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Climbing dunes are a form of topographic barrier dunes that feature in the aeolian landforms on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Topography fundamentally influences the spatial distribution and morphological characteristics of climbing dunes by modifying the near-surface airflow and creating space for sediment deposition. Previous studies have considered several aspects of the influence of topography on aeolian landforms. However, morphological differences between climbing dunes in different geomorphic contexts and dynamic changes in the area have received little attention. Therefore, topographic measurements, near-surface flow field measurements, dune morphology analysis, and remote sensing image analysis were combined to explore relationships between dune morphology and topography. Topographic obstacles can accelerate the near-surface airflow, particularly with a 25–35° slope gradient, which is beneficial for sand transport and deposition. Suitable accommodation space (concave slope morphology) and abundant sediment comprise the primary factors that control the scale and morphological diversity of climbing dunes, which are also influenced by a variable wind direction. In general, the morphology of the climbing dunes becomes progressively more complicated from the bottom to the middle of the windward slope, and the sand ridge lines of the dunes are perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Based on the influence of climate and human activities, the total area of climbing dunes in this region has decreased over the past 30 years. Despite general evidence of enhanced human-induced desertification in semi-arid and sub-humid regions, warming has not led to the rapid expansion of climbing dunes in these arid locations. This research offers new insights into the relationship between the terrain and dune morphology, enriching the theoretical basis for the plateau aeolian geomorphology. Furthermore, it allows us to consider the dynamic changes in climbing dunes area in the context of global warming. • Clarify the relationship between terrain, near-surface airflow and dune morphology • Sand sources and slope morphology are controlling the scale of climbing dune. • Analysis of the dynamic changes of climbing dune under climate warming [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a tick-borne disease that is highly dangerous but often overlooked by the public. To prevent the spread of the disease, it is important to understand the distribution patterns of its vectors' suitable areas. This study aims to explore the potential global suitability of areas for the vectors of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, including Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma cajennense under both historical and future climate scenarios. The study also seeks to investigate the impact of climatic factors on the distribution patterns of these vectors. Data on species distribution were downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Web of Science and PubMed database. The climatic variables were downloaded from WorldClim Global Climate Database. The Maximum Entropy Model was used to evaluate the contribution of monthly precipitation, monthly maximum temperature, monthly minimum temperature, elevation, and nineteen other climatic variables to vector survival, as well as to predict the suitable area for the vectors. We found that D. variabilis is distributed in North America, while A. cajennense is mainly distributed in South America, but all other continents except Antarctica have a suitable distribution. D. variabilis is more likely to survive in temperate regions, and A. cajennense is more likely to survive in tropical zones. D. variabilis is more sensitive to temperature, whereas A. cajennense is sensitive to both temperature and precipitation, and A. cajennense prefers tropical regions with hot and humid characteristics. The high suitable areas of both vectors were almost expanded in the ssp5-8.5 scenario, but not so much in the ssp1-2.6 scenario. Highly suitable areas with vectors survival should be strengthened with additional testing to prevent related diseases from occurring, and other highly suitable areas should be alert for entry and exit monitoring to prevent invasion and colonization of vectors. Author summary: Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a tick-borne disease that is highly dangerous but often overlooked among the public. For the areas where vector survival has not yet been detected, it is important to understand the distribution patterns of suitable habitats for the vectors in order to proactively prevent their intrusion. However, the global distribution of its vectors (D. variabilis and A. cajennense) in their suitable areas has not been fully explored, while the relationship between climatic factors and vectors survival has not been clarified. In this study, we found a wide range of potential habitats for both vectors globally. D. variabilis is more likely to survive in temperate regions, and A. cajennense is more likely to survive in tropical zones. D. variabilis is more sensitive to temperature, whereas A. cajennense is sensitive to both temperature and precipitation, and A. cajennense prefers tropical regions with hot and humid characteristics. The highly suitable areas of both vectors were almost expanded in the ssp5-8.5 scenario, but not so much in the ssp1-2.6 scenario. This study highlighted that areas with high suitability should strengthen vector surveillance and public health education to prevent tick bites, and other highly suitable areas should be alert for entry and exit monitoring to prevent invasion and colonization of vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) magnetic fields are monitored by an optical whispering gallery mode (WGM) microcapillary resonator filled with magnetostrictive material. The DC magnetic field is demodulated with the signal-to-noise ratio of an AC-modulated magnetic field at a particular frequency and a sensitivity of 2.1 dB/mT is obtained across a detection range of 0.9 mT. An AC field sensitivity of 2.08 μT/ H z at 346 kHz is obtained with the same resonator. Introducing a biased DC field of 90Gs provides a four-fold improvement in AC field sensitivity. The AC and DC fields may be used to improve the corresponding DC and AC sensing. Therefore, this scheme may play a role monitoring magnetic fields in defence, biomedical analysis, and consumer electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, surface dust samples were collected within the second ring road of Shenyang City under different land-use types, and the concentration and chemical speciation of metals in different particle sizes under different land-use types were analyzed. Dust samples were separated into four particle size fractions (＜50, 50–100, 100–500, 500–2000 μm), and particles in the range of 100–500 µm were the highest representing one-third of the dust mass. The results revealed that metals were detected in order Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu > Ni > As > Cd in different particle sizes of dust under different land-use types. The relative contribution of individual particle-size fractions for seven metals was different, but the results showed preferential partitioning to small particle-size fractions. The relative contribution of metals in individual particle-size fractions and chemical speciation were significantly affected by the type of land use. Metals concentrated on the smaller particles in the traffic area, and the particles (<50 µm) contained the highest percentage of metals but Cr. The residual fractions (F5) of Ni, Cr, As and Cu overall represented the predominant portion in different particle size of fractions under different land-use types, Zn and Pb were mostly bound to the Fe–Mn oxides-bound fraction (F3), and the exchangeable fraction (F1) accounted for a relatively large proportion of Cd. The results of the risk assessment code (RAC) of Cd indicated that the risk of Zn was medium, and it was high for Cd in the dust of Shenyang City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • P = Se active site organic compound was applied in the aluminum ion battery. • The ion mainly reacting with TP-Se in the aluminum ion battery is AlCl 2 +. • It has a specific capacity of 180.6 mAh g−1 and stable cycling for up to 1000 cycles. Due to their high reactivity and theoretical capacity, chalcogen elements have been favored and applied in many battery studies. However, the high surface charge density and high solubility of these elements as electrode materials have hindered their deeper exploration due to the shuttle effect. In this article, organic structural triphenylphosphine is used as a molecular main chain structure, and chalcogen elements O, S, and Se are introduced to combine with P as active sites. This approach not only takes advantage of the beneficial effects of the aromatic ring on the physical and chemical properties of the chalcogen element but also allows for the optimization of its advantages. By utilizing Triphenylphosphine selenide (TP-Se) as the cathode material in aluminum-ion batteries(AIBs), a high-performance Al-organic battery was fabricated, which exhibited a high initial capacity of 180.6 mAh g−1 and stable cycling for up to 1000 cycles. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, TP-Se exhibits a smaller energy gap, which renders it favorable for chemical reactions. Moreover, the calculated results suggest that TP-Se tends to undergo redox reactions with AlCl 2 +. The molecular structure of triphenylphosphine and its combination with Se offers an enticing pathway for designing cathode materials in aluminum-organic batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel filtering design, from a viewpoint of identification instead of the conventional nonlinear estimation schemes (NESs), to improve the performance of orbit state estimation for a space target. First, a nonlinear perturbation is viewed or modeled as an unknown input (UI) coupled with the orbit state, to avoid the intractable nonlinear perturbation integral (INPI) required by NESs. Then, a simultaneous mean and covariance correction filter (SMCCF), based on a two-stage expectation maximization (EM) framework, is proposed to simply and analytically fit or identify the first two moments (FTM) of the perturbation (viewed as UI), instead of directly computing such the INPI in NESs. Orbit estimation performance is greatly improved by utilizing the fit UI-FTM to simultaneously correct the state estimation and its covariance. Third, depending on whether enough information is mined, SMCCF should outperform existing NESs or the standard identification algorithms (which view the UI as a constant independent of the state and only utilize the identified UI-mean to correct the state estimation, regardless of its covariance), since it further incorporates the useful covariance information in addition to the mean of the UI. Finally, our simulations demonstrate the superior performance of SMCCF via an orbit estimation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article is concentrated on the particle filtering problem for nonlinear systems with nonlinear equality constraints. Considering the constraint information incorporated into filters can improve the state estimation accuracy, we propose an adaptive constrained particle filter via constrained sampling. First, in order to obtain particles drawn from the constrained important density function, we construct and solve a general optimization function theoretically fusing equality constraints and the importance density function. Furthermore, to reduce the computation time caused by the number of particles, the constrained Kullback‐Leiler distance sampling method is given to online adapt the number of particles needed for state estimation. A simulation study in the context of road‐confined vehicle tracking demonstrates that the proposed filter outperforms the typical constrained ones for equality constrained dynamic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmenylethonoamine (pPE) and plasmanylcholine (aPC) are important phospholipid subclasses. Herein we explored optimum conditions for enzymatic purification and preparation of pPE and aPC from the mussel Mytilus edulis and bovine brain. Among them, pPE in Mytilus edulis PE was mainly p18:0–20:5 and p18:0–22:6, and its purity was 92.7%; aPC in PC was primarily a16:0–22:6 and a16:0–20:5, and aPC accounted for 90.2% of PC. We thereafter evaluated neurotrophic effects of Mytilus edulis pPE, aPC, and bovine brain pPE in a NGF-induced PC12 cell model. Morphologically, pPE and aPC could both promote differentiation, manifested in a significant increase in neurite length and number, due to increased expression of synaptophysin and growth protein GAP-43 in a dose-independent and structure-selective manner. Importantly, the effect on neuronal nutrition of pPE was better than aPC, and marine pPE was better than terrestrial pPE, which might be ascribed to vinyl-ether bond and differences in fatty acid composition. Abbreviations: AA: arachidonic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; EIC: extracted ion chromatogram; EPA: eicosapentanoic acid; GAP: growth-associated protein; HPLC: high-performance liquid chromatography; LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; LPC: lyso-PC; LPE: lyso-PE; MS: mass spectrometry; NGF: nerve growth factor; PC: phosphatidylcholine; aPC: plasmanylcholine; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; pPE: plasmenylethonoamine; PG: phosphoglycerols; PLs: phospholipids; PS: phosphoserines; TIC: total ion chromatogram. High-purity plasmenylethonoamine and plasmanylcholine from Mytilus edulis were obtained and they possessed neuronal nutrition effects on NGF-induced PC12 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory chronic skin disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the dermis, parakeratosis, and excessive epidermal growth. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of immune responses. Although differential expression of miRNAs has been reported in certain inflammatory autoimmune diseases, their role in psoriasis has not been fully illuminated. Our aims were to confirm plasma miRNA expression signatures in psoriasis and to examine their potential influence on psoriasis pathogenesis.Methods: A miRNome PCR array was used to analyse the plasma of psoriasis patients and healthy donors. We performed miRNA pathway enrichment and target gene network analyses on psoriasis plasma samples.Results: We found several specific plasma miRNA signatures relevant to psoriasis. The miRNAs targeted pathways associated with psoriasis, such as the VEGF, MAPK, and WNT signaling pathways. Network analysis revealed pivotal deregulated plasma miRNAs and their relevant target genes and pathways regulating psoriasis pathogenesis.Conclusions: This study analysed the expression of plasma miRNAs and their target pathways, elucidating the pathogenesis of psoriasis; these results may be used to design novel therapeutic strategies and to identify diagnostic biomarkers for psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag@ZnS nanoparticles display enhanced photocatalytic efficiency and good photoelectric properties compared to their single-component counterparts in the process of forming a core-shell structure using an Ag cluster as the inner core of a ZnS outer shell. In this study, first-principles calculations were used to investigate the structural, electronic, and optical properties of Ag n @(ZnS) 42 (n = 6-16) core-shell nanocomposites. The calculated results show significant even-odd oscillations in the structural stability, that is, Ag@ZnS nanostructures with an even number of Ag n core atoms are relatively more stable than those with an odd number of core atoms. The second-order differences in the total energies (Δ 2 E) and the core-shell interaction energy E cs indicate that a Ag 12 @(ZnS) 42 nanostructure is the most stable configuration. A significant red shift was found in Ag n @(ZnS) 42 nanoparticles in the absorption spectrum compared with a (ZnS) 48 nanostructure, which is likely attributed to the strong electron interactions between the Ag core and the ZnS shell. Image 1 • The DFT method was firstly used to investigate Ag@(ZnS) core-shell nanostructure. • The method to construct Ag n @(ZnS) 42 core-shell structure is very novel. • Ag n @(ZnS) 42 has higher visible light absorption efficiency than ZnS structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated agricultural soil is widespread globally. To develop a cost-effective remediation technique to effectively degrade PAH contaminated agricultural soil without disturbing crop production, an in-situ co-remediation of PAH contaminated agricultural soil using blood meal and celery was assessed in an agricultural greenhouse. Results showed PAH dissipation rates increased significantly in agricultural soil when co-remediated by blood meal and celery. Planting celery and addition of 5 g•kg−1 blood meal removed 53.13% of PAHs within three months. Residual PAH concentrations in plant tissue were much lower than China Standard food limits. Results indicated the ability of celery to enhance bioavailability of PAHs, and create favorable conditions for microbial, rather than direct plant uptake, played a vital role in degradation of PAHs. Addition of blood meal significantly enhanced soil enzyme activity and PAH degradation, and increased PAH remediation rate with optimal addition of blood meal (5 g•kg−1). Celery enhanced bioavailability of PAHs. Blood meal increased soil enzyme activity and increased PAH degrading bacterial activity, which acted as the main remediation pathway to co-remediate PAHs, where celery was safe to eat. Therefore, a novel in-situ agricultural soil PAH remedial method, which did not disturb normal agricultural production during remediation is presented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum ion batteries (AIBs) are widely regarded as the most potential large‐scale metal ion battery because of its high safety and environment‐friendly characteristics. To solve the problem of weak electrical conductivity of organic materials, different structures of cyano organic molecules with electrophilic properties are selected as the cathode materials of aluminum batteries. Through experimental characterization and density functional theory theoretical calculation, Phthalonitrile is the best cathode material among the five organic molecules and proved that the C≡N group is the active site for insertion/extraction of AlCl2+ ions. The first cycle‐specific capacity of the assembled flexible package battery is as high as 191.92 mAh g−1, the discharge‐specific capacity is 112.67 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles, and the coulombic efficiency is ≈97%. At the same time, the influences of different molecular structures and functional groups on the battery are also proved. These research results lay a foundation for selecting safe and stable organic aluminum batteries and provide a new reference for developing high‐performance AIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the effect and mechanism of water-soluble astaxanthin succinate diester (Asta-SD) on ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by dextran sodium sulfate in zebrafish and C57BL/6J mice. Asta-SD was synthesized with hydrophilic fatty acid succinic anhydride and the hydroxyl groups at the ends of F-Asta were synthesized by esterifying. Through the construction of a zebrafish intestinal inflammation model, it was found that Asta-SD could effectively reduce the levels of ROS and increase the number of healthy intestinal lysosomes in zebrafish. After continuous gavage of Asta-SD for seven days, the body weight, disease activity index, colonic length, colonic histopathology, expression of inflammatory factors, and intestinal flora of the mice were measured. The results showed that Asta-SD could significantly alleviate weight loss and colonic shrinkage, as well as reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and recess injury in UC mice. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that Asta-SD significantly increased the beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus, Anaerotruncus) and decreased the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, effectively maintaining intestinal microbiota homeostasis in mice. Based on Pearson analysis, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Butyrimionas were expected to be associated with the significant difference in the expression of inflammatory factors between the UC and the corresponding host. Thus, Asta-SD significantly improves UC and maintains intestinal microbiota homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sika deer is a rare livestock resource in China, and the main purpose of breeding is to obtain antlers that can be used as medicinal herbs. As an important limiting amino acid for ruminants, the dietary level of methionine greatly affects the utilization efficiency of protein in feed. In this study, we investigated the effects of different dietary methionine levels on antler-bearing sika deer by supplementing methionine. The results of the study showed that methionine supplementation improved the quality of Sika deer antlers and increased the efficiency of the animals utilizing acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber in the feed. In addition, methionine supplementation altered the composition of free amino acids in the rumen fluid and the composition of fecal bacteria in sika deer. Amino acid balance is central to improving the efficiency of feed protein utilization and for reducing environmental pollution caused by intensive farming. In previous studies, supplementation with limiting amino acids has been shown to be an effective means of improving animal nutrient utilization and performance. In this experiment, the effects of methionine on the apparent digestibility of nutrients, antler nutrient composition, rumen fluid amino acid composition, fecal volatile fatty acids and intestinal bacteria in antler-growing sika deer were investigated by randomly adding different levels of methionine to the diets of three groups of four deer at 0 g/day (CON), 4 g/day (LMet) and 6 g/day (HMet). Methionine supplementation significantly increased the apparent digestibility of organic matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in the LMet group (p < 0.05). The crude protein and collagen protein of antlers were significantly higher in the LMet and HMet groups compared to the CON group and also significantly higher in the HMet group compared to the LMet group, while the calcium content of antlers was significantly lower in the HMet group (p < 0.05). Ruminal fluid free amino acid composition was altered in the three groups of sika deer, with significant changes in aspartic acid, citrulline, valine, cysteine, methionine, histidine and proline. At the phylum level, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were highest in the rectal microflora. Unidentified bacterial abundance was significantly decreased in the HMet group compared to the CON group. Based on the results of principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and Adonis analysis, there was a significant difference in the composition of the intestinal flora between the CON and HMet groups (p < 0.05). At the genus level, compared with the CON group, the abundance of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010 in the LMet group increased significantly (p < 0.05), the abundance of dgA-11_gut_group in the HMet group decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and the abundance of Lachnospiraceae_UCG-010, Saccharofermentans and Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group increased significantly. Taken together, the results showed that methionine supplementation was beneficial in increasing the feed utilization efficiency and improving antler quality in sika deer, while affecting the composition of fecal bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the effects of dietary vitamin A (VA) on antioxidant functions, immune functions and production performance in farmed sika deer. Forty healthy male sika deer (initial body weight (BW): 47.07 ± 4.75 kg; 8 months of age) were randomly assigned to four treatments on the basis of BW. The dietary treatments included a basal diet (containing 330 U/kg VA) supplemented with 0 (control), 2500, 5000 or 10,000 U/kg retinol acetate (500,000 U/g, Rovimix A500, Roche, Basel, Switzerland). The results showed that deer fed a diet supplemented with 5000 U/kg VA had higher (p <.05) average daily gains and gain:feed values than those from the control group. VA supplementation significantly increased (p <.05) glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities and total antioxidant capacity and decreased (p <.05) the concentrations of reactive oxygen species in the serum. Additionally, serum immunoglobulin A, interleukin-2 and soluble CD8 were significantly increased (p <.05) when dietary VA supplementation was increased from 0 to 5000 U/kg. However, a high dose of VA supplementation (10,000 U/kg) caused decreased (p <.05) concentrations of serum tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1. Deer that received feed supplemented with 5000 U/kg VA had higher (p <.05) dry antler yield than the control deer. The present results indicated that VA supplementation improved growth performance, antioxidant functions, immune functions and dry antler yield. Taken together, the suitable level of VA supplementation was found to be 5000 U/kg (total VA content 5330 mg/kg dry matter) for male sika deer during the first antler growth period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A multiscale image-based model of 3D5D braided composites with/without yarn-reduction is proposed. • Tensile stress–strain curves and progressive damage of 3D5D braided composites with/without yarn-reduction is predicted. • The strain field and damage distribution of 3D5D braided composites with/without yarn-reduction is characterized experimentally. The special-shape fiber-reinforced composites are improbable to be represented by the representative volume element (RVE). Hence, a multiscale image-based model is proposed to reveal the progressive damage in 3D5D braided composites with/without yarn-reduction. The microscale and mesoscale models of the materials are reconstructed by Micro-CT, considering the yarns' twists, global compression, and yarns' misalignment. Subsequently, the continuous damage method and the cohesive-zone model are proposed to characterize the damage behavior of the microscale and mesoscale constituents. These constitutive models are implemented by a user-defined subroutine UMAT in ABAQUS. Finally, based on the homogenization procedure and the multiscale analysis method, the effects of structures on microscale, mesoscale, and macroscale properties of 3D5D braided composites without/with yarn-reduction are analyzed sequentially. The results show that cross-section variations and twists in the yarns modify the damage initiation. The wedge-shaped stress migration phenomenon occurs near the yarn-reduction point. Besides, the macroscopic simulation of strain fields and the damage morphology agrees well with the DIC measurements and Micro-CT results. The established multiscale framework is expected to predict the progressive damage of 3D5D braided composites with/without yarn-reduction and provide the theoretical basis for the structure design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As spectroscopic detection technology rapidly advances, back-illuminated InGaAs detectors with a wider spectral range have emerged. Compared to traditional detectors such as HgCdTe, CCD, and CMOS, InGaAs detectors offer a working range of 400–1800 nm and exhibit a quantum efficiency of over 60% in both the visible and near-infrared bands. This is leading to the demand for innovative designs of imaging spectrometers with wider spectral ranges. However, the widening of the spectral range has led to the presence of significant axial chromatic aberration and secondary spectrum in imaging spectrometers. Additionally, there is difficulty in aligning the system optical axis perpendicular to the detector image plane, resulting in increased challenges during post-installation adjustment. Based on chromatic aberration correction theory, this paper presents the design of a wide spectral range transmission prism-grating imaging spectrometer with a working range of 400–1750 nm using Code V. The spectral range of this spectrometer covers both the visible and near-infrared regions, which is beyond the capability of traditional PG spectrometers. In the past, the working spectral range of transmission-type PG imaging spectrometers has been limited to 400–1000 nm. This study's proposed chromatic aberration correction process involves selecting optical glass materials that match the design requirements and correcting the axial chromatic aberration and secondary spectrum, ensuring that the system axis is perpendicular to the detector plane and easy to adjust during installation. The results show that the spectrometer has a spectral resolution of 5 nm, a root-mean-square spot diagram less than 8 μm over the full field of view, and an optical transfer function MTF greater than 0.6 at a Nyquist frequency of 30 lp/mm. The system size is less than 90 mm. Spherical lenses are