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Video adaptation through transcoding can provide both bit-rate reduction and resolution reduction to meet various requirements from display devices to network links. One important issue in video transcoding is the design of rate control algorithm in order to achieve target bit rate by adjusting certain coding parameters. Among them, proper selection of initial quantization parameter (QP) has been shown to induce noticeable impact on the performance of video transcoding scheme. Current approaches in initialQP determination are either too complicated or lacking adequate accuracy. This paper presents an adaptive QP initialization for H.264/AVC transcoding. First, we carefully build the models of R-MSE and QP-PSNR. Then, we introduce an R-QP model and allocate an optimal target buffer to the first frame by considering its temporal importance. The analysis and the R-QP model lead to a novel scheme to determine the initial QP adaptively to achieve more accurate estimation. Experiments have been carried out to demonstrate that substantial gains in objective quality measures can be consistently obtained. Without increasing complexity in transcoding system, the proposed adaptive initial QP scheme outperforms current existing schemes for various video sequences tested in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: DNA-wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully obtained by a simple sonication treatment method. The obtained materials were characterized in detail by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An SEM image showed that MWCNTs were dispersed sufficiently and covered entirely with DNA. This resulted in high aqueous solubility of the products, with a stability of more than several months. The interaction between DNA and MWCNTs was confirmed by Raman measurements and was ascribed to the strong π–π interactions between the backbones of DNA and the surface of carbon nanotubes. The cyclic voltammograms showed that the composite exhibited excellent electrochemical properties. Experimental results also revealed that the high dispersion of DNA-assisted MWCNTs presented a better property compared with pristine MWCNTs. This facile method for obtaining water-soluble MWCNTs has great potential application for both bioscience and biotechnology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The transverse impact response of hybrid biaxial/uniaxial braided tube was studied. • The effects of architecture hybridization and stacking sequence were identified. • Proposed FE model provided accurate predication of the impact behaviors. Tubular composites in automobile engineering are susceptible to transverse loading events. This paper deals with transverse low-velocity impacts on interply hybrid tubes made of biaxial/uniaxial braided fabric layers. For comparison, drop weight tests were performed on hybrid tubes with biaxial braided surface layers and uniaxial braided inner layer (BUB), with contrary stacking sequence (UBU), pure biaxial and uniaxial braided tubes (BBB and UUU). Numerical models were established to predict the impact behaviors and evaluate the hybrid effects. X-ray micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) was also employed to identity the cracking location and characterize the damage mechanism. The results showed that the impact response of braided tube was related to its structural deformation resistance, which was determined by properties of reinforced layers varying with different stacking sequence. The hybrid effect became more obvious at higher impact energy. At impact energy of 15.4 J, hybrid tube (BUB) yielded the highest impact resistance with small structural deformation. The biaxial braided layer protected the specimen surface by constraining intralaminar crack propagation through the interlacing patterns. Meanwhile, it promoted crack tip propagating to the subsequent uniaxial braided layer and transferred the impact load. Thus, the material involvement of the inner layer was improved, which was responsible for providing a higher in-plane tensile property due to its low yarn crimp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-10 MeV proton-induced single-event transients (SETs) were firstly reported in this work. Sub-10 MeV proton experiment demonstrates that sub-10 MeV proton-induced SET pulse can be wider than 200 ps and the average SET pulse-width increases with proton energy. The analysis indicates that the observed SETs are attributed to recoil ions and SETs induced by oxygen recoils can be much wider than those induced by silicon recoils. The average deposited charge of the recoil ions increases with proton energy, which is the reason for the increased average SET pulse-width as proton energy increases. • Sub-10 MeV proton-induced single-event transients (SETs) were firstly reported in this work. • SETs induced by oxygen recoils can be much wider than those induced by silicon recoils. • The average deposited charge of the recoil ions increases with proton energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Temperature-dependent stress-induced voiding (SIV) of Cu dual-damascene interconnects in via-line structures has been studied by stress modeling and focused-ion-beam (FIB) cross-section analysis. The via-line structures have been studied at temperatures ranging from 100 to 250°C, with highest voiding rate being detected at 200°C. The hydrostatic stress and stress gradient reach each peak values and lead to void nucleation symmetrically underneath the edge of the via. Stress gradient instead of stress shows crucial effect on the SIV process. Voids tend to grow horizontally along the Cu/SiN interface under larger stress gradient in the line length direction as compared to the line height direction. A voiding model based on Nabarro–Herring equations has been proposed and the relation between the voiding rate and stress gradient has been built. The voiding model shows that the stress-induced voiding is a process by which vacancies diffuse and concentrate to form voids under the force of stress gradient. The stress and the diffusional factors grow oppositely with temperature and the maximum voiding rate is reached at a medium temperature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fluorinated amorphous carbon (a–C:F) films have been deposited by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR–CVD) at room temperature using C4F8 and CH4 as precursor gases. The chemical compositions and electrical properties of a–C:F films have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), capacitance–voltage (C–V) and current-voltage (I–V) measurements. The results show that C–CF x and C–C species of a–C:F films increase and fluorine content decreases after annealing. The dielectric constant of the annealed a–C:F films increases as a result of enhancement of film density and reduction of electronic polarization. The densities of fixed charges and interface states decrease from 1.6×1010 cm−2 and (5–9)×1011 eV−1 cm−2 to 3.2×109 cm−2 and (4–6)×1011 eV−1 cm−2 respectively when a–C:F films are annealed at 300 °C. The magnitude of C–V hysteresis decreases due to reduced dangling bonds at the a–C:F/Si interfaces after heat treatment. The conduction of a–C:F films shows ohmic behavior at lower electric fields and is explained by Poole–Frankel (PF) mechanism at higher electric fields. The PF current increases indicative of reduced trap energy when a–C:F films are subjected to higher annealing temperatures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using the organic solvent method, nearly mono-dispersed CdS nanocrystals were obtained in liquid paraffin. The CdS nanocrystals in tetrahedron shape capped with the hydrophobic surfactants in nanometer scale can be assembled to a close-packed mono-layered structure. The CdS nanocrystals with different sizes have been prepared by changing the reaction conditions such as the concentrations of cadmium precursor and sulfur precursor, the initial ratio of Cd:S precursors and the pH value of reaction system. The UV–visible absorption and photoluminescence show the quantum confinement effect clearly. The time-resolved photoluminescence spectra have also been examined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A surface streamer is a ubiquitous discharge in electric equipment and surface dielectric barrier discharge. It is expected to suppress this kind of surface discharge in the insulation system, but on the other hand, the surface streamer is also utilized for the generation of active ions and the control of a gas kinetic distribution. As a product of the surface streamer, surface charge influences and characterizes the streamer's behavior. This study observed the two-dimensional transient evolution of the surface charge and the tangential electric field in a single individual surface streamer at the nanosecond level. Using a reflective Pockels effect system and a framing camera system, the surface streamer propagation under a sub-microsecond pulse voltage was measured in real time and in situ. The inception, propagation, and deceleration of a surface streamer are observed. The measurement exhibits an electrode-charge equipotential region that equivalently extends the electrode boundary. Under an anode field with a weak tangential component, the interior of the surface streamer channel exhibits local deviations from the quasi-neutrality, and a reversed tangential electric field is observed. The lateral movement of the positive charge may be responsible for this reverse electric field. The diagnostic