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Despite extensive studies of spin transport in metallic structures, it remains a challenge to achieve spin relaxation length well above 1 μm in metals even at low temperatures. We explore nonlocal spin transport in Cu channels with a cross section of 0.5 × 0.5 μm2, which exhibit superior values of electrical conductivity and residual resistivity ratio (RRR). Based on structures fabricated in a single batch, we found an average spin relaxation length of λ C u = 3.2 ± 0.7 μ m and an average spin relaxation time of τs = 120 ± 50 ps at 30 K. Substantial variations of λ C u , RRR, and resistivity ρ C u are found among the structures and the three quantities correlate well to one another. The most conductive Cu channel in the batch yields λ C u = 5.3 ± 0.8 μ m and τ s = 250 ± 80 ps. These superior values exceed expectations for metals and can be attributed to reduced spin relaxation from grain boundaries and surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CEO activism has the potential to inspire employees' activism and engender a broad societal impact. Yet, few studies have provided empirical evidence exploring the impact of CEO activism on employees' cognition, emotion, and behavior. Drawing on multidisciplinary insights from moral psychology theories, signaling theory, social learning theory, and build-and-broaden theory of positive emotions, we theorize a conceptual framework that delineates how CEOs' communication stressing the moral value of ethics of care triggers employees' other-directed positive moral emotions of gratitude, admiration, and elevation, which in term enhance employees' perceived organizational virtuousness and their advocacy behavioral intentions in accord with the CEOs' stances. The framework was supported by an online survey with 575 full-time U.S. employees. Our study sheds light on how CEOs can unleash the power of their activism in promoting a moral climate within their organization and producing a collective impact among their followers to enhance societal well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advances in scientific computing and mathematical modeling, complex scientific phenomena such as galaxy formations and rocket propulsion can now be reliably simulated. Such simulations can however be very time-intensive, requiring millions of CPU hours to perform. One solution is multi-fidelity emulation, which uses data of different fidelities to train an efficient predictive model which emulates the expensive simulator. For complex scientific problems and with careful elicitation from scientists, such multi-fidelity data may often be linked by a directed acyclic graph (DAG) representing its scientific model dependencies. We thus propose a new Graphical Multi-fidelity Gaussian Process (GMGP) model, which embeds this DAG structure (capturing scientific dependencies) within a Gaussian process framework. We show that the GMGP has desirable modeling traits via two Markov properties, and admits a scalable algorithm for recursive computation of the posterior mean and variance along at each depth level of the DAG. We also present a novel experimental design methodology over the DAG given an experimental budget, and propose a nonlinear extension of the GMGP via deep Gaussian processes. The advantages of the GMGP are then demonstrated via a suite of numerical experiments and an application to emulation of heavy-ion collisions, which can be used to study the conditions of matter in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. The proposed model has broader uses in data fusion applications with graphical structure, which we further discuss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the association between mtDNA genetic information and the risk of SF, individuals were conducted in the drinking water endemic fluorosis area in northern China, sequenced the whole genome of mtDNA, identified the SNPs and SNVs, analyzed the haplogroups, and diagnosed SF, and then, the effect of mtDNA genetic information on the risk of SF was evaluated. We find that, D5 haplogroup and its specific SNPs reduced the risk, while the D4 haplogroup and its specific SNPs increased the risk of SF. The number of SNVs in coding regions of mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) is different between the controls and cases. This suggests that D5 haplogroup may play a protective role in the risk of SF, while the opposite is observed for the D4 haplogroup, this may relate to their specific SNPs. And SNVs that encode the MRC complex may also be associated with the risk of SF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chrysanthemum tea is popular because of its health benefits, although different varieties vary in effectiveness and role. The rapid identification of the variety is critical for consumers and the tea industry. This study employed near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in combination with feature extraction methods to characterize chrysanthemum tea varieties. To improve the recognition accuracy, a fuzzy improved pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (FIPLDA) algorithm was employed to extract discriminant information from the NIR spectra of chrysanthemum tea that were preprocessed using the Savitzky-Golay (SG) algorithm. Next, the dimensionality of the data was reduced by principal component analysis (PCA). The spectral features were extracted by pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (PLDA), improved pseudoinverse linear discriminant analysis (IPLDA), and FIPLDA. Five chrysanthemum tea samples were classified by k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machines (SVM), respectively. The results show that KNN performed better than SVM in classification, and the classification accuracy of FIPLDA-KNN reached 98.33%. Hence, the combination of NIR spectroscopy with FIPLDA suitable for distinguishing chrysanthemum tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improper end‐of‐life treatments of C−O‐linked plastics have caused serious environmental crises and resource waste. One effective method to solve this issue is the catalytic alcoholysis of these plastics. Traditional homogeneous catalysts or metal‐based heterogeneous catalysts for alcoholysis have some drawbacks, such as difficulty in complete separation, environmental threats, and economic burden. Thus, finding a green, low‐cost, recyclable, and highly efficient catalyst substitute is critical. Here, we reported that polymeric carbon nitride nanosheets can serve as a metal‐free heterogeneous catalyst for the methanolysis of polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, and polylactic acid. The catalyst exhibits remarkable performance and could be reused at least four times. NHx was found to be the predominant active site of the catalyst by characterization and experiments. These results show promise for the design of metal‐free heterogeneous catalysts to depolymerize C−O‐linked plastics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional liquid–liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was improved for the determination of twelve synthetic musk compounds (SMs) in water samples by consideration of pH and organic solvents for extraction. Samples collected from eleven different points of the Han River estuary and a coastal area were analysed, and the overall concentration of SMs downstream of the Han River was higher than of the coastal area. The extraction efficiencies were above 74% for the twelve SMs from three different classes when using the optimum pH and extraction with dichloromethane (DCM). Results for method detection limit (MDL), method quantification limit (MQL)and recovery obtained by the established analytical method showed that it is adequate for the determination of SMs in real samples. Among the SMs, Galaxolide (HHCB) and Iso E Super (OTNE) had the highest concentrations and detection frequencies. By using the established analytical method, our study showed regional and seasonal distribution of SMs originated from the Han River in estuary and coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines startups' social media communication practice in China through the theoretical lens of dialogic communication. Drawing interdisciplinary insights from public relations and computer-mediated communication, this study explored conversational human voice and social presence as antecedents of startups' dialogic communication with publics on social media and explored publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth as potential outcomes of this process. Results from an online survey with 1061 social media users in China who had followed at least one startup organization revealed that startups' conversational human voice and social presence on social media helped drive organization–public dialogic communication, which in turn fostered publics' trust and positive word-of-mouth toward startups. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An implicit truly self-starting time integration method for nonlinear structural dynamical systems is developed in this paper. The proposed method possesses unconditional stability, second-order accuracy, and controllable dissipation, and it has no overshoots. The well-known BN-stability theory is employed in the design of algorithmic parameters, ensuring that the proposed method can stably solve nonlinear structural dynamical systems without restricting the time step size. The spectral analysis shows that compared to existing second-order accurate time integration methods, the proposed method enjoys a considerable advantage in low-frequency accuracy. For nonlinear problems where the currently popular Generalized- α method and ρ ∞ -Bathe method fail, the proposed method shows strong stability and accuracy. Further, for nonlinear problems in which all methods' results are convergent, the proposed method has greater accuracy, efficiency, and energy-conservation capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a survey of 600 U.S. employees, this study investigated the effect of transparent leadership communication on employee engagement, from the interpretivist approach, in the context of CEO activism. This study examined employees' perceived psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) as mediators. Results showed that transparent leadership communication is positively associated with employees' psychological needs. In turn, employees' psychological needs mediate the impact of transparent leadership communication on employees' information sharing and activism participation intentions in a CEO activism campaign. Ultimately, this study discussed theoretical and managerial contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs highly accurate and efficient time integration methods for the solution of transient problems. The motion equations of transient problems can be described by the first-order ordinary differential equations, in which the right-hand side is decomposed into two parts, a linear part and a nonlinear part. In the proposed methods of different orders, the responses of the linear part at the previous step are transferred by the generalized Padé approximations, and the nonlinear part's responses of the previous step are approximated by the Gauss–Legendre quadrature together with the explicit Runge–Kutta method, where the explicit Runge–Kutta method is used to calculate function values at quadrature points. For reducing computations and rounding errors, the 2m algorithm and the method of storing an incremental matrix are employed in the calculation of the generalized Padé approximations. The proposed methods can achieve higher-order accuracy, unconditional stability, flexible dissipation, and zero-order overshoots. For linear transient problems, the accuracy of the proposed methods can reach 10−16 (computer precision), and they enjoy advantages both in accuracy and efficiency compared with some well-known explicit Runge–Kutta methods, linear multi-step methods, and composite methods in solving nonlinear problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere has been continually monitored since their toxicity became known, whereas nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) and oxy-PAHs (OPAHs), which are derivatives of PAHs by primary emissions or secondary formations in the atmosphere, have gained attention more recently. In this study, a method for the quantification of 18 NPAH and OPAH congeners in the atmosphere based on combined applications of gas chromatography coupled with chemical ionization mass spectrometry is presented. A high sensitivity and selectivity for the quantification of individual NPAH and OPAH congeners without sample preparations from the extract of aerosol samples were achieved using negative chemical ionization (NCI/MS) or positive chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (PCI-MS/MS). This analytical method was validated and applied to the aerosol samples collected from three regions in Northeast Asia—namely, Noto, Seoul, and Ulaanbaatar—from 15 December 2020 to 17 January 2021. The ranges of the method detection limits (MDLs) of the NPAHs and OPAHs for the analytical method were from 0.272 to 3.494 pg/m3 and 0.977 to 13.345 pg/m3, respectively. Among the three regions, Ulaanbaatar had the highest total mean concentration of NPAHs and OPAHs at 313.803 ± 176.349 ng/m3. The contribution of individual NPAHs and OPAHs in the total concentration differed according to the regional emission characteristics. As a result of the aerosol samples when the developed method was applied, the concentrations of NPAHs and OPAHs were quantified in the ranges of 0.016~3.659 ng/m3 and 0.002~201.704 ng/m3, respectively. It was concluded that the method could be utilized for the quantification of NPAHs and OPAHs over a wide concentration range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated nonprofit organizations' (NPOs) emotion-based content strategies on Facebook and publics' engagement behaviors. More than 52,000 Facebook posts and corresponding comments were collected from the top 100 NPOs in the United States. The emotion-carrying status and valence of the messages were analyzed with computer-assisted sentiment analysis procedures. Results confirmed emotion-carrying posts and posts with negative emotions led to increased public engagement as indexed by the volumes of likes, shares, and comments. The presence of emotions and valence of the NPOs' posts were also found to have a diffusion effect on user comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amylose content, fine structure, and protein content affect the hardness and stickiness of cooked rice. However, the mechanisms of those effects have not been fully understood especially the fine structure of amylose. Here, 22 rice varieties with large ranges of both starch chain‐length distributions and protein content are examined, and the starch structural results are parameterized using biosynthesis‐based models. The ratios of the activities of branching enzyme and starch synthase for amylose showed positive and negative correlations with rice hardness (coefficient 0.556 and 0.838) and stickiness (coefficient −0.498 and −0.639), respectively. Protein content is strongly positively correlated with hardness, with nitrogen application up to the panicle development stage (coefficient 0.640). New findings could be obtained from these correlations, which reveal that in the whole region of amylose, the shorter the amylose is, the harder and less sticky the cooked rice is, which has not been reported previously. In addition, protein is found to influence rice hardness significantly, while rice stickiness is less affected by it. Therefore, a comprehensive mechanism of protein effects on rice texture is proposed. This work provides information for breeders to develop improved rice varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Using a pressure washing system shortens the length of time for delamination. • Fractional factorial design is used to screen factors. • Particle size, morphology, and acid leaching of products are evaluated. Recycling cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries has the potential to reduce damages to the environment and human health due to hazardous waste treatment, and mitigate supply risks of raw materials. Related political incentives or regulations have led to increased research and development efforts on cathode recycling. Promising approaches include direct recycling and hydrometallurgical processes, where delamination is the first step after collection of cathodes. In this study, we examined a pressure washing system's ability to harvest cathode materials. A high-pressure water jet provides strong forces to