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Objectives: The purpose of this research was to assess the effect of telehealth management via WeChat on improving the quality of life of patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: In this study, we retrospectively collected the clinical data of 118 patients who underwent PCI and received remote health management from our hospital via WeChat from June 2021 to September 2021 (WeChat group). The clinical data of 114 patients who underwent PCI but did not receive remote health management from our hospital from September 2020 to December 2020 were also collected (conventional group). Anxiety, depression, and quality of life scale scores were compared between the 2 groups at 6 months postdischarge. Results: Six months postdischarge, patients in the WeChat group had significantly lower Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) (55.7 ± 7.2 vs 58.8 ± 6.4, P = .001) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) (56.0 ± 5.9 vs 58.2 ± 6.2, P = .007) scores than did those in the conventional group. Compared to those in the conventional group, the patients in the WeChat group had significantly greater 6 months post-discharge The World Health Organization Quality of Life - BREF scores in the following domains: physical (14.3 ± 1.7 vs 13.1 ± 1.7, P < .001 psychological (15.2 ± 1.3 vs 13.5 ± 1.5, P < .001 social relationship (12.9 ± 1.7 vs 12.3 ± 1.8, P = .01) and environmental (12.7 ± 2.0 vs 12.0 ± 1.9, P = .006). Conclusion: The use of WeChat to carry out remote health management for patients who underwent PCI can be an effective way to provide high-quality hospital medical services to patients’ families and can effectively alleviate patients’ anxiety and depression and enhance their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method has been developed to increase computational efficiency in Monte Carlo simulations of electron transport and interactions in matter. The method serves as the computational engine for the open-source code AMCSET (Aggie Monte Carlo Simulations of Electron and Ion Transport). The key is to combine n consecutive neighboring free flying distances into groups. Within each group, both flying distance and Mott scattering angles are obtained using Monte Carlo sampling under an equal energy approximation. This reduces the number of integrations of the tabulated differential Mott scattering cross-section in scattering angle selection, i.e., from 1000 to 1 if n = 1000. The method increases efficiency by more than 100 times. At the same time, the calculation still guarantees accuracy in calculating electron trajectory, excitation/ionization energy deposition, elastic scattering energy deposition, and displacement creation. For demonstration, 10 MeV electron bombardments of pure Fe with n up to 1000 are used as examples. The method, due to the availability of tabulated scattering cross-sections, is applicable for targets of the entire elemental table up to Z = 118, and for electron energies up to 900 MeV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: While limited studies have evaluated the health impacts of thunderstorms and power outages (POs) separately, few have assessed their joint effects. We aimed to investigate the individual and joint effects of both thunderstorms and POs on respiratory diseases, to identify disparities by demographics, and to examine the modifications and mediations by meteorological factors and air pollution. METHODS: Distributed lag nonlinear models were used to examine exposures during three periods (i.e., days with both thunderstorms and POs, thunderstorms only, and POs only) in relation to emergency department visits for respiratory diseases (2005-2018) compared to controls (no thunderstorm/no PO) in New York State (NYS) while controlling for confounders. Interactions between thunderstorms and weather factors or air pollutants on health were assessed. The disparities by demographics and seasons and the mediative effects by particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) and relative humidity (RH) were also evaluated. RESULTS: Thunderstorms and POs were independently associated with total and six subtypes of respiratory diseases in NYS [highest risk ratio (RR) = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08, 1.17], but the impact was stronger when they co-occurred (highest RR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.70), especially during grass weed, ragweed, and tree pollen seasons. The stronger thunderstorm/PO joint effects were observed on chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, bronchitis, and asthma (lasted 0–10 d) and were higher among residents who lived in rural areas, were uninsured, were of Hispanic ethnicity, were 6–17 or over 65 years old, and during spring and summer. The number of comorbidities was significantly higher by 0.299–0.782/case. Extreme cold/heat, high RH, PM2.5, and ozone concentrations significantly modified the thunderstorm–health effect on both multiplicative and additive scales. Over 35% of the thunderstorm effects were mediated by PM2.5 and RH. CONCLUSION: Thunderstorms accompanied by POs showed the strongest respiratory effects. There were large disparities in thunderstorm-health associations by demographics. Meteorological factors and air pollution levels modified and mediated the thunderstorm-health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Rh blood group system is characterized by its complexity and polymorphism, encompassing 56 different antigens. Accurately predicting the presence of the C antigen using genotyping methods has been challenging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of various genotyping methods for predicting the Rh C and to identify a suitable method for the Chinese Han population. Methods: In total, 317 donors, consisting 223 D+ (including 20 with the Del phenotype) and 94 D− were randomly selected. For RHC genotyping, 48C and 109bp insertion were detected on the Real-time PCR platform and −292 substitution was analyzed via restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Moreover, the promoter region of the RHCE gene was sequenced to search for other nucleotide substitutions between RHC and RHc. Agreement between prediction methods was evaluated using the Kappa statistic, and comparisons between methods were conducted via the χ2 test. Results: The analysis revealed that the 48C allele, 109bp insertion, a specific pattern observed in RFLP results, and wild-type alleles of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were in strong agreement with the Rh C, with Kappa coefficients exceeding 0.8. However, there were instances of false positives or false negatives (0.6% false negative rate for 109bp insertion and 5.4-8.2% false positive rates for other methods). The 109bp insertion method exhibited the highest accuracy in predicting the Rh C, at 99.4%, compared to other methods (P values≤0.001). Although no statistical differences were found among other methods for predicting Rh C (P values>0.05), the accuracies in descending order were 48C (94.6%) > rs586178 (92.7%) > rs4649082, rs2375313, rs2281179, rs2072933, rs2072932, and RFLP (92.4%) > rs2072931 (91.8%). Conclusions: None of the methods examined can independently and accurately predict the Rh C. However, the 109bp insertion test demonstrated the highest accuracy for predicting the Rh C in the Chinese Han population. Utilizing the 109bp insertion test in combination with other methods may enhance the accuracy of Rh C prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus velezensis FZB42 is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) and a model microorganism for biofilm studies. Biofilms are required for the colonization and promotion of plant growth in the rhizosphere. However, little is known about how the final stage of the biofilm life cycle is regulated, when cells regain their motility and escape the mature biofilm to spread and colonize new niches. In this study, the non-annotated gene ccdC was found to be involved in the process of biofilm dispersion. We found that the ccdC-deficient strain maintained a wrinkled state at the late stage of biofilm formation in the liquid—gas interface culture, and the bottom solution showed a clear state, indicating that no bacterial cells actively escaped, which was further evidenced by the formation of a cellular ring (biofilm pellicle) located on top of the preformed biofilm. It can be concluded that dispersal, a biofilm property that relies on motility proficiency, is also positively affected by the unannotated gene ccdC. Furthermore, we found that the level of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) in the ccdC-deficient strain was significantly greater than that in the wild-type strain, suggesting that B. velezensis exhibits a similar mechanism by regulating the level of c-di-GMP, the master regulator of biofilm formation, dispersal, and cell motility, which controls the fitness of biofilms in Pseudomonas aeruginosain. In this study, we investigated the mechanism regulating biofilm dispersion in PGPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: B(A) phenotype is usually formed by nucleotide mutations in the ABO*B.01 allele, with their products exhibiting glycosyltransferases (GTs) A and B overlapping functionality. We herein report a B(A) allele found in a Chinese family. Materials and Methods: The entire ABO genes of the probands, including flanking regulatory regions, were sequenced through PacBio third‐generation long‐read single‐molecule real‐time sequencing. 