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The preparation of formic acid by direct reduction of carbon dioxide is an important basis for the future chemical industry and is of great significance. Due to the serious shortage of highly active and selective electrocatalysts leading to the development of direct reduction of carbon dioxide is limited. Herein the target catalysts with high CO2RR activity and selectivity were identified by integrating DFT calculations and high‐throughput screening and by using graphdiyne (GDY) supported metal oxides quantum dots (QDs) as the ideal model. It is theoretically predicted that GDY supported indium oxide QDs (i.e. InOx/GDY) is a new heterostructure electrocatalyst candidate with optimal CO2RR performance. The interfacial electronic strong interactions effectively regulate the surface charge distribution of QDs and affect the adsorption/desorption behavior of HCOO* intermediate during CO2RR to achieve highly efficient CO2 conversion. Based on the predicted composition and structure, we synthesized the advanced catalytic system, and demonstrates superior CO2‐to‐HCOOH conversion performance. The study presents an effective strategy for rational design of highly efficient heterostructure electrocatalysts to promote green chemical production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of formic acid by direct reduction of carbon dioxide is an important basis for the future chemical industry and is of great significance. Due to the serious shortage of highly active and selective electrocatalysts leading to the development of direct reduction of carbon dioxide is limited. Herein the target catalysts with high CO2RR activity and selectivity were identified by integrating DFT calculations and high‐throughput screening and by using graphdiyne (GDY) supported metal oxides quantum dots (QDs) as the ideal model. It is theoretically predicted that GDY supported indium oxide QDs (i.e. InOx/GDY) is a new heterostructure electrocatalyst candidate with optimal CO2RR performance. The interfacial electronic strong interactions effectively regulate the surface charge distribution of QDs and affect the adsorption/desorption behavior of HCOO* intermediate during CO2RR to achieve highly efficient CO2 conversion. Based on the predicted composition and structure, we synthesized the advanced catalytic system, and demonstrates superior CO2‐to‐HCOOH conversion performance. The study presents an effective strategy for rational design of highly efficient heterostructure electrocatalysts to promote green chemical production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA) is characterized by articular cartilage degeneration and progressive synovitis. How to effectively inhibit TMJOA in the early stage has been a hot topic in the biomedical field. As a non‐invasive physiotherapy, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) treatment has shown great potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in extremity joints. Objective: This study aims to investigate the biological effect of PEMF intervention on TMJ cartilage degeneration and synovium inflammation at the early stage of TMJOA. Methods: PEMF (2.0 mT, 15 Hz, 2 h/day) treatment was given to rats in which TMJOA was induced by applying the unilateral anterior crossbite (UAC). Histological and immunohistochemical staining, TUNEL assay, real‐time PCR and western blotting assay were performed to detect the changes of the morphology and the expression of pro‐inflammatory and degradative factors in condylar cartilage and synovium. Results: Obvious condylar cartilage degeneration, characterized by decreased cartilage thickness, degraded cartilage extracellular matrix, increased expression of pro‐inflammatory and degradative factors (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, MMP‐13, ADAMTS‐5, IL‐6, MMP‐3, MMP‐9 and COL‐X) and increased chondrocytes death, was observed in UAC group, accompanied by synovium hyperplasia and up‐regulation of pro‐inflammatory and degradative factors in synovium. PEMF intervention reversed the decreased cartilage thickness at 3 weeks and degraded cartilage extracellular matrix at 6 weeks. Moreover, the up‐regulation of pro‐inflammatory, degradative and hypertrophyic factors and chondrocytes death in condylar cartilage induced by UAC were inhibited to some extent. In addition, the synovium hyperplasia and the up‐regulation of pro‐inflammatory and degradative factors in synovium were inhibited at 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Conclusions: Appropriate PEMF stimulation can reverse the loss of cartilage extracellular matrix, the chondrocytes death, the increased expression of pro‐inflammatory and degradative factors in cartilage, the decreased cartilage thickness and synovium inflammation induced by UAC at the early stage of TMJOA to some extent. PEMF stimulation may be a promising method in clinical TMJOA treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that defect detection in weld X-ray images is a critical aspect of pressure vessel manufacturing and inspection, accurate differentiation of the type, distribution, number, and area of defects in the images serves as the foundation for judging weld quality, and the segmentation method of defects in digital X-ray images is the core technology for differentiating defects. Based on the publicly available weld seam dataset GDX-ray, this paper proposes a complete technique for fault segmentation in X-ray pictures of pressure vessel welds. The key works are as follows: (1) To address the problem of a lack of defect samples and imbalanced distribution inside GDX-ray, a DA-DCGAN based on a two-channel attention mechanism is devised to increase sample data. (2) A convolutional block attention mechanism is incorporated into the coding layer to boost the accuracy of small-scale defect identification. The proposed MAU-Net defect semantic segmentation network uses multi-scale even convolution to enhance large-scale features. The proposed method can mask electrostatic interference and non-defect-class parts in the actual weld X-ray images, achieve an average segmentation accuracy of 84.75% for the GDX-ray dataset, segment and accurately rate the valid defects with a correct rating rate of 95%, and thus realize practical value in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor protein kinases (RPKs) critically provide the basic infrastructure to sense, perceive, and conduct the signalling events at the cell surface of organisms. The importance of LRR-RLKs has been well studied in plants, but much less information has been reported in oomycetes. In this work, we have silenced the PcLRR-RK3 and characterised its functional importance in Phytophthora capsici. PcLRR-RK3 was predicted to encode signal peptides, leucine-rich repeats, transmembrane, and kinase domains. PcLRR-RK3-silenced transformants showed impaired colony growth, decreased deformed sporangia, and reduced zoospores count. The mycelium of silenced transformants did not penetrate within the host tissues and showed defects in the pathogenicity of P. capsici. Interestingly, gene silencing also weakens the ability of zoospores germination and penetration into host tissues and fails to produce necrotic lesions. Furthermore, PcLRR-RK3 localisation was found to be the plasma membrane of the cell. Altogether, our results revealed that PcLRR-RK3 was required for the regulation of vegetative growth, zoospores penetration, and establishment into host leaf tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiple-input multiple-output synthetic aperture radar (MIMO SAR) system has developed rapidly since its discovery. At the same time, the low-disturbance and high-gain requirements of the MIMO system are continuing to increase. Through the application of digital beamforming (DBF) techniques, the multidimensional waveform encoding (MWE) technique can play a key role in MIMO systems, which can greatly improve the system's performance, especially the multi-mission capability of radar. Intrapulse beamsteering in elevation is a typical form of multi-dimensional waveform encoding which can greatly improve the transmitting efficiency and multi-mission performance of radar. However, because of the high sensitivity of the DBF technique to height, there is significant deterioration in performance in the presence of terrain undulations. The OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technique is widely used in communication. Due to the similarity of radar and communication systems and the great waveform diversity of OFDM signals, the OFDM radar has recently begun to emerge as a new radar system, simultaneously, the orthogonality of OFDM signals is in the time and frequency domains, and is not affected by terrain undulation. So, this paper proposes a novel radar mode combining intrapulse beamsteering in elevation and OFDM-Chirp signals, that is, the combination of "beam orthogonality" and "waveform orthogonality", which can greatly improve the performance and fault tolerance to interference signals. In this manuscript, the system working mode and signal processing flow are introduced in detail, and simulations for both point targets and distributed targets are carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed mode. Simultaneously, a comparison experiment is carried out, which shows the high level of fault tolerance to terrain undulation and the high potential of the proposed radar mode in Earth observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise control of a complex hydraulic drive system, which is mostly dependent on the speed control of the system working shaft, contributes to an improvement in product quality. In this paper, a novel working shaft speed control method for complex hydraulic drive system is proposed. First, a mathematical model of the operation of the working shaft and related components is established, and the fuzzy PID controller is designed to regulate the working shaft speed of the complex hydraulic drive system based on fuzzy rules. A whale optimization algorithm improved by intuitionistic fuzzy entropy is proposed to optimize the parameters of fuzzy PID controller in light of the possibility that the selection of parameters of fuzzy PID controller will have an impact on the final control effect. By applying an improved fuzzy PID controller to fit working shaft speed of three complex hydraulic drive system, the control performance of the controller is evaluated. The experimental results demonstrate that the tracking accuracy and immediate efficiency of the proposed method for working shaft speed control of the complex hydraulic drive systems are significantly better than those of the fuzzy PID controller and the fuzzy PID controller optimized with the unimproved whale optimization algorithm, proving the proposed method has strong engineering practical application capacity and can more effectively fulfill the working shaft speed control needs of the complex hydraulic drive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decapping is the enzymatic removal of 5′ cap structures from mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. Cap structures normally enhance mRNA translation and stability, and their excision commits an mRNA to complete 5′–3′ exoribonucleolytic digestion and generally ends the physical and functional cellular presence of the mRNA. Decapping plays a pivotal role in eukaryotic cytoplasmic mRNA turnover and is a critical and highly regulated event in multiple 5′–3′ mRNA decay pathways, including general 5′–3′ decay, nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay (NMD), AU‐rich element‐mediated mRNA decay, microRNA‐mediated gene silencing, and targeted transcript‐specific mRNA decay. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mRNA decapping is carried out by a single Dcp1‐Dcp2 decapping enzyme in concert with the accessory activities of specific regulators commonly known as decapping activators or enhancers. These regulatory proteins include the general decapping activators Edc1, 2, and 3, Dhh1, Scd6, Pat1, and the Lsm1‐7 complex, as well as the NMD‐specific factors, Upf1, 2, and 3. Here, we focus on in vivo mRNA decapping regulation in yeast. We summarize recently uncovered molecular mechanisms that control selective targeting of the yeast decapping enzyme and discuss new roles for specific decapping activators in controlling decapping enzyme targeting, assembly of target‐specific decapping complexes, and the monitoring of mRNA translation. Further, we discuss the kinetic contribution of mRNA decapping for overall decay of different substrate mRNAs and highlight experimental evidence pointing to the functional coordination and physical coupling between events in mRNA deadenylation, decapping, and 5′–3′ exoribonucleolytic decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Makeup transfer (MT) aims to transfer the makeup style from a given reference makeup face image to a source image while preserving face identity and background information. In recent years, MT has attracted the attention of many scholars, and it has a wide range of application prospects and research value. Since then, many methods have been proposed to accomplish MT, most of which are based on Generative Adversarial Network methods. A taxonomy of existing algorithms in the field of MT is first proposed. Then, evaluation methods are proposed, existing methods are analysed, and existing datasets are introduced. This paper finally discusses the current problems in the field of MT and the trend of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors focus on the makeup transformation problem, which refers to the transfer of makeup from a reference face to a source face image while maintaining the source makeup‐free face image. In recent years, makeup transformation has become a hot issue and a lot of research has been conducted on this basis, but there are some limitations in the existing methods, mainly due to the lack of consideration of age factor, which makes the final generated face makeup images appear not natural and lack appearance attractiveness. In order to further solve this problem, an age‐compensated makeup transformation framework based on homology continuity is proposed. In order to achieve a stable and controllable age‐compensation effect, the authors design a new coding module that can map the face makeup semantic vector into the higher feature space and achieve age compensation by adjusting the direction of the semantic vector. Finally, in order to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of the authors' proposed method, a large number of qualitative and quantitative experiments have been conducted, and the experimental results show that the authors' proposed framework outperforms existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a leading cause of cancer-related death, is associated with viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and alcohol-related steatohepatitis, all of which trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, hepatocyte death, inflammation, and compensatory proliferation. Using ER stress-prone MUP-uPA mice, we established that ER stress and hypernutrition cooperate to cause NASH and HCC, but the contribution of individual stress effectors, such as activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), to HCC and their underlying mechanisms of action remained unknown. Hepatocyte-specific ATF4-deficient MUP-uPA mice (MUP-uPA/Atf4 Δhep) and control MUP-uPA/Atf4 F/F mice were fed a high-fat diet to induce NASH-related HCC, and Atf4 F/F and Atf4 Δhep mice were injected with diethylnitrosamine to model carcinogen-induced HCC. Histological, biochemical, and RNA-sequencing analyses were performed to identify and define the role of ATF4-induced solute carrier family 7a member 11 (SLC7A11) expression in hepatocarcinogenesis. Reconstitution of SLC7A11 in ATF4-deficient primary hepatocytes and mouse livers was used to study its effects on ferroptosis and HCC development. Hepatocyte ATF4 ablation inhibited hepatic steatosis, but increased susceptibility to ferroptosis, resulting in accelerated HCC development. Although ATF4 activates numerous genes, ferroptosis susceptibility and hepatocarcinogenesis were reversed by ectopic expression of a single ATF4 target, Slc7a11 , coding for a subunit of the cystine/glutamate antiporter xCT, which is needed for glutathione synthesis. A ferroptosis inhibitor also reduced liver damage and inflammation. ATF4 and SLC7A11 amounts were positively correlated in human HCC and livers of patients with NASH. Despite ATF4 being upregulated in established HCC, it serves an important protective function in normal hepatocytes. By maintaining glutathione production, ATF4 inhibits ferroptosis-dependent inflammatory cell death, which is known to promote compensatory proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis. Ferroptosis inhibitors or ATF4 activators may also blunt HCC onset. Liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with multiple aetiologies. Most HCC aetiologies cause hepatocyte stress and death, as well as subsequent inflammation, and compensatory proliferation, thereby accelerating HCCdevelopment. The contribution of individual stress effectors to HCC and their underlying mechanisms of action were heretofore unknown. This study shows that the stress-responsive transcription factor ATF4 blunts liver damage and cancer development by suppressing iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis). Although ATF4 ablation prevents hepatic steatosis, it also increases susceptibility to ferroptosis, due to decreased expression of the cystine/glutamate antiporter SLC7A11, whose expression in human HCC and NASH correlates with ATF4. These findings reinforce the notion that benign steatosis may be protective and does not increase cancer risk unless accompanied by stress-induced liver damage. These results have important implications for prevention of liver damage and cancer. [Display omitted] • ER and metabolic stresses activate ATF4, which induces SLC7A11 expression. • The ATF4–SLC7A11 axis controls glutathione metabolism and ferroptosis. • ATF4 deficiency potentiates stress-induced ferroptosis and liver tumorigenesis. • Ectopic SLC7A11 abrogates ATF4 ablation-potentiated liver tumorigenesis. • ATF4 and SLC7A11 positively correlate in human HCC and patients with NASH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is the main calorie source and stable