employed in the system design to reduce manufacturing costs and complexity while meeting the requirements of wide spectral range, miniaturization, and easy installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many related scales have been developed and applied to measure patients' medication adherence, but the research on the psychometric characteristics of the scale still requires further studies. This study aims to provide further validation of the GMAS scale by using Rasch analysis and to make targeted recommendations for scale improvement. This is a cross-sectional study using secondary data. 312 Chinese adult patients were recruited from two tertiary hospitals and one community health service center in Tianjin to complete a questionnaire containing the GMAS, from January to June 2020. Participants included to have at least one chronic condition and also have been on medication for more than 3 months, but excluded patients with major life-threatening illnesses (e.g. heart failure, cancer), cognitive impairments preventing clear expression and significant communication difficulties. Rasch analysis was used to explore the psychometric properties of the GMAS scale. Key indicators including unidimensionality, validity and reliability, differential item functioning and degree of fit with Rasch model are validated. After fitting the Rasch model for the first time, 56 samples poorly fitting the model were deleted. The remaining 256 samples were used for Rasch analysis. The results show that GMAS can fit the Rasch model well, which proves that the scale has favourable psychometric characteristics. But some items had differential item functioning in whether patients have comorbidities. The GMAS was found to be useful as a screening tool for patients' medication adherence problems reported, except some issues to be addressed for further improvement of the scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a simple doping route with zinc ion as a dopant in cadmium sulfide nanobelts, a bright yellow-colored light was obtained. The detailed chromaticity and brightness of the light can be engineered by the dopant concentration and the pumping power, which are used to control the dominant wavelength to any fine yellow color, and even cover the sodium-yellow-line of 589 nm. The nanobelts were synthesized through a chemical vapor deposition method. The peak shift of the XRD result proves that the zinc ions as a dopant exist in the nanobelts rather than in the ZnCdS alloy formation. Time-resolved photoluminescence of the nanobelt reveals the existence of the defect-related state, which induces a red band to further mix with green band-edge emission to form the yellow light. Moreover, low-threshold two-photon excitation was observed in the proper Zn-doped cadmium sulfide nanobelts. The dopant and pumping power-tuned generation and engineering of the yellow light makes it possible to use this kind of material as yellow light-emitting source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of the types and contents of surfactants, alkali types and concentrations, oil-water ratios, mixing speeds, and emulsifying temperatures on the rheology of heavy oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions were studied. The experimental results showed that the apparent viscosity increased as the formulated surfactant content increased. The organic/inorganic alkali played a twofold role in the apparent viscosity of the O/W emulsion, promoting the ionization of these interfacial active components and compressing the diffused double layer, the competition of which determined whether the apparent viscosity increased or decreased. With increasing oil-water ratios, the apparent viscosity increased, whereas an increase in the emulsifying temperature resulted in a decrease of the apparent viscosity. When the mixing speed was increased from 500 to 1000 r/min, the apparent viscosity increased. However, the apparent viscosity changed minimally for mixing speeds in the range of 1000–1500 r/min. To further discuss the impacts of these factors on the emulsion rheology and pressure drop, the results of an orthogonal test were analyzed through ANOVA using SPSS software; the pressure drops in the samples were calculated using Matlab software. The results demonstrated that the effects of the oil-water ratios on emulsion viscosity and pressure drop were the most prominent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• A combination of parametric and statistical methods is proposed for the real meso-scale model reconstruction. • The finite element model of 3D6d braided SiCf/SiC composite considering yarn shape and pore defects is established. • To predict well the material tensile behaviors, the effect of the fiber damage and pore defects is considered. • The simulation values and damage modes are consistent with the experimental ones when the damage factor is 0.8. This paper presents the real meso -scale model reconstruction and tensile failure prediction of three-dimensional six-directional (3D6d) braided precursor impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) SiC f /SiC composites. A combination of parametric and statistical methods is proposed, and the real meso -scale finite element model considering yarn shape and pore defects is built. The damage factor is introduced into the mixing law and the progressive damage model is developed. The results reveal that the simulation values and damage modes are consistent with the experimental ones when the damage factor is 0.8. In detail, the predicted errors of modulus, stress and strain are 3%, 9% and 5%, respectively. The main damage modes of 3D6d braided SiC f /SiC composites are braiding yarn shear fracture, fifth yarn tensile fracture, and matrix cracking. Furthermore, the initial damage firstly appears in the braiding yarn, and when the load is near the maximum value, the fifth yarn and matrix also occur the damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photosensitive resins for 3D printing technology have been widely applied throughout the advanced communication field due to their merits of high molding accuracy and fast processing speed. Regardless, they, in particular, should have better mechanical properties, heat resistance, and dielectric properties. Herein, photocurable fluorinated poly (phthalazinone ether) (FSt-FPPE) was utilized as a prepolymer to improve the performance of photosensitive resin. A series of UV-curable inks named FST/DPGs were prepared with FSt-FPPE and acrylic diluents of different mass fractions. The FST/DPGs were cured into films by UV curing and post-treatment. After curing, their properties were characterized in detail. In terms of heat resistance, glass transition temperature (Tg) could reach 233 °C and the 5% thermal decomposition temperature (Td5%) was 371 °C. The tensile strength surprisingly reached 61.5 MPa, and the dielectric constant (Dk) could be significantly reduced to 2.75. Additionally, FST/DPGs were successfully employed in UV-assisted direct writing (DIW) to print 3D objects that benefited from their commendable fluidity and rapid curing speed. A stiff cylinder sample with a smooth surface and distinct pattern was ultimately obtained, indicating their remarkable 3D printing adaptation. Such photosensitive resin for UV-assisted DIW exhibits tremendous potential in the electronic industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the disadvantages of small and random samples in static detection, this paper presents a study on dynamic measurements of solid particles in jet fuel using large samples. In this paper, the Mie scattering theory and Lambert-Beer law are used to analyze the scattering characteristics of copper particles in jet fuel. We have presented a prototype for multi-angle scattered and transmitted light intensity measurements of particle swarms in jet fuel which is used to test the scattering characteristics of the jet fuel mixture with 0.5–10 μm particle sizes and 0–1 mg/L concentrations of copper particles. The vortex flow rate was converted to an equivalent pipe flow rate using the equivalent flow method. Tests were conducted at equivalent flow rates of 187, 250 and 310 L/min. Through numerical calculations and experiments, it has been discovered that the intensity of the scattering signal decreases as the scattering angle increases. Meanwhile, both the scattered light intensity and transmitted light intensity would vary with the particle size and mass concentration. Finally, the relationship equation between light intensity and particle parameters has also been summarized in the prototype based on the experimental results, which proves its detection capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a significant cause of infectious diarrhea in animals. In this study, yeast surface display technology was employed to investigate the effects of ETEC enterotoxin fusion protein on the intestinal flora and mucosal immunity of rats. ETEC estA, estB, and eltAB (heat-labile and heat-stable toxins) were expressed on the surface of yeast. Rats were divided into normal saline, yeast and display yeast groups. Fecal and jejunal content samples were collected on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days. Rats were then fed ETEC for 3 days before again collecting these samples. Levels of SIgA, IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, and microbial population density and diversity were documented by ELISA, T-RFLP and real-time PCR. The results demonstrated that estA, estB, and eltAB fusion proteins were expressed on the surface of yeast. Following ETEC challenge, levels of SIgA, IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, and, the numbers and variety of intestinal microbes were significantly increased in rats receiving display yeast and yeast. These factors were significantly decreased in rats given normal saline and yeast. Our results indicate that display yeast and yeast can increase the number and diversity of intestinal microbes in rats and improve intestinal immune function. After ETEC challenge, the display yeast can better maintain the balance of intestinal bacteria and mucosal immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3-Amino-4,4'-bi-1,2,4-triazole hydrochlorate and 3,3'-diamino-4,4'-bi-1,2,4-triazole ditosylate were obtained with the reduction of 3,3',5,5'-tetraazide-4,4'-bi-1,2,4-triazole (TABT) by (Ph)3P/H2O and the followed salt forming reaction with concentrated HCl and aqueous TsOH, respectively. Their structures were characterized with elemental analyses, IR, MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectra. The single crystals were cultivated and determined with X-ray diffraction, test results reveal that H+ combines with electron-rich N atom in triazole ring to form ionic salts, two N,N-linked triazoles are almost perpendicular to each other due to lower steric hindrance. The aromatic π...