overcome the adhesion provided by organic binders. Four factors (water pressure, distance between nozzle and cathode, incident angle of water jet, and nozzle type) were investigated using a 34-1 fractional factorial design to screen important parameters and find the optimal conditions. Compared with other delamination processes where chemical reagents and heating are involved, the chemical-free pressure washing system can achieve separation in a few seconds (∼74 min/m2) at room temperature, which remarkably improves the efficiency of delamination. The particle size of recycled products (D50 of 31.87 μ m) is significantly reduced without Al contamination from current collectors or morphological damages. In addition, three types of recycled cathode materials were used as inputs for the acid leaching process. High leaching efficiencies of lithium (>90 %) and cobalt (>85 %) suggest that the pressure washing system could be a practical, economical, and eco-friendly pretreatment process to harvest cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the long-term concentration trend and profiles of twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occurring as airborne particulate matter in Seoul, Republic of Korea (Korea) between 1993 and 2018 to evaluate the human health effect and the effectiveness of air quality management policies. Total PAHs (∑PAHs of 12 compounds), benzo [a]pyrene (BaP), and BaP toxic equivalent (BaP TEQ) concentrations increased from 1993 to 1999 but decreased thereafter. Moreover, the BaP concentration has remained below 1 ng/m3 since 2010–2011. Benzo [b+k]fluoranthene (B [b+k]F) accounted for the largest ∑PAHs fraction (approximately 24%) for the entire period. Based on the PAH profiles, as well as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) results and diagnostic ratio analysis, vehicular emissions and coal combustion were identified as major sources of the PAHs in Seoul. Additionally, contribution of vehicular emissions increased from 2002 to 2003 to 2018, whereas that of solid fuel combustion decreased in the same period. PAH levels increased 8-fold in winter compared to summer mainly due to increases in local and regional emissions. The implementation of policies to regulate the use of solid fuels and vehicular emissions in Korea effectively reduced Elemental Carbon (EC) and PAH emissions, as demonstrated by CO, EC, and PAHs reductions and a good correlation between EC and PAHs. Moreover, aggressive air quality management policies in China have also contributed to decreasing PAH concentration trend in Seoul. Following the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) estimations method for 8 different population groups, males in the 0–1 age group was the only group still at potential risk of PAH inhalation in 2018, while other groups have been in the acceptable risk since 2012–2013. [Display omitted] • PAHs level in Seoul decreased 80% in 2018 compared to 1998–1999. • Vehicular emission has been a major source of PAHs. • Policies on solid fuels and vehicles in Northeast Asia were effective for the reduction of EC and PAHs. • All population groups are in the acceptable risk caused by PAHs inhalation, except for age group 0–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a new implicit solution procedure for multibody systems based on a three-sub-step composite method, named TTBIF (trapezoidal–trapezoidal backward interpolation formula). The TTBIF is second-order accurate, and the effective stiffness matrices of the first two sub-steps are the same. In this work, the algorithmic parameters of the TTBIF are further optimized to minimize its local truncation error. Theoretical analysis shows that for both undamped and damped systems, this optimized TTBIF is unconditionally stable, controllably dissipative, third-order accurate, and has no overshoots. Additionally, the effective stiffness matrices of all three sub-steps are the same, leading to the effective stiffness matrix being factorized only once in a step for linear systems. Then, the implementation procedure of the present optimized TTBIF for multibody systems is presented, in which the position constraint equation is strictly satisfied. The advantages in accuracy, stability, and energy conservation of the optimized TTBIF are validated by some benchmark multibody dynamic problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium, which has severe toxicity on animal and human health including reproduction. Previous study showed that zearalenone exposure inhibited oocyte polar body extrusion, while in present study we found that high dose zearalenone disturbed oocyte meiosis resumption. Our results showed that a high concentration of 100 μM zearalenone reduced the rate of germinal vesicle (GV) breakdown in mouse oocytes. Further analysis indicated that zearalenone caused the decrease of Cyclin B1 and CDK1 expression, indicating MPF activity was affected, which further induced G2/M arrest, and this could be rescued by the inhibition of Wee1 activity. We found that the oocytes under high concentration of zearalenone showed lower γ-H2A.X expression, suggesting that DNA damage repair was disturbed, which further activated of DNA damage checkpoints. This could be confirmed by the altered expression of CHK1 and CHK2 after zearalenone treatment. Moreover, the organelles such as mitochondria, ribosome, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus were diffused from germinal vesicle periphery after zearalenone exposure, indicating that zearalenone affected protein synthesis, modification and transport, which further induced the arrest of G2/M transition. Taken together, our results showed that high dose of zearalenone exposure induced G2/M transition defect by affecting organelle function-related CHK1/2-Wee1-MPF pathway. • High dose ZEN exposure induced G2/M transition defects in mouse oocytes. • ZEN exposure caused Wee1-related decrease of Cyclin B1 and CDK1 expression. • ZEN exposure affected the expression of CHK1/CHK2 for DNA damage. • ZEN exposure disrupted mitochondria and ribosome distribution. • ZEN exposure induces the defects of ER and Golgi apparatus distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of NMR methodology and technology during the past decades, solid-state NMR (ssNMR) has become a particularly important tool for investigating structure and dynamics at atomic scale in biological systems, where the recoupling techniques play pivotal roles in modern high-resolution MAS NMR. In this review, following a brief introduction on the basic theory of recoupling in ssNMR, we highlight the recent advances in dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy recoupling methods, as well as their applications in structural determination and dynamical characterization at multiple time scales (i.e., fast-, intermediate-, and slow-motion). The performances of these prevalent recoupling techniques are compared and discussed in multiple aspects, together with the representative applications in biomolecules. Given the recent emerging advances in NMR technology, new challenges for recoupling methodology development and potential opportunities for biological systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the Yangtze River Basin, which carries hundreds of millions of people and a substantial economic scale, has been plagued by water quality deterioration, threatening considerably sustainable development. In this paper, a sample set is established based on the water quality indexes of chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen obtained by week-by-week monitoring on the main stream of the Yangtze River in Panzhihua, Yueyang, Jiujiang, and Nanjing from 2006 to 2018. The twelve characteristic variables are selected by random forest technique, and the week-by-week dynamic prediction models of chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen at each section of main stream are established by the projection pursuit regression, which can effectively predict the water quality dynamics of the Yangtze River main stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Solid-State synthesis improves the stability and cycling performance of layered Na-cathode. • The lattice O2−/(O 2)n− redox reaction can be significantly suppressed. • The detailed structural features have been clearly revealed by solid-state NMR. • The migration of Li+ ions from the transition- to