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In recent years, cloud manufacturing has brought both opportunities and challenges to the manufacturing industry. Cloud manufacturing enables global manufacturing resources to be unified and shared, thus breaking down geographical constraints to enhance the level and efficiency of manufacturing. However, with the explosive growth of manufacturing resources and user demands, traditional cloud manufacturing platforms will face problems of insufficient computility, lack of real‐time data and difficulties in securing user privacy during the service selection process. In this article, a blockchain‐based decentralized cloud manufacturing service selection method is proposed, where the computility resource is deployed in multiple distributed nodes rather than the traditional centralized cloud manufacturing platform to solve the problem of insufficient computility. The credibility of the users is evaluated based on their performance on the contract and the PBFT consensus algorithm is improved based on the credibility of the users. In addition, a tri‐chain blockchain data storage model is designed to ensure the security, real‐time and transparency of data in the cloud manufacturing service selection process. The experimental results show that the method both speeds up service selection process and improves the quality of service selection results, and achieves a significant increase in manufacturing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Observational studies have demonstrated a significant association between socio-economic status (SES) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nonetheless, the precise biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Therefore, we adopted a Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between SES and genetic susceptibility to AD, as well as to explore the potential mediation effects of inflammation. Methods: Large-scale cohorts based on publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets from European populations were employed for conducting the MR study. The primary criterion utilized was the inverse-variance weighting (IVW) model. Heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were assessed. In addition, multivariate MR (MVMR) was utilized to correct the confounders. Moreover, a two-step MR approach was used to evaluate the potential mediating effects of factors on the causal effects between SES and AD. Results: As indicated by the results of the IVW model, educational years (OR = 0.708, 95% CI 0.610–0.821, P < 0.001) and household income (OR = 0.746, 95% CI 0.566–0.982, P = 0.037) was associated with a decreased genetic susceptibility risk for AD. The univariable results showed that the causal effect of educational years on the lower risk of AD remained significant (OR = 0.643, 95% CI 0.467–0.886, P = 0.006). In addition, our findings indicated that C-reactive protein (CRP) played a role in the causal effect of educational years on AD. The proportions of mediation were − 50.08% (95% CI − 92.78; − 7.38%). Discussion: These findings provided evidence supporting the causal effect of educational attainment lower AD risk, with inflammation playing a mediating role. These findings may inform prevention strategies and interventions directed toward AD. Future studies should explore other plausible biological mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a large and diverse group of autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative diseases. No drugs have been approved for these relentlessly progressive and fatal SCAs. Our previous studies indicate that oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neuronal apoptosis are elevated in the SCA17 mice, which are the main therapeutic targets of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT). HBOT is considered to be an alternative and less invasive therapy for SCAs. In this study, we evaluated the HBOT (2.2 ATA for 14 days) effect and the persistence for the management of SCA17 mice and their wild-type littermates. We found HBOT attenuated the motor coordination and cognitive impairment of SCA17 mice and which persisted for about 1 month after the treatment. The results of several biochemistry and liver/kidney hematoxylin and eosin staining show the HBOT condition has no obvious toxicity in the mice. Immunostaining analyses show that the neuroprotective effect of HBOT could be through the promotion of BDNF production and the amelioration of neuroinflammation. Surprisingly, HBOT executes different effects on the male and female SCA17 mice, including the reduction of neuroinflammation and activation of CaMKII and ERK. This study suggests HBOT is a potential alternative therapeutic treatment for SCA17. Accumulated findings have revealed the similarity in disease pathomechanisms and possible therapeutic strategies in polyQ diseases; therefore, HBOT could be an optional treatment as well as the other polyQ diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) carboxamides are prepared from the direct addition of [1.1.1]propellane with semicarbazides in the presence of iron(II) phthalocyanine {Fe(Pc)} and tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) in moderate to good yields. BCP ketones are also obtained under similar conditions in moderate yields. This protocol provides a straightforward one‐step access to BCP carboxamides, synthesis of which requires multiple chemical steps in previous reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates host reproduction by several strategies, one of the most important of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI can be rescued when Wolbachia‐infected males mate with females infected with the same Wolbachia strain. However, the potential rescue mechanism of CI in the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus is unclear. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was applied to explore the effect of Wolbachia on L. striatellus eggs. A total of 1387 differentially expressed genes were identified. RNA interference of 7 Wolbachia‐upregulated key planthopper genes reduced egg reproduction, suggesting that Wolbachia might improve fecundity in L. striatellus by affecting these 7 genes. Suppressing the expression of another upregulated gene, NDUFA8 (encoding NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] 1 α subcomplex subunit 8‐like) by RNA interference significantly increased the mortality of early embryos without affecting the number of deposited eggs. Wolbachia infection upregulated the mRNA level of NDUFA8, and dsNDUFA8 treatment of Wolbachia‐infected females recreated CI‐like symptoms, suggesting that NDUFA8 is associated with the rescue phenotype. Because all L. striatellus populations worldwide are infected with Wolbachia, NDUFA8 is a potential pest control target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: For high-risk elderly patients with chronic diseases, endoscopic stone removal for large common bile duct stones is associated with a high risk of adverse events and incomplete stone removal. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the treatment strategy of short-term biliary plastic stent placement followed by elective endoscopic stone removal is more effective and safer than immediate endoscopic stone removal. Methods: The data of 262 high-risk elderly patients who received endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for large common bile duct (CBD) stones from 2017 to 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into group A (immediate stone removal) and group B (stent drainage + elective stone removal). The baseline data of the 2 groups were matched 1:1 by propensity score matching. The stone clearance rate, ERCP procedure time, total hospital stay, and procedure-related adverse events were compared between the matched groups. In group B, stone size before and after stent placement, hospital stay, procedure time and adverse events of two ERCPs were compared. Results: A total of 57 pairs of patients were successfully matched between the 2 groups. The stone clearance rate in group B was higher than that in group A (89.5% vs. 75.3, P = 0.049). The total hospital stay in group B was longer than that in group A (11.86 ± 3.912 d vs. 19.14 ± 3.176 d, P<0.001). The total adverse event rate in group A was higher than that in group B (29.8% vs. 12.3%, P = 0.005). The incidence of cholangitis/cholecystitis after ERCP was significantly higher in group A than in group B (7.0% vs. 0.9% P = 0.029). There was no significant difference in the incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis, bleeding, pneumonia, and cardio-cerebrovascular events between the 2 groups. There were no perforation cases in either group. After plastic biliary stent placement in group B, the stone size was significantly smaller than before stent placement (1.59 ± 0.544 cm vs. 1.95 ± 0.543 cm, P < 0.001), and there was no significant difference in the total adverse event incidence between the two ERCP procedures (18.8% vs. 10.9%, P = 0.214). Conclusion: For high-risk elderly patients with large CBD stones, the treatment strategy involving temporary placement of plastic stent and elective endoscopic stone removal is safer and more effective than immediate stone removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future wireless communication systems require higher performance requirements. Based on this, we study the combinatorial optimization problem of power allocation and dynamic user pairing in a downlink multicarrier non-orthogonal multiple-access (NOMA) system scenario, aiming at maximizing the user sum rate of the overall system. Due to the complex coupling of variables, it is difficult and time-consuming to obtain an optimal solution, making engineering impractical. To circumvent the difficulties and obtain a sub-optimal solution, we decompose this optimization problem into two sub-problems. First, a closed-form expression for the optimal power allocation scheme is obtained for a given subchannel allocation. Then, we provide the optimal user-pairing scheme using the actor–critic (AC) algorithm. As a promising approach to solving the exhaustive problem, deep-reinforcement learning (DRL) possesses higher learning ability and better self-adaptive capability than traditional optimization methods. Simulation results have demonstrated that our method has significant advantages over traditional methods and other deep-learning algorithms, and effectively improves the communication performance of NOMA transmission to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an efficient method for α‐functionalization of N‐aryl‐tetrahydroisoquinolines under visible‐light‐irradiation catalyzed by organic photocatalyst. This protocol provides a concise and environmental approach for the rapid allylation and benzylation of N‐aryl‐tetrahydroisoquinolines, and shows broad substrate scope. Stable organoboron reagents have shown their ability in the construction of challenging Csp3−Csp3 bond. The load of the photocatalyst is low and the oxidant is inexpensive and less toxic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence shows that economic advantages and disadvantages tend to be hereditary, generating a positive association between income inequality and intergenerational immobility. This relationship, "the Great Gatsby Curve," is explained in this article in relation to welfare regimes. Compared to Liberal and Nordic welfare regimes, Conservative welfare regime generates the highest level of intergenerational immobility. Multilevel analysis of data from International Social Survey Programme (ISSP2009) supports that Conservative regime is the strongest to keep the influence of parental backgrounds on children's wealth which is the key to determine children's socio-economic status. These findings, combined with the fact that the conservative welfare regime generates a medium-high level of economic inequality, explains why income inequality is positively and concavely correlated with intergenerational immobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the participants learned English as a foreign language (EFL) in the classroom and then worked on five learning tasks to apply their newly learned knowledge to unfamiliar environments. The participants took photos of people, objects, situations or scenarios and described them in detail using a mobile learning system. Familiarization strategies were developed for the participants to increase their knowledge of strange environments. We aimed to test the effectiveness of the familiarization strategies on learning performance in the mobile-assisted language-learning context. To this end, an experiment was carried out with fifty participants who were assigned either to the experimental or control groups. The participants in the former used the familiarization strategies, whereas the participants in the latter did not. We compared the learning performance of the participants in the two groups based on the scores of pre- and posttests with phrase translation, sentence translation and writing items. We also compared the EFL writing quality of the two groups on five tasks with respect to the amount, vocabulary, grammar, content, origination and creativity dimensions. The results of the pre/posttest comparison showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the writing item only. The results showed that the writing quality of the experimental group on the five tasks was significantly better than that of the control group in all of the six dimensions. In addition, all of the participants had positive perceptions of the usefulness of our learning system to assist their EFL learning in unfamiliar environments. The results suggest that familiarization strategies can significantly improve EFL learning performance in unfamiliar environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, lignin and lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) constituting the cell wall structure of sesame hulls were investigated to explore novel techniques of dehulling. Milled wood lignin (MWL), Björkman LCC, and acid-soluble LCC (LCC-AcOH) were extracted from sesame hulls and characterized by carbohydrate composition analysis, molecular weight analysis, UV–vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, thermal analysis, Py-GC/MS, 2D HSQC NMR, and 31P NMR. The results showed that rhamnose accounted for the largest proportion of the lignin and LCC fractions, followed by glucose. Björkman LCC had the largest molecular weight, MWL had the smallest molecular weight, and LCC-AcOH had the largest polydispersity index. The lignin of sesame hulls consisted of syringyl (S), guaiacyl (G), p -hydroxyphenyl (H), and caffeyl alcohol (C) units. The most abundant monomer was guaiacyl (G), followed by caffeyl alcohol (C). C-type lignin is a new type of lignin that is different from the three traditional lignin monomers. The major lignin-linked bonds in the MWL and LCC-AcOH were β-O-4′ and β-β′, and β-5′ bonds were present in the Björkman LCC. The major LCC chemical bonds in the three fractions were PhGly. These findings will provide the factual basis for exploring different dehulling methods to enhance the quality of sesame products. • Lignin and LCC were isolated from the sesame hull firstly. • G/S-lignin and C-lignin were present in the sesame hulls. • The lignin-carbohydrate bonds in MWL, LCC-AcOH, and LCC were only PhGly. • The content of G-type lignin in sesame hulls was the highest, followed by C-type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A straightforward synthesis of alkyl-sulfonylpyridines and aryl-sulfonylpyridines is developed by coupling of sulfonylpyridines with the Grignard reagents. The protocol proceeds through a catalyst- and oxidant-free coupling of sulfonylpyridines as substrates via a Chichibabin-type reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Masquerade attack on biometric hashing, which reconstructs the original biometric image from the given hashcode, has been given much attention recently. It is mainly used to validate the security of biometric recognition system or expand existing biometric databases like face or iris. However, an existing state-of-the-art method tends to ignore the perceptual quality of synthesized biometric images in the attack, and consequently, the synthetic images can be easily differentiated from real images. To obtain the high-perceptual-quality image which can simultaneously pass the validation of recognition system, we introduce a new target combining semantic invariability in hashing space and perceptual similarity in biometric space. In order to simulate the mapping from images to hashcodes and tackle the derivative problem related to discrete hashcodes in hashing space, we propose a DNN-based network named SimHashNet. Then we incorporate the SimHashNet into a generative adversarial network as our model named BiohashGAN to generate synthetic images form hashcodes. Experiment result on dataset CASIA-IrisV4.0-Interval and CMU PIE demonstrates that the synthetic images obtained from our model can pass the validation of recognition system