Search

The fabrication of flexible electronics has gained extensive attention due to the growing demand of flexible devices. Among various methods, laser direct writing technology has emerged as a promising approach due to its advantages of high processing accuracy and simplicity. This research focuses on the preparation of copper microelectrodes using laser‐induced reduction of CuO nanoparticles (Cu NPs) on polyethylene terephthalate films. First, the influence of various parameters on the conductivity of the copper microelectrodes is investigated. Second, flexible copper microelectrodes with a minimum resistivity of 62.29 μΩ cm and an adhesion grade of 4B level are successfully fabricated. Building upon these results, a capacitive pressure sensor is developed with optimal sensitivity of 3.99 Pa−1, good hysteresis of 3.99%, and response and recovery times of 1.2 and 1.3 s, respectively. Repeatability tests confirm the sensor's stability and fatigue resistance. This research provides valuable insights for the production of flexible sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop a simple but effective nomogram to predict risk of septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) in the intensive care unit (ICU). We analyzed data from patients who were first admitted to the ICU for sepsis between 2008 and 2019 in the MIMIC-IV database, with no history of heart disease, and divided them into a training cohort and an internal validation cohort at a 7:3 ratio. SCM is defined as sepsis diagnosed in the absence of other cardiac diseases, with echocardiographic evidence of left (or right) ventricular systolic or diastolic dysfunction and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 50%. Variables were selected from the training cohort using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression to develop an early predictive model for septic cardiomyopathy. A nomogram was constructed using logistic regression analysis and its receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration were evaluated in two cohorts. A total of 1562 patients participated in this study, with 1094 in the training cohort and 468 in the internal validation cohort. SCM occurred in 13.4% (147 individuals) in the training cohort, 16.0% (75 individuals) in the internal validation cohort. After adjusting for various confounding factors, we constructed a nomogram that includes SAPS II, Troponin T, CK-MB index, white blood cell count, and presence of atrial fibrillation. The area under the curve (AUC) for the training cohort was 0.804 (95% CI 0.764–0.844), and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test showed good calibration of the nomogram (P = 0.288). Our nomogram also exhibited good discriminative ability and calibration in the internal validation cohort. Our nomogram demonstrated good potential in identifying patients at increased risk of SCM in the ICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process monitoring plays a pivotal role in elucidating the intricate interplay among process, structure, and property in additive manufacturing production. The control of powder spreading affects not only particle adhesion but also rearrangement, both of which are indispensable constituents in the selective laser melting (SLM) process. To develop a novel monitoring process, this study proposed a convolutional Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy neural network (C-TSKFNN) to assess images with uneven powder distribution. The performance of the model was compared with that of conventional image analysis and state-of-the-art deep learning models. With its fusion layer and TSKFNN design, the C-TSKFNN model retains the distinctive characteristics of input images and minimizes expenditures through trainable parameters. The experimental results demonstrated that the average F1 score of the C-TSKFNN model achieved 97.07% and that it had the lowest standard deviation compared to state-of-the-art deep learning models. The trainable parameters were only 103,506, which is lower than those of models. Defect information was also provided locally through a model interpretation technique, facilitating the monitoring of SLM manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractCorrosion-resistant iron with nickel and chromium (CRDINiCr) is often used in butterfly valves for flow control at nuclear power plants, where resistance to corrosion, oxidation, and wear is significant. In this study, a failure analysis of a CRDINiCr alloy butterfly valve was performed by combining morphology characterization and in situ elemental composition analysis of failure of various regions of the valve. Based on the testing and analysis conducted in this study, it was determined that the inspected valve body material exhibited several defects, including poor graphitization, porosity, and the presence of eutectic carbides. These imperfections compromised the required plasticity criteria, resulting in significant embrittlement of the material. Therefore, under the impact stresses applied during the pressure testing, these vulnerabilities facilitated rapid crack initiation and propagation. The presence of such defects significantly compromised the material’s resistance to fracture under dynamic loading conditions, underscoring the critical importance of stringent quality control in the production of such materials to ensure their reliability and performance in operational settings at nuclear power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmtng at the problem that brittle Ti-Fe intermetalHc compounds are easily formed tn the additive manufacturing process of titanium/steel composites, which deteriorates the interface properties. In this paper, n^kel (ERN-1)was se!ected as the Interlayer,and the integrated preparation of TC4/309L composites was reaiized by laser fuse additive manufacturing technology. The effect of Ni interlayer addition on the rmcrostructure and properties of the interface was analyzed. The resuits show that "The interface of TC4/309L composites with Ni interlayer Is mainly composed of Fe/Ni interface and Ti/Ni interface. For the Fe/Ni interface,Fe and Ni form an infinite soiid solution, and no obvious defects such as cracks and pores are found, achieving a good metallurgical bonding. The Ti/Ni interface contains TiFe,TiNi3,TiNi,Ti2Ni and other brittle intermetalic compounds,and the maximum hardness of the interface reaches 670. 1 HV. The micro-area tensie test of the interface bondng strength shows that the bonding strength is 30. 5 MPa,and it breaks at the Ti/Ni Interface,showing brittie fracture characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Unveiling insights into the Chinese low consumption puzzle by emphasizing the impact of monopolistic and strategic land supply on the final consumption rate. • Monopolistic land supply suppresses the final consumption rate by expanding government income share and widening urban-rural income gaps. • Strategic land supply suppresses the final consumption rate by driving up the share of capital income and housing prices. • Reducing land transaction monopolies and optimizing supply structures can yield substantial benefits for economic rebalancing. The challenge of low consumption presents a complex development issue in China, one that has been insufficiently analyzed through the lens of land supply. This paper introduces a fresh perspective to the Chinese low consumption puzzle by shedding light on the constraints imposed by monopolistic/strategic land supply on the final consumption rate. Our findings reveal that China's distinctive land supply patterns systematically restrict consumption, as monopolistic land supply hinders total consumption by widening the share of government sector income and the urban-rural income gap. Additionally, strategic land supply curtails consumption by increasing the share of capital income and driving up housing prices. This study underscores the significance of land supply-side reforms in bolstering consumption, offering valuable policy insights for China and other transitioning economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of oil and gas resources in low-permeability reservoirs is being paid more and more attention. Moreover, oil and gas resources in low-permeability reservoirs are affluent, and the water cut of the medium permeability layer is so high that the injection capacity has decreased significantly. Therefore, it is of great importance to address the issues of injectability and enhance oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Given the existing conditions of low permeability and high water cut in Daqing Oilfield, the synthesis of an in situ emulsified associative polymer (ISEPAM) is the focus of the research. The polymer was prepared by micellar polymerization, ensuring a molecular weight of 5 × 106 Dalton. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate its dissolution filtration property, viscosifying, emulsification, anti-adsorption, conductivity, and oil displacement capacity. The experimental results show that ISEPAM has more significant properties than the polymeric surfactant (HB) used in Daqing Oilfield. The ISEPAM solution has significant filterability (filter factor is 1.1), viscosifying (38.66 mPa·s), emulsification (the water evolution rate of ISEPAM was only 4.4% for 60 min at 90% water cut), and good anti-adsorption property (after five adsorptions, still has a viscosity retention rate of 65%) in a specific concentration (1000 mg/L) and the field water in Daqing Oilfield (salinity is 4996.3 mg/L). The reason for this is due to the presence of dynamic reversible networks in the ISEPAM solution, and there are no cationic functional groups on the polymer chain. The conductivity of ISEPAM was tested using a homogeneous square core with 48.1 mD permeability, and the results show that the viscosity retention rate of the effluent can reach 90% and excellent injection property can be achieved. In the oil displacement test, ISEPAM presents excellent sweep efficiency and enhanced oil recovery by about 25% under 50 mD permeability. Under low permeability conditions, the ISEPAM exhibits better injectability and excellent oil displacement capacity. The related findings can provide an important idea and reference for the design and development of EOR polymers in the reservoirs with low permeability or high water cut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rolling bearing fault signals are accompanied with the specific periodic impulse components in case of fault. Due to the background noise, the periodic impulse component is extremely weak and difficult to be extracted. The periodic segment matrix (PSM) has excellent singular value aggregation property and can accurately separate the periodic impulse components from the signal. Based on this, a symplectic period mode decomposition (SPMD) method is proposed. Firstly, the singular value squared difference ratio (SVSDR) spectrum is defined, and the embedded dimension of PSM is determined. Then, the symplectic geometry component matrix is obtained by symplectic geometry similarity transformation, and the first symplectic geometry period component (SPC) is obtained by periodic impact intensity (PII). Finally, the spectral L2/L1 norm (SNL2/L1) index is used as the termination condition, and the iterative decomposition is terminated when the SNL2/L1 of the residual signal decreases. The emulation and experimental signals results indicate that the SPMD method can extract periodic impulse components accurately and is an effective rolling bearing fault diagnosis method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has seen a dramatic rise in popularity for remote-sensing image acquisition and analysis in recent years. It has brought promising results in low-altitude monitoring tasks that require detailed visual inspections. Semantic segmentation is one of the hot topics in UAV remote sensing image analysis, as its capability to mine contextual semantic information from UAV images is crucial for achieving a fine-grained understanding of scenes. However, in the remote sensing field, recent reviews have not focused on combining "UAV remote sensing" and "semantic segmentation" to summarize the advanced works and future trends. In this study, we focus primarily on describing various recent semantic segmentation methods applied in UAV remote sensing images and summarizing their advantages and limitations. According to the distinction in modeling contextual semantic information, we have categorized and outlined the methods based on graph-based contextual models and deep-learning-based models. Publicly available UAV-based image datasets are also gathered to encourage systematic research on advanced semantic segmentation methods. We provide quantitative results of representative methods on two high-resolution UAV-based image datasets for fair comparisons and discussions in terms of semantic segmentation accuracy and model inference efficiency. Besides, this paper concludes some remaining challenges and future directions in semantic segmentation for UAV remote sensing images and points out that methods based on deep learning will become the future research trend. • Summarize semantic segmentation methods and datasets for UAV remote sensing images. • Provide fair comparisons of representative methods in accuracy and efficiency. • Identify challenges and future directions for UAV image semantic segmentation. • Semantic segmentation methods based on deep learning will be the mainstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrocephalus is one of the most common brain disorders and a life‐long incurable condition. An empirical "one‐size‐fits‐all" approach of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting remains the mainstay of hydrocephalus treatment and effective pharmacotherapy options are currently lacking. Macrophage‐mediated ChP inflammation and CSF hypersecretion have recently been identified as a significant discovery in the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus. In this study, a pioneering DNA nano‐drug (TSOs) is developed by modifying S2 ssDNA and S4 ssDNA with SPAK ASO and OSR1 ASO in tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs) and synthesis via a one‐pot annealing procedure. This construct can significantly knockdown the expression of SPAK and OSR1, along with their downstream ion channel proteins in ChP epithelial cells, thereby leading to a decrease in CSF secretion. Moreover, these findings indicate that TSOs effectively inhibit the M0 to M1 phenotypic switch of ChP macrophages via the MAPK pathways, thus mitigating the cytokine storm. In in vivo post‐hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) models, TSOs significantly reduce CSF secretion rates, alleviate ChP inflammation, and prevent the onset of hydrocephalus. These compelling results highlight the potential of TSOs as a promising therapeutic option for managing hydrocephalus, with significant applications in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interesting method of fast enantio-specific state transfer (ESST) is proposed for cyclic three-level systems of chiral molecules. We show that the fast population transfer via shortcut to adiabaticity can be accomplished for the cyclic three-level system of a general (chiral) molecule with invariant-based inverse engineering of the coupling strengths. By choosing appropriate parameters, the two enantiomers, which are initially prepared in their ground states in the three-level systems, will evolve respectively along their enantio-selective shortcut-to-adiabaticity paths to different-energy final states simultaneously, thereby achieving the fast ESST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAimMethodsResultsConclusionTo investigate the impact of triglyceride on hypertriglyceridemic acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) and different lipid-lowering methods on triglyceride-lowering efficiency and HTG-AP.The patients with HTG-AP from January 2012 to December 2023 in Civil Aviation General Hospital were analyzed, retrospectively. Patients were divided and compared according to whether their triglycerides were below 5.56 mmol/L at 48 and 72 h of admission. The patients were divided into control group, insulin group, and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH)+bezafibrate group based on the different methods of lipid-lowering. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to balance the baseline characteristics.There was no correlation between the severity of HTG-AP and the triglyceride at admission. The incidence of severity, local complications, and persistent organ failure (POF) were significantly decreased in patients with 48-h and 72-h triglyceride attainment. Following PSM, the incidence of infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) (3.3% vs. 13.3%) was significantly reduced in insulin group compared with control group (p < .05). Compared with control group, LMWH + bezafibrate group had higher lipid reduction efficiency, and the incidence of IPN (0.9% vs. 10.1%) and POF (8.3% vs. 19.3%) was significantly decreased (p < .05). There was no significant difference in the efficiency of lipid-lowering, complications, and POF between LMWH + bezafibrate group and insulin group (p > .05).The severity of HTG-AP is not associated with the triglyceride levels at admission. However, rapid reduction of triglyceride levels can lower the incidence of local complications and respiratory failure. Compared with conservative treatment, insulin and LMWH + bezafibrate can both reduce the incidence of IPN in patients with HTG-AP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the mutual predictive relationship between mobile social media Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and Mobile Phone Addiction (MPA) among vocational college students, to provide scientific reference for the prevention and education of college students' mobile phone addiction behavior. Methods With the use of cluster random sampling, 1 000 col-lege students from a vocational college in Shenzhen were investigated by mobile social media FoMO scale and MPA scale in September 2021 (Tl) and December 2021 (T2). The data were analyzed by cross-lag regression analysis. Results There was a significant positive correlation including the synchronous correlation and the consecutive correlation between mobile social media FoMO and MPA (P<0.05). Mobile social media FoMO Tl positively predicted MPA T2 (β=0.25, P<0.001), whereas MPA Tl did not predict mobile social media FoMO T2 (β=-0.01, P=0.76). Three dimensions of mobile social media FoMO could predict MPA synchronously (P<0.05) and behavioral performance Tl could predict MPA T2 consecutively (P<0.05). Two dimensions of MPA, loss of control and avoidance, could predict mobile social media FoMO synchronously (P<0.05), and avoidance Tl could predict mobile social media FoMO T2 consecutively (P<0.05). Conclusion Vocational college students with higher FoMO are more likely to have MPA. There is a one-way predictive relationship between mobile social media FoMO and MPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assay for Transposase‐Accessible Chromatin using high‐throughput sequencing (ATAC‐seq) is the popular technique using next‐generation sequencing to measure chromatin accessibility and identify open chromatin regions. While read alignment shape information of next‐generation sequencing data with intensity information has been used in various bioinformatics methods, few studies have focused on pure shape information alone. In this study, we investigated what types of ATAC‐seq read alignment shapes are observed for the promoter region and whether the pure shape information was related or unrelated to other gene features. We introduced a novel concept and pipeline for handling the pure shape information of NGS data as probability distributions and quantifying their dissimilarities by information theory. Based on this concept, we demonstrate that the pure shape information of ATAC‐seq data is correlated with chromatin openness and some gene characteristics. On the other hand, it is suggested that the pure information of ATAC‐seq read alignment shape is unlikely to contain additional information to explain differences in RNA expression. Our study suggests that viewing the read alignment shape of NGS data as probability distributions enables us to capture the characteristics of the genome‐wide landscape of such data in a non‐parametric manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of dual gasotransmitter donors can not only provide robust tools to investigate their subtle interplay under pathophysiological conditions but also optimize therapeutic efficacy. While conventional strategies are heavily dependent on multicomponent donors, we herein report an ultrasound‐responsive water‐soluble copolymer (PSHF) capable of releasing carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) based on single‐component sulfur‐substituted 3‐hydroxyflavone (SHF) derivatives. Interestingly, sulfur substitution can not only greatly improve the ultrasound sensitivity but also enable the co‐release of CO/H2S under mild ultrasound irradiation. The co‐release of CO/H2S gasotransmitters exerts a bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus and demonstrates anti‐inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide‐challenged macrophages. Moreover, the excellent tissue penetration of ultrasound irradiation enables the local release of CO/H2S in the joints of septic arthritis rats, exhibiting superior therapeutic efficacy without the need for any antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of dual gasotransmitter donors can not only provide robust tools to investigate their subtle interplay under pathophysiological conditions but also optimize therapeutic efficacy. While conventional strategies are heavily dependent on multicomponent donors, we herein report an ultrasound‐responsive water‐soluble copolymer (PSHF) capable of releasing carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) based on single‐component sulfur‐substituted 3‐hydroxyflavone (SHF) derivatives. Interestingly, sulfur substitution can not only greatly improve the ultrasound sensitivity but also enable the co‐release of CO/H2S under mild ultrasound irradiation. The co‐release of CO/H2S gasotransmitters exerts a bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus and demonstrates anti‐inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide‐challenged macrophages. Moreover, the excellent tissue penetration of ultrasound irradiation enables the local release of CO/H2S in the joints of septic arthritis rats, exhibiting superior therapeutic efficacy without the need for any antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the Z b , Z c and Z cs states within the chiral effective field theory framework and the S-wave single channel molecule picture. With the complex scaling method, we accurately solve the Schrödinger equation in momentum space. Our analysis reveals that the Z b (10610) , Z b (10650) , Z c (3900) and Z c (4020) states are the resonances composed of the S-wave (B B ¯ ∗ + B ∗ B ¯) / 2 , B ∗ B ¯ ∗ , (D D ¯ ∗ + D ∗ D ¯) / 2 and D ∗ D ¯ ∗ , respectively. Furthermore, although the Z cs (3985) and Z cs (4000) states exhibit a significant difference in width, these two resonances may originate from the same channel, the S-wave (D s D ¯ ∗ + D s ∗ D ¯) / 2 . Additionally, we find two resonances in the S-wave D s ∗ D ¯ ∗ channel, corresponding to the Z cs (4123) and Z cs (4220) states that await experimental confirmation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid organic/inorganic composites with the organic phase tailored to modulate local chemical environment at the Cu surface arise as an enchanting category of catalysts for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). A fundamental understanding on how the organics of different functionality, polarity, and hydrophobicity affect the reaction path is, however, still lacking to guide rational catalyst design. Herein, polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) manifesting different Brønsted basicity are compared for their regulatory roles on the CO2RR pathways regarding *CO coverage, proton source and interfacial polarity. Concerted efforts from in situ IR, Raman and operando modelling unveil that at the PPy/Cu interface with limited *CO coverage, hydridic *H produced by the Volmer step favors the carbon hydrogenation of *CO to form *CHO through a Tafel process; Whereas at the PANI/Cu interface with concentrated CO2 and high *CO coverage, protonic H+ shuttled through the benzenoid ‐NH‐ protonates the oxygen of *CO, yielding *COH for asymmetric coupling with nearby *CO to form *OCCOH under favored energetics. As a result of the tailored chemical environment, the restructured PANI/Cu composite demonstrates a high partial current density of 0.41 A cm−2 at a maximal Faraday efficiency of 67.5 % for ethylene production, ranking among states of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid organic/inorganic composites with the organic phase tailored to modulate local chemical environment at the Cu surface arise as an enchanting category of catalysts for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). A fundamental understanding on how the organics of different functionality, polarity, and hydrophobicity affect the reaction path is, however, still lacking to guide rational catalyst design. Herein, polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) manifesting different Brønsted basicity are compared for their regulatory roles on the CO2RR pathways regarding *CO coverage, proton source and interfacial polarity. Concerted efforts from in situ IR, Raman and operando modelling unveil that at the PPy/Cu interface with limited *CO coverage, hydridic *H produced by the Volmer step favors the carbon hydrogenation of *CO to form *CHO through a Tafel process; Whereas at the PANI/Cu interface with concentrated CO2 and high *CO coverage, protonic H+ shuttled through the benzenoid ‐NH‐ protonates the oxygen of *CO, yielding *COH for asymmetric coupling with nearby *CO to form *OCCOH under favored energetics. As a result of the tailored chemical environment, the restructured PANI/Cu composite demonstrates a high partial current density of 0.41 A cm−2 at a maximal Faraday efficiency of 67.5 % for ethylene production, ranking among states of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The disease burden attributable to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is significant worldwide. Some studies have linked exposure to air pollution to COPD, but there has been little research on this. Methods: We aimed to assess the COPD-related disease burden attributable to air pollution from multiple epidemiological perspectives. This study conducted a three-stage analysis. Firstly, we reported on the burden of disease worldwide in 2019 by different subgroups including sex, age, region, and country. Secondly, we studied the trends in disease burden from 1990 to 2019. Finally, we explored the association of some national indicators with disease burden to look for risk factors. Results: In 2019, the death number of COPD associated with air pollution accounted for 2.32% of the total global death, and the number of DALY accounted for 1.12% of the global DALY. From 1990 to 2019, the death number of COPD associated with air pollution increased peaked at 1.41 million in 1993, fluctuated, and then declined. We found the same temporal pattern of DALY. The corresponding age-standardized rates had been falling. At the same time, the burden of COPD associated with air pollution was also affected by some national indicators. Conclusions: This study indicated that air pollution-related COPD contributed to a significant global disease burden. We called for health policymakers to take action and interventions targeting vulnerable countries and susceptible populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) techniques are increasingly valuable for deriving high-quality bathymetric maps of coral reefs. Investigating the performance of the related SDB algorithms in purely spaceborne active–passive fusion bathymetry contributes to formulating reliable bathymetric strategies, particularly for areas such as the Spratly Islands, where in situ observations are exceptionally scarce. In this study, we took Anda Reef as a case study and evaluated the performance of eight common SDB approaches by integrating Sentinel-2 images with Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). The bathymetric maps were generated using two classical and six machine-learning algorithms, which were then validated with measured sonar data. The results illustrated that all models accurately estimated the depth of coral reefs in the 0–20 m range. The classical algorithms (Lyzenga and Stumpf) exhibited a mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of less than 0.990 m, 1.386 m, and 11.173%, respectively. The machine learning algorithms generally outperformed the classical algorithms in accuracy and bathymetric detail, with a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.94 to 0.96 and an RMSE ranging from 1.034 m to 1.202 m. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) achieved the highest accuracy and consistency with an RMSE of as low as 1.034 m, followed by the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) (1.070 m). Our results provide a practical reference for selecting SDB algorithms to accurately obtain shallow water bathymetry in subsequent studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature pyramid network (FPN) is a typical structure in object detection. It can improve the accuracy of detection results by fusing feature information at different resolutions and enhancing the expression ability of different levels of features. Among them, the mismatch between the resolution of feature information and the receptive field and the limited way of feature fusion hinder the full exchange of feature information. To solve the above problems, this paper designs a new structure called an object detection feature pyramid network based on context information and an efficient bidirectional fusion (CB-FPN): (1) Before feature fusion, this study designs a context enhancement module with cross stage partial network (CSPNet) module (CEM-CSP). By using carefully designed dilated convolutions on high-level features, rich context information and receptive fields are obtained to match appropriate feature information. (2) In feature fusion, this study designed a bidirectional efficient feature pyramid network (BE-FPN) module to fuse features efficiently. After adding these two modified architectures to Faster R-CNN with ResNet-50, the average precision (AP) improves from 37.5 to 39.2 on COCO val-2017 data set. In addition, extensive experiments show the effectiveness of our methods on one-stage, two-stage, and anchor-free models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiking Neural Network (SNN) has been recognized as the third generation of neural networks. Conventionally, a SNN can be converted from a pre-trained Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with less computation and memory than training from scratch. But, these converted SNNs are vulnerable to adversarial attacks. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the SNN trained by optimizing the loss function will be more adversarial robust, but the theoretical analysis for the mechanism of robustness is lacking. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation by analyzing the expected risk function. Starting by modeling the stochastic process introduced by the Poisson encoder, we prove that there is a positive semidefinite regularizer. Perhaps surprisingly, this regularizer can make the gradients of the output with respect to input closer to zero, thus resulting in inherent robustness against adversarial attacks. Extensive experiments on the CIFAR10 and CIFAR100 datasets support our point of view. For example, we find that the sum of squares of the gradients of the converted SNNs is 13 ∼ 160 times that of the trained SNNs. And, the smaller the sum of the squares of the gradients, the smaller the degradation of accuracy under adversarial attack. • The adversarial robustness of SNNs based on rate encoder is explained mathematically. • A regularizer distinguishes the directly trained SNN from the converted SNN. • The coding length can also change the gradient of the input to affect the robustness. • We compare more types of the trained SNN with the converted SNN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we evaluated the widths of the pionic and radiative transitions from the T c s ¯ 0 + (2900) to the D s 1 + (2460) in the D s 1 + (2460) molecular frame and the D s 1 + (2460) charmed-strange meson frame. Our estimations demonstrate that the transition widths in the D s 1 + (2460) molecular frame are much larger than those in the the D s 1 + (2460) charmed-strange meson frame. Specifically, the ratio of the widths of Γ (T c s ¯ 0 + (2900) → D s 1 + π 0) and Γ (T c s ¯ 0 + (2900) → D + (0) K 0 (+)) is estimated to be around 0.1 in the D s 1 + (2460) charmed-strange meson frame, whereas the lower limit of this ratio is 0.67 in the D s 1 + (2460) molecular frame. Thus, the aforementioned ratio could be employed as a tool for testing the nature of the D s 1 + (2460) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defect-induced laser damage on mechanically machined fused silica optical surfaces under intense laser irradiation severely threatens the laser damage resistance of optical components. The lack of a quantitative relationship between the feature information of surface defects and the laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of optical surfaces poses a challenge to effectively evaluate the influence of the surface defects on the LIDTs of optical surfaces. Herein, the photoluminescence (PL) properties of the areas where laser damage tends to occur in surface-defect zones are explored. The PL induced by the point defects at the atomic scale in these areas is found to be obviously higher than that of other positions. The PL envelope area (S) at the position with the highest PL intensity among the whole surface defect is found to be inversely proportional to the LIDT (Φ) of the optical surface for the first time (SΦ = N 0). It is beneficial to quantitatively characterize the influence of the surface defect and provide new insights in elucidating the defect-induced laser damage mechanisms. Besides, we found that there is a minimum LIDT for the mechanically machined optical surfaces with various surface defects. On basis of this, the maximum influence of the surface defects with different species on the LIDTs of optical surfaces could be determined. Based on the constructed relationship (SΦ = N 0) and the developed MD model, two causes of the minimum LIDT are determined. The PL envelope area of the surface defect would slightly affect the LIDT when the PL envelope area is large enough, which is the first cause. The mechanical force could compact the optical surface, increasing the densities of Si and O atoms. However, the densities of Si and O atoms become stable when the mechanical force is large enough, causing the highest densities of point defects, which is the second cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of science and technology, the development and application of unmanned mobile vehicles (UMVs) have emerged as topics of crucial concern in the global industry. The development goals and directions of UMVs vary according to their industrial uses, which include navigation, autonomous driving, and environmental recognition; these uses have become the priority development goals of researchers in various fields. UMVs employ sensors to collect environmental data for environmental analysis and path planning. However, the analysis function of a single sensor is generally affected by natural environmental factors, resulting in poor identification results. Therefore, this study introduces fusion technology that employs heterogeneous sensors in the Ackerman UMV, leveraging the advantages of each sensor to enhance accuracy and stability in environmental detection and identification. This study proposes a fusion technique involving heterogeneous imaging and LiDAR (laser imaging, detection, and ranging) sensors in an Ackerman UMV. A camera is used to obtain real-time images, and YOLOv4-tiny and simple online real-time tracking are then employed to detect the location of objects and conduct object classification and object tracking. LiDAR is simultaneously used to obtain real-time distance information of detected objects. An inertial measurement unit is used to gather odometry information to determine the position of the Ackerman UMV. Static maps are created using simultaneous localization and mapping. When the user commands the Ackerman UMV to move to the target point, the vehicle control center composed of the robot operating system activates the navigation function through the navigation control module. The Ackerman UMV can reach the destination and instantly identify obstacles and pedestrians when in motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum nitride (AlN) are particularly suitable as integrated circuits (ICs) substrates due to its high thermal conductivity and excellent electricity insulation. However, its poor weldability with metals limits its usage. Recent research on surface metallization of AlN provides possible solutions to tackle this defect. Nevertheless, these solutions show some shortages such as complicated processes or insufficient electrical conductivity. In this paper, we report a method that consists of laser induced surface metallization and laser sintering