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An exciton–phonon (ex–ph) model based on our recently developed block interaction product basis framework is introduced to simulate the distal charge separation (CS) process in aggregated perylenediimide (PDI) trimer incorporating the quantum dynamic method, i.e., the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group. The electronic Hamiltonian in the ex–ph model is represented by nine constructed diabatic states, which include three local excited (LE) states and six charge transfer (CT) states from both the neighboring and distal chromophores. These diabatic states are automatically generated from the direct products of the leading localized neutral or ionic states of each chromophore's reduced density matrix, which are obtained from ab initio quantum chemical calculation of the subsystem consisting of the targeted chromophore and its nearest neighbors, thus considering the interaction of the adjacent environment. In order to quantum-dynamically simulate the distal CS process with massive coupled vibrational modes in molecular aggregates, we used our recently proposed hierarchical mapping approach to renormalize these modes and truncate those vibrational modes that are not effectively coupled with electronic states accordingly. The simulation result demonstrates that the formation of the distal CS process undergoes an intermediate state of adjacent CT, i.e., starts from the LE states, passes through an adjacent CT state to generate the intermediates (∼ 200 fs), and then formalizes the targeted distal CS via further charge transference (∼ 1 ps). This finding agrees well with the results observed in the experiment, indicating that our scheme is capable of quantitatively investigating the CS process in a realistic aggregated PDI trimer and can also be potentially applied to exploring CS and other photoinduced processes in larger systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of fault estimation (FE) and fault‐tolerant control (FTC) for a class of systems with dynamic event‐triggered mechanism (ETM) and time delay in a network environment is studied. To shorten the time between events and minimize the amount of data transmitted, this paper introduces dynamic variables within the ETM. In order to ensure the interval between the system state and its estimation, a fault/state estimation observer considering time delay is designed, which improves the reliability and security of the system. On this basis, a fault‐tolerant controller considering time delay is constructed to compensate the impact of faults on the system. The observer, controller, and ETM are co‐designed to maintain system performance. By making full use of the information between subsystems, a continuous time interconnection systems is constructed and the cooperative control mechanism is redesigned on the basis of the above system. Through theoretical analysis, it has been demonstrated that Zeno phenomenon does not exist in the ETM in this paper. Finally, the main results are verified by numerical simulation, and the validity of the conclusions is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D printing technology provides new ways to complex-shaped ceramic cores forming inner structures in aero-engine blades, but its high-temperature dimensional accuracy is highly impacted by their volume shrinkage and creep deformation. Silica ceramic cores reinforced by mullite fibers were fabricated by 3D printing in terms of vat photopolymerization in this work. Due to the scraper paving the ceramic slurry in 3D printing, majority of the mullite fibers displayed orientation distribution inside the printing layers and decreased the bending strength as the fiber content was below 5 wt%. With 12.5 wt% of mullite fibers, some fibers showed disorder distribution and arranged to connect the interlayer cracks, therefore improving the strength by fiber pull-out. Even though the reinforcement effect of mullite fibers was inadequate, the porosity and leaching rate were significantly improved. Furthermore, the mullite fibers were beneficial to lower shrinkage during sintering and casting, and enhanced the creep resistance due to the high softening temperature, which resulted in enhanced dimensional accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional graphene is widely used in the nuclear industry, computer simulation of the physical process of graphene irradiation damage can assist the study of microscopic dynamic processes that cannot be directly observed in irradiation experiments. The irradiation-induced microstructural change of 2D graphene sheets was studied using molecular dynamics simulations with a maximum primary knock-on atoms (PKA) energy of 180 keV. The results show that using direct observation, the defects generated during the cascade collision process can be divided into three types according to the generation mechanism: defects by PKA damage (DPD), instantaneous defects by shock wave rippling (DSR), and permanent defects by shock wave overlapping (DSO). The atomic configuration of the final stage consists of various topological polygons; in general, octagons and polygons with fewer than eight sides are bulged, while polygons with more than eight sides are depressed. The largest topological polygon found by the simulation is a 13-sided polygon. In addition to atoms with a coordination number of 3 (originating from the perfect lattice structure of graphene), atoms with coordination numbers of 2 and 4 are produced. Atoms with a