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This paper deals with regularity properties for variational integrals with the splitting structure of the form J(u,Ω)=∫Ω∑i=1n+1fi(x,Dui)+gi(x,(adjnDu)i)dx,$$\begin{equation*} \hspace*{59pt}{\cal J} (u,\Omega) = \int _{\Omega } \sum _{i=1}^{n+1} {\left\lbrace f^{i}(x,Du^{i})+ g^{i}(x,({\rm adj} _{n}Du)^{i}) \right\rbrace} dx, \end{equation*}$$where u=(u1,u2,…,un+1):Ω⊂Rn→Rn+1$u=(u^1,u^2, \ldots, u^{n+1}):\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^n \rightarrow \mathbb {R}^{n+1}$, adjnDu∈Rn+1${\rm adj}_n Du \in \mathbb {R}^{n+1}$ is the adjugate matrix of order n$n$, and fi:Ω×Rn→R$f^i:\Omega \times \mathbb {R}^{n} \rightarrow \mathbb {R}$, gi:Ω×R→R$g^i:\Omega \times \mathbb {R} \rightarrow \mathbb {R}$, i=1,2,…,n+1$i=1,2, \ldots, n+1$, are Carathéodory functions satisfying suitable structural conditions. Local integrability, local boundedness, and local Hölder continuity for local minimizers are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract with high morbidity and mortality. There is growing evidence that GRK2 plays a key role in the development and progression of several human cancers. However, the role and potential mechanisms of GRK2 in colon cancer (COAD) are unclear. Methods: The expression data of GRK2 was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Variation in GRK2 was explored based on the cBioPortal database. The TIMER and TISCH2 databases were used to analyse the relationship between GRK2 expression and tumor immune microenvironment (TME). A log-rank test was used to compare the prognosis of high and low expression of GRK2 groups. Detecting the effect of GRK2 on cell cycle and apoptosis induced by 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) through the flow cytometry and detection of apoptosis-related molecules by Western blot. Results: We demonstrated that GRK2 has a potential oncogenic role. GRK2 expression was upregulated in COAD, which predicted poorer overall survival in COAD patients. The cellular assays showed that GRK2 plays a role in the growth and proliferation of colon cancer cells, also the expression of GRK2 have relationship with the sensitivity of 5-FU and cell cycle progression. Conclusions: Our results suggest that high GRK2 expression is closely associated with the development of tumor and affects the 5-FU sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the correlation between the presence of isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutations and the incidence of postoperative epilepsy in patients with glioblastoma, as well as assessed the efficacy of preemptive administration of antiepileptic medications in mitigating the occurrence of postoperative epilepsy. Methods: Fifty-three patients who received a postoperative pathological diagnosis of glioblastoma, were enrolled in this study. Tumor specimens were subjected to IDH1 gene analysis. The patient cohort was stratified based on their IDH1 mutation status and the administration of prophylactic antiepileptic drugs during the postoperative phase. We subsequently conducted a comparative analysis of postoperative epileptic complications within each patient subgroup. Results: In the cohort of 53 patients under study, the occurrence of epilepsy was observed in 10 out of 21 patients carrying IDH1 mutations, while 5 out of 32 patients with wild-type IDH1 also experienced epilepsy, revealing a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Among the 27 patients who received prophylactic antiepileptic drugs, 6 of them developed epilepsy, whereas 9 out of 26 patients who did not receive prophylactic antiepileptic drugs exhibited concurrent epilepsy, with no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). However, when performing a subgroup analysis, it was found that 3 out of 12 patients with IDH1 mutations who received prophylactic antiepileptic drugs experienced epilepsy, whereas 7 out of 9 patients who did not receive prophylactic antiepileptic drugs developed epilepsy, demonstrating a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Furthermore, within the group of 15 patients with wild-type IDH1, 3 patients who received prophylactic antiepileptic drugs developed epilepsy, while 2 cases of epilepsy occurred among the 17 patients who did not receive prophylactic antiepileptic drugs, with no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusion: In individuals with IDH1 mutant glioblastoma who have undergone surgical resection, the implementation of preventive antiepileptic therapy demonstrates a potential to diminish the occurrence of postoperative epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cannabinoid compounds have been approved as prescription drugs for treating various human ailments. However, the production using both microbial and plant-based sources is timeconsuming and expensive because their yield is extremely low. Tetraketide synthase (TKS), the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of cannabinoid compounds, produces only 4% of the intermediate compound olivetolic acid. However, it may be possible to rearrange the carbon metabolic flux of TKS using genetic methods to increase the overall yields of cannabinoid compounds. In this context, protein engineering is an economically beneficial and viable solution to improve the catalytic activity of TKS. However, the ability to produce enzyme variants significantly exceeds the capacity to screen and identify high producers, creating a bottleneck in the enzyme engineering process. Results: This study constructed an Escherichia coli-based biosensor workflow for detecting the byproduct pentyl diacetic acid lactone (PDAL). Rational design was used to generate E. coli strains with mutant regulatory protein AraC and an altered effector PDAL to control the transcription of gfp and kanamycin. The developed biosensor could detect PDAL at the concentrations of the operational range from microbial cell culture and cell-free catalytic system. Conclusions: The E. coli-based biosensor developed in this study efficiently detected PDAL with high throughput and low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat waves and air pollution extremes exert compounding effects on human health and food security and may worsen under future climate change. On the basis of reconstructed daily O3 levels in China and meteorological reanalysis, we found that the interannual variability of the frequency of summertime co-occurrence of heat wave and O3 pollution in China is regulated mainly by a combination of springtime warming in the western Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean, and Ross Sea. These sea surface temperature anomalies impose influences on precipitation, radiation, etc., to modulate the co-occurrence, which were also confirmed with coupled chemistry-climate numerical experiments. We thus built a multivariable regression model to predict co-occurrence a season in advance, and correlation coefficient could reach 0.81 (P < 0.01) for the North China Plain. Our results provide useful information for the government to take actions in advance to mitigate damage from these synergistic costressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-angle polarimetric (MAP) measurements can enable detailed characterization of aerosol microphysical and optical properties and improve atmospheric correction in ocean color remote sensing. Advanced retrieval algorithms have been developed to obtain multiple geophysical parameters in the atmosphere-ocean system. Theoretical pixel-wise retrieval uncertainties based on error propagation have been used to quantify retrieval performance and determine the quality of data products. However, standard error propagation techniques in high-dimensional retrievals may not always represent true retrieval errors well due to issues such as local minima and nonlinearity of radiative transfer near the solution. In this work, we