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A green roof can reduce the peak thermal cooling loads and reduce the building energy consumption during the summer. It is also necessary to understand the thermal performance of these green roof assemblies during the winter when affected by an accumulation of snow on the rooftops. This study presents an experimental investigation and discusses the snow influence on the heat transfer processes through green roof assemblies. The on-site experiments were conducted in the outdoor test facility in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. during the winter of 2010/2011. The experiments were conducted on green roof buildings and on reference buildings for comparison. The collected data included the local meteorology, building operation data, and manually measured snow properties. The measured heat fluxes show that the heat flow though the green roof assemblies compared to the typical roof assemblies were reduced by approximately 23% when there was not an accumulated snow layer. However, this difference in the heat flux was only 5% when the roof structure had an accumulated snow layer. To quantify the snow effects on the heat transfer through green roof assemblies, the Johansen method was then used for snow conductivity calculations on rooftops. These equations should be a part of the total energy balance for the snow covered green roof assemblies because the snow layer significantly altered the heat transfer through these roof assemblies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Green roof assemblies influence the total roof surface energy balance for a building. The energy balance for a green roof depends mostly on the selection of plants and substrates suitable for the building's location. This study measured thermal properties of common green roof materials and selected two types of plants and substrates to simulate transient thermal performance of different green roof assemblies. The selected plants and substrates have the highest and lowest reflectivity values to establish upper and lower bounds of thermal performance. The simulations use a previously developed green roof model including weather data for four cities representing different climate zones in the U.S. Based on the simulations, substrate heat fluxes and net radiation fluxes are compared for five days in July of the typical meteorological year. The results show that green roof assemblies receive net radiation fluxes that differ by 20%, and peak net radiation fluxes that differ by 16%, due to their different spectral reflectivity values. However, the substrate heat fluxes are similar for different green roof assemblies, as a roof insulation layer diminished this flux. Overall, the material selection of green roof assemblies is more important for buildings located in climate zone 4 or 5 than buildings located in climate zone 2 or 3, where limited water availability for evapotranspiration during hot, dry summers results in little thermal performance variability. Independent of the climate zones, simulation results show that the plant type has an important effect on the net radiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To applicate streaming potential phenomenon to study the seepage feature in the soil–rock mixture (SRM), research on the variation in the streaming potential phenomenon of SRM is the precondition. This paper deals, in assistance with the streaming potential test apparatus, with the streaming potential effect response of SRM subjected to different rock contents. The test results show that when the rock content increases from 10% to 30%, the streaming potential coupling coefficient increases with the increases in rock content at 85% compactness and 0.01 mol L−1 salinity. When the rock content is more than 30%, the streaming potential coupling coefficient decreases with the increases in rock content. As the rock content increases, the permeability coefficient has a negative correlation with the streaming potential coupling coefficient. The streaming potential increases first and then goes down with the increases in rock content, and the streaming potential decreases significantly when the rock content exceeds 50%. The findings indicate that the rock content is the key structural factor that restricts the streaming potential phenomenon of the SRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual health savings accounts are an important part of the current basic medical insurance system for urban workers in China. Since 1998 when the system of personal medical insurance accounts was first implemented, there has been considerable controversy over its function and significance within different social communities. This paper analyzes the main problems in the practical implementation of individual medical insurance accounts and discusses the social and cultural foundations for the establishment of family health savings accounts from the perspective of Chinese Confucian familism. Accordingly, it addresses the direction of the reform and the development of the current system of individual health insurance accounts in China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Internal erosion is widely perceived as contributing to the failure of earthen dams. To reduce the failure risk, timely monitoring of internal erosion is an effective method in observing their internal structure evolution. A set of earthen dam model experiments were conducted. Under an applied voltage, the response potential differences (PD) at the slope of the dam models were collected before and after the impoundment of the upstream reservoir. The discrepancy among the four dam models, the influence of soil moisture content on PD, and the impact of internal erosion on PD were studied. The results show that it is acceptable to employ different dam models to simulate the development of internal erosion, although the discrepancy among the models is inevitable. The moisture content of the soil significantly affects the PD response to applied voltage. The PD increases with an increase in soil moisture content until the soil is saturated. The change in PD is correlated with the development of internal erosion. With the progression of internal erosion, the starting position for the steep increase in PD distribution continues to move toward the dam toe. In addition, the electrode stability is noted to have an effect on measured PD, which requires further studies to be clarified. This study sets the stage for the PD-based monitoring method in observing the evolution of internal erosion in earthen dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY High temperature (HT) severely restricts plant growth, development, and productivity. Plants have evolved a set of mechanisms to cope with HT, including the regulation of heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs) and heat shock proteins (Hsps). However, it is not clear how the transcriptional and translational levels of Hsfs and Hsps are controlled in tomato. Here, we reported that the HT‐induced transcription factor SlWRKY55 recruited SlVQ11 to coordinately regulate defense against HT. SlWRKY55 directly bound to the promoter of SlHsfA2 and promoted its expression, which was increased by SlVQ11. Moreover, both SlWRKY55 and SlVQ11 physically interacted with SlHsfA2 to enhance the transcriptional activity of SlHsfA2. Thus, our results revealed a molecular mechanism that the SlWRKY55/SlVQ11‐SlHsfA2 cascade enhanced thermotolerance and provided potential target genes for improving the adaptability of crops to