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Two unreported heteropolysaccharides, denoted as YCJP–1 and YCJP–2, were isolated from the herbs of Chloranthus japonicus. YCJP–1 was a heteropolysaccharide composed of glucose, galactose, arabinose, mannose, rhamnose, and a minor proportion of uronic acids, with the molecular weight mainly distributed in the 74,475–228,443 Da range. YCJP–2 was mainly composed of glucose, mannose, and galactose, with the molecular weights ranging from 848 to 5810 Da. To further evaluate the anti-gastric cancer effects of C. japonicus, the inhibitory effects of the crude polysaccharide (YCJP) and the purified polysaccharides (YCJP–1 and YCJP–2) were determined using a CCK-8 assay and colon-forming assay on MGC-803 and AGS gastric cancer cell lines. Our results showed that YCJP, YCJP–1, and YCJP–2 possess prominent inhibitory effects on the proliferation of MGC-803 and AGS cells, and the AGS cell was more sensitive to YCJP, YCJP–1, and YCJP–2. Moreover, YCJP–2 demonstrated superior anti-gastric cancer effects compared to YCJP–1. This could potentially be attributed to YCJP–2's higher glucose content and narrower molecular weight distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel strategy to fabricate porous calcium hex-aluminate (CA 6) ceramics using CaCl 2 -KCl as reactive medium. Effects of CaCl 2 -KCl content and sintering temperature on microstructure and properties of porous CA 6 ceramics are systematically studied. CaCl 2 -KCl serves as both a pore former and an additional source of CaO, eliminating the need for additional salt-washing treatment. By optimizing CaCl 2 -KCl content to 20 wt%, porous CA 6 ceramics with well cross-interlocking plate-like structures, possessing low thermal conductivity of 0.32 W·(m·K)−1 (1000°C), high apparent porosity of 68.28%, and desirable compressive strength of 6.76 MPa, are fabricated at 1300°C. This work not only validates the promising applicability of porous CA 6 materials for thermal insulation, but also introduces an auspicious fabrication methodology for thermal insulation materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important economic crop in China. In terms of using remote sensing technology to identify it, there is still room for improvement, and the high-precision classification of garlic has become an important issue. However, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have focused on garlic area mapping. Here, we propose a method for identifying garlic crops using samples and a multi-feature dataset under limited conditions. The results indicate the following: (1) In the land-use classification of the Erhai Lake Basin, the importance ranking of the characteristic bands, from high to low, is as follows: spectral features, vegetation features, texture features, and terrain features. (2) The random forest method based on feature selection demonstrates high accuracy in land-use classification within the Erhai Lake Basin in Yunnan Province. The overall classification accuracy reached 95.79%, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.95. (3) From 1999 to 2023, the expansion of garlic cultivation in the Erhai Lake Basin showed a trend of initially strengthening from north to south, which was followed by weakening. The vertical development of garlic cultivation reached saturation, showing a slow trend toward horizontal expansion between 2005 and 2018. The planting distributions in various townships in the Erhai Lake Basin gradually shifted from relatively uniform distributions to upstream development. This study utilized the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform and machine learning algorithms to compensate for the lack of statistical data on garlic cultivation in the Erhai Lake Basin. Moreover, it accurately, rapidly, and efficiently extracted planting information, demonstrating significant potential for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichocyte keratins hold significant promise in accelerating wound healing. Yet it is difficult to discriminate characteristics and mechanisms from their subtypes because of the high sequence homology. Here, the distinct wound healing properties in terms of wound closure rate, epidermal regeneration and angiogenesis of 17 kinds of human hair keratins is reported. Each trichocyte keratin shows distinct behaviors with unique advantages. Amongst all, recombinant keratin (RK) 33B, RK34, RK39 and RK84 show the highest efficiency in wound closure acceleration, and RK34, RK37 and RK81 presented the strongest angiogenic performance. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed the regulatory mechanisms of trichocyte keratins in the proliferation and migration of keratinocyte and blood vessel generation. Finally, the keratins with strong re-epithelialization and angiogenic performances significantly accelerate wound closure in a diabetic rat model established in-house. The findings provide a panorama view of trichocyte keratin performance in wound healing and that may harbor potential for finely tailored keratin development and precision applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work considers the influence of concrete creep on track irregularities and establishes the dynamic motion equation of the train-track-bridge coupling system. The track irregularity is obtained by superposition of the initial geometric irregularity and additional geometric irregularity of the steel rail caused by creep. When high-speed railway trains pass through bridges; the vertical acceleration and vertical displacement of continuous beam bridges are related to the train's operating speed, and the influence of creep camber is relatively small. At the same time, considering the randomness of track irregularities, the dynamic responses of the train track bridge coupling system under the action of random track irregularities are analyzed, and the dynamic responses of trains at different operating speeds are obtained. The deterministic and uncertain dynamic responses of the train track bridge system were compared and analyzed to verify the accuracy of the Karhunen Loéve expansion (KLE)-Point estimate method (PEM) calculation results. The results indicate that the random characteristics of track irregularities have a significant impact on train dynamic response. Based on the random system vibration analysis and considering the safety and comfort indicators of high-speed railway trains, the creep deformation limit of a continuous beam bridge with a length of 48 m + 80 m + 48 m is obtained to be 19 mm. This is the first time that the dynamic responses of train-symmetry-bridge system are calculated by considering concrete creep and the creep-induced track irregularity, which has certain significance for understanding the dynamics of train -bridge system. In addition, the proposed creep threshold is also of great significance to ensure the safety of traveling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to improve the dyeing effect of fast-growing fir wood dyed with reactive dyes. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, five factors including temperature, the dosage of dye accelerator, dyeing time, the dosage of fixing agent and fixing time were investigated. Then, the color difference and light resistance of the wood surface after dyeing were used as the evaluation indicators; the best dyeing process under the two indicators was obtained through the range analysis. Finally, the two indicators were considered comprehensively, and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was used to obtain the best dyeing process under the comprehensive indicators. Findings: The results show that when the comprehensive index was used as the evaluation index, the optimal dyeing process for reactive red X-3B dyeing fast-growing fir veneer was that the dyeing temperature was 65°C; the amount of dye accelerator was 25 g L−1; the dyeing time was 2 h; the amount of fixing agent was 15 g L−1; and the fixing time was 35 min. Originality/value: The technique of wood dyeing is an important method to increase the value of wood products. When using different kinds of dyes or dyeing substrates for wood dyeing, the dyeing process is different. This study determined the best process for reactive dye dyeing of fast-growing fir veneer and provided a solution for improving the value of fast-growing fir wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torsional vibration is prevalent in rotating mechanical systems such as powertrain transmission. It is a hot spot in current torsional vibration control research to effectively suppress torsional vibration of the system by implementing adaptive torsional dampers with adjustable parameters. The current research focuses on the variable damping torsional vibration absorber, while the investigation on variable stiffness torsional vibration absorber remains at the theoretical stage. With this premise, a transmission system with a novel magneto-rheological variable stiffness and damping torsional vibration absorber (MR-VSDTVB) is proposed. MR-VSDTVB with sequential adjustment of torsional damping and stiffness parameters is developed. Its aggregate dynamic output characteristics of stiffness and