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Abstract Electrochemical catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction are a critical component for many renewable energy applications. To improve their catalytic kinetics and mass activity are essential for sustainable industrial applications. Here, we report a rare-earth metal-based oxide electrocatalyst comprised of ultrathin amorphous La2O3 nanosheets hybridized with uniform La2O3 nanoparticles (La2O3@NP-NS). Significantly improved OER performance is observed from the nanosheets with a nanometer-scale thickness. The as-synthesized 2.27-nm La2O3@NP-NS exhibits excellent catalytic kinetics with an overpotential of 310 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 43.1 mV dec−1, and electrochemical impedance of 38 Ω. More importantly, due to the ultrasmall thickness, its mass activity, and turnover frequency reach as high as 6666.7 A g−1 and 5.79 s−1, respectively, at an overpotential of 310 mV. Such a high mass activity is more than three orders of magnitude higher than benchmark OER electrocatalysts, such as IrO2 and RuO2. This work presents a sustainable approach toward the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts with largely reduced mass loading of precious elements.

The genetic structure and evolutionary relationship of Dulong chicken with other native Chinese species remained unclear. In this study, the mitochondrial control region was analyzed in total of 343 samples comprising 59 from Dulong chicken and 284 from 8 other Chinese local breeds revealed 51 mutation sites that defined 42 haplotypes. The maximum genetic variation was observed between the Shimian caoke and Pengxian yellow chickens. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these local chickens mainly scatter in two southwestern clades. Dulong chickens have close relationship with other native chicken. Finding of this study suggests a single matrilineal lineage of indigenous Dulong chickens.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles. Temperature estimation is very important for battery life and safety. However, current temperature measurement methods cannot accurately measure the battery internal temperature. In this paper, a new method for battery temperature estimation based on an improved magnetic nanoparticle thermometer (MNPT) is proposed. The influence of dc magnetic field on temperature accuracy of a MNPT is firstly studied, the optimal dc magnetic field is found out under limitation of maximum temperature sensitivity and minimum temperature error, a new model of an improved MNPT is also established based on the ratio of first and second harmonics, and then the Lithium-ion battery temperature is estimated by use of the improved MNPT, the simulation and experiment results show that the improved MNPT can accurately estimate the battery internal temperature, which provides a new method for monitoring battery temperature of a new energy vehicle.

Context Cisplatin-based chemotherapy was widely used in treating human malignancies. However, side effects and chemoresistance remains the major obstacle. Objective To verify whether natural borneol (NB) can enhance cisplatin-induced glioma cell apoptosis and explore the mechanism. Materials and methods Cytotoxicity of cisplatin and/or NB towards U251 and U87 cells were determined with the MTT assay. Cells were treated with 0.25–80 μg/mL cisplatin and/or 5–80 μM NB for 48 h. The effects of NB and/or cisplatin on apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were quantified by flow cytometric analysis. Protein expression was detected by western blotting. ROS generation was conducted by measuring and visualising an oxidation-sensitive fluorescein DCFH-DA. Results NB synergistically enhanced the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin in human glioma cells. Co-treatment of 40 μg/mL NB and 40 μg/mL cisplatin significantly inhibited U251 cell viability from 100% to 28.2% and increased the sub-G1 population from 1.4% to 59.3%. Further detection revealed that NB enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis by activating caspases and triggering reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction as evidenced by the enhancement of green fluorescence intensity from 265% to 645%. ROS-mediated DNA damage was observed as reflected by the activation of ATM/ATR, p53 and histone. Moreover, MAPKs and PI3K/AKT pathways also contributed to co-treatment-induced U251 cell growth inhibition. ROS inhibition by antioxidants effectively improved MAPKs and PI3K/AKT functions and cell viability, indicating that NB enhanced cisplatin-induced cell growth in a ROS-dependent manner. Discussion and conclusions Natural borneol had the potential to sensitise human glioma cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis with potential application in the clinic.

The dissolved uranium (U) content in the water column of saline lakes varies little between ice-free seasons throughout the whole water column. Such uniformity allows for the potential absolute dating and/or paleohydrologic interpretations of lake sediments and biogenic shell materials using U isotopes. Before using these methods in cold regions, however, it is necessary to evaluate the effects that ice freeze-thaw processes have on the distribution of U isotopes in saline lake waters, and to determine the amount of variation in U isotopic values when such processes occur. In this paper, we collected ice and dissolved water samples from six lakes with variable salinity in February 2021. Five groundwater and three water samples from rivers into Qinghai Lake were sampled in November 2020. The sampled water was analyzed for dissolved concentrations of 238U and the activity ratio of 234U/238U ([234U/238U]AR). The results show that the 238U concentration of ice samples was less than that of the underlying water. The [234U/238U]AR of ice in the five saline lakes was similar to that of the underlying water with less than a 10‰ variation, suggesting no observable fractionation between ice and dissolved water. Thus, the ice freeze-thaw processes have almost no effect on the uranium content and [234U/238U]AR of the sampled saline lakes, which were characterized by a limited recharge volume from surface runoff, groundwater, and ice volume, namely the close saline lake in arid alpine background. The results from the indoor freeze-thaw experiments also showed that the U isotopic composition of Qinghai Lake waters and ice were similar with the 238U concentration of the ice was about 40% of that of the dissolved lake water, supporting the data obtained from natural saline lakes. The above results provide important insights into whether it is feasible to use U isotopes for absolute dating and/or paleohydrologic analysis of lake sediments or biogenic shell materials. In addition, the results are important for evaluating the [234U/238U]AR and uranium concentrations in seawater when there exists a process of melting polar ice, and for determining the initial delta 234U variations needed for dating of coral and other fossil materials.

