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AbstractThe core component of the ground source heat pump (GSHP) system is the buried pipe heat exchanger. It is critically important to analyze its thermal exchange efficiency for safe and consistent functionality. Taking the double U-shaped buried pipe group as the study subject, this research constructed a three-dimensional model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The influence of the spacing and drilling depth on the heat transfer performance was analyzed. Further investigation was conducted on how 15 years of uninterrupted operation of the buried pipes affects the temperature field of the surrounding soil. The spacings between buried pipes were set to 4 m, 4.5 m, 5 m, 5.5 m, and 6 m, with drilling depths fixed at 150 m and 200 m. The research findings indicated that an optimal spacing of 5 m and a depth of 150 m were identified. Following a continuous 15-year period of operation, the mean temperature of the soil reached 15.5 °C. This represents a modest increase of just 0.45 °C when compared to the initial soil temperature, demonstrating effective soil temperature recovery and the absence of heat or cold accumulation. This study provides references for the design and construction of double U-shaped buried pipes in the GSHP system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In proton acceleration from laser-irradiated thin foil targets, adding foams on the front surface or connecting a helical coil on the rear surface of the foil has proven to be an effective scheme to enhance proton energy. In this paper, we make the first attempt to incorporate the above two enhancement schemes for laser-proton acceleration by simultaneously adding foams and connecting a helical coil to a thin foil target. By utilizing such integrated targets in the experiment, focused beams were generated. The maximum proton energy and the number of energetic protons are apparently enhanced. Moreover, quasi-monoenergetic peaks were formed at the high-energy end of the spectra. Particle-in-cell plasma simulations and electromagnetic beam dynamics simulations show that the double-layer target not only enhances the energy of protons but also leads to a multiple-fold increase in the number of escaped electrons, which results in an enhanced post-acceleration in helical coil subsequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumor detection typically involves classifying various tumor types. Traditional classifiers, based on the McCulloch‐Pitts model, have faced criticism due to their oversimplified structure and limited capabilities in detecting brain tumor images with complex features. In this study, we propose a multiclassification model inspired by dendritic architectures in neurons, which leverages synaptic and dendritic nonlinear information processing capabilities. Experimental results using brain tumor detection datasets demonstrate that our proposed model outperforms other state‐of‐the‐art models across all evaluation metrics. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the investment casting of turbine blades, ceramic cores are key components to form complex hollow structures. Superior mechanical property and leaching rate are demanded for ceramic cores. Herein, ceramic cores were fabricated using fused silica powders as the matrix, and amorphous and polycrystalline mullite fibers as the reinforcement phases, respectively. The microstructure and property evolution of ceramic cores rely on the crystallization degree of mullite fibers are explored. Both of the mullite fibers lead to improved crystallization of cristobalite, reduced sintering shrinkage, increased apparent porosity, and benefited bending strength, creep resistance, and leaching rate of the cores. Compared to the polycrystalline mullite fibers, the amorphous fibers are metastable with large quantities of structural defects, promoting the diffusion mass transfer and forming strong interface between fibers and matrix. Therefore, the amorphous fibers have larger promotion on the bending strength and resistance to creep deformation of ceramic cores. Moreover, the structural defects of amorphous fibers ensures the high chemical activity in alkaline solutions and exhibits excellent leaching rate. The ceramic core with 4.5 wt% of amorphous mullite fibers exhibits excellent comprehensive performance with bending strengths of 28.9 MPa and 23.8 MPa at room temperature and 1550 °C, creep deformation of 0.3 mm, and leaching rate of 1.4 g/min, well meeting the casting requirements of hollow blades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of nonextensive electrons on nonlinear ion acoustic waves in dusty negative ion plasmas with ion–dust collisions are investigated. Analytical results show that both solitary and shock waves are supported in this system. The wave propagation is governed by a Korteweg–de Vries Burgers-type equation. The coefficients of this equation are modified by the nonextensive parameter q. Numerical calculations indicate that the amplitude of solitary wave and oscillatory shock can be obviously modified by the nonextensive electrons, but the monotonic shock is little affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic cores are key components to form inner hollow structures in aero-engine blades, and 3D printing is an ideal molding technology for ceramic cores. In this work, silica-based ceramic cores are fabricate via 3D printing of digital light processing (DLP) stereolithography, and the anisotropy in microstructure and property are controlled by aluminum powders. The ceramic cores without aluminum powders exhibit anisotropic microstructure with interlayer gaps, which get narrower and disappear with doping of 7.5–10 wt% of aluminum powders, due to the volume expansion during oxidization reaction of aluminum powders filling the interlayer gaps. The anisotropy in mechanical property is rely on the printing direction, and the ratio of strength in different directions (σ V /σ H) is put forward to value the mechanical anisotropy; the ratios rise from 0.40 to 0.92 at room temperature and 0.51 to 0.97 at 1540 °C, as 7.5 wt% of aluminum is doped, and the optimized ceramic cores show high-temperature strengths of 16.6 MPa and 16.1 MPa in different printing directions. Even though ceramic cores with 10 wt% of aluminum show uniform microstructure and higher σ V /σ H ratio, the weak particle bonding within printing layers limits their mechanical property, and the strengths decrease to 13.8 MPa and 13.4 MPa at 1540 °C. This work inspires a new technique to excellent high-temperature mechanical properties with anisotropy control in 3D printing of ceramic cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RUNX1T1 (Runt‐related transcription factor 1, translocated to 1) plays a wide‐ranging and diverse role in cellular development, including hematopoiesis and adipogenesis. However, little is known about the function of RUNX1T1 in the skeletal muscle development. Here, we assessed the impact of RUNX1T1 on the proliferation and myogenic differentiation of goat primary myoblasts (GPMs). It was observed that RUNX1T1 is highly expressed during the early stages of myogenic differentiation and the fetal stage. Moreover, the knockdown of RUNX1T1 promotes the proliferation and inhibits myogenic differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis of GPMs. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that significantly differentially expressed genes in RUNX1T1 knockdown cells were enriched in the calcium signaling pathway. Additionally, we discovered that RUNX1T1 regulates alternative splicing (AS) events involved in myogenesis. We also show that silencing RUNX1T1 blocked the Ca2+‐CAMK signaling pathway and reduced the expression levels of muscle‐specific isoforms of recombinant rho associated coiled coil containing crotein kinase 2 (ROCK2) during myogenic differentiation, partially explaining why RUNX1T1 deficiency leads to the impairment of myotube formation. These findings suggest that RUNX1T1 is a novel regulator of myogenic differentiation that regulates the calcium signaling pathway and AS of ROCK2. Overall, our results highlight the critical role of RUNX1T1 in myogenesis and broaden our understanding of myogenic differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of robust nonplatinum electrocatalysts to enhance the performance of formate oxidation reaction (FOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the key issues for the commercialization of direct formate fuel cells (DFFCs), but still challenging. Herein, a structurally controlled 3D flower‐like PdCu nanosheet (NS) catalyst is synthesized by a method of oil bath reduction under mild conditions as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for DFFCs. Under the dual tuning on the composition and intermetallic phase, the PdCu