR, nuclear-cytoplasmic fractionation and RNA-FISH assays. CircNFATC3 expression in human GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were measured by qRT-PCR and ISH. The biological role of circNFATC3 in GC was confirmed by in vivo and in vitro experiments. Furthermore, RIP, RNA-FISH/IF, IP and rescue experiments were performed to uncover interactions between circNFATC3, IGF2BP3 and cyclin D1 (CCND1). Results We identified a GC-associated circRNA, circNFATC3, that interacted with IGF2BP3. CircNFATC3 was significantly overexpressed in GC tissues and was positively associated with tumor volume. Functionally, the proliferation of GC cells decreased significantly after circNFATC3 knockdown in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, circNFATC3 bound to IGF2BP3 in the cytoplasm, which enhanced the stability of IGF2BP3 by preventing ubiquitin E3 ligase TRIM25-mediated ubiquitination, thereby enhancing the regulatory axis of IGF2BP3-CCND1 and promoting CCND1 mRNA stability. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that circNFATC3 promotes GC proliferation by stabilizing IGF2BP3 protein to enhance CCND1 mRNA stability. Therefore, circNFATC3 is a potential novel target for the treatment of GC.

According to the latest drilling and the analysis of the burial history, source rock evolution history and hydrocarbon accumulation history, the sub-source hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics of the Permian reservoirs in the Jinan Sag, eastern Junggar Basin, are clarified, and the hydrocarbon accumulation model of these reservoirs is established. The results are obtained in four aspects. First, the main body of the thick salified lake basin source rocks in the Lucaogou Formation has reached the mature stage with abundant resource base. Large-scale reservoirs are developed in the Jingjingzigou, Wutonggou and Lucaogou formations. Vertically, there are multiple sets of good regional seals, the source-reservoir-caprock assemblage is good, and there are three reservoir-forming assemblages: sub-source, intra-source and above-source. Second, dissolution, hydrocarbon charging and pore-preserving effect, and presence of chlorite film effectively increase the sub-source pore space. Oil charging is earlier than the time when the reservoir becomes densified, which improves the efficiency of hydrocarbon accumulation. Third, buoyancy and source-reservoir pressure difference together constitute the driving force of oil charging, and the micro-faults within the formation give the advantage of “source-reservoir lateral docking” under the source rock. Microfractures can be critical channels for efficient seepage and continuous charging of oil in different periods. Fourth, the Jingjingzigou Formation experienced three periods of oil accumulation in the Middle–Late Permian, Middle–Late Jurassic and Late Neogene, with the characteristics of long-distance migration and accumulation in early stage, mixed charging and accumulation in middle stage and short-distance migration and high-position accumulation in late stage. The discovery and theoretical understanding of the Permian reservoirs in the Jinan Sag reveal that the thrust belt has good conditions for forming large reservoirs, and it is promising for exploration. The study results are of guidance and reference significance for oil and gas exploration in the Jinan Sag and other geologically similar areas.

Abstract Background Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) is the most serious pathological type of non-obstructive azoospermia. Recently, several genes related to SCOS have been identified, including FANCM, TEX14, NR5A1, NANOS2, PLK4, WNK3, and FANCA, but they cannot fully explain the pathogenesis of SCOS. This study attempted to explain spermatogenesis dysfunction in SCOS through testicular tissue RNA sequencing and to provide new targets for SCOS diagnosis and therapy. Methods We analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on RNA sequencing of nine patients with SCOS and three patients with obstructive azoospermia and normal spermatogenesis. We further explored the identified genes using ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Results In total, 9406 DEGs were expressed (Log2|FC|≥ 1; adjusted P value

Abstract Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are plant hormones that typically act antagonistically in dicotyledonous plants and SA and JA signaling is often manipulated by pathogens. However, in monocotyledonous plants, the detailed SA-JA interplay in response to pathogen invasion remains elusive. Here, we show that different types of viral pathogen can disrupt synergistic antiviral immunity mediated by SA and JA via OsNPR1 in the monocot rice. The P2 protein of rice stripe virus, a negative-stranded RNA virus in the genus Tenuivirus, promotes OsNPR1 degradation by enhancing the association of OsNPR1 and OsCUL3a. OsNPR1 activates JA signaling by disrupting the OsJAZ-OsMYC complex and boosting the transcriptional activation activity of OsMYC2 to cooperatively modulate rice antiviral immunity. Unrelated viral proteins from different rice viruses also interfere with the OsNPR1-mediated SA-JA interplay to facilitate viral pathogenicity, suggesting that this may be a more general strategy in monocot plants. Overall, our findings highlight that distinct viral proteins convergently obstruct JA-SA crosstalk to facilitate viral infection in monocot rice.

Abstract Background Rootstocks can improve the chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers, but their effectiveness varies. Rootstocks with strong de-blooming capacity may result in lower chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers compared to those with weak de-blooming capacity, while also reducing the silicon absorption. However, it remains unclear whether this reduction in chilling tolerance is due to differences in rootstock genotypes or the reduction in silicon absorption. Results The chilling tolerance of cucumber seedlings was improved by using rootstocks and silicon nutrition. Rootstocks had a more significant effect than silicon nutrition, and the weak de-blooming rootstock ‘Yunnan figleaf gourd’ was superior to the strong de-blooming rootstock ‘Huangchenggen No. 2’. Compared to self-rooted cucumber, twelve miRNAs were regulated by two rootstocks, including seven identical miRNAs (novel-mir23, novel-mir26, novel-mir30, novel-mir37, novel-mir46, miR395a and miR398a-3p) and five different miRNAs (novel-mir32, novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a). Notably, four of these miRNAs (novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a) were only identified in ‘Yunnan figleaf gourd’-grafted cucumbers. Furthermore, six miRNAs (miR168a-5p, miR390a-5p, novel-mir26, novel-mir55, novel-mir67 and novel-mir70) were found to be responsive to exogenous silicon. Target gene prediction for 20 miRNAs resulted in 520 genes. Functional analysis of these target genes showed that ‘Yunnan figleaf gourd’ improves the chilling tolerance of cucumber by regulating laccase synthesis and sulfate metabolism, while ‘Huangchenggen No. 2’ and exogenous silicon reduced chilling stress damage to cucumber by regulating ROS scavenging and protein protection, respectively. Conclusion Among the identified miRNAs, novel-mir46 and miR398a-3p were found in cucumbers in response to chilling stress and two types of rootstocks. However, no identical miRNAs were identified in response to chilling stress and silicon. In addition, the differential expression of novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a may be one of the important reasons for the differences in chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers caused by two types of rootstocks.