HT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow behaviors of 300M steel are studied by hot compression experiments at the deformation temperatures of 1173~1423 K and strain rates of 0.01~10 s−1. The flow stress curves are corrected to eliminate the effects of adiabatic heating and friction on the flow stress. Based on the corrected flow stress curves, a modified constitutive model is established to quantify the flow behaviors of 300M steel accurately. It is found that the apparent activation energy is a function of deformation temperature and strain rate, and the stress exponent is a function of deformation temperature. The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) map is constructed to analyze the microstructure evolution mechanism, which is made up of four parts including dynamic recovery (DRV), partial DRX (P-DRX), full DRX (F-DRX), and grain coarsening (GC). Besides, the average grain size maps for DRX grains and all grains are constructed to analyze the effects of the DRX process on the microstructure and optimize the microstructure of the alloy. The 3D instability map and 3D power dissipation map are constructed to evaluate the hot workability. The instability region corresponds to high strain rates and low deformation temperatures. The peak domain of power dissipation efficiency varies with the increaseing strain, which can be ascribed to the development of the DRX process and microstructure evolution. There are two suitable processing regions according to the processing map. Combining with the degree of DRX, and the size and distribution of austenite grains, the deformation parameters are optimized. The optimized deformation parameters are the strain rate of 0.36~10 s−1 and deformation temperature of 1382~1423 K, and the strain rate of 0.01~0.07 s−1 and deformation temperature of 1243~1323 K. The power dissipation efficiency is an important index to evaluate the DRX degree and flow instability. When the power dissipation efficiency is below 25%, the flow instability of 300M steel occurs easily and the DRX develops inadequately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Design Methods Results Conclusion Implications for the Profession and Patient Care Impact Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution Contribution to the Wider Global Clinical Community The aim of the study was to develop a set of nursing‐sensitive quality indicators for acute poisoning in emergency departments.A two‐round e‐Delphi study was conducted from July to November 2023.Subject‐matter experts from 19 tertiary hospitals across four provinces of China participated in the survey. Potential indicators identified through a literature review were rated on a 5‐point Likert scale and comments solicited. Descriptive statistics were used to demonstrate convergence of expert opinion, and consensus was reached in two rounds. Weights of each indicator were determined by analytic hierarchy process. There were 20 expert responses in Round 1 and 18 in Round 2.After two rounds, experts reached a consensus on definitions, calculation formulas, and data collection methods for these indicators. Three primary and 11 secondary indicators were included in the final nursing‐sensitive quality indicators for acute poisoning in the emergency department.A set of indicators about acute poisoning care, applicable to the Chinese context, was developed in collaboration with emergency nurse specialists.The lack of supervision of the nursing quality for acute poisoning leads to great variability in clinical practice in different medical institutions. The results can help in their standardization in China and in other countries lacking regulation. Our study also offers nursing managers a concrete and operable evaluation tool for quality supervision. Normative nursing behaviours are conducive to increase safety and enhance patients' experience of medical treatment.The indicators identified in this study closely approach clinical practice and exhibit the characteristics of sensitivity and practicality. Although developed in the Chinese healthcare system, there is potential for adoption or adaption in other healthcare settings.This study was reported in line with the Conducting and REporting of DElphi studies (CREDE) guidance on Delphi studies.No patient or public contribution in this study.The nursing quality of acute poisoning in emergency departments remains a growing attention, but the relevant assessment tools are lack. This study provides a set of nursing‐sensitive quality indicators for acute poisoning to guide the quality monitoring of nursing managers. Study recommendations have broad applicability to all healthcare professionals who are engaged in emergency nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hot extrusion process can effectively refine the coarse grains of metastable β titanium alloy billet, thereby enhancing the material's internal microstructure and mechanical properties. This study explored the hot deformation behavior of as-cast Ti-6554 samples at temperatures ranging from 900 °C to 1150 °C and strain rates between 0.001 s-1 and 1 s-1 by a Gleeble-3500 tester. The Arrhenius constitutive model was established to simulated the hot extrusion process. Parameters such as the degree of deformation (x), metal plastic flow (μ), and deformation temperature (θ) were introduced to quantify the uniformity of distribution under various processes. Based on the simulation results, the optimal extrusion conditions were determined to be an extrusion ratio of 10, an extrusion angle of 60°, an extrusion velocity of 40 mm/s, a preheating temperature of 1100 °C, and an extrusion load of 2500 tf. Examination of the microstructure of the hot-extruded bar revealed that grain sizes consistently decreased from the centers towards the edges. The grains were refined from 2000~5000 μm to 100~200 μm after extrusion, demonstrating that the deformation degree, plastic flow and deformation temperature were well coordinated under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of static recrystallization (SRX) has been widely concerned for its importance in regulating the microstructure and mechanical properties of deformed materials. In the paper, the effects of SRX on the flow behaviors of 300 M steel are investigated by thermal compression experiments. The SRX mechanism of 300 M steel is investigated by high temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy (HTLSCM) setup. The variations in the flow behaviors and microstructure under different experimental conditions are discussed in detail. Also, the relationships between microstructure evolution and mechanical properties are analyzed. The SRX mechanism is detected by the analysis of microstructure. According to the statistical results of microstructure, the SRX kinetics models and the average recrystallization (RX) grain size model are proposed. It can be found that the flow stress increases with the increased strain rate and reduced deformation temperature. The yield stress is affected by both the softening mechanisms of static recovery and SRX. The main SRX mechanism of 300 M steel is strain-induced boundary migration (SIBM). Compared to the pre-strain rate, the insulation temperature has a more significant effect on the SRX rate, maximum SRX volume fraction and average RX grain size. And the effects of pre-strain rate on the RX grain size are negligible at low pre-strain rate. The comparison between the calculated and experimental results is consistent, which implies that the established models can describe the SRX process accurately. Besides, compared to the softening volume