alkali-metal layer is inhibited. Improving the electrochemical performance and stability of layered sodium oxide cathode materials is of essential importance for developing sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Recent studies showed that additional capacity can be obtained by triggering the O2−/(O 2)n− redox reactions at high voltages (>4.0 V) for a novel Li-doped P2-Na 2/3 Ni 1/3 Mn 2/3 O 2. Here, we present that surprisingly, such an involvement of lattice oxygen redox reaction can be suppressed by using solid-state synthesis, which leads to improved cycling stability upon simplification of the preparation procedure. Specifically, P2-Na 0.79 Li 0.11 Ni 0.21 Mn 0.67 O 2 was prepared via a solid-state synthetic approach and showed no sign of lattice O2−/(O 2)n− redox reaction at high voltages (>4.0 V) compared to the sol-gel synthesized analogy. The former yields higher crystallinity and much less defects or impurities, as demonstrated by 23Na and 7Li solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Such a material remains more stable at > 4.0 V, evidenced by the inhibition of Li TM to Li AM migration (transition metal layer to alkaline metal layer), which is usually a sign of phase change or meta-phase changes upon charging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that vibration- or rotation-based techniques can effectively mitigate the fouling and concentration polarization during membrane filtration. However, it is difficult to incorporate these active enhancement techniques with spiral wound modules (SWMs), which are widely employed in drinking water and wastewater treatment. In this work a prototype membrane system was developed to accommodate angular vibrations with a modified SWM. With this prototype system, a series of filtration experiments were designed and implemented to investigate the effect of angular vibrations on the ultrafiltration algal fouling process in an SWM. The experimental results indicate that the algal fouling in an SWM can be effectively controlled (up to ∼28.5 % at 15 Hz) by applying angular vibrations in conjunction with appropriate operating conditions; the underlying mechanisms are discussed using a mathematical model that accounts for the relative motion between the fluid and membrane when they are subject to external accelerations, related to the vibration frequency, filtration period and position along coiled membrane leaves. A quantitative analysis is also presented to demonstrate the potential of using angular oscillations to control the algal fouling in an SWM with a lower energy consumption compared to the conventional method of increasing the cross-flow rate. [Display omitted] • An angular vibrating spiral wound membrane system is developed in a lab scale. • Angular vibration effects on the cell trajectory and flow velocity were simulated. • EOM could enhance the angular vibration effect via promoting algal cell aggregation. • Increasing crossflow rate may weaken the fouling control efficiency by this vibration. • Power for fouling control by the vibration was less than that by increasing crossflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of cystic biliary atresia (CBA) and evaluate the midterm follow-up outcomes after laparoscopic treatment. Methods: We analyzed and compared data retrospectively on CBA patients (group A) and nonsyndromic type III biliary atresia (BA) patients (group B), who underwent laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) during the same period. Results: There were no significant differences in operative time, conversion rate, or the incidence of any postoperative complications between groups A and B (P > 0.05). The mean age at surgery (P < 0.01), rates of clearance of jaundice (CJ), cholangitis (P < 0.05), and 5-year survival with a native liver (SNL) were significantly lower in group A than in group B. Among the 35 patients with CBA, the CJ and 5-year SNL rates were significantly better in those with type I (n = 27) than in those with type IIId (n = 8) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: LKPE is a feasible and safe procedure for CBA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE was better in patients with CBA than in those with nonsyndromic type III BA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE for type I CBA was better than that for type IIId CBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most newly proposed explicit time integration methods may have one or more of such problems as unexpected stability limits, accuracy order loss for damped systems and unsatisfactory computational accuracy for the case of zero initial conditions and initial external load. For addressing these problems, a three-stage explicit time integration method is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is second-order accurate for linear systems with and without damping, and it is completely explicit if the mass matrix is diagonal, even when the damping matrix is not diagonal in linear analysis or the internal force is a function of velocity in nonlinear analysis. The stability limit and numerical dissipation are exactly controlled by the parameter ρb, the spectral radius at the bifurcation point. For undamped systems, the stability limit of the proposed method ranges from 5.5608 to 6 with the increase in ρb from 0 to 1 and its degree of numerical dissipation is exactly controlled by ρb. The recommended values of ρb for different types of dynamics systems are determined by analyzing the algorithmic eigenvalue properties and the dynamics system properties. Numerical experiments show that the new method has advantages in accuracy and stability over most up-to-date explicit methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether revision laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (RLKPE) is a viable treatment option for patients with biliary atresia (BA) who had undergone initially successful laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (ILKPE).Methods: The medical records of 312 patients with nonsyndromic BA who had undergone ILKPE between May 2009 and May 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into three groups according to their outcomes after ILKPE: group A: 25 patients who had undergone RLKPE; group B: 203 patients who had undergone ILKPE and required no further surgical intervention; group C: 84 patients with failed ILKPE who had either died or required liver transplantation for survival. The 3-year and 5-year survival with native liver (SNL) rates were compared between groups A and B and between groups A and C. Among the 25 patients in group A, the perioperative data of RLKPE were compared with those of ILKPE.Results: Of the 312 patients who had undergone ILKPE, 228 reached the normal bilirubin concentration range within 6 months postoperatively. Among them, 25 patients with a sudden cessation of bile flow had undergone RLKPE. Adequate biliary drainage, as evidenced by normalized conjugated bilirubin levels, was achieved in 80% of patients who had undergone RLKPE. The perioperative variables, including the operative time, blood loss, rate of conversion to open surgery and complications of RLKPE, were not significantly different between RLKPE and ILKPE. The 3-year and 5-year SNL rates in patients after RLKPE were 64.0% and 52.0%, respectively, which were not significantly different from the corresponding rates of 86.2% and 73.9%, respectively, in patients after unrevised ILKPE (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that RPLKE is a viable and effective treatment option in patients with sudden cessation of bile drainage after ILKPE. RPLKE can delay the need for liver transplantation, yielding encouraging medium-term patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-to-one supramolecular photocatalyst is fabricated by aqueous electrostatic self-assembly of multiple graphene quantum dot (GQD) antennas onto a single-Pt-site porphyrin unimolecular micelle (PtTHPD-UM) catalytic center. Light energy is transferred from GQDs to PtTHPD-UM to catalyze water splitting into hydrogen up to 57 190 μmol g(Pt)−1 h−1 under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) has been shown to be a safe and feasible procedure in patients with biliary atresia (BA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of modified LKPE (MLKPE) in the treatment of BA. Methods: Data of 58 BA patients