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Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic performance of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for low to intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa), as well as its correlation with the prognostic Gleason score (GS). Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of MRI images and relevant clinical data from patients with prostate disease. The differences in ADC between different GS groups were compared, and the efficacy of ADC in PCa diagnosis were analyzed. Furthermore, the diagnostic performance of the mean ADC (ADCmean) and minimum ADC (ADCmin) values was compared. Results: There were 1414 patients with 1631 lesions. In terms of GS, both ADCmin and ADCmean values of the GS 4 + 3 group were significantly lower than those of the GS 3 + 4 group, GS 3 + 3 group, and the benign group, with all differences being statistically significant (p < 0.01). The AUC values for diagnosing PCa based on ADCmin and ADCmean were 0.914 and 0.944, respectively. The corresponding diagnostic thresholds were 0.703 × 10−3 mm2/s for ADCmin and 0.927 × 10−3 mm2/s for ADCmean. The magnitudes of ADCmin and ADCmean values exhibited a negative correlation with GS values (ρ = −0.750, p < 0.001; ρ = −0.752, p < 0.001). Conclusions: ADC values demonstrate an inverse relationship with the invasiveness of PCa, indicating that higher invasiveness is associated with lower ADC values. Additionally, ADC values exhibit high diagnostic potential, sensitivity, and specificity for distinguishing between GS 3 + 4 and GS 4 + 3 lesions. Moreover, the diagnostic value of ADCmean is even more significant, highlighting its crucial role in the diagnosis of low to intermediate-risk PCa. Critical relevance statement: ADC values are a valuable tool for distinguishing different levels of aggressiveness in PCa. They help in the preoperative assessment of the biological characteristics of PCa, allowing clinicians to develop personalized treatment strategies, effectively mitigating the risk of unnecessary interventions. Key Points: The preoperative GS is crucial for planning the clinical treatment of PCa. The invasiveness of PCa is inversely correlated with ADC values. ADC values play a crucial role in the accurate preoperative evaluation of low to intermediate-risk PCa, thus aiding clinicians in developing tailored treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite global warming, the response of rice yield to long-term warming in cool regions and its physiological mechanisms remain unknown. This study used the widely cultivated japonica rice Jiyang100 in Northeast China. Taking rice grown under natural temperatures as a control (CK), field warming treatments were conducted at the tillering-panicle initiation (T1), whole growth (T2), and grain-filling (T3) stages. The positive effects of T1, T2, and T3 on the total number of spikelets per hole increased the yield in both years, with average increases of 11.5%, 9.9% and 6.5% compared to CK, respectively. Warming treatments improved the stay-green traits, photosynthesis, sucrose synthesis, and nitrogen metabolism of rice. The yield was positively correlated with the relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), soluble sugar content, sucrose content, and the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) in flag leaves. In addition, SPAD had a positive correlation with soluble sugar content, soluble protein content, and the activities of NR, GS, GOGAT, glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), but a negative correlation with acid invertase (AI) activity. The stay-green ability was positively correlated to the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), soluble sugar content and soluble protein content. The coupling interactions of stay-green traits, nitrogen and carbon metabolism increased the yield potential and yield supply capacity, increased yield under long-term warming conditions in the cool regions. Under gradual warming, the physiological response of rice in cool regions promotes plant growth and development, thereby increasing yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While depression is increasing worldwide, some patients are diagnosed as having Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), but others are diagnosed with minor depression, however, the potential neuro mechanism is unknown. Methods: Sixty-two patients with minor depression, 44 adolescents with MDD and 54 healthy adolescents participated in this study. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), both HAMD and HAMA data were collected from all of the participants. Results: The result indicates the pervasively decreased activation of BA, 11, 21, 45 and 46 were observed in the MDD group and reduced activation of BA 45 was observed in the minor depression group. However, cortical activation was not observed between the minor depression or MDD groups. Cortical activation was also not correlated with the depressive/anxious score in the minor and MDD groups separately. Conclusions: Cortical activation was pervasively decreased in the MDD group and slightly reduced in the minor depression group, which may be a potential neural mechanism. As reduced cortical activation in minor depression, interventions in the early stages of minor depression may help slow or even modify the development of the illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circadian clock and clock-controlled output pathways exert temporal control in diverse aspects of skeletal muscle physiology, including the maintenance of muscle mass, structure, function, and metabolism. They have emerged as significant players in understanding muscle disease etiology and potential therapeutic avenues, particularly in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This review examines the intricate interplay between circadian rhythms and muscle physiology, highlighting how disruptions of circadian regulation may contribute to muscle pathophysiology and the specific mechanisms linking circadian clock dysregulation with DMD. Moreover, we discuss recent advancements in chronobiological research that have shed light on the circadian control of muscle function and its relevance to DMD. Understanding clock output pathways involved in muscle mass and function offers novel insights into the pathogenesis of DMD and unveils promising avenues for therapeutic interventions. We further explore potential chronotherapeutic strategies targeting the circadian clock to ameliorate muscle degeneration which may inform drug development efforts for muscular dystrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with schizophrenia often encounter notable weight gain during their illness, heightening the risk of metabolic diseases. While previous studies have noted a correlation between obesity and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, many were cross-sectional, posing challenges in establishing a causal relationship between weight gain and cognitive function. The aim of this longitudinal study is to examine the relationship between weight gain and cognitive function in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) during the initial 6-month antipsychotic treatments. Employing linear and logistic regression analyses, the study involved 337 participants. Significantly, baseline scores in processing speed (OR = 0.834, p = 0.007), working memory and attention (OR = 0.889, p = 0.043), and executive function (OR = 0.862, p = 0.006) were associated with clinically relevant weight gain (CRW, defined as an increase in body weight > 7%) at the 6-month endpoint. On the other hand, CRW correlated with improvements in the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (p = 0.037). These findings suggest that patients with lower baseline cognitive performance undergo more substantial weight gain. Conversely, weight gain was correlated with cognitive improvements, particularly in the domain of visual learning and memory. This suggested a potential bidirectional relationship between weight gain and cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes is a chronic medical condition that may induce complications such as poor wound healing. Stem cell therapies have shown promise in treating diabetic wounds with pre‐clinical and clinical studies. However, little bibliometric analysis has been carried out on stem cells in the treatment of diabetic wounds. In this study, we retrieved relevant papers published from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2023, from Chinese and English databases. CiteSpace software was used to analyze the authors, institutions, and keywords by standard bibliometric indicators. Our analysis findings indicated that publications on stem cells in the treatment of diabetic wounds kept increasing. The most prolific author was Qian Cai (n = 7) and Mohammad Bayat (n = 16) in Chinese and English databases, respectively. Institutions distribution analysis showed that Chinese institutions conducted most publications, and the most prolific institution was the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital (n = 9) and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (n = 17) in Chinese and English databases, respectively. The highest centrality keyword in Chinese and English databases was "wound healing" (0.54) and "in vitro" (0.13), respectively. There were 8 and 11 efficient and convincing keyword clusters produced by a log‐likelihood ratio in the Chinese and English databases, respectively. The strongest burst keyword was "exosome" (strength 3.57) and "endothelial progenitor cells" (strength 7.87) in the Chinese and English databases, respectively. These findings indicated a direction for future therapies and research on stem cells in the treatment of diabetic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are a class of functional anionic clays that typically consist of orthorhombic arrays of metal hydroxides with anions sandwiched between the layers. Due to their unique properties, including high chemical stability, good biocompatibility, controlled drug loading, and enhanced drug bioavailability, LDHs have many potential applications in the medical field. Especially in the fields of bioimaging and tumor therapy. This paper reviews the research progress of LDHs and their nanocomposites in the field of tumor imaging and therapy. First, the structure and advantages of LDH are discussed. Then, several commonly used methods for the preparation of LDH are presented, including co‐precipitation, hydrothermal and ion exchange methods. Subsequently, recent advances in layered hydroxides and their nanocomposites for cancer imaging and therapy are highlighted. Finally, based on current research, we summaries the prospects and challenges of layered hydroxides and nanocomposites for cancer diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electrosynthesis via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) represents a green alternative to the energy-intensive anthraquinone process. However, the practical application of this method is limited by the lack of cost-effective and high-performance electrocatalysts. Reported here is a hybrid catalyst composed of nickel (Ni) clusters immobilized onto the surface of two-dimensional siloxene nanosheets (Ni/siloxene), which exhibits excellent efficiency and selectivity in electrocatalytic oxygen reduction to H2O2 in an alkaline medium, demonstrating a standard 2e− pathway with >95% H2O2 selectivity across a wide potential range. Experimental results disclose that the high performance of Ni/siloxene can be traced to a synergy of the Ni clusters and the oxygen-rich surface of siloxene. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further reveal a weakened interaction between Ni/siloxene and *OOH and the consequently reduced energy barrier for the *OOH protonation toward H2O2 desorption, thus leading to a high 2e− ORR reactivity and selectivity. This work provides a valuable and practical guidance for designing high-performance 2e− ORR electrocatalysts based on the rational engineering of the metal–support interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compute the surface defect contribution to Rényi entropy and supersymmetric Rényi entropy in six dimensions. We first compute the surface defect contribution to Rényi entropy for free fields, which verifies a previous formula about entanglement entropy with surface defect. Using conformal map to S β 1 × H d − 1 we develop a heat kernel approach to compute the defect contribution to Rényi entropy, which is applicable for p-dimensional defect in general d-dimensional free fields. Using the same geometry S β 1 × H 5 with an additional background field, one can construct the supersymmetric refinement of the ordinary Rényi entropy for six-dimensional (2, 0) theories. We find that the surface defect contribution to supersymmetric Rényi entropy has a simple scaling as polynomial of Rényi index in the large N limit. We also discuss how to connect the free field results and large N results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic mechanical behavior of frozen rock with a flaw is essential for plateau alpine region mining. However, the freezing temperature's strengthening and damage mechanism on dynamic strength is still unclear. Drop weight impact tests (single factor) and orthogonal tests (3 factors and 5 levels) were used to examine the influence of flaw dip angle (β), impact height (H), and freezing temperature (T) on the dynamic response of frozen sandstone in plateau alpine region. Different factors' effect on peak strain and failure mode was compared, as well as a significant analysis of three factors' influence on peak strain. The results reveal that with the increase of β, the ultimate strain (εu) of sandstone shows a 'M' type variation, while the linear increase of εu occurs with the increase of H and the decrease of T. At the same time, β and T have a substantial effect on εu, and T has a significant influence on the occurrence time of εu. In addition, tensile failure is the failure mode of sandstone with tensile cracks mainly parallel to the direction of impact. Moreover, a two-dimensional particle flow code was used to supply the stress–strain curve, cracking process, and energy absorption characteristics. The obvious rebound phenomenon can be observed, and the peak stress increases with the increase of H and decreases as β and T increase. Furthermore, the energy usage rate has a linear relationship with β and T, but it decreases first and then increases as impact energy increases. At the end, the effect of the strengthening mechanism of T on single-flaw sandstone dynamic strength and the damage evolution was discussed. The effect of pore ice is primarily responsible for the strength enhancement of frozen sandstone, but the frost heave damage at a certain T (− 20 °C) will inhibit the strength growth. The damage constitutive model based on logistic function can accurately describe the stress–strain properties of single-flaw frozen sandstone before εu. Highlights: The dynamic mechanical responses of single flaw frozen sandstone were studied by drop weight impact tests and numerical simulation. The influence of flaw dip angle, impact height and freezing temperature on peak strain, stress, and energy consumption were revealed. The strengthening mechanism of freezing temperature on dynamic strength was discussed. The frost heave damage formed at a certain freezing temperature (– 20 °C) will inhibit the growth of strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica [L.] P. Beauv.) is a climate-change-ready crop, and it is crucial for predicting the impact of ecological factors on grain quality. In this study, multivariate statistical analysis was used to explore the relationship between ecological factors and the key nutritional quality of Jingu 21 from twelve production areas. The results showed that the crude fat and amylopectin content of foxtail millets showed a downward trend from south to north. The nutritional quality was significantly affected by geographical, climatic, and soil factors, and the foxtail millet produced in geographically close areas was extremely similar in nutritional quality. Most nutritional quality indicators of Jingu 21 had a strong correlation with the latitude and climatic factors such as average temperature, diurnal temperature range, and average precipitation, while the content of mineral elements was greatly affected by soil factors. Moreover, higher average precipitation in the jointing, booting–heading, and heading stages, a higher average temperature, and a lower diurnal temperature range in the heading and grain-filling stages are conducive to the establishment of nutritional quality. The findings could facilitate the rational distribution of high-quality foxtail millets under global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the charging of a model capacitor comprised of two planar electrodes and an electrolyte. Upon switching on a voltage difference, electric double layers build up in this setup, which we characterize with a classical dynamic density functional theory (DDFT) that accounts for electrostatic correlations and for molecular excluded volume of finite-sized ions and solvent molecules. Our DDFT predicts the electrode charge Q(t) to form exponentially with two timescales: at early times, the system relaxes on the RC time, namely, λDL/[D(2 + σ/λD)], with λD being the Debye length, L being the electrode separation, σ being the ion diameter, and D being the ionic diffusivity. Contrasting an earlier DDFT study, this early-time response does not depend on the applied potential. At late times, the capacitor relaxes with a relaxation time proportional to the diffusion time L2/D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining will unavoidably cause crack expansions and stress redistributions of coal–rock masses, which may cause rockbursts in severe cases. Microseismic monitoring is nowadays playing more and more important roles in forecasting these rockbursts. However, there are lack of studies on the evolutionary law of the mining-induced coal–rock fracture expansion and periodic weighting with the variations of multi-indices of the microseismic events, which limits the effectiveness of microseismic monitoring as a three-dimensional space monitoring technology