π stacking interactions and hydrogen bonds between molecules are observed. These two novel salts and their derivatives may be applied in coordination chemistry, medicinal chemistry and energetic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a constraint between the dynamic range and the bandwidth of MEMS accelerometers. When the input acceleration is comparatively large, the squeeze film damping will increase dramatically with the increase in the oscillation amplitude, resulting in a decrease in bandwidth. Conventional models still lack a complete vibration response analysis in large amplitude ratios and cannot offer a suitable guide in the optimization of such devices. In this paper, the vibration response analysis of the sensing unit of an accelerometer in large amplitude ratios is first completed. Then, the optimal design of the sensing unit is proposed to solve the contradiction between the dynamic range and the bandwidth of the accelerometer. Finally, the results of the vibration experiment prove that the maximum bandwidth can be achieved with 0~10g external acceleration, which shows the effectiveness of the design guide. The new vibration analysis with the complete model of squeeze film damping is applicable to all sensitive structures based on vibration, not limited to the MEMS accelerometer studied in this thesis. The bandwidth optimal scheme also provides a strong reference for similar structures with large oscillation amplitude ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HY-1C Satellite Calibration Spectrometer (SCS) is designed for high-accuracy and high-frequency cross-calibration for sensors mounted on the HY-1C satellite; thus, its onboard calibration consistency and stability are crucial for application. Most onboard calibration errors can be corrected via observation physical models and the prelaunch calibration process. However, the practical SCS calibration coefficient still retains some regularity, which indicates the existence of residual calibration errors. Therefore, in this study, a time series analysis-based method is proposed to eliminate this residual error. First, the SCS onboard calibration method and coefficients are described; second, a seasonal–trend decomposition based on the Loess (STL) method is used to model the SCS calibration coefficient; third, the calibration coefficient is validated, corrected and predicted using the constructed STL model; and finally, a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network method is also used to model and forecast the calibration coefficient. The analysis results show that: 1. the STL method can effectively model, interpret and correct the SCS calibration coefficient error; and 2. the LSTM method can also fit and forecast the calibration coefficients, while its accuracy and interpretability are poor. The proposed methods provide a data analysis-based perspective to monitor remote sensors and help improve the calibration accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a general framework solution of Gaussian filter (GF) for both linear and nonlinear dynamic systems with correlated noises at the same epoch. Detailed discussions and simulation comparisons with existing Gaussian approximation recursive filter and existing de-correlating GF are provided, which show advantages of estimation accuracy of the proposed method in some applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The changes in quality characteristics, plasmalogen profiles, and their relevance during the depuration process of oysters at different temperatures were determined. • The underlying molecular mechanism of plasmalogen changes in oysters' response to temperature stress was elucidated. • Low depuration temperatures could improve the plasmalogen content as well as the quality of oysters via regulating plasmalogen metabolism. The quality of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) can be affected by many factors during depuration, in which temperature is the major element. In this study, we aim to determine the quality and plasmalogen changes in C. gigas depurated at different temperatures. The quality was significantly affected by temperature, represented by varying survival rate, glycogen content, total antioxidant capacity, alkaline phosphatase activity between control and stressed groups. Targeted MS analysis demonstrated that plasmalogen profile was significantly changed during depuration with PUFA-containing plasmalogen species being most affected by temperature. Proteomics analysis and gene expression assay further verified that plasmalogen metabolism is regulated by temperature, specifically, the plasmalogen synthesis enzyme EPT1 was significantly downregulated by high temperature and four plasmalogen-related genes (GPDH , PEDS , Pex11 , and PLD1) were transcriptionally regulated. The positive correlations between the plasmalogen level and quality characteristics suggested plasmalogen could be regarded as a quality indicator of oysters during depuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-pot dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) has garnered considerable attention for its potential to generate enantiomerically pure compounds in high yields and simplifying operation. However, the challenge lies in achieving compatibility between enzymes and metals due to their distinct operating conditions. In this study, we present a novel cascade catalytic platform for the DKR of amines to address this issue. Pd nanoparticles were immobilized on lysine-decorated lipase nanogels, forming isolated metal-enzyme catalysts. The microwave-assisted one-pot DKR of amines was carried out under non-pressurized conditions at 50 °C for 5 h. The metal-enzyme nanogel biochemical composite exhibited excellent performances, with a high conversion rate of 98% and enantiomeric excess values exceeding 99%. This innovative approach demonstrates the potential of constructing a multifunctional metalloenzyme catalytic platform with a distinctive three-dimensional structure, which offers promising prospects for DKR applications. The metal-enzyme nanogel biochemical composite exhibits excellent catalytic performance in non-pressurized microwave conditions at 50 °C, achieving an outstanding 98% conversion rate and ee value＞99%. [Display omitted] • A novel Pd@CALB-Lys-nanogels cascade catalytic platform was developed. • Lysine modification reduces the size of enzyme nanogels and can promotes the dispersion of metal. • The catalyst exhibited high activity and selectivity in microwave-assisted Dynamic Kinetic Resolution. • The catalyst can spontaneously catalyze reactions at mild temperatures without the need for hydrogen pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occultation observation is an important technique for shadow region detection and a significant complement to the illuminated region detection method. This technology will significantly reduce the impact of background light pollution and provide clearer occultation signals. In order to achieve high-resolution all-round detection in the shadow region, this paper introduces a proposal for a prism-grating panoramic imaging spectrometer based on occultation observations. It utilizes a panoramic annular lens to enable 360-degree occultation observations within the shadow region, combines a grating for spectral separation to obtain spectral information, and achieves an overall straight-line design for the system by adjusting the prism-grating surface's deflection angle. This paper, by analyzing the non-uniformity of light rays from different fields of view after dispersion by the grating, obtains the coordinate information of the spectrum on the image plane, significantly improving the accuracy of subsequent spectral calibration. The design results indicate that the optical system of this imaging spectrometer achieves a spectral resolution of 0.67 nm in the wavelength range of 365–770 nm. At a Nyquist frequency of 37.04lp/mm, the MTF across the entire bandwidth exceeds 0.6. The RMS of the point spread function is less than 9 μm across the full field of view, and aberration correction is excellent. This imaging spectrometer utilizes stellar occultations to achieve real-time 360-degree observations in the shadow region, and at the same time obtains total information on atmospheric components and contour information that varies with occultation height. This scheme offers a more comprehensive information for scientists in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been rising worldwide, and therefore it is important to identify potential causes of ASD to facilitate early prevention. This study examined the role of breastfeeding and the association between caesarean delivery (CD) and children's autism spectrum disorder. Methods: The data were from the Ma'anshan birth