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Abstract: Perfluorinated monomer (perfluoro-2-methylene-4,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane), its precursor (perfluoro-2,4,5-trimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-2-carboxylic acid), as well as their hydrocarbon precursor (methyl 2,4,5-trimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-2-carboxylate), were prepared and studied by 1D- and advanced 2D NMR techniques. For both perfluorinated compounds, the structures of their possible isomers were proven by 2D NMR spectroscopy. Due to the large 19F spectral window, this study used selective versions of the correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments to provide better resolution and sensitivity. In addition, a new variation of the gradient heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy (gHSQC) sequence was successful for observing two-bond 19F 13C correlations. Compared with the gradient heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectroscopy (gHMBC) spectrum, the 2 J FC gHSQC spectrum is greatly simplified due to the absence of splittings caused by multi-quantum coherence. Quantitative 1H or 19F 1D NMR was used to confirm the resonance assignments and to calculate the ratio of isomers. The configurational compositions of perfluorinated compounds and their hydrocarbon precursor support the idea that fluorination by elemental fluorine is a free radical process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Bocaviruses are classified as a genus within the Parvoviridae family of single-stranded DNA viruses and are pathogenic in some mammalian species. Two species have been previously reported in dogs, minute virus of canines (MVC), associated with neonatal diseases and fertility disorders; and Canine bocavirus (CBoV), associated with respiratory disease. Findings: In this study using deep sequencing of enriched viral particles from the liver of a dog with severe hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, necrotizing vasculitis, granulomatous lymphadenitis and anuric renal failure, we identified and characterized a novel bocavirus we named Canine bocavirus 3 (CnBoV3). The three major ORFs of CnBoV3 (NS1, NP1 and VP1) shared less than 60% aa identity with those of other bocaviruses qualifying it as a novel species based on ICTV criteria. Inverse PCR showed the presence of concatemerized or circular forms of the genome in liver. Conclusions: We genetically characterized a bocavirus in a dog liver that is highly distinct from prior canine bocaviruses found in respiratory and fecal samples. Its role in this animal's complex disease remains to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We aimed to replicate the association of the rs290487 (IVS3C/T) and rs7903146 (IVS3C/T) polymorphisms of transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Han Chinese people in Henan province, China. Methods: In all, 1,842 patients with T2DM and 7,777 normal glucose-tolerant controls underwent genotyping for the T2DM-associated variants rs7903146 (IVS3C/T) and rs290487 (IVS3C/T). W performed a meta-analysis of the association of the risk alleles of rs7903146 (IVS3C/T) and rs290487 (IVS3C/T) in TCF7L2 and T2DM in Han Chinese by combining previous studies with the present study. Results: We found that T2DM was associated with the CC genotype (1.364, 1.137–1.636, p  = 0.001), the recessive model (1.457, 1.156–1.838, p  = 0.001) of rs290487 (IVS3C/T) and haplotype CC (1.116, 1.034–1.204, p  = 0.004) in Han Chinese. Moreover, our meta-analyses supported the association of the T allele (IVS3C/T) of rs7903146 (1.36, 1.24–1.48; p  = 6.404×10−12) and T2DM but not the C allele of rs290487 (IVS3C/T) (0.99, 0.85–1.15, p  = 0.890) in Han Chinese. We found no interactions between behavioral risk factors (smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activity) and rs7903146 (IVS3C/T) and rs290487 (IVS3C/T) polymorphisms. Conclusions: The CC genotype and the recessive model of the variant rs290487 (IVS3C/T) and CC haplotype of rs7903146 (IVS3C/T) and rs290487 (IVS3C/T) in TCF7L2 may be associated with T2DM in Han Chinese people in Henan province, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the efforts made to develop hydrodynamic models for large-scale tsunami propagation and run-up, little has been done to develop, test, and validate sediment transport models used to simulate tsunami-induced sediment movement. In this study, the performances of six widely-used sediment transport formulas are evaluated through case studies using an open source code XBeach, which is based on 2D depth-averaged nonlinear shallow water equations. Another open source code, Delft3D, is also used to see to what extent XBeach can give reliable results. The benchmarks used for case studies include three laboratory experiments and one field observation from a post-tsunami field survey conducted after the 2004 Indian tsunami. Our results show that most of the surveyed sediment transport formulas can give good results for laboratory-scale problems, but for real-scale problems, all six formulas failed to produce good results compared to those found in laboratory conditions. For laboratory-scale problems, both XBeach and Delft3D can predict satisfactory results with properly-chosen model parameters. For real tsunamis, high suspended sediment concentration may occur, and density stratification and hindered settling effect play an important role; therefore, Delft3D, with both hindered settling and density stratification being considered, may perform better than XBeach. The findings reported here will be useful for researchers and practitioners working on tsunami hazard mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Eu3+ and Tb3+ co-doped NaLa(MoO4)2 phosphors with various shapes have been synthesized by a simple conventional hydrothermal method. The morphology of the materials was found to be manipulated by changing the pH value of the precursor hydrothermal media. Uniform NaLa(MoO4)2 3D microspheres could be trapped at pH 5 and the spindle-like NaLa(MoO4)2 microstructures were obtained at pH 7. When the pH value was adjusted to 9, the flower-like NaLa(MoO4)2 microstructures were obtained. The luminescent properties of the NaLa(MoO4)2:Eu3+/Tb3+ samples with different morphologies prepared at different starting pH values were studied. The results show that the emission intensity of the product obtained at pH 5 is the strongest. Besides, under ultraviolet excitation the luminescence colors of NaLa(MoO4)2 samples co-doped with Eu3+ and Tb3+ can be tuned from red, through yellow and green–yellow, to green by simply adjusting the relative doping concentrations of the activator ions. This merit of multicolor emissions in the visible region endows the as-prepared products with potential application in the fields of light-display systems and optoelectronic devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

