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Mix‐dimensional heterojunctions (MDHJs) photodetectors (PDs) built from bulk and 2D materials are the research focus to develop hetero‐integrated and multifunctional optoelectronic sensor systems. However, it is still an open issue for achieving multiple effects synergistic characteristics to boost sensitivity and enrich the prospect in artificial bionic systems. Herein, electrically tunable Te/WSe2 MDHJs phototransistors are constructed, and an ultralow dark current below 0.1 pA and a large on/off rectification ratio of 106 is achieved. Photoconductive, photovoltaic, and photo‐thermoelectric conversions are simultaneously demonstrated by tuning the gate and bias. By these synergistic effects, responsivity and detectivity respectively reach 13.9 A W−1 and 1.37 × 1012 Jones with 400 times increment. The Te/WSe2 MDHJs PDs can function as artificial bionic visual systems due to the comparable response time to those of the human visual system and the presence of transient positive and negative response signals. This work offers an available strategy for intelligent optoelectronic devices with hetero‐integration and multifunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jingzhi Guanxin Oral Liquids (JZGX), a traditional Chinese medicine formulation prepared from the decoction of five herbs, has been utilized to relieve chest pain with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the chemical composition and therapeutic mechanisms of JZGX remain obscured. In this research, the potential targets and pathways of JZGX against CAD were anticipated through network pharmacology based on analyzing its chemical constituents using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. One hundred seven ingredients in JZGX were identified. The 39 active chemicals and 37 key targets were screened, and CAD-related signaling pathways were clustered, mainly associated with lipid metabolism. Subsequently, the atherosclerotic CAD animal model employing 24 weeks of high-fat diet (HFD) ApoE−/− mice was constructed to investigate the JZGX efficacy and underlying mechanisms validating network forecasts. The histological staining examination and cardiovascular biomarker tests confirmed that JZGX reduced plaque formation in the aorta and decreased blood lipids in vivo. It featured anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, and myocardial protective effects. JZGX prevented excessive lipid deposits and inflammation within the liver and exhibited hepatoprotective properties. Serum untargeted metabolomics analysis indicated that JZGX ameliorated metabolic abnormalities in atherosclerotic CAD mice and prompted lipid metabolism, especially linoleic acid. The PPARs and attached critical targets (SREBP1, FASN, PTGS2, and CYP3A), filtered from the networks and connected with lipid metabolism, were dramatically modulated through JZGX administration, as revealed by western blotting. The molecular docking outcomes showed that all 39 active ingredients in JZGX had good binding activity with PPARα and PPARγ. These findings illustrate that JZGX alleviates atherosclerotic CAD progression by remodeling the lipid metabolism and regulating PPAR-related proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells have become a leading contender in next‐generation photovoltaic technologies due to their high efficiency and low‐cost potential. Managing the deep defects present effectively in the crystal lattice and at the interfaces is essential for enhancing the performance and longevity of perovskite solar cells. Here, perovskite's crystallization modulation and interfacial defect passivation are achieved by developing a guanidinium iodide (GAI)‐based surface passivation strategy. The integration of GAI passivates the grain boundaries, leading to a perovskite thin film with a smoother and more uniform grain distribution, facilitating charge carrier transport. Notably, the ammonium group, unsaturated nitrogen atoms, and iodide ions in GAI can collectively repair the surface defects of perovskite through various pathways, effectively suppressing non‐radiative recombination, thereby enhancing the photovoltaic performance of the device. Ultimately, the champion device treated with GAI achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.02% and demonstrates similar ambient stability under unencapsulated conditions. These findings underscore the effectiveness of GAI passivation as a strategy to balance the improvement of the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic waste deposition in aquatic environments precipitates a decline in water quality, engendering pollution that adversely impacts human health, ecological integrity, and economic endeavors. The evolution of underwater robotic technologies heralds a new era in the timely identification and extraction of submerged litter, offering a proactive measure against the scourge of water pollution. This study introduces a refined YOLOv8-based algorithm tailored for the enhanced detection of small-scale underwater debris, aiming to mitigate the prevalent challenges of high miss and false detection rates in aquatic settings. The research presents the YOLOv8-C2f-Faster-EMA algorithm, which optimizes the backbone, neck layer, and C2f module for underwater characteristics and incorporates an effective attention mechanism. This algorithm improves the accuracy of underwater litter detection while simplifying the computational model. Empirical evidence underscores the superiority of this method over the conventional YOLOv8n framework, manifesting in a significant uplift in detection performance. Notably, the proposed method realized a 6.7% increase in precision (P), a 4.1% surge in recall (R), and a 5% enhancement in mean average precision (mAP). Transcending its foundational utility in marine conservation, this methodology harbors potential for subsequent integration into remote sensing ventures. Such an adaptation could substantially enhance the precision of detection models, particularly in the realm of localized surveillance, thereby broadening the scope of its applicability and impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfer learning, focusing on information borrowing to address limited sample size issues, has gained increasing attention in recent years. Our method aims to utilize data from other population groups as a complement to enhance risk factor discernment and failure time prediction among underrepresented subgroups. However, a literature gap exists in effective knowledge transfer from the source to the target for risk assessment with interval‐censored data while accommodating population incomparability and privacy constraints. Our objective is to bridge this gap by developing a transfer learning approach under the Cox proportional hazards model. We introduce the tuning‐free Trans‐Cox‐MIC algorithm, enabling adaptable information sharing in regression coefficients and baseline hazards, while ensuring computational efficiency. Our approach accommodates covariate distribution shifts, coefficient variations, and baseline hazard discrepancies. Extensive simulations showcase the method's accuracy, robustness, and efficiency. Application to the prostate cancer screening data demonstrates enhanced risk estimation precision and predictive performance in the African American population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for non-toxic and low-cost perovskites with high thermoelectric performance is still a challenge despite low thermal conductivity. The thermoelectric properties of nitride anti-perovskites X3BN (B = Bi, Sb, X = Mg, Ca, Sr) with a cubic structure were investigated using density functional theory and machine learning interatomic potential. The low Debye temperature and thermal conductivity were obtained due to strong lattice anharmonicity, and the phonon vibration modes were also analyzed. The high band degeneracy and suitable bandgap lead to a large power factor. The maximum power factor is 7.54 mW/mk2 for Mg3BiN at 900 K. We obtained a maximum ZT of 1.49 for p-type Sr3BiN, and it is 1.22 for n-type doping at 900 K. The ZT for Mg3BiN is 1.18 and 1.19 for p-type and n-type doping, respectively. Our calculations reveal that these anti-perovskites are excellent materials for non-toxic and low-cost thermoelectric applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavation method has significant effects on the response of piles, and post-grouting is a great way to improve the response of piles. In this research, field static load tests were performed on three large-diameter and superlong rock-socketed bored piles (LSRBPs) of superhigh-rise constructions. The effects of composite excavation and combined grouting on the response of LSRBPs were studied. The improved effects of combined grouting on LSRBPs that were drilled by composite