technique presented in this study can describe the surface charge transient behavior in pulsed surface discharges, which complements the streamer model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Selective oxidation of benzylic C H bonds is achieved using O 2 under visible light. • MIL-125(Ti)/PMTPA composite with optimal composition has excellent photocatalytic activity. • The heterojunction structure improves the efficiency of the conversion of holes into reaction intermediates. • The type I heterojunction structure favors the transfer of electrons and holes to the interface. Selective oxidation of saturated C H bonds to value-added chemicals under mild conditions is of great importance in chemical community. In this work, conjugated polymer (PMPTA) coated MIL-125(Ti) composites with type I heterojunction structure were obtained from the mixture of MIL-125(Ti), melamine and terephthalaldehyde via a solvent-free hydrothermal method. The MP-30 with optimal composition has excellent photocatalytic activity for the selective oxidation of benzylic C H bonds to their corresponding aldehydes and ketones under the illumination of 420 nm light using O 2 as oxidant and N-Hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) as co-catalyst. The conversions of fluorene catalyzed by MIL-125(Ti) and PMTPA are 32% and 65%, respectively, while the conversions of fluorene over MP-20, MP-30 and MP-40 are significantly improved, which are 86%, 99% and 77%, respectively. The characterization results from photoluminescence spectroscopy, photocurrent and band gap positions demonstrate that the one-way transfer of electrons and holes between the MIL-125(Ti) and PMTPA through the heterojunction structure allows the substrate to react rapidly on the outer layer of heterostructured MIL-125(Ti)/PMTPA, resulting an increase in photocatalytic efficiency. Moreover, the introduced heterojunction structure reduces the recombination of photo-generated electrons and holes and improves the efficiency of the conversion of holes into reaction intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment were considered to play an essential role in tumor growth and development. However, few studies have assessed the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of CAFs in prostate cancer (PCa) patients.Methods: One hundred thirty pairs of PCa tissues and normal adjacent tissues (NATs) were immunostained with fibroblast activation protein and α-smooth muscle actin to quantify CAFs. Bioinformatics analysis was used to uncover the possible biological functions of CAFs.Results: More CAFs were identified in PCa tissues than in NATs. High density of CAFs may be associated with advanced-stage disease, higher Gleason scores, lymphatic metastases, higher PSA, and poor biochemical recurrence-free survival in PCa. Bioinformatics analysis showed that CAFs may regulate tumor progression and recurrence through ECM modification, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and regulation of cytoskeleton.Conclusion: In summary, our study uncovered the clinicopathological significance and potential mechanism of CAFs and indicated that CAFs may be a useful prognostic biomarker in PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a voltage-boost-type non-voltage drop single-phase full-bridge inverter connected to a switched-capacitor structure is proposed. The output voltage of the inverter is controlled by the pulse width modulation of a DSP to control the lead and break of the active switches. The full-bridge switches work at low frequency; the other switches work at high frequency. The inverter uses two capacitor modules to charge and discharge alternately so as to overcome the problem of voltage drop on the output side of the inverter in the transition stage from series capacitor discharge to parallel charge. By analyzing the charge–discharge characteristics of the RC charge–discharge circuit, the capacitor charge–discharge cycle can be adjusted to alter the output voltage within a certain range. The results from the physical construction verify the Simulation results achieved well, which demonstrates satisfactory performance that supports the verification of the above theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Generalization of diagnosis model is improved on new hard disks without faults. • New faulty samples of hard disks could be generated from healthy samples. • Distribution discrepancy between different types of hard disks could be decreased. • End-end EM-based training strategy guarantees a good accuracy and convergence. Intelligent fault diagnosis of hard disks becomes significantly important to guarantee reliability of current cloud-based industrial systems. Most intelligent diagnostic methods are commonly based on assumptions that data from different disks are subject to the same distribution and there are sufficient faulty samples for training the models. However, in reality, there are types of hard disks from different manufacturers and their SMART encoding varies widely across manufacturers. It results in distribution discrepancy among disks and influences the generalization of machine learning methods. Moreover, hard disks usually work in healthy state that faulty events rarely happen on most of them, or especially never occur on new ones. Thus, this paper proposes a deep generative transfer learning network (DGTL-Net) for intelligent fault diagnostics on new hard disks. The DGTL-Net combines the deep generative network that generates fake faulty samples and the deep transfer network that solves the problem of distribution discrepancy between hard disks. An iterative end-end training strategy is also proposed for DGTL-Net to get the most optimal parameters of generative and transfer network simultaneously. Experiments have been conducted to prove that our method achieves better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization with edge contact avoidance and contact stress minimization is essential for gear design. Due to the complex geometry of modified helical face gear drives, it is complicated to find the optimal design parameters with the consideration of issues including loading, assembly errors, and edge contact. As the finite element method is tedious and time-consuming, an optimization model with a simplified algorithm of the loaded tooth contact analysis with errors (ELTCA) for modified helical face gears is presented, and it can programmatically optimize the contact stress with edge contact avoidance. Firstly, a simplified ETCA algorithm is introduced, which reduces the five unknowns in the traditional contact equations to three. Secondly, the LTCA is analytically implemented according to the Hertz theory. Subsequently, an optimization model with the objective function of avoiding edge contact and reducing maximum contact stress is proposed. Furthermore, the proposed model is applied to reveal the effects of design parameters and assembly errors on the optimized contact path and stress. The results show that the optimization model is accurate and efficient; the design parameters and assembly errors have great effects on the meshing of modified helical face gears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The interface and hollow structure synergistic regulation strategy is proposed to solve the limited active sites of Co 3 O 4. • The charge rearrangement at heterointerface could improve the catalytic activity of nanozymes. • The hollow nanocube structure could increase specific surface area and provide rich active sites. • This work provides a novel method for the rapid and sensitive detection of AA. The development of oxidase mimic with favorable catalytic activity is of great significance for the rapid and convenient detection of ascorbic acid (AA). Herein, in this work, a synergistic regulation strategy of heterogeneous interface and hollow structure is proposed to effectively solve the problem of limited active sites obtained with Co 3 O 4. The charge rearrangement at heterointerface could improve the catalytic activity of oxidase mimic. Moreover, the hollow nanocubes structure could increase specific surface area and provide rich active sites. As a result, the target material possesses enhanced oxidase-like catalytic activity and desirable stability compared to bare Co 3 O 4 and MnO 2 , which also catalyze the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to form a blue product (ox-TMB) even without hydrogen peroxide. Ox-TMB is reduced to TMB owing to the strong reducibility of AA, which represents a decrease in absorbance at 652 nm and a colorless solution. Moreover, an efficient biosensing method for the detection of AA is developed. The relative absorbance (∆A) of the sensing platform is linearly related to the concentration of AA in the range of 0–200 μM, and the detection limit is 0.11 μM. This work provides a novel method for the rapid, cost-effective and sensitive detection of AA, and possesses a wide range of potential application value. A synergistic regulation strategy of heterogeneous interface and hollow structure is proposed to effectively solve the problem of limited active sites obtained with Co 3 O 4. This work provides a novel method for the rapid, cost-effective and sensitive detection of AA, and possesses a wide range of potential application value. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The impact response of carbon/glass intralaminar hybrid braided pipes was studied. • Impact behaviors of hybrid pipes with and without internal pressure were compared. • The damage extension mechanisms were analyzed by micro-CT 3D damage reconstruction. • Ductile and brittle hybrid fibers restrict each other and promote impact resistance. • The hybrid fiber layout and the internal pressure had a synergistic effect. This study investigated the low-velocity impact behaviors of intralaminar hybrid carbon/glass braided composite pipes under internal pressure. The effects of intralaminar fiber layout and internal pressure on the mechanical responses, damage extension, and material cost-effectiveness were analyzed. The internal damage distribution of composite pipes with different hybrid fiber alternating numbers but identical mix ratios was evaluated through Micro-CT three-dimensional damage reconstructions. The yarn splitting of brittle carbon fiber materials was mutually prevented by the induction of intra-yarn debonding and delamination damages by hybridization with ductile glass fiber materials, which were prone to produce out-of-plane displacement and shear stresses under impact loading. A smaller hybrid fiber alternating unit was conducive to exploiting the hybrid impact toughening effect by avoiding pure reinforced fiber materials aggregated under the impactor. Internal pressure had a supporting effect on the composite pipe and was effectively synergistic with the hybridization effect. The change in the dominant damage mode resulted in significant reductions in impact deformation and damage severity compared to the unpressurized case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-phase high-entropy perovskite ceramics (Ln 0.2 Gd 0.2 La 0.2 Nd 0.2 Sm 0.2)MnO 3 (Ln-GLNSMO HEPCs) have been synthesized using solid-state reactions. The effect of A-site rare-earth ions (Ln = Eu, Ho, Yb) on the structure and magnetic properties was systematically investigated. The results show that all samples are orthorhombic phases (with a space group of Pbnm) and exhibit a strong crystallization trend sintered at 1300 °C for 16 h. All the HEPCs are composed of irregular spherical particles with smooth surfaces and show obvious hysteresis effects at T = 5 K. The changing Mn–O bond distance, Mn–O–Mn bond angle and the increase of Mn4+ ion concentration enhance the double exchange effect of Mn3+-O2--Mn4+, leading to different magnetic interactions. The residual magnetization M r (coercivity H c) of the samples is significantly enhanced, which is increasing from 0.13 emu/g (16.34 Oe) to 3.17 emu/g (97.07 Oe) due to the increase of configuration entropy, lattice distortion and the double exchange effect (DE). In addition, there is a strong relationship between the magnetic properties and the average radius of the A-site ions, in which Ho-GLNSMO HEPCs have a high M s magnetism. This work is a valuable reference for the magnetic regulation of high-entropy ceramics based on rare-earth and entropy-stabilized perovskite types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) and CD8 + T-cells are potential prognostic indicators for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We established a novel scoring system for evaluating the risk for PDAC based on TLS- and CD8 + T-cell-related genes. Methods: We analyzed single-cell sequence data from PDAC patients in the Genome Sequence Archive. Bioinformatics and machine algorithms established and validated a scoring method (T-C score) based on PDAC survival-related genes highly expressed in TLSs and CD8 + T-cells. Patients were stratified into the low- and high-T-C score groups. Differences in survival, pathway enrichment, mutation status, immune cell infiltration, expression of immune checkpoint-associated genes, tumor stemness, and response to antitumor therapy were compared through computer simulation methods. Results: Overall survival differed significantly between the training and validation cohorts’ low- and high-T-C score groups. The low-T-C score group correlated with lower tumor mutation burden and lower levels of tumor stemness compared with the high-T-C score group. Patients with lower T-C scores exhibited advantages in immunotherapeutic responses and might be more sensitive to the chemotherapeutic regimen and multi-kinase inhibitors. Conclusion: The T-C score could serve as an effective model for predicting the survival and therapeutic responses of patients with PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention requires early detection and removal of adenomas. We aimed to develop a computational model for real-time detection and classification of colorectal adenoma. Computationally constrained background based on real-time detection, we propose an improved adaptive lightweight ensemble model for real-time detection and classification of adenomas and other polyps. Firstly, we devised an adaptive lightweight network modification and effective training strategy to diminish the computational requirements for real-time detection. Secondly, by integrating the adaptive lightweight YOLOv4 with the single shot multibox detector network, we established the adaptive small object detection ensemble (ASODE) model, which enhances the precision of detecting target polyps without significantly increasing the model's memory footprint. We conducted simulated training using clinical colonoscopy images and videos to validate the method's performance, extracting features from 1148 polyps and employing a confidence threshold of 0.5 to filter out low-confidence sample predictions. Finally, compared to state-of-the-art models, our ASODE model demonstrated superior performance. In the test set, the sensitivity of images and videos reached 87.96% and 92.31%, respectively. Additionally, the ASODE model achieved an accuracy of 92.70% for adenoma detection with a false positive rate of 8.18%. Training results indicate the effectiveness of our method in classifying small polyps. Our model exhibits remarkable performance in real-time detection of colorectal adenomas, serving as a reliable tool for assisting endoscopists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the heterogeneity of massive concrete and unevenness of pouring process, concrete strengths in gravity dams show obvious spatial variability. In addition, since the evolution of damage states for gravity dams is a gradually transitional process, the threshold between adjacent damage states is ambiguous. A mathematical model for describing the fuzziness of damage states threshold is presented. And a methodology for fuzzy seismic fragility analysis of gravity dams considering spatial variability of material parameters is proposed by combining nonlinear dynamic analysis of dam-reservoir-foundation system, Hariri-Ardebili's damage quantification method and an approach for simulation of random field of material parameters. The seismic fragility of gravity dams was investigated to illustrate the proposed methodology. It is found that the spatial variability of concrete tensile strength leads the seismic damage of the dam to be spatially varying as well. The damage of dam body intensifies and the probability of exceeding for each damage state increases. The fuzzy seismic fragility curves are insensitive to the types of membership function (linear, mountain and polynomial). Due to the influence of frequency distribution of damage index, the effects of variation in the size of the fuzzy interval of threshold on seismic fragility curves are different. The probability of exceeding of each damage state for gravity dams obviously increases when the spatial variability of tensile strength and fuzziness of damage states threshold are considered simultaneously. • Principles for constructing fuzzy interval and membership function are proposed. • A method for fuzzy seismic fragility considering spatial variability is presented. • Effects of fuzziness and spatial variability on seismic fragility are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The delamination damage distribution induced by multi-impact was identified. • The sensitivity of axial compression performance to impact damage was studied. • Proposed FE model provided accurate predication for CAI scenario of braided tube. In this study, damage behaviors and residual crashworthiness characteristics of braided composite tube with transverse pre-impact damages subjected to axial compression were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The compression tests were conducted on intact, single impact and repeated impact tubes at identical, adjacent and opposite positions to analyze the effects of impact damages. A multi-step finite element model considering the progressive damage characteristics was developed in ABAQUS/Explicit to predict the failure behaviors of braided tube. It was found that the damage behavior and residual performance of braided tube subjected to axial compression were dominated by impact induced delamination distribution with respect to area and position. A relatively small delamination area induced by single impact resulted in similar progressive folding damage mode and energy absorption capacity as in intact tube. For repeated impact, delamination with increased area at identical position leaded to local buckling damage mode, while small delamination areas distributed at adjacent and opposite positions caused U-shape and W-shape fracturing damage modes, respectively. Consequently, the transformation of damage mode resulted in significantly reduced residual crashworthiness characteristics in repeated impact tubes compared to intact and single impact tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigated off-axial angle effect on in-plane compression behavior of 3D orthogonal woven(3DOW) composite under both quasi-static