Search

Potato whole flour is a promising way to improve the nutrition of tough biscuits, while its gluten‐free characteristic was difficult to form acceptable texture properties. In this study, cellulase was used to degrade the cellulose in dough enriched with potato whole flour, so as to mitigate the interference of cellulose with the gluten network, resulting in forming the potato whole flour biscuit with great characteristics. Results indicated that cellulase within 0.2% led to the gradually reduced G' and G" values of dough from 5.50×104 to 4.00×104 and 2.66×104 to 1.35×104, respectively. Cellulase at 0.2% resulted in the significantly increased tensile properties of the dough compared to the control. The incorporation of cellulase within 0.2% also led to the tightly ordered and intact network structure base on the results of SEM, disulfide bonds determination and FTIR. Those results indicated that cellulase was beneficial to improve the baking quality of dough, which was conductive to form tough biscuit with great characteristics. The hardness, crunchiness, crispness and specific volume analysis results confirmed that 0.2% cellulase resulted in the significantly decreased hardness by 45.25% and the significantly increased specific volume, crunchiness and crispness by 24.74%, 121.20% and 156.47%, respectively. Overall, cellulase ultimately improved the quality of the biscuits by improving the properties and structure of the dough. It was of great significance for the utilization of potato whole flour resources and the industrial production of its tough biscuits. Practical Application: The results showed that inclusion of cellulase led to the reduced hardness and increased crunchiness, crispness, and specific volume of potato whole flour tough biscuits. Cellulase could be used as a potential improver of tough biscuits. This study will provide guidance for practical uses of cellulase in improving potato whole flour dough and tough biscuit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An elevation of pathologic intraocular pressure (IOP) is the greatest risk factor for glaucoma. CD154 has been reported to bind to CD40 expressed by orbital fibroblasts and be involved in immune and inflammatory responses. However, the function and mechanism of CD154 in ocular hypertensive glaucoma (OHG) are not fully understood. We isolated and characterized Müller cells and subsequently examined the effect of CD154 on ATP release from those cells. After being cocultured with CD154‐pretreated Müller cells, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were treated with P2X7 siRNAs or a P2X7 inhibitor. Furthermore, mouse models of glaucoma (GC) were injected with P2X7 shRNA. p21, p53, and P2X7 expression were examined, and cellular senescence and apoptosis were detected by β‐Gal and TUNEL staining, retinal pathology was examined by H&E staining, and CD154 and β‐Gal expression were detected by ELISA. CD154 induced ATP release from Müller cells and accelerated the senescence and apoptosis of RGCs that had been cocultured with Müller cells. We also found that treatment with P2X7 could attenuate the senescence and apoptosis of RGCs mediated by Müller cells pretreated with CD154. In vivo studies in GC model mice verified that P2X7 silencing attenuated pathological damage and prevented the senescence and apoptosis of retinal tissue. The study demonstrates how CD154 accelerates the aging and apoptosis of RGCs by co‐cultivating Müller cells pretreated with CD154 in OHG. The research implies that CD154 has the potential to become a new therapeutic target for ocular hypertension glaucoma, providing a new research direction for its treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effect of exposure mixture on the continuous health outcomes, one can use the linear model with a weighted sum of multiple standardized exposure variables as an index predictor and its coefficient for the overall effect. The unknown weights typically range between zero and one, indicating contributions of individual exposures to the overall effect. Because the weight parameters present only when the parameter for overall effect is non-zero, testing hypotheses on the overall effect can be challenging, especially when the number of exposure variables is above two. This paper presents a working model based approach to estimate the parameter for overall effect and to test specific hypotheses, including two tests for detecting the overall effect and one test for detecting unequal weights when the overall effect is evident. The statistics are computationally easy and one can apply existing statistical software to perform the analysis. A simulation study shows that the proposed estimators for the parameters of interest may have better finite sample performance than some other estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface defects of lithium batteries seriously affect the product quality and may lead to safety risks. In order to accurately identify the surface defects of lithium battery, a novel defect detection approach is proposed based on improved K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and Euclidean clustering segmentation. Firstly, an improved voxel density strategy for KNN is proposed to speed up the effect for point filtering. Then, the improved clustering segmentation strategy is applied to distinguish point clouds with defect features. The outline fitting algorithm based on the least square method is applied to determine geometric features of each surface defect which are used to classify defect types. Furthermore, experimental results show that the proposed surface defect detection method reaches 99.2% accuracy and 35.3-ms average time consumption for data processing. Finally, an industrial application example of lithium battery production is demonstrated, which meets the requirements of industrial application. All these reports exhibited that the industrial visual inspection system with rapid measurement is an effective method and guarantees for accelerating industrial production and manufacturing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to observe cervical intervertebral discs (IVDs) in asymptomatic subjects and to explore the factors associated with cervical intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Methods: Cervical spine MRI of 5843 subjects was retrospectively analyzed. On the sagittal T2-weighted MR images, the mean signal intensities of the nucleus pulposus were obtained. Standard signal intensity (SSI) of intervertebral discs was defined as the ratio of mean disc signal intensity to mean CSF signal intensity. Results: In subjects under 70 years old, the SSI of IVD was lowest at the C5/6 level. In those over 70, the SSI of IVD was similar among the disc levels from C2/3 to C7/T1. The disc SSI decreased significantly with age in both genders. In subjects under 70 years old, the SSI of the discs at each level was higher in females than in males. In those over 70 years old, no difference was found in disc SSI between two genders at most disc levels. Logistic regression analysis showed that kyphotic and straight cervical spine, obesity and older age were associated with higher risk of having lower disc SSI. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest cross-sectional study using MRI-based quantitative assessment to characterize cervical IVDD in asymptomatic subjects. Cervical IVDD was shown to progress with age and significantly correlated with gender, BMI and cervical alignment. Early intervention of related factors may help delay cervical IVDD and prevent future neck and shoulder pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biorefinery of onion vinegar (OV) is attractive as a method for producing functional foods from onions or onion by-products. In this study, a two-stage fermentation of OV using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC9763 and Acetobacter pasteurianus CICC20001 was carried out at 28 °C, the titratable acidity reached 4.01%, and the YA/E was 69.64% at 72 h. Based on this, semi-continuous fermentation was performed, proceeded to charge-discharge consisting of three cycles, and the yield, productivity, and specific production rate were 76.71%, 17.73 g/(L·d), and 20.51 h−1, respectively, which was higher than fed-batch fermentation. The in vivo antioxidant experiments showed that OV significantly increased GSH-Px, SOD, and CAT enzyme activities of Caenorhabditis elegans at 271.57, 129.26, and 314.68%, respectively. Nutritional analysis revealed that the total flavonoids and polyphenols were 3.01 mg/mL and 976.76 µg/mL, respectively. It was also shown that the acetic acid to total organic acid (A/T) ratio of OV was 79.02%, and the total free amino acid content was 262.30 mg/100 mL, 1.78–7.44 times higher than other fruit vinegar. The OV prepared in this study showed higher quality than the commercial vinegar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene therapy, as an emerging therapeutic approach, has shown remarkable advantages in the treatment of some major diseases. With the deepening of genomics research, people have gradually realized that the emergence and development of many diseases are related to genetic abnormalities. Therefore, nucleic acid drugs are gradually becoming a new boon in