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Vibration-based energy harvesting technology is the most promising method to solve the problems of self-powered wireless sensor nodes, but most of the vibration-based energy harvesters have a rather narrow operation bandwidth and the operation frequency band is not convenient to adjust when the ambient frequency changes. Since the ambient vibration may be broadband and changeable, a novel V-shaped vibration energy harvester based on the conventional piezoelectric bimorph cantilevered structure is proposed, which successfully improves the energy harvesting efficiency and provides a way to adjust the operation frequency band of the energy harvester conveniently. The electromechanical coupling equations are established by using Euler-Bernoulli equation and piezoelectric equation, and then the coupled circuit equation is derived based on the series connected piezoelectric cantilevers and Kirchhoff's laws. With the above equations, the output performances of V-shaped structure under different structural parameters and load resistances are simulated and discussed. Finally, by changing the angle θ between two piezoelectric bimorph beams and the load resistance, various comprehensive experiments are carried out to test the performance of this V-shaped energy harvester under the same excitation. The experimental results show that the V-shaped energy harvester can not only improve the frequency response characteristic and the output performance of the electrical energy, but also conveniently tune the operation bandwidth; thus it has great application potential in actual structure health monitoring under variable working condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through band unification and inter-calibration this paper develops and presents a method to construct virtual dual-view sensors from compatible geostationary and low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) sensors such that spectrally unified and radiometrically consistent observations from two different angles can be acquired using these virtual sensors. Results for three virtual dual-view sensors constructed from Himawari-8/AHI (one of the next generation of geostationary sensors) paired with MODIS (Aqua and Terra) and VIIRS are reported. Over 1270 representative Hyperion passes were used to reproduce, by spectral band integration, “simultaneous” observations by the three pairs of sensors, and linear relationships between AHI-MODIS and AHI-VIIRS were established, allowing the conversion of MODIS bands and VIIRS bands to AHI bands. For 95% of the sample pixels, a maximum reflectance conversion error < 0.004 was achieved. Following band conversion, inter-calibration was conducted using a ray-matching technique, involving up to 2100 matchup areas from 20 months of imagery. Overall the final calibration accuracy is high as indicated by high correlation r 2 (~0.98), small estimated parameter errors, small regression errors and negligible regression biases. The temporal drifting of the paired-sensors over a 20 month period was also analysed. It shows that all the involved sensors are very stable. Accurate inter-calibration not only provides an economical solution for the calibration and validation of remote sensors, it is also essential for synergetic multi-sensor applications. Lack of sufficient information from single-view sensors has been a common bottleneck in many remote sensing applications. Constructing virtual dual-view sensors using the presented method provides an effective way to overcome the limitations of single-view sensors, without incurring extra costs. The method can be applied to other next generation geostationary sensors leading to near global coverage and enhanced products. Inter-calibration between geostationary sensors, such as Himawari AHI – and GOES-R ABI, may be conducted using the LEO sensors as bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive M–Nb V –O compounds are high-capacity, fast-charging, safe and stable anode materials that have potential use in lithium-ion batteries. However, their studies are very limited. Here, we facilely fabricate Nb 25 O 62 ( i.e. , Nb IV Nb V 24 O 62 ) and Nb 12 O 29 ( i.e. , Nb IV 2 Nb V 10 O 29 ) from high-temperature reduction of Nb 2 O 5 in a mixed H 2 /Ar atmosphere. Nb 25 O 62 shows a monoclinic shear ReO 3 crystal structure with a C2 space group and a structural unit containing a 3 × 4 octahedron-block and 0.5 tetrahedron, while Nb 12 O 29 shows a similar structure with an A2/m space group and a 3 × 4 octahedron-block. Their resulting open crystal structures lead to their large Li + -ion diffusion coefficients. Due to the unpaired 4 d electrons in Nb 4+ , their electronic conductivities are increased by three orders of magnitude in comparison with Nb 2 O 5 . First-principles calculations even demonstrate their conductor characteristics. Hence, Nb 25 O 62 /Nb 12 O 29 exhibits comprehensively good electrochemical performance, including a significant pseudocapacitive contribution (72.7/79.0% at 1.1 mV s −1 ), high specific capacity (289/287 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C), high working potential (∼1.69/∼1.72 V vs. Li/Li + ), superior rate capability (133/165 mAh g −1 at 10 C) and prominent cyclic stability (only 0.3/14.5% capacity loss over 1000 cycles at 10 C). These findings demonstrate that Nb 25 O 62 and Nb 12 O 29 are promising anode materials for future use in high-performance lithium-ion storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automotive component manufacturing sector is experiencing fierce competitions. To enable improvements in production efficiency, the authors introduced single step injection forging as an alternative to conventional multisteps forging processes for manufacturing automobile fasteners, being enabled by a dedicated tool-design to achieve combined material-flows and hence, a complex component-form. To assist in this, a feasibility study was conducted, including comparisons of conventional multisteps forging with injection forging, through FE simulations, experimental validation of the injection forging process, as well as detailed examinations of the quality of the parts formed. The simulations were focused mainly on the forming of a wheel bolt. Axi-symmetric models were developed to analyse forging force and energy requirements, resulting forming-errors and tool stresses for each process. Injection forging tests were carried out in a factory environment with the aim of verifying the FE results and of confirming process and tool-design feasibility. Based on the results from these studies, the feasibility of replacing multisteps forging with injection forging was confirmed. It was established that injection forging may demand higher a forming force in its single step but it would consume less energy. Also, there is less chance of developing flow faults during injection forging, which is critical for the forming of the automotive fasteners. Nevertheless, due to the complex material-flow in injection forging and large die-deflections, a dedicated tool-design for compensating for forming-errors and for enhancing tool-life has to be enabled for the forging production applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The localized faults of rolling bearings can be diagnosed by the extraction of the impulsive feature. However, the approximately periodic impulses may be submerged in strong interferences generated by other components and the background noise. To address this issue, this paper explores a new impulsive feature extraction method based on the sparse representation. According to the vibration model of an impulse generated by the bearing fault, a novel impulsive wavelet is constructed, which satisfies the admissibility condition. As a result, this family of model-based impulsive wavelets can form a Parseval frame. With the model-based impulsive wavelet basis and Fourier basis, a convex optimization problem is formulated to extract the repetitive impulses. Based on the splitting idea, an iterative thresholding shrinkage algorithm is proposed to solve this problem, and it has a fast convergence rate. Via the simulated signal and real vibration signals with bearing fault information, the performance of the proposed approach for repetitive impulsive feature extraction is validated and compared with the noted spectral kurtosis method, the optimized spectral kurtosis method based on simulated annealing, and the resonance-based signal decomposition method. The results demonstrate its advantage and superiority in weak repetitive transient feature extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Low clouds strongly impact the radiation budget of the climate system, but their simulation in most GCMs has remained a challenge, especially over the subtropical stratocumulus region. Assuming a Gaussian distribution for the subgrid‐scale total water and liquid water