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To overcome the lengthy search time, massive space occupation, and overlong planned path of the traditional A* algorithm, this paper integrates the bidirectional search with the intelligent ant colony algorithm to obtain the heuristic function selection factor, and uses the factor to improve the evaluation function of the algorithm. The simulation results show that the improved algorithm achieved better dynamic navigation than the traditional A* algorithm both in search time and distance, featuring shorter path searching time and the algorithm running time. Therefore, the result of this research has effectively reduced the search time and enhanced the dynamic search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lane-changing control is a crucial task to regulate the traffic flow in the intelligent transportation system efficiently, and manipulating the lane-changing maneuvers for many vehicles optimally and simultaneously in a congested traffic environment is a challenge. This study formulates a lane-changing model where the traffic lanes are discretized into cells, considers both mandatory lane-changing and discretionary lane-changing maneuvers and proposes a novel approach based on a deep Q-network with a request–respond mechanism. The modeled lane-changing system is divided into isolated and symmetry groups, then independent Q-learning and the concept "central agent" are integrated to simplify the training process. In the proposed approach, these groups can be classified into two categories: request group and respond group. The request group and respond group are trained separately during the training process. Specifically, the request group trains agents with only considering the states of the group, while the respond group also evaluates the superimposing actions (i.e., the request message) from the request group besides the states of the group. The execution process is also treated the same decentralized way as the training process. Then, the baselines such as a rule-based method, a game theory-based decomposition algorithm and a simple deep Q-learning method are compared with the proposed approach. Results reveal that the proposed approach performs as well as the game theory-based decomposition algorithm and outperforms the other two in terms of lane-changing efficiency. However, the computational time of the proposed approach in the execution process is far less than the game theory-based decomposition algorithm, especially in a congested traffic environment. • A cellular lane-changing model is constructed mathematically. • A deep Q-learning method with the concept of "central agent" is implemented. • The "virtual agent" concept is introduced to train the group. • A novel deep Q-learning approach with a request and respond mechanism is proposed. • Baselines are compared and the proposed approach shows great potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By processing the vertical component data of OBS2019–2, a wide angle seismic line situated adjacent to the Liyuexi Trough in the Nansha Block of the South China Sea (SCS), we obtained a crustal model of P-wave velocity structure beneath the line and acquired information about the deep crustal structure in the Liyuexi Trough region. However, the lithology remains to be fully constrained. This paper presents the results of processing the horizontal component data of OBS2019–2 to obtain the S-wave velocity structure model and Vp/Vs ratios. The results show that the Vp/Vs ratios of sedimentary layer range from 1.90 to 4.60, while the corresponding S-wave velocities range from 0.4 to 1.8 km/s. As for the crust, the Vp/Vs ratios fall between 1.70 and 1.89, while the S-wave velocities range between 2.9 and 4.2 km/s. The lithological compositions of oceanic crust from top to bottom may consist of basalt, diabase, and gabbro. In contrast, the lithologies of continental crust transition from felsic to mafic downwards, including andesite, granodiorite, granite, greenschist, and anorthosite. The rock compositions of the Continent-Ocean Transition (COT) region are intermediate between the continental and oceanic crusts, exhibiting transitional features. The rock composition of the high-velocity layer (HVL) in the lower crust may consist of amphibolite, and the presence of magma intrusions and underplating in this region could be associated with the Zhongnan-Liyue Fault. Compared to the Dongsha Block, the lithologies of the Liyue Block and Zhongsha Block are more similar, indicating a higher possibility of conjugation between the Liyue Block and the Zhongsha Block. • S-wave and Vp/Vs profiles were developed near the Liyuexi Trough in the southern continental margin of the South China Sea. • The formation of the thin high-velocity layer composed primarily of amphibolite was related to the Zhongnan-Liyue Fault. • The Liyue Block is inferred to be conjugated more likely with the Zhongsha Block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In drug delivery systems, graphene materials are promising drug carriers. Drug molecules are loaded on graphene through π-π interaction between graphene and benzene ring structure, which is widely found in organic drug molecules. Then the drug molecules are released under different conditions, such as different environmental pH, at lesion site. In the application, the adsorption and desorption between benzene ring structure in drug molecules and graphene play a key role. Herein, an experimental method for measuring the adhesion force between a single phenyl and graphene is proposed, and the adsorption and desorption mechanical properties of a benzene ring structure on graphene surface at different environmental pH are firstly measured. The experimental results show that the adhesion force decreases with the increase of environmental pH. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations show that the influence of pH on adhesion force is mainly realized by changing the electrostatic potential distribution on graphene surface, and the interaction force between a single benzene and graphene changes from attractive to repulsive with the increase of environmental alkalinity. In addition, a molecular dynamics model for the dynamic adsorption and desorption capacities of benzene molecules on graphene surface at different quantity of ions is established. Benzene molecules can achieve full adsorption on the surface of graphene when there are 10 and 20 hydrogen ions. And benzene molecules can achieve full desorption on the surface of graphene when there are 10 and 20 hydroxide ions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable water in water (W/W) emulsions of guar rich droplets dispersed in an amylopectin rich continuous phase (G/A) and the inverse (A/G) can be achieved by adding gelatin and inducing microphase separation of the latter by cooling. In this research, the effect of gelatin on the emulsion stability was further studied by storing the emulsions at 10, 20 and 25 °C. The visual aspect, the microstructure, and the viscosity of the emulsions were investigated at different times during storage at different temperatures and pH. It was found that depending on the conditions, the gelatin phase wetted the interface or formed small discrete microdomains that adsorbed at the interface and dispersed in the bulk phases. The observed differences in morphology and stability are related to the interplay of the rates of aggregation, phase separation of gelatin, which itself depend on the gelatin concentration, temperature and pH. Emulsions could be prepared in this manner that were stable for at least one week and remained visually homogeneous. We believe that this is a promising method to stabilize W/W emulsions as long as the components of the emulsion are incompatible with aggregated gelatin. • Water in water (W/W) emulsions were stabilized by adding gelatin. • Microphase separation of gelatin in the W/W emulsions was induced by cooling. • Either a gelatin layer or discrete gelatin domains formed at the W/W interface. • The