cohort (MABC) in China, that was set up between May 2013 and September 2014. Women within 14 gestational weeks were recruited. The delivery mode was extracted from medical notes and infant feeding was obtained from questionnaire surveys. Autism-like behaviour was assessed using the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT-23) when children were 18 months old, and 3 years of age. At 5 years of age, autism-like behaviour was assessed using the Clancy Autism Behavior Scale behavior. Structural equation models tested the mediation effects of breastfeeding between CD and children's autism spectrum disorder. Results: In all, 1520 (48.89%) women gave birth via CD, and 406 (13.86%) children were identified with autism-like behaviours at 18 months. Compared with women giving birth via vaginal delivery, those giving birth via CD were more likely to experience a higher proportion of delayed initiation of breastfeeding (p < 0.01), and delayed onset of lactogenesis (p < 0.01). CD was associated with a lower proportion of exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months after delivery (p = 0.02). Autism-like behaviour was less likely amongst infants with exclusively breastfeeding at 4 months than amongst those not exclusively breastfeeding at 4 months (p < 0.01). SEM indicated that women who gave birth by CD were more likely to stop exclusive breastfeeding in the first 4 months (standard estimations = − 0.04, p = 0.02), and those children who were not exclusively breastfed at 4 months were more likely to have autism-like behaviours (standard estimations = − 0.05, p < 0.01). The associations persisted at 3 years, but not at 5 years. Conclusions: Exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months of age mediated the association between caesarean delivery and children's autism-like behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern corn leaf blight (SCLB), caused by Bipolaris maydis, is one of the most devastating diseases affecting maize production. However, only one SLCB resistance gene, conferring partial resistance, is currently known, underscoring the importance of isolating new SCLB resistance‐related genes. Here, we performed a comparative proteomic analysis and identified 258 proteins showing differential abundance during the maize response to B. maydis. These proteins included an ascorbate peroxidase (Zea mays ascorbate peroxidase 1 (ZmAPX1)) encoded by a gene located within the mapping interval of a previously identified quantitative trait locus associated with SCLB resistance. ZmAPX1 overexpression resulted in lower H2O2 accumulation and enhanced resistance against B. maydis. Jasmonic acid (JA) contents and transcript levels for JA biosynthesis and responsive genes increased in ZmAPX1‐overexpressing plants infected with B. maydis, whereas Zmapx1 mutants showed the opposite effects. We further determined that low levels of H2O2 are accompanied by an accumulation of JA that enhances SCLB resistance. These results demonstrate that ZmAPX1 positively regulates SCLB resistance by decreasing H2O2 accumulation and activating the JA‐mediated defense signaling pathway. This study identified ZmAPX1 as a potentially useful gene for increasing SCLB resistance. Furthermore, the generated data may be relevant for clarifying the functions of plant APXs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a conventional Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS) alignment method on a disturbed base is analysed. A novel method with an attitude tracking idea is proposed for the rocking base alignment. It is considered in this method that the alignment algorithm should track the rocking base attitude real changes in the alignment process, but not excessively restrain disturbance. According to this idea, a rapid alignment algorithm is devised for the rocking base. In the algorithm, coarse alignment is carried out within 30 s in the inertial frame with alignment precision less than 2°, which meets Kalman filter linearization conditions well. Then a Kalman filter with ten state vectors and four measurement vectors is applied for the fine alignment to improve the capability of the algorithm in tracking the vehicle attitude. A turntable rotation experiment is carried out to validate the capability of the fine algorithm in tracing the large magnitude change during alignment. It is shown that the repeated alignment precision is about 0·04° by the alignment experiment on a rocking vehicle, with alignment time of 180 s. The Laser Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (LINS) ground navigation experiment suggests that the algorithm proposed by this paper can be satisfied without the need of high precision SINS alignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the recent successful synthesis of Janus monolayer of transition metal (TM) dichalcogenides, MXenes with Janus structures are worthy of further study, concerning its electronic structure and magnetic properties. Here, we study the effect of different transition metal atoms on the structure stability and magnetic and electronic properties of M'MCO2 (M' and M = V, Cr and Mn). The result shows the output magnetic moment is contributed mainly by the d orbitals of the V, Cr, and Mn atoms. The total magnetic moments of ferromagnetic (FM) configuration and antiferromagnetic (AFM) configuration are affected by coupling types. FM has a large magnetic moment output, while the total magnetic moments of AFM2's (intralayer AFM/interlayer FM) configuration and AFM3's (interlayer AFM/intralayer AFM) configuration are close to 0. The band gap widths of VCrCO2, VMnCO2, CrMnCO2, V2CO2, and Cr2CO2 are no more than 0.02 eV, showing metallic properties, while Mn2CO2 is a semiconductor with a 0.7071 eV band gap width. Janus MXenes can regulate the size of band gap, magnetic ground state, and output net magnetic moment. This work achieves the control of the magnetic properties of the available 2D materials, and provides theoretical guidance for the extensive design of novel Janus MXene materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syntactic foams with high strength and light weight are essential for aerospace and deep sea explorations. In this study, high-performance carbon fiber/hollow glass microspheres/epoxy syntactic foams were prepared, and the reinforcing mechanism of carbon fiber is discussed. The syntactic foam with 3 wt% short carbon fiber achieves a uniaxial compressive strength of 141.7 MPa, which is among the highest values reported in the literature. The thermal conductivity of syntactic foam increased by 66.7% with the addition of 3 wt% short carbon fibers, which helped to control the cracking issue caused by the inner temperature surge during the curing process. Further stress characterizations using fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) confirmed that carbon fiber can relieve the evolution of thermal stress and reduce the residual thermal stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigorous development of electric vehicles is one way to achieve global carbon reduction goals. However, fires caused by thermal runaway of the power battery has seriously hindered large‐scale development. Adding thermal runaway retardants (TRRs) to electrolytes is an effective way to improve battery safety, but it often reduces electrochemical performance. Therefore, it is difficult to apply in practice. TRR encapsulation is inspired by the core–shell structures such as cells, seeds, eggs, and fruits in nature. In these natural products, the shell isolates the core from the outside, and has to break as needed to expose the core, such as in seed germination, chicken hatching, etc. Similarly, TRR encapsulation avoids direct contact between the TRR and the electrolyte, so it does not affect the electrochemical performance of the battery during normal operation. When lithium‐ion battery (LIB) thermal runaway occurs, the capsules release TRRs to slow down and even prevent further thermal runaway. This review aims to summarize the fundamentals of bioinspired TRR capsules and highlight recent key progress in LIBs with TRR capsules to improve LIB safety. It is anticipated that this review will inspire further improvement in battery safety, especially for emerging LIBs with high‐electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigorous development of electric vehicles is one way to achieve global carbon reduction goals. However, fires caused by thermal runaway of the power battery has seriously hindered large‐scale development. Adding thermal runaway retardants (TRRs) to electrolytes is an effective way to improve battery safety, but it often reduces electrochemical performance. Therefore, it is difficult to apply in practice. TRR encapsulation is inspired by the core–shell structures such as cells, seeds, eggs, and fruits in nature. In these natural products, the shell isolates the core from the outside, and has to break as needed to expose the core, such as in seed germination, chicken hatching, etc. Similarly, TRR encapsulation avoids direct contact between the TRR and the electrolyte, so it does not affect the electrochemical performance of the battery during normal operation. When lithium‐ion battery (LIB) thermal runaway occurs, the capsules release TRRs to slow down and even prevent further thermal runaway. This review aims to summarize the fundamentals of bioinspired TRR capsules and highlight recent key progress in LIBs with TRR capsules to improve LIB safety. It is anticipated that this review will inspire further improvement in battery safety, especially for emerging LIBs with high‐electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we introduce a novel residual-based Bayesian expectation–maximization adaptive Kalman filter (RBEMAKF) for dynamic state estimation with inaccurate and time-varying noise covariance matrices. The proposed