3D molecular models of the wild‐type and mutant GTB were generated using the DynaMut web server. The effect of the mutation on the enzyme function was predicted by PROVEAN and PolyPhen2. The predictions of stability changes were performed using DynaMut and SNPeffect. Results: Based on serological and sequencing features, we concluded the two probands as possible cases of the B(A) phenotype. Crystallization analysis showed that Thr266 substitution does not disrupt the hydrogen bonds. However, some changes in interatomic contacts, such as loss of ionic interactions and hydrophobic contacts, and addition of weak hydrogen bonds, may have affected protein stability to some extent. This mutation was predicted to have a benign effect on enzyme function and slightly reduce protein stability. Conclusion: The probands had the same novel B(A) allele with a c.797T>C (p.Met266Thr) mutation on the ABO*B.01 backbone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study investigates the tensile performance of 3D-printed helical springs through experiments, numerical simulations, and analytical methods, optimized with an optimization algorithm. Rapid fabrication of specimens using additive manufacturing technology is followed by tensile experiments to obtain load–displacement curves and stiffness. Analytical and numerical models predict the tensile performance, with Liu’s model exhibiting the highest accuracy. Research indicates that it is highly necessary to consider geometric nonlinear effects when predicting the tensile performance of helical springs. A multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is applied to maximize tension stiffness and minimize weight, considering four key geometrical parameters as design variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impurities such as carbon atoms play a significant role in the void swelling of irradiated metals. The phenomenon is important to both materials designs in which impurities are intentionally introduced and accelerator-based ion irradiation testing in which impurities are introduced unintentionally as contaminants. Here, we report rate theory simulations of void nucleation in pure Fe, which are irradiated by 5-MeV Fe ions, as one typical irradiation condition used in nuclear material testing. Based on kinetics obtained previously from ab initio calculations, Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE)–based numerical solvers were used to simulate defect distributions and void nucleation. Vacancy-carbon interactions increase the effective migration energies of carbon and decrease the diffusivity prefactors. The vacancy mobility reduction decreases both interstitial flux and vacancy flux. However, the vacancy flux reduction is more significant than that of interstitials, leading to reduced void nucleation in bulk. On the other hand, reduced vacancy flux toward the surface leads to local vacancy pileups, leading to locally enhanced void nucleation. These two combined effects make the void nucleation profile deviate from the displacements per atom (dpa) peak, and void swelling peaks shift to the near-surface region. The transition from deep swelling to near-surface swelling is plotted as a function of dpa rate, carbon concentration, and temperature. The study shows that the swelling peak shifting caused by the carbon effect can be avoided by either reducing dpa rates or increasing irradiation temperatures. The study is important to understand swelling behaviors and to optimize irradiation parameters for accelerator-based swelling testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macro-microporous silicate-1 zeolites(MFI crystalline form) were synthesized via the "dissolution-recrystallization process", utilizing monodisperse silica spheres (500 nm) as the silica source and macroporous templates, as well as tetrapropylammonium hydroxide as the microporous template, to enable in-situ formation of the macropores. The samples displayed macropore diameters ranging between 150 ~ 350 nm, a specific surface area of 350 m²/g, and a total pore volume of 0.24 cm³/g. The influence of synthetic conditions, such as crystal time, the addition of ethanol, the drying method, the amount of structure directing agent and the size of silica spheres, on the introduction of macropores was revealed. On this basis, macroporous ZSM-5 zeolites were further successfully synthesized with aluminum atoms incorporated into the pure silica zeolite framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present clinical experiences regarding surgical treatment of patients with severe cicatricial tracheal stenosis. Patients and methods: From January 2008 to March 2020, 14 patients underwent tracheal resection and reconstruction under general anesthesia. Nine cases had cervical tracheal stenosis and five cases had thoracic tracheal stenosis. The mean diameter and length of strictured trachea was 0 − 8 mm with a mean of 4.5 ± 2.4 mm and 1 − 3 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm, respectively. General anesthesia and mechanical ventilation were performed in ten cases and four patients underwent femoral arteriovenous bypass surgery due to severe stenosis. End-to-end anastomosis of trachea was performed in 13 cases and the anastomosis between trachea and cricothyroid membrane was performed in one case. Absorbable and unabsorbable sutures were used for the anterior and posterior anastomoses, respectively. Postoperative neck anteflexion was maintained by a suture between the chin and superior chest wall. The relevant data of the 14 patients were retrospectively reviewed, and the operation time, blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative complications and follow-up were retrieved. Results: There was no intraoperative death. The length of resected trachea ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm. Operation time ranged from 50 − 450 min with a mean of 142.8 ± 96.6 min and intraoperative hemorrhage ranged from 10 − 300 ml with a mean of 87.8 ± 83.6 ml. Follow-up period ranged from 5 to 43 months with a mean of 17.9 ± 10.6 months. None of the patients had recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis during postoperative follow-up. Ten cases were discharged uneventfully. Anastomosis stenosis occurred in three cases who received interventional therapies. Bronchopleurocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient after 6 days postoperatively and further treatment was declined. Conclusion: The strategies of anesthesia, mechanical ventilation, identification of stenosis lesion, the "hybrid" sutures and postoperative anteflexion are critical to be optimized for successful postoperative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The Rh blood group system is the most polymorphic human blood group system. Previous studies have investigated variants in the RHD and RHCE promoter. The relevance of these variants to the Chinese Han population is further clarified in this study. Materials and Methods: In total, 317 donors (223 Rh D‐positive [D+], including 20 Del and 94 Rh D‐negative [D−]) were randomly selected. The promoter regions and exon 1 of RHD and RHCE were amplified through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) whose products were directly sequenced using forward and reverse primers. Results: Expected PCR products of the RHD promoter and exon 1 were amplified in 223 D+ individuals, including 20 Del individuals, and were absent in 81 of 94 D− individuals. Expected PCR products of RHCE were observed in all donors. Two single nucleotide variants (SNVs) were observed in the RHD promoter region. Moreover, 11 SNVs were observed in the promoter and exon 1 of RHCE. rs4649082, rs2375313, rs2281179, rs2072933, rs2072932, rs2072931 and rs586178 with strong linkage disequilibria were significantly different between the D+ and D− groups. [A;C] was the most common haplotype in the RHD promoter (NC_000001.11:g.