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Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have been recognized as one of the most hopeful new energy storage devices. However, the shuttle effect of polysulfides seriously affects the commercial use of LSBs. In order to alleviate the shuttle effect, in this paper, A novel MoC/N-C composite was firstly prepared by calcining Mo doped ZIF-8 precursor in a nitrogen environment, and then the as prepared MoC/N-C composite was coated on the surface of the commercial polypropylene separator to act as a block layer of lithium polysulfides. The N-C derived from ZIF-8 under high-temperature carbonization can provide good electrical conductivity and block the diffusion of polysulfides by physical adsorption. At the same time, MoC will provide abundant chemisorption sites to effectively hinder the shuttle of polysulfides and promote their redox reactions. Because of the adsorption and catalytic function of MoC/N-C composite, the LSB battery show excellent electrochemical properties even at a high sulfur loading. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new method to generate GO by transmission laser is proposed, which could effectively reduce the burning loss of materials. • One of the lowest sheet resistance values for LRGO so far, namely 75 Ω/sq, is obtained in air. • Maximum height expansion up to 610% is found, indicating a favorable structure for flexible electronics. • Transmission laser processing helps the bonding performance of PET substrates with LRGO layer. Graphene has great application prospects in electronic chips and sensors due to its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. Many methods have been reported to generate graphene, among which the use of a laser to irradiate graphene oxide (GO) surface is capable of reducing and patterning GO simultaneously. To date, the sheet resistance of laser reduced graphene oxide (LRGO) in the air is somewhat high. In this paper, we report a new method for GO reduction by femtosecond laser transmitting from the GO-free side of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Under this technique, the sheet resistance of 75 Ω/sq, one of the lowest in the air, is obtained. The mechanism of sheet resistance evolution is examined. In a low laser power range, removing oxygen-containing groups by breaking C-O bonds plays a major role in sheet resistance dropping. When laser power rises to a high range, the removal of oxygen-containing groups and the conversion of sp3 to sp2 hybridized carbon work simultaneously. Meanwhile, the influence of PET substrate has been taken into consideration. More interestingly, LRGO could expand up to 610% in height. In addition, the adhesion between LRGO and PET reaches the 5B level, further proving its essential bonding property for flexible electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Temperature observation time and type influenced the assessment of heat impact on mortality, and different health events may have different temperature thresholds beyond which these health events increase substantially. This study aimed to investigate whether temperature observation time and type influenced the assessment of heatwave impact on morbidity, to assess how heatwave duration modified heatwave impact on morbidity, and to examine whether there was a consistent temperature threshold beyond which five different types of health events increased sharply. Methods Minutely air temperature data in Brisbane, Australia, were collected and converted into five daily temperature indicators observed at different time points or calculated using different approaches. Twenty-nine heatwave definitions for each temperature indicator were used to examine the effects of heatwaves on five health events (i.e., ambulance service uses, emergency department attendances (EDAs), hospitalizations, possible EDAs of heat and/or dehydration, and possible hospitalizations of heat and/or dehydration) by quasi-Poisson models. Results Mean temperature was slightly better than maximum temperature in predicting heatwave impact on morbidity (P < 0.05), and no appreciable difference in model performance was observed amongst different mean temperature indicators. Two-day-duration heatwaves were more detrimental than longer-lasting heatwaves when heatwave intensity was not high, and 97th percentile appeared to be a consistent temperature threshold for most heatwave-related health events (P < 0.05). Conclusions It seems desirable in the development of heatwave definition and early warning systems to use mean temperature as an exposure indicator, and to adopt the 97th percentile of temperature as the trigger in Brisbane. Health sectors need to better prepare for short-lasting heatwaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Carbonyl sulfide (COS), an analogue of carbon dioxide (CO2), can be converted to CO2 via the carbonic anhydride enzymes widely existing in nature. COS is an ideal monomer for making poly(monothiocarbonate)s, which are difficult to synthesize by traditional methods. Herein, for the first time, we describe an anionic copolymerization of COS with epoxides using alkali metal alkoxides as the catalysts (initiators), affording poly(monothiocarbonate)s with 100% alternating degree, >99% tail‐to‐head (T‐H) content, high number‐average molecular weights (Mns, up to 90.3 kg/mol) with narrow molecular weight distributions (Đ=Mw/Mn, 1.05—1.31 for COS/propylene oxide copolymers) under solvent‐free and mild conditions. Oxygen‐sulfur exchange reaction (O/S ER), which can result in the production of contaminated dithiocarbonate and carbonate units in the main chain, was nearly completely depressed at 0 oC. In addition, in contrast to previously reported salen chromium (iron) complexes that required multiple synthetic steps, this work provides simple, low‐cost, and effective catalysts for making colorless sulfur‐containing polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation (TPDGAC), this study investigates the double-layer structure of the Hadley circulation (HC) and its interdecadal evolution characteristics by using monthly horizontal wind field from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data from 1948-2011. The following major conclusions are drawn: First, the double-layer structure of the HC is an objective fact, and it constantly exists in April, May, June, October and November in the Southern Hemisphere. Second, the double-layer structure is more obvious in the Southern than in the Northern Hemisphere. Since the double-layer structure is sloped in the vertical direction, it should be taken into consideration when analyzing the variations of the strength and location of the center of the HC. Third, the strength of the doublelayer structure of the HC in the Southern Hemisphere consistently exhibits decadal variations with a strong, weak and strong pattern in all five months (April, May, June, October, and November), with cycles of 20-30 a and 40-60 a. Fourth, the center of the HC (mean position of the double-layer structure) in the Southern Hemisphere consistently and remarkably shifts southward in all the five months. The net poleward shifts over the 64 years are 5.18°, 2.11°, 2.50°, 1.79° and 5.76° for the five respective months, with a mean shift of 3.47°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A heatwave can be a devastating natural disaster to human health, and elderly people are particularly vulnerable. With the continuing rise in earth's surface temperature alongside the world's aging population, research on the mortality burden of heatwave for the older population remains relatively sparse. The potential magnitude of benefits of averting such deaths may be considerable. Objectives This paper examined the short-term mortality displacement (or “harvesting”) of heatwave, characterized the heatwave-mortality relationship, and estimated death burden and health costs attributable to heatwave among the elderly in Australia. Methods We collected daily data on the