stability is related to the rates of gelatin aggregation and phase separation. • The stability could be tuned by gelatin concentration, temperature and pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnO 2 has a high specific capacity, low price, and a wide range of sources, but the anode material made from SnO 2 is extremely unstable due to volume expansion. In this work, SnO 2 nanoparticles were prepared using Sn-MOF as the precursor and compounded with sunflower seed shell porous carbon (SSSC) in a solvothermal manner to obtain a high-performance lithium-ion battery anode. The size of SnO 2 nanoparticles prepared using Sn-MOF as the precursor is uniform, only 10–20 nm, which can fully alleviate the volume expansion of SnO 2. On this basis, MOF-SnO 2 is anchored onto the porous carbon of the sunflower seed shell, which can provide more lithium insertion sites and further inhibit the volume expansion of SnO 2. The composite anode in this article has a stable specific capacity of 1050.8 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a magnification of 0.2C and a stable specific capacity of 512.9 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a magnification of 2C. [Display omitted] • SnO 2 nanoparticles were prepared by using tin-based metal organic framework as template. • SnO 2 nanoparticles composited with sunflower seed shell porous carbon were used as anode materials. • The composite material maintains 1050.2 mAh g–1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C for LIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex geological processes of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, numerous deposits, especially the large-scale ancient landslide deposits, are characteristic features of the valleys incised in southwestern China. Intense water level fluctuations since 2011 in Maoergai Reservoir, China, registered the reactivation of Xierguazi ancient landslide, and presented a significant risk to neighboring facilities. Based on detailed field survey and drilling exploration, the landslide was divided into Zone A and Zone B, and other characterizations of landslide were studied as well. To precisely measure the extent of landslide displacement during filling and drawdown stage, surface displacement monitoring system was deployed on the landslide. The monitoring analyses data reveal that reservoir fluctuation is the dominant factor influencing landslide displacement, especially during drawdown stage. Moreover, a future sliding is anticipated in Zone A, while a creep had already existed in Zone B. A reservoir regulation was then established using the lead-lag correlation between reservoir fluctuation and landslide displacement and landslide stability analysis. In the end, the follow-up deformation monitoring demonstrates that the reservoir regulation controlled the landslide effectively. Landslide control by reservoir regulation in Maoergai can serve as a case study for other settlements involved in similar construction activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the van der Waals (vdW) interaction potential and the bending rigidity of graphene, the self-scrolling mechanical behaviors of monolayer graphene flake induced by carbon nanotube (CNT)/black phosphorus nanotube (BPNT) are studied, and the analytical expressions of critical radius of CNT/BPNT are derived when the graphene flakes spontaneously scroll round them. The factors affecting the critical radius of nanotubes are systematically analyzed, which include the axial length ratio between nanotube and graphene, wrapping angle of graphene, temperature, type and layer number of nanotube. It is found that the axial length ratio between nanotube and graphene has a significant effect on the critical radius. The critical radius of nanotubes increases with the decrease of the axial length ratio, and the critical radius of double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) increases faster than that of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and BPNT. When the SWCNT and graphene have the same axial length, the critical radius of SWCNT induced completely wrapping of monolayer graphene is about 0.4757 nm, which is in good agreement with the simulation results in the literature. The wrapping angle of graphene can also affect the critical radius of nanotubes, which increases with the increase of wrapping angle. Furthermore, the influence of environmental temperature, the type and layer number of nanotubes on the critical radius of nanotubes is discussed, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing popularity of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics, no study has yet to systematically compare the performance of different data acquisition modes in the discovery of significantly altered metabolic features, which is an important task of untargeted metabolomics for identifying clinical biomarkers and elucidating disease mechanism in comparative samples. In this work, we performed a comprehensive comparison of three most commonly used data acquisition modes, including full-scan, data-dependent acquisition (DDA), and data-independent acquisition (DIA), using a metabolomics study of human plasma samples from leukemia patients before and after one-month chemotherapy. After optimization of data processing parameters, we extracted and compared statistically significant metabolic features from the results of each data acquisition mode. We found that most significant features can be consistently found in all three data acquisition modes with similar statistical performance as evaluated by Pearson correlation and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Upon comparison, DDA mode consistently generated fewer uniquely found significant features than full-scan and DIA modes. We then manually inspected over 2000 uniquely discovered significant features in each data acquisition mode and showed that these features can be generally categorized into four major types. Many significant features were missed in DDA mode, primarily due to its low capability of detecting or extracting these features from raw LC-MS data. We thus proposed a bioinformatic solution to rescue these missing significant features from the raw DDA data with good reproducibility and accuracy. Overall, our work asserts that data acquisition modes can influence metabolomics results, suggesting room for improvement of data acquisition modes for untargeted metabolomics. Image 1 • Consistencies and discrepancies in significant features from full-scan, DDA, and DIA modes. • The consistently discovered significant features present similar statistical performance. • DDA is slightly weaker in significant metabolic feature discovery than full-scan and DIA modes. • Classification of uniquely significant features into three types of false positives and one type of true positive. • A novel bioinformatic solution to rescue the missing significant features in DDA mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mainstream of pyrolyzed transitional metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts for ORR still confront difficulty in PEMFC application. To pursue M-N-C structure from wet chemistry at ambient temperature, this paper prepares Fe x Co y -PANI/CNT porous structures composed of amorphous Fe and Co NPs into PANI layer on CNT surface, supported by the controlled molecular self-assembly mechanism (MS). For their ORR behaviors in acid medium, all Fe x Co y -PANI/CNT catalysts demonstrate similar features as Pt-based catalyst in low current density region, and 4e pathway and active sites in pore utilization in high current density region. Specifically, we disclosed nitrogen in PANI matrix dominates specific activity for ORR, and a little transitional metal attain mass activity at maximum. The active sites mounted into PANI matrix and 4e pathway help catalysts to achieve high durability. Thus, we extend a new type of platinum-free catalyst and develop a bottom-up approach for preparation-structure-activity, expecting to drive PEMFC remarkably. • To prepare bimetallic structure