and simultaneously maintain high perceptual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soil microbiome, which is shaped by gut-related activities of earthworms, is affected by microplastic contamination. However, the influence of microplastics on earthworm gut and cast microbiomes has been poorly explored. Here, we investigated the influence of microplastics (1% in soil, w/w) on soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities during gut passage and cast aging of Lumbricus terrestris. Microplastics used in agricultural film production were selected, i.e., low density polyethylene, polylactic acid and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT). Different niches, including pre-ingestion soil, gut content and aged casts (from 0 to 180 days), were studied. Results showed that microplastics possibly enhanced the gut passage-derived difference between pre-ingestion soil and fresh cast in terms of pH, ammonium, nitrate and nitrite, and dissolved organic carbon. But such effects mostly faded out after 180 days of aging. The composition, as well as the alpha and beta diversity of both the total (DNA) and active (RNA) bacterial communities were decisively shaped by their niche (R2: 0.22–0.63, p < 0.001, PERMANOVA), rather than the presence/absence or the types of MPs. Nevertheless, biomarkers indicative of PBAT treatment were identified, and functional prediction for the active community showed that bacterial communities of this treatment had higher potentials for hydrocarbon degradation (4.9–7.8 times that of the microplastic-free treatment in gut and aged casts). We also identified a "Soil-related core community" and a "Gut-related core community" (contributing to 39.2%–50.2% of the cast microbiome), which possibly neutralized microplastic impacts and maintained the structure and function of bacterial communities during the soil–gut–cast transit. Our findings indicate that the tested microplastics exerted a minor influence on the bacterial communities during the cast aging process, microplastics in aged casts might not necessarily have significant additional influence on the soil microbiome when they are incorporated into soils. Future studies testing different soils, polymers, and earthworm species, under field conditions are recommended to help enhance current knowledge of the influence of microplastics on earthworm cast microbiomes. [Display omitted] • Microplastics (MPs) influence on the aging of earthworm casts was studied. • MPs affected the physicochemical properties of fresh casts but not in the long term. • PBAT MPs had minor influence on the active community (RNA). • Soil- and Gut-related core communities were likely to buffer the impacts of MPs. • MP-containing casts may not cause additional effects on the soil microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The mechanism of accident spreading process and risk transmission on complex industrial system network is explained. • A dynamic model of accident propagation on complex industrial system network is established. • The changes of risk propagation speed threshold and risk propagation scale under multiple factors are studied. • The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified by numerical simulation and an application. Due to the increasing complexity of complex industrial systems, it's indispensable to analyze the process of accident spread and risk propagation on complex systems. An epidemiological model was used to study the phenomena of accident spread and risk propagation in complex industrial systems. It explains the mechanism and pattern of accident spread and risk propagation in complex industrial network, establishes a dynamic model for risk propagation in complex industrial network. The research findings are as follows: (1) In complex industrial systems networks, risk decreases when risk propagation velocity is below a threshold, but it increases and approaches a nonzero equilibrium point when risk propagation exceeds the threshold. (2) The risk propagation threshold is positively linked to information integrity, system robustness, and resilience, while it is negatively associated with the risk preference of management personnel. The risk propagation range decreases as the risk propagation threshold increases. (3) A higher average network degree leads to a higher risk propagation threshold and a smaller risk propagation range. Conversely, network heterogeneity has the opposite effect on the risk propagation threshold and range compared to the average degree. The research conclusions have important theoretical and practical implications for risk management in complex industrial systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant challenge faced by Li–O 2 batteries (LOBs) lies in their slow oxygen reduction and evolution kinetics, which greatly necessitates the development of highly active catalysts. Herein, we report a high-performance oxygen cathode (RuCo-NC) that is achieved by uniformly dispersing the nanoalloy of noble metal Ru and transition metal Co on the three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous carbon. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal a prominent electron transfer process between Ru and Co, along with a substantial abundance of electron transfer sites on RuCo-NC. These characteristics contribute to a strong positive equilibrium effect on the formation and decomposition of Li 2 O 2 , which is crucial for LOBs. Furthermore, the calculated Gibbs free energy change during the oxygen reduction and evolution processes indicates that RuCo-NC exhibits the smallest overpotential compared to single metal catalysts. As a result, this RuCo-NC cathode enables the resulting LOB with a larger discharge specific capacity, lower overpotential for efficient oxygen reduction and evolution, and excellent cycling stability. This work introduces an effective method for fabricating nanoalloy catalysts with enhanced efficiency, promising advancements in energy applications. • The highly dispersed RuCo nanoalloy uniformly dispersed on nanoporous carbon was prepared. • In-depth sights into the transfer process between Ru and Co, leading to high performance. • The RuCo-NC oxygen cathode shows high battery performance and cycle stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway has been proved to be associated with survival as well as proliferation of various tumour cells in multiple cancer types, including epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Purpose: Moreover, the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is the key mechanism responsible for higher invasiveness and migratory capacities of ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, PI3K is crucial for activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway; therefore, its inhibition might be an effective strategy against cancer. Research Design: The combination approach is now an established strategy against cancer. So, the present study evaluated molecular mechanics behind the synergistic effects of curcumin and resveratrol along with cisplatin treatment on inhibition of the PI3K pathway in ovarian cancer cells. Results: The present study confirmed significant inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway as observed by Matrigel invasion assay, Western blot expression of important molecular markers and apoptotic markers. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the combination of curcumin and resveratrol significantly sensitized the EOC cells to cisplatin treatment, thereby inhibiting chemoresistance in ovarian cancer cells by significant inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses NASDAQ order book data for the S&P 500 exchange traded fund (SPY) to examine the relationship between one-minute, informational market efficiency and high frequency trading (HFT). We find that the level of efficiency varies widely over time and appears to cluster. Periods of high efficiency are followed by periods of low efficiency and vice versa. Further, we find that HFT activity is higher during periods of low efficiency. This supports the argument that HFTs seek profits and risk reduction by actively processing information, through limit order additions and cancellations, during periods of lower efficiency and revert to more passive market-making and rebate-generation during periods of higher efficiency. These findings support the argument that the adaptive market hypothesis (AMH) is an appropriate description of how prices evolve to incorporate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Shear wave elastography can evaluate tissue stiffness. Previous studies showed that the elasticity characteristics of breast lesions were related to the components of extracellular matrix which was regulated by transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF-β1) directly or indirectly. However, the correlation of the expression level of TGF-β1, its signal molecules and elasticity characteristics of breast lesions have rarely been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the expression level of TGF-β1, its signal molecules, and the elasticity characteristics of breast lesions.Methods: 135 breast lesions in 130 patients were included. Elasticity parameters, including elasticity modulus, the elasticity ratio, the "stiff rim sign", were recorded before biopsy and surgical excision. The expression levels of TGF-β1 and its signal molecules, including Smad2/3, Erk1/2, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 (JNK2), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) were detected by immunohistochemistry. The diagnostic performance of the expression level of those molecules and their correlation with the elasticity characteristics were analyzed.Results: Elasticity parameters and the expression levels of TGF- β1 and its signal molecules of benign lesions were lower than those of malignant lesions (P<0.0001). The expression levels of TGF- β1 and its signal molecules were correlated with elasticity parameters. The expression levels of TGF- β1 and its signal molecules in lesions with "stiff rim sign" were higher than those without "stiff rim sign" (P<0.05). And the expression levels of Smad2/3, Erk1/2, p38 MAPK, JNK2, PI3K and AKT were correlated with that of TGF- β1. The area under the curve for receiver operator characteristic curve of TGF-β1 and its signal molecules in the differentiation of malignant and benign breast lesions ranged from 0.920-0.960.Conclusions: The expression levels of TGF-β1, its signal molecules of breast lesions showed good diagnostic performance and were correlated with the elasticity parameters. The expression levels of signal molecules were correlated with that of TGF- β1, which speculated that TGF- β1 might play an important role in the regulation of breast lesion elasticity parameters and multiple signal molecule expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway has been proved to be associated with survival as well as proliferation of various tumour cells in multiple cancer types, including epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Purpose: Moreover, the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is the key mechanism responsible for higher invasiveness and migratory capacities of ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, PI3K is crucial for activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway; therefore, its inhibition might be an effective strategy against cancer. Research Design: The combination approach is now an established strategy against cancer. So, the present study evaluated molecular mechanics behind the synergistic effects of curcumin and resveratrol along with cisplatin treatment on inhibition of the PI3K pathway in ovarian cancer cells. Results: The present study confirmed significant inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway as observed by Matrigel invasion assay, Western blot expression of important molecular markers and apoptotic markers. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the combination of curcumin and resveratrol significantly sensitized the EOC cells to cisplatin treatment, thereby inhibiting chemoresistance in ovarian cancer cells by significant inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present investigation was to extract pectic polysaccharides from sesame seed hull and to determine their physicochemical and functional characteristics. The pectic polysaccharides in the seed hull were extracted with HCl and then collected at three ethanol concentrations of 30% (SSP30), 50% (SSP50), and 90% (SSP90). We found that SSP30 represented 75.6% of the total polysaccharides, and that it contained 76.39% galacturonic acid, with many HG domains and few short side chains in the RG-I domains. SSP30 exhibited the strongest hydroxyl radical scavenging activity among the three fractions, and was better able to stabilize the emulsions. Higher Mw pectic polysaccharides were firstly precipitated at lower ethanol concentrations, and the Mw of the precipitated pectic polysaccharides decreased with increasing ethanol concentration. These results provide important information on the structure and functional characteristics of sesame hull polysaccharides. This information can contribute to the future development of sesame hull polysaccharides for industrial purposes. • Pectic polysaccharide (SSP30) was isolated from sesame seed hull at first time. • Physicochemical and functional properties of the pectin were characterized. • SSP30 fraction exhibited better able to stabilize the O/W emulsions. • SSP30 exhibited strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increasing use of colistin causes a serious breach in our last line of defence against MDR Gram-negative pathogens. Our previous study showed that CpxR overexpression increases the susceptibility of acrB and cpxR double-deleted Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to colistin.Objectives: To identify the mechanism of CpxAR and efflux pumps that synergistically enhance the susceptibility of S. Typhimurium to colistin.Methods: A series of cpxR- and tolC-deleted mutants and a cpxR-complemented strain from a multidrug-susceptible standard strain of S. Typhimurium (JS) were generated in our previous study. Herein, we investigated the susceptibility of these strains to colistin through the broth microdilution method, time-kill curves and survival assays. Growth curves were measured by OD600 in LB broth, tryptone-soy broth (TSB) and M9-glucose (0.2%) minimal media. Finally, molecular mechanisms underlying the mode of action were elucidated by transcriptomic analysis.Results: We found that in contrast to JS (0.8 mg/L), the MIC of colistin for JSΔtolC::kan showed a 16-fold decrease (0.05 mg/L). Notably, JSΔcpxRΔtolC and JSΔcpxRΔtolC/pcpxR were associated with a 256-fold decrease (0.0031 mg/L) compared with JS. Growth curves identified that JSΔcpxRΔtolC and JSΔcpxRΔtolC/pcpxR displayed a markedly lower growth rate and poorer adaptability. In addition, time-kill curves and survival assays showed that JSΔcpxRΔtolC and JSΔcpxRΔtolC/pcpxR were more susceptible to colistin. Lastly, double deletion of cpxR and tolC enhanced oxidative damage through promoting oxidative phosphorylation, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) respiration.Conclusions: Our findings revealed that double deletion of cpxR and tolC significantly increases the susceptibility of S. Typhimurium to colistin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultrasonic Lamb wave total focusing method (TFM) only uses the amplitude of the defective scattered signal for virtual focused imaging, while ignoring the phase information of the scattered signal and the dispersion characteristics of the Lamb wave, resulting in low imaging resolution and easily produced artefacts in imaging. To solve this problem, an ultrasonic Lamb wave imaging method based on phase coherence is proposed in this paper and the sign coherence factor (SCF) in the full matrix scattering signal is extracted. Moreover, the method uses the SCF to weight the amplitude of the full matrix scattering signal, suppresses the side lobes of the defect echo signal and the Lamb wave dispersion effect, improves the ultrasonic Lamb wave imaging resolution and weakens the artefacts. Finally, single- and multiplehole defects in aluminium plates are detected for experimental validation using an ultrasonic phased array. The array performance indicator and signal-to-noise ratio are used as indicators for quantitative assessment of imaging performance. The results show that compared with the TFM imaging, the SCF imaging can effectively suppress the noise and scattered signal side lobes, improve the array performance indicator (API) by 69.1% and improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by 73.9%. In addition, the SCF imaging can effectively weaken the interference of scattered signals between multiple through-hole defects, resulting in fewer artefacts in imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel indole‐1,2,4‐triazole derivatives have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated as potential tubulin