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Paulownia fortunei, one of the world's fastest growing timber tree species, is universally applied with fertilizer as a management approach to meet the nutrient requirements for efficient cultivation. The substantial effects of fertilizer on soil microorganisms in Paulownia plantations have been empirically tested; however, the successive chronosequence of soil microbial carbon and nitrogen functional genes under different fertilizer application durations remains limited. The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics of soil microorganisms involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) production under different fertilizer application durations. Different fertilizer treatments, i.e., the short-term group (SG) versus the long-term group (LG), and durations were applied to subtropical plantations in southern China and compared with zonal evergreen broad-leaved forests. Results showed that fertilizer treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of Acidobacteriota and the expression of nirK and nosZ. The functional groups that dominated metabolism in SG and LG treatments belonged to Actinobacteria and Acidobacteriota, respectively, suggesting that the nutrient preference of microorganisms in forest soil may change from copiotrophs to oligotrophs with increasing fertilizer application duration. Correlation network analysis showed that the communities that dominated the carbon and nitrogen cycles belonged to Actinobacteria and Acidobacteriota, respectively, and were closely related to ammonium nitrogen and available iron. Actinobacteria and Acidobacteriota were likely the major taxa that affected soil GHG production under different fertilizer application durations. We concluded that long-term fertilizer use changed the preference of microbial nutrient uptake into recalcitrant nutrients, and the sensitivity of the microbial community to nutrients gradually decreased with increasing fertilizer application time. The dominant Actinobacteria affected soil carbon and nitrogen cycles largely by stimulating denitrification to increase the release of nitrous oxide, which might lead to the loss of nitrogen components and the intensification of the GHG effect with increasing fertilizer application time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This retrospective case-controlled study aimed to evaluate the association between the severity of fall-related injuries and fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) in hospitalized patients. Methods: Data were collected from Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan, of all adult inpatients who experienced falls between January 2017 and December 2021, and were divided into two groups based on whether they sustained severe fall-related injuries. Retrospective data that may affect the severity of fall-related injuries and the use of FRIDs were investigated. Results: Among 1231 documented cases of falls, 26 patients sustained severe fall-related injuries. Older patients and those with osteoporosis were more susceptible to more severe injuries from a fall. The use of mobility aids and osteoporosis medications showed protective effects against fall injuries. No significant association was observed between fall-related injuries and comorbidities or FRIDs. Multivariate analysis confirmed the inverse correlation between the use of mobility aids, osteoporosis medications, and fall severity. Patients with osteoporosis exhibited significantly higher odds of sustaining more severe injuries with a fall (odds ratio = 3.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–7.53). Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of addressing risk factors associated with fall severity among hospitalized patients. Providing mobility aids to persons at greater risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the 2D incompressible anisotropic magneto-micropolar fluid equations with vertical dissipation, horizontal magnetic diffusion, and horizontal vortex viscosity. The goal is to investigate the stability of perturbations near a background magnetic field in the 2D magneto-micropolar fluid equations. Two main results are obtained. The first result is based on the linear system. Global existence for any large initial data and asymptotic linear stability are established. The second result explores stability for the nonlinear system. It is proven that if the initial data are sufficiently small, then the solution for some perturbations near a background magnetic field remains small. Additionally, the long-time behaviour of the solution is presented. The most challenging terms in the proof are the linear terms in the velocity equation and the micro-rotation equation that will grow with respect to time t. We are able to find some background fields to control the growth of the linear terms. Our results reveal that some background fields can stabilise electrically conducting fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are recognized as among the best potential alternative battery systems to lithium-ion batteries and have been widely investigated. However, the shuttle effect has severely restricted the advancement in their practical applications. Here, we prepare vanadium nitride (VN) nanoparticles grown in situ on a nitrogen-doped carbon skeleton (denoted as VN@NC) derived from the MAX phase and use it as separator modification materials for LSBs to suppress the shuttle effect and optimize electrochemical performance. Thanks to the outstanding catalytic performance of VN and the superior electrical conductivity of carbon skeleton derived from MAX, the synergistic effect between the two accelerates the kinetics of both lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) to Li2S and the reverse reaction, effectively suppresses the shuttle effect, and increases cathode sulfur availability, significantly enhancing the electrochemical performance of LSBs. LSBs constructed with VN@NC-modified separators achieve outstanding rate performance and cycle stability. With a capacity of 560 mAh g−1 at 4 C, it exhibits enhanced structural and chemical stability. At 1 C, the device has an incipient capacity of 1052.4 mAh g−1, and the degradation rate averaged only 0.085% over 400cycles. Meanwhile, the LSBs also show larger capacities and good cycling stability at a low electrolyte/sulfur ratio and high surface-loaded sulfur conditions. Thus, a facile and efficient way of preparing modified materials for separators is provided to realize high-performance LSBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hydrophobic eutectogel is facilely produced through the polymerization of hydrophobic monomers in a hydrophobic DES. • The hydrophobic eutectogel shows outstanding water resistance (water contact angle over 110°) and extraordinary durability (over 1000 testing cycles) underwater. • Hydrophobic eutectogel can be utilized as strain and pressure sensors underwater. • Hydrophobic eutectogel sensors can transmit information through Morse code, performing as a underwater communicator. Eutectogels derived from deep eutectic solvents (DESs) exhibit great potential for the fabrication of flexible sensors. However, the hygroscopicity of eutectogels hinders their applications in underwater sensing. In this work, a hydrophobic eutectogel with exceptional long-term underwater stability is produced through one-step polymerization of lauryl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate in a hydrophobic DES. The hydrophobic gel network and hydrophobic DES fulfill the eutectogel with outstanding water resistance (water contact angle > 110°) and excellent mechanical properties in an aqueous environment, thus leading to extraordinary durability (over 1000 testing cycles). Additionally, based on this eutectogel, underwater strain and pressure sensors with high sensitivity, rapid responsiveness, and superior durability were fabricated for accurate real-time monitoring of human activity. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the eutectogel sensor can transmit information through Morse code, performing as a wearable underwater communicator. This research provides an exemplary way for a demonstration method of hydrophobic eutectogel for durable underwater applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characterization of natural fungal diversity impacts our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes and can lead to novel bioproduct discovery. Russula and Lactarius, both in the order Russulales, represent two large genera of ectomycorrhizal fungi that include edible as well as toxic varieties. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses, including nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the 28S large subunit of ribosomal RNA (LSU), the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2), the ribosomal mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU), and the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) gene sequences, we here describe and illustrate two new species of Russula and one new species of Lactarius from southern China. These three new species are: R. junzifengensis (R. subsect. Virescentinae), R. zonatus (R. subsect. Crassotunicatae), and L. jianyangensis (L. subsect. Zonarii). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major histocompatibility complexes of vertebrates play a key role in the immune response. Antigen-presenting cells are loaded on MHC I molecules, which mainly present endogenous antigens; when MHC I presents exogenous antigens, this is called cross-presentation. The discovery of cross-presentation provides an important theoretical basis for the study of exogenous antigens. Cross-presentation is a complex process in which MHC I molecules present antigens to the cell surface to activate CD8+ T lymphocytes. The process of cross-representation includes many components, and this article briefly outlines the origins and development of MHC molecules, gene structures, functions, and their classical presentation pathways. The cross-presentation pathways of MHC I molecules, the cell lines that support cross-presentation, and the mechanisms of MHC I molecular transporting are all reviewed. After more than 40 years of research, the specific mechanism of cross-presentation is still unclear. In this paper, we summarize cross-presentation and anticipate the research and development prospects for cross-presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Excessive CO 2 emissions have contributed to global environmental issues, driving the development of CO 2 capture adsorbents. Among various candidates, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered the most promising due to their unique microporous structure. Herein, a series of partially interpenetrated MOFs named UPC-XX were built to investigate the continuous enhancement in CO 2 capture performance via synergistic effects from functional group, pore size, and steric-hindrance using theoretical calculations. It's showed that the introduction of functional groups improved the structure polarity and created more adsorption sites, thus, enhanced CO 2 capture capacity. The pore size modification augments the exposure of adsorption sites to mitigate the negative impact of pore space and surface area reduction caused by the introduction of functional groups, thereby further increasing the CO 2 capture capacity. The steric-hindrance effect optimized the adsorption sites distribution, which hasn't been considered in the previous two regulation strategies, thus, further increased the CO 2 capture capacity. The results underscore UPC-MOFs as outstanding adsorbent materials, among the UPC-MOFs, UPC-OSO 3 -steric exhibited the highest CO 2 capture capacity of 12.69 mmol/g with selectivities of 1142.41 (CO 2 over N 2) and 507.42 (CO 2 over CH 4) at 1.0 bar, 298 K. And the synergistic effect mechanisms of functional group, structure size, and steric hindrance were elucidated through theoretical calculations analyzing pore characteristics, gas distribution, isosteric heat, and van der Waals/Coulomb interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insect pathogenic fungus, Ascosphaera apis, is the causative agent of honeybee chalk brood disease. Amylases are secreted by many plant pathogenic fungi to access host nutrients through the metabolism of starch, and the identification of new amylases can have important biotechnological applications. Production of amylase by A. apis in submerged culture was optimized using the response surface method (RSM). Media composition was modeled using Box–Behnken design (BBD) at three levels of three variables, and the model was experimentally validated to predict amylase activity (R2 = 0.9528). Amylase activity was highest (45.28 ± 1.16 U/mL, mean ± SE) in media composed of 46 g/L maltose and1.51 g/L CaCl2 at a pH of 6.6, where total activity was ~11-fold greater as compared to standard basal media. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity with a 2.5% yield and 14-fold purification. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of 75 kDa and was thermostable and active in a broad pH range (> 80% activity at a pH range of 7–10), with optimal activity at 55 °C and pH = 7.5. Kinetic analyses revealed a Km of 6.22 mmol/L and a Vmax of 4.21 μmol/mL·min using soluble starch as the substrate. Activity was significantly stimulated by Fe2+ and completely inhibited by Cu2+, Mn2+, and Ba2+ (10 mM). Ethanol and chloroform (10% v/v) also caused significant levels of inhibition. The purified amylase essentially exhibited activity only on hydrolyzed soluble starch, producing mainly glucose and maltose, indicating that it is an endo-amylase (α-amylase). Amylase activity peaked at 99.38 U/mL fermented in a 3.7 L-bioreactor (2.15-fold greater than what was observed in flask cultures). These data provide a strategy for optimizing the production of enzymes from fungi and provide insight into the α-amylase of A. apis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron-Heart Cunninghamia lanceolata, a wild relative of Chinese fir with valuable genetic and breeding traits, has been limited in genetic studies due to a lack of genomic resources and markers. In this study, we conducted transcriptome sequencing of Iron-Heart C. lanceolata leaves using Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and performed assembly and analysis. We obtained 45,326,576 clean reads and 115,501 unigenes. Comparative analysis in five functional databases resulted in successful annotation of 26,278 unigenes, with 6,693 unigenes annotated in all databases (5.79% of the total). UniProt and Pfam databases provided annotations for 22,673 and 18,315 unigenes, respectively. Gene Ontology analysis categorized 23,962 unigenes into three categories. KEGG database alignment annotated 10,195 unigenes, classifying them into five categories: metabolism, genetic information, biological systems, cellular processes, and environmental information processing. From the unigenes, we identified 5,645 SSRs, with dinucleotides repeats being the most common (41.47%). We observed variations in repeat numbers and base compositions, with the majority of markers ranging from 12 to 29 bp in length. We randomly selected 200 primer pairs and successfully amplified 15 pairs of polymorphic SSR primers, which effectively distinguished Chinese fir plants of different origins. This study provides insights into the genetic characteristics of Iron-Heart C. lanceolata and offers a foundation for future molecular marker development, breeding programs, genetic diversity analysis, and conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using 2-(9-phenanthryl)pyridine (phpyr) and its derivatives as cyclometalated ligands, we synthesized a set of isomeric red-emitting complexes Ir(phpyr-R)2tmd (R = –H, –CF3, –F and –CH3, tmd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-3,5-dione) with different coordinated modes, including bis-five-membered and five- + six-membered Ir-(C^N) ring chelating modes. The latter are the first examples of hetero-coordinated Ir(C^N)2(L^X)-type complexes containing both five- and six-membered Ir-(C^N) metallocycles. Their coordination geometries were distinctly determined using X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compared to typical bis-five-membered ring-chelated complexes, these novel hetero-coordinated isomers show bathochromic emission and lower quantum yields. On careful analysis of their electrochemical behavior and DFT calculations, it has been found that the regulatory effects of the solitary six-membered metallocycles in Ir(phpyr-R)2tmd could not only stabilize the LUMO but also destabilize the HOMO, leading to a narrower energy gap. More importantly, DFT calculations of the relative energies of these isomeric complexes demonstrated that bis-five-membered and five- + six-membered chelating modes are more stable compared to bis-six-membered rings, consistent with experiments. This work provides guidance for the structural design of Ir(C^N)2(L^X)-type complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed 4D printing shape‐memory polymers (SMPs) have been endorsed as an emerging paradigm for developing adaptive dynamic components with sophisticated architectures and biomimetic adaptation capacities. However, the species of SMPs systems are still rare while most of them are produced from expensive monomers which have restricted their mass production. Moreover, most SMPs show poor elongation at break and strain which cannot support a higher degree of bending during shape memory deformation. Herein, a kind of new epoxy vinyl ester resin ink is developed and improves the 4D printing process of shape memory epoxy‐based polymer. By adjusting the printing conditions to match the ink property, a series of precisely designed printing structures are successfully produced. The printed SMP system shows a favorable strain rate under heat‐treated conditions above its glass transition temperature (Tg) which leads to fine shape memory performance. Furthermore, the printed components obtained through micro to macro multi‐scale 4D printing structure design confirm its application potential as dynamic adaptive devices in aerospace and safety engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A structured carambola-like CoWO4 was fast prepared by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method with the help of urea and NH4F. Physical characterization indicated that the as-obtained CoWO4 displayed a large specific surface area, high dispersion and self-selected orientation of crystal growth. Further electrochemical tests presented a high specific capacity of 492.0 C ⋅ g − 1 at 1 A ⋅ g − 1 , low internal resistance and excellent cycle stability as 137.3% capacity maintenance after 8000 cycles at 20 A ⋅ g − 1 . These excellent electrochemical properties for the as-obtained material indicate that CoWO4 has great potential as hybrid supercapacitor electrode materials. This work also provides a new and effective solution for regulating the morphology of CoWO4-based hybrid supercapacitor materials to further improve the electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key step of tumor lymphatic metastasis, lymphangiogenesis is regulated by VEGFC‐VEGFR3 signaling pathway mediated by immune cells, mainly macrophages, in the tumor microenvironment. However, little is known whether tumor associated neutrophils are involved in lymphangiogenesis. Here, it is found that TANs infiltration is increased in LN‐metastatic BCa and is associated with poor prognosis. Neutrophil depletion results in significant reduction in popliteal LN metastasis and lymphangiogenesis. Mechanistically, transcription factor ETV4 enhances BCa cells‐derived CXCL1/8 to recruit TANs, leading to the increase of VEGFA and MMP9 from TANs, and then facilitating lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis of BCa. Moreover, phosphorylation of ETV4 at tyrosine 392 by tyrosine kinase PTK6 increases nuclear translocation of ETV4 and is essential for its function in BCa. Overall, the findings reveal a novel mechanism of how tumor cells regulate TANs‐induced lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis and identify ETV4 as a therapeutic target of LN metastasis in BCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma spray physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) is a technology that combines the advantages of traditional atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) and electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). As