with controlled molecular self-assembly method. • To corroborate active site of M-N-C for ORR in acid medium. • The active sites mounted into PANI matrix help increase ORR durability. • Developing a bottom-up approach for preparation-structure-activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes three new species of genus Cunaxoides, namely, C. reticulatus Chen & Jin sp. nov., C. kanasensis Chen & Jin sp. nov. and C. allokanasensis Chen & Jin sp. nov., which are described and figured from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five species of Unionicola Haldeman, 1842 (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Unionicolidae) were collected between 2018 and 2019. Notably, Unionicola (Armatax) armata Walter, 1929, previously unrecorded in China, is now documented for the first time in the country. Additionally, Unionicola newsumi Wiles, 1999 has been reclassified and assigned to the new subgenus Vespicola within the genus Unionicola Haldeman, 1842. These findings also led to the establishment of three new subgenera: Micronodusgen. nov., Vespicolagen. nov., and Lingshuiataxgen. nov. including four species: Unionicola soluplatussp. nov. U. jinisp. nov. U. caudipessp. nov. and U. armatallasp. nov. This marks the first description and documentation of these subgenera and species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shock drag and aeroheating are major problems faced by hypersonic vehicles. This study proposes a novel three-dimensional model combining spike-aerodisk with a bleed air channel featuring multiple lateral nozzles for drag and aeroheating reduction. The high-temperature and high-pressure air at the stagnation point of the aerodisk is introduced into the channel and ejected laterally through multiple nozzles to modify the flow field structure and reduce drag and aeroheating. In contrast to previous research employing a two-dimensional axisymmetric assumption, our innovation considers the structure of the exit nozzles and the spacing between nozzles. Due to multiple lateral nozzles, the connection thickness between nozzles can lead to asymmetric flow phenomena. Three-dimensional flow field simulation has been employed with the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. The effects of the convergence half-angle of the channel inlet, the divergent angle of the nozzle, and the nozzle position on modifying the characteristics of the flow field are studied. Increasing the convergence half-angle of the channel inlet can further push away the reattachment shock, but when it exceeds 60°, the drag reduction performance degrades. Reducing the divergent angle of the nozzle and increasing the number of nozzles can reduce the drag coefficient and the peak value of the Stanton number. However, when the divergent angle is reduced to 10°, the performance of reducing drag and aeroheating is weakened. In the range of research parameters, when the convergence half-angle is 60°, the divergent angle is 15°, and the nozzles are located in the middle of the spike, compared with the plain spike-aerodisk model, the drag coefficient and peak Stanton number of the combined model are further reduced by 17.8 % and 34.8 %, respectively. Our findings confirm that a multi-nozzle can effectively reduce drag and aeroheating while the channel structure is viable in practice. • A new model of lateral jet without gas source is studied by 3-D numerical simulation. • The gas for the lateral jet is coupled with the outside flow. • A distribution form of multiple lateral nozzles is proposed. • A realistic 3-D simulation is conducted, enhancing its practical applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Thermal management of large‐scale Li‐ion battery packs is of great significance to their safety and life cycle, which would impact their applicability in electric vehicles. Of the many strategies developed for this purpose, indirect liquid cooling has already demonstrated quite high potentials in thermal regulation of such battery systems. In this study, a compact lightweight serpentine wavy channel configuration was chosen to construct an indirect liquid cooling system for a battery module of cylindrical Li‐ion cells. The serpentine channel has a number of six internal minichannels. Experimental test data were used to conduct a comprehensive thermal analysis to examine the highest temperature, the maximum temperature difference, and the heat accumulation percentages, and so forth within the battery pack. Results have revealed the ability of the cooling system to maintain the module temperature within appropriate working conditions for electric vehicle applications for most cycling tests including two driving cycles. Furthermore, the analysis insights raised by this study could be useful in understanding the cooling performance of the liquid‐based thermal management systems for electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsule endoscopy is a new type of technology in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases, with painless and low invasive features. However, current capsule robots have many problems, such as over-sized, single function and lack of active locomotion control. This study proposed and designed a new wireless modular capsule robotic system in pipe. The modular capsule robots could move forward and backward in the pipe in the axial direction, turn in a bending environment, and achieve the rendezvous and separation action through the three-dimensional rotating magnetic field generated by the three-axis Helmholtz coils. In this paper, the drive system of the three-axis Helmholtz coils, the power supply control system, and the modular capsule robot structure were analyzed and designed respectively. Finally, a series of characterization experiments were carried out to evaluate the motion characteristics of the modular capsule robots, including the influence of the flow environment imitated to human body's gastrointestinal motility, the frequency of the input signal, and the different structure of the robots on the movement characteristics of the modular capsule robot in this study. The study also evaluated the turning characteristics of robots. Experimental results showed that under different circumstances, modular capsule robots had good motion characteristics, and the effectiveness of the modular functionality had also been verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

0.75BiFeO 3 -0.25BaTiO 3 (0.75BF-0.25BT) ceramics have been widely studied because of their high Curie temperature, good thermal stability and lead-free trait. The evolution of domain motion during electric poling and thermal depoling processes is closely related to the piezoelectric properties and thermal stability of ferroelectric ceramics. Herein, the non-180° domain reversals of 0.75BF-0.25BT ceramics in these two processes were investigated by an in situ XRD technique. The non-180° domain switching fraction during the poling and depoling processes was calculated quantitatively based on the (111) and (11 1 ‾) diffraction peaks. During the poling process, the non-180° domain reversal percentage N 111 and piezoelectric properties increase abruptly when the poling field exceeds 35 kV/cm and then saturate at the electric field of 50 kV/cm (N 111 reaches the maximum value of 59%). The domains switched under the poling electric field of 50 kV/cm are stable below 500 °C. The depoling temperature is sensitive to the domain switching fraction under different poling electric fields, and the ceramics under a strong poling field possess excellent thermal stability and high depolarization temperatures. This work revealed the relationship between the electric properties, domain switching, poling electric field, and depoling temperature in the 0.75BF-0.25BT ceramics, which may pave the way to enhancing the room temperature piezoelectric properties and their thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NMR serves as an important technique for probing rock pore space, such as pore structure characterization, fluid identification, and petrophysical