excavation were discussed. The results indicate that the composite excavation improves construction efficiency but affects shaft-forming quality, thus lowering the bearing capacity of LSRBPs, while combined grouting can contain this defect. Despite reducing the original pile size, combined grouting still significantly improves the bearing capacity of LSRBS and reduces the dispersion of bearing capacity. Existing pile design methods overestimate the bearing capacity of LSRBPs constructed using composite excavation, but underestimate it after combined grouting. The composite excavation forms different pile-rock (soil) interfaces, which affects the effectiveness of combined grouting. The simultaneous application of composite excavation and combined grouting reduces design pile size and improves construction efficiency, thereby achieving the goals of cost reduction and low-carbon construction. The findings have significant implications for the construction and design of LSRBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the shipbuilding industry, it is necessary to improve tribological properties of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) as a water-lubricated bearing material. In this study, the sulfonated PEEK (SPEEK) with three distinct chemical structures was synthesized through direct sulfonated polymerization, and high fault tolerance and a controllable sulfonation degree ensured the batch stability. The tribological and mechanical properties of SPEEK with varying side groups (methyl and tert-butyl) and rigid segments (biphenyl) were compared after sintering in a vacuum furnace. Compared to the as-made PEEK, as the highly electronegative sulfonic acid group enhanced the hydration lubrication, the friction coefficient and wear rate of SPEEK were significantly reduced by 30% and 50% at least without affecting the mechanical properties. And lower steric hindrance and entanglement between molecular chains were proposed to be partially responsible for the lowest friction behavior of SPEEK with methyl side groups, making it a promising and competitive option for water-lubricated bearings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapidly increasing amount of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) requires recycling technology with higher economic and environmental efficiency, while current hydrometallurgical recycling strategies usually consume large amounts of inorganic acids and reducing agents without reusability of the leachate due to the addition of precipitants. Herein, we report a precipitant-free and closed-loop strategy for recycling lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) where the extraction of metal elements from dissolved leachate is realized by dynamically regulating the solubility product (Ksp). A choline chloride : oxalic acid (ChCl : OA) type deep eutectic solvent (DES) has been demonstrated as the leachant while the cobalt and lithium can be recovered by either controlling the complexing process or cooling, thus achieving controlled precipitation of elements without adding precipitants, and thereby maintaining the structure of the leachate to the largest extent and realizing reusability. The strategy based on the dynamic regulation of Ksp is expected to provide a general method for designing a reusable leachant for the hydrometallurgical recycling of the electrodes of spent LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed panel count data represent a common complex data structure in longitudinal survey studies. A major challenge in analyzing such data is variable selection and estimation while efficiently incorporating both the panel count and panel binary data components. Analyses in the medical literature have often ignored the panel binary component and treated it as missing with the unknown panel counts, while obviously such a simplification does not effectively utilize the original data information. In this research, we put forward a penalized likelihood variable selection and estimation procedure under the proportional mean model. A computationally efficient EM algorithm is developed that ensures sparse estimation for variable selection, and the resulting estimator is shown to have the desirable oracle property. Simulation studies assessed and confirmed the good finite-sample properties of the proposed method, and the method is applied to analyze a motivating dataset from the Health and Retirement Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: To examine the effects of borneol on inflammation and myocardial remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI) in mice, and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Eight-week-old wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 8 (TRPM8) gene knockout ( TRPM8-/-) mice were randomly divided into sham and MI groups, and were subsequently treated with normal saline (control group) or borneol (borneol group) via gavage. Survival curves were plotted for WT and TRPM8mice with MI treated with or without borneol. After 28 d, cardiac function of the mice was assessed through echocardiography, and haemodynamic indexes were evaluated using a multi-channel physiological instrument. Infarct size, myocardial hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis were assessed via pathological staining. In addition, inflammatory response in the peri-infarct region was detected. RESULTS: The TRPM8 expression was up-regulated in the peri-infarct region of the mice with MI (P<0. 05), and borneol had no effect on TRPM8 expression (P>0. 05). Borneol increased the survival rate, reduced the infarct size, inhibited cardiac remodeling and improved cardiac function in WT mice with MI (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). However, it did not affect the survival rate, infarct size, myocardial hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis or cardiac function in TRPM8mice (P>0. 05). Furthermore, borneol reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and the expression of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α ), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), in WT mice (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01) but not in TRPM8-/- mice (P>0. 05). CONCLUSION: Borneol attenuates inflammation, inhibits cardiac remodeling and improves cardiac function in mice with MI via TRPM8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The contribution of specific childhood trauma subtypes to suicidal thoughts and the associated mechanisms remains unclear, particularly in psychiatric patients. Methods: Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 449 psychiatric patients aged 18–73. Childhood trauma, self‐esteem, nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI), and suicidality were assessed retrospectively. Regression and moderated mediation model were employed to examine these relationships. Results: Emotional and sexual abuse were independently associated with suicidality. Female patients reported higher levels of emotional and sexual abuse, lower self‐esteem, and a heightened risk of suicide. Self‐esteem moderated the links between childhood trauma and NSSI, as well as between NSSI and suicidality. NSSI served as a mediator between childhood trauma and suicidality. Conclusions: Suicide prevention in mentally ill patients should involve targeted programs addressing specific childhood trauma. Additionally, psychological interventions to enhance self‐esteem and assist individuals engaging in NSSI behavior are crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two main parameters of grouting volume and grouting pressure are the keys to ensuring the quality of postgrouting. However, there is no equation for predicting the main grouting parameters of long and large-diameter postgrouting drilled shafts. In this paper, field data of 708 shafts in 128 projects were systematically investigated utilizing mathematical statistics, and equations for predicting the grouting volume and grouting termination pressure of long and large-diameter drilled shafts suitable for various soil layers were proposed. The range of coefficients of the grouting volume classified by soil types was defined. When establishing the equation for predicting the grouting termination pressure for a long drilled shaft, the influences of the cement grout weight in the grout pipe and the height difference between the pressure sensor and the grout valve on the grouting pressure were considered. Taking the grouting pressure and grouting volume as the control conditions of postgrouting operation, the criteria conditions for terminating postgrouting were proposed.The proposed equations for predicting the grouting volume and grouting termination pressure were verified based on a project case study. The factors affecting the grouting termination pressure were analyzed in detail. These