fraction calculated based on the stress-strain curves, the SRX volume fraction calculated based on the statistic results of microstructure can reflect the SRX process more precisely, which indicates the effectiveness of the research method used in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like GaN-based LEDs, the further improvement of InGaN based near UV LED performance also faces a typical problem: the spatial separation of carrier wave functions caused by the polarization electric field in the active region. In this paper, a novel three-layer asymmetric staggered quantum well with special gradually changing In-component distribution is proposed and applied to InGaN/AlGaN near UV LED to change the carrier distribution and improve the probability of carrier radiation recombination. The proposed new quantum well structure improves its energy band by controlling the In-component, to enhance the carrier limiting effect and then improve the possibility of carrier wave function overlap. Increased radiation recombination in the MQWs region will undoubtedly result from increased carrier wave function overlap, which will then enhance the luminescence performance of the structure. In conclusion, the simulation results show that compared with the traditional structure, the light output power (LOP) of the new structure is increased by 12.87% under the current condition of 100 A/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarophyton vermiculophyllum is a macroalga that inhabits the intertidal zone, which is a dynamic environment that undergoes rapid changes in physical conditions associated with turning tides. One of the main factors affecting the growth and vertical distribution of macroalgae in the intertidal zone is desiccation stress. To clarify the mechanism underlying the response of A. vermiculophyllum to desiccation stress, changes in the content of photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activity, and the expression of stress-responsive genes were characterized under different desiccation (0 h, 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h) and rehydration (2 h, 4 h, and 6 h) times. The increased photosynthetic pigments content of the thalli could effectively reduce oxidative damage during desiccation. The level of lipid peroxidation in the cell membrane changed slightly during the desiccation process, which further confirmed that A. vermiculophyllum is highly tolerant of desiccation stress. The expression of stress-responsive genes of A. vermiculophyllum were characterized. The expression of respiratory burst oxidase homologs (Rboh) gene was rapidly up-regulated early during desiccation, which indicated that ROS produced by NADPH oxidases served as key signals of desiccation stress. Proton gradient regulation 5 (PGR5)-dependent cycle electron flow protected photosystem I from photodamage under desiccation stress. Changes in the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) genes mediated the folding and unfolding of proteins during the desiccation and rehydration process. Overall, our findings indicate that high tolerance of desiccation stress in A. vermiculophyllum is mediated by diverse physiological responses. • The effects of desiccation–rehydration stress on Agarophyton vermiculophyllum were explored. • Photosynthetic pigment contents significantly increased during desiccation. • The expression of hsp genes varied in mediating the folding and unfolding of proteins. • PGR5-dependent CEF protected photosystem I from photodamage under desiccation stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure evolution and deformation mechanism of a Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5 V-4Al (Ti-6554) alloy during high temperature compression is investigated based on the power dissipation efficiency (η). It is found that raising the temperature and decreasing the strain rate can promote the DRX process. Two types of DRX are found: discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). Furthermore, combined with the change of η in the whole strain range and the peak η under different conditions, this study links η with the corresponding deformation mechanism of Ti-6554 alloy. It can be summarized as follows: the corresponding efficiency value of the DDRX process needs to exceed 0.45; the occurrence of CDRX requires that the η value is higher than 0.3. Dynamic recovery (DRV) becomes dominant when the η value is less than 0.3. Some typical instability phenomena appear when the η value is less than 0.2. This study can provide an effective means to determine the deformation mechanism of the Ti-6554 alloy. • The microstructure evolution and deformation mechanism of Ti-6554 alloy were investigated. • The DRX mechanism of Ti-6554 alloy includes CDRX and DDRX in β phase region. • The relationship between power dissipation efficiency and deformation mechanism was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective corrosion behavior of two typical marine aluminum bronze alloys (i.e., NAB and MAB) were investigated comparatively. The characteristics of each constituent phase in NAB and MAB including composition, morphology, distribution and work function were analyzed, and their roles in the micro-corrosion behavior were elucidated. MAB exhibits de-alloying corrosion, whereas NAB shows localized selective phase corrosion. The crucial factor causing different selective corrosion behavior is the morphology and distribution of constituent phases. The results reveal correlations between selective corrosion behavior and microstructure and provide insights into improving corrosion resistance of aluminum bronze alloys on the concept of microstructure tailoring. • MAB suffers de-alloying corrosion, while NAB undergoes selective phase corrosion. • The κ phase rich in Fe both in MAB and NAB is prone to selective phase dissolution. • The Al/Ni-enriched β phase suffers de-alloying in MAB and selective dissolution in NAB. • The Volta potential of constituent phases follows α>κ>β in MAB and α>β>κ in NAB. • Reasons for distinct selective corrosion behavior between MAB and NAB are clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel hybrid dual-motor transmission system is designed for electric vehicles. • The blended optimal rule extraction method is proposed to extract energy management strategy. • SOM is utilized to classify the mixed working points from DP results. • The blended optimal strategy can be implemented in practice effectively. • HIL experiments with compound running scenario are performed to verify the configuration and strategy. To improve the performance of powertrain configuration and heuristic strategy used in electric commercial vehicles currently for complex traffic scenarios, we propose a blended optimal rule extraction method for a novel hybrid dual-motor transmission (hDMT) system. Dynamic programming (DP) is applied to determine the optimal working points on the real-world cycles. However, it is challenging to extract online rules in real-time due to overlapping working points induced by compound running conditions. To create a trade-off between optimum and practicability, a novel blended optimal rule extraction method of energy management strategy is proposed for the integrated powertrain system. To be specific, DP is applied offline to find optimal working points from compound running scenarios. Then, a self-organizing feature map (SOM) is utilized to classify overlapped working points with reference to the characteristics of sample points. To solve the over-classification issue, the recursive k-means method is used to cluster