potential temperature, a new statistical cloud scheme is proposed and tested in NCAR Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5). The subgrid‐scale variance is diagnosed from the turbulent and shallow convective processes in CAM5. The approach is able to maintain the consistency between cloud fraction and cloud condensate and thus alleviates the adjustment needed in the default relative humidity‐based cloud fraction scheme. Short‐term forecast simulations indicate that low cloud fraction and liquid water content, including their diurnal cycle, are improved due to a proper consideration of subgrid‐scale variance over the southeastern Pacific Ocean region. Compared with the default cloud scheme, the new approach produced the mean climate reasonably well with improved shortwave cloud forcing (SWCF) due to more reasonable low cloud fraction and liquid water path over regions with predominant low clouds. Meanwhile, the SWCF bias over the tropical land regions is also alleviated. Furthermore, the simulated marine boundary layer clouds with the new approach extend further offshore and agree better with observations. The new approach is able to obtain the top of atmosphere (TOA) radiation balance with a slightly alleviated double ITCZ problem in preliminary coupled simulations. This study implies that a close coupling of cloud processes with other subgrid‐scale physical processes is a promising approach to improve cloud simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to explore the miRNA-Gene regulatory mechanism in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and identify new targets for the therapy of CLL. The miRNA expression dataset GSE62137 and mRNA expression dataset GSE22529 were downloaded from National Center of Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus database. In CLL samples compared with normal B cell samples, differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified via the GEO2R instrument of GEO and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained via the limma package of R. Functional enrichment analysis of the DEGs was performed via the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. The targets of the DEMs were identified based on the miRNAWalk platform. The overlaps between the DEGs and the targets of the DEMs were selected, and the miRNA-Gene regulatory network was constructed based on the overlaps and the corresponding DEMs. A total of 63 DEMs and 504 DEGs were identified in CLL samples compared with normal B cell samples. Eleven enriched functional clusters of the DEGs were obtained. 405 miRNA-Gene regulatory pairs were identified. The miRNA-Gene regulatory pairs contained 351 target genes of the DEMs, including 9 overlaps with the DEGs. A miRNA-Gene regulatory network was constructed. Bioinformatics methods could help us develop a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of CLL. MiRNAs may play a critical role in regulating the process of CLL. They may affect CLL by regulating the processes of immunoreactivity and protein degradation. Genes such as Neurogenic Locus Notch Homolog Protein 2, PR/SET domain 4 and A-kinase anchoring protein 12 may be their regulating targets in CLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional interference-based encryption (IBE) scheme suffers from the silhouette problem, and its capacity is relatively low. In this paper, we introduce sparse representation and space multiplexing into the IBE scheme and propose a method for multiple-image encryption and authentication. We demonstrate, through space multiplexing, the information of multiple images can be encrypted into two phase only masks. The decrypted images are intended to be authenticated by nonlinear correlation rather than be observed by naked eyes, and because of that, the silhouette problem has been thoroughly suppressed. Moreover, the capacity of the IBE scheme is also extensively enhanced. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposal have been demonstrated by numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remaining useful life (RUL) prediction plays a significant role in the prognostic and health management (PHM) of rotating machineries. A good health indicator (HI) can ensure the accuracy and reliability of RUL prediction. However, numerous existing deep learning-based HI construction approaches rely heavily on the prior knowledge, and they are difficult to capture the key information in the process of machinery degradation from raw signals, thereby affecting the performance of RUL prediction. To tackle the aforementioned problem, a new supervised multi-head self-attention autoencoder (SMSAE) is proposed for extracting the HI that effectively reflects the degraded state of rotating machinery. By embedding the multi-head self-attention (MS) module into autoencoder and imposing the constraint of power function-type labels on the hidden variable, SMSAE can directly extract the HIs from raw vibration signals. As the current HI evaluation indexes don't consider the global monotonicity and variation law of HI, two improved monotonicity and robustness indexes are designed for the better evaluation of HI. With the proposed HI, a two-stage residual life prediction framework based on similarity is developed. Extensive experiments have been performed on an actual wind turbine gearbox bearing dataset and a well-known open commercial modular aero-propulsion system simulation (C-MAPSS) dataset. The comparative results verify that the constructed SMSAE HI has better comprehensive performance than the typical HIs, and the proposed prediction method is competitive with the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential dependent mechanism of the composition and electrochemical properties of oxide films formed on Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 at potential ranging within −0.80–5.00 V was studied. The quantitative calculation and qualitative analysis of thicknesses of oxide films and valence states of Ti and Al, Nb, Mo increase with potential increasing to 3.00 V, whereas surface roughness illustrates the opposite trend. The corrosion resistances and semiconductor properties results indicate better protection effect and uniformity of oxide film at higher potential in passive region. A schematic considering alloying elements effect within oxide films formed at different applied potential on Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo is established. • The thickness of oxide film and valence state of Ti, Al, Nb, Zr, Mo are quantitatively calculated and qualitatively analyzed. • Schematic model of the oxide films formed on Ti80 at different potentials is proposed. • The composition for most corrosion resistant oxide film formed at applied potential of 3.0 V is declared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel fire warning aerogel fiber was constructed with MXene and aramid nanofibers. • The resultant MAA e-textile exhibited accurate temperature sensing at 100–400 °C. • Bridging connection induce sensitive response of 1.6 s when exposed to flame. • MAA e-textile exhibited outstanding flame retardancy and PHRR was 13.75 W/g. • Self-powered location system enabled by MAA e-textile-based TENG was discussed. Firefighting clothing is an essential equipment that can provide safety personal protective from all kinds of thermal hazards and prevent burn injuries for firefighters. However, it is still a challenge to develop high fire safety firefighting clothing with an early fire alarm response before protective clothing malfunctional in extreme fire conditions. Herein, a wearable self-powered early fire warning e-textile (MAA e-textile) enabled by Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene/silver nanowires (Ag NWs)/aramid nanofibers (ANFs) aerogel fiber was fabricated via wet spinning technique. The resulting self-powered fire warning MAA e-textile can be integrated into firefighting clothing to achieve wide-range temperature sensing at 100–400 °C based on a linear relationship between thermoelectric voltage and temperature due to thermoelectric characteristic of MXene, which could alert firefighters to evacuate timely before protective clothing was damaged. The bridging connection between Ag NWs and MXene nanosheets enable 30 wt% MAA e-textile to possess rapidly and repeatedly fire warning performance in 1.6 s when being burned. Meanwhile, because of the synergistic carbonization between MXene and ANFs, 30 wt% MAA e-textile exhibited excellent flame retardancy, whose peak heat release rate was significantly decreased by 80 % compared with ANFs aerogel fiber. Moreover, a self-powered rescue location system enabled by MAA e-textile-based triboelectric nanogenerator is further assembled to rescue trapped firefighters by providing correct escape routes. This work provided a facile approach into the fabrication and application of wearable self-powered early fire warning e-textile in