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Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare genetic disorder, resulting from impaired production, secretion, or action of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Variants of the KISS1R gene can result in CHH. Herein we describe a Chinese boy with CHH, caused by a novel, compound heterozygous variant in KISS1R. A male infant presented to the pediatric urological surgeon at three months of age for micropenis. Laboratory investigations done at this time revealed low levels of serum gonadotropins and testosterone, suggesting a lack of minipuberty. Topical application of dihydrotestosterone gel was recommended, but the parents refused treatment. The child was brought to our hospital at 3.3 years of age for the same complaint. A diagnosis of CHH was considered, and next generation sequencing revealed a compound heterozygous variant including a novel c.182C>A (p.S61*) and a c.418C>T (p.R140C) in KISS1R. We describe a novel compound heterozygous variant in the KISS1R in a boy with CHH, born to non-consanguineous Chinese parents. This report adds to the spectrum of variants in KISS1R seen in children with CHH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial propagation of the endangered Solenaia oleivora, with unknown fish hosts, was performed via in vitro culture with bighead carp, grass carp, common carp, bovine, and rabbit sera. The effects of glochidium density on transformation rates were evaluated, and the development of juveniles that metamorphosed successfully was documented. The control group had a transformation rate of 0 and a contamination rate of 0. No significant differences were found in the transformation and contamination rates of the bighead carp, grass carp, and common carp serum groups, and their transformation rates were significantly higher, and contamination rates were significantly lower than those of the bovine and rabbit serum groups. Moreover, no significant differences were observed in the transformation rates of glochidia (culture density, 2000–5000 glochidia/dish) in contamination-free conditions. Specimen shell length/height increased from 1.08 ± 0.01 on the first day to 3.08 ± 0.29 during the 13th week. On the basis of anterior and posterior growth differences, juvenile growth was divided into the following three phases: the rapid anterior growth period, distinct anterior and posterior idiophase, and rapid posterior growth period. This study not only provides technological support for the artificial propagation of S. oleivora but also lays a foundation for resource recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has revealed important insights into the heterogeneity of malignant cells. However, sample-specific genomic alterations often confound such analysis, resulting in patient-specific clusters that are difficult to interpret. Here, we present a novel approach to address the issue. By normalizing gene expression variances to identify universally variable genes (UVGs), we were able to reduce the formation of sample-specific clusters and identify underlying molecular hallmarks in malignant cells. In contrast to highly variable genes vulnerable to a specific sample bias, UVGs led to better detection of clusters corresponding to distinct malignant cell states. Our results demonstrate the utility of this approach for analyzing scRNA-seq data and suggest avenues for further exploration of malignant cell heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio bursts are ubiquitous in the cosmic plasma. Solar radio emission mainly comes from the outer atmosphere of the sun. It is an induced radiation phenomenon generated by the interaction between energetic electrons and solar atmospheric plasma. Different dynamic spectra of solar radio bursts (SRBs) contain physical information of the plasma structure and state in the radiation source region. Therefore, the radiative mechanism of radio bursts has always been the object of research. There are two kinds of coherent radiation mechanisms related to solar radio bursts: one is the plasma radiation mechanism based on electron Langmuir frequency; the other is the electron cyclotron maser (ECM) radiation mechanism based on the electron cyclotron frequency. Although these two radiation mechanisms were proposed almost at the same time, based on the understanding of the coronal environment and the ECM mechanism at that time, the ECM radiation mechanism did encounter some difficulties in explaining SRBs. Until 1979, Wu & Lee introduced the relativistic effect and used the ECM radiation to explain the earth's Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR). Since then, the ECM emission has attracted wide attention. Considering some difficulties in applying the ECM emission mechanism to SRBs, we proposed a series of modified models in recent years. Firstly, the cutoff in the energy spectrum of the power-law electrons can effectively drive the ECM instability without relying on the anisotropic distribution of electron velocity. Secondly, considering the influence of Alfvén wave perturbations which are prevalent in space and celestial plasmas, a self-consistent ECM emission mechanism excited by energetic electron beams is developed. On this basis, this paper summarizes the application of the ECM emission mechanism in traditional SRB phenomena from type I to V and microwave SRBs in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural variants (SVs) are genomic rearrangements that can take many different forms such as copy number alterations, inversions and translocations. During cell development and aging, somatic SVs accumulate in the genome with potentially neutral, deleterious or pathological effects. Generation of somatic SVs is a key mutational process in cancer development and progression. Despite their importance, the detection of somatic SVs is challenging, making them less studied than somatic single-nucleotide variants. In this review, we summarize recent advances in whole-genome sequencing (WGS)-based approaches for detecting somatic SVs at the tissue and single-cell levels and discuss their advantages and limitations. First, we describe the state-of-the-art computational algorithms for somatic SV calling using bulk WGS data and compare the performance of somatic SV detectors in the presence or absence of a matched-normal control. We then discuss the unique features of cutting-edge single-cell-based techniques for analyzing somatic SVs. The advantages and disadvantages of bulk and single-cell approaches are highlighted, along with a discussion of their sensitivity to copy-neutral SVs, usefulness for functional inferences and experimental and computational costs. Finally, computational approaches for linking somatic SVs to their functional readouts, such as those obtained from single-cell transcriptome and epigenome analyses, are illustrated, with a discussion of the promise of these approaches in health and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TFIIF-like Rpc53/Rpc37 heterodimer of RNA polymerase (pol) III is involved in various stages of transcription. The C-terminal region of Rpc53 dimerizes with Rpc37 to anchor on the lobe domain of the pol III cleft. However, structural and functional features of the Rpc53 N-terminal region had not been characterized previously. Here, we conducted site-directed alanine replacement mutagenesis on the Rpc53 Nterminus, generating yeast strains that exhibited a coldsensitive growth defect and severely compromised pol III transcriptional activity. Circular dichroism and NMR spectroscopy revealed a highly disordered 57-amino acid polypeptide in the Rpc53 N-terminus. This polypeptide is a versatile protein-binding module displaying nanomolar-level binding affinities for Rpc37 and the Tfc4 subunit of the