Background:MN1 C-terminal truncation (MCTT) syndrome is caused by variants in the C-terminal region of MN1, which were first described in 2020. The clinical features of MCTT syndrome includes severe neurodevelopmental and brain abnormalities. We reported on a patient who carried the MN1 variant in the C-terminal region with mild developmental delay and normal brain magnetic resonance image (MRI).Methods: Detailed clinical information was collected in the pedigree. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) accompanied with Sanger sequencing validation were performed. A functional study based on HEK239T cells was performed.Results: A de novo heterozygous c.3734delT: p.L1245fs variant was detected. HEK239T cells transinfected with the de novo variant showed decreased proliferation, enhanced apoptotic rate, and MN1 nuclear aggregation.Conclusion: Our study expended the clinical and genetic spectrum of MCTT which contributes to the genetic counseling of the MN1 gene.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the most common type of primary liver cancer, often presents at advanced stage with a dismal prognosis. Novel tumor biomarkers are needed to aid in HCC early detection and prognostication. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for RecQ-mediated genome instability protein 2 (RMI2) was performed in 330 surgically resected HCC specimens and 190 adjacent normal tissues. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were applied to identify prognostic indicators of HCC outcomes. Patient's survival was assessed with the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: RMI2 in HCC tissue was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues, and was positively correlated with HCC histological grade and stage ( P

Background Gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis is closely related to bone loss and the occurrence of osteoporosis in animals and human. However, little is known about the effect and the mechanisms of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on bone in the treatment of senile osteoporosis. Methods Aged female rats were randomly divided into the FMT group and the control group. 3-month-old female rats were used as fecal donors. The rats were sacrificed at 12 and 24 weeks following transplantation and the serum, intestine, bone, and feces were collected for subsequent analyses. Results The bone turnover markers of osteocalcin, procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), and carboxy-terminal peptide (CTX) decreased significantly at 12 and 24 weeks following FMT (P < 0.05). At 12 weeks following transplantation, histomorphometric parameters including the bone volume (BV), trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) of the FMT group were comparable to the control group. However, at 24 weeks following transplantation, these parameters of the FMT group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). Besides, the GM aggregated at 12 and 24 weeks following FMT, and the ecological distance was close between the rats in the FMT group and the donor rats. Alpha diversity, shown by the Shannon index and Simpson index, and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio decreased significantly after FMT at 24 weeks. Furthermore, FMT restored the GM composition in aged rats at the phylum and family level, and the intestinal microbiota of the aged rats was similar to that of the donor rats. Correlation network analysis indirectly suggested the causality of FMT on alleviating osteoporosis. FMT improved the intestinal structure and up-regulated the expression of tight junction proteins of occludin, claudin, and ZO-1, which might be associated with the protective effects of FMT on bone. Conclusions GM transplanted from young rats alleviated bone loss in aged rats with senile osteoporosis by improving gut microbiome composition and intestinal barrier function. These data might provide a scientific basis for future clinical treatment of osteoporosis through FMT.

In this paper, nano SiO2 particles modified organic silane coatings were successfully prepared to aim at the application of the self-cleaning coating on PMMA substrate for deep-sea optical windows. The chemicals, surface microstructure, wettability, hardness, adhesion, transparency, water scouring resistance as well as microorganism attachment rate of the coatings were investigated. The results showed that adding SiO2 nanoparticles into the organic silicon coating can effectively improve the hydrophobicity due to generating a micro-nano structure surface. However, excessive addition would result in a decrease in hydrophobicity, adhesion, as well as transparency, due to the inorganic SiO2 particle destroying the integrity of the organic coating. The optimal coating was obtained by adding 0.5 wt% nano SiO2 particles, which possessed a water contact angle of 114.2°, hardness of 4H, adhesion level of 0, and visible light transmittance of 0.886. After 40-h water scouring, the water contact angle decreased to 108.3° and the visible light transmittance decreased to 0.839, suggesting good water scouring resistance. The microorganism attachment rate of the S05 coating was 0.17% after a 6 h immersion test, which was about half that of the PMMA substrate.

Since strong polarity usually causes emission quenching, materials with polarity-induced emission (PIE) are rarely reported despite their important applications in polar environments. Herein, an N-phenylcarbazole-substituted benzophenone derivative (BP-3-Cz) with a twisted electron donor–acceptor (D–A) structure is synthesized. The incorporation of heteroatoms into the twisted π-conjugated D–A backbone simultaneously endows BP-3-Cz with obvious polarity- and pressure-induced emission. Spectral analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and quantum chemical calculation results confirm that BP-3-Cz has special optical features related to the molecular conformation change and excited state turning to planarized intramolecular charge transfer with an increase in polarity or applied pressure. These findings contribute to the understanding of the PIE mechanism and the design of new PIE materials.

Glyamifop (R&D code: FG001), (R)-(2-(4-(6-chlorobenzoxazol-2-oxy) phenoxy) propionyl) glycine ethyl ester is a newly developed aryloxyphenoxypropionate (HRAC Group 1) herbicide for weed control in paddy fields. This work determined the effect of Glyamifop on weeds and its safety for rice in the glasshouse. Glyamifop controlled the common gramineous weeds in paddy fields at 100 g a.i. ha−1: the fresh weight inhibition rates of Echinochloa crus-galli, Leptochloa chinensis, Setaria viridis, Eragrostis japonica, Digitaria sanguinalis and Panicum bisulcatum were all above 90%. It has almost no inhibitory effect on broad-leaved and cyperaceae weeds, such as Eclipta prostrata and Cyperus iria. Glyamifop inhibited cyhalofop-butyl-resistant L. chinensis, penoxsulam-resistant E. crus-galli and quinclorac-resistant E. crusgalli var. zelayensis by 100%, 99.98% and 96.37%, respectively, at 100 g a.i. ha−1, based on the fresh weight. The selectivity index of Glyamifop foliage treatment in the rice varieties japonica ‘Huaidao 5’, indica ‘Xiangliangyou 900’ and glutinous ‘Zhennuo 29’ was 5.93, 6.81 and 4.91, respectively; therefore, Glyamifop is safe for the 3 different rice varieties. Fresh weight rice inhibition rates were 7.18%, 2.99% and 7.93% at the 2.5-, 3.5- and 5.5-leaf stage, respectively, and the selectivity index was 5.18, 6.04 and 7.93, respectively, indicating that Glyamifop was safe for rice at these leaf stages. L. chinensis ACCase activity decreased with increasing Glyamifop concentration, and the inhibitory effect was similar to that of cyhalofop acid; this confirmed that Glyamifop is an ACCase inhibitor. In conclusion, Glyamifop has potential for the management of gramineous weeds as it has good activity against weeds that are resistant to common herbicides in paddy fields.