the best matching unit generated by SOM. Based on the above, the optimal strategy is developed systematically and implemented online. Furthermore, the hardware-in-the-loop experiments and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed powertrain configuration and method can improve the economic performance of EVs. The online performance of the blended optimal strategy is highly consistent with the simulation, which can reduce energy consumption by 29.02% compared to the preliminary strategy. Compared with traditional powertrain configuration, the hDMT system also has better energy-saving potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti–6Cr–5Mo–5V–4Al (Ti-6554) alloy has wide applications for large load-bearing components in the aerospace field. However, during the hot forming process of the alloy in the α+β phase region, there are a variety of interaction and restriction softening mechanisms and complex texture evolution behaviors, which jointly affect the microstructure and mechanical properties. This paper systematically studies the softening mechanism and texture evolution of Ti-6554 alloy in the α+β phase region using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), including dynamic phase transformation (DPT) and dynamic spheroidization of α phase and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of β phase. Firstly, the effect of deformation parameters on the DPT is studied, and it is found that the volume fraction of α phase declines gradually with raising the strain rate, deformation temperature and deformation amount. The yield stress and the driving force for DPT increase with raising the strain rate and decreasing the deformation temperature. The equiaxed α phase will gradually transform into the lamellar α phase during the spheroidization process, accompanied by the wedging of the β phase. The combined effect of DPT and dynamic spheroidization leads to α grain refinement. Furthermore, the effect of deformation parameters on the DRX process of β phase is also investigated. The DRX degree only increases gradually with increasing the strain. Increasing the deformation temperature and decreasing the strain rate do not significantly increase the DRX volume fraction. Meantime, the DRX process of the β phase is heavily dependent on the α phase. The higher proportion of the α phase is capable of promoting continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) process of β phase, while the lower proportion of the α phase will promote the transformation of CDRX into dynamic recrystallization (DDRX), but can not effectively increase the DRX degree of β phase. Further, the texture evolution shows that due to the combined effect of DPT and dynamic spheroidization, the effect of deformation parameters on the texture strength of α phase is very complicated. For the β phase, <001> and <111> fiber textures are easily formed during the deformation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constitution equation and thermal activation energy map were built for Ti-6554 alloy. • The hot processing map was established to identify the optimum processing window. • Microstructure evolution during hot compression was studied. • Dynamic recrystallization mechanism and dynamic spheroidization mechanism were investigated. Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al (Ti-6554) alloys with excellent comprehensive properties are expected to become the preferred material for large-scale parts in the aviation field. However, the processing parameters of large-scale parts have a significant impact on the microstructure, so it is necessary to optimize the hot working process to improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy. In this paper, hot compression experiments of Ti-6554 alloy were carried out in the temperature range from 680 to 830 ℃ and strain rate range from 0.001 to 10 s−1. The hot workability of the Ti-6554 alloy was studied based on the hot processing map and microstructure evolution. The Arrhenius constitutive model of the two phase region and single phase region was established. It was found that the thermal activation energy was higher at high value in the adopted range of strain rate, and the average thermal activation energy gradually decreased with raising the strain. The peak efficiency in the hot processing map occurred at 680 ℃/0.001 s−1 and 770 ℃/0.001 s−1 with efficiency values of 0.47 and 0.48, respectively. The instability regions were mainly concentrated at a high value in the adopted range of strain rate, and the typical instability phenomenon was flow localization. With raising the strain rate and temperature, the volume fraction and average size of the α phase decreased due to the dynamic phase transformation. Dynamic recovery (DRV) was the major deformation mechanism at low temperatures and low strain rates. The deformation mechanism gradually changed to DRX with the increase of temperature and strain rate. However, the increase of temperature at a higher strain rate could not improve the level of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). Based on electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) characterization, the DRX types of the β phase were determined to be discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). DDRX mainly occurred at high temperatures and low strain rates. Furthermore, the spheroidizing mechanism of the equiaxed α phase was also analyzed. First, under the action of compressive stress, the aspect ratio of the equiaxed α phase gradually increased and became the lamellar α phase. Subsequently, the low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) gradually changed to high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs), accompanied by wedging of the β phase. Finally, the spheroidization process was completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new metastable β titanium alloy Ti–6Cr–5Mo–5V–4Al (Ti-6554) has shown good application potential in large parts. In order to study the hot deformation behavior and mechanism of the Ti-6554 alloy in the β single phase region, hot compression tests were carried out at temperatures of 800–950 °C and strain rates of 0.001–10 s−1 on the Gleeble-3500 thermal simulation machine. Strain-compensated Arrhenius constitutive model was used to predict the flow behavior of the alloy, and the correlation coefficient between the experimental and predicted values reached 0.982. Based on the hot processing map, it was found that the instability region was mainly concentrated in the high strain rate area, and the peak efficiency of power dissipation (η) region occurs in the temperature range of 913–928 °C and the strain rate of 0.001–0.0025 s-1. There was an obvious DRX phenomenon in the stability region, while the instability region was dominated by deformation band (DB) and flow localization (FL). The continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) by progressive rotation of subgrains and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) by grain boundaries bulging could be observed. DDRX mainly occurred in high temperature and low strain rate regions, while the CDRX process occurred in the high strain rate region. As the η decreased, the deformation mechanism changed from DDRX to CDRX and further to dynamic recovery (DRV), DB, FL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) is a major softening mechanism that impacts the microstructural properties of 300M steel during the forging of large parts. It refines the grains and eliminates defects from the material, and an in-depth analysis of the process is thus