analyze these theoretical uncertainty estimates and validate them using a flexible Monte Carlo approach. The Fast Multi-Angular Polarimetric Ocean coLor (FastMAPOL) retrieval algorithm, based on several neural network forward models, is used to conduct the retrievals and uncertainty quantification on both synthetic HARP2 (Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter 2) and AirHARP (airborne version of HARP2) datasets. In addition, for practical application of the technique to uncertainty evaluation in operational data processing, we use the automatic differentiation method to calculate derivatives analytically based on the neural network models. Both the speed and accuracy associated with uncertainty quantification for MAP retrievals are addressed in this study. Pixel-wise retrieval uncertainties are further evaluated for the real AirHARP field campaign data. The uncertainty quantification methods and results can be used to evaluate the quality of data products, and guide MAP algorithm development for current and future satellite systems such as NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To prospectively assess the association of metabolic health status and its transition with incident diabetes risk across BMI categories. Design: Cohort study based on the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB). Methods: The CKB study enrolled 512 715 adults aged 30–79 years from ten diverse areas in China during 2004–2008. After exclusion, 432 763 participants were cross-classified by B MI categories and the metabolic status was followed up for incident diabetes disease. The changes in BMI and metabo lic health status were defined from baseline to the second resurvey. Results: Type 2 diabetes risk is higher for metabolically healthy obese (MHO) subjects than metabolically healthy normal weight (MHN) individuals (HR: 3.97, 95% CI: 3.64–3.66), and it is highest for those affected by metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) (HR: 6.47, 95% CI: 6.17–6.79). About 15.26% of participants with MHN converted to metabolically healthy overweight or obesity (MHOO), whereas 48.40% of MHOO remained unconverted throughout the follow-up. In obese or overweight people, the conversion from metabolically healthy to unhealthy might increase the chances of developing diabetes as compared to those with a stable metabolic healthy state (HR: 3.70, 95% CI: 2.99– 4.59), while those with persistent metabolic disorders are most likely to have diabetes (HR: 8.32, 95% CI: 7.08–9.78). Conclusions: Metabolic healthy is a transient state, and individuals converted from metabolically healthy status to unhealthy phenotypes across all BMI categories might raise the risk of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the results of basic and specific classification in male androgenetic alopecia are subjective, and trichoscopic data, such as hair density and diameter distribution, are potential quantitative indicators, the aim of this study was to develop a deep learning framework for automatic trichoscopic image analysis and a quantitative model for predicting basic and specific classification in male androgenetic alopecia. A total of 2,910 trichoscopic images were collected and a deep learning framework was created on convolutional neural networks. Based on the trichoscopic data provided by the framework, correlations with basic and specific classification were analysed and a quantitative model was developed for predicting basic and specific classification using multiple ordinal logistic regression. A deep learning framework that can accurately analyse hair density and diameter distribution on trichoscopic images and a quantitative model for predicting basic and specific classification in male androgenetic alopecia were established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-level quantum chemical calculations have been performed to investigate the influence of substituents on the metal--π interaction and its cooperative effect with halogen bond in C2X4···MCN···ClF (X = H, CN, CH3; M = Cu, Ag, Au). The strong electron-withdrawing group CN weakens the metal--π covalent interaction, while the weak electron-withdrawing group CH3 strengthens it. The metal--π covalent interaction is dominated by electrostatic energy although the AuCN complex has approximately equal electrostatic and polarization contributions. However, the metal--π covalent interaction is governed by polarization energy due to the CN substitution. A cooperative effect is found for the halogen bond and metal--π interactions in C2H4· · ·MCN· · ·ClF, while a diminutive effect occurs in the triads by the CN substituent. Orbital interaction analysis indicates that the strong electron-withdrawing group CN causes the C==C group vary from a stronger donor orbital to a stronger acceptor orbital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cold recycling of asphalt pavement has gradually become an important tool for maintenance and reconstruction of old roads because of its economic and environmental characteristics, but it's difficult to evaluate the practical application effect of cold recycling technology due to the lack of macro-level analysis of the performance of the cold recycled pavement. To comprehensively analyze the condition of road network-level cold recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and evaluate the value of cold recycling technology promotion, in this study the performance indexes of cold recycling technology for asphalt pavement were comprehensively analyzed, the performance and change law of cold RAP were macroscopically predicted, the evaluation index (CRPI) and road network-level fuzzy prediction evaluation system of cold recycled pavement were proposed, and the pavement surface condition index(PCI), riding quality index(RQI), rutting depth index(RDI), and pavement structural strength index (PSSI) were selected as macroscopic evaluation indexes of road network-level cold recycling pavements. Combined with the improved analytic hierarchy process, the weight of the selected index was assigned, and the evaluation levels were divided into three standards: superior, medium, and poor. Finally, based on the C# programming language, combined with grey prediction model and integral algorithm, a fuzzy prediction and evaluation system for the performance of road network-level cold RAP was developed, and the reliability of the prediction was verified based on the actual measurement data. Results show that in the network-level fuzzy prediction and evaluation system of cold RAP technology, the weights of PCI, RQI, QDI, and PSSI are assigned as 0.20, 0.07, 0.20, and 0.53. The predicted value of the performance prediction system for cold RAP has a good correlation with the actual test value, and the relative error is small. The system can obtain the evaluation curve of each index and calculate the comprehensive performance score, and realize the prediction of the overall development trend of cold RAP performance. It shows that the system can analyze and predict the performance of cold RAP at the macro-level. Conclusions of this study provide index system and system support for the macroscopic analysis of cold RAP performance, and also provide reference for related research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-level quantum chemical calculations have been performed to investigate the influence of substituents on the metal--π interaction and its cooperative effect with halogen bond in C2X4···MCN···ClF (X = H, CN, CH3; M = Cu, Ag, Au). The strong electron-withdrawing group CN weakens the metal--π covalent interaction, while the weak electron-withdrawing group CH3 strengthens it. The metal--π covalent interaction is dominated by electrostatic energy although the AuCN complex has approximately equal electrostatic and polarization contributions. However, the metal--π covalent interaction is governed by polarization