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At the turn of the century, facing the challenge of information and technology, environmental education, and talent competition, the world's major environmentally, educationally developed countries have entered the wave of environmental education reform. This was promulgated in 1999, and our country also successively promulgated through "the central committee of the communist party of China under the State Council on deepening environmenta education reform and comprehensively promote quality environmental education decision" in 2001 the "basic teaching environmental education course reform outline (try out)," launched to "deepen the environmental education reform and comprehensively promote quality environmental education" for the purpose of the foundation environmental education course and teaching reform. The curriculum reform is characterized by government leadership, expert guidance, and teacher participation. Its specific approach is top-down, overall promotion, concept guidance, experimental exploration, and gradual expansion, which has achieved a lot of theoretical and practical achievements. However, the practice of more than ten years has proved that the goal of the curriculum reform of basic environmental education has not been safely realized, the classroom has not undergone fundamental changes, and the advanced curriculum concept and curriculum system have not been transformed into advanced classroom teaching practice. This paper mainly discusses the influencing factors of the policy environment of environmental education development in China and analyzes the trend of reform in combination with the history of environmental education. On the one hand, the research of this paper can enrich the research theory of pedagogy; on the other hand, it can provide reference for the practical environmental education reform and have rich significance in theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies distributed diffusion adaptation over clustered multi-task networks in the presence of impulsive interferences and Byzantine attacks. We develop a robust resilient diffusion least mean Geman-McClure-estimation (RDLMG) algorithm based on the cost function used by the Geman-McClure estimator, which can reduce the sensitivity to large outliers and make the algorithm robust under impulsive interferences. Moreover, the mean sub-sequence reduced method, in which each node discards the extreme value information of cost contributions received from its neighbors, can make the network resilient against Byzantine attacks. In this regard, the proposed RDLMG algorithm ensures that all normal nodes converge to their ideal states with cooperation among nodes. A statistical analysis of the RDLMG algorithm is also carried out in terms of mean and mean-square performances. Numerical results evaluate the proposed RDLMG algorithm in applications to multi-target localization and multi-task spectrum sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The time interval rules and survival outcomes of individuals with synchronous and metachronous breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) were examined in this retrospective population-based investigation. Methods. The National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to create a cohort of people diagnosed with BC and OC between 1973 and 2015. Patients were separated into three groups: those with main BC followed by primary OC (group 1), those with synchronous primary breast and ovarian cancer (group 2), and those with OC prior to BC (group 3). The Kaplan-Meier technique was used to assess overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results. A total of 4,975 patients were identified: 2,929 patients in group 1, 680 patients in group 2, and 1,366 patients in group 3. The average duration between these tumors was 60 months (range 0–499). Approximately 50% of second primary cancer cases occurred during the first 60 months of the first primary cancer diagnosis, and more than 70% occurred within the first 120 months. The median survival time for 4,975 individuals was 140 months. Group 2 had the smallest median OS (35 months), whereas group 3 had the longest (45 months) (239 months). Conclusions. The majority of second primary cancer cases occurred during the first 120 months following the diagnosis of the first original malignancy. Individuals who had primary OC prior to BC had better prognoses, whereas patients who had synchronous BC and OC had worse prognoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used in clinical practice. However, scientific evidence is lacking for recommending a particular sequence for measuring tumor size. Purpose: To retrospectively compare the size of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) measured on different gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI sequences using pathology as a reference. Material and Methods: A total of 217 patients with single HCC who underwent gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI before surgery were included. The size of the HCC was measured by two abdominal radiologists independently on the following sequences: T1-weighted; T2-weighted; b-500 diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI); and arterial, portal venous, transitional, and hepatobiliary phases. Tumor size measured on MRI was compared with pathological size by using Pearson correlation coefficient, independent-sample t test, and Bland–Altman plot. Agreement between two readers was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Correlation between the MR images and pathology was high for both readers (0.899–0.955). Absolute error between MRI and pathologic assessment was lowest on hepatobiliary phase images for both readers (reader 1, 2.8±4.2 mm; reader 2, 3.2±3.4 mm) and highest on arterial phase images for reader 1 (4.9±4.4 mm) and DWI phase images for reader 2 (5.1±4.9 mm). Absolute errors were significantly different for hepatobiliary phase compared with other sequences for both readers (reader 1, P ≤0.012; reader 2, P ≤0.037). Inter-reader agreements for all sequence measurements were strong (0.971–0.997). Conclusion: The performance of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI sequences varied with HCC size, and the hepatobiliary phase may be optimal among these sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling 3D humans accurately and robustly from a single image is very challenging, and the key for such an ill-posed problem is the 3D representation of the human models. To overcome the limitations of regular 3D representations, we propose Parametric Model-Conditioned Implicit Representation (PaMIR), which combines the parametric body model with the free-form deep implicit function. In our PaMIR-based reconstruction framework, a novel deep neural network is proposed to regularize the free-form deep implicit function using the semantic features of the parametric model, which improves the generalization ability under the scenarios of challenging poses and various clothing topologies. Moreover, a novel depth-ambiguity-aware training loss is further integrated to resolve depth ambiguities and enable successful surface detail reconstruction with imperfect body reference. Finally, we propose a body reference optimization method to improve the parametric model estimation accuracy and to enhance the consistency between the parametric model and the implicit function. With the PaMIR representation, our framework can be easily extended to multi-image input scenarios without the need of multi-camera calibration and pose synchronization. Experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance for image-based 3D human reconstruction in the cases of challenging poses and clothing types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podocyte injury induced by hyperglycemia is the main cause of kidney dysfunction in diabetic nephropathy. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) regulates a diversity of cellular processes in a variety of cell types. Calpain, a Ca2+-dependent cysteine protease, was recently shown to be involved in podocyte injury. In the present study, we sought to determine whether increased SOCE contributed to high glucose (HG)–induced podocyte injury through activation of the calpain pathway. In cultured human podocytes, whole-cell patch clamp indicated the presence of functional store-operated Ca2+ channels, which are composed of Orai1 proteins and mediate SOCE. Western blots showed that HG treatment increased the protein abundance of Orai1 in a dose-dependent manner. Consistently, calcium imaging experiments revealed that SOCE was significantly enhanced in podocytes following HG treatment. Furthermore, HG treatment caused overt podocyte F-actin disorganization as well as a significant decrease in nephrin protein abundance, both of which are indications of podocyte injury. These podocyte injury responses were significantly blunted by both pharmacological inhibition of Orai1 using the small molecule inhibitor BTP2 or by genetic deletion of Orai1 using CRISPR-Cas9 lentivirus. Moreover, activation of SOCE by thapsigargin, an inhibitor of Ca2+ pump on the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, significantly increased the activity of calpain, which was inhibited by BTP2. Finally, the calpain-1/ calpain-2 inhibitor calpeptin significantly blunted the nephrin protein reduction induced by HG treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that enhanced signaling via an Orai1/ SOCE/Calpain axis contributes to HG-induced podocyte injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple perovskite has been recently developed for the intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC). The performance of Nd1.5Ba1.5CoFeMnO9−δ (NBCFM) cathodes for IT-SOFC is investigated in this work. The interfacial polarization resistance (RP) of NBCFM is 1.1273 Ω cm2~0.1587 Ω cm2 in the range of 700–800 °C, showing good electrochemical performance. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of NBCFM is 17.40 × 10−6 K−1 at 40–800 °C, which is significantly higher than that of the electrolyte. In order to further improve the electrochemical performance and reduce the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of NBCFM, Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−δ (SDC) is mixed with NBCFM to prepare an NBCFM-xSDC composite cathode (x = 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 wt.%). The thermal expansion coefficient decreases monotonically from 17.40 × 10−6 K−1 to 15.25 × 10−6 K−1. The surface oxygen exchange coefficient of NBCFM-xSDC at a given temperature increases from 10−4 to 10−3 cm s−1 over the p o 2 range from 0.01 to 0.09 atm, exhibiting fast surface exchange kinetics. The area specific resistance (ASR) of NBCFM-30%SDC is 0.06575 Ω cm2 at 800 °C, which is only 41% of the ASR value of NBCFM (0.15872 Ω cm2). The outstanding performance indicates the feasibility of NBCFM-30% SDC as an IT-SOFC cathode material. This study provides a promising strategy for designing high-performance composite cathodes for SOFCs based on triple perovskite structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is a disease with high heterogeneity, and this heterogeneity may result in an uneven distribution of subclones with varied genetic properties at disease locations (spatial heterogeneity) or temporal changes in subclonal composition (temporal heterogeneity). We present the case of a 69-year-old woman with metastatic gastric cancer who presented for axillary lymph node enlargement and underwent axillary lymphadenectomy. Pathological evidence showed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)(3+). Abdominal computed tomography revealed a mass in the gastric body, gastroscopic biopsy showed HER2(3+). After tumor shrinkage by preoperative translational chemotherapy (oxaliplatin, calcium folate, fluorouracil) and targeted therapy (trastuzumab), she had laparoscopic-assisted total gastrectomy. However, HER2 immunohistochemistry was found to be diffusely negative in the surgically removed tissue, and there was no evidence of HER2 amplification in the whole exon sequencing either. After 10 months of trastuzumab treatment, her disease progressed. Although trastuzumab treatment was initially beneficial, the residual HER2-negative subclones may cause tumor recurrence and metastasis due to temporal heterogeneity, as shown in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is a disease with high heterogeneity, and this heterogeneity may result in an uneven distribution of subclones with varied genetic properties at disease locations (spatial heterogeneity) or temporal changes in subclonal composition (temporal heterogeneity). We present the case of a 69-year-old woman with metastatic gastric cancer who presented for axillary lymph node enlargement and underwent axillary lymphadenectomy. Pathological evidence showed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)(3+). Abdominal computed tomography revealed a mass in the gastric body, gastroscopic biopsy showed HER2(3+). After tumor shrinkage by preoperative translational chemotherapy (oxaliplatin, calcium folate, fluorouracil) and targeted therapy (trastuzumab), she had laparoscopic-assisted total gastrectomy. However, HER2 immunohistochemistry was found to be diffusely negative in the surgically removed tissue, and there was no evidence of HER2 amplification in the whole exon sequencing either. After 10 months of trastuzumab treatment, her disease progressed. Although trastuzumab treatment was initially beneficial, the residual HER2-negative subclones may cause tumor recurrence and metastasis due to temporal heterogeneity, as shown in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen that can cause listeriosis in humans and animals. Andrographolide is known as a natural antibiotic and exhibits good antibacterial activity. We aimed to investigate the effect of andrographolide on two quorum-sensing (QS) systems, LuxS/AI-2 and Agr/AIP of L. monocytogenes, as well as QS-controlled phenotypes in this study. Our results showed that neither luxS expression nor AI-2 production was affected by andrographolide. Nevertheless, andrographolide significantly reduced the expression levels of the agr genes and the activity of the agr promoter P2. Results from the crystal violet staining method, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) demonstrated that andrographolide remarkably inhibited the biofilm-forming ability of L. monocytogenes 10403S. The preformed biofilms were eradicated when exposed to andrographolide, and reduced surviving cells were also observed in treated biofilms. L. monocytogenes treated with andrographolide exhibited decreased ability to secrete LLO and adhere to and invade Caco-2 cells. Therefore, andrographolide is a potential QS inhibitor by targeting the Agr QS system to reduce biofilm formation and virulence of L. monocytogenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dandruff is a chronic, recurring, and common scalp problem that is caused by several etiopathogeneses with complex mechanisms. Management of this condition is typically achieved via antifungal therapies. However, the precise roles played by microbiota in the development of the condition have not been elucidated. Despite their omnipresence on human scalp little is known about the co-occurrence/co-exclusion network of cutaneous microbiota. Results: We characterized the scalp and hair surface bacterial and fungal communities of 95 dandruff-afflicted and healthy individuals residing in China. The degree distributions of co-occurrence/co-exclusion network in fungi-bacteria and bacteria-bacteria were higher in the healthy group (P < 0.0001), whereas the betweenness values are higher in the dandruff group (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the co-occurrence/co-exclusion network among fungi-fungi and fungi-bacteria showed that compared to the healthy group, the dandruff group had more positive links (P < 0.0001). In addition, we observed that Malassezia slooffiae, Malassezia japonica and Malassezia furfur, were more abundant in the dandruff group than in the healthy group. These microbiota were co-exclusion by either multiple bacterial genera or Malassezia sp. in healthy group. The lactic acid bacteria on the scalp and hair surface, especially the genera Lactobacillus and Lactococcus, exhibit a negative correlation with multiple bacterial genera on the scalp and hair surface. Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus lactis isolated on the healthy human scalp can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis in vitro. Conclusions: We showed that microbial networks on scalp and hair surface with dandruff were less integrated than their healthy counterparts, with lower node degree and more positive and stronger links which were deemed to be unstable and may be more susceptible to environmental fluctuations. Lactobacillus bacteria have extensive interactions with other bacteria or fungi in the scalp and hair surface micro-ecological network and can be used as targets for improving scalp health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is a common life-threatening tumor with high malignancy and high invasiveness. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in almost every stage of tumor initiation and progression. Here, we identified an antisense lncRNA, MetaLnc9 antisense (Metalnc9-AS), which arises from the antisense strand of Metalnc9, located on chr9q34.11, while its biological function and mechanism are not clear in lung cancer. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of Metalnc9-AS was upregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues compared with corresponding non-tumorous tissues. The gain of MetaLnc9-AS was highly associated with the malignant features of NSCLC. Overexpression of MetaLnc9-AS enhanced tumor metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, MetaLnc9-AS could form an RNA–RNA hybrid with its cognate sense counterpart, MetaLnc9, to regulate its expression in NSCLC cells, and that such complexes were protected from ribonuclease degradation. Thus, Metalnc9-AS might be a potential and effective treatment for NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ca 0.128 Ba 0.032 Sm 0.46 Li 0.3 TiO 3 - x wt.% Al 2 O 3 microwave dielectric ceramics with temperature stability were prepared by the traditional solid-state reaction method. The effects of Al 2 O 3 doping on phase composition, micromorphology, and microwave dielectric properties of Ca 0.128 Ba 0.032 Sm 0.46 Li 0.3 TiO 3 ceramics were investigated. X-ray diffraction results showed that no other phase was introduced by doping, and the diffraction peaks of all the ceramics could be indexed by standard JCPDS cards of No.42−0423 (CaTiO 3) and No.43−0235 (BaSm 2 Ti 4 O 12). To further study the effects of Al 2 O 3 doping on microstructure and lattice vibration of Ca 0.128 Ba 0.032 Sm 0.46 Li 0.3 TiO 3 ceramics, the structural refinement and Raman spectroscopy techniques were also adopted. Doping Al 2 O 3 decreased the lattice constant of CaTiO 3 -phase solid solution, modified the morphology and improved microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics. When sintered at 1300 °C for 4 h, the ceramics with 0.9 wt.% Al 2 O 3 showed excellent microwave dielectric properties: ε r = 87.9 ± 0.4, Q × f = 6671 ± 103 GHz, and τ f = -1.2 ± 0.9 ppm/℃. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the clinical efficacy, feasibility, and safety of the preoperative computed tomography (CT)-guided coil localization (CL) approach for scapula-blocked lung nodules (SBLNs). A total of 123 patients with LNs were treated via CT-guided CL and subsequent VATS-guided wedge resection from January 2015 to June 2020. Of these patients, 12 (9.8%) exhibited SBLNs and underwent CT-guided CL. Technical success of localization and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)-guided wedge resection, and localization-related complications were recorded and analyzed. The technical success rate of CT-guided CL was 100%. Each patient was placed with one coil. The mean duration of CT-guided CL was 14.7 ± 2.7 min. One patient (8.3%) developed asymptomatic pneumothorax, which has not impacted the subsequent VATS procedure. Successful VATS-guided wedge resection of these SBLNs was achieved in all patients, with no instances of conversion to thoracotomy. Additional lobectomy was performed in three patients. The mean duration of the VATS procedure and blood loss were 143.8 ± 95.5 min and 110.0 ± 82.0 ml, respectively. The approach of CT-guided CL could be safely and easily utilized to facilitate high rates of success when conducting the VATS-guided wedge resection of SBLNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the remote regioselective alkynylation of unactivated C(sp3)–H bonds in diverse aliphatic amides by photogenerated amidyl radicals has been developed. The site-selectivity is dominated via a 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process of the amide. Mild reaction conditions and high regioselectivity are demonstrated in this methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Nuclear Microprobe Laboratory of Fudan University, particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) has invariably used the Si(Li) detector. Although it is a widely used X-ray detector, the Si(Li) detector has a low counting rate. In recent years, high-counting rate detectors such as the silicon drift detector (SDD) have developed rapidly. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of applying the SDD to PIXE tomography (PIXE-T) for the first time. We placed the Si(Li) detector and the SDD in symmetrical positions to collect X-rays emitted from a Cl-doped inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target simultaneously. The counting rate of the SDD is about 5 times that of the Si(Li) detector. The maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm was used to reconstruct the projection slice by slice. The quality of the projections and the reconstructed images is improved using the SDD thanks to the higher number of events collected in the detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A facile strategy for preparing yolk-shell hybrid nanospheres was reported. • A novel FRET strategy was developed based on silane-functionalized carbon dots (bCDs), CdTe quantum dots and AuNPs modified DNA. • The established ratiometric fluorescence probe showed excellent stability for detection of aflatoxin biosynthesis-related genes nor-1 in maize samples. • The assay is a simple, precise and sensitive platform, exhibiting great potential for the detection of biomarker of mycotoxins producers. This study presented advanced monitoring approaches for the aflatoxin gene cluster in Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus , which are effective tools for controlling aflatoxin proliferation in the food chain. A novel approach involved a ratiometric fluorescence probe based on yolk-shell nanospheres (bCDs@SiO 2 @gQDs). The probe's fluorescence was activated by DNA hybridization with the modified bCDs@SiO 2 @gQDs and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), functioning through donor–acceptor pairs. The exceptional properties of the gQDs and the high FRET efficiency of this system established a functionalized platform for DNA labeling. When the nor-1 gene was present, FRET between the gQDs and AuNPs triggered fluorescence quenching, enabling nor-1 gene detection. The yolk-shell nanostructure of the fluorescent nanoprobes provided an internal reference, reducing experimental errors due to background noise, instrumentation factors, and probe concentration. This allowed for accurate and highly sensitive quantitative determination of the nor-1 gene. The ratiometric fluorescence assay demonstrated a broad linear range (0.1–100 nM) and a low detection limit (12.83 pM) for the nor-1 gene. Tests on non-contaminated maize samples spiked with various concentrations of the nor-1 gene achieved recovery rates between 95.43 % and 101.46 %. This biosensor represents a significant advancement in food safety, offering a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for monitoring agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digestive system tumors have been reported in more than 25% of all cancer cases worldwide, bringing a huge burden on the healthcare system. RNA methylation modification—an important post-transcriptional modification—has become an active research area in gene regulation. It is a dynamic and reversible process involving several enzymes, such as methyltransferases, demethylases, and methylation reader proteins. This review provides insights into the role of three major methylation modifications, namely m6A, m5C, and m1A, in the development of digestive system tumors, specifically in the development of tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of these malignancies. Abnormal methylation modification affects immunosuppression and antitumor immune response by regulating the recruitment of immune cells and the release of immune factors. Understanding the mechanisms by which RNA methylation regulates digestive system tumors will be helpful in exploring new therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low grain sizes generate homogeneous dislocation slip to delay fatigue cracking. • High grain sizes induce deformation twinning to delay crack propagation by dissipating plastic work. • Grains refine around fatigue cracks in CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy with low grain sizes. • Fine-grained specimens with certain twinning ability prolong the fatigue life most. Low-cycle fatigue behaviors of CrCoNi medium entropy alloy with different grain sizes were investigated. It is found that grain