important. In the present study, the hot deformation behaviour of 300M steel was investigated by hot compression tests conducted at temperatures of 900–1150 °C and strain rates of 0.01–10 s−1. The results were used to plot the true stress–strain and work hardening rate curves of the material, and the latter curves were subsequently used to determine the critical deformation conditions for the occurrence of DRX. The DRX nucleation mechanism was determined to mainly involve bulging of the initial grain boundaries. Further, based on a dynamic material model, the hot processing map of 300M steel was developed, from which the regions other than the instability region were observed to have higher DRX volume fractions. The relationships between the efficiency of power dissipation (η), the microstructure, and the softening mechanism were analysed. It is found that there may be some association between the change rules of η and DRX. When peak η (η p) < 0.3 and η gradually decreases with increasing true strain, the softening is mainly by dynamic recovery (DRV). When η p > 0.3 and η increases with increasing true strain, the softening is dominated by DRX. In addition, η gradually decreased after the peak value in the late stage of the deformation, indicating coarsening of the DRX grains. Finally, the DRX volume fraction was calculated for different deformation conditions and the DRX volume fraction model was corrected. The effectiveness of the original and corrected models were statistically evaluated and the latter was confirmed to more accurately depict the DRX volume fraction of 300M steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve a real-time optimization of the economic and dynamic performance for electric vehicles equipped with the dual-motor powertrain system, this study proposed a hierarchical energy management-control framework to establish a collaborative relationship between the decision and the control layers. To be specific, the action-dependent heuristic dynamic programming is employed to obtain the optimal energy management strategy and control coefficient matrix for the control layer in real time. However, due to the unpredictability of the dynamic process, the modes shift costs are largely uncertain in the decision function which reduces the control precision. To improve the accuracy and efficacy of the proposed framework, the all-cost matrix for the dynamic process is collected by the complete experiment data. Intriguingly, the general shift regularity suitable for the multi-motor configuration has been discovered, revealing the energy cost distribution. As the test scenario, cycle following experiment and real-world cycle are employed the assess the performance of the various approach. Finally, actual vehicle experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework significantly outperforms rule-based strategies in real-time applications, which can reduce the energy consumption and average shock by 7.7 % and 12.6 %. Furthermore, due to the all-cost matrix, the framework can effectively avoid 9.47 % of calculation error. • Hierarchical framework is proposed for real-time optimal energy management-control. • Improved heuristic dynamic programming is employed to obtain control sequence. • All-cost matrix for shifting process is collected. • General shift regularity is discovered to reveal the energy cost distribution • Vehicle and HIL experiments are performed to verify the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-speed forming process is a promising method for the preparation of high-performance Al-Li alloy components. However, the high-strain rate deformation behavior of the material is complex and difficult to accurately predict, which significantly restricts its development. In this paper, using the split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus, the constitutive behavior and microstructure evolution of as-annealed and solution treated 2195 Al-Li alloy during high strain rate deformation was studied. As the strain rate increases, the flow stress first decreases and then increases for both two-state materials, showing a local strain rate softening behavior. Based on the Johnson-Cook model, a modified constitutive model is proposed, in which a correction term for the C value related to strain rate and strain is introduced. The modified Johnson-Cook model can accurately capture the abnormal strain rate sensitivity behavior observed in the experiment. In addition, it was found that the heat treatment state has a significant effect on the microstructural evolution behavior of 2195 Al-Li alloy. The as-annealed material shows the deformation behavior based on the evolution of dislocation cells. In addition to dislocation cells, there is also deformation behavior based on the evolution of submicron lath deformation bands for solution treated material. Dislocation cross slip is suppressed in the solution treated material, and its slip mode tends to be the plane slip. Through the analysis of dislocation density, mean slip distance of dislocation slip, and the interaction between solid atoms and dislocation, the mechanism of the abnormal deformation behavior of the solution treated material is revealed. [Display omitted] • A modified Johnson-Cook model is proposed, which can accurately capture the observed complex strain rate sensitivity behavior. • The as-annealed material shows the deformation behavior based on the evolution of dislocation cells. • The evolution of deformation bands is dominant deformation behavior for solution treated material. • Dislocation cross slip is suppressed in solution treated material, which slip mode tends to be the plane slip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fermented sea buckthorn juice (FHJ) displayed better antioxidant and antidiabetic properties in vitro. • FHJ ameliorated diet-induced hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota dysbiosis in vivo. • FHJ could interact with Akkermansia to further attenuate metabolic syndrome. • FHJ increased acetate and butyrate contents in caeca. • Fermentation-triggered metabolomic alterations, especially flavonoids in FHJ, played critical roles in the FHJ-microorganism interactions. To enhance physiological activity and probiotic availability of sea buckthorn juice, sea buckthorn juice pulp (BHJ) went through fermentation to the fermented (FHJ). In vitro , FHJ displayed better antioxidant and antidiabetic capacities. To further study effects of FHJ on diet-induced metabolic syndrome (MS) and possible mechanisms in vivo , C57BL/6 mice were fed on BHJ and FHJ under high fat diet (HFD). FHJ, rather BHJ, displayed better performance on ameliorating hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress in MS. Mechanistically, FHJ intervention significantly reversed the microorganism dysbiosis by restoring the microbial diversity, and modulating obesogenic bacteria abundance, like Oscillospira. Furthermore, fermentation altered FHJ's metabolomics, especially flavonoids, contributing to interactions between FHJ and probiotics, like Akkermansia and Lachnospiraceae. Furthermore, short-chain fatty acids, related to ameliorations of MS, were increased by FHJ. This study demonstrated that interactions between metabolomic alterations in FHJ and microorganisms were vital to attenuate MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the pulsed electromagnetic field treatment (PEFT) is designed between the pre-stretching and artificial aging of the thermomechanical treatment. Using electron microscopy and hardness test, the effect of the PEFT on dislocation evolution and