temperature and deaths of people aged ≥75 years in the five largest cities of Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide), totaling 368,767 deaths in different periods between 1988 and 2011. A total of 15-tiered heatwave definitions, based on intensity (95th to 99th percentiles of temperature distribution) and duration (two or more consecutive days), were used to quantify heatwave effects, using time-series regression and random-effects meta-analysis. We calculated attributable deaths for each city and by different types of heatwave. Potential economic benefits in monetary terms were also estimated, considering that heat-related deaths are avoidable. Results Among the Australian elderly population, we found significant associations between heatwave and deaths, with raised mortality immediately in the first few days followed by lower-than-expected mortality. In general, heatwave was associated with an average death increase of 28% (95% confidence interval: 15% to 42%), and greater increases were mostly observed for more intense heatwaves across multiple megacities. During the study period, there were dozens to hundreds of deaths attributable to heatwave for each city, equating to an economic loss of several million Australian dollars every year. Although the estimated attributable deaths varied by heatwave intensity and duration, the pattern was not consistent across cities. Conclusions Heatwave caused harvesting effects on mortality in the elderly population of Australia, and contributed to a substantial amount of death burden and indirect financial costs. To lessen the health impacts of heatwave in the affected regions, effective heatwave early warning systems and interventions targeted at the elderly population could be beneficial, both now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a class of new high order reconstructed DG (rDG) methods based on the compact least-squares (CLS) reconstruction [23,24] is developed for simulating the two dimensional steady-state compressible flows on hybrid grids. The proposed method combines the advantages of the DG discretization with the flexibility of the compact least-squares reconstruction, which exhibits its superior potential in enhancing the level of accuracy and reducing the computational cost compared to the underlying DG methods with respect to the same number of degrees of freedom. To be specific, a third-order compact least-squares rDG( p 1 p 2 ) method and a fourth-order compact least-squares rDG( p 2 p 3 ) method are developed and investigated in this work. In this compact least-squares rDG method, the low order degrees of freedom are evolved through the underlying DG( p 1 ) method and DG( p 2 ) method, respectively, while the high order degrees of freedom are reconstructed through the compact least-squares reconstruction, in which the constitutive relations are built by requiring the reconstructed polynomial and its spatial derivatives on the target cell to conserve the cell averages and the corresponding spatial derivatives on the face-neighboring cells. The large sparse linear system resulted by the compact least-squares reconstruction can be solved relatively efficient when it is coupled with the temporal discretization in the steady-state simulations. A number of test cases are presented to assess the performance of the high order compact least-squares rDG methods, which demonstrates their potential to be an alternative approach for the high order numerical simulations of steady-state compressible flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an adjoint-based high-order h-adaptive direct discontinuous Galerkin method is developed and analyzed for the two dimensional steady state compressible Navier–Stokes equations. Particular emphasis is devoted to the analysis of the adjoint consistency for three different direct discontinuous Galerkin discretizations: including the original direct discontinuous Galerkin method (DDG), the direct discontinuous Galerkin method with interface correction (DDG(IC)) and the symmetric direct discontinuous Galerkin method (SDDG). Theoretical analysis shows the extra interface correction term adopted in the DDG(IC) method and the SDDG method plays a key role in preserving the adjoint consistency. To be specific, for the model problem considered in this work, we prove that the original DDG method is not adjoint consistent, while the DDG(IC) method and the SDDG method can be adjoint consistent with appropriate treatment of boundary conditions and correct modifications towards the underlying output functionals. The performance of those three DDG methods is carefully investigated and evaluated through typical test cases. Based on the theoretical analysis, an adjoint-based h-adaptive DDG(IC) method is further developed and evaluated, numerical experiment shows its potential in the applications of adjoint-based adaptation for simulating compressible flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binding stoichiometry, binding constants, and inclusion mode of some water-soluble negatively charged cyclodextrin derivatives, i.e. heptakis-[6-deoxy-6-(3-sulfanylpropanoic acid)]-β-cyclodextrin( H1 ), heptakis-[6-deoxy-6-(2-sulfanylacetic acid)]-β-cyclodextrin( H2 ), mono-[6-deoxy-6-(3-sulfanylpropanoic acid)]-β-cyclodextrin ( H3 ) and mono-[6-deoxy-6-(2-sulfanylacetic acid)]-β-cyclodextrin ( H4 ), with three anticancer drugs, i.e. irinotecan hydrochloride; topotecan hydrochloride; doxorubicin hydrochloride, were investigated by means of 1 H NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, mass spectra and 2D NMR. Polyanionic cyclodextrins H1 - H2 showed the significantly high binding abilities of up to 2.6 × 10 4 –2.0 × 10 5 M −1 towards the selected anticancer drugs, which were nearly 50–1000 times higher than the corresponding Ks values of native β-cyclodextrin. In addition, these polyanionic cyclodextrins also showed the pH-controlled release behaviors. That is, the anticancer drugs could be efficiently encapsulated in the cyclodextrin cavity at a pH value similar to that of serum but sufficiently released at an endosomal pH value of a cancer cell, which would make these cyclodextrin derivatives the potential carriers for anticancer drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyester synthesis from the alternating copolymerization of epoxides with cyclic anhydrides via a metal-free route remains a key challenge. This work reports the development of a highly active organocatalytic route for the copolymerization of a spectrum of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. Fully alternating polyesters were synthesized by a variety of organic Lewis acid-base pairs including organoboranes and quaternary onium salts. The effect of the acidity, type, and size of Lewis pairs on the catalytic activity and selectivity of the copolymerization is presented. The undesirable transesterification and etherification were effectively suppressed even in the case of complete conversion of the cyclic anhydride. This could be ascribed to the formation of a unique tetracoordinate bond-carboxylate (or alkoxide) anion. The Lewis pairs are highly active, with a turnover frequency of 102 and 303 h-1 for the copolymerization of propylene oxide with maleic anhydride and phthalic anhydride, respectively, at 80 °C. Block polyester with narrow polydispersity of 1.05 was achieved via a sequential addition strategy. This work provides robust organocatalysts for the selective copolymerization of epoxides with cyclic anhydrides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of the early-onset seizure post-stroke patients who had seizures occurring at stroke presentation (SSP) with other patients without SSP at a single institution in Eastern China. Methods We reviewed 20,947 ischemic stroke patients in our hospital electronic medical records system from January 2007 to December 2016. Among them, there were 91 (0.43%) patients with early-onset seizure post-stroke. Among these 91 patients, there were 35 (0.16%) SSP patients and another 