IntroductionIt’s widely reported the “writer” enzymes mediated RNA adenosine modifications which is known as a crucial mechanism of epigenetic regulation in development of tumor and the immunologic response in many kinds of cancers. However, the potential roles of these writer genes in the progression of bladder cancer (BLCA) remain unclear.Materials and MethodsWe comprehensively described the alterations of 26 RNA modification writer genes in BLCA from the genetic and transcriptional fields and identified writer-related genes from four independent datasets. Utilizing least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate Cox regression, we constructed a ten writer-related gene signature. After that, we confirmed the predictive and prognostic value of this signature on another six independent datasets and established a nomogram to forecast the overall survival (OS) and mortality odds of BLCA patients clinically.ResultsThe writer-related genes signature showed good performance in predicting the OS for BLCA patients. Moreover, the writer-related gene signature was related to EMT-related pathways and immune characteristics. Furthermore, the immune cell infiltration levels of CD8 T cells, cytotoxic cells, M1/2 macrophage cells and tumor mutation burden might be able to predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy. This could also be reflected by the writer-related gene signature.ConclusionsThis signature might play an important role in precision individualized immunotherapy. The present work highlights the crucial clinical implications of RNA modifications and may help developing individualized therapeutic strategies for patients with BLCA.

Dielectrically loaded thin-film lithium niobate (LiNbO3) on insulator (LNOI) platforms have enabled a range of photonic integrated circuit components, such as high-speed optical modulators, switches, and nonlinear devices, while avoiding the direct etching of the LiNbO3 thin film. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) is one of the most attractive dielectric loading materials as it has a similar refractive index and transparency window to LiNbO3 and can be deposited and patterned by mature fabrication processes. The patterning of Si3N4 opens the opportunity to fabricate grating couplers in the same fabrication step, providing efficient optical interfaces for wafer-scale testing. In this paper, we investigate and demonstrate single-step etched grating couplers on a Si3N4-LNOI (X-cut) platform. The grating couplers (straight and curved) are designed and fabricated for TE-polarized modes along the Y and Z crystallographic directions, considering the LiNbO3 crystal’s birefringence. The experimentally demonstrated coupling losses are as low as 4.02 and 4.24 dB along the crystallographic Y and Z directions, respectively. The corresponding peak wavelengths are 1609 and 1615 nm, respectively. The measured 3-dB bandwidths are wider than 70 nm for both crystallographic directions. We also numerically investigated the influence of fabrication variations and the fiber angle on the transmission. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first demonstration of grating couplers with different light propagation directions on the Si3N4 loaded LNOI platform.

Islet beta-cell viability, function, and mass are three decisive attributes that determine the efficacy of human islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Islet mass is commonly assessed manually, which often leads to error and bias. Digital imaging analysis (DIA) system has shown its potential as an alternative, but it has some associated limitations. In this study, a Smartphone-Fluidic Digital Imaging Analysis (SFDIA) System, which incorporates microfluidic techniques and Python-based video processing software, was developed for islet mass assessment. We quantified islets by tracking multiple moving islets in a microfluidic channel using the SFDIA system, and we achieved a relatively consistent result. The counts from the SFDIA and manual counting showed an average difference of 2.91 ± 1.50%. Furthermore, our software can analyze and extract key human islet mass parameters, including quantity, size, volume, IEq, morphology, and purity, which are not fully obtainable from traditional manual counting methods. Using SFDIA on a representative islet sample, we measured an average diameter of 99.88 ± 53.91 µm, an average circularity of 0.591 ± 0.133, and an average solidity of 0.853 ± 0.107. Via analysis of dithizone-stained islets using SFDIA, we found that a higher islet tissue percentage is associated with top-layer islets as opposed to middle-layer islets (0.735 ± 0.213 and 0.576 ± 0.223, respectively). Our results indicate that the SFDIA system can potentially be used as a multi-parameter islet mass assay that is superior in accuracy and consistency, when compared to conventional manual techniques.

Several gold ore-concentrated areas have been recognized in the destruction zone of the North China Craton (NCC). However, the deposits in the western part of the destruction zone have received less attention. Miaoan, a typical Au-polymetallic deposit in the northern Taihang Mountain, provides a good sample for deepening our understanding of the genesis of gold deposits in the western destruction zone. In this study, detailed ore geology, pyrite Rb-Sr age, trace element and S-C-O isotopes of Au-bearing ores were conducted to constrain the source of ore-forming materials and their tectonic setting. The pyrites obtain an Rb-Sr isochron age of 129.5 ± 2.5 Ma, consistent with those of magmatic rocks in this deposit, suggesting their genetic relationship. The δ34S values ranging from −5.5‰ to 1.6‰ and the high Co/Ni and Y/Ho ratios of pyrites indicate the mantle-crust mixing characteristics of ore-forming fluids. The δ13C (−6.3‰ to −2.0‰) and δ18O (9.3‰ to 17.6‰) values of Au-bearing ores and calcites suggest mixing characteristics as well. Geochronologically, the Miaoan Au-polymetallic deposit was formed during the destruction of the NCC. We propose that the Miaoan Au-polymetallic deposit is a decratonic gold deposit and that its ore-forming materials have a mixed source of mantle and crust.

Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent kinds of cancer worldwide, and resistance to gemcitabine is a major problem for patients. The pathogenesis of bladder cancer and mechanism of resistance to chemotherapy remain to be explored. Through bioinformatics analysis, we first found that NXPH4 was independently related to the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. Through wound healing assays, transwell invasion assays, and plate clone formation assays, we found that NXPH4 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer cells. The induced gemcitabine resistance cell line also showed a higher expression of NXPH4. A glycolytic activity assay demonstrated that the expression of NXPH4 was positively related to glycolysis. A higher level of reactive oxygen species caused by enhanced levels of NXPH4 was found in gemcitabine-resistant cell lines. NDUFA4L2, glycolysis, and reactive oxygen species were shown to be essential for NXPH4-regulated functions through rescue assays in cell lines. The roles of NXPH4-regulated glycolysis, gemcitabine resistance, and NDUFA4L2 were validated in vivo as well. Our results imply that NXPH4 contributes to the proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer by maintaining the stability of NDUFA4L2 and consequently activating reactive oxygen species and glycolysis.