property testing, due to the reusability of cores, convenience in sample processing, and time efficiency in laboratory tests. In practice, NMR signal collection is normally achieved through polarized nuclei relaxation which releases crucial relaxation messages for result interpretation. The impetus of this work is to help engineers and researchers with petroleum background obtain new insights into NMR principals and extend existing methodologies for characterization of unconventional formations. This article first gives a brief description of the development history of relaxation theories and models for porous media. Then, the widely used NMR techniques for characterizing petrophysical properties and pore structures are presented. Meanwhile, limitations and deficiencies of them are summarized. Finally, future work on improving these insufficiencies and approaches of enhancement applicability for NMR technologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcitonin was discovered as a peptide hormone that was known to reduce the calcium levels in the systemic circulation. This hypocalcemic effect is produced due to multiple reasons such as inhibition of bone resorption or suppression of calcium release from the bone. Thus, calcitonin was said as a primary regulator of the bone resorption process. This is the reason why calcitonin has been used widely in clinics for the treatment of bone disorders such as osteoporosis, hypercalcemia, and Paget's disease. However, presently calcitonin usage is declined due to the development of efficacious formulations of new drugs. Calcitonin gene-related peptides and several other peptides such as intermedin, amylin, and adrenomedullin (ADM) are categorized in calcitonin family. These peptides are known for the structural similarity with calcitonin. Aside from having a similar structure, these peptides have few overlapping biological activities and signal transduction action through related receptors. However, several other activities are also present that are peptide specific. In vitro and in vivo studies documented the posttreatment effects of calcitonin peptides, i.e., positive effect on bone osteoblasts and their formation and negative effect on osteoclasts and their resorption. The recent research studies carried out on genetically modified mice showed the inhibition of osteoclast activity by amylin, while astonishingly calcitonin plays its role by suppressing osteoblast and bone turnover. This article describes the review of the bone, the activity of the calcitonin family of peptides, and the link between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induction-based reaction spheres have been presented in many references and their performances are normally investigated through experiments or numerical simulations which are time-consuming. Here, an analytical way is presented and it enables researchers to evaluate a new design quickly. In this article, the presented performance analysis is conducted through the classical equivalent circuit approach. Involved circuit parameters are determined through the magnetic flux density distribution which is a function of design variables. Based on this, the steady-state torque–speed curve and the achievable maximum driving torque $T^\ast$ are identified. $T^\ast$ deviates from the maximum torque obtained from numerical simulations by only 3%. For validation, the presented performance analysis method is applied to an experimental case. Mean absolute percentage errors of predicted torque–speed curves are within 23% and mainly caused by end effects. The presented performance analysis method is generally applicable to induction-based spherical actuators, not only limited to reaction spheres. Additionally, since influences of design variables of the actuator have been formulated analytically through the determined circuit parameters, performance optimizations could be greatly facilitated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Device degradation behaviors of n‐channel low‐temperature polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors under negative bias stress and positive bias stress were investigated. It was found that the threshold‐voltage has a two‐stage degradation, shifting to different direction with time. The mobility and the subthreshold swing SS both show a dependence on the stress time. It was determined that the interface trap states, the grain boundary trap states, and electron trapping together dominate the time‐dependent degradation behaviors. The trap is caused by the rupture of Si─H and Si─O bonds. A comprehensive model is proposed to explain the time‐dependent degradation behaviors clearly. In addition, after removing the stress, the recovery behaviors of threshold voltage Vth can be observed, which provide the evidence supporting the degradation model proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the advancements in sensing technologies and computational capabilities, system health assessment and prognostics have been extensively investigated in the literature. Industry has adopted and implemented many advanced system prognostic applications. This article reviews recent research advances and applications in prognostics modeling methods for engineering systems. The reviewed papers are classified into three major areas based on whether the physics of failure knowledge is incorporated for prognostics, i.e., the data-driven, physics-based, and hybrid prognostic methods. The technical merits and limitations of each prognostic method are discussed. This review also summarizes research and technological challenges in engineering system prognostics, and points out future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To provide scientific data for clinical practice in making strategies for accelerating corneal endothelial wound healing, we investigated the impact of UVA on the corneal endothelial wound healing process and the underlying mechanism using an in vitro cell model. An in vitro cell model for corneal endothelial wound healing was established by scratching the in vitro cultured human corneal endothelial cell (HCEnC) confluent layer. Then, we investigated the impacts of UVA irradiation and Ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (Asc-2p) on the wound healing process of the in vitro HCEnC model by examining wound-healing index, F-actin+ rate, Ki-67+ rate, and ROS production. After scratching, the Ki-67+ and F-actin+ HCEnCs occupied the scratching gap. Furthermore, the F-actin+ rates were significantly higher than Ki-67+ rates in the wound closure area. After irradiated with UVA, the wound-healing indexes, Ki-67+ rates and F-actin+ rates of the wound-healing model significantly reduced, whereas the ROS production significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with Asc-2p significantly reduced the ROS production as well as increased the wound-healing indexes, Ki-67+rates and F-actin+ rates of the UVA irradiated wound-healing model. The migration of HCEnC plays a major role in the wound healing process of the established cell model, which is like the wound healing process in vivo. UVA decreases the wound closure of the in vitro HCEnC model dose-dependently, while antioxidant Asc-2p can attenuate the damage to UVA to HCEnCs probably via reducing ROS to improve their migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease, ectopic endometrium can invade any part of the body, usually in the ovary and uterine sacral ligament, while endometriosis invades the intestinal wall to cause intestinal obstruction is very rare, which easily leads to misdiagnosis. In this case report, we present a case of sigmoid endometriosis with bowel obstruction. Pathological examination is the main basis for the diagnosis of intestinal endometriosis, and the comprehensive treatment of surgery and hormonal therapy is an effective method for the treatment of intestinal endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In certain scenarios, such as detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO), submarines, and