56 (0.27%) were designated as non SSP patients because they also had early-onset seizure post-stroke, but without SSP. We compared the clinical presentations of the SSP patients with those of the non SSP patients including baseline stroke risk factors, and 10-year Kaplan-Meier death risk after their first stroke. Results In the SSP patients, 25.7% of them presented with posterior circulation infarction, whereas only 12.5% of the non SSP patients had this condition ( P < 0.05). In contrast, 17.1% of the SSP patients were being treated with antiepileptic drugs at discharge whereas 37.5% of the non SSP patients received such treatment ( P < 0.05). The percentage of SSP patients with temporal lobe lesions was less than in non SSP patients ( P < 0.05). However, brain stem and thalamus lesions were more frequently seen in SSP patients than non in SSP patients ( P < 0.05). The risk factors for ischemic stroke including a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and atrial fibrillation were the same in these two groups ( P > 0.05). In the SSP patients group, the 10-year risk of death was 36.9% after the initial seizure incident, and in the non SSP patients group, the 10-year death risk was 40.1%, but this difference between the two groups was not significant ( P > 0.05). Conclusions Ischemic stroke patients with SSP had some unique signs that included a higher incidence of posterior circulation infarction than non SSP patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reported a new family energetic complexes constructed from alkali metals (K, Rb and Cs) and 7-amino-4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan (ADNBF). The crystal structures, thermal decomposition behaviors, sensitivity and catalytic properties of the novel materials were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, TG-DSC measurements and mechanical sensitivity tests. These crystals belonged to a triclinic and monoclinic system with space group P-1 and P21/n. ADNBF and complexes 1-3 exhibited one exothermic process with an exothermic peak temperature of about 265 °C, and the trend of thermal stability for ADNBF and complexes 1-3 was found to be in the order of 1<2<3

For two positive integers k , r , a ( k , r ) -coloring (or r -hued k -coloring) of a graph G is a proper k -vertex-coloring such that every vertex v of degree d G ( v ) is adjacent to at least min { d G ( v ) , r } distinct colors. The r -hued chromatic number, χ r ( G ) , is the smallest integer k for which G has a ( k , r ) -coloring. The maximum average degree of G , denoted by mad ( G ) , equals max { 2 | E ( H ) | ∕ | V ( H ) | : H is a subgraph of G } . In this paper, we prove the following results using the well-known discharging method. For a graph G , if mad ( G ) < 12 5 , then χ 3 ( G ) ≤ 6 ; if mad ( G ) < 7 3 , then χ 3 ( G ) ≤ 5 ; if G has no C 5 -components and mad ( G ) < 8 3 , then χ 2 ( G ) ≤ 4 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A relay photoredox catalysis strategy concomitant with [1,5] hydrogen atom transfer has been applied in the construction of a biologically important indolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline framework via a cascade reaction. This reaction enables double C(sp3)–H bond functionalization and formation of two carbon–carbon double bonds from readily available starting materials in an efficient and step-economical manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuronal loss is a prominent phenomenon in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and alcohol-induced brain damage. Alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk of AD, regardless of the type of alcoholic beverage. Furthermore, the detrimental effect of excessive alcohol consumption on the risk of AD is exacerbated among people carrying apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele, the major genetic risk factor for AD. However, how APOE ε4 and alcohol abuse synergistically enhance the possibility of AD is unclear. Here we show that in N2a cells stably expressing human APP695 (N2a-APP), high-concentration ethanol-induced neurotoxicity was significantly augmented in the presence of apoE4 protein, compared with apoE3 protein. Early and late apoptotic cells were apparently more in cells treated with the combination of apoE4 and ethanol, compared with that of apoE3 and ethanol. Inhibition of apoptosis using a pan-caspase inhibitor z-vad resulted in abolishment of the apoE isoform-specific effect on high-concentration ethanol-induced neurotoxicity. Moreover, compared with apoE3, apoE4 augmented ethanol-induced cellular oxidative stress, and pre-incubation with a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger NAC abrogated the specific effect of apoE4 on ethanol-induced neurotoxicity. Taken together, our results for the first time demonstrate that apoE4 and high-concentration ethanol synergistically enhance neurotoxicity through elevating cellular oxidative stress and increasing neuronal apoptosis, and support the notion that avoiding excessive alcohol consumption can help to prevent AD especially in APOE ε4 carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Early and intensive atorvastatin treatment can decrease nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (nsVT) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The objective of this study was to compare the effects of hydrophilic rosuvastatin and lipophilic atorvastatin on nsVT in STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: The data from a cohort of patients undergoing primary PCI at Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital from January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016 were analyzed. The patients were divided into the rosuvastatin group and the atorvastatin group based on which kind of statins that they had received. The endpoint of the study was the occurrence of nsVT on either electrocardiogram monitoring or Holter monitoring. Results: A total of 301 patients were enrolled in the study (rosuvastatin group: n = 103; atorvastatin group: n = 198). The baseline and procedural characteristics were similar between the two groups, except that total ischemic time in the rosuvastatin group was markedly longer than that in the atorvastatin group (8 (5-16) h vs. 6 (4-12) h; P = 0.001). The administration of rosuvastatin was significantly associated with lower occurrence of nsVT than that of atorvastatin (9.71 vs. 19.70%; P = 0.026). Multivariable logistic regression analysis suggested that the independent predictors of nsVT included rosuvastatin (odds ratio (OR) 0.397, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.176-0.894), current smoking (OR 2.307, 95% CI 1.011-5.262), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (OR 1.060, 95% CI 1.023-1.098). Conclusions: The effects of rosuvastatin on nsVT might be better than that of atorvastatin in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the strict requirements for processing quality, the metal-bonded small ball-end diamond wheel (SBDW) has become a promising choice to process the hard and brittle materials with small concave surface. Unlike conventional diamond wheels, the profile accuracy of SBDW would so greatly affect the form accuracy of ground small concave surfaces that a truing system must be adopted to insure the accuracy of SBDW. Hence, the effects of kinematic parameters of the truing system on the on-machine electric discharge truing (EDT) of SBDW are investigated. The effects of the errors from kinematics, electrode geometry and relative position on truing are analyzed by establishing the mathematical model through screw theory. In the experiments, the effects of spindle speeds of SBDW and tool electrode on truing are investigated and the complex component with small concave surfaces is ground by the optimally trued SBDW. The results indicate that there are more factors affecting the dimension accuracy than profile accuracy of the trued SBDW. Each factor affects dimension accuracy equally, while the radial