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As the global facial mask market continues to grow, consumers have put forward higher requirements for the functionality and ingredients of mask products. Ordinary facial masks mostly use ordinary non-woven fabrics as the mask base fabric and are used with essence. Preservatives are generally added. At the same time, they are susceptible to the influence of the external environment and are easily oxidized, causing the mask to deteriorate and cause skin allergic reactions. In addition, traditional facial masks have problems such as poor fit with the skin, poor breathability, insufficient absorption of nutrient solutions, and easy dripping. The high specific surface area and high porosity of a nanofiber mask prepared by electrospinning technology are beneficial to the skin's absorption of nutrients, and it has good fit with the skin and strong breathability. A unique advantage of this nanofiber mask is that it uses spray. After the mask is sprayed with water or essence, the water-soluble polymer within it can be quickly dissolved, saving a lot of time. Nanofiber facial mask products can effectively solve consumer pain points and are conducive to the high-end development of facial masks. Therefore, this article combines needleless electrospinning technology to develop a new solid-state, preservative-free, quick-dissolving nanofiber facial mask that can be prepared on a large scale. Based on needleless electrospinning technology, this article deeply explores the process parameters and their influencing mechanisms for preparing nanofiber, quick-dissolving facial masks to achieve the stable preparation of nanofiber facial masks with the best morphology; a comprehensive analysis of the structure and influence of nanofiber facial masks from micro and macro perspectives demonstrates their performance and allows evaluation of them. The experimental results show that the mask morphology is optimal under the process conditions of using a spinning liquid of 20% collagen peptide solution, a spinning voltage of 30 kV, a collection distance of 19 cm, and a liquid supply speed of 130 mL/h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor with low survival rate. Currently, temozolomide (TMZ) is the first-line drug for GBM treatment of which efficacy is unfortunately hindered by short circulation time and drug resistance associated to hypoxia and redox tumor microenvironment. Herein, a dual-targeted and multi-responsive nanoplatform is developed by loading TMZ in hollow manganese dioxide nanoparticles functionalized by polydopamine and targeting ligands RAP12 for photothermal and receptor-mediated dual-targeted delivery, respectively. After accumulated in GBM tumor site, the nanoplatform could respond to tumor microenvironment and simultaneously release manganese ion (Mn2+), oxygen (O2) and TMZ. The hypoxia alleviation via O2 production, the redox balance disruption via glutathione consumption and the reactive oxygen species generation, together would down-regulate the expression of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase under TMZ medication, which is considered as the key to drug resistance. These strategies could synergistically alleviate hypoxia microenvironment and overcome TMZ resistance, further enhancing the anti-tumor effect of chemotherapy/chemodynamic therapy against GBM. Additionally, the released Mn2+ could also be utilized as a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for monitoring treatment efficiency. Our study demonstrated that this nanoplatform provides an alternative approach to the challenges including low delivery efficiency and drug resistance of chemotherapeutics, which eventually appears to be a potential avenue in GBM treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public goods game is a broadly used paradigm for studying the evolution of cooperation in structured populations. According to the basic assumption, the interaction graph determines the connections of a player where the focal actor forms a common venture with the nearest neighbors. In reality, however, not all of our partners are involved in every game. To elaborate this observation, we propose a model where individuals choose just some selected neighbors from the complete set to form a group for public goods. We explore the potential consequences by using a pair-approximation approach in a weak selection limit. We theoretically analyze how the number of total neighbors and the actual size of the restricted group influence the critical enhancement factor where cooperation becomes dominant over defection. Furthermore, we systematically compare our model with the traditional setup and show that the critical enhancement factor is lower than in the case when all players are present in the social dilemma. Hence, the suggested restricted interaction mode offers a better condition for the evolution of cooperation. Our theoretical findings are supported by numerical calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of large‐scale industrial application of alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen generation is severely hampered by the cost of electricity. Therefore, it is currently necessary to synthesize highly efficient electrocatalysts with excellent stability and low overpotential under an industrial‐level current density. Herein, Ir‐incorporated in partially oxidized Ru aerogel has been designed and synthesized via a simple in situ reduction strategy and subsequent oxidation process. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the optimized Ru98Ir2‐350 electrocatalyst exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in an alkaline environment (1 M KOH). Especially, at the large current density of 1000 mA cm−2, the overpotential is as low as 121 mV, far exceeding the benchmark Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the Ru98Ir2‐350 catalyst also displays excellent stability over 1500 h at 1000 mA cm−2, denoting its industrial applicability. This work provides an efficient route for developing highly active and ultra‐stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen generation under industrial‐level current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lijiagou pegmatite spodumene deposit, located in the middle of the Songpan–Garze Fold Belt and southeast of the Ke'eryin ore field, is a newly discovered super-large deposit. In order to reveal the metallogenic tectonic environment and evolution process of pegmatite, based on the study of the geological characteristics of pegmatite, we carried out a whole-rock geochemical analysis of Ke'eryin two-mica granite and Lijiagou pegmatite and carried out a detailed electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analysis of mica minerals in each zonal pegmatite. The results show that the Ke'eryin two-mica granite is mainly formed in the transition period from syn-collision to post-collision. After the end of the continental collision, the crust is squeezed and thickened in the post-collision extensional transition tectonic environment. Mica from the microcline pegmatite zone (MP) to the albite spodumene pegmatite zone (ASP) in pegmatite show different compositions and structural characteristics, with the evolution trend in the direction from muscovite to Li-bearing mica. The type of mica from MP to AP is mainly muscovite, and Li-bearing mica appears in ASP, which is secondary and metasomatic at the edge of primary muscovite. From MP to ASP, there was a negative correlation between Nb/Ta, K/Rb and the Li, Rb, and Cs contents of mica, while the contents of Li, Rb, Cs, and F in the Li-bearing mica of ASP increased sharply. This evidence illustrates that the favorable tectonic environment contributed to the formation of the Lijiagou pegmatitic spodumene deposit. Lijiagou pegmatite experienced the magmatic–hydrothermal evolution process and has a high degree of differentiation and evolution from MP to ASP, which gradually increased. Combined with the change in mica type, it is considered that ASP formed from the stage of magmatic transition to hydrothermal and was a hydrothermal environment, and Li, Rb, and Cs mainly began to enrich at the stage of magmatic–hydrothermal transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Rh nanoparticles anchored on Co/ N -doped carbon nanofibers are prepared via an electrospinning-pyrolysis-reduction method. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst shows rich exposed active sites and excellent electrical conductivity. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst presents high HER activities in both alkaline and acidic media. • The nanofibrous hybrid catalyst presents an excellent long-term stability towards HER. Constructing high-activity electrocatalysts towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an essential way to achieve efficient, green and sustainable energy from water electrolysis. In this work, rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles anchored on cobalt (Co)/nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) catalyst is prepared by the electrospinning-pyrolysis-reduction method. The synergy effect between Co-NCNFs and Rh nanoparticles contributes to the superior HER activity and favorable durability. The optimized 0.15Co-NCNFs-5Rh sample exhibits ultralow overpotentials of 13 and 18 mV to reach 10 mA cm−2 in an alkaline and acidic electrolyte, surpassing many Rh-based or Co-based electrocatalysts reported in the literature. Additionally, the Co-NCNFs-Rh sample shows a better HER activity than benchmark Pt/C catalyst in an alkaline medium at all current densities and in an acidic condition at higher current densities, offering its promising practical applications. Thus, this work provides an efficient methodology to construct high-performance HER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Triglyceride glucose index (TyG index) has been recommended as an alternative indicator of insulin resistance. However, the association between TyG and regression from prediabetes to normoglycemia remains to be elucidated. Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved 25,248 subjects with prediabetes at baseline conducted from 2010 to 2016. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was designed to evaluate the role of TyG in identifying people at converting from prediabetes to normoglycemia. Cox proportional hazards regression with cubic spline functions and smooth curve fitting was used to dig out the nonlinear relationship between them. Detailed evaluations for TyG were also performed using sensitivity and subgroup analyse. Results: Among the included prediabetes subjects (n = 25,248), the mean age was 49.27 ± 13.84 years old, and 16,701 (66.15%) were male. The mean TyG was 8.83 ± 0.60. The median follow-up time was 2.96 ± 0.90 years. 11,499 (45.54%) individuals had a final diagnosis of normoglycemia. After adjusting for covariates, TyG was negatively affecting the results of glucose status conversion in prediabetes people (HR 0.895, 95% CI 0.863, 0.928). There was a nonlinear connection between TyG and normoglycemia in prediabetes people, and the inflection point was 8.88. The effect sizes (HR) on the left and right sides of the inflection point were 0.99 (0.93, 1.05) and 0.79 (0.74, 0.85), respectively. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these results. Subgroup analysis showed that TyG was more strongly associated with incident glucose status conversion in male, BMI ≥ 25. In contrast, there was a weaker relationship in those with female, BMI < 25. Conclusion: Based on sample of subjects evaluated between 2010 and 2016, TyG index appears to be a promising marker for predicting normoglycemic conversion among prediabetes people in China. This study demonstrates a negative and non-linear association between TyG and glucose status conversion from prediabetes to normoglycemia. TyG is strongly related to glucose status conversion when TyG is above 8.88. From a therapeutic point of view, it is meaningful to maintain TyG levels within the inflection point to 8.88. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The association between composite dietary antioxidant index (CDAI) and diabetes remains unknown. Our study was to investigate the association of CDAI with diabetes. Methods: A total of 11,956 participants were enrolled from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). The CDAI was calculated from the intake of six dietary antioxidants. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to explore the associations between CDAI and the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic index. Non-linear associations were explored using restricted cubic splines. Results: In the multivariate logistic regression model, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of CDAI associating with obesity was 0.98 (0.97-1.00; p = 0.033). Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile was related to 0.84-fold risk of diabetes (0.71–0.99; p = 0.035). However, CDAI was not independently associated with fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c. Conclusion: CDAI was negatively associated with diabetes and the relationship was independent of other traditional risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural, electronic, and capacitance properties of B- or O-doped carbon nitride monolayers were systematically investigated using first-principles calculations. Different single-atom substitutions (i.e., B or O dopant on a Cx or Ny substitution site) were considered for this work. The substitution site plays an important role in regulating the stability and electronic structure of carbon nitride monolayers. B or O doping could make carbon nitride monolayers produce large local density of states near Fermi level contributed mainly from the hybridization of the 2p states of C, N, and the doped atom (B or O), thus significantly improving conductivity, quantum capacitance, and surface charge density of the structures. The results show that the quantum capacitances of the B-doped carbon nitride monolayers are much greater than those of the B-doped graphene monolayers. Furthermore, B-doped C3N at the C1 site, B-doped tg-C3N4 at the N2 site, and O-doped tg-C3N4 at the N1 site are strongly recommended as the electrodes in symmetrical supercapacitors, while the other doped components could also be used as cathode or anode materials in asymmetrical supercapacitors. The findings of this study suggest that doped carbon nitride structures could be considered as promising electrode materials for supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anisotropic thermally conductive composites are very critical for precise thermal management of electronic devices. In this work, in order to prepare a composite with significant anisotropic thermal conductivity, polyamide 12/styrene–acrylic copolymer–boron nitride (PA12/SA–BN) composites with macro and micro double anisotropic structures were fabricated successfully using 3D printing and micro-shear methods. The morphologies and thermally conductive properties of composites were systematically characterized via SEM, XRD, and the laser flash method. Experimental results indicate that the through-plane thermal conductivity of the composite is 4.2 W/(m·K) with only 21.4 wt% BN, which is five times higher than that of the composite with randomly oriented BN. Simulation results show that the macro-anisotropic structure of the composite (caused by the selective distribution of BN) as well as the micro-anisotropic structure (caused by the orientation structure of BN) both play critical roles in spreading heat along the specified direction. Therefore, as-obtained composites with double anisotropic structures possess great potential for the application inefficient and controllable thermal management in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ultrafine Ir nanoparticles on N -doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) are fabricated via an chelating adsorption-engaged synthesis strategy. • The nanofibrous heterostructure increases the exposed active sites and promotes the electrical conductivity. • The Ir-NCNFs catalyst presents large HER activity in both alkaline and acidic solutions. • The Ir-NCNFs catalyst also shows an admirable durability during HER process. Developing highly efficient and stable precious metal electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for energy application, while it is still challenging to achieve highly dispersed ultrafine metal nanoparticles on some promising supports to synergistically promote their electrocatalytic performance. Herein, we propose a feasible chelating adsorption-engaged strategy by introducing de-doped polyaniline with abundant amino groups to immobilize ultrafine iridium (Ir) nanoparticles on their derived N -doped carbon nanofibers (Ir-NCNFs). Experimental results demonstrate that the synthesized Ir-NCNFs can effectively promote the charge transfer and expose more electrochemical active sites, which eventually accelerate the reaction kinetics. Thus, the synthesized Ir-NCNFs catalyst exhibits admirable HER activities in both alkaline and acidic conditions with overpotentials of only 23 and 8 mV, which are even superior or close to the benchmark Pt/C catalyst. Furthermore, the synthesized Ir-NCNFs catalyst also exhibits a long-term durability. This study affords a