The wave parameter is an important environmental input condition. Traditional contact wave measurement methods are unable to meet the requirements of high precision, non-contact, and ship wave field assessment. Alternatively, stereo vision technology can realize a non-contact and mobile form of measurement. However, this technology suffers from poor timeliness and adaptability. This paper proposes a comprehensive wave measurement method that is based on stereo vision, wherein the gridding of siftGPU is used to achieve the fast matching of large images. The whole algorithm can be run within 6 s and it guarantees more than 20,000 feature-matching logarithms. Furthermore, by utilizing the least squares method and sea surface wave surface theory, the sea surface base level can be calculated without control points, along with the inversion of the sea wave parameters (wave height, period, and wave direction) and error point fitting. The rationality and superiority of the algorithm were verified through multiple comparison experiments. Compared with the Richard Brancker Research (RBR) wave height meter, the measurement error of the wave height is less than 10%, the period error is less than 0.5 s, and the wave direction error is less than 10° with the proposed method.

In the last decade, the 232Th–230Th system has gained popularity as a tracer to quantify lithogenic sources of trace elements to the marine environment. Thorium (Th) isotopes were utilized to quantify the supply of lithogenic inputs to Keluke Lake and Tuosu Lake in Qaidam Basin, China. A total of 33 water samples were collected from Keluke Lake, Tuosu Lake, and Bayin River to measure the concentrations of dissolved 232Th and 230Th. The relationship of 232Th concentration in the water was in the order Bayin River > Keluke Lake > KLK–TS River > Tuosu Lake, confirming the input of variable lithogenic material sources. Three sources dominate the flux of lithofacies into the lakes: the river input, the deposition of dust and the local input from the sediments surrounding the lakes. On an interannual timescale, the lithogenic flux of Keluke Lake was mainly derived from river input. In summer, the dust flux in the study area could be estimated as 0.133 g/m2/year, while the flux of lithologic material from Bayin River to Keluke Lake was 12.367 g/m2/year. In contrast, the fluvial input to the Tuosu lake was small in comparison to the dust contribution of lithogenic flux. The high Th232-concentration and the vertical sediment flux in this lake may have been caused by resuspension of bottom sediments.

Abstract Let T∗ $T^{*}$ be a multilinear Calderón–Zygmund maximal operator. In this paper, we study iterated commutators of T∗ $T^{*}$ and pointwise multiplication with functions in Lipschitz spaces. More precisely, we give some new estimates for this kind of commutators under some Dini-type conditions on Lebesgue spaces, homogenous Lipschitz spaces, and homogenous Triebel–Lizorkin spaces.

Abstract In this paper we consider a singular integral operator and a parametric Marcinkiewicz integral operator with rough kernel. These operators have singularity along sets of the form curves {x=P(φ(|y|))y′} $\{x=P(\varphi (|y|))y'\}$, where P is a real polynomial satisfying P(0)=0 $P(0)=0$ and φ satisfies certain smooth conditions. Under the conditions that Ω∈H1(Sn−1) $\varOmega \in H^{1} (\mathbf{S}^{n-1})$ and h∈Δγ(R+) $h\in \Delta _{\gamma }(\mathbf{R}_{+})$ for some γ>1 $\gamma >1$, we prove that the above operators are bounded on the Lebesgue space L2(Rn) $L^{2}( \mathbf{R}^{n})$. Moreover, the L2 $L^{2}$-bounds of the maximal functions related to the above integrals are also established. Particularly, the bounds are independent of the coefficients of the polynomial P. In addition, we also present certain Hardy type inequalities related to these operators.

Background: Mac-2 binding protein (M2BP) is a proinflammatory protein associated with atherosclerosis and prognosis in patients with coronary artery diseases. We aimed to investigate the expression of M2BP in human carotid plaques and its relation to clinical symptoms and components within plaques. Methods: Patients (n = 51) undergoing carotid endarterectomy were consecutively recruited in our study. M2BP expression was evaluated at three different levels: plasma, mRNA expression and immunohistochemical staining. Results: We found that (1) M2BP was mainly expressed by CD68+ macrophages but rarely expressed by smooth muscle cells (SMC) within plaques; (2) Expression of M2BP was elevated in advanced plaques with necrotic cores(Type II)and ruptured plaques(Type III)than fibrous intact plaques (Type I); (3) Increased expression of M2BP was observed in vulnerable sites (shoulder regions, areas surrounding the necrotic core and ruptured fibrous cap) of carotid plaques; (4) Symptomatic patients showed higher expression of M2BP than asymptomatic patients, especially those with severe symptoms and short duration since latest symptom onset; (5) Echolucent and heterogeneous plaques were observed to own elevated M2BP expression than echogenic plaques; (6) M2BP expression level was positively correlated with macrophage content and apoptotic level within plaques but negatively correlated with SMC and collagen content of plaques. Conclusions: M2BP is highly expressed in advanced plaques and vulnerable regions and significantly correlated with clinical ischemic manifestations. Therefore, M2BP may serve as an important biomarker of plaque destabilization.

User alignment across social networks can facilitate more information/knowledge transferring across networks and thereby benefit several applications, including social link prediction, cross-domain recommendation, and information diffusion. Several works try to learn a common subspace for networks by preserving the structural proximities, such that different contribution weights of neighbors are ignored as users were always connected by unweighted edges. In this paper, we propose an attention-based network embedding model that exploits the social structures for user alignment. In particular, two main components are contained in our model framework: a masked graph attention mechanism which tries to learn the alignment task driven attention weights by the supervision of pre-aligned user pairs, and an embedding algorithm tries to learn a common vector space by explicitly modeling the weighted contribution probabilities between follower-ships and followee-ships. With the learned weights and embeddings transferring between these two components, we construct a unified model for user embedding and alignment. Stochastic gradient descent and negative sampling are adopted for efficient learning and scalability. The extensive experiments on real-world social network data sets demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed model compared with several state-of-the-art methods.

In this paper, a novel robust state estimator (RSE) based on rectangular pulse function (RPF) is proposed considering the uncertainty in the measurements, leading an ideal RPF estimator. The goal of the proposed ideal RPF estimator is to find an estimate value of the state variables to maximize the number of normal measurements. Considering that the objective function of the ideal RPF estimator is non-differentiable, a differentiable function formed by hyperbolic tangent function is used to replace the objective function of the ideal RPF estimator, leading a practical RPF estimator which is easy to be solved by the primal-dual interior point method. The robustness and high computational efficiency of the proposed RPF estimator are demonstrated by simulations based on the IEEE benchmark systems.