research results were of great significance to the design of postgrouting drilled shafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancers are located upstream or downstream of key deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences in genes and can adjust the transcription activity of neighboring genes. Identifying enhancers and determining their functions are important for understanding gene regulatory networks and expression regulatory mechanisms. However, traditional enhancer recognition relies on manual feature engineering, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, making it difficult to perform large-scale recognition analysis. In addition, if the original dataset is too small, there is a risk of overfitting. In recent years, emerging methods, such as deep learning, have provided new insights for enhancing identification. However, these methods also present certain challenges. Deep learning models typically require a large amount of high-quality data, and data acquisition demands considerable time and resources. To address these challenges, in this paper, we propose a data-augmentation method based on generative adversarial networks to solve the problem of small datasets. Moreover, we used regularization methods such as weight decay to improve the generalizability of the model and alleviate overfitting. The Transformer encoder was used as the main component to capture the complex relationships and dependencies in enhancer sequences. The encoding layer was designed based on the principle of k-mers to preserve more information from the original DNA sequence. Compared with existing methods, the proposed approach made significant progress in enhancing the accuracy and strength of enhancer identification and prediction, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method. This paper provides valuable insights for enhancer analysis and is of great significance for understanding gene regulatory mechanisms and studying disease correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on audio–text retrieval is limited by the size of the dataset and the structure of the network, making it difficult to learn the ideal features of audio and text resulting in low retrieval accuracy. In this paper, we construct an audio–text retrieval model based on contrastive learning and collaborative attention mechanism. We first reduce model overfitting by implementing audio augmentation strategies including adding Gaussian noise, adjusting the pitch and changing the time shift. Additionally, we design a co-attentive mechanism module that the audio data and text data guide each other in feature learning, effectively capturing the connection between the audio modality and the text modality. Finally, we apply the contrastive learning methods between the augmented audio data and the original audio, allowing the model to effectively learn a richer set of audio features. The retrieval accuracy of our proposed model is significantly improved on publicly available datasets AudioCaps and Clotho. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geminiviruses are a group of circular single-stranded DNA viruses that cause severe diseases in many crop plants. However, there is still no fluorescent protein tag suitable for labeling viral proteins endogenously due to the limited genomic space and structure of geminiviruses for foreign gene fragment insertion. Here, we established a split super-folder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP)-based imaging system that provides a platform to visualize the subcellular localization of geminiviral proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana. A short fragment of the GFP- coding sequence (GFP11) was inserted into a specific locus of the geminiviral genome, while the remainder of the GFP (GFP1–10) was transiently or constitutively expressed in N. benthamiana. Consequently, complementation fluorescence enables the examination of the subcellular localization of viral proteins in particular cells. Using this split sfGFP system, we examined the subcellular localization of the coat protein and BV1 protein of tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) and further monitored its intercellular and long-distance movement in N. benthamiana during viral infection. This approach allows us to study endogenously the subcellular localization and viral movement of geminiviruses in N. benthamiana. This new split sfGFP system may also hold the potential to provide orthogonal fluorescent proteins usable for geminiviral genome tagging in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shale oil and gas are currently the major fields of unconventional hydrocarbon exploration and development. The Fengcheng Formation (FF) shale in the Mahu Sag of the Junggar Basin is an alkaline lacustrine organic-rich shale with an extremely prospective shale oil potential. However, its strong heterogeneity and complex pore structure greatly influence the development of shale oil. It is significant to investigate the pore and geochemical characteristics of shale reservoirs for shale oil extraction. In this study, the pore structure and geochemical characteristics of FF have been investigated using core analysis, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), low-temperature gas adsorption (LTGA), and X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). The results show that the shale of FF has moderate organic matter abundance, and the kerogen is mainly of Type II, which is now at the peak of oil generation. Shale minerals are mainly composed of carbonate (dolomite and calcite) and siliceous (quartz and feldspar) minerals, with extremely low clay mineral content. The pore types are mainly intergranular pores (inter-P), intragranular pores (intra-P), and microfractures associated with mineral particles. The pore space is contributed predominantly by micropores of 0.5–1.2 nm and mesopores of 10–50 nm, whereas macropores are underdeveloped. The pores are mostly ink bottle- and slit-shaped, and the pore connectivity is relatively poor. The pore development of shale in the FF is influenced by organic matter abundance, thermal maturity, mineral composition, etc. Organic matter content (TOC), thermal maturity (Ro), and carbonate minerals have a positive effect on pore development, and the pore volume (PV) increases with TOC, Ro, and carbonate minerals. While clay minerals show a negative effect, the PV decreases with clay minerals. Additionally, the influence of the clay mineral content on the pore morphology of shale should not be ignored. This study investigates the pore structure and geochemical characteristics of the alkaline lacustrine shale of FF in Mahu Sag, which is significant to deepen the understanding of alkaline lacustrine shale and to improve the production of shale oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonvolatile multiferroic coupling that can be controlled by electric fields has a wide range of future electronic multistate applications. Through first-principles calculations, we have revealed such magnetoelectric effect in van der Waals heterostructure systems consisting of CuCrP2Se6 and VS2. The distinct magnetic moments for Se atoms on the upper and lower surfaces of the CuCrP2Se6 substrate lead to different interlayer magnetic coupling configurations. Meanwhile, by varying the number of substrate layers, we can manipulate the direction of V's magnetic moment during ferroelectric reversal. This intricate interplay of ferroelectricity, magnetism, and ferrovalley enables the creation of electric switchable states. These findings provide ideas for nonvolatile memories controlled directly through electric fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation model with partly interval-censored data offers a highly flexible modeling framework that can simultaneously support multiple common survival models and a wide variety of censored data types. However, the real data may contain unexplained heterogeneity that cannot be entirely explained by covariates and may be brought on by a variety of unmeasured regional characteristics. Due to this, we introduce the conditionally autoregressive prior into the transformation model with partly interval-censored data and take the spatial frailty into account. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo method is proposed to handle the posterior sampling and model inference. The approach is simple to use and does not include any challenging Metropolis steps owing to four-stage data augmentation. Through several simulations, the suggested method's empirical performance is assessed and then the method is used in a leukemia study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactions of copper, silver and palladium salts with the homochiral ligands 3,3′-bis[(S,S)-4-isopropyl-2-oxazolyl]-4-chloro-2,2′-bipyridine (L1), 3,3′-bis[(S,S)-4-benzyl-2-oxazolyl]-4-chloro-2,2′-bipyridine (L2) and 2-[(S)-4-isopropyl-2-oxazolyl]quinoline (L3) yield three new chiral complexes: [Cu(L1)Br2] (1), [Ag(L2)(CH3CN)]·(BF4)·(CH3OH)0.17·(H2O)0.08 (2) and [Pd(L3)Cl2]·(CH3COCH3)0.5 (3), which have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and elemental and thermogravimetric analyses. The complexes 1–3 display discrete mononuclear structures. Non-linear optical properties of complexes 1–3 were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-terminal acetylation (N -acetylation) is one of the most common protein modifications and plays crucial roles in viability and stress responses in animals and plants. However, very little is known about N -acetylation of viral proteins. Here, we identified the Thr residue at position 2 (Thr-2) in the βC1 protein encoded by the betasatellite of tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNB-βC1) as a novel N -acetylation site. Furthermore, the effects of TYLCCNB-βC1 N -acetylation on its function as a pathogenicity factor were determined via N -acetylation mutants in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. We found that N -acetylation of TYLCCNB-βC1 is critical for its self-interaction in the nucleus and viral pathogenesis, and that removal of N -acetylation of TYLCCNB-βC1 attenuated tomato yellow leaf curl China virus-induced symptoms and led to accelerated degradation of TYLCCNB-βC1 through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Our data reveal a protective effect of N -acetylation of TYLCCNB-βC1 on its pathogenesis and demonstrate an antagonistic crosstalk between N -acetylation and ubiquitination in this geminiviral protein. • N-terminal acetylation (N -acetylation) is one of the most common protein modifications and plays crucial roles in viability and stress responses in animals and plants. • The Thr residue at position 2 (Thr-2) in the βC1 protein encoded by the betasatellite of tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNB-βC1) as a novel N -acetylation site. • N -acetylation of TYLCCNB-βC1 is critical for viral pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Atomically thin oxide magnetic materials are highly desirable due to the promising potential to integrate two-dimensional (2D) magnets into next-generation spintronics. Therefore, 2D oxide magnetism is expected to be effectively tuned by the magnetic and electrical fields, holding prospective for future low-dissipation electronic devices. However, the electric-field control of 2D oxide monolayer magnetism has rarely been reported. Here, we present the realization of 2D monolayer magnetism in oxide (SrRuO 3) 1 /(SrTiO 3) N (N = 1, 3) superlattices that shows an efficient and reversible phase transition through electric-field controlled proton (H+) evolution. By using ionic liquid gating to modulate the proton concentration in (SrRuO 3) 1 /(SrTiO 3) 1 superlattice, an electric-field induced metal-insulator transition was observed, along with gradually suppressed magnetic ordering and modulated magnetic anisotropy. Theoretical analysis reveals that proton intercalation plays a crucial role in both electronic and magnetic phase transitions. Strikingly, SrTiO 3 layers can act as a proton sieve, which have a significant influence on proton evolution. Our work stimulates the tuning functionality of 2D oxide monolayer magnetism by voltage control, providing potential for future energy-efficient electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive use of Al2O3 nanoparticles in consumer and industrial products has led to concerns about their potential environmental impacts in the recent years. In most studies concerning Al2O3 aggregation and disaggregation, more was to consider the single factor that influences their environmental behaviors. Understanding the combined abiotic factors that influence the fate, transport, and stability of nanoparticles in a complex aquatic system has become extremely important. Here, we reported and analyzed the major abiotic factors such as typical solution pH, electrolyte cations in different valences (Na+ and Ca2+), and the presence of humic acid (HA) that influence the stability, aggregation, and disaggregation behaviors of Al2O3 nanoparticles in a complex aquatic system. Dynamic light scattering technique combined with fluorescence spectroscopic analysis was used to explore the aggregation mechanisms. Experimental results indicated that Al2O3 nanoparticle stability was mainly controlled by the steric hindrance, van der Walls, and electrostatic interactions between HA and Al2O3 nanoparticles. Aggregation kinetics and attachment efficiency studies induced by the addition of Na+ and Ca2+ cations confirmed that divalent electrolytes could reduce the large energy barrier between the charged colloidal particles more efficiently, and induce a more aggressive aggregation of the particles. Additionally, the bridging effect of HA with Ca2+ was also an important mechanism for the aggregation enhancement, which had been confirmed by the fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectra analysis. These findings are useful in understanding the environmental challenges of inorganic colloidal particles in natural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional PDF document detection technology usually builds a rule or feature library for specific vulnerabilities and therefore is only fit for single detection targets and lacks anti-detection ability. To address these shortcomings, we build a double-layer detection model for malicious PDF documents based on an entropy method with multiple features. First, we address the single detection target problem with the fusion of 222 multiple features, including 130 basic features (such as objects, structure, content stream, metadata, etc.) and 82 dangerous features (such as suspicious and encoding function, etc.), which can effectively resist obfuscation and encryption. Second, we generate the best set of features (a total of 153) by creatively applying an entropy method based on RReliefF and MIC (EMBORAM) to PDF samples with 37 typical document vulnerabilities, which can effectively resist anti-detection methods, such as filling data and imitation attacks. Finally, we build a double-layer processing framework to detect samples efficiently through the AdaBoost-optimized random forest algorithm and the robustness-optimized support vector machine algorithm. Compared to the traditional static detection method, this model performs better for various evaluation criteria. The average time of document detection is 1.3 ms, while the accuracy rate reaches 95.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Fe-N conjugated organic polymer (SMP-Fr-Py) was prepared from ferrocene and pyrrole using a Scholl coupling reaction, which significantly improved the performance of Cr(VI) removal compared to the polymer (HCP-Fr-Py) prepared by adding the cross-linker formaldehyde dimethyl acetal (FDA). The results showed that at a pH of 2 and at 25 °C, the removal of Cr(VI) reached 90% for SMP-Fr-Py and only 58% for HCP-Fr-Py after 20 min of reaction. Subsequently, 99% and 78% were achieved after 120 min of reaction, respectively. The test results showed that the removal reaction followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The removal efficiency decreased with increasing solution pH and initial Cr(VI) concentration, but increased with increasing SMP-Fr-Py dosage, reaching three cycles. The characterization of the reaction complexes and measurements of Cr species conversion revealed the near absence of Cr(VI) species in the solution. Approximately 38% of Cr(VI) was found to be adsorbed on the material surface, with another fraction present in solution (24%) and on the material surface (38%) in the form of Cr(III). The overall study showed that the direct connection of ferrocene and pyrrole in SMP-Fr-Py through C-C bonding increased the conjugated structure of the polymer backbone, which facilitated electron transfer and transport. Furthermore, the Fe-N elements worked synergistically with each other more easily, which improved the removal performance of Cr(VI) and provided a reference for the subsequent work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanocomposite microporous membrane of ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and nano‐titanium dioxide (nano‐TiO2) system was prepared by combining the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) technique with the extrusion‐casting process using liquid paraffin (LP) as the diluent. The effects of variations of TiO2 content and melt draw ratio on the properties of composite microporous membranes were studied and the optimal processing parameters were further investigated. ATR‐FTIR demonstrated that nanocomposite microporous membranes were successfully prepared. The crystallization