Discharge characteristics are crucial for detecting changes in hydrological processes. Recently, the river hydrology) in the Headwater Area of the Yellow River (HAYR) has exhibited erratic regimes (e.g., monotonously declining/low/high hydrograph, even with normal precipitation) under the effects of climate change, permafrost thaw and changes in dam operation. This study integrates hydroclimatic variables (air temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration) with anthropogenic dam operation and permafrost degradation impact data to systematically examine the mechanisms of these hydrological process changes during 1956–2019. The results show the following: 1) compared with the pre-dammed gauged flow, dam construction (January 1998–January 2000) and removal of dam (September 2018–August 2019) induced monotonously low (−17.2 m3 s−1; −61%) and high (+54.6 m3 s−1; +138%) hydrographs, respectively; 2) hydroclimatic variables mainly controlled the summer–autumn hydrological processes in the HAYR; 3) the monotonous decline of the hydrograph of Yellow River in the HAYR in some hydrological years (e.g., 1977, 1979, 1990 and 1995) was closely related with unusually high atmospheric demands of evaporation and low-intense rainfall during summer–autumn seasons; and 4) the lengthening of subsurface hydrological pathways and residence time, permafrost degradation reduced the recession coefficient (−0.002 per year) of winter flow and altered the hydrological regimes of seasonal rivers, which resulted in flattened hydrographs that reduced and delayed the peak flow (of 0.05 mm per year and 1.65 d per year, respectively) as well as boosted the winter baseflow (0.01 mm per year). This study can provide updated and systematic understanding of changing hydrological processes in typical alpine catchments on northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China under a warming climate.

Pyrite is one of the most abundant sulfide minerals in nature, often associated with lead, zinc, copper and other high-value sulfide minerals. Activators are normally used to improve the floatability of pyrite that inhibited due to high alkalinity. The influence of activators on the surface properties of pyrite is the key to reveal its mechanisms. This study investigates the crystal properties of pyrite, including its crystal structure, band structure, density of states, Mulliken, electrochemical properties, etc. Taking the evolution of pyrite surface species as the starting point, this study introduces the effects of surface doping, vacancy defects and surface oxidation on its floatability. The activation mechanisms of ions and flotation agents are reviewed: copper and lead ions form active sites for the adsorption of collector on pyrite surface and promote the adsorption of collectors; acid activators remove hydrophilic precipitation and oxidation products on the surface of pyrite; salt activators react with atoms on pyrite surface to change the surface properties and hydrated layer structure, thereby promoting pyrite flotation. The focus on the surface properties of pyrite including observation, characterization, accurate calculation and simulation during activation, can provide a credible scientific basis for the development of efficient and clean activators, rational utilization of resources and environmental protection.

BackgroundResearch has shown that the disordered serum lipid profile may be associated with the risk of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Whether this association reflect causal effect is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the causality of circulating lipoprotein lipids on DTC.MethodsMendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the circulating lipoprotein lipids and DTC risk using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a genome-wide association (GWA) study containing a high-incidence Italian population of 690 cases samples with DTC and 497 controls.ResultsUnivariate and multivariate mendelian randomization analysis demonstrated that ‘total cholesterol’, ‘HDL cholesterol’, ‘apolipoprotein B’ and ‘ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A1’ were correlated with DTC. According to sensitivity analysis, our results were reliable. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that there is no causative association between DTC and any of the many cause factors when they interact with one another, suggesting that there was a deep interaction between the four factors, which could affect each other. Finally, the mechanism of the related effects each other as well as the target genes with significant SNP regulatory effects in DTC was explored by conducting functional enrichment analysis and constructing the regulatory networks.ConclusionsWe obtained four exposure factors (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A1) closely related to DTC, which laid a theoretical foundation for the treatment of DTC.

Objective Forkhead box a2 (Foxa2) is proven to be an insulin-sensitive transcriptional regulator and affects hepatic steatosis. This study aims to investigate the mechanism by which Foxa2 affects nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods Animal and cellular models of NAFLD were constructed using high-fat diet (HFD) feeding and oleic acid (OA) stimulation, respectively. NAFLD mice received tail vein injections of either an overexpressing negative control (oe-NC) or Foxa2 (oe-Foxa2) for four weeks. HepG2 cells were transfected with oe-NC and oe-Foxa2 for 48 h before OA stimulation. Histological changes and lipid accumulation were assessed using hematoxylin-eosin staining and oil red O staining, respectively. Expression of Foxa2, NF-κB/IKK pathway proteins, lipid synthesis proteins, and fatty acid β-oxidation protein in HFD mice and OA-induced HepG2 cells was detected using western blot. Results Foxa2 expression was downregulated in HFD mice and OA-induced HepG2 cells. Foxa2 overexpression attenuated lipid accumulation and liver injury, and reduced the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total cholesterol, or triglyceride in HFD mice and OA-induced HepG2 cells. Moreover, Foxa2 overexpression decreased the expression of lipid synthesis proteins and increased fatty acid β-oxidation protein expression in the liver tissues. Furthermore, overexpression of Foxa2 downregulated the expression of p-NF-κB/NF-κB and p-IKK/IKK in OA-induced HepG2 cells. Additionally, lipopolysaccharide (NF-κB/IKK pathway activator) administration reversed the downregulation of lipid synthesis proteins and the upregulation of fatty acid β-oxidation protein. Conclusion Foxa2 expression is downregulated in NAFLD. Foxa2 ameliorated hepatic steatosis and inhibited the activation of the NF-κB/IKK signaling pathway.

The trade-off of electro-induced shape-changing hydrogels (EISCHs) between mechanical properties and deformation ability limited its further applications. In this work, the double network technique of reinforcing nondeformable hydrogels’ mechanical properties was introduced into EISCHs, and the NIPAAm/CNTs/Fe(phen)3 double network low-voltage-induced shape-changing hydrogel (DN) was synthesized. The experimental results indicated that the DN gained the balance between mechanical properties and deformation ability compared to the NIPAAm-Fe(phen)3 single network and NIPAAm-Fe(phen)3-CNTs nanocomposite single network hydrogels. The DN was found to have the ability to undergo swelling and shrinking as a result of the transition between Fe(phen)3 network iron (Ⅱ) and iron (Ⅲ) states under low-voltage stimulation. The hydrogen bonding and physical entanglement structure between CNTs and polymer chain segments, and physical entanglements between different network, which enable effective energy dissipation. Meanwhile, the special double network structure enabled the hydrogel could decrease the resistance to deformation stress by the slide between two networks.