refinement improved deformation homogeneity to delay fatigue crack initiation by dispersing slip bands and fatigue damage. Yet, the increase in grain size promoted deformation twinning to retard fatigue crack growth by dissipating plastic work. With enough plastic deformation accumulated, extensive dislocation slip and deformation twinning significantly refined the grains localized near fatigue cracks. The grain refinement could trade off the cyclic softening and help to retard fatigue crack growth. These findings indicate that refined grains with certain twinning ability would extend the fatigue life of CrCoNi alloy the most and suppress cyclic softening at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MS facilitated eosinophil infiltration and IL-5, and IL-17A expressions in CRSwNP. • MS facilitated histopathological changes and contributes to the recurrence of CRSwNP. • MS was an independent risk factor of postoperative recurrence in CRSwNP patients. The relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the effects of MS on histopathological features and postoperative recurrence in patients with CRSwNP. We recruited 529 patients with CRSwNP who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery. They were divided into MS and non-MS groups and followed up for 2 years to evaluate postoperative recurrence. Clinical characteristics, histopathological features, the immunoactivity of signature cytokines, and the risk of postoperative recurrence were compared between the two groups. In total, 490 patients with CRSwNP were included in the study, 145 of whom experienced postoperative recurrence. The recurrence rate, tissue eosinophil count and percentage, and expression levels of IL-5 and IL-17A were significantly higher in the MS group compared to the non-MS group. Furthermore, within the MS group, patients who experienced recurrence exhibited higher tissue eosinophil counts and IL-5 and IL-17A levels than those in the non-MS group. Notably, the eosinophil count and IL-5 and IL-17A levels were higher in tissues collected during revision surgery than in those collected during primary surgery, particularly in patients with MS. Binary logistic regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves consistently indicated that MS independently increased the risk of postoperative recurrence in patients with CRSwNP. Furthermore, the risk increased with the number of MS components presented. MS promoted tissue eosinophil infiltration, and IL-5 and IL-17A expression, and increased the risk of postoperative recurrence in patients with CRSwNP. MS was identified as an independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence, and the risk increased with an increase in the number of MS components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light response of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, light attenuation model, DPM model, and MATLAB were used to calculate the proportion of microalgae cells' residence time in the four light regions and the number of times microalgae cells passed through the four light regions, then the artificial neural networks model was established. Dynamic light experiments were used to verify the reliability of the ANN model. [Display omitted] • The four light regions were determined by light response study. • The four light proportion regions were calculated by using MATLAB. • The biomass production was predicted and optimized by the ANN model. • The R2 of the ANN model for predicting microalgae growth was 0.98. • Dynamic adjusting light intensity experiments verify the accuracy of the ANN model. Light is crucial in microalgae growth. However, dividing the microalgae growth region into light and dark regions has limitations. In this study, the light response of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was investigated to define four light regions (FLRs): light compensation region, light limitation region, light saturation region, and photoinhibition region. The proportions of cells' residence time in the FLRs and the number of times cells (NTC) passed through the FLRs in photobioreactors were calculated by using MATLAB. Based on the FLRs and NTC passed through the FLRs, a growth model was established by using artificial neural network (ANN). The ANN model had a validation R2 value of 0.97, which was 76.36% higher than the model based on light-dark regions. The high accuracy of the ANN model was further verified through dynamic adjustment of light intensity experiments. This study confirmed the importance of the FLRs for studying microalgae growth dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MD simulation was used to study the mechanism of effect of pressure on foam stability. • Zero-shear viscosity and yield stress of foam can be improved by rising the pressure. • The increasing pressure promotes piston-propulsion of foam through the saline aquifer. • Elevated pressure increases CO 2 storage efficiency in meso- and micropore spaces. CO 2 foam flooding technology is one of the important methods to improve the efficiency of CO 2 sequestration in saline aquifers. This article explores the influence rules of pressure on CO 2 foam stability and its micro-mechanisms, and its effect on the efficiency of CO 2 foam to enhance CO 2 sequestration. Increasing pressure is conducive to delaying the foam drainage and inhibiting CO 2 diffusion between the liquid films, micro-mechanisms showed that the binding effect of surfactants on water and CO 2 molecules was enhanced due to increased pressure. Then core-nuclear magnetic resonance was used to study the effect of pressure on CO 2 sequestration characteristics from core scale, the bubble population accumulation in the macropores increased with the enhanced pressure, promoting the diversion effect of foam to the meso- and micropores. In addition to enhancing the CO 2 sequestration potential of the macropores, the utilization of storage space of meso- and micropores was improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As segmentectomy had become commonly used for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) treatment, which had the advantages of radical operation, however, it remains controversial owing to procedural complexity and risk of increased complications compared with wedge resection. We evaluated operative and postoperative outcomes of simple segmentectomy compared to wedge resection in ground-glass opacity (GGO) diameter between 2 cm and 3 cm NSCLC.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1600 clinical GGO diameter between 2 cm and 3 cm NSCLC patients who received simple segmentectomy and wedge resection between Jan 2011 and Jan 2015. Participants were matched 1:1 on their propensity score for two groups. Clinic-pathologic, operative, and postoperative results of two groups were compared.Results: After using propensity score methods to create a matched cohort of participants with simple segmentectomy group similar to that wedge resection, there were no significant differences detected in tumor size, margin distance, histology, age, sex, preoperative comorbidities and preoperative pulmonary function. Overall complications in simple segmentectomy group were more than wedge resection group (21% vs 3%, p = 0.03). Median operative time (110.6 vs. 71.2 min; p = 0.01) and prolonged air leakage (12% vs. 3%; p = 0.02) was significantly longer in the simple segmentectomy group. There was no difference in recurrence free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) of 5-years between simple segmentectomy group and wedge resection group. Postoperative pulmonary function in simple segmentectomy group recovered more slowly than wedge resection group.Conclusion: Wedge resection may have comparable efficacy as simple segmentectomy for GGO diameter between 2 cm and 3 cm NSCLC, but lead to less complications, less surgical procedure and faster recovery of pulmonary function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between virus and host has been one of the hot spot in virology, and it is also the important aspect of revealing the mechanism of virus infection. Increasing studies revealed that several key molecules took part in the process of virus-host interaction. White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has been proved to affect several physiological processes of the host cells, especially apoptosis. While the relationship between them still remains unclear. In this study, a IFI27 gene (LvIFI27) of Litopenaeus vannamei was cloned. It is indicated that LvIFI27 was induced upon endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress and unfolded