of early warning mine disasters. Correspondingly, this study investigated the characteristic law of deep mining-induced rock pressuring using microseismic monitoring with a focus on the evolutional law of the microseismic indices including the microseismic count, microseismic energy, apparent volume (VA), apparent stress (σA), energy ratio (Es/Ep), and b value. The horizontal and vertical distribution models of the stopes are first developed based on the evolution of microseismic indices. The early warning law that the microseismic count increment and energy increment reflect the precursors of periodic weighting is then proposed. It is found that the fracture expansion of the coal–rock mass caused by various mining rates can be reflected by the changes of microseismic multi-indices. As the mining rate intensifies, both the microseismic count and energy tend to increase. Furthermore, the change of the apparent volume (VA), energy index (EI), and b value reflects the law of rock pressuring. Namely, the sharp decrease of log(EI) and b value as well as the increase of the cumulative apparent volume indicate the occurrence of high pressure, which means the deterioration of the coal–rock mass stability. It is noted 85.58% of the microseismic events monitored in a working face has a ratio of ES/EP less than 10, which is mainly related to the non-shear failure of the coal–rock mass in the stope. The apparent stress distribution along the working face is relatively consistent with that of the measured field stress, which reflects the reliability of the microseismic multi-indices. Finally, a new multidimensional information entropy indicator that reflects the mining rate has been developed, which takes into account both the microseismic count and the maximum energy. Therefore, this study establishes the evolutional law of the multi-indices of the microseismic events against the rock pressuring in deep mines, which provides an important reference for predicting rock pressuring in similar mines using the microseismic monitoring technology and formulating relevant regulations. Highlights: This study investigated the characteristic law of deep mining-induced rock pressuring using microseismic monitoring with a focus on the evolutional law of the microseismic indices. Both the horizontal and vertical distribution models of the microseismic events observed in coal mines are established. The microseismic count increment and the energy increment with adjacent time are proposed to reflect the law of rock pressuring. A new multidimensional information entropy indicator reflecting the mining rate is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of preferential seepage channels for a large-scale underground water-sealed oil storage cavern is of great importance for controlling groundwater seepage and ensuring water-sealing performance. In this study, a new approach to identifying preferential seepage channels in the surrounding rock of the underground water-sealed oil storage cavern is proposed, focusing on the spatial distribution and connectivity of microfractures obtained from microseismic monitoring in the surrounding rock masses during cavern construction. The focal mechanism and the spatial occurrence of microfractures are revealed through inversion and analysis of the microseismic moment tensor. By adopting the graph traversal method, the spatial connectivity of microfractures is determined and preferential seepage channels are identified. An underground water-sealed oil storage cavern in Jinzhou, China, is selected as a case study. Five preferential seepage channels, which originate from the water curtain borehole and the surrounding rock masses between the oil storage caverns, and extend downwards along microfracture clusters are identified. The feasibility and validity of the proposed method are verified by the water supply data in the water curtain borehole and field survey. The research results can provide some reference for seepage channel detection, water-sealing performance evaluation and grouting design of large-scale underground water-sealed oil storage caverns. Highlights: The formation of preferential seepage channel is accompanied by the spatial connectivity of microfractures. Preferential seepage channels can be identified using microseismicity and pore pressure data in rocks. The microfractures caused by excavation-induced unloading are mainly tensile cracks in underground oil storage caverns. The occurrence of microfracture around the water curtain tunnel differs from that near the oil storage cavern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People tend to perceive a virtual body standing in front of them as their own if it is either stroked or moving synchronously with their own real body—the out-of-body experience (OBE). We combined synchrony manipulation with two other factors of theoretical interest: the kind of stimulation, visuotactile stimuli or visuomotor correlations, being synchronised and the interoceptive accuracy (IA) of participants, assessed by means of the heartbeat counting task. Results showed that explicit measures of embodiment were systematically affected by synchrony, and this synchrony effect was more pronounced for visuomotor than for visuotactile conditions. The walking drift was affected by IA: In visuotactile conditions, the synchrony effect was pronounced in individuals with low IA, presumably reflecting a stronger impact of the visual information. In visuomotor conditions, however, the synchrony effect was stronger in individuals with high IA, presumably reflecting a stronger impact of re-afferent information generated by the participants' own movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the role of pre-existing dislocation loops on the shock-induced deformation and spall behavior of single-crystal Cu microstructures. This study investigates the role of loading orientation and initial density of pre-existing dislocations on the decay behavior of the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) as well as the damage nucleation and growth behavior during spall failure of single-crystal Cu systems. The results suggest that the presence of pre-existing dislocation loops results in a decrease of the shock wave velocity and a substantial decay of the HEL values. The increased decay behavior is attributed to the decrease in the density of Shockley partials at the shock front as the shock wave travels through the metal as compared to defect-free initial single-crystal microstructures. Similarly, the presence of pre-existing dislocations is observed to result in increased values for the spall strength as compared to defect-free initial single-crystal microstructures wherein a higher density of dislocations results in the nucleation of a larger number of smaller voids. The decay behavior of the HEL values is observed to have a power–law dependence on the shock propagation distance with the initial dislocation density as a parameter. Similarly, a power–law dependence is also proposed for the number of voids nucleated at the spall plane with a dependence on the size of the voids as well as the initial density of dislocations. The evolution of microstructure (dislocation densities and voids) for the various loading orientations and initial densities of dislocations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-temperature stress limits the growth and development of foxtail millet. Freezing stress caused by sudden temperature drops, such as late-spring coldness, often occurs in the seedling stage of foxtail millet. However, the ability and coping strategies of foxtail millet to cope with such stress are not clear. In the present study, we analyzed the self-regulatory mechanisms of freezing stress in foxtail millet. We conducted a physiological study on foxtail millet leaves at −4 °C for seven different durations (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 h). Longer freezing time increased cell-membrane damage, relative conductance, and malondialdehyde content. This led to osmotic stress in the leaves, which triggered an increase in free proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein contents. The increases in these substances helped to reduce the damage caused by stress. The activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) content. The optimal time point for the response to freezing stress was 8 h after exposure. The transcriptome analysis of samples held for 8 h at −4 °C revealed 6862 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), among which the majority are implicated in various pathways, including the starch and sucrose metabolic pathways, antioxidant enzyme pathways, brassinolide (BR) signaling pathway, and transcription factors, according to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment. We investigated possible crosstalk between BR signals and other pathways and found that BR signaling molecules were induced in response to freezing stress. The beta-amylase (BAM) starch hydrolase signal was enhanced by the BR signal, resulting in the accelerated degradation of starch and the formation of sugars, which served as emerging ROS scavengers and osmoregulators to resist freezing stress. In