firefighting clothing to ensure the operation safety of firefighters during firefighting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fast iteration filter is proposed to extract the spectrum trend curve. • A novel voting index is proposed to evaluate periodic impulses in noisy signal. • A novel variational model penalized by a frequency is built to extract impulses. • Impulses can be accurately extracted from signals with strong interference. A key step in rotating machinery fault diagnosis is extracting the subcomponent that best characterizes the fault features. To this end, a fault feature extraction methodology based on an adaptive spectrum segmentation method, a new voting index, and a new variational model is constructed in this paper. More specifically, the spectrum is divided into a series of sub-bands through a fast iteration filter by changing the width of the window. Then, by considering the amplitudes and locations of the fault feature spectral lines in squared envelope spectrum, a novel index based on voting mechanism is constructed to evaluate the periodic impulses in each sub-band. Finally, a new variational model penalized by a center frequency penalty item is proposed to extract the fault characteristics from the raw vibration signal by maximining the proposed index iteratively. The proposed methodology is applied to extract the fault characteristics from rolling bearing and planetary gearbox signals. The comparative results indicate the proposed method is superior to fast kurtogram, fast entrogram, and the proposed fault feature extraction methods based on other classical indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel CDA mechanism is built to better achieve the distribution alignment. • A metric combining MMD and CORAL is proposed to enhance the domain confusion. • I-Softmax loss with a flexible margin is proposed to learn more separable features. • The proposed method can be well applied to the cross-machine fault diagnosis. Many domain adaptation methods have been presented to deal with the distribution alignment and knowledge transfer between the target domain and the source domain. However, most of them only pay attention to marginal distribution alignment while neglecting the discriminative feature learning in two domains. Thus, they still cannot satisfy the diagnosis requirement in some cases. To enhance the distribution alignment and match the marginal distributions as well as conditional distributions of two domains, an improved joint distribution adaptation (IJDA) mechanism is proposed. In IJDA, to enhance domain confusion, maximum mean discrepancy and CORrelation Alignment (CORAL) are combined as a new distribution discrepancy metric. Furthermore, an improved conditional distribution alignment mechanism is constructed. To contribute to feature learning and learn more separable features, a new I-Softmax loss that can be optimized like the original Softmax loss and possesses a stronger classification ability is proposed. With the IJDA mechanism and I-Softmax loss, the deep discriminative transfer learning network (DDTLN) is built to implement fault transfer diagnosis. Under the unlabeled target-domain samples, the experimental results on six cross-machine diagnostic tasks verify that the proposed DDTLN has a higher performance of transfer fault diagnosis than other typical domain adaptation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The transfer HIs of gears are constructed from raw signals via QFMDCAE and MMD. • A memory-augmented function is designed to enhance the long-term memory capacity. • A multi-hierarchical mechanism is proposed for utilizing the sequence information. • MLMA-Net is developed based on memory-augmented function and multi-hierarchy. The long-term remaining useful life (RUL) prediction of gears is crucial for the safe operation and maintenance of rotating machinery. However, most existing RUL prediction methods face great challenge under the variable working conditions due to the lack of enough prior run-to-failure data. Therefore, this paper addresses to explore a new transfer life prediction methodology for gears. A gear health indicator (HI) transfer construction framework named TQFMDCAE is first proposed by a quadratic function-based multi-scale deep convolutional auto-encoder and maximum mean discrepancy, and it can generate the cross-domain HIs under different working conditions. Next, a novel RNN-based network named multi-hierarchical long-term memory augmented network (MLMA-Net) is developed for the life prediction of gears based on the obtained HIs. In MLMA-Net, a new memory augmentation function is intended to increase the network's long-term memory capacity. The proposed multi-hierarchical mechanism then divides the sequence information of the network into three attention hierarchies and three cell hierarchies, respectively. Experiments on equipment indicate that the developed MLMA-Net has a remarkable predictive capacity, particularly for predicting the long-term life of an object. Meanwhile, comparative results demonstrate that the proposed RUL prediction methodology is superior to other typical RUL estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several small studies reported high risk of progression to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in Barrett's esophagus (BE) patients who undergo solid organ transplantation (SOT) and implied that this may be due to immunosuppressant use. However, the major shortcoming of these studies was the lack of a control population. Therefore, we aimed to determine the rates of neoplastic progression in BE patients who underwent SOT and compare to that in controls and identify the predictors of progression. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of BE patients seen in Cleveland Clinic and affiliated hospitals between January 2000 and August 2022. Demographics, endoscopic and histological findings, history of SOT and fundoplication, immunosuppressant use, and follow-up were abstracted. Results: The study population consisted of 3466 patients with BE, of which 115 had SOT (lung 35, liver 34, kidney 32, heart 14, and pancreas 2) and 704 patients on chronic immunosuppressants but no history of SOT. During a median follow-up of 5.1 years, there was no difference in the annual risk of progression between the three groups (SOT=0.61%, no SOT but on immunosuppressants= 0.82%, and no SOT/no immunosuppressants= 0.94%, p=0.72). On multivariate analysis, immunosuppressant use (odds ratio (OR) 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.82, p=0.025) but not SOT (OR 0.39, 95%CI 0.15–1.01, p=0.053) was associated with neoplastic progression in BE patients. Conclusion: Immunosuppression is a risk factor for progression of BE to HGD/EAC. Therefore, close surveillance of BE patients on chronic immunosuppressants needs to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are various signal decomposition methods, but none of them is satisfactory and all have their own drawbacks. It is worth exploring a new signal decomposition approach with better performance for processing the complex vibration signals. By employing the wavelet modulus maxima and synchronous detection, a novel multicomponent signal decomposition method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the wavelet modulus maxima of a multicomponent signal are calculated by optimized complex wavelet transform, then the highest instantaneous frequency (IF) is extracted by searching the wavelet modulus maxima with the smallest scales at all the time instants. With the obtained IF, the synchronous detection method is used to calculate the phase offset and the instantaneous amplitude. It follows that the corresponding component with highest IF can be reconstructed. Then the used wavelet modulus maxima in this iteration are removed from the wavelet scalogram and the next IF is sequentially computed. By repeating this process, all components are successively separated from high frequency to low frequency. Compared with ensemble empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert vibration decomposition, it has been proved by three typical multicomponent signals with different noise intensity that the proposed signal decomposition method has higher accuracy, frequency resolution and is more robust to noises. Moreover, the application results further show that the proposed method can be more effectively applied to fault diagnosis of gearboxes, especially when the operating condition is varying or the fault feature is weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of new urbanization development, landscape design of cave dwelling settlement should be valued. By mining and cognizing cave culture, the connotation and space type of cave dwelling settlement in Guanzhong region are analyzed, and landscape design strategies on natural environment, street space, courtyard space, public space, architectural form