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Abstract Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Few drugs hold the ability to depress cardiac electrical and structural remodeling simultaneously after MI, which is crucial for the treatment of MI. The aim of this study is to investigate an effective therapy to improve both electrical and structural remodeling of the heart caused by MI. Here, an “ion cocktail therapy” is proposed to simultaneously reverse cardiac structural and electrical remodeling post‐MI in rats and minipigs by applying a unique combination of silicate, strontium (Sr) and copper (Cu) ions due to their specific regulatory effects on the behavior of the key cells involved in MI including angiogenesis of endothelial cells, M2 polarization of macrophages and apoptosis of cardiomyocyte. The results demonstrate that ion cocktail treatment attenuates structural remodeling post‐MI by ameliorating infarct size, promoting angiogenesis in both peri‐infarct and infarct areas. Meantime, to some extent, ion cocktail treatment reverses the deteriorative electrical remodeling by reducing the incidence rate of early/delayed afterdepolarizations and minimizing the heterogeneity of cardiac electrophysiology. This ion cocktail therapy reveals a new strategy to effectively treat MI with great clinical translation potential due to the high effectiveness and safety of the ion cocktail combination.

The multi-modal two-step floating catchment area (MM-2SFCA) method is an extension of the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method that incorporates the impact of different transportation modes, thereby facilitating more accurate calculations of the spatial accessibility of public facilities in urban areas. However, the MM-2SFCA method does not account for the impact of distance within the search radius on supply–demand capacities, and it assumes an idealized supply–demand relationship. This paper introduces the gravity model into the MM-2SFCA method, proposing a multi-modal gravity-based 2SFCA (MM-G2SFCA) method to better account for distance decay and supply–demand relationships. Furthermore, a standardized gravity model is proposed based on the traditional gravity model. This model imposes constraints on upper and lower limits for distance decay weights without compromising the fundamental curve characteristics of the gravity model, thereby avoiding extreme weight scenarios. The accessibility of public hospitals in Shenzhen is evaluated through the integration of basic geographic information data, resident travel data, and official statistical data. The findings demonstrate that the standardized gravity model effectively addresses the issue of excessively high local distance weights in the traditional gravity model, making it more suitable as a distance decay function. The MM-G2SFCA method improves the consideration of distance and supply–demand relationships, thereby facilitating a more rational distribution of accessibility on a global scale. This study discovers differences in the spatial allocation of public hospital resources across the Shenzhen’s districts. Accessibility within the metropolitan core is significantly higher than that outside the core. Additionally, there is a notable difference in the level of accessibility among the districts. Accessibility is found to be better in district centers and along the main traffic arteries.

Summary: LncRNA associated with immune cell infiltration in tumor microenvironment (TME) may be a potential therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma. We established a machine learning (ML) model based on 3896 samples characterized by the degree of immune cell infiltration, and further screened the key lncRNA. In vitro experiments were applied to validate the prediction. Treg is the key immune cell in the TME of lung adenocarcinoma, and the degree of infiltration is negatively correlated with the prognosis. PCBP1-AS1 may affect the infiltration of Tregs by regulating the TGF-β pathway, which is a potential predictor of clinical response to immunotherapy. PCBP1-AS1 regulates cell proliferation, cell cycle, invasion, migration, and apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma. The results of clinical sample staining and in vitro experiments showed that PCBP1-AS1 was negatively correlated with Treg infiltration and TGF-β expression. Tregs and related lncRNA PCBP1-AS1 can be used as targets for the diagnosis and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

