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Objective: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to the recovery of neurological function after ischemic stroke. Indirect revascularization has exhibited promising effects in the treatment of cerebral ischemia related to moyamoya disease and intracranial atherosclerotic disease. The role of EPCs in augmenting the revascularization effect is not clear. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of indirect revascularization combined with EPC transplantation in rats with chronic cerebral ischemia. Methods: Chronic cerebral ischemia was induced by bilateral internal carotid artery ligation (BICAL) in rats, and indirect revascularization by encephalo-myo-synangiosis (EMS) was performed 1 week later. During the EMS procedure, intramuscular injection of EPCs and the addition of stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), and AMD3100, an SDF-1 inhibitor, were undertaken, respectively, to investigate their effects on indirect revascularization. Two weeks later, the cortical microcirculation, neuronal damage, and functional outcome were evaluated according to the microvasculature density and partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen (PbtO2), regional blood flow, expression of phosphorylated Tau (pTau), TUNEL staining and the rotarod performance test, respectively. Results: The cortical microcirculation, according to PbtO2 and regional blood flow, was impaired 3 weeks after BICAL. These impairments were improved by the EMS procedure. The regional blood flow was further increased by the addition of SDF-1 and decreased by the addition of AMD3100. Intramuscular injection of EPCs further increased the regional blood flow as compared with the EMS group. The rotarod test results showed that the functional outcome was best in the EMS combined with EPC injection group. Western blot analysis showed that the EMS combined with EPC treatment group had significantly decreased expressions of phosphorylated Tau and phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (Y216 of GSK-3β). pTau and TUNEL-positive cells were markedly increased at 3 weeks after BICAL induction. Furthermore, the groups treated with EMS combined with SDF-1 or EPCs exhibited marked decreases in the pTau expression and TUNEL-positive cells, whereas AMD3100 treatment increased TUNEL-positive cells. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that indirect revascularization ameliorated the cerebral ischemic changes. EPCs played a key role in augmenting the effect of indirect revascularization in the treatment of chronic cerebral ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report for the first time, a novel CrB/Cu(Al) composite is successfully fabricated by hot-pressed sintering of Cu and MAB phase Cr2AlB2 powders, which was prepared by a two-step molten salt method. The microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the composites were also investigated. Results show that homogeneous and compact composites composed of CrB and Cu (Al) solid solution are obtained, and the grain size of Cu matrix dramatically decreases from 56.41 to ~ 3 μm when Cr2AlB2 was added into Cu matrix. In addition, an alternate structure and good interfacial bonding between ceramic and Cu matrix are observed, which are beneficial for ceramic particles to bear loads and result in high mechanical strength. The Vickers hardness of Cu–20Cr2AlB2 composite is around 140 HV1.0 with electrical conductivity of 20.69% IACS. The tensile and yield strength of the composite are as high as 393.56–289.65 MPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrient patterns can significantly influence the growth and development of fruit trees, especially fruit quality. In order to clarify the appropriate ratio of inorganic and organic fertilizers, six treatments with different ratios of cow manure and chemical fertilizers were set up in this study to evaluate the effects of different treatments on fruit yield, appearance quality, intrinsic quality and volatile substances. The results showed that, after replacing some chemical fertilizers with cow manure, the content of sugar, titratable acid, organic acid and aroma substance in the fruit increased, the fruit yield and colour did not change significantly, and the fruit weight per fruit decreased. Among the treatments of cow manure with chemical fertilizer, the fruits of 50% chemical fertilizer with 50% cow manure treatment had higher titratable acid (0.4%), malic acid (4.15 mg/g), sorbitol (0.51%), glucose (1.30%), fructose (5.81%) content and total aroma substance content (1047.82 μg/g) than chemical fertilizer alone. Compared to the fertilizer treatment alone, the application of cow manure instead of 50% of the chemical fertilizer had a positive effect on fruit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a pregnant maternal immunological tolerance that protects the fetus and promotes its growth, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) family participates in the regulation of innate immune and adaptive immune responses. The thymus is related to establishing central tolerance, and early pregnancy has effects on expression of a good number of genes and proteins in the maternal thymus in sheep. However, it is unclear whether early pregnancy changes expression of NF-κB subunits in the ovine thymus. In this study, the thymic samples were collected from day 16 of non-pregnant ewes, and days 13, 16 and 25 of pregnant ewes, and the expression of NF-κB members (NF-κB1, NF-κB2, RelA, RelB and c-Rel) was analyzed through real-time quantitative PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. The results showed that c-Rel mRNA and protein upregulated at day 25 of pregnancy, and NF-κB1 mRNA and proteins increased at days 16 and 25 of pregnancy, and RelB mRNA and proteins enhanced during early pregnancy. However, expression levels of NF-κB2 and RelA were decreased during early pregnancy, but upregulated from day 13 to 25 of pregnancy. In addition, the RelA protein was located in the epithelial reticular cells, capillaries and thymic corpuscles. This paper reported for the first time that early pregnancy induced expression of NF-κB1, RelB and c-Rel, but inhibited expression of NF-κB2 and RelA in the maternal thymus during early pregnancy, which is involved in the central immune tolerance, and helpful for successful pregnancy in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a pregnant maternal immunological tolerance that protects the fetus and promotes its growth, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) family participates in the regulation of innate immune and adaptive immune responses. The thymus is related to establishing central tolerance, and early pregnancy has effects on expression of a good number of genes and proteins in the maternal thymus in sheep. However, it is unclear whether early pregnancy changes expression of NF-κB subunits in the ovine thymus. In this study, the thymic samples were collected from day 16 of non-pregnant ewes, and days 13, 16 and 25 of pregnant ewes, and the expression of NF-κB members (NF-κB1, NF-κB2, RelA, RelB and c-Rel) was analyzed through real-time quantitative PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. The results showed that c-Rel mRNA and protein upregulated at day 25 of pregnancy, and NF-κB1 mRNA and proteins increased at days 16 and 25 of pregnancy, and RelB mRNA and proteins enhanced during early pregnancy. However, expression levels of NF-κB2 and RelA were decreased during early pregnancy, but upregulated from day 13 to 25 of pregnancy. In addition, the RelA protein was located in the epithelial reticular cells, capillaries and thymic corpuscles. This paper reported for the first time that early pregnancy induced expression of NF-κB1, RelB and c-Rel, but inhibited expression of NF-κB2 and RelA in the maternal thymus during early pregnancy, which is involved in the central immune tolerance, and helpful for successful pregnancy in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the dynamic compressive strength and dissipated energy of rocks were investigated under hydrostatic pressure after different freeze–thaw cycles (FTCs). A split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) with a lateral confining pressure chamber was used for the dynamic testing of sandstone specimens. The results indicated that under a certain loading rate and hydrostatic pressure, both the dissipative energy and dynamic compression strength of rocks decreased with the increase in the number of FTCs. The hydrostatic pressure significantly increased the dissipated energy and dynamic compression strength of rocks, and the enhancement became more pronounced as the number of FTCs increased. By analyzing the energy and damage characteristics of the specimens, after 40 FTCs, the internal damage of the specimens became critical and desensitized the dissipated energy to the loading rate. Based on the testing results, an empirical function was proposed to describe how the dissipated energy was related to the number of FTCs, hydrostatic pressure, and loading rate. It was demonstrated that the dissipated energy had a negative linear relation with FTC, which was enhanced