energy due to the CN substitution. A cooperative effect is found for the halogen bond and metal--π interactions in C2X4···MCN···ClF, while a diminutive effect occurs in the triads by the CN substituent. Orbital interaction analysis indicates that the strong electron-withdrawing group CN causes the C=C group vary from a stronger donor orbital to a stronger acceptor orbital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and modeling/predicting air pollution are crucial to understanding the links between emissions and air pollution levels, to supporting air quality management, and to reducing human exposure. Yet, current monitoring networks and modeling capabilities are unfortunately inadequate to understand the physical and chemical processes above ground and to support attribution of sources. We highlight the need for the development of an international stereoscopic monitoring strategy that can depict three-dimensional (3D) distribution of atmospheric composition to reduce the uncertainties and to advance diagnostic understanding and prediction of air pollution. There are three reasons for the implementation of stereoscopic monitoring: 1) current observation networks provide only partial view of air pollution, and this can lead to misleading air quality management actions; 2) satellite retrievals of air pollutants are widely used in air pollution studies, but too often users do not acknowledge that they have large uncertainties, which can be reduced with measurements of vertical profiles; and 3) air quality modeling and forecasting require 3D observational constraints. We call on researchers and policymakers to establish stereoscopic monitoring networks and share monitoring data to better characterize the formation of air pollution, optimize air quality management, and protect human health. Future directions for advancing monitoring and modeling/predicting air pollution are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly worldwide, posing great threats to public health and economy. This study aims to examine how the transmission of COVID-19 is modulated by climate conditions, which is of great importance for better understanding of the seasonal feature of COVID-19. Constrained by the accurate observations we can make, the basic reproduction numbers (R0) for each country were inferred and linked to temperature and relative humidity (RH) with statistical analysis. Using R0 as the measure of COVID-19 transmission potential, we find stronger transmission of COVID-19 under mildly warm (0°C < T < 20°C) and humid (RH > 60%) climate conditions, while extremely low (T < -2°C) and high (T > 20°C) temperature or a dry climate (RH < 60%) weakens transmission. The established nonlinear relationships between COVID-19 transmission and climate conditions suggest that seasonal climate variability may affect the spread and severity of COVID-19 infection, and temperate coastal regions with mildly warm and humid climate would be susceptible to large-scale outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, scheduled for launch in the timeframe of 2023, will carry a hyperspectral scanning radiometer named the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) and two Multi-Angle Polarimeters (MAP): the UMBC Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP2) and the SRON Spectro-Polarimeter for Planetary EXploration one (SPEXone). The MAP measurements contain rich information on the microphysical properties of aerosols and hydrosols, and therefore can be used to retrieve accurate aerosol properties for complex atmosphere and ocean systems. Most polarimetric aerosol retrieval algorithms utilize vector radiative transfer models iteratively in an optimization approach, which leads to high computational costs that limit their usage in the operational processing of large data volumes acquired by the MAP imagers. In this work, we propose a deep neural network (NN) model to represent the radiative transfer simulation of coupled atmosphere and ocean systems, for applications to the HARP2 instrument and its predecessors. Through the evaluation of synthetic datasets for AirHARP (airborne version of HARP2), the NN model achieves a numerical accuracy smaller than the instrument uncertainties, with a running time of 0.01s in a single CPU core or 1 ms in GPU. Using the NN as a forward model, we built an efficient joint aerosol and ocean color retrieval algorithm called FastMAPOL, evolved from the well-validated Multi-Angular Polarimetric Ocean coLor (MAPOL) algorithm. Retrievals of aerosol properties and water leaving signals were conducted on both the synthetic data and the AirHARP field measurements from the Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) campaign in 2017. From the validation with the synthetic data and the collocated High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) aerosol products, we demonstrated that the aerosol microphysical properties and water leaving signals can be retrieved efficiently and within acceptable error. The FastMAPOL algorithm can be used to operationally process the large volume of polarimetric data acquired by PACE and other future Earth observing satellite missions with similar capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P), a vascular disrupting agent (VDA), can cause rapid tumour vessel occlusion. Subsequently, extensive necrosis is discovered in the tumour center, which induces widespread hypoxia and the rise of the α subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α). The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma growth by combining CA4P with HIF-1 α inhibitor and investigate the mechanism of this combination. Methods Ginsenoside Rd (Rd) was used in combination with CA4P to estimate the inhibition effect in HepG2 cells and HepG2 xenograft mouse model. The efficacy of anti-tumour was evaluated by tumour growth curve. The protein expression of HIF-1α and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway were analysed by western blot. Key findings Combination of CA4P and Rd inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. It also increased the necrotic area of the tumour and delayed the tumour growth. Moreover, Rd down-regulated HIF-1α protein expression by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Conclusions Combination of CA4P and Rd had synergistic anti-tumour effects. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of HIF-1α by PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. This strategy provides a new thought for the combinative therapy of VDAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In dairy herd management, it is significant and irreplaceable for veterinarians to make rapid and effective diagnosis of dairy cow diseases. Based on electronic medical records, deep learning (DL) has been widely used to support clinical decisions for humans. However, this method is rarely adopted in veterinary diagnosis. In addition, most DL models are driven by large datasets, failing to utilize the knowledge acquired by veterinarians in subjective experience, which is critical to disease diagnosis. To address these problems, this paper proposes a DL method for disease diagnosis of dairy cow: convolutional neural network (CNN) based on knowledge graph and transfer learning (KGTL_CNN). Firstly, the structural knowledge was extracted from a knowledge graph of dairy cow diseases, and treated as part of the inputs to the CNN based on knowledge graph (KG_CNN). Then, the model performance was enhanced through pre-training by transfer learning. To verify its performance, experiments were carried out on dairy cow clinical datasets. The results show that our model performed satisfactorily on disease diagnosis: the KG_CNN and KGTL_CNN achieved an F1- score of 85.87% and 86.77%, respectively, higher than that of typical CNN by 6.58% and 7.7%. The research results greatly promote the effective, fast, and automatic clinical