polymerization inhibitors. The top hit 12, bearing the 3,4,5‐trimethoxyphenyl moiety, exhibited substantial anti‐proliferative activity against HepG2, HeLa, MCF‐7, and A549 cells in vitro with IC50 values of 0.23 ± 0.08 μM, 0.15 ± 0.18 μM, 0.38 ± 0.12 μM, and 0.30 ± 0.13 μM, respectively. It also inhibited tubulin polymerization with the IC50 value of 2.1 ± 0.12 μM, which was comparable with that of the positive controls. Furthermore, compound 12 regulated the expression of cell cycle‐related proteins (Cyclin B1, Cdc25c, and Cdc2) and apoptosis‐related proteins (Bcl‐2, Bcl‐x, and Mcl‐1). Mechanistically, compound 12 could arrest cell cycle at the G2/M phase, thus induce an increase of apoptotic cell death. In addition, molecular docking hinted the possible interaction mode of compound 12 into the colchicine binding site of tubulin heterodimers. According to the applications of microtubule‐targeting agents in both direct and synergistic cancer therapies, we hope this work might be of significance for future researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric materials with the typical perovskite structure are widely used in capacitors, ultrasonic devices, oil drilling, transducers, and other fields. Lead-lanthanum-zirconium-titanate ceramics co-doped with Sn and Ba, have been widely investigated. However, there is little attention has been focused on the dielectric properties of barium-lanthanum-zirconium-titanate. Thus, in this work, Sn doped Ba0.955La0.03Zr0.02Ti0.98O3 ferroelectric ceramics were prepared via a classical high-temperature solid state reaction. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface appearance of ceramics. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns at room temperature, indicate that the ceramics are well crystallized. Impedance properties and dielectric properties reflect the characteristic of typical high temperature dielectric relaxation behavior. The conductive activation energy and the relaxation activation energy are obtained through the calculation of the Arrhenius law. The fitting results show that the dielectric relaxation behavior at high-temperature, was related to the oxygen defect. The electrical modulus verified the partial short-range carrier migration, also contribute to the high-temperature dielectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operational performance in the low-voltage distribution network (LVDN) can be undermined by its inherent unbalances, which may become worse as the penetration of rooftop solar continuously increases. To address this issue, load balancing via phase-reconfiguration devices (PRDs), which can change phase positions of residential customers as required, provides a cost-efficient option. However, most reported approaches to control PRDs require that demands of all residential customers are available, which are not viable for many LVDNs without smart meters or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) installed. To bridging the gap in this field, this paper proposes a novel method to control PRDs purely based on measurable data from PRDs, and its controller. Based on limited information, sensitivity analysis in the network with PRDs is studied, followed by the optimization model that comprehensively considers operational requirements in the network. Moreover, slack variables are introduced to the model, and penalized in the objective function to assure either a strategy that is secure or with minimized violations can always be provided. The model is a challenging mixed-integer non-convex programming (MINCP) problem, which is reformulated as an efficient solvable mixed-integer second-order cone programming (MISOCP) based on exact reformulations or accurate linear approximations. Simulations based on two modified IEEE systems, and a real system in Australia demonstrate that an efficient strategy can be provided to mitigate unbalances in the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positron emission tomography (PET) could predict the prognosis of DLBCL patients, but the exact procedure on interim PET (iPET) to determine chemoresistant patients remains elusive. We retrospectively analyzed 593 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients uniformly treated with R-CHOP regimen. Among them, 352 patients diagnosed from August 2010 to December 2016 were included in the test cohort and 241 patients diagnosed from January 2017 to December 2019 were included in the validation cohort. The iPET was evaluated with Deauville criteria and ΔSUVmax method. The reduction of maximal SUV between baseline and after 4 cycles of chemotherapy were defined as ΔSUVmax. The survival functions were depicted using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Patients with iPET Deauville 4 had heterogeneous outcome and end of treatment complete response rates (eCRR). Combined Deauville with ΔSUVmax method, we proposed a modified-Deauville model: patients with Deauville 4 and ΔSUVmax > 70%, as well as those with Deauville 1–3, were reclassified into the modified-Deauville negative group, while patients with Deauville 4 and ΔSUVmax ≤ 70%, as well as those with Deauville 5, into the modified-Deauville positive group. In the test cohort, 3-year PFS, OS and eCRR of modified-Deauville negative group were 80.2%, 89.9% and 91.8%, significantly higher than those of positive group (12.5%, 27.3% and 29.2%, p ≤.001). Similar results were found in the validation cohort, that 3-year PFS, OS and eCRR were 87.8%, 95.4%, 96.3% in modified-Deauville negative group, and 27.4%, 32.5%, 13.5% in positive group. Through modified-Deauville model, patients in iPET positive group had very low eCRR and were resistant to conventional chemotherapy. The modified-Deauville model could better distinguish DLBCL patients with poor response to chemotherapy. Accordingly, these patients could be recognized early and provided with alternative therapeutic agents, which might improve the clinical outcome of refractory DLBCL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ba0.985La0.015Ti0.9Sn0.1O3 ceramic has been prepared by a cost-effective solid-state reaction method. Preliminary room-temperature X-ray diffraction indicates that the crystallization of the ceramic is good. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study the microstructure of ceramic. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize the oxygen vacancies. Dielectric properties and impedance spectroscopy reflected the characteristic of relaxor-type behavior. Modified Curie–Weiss law was used to evaluate the relaxor behavior. The fitting result of the relaxation parameter λ = 1.4, which verifies their relaxor property. Jonscher's power law was used to analyze the behavior of alternating current conductivity. The Arrhenius law was used to calculate the relaxor activation-energy (Ea) and the conduction activation-energy (Ec). The fitting results show that the Ea and Ec are 1.1 and 1. 13 eV, respectively. These values demonstrate that the high-temperature relaxor behavior was attributed to the double ionized oxygen vacancies. The electric field versus polarization curve reflects the energy-storage property of it. The maximum recoverable energy-storage density is 2.14 J/cm3, and the energy-storage efficiency is 67.65%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A synthetic amendment was developed to improve composting and resource recycling. • Biodegradation and maturity were analyzed, and metabolic pathways were annotated. • Dominant bacteria and fungi were similar but with different richness in three groups. • Study showed pathways of predicted carbohydrate metabolism during composting. • Synthetic amendment achieved mature compost and can be reused to conserve resources. This research investigated a synthetic amendment to improve composting and resource recycling of pig manure and biogas residue. We further examined whether adding a synthetic amendment impacts the microbial ecosystem in the composted materials. Three mixing ratios were used to investigate composting performance: no synthetic amendment (T0), 5% synthetic amendment (T1), and 10% synthetic amendment (T2) (T1 and T2 were measured as a wet weight ratio). There were no significant differences in the fundamental characteristics between composting products in T0 and T1. The moisture content of composting material in T0, T1, and T2 significantly decreased from a baseline of approximately 65% to 35.5%, 37.3%, and 55.