I believe in BiOCles: Microsphere ‐ , microflower ‐ , and microdisk ‐ like BiOCl hierarchical self ‐ assemblies were fabricated and showed superior photocatalytic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NMR is a powerful tool to study the microstructures ofpoly(vinylidenefluoride-co-tetrafluoroethylene), poly(VDF-co-TFE). This study shows that the microstructures in thiscopolymer can be established completely on the basis of 2D-NMR, inwhich improved dispersion is achieved by the second dimension (19F or 13C chemical shifts). 2D-NMR has been provento be extremely effective for identifying the carbon sequence distributionsin the polymer main chain. For lower level sequences (3- or 5-carbonsequences), resonance assignments on the basis of one- and two-bond 19F{13C} gradient heteronuclear single quantum coherence(gHSQC) experiments are in good agreement with assignments obtainedby traditional methods. Higher level sequences (7- or 9-carbon sequences),which can not be assigned unambiguously by traditional methods, weredetermined by 19F–19F gradient doublequantum correlation spectroscopy (gdqCOSY), which provides 19F–19F correlations over 3–5 bonds. A quantitativestudy was also conducted on the composition of this copolymer. Threedifferent approaches were used to calculate the fraction of TFE andthe inversion ratio of VDF units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The shape of nanoparticles plays an important role in the interaction between cells and particles. However, the shape effect of mesoporous silica nanoparticles on the cellular uptake pathway and mechanism has not been reported. Herein, three different kinds of fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FMSN, aspect ratio=1, 2, and 4, ca. 100nm in diameter) with similar fluorescent intensity at equivalent concentration were fabricated by a co-condensation strategy. In simulated body fluid (SBF), the PEGylated FMSN (FMSN-PEG) have higher dispersity and stability than the naked counterparts. So we chose the FMSN-PEG to research of shape effect on the cellular uptake pathway in Hela cells. We found that the uptake kinetics and pathway of three different shaped FMSN-PEG were obviously shape-dependent. The long-rod FMSN-PEG (NLR-PEG) showed higher intracellular retention amount than the short-rod FMSN-PEG (NSR-PEG) and the sphere FMSN-PEG (NS-PEG) almost over 8h. The NSR-PEG showed the lowest intracellular amount especially with prolonged incubation time. We also found that the cellular entry pathway of NS-PEG, NSR-PEG, and NLR-PEG into Hela cells was regulated by particle shape. Spherical particles preferred to be internalized via the clathrin-mediated pathway, whereas MSN with larger aspect ratios (ARs) favored to be internalized via caveolae-mediated pathway, which could explain their different uptake kinetics. Our findings may provide useful information for optimizing the nano-based drug delivery and bio-imaging systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Silica nanorattle with hollow and mesoporous structure has been proven to be an excellent drug carrier. However, how to control the drug release from silica nanorattle is still a challenge. In this study, we designed two methods, in-situ polymerization method and water in oil in water (W/O/W) double emulsion method, to coat a nanosized poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) layer onto the surface of silica nanorattle for controlling the drug release behavior. Hydrophobic antitumor drug docetaxel was loaded into the PLGA coated silica nanorattle (PLGA@SN). The drug release profile, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity on human liver cancer HepG2 cells were evaluated to prove that the PLGA layer plays an effective role in tuning the drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freeze-drying (FD) is often used for therapeutic proteins and other biological drugs to extend their shelf life, but it usually reduces the activity and stability of the protein and has a longer drying cycle. A microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD) was proposed to produce immunoglobulin of yolk (IgY) preparations. The effects of FD and MFD on the immunological activity and structure of IgY with different amounts of trehalose were investigated. Results showed that lyophilization led to a partial loss of secondary structure in IgY, which resulted in the activity loss. As the trehalose content increased from 0% to 5%, the activity retention of MFD samples increased from 20.31% to 75.57%, which was comparable to FD samples (from 23.57% to 67.78%). However, MFD had a shorter drying cycle when compared with FD. MFD can be a potential alternative to FD as a common therapeutic protein drying method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we aimed to design a novel brain-computer interaction (BCI) approach in routing and forwarding mechanisms to realize a networking multi-modal and multi-brain linked control. In recent years, the field programmable gate array (FPGA) has become a popular choice to construct a heterogeneous network for routing and forwarding processes due to its ability to complete a high performance computation in single node. Conventional BCI mode focus on capturing the dynamic EEG signals from multiple electrode channels and this concept neglects the existing complexity and diversity of connecting information between two brain regions. To this moment, we build a heterogeneous multi-agent system (HMAS) architecture to simulate the memristive neuron networks (MNN) with a set of logic units for multi-agent in the Internet. Specifically, we first feed the non-linear features into an intelligent router to adjust their routing and forwarding processes. Subsequently, at one-time step, the output of all testing nodes is written into a heterogeneous logic space, which mainly consists of the sub-agent, forward port, and memory memristive neuron. In the FPGA, each programmable cell selectively integrates and stores a huge number of motion information between multiple interacting channels. We can achieve the networking cooperative functions of forward and route through FPGA large-scale computation. According to the extensive experimental results on several data, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed HMAS-BCI architecture to compare the optimization method of the multiple simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pompon-like NaLa(MoO4)2:Dy3+ phosphors have been successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method using ammonia as pH value regulator. The hydrothermal process was carried out under aqueous condition without the use of any organic solvent, surfactant, and catalyst. The experimental results demonstrate that the obtained NaLa(MoO4)2:Dy3+ phosphor powders are single-phase scheelite structure with tetragonal symmetry. Moreover, the phosphor under the excitation of 390 and 456nm exhibited blue emission (486nm) and yellow emission (574nm), corresponding to the 4F9/2→6H15/2 transition and 4F9/2→6H13/2 transition of Dy3+ ions, respectively. In addition, the yellow-to-blue emission intensity ratio (Y/B) can be changed with the doped concentration of Dy3+ ions. All chromaticity coordinates of the obtained NaLa(MoO4)2:Dy3+ phosphors are located in the white-light region. The results indicate that this kind of phosphor may has potential applications in the fields of near UV-excited and blue-excited white LEDs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: LaPO4: Eu3+, Sm3+ nanorods have been successfully prepared by a designed two-step hydrothermal method. The whole process was carried out under aqueous conditions without the use of any organic solvent, surfactant, or catalyst. The crystal structure, morphology have been characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM, respectively. The detailed conversion process of the product LaPO4 nanorods has been investigated on the basis of time-dependent XRD experiments and SEM experiments. Moreover, the LaPO4 samples doped with Eu3+ and Sm3+ under ultraviolet excitation showed red emission corresponding to the 5D0–7F1 transition of the Eu3+ ions. The doped Sm3+ was found to be efficient to sensitize the emission of Eu3+ and be effective to extend the absorption of near-UV light with wavelength of 400–405nm. The effect of the concentration of Sm3+ on the emission intensities of the phosphor LaPO4: Eu3+, Sm3+ is also investigated. These samples could be potentially used in the fields of near UV-excited white-light-emitting diode and optoelectronic devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Crystalline silica is well known to induce chronic lung inflammation by inhalation that can progress to silicosis. Recently, we reported that silica nanoparticles (SN) cause more damage to liver instead of lung when they enter the body by intravenous injection. However, this mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, liver damages caused by mesoporous hollow silica nanoparticles (MHSNs) were demonstrated after continuous intraperitoneal injection into mice twice a week for 6 weeks. The administration of MHSNs at 50 mg/kg increased liver injury markers in serum, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Histological analysis revealed lymphocytic infiltration and silicotic nodular like lesions in liver. Collagen fibers were observed