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N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent modification in cellular RNA which orchestrates diverse physiological and pathological processes during stress response. However, the differential m6A modifications that cope with herbivore stress in resistant and susceptible crop varieties remain unclear. Here, we found that rice stem borer (RSB) larvae grew better on indica rice (e.g., MH63, IR64, Nanjing 11) than on japonica rice varieties (e.g., Nipponbare, Zhonghua 11, Xiushui 11). Then, transcriptome‐wide m6A profiling of representative resistant (Nipponbare) and susceptible (MH63) rice varieties were performed using a nanopore direct RNA sequencing approach, to reveal variety‐specific m6A modifications against RSB. Upon RSB infestation, m6A methylation occurred in actively expressed genes in Nipponbare and MH63, but the number of methylation sites decreased across rice chromosomes. Integrative analysis showed that m6A methylation levels were closely associated with transcriptional regulation. Genes involved in herbivorous resistance related to mitogen‐activated protein kinase, jasmonic acid (JA), and terpenoid biosynthesis pathways, as well as JA‐mediated trypsin protease inhibitors, were heavily methylated by m6A, and their expression was more pronounced in RSB‐infested Nipponbare than in RSB‐infested MH63, which may have contributed to RSB resistance in Nipponbare. Therefore, dynamics of m6A modifications act as the main regulatory strategy for expression of genes involved in plant–insect interactions, which is attributed to differential responses of resistant and susceptible rice varieties to RSB infestation. These findings could contribute to developing molecular breeding strategies for controlling herbivorous pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The extensive examination of hexagonal molybdenum carbide (β-Mo 2 C) as a non-noble cocatalyst in the realm of photocatalytic H 2 evolution is predominantly motivated by its exceptional capacity to adsorb H+ ions akin to Pt and its advantageous conductivity characteristics. However, the H 2 evolution rate of photocatalysts modified with β-Mo 2 C is limited as a result of their comparatively low ability to release H through desorption. Therefore, a facile method was employed to synthesize carbon intercalated dual phase molybdenum carbide (MC@C) quantum dots (ca. 3.13 nm) containing both α-MoC and β-Mo 2 C decorated on g-C 3 N 4 (gCN). The synthesis process involved a simple and efficient combination of sonication-assisted self-assembly and calcination techniques. 3-MC@C/gCN exhibited the highest efficiency in generating H 2 , with a rate of 4078 µmol g−1h−1 under 4 h simulated sunlight irradiation, which is 13 times higher than pristine gCN. Furthermore, from the cycle test, 3-MC@C/gCN showcased exceptional photochemical stability of 65 h, as it maintained a H 2 evolution rate of 40 mmol g−1h−1. The heightened level of activity observed in the 3-MC@C/gCN system can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of MoC-Mo 2 C that arise due to the existence of a carbon layer. The presence of a carbon layer enhanced the transmission of photoinduced electrons, while the MoC-Mo 2 C@C composite served as active sites, thereby facilitating the H 2 production reaction of gCN. The present study introduces a potentially paradigm-shifting concept pertaining to the exploration of novel Mo-based cocatalysts with the aim of augmenting the efficacy of photocatalytic H 2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skillful utilization of mental arithmetic can significantly improve students' mathematical computation ability. However, it was observed that primary school students often resort to reiterating the process of written arithmetic in their minds during mental arithmetic, which is not conducive to their numerical ability improvement. This paper devises a set of graphic teaching aids for primary school students' mental arithmetic improvement based on mental arithmetic strategies, schema theory, and working memory. To validate the effectiveness of schema teaching in enhancing mental arithmetic ability among primary school students, a controlled experiment was conducted with two groups of third-grade students randomly selected from a primary school in Jingshan City. The results, obtained through descriptive statistical analysis and the multitrait—multimethod approach (MTMM), indicated that the experimental group (n = 52) demonstrated significant improvements in speed, accuracy, and stability in mental addition and subtraction after a 14-day instruction period in schema teaching. This study offers a potent mental arithmetic teaching strategy for elementary mathematics education, which can lead to a comprehensive enhancement of students' mental calculation abilities. It also holds promise for inspiring innovative teaching methodologies in primary and secondary mathematics education in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitro-fatty acids (NO2-FAs) are a class of bioactive lipids that mediate metabolic, anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, and other signaling actions. Endogenously, NO2-FAs are derived from the non-enzymatic reactions of unsaturated fatty acids with reactive nitrogen species. The electrophilic properties of the nitro group results in NO2-FAs being able to undergo rapid and reversible reactions with biological nucleophiles, such as cysteine and histidine, thus supporting post-translational modifications of proteins. The reactions of NO2-FAs with biological nucleophiles regulate a range of key signaling pathways involved in gene expression responses, enzyme activity, and cellular processes. In disease animal models, NO2-FAs are produced under conditions of inflammation and oxidative stress and play a protective role in a variety of metabolic diseases, which have been associated with anti-atherosclerosis, blood-pressure lowering, and are involved in the regulation of glycolipid metabolism and insulin resistance. Based on these, more clinical studies might find a correlation between NO2-FAs levels and pathophysiology in patients with metabolic diseases. Importantly, NO2-FAs therapeutics are effective in clinical trials. In addition, dietary supplementation with nitrates and unsaturated fatty acids can endogenously increase NO2-FAs levels in mice and humans. These findings support dietary approaches that increase the endogenous levels of NO2-FAs might potentially reduce the risk of metabolic diseases. To identify the specific mechanism of action and therapeutic potential of NO2-FAs, we have summarized the main mechanisms of action of NO2-FAs in metabolic disease progression to provide insights for the development of new therapeutics for metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of people's safety awareness, the requirement of pesticide detection is gradually increasing, and many new detection methods toward Organophosphorus pesticide (OPs) has been further developed and applied. Nanomaterials-based biosensors have played an important role in the trace detection of OPs. This article mainly introduces the detection principle of enzymes and aptamers as the identification element of biosensors. Various nanomaterials (i.e., metals and metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphene oxide, quantum dots, metal organic frameworks, molecular imprinted polymers, etc.) possess their unique properties and play different roles in the enzyme and aptamer-based biosensors toward OPs: (a) to produce the optical or electrochemical signal; (b) as a carrier to load the enzyme or aptamer; (c) to enhance the signal response. Besides, the intelligent portable devices provide the possibility to realize the onsite and real-time detection. The limitations of some nanomaterials and the future development are discussed. Finally, the future of enzyme and aptamer-based biosensors has prospected. Different types of biosensors for the detection of OPs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Septate uterus is the most common congenital uterine malformation. This retrospective cohort study compared clinical outcomes and second-look hysteroscopy findings in patients with complete and incomplete septate uteri after septoplasty. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients with a septate uterus who underwent hysteroscopic septoplasty and second-look hysteroscopy at the West China Second University Hospital between September 2013 and September 2021. Information regarding pregnancy outcomes was collected through telephone interviews. The independent samples t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, Pearson's chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were used to explore the differences between the complete and incomplete septate uterus groups. Results: A total of 64 patients were enrolled in this study. There was no significant difference in intrauterine adhesion (IUA) rates (16.7% and 32.1%), pregnancy rates (44.1% and 42.9%), term delivery rates (35.3% and 32.1%), premature delivery rates (2.9% and 0), placenta previa rates (2.9% and 3.6%), placenta implantation/adhesion rates (5.9% and 3.6%), and premature rupture of membranes rates (2.9% and 0) between the complete and the incomplete group after hysteroscopic septoplasty (P > 0.05). Endometrial polyps in the septate uterus were common, with an incidence of 33.3% and 25% in the complete and incomplete groups, respectively (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The pregnancy outcomes of complete and incomplete septate uteri after hysteroscopic septoplasty were similar. There was no statistical difference in IUAs after surgery. Different treatment strategies may not be required for complete or incomplete septate uteri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle detection and tracking from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aerial images are among the main tasks of intelligent traffic systems. Especially in tasks with long distances, extensive backgrounds, and small objects, it increases the difficulty of localization and regression, which can easily lead to missed detections and false positives. This paper proposes a detection-based small-scale vehicle tracking framework that integrates an improved YOLOX network and the DeepSORT algorithm to address these issues. Based on the original YOLOX network, a shallow feature extraction network, 160 × 160 pixels, is added to enhance the ability to extract small-scale object features. A convolutional block attention module (CBAM) is inserted in front of the neck network to select crucial information for vehicle detection tasks while suppressing noncritical ones. EIoU_Loss is introduced as the bounding box regression loss function in training to speed up their convergence and improve the localization accuracy of the small objects. Furthermore, an image segmentation method is proposed to effectively reduce missed and false detection events. It divides the original high-definition image into multiple subimages, first detected and then reassembled. Finally, the improved YOLOX network is used as the detector of the DeepSORT to perform small-scale vehicle detection and tracking tasks in various traffic scenarios. Experiments show that the proposed method can significantly improve the detection accuracy of the network and effectively solve the problems of missed detection and false positives in small-scale vehicle tracking tasks in high-resolution aerial images captured by high-altitude UAVs. Significantly, the algorithm proposed in this paper has sufficient robustness for small-scale tracking tasks of aerial videos captured at different altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: SPN-812 has been approved for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment in children and adolescents. Objective: We aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of different doses of SPN-812 for ADHD pediatric patients of different ages, verify its clinical efficacy, and evaluate its safety. Methods: Up until 30 August 2023, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov to evaluate different doses of SPN-812 and a placebo. Results: We pooled 1619 patients from five RCTs with a duration of 6–8 weeks. Patients (6–17 years old) in SPN-812 (100, 200, and 400 mg/d) groups were superior to the control group in all efficacy outcomes with lower attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder rating scale-5 (ADHD-RS-5), Conners 3-parent short form composite T score (Conners 3-PS), Weiss functional impairment rating scale-parent (WFIRS-P), and increased clinical global impression-improvement (CGI-I) score (both p < 0.05). At the same time, only SPN-812 300 mg/d did not show a significantly high risk of the adverse events (AEs) such as somnolence and decreased appetite (p = 0.09). There was no significant difference between placebo and SPN-812 groups (100, 200, and 400 mg/d) in serious adverse events (SAEs) such as syncope. The subgroup analyses showed that, both in children and adolescents subgroups, SPN-812 showed better efficacy than the placebo. The two age subgroups showed a significantly higher risk of AEs and an insignificant risk of SAEs than the placebo. Conclusion: At present, SPN-812 (100, 200, and 400 mg/d) is superior to the corresponding control in efficacy measures. However, the safety problem cannot be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gaussian radial basis function (RBF) is a widely used kernel function in kernel-based methods. The parameter in RBF, referred to as the shape parameter, plays an essential role in model fitting. In this paper, we propose a method to select the shape parameters for the general Gaussian RBF kernel. It can simultaneously serve for variable selection and regression function estimation. For the former, asymptotic consistency is established; for the latter, the estimation is as efficient as if the true or optimal shape parameters are known. Simulations and real examples are used to illustrate the method's performance of prediction by comparing it with other popular methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human serotonin transporter (SERT) terminates neurotransmission by removing serotonin from the synaptic cleft, which is an essential process that plays an important role in depression. In addition to natural substrate serotonin, SERT is also the target of the abused drug cocaine and, clinically used antidepressants, escitalopram, and paroxetine. To date, few studies have attempted to investigate the unbinding mechanism underlying the orthosteric and allosteric modulation of SERT. In this article, the conserved property of the orthosteric and allosteric sites (S1 and S2) of SERT was revealed by combining the high resolutions of x-ray crystal structures and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The residues Tyr95 and Ser438 located within the S1 site, and Arg104 located within the S2 site in SERT illustrate conserved interactions (hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions), as responses to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Van der Waals interactions were keys to designing effective drugs inhibiting SERT and further, electrostatic interactions highlighted escitalopram as a potent antidepressant. We found that cocaine, escitalopram, and paroxetine, whether the S1 site or the S2 site, were more competitive. According to this potential of mean force (PMF) simulations, the new insights reveal the principles of competitive inhibitors that lengths of trails from central SERT to an opening were ∼18 Å for serotonin and ∼22 Å for the above-mentioned three drugs. Furthermore, the distance between the natural substrate serotonin and cocaine (or escitalopram) at the allosteric site was ∼3 Å. Thus, it can be inferred that the potent antidepressants tended to bind at deeper positions of the S1 or the S2 site of SERT in comparison to the substrate. Continuing exploring the processes of unbinding four ligands against the two target pockets of SERT, this study observed a broad pathway in which serotonin, cocaine, escitalopram (at the S1 site), and paroxetine all were pulled out to an opening between MT1b and MT6a, which may be helpful to understand the dissociation mechanism of antidepressants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scene parsing is one of the fundamental tasks in computer vision. Humans tend to perceive a scene in a hierarchical manner, i.e., first identifying the coarse category (e.g., vehicle) of a group of objects and then the fine category (e.g., bicycle, truck or car) of each of them. Despite recent tremendous progress on scene parsing, such a hierarchical semantics prior (HSP) has not been explicitly exploited. In this paper, we aim to introduce the HSP into scene parsing, by proposing a hierarchical semantics network (HSNet). Our key contribution is a bidirectional cross-level feature matching framework, which enables us to learn multi-level, hierarchy-aware features via forward feature transfer and backward feature regularization. In the forward stage, we train a coarse-to-fine module to learn fine-category features that explicitly encode hierarchical semantics information. In the backward stage, we introduce a fine-to-coarse module to collapse fine-category features to coarse-category features that are used to regularize the feature learning of our network. Experimental results on Cityscapes and Pascal Context show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performances. Our visualization also shows that our learned features capture semantic hierarchy favorably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the wavelength difference between the laser source and the phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG) on the intensity of the power demodulation system based on an adjustable laser source was studied experimentally, and the optimum of the output laser wavelength was determined. Then, the research on time-frequency imaging damage identification based on smooth pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution was carried out. The Time of Flight of the acoustic wave signal was calculated and time compensation was made according to the Wigner-Ville distribution and the Lamb wave dispersion curve. The ultrasonic waves before and after damage were measured with spatially arranged PS-FBGs. The difference signals were processed in a window, and then the time-frequency energy of the normalized difference signal was imaged to assess the damage detection and location. Although the mode and group velocity of ultrasound measured by each fiber grating were different, the accurate location and identification of artificial damage in an aluminum alloy plate was realized by using only three PS-FBGs and a smooth Wigner time-frequency imaging method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the low content of associated valuable elements such as phosphorus and titanium in an iron ore dressing tailings, it will result high beneficiation cost, and affect the economy of recovery of phosphorus and titanium by directly grinded and beneficiated of the iron ore dressing tailings. Moreover, it has a great interference on flotation recovery of very low grade phosphorus minerals from the iron ore dressing tailings and improvement of the grade of phosphorus concentrate due to higher content of calcium-bearing, easily-floating and easily-slimed gangue minerals. According to the characteristics of the ore property, the mineral processing tests were conducted by adopting the technological process of pulp flotation of raw ore--discarding tailings after phosphorus rough concentrate reground and rebeneficiated, namely, firstly flotation recovery of phosphorus with high-efficiency combination phosphorus minerals activator(sodium carbonate+BK116A) and selective collector BK410B under condition of non-grinding was adopted, and then discarding tailings after the phosphorus rough concentrate reground and rebeneficiated, and it realized the effective recovery of very low grade phosphorus minerals from the ore. The results of closed-circuit test were obtained the phosphorus concentrate with grading 30. 