Carbohydrates are a common and economical energy source in animal feeds. However, most fish show a persistent postprandial hyperglycemia after intake of a high-carbohydrate diet. Unfortunately, the mechanism of glucose metabolism in fish is still unclear. In the present study, tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) were intraperitoneally injected or orally administered with glucose or fructose (500 mg/kg body weight) to evaluate the ability of fish to utilize carbohydrates. Afterwards, serum glucose, fructose, pyruvate, insulin levels, and acute hypoxia tolerance were measured. Our results showed increased serum glucose level and then decreased post intraperitoneal injection with glucose, and reached a peak after 0.5 hours in turbot and 1 hour in tiger puffer. Tiger puffer had significantly lower liver glycogen, serum glucose, fructose, pyruvate, and insulin contents than turbot. Glucose and fructose only induced insulin secretion in turbot, but did not change serum insulin level in tiger puffer. Glucose was a stronger stimulator of insulin than fructose in the two marine species. Both intraperitoneal injection and oral fructose intake increased serum glucose level, while intraperitoneal or oral glucose also increased serum fructose level. Intraperitoneal injection of glucose promoted absorption and utilization of glucose in the blood more effectively than oral glucose intake. In addition, turbot and tiger puffer were intolerant to acute hypoxia, whereas supplementation with glucose or fructose improved hypoxia tolerance in the two marine fishes by activating anaerobic glycolysis. Taken together, our results provide important scientific information for understanding the mechanism for glucose and fructose utilization and improving hypoxia tolerance in fish.

Abstract Background Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but most patients are refractory to immunotherapy or acquire resistance, with the underlying mechanisms remaining to be explored. Methods We characterized the transcriptomes of ~92,000 single cells from 3 pre-treatment and 12 post-treatment patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade combined with chemotherapy. The 12 post-treatment samples were categorized into two groups based on pathologic response: major pathologic response (MPR; n = 4) and non-MPR (NMPR; n = 8). Results Distinct therapy-induced cancer cell transcriptomes were associated with clinical response. Cancer cells from MPR patients exhibited a signature of activated antigen presentation via major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II). Further, the transcriptional signatures of FCRL4+FCRL5+ memory B cells and CD16+CX3CR1+ monocytes were enriched in MPR patients and are predictors of immunotherapy response. Cancer cells from NMPR patients exhibited overexpression of estrogen metabolism enzymes and elevated serum estradiol. In all patients, therapy promoted expansion and activation of cytotoxic T cells and CD16+ NK cells, reduction of immunosuppressive Tregs, and activation of memory CD8+T cells into an effector phenotype. Tissue-resident macrophages were expanded after therapy, and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were remodeled into a neutral instead of an anti-tumor phenotype. We revealed the heterogeneity of neutrophils during immunotherapy and identified an aged CCL3+ neutrophil subset was decreased in MPR patients. The aged CCL3+ neutrophils were predicted to interact with SPP1+ TAMs through a positive feedback loop to contribute to a poor therapy response. Conclusions Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade combined with chemotherapy led to distinct NSCLC tumor microenvironment transcriptomes that correlated with therapy response. Although limited by a small patient sample size subjected to combination therapy, this study provides novel biomarkers to predict therapy response and suggests potential strategies to overcome immunotherapy resistance.

Representation learning of multivariate time series is a crucial and complex task that offers valuable insights for numerous applications, including time series classification, trend analysis, and regression. Unsupervised learning approaches are often favored in practical scenarios due to the limited availability of labeled data. However, most existing studies focus more on the global information of time series and ignore the local information, especially the representation learning based on the self-attention mechanism. This affects representation performance and may lead to the failure of downstream tasks. This study proposed an unsupervised representation learning model for multivariate time series by comprehensively considering multivariate time series data’s global and local information. Specifically, a specially designed local binary pattern (LBP) method for multivariate time series (multivariate LBP) is introduced to the self-attention mechanism to improve the representation performance of modeling in terms of local information. Additionally, we propose a novel unsupervised approach for learning multivariate time series representations. The experimental results demonstrate significant advantages of our model over other representation learning methods and can be well applied in various downstream tasks.

With the further development of knowledge graphs, many weighted knowledge graphs (WKGs) have been published and greatly promote various applications. However, current deterministic knowledge graph embedding algorithms cannot encode weighted knowledge graphs well. This paper gives a promising framework WeExt that can extend deterministic knowledge graph embedding models to enable them to learn weighted knowledge graph embeddings. In addtion, we introduce weighted link prediction to evaluate the weighted knowledge graph embedding models’ performance on completing WKGs. Finally, we give concrete implementation of WeExt based on two translational distance models and two semantic matching models. Our experimental results show the proposed framework achieves promising performance in link prediction, weight prediction, and weighted link prediction.

Lard (LD) and Basa fish offal oil (BFO) have similar fatty acid profiles, both containing high contents of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of partial or complete replacement of marine fish oil (MFO, herring oil) by LD or BFO in the diets of tiger puffer. The control diet contained 49.1% crude protein and 9.28% crude lipid content including 6% added MFO. In other diets, 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3 of the added MFO was replaced by LD or BFO, respectively. Each diet was fed to triplicate tanks of juvenile fish (initial body weight, 13.88 g). A 46-day feeding trial was conducted in a flow-through seawater system. Each diet was fed to triplicate 200-L rectangular polyethylene tanks, each of which was stocked with 30 fish. Fish were fed to satiation three times a day. The complete replacement of added MFO (replacing 65% of the total crude lipid) had no adverse effects on fish growth performance in terms of survival (>94%), weight gain (360–398%), feed intake (2.37–3.04%), feed conversion ratio (0.84–1.02), and somatic indices. The dietary LD or BFO supplementation also had marginal effects on fish body proximate composition, biochemical parameters, muscle texture, and water-holding ability, as well as the hepatic expression of lipid metabolism-related genes. Partial (2/3) replacement of added MFO by LD or BFO did not significantly reduce the muscle n-3 LC-PUFA content, indicating the n-3 LC-PUFA sparing effects of SFA and MUFA in LD and BFO. In general, dietary LD or BFO reduced the peroxidation level and led to significant changes in the muscle volatile flavor compound profile, which were probably attributed to the change in fatty acid composition. The results of this study evidenced that LD and BFO are good potential lipid sources for tiger puffer feeds.

The treatment of chromium-contaminated soil in seasonal frozen soil areas has been the subject of recent interest. Polyurethane (PU), as a polymer material with excellent freeze–thaw resistance and abrasion resistance, has the potential to solidify Chromium-Contaminated soil in seasonal frozen soil areas. However, there is a lack of research on the mechanism of PU involved in solidifying/stabilizing chromium-contaminated soil in seasonal frozen regions from the perspective of pore structure and functional group coordination bonds. In this study, the leaching behavior of PU with different contents under different freeze–thaw cycles was analyzed, and the mechanism of PU in seasonal frozen regions was explored from the perspective of pores and functional groups by combining various microscopic characterization methods. The results show that PU can effectively resist the deterioration of chromium-contaminated soil after freeze–thaw cycles and can better prevent the harm of secondary leaching. The leaching concentration of chromium ion is only 1.09 mg/L, which is below China’s regulatory limits. PU is beneficial for inhibiting the expansion of ice crystals in chromium-contaminated soil in seasonal frozen soil areas. PU solidifies chromium by physical encapsulation and complexation reactions. The amide functional groups, methyl-CH3 and isocyanate groups in PU play a leading role in the complexation with chromium. Although the freeze–thaw cycle will destroy the coordination bond between the PU functional group and chromium, chromium cannot break through the bond of PU film. This study confirmed the feasibility of using PU to solidify Chromium-Contaminated soil in seasonal frozen soil areas, which can provide research support and reference for in situ engineering in the future.