intruders, magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) is an effective method due to the magnetic field advantages of small operating power, strong penetrability, and strong anti-interference ability. However, variability in the background geomagnetic field and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in MAD cannot be avoided. In this article, we propose a MAD method employing an improved orthogonal basis function (OBF) for the magnetic tensor contraction decomposition. The orthogonal basis decomposition approach makes the best use of modeling the MAD output signal, whereas the magnetic tensor contraction aid in avoiding the background field problem. Furthermore, by increasing the baseline length of the magnetic gradiometer, the SNR can also be improved in some manner. A dual magnetic gradiometer framework is introduced to fulfill the demand of the magnetic anomaly localization. From our simulation results, the proposed method improves the SNR of the MAD raw signal and is capable of detecting and locating the magnetic anomaly. Moreover, field test has been carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-span stadium roof has always been a wind load sensitive system, given its usual complex curved surface. However, there is no definite method for calculating the wind load shape factor of the complex building in the code. Based on this, the standard k − ε model was applied to the computational fluid dynamics numerical simulation of a long-span stadium roof at the wind attack angles of 0°–180°. The pressure distribution on the top and bottom surfaces of the stadium roof and the wind load shape factor were obtained by numerical simulation. The results show that the negative pressure was dominant on the top surface of the roof and the positive pressure was dominant on the bottom surface of the stadium at the wind attack angle of 0°. The ring-shaped curtain wall made the wind field environment more complicated, mainly under the wind attack angles of 45° and 180°. Because of the dip angles at both ends of the roof, the wind pressure distribution at both ends of the roof was opposite to the main region. The maximum wind load shape factors of each region were negative. In addition, the maximum wind load shape factor was at 45°, which was −1.1. The maximum wind load shape factors in regions of R13–R19 were larger, which should be paid attention in design stage. In general, the wind load shape factors were large in the central region and small at both ends. The wind load shape factors of the roof were bounded by 90°, showing an anti-symmetric trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large transduction coefficient (d 33 × g 33) is difficult to obtain in piezoelectric ceramics because these two parameters show opposite trends with compositional modifications. Herein, the Pb(Zr 0.53 Ti 0.47)O 3 ceramic powders were calcinated under different temperatures (A:830 °C, B:860 °C, and C:890 °C), and then mixed together according to different weight ratios (1A:1B:1C, 1A:2B:1C, 1A:2B:3C and 3A:2B:1C) for ceramics preparation. Both d 33 and g 33 are improved successfully, and the transduction coefficient with the weight ratio of 1A:2B:3C reaches up to 17,500 × 10−15 m2/N, which is 60 % higher than that with the powders calcinated under 830 °C, and at least twice those of commercial PZT-4, PZT-5A and PZT-8 ceramics. The improved transduction coefficient is owing to the enhanced piezoelectric constant and spontaneous polarization resulted from the increased grain size, relative density and the fraction of tetragonal phase. These results indicate that this is a simple but effective way to tailor the transduction coefficient in piezoelectric ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article addresses the problem of global adaptive finite‐time control for a class of p‐normal nonlinear systems via an event‐triggered strategy. A state feedback controller is first designed for the nominal system by adding a power integrator method. Then, by the skillful design of adaptive dynamic gain mechanism, a novel event‐triggered controller is constructed for uncertain nonlinear system without homogeneous growth condition. It is proved that the global finite‐time stabilization of p‐normal nonlinear systems is guaranteed and the Zeno phenomenon is excluded. Finally, two examples are presented to indicate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Gamasodes pachysetis Yao & Jin sp. nov., is described based on deutonymphs and adults from Jiangsu and Taiwan provinces, China. A nominal species, Gamasodes spinigerTrägårdh, 1910, new to China, is redescribed also based on deutonymph and adults from Guizhou Province. A key to Gamasodes species of China is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was performed to investigate the effect of temperature on the nanoscale deformation behaviour and mechanical properties of c -plane monocrystalline gallium nitride (GaN) under nanoindentation. Simulation results showed that the atomic displacement and strain increased with increasing temperature. Thus, the nucleation and propagation of dislocations in the main slip systems were promoted to intensify the plastic deformation of GaN crystal. Increasing the temperature also contributed to the increase in local phase transition from the wurtzite crystal structure (B4-GaN) to the zinc-blende crystal structure (B3-GaN) and a very evident amorphization of GaN in the indentation zone. Based on the analysis of the load-depth curves, it was found that both the hardness and Young's modulus decreased as the temperature increased. This work can enrich the atomic-level understanding of the effect of temperature on the mechanical response of monocrystalline GaN when subjected to the external loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) is a major pathogen of the economic insect silkworm, Bombyx mori. Virus‐encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to play important roles in host–pathogen interactions. In this study we identified a BmCPV‐derived miRNA‐like 21 nt small RNA, BmCPV‐miR‐1, from the small RNA deep sequencing of BmCPV‐infected silkworm larvae by stem‐loop quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) and investigated its functions with qPCR and lentiviral expression systems. Bombyx mori inhibitor of apoptosis protein (BmIAP) gene was predicted by both target prediction software miRanda and Targetscan to be one of its target genes with a binding site for BmCPV‐miR‐1 at the 5′ untranslated region. It was found that the expression of BmCPV‐miR‐1 and its target gene BmIAP were both up‐regulated in BmCPV‐infected larvae. At the same time, it was confirmed that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could up‐regulate the expression of BmIAP gene in HEK293T cells with lentiviral expression systems and in BmN cells by transfecting mimics. Furthermore, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate the expression level of BmIAP gene in midgut and fat body in the silkworm. In the midgut of BmCPV‐infected larvae, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could be further up‐regulated and inhibitors could lower the virus‐mediated expression of BmIAP gene. With the viral genomic RNA segments S1 and S10 as indicators, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate and inhibitors down‐regulate their replication in the infected silkworm. These results implied that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could inhibit cell apoptosis in the infected silkworm through up‐regulating BmIAP expression, providing the virus with a better cell circumstance for its replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many traffic models and control methods have already been utilized in the public transportation system due to the increasing traffic congestion. Thus, an intelligent traffic model is formalized and presented to control multiple traffic light simultaneously and efficiently according to the distribution of vehicles from each incoming link (i.e. sections) in this paper. Compared with constant strategy, two