food for half of the global population worldwide, while the rice bacterial leaf blight has been one of the main challenges to rice yields and quality. Herein, we revealed the novel scaffolds, fluorinated or brominated meta‐diamides (F1–F44), for treating the rice bacterial leaf bright for the first time. The major findings are as follows: (i) based on the different methods, fluorinated meta‐diamides and brominated meta‐diamides were obtained, respectively, and the latter has rarely been reported; (ii) fluorinated meta‐diamide F17 showed a protection activity of 51.3% and a curative activity of 48.7% against the rice bacterial leaf blight caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), which were better than those of used bactericides. Scanning electron microscopy suggested that F17 may deform and rupture Xoo; and (iii) the majority of brominated meta‐diamides were more active than corresponding fluorinated meta‐diamides, which revealed the antibacterial activity of brominated meta‐diamides for the first time. The present work is expected to provide new ideas for meta‐diamides for treating rice bacterial leaf blight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screening for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in food is a complex and challenging process, as POPs can be present in very low levels and can be difficult to detect. Herein, we developed an ultrasensitive biosensor based on a rolling circle amplification (RCA) platform using a glucometer to determine POP. The biosensor was constructed using gold nanoparticle probes modified with antibodies and dozens of primers, magnetic microparticle probes conjugated with haptens, and targets. After competition, RCA reactions are triggered, numerous RCA products hybridize with the ssDNA-invertase, and the target is successfully transformed into glucose. Using ractopamine as a model analyte, this strategy obtained a linear detection range of 0.038–5.00 ng mL−1 and a detection limit of 0.0158 ng mL−1, which was preliminarily verified by screening in real samples. Compared with conventional immunoassays, this biosensor utilizes the high efficiency of RCA and the portable properties of a glucometer, which effectively improves the sensitivity and simplifies the procedures using magnetic separation technology. Moreover, it has been successfully applied to ractopamine determination in animal-derived foods, revealing its potential as a promising tool for POP screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure the proper adoption of new technologies in identifying the potential geologic hazard on tourist routes, convolutional neural network (CNN) is applied in the radar image geologic hazard information extraction. A scientific and practical geologic hazard radar identification model is built based on identification of CNN image and calculation of big data algorithm, which can effectively improve the geologic hazard identification accuracy. Through experiments, the geologic hazard radar image data are verified, and the practicality of radar image intelligent identification under CNN and big data is also verified. The results show that the images of different resolution sizes all play a significant role in identification of geologic hazard performed by CNN. However, there are differences in the performance of different CNN models. With the continuous increase in training samples, the identification accuracy of various network models is also improved. Through radar image test, the identification capability of CNN model is the best, the highest precision is 93.61%, and the geologic hazard recall rate is 98.27%. Apriori algorithm is proposed for data processing, and the running speed and efficiency of identification models are improved, with favorable identification effect in variable data sets. To sum up, this research can provide theoretical ideas and practical value for the development of potential geologic hazard identification on tourist routes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is challenging to fabricate supported Ni catalysts with more active sites to improve their low-temperature catalytic performance in CO 2 methanation. Herein, firstly, ultrathin (∼4 nm) NiZrAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were synthesized by co-precipitation method, followed by aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST), and applied as catalyst precursors for CO 2 methanation. After H 2 reduction, the surface area of Ni particles in NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R was significantly higher than that of NiZrAl-LDH-R without AMOST. As a result, the NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R showed higher catalytic activity than NiZrAl-LDH-R owing to its higher H 2 and CO 2 chemisorption capacity and lower activation energy. During the 100 h-lifetime test, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained a steady CO 2 conversion of about 92.3%. Moreover, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained its catalytic activity after a 600 °C-hydrothermal treatment, suggesting its high stability. In situ DRIFTS results reveal that CO 2 methanation on both NiZrAl-LDH-R and NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R followed the HCOO∗ route. Interestingly, more active sites obtained after AMOST strongly promoted the generation and decomposition of HCOO∗, and thus significantly improved the activity of NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R at low temperatures. Ni catalyst derives from the ultrathin NiZrAl-AMO-LDH nanosheets precursor shows remarkably improved low-temperature catalytic performance in CO 2 methanation via the HCOO∗ pathway. This is because the exfoliation of LDH by aqueous miscible organic solvents (AMOST) exposes more Ni active sites, which significantly promote the formation of HCOO∗ from CO 2. [Display omitted] • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO ultrathin nanosheets were facilely prepared. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R catalyst has more active sites. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R catalyst shows high stability for CO 2 methanation. • NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R can maintain catalytic activity after 5 h-hydrothermal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Support vector machine (SVM) is a new machine learning method developed from statistical learning theory. Since the objective function of the unconstrained SVM model is a non-smooth function, a lot of fast optimization algorithms can't be used to find the solution. Firstly, to overcome the non-smooth property of this model, a new padé33 approximation smooth function is constructed by rational approximation method, and a new smooth support vector machine model (SSVM) is established based on the smooth function. Then, by analyzing the performance of the smooth function, we find that the smooth precision is significantly higher than existing smooth functions. Moreover, theoretical and rigorous mathematical analyses are given to prove the convergence of the new model. Finally, it is applied to the heart disease diagnosis. The results show that the Padé33-SSVM model has better classification capability than existing SSVMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonati Rhizoma, a typical homology of medicine and food, possesses remarkable anti-fatigue, anti-aging, metabolic regulatory, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-diabetes, and anti-cancer effects. Among bioactive phytochemicals in Polygonati Rhizoma, polysaccharides play important roles in the health-promoting activities through the mechanisms mentioned above and potential synergistic effects with other bioactives. In this review, we briefly introduce the updated biosynthesis of polysaccharides, the purification method, the structure characterization, and food applications, and discuss in detail the biological activities of Polygonati Rhizoma polysaccharides and associated mechanisms, aiming at broadening the usage of Polygonati Rhizoma as functional food and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess residual dizziness (RD) after successful canalith repositioning maneuvre (CRM) treatment in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) using Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) questionnaire and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Methods: One hundred sixty BPPV patients after successful CRM treatment were recruited. All patients were divided into the residual dizziness (RD) group and without RD group. The DHI questionnaire and VAS before CRM and follow-up were asked to complete. For analysis of the improvement in symptom, we defined ∆DHI and ∆VAS as the difference between the baseline score and the follow‐up score. Results: High incidence of RD was observed in the older patients (p < 0.001). The incidence of hypertension in the RD group was also significantly higher than that of the without RD group (p = 0.022). The ∆DHI-P, ∆DHI-E, ∆DHI-F, ∆DHI-T, and ∆VAS scores in the without RD group were significantly higher than that of the RD group (p < 0.001). When the cutoff point of the ∆DHI total scores was 17, the sensitivity was 64.86% and the specificity was 