This paper proposes a distributed adaptive control approach based on consensus theory so that a multi-agent formation can still complete the task despite the local fault of the leader for the multi-agent formation system. The controlled object consists of four agents that form a triangle formation system, where one agent acts as the vertex of the triangle, and the remaining agents act as followers in a line. In addition, the speed of the leader is the forward direction of the formation, and the followers are behind the leader. Based on graph theory, the distributed adaptive updating of the agents' local information parameters are conducted, and the distributed adaptive control law is used to supplement the influence of the leader's fault in the multi-agent formation. According to the local information of adjacent agents, an overall distributed adaptive fault-tolerant control law is designed, and the stability of the designed controller is proved by constructing the Lyapunov function. Meanwhile, the relative distance error between the horizontal direction and longitudinal direction of the leader-follower converge to zero. The simulation results show that the proposed adaptive control approach has good robustness, which provides a theoretical basis for engineering practice.

Abstract Let 0

As one of the fastest running animals on land, the ostrich’s excellent athletic ability benefits from its unique leg structure. Based on the idea of bionics, this paper intends to obtain a kind of robotic leg structure with a similar buffering capacity to that of the ostrich. For this purpose, the structural characteristics of a seven-link parallel mechanism are analyzed firstly, having some specific features similar to ostrich legs, such as the center of mass (COM) located at the root of the leg, a large folding/unfolding ratio, and so on. Then, the kinematic model of the bionic leg is established, and the energy storage of the flexible parts of the leg is investigated. Finally, an impact experiment of the structure onto the ground is carried out to verify the accuracy of the established kinematic model. This paper systematically reveals the nonlinear law of the elasticity of an ostrich-like leg and provides the buffering performance characteristics of the leg in the process of hitting the ground, based on its elastic properties by the kinematic model and the experiment.

Shrubs are an important part of the Gobi Desert ecosystem, and their aboveground biomass (AGB) is an important manifestation of the productivity of the Gobi Desert ecosystem. Characterizing the biophysical properties of low-stature vegetation such as shrubs in the Gobi Desert via conventional field surveys and satellite remote sensing images is challenging. The AGB of shrubs had been estimated from spectral variables taken from high-resolution images obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Gobi Desert, Xinjiang, China, using vegetation feature metrics. The main results were as follows: (1) Based on the UAV images, several RGB vegetation indices (RGB VIs) were selected to extract the vegetation coverage, and it was found that the excess green index (EXG) had the highest accuracy and the overall extraction accuracy of vegetation coverage reached 97.00%. (2) According to field sample plot surveys, the AGB and shrub crown area of single shrubs in the Gobi Desert were in line with a power model. From the bottom of the alluvial fan to the top of the alluvial fan, as the altitude increased, the AGB of the vegetation communities showed an increasing trend: the AGB of the vegetation communities at the bottom of the alluvial fan was 2–90 g/m2, while that at the top of the alluvial fan was 60–201 g/m2. (3) Vegetation coverage (based on the UAV image EXG index) and AGB showed a good correlation. The two conform to the relationship model (R2 = 0.897) and the expression is Y = 1167.341 x0.946, where Y is the AGB of the sample plots in units g/m2 and x is the vegetation coverage extracted by the VI. (4) The predicted AGB values of Gobi Desert shrubs using UAV RGB images based on a power model were closer to the actual observed AGB values. The study findings provide a more efficient, accurate, and low-cost method for estimating vegetation coverage and AGB of Gobi Desert shrubs.

Few-layer graphene (FLG) was added as a nano-additive to lithium complex grease (LCG) to explore the influence of FLG on the microstructure, viscoelasticity, friction and wear properties of LCG. Studies have found that the addition of FLG makes the microstructure of the thickener more compact, which in turn leads to an increase in the viscoelasticity of LCG. FLG additives can improve the viscosity-temperature properties of the grease and change the elastic deformation response to temperature changes. Among the temperatures selected in this article, the effect of graphene is more obvious at 70 °C. During the friction process, a proper amount of FLG can quickly form a boundary film and is not easily damaged, thereby optimizing the friction and wear performance of LCG.

Gelsolin is an actin severing and capping protein that regulates cytoskeletal remodeling. Here the authors show that gelsolin is negatively regulated in the heart by PI3Kα‐ generated PIP3, and that loss of gelsolin activity prevents adverse cytoskeletal remodeling and heart failure.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly caused socioeconomic impacts. However, little is known about the psychological effect of COVID-19 on home-quarantined nursing students. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence and major determinants of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in Chinese nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 6,348 home-quarantined nursing students. Mental health status was assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-Item Scale (PHQ-9) and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Check List-Civilian version (PCL-C), respectively. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors of anxiety, depression and PTSS. The overall prevalence of anxiety was 34.97%, and the rates of “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe” anxiety were 26.24, 7.04, and 1.69%, respectively. Depression was detected in 40.22% of the nursing students, and the prevalence of “mild,” “moderate,” “moderately severe,” and “severe” depression was 27.87, 7.18, 4.08, and 1.09%, respectively. The overall prevalence of PTSS was 14.97%, with the prevalence of “mild” and “moderate-to-severe” PTSS reported at 7.04 and 7.93%, respectively. Male gender and insufficient social support were common risk factors for anxiety, depression and PTSS. In conclusion, about one-third, two-fifths, and one-seventh of Chinese nursing students had anxiety, depression and PTSS during the period of home quarantine, respectively. Timely and appropriate psychological interventions for nursing students should be implemented to reduce the psychological harm caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) enables the fabrication of complex-structural AlSi10Mg parts with low material waste and high manufacturing resolution. Thus far, there have been comprehensive investigations to reveal the process-microstructure-property link of as-built AlSi10Mg planar-surface or lattice/honeycomb structural parts. However, little is known about the geometrical, microstructural, and mechanical properties of as-deposited curved-surface parts. In this paper, the effects of curvatures on the geometrical performance, defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties of as-built AlSi10Mg parts with curved surfaces were investigated. Specifically, the results of average cloud-to-cloud distances indicated that the largest curvature (the peak position) exhibited higher dimensional accuracy than the others of as-built curved-surface parts. In addition, the lowest porosity was achieved at the largest curvatures owing to the sufficient localized energy input. We also found that the grain size and the width of grain boundaries increased with an increase in the curvature. Moreover, the tensile property of as-built curved-surface specimens was assessed for the first time. The positions with the largest curvatures became the preferable failure positions due to the largest bending moment. This paper provided great insights into the curvature-microstructure-property relationship for the industrial adoption of PBF-built AlSi10Mg parts with curved surfaces.