undertaken MLPKE from July 2014 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed (group B), and compared with that of 43 BA patients received open Kasai portoenterostomy (OKPE) during the same period (group C). In addition, 195 BA patients who had undergone LKPE during May 2009 to June 2014 were also included (group A). Results: All 296 patients enrolled in this study were non-syndromic type III BA. Compared with group A, group B had shorter operative time (ORT) (P < 0.01) and fewer intraoperative blood transfusion (IOBT) (P < 0.05). The conversion rate and cholangitis rate were also significantly lower in group B than that in group A (P < 0.05). The postoperative oral intake resumed (POOR), any postoperative complications (APOC), clearance of jaundice (CJ), 1-year and 3-year survival rate with native liver (SNL) were not significantly different between group A and group B (P > 0.05). The ORT, IOBT, POOR, APOC, CJ, 1-year and 3-year SNL in group B were much better than that of group C (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The MLKPE was associated with good perioperative with ORT, IOBT, POOR, and APOC. The short-term outcomes in MLKPE were no worse than that of OKPE and LKPE. MLKPE can be regarded as a treatment option for BA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An adult C. miniata had an autonomous, sympodial, and modular growth system, the stem apical meristems produced four leaves and terminated by a flower bud. • The focus of anthesis regulation was the regulation of scape elongation rather than flower bud differentiation. • A metabolomic profile suggests that sugars, amino acids, plant hormones, and glycerophospholipids have affected the vegetative and reproductive stages. • The scape appearance rate of 50 mg/L GA 3 treatment reached 100 % and 200 mg/L GA 3 treatment advance anthesis by 42 days. Clivia miniata Regel, a globally renowned ornamental plant, is used in China to celebrate Lunar New Year (the Chinese Spring Festival). However, its anthesis in greenhouses often misses the timing of this festival. Understanding the mechanism of flower bud differentiation and scape elongation is critical for the accurate and stable regulation of anthesis. Currently, little is known about the molecular mechanism of anthesis regulation in C. miniata. In this study, a hypothetical model for its growth and the flowering mechanism was verified by systematic observation over a whole year. Once ripe-to-flower a C. miniata plant followed an autonomous, sympodial, and modular growth system in which the stem apical meristem produced four leaves before terminating in an inflorescence. Paraffin section observation revealed six stages of flower bud differentiation. Moreover, a metabolomic profile of a young leaf adjacent to the scape, at each of four stages of scape development, enabled us to identify metabolites involved in various pathways that correlated with regulation of anthesis. A total of 510 metabolites were identified as present across the different development stages of scapes. Of them, 159 metabolites were differentially expressed, and were enriched in the pathways of amino acid, sugar, glycerophospholipid, and glutathione. Amino acids, sugars, glycerophospholipids, and hormones were suggested to participate in development to anthesis by regulating the molecular network involved in scape elongation. The rate of scape appearance was highest (100 %) following spray application of 50 mg/L GA 3. While all treatments could advance anthesis, a spray treatment at 200 mg/L GA 3 advanced anthesis by 42 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delamination has been widely used in direct recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as the first step to harvest cathode materials from cathodes. The variations of the recycling performance have been documented in many studies. The main mechanism of delamination is the inactivation of bonding forces provided by the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. It is believed that the storage environment (air exposure time) will affect the performances of delamination to some extent. Three representative methods (direct calcination, pressure washing, and NMP solvent extraction) for delamination were studied to elucidate the effect of air exposure time on delamination efficiency. The peel-off efficiency (98–99%) of the direct calcination method was barely influenced by air exposure time. The pressure washing system or NMP solvent extraction method also exhibited high peel-off efficiency using samples after a long air exposure time (1 month), however these methods may have problems regarding Al contamination, i.e., 11.5 mg/g of pressure washing system and 134.4 mg/g of NMP solvent extraction. Results suggest that enhanced adhesion (0.11 MPa/month) could be a potential reason why air contact time affects delamination, with O 2 and/or H 2 O acting as contributors. This finding may help to maximum performance of delamination, as it highlights the importance of storage conditions of the spent LIBs prior to direct recycling. [Display omitted] • Air storage of cathodes affects the representative direct recycling methods. • Identified aging as Al corroded and more adhesive forces at CAM-Al interface. • Degradation of electrolyte due to O 2 and H 2 O causes aging of cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: There are no cohort studies of chronic lymphedema in patients with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE). We sought to characterize the incidence, clinical features, risk factors and management of chronic lymphedema in patients with KHE.Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients who had a minimum of 3 years of follow-up after the onset of KHE and/or Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). Clinical features were reviewed to determine the possible cause of chronic lymphedema. The degree of lymphedema, risk factors and management strategies were analyzed.Results: Among the 118 patients, chronic lymphedema was confirmed by lymphoscintigraphy 1 year after the onset of KHE and/or KMP in 13 patients. In 8 patients with lymphedema, extremity swelling was evident in the presence of KHE and/or KMP. In all patients with lymphedema, a unilateral extremity was affected, along with ipsilateral KHE. Most (84.6%) patients reported moderate lymphedema. Lymphedema was more common in patients with larger (≥ 10 cm) and mixed lesions involving the extremities (P < 0.01). A history of KMP and sirolimus treatment were not predictors of lymphedema (P > 0.05). Overall, 76.9% of patients received sirolimus treatment after referral, including 53.8% who presented extremity swelling before referral. Seven (53.8%) patients received compression therapy. Five (38.5%) patients reported lymphedema-associated decreased range of motion at the last follow-up.Conclusions: Chronic lymphedema is a common sequela of KHE and can occur independently of KMP and sirolimus treatment. Patients with large and mixed KHE involving extremities should be closely monitored for this disabling complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ion source (IS) utilizing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light is developed and characterized for use with iodide–chemical ionization mass spectrometers (I- -CIMS). The VUV-IS utilizes a compact krypton lamp that emits light at two wavelengths corresponding to energies of ∼10.030 and 10.641 eV. The VUV light photoionizes either methyl iodide (ionization potential, IP = 9.54 ± 0.02 eV) or benzene (IP = 9.24378 ± 0.00007 eV) to form cations and photoelectrons. The electrons react with methyl iodide to form I- , which serves as the reagent ion for the CIMS. The VUV-IS is characterized by measuring the sensitivity of a quadrupole CIMS (Q-CIMS) to formic acid, molecular chlorine, and nitryl chloride under a variety of flow and pressure conditions. The sensitivity of the Q-CIMS, with the VUV-IS, reached up to ∼700 Hzpptv-1 , with detection limits of less than 1 pptv for a 1 min integration period. The reliability of the Q-CIMS with a VUV-IS is demonstrated with data from a month-long ground-based field campaign. The VUV-IS is further tested by operation on a high-resolution time-of-flight CIMS (TOF-CIMS). Sensitivities greater than 25 Hzpptv-1 were obtained for formic acid and molecular chlorine, which were similar to that obtained with a radioactive source. In addition, the mass spectra from sampling ambient air was cleaner with the VUV-IS on the TOF-CIMS compared to measurements using a radioactive source. These results demonstrate that the VUV lamp is a viable substitute for radioactive ion sources on I- -CIMS systems for most applications. In addition, initial tests demonstrate that the VUV-IS can be extended to other reagent ions by the use of VUV absorbers with low IPs to serve as a source of photoelectrons for high IP electron attachers, such as SF6-. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an implicit and unconditionally stable two-sub-step composite time integration method with controllable numerical dissipation for general dynamics called the two-sub-step generalized central difference (TGCD) method. The proposed method is established by performing the generalized central difference scheme in two sub-steps as the nondissipative and dissipative parts to ensure amplitude accuracy and controllable damping, respectively. It is accurate to the second order, with the amount of numerical dissipation controlled exactly by the spectral radius ρ ∞ . In addition, the related parameters of the proposed method are determined by optimizing the amplitude and phase accuracy of the free vibration of a single degree-of-freedom system. Several representative linear and nonlinear numerical examples are analyzed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method in terms of accuracy, stability and efficiency, especially its stability in solving nonlinear problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates three‐dimensional accurate guidance problem in the presence of impact angle constraint, input saturation, autopilot lag, and external disturbance, and presents a robust adaptive guidance method for maneuvering targets. More specifically, based on integral Lyapunov control algorithm, a robust guidance law, which can drive both terminal line‐of‐sight angle error and its rate to a small region around zero, while resisting the terrible influence caused by external disturbance, is proposed in this work. To deal with input saturation, guidance command is separated into two parts: real input and saturation error, and an adaptive control technique is employed to compensate the influence resulting from external disturbance and saturation error. Moreover, regarding autopilot lag as a first‐order dynamics, a backstepping designed controller with an adaptive term is proposed. Numerical simulations are carried out and their results demonstrate the proposed properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most I- -CIMSs (iodide chemical ionization mass spectrometers) for measurement of atmospheric trace gases utilize a radioactive ion source with an initial activity of 10 or 20 mCi of 210Po. In this work, we characterize a 210Po ion source with an initial activity of 1.5 mCi that can be easily constructed from commercially available components. The low level of radioactive activity of this source significantly reduces regulatory burden with storage and shipping relative to higher-activity sources. We compare the sensitivity of the low-activity source (LAS) to a standard 20 mCi source, as a function of carrier gas flow and flow tube pressure, for peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), formic acid (HCO2H), molecular chlorine (Cl2) and nitryl chloride (ClNO2), using an I- -CIMS. The LAS provides 2 to 5 times less sensitivity than that of the standard source even though the ratio of activity is approximately 13. However, detection limits of less than 2 pptv for the tested compounds are achieved for integration times on the order of a minute. The sensitivity of the LAS is less dependent on the magnitude of the carrier gas than a standard source. In addition, the LAS provides maximum sensitivity at relatively low carrier gas flows. Finally, we demonstrate that the LAS can be used to measure PAN in the remote atmosphere from an aircraft by showing data obtained on the NASA DC-8 during the Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission. In summary, the LAS may be an excellent substitute for a standard ion source in short-term field deployments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity and ecological flows of ecosystem services as well as the demand for them are key areas of urban and rural ecological planning that have been studied using the spatial-explicit model as a decision support tool. This study develops a framework for mapping the relationships among the capacity of and demand for ecosystem services, ecological flows, and planning management. This is done by estimating the ecosystem services based on the space for recreation and environmental conditions and assessing planning for green spaces using the spatial-explicit model. The results show that the carrying capacity of green recreational space was high in the northwest, southwest, and southeast parts of the city of Hefei in China, where this space was highly sustainable in the northwest and southwest. The data also show that the carrying capacity for air purification was higher in the northwest, southwest, and southeast suburbs of Hefei, while areas with high demand for air purification were mainly located in the northeast. The spatial variation in the flows of supply and demand for ecosystem services remained high and unbalanced in the northeast and southwest of Hefei. The excessive use of ecosystem services was concentrated in the urban center while their use in suburban areas was sustainable. The results show that the gap between the supply and demand of space for recreation increased with distance while that between the supply and demand of air purification decreased with increasing distance. The results of assessment based on spatial visualization show that green space was abundant in areas with low demand for it, while those with high demand for it tended to have limited green space in Hefei. This analysis shows that indices for the demand for green spaces in the context of ecosystem services can be improved via public participation, interactions between different scales of ecosystem services for green space, and use of decision support in urban and rural planning systems. These areas will form important directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The measurement value expressed the grain size of the nano-crystals was about 56 nm. • The emitting color is adjustable by adjusting the ratio of Yb3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+ ions. • The emission light of the sample approached the standard white light. Novel up-conversion luminescent SrGd 2 (WO 4) 2 (MoO 4) 2 : Yb3+/Tm3+/Ho3+ nano-crystals were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The composition ratio of rare earth had been investigated. It indicated that when C Yb 3+ = 10 mol% and C Yb 3+/C Tm 3+/C Ho 3+ = 10:1.5:2, the emission intensities were the highest. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and up-conversion luminescence spectra were used to characterize SrGd 2 (WO 4) 2 (MoO 4) 2 : Yb3+/Tm3+/Ho3+ nano-crystals and they showed that the sample had high degree of crystallinity, the sample was tetragonal system, and the grain size of the sample was about 56 nm. Three emission peaks, including blue emission peak, green emission peak and red emission peak were observed at 477, 543 and 651 nm corresponding to 1G 4 → 3H 6 and 1G 4 → 3F 4 transitions of Tm3+, 5F 4 → 5I 8 and 5F 5 → 5I 8 transitions of Ho3+ respectively. All the emission peaks were observed by excitation of 980 nm semiconductor laser. The relationship between up-conversion intensity and excitation power revealed that blue emission at 477 nm was a three-photon absorption process, green emission at 543 nm and red emission at 651 nm was a two-photon absorption process. The quantum yields of the sample were near 3.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T-2 toxin is considered an unavoidable pollutant, which contaminates food crops and stockpiled cereals, impairing the health of humans and animals due to its multi-organ toxicity. Studies have shown that T-2 toxin can cause articular cartilage damage; however, the underlying molecular mechanism is still unclear. Here, we investigated the possible mechanism of the following inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) family members: NAIP, cIAP1, cIAP2, XIAP, and Survivin, and their involvement in T-2 toxin-induced mouse chondrocyte damage. In this study, mouse articular chondrocytes were isolated and cultured in vitro , and the chondrocytes were then treated with 0, 5, 10, and 20 ng/mL T-2 toxin. Firstly, the toxic effect of T-2 toxin on chondrocytes was determined. CCK-8 assay results showed that T-2 toxin induced a dose-dependent inhibition of chondrocyte viability. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that T-2 toxin caused morphological changes in chondrocyte endoplasmic reticulum and an increase in mitochondrial swelling. In addition, Annexin-V-FITC/PI staining and caspase 3 protein expression showed that T-2 toxin induced an increase in the apoptotic rate of chondrocytes. Secondly, it was found that T-2 toxin cause decreased expression of cellular and secreted Collagen II. Finally, we examined the expression of NAIP, cIAP1, cIAP2, XIAP, and Survivin in chondrocytes in the presence of T-2 toxin and their relationship with decreased Collagen II. The decrease in Collagen II was negatively correlated with the expression of cIAP1, cIAP2 and positively correlated with NAIP and Survivin mRNA level. Survivin mRNA level had a positive correlation with Collagen II as shown by partial correlation analysis. This study revealed the new role of IAPs in chondrocyte injury and provides new insights and clues into the mechanism of T-2 toxin-induced chondrocyte damage. • Investigate the toxic mechanism of T-2 toxin in chondrocytes damage using the mouse model in vitro. • T-2 toxin results in the decrease of cellular Collagen II and a reduction of secreted collagen II in chondrocytes. • Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are involved in T-2 toxin-induced decreased Collagen II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a rare vascular neoplasm with high morbidity and mortality. The initiating mechanism during the pathogenesis of KHE has yet to be discovered. The main pathological features of KHE are abnormal angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. KHEs are clinically heterogeneous and may develop into a life-threatening thrombocytopenia and consumptive coagulopathy, known as the Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). The heterogeneity and the highly frequent occurrence of disease-related comorbidities make the management of KHE challenging. Currently, there are no medications approved by the FDA for the treatment of KHE. Multiple treatment regimens have been used with varying success, and new clinical trials are in progress. In severe patients, multiple agents with variable adjuvant therapies are given in sequence or in combination. Recent studies have demonstrated a satisfactory efficacy of sirolimus, an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin, in the treatment of KHE. Novel targeted treatments based on a better understanding of the pathogenesis of KHE are needed to maximize patient outcomes and quality of life. This review summarizes the epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatments of KHE. Recent new concepts and future perspectives for KHE will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, the research focuses on the effect of different contents of Yb3+ and different ratios of Yb3+/Ho3+ for the luminescence properties of SrGd2(WO4)2(MoO4)2:Yb3+/Ho3+ nanocrystals. The luminescent nanocrystals were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The structure and properties of luminescent powder were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystal structure of SrGd2(WO4)2(MoO4)2:Yb3+/Ho3+ samples, which were characterized by XRD, is the tetragonal system. The particle sizes, which were observed by using SEM and TEM, are between 70 and 80 nm. The luminescence intensity was the strongest while the Yb3+ doping concentration was 6.0 mol. % and Yb3+/Ho3+ = 6:1.5. The green emission peak at 545 nm corresponds to the 5F4(5S2) → 5I8 transition of Ho3+, and the red emission peak at 651 nm corresponds to the 5F5 → 5I8 transition of Ho3+. The log-log plots of luminescence intensity and pump power revealed that red and green emission peaks were the two-photon absorption. The quantum yields of the samples were near 1.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A novel observer‐controller framework algorithm based on barrier Lyapunov function and second‐order sliding mode control is presented, which can drive the first‐ and second‐order states of the typical second‐order dynamics subject to unknowns and uncertainties simultaneously converge to zero in finite time. The obtained results are applied in the designs of two partial integrated guidance and control laws for an aerodynamic control interceptor against maneuvering targets: one is for zeroing line‐of‐sight angular rate and the other is for hit‐to‐kill. Owing to the inherent properties of different bandwidth and time delay between control commands and missile dynamics, partial guidance and control is separated with two loops. The outer loop achieves the target maneuvers and generates the control command, and the inner loop is used to track it. Moreover, to overcome the excessive differentiation problem of conventional backstepping design, two integral Lyapunov functions are introduced, which avoid the differentiation of the virtual control laws. Finally, detailed stability discussion and simulation results of the proposed partial guidance and control approaches demonstrate these properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to identify key genes in colorectal cancer (CRC) that could be used to reliably diagnose this disease and to explore the potential underlying mechanisms in silico. The gene expression profiles of primary human cancer datasets GSE21510 and GSE32323 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The limma R software package was used to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed on DE genes using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database was used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the DE genes. Survival rate was analyzed and visualized using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). A total of 1,126 genes were significantly DE in the present study. All DE genes were enriched in KEGG pathways including 'cell cycle', 'mineral absorption', 'pancreatic secretion', 'pathways in cancer', 'metabolic pathways', 'aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption' and 'Wnt signaling pathway'. A total of 5 hub genes enriched in cell cycle and tumor-associated pathways, including E2F2, SKP2, MYC, CDKN1A and CDKN2B, were significantly DE and validated between tumor and normal tissues. CDKN1A and CDKN2B were identified within the PPI network using the Molecular Complex Detection algorithm. Survival and content distribution analyses of 362 clinical samples from TCGA revealed that CDKN1A effectively predicted the prognosis of patients. The present study identified key genes and potential signaling pathways involved in CRC. These findings may provide new insights for survival assessment during the clinical diagnosis of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• General construction principles of a type of composite methods are proposed. • Several novel composite methods are constructed. • Accuracy is improved by increasing the number of sub-steps and time points used in BDF. • Similar composite methods can be developed via the same optimization rules. The paper provides the general construction principles of a type of composite time integration methods combining the trapezoidal rule (TR) and the backward differential formula (BDF) by discussing the effects of designable parameters on the properties of composite methods. The designable parameters include the number of sub-steps, the number of time difference points used in BDF and the methods used in sub-steps. Through respective changing these parameters, a series of novel composite time integration methods, such as T(2–5)BDF3 and OT3BDF4 and OTBDF3BDF methods etc., are constructed. It follows that increasing both the number of sub-steps and the number of time difference points can improve the low-frequency accuracy, and the composite methods with similar properties can be developed by using the same parameter optimization rules even though different methods are used in sub-steps. Linear and nonlinear numerical experiments are conducted to check