73.26% for diagnosing RD. When the cutoff point of the ∆VAS scores was 2.5, the sensitivity was 77.03% and the specificity was 81.40% for diagnosing RD. Conclusions: RD is prone to occur in the older patients and ∆VAS exhibits higher sensitivity and specificity in assessing RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer of unknown primary site(CUPs) is a metastatic syndrome with an unidentifiable primary tumor, even after extensive workup to seek the primary site. CUPs accounts for about 3%-5% of the total number of all cancer diagnoses worldwide. The current precision medicine era has reclassified patients with CUPs into the favorable and unfavorable prognostic subset. In this study clinical characteristics and treatment of patients of CUPs were retropactively analysed. Thirty-two patients treated from July 2016 to October 2021 were included in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Tianjin Medical University(Tianjin, China).Common symptoms were anemia, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, abdominal pain, edema/multiple serous cavity effusion. Patients with good prognostic factors achieved good outcomes with treatment, conversely, patients with poor prognosis were generally treated empirically and had poorer outcomes. After anti-tumor treatment, the total effective rate was 41 percent(41% was the percentage of patients who achievedtumour respons). To the end of follow-up, after anti-tumor treatment, the median Overall Survival(OS) of patients was 5.4 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to accurately identify and measure in-focus droplets from shadowgraph droplet images that typically contain a large number of defocused droplets for the research of multiphase flow. However, conventional in-focus droplet identification methods are time-consuming and laborious due to the noise and background illumination in experimental data. In this paper, a deep learning-based method called focus-droplet generative adversarial network (FocGAN) is developed to automatically detect and characterize the focused droplets in shadow images. A generative adversarial network framework is adopted by our model to output binarized images containing only in-focus droplets, and inception blocks are used in the generator to enhance the extraction of multi-scale features. To emulate the real shadow images, an algorithm based on the Gauss blur method is developed to generate paired datasets to train the networks. The detailed architecture and performance of the model were investigated and evaluated by both the synthetic data and spray experimental data. The results show that the present learning-based method is far superior to the traditional adaptive threshold method in terms of effective extraction rate and accuracy. The comprehensive performance of FocGAN, including detection accuracy and robustness to noise, is higher than that of the model based on a convolutional neural network. Moreover, the identification results of spray images with different droplet number densities clearly exhibit the feasibility of FocGAN in real experiments. This work indicates that the proposed learning-based approach is promising to be widely applied as an efficient and universal tool for processing particle shadowgraph images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. (VBT) is widely distributed in the mountainous areas in eastern and southern China. VBT leaves have great medical value and can be used to stain rice to produce "Wumifan". Its fruits also contain rich nutrients. However, there has been limited attention to exploring the molecular content of VBT. Previously, we performed RNA-seq on three typical VBT fruits that were at various stages of ripening, although a reliable reference gene was lost in validation.In this study, we selected ten candidate reference genes based on previous studies and transcriptomics analyses. Subsequently, these genes were evaluated using a combination of methods, including geNorm, NormFinder, and Bestkeeper, with a comprehensive ranking assessment. As a result, we found that the actin2, NADH, and ADK genes have high reliability for analysing the expression levels of genes involved in fruit development. Furthermore, the transcript levels of 15 DEGs from transcriptomic analysis were assessed using NADH as a reference gene, and RT-qPCR data were highly consistent with the transcriptomic data. These results provide reliable reference genes for further studying gene expression, which will be beneficial for comprehensively exploring VBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BaO–SrO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 sealing glass for Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrates was prepared and the effect of B 2 O 3 on its structure, sintering behavior, and properties was studied. Owing to the fluxing action of B 2 O 3 , the glass transition temperature, sintering temperature, and crystallization temperature of the sealing glass were decreased with increasing B 2 O 3. With an increase in the B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio, the average bridge oxygen number of the glass network first increased and then decreased, and the boron abnormality phenomenon was detected at a B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio of 0.55, at which the polymerization degree of the glass network was maximized. Furthermore, the precipitation of BaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 crystals was promoted and the crystallinity of the sealing glass was increased, inhibiting sintering densification and weakening the material. The sealing glass with a B 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratio of 0.55 sintered at 800 °C for 10 min showed the best properties: a thermal expansion coefficient of 7.89 × 10−6 K−1, flexural strength of 114.28 MPa, Vickers hardness of 622.98 HV, dielectric constant of 12.14, and a dielectric loss value of 4.11 × 10−3. After the sealing glass was co-sintered with the Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrate, the interface was tightly bonded. This indicates the great potential applicability of BaO–SrO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 sealing glass for Al 2 O 3 ceramic substrate packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a kind of II;‐VI group ZnTe semiconductor crystal is successfully grown using a Te flux zone melting method from Zn: Te = 3: 7 mole ratio solution. The crystal has standard F43m cubic space group and the a/b/c lattice constants are all calculated to be 6.105 Å. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirms it has quasistoichiometric ratio and the Zn/Te elements are distributed in the material homogeneously. The polished 1.0 mm thickness (110) wafer exhibits a highest ≈64.5% transmittance near 2400 nm wavelength and the bandgap Eg is deduced as 2.223 eV. ZnTe crystal shows a heavy volatilization start from 910 °C and the weight losing speed is about ≈1.45% min−1. The thermal conductivity k displays good repeatability in the cooling and heating stages, the k value is about 15.8 Wm−1 K−1 at room temperature and is deceased to 3.53 Wm−1 K−1 under 500 °C. These results would be of great reference when ZnTe crystal is used for device design and application in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alfalfa is a high-quality forage legume species that is widely cultivated at high latitudes worldwide. However, a decrease in cold tolerance in early spring seriously affects regrowth and persistence of alfalfa. There has been limited research on the metabolomic changes that occur during de-acclimation. In this study, a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry system was used to compare the metabolites in two alfalfa cultivars during a simulated overwintering treatment. In four pairwise comparisons, 367 differential metabolites were identified, of which 31 were annotated according to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. Many of these metabolites were peptides, carbohydrates, and lipids. At the subclass level, 17 major pathways were revealed to be significantly enriched (P < 0.05). The main differential metabolites included amino acids, peptides and analogs, carbohydrates, and glycerol phosphocholines. A metabolomic analysis showed that the up-regulation of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids as well as the enhancement of the related metabolic pathways might be an effective strategy for increasing alfalfa cold tolerance. Furthermore, glycerophospholipid metabolism affects alfalfa cold tolerance in early spring. Study results provide new insights about the changes in alfalfa metabolites that occur during de-acclimation, with potential implications for the selection and breeding of cold-tolerant cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD8+ T lymphocytes, also known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes, are the most powerful antitumour cells in the human body. Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in whom CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration is high have a better prognosis. However, the clinical significance and prognostic significance of CD8+ T cell-related regulatory genes in HNSCC remain unclear, and further research is required. In total, 446 CD8+ T cell-related genes were obtained using WGCNA. It was discovered that 111 genes included within the TCGA and GSE65858 datasets were intimately linked to the patient's prognosis. These genes were included in the subsequent analysis. According to consensus clustering analysis, HNSCC samples were classified into 3 subtypes (IC1, IC2, and IC3). There were substantial differences between the three subtypes in terms of immunological molecules, immune function, and the response to drug treatment. In addition, the 8-gene signature, which was generated premised on CD8+ T cell-related genes, exhibited stable prognostic prediction in the TCGA and GEO datasets and different HNSCC patient subgroups and independently served as a prognostic indicator for HNSCC. More importantly, the 8-gene signature effectively predicted immunotherapy response. We first constructed a molecular subtype of HNSCC based on CD8+ T cell-related genes. Between the three subtypes, there were significant differences in the prognosis, clinical features, immunological molecules, and drug treatment response. The 8-gene signature that was further constructed effectively predicted prognosis and immunotherapy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Dianchi is one of the most eutrophic lakes in China. The decline in water quality and the occurrence of massive algal blooms pose a significant threat to the health and environmental safety of the water ecosystem, making Lake Dianchi a key concern for algal bloom management in China. Obtaining the spatiotemporal dynamics of algal blooms for the longest time possible is crucial to algal bloom management and future prediction. However, it is difficult to acquire a long-term record of algal blooms from a single sensor in order to cover a more extended period of eutrophication in the lake due to the limitation of the spatial and temporal resolution of the sensors. In this study, Landsat and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images were combined with the Floating Algae Index (FAI) to reconstruct a unified time series of bloom areas to analyze the algal bloom dynamics in Lake Dianchi in recent decades. Regarding the interannual variation, the bloom area showed an increasing trend from 1987 to 2021, with larger bloom areas in 1991–1992, 2000–2003, 2012–2013, and 2020–2021. In terms of seasonal characteristics, the bloom area was significantly more prominent in the rainy season compared with the dry season during the year. The spatial distribution of the bloom frequency showed a pattern of higher frequencies in the north and lower frequencies in the south. From 2000 to 2021, the initial bloom time and bloom duration showed a trend of delaying and then advancing and decreasing and then increasing, respectively. We analyzed the importance of long-term records of algal blooms and found that the percentage of rainy season images is an essential factor in reconstructing time series based on different sensors. In addition, the relationship between environmental factors and algal blooms was analyzed. The results show that wind speed and air temperature were the main meteorological factors controlling the interannual variation in algal blooms in Lake Dianchi. Water quality factors such as nutrients have less of an influence on the variation in algal blooms because the algal growth demand has been met. Environmental management measures taken by local governments have led to improvements in the lake's trophic state, and continued strengthening of environmental pollution control is expected to curb the algal blooms in Lake Dianchi. This study provides a long-term record of algal blooms in Lake Dianchi, which provides essential reference information for a comprehensive understanding of the development process of algal blooms in Lake Dianchi and its sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional subspace learning approaches based on image gradient orientations only employ first-order gradient information, which may ignore second-order or higher-order gradient information. Moreover, recent researches on the human vision system (HVS) have uncovered that the neural image is a landscape or a surface whose geometric properties can be captured through second-order gradient information. The second-order image gradient orientations (SOIGO) can mitigate the adverse effect of noise in face images. To reduce the redundancy of SOIGO, we propose compact SOIGO (CSOIGO) by applying linear complex principal component analysis (PCA) in SOIGO. To be more specific, the SOIGO of training data are firstly obtained. Then, linear complex PCA is applied to obtain features of reduced dimensionality. Combined with collaborative-representation-based classification (CRC) algorithm, the classification performance of CSOIGO is further enhanced. CSOIGO is evaluated under real-world disguise, synthesized occlusion, and mixed variations. Under the real disguise scenario, CSOIGO makes 2.67% and 1.09% improvement regarding accuracy when one and two neutral face images per subject are used as training samples, respectively. For the mixed variations, CSOIGO achieves a 0.86% improvement in terms of accuracy. These results indicate that the proposed method is superior to its competing approaches with few training samples, and even outperforms some prevailing deep-neural-network-based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between green operations and sustainable quality performance, by incorporating environmental technology as a mediator. Using a sample of 124 firms in Malaysia's industrial products and service companies, a proposed set of hypotheses are tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling, which allows for consistent analysis. The results show that green operations positively impact environmental technology. Likewise, both these constructs have a significant relationship with sustainable quality performance. Moreover, environmental technology positively mediates the relationship between both green operation and sustainable quality performance of firms. These specific findings can be insightful for technical and operational managers when they respond to multiple stakeholders' specific environmental and competitive expectations. The findings provide empirical evidence for policymakers, technical and operational managers in advancing green operations with specific operational functions and responsive to the importance of integrating innovative environmental technology toward sustainable quality performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the shadowgraphy techniques with a single camera, it is difficult to accurately obtain the shape, size, and depth location of the droplets out of focus due to the defocus blur. This paper proposed a deep learning-based method to recover the sharp images and infer the depth information from the defocused blur droplets images. The proposed model comprising of a defocus map estimation subnetwork and a defocus deblur subnetwork is optimized with a two-stage strategy. To train the networks, the synthetic blur data generated by the Gauss kernel method are utilized as the input data, which mimic the defocused images of droplets. The proposed approach has been assessed based on synthetic images and real sphere blur images. The results demonstrate that our method has satisfactory performance both in terms of depth location estimation and droplet size measurement, e.g., the diameter relative error is less than 5% and the location error is less than 1 mm for the sphere with a diameter of more than 1 mm. Moreover, the present model also exhibits considerable generalization and robustness against the transparent ellipsoid and the random background noise. A further application of the present model to the measurement of transparent water droplets generated by an injector is also explored and illustrates the practicability of the present model in real experiments. The present study indicates that the proposed learning-based method is promising for the three-dimensional (3D) measurement of spray droplets via a combination of shadowgraphy techniques using a single camera, which will greatly reduce experimental costs and complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate integration of the extended target's energy is one of the important challenges of moving target detection in wideband radar. In this paper, a coherent integration method for wideband radar, i.e., variable-scale moving target detection (VSMTD), is proposed to resist range migration and Doppler broadening. On the one hand, subband decomposition can effectively integrate the energy of the extended target in range using variable-scale transformation, accomplished by modulating the filter bank. On the other hand, it increases the coherent integration time by mitigating the range migration in a sufficiently narrow subband. The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) modulated filter bank and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm are also used to achieve fast VSMTD implementation. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed VSMTD method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of simulations with a 3D global climate model are performed to investigate the roles of obliquity and rotation period in the habitability of Earthlike exoplanets. The simulations cover the obliquityâ€"rotation parameter space, from 0° to 90° in obliquity and 1â€"128 days in rotation period. The simulated global mean temperatures are warmest at 45° obliquity with fast rotations, due to the modification of the greenhouse effect from the spatial redistribution of clouds and water vapor. The slow-moving insolationâ€"cloud mechanism, previously found in simulations with slow rotations and zero obliquity, also produces a cooling trend from intermediate obliquity to high obliquity, with the coldest climate occurring at 90° obliquity for all rotation periods. At low obliquities and fast rotation, persistent snow and sea ice can form, producing cooler temperatures. A Climate Habitability metric is defined, based on temperature and precipitation, which compares well with observations when applied to a simulation using Earth’s obliquity and rotation. Over a wider range of obliquity and rotation period, the Climate Habitability ranges from 10% to 70% of the terrestrial area. Overall, the simulated global mean surface temperature shows a much larger spread across the range of simulated rotation periods at 45° obliquity compared to 0° obliquity. Therefore, we conclude that 3D exoplanet simulations using intermediate obliquities (e.g., 45°) instead of 0° will reveal a wider range of possible climate conditions for specific orbital configurations. In addition, Earth’s climate habitability can increase by 25% if the obliquity increases from 23.°5 to 45°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide or sulfur metabolism plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. Cystathionine β-lyase (CBL) is an important enzyme in methionine synthesis, but a comprehensive understanding of CBL functions is limited. As the third gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) plays important physiological roles in plants. In this study, we found that the endogenous H 2 S content in Arabidopsis thaliana cbl mutants was lower than that in the wild type. Under PEG-based osmotic stress conditions, the H 2 S contents of CBL -overexpression (OE-CBL) plants increased significantly compared with the wild type. Additionally, the OE-CBL plants increased their tolerance to osmotic stress by increasing the transcription levels of drought-related genes and their relative water-loss rates. Compared with cbl and wild type, OE-CBL plants resisted drought stress by significantly closing their stomata, resulting in improved survival rates. Root tip-bending experiments showed that CBL overexpression relieved osmotic, heavy metal and cold stresses in Arabidopsis. The recombinant CBL activity in vitro revealed that CBL produced H 2 S using L-cysteine as a substrate. Thus, CBL had a very strong cysteine desulfhydrase activity that could produce endogenous H 2 S using L-cysteine as a substrate, and it played an important role in plant abiotic stress resistance. [Display omitted] • The H 2 S concentration of cbl plants were lower than that of Col-0. • The activity of recombinant CBL in vitro revealed that CBL produced H 2 S using L-Cys as a substrate. • CBL enhanced the ability of plants to mitigate drought stress. • Root tip-bending experiment confirmed CBL responses to osmotic, heavy metals or cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical psychedelics are a group of hallucinogens which trigger non‐ordinary states of consciousness through activation of the 5‐HT2A receptor (5‐HT2AR) in the brain. However, the exact mechanism of how 5‐HT2AR agonism alters perception remains elusive. When studying receptor signaling, tools which work at the same spatiotemporal resolution as the receptor are exceptionally useful. To create such a tool, we designed a set of photoswitchable ligands based on the classical psychedelic N,N‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT). By incorporation of the DMT‐indole ring into the photoswitchable system, we obtained red‐shifted ligands which can be operated by visible light. Among these azo‐DMTs, compound 2 h ("Photo‐DMT") stands out as its cis isomer exhibits DMT like activity while the trans isomer acts as weak partial agonist. Such a cis‐on "efficacy switch" substantially expands the pharmacological toolbox to investigate the complex mechanisms of 5‐HT2AR signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Klassische Psychedelika sind eine Gruppe von Halluzinogenen, die berauschende Bewusstseinszustände durch Aktivierung des 5‐HT2A Rezeptors (5‐HT2AR) im Gehirn auslösen. Der genaue Mechanismus, wie 5‐HT2AR‐Agonisten die Wahrnehmung verändern können, ist noch nicht aufgeklärt. Bei Untersuchungen von Rezeptorsignalwege sind molekulare Werkzeuge von besonderer Relevanz, welche mit einer vergleichbaren räumlichen und zeitlichen Präzision steuerbar sind, wie die zu untersuchenden Rezeptorprozesse. Um ein derartiges pharmakologisches Werkzeug zu entwickeln, wurde eine Gruppe von photoschaltbaren Liganden synthetisiert, die auf klassischem psychoaktiven N,N‐Dimethyltryptamin (DMT) basieren. Durch Integration des DMT‐Indolringes in das photoschaltbare System haben wir "rotverschobene" Liganden erhalten, die mit sichtbarem Licht geschaltet werden können. Unter diesen Azo‐DMTs zeigt insbesondere Verbindung 2 h ("Photo‐DMT") als cis‐Isomer DMT‐ähnliche Aktivität, während das trans‐Isomer nur als schwacher partieller Agonist wirkt. Durch diese für die cis‐Form spezifische Wirksamkeitsschaltung wird die pharmakologische Toolbox zur Aufklärung der komplexen Mechanismen des 5‐HT2AR Signalweges, erheblich erweitert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative rate of serum HBV DNA, HBeAg, and ALT in the tenofovir group was significantly higher than that in the entecavir group (86.67%, 3.33%, and 80.00%) (all P < 0.05). In the tenofovir group, 2cases were considered. Objective. The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical effect and safety of tenofovir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Methods. A total of 60 patients with CHB who were admitted and treated in Anqing First People's Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from January 2019 to July 2020 were randomly assigned at a ratio of 1 : 1 into the tenofovir group (treated with tenofovir) and the entecavir group (treated with entecavir) via the random number table method. The clinical therapeutic effect and safety of the two groups were compared. Results. The serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels in the two groups decreased after treatment, but there was no significant difference. Ths (2.50%) had nausea, 1 (1.25%) had headache, and 0 had an elevated creatine kinase. In the tenofovir group,1(3.33%) had nausea, 0 had headache, and 0 had an elevated creatine kinase. In the entecavir group, there were 3 (10.00%) cases of nausea, 2 (6.67%) cases of headache, and 1 (3.33%) case of elevated creatine kinase. The overall incidence of adverse reactions in the tenofovir group (3.33%) was significantly lower than that in the entecavir group (20.00%) (all P < 0.05). Conclusion. Tenofovir is more effective than entecavir in the treatment of patients with CHB due to low incidence of adverse events and a good safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidimensional and flexible radar resource transmission in time, frequency and space domains is strongly demanded for advanced digital array radar to meet the challenging observation requirements. In this study, a high degrees of freedom (DOF) transmitting strategy is proposed for pulsed‐coherent frequency diverse array (FDA) radar. The flexible beam scanning property of coherent FDA radar is well developed by combining with spatial transmit array weighting and temporal piecewise waveform design. The proposed method fully exploits the transmitting DOFs of coherent FDA radar, which not only enables the transmit beampattern shaping but also promises the ability of spatial waveform diversity and transmitting energy allocation. Since the spatial transmitting signal bandwidth is preset, a received signal processing method with a variable sampling rate is proposed to avoid over sampling in all receiving channels. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and further demonstrate its potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influence of TiO 2 and B 2 O 3 contents on the sintering behavior and crystallization of SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics, the glass-ceramics with different TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratios were prepared by sintering at 800 and 850 °C for 10 min. The results showed that the glass transition temperature and sintering temperature increased with increasing the TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio. The average bridging oxygen number decreased from 2.44 to 2.07, which revealed that the polymerization degree of the glass-ceramics decreased. With increasing the TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio, the crystallinity of the glass-ceramics and the homogenization of grains size were improved, and the precipitation of the SrTiO 3 phase was promoted. The sample with a TiO 2 /B 2 O 3 ratio of 0.62, which achieved excellent densification sintered at 850 °C for 10 min, showed a dielectric constant of 18.11, a dielectric loss of 3.93 × 10−3, and a thermal expansion coefficient of 10.04 × 10−6 K−1, indicating that the SrO–BaO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics have great potential in the application of low-temperature cofired ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-stage Malmquist-Luenberger index model is constructed for the multiple production of iron and steel industry. • The proposed model can evaluate environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) growth of whole system and sub-process. • Technical regression of steel-making sub-process is the main source of restricting system ETFP growth. • The change of system ETFP varies greatly, being highest in the eastern region, and lowest in the western region. • Compared with the single-stage conventional MLPI, the multi-stage MLPI is smaller and has more discriminatory power. This paper develops a multi-stage Malmquist-Luenberger index (MLPI) model by considering the joint production of desirable and undesirable outputs in multiple production processes. The proposed approach not only evaluates the environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) growth of the whole system but also investigate the progress and regress of each sub-process, i.e., the iron-making sub-process and the steel-making sub-process. Driving factors of ETFP change are identified through multi-stage MLPI decomposition. With an application of the proposed model in China's 48 iron and steel enterprises over the period of 2009–2013, the validity of the proposed models has been demonstrated. Moreover, this study explores the regional difference analysis of system and multi-stage ETFP among 31 provinces in eastern, central and western regions. Results show that the ETFP of system, iron-making sub-process and steel-making sub-process experienced increase annually, the most important finding is that the environmental efficiency increase is the most critical driving factor in promoting ETFP growth. Technical regression of steel-making sub-process is the main source of restricting system ETFP growth. In addition, the change of system ETFP varies greatly in different regions, being highest in the eastern region, and lowest in the western region. Compared with the single-stage conventional MLPI, the multi-stage MLPI is smaller and has more discriminatory power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth differentiation factor-10 (GDF10) belongs to a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily. Dysfunction of the TGF-β pathway can lead to carcinoma progression. Previous studies have shown that GDF10 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in some cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms of the association between GDF10 and cell functions in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain unclear. In this study, the expression and methylation levels of GDF10 were studied in human subjects and cell lines. Furthermore, overexpression of GDF10 was used to explore its biological function and potential mechanism in NPC cell lines. GDF10 was downregulated in NPC owing to its aberrant promoter methylation. After treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine, the expression of GDF10 in NPC cells was reversed. We also confirmed that the overexpression of GDF10 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo , respectively. Additionally, GDF10 overexpression in NPC cells attenuated migration and invasion and inhibited epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition with a decrease in nuclear Smad2 and NF-κB protein accumulation. GDF10 was silenced owing to its promoter hypermethylation, and it might originally act as a functional tumor suppressor via TGF-β/Smad and NF-κB signaling pathways in NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the photoreduction of U(VI), protective gases and additional sacrificial agents are still the major obstacles. Herein, we developed an oxygen-deficient WO x /g-C 3 N 4 catalyst for the simultaneous reduction of U(VI) and preparation of benzaldehyde by selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol without protective gases and sacrificial agents. The removal of U(VI) by WO x /g-C 3 N 4 could reach 98.5% and the conversion of benzyl alcohol was nearly 32% with a selectivity close to 100%. Compared with single g-C 3 N 4 and defect-free WO 3 , the photoreduction activity of WO x /g-C 3 N 4 was 10.4 and 7 times higher, respectively. Besides, the role of oxygen and oxygen defects was explored. Owing to oxygen defects in the catalyst, oxygen was adsorbed on the oxidation end (WO x) of the catalyst and activated without entering the reduction end to interfere with the photoreduction of U(VI), while favoring the generation of •O 2 - to improve the selectivity of benzaldehyde. Finally, a new mechanism was proposed. [Display omitted] • Synergistic reduction of U(VI) and selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol were achieved. • Photocatalytic reduction of U(VI) was realized without additional sacrificial agents. • A new strategy was proposed to address the need for protective gas for U(VI) reduction. • A new synergistic mechanism of photocatalytic reduction and oxidation was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) poses a significant threat to patients with coronary heart disease. Adenosine A2A receptors have been known as a protective role in MIRI by regulating autophagy, so we assumed that activation of adenosine A2B receptor (A2BAR) might exert a similar effect during MIRI and underlying mechanism be related to proteostasis maintenance as well. In situ hearts were subjected to 30 min of ischemia and 120 min of reperfusion (IR), while in vitro cardiomyocytes from neonatal rats experienced 6 h of oxygen-glucose deprivation followed by 12 h of reoxygenation (OGDR). Initially, we observed that post-ischemia-reperfusion induced autophagy flux blockade and ERS both in vivo and in vitro , evident through the increased expression of p62, LC3II, and BIP, which indicated the deteriorated proteostasis. We used a selective A2BAR agonist, Bay 60–6583, to explore the positive effects of A2BAR on cardiomyocytes and found that A2BAR activation rescued damaged cardiac function and morphological changes in the IR group and improved frail cell viability in the OGDR group. The A2BAR agonist also alleviated the blockage of autophagic flux, coupled with augmented ERS in the IR/OGDR group, which was reassured by using an autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) and ERS inhibitor (4-PBA) in vitro. Additionally, considering cAMP/PKA as a well-known downstream effector of A2BAR, we utilized H89, a selective PKA inhibitor. We observed that the positive efficacy of Bay 60–6583 was inhibited by H89. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the A2BAR/cAMP/PKA signaling pathway exerts a protective role in MIRI by mitigating impaired autophagic flux and excessive ERS. [Display omitted] • Myocardial I/R injury is related to autophagy and ERS pathogenesis. • A2B receptor activation reduces reperfusion-induced cardiomyocyte injury. • Bay 60–6583 regulates ERS and autophagy flux via the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welding residual stress will increase the risk of stress corrosion cracking of welded joints in service. It is crucial to study the distribution of welding residual stress in welded joints. In order to study the mechanical property and microstructure of the joint, a two-dimensional model is established based on the actual morphology. The results show that the maximum residual stress occurs in the welded metal. The Mises stress is 355 MPa, and the circumferential stress is 362 MPa. After welding, the outer surface maximum circumferential residual stress is 388 MPa, and the maximum axial residual stress is 357 MPa, which is in good agreement with the simulation results. The microhardness distribution appears as base metal > heat-affected zone > welded metal. The distribution of maximum shear strength is similar to the microhardness. The main phase composition consists of proeutectoid ferrite, acicular ferrite, massive ferrite, and a small amount of granular carbide precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-atom site catalysts with the adjacent metal atomic sites can cooperatively catalyze oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), showing great potential in ORR field. Herein, the ORR activity and mechanism of a supported metal dual-atom site catalyst M2-DAC (M is 3d transition metal) is explored thoroughly by density functional theory methods. By calculating Ed of M2-DAC, all structures are thermodynamically stable and are used for subsequent studies. Considering the adsorption of O2, total 6 kinds of M2-DAC are identified as potential candidate materials for catalyzing ORR due to their moderate adsorption of O2. The binding energy of ORR species and the change of Gibbs free energy in each step of ORR are calculated, and Co2-DAC exhibits notable catalytic activity (ηORR = 0.39 V). Moreover, the charge analysis of Co2-DAC shows that the ORR