subsequent artificial aging behavior of spray deposited 2195 Al-Li alloy is studied. The results show that although the PEFT reduces the Vickers microhardness of the specimen, it improves the hardening kinetics and precipitation strengthening of the specimen during the subsequent artificial aging process. Besides, it is found that the PEFT reduces the dislocation density of the pre-stretching specimen and improves the dislocation uniformity. The PEFT makes the T 1 precipitate obtained by the subsequent artificial aging process more finely dispersed, a decrease of the average thickness by 57.6%. From simulation combined with theoretical analysis, it is found that the static recovery induced by temperature rise is an important reason for the decrease of dislocation density on the specimen during the PEFT. The magnetically induced stress is an important driving force for a more uniform dislocation distribution. The mechanism of the microstructure evolution of the material is systematically discussed and summarized. • The effect of pulsed electromagnetic field treatment (PEFT) on microstructure evolution of 2195 Al-Li alloy was studied. • PEFT reduced the dislocation density of the pre-stretching specimen and improves the dislocation uniformity. • PEFT made the T 1 precipitate obtained by the subsequent artificial aging process more finely dispersed. • The static recovery induced by temperature rise and magnetically induced stress was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global ocean salinity is changing under rapid climate change and intensified anthropogenic activity. Increased differences in salinity threaten marine biodiversity, organismal survival, and evolution, particularly sessile invertebrates dwelling in highly fluctuating intertidal and estuarine environments. Comparing the responses of closely related species to salinity changes can provide insights into the adaptive mechanisms underlying inter- and intraspecific divergence in salinity tolerance, but are poorly understood in marine bivalves. We collected wild individuals of four Crassostrea species, in addition to two populations of the same species from their native habitats and determined the dynamics of hydrolyzed amino acids (HAAs) and transcriptional responses to hypersaline stress. In response to hypersaline stress, species/populations inhabiting natural high-salinity sea environments showed higher survival and less decline in HAAs than that of congeners inhabiting low-salinity estuaries. Thus, native environmental salinity shapes oyster tolerance. Notably, a strong negative correlation between the decline in HAAs and survival indicated that the HAAs pool could predict tolerance to hypersaline challenge. Four HAAs, including glutamine (Glu), aspartic acid (Asp), alanine (Ala) and glycine (Gly), were identified as key amino acids that contributed substantially to the emergency response to hypersaline stress. High-salinity-adapted oyster species only induced substantial decreases in Glu and Asp, whereas low-salinity-adapted congeners further incresaed Ala and Gly metabolism under hypersaline stress. The dynamics of the content and gene expression responsible for key amino acids pathways revealed the importance of maintaining the balance between energy production and ammonia detoxification in divergent hypersaline responses among oyster species/populations. High constructive or plastic expression of evolutionarily expanded gene copies in high-salinity-adapted species may contribute to their greater hypersaline tolerance. Our findings reveal the adaptive mechanism of key amino acids in salinity adaptation in marine bivalves and provide new avenues for the prediction of adaptive potential and aquaculture with high-salinity tolerant germplasms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

It is usually difficult to realize high mobility together with a low threshold voltage and good stability for amorphous oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). In addition, a low fabrication temperature is preferred in terms of enhancing compatibility with the back end of line of the device. In this study, α-IGZO TFTs were prepared by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) at room temperature. The channel was prepared under a two-step deposition pressure process to modulate its electrical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectra revealed that the front-channel has a lower Ga content and a higher oxygen vacancy concentration than the back-channel. This process has the advantage of balancing high mobility and a low threshold voltage of the TFT when compared with a conventional homogeneous channel. It also has a simpler fabrication process than that of a dual active layer comprising heterogeneous materials. The HiPIMS process has the advantage of being a low temperature process for oxide TFTs.

Background: Whereas the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Addenbrooke's cognitive examination-revised (ACE-R) are commonly used tests for the detection of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), these instruments take 10-30 min to administer and do not assess processing speed, which is a critical impairment in PSCI. MemTrax (MTx) is a continuous recognition test, which evaluates complex information processing, accuracy, speed, and attention, in 2 min., Aim: To evaluate whether MTx is an effective and practical tool for PSCI assessment., Methods: This study enrolled acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients who have assessed the cognitive status including MTx, clinical dementia rating (CDR), MoCA, Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin scale (mRS), and Barthel Index of activity of daily living (BI) combined with the physical examinations of the neurologic system at the 90-day (D90) after the AIS. The primary endpoint of this study was establishing MTx cut-offs for distinguishing PSCI from AIS., Results: Of the 104 participants, 60 were classified to the PSCI group. The optimized cut-off value of MTx-%C (percent correct) was 78%, with a sensitivity and specificity for detecting PSCI from Non-PSCI of 90.0 and 84.1%, respectively, and an AUC of 0.919. Regarding the MTx-Cp (Composite score = MTx-%C/MTx-RT), using 46.3 as a cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity for detecting PSCI from Non-PSCI were 80.0 and 93.2%, with an AUC of 0.925. Multivariate linear regression showed that PSCI reduced the MTx-%C (Coef. -14.18, 95% CI -18.41∼-9.95, p < 0.001) and prolonged the MTx-RT (response time) (Coef. 0.29, 95% CI 0.16∼0.43, p < 0.001) and reduced the MTx-CP (Coef. -19.11, 95% CI -24.29∼-13.93, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: MemTrax (MTx) is valid and effective for screening for PSCI among target patients and is a potentially valuable and practical tool in the clinical follow-up, monitoring, and case management of PSCI., Competing Interests: JA had filed a patent application for the use of the specific continuous recognition paradigm described in this article for general testing of memory and also owns the URL for www.memtrax.com. XZho is the Executive Director and legal representative of SJN Biomed company. This company is managing the Chinese version of memory testing system described in this article, owns the URL, www.memtrax.com.cn as well as the mini program version of MemTrax on WeChat. XZho was employed by Zhongze Therapeutics. JZ was employed by Bothwin Clinical Study Consultant. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhao, Dai, Zhang, Chen, Zhao, Bergeron, Zhou, Zhang, Zhong, Ashford and Liu.)