10% P2O5 and a recovery rate of 87. 61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with a hybrid N-way partial least squares and random forest (NPLS-RF) model was proposed for brand recognition of brick tea. A total of 300 samples belonging to 25 brands were collected, and the spectra were recorded with the excitation from 230 to 530 nm and the emission in the range of 246–845 nm. NPLS reduced the data dimension from 15,250 to 10, which was more efficient than PCA and LLE. The factor importance was evaluated by RF, and the chemical significance of the first three factors in the NPLS model revealed that the fulvic-like substances and the theabrownin were the key points for distinguishing the spectra from various brick tea brands. The performance of the five classification models including NPLS-SVM, NPLS-ELM, NPLS-GRNN, NPLS-RF, as well as NPLS-DA was compared, and the best result (accuracy 99%, F-score 0.99) was obtained using NPLS-RF. Moreover, data preprocessing was discussed, Z-score normalization of variables was necessary for NPLS while min–max normalization of each spectrum was found to be imperative for RF. The proposed method could be a simple, rapid and reliable alternative for authentication of brick tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Long-acting inhalers are the mainstay maintenance therapy for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to inhalers among adults with COPD in China and to develop strategies to improve adherence for the next step. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 246 adult patients with COPD using long-acting inhalers to explore different demographic characteristics, disease characteristics and medication regimens. Adherence to inhalers was assessed using the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS). Results: Among the 246 patients included in the present study, 93 (37.80%) had good adherence, while 153 (62.20%) had poor adherence. From the comparison of patients with good and poor adherence, we found that the course of disease and education background had a significant effect on adherence (p < 0.05). Among the LAMA therapy group, inhaled tiotropium bromide spray (Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany) with active release technology had better adherence than inhaled tiotropium bromide powder (Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany) (p < 0.05). Moreover, COPD patients with good adherence had better pulmonary function and fewer moderate or severe exacerbations in the past year (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The factors affecting the use of inhalers in patients with stable COPD are complicated. Medical staff should select appropriate inhalers according to the patient's disease status and duration and provide medication education to improve adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between specimens with different machined surface roughness and pitting resistance was explored using the critical pitting temperature (CPT), critical pitting potential (Ep), and FeCl3 pitting immersion tests. Compared with the arithmetic mean deviation of the surface contour (Ra), the depth–width ratio could characterize the mathematical relationship between the machined surface roughness and pitting parameters more simply. With an increase in the depth–width ratio, the CPT and Ep of 304 stainless steel decreased, the average corrosion rate increased, the number of pits decreased, and the pit sizes increased. A larger depth–width ratio led to a larger effective diffusion length of metal cations in the pits, thus, the critical pitting criteria could be reached easily, which resulted in the reduction of the pitting resistance of 304 stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The secondary-phase grating-based tomographic microscopy system, which is widely used in the biological and life sciences, can observe all the sample multilayer image information simultaneously because it has multifocal points. However, chromatic aberration exists in the grating diffraction, which seriously affects the observation of the image. To correct the chromatic aberration of the tomographic microscope system, this paper proposes a system that adopts blazed gratings and angle-variable reflectors as chromatic aberration correction devices according to the principle of dispersion compensation and Fourier phase-shift theory. A reflector-separated light dispersion-compensated 3D microscopy system is presented to achieve chromatic aberration correction while solving the problem of multilayer image overlap. The theoretical verification and optical design of the system were completed using ZEMAX software. The results show that the proposed system reduced the chromatic aberration of ordinary tomographic microscopy systems by more than 90%, retaining more wavelengths of light information. In addition, the system had a relatively wide range in the color difference compensation element installation position, reducing the difficulty of dispersion compensation element installation. Overall, the results indicate that the proposed system is effective in reducing chromatic aberration in grating diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable-energy-powered electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) is a promising way of transforming CO2 to value-added products and achieving sustainable carbon recycling. By virtue of the extremely high exposure rate of active sites and excellent catalytic performance, atomic site catalysts (ASCs), including single-atomic site catalysts and diatomic site catalysts, have attracted considerable attention. In this feature article, we focus on the rational design strategies of ASCs developed in recent years for the ECR reaction. The influence of these strategies on the activity and selectivity of ASCs for ECR is further discussed in terms of electronic regulation, synergistic activation, microenvironmental regulation and tandem catalytic system construction. Finally, the challenges and future directions are indicated. We hope that this feature article will be helpful in the development of novel ASCs for ECR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] High drug loading, targeted delivery, prolonged drug release, and low systemic toxicity are effective weapons for hydrophobic drug delivery systems to solve serious concerns in poor water-solubility and toxicity of paclitaxel (PTX). Herein, we reported that biointerfacial giant multilayer microcapsules (BGMs) with the feature of high-density drug loading and high-efficiency magnetic delivery were fabricated templated by PTX-liposome-microbubble complex using the layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL) technique. The drug loading capacity of BGMs was improved by optimizing the structure of microbubbles and capsules to increase the PTX-contained layers, and the resultant BGMs exhibited high drug loading content (50.56 ± 0.09 %) and sustained drug release properties. The BGMs with an average diameter of 74.1 ± 12.1 µm and an average thickness of 275.5 ± 48.4 nm contained abundant magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in their cavity, which endowed these capsules with outstanding magnetic properties and fast magnetophoretic velocity in the blood (∼0.3 mm/s, ▽B = 1 T/mm). Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that the biocompatible PTX-loaded magnetic BGMs (Capsule@PLMPPL) caused notable death (71.3 ± 2.9 %) of 4 T1 breast cancer cells through PTX diffusion, capsules degradation, and subsequent endocytosis by cancer cells, and ultimately effectively inhibited tumor growth. In general, the developed BGM with good deformability and degradation was the first reported giant polyelectrolyte capsule to be used in tumor therapy, which could notably improve the therapeutic efficacy of PTX while reducing its side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green synthesis and metal oxide composites have attracted much attention from researchers of industry and academia. As a typical application of green synthesis and metal oxide composites, the protection of oil and gas reservoirs is related to various links such as exploration, drilling, completion, and development. It is a complex and systematic project, which directly affects whether the oil and gas fields can be discovered, evaluated, and efficiently developed in time, and it is also related to the development of oil and gas fields recovery rate. As the most critical part of oil and gas well construction, the cementing process mainly pays attention to the safe pumping of the cement slurry and the long-term effective interlayer isolation capability of the cement sheath. Less attention is paid to the reservoir protection during the cementing process. The high-pressure difference between the annulus and the formation, the high fluid loss, and the high solids content of the cementing slurry during the cementing process have also become major challenges. In order to solve this problem, this study takes a typical clastic rock block in an oilfield in western China as the research object and carries out a geological survey of fracture development, pressure deficit, and cement slurry permeability leakage in the reservoir. The reservoir physical properties, clay mineral characteristics, and formation water quality of rock reservoirs are analyzed. The influence of cement slurry filtrate and solid phase particles on reservoir clay expansion rate and permeability was tested by core porosity and permeability tester. XRD and SEM techniques were used to analyze the damage mechanism of cement slurry filtrate and solid phase particles to the reservoir. The research results show that the average porosity of the clastic rock reservoir in the study area is 15%, the permeability is high, the average pore size of the reservoir is between 37 and 56 μm, the microfractures are developed in the reservoir section, and the porosity and permeability conditions are good; high-valent cations and inorganic ions in the filtrate generate inorganic scales such as CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 and cross-link with dissolved polymers to form flocculation substances, which cause the filtrate to damage the reservoir, and at the same time, the cement particles in the pore throats in the near wellbore zone are lost along with the leakage. Furthermore, hydration, tightly bonding the inert admixture and the clastic rock formation, forms a tight sealing layer, which reduces the permeability of the reservoir sharply; the expansive clay particles in the reservoir absorb the moisture of the cement slurry filtrate and expand. The volume of the particles increases, and the porous formation containing expansive clay minerals absorbs moisture and causes internal expansion, and the volume expansion rate can reach 9%, which eventually causes the porosity and permeability of the reservoir to decrease, resulting in reservoir damage and solid phase in the cement slurry. The damage of particles to the reservoir is mainly due to the blockage of the reservoir pore throats and the hydration and consolidation of cement particles inside the reservoir caused by the external admixtures in the cement slurry that do not participate in the hydration reaction. The solid phase particles form a filter cake on the surface of the reservoir core and cannot enter the reservoir, but under the condition of porous formation leakage, the solid phase particles with a particle size of 1–10 μm in the cement slurry will directly penetrate into the reservoir rock resulting in shallow plugging in the reservoir near the wellbore. The research results provide theoretical data support for the research on low-damage cementing slurry technology in clastic rock reservoirs. The work provides an important application guidance to green synthesis and metal oxide composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The function of mitochondrial fusion and fission is one of the important factors causing ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in diabetic myocardium. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is abundantly expressed in heart, which involved in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism and stress response. However, the mechanism of ALDH2 regulating mitochondrial fusion and fission in diabetic myocardial I/R injury has not been elucidated. In the present study, we found that the expression of ALDH2 was downregulated in rat diabetic myocardial I/R model. Functionally, the activation of ALDH2 resulted in the improvement of cardiac hemodynamic parameters and myocardial injury, which were abolished by the treatment of Daidzin, a specific inhibitor of ALDH2. In H9C2 cardiomyocyte hypoxia-reoxygenation model, ALDH2 regulated the dynamic balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission and maintained mitochondrial morphology stability. Meanwhile, ALDH2 reduced mitochondrial ROS levels, and apoptotic protein expression in cardiomyocytes, which was associated with the upregulation of phosphorylation (p-PI3K Tyr458 , p-AKT Ser473 , p-mTOR). Moreover, ALDH2 suppressed the mitoPTP opening through reducing 4-HNE. Therefore, our results demonstrated that ALDH2 alleviated the ischemia and reperfusion injury in diabetic cardiomyopathy through inhibition of mitoPTP opening and activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Diagram of ALDH2 reduces diabetic myocardial I/R through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Myocardial H/R leads to increased expression of intracellular ROS and intra-mitochondrial ROS, which disrupt the balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission. Whereas ALDH2 reduces diabetic myocardial I/R on cellular and intra-mitochondrial ROS levels, further maintaining the balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The expression of apoptotic proteins Capase-3, Capase-8 and Capase-9 were reduced by ALDH2 to induce apoptosis so as to protect the diabetic myocardium. [Display omitted] • ALDH2 alleviated diabetic myocardial I/R injury through inhibiting mitoPTP opening, reducing 4-HNE and activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid‐19) overtook the worldwide in early 2020, placing the world's health in threat. Automated lung infection detection using Chest X‐ray images has a ton of potential for enhancing the traditional covid‐19 treatment strategy. However, there are several challenges to detect infected regions from Chest X‐ray images, including significant variance in infected features similar spatial characteristics, multi‐scale variations in texture shapes and sizes of infected regions. Moreover, high parameters with transfer learning are also a constraints to deploy deep convolutional neural network(CNN) models in real time environment. A novel covid‐19 lightweight CNN(LW‐CovidNet) method is proposed to automatically detect covid‐19 infected regions from Chest X‐ray images to address these challenges. In our proposed hybrid method of integrating Standard and Depth‐wise Separable convolutions are used to aggregate the high level features and also compensate the information loss by increasing the Receptive Field of the model. The detection boundaries of disease regions representations are then enhanced via an Edge‐Attention method by applying heatmaps for accurate detection of disease regions. Extensive experiments indicate that the proposed LW‐CovidNet surpasses most cutting‐edge detection methods and also contributes to the advancement of state‐of‐the‐art performance. It is envisaged that with reliable accuracy, this method can be introduced for clinical practices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research evaluates the mechanical properties of a variety of binary In-Sn alloys as potential candidates for low temperature electronic joints. The tensile and hardness tests of as-cast In-5Sn, In-12.5Sn, In-25Sn, In-30Sn, In-35Sn, In-40Sn, In-50Sn, In-60Sn, In-80Sn (wt.%) were assessed at room temperature and compared to those of pure In and Sn. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increased from 4.2 MPa to 37.8 MPa with increasing tin content in the alloys under the testing condition of 18 mm/min and the results showed little difference under a lower strain rate (1.8 mm/min). Most compositions showed good ductility in tensile testing with an average of 40% elongation. A melting point range of 119.3 °C to 194.9 °C for tested alloys was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The microstructure investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was discussed with respect to the mechanical properties and it has been found that the presence of the Sn-rich γ-InSn4 phase in the microstructure has a significant impact on mechanical properties. The fundamental data from this study can be used for the development of new low temperature In-Sn alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several large randomized controlled trials of anti-CD20 antibodies have been successfully conducted for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite this, there are few systematic comparisons of different anti-CD20 antibodies and a comprehensive evaluation of their efficacy and safety is yet to be carried out. Objective: The objective of this systematic review and network meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the three approved anti-CD20 antibodies for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis and to aid clinicians in choosing medications. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov were all searched for randomized controlled trials conducted to evaluate anti-CD20 antibodies (rituximab, ocrelizumab, ofatumumab) and corresponding controls up to 31 May, 2022. Review Manager 5.3 and R 3.5.2 software were used to assess the data. The risk ratio and mean difference were analyzed and calculated with a random-effects model. Results: We pooled 4181 patients from ten randomized controlled trials. Without increasing the risk of adverse events and serious adverse events, anti-CD20 antibodies were superior to the active control group in all efficacy outcomes (both p < 0.005, certainty of evidence, very low to high). For the comparison between anti-CD20 groups, rituximab was found to be able to significantly increase the number of patients free of relapse more effectively than the other two interventions; however, the surface under curve ranking area values for serious adverse events were also the highest (84.8%). At the same time, ocrelizumab and ofatumumab exhibited satisfactory efficacy without showing a worse safety than any other interventions. Conclusions: Overall, anti-CD20 antibody treatment is superior to a corresponding control in efficacy and safety measures and ocrelizumab and ofatumumab may be the most suitable anti-CD20 antibodies for treating relapsing multiple sclerosis. Additional large-scale and high-quality studies are still needed to further explore the safety of these therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems worldwide. Over the last few decades, the QTP has been subjected to increasing external pressures, such as climate change, human activity, and natural hazards. Therefore, ecological risk assessment is vital for the environmental protection and sustainable development of the QTP. A landscape ecological risk (LER) assessment based on landscape disturbance and vulnerability was performed to explore the spatiotemporal characteristics associated with LER in the QTP from 1990 to 2020. Furthermore, the impact of LER was quantitatively evaluated with a boosted regression tree model. Results showed that more than 70% of the locations in the QTP exhibited below-medium LER. The LER for the QTP demonstrated downward trends from 1990 to 2020. The LER presented downward trends during the periods from 1990 to 2001 and from 2012 to 2020 and no significant trend during the period from 2002 to 2011. Additionally, high-LER areas were concentrated in the northwestern QTP, whereas low-LER areas were mainly in the southeastern QTP. The LER displayed clustering characteristics across the QTP. Changes in climate, topographic distribution, and human activity influenced the ecological stability of the study area. Precipitation and temperature had the strongest effects on the LER, followed by elevation and grazing intensity. Lower precipitation and temperatures were associated with higher LER. Our results provide precise and specific support for the environmental protection and ecological management of the QTP and other ecologically fragile areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the driving process in expressway, the vehicle carrying efficiency is influenced by many factors. However, in the existing researches on microscopic traffic flow, there is a lack of evaluation index system and corresponding calculation, so it is necessary to choose appropriate indicators and evaluation methods to calculate the vehicle carrying efficiency comprehensively. Therefore, in this paper, we establish a cellular automata model of the three-lane expressway and select multiple parameters that influence the vehicle carrying efficiency, which includes three input indicators: vehicle travel time, vehicle fuel consumption, vehicle emission, and two output indicators: vehicle average speed and vehicle ridership. Meanwhile, the data envelopment analysis is used to calculate the vehicle carrying efficiency under different maximum speed limits. From the simulation results, the traffic condition of vehicles is analyzed and corresponding improvement strategies are proposed, which have certain research significance for the traffic management department to formulate reasonable management measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a simple, sensitive and selective colorimetric method was established for the detection of profenofos. Firstly, novel flower-shaped AuPtRh trimetallic nanospheres were synthesized via a simple one-pot method, and had outstanding peroxidase catalytic activity. AuPtRh nanospheres with a great specific surface area were linked with an aptamer via Au–S and Pt–S bonds to specifically recognize profenofos. A graphene oxide grafted stainless-steel mesh (SSM–GO) was prepared to be a carrier and the aptamer–AuPtRh was nonspecifically adsorbed on the surface of SSM–GO, which was to be the capture probe for the detection of profenofos in real samples. They were characterized and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, etc. Through the investigation of the catalytic performance on the basis of the Michaelis equation, the Vmax of AuPtRh nanospheres was 22.27 × 10−8 M s−1, and Km was 0.6632 mM, which indicated that the affinity of AuPtRh nanospheres was relatively higher than that of horseradish peroxidase and Au NPs. In the presence of profenofos, the aptamer–AuPtRh would specifically combine with profenofos, which would further detach from SSM–GO. Then, it was introduced into the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine/H2O2 (TMB/H2O2) system to form blue oxTMB. The linear range of this colorimetric biosensor was 1–300 ng L−1 and the limit of detection was 0.725 ng L−1. It also had good recovery and anti-interference ability in real samples, which provided a new strategy for the rapid detection of pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonium (NH4+) oxidation is crucial for nitrogen (N) removal, contributing to regional and global N cycles, but is regarded as limited to a few biological pathways. A novel pathway for NH4+ oxidation and the N cycle is provided in the microbial anaerobic NH4+ oxidation coupled with Fe(III) (ferric iron) reduction, called ferric ammonium oxidation (Feammox). Over the past few years, Feammox, which results in significant loss of N in natural environments, has been detected widely in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Researchers have revealed various Feammox pathways, end products of nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), and gaseous nitrogen (N2), and the interactions within the nitrogen and iron-cycle-related microbial communities, which might offer some novel alternative processes for wastewater treatment. However, there are substantial variations among different studies in terms of the key functional microorganisms. The underlying mechanisms of Feammox, as well as the effect of environmental factors, remain poorly understood. In this review of the emerging process, we detail the end-products and microbes involved in the Feammox process and discuss possible mechanisms and the main influential factors. In particular, we assess the potential applications in wastewater treatment based on previous experimental studies and highlight knowledge gaps and future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different MoS2/Au heterostructures can play an important role in tuning the photoluminescence (PL) and optoelectrical properties of monolayer MoS2. Previous studies of PL of MoS2/Au heterostructures were mainly limited to the PL enhancement by using different Au nanostructures and PL quenching of monolayer MoS2 on flat Au surfaces. Here, we demonstrate the enhanced excitonic PL emissions of monolayer MoS2/Au heterostructures on Si/SiO2 substrates. By transferring the continuous monolayer MoS2 onto a stepped Au structure consisting of 60-nm and 100-nm Au films, the MoS2/Au-60 and MoS2/Au-100 heterostructures exhibit enhanced PL emissions, each with a blue-shifted PL peak in comparison with the MoS2/SiO2. Furthermore, the PL intensity of MoS2/Au-60 is about twice larger than that of MoS2/Au-100. The different enhanced excitonic PL emissions in MoS2/Au heterostructures can be attributed to the different charge transfer effects modified by the stepped Au structure. This work may provide an insight into the excitonic PL and charge transfer effect of MoS2 on Au film and yield novel phenomena in MoS2/Au heterostructures for further study of PL tuning and optoelectrical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics has wide applications in physics. However, there are few potentials that can be solved exactly by supersymmetric quantum mechanics methods, so it is undoubtedly of great significance to find more potentials that can be solved exactly. This paper studies the supersymmetric quantum mechanics problems of the Schrödinger equation with a new kind of generalized trigonometric tangent superpotential: A tan n p x + B tan m p x . We will elaborate on this new potential in the following aspects. Firstly, the shape invariant relation of partner potential is generated by the generalized trigonometric tangent superpotential. We find three shape invariance forms that satisfy the additive condition. Secondly, the eigenvalues and the eigenwave functions of the potential are studied separately in these three cases. Thirdly, the potential algebra of such a superpotential is discussed, and the discussions are explored from two aspects: one parameter's and two parameters' potential algebra. Through the potential algebra, the eigenvalue spectrums are given separately which are consistent with those mentioned earlier. Finally, we summarize the paper and give an outlook on the two-parameter shape-invariant potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fe(III) induced ammonium formation via DNRA during nitrate dependent