activity of the catalyst mainly comes from the metal atom and the O atoms coordinated with the metal atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity-Extreme Value Theory-Value at Risk (GARCH-EVT-VaR) method in conjunction with the Time-Varying Parameter Diebold-Yilmaz (TVP-VAR-DY) model to investigate the contagion of extreme risks between fossil and green energy markets in China. Specifically, the study concentrates on coal, crude oil, and natural gas markets as representative sectors for fossil energy, while green bonds, investments, green power, and associated new energy markets are chosen as representatives for the green energy sector. Our analysis reveals that extreme events can rapidly propagate risks between fossil and green energy markets, particularly during significant shifts in the external environment. Notably, green energy markets exhibit greater susceptibility to severe risks compared to their fossil energy counterparts, indicative of their instability and immaturity. Moreover, the analysis highlights the green bond market's heightened sensitivity to extreme risks, with green investments playing a pivotal role in propagating such risks throughout the system. These insights underscore the intricate dynamics of risk contagion between fossil and green energy markets, emphasizing the need for comprehensive risk management strategies in both sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relation between sodium intake and cardiovascular disease remains controversial, owing in part to inaccurate assessment of sodium intake. Assessing 24-hour urinary excretion over a period of multiple days is considered to be an accurate method.Methods: We included individual-participant data from six prospective cohorts of generally healthy adults; sodium and potassium excretion was assessed with the use of at least two 24-hour urine samples per participant. The primary outcome was a cardiovascular event (coronary revascularization or fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke). We analyzed each cohort using consistent methods and combined the results using a random-effects meta-analysis.Results: Among 10,709 participants, who had a mean (±SD) age of 51.5±12.6 years and of whom 54.2% were women, 571 cardiovascular events were ascertained during a median study follow-up of 8.8 years (incidence rate, 5.9 per 1000 person-years). The median 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was 3270 mg (10th to 90th percentile, 2099 to 4899). Higher sodium excretion, lower potassium excretion, and a higher sodium-to-potassium ratio were all associated with a higher cardiovascular risk in analyses that were controlled for confounding factors (P≤0.005 for all comparisons). In analyses that compared quartile 4 of the urinary biomarker (highest) with quartile 1 (lowest), the hazard ratios were 1.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 2.14) for sodium excretion, 0.69 (95% CI, 0.51 to 0.91) for potassium excretion, and 1.62 (95% CI, 1.25 to 2.10) for the sodium-to-potassium ratio. Each daily increment of 1000 mg in sodium excretion was associated with an 18% increase in cardiovascular risk (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.29), and each daily increment of 1000 mg in potassium excretion was associated with an 18% decrease in risk (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.94).Conclusions: Higher sodium and lower potassium intakes, as measured in multiple 24-hour urine samples, were associated in a dose-response manner with a higher cardiovascular risk. These findings may support reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake from current levels. (Funded by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Apatinib is an anticancer drug known to inhibit the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) through regulating tyrosine kinases. Drug resistance and reduced activity in various cancers is the matter of great concern; thus, researchers opt to use combination of the two or more drugs. So far, its gynergetic anticancer role with a traditional Chinese drug Ginsenoside-Rb1 (G-Rb1) has not been studied in cancers including hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Objective. The current study is aimed at investigating the anticancer synergetic effects of G-Rb1 and apatinib in hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods. The synergetic effects of both drugs on cell proliferation, wound healing and cell migration, and cell apoptosis were studied in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Furthermore, the xenograft rat model was generated, and tumor inhibition was monitored after treating rats with both drugs as mono- and combination therapy. In addition, protein expression and localization were performed by western blotting and immunofluorescent staining, respectively. Results. The analyses of the data showed that combination therapy of apatinib and G-Rb1 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and wound healing capability of hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Moreover, the glycolysis rate of the cells in the combination therapy (apatinib and G-Rb1) group was significantly decreased as compared to that in the monotherapy group or no treatment group, suggesting that the glycolysis inhibition led to the inhibition of tumor growth. Moreover, the combination therapy on xenograft rats dramatically reduced the tumor size. Furthermore, combination therapy also exhibited an increased count of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells, as well as the ratio between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Conclusion. Interestingly, a combination of apatinib and G-Rb1 induced more tumor cell apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation than the individual drug treatment and promote antitumor immunity by enhancing immunomodulatory molecules. Thus, we believe that this study could serve as a valuable platform to assess the synergetic anticancer effects of the herbal as well as synthetic medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm combat system, multiple UAVs' collaborative operations can solve the bottleneck of the limited capability of a single UAV when they carry out complicated missions in complex combat scenarios. As one of the critical technologies of UAV collaborative operation, the mobility model is the basic infrastructure that plays an important role for UAV networking, routing, and task scheduling, especially in high dynamic and real-time scenarios. Focused on real-time guarantee and complex mission cooperative execution, a multilevel reference node mobility model based on the reference node strategy, namely, the ML-RNGM model, is proposed. In this model, the task decomposition and task correlation of UAV cluster execution are realized by using the multilayer task scheduling model. Based on the gravity model of spatial interaction and the correlation between tasks, the reference node selection algorithm is proposed to select the appropriate reference node in the process of node movement. This model can improve the real-time performance of individual tasks and the overall mission group carried out by UAVs. Meanwhile, this model can enhance the connectivity between UAVs when they are performing the same mission group. Finally, OMNeT++ is used to simulate the ML-RNGM model with three experiments, including the different number of nodes and clusters. Within the three experiments, the ML-RNGM model is compared with the random class mobility model, the reference class mobility model, and the associated class mobility model for the network connectivity rate, the average end-to-end delay, and the overhead caused by algorithms. The experimental results show that the ML-RNGM model achieves an obvious improvement in network connectivity and real-time performance for missions and tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rheological properties of coal (rock) containing water cannot be characterized by the traditional Bingham model. This problem was addressed in this study through theoretical analysis and experimental research. Based on fractional calculus theory, a fractional calculus soft element was introduced into the traditional Bingham model. An improved Bingham model creep equation and a relaxation equation were obtained through theoretical derivations. Triaxial creep experiments of coal (rock) with different moisture contents were conducted. The parameters of the improved Bingham model were obtained by the least-squares method. Conclusions are as follows: (1) in the improved Bingham model, the stage of nonlinear accelerated creep could be characterized by the creep curves of the soft element; (2) with the increasing moisture content of the coal (rock), the transient strain and the slope of the steady creep stage increased and the total creep time showed a decreasing trend; and (3) the parameters of the creep model were obtained by nonlinear fitting of experimental data, and the fitted curve could better describe the whole creep process. The rationality of the improved creep model was verified. It can provide a theoretical basis for the study and engineering analysis of coal (rock). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]