scheme presents a novel maximum a-posteriori (MAP) estimator for characterizing process and measurement noises, leveraging the residual information derived from the Kalman filter. Simultaneously, the MAP is addressed through the application of the expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm. Subsequently, the standard Kalman filter is executed based on the estimated posterior of process and measurement noises (PMNs) to correct the dynamic state in real-time. Additionally, RBEMAKF is extended to propose Laplacian-RBEMAKF (L-RBEMAKF) and Student's t-RBEMAKF (ST-RBEMAKF) to accommodate outlier environments. These methods assume Laplacian and Student's t distributions for the prior of PMNs in RBEMAKF, respectively. Extensive simulations and real-world results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed RBEMAKF and its extensions (L-RBEMAKF and ST-RBEMAKF) in dynamic state estimation. The availability of our codes can be found at https://github.com/Gaitxh/RBEMAKF. • We propose a new residual-based Bayesian expectation-maximization adaptive Kalman filter (RBEMAKF) to improve dynamic state estimation with inaccurate and time-varying PMNCMs, which can serve as a general AKF framework for more extensions. • To accommodate outlier environments, the RBEMAKF framework is extended by incorporating noise characterized by Laplacian and Student's t distributions, leading to the development of the Laplacian-RBEMAKF (L-RBEMAKF) and the Student's t-RBEMAKF (ST-RBEMAKF). • The RBEMAKF and its extensions, L-RBEMAKF and ST-RBEMAKF, outperformed advanced filters in extensive target tracking simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the hybrid effect on the bending progressive damage of three-dimensional (3D) angle-interlock woven composites. Three types of 3D angle-interlock specimens, carbon, hybrid (Carbon/UHMWPE) and UHMWPE, of the warp and weft orientations are experimentally tested via three-point bending method. X-ray micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT), acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) techniques are combined to evaluate the damage initiation/evolution of hybrid 3D woven composites. Results indicate that hybrid structures have significant effects on the mechanical behaviors, damage models and failure mechanisms. Furthermore, the dominant failure mechanisms of hybrid 90° specimens are delamination, fiber fracture matrix cracking and debonding, whereas those of hybrid 0° specimens are matrix cracking and fiber matrix debonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic polymer materials with low dielectric properties have garnered significant attention due to their convenient preparation process, low cost, and commendable mechanical properties. Such polymers, especially with heteromorphic structures, exhibited great potential for future electronic devices and antennas, particularly accompanied with rapid manufacturing technologies like three-dimensional (3D) printing. In this study, a series of new allyl ether-ended hyperbranched fluorene-based polyaryletherketone (hb -PFAEK-Allyls) were developed. The content of allyl ether photosensitive groups and molecular weight were controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of OH:F loading. UV-curable resins were then prepared through blending between hb -PFAEK-Allyls with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and ethylene glycol bis(3-mercaptopropionate) (EGBMP), resulting in thiol-allyl-acrylate ternary UV-cured system. The influence of molecular weight of the hyperbranched polymers on the thermal performance, mechanical properties, and dielectric properties of the UV-cured films was systematically investigated. The results show that due to the introduction of hyperbranched structure with high molecular weight, the T g of the UV-cured film can reach up to 248 °C. Due to the increased molecular free volume in the hyperbranched structure, the dielectric constant of the UV-cured film can be reduced to as low as 2.74 at 1 GHz. Due to the design of thiol-allyl-acrylate ternary UV-cured system, the cured film has excellent mechanical properties, with the highest tensile strength of 61.0 MPa and the elongation at break of 7.0%. This study represents innovative progress on integrating fully aromatic-based photosensitive hyperbranched polyaryletherketone into UV-curable resin architecture. Overall, the herein hb -PFAEK-Allyls-based photosensitive resins exhibit outstanding comprehensive performance and holds great potential for application in advanced 3D printing technology. [Display omitted] • The high molecular weight allyl ether functional hyperbranched fluorine-based polyaryletherketone (hb -PFAEK-Allyls) constructed from asymmetry trifluoromonomer. • The obtained UV-cured films exhibited the low dielectric constant reducing to 2.74 at 1 GHz. • The thiol-allyl-acrylate photosensitive resign system leaded to the excellent mechanical properties of UV-cured films with the high tensile strength of 61.0 MPa and the elongation at break of 7.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding fermented wheat bran (FWB) and yeast culture (YC) on growth performance, immune levels, and intestinal microflora in growing-finishing pigs. In total, 96 crossbred pigs were randomly distributed into four treatments with four replicates pens and six pigs per pen. This study was performed using a 2 × 2 factor design: 1) CON (basal diet), 2) FWB (basal diet + 5% FWB), 3) YC (basal diet + 2% YC), and 4) FWB + YC (basal diet + 5% FWB + 2% YC). Dietary FWB supplementation significantly increased the average daily gain and significantly decreased the feed gain ratio of growing-finishing pigs (P < 0.05). Supplementation of FWB and YC improved the immune capacity and reduced the inflammation level of growing-finishing pigs (P < 0.05). In addition, pigs fed FWB, YC, and FWB + YC diets showed better intestinal development and morphology compared with those CON pigs. The relative abundance of Streptococcus in the FWB group was significantly lower than that in the CON group (P < 0.05), and the relative abundance of probiotics (unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae, Turicibacter) increased significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the relative abundance of probiotics (Lactobacillus, norank_f_Muribaculaceae) in the YC group was significantly increased compared with the CON group (P < 0.05). The results of this study observed positive effects of FWB and YC on growing-finishing pigs, which provides insights into the application of biological feed in swine industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D MXenes have been found to be one of the most promising catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their excellent electronic conductivity, hydrophilic nature, porosity and stability. Nonmetallic (NM) element doping is an effective approach to enhance the HER catalytic performance. By using the density functional theory (DFT) method, we researched the effect of nonmetallic doping (different element types, variable doping concentrations) and optimal hydrogen absorption concentration on the surface of NM-Ti3C2O2 for HER catalytic activity and stability. The calculation results show that doping nonmetallic elements can improve their HER catalytic properties; the P element dopants catalyst especially exhibits remarkable HER performance (∆GH = 0.008 eV when the P element doping concentration is 100% and the hydrogen absorption is 75%). The origin mechanism of the regulation of doping on stability and catalytic activity was analyzed by electronic structures. The results of this work proved that by controlling the doping elements and their concentrations we can tune the catalytic activity, which will accelerate the further research of HER catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography as the first-line diagnosis tool of acute pulmonary embolism (PE), might improve this discriminatory power. We aimed to developed a simply tool combining multi-CT parameters to complete individualized risk assessment of deterioration in non-high-risk patients with acute PE at admission. Consecutive non-high-risk patients with acute PE who were treated in a Chinese center during 2010–2021, were collected.Prognosis-related CT parameters were reviewed. Deterioration was defined as any adverse event within 30 day after admission. Eligible patients were randomized into derivation and validation cohorts. In the derivation cohort, CT parameters were screened for importance using classification tree methodology and enrolled variables was partitioned via curve-fitting and dose-response analysis. A nomogram was developed and the predictive power in both cohorts was evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 1001 patients were included. The preliminary analyses revealed that deterioration risk was related to the right-to-left ventricular diameter ratio at 4-chamber view, pulmonary vein filling abnormality. After a curve-fitting to deterioration risk, these parameters were partitioned and used to develop a nomogram, which had AUROC values of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.87–0.96) in the derivation cohort and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.81–0.97) in the validation cohort. A web-based version of the radiomics scoring tool was published online for use in clinical practice (https://acutepeprediction.shinyapps.io/Radiomics%5fPredictive%5fTool/). This simply tool can complete rapid estimation of deterioration risk among non-high-risk acute PE patients at admission. [Display omitted] • The discriminatory power of deterioration in acute PE, still need to be improved. • Existing tools without universal threshold limit their clinical application. • Except diagnosis, CT pulmonary angiography, can improve this discriminatory power. • Cardiac size and