behavior and morphological evolution of membranes were systematically investigated by WAXD, 2D‐SAXS, and SEM. It was found that the stretch‐induced orientation of UHMWPE was promoted and the shish‐kebab structure was formed for the reason of addition of TiO2. The mechanism of combined effects of nanoparticles and stretch‐induced orientation on the crystallization behavior of UHMWPE was further discussed and explained. Compared to pure UHMWPE film, the permeability of the optimum performance film was significantly improved, with porosity of 49% and pure water flux of about 193 L m−2 h−1. Mechanical studies showed that nanoparticles and DR have significant effects on tensile strength and elongation at break. In addition, the thermal stability of composite microporous membranes was found to be improved with the increase of TiO2 content and melt draw ratio. Thus, this investigation delivers inspiration for the expansion of excellent performance microporous membranes used for battery separators and filtration devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a serious intracranial cerebrovascular disease. Cerebral hemorrhage caused by MMD will bring life risk to patients. Therefore, MMD detection is of great significance in the prevention of cerebral hemorrhage. In order to improve the accuracy of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the diagnosis of ischemic MMD, in this paper, a deep network architecture combined with 3D convolutional neural network (3D CNN) and bidirectional convolutional gated recurrent unit (BiConvGRU) is proposed to learn the spatiotemporal features for ischemic MMD detection. Firstly, 2D convolutional neural network (2D CNN) is utilized to extract spatial features for each frame of DSA. Secondly, the long-term spatiotemporal features of DSA sequence are extracted by BiConvGRU. Thirdly, the short-term spatiotemporal features of DSA are further extracted by 3D convolutional neural network (3D CNN). In addition, different features are extracted when gray images and optical flow images pass through the network, and multiple features are extracted by features fusion. Finally, the fused features are utilized to classify. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated on a data sets of 630 cases. The experimental results showed a detection accuracy of 0.9788, sensitivity and specificity were 0.9780 and 0.9796, respectively, and area under curve (AUC) was 0.9856. Compared with other methods, we can get the highest accuracy and AUC. The experimental results show that the proposed method is stable and reliable for ischemic MMD detection, which provides an option for doctors to accurately diagnose ischemic MMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal ions, one of the major pollutants in the environment, exhibit non-degradable and bio-chain accumulation characteristics, seriously damage the environment, and threaten human health. Traditional heavy metal ion detection methods often require complex and expensive instruments, professional operation, tedious sample preparation, high requirements for laboratory conditions, and operator professionalism, and they cannot be widely used in the field for real-time and rapid detection. Therefore, developing portable, highly sensitive, selective, and economical sensors is necessary for the detection of toxic metal ions in the field. This paper presents portable sensing based on optical and electrochemical methods for the in situ detection of trace heavy metal ions. Progress in research on portable sensor devices based on fluorescence, colorimetric, portable surface Raman enhancement, plasmon resonance, and various electrical parameter analysis principles is highlighted, and the characteristics of the detection limits, linear detection ranges, and stability of the various sensing methods are analyzed. Accordingly, this review provides a reference for the design of portable heavy metal ion sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare disorder of bone fragility. Gravid patients with OI usually need cesarean and may present multiple challenges. We present a case of an OI patient with severe scoliosis and an anticipated difficult airway undergoing cesarean section, with details on perioperative assessment and strategy of anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous general super-resolution methods do not perform well in restoring the details structure information of face images. Prior and attribute-based face super-resolution methods have improved performance with extra trained results. However, they need an additional network and extra training data are challenging to obtain. To address these issues, we propose a Multi-phase Attention Network (MPAN). Specifically, our proposed MPAN builds on integrated residual attention groups (IRAG) and a concatenated attention module (CAM). The IRAG consists of residual channel attention blocks (RCAB) and an integrated attention module (IAM). Meanwhile, we use IRAG to bootstrap the face structures. We utilize the CAM to concentrate on informative layers, hence improving the network's ability to reconstruct facial texture features. We use the IAM to focus on important positions and channels, which makes the network more effective at restoring key face structures like eyes and mouths. The above two attention modules form the multi-phase attention mechanism. Extensive experiments show that our MPAN has a significant competitive advantage over other state-of-the-art networks on various scale factors using various metrics, including PSNR and SSIM. Overall, our proposed Multi-phase Attention mechanism significantly improves the network for recovering face HR images without using additional information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most multiplex nucleic acids detection methods require numerous reagents and high‐priced instruments. The emerging clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas has been regarded as a promising point‐of‐care (POC) strategy for nucleic acids detection. However, how to achieve CRISPR/Cas multiplex biosensing remains a challenge. Here, an affordable means termed CRISPR‐RDB (CRISPR‐based reverse dot blot) for multiplex target detection in parallel, which possesses the advantages of high sensitivity and specificity, cost‐effectiveness, instrument‐free, ease to use, and visualization is reported. CRISPR‐RDB integrates the trans‐cleavage activity of CRISPR‐Cas12a with a commercial RDB technique. It utilizes different Cas12a‐crRNA complexes to separately identify multiple targets in one sample and converts targeted information into colorimetric signals on a piece of accessible nylon membrane that attaches corresponding specific‐oligonucleotide probes. It has demonstrated that the versatility of CRISPR‐RDB by constructing a four‐channel system to simultaneously detect influenza A, influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS‐CoV‐2. With a simple modification of crRNAs, the CRISPR‐RDB can be modified to detect human papillomavirus, saving two‐thirds of the time compared to a commercial PCR‐RDB kit. Further, a user‐friendly microchip system for convenient use, as well as a smartphone app for signal interpretation, is engineered. CRISPR‐RDB represents a desirable option for multiplexed biosensing and on‐site diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a small sample recognition method for radar waveforms based on data enhancement of ambiguity function generative adversarial networks (AFGAN) to address the issue of low recognition rate and unbalanced class recognition rate. First, the concept of ambiguity function efficient contour lines (AFECL) and AFECL subject resolution constant are proposed in order to effectively extract radar waveform features. Based on this, the AFGAN model is proposed for radar waveform data enhancement. Simulation experiments classified and identified six types of radar waveforms, which verifies the effectiveness of the model. The experimental results show that the overall recognition rate is increased by 18.64%–99.25% and the class recognition unbalance is reduced by 40.67%–1.33% under the condition of small samples. Compared with short‐time Fourier transform (STFT) and Wigner‐Ville distribution (WVD), the proposed AFECL features are more suitable for recognition in small samples, and the AFGAN model performs significantly better than that of the classical data enhancement models GAN and general WGAN‐GP. The signal recognition rate reached 94.28% when the SNR was −8 dB. The effectiveness of the AFGAN data enhancement method is verified using comparative experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unified power flow controller (UPFC) helps to control the power flow, but its outage due to the abnormal state is a threat to power systems. In this paper, based on the proportion of the random failure, the