[−1033A>G;−831C>T]). [G;T;T;A;T;A;C;G;A;C;G] was the most predominant haplotype in both total and D− groups. In D+ individuals, [A;C;T;G;C;G;C;G;C;C;C] was the most frequent haplotype in the RHCE promoter (NC_000001.11:g.[−1080A>G;−958C>T;−390T>C;−378G>A;−369C>T;−296G>A;−144C>G;−132G>A;−122C>A;28C>T;48C>G]). Conclusion: We speculate that the SNVs/haplotypes found in this article cannot significantly affect gene expression. The present study findings should help elucidate the molecular basis of the polymorphic expression of RHD and RHCE promoter regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present clinical experiences regarding surgical treatment of patients with severe cicatricial tracheal stenosis. Patients and methods: From January 2008 to March 2020, 14 patients underwent tracheal resection and reconstruction under general anesthesia. Nine cases had cervical tracheal stenosis and five cases had thoracic tracheal stenosis. The mean diameter and length of strictured trachea was 0 − 8 mm with a mean of 4.5 ± 2.4 mm and 1 − 3 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm, respectively. General anesthesia and mechanical ventilation were performed in ten cases and four patients underwent femoral arteriovenous bypass surgery due to severe stenosis. End-to-end anastomosis of trachea was performed in 13 cases and the anastomosis between trachea and cricothyroid membrane was performed in one case. Absorbable and unabsorbable sutures were used for the anterior and posterior anastomoses, respectively. Postoperative neck anteflexion was maintained by a suture between the chin and superior chest wall. The relevant data of the 14 patients were retrospectively reviewed, and the operation time, blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative complications and follow-up were retrieved. Results: There was no intraoperative death. The length of resected trachea ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm. Operation time ranged from 50 − 450 min with a mean of 142.8 ± 96.6 min and intraoperative hemorrhage ranged from 10 − 300 ml with a mean of 87.8 ± 83.6 ml. Follow-up period ranged from 5 to 43 months with a mean of 17.9 ± 10.6 months. None of the patients had recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis during postoperative follow-up. Ten cases were discharged uneventfully. Anastomosis stenosis occurred in three cases who received interventional therapies. Bronchopleurocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient after 6 days postoperatively and further treatment was declined. Conclusion: The strategies of anesthesia, mechanical ventilation, identification of stenosis lesion, the "hybrid" sutures and postoperative anteflexion are critical to be optimized for successful postoperative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The irradiation of 176Yb with deuterons offers a promising pathway for the production of the theranostic radionuclide 177Lu. To optimize this process, calculations integrating deuteron transport, isotope production, and decay have been performed. In pure 176Yb, the undesired production of 174g+mLu occurs at higher deuteron energies, corresponding to a distribution slightly shallower than that of 177Lu. Hence, 174g+mLu can be effectively filtered out by employing either a low-energy deuteron beam or stacked foils. The utilization of stacked foils enables the production of 177Lu using a high-energy linear accelerator. Another unwanted isotope, 176mLu, is produced roughly at the same depth as 177Lu, but its concentration can be significantly reduced by selecting an appropriate post-irradiation processing time, owing to its relatively short half-life. The modeling approach extended to the mapping of yields as a function of irradiation time and post-irradiation processing time. An optimized processing time window was identified. The study demonstrates that a high-energy deuteron beam can be employed to produce 177Lu with high specific activity exceeding 3000 GBq/mg. The effect of different purity levels (ranging from 98% to 100%) was also discussed. The impurity levels have a slight impact. The modeling demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining 177Lu with a specific activity > 3000 GBq/mg and radionuclidic purity > 99.5% when using a commercially available 176Yb target of 99.6% purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐infrared (NIR) organic photodetectors (OPDs) are competitive candidates for flexible electronics in biomedical imaging and optical communications applications. However, current OPDs still suffer from a low detectivity beyond 1000 nm and a high dark current at bias due to the lack of high‐performance narrow‐bandgap non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs). In this study, spiro‐conjugated core donor (D) unit is adopted to construct NFAs, SPT‐4F and tSPT‐4F. Comparing with PT‐4F without spiro‐conjugation, the orthogonal spiro‐conjugated planes endow SPT‐4F and tSPT‐4F with more rigid conformation and thus superior intermolecular stacking, resulting in the enhanced absorption beyond 1000 nm. Impressively, tSPT‐4F based device gives the best performance with a dark current of 4.52 × 10−10 A cm−2 under reversed bias of −0.1 V, an external quantum efficiency (EQE) response over 48% at 1010 nm, a detectivity of 1.25 × 1013 Jones and a responsibility of 0.40 A W−1 at 1010 nm. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the best performed devices reported to date for binary NIR OPDs with response beyond 1000 nm. This study provides a feasible molecular design strategy to develop narrow‐bandgap NFAs with spiro‐conjugation for highly detective NIR OPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the journal Transfusion, discusses the identification of a novel DEL allele with a synonymous mutation on the RHD*01EL.01 allele background. The DEL phenotype is characterized by extremely low levels of D-antigen expression and can only be detected through specific tests. The study presents the case of a Chinese male blood donor who was found to have this novel DEL allele. The mutation resulted in a synonymous mutation in the 137th amino acid. The article provides detailed methods and results of the study, including the sequencing of the RHD, RHCE, and RHAG genes. The frequency of this novel DEL allele and its association with other genes is not available. The study was supported by the Science and Technology Plan Project of Liaoning Province and the authors declare no conflict of interest. [Extracted from the article]

Herein, in situ immobilization properties and mechanism of the pre-prepared geopolymer microspheres after adsorption of Sr2+/Cs+ (Sr/Cs@GPMs) were studied. The Sr2+ and Cs+ were solidified via calcination and a GP slurry coating strategies. The conditions for leaching experiments were H 2 O, 0.1 mol/L (NaCl, NaOH, and HCl). The calcination results showed that the pore volume of the two adsorbents gradually decreased with increasing temperature and the order of leaching rate of Sr2+/Cs+ in calcination of Sr/Cs@GPMs was: HCl > NaCl > NaOH > H 2 O, while the leaching rate decreased with increasing temperature and met the national standards. The in situ immobilization mechanism revealed that the pores of the adsorbent disappeared after high-temperature calcination or ceramic reaction. The results of the GP slurry coating experiment showed that the leaching rates of Sr2+/Cs+ decreased with leaching cycles. The solidified slag-based GP with Sr/Cs@GPMs (12%) adsorbent in 0.1 mol/L HCl leaching environment had the 28-day leaching rate (R 28) and cumulative leaching fractions (P 28) for Sr2+ of 1.26 × 10-3 cm/d and 0.057 cm, respectively, and 1.51 × 10-3 cm/d and 0.127 cm for Cs+, respectively. These metrics met the requirements of the national standard, thus indicating that slag-based GP has value in treating radionuclides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for X-ray and gamma-ray bursts, including Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs), and high energy transients associated with Gravitational wave (GW) events or Fast radio bursts (FRBs), is