the feedstock of the PS-PVD, nano-agglomerated powder is critical on determining the microstructure of the obtained coating. In this study, a method to characterize the cohesion of nano-agglomerated powders was investigated. The nano-agglomerated powders fractured into smaller particles under ultrasonic waves. Their particle size distributions were measured to quantitatively compare their cohesiveness. The change rate in the percentage of powders with particle size less than 5 μm was selected as the value for the cohesion comparison. A high change rate corresponded to a faster fracture and lower powder cohesion. Furthermore, the fracture behavior and heat and mass transfer process of nano-agglomerated powders in the plasma torch were studied by combining 3-D simulation and observation of the microstructures of PS-PVD coatings sprayed with different powders. To obtain a quasi-columnar coating, the nano-agglomerated powder required high cohesion. Finally, a suitable powder was selected and quasi-columnar structure coatings were obtained by optimizing the PS-PVD parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timeliness of order deliveries seriously impacts customers' evaluation of logistics services and, hence, has increasingly received attention. Due to the diverse and large quantities of orders under the background of electronic commerce, how to pick orders efficiently while also adapting these features has become one of the most challenging problems for distribution centers. However, previous studies have not accounted for the differences in the stochastic characteristics of order generation, which may lead to asymmetric optimization problems. With this in mind, a new asymmetric polling-based model that assumes the varying stochastic characteristics to analyze such order picking systems is put forward. In addition, two important indicators of the system, mean queue length (MQL) and mean waiting time (MWT), are derived by using probability-generating functions and the embedded Markov chain. Then, simulation experiments and a comparison of the numerical and theoretical results are conducted, showing the usefulness and practicalities of the proposed model. Finally, the paper discusses the characteristics of the novel order picking system and the influence of the MQL and MWT on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart surfaces as one of the promising enabling technologies for sixth-generation wireless communications (6G) are paving their way. In this article, aiming at radio frequency electromagnetic field compliance assessments of them, two approximate approaches, namely the array-theory approach and the equivalent-current approach, are investigated. Smart surfaces with different beams, sizes, and shapes are designed, assessed, and analyzed. The results are compared with those of a reference approach, which is based on full-wave simulations, in terms of assessment accuracy. On one hand, both the approximate approaches provide significant improvement in assessment time, which is quite useful for compliance assessments in exposure scenarios with large numbers of possible beam states. On the other hand, it is found that the assessment accuracy for the two approximate approaches depends intrinsically on system configurations. Specifically, for a circle-shaped smart surface with a diameter equaling 21 times of the element periodicity, except for extreme situations where scanning angle is far from broadside, overestimated front compliance distances with relative errors no more than 30% and 24% are obtained for the array-theory approach and the equivalent-current approach, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For wire-feed laser additive manufacturing (WLAM), the build geometrical parameters are one of the indicators of build quality; thus, it is crucial to monitor the geometrical parameters in real-time for quality assurance. However, the current research and development for in situ geometry monitoring are in the early phase due to interweaved correlation of the sensing data and their comprehensive effects on the bead geometry, as well as the high characterization cost to model these effects. This paper focuses on using machine learning techniques to enable in-process geometry monitoring by comprehensively modeling the correlation between the real-time molten pool sensing data and bead geometry properties. A deep learning-based multi-modality convolutional neural network (m-CNN) is trained to take the molten pool image and thermal profile as the input to comprehensively estimate the geometric properties of the build bead. The network is configured by the hyperparameter optimization process and experimentally validated by the real-time molten pool sensing data collected on a wire-feed laser additive manufacturing (AM) system. The effect of using the temperature data from the leading, center, and tailing positions of the molten pool on the prediction performance of the CNN model is studied and analyzed. The CNN model's performance is compared with a support vector regression model for comparison. The developed model represents an in-process monitoring framework for real-time estimation of post-processing bead geometric properties and takes a step towards developing in situ quality control strategy for the metal AM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The response of chemotherapy and prognosis in bladder cancer is unsatisfied. • Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and ADC improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. • Emerging targets in cancer cells and TME spawned novel preclinical agents. • Novel drug delivery, such as nanotechnology, enhances effects of chemotherapeutics. • The organoid and PDX model are promising to screen and evaluate the target therapy. Chemotherapy is a first-line treatment for advanced and metastatic bladder cancer, but the unsatisfactory objective response rate to this treatment yields poor 5-year patient survival. Only PD-1/PD-L1-based immune checkpoint inhibitors, FGFR3 inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates are approved by the FDA to be used in bladder cancer, mainly for platinum-refractory or platinum-ineligible locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Emerging studies indicate that the combination of targeted therapy and chemotherapy shows better efficacy than targeted therapy or chemotherapy alone. Newly identified targets in cancer cells and various functions of the tumour microenvironment have spawned novel agents and regimens, which give impetus to sensitizing chemotherapy in the bladder cancer setting. This review aims to present the current evidence for potentiating the efficacy of chemotherapy in bladder cancer. We focus on combining chemotherapy with other treatments as follows: targeted therapy, including immunotherapy and antibody-drug conjugates in clinic; novel targeted drugs and nanoparticles in preclinical models and potential targets that may contribute to chemosensitivity in future clinical practice. The prospect of precision therapy is also discussed in bladder cancer. Combining chemotherapy drugs with immune checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates and VEGF inhibitors potentially elevates the response rate and survival. Novel targets, including cancer stem cells, DNA damage repair, antiapoptosis, drug metabolism and the tumour microenvironment, contribute to chemosensitization. Gene alteration-based drug selection and patient-derived xenograft- and organoid-based drug validation are the future for precision therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resting tremor is an essential characteristic in patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD).Objective: Quantification and monitoring of tremor severity is clinically important to help achieve medication or rehabilitation guidance in daily monitoring.Methods: Wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometers were utilized to record the long-term acceleration signals of PD patients with different tremor severities rated by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Based on the extracted features, three kinds of classifiers were used to identify different tremor severities. Statistical tests were further designed for the feature analysis.Results: The support vector machine (SVM) achieved the best performance with an overall accuracy of 94.84%. Additional feature analysis indicated the validity of the proposed feature combination and revealed the importance of different features in differentiating tremor severities.Conclusion: The present work obtains a high-accuracy classification in tremor severity, which is expected to play a crucial role in PD treatment and symptom monitoring in real life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Seawater intrusion and reclamation are the main salinization processes of shallow groundwater. • Saline water in deep groundwater originates from evaporite dissolution. • Saline-fresh water interfaces in shallow and deep groundwater are determined. • Human activities are the main influencing factors of shallow groundwater. Coastal groundwater salinization, contaminants and water resource shortage have become the main coastal groundwater environmental issues globally, drastically affecting human living and ecological environments. This study provides a new insight into the salinization process and influencing factors of groundwater in different aquifers of coastal deltas. Luanhe River Delta, a typical estuarine delta, is used to analyze multiple salinization processes and the quality of shallow and deep groundwater using hydrochemical and monitoring approaches. The analysis has verified the obvious difference of groundwater quality and, the location and influencing factors of saline-fresh water interface in shallow groundwater and deep groundwater. For shallow groundwater, water–rock interactions, seawater intrusion, evaporation and reclamation are the main salinization processes. For deep groundwater, water–rock interactions, saline water intrusion, evaporation and marine transgression are the main salinization processes. The salinization and quality of groundwater are divided into four units in shallow groundwater and three units