of silver (Ag) coatings. A nanosecond laser was applied to induce a 10 μm thick aluminum (Al) layer from the AlN substrate. Afterwards, laser sintering of Ag layers was implemented, which could enhance the conductivity and the bonding performance between layers. With optimized laser parameters applied, both the electrical conductivity and the bonding tests demonstrated excellent physical properties. Finally, simulation and EDS analysis illustrated the melting evolution and confirmed a metallurgical combination of Al and Ag, thus enhancing bonding strength. Thanks to the small size of focused laser spot, electrical circuits width could be greatly narrowed if these findings were applied; hence highly dense ICs on AlN substrate become potentially available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation The amount of genomic data is increasing exponentially. Using many genotyped and phenotyped individuals for genomic prediction is appealing yet challenging. Results We present SLEMM (short for Stochastic-Lanczos-Expedited Mixed Models), a new software tool, to address the computational challenge. SLEMM builds on an efficient implementation of the stochastic Lanczos algorithm for REML in a framework of mixed models. We further implement SNP weighting in SLEMM to improve its predictions. Extensive analyses on seven public datasets, covering 19 polygenic traits in three plant and three livestock species, showed that SLEMM with SNP weighting had overall the best predictive ability among a variety of genomic prediction methods including GCTA's empirical BLUP, BayesR, KAML, and LDAK's BOLT and BayesR models. We also compared the methods using nine dairy traits of ∼300k genotyped cows. All had overall similar prediction accuracies, except that KAML failed to process the data. Additional simulation analyses on up to 3 million individuals and 1 million SNPs showed that SLEMM was advantageous over counterparts as for computational performance. Overall, SLEMM can do million-scale genomic predictions with an accuracy comparable to BayesR. Availability and implementation The software is available at https://github.com/jiang18/slemm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The micro-defects on KH2PO4 (KDP) optic surfaces are mainly repaired by the micro-milling technique, while it is very easy to introduce brittle cracks on repaired surfaces, as KDP is soft and brittle. To estimate machined surface morphologies, the conventional method is surface roughness, but it fails to distinguish ductile-regime machining from brittle-regime machining directly. To achieve this objective, it is of great significance to explore new evaluation methods to further characterize machined surface morphologies. In this study, the fractal dimension (FD) was introduced to characterize the surface morphologies of soft-brittle KDP crystals machined by micro bell-end milling. The 3D and 2D fractal dimensions of the machined surfaces and their typical cross-sectional contours have been calculated, respectively, based on Box-counting methods, and were further discussed comprehensively by combining the analysis of surface quality and textures. The 3D FD is identified to have a negative correlation with surface roughness (Sa and Sq), meaning the worse the surface quality the smaller the FD. The circumferential 2D FD could quantitively characterize the anisotropy of micro-milled surfaces, which could not be analyzed by surface roughness. Normally, there is obvious symmetry of 2D FD and anisotropy on the micro ball-end milled surfaces generated by ductile-regime machining. However, once the 2D FD is distributed asymmetrically and the anisotropy becomes weaker, the assessed surface contours would be occupied by brittle cracks and fractures, and corresponding machining processes will be in a brittle regime. This fractal analysis would facilitate the accurate and efficient evaluation of the repaired KDP optics by micro-milling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Positive lymph node (LN) is a key prognostic factor in radically resected gallbladder cancer (GBCA). However, only a few underwent an adequate lymphadenectomy, and the number and extent of lymph node dissection (LND) have not been standardized. This study aims to develop an en bloc and standardized surgical procedure of LND for GBCA under laparoscopy. Methods: Data of patients with GBCA underwent laparoscopic radical resection using a standardized and en bloc technique for LND were collected. Perioperative and long-term outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 39 patients underwent laparoscopic radical resection using standardized and en bloc technique for LND except one case (open conversion rate: 2.6%). Patients with stage T1b had significantly lower LNs involved rate than patients with stage T3 (P = 0.04), whereas median LN count in stage T1b was significantly higher than that in stage T2 (P = 0.04), which was significantly higher than that in stage T3 (P = 0.02). Lymphadenectomy with ≥ 6 LNs accounted for 87.5% in stage T1b, up to 93.3% in T2 and 81.3% in T3, respectively. All the patients in stage T1b were alive without recurrence at this writing. The 2-year recurrence-free survival rate was 80% for T2 and 25% for T3, and the 3-year overall survival rate was 73.3% for T2 and 37.5% for T3. Conclusion: The standardized and en bloc LND permits complete and radical removal of lymph stations for patients with GBCA. This technique is safe and feasible with low complication rates and good prognosis. Further studies are required to explore its value and long-term outcomes compared to conventional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a dense instance segmentation problem, rebar counting in a complex environment such as rebar yard and rebar transpotation has received significant attention in both academic and industrial contexts. Traditional counting approaches, such as manual counting and machine vision-based algorithms, are often inefficient or inaccurate since rebars with varied sizes and shapes are stacked overlapping, rebar image is not clear for complex light condition such as dawn, night and strong light, and other environmental noises exist in rebar image; thus, they no longer fulfil the requirements of modern automation. This paper proposes MaskID, an innovative counting method based on deep learning and heuristic strategies. First, an improved version of the Mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) was designed to obtain the segmentation results through splitting and rescaling so as to capture more detail in a large-scale rebar image. Then, a series of intelligent denoising strategies corresponding to aspect ratio of recognized box, overlapping recognized objects, object distribution and environmental noise, were applied to improve the segmentation results. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on open-competition and test-platform datasets. The F1-score was found to be over 0.99 on all datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for dense rebar counting and significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of viscoelasticity on the flow and heat transport in the Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC), a frequently encountered phenomenon in nature and industry, in a rectangular enclosure with horizontal periodic boundary is investigated via direct numerical simulation. The working fluid is described by a finitely extensible nonlinear elastic-Peterlin constitutive model almost all important features of viscoelastic fluid flow. Numerical simulations are conducted at a low concentration β = 0.9 , where β = μ s / μ 0 , μs is the solvent viscosity, and μ 0 = μ s + μ p is the sum of μs and the polymer viscosity μp. A parametric analysis is performed to understand the influence of the Weissenberg number Wi, the viscosity ratio β, and the extension length L on the oscillating mode of the viscoelastic RBC. The results indicate that both Wi and β weakly inhibit the convection onset and the transition from steady to oscillatory convection. The amplitude and frequency of the oscillations in the oscillatory flow regime are both suppressed. However, the strongly elastic nonlinearity makes the flow transition irregular and even brings about the relaminarization or lead to the convection cells traveling in the horizontal direction. The increasing extension length L induces multiple pairs of roll flow patterns at a specific setting of (Ra, Wi). Heat transport is reduced (up to 8.5%) by elasticity but still obeys the power law with Ra if the flow pattern has one pair of rolls. However, heat transfer enhancement occurs if multiple pairs of rolls are induced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing of aramid fiber reinforced plastics (AFRP) with traditional cutting or milling methods usually result in low machining accuracy and poor edge quality. In this paper, ultrafast laser ablation of AFRP was systematically implemented to test its applicability for the material processing. The responses of AFRP to ultrafast laser pulse lengths, laser fluence, and repetition rates were carefully studied. It is found that single pulse volume removal rate, material removal efficiency, and the ablated surface roughness are in positive correlation with laser pulse lengths, laser fluence, and repetition rates. Sample surface morphology study revealed that heat accumulation and carbonization are easier to occur for high laser repetition rates due