around the silicotic nodular like lesion, and hydroxyproline level in liver was also increased dramatically. We also found that activated kupffer cells (KCs) played a key role in the liver damage caused by SNs similar to alveolar macrophage in the process of silicosis. These suggest that the mechanism of liver damage caused by SNs is in consonance with the occurrence of silicosis. These findings may provide useful information for the further toxicity and bioapplication research of nanoparticles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The genomes of numerous circoviruses and distantly related circular ssDNA viruses encoding a rolling circle replication initiator protein (Rep) have been characterized from the tissues of mammals, fish, insects, plants (geminivirus and nanovirus), in human and animal feces, in an algae cell, and in diverse environmental samples. We review the genome organization, phylogenetic relationships and initial prevalence studies of cycloviruses, a proposed new genus in the Circoviridae family. Viral fossil rep sequences were also recently identified integrated on the chromosomes of mammals, frogs, lancelets, crustaceans, mites, gastropods, roundworms, placozoans, hydrozoans, protozoans, land plants, fungi, algae, and phytoplasma bacterias and their plasmids, reflecting the very wide past host range of rep bearing viruses. An ancient origin for viruses with Rep-encoding small circular ssDNA genomes, predating the diversification of eukaryotes, is discussed. The cellular hosts and pathogenicity of many recently described rep-containing circular ssDNA genomes remain to be determined. Future studies of the virome of single cell and multi-cellular eukaryotes are likely to further extend the known diversity and host-range of small rep-containing circular ssDNA viral genomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mesoporous hollow silica nanoparticles (MHSNs) are emerging as one of the new and promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications, but the biocompatibility of MHSNs in vivo has received little attention. In the present study, the systematic single and repeated dose toxicity, biodistribution and clearance of MHSNs in vivo were demonstrated after intravenous injection in mice. For single dose toxicity, lethal dose 50 (LD50) of 110 nm MHSNs was higher than 1000 mg/kg. Further repeated dose toxicity studies indicated no death was observed when mice were exposed to MHSNs at 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg by continuous intravenous administration for 14 days. These results suggest low toxicity of MHSNs when intravenous injection at single dose or repeated administrations. ICP–OES and TEM results show that the MHSNs mainly accumulate in mononuclear phagocytic cells in liver and spleen. In addition, these particles could be excreted from the body and the entire clearance time of the particles should be over 4 weeks. These findings would be useful for future development of nanotechnology-based drug delivery system and other biomedical applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Document scripts and document orientations are important information for the document digitalization. Prior work has been reported to identify document scripts and document orientations, whereas most reported methods are very sensitive to document skew and low image resolution. This paper reports a document script and document orientation identification method that addresses this issue by converting a document image into a pair of document vectors using the density and distribution of character strokes. Experiments over 3,024 document images of 12 scripts show that the proposed methods are accurate and tolerant to various types of document degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Twenty-seven strains of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were isolated from dead or diseased chickens at different chicken farms in South China during 2004–2008, of which the S1 gene was sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the S1 gene sequences of the isolated 27 strains together with 29 strains published in Genbank revealed that all IBV strains except for one isolated and one published were clustered into six distinct genotypes I-VI. 26 isolated strains belong to genotypes I, II, and III, forming a big phylogenetic branch without new predominant strains, whereas all five vaccine strains belong to genotype V that is evolutionarily distant from genotypes I, II, and III. The study of the protease cleavage motif within the S1 protein found 12 different cleavage motifs, of which 3 motifs are shared by both isolated and published strains, 2 motifs unique to isolated strains, and 7 motifs unique to published strains, further bolstering the notion of no new predominant strains. Alignment analysis of the S1 amino acid sequences indicated that the amino acid substitutions, insertions, and deletions are polymorphic and diverse, showing no sign of predominant genetic changes among the isolated strains. Taken together, there was no predominant new strain circulating in South China during 2004–2008. Nonetheless, circulating IBV strains have been continuously evolving with genetic compositions distant from vaccine strains; this explains why there have been constant but infrequent outbreaks in commercial flocks in South China during 2004–2008. Furthermore, in order to safe guard against the sudden emergence of new predominant strains, continuing surveillance of IBV strains circulating in the field is of extreme importance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The species composition and metabolic potential of microbial and viral communities are predictable and stable for most ecosystems. This apparent stability contradicts theoretical models as well as the viral–microbial dynamics observed in simple ecosystems, both of which show Kill-the-Winner behavior causing cycling of the dominant taxa. Microbial and viral metagenomes were obtained from four human-controlled aquatic environments at various time points separated by one day to >1 year. These environments were maintained within narrow geochemical bounds and had characteristic species composition and metabolic potentials at all time points. However, underlying this stability were rapid changes at the fine-grained level of viral genotypes and microbial strains. These results suggest a model wherein functionally redundant microbial and viral taxa are cycling at the level of viral genotypes and virus-sensitive microbial strains. Microbial taxa, viral taxa, and metabolic function persist over time in stable ecosystems and both communities fluctuate in a Kill-the-Winner manner at the level of viral genotypes and microbial strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new approach to perfluoroalkyl imidazopyridines. • The reaction proceeds without using photoredox catalyst. • Electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes was applied. • This method features mild conditions and broad substrates scope. A novel protocol for photochemical perfluoroalkylation reaction of imidazoheterocycles with readily available perfluoroalkyl iodide is reported. A library of perfluoroalkyl products can be afforded in moderate to good yields. Notable advantages of this method include wide substrates, mild conditions, and not using photoredox catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A three-dimensional liquid-metal (LM) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in a U-turn duct with large aspect ratio of the duct cross-section of the connecting channel and in a U-turn conduit with manifold in the connecting region is studied, respectively. • The variation of velocity, pressure, electric current and electric potential is investigated with considering the effect of the duct geometry. • The influences of the electric conductivity of the separating walls and the different Hartmann numbers on the mass imbalance among the parallel-ducts are studied. • The pressure drop is reduced in the U-turn duct with large aspect ratio of the duct cross-section of the connecting channel. In the design and development of