in deep groundwater. Coastal groundwater salinization causes complex groundwater quality unsuitable for human consumption in some areas. Groundwater resources in different aquifers of coastal deltas should be managed and used in different zones. Local governments should formulate groundwater exploitation plans and rationally plan for groundwater utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Emerging g-DLP technique and shape memory polymers were employed to the dual information encryption. • Reconfigurable geometry and tunable optics provide the encryption and decryption behaviors under the stimulations of temperature and humidity. • The dual information encryption system is erasable, repeatable, and programmable. • The encrypted information system can be stored or decrypted permanently through the different post-processing methods. Dual information encryption such as geometry and transparency switching is highly desirable for preventing the leakage of confidential information and constructing a secure environment which has wide range of applications in privacy protection, anti-counterfeiting, and information security. However, it is still a challenge to develop a novel encrypted strategy and smart material to achieve credible protective capacity for stored information by a facile and programmed manner. Herein, integrating with arbitrary grayscale stereolithography, the hydrophilic ultraviolet (UV) curable shape memory polymers (HU-SMPs) with superior mechanical properties (the tensile strength of 29.39 MPa, elongation of 46.32 %, and the toughness of 1021.98 kJ.m−3) were prepared, which can be used for multifunctional information encryption. During the encrypted process, the HU-SMPs with the performances of high deformable and excellent shape memory behaviors can provide the preprogrammed morphological information and inevitable encryption, while the humidity-responsive of HU-SMPs capable of generating revisable transparency switching that can be encoded as the secondary information encryption. In this way, the dual encrypted information in the HU-SMPs is readable only after sequential shape recovery and fast hydration under heat-stimuli and humidity-stimuli. In addition, with the aid of digitally grayscale drawing, the secondary encrypted information is cyclically displayed and erasable due to the reversible hydration and dehydration process of HU-SMPs. Finally, the encrypted information is also can be permanently storage or decryption by the versatile post-processing methods of UV irradiation after and before decryption, respectively. In short, the design of HU-SMPs that compatible with grayscale digital light process (g-DLP)-based 3D printing, will motivates the future development of smart materials and provides a new insight into the information encrypt fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Objective gradation assessment on atrial fibrillation is achieved based on 12-lead ECG in sinus rhythm. • Baseline information, ECG and VCG signals are comprehensively analyzed. • Feature selection is performed and accurate assessment is obtained. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a progressive arrhythmia that significantly affects a patient's quality of life. The 4S-AF scheme is clinically recommended for AF management; however, the evaluation process is complex and time-consuming. This renders its promotion in primary medical institutions challenging. This retrospective study aimed to simplify the evaluation process and present an objective assessment model for AF gradation. In total, 189 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings from 64 patients were included in this study. The data were annotated into two groups (mild and severe) according to the 4S-AF scheme. Using a preprocessed ECG during the sinus rhythm (SR), we obtained a synthesized vectorcardiogram (VCG). Subsequently, various features were calculated from both signals, and age, sex, and medical history were included as baseline characteristics. Different machine learning models, including support vector machines, random forests (RF), and logistic regression, were finally tested with a combination of feature selection techniques. The proposed method demonstrated excellent performance in the classification of AF gradation. With an optimized feature set of VCG and baseline features, the RF model achieved accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 83.02 %, 80.56 %, and 88.24 %, respectively, under the inter-patient paradigm. Our results demonstrate the value of physiological signals in AF gradation evaluation, and VCG signals were effective in identifying mild and severe AF. Considering its low computational complexity and high assessment performance, the proposed model is expected to serve as a useful prognostic tool for clinical AF management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CO 2 capture and separation performance is enhanced by the improved structural polarity and additional adsorption sites created by anchoring alkali metal Li/Na/K. And the increase shows a positive correlation with AM concentration. Specially, UPC-6Li presents the best CO 2 capture capacity of 221.64 cm3 cm−3, along with the CO 2 over N 2 /CH 4 selectivity of 308/206, among UPC-AMs. [Display omitted] • CO 2 capture and separation performance were evaluated in 2D-COFs anchored by different concentration alkali metal (Li, Na, and K). • UPC-6Li exhibited the best CO 2 capture capacity of 221.64 cm3 cm−3 and CO 2 over N 2 /CH 4 selectivity of 308/206. • Improved structural polarity and additional metal adsorption sites are the main reasons for optimized performance. The development of advanced adsorbents with high CO 2 capture and separation performances is essential for decreasing atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Herein, grand canonical Monte Carlo and density functional theory were employed to investigate the adsorption and separation properties of CO 2 , N 2 , and CH 4 in 2D covalent organic framework (COFs) anchored by alkali metal (AMs) Li, Na, and K (UPC-nAMs, n = 3 or 6) at 298 K and 0–1.0 bar. The anchoring of AMs formed favorable adsorption sites, endowing UPC-nAMs with better CO 2 capture and separation performances. This effect was more evident with an increase in Li/Na/K concentration. The CO 2 adsorption capacity of UPC-6Li/Na/K was ∼ 221.64, 188.28, and 140.50 cm3 cm−3. The smaller atomic size of Li occupied less adsorption space, resulting in the highest CO 2 capture capacity of 221.64 cm3 cm−3 with selectivity of 308/206 over N 2 /CH 4 in UPC-6Li at 298 K and 1.0 bar. Structural stability, pore characteristics, isothermal adsorption heat, van der Waals and Coulomb interactions, gas distribution density, adsorption configuration, and gas radial distribution function were analyzed to identify the intrinsic mechanism of anchoring Li/Na/K to improve CO 2 capture and separation performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silica diagenesis has been proved to significantly affect rock composition and fabric. However, it still needs to be clarified how silica diagenesis affects the mechanical properties of shales. To further investigate this impact, we collected shale samples from the Upper Ordovician Wufeng and the Lower Silurian Longmaxi formations, southeast Sichuan Basin. The total organic carbon (TOC) content, mineralogical composition, and major oxide concentrations were measured to characterize the shale composition. Thin-section observations and high-resolution imaging techniques were used to characterize the rock fabric and identify quartz types. The Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and the measured hardness were used to characterize the shale mechanical properties. Four major lithofacies were identified, namely, siliceous shale, siliceous-argillaceous mixed shale, silty mudstone, and argillaceous shale. Three types of authigenic quartz in the Wufeng-Longmaxi formations were observed, namely, quartz overgrowth, matrix-dispersed microquartz, and microquartz aggregates. Matrix-dispersed microquartz is typically mixed with clay matrix, while microquartz aggregates typically coexist with migrated organic matter. The combined analysis of Fe–Al–Mn ternary diagram, cross-plots of Si versus Al, Rb versus K 2 O, and TOC content versus excess silica demonstrate that the dominant silica source of quartz cementation is biogenic. The cross-plot of excess silica contents versus Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and hardness suggest that silica diagenesis significantly affects the mechanical properties of shale rocks. Microquartz aggregates greatly contribute to shale brittleness, while detrital quartz minimally affects shale brittleness if the detrital quartz was enclosed by ductile clay minerals. • Four quartz types were identified in the Wufeng-Longmaxi shales. • Silica cementation could significantly enhance shale rock mechanical properties. • The organic-rich siliceous shale typically manifests the best brittleness behavior. • The evolution patterns of silica diagenesis in different lithofacies were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel hybrid residual manifold convolutional neural network is proposed for sleep staging. • Mitigating the insufficient data problem by leveraging semi-supervised scheme. • Applying the channel attention mechanism for feature extraction. Analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) is a crucial diagnostic criterion for many sleep disorders, of which sleep staging is an important component. Manual stage classification is a labor-intensive process and usually suffered from many subjective factors. Recently, more and more computer-aided techniques have been applied to this task, among which deep convolutional neural network has been performing well as an effective automatic classification model. Despite some comprehensive models have been developed to improve classification results, the accuracy for clinical applications has not been reached due to the lack of sufficient labeled data and the limitation of extracting latent discriminative EEG features. Therefore, we propose a novel hybrid manifold-deep convolutional neural network with hyperbolic attention. To overcome the shortage of labeled data, we update the semi-supervised training scheme as an optimal solution. In order to extract the latent feature representation, we introduce the manifold learning module and the hyperbolic module to extract more discriminative information. Eight subjects from the public dataset are utilized to evaluate our pipeline, and the model achieved 89% accuracy, 70% precision, 80% sensitivity, 72% f1-score and kappa coefficient of 78%, respectively. The proposed model demonstrates powerful ability in extracting feature representation and achieves promising results by using semi-supervised training scheme. Therefore, our approach shows strong potential for future clinical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) is an effective surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and accuracy of a novel 3D-printed patient-specific instrument (PSI) based on "H-point" for medial OWHTO in a prospective cadaver study. Methods: Twenty-six fresh-frozen lower limbs were collected and randomly divided into two groups: PSI group treated with 3D virtual preoperative planning and a novel 3D-printed PSI; control group with the standard technique. 