diagnosis of dairy cow diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method to break down capital flows into portfolio growth and portfolio reallocation components and apply it to data on US equity and bond outflows. The decomposition is part of an integrated approach that decomposes purchases of any asset into portfolio growth and reallocation components. US equity and bond outflows depend not just on portfolio growth and the reallocation between US and foreign equity and bonds, but also on reallocation decisions higher up on the decision tree. This includes reallocation between portfolio and non-portfolio assets and between equity and bonds. We also consider the decomposition of US equity and bond outflows to individual foreign countries. The data shed light on the importance of the various components in accounting for capital flows over both the short and long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, scheduled for launch in the timeframe of late 2022 to early 2023, will carry the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), a hyperspectral scanning radiometer, and two multi-angle polarimeters (MAP), the UMBC Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP2) and the SRON Spectro-Polarimeter for Planetary EXploration one (SPEXone). One purpose of the PACE MAPs is to better characterize aerosols properties, which can then be used to improve atmospheric correction for the retrieval of ocean color in coastal waters. Though this is theoretically promising, the use of MAP data in the atmospheric correction of collocated hyperspectral ocean color measurements has not yet been well demonstrated. In this work, we performed aerosol retrievals using the MAP measurements from the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP), and demonstrate its application to the atmospheric correction of hyperspectral radiometric measurements from SPEX Airborne. Both measurements were collected on the same aircraft from the Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) field campaign in 2017. Two cases over ocean with small aerosol loading (aerosol optical depth ~0.04) are identified including collocated RSP and SPEX Airborne measurements and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in-situ observations. The aerosol retrievals are performed and compared with two options: one uses reflectance only and the other use both reflectance and polarization. It is demonstrated that polarization information helps reduce the uncertainties of aerosol microphysical and optical properties. The retrieved aerosol properties are then used to compute the contribution of atmosphere and ocean surface for atmospheric correction over the discrete bands from RSP measurements and the hyperspectral SPEX Airborne measurements. The water leaving signals determined this way are compared with both AERONET and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Ocean Color products with good agreement. The results and lessons-learned from this work will provide a basis to fully exploit the information from the unique combination of sensors on PACE for aerosol characterization and ocean ecosystem research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this manuscript, we pay our attention to a coupled AB system, which describes the baroclinic instability processes in the geophysical flows. Based on the Lax pair for the system, the multi-fold Darboux transformation in terms of simple determinants is constructed, and multi-dark soliton solutions are derived, simultaneously. With the dark solutions derived, the properties of dark solitons are illustrated in the figures for several sample solutions. Our results will be meaningful for the investigation of the future development of vector multi-dark solitons in many physical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean color remote sensing is a challenging task over coastal waters due to the complex optical properties of aerosols and hydrosols. In order to conduct accurate atmospheric correction, we previously implemented a joint retrieval algorithm to obtain the aerosol and water leaving signal simultaneously. The algorithm has been validated with synthetic data generated by a vector radiative transfer model and good retrieval performance has been demonstrated in terms of both aerosol and ocean water optical properties (Gao et al., 2018). In this work we applied the algorithm to airborne polarimetric measurements from the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) over both open and coastal ocean waters acquired in two field campaigns: the Ship-Aircraft Bio-Optical Research (SABOR) in 2014 and the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) in 2015 and 2016. Two different yet related bio-optical models are designed for ocean water properties. One model aligns with traditional open ocean water bio-optical models that parameterize the ocean optical properties in terms of the concentration of chlorophyll a. The other is a generalized bio-optical model for coastal waters that includes seven free parameters to describe the absorption and scattering by phytoplankton, colored dissolved organic matter and non-algal particles. The retrieval errors of both aerosol optical depth and the water leaving radiance are evaluated. Through the comparisons with ocean color data products from both in situ measurements and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the aerosol product from both the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), our algorithm demonstrates both flexibility and accuracy in retrieving aerosol and water leaving radiance properties under various aerosol and ocean water conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The (2+1)-dimensional generalized sine-Gordon equations can be used to describe the propagation of femtosecond laser pulse in a systems of two-level atoms. In this paper, bilinear forms of the equations have been constructed through variable transformation and Bell polynomial. Based on the bilinear method and truncated Painlevé expansion, multi-soliton and quasi-periodic peakon solutions for such a system are derived, respectively. Overtaking elastic interactions between the two solitons and among the three solitons have been found. It is presented that the soliton with the smaller amplitude can travel faster than the larger one. Apart from the soliton, other type of nonlinear wave propagating in the systems of two-level atoms has been displayed, namely the quasi-periodic peakon. The peakon oscillates in both space and time, while its left and right derivatives at peak point are relatively large, which means the electric-field intensity of the femtosecond laser pulse is rather strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new architecture for designing a tuneable wideband absorber using an active frequency selective surface (AFSS) is presented. The proposed AFSS is composed of 2-D periodic array of two opposite directional anchor-shaped metal strips printed on a dielectric substrate with no metallic screen on the back side, where positive--intrinsic--negative diodes as active components are embedded between each two anchor-shaped strips. Biasing at different voltages to turn ON and OFF the diodes, AFSS structure can react as a switchable surface between transmissive and reflective states. While, the absorber consists of the designed AFSS structure and a metallic back-plane, separated by a foam spacer. By dynamically changing the bias voltage of the diodes, the impedance of the proposed absorber can be adjusted and match with the free space at its resonant frequencies. Doing this, the presented absorber is able to offer a tuneable reflectivity level of less than -10 dB over a wide frequency band from 7 to 13.1 GHz. The detailed design of a switchable transmissive/reflective surface and a tuneable wideband absorber are reported. Both the simulated and measured results have verified