protein response activator Thapsigargin. Unlike human IFI27 locating to mitochondria, LvIFI27 lied to ER, and was involved in cell apoptosis process. Moreover, results of cumulative mortality analysis showed that LvIFI27 might contributed to WSSV proliferation by promoting apoptosis during the process of viral infection. Findings in this study enriched our understanding of the relationship between WSSV infection and ER-stress mediated apoptosis. • Over-expressed LvIFI27 in S2 cells resulted in apoptosis. • Expression of LvIFI27 in L. vannamei hemocytes was induced upon unfolded protein response. • Knockdown expression of LvIFI27 decreased the cumulative mortality of WSSV infection shrimp. • Knockdown expression of LvIFI27 reduced the hemocytes apoptosis rate under white spot syndrome virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration of exhausted hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific CD8+ T cells is one of the important strategies for inhibition of viral replication. The role of interleukin (IL)-33 to recovery of CD8+ T cell activity is not fully elucidated. We investigated the effect of IL-33 on viral-specific CD8+ T cell responses in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in vitro by both phenotypic and functional analysis. Plasma IL-33 was downregulated in CHB patients, while effective antiviral therapy rescued IL-33 expression. There was no significant difference of IL-33 receptor mRNA relative level in CD8+ T cells between CHB patients and controls. IL-33 induced the proliferation of HBV-specific CD8+ T cells, and reduced programmed death-1 expression on HBV-specific CD8+ T cells. IL-33 promoted the direct cytolytic activity of CD8+ T cells against HepG2.2.15 cells through boosting perforin and granzyme B production. Furthermore, IL-33 administration increased HBV-specific CD8+ T cell-mediated HBV replication and HBV antigen secretion mainly via enhancement of interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α. IL-33 reinvigorated antiviral activity of HBV-specific CD8+ T cells, revealing that IL-33 might contribute to viral clearance in persistent HBV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision avoidance path planning is still one of the essential problems in the design and application of an intelligent maritime navigation system. Its main obstacle is how to determine effective and cooperative collision avoidance maneuvers within a multi-ship encounter situation. By deconstructing a multi-ship encounter, this study adopted ship domain around target ships to assess the collision danger that own ship should avoid. Subsequently, the fitness function that has multiple dynamic obstacle constraints was designed in a two-dimensional map. Based on DE algorithm, a path-planning method was developed to compute collision-free and optimal navigation paths for ships. Simulation results show that the algorithm can generate a safe and suitable path from each perspective in a multi-ship encounter. The results also validate the practicality of the generated paths, consistency of the algorithm outputs and performance of the algorithm. It would be expected to provide a reference for collision avoidance decision making as well as contribute to the development of autonomous navigation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acer catalpifolium is an endangered species restricted to remote localities of West China. Understanding the genomic content and evolution of A. catalpifolium is essential to conservation efforts of this rare and ecologically valuable plant. Here, we report a high-quality genome of A. catalpifolium consisting of ∼654 Mbp and ∼35,132 protein-coding genes. We detected 969 positively selected genes in two Acer genomes compared with four other eudicots, 65 of which were transcription factors. We hypothesize that these positively selected mutations in transcription factors might affect their function and thus contribute to A. catalpifolium' s decline-type population. We also identified 179 significantly expanded gene families compared with 12 other eudicots, some of which are involved in stress responses, such as the FRS–FRF family. We inferred that A. catalpifolium has experienced gene family expansions to cope with environmental stress in its evolutionary history. Finally, 109 candidate genes encoding key enzymes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway were identified in A. catalpifoliu m; of particular note were the large range and high copy number of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase genes. The chromosome-level genome of A. catalpifolium presented here may serve as a fundamental genomic resource for better understanding endangered Acer species, informing future conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamic sorption experiments of Se and Cs under aerobic/anaerobic conditions on granite, mudrock and MX-80 were conducted in synthetic groundwater/seawater medium. The batch experimental results were under the simulation of the two non-linear heterogeneity-based isotherm models, Langmuir–Freundlich (LF) and Generalized-Freundlich (GF) to evaluate the sorption characteristics of the Se and Cs. The results indicated that the LF and GF models could fit the experimental data more perfectly than the Langmuir one. Moreover, the affinity spectrum quantitatively demonstrated the discrepancy of heterogeneous sorption for the Se and Cs and its results demonstrated that the sorption mechanism between Se and Cs was quite different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scoria aggregate concrete (SAC) as new green material has been gradually used in some construction projects for its lightweight and high strength, which can reduce the environmental impact of construction materials. In this paper, the residual mechanical properties and intact compressive stress-strain relationships of polypropylene (PP) fiber-reinforced Scoria aggregate concrete after high-temperature exposure at 20, 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C were investigated. The failure modes of PP fiber-reinforced Scoria aggregate concrete specimens and the effect of high temperatures on the peak stress, secant modulus, and peak strain were obtained. The results showed that the residual compressive strength of heated concrete is significantly reduced when the temperature exceeds 400 °C. The residual strength and residual secant modulus of PP fiber-reinforced Scoria aggregate concrete are significantly higher than those of ordinary concrete. The Scoria aggregate concrete specimens with PP fibers exhibited fewer surface cracks and fewer edge bursts under high temperatures. The residual stress-strain equation of the Scoria aggregate concrete was established by regression analysis, which agreed well with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) causes hypertension in offspring. However, paternal contribution of PM2.5 exposure to hypertension in offspring remains unknown. In the present study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with PM2.5 suspension (10 mg/ml) for 12 weeks and/or fed with tap water containing an antioxidant tempol (1 mM/L) for 16 weeks. The blood pressure, 24 h-urine volume and sodium excretion were determined in male offspring. The offspring were also administrated with losartan (20 mg/kg/d) for 4 weeks. The expressions of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and G-protein-coupled receptor kinase type 4 (GRK4) were determined by qRT-PCR and immunoblotting. We found that long-term PM2.5 exposure to paternal rats caused hypertension and impaired urine volume and sodium excretion in male offspring. Both the mRNA and protein expression of GRK4 and its downstream target AT1R were increased in offspring of PM2.5-exposed paternal rats, which was reflected in its function because treatment with losartan, an AT1R antagonist, decreased the blood pressure and increased urine volume and sodium excretion. In addition, the oxidative stress level was increased in PM2.5-treated paternal rats. Administration with tempol in paternal rats restored the increased blood pressure and decreased urine volume and sodium excretion in the offspring of PM2.5-exposed paternal rats. Treatment with tempol in paternal rats also reversed the increased expressions of AT1R and GRK4 in the kidney of their offspring. We suggest that paternal PM2.5 exposure causes hypertension in offspring. The mechanism may be involved that paternal PM2.5 exposure-associated oxidative stress induces the elevated renal GRK4 level, leading to the enhanced AT1R expression and its-mediated sodium retention, consequently causes