of great importance in the multimessenger and multiwavelength era. Although a coherent search based on the likelihood ratio and Gaussian statistics has been established and utilized in many studies, this Gaussian-based method could be problematic for weak and short bursts which usually have very few counts. To deal with all bursts including weak ones, here we propose the coherent search in Poisson statistics. We studied the difference between Poisson-based and Gaussian-based search methods by Monte Carlo simulations, and find that the Poisson-based search method has advantages compared to the Gaussian case, especially for weak bursts. Our results show that, for very weak bursts with very low number of counts, the Poisson-based search can provide higher significance than the Gaussian-based search, and its likelihood ratio (for background fluctuation) still generally follows the χ2 distribution, making the significance estimation of searched bursts very convenient. Thus, we suggest that the coherent search based on Poisson-likelihood ratio is more appropriate in the search for generic transients including very weak ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are indispensable in a variety of applications, because of their high specific strength. CFRPs are generally constructed by carbon fibers as reinforcements and crosslinked polymers as binders. Due to the irreversible nature of the crosslinked polymers, CFRPs are neither repairable nor recyclable. Once the material is damaged or out of service, landfill or incineration is the typical way to deal with the waste. These methods take no advantages of the residue value of the waste and add burdens to the environment. To reduce waste and cost, it is desirable to develop effective recycling technologies to reserve the residue value of carbon fiber and polymer matrix. In the past decade, chemical recycling by cleaving the covalent bonds in a solvent has been considered as an ideal path for the recycling of CFRP wastes, because it has the potential to recover both valuable CFs and polymer matrix. In this review, the discussion is focused on the progress in the chemical recycling of CFRP. The primary matrix resin of CFRP discussed in this review is epoxy resin which is the most widely used polymer matrix. In addition, the challenges and outlook are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the demand for PLA increases, post-consumer disposal strategies must be carefully considered. While we would love to embrace a bioplastic future, we also need to tread carefully. Though PLA is widely claimed to be biodegradable, full degradation often requires conditions not typically found in landfills or industrial composting. Therefore, it will negatively impact the environment if treated carelessly. In this work, we report a simple PLA upcycling path to turn existing PLA wastes into new 3D printable materials within 48 hours. The ester bonds of PLA can be cleaved efficiently via aminolysis. The obtained monomeric compound was derivatized with methacrylic anhydride, which introduces double bonds and thus a cross-linkable monomer is obtained. In combination with a comonomer and initiator, a photocurable resin is produced. The resin can be fed into any commercially available photocuring 3D printer. The 3D printed parts derived from PLA wastes exhibit impressive performances with a tensile strength of 58.6 MPa, Young's modulus of 2.8 GPa, and glass transition at ∼180 °C. Our work demonstrates a new route to active upcycling of PLA while minimizing the need for disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we first establish an asymptotically sharp Koebe type covering theorem for harmonic K-quasiconformal mappings. Then we use it to obtain an asymptotically Koebe type distortion theorem, a coefficients estimate, a Lipschitz characteristic and a linear measure distortion theorem of harmonic K-quasiconformal mappings. At last, we give some characterizations of the radial John disks with the help of pre-Schwarzian of harmonic mappings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the journal Transfusion, discusses the identification of a novel O allele in the ABO blood group system. The study used PacBio sequencing to analyze the ABO gene in a Chinese individual with a B(A) phenotype. The results revealed a c.777C>G variant on the ABO*O.01.02 allele background, which encodes a truncated, inactive protein. This novel allele is rare and has not been previously reported. The findings contribute to the understanding of genetic diversity in the ABO blood group system. [Extracted from the article]

Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) is a dedicated mission, launched in December 2020, for gamma-ray transients, including gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and soft gamma repeater (SGR) bursts in the multimessenger and multiwavelength astronomy era. Since GECAM consists of two independent spacecrafts (or say instruments), and the framework of data analysis for multiple spacecrafts is distinctive from that for only one spacecraft, which is the case for most GRB missions, we developed a dedicated pipeline called Energetic Transients Joint Analysis System for Multi-INstrument (ETJASMIN) for GECAM mission. This pipeline has been naturally extended to incorporate data from other gamma-ray instruments, including the operating missions, such as Insight- HXMT/HE, Fermi /GBM, Swift /BAT, INTEGRAL/SPI-ACS, Konus-Wind, and GRID, as well as the forthcoming missions, such as SVOM/GRM and HEBS. In this paper, we present this pipeline with a focus on the data analysis procedures, methodology, and results in terms of the localization, verification (classification), spectral, and temporal analyses of gamma-ray transients. We show that this pipeline could provide more accurate, reliable, and comprehensive results than that of individual spacecraft, which is beneficial for gamma-ray transients observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated whether demographics and COVID-19 symptoms predicted COVID-19 deaths among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the United States by comparing COVID-19 deaths in HCWs with 3 control groups (HCW nondeaths, non-HCW deaths, and non-HCW nondeaths) using a case-control design. We obtained patient-level data of 33 variables reported during January 1, 2020-October 12, 2021, in all US states. We used logistic regression analysis while controlling for confounders. We found that persons who were >50 years of age, male, Black, or Asian experienced significantly more deaths than matched controls. In addition, HCWs who died had higher risks for the most severe clinical indicators. We also found that the most indicative symptoms were preexisting medical conditions, shortness of breath, fever, cough, and gastrointestinal symptoms. In summary, minority, male, and older HCWs had greater risk for COVID-19 death. Severe clinical indicators and specific symptoms may predict COVID-19-related deaths among HCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant invasions represent a major global change in the carbon cycle. Soil respiration (Rs) comprises autotrophic respiration (Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh). Understanding the impacts of plant invasions on different components of soil respiration is critical for predicting how invasive alien plants (IAPs) affect the exchange of C between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems. However, the responses of Rs, Rh and Ra to IAPs are poorly understood on a global scale. We conducted a meta-analysis based on 54 published papers and 256 observations to explore the effects of IAPs on Rs, Rh and Ra. Overall, the results showed that at the global scale, IAPs significantly increased the Rh by an average of 87.91% but had no significant effects on Rs or Ra. Regarding the life forms, we found that invasive forbs significantly increased Rh regardless of ecosystem type, and the subgroup analysis of ecosystem types showed that invasive forbs significantly increased Rh only in grasslands. However, the effects of IAPs on soil Rs and Rh did not differ among ecosystem types. Soil respiration is substantially influenced by soil biotic and abiotic properties. We found IAPs significantly increased microbial biomass carbon (MBC) by 9.28% (mainly from invasive forbs) and soil β-glucosidase activity by 80.35% (mainly from invasive shrubs), but the IAPs had no significant effect on invertase activity. The effect size of Rh was significantly positively