the proposed performances. Furthermore, a good agreement between the measurement and simulation results has been obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under investigation in this paper is a coupled AB system, which describes the marginally unstable baroclinic wave packets in the geophysical fluids or ultra-short pulses in nonlinear optics. As the dark solitons are more resistant against various perturbations than the bright ones, we aim to investigate the dark solitons in the geophysical fluids or nonlinear optics. Dark one- and two-soliton solutions for such a system are derived based on the bilinear forms and propagations of the one solitons and collisions between the two solitons are graphically illustrated and analyzed. Further, influences of the coefficients and on the solitons are discussed, where is a parameter measuring the state of the basic flow and is the group velocity. The dark-one solitons with invariant shapes and amplitudes are viewed, and elastic collisions between the dark-two solitons are observed. Also, elastic collision between the bright and dark solitons is viewed, and the dark soliton is found to possess two peaks. is found to affect the widths of the dark-one solitons and the travelling directions of the dark-two solitons. It is shown that cannot influence shapes of and , but affect the plane of the one soliton for , and the two-peak dark soliton for changes to the single-peak one with the value of decreasing, where and are the packets of short waves and is the mean flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to determine the association between fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) image results, optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging results and visual functions in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERMs). A total of 80 eyes from 40 patients diagnosed with ERM were analyzed. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and metamorphopsia were measured using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study eye chart and M-charts, respectively. Macular thickness and volume were determined using OCT. Macular vascular leakage and distortion, and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) diameters were assessed using FFA. BCVA and M-chart results confirmed macular degeneration in the affected eyes. The area of macular vascular leakage was positively correlated with macular volume (r=0.50; P=0.001). The ratio of FAZ diameters was negatively correlated with central macular thickness (r=-0.41; P=0.008). The grade of macular vascular distortion was positively correlated with macular thickness (all r≥0.47; P<0.01) and volume (r=0.53; P<0.001). The results of the current study demonstrated that FFA may effectively identify the degree of changes in retinal macular vasculature. Vascular distortion, measured by FFA, may reflect changes in macular structure and visual functions. These results suggest a potential application of FFA in the pre- and post-surgical evaluation of patients with ERMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and hospitalization that lead to high morbidity and mortality among young infants. T helper 17 (Th17) cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) play essential roles in the pathogenesis of autoimmune, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. However, whether changes in T-cell subsets are related to the systemic immune responses in RSV-caused bronchiolitis merit further investigation. Three-week-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into the normal control (NC) and RSV bronchiolitis (RSV-B) groups. An RSV-B model was successfully established using nasal drip containing RSV. Furthermore, pathological changes in the lung tissues were observed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Flow cytometry determined the levels of Th17 and Treg subsets. The related cytokines were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression levels of related transcription factors, such as RORγt and FOXP3, were examined using real-time quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. The RSV-B group exhibited pulmonary interstitial hyperemia and edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, wide alveolar septa, and bronchial collapse and deformation. The percentage of Th17 cells in RSV-B group was about 2.3 fold higher than that of NC group, and the concentration of IL-17, IL-23 and RORγt was higher than in NC group. In contrast, the percentage of Treg cells in the RSV-B group was approximately 0.7 fold lower than that in the NC group, and the levels of IL-10, TGF-β, and FOXP3 in the RSV-B group were lower than those in the NC group. The above results were statistically significant. The changes of Th17/Treg, and their associated cytokines, specific transcription factors, are present in RSV bronchiolitis model rats, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RSV bronchiolitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) Three-Dimensional Variational (3DVAR) data assimilation system is extended to treat the MOSAIC aerosol model in WRF-Chem, and to be capable of assimilating surface PM2.5 concentrations. The coupled GSI-WRF-Chem system is applied to reproduce aerosol levels over China during an extremely polluted winter month, January 2013. After assimilating surface PM2.5 concentrations, the correlation coefficients between observations and model results averaged over the assimilated sites are improved from 0.67 to 0.94. At nonassimilated sites, improvements (higher correlation coefficients and lower mean bias errors (MBE) and root-mean-square errors (RMSE)) are also found in PM2.5, PM10, and AOD predictions. Using the constrained aerosol fields, we estimate that the PM2.5 concentrations in January 2013 might have caused 7550 premature deaths in Jing-Jin-Ji areas, which are 2% higher than the estimates using unconstrained aerosol fields. We also estimate that the daytime monthly mean anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) to be -29.9W/m² at the surface, 27.0W/m² inside the atmosphere, and -2.9W/m² at the top of the atmosphere. Our estimates update the previously reported overestimations along Yangtze River region and underestimations in North China. This GSI-WRF-Chem system would also be potentially useful for air quality forecasting in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.Objective: To investigate the differences between tuberculous spondylitis (TS) and brucellar spondylitis (BS) on magnetic resonance images (MRI).Summary Of Background Data: Both TS and BS are common spinal affections and can cause deformities and permanent neurologic deficiencies without prompt diagnosis and treatment. However, differentiating the types of spondylitis clinically and radiographically is challenging. Despite the diagnosis studies on spine infection throughout the literature, the outcome has not been established. Our study about the different characteristics between TS and BS on MRI may be helpful.Methods: Eighteen patients with TS and 26 with BS were included in this study. MRI images were obtained and analyzed. For statistical analysis, the χ test was performed. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05.Results: There were statistically significant differences between TS and BS on the MRI images: (i) subligamentous spread to three or more vertebral levels [TS 54% (7/13) vs. BS 8% (1/12)]; (ii) subligamentous spread to fewer than three vertebral levels [23% (3/13) vs. 58% (7/12)]; (iii) thoracic spine involvement [50% (9/18) vs. 4% (1/26)]; and lumbar spine involvement [22% (4/18) vs. 77% (20/26)]; (iv) abnormal signal from the vertebral disc on T2-weighted images [33% (7/21) vs. 85% (30/35)]; (v) focal or fan-shaped hyperintense signals on middle sagittal fat-suppressed weighted images [14% (7/50) vs. 50% (31/62)] and especially fan-shaped hyperintense signal [0% (0/50) vs. 23% (14/62)]; (vi) spinal kyphosis [22% (11/50) vs. 3% (2/62)]; (vii) vertebral collapse [42% (21/50) vs. 2% (1/62)]; (viii) peridiscal bone destruction [22% (11/50) vs. 44% (27/62)]; and (ix) psoas abscesses [6% (3/50) vs. 0% (0/62)].Conclusion: MRI is a sensitive imaging technique and can clearly define the different features between TS and BS, so it should be the first choice for imaging in the diagnosis of spondylodiscitis.Level Of Evidence: 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii which can infect all warm-blooded animals. As the most common feline definitive host, cats play a vital role in the transmission of T. gondii. However, national estimates of the seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats in mainland China are lacking, and therefore a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to provide insight into national environmental transmission levels and potential transmission to humans. Methods: Studies published up until July 1, 2016, on T. gondii seroprevalence in cats within mainland China were searched for in CNKI, WanFang, CBM, PubMed, Embase and through the reference lists of resulting articles. The seroprevalence with its 95% confidence interval (CI) for each individual study was presented, and then point estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pooled seroprevalence were calculated. Subgroup analyses were performed according to potential risk factors. Results: A total of 38 eligible studies, published between 1995 to 2016, covering fifteen provinces and municipalities, and involving 7,285 cats, were included. The seroprevalence in cats per study ranged from 3.9 to 79.4% with a median of 20.3%. As substantial heterogeneity existed among studies, a random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled seroprevalence. The value of the point estimate seroprevalence was 24.5% (95% CI: 20.1–29.0). Seroprevalence in stray cats was significantly higher than in pet cats (OR = 3.00, 95% CI: 1.60–5.64). The seroprevalence increased significantly with cat age (P = 0.018) with 17.4% (95% CI: 7.6–27.2) in the group of ≤ 1 year old, 19.5% (95% CI: 12.7–26.3) in the group of ≤ 3 year-old and 31.6% (95% CI: 22.9–40.3) in the group of > 3 year-old. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats in mainland China was moderate and was associated with cat ownership and age. Due to the increasing prevalence of pet cats in China and the intimate relationship between these cats and humans, this might present a significant exposure risk, particularly for China’s large susceptible population. Therefore, further research is needed into the links between cat ownership and human T. gondii infection and how to reduce T. gondii exposure in humans via cat contacts and the environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts by cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-angle polarimeters (MAP) are powerful instruments to perform remote sensing of the environment. Joint retrieval algorithms of aerosols and ocean color have been developed to extract the rich information content of MAPs. These are optimization algorithms that fit the sensor measurements with forward models, which include radiative transfer simulations of the coupled atmosphere and ocean systems (CAOS) based on adjustable atmosphere and ocean properties. The forward model consists of sub-models to represent the optics of the atmosphere, ocean water surface, and ocean body. The representativeness of these models for observed scenes is important for retrieval success. In this study, we have evaluated the impact on MAP retrieval accuracy of three different ocean bio-optical models with 1, 3, and 7 optimization parameters that represent the spectral variation of inherent optical properties (IOP(λ)s) of the water body. The Multi-Angular Polarimetric Ocean coLor (MAPOL) joint retrieval algorithm was used to process data from the airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) instrument acquired in different field campaigns. We performed ensemble retrievals along three RSP legs to evaluate the applicability of bio-optical models along geographically varying waters. The average differences between the MAPOL aerosol optical depth (AOD) and spectral remote sensing reflectance (Rrs(λ)) retrievals and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products are also reported. We studied the distribution of retrieval cost function values obtained for the ensemble retrievals using the 3 bio-optical models under clear to highly turbid waters. For the 1-parameter model, retrieval cost function values show narrow distributions over any type of water, regardless of the cost function values, whereas for the 3 and 7- parameter models, the retrieval cost function distribution is water type dependent, showing the widest distribution over clear, open waters. We observed that the 3 and 7-parameter models have similar MAP retrieval performances relative to the 1- parameter model.We also demonstrated that the 3 and 7-parameter bio-optical models can be used to accurately represent both clear, open, and turbid, coastal waters, whereas the 1-parameter model is most successful over extremely clear waters. Given the computational efficiency requirements, we recommend the 3-parameter bio-optical model as the coastal water bio-optical model for future MAPOL studies. This study guides MAP algorithm development for current and future satellite missions such as NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission and ESA's Meteorological Operational-Second Generation (MetOp-SG) mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fulminates containing the CNO- ion have been widely utilized as high-energy density materials (HEDMs) for more than 120 years. Yet no purely covalently bound CNO molecule, i.e., nitrile oxide, is known to behave as an HEDM. In this study, we performed a thorough investigation of the potential energy surface of nitrile oxide ONCNO and related isomers, applying various sophisticated methods including G4, CBS-QB3, W1BD, CCSD(T)/CBS, and CASPT2/CBS. The Gibbs free energy calculations showed that the decomposition of ONCNO to the considerably endothermic products CNO + NO is favored compared to that into the highly exothermic products CO2 + N2. Thus, ONCNO fails to be the long expected nitrile oxide HEDM. However, with the rate-determining barrier of 23.3 kcal mol-1 at the W1BD level, ONCNO should be experimentally accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trajectories, representing the movements of objects in the real world, carry significant stop/move semantics. The detection of trajectory stops poses a critical problem in the study of moving objects and becomes even more challenging due to the inevitable noise recorded along with true data. To extract stops with a variety of shapes and sizes from single trajectories with noise, this paper presents a sequence oriented clustering approach, in which noise points within the sequence of a stop can be identified and classified as a part of the stop. In our method, two key concepts are first introduced: (1) a core sequence that defines sequence density based not only on proximity in space but also continuity in time as well as the duration over time; and (2) an Eps-reachability sequence that aggregates core sequences that overlap or meet over time. Then, three criteria are presented to merge Eps-reachability sequences interrupted by noise. Further, an algorithm, called SOC (Sequence Oriented Clustering), is developed to automatically extract stops from a single trajectory. In addition, a reachability graph is designed that visually illustrates the spatio-temporal clustering structure and levels of a trajectory. Finally, the proposed algorithm is evaluated against two baseline methods through extensive experiments based on real world trajectories, some with serious noise, and the results show that our approach