to the low decomposition temperature and thermal conductivity of AFRP components. The findings may give useful guide for ultrafast laser processing of similar composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the performance and utility of a time–temperature indicator (TTI) to determine the cumulative exposure time (CET) of red cell components (RCC) to temperatures above 10°C occurring within and outside the transfusion laboratory. Background and Objectives: Blood centres often use the '30 or 60‐min rule' for accepting RCC exposed to room temperature (RT) back into inventory. Effective monitoring of these temperature deviations is however lacking. Materials and Methods: A Timestrip PLUS® TP153 10°C (TS + 10) TTI was attached to RCC units after preparation of the unit in the blood bank or on issue to the ward, to track the CET > 10°C during laboratory processing and outside the transfusion laboratory. Results: The mean CET of 153 RCC tracked within the laboratory was 56 min. Sixty‐four (41.8%) and 34 (22.2%) of RCC had core temperature (CT) >10°C for more than 30 and 60 min, respectively. Among the 69 RCC that were returned unused, 27 (39.1%), 17 (24.6%) and 5 (7.2%) RCC units had CT >10°C for more than 30, 60 and 120 min respectively. Conclusion: A large proportion of RCC have CT >10°C exceeding 30 min during handling within the transfusion laboratory, as well as when RCC are returned unused from transfusion locations. Corrective measures should be implemented to better manage the cold chain to avoid undesirable consequences to blood transfusion. A temperature sensitive device that can also indicate CET can be employed to objectively monitor the period that RCC remained at a CT that exceeds 10°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When serving in extremely high-power laser conditions, KH2PO4 (KDP) surfaces are susceptible to incur laser damage points (also known as defects). Using micro-ball end milling cutters to repair and remove the pre-existing damage points on the flawed KDP crystal surface is the most effective method to control the growth of laser damage points on KDP crystal surfaces and prolong their service life. However, there are various forms of micro-defects (such as pits, scratches and brittle fractures) around the laser damage points on KDP crystal surfaces which possess remarkable effects on the micro-milling repair process and consequently deteriorate the repair quality. In this work, combined with nano-indentation experiments, elastic–plastic mechanics and fracture mechanics theory, a constitutive model considering the anisotropic property of KDP crystals and a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FEM) were established to simulate the cutting force and surface topography involved in the ball-end milling repairing of flawed KDP crystal surfaces. Besides, the micro-milling experiments were conducted to evaluate the change of cutting force and machined surface quality in the presence of micro-defects with various feed rates. The results show that micro-defects would induce the fluctuation of cutting force and a change of the undeformed cutting thickness (UCT) in the process of repairing the damage points on the crystal surface, which would lead to the brittle–ductile transition (BDT) and affect the machined surface quality. The machined surface quality was found to be deteriorated by the pre-existing micro-defects when the UCT was small (the UCT was less than 375 nm). On the contrary, brittle mode cutting in the local area can be transformed into ductile mode cutting, resulting in an improvement of repaired surface quality that is exhibited by the cutting force and microtopography. This work has great theoretical significance and engineering practical value for the promotion and application of micro-milling repairing technology in the practical manufacturing and operation of KDP optics applied to high-power laser systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scene parsing of high-resolution remote-sensing images (HRRSIs) refers to parsing different semantic regions from the images, which is an important fundamental task in image understanding. However, due to the inherent complexity of urban scenes, HRRSIs contain numerous object classes. These objects present large-scale variation and irregular morphological structures. Furthermore, their spatial distribution is uneven and contains substantial spatial details. All these features make it difficult to parse urban scenes accurately. To deal with these dilemmas, in this paper, we propose a multi-branch adaptive hard region mining network (MBANet) for urban scene parsing of HRRSIs. MBANet consists of three branches, namely, a multi-scale semantic branch, an adaptive hard region mining (AHRM) branch, and an edge branch. First, the multi-scale semantic branch is constructed based on a feature pyramid network (FPN). To reduce the memory footprint, ResNet50 is chosen as the backbone, which, combined with the atrous spatial pyramid pooling module, can extract rich multi-scale contextual information effectively, thereby enhancing object representation at various scales. Second, an AHRM branch is proposed to enhance feature representation of hard regions with a complex distribution, which would be difficult to parse otherwise. Third, the edge-extraction branch is introduced to supervise boundary perception training so that the contours of objects can be better captured. In our experiments, the three branches complemented each other in feature extraction and demonstrated state-of-the-art performance for urban scene parsing of HRRSIs. We also performed ablation studies on two HRRSI datasets from ISPRS and compared them with other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies suggested that circadian clock genes (CCGs) in human esophageal squamous carcinoma (ESCC) samples are dysregulated. However, the relevance of CCGs to lymph node metastasis (LNM) and prognosis of ESCC remains unclear. Methods: The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between normal and ESCC samples in The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA) database were intersected with the genes associated with LNM (LNMGs) in ESCC samples and 300 CCGs to obtain the differentially expressed LNM-associated CCGs (DE-LNM-CCGs). The risk model was constructed by Cox regression analysis in the TCGA-ESCC training set, and the accuracy of the risk model was verified by risk profile and overall survival profile. Furthermore, differences of 23 immune cells, 13 immune functions, and immune checkpoint molecules between the high- and low-risk groups were assessed using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to investigate the functional differences between low- and high-risk groups. Finally, we validated the mRNA expression levels of prognostic model genes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: A total of six DE-LNM-CCGs were identified in TCGA-ESCC. TP53 and NAGLU were selected by Cox regression analysis to construct the risk model. Risk profile plots, overall survival plots, and validation results of the risk model in the validation set indicated that the constructed risk model was reliable. The result of ssGSEA showed that the percentages of activated B cells, activated dendritic cells, effector memory CD8 T cells, immune function in neutrophils, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, T cell co-inhibition, and Type 17 T helper cells were different between the high- and low-risk groups. In addition, the expression of CD274, PDCD1, TNFRSF18, and TNFRSF9 was dysregulated between the high- and low-risk groups. GSEA revealed that the high-risk group was associated with cell differentiation, oxidative phosphorylation, and steroid biosynthesis pathways, while the low-risk group was associated with chromosome, ECM–receptor interaction, and other pathways. Finally, qRT-PCR results showed that the mRNA expression levels of two prognostic genes were consistent with TCGA. Conclusion: In conclusion, the risk model constructed based on TP53 and NAGLU could accurately predict the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fly ash from waste incineration and waste poplar bark from furniture manufacturing are domestic wastes. In this study, fly ash and poplar bark were used as raw materials to prepare activated carbon via carbonization, steam activation and reagent modification. The effects of the raw material mixing ratio, carbonization temperature, activator concentration and modifier concentration on the physicochemical properties of the semi-coke and activated carbon were investigated through experiments. The experiment showed that when the carbonization temperature was 300 °C, the steam concentration was 20%, the mixing ratio of the poplar bark and fly ash (B:F) was 5:1, and the modifier was 6% K2CO3 reagent and 9% CaCl2. The prepared activated carbon had a better yield, specific surface area and pore structure, and had an abundant surface functional group structure. This paper points out the direction for the industrial directional production of activated carbon adsorbents with excellent physical and chemical properties, which has practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two polysaccharides from Carthamus tinctorius L. (CTLP-1 and CTLP-2) were purified, and their structures were analyzed by physical and chemical testing. CTLP-1 had a mass of 5900 Da that was composed of arabinose, glucose, and galactose with a mass molar