damping are tested. To describe the nonlinear output characteristics with coupled multiple control parameters of MR-VSDTVB and the subsequent control, a GA-BP neural network model and a hierarchical inverse model are adopted. To validate the feasibility of the transmission system with MR-VSDTVB, a dynamic model of the transmission system with MR-VSDTVB is constructed and simplified, and then the numerical simulation analysis and experimental tests are carried out. The output performances of the MR semi-active system with various traditional semi-active control strategies show that the transmission system with the proposed MR-VSDTVB can suppress torsional vibration effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, major natural disasters and public safety accidents have frequently occurred worldwide. In order to deal with various disasters and accidents using rapidly deployable, reliable, efficient, and stable emergency communication networks, all countries in the world are strengthening and improving emergency communication network construction and related technology research. Motivated by these situations, in this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art survey of the current situation and development of emergency communication networks. In this detailed investigation, our primary focus is the extensive discussion of emergency communication network technology, including satellite networks, ad hoc networks, cellular networks, and wireless private networks. Then, we explore and analyze the networks currently applied in emergency rescue, such as the 370M narrowband private network, broadband cluster network, and 5G constellation plan. We propose a broadband-narrowband integrated emergency communication network to provide an effective solution for visual dispatch of emergency rescue services. The main findings derived from the comprehensive survey on the emergency communication network are then summarized, and possible research challenges are noted. Lastly, we complete this survey by shedding new light on future directions for the emergency communication network. In the future, the emergency network will develop in the direction of intelligence, integration, popularization, and lower cost, and space-air-ground-sea integrated networks. This survey provides a reference basis for the construction of networks to mitigate major natural disasters and public safety accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, one-step molten salt method followed by low-temperature sintering is employed for fabricating porous calcium hexaluminate (CA 6) ceramics with ideal plate-like structure and low thermal conductivity via the assistance of CaCl 2. The porous CA 6 ceramic containing 15 wt% CaCl 2 sintered at 1400 °C for 3 h exhibits desirable compressive strength (7.14 MPa), low bulk density (1.47 g/cm3), high porosity (61.12%), and low conductivity (0.439 W/(m·K)). The results imply that CaCl 2 , as a pore-forming agent and an additional source of CaO, provides a large number of liquid phases and resulting in quantities of closed pores. Moreover, the reactions between molten Al 2 O 3 and CaCl 2 alter the mass transfer modes of Al 2 O 3 and accelerate its phase transition to α-Al 2 O 3 in addition to contributing to the conversion of CaCl 2 to CaO and the subsequent formation of CA 6 , which results in the entire synthesis of low-temperature CA 6 at around 1400 °C. Therefore, there is no need for extra salt washing treatment owing to the consumption and evaporation of CaCl 2 , which makes this one-step molten salt method much more advantageous in terms of its economical and highly efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Arabidopsis, phosphate starvation (‐Pi)‐induced responses of primary root and lateral root growth are documented to be correlated with ambient iron (Fe) status. However, whether and how Fe participates in ‐Pi‐induced root hair growth (RHG) remains unclear. Here, responses of RHG to different Fe concentrations under Pi sufficiency/deficiency were verified. Generally, distinct dosage effects of Fe on RHG appeared at both Pi levels, due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Following analyses using auxin mutants and the phr1 mutant revealed that auxin and the central regulator PHR1 are required for Fe‐triggered RHG under −Pi. A further proteomic study indicated that processes of vesicle trafficking and auxin synthesis and transport were affected by Fe under −Pi, which were subsequently validated by using a vesicle trafficking inhibitor, brefeldin A, and an auxin reporter, R2D2. Moreover, vesicle trafficking‐mediated recycling of PIN2, an auxin efflux transporter, was notably affected by Fe under ‐Pi. Correspondingly, root hairs of pin2 mutant displayed attenuated responses to Fe under ‐Pi. Together, we propose that Fe affects auxin signalling probably by modulating vesicle trafficking, chiefly the PIN2 recycling, which might work jointly with PHR1 on modulating ‐Pi‐induced RHG. Summary statement: Fe is extensively involved in −Pi‐induced primary root growth in Arabidopsis, but its roles in −Pi‐induced root hair growth (RHG) remains unclear. This study demonstrates the dosage effects of Fe on RHG under −Pi and elaborates how vesicle trafficking and auxin signalling are involved in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental investigations of turbulent boundary-layer flows over a semi-circular riblet surface were conducted to study the mechanisms of friction drag reduction. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) was performed to analyze the statistics of the turbulent boundary layer and the structural properties of the large-scale motions and hotwire anemometry (HWA) was conducted to determine the energy spectra of the near-wall turbulent structures. The skin friction coefficients varied from drag reduction of −5.75% via 0.3% to 10.7% drag increase for riblet spacings in inner units of 17, 31.3, and 50.4 at three freestream velocities. The analyses of the near-wall flow structures indicate that the streamwise coherence is enhanced in the drag reduction regime, while the spatial correlation of the near-wall turbulent flow structures is reduced in the drag neutral and increase regimes. The streamwise energy spectra indicate that in the near-wall region, the energy content is increased by coherent structures at wavelength in inner units in the range of 100–300 for the drag increase regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a comparative analysis of the tyrosinase inhibitory effects of five citrus flavonoids, namely hesperetin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringenin and naringin. Visbile, fluorescence, and fourier transform infrared (FITR) spectroscopies, and molecular dynamic methods were employed to compare the anti‐tyrosinase mechanisms of each flavonoid. Hesperetin, neohesperidin, naringenin and naringin exhibited potent inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 0.74 ± 0.05, 2.19 ± 0.03, 7.50 ± 9.82 and 24.94 ± 8.43 μmol/ml, respectively, all of which were higher than that of kojic acid (0.04 ± 0.02 μmol/ml). The enzymatic kinetics results suggested that hesperetin and naringenin were reversible inhibitors on tyrosinase in the mixed‐type manner. H‐bond and hydrophobic interactions were found to drive the binding of tyrosinase with hesperetin or naringenin, which subsequently changed the FTIR spectroscopy results by decreasing the α‐helix ratio and increasing the β‐turn, β‐sheet and random coil ratio in tyrosinase. Molecular dynamics simulation not only verified some of the experimental results, but also suggested that the binding of hesperetin and naringenin to tyrosinase was spontaneous. The findings of this study indicate that citrus flavonoids are a promising dietary resource for tyrosinase inhibition. Practical applications: Hesperetin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringenin and naringin were typical citrus flavonoids that have anti‐obesity, anti‐oxidation, anti‐inflammation and anti‐diabetes activities. Current study suggested that hesperetin and naringenin were effective reversible inhibitors on tyrosinase in the mixed‐type manner. Hesperetin and naringenin might serve as nutritional and chemical agents for regulating the tyrosinase activity to control melanin level in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remarkable progress has been made in dissecting the molecular mechanisms involved in iron (Fe) homeostasis in plants, especially the identification of key transporter and transcriptional regulatory networks. But how the protein activity of these master players is regulated by Fe status remains underexplored. Recent studies show that major players toggle switch their properties by protein phosphorylation under different Fe conditions and consequently control the signaling cascade and metabolic adjustment. Moreover, Fe deficiency causes changes of multiple kinases and phosphatases. Here, we discuss how these findings highlight the emergence of the protein phosphorylation-dependent regulation for rapid and precise responses to Fe status to attain Fe homeostasis. Further studies will be needed to fully understand the regulation of these