reliable means to construct high-performance supported ultrafine metal nanocatalysts for electrocatalytic applications to alleviate the growing demand for energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing strategies in an evolutionary game model, or species in a biosystem, can easily form a larger unit which protects them from the invasion of an external actor. Such a defensive alliance may have two, three, four or even more members. But how effective can be such formation against an alternative group composed by other competitors? To address this question we study a minimal model where a two-member and a four-member alliances fight in a symmetric and balanced way. By presenting representative phase diagrams, we systematically explore the whole parameter range which characterizes the inner dynamics of the alliances and the intensity of their interactions. The group formed by a pair, who can exchange their neighboring positions, prevail in the majority of the parameter region. The rival quartet can only win if their inner cyclic invasion rate is significant while the mixing rate of the pair is extremely low. At specific parameter values, when neither of the alliances is strong enough, new four-member solutions emerge where a rock-paper-scissors-like trio is extended by the other member of the pair. These new solutions coexist hence all six competitors can survive. The evolutionary process is accompanied by serious finite-size effects which can be mitigated by appropriately chosen prepared initial states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of mortars in seawater, this work explored the evolution of biofilm adhered on mortar surfaces with different protective coatings and the mortar properties in the seawater environment. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were selected as experimental strains, and epoxy resin and polyurethane as protective coatings. The performance of each group of samples was tested from the 15th day to the 120th day at intervals of 15 days. The evolution and morphology of the biofilms were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a common camera, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and ultra-deep field microscope. The properties and microstructure of the mortars were determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), thermogavimetric analyzer (TG), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electro-hydraulic pressure laboratory machines. The results show that: (1) In a seawater environment, protective coatings can effectively impede the adhesion of biofilms, and the beginning of the rapid growth period of the biofilms is delayed from day 30 to day 60. (2) On day 120, the highest dehydration rate of 0.61% is for the uncoated specimen. In contrast, the epoxy resin group experienced a dehydration rate of 0.57%, and the polyurethane group a dehydration rate of 0.53%. This indicates that a polyurethane coating can effectively hinder the entrance of corrosive media from the seawater, alleviate the tendency of the mortar to swell, delay the corrosion process of the mortar in the seawater, and provide some degree of protection for the mortar. Cement-based material is one of the main types of material used in ocean engineering construction. But there are many organisms (micro and large) in the ocean that can damage concrete, among which sulfur-oxidizing bacteria is one of the most widely studied species. In recent years, many antifouling materials have been developed to prevent microbial corrosion and destruction. Based on its cost, convenience, utility, and other comprehensive aspects, a polymer antifouling coating (polyurethane, epoxy resin, etc.) is often applied. This study explored the protection of mortars with polyurethane and epoxy coatings in the presence of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and monitored the evolution of the biofilms on the surfaces of the mortars. The results show that polyurethane and epoxy coatings cannot completely prevent corrosion damage from sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and can only delay the corrosion. Further, compared with a epoxy resin coating, a polyurethane coating can more effectively resist damage from the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and corrosive ions in seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to overcome the problems of low data reliability and long generation time of traditional automatic generation methods of software test data, an automatic generation method of software test data based on improved Markov model is designed. Firstly, collect software test data in different stages; Then, by calculating the similarity of the collected software test data, remove the test data with high similarity, calculate the importance of the software test data with the help of entropy weight method, and complete the data preprocessing; Finally, the Markov model is improved with the help of genetic algorithm, generation path and variation factor of software test data are set, and the improved Markov model is used to automatically generate high quality software test data. Experimental results show that when the number of experiments is 50, the generation time of this method is about 2.8 s, the reliability coefficient is always higher than 0.8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord injury (SCI), a fatal condition, is characterized by progressive tissue degradation and extreme functional deficits with limited treatment options. Hesperetin, a natural flavonoid with potent antioxidant, antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory properties, has yet to be systematically investigated for its therapeutic effects on neurological damage in rat models of SCI. In this study, rats were given oral hesperetin once daily for 28 days, and their locomotion and histopathological changes were assessed. The findings demonstrated that hesperetin alleviates neurological damage caused by SCI. The observed behavioral improvement could be due to an increase in the survival rate of neurons and oligodendrocytes. This improvement further boosted the ability to repair tissue and form myelin after SCI, ultimately resulting in better neurological outcomes. Furthermore, the present study revealed that hesperetin possesses potent antioxidant capabilities in the context of SCI, reducing the levels of harmful oxygen free radicals and increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, hesperetin markedly inhibited injury-induced apoptosis, as assessed by caspase-3 immunofluorescence staining and the expression level of caspase-3, indicating the ability of hesperetin to prevent cell death after SCI. Finally, after SCI, hesperetin treatment effectively reduced the expression of inflammatory factors, including IL-1β, TNFα, and NF-kB, demonstrating the anti-inflammatory effect of hesperetin. Together, our results suggest that hesperetin should be considered a valuable therapeutic aid following SCI, as its positive effects on the nervous system, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects, may be crucial mechanisms through which hesperetin exerts neuroprotective effects against SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social exclusion has been regarded as one of the most effective measures to promote the evolution of cooperation. In real society, the way in which social exclusion works can be direct or indirect. However, thus far there is no related work to explore how indirect exclusion influences the evolution of cooperation from a theoretical perspective. Here, we introduce indirect exclusion into the repeated public goods game where the game organizer probabilistically selects cooperators after the first game round to participate in the following possible game interactions. We then investigate the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation both in infinite and finite well-mixed populations. Through theoretical analysis and numerical calculations, we find that the introduction of indirect exclusion can induce the stable coexistence of cooperators and defectors or the dominance of cooperators, which thus effectively promotes the evolution of cooperation. Besides, we show that the identifying probability of the organizer has a nonlinear effect on public cooperation when its value is lower than an intermediate value, while the higher identifying probability can maintain a high level of cooperation. Furthermore, our results show that increasing the average rounds of game interactions can effectively promote the evolution of cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opinion dynamics on social networks have received considerable attentions in recent