hypertension in male offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the association of miR-106b-5p with neuroinflammation and microglial activation in a status epilepticus (SE) mouse model. We examined changes in the expression of microRNA-106b-5p (miRNA-106b-5p), repulsive guidance molecule A (RGMa), triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2), and the microglia-related markers interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and arginase-1 (Arg-1) in the mouse hippocampus of the lithium–pilocarpine-induced SE mouse model. Eighty-four female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a normal control group (n = 12), and six SE groups (n = 12/group), which were monitored at 6 h and at 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days (d) post-SE induction. Unlike in the dentate gyrus, immunohistochemical staining revealed prominent neuronal swelling at 6 h, significant neuronal loss and apoptosis on day 3, and recovery by day 14 in the hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA)1 and CA3 pyramidal cells in SE mice. We noted elevated levels of miRNA-106b-5p and all microglia-related markers, which peaked at 3 days post-SE, except IL-4, which peaked at 7 days post-SE, indicating inflammation and microglial activation. RGMa and TREM2 levels decreased at 6 h post-SE. All markers but miRNA-106b-5p, RGMa, and TREM2 returned to baseline levels at 21 days post-SE. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay showed that microRNA-106b-5p can interact with RGMa. We observed that miR-106b-5p level increased while both RGMa and TREM2 levels decreased post-SE and showed associations with microglial activation and inflammation in the mouse hippocampus, suggesting their potential as SE therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarcity of reliable methods for synthesizing chiral gem‐diarylmethine borons limits their applications. Herein, we report a method for highly enantioselective dirhodium‐catalyzed B−H bond insertion reactions with diaryl diazomethanes as carbene precursors. These reactions afforded chiral gem‐diarylmethine borane compounds in high yield (up to 99 % yield), high activity (turnover numbers up to 14 300), high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and showed unprecedented broad functional group tolerance. The borane compounds synthesized by this method could be efficiently transformed into diaryl methanol, diaryl methyl amine, and triaryl methane derivatives with good stereospecificity. Mechanistic studies suggested that the borane adduct coordinated to the rhodium catalyst and thus interfered with decomposition of the diazomethane, and that insertion of a rhodium carbene (generated from the diaryl diazomethane) into the B−H bond was most likely the rate‐determining step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of integrated circuits according to Moore's law, traditional silicon-based devices have gradually reached their performance limitation. Nanoelectronics based on carbon nanomaterials provides a broad prospect for the continuation of Moore's law. In particular, in the field of optoelectronic devices, it is necessary to further develop new types of nano-optoelectronic devices. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the representative materials of nanoelectronics with excellent electrical and optical properties, e.g., high mobility, suitable band structure, and good infrared absorption. The application of CNTs in optoelectronic devices is a very attractive research topic, which has been developed rapidly in recent years. Until now, various prototypes of CNT-based optoelectronic devices have been developed. In this Review, we briefly introduce the structure and photoelectric properties of CNTs. Then, according to different photo-electron coupling mechanisms, four types of CNTs based on optoelectronic devices are introduced in detail, namely, solar cells, photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. Intrinsic and composite CNT-based optoelectronic devices are presented in order to describe the development of CNT-based optoelectronic devices. Finally, different material preparation, separation, and mixing methods of CNTs are discussed, which are the methods for basic material preparation for the fabrication of high performance CNT-based optoelectronic devices. An in-depth study of the development trend of CNT-based optoelectronic devices will contribute to the future development of novel high-performance nanoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous scaling down of process nodes, standard cells become much smaller and cell counts are dramatically increased. Pin accessibility becomes one of the major issues causing design rule violations (DRVs). To tackle this problem, many recent works apply machine-learning-based techniques to predict whether a local region has DRV or not by regarding global routing (GR) congestion and local pin density as the main features during the training process. Empirically, however, DRV occurrence is not necessary to be strongly correlated with the two features in advanced nodes. In this article, we propose the first work of deep-learning-based DRV prediction using pin pattern as our major feature to directly identify whether a DRV will exist or not due to bad pin accessibility of the given pin pattern. Unlike most of the existing models that can only be used for DRV prediction, the proposed models can be applied to guide detailed placement for pin accessibility optimization during physical design. Experimental results show that the proposed models are greatly superior than those of previous studies in terms of all quantitative metrics. Additionally, the numbers of DRVs can be dramatically reduced by applying the proposed model-guided detailed placement flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarcity of reliable methods for synthesizing chiral gem‐diarylmethine borons limits their applications. Herein, we report a method for highly enantioselective dirhodium‐catalyzed B−H bond insertion reactions with diaryl diazomethanes as carbene precursors. These reactions afforded chiral gem‐diarylmethine borane compounds in high yield (up to 99 % yield), high activity (turnover numbers up to 14 300), high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and showed unprecedented broad functional group tolerance. The borane compounds synthesized by this method could be efficiently transformed into diaryl methanol, diaryl methyl amine, and triaryl methane derivatives with good stereospecificity. Mechanistic studies suggested that the borane adduct coordinated to the rhodium catalyst and thus interfered with decomposition of the diazomethane, and that insertion of a rhodium carbene (generated from the diaryl diazomethane) into the B−H bond was most likely the rate‐determining step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting antimicrobial peptides (AMPs') function is an important and difficult problem, particularly when AMPs have many multiplex functions, i.e. some AMPs simultaneously have two or three functional classes. By introducing the 'CNN-BiLSTM-SVM classifier' and 'cellular automata image', a new predictor, called iAMP-CA2L, has been developed that can be used to deal with the systems containing both monofunctional and multifunctional AMPs. iAMP-CA2L is a 2-level predictor. The 1st level is to identify whether a given query peptide is an AMP or a non-AMP, while the 2nd level is to predict if it belongs to one or more functional types. As demonstration, the jackknife cross-validation was performed with iAMP-CA2L on a benchmark dataset of AMPs classified into the following 10 functional classes: (1) antibacterial peptides, (2) antiviral peptides, (3) antifungal peptides, (4) antibiofilm peptides, (5) antiparasital peptides, (6) anti-HIV peptides, (7) anticancer (antitumor) peptides, (8) chemotactic peptides, (9) anti-MRSA peptides and (10) antiendotoxin peptides, where none of AMPs included has ≥90% pairwise sequence identity to any other in the same subset. Experiments show that iAMP-CA2L has greatly improved the prediction performance compared with the existing predictors. iAMP-CA2L is freely accessible to the public at the web site http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/ iAMP-CA2L, and the predictor program has been uploaded to https://github.com/liujin66/iAMP-CA2L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Soft‐tissue volume augmentation treatments do not provide the satisfactory long‐term functional and esthetic outcomes. The aim of the study was to develop a standardized digital procedure to