and landscape element of cave dwelling are proposed, which could provide some systematic theory suggestions for land design highlighting regional characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By incorporating psychopathology and subjective well-being (SWB), the dual-factor model of mental health (DFM) can comprehensively measure psychological health. We examined the utility of the DFM among 1,293 Chinese adolescents (Grades 7–12). Furthermore, we examined the dynamics of mental health group membership via a two-wave longitudinal study of 531 students. SWB, psychopathology, affective self-regulatory efficacy, academic self-efficacy, and academic emotions were measured via self-report scales. Mental health group membership was determined according to combinations of high or low SWB and high or low psychopathology. The DFM was supported by our identification of its four constituent groups (i.e. complete mental health, vulnerable, troubled, and symptomatic but content). Significant group differences were found in affective self-regulatory efficacy, academic self-efficacy, and academic emotions, with clear contrasts observed between adolescents with complete mental health and their vulnerable peers, as well as between troubled adolescents and their symptomatic but content peers. Moreover, youth with complete mental health demonstrated the highest stability and troubled youth the lowest, whereas vulnerable youth had the highest rates of transitioning into both the complete mental health and troubled groups. Implications for practice are explored within the context of screening and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy-based Lagrangian expressions for multiple deforming bodies translating and rotating through an inviscid fluid in the gravity field are proved to be equal to the momentum-type ones This implies that the energy description can be directly adopted to predict dynamic behaviors of these deforming bodies without adding the body deformation thrust to fluid as the generalized force of the body–fluid system although the total mechanical energy of the system is continuously changed by the deformation effect And it is identified that the hydrodynamic force or torque on any single deforming body includes contributions of linear and angular accelerations of all the bodies, which means that these acceleration constituents should be added to corresponding hydrodynamic loads so as to unsteadily describe motions of the deforming body. In corresponding two dimensional cases, the energy description still holds and may be transformed into the extended unsteady Blasius formulae. Therefore, one can choose any pertinent approach to deal with hydrodynamic interactions among many deformable bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies from this group demonstrated that insulin gene enhancer binding protein ISL-1 (Islet-1) specifically induces the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into cardiomyocyte-like cells through histone acetylation. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, the role of the histone acetylation and DNA methylation on the regulatory mechanism of the Islet-1 was further investigated by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. The results demonstrated that Islet-1 upregulated expression of general control of amino acid biosynthesis protein 5 (Gcn5) and enhanced the binding of Gcn5 to the promoters of GATA binding protein 4 (GATA4) and NK2 homeobox 5 (Nkx2.5). In addition, Islet-1 downregulated DNA methyltransferase (DNMT)-1 expression and reduced its binding to the GATA4 promoter. In contrast, the amount of DNMT-1 binding on Nkx2.5 did not match the expression trend. Therefore, it was concluded that Islet-1 may influence the histone acetylation and DNA methylation of GATA4 promoter region via Gcn5 and DNMT-1 during the MSC differentiation into cardiomyocyte-like cells, thus prompting the expression of GATA4. The Nkx2.5 was likely only affected by histone acetylation instead of DNA methylation. The present study demonstrated that Islet-1 induces the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells through a specific interaction between histone acetylation and DNA methylation on regulating GATA4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although dolomitization of calcite minerals and carbonatization of volcanic rocks have been studied widely, the extensive dolomitic rocks that originated from altered volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks have not been reported. The dolomitic rocks of the Fengcheng Formation in the Junggar Basin of China appear to be formed under unusual geologic conditions. The petrological and geochemical characteristics indicate that the dolomitizing host rock is devitrified volcanic tuff. After low-temperature alteration and calcitization, these tuffaceous rocks are replaced by Mg-rich brine to form massive dolomitic tuffs. We propose that the briny (with −2 ‰ ~ 6 ‰ of δC and −5 ‰ ~ 4 ‰ of δO) and Mg-rich marine formation water (with 0.7060 ~ 0.7087 of Sr/Sr ratio), the thick and intermediate-mafic volcanic ashes, and the tectonically compressional movement may have favored the formation of the unusual dolomitic rocks. We conclude that the proposed origin of the dolomitic rocks can be extrapolated to other similar terranes with volcaniclastic rocks, seabed tuffaceous sediment, and fracture filling of sill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though significant progress has been made in the availability of diagnostic techniques and treatment strategies, pancreatic cancer remains a disease of high mortality rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that governs the oncogenesis and metastasis process of pancreatic cancer. In our study, by using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset analysis, we demonstrated that the small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) serves as a biomarker for predicting prognosis of pancreatic cancer. In vitro studies demonstrated that silencing ARF6 expression reduced cell proliferation and attenuated the Warburg effect. Moreover, we observed that ARF6 was a downstream target of Kras/ERK signaling pathway, and the strong correlation of expression between Kras and ARF6 in the TCGA dataset further confirmed this observation. Taken together, our novel findings suggest ARF6, a target of mutant Kras, may promote pancreatic cancer development by enhancing the Warburg effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roxithromycin, macrolide antibiotics, is recommended for treating mycoplasma infection and has the potential to be administered to pregnant women who are susceptible to the infection. This study compared the pharmacokinetic properties and tissue distribution of roxithromycin among pregnant mice and their foetuses. We also determined the level of CYP3A1, a major enzyme for roxithromycin metabolism, in liver microsomes and investigated the placental transport properties of roxithromycin. Biosamples were collected from female mice at gestational day 17 after a single intragastric administration of roxithromycin. A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy method was developed to detect the drug concentration and to obtain kinetic data. The level of CYP3A1 was significantly lower in foetal liver compared with that in maternal liver according to Western blot data, suggesting a decreased metabolism and prolonged half-life of roxithromycin in the foetus. The tissue distributions of roxithromycin were similar between mother and foetus, indicating that the placental barrier did not block the transport of roxithromycin from mother to foetus. The current findings are consistent with the clinical efficacy of roxithromycin in both pregnant mothers and foetuses. Based on this study, it is feasible and reasonable to predict the transport properties of other lipophilic drugs during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circadian clock regulates many key physiological processes such as the sleep–wake cycle, hormone release, cardiovascular health, glucose metabolism and body temperature. Recent evidence has suggested a critical role of the circadian system in controlling bone metabolism. Here we review the connection between bone metabolism and the biological clock, and the roles of these mechanisms in bone loss. We also analyze the regulatory effects of clock-related genes on signaling pathways and transcription factors in osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Additionally, osteocytes and endothelial cells (ECs) regulated by the circadian clock are also discussed in our review. Furthermore, we also summarize the regulation of circadian clock genes by some novel modulators, which provides us with a new insight into a potential strategy to prevent and treat bone diseases such as osteoporosis by targeting circadian genes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiSe 2 nanoparticles are used to modify highly-ordered TiO 2 nanotube film as photoanode, and its photocathodic protection performance for 304 stainless steel is investigated. TiO 2 nanotube film on Ti foil is fabricated via the anodic oxidation, and the deposited NiSe 2 on its surface is prepared by electrochemical deposition with different cyclic voltammetry cycles. Compared to pure TiO 2 , NiSe 2 /TiO 2 nanocomposites exhibits increasing photoelectro-response activity and photocathodic protection performance for 304 stainless steel under visible light illumination. The photocathodic protection property of NiSe 2 /TiO 2 is affected by the amount of deposited NiSe 2 on TiO 2 nanotubes film, and the specimen with 2-cycle deposition exhibits an optimal photocathodic protection property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most lethal malignant neoplasms. The recognized hallmarks of PDA are regarded to be downstream events of metabolic reprogramming. Because PDA is a heterogeneous disease that is influenced by genetic polymorphisms and changes in the microenvironment, metabolic plasticity is a novel feature of PDA. As intrinsic factors for metabolic plasticity, K-ras activation and mutations in other tumor suppressor genes induce abnormal mitochondrial metabolism and enhance glycolysis, with alterations in glutamine and lipid metabolism. As extrinsic factors, the acidic and oxygen/nutrient-deprived microenvironment also induces cancer cells to reprogram their metabolic pathway and hijack stromal cells (mainly cancer-associated fibroblasts and immunocytes) to communicate, thereby adapting to metabolic stress. Therefore, a better understanding of the metabolic features of PDA will contribute to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that stochastic resonance (SR) is mainly used for signal denoising and weak signal detection. In this paper, we firstly find the frequency range selection characteristic (filtering characteristic) of re-scaling frequency SR (RFSR) caused by the driving frequency limitation of bistable SR. It then follows that a novel approach to separate vibration components with different frequencies by iteratively using SR is explored. The frequencies of most vibration signals exceed the driving frequency limitation, thus by use of different frequency-scale ratios, the vibration signals with different frequency range can be extracted by RFSR. Firstly, a small frequency-scale ratio is used to obtain the vibration signal with a narrow frequency range, i.e. low frequency vibration. As the output of SR may have a phase lag, a simple phase-shift correction method is proposed to improve the accuracy of signal component separation. The phase-shift corrected signal of RFSR output is separated from the original vibration signal and the residue is treated as the new vibration signal. Then, increasing the frequency-scale ratio according to a searching algorithm, the vibration signal with higher frequency can be obtained by RFSR. Through this iterative process, several harmonic vibration components can be separated from the original noisy vibration signal. The proposed method, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and Hilbert vibration decomposition (HVD) are respectively applied to analyzing a simulated vibration signal and extracting the fault feature of a rotor system. The contrastive results show that this proposed method has good frequency resolution and can successfully separate monocomponent harmonic signals from a strongly noisy multicomponent harmonic vibration signal while EMD and HVD cannot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the regional flavor peculiarity of Cabernet Sauvignon wine in the eastern base of the Helan Mountain, an Appellation of Origin in China, eight indigenousSaccharomyces cerevisiaestrains were studied and evaluated. Compared to commercial control F15, indigenous N11424 present significant difference in the concentration of hexyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, diethyl succinate, and methyl benzoate, and the highest content of esters and least of alcohols were found in the wine made by N11424. By sensory analysis, N11424 wine was characterized with honey, pepper, as well as more fruit flavor, such as peach, cherry, clove, redcurrant, and blackcurrant. By odor activity value analysis, most of the high impact odorants were esters and the odor activity values of esters in most of indigenous strains were higher than in control F15. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A-Cu-BTC(A = Fe, Ni, Co, Mn) was obtained using preassembled method with direct ion-exchange treatment and then used as precursor to acquire AO x /CuO y /C at 600 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. The characterization of the catalysts were performed and evaluated as the catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO with CO (CO-SCR). A-Cu-BTC was successfully applied in CO-SCR and had similar performance for catalytic denitration, while Fe-Cu-BTC didn't have a good performance. It was found that AO x /CuO y /C all performed outstanding catalytic effect for NO-CO reaction with the addition of A atoms than single CuO y /C. Better lower temperature catalyst performance of AO x /CuO y /C indicates that future design of mixed-node MOFs as precursor will have a promising future for denitration. The possible reaction mechanism about CO-SCR is discussed. These results provide that interesting MOFs and MOFs precursor as dual-function catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In optical interference-based encryption (IBE) scheme, the currently available methods have to employ the iterative algorithms in order to encrypt two images and retrieve cross-talk free decrypted images. In this paper, we shall show that this goal can be achieved via an analytical process if one of the two images is QR code. For decryption, the QR code is decrypted in the conventional architecture and the decryption has a noisy appearance. Nevertheless, the robustness of QR code against noise enables the accurate acquisition of its content from the noisy retrieval, as a result of which the primary QR code can be exactly regenerated. Thereafter, a novel optical architecture is proposed to recover the grayscale image by aid of the QR code. In addition, the proposal has totally eliminated the silhouette problem existing in the previous IBE schemes, and its effectiveness and feasibility have been demonstrated by numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetracycline (TC) as an organic pollutant causes serious harm due to its difficulty in natural decomposition, and improving its removal performance has become the focus of attention. In this study, carbon aerogel (CA) with hierarchical porous structure was successfully synthesized by cross-linking polymerization of chitosan with glutaraldehyde and combined with high-temperature carbonization procedure. Through optimization, the CA 800 obtained by carbonization at 800 °C has a good graphitization structure, which is the essential for its excellent adsorption performance, and the maximum adsorption capacity of TC can reach 210.79 mg/g under the optimal conditions. The process conforms to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model, indicating that chemisorption and multilayer adsorption play a dominant role; thermodynamic analysis confirms that the present adsorption system possesses endothermic and spontaneous properties. In addition, the CA 800 adsorbent exhibits good reusability and convenient recovery properties. Normally, pore filling, π-π EDA interactions, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions are considered as the main adsorption mechanisms for TC adsorption on carbon-based materials, but beyond that, the n-π EDA interactions present in this paper also play a prominent role. Consequently, this study makes it possible to optimize the graphitization of carbon-based adsorbents to improve their adsorption performance. A well-developed hierarchical porous carbon aerogels with good graphitization was successfully prepared and applied into TC adsorption in wastewater. [Display omitted] • Hierarchical porous carbon aerogel were successfully prepared by cross-linking polymerization and carbonization. • Well graphitization is the essential to enhance the adsorption performance. • The possible mechanism of the adsorption process was studied in detail. • CA 800 exhibits good mechanical stability and convenient recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We develop a thermal resistance mapping method for 1D materials. • This method combines focused electron beam heating with two line-shaped sensors. • We mapped the thermal resistance along a single cup-stacked carbon nanotube. • We eliminated the thermal contact resistance between the sample and the sensor. The structural non-uniformity in low-dimensional materials, including interfaces and defects, makes it highly desirable to map the thermal property distribution with a high spatial resolution. Meanwhile, eliminating the error of thermal contact resistance at the sample-sensor junction has remained a critical challenge in nanoscale thermal conductivity measurement. Here, we combine the electron beam (EB) heating with two suspended line-shaped heat flux sensors and have achieved the in-situ thermal resistance mapping along a single cup-stacked carbon nanotube (CNT) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The CNT is anchored between the two suspended metal lines, and the focused electron beam heats the CNT locally with a nanometer-range spatial resolution, while the two metal lines simultaneously measure the heat fluxes induced by the EB heating. By sweeping the focused EB along the CNT, we can obtain the spatially resolved thermal resistance, from which the true thermal conductivity of the CNT was extracted to be around 40 W/m·K without the thermal contact resistance error. This SEM-based in-situ thermal measurement method can accelerate high-resolution nanomaterials characterization and the elucidation of nanoscale heat transfer. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new compound displacement excitation is constructed for the uneven defect. • High-speed effect, radial clearance change and transmission path are considered. • An accurate fault dynamic model of high-speed rolling bearing is built. • The experiments on high-speed rolling bearings are performed to validate the model. Most of bearing fault dynamic models use simple displacement excitation functions to characterize the fault excitations from defects, and do not consider the influence of high-speed, dynamic radial clearance and transmission path, which brings the simulation signal a big gap with the measured signal. To solve these issues, this paper proposes a compound displacement excitation function by considering the influence of defect roughness, then constructs a new fault dynamic model of high-speed angular contact ball bearing (ACBB) by using the proposed displacement excitation function and introducing the effects of high-speed, dynamic radial clearance and transmission path. The proposed ACBB fault dynamic model is numerically solved for obtaining the dynamic responses under different fault sizes and speeds, then their characteristics in time and frequency domains are analyzed. The comparative results indicate that the simulation signals generated by the proposed model are closer to the measured signals, compared with those obtained by the typical bearing fault dynamic models. Finally, the correctness and superiority of the proposed model are verified by the experiments on faulty high-speed ACBBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrity of oil well cement sheaths is closely related to the long-term production safety of oil and gas wells. The primary material used to form a cement sheath is brittle. In order to reduce the brittleness of oil well cement and improve its flexibility and resistance to stress damage, nano-silica was used to modify polymer elastic particles, and their properties were analyzed. The influence of the modified polymer particles on the properties of oil well cement-based composite materials was studied, and the microstructure of the polymer particle cement sample was analyzed. The results showed that nano-silica effectively encapsulates polymer particles, improves their hydrophilicity, and achieves a maximum temperature resistance of 415 °C. The effect of the modified polymer particles on the compressive strength of cement sample is reduced. Polymer particles with different dosages can effectively reduce the elastic modulus of cement paste, improve the deformation and elasticity of cement paste, and enhance the toughness of cement paste. Microstructural analysis showed that the polymer particles are embedded in the hydration products, which is the main reason for the improvement in the elasticity of cement paste. At the same time, polymer particle cement slurry can ensure the integrity of the cement sample after it is impacted, which helps to improve the ability of oil well cement-based composite materials to resist stress damage underground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High myopia (HM) is a leading cause of visual impairment in the world. To expand the genotypic and phenotypic spectra of HM in the Chinese population, we investigated genetic variations in a cohort of 113 families with nonsyndromic early-onset high myopia from northwestern China by whole-exome sequencing, with focus on 17 known genes. Sixteen potentially pathogenic variants predicted to affect protein function in eight of seventeen causative genes for HM in fifteen (13.3%) families were revealed, including seven novel variants, c.767 + 1G > A in ARR3, c.3214C > A/p.H1072N, and c.2195C > T/p.A732V in ZNF644, c.1270G > T/p.V424L in CPSF1, c.1918G > C/p.G640R and c.2786T > G/p.V929G in XYLT1, c.601G > C/p.E201Q in P4HA2; six rare variants, c.799G > A/p.E267K in NDUFAF7, c.1144C > T/p.R382W in TNFRSF21, c.1100C > T/p.P367L in ZNF644, c.3980C > T/p.S1327L in CPSF1, c.145G > A/p.E49K and c.325G > T/p.G109W in SLC39A5; and three known variants, c.2014A > G/p.S672G and c.3261A > C/p.E1087D in ZNF644, c.605C > T/p.P202L in TNFRSF21. Ten of them were co-segregated with HM. The mean (± SD) examination age of these 15 probands was 14.7 (± 11.61) years. The median spherical equivalent was − 9.50 D (IQ − 8.75 ~ − 12.00) for the right eye and − 11.25 D (IQ − 9.25 ~ − 14.13) for the left eye. The median axial length was 26.67 mm (IQ 25.83 ~ 27.13) for the right eye and 26.25 mm (IQ 25.97 ~ 27.32) for the left eye. These newly identified genetic variations not only broaden the genetic and clinical spectra, but also offer convincing evidence that the genes ARR3, NDUFAF7, TNFRSF21, and ZNF644 contribute to hereditable HM. This work improves further understanding of molecular mechanism of HM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal microbiota-derived membrane vesicles (MVs) play essential roles in immunomodulation and maintenance of the intestinal micro-ecosystem. The relationship between MVs and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has remained undefined. This review provides a survey of the structure and biological function of different vesicle types and summarizes the possible pathogenic mechanisms mediated by MVs, which may be of great clinical significance in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease. • Gram-negative bacteria as well as gram-positive bacteria can release membrane vesicles to promote cell-to-cell communication. • Intestinal microbiota-derived membrane vesicles are mediate inflammation, pyroptosis, immunomodulation, and disease development. • The cause of membrane vesicles related kidney diseases may be inflammation, cytokines activation, or intestine-kidney axis. • Intestinal microbiota-derived membrane vesicles may be a proposing therapeutic tool for the chronic kidney disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the differences, due to different measuring mechanisms, of satellite-derived and ground measured surface solar irradiance (SSI) direct and diffuse components, and the impacts of the differences when validating satellite-derived data using ground measurements, using SSI products derived from the Advanced Himawari Imager. The issue of satellite-ground mismatch, though previously recognized, has not been given sufficient attention in the relevant scientific literature due to: (i) satellite SSI have mostly focused on relatively longer-term data, such as hourly, daily and longer; and/or (ii) most studies assessed only global (or total) irradiance. Also, studies addressing this satellite-ground mismatch issue often require a dense ground network to characterize the spatial representativeness of ground measurements, which likely limited performing such studies. With shorter-term satellite SSI data, such as 10-min or less, and the direct and diffuse components becoming increasingly available, further investigation of this satellite-ground mismatch issue is warranted. Our analysis, using direct and diffuse component SSI observations from satellite and sparse ground sites showed that a large part of apparent validation errors may have been due to the satellite-ground mismatch, often exceeding 50% in the case of 10-min direct normal irradiance. Greater appreciation and understanding of this issue should lead to more objective assessment of the real quality of satellite SSI products. Our study also showed that several factors, such as spatial averaging, temporal averaging, solar zenith angle and view zenith angle, all have often substantial impacts on the validation outcomes, over 100 W/m2 in some cases, highlighting the necessity for the ground- and satellite-based solar radiation communities to co-develop protocols for satellite SSI data