the treatment of diseases (especially tumors and genetic diseases). It is conservatively estimated that the global market of nucleic acid drugs will exceed $20 billion by 2025. They are simple in design, mature in synthesis, and have good biocompatibility. However, the shortcomings of nucleic acid, such as poor stability, low bioavailability, and poor targeting, greatly limit the clinical application of nucleic acid. Liposome nanoparticles can wrap nucleic acid drugs in internal cavities, increase the stability of nucleic acid and prolong blood circulation time, thus improving the transfection efficiency. This review focuses on the recent advances and potential applications of liposome nanoparticles modified with nucleic acid drugs (DNA, RNA, and ASO) and different chemical molecules (peptides, polymers, dendrimers, fluorescent molecules, magnetic nanoparticles, and receptor targeting molecules). The ability of liposome nanoparticles to deliver nucleic acid drugs is also discussed in detail. We hope that this review will help researchers design safer and more efficient liposome nanoparticles, and accelerate the application of nucleic acid drugs in gene therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, intumescent flame retardant coating of polyethylenimine/phytic acid (PEI/PA) with gradient structure was constructed on cotton fabric through a facile layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly method. The LOI value of coated cotton fabric reached over 40%, indicating excellent flame retardancy. Reasonable controlling the LBL assembly process of PEI/PA coating brought less influence to the physical properties of cotton fabrics. And the coated cotton fabric revealed good flame retardant washing durability. Thermogravimetric analysis results of coated cotton fabrics showed that PEI/PA flame retardant coating changed the thermal decomposition process and promoted char formation revealing the obviously condensed phase flame retardant action. SEM images of char residues revealed that PEI/PA flame retardant coating promoted to form the intumescent flame retardant (IFR) char layer showing obvious IFR action. This research provides novel strategy for the development of high-efficiency flame retardant cotton fabric with good durability and physical properties using a simple LBL assembly method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanozyme has been one of the most promising artificial enzymes for substitute natural enzymes. The main research focus in this field is developing the nanozymes with high activity, sensitivity and stability. In this paper, prussian blue/polyacrylonitrile (PB/PAN) composite nanofiber was prepared by electrospinning which was calcined to obtain iron oxide/carbon (FeOx/C) composite nanozyme. The structure of the prepared FeOx/C nanozyme was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The results revealed that FeOx/C nanozyme containing the catalytic active species of γ-Fe2O3 possessed peroxidase-like catalytic activity. The catalytic activity of prepared nanozyme which was influenced by different content of PB and different calcination temperatures was investigated. The optimal PB content in the PB/PAN nanofiber and calcination temperature were 41.5% and 600 °C in this research. The prepared FeOx/C nanozyme possessed highly sensitive detection of ascorbic acid. This research provides a new approach to fabricate iron oxide/carbon composite nanozyme with highly catalytic activity and sensitive for colorimetric sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety, durability and power density of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are currently inadequate to satisfy the continuously growing demand of the emerging battery markets. Rapid progress has been made from material engineering to system design, combining experimental results and simulations to enhance LIB performance. Limited by spatial and temporal resolution, state‐of‐the‐art advanced characterization techniques fail to fully reveal the complex multi‐scale degradation mechanism in LIBs. Strengthening interaction and iteration between characterization and modeling improves the understanding of reaction mechanisms as well as design and management of LIBs. Herein, a seed cyber hierarchy and interactional network framework is demonstrated to evaluate the overall lifecycle of LIBs. The typical examples of bridging the characterization techniques and modeling are discussed. The critical parameters extracted from multi‐scale characterization can serve as digital inputs for modeling. Furthermore, advanced computational techniques including cloud computing, big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence can also promote the comprehensive understanding and precise control of the whole battery lifecycle. Digital twins techniques will be introduced enabling the real‐time monitoring and control of LIBs, autonomous computer‐assisted characterizations and intelligent manufacturing. It is anticipated that this work will provide a roadmap for further intensive research on developing high‐performance LIBs and intelligent battery management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some conjugated benzene ring molecules were prepared using the Sonogashira reaction, and the molecules were post-functionally modified using click chemistry. The optical and electrical band gaps were measured using UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy and the three-electrode method, and the results of both were verified against each other to prove the accuracy of the characterization. In addition, the optical performances of the material were studied by z-scan; almost all materials exhibited good nonlinear optical properties and interconversion between saturable and anti-saturable absorption due to the invocation of click reagents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural color in nature provides a new strategy for eco-friendly colorization. Biomimetic construction of amorphous photonic crystals (APCs) on the substrate surface can form a specific non-iridescent structural color, which can be widely used in textile, paint and other fields. However, the APCs structural color has the shortcomings of dim color and poor colorfastness, which restrict the industrial application. In this study, base on the structural design of APCs building blocks, a novel copolymer containing reactive epoxy groups of poly (styrene-co-glycidyl methacrylate) (P(St-co-GMA)) was synthesized, which was used for fabricating APCs structural color by rapid spray coating method. P(St-co-GMA) nanospheres with different particle diameters can be self-assembled into APCs showing different crack-free structural colors. This research reports for the first time that the polymer nanospheres with two different particle diameters were synthesized by one-pot polymerization to enhance the color brightness of structural color. P(St-co-GMA) nanospheres structural colorized fabrics showed excellent colorfastness, flexibility and air permeability. This research promotes the industrial application of structural color for the rapid larger-scale fabrication of APCs with excellent colorfastness on substrates through the synthesis of polymer nanospheres with reactive epoxy groups. [Display omitted] • P(St-co-GMA) nanospheres with different particle sizes were synthesized by one-pot polymerization. • P(St-co-GMA) nanospheres structural color could be rapid large-scale prepared by spraying. • P(St-co-GMA) nanospheres could fabricate the crack-free structural colors with high brightness. • P(St-co-GMA) containing reactive epoxy groups endows structural color with good colorfastness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsule medical robots with unique application advantages have broad prospects for gastrointestinal detection, targeted drug delivery, medical assistance, and other fields. However, due to the complexity of the gastrointestinal environment and the limitations of the space magnetic field, robust motion control of capsule robots is still a challenge. Using a permanent magnet (NdFeB) as a space magnetic source, a capsule robot manipulation instrument with an integrated motion intelligent control approach is proposed in this work. First of all, a steering fixture controlling a permanent magnet is designed, and a manipulation instrument capable of five degrees of motion freedom is built with low cost and high accuracy. Furthermore, an integrated motion control approach, consisting of a primary motion subsystem and an auxiliary motion subsystem, is presented, where the motion route of the capsule robot is planned. A parallel optimization strategy is adopted to improve the traditional Gray Wolf Optimization Algorithm, the improved version of which is utilized to tune the parameters of controllers. Finally, some experiments of the designed capsule robot are carried out in different planes and slopes, as well as simulated stomach and real pig stomach, respectively. The results show that the motion characteristics are continuous and stable, and the average position error is 4.2 mm, which meets the application requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belt conveyor is an essential piece of equipment in coal mining for coal transportation, and its stable