design individual soft‐tissue substitutes (STS) and apply mathematical modeling to obtain average shape STS for single posterior tooth defects. Material and methods: Thirty‐three casts from 30 patients were scanned. STS were designed with a computer‐aided design software and a systematic procedure standardized the measurements across all STS using 3D‐analysis software. The occlusal, mesial–distal, and buccal–lingual planes were defined to partition, each STS and produce a mesh. The thickness values of each 3D slice were documented in a coordinate system chart to generate a scatter graph. Graphs were embedded into images (Orange software) and images were analyzed via hierarchical clustering. Results: Three STS groups were identified according to shape. Two shapes corresponded to the maxilla defects: a square (n = 13) with dimensions of 10 mm in a lingual–buccal (length) and 7–10 mm in a mesial–distal (width) direction; a rectangle (n = 11) of 11 mm in length and 4–7 mm in width. The average shape for mandible defects (n = 9) was smaller (6–8 mm in length, 5–10 mm in width). The highest thickness in all STS was in the buccal portion, above the alveolar ridge, with median values of 2 mm. The lowest thickness of 0.2 mm was at the edges. Conclusions: The study developed novel methodology to design customized, as well as average shape STS for volume augmentation. Future STS harboring adapted geometry might increase volume augmentation efficiency and accuracy, while reducing surgical time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a lumped parameter model with two degrees of freedom, the periodic response of the coupled axial-torsional nonlinear vibration of drill strings is studied by HB-AFT (harmonic balance and alternating frequency/time domain) method and numerical simulations. The amplitude-frequency characteristic curves of axial relative displacement and torsional relative angular velocity are given to reveal the mechanism of bit bounce and stick-slip motion. The stability of periodic response is analyzed by Floquet theory, and the boundary conditions of bifurcation of periodic response are given when parameters such as nominal drilling pressure, angular velocity of turntable, and formation stiffness are varied. The results show that the amplitude of the periodic response of the system precipitates a spontaneous jump and Hopf bifurcation may occur when the angular velocity of the turntable is varied. The variation of parameters may lead to the complex dynamic behavior of the system, such as period-doubling motion, quasiperiodic motion, and chaos. Bit bounce and stick-slip phenomenon can be effectively suppressed by varying the angular velocity of turntable and nominal drilling pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fivefold twin (FFT) and lamellar (LAM) structures are the primary configurations during the crystallization of alloys. However, the co-existence of these two structures in one system and the conversion mechanism are barely explored. In this study, we investigated the rapid solidification process of a Ti3Al alloy by using molecular dynamics simulation and discussed the evolution of the microstructure under two first-order phase transitions in detail. The first phase transition followed Ostwald's step rule, and the nucleation pathway in the system was supercooled liquid → BCC → FCC/HCP. A new phase transition pattern of FFTs transformed into a LAM structure leading to a second phase transition was found. The FFT atoms first transformed into other atoms as the partition interface, and then the LAM structure consumed Other atoms and grew further. The interconversions between different clusters were unstable and required complex intermediate states to reach stability. These findings provide a new understanding of the relationship between the FFT and LAM structures, especially for the metal that underwent two-phase transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the study was to define the clinical significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs)/circulating tumor endothelial cells (CTECs) and their subtypes in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. Methods: CTCs/CTECs and their subtypes were determined using SE‐iFISH technology in 33 SCLC patients before initial treatment (B1), after two cycles of chemotherapy (B2), at the completion of chemotherapy (B3), and disease progression (B4). The correlations with clinical characteristics, progression‐free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Results: CTCs and CTECs were detected in 96.6% and 65.5% of patients, respectively. Patients had higher levels of CTCs compared with CTECs in circulation (p < 0.05). Extensive‐stage SCLC patients tended to have higher CTEC counts (p = 0.035), and the detection of CTC‐white blood cell (CTC‐WBC) clusters was associated with a worse response to treatment (p = 0.030). Patients with CTC‐WBC clusters at B1 (17.3 vs. 22.6 months, p = 0.041) and B2 (19.9 vs. 25.2 months, p = 0.018) had significantly shorter OS than those with no detection. Additionally, their presence was revealed as independent predictors for a worse OS in multivariable analyses (B1: HR 9.3, 95% CI: 1.4–48, p = 0.0079; B2: HR 4.4, 95% CI: 1.1–18, p = 0.041). A high CTC level at B4 was an adverse prognostic factor for SCLC patients (PFS: 8.7 vs. 22.5 months, p = 0.0026; OS: 19 months vs. not reached, p = 0.0086). CTC clusters and CTECs also showed prognostic values. Conclusions: The presence of CTC‐WBC clusters at baseline and after two‐cycle chemotherapy and the total CTC counts at the completion of chemotherapy are strong predictors for the prognostic survival of SCLC patients receiving first‐line treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce and study several mean forms of sensitive tuples. It is shown that the topological or measure-theoretical entropy tuples are correspondingly mean sensitive tuples under certain conditions (minimal in the topological setting or ergodic in the measure-theoretical setting). Characterizations of the question when every non-diagonal tuple is mean sensitive are presented. Among other results we show that under minimality assumption a topological dynamical system is weakly mixing if and only if every non-diagonal tuple is mean sensitive and so as a consequence every minimal weakly mixing topological dynamical system is mean n -sensitive for any integer n ≥ 2. Moreover, the notion of weakly sensitive in the mean tuple is introduced and it turns out that this property has some special lift property. As an application we obtain that the maximal mean equicontinuous factor for any topological dynamical system can be induced by the smallest closed invariant equivalence relation containing all weakly sensitive in the mean pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the hydrogen supply system and air supply system jointly impact the output characteristics, and there is a coordination problem between these two systems. To solve this coordination problem, an intelligent control framework is presented that considers the coordination between the air flux controller and hydrogen flux controller in PEMFCs, and an ensemble imitation learning multi-trick deep deterministic policy gradient (EILMMA-DDPG) is advanced for this framework. The algorithm proposed here complies with an ensemble imitation learning policy, i.e., exploiting multiple reinforcement learning explorers that contain actor networks to perform distributed exploration in the environment, thereby improving the exploration efficiency. Moreover, a control algorithm explorer that contains various conventional control algorithms is presented to create model samples over a range of scenarios in an attempt to address sparse rewards and improve the training efficiency in conjunction with an experience probability replay mechanism. Next, multiple tricks are adopted to improve the overestimated Q value. Finally, a model-free intelligent control algorithm capable of coordinating controllers and exhibiting a better global searching ability is developed. In addition, the proposed algorithm is adopted in the control framework of the air and hydrogen supply system in PEMFCs. Furthermore, as revealed from the simulated results, the proposed intelligent control framework can more effectively control the oxygen excess rate (OER) and output voltage. • A coordination framework of air controller and hydrogen controller is presented. • A novel deep reinforcement learning algorithm is proposed to achieve the coordination. • The proposed method exhibit better control performance and robustness. • The proposed method are capable