correlated with the changes in soil pH, MBC and β-glucosidase. In addition, the response of Rh differed depending on the ecosystem management approach. IAPs significantly increased the Rh in abandoned ecosystems but had no significant effects on the Rh in managed ecosystems or natural ecosystems. These results emphasize the importance and complexity of the relationship between IAPs and soil respiration and highlight the need for better management to reduce soil respiration due to plant invasion. • Invasive alien plants significantly increased Rh but not Rs or Ra on a global scale. • The responses of Rs and Rh to plant invasion did not differ among the ecosystem types. • There were significant positive correlations between the effect sizes of Rh and soil ΔpH, ΔMBC and Δβ-glucosidase. • Plant invasion promoted Rh in ecosystems that were abandoned after management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactic acid, a promising bio-based plastic, could still pose pollution challenges if it is not properly disposed of. Rather than letting it degrade, a facile chemical upcycled method was employed to convert PLA wastes into engineering-grade photocurable 3D printing resin. The freshly formulated resin exhibits unprecedented tensile strength and thermal properties capable of high-performance applications. [Display omitted] • A practical method for turning discarded PLA into a value-added precursor, N-LEA. • Direct N-LEA functionalization yields high-performance 3D printable resin. • Unmatched resin surpasses all engineering resins in tensile and thermal performance. • Demonstrate the ready-to-use, ultra-performance products through MSLA 3D printing. In additive manufacturing/3D printing, the limitation no longer lies in people's imagination but in the materials that one can print with. While the additive manufacturing process can virtually create any geometry, available applications are often limited by factors like parts' mechanical strength, glass transition temperature, and heat deflection temperature. These factors are especially critical for polymer-based printing. Here we introduce a simple formulation derived from the aminolysis of polylactic acid (PLA) plastic waste, namely the N -lactoyl ethanolamine (N-LEA). The N-LEA is next reacted with excess methacrylic anhydride, forming a photo-crosslinkable resin for MSLA 3D printing. The resulting 3D printed part has a set of impressive properties that is unrivaled amongst engineering grade 3D printing resins on the market and research literature. The 3D printed part has an ultrahigh tensile strength of 131.7 MPa, glass transition at ∼190 °C, and heat deflection temperature at 162.6 °C. This work demonstrates a true upcycling approach for turning PLA waste into a value-added product in a simple and efficient manner while also expanding the high-performance material portfolio available for photocuring additive manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health burden. Chronic HCV infection leads to the development of fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure over time. A total of 250 patients with chronic HCV infection and 299 healthy blood donors were recruited. Sixteen candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL5, CCL8, C-C chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), and CCR5 were genotyped in all participants. The rs1024610 AA genotype was significantly associated with decreased susceptibility to chronic HCV infection. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, AST/platelet ratio index, and the fibrosis 4 score were significantly lower in the CCL2 rs1024610 T allele and haplotype ATGC carriers. Moreover, expression levels of collagen IV (C–IV) and laminin (LN) were significantly higher in patients with the CCL5 rs2280788 C allele compared to the non-carriers. Similarly, the expression levels of C–IV, LN, and hyaluronic acid were significantly higher in patients with the CCL5 haplotype, TGCT. No significant differences were identified between the SNPs/haplotypes and plasma levels of CCL2, CCL5, CCL8, CCR2, and CCR5 in the healthy controls, and the rs1024610 allele alteration had no effect on CCL2 promoter activity. This is the first study to report an association between CCL2 rs1024610 and the risk of chronic HCV infection in the Chinese Han population. rs1024610 and ATGC haplotype in CCL2 were reasonable candidate markers of liver abnormalities. rs2280788 and TGCT haplotype in CCL5 are likely to play a significant role in liver fibrosis during chronic HCV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrition is a critical public health concern for older adults and could be influenced by psychosocial factors. We explored the relationships of social support, positive psychological capital, and nutritional status among older adults from the perspective of positive psychology. We used random sampling to recruit 151 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and over, and they took part in face-to-face or telephone interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regression and bootstrapping analyses were applied to examine mediation effects. The results show that there were significant positive correlations between the participants' social support, positive psychological capital, and nutritional status. Furthermore, we found a significant mediating effect of positive psychological capital in the relationship between social support and nutritional status. These findings are of significance for adopting positive psychology interventions to maintain and improve older adults' nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new eremophilane sesquiterpene (1), together with four known sesquiterpenes, donacinol B (2), donacinol C (3), trichapargin A (4), and trichapargin B (5), were isolated from cultures of the fungus Pholiota nameko. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. The known compounds (2–5) were determined by comparing their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct measurements of soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) are often costly and time consuming. As a result, a limited number of test data are usually obtained from a single SWCC test, based on which the estimated SWCC is unavoidably associated with uncertainties. It is, hence, prudent to deliberately plan the experimental scheme (i.e., specify the values of the control variable of measuring points) so as to improve the expected value of information of measurement data for reducing the uncertainty in estimated SWCC. This paper developed a Bayesian experimental design optimization (BEDO) approach for SWCC testing based on prior knowledge and information of testing apparatus. The proposed BEDO approach is divided into two stages to respectively identify initial measuring points for controlling the general trajectory of SWCC and determine additional measuring points for further reducing the uncertainty in SWCC. The experimental scheme with the maximum expected utility is identified as the optimal experimental scheme using Subset Simulation optimization in each stage. The proposed approach is illustrated using an experimental design example. Results show that it provides a rational tool to determine the optimal experiment scheme for SWCC testing in terms of the expected utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamic properties of ternary ceramic TiCN are studied by first-principles calculation combined with the Debye Einstein model, which considers the contribution of 3n−3 optical frequencies at the Γ point; Debye Grüneisen model, which treats optical frequencies as acoustic ones; and quasiharmonic approximation(QHA), which is the most prevalent method in prediction of phonon dispersion and thermal properties. No imaginary frequency shows that TiCN has dynamic stability, and negative formation energy indicates the thermodynamic stability. Particularly, TiCN has low thermal expansion coefficient, which rises quickly firstly and then gradually as temperature rises. The study of bulk modulus shows that TiCN possess excellent resistance to the volume thermal deformation. For temperature effects of thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity and entropy, the obtained results show that Debye Einstein model are apparently closer to the QHA at low temperatures. Our present results provide guideline for exploration of thermal properties of multicomponent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to endow a robot with the ability to learn manipulation concepts that