and dynamic loading. Mechanical responses of 3DOW specimens with different off-axial angles were evaluated using a universal material tester and a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB) testbench. An infrared thermographic camera was used to record temperature rising of the specimens in order to characterize the damage development in quasi-static compression. A yarn-level finite element model considering progressive damage behavior of impregnated yarn, matrix resin and their interface were also established to reveal the deformation behavior and failure mechanism. It is found that the off-axial angle has significant influence on compressive response and failure mode. The modulus and compressive strength of specimens exhibited a decreasing tendency with increase of off-axial angle, while failure strain had a rising trend. In addition, the role of z-yarn was identified in different off-axial angle cases. For on-axial specimen, the z-yarn suppressed out-of-plane deformation of superficial weft yarns failing in kinking mode. It in turn caused intensive z-yarn breakage, which accompanied by high temperature rising. For off-axial specimens, rotation deformation of weft and warp yarns was observed, which was restrained by z-yarn. It leaded to extensive debonding between matrix and yarns and delamination characterized by relative low temperature rising. • The effect of off-axial effect on the compressive impact response of 3D orthogonal woven composite was identified. • The FEA model predicted accurately the compressive impact behavior of specimens. • The effect of z-yarn was identified by FEA analysis model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Braided composite laminates allow a reinforcement architecture design method of varying ply-to-ply braided structure instead of rotating fiber orientation in traditional unidirectional laminates. The stacking sequence sensitivities of braided laminates subjected to low-velocity impact were experimentally studied. Uniform ([±45° 6 ]) and non-uniform ([±30° 2 /±45° 2 /±60° 2 ]) architectures were designed to evaluate the effect of braided structure on impact performance. In addition, non-uniform laminate was impacted on both sides to identify the role of impact side on the failure mode. Quasi-static indentation was conducted to understand the damage initiation and propagation of braided laminates. The experimental results show that braided ply with high crimp level in impact side induced the main cracks along the load-carrying yarn, causing that the laminate failed in a kink-band dominated mode. For braided ply with low crimp level, a micro-buckling damage was found in the impact side, leading to the delamination dominated failure mode. It was also found that uniform braided laminate presents inferior impact resistance with respect to lower peak load and more concentrated damage because the kink-band can propagate into the specimen along braiding yarn easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, damage behavior and failure mode of braided composite tube subjected to repeated transverse low-velocity impact were investigated by combining experimental and numerical methods. The effects of impact energy (2.0 J, 5.6 J and 10.5 J) and impact position (identical, adjacent and opposite positions) on impact responses were evaluated. A finite element (FE) model with high computational efficiency was also established to predict the effect of single impact on the repeated impact response by varying boundary conditions. When subjected to single impact, the braided tube presented delamination-dominated damage behaviors caused by obvious structural deformation. The top part sunken and both lateral sides bulged, were found to have correlation with the mechanical response of tube with respect to initial scope and peak load, respectively. The delamination area increased at higher impact energies due to increasing shear stress caused by adjacent braided layers. Delamination induced by the first impact had different role on repeated impact responses. At identical position, it caused larger sinking deformation at top part of the tube and thus a lower initial scope. At adjacent position with impact energy of 5.6/10.5 J, the delamination damage caused a reduced resistance to bulging deformation at one lateral side of the tube, leading to a lower peak load. At opposite position, it had no obvious influence on repeated impact response. • The damage behavior of braided tube subjected to single transverse impact with different impact energy was investigated. • Mechanical response of repeated impact depended on delamination position caused by single impact. • The proposed numerical model can provide accuracy results for repeated impact scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the number of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CRFP) layers on the axial crushing capacity of aluminum–CFRP square hybrid tubes was investigated both experimentally and numerically. Increasing the number of CRFP layers led to more collapsed lobes and decreased collapsed lobe widths, resulting in an improvement of the energy absorption capacity. The simulation results revealed a distinct tube wall collapse mode in the 4-layer hybrid tubes. The higher bending stiffness of the composite layers in the 4-layer hybrid tube led to debonding of the interface between the aluminum and composite layers. After interface failure, the composite layers did not collapse following the aluminum tube wall and instead rebounded in the approximate longitudinal direction, which directly suffering the longitudinal crushing loading. This behavior led to the shortened plastic collapse width and improvement of the single-layer CFRP energy dissipation due to CFRP delamination. • The effect of CFRP layer number on single-layer CFRP energy absorption was explored. • Different wall collapse mode appeared as CFRP layer number increases. • The increase of CFRP layer number led to decrease of collapse lobe width. • The decrease of collapse lobe width would improve the single-layer CFRP energy absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to understand the effect of stacking sequence on the impact response and residual flexure characteristics of braided composite tube by combination of low-velocity impact, fracture observation and acoustic emission monitoring. Two stacking sequence configurations of braided tube in terms of [I60/O40] and [I40/O60] were designed and their low-velocity impact response and damage behavior were examined. Uniform structures namely [I40/O40] and [I60/O60] were also employed as reference specimens. The quasi-static bending performances of intact and impacted tubes were further compared to evaluate the influence of impact damage on residual performance. The results show that failure mode of impacted tubes strongly depends on braided structure of outer ply, of which large braiding angle(60°) leads to the formation of bottom delamination and degradation of structural integrity. The comparative experiments indicate that [I60/O40] tube improves flexure after impact performance with respect to specific energy absorption by 45.98% over [I40/O60] counterpart because of absence of bottom delamination. Thus, structure design of braided composite consisting of intra-ply structure and stacking sequence would be an economically feasible method to improve the transverse mechanical performance. • The braided structure of outer ply has a decisive role on the failure mode of composite tube under transverse impact. • There was a sharp load dropping when a bottom delamination occurred in intact braided tube under quasi-static bending. • Bottom delamination induced by impact significantly reduced residual bending performance of braided tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the synergistic effect of 3D orthogonal woven structure and asymmetric carbon/glass hybridization on impact response was studied by experimental and numerical methods. The hybrid 3D orthogonal woven (H3DOW) composite plates were manufactured on a home-made 3D weaving machine. Impacts with various energies 42.9, 54.9, 66.9 and 78.9 J were applied to carbon (CG) and glass (GC) sides. The impact response was examined using fracture morphology observation and mechanical curves. Yarn-level finite element models including failure criteria and progressive damage law were established in ABAQUS/Explicit to compare the structural deformation and damage behavior. The impact side significantly influences the failure modes of H3DOW materials. GC specimen failed through delamination between carbon layers at non-impact side and subsequent fiber tensile breakage, whereas the crushing damage in the carbon yarn located in the impact-side and large area debonding between yarn and matrix resin in superficial layers was the dominant failure mode in CG specimen. This caused the CG configuration to exhibit better impact resistance with respect to the perforation threshold energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-crimp fabric reinforced polymer (NCFRP) composite is a suitable choice as structure material in aerospace use. One of the most important issues related to adiabatic failure is the correlation among temperature elevation, adiabatic shear band and failures of the material. In this study, impulsive damage and failure modes with temperature rise in biaxial NCFRP composite specimens were investigated under increased strain rates from 200/s to 2500/s. Path and distribution of temperature rise were experimentally characterized when the composite was subjected to