operation is key to efficient production. Belt surface of the conveyor is vulnerable to foreign bodies which can be extremely destructive. In the past decades, much research and numerous approaches to inspect belt status have been proposed, and machine learning-based non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are becoming more and more popular. Deep learning (DL), as a branch of machine learning (ML), has been widely applied in data mining, natural language processing, pattern recognition, image processing, etc. Generative adversarial networks (GAN) are one of the deep learning methods based on generative models and have been proved to be of great potential. In this paper, a novel multi-classification conditional CycleGAN (MCC-CycleGAN) method is proposed to generate and discriminate surface images of damages of conveyor belt. A novel architecture of improved CycleGAN is designed to enhance the classification performance using a limited capacity images dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed deep learning network can generate realistic belt surface images with defects and efficiently classify different damaged images of the conveyor belt surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tannery effluents contain harmful pollutants, such as chromium, total dissolved solids, and neutral salts (chlorides), and hence researchers have focused on eco-benign pickling and tanning processes. Here, a sustainable approach employs a salt-free pickling and chrome-free tanning process for cleaner leather manufacturing. Pretreatment with 8% epoxy-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) (abbreviated as EHBP) before pickling controlled the swelling of the skin in the pickling process, in the absence of conventional neutral salts. Subsequent tanning preferably with a 6% aluminum tanning agent (abbreviated as AL) improved the hydrothermal stability of the resultant crust. It also promoted the subsequent dyeing or fatliquoring in a wet finishing process, as well as ameliorated the yellowing resistance and chemical stability of the tanned leather. This study showed that without compromising on the quality of finished leather, EHBP could ensure a salt-free pickling and chrome-free tanning process and prevent the pollution of tannery effluents (Cl− and Cr3+) with a promising development for large-scale green production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural colored fabrics based on colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs) have attracted increasing concerns benefitting from the fadeless and environmental-friendly properties, which might promote the revolution of traditional textile printing and dyeing industry. However, enhancing the structural stability of CPCs on fabrics in a high efficiency and easy-to-perform manner still remains challenges. Here, we constructed novel brilliant angle-independent structural colored fabrics through atomization deposition fabricating poly(hexafluorobutyl acrylate- co -glycidyl methacrylate) (poly(HFBA- co -GMA)) CPCs on polyester (PET) fabrics. On the one hand, the hexafluorobutyl groups on poly(HFBA- co -GMA) colloidal microspheres endow the fabrics with excellent hydrophobicity. On the other hand, the hexafluorobutyl groups are able to generate strong hydrogen bonding interactions with carboxyl groups on PET fabrics, providing the structural colored fabrics with outstanding structural stability. Moreover, excellent flexibility, outstanding breathability, patterning and large-scale production of structural colored fabrics were also realized. This work offers a brand-new fashion towards manufacturing high performance structural colored fabrics, which might hold the potential in industrial eco-friendly coloration technology. [Display omitted] •Angle-independent structural colored fabrics were prepared by atomization deposition. • Great structural stability was achieved by hydrogen bonds between CPCs and fabrics. • Hexafluorobutyl groups in CPCs microspheres allow fabrics to be hydrophobic. • Flexibility, breathability and easiness in patterning were also achieved. • Facile and large-scale production of structural colored fabrics were realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion resistance of Cu-Ni-based alloys depends on their Cu 2 O passivation film, and the effect of third element X is hardly characterized. The corrosion behavior and mechanisms of Cu-10Ni-X (Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Sn, Ti, Zn) alloys in a 3.5% NaCl solution were systematically investigated combining DFT calculation and experiments. Both computational and experimental results revealed that except Ti, other elements could enhance the corrosion resistance of Cu 2 O passivation film, and the effect was ranked as Fe > Cr > Mn > Al > Sn > Zn. Based on DFT and experimental data, a corrosion behavior prediction model was established. [Display omitted] ● The corrosion behavior and mechanisms of Cu-10Ni-X alloys in 3.5% NaCl solution were investigated. ● Except for Ti that worsened corrosion resistance, the other elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Sn, Zn) improved it. ● The alloying elements could reduce charge transfer with NaCl and impede NaCl adsorption. ● The corrosion rate of Cu-10Ni-X alloys is linearly correlated with the adsorption energy of Cu 2 O surfaces for NaCl. ● Based on DFT and experimental data, a corrosion behavior prediction model was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the bearing capacity of traditional two- and four-legged shield hydraulic support, a one-degree statically indeterminate support was designed, and a method to control the linkage of the legs and balance ram was established. Based on the plane frame system, a two-dimensional mechanical model of the statically indeterminate support was established, and the analytical expressions for the transverse distribution interval of the boundary load were derived. The effects of the friction coefficient and balance ram specifications on the boundary load and bearing area were quantitatively analyzed. The results indicated that the bearing area is divided into two regions along the transverse direction. Furthermore, this bearing area can be increased by increasing the friction coefficient, increasing the balance ram specifications, and decreasing the tip-to-face distance under the downward motion of the support. The bearing capacity of the proposed support is considerably higher than that of the traditional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) can occur together, and this concomitance is thought to be higher in diabetes patients. We aimed to examine and compare hand function in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without CTS and DPN (CTS−DPN−), patients with CTS without DPN (CTS+DPN−), patients with DPN without CTS (CTS−DPN+), and patients with CTS and DPN (CTS+DPN+). Materials and Methods: A total of 161 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients underwent physical examination and electrodiagnostic tests. Grip and pinch strengths, tactile sensory thresholds were measured for each participant. Purdue pegboard test was used in evaluating the hand dexterity of the participants. Results: Of the 161 type 2 diabetes mellitus participants, 36 (22.4%) had both CTS and DPN. CTS participants had lower grip (26.6 ± 10.6 vs 35.2 ± 14.3, P < 0.001) and pinch (6.3 ± 2.6 vs 7.5 ± 2.9, P = 0.026) strengths compared with non‐CTS participants, whereas DPN participants had elevated tactile sensory thresholds of both the second (2.8 [2.8–3.6] vs 2.4 [2.4–2.8], P < 0.001) and the fifth (2.8 [2.8–3.6] vs 2.4 [2.4–2.8], P < 0.001) fingers compared with non‐DPN participants. The CTS+DPN+ group had lower Purdue pegboard test scores than other groups. Grip (r = 0.482, 0.530, 0.467, 0.498, all P < 0.001) and pinch (r = 0.246, P = 0.003; r = 0.265, P = 0.001; r = 0.264, P = 0.001; r = 0.235, P = 0.005) strengths were positively correlated with Purdue pegboard test scores, whereas tactile sensory thresholds were negatively correlated with Purdue pegboard test scores (r = −0.447 to −0.359, all P < 0.001). Conclusion: Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with both DPN and CTS had lower grip and pinch strengths and decreased tactile sensation, both of which were correlated with poorer hand dexterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loma psittaca, previously described as inhabiting the intestinal mucosa of an anadromous fish, Colomesus pisttacus, from the Amazon Basin, is reported as being found for the first time in a marine fish, the hybrid grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus♂×Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀), from Lingshui city, Hainan Province, China, expanding the geographical distribution and host range of this parasite. Numerous whitish xenomas (0.5–0.7 mm in diameter) of this new isolate of L. psittaca were found distinctly in the muscle layer of the host stomach wall. Electron microscopic observations showed a monokaryotic nucleus in all developmental stages. Round or elongated multinucleate merogonial plasmodia surrounded by numerous mitochondria were observed initially, subsequently transforming into uninucleate sporonts through multiple fissions. Sporonts, each with a large