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, the germination index significantly increased to 111.6%, 155.6%, and 62.3%, respectively. When an optimal proportion of synthetic amendment was added, T1 showed high degree of humification, lignocellulase activities, and effective biodegradation. Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant bacteria, while Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungi in all treatment groups. Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, glycolysis, starch, and sucrose metabolism were among the primary pathways in predicted functions. The synthetic amendment can generate a mature composting product and can be reused or recycled to conserve resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an economic model predictive algorithm for optimal load frequency control, in which both the frequency regulation and economic load dispatch (ELD) are considered, in interconnected power systems. Two-layer hierarchical control can be achieved through one level by EMPC. An economic stage cost function, including ELD and frequency regulation, which can be written in general convex form, is optimized by the controller. The distributed way is utilized to realize the control of large-scale power systems. Each subsystem-based controller works cooperatively with neighboring subsystems to achieve system-wide control performance. Asymptotic stability of the system is guaranteed by the proper terminal cost function. The efficiency and advantages of the proposed method are manifested by the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel nested restoration decision system (NRDS), which aims to minimize unused capacity of distributed generation (DG) for service restoration due to contingency during islanding stage. The proposed algorithm is based on the concept of nested microgrid formation, where the network control schemes are framed on a layered structure. The power-sharing strategy between neighboring microgrids in the network is from outer to inner microgrid loads, where the outermost microgrid exchanges power with utility grid only. The first stage refers to pre-fault scenario, which finds a solution for networked microgrid distributed generation as the initial setting. Furthermore, the second stage calculates additional redistribution requirements based on respective microgrid's deficiency using a solution index matrix. The proposed control has been evaluated on a networked microgrid system, while performing islanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the form of superconducting order parameter is still a controversial problem for the iron-based superconductor FeSe. Based on anisotropic two-component Ginzburg–Landau theory, we study the temperature dependence of upper critical field and London penetration depth for FeSe. Without including the spin paramagnetic effect, all of our theoretical calculations fit the experimental data well in a broad temperature range. Our results thus show that FeSe is a two-gap s-wave superconductor. And the anisotropy of effective masses in the band with larger (or smaller) gap can be estimated as about 10 (or 2) respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of sludge dewatering is limited by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during biodrying. This study investigated the effect of photocatalysis-mediated EPS degradation on sludge dewatering performance during the sludge biodrying process. The photocatalysis of municipal sludge was first carried out to choose a cost-efficient catalyst. Then sludge biodrying tests were performed using TiO 2 -coated amendment (T CA) and uncoated amendment (T UCA) as the control. Municipal sludge photocatalysis results showed that using TiO 2 could efficiently degrade carbohydrates and proteins in the EPS within 60 min. After 20-day biodrying, photocatalysis significantly promoted a reduction in the moisture content and EPS by 17.64% and 6.88%, respectively. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensities of the C–C–O symmetric stretching vibration peak of D-lactose and the C–S stretching vibration peak of cysteine were significantly decreased by approximately 33.19% and 44.76%, respectively, indicating that photocatalysis indeed promoted the reduction of polysaccharides and cysteine in the EPS, especially after the thermophilic phase. The hydrophilic amino acid content decreased by 23.02%, verifying that photocatalysis could improve EPS hydrophobicity. Consequently, municipal sludge biodrying coupled with photocatalysis promotes sludge EPS degradation and enhances sludge dewaterability, improving the efficiency of sludge biodrying. [Display omitted] • TiO 2 coated amendment was used during sludge biodrying with photocatalysis. • Polysaccharide in extracellular polymeric substance degraded after thermophilic phase. • Cysteine C–S stretching vibration intensity reduced 29.44% after thermophilic phase. • Significant degradation of hydrophilic lysine and cysteine promoted sludge dewatering. • Using TiO 2 coated amendment biodrying showed high humification and low biotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of cloud computing, people usually outsource encrypted images for saving storage and protecting privacy. However, traditional image encryption methods not only hinder the availability of images such as similarity retrieval, but also degrade the compression performance. To address this issue, we propose a retrievable image compression and encryption method(RICE). RICE takes into account the contradiction of image compression, availability and security, then propose a cascaded information bottleneck model, which includes the compression information bottleneck and the security and availability information bottleneck. The former is converted into a rate distortion problem and its optimal solution is sought by a convolutional neural network(CNN)-based compression network which includes channel space attention module and discrete wavelet transform(DWT) module. To solve the later, we propose a feature partition method to find a retrieval subset that balances the contradiction between security and availability, and design a DNA-based deterministic encryption method for this subset to support ciphertext retrieval. The ciphertext of the retrieved subset is sent to the proposed similarity search fully connected network(SimFcNet) to improve the retrieval accuracy. The remaining subset is encrypted by Non-deterministic encryption to further improve security. In general, the method RICE we proposed supports similarity retrievable in compressed domain ciphertext, and can achieve excellent performance. Experimental results show that our method is 36.56% higher than JPEG2000 at compression ratio of 60:1 in MS-SSIM, the accuracy of ciphertext retrieval can reach 0.828, and the security of ciphertext is close to that of traditional encryption methods. • Propose a cascaded information bottleneck of compression, security, availability. • A deep image compression network is proposed to ensure compression performance. • Design a feature division to find a subset that balance security and availability. • Propose two feature encryption methods to ensure security. • The method supports similarity retrievable in compressed domain ciphertext. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms involved in reactions between methane, n-hexane, n-butanol, cyclohexane, and nitric acid were explored by density functional theory calculations. All the calculations in gas phase and n-tributyl phosphate (TBP) solvent were performed at the B3LYP/6–311++G ∗ ∗ and CCSD(T)/6–311++G ∗ ∗ levels of theory. The results showed that TBP has an important effect on the reactions between nitric acid and alkanes or butanol. The reactions were considered as that the radicals (·NO2 and ·NO3 radicals are formed via the HNO3 decomposition under irradiation) initiate the H-atom depletion of the reactants (R), and the produced radicals in red oil combine with ·NO2 radical to form the nitro compounds spontaneously. The rate constants of reactions R + ·NO2 and R + ·NO3 differ substantially, the rate constants of the latter being much larger than those of the former. In the reactions of R + ·NO3, the transition states and products are 20 kJ/mol and 100 kJ/mol or more stable than the reactants, respectively, but the reactions of R + ·NO2 need to overcome energy barriers over 25 kJ/mol. The formations of products mainly depend on the reactions of R + ·NO3. For the same type of alkanes (either chain or cyclic ones), the lower the relative stabilities of carbon-centered radicals are, the more reactive the alkanes are. Cyclohexane is the most competitive species, followed by n-butanol, n-alkanes, and