The hysteresis of water-sediment mixture seepage in rock fractures is one of the critical factors which affect the determination of the timing of coal mine water inrush disasters prevention and control. In this paper, a mechanical model was established to study the hysteresis whose criteria were also put forward. The area of the hysteresis loop and the maximum pressure gradient were selected as characterization parameters of hysteresis. On this basis, an experimental system was established to study influences of different sand particle size, sand mass concentration, and fracture opening on water-sediment mixture seepage in rock fractures. The results indicated that the increase in the sand particle size and sand mass concentration could effectively enhance hysteresis characteristics of specimen fractures. While hysteresis characteristics decreased significantly with the increase of fracture opening. The research results are useful to prevent and control water inrush disasters of coal mine.

We investigate the spatial Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift of reflected beam from quasicrystals composed of Fibonacci dielectrics and graphene. The quasicrystals are composed of two symmetrical Fibonacci dielectrics and graphene is embedded in the center of the quasicrystals. The compound structure could induce enhanced band edge states, around which the complex phases of reflection coefficients change dramatically with the light wavelength. Consequently, large spatial GH shifts which may be negative and positive are achieved. Furthermore, the signs of GH shifts may be tuned by the incident wavelength conveniently. This may have potential applications for highly sensitive sensors.

Lightweight parts manufactured by metal selective laser melting (SLM) are widely applied in machinery industries because of their high specific strength, good energy absorption effect, and complex shape that are difficult to form by mechanical machining. These samples often serve in three-dimensional stress states. However, previous publications mainly focused on the unidirectional tensile/compressive properties of the samples. In this paper, AlMgSc samples with different geometric parameters were prepared by the SLM process, and the variation of force and microstructure during three-point bending were systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that the deformation resistance of these samples has good continuity without mutation in bending, even for brittle materials; the bending force-displacement curves exhibit representative variation stages during the entire bending process; the equivalent bending strength deduced from free bending formula is not applicable when compactability is less than 67%. The variations of grain orientation and size of the three representative bending layers also show regularity.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non- Hodgkin lymphoma and is characterized by a remarkable heterogeneity with diverse variants that can be identified histologically and molecularly. Large-scale gene expression profiling studies have identified the germinal center B-cell (GCB-) and activated B-cell (ABC-) subtypes. Standard chemo-immunotherapy remains standard front-line therapy, curing approximately two thirds of patients. Patients with refractory disease or those who relapse after salvage treatment have an overall poor prognosis highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies. Transducin b-like protein 1 (TBL1) is an exchange adaptor protein encoded by the TBL1X gene and known to function as a master regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway by binding to β-CATENIN and promoting its downstream transcriptional program. Here, we show that, unlike normal B cells, DLBCL cells express abundant levels of TBL1 and its overexpression correlates with poor clinical outcome regardless of DLBCL molecular subtype. Genetic deletion of TBL1 and pharmacological approach using tegavivint, a first-in-class small molecule targeting TBL1 (Iterion Therapeutics), promotes DLBCL cell death in vitro and in vivo. Through an integrated genomic, biochemical, and pharmacologic analyses, we characterized a novel, β-CATENIN independent, post-transcriptional oncogenic function of TBL1 in DLBCL where TBL1 modulates the stability of key oncogenic proteins such as PLK1, MYC, and the autophagy regulatory protein BECLIN-1 through its interaction with a SKP1-CUL1-F-box (SCF) protein supercomplex. Collectively, our data provide the rationale for targeting TBL1 as a novel therapeutic strategy in DLBCL.

Vascular calcification (VC) is an inducement of many cardiovascular diseases. Clinic evidences have confirmed that diabetes was the independent risk factor for VC, and the mechanism has not been well explored. Apelin as a ligand molecule is widely found in the cardiovascular system and showed potential in inhibiting VC, but the inhibitory effect and mechanism of apelin-13 against high glucose-induced VC have not been investigated yet. Herein, apelin-13 was employed to inhibit high glucose-induced VC in mouse aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (MOVAS), and the underlying mechanism was explored. The results showed that apelin-13 significantly inhibited high glucose-induced cells proliferation, migration and invasion of MOVAS cells. Apelin-13 also effectively attenuated high glucose-induced calcification by inhibiting alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and expression. Further investigation revealed that apelin-13 dramatically suppressed high glucose-induced DNA damage through inhibiting reactive oxide species (ROS) generation. Moreover, apelin-13 also effectively improved high glucose-induced dysfunction of MAPKs and PI3K/AKT. Inhibition of ERK by inhibitor (U0126) significantly blocked high glucose-induced calcification, which further confirmed the significance of MAPKs. Taken together, these results suggested that apelin-13 had the potential to attenuate high glucose-induced calcification of MOVAS cells by inhibiting ROS-mediated DNA damage and regulating MAPKs and PI3K/AKT pathways. Our findings validated the strategy of using apelin-13 maybe a novel way in treating high glucose-mediated VC.

Hyperglycemia is the main feature of diabetes and may increase the risk of vascular calcification (VC), which is an independent predictor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CCD). Selenium (Se) may decrease the risk of CCD, and previous studies confirmed that Se-containing protein from Se-enriched Spirulina platensis (Se-SP) exhibited novel antioxidant potential. However, the effect of Se-SP against VC has been not investigated. Herein, the protective effect and underlying mechanism of Se-SP against high glucose-induced calcification in mouse aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (MOVAS) were explored. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) results showed time-dependent uptake of Se-SP in MOVAS cells, which significantly inhibited high glucose-induced abnormal proliferation. Se-SP co-treatment also effectively attenuated high glucose-induced calcification of MOVAS cells, followed by decreased activity and expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Further investigation revealed that Se-SP markedly prevented reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated DNA damage in glucose-treated MOVAS cells. ROS inhibition by glutathione (GSH) effectively inhibited high glucose-induced calcification, indicating that Se-SP could act as ROS inhibitor to inhibit high glucose-induced DNA damage and calcification. Moreover, Se-SP dramatically attenuated high glucose-induced dysfunction of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/AKT (PI3K/AKT) pathways. Se-SP after Se addition achieved enhanced potential in inhibiting high glucose-induced calcification, which validated that Se-SP as a new Se species could be a highly effective treatment for human CCD.