intricate networks. Iron (Fe) uptake is dynamically controlled by protein phosphorylation of the major transporter IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER1 (IRT1). The activities of central regulatory factors controlling Fe homeostasis are modulated by protein phosphorylation. Protein phosphorylation is regulated by Fe availability and regulates cellular metabolism. A few protein kinases mediating Fe-related protein phosphorylation have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Zein is commonly used to construct food flavonoid delivery systems. This study investigated the effect and mechanism of zein on the digestive stability of five citrus flavonoids, namely hesperetin (HET), hesperidin (HED), neohesperidin (NHD), naringenin (NEN), and naringin (NIN). RESULTS: Zein enhanced the digestive stability of the five citrus flavonoids, especially that of HET and NEN, during digestion in the stomach and small intestine. Fluorescence spectroscopy results suggested that citrus flavonoids spontaneously quenched the endogenous fluorescence of zein in static quenching mode. The binding of HET, HED and NHD to zein was driven respectively by electrostatic, hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction. However, Van der Waals' force and hydrogen (H)‐bond interaction represented the primary driving force for binding NEN, and NIN to zein to form complexes. The binding of the five citrus flavonoids to zein also caused a diverse bathochromic shift in ultraviolet absorbance. Analysis using Fourier‐transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the binding behavior of the five citrus flavonoids had different effects on changes in the secondary structures, disulfide bonds, and tyrosine exposure of zein. The results were also partially verified by molecular dynamic simulation. CONCLUSIONS: Zein enhanced the digestive stability of the five citrus flavonoids via different binding interactions that was due to the difference in molecular structure of citrus flavonoids. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fitness evaluation mechanism (FEM) based on nondominated sorting may lead to slow convergence when solving large-scale many-objective optimization problems (LSMaOPs), because the number of comparisons will become extremely large with the increase of optimization objectives and iterations. To solve this problem, a novel FEM based on distance and cosine similarity (DCS) is proposed in this paper. In each iteration, DCS needs to generate an ideal point after normalizing all objective functions. DCS consists of two important components, i.e., the distance and cosine similarity. The distance similarity that mines the similar relationship between solutions and ideal point is calculated as the convergence measure, and the cosine similarity that reflects the uniformity of solution distribution is calculated as the diversity measure. Furthermore, DCS fuses the distance and cosine similarity into a comprehensive similarity to fully evaluate the quality of solutions. Both theoretical analysis and empirical results indicate that DCS has lower computational complexity than other state-of-the-art FEMs. To verify the performance of DCS in solving LSMaOPs, DCS and the competitors are respectively embedded in genetic algorithm, and then compared on 56 test instances with 5–15 objectives and 100–1000 decision variables. The experimental results show the effectiveness and superiority of DCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fitness evaluation mechanism (FEM) based on nondominated sorting may lead to slow convergence when solving large-scale many-objective optimization problems (LSMaOPs), because the number of comparisons will become extremely large with the increase of optimization objectives and iterations. To solve this problem, a novel FEM based on distance and cosine similarity (DCS) is proposed in this paper. In each iteration, DCS needs to generate an ideal point after normalizing all objective functions. DCS consists of two important components, i.e., the distance and cosine similarity. The distance similarity that mines the similar relationship between solutions and ideal point is calculated as the convergence measure, and the cosine similarity that reflects the uniformity of solution distribution is calculated as the diversity measure. Furthermore, DCS fuses the distance and cosine similarity into a comprehensive similarity to fully evaluate the quality of solutions. Both theoretical analysis and empirical results indicate that DCS has lower computational complexity than other state-of-the-art FEMs. To verify the performance of DCS in solving LSMaOPs, DCS and the competitors are respectively embedded in genetic algorithm, and then compared on 56 test instances with 5–15 objectives and 100–1000 decision variables. The experimental results show the effectiveness and superiority of DCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soluble growth stimulation expressed gene 2 (sST2) is a new generation biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of heart failure (HF). Here, the sST2-specific aptamers were selected from a random ssDNA library with the full length of 88 nucleotides (nt) via target-immobilized magnetic beads (MB)-based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) technology. After eight rounds of selection, six aptamers with the most enrichment were selected. Among, the aptamer L1 showed the high-affinity binding to sST2 with the lowest Kd value (77.3 ± 0.05 nM), which was chosen as the optimal aptamer for further molecular docking. Then, the aptamer L1 was used to construct a graphene oxide (GO) - based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor for sST2, which exhibits a linear detection range of 0.1–100 μg/ml and a detection limit of 3.7 ng/ml. The aptasensor was applied to detect sST2 in real samples, with a good correlation and agreement with the traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) when quantitative analyzing the sST2 concentration in serum samples from HF patients. The results show that not only an efficient strategy for screening the practicable aptamer, but also a rapid and sensitive detection platform for sST2 were established. [Display omitted] • A specific sST2 aptamer with high affinity was obtained via MB-based SELEX and SPR. • A fast and specific aptasensor for human sST2 was established through the selected aptamer and GO-based FRET. • The constructed fluorescent detection assay exhibited a good practicability with high sensitivity and specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood dyeing technology is of great significance to improve the utilization rate of inferior wood resources. The challenge to imitating precious wood species by inferior wood is to quickly and accurately obtain the dyeing formula of precious wood species. This study uses Genetic Algorithm (GA) to optimize Extreme learning machine (ELM), and then a predictive model based on GA-ELM is proposed for predicting the dyeing formula of precious wood species. The sum of the relative deviations of the three dyes between the predicted formula and the actual formula, that is, the relative deviation of the formula, is calculated to evaluate the model's prediction accuracy. The simulation results show that the average relative deviations of the formula predicted by Back Propagation (BP) neural network, Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network, ELM, and GA-ELM are 0.808, 0.717, 0.708, and 0.262. The prediction deviation of the GA-ELM is much smaller than that of other traditional neural networks, which can achieve good results in wood production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positioning and tracking of containers is becoming an urgent demand of container transportation. Map matching algorithms have been widely applied to correct positioning errors. Because container trajectories have the characteristics of low sampling rate and missing GPS points, existing map matching algorithms based on the shortest path principle are not applicable for container positioning and tracking. To solve this problem, a historical-trajectories-based map matching algorithm (HTMM) is proposed. HTMM mines the travel time and the frequency in historical trajectories to help find the local path between two adjacent candidate points. HTMM first presents a path reconstruction method to calculate the travel time of historical trajectories on each road segment. A historical path index library based on a path tree is then developed to efficiently index historical paths. In addition, a location query and tracking method is introduced to determine the location of containers at given time. The performance of HTMM is validated on a real freight trajectory dataset. The experimental results show that HTMM has more than 3% and 5% improvement over the ST-Matching algorithm and HMM-based algorithm, respectively, at 60–300 s sampling intervals. The positioning error is reduced by half at a 60 s sampling interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed the "two‐step dialysis" method and AB‐8 or D101 macroporous resin chromatography to isolate the anthocyanins in red radishes (ARR). The red radish juice