methane which are the least competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As rooftop solar PVs installed by residential customers penetrate in low voltage distribution network (LVDN), some issues, e.g. over/under voltage and unbalances, which may undermine the network's operational performance, need to be adequately addressed. To mitigate unbalances in LVDN, phase-switching devices (PSDs) and static var compensator (SVC) are two equipment that is cost-effective and efficient. However, most existing research on operating PSDs is based on inflexible heuristic algorithms or without considering the network formulation, which may lead to strategies that violate operational requirements. Moreover, few pieces of literature have been reported on mitigating unbalances in LVDN via SVC and PSDs together. This paper formulates the decision-making process as a mixed-integer non-convex programming (MINCP) problem after developing an SVC model for dispatch purpose. Compared with existing work, the proposed method aims at minimizing current unbalance based on their phasor values and takes the network's operational requirements into account. To efficiently solve the challenging problem, the MINCP is reformulated as a mixed-integer second order-cone programming (MISOCP) problem based on either exact reformulations or accurate approximations, making it possible to employ efficient off-the-shelf solvers. Simulations based on two modified IEEE systems and a practical Australian LVDN demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method in mitigating unbalances in LVDN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article conducts a comparative public policy analysis of China's generous urban worker basic pension system. It is commonly believed that Chinese local governments, which are motived by office-seeking incentives under decentralization, may foster economic growth at the expense of citizens' social rights and thus "promotion tournament competition" comes into being. This article challenges this view by arguing that such competition can increase the generosity of social programs such as public pensions, especially in the condition of labor scarcity. This argument is supported by time-series cross-section analysis of 31 Chinese provincial units (1997–2013) using a novel indicator of the intensity of inter-locality competition. When the labor market tightens, workers can leave a locality to seek better compensation. Motivated by the promotion tournament competition to develop the local economy, which requires the issue of labor shortage to be addressed, local governments then provide generous local pension schemes to retain workers. Operating in a macroeconomic climate of labor scarcity, promotion tournament competition becomes an unlikely catalyst for welfare expansion in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the generating formula of filters in pseudo equality algebras, also we introduce prelinear pseudo equality algebras and divisible pseudo equality algebras, and then we investigate some characterizations of them. We focus on algebraic structures of the set F (X) of all filters in pseudo equality algebras and obtain that F (X) can form a Heyting algebra. Moreover, we give the notions of some types of filters ((positive) implicative filters, fantastic filters) in pseudo equality algebras and investigate their properties. Finally, we discuss the relations among these filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many studies indicate that gallstone formation has genetic components. The abnormal expression of lipid-related genes could be the basis for particular forms of cholesterol gallstone disease. The aim of this study was to obtain insight into lipid metabolism disorder during cholesterol gallstone formation and to evaluate the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on the improvement of bile lithogenicity and its potential influence on the transcription of lipid-related genes. Methods: Gallstone-susceptible mouse models were induced by feeding with a lithogenic diet (LD) for 8 weeks. Bile and liver tissues were obtained from these mouse models after 0, 4 and 8 weeks. Bile lipids were measured enzymatically, and the cholesterol saturation index (CSI) was calculated to evaluate the bile lithogenicity by using Carey's critical tables. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), liver X receptor (LXR), adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette subfamily G member 5/8 (ABCG5/8), cholesterol 7-α hydroxylase (CYP7A1), oxysterol 7-α hydroxylase (CYP7B1), sterol 27-α hydroxylase (CYP27A1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α) and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette subfamily B member 11 (ABCB11). Results: The rate of gallstone formation was 100% in the 4-week group but only 30% in the UDCA-treated group. The UDCA-treated group had a significantly lower CSI compared with other groups. Of special note, the data on the effects of UDCA showed higher expression levels of ABCG8, ABCB11 and CYP27A1, as well as lower expression levels of LXR and PPAR-α, compared to the model control group. Conclusions: UDCA exhibits tremendously potent activity in restraining lipid accumulation, thus reversing the lithogenic effect and protecting hepatocytes from serious pathological damage. The abnormal expression of ABCG8, CYP7A1, CYP27A1, LXR and PPAR-α might lead to high lithogenicity of bile. These results are helpful in exploring new lipid metabolism pathways and potential targets for the treatment of cholesterol stones and for providing some basis for the study of the pathogenesis and genetic characteristics of cholelithiasis. Research on the mechanism of UDCA in improving lipid metabolism and bile lithogenicity may be helpful for clinical treatment and for reducing the incidence of gallstones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a distributed economic model predictive control (EMPC) method is proposed for economic operation and frequency regulation in isolated AC subsystems interconnected through multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) transmission system. Economic-driven frequency regulation, including economic operation and frequency regulation, normally implemented in a separate and hierarchical way, can be integrated through the proposed EMPC. Instead of competing with neighboring subsystems, the proposed distributed EMPC encourages cooperation among the interconnected subsystems, improving system-wide control performance. A suitable Lyapunov function is utilized to prove the stability of the proposed method. Simulations are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed EMPC method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of granular material discharging from a cuboid but thin hopper, including the hopper flow and granular jet, are investigated via discrete element method (DEM) simulations. The slot width is varied to study its influence on the flow. It is found the flow in the cuboid hopper has similarity with the flow in two-dimensional (2D) hopper. When the slot width is large, the flowrate is higher than the predicted value from Beverloo's law and the velocity distribution is not Gaussian-like. For granular jet, there is a transition with varying slot width. For large slot width, there is a dense core in the jet and the variations of velocities and density are relatively small. Finally, the availability of continuum model is assessed and the results show that the performance with large slot width is better than that with small slot width. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a phase reformulation-based sliding framework is proposed for microgrid to adequately decouple control interacts cross the quadrature axes. This is implemented by formulating another virtual coordinate that rotates with the synchronism frequency, while the original coordinate rotates with the reference frequency. The deviation during transients between coordinates is thus to be eventually mitigated by the intersected controller. The case study in PSCAD/EMTDC shows that, with the sliding framework, frequency and voltage fluctuations can be dramatically reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In clinical practice, researchers usually categorize continuous variables for risk assessment. Many algorithms have been developed to find one optimal cut point to group variables into two halves; however, there is often need to determine the optimal number of cut points and their locations at the same time. In this paper we proposed a new AIC criterion, where the AIC values were corrected with cross-validation and Monte Carlo method, to select the optimal number of cut points. In addition, the cross-validation and Monte Carlo methods were used to correct the p value and relative risk. To provide the biomedical researchers with an easy tool, we developed an R function that utilized the genetic algorithm to find the location of the optimal cut points. Furthermore, we conducted simulation experiments to study the performance of our proposed method. In the end we applied our method to study the effect of body mass index on cervical cancer survival, which had inconsistent reports in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with development of remote wind farms, offshore transmission networks become an integral part of wider transmission system. In this paper, an offshore transmission network planning (TNP) model is proposed for large-scale wind integration. The proposed approach allows system planners to evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of a range of potential network and non-network options considering a variety of uncertainties. The framework can be divided into one high-level planning problem determining a suitable type of power transmission technology and network routine over given planning horizon, and several low-level problems that examine the feasibility and optimality of the solution from the high-level problem considering different remedial action schemes, which is expected to reduce the need for adding new lines considering a broad range of uncertainty during system operation. Numerical examples on an IEEE 14-bus test system and an Australian regional transmission grid illustrate the performance of the proposed TNP model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increasingly complex and uncertain decision-making environment, large-scale group decision-making (LSGDM) can offer a more efficient method, allowing a large number of decision-makers (DMs) to truly participate in the decision-making process. The consensus-reaching process (CRP) is an effective method for resolving conflicting opinions among large-scale DMs. However, in the existing CRP of LSGDM, the new consensus state and the adjustment cost borne by inconsistent DMs after implementing feedback suggestions are not taken into consideration. To address this issue, this paper proposes a global optimization feedback model with particle swarm optimization (PSO) for LSGDM in hesitant fuzzy linguistic environments. An improved density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) on hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs) is introduced to classify large-scale DMs into several clusters, and a weight determination method that combines cluster size and intra-cluster tightness is also presented. The consensus degree of clusters is calculated at two levels: intra-consensus and inter-consensus. To improve the global consensus level with minimum cost, a global optimization feedback model is established to generate recommendation advice for inconsistent DMs, and the model is solved by PSO. A numerical example related to "COVID-19" and some comparisons are provided to verify the feasibility and advantages of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesame seed hulls are rich in lignin. Sesame oil extracted from roasted sesame seeds has a high oxidation stability. To investigate the influence of roasting on lignin and the oxidation stability of sesame oil, the degradation products (L190, L220, and L250) and solid residues were obtained from sesame seed hull lignin heated at three temperatures (190 °C, 220 °C, and 250 °C). The results showed that roasting caused partial degradation of lignin. The degree of lignin degradation became more severe with increasing roasting temperature. This degradation leads to the production of low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds, such as vanillin and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)butan-1-one. As the roasting temperature increased, the kinds and amounts of phenolic compounds produced increased. These compounds were high in antioxidants, the increasing of roasting temperature correlated significantly with the decrease in peroxide value (r POV = −0.977, p < 0.05) and p -anisidine value (r p-AnV = −0.988, p < 0.05) of sesame oils with added products of lignin degradation. The products of lignin degradation inhibited sesame oil oxidation, with L250 showing the strongest ability to improve the oxidative stability of sesame oil, similar to sesamol. This study demonstrated that the thermal degradation of lignin during roasting of sesame seed hulls enhanced the oxidative stability of sesame oil. [Display omitted] • Roasting caused partial degradation of sesame seed lignin. • The degradation of lignin produced low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds. • Thermal degradation of lignin enhanced the oxidative stability of sesame oil. • L250 had the strongest ability to improve the oxidative stability of sesame oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A meta-analysis of studies was conducted on the related factors of non-suicidal self-injury among chinese adolescents. • A total of 4420 records in chinese and english were retrieved after database searching, 59 of which were included in the final study, and the total sample size was 192,546. • The related factors of NSSI were discussed from three dimensions: demographic factor, personal factor, social factor. The origin, only child, gender, age, negative life events, learning stress, interpersonal relationship, childhood abuse, social support, self-esteem, bullying, depression, father-child attachment, mother-child attachment, alexithymia, sleep quality, family function, health, health adaptation, internet addiction, negative coping style, negative emotions, and impulsive behavior were associated with non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in Chinese adolescents. Over the past several decades the prevalence of adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been rising steadily. Understanding the factors associated with NSSI is a critical public health concern. The current study aims to explore the critical factors related to NSSI among Chinese adolescents. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify the studies meeting our eligibility criteria (published until June 2022) in PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Springer Link, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang data. The meta-package of R language was used to perform a meta-analysis to compute the pooled effect (r). A total of 59 studies were included in this analysis, with a sample size of 192,546. Twenty-four democratic, personal, and social factors were examined in current study. The pooled effect value (r) has revealed that 23 factors are associated with NSSI behaviors among Chinese adolescents. The factor, Internet addiction, has demonstrated the greatest association with NSSI compared to other factors. Consistent with previous studies on adolescent NSSI, findings have demonstrated that a number of demographic, personal, and social factors significantly contribute to NSSI behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Future research on prevention and intervention for adolescent NSSI may benefit from targeting these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notable benefit can be brought by combined operation of a coupled electricity and heat system (CEHS), and be enhanced by introducing thermal energy storage (TES). Existing literature researching on this topic either neglects the heat network, or requires TES system being located and operated together with a combined heat and power unit. This paper aims at removing such requirement whilst taking heat network into account. With prevalent constant-flow variable temperature control strategy of heat network, the optimal dispatch model of CEHS considering independent TES (ITES) system with networked electric and heat energy distribution systems is presented. The non-convex parts in the heat network, mainly caused by the MFR reversal when ITES changes its operation state, are exactly reformulated to mixed-integer linear (MIL) constraints, which leads to a mixed-integer second-order programming formulation of the problem. Case studies demonstrate that introducing ITES not only brings reduction in the total operation cost, but also ameliorates the system reliability and its capability in accommodating renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]