The real-time and accurate detection and ranging of ships play a pivotal role in ensuring navigation safety, this study aims to enhance the navigation safety and environmental perception capabilities of inland waterway vessels. In the ship detection stage, addressing challenges such as large parameters, high computational complexity, and poor real-time performance in existing ship detection models, this paper proposes the MS-YOLOv5s ship target detection algorithm. This algorithm, based on YOLOv5s, utilizes the lightweight MobileNetV3-Small network to replace the original YOLOv5s feature extraction backbone network, thereby improving the detection speed. The results indicate that the parameter size of the MS-YOLOv5s model is 3.55M, only 50.49% of YOLOv5s. Achieving a detection rate of 50.28 FPS, the precision is 96.80%, and the mAP is 98.40%, striking a balance between high accuracy and low computational demand. In the depth estimation stage, influenced by the environment, leading to unstable measurement data, this paper proposes a binocular Kalman filter fusion ranging algorithm. The standard deviation of the ranging results is minimized to 6.032μm, which is one order of magnitude smaller than traditional ranging algorithms, significantly enhancing the robustness of the measurement results. Within a distance of 20m from the ship target, the error can be controlled within 3%, showcasing the applicability of the method proposed in this paper in complex inland waterway environments contributes to the enhancement of ships' environmental perception capabilities and navigation safety, holding positive implications for the development of intelligent vessels.

As global demand for offshore wind energy continues to rise, the imperative to enhance the profitability of wind power projects and reduce their operational costs becomes increasingly urgent. This study proposes an innovative approach to optimize the inspection routes of offshore wind farms, which integrates the K-means clustering algorithm and genetic algorithm (GA). In this paper, the inspection route planning problem is formulated as a multiple traveling salesman problem (mTSP), and the advantages of the K-means clustering algorithm in distance similarity are utilized to effectively group the positions of wind turbines, thereby optimizing the inspection schedule for vessels. Subsequently, by harnessing the powerful optimization capability and robustness of genetic algorithms, further refinement is conducted to search for the optimal inspection routes, aiming to achieve cost reduction objectives. The results of simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this integrated approach. Compared to traditional genetic algorithms, the inspection route length has been significantly reduced, from 93 kilometers to 79.36 kilometers. Simultaneously, operational costs have also experienced a notable decrease, dropping from 141,500 Chinese Yuan to 125,600 Chinese Yuan.

The redshifted 21 cm line signal is a powerful probe of the cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization. The global spectrum can potentially be detected with a single antenna and spectrometer. However, this measurement requires an extremely accurate calibration of the instrument to facilitate the separation of the 21 cm signal from the much brighter foregrounds and possible variations in the instrument response. Understanding how the measurement errors propagate in a realistic instrument system and affect system calibration is the focus of this work. We simulate a 21 cm global spectrum observation based on the noise wave calibration scheme. We focus on how measurement errors in reflection coefficients affect the noise temperature and how typical errors impact the recovery of the 21 cm signal, especially in the frequency domain. Results show that for our example set up, a typical vector network analyzer (VNA) measurement error in the magnitude of the reflection coefficients of the antenna, receiver, and open cable, which are 0.001, 0.001, and 0.002 (linear), respectively, would result in a 200 mK deviation on the detected signal, and a typical measurement error of 0.48°, 0.78°, or 0.15° in the respective phases would cause a 40 mK deviation. The VNA measurement error can greatly affect the result of a 21 cm global spectrum experiment using this calibration technique, and such a feature could be mistaken for or be combined with the 21 cm signal.

Abstract Background Reptiles exhibit a wide variety of skin colors, which serve essential roles in survival and reproduction. However, the molecular basis of these conspicuous colors remains unresolved. Results We investigate color morph-enriched Asian vine snakes (Ahaetulla prasina), to explore the mechanism underpinning color variations. Transmission electron microscopy imaging and metabolomics analysis indicates that chromatophore morphology (mainly iridophores) is the main basis for differences in skin color. Additionally, we assemble a 1.77-Gb high-quality chromosome-anchored genome of the snake. Genome-wide association study and RNA sequencing reveal a conservative amino acid substitution (p.P20S) in SMARCE1, which may be involved in the regulation of chromatophore development initiated from neural crest cells. SMARCE1 knockdown in zebrafish and immunofluorescence verify the interactions among SMARCE1, iridophores, and tfec, which may determine color variations in the Asian vine snake. Conclusions This study reveals the genetic associations of color variation in Asian vine snakes, providing insights and important resources for a deeper understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms related to reptilian coloration.

On-surface synthesis allows fabrication of nanostructures with atomic precision and may follow different routes compared to in-solution chemistry. Here the authors, using scanning probe microscopy techniques, observe a phenyl group migration reaction on three different metal surfaces forming polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which cannot be accessed by in-solution chemistry.

Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a key parameter reflecting crop growth which plays a vital role in agricultural management and ecosystem assessment. Real-time and non-destructive biomass monitoring is essential for accurate field management and crop yield prediction. This study utilizes a multi-sensor-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to collect remote sensing data during critical growth stages of millet, including spectral, textural, thermal, and point cloud information. The use of RGB point cloud data facilitated plant height extraction, enabling subsequent analysis to discern correlations between spectral parameters, textural indices, canopy temperatures, plant height, and biomass. Multiple linear regression (MLR), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) models were constructed to evaluate the capability of different features and integrated multi-source features in estimating the AGB. Findings demonstrated a strong correlation between the plant height derived from point cloud data and the directly measured plant height, with the most accurate estimation of millet plant height achieving an R2 of 0.873 and RMSE of 7.511 cm. Spectral parameters, canopy temperature, and plant height showed a high correlation with the AGB, and the correlation with the AGB was significantly improved after texture features were linearly transformed. Among single-factor features, the RF model based on textural indices showcased the highest accuracy in estimating the AGB (R2 = 0.698, RMSE = 0.323 kg m−2, and RPD = 1.821). When integrating two features, the RF model incorporating textural indices and canopy temperature data demonstrated optimal performance (R2 = 0.801, RMSE = 0.253 kg m−2, and RPD = 2.244). When the three features were fused, the RF model constructed by fusing spectral parameters, texture indices, and canopy temperature data was the best (R2 = 0.869, RMSE = 0.217 kg m−2, and RPD = 2.766). The RF model based on spectral parameters, texture indices, canopy temperature, and plant height had the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.877, RMSE = 0.207 kg m−2, and RPD = 2.847). In this study, the complementary and synergistic effects of multi-source remote sensing data were leveraged to enhance the accuracy and stability of the biomass estimation model.

The H i 21 cm global signal from the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) offers critical insights into the evolution of our Universe. Yet, its detection presents significant challenges, due to its extremely low signal-to-contamination ratio and complex instrumental systematics. In this paper, we examine the effects of the ionosphere and antenna beam on data analysis. The ionosphere, an ionized plasma layer in the Earth’s atmosphere, refracts, absorbs, and emits radio waves in the relevant frequency range. This interaction results in additional spectral distortion of the observed signal, complicating the process of foreground subtraction. Additionally, chromatic variations in the beam can also introduce further contamination into the global spectrum measurement. Notably, the ionospheric effect, being dependent on the direction of incoming light, interacts with the instrumental beam, adding another layer of complexity. To address this, we evaluate three different fitting templates of foreground: the logarithmic polynomial, the physically motivated Experiment to Detect the Global EoR Signature (EDGES) template, and a singular value decomposition (SVD)-based template. Our findings indicate that the EDGES and SVD templates generally surpass logarithmic polynomials in performance. Recognizing the significance of beam chromaticity, we further investigate specific beam distortion models and their impacts on the signal extraction process.

Abstract Background The microarray data analysis predicted that Rbpjl is poorly expressed in acute pancreatitis (AP). Activated IL-6/STAT3 signaling is further known to contribute to the progression of AP through immune regulation, and both IL-6 and STAT3 were bioinformatically predicted to interact with Arid5a. Accordingly, we aimed to investigate the potential involvement of the Arid5a/IL-6/STAT3 axis in the regulatory role of Rbpjl in the inflammation of AP. Methods Pancreatic acinar cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce the pancreatic cell damage, and mice were subjected to supramaximal cerulein stimulation to induce AP. Expression patterns of Rbpjl and the Arid5a/IL-6/STAT3 axis were measured in mouse and cell models. Their expression was further manipulated to explore their effects on pancreatic cell injury and inflammation, as reflected by cell viability and apoptosis as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and proinflammatory cytokine secretion. Moreover, ChIP, EMSA, and dual-luciferase reporter assays were carried out to identify the interactions between Rbpjl and Arid5a. Results Rbpjl was found to be down-regulated in pancreatic tissues of AP mice and LPS-induced pancreatic acinar cells, while re-expression of Rbpjl led to enhanced cell viability, suppressed LPS-induced inflammation and ROS accumulation, and alleviation of AP-induced damage. Mechanistically, Rbpjl could bind to the promoter region of Arid5a and down-regulated its expression, thus repressing the activation of the IL-6/STAT3 signal axis. Furthermore, Rbpjl impaired Arid5a-dependent IL-6/STAT3 activation, hence alleviating pancreatic acinar cell inflammation. Furthermore, these effects were validated with in vivo experiments. Conclusion Collectively, our findings highlight that Rbpjl attenuates AP by down-regulating Arid5a and inactivating the IL-6/STAT3 pathway.