transcription initiation factor TFIIIC. Accordingly, we denote this Rpc53 N-terminus polypeptide as the TFIIIC-binding region or CBR. Alanine replacements in the CBR significantly reduced its binding affinity for Tfc4, highlighting its functional importance to cell growth and transcription in vitro. Our study reveals the functional basis for Rpc53's CBR in assembly of the pol III transcription initiation complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cipangopaludina cathayensis (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia; Mesogastropoda; Viviparidae) is widely distributed in the freshwater habitats of China. It is an economically important snail with high edible and medicinal value. However, the genomic resources and the reference genome of this snail are lacking. In this study, we assembled the first chromosome-level genome of C. cathayensis. The preliminary assembly genome was 1.48 Gb in size, with a contig N50 size of 93.49 Mb. The assembled sequences were anchored to nine pseudochromosomes using Hi-C data. The final genome after Hi-C correction was 1.48 Gb, with a contig N50 of 98.49 Mb and scaffold N50 of 195.21 Mb. The anchored rate of the chromosome was 99.99%. A total of 22,702 protein-coding genes were predicted. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that C. cathayensis diverged with Bellamya purificata approximately 158.10 million years ago. There were 268 expanded and 505 contracted gene families in C. cathayensis when compared with its most recent common ancestor. Five putative genes under positive selection in C. cathayensis were identified (false discovery rate <0.05). These genome data provide a valuable resource for evolutionary studies of the family Viviparidae, and for the genetic improvement of C. cathayensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heliospheric radio emissions are the strongest radio emissions phenomenon in the solar system, with a radiation power of at least 10 13 W, which can provide important physical information of high energy electron beam and magnetic plasma structure near the heliospheric boundary. Since the first detection by the Voyager spacecraft in 1983, those radio emissions have widely and continuously attracted much attention from researchers. There are generally two types of the heliospheric radio emissions: instantaneous or drifting emission with relatively high frequency, and continuous emission or non-drifting emission with relatively low frequency. Usually, both types of emissions start from about 2 kHz. For the drifting emission, it has the characteristic of drifting toward high frequency, the drifting rate is about 1–3 kHz/yr, the frequency range is 1.8–3.6 kHz, and the duration is about 100–300 days. For the non-drifting emission, it has no obvious frequency drift, the frequency range is 1.8–2.6 kHz, and the duration is about 3 yr. It is generally believed that the heliospheric radio emissions are related to shock. In this paper, the possible source region of the radio emissions, the emission mechanisms, and the source of shock related to the emissions are introduced. Furthermore, the existing scientific problems and the future perspectives on the research of heliospheric radio emissions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As well known, more than 99% of the observable matter in the universe is plasma, and the plasma astrophysics studies various physical processes and phenomena occurring in cosmic plasmas, from small-scale collective interaction processes and energy transforming mechanisms in particle kinetics to the state of large-scale structure of cosmic objects and their eruptive phenomena. The present paper reviews the important role of the plasma astrophysics in the development of the modern astronomy as well as the formation of the modern plasma cosmology based on the history of the cosmic evolution, the formation of large-scale structures, and eruptive phenomena of cosmic objects. In addition, the unique function of satellite in situ exploring researches in space plasmas to act as the natural laboratory for the plasma astrophysics is further elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the heritability and genetic correlations of muscle proximate composition (including crude lipid, protein, moisture, and ash) in the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. The results showed that the heritability of proximate composition traits, was 0.12 ± 0.07 for moisture, 0.04 ± 0.04 for crude fat, 0.07 ± 0.05 for crude protein and 0.03 ± 0.04 for ash, respectively. A positive genetic correlation (0.88) was observed between crude lipid and protein, whereas a negative correlation existed between crude lipid and moisture (−0.74), indicating that crude lipid content could be improved by moisture selection indirectly. The muscle-moisture trait has the highest heritability, and is the easiest parameter to measure among the four proximate composition traits. Our results provide fundamental information for the development of improved genetic-programmes utilizing quality traits of E. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, ramie fiber was used as the biomass material to prepare carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Additionally, the films were prepared by casting method using the ramie-based CMC, and the glycol was added as a plasticizer to overcome the fragility of the films. The films were extensively characterized using FT-IR, XRD, and TG&DSC. Moreover, the physicochemical characteristics and tensile properties of the CMC films were also evaluated. It was demonstrated that the CMC films prepared from ramie fiber with good film performances and better tensile properties which are suitable for packaging applications. This study provides a new way for value-added ramie fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, due to the government's increased supervision on the real estate industry, the growth rate of the commercial real estate market has slowed down, and it is difficult to de inventory in some regions, and the structural contradiction has become increasingly prominent. With the rise and development of e-commerce, traditional integrated commercial entities are facing a severe development situation. Xiyingmen Building Materials and Home Furnishings Plaza was founded in 1997 and headquartered in Shanghai. It specializes in the development, operation and management of urban complex and building materials and furniture plaza projects. Because of its early start and perfect supporting facilities, it also achieved good financial performance in the early stage. However, with the continuous emergence of large commercial complexes, the pattern of new and old business districts has changed significantly, and the competition between commercial complexes has become increasingly fierce. The financial performance of Xiyingmen Building Materials and Home Furnishing Plaza has declined year by year. Therefore, it is urgent to carry out special research, propose feasible measures, summarize effective experience, which is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of the industry, bringing better benefits to the operation of the industry, and can provide theoretical reference for the formulation of marketing strategies for many similar commercial complexes. From the perspective of the demand and service of target merchants and consumers, this paper first analyzes the macro environment analysis, regional business development analysis, competitor comparison analysis, project positioning analysis, SWOT analysis and other aspects of Xiyingmen Building Materials and Home Furnishing Plaza, which provides a solid foundation and reference value for the project to formulate marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of topological mechanics has