nanosheet catalyst exhibits 8.67 times higher mass activity for anodic formate oxidation reaction than the commercial Pd/C. For the cathodic ORR, a positive shift half‐wave potential is obtained for PdCu nanosheets exceeding Pt/C. Moreover, after a long‐term stability test, the current density of the PdCu nanosheet catalyst for FOR and ORR can be well maintained with the least activity decay. When the PdCu NSs are used as optimized anode and cathode electrodes for DFFCs enable a peak power density as high as 53 mW cm−2 at room temperature, which is about 1.3 times higher than that of the commercial Pd/C and Pt/C as anode and cathode electrodes. This work provides a potential strategy to improve the catalytic performance of non‐Pt‐based nanocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whisky, brandy, rum, and Chinese baijiu are popular distilled spirits globally, and the volatile components play an essential role in the aroma of these distilled liquors. Volatile compounds in whisky, brandy, rum, and three main aroma types of Chinese baijiu (strong, light, and sauce) were investigated using comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOFMS). Two significant variable detection approaches, the variable importance in the projection (VIP) and nonparametric test (Mann–Whitney U test), were compared to determine the volatile markers among these samples. It was found that the VIP model was more efficient in screening significant variants than the U test. A total of 117 common markers were selected by both the VIP and U test methods with potential aroma contributions. Esters and acids were the main aroma markers for baijiu, diethyl esters were the main aroma markers for brandy, whereras pyrazines, lactones, and furans were the main aroma markers for whisky. Based on the chosen markers, different unknown distilled liquors were successfully classified in the model validation. This study provided a feasible methodology for spirit sample speculation based on volatile composition obtained by GC×GC‐TOFMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggested that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation can determine m6A-modified mRNA fate and play an important role in skeletal muscle development. It was well known that transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) is involved in a variety of cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, little is known about the m6A-mediated TGFβ1 regulation in myogenesis. Here, we observed an increase in endogenous TGFβ1 expression and activity during myotube differentiation. However, the knockdown of TGFβ1 inhibits the proliferation and induces cell apoptosis of myoblast. Moreover, we found that m6A in 5′-untranslated regions (5′UTR) of TGFβ1 promote its decay and inhibit its expression, leading to the blockage of the TGFβ1/SMAD2 signaling pathway. Furthermore, the targeted specific demethylation of TGFβ1 m6A using dCas13b-FTO significantly increased the TGFβ1-mediated activity of the SMAD2 signaling pathway, promoting myoblast proliferation. These findings suggest that TGFβ1 is an essential regulator of myoblast growth that is negatively regulated by m6A. Overall, these results highlight the critical role of m6A-mediated post-transcriptional regulation in myogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of protein biomarkers is crucial for early disease diagnosis. However, these biomarkers are present at low levels in serum, and the detection signal is easily interfered with by high levels of proteins. These factors pose major challenges for direct biomarker detection by existing technologies; thus, sample pre-treatments are performed as the best solution. Molecularly imprinted polymers have excellent properties of good binding ability, high selectivity and low cost, making this technique one of the best for serum pre-treatment. This review discusses the recent research status and development of bulk and surface imprinting techniques for high-abundance proteins. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes the research overview and progress of substrate and template selection, template immobilization technology and strategies to control the thickness of imprinted polymers when using the surface imprinting technique. Finally, the main challenges of molecular imprinting technique (MIT) application for high-abundance proteins and the future direction of this field are highlighted. The overview and progress of the selection of substrate and template, immobilization methods and thickness controlling strategy in surface imprinting is emphasized. Furthermore, immobilization methods such as ligand, metal ion, covalent interaction and physical adsorption are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the thermo-economic performance of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems, a multi-level analysis method is proposed in this study. In the first level, the optimal configuration is determined based on the thermo-economic optimization. The exergy efficiency and electricity production cost are selected as the objective functions of optimization for three ORC configurations, including simple ORC, TORC (two-stage ORC), and DORC (dual-loop ORC). In the second level, the real potential of performance improvement for the optimal configuration is revealed through advanced exergy analysis method. Finally, the order of operating parameters to different performance indicators of the optimal configuration is determined by orthogonal experiment method. The results show that the TORC system exhibits better thermo-economic performance. Although the low-temperature condenser in the TORC system has the highest exergy destruction, the LTT (low-temperature turbine) contributes the largest avoidable-endogenous exergy destruction. Thus, the LTT has the greatest potential for technical improvement. The condensation temperature and pinch point temperature difference in the low-temperature evaporator are the primary factors for the thermodynamic and economic performance of the TORC system, respectively. While the evaporation temperature of the high-temperature evaporator has the greatest effect on the potential of technical improvement for the LTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melt viscosity of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is extremely high, rendering its processing exteremely difficult; thus, flow modification is required to improve its flow properties. In this study, calcium stearate (CaSt) and a fluoroelastomer (FP) were used as flow modifiers to improve the flow properties of UHMWPE. The experimental results revealed that both lubricants improved the flowability of UHMWPE: CaSt improved the melt flow index of UHMWPE, while the FP had no significant effect on the melt flow index but significantly reduced the torque. The underlying mechanisms for the above effects were investigated in terms of the structure–property relationships. Rheological and dynamic mechanical analyses revealed that CaSt acted as an internal lubricant, reducing the degree of entanglement among HMWPE molecular chains. Torque rheological measurements revealed that the FP primarily acted as an external lubricant, precipitating to form an external lubricant layer during extrusion, which reduced the torque and die pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas-insulated equipment such as GIS (Gas-Insulated Substation) and GIL (Gas-Insulated transmission lines) faces critical insulation failure challenges caused by particles inside. However, the particle traps, as key devices available to inhibit the movement of particles, lack theoretical basis and quantitative methodology for trap design especially with high voltage ratings. In this paper, a particle motion excitation and observation platform is established to physically simulate the actual online operating conditions of HVAC/HVDC GIS/GIL and study the capture mechanism of particle traps. Experimental results illustrate that, the collision motion style is a principal factor to affect the particle capturing capability, and the capture behavior of AC and DC particle traps can be classified into three separate modes, depending on variation of the collision process which can be characterized by random probability and the lognormal distribution rebound angle. A particle trajectory simulation model incorporating motion randomness is thereby presented to realize quantitative analysis and further optimize the trap parameters. A hazard index and minimum collision times are defined and calculated to quantitatively evaluate the particle collision effect on trapping capability. Further, a novel trap design topology is proposed to enhance the anti-motion efficiency of the particle traps. Targeted at high objective capture probability, the particle trap parameters are optimized to reduce the hazard index and improve the