transition rates of the abnormal state are newly derived. The impact of the routine test (RT) on the transition rates is quantified. The state space models of the UPFC based on voltage-source converter (VSC) and modular multilevel converter (MMC) are extended with the states introduced by the RT. The frequency and duration method is used to aggregate the states. The sensitivities of the availability and outage frequency of the UPFC with respect to the failure rates of the components are newly derived to find the vulnerable component and the optimal RT interval. The numerical results show that the RT reduces the probability of the abnormal state, reduces the failure duration, and improves the availability of the UPFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study investigated the influence of childhood adversity, such as peer bullying and socioeconomic status, on the suicidal behaviour of left‐behind Chinese adolescents to determine whether psychotic‐like experiences (PLEs) mediated the associations between these childhood adversities and suicidality; suicidal ideation (serious thoughts about taking one's own life), suicide plans, and suicide attempts. Methods: A representative group of rural adolescents (n = 3346) was recruited from 16 rural high schools in China. Suicidality was assessed using the suicide module from the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Kid. Participants also completed questionnaires on bullying, socioeconomic status, left‐behind characteristics, and PLEs. Structural equation modelling was then employed to explore the relationships between these variables. Results: Peer bullying, poverty, and left‐behind status were all found to significantly increase adolescent suicide risk, the relationships between which were mediated by PLEs. Peer bullying was found to play the most significant role in the PLEs and suicidality, with the risk of suicide increasing with the length of time a child had been left behind. Conclusion: Adverse life events can lead to a high risk of PLEs, which in turn can increase the risk of suicide. These results could assist in identifying individuals at risk of suicidality and the design of appropriate interventions. The results also highlighted the role PLEs play in suicidality and highlighted the need for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomiasis remains a major global public health concern. Currently, the control of this neglected tropical disease still depends on chemotherapy to reduce the prevalence and intensity of the parasite infection. It has been widely accepted that praziquantel is highly effective against all species of Schistosoma, and this agent is virtually the only drug of choice for the treatment of human schistosomiasis. Mass drug administration (MDA) with praziquantel has been shown to be effective in greatly reducing the prevalence and morbidity due to schistosomiasis worldwide. In addition to antischistosomal activity, a large number of experiential and clinical evidence has demonstrated the action of praziquantel against fibrosis caused by S. mansoni and S. japonicum infections through decreasing the expression of fibrotic biomarkers such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP), and inhibiting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, as well as chemokines, and similar antifibrotic activity was observed in mouse models of fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and concanavalin A (Con-A). In this review, we discuss the role of praziquantel in the prevention and treatment of fibrosis associated with schistosomiasis and the possible mechanisms. We call for randomized, controlled clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of praziquantel in the treatment of schistosomiasis-induced hepatic fibrosis, and further studies to investigate the potential of praziquantel against fibrosis associated with alcohol consumption, viruses, and toxins seem justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, solar photovoltaic power generation has emerged as an essential means of energy supply. The prediction of its active power is not only conducive to cost saving but can also promote the development of solar power generation industry. However, it is challenging to obtain an accurate and high-quality interval prediction of active power. Based on the data set of desert knowledge in the Australia solar center in Australia, firstly, we have compared twelve interval prediction methods based on machine learning. Secondly, six ensemble methods, namely Ensemble-Mean, Ensemble-Median (Ensemble-Med), Ensemble-Envelop (Ensemble-En), Ensemble-Probability averaging of endpoints and simple averaging of midpoints (Ensemble-PM), Ensemble-Exterior trimming (Ensemble-TE), and Ensemble-Interior trimming (Ensemble-TI) are used to combine forecast intervals. The result indicates that Ensemble-TE is the best method. Additionally, compared to other methods, Ensemble-TE ensures the prediction interval coverage probability for confidence levels of 95%, 90%, 85%, and 80% as 0.960, 0.920, 0.873, and 0.824, respectively, using 15-min level data. Meanwhile, the narrower prediction interval normalized averaged width is calculated for the same confidence levels as 0.066, 0.045, 0.035, and 0.028, respectively. In addition, higher Winkler score and smaller coverage width-based criterion are obtained, representing high-quality intervals. We have calculated smaller mean prediction interval center deviation, which is approximately 0.044. Thus, the above demonstrates that this study obtains the prediction interval with better performance compared to other existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin is widely found in nature and attracts increasing concern as the renewable carbon material. In this work, hyper‐crosslinked lignin was successfully prepared and applied for adsorbing dyes such as rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) in wastewater. The characteristics of the alkaline lignin and hyper‐crosslinked lignin were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 adsorption and desorption measurements. The results show that the hyper‐crosslinked lignin is composed of uniform and porous nanoparticles with smaller size as compared to the sheet and‐ block structure of alkaline lignin. The specific surface area and pore structure of the hyper‐crosslinked lignin have been greatly optimized, while retaining the functional groups on the surface of the alkali lignin. The Brunner‐Emmet‐Teller (BET) surface area of the hyper‐crosslinked lignin reaches up to 402.8 m2 ⋅ g−1, and the adsorption capacity of RhB is up to 1332 mg ⋅ g−1. The isotherm model and thermodynamic results indicate that the adsorption process conforms to the Langmuir model, mainly showing a single‐layer spontaneous chemical endothermic process. In addition, HCP−L showed good selective adsorption performance for cationic dyes with the adsorption amounts of 228 mg ⋅ g−1 for MB, while that of the anionic dye CR (89 mg ⋅ g−1) was comparatively low. The adsorption mechanism was hydrogen bonding and π‐π stacking in addition to the electrostatic effect caused by the negative charge on the surface of HCP−L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radon can move freely through air and water. Water radon measurement is a method of earthquake monitoring and water radon can be used as an environmental tracer to follow transit pathways. A novel bubbling device was developed for continuous detection of waterborne radon levels. Equilibrium between water and gas-phase radon concentrations in the gas path of this device is attained through circulation and bubbling. Monitoring gas radon allows dynamic tracking of water radon concentration. At the temperature of 22.6 °C, the device exhibits a sensitivity of 0.0016 CPM/Bq/m3 and detects concentrations within the range of 0.96–180,000 Bq/m3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of the second industrial revolution, mining and metallurgical processes generate large volumes of tailings and mine wastes (TMW), which worsens global environmental pollution. Studying the occurrence of metal and metalloid elements in TMW is an effective approach to evaluating pollution linked to TMW. However, traditional laboratory-based measurements are complicated and time-consuming; thus, an empirical method is urgently needed that can rapidly and accurately determine elemental occurrence forms. In this study, a model combining Bayesian optimization and random forest (RF) approaches was proposed to predict TMW occurrence forms. To build the RF model, a dataset of 2376 samples was obtained, with mineral composition, elemental properties, and total concentration composition used as inputs and the percentage of occurrence forms as the model output. The correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination, mean absolute