3D models were reversely reconstructed for preoperative surgical planning, guide plate design, and simulated osteotomy. Anatomic features of "H-point," surgical time, fluoroscopic dose, correction accuracy including tibiofemoral angle (FTA) and posterior tibial slope (TS) angle were measured. Results: First, H-point was always described as a bony bulge in the posteromedial to the proximal tibia and had a relatively constant relationship with the osteotomy site. Second, the absolute correction error of mFTA and TS were significantly smaller in the PSI group. The effective rate of TS in the PSI group was more concentrated with absolute correction error within 1° and within 2° for 53.3% and 93.3%, compared to 9.1% and 45.5% in the control group. The total operation time, positioning osteotomy time, distraction correction time and fluoroscopy dose in the PSI group were significantly less than those in the control group. Conclusions: The novel 3D-printed PSI based on H-point is feasibility and accuracy with advantages in terms of TS, surgery time and radiation dose for OWHTO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive ability. Exosomes derived from bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-exos) are extracellular vesicles that can execute the function of bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Given the versatile therapeutic potential of BMSC and BMSC-exos, especially their neuroprotective effect, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential effect of BMSC-exos on AD-like behavioral dysfunction in mice and explore the possible molecular mechanism.Methods: BMSC-exos were extracted from the supernatant of cultured mouse BMSCs, which were isolated from the femur and tibia of adult C57BL/6 mice, purified and sorted via flow cytometry, and cultured in vitro. BMSC-exos were identified via transmission electron microscopy, and typical marker proteins of exosomes were also detected via Western blot. A sporadic AD mouse model was established by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Six weeks later, BMSC-exos were administered via lateral ventricle injection or caudal vein injection lasting five consecutive days, and the control mice were intracerebroventricularly administered an equal volume of solvent. Behavioral performance was observed via the open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze test (EPM), novel object recognition test (NOR), Y maze test (Y-maze), and tail suspension test (TST). The mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the hippocampus were measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. Moreover, the protein expression of Aβ1-42, BACE, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, GFAP, p-Tau (Ser396), Tau5, synaptotagmin-1 (Syt-1), synapsin-1, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus was detected using Western blot, and the expression of GFAP, IBA1, Aβ1-42 and DCX in the hippocampus was measured via immunofluorescence staining.Results: Lateral ventricle administration, but not caudal vein injection of BMSC-exos improved AD-like behaviors in the STZ-injected mouse model, as indicated by the increased number of rearing, increased frequency to the central area, and increased duration and distance traveled in the central area in the OFT, and improved preference index of the novel object in the NOR. Moreover, the hyperactivation of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus of the model mice was inhibited after treatment with BMSC-exos via lateral ventricle administration, accompanied by the reduced expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, Aβ1-42, and p-Tau and upregulated protein expression of synapse-related proteins and BDNF. Furthermore, the results of the Pearson test showed that the preference index of the novel object in the NOR was positively correlated with the hippocampal expression of BDNF, but negatively correlated with the expression of GFAP, IBA1, and IL-1β. Apart from a positive correlation between the hippocampal expression of BDNF and Syt-1, BDNF abundance was found to be negatively correlated with markers of glial activation and the expression of the inflammatory cytokines, Aβ1-42, and p-Tau, which are characteristic neuropathological features of AD.Conclusions: Lateral ventricle administration, but not caudal vein injection of BMSC-exos, can improve AD-like behavioral performance in STZ-injected mice, the mechanism of which might be involved in the regulation of glial activation and its associated neuroinflammation and BDNF-related neuropathological changes in the hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic globalization has swept the whole world. To focus on their main business, enterprises that are referred to as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) outsource non-core production activities to contract manufacturers (CMs). By constructing a two-level supply chain consisting of two competing OEMs and one upstream CM, the strategic interaction of the OEMs between outsourcing and purchasing is studied. Specifically, the CM can offer custom- and predefined modes of original equipment manufacturing (namely, CO mode and PO mode, respectively). The former mode enables OEMs to determine product quality, while the latter only allows them to purchase from several quality configurations. The results show that, first, since the CO mode allows the adopter to lead the product design, whether to choose this mode depends on the required R&D cost. Interestingly, however, a lower R&D cost does not necessarily result in the adoption of the CO mode if the product quality difference is small under the PO mode. Second, the optimal purchasing strategy of an OEM is indifferent to the outsourcing mode (CO and PO) of its rival but significantly affected by the quality cost. However, compared to the PO mode, choosing the CO mode would cause the competitor to suffer more profit losses. Third, differing from the prior literature, this paper finds that when the downstream OEM can make quality decisions, although this may lead to profit loss of the contract manufacturer in some channels, it could benefit the CM overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an asymptotic homogenization framework to simulate the fracture of heterogeneous materials. This framework upscales the phase field model for microscale fracture and yields anisotropic effective properties such as the degraded elasticity tensor and the fracture toughness. Furthermore, it quantitatively accounts for the toughening effect in a simple way. More specifically, when the critical energy release rate of a heterogeneous material is uniform, the framework reveals that toughening is essentially determined by the disparity in the moduli of toughness, the energy per unit volume absorbed by the constituents before cracking. • Asymptotic homogenization for phase field models for fracture. • Both the displacement field and the phase field are upscaled. • Tension-compression asymmetry in the underlying phase field model is incorporated. • Anisotropic fracture toughness tensor obtained with one single computation. • Under uniform fracture toughness, toughening depends on contrast in toughness moduli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There were differential effects in different testosterone active states in gout. • Higher total testosterone in males linked to lower gout risk, not in females. • Higher free testosterone and bioavailable testosterone, higher risks of gout in males. • Higher SHBG were associated with lower risks of gout both in males and females. • Females have the lowest risk of gout at around 70 nmol/L SHBG levels. To investigate the associations between sex hormones and gout. A total of 448,836 individuals free of gout at baseline were included from the UK Biobank. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for gout. Besides, we investigated the causal relationship between bioavailable testosterone (BAT) and gout using mendelian randomization (MR). There were differential effects in different testosterone active states in gout. One-unit higher log-transformed total testosterone (TT) was associated with a 52 % [95 % CI, 0.39–0.58] lower risk of gout in males. In contrast, free testosterone (FT) and BAT were associated with a 74 % [95 % CI, 1.38–2.20] and a 78 % [95 % CI, 1.41–2.25] higher risk of gout in males respectively. For MR, the weighted median [OR, 1.70; 95 % CI, 1.14–2.56;] and inverse variance-weighted [OR, 1.25; 95 % CI, 0.96–1.62; P = 0.09] method revealed significant and approximately significant positive effect of genetic liability to BAT levels on the risk of gout respectively. Sex hormones were potentially associated with gout. Notably, we were the first to explore different testosterone states on gout and found that FT and BAT may increase the risk of gout in males, which is opposite to TT. And the former are active states of androgens, may be more accurately reflect the association between androgens and gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the influence of initial strain on the photo-oxidation aging process of HDPE sheath, the actual strain value of HDPE sheath was calculated based on the design method and the production process of parallel steel wire suspender. The initial strain of HDPE specimen was applied by fixture, and xenon arc lamp accelerated aging test of HDPE were carried out. The results show that after 5000 h xenon arc lamp accelerated aging, the tensile strength, yield strength and secant modulus of the elastic stage of the specimen decrease by 11.19%, 9.15% and 40% respectively. During the aging process, there is no obvious increase or decrease in the elongation at break.There is a critical time in the aging process, when the aging time exceeds the critical time, the yield elongation of HDPE specimen will increase sharply; When the aging time is less than the critical time, the tensile properties of the specimens are basically unchanged with the increase of the initial strain; When the aging time is greater than the critical time, with the increase of initial strain, the tensile strength of the specimen decreases gradually, while the yield strength and secant modulus increase gradually. The critical time increases with the increase of initial strain. In addition, based on the experimental results, the prediction model of HDPE strength and secant modulus is established. The results of this paper lay a foundation for the prediction of the remaining service life of HDPE sheath, which can provide a theoretical basis for the durability design of suspension bridge cable system. • The tensile properties of HDPE sheath for parallel wire suspender after photo-oxidative aging is explored. • The characteristics of elastic stage, strain softening stage, necking stage and orientation hardening stage are analyzed. • With the increase of aging time, the tensile and yield strength and secant modulus in the elastic stage decrease. • When the aging time exceeds a critical time, the yield elongation of the specimen suddenly rises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cu/FeO x catalysts were prepared by hydrothermal method companying with H 2 reduction. • Cu/FeO x was used to catalyze LTWGS and heavy crude oil cracking simultaneously. • Oxalic acid supplies in-situ H 2 for the heavy crude oil upgrading over Cu/FeO x. In this paper, Cu/FeO x composite catalysts were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method followed by a hydrogen gas reduction and were used as the catalysts for the cracking of heavy crude oil and the simultaneous low-temperature water–gas swift (LTWGS) reaction. Oxalic acid was used to generate the reactants (i.e., CO and H 2 O) of LTWGS reaction in-situ through its decomposition under the reaction temperature (200 ℃) of the heavy crude oil cracking. Cu0 in Cu/FeO x acted as a catalyst of the LTWGS reaction (CO + H 2 O ↔ CO 2 + H 2) and α-Fe 2 O 3 in Cu/FeO x acted as a catalyst for the cracking of heavy crude oil. In-situ H 2 coming from the LTWGS reaction promoted the catalytic viscosity reduction rate of heavy crude oil via inhibiting the radicals from recombining. This work gives a new, economical and efficient approach to supplying H 2 for heavy crude oil upgrading through the in-situ LTWGS reaction of the decomposition products of oxalic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• For the first time, first-principles calculations are used to predict the lattice thermal conductivity of free-standing monolayer XS2 (X = mo and W) and monolayer XS2 supported on SiC (0001) and ZnO (0001) substrates. • The lattice thermal conductivity of monolayer XS2 supported on SiC (0001) and ZnO (0001) substrates show a significant decrease, and the decrease is even greater for the monolayer XS2 supported on ZnO (0001) substrates, reaching about 65–70 %. • The substrate drives softening of the acoustic branch, making the low-frequency phonon group velocity decrease and the three-phonon scattering enhance. • From the perspective of atomic bonding, the substrate breaks the symmetry of bonding of monolayer XS2, which leads to the increase of phonon anharmonicity and ultimately to a decrease in thermal conductivity of monolayer XS2. Thermoelectric materials have properties such as direct conversion of waste heat into electricity and environmental friendliness, which make them promising for renewable energy utilization, however, the lower conversion efficiency limits the large-scale application of thermoelectric materials. Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are candidates for thermoelectric materials due to their high power factor, but their higher thermal conductivity (TC) limits the further improvement of the figure of merit (ZT). Here, we employ first-principles calculations and solve the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) to compare the lattice TC of free-standing monolayer XS 2 (X = Mo and W) and monolayer XS 2 supported on SiC (0001) and ZnO (0001) substrates. We find that the lattice TC of monolayer XS 2 supported on SiC (0001) and ZnO (0001) substrates are sharply reduced. Especially supported on the ZnO (0001) substrate, the lattice TC of XS 2 reduce by 65 %–70 %, which is expected to improve the thermoelectric properties of monolayer XS 2. In addition, we report the underlying cause of this significant reduction in TC. Firstly, the substrate drives softening of the acoustic branch, which leads to a decrease of phonon group velocity in the low-frequency and an enhancement of the three-phonon scattering. Then, the asymmetric bonding of XS 2 is induced by the substrates, which enhance phonon anharmonicity and reduce the phonon lifetime. Our results demonstrate that the lattice TC of monolayer XS 2 can be tuned by adjusting the substrate, which has certain reference values for the thermoelectric design of XS 2. SiC (0001) and ZnO (0001) substrates break the symmetry of the monolayer XS 2 (X = Mo and W) bonding, resulting in an increase in phonon anharmonicity, which reduces the contribution of the low-frequency acoustic branch of monolayer XS 2 to the thermal conductivity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings have untwisting under axial force, and the collision in the untwist process bring adverse effects on the structure. To investigate the axial mechanical response of semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings, the equilibrium equations of suspender are deduced by assuming the distribution of steel wire after deformation, the forms of boundary conditions are distinguished according to the use of spherical plain bearing, and the linear equation expressed by equivalent stiffness coefficients is deduced. The Costello theory and finite element modeling are used to verify the proposed calculation method in this paper, and the influence of suspender parameters on the stiffness equivalent coefficient is analyzed. The results show that the proposed calculation method is suitable for multi-layer semi-parallel wire suspenders; the twist angle and the total number of layers of wires have the greatest effect on the stiffness equivalence factor; when the twisting angle is close to 0, the torsional stiffness of suspender is 0.010–0.21 of that of the steel rod with the same section; the axial tensile stiffness of the conventional suspender is basically the same as that of the steel rod with the same section, but the torsional stiffness is only 0.012–0.023 of the steel rod with the same section, and the tension-torsion coupling effect cannot be ignored. The research results provide a concise method to calculate the axial response of semi-parallel wire suspenders, which lays a foundation for the engineering treatment of the untwisting problem of semi-parallel wire suspender using spherical plain bearings. • The axial mechanical response of semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings is investigated. • The expression between axial resultant force, torque and overall strain of twisting structures is deduced and verified. • A concise method to calculate the axial response of semi-parallel wire suspenders is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane (CH4) gas sensors play an important role in industrial safety and detection of indoor gas quality. In general, metal oxide semiconductor sensing materials with nano-structure have high responses to the target gas. However, the sensor resistance is usually very high. Considering the practical application, it is vital to reduce base resistance and improve sensitivity for gas sensors. Herein, Pd-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared as the basis material by a simple sol-gel method. In order to adjust the resistance, the pentavalent metal element (Sb) was introduced via a simple doping route. As CH4 sensing layers, the prepared SnO2-sensors doped with Pd and Sb exhibited the most obvious resistance reduction effect. Meantime, excellent sensing performances including high response, fast response/recovery time, excellent reproducibility and great stability were also obtained. In-depth research has shown that the ability to reduce resistance depends on the effective internal doping of cation with high valence. The enhanced sensing capability can be attributed to the 'synergistic effects' including catalytic effects of novel metals, increased oxygen vacancies and decreased band gap energy. This work can provide a new opportunity to design metal oxide sensing materials with low resistance and high sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering is a typical and important method to discover new structures and knowledge from data sets. Most existing clustering methods need to know the number of clusters in advance, which is difficult. Some algorithms claim they do not need to know the number of clusters in advance. Among these algorithms, however, some need to manually determine the cluster centers in a decision graph, which is not easy; some assume that the number of initial cluster centers given is greater than the actual number of classes, but in fact the true number of clusters is not known. In order to tackle this issue, we propose a density-peak-based clustering algorithm of automatically determining the number of clusters. First, we design a density metric by using a continuous function which can well distinguish the densities of different data points. Then, we design a pre-clustering method which can get the initial cluster centers and the corresponding clusters. Furthermore, we propose an automatic clustering method which can automatically determine the final cluster centers and the corresponding clusters. Experiments are conducted on widely used data sets, and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term monitoring of resting tremor is key to assess the status of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD), which is of vital importance for reasonable medication. The detection and quantification of resting tremor in reported works rely heavily on specified movements and are not appropriate for long-term monitoring in real-life condition. The purpose of this study is to develop a detection model for long-term monitoring of resting tremor and explore an effective indicator for tremor quantification. This study included long-term acceleration data from PD patients and proposed a resting tremor detection model based on machine learning classifiers and Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). Four machine learning classifiers, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and Support Vector Machine (SVM), were compared. Furthermore, an indicator called tremor timing ratio (TTR) was defined and calculated for tremor quantification. The detection model with RF classifier achieved the highest overall accuracy of 94.81%. The sample entropy of the acceleration signal was proved most influential in the classification by exploring the feature importance. Through the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U test, the TTR had a strong correlation with the subscore of resting tremor in Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Such two-step evaluation process for resting tremor can detect the tremor effectively and is expected to be applied in long-term monitoring of PD patients in daily life to realize a more comprehensive assessment of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the supply chain perspective to study the choice of selling model for manufacturers and e-tailers. To accomplish our objective, we consider three selling models, including reselling, agency selling, and mixed selling. By comparing and analyzing the equilibrium outcomes of the three selling models, we obtain some beneficial results. These results show that manufacturers and e-tailers cannot manage to make a profit at the same time whether they choose the reselling model or agency selling model. Our results also show that the mixed selling model may improve supply chain performance, as long as the cross-price elasticity is not low. Especially when the cross-price elasticity is comparatively high, a manufacturer and an e-tailer in vertical competition can achieve a profit-Pareto-improving situation, regardless of the market share of the e-tailer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The influence of myopia and ocular biometry parameters on diabetic retinopathy (DR) needs further clarification. We aimed to investigate the association between ocular biometrical parameters and DR in Chinese people with diabetes mellitus (DM) without any ocular intervention. Methods: This cross‐sectional study recruited type 2 DM patients with no history of ocular treatment in Guangzhou, China. The ocular biometrical parameters were obtained by Lenstar (LS900, Haag‐Streit AG, Koeniz, Switzerland), including corneal diameter, central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal curvature (CC), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT) and axial length (AL). The lens power and axial length‐to‐cornea radius ratio (AL/CR ratio) were calculated. Spherical equivalent (SE) was determined by auto‐refraction after pupil dilation. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the associations of ocular biometry with any DR and vision threatening DR (VTDR). Results: A total of 1838 patients were included in the final analysis, involving 1455 (79.2%) patients without DR and 383(20.8%) patients with DR. After adjusting confounding factors, any DR was independently associated with AL (odds ratio (OR) 0.84 per 1 mm increase, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74, 0.94) and AL/CR ratio (OR 0.26 per 1 increase, 95%CI: 0.10, 0.70). Similarly, the presence of VTDR was independently related to AL (OR 0.67 per 1 mm increase, 95%CI: 0.54, 0.85) and AL/CR ratio (OR 0.04 per 1 increase, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.25). The lens power may not be significantly correlated with presence of any DR or VTDR. The CC, corneal diameter and refractive status were not significantly correlated with presence of DR or VTDR. Conclusion: Longer AL and higher AL/CR ratio may be protective factors against the occurrence and progression of DR. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to verify if refractive status and AL‐associated parameters contribute to the occurrence and progression of DR in type 2 DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt‐sensitive hypertension is common among individuals with essential hypertension, and the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has increased. However, data from early identification of the risk of developing LVH in young adults with salt‐sensitive hypertension are lacking. Thus, the present study aimed to design a nomogram for predicting the risk of developing LVH in young adults with salt‐sensitive hypertension. A retrospective analysis of 580 patients with salt‐sensitive hypertension was conducted. The training set consisted of 70% (n = 406) of the patients, while the validation set consisted of the remaining 30% (n = 174). Based on multivariate analysis of the training set, predictors for LVH were extracted to develop a nomogram. Discrimination curves, calibration curves, and clinical utility were employed to assess the predictive performance of the nomogram. The final simplified nomogram model included age, sex, office systolic blood pressure, duration of hypertension, abdominal obesity, triglyceride‐glucose index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). In the training set, the model demonstrated moderate discrimination, as indicated by an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.863 (95% confidence interval: 0.831–0.894). The calibration curve exhibited good agreement between the predicted and actual probabilities of LVH in the training set. Additionally, the validation set further confirmed the reliability of the prediction nomogram. In conclusions, the simplified nomogram, which consists of seven routine clinical variables, has shown good performance and clinical utility in identifying young adults with salt‐sensitive hypertension who are at high risk of LVH at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) is an enzyme that regulates the production of melatonin, a hormone that is essential for organisms to maintain circadian and annual rhythmic behavior. The AANAT gene has undergone gene duplication and inactivation during evolution. Nevertheless, the majority of mammals retain a solitary copy of AANAT within the biological genome, and the mechanisms by which this gene responds to environmental stimuli remain poorly understood. To address this issue, we investigated the adaptive evolution of AANAT at both the gene and protein levels. Our study revealed the presence of multiple mutation sites within the gene encoding AANAT, with variation in the structure of the AANAT protein observed across different geographic populations. We identified a positive selection of AANAT in populations residing at higher latitudes. Furthermore, individuals exhibiting longer hibernation periods displayed significantly higher catalytic efficiency of the AANAT enzyme compared to those with minimal hibernation behavior, suggesting a potential association between AANAT and hibernation rhythms. This study adds to our understanding of the adaptive evolution of AANAT and may provide molecular evidence for hibernation rhythm adaptation in bats. Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) is a crucial rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of melatonin. AANAT has been confirmed to be independently duplicated and inactivated in different animal taxa in order to adapt to the environment. However, the evolutionary forces associated with having a single copy of AANAT remain unclear. The greater horseshoe bat has a single copy of AANAT but exhibits different hibernation rhythms in various populations. We analyzed the adaptive evolution at the gene and protein levels of AANAT from three distinct genetic lineages in China: northeast (NE), central east (CE), and southwest (SW). The results revealed greater genetic diversity in the AANAT loci of the NE and CE lineage populations that have longer hibernation times, and there were two positive selection loci. The catalytic capacity of AANAT in the Liaoning population that underwent positive selection was significantly higher than that of the Yunnan population (p < 0.05). This difference may be related to the lower proportion of α helix and the variation in two interface residues. The adaptive evolution of AANAT was significantly correlated with climate and environment (p < 0.05). After controlling for geographical factors (latitude and altitude), the evolution of AANAT by the negative temperature factor was represented by the monthly mean temperature (r = −0.6, p < 0.05). The results identified the gene level variation, functional adaptation, and evolutionary driving factors of AANAT, provide an important foundation for further understanding the adaptive evolution of the single copy of AANAT in pteropods, and may offer evidence for adaptive hibernation rhythms in bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C25H23ClO2, orthorhombic, P212121, a = 5.5648(5) Å, b = 17.6062(15) Å, c = 21.5033(19) Å, V = 2106.8(3) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0529, wR ref (F2) = 0.1371, T = 298 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bladder cancer is the most common and lethal cancer of the urinary system. Lymphatic metastasis is the primary and main metastatic type of bladder cancer, leading to an extremely poor prognosis in patients. Therefore, a better understanding of molecular mechanisms may provide potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of