methods are proposed for traffic light control, i.e., game theoretical strategy and reinforcement learning methods. Game theoretical strategy is generated in a game theoretical framework where incoming links are regarded as players and the combination of the status of traffic lights can be regarded as decisions made by these players. The cost function is evaluated and the strategy is produced with Nash equilibrium for passing maximum vehicles in an intersection. The other one is Single-Agent Reinforcement Learning (SARL), specifically with the Q-learning algorithm in this case, which is usually used in such a dynamic environment to control traffic flow so the traffic problem could be improved. Generally, the intersection is regarded as the centralized agent and controlling signal status is considered as the actions of the agent. The performance of these two methods is compared after simulated and implemented in a junction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial structure and potential antifatigue activity of polysaccharide fractions which was extracted from Inonotus obliquus. The first polysaccharide fractions of Inonotus obliquus (PIO-1) were obtained after hot-water extraction and purification by DEAE cellulose-52 chromatography. Results of the forced swimming test showed that the doses (50 mg/kg) of PIO-1 could increase the climbing duration and swimming time as well as reduced the immobility time in the PIO treated mice. The fatigue related metabolic parameters showed that PIO-1 decreased the level of blood lactic acid (BLA), urea nitrogen (BUN) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH). Additionally, PIO-1 significantly decreased the 5-HT concentrations in the mice brain. The results of monosaccharide analysis showed that the molar ratio of mannose, glucose, galactose, xylose and arabinose with the molar ratio of 1.0:1.9:3.5:18.5:5.7. The molecular morphology of the PIO-1 observed under atomic force microscopy (AFM). There were many spherical and heterogeneous clumps existed in the images. Therefore, current study indicated polysaccharide PIO-1 not only has great potential to postpone physical fatigue but also shown potential to improve mental fatigue. • This researches indicated the information about the isolation, characterization and anti-fatigue activity of purified polysaccharides from Inonotus obliquus. • This researches indicated polysaccharide PIO-1 not only have great potential to postpone physical fatigue but also shown potential to improve mental fatigue. • The structural description of PIO-1 showed that the molar ratio of mannose, glucose, galactose, xylose and arabinose with the molar ratio of 1.0 : 1.9 : 3.5 : 18.5 : 5.7. The total sugar content was 73.2 %. The molecular morphology of the PIO-1 observed under atomic force microscopy (AFM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The xBiFeO3‐(1‐x)Ba(Zr0.02Ti0.98)O3 + 1.0 mol% MnO2 (xBF‐BZT) lead‐free piezoelectric ceramics were prepared by conventional solid‐state reaction method. The structure, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties were studied. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that xBF‐BZT ceramics exhibited pure perovskite structure with the coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases (0.66 ≤ x ≤ 0.74). The Curie temperature Tc, the dielectric constant εr (1 kHz), dielectric loss tanδ (1 kHz), piezoelectric constant d33, coercive field Ec (80 kV/cm), and remnant polarization Pr (80 kV/cm) of 0.7BF‐0.3BZT‐Mn ceramics were 491°C, 633, 0.044, 165 pC/N, 35.6 kV/cm, and 22.6 μC/cm2, respectively. The unipolar strain of 0.7BF‐0.3BZT reached up to 0.20% under the electric field of 60 kV/cm, which is larger than that (0.15%) of BiFeO3–BaTiO3 ceramics. These results indicated that the xBF‐BZT ceramics were promising candidates for high‐temperature piezoelectric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bus saturation is deemed as one of the primary causes of delays in the data propagation between spacecraft components. However, the conditions under which bus congestion can affect measurements variability were not well characterized before. This paper presents a bus saturation model and a set of experiments to characterize the bus performance of satellite missions for different traffic load, data rate, and synchronization periods. The results showed an increase of measurements variance of up to 18% caused by bus saturation. Additionally, an algorithm was proposed to reduce the data delay by controlling the saturation on the communication channel at the operational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erosion behaviour of cement mortar subjected to sand particle blasting was investigated using the gas-blast method with different impact angles and sand particle fluxes. The corrosion regime under the action of freeze–thaw cycles was also investigated. The erosion rate of the cement mortar was measured and analysed under freeze–thaw cycles using two concentrations of corrosive solutions (8% and 10% mass fractions of salt solutions of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate). Moreover, with the support of scanning electron microscopy images, X-ray diffraction patterns and laser scanning confocal microscopy, the erosion mechanism at different impact angles and freeze–thaw cycles was investigated. The results showed that the erosion rate increased with increasing impact angle and decreased with an increase in sand particle flux. The erosion rate of the cement mortar was also found to first decrease and then increase with an increasing number of freeze–thaw cycles. The erosion damage of the cement mortar surface with significant mass loss was found to be due to two mechanisms – horizontal cutting and vertical pressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On July 23, 2019, a large-scale landslide occurred in Jichang town, Shuicheng County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province in China. The landslide, which moved along two gullies, resulted in strong punching-shear, induced scarping on vegetation and large destruction of houses, and finally formed a deposit with a volume of 2 × 106 m3. This research aims to understand the effect of topography on landslide kinematics. To achieve this aim, a detailed field investigation was first carried out with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aerial photography survey, resident interviews, and field sampling. The rainfall analysis indicates the effective rainfall within 7 days before landslides was 70.14 mm which exceeded the rainfall threshold of 54.3 mm in this region, which finally triggered the landslide. Traditional soil mechanic tests were then performed to identify the soil properties of the source material. Combined with numerical simulation using the nonlinear shallow water equation, the whole process of landslides was divided into four stages: instability stage, acceleration stage, transformation stage, and impact and accumulation stage. The simulations results show the landslide block slid with a low velocity of 8 m/s for about 100 m. Then, Froude number of landslide increases from 2 to 3 when passing the high and steep terrain, indicating that landslide change to inertial dominated with potential same Froude behavior of classic debris flow. The rupture mass slid with the peak velocity of 23 m/s and diverged in two gullies and ran out for about 600 m. The maximum velocity is 23 m/s in east gully while only 15 m/s in west gully. Compared with deep and incised valleys in the west, shallow and straight valley in the east decreases the deposit depth and further increases the velocity of landslide material with increased runout distance. This research may provide a fast flow path of back analyzing geo-hazards on complex terrain and serve as a basis for future research on long runout landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous advancement of medical technology, the survival rate of high-risk children is increasing year by year, but the developmental problems that have gradually become apparent