years. Nevertheless, just a few works have theoretically analyzed the condition in which a certain opinion can spread in the whole structured population. In this article, we propose an evolutionary game approach for a binary opinion model to explore the conditions for an opinion's spreading. Inspired by real-life observations, we assume that an agent's choice to select an opinion is not random but is based on a score rooted from both public knowledge and the interactions with neighbors. By means of coalescing random walks, we obtain a condition in which opinion A can be favored to spread on social networks in the weak selection limit. We find that the successfully spreading condition of opinion A is closely related to the basic scores of binary opinions, the feedback scores on opinion interactions, and the structural parameters including the edge weights, the weighted degrees of vertices, and the average degree of the network. In particular, when individuals adjust their opinions based solely on the public information, the vitality of opinion A depends exclusively on the difference of basic scores of A and B. When there are no negative (positive) feedback interactions between connected individuals, we find that the success of opinion A depends on the ratio of the obtained positive (negative) feedback scores of competing opinions. To complete our study, we perform computer simulations on fully connected, small-world, and scale-free networks, respectively, which support and confirm our theoretical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional method to achieve ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) is to hybrid nπ* and ππ* configurations in appropriate proportion, which are contradictory to each other for improving efficiency and lifetime of phosphorescence. In this work, through replacing the electron‐donating aromatic group with a methoxy group and combining intramolecular halogen bond to promote intersystem crossing and suppress non‐radiative transition, an efficient UOP molecule (2Br‐OSPh) has been synthesized with the longest lifetime and brightest UOP among its isomers. As compared to CzS2Br, which has a similar substituted position of bromine atom and a larger kisc (the rate of intersystem crossing), the smaller ΔETT* (the energy gap between monomeric phosphorescence and aggregated state phosphorescence) in 2Br‐OSPh could accelerate the transition from T1 to T1*. This research indicates that both generation and accumulation of triplet excitons play an important role in realizing efficient UOP materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional method to achieve ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) is to hybrid nπ* and ππ* configurations in appropriate proportion, which are contradictory to each other for improving efficiency and lifetime of phosphorescence. In this work, through replacing the electron‐donating aromatic group with a methoxy group and combining intramolecular halogen bond to promote intersystem crossing and suppress non‐radiative transition, an efficient UOP molecule (2Br‐OSPh) has been synthesized with the longest lifetime and brightest UOP among its isomers. As compared to CzS2Br, which has a similar substituted position of bromine atom and a larger kisc (the rate of intersystem crossing), the smaller ΔETT* (the energy gap between monomeric phosphorescence and aggregated state phosphorescence) in 2Br‐OSPh could accelerate the transition from T1 to T1*. This research indicates that both generation and accumulation of triplet excitons play an important role in realizing efficient UOP materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study showed that the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) from an ethanolic extract of pickled and dried mustard (Brassica juncea Coss. var. foliosa Bailey) had significant antibacterial activity. Here, the EAF was further separated into seven sub-fractions by silica gel column chromatography. The antibacterial activities of the EAF and its sub-fractions against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas fluorescens were assessed using the agar diffusion method and double dilution method. Among the seven sub-fractions, the third sub-fraction (Fr 3) possessed the strongest antibacterial activity. The main component in Fr 3 was identified by GC-MS, UV-vis, FT-IR, HPLC, 1H NMR and 13C NMR techniques, and was found to be succinic acid. The content of succinic acid in Fr 3 was determined as 88.68% (w/w) by HPLC. Finally, the antibacterial mechanism of succinic acid against the tested strains was explored by determining the intracellular component leakage, measuring the cell particle size and observing the cell morphology. The results showed that succinic acid could damage the cell membrane structure and intracellular structure to increase the leakage of cell components and reduce the cell particle size. Our results suggest that succinic acid could be used in food industry to control bacterial contamination by S. aureus and P. fluorescens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Interspecific interaction happens frequently among bacterial species and can promote the colonization of polymicrobial community in various environments. However, it is not clear whether the intervention of antibiotics, which is a common therapeutic method for infectious disease, will influence the interacting dynamics of different pathogenic bacteria. By using the frequently co‐isolated bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as models, here we identify an antibiotic‐determined mutual invasion relationship between bacterial pathogens. We show that although P. aeruginosa has a significant intrinsic competitive advantage over S. aureus by producing the quorum‐sensing (QS)‐controlled anti‐staphylococcal molecules, methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA) can inhibit neighbouring P. aeruginosa in the presence of subinhibitory aminoglycoside antibiotics (e.g. streptomycin) to P. aeruginosa. Importantly, subinhibitory streptomycin decreases the expression of QS‐regulated genes in P. aeruginosa and thus relieves the survival stress of MRSA brought by P. aeruginosa. On the other side, the iron‐uptake systems and pathogenicity of MRSA can be enhanced by the extracellular products of streptomycin‐treated P. aeruginosa. Therefore, this study provides an explanation for the substitution of dominant species and persistent coexistence of bacterial pathogens in the host with repeated antibiotic therapies and contributes to further understanding the pathogenesis of chronic polymicrobial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust plays an important role in human society. However, how does trust evolve is a huge challenge. The trust game is a well-known paradigm to measure the evolution of trust in a population. Reward and punishment as the common types of incentives can be used to improve the trustworthiness. However, it remains unclear how reward and punishment actually influence the evolutionary dynamics of trust. Here, we introduce individual reward and punishment into the N-player trust game model in an infinite well-mixed population, where investors use a part of the returned fund to reward trustworthy trustees and meanwhile punish untrustworthy trustees. We then investigate the evolutionary dynamics of trust by means of replicator equations. We show that the introduction of reward and punishment can lead to the stable coexistence state of investors and trustworthy trustees, which indicates that the evolution of trust can be greatly promoted. We reveal that the attraction domain of the coexistence state becomes larger as investors increase the incentive strength from the returned fund for reward and punishment. In addition, we find that the increase of the reward coefficient can enlarge the attraction domain of the coexistence state, which implies that reward can better promote the evolution of trust than punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF), a supraventricular arrhythmia that impairs cardiac function, is a main source of morbidity and mortality. Serum‐derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified to carry potential biomarker or target for the diagnosis and treatment of AF. We intended to dissect out the role of lncRNA MIAT enriched in serum‐derived EVs in AF. Methods: MIAT expression was quantified in EVs isolated from serum samples of AF patients. Mouse and cell models of AF were developed after angiotensin II (Ang II) induction. Relationship between MIAT, miR‐485‐5p, and CXCL10 was identified. Ectopic expression and depletion assays were implemented in Ang II‐treated mice or HL‐1 cells, or those co‐cultured with