run-out error of grinding wheel spindle influences profile accuracy more significantly than others. The spindle speed of SBDW affects the profile accuracy more remarkably than that of tool electrode, and the relative speed between them affects the truing efficiency and surface quality of SBDW. The final profile error (PV) and surface roughness (Ra) of the practically ground component are 0.328 μm and 50.2 nm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) or High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI), a tensor field or a spherical function field (e.g., an orientation distribution function field), can be estimated from measured diffusion weighted images. In this paper, inspired by the microscopic theoretical treatment of phases in liquid crystals, we introduce a novel mathematical framework, called Director Field Analysis (DFA), to study local geometric structural information of white matter based on the reconstructed tensor field or spherical function field: (1) We propose a set of mathematical tools to process general director data, which consists of dyadic tensors that have orientations but no direction. (2) We propose Orientational Order (OO) and Orientational Dispersion (OD) indices to describe the degree of alignment and dispersion of a spherical function in a single voxel or in a region, respectively; (3) We also show how to construct a local orthogonal coordinate frame in each voxel exhibiting anisotropic diffusion; (4) Finally, we define three indices to describe three types of orientational distortion (splay, bend, and twist) in a local spatial neighborhood, and a total distortion index to describe distortions of all three types. To our knowledge, this is the first work to quantitatively describe orientational distortion (splay, bend, and twist) in general spherical function fields from DTI or HARDI data. The proposed DFA and its related mathematical tools can be used to process not only diffusion MRI data but also general director field data, and the proposed scalar indices are useful for detecting local geometric changes of white matter for voxel-based or tract-based analysis in both DTI and HARDI acquisitions. The related codes and a tutorial for DFA will be released in DMRITool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In diffusion MRI (dMRI), a good sampling scheme is important for efficient acquisition and robust reconstruction. Diffusion weighted signal is normally acquired on single or multiple shells in q-space. Signal samples are typically distributed uniformly on different shells to make them invariant to the orientation of structures within tissue, or the laboratory coordinate frame. The electrostatic energy minimization (EEM) method, originally proposed for single shell sampling scheme in dMRI, was recently generalized to multi-shell schemes, called generalized EEM (GEEM). GEEM has been successfully used in the human connectome project. However, EEM does not directly address the goal of optimal sampling, i.e., achieving large angular separation between sampling points. In this paper, we propose a more natural formulation, called spherical code (SC), to directly maximize the minimal angle between different samples in single or multiple shells. We consider not only continuous problems to design single or multiple shell sampling schemes, but also discrete problems to uniformly extract sub-sampled schemes from an existing single or multiple shell scheme, and to order samples in an existing scheme. We propose five algorithms to solve the above problems, including an incremental SC (ISC), a sophisticated greedy algorithm called iterative maximum overlap construction (IMOC), an 1-Opt greedy method, a mixed integer linear programming method, and a constrained non-linear optimization method. To our knowledge, this is the first work to use the SC formulation for single or multiple shell sampling schemes in dMRI. Experimental results indicate that SC methods obtain larger angular separation and better rotational invariance than the state-of-the-art EEM and GEEM. The related codes and a tutorial have been released in DMRITool.11

https://diffusionmritool.github.io/tutorial_qspacesampling.html

In this paper, uniaxial compression tests were carried out on a series of composite rock specimens with different dip angles, which were made from two types of rock-like material with different strength. The acoustic emission technique was used to monitor the acoustic signal characteristics of composite rock specimens during the entire loading process. At the same time, an optical non-contact 3D digital image correlation technique was used to study the evolution of axial strain field and the maximal strain field before and after the peak strength at different stress levels during the loading process. The effect of bedding plane inclination on the deformation and strength during uniaxial loading was analyzed. The methods of solving the elastic constants of hard and weak rock were described. The damage evolution process, deformation and failure mechanism, and failure mode during uniaxial loading were fully determined. The experimental results show that the $$\theta = 0{^{\circ }}$$ - $$45{^{\circ }}$$ specimens had obvious plastic deformation during loading, and the brittleness of the $$\theta = 60{^{\circ }}$$ - $$90{^{\circ }}$$ specimens gradually increased during the loading process. When the anisotropic angle $$\theta $$ increased from $$0{^{\circ }}$$ to $$90{^{\circ }}$$ , the peak strength, peak strain, and apparent elastic modulus all decreased initially and then increased. The failure mode of the composite rock specimen during uniaxial loading can be divided into three categories: tensile fracture across the discontinuities ( $$\theta = 0{^{\circ }}$$ - $$30{^{\circ }})$$ , sliding failure along the discontinuities ( $$\theta = 45{^{\circ }}$$ - $$75{^{\circ }})$$ , and tensile-split along the discontinuities ( $$\theta = 90{^{\circ }})$$ . The axial strain of the weak and hard rock layers in the composite rock specimen during the loading process was significantly different from that of the $$\theta = 0{^{\circ }}$$ - $$45{^{\circ }}$$ specimens and was almost the same as that of the $$\theta = 60{^{\circ }}$$ - $$90{^{\circ }}$$ specimens. As for the strain localization highlighted in the maximum principal strain field, the $$\theta = 0{^{\circ }}$$ - $$30{^{\circ }}$$ specimens appeared in the rock matrix approximately parallel to the loading direction, while in the $$\theta = 45{^{\circ }}$$ - $$90{^{\circ }}$$ specimens it appeared at the hard and weak rock layer interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a smooth, non-compact, complete, boundaryless, connected Riemannian manifold there are two kinds of functions: Busemann functions with respect to rays and barrier functions with respect to lines (if there exists at least one). In this paper we collect some known properties on Busemann functions and introduce some new fundamental properties on barrier functions. Based on these properties of barrier functions, we could define some relations on the set of lines and thus classify them. With the equivalence relation we introduced, we present a generalization of a rigidity conjecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Unstable weather, such as intra- and inter-day temperature variability, can impair the health and shorten the survival time of population around the world. Climate change will cause Earth's surface temperature rise, but has unclear effects on temperature variability, making it urgent to understand the characteristics of the burden of temperature variability on mortality, regionally and nationally. Objectives This paper aims to quantify the mortality risk of exposure to short-term temperature variability, estimate the resulting death toll and explore how the strength of temperature variability effects will vary as a function of city-level characteristics. Methods Ten-year (2000–2009) time-series data on temperature and mortality were collected for five