Transcriptional plasticity interacts with natural selection in complex ways and is crucial for the survival of species under rapid climate change. How 3D genome architecture affects transcriptional plasticity and its interaction with genetic adaptation are unclear. We transplanted estuarine oysters to a new environment and found that genes located in active chromatin regions exhibited greater transcriptional plasticity, and changes in these regions were negatively correlated with selective signals. This indicates a trade-off between 3D active regions and selective signals in shaping plastic responses to a new environment. Specifically, a mutation, lincRNA, and changes in the accessibility of a distal enhancer potentially affect its interaction with the ManⅡa gene, which regulates the muscle function and survival of oysters. Our findings reveal that 3D genome architecture compensates for the role of genetic adaptation in environmental response to new environments and provide insights into synergetic genetic and epigenetic interactions critical for fitness-related trait and survival in a model marine species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Construction of engineering structures in geomaterials with soil-rock mixture (S-RM) is often a challenging task for engineers. When analyzing the stability of the engineering structures, the mechanical properties of S-RM often receive the most attention. To study the mechanical damage evolution characteristics of S-RM under triaxial loading conditions, a modified triaxial apparatus was used to conduct shear test on S-RM, and the change of electrical resistivity was measured simultaneously. The stress-strain-electrical resistivity curve and stress-strain characteristics under different confining pressures were obtained and analyzed. Based on the electrical resistivity, a mechanical damage model was established and verified to analyze the damage evolution regularities of S-RM during shearing. The results show that the electrical resistivity of S-RM decreases with increasing axial strain and that the differences in decrease rates correspond to the different deformation stages of the samples. With the increase in loading confining pressure, the stress-strain curve characteristics change from a slight strain softening to a strong strain hardening. Additionally, an increase in rock content and confining pressure can enhance the bearing capacity of S-RM. Moreover, the derived damage evolution model based on electrical resistivity can accurately characterize the mechanical behavior of S-RM under triaxial shear. Based on the damage variable D , it is found that the damage evolution process of S-RM can be divided into a non-damage stage, a rapid damage stage and a stable damage stage. Furthermore, the structure enhancement factor, which is a model modification parameter for the effect of rock content difference, can accurately predict the stress-strain curves of S-RMs with different rock contents. This study sets the stage for an electrical-resistivity-based monitoring method for studying the evolution of internal damage in S-RM.

Identification of bone erosions and quantification of erosion volume is important for rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, and can add important information to evaluate disease progression and treatment effects. High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) is well suited for this purpose, however analysis methods are not widely available. The purpose of this study was to develop an open-source software tool for the identification and quantification of bone erosions using images acquired by HR-pQCT. The collection of modules, Bone Analysis Modules (BAM) - Erosion, implements previously published erosion analysis techniques as modules in 3D Slicer, an open-source image processing and visualization tool. BAM includes a module to automatically identify cortical interruptions, from which erosions are manually selected, and a hybrid module that combines morphological and level set operations to quantify the volume of bone erosions. HR-pQCT images of the second and third metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints were acquired in patients with RA (XtremeCT, n = 14, XtremeCTII, n = 22). The number of cortical interruptions detected by BAM-Erosion agreed strongly with the previously published cortical interruption detection algorithm for both XtremeCT (r 2  = 0.85) and XtremeCTII (r 2  = 0.87). Erosion volume assessment by BAM-Erosion agreed strongly (r 2  = 0.95) with the Medical Image Analysis Framework. BAM-Erosion provides an open-source erosion analysis tool that produces comparable results to previously published algorithms, with improved options for visualization. The strength of the tool is that it implements multiple image processing algorithms for erosion analysis on a single, widely available, open-source platform that can accommodate future updates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Bert van Rietbergen is a consultant for Scanco Medical AG. All other authors have stated no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Under climate change, the sea surface temperature and salinity change greatly, which poses a considerable threat to sustainable food security. Sea surface temperature and salinity (SST/SSS) are selected to examine the annual output of swimming crab in 24 cities along the eastern China. The Copula-based function was used to construct the probability distribution model of the swimming crab yield with SST and SSS. The pure premium rate of the swimming crab production in these 24 cities are also examined. The results show that 1) There is significant positive correlations between the yield of swimming crab with temperature and salinity over the study area. The only exception is that the correlation between yield of swimming crab and salinity is not significant in the south of study area. 2) The span of the pure insurance premium rate of swimming crab in 24 cities increases rapidly with the increase of the protection level, the maximum span up to 2.04%, and the minimum span is only 1.6%. 3) The distribution of the swimming crab insurance premium rate is various in space. The insurance premium rate of 8 cities in the south of Taizhou is low with the highest premium rate at 5.6%. The insurance premium rate of 16 cities in north of Taizhou is relatively high with the rate between 6%-22%. The research can provide a theoretical basis for the pricing of insurance products for swimming crab in 24 cities in the typical aquaculture areas in eastern China., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

In the context of the Healthy China 2030 Plan, the importance of the happiness of urban young returnees should not be underestimated. Based on a large-scale social survey of social practices in China, this paper applies a hierarchical linear regression model (HLM) and a structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the determinants of urban young returnees' happiness. The results show that the happiness of urban young returnees in China is not only influenced by their socio-demographic characteristics, such as age and education, but mainly by their occupational development, institutional factors (especially the employment and entrepreneurship policy system) and social factors (physical environment and urban rural relationship), which are different from those of ordinary residents. Further study shows that occupational development indirectly affects the happiness of urban young returnees through relationship adaptation, collective adaptation and material adaptation, the indirect effects accounts for 42.18%, 21.64% and 36.18%, respectively. Institutional factors exert an indirect effect on the happiness of urban young returnees through relationship adaptation (46.80%) and material adaptation (53.20%). Social factors indirectly affect the happiness of urban young returnees through relationship adaptation (44.20%), collective adaptation (16.96%) and material adaptation (38.84%). Policies to improve the happiness of urban young returnees are suggested.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection, with high incidence and mortality. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an effective anti-infection treatment. In this work, we designed and synthesized red blood cell (RBC) membrane-coated PLGA nanoparticles named γ3-RBCNPs, which target the highly expressed intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) at the site of infection through the γ3 peptide on its surface and kill the Klebsiella pneumoniae through ciprofloxacin encapsulated in its core. In addition, the homogenous RBC membrane coated on the surface of the nanoparticles helps them avoid immune surveillance and prolong the circulation time of the drug in the body. We found that the γ3-RBCNPs target human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) activated by TNF-α in vitro and the infected lung of mice in the sepsis model very well. In vitro evaluation suggested that γ3-RBCNPs have a low risk of acute hemolysis and are less likely to be engulfed by macrophages. In vivo evaluation showed that γ3-RBCNPs has a long half-life and good bio-safety. More importantly, we confirmed that γ3-RBCNPs have the good antibacterial and anti-infection ability in vivo and in vitro . Our research provides a new strategy for the nano-drug treatment of Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced sepsis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Liu, Ding, Zhao, Tu, He, Zhang, Jing, Rui and Zhang.)

A microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based microbial electrochemical sensor was developed for real-time on-line monitoring of heavy metals in water environment. The microbial electrochemical sensor was constructed with staggered flow distribution method to optimize the parameters such as external resistance value and external circulation rate. The inhibition of concentration of simulated heavy metal wastewater on voltage under optimal parameters was analyzed. The results showed that the best performance of MFC electrochemical sensor was achieved when the external resistance value was 130 Ω and the external circulation rate was 1.0 mL/min. In this case, the microbial electrochemical sensors were responsive to 1-10 mg/L Cu 2+ , 0.25-1.25 mg/L Cd 2+ , 0.25-1.25 mg/L Cr 6+ and 0.25-1.00 mg/L Hg 2+ within 60 minutes. The maximum rejection rates of the output voltage were 92.95%, 73.11%, 82.76% and 75.80%, respectively, and the linear correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.95. In addition, the microbial electrochemical sensor showed a good biological reproducibility. The good performance for detecting heavy metals by the newly developed microbial electrochemical sensor may facilitate the real-time on-line monitoring of heavy metals in water environment.

Background: The dementia and affective disorders are common non-motor features in patients with essential tremor (ET). However, the relationship of ET with cognitive impairments and affective disorders remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to analyze the association of ET with dementia and affective disorders., Methods: Original studies published from January 1999 to October 2019 were systematically searched from the database of Medline (OvidSP), EMBASE (OvidSP), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Pooled standard mean difference (SMD, random effect model), odds ratios (ORs), relative risk (RR), and 95% CI were calculated., Results: Compared with the Non-ET group, patients with ET had significantly lower Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ( SMD , -1.16; 95% CI , -1.75 to -0.58; p = 0.0001) and had significantly higher depressive and anxiety symptoms scale score ( SMD , 0.55; 95% CI , 0.22-0.87; p = 0.0009). The OR for dementia and affective disorders in individuals with ET compared with individuals without ET was 2.49 ( 95% CI , 2.17-2.85, p < 0.00001). While there was no significant difference in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score between ET and Non-ET groups ( SMD , -0.52; 95% CI , -0.16 to 0.13; p = 0.23), there was a significant difference in the risk of mortality between ET and Non-ET groups ( RR = 4.69, 95% CI , 2.18-10.07)., Conclusion: The non-motor symptoms should not be neglected among patients with ET. However, the causal relationship between ET and dementia, depression, and anxiety is unclear., Competing Interests: JZ was employed by Bothwin Clinical Study Consultant. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Shang, Chen, Ai, Gao, Dai, Zhao, Yang, Wang, Zhang, Zhong, Bao and Liu.)

Structural failures resulting from prolonged low-amplitude loading are particularly problematic. Over the past century a succession of mechanisms have been hypothesized, as experimental validation has remained out of reach. Here we show by atomistic modeling that sustained fatigue crack growth in vacuum requires emitted dislocations to change slip planes prior to their reabsorption into the crack on the opposite side of the loading cycle. By harnessing a new implementation of a concurrent multiscale method we (1) assess the validity of long-hypothesized material separation mechanisms thought to control near-threshold fatigue crack growth in vacuum, and (2) reconcile reports of crack growth in atomistic simulations at loading amplitudes below experimental crack growth thresholds. Our results provide a mechanistic foundation to relate fatigue crack growth tendency to fundamental material properties, e.g. stacking fault energies and elastic moduli, opening the door for improved prognosis and the design of novel fatigue resistance alloys., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Second and third harmonic ratios method to evaluate initial damage in concrete have been extensively studied. However, some regularities of this technique still not clear in current stage. In order to better understand the regularity of nonlinear parameters β and γ on micro and macro damage in concrete, the cracks with different damage scales are induced in concrete specimens. Three levels of test voltage are applied to intact concrete specimens, with the purpose to demonstrate the excitation voltage has an unneglectable effect on nonlinear parameters. The regularity of nonlinear parameters on crack orientation is also obtained in this study. The results of the experiment have considerable importance with respect to the method of higher harmonic ratios for concrete and other inhomogeneous materials., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)