lymphatic metastasis in bladder cancer. Herein, we summarize the current knowledge of molecular mechanisms of the lymphatic metastasis in bladder cancer, including lymphangiogenesis and its regulators, noncoding RNAs, and microenvironment-associated molecules. Novel radiomics and genomics approaches have substantially improved the preoperative diagnostic accuracy of lymph node metastasis in patients with bladder cancer. Newly discovered targets may lead to promising therapeutic strategies for clinical intervention in lymphatic metastasis of bladder cancer. More basic and translational studies need to be conducted to further clarify the molecular mechanisms, and identify predictive markers and therapeutic targets of lymphatic metastasis for bladder cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental risks have a significant impact on the sustainability of subway station construction projects. This paper proposes an environmental risk assessment model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP) and set pair analysis (SPA) to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in the assessment. An index system for environmental risk assessment is established based on a literature review and the rough set method. Subsequently, the IFAHP is used to calculate the indicator weights to describe the certainty, uncertainty, and hesitation degree of expert decisions in the weighting calculation by means of affiliation, nonaffiliation, and hesitation. Finally, SPA, which can deal with the randomness, uncertainty, and ambiguity of the indicators, is used to assess environmental risk. A case study of two typical stations (Lushan Avenue Station and Huilong Road West Station) of Metro Line 11 in Chengdu, China, is conducted. The case study results are consistent with field surveys. The evaluation results of the proposed model are more objective and reasonable than those of the traditional analytic hierarchy process, the entropy weight method, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, grey correlation analysis, and technique for order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). The research results prove the scientific validity and superiority of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liu, S.; Gao, M.; Hou, G., and Jia, C., 2021. Groundwater characteristics and mixing processes during the development of a modern estuarine delta (Luanhe River Delta, China). Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 349–363. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Luanhe River Delta (LRD) is divided into two parts, the ancient LRD and the modern LRD (MLRD), and has formed since 7000 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP). The MLRD developed from 2500 cal yr BP. Influenced by paleoclimatic changes and human activity, its groundwater environment is complex. In this study, groundwater monitoring methods, hydrochemistry, and isotopes are used to determine the groundwater characteristics and mixing processes during MLRD development. The groundwater dynamics show seasonal variations. The groundwater salinity distribution features vertical zones and is the same as the stratal distribution. The saline groundwater formation involves evaporation, condensation, hydrolysis, dissolution of evaporated salts, and mixing of groundwater with different qualities and hydrochemical compositions. Brackish water and saline water are the result of mixing between fresh and highly saline waters in deep groundwater based on the hydraulic conditions and the dispersion effect. The formation of the MLRD, which can be described as natural reclamation, provides good groundwater flow and mixing channels. Based on hydrochemical data, the mixing model, and the hydrochemical facies evolution diagram, salinity in shallow groundwater is influenced by seawater intrusion and saline water intrusion. The concentrations of sodium and chloride can indicate the intrusion degree. Precipitation and other freshwater inputs provide the main recharge sources that lead to freshening of the shallow groundwater. Close to the sea, the water exchange between groundwater and seawater is intense, which can lead to similar hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater and local seawater. Saline water intrusion in deep groundwater is more serious than that in shallow groundwater because there is no other freshwater recharge to deep groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yue, B.; Liu, S.; Yan, Z.; Liao, J., and Gao, M., 2021. Geomorphological difference and genesis of typical sandy coasts in the northern and southern Shandong Peninsula. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 380–388. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Two landform monitoring sections of sandy coasts in the southern and northern Shandong Peninsula are chosen as the research objects. Empirical orthogonal functions were used to extract the spatial characteristics function and time characteristics function of the first four modes from the monitoring data in summer and winter from December 2012 to December 2015. Characteristics of spatial changing and beach flat variation of the two sandy coasts were analyzed. Differences in geomorphic features and sedimentary characteristics between the southern and northern coasts have been compared. The difference and impact factors of the dynamic environment in the northern and southern Shandong Peninsula were discussed in this paper. The results show that the first characteristic function is the main model of showing beach section change. On the southern coast, the beach section presents a gradually enhancing trend characteristic from a beach berm to a broken belt. The northern coast shows the main fluctuation characteristic from the high tidal zone to an upper limit of the upper bound, which is related to waves and tides. Moreover, the second and third characteristic functions are controlled by seasonal periodic changes in stormy waves. The fourth characteristic function is speculated to be related to accidental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel wideband, multifunctional space-fed planar array antenna is proposed in this article to independently control forward/backward beams. A novel four-layer polarization-dependent unit cell is introduced as the phasing element. A generalized-scattering-matrix (GSM)-based network model is developed to evaluate the element performance and optimize the element structure. Then, a system-level analysis in terms of source feed performance, antenna configuration, and efficiency factors are demonstrated. To verify the design concept, a $13\times 13$ -element ($195 \text {mm}\times 195 \text {mm}$) antenna prototype is designed, fabricated, and tested. The measured realized gains of the reflectarray functionality and transmitarray functionality at 10 GHz are 24 dBi with 18.6% 1 dB fractional gain bandwidth and 23.5 dBi with 22.6% 1 dB fractional gain bandwidth, respectively. Moreover, an additional experiment is implemented to verify the simultaneously bidirectional capability of the proposed antenna. Measured results match well with those of simulation, revealing potential for bidirectional wireless communication applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fluorescent carbon polymer materials are prepared by mixing H 2 SO 4 and DETA at room temperature. • The samples possess unique hollow nanospheres structure with strong fluorescence property. • Such fluorescent carbon polymer hollow spheres are used as peroxidase mimics for H 2 O 2 detection. Fluorescent carbon polymer nanomaterials driven by their important various applications are promising, however, their scalable usages are still hindered by the lack of facile and effective synthesis approaches. Herein, a rapid and facile approach is demonstrated for the preparation of fluorescent carbon polymer hollow spheres (CPHSs), which were synthesized by directly mixing concentrated sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4) and diethylenetriamine (DETA) at room temperature. Notably, both the solid powders and aqueous dispersion of CPHSs possess the fluorescence properties, similar with the reported carbon polymer dots. The formation of CPHSs could be attributed to the polymerization of DETA in the presence of H 2 SO 4. The present strategy is universal and fluorescent nanomaterials could also be obtained by using hexamethylenetetramine or polyethylenepolayamine as precursors with the aid of concentrated H 2 SO 4. Most importantly, the CPHSs possess peroxidase-like activity and can catalyze oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to its one-electron oxidation product, providing a new method for colorimetric detection of H 2 O 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A disaster relief logistics problem with demand–supply incongruence is addressed. • A compromise between egalitarianism and utilitarianism is achieved. • Our novel decision-making framework involves demand-point location and allocation. • Sequential approach reduces existing relief demand and its future increments. • Coverage limits ensure coherence among the sequential actions of providing relief. Several logistics problems involving disaster relief have attracted growing research interest in the recent decade. A commonality among these problems is that demand–supply incongruence is always observed in post-disaster logistics operations due to the limited relief supplies and the randomly increasing relief demands. In such situations, the decision maker fails to meet the total relief demands simultaneously. This study employs a novel decision-making framework, where the traditional disaster relief logistics actions (e.g., vehicles routing and relief allocation) are replaced by periodic, sequential actions involving demand point location and assignment. A sequential approach allows the decision maker, in the face of every demand-point, to decide whether to locate and assign it to relief suppliers immediately or later, which sequentially influences the decision in the next period. A dynamic optimization model is built and solved by using particle swarm optimization algorithm. The results of a case study indicate the advantages of the sequential approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]