error, root mean squared error, and root mean squared logarithmic error metrics were used for model evaluation. After Bayesian optimization, the optimal RF model achieved accurate predictive performance, with R values of 0.99 and 0.965 on the training and test sets, respectively. The feature significance was analyzed using feature importance and Shapley additive explanatory values, which revealed that the electronegativity and total concentration of the elements were the two features with the greatest influence on the model output. As the electronegativity of an element increases, its corresponding residual fraction content gradually decreases. This is because the solubility typically increases with the solvent's polarity and electronegativity. Overall, this study proposes an RF model based on the nature of TMW that can rapidly and accurately predict the percentage values of metal and metalloid element occurrence forms in TMW. This method can minimize testing time requirements and help to assess TMW pollution risks, as well as further promote safe TMW management and recycling. [Display omitted] • A model was proposed for the elemental occurrence forms of tailings and mine wastes (TMW). • The elemental occurrence forms in TMW can be predicted quickly and accurately. • Electronegativity and total concentration were the most important variables. • The influential mechanism of input features on occurrence forms was studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health problems of college students have attracted the attention of all sectors of society. In order to keep college students in a good mental state and effectively analyze their mental health, an intelligent evaluation system of college students' mental health based on big data is designed. Based on big data technology, this article constructs an intelligent evaluation system for college students' mental health, which is divided into six layers, namely, application layer, decision layer, interface layer, analysis layer, data layer, and basic layer. Then, the mental health data of college students were collected based on C/S architecture. On the basis of extracting and integrating data characteristics, six evaluation indexes of personality, will, emotion, depression, fear, and psychosis were screened, and then, the intelligent evaluation was completed according to the weight of indexes. On the basis of the preliminary verification of the performance of the system in this article, according to the comparative experimental results, the mental health data acquisition time of the system is less, the accuracy of data feature extraction and the recall rate of evaluation results are higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duck Tembusu virus (TMUV) is a serious avian pathogen causing a decline in egg production, but the mechanism of the virus that breaks through the innate immune system is poorly understood. Here, we show that TMUV inhibits poly(I:C)‐induced interferon (IFN) production. Because poly(I:C) transfection can specifically activate the MDA5 pathway in duck primary cells, we found that infection with TMUV can specifically target MDA5 and lead to its degradation. MDA5 downregulation could be blocked by the autophagy inhibitor 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) but not a proteasome inhibitor, strongly implicating MDA5 degradation as an autophagy‐related degradation pathway. Pretreatment with 3‐MA enhanced the expression of MDA5 and inhibited TMUV replication. To screen TMUV proteins that degraded MDA5, the TMUV replicon and MDA5‐Flag were cotransfected into cells, and the western blot analysis showed that nonstructural 2B (NS2B) can degrade MDA5 in a dose‐dependent manner. Dual‐luciferase assays indicate that NS2B alone inhibits MDA5‐ or poly(I:C)‐mediated IFN production. NS2B binds MDA5 in the presence of 3‐MA. The deletion of the amino acids of NS2B from residues 51 to 92 (hydrophilic area) restored the expression of MDA5 and relieved the MDA5‐mediated IFNβ production inhibition by NS2B, indicating that the hydrophilic area of NS2B is important for its interaction with host innate immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cobalt silicate (CoSi) is a promising electrode material for supercapacitors (SCs) and an electrocatalytic material for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). How to synthesize cobalt silicate with excellent energy storage and OER properties has not been reported and it is a great challenge for researchers to accomplish it. In this work, we find that the electrochemical properties of CoSi are particularly affected by critical factors during the synthesis process. Three types of CoSi compounds are synthesized using Stöber SiO2 as the self-sacrificing template via a hydrothermal reaction. The CoSi compounds generated from different reaction systems have obvious differences in the macrostate, microscopic morphology, composition and valence, leading to different electrochemical performances for energy storage and OER properties. The findings reveal that the differences (especially valence) among CoSi are determined by the formation of the metal source in the reaction system. The specific capacitance of CoSi-3 obtained from the system with basic salts as the metal source is eight times higher than that of CoSi-1 obtained from the system with coordination compounds as the metal source, whereas CoSi-1 has a greater advantage in electrocatalytic activity. This work provides insight for the synthesis of cobalt silicates applied to energy storage and conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epicardial adipose tissue volume (EAT) has been linked to coronary artery disease and the risk of major adverse cardiac events. As manual quantification of EAT is time-consuming, requires specialized training, and is prone to human error, we developed a deep learning method (DeepFat) for the automatic assessment of EAT on non-contrast low-dose CT calcium score images. Our DeepFat intuitively segmented the tissue enclosed by the pericardial sac on axial slices, using two preprocessing steps. First, we applied a HU-attention-window with a window/level 350/40-HU to draw attention to the sac and reduce numerical errors. Second, we applied a novel look ahead slab-of-slices with bisection ("bisect") in which we split the heart into halves and sequenced the lower half from bottom-to-middle and the upper half from top-to-middle, thereby presenting an always increasing curvature of the sac to the network. EAT volume was obtained by thresholding voxels within the sac in the fat window (− 190/− 30-HU). Compared to manual segmentation, our algorithm gave excellent results with volume Dice = 88.52% ± 3.3, slice Dice = 87.70% ± 7.5, EAT error = 0.5% ± 8.1, and R = 98.52% (p < 0.001). HU-attention-window and bisect improved Dice volume scores by 0.49% and 3.2% absolute, respectively. Variability between analysts was comparable to variability with DeepFat. Results compared favorably to those of previous publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the improvement of tribological properties of TB6 (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al) alloys through laser surface texturing. It examines the effects of laser scanning cycles (LSCs) and dimple spacing (DS) on the water contact angle and the coefficient of friction (CoF) under both dry friction and starved-oil lubrication conditions. Dimple-textured surfaces reduce wear and friction by decreasing the actual contact area between the friction pairs, preventing wear particle entrapment, and enhancing oil retention, thereby leading to stable oil films. The optimal LSCs and DSs significantly reduce the CoF by up to 66 % under dry friction conditions and by 61 % under starved-oil lubrication conditions, compared to original surfaces. Surfaces with increased LSCs and decreased DSs become superhydrophobic after octadecyltrichlorosilane modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel geothermal system that has high efficiency and economic benefits was proposed in this study. The proposed geothermal system includes an organic Rankine cycle, absorption refrigeration subsystem, and heating/hot water subsystem. The selection of working fluid, performance optimization, and techno-economic analysis of the geothermal system were conducted by establishing mathematical models. The thermodynamic performance was enhanced by using evaporators in series and the separation-flash process. And the thermodynamic performance of the proposed system was investigated with five working fluids. The ratio of mass flow rate, separate pressure, and flash pressure were optimized using the stepwise multi-objective optimization technology. The results show that R245fa was the optimal working fluid. The system can reach its optimal operating state when the ratio of mass flow rate is 