recently emerged due to the interest in robustly transporting various types of energy in a flaw and defect-insensitive fashion. While there have been a significant number of studies based on discovering and proposing topological materials and structures, very few have focused on tuning the resulting topological bandgaps, which is critical because the bandgap frequency is fixed once the structure has been fabricated. Here, we perform both lattice dynamical calculations and molecular dynamical simulations to investigate strain effects on the phononic topological bandgaps in two-dimensional monolayer hexagonal boron nitride. Our studies demonstrate that while the topologically protected phononic bandgaps are not closed even for severely deformed hexagonal boron nitride and are relatively insensitive to uniaxial tension and shear strains, the position of the frequency gap can be efficiently tuned in a wide range through the application of biaxial strains. Overall, this work thus demonstrates that topological phonons are robust against the effects of mechanical strain engineering and shed light on the tunability of the topological bandgaps in nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a tubular van der Waals heterostructure by rolling up graphene and MoS2 atomic layers into a tubular form. We show that the interlayer space of this heterostructure can be varied in a specific range. This specific range is related to the interlayer van der Waals force, the ultrahigh in-plane stiffness and small bending modulus of graphene, and the brittle characteristic properties of MoS2. This variability of the interlayer space can be utilized to efficiently tune the mechanical properties of the tubular van der Waals heterostructure. More specifically, we demonstrate that the Poisson's ratio of the tubular van der Waals heterostructure can be manipulated by a factor of two by varying the interlayer space in the range 1.44–4.44 Å. This work provides a basis for applications of a new member of the van der Waals heterostructure family with a tunable Poisson's ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Claudin18.2 is a tight junction protein, highly selective, generally expressed only in normal gastric mucosal epithelial cells, which can effectively maintain the polarity of epithelial and endothelial cells, thus effectively regulating the permeability and conductance of the paracellular pathway. Abnormal expression of Claudin18.2 can occur in various primary malignant tumors, especially gastrointestinal tumors, and even in metastatic foci. It regulates its expression by activating the aPKC/MAPK/AP-1 pathway, and therefore, the Claudin18.2 protein is a pan-cancer target expressed in primary and metastatic lesions in human cancer types. Zolbetuximab (IMAB362), an antibody specific for Claudin18.2, has been successfully tested in a phase III clinical trial, and the results of the study showed that combining Zolbetuximab with chemotherapy notably extends patients’ survival and is expected to be a potential first-line treatment for patients with Claudin18.2(+)/HER-2(−) gastric cancer. Here, we systematically describe the biological properties and oncogenic effects of Claudin18.2, centering on its clinical-pathological aspects and the progress of drug studies in gastric cancer, which can help to further explore its clinical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few-layer graphene has been widely regarded as an efficient filter for gas separation, but the effect of the layer number on the gas permeation process is still unclear. To explore the layer number effect, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the gas permeation through a nanopore within the few-layer graphene. Our numerical simulations show that the permeation constant decreases with increasing layer number, which is analyzed based on the macroscopic Kennard empirical model. The macroscopic model is in good agreement with the numerical result in the limit of large layer number, but there are obvious deviations for the medium layer number. We generalize the macroscopic model by considering the nanoscale effect from the surface morphology of the nanoscale pore, which can well describe the layer number dependence for the gas permeation constant in the full range. These results provide valuable information for the application of few-layer graphene in the gas permeation field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of secondary metabolites is a major mechanism used by beneficial rhizobacteria to antagonize plant pathogens. These bacteria have evolved to coordinate the production of different secondary metabolites due to the heavy metabolic burden imposed by secondary metabolism. However, for most secondary metabolites produced by bacteria, it is not known how their biosynthesis is coordinated. Here, we showed that PhlH from the rhizobacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens is a TetR-family regulator coordinating the expression of enzymes related to the biosynthesis of several secondary metabolites, including 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG), mupirocin, and pyoverdine. We present structures of PhlH in both its apo form and 2,4-DAPG-bound form and elucidate its ligand-recognizing and allosteric switching mechanisms. Moreover, we found that dissociation of 2,4-DAPG from the ligand-binding domain of PhlH was sufficient to allosterically trigger a pendulum-like movement of the DNA-binding domains within the PhlH dimer, leading to a closed-to-open conformational transition. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that two distinct conformational states were stabilized by specific hydrogen bonding interactions and that disruption of these hydrogen bonds had profound effects on the conformational transition. Our findings not only reveal a well-conserved route of allosteric signal transduction in TetR-family regulators but also provide novel mechanistic insights into bacterial metabolic coregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semiconductor chip usually has thousands test parameters in order to guaranteed its quality. Hence, a batch of chips' test data set include thousands of float data. The primary goal of dealing with this test data is to obtain the fault parameter distribution and judge the chip's quality. It is a challenge due to the large scale and complex relationship of the test data set. This paper presents a novel method to analyze the test data set by meshing the quality theory and scientific data visualization. First, transfer the test data set to a quality classifier matrix Q: a series of quality region is defined based on quality theory, which is the baseline to classify the test data set into different group and mark them with various number. Second, form a quality-spectrum: define a color rule based on the RGB color model and color the quality classifier matrix Q. Hence chip's quality distribution could be observed through the quality-spectrum. Furthermore, by analyzing the quality-spectrum, the chip's quality could be quantitative and fault diagnose has a data basic. One case is included to illustrate appropriateness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key parameter for the performance of ceramic topcoats in a thermal barrier coating is the porosity, which is sensitive to many growing conditions. In the present work, molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the microscopic mechanism for the dependence of the porosity on several experimental conditions in the atmospheric plasma spraying deposition process, including temperature, substrate roughness, and the thickness-to-radius ratio of the yttrium-stabilized zirconia shell. These factors can significantly modify the porosity through changing the buckling mode of the yttrium-stabilized