liquid breeder blankets, a number of duct geometries are considered, such as the multiple channel, U-turn duct and T-shaped duct. In the presence of the magnetic field, the motion of electrically-conducting liquid metal leads to Megnetohydrodynamic phenomena, as results of the liquid metal flow profile changes inside the flow channels and additional pressure drop of liquid breeder blankets. A three-dimensional liquid-metal (LM) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in a U-turn duct with large aspect ratio of the duct cross-section of the connecting channel and in a U-turn conduit with manifold in the connecting region is studied, respectively. Here, the effects of the electrical conductivity of the separating wall in the manifold and different Hartmann numbers on the flow features are considered. Since the 3-D currents are induced due to the complicated geometrical flow path, the electrical conductivity of the separating wall plays a key role in the distribution of mass flow rate among the parallel ducts in manifold. Thus, in the present study, the distribution of the mass flow rate is analyzed for different electrical conductivity of the structural walls. Furthermore, since the aim of the optimal design of liquid-metal blanket is to achieve a proper velocity distribution and reduce the pressure drop caused by the flow opposing Lorentz force, the investigation of the effect of the duct geometry on the pressure distribution in this study is significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A simple method based on the Stöber reaction was developed to prepare silver-nanocrystal-doped silica composite particles. The silane coupling agent N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)dropyl]ethylene diamine (TSD) incorporated Ag+ into a siloxane framework and a further chemical reducer reduced Ag+ to silver nanoparticles. TEM images showed that, in the presence of TSD, silver nanocrystals (fcc) of 2–8 nm were homogeneously doped in the silica particles, which showed a typical surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak. The as-prepared Ag/SiO2 composite particles can be self-assembled into long-range ordered lattices (or photonic crystals) over large areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The 10th South China Sea Tsunami Workshop (SCSTW-10) held in Singapore during October 10-11, 2018 marks the 10 year anniversary of the workshop, which was initiated by Professor Philip L. F. Liu in 2007. In the last 10 years, the topics of SCSTW have expanded from the tsunami hydrodynamics to very diverse disciplines, to include big data analysis, and development of process-based models, in the process, enhancing our understanding of tsunamis. These papers cover topics related to hydrodynamics of tsunami waves, tsunami hazard assessment, new technology for tsunami warning and mitigation. [Extracted from the article]

This paper addresses control performance monitoring (CPM) and degradation recovering in automatic control systems. It begins with a re-visit of CPM techniques and a summary of the major limitations of the existing CPM methods. They are (i) deficit in assessing control performance degradation caused by different types of disturbances and environment uncertainties, (ii) incapability for predicting performance degradation, and (iii) deficiency of efficient performance degradation recovering methods. In order to meet increasing demands of next generation automatic control systems for higher system performance, novel CPM methods have been developed in recent years, including performance assessment of control systems with deterministic disturbances and uncertainties, prediction of control performance degradation, and recovery of control performance degradation. Some of these methods and algorithms are introduced in the second part of this paper. The basis of these methods is a so-called residual centred model of feedback control systems, which allows a unified handling of control, monitoring and diagnosis in feedback control systems corrupted by disturbances and uncertainties. The focuses of these methods are on (i) introduction of the loop performance degradation index for the assessment and prediction of performance degradation in automatic control systems, (ii) predictive detection and estimation of loop performance degradation, and (iii) a data-driven performance degradation recovering scheme. The paper is concluded by a short summary of three future perspective topics, (i) prediction of economic system performance monitoring and estimation, (ii) reinforcement learning aided system performance recovery, and (iii) CPM digital twin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of intelligent transportation, more and more vehicles are equipped with intelligent traffic sign recognition systems, which can reduce the potential safety hazards caused by human cognitive errors. Therefore, a more safe and reliable traffic sign recognition system is the demand of drivers, and it is also the research hotspot of current automobile manufacturers. However, the pictures taken by the actual driving car are inevitably distorted and blurred. In addition, there are external uncontrollable factors, such as the impact of bad weather, which make the research of traffic sign recognition system face many difficulties, and the practical application is far from mature. In order to solve the above challenges, this paper proposes a Yolo model for traffic sign recognition. Firstly, the traffic signs are roughly divided into several categories and then preprocessed according to the characteristics of various types of signs. The processed pictures are input into the optimized convolutional neural network to subdivide the categories to obtain the specific categories. Finally, the proposed recognition algorithm is tested with the data set based on the German traffic sign recognition standard and compared with other baseline algorithms. The results show that the algorithm greatly improves the running speed on the basis of ensuring a high classification accuracy and is more suitable for traffic sign recognition system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • GHPSM displayed enhanced accumulation and controlled drug release in OA cartilage site. • GHPSM delayed OA progression by reshaping OA microenvironment via multi-channel. • The progressions of early OA disease after treatments were tracked by fluorescence/MR imaging. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease of the knee joint, suffering from the limited therapeutic effect and serious side effects. Unfortunately, there are currently rarely available materials to fundamentally delay and monitor OA progression. The OA microenvironment, including excessive inflammation, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), oxidative stress, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of OA. Utilizing and remodeling OA microenvironment may be an effective strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of OA. This work developed an intelligent responsive nanoprobe, Gd-HMPB@SMT@MMP (GHPSM) by encapsulating S-methylisothiourea (SMT) loaded mesoporous Prussian Blue (Gd-HMPB) with Tetramethyl Rhodamine (TAMRA) labeled MMP-13 peptide (MMP-13-TAMRA) for this aim. GHPSM displayed enhanced accumulation in OA cartilage site due to the decrease in the content of negatively charged aminoglycans (GAGs) in early degenerative articular cartilage and activated fluorescence signal as well as SMT controlled release due to the cleavage of MMP-13-TAMRA from GHPSM by overexpressed MMP-13 matrix protease in OA microenvironment. Furthermore, integrating the function of SMT and PB nanozyme, GHPSM reshaped the OA microenvironment by reducing the release of ROS and inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS), increasing the expression of intermediate structural proteins (COL2 and Aggrescan), thereby reducing cartilage degradation and chondrocyte apoptosis, ultimately delaying the development of OA. The progressions of early OA disease after different treatments were successfully tracked based on fluorescence/MR imaging with X-ray imaging of knee joint for