Two different types of shear bands generate in ultrafine-grained (UFG) CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloys deformed at 77 K, i.e. commonly-observed low angle grain boundary (LAGB) type and unusual twin-coupled type. Twin-coupled shear bands exhibit a misorientation of 56–67° with the matrix, in contrast to the LAGB shear band with a misorientation of 6–12°. Both annealing twins and deformation twins can act as precursor for twin-coupled shear bands, where dislocation accumulation along twin boundaries can tune the orientation of twin lamella. These observations suggest that twin-coupled shear bands can act as an important plastic carrier in materials deformed under extreme conditions.

Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) is a promising multiplexing technique to further improve the transmission capacity of optical communication and on-chip optical interconnection systems. Furthermore, the multimode optical switch is of great importance in the MDM system, since it makes the MDM system more flexible by directly switching multiple spatial signals simultaneously. In this paper, we proposed a mode-independent optical switch based on the graphene–polymer hybrid waveguide platform that could process the TE11, TE12, TE21 and TE22 modes in a few-mode waveguide. The presented switch is independent of the four guided modes, optimizing the buried position of graphene capacitors in the polymer waveguide to regulate the coplanar interaction between the graphene capacitors and spatial modes. The TE11, TE12, TE21 and TE22 modes can be regulated simultaneously by changing the chemical potential of graphene capacitors in a straight waveguide. Our presented switch can enable the independent management of the spatial modes to be more flexible and efficient and has wide application in the MDM transmission systems.

This study examines the notion of placeness of city center commercial plazas within the context of globalization. Contemporary improvements of commercial public spaces aim to globalize the city image at the expense of local identity and regional characteristics. Although recognized as a major landmark that reflects the globalized image of Nanjing City, Deji Plaza cannot establish a unique sense of place and identity for the community. By adopting a humanist perspective, this study emphasizes people's experience, perception, and emotional needs of the place as crucial dimensions for improving the relationship between people and commercial spaces. A structural equation model is used to develop a measurement system that evaluates the interaction between the different dimensions of placeness. Findings indicate that optimized locations and environmental characteristics of city center commercial plazas may enhance their image but transform them into consumption spaces for tourists rather than public places for the local community. The results of this study deepen the current understanding and assessment tools of placeness in city commercial public spaces, which are relevant to Nanjing City and similar contexts.

By exploiting the electro-absorption characteristic of graphene, we proposed and theoretically demonstrated an electro-absorption optical modulator (EOM) based on the graphene-buried polymer waveguides. By burying the graphene layers inside the polymer waveguide, acquiring a strong graphene-light interaction when the graphene layers buried in the center of core, which bring about an important change of the optical mode and effective mode index in the waveguide. The width of the graphene capacitor was also optimized to enhance the bandwidth of the device. Calculations show that the proposed EOM can realize 29 dB extinction ratio, 7 dB modulation depth and 42 GHz bandwidth with an 800 μm-long active region. The required switching voltage form its minimum to maximum absorption state is 1.6 V and 1.55 pJ/bit energy consumption can be achieved. The proposed modulator can remedy the lack of high-speed optical modulator on the passive polymer waveguide and have a potential application for polymer-based photonic integrated circuits.

Abstract This paper considers an iterative algorithm of solving the multiple-sets split equality problem (MSSEP) whose step size is independent of the norm of the related operators, and investigates its sublinear and linear convergence rate. In particular, we present a notion of bounded Hölder regularity property for the MSSEP, which is a generalization of the well-known concept of bounded linear regularity property, and give several sufficient conditions to ensure it. Then we use this property to conclude the sublinear and linear convergence rate of the algorithm. In the end, some numerical experiments are provided to verify the validity of our consequences.