AOM. • N 2 O was produced during simultaneous Fe(III) and nitrate dependent AOM. • The Nrf bypass and reverse HURM-Cyt P460 pathways contributed to N 2 O production. • ' Ca. M. nitroreducens' producing N 2 O may offset its greenhouse gas reduction potential. ' Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens' is an archaeal methanotroph with global importance that links carbon and nitrogen cycles and great potential for sustainable operation of wastewater treatment. It has been reported to mediate the anaerobic oxidation of methane through a reverse methanogenesis pathway while reducing nitrate to nitrite. Here, we demonstrate that ' Ca. M. nitroreducens' reduces ferric iron forming ammonium (23.1 %) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O, 46.5 %) from nitrate. These results are supported with the upregulation of genes coding for proteins responsible for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (nrfA), N 2 O formation (norV, cyt P460), and multiple multiheme c-type cytochromes for ferric iron reduction. Concomitantly, an increase in the N 2 O-reducing SJA-28 lineage and a decrease in the nitrite-reducing ' Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera' are consistent with the changes in ' Ca. M. nitroreducens' end products. These findings demonstrate the highly flexible physiology of ' Ca. M. nitroreducens' in anaerobic ecosystems with diverse electron acceptor conditions, and further reveals its roles in linking methane oxidation to global biogeochemical cycles. ' Ca. M. nitroreducens' could significantly affect the bioavailability of nitrogen sources as well as the emission of greenhouse gas in natural ecosystems and wastewater treatment plants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,8-Cineole is a bicyclic monoterpene widely distributed in the essential oils of various medicinal plants, and it exhibits significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of 1,8-cineole on anti-Alzheimer's disease by using transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans models. Our studies demonstrated that 1,8-cineole significantly relieved A β 1–42 -induced paralysis and exhibited remarkable antioxidant and anti-A β 1–42 aggregation activities in transgenic nematodes CL4176, CL2006 and CL2355. We developed a 1,8-cineole/cyclodextrin inclusion complex, displaying enhanced anti-paralysis, anti-A β aggregation and antioxidant activities compared to 1,8-cineole. In addition, we found 1,8-cineole treatment activated the SKN-1/Nrf-2 pathway and induced autophagy in nematodes. Our results demonstrated the antioxidant and anti-Alzheimer's disease activities of 1,8-cineole, which provide a potential therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease. [Display omitted] • Cineole exhibits anti-AD and antioxidant activity likely via SKN-1 and autophagy. • Cineole/cyclodextrin inclusion complex displays enhanced pharmacological activity. • Cineole and its inclusion complex provide a potential therapeutic approach for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Using the low-density crystal seeding method, diamond particles containing silicon color centers were prepared on a single-crystal silicon substrate. • Controlled preparation of arrayed diamond nanopillars was achieved by an anodized aluminum oxide template combined with a metal dewetting process. • The nanopillars, prepared with uniform diameter and regular arrangement, enhance the luminescent performance of diamond color centers. Diamond nanopillars can improve the photon emission efficiency of diamond color centers. In this study, a low-cost and controllable method for preparing array nanopillars, which is different from photolithography, is proposed. Single-crystal diamond particles containing silicon color centers were prepared by low-density crystal seeding method. Array metal masks of different sizes were prepared on the surfaces of the diamond particles by controlling the metal film deposition time, passing through anodized aluminum oxide array holes, and cooperating with the metal film dewetting process. Subsequently, diamond array nanopillars of different sizes were prepared using oxygen plasma etching. The fluorescence detection indicates that the fluorescence intensity of silicon vacancy color centers in the nanopillar arrays is enhanced by 14.4 times compared to that inside diamond particles. The effects of the color center depth and nanopillar diameter on the excitation efficiency, Purcell factor, photon emittance, and total fluorescence efficiency of the color center in diamond array nanopillars were simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method. It was found that the total fluorescence efficiency of the color center could be up to 89 %, which was 20 times higher than that of the diamond bulk. This provides solutions for improving quantum communication, quantum detection efficiency, and low-cost device preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulating the electronic structure of atomically dispersed active sites is promising to boost catalytic activity but is challenging to achieve. Here we show a cooperative Ni single‐atom‐on‐nanoparticle catalyst (NiSA/NP) prepared via direct solid‐state pyrolysis, where Ni nanoparticles donate electrons to Ni(i)−N−C sites via a network of carbon nanotubes, achieving a high CO current density of 346 mA cm−2 at −0.5 V vs RHE in an alkaline flow cell. When coupled with a NiFe‐based anode in a zero‐gap membrane electrolyzer, the catalyst delivers an industrially relevant CO current density of 310 mA cm−2 at a low cell voltage of −2.3 V, corresponding to an overall energy efficiency of 57 %. The superior CO2 electroreduction performance is attributed to the enhanced adsorption of key intermediate COOH* on the electron‐rich Ni single atoms, as well as a high density of active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulating the electronic structure of atomically dispersed active sites is promising to boost catalytic activity but is challenging to achieve. Here we show a cooperative Ni single‐atom‐on‐nanoparticle catalyst (NiSA/NP) prepared via direct solid‐state pyrolysis, where Ni nanoparticles donate electrons to Ni(i)−N−C sites via a network of carbon nanotubes, achieving a high CO current density of 346 mA cm−2 at −0.5 V vs RHE in an alkaline flow cell. When coupled with a NiFe‐based anode in a zero‐gap membrane electrolyzer, the catalyst delivers an industrially relevant CO current density of 310 mA cm−2 at a low cell voltage of −2.3 V, corresponding to an overall energy efficiency of 57 %. The superior CO2 electroreduction performance is attributed to the enhanced adsorption of key intermediate COOH* on the electron‐rich Ni single atoms, as well as a high density of active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common atrial arrhythmia for which there is no specific therapeutic drug. Quercetin (Que) has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases such as arrhythmias. In this study, we explored the mechanism of action of Que in AF using network pharmacology and molecular docking. The chemical structure of Que was obtained from Pubchem. TCMSP, Swiss Target Prediction, Drugbank, STITCH, Pharmmapper, CTD, GeneCards, DISGENET and TTD were used to obtain drug component targets and AF-related genes, and extract AF and normal tissue by GEO database differentially expressed genes by GEO database. The top targets were IL6, VEGFA, JUN, MMP9 and EGFR, and Que for AF treatment might involve the role of AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, MAPK signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that Que binds strongly to key targets and is differentially expressed in AF. In vivo results showed that Que significantly reduced the duration of AF fibrillation and improved atrial remodeling, reduced p-MAPK protein expression, and inhibited the progression of AF. Combining network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches with in vivo studies advance our understanding of the intensive mechanisms of Quercetin, and provide the targeted basis for clinical Atrial fibrillation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Yikunyin is an empirical prescription that exhibits good efficacy in the clinical treatment of menopausal syndrome; however, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study investigates the mechanism implicated in the therapeutic effect of Yikunyin by identifying its hub genes, central pathways, and key active ingredients. Method. The active ingredients and targets of Yikunyin were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, whereas the targets related to menopausal syndrome were obtained from GeneCards, PharmGKB, Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). To reveal the pharmacological mechanism, the component-target and the intersecting protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed, and Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed. Finally, molecular docking was carried out to assess the strength of binding between the key active ingredients and key targets. Results. A total of 418 targets and 121 active ingredients were identified in Yikunyin. The intersection of Yikunyin's 418 targets with the 2822 targets related to menopausal syndrome shows that there are 247 common targets that can be considered potential targets of Yikunyin in the treatment of menopausal syndrome. The topology analysis of the constructed PPI network conducted using the Cytoscape software shows