serum‐derived EVs to explore the roles of EV‐carried MIAT. Results: MIAT was upregulated in EVs from serum samples of AF patients. Further analysis indicated that MIAT enriched in serum‐derived EVs promoted atrial fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative stress, and aggravated the atrial remodeling and resultant AF. Mechanistically, MIAT bound to miR‐485‐5p and weakened its inhibitory role on the target CXCL10, which was responsible for the role of serum‐derived EV containing MIAT in cellular fibrosis, oxidative stress and inflammation, and atrial remodeling in vivo. Conclusions: In conclusion, serum‐derived EV containing MIAT facilitates atrial remodeling and exacerbates the AF by abolishing the miR‐485‐5p‐mediated CXCL10 inhibition. This finding aids in the deeper understanding about the pathophysiology of AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on stratospheric ozone have attracted much attention due to its serious impacts on climate changes and its important role as a tracer of Earth's global circulation. Tropospheric ozone as a main atmospheric pollutant damages human health as well as the growth of vegetation. Yet, there is still a lack of a theoretical framework to fully describe the variation of ozone. To understand ozone's spatiotemporal variance, we introduce the eigen microstate method to analyze the global ozone mass mixing ratio between January 1, 1979 and June 30, 2020 at 37 pressure layers. We find that eigen microstates at different geopotential heights can capture different climate phenomena and modes. Without deseasonalization, the first eigen microstates capture the seasonal effect and reveal that the phase of the intra-annual cycle moves with the geopotential heights. After deseasonalization, by contrast, the collective patterns from the overall trend, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), quasi-biennial oscillation, and tropopause pressure are identified by the first few significant eigen microstates. The theoretical framework proposed here can also be applied to other complex Earth systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conflict between individual and collective interests is in the heart of every social dilemmas established by evolutionary game theory. We cannot avoid these conflicts but sometimes we may choose which interaction framework to use as a battlefield. For instance some people like to be part of a larger group while other persons prefer to interact in a more personalized, individual way. Both attitudes can be formulated via appropriately chosen traditional games. In particular, the prisoner's dilemma game is based on pair interaction while the public goods game represents multi-point interactions of group members. To reveal the possible advantage of a certain attitude we extend these models by allowing players not simply to change their strategies but also let them to vary their attitudes for a higher individual income. We show that both attitudes could be the winner at a specific parameter value. Interestingly, however, the subtle interplay between different states may result in a counterintuitive evolutionary outcome where the increase of the multiplication factor of public goods game drives the population to a fully defector state. We point out that the accompanying pattern formation can only be understood via the multipoint or multi-player interactions of different microscopic states where the vicinity of a particular state may influence the relation of two other competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectrin, the principal protein of the cytoskeleton of erythrocyte, plays a crucial role in the stability and flexibility of the plasma membrane of erythrocyte. In this work, we investigate the interactions between spectrins and phase-separated lipid bilayers using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation. We focus on the preference of spectrins with different lipids, the effects of the anionic lipids and the residue mutation on the interactions between spectrins and the lipid bilayers. The results indicate that spectrins prefer to contact with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipids rather than with phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids, and tend to contact with the liquid-disordered (Ld) domains enriched in unsaturated PE. Additionally, the anionic lipids, which show specific interaction with the positively charged or polar amino acids on the surface of the spectrins, can enhance the attraction between the spectrins and lipid domains. The mutation leads to the decrease of the structural stability of spectrins and increases the curvature of the lipid bilayer. This work provides some theoretical insights into understanding the erythrocyte structure and the mechanism of some blood diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering feedback of collective actions of cooperation on common resources has vital importance to reach sustainability. But such efforts may have not immediate consequence on the state of environment and it is unclear how they influence the strategic and environmental dynamics with feedbacks. To address this issue, we construct a feedback-evolving game model in which we consider the growth capacity of resources and the punishment efficiency on defectors who do not provide returns to the environment. Importantly, we further assume a delay in adopting the contribution of cooperative individuals to environmental change in our model. We find that when this contribution amount from cooperators' endowment is fixed, the time delay has no particular consequence on the coevolutionary dynamics. However, when the return is proportional to their endowment, then the time delay can induce periodic oscillatory dynamics of cooperation level and environment. Our work reveals the potential effects of time delay of cooperative actions on the coevolutionary dynamics in strategic interactions with environmental feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer immunotherapy is an attractive strategy because it stimulates immune cells to target malignant cells by regulating the intrinsic activity of the immune system. However, due to lacking many immunologic markers, it remains difficult to treat glioma, a representative "cold" tumor. Herein, to wake the "hot" tumor immunity of glioma, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is customized with a coating to create an immunogenic tumor microenvironment and further prove the effect in combination with the immune checkpoint agent anti‐PD‐1, exhibiting elevated therapeutic efficacy. This is accomplished not by enhancing the delivery of PD‐1 blockade to enhance the effect of immunotherapy, but by introducing bacterial photothermal therapy to promote greater involvement of M1 cells in the immune response. After reaching glioma, the bacteria further target glioma cells and M2 phenotype macrophages selectively, enabling precise photothermal conversion for lysing tumor cells and M2 phenotype macrophages, which thereby enhances the positive feedback loop of cancer cells‐M1 macrophages‐T cells. Collectively, the bacteria synergized with PD‐1 blockade strategy may be the key to overcoming the immunosuppressive glioma microenvironment and improving the outcome of immunotherapy toward glioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the increasing power demands of microwave industries and scientific innovations, a dual-way magnetron (MGT) power-combining system based on an asymmetric H-plane tee combined with closed-loop phase compensation (CLPC) was developed and tested. Only one external injection was used, which could lock both frequencies of the two MGTs via the port coupling of the asymmetric H-plane tee. Additionally, phase control was achieved simultaneously in both MGTs. By tuning the external frequency, the frequencies of both MGTs could be shifted to optimize the power-combining efficiency. The optimal combining efficiency was 95.7%. By adjusting the phase of the external injection, the phase for the combining output was adjusted with a control scope in the 0°–360° range. The phase noise level of the combined output was largely inhibited by implementing only one closed-loop phase compensation subsystem. The phase jitter was limited to approximately ±0.5°, and spur suppression ratios of −61.0 dBc/Hz at 10 Hz, −80.9 dBc/Hz at 100 Hz, −91.6 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz, and so on were achieved. Moreover, we deduced the corresponding power-combining theories in the asymmetric H-plane tee and noise reduction using the closed-loop compensation method. The numerical predictions qualitatively agreed with the experimental results. Additionally, this