zirconia shell. Our findings provide some microscopic mechanisms for improving the deposition quality of the atmospheric plasma spraying thermal barrier coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical computers have revolutionized society over the past several decades, but questions have remained about their ability to perform in extreme environments, such as their stability at high-temperature conditions. This has motivated the recent surge of interest in developing mechanical computing platforms at all length scales, including the nanoscale, in which traditional electrical computers are augmented with mechanical ones. However, the most proposed nanomechanical bits are volatile memory bits based on the dynamic response of nanomechanical resonators, and as such, there is a need to develop robust and reprogrammable entirely non-volatile nanomechanical bits. Here, we exploit the multiple quasi-stable configurations of the graphene/fullerene/graphene (GFG) van der Waals heterostructure to work as a novel nonvolatile nanomechanical bit. The GFG heterostructure is unique and robust in that it can return to its initial state without further mechanical input, it can be used for logic functions at relevant operating temperatures through simple application of uniaxial strain, it can exhibit reprogrammability between five basic logic gates (NOT, AND, NAND, OR, NOR) by varying the magnitude or direction of applied strain, and it can be used to represent combinatorial logic through full and half adders. These findings provide a new opportunity to develop mechanical computers based on the large class of nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The relationship between the oral microbiota and type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the variations in the oral microbiome in T1D and identify potentially associated bacterial factors. Methods: We performed high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 area of the 16S rRNA gene to profile the oral bacterial composition of 47 healthy children (CON group), 46 children with new-onset T1D in the acute phase (NT1D group), and 10 children with T1D in the chronic phase receiving insulin treatment (CT1D group). Multivariate statistical analysis of sequencing data was performed. Results: Compared to the CON group, the NT1D group was characterized by decreased diversity and increased abundance of genera harboring opportunistic pathogens, while this trend was partially reversed in the CT1D group. Differential genera between groups could distinguish the NT1D group from the CON group (AUC = 0.933) and CT1D group (AUC = 0.846), respectively. Moreover, T1D-enriched genera were closely correlated with HbA1c, FBG and WBCs levels. Conclusion: Our results showed that the acute phase of T1D was characterized by oral microbiota dysbiosis, which could be partially ameliorated via glycemic control. The possible role of oral microbiota dysbiosis on oral health and systemic metabolic status in T1D warrants further mechanistic investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Van der Waals heterostructures inherit many novel electronic and optical properties from their constituent atomic layers. Mechanical stability is key for realizing high-performance nanodevices based on van der Waals heterostructures. However, buckling instability is a critical mechanical issue for heterostructures associated with its two-dimensional nature. Using molecular dynamics simulations of graphene/MoS2 heterostructures, we demonstrate the relationship between buckling instability and the misfit strain that arises inevitably in such heterostructures. The impact of misfit strain on buckling depends on its magnitude: (1) A negative misfit strain causes a pre-compression of the graphene layer, which in turn initiates and accelerates buckling in this layer and reduces the buckling stability in the heterostructure as a whole. (2) A small positive misfit strain enhances the buckling stability of the graphene/MoS2 heterostructure by pre-stretching and hence decelerating the buckling of the graphene layer (where heterostructure buckling is initiated). (3) In the case of a large positive misfit strain, the graphene layer is pre-stretched while the MoS2 layer is significantly pre-compressed, so that heterostructure buckling is initiated by the MoS2 layer. Consequently, the buckling stability of the graphene/MoS2 heterostructure is reduced by increasing the large positive misfit strain. These findings are valuable for understanding the mechanical properties of van der Waals heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firefly adult bioluminescence functions as signal communication between sexes. How sympatric sibling species with similar glow pattern recognize their conspecific mates remains largely unknown. To better understand the role of the luciferases of sympatric fireflies in recognizing mates, we cloned the luciferase genes of three sympatric forest dwelling fireflies (Diaphanes nubilus, Diaphanes pectinealis, and Diaphanes sp2) and evaluated their enzyme characteristics. Our data show that the amino acid (AA) sequences of all three luciferases are highly conserved, including the identities (D. nubilus vs D. pectinealis: 99%; D. nubilus vs Diaphanes sp2: 98.5%; D. pectinealis vs Diaphanes sp2: 99.4%) and the protein structures. Three recombinant luciferases produced in vitro all possess significant luminescence activity at pH 7.8, and similar maximum emission spectrum (D. nubilus: 562 nm; D. pectinealis and Diaphanes sp2: 564 nm). They show the highest activity at 10 °C (D. pectinealis, Diaphanes sp2) and 15 °C (D. nubilus), and completely inactivation at 45 °C. Their KM for d-luciferin and ATP were 2.7 μM and 92 μM (D. nubilus), 3.7 μM and 49 μM (D. pectinealis), 3.5 μM and 46 μM (Diaphanes sp2). Phylogenetic analyses support that D. nubilus is sister to D. pectinealis with Diaphanes sp2 at their base, which further cluster with Pyrocoelia. All combined data indicate that sympatric Diaphanes species have similar luciferase characteristics, suggesting that other strategies (e.g., pheromone, active time, etc.) may be adopted to recognize mates. Our data provide new insights into Diaphanes luciferases and their evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the strain engineering and the edge effect for mechanical properties in graphene nanoribbons. The free edges of the graphene nanoribbons are warped due to compressive edge stresses. There is a structural transformation for the free edges from the three-dimensional warping configuration to the two-dimensional planar structure at the critical strain ϵc = 0.7%, at which the applied mechanical stress is equal to the intrinsic compressive edge stress. This structural transformation leads to step-like changes in several mechanical properties studied in the present work, including the Young's modulus, the Poisson's ratio, the quality factor of nanomechanical resonators, and the phonon edge mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The toxicity of excessive glutamate release has been implicated in various acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions. Vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) are the major mediators for the uptake of glutamate into synaptic vesicles. However, the dynamics and mechanism of this process in glutamatergic neurons are still largely unknown.