Brazing a SiO2f/SiO2 composite with metals is often faced with two problems: poor wettability with the brazing alloy and high residual stress in the joint. To overcome these problems, we report a combined method of selective etching and depositing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the surface of a SiO2f/SiO2 composite (3D-rGO-SiO2f/SiO2) to assist brazing with TC4. After the combined treatment, a “3D-rGO” buffer layer formed on the surface layer of the SiO2f/SiO2, and the contact angle was reduced from 130° to 38°, which meant the wettability of active brazing alloy on the surface of SiO2f/SiO2 was obviously improved. In addition, the “3D-rGO” buffer layer contributed to fully integrating the brazing alloy and SiO2f/SiO2; then, the infiltration of the brazing alloy into the surface layer of the SiO2f/SiO2 was enhanced and formed the reduced graphene oxide with a pinning structure in the three dimensional (“3D-pinning-rGO”) structure. Moreover, the joining area of the brazing alloy and SiO2f/SiO2 was expanded and the mismatch degree between the SiO2f/SiO2 and TC4 was reduced, which was achieved by the “3D-pinning-rGO” structure. Furthermore, the concentration of the residual stress in the SiO2f/SiO2-TC4 joints transferred from the SiO2f/SiO2 to the braided quartz fibers, and the residual stress reduced from 142 MPa to 85 MPa. Furthermore, the 3D-pinning-rGO layer facilitated the transfer of heat between the substrates during the brazing process. Finally, the shear strength of the SiO2f/SiO2-TC4 joints increased from 12.5 MPa to 43.7 MPa by the selective etching and depositing rGO method.

To improve the mess-specific activity of Co supported on zeolite catalysts in Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, the Co-MCM-22 catalyst was prepared by simply grinding the MCM-22 with nanosized Co3O4 prefabricated by the thermal decomposition of the Co(II)-glycine complex. It is found that this novel strategy is effective for improving the mess-specific activity of Co catalysts in FT synthesis compared to the impregnation method. Moreover, the ion exchange and calcination sequence of MCM-22 has a significant influence on the dispersion, particle size distribution, and reduction degree of Co. The Co-MCM-22 prepared by the physical grinding of prefabricated Co3O4 and H+-type MCM-22 without a further calcination process exhibits a moderate interaction between Co3O4 and MCM-22, which results in the higher reduction degree, higher dispersion, and higher mess-specific activity of Co. Thus, the newly developed method is more controllable and promising for the synthesis of metal-supported catalysts.

The quality of the intermediate point temperature control of a supercritical unit is directly related to the quality of the coal–water ratio and main steam temperature control of the supercritical unit, which is also related to the economy and safety of the unit. In order to improve the accuracy of short-term predictions of the intermediate point temperature, a short-term prediction model of the intermediate point temperature based on the EEMD (Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition)-LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) model is proposed. This model uses the data of a 600 MW thermal power station in 2022 as a sample. The EEMD method is used to decompose the historical data into IMF components and residual components, and the correlation between each component and the original data is calculated. The relevant components are sent to the LSTM neural network, and all the sub-components are superimposed to obtain the final intermediate point temperature prediction results. At the same time, the BP and LSTM models are built to compare the errors with the proposed model. The results show that the single model will produce large errors when predicting the factors of large data fluctuations. The EEMD–LSTM coupling model can fully extract the detailed features and the prediction effect is obvious. The prediction accuracy of the EEMD–LSTM prediction model built in this paper is significantly better than that of the other two models. It has certain application value in the research field of intermediate point temperature prediction and can meet the requirements of short-term predictions of the intermediate point temperature.

The limited photoelectric conversion efficiency poses one of the critical constraints on commercializing solar flow batteries (SFBs). This study compares the chemical and photoelectrochemical properties of three commonly used redox couples. Additionally, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, for the first time, are introduced to optimize the electrolyte, and they are compared with the original electrolyte. Across different redox couples, the variations in semiconductor flat-band potentials and carrier concentrations result in changes in photoelectric current density. Notably, FeCl2/FeCl3 redox coupled with TiO2 photoelectrodes exhibits the highest photoelectric current density, reaching 75.7 µA cm−2. However, the trade-off of this electrolyte, i.e., providing high photocurrent while being unable to supply sufficient open-circuit voltage, imposes limitations on the practical application of SFBs. Alternatively, for TEMPO and 4-OH-TEMPO electrolytes, which can provide a higher open-circuit voltage, the electrochemical activity is enhanced, and the solution ohmic resistance is reduced by introducing magnetic nanoparticles to form a magnetic nanofluid. As a result, the photoanode’s photocurrent density increases by 36.6% and 17.0%, respectively, in the two electrolytes. The work reported here effectively addresses the current issue of low photocurrent density in SFBs and presents new optimization strategies for SFBs.

Water pollution has becoming an increasingly serious issue, and it has attracted a significant amount of attention from scholars. Here, in order remove heavy metal hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) from wastewater, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was modified with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) at different mass ratios via an ultrasonic method to synthesize g-C3N4/MoS2 (CNM) nanocomposites as photocatalysts. The nanocomposites displayed efficient photocatalytic removal of toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) from water under UV, solar, and visible light irradiation. The CNM composite with a 1:2 g-C3N4 to MoS2 ratio achieved optimal 91% Cr (VI) removal efficiency at an initial 20 mg/L Cr (VI) concentration and pH 3 after 120 min visible light irradiation. The results showed a high pH range and good recycling stability. The g-C3N4/MoS2 nanocomposites exhibited higher performance compared to pure g-C3N4 due to the narrowed band gap of the Z-scheme heterojunction structure and effective separation of photo-generated electron–hole pairs, as evidenced by structural and optical characterization. Overall, the ultrasonic synthesis of g-C3N4/MoS2 photocatalysts shows promise as an efficient technique for enhancing heavy metal wastewater remediation under solar and visible light.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common type of malignant tumor within the gastrointestinal tract, and GC metastasis is associated with poor prognosis. Polypyrimidine tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1) is an RNA-binding protein implicated in various types of tumor development and metastasis. However, the role of PTBP1 in GC metastasis remains elusive. In this study, we verified that PTBP1 was upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines, and higher PTBP1 level was associated with poorer prognosis. It was shown that PTBP1 knockdown in vitro inhibited GC cell migration, whereas PTBP1 overexpression promoted the migration of GC cells. In vivo, the knockdown of PTBP1 notably reduced both the size and occurrence of metastatic nodules in a nude mice liver metastasis model. We identified phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) as a downstream target of PTBP1 and found that PTBP1 increased the stability of PGK1 by directly binding to its mRNA. Furthermore, the PGK1/SNAIL axis could be required for PTBP1’s function in the promotion of GC cell migration. These discoveries suggest that PTBP1 could be a promising therapeutic target for GC.