coordination number of 4 are generally enclosed by four polygons that have no more than six sides, while atoms with a coordination number of 2 are generally located between two polygons that have at least six sides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) comprising formamidinium‐cesium (FA‐Cs) lead triiodide have garnered considerable attention due to their impressive efficiency and remarkable stability. Nevertheless, synthesizing high‐quality FA‐Cs alloyed perovskite films presents challenges, primarily attributable to the intricate interphase process involved and the absence of methylammonium (MA+) and mixed halogens. Here, the additive 3‐phosphonopropanoic acid (3‐PPA) is introduced, with bifunctional phosphonic acid groups, into the perovskite precursor to modulate the crystal growth and provide passivation at grain boundaries. In situ characterization reveals that the 3‐PPA can form a “rapid nucleation, slow growth” mechanism, resulting in perovskite films with enlarged grains and enhanced crystallinity. In addition, 3‐PPA serves to passivate grain boundary defects and release residual strain by forming molecular bridging, leading to the passivated films achieving a fluorescence lifetime of 5.79 microseconds with a favorable n‐type contact interface. As a result, the resulting devices incorporating 3‐PPA achieve a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.05% and an ultra‐high fill factor (FF) of 84.22%. More importantly, the optimized devices exhibit satisfactory stability under various testing conditions. The findings underscore the pivotal role of multifunctional additives in crystallization control and defect passivation for high‐performance MA‐free and pure iodine PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the preparation of diallyl sulfides and selenides is always an important challenge among chemists because these compounds are of high biological, pharmaceutical, industrial and chemical importance. For this purpose, in this attractive and highly efficient approach, we wish to report that copper (I) chloride immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles modified with benzothiazole–pyrimidine ligand (Fe3O4@BTH-Pyr-CuCl) is a novel and efficient magnetically recoverable catalyst for C–S and C–Se bonds formation through reaction of a category of heterocyclic compounds with aryl iodides, sulfur and selenium sources. The structure of Fe3O4@BTH-Pyr-CuCl nanocatalyst was well identified with FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDX, elemental mapping, TGA, XRD, VSM and ICP-OES techniques. The recycling tests confirmed that the Fe3O4@BTH-Pyr-CuCl nanocatalyst was reused for 6 times without considerable reduction in its activity. This method is almost better than other methods reported in the literature for C–S and C–Se coupling of heterocycles for the following reasons, such as the use of an environmentally friendly solvent, high yields of products, the use of a catalyst that can be separated and reused and the performance of the reaction in a shorter time, presentation of well-analysis for catalyst and full NMR for products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new [Cp*IrClL] half‐sandwich iridium complex was successfully synthesized by coordinating an acylhydrazone ligand with [Cp*IrCl2]2, followed by comprehensive characterization using various spectroscopic and analytical techniques. Complex 3 was subjected to crystal structure analysis, revealing that the acylhydrazone ligand coordinates with the iridium through bidentate coordination involving the imidolate oxygen and imine nitrogen atoms. This interaction resulted in the formation of a pseudo‐octahedral geometry with the iridium center. The iridium complexes 1–4, which are stable in the presence of air and moisture, exhibit significant catalyst performance in the N‐alkylation reactions of hydrazides under gentle reaction conditions. This iridium complex catalyzes various types of alcohols to undergo N‐alkylation reactions with acyl hydrazides via a one‐pot method, yielding diverse N‐alkylated hydrazide derivatives. The catalyst displayed exceptional catalytic efficiency, a broad variety of substrates, and gentle reaction conditions, indicating its significant potential for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To appropriately connect good simulation of rockfill material stress–strain behavior at element level with good simulation of dam deformation, a practical nonlinear elastic EBD constitutive model is developed by introducing dilatancy into the traditional Duncan–Chang EB model. Based on the dam deformation monitoring data of the 164.8 m high Aertashi concrete face rockfill dam and particle swarm optimization, five inversion cases are designed to obtain the optimal EB and EBD model parameters that achieve the best fit with monitoring data. The traditional EB model is shown to have difficulties in achieving good simulation for both settlement and horizontal displacement of rockfill dams, especially in terms of their distribution, whereas the EBD model can simulate both settlement and horizontal displacement well. More importantly, the EB model parameters that allow for acceptable simulation of dam deformation result in poor simulation of element level stress–strain behavior of the gravelly sand, rockfill, and overburden materials. In contrast, the EBD model can achieve good simulation of dam deformation and element level stress–strain behavior simultaneously, paving the way for accurate dam deformation