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the candidate protein partners of VGLUT1 and their regulatory roles in the vesicles in rat brain.Methods: Pull down assay, co-immunoprecipitation assay, or split-ubiquitin membrane yeast two hybrid screening coupled with nanoRPLC-MS/MS were used to identify the candidate protein partners of VGLUT1 in the vesicles in rat brain. The in vitro and in vivo models were used to test effects of AβPP, Atp6ap2, Gja1, and Synataxin on VGLUT1 expression.Results: A total of 255 and 225 proteins and 172 known genes were identified in the pull down assay, co-immunoprecipitation assay, or split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid screening respectively. The physiological interactions of SV2A, Syntaxin 12, Gja1, AβPP, and Atp6ap2 to VGLUT1 were further confirmed. Knockdown of Atp6ap2, Gja1, and Synataxin increased VGLUT1 mRNA expression and only knockdown of AβPP increased both mRNA and protein levels of VGLUT1 in PC12 cells. The regulatory function of AβPP on VGLUT1 expression was further confirmed in the in vitro and in vivo models.Conclusion: These results elucidate that the AβPP and VGLUT1 interacts at vesicular level and AβPP plays a role in the regulation of VGLUT1 expression which is essential for maintaining vesicular activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel filter for hybrid attitude and orbit estimation of spacecraft using geomagnetic measurements and their time-differential information. Geomagnetic measurements can be used to simultaneously estimate attitude and orbit of spacecrafts. In practice, the attitude estimation from a single magnetometer is achieved by fusing the magnetometer readings and their time derivatives together. The orbit can also be estimated using the relationship between the geomagnetic model and spacecraft coordinates in the Earth geodetic frame. However, the magnetic time derivatives have not been utilized in estimating the orbit elements. According to the mathematical structures of the geomagnetic models, the time-differential feedback can effectively enhance estimation of the velocity and can therefore provide better performance for the position loop. This paper first introduces direct feedback and formulates a new filter with better characteristics. The simulation study of a medium Earth orbit (MEO) Nadir-pointing satellite mission shows that the proposed filter achieves faster convergence and lower estimation errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lennard-Jones potential is widely used to describe the interlayer interactions within layered materials like graphene. However, it is also widely known that this potential strongly underestimates the frictional properties for layered materials. Here, we propose to supplement the Lennard-Jones potential by a Gaussian-type potential, which enables more accurate calculations of the frictional properties of two-dimensional layered materials. Furthermore, the Gaussian potential is computationally simple as it introduces only one additional potential parameter that is determined by the interlayer shear mode in the layered structure. The resulting Lennard-Jones-Gaussian potential is applied to compute the interlayer cohesive energy and frictional energy for graphene, MoS2, black phosphorus, and their heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform molecular dynamics simulations to study the registry effect on the thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene. The interlayer interaction is described by either the Lennard-Jones potential or the registry-dependent potential. Our calculations show that the thermal conductivity in few-layer graphene from both potentials are close to each other, i.e., the registry effect is essentially not important. It is because the thermal transport in few-layer graphene is mainly limited by the interlayer breathing mode, which is insensitive to the registry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional lateral heterostructures exhibit novel electronic and optical properties that are induced by their in-plane interface for which the mechanical properties of the interface are important for the stability of the lateral heterostructure. Therefore, we performed molecular dynamics simulations and developed a convolutional neural network-based machine learning model to study the fracture properties of the interface in a graphene/hexagonal boron nitride lateral heterostructure. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that the shape of the interface can cause an 80% difference in the fracture stress and the fracture strain for the interface. By using 11 500 training samples obtained with help of high-cost MD simulation, the machine learning model is able to search out the strongest interfaces with the largest fracture strain and fracture stress in a large sample space with over 150 000 structures. By analyzing the atomic configuration of these strongest interfaces, we disclose two major factors dominating the interface strength, including the interface roughness and the strength of the chemical bond across the interface. We also explore the correlation between the fracture properties and the thermal conductivity for these lateral heterostructures by examining the bond type and the shape of the graphene/hexagonal boron nitride interface. We find that interfaces comprised of stronger bonds and smoother zigzag interfaces can relieve the abrupt change of the acoustic velocity, leading to the enhancement of the interface thermal conductivity. These findings will be valuable for the application of the two-dimensional lateral heterostructure in electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is reported that teachers' satisfaction levels are lower and stress levels are higher than other professional groups in many countries. This is especially true for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers. Considering job satisfaction has a direct impact on turnover intention, low satisfaction levels have led to high turnover rates and thus exacerbated the shortages of STEM teachers. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore the antecedents of novice STEM teachers' job satisfaction. This study proposes a new model to show how novice STEM teachers' personality traits and perceived social support influence their job satisfaction. A total of 2592 novice STEM teachers in eighteen randomly selected high schools in China were recruited. Data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach. The results illustrated that most novice STEM teachers had low levels of job satisfaction. Novice STEM teachers' personality traits could directly and indirectly impact their job satisfaction. Meanwhile, novice STEM teachers' job satisfaction was also directly influenced by work engagement and indirectly influenced by their perceived social support. Our findings theoretically contribute to the understanding of the determinants of STEM teachers' job satisfaction and have important practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a Whipple structure to enhance the impact resistance of graphene/aluminum alloy composites by varying the interlayer spacing between graphene and aluminum alloy. The increased interlayer spacing provides more deformation space for the graphene to absorb more deformation energy, and enables the formation of a debris cloud from the bullet fragments and graphene fragments, significantly reducing the impact energy per unit area of the next material. The impact limit serves as a critical metric for assessing the impact resistance of the Whipple structure. Based on molecular dynamics simulations, we developed a machine learning model to predict the protection of aluminum alloy, and quickly determined the impact limits of velocity, bullet radius, and interlayer spacing by using the machine learning model. An empirical equation for the impact limit of interlayer spacing was established. The results showed that non-zero interlayer spacing can significantly improve the impact resistance of the hybrid structure; to fully exploit the superior impact resistance of this Whipple structure, the number of graphene layers should be at least 3. Furthermore, at