Modular input-series–output-parallel (ISOP) converters are very suitable for high-voltage and high-power applications. In order to ensure the normal operation of ISOP converters, it is necessary to realize the input-voltage and output-current equalization of each submodule. However, there are few studies on the input-voltage and output-current equalization performance of the ISOP system. In this paper, the input-voltage and output-current equalization characteristics of a Boost + LLC modular ISOP converter are studied based on the small-signal model. In this paper, the small-signal model of an ISOP system is first established, and then the input-voltage and output-current equalization performance of the ISOP system under the condition of inconsistent submodule parameters are analyzed. Finally, simulations and experiments are reported to verify the results. The experimental results show that the ISOP system composed of a Boost + LLC cascaded module has excellent voltage and current self-equalization performance.

Public participation is increasingly becoming a necessary content in community regeneration in China, though there is a lack of evaluation of the public participation process. This study explores a method for evaluating the public participation process, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of public participation. Based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and using the analysis method of structural equation modeling, this study has preliminarily established the evaluation model of public participation processes represented by “Expectation–Perception–Satisfaction–Trust (EPST)”, while taking a case study in Nanjing for empirical study. The results show that to improve general satisfaction and public trust in those activities participated in, it is necessary to upgrade public expectation and the public perceived quality at the same time. This study believes that the entire investigation and understanding of public demands before regeneration is the premise to improving the regeneration effect. For community regeneration in Chinese cities, the key is to mobilize public participation, while a detailed understanding of residents’ needs for community environment and community services is an important part of enhancing the effectiveness of regeneration. This study believes that in community regeneration, actively organizing various participation activities and giving full play to the role of local government and third-party organizations are conducive to enhancing the public’s satisfaction with regeneration.

The objective of this study was to explore the molecular mechanism of male sterility in yak hybrids based on HAT1 and HDAC1. Total RNA was extracted from the testes of adult yaks (n = 11) and sterile cattle-yaks (n = 11) followed by reverse transcription. The coding sequence (CDS) of yak HAT1 and HDAC1 were obtained by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene cloning. The testicular mRNA and protein levels of HAT1 and HDAC1 in yaks and cattle-yaks were detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting, respectively, and the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) histone acetylation level in the testes of yaks and cattle-yaks was assayed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the CDS of HAT1 and HDAC1 were 1242 bp and 1449 bp in length, encoding 413 and 482 amino acids, respectively; yaks had a similar mRNA sequence as cattle in both genes. The testicular mRNA and protein levels of HAT1 of cattle-yaks were significantly lower than those of yaks, and the protein level of HDAC1 was significantly higher than that of yaks. ELISA showed that the acetylation level of testicular H3K9 was significantly lower in yak hybrids than that of yaks. The present results suggest that the decreased level of HAT1 and increased level of HDAC1 may result in the decreased H3K9 acetylation in cattle-yaks and might be associated with their sterility.

As in other countries, short-term rentals for tourism services are growing rapidly in China's tourist cities, which are mainly operated through Airbnb. This paper explores whether the spatial distribution of Airbnb in China's rapid urbanization process exhibits characteristics, paths, and drivers that are different from those of cities in other countries. Airbnb is a model for the global sharing economy, but it is increasingly influenced by other functions and facilities in cities as it grows. In this paper, the zero-expansion negative binomial regression was used to study the factors affecting the spatial distribution of Airbnb in Nanjing, China. The results showed that the spatial distribution of Airbnb listings was correlated with the distribution of cultural attractions, universities, public transport accessibility, shopping centers, and business apartments. By analyzing the driving forces of Airbnb's development in Nanjing, this paper found that a large number of business apartments developed in cities were essential providers of Airbnb listings, and affected its spatial distribution. The gap between short-term and long-term rentals was also correlated with the distribution of Airbnb. In addition, similar to the previous literature findings, the increase in the proportion of professional hosts changes the original intention of Airbnb for sharing and communication. Our empirical results applies to the current situation of Airbnb in Chinese cities, which is conducive to the government's more intelligent management and effective promotion of the Airbnb market. Our findings also provide positive references for urban renewal policies and public participation methods in China.