link natural language instructions to motor skills. Our goal is to learn a single multi-task policy that takes as input a natural language instruction and an image of the initial scene and outputs a robot motion trajectory to achieve the specified task. This policy has to generalize over different instructions and environments. Our insight is that we can approach this problem through learning from demonstration by leveraging large-scale video datasets of humans performing manipulation actions. Thereby, we avoid more time-consuming processes such as teleoperation or kinesthetic teaching. We also avoid having to manually design task-specific rewards. We propose a two-stage learning process where we first learn single-task policies through reinforcement learning. The reward is provided by scoring how well the robot visually appears to perform the task. This score is given by a video-based action classifier trained on a large-scale human activity dataset. In the second stage, we train a multi-task policy through imitation learning to imitate all the single-task policies. In extensive simulation experiments, we show that the multi-task policy learns to perform a large percentage of the 78 different manipulation tasks on which it was trained. The tasks are of greater variety and complexity than previously considered robot manipulation tasks. We show that the policy generalizes over variations of the environment. We also show examples of successful generalization over novel but similar instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A connection exists between hypertension (HTN) and cognitive impairment (CI) or gut microbiota (GM) and neuropsychiatric disease. However, the link between GM and HTNCI has not been illustrated. This study endeavoured to profile the landscape of GM in HTNCI patients and evaluate the value of GM as HTNCI biomarkers. We recruited 128 patients with hypertension and assigned them to two groups of different MoCA scores. Clinical and biological data were recorded. GM composition was illustrated with 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, and the dominant species were identified by linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe). It showed higher abundance of TM7 and lower abundances of Veillonella and Peptoniphilus in the HTNCI group than in the HTN without cognitive impairment (HTNnCI) group. We next clarified the link between GM and MoCA scores or HTNCI factors. KEGG analysis revealed the involvement of decreased bile secretion. An evident correlation showed up between HTNCI and Veillonella abundance (P = 0.0340). We concluded that some representative GM species, especially Veillonella, could predict cognitive impairment in hypertension patients, making them potential benchmarks of HTNCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ternary alloy ZrHfTi is a novel hexagonal close-packed medium entropy material. As a fundamental parameter for understanding the deformation behavior and mechanical property especially ductility, the stacking fault energy (SFE) of basal plane for ZrHfTi alloy has been studied. Unlike the case of CrCoNi-based alloys, the derived SFEs for intrinsic and twin-like stacking faults of alloy ZrHfTi are relatively high. From the evolution features of stacking fault energies from unitary to binary and ternary materials, the SFEs of studied alloys are intermediate between component materials due to merely mixing effect. Because the SFEs of the constituent elements are relatively large, the SFEs of multicomponent alloys are not necessarily small. The SFE of ZrHfTi is obviously affected by alloying of constituent elements with strong structural propensity. Based on the generalized stacking fault energy, mechanical properties and deformation characteristics are further studied. Our results demonstrate that ZrHfTi has good ductility and high yield strength, and deformation twin in ZrHfTi is also very possible based on the twinning criteria. The research of this paper is beneficial for the design and development of more valuable high-performance multicomponent alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress of neural synaptic devices is experiencing an era of explosive growth. Given that the traditional storage system has yet to overcome the von Neumann bottleneck, it is critical to develop hardware with bioinspired information processing functions and lower power consumption. Transistors based on 2D materials, metal oxides, and organic materials have been adopted to mimic the synapse of a human brain, due to their high plasticity, parallel computing, integrated storage, and system information processing. Among these materials used to build transistors, organic semiconductors are considered to be the most promising candidate for neural synaptic devices and bio‐electronics, owing to their easy processing, mechanical flexibility, low cost, good bio‐compatibility, and ductility. This review focuses on the recent advances in organic synaptic devices with various structures, materials, and working mechanisms. The applications of artificial neural networks that integrate multiple organic synaptic transistors are also concretely discussed. Finally, the challenges that organic synaptic devices currently face are discussed and future developments are forecast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On basis of systematical ab initio study of mechanical properties of body-centered cubic NbTiZrM (M = Hf, Ta, W) refractory high entropy alloys, the correlation between mechanical properties and valence electron concentration (VEC) is appreciably revealed. The present investigation demonstrates that both the single-crystal elastic parameters and the elastic moduli of NbTiZrM alloys increase for M from Hf to W, similar to the variation trend of VEC. Hence, the strength and hardness of NbTiZrM alloys exhibit apparent correlation with the VEC. Because the Poisson's ratio and the Pugh's ratio suggest the alloys are more ductile for M from W to Hf, the lower VEC obviously correlates with the better ductility of NbTiZrM alloys. Moreover, with increasing VEC, the elastic anisotropies of NbTiZrM alloys are predicted to decrease, whereas the Debye temperatures of these alloys show increasing tendency. Noticeably, the VEC is an effective adjusting parameter to obtain excellent mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparing bi-layer graphene under a magic twisting angle of ∼1.1° has been challenging due to its strong tendency for self-alignment. We propose a method to pin graphene layers and minimize their self-rotation when positioned close to each other. The feasibility is demonstrated by the present study using molecular dynamics simulations. C60 clusters are used to bombard two individual graphene layers, creating damage on both layers. When two irradiated layers are moving closer to each other, defects from irradiation damaged zones can interact with each other, hence acting as pinning sites to immobilize graphene and minimize rotation or gliding. Dangling bonds from defective regions of each plane induce the formation of sp bonds. Upon sliding, the bond is strong enough to induce the formation of one-dimensional carbon single chain, acting as a thread to constrain the relative movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habenaria is one of the largest terrestrial genera in the family Orchidaceae. Most field studies on Habenaria species with greenish–white and nocturnal scented flowers are pollinated by nocturnal hawkmoths and settling moths. However, H. rhodocheila presents reddish flowers lacking a detectable scent and fails to fit the moth pollination syndrome. We investigated the pollinators, breeding system, and functional traits of H. rhodocheila in South China and found that two diurnal swallowtail butterflies Papilio helenus and Papilio nephelus (Papilionidae) were the effective pollinators. When butterflies foraged for nectar in the spur, the pollinia became attached between the palpi. A triangular projected median rostellar lobe was found at the entrance (sinus) of the spur of H. rhodocheila. This lobe divided the spur opening into two entrances forcing butterflies to enter their proboscides through the left or right side. When the projection of median rostellar lobe was removed, the site of pollinium attachment changed to the eyes of the butterflies, leading to a higher rate of pollinium removal but lower rate of pollinium deposition. Our quartz glass cylinder choice experiment suggested that visual rather than olfactory cues