minimum collision times by the Monte Carlo scheme. The obtained results indicated that, the capture probability of AC traps can reach 86.5% at a gap spacing of 5 mm, while that of DC traps can reach 74.1% with an 8 mm-width slot and a 50-degree inclination angle. Verification of the novel article trap is implemented on a test rig, which gives an increased capture probability by 30% compared with the traditional trap design. The proposed new trap topology and corresponding methodology present quantitative guidance for particle traps optimization and render application potential for different voltage levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing moving vehicle models generally require a long test-track to realize the acceleration and deceleration processes and the negative effect of data cables is inevitably for the wind pressure measurement using the traditional pressure scanning system. To address the technical obstacle for moving vehicle models in wind tunnel tests, a new type of aerodynamic measurement technology is presented in this study. Firstly, a piece of new kinetic equipment, a U-Shaped launching ramp, is proposed. The U-Shaped launching ramp can realize the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle model by gravity and makes full use of the test section of the wind tunnel. Then, a wireless pressure acquisition system is developed to virtually eliminate the negative effects of the inertia and friction forces. By comparing with the conventional wind pressure test data, the proposed wireless pressure acquisition system presents a higher accuracy and fully satisfies the test requirement for the moving vehicle-bridge system. From the scaled test, it is confirmed that the aerodynamic forces of the moving vehicle model are larger than that of the static one, implying that the moving test is necessary for studying the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle-bridge coupling system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the geodesic of the directed last passage percolation with iid exponential weights. We find the explicit one-point distribution of the geodesic location joint with the last passage times, and its limit as the parameters go to infinity under the KPZ scaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flowability of Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is very poor so flow modification is needed to improve its processing efficiency, but flow modification could significantly deteriorate its wear resistance. To solve this technical problem, it is necessary to recognize the reasons why flow modifiers deteriorate the wear resistance of UHMWPE. In current research, influence of calcium stearate (CaSt) which is a commonly used flow modifier on the wear resistance of UHMWPE was investigated, the experimental results showed that a small amount of CaSt (0.5wt%) could significantly deteriorate the wear resistance of UHMWPE (11%). Subsequently, the effect of CaSt on the three-phase structure (amorphous, crystalline and interphase) of UHMWPE was investigated to explain why CaSt deteriorates the wear resistance of UHMWPE in terms of structure–property relationship. The study of crystallization and melting behavior indicates that the incorporation of CaSt makes the matrix produce more well-formed crystals thus increasing the hardness of the matrix, and the increase in hardness can alleviate the degree of abrasive wear. The study of the amorphous region found that CaSt has a unique disentanglement effect, which reduces the degree of entanglement of molecular chains of the matrix, and the reduction of the degree of entanglement deteriorates the shear resistance of the matrix, thus aggravating the shear damage of the sample during the wear process. Meanwhile, the disentanglement effect of CaSt can also improve the recrystallization ability of the matrix, reducing the interphase of the matrix thus making the matrix more susceptible to structural damage during the wear process. Furthermore, the incorporation of CaSt significantly reduces the heat resistance of the matrix, which makes the wear resistance of the matrix deteriorate more caused by the friction heat during the wear process. This paper can provide theoretical guidance to solve the problem of severe degradation of wear resistance after flow modification of UHMWPE and provide inspiration for the structural design of other wear-resistant materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using wind tunnel tests, the aerodynamic characteristics of a suspended monorail transport (SMT) are systematically investigated under crosswinds for the first time. Two practical vehicle–bridge combination forms (single-line and double-line) are considered. As a contrast, single vehicle and bridge models are also studied to further reveal their aerodynamic characteristics. The mean and root mean square (RMS) wind pressure coefficients, aerodynamic coefficients and power spectrum density (PSD) distributions are used to numerically investigate the effects. The paper confirms that: (1) the mean wind pressure coefficients of the single vehicle and bridge models are close to unity at the center point of the windward side and gradually decrease from the center point to both sides. The maximum value of the RMS wind pressure coefficients mainly occurs at the top or bottom surface of the testing models due to the effect of vortex shedding; (2) the aerodynamic coefficients and the mean and RMS wind pressure coefficients are significantly increased for both the vehicle and bridge models when considering the aerodynamic coupling effects; (3) the aerodynamic characteristics of the bridge can be significantly affected by the location of the running vehicle, but the fluid flow can maintain relative stability during the meeting of the two vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel integrated silicon micromachined diplexer-antenna module for compact terahertz (THz) heterodyne receiver is proposed. The module is composed of a radio frequency (RF) antenna, a local oscillator (LO) antenna, and a waveguide diplexer which are realized by using the silicon micromachining technology and stacking nine equal-thickness layers. The corrugated conical horn antenna and quasi-diagonal horn antenna are applied as the RF- and LO-antenna, respectively. The diplexer is composed of two third-order waveguide bandpass filters and an H-plane T-junction, providing the isolated RF and LO channels. An experimental study is carried out in the 340 GHz band, demonstrating its application potential in THz heterodyne receiver element and array. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since climbing robots mainly rely on adhesion actuators to achieve adhesion, robust adhesion actuators have always been the challenge of climbing robot design. A novel under-actuated soft adhesion actuator (USAA) proposed in this paper for climbing robots can generate adhesion through robot's load applied to the actuator. The actuator is composed of a soft film/substrate structure with an annular groove on the substrate and a cavity on the soft film. To fabricate the actuator, we first study the influence of the geometric parameters of the USAA on the maximum adhesion of the actuator by analysis and experiments, and then combine these parameters and the boundary conditions of the static meniscus in the mold to design the mold. Moreover, we fabricate a climbing robot equipped with USAAs and evaluate its performance on horizontal and inclined surfaces with a wide range of characteristics. The USAA can generate strong and controllable adhesion to various smooth and semi-smooth surfaces. Furthermore, the fabricated robot performs well on various surfaces under a certain load (at least 500 g) and speed (369 mm/min) through experiments. It's adaptability to a variety of surfaces enables a wide range of applications and pushes the boundaries of soft adhesion actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution is a growing concern, particularly the impact of sewage treatment gas on the atmosphere's greenhouse effect. Efficient sewage resource recycling is crucial to achieving carbon neutrality. The bacteria-algae symbiotic sewage treatment system combines wastewater treatment, carbon dioxide fixation, and biomass energy recovery to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, environmental protection, and the transformation of high-value added products. This paper presents the construction of a sequencing batch photobiological reaction system that utilizes a microbial-algae symbiotic relationship. The system was used to analyze the degradation effects of sCOD, TN, AN, and TP in anaerobic digestion wastewater by varying the microbial-algae ratios. Additionally, changes in the microbial community were analyzed to explore the system's potential for reducing carbon emissions. The study's findings indicate that: 1)When the ratio of bacteria to algae was 2:3, the removal rates of TN, AN, sCOD, and TP were 81.38%, 94.28%, 75.33%, and 96.56%. 2)Changing the ratio of bacteria to algae would affect the bacterial concentration in the mixed system, but not the bacterial community structure. The results indicate that a ratio of 2:3 enhances the removal of pollutants by bacteria and algae symbionts.3) Under the context of carbon neutralization, this paper investigates the reduction of carbon emissions in ADE treated by bacteria-algae symbiosis at the optimal bacteria to algae ratio. The experimental process can reduce 177.03 mg CO 2 compared to complete nutrient consumption treatment, which is equivalent to a reduction of 355.08 g CO 2 per 1 m3 of ADE. For full anaerobic treatment, this experimental process can reduce 228.35 mg of CO 2 equivalent CH 4 , which translates to a reduction of 456.71 g of CO 2 equivalent CH 4 per 1 m3 of ADE. • Optimize the symbiotic system of bacteria and algae in anaerobic digestion wastewater treatment. • Determine the best ratio of bacteria to algae. • Low carbon emissions during the symbiotic treatment of bacteria and algae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To guarantee the efficient and durable operation of oxygen ion/proton-conducting ceramic fuel cells, the cathode materials need to be versatile in terms of high activity, good CO 2 resistance, and matched thermal expansion behavior with electrolyte, etc. In this study, we substituted 10% Nb to the B-site of parent perovskite-BaCo 0.7 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ , to form a single-phase material with triple conducting (H+/O2-/e-) capability as a highly ORR-active cathode. The doped BaCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ (BCFYN) shows promising ORR activity due to the optimized oxygen vacancy, improved hydration capacity, and accelerated charge transfer kinetics. The reduction of thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) and enhanced CO 2 resistance also facilitate the cathode durability. As a result, the area-specific resistances of BCFYN electrode at 550 °C for oxygen-ion and proton conducting symmetrical cells were only 0.106 and 0.24 Ω cm2, respectively. These results indicate that BCFYN is a highly promising cathode material for both SOFCs and PCFCs. [Display omitted] • The novel single-phase BaCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ cathode is obtained by Nb doping to the perovskite B-site strategy. • The BaCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ cathode shows low ASR and good stability on both SDC and BZCYYb electrolyte. • The BaCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ cathode has low thermal expansion coefficient and enhanced CO 2 resistance. • The BaCo 0.6 Fe 0.2 Y 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ cathode is of enhanced hydration capacity and optimized oxygen vacancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution patterns of species diversity in high mountains have received considerable attention in scientific research and conservation efforts. However, our understanding of the corresponding altitudinal patterns of soil fauna across spatial scales, particularly on high-altitude plateaus, remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted a case study on Balang Mountain, located at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Our focus was on soil nematodes within an altitudinal range of approximately 3000 to 4000 m. We collected climate, soil, and vegetation data to test multiple hypotheses, including the effects of energy, water availability, productivity, soil resource availability, and pH constraints on nematode communities. Dominance analysis and commonality analysis were employed to determine the relative support of these hypotheses in explaining nematode abundance, diversity, and composition. Beta-diversity, which links local alpha-diversity and regional gamma-diversity, was decomposed into distinct components to elucidate ecological processes along altitude and across diversity facets. Our findings revealed distinct yet significant altitudinal patterns in nematode abundance (concave-down), richness (monotonous decrease), and evenness (concave-up). Water and soil resource availability emerged as dominant factors influencing nematode abundance, while energy and pH played pivotal roles in determining nematode richness. Additionally, water and productivity were identified as the most significant drivers shaping nematode community composition. Furthermore, a significant influence of pH on gamma- and beta-diversities was observed, surpassing the impact of other predictors at a coarse level. Upon decomposing beta-diversities into different components, we discovered that taxa substitution (turnover) and individual substitution (balance-variation) were the primary contributors to community dissimilarity among altitudes, indicating strong effects of environmental sorting or spatial and historical constraints on soil nematode communities. These findings contribute to our understanding of the distribution patterns and processes of soil nematode communities along altitude in alpine ecosystems. Moreover, they offer valuable insights into soil biodiversity distribution and conservation in high-mountain environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep residual network (ResNet), one of the mainstream deep learning models, has achieved groundbreaking results in various fields. However, all neurons used in ResNet are based on the McCulloch‐Pitts model which has long been criticized for its oversimplified structure. Accordingly, this paper for the first time proposes a novel dendritic residual network by considering the powerful information processing capacity of dendrites in neurons. Experimental results based on the challenging COVID‐19 prediction problem show the superiority of the proposed method in comparison with other state‐of‐the‐art ones. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T cell immunotherapy remains an attractive approach for cancer immunotherapy. T cell immunotherapy mainly employs chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)- and T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cells. CAR-T cell therapy has been an essential breakthrough in treating hematological malignancies. TCR-T cells can recognize antigens expressed both on cell surfaces and in intracellular compartments. Although TCR-T cells have not been approved for clinical application, a number of clinical trials have been performed, particularly for solid tumors. In this article, we summarized current TCR-T cell advances and their potential advantages for solid tumor immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) are known to play pivotal roles in mammalian testicular function and spermatogenesis. However, their impact on porcine male reproduction has yet to be well unraveled. Here, we sequenced and identified lncRNA and miRNA expressed in the testes of Chinese indigenous Banna mini-pig inbred line (BMI) and introduced Western Duroc (DU) and Large White (LW) pigs. By pairwise comparison (BMI vs DU, BMI vs LW, and DU vs LW), we found the gene expression differences in the testes between Chinese local pigs and introduced Western commercial breeds were more striking than those between introduced commercial breeds. Furthermore, we found 1622 co-differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs), 122 co-differentially expressed lncRNAs (co-DELs), 39 co-differentially expressed miRNAs (co-DEMs) in BMI vs introduced commercial breeds (DU and LW). Functional analysis revealed that these co-DEGs and co-DELs/co-DEMs target genes were enriched in male sexual function pathways, including MAPK, AMPK, TGF-β/Smad, Hippo, NF-kappa B, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. Additionally, we established 10,536 lncRNA-mRNA, 11,248 miRNA-mRNA pairs, and 62 ceRNA (lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA) networks. The ssc-miR-1343 had the most interactive factors in the ceRNA network, including 20 mRNAs and 3 lncRNAs, consisting of 56 ceRNA pairs. These factors played extremely important roles in the regulation of testis function as key nodes in the interactive regulatory network. Our results provide insight into the functional roles of lncRNAs and miRNAs in porcine testis and offer a valuable resource for understanding the differences between Chinese indigenous and introduced Western pigs. • Thetestis transcriptome analysis identified some co-differentially genes, lncRNAs, and miRNAs in BMI vs DU and BMI vs LW. • These co-DEGs and target genes of co-DELs and co-DEMs were enriched in the male sexual function pathway. • We established networks of lncRNA-mRNA, miRNA-mRNA, and ceRNA (lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA) involved in pig testis function. • We validated the strong reliability of our RNA-seq and small RNA-seq datasets using the qRT-PCR method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered materials have been investigated in many different catalytic reactions due to their excellent functionalities. In particular, understanding the anisotropic properties of layered materials is important for the design of more efficient catalysts. Herein, SnS 2 nanoflakes with abundant edge sites (E-SnS 2) were synthesized and their catalytic properties towards the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) were studied. Combining experimental data and computational analysis, we found that the edge sites of SnS 2 are more active for CO 2 to formate conversion compared with the basal sites. Moreover, a CO 2 reduction intermediates triggered activation mechanism at the edge sites is proposed, the formation of sulfur vacancies at the edges would generate more active sites for CO 2 RR. The as-synthesized E-SnS 2 shows high selectivity, activity and robust stability for at least 12 h in a flow cell under a current density of − 200 mA·cm-2. This work may provide a new perspective on rational catalyst design for CO 2 RR. [Display omitted] • Nanosized SnS 2 with layered structure was successfully synthesized. • The edge site of layered SnS 2 is more active than basal site for CO 2 electroreduction. • The catalytic activity of SnS 2 is enhanced by in situ generated edge sulfur vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sliding mesh method was used to simulate moving conditions. • Comparing the numerical results with the experimental results. • Two calculation methods of simulating moving conditions were compared. • It is concluded that the effect of rolling motion is the most sever. • Secondary flows and flow instabilities under moving conditions were analyzed. The investigation of flow and heat transfer of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) under moving conditions is vital to the design optimization of LBE loop system in offshore engineering. In this paper, we have developed a method for simulating moving conditions using sliding mesh. Moreover, we have conducted experiments to validate the numerical model, and the comparison results demonstrate a good agreement between them. The calculation results demonstrate that the period of the flow rate fluctuation is consistent with the motion period, and the amplitude of the fluctuation will increase with the increase of the maximum range of motion and the decrease of the motion period. In addition, the influence of rolling on system parameters is more severe than that of heaving. These results obtained in this study have important engineering application value for the design of LBE loop system under moving conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fully metallic partially open corrugated waveguide (CW) is employed to construct the Ka-band linearly polarized (LP) and circularly polarized (CP) frequency-scanning (FS) periodic leaky-wave antennas (PLWAs) with the spatial coverages from backward ($\theta < 0$) to forward ($\theta > 0$). The waveguide structure is obtained by cutting a conventional CW in half along its longitudinal symmetry plane. The $n =-1$ space harmonic is generated effectively by the half-wavelength radiating slots on the corrugations. The broadside frequency is about 31.5 GHz. The LP and CP radiations are realized by rotating the radiating slots to different angles. The measured scanning ranges of the LP and CP PLWAs are from −42.7° to 16.5° in the band of 26.5–33.5 GHz and from −48° to 22.7° in the band of 26.5–34 GHz, respectively. The measured axial ratio of the CP PLWA is below 3 dB in the mainlobe directions varied with frequency. The prototypes and experimental results make contributions to the polarization control, scanning rate improvement, and profile reduction in the frequency-controlled millimeter-wave imaging and radar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the untargeted metabolomics study is to obtain a global metabolome coverage from biological samples. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic protocol for tissue metabolite extraction is highly desirable. In this study, we evaluated a comprehensive liver pretreatment strategy based on ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry to obtain more metabolites using four different protocols. These protocols included (A) methanol protein precipitation, (B) two‐step extraction of dichloromethane‐methanol followed by methanol–water, (C) two‐step extraction of methyl tert‐butyl ether‐methanol followed by methanol–water, and (D) two‐step extraction of isopropanol‐methanol followed by methanol–water. Our results showed that protocol D was superior to the others due to more extracted features, annotated metabolites, and better reproducibility. And then, the stability and extraction sequence of protocol D were evaluated. The results showed that extraction with isopropanol‐methanol followed by methanol–water was the optimum preparation sequence, which offered higher extraction efficiency, satisfactory repeatability, and acceptable stability. Furthermore, the optimal protocol was successfully applied by liver samples of rats after high‐fat intervention. In summary, our protocol enabled a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of liver pretreatment to obtain more medium‐polar and nonpolar metabolites and was suitable for high‐throughput metabolomics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Epidemiological studies support a protective role of habitual coffee and caffeine consumption against the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to investigate the causal relationship between coffee intake and the risk of NAFLD. Methods: We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using SNPs associated with habitual coffee intake in a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) as genetic instruments and summary-level data from a published GWAS of NAFLD (1122 cases and 399,900 healthy controls) in the UK Biobank. The causal relationship was estimated with the inverse weighted method using a 4-SNP and 6-SNP instrument based on the single largest non-UK Biobank GWAS (n = 91,462) and meta-analysis (n = 121,524) of GWAS data on habitual coffee intake, respectively. To maximize power, we also used up to 77 SNPs associated with coffee intake at a liberal significance level (p ≤ 1e-4) as instruments. Results: We observed a non-significant trend towards a causal protective effect of coffee intake on NAFLD based upon either the 4-SNP (OR: 0.76; 95% CI 0.51, 1.14, p = 0.19) or 6-SNP genetic instruments (OR: 0.77; 95% CI 0.48, 1.25, p = 0.29). The result also remains non-significant when using the more liberal 77-SNP instrument. Conclusion: Our findings do not support a causal relationship between coffee intake and NAFLD risk. However, despite the largest-to-date sample size, the power of this study may be limited by the non-specificity and moderate effect size of the genetic alleles on coffee intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between saturated fatty acids (SFA) and bladder cancer (BC) risk has been conflicting. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between erythrocyte membrane SFA and BC risk. A total of 404 participants were enrolled in the study (including 112 cases and 292 controls). A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the food intake. The constitutive composition of fatty acids in the erythrocyte membrane was measured by gas chromatography. After adjustment for BC risk factors, SFA had no significant association with BC risk. However, C18:0 was positively linked with BC risk with an odds ratio (OR; 95% CI) of 2.99 (1.37–6.53). In contrast, very-long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFA), especially C24:0, were negatively related to BC risk with an OR (95% CI) of 0.28 (0.12–0.65) for VLCSFA and 0.33 (0.15–0.75) for C24:0. Higher total odd-chain SFA (C15:0 and C17:0) were associated with a lower risk of BC with OR (95% CI) of 0.18 (0.076–0.44), 0.18 (0.068–0.47), 0.34 (0.14–0.81), respectively. After subgroup analysis, the protective effects C15:0 and C17:0 were still remained. Receiver operating characteristic analysis displayed that the combination of C15:0 and C17:0 indexes increased the accurate predictive rate of BC risk. Further mediation effect analysis showed that C15:0 and C17:0 could be used as partial mediation effectors for milk and dairy products and bladder carcinogenesis. Overall, the combination of odd-chain SFA (C15:0 and C17:0) in the erythrocyte membrane could serve as a reliable mediator and predictor, indicating a relationship between a high intake of milk and dairy products and a lower risk of BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the one-dimensional totally asymmetric simple exclusion process with an arbitrary initial condition in a spatially periodic domain, and obtain explicit formulas for the multi-point distributions in the space-time plane. The formulas are given in terms of an integral involving a Fredholm determinant. We then evaluate the large-time, large-period limit in the relaxation time scale, which is the scale such that the system size starts to affect the height fluctuations. The limit is obtained assuming certain conditions on the initial condition, which we show that the step, flat, and step-flat initial conditions satisfy. Hence, we obtain the limit theorem for these three initial conditions in the periodic model, extending the previous work on the step initial condition. We also consider uniform random and uniform-step random initial conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are effective models for image classification and recognition. Gradient descent optimization (GD) is the basic algorithm for CNN model optimization. Since GD appeared, a series of improved algorithms have been derived. Among these algorithms, adaptive moment estimation (Adam) has been widely recognized. However, local changes are ignored in Adam to some extent. In this paper, we introduce an adaptive learning rate factor based on current and recent gradients. According to this factor, we can dynamically adjust the learning rate of each independent parameter to adaptively adjust the global convergence process. We use the factor to adjust the learning rate for each parameter. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is proven by using the regret bound approach of the online learning framework. In the experimental section, comparisons are conducted between the proposed algorithm and other existing algorithms, such as AdaGrad, RMSprop, Adam, diffGrad, and AdaHMG, on test functions and the MNIST dataset. The results show that Adam and RMSprop combined with our algorithm can not only find the global minimum faster in the experiment using the test function but also have a better convergence curve and higher test set accuracy in experiments using datasets. Our algorithm is a supplement to the existing gradient descent algorithms, which can be combined with many other existing gradient descent algorithms to improve the efficiency of iteration, speed up the convergence of the cost function, and improve the final recognition rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Rh(III)‐catalyzed Csp2−Csp3 bond cleavage/carbonylethylation of α‐indolyl alcohols with allylic alcohols has been reported. This transformation involved a cascade C−C bond cleavage/C−C bond formation, and provides a novel approach to assemble 2‐carbonylethylindole skeletons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional polylactic acid (PLA) melt plasticization and toughening processes are typically achieved at the expense of PLA strength and transparency, which is clearly detrimental to its application in areas such as smart home and food packaging. Herein, an ultraviolet (UV)-protective PLA-based composite (PP6) that simultaneously achieves high strength (63.3 MPa), high plasticity (125.3 %), and enhanced toughness (4.3 kJ/m2) by adding only 6 wt% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P34HB) under the assist of 1 wt% chain extender was prepared using melt blending technique. Benefiting from the cross-linking effect of the chain extender and the elongational flow during processing, the compatibility between P34HB and PLA, as well as the thermomechanical properties, heat resistance, and biodegradable properties of the composite, have been enhanced significantly. The extremely low melt enthalpy (1.9 J/g) and the low crystallinity PLA phase contribute to an appropriate transparency (78.3 % of glass in 400–1100 nm). The prepared composites display mid- and long-wave UV-protective performance, which is superior to conventional industrial glasses. Through the superior elongational rheology technology, PP6 maintains favorable overall properties even after six thermomechanical cycles. Collectively, the composite fabricated in this work is an attractive candidate for future applications such as smart windows, food packaging, agricultural films, and biomedical applications. With the synergistic effect of elongational rheology and reactive blending, PLA composites incorporating only 6 wt% P34HB and 1 wt% ADR chain extender provide a considerable improvement in the overall mechanical properties, as well as decent transparency and UV resistance. [Display omitted] • Biodegradable PP6 was fabricated based on elongational rheological technique. • PP6 shows extremely low crystallinity owing to chain expansion and cross-linking. • PP6 offers excellent UV-protective and high transparency. • PP6 features superior cycling stability and mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional polylactic acid (PLA) melt plasticization and toughening processes are typically achieved at the expense of PLA strength and transparency, which is clearly detrimental to its application in areas such as smart home and food packaging. Herein, an ultraviolet (UV)-protective PLA-based composite (PP6) that simultaneously achieves high strength (63.3 MPa), high plasticity (125.3 %), and enhanced toughness (4.3 kJ/m2) by adding only 6 wt% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P34HB) under the assist of 1 wt% chain extender was prepared using melt blending technique. Benefiting from the cross-linking effect of the chain extender and the elongational flow during processing, the compatibility between P34HB and PLA, as well as the thermomechanical properties, heat resistance, and biodegradable properties of the composite, have been enhanced significantly. The extremely low melt enthalpy (1.9 J/g) and the low crystallinity PLA phase contribute to an appropriate transparency (78.3 % of glass in 400–1100 nm). The prepared composites display mid- and long-wave UV-protective performance, which is superior to conventional industrial glasses. Through the superior elongational rheology technology, PP6 maintains favorable overall properties even after six thermomechanical cycles. Collectively, the composite fabricated in this work is an attractive candidate for future applications such as smart windows, food packaging, agricultural films, and biomedical applications. With the synergistic effect of elongational rheology and reactive blending, PLA composites incorporating only 6 wt% P34HB and 1 wt% ADR chain extender provide a considerable improvement in the overall mechanical properties, as well as decent transparency and UV resistance. [Display omitted] • Biodegradable PP6 was fabricated based on elongational rheological technique. • PP6 shows extremely low crystallinity owing to chain expansion and cross-linking. • PP6 offers excellent UV-protective and high transparency. • PP6 features superior cycling stability and mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goat meat is popular with consumers for its rich nutritional content. Muscle fiber characteristics have been shown to play a crucial role in determining the quantity and quality of meat. However, little is known about the temporal changes in muscle fiber characteristics and meat quality during growth in goats. In this study, muscle fiber type, fiber diameter, fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), glycolytic potential (GP), meat pH, and meat color were analyzed in the gastrocnemius (GAS), gluteus medius (GM), biceps brachii (BB), longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles from newborn (NHMG) and adult (AHMG) Haimen goats. The distribution of type I and type Π fiber in goats is not consistent across the four muscles and undergoes alterations with age. The diameter and CSA of the muscle fibers were similar among the four NHMG muscles. However, in AHMG, the LL muscle had the largest fiber in terms of both diameter and CSA, followed by BB, GM, and GAS muscles. Moreover, the CSA of type Π fibers was higher than that of type I fibers in both NHMG and AHMG. GP values ranged from 90 to 140 umol/g across the muscle and no significant differences were observed. AHMG had a higher pH level and a* value, but lower L* and b* values than NHMG. Overall, our findings enhance our understanding of the changes in muscle fiber type and meat quality during the growth in Haimen goats and provide a basis for future research on the development and transformation of muscle fibers in goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging research focus is the role of m6A modifications in mediating the post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA during mammalian development. Recent evidence suggests that m6A methyltransferases and demethylases play critical roles in skeletal muscle development. Ythdf2 is a m6A "reader" protein that mediates mRNA degradation in an m6A-dependent manner. However, the specific function of Ythdf2 in skeletal muscle development and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we observed that Ythdf2 expression was significantly upregulated during myogenic differentiation, whereas Ythdf2 knockdown markedly inhibited myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Combined analysis of high-throughput sequencing, Co-IP, and RIP assay revealed that Ythdf2 could bind to m6A sites in STK11 mRNA and form an Ago2 silencing complex to promote its degradation, thereby regulating its expression and consequently, the AMPK/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, STK11 downregulation partially rescued Ythdf2 knockdown-induced impairment of proliferation and myogenic differentiation by inhibiting the AMPK/mTOR pathway. Collectively, our results indicate that Ythdf2 mediates the decay of STK11 mRNA, an AMPK activator, in an Ago2 system-dependent manner, thereby driving skeletal myogenesis by suppressing the AMPK/mTOR pathway. These findings further enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying RNA methylation in the regulation of myogenesis and provide valuable insights for conducting in-depth studies on myogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of graphene aerogel fabricated by reduction self-assembly and ice template methods is limited due to the difficulties in shape control and poor compression resistance. Here, a series of polyvinyl alcohol/graphene aerogels (PGA) were prepared by the chemical crosslinking and freeze-drying method, in which (3-Aminopropyl) diethoxymethylsilane (APDEMS) used as cross-linking agent and reducing agent, reduce graphene oxide (rGO) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as supporting structural materials. The crosslinking effect and PVA enhancement effect achieved the shape control of aerogels and enhanced the compression resistance. When the content of graphene oxide is 50 mg, the obtained PGA5 hybrid aerogel has better compression-resilience properties with compressive strength of 6.26 KPa at 50 % compression. Then, PGA@PEG shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCMs) were prepared by loading PEG into PGA by vacuum impregnation. PGA5@PEG prepared with PGA5, had significant thermal conductivity of 0.481 W m−1 K−1, excellent energy storage performance (phase change enthalpy of 178.6 J/g) and good thermal cycling stability. Moreover, PGA5@PEG had high solar-thermal conversion efficiency of 86.9 %. Accordingly, we designed a solar-thermal water system to broaden the application of SSPCMs in the field of solar-thermal energy conversion. During the 2-h heating process, the PGA5@PEG-water system can rapidly reach a maximum temperature of 57.3 °C, higher than the pure water system (40.4 °C). PGA@PEG SSPCMs would be very promising as latent heat storage/release units for applications in solar energy storage and conversion. [Display omitted] • PGA with excellent compression-resilience properties are fabricated by chemical cross-linking. • Efficient solar-to-thermal energy conversion and storage are realized. • This design strategy provides a new idea for the application of PGA@PEG SSPCMs in solar-thermal water systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrated salt phase change materials (PCMs) have the advantages of high energy storage density and low cost, and have great application prospects in the field of phase change energy storage. However, the problems of supercooling, phase separation and leakage of hydrated salt PCMs limit their further applications. In this work, we designed and fabricated Cu-coated melamine foam (MF)/barium hydroxide octahydrate (BHO) shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCMs) with low supercooling. MF was used as supporting material and Cu as a nucleating agent and thermal conductivity enhancer by loading it onto MF via electroless plating. BHO was then encapsulated into the MF@Cu skeleton through vacuum impregnation to obtain BHO@MF@Cu SSPCMs. The results demonstrated that BHO@MF@Cu SSPCMs not only present very low supercooling degree of 0.12 °C and high thermal energy capacity of 247 J/g, but maintained a latent heat of phase transition of 229.3 J/g with little change in enthalpy after 100 thermal cycles. Moreover, compared to BHO, SSPCMs exhibited high thermal conductivity of 1.687 W m−1 K−1, excellent shape stability, and thermal cycling stability. In summary, BHO@MF@Cu SSPCMs with low supercooling degree were prepared by electroless plating and vacuum impregnation in this study, which provides a new strategy to reduce the supercooling degree of hydrated salt PCMs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC was fabricated by water solvent and stepwise construction. • Rich interfacial effects between multiple active species and 3D porous structures. • Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC exhibits robust catalytic activity for HER, OER and ORR. • Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC-based ZAFB shows large power density and good stability. • Efficient driven overall water splitting device based on Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC. Constructing efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts with oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for the development of zinc-air flow batteries (ZAFBs) and overall water splitting (OWS) is significant, but still challenging. Herein, we have fabricated a heterojunction catalyst (Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC) featuring uniformly dispersed Fe and Co coordinated with riched-nitrogen/oxygen codoped into a three-dimensional highly porous tungsten–carbon matrix modified carbon nanotube by a simple stepwise construction route using water as the solvent. The resultant Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC exhibits a positive half-wave potential (E 1/2) of 0.889 V for ORR, a low overpotential at 10 mA·cm−2 for OER (290 mV) and HER (84 mV), and excellent electrochemical durability in alkaline electrolyte, outperforming even benchmark catalysts. Moreover, Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC as a bifunctional air cathode for ZAFBs delivers higher open circuit voltage, peak power density (190 mW·cm−2), and specific capacity (814 mAh·g−1), lower charge/discharge voltage gap and prolonged operational cycles durability, largely exceeding those of the hybrid Pt/C+RuO 2 bifunctional catalyst. The alkaline OWS electrolyzer is constructed by Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC with good stability and requires only 1.556 V cell voltage at 10 mA·cm−2. Impressively, the self-constructed Fe,CoZn 9+9 -NO/WC electrodes were applied to practical ZAFBs and OWS devices, demonstrating superior performance to the recently reported ZIF/MOF-derived catalysts in organic solvents. This work offers an economical synthetic strategy to prepare highly efficient multifunctional catalysts with practical potential for commercial production, promising to facilitate the development of clean energy storage and conversion devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of different thermodynamically (meta)stable states is crucial for the development of smart solid‐state luminescent materials. However, the design of luminophores with tunable aggregation states is remaining a grand challenge. Herein, we present a family of mechanochromic luminophores with tunable metastable states, based on the dynamically controllable π–π stacking of the flexible π‐conjugated structure of 2,5‐diarylamino‐terephthalates in the solid state. The experimental data revealed that both the kinetically controlled metastable state and thermodynamic controlled stable state can be generated via tuning the intermolecular interactions such as π–π stacking and hydrogen bonds. As a result, the highly sensitive mechano‐stimuli response of these luminophores was successfully achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the system outage probability of a simultaneous wireless information, and power transfer (SWIPT) based two-way amplify-and-forward (AF) relay network, where transceiver hardware impairments (HIs) are considered. The energy-constrained relay node processes the received signals based on a power splitting protocol, and the two terminals employ a selection combining (SC) scheme to exploit the signals from the direct and relaying links. Assuming independent but non-identically distributed Nakagami-m fading channels, we derive the system outage probability in a closed-form, which enables us to identify two crucial ceiling effects on the system outage probability caused by HIs in the high data rate regions, i.e., relay cooperation ceiling (RCC) and overall system ceiling (OSC). Specifically, the RCC prevents the relaying link from participating in cooperative communications, while the OSC leaves the