the properties of the proposed methods through comparing with some of the existing composite time integration methods and validate the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel approximate finite-time convergent guidance law for missiles is presented to accurately intercept maneuvering targets when the actuators cannot perform as well as usual. First, the governing equations are proposed according to the relationship between missile and target at engagement phase, and a typical nonlinear mathematic model of actuator efficiency is built. Then, an adaptive multiple-input-multiple-output guidance law based on super-twisting algorithm is proposed to drive the line-of-sight angular rate to converge in a small region around zero in finite time. According to the proposed adaptive law, the information about maneuverability of target is not necessary, and the parameter drift problem is also addressed by dead-time control technique. Moreover, the proposed formulation is validated by means of the detailed stability analysis with strict Lyapunov function and simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercetin (QCT) has been shown to have anticancer activities associated with apoptosis and autophagy induction. However, whether autophagy is functionally responsible for the inhibitory effect of QCT on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive. This study aims to investigate if QCT inhibits HCC growth via autophagy induction. The in vitro experiments showed that QCT inhibited the growth of human HCC cells in dose- and time-dependent manners and had minimal cytotoxicity to normal hepatocytes. QCT increased both autophagosomes and autolysosomes in HCC cells, as determined by electron microscopy, GFP-RFP-LC3 fluorescence confocal microscopy and Western blot analysis of autophagy-related biomarkers. Functional assays using pathway-specific inhibitors, activators or siRNAs indicated that QCT stimulated autophagy in part via inhibiting the AKT/mTOR pathway and activating the MAPK pathways. Further functional experiments using autophagy inhibitors demonstrated that QCT induced apoptosis of HCC cells in part via stimulating autophagy. The in vivo studies showed that QCT significantly inhibited tumor growth associated with apoptosis induction and autophagy stimulation, and that inhibition of autophagy significantly alleviated the QCT effect on tumor growth inhibition and apoptosis induction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vivo report to demonstrate that QCT inhibits HCC tumor growth and induces apoptosis in part via stimulation of autophagy. Our results provide strong experimental evidence to support that autophagy stimulation may be an important mechanism by which QCT induces cancer cell apoptosis, and pave the way for further clinical investigations by applying QCT or QCT-rich foods for HCC intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Interactivity negatively impacts while vividness positively impacts engagement. • Emotional traits yield stronger engagement outcomes than functional traits. • The joint effects between emotional and functional traits vary by outcomes. Abstract Drawing from literature regarding public engagement, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), computer-mediated communication research, and emotion psychology, this study examines the effects of companies' social media communication strategies on public engagement behaviors as indexed by post likes, shares, and comments. Specifically, it investigates how corporate Facebook posts' functional traits (functional interactivity and vividness) and emotional traits (emotion presence, valence, and strength) impact public engagement online. Through data mining and computer-assisted sentiment analysis of 33,379 posts from 106 Standard & Poor 500 companies' Facebook accounts, this study finds a negative effect of functional interactivity but a positive effect of vividness on engagement. It also shows that emotional traits overall yield stronger public engagement outcomes. Two-way interactions between emotional and functional features are also detected. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Based on sliding mode control theory and back stepping design technique, this paper proposes a robust guidance law considering autopilot dynamics for maneuvering target interception in three-dimensional environment and terminal angle constraints. The proposed guidance law is summarized as an "observer–controller" system. More specifically, to estimate the knowledge of target maneuvers, an adaptive second-order sliding mode observer is presented whose design parameters can be adjusted autonomously according to the estimation error, and a nonsingular switchable sliding manifold based finite time convergent controller is proposed to drive the line-of-sight angle error and angular rate to a small region around zero, further, enable the missile accurately intercept the target in finite time. Finally, by formulating the autopilot lag as a first-order or second-order dynamics, the higher-order comprehensive model is built and complex guidance laws are presented. The simulation results demonstrated the proposed properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • NOR and SM2 inhibited CH 4 production rate but not overall production. • NOR or SM2 synergized with ZnO to acutely inhibit CH 4 production. • ZnO and NOR or SM2 had varied effects on sludge bacteria and archaea communities. • Key microbial responses to ZnO and NOR or SM2 varied with time. Abstract This work investigated the individual and combined effects of zinc oxide, norfloxacin, and sulfamethazine on sludge anaerobic digestion-associated methane production, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, and microbial diversity. Norfloxacin and sulfamethazine (500 mg/kg) did not inhibit methane production, but inhibited its production rate. Zinc oxide nanoparticles with antibiotics inhibited hydrolysis, fermentation, and methanogenesis over varying digestion periods. Complex pollution had a greater impact on methane production than zinc oxide alone, with acute, synergistic toxicity to methanogenesis over short periods. Complex pollution also had varying effects on bacterial and archaeal communities during digestion. These results aid understanding of the toxicity of emerging contaminants in sludge digestion, with the potential to improve pollution removal and reduce associated risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We sought to characterize the clinical features and management of patients diagnosed as Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) without cutaneous involvement.Methods: The electronic patient chats at six Triple A hospitals in China were searched to find all patient diagnoses with KHE without cutaneous involvement.Results: Of 30 patients (mean age at diagnosis, 55.6 months), 17 (56.7%) were male. Fourteen (46.7%) patients were associated with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). Patients with KMP were significantly more likely to have lesions involving truck compared to patients without KMP (odds ratio 10.000; 95% confidence interval 1.641-60.921; P = 0.011). Other common complication included severe anemia and decreased range of motion. In the majority of cases (93.3%), the lesions were highly infiltrative and locally invasive with ill-defined margins. Histological examination was required in all patients without KMP for precise diagnosis. In all, 16 (53.3%) patients received corticosteroid treatment, 19 (63.3%) received oral sirolimus treatment, 7 (23.3%) received intravenous vincristine, and 5 (16.7%) patients used propranolol. Patients had varied responses to conventional drugs, whereas all patients receiving sirolimus treatment had better response. In all, three patients (10%) died of disease, all presented with KMP. Feature of these recalcitrant cases (death) included young age, visceral location, extensive involvement, and lack of improvement with high-dose corticosteroids.Conclusions: Our study clearly demonstrated that KHE without cutaneous involvement could be associated with important complication, which might result in death or severe morbidity. Increased awareness of KHE without cutaneous involvement is required for early diagnosis and aggressive therapy in an attempt to prevent complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]