is fairly effective in recognizing trajectory stops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosomiasis japonica remains a major public health problem in China. Integrating molecular analyses, such as population genetic analyses, of the parasite into the on-going surveillance programs is helpful in exploring the factors causing the persistence and/or spread of Schistosoma japonicum. However, genotyping errors can seriously affect the results of such studies, unless accounted for in the analyses. Methods: We assessed the genotyping errors (missing alleles or false alleles) of seven S. japonicum microsatellites, using a pedigree data approach for schistosome miracidia, which were stored on Whatman FTA cards. Results: Among 107 schistosome miracidia successfully genotyped, resulting in a total of 715 loci calls, a total of 31 genotyping errors were observed with 25.2 % of the miracidia having at least one error. The error rate per locus differed among loci, which ranged from 0 to 9.8 %, with the mean error rate 4.3 % over loci. With the parentage analysis software Cervus, the assignment power with these seven markers was estimated to be 89.5 % for one parent and 99.9 % for a parent pair. One locus was inferred to have a high number of null alleles and a second with a high mistyping rate. Conclusion: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that S. japonicum pedigrees have been used in an assessment of genotyping errors of microsatellite markers. The observed locus-specific error rate will benefit downstream epidemiological or ecological analyses of S. japonicum with the markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korteweg–de Vries (KdV)-type equations are used as approximate models governing weakly nonlinear long waves in fluids, where the first-order nonlinear and dispersive terms are retained and in balance. The retained second-order terms can result in the extended fifth-order KdV equation. Through the Darboux transformation (DT), multi-soliton solutions for the extended fifth-order KdV equation with coefficient constraints are constructed. Soliton propagation properties and interactions are studied: except for the velocity, the amplitude and width of the soliton are not influenced by the coefficient of the original equation; the amplitude, velocity, and wave shape of each soltion remain unchanged after the interaction. By virtue of the generalised DT and Taylor expansion of the solutions for the corresponding Lax pair, the first- and second-order rational solutions of the equation are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal reactions of CdSO4, 4-cyanopyridine, and sodium azide yield three metal coordination compounds via controlling the pH, [Cd2(4-ptz)(SO4)(OH)(H2O)2](H2O) (1) [Cd2(4-ptz)(SO4)(OH)(H2O)]n(2), and known [Cd2(4-ptz)2(H2O)4](H2O)2(3) (4-ptz = 5-(4-pyridyl)tetrazole). Thein situ[2 + 3] cycloaddition reaction of nitrile and azide in the presence of Cd(II) produces the multidentate 4-ptz in these compounds. X-ray diffraction results indicate that metal centers in1are linked by 4-ptz–,, and OH−in their respectiveμ5-,μ2-,μ3-bridging modes, forming a 3-D coordination polymer. For2, although the same raw materials are used, the component anions are linked to Cd(II) centers in completely different ways, i.e. for 4-ptz−inμ3−,inμ5-, and OH−inμ3-bridging modes, forming another 3-D coordination network. Thermal stabilities and photoluminescent properties of1and2have also been investigated. Three cadmium(II) coordination compounds were synthesized via controlling the pH in thein situ[2 + 3] cycloaddition reaction of CdSO4, 4-cyanopyridine, and sodium azide under hydrothermal treatment. Mononuclear3was obtained at weak acid solution pH 6.0~7.0, but 3-D coordination polymers1and2were preferred in weak alkaline conditions from pH 7.0 to 9.0. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The inverse sandwich Ca-C8H8-Ca is predicted to be an open-shell singlet state. Since the C8H8 ligand prevents the spin-up and spin-down electrons of different calcium atoms from forming Ca-Ca bonds, the spin-coupling electrons lead to a singlet diradical character. The metal-ligand interaction contributes to the stability of Ca-C8H8-Ca against dissociation and isomerization. For the coordination complex (DME)3Ca-C8H8-Ca(DME)3, the open-shell singlet state is unavailable, while the closed-shell singlet state with direct Ca-Ca bonds is more favorable, because dimethyl ether molecules could push the spinpaired electrons of different calcium atoms to migrate towards the direction of Ca-Ca bonding. For Ca-C4H4-Ca, the ground state is an open-shell singlet state, of which the diradical character is very similar to that of Ca-C8H8-Ca. For (DME)3Ca-C4H4-Ca(DME)3, the lowest energy is the triplet state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the design and synthesis of a specific mitochondrial fluorescent probe AIE-MitoGreen-1 with AIE characteristics to monitor the mitochondrial morphology changes and identify the differentiation process of living brown adipose cells. The probe AIE-MitoGreen-1 has significant advantages such as high cell-permeability, good mitochondrial retention, low background fluorescence, large Stokes shift, and low toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compound, [Ag2(C6H4N4)(N3)] n, was obtained under hydrothermal conditions at 433 K. The asymmetric unit of the orthorhombic space group ( Pna21) consists of two Ag+ cations, an anionic 5-(pyridin-4-yl)tetrazolide (4-ptz−) ligand and an anionic azide ligand. Both Ag+ centres are coordinated by four N atoms, forming a distorted tetrahedral coordination environment. When all the component ions are viewed as 4-connected nodes, the whole three-dimensional network can be regarded topologically as a new kind of 4,4,4,4-connected net with the Schläfli symbol (4.85)(42.84)(43.83)2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal and analyze the dynamics of degenerate solitons, breathers and mixed breather-rogue waves, we consider an AB system in this manuscript, which models the marginally unstable baroclinic wave packets in geophysical fluids or ultra-short pulses in nonlinear optics. Based on the generalized Darboux transformation, we construct the degenerate soliton, breather and mixed solutions, then some figures are exhibited to illustrate the collision features clearly and some interesting phenomena are shown: (a) Elastic collisions between two solitons with equal amplitude are observed; (b) Collisions between two breathers are plotted, and maximum values of the two breathers keep invariant; (c) Mixture of breather and rogue waves is illustrated. The above wave phenomena are expected to be experimentally observed and have potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A ( )-dimensional modified Heisenberg ferromagnetic system, which arises in the motion of magnetization vector of the isotropic ferromagnet and biological pattern formation, is investigated. Via the Hirota bilinear method, multi-soliton solutions of such a system are derived. It is proved that the system possesses the N-soliton solutions expressed in terms of the double Wronskian determinant. Head-on and overtaking elastic interactions are exhibited. Elastic interaction behavior between the two solitons has been interpreted through the asymptotic analysis, namely, amplitude and velocity of each soliton remain unchanged except for the phase shift after the interaction. Inelastic interactions including the soliton fusion and fission between two solitons are shown. During the soliton propagation, for the product of two fields, the soliton with the smaller amplitude can travel faster than with the larger, while for the third field, the soliton with the larger amplitude can travel faster than with the smaller. On the other hand, the soliton for the third field may exhibit the solitoff-like property. With respect to the three