2.5, separate pressure is 2500 kPa and flash pressure is 1000 kPa. The largest power generation, thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and the lowest irreversible loss of the optimized system are 962.5 kW, 13.64 %, 35.74 %, and 4248 kW, respectively. The techno-economic analysis shows that the total investment cost of the novel geothermal system is 8.173–9.132 million dollars, the annual revenue is 2.451–2.608 million dollars per year, and the static payback period is 3.134–3.726 years. • Optimal working fluid is further selected based on previous research. • Series evaporators and separation-flash are proposed to improve system. • Ratio of mass flow rate, separate pressure, and flash pressure are optimized. • Economic analysis combines power generation, refrigeration, and heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plethora of properties associated with half Heusler compounds has made them apposite materials for functional applications significantly in thermoelectrics, solar harvesting, semiconducting and spintronics. The current study invested the exertions in unveiling the details of physical properties of LiXBe (X = N, P) compounds using DFT based VASP and WIEN2k codes considering PBE-GGA and TB-mBJ exchange correlation functionals. Titled compounds successfully assured the stability checks regarding energetic, lattice dynamic and mechanical. By means of electronic structure calculations, TB-mBJ functional disclosed the precise band gaps of 6.912 and 2.340 eV for LiNBe and LiPBe compounds respectively. Fat-band character analysis and partial charge density distributions in HOMO and LUMO orbitals revealed the governess of band edges around Fermi-level by homo-site (N- 2p & N- 2s) states in LiNBe and hetero-site (P- 2p & Li- 2s) states in LiPBe compound. The COHP examination and bond order characteristics evidenced comparatively strongest bonding interactions of X–Be than Li–Be bonding pair. The calculated opto-electronic properties; complex dielectric function, optical conductivity, loss function and refractive index have been discussed with substantial details. Physio-mechanical parameters and mechanical anisotropy have been comprehensibly elaborated. [Display omitted] • Investigation of Physical properties of LiXBe (X = N, P) compounds via DFT. • LiXBe (X = N, P) found structurally, lattice dynamically and mechanically stable. • TB-mBJ functional disclosed the precise bandgaps of LiXBe (X = N, P) compounds. • LiNBe compound propose bandgap engineering via solo-site substitution/doping. • LiPBe compound could be promoted for transparent conductor's applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A hitherto undiscovered red CaLuGaO 4 :Eu2+ olivine is synthesized firstly. • The red phosphor exhibits high PLQY of 86% and excellent thermal stability. • A rechargeable portable LED flashlight is assembled by utilizing the phosphor. The pursuit of efficient red emitting Eu2+ doped oxide is endless, aiming to replace the state-of-the-art CaAlSiN 3 :Eu2+ nitride counterpart to achieve cheaper and more stable warm illumination. Herein, we identify a hitherto unreported CaLuGaO 4 olivine compound. The crystal structure of the compound is belong to orthorhombic Pnma. Phonon dispersion relations have no imaginary frequency, verifying thermodynamic stability of the crystal structure. It structurally contains an octahedral Ca2+ site that definitely has strong crystal field splitting energy, which motivates us to incorporate it with Eu2+ to realize red emission through 4 f 65 d 1 → 4 f 7 transition of the octhdedral Eu2+ ion. This goal is achieved as found the divalent Eu2+ is necessarily stabilized in this site under CO sintering atmosphere rather than H 2 /N 2. The as-designed CaLuGaO 4 :Eu2+ exhibits impressively appealing properties, i.e., intense red emission at 650 nm (λ ex = 450 nm), with high PLQY up to 86 % and good thermal stability in temperature range 10–500 K, marking it as a promising and formidable red phosphor in warm illumination. The excellent emission properties are theoretically revealed to associate with the closed-packed dimensional crystal structure with high Debye temperature equals 440 K, which reduces the non-radiative recombination loss. The investigations in electron-vibrational interaction in the Eu2+:5 d state disclosing the interaction is intermediate coupling regime with Huang-Rhys factor of 4.3. As a proof-of-concept experiment of the red phosphor for illumination, a prototype WLED possession of low CCT = 3917 K, high Ra = 92.2, and excellent luminous efficiency = 110 lm/W is constructed, and a portable rechargeable LED flashlight is assembled, by utilizing CaLuGaO 4 :Eu2+ phosphor as a key red convector. Moreover, we have also demonstrated the phosphor synthesized under H 2 /N 2 can apply for latent fingerprint visualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost 70 years after shale oil was first studied, "self-souring" was widely regarded as an essential feature of shale oil. Recently, micromigration, which is a bridge connecting hydrocarbon generation, expulsion and enrichment in shale, has been discovered and confirmed as shale oil exploration deepens. However, due to strong heterogeneity, quantitative evaluation of hydrocarbon micromigration in shale remains unclear, making scientific understanding of shale oil enrichment mechanisms highly challenging. Based on the mass balance principle, we provide a quick and novel method to quantify hydrocarbon micromigration with the most commonly available geochemical data from Rock-Eval/total organic carbon (TOC) analysis by subtracting the real hydrocarbon generation potential (HGP R) from the original hydrocarbon generation potential (HGP O). The HGP R is calculated from pyrolysis parameters after light hydrocarbon calibration. Based on a kerogen kinetic theory, the HGP O is restored by utilizing a data-driven model with IBM-SPSS statistics. The results show that the Fengcheng Formation (P 1 f) shale features medium TOC contents, mixed kerogen types, mature to overmature levels, and high oil contents. Sixty-five percent of the P 1 f shale samples exhibit hydrocarbon intramicromigration, while the rest exhibit hydrocarbon extramicromigration. Shale oil contents and composition are closely related to hydrocarbon micromigration. The greater the hydrocarbon intramicromigration is, the higher the shale oil content. Micromigration occurs due to differences in hydrocarbon expulsion, pore space, and capillary pressure among shales. This method has a worldwide application for shale oil evaluation, and the findings will help to uncover shale oil differential enrichment mechanisms. • A quick and novel method is developed to quantify hydrocarbon micromigration in shale. • Micromigration is induced by differences in hydrocarbon expulsion, pore space, and capillary pressure. • The novel method provides a new perspective with which to investigate shale oil enrichment mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclic GMP‐AMP synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway has emerged as a key DNA‐sensing machinery in innate immunity. Activation of cGAS–STING signaling pathway mediates the production of interferons and proinflammatory cytokines. Although cGAS–STING signaling pathway shows critical function in the maintenance of gut homeostasis, overactive cGAS–STING signaling pathway leads to gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation. Harnessing the effect and mechanism of the cGAS–STING signaling pathway could be beneficial for the development of novel strategies for the treatment of GI diseases. This review presents recent advances regarding the role of cGAS–STING signaling pathway in GI inflammatory disease and cancers and describes perspective therapeutic strategies targeting the signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Braille devices made from stimuli‐active polymers have provided a new approach for obtaining information on Braille text. However, it is still essential to find a more convenient and effective method to develop multifunctional Braille devices with shape memory effects to broaden their applications. Here, a novel smart refreshable Braille display based on triple‐shape memory and magnetoresistive composite is developed with the advantages of simple fabrication, multifunctionality, and harmlessness for blind people. The triple shape memory effect enables this device to record the Braille text information and display the text using a complex Braille dot array. The stimuli‐dependent conductivity produces a simultaneous electrical sensing signal when Braille dots are touched, thus the reading areas can be distinguished. Therefore, this multifunctional flexible composite has the potential to realize a refreshable and portable Braille e‐book in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]