research reveals that the proposed techniques have great potential for future power-combining systems because they provide higher power output and noise reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of rigid nonconjugated polyimide (PI)‐based thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers were reported for the first time, based on a "TADF‐Linker‐Host" strategy. Among of which, the TADF unit contains a typical TADF luminous core structure, the "Host" unit exhibits effective conjugation length that endows polyimide with high triplet energy, and the "Linker" unit has an aliphatic ring structure to improve solubility and inhibits intramolecular charge transfer effect. All the TADF polymers exhibit high thermal stability (Tg>308.7 °C) and refractive index (1.76–1.79). Remarkably, highly‐efficient polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) based on the polymers are successfully realized, leading to a maximal external quantum efficiency of 21.0 % along with low efficiency roll‐off. Such outstanding efficiency is amongst the state‐of‐the‐art performance of nonconjugated PLEDs, confirming the effectiveness of structural design strategy, providing helpful and valuable guidance on the development of highly‐efficient fluorescent polymer materials and PLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of rigid nonconjugated polyimide (PI)‐based thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers were reported for the first time, based on a "TADF‐Linker‐Host" strategy. Among of which, the TADF unit contains a typical TADF luminous core structure, the "Host" unit exhibits effective conjugation length that endows polyimide with high triplet energy, and the "Linker" unit has an aliphatic ring structure to improve solubility and inhibits intramolecular charge transfer effect. All the TADF polymers exhibit high thermal stability (Tg>308.7 °C) and refractive index (1.76–1.79). Remarkably, highly‐efficient polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) based on the polymers are successfully realized, leading to a maximal external quantum efficiency of 21.0 % along with low efficiency roll‐off. Such outstanding efficiency is amongst the state‐of‐the‐art performance of nonconjugated PLEDs, confirming the effectiveness of structural design strategy, providing helpful and valuable guidance on the development of highly‐efficient fluorescent polymer materials and PLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of cooperation is self-evident to humans, yet the existence of corruption where law violators can avoid being punished by paying bribes to corrupt law enforcers may threaten the maintenance of cooperation. Although powerful monitoring has been used to resolve such matters, existing studies show that the effects of such measures are either transient or uncertain. Thus how to efficiently control the occurrence of corruption for the emergence of cooperation remains a challenge. Here, we introduce social exclusion into the public goods game, and respectively propose three measures to control corruption, namely, the exclusion of corrupt punishers, the exclusion of corrupt defectors, and the exclusion of both corrupt punishers and corrupt defectors. Our results show that the system dynamics driven by these three measures can exhibit many interesting dynamical outcomes including the dominance of defectors, rock-scissors-paper cycle, heteroclinic cycle, or interior attractor. We further demonstrate that excluding corrupt punishers can improve the situation of corruption more efficiently than excluding corrupt defectors. In addition, excluding both corrupt defectors and corrupt punishers can more effectively promote the emergence of cooperation for a broad parameter range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We build a phased array system with four power-variable phase-controlled magnetrons (PCMs) by applying the injection-locking method and phase-locked-loop method. To reduce the cost and ensure the durability of the phased array, a waveguide slot array antenna was designed and used for the output antenna of power-variable PCMs. The slot antenna has an expected angle deflection of 22.5°, a gain of 24.9 dBi, and the half bandwidth of the main lobe was 10°. We demonstrated the properties of microwave beamforming and wireless power transfer based on the magnetron phased array system. In horizontal directions, a beam scanning range of ±3° was obtained by adjusting the output phase of the magnetrons. Furthermore, the received dc power reaches 142 W at a distance of 5 m when the output microwave power of the magnetron phased array is 1304 W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the power level and energy utilization rate of injection-locked magnetron sources, a dual-way 1-kW S-band magnetron microwave power combining system with high combining efficiency was proposed and validated. A waveguide magic-Tee was used to achieve power combining and to provide a pathway for the reference signal. This system utilizes the power-dividing characteristic of a magic-Tee to lock two magnetrons. Frequency tuning is applied to adjust the phase difference between the two magnetrons’ signals so as to achieve a high combining efficiency. Experimental results indicate that the microwave power combining efficiency of the proposed system reaches 94.5%. The attenuation of microwave power is caused only by the waveguides and magic-Tee. Our investigation provides a guideline for future high-power microwave combining systems with low losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the performance of an injection-locked 5.8-GHz continuous-wave magnetron with various load reflection levels. The load reflection is introduced to an equivalent magnetron model to theoretically evaluate the system performance. The effects of different load reflection levels on the magnetron’s output are numerically analyzed. Experiments are performed while the load reflection is varied using an E–H tuner between a magnetron and a circulator. A narrower locking bandwidth is observed under constant injection power with increasing load reflection. The proper-mismatched system suppresses its sideband energy, thereby reducing phase noise. The experimental features qualitatively validate the theoretical analyses results. The investigation results also provide guidance for advanced applications in communication and high-energy physics based on injection-locked magnetrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant brain tumor of the adult central nervous system and is associated with poor prognosis. The present study aimed to identify the hub genes in GBM in order to improve the current understanding of the underlying mechanism of GBM. The RNA-seq data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The edgeR package in R software was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two groups: Glioblastoma samples and normal brain samples. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis were performed using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery software. Additionally, Cytoscape and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins tools were used for the protein-protein interaction network, while the highly connected modules were extracted from this network using the Minimal Common Oncology Data Elements plugin. Next, the prognostic significance of the candidate hub genes was analyzed using UALCAN. In addition, the identified hub genes were verified by reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q) PCR. In total, 1,483 DEGs were identified between GBM and control samples, including 954 upregulated genes and 529 downregulated genes (P<0.01; fold-change >16) and these genes were involved in different GO terms and signaling pathways. Furthermore, CDK1, BUB1, BUB1B, CENPA and GNG3 were identified as key genes in the GBM samples. The UALCAN tool verified that higher expression level of CENPA was relevant to poorer overall survival rates. In conclusion, CDK1, BUB1, BUB1B, CENPA and GNG3 were found to be potential biomarkers for GBM. Additionally, 'cell cycle' and 'γ-aminobutyric acid signaling' pathways may serve a significant role in the pathogenesis of GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress has been identified as the significant mediator in epilepsy, which is a chronic disorder in central nervous system. About 30% of epilepsy patients are refractory to antiepileptic drug treatment. However, the underlying mechanism of oxidative damage in epilepsy needs further investigation. In our study, we first find that ubiquitin-specific peptidase 15 (USP15) expression was upregulated in a pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) kindled