largest Australia's cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide), collectively registering 708,751 deaths in different climates. Short-term temperature variability was captured and represented as the hourly temperature standard deviation within two days. Three-stage analyses were used to assess the burden of temperature variability on mortality. First, we modelled temperature variability-mortality relation and estimated the relative risk of death for each city, using a time-series quasi-Poisson regression model. Second, we used meta-analysis to pool the city-specific estimates, and meta-regression to explore if some city-level factors will modify the population vulnerability to temperature variability. Finally, we calculated the city-specific deaths attributable to temperature variability, and applied such estimates to the whole of Australia as a reflection of the nation-wide death burden associated with temperature variability. Results We found evidence of significant associations between temperature variability and mortality in all cities assessed. Deaths associated with each 1 °C rise in temperature variability elevated by 0.28% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05%, 0.52%) in Melbourne to 1.00% (95%CI: 0.52%, 1.48%) in Brisbane, with a pooled estimate of 0.51% (95%CI: 0.33%, 0.69%) for Australia. Subtropical and temperate regions showed no apparent difference in temperature variability impacts. Meta-regression analyses indicated that the mortality risk could be influenced by city-specific factors: latitude, mean temperature, population density and the prevalence of several chronic diseases. Taking account of contributions from the entire time-series, temperature variability was estimated to account for 0.99% to 3.24% of deaths across cities, with a nation-wide attributable fraction of 1.67% (9.59 deaths per 100, 000 population per year). Conclusions Hourly temperature variability may be an important risk factor of weather-related deaths and led to a sizeable mortality burden. This study underscores the need for developing specific and effective interventions in Australia to lessen the health consequences of temperature variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Although not life threatening, hemifacial spasm (HFS) can be disabling and significantly affect quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to assess the major factors affecting the QOL and further to investigate the impact of microvascular decompression (MVD) on QOL in patients with HFS. Methods Patients with HFS who underwent MVD in our department between 2013 and 2014 were included in this study. The validated, disease-specific questionnaire (HFS-30) was used to evaluate the QOL in patients with HFS before surgery and 1 year after MVD. The clinical data of these patients were collected prospectively and statistically analyzed. Results A total of 116 consecutive patients were enrolled in this study, including 69 women and 47 men, with a mean age of 43.3 ± 7.8 years. The global QOL was significantly impaired in patients with HFS. There was a positive correlation of severity of HFS with patient's QOL both in physical and mental health domains ( r = 0.34, P = 0.02; r = 0.46, P = 0.03). Patients with a higher educational level tended to have a worse QOL in the mental health domain ( r = 0.43, P = 0.02). Seventy-nine patients (68.1%) were spasm free immediately postoperatively, 106 (91.4%) were spasm free at 1-year follow-up. There were significant improvements across all subscales of the HFS-30 questionnaire between preoperative and postoperative responses, and 84.5% of patients experienced significant improvement in QOL after MVD. Conclusions HFS affects QOL both physically and mentally. Patients with severe HFS symptoms or a higher educational level are at higher risk of worse QOL. MVD not only provides high spasm-relief rate but also leads to significantly higher QOL after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Hemifacial spasm (HFS) associated with Chiari I malformation (CIM) is rare. This study aimed to analyze the frequency of HFS associated with CIM in our department and further to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes of these cases. Methods Twenty-eight of 831 patients with HFS who fulfilled the criteria for CIM were analyzed retrospectively. In this series, microvascular decompression (MVD) was performed in 23 patients (82.1%). The remaining 5 patients (17.9%) with obvious symptoms attributable to CIM were treated only with foramen magnum decompression. The mean follow-up period was 41 ± 21.7 months. Results The frequency of HFS associated with CIM was 3.4%. There were 19 women (67.9%) and 9 men (32.1%) with a mean age of 36.4 ± 7.5 years. The most common symptoms were headache, paraesthesias, and muscular weakness with the exception of typical HFS. Seventeen patients (73.9%) experienced immediate postoperative spasm relief, and 21 patients (91.3%) were spasm relief at discharge after MVD. However, 3 patients (14.3%) experienced delayed recurrence of HFS after successful MVD in the follow-up. After foramen magnum decompression, 3 of 5 patients experienced complete relief of the spasm, and 4 patients showed improvement in the CIM-related symptoms. Conclusions The results suggest that MVD can still be an effective treatment for HFS when it coexists with CIM. Furthermore, posterior fossa crowdedness may be a common risk factor for the 2 diseases, and foramen magnum decompression should be considered as the primary procedure in patients with HFS and symptomatic CIM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of Ti substitutional additions on the mechanical and electrochemical corrosion behavior of β-Ta 5 Si 3 were investigated through both theoretical calculation and experiment. Initially, first-principles calculations, based on density functional theory, were used to guide compositional design, according to the calculation of mechanical parameters (for example, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, the shear modulus/bulk modulus ratio and Poisson's ratio). This analysis showed that optimum mechanical performance may be achieved through Ta atoms in the Ta 20 Si 12 unit cell being replaced by two Ti atoms. Subsequently, both the binary β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating and the optimized Ti-alloyed β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating (i.e., β-(Ta 0.902 Ti 0.098 ) 5 Si 3 ) were deposited onto Ti–6Al–4V substrates using a double cathode glow discharge plasma method. Both as-deposited coatings exhibited a tetragonal crystal structure with fine equiaxed grains ∼4 nm in diameter. The mechanical properties of the coatings were determined by both nanoindentation and Vickers indentation techniques, and their electrochemical corrosion behavior was examined by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott-Schottky analysis in naturally aerated 0.9 wt.