by confinement. The dissipated energy of the specimen corresponded to the dynamic compression strength according to a quadratic function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we classify the complete degenerate stationary surfaces in R 3 , 1 with injective Gauss maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effect of pulp cell wall structure on fruit hardness and crispness in apples. To this end, we studied the cell wall polysaccharides in two apple varieties, "Hanfu" and "Honeycrisp," during fruit development. Compared with Hanfu, the crispness of Honeycrisp was higher, whereas its harness was lower. The intensity and distribution of immunofluorescence signals indicated that galactose and arabinose contributed to the higher hardness of Hanfu, whereas arabinose, egg-box structure, and fucosylated xyloglucans, distributed in the corners of tricellular junctions, enhanced the cell–cell adhesion and improved the crispness of Honeycrisp. Besides, fucosylated xyloglucan played an important role in promoting the formation and maintaining the strength of the cell wall skeleton and, consequently, retaining the fruit crispness. The esterification state of pectin had little effect on the fruit hardness and crispness in both varieties. Collectively, our findings provided information on the underlying mechanism of fruit texture formation in apples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of premature death in China, especially among adult men. Since the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, nationwide tobacco control has been strengthened, but its long-term impact on smoking prevalence is unclear. Methods and findings: Five nationally representative surveys of the China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance (CCDRFS) were conducted in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018. A total of 624,568 adults (278,605 men and 345,963 women) aged 18 to 69 years were randomly selected from 31 provinces (or equivalent) in China. Temporal changes in smoking prevalence and patterns (e.g., percentages of those smoking manufactured cigarettes, amount smoked, and age at smoking initiation) were analyzed, overall and by sex, urban or rural residence, year of birth, education and occupation, using linear regression methods. Among men, the standardized prevalence of current smoking decreased from 58.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 56.1 to 60.7) to 50.8% (95% CI: 49.1 to 52.5, p < 0.001) between 2007 and 2018, with annual decrease more pronounced in urban (55.7% [95% CI: 51.2 to 60.3] to 46.3% [95% CI: 43.7 to 49.0], p < 0.001) than rural men (59.9% [95% CI: 57.5 to 62.4] to 54.6% [95% CI: 52.6 to 56.6], p = 0.05) and in those born before than after 1980. Among rural men born after 1990, however, the prevalence increased from 40.2% [95% CI: 34.0 to 46.4] to 52.1% ([95% CI: 45.7 to 58.5], p = 0.007), with the increase taking place mainly before 2015. Among women, smoking prevalence remained extremely low at around 2% during 2007 to 2018. No significant changes of current smoking prevalence (53.9% to 50.8%, p = 0.22) were observed in male patients with at least 1 of major chronic diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)). In 2018, 25.6% of adults aged ≥18 years smoked, translating into an estimated 282 million smokers (271 million men and 11 million women) in China. Across 31 provinces, smoking prevalence varied greatly. The 3 provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan) with highest per capita tobacco production had highest smoking prevalence in men (68.0%, 63.4%, and 61.5%, respectively), while lowest prevalence was observed in Shanghai (34.8%). Since the children and teenage groups were not included in the surveys, we could not assess the smoking trends among youths. Furthermore, since the smoking behavior was self-reported, the smoking prevalence could be underestimated due to reporting bias. Conclusions: In this study, we observed that the smoking prevalence has decreased steadily in recent decades in China, but there were diverging trends between urban and rural areas, especially among men born after 1980. Future tobacco control strategies should target rural young men, regions with high tobacco production, and patients suffering from chronic diseases. Mei Zhang, Ling Yang, Limin Wang, and colleagues report on trends in smoking prevalence in China based on nationally representative data from the China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance surveys between 2007-2018. Author summary: Why was this study done?: ➢ Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of premature death in China. As the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco, China accounted for more than a third of the world's tobacco consumption in 2019, almost exclusively by men. Following the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, nationwide tobacco control has been strengthened. ➢ Several studies had reported the prevalence of smoking in Chinese adults covering periods from 1984 to 2013. However, there were no nationwide studies on smoking prevalence trends and detailed geographic distribution beyond 2013. ➢ The trends in smoking prevalence among individuals diagnosed with major chronic diseases in the general populations are unclear. What did the researchers do and find?: ➢ We used data from 5 national representative cross-sectional population-based surveys in 31 provinces (or equivalent) in mainland China during 2007 to 2018, involving 624,568 adults aged 18 to 69 years randomly sampled. ➢ The present study showed that between 2007 and 2018, the overall smoking prevalence among adults aged 18 to 69 years decreased from 30.8% to 26.7%, driven mainly by changes among men. ➢ Among men, smoking prevalence decreased from 58.4% in 2007 to 50.7% in 2018, which was more pronounced in urban (55.7% to 46.3%) than in rural areas (59.9% to 54.6%) and in those born before than after 1980. Among rural men born after 1990, however, the prevalence increased from 40.2% to 52.1%. ➢ Among women, smoking prevalence was very low and decreased slightly from 2.2% to 1.9%, although the change was not statistically significant. ➢ Compared with older generations, younger smokers tended to start smoking regularly at a much earlier age and to smoke exclusively manufactured cigarettes. ➢ Among current smokers, a relatively high proportion suffered from certain noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), with no apparent changes in prevalence between 2007 and 2018. What do these findings mean?: ➢ These findings suggested that, while smoking prevalence had decreased steadily in China from 2007 to 2018, this trend was not uniform by sex, areas, birth cohorts, education attainment, and occupation. Of particular concern is the rising trend in prevalence among men born after 1990, especially in rural areas. ➢ Future smoking prevention and intervention efforts may need to be targeted more specifically on rural areas, regions with high tobacco production, and young generation. ➢ As part of secondary prevention, smokers who suffered from NCDs should be strongly encouraged to quit smoking, with adequate professional support and cessation advice along with necessary nicotine replacement therapies if needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of decorating interior spaces often produces substances that are harmful to the human body, which seriously spoils the decorating experience. Photocatalyst is the oxidant of nanometer titanium dioxide. It cannot be oxidized by itself. This article aims to discuss photocatalysts and interior and exterior design. When there is light in the room, the photocatalyst will fully integrate with the light, which has a strong catalytic and degrading effect. This can degrade indoor formaldehyde and other pollutants while also having a sterilization effect. The principle of the photocatalyst is to absorb ultraviolet rays in light. When impurities appear in the air, they are destroyed by the photocatalyst, and the impurities are converted into substances that are harmless to the human body. We tested the formaldehyde and SO2 content in the room after the photocatalysis of titanium dioxide, and analyzed the photocatalyst and decoration design in indoor public spaces. The research results showed that the effect of the photocatalyst is about 20% better than the traditional explanation. Functionally, it can deodorize toilets, garbage, etc., and the effect is very obvious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the impact of the graded AlGaN back barrier and Fe\C co-doping buffer structure on the AlGaN $/$ GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is proposed and systematically investigated. Due to effective suppression of Fe tail in unintentionally doped GaN (uid-GaN) layer by the insertion of the thick graded AlGaN back barrier layer, a large maximum drain current density and a transconductance peak are achieved. Meanwhile, the breakdown voltage is significantly improved by the use of Fe\C co-doping GaN buffer design. More importantly, it is revealed that the graded-AlGaN design can reduce the range and intensity of the electrical potential distribution in uid-GaN layer