that there are 15 hub genes implicated in the therapeutic effect of Yikunyin: AKT1, PRKCA, TLR9, CXCL10, PRKCD, PARP1, ABCB1, TP53, CAV1, MAPK8, PPARA, GRB2, EGFR, IL-6, and JAK2. Moreover, the key active components acting on these genes are paeoniflorin, luteolin, quercetin, beta-sitosterol, and kaempferol. GO and KEGG analyses indicate that Yikunyin can treat menopausal syndrome by regulating cellular response to chemical stress (GO:0062197), cellular response to oxidative stress (GO:0034599), phosphatase binding (GO:0019902), cytokine receptor binding (GO:0005126), PI3K-Akt signaling (hsa04151), lipid and atherosclerosis (hsa05417), and hepatitis B (hsa05161). Finally, the results of molecular docking suggest that the key active ingredients and key targets can bind well, with binding energies of less than −5 kJ/mol. Conclusion. The research conducted herein reveals that Yikunyin treats menopausal syndrome by targeting AKT1 and IL-6 and by regulating the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Moreover, it provides a new idea for understanding the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power industry is the largest carbon emission sector in China. Therefore, this industry will play an important role in achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals ("dual carbon" goals) for the whole society. For this purpose, it is critical to balance four relationships, i.e. relationship between carbon mitigation and energy security, carbon peaking in the short term and carbon neutrality in the long term, the coordinated carbon mitigation in power industry and other industries, and technical feasibility and economic efficiency. This paper proposes the China's Energy Interconnection scenario to promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality of the society, which can be divided into three stages, i.e. peaking carbon emissions before 2030, rapid emission reduction during 2030–2050, and comprehensive carbon neutrality before 2060. It is expected that the power system will achieve zero emissions before other industries and contribute negative emissions afterwards, providing emission space for carbon neutrality in other industries across the society. Looking into the future, China's electricity demand will continue to grow. Clean energy will become the main power source, the use of coal-fired power will be gradually reduced, and gas-fired power will undertake the function of peak-load regulation. Faster progress will be made in forming an overall grid pattern with ultra-high voltage (UHV) grid as the backbone and featuring "west-to-east and north-to-south power transmission, a balanced energy mix, and transnational power interconnection." Finally, this paper discusses a new-type of power system characterized by a high proportion of electricity generated from clean energy, high ratio of electric and electronic equipment, and a high proportion of power transmission and reception, together with summer and winter high load periods, and points out the challenges faced by the new-type power system with a high proportion of renewable energy sources in terms of flexibility, safety, and economic efficiency, and proposes corresponding policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) leads to a high risk of recurrent stroke, and the insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), as a new kind of electrocardiographic monitoring device, has been proven to enhance the recognition rate of AF. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the ICM use in AF detection of patients with stroke. We pooled 1233 patients from three randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The detection rate of AF was superior in the ICM group to that in the control group at 6 months (risk ratio [RR], 4.63; P < 0.0001; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.17–9.90) and 12 months (RR, 5.04; P < 0.00001; 95% CI, 2.93 to 8.68). Patients in the ICM group had a higher rate of oral anticoagulant usage (RR, 2.76; P < 0.00001; 95% CI, 1.89–4.02). However, there was no difference in the time to first detection of AF within 12 months (mean difference, − 8.28; P = 0.82; 95% CI, − 77.84–61.28) or the rate of recurrent ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (RR, 0.88; P = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.60–1.28) between the ICM and control groups. In addition, the ICM group experienced more adverse events than the control group within 12 months (RR, 4.42; P = 0.002; 95% CI, 1.69–11.55). To conclude, the sensitivity of ICM is superior to that of conventional external cardiac monitoring. Reducing adverse reactions will be a new development direction of ICM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our earlier study, it has been shown that trace Na additions can improve the reaction kinetics of Mg–5%La (wt.%) alloys during the first absorption. However, the subsequent hydrogen desorption/absorption process of the Mg–5%La after the first absorption has not been investigated. In this study, we have investigated the hydrogen sorption behaviour of the Mg–5%La alloy after the first absorption in terms of phase evolution, and lattice expansion properties during desorption as function of temperature using in-situ synchrotron Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) and in-situ High Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy (HVTEM). Two distinct phase evolutions, a continuous phase transformation of LaH 3 → LaH 2 + ½ H 2 (from 250 °C) and decomposition of MgH 2 → Mg + H 2 (between 440 and 460 °C) were identified during the desorption. It is determined that this alloy is cyclable in the absence of Mg 12 La intermetallic during the subsequent absorption/desorption cycling after the first hydrogen absorption. • Hydrogen sorption behaviour of Mg–5%La-0.2%Na after first absorption is studied. • Phase evolution during desorption is confirmed using in-situ synchrotron PXRD. • Volume change during desorption is investigated using in-situ PXRD and HVTEM. • The cycling performance of Mg–5%La-0.2%Na is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital light processing (DLP) demonstrates significant application potential in the fine printing of dental zirconia. However, its complicated print process and post-treatments, such as sintering, are time consuming and sensitive to technical details. Therefore, the feasibility of using a high-speed sintering (HS) method for the fabrication of DLP-based zirconia was investigated in this study. Zirconia samples fabricated using DLP and conventional subtractive manufacturing techniques were all sintered following the different protocols: HS and conventional sintering (CS). Then, the density, Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, surface micro-topography, phase assemblage, and ageing resistance were assessed. The results showed that samples fabricated using the HS technique presented moderate Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, and ageing sensitivity in comparison with the other groups of specimens; moreover, they exhibited moderate initial cubic phase content and average grain size. Conversely, specimens sintered using the CS protocol with a peak temperature of 1580 °C showed high ageing sensitivity and unbalanced mechanical properties. The DLP- and SM-fabricated specimens showed similar trends for the studied properties. Overall, sintering parameters can significantly affect the macro- and micro-properties of DLP specimens, and the proposed HS method showed potential for producing DLP-based zirconia that is acceptable for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium chlorides in non‐1:1 stoichiometry are counterintuitive but recently their existence has been found under the high pressure condition or in the confined space between graphene sheets. Here the direct observation of the formation of Na3Cl nanoclusters, a stable magic‐number structure, is reported on an Ir(111) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy. The stability of Na3Cl nanoclusters in the free and adsorbed state is corroborated by density functional theory calculations. It is also found that a density of nanoclusters together with Cl adatoms may further aggregate and self‐assemble into a Na3Cl4 monolayer, forming a novel metastable phase of NaCl(111) with a honeycomb lattice. Further calculations suggest that charge transfer between the polar nanoclusters and the metal substrate stabilizes NaCl of non‐1:1 stoichiometry. The work exhibits the possibility of exploring unconventional ionic crystals on the surface with atomically precise control of structure and composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new path in solar heating system development is toward the control aim of thermal comfort. Considering the impact of dynamic behaviors on comfort, a Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) indirect control strategy based on an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) improvement is proposed. Employing a three-speed fan coil unit as the terminal heat dissipation device, flow adjustment is achieved using a variable-frequency water pump, and humidity is maintained through a simple humidifier. By controlling the temperature and adjusting the fan coil unit speed to control the indoor airflow velocity, indirect control of PMV in the room is achieved. The working characteristics of the fan coil unit and the PMV control characteristics of different speed levels are analyzed, and three different PMV control modes are proposed