of meeting the real-time control requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: Important progress has been made in the development of energetic molecules with high performance by computer‐aided molecular design in recent years, but structural novelty of organic scaffolds is insufficient. In this work, we propose an intra‐ring bridging strategy inspired by the known energetic nitramines to design novel polycyclic and cage energetic molecules. More than 100 energetic structures were designed by introducing the C—C bridges and increasing the ring size. The synthesis difficulty is considered besides the two most concerned properties of EMs, energy and safety. After a comprehensive estimation, a symmetric cage molecule labeled as 8U‐30 was finally selected because of its relatively high detonation performance, and comparable impact sensitivity as well as synthetic accessibility with CL‐20. Hopefully, the proposed strategy could be utilized in further molecular design to gain various scaffolds, especially cage structures, for different demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new thermoset PLA resin was synthesized. The structure and performance of the thermoset PLA resin were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C-NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) testing methods. The results indicate that thermoset PLA resin has been synthesized successfully, and the thermal stability of thermoset PLA is better than that of linear PLA. Thermoset PLA resin and ramie/thermoset poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites were prepared by casting and hot-pressing, respectively. The degradation behavior was evaluated by surface morphology observation, scanning electron microscope (SEM), pH detection and FTIR analysis. The results show that the thermoset PLA resin fully degrades after 20 days, and the degradation rate of ramie/thermoset PLA composites is only 45.27% after 30 days, which is lower than that of thermoset PLA. The reason is due to that ramie fabric as the barrier hinders the moisture and microorganisms enter the interior of the composites. Moreover, according to the FTIR analysis, the ester groups of thermoset PLA are firstly hydrolyzed, and thermoset PLA is decomposed into low molecular weight oligomers. Then thermoset PLA and oligomers are continuously hydrolyzed by moisture and microorganisms until mineralized into H2O and CO2. Besides, the soil pH value detection proves that no acidic or alkaline harmful degradation products are produced during the soil degradation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-degree-of-freedom model for a two-beam structure with nonlinear joints is presented and used to investigate the nonlinear responses of the system to a primary resonance of its first two modes in the presence of three-to-one internal resonance. By using the equilibrium conditions between the beams and the joints, the joint dynamic characteristics included linear and nonlinear torsional stiffness are introduced into the model of the system. The first two global mode functions of the two-beam structure, which can be obtained by the global mode method, are used to formulate the nonlinear dynamic model of the system and the specific linear torsional stiffness that result in three-to-one internal resonance is mainly considered. The method of multiple scales is employed to obtain the governing equations of the amplitudes and phases for the two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamical system under the three-to-one internal resonance condition. Based on the modulation equations obtained by the method of multiple scales, the approximation solutions are derived and compared with those obtained by the numerical integration method. Through the cases of primary resonance of the first two modes with the three-to-one internal resonance condition, the frequency–response and force-response curves are plotted for investigating the nonlinear dynamic behavior in the two-beam structure connected with nonlinear joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient ionic liquids (ILs) recycle technology will increase the economic viability of lignocellulosic biorefinery. The availability of recycling 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride for rice straw (RS) pretreatment was conducted. The kosmotropic salt K3PO4 (TKP) solution was used as antisolvent for cellulose precipitation and forming a three‐phase system consisting of biomass, ILs‐rich, and salt‐rich phases. The upper ILs phase and the bottom TKP phase were recycled without additional purification, which significantly simplifies the process for recovering ILs. Subsequently, the RS pretreated with multiple reusing ILs (RPRS) were investigated by components analysis, structure evolution, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation experiments. The results showed that unpurified reusing ILs led to further delignification and improvement of enzyme accessibility of the pretreated RS. The reducing sugar yield of RS pretreated with 8th reusing IL (8th RPRS) could still reach 98.9%, and the ethanol and succinic acid concentrations achieved 91.9 and 29.3 g/L by simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation. The present study demonstrated that the ILs recovered by phase‐separation process could be used for RS pretreatment, and achieving high titer ethanol fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Robots are increasingly being used for surgical procedures in various specialties. However, information about the accuracy of robot-assisted dental implant surgery is lacking. This pilot clinical study aimed to investigate the accuracy of an autonomous dental implant robotic (ADIR) system in partially edentulous cases. Material and methods: The ADIR system was used to place a total of 20 implants in 13 participants. Implant deviation from the planned positions was assessed to determine accuracy. The entry, apex, and angular deviations were described as means ± standard deviation. A two-sample t test was used to compare implant deviation between the flap and flapless groups and between maxillary and mandibular implants (α =.05). Results: The entry, apex, and angular deviations were 0.65 ± 0.32 mm, 0.66 ± 0.34 mm, and 1.52 ± 1.01°, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the flap and flapless approaches (P >.05). No adverse events were encountered in any of the participants. Conclusions: DIR accuracy in this clinical series was comparable to that reported for static and dynamic computer-assisted implant surgery. Robotic computer-assisted implant surgery may be useful for dental implant placement, potentially improving the quality and safety of the procedure. Clinical relevance: The findings of this study showed that the ADIR system could be useful for dental implant surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep connection among braids, knots and topological physics has provided valuable insights into studying topological states in various physical systems. However, identifying distinct braid groups and knot topology embedded in non-Hermitian systems is challenging and requires significant efforts. Here, we demonstrate that an unsupervised learning with the representation basis of su(n) Lie algebra on n-fold extended non-Hermitian bands can fully classify braid group and knot topology therein, without requiring any prior mathematical knowledge or any pre-defined topological invariants. We demonstrate that the approach successfully identifies different topological elements, such as unlink, unknot, Hopf link, Solomon ring, trefoil, and so on, by employing generalized Gell-Mann matrices in non-Hermitian models with n=2 and n=3 energy bands. Moreover, since eigenstate information of non-Hermitian bands is incorporated in addition to eigenvalues, the approach distinguishes the different parity-time symmetry and breaking phases, recognizes the opposite chirality of braids and knots, and identifies out distinct topological phases that were overlooked before. Our study shows significant potential of machine learning in classification of knots, braid groups, and non-Hermitian topological phases. The topology of braids and knots plays a central role in the understanding of many physical systems. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that unsupervised learning can be used to fully classify the braid group and knot topology associated with the bands of non-Hermitian systems, without requiring any prior information such as mathematical knowledge of topological invariants [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]