Calibration of extrinsic parameters of the RGB-D camera can be applied in many fields, such as 3D scene reconstruction, robotics, and target detection. Many calibration methods employ a specific calibration object (i.e., a chessboard, cuboid, etc.) to calibrate the extrinsic parameters of the RGB-D color camera without using the depth map. As a result, it is difficult to simplify the calibration process, and the color sensor gets calibrated instead of the depth sensor. To this end, we propose a method that employs the depth map to perform extrinsic calibration automatically. In detail, the depth map is first transformed to a 3D point cloud in the camera coordinate system, and then the planes in the 3D point cloud are automatically detected using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation Sample Consensus (MLESAC) method. After that, according to the constraint relationship between the ground plane and the world coordinate system, all planes are traversed and screened until the ground plane is obtained. Finally, the extrinsic parameters are calculated using the spatial relationship between the ground plane and the camera coordinate system. The results show that the mean roll angle error of extrinsic parameter calibration was −1.14°. The mean pitch angle error was 4.57°, and the mean camera height error was 3.96 cm. The proposed method can accurately and automatically estimate the extrinsic parameters of a camera. Furthermore, after parallel optimization, it can achieve real-time performance for automatically estimating a robot’s attitude.

The Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analyzer assisted by the AdaBoost Algorithm for Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) extraction is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The Brillouin gain spectrum classification under different BFS is realized by iteratively updating the weak classifier in the form of a decision tree, forming several base classifiers and combining them into a strong classifier. Based on the pseudo-Voigt curve training set with noise, the performance of the AdaBoost Algorithm is studied, and the influence of different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), frequency range, and frequency step is also studied. Results show that the performance of BFS extraction decreases with the decrease in SNR, the reduction in frequency range, and the increase in frequency step.

The matrix-based features can provide valid and interpretable information for matrix-based data such as image. Matrix-based kernel principal component analysis (MKPCA) is a way for extracting matrix-based features. The extracted matrix-based feature is useful to both dimension reduction and spatial statistics analysis for an image. In contrast, the efficiency of MKPCA is highly restricted by the dimension of the given matrix data and the size of the training set. In this paper, an incremental method to extract features of a matrix-based dataset is proposed. The method is methodologically consistent with MKPCA and can improve efficiency through incrementally selecting the proper projection matrix of the MKPCA by rotating the current subspace. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by performing several experiments on both point and image datasets.

As a promising medical imaging modality, electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can image the electrical properties within a region of interest using electrical measurements applied at electrodes on the region boundary. This paper proposes to combine frequency and time difference imaging methods in EIT to simultaneously image bio- and non-conductive targets, where the image fusion is accomplished by applying a wavelet-based technique. To enable image fusion, both time and frequency difference imaging methods are investigated regarding the reconstruction of bio- or non-conductive inclusions in the target region at varied excitation frequencies, indicating that none of those two methods can tackle with the scenarios where both bio- and non-conductive inclusions exist. This dilemma can be resolved by fusing the time difference (td) and appropriate frequency difference (fd) EIT images since they are complementary to each other. Through simulation and in vitro experiment, it is demonstrated that the proposed fusion method can reasonably reconstruct both the bio- and non-conductive inclusions within the lung models established to simulate the ventilation process, which is expected to be beneficial for the diagnosis of lung-tissue related diseases by EIT.