centrally positioned nucleus, further developed into sporoblasts. Each sporoblast mother cell gave rise to two uninucleate sporoblasts by binary fission. Mature spores were ellipsoidal, measuring 4.0 ± 0.3 (3.7–4.3) μm in length and 2.2 ± 0.2 (2.1–2.5) μm in width. Spores possessed a mushroom‐like anchoring disk, a bipartite polarplast, isofilar polar filaments arranged in 12–14 turns in one row, and a trilaminar spore wall. The obtained partial SSU rRNA gene sequence of the new isolate was 1330 bp in length and showed 99.4% sequence similarity with an estuary isolate of L. psittaca previously reported in South America. SSU rRNA gene‐based phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the two L. psittaca isolates first clustered together and then formed a dichotomy that included the digestive‐tract‐infecting Loma species, L. acerinae, with high support values within group I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast and precise positioning of lithium battery is crucial for effective manufacturing of mass production. In order to acquire position information of lithium batteries rapidly and accurately, a novel dual-template matching algorithm is proposed to properly locate and segment each battery for fast and precise mass production. Initially, an image down-sampling method is applied to build up a multi-layer image pyramid for speeding up target search, and a novel mixed matching template is designed to increase the matching precision. A row of lithium batteries is likely tilt during rolling, and the images of batteries captured by the CCD camera are distorted, which may generate a negative effect on next procedure. Hence, a two-level correction algorithm for battery angle and location is applied to obtain rough areas of the batteries and improve the accuracy of template matching. Lastly, the comparison with other state-of-the-art algorithms is done to locate each battery in a row with high speed and precision. The precision rates of the proposed algorithm, improved SAD algorithm, and YOLOv3 algorithm are 99.44%, 95.98%, and 93.64 for normal battery images and 97.86%, 89.19%, and 85.10 for tilted battery images, respectively. Compared with improved SAD matching algorithm and YOLOv3 algorithm, the positioning accuracy of the proposed method is significantly increased, and the matching robustness is improved in spite of large battery inclination angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leather manufacturing is the main recycling technology used for nature skin biomass resources. However, leather-based products are made by the conventional chrome tanning method, in which the discharge of chrome-containing wastes poses potential threats to the environment and public health. By comparison, the aldehyde/chrome-free tanning strategy is ecologically advantageous for the manufacturing of leather. Therefore, a series of epoxy-terminated hyperbranched poly-(amine-ester) materials (abbreviated as EHBPs) were synthesized in this study using epichlorohydrin modified hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched poly-(amine-esters) (HHBPs). The characterization and testing of the as-obtained EHBP tanning agent showed significantly improved hydrothermal stability of the treated leather with the shrinkage temperature (Ts) exceeding 75 °C, good physical properties, and a relevant thickening ratio (>50%). Besides, the EHBP tanning approach ensured a high dispersity of collagen fibers with substantially enhanced porosity (control 41% and EHBP-tanned leather > 51%). The environmental impact assessment revealed the preferable biodegradability of EHBPs (BOD5/COD > 0.3). In sum, the proposed EHBP-based tanning approach looks promising for the realization of environmentally benign leather manufacturing for next-generation green chrome-free tanning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For beam directors, tight optical path sealing and low rotational friction torque are critical aspects for the tracking and positioning performance. To maximize sealing pressure and minimize rotational friction torque, a magnetorheological fluid sealing (MRFS) structure design method based on multi-objective COOT (MOCOOT) algorithm optimizer was proposed in this work. The MOCOOT integrates archive, grid strategy, chaotic mapping strategy and COOT optimization algorithm. Firstly, the magnetic field strength of the sealing clearance was derived based on the equivalent magnetic circuit model, the sealing pressure formula of MRFS with pole teeth structures was established, and the friction torque model of MRFS based on Bingham equation was also developed. Then, according to the actual requirements of optical path sealing of beam directors, the constraint conditions of structure parameters were determined, and the optimization target model of sealing pressure and friction torque was constructed. As follows, a multi-objective version of COOT optimization algorithm, named MOCOOT, was proposed to optimize the structural parameters of MRFS structure. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified via pressure and rotating friction torque tests implemented on an established experimental platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet pepper, a globally commercialized horticultural crop, has been demonstrated to impede fat accumulation, but its mechanism remains incompletely understood. This study was designed to explore the potential mechanism of sweet pepper in reducing fat accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans through RNA‐seq and metabolome analysis. A total of 22 metabolites were identified from sweet pepper by UHPLC‐ESI‐TOF‐MS analysis. In vivo, sweet pepper significantly inhibited α‐glucosidase activity and reduced the levels of glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and the area stained with oil red O. Additionally, it increased body length and the number of head swings in C. elegans compared to the control group. The KEGG enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment of the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids signaling pathway among the differentially expressed genes and metabolites. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of sterol regulatory element‐binding proteins (SREBPs) ortholog SBP‐1, as well as the stearyl CoA desaturase‐1 (SCD1), including fat‐5, fat‐6, and fat‐7, were significantly decreased after treatment with sweet pepper. Collectively, sweet pepper effectively reduces fat accumulation, which is probably related to downregulating the SREBP‐SCD axis, offering new insights for future functional food development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed an assistive system to recognize the special character CAPTCHAs for the visually impaired community in the Chinese region. To improve the recognition precision, a convolutional neural network (CNN), which is named Captchanet for recognition, was proposed. Firstly, a ten-layer network architecture was designed and three improved training strategies were proposed for the deep learning model. Secondly, a customized Chinese character training set was designed using a novel and fast method, with the view of overcoming the limitation in labeled data collection and uneven data distribution. Finally, the experiments were conducted on the test set gathered from public websites to test the effectiveness of the proposed Captchanet. The statistical results demonstrated that the Captchanet has better classification performance and has obtained higher success rates of recognition than the well-known machine learning approaches and CNN-based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition and aggregation of rice dreg protein (RDP) have a major impact on its properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of pH shifting combined high-pressure homogenization (HPH) treatment on functional properties of RDP. The improvement of RDP functional properties with pH shifting at alkaline (pH 12) condition followed by HPH treatment (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 MPa) prior to neutralization at pH 7 was much better than that of HPH and/or pH shifting. The method carried out at under pH 12 followed by HPH 100 MPa was found to be the most efficient treatment for increasing the solubility of RDP from 0.86% to 63.50%, the emulsification from 3.13% to 7.10%, and the foaming capacity from 19.33% to 179.67%. It was revealed that pH shifting combined HPH treatment depolymerized the aggregates, reduced the particle size, spread the structure, decreased the surface hydrophobicity of RDP, and avoided any bitterness production. These results have important implications for the modification of proteins with improved functional profiles. • pH shifting combined HPH was first used to modify rice dreg protein (RDP). • The functional properties of RDP were greatly improved. • Altered RDP featuring diminished particle size and decreased surface hydrophobicity. • The RDP subunit remained unhydrolyzed, resulting in the absence of any bitterness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were performed to investigate the fatigue properties of corroded high-performance steel (HPS). Ninety pieces of Q460D and 90 pieces of Q550E HPS specimens with five different corrosion levels were designed to investigate the effect of corrosion on their fatigue properties. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed to observe the macroscopic and microscopic morphology. The S-N curves in terms of various levels of corrosion damages were obtained, and the influences of different corrosion levels on the fatigue properties are discussed. The experimental results show that corrosion changes the characteristics of the fatigue crack source zone, crack development zone, critical transition zone, and instantaneous fracture zone. Compared with Q460D, the critical transition area of Q550E has a higher flatness. Progressing corrosion damage results in a linear decreasing fatigue life of the HPS specimens in the double logarithmic coordinate system. The fatigue life of steel specimens can be expressed as an exponential function of the cross-sectional corrosion loss level. The increasing stress level will aggravate the degradation of fatigue life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anticholinergic challenge can induce odor identification impairment that indicates Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, and short-term change in odor identification impairment with cholinesterase inhibitor (CheI) treatment may predict longer term cognitive outcomes.Objective: In patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) treated prospectively with donepezil, a CheI, for 52 weeks, to determine if 1) acute decline in odor identification ability with anticholinergic challenge can predict cognitive improvement, and 2) change in odor identification over 8 weeks can predict cognitive improvement.Methods: MCI was diagnosed clinically without AD biomarkers. At baseline, the University of Pennsylvania Smell identification Test (UPSIT) was administered before and after an anticholinergic atropine nasal spray challenge. Donepezil was started at 5 mg daily, increased to 10 mg daily if tolerated, and this dose was maintained for 52 weeks. Main outcomes were ADAS-Cog total score and Selective Reminding Test (SRT) total immediate recall score measured at baseline, 26 and 52 weeks.Results: In 100 study participants, mean age 70.14 (SD 9.35) years, atropine-induced decrease in UPSIT score at baseline was not associated with change in ADAS-Cog or SRT scores over 52 weeks. Change in UPSIT score from 0 to 8 weeks did not show a significant association with change in the ADAS-Cog or SRT measures over 52 weeks.Conclusion: These negative findings in a relatively large sample of patients with MCI did not replicate results in much smaller samples. Change in odor identification with anticholinergic challenge, and over 8 weeks, may not be useful predictors of cognitive improvement with CheI in patients with MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued here that even with the development of objective algorithms, convection-allowing numerical models, and artificial intelligence/machine learning, conceptual models will still be useful for forecasters until all these methods can fully satisfy the forecast requirements in the future. Conceptual models can help forecasters form forecast ideas quickly. They also can make up for the deficiencies of the numerical model and other objective methods. Furthermore, they can help forecasters understand the weather, and then help the forecasters lock in on the key features affecting the forecast as soon as possible. Ultimately, conceptual models can help the forecaster serve the end users faster, and better understand the forecast results during the service process. Based on the above considerations, construction of new conceptual models should have the following characteristics: 1) be guided by purpose, 2) focus on improving the ability of forecasters, 3) have multiangle consideration, 4) have multiscale fusion, and 5) need to be tested and corrected continuously. The traditional conceptual models used for forecasts of severe convective weather should be replaced gradually by new models that incorporate these principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The empirical cluster correlation can be replaced by a cluster evolution equation. • A general EMMS drag model is suggested for the overall fluidization regime. • The EMMS drag is used to simulate gas-solid turbulent beds and cocurrent downers. • The EMMS-based simulation shows better prediction than traditional CFD simulation. Eulerian-Eulerian models incorporated with the kinetic theory of granular flow were widely used in the simulation of gas-solid two-phase flow, while the effects of mesoscale structures such as particle clusters and gas bubbles could not be considered adequately if traditional homogeneous drag models were adopted in the coarse grid simulations. The energy minimization multiscale (EMMS) model has been proved to facilitate calculating a structure-dependent drag coefficient by considering particle clustering phenomena, which can be coupled with the two-fluid model (TFM) to improve the accuracy of coarse-grid simulation of gas-solid circulating fluidized beds. However, the original EMMS drag model cannot be further applied to the simulation of gas-solid fluidized beds with solids flow rate smaller than zero, e.g., turbulent fluidized beds and cocurrent downward flow, because the original cluster diameter correlation gives rise to a value smaller than single particle diameter or even negative value at extremely low solids fluxes or downward gas-solid flow. In this study, a new proposed cluster evolution equation is proposed by quantifying local clustering dynamics to replace the original cluster diameter correlation. The newly formulated EMMS drag model can be used to avoid a negative cluster diameter to be involved in calculating interphase drag force in the overall fluidization regime. The improved EMMS drag law is incorporated into the Eulerian-Eulerian model to simulate gas-solid turbulent fluidized beds and cocurrent downer reactors, since they both were widely used in many industrial processes. By analyzing local hydrodynamics as well as the axial and radial heterogeneous distributions in the two kinds of fluidized beds, it is clarified that the simulation using the improved EMMS drag model shows a better agreement with the experimental data than the computation using the homogeneous drag law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• IFR system was successfully constructed on PET fabrics via LBL assembly method. • Flame retardancy of the LBL assembly coated PET fabrics were improved. • Dripping phenomenon was eliminated when PET fabrics was coated over 10 BL CH/APP. • LBL coated PET fabrics tend to form intumescent char resulting in the anti-dripping. High flammability and dripping restrict the widely applications of PET fiber, a lot of efforts have been made to overcome these problems. In this paper, chitosan (CH) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) were used as the intumescent flame retardant system which was constructed on PET fabrics surface via the Layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technique. The flame retardancy and anti-dripping performance of the coated PET fabrics were determined by LOI values and vertical burning test. The results revealed that both the flame retardancy and anti-dripping performance of the LBL assembly coated PET fabrics were improved, particularly when the CH/APP bilayer was over 10 BL, the dripping phenomenon was eliminated. Alkali treatment of PET fabrics before LBL assembly effect on the flame retardancy and anti-dripping performance was investigated. The results indicated that alkali treatment of the PET fabrics would promote the combination of PET fabrics and the charged flame retardants. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to investigate the thermal stability of uncoated and LBL assembly coated PET fabrics. The results of TGA revealed that LBL assembly coated PET fabrics would promote the char formation indicating the obviously condensed phase flame retardant action. The SEM images of the char residues revealed that LBL assembly coated PET fabrics would promote the formation of intumescent char residues with lots of microporous indicating the better anti-dripping performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Validated single-particle model used to understand cell variations in battery packs. • Higher resistance cells in high stress locations reduces imbalance. • Impact of thermal gradients in battery packs simulated. • Increasing the temperature of poorly performing cells can homogenize pack currents. • Direction and magnitude of thermal gradient affects degradation rate. The performance of lithium-ion battery packs are often extrapolated from single cell performance however uneven currents in parallel strings due to cell-to-cell variations, thermal gradients and/or cell interconnects can reduce the overall performance of a large scale lithium-ion battery pack. In this work, we investigate the performance implications caused by these factors by simulating six parallel connected batteries based on a thermally coupled single particle model with the solid electrolyte interphase growth degradation mechanism modelled. Experimentally validated simulations show that cells closest to the load points of a pack experience higher currents than cells further away due to uneven overpotentials caused by the interconnects. When a cell with a four times greater internal impedance was placed in the location with the higher currents this actually helped to equalise the cell-to-cell current distribution, however if this was placed at a location furthest from the load point this would cause a ∼6% reduction in accessible energy at 1.5 C. The influence of thermal gradients can further affect this current heterogeneity leading to accelerated aging. Simulations show that in all cases, cells degrade at different rates in a pack due to the uneven currents, with this being amplified by thermal gradients. In the presented work a 5.2% increase in degradation rate, from −7.71 mWh/cycle (isothermal) to −8.11 mWh/cycle (non-isothermal) can be observed. Therefore, the insights from this paper highlight the highly coupled nature of battery pack performance and can inform designs for higher performance and longer lasting battery packs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-based flame retardants have been widely studied for their eco-friendly, renewable and sustainable advantages. However, the durability of bio-based flame retardants is usually poor due to the weak combination with textile substrates. In this study, based on the strategy of constructing a covalent anchoring network between flame retardants and textile substrates, epoxidized waste cooking oil (EWCO) was used as the bio-based crosslinking agents to covalently bind with phytic acid (PA) and chitosan (CH) forming the fully bio-based intumescent flame retardant (IFR) system. The wool fabrics were treated by PA/EWCO/CH IFR system through simple pad-dry-cure finishing process, and a large cross-linking system between the flame retardants and wool fabrics could form during the finishing process anticipating to enhance the interfacial binding strength. The limited oxygen index (LOI) value of PA/EWCO/CH treated wool fabric reached 30.5%, its char length reduced to 96 mm showing excellent flame retardancy, and it still possessed good wearability. The LOI value of PA/EWCO/CH treated wool fabrics after 4 times washing was 27.5%, which was higher than that without EWCO (26.3%) showing good washing durability. This research provides a new strategy for solving the interfacial binding fastness between bio-based flame retardants and substrates to enhance the flame retardant durability by using bio-based waste plant oil derivatives crosslinking agent. [Display omitted] • Epoxidized waste cooking oil (EWCO) was synthesized as bio-based crosslinking agent. • Covalently anchored network between flame retardants and wool was formed by EWCO. • Bio-based PA/EWCO/CH IFR system endowed wool fabric with excellent flame retardancy. • EWCO enhances the interfacial binding strength for durable flame retardant wool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A magnetic-field-assisted setup design is presented as effective and economical way to generate nanofibers with controlled fiber diameter and deposition region by changing the magnetic/electric field. The established analysis model of this multidisciplinary design offers in-depth insight into physical understanding of many complex phenomena combining experiment results and theoretical models. • A magnetic-field-assisted setup was developed to control electrospinning process. • An analytical model based on Maxwell's theory was developed on the basis of magnetic field intensity. • The instability and fiber generation can be controlled applying helix tube. Electrospinning technology is taken as the most versatile process to generate continuous nanofibers. However, effects should be taken to achieve better understanding and precisely control the actual mechanics in the formation of nanofibers through better system design. In this article, the diameter and the deposition area of the as-prepared nanofibers can be controlled by added helix tube which can provide external electric-magnetic field. The spinning process can be controlled employing a magnetic flux (B) analytical model which is based on the magnetic field calculation model of the solution and the electrostatic charge repulsion in the jet. This method includes the thermo-mechanical properties based on as-prepared electrospun nanofiber films and the capability of tribology-mechanical and mathematical physics. A novel investigation of the whole output increase at per unit spinning area is presented in this article to describe the whipping instability which is an important feature of the Taylor Cone phenomenon. The present design and process for electrospinning are based on a solution differential calculus, which a single stainless steel spinning nozzle can generate multi-squirt flow. With the purpose of providing useful jet initial behaviour design for the further technology applications, we attempt to set up a differential calculus method with evenly distributed circumferential electric field, yet giving more design guidance to produce controllable nanofibers through magnetic-field-assisted electrospinning technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the long-term test–retest reliability of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and its individual items, in cognitively intact older adults. A community sample of older adults received a neuropsychological test battery, including the 12-item, 6-trial Selective Reminding Test (SRT). The UPSIT was administered at baseline and follow-up that occurred between 1 and 4 years after baseline. UPSIT scores of participants who were cognitively intact and did not decline cognitively were examined for test–retest reliability. In 92 older adults with mean age 77.6 years followed for 2.79 (standard deviation [SD] 0.69) years, mean UPSIT score declined from 30.29 (SD 5.83) to 27.80 (SD 5.50). In linear mixed models that adjusted for time, age, sex, and education, intraclass correlation coefficients for UPSIT were 0.65, SRT delayed recall 0.59, and SRT total immediate recall 0.49. Among 4 possible response combinations, the largest proportion of participants had correct responses at both visits for 35 out of 40 items. Consistency of item responses ranged from 50% to 90% across the 2 time points. The long-term test–retest reliability of the UPSIT was moderately strong without practice effects over long periods of time in older adults. These results provide indirect support to prior findings on odor identification impairment predicting cognitive decline and dementia, and suggest potential use of olfactory testing as a biomarker in prevention and treatment trials of cognitive enhancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The predictive capacity of past piece-wise rotational constitutive law is checked. • The basic assumptions of the piece-wise rotational constitutive laws are extended. • An improved continuous rotational constitutive law is proposed. Abstract Predicting critical loads in elastomeric isolation bearings has important implications for the design of isolation systems. The key mechanism for predicting the critical loads is to precisely predict the nonlinear rotational properties of the bearings. However, most of the existing rotational constitutive laws of elastomeric bearings are divided into linear stage and nonlinear stage. The predicted critical loads from these piecewise models lead to inaccurate results compared to experimental observations. In this paper, the basic assumptions of previous researches are extended considering the nonlinear properties of bonded rubber layer. On the basis, an improved nonlinear rotational constitutive law is proposed. The improved model can provide a continuous prediction of critical loads throughout the horizontal displacements. The calculated critical loads are confirmed by comparison with existing test data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tapered gas-solid risers have been used in some industrial processes in order to adapt to the requirements of various reactions, but little attention was paid to these reactors in previous investigation. In this work, three-dimensional gas-solid flow in tapered-out and tapered-in risers was simulated by the two-fluid model using an improved structure-dependent drag based on the EMMS model. The EMMS model was solved at different axial levels to determine different correlations of heterogeneity index with voidage, which were then interpolated between these levels to improve the prediction of varying interphase drag in the tapered risers. Considering the axial variation of the EMMS drag, the simulation predicts much more reasonable flow dynamics in the tapered risers than those coupled with an average EMMS drag or homogeneous drag laws. The axial and radial heterogeneities as well as the parametric effects on the flow dynamics in the tapered risers were discussed in detail, so as to provide reference for the proper design of tapered gas-solid riser reactors. Unlabelled Image • Tapered gas-solid risers are studied by three-dimensional numerical simulation. • An improved EMMS drag is calculated and incorporated into the simulation. • Axial variation of drag is determined by interpolating between various heights. • EMMS-based simulation predicts reasonable flow dynamics in the tapered risers. • Parametric effects on flow dynamics in the tapered risers are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Collagen is the most abundant structural protein of connective tissues including skin, tendon, bone and cartilage in mammals. The complicated biosynthesis of nature collagen in vivo, involving numerous intracellular and extracellular steps, causes it to have a multi-hierarchical fibrous architecture. The bioactivity of collagen is mostly depended on its tertiary structure or above. In the past decades, collagen biomaterials have received many attentions in biological applications due to its excellent properties, such as low immunogenicity, biodegradable, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, easy processing, etc. However, collagen is also suffering from the poor physical and chemical properties (mechanical strength, thermostability, resistance to enzyme and so on). Therefore, the modification of collagen in preparation process is necessary. This review will shed light on the crosslinking methods and the recent advances of collagen-based materials in biomedical applications including skin substitute, bone repair, tendon repair, cartilage repair, neural repair and delivery system. Highlights • This manuscript elaborates on the multilayer structure of collagen. • This manuscript reviews the modification methods of collagen in detail. • This manuscript reviews the recent advances of collagen-based materials in biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Embedded aluminum-steel composite sheets used in heat exchanger were produced by cold roll bonding (CRB). The influences of annealing temperature and annealing time on the microstructure and the bonding strength of the composite sheet were investigated. The recrystallization of the steel layer began at 525 °C and finished at 600 °C. With the increase of the annealing temperature, the peel strength of the composite sheet whose original steel sheet surface was treated by scratch brush initially increased and then decreased, which was resulted from the competition of the mechanical locking and metallurgical bonding. After annealing, the cracks which formed between the broken work-hardened steel surface layer and its matrix during cold roll bonding remained. The composite sheet produced by CRB with the steel surface treatment of flap disc had less interfacial defects, higher bonding quality, higher diffusion rate of Al and Fe atoms at the interface and larger metallurgical bonding extent than the composite sheet produced by CRB with the steel surface treatment of scratch brush under the same conditions of annealing, which was helpful to shorten annealing time, reduce energy consumption and improve production efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated patterns of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their predictors among 2,431 Asian American and 31,455 non‐Hispanic White World Trade Center (WTC) Registry participants 2–3 years and 5–6 years after the WTC attack. Participants were divided into four PTSD pattern groups: resilient, remitted, delayed onset, and chronic. Asians had a lower proportion in the resilient group (76.5% vs. 79.8%), a higher proportion in the chronic (8.6% vs. 7.4%) and remitted (5.9% vs. 3.4%) groups, and a similar proportion in the delayed onset group (about 9%) compared to Whites. In multinomial logistic regression analyses, disaster exposure, immigrant status, lower income, pre‐attack depression/anxiety, and lower respiratory symptoms were associated with increased odds of chronic and delayed onset PTSD (vs. resilience) among both races. Education and employment were protective against chronic and delayed onset PTSD among Whites only. These results can inform targeted outreach efforts to enhance prevention and treatment for Asians affected by future events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) from drinking water is associated with modest deficits in intellectual function in young children; it is unclear whether deficits occur during adolescence, when key brain functions are more fully developed. Objectives We sought to determine the degree to which As exposure is associated with adolescent intelligence, and the contributory roles of lead, cadmium, manganese and selenium. Methods We recruited a cross-section of 726 14–16 year olds (mean age = 14.8 years) whose mothers are participants in the Bangladesh Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), and whose household well water As levels, which varied widely, were well characterized. Using a culturally modified version of the WISC-IV, we examined raw Full Scale scores, and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices. Blood levels of As (BAs), Mn, Pb, Cd and Se were assessed at the time of the visit, as was creatinine-adjusted urinary As (UAs/Cr). Results Linear regression analyses revealed that BAs was significantly negatively associated with all WISC-IV scores except for Perceptual Reasoning. With UAs/Cr as the exposure variable, we observed significantly negative associations for all WISC-IV scores. Except for Se, blood levels of other metals, were also associated with lower WISC-IV scores. Controlling for covariates, doubling BAs, or UAs/Cr, was associated with a mean decrement (95% CI) of 3.3 (1.1, 5.5), or 3.0 (1.2, 4.5) points, respectively, in raw Full scale scores with a sample mean of 177.6 (SD = 36.8). Confirmatory analyses using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression, which identifies important mixture members, supported these findings; the primary contributor of the mixture was BAs, followed by BCd. Conclusions Our data indicate that the adverse consequences of As exposure on neurodevelopment observed in other cross-sectional studies of younger children are also apparent during adolescence. They also implicate Cd as a neurotoxic element that deserves more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The EMMS drag was closed by the PBM to account for sub-grid corrections. • A CFD-PBM-EMMS model was formulated for bubbling fluidized beds. • The breakup and coalescence kernels were improved to achieve better versatility. • The bubble dynamics in 3D fluidized beds of Geldart A particles was captured. • The EQMOM was coupled with QMOM to reconstruct the NDF. The importance of bubble dynamics in fluidized beds is underscored by the efforts undertaken over the past decades through experimental and numerical studies. Nonetheless, the bubble dynamic evolution and its effects on sub-grid closures were neglected in previous coarse-grid CFD models, particularly for Geldart A particles. In this article, a population balance model with improved kernels was employed to describe the bubble dynamic evolution in three-dimensional bubbling beds, whereby the EMMS drag model was closedto be incorporated into an Eulerian continuum model. Furthermore, the Extended Quadrature Method of Moments (EQMOM) was utilized to reconstruct the number density function of bubble size once their lower moments were obtained. The simulation results showed that the hydrodynamics including bed expansion characteristics, solids concentration and bubble size distribution can be well predicted by the model, indicating its capability to capture the heterogeneous structures in three-dimensional bubbling beds of fine particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The carbonized down-fiber aerogel was first developed for solar evaporation. • Formation mechanism of thermally induced self-interlocked structure is proposed. • The aerogel preparation strategy is simple, efficient, and chemical-free. • The DCFA demonstrates self-floating and excellent evaporation performance. • The DCFA shows unique S, N self-doped carbon characteristics. Carbon aerogels have demonstrated superior properties for generating clean water through sustainable solar steam generation. However, the complex, time-consuming preparation process and the various harmful chemicals involved seriously inhibit the development and applications of carbon aerogels. Herein, down biomass-based carbon fiber aerogel (DCFA) consisting of physically self-interlocked carbon fibers was developed through the simple low-temperature carbonization of natural down cluster (DC) for highly effective solar evaporation. The resulting DCFA has a large amount of carbon (>80 %) and small amounts of sulfur and nitrogen due to its natural disulfide bonds and amino groups, suggesting a unique self-doped carbon property. The low density and high porosity of the DCFA increased the total solar absorbance and suppressed the energy loss during evaporation. As a result, the DCFA possessed solar absorbance of 97.03 %, as well as high evaporation rates of 2.05 and 2.11 kg·m−2·h−1 for the treatment of saline water and dye water, respectively, which are higher than most reported results. Moreover, the resulting DCFA could self-float without external assistance, demonstrating that it could be a facile evaporator in practical applications. Additionally, the DCFA retained its evaporation performance after 10 times tests for the evaporation of 3.5 wt% saline water and actual dye wastewater, indicating a long-term capacity for practical employment. These findings suggest that the DCFA could be a feasible alternative for solar-driven