in-plane and out-plane impulsive compression. It is found that (i) localized temperature can rise above a hundred degrees Celsius, reaching or even exceeding the T g of the resin matrix and polyester tricot in specimen, which causes stress concentration and subsequent failure in warp/weft fiber tows in localized positions. (ii) For the out-of-plane compression, the localized temperature rise indicates dispersed inter-layer shear deformation in the biaxial NCFRP composite by stress wave mismatch effect. With the increase of strain rate, intensive temperature rise is a good announcement for an adiabatic shear band quickly and thoroughly splitting the specimen. (iii) For the in-plane compression, slight impact loading triggers small debonding and cracking along warp/weft fiber tows or at the fiber-matrix interface by fiber tows microbuckling effect. With the increase of strain rate, the localized temperature rise reveals that single shear band is developed and further evolved into zigzag shear bands, while catastrophic delamination failure is the dominant mode at higher strain rate. Higher temperature values at kinking positions are caused by fiber tows buckling-fold effect. Thermal degradation effect imperils the polymeric matrix and tricot around the kinking positions where bridging cracking, obstructing the spread of adiabatic shear band, and leading to the pull-out/breakage/splitting damages of warp/weft fiber tows. (iv) This work indicates that high-speed thermographic technology is an important method for investigating the dynamic behavior of composite materials. Localized temperature rise is an effective indicator in complex correlation with the multiple physical interaction including the adiabatic shear band, matrix/tricot softening, fiber tows kinking, localized damages and failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of ply number on the impact response was identified. • The effect of impact damage on the residual axial compression behavior was analyzed. • The proposed two-step FE model predicted accurately the damage behaviors of braided tube. In this study, transverse low-velocity impact response and residual axial compression behavior of braided composite tube with different ply number was investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The transverse low-velocity impact tests with 5.6 J energy were conducted on the composite tubes. The quasi-static axial compression performance of intact and pre-impacted tubes was compared to evaluate the effect of impact damage. A two-step finite element (FE) model was also established to reveal damage mechanisms of braided tube under impact loading and following axial compression. It was found that the wall thickness had a significant influence on the impact response. Obvious structural deformation occurred in 2-ply tube when subjected to impact loading, resulting in a large projected delamination area. In following axial compression process, the delamination failure significantly reduced the local compression stiffness and caused a structural instability, which led to a buckling failure mode. In contrast, increasing bending stiffness of 3 or 4-ply tube suppressed its structural deformation during impact, leading to a confined projected delamination area and therefore the buckling of tube wall was prevented effectively when subjected to axial compression. For all impacted tubes, the transition of failure mode from progressive folding mode in intact tube led to a lower energy absorption capacity per composite ply, especially for 2-ply tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ratiometric Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical sensor for the specific marker of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. was developed in this work. To achieve simultaneous detection of two analytes on one sensor, we constructed a double template molecular imprinted electrochemical sensor with glabridin (GLA) and isoliquiritin (ISL) as templates. Further, Ferrocene/ZIF-8 (Fc/ZIF-8) composites were prepared via a one-pot solvothermal reaction and coated on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and the oxidation of Fc was presented as the internal reference signal. Nitrogen-doped carbon (NOC) with high conductivity was further loaded on the modified GCE. Based on theoretical exploration and computer directional simulation of density functional theory (DFT), the optimal functional monomer and the best ratio of double template molecules to functional monomer were screened. Under optimal conditions, the sensor produced electrochemical curves when exposed to a solution containing GLA and ISL. As the concentration of GLA and ISL increased, the peak current intensity of GLA and ISL (I GLA and I ISL) also increased, while the peak current intensity of Fc (as a reference signal) remained relatively constant. The values of I GLA /I Fc and I ISL /I Fc showed excellent linear relationships with GLA and ISL concentrations in the range of 0.1–160 μM and 0.5–150 μM, respectively. The detection limits were 0.052 μM and 0.27 μM (S/N = 3), respectively. Due to the imprinting effect of MIP and the existence of a reference signal, the sensor exhibited excellent selectivity and anti-interference ability and was successfully applied to the quality evaluation of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of robot navigation and question answering, which is also known as Embodied Question Answering (EQA), places its emphasis on empowering agents to actively explore their environments and deliver answers to user inquiries. Considering the extensive range of potential applications, particularly in the realms of home robots and personal assistants, the Embodied Question Answering task has attracted growing attention from researchers. Owing to the difficulties in bridging the semantic divide between inputs from different modalities and capturing extended connections between widely separated pixels, most existing methods face challenges in attaining adequate performance concerning accuracy in navigation and responses. To address these challenges, we present a transformer-based framework that aligns vision and language information for the task of robot navigation and question answering. Firstly, an information fusion model is designed to utilize object tags as reference points for aligning the vision and linguistic modalities into a coherent semantic space. Secondly, a dedicated transformer block is employed to capture extensive dependencies within visual scenes, enabling the generation of more contextually appropriate actions. Lastly, the two transformer-based components are seamlessly integrated into a cohesive framework, effectively handling the complete Embodied Question Answering task. The results of our experiments clearly indicate that our approach substantially boosts the performance of every module in the system, resulting in a notable 4.1% enhancement in overall accuracy. • A visual-semantic aligned transformer is designed to fuse multimodal features. • A bottleneck transformer block is developed to assist the decision-making process. • Two transformer-based modules are integrated into a unified EQA framework. • Experiments show a significant improvement in overall performance than the baseline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The allowable safety factors of slope stability for rockfill dams in Chinese design codes are defined irrespective of dam heights and are mainly based on the engineering experiences with respect to the rockfill dams which are lower than 200 m. It is well known that safety margins for different structures are not comparable when safety factors are taken as the measure of safety margin. Thus whether the current allowable safety factors are applicable to the rockfill dams with heights of over 200 m has been controversial in the engineering and academic field. Reliability is well known as a unified measure of safety margin for different structures. Therefore, the slope safety margins of rockfill dams with different heights can be compared in terms of slope reliability indices derived from probabilistic methods. Based on the statistical analysis of nonlinear shear strength parameters of rockfills from 14 Chinese dams, the slope reliabilities of fictitious rockfill dams of different heights designed with equal allowable safety factor are calculated and compared in this paper. It is shown that the slope failure risk of higher dams is larger than that of lower dams if the dams are designed with equal allowable safety factor rather than equal reliability. Therefore, from the perspective of maintaining consistent slope reliability levels among rockfill dams with different heights, the allowable safety factors should be prescribed in terms of dam height, i.e. the allowable safety factor for higher dams should be larger than that for lower dams. • Slope stability analysis of high rockfill dams using fixed allowable safety factor may induce misleading assessment. • Safety margins for rockfill dams designed with fixed allowable safety factor are not identical in terms of reliability. • The allowable safety factors should be prescribed in terms of dam height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coking wastewater is highly toxic and refractory industrial wastewater, and is thus extremely challenging to treat. Currently, most treatment technologies focus on degrading carbonaceous pollutants, while insufficient attention is placed on ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 +-N), the most important nitrogenous contaminant in coking wastewater