based on the working characteristic curves of each speed level. The corresponding temperature and indoor airflow velocity are obtained by reverse-solving the PMV comfort zone. Simulation results show that after improving the fuzzy controller with ANFIS, the accuracy is increased by 17.65% compared to traditional control, and it has good control effectiveness. The proposed segmented PMV adjustment strategy combines the advantages of the three-speed levels, resulting in smaller overshoot, faster heating speed, and more stable PMV control, providing an effective solution for similar indoor environmental control problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the environmental behavior of and carcinogenic risk posed by 16 priority-controlled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), soil samples and air samples from the coke oven top were collected in two prototype coking plants (named PF and JD). The PF soils contained more PAHs than the JD soils because the PF plant employed the side-charging technique and had a lower coke oven height. The soils from both plants contained enough PAHs to pose a carcinogenic risk, and this risk was higher in the PF plant. Data were collected on the source characteristic spectrum of stable carbon isotopic composition (δ 13C) of PAHs emitted from the coke oven top (δ 13C values of −36.02‰ to −32.05‰ for gaseous PAHs and −34.09‰ to −25.28‰ for particulate PAHs), and these data fill a research gap and may be referenced for isotopic-technology-based source apportionment. Diagnostic ratios and isotopic technology revealed that the coking plant soils were mainly influenced by the coking process, followed by vehicle exhaust; the soils near the boundary of each plant were slightly affected by C 3 plant burning. For most PAHs [excluding fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3- c ,d)pyrene, and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene], the dominant migration process was the net volatilization of PAHs from soil to air. In the PF plant, 13C was depleted in gaseous PAHs during volatilization. [Display omitted] • The source δ 13C characteristic spectrum of PAHs emitted from coke oven top is established. • The dominated migration process of PAHs in coking plants was the volatilization from soil to air. • 13C in gaseous PAHs in ambient air was depleted during volatilization from soil in PF coking plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen evolution under alkaline conditions is still a challenge, due to the lack of active and cheap cathode materials. The reaction is controlled by the kinetics of water molecules dissociation, along with a balance between OH* desorption and H* recombination steps. The focus in this study is to investigate pathways to tune the activity of—the usually inert—MXenes via anchored metal atoms, which can act as active centers to facilitate the dissociation of water and the subsequent release of H2 molecules. The most promising candidates are Fe anchored on V2CO2, Mn on Ti2CO2 and V2CO2 and Ir on Nb2CO2. These materials display low and facile H2O dissociation, with barriers as low as 0.25 eV in some cases, and favorable OH* desorption steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cronobacter sakazakii is a known foodborne opportunistic pathogen that can affect the intestinal health of infants. Despite undergoing complex manufacturing processes and low water concentration in the finished product, infant formula has been associated with Cronobacter infections, suggesting that the pathogenicity of C. sakazakii may be related to its tolerance to stress. In this study, the effect of the stringent starvation protein A (SspA), which plays an important role in E. coli cellular survival under environmental stress, on the stress tolerance of C. sakazakii BAA894 was investigated by creating a sspA-knockout mutant. The effects of this mutation on acid, desiccation, and drug tolerance were assessed, and the results showed that acid tolerance decreased, while desiccation tolerance increased in LB and decreased in M9. Moreover, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 10 antibiotics in LB medium and 8 antibiotics in M9 medium were determined and compared between the wild type and ΔsspA strains. Transcriptome analysis showed that 27.21% or 37.78% of the genes in ΔsspA were significantly differentially expressed in LB or M9 media, the genes relevant to microbial metabolism in diverse environments, and bacterial chemotaxis were analyzed in detail. The current study contributes to an improved understanding of the role of SspA in C. sakazakii BAA894 stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, four genes encoding secondary acyltransferases of lipid A in Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC33846 were identified. When the four genes were overexpressed in Escherichia coli MLK1067 that which produces the penta‐acylated lipid A lacking the secondary acylation at the C3′ position, a C12:0 secondary acyl chain was added at the C3′ position of lipid A only in E. coli overexpressing VP_RS01045, but not VP_RS00880, VP_RS08405, or VP_RS12170. When the four genes were overexpressed in E. coli MKV15b that produces lipid IVA, a C12:0 secondary acyl chain was again added at the C3′ position in E. coli overexpressing VP_RS01045, but a C14:0 secondary acyl chain was added at the C2′ position of lipid A in E. coli overexpressing VP_RS00880, VP_RS08405, or VP_RS12170. The results indicate that four acyltransferases of lipid A are encoded by VP_RS01045, VP_RS00880, VP_RS08405, or VP_RS12170 in V. parahaemolyticus. The acyltransferase encoded by VP_RS01045 adds a C12:0 secondary acyl chain at the C3′ position of lipid A, whereas the acyltransferase encoded by VP_RS00880, VP_RS08405, or VP_RS12170 adds a C14:0 secondary acyl chain at the C2′ position of lipid A. This work contributes to understanding the biosynthetic pathway of lipid A in V. parahaemolyticus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lutein was enzymatically acylated with saturated fatty acid vinyl esters of different lengths of carbon chain (C6‐C14) under the action of Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozyme 435). The acylation reaction was optimized by considering substrate molar ratio, reaction solvent, type of enzyme, and reaction time. The highest yield (88%) was obtained using the Novozyme 435 to catalyze the acylation reaction of lutein and vinyl decanoate (lutein/vinyl decanoate molar ratio of 1/10) for 16 h in methyl tert‐butyl ether. Ten lutein esters were synthesized, isolated, and purified, which were characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, high‐resolution mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We found that the acylation of lutein improved its antioxidant capacity in lipid system and thermal stability. Our study extended the potential application of lutein in lipophilic food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Practical Application: Enzyme acylation of lutein improved its antioxidant capacity in lipid system and thermal stability, extended its potential application in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, our study also provided a new perspective and cognition for the further development and utilization of lutein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salient object detection aims at detecting the most visually distinct objects and producing the corresponding masks. As the cost of pixel-level annotations is high, image tags are usually used as weak supervisions. However, an image tag can only be used to annotate one class of objects. In this paper, we introduce saliency subitizing as the weak supervision since it is class-agnostic. This allows the supervision to be aligned with the property of saliency detection, where the salient objects of an image could be from more than one class. To this end, we propose a model with two modules, Saliency Subitizing Module (SSM) and Saliency Updating Module (SUM). While SSM learns to generate the initial saliency masks using the subitizing information, without the need for any unsupervised methods or some random seeds, SUM helps iteratively refine the generated saliency masks. We conduct extensive experiments on five benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that our method outperforms other weakly-supervised methods and even performs comparable to some fully-supervised methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomically dispersed nickel–nitrogen–carbon (Ni‐N‐C) moieties are promising for efficient electrochemical CO2‐to‐CO conversion. To improve the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity, it is essential but challenging to steer the coordination environment of Ni centers for promoting the CO formation kinetics. Here, we introduce alien sulfur atoms to tune the local electronic density of unsaturated NiN2 species. A coordinated structure evolution is detected and S vacancies are generated at high overpotentials, as confirmed by X‐ray absorption spectroscopy. The sulfur dopants enhance CO selectivity and activity over normal unsaturated NiN2 structure, reaching a high CO Faradaic efficiency of 97 % and a large CO current density of 40.3 mA cm−2 in a H‐cell at −0.8 V and −0.9 V (vs. RHE), respectively. DFT calculations reveal both doped S atoms and evolved S vacancies in the NiN2 coordination environment contribute to the reduced energy barriers for CO2 electroreduction to CO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]