in the later stages have a serious impact on the quality of life of children. Amplitude-integrated EEG is an EEG monitoring technology developed for clinical use in newborns in recent years. Therefore, to better detect neuromata development in high-risk children, this study explores the validity prediction of amplitude-integrated EEG in early neuromata development in high-risk children. For 100 high-risk children, amplitude-integrated EEG was used for monitoring, and the exercise scale and validity predictors in the Bailey Infant Development Scale were used to assess whether high-risk children had neurobehavioral abnormalities. The experimental results show that the application of amplitude-integrated EEG can make accurate and effective predictions of early neuromata development outcomes in high-risk children. Compared with traditional neurological examination methods, it has higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and consistency in predicting the early neuromata development outcomes of high-risk children. It is suitable for application and promotion in China and has a good application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoid sensilla are the most common mechanoreceptors in insects; depending on their distribution, they can act as either exteroceptors or proprioceptors. In this study, the internal structure of the trichoid sensillum from Nilaparvata lugens was studied, using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). We reconstructed a three-dimensional (3D) model derived from the FIB-SEM data set. The model displayed characteristic mechanosensory sensilla components, including a hair inserted in the socket, a dendrite going through the laminated cuticle, and an electron-dense tubular body at the dendrite terminal. The detailed 3D model showed the relationship between the microtubules within the tubular body and those outside of the tubular body. We also found an autocellular junction in the tormogen cell, indicating that the tormogen cell grows around the dendrite sheath to form a hollow column shape during sensilla morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe3O4@starch-derived carbon composites (Fe3O4@C-SD composites) were produced via chemical bowling, an economic and a scalable method, and a subsequent calcination with starch as the carbon resource and iron(III) nitrate as the iron resource. The Fe3O4@C-SD composites present an alveolate-like structure, with ultrafine Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the carbon framework. The Fe3O4@C-SD1 composite delivers a larger specific surface area of ∼132.5 m2 g−1, which can supply more active sites for lithium storage and benefit lithium flux across the interface. The interior hollow structure provides a void space for the volume change of Fe3O4 particles, thus ensuring the integrity of the electrode materials. When used as an anode material, it shows great potential in lithium storage. The specific capacity of the Fe3O4@C-SD1 electrode could reach 581.5 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1, which indicated that the electrode exhibited an excellent cycling stability during the charge/discharge process. The synergistic effects between the carbon matrix and the Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the Fe3O4@C-SD1 composite led to the superior lithium storage performance. This above-mentioned synthetic strategy is simple, economical, scalable and controllable, thereby providing an approach for the synthesis of other composites with similar structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operational spacecraft are facing a risk of collision with space debris objects. The net capturing method has been proposed to mitigate this risk on spacecraft. The mass-spring model is usually applied for net modeling by discretizing a cable into one or several mass-spring-damper elements in simulation. The absolute nodal coordinates formulation (ANCF) has also been applied to model the net, and this model is able to describe the flexibility of a net using less elements. However, the influence on the net behavior in simulation by the flexibility modeling of a net is not well understood and barely discussed. In this paper, flexibility models of a net are established based on the mass-spring model and the ANCF model,respectively. The influence on the net behavior by the flexibility modeling is, for the first time, analyzed via simulations. Two case studies of capturing a ball and a cube shaped targets are performed. It is found that the flexibility modeling has little influence on the net dynamics in simulation. Finally, the characteristics and benefits of the ANCF model are described and analyzed. A drawback of the ANCF model was found to be its inferior computational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Lepidocunaxoides (Acariformes: Cunaxidae) is recorded for the first time from China and the generic diagnosis is revised on the basis of both sexes of a new species, Lepidocunaxoides bomiensis Chen & Jin sp. nov.. The new species differs from the known species Lepidocunaxoides robustus Kalúz & Ermilov, 2019 by follows: palpal tibiotarsus claw unbranched apically and tibiotarsus with a proximal bifurcated seta; cheliceral seta and adoral setae absent; propodosomal shield concave anteromedially; tibia II with one bsl. Cunaxoides neopectinatusShiba, 1978 is transferred to Lepidocunaxoides based on the generic concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We simulate dynamical mechanical spectroscopy in a Cu 64 Zr 36 bulk metallic glass using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics. Applying several loading conditions (constant volume, longitudinal, uniaxial and isostatic), we find that different elastic moduli have very contrasted dynamical properties but satisfy the dynamic correspondence principle, which states that the relations between static moduli can be extended to dynamical moduli, both below and above the glass transition temperature. In particular, we determine the debated dynamic Poisson's ratio from three different but consistent expressions. Finally, we trace the origin of dissipation down to regions of low stability devoid of icosahedral clusters. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Derived from RNA, 5ʹ-ribonucleotides, especially Inosine-5ʹ-monophosphate (IMP) and guanosine-5ʹ-monophosphate (GMP), can enhance the umami taste of soy sauce. In this study, the RNA content of three different salt-tolerant yeasts was examined. The most valuable strain was subjected to atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis, which improved its RNA content by 160.54%. Regular fermentation with RNA-enhanced strain failed to increase the amount of 5ʹ-ribonucleotides in the soy sauce due to hydrolysis by phosphatase. A two-stage fermentation strategy was then carried out. Aroma compounds were mainly synthesized in the first stage, and RNA-enriched biomass was massively produced in the second stage followed by heat treatment to inactivate phosphatase. After the proposed strategy was applied, IMP and GMP in the soy sauce reached 68.54 and 89.37 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, the amounts of key aroma compounds and organic acids significantly increased. Results may provide new insights for improving the quality of soy sauce through microorganism breeding and fermentation control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Pre-stroke statin use reduces stroke severity and improves functional outcomes; however, whether low-dose statins as a primary preventive measure have similar effects on the Chinese population remains unclear. Methods: Consecutive cases of ischaemic stroke between May 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analysed. The primary endpoints were stroke severity on admission and functional outcomes at 90 days. The secondary endpoints were factors related to lower stroke severity on admission. Propensity score matching and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Of the 1878 patients, 6.4% and 23.8% were pre-stroke