In order to optimize the integration of English multimedia resources and achieve the goal of sharing English teaching resources in education, this article reconstructs the traditional college English curriculum system. It divides professional English into learning modules according to different majors integrating public health teaching resources. How optimize the integration of English multimedia resources and achieving the goal of sharing English teaching resources (ETR) is the main direction of English teaching reform during the current COVID-19 pandemic. An English multimedia teaching resource-sharing platform is designed to extract feature items from multimedia teaching resources using the ID3 information gain method and construct a decision tree for resource push. In resource sharing, a structured peer-to-peer network is used to manage nodes, query location and share multimedia teaching resources. The optimal gateway node is selected by calculating the distance between each gateway node and the fixed node. Finally, a collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm recommends Multimedia ETR to different users. The simulation results show that the platform can improve the sharing speed and utilization rate of teaching resources, with maximum throughput reaching 12 Mb/s and achieve accurate recommendations of ETR.

Based on single-phase medium theory and unsaturated porous medium theory, the vibration isolation effect of setting a single-phase solid wave impeding block (WIB) in the unsaturated soil foundation under an underground dynamic load is investigated. Using the Fourier integral transform and Helmholtz vector decomposition, the calculation formula of the dynamic response of unsaturated soil foundation under an underground dynamic load is established by combining the boundary conditions. The influence of physical and mechanical parameters such as saturation, load frequency, embedded depth of WIB, thickness of WIB, and elastic modulus of WIB on the vibration isolation performance in unsaturated soil foundation is analyzed. The results show that in the case of underground dynamic load, setting a WIB in unsaturated soil foundation could achieve a better vibration isolation effect. The surface displacement amplitude decreases significantly with the increase of saturation, load frequency, embedded depth, thickness, and elastic modulus of WIB.

The traditional wave impeding block (WIB) is designed as composite multilayer WIB with the same thickness to improve its vibration isolation effect. Based on the wave theory in unsaturated porous medium and elastic medium, the isolation effect of composite multilayer WIB on P-wave in unsaturated soil is investigated, and the solution of the vertical displacement at surface after setting composite multilayer WIB (as an example for triple-layer) in unsaturated foundation is obtained. The key factors such as incidence angle, frequency, saturation, thickness, and burial depth of the composite multilayer WIB are evaluated on its vibration isolation properties. The results show that the optimum vibration isolation effect can be achieved by controlling the wave impedance ratio among layers of materials. The isolation efficiency of composite multilayer WIB is 33.9% higher than homogeneous WIB with same thickness at l east, and has good vibration isolation effect for low, medium, and high frequency.

Abstract A high‐quality joint of the parent metal Al‐25Si‐4Mg‐1Cu alloy (AlSi alloy) was brazed to itself using Zn layer as a filler material. The typical microstructure of AlSi/Zn/AlSi joint was Al‐Zn solid solution, primary Si phase and α‐Al phase. When brazing temperature was increased from 400 to 405°C, Zn began to melt and reacted with Al diffused from base material, then Si phase formed. While the increase in brazing temperature to 415°C caused the gradual buring of Zn from Al‐Zn solid solution, and α‐Al remained. Furthermore, the shear strength of the joint increased because of α‐Al phase and Si phase formation. In addition, with brazing time extending from 8 to 12 min, the amount of Al‐Zn solid solution decreased, while the amount of Si phase and α‐Al phase increased, thus the shear strength of the joint was improved. While the increase in holding time extending to 14 min caused many micro‐voids formed, and the shear strength of the joint was reduced. Finally, the shear strength of the joint brazed at 415°C for 12 min reached 65.6 MPa.

Abstract Lithium‐based batteries are the most potential state‐of‐the‐art energy storage device for flexible electronics. The flexible lithium batteries have the advantages of high energy density, robust mechanical durability, and stable power output even under dynamic deformation. Among them, the synergies of flexible free‐standing electrodes, solid electrolytes, and electrode–electrolyte interfaces are crucial to achieving the goal of high energy density and safety performance for flexible lithium batteries. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the interface formation mechanism and influencing factors is crucial for the design of flexible electrodes and solid electrolytes. In this review, the interface challenges in flexible lithium‐based batteries including interface formation, electrodes‐electrolyte interface, and interparticle interface characteristics are presented. Then, strategies of interface optimization are summarized and discussed. Following this, the interface of flexible lithium‐based batteries with novel architecture is introduced, including the interface between each component and unit of the battery. Finally, the perspectives for the future development of flexible lithium‐based batteries are also given.

Abstract Background Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare central nervous system (CNS) tumor. We first report a rare case of IMT in the lateral ventricle and describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the tumor with an emphasis on the advanced MRI features. Case presentation A 49-year-old female patient with headaches and blurred vision for 2 months. Brain MRI revealed a well-circumscribed, lobulated mass occupying the left lateral ventricle trigone, with marked perilesional brain edema. The tumor showed heterogeneous significant hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and hypointensity on T1-weighted imaging (T1WI). After the administration of gadolinium, the mass exhibited marked contrast enhancement and the halo sign was observed. On advanced MRI, the lesion showed decreased perfusion on perfusion MRI and reduced diffusion on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). On susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), there was a punctate low signal intensity in the tumor. The patient underwent surgical resection of the mass and a pathological examination confirmed the lesion to be an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor with negative expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). This patient had remained healthy without evidence of recurrence during a 20-month follow-up. Conclusions On MRI, marked perilesional brain edema, significant hyperintensity on T2WI, hypoperfusion on perfusion MRI but with an obvious enhancement, no diffusion restriction on DWI, and halo sign may be the characteristic findings of intraventricular IMT. The advanced MRI characteristics could provide abundant information to reflect the histological features and physiological metabolic characteristics of the tumor.

Type XI collagen plays a fundamental role in fibrillogenesis, through formation of cartilage collagen fibrils and contributions to the cohesive properties of cartilage. The α-1 chain of type XI collagen is encoded by the COL11A1. Pathogenic variants of COL11A1, have been identified in several genetic conditions, including Marshall syndrome (MRSHS), Stickler syndrome type II, and Fibrochondrogenesis 1. We investigated genetic etiology of an induced labor fetus displaying micrognathia, cleft palate, hypertelorism and polydactyly. Whole-exome sequencing was performed in DNA samples of the proband and parents. Sanger sequencing was then performed as a confirmatory experiment and in silico evaluation was conducted on suspected variant. A novel de novo missense variant in exon62 of the COL11A1, NM_001854.3 COL11A1: c.4583G>T (p.Gly1528Val), was identified and verified by Sanger sequencing. In silico analysis demonstrated that the amino-acid p.Gly1528 was evolutionarily conservative, and that p.Gly1528Val was potentially damaging. This data provided reliable evidence for the subsequent genetic counseling to the affected family.