provided the major stimuli for butterflies to locate these flowers. Hand pollination experiments suggested this species was self‐compatible but pollinator‐dependent. However, the proportion of seeds with large embryos produced in self‐pollinated fruits was significantly lower than in cross‐pollinated fruits, indicating a significant inbreeding depression. Unlike many other orchid species, fruit set was higher than rates of pollinium removal, indicating a high level of pollination efficiency in a species with friable pollinia. Shifts from moth to butterfly pollination in the genus Habenaria parallel other orchid lineages providing insights into the potential for pollinator‐mediated floral trait selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of structural, elastic, and electronic properties of high entropy carbide (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C under high pressure have been studied within the framework of density functional theory (DFT) in conjunction with special quasirandom structures. With increasing pressure, lattice constants of high entropy carbides (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C gradually decrease, so volumes shrink, and densities gradually increase. Under high pressure up to 200 GPa, elastic stiffness coefficients for both carbides are almost linearly hardened and meet the elastic stability criteria. With increasing pressure, elastic moduli and Debye temperature of both high entropy carbides (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C increase, while theoretical Vickers hardness decreases, although Vickers hardness of (HfTaZrNb)C is always higher than (HfTaZrTi)C in the whole pressure. The ductility of (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C is improved under pressure, and brittle‐ductile transition occurs at about 50 and 60 GPa, respectively. The electronic structure demonstrates that, with increasing pressure, covalent bonds between transition metal atoms and carbon atoms are strengthened, accompanying delocalization. This effect is responsible for high values of bulk modulus and shear modulus under pressure and enhanced ductility. The ionic bonds of both high entropy carbides weaken with increasing pressure, and (HfTaZrTi)C is affected more strongly by the pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the flow law of smoke generated by fire after passing through several top structures such as smoke barriers, FSD numerical simulation method was used to compare the smoke spreading situation of the long-narrow space model in the case of no smoke barrier, single smoke barrier and multi smoke barrier. The velocity field distribution of smoke migration and the flow rate change in different sections were studied. The results showed that the time for smoke to reach the end of the long-narrow space were 15.9 s, 17.1 s, 18.8 s and 25.5 s, respectively, in the case of no smoke barrier and 1, 2 and 4 smoke barriers. The reason why smoke barriers retarded the smoke spreading was that the top structures such as smoke barriers could reduce the relative flow velocity of smoke layer and lower air layer, which reduced the entrainment of air and the amount of flue gas generated; the retarding effect of multi smoke barrier was better than that of single barrier, and the smoke spreading speed was slower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 14th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Applications of Accelerators (AccApp'21) was held in 2021 as an embedded topical meeting during the ANS Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. The conference aimed to promote accelerator-based research and development and covered various research topics, including accelerator facilities, nuclear data, medical applications, and industrial applications. A total of 120 abstracts were submitted, and 105 presentations were given. The conference faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was successful with the support of participants and sponsors. The conference proceedings were published in Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE). [Extracted from the article]

The mitfa gene is a well-known transcription factor associated with microphthalmia and is essential for early melanophore development. However, little is known about how mitfa affects the immune system. Here, we generated a novel mitfa knock-out zebrafish line using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The mitfa −/− zebrafish exhibited reduced melanin levels compared to the nacre mutant. We investigated the impact on the immune system after exposure to Edwardsiella tarda and bifenazate in zebrafish larvae, and observed that the macrophage numbers were reduced in both treated groups. Remarkably, the expression levels of immune-related genes exhibited significant increases after bacterial challenge or bifenazate exposure in the mitfa −/− zebrafish, except for tlr4 and rela. Furthermore, we conducted xenograft experiments using mouse B16 melanoma cells. Notably, the cancer cells didn't show a high cell migration ratio, implying that the immune system was highly activated after the loss of mifta. Taken together, our findings suggest that mitfa −/− zebrafish serve as a valuable model for investigating the relationship between the immune system and melanocytes, providing new insights into the role of mitfa in immune responses. • mitfa −/− zebrafish is firstly generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. • Both melanoblast marker genes and melanin synthesis genes are decreased in mitfa −/− zebrafish. • mitfa deficiency highly activated immune system in zebrafish. • Loss of mitfa enhances zebrafish's ability to combat tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ratooning is an important cultivation practice in sugarcane production around the world, with underground buds on the remaining stalk acting as the source for establishment of a subsequent ratoon crop. However, the optimal depth of cutting during harvest in terms of yield and root growth remains unknown. We carried out a two-year field study to determine the effects of three cutting depths (0, 5 and 10 cm below the surface) ratoon cane root and yield. Results showed that cutting to a depth of 5 cm increased the root fresh weight and root volume by 21–59% and 41–127%, respectively, compared to cutting depths of 0 and 10 cm. Remarkably, cutting to a depth of 5 cm also had a significant effect on the development of fine roots, which is closely linked to cane yield. The effect was particularly noticeable in terms of two root traits, root volume and the surface area of roots with a diameter of 1.0–2.0mm, and root length and the number of root tips in roots with a diameter of 0–0.5mm. As a result, a cutting depth of 5 cm below the surface increased cane yield by 43 and 28% compared to depths of 0 and 10 cm below the surface, respectively. Overall, these findings suggest that a cutting depth of 5 cm is optimal in terms of sugarcane yield, largely due to the enhanced effect on root traits, especially the development of fine roots. These findings will help optimize sugarcane ratoon management and improve the ratoon cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is an important factor which limits growth of sugarcane. To elucidate the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of tolerance, a pot experiment was conducted at Sugarcane Research Institute, Kaiyuan, China. Two genotypes (Yuetang 93-159-sensitive and Yunzhe 05-51-tolerant), were subjected to three treatments; 70±5% (control), 50±5% (moderate drought) and 30±5% (severe drought) of soil field capacity. The results demonstrated that drought induced considerable decline in morpho-physiological, biochemical and anatomical parameters of both genotypes, with more pronounced detrimental effects on Yuetang 93–159 than on Yunzhe 05–51. Yunzhe 05–51 exhibited more tolerance by showing higher dry biomass, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities. Compared with Yuetang 93–159, Yunzhe 05–51 exhibited higher soluble sugar, soluble protein and proline contents under stress. Yunzhe 05–51 illustrated comparatively well-composed chloroplast structure under drought stress. It is concluded that the tolerance of Yunzhe 05–51 was attributed to improved antioxidant activities, osmolyte accumulation and enhanced photosynthesis. These findings may provide valuable information for future studies on molecular mechanism of tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elastic and thermodynamic properties