% NaCl solution at 37 °C. These investigations showed that the addition of Ti significantly improved the damage resistance of β-Ta 5 Si 3 , with little negative impact on its corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work was to study the catalytic reaction and its mechanism of ammonium perchlorate (AP) with cobalt complex of 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (Co-LLM-105) during thermal decomposition process. At first, the catalytic performance of Co-LLM-105 on the thermal decomposition of AP was investigated by TG-DSC, TG-FTIR, non-isothermal kinetic and α- T kinetic curves analyses. Secondly, the thermal decomposition mechanism of Co-LLM-105 in the absence and presence of AP was proposed based on TG, DTG, DSC and thermolysis/RSFTIR analyses. The results showed that Co-LLM-105 exhibited excellent catalytic activity on the thermal decomposition of AP. Meanwhile, AP also exhibited some catalytic effects on the thermal decomposition of Co-LLM-105. Both of the components had catalytic effects on each other during the process. The formation of active CoCO, CoO, CoO and Co(NH)(ClO) in situ in the system accounted for the higher catalytic activity of Co-LLM-105 for the thermal decomposition of AP was deduced. Graphical Abstract: Co-LLM-105 exhibited excellent catalytic activity on the thermal decomposition of AP. Meanwhile, AP also exhibited some catalytic effects on the thermal decomposition of Co-LLM-105. Both of the components had catalytic effects on each other during the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is caused by neurovascular compression and is often related to morphological changes in the trigeminal nerve. The aim of this study was to quantitatively measure atrophic changes of trigeminal nerves in patients with TN, and to further investigate whether nerve atrophy affected the efficacy of microvascular decompression (MVD). Methods: We conducted a prospective case-control study of 60 consecutive patients with TN and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent high-resolution three-dimensional MRI. The volume of the cisternal segment of trigeminal nerves was measured and compared using 3D Slicer software. Patients with TN underwent primary MVD and regular follow-up for at least 2 years. Associations of nerve atrophy with patient characteristics and operative outcomes were analyzed. Results: The mean volume of the affected trigeminal nerve was significantly reduced in comparison to that of the nonaffected side (65.8 ± 21.1 versus 77.9 ± 19.3 mm, P = 0.001) and controls (65.8 ± 21.1 versus 74.7 ± 16.5 mm, P = 0.003). Fifty-two patients (86.7%) achieved complete pain relief without medication immediately after surgery, and 77.6% of patients were complete pain relief at the 2-year follow-up. The Spearman correlation test showed that there was a positive correlation ( r = 0.46, P = 0.018) between the degree of trigeminal nerve indentation and nerve atrophy. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, two factors, indentation on nerve root (OR = 2.968, P = 0.022) and degree of nerve atrophy (OR = 1.18, P = 0.035), were associated with the long-term outcome. Conclusions: TN is associated with atrophy on the affected nerve. Furthermore, greater nerve atrophy is associated with more severe trigeminal nerve indentation and better long-term outcome following MVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric hemangioblastomas are rare, and the clinical features, timing of surgical intervention, optimal treatment, and clinical outcomes are still unclear. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all patients with CNS hemangioblastomas who were treated at West China Hospital from January 2003 to March 2015. Patients under the age of 16 years were included in the study. The medical records of these patients were reviewed and statistically analyzed. Results: Twenty-five children (15 females and ten males, [mean age 12.6 ± 4.7 years, range 1-16 years]) presented with hemangioblastomas. Tumors were detected in the cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord in 40, 28, and 32% of patients, respectively. Sixteen children (64%) had VHL syndrome. The most frequent symptoms were those related to increased intracranial pressure. The mean duration of symptoms was 1.5 ± 2.1 months. Preoperative hydrocephalus was noted in 11 children (44%). Gross total resection was achieved in all children. Clinical symptoms improved in 19 children (76%), unchanged in four children (16%), and aggravated in two children (8%), respectively. The mean follow-up was 44.5 ± 32.3 months. Five patients (20%) experienced disease progression. Using univariate analysis, both tumor-associated cysts ( P = 0.027) and VHL disease ( P = 0.032) were significantly related to postoperative outcomes. Conclusions: Pediatric hemangioblastomas have many different clinical features compared with adult cases. A high degree of suspicion for VHL disease should be raised in pediatric hemangioblastomas. Despite many challenges involved, surgical outcomes for pediatric hemangioblastomas are favorable. Lifelong follow-up is mandatory to detect the disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the evolutionary patterns of mitochondrial genomes is important for our understanding of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto (SSS) group, which is a model system for genomic evolution and ecological analysis. In this study, we first obtained the complete mitochondrial sequences of two important species, Saccharomyces mikatae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii. We then compared the mitochondrial genomes in the SSS group with those of close relatives, and found that the non-coding regions evolved rapidly, including dramatic expansion of intergenic regions, fast evolution of introns and almost 20-fold higher rearrangement rates than those of the nuclear genomes. However, the coding regions, and especially the protein-coding genes, are more conserved than those in the nuclear genomes of the SSS group. The different evolutionary patterns of coding and non-coding regions in the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes may be related to the origin of the aerobic fermentation lifestyle in this group. Our analysis thus provides novel insights into the evolution of mitochondrial genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To prospectively evaluate the morphological and structural changes in the trigeminal nerve in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) compared with healthy controls. Methods We conducted a prospective case-control study of 60 consecutive patients diagnosed with TN and 30 sex-and age-matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent high-resolution 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The volume and length of the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerve and the angle between the trigeminal nerve and the anterior surface of the pons (trigeminal pontine angle) were measured and compared. Results The mean volume of the affected trigeminal nerve was significantly reduced compared with that of the nonaffected side (65.8 ± 21.1 mm 3 vs. 77.9 ± 19.3 mm 3 ; P = 0.001) and controls (65.8 ± 21.1 mm 3 vs. 74.7 ± 16.5 mm 3 ; P = 0.003). The mean trigeminal pontine angle was 42.4 ± 8.7° on the affected side, 47.6 ± 9.2° on the nonaffected side, and 46.0 ± 7.2° in the controls. The trigeminal pontine angle on the affected side was significantly smaller than that on the nonaffected side ( P = 0.005) and in controls ( P = 0.01). There the was no statistically significant difference in the mean length of the cisternal segment of trigeminal nerve between the affected and nonaffected sides ( P = 0.46). Conclusions TN is associated with atrophy and a small trigeminal pontine angle in the affected nerve. Nerve atrophy may be a late consequence of chronic physical stress and is likely involved in the pathogenesis of TN. A small trigeminal pontine angle may increase the risk of neurovascular conflict, and thus more likely to result in the genesis of TN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorinated polymers are receiving more and more attention worldwide due to their unique chemical properties, and modified fluorinated polymers with different topologies are persued for enriching and enhancing their performance in a variety of application fields. In this work, main-chain-type semifluorinated graft copolymers are produced steadily in continuous tube reactors via photocontrolled step transfer-addition and radical-termination (START) polymerization and Cu(0)-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (Cu(0)-RDRP) at room temperature for the first time. Specifically, semifluorinated alternating copolymer (AB)nB is prepared by START polymerization of 1,6-diiodoperfluorohexane (A) and 1,7-octadiene (B) in the first quartz pipeline under irradiation with purple LED light at 20 °C. The (AB)nB with periodic C-I bonds is then flowed into the second copper pipeline directly and acts as the macroinitiators for Cu(0)-RDRP of methyl acrylate (MA) to obtain