and with a high biological toxicity. In the current study, we developed an integrated electrochemical system comprising two three-dimensional electrochemical reactors (3DERs), two three-dimensional biofilm electrode reactors (3DBERs) and one three-dimensional biofilm electrode reactor for denitrification (3DBER-De) to treat coking wastewater rich in NH 4 +-N. Our integrated system is able to remove 70.7% of total nitrogen (TN) at the low energy consumption of 1.29 kWh m−3, and can reduce COD by 55.8%. The 3DERs primarily degrade NH 4 +-N, nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 −-N), and COD by electrochemical redox reactions, while the 3DBERs convert residual NH 4 +-N to NO 3 −-N by fusing biofilm and electricity. Moreover, the 3DBER-De further eliminates NO 3 −-N by bio-electrochemical denitrification. The coking wastewater is purified as it flows through the integrated treatment system, with only a few hydrocarbon residuals detected that are able to be readily biodegraded by conventional biological treatments. The proposed 3DERs/3DBERs/3DBER-De system provides a new solution for coking wastewater with high concentrations of NH 4 +-N. Image 1 • Ammonia-rich coking wastewater is treated by an integrated electrochemical system. • 3DERs are responsible for partial removal of NH 4 +-N, NO 3 −-N and COD. • 3DBERs convert NH 4 +-N to NO 3 −-N by nitrification. • 3DBER-De eliminates NO 3 −-N by denitrification. • 70.7% of TN and 55.8% of COD are removed at energy consumption of 1.29 kWh/m3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interoperations of endpoint devices are generally achieved by gateways in Internet of Things (IoT) systems. However, the gateways mainly focus on networking communication, which is lack of data logic control capabilities. The microcontrollers with embedded intelligence could work as an intermediate device to help the interconnections of the endpoint devices. Moreover, they could help control the endpoint devices. In this paper, a microcontroller architecture with intelligent and scalable characteristics is proposed. The intelligence means that the microcontroller could control the target endpoint devices by its logical circuits, and the scalability means that the microcontroller architecture could be easily extended to deal with more complex problems. Two real world industrial implementations of the proposed architecture are introduced. The implementations show that the microcontroller is important to provide the intelligent services to users in IoT systems. Furthermore, a simulation experiment based on the cloud model is designed to evaluate the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and surfactant-free molten salt method has been proposed to prepare a well-defined one-dimensional NaLuF 4 :Yb3+,Nd3+,Er3+,Tm3+ nanorods for the first time. It is found that by properly tuning the sensitizer (Nd3+) concentration in the host matrix upon 980 nm laser diode (LD) excitation, white up-conversion (UC) emission was achieved. Also, by doping Yb3+/Er3+/Tm3+/Nd3+ in NaLuF 4 the relative intensities of different emissions can be precisely adjusted in a broad range. Consequently, by appropriately controlling the emission intensity balance of blue, green and red basic colors in multicolor UC emissions, a strong white light can be realized in NaLuF 4 :Yb3+, Er3+,Tm3+,Nd3+ structures. UC mechanisms were analyzed in detail based on the emission spectra. The as-synthesized abundant luminescence colors in a wide region contribute themselves great potential applications. Furthermore, by manipulating the sensitizer concentration the paper provides an effective and facile method to gain a desired color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Culturable and molecular fecal indicator removal was monitored during activated sludge wastewater treatment. • CrAssphage statistically correlated with adenovirus, polyomavirus, and somatic coliphage. • Molecular viral indicators were consistently detected in the final effluent, unlike bacterial indicators. • Literature review suggests site-specific variability of fecal indicator removal during wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment plants are typically monitored using fecal indicator bacteria to ensure adequate microbial water quality of the treated effluent. Fecal indicator bacteria exhibit poor correlation with virus fate in the environment, including during wastewater treatment. Viral-based microbial source tracking methods have the potential to overcome this limitation. The recently discovered human gut bacteriophage crAssphage is a promising viral human fecal indicator. In this current study, primary influent, primary effluent, secondary effluent, and final effluent of a conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant were analyzed for a suite of fecal indicators to evaluate the suitability of crAssphage as a wastewater process indicator for virus removal. CrAssphage was the most abundant fecal indicator measured through the wastewater treatment process. Culturable and molecular bacterial fecal pollution indicators showed higher removal than viral fecal pollution indicators, including crAssphage, confirming the necessity of a viral-specific fecal monitoring target. CrAssphage was strongly correlated with adenovirus and polyomavirus molecular indicators through the wastewater treatment process. Literature comparison demonstrated site-specific removal of molecular fecal indicators during wastewater treatment highlighting the need for local performance validation. The high abundance of crAssphage and correlation with pathogenic viruses suggests the potential suitability of crAssphage as a viral fecal pollution process indicator during wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C 3 N, a fully flattened graphene-like structure, has gained a great deal of attention for its excellent performances in electronic and optical characteristics. Inspired by this, we carry out the calculations of hydrogenated C 3 N structures based on the first-principles theory. We acquire six stable structures from 52 different hydrogenated configurations by the analyses of the absorption energies and phonon dispersions at first. Then, we perform the electronic calculations of the six stable structures, which reveals that the bandgap of C 3 N can be modulated by hydrogenation. Furthermore, the hydrogenated C 3 N acquires an induced net magnetic moment in a primitive cell and exhibits an antiferromagnetic ground state. In addition, the structures demonstrate significant characteristics on the absorption spectrum. Our calculations offer an effective way to alter the electronic and optical properties of the 2D materials, and also make contributions to developing novel electronic and spin devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation is aimed to study the dynamic failure behavior of 3-D braided carbon/epoxy composite by capturing the high-speed infrared image and simulating the temperature-rise response under high strain-rate compression. It is found that localized temperature rise is a good indication in damage and failure of the 3-D braided composite. Localized temperature can rise above a hundred degrees Celsius, reaching or even exceeding the T g of the matrix resin and imperiling the polymer along damage regions in specimen. Temperature rise in localized paths of the specimens was caused by adiabatic shear along the boundaries of braided fibers or inside the fiber bundles. Sustaining decrease in stress after the peak strength is related to shear deformation, temperature rise and progressive damage. There is a correlation among localization of temperature rise, adiabatic shear band, resin softening, damages and failures in the 3-D braided carbon/epoxy composite under dynamic compression loading. For the out-of-plane compression, temperature always conducts from the broken interface to the inside of the fiber bundles along the radial, which will lead to the weakening of resin in fiber bundles. And damages, penetrating cracks and openings are verified with 'X'-shape localization of temperature rise. With the increase of strain rate, localization of temperature rise indicates that adiabatic shear bands begin to connect together to form larger and longer paths by the mutual shear effect among adjacent fiber bundles. For the in-plane compression, multi-cracks are found by observing the independent 'zigzag' shear bands converting to dependent 'zigzag' network. The temperature is easily localized at the crimp position of fiber bundle when they forming the 'zigzag' localization along the braiding paths of fiber bundles. However, some regions in 3-D braided carbon/epoxy composite have not experienced plastic shear deformation, which are isolated among 'zigzag' adiabatic shear network and their boundaries are the very paths for localized temperature rise. • Temperature rise in 3-D braided carbon/epoxy composite under dynamic loading is associated with damage and failure. • The localized temperature rise can be observed by high-speed infrared imaging and simulated by mesostructural modeling. • There is a correlation among localization of temperature rise, adiabatic shear band, resin softening, damages and failures in the 3-D braided carbon/epoxy composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to characterize and assess the effect of fabric structure on the damage resistance subjected to low velocity impact. Composite panels reinforced by layered unidirectional (LU), layered woven (LW) and 3D orthogonal woven (OW) fabric were prepared respectively and the