and then effectively suppress the acceptor-induced trapping\detrapping effect under high drain voltage. The RF small-signal performance of Fe-doped GaN (GaN:Fe)\C co-doping buffer HEMT exhibits significant improvement. In addition, load-pull measurement at 8 GHz revealed that a saturation power increases from 38.04 to 41.07 dB, a power gain increases from 9.06 to 10.58 dB, and an associate power-added-efficiency (PAE) increased from 40.27% to 50.18%. Our proposed GaN-based epitaxial structure can not only suppress the gate lag by reduce AlGaN surface electric field, but it can also suppress the drain lag by reduce the amplitude and range of potential distribution. It indicates that our proposed device has great potential for future high-voltage RF power amplifier application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel energy control strategy for DESS is proposed, taking advantage of the fact that the slope of the arcsinh function is larger near zero to achieve SOC equalization rapidly. • A novel concept of virtual current is proposed to establish a bridge between SOC and output current, which is different from the virtual resistance in droop control, and virtual current does not cause a bus voltage drop. • Only one controller is required to achieve bus voltage restoration and current sharing, simplifying the control structure. • Compared with the previous control strategy, the proposed strategy in this article can achieve SOC equalization more quickly. This article proposes a novel energy control strategy for distributed energy storage system (DESS) to solve the problems of slow state of charge (SOC) equalization and slow current sharing. In this strategy, a key part of the presented strategy is the integration of a new parameter virtual current defined from SOC and output current. With the help of virtual current, the characteristic of the arcsinh function has a large slope near the zero point, and three acceleration factors, to realize the fast equalization of SOC and the output current quickly distributed by capacity. In addition, current sharing and voltage restoration can be achieved by designing only one controller, thereby simplifying the control structure. In communication layer, only two variables need to be exchanged between neighboring converters, thus, reducing the communication burden. Then, the stability of the system is analyzed by small signal modeling. Finally, the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy are verified through the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Both sound source perception and overall soundscape perception have a significant impact on the establishment of place attachment. • Residents and visitors both preferred natural sounds but disagreed on soundscapes that included artificial sounds. • Residents exhibited stronger place attachment than visitors, characterized by a sense of belongingness and uniqueness. • Visitors' place attachment is positively linked to soundscape evaluation, while residents' attachment is influenced by their preference for natural sounds. The critical role of soundscapes in nurturing place attachment, affecting individuals' emotional ties and perceptions of specific locations, has been historically undervalued. In this case, this study examined the profound interrelationships between soundscapes and human connections to place, with a focus on the contrasting perspectives of residents and visitors. Based on on-site surveys on Kulangsu Island involving both groups, this research examined the difference in soundscape perception and place attachment as well as their relationships between the two groups. The findings revealed that residents and visitors showed a shared inclination towards natural sounds alongside the recognition of artificial sounds, while a significant divide emerged in the evaluation of overall soundscapes. Residents displayed a heightened sense of place attachment compared to visitors, characterized by feelings of belongingness and uniqueness. Notably, visitors' place attachment was closely tied to various soundscape evaluation indicators, particularly correlated with the perception of artificial and mechanical sounds. In contrast, residents' place attachment is independent of soundscape evaluations, while is influenced positively by the preference for natural sounds. This contrast underscores the differing perspectives and objectives between the two groups. The results facilitate a deeper understanding of the pivotal role of soundscapes in shaping human-place relationships, informing both academic discourse and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate chronologies are crucial when comparing paleo-climate records, especially in the case of terrestrial and marine comparisons. It is essential to understand temporal variability of the radiocarbon reservoir effect to produce an accurate chronology. Here we establish a high-resolution Bayesian chronology for a northern South China Sea (SCS) sediment core. By applying a piece-wise linear regression method, we observe a distinct shift in the marine radiocarbon reservoir age at ~16.9 ka BP from our core. This shift hampers the accuracy of chronology, even though within higher dating resolution. Together with chronologies within different resolution, we show that the piece-wise linear regression approach is potential in producing accurate chronology for marine sediment. Based on comparisons with other sediment records from the region we show that the shift in radiocarbon reservoir age was pervasive throughout the SCS basin, coeval with the opening of the Balabac Strait, as global sea level rose. Hence, we highlight that the opening of the Balabac strait had a basin-wide effect on surface ocean circulation in the SCS. • Dating with higher resolution may be deviated for the variable sediment environment. • The Piece-wise linear regression can be used for chronology of marine sediment. • Marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (MRE) shifts at ~16.9 ka BP in South China Sea. • MRE shift is associated with opening of the Balabac Strait for increasing sea level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of quercetin,tiliroside and kaempferol in folium elaeagni,so as to lay a foundation for the improvement of quality standards in folium elaeagni.Methods The Kromasil Eternity-5-C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm) chromatographic column was used,and methanol-0.05% phosphoric acid aqueous solution (54∶46) was used as the mobile phase.The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min,the column temperature was 30 ℃,and the detection wave length was 360 nm.Results The quercetin,tiliroside and kaempferol had good linear correlation with peak area at 0.010-0.522 μg (r=0.999 9),0.021-1.051 μg (r= 0.999 9),0.021- 1.048 μg (r=0.999 9),respectively.The average sample recovery rates (n=3) were all in the range from 98.4% to 98.7%.And the relative standard deviations (RSD) were all less than 1.3%.Conclusion HPLC method is simple,accurate and reproducible.It can be used for the quality control of quercetin,tiliroside and kaempferol in folium elaeagni [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite universal vaccination of newborns, the prevalence of chronic hepatitis virus B (HBV) infection and the associated disease burden remain high among adults in China. We investigated risk factors for chronic HBV infection in a community-based study of 512,726 individuals aged 30–79 years recruited from ten diverse areas during 2004–2008. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity recorded at baseline by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and medical history. In a random subset (n = 69,898) we further assessed the association of 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously shown to be associated with HBsAg positivity and development of chronic liver disease (CLD) (1600 cases). Several factors showed strong associations with HBsAg positivity, particularly younger age (< 40 vs. ≥ 60 years: OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.32–1.66), male sex (1.40, 1.34–1.46) and urban residency (1.55, 1.47–1.62). Of the 18 SNPs selected, 17 were associated with HBsAg positivity, and 14 with CLD, with SNPs near HLA-DPB1 were most strongly associated with both outcomes. In Chinese adults a range of genetic and non-genetic factors were associated with chronic HBV infection and CLD, which can inform targeted screening to help prevent disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel time estimation (TTE) is widely applied for ride dispatching, ride-hailing, and route navigation. There are many factors affecting the travel time of a driver on a given trajectory, including the distance, road type, driving habits, traffic congestion, etc. Existing works fail to model the complex relationships of these factors for TTE. To fill this gap, in this paper, we first analyze how these factors work together in determining the travel time. In particular, the travel time depends on the distance and driving speed on each road segment of the trajectory, where the driving speed depends on the driving habits and the environment, including the static factors like the road type (highway