ratio of 6.7:4.2:1. The backbone of CTLP-1 was →1)-α-GalAp-(1→4)-α-Arap-(1→2)-α-Glup-(4→. CTLP-2 had a mass of 8200 Da that was composed of arabinose, glucose, and galactose with a mass molar ratio of 16.76:4.28:1. The backbone of CTLP-2 was →1)-α-Galp-(2,6 →1)-α-Arap-(4,6 →1)-α-Glup-(3→. Both of them exhibited a high reducing power, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity, moderate Fe2+ chelating activity and superoxide anion scavenging activity, implying that they might be potential antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of society and the economy, there is an increasing demand for surface treatment techniques that can efficiently utilize metal materials to obtain good performances in the fields of mechanical engineering and the aerospace industry. The laser metal deposition (LMD) technique for cladding has become a research focus in recent years because of its lower dilution rate, small heat-effect zone and good metallurgical bonding between the coating and substrate. This paper reviews the simulation technology for the melt pool's grain growth mechanism, temperature and stress distribution that are directly related to defect formation in LMD technology. At the same time, the defect suppression method and the performance improvement method of the cladded layer in LMD technology are introduced. Finally, it is pointed out that the active selection of materials according to the required performance, combined with the controllable processing technology, to form the corresponding microstructure, and finally, to actively realize the expected function, is the future development direction of LMD technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) has achieved rapid progress over the last decade. However, it is still challenging to apply laparoscopy to lesions located in segments I, VII, VIII, and IVa and the hepatic hilar region due to difficulty operating around complex anatomical structures. In this study, we applied three-dimensional printing (3DP) and indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging technology to complex laparoscopic hepatectomy (CLH) to explore the effects and value of the modified procedure. Materials and methods: From January 2019 to January 2021, 54 patients with complex hepatobiliary diseases underwent LH at our center. Clinical data were collected from these patients and retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 30 patients underwent CLH using the conventional approach, whereas 24 cases received CLH with 3DP technology and ICG fluorescent navigation. Preoperative data were compared between the two groups. In the 3DP group, we modified the surgical strategy of four patients (4/24, 16.7%) due to real-time intraoperative navigation with 3DP and ICG fluorescent imaging technology. We did not modify the surgical strategy for any patient in the non-3DP group (P = 0.02). There were no significant differences between the non-3DP and 3DP groups regarding operating time (297.7±104.1 min vs. 328.8±110.9 min, P = 0.15), estimated blood loss (400±263.8 ml vs. 345.8±356.1 ml, P = 0.52), rate of conversion to laparotomy (3/30 vs. 2/24, P = 0.79), or pathological outcomes including the incidence of microscopical R0 margins (28/30 vs. 24/24, P = 0.57). Additionally, there were no significant differences in postoperative complications or recovery conditions between the two groups. No instances of 30- or 90-day mortality were observed. Conclusion: The optimal surgical strategy for CLH can be chosen with the help of 3DP technology and ICG fluorescent navigation. This modified procedure is both safe and effective, but without improvement of intraoperative and short-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of behavior recognition, the emerging bed-exit monitoring system demands a rapid deployment in the ward to support mobility and personalization. Mobility means the system can be installed and removed as required without construction; personalization indicates human body tracking is limited to the bed region so that only the target is monitored. To satisfy the above-mentioned requirements, the behavior recognition system aims to: (1) operate in a small-size device, typically an embedded system; (2) process a series of images with narrow fields of view (NFV) to detect bed-related behaviors. In general, wide-range images are preferred to obtain a good recognition performance for diverse behaviors, while NFV images are used with abrupt activities and therefore fit single-purpose applications. This paper develops an NFV-based behavior recognition system with low complexity to realize a bed-exit monitoring application on embedded systems. To achieve effectiveness and low complexity, a queueing-based behavior classification is proposed to keep memories of object tracking information and a specific behavior can be identified from continuous object movement. The experimental results show that the developed system can recognize three bed behaviors, namely off bed, on bed and return, for NFV images with accuracy rates of 95~100%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese puffer, Takifugu rubripes , is a commercially important fish species in China that is under serious threat from white spot disease (cyptocaryoniasis), which leads to heavy economic losses. We previously found that interleukin-1β (IL-1β), an important cytokine with a potential role in resistance against pathogens, was one of the most significantly differentially up-regulated proteins in the gills and spleen of T. rubripes infected by the protozoan parasite Cryptocaryon irritans. In this study, we assessed the potential function of T. rubripes IL-1β (TrIL-1β) in fish infected with C. irritans. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the TrIL-1β protein sequence was most closely related to that of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (67.2 %). The incubation experiments revealed that TrIL-1β may reduce trophont activity by destroying membranes. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that recombinant TrIL-1β promoted the expression of endogenous IL-1β, which penetrated and disrupted the cell membranes of trophonts. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the IL-1β group had less tissue damage compared with control groups of fish. IL-1β-small interfering RNA and IL-1β overexpression experiments were performed in head kidney primary cells, and challenge experiments were performed in vitro. Quantitative RT-PCR results showed that TrIL-1β regulated and activated MyD88/NF-κB and MyD88/MAPK/p38 signaling pathways during C. irritans infection. TrIL-1β also promoted the differential expression of IgM , showing that it was involved in humoral immunity of T. rubripes. The cumulative mortality experiment show that TrIL-1β could protect fish against C. irritans infection. These results enrich current knowledge about the molecular structure of TrIL-1β. They also suggested that recombinant TrIL-1β could be used as an adjuvant in a subunit vaccine against C. irritans infection, which is of profound importance for the prevention and control of parasitic diseases in T. rubripes. • The incubation experiments revealed that TrIL-1β may reduce trophont activity by destroying membranes. • Immunofluorescence experiments showed that recombinant TrIL-1β penetrated and disrupted the cell membranes of trophonts. • Transmission electron microscopy showed that the IL-1β group had less tissue damage compared with control groups of fish. • Quantitative RT-PCR results showed that TrIL-1β regulated and activated MyD88/NF-κB and MyD88/MAPK/p38 signaling pathways during C. irritans infection. • The cumulative mortality experiment show that TrIL-1β could protect fish against C. irritans infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional deep learning methods pursue complex and single network architectures without considering the petrophysical relationship between different elastic parameters. The mathematical and statistical significance of the inversion results may lead to model overfitting, especially when there are a limited number of well logs in a working area. Multitask learning provides an effective approach to addressing this issue. Simultaneously, learning multiple related tasks can improve a model’s generalization ability to a certain extent, thereby enhancing the performance of related tasks with an equal amount of labeled data. In this study, we propose an end-to-end multitask deep learning model that integrates a fully convolutional network and bidirectional gated recurrent unit for intelligent prestack inversion of “seismic data to elastic parameters.” The use of a Bayesian homoscedastic uncertainty-based loss function enables adaptive learning of the weight coefficients for different elastic parameter inversion tasks, thereby reducing uncertainty during the inversion process. The proposed method combines the local feature perception of convolutional neural networks with the long-term memory of bidirectional gated recurrent networks. It maintains the rock physics constraint relationships among different elastic parameters during the inversion process, demonstrating a high level of prediction accuracy. Numerical simulations and processing results of real seismic data validate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have been considered as notorious gas pollutants for decades, they are considered as endogenous gaseous signaling molecules (GSMs), which have been widely