was dialyzed twice at 3000 and 500 Da, respectively. UHPLC‐QqQ‐MS/MS revealed 24 types of ARRs, of which pelargonidin (Pg)‐3‐diglucoside‐5‐(malonyl)glucoside (P3D5MG), Pg‐3‐diglucoside‐5‐glucoside (P3D5G), Pg‐3‐(feruloyl)diglucoside‐5‐(malonyl)glucoside (P3FD5MG), Pg, and malvidin (Mv) represented the main compounds. The total anthocyanin content in the ARR prepared via the "two‐step dialysis" method was 29.69% and 18.44% higher than that obtained using AB‐8 and D101 macroporous resins, respectively. The ARRs inhibited heat‐induced β‐lactoglobulin (β‐Lg) oxidation. The amino acid residue microenvironment and secondary β‐Lg structure were modified via ARR binding. The energy involved in P3D5MG and β‐Lg binding was −392 kJ/mol, which was significantly lower than that during the binding process of P3D5M, P3FD5MG, Pg, and Mv to β‐Lg (−338 to −168 kJ/mol). These results indicated that "two‐step dialysis" was a promising method for deriving natural pigment with strong antioxidant activity from red radishes. Practical Application: As a natural food colorant, anthocyanins have attracted increasing attention in the food industry in recent years. This study used "two‐step dialysis" to effectively separate ARRs. Moreover, the anthocyanins in ARR can bind to β‐Lg to protect against heating‐induced oxidation. Therefore, ARRs may not only act as a food pigment but also as antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of communication technology, train control operation system develops gradually, which significantly improves the reliability and efficiency of train operation. The current mobile Internet has gradually highlighted the many limitations of the mobile Internet in the high-speed mobile environment, which seriously deteriorate the service quality and user experience, and cause a waste of resources. In order to meet the real-time requirements of network communication resource scheduling in the mobile environment, aiming at the multidimensional dynamic adaptation framework constructed in a mobile environment, a service and network adaptation mechanism based on link failure state prediction is proposed in the paper. First, cross-layer theoretical analysis and actual data analysis are combined to construct a wireless link failure probability model. Then, reliable transmission requirements and transmission overhead are applied to optimize goals. Finally, simulation experiments are carried out according to the railway network data to evaluate the E-GCF adaptation algorithm. The experiment results show that compared with the current mainstream algorithms, the prediction accuracy of this adaptation algorithm is improved by 25%. The execution time of the algorithm is reduced by 9.6 seconds and the successful submission rate is as high as 99.99%. The advantages of the algorithm are significantly superior other algorithms. It proves that the research method of this paper can effectively improve the satisfaction rate and utility value of reliable transmission, as well as enhance the throughput performance. It solves the adaptation problems of frequent switching and low utilization of heterogeneous networks in a mobile environment, which contributes to the high-quality communication service of mobile network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Varroa destructor prefers to invade the worker and drone larvae of Apis mellifera rather than Apis cerana. • There is a significant difference between the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of worker and drone larvae of the two bee hosts. • Apis mellifera worker and drone larvae express significantly higher amounts of methyl-alkanes. • Apis cerana worker and drone larvae produce higher levels of alkenes. • The cuticular hydrocarbons on the larval body surface mediate the preferential cell invasion of Varroa mites. Honey bees (Apis) are important pollinators for food crops and wild plants, but are facing great threats from pathogens and parasites, especially an obligate ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Cell invasion is a key step for V. destructor to reproduce, and the parasite displays remarkable host preference in this process. Varroa destructor made its host-shift from its original host, the Asian honey bee Apis cerana, to the new host, the European honey bee Apis mellifera several decades ago. However, it remains largely unstudied whether V. destructor shows a cell invasion preference between the two host species. Using cell invasion bioassays on a modified four-well arena, we showed that V. destructor significantly preferred to invade the worker and drone larvae of A. mellifera rather than A. cerana , suggesting that the new host is much more attractive to the parasite than the original one. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we revealed significant differences between the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles of worker and drone larvae of the two bee hosts. The amounts of methyl-branched alkanes and alkenes (unsaturated CHCs), but not n -alkanes, were significantly different, and A. mellifera worker and drone larvae were found to express significantly higher amounts of methyl-alkanes, while A. cerana larvae produced higher amounts of alkenes. Cell invasion bioassays with glass dummies showed that the mites preferred the glass dummies coated with the CHCs of A. mellifera worker or drone larvae, which indicates a role of larval CHCs in mediating the preferential cell invasion of Varroa. The findings from this study extend our understanding of the host preference of V. destructor , and can potentially contribute to the development of effective strategies for mite control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• AIJD is an appropriate drying method for black carrot slices. • Color of black carrot slice is significantly changed during AIJD. • Degradations of C3XFGG and C3XSGG are non-spontaneous and endothermic reactions. • The a* and chroma values show strong positive correlation with anthocyanin content. • Our Python codes visualize correlation between anthocyanin contents and colors. To identify interesting relationships between anthocyanin degradation and color variation during food processing, black carrot slice (BCS) was dried by air-impingement jet drying (AIJD) and hot air drying (HAD). AIJD was a better technology for drying BCS than HAD. Results of colorimeter determination showed that the color of BCS was significantly changed during AIJD at 50, 60 and 70 °C. UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS analysis found that AIJD-induced degradations of main BCS anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-xylosyl(feruloylglucosyl)galactoside and cyanidin-3-xylosyl(sinapoylglucosyl)galactoside, belonged to non-spontaneous endothermic reactions, which followed the 0.5- and 1-order kinetic equations, respectively. Anthocyanin content and colors obtained from colorimeter presented strong positive correlation, particularly the a* and chroma values. We further developed a Python script based on image recognition technology to visualize the correlation matrixes between the anthocyanin contents and colors of BSC images. The plots revealed that strong positive correlations between anthocyanins and colors primarily concentrated in the sample's periphery following a concentric pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) effectively utilizes numerous host proteins and pathways to establish a successful infection. Consequently, it becomes imperative to investigate novel host factors implicated in viral infections to gain a deeper understanding of PRV pathogenesis. In this study, we reveal that the host heat shock protein, DNAJB8, functions as a negative regulator in PRV replication. Our findings indicated that both mRNA and protein levels of DNAJB8 were downregulated in cells infected with PRV. Further analysis demonstrated that overexpressing DNAJB8 suppressed PRV replication, whereas its knockdown enhanced viral replication. From a mechanistic perspective, DNAJB8 promoted cellular autophagy, subsequently impeding viral replication. Additionally, we discovered that the transcription factor SOX30 regulated DNAJB8 expression, thereby influencing viral replication. Collectively, these findings enhance our comprehension of the roles played by DNAJB8 and SOX30 in viral replication, broadening our knowledge of virus-host interactions. ● DNAJB8 inhibits pseudorabies virus replication via promoting autophagy. ● Pseudorabies virus inhibits the endogenous levels of DNAJB8. ● DNAJB8 activity is controlled by the transcription factor SOX30. ● Pseudorabies virus decreases the levels of SOX30. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the adaptive event-triggered dynamic output feedback control problem for vehicle active suspension systems with nonlinearity and uncertainty based on interval type-2 fuzzy method. Firstly, considering the dynamic behaviors of the spring and shock absorber are highly nonlinear, a fuzzy suspension model is established to capture the nonlinearity and uncertainty of the suspension systems based on interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy rules. Secondly, in order to decrease the transmission burden, an event-triggered mechanism is employed to decide whether the sampled signal is transmitted or not with an adaptive triggering threshold. Thirdly, by combining the fuzzy dynamic output feedback control law with event-triggered mechanism, a co-design method of fuzzy controller and event generator is proposed to improve the suspension performances and save network resources simultaneously. Finally, experimental tests under multiple pavement are implemented to verify that the proposed method can improve the performance of ride comfort and reduce communication burden simultaneously, despite the existence of unmeasurable states and nonlinearities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content of tea polyphenols (TPP), tea total flavones (TFS) and tea catechin compounds in Ya'an Tibetan tea after different storage times was investigated, and the α‐glucosidase inhibition activity and antioxidative activity of tea were measured. Moreover, the correlation between the levels of tea catechins in Ya'an Tibetan tea with different storage years and their bioactivities were evaluated. During the period of storage, the content of Tibetan tea polyphenols decreased, and the content of Tibetan tea flavonoids increased significantly. Five catechins were identified in Ya'an Tibetan tea using UPLC‐QqQ‐MS/MS, and the Ya'an Tibetan tea had diverse antioxidant activities and α‐glucosidase inhibitory activities over different storage years, due to the various tea catechin components. (‐)‐epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (‐)‐epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (‐)‐epicatechin (EC) were found to be responsible for its strong antioxidant activity and α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity, indicating Ya'an Tibetan tea has potential as a functional food. Practical applications: Ya'an Tibetan tea, also called as Kangzhuan brick tea, is a typical Chinese dark tea with a dark brown color. The change of the main active substances and its bioactivity in Ya'an Tibetan tea during a long‐term storage was obtained in this study. These findings have provided important reference basis for people to have a better understanding of the chemical constituents and bioactivity of Ya'an Tibetan tea which store for a long time. Moreover, our study showed Ya'an Tibetan tea has high antioxidant activity and α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity. These findings will improve product quality and upgrade Ya'an Tibetan tea industry, and promotes Tibetan tea economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-essential amino acid produced from methionine. It has been reported that high concentrations of Hcy are related to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and induce the disruption of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) by triggering oxidative stress and inflammation. LCZ696 is a novel antihypertensive agent that has been recently reported to possess promising anti-inflammatory properties. However, whether it has a protective effect on the BBB disruption is still unknown. For the first time, in this study, we aim to investigate whether LCZ696 exerts anti-inflammatory effects on Hcy-induced injury in brain endothelial cells and explore its neuroprotective properties. In in vivo experiments, we found that treatment with LCZ696 ameliorated oxidative stress by reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing glutathione (GSH). Furthermore, LCZ696 downregulated the excessive release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) at mRNA and protein levels. Importantly, it reversed the disruption of the BBB induced by Hcy stimulation. In the in vitro human brain microvascular endothelial cell (HBMVEC) experiments, compared to the control, the permeability of the endothelial monolayer was significantly enlarged, the expression level of occludin declined, and Egr-1 upregulated by the introduction of Hcy, and these were all reversed by the treatment with LCZ696. Lastly, we found that the protective effects of LCZ696 against Hcy-induced reduction of occludin and hyper-permeability of the endothelial monolayer were greatly abolished by the overexpression of Egr-1. Taken together, we found that LCZ696 protected against Hcy-induced impairment of BBB integrity by increasing the expression of occludin, all mediated by the inhibition of Egr-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective pain management is limited for patients during prostate biopsy (PBx). Touch support, such as hand holding, has stress-buffering benefits and effective analgesic effects. We conducted a prospective, single-center randomized clinical trial to assess whether hand holding can reduce patient anxiety, pain, and dissatisfaction during PBx. Methods: Between April 2020 and October 2020, 120 male patients were randomized into three groups: a hand holding with relatives (HR) group, a hand holding with strangers (HS) group and a control group. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for self-assessments of pain and satisfaction. Anxiety levels were quantified according to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Hemodynamic changes were also measured. Results: The degree of pain and anxiety in the hand-holding groups was significantly better than that in the control group (P< 0.001), and the patients were more willing to undergo repeat PBx (P=0.017). The anxiety levels in the HR group were significantly lower than those in the HS group (P=0.019). During PBx, the changes in systolic blood pressure and heart rate in the hand-holding groups were more stable than those in the control group (P< 0.01), and the fluctuations in heart rate in the HR group were smaller than those in the HS group (P< 0.01). Conclusion: Hand holding, especially with relatives, can promote incremental reductions in anxiety, pain and dissatisfaction in patients during PBx. Hence, we recommend hand holding with relatives as an effective adjunct during PBx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid injection into rock formations can either produce complex branched hydraulic fractures, create simple planar fractures, or be dominated by porous diffusion. Currently, the optimum injection parameters to create branched fractures are unknown. We conducted repeatable hydraulic fracturing experiments using analog‐rock samples with controlled heterogeneity to quantify the fluid parameters that promote fracture branching. A large range of injection rates and fluid viscosities were used to investigate their effects on induced fracture patterns. Paired with a simple analytical model, our results identify the threshold at which fracture transitions from an isolated planar crack to branched cracks when closed natural fractures exist. These results demonstrate that this transition can be controlled by injection rate and fluid viscosity. In relation to the field practices, the present model predicts slickwater and lower viscosity fluid injections promote fracture branching, with the Marcellus shale used as an example. Plain Language Summary: Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting fluid under high pressure into wells to create fractures. This is a key technique that enables economic hydrocarbon production from tight petroleum‐bearing formations whose ability to produce is otherwise too low. The same technique has also been researched for geothermal energy exploitation. Previous studies demonstrate that hydraulic fractures can either grow as planar or bifurcate into multiple branches. Branched fractures provide a larger surface area which is beneficial for increasing gas production from wells. Except for a 2019 incomplete theoretical study by the authors, the conditions that cause branching were until now experimentally unverified, and so one had to rely on intuitive guessing how to achieve it and optimize it. To address this problem, we conducted laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments to quantify the injection rates and fluid viscosities that will cause branching. Our results indicate that fractures can transition from a single planar crack to branched cracks when the fluid viscosity is in an optimum range for a given injection rate. We also propose a theory to predict our experimental results and apply our results to field applications. This provides a useful new capability to improve the control of hydraulic fracturing. Key Points: The transition from planar to branched hydraulic fractures was observed and quantifiedBranching requires permeable, pre‐existing natural weak layers with microcracks as well as a favorable stress stateFracture branching is promoted by optimized injection rates and fluid viscosity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of semiconductor-based photoelectrocatalysts with superior activity is of great importance for water purification. Here, we fabricated graphene oxide (GO)-wrapped Ti/PbO2 photoanodes by combination of electrochemical deposition and electrophoretic deposition process. The as-obtained composite electrodes showed better performance for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of reactive brilliant blue KN-R, as compared with that of Ti/PbO2 reference. Experimental