validation. • Discussing ground-satellite mismatch of the direct and diffuse components. • Quantifying impact of the mismatch on validating the components. • Helping objective perception on quality of satellite-derived products. • Raising community awareness and promoting the development of protocols. • This study did not require a dense ground network to quantify the mismatch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the course of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), they generally become more heterogeneous with individual cells exhibiting distinct molecular fingerprints. This heterogeneity manifests itself through an unequal distribution of genetically-variant, tumor cell subpopulations within disease locations (i.e., spatial heterogeneity) or changes in the genomic landscape over time (i.e., temporal heterogeneity); these characteristics complicate clinical diagnosis and treatment. Effective, feasible tumor heterogeneity detection and eradication methods are essential to overcome the clinical challenges of pancreatic NETs. This review explores the molecular fingerprints of pancreatic NETs and the spectrum of tumoral heterogeneity. We then describe the challenges of assessing heterogeneity by liquid biopsies and imaging modalities and the therapeutic challenges for pancreatic NETs. In general, navigating these challenges, refining approaches for translational research, and ultimately improving patient care are available once we have a better understanding of intratumoral spatiotemporal heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed calculations for Cu-like to Br-like neodymium (Nd) ions using the multiconfiguration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) and relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) approaches. An extensive set of fine structure energy levels, lifetimes, wavelengths, and radiative transitions for electric and magnetic multipole transitions is provided. We systematically include the electronic correlation effects between valence electrons and two subshells of core electrons. In the RCI procedure, both the Breit interaction and the leading quantum electrodynamic effects are taken into account. The reliability and accuracy are confirmed by comparing our results to accessible experimental and theoretical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remaining useful life (RUL) prediction of bearings has great significance in the predictive maintenance of mechanical equipment. Owing to the difficulty of collecting abundant lifecycle datasets with correct labels, it is quite necessary to explore a prediction method with high precision and robustness in the case of small samples. It follows that a novel RUL prediction approach is put forward to overcome this problem. First, for reducing the man-made interference and the demand for expert knowledge, an unsupervised health indicator (HI) is constructed by Gaussian mixture model (GMM) and Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD), which is named as KLD-based HI. Then because of the rapid forgetting of historical trend information in the current RNN-based prediction models, a novel reinforced memory gated recurrent unit (RMGRU) network is proposed by reusing the state information at the previous moment. According to the constructed KLD-based HI vector, the unknown HIs are successively predicted by RMGRU until the predicted HI value exceeds the failure threshold, and then RUL is calculated. The contrast experiment on IEEE 2012PHM bearing datasets shows the superiority of the bearing RUL prediction approach based on RMGRU over the classical time series forecasting methods. It can be concluded that this method has great application potential in bearing RUL prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine rotavirus (BRV) is a potential zoonotic intestinal pathogen that brings a serious threat to calf health, and has resulted in huge economic losses to China's breeding industry. Here, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence of BRV among Bovidae from 1984 to 2021 in China. A total of 64 publications on BRV investigation in China were screened from the databases Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang Database, Technology Periodical Database (VIP), PubMed, and ScienceDirect. The random-effect model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of BRV, and the analyzed data were derived from 25 provinces in China. The estimated pooled prevalence of BRV in China was 35.7% (8176/17,292). In addition, the prevalence of BRV in Southwestern China (77.1%; 2924/3600) was significantly higher than that in other regions of China. Regarding geographic and climatic factors, the prevalence of BRV in the subgroup of latitude 30–35° (76.8%; 3303/4659) was significantly higher than that in the subgroup of latitude less than 30° (37.0%; 485/1275) or more than 35° (32.6%; 1703/5722), while the prevalence of BRV in the subgroup of longitude 100–105° (75.4%; 2513/3849) was significantly higher than that in the subgroup of longitude less than 100° (32.6%; 619/2255) or more than 105° (48.9%; 2359/5552). Rainfall was positively correlated with the prevalence of BRV, whereas temperature was negatively correlated with the positive rate of BRV (P < 0.05). Our data showed that the prevalence of BRV was strongly correlated with geographical and climatic conditions. Thus, we recommend that the corresponding prevention and control programs should be formulated according to different geographical conditions. The strengthening of BRV surveillance in areas with high altitude, low temperature, and heavy rainfall may contribute to the decrease of the incidence of BRV infection among Bovidae herds in China. • This is the first meta-analysis of the prevalence of bovine rotavirus in China. • Bovine rotavirus is prevalent and unevenly distributed among Bovidae in China. • The risk factors for the epidemic of bovine rotavirus in Chinese Bovidae were revealed. • The prevalence of bovine rotavirus shows regional diversity, with higher prevalence in cold, wet and rainy areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO 2 nanotubes were fabricated by the anodization method, and CdTe was deposited on them via electrochemical deposition method. The optimal performance of the CdTe/TiO 2 composites was achieved via changing the acidity of the electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the surface morphology, elemental analysis and phase characteristics of the composite materials. Some electrochemical tests, such as open-circuit potential, current variation versus time were carried out to investigate the photogenerated cathodic protection of 304 stainless steel by CdTe/TiO 2 . The results indicated that the cathodic protection performance of the CdTe/TiO 2 composite was superior to that of pure TiO 2 in the wavelength of visible light. The CdTe/TiO 2 composite exhibited optimal photogenerated cathodic protection properties under visible light for the corrosion potential of 304 stainless steel shifted negatively to −850 mV when the concentration of HCl in the deposition electrolyte was 1 mol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a novel gaseous transmitter, regulating a multitude of biological processes in the cardiovascular and other systems. However, it remains unclear whether it exerts any effect on arterial thrombosis. In this study, we examined the effect of H2S on ferric chloride (FeCl3)-induced thrombosis in the rat common carotid artery (CCA). The results revealed a decrease of the H2S-producing enzyme cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) expression and H2S production that persisted until 48 h after FeCl3application. Intriguingly, administration with NaHS at appropriate regimen reduced the thrombus formation and enhanced the blood flow, accompanied with the alleviation of CSE and CD31 downregulation, and endothelial cell apoptosis in the rat CCA following FeCl3application. Moreover, the antithrombotic effect of H2S was also observed in Rose Bengal photochemical model in which the development of thrombosis is contributed by oxidative injury to the endothelium. Thein vitrostudy demonstrated that the mRNA and protein expression of CSE, as well as H2S production, was decreased in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-treated endothelial cells. Exogenous supplement of NaHS and CSE overexpression consistently alleviated the increase of cleaved caspase-3 and endothelial cell damage caused by H2O2. Taken together, our findings suggest that endogenous H2S generation in the endothelium may be impaired during arterial thrombosis and that modulation of H2S, either exogenous supplement or boost of endogenous production, may become a potential venue for arterial thrombosis therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Treatment of [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2with HSp-Tol or HSCH2Ph in the