or byway) and speed limit and the dynamic factor like the time of the day and congestion. Among these factors, driving habits and traffic conditions (e.g., jam) are the most difficult ones to model. Second, we propose to learn the driving habits of each driver via meta-learning and estimate the conditions based on the current and historical traffic conditions (via recurrent neural networks) of this road and its connected road segments (via graph convolutional neural network). The experimental results on two real taxi trajectory datasets show that our approach outperforms three state-of-the-art methods significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne array tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR) is a major breakthrough, which can obtain three-dimensional (3D) information of layover scenes in a single pass. As a high-resolution SAR, airborne array TomoSAR has considerable potential for 3D applications. However, the original TomoSAR elevation resolution is limited by the baseline and platform length. In this study, a novel method for enhancing the elevation resolution is proposed. First, the actual curve trajectory observation model of airborne array TomoSAR is established. Subsequently, multi-channel image data are substituted into the model to obtain the observation equation. Furthermore, the azimuth and elevation directions of the two-dimensional observation scene are modeled uniformly. The scene reconstruction is realized through the two-dimensional joint solution. Finally, the observation equation is sparsely solved according to the sparse distribution characteristics of the target to obtain the image. The performance of the proposed method is verified via simulation and real-data experiments. The experimental results indicate that, compared with the traditional elevation resolution enhancement method, the proposed method improves the elevation resolution by two times. The proposed method also provides a new thinking for high-resolution SAR 3D imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who are addicted to drugs often face unfavourable social conditions and difficulty with social adaptation. Both may be closely related to impaired social cognitive ability. This study posits that social cognitive impairments likely arise from blunted social reward processing in drug users. This study aimed to explore the electrophysiological mechanism of social reward processing in people who abstain from using heroin (heroin abstainers). Twenty-eight male heroin abstainers and 27 matched controls completed the social incentive delay task. At the same time, their corresponding behaviour and electroencephalography data were recorded. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) elicited by positive outcomes was significantly more positive than that elicited by negative outcomes for the healthy controls. However, no significant difference in FRN was found between negative and positive outcomes among the heroin abstainers. There was no significant difference in P3 (a positive event-related potential component after FRN) elicited by negative and neutral outcomes in the heroin abstainers. Meanwhile, negative outcomes elicited greater P3 than neutral outcomes in the healthy controls. In addition, this study also found that withdrawal time was negatively correlated with the difference wave of FRN for the heroin abstainers. Heroin abstainers may be hyposensitive to the processing of social reward outcomes. In other words, they may have insufficient motivation to acquire social rewards. Abnormal social reward processing found in heroin abstainers can be improved with an increase in abstinence time. These results deepen our understanding of the social reward impairments associated with chronic drug use. • Heroin abstainers may be hyposensitive to the processing of social reward outcomes. • Abnormal social reward processing found in heroin abstainers can be improved with an increase in abstinence time. • This study deepen our understanding of the social reward impairments associated with chronic drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for the majority of liver cancer cases, while metastasis is considered the leading cause of HCC-related death. However, the currently available treatment strategies for efficient suppression of metastasis are limited. Therefore, novel therapeutic targets to inhibit metastasis and effectively treat HCC are urgently required. Methods: Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to determine the migration and invasion abilities of HCC cells in vitro. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), protein array, immunofluorescence, and immunoprecipitation experiments were used to study the mechanism of DYRK1A-mediated metastasis. A tail vein metastasis model and H&E staining were utilized to assess metastatic potential in vivo. Results: The results of the current study demonstrated that dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues. Additionally, the level of DYRK1A was increased in primary HCC tissues of patients with metastasis compared with those of patients without metastasis, and DYRK1A overexpression correlated with worse outcomes in liver cancer patients. Gain- and loss-of-function studies suggested that DYRK1A enhanced the invasion and migration abilities of HCC cells by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Regarding the promoting effect of DYRK1A on cell invasion, the results showed that DYRK1A was coexpressed with TGF-β/SMAD and STAT3 signalling components in clinical tumour samples obtained from patients with HCC. DYRK1A also activated TGF-β/SMAD signalling by interacting with tuberous sclerosis 1 (TSC1) and enhanced metastasis of HCC cells by activating STAT3. Furthermore, DYRK1A promoted EMT by cooperatively activating STAT3/SMAD signalling. Conclusion: Overall, the present study not only uncovered the promoting effect of DYRK1A on HCC metastasis and revealed the mechanism but also provided a new approach to predict and treat metastatic HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important oil crop species and plays a crucial role in supplying edible oil worldwide. However, rapeseed production in the field is often severely inhibited due to nitrogen (N) deficiency. Metabolites play key roles in plant growth and resistance to environmental stress, but little is known about the differential synthesis and accumulation of metabolites underlying rapeseed adaptation to N deficiency. Here, we studied the phenotypic response and used LC–electrospray ionization (ESI), ESI–MS/MS, and widely untargeted metabolomic approaches to detect differences in rapeseed under normal N (HN) and N-deficient (LN) conditions. The results showed that N deficiency severely inhibited rapeseed shoot growth and promoted rapeseed root architectural changes under LN conditions. In total, 574 metabolites were detected, and there were 175 and 166 differentially accumulated metabolites in the leaves and roots between the HN and LN conditions, respectively. The significantly differentially accumulated metabolites were involved in four primary metabolic pathways, namely, sucrose, phenylalanine, amino acid, and tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolism. Notably, we found that plant hormones have distinct accumulation patterns in rapeseed and coordinate to play crucial roles in both maintaining growth and protecting against damage from plant disease under HN and LN conditions. Moreover, our results indicated that flavonoid compounds, especially anthocyanins and rutin, may play important roles in increasing root cell resistance to oxidative damage and soil pathogen infections. Overall, this work provides valuable information for understanding the overall metabolite changes in rapeseed under N deficiency conditions, which may be beneficial for improving and producing new varieties of rapeseed capable of high yields under low N conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports an AlN/GaN/InGaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with a steep subthreshold swing (SS) of sub-60 mV/dec utilizing a coupling-channel architecture. The fabricated transistors show a negligible hysteresis, a SS of 39 mV/dec, a large gate voltage swing of >4.2 V, and achieving an excellent quality factor Q = gm/SS of 6.3 μS-dec/μm-mV. The negative differential resistance effect was found in the subthreshold region in the gate current–voltage (Ig–VGS) curve. The hot carrier transfer mechanism that occurred in the turn-on/pinch-off progress of the CC-HEMT under the dual-directional sweep, proved by the VDS- and Lg-dependent bi-directional transfer I–V characteristics, can be responsible for these excellent device performances. This work is believed to encourage further study of the AlN/GaN platform to power the future group III-nitrides CMOS technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationships among university students' academic self-concept, perceptions of the learning environment, engagement, and learning outcomes (academic achievement, generic skills development, and learning satisfaction). Study 1 (N = 1,502) adopted a cross-sectional design and supported a model showing that engagement mediated the