high impact velocities and large bullet radii, the impact limit of the interlayer spacing exhibits a substantial correlation with the number of graphene layers. These results provide valuable information for the design of the impact resistance of the graphene/aluminum alloy composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cooling control of the melt during the casting process is of great significance. A comprehensive closed-loop cooling control of castings by adopting a skeletal sand mold design was proposed. The skeletal sand mold consisting of an adaptive shell, functional cavities and a support was designed and created based on the finite difference meshes of a casting. It was applied to a round wall test casting. Two kinds of skeletal sand molds, one with lattice support and the other with enforcing ribs for this casting were designed and printed out by the 3D printing (3DP) method. Aluminum alloy A356 was cast by using these two sand molds. The first mold was cooled by natural convection, the other one by water spray cooling. Two sound castings were obtained. The sand mold temperature, cooling curves, microstructures, mechanical properties, residual stress and deformation were measured, compared and discussed. Water spray cooling hastened the cooling rate by 62%, increased the content of Mg and Cu in the a-Al matrix, improved the mechanical properties, and altered the surface residual stress state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioluminescence has been hypothesized as aposematic signalling, intersexual communication and a predatory strategy, but origins and relationships among bioluminescent beetles have been contentious. We reconstruct the phylogeny of the bioluminescent elateroid beetles (i.e. Elateridae, Lampyridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae), analysing genomic data of Sinopyrophorus Bi & Li, and in light of our phylogenetic results, we erect Sinopyrophoridae Bi & Li, stat.n. as a clicking elaterid‐like sister group of the soft‐bodied bioluminescent elateroid beetles, that is, Lampyridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae. We suggest a single origin of bioluminescence for these four families, designated as the 'lampyroid clade', and examine the origins of bioluminescence in the terminal lineages of click beetles (Elateridae). The soft‐bodied bioluminescent lineages originated from the fully sclerotized elateroids as a derived clade with clicking Sinopyrophorus and Elateridae as their serial sister groups. This relationship indicates that the bioluminescent soft‐bodied elateroids are modified click beetles. We assume that bioluminescence was not present in the most recent common ancestor of Elateridae and the lampyroid clade and it evolved among this group with some delay, at the latest in the mid‐Cretaceous period, presumably in eastern Laurasia. The delimitation and internal structure of the elaterid‐lampyroid clade provides a phylogenetic framework for further studies on the genomic variation underlying the evolution of bioluminescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TMC genes encode a set of homologous transmembrane proteins whose functions are not well understood. Biallelic mutations in either TMC6 or TMC8 are detected in more than half of cases of the pre-malignant skin disease epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV). It is controversial whether EV induced by mutations in TMC6 or TMC8 originates from keratinocyte or lymphocyte defects. Quantification of TMC6 and TMC8 RNA levels in various organs revealed that lymphoid tissues have the highest levels of expression of both genes, and custom antibodies confirmed protein expression in mouse lymphocytes. To study the function of these proteins we generated mice with targeted deletion mutant alleles of Tmc6 or Tmc8. Either TMC6 or TMC8 deficiency induced a reduction in apparent molecular weight and/or amount of the other TMC molecule. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that TMC6 and TMC8 formed a protein complex in mouse and human T cells. MS and biochemical analysis demonstrated that TMC6 and TMC8 additionally interacted with the CIB1 protein to form TMC6-TMC8-CIB1 trimers. We demonstrated that TMC6 and TMC8 regulated CIB1 levels by protecting CIB1 from ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Reciprocally, CIB1 was needed for stabilizing TMC6 and TMC8 levels. These results suggest why inactivating mutations in any of the three human genes leads to similar clinical presentations. We also demonstrated that TMC6 and TMC8 levels are drastically lower and the proteins are less active in regulating CIB1 in keratinocytes than in T cells. Our study suggests that defects in lymphocytes may contribute to the etiology and pathogenesis of EV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a parameterization of the Stillinger-Weber potential to describe the interatomic interactions within single-layer MoS2 (SLMoS2). The potential parameters are fitted to an experimentally obtained phonon spectrum, and the resulting empirical potential provides a good description for the energy gap and the crossover in the phonon spectrum. Using this potential, we perform classical molecular dynamics simulations to study chirality, size, and strain effects on the Young's modulus and the thermal conductivity of SLMoS2. We demonstrate the importance of the free edges on the mechanical and thermal properties of SLMoS2 nanoribbons. Specifically, while edge effects are found to reduce the Young's modulus of SLMoS2 nanoribbons, the free edges also reduce the thermal stability of SLMoS2 nanoribbons, which may induce melting well below the bulk melt temperature. Finally, uniaxial strain is found to efficiently manipulate the thermal conductivity of infinite, periodic SLMoS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of surface water by pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has attracted widespread attention, but data regarding their impacts on groundwater (GW) are sparse. In river-GW interaction areas, rivers are likely an important source of PPCPs in aquifers, especially rivers impacted by sewage treatment plant effluent. Understanding the characterization, transport, and risk is valuable for the effective protection of vital aquatic ecosystem services, environmental health, and drinking water supplies. To attain this objective, statistics with spatial analysis and ecological risk were used to assess the effects of artificial recharge (AR) engineering on 16 PPCPs in aquifers in North China. The results indicated that 15 PPCPs were detected in unconfined and confined aquifers, with a few PPCPs being detected up to 1,000 ng/L. The most frequently detected PPCPs were sulfisoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and ibuprofen. In addition, the spatial and seasonal variations in most PPCPs were significant. Furthermore, the maximum concentrations were compared to the predicted no-effect concentrations to evaluate the ecological risk, and four PPCPs were found to be of medium or high ecological risk. This study highlights that AR engineering has a significant ecological effect on GW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interlayer energy of the twisting bilayer graphene is investigated by the molecular mechanics method using both the registry-dependent potential and the Lennard-Jones potential. Both potentials show that the interlayer energy is independent of the twisting angle θ, except in the two boundary regions θ≈0° or 60°, where the interlayer energy is proportional to the square of the twisting arc length. The calculation results are successfully interpreted by a single atom model. An important information from our findings is that, from the energy point of view, there is no preference for the twisting angle in the experimental bilayer graphene samples, which actually explains the diverse twisting angles in the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply united-atom (UA) nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to predict the thermal conductivity for amorphous polyethylene at room temperature with chain length (CL) increasing from 4 to 1260. The thermal conductivity is determined by the competition of the two mechanisms: (1) The collision among the UA beads and (2) the phonon vibration. The collision mechanism mainly dominates CL≤7, while the phonon vibration mechanism mainly determines CL ≥ 140. The competition between the two mechanisms determines 12 ≤ CL ≤ 140. In particular, the thermal conductivity for 8 ≤ CL ≤ 11 cannot be obtained accurately due to the aggregation of the beads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous loading assumption is adopted in most present studies on the buckling of thin shells subjected to lateral loads, while the relationship between the finite number of loads and the lateral buckling remains unclear. In this work, we derive an analytic formula for the dependence of the critical buckling stress on the number of loads, which shows that the critical stress increases significantly with the increase of the load number and reaches a saturation value in the limit of large load number. Furthermore, the analytic formula reveals the dependence of the critical stress on the deviation of the radius in an imperfect shell. To verify the validity of the analytic formula, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the buckling of both perfect and imperfect single-walled carbon nanotubes under a finite number of lateral loads, where the analytic formula agrees with the simulation results. These results shall be valuable for understanding mechanical stability of elastic thin shells or nanoscale tubal structures subjected to discrete lateral loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver cancer is a lethal disease that is associated with poor prognosis. In order to identify the functionally important genes associated with liver cancer that may reveal novel therapeutic avenues, we performed integrated analysis to profile miRNA and mRNA expression levels for liver tumors compared to normal samples in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We identified 405 differentially expressed genes and 233 differentially expressed miRNAs in tumor samples compared with controls. In addition, we also performed the pathway analysis and found that mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) pathway were two of the top significant pathway nodes dysregulated in liver cancer. Furthermore, by examining these signaling networks, we discovered that FOS (Fos proto-oncogene, AP-1 transcription factor subunit), LAMC2 (laminin subunit gamma 2), and CALML3 (calmodulin like 3) were the most significant gene nodes with high degrees involved in liver cancer. The expression and disease prediction accuracy of FOS, LAMC2, CALML3, and their interacting miRNAs were further performed using a HCC cohort. Finally, we investigated the prognostic significance of FOS in another HCC cohort. Patients with higher FOS expression displayed significantly shorter time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival (OS) compared with patients with lower expression. Collectively, our study demonstrates that FOS is a potential prognostic marker for liver cancer that may reveal a novel therapeutic avenue in this lethal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal conductivity of two-dimensional materials like graphene can efficiently be tuned by introducing holes, in which the density and distribution of the holes are the key parameters. Furthermore, the distribution of holes can induce a variation as high as 74% in the thermal conductivity for porous graphene with a given density of holes. Therefore, an existing challenge is to find the optimal distribution of holes that can minimize or maximize the thermal conductivity of porous graphene as the design space expands dramatically with increasing hole density. We therefore apply an inverse design methodology based on machine learning to reveal the relationship between hole distribution and thermal conductivity reduction in monolayer graphene. The methodology reveals that holes that are randomly distributed transverse to the direction of heat flow, but that exhibit some periodicity along the direction of heat flow, represent the optimal distribution to minimizing the thermal conductivity for porous graphene. Lattice dynamics calculations and wave packet simulations reveal that this spatial distribution effectively causes localization of the phonon modes in porous graphene, which reduces the thermal conductivity. Overall, this work demonstrates the power of machine learning-based design approaches to efficiently obtain new physical insights for scientific problems of interest. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-diameter rock-socketed piles are typically used to support a bridge with a long span or high piers. To study their mechanical properties in mountainous areas, field loading tests based on a distributed fiber sensing technique were conducted. The test results indicate that the shaft resistance comes into play earlier than the tip resistance and that an upper load occurs mainly through the shaft resistance. When the load-sharing ratio of the tip resistance exceeds 10%, an enhancement in the shaft resistance occurs, which becomes more obvious with an increase in the ratio. The shaft resistance and the tip resistance are not independent, but interact with each other. An increase in tip resistance can promote the effective role of the shaft resistance. According to the field test results, the design method for rock-socketed piles was improved based on the shaft resistance enhancement. The calculation results indicate that the rock-socketed length of a pile can be effectively shortened using this method, thereby obtaining considerable economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effects of shear inhomogeneities on the structure and stability characteristics of turbulent piloted premixed flames. The shear is introduced by splitting the fuel-air mixture in two stream and feeding each stream at different velocities through two annular concentric tubes residing within the pilot annulus. The shear is varied by varying the proportion of fluid injected through the streams and also by changing the recess distance of the inner tube with respect to the jet exit plane. It is noted that with increasing rates of shear, the Bunsen-like flames become shorter with the flame tip opening downstream of the pilot stream. Measurements of flow fields reveal useful information about the level and location of the shear layers. Joint imaging of Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) of OH and CH show that, with increasing rates of shear, the degree of flame front fragmentation increases implying the occurrence of local extinction even in regions extremely close to the pilot. The flame surface area, marked by LIF-CH is taken as an indicator of consumption rates of reactants. For all flames examined here, the peak flame surface area increases with increasing shear and subsequently decreases as the flame shortens and approaches blow-off. The peak flame surface density decreases with increasing shear. Regime diagrams show that the flames investigated here bridge the regions of broadened preheat thin reactions as well as the distributed reaction zone. While the thickness of the CH layer remain somewhat uniform, the number of flame fragments, as indicated by breaks in the CH profiles, increases with increasing shear before stabilizing at some peak value. The observed mechanism of local extinction in highly sheared Bunsen-like, turbulent piloted premixed flames complements existing results for bluff-body stabilised flames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important equipment for shipping manufacturing, isothermal forging hydraulic press plays a significant role in heavy forging production in the field of military defense and aerospace. In the process of design and utilize the isothermal forging hydraulic press, the reliability of the equipment should be guaranteed for a stable operation. On the other hand, the efficiency of design and experiment should be improved to cut the cost. Taking THP11D-20000 made by Tianjin Tian Duan Press Co., LTD as an example, this paper conducts a reliability analysis of its structure on the basis of workbench, which demonstrates that the major components of this equipment have met the reliability requirements. Difference between the result of finite element analysis and that of experiments is less than 5%, which provides effective methods and reliable basis for adopting the method of finite element analysis to explore the reliability of heavy equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper limit of the thermal conductivity and the mechanical strength are predicted for the polyethylene chain, by performing the ab initio calculation and applying the quantum mechanical non-equilibrium Green's function approach. Specially, there are two main findings from our calculation: (1) the thermal conductivity can reach a high value of 310 Wm-1 K-1 in a 100 nm polyethylene chain at room temperature and the thermal conductivity increases with the length of the chain; (2) the Young's modulus in the polyethylene chain is as high as 374.5 GPa, and the polyethylene chain can sustain 32.85%±0.05% (ultimate) strain before undergoing structural phase transition into gaseous ethylene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate edge effects on the quality factor of graphene nanoresonators with different edge configurations and of various sizes. If the periodic boundary condition is applied, very high quality factors (3 × 105) are obtained for all kinds of graphene nanoresonators. However, if the free boundary condition is applied, quality factors will be greatly reduced by two effects resulting from free edges: the imaginary edge vibration effect and the artificial effect. Imaginary edge vibrations will flip between a pair of doubly degenerate warping states during the mechanical oscillation of nanoresonators. The flipping process breaks the coherence of the mechanical oscillation of the nanoresonator, which is the dominant mechanism for extremely low quality factors. There is an artificial effect if the mechanical oscillation of the graphene nanoresonator is actuated according to an artificial vibration (non-natural vibration of the system), which slightly reduces the quality factor. The artificial effect can be eliminated by actuating the mechanical oscillation according to a natural vibration of the nanoresonator. Our simulations provide an explanation for the recent experiment, where the measured quality factor is low and varies between identical samples with free edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron-phonon interaction (EPI) effect in single-walled carbon nanotube is investigated by the nonequilibrium Green's function approach within the Born approximation. Special attention is paid to the EPI induced Joule heating phenomenon and the thermoelectric properties in both metallic armchair (10, 10) tube and semiconductor zigzag (10, 0) tube. For Joule heat in the metallic (10, 10) tube, the theoretical results for the breakdown bias voltage is quite comparable with the experimental value. It is found that the Joule heat can be greatly enhanced by increasing the chemical potential, while the role of the temperature is not so important for Joule heat. In the zigzag (10, 0) tube, the Joule heat is smaller than the armchair tube, resulting from nonzero bandgap in the electron band structure. For the electronic conductance Ge and electron thermal conductance σel, the EPI has important effect at higher temperature or higher chemical potential. Compared with ballistic transport, there is an opposite tendency for Ge to decrease with increasing temperature after EPI is considered. This is due to the dominant effect of the electron phonon scattering mechanism in the electron transport in this situation. There is an interesting 'electron-drag' phenomenon for the phonon thermal conductance in case of low temperature and high chemical potential, where phonons are dragged by electrons from low temperature region into high temperature region through EPI effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phonon and electron transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are investigated using the nonequilibrium Green's function approach. In zigzag SWCNT (n,0) with mod(n,3)≠0, the thermal conductance is mainly attributed to the phonon transport, while the electron only has few percentage contribution. The maximum value of the figure of merit (ZT) is about 0.2 in this type of SWCNT. The ZT is considerably larger in narrower SWCNT because of enhanced Seebeck coefficient. ZT is smaller in the armchair SWCNT, where Seebeck coefficient is small due to zero band gap. It is found that the cluster isotopic doping can reduce the phonon thermal conductance obviously and enhance the value of ZT. The uniaxial elongation and compress strain depresses phonons in whole frequency region, leading to the reduction in the phonon thermal conductance in whole temperature range. Interestingly, the elongation strain can affect the phonon transport more seriously than the compress strain, because the high frequency G mode is completely filtered out under elongation strain ε>0.05. The strain also has important effect on the subband edges of the electron band structure by smoothing the steps in the electron transmission function. The ZT is decreased by strain as the reduction in the electronic conductance overcomes the reduction in the thermal conductance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A universal exponential factor, γc=π/2, is disclosed for the dimensional crossover of few-layer graphene (FLG) from two-dimensional graphene to three-dimensional graphite. γc is found by analyzing available experimental data on different properties of FLG with varying thickness. A theoretical study on the phonon spectrum of the vertical acoustic mode in FLG is carried out to further check this exponential factor γc. Interestingly, the same exponential factor appears in the dimensional crossover of the phonon mode. It turns out that the exponential factor γc is related to the homogeneous Helmholtz-like molal equation in the mass transfer with a first order chemical reaction. The finding should provide valuable information for experimentalists and theorists in the future investigation on thickness dependent properties of FLG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topological effect on thermal conductivity is investigated through the comparison among graphene nanoribbons, carbon nanorings, and the Möbius-like graphene strips (MGS) by molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the thermal conductivity of MGS is less than one half of that of graphene nanoribbons. The underlying mechanism whereby MGS acquire such low thermal conductivity may be attributable to the enhanced phonon-phonon scattering and localization property, which are induced by the nontrivial topology of Möbius strip. Moreover, by counting in the dimensions of MGS, a lower length/width ratio reduces its thermal conductivity, as the phonon-phonon scattering and localization within might be further elevated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]