results demonstrated that the efficient PEC performance of graphene oxide (GO)-wrapped Ti/PbO2 photoanodes could be ascribed to the low charge transfer resistance, large electrochemical active areas, and high separation efficiency of induced electrons/holes. Furthermore, a significant photoelectric synergy effect can be observed for the graphene oxide (GO)-wrapped Ti/PbO2 photoanodes during the photoelectrocatalytic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a novel adaptive-event-trigger-based fuzzy nonlinear lateral dynamic control algorithm for autonomous electric vehicles under insecure communication networks. The integration of path following control and direct yaw moment control is considered to acquire a better lateral dynamic performance. To effectively tackle inherent nonlinearities of lateral dynamics, the Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model approach is employed to approximate the nonlinear lateral dynamics. To avoid the infeasibility of state-feedback control due to the immeasurability of sideslip angle, a fuzzy output feedback control strategy is proposed via a useful transformation. To improve resource utilization of the band-limited communication networks, an adaptive event-triggered communication mechanism is proposed to save communication resource. Moreover, to enhance the robustness of the proposed controller, the insecure communication link is considered, which is described by the Bernoulli random distributed process. Finally, simulation results show the proposed adaptive-event-trigger-based fuzzy controller not only can save communication resource, but also achieve the perfect control performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solve a multi-equipment integrated scheduling problem in a U-shaped port. • Consider double-cycling mode and uncertain operation time with a cascade effect. • Incorporate anti-cascade effect into a new robust-proactive scheduling framework. • Integrate a mixed-integer programming model with a bi-objective solution algorithm. • Examine real case study and explore implications in port or other industries. The integrated scheduling of quay cranes, internal vehicles, and yard cranes in container terminals aims to improve port operations and often requires scheduling robustness under uncertainty with cascade effects. In container terminal operations, uncertainty in equipment operating time poses challenges to effective scheduling, as even small fluctuations can create cascade effects throughout the operations, rendering the original schedule ineffective. This research aims to develop a new method that enables a balance between optimization and robustness in container terminal scheduling. Additionally, the double-cycling operation mode and U-shaped port layout, known for their improved efficiency in container terminals, are gaining increasing attention and hence are incorporated into this study. It creates a three-stage hybrid flow shop scheduling problem with bi-directional flows, waiting time, and uncertain operation time. To address the complex problem, a mixed integer programming model is proposed to characterize the integrated scheduling problem, and an index based on complex network structure entropy is designed to evaluate the anti-cascade effect as well as the robustness of the schedule. The index and makespan serve as the bi-objectives, transforming the original problem into a bi-objective optimization one. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-Ⅱ with appropriate coding and decoding rules is utilized to solve the model and obtain a set of Pareto frontier solutions. The feasibility of the new method is verified through a real case analysis. Specifically, comparative analysis with basic stochastic programming, basic robust optimization, triangular fuzzy programming, and maximum gap method are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method. The paper also provides insightful practical implications for port managers, and the genericity of the method could also contribute to its practical values spreading to a wider scope of beneficiaries, such as manufacturing warehousing and distribution management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condition monitoring and early warning of vortex rope are necessary to prevent unit resonance and other detrimental consequences for the Francis turbine. Previous studies focus on pressure pulsation to determine the vortex rope precession frequency directly. However, non-intrusive vibration monitoring is more suitable for industrial applications. The vibration signal is always accompanied by heavy noise. To eliminate these interferences, this study proposes the particle swarm optimization for second-order cyclostationarity (PSO-CS2) to identify the characteristic frequency bands of vortex rope. Firstly, the evolution process is divided into three states based on its physical behavior and spatial location. Secondly, it is pointed out that the vibration signal induced by vortex rope possesses cyclostationarity, allowing for the establishment of cyclostationary models for different vortex rope stages. Subsequently, the CS2 indicator is designed to evaluate the development state of vortex rope, and the PSO-CS2 algorithm is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed PSO-CS2 is validated by simulation signals and experimental data from a scaled turbine model. The results demonstrate that the developing stage is dominated by second-order cyclostationary noise in a relatively high-frequency band of vortex rope and the shaft frequency and vortex rope precession frequency are presented in the final stage. • The vortex rope evolution process in Francis turbine is divided into three stages. • The cyclostationary models of vibration signal under different stages are established. • The PSO-CS2 is proposed to locate the vortex rope related characteristic bands. • Shaft frequency and vortex rope precession frequency is used for vortex rope recognition. • The effectiveness of PSO-CS2 is verified by simulation signals and experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable hydrophobic anode is deemed to be a promising electrode for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of wastewater. In this study, the C3N4-modified Ti/PbO2 electrode with tunable hydrophobic characteristics is fabricated by a facile electrodeposition process. It is found that the introduction of C3N4 into the PbO2 films changed the morphology, surface hydrophilicity, and hydrophobicity of the electrode, which promotes the photoelectrochemical active areas, generating efficiency of hydroxyl radicals. In addition, introducing C3N4 into PbO2 coating can enhance oxygen evolution potential and carrier density of PbO2. Photoelectrocatalytic degradation experiments show that the addition of C3N4 can further improve the catalytic performance of PbO2 and there exists a significant photoelectric synergism in photoelectrocatalytic process. These results demonstrate that the combination of reasonable surface hydrophobic characteristics and photoelectrocatalytic is a prospective approach for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hongjv peel (HP), a spice rich in polyphenols, is generally dried for its preservation. Hot air drying (HAD) at 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, and 80°C was performed in this study to dehydrate HP and it was found that the drying rate increased in line with the increase of HAD temperature. Absorbance analysis showed that HAD induced significant decreases in the total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity of HP. Ultra performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐MS/MS) analysis found 18 phytochemicals in the HP, including 11 flavonoids, 6 phenolic acids, and 1 triterpenoid, while multivariate analysis revealed that chlorogenic acid, hesperidin, naringenin, and phloretin in the HP were influenced mainly by HAD. HAD‐induced degradations were non‐spontaneous, endothermic reactions, consistent with the first‐order reaction kinetics. In addition, the results suggest that HAD is more likely to degrade polyphenols that include an ester bond or glucoside. Practical applications: Among the various methods of preservation used to process spices, HAD is still the most effective. The polyphenol of HP possesses numerous health benefits, including being anti‐oxidative, anti‐inflammatory, anticancer, antiproliferative, and other qualities. This study provides a method through which to obtain insight into the effects of HAD on polyphenols in food, and indicates potential targets to increase the polyphenol content in HP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot air drying is a commonly used technology in the preservation of red radish. This study was designed to investigate the correlations among total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant activities and polyphenol compounds in hot air dried red radish via chemometric analysis. UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS analysis detected nine non-anthocyanin polyphenols and one anthocyanin in fresh and dried red radish samples, and found that hot air drying at 80 °C caused an increase in the p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid content of the red radish. The integral effect of hot air drying on the polyphenol profile of red radish was analyzed by principle component analysis, while sparse partial least squares-discriminant analysis showed that hot air drying induced changes mainly in the contents of poncirin, naringenin, phloetin and cyanidin-3-glucoside. These polyphenol degradations occurred as non-spontaneous and endothermic reactions during the hot air drying process, following first-order reaction kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ELK3, an ETS domain-containing transcription factor, participates in various physiological and pathological processes including cell proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, and malignant progression. However, the role of ELK3 in prostate cancer cells and its mechanism are not fully understood. The contribution of ELK3 to prostate cancer progression was investigated in the present study. We showed that silencing of ELK3 by siRNA in prostate cancer cell DU145 induced S-M phase arrest, promoted apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and suppressed xenograft growth in mice in vivo. In accordance with its ability to arrest cells in S-M phase, the expression of cyclin A and cyclin B was downregulated. In addition, the expression of p53 was upregulated following ELK3 knockdown, while that of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 was decreased. The migration inhibition may partly due to upregulation of SERPINE1 (a serine protease inhibitor) followed ELK3 knockdown. Consistently, downregulation of SERPINE1 resulted in a modest elimination of migration inhibition resulted from ELK3 knockdown. Furthermore, we found that the AKT signaling was activated in ELK3 knockdown cells, and treatment these cells with AKT inhibitor attenuated SERPINE1 expression induced by ELK3 silencing, suggesting that activation of AKT pathway may be one of the reasons for upregulation of SERPINE1 after ELK3 knockdown. In conclusion, modulation of ELK3 expression may control the progression of prostate cancer partly by regulating cell growth, apoptosis, and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work addresses recognition of human activities with different time duration. • A method based on adaptive sliding time windows is proposed. • A MGD-based dynamic time window adjustment algorithm is proposed. • The proposed adaptive sliding window method improves the recognition accuracy. The incessant diffusion of smart wearable devices and Body Area Networks (BANs) systems is pushing more and more researches on human activity recognition. Previous studies usually adopted fixed time window or chose an optimal window size depending on the characteristics of the activity. In this paper, we propose an adaptive time window-based algorithm of activity recognition, which addresses the problem of different types of activities having different time duration that usually causes poor recognition results. Multivariate Gaussian Distribution (MGD) method was used to detect the signal difference between each determined time window and the defined activity characteristics, and we more accurately define the time window size for each activity. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, we focused on the activities performed by wheelchair users in their daily life, so as to provide them with better healthcare services. We construct two different datasets, respectively considering static and dynamic wheelchair user activities on different ground surfaces. Then, we use time window expansion and contraction method to determine and dynamically adjust the window size for each activity. Different comparison criteria such as recognition precision and F-score were used to evaluate our algorithm. Experiment results revealed that, according to F-score, the proposed algorithm performs 15.3% better than traditional methods in static conditions. In dynamic scenarios we observed 6.4% and 24.5% improvements on flat and rough floors, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal synchronous conditions to extract tea polysaccharides (TPS) and tea polyphenols (TPP) from Ya'an Tibetan tea were investigated, and the antioxidative capacity of TPS and TPP was measured, and the tea was analyzed to identify the polyphenol compounds it contained. On the basis of single‐factor experiments, a Box–Behnken design and response surface methodology were applied to optimize the hot water extraction conditions. The optimal extraction technology was determined as extraction temperature of 83°C, time of 104 min, and liquid‐to‐material ratio of 41 ml/g, yielding TPP and TPS at 42.70 ± 2.38 mg/g and 53.86 ± 3.79 mg/g, respectively. The TPS and TPP in Ya'an Tibetan tea have high eliminating activities on DPPH and strong reducing power, with TPP showing a higher antioxidant activity than TPS. UHPLC‐QqQ‐MS/MS analysis identified EGCG, GCG, and ECG as major polyphenol components in Ya'an Tibetan tea. These findings might promote the application of Ya'an Tibetan tea in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The static anisotropic elastic properties of shales can be measured by performing uniaxial compression on core specimens with bedding planes of different inclination angles (or anisotropy angles). However, these measurements differ when different numbers of specimens are tested, mainly because of the heterogeneity of shales. This study aimed to quantify the uncertainties of the anisotropic elastic properties of a shale when testing different numbers of specimens with distinct anisotropic angles. Three sets of room-dried core samples were prepared, and each set consisted of seven specimens with incremental anisotropic angles of 15°. Uniaxial compression measurements were used to determine the anisotropic elastic properties for a given number (2–7) of specimens in each set. The results indicated that the uncertainties of the determined anisotropic elastic properties decreased monotonically as the number of measurements was increased. The results also suggested that at least five specimens with different anisotropic angles should be tested in order to obtain accurate elastic properties (uncertainty <10%). An additional set of wet specimens of the same shale were also tested and analyzed. It was found that water absorption significantly decreased Young's moduli, increased Poisson's ratios, and had a limited effect on the shear modulus. The wet specimens also displayed a slightly stronger anisotropic ratio of the elastic moduli compared to the room-dried specimens. Finally, the alteration of the anisotropic elastic properties of shales upon water absorption was tentatively related to the mineralogy and microstructure heterogeneity. The findings of this study have major implications for many geoengineering operations where the anisotropic elastic properties of shales must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The T-S fuzzy method is used to approximate the nonlinear uncertain dynamics. • A finite frequency control criterion is formulated based on the Lyapunov theory. • A parallel-distributed compensation strategy is used in the fuzzy SOF controller. This paper investigates the problem of fuzzy finite-frequency output feedback control for nonlinear active suspension systems with time delay and output constraints. Firstly, as the physical suspension systems always exist the phenomenon of sprung and un-sprung mass variation and time delay, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is adopted to represent the nonlinear uncertain active suspension system with uncertainties and time delay. Secondly, since the human body is much more sensitive to vertical vibrations between 4 and 8 Hz, a finite-frequency control criterion is formulated for the controller deign with consideration of time delay and output constraints. Other mechanical constraints such as suspension travel, tire dynamic deflection and actuator saturation are also considered. Thirdly, on a practical point of view, not all the states are online measurable. Hence, a novel fuzzy static output feedback (SOF) controller is proposed by applying the parallel-distributed compensation (PDC) scheme. The sufficient conditions for deriving the fuzzy SOF controller are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, numerical simulations on a quarter-car suspension model are conducted to validate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed fuzzy SOF controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active suspension has drawn considerable attention due to its superiority in improving the vehicle vertical dynamics. This paper investigates robust nonfragile H ∞ optimal control for the vehicle active suspension with time-varying actuator delay. Firstly, the dynamic equation of an active suspension system with actuator delay is established in terms of the main performance objectives, that is, ride comfort, handling ability, and road holding. Then, a robust nonfragile H ∞ optimal controller is proposed to deal with the problem of active suspension control with time delay and actuator uncertainty, which is based on Lyapunov theory, convex optimization, and the linear