effects of academic self-concept and perceptions of the learning environment on generic skills development and learning satisfaction. It was also found that academic self-concept directly predicted academic achievement and generic skills and that perceptions of the learning environment directly predicted learning satisfaction. Study 2 (N = 2,069) adopted a longitudinal design involving three waves of data collection with a 1-year interval (freshman, sophomore, junior). The results of study 2 replicated the findings of study 1 and supported a reciprocal effects model showing that prior academic achievement predicted subsequent self-concept which in turn determined future achievement even with prior achievement partialed out. These findings contribute to developing a finer-grained model of higher education student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel time estimation (TTE) is widely applied for ride dispatching, ride-hailing, and route navigation. Even for a given trajectory, the travel time is affected by many spatial-temporal factors, including static ones such as distance, road type, and so on and dynamic ones such as speed, traffic condition, and so on. Challenges of accurate estimation lie in proper representation of these spatial-temporal factors and more importantly capturing the complex relationship among them for TTE. To tackle such challenges, we present a framework based on the fact that the travel time of each road segment is affected by its adjacent segments. It features a graph convolutional neural network and a recurrent neural network for basic TTE for each road segment and a graph attention network for the relation to estimations on the adjacent road segments. Finally, a multitask learning model is proposed for the travel time of the entire given path and that for each road segment. Experimental results on real taxi trajectory datasets of two cities show that the percentage estimation error of the new approach is well controlled at 13.91% and the proposed method outperforms three state-of-the-art methods significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the huge therapeutic potential, cancer immunotherapy is expected to become the mainstream of cancer treatment. In the current field of cancer immunotherapy, there are mainly five types. Immune checkpoint blockade therapy is one of the most promising directions. Adoptive cell therapy is an important component of cancer immunotherapy. The therapy with the cancer vaccine is promising cancer immunotherapy capable of cancer prevention. Cytokine therapy is one of the pillars of cancer immunotherapy. Oncolytic immunotherapy is a promising novel component of cancer immunotherapy, which with significantly lower incidence of serious adverse reactions. The recent positive results of many clinical trials with cancer immunotherapy may herald good clinical prospects. But there are still many challenges in the broad implementation of immunotherapy. Such as the immunotherapy cannot act on all tumors, and it has serious adverse effects including but not limited to nonspecific and autoimmunity inflammation. Here, we center on recent progress made within the last 5 years in cancer immunotherapy. And we discuss the theoretical background, as well as the opportunities and challenges of cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submicro-sized vanadium carbide (V2C) with orthorhombic structure prepared by the molten salt disproportionation method was firstly applied as an anode in lithium-ion batteries. The V2C has delivered a reversible discharge capacity of ~ 223.6 mAh·g−1 at 0.1 A·g−1 in the continuous 300 cycles without capacity attenuation and ~ 107 mAh·g−1 at 0.5 A·g−1 after 600 cycles with the capacity retention of 83.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, Li-ion storage mechanism of V2C is pseudocapacitive, accompanied with the redox reaction of V-ions during the Li-ions insertion/extraction process. The exploration of orthorhombic V2C may extend the selection of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to impact clinical practice and healthcare delivery. AI is of particular significance in radiology due to its use in automatic analysis of image characteristics. This scoping review examines stakeholder perspectives on AI use in radiology, the benefits, risks, and challenges to its integration. Methods: A search was conducted from 1960 to November 2019 in EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and grey literature. Publications reflecting stakeholder attitudes toward AI were included with no restrictions. Results: Commentaries (n = 32), surveys (n = 13), presentation abstracts (n = 8), narrative reviews (n = 8), and a social media study (n = 1) were included from 62 eligible publications. These represent the views of radiologists, surgeons, medical students, patients, computer scientists, and the general public. Seven themes were identified (predicted impact, potential replacement, trust in AI, knowledge of AI, education, economic considerations, and medicolegal implications). Stakeholders anticipate a significant impact on radiology, though replacement of radiologists is unlikely in the near future. Knowledge of AI is limited for non-computer scientists and further education is desired. Many expressed the need for collaboration between radiologists and AI specialists to successfully improve patient care. Conclusions: Stakeholder views generally suggest that AI can improve the practice of radiology and consider the replacement of radiologists unlikely. Most stakeholders identified the need for education and training on AI, as well as collaborative efforts to improve AI implementation. Further research is needed to gain perspectives from non-Western countries, non-radiologist stakeholders, on economic considerations, and medicolegal implications. Key Points: Stakeholders generally expressed that AI alone cannot be used to replace radiologists. The scope of practice is expected to shift with AI use affecting areas from image interpretation to patient care. Patients and the general public do not know how to address potential errors made by AI systems while radiologists believe that they should be "in-the-loop" in terms of responsibility. Ethical accountability strategies must be developed across governance levels. Students, residents, and radiologists believe that there is a lack in AI education during medical school and residency. The radiology community should work with IT specialists to ensure that AI technology benefits their work and centres patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The SO 2 molecules are adsorbed in CPL-11 with a unique self-enhanced adsorption behavior. • CPL-11 demonstrates an impressive SO 2 adsorption capacity of at low pressure. • Remarkable SO 2 /CO 2 selectivity is achieved. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) stands out as a significant air pollutant, possessing the capacity to present considerable risks to human health. Governments worldwide have implemented strict regulations on emissions from industries. Separating SO 2 and CO 2 is essential for compliance with environmental standards, avoiding penalties, and promoting sustainable practices. Herein, we report a microporous metal–organic framework, CPL-11, which demonstrates a self-enhanced SO 2 adsorption mechanism, significantly improving SO 2 /CO 2 separation efficiency. Under the conditions of 0.1 bar and 298 K, CPL-11 exhibits an impressive SO 2 adsorption capacity of 4.46 mmol g−1. Furthermore, at 1 bar and 298 K, CPL-11 exhibits a remarkable IAST selectivity for SO 2 /CO 2 , reaching a value of 132. This noteworthy enhancement in adsorption capacity and selectivity underscores the potential of CPL-11 as an effective material for addressing challenges related to SO 2 capture and separation in gas mixtures. Theoretical calculations reveal that the outstanding performance of CPL-11 can be attributed to the synergistic interplay of host–guest interactions and guest–guest interactions. This unique mechanism holds promise for advancing the field of gas separation technology and contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of petroleum production and transportation, a porous leakage accident can easily lead to combustion behaviors such as fire merging, resulting in more severe consequences. This study explores the combustion characteristics of merging spill fires through experimental investigations, incorporating dual leakage holes with varying spacing to examine their impact on the combustion process. The experimental results suggest that the flame height undergoes a pattern of initial decrease followed by an increase with the gradual expansion of leakage spacing, owing to the coupling effects of air entrainment and thermal radiation feedback within the additional entrainment zone. Based on the developmental pattern of flames with respect to leakage spacing, this study categorizes the dual spill fire into three states: which are: (1) full merging state, (2) intermittent merging state, and (3) separation state. The flame height prediction model is established for different merging states, considering parameters such as the fuel discharge rate and the leakage spacing of dual