comparation. These findings highlight the potentials of GHPSM in monitoring the status of cartilage in real-time and delay OA progression by reshaping the OA microenvironment, providing novel ideas for future research in OA diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fe(II) can provide electrons to promote the reduction of nitrite. • Fe(III) supported the growth and metabolism of P. JM-7 as an electron acceptor. • The higher growth and proliferation of P. JM-7 in iron-containing fillers. • The morphology of phosphate was similar to bidentate-bonded Fe–PO 4 complexes. • Administering Fe(II)/Fe(III) should consider their nucleation and crystallization. The interdependence between iron and nitrogen in the environment is of utmost importance, and this study has explored the intricate relationship between denitrification and iron valence cycling using Pseudomonas sp. strain JM-7 (P. JM-7) as a model bacteria. Our research demonstrated that P. JM-7 had the ability to effectuate electron transfer from the periplasmic space to electron acceptors, such as nitrate, via Cytochrome c -proteins (c-Cyts). We found that iron valence state transformations with Fe(II)/Fe(III) promoted P. JM-7′s denitrification of nitrate coupled to yeast extract powder (YEP) oxidation. Denitrification rates depended on temperature (>21 °C) and pH (6–9). During logarithmic growth, 5 g/L YEP enabled 350 mg/L nitrate removal, increasing to 1650 mg/L in stable growth. Addition of 4 mM Fe(II)/Fe(III) increased denitrification to 500 mg/L during logarithmic growth. The dynamic test results displayed that compared to the SiO 2 filler control group, iron-containing fillers could facilitate P. JM-7 to reduce 100 mg/L nitrate with 50 mg/L YEP electrons, corresponding to 6 times the maximum electron transfer efficiency in the static test. Overall, iron redox cycling significantly enhanced P. JM-7 denitrification, imparting insights into iron–nitrogen interactions. In summary, our research imparts valuable insights into the nexus between iron and nitrogen in the environment, highlighting the potential application of P. JM-7 in environmental engineering. Our findings indicate that P. JM-7 exhibits a significant denitrification capability, and further research is recommended to investigate its ability to remove phosphorus and promote sustainable environmental remediation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The inherent poor cooking quality and poor texture of mixed‐grain pasta limit consumer acceptance. This study systematically investigated the effect of curdlan in the processing of sweet potato puree oat mixed‐grain noodles, and comprehensively analysed a number of key indicators such as cooking characteristics, moisture state, texture properties, microstructure, starch crystallinity characteristics, short‐range ordered structure and thermal properties. At the production practice level, the study clearly indicated that the 0.6% curdlan addition ratio was the best solution in sweet potato puree oat mixed‐grain noodles processing. This finding not only significantly reduces the fracture rate, water absorption rate and cooking loss rate during the cooking process, but also significantly improves the quality and yield of the product, and brings significant improvement in the taste and texture of the noodles, which is of great significance for industrial production. In the microstructural and molecular studies, we revealed how curdlan could enhance the structural stability and mechanical strength of noodles by promoting the uniform distribution of starch granules in the gluten protein network. Further, through X‐ray diffraction, ordered structure and thermal property analyses, we have found that colchicine can effectively regulate the interactions of hydrogen bonding between starch and the content of straight‐chain and branched‐chain starch, which significantly reduces the crystallinity, ordered short‐chain structure and enthalpy of pasting of starch in the pasta. These in‐depth research results not only help us to understand more comprehensively the formation mechanism of the modification of pasta quality by curdlan, but also provide a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for the improvement of pasta quality in mixed grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: There is significant economic potential in reusing passion fruit peel as an industrial by‐product, and there has been enthusiasm for creating new goat milk yoghurt (GMY) products. Consequently, a thorough investigation regarding the impact of passion fruit peel on fermented GMY is crucial for the advancement of new food products. This study aimed to assess the impact of passion fruit peel powder (PFPP) on the quality characteristics, sensory properties, and antioxidant activity of GMY during storage. Six GMY formulations were prepared by varying the amount of PFPP addition (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5%). The results revealed that several characteristics of GMY were positively affected by the addition of PFPP, including the acidity, rheology, and texture property of the samples. It was observed that GMY with 1.0% addition of PFPP exhibited improved taste, flavour, and colour. Additionally, the total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and antioxidant properties of GMY with PFPP were significantly increased across all levels. The results obtained from this study demonstrate that PFPP has the potential to be utilised in GMY to optimise the benefits of products with high antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new method for selecting A-type supergiants (A-SGs hereafter) in the LAMOST DR5 data set using the line indices, and identify 40 spectra of 30 A-SG candidates. Based on the analysis of the absolute magnitude of Gaia DR3, SIMBAD data base, ZTF light variation data, and spectral characteristics of A-SGs, we classified the 30 A-SG candidates into 18 A-SGs and 12 A-SG candidates with different levels of credibility. We also subclassify spectral types of 18 A-SGs and 12 A-SG candidates by using human eyes and find a good consistency between our results and those of MKCLASS for most of them. The spatial distribution of 18 A-SGs and 12 A-SG candidates indicates that they are located in the Galactic latitude smaller than 20○. In addition, the distribution of 13 A-SGs and 7 A-SG candidates with reliable Gaia DR3 kinematic parameters in the Toomre diagram indicates that they are located in the Galactic disc, which also suggests that they are young, massive stars. Our selection has worked out well, in that only one A-SG candidate and one A-SG appear to exhibit discrepant kinematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IW And-type dwarf novae are anomalous Z Cam stars featured with outbursts happening during standstill states, which are not expected in the standard disc instability model. The physical mechanisms for these variations remain unclear. In this study, we report the discovery of a new candidate IW And-type dwarf nova J0652+2436, identified with its frequent outbursts from the slowly rising standstill states. Luckily, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite observations during a long standstill state and the earlier K2 observations give a chance to find the orbital and negative superhump period in the light curve of J0652+2436, allowing the measurement of its mass ratio of 0.366. This mass ratio is marginally possible for the tidal instability to set in according to previous smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Thus, we propose that the outbursts in J0652+2436 are likely to be caused by the growing accretion disc during standstills, in favour of the previous hypothesis of the mechanisms lying in all IW And stars. We conclude that J0652+2436 might be the first IW And star with both a precessing tilted disc and tidal instability, which will be an important laboratory for studying the accretion disc dynamics and help understand the IW And phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing an efficient strategy for the universal synthesis of electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing the industrialization of water splitting, yet it remains a significant challenge. In this study, we propose combustion-assisted corrosion engineering as a rapid method to fabricate electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) within seconds. By utilizing a three-dimensional framework composed of nickel foam and the unique structure of the active species, we enable swift electrolyte diffusion and gas release. Consequently, the optimized S–NiO/NF exhibits remarkable OER catalytic activity, requiring a low overpotential of 236 mV to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH solution. Notably, the reconfiguration during the OER process leads to the formation of actual catalytic active species, enhancing the number of active centers and thereby improving the catalyst's performance. This research presents a versatile method for industrially fabricating non-noble metal self-supporting electrodes with high efficiency, offering a practical solution for energy conversion and storage. • Combustion-assisted corrosion engineering is characterized by convenience, fast, low cost as well as generality. • Reconstruction of heterogeneous constructs provides additional active sites. • S–NiO/NF requires only 236 mV to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oleogels are being increasingly used as solid fat alternatives in food. Low-saturation chocolates (referring to chocolates with low content of saturated fat) were prepared by replacing 50 g/100 g cocoa butter with three oleogels (monoglyceric stearate, β-sitosterol + lecithin, and ethyl cellulose oleogel), which were fabricated through different gelation mechanisms (crystalline particles, self-assembly fibers, and polymeric strands, respectively). The physical characteristics and microstructures of oleogel-based chocolates during isothermal (4 and 20 °C) and fluctuating (20 °C for 17 h and 29 °C for 7 h) storage conditions were evaluated for 60 d, including whiteness index, hardness, thermal behavior, and crystal polymorph. We found that oleogel-based chocolates exhibited bloom delaying property through assessing whiteness index and polarized light microscopy images, especially under fluctuating temperatures. Among three oleogel-based chocolates, β-sitosterol + lecithin oleogel-based chocolate maintained the lowest whiteness index. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction revealed that oleogel-based chocolates showed sustained thermal and polymorphic stability throughout the storage period. Crystal morphology of fat phase observed by polarized light microscopy confirmed the existence of stable β crystals in oleogel-based chocolates. Collectively, oleogel-based chocolates not only lower the degree of saturation but also exhibit high physical and bloom stability during isothermal and fluctuating storage. • Oleogels significantly increased the content of unsaturated TAGs in chocolate. • Fat bloom was delayed in oleogel-based chocolate compared to standard chocolate. • Oleogel-based chocolate showed sustained thermal and polymorphic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A nano-sensing platform was endowed with recycling performance. • This composite structure showed emission response for analyte nitrite ion. • Static sensing mechanism was confirmed with spectral proof and dynamic evidence. The following paper was devoted to two nitrite sensing platforms having a core-shell structure, where Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were used as core, a silica molecular sieve MCM-41 was constructed as shell and two rhodamine chemosensors were synthesized as probe, respectively. This magnetic core endowed these two sensing platforms with site-specific aggregation ability. They were carefully characterized through their electron microscopy images, porous analysis, magnetic performance, IR curves and thermal stability analysis. Experimental result suggested that these two sensing platforms were sensitive towards nitrite and their emission was quenchable by nitrite. A static sensing mechanism between probe and analyte through an additive reaction was established by emission decay lifetime analysis. These two sensing platforms showed limit of detection as low as 1.2 μM. Additionally, after their nitrite sensing, these two sensing platforms and their emission could be recovered by sulphamic acid, realizing recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to explore the incidence and influencing factors for early pregnancy loss (EPL) in infertility patients with first pregnancy undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryo transfer cycles in Jilin province, China.Methods: A retrospective study of 2709 first pregnancy embryo transfer cycles collected from January 2016 to January 2021 was performed. The cycles were divided into the EPL group (n = 411) and the live birth group (n = 2298) according to the cycle outcomes.Results: The EPL rate of the first-time pregnancies for infertility patients undergoing fresh/frozen-thaw embryo transfer cycle was 14.1%. Female patients aged 40 and older had increased odds of EPL compared to those under 35 (OR = 3.97, 95%CI: 2.80-7.55). Female patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or greater were more likely to have EPLs than those in the normal BMI range (OR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.03-1.70). The odds of EPL after frozen-thaw embryo transfer were higher than those after fresh embryo transfer (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.11-2.27). A thin endometrium on the day of embryo transfer increased the odds of EPL (OR = 1.84, 95%CI: 1.01-3.33). Transferring more than two embryos had lower odds of EPL than single-embryo transfer (OR = 0.67, 95%CI: 0.50-0.90). Compared with other infertility diagnoses, tubal factor alone was associated with lower odds of EPL (OR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.53-0.98).Conclusions: The risk factors for EPL were age 40 and older, obesity, frozen-thaw cycle, thin endometrium, and non-isolated tubal factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is of great significance for analyzing the ultrastructure. However, due to the requirements of data throughput and electron dose of biological samples in the imaging process, the SEM image of biological samples is often occupied by noise which severely affects the observation of ultrastructure. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and establish a noise model of SEM and propose an effective denoising algorithm that can preserve the ultrastructure. We first investigated the noise source of SEM images and introduced a signal-related SEM noise model. Then, we validated the effectiveness of the noise model through experiments, which are designed with standard samples to reflect the relation between real signal intensity and noise. Based on the SEM noise model and traditional variance stabilization denoising strategy, we proposed a novel, two-stage denoising method. In the first stage variance stabilization, our VS-Net realizes the separation of signal-dependent noise and signal in the SEM image. In the second stage denoising, our D-Net employs the structure of U-Net and combines the attention mechanism to achieve efficient noise removal. Compared with other existing denoising methods for SEM images, our proposed method is more competitive in objective evaluation and visual effects. Source code is available on GitHub (https://github.com/VictorCSheng/VSID-Net). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simulation of human feelings, perceptions, and actions has become an important application field for medical treatment, human–computer interfaces, and intelligent robots. However, the need for various functional units hinders system integration. A threshold‐switching memristor is used as the sympathetic nerve center to simulate an unconditioned reflex. High current nonlinearity (106) is achieved by adopting a nanocontact structure, and high flexibility (bending radius of ≈5 mm) is obtained by combining the structure with a flexible polymer film. Furthermore, integrating a flexible sensor and a flexible artificial muscle made of ionic polymer–metal composite allows to form an all‐flexible complete reflex arc of an unconditioned reflex. The threshold‐switching memristor can provide strain‐dependent control through simple control logic, indicating the great potential of adopting threshold‐switching memristors for primary neuromorphological control and flexible intelligent medical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a facile hydrothermal method for growth of ultrathin NiCo2S4 nanosheets on reduced graphene oxide (RGO), which exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance with higher capacitance and longer cycle life than the bare NiCo2S4 hollow spheres (HSs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct dating of mafic dykes/sills is crucial for understanding mantle geodynamic evolution and crust-mantle interaction, but is also challenging, especially in ancient samples. Here, we provide a reliable approach for dating Proterozoic mafic dykes/sills through an integrated investigation of U–Pb isotopes and elemental distribution maps of the coexisting baddeleyite, zircon and apatite. This study focuses on Paleo- to Neo-Proterozoic mafic dykes/sills in the North China Craton. In the studied samples, baddeleyite is undoubtedly magmatic, with sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) 207Pb/206Pb ages that may record crystallization ages of the dykes/sills. Common lead incursion along rims and fractures of baddeleyite is identified via laser ablation quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-Q-ICP-MS) elemental mapping as the likely origin of age uncertainties. In contrast, magmatic zircons from the Proterozoic mafic intrusions are somewhat affected by metamictization as roughly indicated by high alpha dose (D α), and thus show intricate U–Pb isotopic features. Intensely metamict zircons are susceptible to Pb loss due to fluid infiltration, as clearly illustrated by opposing enrichment trends of Pb and U in zircon maps. Where metamict zircons are unaffected by fluid alteration, they are able to preserve the original 207Pb/206Pb ratios and thus give high precision age constraints on emplacement of the ancient dykes/sills. As for apatites, abundant euhedral coarse-grained crystals were separated from the mafic rocks, rendering them suitable for LA-Q-ICP-MS measurement. U–Pb data define Tera-Wasserburg isochrons with lower intercept ages that match crystallization of the host rocks. Age uncertainties of this method lie in instrumental analysis errors caused by low concentrations of U, Pb and a low proportion of radiogenic Pb in the total Pb, with these parameters commonly showing consistent enrichment trends from crystal cores to rims. By combining U–Pb dating and elemental mapping, this study provides a novel approach to the geochronology of mafic rocks, by highlighting the potential of ubiquitous apatite, offering additional means for error analysis and age interpretation of baddeleyite and zircon. • Mapping technique well tracks distribution and migration of U and Pb. • Baddeleyite offers first-class age constraint on Proterozoic mafic dyke/sill. • Metamict zircon may be concordant, reversely discordant or affected by Pb loss. • Apatite is promising for precise dating of mafic rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, gas–liquid membrane contactors have attracted increasing attention. A membrane contactor is a device that realizes gas–liquid or liquid–liquid mass transfer without being dispersed in another phase. The membrane gas absorption method combines the advantages of chemical absorption and membrane separation, in addition to exhibiting high selectivity, modularity, and compactness. This paper introduces the operating principle and wetting mechanism of hollow membrane contactors, shows the latest research progress of membrane contactors in gas separation, especially for the removal of carbon dioxide from gas mixtures by membrane contactors, and summarizes the main aspects of membrane materials, absorbents, and membrane contactor structures. Furthermore, recommendations are provided for the existing deficiencies or unsolved problems (such as membrane wetting), and the status and progress of membrane contactors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organochlorine pesticides legacies, such as hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), remained in sediments or soils due to their difficulty in decomposition, especially in the agricultural areas where pesticides were widely used historically. Different from the little disturbed depositional environment of lake, it was difficult for rivers to explore the timing of DDT and HCH inputs through dating sediment cores as records. Based on groundwater dating, this study ascertained the historic pollution of DDT and HCH in Taizi River basin. HCH and DDT residues in groundwater were consistent with the historical production and usage, which increased from the 1950s to the 1980s and declined from the 1980s to the 1990s. Moreover, the partitioning behaviours of HCHs and DDTs in surface water and suspended particulate matter were discussed. It was revealed that β -HCH and o,p' -DDT were more likely to attach to suspended particulate matter than other isomers. Furthermore, species sensitivity distribution curves were generated using 54 toxicity data records to assess the risk of HCHs and DDTs in water and suspended particulate matter. These results indicated that p,p'-DDT in surface water posed a high risk to 95% of the aquatic life in the long run. • HCHs and DDTs residual history were obtained by groundwater dating using CFC-12. • TOC and flow velocity significantly affect partitioning under certain conditions. • HCHs and DDTs historical residues originated from the 1950s– 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The adsorption of NO, NO 2 , SO 2 , SO 3 on Ni/GN was researched by DFT. • Electrostatic potential distribution is a good descriptor of adsorption activity. • Temperature has little effect on single vacancy graphene adsorbent. • Ni-SVN3/GN is considered as a promising adsorbent for the target molecules. Single-atom nickel adsorbent supported with different graphene-based substrates is supposed as a novel material for the adsorption and detection of acid gases (NO, NO 2 , SO 2 and SO 3). In this work, the adsorption characteristics, including adsorbent structures, adsorption configurations, adsorption energy, magnetic properties and thermodynamic properties, are investigated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. According to the charge transfer and hybridization characteristics calculated by the electron density difference maps and the density of states, the binding mechanisms of four kinds of acid gases on different single-atom nickel adsorbents are explored. The calculated results indicate that NO, NO 2 , SO 2 and SO 3 can stably be adsorbed on single vacancy graphene with three nitrogen atoms doped (Ni-SVN3/GN) graphene adsorbent, and the values of the adsorption energy are −3.51 eV, −2.50 eV, −1.72 eV and −2.37 eV, respectively. EDDs, DOS and magnetic moment are calculated to reveal the electronic transfer in the whole process, which show that gas molecules acquire electrons and metal atom contributes electrons. Based on theoretical results, it can conclude that Ni-SVN3/GN is the most suitable adsorbent for acid gas removal. The theoretical study can guide the development of new materials for the removal of toxic gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two series of ZnWO 4 : RE3+, Li+ (RE = Sm, Eu) phosphors were prepared using the facile solid-state reaction sintering at 800 °C. Its structural properties were investigated by XRD and Rietveld refinement method. The luminescence properties of the phosphors were studied, and they can be used in the white light-emitting diodes (wLEDs). Li+ was introduced into phosphors as a charge compensation agent. The influence of Li+ on the phase and luminescent properties was studied. The Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP) software was employed to calculate the charge density differences. It is shown that the ZnWO 4 : Sm3+, Li+ phosphor has potential