corresponding graft copolymer (AB)nB-g-PMA. This work provides a new strategy for continuous synthesis of fluorinated graft copolymer materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a new run-time monitoring technique to detect hardware Trojan (HT) on working field-programmable gate array (FPGA), which is helpful for reinforcing the hardware security of IoT devices. First, we place multiple temperature sensors on FPGA and collect their value at each time interval. Then, we construct a predictive model which can estimate the distribution of sensor frequency in real-time. If the difference between the predicted value and the real one surpasses a dynamically updated threshold, an HT activation is reported. The experiment results reveal that our technique has high detection accuracy (≥ 98%), low false negative ratio (≤ 1.5%) and zero false positive ratio under various FPGA HT benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its high theoretical specific capacity, lithium-sulfur batteries are regarded as one of the most promising secondary batteries. However, there are still a series of problems, which seriously affect the commercial application of lithium-sulfur batteries. Therefore, a magnetic porous carbon material was developed in this work for the modification of lithium-sulfur battery separators, which may reduce the shuttle effect of polysulfides and increase its electrochemical performances. The solvothermal preparation of Ni-Zn bimetallic MOF precursors was followed by a high-temperature carbonization in nitrogen environment to sublimate Zn ions and produce porous structures, achieving Ni@C(Zn) composite. In order to improve the electrochemical performances of lithium-sulfur batteries, the Ni@C(Zn) composite was coated on one side of the polyethylene (PE) separator. Ni@C(Zn) composite displays good physisorption and chemisorption properties, and it can also operate as a secondary current collector to promote the usage of active materials as well as inhibiting shuttle effect of polysulfides. By using Ni@C(Zn) coated PE separator, the initial discharge specific capacity of lithium sulfur battery is as high as 1278.6 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.05 C when the S cathode is loaded with 3 mg cm−2 active materials. Furthermore, the discharge specific capacity in the first cycle at 0.5 C is 749.4 mAh g−1, which remains at 461 mAh g−1 after 500 long cycles, and the capacity retention rate is as high as 61.5%. Even when the S loading is as high as 5 mg cm−2, it can still experience a stable cycle of 100 cycles at 0.2 C. • Ni@C(Zn) composite was derived by bimetallic Ni-Zn MOFs. • Ni@C(Zn) composite was used as separator modification layer of lithium sulfur battery. • larger specific surface area and higher porosity can better block the shuttle of polysulfides. • Ni@C(Zn) composites have good catalytic effect which can promote the redox conversion of polysulfides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its high theoretical specific capacity, lithium-sulfur batteries are regarded as one of the most promising secondary batteries. However, there are still a series of problems, which seriously affect the commercial application of lithium-sulfur batteries. Therefore, a magnetic porous carbon material was developed in this work for the modification of lithium-sulfur battery separators, which may reduce the shuttle effect of polysulfides and increase its electrochemical performances. The solvothermal preparation of Ni-Zn bimetallic MOF precursors was followed by a high-temperature carbonization in nitrogen environment to sublimate Zn ions and produce porous structures, achieving Ni@C(Zn) composite. In order to improve the electrochemical performances of lithium-sulfur batteries, the Ni@C(Zn) composite was coated on one side of the polyethylene (PE) separator. Ni@C(Zn) composite displays good physisorption and chemisorption properties, and it can also operate as a secondary current collector to promote the usage of active materials as well as inhibiting shuttle effect of polysulfides. By using Ni@C(Zn) coated PE separator, the initial discharge specific capacity of lithium sulfur battery is as high as 1278.6 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.05 C when the S cathode is loaded with 3 mg cm−2 active materials. Furthermore, the discharge specific capacity in the first cycle at 0.5 C is 749.4 mAh g−1, which remains at 461 mAh g−1 after 500 long cycles, and the capacity retention rate is as high as 61.5%. Even when the S loading is as high as 5 mg cm−2, it can still experience a stable cycle of 100 cycles at 0.2 C. • Ni@C(Zn) composite was derived by bimetallic Ni-Zn MOFs. • Ni@C(Zn) composite was used as separator modification layer of lithium sulfur battery. • larger specific surface area and higher porosity can better block the shuttle of polysulfides. • Ni@C(Zn) composites have good catalytic effect which can promote the redox conversion of polysulfides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Hemangioblastomas in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) are uncommon and have rarely been reported. They may be easily misdiagnosed because of the atypical location and clinical and imaging features. The present study aimed to characterize clinical and radiologic features, treatment strategies, and outcomes in these rare lesions and to investigate various factors that may affect postoperative outcomes. Methods The medical records of patients with CPA hemangioblastomas who underwent surgery from 2003–2016 at the West China Hospital were reviewed retrospectively and statistically analyzed. Results Twenty-three patients (14 males and 9 females) presented with CPA hemangioblastomas. Eight patients (34.8%) had von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome. Gross total resection was achieved in 22 patients (95.6%). The mean follow-up was 45.1 ± 36.2 months (range 3–144 months). After surgery, the symptoms improved in 18 cases (78.3%), remained unchanged in 3 cases (13%), and were aggravated in 2 cases (8.7%). Four patients showed local recurrence during follow-up (17.4%). Patients with cystic hemangioblastomas had a better neurologic improvement ( P = 0.041) compared with patients with solid tumors. Furthermore, patients with maximal diameter of tumors >3 cm ( P = 0.035) or solid tumors ( P = 0.018) showed a higher incidence of postoperative complications. The local recurrence was correlated with VHL disease ( P = 0.027). Conclusions Although hemangioblastomas of the CPA are challenging lesions to treat surgically, they can be removed safely when these lesions are appropriately diagnosed and treated. Patients with VHL disease are more likely to have a local recurrence. A regular follow-up is recommended to detect the local and distant recurrence, even if the clinical course is benign and the tumor is totally resected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes one family of compact schemes for Korteweg-de Vries equation. In the deterministic case, the schemes are convergent with fourth-order accuracy both in space and in time. Moreover, the schemes are stable. The numerical dispersion relation is analyzed. We compare the schemes with one second-order scheme. The numerical examples test the effect of the schemes. In the stochastic case, we simulate the wave profile and three discrete dynamical quantities for Korteweg-de Vries equation with small noise. The white noise has stochastic influence on the profile and dynamical quantities of the solution. If the size of noise increases, the perturbation on the profile and dynamical quantities will increase accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analytically obtain a new charged Lifshitz solution by adding a non-relativistic Maxwell field in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity. The black hole exhibits an anisotropic scaling between space and time (Lifshitz scaling) in the UV limit, while in the IR limit, the Lorentz invariance is approximately recovered. We introduce