conclusion, crosstalk between BR signal transduction, and both starch and sucrose metabolism under freezing stress provides a new perspective for improving freezing resistance in foxtail millet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee knowledge-sharing behaviour, including the roles organisational trust and exchange quality play in that relationship. Survey data were collected from 364 full-time employees from three information technology services companies in China (female = 258; mean age = 30.5 years, SD = 5.6 years) in a two-wave longitudinal design. Following moderated mediation analysis, our study showed that employees who perceive their organisations to be socially responsible are more likely to trust their organisations and share knowledge with colleagues. Furthermore, when employees perceived a high level of organisation exchange relationship, the positive effect of perceived CSR on organisational trust was stronger. Our findings indicate that perceived CSR matters when it comes to employee knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High- and medium-entropy (HE and ME) materials have attracted considerable interest in recent years due to the advantages of designable components and tunable structures with modifiable physicochemical performances. Herein, a dense equiatomic quaternary (Ti,V,Nb,Ta) 2 AlC solid solution, or denoted as a medium-entropy MAX phase, was fabricated by in-situ reaction in hot-pressing sintering process using easily available elemental powders as raw materials. X-ray diffraction with its Rietveld refinement analysis, scanning electron microscope and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersed spectrometer analysis identify the phase composition and crystal structure of the novel ME-M 2 AlC (Ti,V,Nb,Ta) 2 AlC phase. Especially, the atomic-resolution HAADF images directly prove the mutual solution of four metallic elements of the ME (Ti,V,Nb,Ta) 2 AlC phase. Both the flexural strength and Vickers hardness are enhanced compared with the reported individual components, and the strengthening and hardening results largely benefit from solid-solution effect with lattice distortion in structure. The fracture toughness has not been enhanced due to the lack of effective toughening mechanism. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of ME (Ti,V,Nb,Ta) 2 AlC ceramic is distinctly decreased as a result of the increasing carrier lattice scattering and point defect scattering, which is caused by severe lattice distortion. Similarly, the scattering effect of solid solutions is also responsible for the lower thermal conductivity. It is worth noting that size disorder parameter (δ size) is a more effective criterion to evaluate the reduced thermal conductivity than the ideal mixing configurational entropy itself. As a result, applying the medium- and high-entropy design to the MAX phases with chemical and structural diversity can provide a large compositional space with corresponding large range of unexpected performances, which is highly anticipated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells are members of a rapidly expanding family of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). NK cells play roles in the spleen, periphery, and in many tissues, such as the liver, uterine, lung, adipose, and so on. While the immunological functions of NK cells are well established in these organs, comparatively little is known about NK cells in the kidney. Our understanding of NK cells is rapidly rising, with more and more studies highlighting the functional significance of NK cells in different types of kidney diseases. Recent progress has been made in translating these findings to clinical diseases that occur in the kidney, with indications of subset-specific roles of NK cells in the kidney. For the development of targeted therapeutics to delay kidney disease progression, a better understanding of the NK cell with respect to the mechanisms of kidney diseases is necessary. In order to promote the targeted treatment ability of NK cells in clinical diseases, in this paper we demonstrate the roles that NK cells play in different organs, especially the functions of NK cells in the kidney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly malignant tumor with poor prognosis, and new treatment strategies are urgently needed. Currently, the role of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1) in tumors has been studied, but the role of TREM-1 in GBM remains unclear. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for TREM-1 was performed in 91 patients diagnosed with GBM. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival times were recorded. TREM-1 expression and its effect on prognosis were analyzed using online Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases. The expression profile of TCGA-GBM cohort was used to perform functional enrichment analysis. The CIBERSORT method and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database were used to estimate the tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs). The ESTIMATE algorithm was used to estimate the immune-stromal scores. Finally, the relationships of TREM-1 with TIICs, immune-stromal score, and immune checkpoint genes (ICGs) were analyzed. Results: The expression of TREM-1 was upregulated in GBM, and high TREM-1 expression predicted a poor prognosis. TREM-1, surgical resection, postoperative radiotherapy, and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy were associated with the survival time of patients with GBM, but only surgical resection and TREM-1 expression were independent prognostic factors. GBM with high TREM-1 expression exhibited increased neutrophil and macrophage infiltration. TREM-1 was positively associated with the immune-stromal score and multiple ICGs, and most of which were involved in immunosuppressive responses. Conclusion: The present study revealed that high expression of TREM-1 in GBM is an independent poor prognosis factor and that TREM-1 is associated with the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Thus, blocking TREM-1 may be a strategy for enhancing the GBM immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of new mesoporous hydroxyapatite (noted as mesoHA) with about 2.4 nm average porous diameter was successfully prepared by casting Ca2+ and H2PO4− ions on the inner channel surface of Si‐MCM‐41 and dissolving the Si‐MCM‐41 in alkali soluble, and the porous material was used as a pH‐responsive platform to adsorb and release ciprofloxacin molecules. A maximum mass of 0.51 mg of ciprofloxacin (noted as Cip) was loaded on 1.00 mg of the host, and the release rate of the drug was found increasing with the acidic increase of the external solution environment (based on the stability of mesoHA) that simulated basic composition to human plasma. About 88.5% of Cip was released from the platform when environmental pH value was about 4.8, which provides a new method on utilizing antibiotics drugs efficiently, for the host mesoHA is friendly to human body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A supramolecular nanoprodrug (DOX@GP5⊃Pro-NFA) was constructed based on the host–guest complexation of chloride channel blocker prodrug (Pro-NFA) and glycosylated pillar[5]arene (GP5), which could target tumor cells via galactose and release DOX/NFA responsively under esterase stimulation. In vitro studies revealed that this supramolecular nanoprodrug can overcome drug resistance through inhibiting chloride channels as well as inhibiting the migration of HepG2/ADR cells. This strategy can therefore achieve enhanced potency in chemotherapy through reverse chemoresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesized β-Ga2O3 nanobelts have excellent electrical and optical properties. However, their widths are mostly limited to only a few microns or even tens of nanometers by far, which presents the big challenge for the fabrication of nanodevices and nanosensors. In this work, the β-Ga2O3 single crystal nanobelts synthesized by carbothermal reduction have the ultra-large widths which can reach up to 145 μm. Schottky barrier diode based on the nanobelt shows the impressive UV-induced rectifying characteristics due to ultra-low dark current of 100–200 fA at forward bias. At 5 V and 15 V, its ratios of current under 254 nm UV condition and that under dark condition are as high as 5 × 105 and 1.4 × 106, respectively. Meanwhile, the diode also has the high breakdown voltage of 240 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a clinical syndrome secondary to the definitive change in function and structure of the kidney, which is characterized by its irreversibility and slow and progressive evolution. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the extracellular accumulation of misfolded β-amyloid (Aβ) proteins into senile plaques and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) containing hyperphosphorylated tau. In the aging population, CKD and AD are growing problems. CKD patients are prone to cognitive decline and AD. However, the connection between CKD and AD is still unclear. In this review, we take the lead in showing that the development of the pathophysiology of CKD may also cause or exacerbate AD, especially the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). In vivo studies had already shown that the increased expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) produces a positive effect in aggravating AD, but ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) have protective effects against AD. Among the possible association of risk factors in CKD and AD, we mainly discuss the RAS in the systemic circulation and the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure cultures of chicken intestinal microbial species may still be crucial and imperative to expound on the function of gut microbiota, and also contribute to the development of potential probiotics and novel bioactive metabolites from gut microbiota. In this study, we isolated and identified 507 chicken intestinal bacterial isolates, including 89 previously uncultured isolates. Among these, a total of 63 Lactobacillus strains, belonging to L. vaginalis, L. crispatus, L. gallinarum, L. reuteri, L. salivarius, and L. saerimneri, exhibited antibacterial activity against S. Pullorum. Acid tolerance tests showed Limosilactobacillus reuteri strain YPG14 (L. reuteri strain YPG14) has a particularly strong tolerance to acid. We further characterized other probiotic properties of L. reuteri strain YPG14. In simulated intestinal fluid, the growth of L. reuteri strain YPG14 remained stable after incubation for 4 h. The auto-aggregation test showed the auto-aggregation percentage of L. reuteri strain YPG14 was recorded as 15.0  ±  0.38%, 48.3  ±  2.51%, and 75.1  ±  4.44% at 3, 12, and 24 h, respectively. In addition, the mucin binding assay showed L. reuteri strain YPG14 exhibited 12.07 ±  0.02% adhesion to mucin. Antibiotic sensitivity testing showed that L. reuteri strain YPG14 was sensitive to the majority of the tested antibiotics. The anti-Salmonella Pullorum (S. Pullorum) infection effect in vivo revealed that the consumption of L. reuteri strain YPG14 could significantly improve body weight loss and survival rate of chicks infected by S. Pullorum; reduce the loads of S. Pullorum in the jejunum, liver, spleen, and feces; and alleviate the jejunum villi morphological structure damage, crypt loss, and inflammatory cell infiltration caused by S. Pullorum. Overall, this study may help us to understand the diversity of chicken intestinal microflora and provide some insights for potential probiotic development from gut microbiota and may find application in the poultry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper corrects discrepancies in the difference equations of the previously suggested model of theta-burst stimulation. • The corrected stages are consistently calibrated to experimental data to serve for quantitative analysis. • This work improves the model accuracy in various conditions and secures the model that underlies a rich body of research. Calcium dependency is presently an essential assumption in modelling the neuromodulatory effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Y.Z. Huang et al. developed the first neuromodulation model to explain the bidirectional effects of theta-burst stimulation (TBS) based on the postsynaptic intracellular calcium concentration elevation. However, we discover that the published computer code is not consistent with the model formulation, neither do the parameters and derived plots consequently match the formulations. Here we intend to fix the computer code and re-calibrate the model. We corrected the affected difference equations and re-calibrated the revised model with experimental data using non-convex optimisation based on a L 2 penalty. The revised model outperforms the initial model in characterising the relative motor-evoked potential levels of TBS-induced after-effects in various conditions. We corrected the inconsistencies in the previous model and computer code and provided a complete calibration to support the research that is based on it. This work improves the accuracy and secures the scope of the model, which is necessary to retain a rich body of research resulting from the model. Furthermore, this model provides both a quantitative model for several parameters of TBS and a basic model foundation for future refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mission profile emulation (MPE) for submodules (SMs) in the modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a crucial step before a full-scale system is put into field operation. Existing methods suffer from limitations of the testing accuracy due to the staircase-like arm voltages that result in distorted loading current and require large filter inductance. This is especially the case when a limited number of SMs are under test. In this article, an efficient MPE method is proposed to emulate the loading behaviors of multiple SMs in MMC. The testing circuit allows two arms of MMC with flexible SM number, operating in inverting and rectifying mode under nearest level modulation, to be tested simultaneously with reduced dc supply voltage. A common H-bridge circuit is introduced in the testing circuit, with each arm of the H-bridge circuit functioning as the voltage compensator by using feedforward control. In this way, the current distortion can be significantly suppressed, and testing accuracy can be guaranteed in a cost-efficient manner even though no large inductor is included in the testing circuit. The proposed method allows SMs under test to be loaded as in the actual back-to-back MMC system. Simulations and experimental measurements are given to validate the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel core–shell metal organic framework (MOF), Cu-MOF@SMON/DOX-HA, was fabricated using 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3-AT) and organosilicon for combined chemo–chemodynamic therapy with high drug-loading capacity, pH/GSH dual-responsiveness, and good biocompatibility. The Cu-MOF@SMON/DOX-HA could not only generate reactive oxygen species, but also effectively consume glutathione (GSH) to induce cell ferroptosis. This work involves the modification of organosilicon on the surface of MOFs, which possess good performance in high drug-loading ability and pH/GSH dual-responsive degradation for combined chemo–chemodynamic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Vasopressin is a powerful stimulator of vascular calcification, augmenting osteogenic signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) including upregulation of transcription factors such as core-binding factor α-1 (CBFA1), msh homeobox 2 (MSX2), and SRY-Box 9 (SOX9), as well as of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (ALPL). Vasopressin-induced osteogenic signaling and calcification require the serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SGK1). Known effects of SGK1 include upregulation of Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1). NHE1 further participates in the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). NHE1 has been shown to participate in the orchestration of bone mineralization. The present study, thus, explored whether vasopressin modifies NHE1 expression and ROS generation, as well as whether pharmacological inhibition of NHE1 disrupts vasopressin-induced osteogenic signaling and calcification in VSMCs. Methods: Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs) were treated with vasopressin in the absence or presence of SGK1 silencing, SGK1 inhibitor GSK-650394, and NHE1 blocker cariporide. Transcript levels were determined by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, protein abundance by Western blotting, ROS generation with 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate fluorescence, and ALP activity and calcium content by using colorimetric assays. Results: Vasopressin significantly enhanced the NHE1 transcript and protein levels in HAoSMCs, effects significantly blunted by SGK1 inhibition with GSK-650394 or SGK1 silencing. Vasopressin increased ROS accumulation, an effect significantly blocked by the NHE1 inhibitor cariporide. Vasopressin further significantly increased osteogenic markers CBFA1, MSX2, SOX9, and ALPL transcript levels, as well as ALP activity and calcium content in HAoSMCs, all effects significantly blunted by SGK1 silencing or in the presence of GSK-650394 or cariporide. Conclusion: Vasopressin stimulates NHE1 expression and ROS generation, an effect dependent on SGK1 and required for vasopressin-induced stimulation of osteogenic signaling and calcification of VSMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grid-connected converters are becoming a fundamental building block in the modern power grid, and the stability of grid-connected converters, especially when they are connected to weak grid, has drawn increasing attention. In order to test the interaction with various grid impedances and validate the stability behaviors, more accurate and advanced emulation of grid impedance is becoming an emerging need. However, the existing approaches are still difficult to flexibly shape the grid impedance under medium-to-high frequency range. In this article, a novel configuration for programable impedance emulation of power grid is proposed. The proposed grid emulator is composed of two power electronics converters with special control functions, i.e., the impedance forming converter (IFC) and power supporting converter (PSC). The IFC is designed with a higher switching frequency to virtually emulate different grid impedances under medium-to-high frequency band. On the other hand, the PSC is designed with a lower switching frequency to generate/absorb the power of the converter under test. Besides, a Norton-circuit-based virtual impedance control strategy is introduced to eliminate the derivation term in the control structure of virtual impedance. Finally, the performance of the proposed emulator is verified by various simulations and experimental prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As pairwise ranking becomes broadly employed for elections, sports competitions, recommendation, information retrieval and so on, attackers have strong motivation and incentives to manipulate or disrupt the ranking list. They could inject malicious comparisons into the training data to fool the target ranking algorithm. Such a technique is called “poisoning attack” in regression and classification tasks. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, we initiate the first systematic investigation of data poisoning attack on the pairwise ranking algorithms, which can be generally formalized as the dynamic and static games between the ranker and the attacker, and can be modeled as certain kinds of integer programming problems mathematically. To break the computational hurdle of the underlying integer programming problems, we reformulate them into the distributionally robust optimization (DRO) problems, which are computational tractable. Based on such DRO formulations, we propose two efficient poisoning attack algorithms and establish the associated theoretical guarantees including the existence of Nash equilibrium and the generalization ability bounds. The effectiveness of the suggested poisoning attack strategies is demonstrated by a series of toy simulations and several real data experiments. These experimental results show that the proposed methods can significantly reduce the performance of the ranker in the sense that the correlation between the true ranking list and the aggregated results with toxic data can be decreased dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the deformation characteristics and failure modes of the right bank slope of Xiluodu Hydropower Station after excavation. Design/methodology/approach: Micro-seismic monitoring technology is applied to obtain the microfracture information and study the internal damage evolution law of the slope rock mass. A numerical model for discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is established to analyse the deformation characteristics and failure mode of the slope. Micro-seismic monitoring and DDA can verify and supplement each other's results in the investigation of slope failure. Findings: The results show that the slope has a downhill displacement along the weathered zone under natural conditions; the maximum resultant displacement at the monitoring point is 380 mm. The micro-seismic events are concentrated in an area located 30–100 m horizontally away from the slope surface and at an elevation of 390–470 m. The distribution of these micro-seismic events is consistent with the location of the unloading and weathered zones; it is the same as the DDA simulation result. Originality/value: The study is anticipated to be used as reference for the stability analysis of rock slopes. By combining the continuous (micro-seismic monitoring technology) and discontinuous (DDA) methods, the entire process starting from the gradual accumulation of internal rock micro-damage to the macroscopic discontinuous deformation and failure of the slope can be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules with multiple chips have wide range of applications, and the correct estimation for the thermal behaviors inside IGBT modules is becoming crucial. Thermal impedance matrix is one of the most adopted approaches to describe the thermal-coupling effect of IGBT module. For simplicity of analysis, the heatsink or ambient temperature is typically chosen as the reference node for the thermal-coupling impedance term, while the case temperature is simplified or ignored. This letter provides a thermal coupling model enabling case temperature as reference node. This proposed model decouples the thermal coupling impedances of IGBT module itself and external cooling condition, so that the modeling of cooling conditions outside device and inside the power module, can be separately considered. The characterization method and advantages of the proposed model are verified by an experimental demonstration, and the potential applications are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how white Western male vloggers have sought to maintain their positive images among Chinese netizens on the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the West and foreign migrants in China were lampooned and scorned due to rising Chinese nationalism. By analyzing these vloggers' self-representations and the Chinese audience's responses to them, the article discusses how white male identity is negotiated on China's state-regulated social media platforms in this critical time. It shows that while Western male vloggers carefully represent themselves as ideal foreign migrants in China, they are subject to criticisms from their Chinese audience. In this process, the meanings attached to white male identity have become increasingly debated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active thermal control (ATC) is becoming a popular solution to improve the reliability of power semiconductor devices in electric machine drive systems. Conventional ATCs mostly focus on the extension of a lifetime under common mission profiles in relatively long-term timescale, but the ATCs under abnormal conditions, such as extreme overstress in relatively short-term timescale, still need further investigation. This letter proposes a novel ATC method by optimal phase angle to redistribute the electrothermal stress under the stall condition of the machine drive inverter. During the normal operation, the proposed method will not disturb the original drive control structure. During the stall condition, the maximum electrothermal stress in power semiconductor devices can be relieved significantly. With no extra fluctuating electromagnetic torque, mechanical stability can also be guaranteed. Simulations and experimental results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a 3D real-time monitoring method, microseismic (MS) monitoring technique has been widely used in various underground engineering applications. However, in such applications, it is still challenging to acquire precise and efficient MS locations. Here, we examined the applicability and accuracy of a fully convolutional neural network for source localization, where the modified loss function was utilized. The Shuangjiangkou underground powerhouse in southwestern China served as the engineering background. The dataset was made of the MS events that occurred near the main powerhouse from September 2018 to December 2019. A fully convolutional neural network, named MS-location Net, was then built. The original waveform data were directly used as the input of the neural network, while 3D Gaussian distribution functions of the monitoring area were used as the output of the neural network. The epicenter error, focal depth error and absolute error were applied as indicators to evaluate the model. The results show that all the three indicators, namely the epicenter error, focal depth error and absolute error, were less than 5 m for all the MS events in the test set. The average time for locating an MS event was 0.01435 s using a usual computer configuration, which greatly improves the positioning efficiency. The proposed location method in this paper overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional localization methods, e.g., the inaccuracy of velocity model and arrival picking. Highlights: A fully convolutional neural network, named MS-location Net, was built for microseismic source localization. The applicability and efficiency of the proposed location method were validated via a case study. The proposed location method overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional localization methods, e.g., the inaccuracy of velocity model and arrival picking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rockburst has become one of the most serious and frequent disasters when the underground activities go deeper. It can be essentially divided into incubation and occurrence phases, where the incubation phase belongs to a long-term energy accumulation quasi-static problem and the occurrence phase is an instantaneously dynamic process with massive energy release. Effective numerical method that can describe the entire process of rockburst from incubation to occurrence phase is of great significance and importance for digging out the mechanism of the rockburst. In this study, the numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the