The Q235 sample was coated with ball-milled Fe–Cr–C–WC powder using plasma cladding technology, and the influence of tungsten carbide (WC) content on the surface microstructure, hardness, and wear properties of the coated steel was evaluated. The single factor test of optimal WC content was carried out on DML-02BD plasma cladding machine, and the material after cladding was analyzed. The microstructure distribution, elemental composition and phase composition of the coating were observed by MIRA3-XMH scanning electron microscopy. The microhardness of cladding layer can indirectly reflect the properties of cladding layer to a certain extent, which is measured by the Vickers microhardness tester. The wear quality, friction coefficient and wear mark morphology can directly reflect the wear resistance of the test blocks. These are observed by the ring block friction and wear tester and the ultra depth of field microscope, respectively. With an increasing WC content, the microhardness of the cladding layer shows an upward trend. The main hard phases of the cladding layer after adding WC are (Cr, Fe) _7 C _3 , (Fe, Ni) _23 C _7 , and the other phases are γ -Fe, Fe _3 W _3 C, WCandFe _2 W. After 6 h friction and wear test, the cladding layer with 30%WC showed the best wear resistance. The total wear amount, wear volume, wear rate and friction coefficient were 0.01 g, 4.22 mm ^3 , 2.344 × 10 ^–4 mm ^3 /(N·m), and 0.35, which were 1/10, 1/5, 1/5, and 7/10 of those without WC cladding layer, respectively. It can be concluded that different WC contents affect the surface microstructure and properties of Fe–Cr–C alloy coating treated by plasma cladding technology. At a WC content of 30%, the microstructure and properties of the cladding layer reach the best.

CD4+ T cell activation promotes the pathogenic process of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). T cell receptor (TCR) complex are highly core fucosylated glycoproteins, which play important roles in T cell activation. In this study, we found that the core fucosylation of CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in SLE patients. Loss of core fucosyltransferase (Fut8), the sole enzyme for catalyzing the core fucosylation of N-glycan, significantly reduced CD4+ T cell activation and ameliorated the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis-induced syndrome in Fut8−/− mice. T cell activation with OVA323–339 loaded major histocompatibility complex II (pMHC-II) on B cell was dramatically attenuated in Fut8−/−OT-II CD4+ T cells compared with Fut8+/+OT-II CD4+ T cells. Moreover, the phosphorylation of ZAP-70 was significantly reduced in Fut8+/+OT-II CD4+ T cells by the treatment of fucosidase. Our results suggest that core fucosylation is required for efficient TCR–pMHC-II contacts in CD4+ T cell activation, and hyper core fucosylation may serve as a potential novel biomarker in the sera from SLE patients.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are well known for their modulatory functions in adaptive immunity. Through regulation of T cell functions, Tregs have also been demonstrated to indirectly curb myeloid cell-driven inflammation. However, direct effects of Tregs on myeloid cell functions are insufficiently characterized, especially in the context of myeloid cell-mediated diseases, such as pemphigoid diseases (PDs). PDs are caused by autoantibodies targeting structural proteins of the skin. Autoantibody binding triggers myeloid cell activation through specific activation of Fc gamma receptors, leading to skin inflammation and subepidermal blistering. Here, we used mouse models to address the potential contribution of Tregs to PD pathogenesis in vivo. Depletion of Tregs induced excessive inflammation and blistering both clinically and histologically in two different PD mouse models. Of note, in the skin of Treg-depleted mice with PD, we detected increased expression of different cytokines, including Th2-specific IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 as well as pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokine IFN-γ and the T cell chemoattractant CXCL-9. We next aimed to determine whether Tregs alter the migratory behavior of myeloid cells, dampen immune complex (IC)-induced myeloid cell activation, or both. In vitro experiments demonstrated that co-incubation of IC-activated myeloid cells with Tregs had no impact on the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) but downregulated β2 integrin expression. Hence, Tregs mitigate PD by altering the migratory capabilities of myeloid cells rather than their release of ROS. Modulating cytokine expression by administering an excess of IL-10 or blocking IFN-γ may be used in clinical translation of these findings.

Calderon’s method has been successfully used for the direct image reconstruction in electrical capacitance tomography. In the method, the truncation radius adopted in numerical integral greatly influences the reconstruction results. In the past, the truncation radius is selected as a constant empirically according to the permittivity distribution pattern and noise level. In this paper, the influence of the truncation radius in Calderon’s method on the reconstruction results was first analyzed by numerical simulation. Then, a strategy for adaptive selection of the truncation radius was proposed. The amplitude information of the elements in the scattering transform matrix computed from the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DN) map was used to determine the range for the truncation radius selection, and the phase information was further used to select a proper truncation radius value within this selection range. Finally, experiments were carried out to verify the strategy. Experimental results showed that small relative image error and good visual effect could be obtained by using the truncation radius selected by the proposed strategy.