prediction based on model parameters calibrated via triaxial tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tacking issues of uncontrolled lithium dendrites formation with polymer‐based separator has a significant impact on the applications of lithium‐metal batteries. Here, porous poly(acrylonitrile) nanosheets (PPNS) enriched with conjugated C═C/C═N groups is designed on PP separator by spray‐coating. The conjugated molecular structure of PPNS affords high mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that polar N‐containing groups in PPNS derived from the cyclization of C≡N exhibit lithiophilic properties and effectively accelerate Li+ transport kinetics. Finite element simulation indicates PPNS with porous 2D nanosheet structure ensures a sufficient and uniform concentration of Li+ on the anode surface. Besides, a rich inorganic phase solid‐electrolyte interphase forms at the lithium metal interface under the induction of N‐containing groups, which further facilitates uniform lithium deposition. As a result, Li||LFP battery using PPNS@PP separator can stably cycle for 300 cycles at a high rate of 3C, with a capacity retention rate of 94.0%. Moreover, the Li||LFP pouch battery with PPNS@PP separator achieves steady cycling for 100 cycles at 0.2C, with a capacity retention rate of 95.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and objectives: The study aimed to investigate whether dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI parameters and preoperative radiological features (DCER-Features) add value to the clinicopathologic model for predicting metachronous metastases in rectal cancer patients. Materials and methods: From January 2014 to December 2020, 859 patients in the PACS system were retrospectively screened. Of the initial 722 patients with surgically confirmed rectal cancer and no synchronous metastases, 579 patients were excluded for various reasons such as lack of clinicopathological or radiological information. 143 patients were finally included in this study. And 73 Patients of them developed metachronous metastasis within five years. After stepwise multiple regression analyses, we constructed three distinct models. Model 1 was developed solely based on clinicopathological factors, and model 2 incorporated clinicopathological characteristics along with DCE-MRI parameters. Finally, model 3 was built on all available factors, including clinicopathological characteristics, DCE-MRI parameters, and radiological features based on rectal magnetic resonance imaging. The radiological features assessed in this study encompass tumor imaging staging, location, and circumferential resection margin (CRM) for primary tumors, as well as the number of visible lymph nodes and suspected metastatic lymph nodes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and decision curve analysis (DCA) were conducted to evaluate whether the diagnostic efficiency was improved. Results: The performance of model 3 (including clinicopathologic characteristics and DCER-Features) was the best (AUC: 0.856, 95% CI 0.778–0.886), whereas it was 0.796 (95% CI 0.720–0.828) for model 2 and 0.709 (95% CI 0.612–0.778) for model 1 (DeLong test: model 1 vs model 2, p = 0.004; model 2 vs model 3, p = 0.037; model 1 vs model 3, p < 0.001). The decision curves indicated that the net benefit of model 3 was higher than the other two models at each referral threshold. The calibration plot of the three models revealed an excellent predictive accuracy. Conclusion: This study suggests that DCER-Features have added value for the clinicopathological model to predict metachronous metastasis in patients with rectal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influence of the cosmological constant on black hole images, we have developed a comprehensive analytical method for simulating images of Kerr–de Sitter black holes illuminated by equatorial thin accretion disks. Through the application of explicit equations, we simulate images of Kerr–de Sitter black holes illuminated by both prograde and retrograde accretion disks, examining the impact of the cosmological constant on their characteristic curves, relative sizes, and observed intensities. Our findings reveal that, in comparison to Kerr black holes, the cosmological constant not only diminishes the relative size of a black hole but also amplifies its luminosity. Moreover, an observer’s relative position in the universe ( r 0 / r C ) can influence both the relative size and luminosity of a black hole, where r 0 is the distance from the observer to the black hole, r C is the cosmological horizon determined by the value of the cosmological constant Λ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) magnets have drawn substantial attention from researchers for their fascinating properties and great application potential in the fields of biomedicine, data storage, signal transfer, and energy conversion. However, the low Curie/Néel temperature of 2D magnets hinders their application. In this Perspective, we present some physical insights into enhancing the magnetic stability of 2D magnets. First, the microscope theoretical model of 2D magnets is introduced. Then, we review and analyze several effective and commonly used methods for enhancing the magnetic stability of 2D magnets. Finally, we present the perspective and summary. This Perspective presents the advanced understanding of magnetic stability in 2D materials, which can provide new opportunities for further advancement in a wide variety