evaporation. Simultaneously, the simple, efficient, and chemical-free strategy will inspire subsequent research on the construction of fiber-based functional aerogels and their further development/application in water treatment, thermal insulation, energy generation, energy storage, and other related areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to address the problems of insufficient load capacity and rotor vibration, an active fluid-film bearing lubricated with magnetorheological fluid (MRF) is proposed. First, the geometry of the MRF fluid-film bearing is designed and its intelligent lubrication mechanism is analyzed to clarify its advantages. In addition, mathematical model of MRF fluid-film bearing-rotor system is derived, and FEM model is utilized to obtain stiffness and damping coefficients to supplement mathematical model. Moreover, an improved gray wolf optimization (IGWO) algorithm is developed to tune the PID controller parameters. The validity of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulation. Furthermore, the simulation results show that with the increasing of current magnitude, the orbits of shaft center decrease. Under the presence of magnetic fields, the shaft center orbits of the MRF bearing can converge to a point, and therefore this bearing has ability to suppress rotor vibration. Finally, IGWO-PID controller has better response characteristics than GWO, PSO, and GA algorithms, and hence the IGWO algorithm can find the more appropriate PID controller parameters, that the validity of the improved algorithm is further proved. Therefore, the active bearing and its research findings provide new reference for MRF vibration control in the field of journal bearing lubrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new topology of concentric magnetic gears is proposed and implemented. The key of the new topology is to bury permanent magnets (PMs) of the outer rotor into the iron core in a new way so that the mechanical integrity can be improved, and the PM material can be saved while the torque density is maintained. The proposed gear is designed with the speed reduction ratio of 7.33 and optimized by using the three-dimensional finite element method (3D-FEM). The key of the 3D-FEM is to employ scalar magnetic potential to reduce the required memory and time for data manipulation and computation. After prototyping, the measured maximum static torque well agrees with the calculated one, hence verifying the proposed design and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an all-fiber flexible supercapacitor with composite nanofiber electrodes made via electrospinning and an electrospun separator. With the addition of manganese acetylacetonate (MnACAC) to polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a precursor for the electrospinning process and subsequent heat treatment, the performance of pure PAN supercapacitors was improved from 90 F g −1 to 200 F g −1 (2.5 mV s −1 ) with possible mass loadings of MnACAC demonstrated as high as 40 wt%. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that after thermal treatment, the MnACAC was converted to MnO, meanwile, the thermal decomposition of MnACAC increased the graphitic degree of the carbonised PAN. Scanning electron microscopy and image processing showed that static electrospinning of pure PAN and PAN-Mn resulted in fiber diameters of 460 nm and 480 nm respectively after carbonisation. Further analysis showed that the fiber orientation exhibited a slight bias which was amplified with the addition of MnACAC. Use of focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy tomography also showed that MnO particles were evenly distributed through the fiber at low MnACAC concentrations, while at a 40 wt% loading the MnO particles were also visible on the surface. Comparison of the electrospun separators showed improved performance relative to a commercial Celgard separator (200 F g −1 vs 141 F g −1 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that Asians constituted a sizeable proportion of those exposed to the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001 due to its proximity to Chinatown and many South Asians working in the nearby buildings, no study had focused on examining the mental health impact of the attack in this group. Based on data collected by the World Trade Center Health Registry from a sample of 4721 Asians 2-3 years after the disaster, this study provides a baseline investigation for the prevalence and the risk and protective factors for PTSD among Asian Americans directly exposed to the attack and compared this population against 42,862 non-Hispanic Whites. We found that Asians had a higher prevalence of PTSD compared to Whites (14.6 vs 11.7%). "Race-specific factors" significantly associated to PTSD in the multivariate analyses were noted among sociodemographics: higher education was protective for Whites but a risk factor for Asians; being employed was protective for Whites but had no effect for Asians; and being an immigrant was a risk factor for Whites but had no effect for Asians. However, income was a protective factor for both races. Other "universal factors" significantly increased the odds of PTSD symptoms but showed no racial differences, including exposure to the disaster and the presence of lower respiratory symptoms which intensified odds of PTSD by the greatest magnitude (3.6-3.9 times). Targeted effort to reach out to Asians is essential for prevention and follow up treatment given this group's striking history of underutilization of mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Inorganic arsenic (As) is methylated via one carbon metabolism (OCM) to mono- and dimethylated arsenicals (MMA and DMA), facilitating urinary excretion. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcys), a marker of impaired OCM, is a risk factor for As-induced skin lesions, but the influences of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in OCM genes on Hcys, As metabolism and skin lesion risk is unclear. Objectives To (i) explore genetic sources of Hcys and the causal role of HHcys in As-induced skin lesion development using OCM genetic proxies for HHcys and (ii) identify OCM SNPs associated with urinary As metabolite proportions and/or skin lesion incidence. Methods We conducted a case-control study nested in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS) in Bangladesh which 876 incident skin lesion cases were matched to controls on sex, age, and follow-up time. We measured serum Hcys, urinary As metabolites, and 26 SNPs in 13 OCM genes. Results Serum Hcys and urinary %DMA were independently associated with increased and decreased odds of skin lesions, respectively. The T allele of MTHFR 677 C ➔ T (rs1801133) was associated with HHcys, higher %MMA, and lower %DMA, but not with skin lesions. Interactions between SNPs and water As on skin lesion risk were suggestive for three variants: the G allele of MTRR rs1801394 and T allele of FOLR1 rs1540087 were associated with lower odds of skin lesions with lower As (≤50 μg/L), and the T allele of TYMS rs1001761 was associated with higher odds of skin lesions with higher As. Conclusions While HHcys and decreased %DMA were associated with increased risk for skin lesions, and MTHFR 677 C ➔ T was a strong predictor of HHcys, MTHFR 677 C ➔ T was not associated with skin lesion risk. Future studies should explore (i) non-OCM and non-genetic determinants of Hcys and (ii) if genetic findings are replicated in other As-exposed populations, mechanisms by which OCM SNPs may influence the dose-dependent effects of As on skin lesion risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immobilization of enzymes on nanofibrous membranes could offer easy recycling and feasible continuous operations. In this study, a novel terpolymer poly (glycidyl methacrylate-co-methylacrylate)-g-polyethylene oxide (P(GMA-co-MA)-g-PEO) containing reactive epoxy groups and hydrophilic polyethylene oxide branch chain was synthesized. Electrospun P(GMA-co-MA)-g-PEO nanofibrous membrane was used for the immobilization of lipase molecules by covalent binding with the epoxy groups. The influences of the enzyme loading and activity by nanofibrous membranes with different content of monomers and immobilization temperature were investigated. The immobilized lipase achieved high enzyme loading of 150 mg/g and the maximum activity of 0.673 U/mg under the optimum immobilization conditions. The hydrophilic PEO branch chain was beneficial for the stabilization of the enzyme conformation which would promote the improvement of enzyme activity and stability. The results of FTIR spectra and SEM images of nanofibrous membranes before and after immobilization demonstrated that lipase has been successfully covalently immobilized on the nanofibrous membranes. The optimal pH and temperature were 7.0 and 35 °C for catalysis reaction of the immobilized lipase. The stabilities of the immobilized lipase were also investigated. The results demonstrated that the immobilized lipase has good thermal stability, reusability and organic solvent stability. The good stabilities of immobilized lipase revealed that P(GMA-co-MA)-g-PEO nanofibrous membrane is an excellent carrier for enzyme immobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]