The liver is the major organ of lipid biosynthesis in the chicken. In laying hens, the liver synthesizes most of the yolk precursors and transports them to developing follicles to produce eggs. However, a systematic investigation of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNA transcriptome in liver across developmental stages is needed. Here, we constructed 12 RNA libraries from liver tissue during four developmental stages: juvenile (day 60), sexual maturity (day 133), peak laying (day 220), and broodiness (day 400). A total of 16,930 putative lncRNAs and 18,260 mRNAs were identified. More than half (53.70%) of the lncRNAs were intergenic lncRNAs. The temporal expression pattern showed that lncRNAs were more restricted than mRNAs. We identified numerous differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs by pairwise comparison between the four developmental stages and found that VTG2, RBP, and a novel protein-coding gene were differentially expressed in all stages. Time-series analysis showed that the modules with upregulated genes were involved in lipid metabolism processes. Co-expression networks suggested functional relatedness between mRNAs and lncRNAs; the DE-lncRNAs were mainly involved in lipid biosynthesis and metabolism processes. We showed that the liver transcriptome varies across different developmental stages. Our results improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying liver development in chickens.

Abstract Background The dreadful prognosis of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer mainly results from the delay in recognition of individuals with a high risk of progression. Thus, the emphasis of this work lies in developing valuable biomarkers that is conducive to accurately predicting the progression of NMIBC. Methods Microarray data from GSE32894 including 209 NMIBC samples were performed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), which could find modules of highly correlated genes and relate modules to external sample traits. Besides, we constructed a protein–protein interaction to facilitate screening the hub gene. At last, we used RNA‐seq and microarray data and clinical information from ArrayExpress (E‐MTAB‐4321) and GSE13507 to select and validate the candidate gene. Results In current paper, blue module of 13 gene coexpression clusters we identified was selected as the key modules. Seven genes namely: CDCA8, CENPF, MCM6, MELK, PRC1, STIL, and TPX2 have been identified as candidate genes. Notably, among them, only elevated CENPF in NIMBC tissue was closely associated with low progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rate in three datasets and had a large area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Finally, CENPF was identified as an effective biomarker in NMIBC. Conclusion Therefore, our findings submit a new progressive and prognostic molecular marker and therapeutic target for NMIBC. Moreover, these genes that deserve to be further researched may improve the comprehension about the occurrence and development of superficial bladder cancer.

This paper addresses a collision avoidance problem for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the process of high-speed flight, thereby enabling UAV cooperative formation flight and effective mission completion. The main contribution is to propose a collision avoidance control algorithm for a multi-UAV system based on a bi-directional network connection structure. To effectively avoid collisions between UAVs and between UAVs and obstacles, the proposed consensus-based algorithm and a “leader-follower”control strategy are simultaneously applied for UAV formation control to ensure the convergence of the formation. Each of the UAVs has the same forward velocity and heading angle in the horizontal plane, and they maintain a constant relative distance in the vertical direction. This paper proposes a consensus-based collision avoidance algorithm for multiple UAVs based on an improved artificial potential field method. Simulation tests involving multiple UAVs were performed to validate the proposed control algorithm and to provide a reference for engineering applications.

This paper addresses a well-documented open problem on the tracking target of the multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) subject to the inconsistent of attitude and position in the process of flight. The main contribution is to study a UAV cooperative formation control of tracking a moving target and analyze the flight stability of the designed controller when only knowing the UAV local information. The path planning of a single UAV and multiple UAV cooperative formation tracking of a moving target is studied. First, the feedback control is used to ensure heading convergence for the path planning of a single UAV. Furthermore, we use a variable airspeed controller to achieve the desired angular spacing and build the information architecture using graph theory for the UAV formation tracking of moving targets. The communication data management module at the cloud stores and transmits to UAV by the ground station. The ground command can maintain a UAV control center which gets access to the cloud for the UAV activity management. In addition, the design of a distributed control law is achieved based on the type of information construction between UAVs. The simulation results show that the designed controller is robust for tracking moving targets and achieves good flight-stability when tracking such targets.

This paper addresses a local minima problem for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the process of collision avoidance by using the artificial potential field method, thereby enabling UAVs to avoid the obstacle effectively in 3-D space. The main contribution is to propose a collision avoidance control algorithm based on the virtual structure and the “leader-follower”control strategy in 3-D space that can avoid the obstacle effectively and then track the motion target. The three UAVs constitute the regular triangular formation as the control object, the virtual leader flight trajectory as the expected path, the obstacles as the simplified cylinders, and the artificial potential fields around them as approximately spherical surfaces. The attractive force of the artificial potential field can guide the virtual leader to track the target. At the same time, the follower tracks the leader to maintain the formation flight. The effect of the repulsive force can avoid the collision between the UAVs and arrange the followers such that they are evenly distributed on the spherical surface. Moreover, the follower's specific order and position are not required. The collision path of the UAV formation depends on the artificial potential field with the two composite vectors, and every UAV may choose the optimal path to avoid the obstacle and reconfigure the regular triangular formation flight after passing the obstacle. The effectiveness of the proposed collision avoidance control algorithm is fully proved by simulation tests. Meanwhile, we also provide a new concept for multi-UAV formation avoidance of an obstacle.

Ferroptosis has been reported to regulate tumorigenesis, metastasis, drug resistance and the immune response. However, the potential roles of ferroptosis regulators in the advancement of bladder cancer remain to be explored. We systematically evaluated the multidimensional alteration landscape of ferroptosis regulators in bladder cancer and checked if their expression correlated with the ferroptosis index. We used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to form a signature consisting of seven ferroptosis regulator. We confirmed the signature’s prognostic and predictive accuracy with five independent datasets. A nomogram was built to predict the overall survival and risk of death of patients. The relative expression of the genes involved in the signature was also clarified by real-time quantitative PCR. We found the risk score was related to tumor progression and antitumor immunity-related pathways. Moreover, there existed negative association between the relative antitumor immune cell infiltration level and the risk score, and higher tumor mutation burden was found in the group of lower risk score. We used The Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion database and IMvigor210 cohort having immunotherapy efficacy results to confirm the prediction function of the risk score. Furthermore, the ferroptosis regulator signature could also reflect the chemotherapy sensitivity of bladder cancer.