spill fire. The experiment reveals that the flame pulsation frequency (FPF) of the spill fire follows the pattern observed in pool fire FPF, and an FPF model for dual spill fire in all states is obtained through the fitting. Finally, the coupled heat transfer between dual fire sources is considered, and a burning rate model for dual spill fire in intermittent merging states is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) with cancer occurrence is not well examined, and the impact of common risk factors on the risk of cancer in ASCVD patients is not known. This study aimed to explore the effect and possible causes of ASCVD on cancer risk through a cohort study. A total of 14,665 age- and sex-matched pairs of participants were recruited from the Kailuan cohort (ASCVD vs non-ASCVD). A competing risk model was used to calculate the risk of cancer after ASCVD. A total of 1124 cancers occurred after 5.80 (3.05-9.44) years of follow-up. The ASCVD group had a reduced risk of cancer (hazard ratio 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.65-0.85). Also, the risk of cancer in the digestive system, respiratory system, urinary system, and reproductive system was reduced by 17%, 16%, 14%, and 52%, respectively. According to the status of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and body mass index after ASCVD, the risk of overall cancer and digestive system cancer decreased with the increase in the number of ideal indicators (P for trend <.01). With the increase of follow-up time, the risk of cancer and the 5 site-specific cancers gradually decreased. Cancer risk can be reduced by controlling for common risk factors after ASCVD event. This risk reduction is site-specific-, time-, and the number of ideal indicator-dependent. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel approach to recover wind speed from smartphone audio signals using time domain deep learning is presented. • The model is trained and fine-tuned with high-fidelity wind and audio data collected from a wind tunnel laboratory. • The presented method is well tested across different smartphone models and shows favorable performance in outdoor environment. On-site wind speed information is paramount in various engineering domains. Conventional methods, reliant on expensive equipment and skilled operators, present challenges for practical uses. This study presents a novel time domain approach to recover wind speed from smartphone audio time series using deep learning. Leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones, the proposed approach offers a cost-effective and accessible alternative for wind speed measurement based on audio signals, allowing personnels to obtain on-site wind speed using smartphones. The model is built upon muti-layer architecture of one-dimensional convolutional neural network, and is trained and fine-tuned with high-fidelity wind tunnel laboratory data. The model's performance is tested across different smartphone models and outdoor environments to assess its generalizability. The presented approach is generally effective, providing an overall accuracy with mean squared error of 0.2 to 0.9 (m/s)2. Although the model's accuracy diminishes slightly in outdoor settings, it still shows favorable agreement with specialized wind gauges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 2D Zn(BDC) nanosheets were synthesized via a diffusion-mediated approach. • 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes exhibited an impressive high permeation. • The rejection of 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes to Na 2 SO 4 and NaI was comparable. • 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes were demonstrated resistance to protein fouling. • 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes exhibited high rejection towards anionic dyes. Although 2D Zn(BDC) MOFs exhibit exceptional water stability, the synthesis of ultrathin 2D Zn(BDC) nanosheets has proven to be a formidable challenge. Conventional bottom-up methods suffer from limitations such as low yield and difficulties in eliminating surfactant molecules or end ligands, which are introduced to control the directional growth of 2D Zn(BDC). In this work, 2D Zn(BDC) nanosheets featuring a two-nuclear paddlewheel zinc structure were successfully synthesized through a three-phase synthesis method, exhibiting a thickness of about 2 nm. The 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes were prepared through simple vacuum filtration. By adjusting the colloidal concentration of the 2D Zn(BDC) nanosheets, fine control over the resulting membrane thickness was achieved. Moreover, the incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a cross-linking agent significantly enhanced the stability of the 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes. The addition of PVA demonstrated effective regulation of pore size in the membrane, facilitating well-ordered stacking of nanosheets for superior screening efficiency in dye/ion separation applications. The permeability of 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes was observed to be 372.9 L m−2 h−1 bar−1, while exhibiting a rejection rate exceeding 99.7 % for dye molecules, such as direct red (DR23), reactive black (RB5), chromium black T (CBT), Congo red (CR). The remarkable performance is ascribed to a synergistic effect between molecular sieving and electrostatic repulsion. 2D Zn(BDC) lamellar membranes exhibit exceptional long-term stability, and resistance to fouling and chlorine, thereby showcasing their immense potential for diverse applications in the realm of dye wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free fibular flap has been widely used for head and neck reconstruction. However, studies on donor-site complications after free fibular flap are lacking. This study aims to systematically review the morbidity of early and late donor-site complications following FFF transplantation for head and neck reconstruction. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and MEDLINE databases until April 2023. Weighted means was calculated to pool the morbidity of complications. Finally, 34 studies were included. The weighted mean morbidity of common early donor-site complications was wound dehiscence (8%), necrosis (4%), delayed healing (27%), infection (6%), total skin graft loss (1%), and partial loss (11%). Late donor-site complications included chronic pain (14%), limited range of ankle motion (16%), ankle instability (6%), reduced muscle strength (24%), toe weakness (24%), claw toe (19%), gait abnormality (19%), sensory deficit (26%), numbness (28%) and limitations in walking (19%), running (31%), and upstairs (20%). High morbidity of early and late donor-site complications following FFF surgery was observed. Thorough preoperative assessment and flap design are crucial to minimize complications risk. Further studies are warranted to investigate other potential influencing factors and provide more specific treatment suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry solid waste bagasse fiber (BF) possesses sustainable, carbon-neutral characteristics when used as a reinforcement material for asphalt pavements. However, the incompatibility between BF and the asphalt matrix limits its wide application. This study proposes a strategy for cost-effective and environmentally friendly modification of fiber surfaces, aiming to transform a drawback into an advantage. That is, the lignin in BF, which affects the tensile strength of fibers, is dissolved by a deep eutectic solvent (DES) system, and then the lignin is reborn on the surface of the fibers with the assistance of tannic acid. Based on the hydrophobicity and free radical trapping properties of lignin, regenerated lignin is expected to act as a natural coupling agent between BF and styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) asphalt materials and as an anti-aging agent for asphalt. The experimental results showed that the modified BF realized the enhancement of asphalt interfacial compatibility and toughening of asphalt matrix. Specifically, the shear resistance, viscoelasticity and rutting resistance of the modified BF/SBS-modified asphalt were improved by 46.61%, 22.67% and 30.06%, respectively, and the UV aging susceptibility was decreased by 75.02% compared with that of the BF/SBS-modified asphalt. In conclusion, this work introduces a simple and practical strategy for enhancing the interaction between BF and asphalt, which is crucial for advancing biomass recycling and green transportation development. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an efficient synthesis method for generating vortex beams based on donut-shaped orbital angular momentum (OAM) metasurfaces. It not only allows one to synthesize the vortex beam with an arbitrary combination of OAM modes and arbitrary mode energy distribution, but also avoids the undesired phase singularities in the conventional OAM metasurfaces. Three specific examples are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the synthesis method including single-mode, multimode, and equal-amplitude vortex beams. Based on the proposed constraint conditions, a donut-shaped metasurface is designed to generate a high-purity single-mode vortex beam. To generate high-performance multimode beams, a shape-related tailoring is further introduced to avoid the undesired phase singularities of the multimode OAM metasurfaces. Finally, the synthesized equal-amplitude vortex beams are generated and verified experimentally over a wide frequency range, which demonstrates robust and precise control of the vortex beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partially-etched V 2 Al 1- x CT z ceramic with the average particle of ∼400 nm was synthesized by etching submicro-sized V 2 AlC with 40 wt% HF at room temperature (RT) for 48 h and 72 h, respectively. V 2 Al 1- x CT z etched for 72 h has exhibited higher charge-discharge property, with an average reversible discharge capacity of 349.2 mAh·g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 in the 120 cycles for lithium-ion batteries. The electrochemical performances of V 2 Al 1- x CT z could be improved by the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene (GF) and titanium suboxides (Ti 4 O 7) conductive additives, among which CNTs exhibit the best effectiveness with a capacity of ∼460 mAh·g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 in the 140 cycles and a capacity retention of ∼72% at 0.5 A g-1 after 400 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-purity and fine CrB powders are firstly synthesized from Cr and B powders in (Na, K)Cl molten salt at 850 °C for 2 h. Then the as-achieved CrB powders are used as precursors to synthesize homogeneous and size-controlled Cr 2 AlB 2 powders in (Na, K)Cl molten salt at 900 °C for 2 h. Additionally, the formation mechanisms of CrB and Cr 2 AlB 2 in (Na, K)Cl molten salt are also investigated. Results show that the Cr atom, formed by disproportionation of Cr2+ ions in molten salt, reacts in-situ with B powders to form CrB. For the formation of Cr 2 AlB 2 , Al and CrB migrate mutually and assemble firstly in the molten salt, and then Al intercalates into CrB to generate Cr 2 AlB 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern. The shrinking selection of effective antibiotics and lack of new development is making the situation worse. Gram-negative bacteria more specifically pose serious threat because of their double layered cell envelope and effective efflux systems, which is a challenge for drugs to penetrate. One promising approach to breach this barrier is the "Trojan horse strategy". In this technique, an antibiotic molecule is conjugated with a nutrient molecule that helps the antibiotic to enter the cell through dedicated transporters for the nutrient. Here, we explored the approach using biotin conjugation with a florescent molecule Atto565 to determine if biotinylation enhances accumulation. Biotin is an essential vitamin for bacteria and is obtained through either synthesis or uptake from the environment. We found that biotinylation enhanced accumulation of Atto565 in E. coli. However, the enhancement did not seem to be due to uptake through biotin transporters since the presence of free biotin had no observable impact on accumulation. Accumulated compound was mostly in the periplasm, as determined by cell fractionation studies. This was further confirmed through the observation that expression of streptavidin in the periplasm specifically enhanced the accumulation of biotinylated Atto565. This enhancement was not observed when streptavidin was expressed in the cytoplasm indicating no significant distribution of the compound inside the cytoplasm. Using gene knockout strains, plasmid complementation and mutagenesis studies we demonstrated that biotinylation made the compound a better passenger through OmpC, an outer membrane porin. Density functional theory (DFT)-based evaluation of the three-dimensional geometries showed that biotinylation did not directly stabilize the conformation of the compound to make it favorable for the entry through a pore. Further studies including molecular dynamics simulations are necessary to determine the possible mechanisms of enhanced accumulation of the biotinylated Atto565. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many important fields involving the multilinear system identification. A great number of parameters to be identified is an important challenge, leading to the need for tensorial decomposition and modeling of such systems. This article is about the parameter estimation of the higher‐order multilinear systems with non‐Gaussian noises and to explore the role of tensor algebra in the multilinear model identification. A high‐dimension system identification problem is reformulated in terms of low‐dimension problems by using the tensorial decomposition technique. Further, applying the multi‐innovation identification theory, the recursive algorithm combining with the logarithmic p‐norms is investigated for multilinear systems with non‐Gaussian noises of low computational complexity. Finally, some simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed recursive identification method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a covert communication system with a multi-antenna full-duplex (FD) receiver to enhance covert performance. More precisely, the receiver Bob (i.e., multiple antennas) selects the best antenna to receive the covert message, and then it sends artificial noise (AN) to the warden Willie causing uncertainty by utilizing an antenna among the remaining antennas. In order to take full advantage of multi-antenna technology, we consider two cases: (1) Willie does not know which antenna Bob chooses to send AN, and Willie knows only part of the channel information. (2) Willie knows which antenna Bob chooses to send AN, and Willie knows all the channel information. Based on the analysis of the optimal detection threshold, we derive the minimum detection error probability of the two cases. Furthermore, given the pre-determined convert constraints, the closed-form expression of the maximum effective convert rate is derived. When the power of AN sent by Bob is greater than that of covert message sent by the sender Alice, surprised research results are shown: (1) the detection error rate of case 1 is higher than that of case 2. (2) the effective covert rate of case 1 is always lower than that of case 2. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme is more conducive to sending covert messages for Alice; in addition, the numerical results imply that the maximum effective covert rate of the system using the multi-antenna FD receiver is significantly higher than that of the traditional dual-antenna FD receiver system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[C11H10O5], monoclinic, P21/n, a = 7.041(3) Å, b = 9.339(4) Å, c = 15.614(6) Å, β = 103.03°, V = 1000.2(7) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0337, wRref(F2) = 0.0994, T = 296(2) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-negative, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped bacterial strain YIM B02567T was isolated from the root of Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis in China. Strain YIM B02567T grew optimally at 25–30 °C and at pH 7.0 in the absence of NaCl on nutrient agar. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain YIM B02567T belong to the genus Chryseobacterium, and was closely related to Chryseobacterium piperi CTMT and Chryseobacterium soli DSM 19298T. Whole genome sequencing indicated that the genome size was 4,774,612 bp and with a G + C content of 34.5 mol%. Values of the ANI and the dDDH between strain YIM B02567T and its closely related Chryseobacterium species were below 81.72% and 24.7%. Strain YIM B02567T contained menaquinone-6 as the sole isoprenoid quinone, anteiso-C15:0, iso-C17:1ω9c and iso-C17:0 3-OH as major fatty acids and phosphatidylethanolamine as major polar lipid. Based on the polyphasic analyses, strain YIM B02567T could be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from recognized species of the genus Chryseobacterium. The isolate, therefore, represents a novel species, for which the name Chryseobacterium paridis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM B02567T (= CGMCC 1.18657T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in ischaemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the role and potential mechanism of lncRNA Gm11974 in ischaemic stroke. Mouse neuroblastoma N2a cells were treated with oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD). The levels of Gm11974, microRNA-122-5p (miR-122-5p) and semaphorin 3A (SEMA3A) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) or western blot. Cell viability and apoptosis were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Caspase-3 Assay Kit and flow Cytometry. The levels of oxidative stress indicators were measured by using commercial kits. The relationship between miR-122-5p and Gm11974 or SEMA3A was verified by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assays. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in mice was used to mimic ischaemic stroke. Gm11974 and SEMA3A were up-regulated, while miR-122-5p was down-regulated in OGD-treated N2a cells and MCAO mice. Down-regulation of Gm11974 ameliorated OGD-mediated N2a cell damage by increasing cell viability and reducing cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. Gm11974 promoted OGD-induced injury in N2a cells via negatively regulating miR-122-5p. Also, miR-122-5p alleviated OGD-resulted N2a cell injury by targeting SEMA3A. Moreover, silencing of Gm11974 decreased infarct volume and neurological score in MCAO mice. Knockdown of Gm11974 attenuated neuronal injury in ischaemic stroke by regulating miR-122-5p/SEMA3A signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, for the first time, self-rectifying memristors are exploited for logic-in-memory computation. We report a Pt/TaOx/Ta memristor with salient self-rectifying bipolar features (104 ON-/ OFF-ratio, 105 rectification ratio, 105 nonlinearity, and ~1 pA leakage current), which could support a large passive crossbar array up to 160 Mb with the premise of 10% read margin. Moreover, we propose and experimentally validate a controlled majority-inverter graph logic method based on the self-rectifying switching behaviors, with advantages in computation complexity. Our work is a step forward toward in-memory computing in high-density or even 3-D memristor architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion of metallic bipolar plates in the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) anode environment would degrade the performance and shorten the lifespan of the fuel cell. Hence, it is essential to develop a conductive coating with good corrosion resistance. Herein we demonstrate a dense, defect-free, and well-adhered nanocrystalline β-Nb 2 N coating prepared on 430 ferritic stainless steel (430 FSS) via disproportionation of Nb(Ⅳ) species in molten salts. The corrosion mechanism of bare and β-Nb 2 N coated 430 FSS in the simulated PEMFC anode environment is also studied by electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Results show that β-Nb 2 N coating can significantly improve the corrosion resistance of the steel alloy with acceptable contact resistance. In addition, no obvious degradation is observed for the β-Nb 2 N coating after potentiostatic polarization measurement for 500 h. This work offers a promising strategy to develop the corrosion protective coating on metallic bipolar plates for PEMFCs. • β-Nb 2 N coating is prepared by disproportionation of Nb(IV) ions in molten salts. • The coating significantly improves corrosion resistance of the 430 FSS substrate. • The ICR of the coating after polarization satisfies the requirement of DOE 2020. • β-Nb 2 N will be applied for the protective coating of metallic bipolar plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) as a physical foaming agent, the effect of sc-CO2 on the formation of crystalline domains and subsequently on the foaming behaviors of the two grades of PLA with different D-isomer content were investigated in a wide foaming temperature range. The PLA's final crystallinity is significantly increased with decreasing annealing temperature and by reducing the D-isomer content. Cellular structure results show that not only the crystallinity but also the crystalline morphology play an important role in cellular structure. A novel spherulite morphology including ringless and ring-banded morphology in the same spherulite was formed at lower foaming temperature, as a result, some entities were nonuniformly distributed in the PLA foams. Uniform and closed cellular structure were obtained when only the ring-banded spherulites were formed. An opened and interconnected cellular structure is tended to be formed because of the synergistic effect of high temperature and plasticization of CO2. Based on the crystallinity and morphology, a suitable foaming window as a function of temperature is proposed. It is found that PLA with 4.1% D-isomer content had much broader suitable foaming window range to produce homogeneous cellular structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A convolution perfectly matched layer (CPML) can efficiently absorb boundary reflection in numerical simulation. However, the CPML is suitable for the first-order elastic wave equation and is difficult to apply directly to the second-order elastic wave equation. In view of this, based on the first-order CPML absorbing boundary condition, we propose a new CPML (NCPML) boundary which can be directly applied to the second-order wave equation. We first systematically extend the first-order CPML technique into second-order wave equations, neglecting the space-varying characteristics of the partial damping coefficient in the complex-frequency domain, avoiding the generation of convolution in the time domain. We then transform the technique back to the time domain through the inverse Fourier transform. Numerical simulation indicates that the space-varying characteristics of the attenuation factor have little influence on the absorption effect and increase the memory at the same time. A number of numerical examples show that the NCPML proposed in this study is effective in simulating elastic wave propagation, and this algorithm is more efficient and requires less memory allocation than the conventional PML absorbing boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest (CA) is a critical condition that is a concern to healthcare workers. Comparative studies on extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) and conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCPR) technologies have shown that ECPR is superior to CCPR. However, there is a lack of studies that compare the protective effects of these two resuscitative methods on organs. Therefore, we aim to perform experiments in swine models of ventricular fibrillation-induced CA to study whether the early application of ECPR has advantages over CCPR in the lung injury and to explore the protective mechanism of ECPR on the post-resuscitation pulmonary injury. METHODS: Sixteen male swine were randomized to CCPR (CCPR; n=8; CCPR alone) and ECPR (ECPR; n=8; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with CCPR) groups, with the restoration of spontaneous circulation at 6 hours as an endpoint. RESULTS: For the two groups, the survival rates between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05), the blood and lung biomarkers were statistically significant (P<0.05), and the extravascular lung water and pulmonary vascular permeability index were statistically significant (P<0.01). Compared with the ECPR group, electron microscopy revealed mostly vacuolated intracellular alveolar type II lamellar bodies and a fuzzy lamellar structure with widening and blurring of the blood-gas barrier in the CCPR group. CONCLUSIONS: ECPR may have pulmonary protective effects, possibly related to the regulation of alveolar surface-active proteins and mitigated oxidative stress response post-resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the threshold voltage and gate reliability of conventional enhancement-mode p-GaN-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors while maintaining a low on-resistance, an improved design solution for p-GaN HEMTs with P-I-N junction gate (PIN-HEMTs) has been proposed. Simulation results show that energy band modulation is achieved by adjusting the doping concentration and thickness of each layer of the PIN junction, and high-performance p-GaN gate HEMTs with adjustable threshold voltages ranging from 0.56 V to 4.75 V and gate breakdown voltages ranging from 19.8 V to 30.3 V would be prepared. The PIN-HEMT has a quasi-self-alignment property, which means that good gate control is independent of gate metal alignment. This not only improves the production efficiency but also solves the problems of weak gate control and electric field aggregation at the gate edge caused by the gate misalignment in conventional p-GaN gate HEMTs, thus realizing lower on-resistance and higher gate breakdown voltage, which demonstrates this proposed structure has excellent potentials for realizing effective and reliable high-power transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The menstrual cycle of fertile female is regulated by multiple organs and hormones, controlling the reproductive health and fertility of females. This paper is dedicated to exploring how two negative feedback loops regulate and influence the dynamic behavior of the menstrual cycle. We simplified the regulation circuit of the menstrual cycle into a nonlinear differential equation with two time delays. This simplified mathematical model integrates the hypothalamus–pituitary–ovary primary negative feedback loop and the negative feedback auxiliary loop between the ovary and the pituitary. We investigated the delay-dependent conditions for the stability of the model’s equilibrium points and also demonstrated the presence of Hopf bifurcations. Theoretical analysis suggests that the primary feedback loop is the major factor driving oscillation in the system. Further numerical simulations indicate that the negative feedback auxiliary loop allows the system to adjust its amplitude while maintaining the robustness of the cycle length. Consequently, the results obtained from this model provide new insights into the regulation of oscillations in menstrual cycle irregularities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]