rat model of epilepsy. Silencing USP15 protected against glutamate-mediated neuronal cell death, and inhibited the high expression levels of cleaved caspase-3. Knockout of USP15 significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in HT22 cells under the exposure to glutamate treatment. Furthermore, USP15 inhibition induced nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and promoted protein expression level of heme oxygenase (HO-1). Taken together, our findings first reveal a role of USP15 in the pathogenesis of epilepsy, and silencing USP15 in vitro protects against glutamate-mediated cytotoxicity in HT22 cells. Pharmacological inhibition of USP15 may alleviate epileptic seizures via fighting against oxidative damage, providing a novel antiepileptic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidences demonstrate that dysregulated expression of microRNA-320d (miR-320d) has been associated with several cancer development and progression. However the effect of miR-320d on gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma (GCA) and the association of miR-320d with its potential gene target FoxM1 remain unclear. Here, we evaluated expression profile of miR-320d and FoxM1 in 60 human GCA tissues and GCA cell lines (OE-19 and SK-GT2). Immunohistochemistry, qualitative PCR and western-blotting were performed in GCA tissues to detect the expression level of miR-320d and FoxM1. CCK-8, transwell, wound-healing assays, and in vivo experiments were conducted using GCA cells that treated with miR-320d mimics or inhibitors to evaluate the biological functions of miR-320d. Luciferase reporter assay was conducted to confirm possible binding sites of FoxM1 for miR-320d. Compared with paired non-cancerous tissues, it showed that miR-320d expression was significantly decreased in GCA specimens (P < 0.0001), while FoxM1 was significantly upregulated in GCA tissues (P < 0.0001). Modulating miR-320d function by transfection of miR-320 mimics or inhibitor led to inhibition or promotion of GCA cell proliferation and invasion, thus regulating tumor progression in GCA-tumor bearing mice. The mechanism analysis of miR-320d/FoxM1 showed that FoxM1 has two miR-320d binding sites in its 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR), that contributes to regulation of the cell biological behaviors. Taken together, our data suggested that miR-320d acts as a tumor suppressor in GCA by directly targeting FoxM1 and thus potentially serves as a biomarker for anti-GCA therapy in GCA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave devices based on high-power magnetrons are currently used widely and there is a strong demand for phase-controlled magnetrons. In this work, the performance of a 20-kW $S$ -band continuous-wave magnetron with varied anode voltage ripple is studied. The anode voltage ripple is introduced to an equivalent model of the magnetron to evaluate the system’s performance theoretically. The effects of the anode voltage ripple and the injection parameters on the magnetron’s output are thus analyzed numerically. Furthermore, experiments are performed while the anode voltage ripple is varied from 4.2% to 0.6% using a shunt capacitance-adjustable ripple filter module. A nearly tripled locking bandwidth is observed under a constant injection ratio at 0.1 with decreasing ripple. The ripple-suppressed system pulls its sideband energy to the locking frequency and thus achieves a spectral intensity increment of 0.9 dB, phase noise reduction of 13 dB at an offset of 100 kHz, and phase jitter convergence from ±1.8° to ±0.9°. The experimental features validate the results obtained from the theoretical analyses. The results of this investigation also provide guidance for future industrial applications of phase-locked magnetron arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a dominantly inherited, genetically heterogeneous auditory‐pigmentary syndrome characterized by nonprogressive sensorineural hearing loss and iris discoloration. This study aimed to investigate the underlying molecular pathology in Chinese WS families. Methods: A total of 13 patients with Waardenburg syndrome type II (WS2) from six unrelated Chinese families were enrolled. We investigated the mutation profile of genes related to congenital deafness in these families through a targeted sequencing technology and validated the candidate variants by Sanger sequencing. Results: We identified six novel variants in microphthalmia‐associated transcription factor (MITF) and SRY‐box 10 (SOX10), which were predicted to be disease causing by in silico analysis. Our results showed that mutations in SOX10 and MITF are two major causes of deafness associated with WS, and de novo mutations were frequently found in probands with SOX10 mutations but not in those with MITF mutations. Conclusion: Results showed that targeted next‐generation sequencing (NGS) enabled us to detect disease‐causing mutations with high accuracy, stability, speed and throughput. Our study extends the pathogenic mutation spectrum of MITF and SOX10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social organizations, especially human society, rely on egalitarian social norm, which can be characterized by high levels of fairness, empathy and collective conformity. Nevertheless, the evolution of egalitarian social norm remains a conundrum, as it suffers the persistent challenge from individual self-interest. To address this issue, we construct an evolutionary game theoretical model by employing the Ultimatum Game, in which rational individuals are able to perform resource management. We show that resource management drives a population evolving into an oscillatory state with high equilibrium degrees of fairness, empathy and collective conformity and thus constitutes a key mechanism for the evolution of egalitarian social norm in social dilemma situations. Specifically, it results in (1) the formation of egalitarian social norm from diverse individual norms, (2) the emergence of egalitarian social norm in a selfish and unfair world, and (3) the maintenance of egalitarian social norm despite the presence of norm violators. The constructive role of resource management is explained by a mean-field analysis revealing that resource management can effectively enlarge the attraction basin of egalitarian norms or even change the dynamical property of the mini Ultimatum Game from bistability between egalitarian norms and less egalitarian norms to complete-dominance of egalitarian norms over less egalitarian norms. Furthermore, we find that the capacity of resource management can be evolutionarily selected by a coevolution between egalitarian social norm and resource management. Our study suggests that efficiency and equity are linked to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties have been developed, based on strong electron-with-drawing 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) acceptor (A). With strong electron-rich 10- H -phenothiazine (Pz) or 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DMAC) groups as electron donors (D), 2,6-dimethylphenyl (DM) as a π-bridge, these highly twist D-π-A architecture NI derivatives showed typical AIE feature and excellent solid-state TADF emission with high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) up to 55%. Moreover, the NI derivatives exhibited excellent thermal morphological stability in their solid amorphous states, providing a stable EML for practical applications. Finally, a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.13% from Pz-DMNI, was achieved in the red OLEDs device with electroluminescence (EL) peak of 635 nm. Image 1 • Red organic thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials beyond 600 nm. • 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. • Thermal morphological stability in solid amorphous state. • High external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.13% was achieved for red OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro-social punishment is a key driver of harmonious and stable society. However, this institution is vulnerable to corruption since law-violators can avoid sanctioning by paying bribes to corrupt law-enforcers. Consequently, to understand how altruistic behavior survives in a corrupt environment is an open question. To reveal potential explanations here, we introduce corrupt enforcers and violators into the public goods game with pool punishment, and assume that punishers, as corrupt enforcers, may select defectors probabilistically to take a bribe from, and meanwhile defectors, as corrupt violators, may select punishers stochastically to be corrupted. By means of mathematical