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Abstract Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is a rare X-linked dominant neuroectodermal dysplasia that primarily affects females. The only known causative gene is IKBKG, and the most common genetic cause is the recurrent IKBKG △4–10 deletion resulting from recombination between two MER67B repeats. Detection of variants in IKBKG is challenging due to the presence of a highly homologous non-pathogenic pseudogene IKBKGP1. In this study, we successfully identified four pathogenic variants in four IP patients using a strategy based on single-tube long fragment read (stLFR) sequencing with a specialized analysis pipeline. Three frameshift variants (c.519-3_519dupCAGG, c.1167dupC, and c.700dupT) were identified and subsequently validated by Sanger sequencing. Notably, c.519-3_519dupCAGG was found in both IKBKG and IKBKGP1, whereas the other two variants were only detected in the functional gene. The IKBKG △4–10 deletion was identified and confirmed in one patient. These results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can identify potential pathogenic variants and distinguish whether they are derived from IKBKG or its pseudogene. Thus, this strategy can be an efficient genetic testing method for IKBKG. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the whole genome, it may also enable the exploration of other genes potentially associated with IP. Furthermore, the strategy may also provide insights into other diseases with detection challenges due to pseudogenes.

Environmental sediments mainly consisting of CaO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2 (CMAS) corrosion are a serious threat to thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), in which Fe element is usually ignored. Gd2Zr2O7 TBCs are famous for their excellent CMAS resistance. In this study, the characteristics of Fe-containing environmental sediments (CMAS-Fe) and their corrosiveness to Gd2Zr2O7 coatings were investigated. Four types of CMAS-Fe glass with different Fe contents were fabricated. Their melting points were measured to be 1322–1344 ℃, and the high-temperature viscosity showed a decreasing trend with increasing Fe contents. The corrosion behavior of four types of CMAS-Fe to Gd2Zr2O7 coatings at 1350 ℃ was investigated. At the initial corrosion stage (0.1 h), anorthite was precipitated in CMAS-Fe with a high Ca : Si ratio, while Fe-garnet was formed in the melt with the highest Fe content. Prolonging the corrosion time resulted in the formation of a reaction layer, which exhibited an interpenetrating network composed of Gd-oxyapatite, ZrO2, and residual CMAS-Fe. Some spinel was precipitated within the reaction layer. After 1 h or even longer time, the reaction layers tended to be stable and compact, which had comparable hardness and fracture toughness to those of Gd2Zr2O7 coatings. Under the cyclic CMAS-Fe attack, the residual CMAS-Fe in the interpenetrating network provided a pathway for the redeposited CMAS-Fe infiltration, resulting in the continuous growth of the reaction layer. As a result, the Gd2Zr2O7 coatings had a large consumption in the thickness, degrading the coating performance. Therefore, the Gd2Zr2O7 coatings exhibit unsatisfactory corrosion resistance to CMAS-Fe attack.

Abstract The general structure of infrared divergences in the scattering of massive particles is captured by the soft anomalous dimension matrix. The latter can be computed from a correlation function of multiple Wilson lines. The state-of-the-art two-loop result has a tantalizingly simple structure that is not manifest in the calculations. We argue that the complexity in intermediate steps of the known calculations comes from spurious, regulator-dependent terms. Based on this insight we propose a different infrared regulator that is associated to only one of the Wilson lines. We demonstrate that this streamlines obtaining the two-loop result: computing the required Feynman integrals via the differential equations method, only multiple polylogarithmic functions appear (to all orders in the dimensional regulator), as opposed to elliptic polylogarithms. We show that the new method is promising for higher-loop applications by computing a three-loop diagram of genuine complexity, and provide the answer in terms of multiple polylogarithms. The relatively simple symbol alphabet we obtain may be of interest for bootstrap approaches.

Introduction Pelvic lipomatosis is a rare benign disease characterized by urethral elongation, bladder deformity, and/or hydronephrosis. Conservative management is not effective, and urinary diversion is the most effective treatment option but is usually unacceptable for relatively young patients. Ureteral reimplantation seemed to be an appropriate modality under these conditions. We present one case in which pelvic lipomatosis was managed with ureteral reimplantation. Patient presentation A 45‐year‐old, previously healthy man presented with right flank pain. Pelvic CT and CT urography showed excessive pelvic fat, bilateral hydronephrosis, tortuous ureters, and a pear‐shaped bladder, all of which indicated a diagnosis of pelvic lipomatosis. We performed laparoscopic bilateral urinary tract infection on this patient. At follow‐up, bilateral hydronephrosis and flank pain were greatly relieved. Conclusion Pelvic lipomatosis can be managed safely and effectively by urinary tract infection, but longer follow‐up periods are needed to evaluate the long‐term efficacy of this approach.

Dwindling energy sources and a worsening environment are huge global problems, and biomass wastes are an under-exploited source of material for both energy and material generation. Herein, self-template decoction dregs of Ganoderma lucidum-derived porous carbon nanotubes (ST-DDLGCs) were synthesized via a facile and scalable strategy in response to these challenges. ST-DDLGCs exhibited a large surface area (1731.51 m2 g−1) and high pore volume (0.76 cm3 g−1), due to the interlacing tubular structures of precursors and extra-hierarchical porous structures on tube walls. In the ST-DDLGC/PMS system, the degradation efficiency of capecitabine (CAP) reached ∼97.3% within 120 min. Moreover, ST-DDLGCs displayed high catalytic activity over a wide pH range of 3–9, and strong anti-interference to these typical and ubiquitous anions in wastewater and natural water bodies (i.e., H2PO4−, NO3−, Cl− and HCO3−), in which a 1O2-dominated oxidation was identified and non-radical mechanisms were deduced. Additionally, ST-DDLGC-based coin-type symmetrical supercapacitors exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance, with specific capacitances of up to 328.1 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, and cycling stability of up to 98.6% after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 2 A g−1. The superior properties of ST-DDLGCs could be attributed to the unique porous tubular structure, which facilitated mass transfer and presented numerous active sites. The results highlight ST-DDLGCs as a potential candidate for constructing inexpensive and advanced environmentally functional materials and energy storage devices.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is one of the most malignancy diseases. Lysine β-hydroxybutyrylation (Kbhb) has been reported to involve various metabolism and cancer progression. Methods: Data from online databases (TCGA and GEO) were retrieved for the selection of differential expressed Kbhb site genes (DTRGs). Univariate cox and LASSO analysis were performed to identify the prognostic DTRGs. Based on the optimal DTRGs, a prognostic risk score model was established. Kaplan-Meier and Receiver operator characteristic analysis were conducted to evaluate the predicting ability of the prognosis model. Generated with clinical data, independent analysis and nomogram model were performed. Finally, the differences of survival, immune cell levels, immunotherapy response, drug sensitivity between high- and low-risk groups were explored. Results: A total of 63 DTRGs were identified in PAAD, and these genes were related to cell division and apoptosis biological functions. Through univariate cox regression and LASSO analysis, 30 DTRGs were selected to be related to prognosis and five (KRT18, ANLN, ECT2, RBM5, and RBM6) were identified as the optimal DTRGs in PAAD. Based on the five optimal DTRGs, a prognostic risk score model was constructed, with promising predictive ability in PAAD survival (AUC >0.70). High-risk group showed lower survival rate (P

The carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP)-strengthened concrete structures are faced with the great threat of fire due to the vulnerability of the epoxy organic adhesive to high temperature. The traditional epoxy organic adhesives are thus urgently needed to be replaced by the alternatives with high-temperature resistance. This paper explored the feasibility of using magnesium phosphate inorganic adhesive (MPIA) to serve as the bonding material for the CFRP-strengthened concrete structures. To this end, the high-temperature resistance modification of MPIA was conducted through the addition of glass powder (GP) in this study. The effects of the GP content ranging from 0% to 15% on the temperature development, mechanical property degradation, phase evolution and microstructural characteristics of the MPIA after exposure to different temperatures were investigated. The results showed that the glass powder could effectively fill the pores caused by the decomposition of the hydration products and the cracks caused by the shrinkage of MPIA matrix at elevated temperatures, which improved the microstructure of MPIA significantly and thus alleviated its strength degradation under high temperature. In terms of the mechanical properties, the MPIA with 10% GP (hereinafter referred to as TRMPIA) yielded the best high-temperature resistance. In addition, the interfacial bond property test after high temperature was also conducted on the concrete members strengthened with the CFRP sheets pasted by TRMPIA, and the test results were also compared with the specimens with epoxy served as the bonding material. The results showed that even after exposure to 600°C, the in-plane shear strength of TRMPIA still remained 14.0% of that at room temperature, while the bond strength of epoxy had been completely lost, which highlighted the advantage of high-temperature resistance of the modified MPIA served as the bonding material of CFRP-strengthened concrete structures.

This review aims to explore the current application of Cranial Ultrasound Screening (CUS) in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases in extremely preterm infants. It also discusses the potential role of emerging ultrasound-derived technologies such as Super Microvascular Structure Imaging (SMI), Shear Wave Elastography (SWE), Ultrafast Doppler Ultrasound (UfD), and 3D ventricular volume assessment and automated segmentation techniques in clinical practice. A systematic search of medical databases was conducted using the keywords ''(preterm OR extremely preterm OR extremely low birth weight) AND (ultrasound OR ultrasound imaging) AND (neurodevelopment OR brain development OR brain diseases OR brain injury OR neuro*)'' to identify relevant literature. The titles, abstracts, and full texts of the identified articles were carefully reviewed to determine their relevance to the research topic. CUS offers unique advantages in early screening and monitoring of brain diseases in extremely preterm infants, as it can be performed at the bedside without the need for anesthesia or special monitoring. This technique facilitates early detection and intervention of conditions such as intraventricular hemorrhage, white matter injury, hydrocephalus, and hypoxic-ischemic injury in critically ill preterm infants. Continuous refinement of the screening and follow-up processes provides reliable clinical decision-making support for healthcare professionals and parents. Emerging ultrasound technologies, such as SWE, SMI, and UfD, are being explored to provide more accurate and in-depth understanding of brain diseases in extremely preterm infants. SWE has demonstrated its effectiveness in assessing the elasticity of neonatal brain tissue, aiding in the localization and quantification of potential brain injuries. SMI can successfully identify microvascular structures in the brain, offering a new perspective on neurologic diseases. UfD provides a high-sensitivity and quantitative imaging method for the prevention and treatment of neonatal brain diseases by detecting subtle changes in red blood cell movement and accurately assessing the status and progression of brain diseases. CUS and its emerging technologies have significant applications in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases in extremely preterm infants. Future research aims to address current technical challenges, optimize and enhance the clinical decision-making capabilities related to brain development, and improve the prevention and treatment outcomes of brain diseases in extremely preterm infants.

Texture features play an important role in the field of remote sensing classification. However, most existing methods lack a comprehensive consideration of spatial continuity, which makes them either destroy the spatial integrity of regular ground objects or fail to quantify the fragmentation degrees of irregular ground objects. These problems weak the ability of existing methods to distinguish ground objects with different fragmentation degrees. Therefore, this study proposed a new texture feature extraction method considering spatial continuity and gray diversity (SCGD). SCGD first connected all pixels in a neighborhood in series from end to end according to the row and column directions, and the diversities of the spatial continuity encoding in different directions were calculated by the Shannon index. Then, the Shannon index was used to calculate the gray diversity. Finally, SCGD calculated the weighted average of spatial continuity diversity and gray diversity to obtain the final texture feature values. Validation results indicated that SCGD can effectively distinguish ground objects with different fragmentation degrees, and its performance is better than that of traditional methods. As the spatial resolution decreases, its performance advantage becomes more obvious. Moreover, SCGD has great application potential in the field of ground object classification, and combining it with deep learning models will contribute to achieving the fine recognition of ground objects.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) pose significant environmental threats in China's large, shallow, and turbid lakes. Current satellite remote sensing methods for monitoring CyanoHABs in turbid water are limited in accuracy and frequency. The commonly used spectral index approaches often misidentify CyanoHABs by highly turbid water, and the segmentation threshold algorithms are not robust enough. Additionally, the dynamic nature of CyanoHABs requires high temporal resolution, which commonly used remote sensing data fail to provide. This study proposed a novel monitoring method utilizing a new spectral index, Anti-Turbid Algal Bloom Index (ATBI), specifically designed to minimize the impact of highly turbid water, coupled with an iterative triangle algorithm for automated ATBI threshold determination. We applied this approach to MODIS data from both Terra and Aqua satellites, achieving a temporal resolution of 0.5 days. The validation results show that the new method has a high accuracy with an F1-score of 0.85, which is higher than the commonly used algorithms with an F1-score of approximately 0.60. Utilizing this approach, we analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of CyanoHABs in China's large lakes from 2000 to 2022, including Lakes Hulunhu, Chaohu and Taihu. Notably, Lake Hulunhu exhibited an increase in frequency and duration of CyanoHABs, while Lakes Chaohu and Taihu showed a rise in duration but a decline in frequency post 2018 and 2017, respectively. Air temperature and wind speed are critical factors influencing CyanoHABs variations in these lakes. Comparative analysis using data from Terra, Aqua, and both satellites combined demonstrated that the integrated data captures more accurate CyanoHABs information. These findings showed that our method can enhance CyanoHABs monitoring capabilities and offer insights for future research.

Remote-sensed vegetation indices (VIs) have emerged as essential tools for retrieving forest chlorophyll concentration. Although VIs are widely used, some concerns regarding VIs for estimating chlorophyll remain to be addressed, such as saturation effect, leaf area index (LAI) disturbance, and soil brightness influence. Currently, a systematic study on such performance evaluation of chlorophyll-related VIs considering these issues is still insufficient. This study coupled two radiative transfer models, the PROSPECT model and the LESS model, to simulate Eucalyptus monocultures with different chlorophyll content and systematically evaluated the 18 broad-band VIs’ ability in chlorophyll estimation at different scales. Our results indicate that most VIs designed for chlorophyll estimation were relatively resistant to saturation, except for SIPI and some classical VIs (e.g., NDVI and DVI), which were insensitive to chlorophyll decreases and tended to reach saturation quickly (when leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) exceeded 40 ug/cm2). The relationships between NDVI, SR, DVI, and LCC were easily influenced by soil brightness and LAI. S2REP, MTCI, TGI, TCARI, and EVI were insensitive to soil brightness when estimating LCC. Overall, S2REP was best at quantitatively retrieving chlorophyll and resisting interference from other factors. For practical applications, our study suggests that it is preferable to use S2REP for LCC estimation when the red-edge band is available; otherwise, CVI can be used instead. The judicious utilization of VI can effectively depict chlorophyll levels and improve the understanding of vegetation response to climate change. Our findings provide the necessary information for the selection of specific VIs tailored to specific vegetation parameters.