statin users before and after propensity matching, respectively, reducing the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission from 5 (2–9) to 3 (2–4) (P < 0.001). Patients receiving pretreatment with low-dose statins tended to have a better mRS distribution (median mRS score 2 [1–3] vs. 3 [2–4], P = 0.007) and a higher likelihood of favourable functional outcomes (FFOs) at 90 days (61 [65.6%] vs. 151 [50.8%], P = 0.005). The logistic regression analysis showed that low-dose statins taken before stroke (odds ratio [OR] = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.08–0.27, P < 0.001) and being male (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.66–0.99, P = 0.035) were related to a lower stroke severity on admission but not among patients with atrial fibrillation (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.12–2.44, P = 0.012) or elevated white blood cell (WBC) counts (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.08–1.17, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Pretreatment with low-dose statins reduced initial stroke severity, improved functional outcomes at 90 days and was independently associated with a lower stroke severity on admission among Chinese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with two species of Scutascirus. Scutascirus hechiensis Chen & Jin sp. nov. is distinguished from the close species, S. pentascutellusCorpuz-Raros & Garcia, 1996 by the follows: basifemur IV with 2 sts; telofemora III with 4 sts and IV with 3 sts; genu IV with 6 sts; tibia I with 2 bsl and III with 1 bsl; tarsus I with 3 bsl. The male of Scutascirus triangulumLin, Zhang & Ji, 2001 is described for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is now considered to be one of the main technological options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It seems that pipeline transmission is an effective way to transport the large amount of CO2 from the capture site to the storage site over long distance for most CCUS projects. Therefore, risk assessment of CO2 transmission pipelines has been an important aspect for successful development of the CCUS industry in the future. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a group-based activity to prioritize risk. A group multi-criteria decision-making approach based on combined weights and the hesitant fuzzy VIKOR (vlsekriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno resenje in Serbian, meaning "multi-criteria optimization and compromise solution") method is proposed to evaluate the risk of CO2 transmission pipelines. First, a pair-wise comparison matrix for risk factors is constructed according to the evaluation information given by the FMEA team members, and a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is used to determine the subjective weight vector of these risk factors. The maximizing deviation method is used to determine the objective weights of risk factors. Then, to select the most serious failure modes for CO2 transmission pipelines, the hesitant fuzzy VIKOR method is used to prioritize the potential failure modes that have been identified by the FMEA team members. Finally, a numerical example for risk assessment is given to illustrate the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current investigation applied the invariant manifold technique to study the halo orbits around the libration points in circular restricted three-body problem. Two dominant (leading) directions were considered as dominant motions for the construction of spatial halo orbits, the third direction motion being the slave (following) motion. The dominant motions correspond to four-dimensional invariant manifolds in the phase space. The invariant nonlinear asymptotic relations (i.e. INARs) between the two dominant motions and the slave motion were established, enabling a transformation from the 3-DOF problem into a 2-DOF problem. Application of the INARs are also discussed. Such invariant nonlinear relations in polynomial expansion form could be used as: (I) approximate analytical solutions; (II) topological constraints to obtain more exact numerical solutions with differential correction. General findings in the current research revealed that the nonlinear asymptotic relations among the directions provided an alternative point of view to explore the overall dynamics of halo orbits around libration points with general rules. The effectiveness of the proposed method was also verified by numerical simulations. • Invariant nonlinear asymptotic relations (INARs) between dominant and slave motions are obtained. • The 3D system is reduced into a 2D system by INARs. • Analytical solutions for halo orbits are obtained by INARs. • INARs are used as topological constraints to obtain halo orbit with differential correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use a stochastic dynamic programming model to evaluate the impacts of uncertainties on the abatement planning process. By involving the endogenous emission path, we differentiate two types of uncertainties during the planning process, which come from the volatility of the abatement cost and the ambiguity of emission rate. Results suggest that the considered uncertainties influence the decision-making process in several aspects by shaping the abatement path as well as emission path. (1) The impacts vary with the expected value and the level of variance of the uncertainty effects. Uncertainties caused by abatement costs from 0.02 to 0.06 and emission factors from 0.01 to 0.03 increase the total abatement costs around 7% and 5% respectively. (2) Both of these uncertainties can generate precautionary abatement in short-term. Especially during the early stages, the abatement task will be increased by 1% around in each period due to the uncertainties. However such an action will be diminishing as the duration elapses. (3) Both of these uncertainties influence the long-term abatement performances, however, with different forms and mechanisms. With small volatility, the emission rate changes the priority sequence of abatement actions more substantially in the short-term than the emission rate does. (4) The combined uncertainties can behave in a compound way to improve the uncertainty performance in the model. The difference between the emission peaks of conservative and extreme cases is significant with the gap being about 5 million metric ton. These results have potentially important policy implications and can provide a rationale for abatement actions. • We use a stochastic dynamic programming model to evaluate the impacts of uncertainty on the abatement strategy. • We differentiate two types of uncertainties during the planning process. • For both types of the uncertainty precautionary abatement is required at early stage to hedge the future risk. • The level of synergy effect and the hedging effect between the uncertainties depends on how they are combined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Super-hydrophilic aluminum surfaces were produced by a simple one step nanosecond laser treatment. • The effect of laser scanning interval, laser scanning pattern, and scanning speed have been studied. • Hydrophilic behavior was studied by measuring contact angle. • Wetting properties of laser treated surfaces are slightly changed when exposed in air, but still keep hydrophilic in 20 days. This paper reports a way of forming super-hydrophilic surface on the pure aluminum plate (99.999% aluminum) that the nanoarray structure is formed on the surface using a nanosecond pulsed laser. It is found that different micro/nano structure have certain influence on the hydrophilicity of aluminum plates. Two different laser scanning methods, single horizontal and grid pattern scanning, were selected in this study. It was found that the scanning marking method of the grid pattern can form a relatively regular dot sequence nanoarray structure on the surface of aluminum plate. This structure makes the aluminum surface super hydrophilic with a contact angle of almost 0°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]