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The development of dielectric ceramics for energy storage has received great research attention due to high power density and extremely high charge–discharge speed in recent years. Herein, the lead-free (1-x)(0.92K0.5Na0.5NbO3-0.08Sr0.7Bi0.2TiO3)-xBi(Zn0.5Zr0.5)O3 [(1-x)(0.92KNN-0.08SBT)-xBZZ] ceramics were prepared. The enhanced energy storage performance in the x = 0.15 sample, with large recoverable energy storage density (Wrec) of 3.35 J/cm3 and high energy efficiency (η) of 81.9%, which can export satisfactory in temperatures (25–150 °C) and frequencies (1–100 Hz). It is revealed that the introduction of BZZ can enhance relaxor behaviors and decrease grain size, which are supported by the dielectric tunability, polarization hysteresis, and microstructure. Also, a superfast discharge speed (t0.9 = 27.2 ns) and a high power density (PD = 26.04 WM/cm3), with minimal fluctuation of ≤ 5.6%, are examined ranging from 20 °C to 120 °C. These characteristics render 0.85(0.92KNN-0.08SBT)-0.15BZZ ceramic promising candidate for high power energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In advanced liver fibrosis (LF), macrophages maintain the inflammatory environment in the liver and accelerate LF deterioration by secreting proinflammatory cytokines. However, there is still no effective strategy to regulate macrophages because of the difficulty and complexity of macrophage inflammatory phenotypic modulation and the insufficient therapeutic efficacy caused by the extracellular matrix (ECM) barrier. Here, AC73 and siUSP1 dual drug‐loaded lipid nanoparticle is designed to carry milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG‐E8) (named MUA/Y) to effectively inhibit macrophage proinflammatory signals and degrade the ECM barrier. MFG‐E8 is released in response to the high reactive oxygen species (ROS) environment in LF, transforming macrophages from a proinflammatory (M1) to an anti‐inflammatory (M2) phenotype and inducing macrophages to phagocytose collagen. Collagen ablation increases AC73 and siUSP1 accumulation in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and inhibits HSCs overactivation. Interestingly, complete resolution of liver inflammation, significant collagen degradation, and HSCs deactivation are observed in methionine choline deficiency (MCD) and CCl4 models after tail vein injection of MUA/Y. Overall, this work reveals a macrophage‐focused regulatory treatment strategy to eliminate LF progression at the source, providing a new perspective for the clinical treatment of advanced LF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, for the nonholonomic tractor‐trailer system with slipping and skidding, a full state‐triggering implementation of a tracking controller is proposed. Trailers are an important part, and their knowledge is crucial for the safety and control of the vehicle. Without considering system performance constraints, trailers may deviate from their expected position, leading to collisions. Therefore, there is still great interest in addressing the constraint control issues that arise in modern technologies related to network communication. Based on the backstepping method, bounded measurement errors are introduced into the continuous sampling controller considering intra‐vehicle communications. Then two neural networks are used to model unknown dynamics of the system with event sampling inputs, thereby decoupling the design of the control inputs. Finally, we prove the input‐to‐state‐like stability of a continuously sampled controller, and the given event execution control law can ensure the boundedness of measurement errors. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the vibration control design of the Euler–Bernoulli beam with time-varying constraints is studied when the mass, bending stiffness and tension of the system parameters are known or unknown. For satisfying the time-varying constraints, the controller is designed and the system stability is analysed based on the tangent barrier Lyapunov function (TAN-BLF). Among them, the uncertainty of system parameters is dealt with by the adaptive method. In both cases, the vibration of the Euler–Bernoulli beam can be well restrained without violating the constraint conditions, and all signals in the system are bounded. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a simulation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xishuangbanna (XIS) cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. xishuangbannanesis) is a semiwild variety originating from low latitude tropic areas, and therefore shows extreme cold sensitivity and heat tolerance. Here, we mapped the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control the cold sensitivity and heat tolerance of XIS cucumber seedlings. Using bulked segregant analysis (BSA), we identified three QTLs (HTT1.1, HTT3.1, and HTT3.2, with a total length of 11.98 Mb) for heat tolerance and two QTLs (LTT6.1 and LTT6.2, with a total length of 8.74 Mb) for cold sensitivity. The QTL LTT6.1 was then narrowed down to a length of 641 kb by using kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers. Based on structural variants (SVs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we found the LTT6.1 is covered by a high divergent region including a 50 kb deletion in the XIS49 genome, which affects the gene structure of lipase abhydrolase domain containing 6 (ABHD6, Csa_6G032560). Accordingly, there is a very big difference in lipid composition, but not in other osmoprotectants like free amino acids and fatty acids, between XIS49 and cultivated cucumber CL. Moreover, we calculated the composite likelihood ratio (CLR) and identified selective sweeps from 115 resequencing data, and found that lipid- and fatty-acid-related processes are major aspects in the domestication of the XIS group cucumber. LTT6.1 is a particularly special region positioned nearby lipid-related selective sweeps. These studies above suggested that the lipid-related domestication of XIS cucumbers should account for their extreme cold sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of antibiotics plays a vital role in dealing with the challenges of various bacterial infections, which have saved millions of patients from the brink of death. However, the abuse of antibiotics accelerated the development of bacterial drug-resistance, posing a serious threat to public health. To conquer increasingly severe drug-resistance, the amphiphilic ciprofloxacin peptide-based polymer (PAC) was prepared, which could self-assemble into positively charged nanostructures (PAC-NPs) with a diameter of 300 nm and a zeta potential of +28.6 mV in aqueous solution, confirmed by SEM and DLS. The biological assays displayed that the PAC-NPs possessed broad-spectrum and excellent antibacterial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with an MIC in the range of 1.0–4.0 μg mL−1 and more than 91% sterilization rate. Most importantly, the cationic PAC-NPs did not easily cause antibiotic-resistance and showed low toxicity both in vivo and in vitro. The unique antibacterial mechanism systematically detected by different techniques revealed that the nanoparticles could completely destroy the morphology of bacterial cells, eventually leading to the irreversible apoptosis of bacterial cells, which elucidated why the bacteria were less prone to develop resistance toward PAC-NPs. This study provides a promising strategy by mimicking the structure of AMPs to construct novel bactericidal materials without inducing drug-resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]