Abstract We study the matrix quantum mechanics of two free hermitian N × N matrices subject to a singlet constraint in the microcanonical ensemble. This is the simplest example of a theory that at large N has a confinement/deconfinement transition. In the microcanonical ensemble, it also exhibits partial deconfinement with a Hagedorn density of states. We argue that the entropy of these configurations, based on a combinatorial counting of Young diagrams, are dominated by Young diagrams that have the VKLS shape. When the shape gets to the maximal depth allowed for a Young diagram of SU(N), namely N, we argue that the system stops exhibiting the Hagedorn behavior. The number of boxes (energy) at the transition is N 2 /4, independent of the charge of the state.

Abstract Itaconate is a well-known immunomodulatory metabolite; however, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Here, we find that macrophage-derived itaconate promotes HCC by epigenetic induction of Eomesodermin (EOMES)-mediated CD8+ T-cell exhaustion. Our results show that the knockout of immune-responsive gene 1 (IRG1), responsible for itaconate production, suppresses HCC progression. Irg1 knockout leads to a decreased proportion of PD-1+ and TIM-3+ CD8+ T cells. Deletion or adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells shows that IRG1-promoted tumorigenesis depends on CD8+ T-cell exhaustion. Mechanistically, itaconate upregulates PD-1 and TIM-3 expression levels by promoting succinate-dependent H3K4me3 of the Eomes promoter. Finally, ibuprofen is found to inhibit HCC progression by targeting IRG1/itaconate-dependent tumor immunoevasion, and high IRG1 expression in macrophages predicts poor prognosis in HCC patients. Taken together, our results uncover an epigenetic link between itaconate and HCC and suggest that targeting IRG1 or itaconate might be a promising strategy for HCC treatment.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) in inland waters are now among the most pressing environmental issues worldwide, especially in China. Satellite remote sensing has limitations in monitoring CyanoHABs in small water bodies due to spatial and temporal resolution limitations. While literature and news media have the potential to supplement satellite remote sensing in monitoring CyanoHABs, they have currently not received sufficient attention. In this study, we combined information on the distributions of CyanoHABs from literature and media for the first time to comprehensively assess the spatiotemporal variation in CyanoHABs in China. We collected, cleaned, validated, and organized data from literature and media on CyanoHABs in China, resulting in the establishment of a comprehensive database on CyanoHABs in China's inland waters (ChinaCyanoDB) covering 198 water bodies, 525 records for 1950–2021. The majority of water bodies with CyanoHABs (CyanoWaters) are located in the eastern China, mainly concentrated in the middle and lower Yangtze region, with a clear upward trend in their number over the last four decades. The ChinaCyanoDB and analytical results can provide valuable data support for monitoring and managing CyanoHABs in China while the database construction method may also be applied to other countries and regions.

Highlights The S-vacancies result in the change of d-band electronic state of Mo. An internal quantum efficiency of 94.01% at 380 nm for photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The Mo–S bridging bonds optimize adsorption energies and accelerate CO2RR kinetics.

Due to rapid industrial development, numerous dye pollutants and heavy metals, such as arsenic (As), have contaminated water sources, causing complex pollution that threatens both the ecological environment and human health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design an effective strategy for treating complex dye wastewater. Herein, we have constructed high-purity pyrite FeS2 nanoplates as bifunctional catalysts for the simultaneous removal of dyes and arsenite (As(III)). We have developed a visible light-assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation method to remove typical organic dye pollutants (e.g., rhodamine B, malachite green, methyl orange, methylene blue) and toxic As(III). The FeS2/Light/PMS system can remove 100 % of all dye pollutants and more than 85 % of As(III) within 18 min simultaneously with high cyclic stability, which is believed to be effective in complex pollution control. It is confirmed that the multivalent Fe ions and S22− are the main active centers, and the free radical and non-free radical pathways synergistically enhance the oxidation of dye pollutants, in which SO4·- and 1O2 are the main reactive oxygen species. This work presents a facile strategy for developing a metal sulfide-based Fenton-like system for treating complex dye wastewater.

Abstract Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignant endocrine tumour, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing considerably. Cellular heterogeneity in the tumour microenvironment is important for PTC prognosis. Spatial transcriptomics is a powerful technique for cellular heterogeneity study. Methods In conjunction with a clinical pathologist identification method, spatial transcriptomics was employed to characterise the spatial location and RNA profiles of PTC‐associated cells within the tissue sections. The spatial RNA‐clinical signature genes for each cell type were extracted and applied to outlining the distribution regions of specific cells on the entire section. The cellular heterogeneity of each cell type was further revealed by ContourPlot analysis, monocle analysis, trajectory analysis, ligand–receptor analysis and Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Results The spatial distribution region of tumour cells, typical and atypical follicular cells (FCs and AFCs) and immune cells were accurately and comprehensively identified in all five PTC tissue sections. AFCs were identified as a transitional state between FCs and tumour cells, exhibiting a higher resemblance to the latter. Three tumour foci were shared among all patients out of the 13 observed. Notably, tumour foci No. 2 displayed elevated expression levels of genes associated with lower relapse‐free survival in PTC patients. We discovered key ligand–receptor interactions, including LAMB3–ITGA2, FN1–ITGA3 and FN1–SDC4, involved in the transition of PTC cells from FCs to AFCs and eventually to tumour cells. High expression of these patterns correlated with reduced relapse‐free survival. In the tumour immune microenvironment, reduced interaction between myeloid‐derived TGFB1 and TGFBR1 in tumour focus No. 2 contributed to tumourigenesis and increased heterogeneity. The spatial RNA‐clinical analysis method developed here revealed prognosis‐associated cellular heterogeneity in the PTC microenvironment. Conclusions The occurrence of tumour foci No. 2 and three enhanced ligand–receptor interactions in the AFC area/tumour foci reduced the relapse‐free survival of PTC patients, potentially leading to improved prognostic strategies and targeted therapies for PTC patients.

Abstract High-resolution and multi-temporal impervious surface area maps are crucial for capturing rapidly developing urbanization patterns. However, the currently available relevant maps for the greater Mekong subregion suffer from coarse resolution and low accuracy. Addressing this issue, our study focuses on the development of accurate impervious surface area maps at 10-m resolution for this region for the period 2016–2022. To accomplish this, we present a new machine-learning framework implemented on the Google Earth Engine platform that merges Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar images and Sentinel-2 Multispectral images to extract impervious surfaces. Furthermore, we also introduce a training sample migration strategy that eliminates the collection of additional training samples and automates multi-temporal impervious surface area mapping. Finally, we perform a quantitative assessment with validation samples interpreted from Google Earth. Results show that the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of the final impervious surface area maps range from 92.75% to 92.93% and 0.854 to 0.857, respectively. This dataset provides comprehensive measurements of impervious surface coverage and configuration that will help to inform urban studies.