solitons, head-on elastic interaction can be found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Under investigation in this paper is a (2+1)-dimensional nonlinear evolution equation generated by the Jaulent–Miodek hierarchy. Via the Hirota bilinear method, multi-soliton solutions of such equation are obtained. Soliton propagation and interactions are analyzed, and both the elastic and inelastic interactions are seen with some parameters selected. Furthermore, it is proved that the equation possesses the N-soliton solutions expressed in terms of Gramm-type Pfaffian, and can be written in the form of a Pfaffian identity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we have developed a simple sensitivity score, based on the relative population of solvent molecules near each residue, to analyze the detailed motions of both urea and water around the hen egg-white lysozyme protein (W62G mutant) during its early stage of urea-induced unfolding for a better understanding of the atomic picture of the chemical denaturation process. Our simulation and analysis show that some hydrophobic core residues can keep dry from water for tens of nanoseconds in 8 M urea, while their contacts with urea increase significantly at the same time, forming a molten dry-globule-like state. Also, different from previously proposed actions that urea molecules preferentially absorb onto charged residues, our analysis shows that the noncharged residues, rather than the charged ones, attract more urea molecules in their surroundings (acting as attractants for urea), which is consistent with our earlier findings that urea molecules preferentially bind to protein through their stronger dispersion interactions than water. Once the initial adsorption surrounding the protein surface is accomplished, the further intrusion is found to be facilitated by a group of key residues, including Leu8, Met12, Val29, and Ala95, which play a critical role in the formation of the dry-globule structure. These hydrophobic dry residues form a local contact map which excludes the intrusion of water but accommodates the presence of urea due to their stronger binding to protein during this swelling process, thus maintaining an interesting transient dry-globule state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary game dynamics of two strategies in finite population is studied by continuous probabilistic approach. Besides frequency dependent selection, mutation was also included in this study. The equilibrium probability density functions of abundance, expected time to extinction or fixation were derived and their numerical solutions are calculated as illustrations. Meanwhile, individual-based computer simulations are also done. A comparison reveals the consistency between theoretical analysis and simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, and photophysics of a fluorescent molecular clip (1). Binding studies of 1toward phenols 2a−jwere carried out using fluorescence, 1H NMR, and IR spectroscopy, which revealed a high affinity and selectivity for 4-nitrophenol (2a) due to formation of the 1·2acomplex driven by H-bonding and π−π stacking interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The summertime air pollution events endangering public health in the Guangdong--Hong Kong--Macao Greater Bay Area are connected with typhoons. The wind of the typhoon periphery results in poor diffusion conditions and favorable conditions for transboundary air pollution. Random Forest models are established to predict typhoon-associated air quality in the area. The correlation coefficients and the root-mean-square errors of the air quality index (AQI) and PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 and O3 concentrations are 0.84 (14.88), 0.86 (10.31 µg/m³), 0.84 (17.03 µg/m³), 0.51 (8.13 µg/m³), 0.80 (13.64 µg/m³) and 0.89 (22.43 µg/m³), respectively. Additionally, the prediction models for non-typhoon days are established. According to the feature importance output of the models, the differences in the meteorological drivers of typhoon days and non-typhoon days are revealed. On typhoon days, the air quality is dominated by local source emission and accumulation as the sink of pollutants reduces significantly under stagnant weather, while by the transportation and scavenging effect of sea breeze on non-typhoon days. Therefore, our findings suggest that different air pollution control strategies for typhoon days and nontyphoon days should be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust loading in West and South Asia has been a major environmental issue due to its negative effects on air quality, food security, energy supply and public health, as well as on regional and global weather and climate. Yet a robust understanding of its recent changes and future projection remains unclear. On the basis of several high-quality remote sensing products, we detect a consistently decreasing trend of dust loading in West and South Asia over the last two decades. In contrast to previous studies emphasizing the role of local land use changes, here, we attribute the regional dust decline to the continuous intensification of Arctic amplification driven by anthropogenic global warming. Arctic amplification results in anomalous mid-latitude atmospheric circulation, particularly a deepened trough stretching from West Siberia to Northeast India, which inhibits both dust emissions and their downstream transports. Large ensemble climate model simulations further support the dominant role of greenhouse gases induced Arctic amplification in modulating dust loading over West and South Asia. Future projections under different emission scenarios imply potential adverse effects of carbon neutrality in leading to higher regional dust loading and thus highlight the importance of stronger anti-desertification counter-actions such as reforestation and irrigation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the title three-dimensional tetrazolate-based coordination polymer, poly[bis(μ3-cyanido-κ3 N: C: C)[μ5-5-(pyridin-4-yl)tetrazolato-κ5 N: N′: N′′: N′′′: N′′′′]tricopper(I)], [Cu3(C6H4N5)(CN)2] n, there are two types of coordinated CuI atoms. One type exhibits a tetrahedral environment and the other, residing on a twofold axis, adopts a trigonal coordination environment. The closest Cu...Cu distance is only 2.531 (2) Å, involving a bridging cyanide C atom. All four tetrazolate and the pyridine N atom of the 4-(pyridin-4-yl)-1 H-tetrazolate anion are coordinated to these CuI atoms and exhibit a μ5-bridging mode. The three-dimensional coordination network can be topologically simplified as a rarely observed (3,3,4,5)-connected network with the Schläfli symbol (4.6.84)2.(42.6.87).(6.82)3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the synthesis of glycoluril building blocks and their supramolecular organization to form two-dimensional rhombic grids. It notes that such grids lead to the development of materials for controlled sorption and desorption processes when directed into porous solids. Furthermore, the application of aromatic walls with large surfaces and interaction energies causes the dimerization of building blocks.

A coherently coupled nonlinear Schrödinger system with the positive coherent coupling is studied in this paper, and high-order semi-rational solutions are derived by the generalized Darboux transformation. Dynamic of the second-order semi-rational solutions is found to be of three types: collisions between the one-hump soliton and breather (double-hump rogue waves), collisions between the double-hump soliton and breather (double-hump rogue waves), and bound states of the one-hump solitons or double-hump solitons. Furthermore, for the third-order semi-rational solutions, three double-hump solitons and three one-hump solitons are found to be attracted and repulsed with each other periodically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]