of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel high-speed flyer launching strategy based on electric explosion and laser coupling was proposed to improve the launching ability of electro-explosively actuators and expand the dynamic high-pressure loading method. First, an electro-explosively actuated flyer launcher with a transparent glass substrate was fabricated by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scale methods, which acted as a carrier to verify the idea of electric explosion and laser coupling. Then, a device of electric explosion combined with laser driving high-speed flyers was established to study the influence of nanosecond pulsed laser on the flyer launching ability of electro-explosively actuators. Finally, the velocity characteristics of the flyer and the plasma characteristics under coupled conditions are studied. The test results indicated that the introduction of laser had a positive effect on increasing the speed of the flyer. In addition, it was found that the acceleration history of the flyer is affected by the energy of electric explosion, laser energy, and the introduction time of laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The 0D/1D CuWO 4 /Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S S-scheme heterojunction was synthesized successfully. • The catalysts achieved full-spectrum dual-functional photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen production. • The full-spectrum responses mechanism and S-scheme heterojunction mechanism were explained by DFT. Integrating photocatalytic oxidation for pollutant removal with hydrogen production via photocatalysis presents a promising approach for sustainable water purification and renewable energy generation, circumventing the sluggish multi-electron transfer inherent in photocatalytic water oxidation. This study introduces novel zero-/one-dimensional (0D/1D) CuWO 4 /Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunctions that exhibit exceptional bifunctional capabilities in photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen production under full-spectrum illumination. The degradation efficiency for tetracycline (TC) using 5 %-CuWO 4 /Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S reaches 94.3 % and 94.5 % within 60 min and 6 h, respectively, under ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and near-infrared (NIR) light. Notably, these 0D/1D CuWO 4 /Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S S-scheme heterojunctions demonstrate superior hydrogen production, achieving rates of 12442.03 μL g-1h−1 and 2418.54 μL g-1h−1 under UV–Vis light and NIR light irradiation, respectively—these rates are 2.3 times and 55.2 times higher than that of Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S alone. This performance enhancement is attributed to the intrinsic dimensional effects, transitions of transition metal d-d orbitals, and S-scheme hole/electron (h+/e−) separation characteristics. Additionally, experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations have clarified the modulation of electronic configurations, band alignment, and interfacial interactions via 0D/1D S-scheme heterojunction engineering. This study sheds light on the electron transfer mechanism within S-scheme heterojunction and enhances the effectiveness, economy, and sustainability of recalcitrant pollutant removal and hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, exoskeleton robot technology has developed rapidly. Exoskeleton robots that can be worn on a human body and provide additional strength, speed or other abilities. Exoskeleton robots have a wide range of applications, such as medical rehabilitation, logistics and disaster relief and other fields. The study goal is to propose a lower limb assistive exoskeleton robot to provide extra power for wearers. The mechanical structure of the exoskeleton robot was designed by using bionics principle to imitate human body shape, so as to satisfy the coordination of man-machine movement and the comfort of wearing. Then a gait prediction method based on neural network was designed. In addition, a control strategy according to iterative learning control was designed. The experiment results showed that the proposed exoskeleton robot can produce effective assistance and reduce the wearer’s muscle force output. A lower limb assistive exoskeleton robot was introduced in this paper. The kinematics model and dynamic model of the exoskeleton robot were established. Tracking effects of joint angle displacement and velocity were analyzed to verify feasibility of the control strategy. The learning error of joint angle can be improved with increase of the number of iterations. The error of trajectory tracking is acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Texturing metallic zinc anodes (MZAs) for selective exposure of (002)Zn plane with high thermodynamical stability is an efficient scheme for dendrite‐free Zn electrodeposition. However, fundamental factors that influence Zn deposition morphology via surface crystallographic texture engineering are not well understood. Herein, different from traditional cognition, MZAs with preferential exposure of (101)Zn facet are demonstrated to be equally effective in promoting dendrite‐free Zn deposition, which is enabled by introducing trace amount (0.01 m) of theophylline into ZnSO4 electrolyte. Experimental results and mathematical model corroborate, indicating mechanistically that the theophylline derived cations preferentially adsorb on the (002)Zn