the probed Lorentz-violation fermions into the background and holographically investigate the spectral properties of the dual fermionic operator. The Lorentz-violation of the fermions will enhance the peak and correspond larger fermi momentum, which compensates the non-relativistic bulk effect of the dynamical exponent ( z ). For a fixed z , when the Lorentz-violation of fermions increases to a critical value, the behavior of the low energy excitation goes from a non-Fermi liquid type to a Fermi liquid type, which implies a kind of phase transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, the possibility of the observed structure X(5568) or X(5616) as a hadronic molecule is investigated via its decay properties. Our estimations of the strong decay mode indicate that the hadronic molecule interpretation cannot be excluded since the determined parameter value is located in the empirical region. However, the unnatural large coupling constants indicate the molecular interpretation may be questionable. In addition, the radiative decays of the neutral partners of the X(5568) and X(5616) are estimated, which can be a test of the molecular interpretation in the future experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel wear and corrosion resistant β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating was deposited onto a Ti-6Al-4V substrate using a double glow discharge plasma method. The structure of the coating was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and its mechanical properties were determined by a combination of nanoindentation and scratch testing. Dry sliding wear behavior of the β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating was evaluated using a ball-on-disc tribometer. Further, the electrochemical behavior of the β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating was assessed through immersion in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The as-deposited coating consisted of equiaxed tetragonal D8 m -structured Ta 5 Si 3 exhibiting a ∼4 nm grain size with a pronounced (400) preferred orientation. The specific wear rates of the β-Ta 5 Si 3 coating were ∼10 −6 mm 3 /(N m), which is two orders of magnitude better than that of the uncoated substrate under the same test conditions. This is because the coating exhibits higher values of H/E. Finally, the corrosion resistance of the coating was improved relative to bare alloy in this solution. Mott-Schottky analysis showed that the passive film formed on the coating during corrosion testing behaved like an n-type semiconductor. The carrier density was one order of magnitude less than that formed on bare substrate in the same solution. In light of this, the β-Ta 5 Si 3 nanocrystalline coating is expected to provide protection to metallic components against wear and corrosion and as such extend their service life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is one of the most common communicable diseases in China, and current climate change had been recognized as a significant contributor. Nevertheless, no reliable models have been put forward to predict the dynamics of HFMD cases based on short-term weather variations. The present study aimed to examine the association between weather factors and HFMD, and to explore the accuracy of seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model with local weather conditions in forecasting HFMD. Weather and HFMD data from 2009 to 2014 in Huainan, China, were used. Poisson regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was applied to examine the relationship between weather factors and HFMD. The forecasting model for HFMD was performed by using the SARIMA model. The results showed that temperature rise was significantly associated with an elevated risk of HFMD. Yet, no correlations between relative humidity, barometric pressure and rainfall, and HFMD were observed. SARIMA models with temperature variable fitted HFMD data better than the model without it (s R increased, while the BIC decreased), and the SARIMA (0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 0) offered the best fit for HFMD data. In addition, compared with females and nursery children, males and scattered children may be more suitable for using SARIMA model to predict the number of HFMD cases and it has high precision. In conclusion, high temperature could increase the risk of contracting HFMD. SARIMA model with temperature variable can effectively improve its forecast accuracy, which can provide valuable information for the policy makers and public health to construct a best-fitting model and optimize HFMD prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize the octenyl succinic-β-cyclodextrin (OS-β-CD) and assess its application as a potential emulsion stabilizer. OS-β-CD was prepared by esterifying β-CD with OSA under alkaline conditions. The properties of OS-β-CD were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, 13 C and 1 H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), which demonstrated that OS groups had been introduced into the β-CD molecules and most of OS substitution occurred at the C-6 hydroxyl group of glycosyl units. The properties of emulsions stabilized by β-CD and OS-β-CD were evaluated via surface and interface tensiometry, determination of the creaming index and droplet size. The results showed that emulsions stabilized by β-CD broke just after 24 h storage at 25 °C. The emulsions prepared by OS-β-CD with all degree of substitution (DS) possessed a smaller oil droplet size and improved storage stability compared with that of the emulsion generated using β-CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to identify attractor modules and further reveal the potential biological processes involving in sevoflurane-induced anesthesia in patients treated with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Microarray profile data (ID: E-GEOD-4386) on atrial samples obtained from patients receiving anesthetic gas sevoflurane prior to and following CABG procedure were downloaded from EMBL-EBI database for further analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of baseline and sevoflurane groups were inferred and reweighted according to Spearman correlation coefficient (SCC), followed by systematic modules inference using clique-merging approach. Subsequently, attract method was utilized to explore attractor modules. Finally, pathway enrichment analyses for genes in the attractor modules were implemented to illuminate the biological processes in sevoflurane group. Using clique-merging approach, 27 and 36 modules were obtained from the PPI networks of baseline and sevoflurane-treated samples, respectively. By comparing with the baseline condition, 5 module pairs with the same gene composition were identified. Subsequently, 1 out of 5 modules was identified as an attractor based on attract method. Additionally, pathway analysis indicated that genes in the attractor module were associated with neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Accordingly, sevoflurane might exert important functions in cardioprotection in patients following CABG, partially through regulating the pathway of neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A green and facile process was developed to prepare layered octahedral phase MoS 2 /reduced graphene oxide (1T-MoS 2 /RGO) nanocomposite by a Vitamin C-assisted self-assemble method, in which graphene oxide (GO) and LiMoS 2 were used as starting materials. Catalytic performances of 1T-MoS 2 /RGO were evaluated by hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). It was demonstrated that the prepared 1T-MoS 2 /RGO nanocomposite presented excellent catalytic performance and cycling stability for 4-NP reduction, which made it a promising noble-metal-free catalyst. Additionally, broadening work suggested some other RGO-based metal nanocomposite with well-defined porous structure could be also generated via this facile self-assembly method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]