Abstract Although the recent concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is continuously searching for modern operational approaches to be implemented in practice, the Decision Support Systems (DSSs) have been considered a major effective tool for supporting IWRM. According to the weaknesses and limitations in the current DSSs, this paper presents a new DSS development strategy based on an architecture design including higher levels of competitive advantages in system flexibility, product maintenance, and user acceptance. Instead of producing a DSS as a stand‐alone product limited to real‐time monitoring, the selected approach presents a design for a real‐time DSS service setup with a multilayered user interface and a multimodular modeling system. The methodology has been used and implemented over the Var catchment (2800 km2) and has been validated with an operational application. The designed DSS is currently used by the local management authorities with a high level of user satisfaction with monitoring and forecast services. The obtained result underlines the promising applicability of the proposed approach for other DSSs addressing utilities.

Air regeneration, harmful gas purification and atmospheric composition monitoring are the key technologies of submarine atmospheric environment control systems. After years of development, China has made great progress in such systems, which have developed from ensuring the safety requirements of submariner and equipment operation to ensuring the health of submariner and reliability of system for long-term underwater operation. This paper reviews the development history of submarine atmospheric environment control technologies and introduces their future development prospects. The developers of integrated atmospheric environment control technology should learn from foreign submarine and aerosphere equipment technologies, which aim to support long-term submerged operation and comfort demands, and better adapt to future submarine technology development and evolving mission, in order to constantly enhance the level of submarine cabin air quality of the Chinese navy.

Abstract Background In camels, nasopharyngeal myiasis is caused by the larvae of Cephalopina titillator, which parasitize the tissues of nasal and paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. C. titillator infestation adversely affects the health of camels and decreases milk and meat production and even death. However, the C. titillator infestation in Bactrian camels has not been widely studied. Methods The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of C. titillator in Bactrian camels of northwestern Xinjiang. Suspected larvae recovered from infested camels were evaluated for C. titillator by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. Nucleotide sequences of the partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX1) and cytochrome b (CYTB) genes from the C. titillator of camels were aligned from the NCBI database. Furthermore, the gross and histopathological alterations associated with C. titillator infestation were evaluated via pathological examination. Results Of 1263 camels examined 685 (54.2%) camels were infested with suspected C. titillator larvae. Different larval stages were topically detected in the nasal passages and pharynx of the camel heads. Microscopy analysis of the pharyngeal mucosa tissue revealed necrotic tissue debris and some inflammatory cells. Molecular detection of the larval COX1 and CYTB genes indicated that pathogen collected in Bactrian camels was C. titillator. The epidemiological study demonstrated that the prevalence rate of C.titillator infestation was significantly higher in camels of Bestierek Town Pasture (67.2%) and Karamagai Town Pasture (63.6%) compared to Kitagel Town Pasture (38.7%) and Qibal Town Pasture (35.8%) (P 0.05). The prevalence was higher in warm (64.2%) than that in cold (48.4%) seasons (P 10 (61.1%) years old compared to those of aged

Abstract The growing complexity of the competition among uses and the emerging understanding of the synergy effects within the catchments and the rivers have underlined the need for information on various aspects of water: precipitations, discharges, velocities, and water depths are some of the basic characteristics that need to be studied for developing a management strategy that can identify and balance the various uses, ensure conservation of resources, and mitigate the potential effect of extreme events. At present, technical innovation provides the possibility to perform measurements on the field, to produce the needed information, and to move to a new paradigm for the management of rivers. This study analyzes the concept of smart river management that emerged recently with the wide spread of Information Technologies (IT) solutions and development of a new generation of sensors based on internet of things architecture. The analysis demonstrates that a holistic approach is needed for efficient management of rivers. The use of Information and Communication Technologies solutions can provide a real added value, but important efforts must be engaged for identifying key activities in the various domains that can benefit from the digital transformation. At the same time, this study introduces the paradigm of a river information system that encompasses the various activities taking place around the rivers and ensures gradual integration of the various IT components in a consistent environment that provides support to the many users of rivers. To achieve this objective, the current situation requires formalization of a roadmap and the need to address the various activities in a systematic way. Within this long‐term process, the digital twins concept represents a step toward the target water information system and has generated interest among professional communities.

Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are novel non-coding RNAs with important regulatory roles in cancer progression. IGF2BP3 has been found to play oncogenic roles in various cancers including GC, while the exact mechanism of IGF2BP3 is largely unknown. Methods The expression of IGF2BP3 in GC was evaluated by Western Blot and bioinformatics analysis. CircRNA expression profiles were screened via IGF2BP3 RIP-seq in GC. Sanger sequencing, RNase R digestion, nucleo-plasmic separation and RNA-FISH assays were used to detect the existence and expression of circARID1A. RNA ISH assay was employed to test the expression of circARID1A in paraffin-embedded GC tissues. Moreover, the function of circARID1A on cellular proliferation was assessed by CCK-8, plate colony formation, EdU assays and GC xenograft mouse model in vivo. Furthermore, the location or binding of circARID1A, IGF2BP3 protein and SLC7A5 in GC was evaluated by RNA-FISH/IF or RNA pull-down assays. Results We identified a novel circRNA, circARID1A, that can bind to IGF2BP3 protein. CircARID1A was significantly upregulated in GC tissues compared with noncancerous tissues and positively correlated with tumor length, tumor volume, and TNM stage. CircARID1A knockdown inhibited the proliferation of GC cells in vitro and in vivo and circARID1A played an important role in the oncogenic function of IGF2BP3. Mechanistically, circARID1A served as a scaffold to facilitate the interaction between IGF2BP3 and SLC7A5 mRNA, finally increasing SLC7A5 mRNA stability. Additionally, circARID1A was able to directly bind SLC7A5 mRNA through complementary base-pairing and then formed the circARID1A-IGF2BP3-SLC7A5 RNA–protein ternary complex and promoted the proliferation of GC via regulating AKT/mTOR pathway. Conclusions Altogether, our data suggest that circARID1A is involved in the function of IGF2BP3 and GC proliferation, and the circARID1A-IGF2BP3-SLC7A5 axis has the potential to serve as a novel therapeutic target for GC.