Gangliosides have been considered to modulate cell signals in the microdomain of the cell membrane, lipid/rafts, or glycolipid-enriched microdomain/rafts (GEM/rafts). In particular, cancer-associated gangliosides were reported to enhance the malignant properties of cancer cells. In fact, GD2-positive (GD2+) cells showed increased proliferation, invasion, and adhesion, compared with GD2-negative (GD2−) cells. However, the precise mechanisms by which gangliosides regulate cell signaling in GEM/rafts are not well understood. In order to analyze the roles of ganglioside GD2 in the malignant properties of melanoma cells, we searched for GD2-associating molecules on the cell membrane using the enzyme-mediated activation of radical sources combined with mass spectrometry, and integrin β1 was identified as a representative GD2-associating molecule. Then, we showed the physical association of GD2 and integrin β1 by immunoprecipitation/immunoblotting. Close localization was also shown by immuno-cytostaining and the proximity ligation assay. During cell adhesion, GD2+ cells showed multiple phospho-tyrosine bands, i.e., the epithelial growth factor receptor and focal adhesion kinase. The knockdown of integrin β1 revealed that the increased malignant phenotypes in GD2+ cells were clearly cancelled. Furthermore, the phosphor-tyrosine bands detected during the adhesion of GD2+ cells almost completely disappeared after the knockdown of integrin β1. Finally, immunoblotting to examine the intracellular distribution of integrins during cell adhesion revealed that large amounts of integrin β1 were localized in GEM/raft fractions in GD2+ cells before and just after cell adhesion, with the majority being localized in the non-raft fractions in GD2− cells. All these results suggest that GD2 and integrin β1 cooperate in GEM/rafts, leading to enhanced malignant phenotypes of melanomas.

With the increase of combustion temperatures, the thermal radiation effect for hot components in the new generation of aero-engines has become a key factor in the combustion process, cooling structure design, and thermal protection. A radiation loading system can be used as an external heat source to simulate the real thermal environment of hot components in aero-engines. Total receiving power, as well as 3-D heat flux distribution, should better coincide with real conditions. With the aid of freeform optics and the feedback optimization method, the current study develops a concentrating-type radiation heating system fit for the leading-edge surface of a C3X turbine vane. A xenon lamp combined with a freeform reflector was optimized for controllable heat flux. A design method in the area of illumination engineering was innovatively extended for the current model. Considering the effect of polar angular radiative flux distribution of a xenon lamp, a Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT) method was adopted to evaluate the optical performance. Feedback modifications based on Bayesian theory were adopted to obtain the optimal shape of the FFS for target heat flux. The current study seeks a feasible way to generate 3-D heat flux distribution for complex curved surfaces, such as turbine vane surfaces, and helps to simulate the real thermal environment of hot components in aero-engines.

A series of Bi2S3-BiOCl composites with two-dimensional (2D) square-like structures were prepared via a two-step anion exchange route. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) were used to investigate the properties of the as-prepared Bi2S3-BiOCl heterostructures. The coupling of BiOCl and Bi2S3 induced enhanced photoabsorption efficiency and bandgap narrowing. A reactive brilliant red X-3B dye was used as a contaminant to test the photocatalytic activity of the obtained Bi2S3-BiOCl samples under visible light irradiation. The sample Bi2S3-BiOCl with a mass ratio of 8:4 exhibited the highest photodegradation efficiency, which was six times higher than that of pure BiOCl. In addition, a mechanism for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity is proposed.

Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) is a novel cancer treatment method that has drawn increasing attention due to its high selectivity and low side effects by spatio-temporal control of irradiation. Compared with photodynamic therapy (PDT), oxygen-independent PACT is more suitable for treating hypoxic tumors. By finely tuning ligand structures and coordination configurations, many Ru(II) complexes can undergo photoinduced ligand dissociation, and the resulting Ru(II) aqua species and/or free ligands may have anticancer activity, showing their potential as PACT agents. In this mini-review, we summarized the progress in Ru(II)-based PACT agents, as well as challenges that researchers in this field still face.

We investigate the estimation of the fractional cycle biases (FCBs) for GPS triple-frequency uncombined precise point positioning (PPP) with ambiguity resolution (AR) based on the IGS ultra-rapid predicted (IGU) orbits. The impact of the IGU orbit errors on the performance of GPS triple-frequency PPP AR is also assessed. The extra-wide-lane (EWL), wide-lane (WL) and narrow-lane (NL) FCBs are generated with the single difference (SD) between satellites model using the global reference stations based on the IGU orbits. For comparison purposes, the EWL, WL and NL FCBs based on the IGS final precise (IGF) orbits are estimated. Each of the EWL, WL and NL FCBs based on IGF and IGU orbits are converted to the uncombined FCBs to implement the static and kinematic triple-frequency PPP AR. Due to the short wavelengths of NL ambiguities, the IGU orbit errors significantly impact the precision and stability of NL FCBs. An average STD of 0.033 cycles is achieved for the NL FCBs based on IGF orbits, while the value of the NL FCBs based on IGU orbits is 0.133 cycles. In contrast, the EWL and WL FCBs generated based on IGU orbits have comparable precision and stability to those generated based on IGF orbits. The use of IGU orbits results in an increased time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and lower fixing rates compared to the use of IGF orbits. Average TTFFs of 23.3 min (static) and 31.1 min (kinematic) and fixing rates of 98.1% (static) and 97.4% (kinematic) are achieved for the triple-frequency PPP AR based on IGF orbits. The average TTFFs increase to 27.0 min (static) and 37.9 min (kinematic) with fixing rates of 97.0% (static) and 96.3% (kinematic) based on the IGU orbits. The convergence times and positioning accuracy of PPP and PPP AR based on IGU orbits are slightly worse than those based on IGF orbits. Additionally, limited by the number of satellites transmitting three frequency signals, the introduction of the third frequency, L5, has a marginal impact on the performance of PPP and PPP AR. The GPS triple-frequency PPP AR performance is expected to improve with the deployment of new-generation satellites capable of transmitting the L5 signal.

Abstract In the present work, a box-type difference scheme with convergence order O ( τ 2 + h 2 ) $O(\tau^{2}+h^{2})$ is proposed for the fractional sub-diffusion equation with spatially variable coefficient under Neumann boundary conditions. Here h, τ are space and temporal step length, respectively. The method is based on applying the L 2 − 1 σ $L2-1_{\sigma}$ formula to approximate the time Caputo fractional derivative and introducing the auxiliary variable. By virtue of the special properties of the L 2 − 1 σ $L2-1_{\sigma}$ formula and the mathematical induction method, the unconditional stability and convergence for our scheme are proved by the discrete energy method. Numerical examples are given to verify the theoretical analysis and efficiency of the box-type scheme.