presence of K[PF6] gave the cationic dinuclear cymene–ruthenium(II) complexes [(p-cymene)2Ru2(μ-Cl)(μ-Sp-Tol)2][PF6] (1) and [(p-cymene)2Ru2(μ-Cl)(μ-SCH2Ph)2][PF6] (2), respectively, which have been characterized by IR, NMR spectroscopies and mass spectrometry along with microanalyses. Their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The structures of the cationic complexes contain the unusualpseudo-trigonal-bipyramidal Ru2S2Cl framework without a ruthenium–ruthenium single bond. The twop-cymene–ruthenium units are held together by two bridging thiolates and one bridging chloride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Contact lens-induced dry eye is commonly encountered, although its extent is not well documented with daily disposable lenses. A novel type of contact lens system incorporating moisturising agent (alginic acid) has been developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of wearing daily 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate disposable contact lenses for seven days on tear stability, conjunctival and limbal redness and dry eye symptoms. Then, we aimed to determine whether lens solutions containing alginic acid had any influence on tear parameters.Methods: This was a seven-day parallel group double-masked clinical trial of previous contact lens wearers, where participants were randomly assigned to wearing SEED 1dayPure moisture contact lenses with (n = 15) or without alginic acid (n = 15). Tear lipid layer thickness (LLT), non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUT), conjunctival redness, corneal fluorescein staining, tear break-up time and Schirmer I readings were measured. Symptom severity and frequency were evaluated and combined using a global score from visual analogue scales.Results: The mean age and standard deviation of the participants was 25 ± 3.8 years. There were 24 females and six males. After reintroduction of contact lens wear for one week, there was significant improvement in the global symptom score; however, this may not be clinically significant. There were small and clinically insignificant changes in limbal and conjunctival hyperaemia but no significant changes in lipid layer thickness, Schirmer I and NIBUT in overall participants. The use of alginic acid in lens solutions did not affect these parameters compared to control lenses (p > 0.05).Conclusions: After seven days of wearing a modern daily disposable lens, there was no significant deterioration of tear function in a group of young contact lens wearers. In this short-term study, there was no evidence of significant benefit of lens solutions containing alginic acid used with HEMA lenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed-node A-Cu-BTC (A = Sr, La, Ce, Al) was obtained through hydrothermal method, which was already successfully investigated that could be applied as a catalyst in selective catalytic reduction of NO with CO (CO-SCR). Mixed-node A atoms were proved through elemental analysis method using an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer. In addition, CuO y /C and AO x /CuO y /C were obtained by a heat treatment of A-Cu-BTC under N 2 atmosphere, which were found to be more effective as lower temperature catalysts. These characterizations of mixed-node A-Cu-BTC and AO x /CuO y /C were performed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis and specific surface area using the BET method. The possible reaction mechanism about CO-SCR is discussed. These results provide that mixed-node MOFs and oxides prepared from mixed-node MOFs both have a promising application for CO-SCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to rapidly screen indigenous yeasts with high levels of β-glucosidase activity and assess the potential of glycosidase extracts for aroma enhancement in winemaking. A semiquantitative colorimetric assay was applied using 96-well plates to screen yeasts from 3 different regions of China. Isolates with high β-glucosidase activity were confirmed by the commonly used pNP assay. Among 493 non-Saccharomyces isolates belonging to 8 generas, 3 isolates were selected for their high levels of β-glucosidase activity and were identified as Hanseniaspora uvarum, Pichia membranifaciens, and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa by sequence analysis of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 domain. β-Glucosidase in the glycosidase extract fromH. uvarum strain showed the highest activity in winemaking conditions among the selected isolates. For aroma enhancement in winemaking, the glycosidase extract from H. uvarum strain exhibited catalytic specificity for aromatic glycosides of C13-norisoprenoids and some terpenes, enhancing fresh floral, sweet, berry, and nutty aroma characteristics in wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement, which is used as a filler material in vertebroplasty, is one of the major sources of pulmonary embolism in patients who have undergone vertebroplasty. In the present study, we established and evaluated two animal models of pulmonary embolism by injecting PMMA or biphasic calcium composite (BCC) bone cement with a negative surface charge. A total of 12 adults and healthy Wuzhishan minipigs were randomly divided into two groups, the PMMA and BBC groups, which received injection of PMMA bone cement and BBC bone cement with a negative surface charge in the circulation system through the pulmonary trunk, respectively, to construct animal models of pulmonary embolism. The hemodynamics, arterial blood gas, and plasma coagulation were compared between these two groups. In addition, morphological changes of the lung were examined using three-dimensional computed tomography. The results showed that both PMMA and BCC injections induced pulmonary embolisms in minipigs. Compared to the PMMA group, the BCC group exhibited significantly lower levels of arterial pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, blood oxygen pressure, blood carbon dioxide pressure, blood bicarbonate, base excess, antithrombin III and D-dimer. In conclusion, BCC bone cement with a negative surface charge is a promising filler material for vertebroplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signal decomposition is a widely-used approach for multicomponent signal processing. To improve the accuracy and anti-noise performance of multicomponent decomposition, this paper proposes a novel multicomponent signal decomposition method based on wavelet ridge extraction, called the Wavelet ridge signal decomposition (WRSD). A wavelet ridge extraction algorithm is introduced. We find that this algorithm can obtain the wavelet ridge of one component in a multicomponent signal and the initial scale will determine the wavelet ridge of which component is extracted. Since the instantaneous frequency obtained by wavelet ridge has small frequency fluctuation, low-pass filtering is used to increase the accuracy of instantaneous frequency estimation. With the improved instantaneous frequency, the synchronous demodulation method is used to separate the corresponding component from the signal composition. By repeating this process, all components can be adaptively and automatically obtained. This method is employed to analyze three typical simulated vibration signals and compared with Hilbet vibration decomposition and empirical mode decomposition. The comparison results demonstrate its superiority in decomposition accuracy and noise insensitivity. Finally, the proposed WRSD method is successfully applied to the diagnosis of a shaft misalignment fault and a gearbox wear fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work expands on the recent synthesis and reactivity of the two-coordinate P(III)-containing dication [((Ph3P)2C)P(NiPr2)]2+ (3a2+). Two additional dications of general formula [((RPh2P)2C)P(NR′2)]2+ (3b2+, R = 1/2 (CH2)3, R′ = iPr; 3c2+, R = Ph, R′ = Cy) have been prepared. Solution and solid-state 31P NMR isotropic shifts for this dication class were observed around 360 ppm. Except for [3a][SbF6]2, the 31P CP/MAS NMR spectra reveal a high degree of structural disorder around the dicationic site in the solid state. Surprisingly, the synthesis of dication 3a2+ was only possible in the presence of AlCl4-, SbF6-, and substituted tetraarylborates, while the use of ClO4-, OTf-, BF4-, PF6-, and BPh4- resulted in complex product mixtures. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of dications 3a2+ and 3c2+ suggested a 4π allyl-like structure for the central CPN fragment, and this has been supported through detailed theoretical investigations. Initial reactivity studies between dications 3a2+/3c2+ and PMe3 show an equilibrium between the free dication and the target adduct. Furthermore, 3a2+ has been shown to be capable of O-H bond activation using water and methanol and polymerizes THF when it is dissolved in this solvent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]