analysis, we aim to study the necessary conditions for the evolution of cooperation in such corrupt environment. We find that cooperation can be maintained in the population in two distinct ways. First, cooperators, defectors, and punishers can coexist by all keeping a steady fraction of the population. Second, these three strategies can form a cyclic dominance that resembles a rock-scissors-paper cycle or a heteroclinic cycle. We theoretically identify conditions when the competing strategies coexist in a stationary way or they dominate each other in a cyclic way. These predictions are confirmed numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored novel antibacterial braided silk sutures based on levofloxacin hydrochloride and polycaprolactone to obtain sustained-release antibacterial efficacy. This study focused on the effect of braiding parameters on the antibacterial efficacy of braided silk sutures. A series of braids was fabricated with different take-up speeds obtained by changing cogwheel ratios on a circular braiding machine. Antibacterial efficacy, drug release characteristics, and mechanical property were analyzed. Antibacterial specimens showed ideal bacterial reduction. In the drug release profiles, braided silk sutures manufactured at higher cogwheel ratios showed a less significant initial drug burst. In addition, the total drug release amount after 5 days was similar for all samples. Hence, the result of drug release profiles may give some inspiration for the control of drug release in the manufacture of antibacterial braided silk sutures. Moreover, all the samples fulfilled the knot-pull tensile strength requirement of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Low-loading and ultrasmall Ir nanoparticles on Ni/N-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) are fabricated. • The nanofibrous NCNFs with both Ir and Ni provide rich exposed active sites and excellent electrical conductivity. • The Ni-NCNFs-Ir catalyst exhibits excellent HER activity in both acidic and alkaline media. • The Ni-NCNFs-Ir catalyst also presents a favorable durability during HER process. The construction of highly active and durable electrocatalysts for hydrogen production from water electrolysis in a wide pH range is crucial for the sustainable development of clean energy. In this work, low-loading and ultrasmall Ir nanoparticles decorated on the surface of Ni/nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NCNFs) are rationally constructed through a simple chemical reduction deposition route. Benefiting from the rich electrochemical active sites and excellent electrical conductivity, the obtained Ni-NCNFs-Ir catalyst exhibits superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities in both acidic and alkaline solutions. Specifically, the optimized 0.1Ni-NCNFs-5Ir catalyst with Ir content of 6.0 wt% exhibits remarkable low overpotentials of 22 and 25 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 and 1 M KOH, respectively, which are better than many other reported Ir- or Ni-based electrocatalysts. In addition, the prepared 0.1Ni-NCNFs-5Ir catalyst shows favorable durability. Our theoretical results reveal that the relevant C- and Ir-sites jointly contribute to the high HER catalytic property of the Ni-NCNFs-Ir system, and two complicated electron transfer processes (Ni → C → N and Ir → C → N) are beneficial to promote the electrocatalytic performance. This work provides a meaningful strategy to develop high-efficiency HER electrocatalysts in a wide pH range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We introduce the indications, technique, results of our experience using donor's RGEA as interposition vessel to solve hepatic artery reconstruction problems in P‐LDLT. Methods: A retrospective analysis of P‐LDLT for children with metabolic diseases from June 2013 to November 2018 in our center was carried out. The arterial conditions, reconstruction methods, and prognosis were analyzed. Results: A total of 73 children with metabolic diseases underwent P‐LDLT during the period. The LLF was the main graft, accounting for 71.2%. The donor's RGEA was utilized in five cases. There were three children with OTCD and two children with deficiency of CPS1 and MSUD, respectively. In three cases, the grafts' left hepatic arteries were anastomosed with the recipients' PHA using donors' RGEA as interposition vessel. In other two cases, the donors' RGEA was interposed between graft's MHA and the recipient's bifurcation of PHA and GDA. The average follow‐up time was 19.7 ± 15.9 month. There were two cases of artery thrombosis or occlusion, and the incidence was 2.7%. No arterial complications occurred in children using RGEA (follow‐up time 5.0 ± 3.4 months). Conclusion: In P‐LDLT for patients with metabolic diseases, the application of RGEA as an interposition vessel can solve caliber mismatch and short arteries problem and achieve good results. Compared with traditional arterial anastomosis, it may reduce the incidence of arterial complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six metal–organic frameworks with the combination of a novel tripodal ligand tris[4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl]phosphine oxide (tipo) and different polycarboxylates, namely [Zn2(bpdc)2(tipo)(H2O)]·5H2O (1), [Cd(tipo)2][Cd2(bdc)3]·4H2O (2), [Cd2(ndc)2(tipo)2]·3H2O (3), [Cd2(bpedc)2(tipo)2]·15H2O (4), [Cd2(hfdc)2(tipo)2]·10H2O (5) and [Ni2(tipo)2(bpedc)(H2O)4]·2NO3·2DMF (6), were synthesized and structurally characterized. Compound 1 featured a 2D → 3D parallel polycatenation of a 3,3,4-connected net with an unusual 4 degrees of catenation and an index of separation of 2. Compound 2 showed an unprecedented polycatenation of charged networks 2D kgd and 3D pcu constructed by different organic ligands. Compound 3 exhibited a combination of a 2D → 3D parallel polycatenation of the sql net and polythreading. Compound 4 featured a 4-fold interpenetration of a 3,5-connected 3,5T1 net. Compound 5 displayed an unusual 2-fold interpenetration of the sdd net. Compound 6 presented a 2-fold interpenetration of the 3,4-connected bey net with a cationic framework. The luminescence properties of 1–5 in the solid state were investigated. Also, compound 6 showed a tendency for rapid selective dye capture and highly efficient Cr2O72− removal from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Monitoring and reporting incorrect acts are pervasive for maintaining human cooperation, but in theory it is unclear how they influence each other. To explore their possible interactions we consider spatially structured population where individuals face the collective-risk social dilemma. In our minimal model cooperator players report defection according to the loss of their interests. In parallel we assume a monitoring institution that monitors all group member and identifies wrong behavior with a certain probability. In response to these feedbacks a sanctioning institution develops punishment schemes by imposing fines on related defector players stochastically. By means of Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the introduction of monitoring and reporting mechanisms can greatly promote the evolution of cooperation and there exists a sudden change of the cooperation level by varying model parameters, which can lead to an outbreak of cooperation for solving the collective-risk social dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A new model is proposed to predict the residual strength. • The difference in modulus is taken into account. • A conditional PDF of Rayleigh distribution is adopted. • The failure probability is applied to describe the damage. Abstract The residual strength and the failure probability of the plain weave carbon-fiber reinforced epoxy composite subjected to random fatigue loading are investigated. According to the constant amplitude residual model and the experimental S-N curves, a new model is proposed, in which both the probability density function of stress peaks and the power spectrum density of stochastic processes are employed. The degradation of residual strength (dS r) in a time increment (dt) is calculated via an integration of the decrease of residual strength due to the stress peaks (dS r p) in the definitional domain of the peak probability density function. A linear damage accumulation of residual strength is used in this time increment. The evolutions of the residual strength with time are determined via a double integral method. The new model's prediction results are in good agreement with the experiment results and it can give the curves of the variation of fatigue life with failure probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]