of novel high entropy carbide (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C are studied within density functional theory framework, adopting special quasi-random structure to model the chemical disorder of high entropy compounds. The optimized lattice parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Both high entropy carbides are thermodynamically stable due to the negative formation enthalpies. Then mechanical properties in small elastic range are studied, results show that (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C are mechanical stable, and (HfTaZrNb)C has greater strength and stiffness in spite of larger brittleness due to stronger covalent bonds. The derived higher Debye temperature of (HfTaZrNb)C indicates stronger covalent interactions. The calculated electronic structures show covalent characteristics accompanied by ionicity for both (HfTaZrTi)C and (HfTaZrNb)C. The thermodynamic properties are further investigated by further combination with Debye-Grüneisen model. As temperature increases, thermodynamic properties of two materials exhibit essentially similar trend, and (HfTaZrTi)C may be more beneficial for reducing the thermal stress mismatch as a tool coating due to larger thermal expansion coefficient whilst (HfTaZrNb)C has strength advantage of greater bulk modulus in engineering applications. The present research will be valuable for understanding and designing of high entropy carbides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional nanostructured CuCo 2 O 4 -Sm 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 1.9 (SDC) nanofibers are prepared by the electrospinning method and one step sintering as a cathode with low polarization resistance for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC). The CuCo 2 O 4 -SDC nanofibers cathodes form a porous network structure and have large triple-phase boundaries. Correspondingly, the electrochemical performance of the CuCo 2 O 4 -SDC nanofibers composite cathodes shows significantly improve, achieving the polarization resistance of 0.061 Ω cm2 and the maximum power densities of 976 mW·cm−2 at 750 °C. Thus, these results suggest that CuCo 2 O 4 -SDC nanofiber could be a highly active cathode material for IT-SOFCs. • CuCo 2 O 4 -Sm 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 1.9 nanofibers are prepared by a one-step method. • Porous network cathode possesses a large surface area. • Spinel cathode materials demonstrate low polarization resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional (1 ¯ 011) twinning in hexagonal metals has the twin plane K 1 = (1 ¯ 011) and the corresponding twinning direction η 1 = [ 1 ¯ 01 2 ¯ ]. Twinning shear is generally accomplished through the gliding of two-layer and/or four-layer twinning dislocations (TDs) along η 1 associated with atomic shuffles. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that an unusual shear along − η 1 associated with atomic shuffles on the twin plane K 1 is resulted by gliding of a one-layer TD. Correspondingly, an unconventional { 1 ¯ 011 } twinning occurs through successive gliding of one-layer TDs. Such a twinning mechanism is found to be correlated to high stress/strain concentration, such as at crack tip. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: A total of 241 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited to investigate the association between liver fibrosis and PLT counts, as well as with MPV, PDW and P-LCR indices. Methods: The determination of PLT indices was carried out using a Sysmex XT-1800i automated hematology analyzer. Serological tests for HA, LN, C-IV and PIIINP were performed in 210 patients. The liver stiffness was measured in 69 patients by transient elastography (FibroScan). Results: The analysis showed that the four serum fibrosis markers were negatively correlated with PLT counts, but positively correlated with the MPV, PDW and P-LCR values. Moreover, a similar pattern was found after analyzing the FibroScan measurements, which were negatively correlated with PLT counts, but positively correlated with MPV, PDW and P-LCR values. We subdivided the HCV-infected patients into mild and advanced fibrosis groups. The PLT counts were significantly decreased and the MPV, PDW and P-LCR values were significantly increased in the advanced fibrosis group when compared with the mild fibrosis group. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that not only the PLT counts but also the MPV, PDW and P-LCR indices significantly correlate with liver fibrosis in HCV-infected patients. Therefore, these indices may be useful laboratory measures for evaluating liver fibrosis progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a long and narrow corridor, the installation of roof smoke blocking structures is a measure to slow down the spread of fire smoke. When employing multiple smoke blocking structures, the spacing between these structures is a critical parameter that needs to be considered for optimal effectiveness. This paper analyzes the smoke blocking performance of double structures at different spacing and measures the smoke flow velocity both upstream and downstream of the double structures. According to the analysis of the smoke velocity vector obtained from numerical simulation, the smoke can be divided into three zones based on the flow state of the smoke after passing through the front smoke screen structure, namely the vortex zone, surge wave zone, and steady flow zone. When the rear smoke screen is located in the surge zone, the smoke blocking effect is optimal. Analysis of the morphology of the smoke layer indicates that the length of the vortex region is directly proportional to the upstream smoke flow velocity. The numerical and experimental results both indicate that an excessively large or small spacing between the structures fails to achieve optimal smoke control effectiveness. When the spacing is within an optimal range, the smoke velocity is the lowest. Finally, using a real architectural corridor as a case background, this paper presents a design example of roof smoke blocking structures. In order to arrange as many smoke blocking structures as possible, an appropriate spacing between the structures should be slightly larger than the vortex region. The smoke control effectiveness of multiple roof structures was validated through numerical simulation. As a result, the time required for smoke to pass through the corridor increases by 110 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The minimum variation time-scale (MVT) and spectral lag of hundreds of X-ray bursts (XRBs) from soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) J1935+2154 were analysed in detail for the first time in our recent work, which are important probes for studying the physical mechanism and radiation region. In this work, we investigate their differential and cumulative distributions carefully and find that they follow power-law models. Besides, the distributions of fluctuations in both parameters follow the Tsallis q -Gaussian distributions and the q values are consistent for different scale intervals. Therefore, these results indicate that both parameters are scale-invariant, which provides new parameters for the study of self-organized criticality systems. Interestingly, we find that the q values for MVT and spectral lag are similar with duration and fluence, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytically active cathode materials are highly desirable for the development of low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs). In the present study, we report the performance of a high-loading Sr 0.9 Y 0.1 CoO 2.5+δ (SYC10) nanoparticles (NPs) as a catalytic cathode infiltrated in Ce 0.8 Gd 0.2 O 2-δ (GDC) backbones for LT-SOFCs and the use of a low-loading SYC10 NPs as a catalyst for promoting the performance of a commercial cathode. The loading and calcination temperature of SYC10 NPs were systematically optimized to achieve the lowest area-specific polarization resistance at ≤650 °C. A significant reduction in polarization resistance of commercial LSCF cathode by SYC NPs has also been demonstrated at 650 °C. • SYC and the infiltration method have been chosen for high performance ITSOFC-cathode. • Loading of SYC and sintering temperature have been optimized to 30 wt % and 350 °C. • The optimum EIS performance tested at 500 °C is 0.733 Ω⋅cm2 with the Ea 0.751 eV. • Preeminent improvement has been found in the symmetrical LSCF/GDC/LSCF cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]