matrix inequality approach. Finally, a quarter-car test rig is used for an experiment to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed controller can ensure the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system with bounded time-varying actuator delay, while managing the tradeoff between the conflicting performances and achieving performance optimization for the active suspension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) is an important economic breeding species along the southeast coast of China. As a crustacean, molting is critical for growth and reproduction. At each molting, a new external cuticle of mud crab is inherently regenerated, but along with molting the crabs are easily susceptible to pathogenic infection that might result in a low survival rate particularly at juvenile stages. To elucidate the potential response mechanism of juvenile mud crabs infected with bacteria in the molting process, integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic techniques were applied and the hormones, associated-hormone genes or immune genes modulated by challenge with Staphylococcus aureus or Vibrio alginolyticus were analyzed. The omic analysis showed that S. aureus or V. alginolyticus infection caused decreases in steroid hormones (cortisol, cortodoxone, cortisone, deoxycorticosterone) and fatty acid-derived hormones (prostaglandin A2, Δ17–6-keto prostaglandin F1α, 13,14-Dihydro-15-keto-tetranor prostaglandin F1α, prostaglandin B2, 2,3-Dinor-11β-prostaglandin F2α, thromboxane B2, and 11-Dehydro thromboxane B2). Correspondingly, transcriptomic analysis revealed that both S. aureus and V. alginolyticus infection downregulated the expression levels of fatty acid-derived hormone synthases. In addition, both bacterial infections caused upregulation in Toll, IMD, the Jak/Stat pathway, antimicrobial peptide, and the prophenoloxidase system. The study provides a new insight into the effects of bacteria on the juvenile crab molting process in vivo that lead to the modulation of both immune-associated genes and hormones. • Bacterial infection upregulated many immune genes during the molting process. • Steroid hormones and fatty acid-derived hormones were reduced during the molting process with bacterial infection. • Cortisol were significantly reduced after infection with both S. aureus and V. alginolyticus. • Many peptide hormones of mud crab were upregulated after bacterial infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Degradation of p-nitrophenol by DBD plasma/PS/Fe2+ was studied. • PS and Fe2+ improved the degradation of p-nitrophenol by DBD. • Fe2+ and DBD plasma synergistically activates PS into radical species. • SO 4 − and OH are the important radical species for p-nitrophenol degradation. • Besides Fe2+, electron and heat from DBD may be responsible for activating PS. Abstract Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in situ generates reactive species (e*, OH, O, H, H 2 O 2 , O 3 , etc.), UV irradiation and local high temperature. These physiochemical effects can non-selectively destroy aqueous organic contaminants, but the energy efficiency of DBD plasma for water decontamination can be further improved. Persulfate (S 2 O 8 2 - , PS) and ferrous ions (Fe2+) were employed for enhancing the degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP). An addition of both S 2 O 8 2 - (<2.5 mM) and Fe2+ (<36 µM) in PNP solution apparently promoted the degradation efficiency of PNP and energy efficiency compared to discharge plasma alone, due to a more production of active OH and SO 4 · - through Fenton-like reactions and PS activation process. Moreover, the tertiary system of plasma/PS/Fe2+ (81.1%) presented higher PNP degradation efficiency after 50 min treatment than discharge plasma alone (34.8%) and the binary systems of plasma/PS (63.6%), plasma/Fe2+ (69.6%) and PS/Fe2+ (13.7%). However, an excessive addition of S 2 O 8 2 - (2.5–3.6 mM) and Fe2+ (36–360 µM) had unobvious or even harmful influence on PNP degradation, possibly due to the enhanced recombination or consumption of OH and SO 4 · - by radical side reactions. The effect of radical scavengers on PNP degradation indicates that OH was the most important radical species in plasma system for PNP degradation, but SO 4 · - was also very important for PNP degradation when PS was present in solution. Besides Fe2+ and the heat effect from discharge plasma, the electrons produced by electric discharge may also be one of the important contributors to the activation of PS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ingestion of tea flavonoids (TF) and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) contributes to anti-hyperlipidaemia. In the current study, TF or FOS or TF together with FOS were orally administrated to mice fed a high sucrose (HS) diet. UPLC-MS analyses showed that FOS significantly increased the concentrations of urine catechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate and gallocatechin gallate. The mice fed with HS for continuous 8 weeks exhibited severe dyslipidemia and abnormal liver fat accumulation. However, oral administration of FOS or TF or in combination significantly decreased the effects of HS on the serum total cholesterol, total triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein. Co-treatment of FOS and TF more effectively regulated lipid metabolism by inhibiting lipogenesis. Intake of TF together with FOS reduced the level of dyslipidemia marker (elaidic acid) by increasing anti-oxidative activity than treatments of FOS or TP alone in HS-fed mice. Histological observations of liver confirmed these health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study evaluated the effects of vacuum drying on the whole polyphenol profile of loquat fruit, including extractive and nonextractive polyphenols. Absorbance analysis determined that total polyphenol content and antioxidant levels were higher in loquat fruit vacuum dried at 140 °C than in loquat fruit vacuum dried at 70 °C. The results of ultra‐HPLC–triple quadruple mass spectrum analysis showed that 15 phenolic acids and 17 flavonoids were found in dried loquat fruit. Multivariate integrative (MINT) sparse partial least square‐discriminant analysis showed that vacuum drying affects the polyphenol profile of loquat fruit. Co‐analysis of principal component analysis, partial least square‐discriminant analysis, and orthometric partial least square‐discriminant analysis revealed that vacuum drying mainly changed the content of chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, phloretin, and hesperidin in loquat fruit. Chlorogenic acid (12.020 to 39.153 µg/g d.b. [dried base weight]), the main polyphenol in dried loquat fruit, was degraded to caffeic acid (0.028 to 2.365 µg/g d.b.) and protocatechuic acid (0.014 to 18.285 µg/g d.b.) during vacuum drying. Moreover, vacuum drying also induced the isomerization of chlorogenic acid into cryptochlorogenic acid (1.628 to 12.737 µg/g d.b.). These results might be used to develop dried loquat fruit with high levels of polyphenols and antioxidant activity. Practical Application: Interests in polyphenols of loquat fruit had increased greatly because of their possible role in health benefits. This work provided a holistic insight in the effects of vacuum drying on polyphenols profile of loquat fruit. Current results have contributed to the development of vacuum‐drying method, which produced loquat fruit rich in polyphenols. Furthermore, it also suggested that multivariate analysis was a feasible method to reveal the important changes of polyphenols profile during food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Coherent structures in an actively drag-reduced zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer are investigated using particle-image velocimetry (PIV) and micro-particle-tracking velocimetry (μ -PTV). The friction drag reduction is achieved by spanwise traveling waves via wall-normal deflection of an aluminum surface generated by an electromagnetic actuator system. For a momentum thickness based Reynolds number R e θ = 1200 flow, the measurements yield a maximum local drag reduction of 5.3%. The coherent structures in the streamwise vertical and streamwise horizontal planes are measured by phase-averaged PIV. The spanwise traveling transversal surface waves manipulate the coherent structures by interrupting the regeneration cycle of the wall-bounded turbulence. The Reynolds stresses are enhanced in the outer part of the boundary layer above the wave trough. The turbulence production is shifted off the wall during the upward motion of the wall due to the wall-normal momentum induced by the transversal surface waves. This finding is substantiated by the distributions of the wall-normal vorticity fluctuations and two-point correlations. A secondary spanwise flow induced by the waves generates a net spanwise fluid transport in the direction of the wave propagation. This secondary flow prevents the low-speed streaks to follow the downward motion. It rearranges them in the outer region of the boundary layer resulting in the shift of the near-wall turbulence production off the wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]