pulmonary vein filling abnormality were related to deterioration. • The tool from these two CT parameters can estimate the deterioration risk rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pumilio RNA‐binding proteins participate in messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation and translational repression, but their roles in plant development are largely unclear. Here, we show that Arabidopsis PUMILIO PROTEIN24 (APUM24), an atypical Pumilio‐homology domain‐containing protein, plays an important part in regulating seed maturation, a major stage of plant development. APUM24 is strongly expressed in maturing seeds. Reducing APUM24 expression resulted in abnormal seed maturation, wrinkled seeds, and lower seed oil contents, and APUM24 knockdown resulted in lower levels of WRINKLED 1 (WRI1), a key transcription factor controlling seed oil accumulation, and lower expression of WRI1 target genes. APUM24 reduces the mRNA stability of BTB/POZMATH (BPM) family genes, thus decreasing BPM protein levels. BPM is responsible for the 26S proteasome‐mediated degradation of WRI1 and has important functions in plant growth and development. The 3′ untranslated regions of BPM family genes contain putative Pumilio response elements (PREs), which are bound by APUM24. Reduced BPM or increased WRI1 expression rescued the deficient seed maturation of apum24‐2 knockdown mutants, and APUM24 overexpression resulted in increased seed size and weight. Therefore, APUM24 is crucial to seed maturation through its action as a positive regulator fine‐tuning the BPM‐WRI1 module, making APUM24 a promising target for breeding strategies to increase crop yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Impaired lung function is independently associated with higher rates of disability, however, few studies have examined the association between lung function and functional limitation. This study aimed to assess this association and dose-response relationship in older adults. Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2012) was used as a cross-sectional study. Lung function was determined by Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Functional limitation in older adults was identified by six self-reported questions on physical function. 3070 adults aged 60 and over were enrolled in our study. Logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline models were applied to examine the association between lung function and the risk of functional limitation. Results: FEV1 and FVC were inversely associated with the risk of functional limitation. In the full adjusted model, compared with the lowest tertile of FEV1, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of functional limitation for tertile 2 and tertile 3 were 0.5422 (0.3848–0.7639) and 0.4403 (0.2685–0.7220), and the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of functional limitation for tertile 2 and tertile 3 of FVC were 0.5243 (0.3503–0.7848) and 0.3726 (0.2072–0.6698). Furthermore, an inverse association persisted after stratified analysis by gender and sensitivity analysis. Dose-response analyses showed that the odds of functional limitation declined with increase in FEV1 and FVC in a nonlinear manner. Conclusions: Lung function was inversely associated with functional limitation among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Chloroquine (CQ) has been repurposed to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Understanding the pharmacokinetics (PK) in COVID-19 patients is essential to study its exposure–efficacy/safety relationship and provide a basis for a possible dosing regimen optimization. Subject and methods: In this study, we used a population-based meta-analysis approach to develop a population PK model to characterize the CQ PK in COVID-19 patients. An open-label, single-center study (ethical review approval number: PJ-NBEY-KY-2020-063-01) was conducted to assess the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of CQ in patients with COVID-19. The sparse PK data from 50 COVID-19 patients, receiving 500 mg CQ phosphate twice daily for 7 days, were combined with additional CQ PK data from 18 publications. Results: A two-compartment model with first-order oral absorption and first-order elimination and an absorption lag best described the data. Absorption rate (ka) was estimated to be 0.559 h−1, and a lag time of absorption (ALAG) was estimated to be 0.149 h. Apparent clearance (CL/F) and apparent central volume of distribution (V2/F) was 33.3 l/h and 3630 l. Apparent distribution clearance (Q/F) and volume of distribution of peripheral compartment (Q3/F) were 58.7 l/h and 5120 l. The simulated CQ concentration under five dosing regimens of CQ phosphate were within the safety margin (400 ng/ml). Conclusion: Model-based simulation using PK parameters from the COVID-19 patients shows that the concentrations under the currently recommended dosing regimen are below the safety margin for side-effects, which suggests that these dosing regimens are generally safe. The derived population PK model should allow for the assessment of pharmacokinetics–pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) relationships for CQ when given alone or in combination with other agents to treat COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are inclined to pay special care and attention to children with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS). However, it is not clear whether children with LVAS have more developmental delays than children without LVAS. To compare the developmental performance between pediatric cochlear implantation (CI) candidates with and without LVAS. Medical records of pediatric CI candidates were reviewed. Through propensity score matching analysis, 70 children with LVAS and 70 gender-, age-, and auditory-matched children were recruited as the LVAS and non-LVAS group, respectively. Developmental performances were compared between the two groups. Compared with normal developmental metrics, both LVAS and non-LVAS groups had developmental delay in multiple domains (both p <.001). Although some differences in motor developments between children with LVAS and without LVAS, they demonstrated overall equal developmental levels in both verbal and nonverbal aspects (all p >.05). Age of intervention was the primary risk factor for developmental performance of LVAS children (β < 0, p <.05) with an obvious delay starting at 1 year of age. Pediatric CI candidates with LVAS had both verbal and nonverbal developmental delays. However, they exhibited similar overall developmental performances to those without LVAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, and dipole–dipole interactions have been extensively studied to control drug release from patches. However, metal coordination bonding has not been fully explored for the control of transdermal drug release. In this study, metal coordination-based acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) were designed and synthesized in order to systemically elucidate the effect of metal coordination on drug release from acrylic PSAs. Ketoprofen (KET) and donepezil (DNP) were selected as model drugs. Results showed that the burst release rate of KET was controlled by N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]acrylamide (NAT) and Fe3+, while the DNP release rate had no significant changes. It was found that the PSA-drug interaction, rather than the molecular mobility of PSA, played a dominant role in the controlled release process of KET. The hydrogen bond interaction between NAT and KET controlled the release process, while the coordination bond interaction between Fe3+ and KET further slowed down the release of KET. In conclusion, it was found that the controlled release of KET was achieved by the synergistic effect of coordination bonding and hydrogen bonding, which opens up a facile but powerful avenue for the design of brand-new controlled release systems and new opportunities for their application in transdermal drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) plays a key role in the deterioration of lung hemodynamics and contributes to secondary dysfunction of the right heart, which is consistently accompanied by systemic malperfusion and a reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The prognosis of CTEPH is markedly influenced by renal function. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of GFR in patients with CTEPH who have undergone balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA). From December 2012 to September 2020, a total of 47 patients diagnosed with CTEPH who received BPA were retrospectively studied. Patients were categorized according to their renal function on admission into two groups: GFR >53 and ≤53. Biological, clinical and demographic data of the patients were collected. Data for the two groups in hospital and during follow-up were systematically analyzed and compared. All-cause mortality, death from right heart failure (RHF) and rehospitalization associated with RHF were considered major adverse events (MAEs). The results revealed that the 6-min walk distance, N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), Troponin I and right ventricle diameter were significantly lower, and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion was significantly higher in the GFR >53 group compared with the GFR ≤53 group at final follow-up. In addition, GFR levels were significantly correlated with NT-proBNP at baseline and final follow-up. Furthermore, based on a multivariate analysis, it was determined that the decreased GFR was an independent predictor of MAEs during follow-up. Therefore, it may be concluded that in addition to being associated with right ventricular function, decreased GFR is also a prognostic marker in CTEPH treated with BPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]