Accurate monitoring of leaf phenology, from individual trees to entire ecosystems, is vital for understanding and modeling forest carbon and water cycles, as well as assessing climate change impact. However, the accuracy of many remote-sensing phenological products remains difficult to directly corroborate using ground-based monitoring, owing to variations in the observed indicators and the scales used. This limitation hampers the practical implementation of remote-sensing phenological metrics. In our study, the start of growing season (SOS) from 2016 to 2021 was estimated for the continental USA using Sentinel-2 images. The results were then matched with several ground-based spring vegetation phenology metrics obtained by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN). In this study, we focused on the relationships between the leaf-unfolding degree (LUD), the SOS, and the factors that drive these measures. Our results revealed that: (1) the ground-based leaves and increasing leaf size stages were significantly correlated with the SOS; (2) with the closest match being observed for a leaf spread of 13%; (2) the relationship between the SOS and LUD varied according to the species and ecoregion, and the pre-season cumulative radiation was found to be the main factor affecting the degree of matching between the ground observations and the metrics derived from the Sentinel-2 data. Our investigations provide a ground-based spring phenology metric that can be used to verify or evaluate remote-sensing spring phenology products and will help to improve the accuracy of remote-sensing phenology metrics.

P91 steel and P91 steel joints experience performance degradation after serving for 30,000 h in working conditions. To clarify the damage and failure behavior and remaining life of the joints during subsequent service, further creep testing was conducted on the welded joints of P91 steel that had been in service for 30,000 h at three temperatures: 550 °C, 575 °C, and 600 °C. The fracture surface and the cross-section damage behavior were characterized by SEM and EBSD methods. The results show that there are two types of fracture modes in the joints at different temperatures: ductile cracking occurring at the BM, and type IV cracking occurring in the FGHAZ. The threshold stress for fracture mode transition decreases with an increase in working temperature. Type IV cracking near the HAZ is the main reason for the premature failure of joints during service. And based on the fracture mode, the dual-constant L-M method was proposed to predict the strength of in-service joint materials. The testing data are discussed and classified based on the fracture mode in this method, which has high accuracy and can prevent the premature failure of joints.

Fish germ cell transplantation holds great potential for conserving endangered species, improving cultured fish breeds, and exploring reproductive techniques. However, low transplantation efficiency is a common issue in heterotransplantation. This study transplanted fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii) spermatogonia into the testes of spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) to investigate factors that might affect the colonization and fixation of heterologous transplanted germ cells. Results indicated that transplanted fat greenling spermatogonia cells were successfully detected in the early transplantation phase in spotted sea bass. Their numbers gradually decreased over time, and after 10 days post-transplantation, more than 90% of the transplanted cells underwent apoptosis. Transcriptome sequencing analysis of the testes of spotted sea bass and fat greenling spermatogonia on days 1 and 10 post-transplantation revealed that this apoptosis process involved many immune-related genes and their associated signaling pathways. Acute immune rejection marker genes prf1 and gzmb were detected in the spotted sea bass testes, while immune tolerance genes lck and zap-70 were expressed in the fat greenling spermatogonia. Additionally, differential expression of prf1 and gzmb genes was screened from spotted sea bass, with experimental evidence indicating that PRF1 and GZMB protein from spotted sea bass primarily induce apoptosis in transplanted fat greenling spermatogonia via the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, at the protein level. This suggests that the difficulties in heterotransplantation are primarily related to acute immune rejection, with PRF1 and GZMB playing significant roles.

Bone and skeletal muscle work in coordination to maintain the function of the musculoskeletal system, in which skeletal muscle contraction drives the movement of the bone lever system while bone provides insert sites for skeletal muscle through the bone-muscle junction. Existing evidence suggests that factors secreted by skeletal muscle and bone mediate the interaction between the two tissues. Herein, we focused on the relationship between skeletal muscle and bone and the underlying mechanism of the interaction. Exercise can promote bone strength and secrete osteocalcin and insulin-like growth factor I into the blood, thus improving muscle quality. In addition, exercise can also promote myostatin, interleukin-6, Irisin, and apelin in muscles to enter the blood so that they can act on bones to maintain the balance between bone absorption and bone formation. There is a special regulatory axis interleukin-6/osteocalcin between myokines and osteokines, which is mainly influenced by exercise. Therefore, we pay attention to the important factors in the bone-muscle intersection that are affected by exercise, which were found or their functions were expanded, which strengthened the connection between organs of the whole body, highlighting the importance of exercise and contributing to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of osteoporosis and sarcopenia in the clinic.

This study investigated the interfacial fracture properties of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) and fire-damaged concrete using bi-material wedge splitting specimens. The full load versus crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) curves of the bi-material specimens were obtained using wedge splitting tests, and the fracture toughness and fracture energy were calculated. The effects of the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete (20–700 °C) and the interfacial roughness (0–5 mm) on the interfacial damage mode, fracture toughness, and fracture energy were studied. The results indicated that when the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete was lower than 400 ℃ or the interface was smooth, the damage mode of the specimens was primarily adhesive failure. However, when the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete was equal to or greater than 400 °C and the interface was rough, cohesive failure often occurred in the specimens. Owing to the change in the damage mode, the bi-material specimens had the highest values of the fracture toughness and fracture energy at 400 °C. When the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete exceeded 400 °C, both the fracture toughness and fracture energy decreased with the increasing temperature. In this study, the fracture toughness and fracture energy of the bi-material specimens first increased and subsequently decreased with the increaseing roughness, and the maximum fracture toughness and fracture energy values were obtained when the interface roughness was 3 mm. The study results would provide a reference for the surface treatment when ECC was used in the strenthening of fire damaged concrete.

Zinc alloys have great potential to become a new generation of biodegradable implant materials for biomedical applications due to their moderate corrosion rates. However, the poor mechanical properties restrict the application of pure zinc as biomedical materials. In this study, Zn–0.1Mg–0.02Mn alloy was rolled to different reductions at room temperature. The 80% reduction rolled alloy showed the best mechanical performance with ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 397.7 MPa and 15.9%, respectively, which satisfy the requirement of biomedical implant materials. Grain refinement mainly promoted the strength enhancement with increased rolling reductions. The microstructure evolution reveals that the basal-oriented grains and non-basal-oriented grains had different deformation mechanisms to induce DRX process during rolling. DRX could be directly accelerated in basal-oriented grains by basal slip, while twinning and de-twinning process operate to refine the non-basal-oriented grains.

A robust and green strategy for the selective upgrading of biomass-derived platform chemicals towards highly valuable products is important for the sustainable development. Herein, the efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol (FFA) into furoic acid (FurAc) catalyzed by the electrodeposited non-precious NiFe microflowers was successfully reached under the low temperature and ambient pressure. The 3D hierarchical NiFe microflowers assembled from ultrathin nanosheets were controllably synthesized by the electrodeposition method and uniformly grown on carbon fiber paper (CFP). Electrochemical analysis confirmed that NiFe nanosheets more preferred in the selective oxidation of FFA (FFAOR) than oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) in FFAOR displayed a clear decrease towards lower potential, resulting in 30 mV reduction of overpotential at 20 mA cm−2 compared with that of OER. The optimal catalyst Ni1Fe2 nanosheets exhibited the highest selectivity of FurAc (94.0%) and 81.4% conversion of FFA within 3 h. Besides, the influence of various reaction parameters on FFAOR was then explored in details. After that, the reaction pathway was investigated and rationally proposed. The outstanding performance for FFAOR can be ascribed to the unique structure of 3D flower-like NiFe nanosheets and oxygen vacancies, resulting in large exposure of active sites, faster electron transfer and enhanced adsorption of reactants. Our findings highlight a facile and convenient mean with a promising green future, which is promising for processing of various biomass-derived platform chemicals into value-added products.

Industrial wastewater typically contains many organic and inorganic pollutants and is also contaminated by various microorganisms. Microbial species in industrial wastewater have not been extensively investigated. In this experiment, a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain was isolated for the first time from industrial wastewater containing a high concentration of sulfate and phosphate. Mass spectrometry, genetic analysis, and biochemical identification were conducted to understand the genetic and biochemical characteristics of this Klebsiella pneumoniae strain recovered from industrial wastewater. Growth experiments revealed that it exhibited an excellent growth rate in nutrient broth. Further analyses showed that the strain was sensitive to most antibiotics but resistant to chloramphenicol and nitrofurantoin. It also exhibited significant resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam and cefotaxime/clavulanic acid. Resistance gene experiments indicated the presence of gyrA, OqxB, and ParC genes associated with antibiotic resistance in the isolated Klebsiella pneumoniae strain. Proteomics uncovered the following three proteins related to drug resistance: the multi-drug resistant outer membrane protein MdtQ, the multi-drug resistant secretion protein, and the modulator of drug activity B, which are coexistent in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Proteomics and bioinformatics analyses further analyzed the protein composition and functional enrichment of Klebsiella pneumoniae. The isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae from a high concentration in sulfate and phosphate industrial wastewater provides a new direction for further research on the characteristics and drug resistance traits of industrial wastewater microorganisms and the potential risks they may pose when released into the environment.

Monitoring vegetation dynamics (VD) is crucial for environmental protection, climate change research, and understanding carbon and water cycles. Remote sensing is an effective method for large-scale and long-term VD monitoring, but it faces challenges due to changing data uncertainties caused by various factors, including observational conditions. Previous studies have demonstrated the significance of implementing proper quality control (QC) of remote sensing data for accurate vegetation monitoring. However, the impact of different QC methods on VD results (magnitude and trend) has not been thoroughly studied. The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) characterizes the energy absorption capacity of the vegetation canopy and is widely used in VD monitoring. In this study, we investigated the effect of QC methods on vegetation monitoring using a 20-year MODIS FPAR time series. The results showed several important findings. Firstly, we observed that the Mixed-QC (no QC on the algorithm path) generally produced a lower average FPAR during the growing season compared to Main-QC (only using the main algorithm). Additionally, the Mixed-QC FPAR showed a very consistent interannual trend with the Main-QC FPAR over the period 2002–2021 (p < 0.05). Finally, we found that using only the main algorithm for QC generally reduced the trend magnitude (p < 0.1), particularly in forests. These results reveal differences in FPAR values between the two QC methods. However, the interannual FPAR trends demonstrate greater consistency. In conclusion, this study offers a case study on evaluating the influence of different QC methods on VD monitoring. It suggests that while different QC methods may result in different magnitudes of vegetation dynamics, their impact on the time series trends is limited.

Various isotopic and palynological indicators have shown interspersed periods of aridity and humidity for the late Paleocene to early Eocene in central China, so the paleoclimate conditions remain unclear. This research investigates the environmental characteristics of a saline lake in the Jiangling depression, southwestern Jianghan Basin, from the Paleocene to the Eocene, using bulk-rock geochemistry in a 1280 m sediment core. The ratios of FeO/MnO, Al2O3/MgO, and C-value indicate a semi-humid to semi-arid climate in the early–middle Paleocene. There was a rapid shift to a humid climate during the late Paleocene to early Eocene, following a short time of intense dryness. The Eocene climate was arid, but experienced intermittent humidity. The variation trend of the CIA, CIW and PIA was similar to that of FeO/MnO, Al2O3/MgO, and the C-value, so chemical weathering of the surrounding rocks was controlled by climate change. The lake redox conditions in the Jiangling depression from the Paleocene to the Eocene were reconstructed using the ratios of U/Th, Ni/Co, and V/Cr. During humidity and alternations of aridity and humidity, the lake water received external water input, resulting in weak stratification, so the sediments were in oxidizing conditions. During aridity, lakes become endorheic, leading to sediments forming in reduced conditions. The salinity of the lake in the Jiangling depression from the Paleocene to the Eocene was determined through analysis of sedimentary sequences and the trend of the Sr/Ba ratio. In the early–middle Paleocene, lake salinity varied greatly. From the late Paleocene to the early Eocene, lake salinity decreased. In the Eocene, lake salinity increased and halite precipitated, but lake salinity finally decreased due to a humid climate. During the late Paleocene–early Eocene, the occurrence of multiple humid climates in the Jiangling depression were not merely regional effects. The most significant humidity was caused by a global hyperthermal (PETM), which caused a huge increase in precipitation in the whole of East Asia and even in low latitudes around the world.

Abstract. Background:. Significant brain volume deviation is an essential phenotype in children with neurodevelopmental delay (NDD), but its genetic basis has not been fully characterized. This study attempted to analyze the genetic factors associated with significant whole-brain deviation volume (WBDV). Methods:. We established a reference curve based on 4222 subjects ranging in age from the first postnatal day to 18 years. We recruited only NDD patients without acquired etiologies or positive genetic results. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical exome sequencing (2742 genes) data were acquired. A genetic burden test was performed, and the results were compared between patients with and without significant WBDV. Literature review analyses and BrainSpan analysis based on the human brain developmental transcriptome were performed to detect the potential role of genetic risk factors in human brain development. Results:. We recruited a total of 253 NDD patients. Among them, 26 had significantly decreased WBDV (+2 SDs). NDD patients with significant WBDV had higher rates of motor development delay (49.8% [106/213] vs. 75.0% [30/40], P = 0.003) than patients without significant WBDV. Genetic burden analyses found 30 genes with an increased allele frequency of rare variants in patients with significant WBDV. Analyses of the literature further demonstrated that these genes were not randomly identified: burden genes were more related to the brain development than background genes (P = 1.656e–9). In seven human brain regions related to motor development, we observed burden genes had higher expression before 37-week gestational age than postnatal stages. Functional analyses found that burden genes were enriched in embryonic brain development, with positive regulation of synaptic growth at the neuromuscular junction, positive regulation of deoxyribonucleic acid templated transcription, and response to hormone, and these genes were shown to be expressed in neural progenitors. Based on single cell sequencing analyses, we found TUBB2B gene had elevated expression levels in neural progenitor cells, interneuron, and excitatory neuron and SOX15 had high expression in interneuron and excitatory neuron. Conclusion:. Idiopathic NDD patients with significant brain volume changes detected by MRI had an increased prevalence of motor development delay, which could be explained by the genetic differences characterized herein.

Abstract We invent an automated method for computing the divergent part of Feynman integrals in dimensional regularization. Our method exploits simplifications from four-dimensional integration-by-parts identities. Leveraging algorithms from the literature, we show how to find simple differential equations for the divergent part of Feynman integrals that are free of subdivergences. We illustrate the method by an application to heavy quark effective theory at three loops.

Abstract Background Spiraea is a genus of deciduous shrubs that contains 80-120 species, is mainly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and has diversified in East Asia. Spiraea species are cultivated as ornamental plants and some are used in traditional herbal medicine. Based on morphological characteristics and genetic markers, phylogenetic classification exhibits low discriminatory power. Results In present study, we assembled and characterized the chloroplast (cp) genomes of ten Spiraea species and comparatively analysed with five reported cp genomes of this genus. The cp genomes of the fifteen Spiraea species, ranging from 155,904 to 158,637 bp in length, were very conserved and no structural rearrangements occurred. A total of 85 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 37 tRNAs and 8 rRNAs were annotated. We also examined 1,010 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci, most of which had A/T base preference. Comparative analysis of cp genome demonstrated that single copy and non-coding regions were more divergent than the inverted repeats (IRs) and coding regions and six mutational hotspots were detected. Selection pressure analysis showed that all PCGs were under purifying selection. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete cp genome data showed that Spiraea formed a monophyletic group and was further divided into two major clades. Infrageneric classification in each clade was supported with a high resolution value. Moreover, the phylogenetic trees based on each individual mutational hotspot segment and their combined dataset also consisted of two major clades, but most of the phylogenetic relationships of interspecies were not well supported. Conclusions Although the cp genomes of Spiraea species exhibited high conservation in genome structure, gene content and order, a large number of polymorphism sites and several mutation hotspots were identified in whole cp genomes, which might be sufficiently used as molecular markers to distinguish Spiraea species. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete cp genome indicated that infrageneric classification in two major clades was supported with high resolution values. Therefore, the cp genome data of the genus Spiraea will be effective in resolving the phylogeny in this genus.

Abstract The Li-enriched oilfield brine is a very important lithium resource. It has gained much attention and become the target of active Li surveys with the growing global demand for Li. However, only little is known about their feature and nature. In the study, hydrochemical data from 155 oil wells tapping the Eocene to Lower Oligocene Qianjiang Formation of the Jianghan Basin, central China indicate that the brines are of the Na–Cl or Na–Ca–Cl type and are characterized by highly variable Li contents of 7.56 to 150 mg/L, with Mg/Li ratios less than 11.65. High Na/Cl and Cl/Br molar ratios indicate distinct contributions from halite dissolution. The Ca excess, Na deficit and Ca/Mg and Ca/Sr molar ratios in the brines imply multiple diagenetic processes, including halite dissolution, dolomitization, albitization and calcite or anhydrite cementation. The lithium contents of these brines have a weak relationship with the salinity and a negative correlation with Cl/Br ratios, possibly indicating that these Qianjiang oilfield brines have been diluted by secondary brines derived from halite dissolution. The spatial distribution patterns for Li and B concentrations of the brines are different from those for salinity and Br contents and show a geographic pattern, indicating that Li enrichment in the Qianjiang brines is likely connected with geothermal sources associated with volcanic activity.

Abstract Background Short-term researches have studied the change of the center of rotation (COR) after the Bryan Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA). But there is a lack of long-term studies focusing on the location of COR and its influence after surgery. Methods Clinical and radiographic materials of patients who received CDA were retrospectively reviewed. Written informed consents were obtained. Clinical outcome was accessed by Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Odom’s scale. Radiographic evaluation underwent before surgery, at early (3 months) follow-up and final (minimal 10 years) follow-up. The ROM of the global cervical spine and index level, the functional spine unit (FSU) angle and C2-C7 angle were measured. COR was identified and its coordinates were calculated. The absolute change of COR-x and COR-y were compared in subgroup analysis. Results Sixty patients were included, with an average age of 55.9 ± 8.1 years old. The mean duration of follow up was 135.1 ± 16.1 (120–155) months. JOA, NDI and Odom’s scale showed significant improvements at 10 years after surgery. The COR of index level was located in the posterior superior half of the caudal vertebral body. Following the implant of Bryan Disc, the COR shifted forward and downward. During the 10-year follow-up, the location of COR remained stable. ROM at the index level decreased from 10.6 ± 4.0° preoperatively to 9.3 ± 4.0° at the early follow-up (p = 0.03). The ROM at the index level remained unchanged from early follow-up to the final follow-up (9.3 ± 4.0° vs 9.5 ± 5.2°, p = 0.80). In subgroup analysis, larger changes of both COR-x and COR-y were related with decreased ROM. Conclusions Our study illustrated that Bryan CDA could achieved favorable clinical and radiographic outcome over a minimal 10-year follow-up. The reduction of the flexion-extension ROM may be correlated with a more deviated postoperative COR. More attention should be paid to preoperative design and intraoperative technique to obtain a more native COR.

In the search of alternative resources to make commodity chemicals and transportation fuels for a low carbon future, lignocellulosic biomass with over 180-billion-ton annual production rate has been identified as a promising feedstock. This review focuses on the state-of-the-art catalytic transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added chemicals and fuels. Following a brief introduction on the structure, major resources and pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass, the catalytic conversion of three main components, i.e., cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, into various compounds are comprehensively discussed. Either in separate steps or in one-pot, cellulose and hemicellulose are hydrolyzed into sugars and upgraded into oxygen-containing chemicals such as 5-HMF, furfural, polyols, and organic acids, or even nitrogen-containing chemicals such as amino acids. On the other hand, lignin is first depolymerized into phenols, catechols, guaiacols, aldehydes and ketones, and then further transformed into hydrocarbon fuels, bioplastic precursors and bioactive compounds. The review then introduces the transformations of whole biomass via catalytic gasification, catalytic pyrolysis, as well as emerging strategies. Finally, opportunities, challenges and prospective of woody biomass valorization are highlighted.

Southwestern China has the largest geological phosphorus-rich mountain in the world, which is seriously degraded by mining activities. Understanding the trajectory of soil microbial recovery and identifying the driving factors behind such restoration, as well as conducting corresponding predictive simulations, can be instrumental in facilitating ecological rehabilitation. Here, high-throughput sequencing and machine learning-based approaches were employed to investigate restoration chronosequences under four restoration strategies (spontaneous re-vegetation with or without topsoil; artificial re-vegetation with or without the addition of topsoil) in one of the largest and oldest open-pit phosphate mines worldwide. Although soil phosphorus (P) is extremely high here (max = 68.3 mg/g), some phosphate solubilizing bacteria and mycorrhiza fungi remain as the predominant functional types. Soil stoichiometry ratios (C:P and N:P) closely relate to the bacterial variation, but soil P content contributes less to microbial dynamics. Meanwhile, as restoration age increases, denitrifying bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi significantly increased. Significantly, based on partial least squares path analysis, it was found that the restoration strategy is the primary factor that drives soil bacterial and fungal composition as well as functional types through both direct and indirect effects. These indirect effects arise from factors such as soil thickness, moisture, nutrient stoichiometry, pH, and plant composition. Moreover, its indirect effects constitute the main driving force towards microbial diversity and functional variation. Using a hierarchical Bayesian model, scenario analysis reveals that the recovery trajectories of soil microbes are contingent upon changes in restoration stage and treatment strategy; inappropriate plant allocation may impede the recovery of the soil microbial community. This study is helpful for understanding the dynamics of the restoration process in degraded phosphorus-rich ecosystems, and subsequently selecting more reasonable recovery strategies.

North American boreal forests are known to be an important carbon pool in boreal ecosystems, but have experienced extensive tree mortality and carbon loss due to multiple agents of stand-replacing disturbances in recent decades. However, the impacts of these stand-replacing disturbances on forest dynamics are still unknown. We used a recently developed remote-sensing based stand-replacing disturbance product, coupled with aboveground biomass (AGB), gross primary productivity (GPP) and leaf area index (LAI) datasets to estimate the impacts of stand-replacing disturbances (e.g., fires, logging and insect outbreaks) on the carbon balance of western North American boreal forests during 2000–2012. Our results showed that fire, logging and insect outbreaks resulted in AGB losses of 23.4, 16.6, and 4.7 Tg/yr, respectively. In the post-disturbance periods, AGB did not recover to its pre-disturbed levels in the 10th year, which is longer than the recovery time of GPP and LAI. Furthermore, the losses of AGB, GPP and LAI in fire events were the dominant factors for forest recovery after stand-replacing fire. Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD), soil clay content, temperature and precipitation were the important factors for forest recovery after stand-replacing insect outbreaks and stand-replacing logging. When removing the impact of environmental factors, our results showed a smaller magnitude of AGB, GPP and LAI loss relative to the results including these factors, although similar recovery trajectories were observed among the two results. The results have important implications for understanding the effects of stand-replacing disturbances on the carbon dynamics of boreal forests, which is required to adopt effective forest management strategies after disturbance.

Abstract As the current multi‐segment signal fusion algorithms cannot meet the requirement of high‐precision frequency estimation at different signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNRs), an adaptive fusion algorithm is proposed in this paper. At high SNR, an autocorrelation weighted fusion algorithm is utilised, which adopts the real‐time weighted fusion of multi‐segment autocorrelation signals, resulting in denoised sinusoidal signals. Then the frequency is obtained by minimising the error function based on coarse estimation. At low SNR, an improved spectrum fusion algorithm is adopted, which uses the three‐parameter sine‐fitting method to determine the phase difference compensation factor, and the multi‐segment signal spectrum is weighted to obtain a long signal spectrum with continuous phase. As a result, the frequency can be estimated by spectral peak search. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm, compared with existing algorithms, not only improves the estimation accuracy by about 20%–50% but also can perform high‐precision frequency estimation for multi‐segment signals of different lengths, frequencies, and abnormal situations.

Although recent studies show the hypolipidemic effect of Rosa roxburghii, however reported findings are contradictory. Using meta-analysis, we aimed to explore the effect of R. roxburghii on blood lipid levels. An extensive literature search was performed to investigate the effect of R. roxburghii on various lipid indexes. The results showed that R. roxburghii fruit can significantly reduce total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. R. roxburghii fruit can therefore be used to regulate blood lipid concentrations and it can be considered a valuable adjuvant therapy for blood lipid control. However, this needs confirmation through additional research.

For the purpose of designing high strength and high ductility Zn–Cu–Mg biodegradable alloys, this study systematically investigated the evolutions of CuZn5 and Mg2Zn11 s phases during equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with gradually increased deformation strains, as well as their impact on the mechanical properties of Zn–1Cu-0.5 Mg and Zn–3Cu-0.5 Mg alloys. The obtained results showed that the as-cast Zn–1Cu-0.5 Mg alloy contained η-Zn matrix and η-Zn + Mg2Zn11 eutectic structure, while the as-cast Zn–3Cu-0.5 Mg alloy is composed of η-Zn matrix, Zn–Mg eutectic structure, and coarse primary CuZn5 phase. Although the primary CuZn5 phase was refined to some extent after ECAP, some large ones remained. The eutectic structure was quickly crushed into ultra-fine Mg2Zn11 particles, and sub-micron CuZn5 precipitates were dynamically precipitated within the matrix of both alloys during ECAP. Moreover, the refined Mg2Zn11 particles and CuZn5 precipitates were not mixed, but formed the η-Zn + Mg2Zn11/η-Zn + CuZn5 bandlike distribution. ECAP simultaneously improved the strength and ductility of two alloys, and the softening behaviors with more ECAP strains were alleviated to some extent with Mg addition. The high strength of ECAP alloys was mainly resulted from the fine grain strengthening, Mg2Zn11 particles strengthening, and hetero deformation-induced (HDI) strengthening by the bimodal grain size distribution and bandlike distribution. Improvement in softening resistance should be ascribed to the formation of ultra-fine Mg2Zn11 particles which are effective to promote the aggregation and proliferation of dislocations.

In addition to cold drawing, the process of annealing is also essential in the preparation of Mg-4.7 wt%Gd (G4.7) alloy wires. The effect of annealing treatment on the recrystallized microstructure and texture of cold-drawn G4.7 wires was investigated. The results demonstrate that the uniformity and regularity of the recrystallized grains, as well as the annealing texture, impact the follow-up cold drawing performance. When the as-drawn G4.7 wires were annealed at 375 °C, the recrystallized grains were refined, accompanied by uniformity and regularity. Accordingly, the G4.7 wire had a good subsequent drawing deformability, with a maximum accumulative true strain (ATS) of 144%. Additionally, the evolution of the microstructure was consistent with the evolution of the texture. While annealing at a lower temperature (325 °C), the {0002} basal texture of the G4.7 wire was weak, forming the main texture component 1¯0>//DD (the drawing direction). With the increase in temperature, the basal texture was gradually strengthened and the texture component transformed from 1¯0>//DD to a recrystallized texture based on 2¯0>//DD. Even under high-temperature annealing, the G4.7 wire was still affected by the cold-drawn deformation texture and could not fully recover to the as-extruded texture, thus causing a decrease in the subsequent drawing performance.

This paper presents an anti-swing control method to prevent situations where inspection robots detach and fall off transmission lines during obstacle crossing due to excessive swing angles caused by the rotation of the robot around the transmission line. Firstly, an obstacle-crossing model for the inspection robot was constructed and the causes of robot swinging phenomena were analyzed, in addition to their impact on obstacle crossing stability. By combining this with the obstacle-crossing model, a moment balance equation was established for the inspection robot. This equation can be used to solve mapping relationships between body offset and the tilt angle of transmission line gripping arms. We propose an anti-swing control strategy by adjusting the angle of the transmission line gripping arm’s pitching joint to make the body offset approach zero, and by utilizing the advantages of fuzzy logic in the fuzzy PID algorithm compared with the traditional PID algorithm, it can adaptively avoid the occurrence of robot swinging phenomena. The experimental results of obstacle-crossing experiments under no wind and wind turbulence conditions indicated that the proposed anti-swing control method in this study can effectively keep the body offset to within 3 mm. Compared with the methods of not using anti-swing control and using traditional PID anti-swing control, in the absence of wind effects, the peak values of body offset were reduced by 96.53% and 18.85%, respectively. Under the influence of wind turbulence, the peak values of body offset were reduced by 97.02% and 27.12%, respectively. The effectiveness of the anti-swing control method proposed in this paper has thus been verified.

The AlTiVCuN coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering with anode layer ion source (ALIS) assistance, and the microstructure and mechanical properties were significantly affected by the ion source power. With increasing the ion source power from 0 to 1.0 kW, the deposition rate decreased from 2.6 to 2.1 nm/min, and then gradually increased to 4.0 nm/min at 3.0 kW, and the surface roughness gradually decreased from 28.7 nm at 0 kW to 9.0 nm at 3.0 kW. Due to the enhanced ion bombardment effect, the microstructure of the coatings changed from a coarse into a dense columnar structure at 1.0 kW, and the grain size increased at higher ion source powers. All the coatings exhibited c-TiAlVN phase, and the preferred orientation changed from the (220) to the (111) plane at 3.0 kW. Due to the low Cu contents (1.0~3.1 at.%), the Cu atoms existed as an amorphous phase in the coatings. Due to the microstructure densification and high residual stress, the highest hardness of 32.4 GPa was achieved for the coating deposited at 1.0 kW.

Compared with carbon steel, traces of Ni, Cr, Ti, and other corrosion-resistant alloying elements were added to the matrix of bridge weathering steel, which resulted in the steel surface forming a strong adhesion and dense patina that hindered the penetration of atmospheric oxygen elements into the steel and significantly delayed the development and spread of rust corrosion. Therefore, the weathering steel owes its uniqueness to the formation of a patina that protects the steel from further corrosion. The change in its chemical composition partially influences the phase-transformation temperature, which further affects its post-fire performance. As weathering steel without coating is increasingly adopted in bridge construction, investigating its mechanical properties after fire exposure using different cooling methods is important. Therefore, the mechanical properties of S355J2W bridge weathering steel under rising temperatures and subsequent cooling using three approaches such as cooling in air (CIA), foam (CIF), and water (CIW), were investigated experimentally. Tensile experiments on post-fire S355J2W steel specimens with three different artificial cooling methods were performed to obtain the stress-strain relationships. The tensile fracture morphology was studied using Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of the rising temperature and cooling approach on the mechanical performance of S355J2W steel were analyzed. The results indicated the influence of rising temperature and artificial cooling approach is not significant on the elastic modulus of S355J2W steel, but had an effect on the ultimate strength, yield strength, and ductility. Finally, predictive equations were proposed concerning the post-fire performance of S355J2W steel, laying a foundation for assessing the behavior of bridge weathering steel after fire.

Abstract Transition‐metal‐based layered double hydroxides (TM‐LDHs) nanosheets are promising electrocatalysts in the renewable electrochemical energy conversion system, which are regarded as alternatives to noble metal‐based materials. In this review, recent advances on effective and facile strategies to rationally design TM‐LDHs nanosheets as electrocatalysts, such as increasing the number of active sties, improving the utilization of active sites (atomic‐scale catalysts), modulating the electron configurations, and controlling the lattice facets, are summarized and compared. Then, the utilization of these fabricated TM‐LDHs nanosheets for oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, urea oxidation reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, small molecule oxidations, and biomass derivatives upgrading is articulated through systematically discussing the corresponding fundamental design principles and reaction mechanism. Finally, the existing challenges in increasing the density of catalytically active sites and future prospects of TM‐LDHs nanosheets‐based electrocatalysts in each application are also commented.

The kiwifruit JD (Jindun No. 1) and HY (Hongyang) are two species of Actinidia chinensis, a major horticultural crop growing worldwide. Fruity texture and taste of HY are better compared with that of JD. However, the fruit transcriptome differences at the ripening stage between JD and HY are poorly understood. In this study, we identified a total of 2,565 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 1,336 upregulated and 1,229 downregulated DEGs between the two cultivars. Among the total DEGs, 2,329 matched at least one database. Meanwhile, 1,915 could be aligned to the GO (Gene Ontology), 551 could be aligned to the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway), and 2,187 could be aligned to SWISS-PROT (SWISS-PROT Protein Sequence) database, respectively. To analyze the DEGs using functional categorization, some regulated processes were significantly changed, and 52 TF (transcription factor) families were detected. This study revealed the change in gene expression level at maturity through the analysis of DEGs data, and these data can provide valuable clues for exploring the molecular mechanism between two kiwifruit varieties, and will be helpful for molecular breeding in Actinidia plants.

Frequent water quality anomalies severely affect the ecological environment, hindering the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of inland freshwater ecosystems in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 15.1. Thus, there is an urgent need to conduct real-time monitoring and early warnings of various water quality anomalies. However, current remote sensing indices of water quality anomalies are aimed at only one specific water anomaly event in water regions, which makes it difficult to achieve high-precision and on-orbit detection of sudden water quality anomalies in complex geographical environments with the limited storage and computing resources of satellites. Therefore, this study proposed a remote sensing index for the detection of multi-type water quality anomalies in complex geographical environments by analyzing the spectral differences between different earth’s surfaces. The validation results indicated that the proposed index achieved satisfactory performance for the synchronous detection of most water quality anomalies and could be used directly in complex geographical environments to detect water anomalies. Overall, this study contributes to the realization of real-time water quality anomaly detection methods in complex geographical environments, which increases the possibility of on-orbit water quality anomaly detection.

ABSTRACTThe presence of airborne allergenic pollen causes a variety of immune reactions and respiratory diseases, threatening human life in severe cases. Climate change is exacerbating the allergenic pollen-induced health risks and adding a significant economic burden to societies. Despite the pressing threats, vital health-related information is not available to the public to date, and the reshaping of future geographic allergenic pollen patterns remains unknown. To help establish a critical allergenic pollen forecasting capacity, a systematic review was conducted and three promising future directions were identified: (1) resolving heterogeneous urban plant species distribution and phenology using fine-resolution satellite constellations; (2) acquiring ancillary information about allergenic pollen and patient symptoms from emerging geospatial big data, such as social media; (3) deciphering the coupled effect of climate change and urbanization on future geographic patterns and phenology of allergenic species. On this basis, we recommend an optimized workflow that combines real-time pollen monitoring networks with high-resolution vegetation information and weather forecast systems, comprehensively considering the production and diffusion process of pollen to establish advanced prediction models. By focusing on critical knowledge gaps, this review provides much needed insight to propel the allergenic pollen forecasting research and eventually benefit the management of urban public health.

Rational synthesis of robust layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanosheets for high-energy supercapacitors is full of challenges. Herein, we reported an ultrasonication-assisted strategy to eco-friendly fabricate NiFe-LDHs nanosheets for the enhanced capacitive behavior. The experimental results combined with different advanced characterization tools document that the utilization of ultrasonication has a profound effect on the morphology and thickness of the as-obtained NiFe-LDHs, alternatively affecting the capacitive behavior. It shows that NiFe-LDHs nanosheets prepared with 2-h ultrasonic treatments display the exceptional capacitive performance because of the synergetic effect of ultrathin thickness, large specific surface area, and high mesoporous volume. The maximum specific capacitance of Ni3Fe1-LDHs nanosheets with the thickness of 7.39 nm and the specific surface area of 77.16 m2 g−1 reached 1923 F g−1, which is competitive with most previously reported values. In addition, the maximum specific energy of the assembled NiFe-LDHs//AC asymmetric supercapacitor achieved 49.13 Wh kg−1 at 400 W kg−1. This work provides a green technology to fabricate LDHs nanosheets, and offers deep insights for understanding the relationship between the morphology/structure and capacitive behavior of LDHs nanosheets, which is helpful for achieving high-performance LDHs-based electrode materials.