overall system in outage. Furthermore, we derive the achievable diversity gain of the considered network, which shows that the diversity gain equals either the shape parameter of the direct link or zero. Computer simulations are provided to validate the correctness of our analytical results, and study the effects of various system parameters on the system outage performance and the optimal power splitting ratio, as well as the energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we obtain the transition probability formulas for the asymmetric simple exclusion process and the q-deformed totally asymmetric zero range process on the ring by applying the coordinate Bethe ansatz. We also compute the distribution function for a tagged particle with general initial condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The frequency hopping (FH) signals have well‐documented merits for commercial and military fields due to near‐far resistance and robustness to jamming. Therefore, the parameter estimation of FH signals is an important task for subsequent information acquisition and autonomous electronic countermeasure or attack. However, under the complex electromagnetic environment, there always exist overlaps in the time‐frequency domain among multiple signals, which bring poor signal sparsity and make the estimation more challenging. In this paper, a novel parameter estimation approach is developed for the time‐frequency‐overlapped FH signals under single‐channel reception. The exact solution is mainly composed of the sparse linear regression‐based matrix optimization (SLR‐MO) and quadratic envelope optimization (QEO). SLR‐MO highlights the removal of noise and distortion features for improving the overall sparsity and time‐frequency resolution. QEO further eliminates parts of the interfering signal features and outliers and then extracts and optimizes the average time‐frequency ridge to complete the parameter estimation (hopping instants, period, and carriers). Simulation results demonstrate that the developed estimator outperforms the traditional methods in the scope of application, estimation accuracy, and the robustness under low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small size and narrow distribution are the key factors to improve performances of metal nanocrystals due to nanosize effect. Here, a silver‐alkylamine complex–mediated single micelle, a one‐pot approach, for controlled synthesis of monodisperse silver nanocrystals, in which oleylamine molecules play key roles serving both as complex agent and as micellar coalescence blocker is reported. After the synthesis, monodisperse products can be directly collected through subsequent single‐step separation as the particle size is finely adjusted during the synthesis. Dual‐soluble silver oleylamine complex is prepared through liquid phase complexing and is used as oil‐soluble precursor in single reverse micelle. The as‐synthesized silver nanocrystals are very uniform with a controlled size of 6.00 ± 0.29 or 8.0 ± 0.40 nm and a narrow size distribution with a standard deviation (σ) of ≈5.0%. The protocol offers a general platform for fast synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals with rationally designed size and structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are epidemiologically correlated with each other but the causal inter-relationships between them remain incompletely understood. We aimed to explore the causal relationships between the 3 diseases. Using both UK Biobank and publicly available genome-wide association study data, we performed a 2-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis to test the causal inter-relationships between NAFLD, T2D, and obesity. Transgenic mice expressing the human PNPLA3-I148M isoforms (TghPNPLA3-I148M) were used as an example to validate causal effects and explore underlying mechanisms. Genetically driven NAFLD significantly increased the risk of T2D and central obesity but not insulin resistance or generalized obesity, while genetically driven T2D, body mass index and WHRadjBMI causally increased NAFLD risk. The animal study focusing on PNPLA3 corroborated these causal effects: compared to the TghPNPLA3-I148I controls, the TghPNPLA3-I148M mice developed glucose intolerance and increased visceral fat, but maintained normal insulin sensitivity, reduced body weight, and decreased circulating total cholesterol. Mechanistically, the TghPNPLA3-I148M mice demonstrated decreased pancreatic insulin but increased glucagon secretion, which was associated with increased pancreatic inflammation. In addition, transcription of hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis pathway genes was significantly suppressed, while transcription of thermogenic pathway genes was activated in subcutaneous and brown adipose tissues but not in visceral fat in TghPNPLA3-I148M mice. Our study suggests that lifelong, genetically driven NAFLD causally promotes T2D with a late-onset type 1-like diabetic subphenotype and central obesity; while genetically driven T2D, obesity, and central obesity all causally increase the risk of NAFLD. This causal relationship revealed new insights into how nature and nurture drive these diseases, providing novel hypotheses for disease subphenotyping. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity are epidemiologically correlated with each other, but their causal relationships were incompletely understood. Herein, we identified causal relationships between these conditions, which suggest that each of these closely related diseases should be further stratified into subtypes. This is important for accurate diagnosis, prevention and treatment of these diseases. • Genetic NAFLD promotes late onset type 1-like diabetes and central obesity but protects against overall obesity. • Genetic NAFLD leads to lower circulating cholesterol. • Genetically driven T2D and obesity causally increase the risk of NAFLD. • PNPLA3-148M-driven NAFLD impairs insulin secretion but not insulin resistance. • PNPLA3-148M-driven NAFLD activates thermogenesis pathway in peripheral fat tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a Ka-band fully metallic crossover-in-antenna based on an anisotropic lens. The crossover-in-antenna is a multifunction device simultaneously acting as a waveguide crossover and a multibeam antenna. The anisotropic lens performs like a Maxwell fish-eye (MFE) lens and a Luneburg lens in different incident directions, supporting the transmission and radiation, respectively. The lens consists of a parallel plate waveguide (PPW) with gradient spacing loaded with periodic uniform cuboid posts, which can be treated as an array of anisotropic subwavelength unit cells with gradient equivalent refractive indices. The WR28 waveguides are employed as the input–output ports. A flare is added to improve the radiation and impedance matching of antenna channels. According to the experimental results, a waveguide crossover is well realized with the reflection coefficients lower than −15 dB and insertion losses mostly lower than 1.4 dB from 28.7 to 38.2 GHz. Meanwhile, a multibeam antenna with four independent beams is obtained in the whole Ka-band, showing the gains higher than 12.5 dBi and the radiation efficiencies higher than 87.8%. The results indicate that the proposed crossover-in-antenna has application potential in the high-density multifunction integration of millimeter-wave (mmW) systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies indicated a positive effect of vitamin K2 (VK2) supplementation on bone turnover biomarkers and bone mineral density (BMD), but the doses varied, and few studies have focused on the difference between VK2 supplementation alone and in combination with calcium and vitamin D3. The aim of this study was to explore a low and effective dose of VK2 for improving BMD, and to examine whether the co-supplementation of VK2, calcium and vitamin D3 would bring greater effects. In this trial, a total of 311 community-dwelling men and postmenopausal women aged 50 and 75 years were randomly assigned to four groups, receiving placebo, 50 µg/day, 90 µg/day or co-supplementation with calcium (500 mg/day) and vitamin D3 (10 µg/day) for 1 year. At the endpoint, the bone loss of femoral neck was significantly lower in postmenopausal women in the two 90 µg groups (treatment × time, p = 0.006) compared with placebo, but no effects in men. Serum biomarkers cOC/ucOC ratio increased in the intervention groups (treatment × time, p < 0.001). VK2 supplementation in dose of 90 µg/day performed a significant effect on reducing bone loss in postmenopausal women, but in combination with calcium and vitamin D3 brought no additional effects.Trial registration This trial was registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn as chiCTR1800019240. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]