dynamic responses and failure characteristics of the tunnel during the rockburst, as well as the physical mechanics lying behind. Firstly, to investigate the entire process of the rockburst, based on finite element method (FEM), a new numerical method which integrates the functions of static and dynamic analysis was developed. Subsequently, two-dimensional numerical model was established based on the engineering background of the Qinling Water Conveyance Tunnel project in Shaanxi Province, China. The effect of the existing fault on the rockburst during the excavation process were analyzed in detailed. The simulation results suggested that the proposed numerical method could successfully model the entire process of the rockburst. The derived failure characteristics of the tunnel agreed well with the actual field observations. The dip angle, thickness and elastic modulus of the existing fault have a significantly effect on the rockburst. With increasing excavation distance, the time of the rockburst occurrence is highly dependent on the dip angle of the existing fault, but weakly correlated with the thickness and elastic modulus of the existing fault. With increasing the dip angle and thickness of the existing fault, the damage region of the surrounding rock caused by the rockburst gradually decreased, while the failure extent of the surrounding rock near the advancing face of the tunnel significantly increased. The interface between the fault and the surrounding rock acts as a buffer, effectively mitigating the vibration of the surrounding rock and this phenomenon becomes more pronounced as elastic modulus of the fault decreased. Finally, there is a significant correlation between the areas of damage and failure and the PPV values of the surrounding rock. According to the distribution characteristic of PPVs, a classification of the surrounding rock status after rockburst was proposed, corresponding to the complete destruction, serious damage, strong vibration and slight vibration areas, respectively. The findings in this study would provide a better understanding of the entire process of the rockburst, particularly in the faulted rock masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionogels have emerged as distinctive materials of significant importance in the realm of flexible electronics. Their robust mechanical properties enable seamless integration with the contours of the human body, while environmental stability ensures longevity and reliability even in challenging operating conditions. The versatility of ionogels further extends to their tunable properties, enabling customization for specific applications and opening a vast design space to meet diverse electronic device requirements. These attributes position ionogels as key players in advancing wearable sensors, health monitoring devices, and various flexible electronic components. This article provides an overview of the research progress in the realm of ionogels for flexible wearable sensors, starting with their classification and preparation strategies. It delves into specific properties such as mechanical strength, adhesion, self-healing, electrical conductivity, and anti-freezing capabilities. Additionally, the application of functionalized ionogels in flexible wearables is explored. In conclusion, the paper summarizes the challenges faced and outlines future prospects for ionogels in the field of flexible electronics. As research in this area continues to advance, ionogels are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of electronic technologies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To comprehensively consider the impacts of stratification, residual pore water pressure, soil nonlinearity, and boundary permeability on consolidation settlement of soft soil foundations for accurate prediction, a continuous drainage boundary condition is proposed in this study that reflects the residual pore pressure under multistage loading, and a nonlinear elastic constitutive model based on the double logarithmic model is adopted to account for the nonlinear consolidation behaviour of soils. A UMAT subroutine is developed based on the proposed boundary condition and nonlinear elastic constitutive model. Subsequently, the developed subroutine is compared with the built-in linear elastic soil constitutive model in ABAQUS and engineering examples. The application of continuous drainage boundaries in stratified foundations is analysed, as well as the influence of factors such as the loading rate and soil nonlinearity on consolidation settlement. The results indicate that, compared to the built-in model, the subroutine developed in this study can be employed to more accurately calculate the nonlinear consolidation of multilayered foundations under multistage loading. By adjusting the loading rate parameter α k , consolidation under different loading conditions can be predicted. Additionally, the proposed boundary condition simplifies the calculations for soft soil foundations with sand layers, providing a novel computational approach for the design of construction loading schemes and long-term settlement predictions in soft soil foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic deformation response of metallic materials has contributions from dislocations, deformation twinning, and plastic deformation. The current state-of-art techniques can detail the complex mechanistic history of deformation modes under shock loading in real-time using in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). However, the capability of these experiments to unravel plasticity contributions is challenging due to limitations in interpreting results and the lack of validation from atomistic simulations. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can successfully capture various deformation modes in metals and complement experiments using simulated diffractograms at various stages of evolution. However, the difference in length and time scales of MD simulations and experiments is a substantial obstacle in completing and interpreting in situ diffractograms. Therefore, the existing modeling methods require various approximations to model defect evolution and interaction at the mesoscales. However, while using approximations to correlate the peak broadening behavior to the density of dislocations or the shifts/splitting due to the presence of twins, the interpretations of the plasticity contributions from diffractograms are non-trivial, especially when multiple modes of deformation may be operating. This viewpoint discusses combining a mesoscale modeling method called quasi-coarse-grained dynamics and virtual XRD to characterize the plasticity contributions in BCC metals from slip, twinning, and phase transformation behavior. The combined approach shows promise in bridging the mesoscale gap between the capabilities of atomic-scale simulations and in situ experiments to characterize the dynamic deformation of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shock compression of iron microstructures above a threshold stress results in a α BCC → ε HCP transformation, and the propagation of the release wave brings the metal back to the α phase following the ε → α transformation. Predicting failure behavior under shock loading conditions (spallation) relies on understanding the evolution of defects in the microstructure as it undergoes the α → ε → α phase transformation. This study uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the role of defect evolution during the α → ε → α phase transformation on the spall strength values of single-crystal (sc) Fe microstructures. The MD simulations aim to characterize the ε phase fraction formed during shock compression and the defects during shock release for variations in loading orientations and shock stresses. The simulations are carried out for loading along the [100], [110], [111], and [112] orientations and for impact velocities ranging from 600 m/s to 1 km/s. The ε phase fractions during compression and defects (dislocations, twins) characterized during spall failure show an orientation dependence that affects the spall strength values. The lowest value for spall strength is observed for the 110 loading orientation that shows a high density of twins at the spall plane, whereas the highest value is observed for the 100 orientation and is associated with a α BCC → γ FCC transformation at the spall plane. The correlations of the spall strength values with the strain rates and with the ε phase fractions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, dense B 4 C-WB 2 composites were fabricated at 1950 °C using B 4 C and WB 2 as raw materials via a hot press method. The phase composition, microstructures and mechanical properties of the B 4 C-WB 2 composites with different B 4 C volume fraction were studied. The obtained 68.7 vol%B 4 C-WB 2 composites demonstrated good comprehensive properties with high flexural strength of 696 MPa, superior hardness of 34.8 GPa, and acceptable fracture toughness of 3.3 MPa m1/2. The high flexural strength mainly resulted from the pinning effect of preferentially oriented strip-shape WB 2 grains and clean grain interfaces