impact tests were carried out on a low-velocity testbench. Finite element models at yarn-level were established to numerically investigate the material deformation and failure mechanism. The impact tests showed that the OW composite possessed better impact resistance with respect to impact-induced deformation and inelastic energy absorption. The roles of the z-binder have also been identified through comparison of impacted morphology and numerical results. The z-binder serves as cracking trigger due to the weak debonding with resin pocket around it and its zig-zag configuration impedes the growth of delamination by damage deflection. Therefore, the discontinuous resin damage in 3D composite allows the enhancement of impact resistance instead of delamination failure in the 2D panel. In addition, the in-plane interlacement of woven fabric causes that primary yarn breaks in the high stress region and forms a circle damage area, whereas the penetrating cracking along the fiber orientation of superficial layer is induced in the unidirectional composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nHIGHLIGHTSCFRP laminates are commonly used in aircraft structures due to their high structural efficiency. The phenomenon-based failures of CFRP laminates have poor predictability for the complex failure process with buckling and matrix fractures. This work carried out seven shear tests of CFRP laminates. It also attempts to reveal its failure characteristic points by directly modeling the measured strain data based on the relative deformation distribution catastrophe. The failure characteristic points are revealed by constructing the stressing state modes/parameters and applying the clustering analysis criterion, whose accuracy can be verified by comparing the shear failure characteristic points of nondestructive/impacted CFRP laminates.Conduct 7 nondestructive/impacted CFRP laminates shear tests.Construct the modes and characteristic parameters characterizing the shear-stressing state of CFRP laminates.Applying clustering analysis criterion to reveal the characteristic loads of CFRP laminates.Verify the accuracy and robustness of the characteristic loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of patients increases, physicians are dealing with more and more cases of degenerative spine pathologies on a daily basis. To reduce the workload of healthcare professionals, we propose a modified Swin-UNet network model. Firstly, the Swin Transformer Blocks are improved using a residual post-normalization and scaling cosine attention mechanism, which makes the training process of the model more stable and improves the accuracy. Secondly, we use the log-space continuous position biasing method instead of the bicubic interpolation position biasing method. This method solves the problem of performance loss caused by the large difference between the resolution of the pretraining image and the resolution of the spine image. Finally, we introduce a segmentation smooth module (SSM) at the decoder stage. The SSM effectively reduces redundancy, and enhances the segmentation edge processing to improve the model’s segmentation accuracy. To validate the proposed method, we conducted experiments on a real dataset provided by hospitals. The average segmentation accuracy is no less than 95%. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the original model and other models of the same type in segmenting the spinous processes of the vertebrae and the posterior arch of the spine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Damage to the testis following exposure to ionizing radiation has become an urgent problem to be solved. Here we have investigated if inhibition of p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signalling could alleviate radiation‐induced testicular damage. Experimental Approach: In mice exposed to whole body radiation (2‐6 Gy), morphological changes of the epididymis and testis was measured by histochemical staining. immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence procedures and western blotting were used to monitor expression and cellular location of proteins. Expression of genes was assessed by qPCR and RNA‐Seq was used to profile gene expression. Key Results: Exposure to ionizing radiation induced dose‐dependent damage to mouse testis. The sperm quality decreased at 6 and 8 weeks after 6 Gy X‐ray radiation. Radiation decreased PLZF+ cells and increased SOX9+ cells, and affected the expression of 969 genes, compared with data from non‐irradiated mice. Expression of genes related to p38MAPK were enriched by GO analysis and were increased in the irradiated testis, and confirmed by qPCR. Levels of phospho‐p38MAPK protein increased at 28 days after irradiation. In irradiated mice, SB203580 treatment increased spermatozoa, SOX9+ cells, the area and diameter of seminiferous tubules, sperm movement rate and density. Furthermore, SB203580 treatment increased SCP3+ cells, accelerating the process of spermatogenesis. Conclusion and Implications: Exposure to ionizing radiation clearly changed gene expression in mouse testis, involving activation of p38MAPK signalling pathways. Inhibition of p38MAPK by SB203580 partly alleviated the testicular damage caused by radiation and accelerated the recovery of sperms through promoting spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by cartilage degeneration. Autophagy is associated with chondrocyte homeostasis and exhibits a role in protecting against OA pathogenesis. Geniposide (GEN), an iridoid glycoside extracted from Eucommia ulmoides Oliv, acts as an activator of GLP-1R, which can stimulate autophagy. The AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway participates in the mediation of autophagy, and GLP-1R may act as an upstream factor of AMPK. However, whether GEN mediates the autophagic responses by activating the GLP-1R/AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in OA chondrocytes is still unclear. In the current study, attenuated autophagy in MIA-induced rat OA models was observed, as shown by up-regulated expression of p62 and down-regulated expression of Beclin-1 and LC3-II/I. GEN stimulated autophagy and protected OA cartilage by up-regulating GLP-1R expression. In addition, GEN could enhance AMPK phosphorylation and down-regulate mTOR expression in IL-1β-treated C28/I2 cells. Inhibition of AMPK or activation of mTOR could reverse the stimulatory effects of GEN on autophagy. Furthermore, a GLP-1R inhibitor Exendin 9–39 could eliminate the chondroprotective effects of GEN by suppressing the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Conclusively, Geniposide exhibits protective effects against osteoarthritis development by stimulating autophagy via activating the GLP-1R/AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. [Display omitted] • GEN exhibited protective activity against osteoarthritis. • GEN improved osteoarthritic cartilage by activating autophagy. • GEN activated autophagy by mediating the AMPK/mTOR pathway. • GEN activated autophagy in GLP-1R-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable design of specific interface structures and optimization of electron transfer between the various active sites is considered an effective approach to upgrade oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetic performance. Herein, a Co(OH)F/Ni(OH) 2 @FeOOH (CoFNiFe) core–shell heterostructure electrode is designed with nickel foam (NF) as the supporting material through a hydrothermal technique and rapid interface method. The OER electrocatalytic results demonstrate that the overpotential of the Co(OH)F/Ni(OH) 2 @FeOOH/NF (CoFNiFe/NF) electrocatalyst sustaining 100 mA cm−2 is 289 mV, indicating the excellent OER electrocatalytic performance of the CoFNiFe heterojunction. Moreover, the OER performance is upgraded through the reduction of the energy barrier in the electrocatalytic experiment, which is caused by interfacial electron transfer from Co(OH)F/Ni(OH) 2 (CoFNi) to FeOOH at the nanointerface. The introduction of F− and the formation of FeOOH/CoOOH/NiOOH heterointerfaces supply more descendent active sites, further improving the OER electrocatalytic behaviour. This research provides a feasible approach to develop highly efficient electrocatalysts by designing core–shell heterostructures to modulate the electronic structure of the nanointerface. CoFNiFe/NF core–shell heterostructure exhibit outstanding OER activity and stability due to the heterointerfacial electronic regulation, improving electrocatalytic performance. [Display omitted] • Co(OH)F/Ni(OH) 2 @FeOOH/NF core-shell heterostructure electrocatalyst was constructed. • Co(OH)F/Ni(OH) 2 @FeOOH/NF displayed the excellent OER performance in 1 M KOH. • Strong electronic transfer promoted intrinsic activity of electrocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, single-phase (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ high-entropy fluorite oxides (HEFOs) were successfully prepared by conventional solid-phase reaction method and crystal structure and microstructure were studied in-depth. Single-phase (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ is formed at 1600 °C for 12 h, and five cationic elements are uniformly distributed without any segregation at the micrometer and nanometer scales. And the XRD patterns with Rietveld refinement reveal the formation of single-phase fluorite structure of (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ. The SAED patterns on the [0 1 ‾ 1] band axes are similar to the diffraction patterns of face-centered cubic fluorite structure, and the standard deviation of the cation radius (coordination VIII) distribution of the specimens is 0.1277, which is again identified as forming a single-phase fluorite structure. The bulk specimens are solid compacts free of obvious cracks with randomly distribution porosity at a rare level, and the powder specimens are irregular fragmented shapes with an average particles size of 5.41 μm. The average cation radius and interplanar spacings becomes larger compared with standard fluorite structure of CeO 2 due to the cation radius of La3+, Sm3+ and Nd3+ are larger than that of Ce4+, leading to an increase in lattice parameters of the HEFOs. In addition, the concentration of Ce3+ in the Ce cation is only 8.1 %, and the δ -value is calculated to be 0.3081 based on the content of all cations per mole of the substance, which indicates that the composition of the prepared specimen is (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 1.6919. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, single-phase (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ high-entropy fluorite oxides (HEFOs) were successfully prepared by conventional solid-phase reaction method and crystal structure and microstructure were studied in-depth. Single-phase (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ is formed at 1600 °C for 12 h, and five cationic elements are uniformly distributed without any segregation at the micrometer and nanometer scales. And the XRD patterns with Rietveld refinement reveal the formation of single-phase fluorite structure of (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 2-δ. The SAED patterns on the [0 1 ‾ 1] band axes are similar to the diffraction patterns of face-centered cubic fluorite structure, and the standard deviation of the cation radius (coordination VIII) distribution of the specimens is 0.1277, which is again identified as forming a single-phase fluorite structure. The bulk specimens are solid compacts free of obvious cracks with randomly distribution porosity at a rare level, and the powder specimens are irregular fragmented shapes with an average particles size of 5.41 μm. The average cation radius and interplanar spacings becomes larger compared with standard fluorite structure of CeO 2 due to the cation radius of La3+, Sm3+ and Nd3+ are larger than that of Ce4+, leading to an increase in lattice parameters of the HEFOs. In addition, the concentration of Ce3+ in the Ce cation is only 8.1 %, and the δ -value is calculated to be 0.3081 based on the content of all cations per mole of the substance, which indicates that the composition of the prepared specimen is (Ce 0.2 Zr 0.2 La 0.2 Sm 0.2 Nd 0.2)O 1.6919. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution coupled with organic oxidation reaction is a promising alternative to water splitting, where the efficiency is limited due to the weak correlation between charge separation and surface redox reactions. Here, employing nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) for hole extraction, NiPc‐modified carbon dots (CDs) are combined with Cu–In–Zn–S quantum dots (CIZS QDs) toward a profound understanding of electron/hole extraction and surface proton generation and reduction. The optimal hydrogen evolution rate reaches 4.10 mmol g−1 h−1 for CIZS/NiPc–CDs with l‐ascorbic acid for hole consumption, 8.10 times to that of CIZS QDs, which is further promoted to 11.12 mmol g−1 h−1 under electron/hole coextraction with Ni2+ introduction. For benzyl‐alcohol‐oxidation‐coupled H2 evolution, this strategy shows a more dramatic activity enhancement (19.54 times), which is also appliable to methanol‐ or furfuryl‐alcohol‐oxidation coupling systems with state‐of‐the‐art activities. Transient photovoltage spectroscopy and apparent kinetics analysis indicate, for the first time, a light‐induced electrocatalysis effect consistent with the Volmer–Heyrovsky process, which establishes a quasiquantitative basis for balancing charge extraction and surface reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase transition behaviors of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogels with different compositions induced by (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and ethyl gallate (EG) has been investigated systematically. Monodisperse poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) (P(NIPAM-co-NMAM)) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (P(NIPAM-co-HEMA)) nanogels with different feeding monomer ratios were prepared by emulsion polymerization. P(NIPAM-co-NMAM) nanogels exhibit rapid isothermal phase transition behavior in EGCG solutions with low concentration (10−3 mol/L) in less than 10 minutes. The thermosensitive phase transition behaviors of nanogels are affected not only by the copolymerized monomers but also by the concentrations of EGCG and EG in aqueous solutions. Nanogels remain in a shrunken state and do not exhibit thermosensitive phase transition behaviors in EGCG solutions (≥5 mmol/L), whereas they display thermo-responsive phase transition behaviors in EG solutions. The volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) shifts to lower temperatures with increasing EG concentration. The diameters of P(NIPAM-co-NMAM) nanogels decrease with increasing EG concentration at temperatures between 29 and 33 °C. In contrast, the diameters of P(NIPAM-co-HEMA) nanogels increase with increasing EGCG concentration at temperatures between 37 and 45 °C. The results demonstrate the potential of nanogels for simple detection of EG and EGCG concentrations in aqueous solutions over a wide temperature range, and EGCG can serve as a signal for the burst-release of drugs from the P(NIPAM-co-NMAM)-based carriers at physiological temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two failure modes of thin film GaAs solar cells have been shown in the study. • Analytical model is developed and demonstrated in simulate the layer fracture. • Mechanism of interface failure along EVA-GaAs interface is presented. • Intensity factor is proposed to evaluate the strain magnification along interface. • Novel encapsulation materials are necessary to improve the mechanical reliability. Flexible III-V compound thin film solar cells are promising candidates in the applications of Internet of Thing, electronics, civil, automotive and aerospace. In this study, theoretical, numerical and experimental methods are employed to investigate the mechanical reliability of the GaAs thin film solar cells with polymer film encapsulation. Experimental investigation by uniaxial tensile testing has revealed the stress failure of cell can be divided into the two different stages. For lower applied strain (<2.0%), the stress concentration caused the local plasticity of encapsulation material along the polymer-semiconductor interface (e.g. EVA-GaAs). For larger applied strain (>2.0%), semiconductor materials (e.g. junction and window) have shown brittle cracking failures. The observed brittle and ductile failures of the sublayer can be well-explained by analytical model based on theory of solid and fracture mechanics. It is also found that the interface stiffness mismatch plays an important role of encapsulation failure at lower strain level. The degree of the stiffness mismatch can be characterised by the proposed strain intensity factor. To overcome the mechanical failure, new encapsulation material such as ultra-thin glass can be promising in the future application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the high-resolution, high signal-to-noise-ratio spectra from the Keck/HIRES, we have analyzed the barium abundances of 602 stars. The parameter space of our sample are in the range of 4700 < < 6100 K, −0.1 < [Fe/H] < 0.6 dex, and 2 < log g < 5 dex. It is found that the nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects are large for barium, and the barium abundances can be underestimated by up to 0.2 dex compared to the the local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis for lines at 5853 and 6141 Å. In addition, the average barium abundances of the high- and low-α stars are −0.10 and 0.00 dex, respectively, and higher [Ba/Fe] corresponds to a lower [Mg/Fe] ratio. We note that there are 18 Ba-rich stars (with [Ba/Fe] > 0.3 in NLTE), which contains six dwarfs and 12 giants. The Ba-rich objects make up around 3% in our sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a two-step iterative method that uses u – P formulation to study a Degasperis-Procesi (DP) equation, with which the DP equation is decomposed into the nonlinear advection equation and the Helmholtz equation. The first-order derivative terms in the advection equation are approximated by an Optimized Compact Reconstruction Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (OCRWENO) scheme that reduces dispersion and dissipation errors and suppresses oscillation near discontinuities. Besides, high-order symplectic Runge-Kutta scheme is used for time marching. A rigorous analysis of the dispersion and dissipation errors are provided for the OCRWENO scheme. Single smooth soliton solution is investigated to check the accuracy and the order of the proposed method. Peakon, peakon-peakon, peakon-antipeakon and shockpeakon solutions of the DP equation are then predicted. Finally, wave breaking phenomena of smoothed initial condition from the DP equation are addressed. In addition, two conservative quantities associated with the bi-Hamiltonian form of the DP equation are calculated to demonstrate capabilities of the present method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]