Abstract Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) are considered as a low‐cost complementary or alternative system to prestigious lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) because of their similar working principle to LIBs, cost‐effectiveness, and sustainable availability of sodium resources, especially in large‐scale energy storage systems (EESs). Among various cathode candidates for SIBs, Na‐based layered transition metal oxides have received extensive attention for their relatively large specific capacity, high operating potential, facile synthesis, and environmental benignity. However, there are a series of fatal issues in terms of poor air stability, unstable cathode/electrolyte interphase, and irreversible phase transition that lead to unsatisfactory battery performance from the perspective of preparation to application, outside to inside of layered oxide cathodes, which severely limit their practical application. This work is meant to review these critical problems associated with layered oxide cathodes to understand their fundamental roots and degradation mechanisms, and to provide a comprehensive summary of mainstream modification strategies including chemical substitution, surface modification, structure modulation, and so forth, concentrating on how to improve air stability, reduce interfacial side reaction, and suppress phase transition for realizing high structural reversibility, fast Na+ kinetics, and superior comprehensive electrochemical performance. The advantages and disadvantages of different strategies are discussed, and insights into future challenges and opportunities for layered oxide cathodes are also presented.

Photocatalysis has emerged as a highly promising, green, and efficient technology for degrading pollutants in wastewater. Among the various photocatalysts, Bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6) has gained significant attention in the research community due to its potential in environmental remediation and photocatalytic energy conversion. However, the limited light absorption ability and rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers hinder the further improvement of Bi2WO6’s photocatalytic performance. This review aims to present recent advancements in the development of Bi2WO6-based photocatalysts. It delves into the photocatalytic mechanism of Bi2WO6 and summarizes the achieved photocatalytic characteristics by controlling its morphology, employing metal and non-metal doping, constructing semiconductor heterojunctions, and implementing defective engineering. Additionally, this review explores the practical applications of these modified Bi2WO6 photocatalysts in wastewater purification. Furthermore, this review addresses existing challenges and suggests prospects for the development of efficient Bi2WO6 photocatalysts. It is hoped that this comprehensive review will serve as a valuable reference and guide for researchers seeking to advance the field of Bi2WO6 photocatalysis.

In this paper, a low-temperature thick oil demulsifier with high polarity was prepared by introducing ethylene oxide, propylene oxide block, and butylene oxide using m-diphenol as a starting agent. The main reasons for the difficulty involved in the low-temperature emulsification of extractive fluids were explained by analyzing the synthetic influencing factors and infrared spectra of the star comb polymer (PR-D2) and by analyzing the four fractions, interfacial energies, and zeta potentials of crude oils from the Chun and Gao fields. The effects of PR-D2 surfactant on the emulsification performance of crude oil recovery fluids were investigated via indoor and field experiments. The experimental results indicate that the optimal synthesis conditions for this emulsion breaker are as follows: a quality ratio of ionic reaction intermediates and meso-diphenol of R = 10:1; 1 g of the initiator; a polymerization temperature of 80 °C; and a reaction time of 8 h. Colloidal asphaltenes in the crude oil were the main factor hindering the low-temperature demulsification of the Gao oilfield’s extractive fluids, and the reason for the demulsification difficulty of the extractive fluids in the Chun oilfield is that the temperature of demulsification is lower than the wax precipitation point. The demulsification rate of the Chun oilfield’s extractive fluids reached more than 98% when the PR-D2 concentration reached 150 mg/L at 43 °C. The demulsification rate of the Gao oilfield’s extractive fluids reached more than 98% at a PR-D2 concentration of 150 mg/L at 65 °C. The field experiments show that the Chun oilfield’s extractive fluids can still demulsify after the temperature is reduced to 43 °C in winter. The emulsification temperature of the Gao oilfield’s extractive fluids was reduced from 73 °C to 68 °C, with an excellent demulsification effect.

Carbon fiber heating technology has been widely used in pavement surfaces in practical engineering projects as an environmentally friendly, efficient, and safe ice melting technique. However, the current design of carbon fiber-heated pavement focuses primarily on the ice melting effect while neglecting the crucial mechanical performance evaluation. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the temperature and thermal strain distributions of concrete pavement through model tests and develop a corresponding three-dimensional numerical model to analyze the temperature stress field distribution of carbon fiber-heated pavement. The accuracy of the numerical model is verified by comparing the model test results with the numerical analysis results. The numerical model test results indicate that the maximum compressive stress near the carbon fiber wire is 4 MPa, while the maximum tensile stress between the two carbon fiber wires is 1 MPa. According to the design standard for highway cement concrete pavement, the temperature stress induced by temperature change is significantly lower than the design value of the material’s inherent strength. In addition, a linear relationship between the depth and temperature gradient affecting temperature stress is observed after establishing a correlation between the temperature gradient and temperature stress. The findings of this study can provide valuable insight into the design of carbon fiber-heated concrete pavements.

The Rayleigh–Stokes equation with a fractional derivative is widely used in many fields. In this paper, we consider the inverse initial value problem of the Rayleigh–Stokes equation. Since the problem is ill-posed, we adopt the Tikhonov regularization method to solve this problem. In addition, this paper not only analyzes the ill-posedness of the problem but also gives the conditional stability estimate. Finally, the convergence estimates are proved under two regularization parameter selection rules.

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the biological activities of Enteromorpha prolifera bio-products in the diets of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Bio-products of E. prolifera included E. prolifera meal, E. prolifera hydrolysate and E. prolifera polysaccharide, which was supplied using different processing procedures. The control diet was supplemented without any E. prolifera bio-products or dietary attractants. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 0.2% and 0.4% of E. prolifera hydrolysate (EPH0.2% and EPH0.4%), 0.03% of E. prolifera polysaccharide (EPP0.03%), 3% of E. prolifera meal (EPM3%), 0.1% of dimethyl-β-propiothetn (DMPT0.1%) and 1% of squid paste (SP1%). Shrimp (~8 g) were randomly distributed in 21 tanks and fed for 44 days. Feed intake showed that 3% of E. prolifera meal and 0.4% of E. prolifera hydrolysate in diets exhibited similar attractant effects as 0.1% of DMPT. Gross qualitative observation showed that the abundance of lipid droplets decreased in hepatopancreas of the EPH0.4% and EPM3% groups, which were supported by hepatopancreas triacylglycerol (TG), where significantly lower concentrations were observed in the EPH0.4% and EPM3% groups compared with the control group. Similarly, TG and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum significantly decreased in the EPH0.4%, EPP0.03% and EPM3% groups compared to the control group. Supplemental E. prolifera bio-products resulted in significantly higher serum glutathione level of EPP0.03% or superoxide dismutase activities of EPH0.4% and EPM3%, but significantly lower serum malondialdehyde level of EPM3%. In addition, tnf-α expression in hepatopancreas was significantly down-regulated in shrimp fed the EPH0.2%, EPH0.4% and EPM3% diets. Based on survival analysis, E. prolifera bio-products improved the resistance of shrimp to hypoxic stresses. Thus, this study confirmed that bio-products of E. prolifera supplied using different processing procedures could be used to reduce the amount of E. prolifera in feed of shrimp without compromising their biological functions.

Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) particles, exposing anisotropic crystal planes during the grinding process, possess comprehensive surface properties that affect their leaching behaviors. In order to investigate the influence of anisotropic crystal planes on the leaching mechanisms, CuFeS2 particles with anisotropic crystal planes were produced by employing three-head laboratory grinder mill (TM), rod mill (RM), and ball mill (BM) and were then leached in a sulfuric acid solution at pH = 1. Based on the XRD, SEM, XPS, and simulation results, (112), (102), (312), (110), (116), (100), and (001) planes were mainly exposed on the CuFeS2 surface during the crushing and grinding process. In addition, fewer (112), (102), (312), and (110) planes but more (116), (100), and (001) planes were exposed on the CuFeS2 samples in the TM method than in the RM and BM methods. Since the leaching rates were in the order of (001) > (100) > (116) > (110) > (312) > (102) > (112) planes, the Cu extractions followed an order of TM > RM > BM. This study, therefore, provides an excellent theoretical basis for the effect of anisotropic crystal planes on CuFeS2 leaching, further improving the understanding of CuFeS2 leaching mechanisms.

Focusing on the problem of poor demulsification performance of light crude oil emulsions in low-permeability oilfields at low temperatures, the composition of the emulsion samples, clay particle size distribution, and the viscosity–temperature relationship curve of samples were analyzed. Based on the results of emulsion composition analysis and characteristics, the bottle test method was used to analyze the demulsifying effect of different commercial types of demulsifiers, revealing the demulsification mechanism. The field tests confirm the demulsification capabilities of Polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene quaternized polyoxyolefins surfactants (PR demulsifiers). The results reveal that PR demulsifiers combine the features of decreasing the interfacial tension between oil and water and adsorbing SiO2, allowing for quick demulsification and flocculation at low temperatures. This research serves as a theoretical and practical foundation for the study and advancement of low-temperature demulsification technology in oilfields.

Atmospheric heavy metal pollution presents a severe threat to public health and environmental stability. Transition metal catalysts have emerged as a potent solution for the selective capture and removal of these pollutants. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current advancements in the field, emphasizing the efficiency and specificity of nanostructured transition metals, including manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc. Looking forward, we delve into the prospective trajectory of catalyst development, underscoring the need for materials with enhanced stability, regenerability, and environmental compatibility. We project that advancements in computational materials science, nanotechnology, and green chemistry will be pivotal in discovering innovative catalysts that are economically and environmentally sustainable. The integration of smart technologies for real-time monitoring and adaptive control is anticipated to revolutionize heavy metal remediation, ensuring efficient and responsive pollution abatement strategies in the face of evolving industrial scenarios and regulatory landscapes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of imbalanced dietary BCAAs, especially Leu, on the growth and BCAA metabolism in turbot. A control diet was formulated by keeping optimum levels of Leu, Ile and Val. Four experimental diets were prepared by removing supplemental crystalline Leu (deficiency) or supplementing double the amount of Leu, Ile or Val (excess) in the control diet. The growth was not significantly decreased by an excess of Leu, Ile or Val. Fish fed an excess of any particular BCAA significantly increased its postprandial (2 and 6 h) concentration in the plasma, muscles, and liver, but did not decrease the other two BCAA concentrations. The expression of intestinal b0at1 was down-regulated by excessive dietary Leu, Ile or Val. For BCAA catabolism, the mRNA levels of bcat2 in the muscles as well as bckdha and bckdhb in the livers of the Leu-deficient group were the lowest among all the groups, but were up-regulated by excess dietary Leu, Ile or Val. In conclusion, in terms of growth, turbot had high plasticity to an excess of any particular BCAA. Meanwhile, the antagonistic effect caused by an excess of one BCAA were reflected in intestinal amino acid absorption and BCAA catabolism.

There are many mountain torrent disasters caused by melting icebergs and snow in Xinjiang, which are very different from traditional mountain torrent disasters. Most of the areas affected by snowmelt are in areas without data, making it very difficult to predict and warn of disasters. Taking the Lianggoushan watershed at the southern foot of Boroconu Mountain as the research subject, the key factors were screened by Pearson correlation coefficient and the factor analysis method, and the data of rainfall, water level, temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and snow depth were used as inputs, respectively, with support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), artificial neural network (ANN), recurrent neural network (RNN), and long short-term memory neural network (LSTM) models used to simulate the daily average water level at the outlet of the watershed. The research results showed that the root mean square error (RMSE) values of SVR, RF, KNN, ANN, RNN, and LSTM in the training period were 0.033, 0.012, 0.016, 0.022, 0.011, and 0.010, respectively, and in the testing period they were 0.075, 0.072, 0.071, 0.075, 0.075, and 0.071, respectively. The performance of LSTM was better than that of other models, but it had more hyperparameters that needed to be optimized. The performance of RF was second only to LSTM; it had only one hyperparameter and was very easy to determine. The RF model showed that the simulation results mainly depended on the average wind speed and average sea level pressure data. The snowmelt model based on machine learning proposed in this study can be widely used in iceberg snowmelt warning and forecasting in ungauged areas, which is of great significance for the improvement of mountain flood prevention work in Xinjiang.

Abstract Background Rhabdomyolysis (RM) is a common complication of exertional heat stroke (EHS) and constitutes a direct cause of death. However, the mechanism underlying RM following EHS remains unclear. Methods The murine EHS model was prepared by our previous protocol. RNA sequencing is applied to identify the pathological pathways that contribute to RM following EHS. Inhibition of the acyl‐CoA synthetase long‐chain family member 4 (ACSL4) was achieved by RNA silencing in vitro prior to ionomycin plus heat stress exposure or pharmacological inhibitors in vivo prior to heat and exertion exposure. The histological changes, the iron accumulation, oxidized phosphatidylethanolamines species, as well as histological evaluation and levels of lipid metabolites in skeletal muscle tissues were measured. Results We demonstrated that ferroptosis contributes to RM development following EHS. Ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin‐1 administration once EHS onset significantly ameliorated the survival rate of EHS mice from 35.357% to 52.288% within 24 h after EHS (P = 0.0028 compared with control) and markedly inhibited RM development induced by EHS. By comparing gene expression of between sham heat rest (SHR) (n = 3) and EHS (n = 3) mice in the gastrocnemius (Gas) muscle tissue, we identified that Acsl4 mRNA expression is elevated in Gas muscle tissue of EHS mice (P = 0.0038 compared with SHR), so as to its protein levels (P = 0.0001 compared with SHR). Followed by increase in creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin (MB) levels, the labile iron accumulation, decrease in glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression, and elevation of lipid peroxidation products. From in vivo and in vitro experiments, inhibition of Acsl4 significantly improves muscle cell death caused by EHS, thereby ameliorating RM development, followed by reduction in CK and MB levels by 30–40% (P

Understanding the underlying mechanisms for catalytic reduction of CO2 over Cu based catalysts remains challenging. Here, the authors develop an effective method to reveal the vital roles of H2O in promoting metal catalysts to CO2 reduction via a modified triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometer.