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Prohexadione-Calcium (Pro-Ca) plays key roles in improving fruit quality and yield by regulating various aspects of plant growth. However, the effects of how Pro-Ca regulates the regulation of sugar and acid balance and its impact on the production of volatile aroma substances during fruit growth and development are poorly understood. In this study, the Pro-Ca solutions developed at concentrations of 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg·L-1 were sprayed on the entire “Chardonnay” grape tree 22, 42, 62 and 82 days after initial flowering. The values of endogenous hormones, sugar and acid content, enzyme activities and flavor content were then measured in grapes 45, 65, 85 and 105 days (ripeness stage) after the initial flowering. The results showed that Pro-Ca had significant effects on fruits during development, including reducing ABA content, increasing ZT, GA3 and IAA levels, promoting fruit ripening and enhancing enzymes, which are involved in sugar and acid synthesis. Consequently, these effects led to an increase in sugar and acid content in the berries. Particularly during the ripening phase, the application of 600 mg L-1 Pro-Ca resulted in an increase in soluble sugar content of 11.28% and a significant increase in citric acid and malic acid content of 97.80% and 68.86%, respectively. Additionally, Pro-Ca treatment enhanced both the variety and quantity of aroma compounds present in the berries, with the 600 mg·L-1 Pro-Ca treatment showcasing the most favorable impact on volatile aroma compounds in ‘Chardonnay’ grapes. The levels of aldehydes, esters, alcohols, phenols, acids, ketones, and terpenes were significantly higher under the 600 mg·L-1 Pro-Ca treatment compared to those of control with 51.46 − 423.85% increase. In conclusion, Pro-Ca can regulate the content of endogenous hormones and the activities of enzymes related to sugar and acid metabolism in fruit, thereby increasing the content of soluble sugar and organic acid in fruit and the diversity and concentration of fruit aroma substances. Among them, foliar spraying 600 mg · L-1 Pro-Ca has the best effect. In the future, we need to further understand the molecular mechanism of Pro-Ca in grape fruit to lay a solid foundation for quality improvement breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a critical Galton–Watson branching process with immigration stopped at zero W. Some precise estimation on the probability generating function of the n-th population are obtained, and the tail probability of the life period of W is studied. Based on above results, two conditional limit theorems for W are established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind-driven upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water is a key feature near the eastern boundaries of major ocean basins, with significant implications for the local physical environment and marine ecosystems. Despite the traditional two-dimensional description of upwelling as a passive response to surface offshore Ekman transport, recent observations have revealed spatial variability in the circulation structures across different upwelling locations. Yet, a systematic understanding of the factors governing the spatial patterns of coastal upwelling remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that coastal upwelling pathways are influenced by two pairs of competing factors. The first competition occurs between wind forcing and eddy momentum flux, which shapes the Eulerian-mean circulation; the second competition arises between the Eulerian-mean and eddy-induced circulation. The importance of nonlinear eddy momentum flux over sloping topography can be described by the local slope Burger number, S = αN/f, where α is the topographic slope angle and N and f are the buoyancy and Coriolis frequencies. When S is small, the classic coastal upwelling structure emerges in the residual circulation, where water upwells along the sloping bottom. However, this comes with the added complexity that mesoscale eddies may drive a subduction route back into the ocean interior. As S increases, the upwelling branch is increasingly suppressed, unable to reach the surface and instead directed offshore by the eddy-induced circulation. The sensitivity of upwelling structures to variable wind stress and surface buoyancy forcing is further explored. The diagnostics may help to improve our understanding of coastal upwelling systems and yield a more physical representation of coastal upwelling in coarse-resolution numerical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a most promising mid‐temperature thermoelectric material, CoSb3‐based bulk material exhibits an applicable figure‐of‐merit (ZT) of more than one. However, their fabrication is historically time‐consuming due to the long‐time solid‐state phase transitions from CoSb2 to CoSb3. To overcome this challenge, here, a fast one‐step process is developed to fabricate n‐type Yb‐doped CoSb3 with stable ZT of 1.12 at 765 K in <5 h. Experiments confirm Yb promotes peritectic reactions of CoSb + Liquid → CoSb2 and CoSb2 + Liquid → CoSb3, optimizes power factor, and suppresses thermal conductivity. Moreover, the dense grains, induced by the one‐step crystallization, result in outstanding mechanical properties with a Young's modulus of 171.4 GPa and a hardness of 8.8 GPa in the Yb‐doped CoSb3. This study indicates that the fast one‐step fabrication route can effectively promote the practical applications of CoSb3‐based thermoelectrics and provide guidance for thermoelectric fabrication via rational phase design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing high thermoelectric performance in CoSb3 skutterudite‐based thin films and their devices is historically challenging, especially due to the lack of high‐performing thin‐film‐based device working at medium‐to‐high temperatures. Here, a record‐high ZT of 1.1 is achieved at 683 K in an n‐type Ce0.3Ni1.5Co2.5Sb12 thin film, fabricated from a self‐designed target via advanced pulsed laser deposition. Both experimental and computational results confirm that the Ce‐filling and metal‐featured nanoinclusions such as CeSb contribute to high electrical conductivity, while the Ni‐doping and significantly strengthen the energy filtering effect that occurs at the dense interfaces between the Ce0.3Ni1.5Co2.5Sb12 matrix and the nanoinclusions which leads to a large Seebeck coefficient, giving rise to such a high ZT. In addition, a new‐type CoSb3 thin‐film‐based device is successfully fabricated, which exhibits a high output power density of 8.25 mW cm−2 at a temperature difference of 140 K and a cold‐side temperature of 573 K, indicating the potential for application to medium‐to‐high‐temperature power generation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To systematically summarize and categorize the Chinese herbal medicine in the domestic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) literature on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), in this paper, we mine traditional Chinese medicine data for relationships and provide for future practitioners and researchers. Methods: Taking randomized controlled trials on the treatment of T2DM in TCM as the research theme, we searched for full-text literature in three major clinical databases, including CNKI, Wan Fang, and VIP, published between 1990 and 2020. We then conducted frequency statistics, cluster analysis, association rules extraction, and principal component analysis based on a corpus of medical academic words extracted from 1116 research articles. Results: The most frequently used is Astragali Radix, and the most commonly used two-herb combination in T2DM treatment consisted of Coptidis Rhizoma and Moutan Cortex. Moutan Cortex, Alismatis Rhizoma, and Dioscoreae Rhizoma were the most frequently used three-herb combination. We found a "lung" and "liver" and "kidney" model and confirmed the value of classical meridian tropism theory and pattern identification. The treatment is mainly to fill deficiency and clear heat and consider water infiltration, dampness, blood circulation, and silt. Conclusion: This study provides an in-depth perspective on the TCM medication rules for T2DM and offers practitioners and researchers valuable information about the current status and frontier trends of TCM research on T2DM in terms of diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant pathogenic fungi could cause significant losses to agricultural productions. To discover new pesticides with novel structures and unique mechanisms of action, a series of novel acetophenone derivatives containing 1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thioethers was designed and synthesized. Antifungal bioassay results revealed that E1, E2 and E3 exhibited obvious inhibitory effects against six tested fungi at 100 mg mL-1. The EC50 values of E2 against T. cucumeris and E3 against G. saubinetii were 22.2 and 21.5 mg mL-1, respectively. A morphological study of T. cucumeris treated with E2 and nucleic acid and protein content determination experiments revealed that the target compound can change the permeability of the cell membrane and affect the growth of the hyphae, causing their death. These results provide important information for the further study of the mechanism of action of this series of derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Erosion monitoring method was proposed by eliminating DoD uncertainty for UAV LiDAR. • DoD uncertainty was derived based on its relation with impacting factors using Fuzzy Inference System. • Derived DoD uncertainty was able to account for over 96% of actual DoD uncertainty. • Erosion and deposition by our results were generally comparable to TLS results. Successful control of erosion requires effective monitoring and an in-depth understanding of erosion processes over large areas. Data from repeated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) acquisitions have been one important option to derive erosion-related information across large areas for example by calculating a digital elevation model of difference (DoD). However, the lack of an efficient and practical DoD uncertainty derivation method constrains the use of repeated UAV- LiDAR acquisitions for erosion monitoring, particularly for erosion that induces relatively small changes (i.e. field scale erosion). This study employed repeated UAV-LiDAR acquisitions to promote the understanding of DoD uncertainties and integrate the gained understanding in an erosion monitoring approach. The uncertainty of DoD was derived based on the impacting factors (point density and topography) using the fuzzy inference system (FIS), with the rules established according to the empirical relationships between DoD uncertainty and impacting factors for one sloping field. The proposed method was then validated on another sloping field by using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data. Results showed that the absolute value of DoD uncertainty ( DoD ua ) linearly increased with local roughness and decreased exponentially with increasing point density. The established DoD uncertainty derivation method was found to be able to account for over 96% of raw DoD uncertainty. A validation with TLS results showed that our method slightly underestimated erosion and deposition volume, respectively, (-0.29 m3 and 0.74 m3 compared to −0.94 m3 and 1.34 m3 measured by TLS) but the trends were comparable. The distribution of deposition (volume and area) in different parts of the validation slope was well captured by our method, while the distribution of detected erosion was less satisfactory. This may be explained by the fact that our method did not well capture subtle erosion, suggesting a direction for future improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In noisy environments, the acoustic wave is complicated and consists of the radiated wave, the incident wave, as well as its scattering wave. Double-layered pressure measurement is introduced to the boundary element method based near field acoustic holography to recover the free field quantities. First, the incoming and outgoing propagation waves are separated by exploring the propagation property of the two waves from their source to the field with the boundary integral equation. Subsequently, the scattering wave is filtered out by considering the boundary condition of the vibrating structure. Further, a measurement on an enclosing hologram is adopted to accurately reconstruct the distribution of normal velocity on the boundary. Two sets of the system of linear equations are built on the double-layered measurements. The Schur complement equation is then applied in conjunction with the Tikhonov regularization method to obtain an optimized reconstruction. Numerical examples are set up for two representative radiators impinged by incident waves. It is demonstrated that the free field normal velocity can be correctly reconstructed even if the signal-to-noise ratio is negative. An experiment is conducted for the cubic radiator to verify the accuracy and potential for the practical reconstruction in a noisy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic behaviors of the critical branching process with immigration {Zn, n ≥ 0}. First we get some estimation for the probability generating function of Zn. Based on it, we get a large deviation for Zn+1/Zn. Lower and upper deviations for Zn are also studied. As a by-product, an upper deviation for max1≤i≤nZi is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report a bacterium, Achromobacter sp. TY3-4, capable of concurrently removing Mn (II) and Cr (VI) under oxic condition. TY3-4 reduced as much as 2.31 mM of Cr (VI) to Cr (III) in 70 h, and oxidized as much as 20 mM of Mn(II) to Mn oxides in 80 h. When 0.58 mM Cr (VI) and 10 mM Mn(II) were present together, both Cr(VI) and Mn(II) were completely removed by TY3-4 and the generated precipitates are MnIIIOOH, MnIII,IV3O4, MnIVO2 and CrIII(OH)3. Experiments also show that both biosroption and bioreduction of Mn(II) are the driving forces for Mn(II) removal, whereas bioreduction of Cr(VI) is the driving force for Cr(VI) removal. On the basis of these results, a possible reaction was proposed that TY3-4 concurrently reduces Cr(VI) and oxidizes Mn(II). This study is fundamental for Mn and Cr cycles. The strain shows potential for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Vibration is a main environmental stress in vehicles. The discomfort caused by vibration may differ in different vehicles and road conditions. This laboratory study investigated the discomfort caused by the vibration of 3 models of micro commercial vehicles running in 4 types of road conditions (i.e., the asphalt, concrete, gravel and bump road). Thirty participants judged the subjective discomfort caused by 72 whole-body vibration stimuli with the W k weighted root-mean-square (r.m.s.) accelerations ranging from 0.531 to 2.991 ms−2 using the absolute magnitude estimation method. Results showed that at the same acceleration, especially at relatively great accelerations (>1.5 ms−2), vibration containing more high-frequency components (>20 Hz) caused greater discomfort than those containing less high-frequency components. Different discomfort models of vibration and different equivalent comfort contours between noise and vibration in various vehicles and road conditions were determined. The discomfort models would predict the discomfort from the r.m.s. accelerations of whole-body vibration (together with vibration in hand and foot) accurately, and the equivalent comfort contours would help to make a targeted improvement of noise and vibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duffy antigen receptor for chemokine (DARC) and CCBP2, the two members of chemokine decoy receptor family, restrain cell proliferation and invasion through sequestrating cytotoxic chemokines. Our previous research clarified two functional nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs12075 in DARC and rs2228468 in CCBP2 were significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. However, the role of their genetic variations on survival of breast cancer remains unclear. In the present study, rs12075 in DARC and rs2228468 in CCBP2 were genotyped in 806 patients with primary breast cancer. The endpoint was recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Cox regression model was used to explore the association between SNPs and patients' survival. The results revealed that participants with GG genotype in rs12075 appeared a higher recurrence risk compared with AG/AA genotype after adjustment with clinical parameters including lymph node status (AG+AA vs GG: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31‐0.93, P = 0.027). Furthermore, subgroup analysis revealed that GG genotype frequency of rs12075 had a positive correlation with RFS compared with AG/AA genotype (AG+AA vs GG: HR = 0.22, 95% CI, 0.05‐0.91, P = 0.021) in triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype but not in other subtypes. No significant association between the genotypic variants and relapse risk was found in rs2228468 (AC+AA vs CC: HR = 0.80, 95% CI, 0.56‐1.14, P = 0.222). There was also no significant difference in survival among rs2228468 polymorphism in any subtypes. Our study suggested that rs12075 could be served as a key predictive factor of recurrence risk in breast cancer, especially for TNBC subtype. Further researches to monitor SNPs will provide further opportunities to determine clinical prognosis. rs12075 could be served as a key predict factor of recurrence risk in breast cancer, especially for TNBC subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biomass in subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) offshore fueled coastal hypoxia. • The biomass and plume frontal convergence jointly triggered coastal hypoxia. • The study revealed a new mechanism for coastal hypoxia formation off estuary. This study reports, for the first time, the role of shoreward transport of organic matter (OM) from subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) in triggering hypoxia off the Pearl River Estuary (PRE, an outstanding example of typical estuary-shelf systems) based on field measurements. Compared to frequently observed hypoxia driven by surface eutrophication and terrestrial OM during large river discharge, we demonstrate that the upslope-transported SCM played a critical role in forming offshore hypoxia during low river discharge. Together with the plume-sourced OM trapped below the surface plume front, upslope-transported OM originating from the SCM accumulated underneath the pycnocline and consumed dissolved oxygen (DO), enhancing the bottom hypoxia. The DO consumption induced by the SCM-associated OM was estimated to contribute ∼ 26% (± 23%) of the DO depletion under the pycnocline. Based on coherent and consistent physical and biogeochemical evidence and reasoning, this study reveals the contribution of SCM to bottom hypoxia off the PRE, which is unreported and likely occurs in other coastal hypoxic systems. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The micro commercial vehicles are very popular in the developing areas of China for its capability of loading both cargoes and people. With the demands of customers for improving the comfort of vehicles, it is necessary to develop a discomfort model of noise for the micro commercial vehicles based on the acoustical characteristics of the interior noise, which are different from other passenger cars when they are running in various road conditions. This study investigated the discomfort produced by noise of 3 models of micro commercial vehicles when they are running in 4 types of road conditions, i.e., the asphalt, concrete, gravel and bump road. Seventy-four noise stimuli with the sound pressure levels (SPLs) ranging from 52 to 70 dB(A) were regenerated based on the recorded noise samples for the subjective evaluation experiment. Thirty subjects judged the subjective discomfort of the noise stimuli using the absolute magnitude estimation (AME) method. The relation between the subjective magnitudes of discomfort and the acoustical parameters (i.e., the loudness, sharpness, roughness and articulation index) was analyzed. A tentative equation was obtained by multiple linear regression analysis to predict the discomfort caused by noise of the micro commercial vehicles. The partial correlation analysis was applied to determine the contribution of each psycho-acoustical parameter on discomfort. The results showed that the loudness and sharpness were the influential factors of the discomfort. The subjective magnitudes of discomfort were also transformed into the ratings scales, which were usually employed by car companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The real-topology-based numerical prediction models of TCR between TE legs and electrodes are established. • A novel indirect approach and a corresponding platform of TCR test are developed. • Two simplified formulas are proposed to quantitatively express the contact effects on TEG. The precise quantitative description of contact effects at heterogeneous interfaces is the crucial issue in developing thermoelectric generators (TEGs) with potential of hypersonic aerodynamic heat harvest. In this paper, the thermal and electrical contact effects between thermoelectric (TE) legs and electrodes are studied by real-topology-based numerical predictions and novel indirect experimental tests, and two simplified formulas are proposed to quantitatively express their effects on TEG. First, the thermal and electrical contact resistances under different temperatures, pressures, gap mediums and thermal radiation conditions are predicted. Second, a novel indirect thermal contact resistance (TCR) test approach relying on the TE conversion characteristics is developed, a corresponding platform is established and the numerical models are then validated. Third, the TE conversion process of TEG is simulated with considering the contact effects by equivalent layers, the TCR test platform is developed to measure the out power of TEG and the numerical models are then validated. Finally, two prediction formulas for the maximum output power prediction of TEGs with considering the contact effects are derived, and good agreement with numerical results is obtained by the maximum deviation of 7.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enormous amount of aerodynamic heat is produced on the surface of hypersonic vehicles, and the thermoelectric generator (TEG) technique holds the potential to convert aerodynamic heat into electric energy. In a TEG, the micrometer-scale roughness on TE legs and electrodes surfaces leads to the constriction of interfacial electric current and brings about electrical contact resistance (ECR). The heat transfer and conversion processes of a TEG are greatly influenced by such type of ECR. In this work, a TEG includes two ceramic substrates and a middle TE layer is established, and the TE layer consists of insulation material, N - and P -type TE legs and electrodes to connect the TE legs. The ECR and its effects on the TEG performance are studied by two-scale numerical simulations and experimental measurements. First, the practical topography of rough surfaces for TE legs and electrodes is measured, and the micrometer-scale ECR prediction numerical models are established based on the reconstructed topography. An ECR measurement platform is developed and the platform consists of a pressure device, power supply and data acquisition system which are used to provide loading pressures, voltage, and acquisition of electric current and voltage signals, respectively. The ECRs under different temperatures, loading pressures and gap mediums are then predicted and the numerical models are validated by a series of measurements. Second, the TE conversion process of TEG is simulated by a millimeter-scale model including insulation materials, TE legs, electrodes, and equivalent interfacial layers of ECR. The influence of ECR on the TE performance of TEG for the hypersonic vehicle is thus clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of X-ray irradiation on the proliferation and apoptosis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells; MCF-7 breast cancer cells were irradiated with X-ray. After irradiation, morphological changes and growth inhibition rate of the irradiated cells were observed under an inverted microscope. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to assess the proliferation of the irradiated MCF-7 cells. Transmission electron microscope was used to observe the morphology and ultrastructure of the irradiated MCF-7 cells. Western blotting was used to analyze the expression level of apoptosis-related protein caspase-3. Our results showed, at 48 h after the irradiation (0 Gy and 8 Gy), cells oval in shape, cell shrinkage or swelling and partial formation of debris under inverted microscope; as well as cytoplasmic vacuolization or inspissation, increased electron density of cytoplasm, structural damage of organelles, blurred mitochondrial cristae and chromatin margination under transmission electron microscopy; the survival rate of MCF-7 cells in X-ray group was 17.3% lower than that in control group (0 Gy) ( p < 0.001); while caspase-3 expression increased evidently in X-ray group compared with control group (0 Gy) ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, X-ray irradiation can inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 cells and induce apoptosis through increasing caspase-3 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Modify hydroxyapatite whisker (HAPw) by nano zinc oxide(ZnO) to synthesize a kind of antibacterial implant bone compound material, and study its degradation and substantial changing in extreme environment. Methods Nano ZnO was prepared through sol-gel method, and modified HAPw by nano ZnO to achieve nano ZnO-HAPw compound material. According to ISO 10993-14 standards,the degradation rate of nano ZnO-HAPw was tested after soaked in citrate buffer solution, the surface morphology change was examined with by scanning electric microscope(SEM) and XRD analysis. Results The degradation rate was 25.44% (HAPw/n-ZnO),18.59% (HAPw), respectively. SEMshowed apparently that HAPw fractured and the quantities of nano ZnO particles significantly reduced after soaking. XRD analysis indicated that the three strong peaks of HAPw lowered. Conclusion Nano ZnO-HAPw is a low soluble materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A two-step method was utilized to synthesize multi-element doped Ce 0.3 Ni 1.5 Co 2.5 Sb 12 film efficiently. • Well-crystallized CoSb 3 and CeSb coexisted, leading to a positive effect on electrical properties. • The maximum value of S and PF reach −250 μV/K and 5275 μW/(mK2) for Ce 0.3 Ni 1.5 Co 2.5 Sb 12 film at 673 K. The skutterudite CoSb 3 has been widely concerned, as one of the most studied candidate materials for thermoelectric applications. Here, n-type bulk skutterudite Ce 0.3 Ni 1.5 Co 2.5 Sb 12 was successfully prepared under TGZM effect and its thin film deposited by PLD on single crystal Si substrate, to further understand the effect of microstructure and the electrical transport mechanism on the thermoelectric properties from bulk to thin film. It is found that two phases of Sb and CoSb 3 coexist in bulk sample, while abundant nano-granular structures with well-crystallized CoSb 3 and little of CeSb generate in the film. As a result, the maximum value of S and PF reach −250 μV/K and 5275 μW/(mK2) for film sample at 673 K. The PF value of film is four times higher than that of the bulk sample. This provides a novel avenue to increase the thermoelectric properties of skutterudite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inverse patch transfer functions (iPTF) method can realize local reconstruction of a vibrating structure in non-anechoic environments, and the geometrical shape of the reconstruction area could be irregular as long as it is known. However, the shape of the non-planar reconstruction area is not easy to be obtained in practice, which is adverse to its application in the situ tests. To achieve the sound source reconstruction of the local area with unknown shape in non-anechoic environments, a hybrid method that combines the machine vision and the iPTF method is proposed. The machine vision technology is applied to facilitate the boundary modeling of a target radiation segment. It makes use of the BundleFusion method with an RGB-D camera to accomplish the 3D reconstruction of the target area, as well as the localization of microphones. A virtual cavity consisting of the target area, virtual measurement surface, and the gap between them could be constructed automatically. Consequently, the impedance matrix of the virtual cavity is obtained based on the boundary integral equation with the adoption of the free field Green's function. A microphone array mounted up with a rigid masker is applied in the iPTF method, which can form the rigid Neumann boundary condition on the masker. A simulation is first carried out to investigate the influence of 3D reconstruction errors of the machine vision technology on the sound source reconstruction. Then, two experiments are performed to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the reconstruction in noisy environments. One is conducted in the semi-anechoic room with a cylindrical radiator, and a loudspeaker is put aside as the interference source. The other is conducted in the cabin of an aircraft under cruising condition. It is demonstrated that the proposed method can realize the normal velocity reconstruction without prior geometry knowledge of the target area, and the magnitude and distribution of the dominant sound source could be reconstructed accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skutterudite compounds, the structure of "phonon glass electron crystal" (PGEC), possess excellent thermoelectric properties. Here, temperature gradient zone melting combined with hot pressing technique (TGZM-HP) was employed to synthesize n-type skutterudite Ce x Ni 1.5 Co 2.5 Sb 12 thermoelectric material. By doping element Ce, the carrier concentration of the alloy was optimized efficiently and the total thermal conductivity declined. For the TGZM-HP Ce 0.6 Ni 1.5 Co 2.5 Sb 12 alloy, the power factor PF reaches to 1350 μW/(mK2), and the lattice thermal conductivity is dropped to 1.62 Wm−1K1 at 850 K, corresponding to an improved figure of merit ZT of 0.45. Importantly, compared with the traditional synthesis methods, this technique can precisely control the formation of thermometric phase and the preparation time is reduced remarkably. • A novel approach named TGZM-HP is proposed to synthesize single-phase CoSb 3 efficiently. • A low thermal conductivity of 2.76 Wm−1K-1 was obtained for the Ce 0.6 TGZM-HP alloy at 884 K. • It is convenient for further understanding "phonon glass electron crystal" (PGEC) structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents insights into the study of undergraduate mathematics. Maximizing the arclength in the cannonball problem; Pictures suggesting how to improve elementary numerical integration; Multiplying and dividing polynomials using geloxia.

The inverse patch transfer functions (iPTF) method was proposed to reconstruct the normal velocity on the source surface in noisy environments. iPTF method is based on the measurements of the pressure and velocity on a surface surrounding the sound source and the Green's function of a virtual cavity satisfying Neumann boundary conditions. In the traditional way, the Green's function is obtained by using the modal superposition method, which involves the volume modeling and the modal analysis of the virtual cavity with the finite element method. In this work, an iPTF method based on Green's function in the free field is proposed. Consequently, the impedance matrix is obtained by using the boundary element method, which possesses higher computational efficiency and sufficient accuracy. Double-layer pressure measurements are adopted in this method to approximate the pressure and normal velocity on an intermediate hologram between the two conformal measurement surfaces. Two numerical examples with a sphere and a cubic radiator are given, and plane wave and point source are put aside as the disturbing source, respectively. Analytical and numerical solutions of the pressure and velocity on the hologram are used for these two radiators, respectively. The normal velocity and pressure on the structure radiated by the sound source in the free field could be reconstructed accurately even with a correlated signal to noise ratio (CSNR) at −20 dB. An experiment with a cubic radiator is also performed to confirm the validity of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In psychophysical studies, the methods of magnitude estimation (ME) and rating scale (RS) are often employed to obtain the subjective intensity of noise. Research interest has usually focused on obtaining precise growth functions to express the relation between subjective and objective magnitudes of stimuli in the ME method, or utilising proper categories for a series of stimuli in the RS method. There have been few studies concerned with the validity of the two direct scaling methods in measuring the subjective intensity of noise. This paper investigated the subjective discomfort caused by noise in the methods of relative magnitude estimation (RME), absolute magnitude estimation (AME), and RS. Forty-two participants were divided into three groups, and each group rated the discomfort caused by 22 noise stimuli at sound pressure levels from 49 to 91 dBA using RME, AME or RS method, respectively. Results indicated that the RS method yields interval scales and the ME method yields logarithmic interval scales for the discomfort of noise, so the sensory continua of noise discomfort could be described in linear relation or power function, depending on the evaluating methods. Based on the empirical data, a category-ratio scale was developed for evaluating the noise discomfort by combining the scales of AME and the scales and verbal descriptors of RS. Equations were also proposed tentatively for noise discomfort to predict the categories from the estimated magnitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state refrigeration is considered a promising alternative to traditional vapor compression refrigeration technology. Researchers demonstrated that Ni–Mn–Ti alloys have a remarkable elastocaloric effect. However, the Ni–Mn–Ti alloy can only operate under a uniaxial stress field due to its antiferromagnetic austenite, which narrows its range of refrigeration temperatures. Here, we activated the magnetism of the alloy by replacing some Ni atoms with Co atoms. The Ni–Co–Mn–Ti–B alloy demonstrates a reversible maximum magnetic entropy change(Δ S m) of 24.9 J kg−1 K−1 and achieves an adiabatic temperature change of 7.8 K under a 7 T magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate that adding boron (0.2%) can improve the mechanical properties and cyclic stability in Ni–Mn–Ti alloys. The elastocaloric effect of 21.3 K with high cycle stability (1013 cycles) were successfully achieved in the directionally solidified (Ni 35 Co 15 Mn 35 Ti 15) 99.8 B 0.2 alloy. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the magnetoelastic coupling effect can effectively extend the refrigeration temperature range. The alloys achieved large caloric effects in the temperature range of 240 K–340 K. This provides a new strategy for designing high-performance materials for wide-temperature-domain refrigeration. • The addition of Co activates the magnetic structure coupling of Ni–Mn–Ti alloy. The alloy exhibits a reversible maximum magnetic entropy change Δ S m of 24.9 Jkg −1 K −1 and achieves an adiabatic temperature change of 7.8 K under a 7 T magnetic field. • The addition of B can effectively improve the strength and ductility of the alloy. The material shows a highly stable (1013 cycles) elastocaloric effect of 21.3K. • The material can achieve a continuous refrigerable operating temperature range from 240 K to 340 K by combining elastocaloric, magnetocaloric and magnetoelastic coupling effects. • The stress-assisted method can not only improve the reversibility of caloric effect , but also broaden the temperature range of reversible caloric effect and improve the refrigeration performance of the active refrigerator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skutterudites based on CoSb 3 are considered potential candidates in thermoelectric applications in the field of mid-temperature power generation. The annealing process necessitates more than a week to complete the peritectic phase transition for traditional melting-quenching-annealing-sintering methods. Herein, a new strategy combining the temperature gradient zone melting process with hot pressing (TGZM-HP) was successfully employed to synthesize YbFe-doped p-type CoSb 3 in a shorter time. The resulting samples show enhanced thermoelectric properties compared to TGZM-grown ones, especially in the case of 1 at.% YbFe-doped CoSb 3. This compound exhibits a maximal Seebeck coefficient of 166.3 μVK−1 and a power factor of 1.8 mWm−1K−2 at 723 K, showing an increase in these values of 25% and 51%, respectively. Moreover, phonon scattering appears to be enhanced due to the significant reduction in the grain size of the TGZM-HP samples, resulting in a minimum thermal conductivity of 2.71 Wm−1K−1. A dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of 0.48 was obtained for 1 at.% YbFe-doped CoSb 3. This value is 1.6 times larger than that measured for TGZM-grown CoSb 3. This work provides an alternative strategy to fabricate skutterudite materials and foster their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We aimed to assess the effects of Shenfu injection (SFI) in combination with epinephrine during cardiac arrest on survival and neurological outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).Methods: In this randomised, assessor-blind controlled trial, Utstein-style data were collected from 1233 OHCA patients treated at the Beijing Emergency Medical Center between January 2013 and June 2016. The patients were randomised into either a treatment group that received a combination of SFI and standard treatment with epinephrine or a control group that received standard treatment with epinephrine alone. The primary outcome was survival to hospital admission. The secondary outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival to hospital discharge, favourable neurological outcome at discharge, survival to one year, and favourable neurological outcome at one-year survival.Results: In both groups, the survival to hospital admission, ROSC, survival to hospital discharge, and one-year survival rate after discharge from the hospital did not differ significantly. However, SFI achieved favourable neurological outcome at discharge in comparison with the standard treatment with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.72 at a 95% confidence interval (CI; 1.00-8.53). Meanwhile, unlike with epinephrine alone, the combination of SFI and epinephrine achieved a better cerebral performance category (CPC) score (1-2) after one-year survival (OR: 5.08, 95% CI: 1.07-47.80).Conclusion: The combination of SFI and epinephrine had favourable neurological outcomes after OHCA compared with those with epinephrine alone, whereas the survival to admission was not significantly altered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paraphlomis kuankuoshuiensis (Lamiaceae), a new species found in the limestone areas of northern Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated in this paper. Based on its tubular-campanulate calyx, this taxon should be a member of sect. Paraphlomis Prain. The new species resembles P. patentisetulosa C.Y. Wu & H. W. Li, P. hispida C.Y. Wu, and P. hirsutissima C.Y. Wu & H.W. Li, but differs from these three taxa in the following aspects: the stems are very short (<7 cm), with one or two short internodes, giving the impression of having a tuft of basal leaves; it has sparsely setose hairs on the outer surface of the calyces and short fruiting calyces. The florescence, fruit period, habitat, and the geographical distribution of P. kuankuoshuiensis are also quite different from the three closely related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe and illustrate Sedum lipingense (Crassulaceae), a new species of stonecrop found in the limestone areas of SE Guizhou, China. Based on the presence of adaxially gibbous carpels and follicles, this taxon belongs to sect. Sedum S.H. Fu. The new species superficially resembles S. subtile Miquel and S. bulbiferum Makino but differs from these two taxa in its development of a basal leaf rosette during florescence. The nrDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences also support the claim that this plant is a new species in the Sedum genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prehospital care including recognition of stroke symptoms by the public and professionals combined with an efficient and effective emergency medical service (EMS) is essential to increase access to effective acute stroke care. We undertook a survey to document the status of stroke prehospital care globally. Methods: A survey was distributed via email to the World Stroke Organization (WSO) members. Information was sought on the current status of stroke prehospital delay globally, including (1) ambulance availability and whether payment for use is required, (2) ambulance response times and the proportion of patients arriving at hospital by ambulance, (3) the proportion of patients arriving within 3 h and more than 24 h after symptom, (4) whether stroke care training of paramedics, call handlers, and primary care staff, (5) availability of specialist centers, and (6) the proportion of patients taken to specialist centers. Respondents were also asked to identify the top three changes in prehospital care that would benefit their population. Data were analyzed descriptively at both country and continent level. Results: Responses were received from 116 individuals in 43 countries, with a response rate of 4.7%. Most respondents (90%) reported access to ambulances, but 40% of respondents reported payment was required by the patient. Where an ambulance service was available (105 respondents) 37% of respondents reported that less than 50% of patients used an ambulance and 12% less than 20% of patients used an ambulance. Large variations in ambulance response times were reported both within and between countries. Most of the participating high-income countries (HIC) offered a service used by patients, but this was rarely the case for the low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Time to admission was often much longer in LMIC, and there was less access to stroke training for EMS and primary care staff. Conclusions: Significant deficiencies in stroke prehospital care exist globally especially in LMIC. In all countries, there are opportunities to improve the quality of the service in ways that would likely result in improved outcomes after acute stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new lithophytic species, Paraboea zunyiensis T.Deng, F.Wen & R.B.Zhang (Gesneriaceae), inhabiting Karst rocks in northern Guizhou, China, is introduced and depicted in this study. It bears a resemblance to P. crassifolia (Hemsl.) B.L. Burtt, yet is distinguishable by its shorter filaments and staminodes, triangular ovate calyx segments, and ovaries surpassing the styles in length. Moreover, the phylogenetic tree constructed from nuclear DNA (ITS) and plastid DNA (trnL-F) data firmly support the differentiation of this novel species from P. crassifolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mol­ecules of the title compound, C23H24N4O, are linked into chains by O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π inter­actions. Aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions exist between chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A latest coding scheme named polarization‐adjusted convolutional (PAC) codes is shown to approach the dispersion bound for the code (128,64) under list decoding. However, to achieve the near‐bound performance, the list size of list decoding needs to be excessively large, which leads to insufferable time complexity. In this paper, to improve the speed of list decoding, fast list decoders for PAC codes are proposed. Four types of constituent nodes are defined and fast list decoding algorithms are provided for each of them. Simulation results present that fast list decoding with three types of constituent nodes can yield exactly the same error‐correction performance as list decoding, and reduce more than 50% time steps for the code (128,64). Moreover, fast list decoding with four types of constituent nodes can further reduce decoding complexity with negligible performance degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of solution treatment (ST) on the microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties of Hastelloy X fabricated by laser directed energy deposition (L-DED) were investigated. The microstructure of the as-deposited (AD) sample presented coarse granular grains aligned with the deposition direction. Due to the segregation of Mo and Cr elements, a special cellular-structure was formed in the inter-dendritic region, along with the strip-like carbides consisting of both M 23 C 6 and M 6 C carbides. The cellular-structure homogenized rapidly after the ST. In detail, as the ST temperature increased, recrystallization generally occurred. Meanwhile, the strip carbides began to gradually dissolve and dissociate into dispersed particles which led to a drop in microhardness from 220 HV to 161 HV. The room temperature tensile results showed that the yield strength in the transversal direction (TD) and longitudinal direction (LD) decreased with the increase of ST temperature, reaching a minimum value of 285 MPa after the ST at 1175 °C. In addition, the ultimate tensile strength of the LD and TD samples reached maximum values of 693 MPa and 703 MPa at 1150 °C, respectively. It should be noted that the elongation of the low ductile TD sample can be improved significantly from 30% to 75% after the ST at 1175 °C. Therefore, it can be concluded that the anisotropy within the TD and LD samples can be effectively eliminated by controlling the cellular-structure, grain-structure, and carbide morphology during ST. • Cellular-structure is the major reason for anisotropic yield strength of as-deposited Hastelloy X. • Recrystallization during solution treatment could improve the anisotropic mechanical properties. • The dissolution of strip-like carbides benefits for enhancing the elongation of as-deposited Hastelloy X. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic high polymer flocculants, frequently utilized for flocculating efficiency and low cost, recently have been discovered as producing increased risk to human health and the environment. Development of a more efficient and environmentally sound alternative flocculant agent is investigated in this paper. Bioflocculants are produced by microorganisms and may exhibit a high rate of flocculation activity. The bioflocculant ETH-2, with high flocculating activity (2849 mg Kaolin particle/mg ETH-2), produced by strain Enterobacter sp. isolated from activated sludge, was systematically investigated with regard to its production, characterization, and flocculation mechanism. Analyses of microscopic observation, zeta potential and ETH-2 structure demonstrates the bridging mechanism, as opposed to charge neutralization, was responsible for flocculation of the ETH-2. ETH-2 retains high molecular weight (603 to 1820 kDa) and multi-functional groups (hydroxyl, amide and carboxyl) that contributed to flocculation. Polysaccharides mainly composed of mannose, glucose, and galactose, with a molar ratio of 1∶2.9∶9.8 were identified as the active constituents in bioflocculant. The structure of the long backbone with active sites of polysaccharides was determined as a primary basis for the high flocculation activity. Bioflocculant ETH-2 is cation independent, pH tolerant, and thermally stable, suggesting a potential fit for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the laser repairing (LR) method is applied to 12Cr12Mo stainless steel, and the corresponding microstructural evolution, texture characteristic, and hardness variation are investigated. A 50/50 uniaxial tensile-test is conducted, and the mechanical failure mechanism is investigated using scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the microstructure consists mainly of martensite and tiny M 23 C 6 carbide particles in the deposited zone (DZ), while the substrate contains tempered martensite and coarse M 23 C 6 carbide. The high laser-power generates a cubic texture in the DZ, while the substrate maintains a texture-free matrix. From the substrate to the DZ, the hardness increases sharply at the fusion line and then decreases gradually along the building direction. The tensile-test result indicates that the overall mechanical properties of LRed 12Cr12Mo stainless steel are comparable to wrought parts. Moreover, the microvoid-coalescence fracture indicates good plasticity of the LRed samples. Using this approach, we successfully repaired a 17th-stage stator cascade of a gas turbine, which indicates that LR can be used for the type of steel investigated in this study. • A defect-free metallurgical bonding could be obtained under both argon and air atmosphere during laser repairing. • The mechanical properties of laser repaired samples were comparable with those of the wrought substrate. • The 17th stage stator cascade of a gas turbine made from 12Cr12Mo steel was successfully repaired by laser repairing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Small-scale mass movement monitoring strategies were derived from remote sensing techniques combined with change detection algorithms. • Evaluation of mass movement detachment niches and deposition areas accuracy, respectively. • Small-scale mass movement monitoring strategies under different vegetation cover. • Overcoming the difficulty of monitoring small-scale mass movement. Mass movements are predominant geomorphic processes on steep sloping areas and are an important source of sediment delivered to rivers. However, current understanding on the mechanisms of mass movement is severely lacking, mainly due to the lack of observations, particularly for small-scale mass movements. This study obtained high-precision topographic data from the Qiaogou catchment in the hilly and gully region of the Chinese Loess Plateau before and after the rainy season based on UAV laser scanning (ULS) and UAV photogrammetry (UAV-P). Four change detection algorithms (DoD, C2C, C2M and M3C2) were employed to detect mass movement based on the acquired ULS data, UAV-P data and their fusion. The accuracy of different data sources and change detection algorithms were compared based on 27 mass movement samples to determine a suitable strategy for mass movement monitoring. Results showed that (1) The best spatial distributions of detachment niches and deposition areas were achieved by UAV-P data plus C2M method (81.5% of the samples were well detected) and ULS data / fused data plus M3C2 method (96.3% of the samples were well monitored). (2) Erosion volume detected by a combination of different data sources and DoD, C2C and C2M methods was closely related to field measurements ( R 2 > 0.90, p < 0.01). The fused data plus M3C2 method ( R 2 = 0.93, p < 0.01) performed much better than other data sources plus M3C2 method (ULS data: R 2 =0.74, p < 0.01. UAV-P data: R 2 =0.64, p < 0.01). DoD and M3C2 methods tended to overestimate and underestimate erosion volume, respectively, while ULS plus C2M method produced the lowest mean relative error (24.2%). ULS data plus DoD method and fused data plus M3C2 method were preferable for bare areas and sparsely vegetated areas, while fused data plus C2M method was suitable for well vegetated areas. This study is beneficial for an effective monitoring and an in-depth understanding of mass movement processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of the weakening Indian monsoon on alpine ecosystems was investigated. • Vegetation greenness showed opposite trends between humid and semi-arid areas. • Vegetation greenness increased in humid areas due to more heat and solar radiation. • Vegetation greenness decreased in semi-arid areas because of drought stress. • The weakening monsoon favored vegetation growth in humid but not in semi-arid areas. The weakening Indian monsoon during recent warmer decades has caused greening and browning trends in water- and energy-limited terrestrial ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Little is known, however, on the underlying mechanisms of such divergent responses of vegetation to the monsoon weakening. Herein, using the Indian monsoon index, high-resolution vegetation indices and multi-source climate data, we assessed the response of vegetation greenness to the Indian monsoon from 2000 to 2018 in two adjacent basins dominated by water- and energy-limited ecosystems and located in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The two basins showed opposite greenness trends due to direct and indirect effects of the weakening monsoon. The weakening monsoon increased vegetation greenness in the humid sites due to more heat exposure and solar radiation, but not in dry sites because of amplified drought stress. Thus, a weaker monsoon would not favor productivity in drought-prone ecosystems, whereas it would benefit energy-limited sites due to more radiation and warmer conditions associated to lower cloudiness. The effect of atmospheric circulation and its inter-decadal oscillation on basin-scale ecological processes should be therefore taken into account to refine earth system models and climate forecasts. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient study on error bound of cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) severely limits its application. To investigate the error prediction and structure determination of CMAC for multi‐dimensional and data‐generation objects, this paper builds a 10‐input 2‐output model for a desulfurization system to test 44,640 sets of operation data. Four test groups and one prediction group are designed and performed based on uniform design method. Regression analysis and curve fitting methods are applied for error analyses. The focus of regression analysis method is the influence of uniform table's level on its prediction formulas' accuracies, whereas curve fitting's is the impact of theoretical memory space (location number) and actual storage space (address number) of CMAC on output error. Based on the results, the following conclusions are obtained. (a) The prediction accuracy of the linear regression equation is not monotonous with the level of the uniform design table, but there is a distinct region with local high precision. (b) Compared with regression analysis and address number fitting methods, location number analysis method has distinct advantages of prediction range, accuracy and flexibility. (c) In terms of location number analysis, different intervals may correspond to different optimal fitting functions, but only power function maintains high prediction accuracy in the whole range where the method works. Besides, the scope of location number analysis is also studied, of which the lower borders are 109 and 1010 approximately for model's two outputs, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally expanding hypoxia in estuaries and coastal oceans has largely been attributed to the elevated river nutrient inputs, whereas the role of river‐delivered terrestrial organic matter (OMterr) in hypoxia formation has been less investigated. This study uses a coupled physical‐biogeochemical model and observations to investigate how OMterr directly (via remineralization) and indirectly (via the nutrients released from OMterr remineralization) promotes hypoxia development in the coastal transition zone off the Pearl River Estuary. Results show that direct contribution of OMterr remineralization to total oxygen consumption by terrestrial and marine organic matter negatively correlates with salinity, decreasing from over 60% in the upper estuary to nearly 0% in the far reaches of the river plume, and is higher in the upstream (average 30%) than the downstream region (average 18%). Nevertheless, the nutrients released from OMterr remineralization greatly sustain an indirect contribution to oxygen depletion and hypoxia formation downstream. The increasing relative importance of indirect over the direct effect of OMterr to hypoxia along the plume path is a combined result of the wind‐driven eastward shelf current and the OMterr‐released nutrients being advected farther downstream than the sinking OMterr. This highlights that without including the indirect effect of OMterr may underestimate the role of OMterr in hypoxia formation in aquatic systems. Examinations of the hypoxia response to varying riverine loads further suggest that reducing the nutrient and OMterr loads is required for hypoxia mitigation in the upstream region while reducing the nutrient load alone is more effective in mitigating hypoxia in the downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar codes are known as the first capacity-achievable codes with low encoding and decoding complexity. The sequential decoding nature of traditional polar decoding algorithms such as successive cancellation (SC) results in high decoding latency, which is not suitable for services that require high reliability and low latency. Deep learning for decoding, referred to as neural network decoder (NND), has shown strong competitiveness because of its non-iterative and full-parallel feature. Whereas, the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of NND is still not satisfactory. In this paper, we first propose a residual learning denoiser (RLD) for polar codes. The RLD can remarkably improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reduce the symbol-error-rate (SER) of received symbols. In order to decode polar codes more efficiently, we subsequently propose a residual neural network decoder (RNND) for polar codes. Different from the traditional pure-NND (PNND) which directly uses neural network for decoding received symbols, the proposed RNND concatenates a RLD used for denoising and a NND used for decoding. We provide a novel multi-task learning (MTL) strategy to jointly optimize the denoiser and decoder, and find that the denoising gain of Joint-RLD is more significant than the Independent-RLD. Numerical results show that the proposed RNND outperforms its counterpart PNND with regard to the BER performance. In addition, the optimal RNND(MLP-MLP) approaches the traditional SC decoding performance, while saving more than one hundred times of computation time. Eventually, scalability of the RNND to longer polar codes as well as LDPC codes further demonstrates the superiority of our proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the value of prospectively ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography (CCTA) for lean patients with body mass index (BMI) ≤ 23 kg/m2 using 70 kVp and high-level volume-based adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR-V) algorithm on a 16-cm wide-detector CT system for reducing both radiation and contrast doses in comparison with the conventional 100-kVp protocol.Materials and Methods: Thirty patients (group A) were prospectively enrolled to undergo 70-kVp CCTA on a 16-cm wide-detector CT scanner with noise index (NI) of 36 HU and at weight-dependent contrast dose rate of 16 mg I/kg/s for 9-s injection. Images were reconstructed with 80% ASiR-V. Radiation dose, contrast dose, and image quality were statistically compared with 30 patients (group B) in database with matching BMI who underwent conventional 100-kVp CCTA with NI of 25 HU, and at 25 mg I/kg/s rate for 10-s injection and reconstructed with 60% ASiR-V.Results: There was no significant difference in patient demographics between the two groups (all p > 0.05). The two groups also had similar mean CT values and contrast-noise ratio (CNR) and subjective image quality (all p > 0.05). However, group A with 70 kVp reduced the effective dose by 75.3% compared with group B (0.43 ± 0.20 mSv vs. 1.74 ± 1.01 mSv, p < 0.001), and required 42.4% less contrast dose than group B (22.46 ± 2.94 ml vs. 38.99 ± 5.10 ml, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA using 70 kVp and high-level ASiR-V on a 16-cm wide-detector CT system provides diagnostic images with substantial reduction in both radiation and contrast doses for patients with BMI ≤ 23 kg/m2 compared to the conventional 100-kVp protocol.Key Points: • 70-kVp CCTA produces excellent images at sub-millisievert radiation. • 70-kVp CCTA reduces both radiation and contrast doses over conventional protocol. • Achieving low-dose CCTA with combined low kVp and high-level ASIR-V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hami melon ( Cucumis melo var. reticulatus Naud.) is a tropical fruit with a short storage period. To prolong freshness, the fruit is stored at low temperatures (3 °C), although this can lead to chilling injury (CI) involving skin lesions, numerous tiny brown spots on the rind of the fruit, susceptibility to decay, especially upon rewarming, the formation of small pits, and browning of the surface associated with a loss of sensory quality. Our preliminary research revealed that pretreatment with 15 mmol L −1 oxalic acid (OA) for 10 min at 25 °C effectively reduced CI in Hami melons stored at 3 °C. The current work was conducted to confirm the above results and determine whether enzymes involved in antioxidative pathways play a role in the decreased CI. The activities of enzymes related to antioxidative pathways and expression levels of the corresponding genes were measured. OA pretreatment prior to storage at 3 °C for 42 d increased the activities of glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and peroxidase (POD), and led to higher expression levels of the Cm-GR, Cm-APX, and Cm-POD genes relative to the control group. The OA-treated group also maintained higher contents of ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione(GSH) compared with the control group. OA treatment inhibited H 2 O 2 and O 2 − accumulation, delayed membrane lipid oxidation, and led to a lower CI index compared with the control fruit. These results indicate that enzymes involved in antioxidative pathways play a role in the alleviation of CI upon OA treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state cooling based on elastocaloric effect possesses potential for refrigeration. The improvement of elastocaloric effect and thermal cycle stability is beneficial to enhance the refrigeration efficiency and service life of refrigeration equipment. Here, single-crystal Ni 50 Mn 31.6 Ti 18.4 shape-memory alloys were successfully prepared using directional solidification technique. The microstructure, martensitic transformation, isothermal stress-strain responses and elastocaloric effect of the single crystals with different solidification rates have been systematically studied. The single crystal solidified at 10 µm s−1 exhibits lower stress hysteresis Δ σ hy and much more superior adiabatic temperature |Δ T ad | than those of alloys solidified at 100 µm s−1 and 500 µm s−1, with the values of 34 MPa and 24.8 K. In addition, the single crystal at low solidification rate also performs excellent cyclic stability. All these results show that the single crystal with larger austenite primary dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) can effectively enhance the elastocaloric effect and thermal cycling stability in Ni 50 Mn 31.6 Ti 18.4 alloys. This work sheds a bright light on the relationship between the elastocaloric performance and microstructure for shape-memory alloys. • Single-crystal Ni 50 Mn 31.6 Ti 18.4 alloys were successfully prepared by directional solidification. • The alloy with large primary dendrite spacing has the excellent adiabatic temperature of 24.8 K. • Single-crystal prepared with larger primary dendrite spacing can effectively enhance the thermal cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) is a toxic pollutant in the atmosphere. The atmospheric As concentration is high over the East Asian continent. At present, there is less research on the long-term trend of atmospheric arsenic pollution, which is not conducive to understanding its behavior. Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) samples were collected in Qingdao in autumn and winter from 2016 to 2020 to analyze total arsenic (TAs), As(V) and As(III). The interannual variation patterns, influencing factors and health risks of arsenic concentrations in aerosols were discussed. The results showed that As(V) is the dominant species of arsenic in aerosols. The average concentration of TAs gradually decreased and the proportion of As(III) increased during autumn and winter from 2016 to 2020. The levels of TAs, As(V) and As(III) in aerosols increased during the heating period and on polluted days. Negative correlation between TAs/TSP and TSP indicated that higher concentrations of TSP in the atmosphere would reduce the content of TAs in particulate matter. The increase of secondary aerosol particles played a dilution effect. Mobile source emissions, biomass and coal combustion were main sources of atmospheric arsenic. The distribution range of large potential sources of atmospheric arsenic decreased from 2016 to 2020, and concentrated, mainly in parts of Shandong province and its offshore areas. Local sources contributed the most to atmospheric arsenic pollution in Qingdao in autumn and winter. TAs, As(V) and As(III) posed a low non-carcinogenic risk and a negligible carcinogenic risk to adults and children. This study reveals the influence of strict air pollution control policies on the speciation and source of arsenic in aerosols. [Display omitted] • TAs and its species decreased but As(III)/TAs increased from 2016 to 2020. • TAs, As(V), As(III) and As(III)/TAs increased during the heating period and polluted days. • Main potential source areas of atmospheric arsenic were reduced and concentrated. • Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of TAs, As(V) and As(III) were small and decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to analyze the pattern of lymphogenous and hematogenous metastases in patients with stage IVb thymic carcinomas and identify prognostic factors for their survivals.Methods: Between September 1978 and October 2014, 68 patients with pathologically confirmed stage IVb thymic carcinomas were treated at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Forty-three patients had lymph node involvement without distant metastases, and the remaining 25 patients had hematogenous metastases. Clinical-pathological characteristics, including age, sex, histologic subtype, tumor size, metastasis, treatment modalities, such as surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, and clinical outcomes, such as overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS), were analyzed.Results: The median follow-up time was 22 months (range, 1-126 months). The median OS of all patients with stage IVb thymic carcinomas was 30 months, and the 5-year overall survival rate was 25.1%. The median PFS was 11 months, and the 5-year PFS was 17.9%. Stage IVb patients with lymph node involvement had a better survival than those with distant metastasis (40 vs. 20 months, p = 0.002). Patients with myasthenia gravis had a worse prognosis (p = 0.033). Multivariate analysis identified metastatic status as an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with stage IVb thymic carcinomas.Conclusions: Patients with lymph node involvement had a better survival than those with distant metastases. Much work remains to investigate the prognosis of patients with stage IVb thymic carcinomas and to explore different treatment strategies for patients with lymph node involvement and distant metastases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrated a biocementation technology for chromium slag by strain GM-1, a calcifying ureolytic bacterium identified as Microbacterium, based on microbially induced calcium carbonate. The characterization of Microbacterium sp. GM-1 was assessed to know the growth curve in different concentrations of Cr(VI). Microbacterium sp. GM-1 was tolerant to a concentration of 120 mg/L Cr(VI). Chromium waste forms were prepared using chromium, sand, soil and bacterial culture. There we had three quality ratios (8:2:1; 8:1:1; 8:2:0.5) of material (chromium, sand and soil, respectively). Bacterial and control chromium waste forms were analyzed by thermal gravimetric analyzer. All bacterial forms (8:2:1; 8:1:1; 8:2:0.5 J) showed sharp weight loss near the decomposition temperature of calcium carbonate between 600 and 700 °C. It indicated that the efficient bacterial strain GM-1 had induced calcium carbonate precipitate during bioremediation process. A five step Cr(VI) sequential extraction was performed to evaluate its distribution pattern in chromium waste forms. The percentage of Cr(VI) was found to significantly be decreased in the exchangeable fraction of chromium waste forms and subsequently, that was markedly increased in carbonated fraction after biocementation by GM-1. Further, compressive strength test and leaching test were carried out. The results showed that chromium waste forms after biocementation had higher compressive strength and lower leaching toxicity. Additionally, the samples made of 8:1:1 (m/m/m) chromium + sand + soil were found to develop the highest compressive strength and stand the lowest concentration of Cr(VI) released into the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]