recognized for their important signaling functions and prominent medical applications in human physiology. To achieve local delivery of GSMs to optimize therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic side effects, stimuli‐responsive nanocarriers have been successfully developed. Among them, ultrasound is considered as an attractive theranostic modality that can be used to track drug carriers, trigger drug release, and improve drug deposition, etc. In this minireview, recent achievements in designing ultrasound‐responsive nanocarriers for the controlled delivery of GSMs and their biomedical applications are summarized. This emerging research direction enables the controlled delivery of GSMs to deep tissues, and the combination of ultrasound imaging techniques offers many possibilities for the fabrication of new theranostic platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system performance of the supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle for the Sodium Fast Reactor with a partial-cooling layout was studied, and an economic analysis was carried out. The energetic, exergetic, and exergoeconomic analyses are presented, and the optimized results were compared with the recompression cycle. The sensitivity analyses were conducted by considering the variations in the pressure ratios and inlet temperatures of the main compressor and the turbine. The exergy efficiency of the partial-cooling cycle reached 63.65% with a net power output of 34.39 MW via optimization. The partial-cooling cycle obtained a minimum total cost rate of 2230.36 USD/h and exergy efficiency of 63.65% when the pressure ratio was equal to 3.50. The inlet temperature of the main compressor was equal to 35 °C, and the inlet temperature of the turbine was equal to 480 °C. The total cost of recuperators decreased with the increase in the pressure ratio and the inlet temperatures of the main compressor. In addition, the total cost of recuperator could be reduced by increasing the outlet temperature of the turbine. The change in cost from exergy loss and destruction with the pressure ratio was substantially larger than with the inlet temperature of the turbine or the main compressor. Manipulating the pressure ratio is an essential method to guarantee good economy of the system. Moreover, capital investment, operation, and maintenance costs normally accounted for large proportions of the total cost rate, being almost double the cost from the exergy loss and destruction occurring in each condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permo-Carboniferous felsic magmatic rocks are widely exposed on the northern half of the south-eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. However, their origin and spatiotemporal distribution are unknown. Herein, zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic data, major and trace element compositions of the whole-rock, and Sr-Nd isotopic data derived for felsic volcanic rocks and granites of the Chaganaobao and Baiyinaobao areas in central Inner Mongolia are combined with the data from previous studies. The integration of these results reveals that the Uliastai Continental Margin, Erenhot-Hegenshan Ophiolite Belt, and Northern Orogenic Belt have coeval magmatic lull or trough at c. 307 Ma, which overlap with the closure timing of the Hegenshan Ocean. The Latest Carboniferous−Early Permian (c. 303−295 Ma) felsic volcanic rocks in the Chaganaobao area of the Uliastai Continental Margin comprise dacite, trachydacite, and rhyolite, while demonstrating positive whole-rock εNd(t) (+2.9 to +4.7) and zircon εHf(t) values (+7.65 to +13.78). Early Permian granites of the Baiyinaobao area located within the Northern Orogenic Belt show positive εHf(t) values (+ 2.70 to +11.33) and low TFe2O3 + MgO + TiO2 contents. The geochemical composition reveals that those felsic magmatic rocks mainly originate from the partial melting of juvenile crustal components with subordinate input of mantle-derived melts. Those c. 305−275 Ma felsic magmatic rocks from the north of the south-eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt exhibit affinities of post-collision type granites in geochemical nature. Therefore, the flare-up of the Early Permian magmatism surrounding the Erenhot-Hegenshan Ophiolite Belt could be related to the extension after the final closure of the Hegenshan Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better understand the bacterial distribution characteristics in a whole microecosystem, the bacterial communities in different components of an artificial aquarium (i.e., plants, fishes, sand and water) were characterized using high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Across all samples, 2873 operational taxonomic units were identified and assigned to 771 genera in 36 phyla. In a principle coordinate analysis, samples clustered according to their origin, indicating that bacterial communities from the same component were most similar. Further taxonomic analysis revealed that most dominant genera, even those with the similar functions, were biased to one component: Nitrospira and Rhodobacter were mainly abundant in plant samples; Rhodococcus, Serratia, Ralstonia, Sphingobacterium and Pseudomonas were most common in sand samples; Cetobacterium and Aeromonas dominated fish samples; and Flavobacterium, Alpinimonas and Limnobacter were especially common in water samples. Functional predictions performed by PICRUSt and the dominant genera exhibited that bacteria detected in each component could participate in all nutrient cycles in the aquarium. However, those involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling were most common in plant and fish samples, while phosphate metabolism-related pathways were more abundant in sand and water samples. Moreover, the aquarium plants, in association with their bacterial communities might be the most important component in the aquarium, as indicated by their highest bacterial richness and diversity. This study adds to our understanding on the differences in the microbiome of different components and their possible contributions to nutrient cycling in a self-sustaining aquarium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purposes: In order to investigate the association between serum periostin levels and the variation of its encoding gene POSTN and the prevalence of vertebral fractures and bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese postmenopausal women, an association study was performed. Materials and Methods: 385 postmenopausal women were recruited. For participants without a history of vertebral fracture, lateral X-rays of the spine covering the fourth thoracic spine to the fifth lumbar spine were performed to detect any asymptomatic vertebral fractures. Ten tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of POSTN were genotyped. Serum periostin levels, biochemical parameters, and BMD were measured individually. Results: rs9603226 was significantly associated with vertebral fractures. Compared to allele G, the minor allele A carriers of rs9603226 had a 1.722-fold higher prevalence of vertebral fracture (p = 0.037). rs3923854 was significantly associated with the serum periostin level. G/G genotype of rs3923854 had a higher serum periostin level than C/C and C/G (67.26 ± 19.90 ng/mL vs. 54.57 ± 21.44 ng/mL and 54.34 ± 18.23 ng/mL). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the serum level of periostin and BMD at trochanter and total hip. Conclusion: Our study suggested that genetic variation of POSTN could be a predicting factor for the risk of vertebral fractures. The serum level of periostin could be a potential biochemical parameter for osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnel boring machine (TBM) excavation of high strength or highly abrasive rock strata has some limitations, such as slow advance speed, low rock-breaking efficiency, and significant increase in the disc cutter changes and construction cost. To improve the rock boreability, a novel breakage method for hard rocks using a TBM disc cutter penetrating into kerfs precut by a high-pressure abrasive water jet is explored. With a confining pressure of 5 MPa, a series of cutter indentation tests and particle flow simulations of granite with two precutting kerfs are carried out to investigate the indentation behavior and the breaking efficiency. The effects of the kerf depth and the kerf spacing on the normal indentation force, rock chip volume, and specific energy are studied. The initiation, propagation, and coalescence modes of the surface and internal cracks and the failure mechanism are analyzed. The results show that the average peak force decreases significantly with the increase of the kerf depth, and the maximum rock chip volume and minimum specific energy are obtained at a kerf depth of 18.14 mm. The failure mode of kerf specimens after two indentations could be divided into the flat and slow shallow failure, one-sided inclined failure, and two-sided inclined failure. The micro-crack distribution of a single shallow kerf under low confining pressure is similar to that of intact rocks, while it is oblate and semi-elliptical under high confining pressure. However, for a single deep kerf, the breakage consists of a wedge-shaped crushed zone, a failure zone, and a damage zone around the kerf boundary and the bilateral inclined cracks, which are almost not affected by the confining pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]