application in the plant growth LEDs. Image 1 • Two series of ZnWO 4 : Sm3+ or Eu3+ phosphors were prepared by solid state method. • The broad excitation peak around 305 nm perfectly matches the AlGaN semiconductor. • Emission color can be turned from white to red by adjusting concentration of RE3+. • Two white phosphors (ZnWO 4 : 0.004Sm3+, Li+; ZnWO 4 : 0.002Eu3+, Li+) were obtained. • Sm3+ doped ZnWO 4 phosphor has potential application in plant growth LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to initiate a systematic application of gap metric techniques to the performance analysis and design issues of detecting and isolating multiplicative faults in uncertain systems. To be specific, in the first part of this paper, the K -gap and L 2 -gap metrics are introduced, which measure the distance between two kernel subspaces and serve as an efficient tool to deal with fault detection and isolation issues. Based on it, the K -gap and L 2 -gap aided analysis of residual dynamics with respect to model uncertainties is presented for the open-loop and feedback control systems, respectively. Furthermore, they are applied to deal with the performance analysis of fault detection systems. For this purpose, the concepts of fault detectability indicators and fault-to-uncertainty ratio are introduced. The second part of this paper is dedicated to the isolation of multiplicative faults. To this end, the definition for fault isolability is studied first with the aid of K -gap metric. The further efforts are devoted to the application of K -gap metric to two online fault isolation algorithms. The first one is an observer-based scheme, which adopts a bank of residual generators and an observer-based decision unit. The second scheme is based on the data-driven identification of the kernel representation of the faulty plant and the data-driven computation of the K -gap metric. Case and example studies are finally given to illustrate the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We constructed 8-day water extent time series (2000–2017) for 340 wetlands with MODIS. • Validation was performed with a Landsat dataset and water level data. • Allows monitoring the dynamics of small wetlands (<1 km2) with high varibility. • Provides a useful tool for capturing abnormal changes and short-duration events. Wetlands are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, due largely to their dynamic hydrology. Frequent observations by satellite sensors such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) allow for monitoring the seasonal, inter-annual and long-term dynamics of surface water extent. However, existing MODIS-based studies have only demonstrated this for large water bodies (>100 km2) despite the ecological importance of smaller-sized wetland systems. In this paper, we assessed if the temporal dynamics of surface water extent can be effectively captured with MODIS for a wide range of water body sizes, specifically 0.01 km2 and larger. We constructed the temporal dynamics of surface water extent for 340 individual water bodies in the Mediterranean region between 2000 and 2017, using a previously developed 8-day 500 m MODIS surface water fraction (SWF) dataset. We then evaluated how MODIS SWF time series corresponded to water extent derived from a Landsat-based dataset and to satellite-altimetry derived water level data. Results showed that although correlations between MODIS- and Landsat-derived SWF were poor for relative static water bodies (r = 0.17), they increased for more dynamic water bodies (r = 0.81). For dynamic water bodies>100 km2, time series of water extent derived from MODIS SWF showed good correlation with both Landsat (r ≥ 0.76) and water level data (ρ ≥ 0.63). Our MODIS SWF dataset can also effectively monitor the variability of very small water bodies (<1 km2) when comparing with Landsat data as long as the temporal variability in their surface water area was high. We conclude that MODIS SWF is a useful product to help understand hydrological dynamics for both small and larger-sized water bodies, and to monitor their seasonal, intermittent, inter-annual and long-term changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured amorphous composites are novel materials comprising nano-sized crystal phases embedded in an amorphous matrix, but often necessitating ultra-high-pressure molding for preparation. In this study, nanostructured amorphous ZrO 2 –Y 2 O 3 composite ceramics were rapidly prepared for the first time using flash viscous flow sintering without the application of pressure. The relative density of the ZY ceramics increased with increasing current density, and ZY composite ceramics with relative density of 86%–97 % were prepared by FS in a short time of 60 s under 700 V/cm with 0.16–0.56 A/cm2. Furthermore, the sintering activities in FS were compared between partially amorphous powder and crystalline powder. The ceramics prepared by flash sintering of partially amorphous powder show a much higher relative density than that from crystalline powder, suggesting that partially amorphous powder achieves easier densification than crystalline powder in flash sintering under given current density and power dissipation. This phenomenon was attributable to the differing sintering mechanisms between the two materials, i.e., solid-state sintering for crystalline powder and viscous flow sintering for partially amorphous powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of preparing dense ultrafine-grained high-entropy ceramics through conventional pressureless sintering is hereby addressed by a simple two-step sintering method. Ultrafine-grained (Ce 0.2 Nd 0.2 Sm 0.2 Eu 0.2 Gd 0.2) 2 Zr 2 O 7 high-entropy zirconate with 99.2 % theoretical density and 135 nm grain size has been fabricated by pressureless two-step sintering for the first time. Compared to the conventional sintering, two-step sintering provides finer grain sizes and better microstructural uniformity, which yield excellent comprehensive mechanical properties with high hardness of 16.0 GPa, large elastic modulus of 262 GPa and high fracture toughness of 2.8 MPa·m1/2. It is believe that pressureless two-step sintering can be utilized to prepare other high-entropy ceramics with fine grain size and high quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used viral metagenomics to identify a novel parvovirus in tissues of a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Nearly full genome characterization and phylogenetic analyses showed this parvovirus (provisionally named gray fox amdovirus) to be distantly related to Aleutian mink disease virus, representing the second viral species in the Amdovirus genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To shed light on the impact of severe deformation on the elemental segregation of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) as well as the related changes in mechanical properties, we systematically investigated the equiatomic CrMnFeCoNi HEA cold rolled and aging treated subsequently at 450 °C for varying time periods. Dislocation cells, nano-twins and shear bands of nanostructures form and significantly increase the strength of the as-cold-rolled HEA. Upon aging for 18–96 h, elemental segregation occurs in the dislocation cell and twinning regions. With the aid of higher strain localization, NiMn, FeCo and Cr-rich phases of nanoscale precipitate in the shear band regions. The elemental segregation slightly while the nanoprecipitations significantly increase the local hardness and the bulk strength. The nanoprecipitations also decrease the plasticity of the HEA due to the early cracking along the abundant interphase boundaries. These findings clarify the compositional changes and mechanical properties of the deformed HEAs upon aging, and also provide implications for the design and processing of advanced materials. • Aging induces elemental segregation in dislocation cell and twinning regions. • Aging induces nanoprecipitation in the shear band regions to strengthen materials. • Nanoprecipitations decrease material plasticity by early interfacial cracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]