between B 4 C and WB 2 phases. The toughening mechanism of the B 4 C-WB 2 composites was associated with the interfacial residual stress induced by the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficient. In addition, the B 4 C-WB 2 composites demonstrated good electrical conductivity (3.3 × 105 S/m) with a low density of 5.589 g/cm3, making them of potential interest for cutting tools and armor protection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comprehensively reviews the literature related to disaster relief supply management in recent years by taking the perspectives of three critical decision-making issues, i.e., coordination issues, facility location decisions, and inventory decisions. For each decision-making issue discussed, we clarify the barriers of current research papers and identify the major challenges and critical factors that should be considered. In the following, we present the perspectives on the road of coordination between multiple relief actors, characterize the location decisions of relief facilities with a variety of optimization objectives, and emphasize the importance of relief supply varieties and critical factors in the decisions of disaster relief inventories. Future research directions are recommended for further discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditory distance perception is important to virtual sound production and is affected by many factors. In order to investigate the effect of the visual cue on auditory distance perception and the best auditory distance perception in the existence of virtual sound source, experiments on the effect of visual cue on distance perception and the best auditory distance perception were conducted, respectively. The results of the first experiment showed that there was no obvious difference between the auditory distance perception in the existence and absence of virtual sound source, but visual cue can decrease the fluctuation of the perception. From the best auditory distance perception experiment, the attenuating SPL of the initial sound signal that made the subjects perceive the best auditory distance in the existence of virtual sound source at the distance of 4m, 6m, 8m, 10m, and 12m was measured, respectively, and compared the difference of attenuating SPL between experiment measurement and theoretical calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an adaptive control strategy named, "front-end optimization + back-end compensation," is proposed to address the wet dual-clutch transmission start-up problem, while considering the effect of service time on the degradation of friction characteristics. First, the effect of service time on friction characteristics is investigated experimentally. Subsequently, the friction coefficient is estimated using a dual extended Kalman filter, and the optimal motion and control trajectory for the launching process are obtained using the pseudospectral method. Finally, a back-end compensator is designed. The effectiveness of the strategy is verified using the MATLAB/Simulink platform and a vehicle test. The results show that compared with the minimum principle method, the pseudo-spectral method shows less jerk and friction loss with a comparable launching time. The control law is adjusted based on the estimated friction coefficient, which ensures a good start-up. Moreover, the back-end compensator can track the reference trajectory well with parameter perturbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental temperature of rice in cool region varies greatly at the whole growth stage, and studies on warming at different stages are still rare. In this study, we set up warming treatments at six growth stages of rice in cool region: the before heading stage (T1), the whole growth stage (T2), the grain-filling stage (T3), the early grain-filling stage (T4), the middle grain-filling stage (T5), the late grain-filling stage (T6). The change trend of the yield of each treatment in 2019–2020 was the same. Among them, T1, T2, T3 and T5 increased significantly by 13.2%, 9.4%, 6.9% and 6.3%, respectively; T6 increased by 2%; T4 decreased significantly by 4.8%. The yield and inferior grains (IG) yield had a significant positive correlation with LAI at each stage. All warming treatments had a positive effect on A max to varying degrees at grain-filling stage. Among the photosynthetic parameters that affect A max under the warming treatment, g m and J max played a major role, V c , max and g s played a minor role, and R d had no effect on A max . Furthermore, g m was the most important factor that affected A max , and the correlation coefficients at the panicle initiation stage, the heading stage, the middle grain-filling stage and the late grain-filling stage were 0.88, 0.784, 0.639 and 0.932, respectively. These results suggested warming at most growth stages of rice in cool region would be beneficial to photosynthesis and promote the yield accumulation. However, it was adversely affected by the short-term warming at the early grain-filling stage of rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drug-resistant bacteria have posed a great threat to animal breeding and human health. It is obviously urgent to develop new antibiotics that can effectively combat drug-resistant bacteria. The commensal flora inhabited in the intestines become potential candidates owing to the production of a wide range of antimicrobial substances. In addition, host genomes do not encode most of the enzymes needed to degrade dietary structural polysaccharides. The decomposition of these polysaccharides mainly depends on gut commensal-derived CAZymes. Results: We report a novel species isolated from the chicken intestine, designated as Paenibacillus jilinensis sp. nov. and with YPG26T (= CCTCC M2020899T) as the type strain. The complete genome of P. jilinensis YPG26T is made up of a single circular chromosome measuring 3.97 Mb in length and containing 49.34% (mol%) G + C. It carries 33 rRNA genes, 89 tRNA genes, and 3871 protein-coding genes, among which abundant carbohydrate-degrading enzymes (CAZymes) are encoded. Moreover, this strain has the capability to antagonize multiple pathogens in vitro. We identified putative 6 BGCs encoding bacteriocin, NRPs, PKs, terpenes, and protcusin by genome mining. In addition, antibiotic susceptibility testing showed sensitivity to all antibiotics tested. Conclusions: This study highlights the varieties of CAZymes genes and BGCs in the genome of Paenibacillus jilinensis. These findings confirm the beneficial function of the gut microbiota and also provide a promising candidate for the development of new carbohydrate degrading enzymes and antibacterial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensile strength is a vital mechanical property of rock and the deformation and failure process of rock under tension is of much significance in rock mechanics and engineering. In this study, a micro analysis on rock direct tensile failure was made based on the newly introduced quantitative analysis of acoustic emission (AE) waveforms. Direct tensile tests of common rocks were carried out, accompanied by real-time AE monitoring. The spatial and temporal distributions of AE signals were studied over the whole loading process. Distribution and evolution laws of dominant frequencies of AE waveforms with normalized applied stress were statistically analyzed. The statistical relationship between the energy ratios of AE waveforms distributed in low and high dominant frequency bands (L-type and H-type waveforms) and peak strengths of rock specimens was built. Microstructural observations with SEM were further conducted. Results show that the dispersion degree of rock tensile strength corresponds to the complexity of mineral composition. Initial release moments of L-type waveforms appeared earlier than H-type waveforms. L-type waveforms of the same proportion carry more energy compared to H-type waveforms in rock subjected to tension. There is an overall downward trend for peak strength of rock specimens with the increasing energy ratios of L-type waveforms. The tensile strength of rock obtained by fitting in this study is smaller than that obtained by averaging. There exist micro shear fractures during the macro tensile failure process of rock according to the microstructural observations with SEM. The peak strength corresponding to the case that L-type waveforms (or micro tensile failures) account for 100% can be considered as the "ideal" tensile strength from the microscopic perspective. The determined tensile strength by fitting can be used as a conservative design parameter for rock engineering. Highlights: Statistical relationship between energy ratios of AE waveforms distributed in low and high dominant frequency bands and peak strengths of rocks under tension is built. There exist micro shear fractures during the macro tensile failure process of rock. Peak strength in the case that L-type waveforms (or micro tensile failures) reach 100% can be considered as the "ideal" tensile strength. The determined tensile strength by fitting can be used as a conservative design parameter for rock engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]