crystal plane due to higher adsorption energy, thereby accelerating its growth through increased binding affinity with Zn2+ ions. Consequently, this phenomenon facilitates the texture exposure of (101)Zn facet to achieve ordered surface crystallographic orientation of MZAs (101‐Zn), thus enabling electrodeposition/dissolution cycling over 650 h under a depth of discharge up to 40% and significantly boosting the rechargeability (76.7% capacity retention after 1000 cycles) of the 101‐Zn||carbon‐cloth@MnO2 full battery relative to counterpart without theophylline additive (36.3%). The work offers deep insights on the scientific links between the surface crystallographic orientation of MZAs and Zn deposition morphology, while opens up vast untapped opportunities to realize dendrite‐free MZAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are very important for heart disease diagnosis. In this paper, a novel early prediction method based on Nested Long Short-Term Memory (Nested LSTM) is developed for sudden cardiac death risk detection. First, wavelet denoising and normalization techniques are utilized for reliable reconstruction of ECG signals from extreme noise conditions. Then, a nested LSTM structure is adopted, which can guide the memory forgetting and memory selection of ECG signals, so as to improve the data processing ability and prediction accuracy of ECG signals. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, four different models with different signal prediction techniques are used for comparison. The extensive experimental results show that this method can realize an accurate prediction of the cardiac beat's starting point and track the trend of ECG signals effectively. This study holds significant value for timely intervention for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic development and increasingly serious environmental problems, many regions have launched green credit policies. Green credit can reduce the loan interest rate of the environmental protection industry and lower the financing threshold. Traditional risk prediction methods cannot comprehensively evaluate the green credit risk of the enterprise based on the degree of green environmental protection and the industry environment in which the enterprise is located, resulting in the inconsistency between the credit financial risk prediction and the actual results, which increases the bank credit risk. In order to strengthen the management level of green credit and reduce the probability of non-performing loans, a scientific risk assessment method was constructed by using a combination of automatic encoding network and bidirectional long short-term memory neural network model to predict the financial risks of green credit, driven by multi-modal data. Through the study of multimodal data, this paper took green credit financial risk as the research object, aggregated the information of various enterprises to improve the bank’s capital utilization rate, and also promoted enterprises to take the initiative to transform into the direction of green environmental protection. Finally, the experiment proved that multimodal data fusion model was more superior than random forest in risk prediction, reducing the bank’s non-performing loan rate by 3.1% and improving the bank’s risk control level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cecropin A (1–7) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide which contain lots of basic amino acids. To understand the effect of basic amino acids on cecropin A (1–7), analogues CA2, CA3 and CA4 which have more arginine or lysine at the N-terminal or C-terminal were designed and synthesized. The interaction of cecropin A (1–7) and its analogs with DNA was studied using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Multispectral analysis showed that basic amino acids improved the interaction between the analogues and DNA. The interaction between CA4 and DNA is most pronounced. Fluorescence spectrum indicated that Ksv value of CA4 is 1.19 × 105 L mol−1 compared to original peptide cecropin A (1–7) of 3.73 × 104 L mol−1. The results of antimicrobial experiments with cecropin A (1–7) and its analogues showed that basic amino acids enhanced the antimicrobial effect of the analogues. The antimicrobial activity of CA4 against E. coli was eightfold higher than that of cecropin A (1–7). The importance of basic amino acid in peptides is revealed and provides useful information for subsequent studies of antimicrobial peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs) used for demanding structural applications predominantly utilize carbon, glass, and aramid fibers embedded in epoxy resin, albeit occasionally polyester and vinyl ester resins are also used. This study investigates the feasibility of employing recyclable and sustainable materials to formulate a composite suitable for load-bearing structural applications, particularly in scenarios involving low-velocity and high-velocity impacts (LVIs and HVIs, respectively). The paper presents a comparative analysis of the performance of basalt–Elium, a fully recyclable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly composite, with an epoxy-based counterpart. Moreover, an accurate and reliable numerical model has been developed and introduced through which the response of these composites can be examined efficiently and accurately under various loading states. The results of this investigation demonstrate the viability of the basalt–elium composite as a fully recyclable and sustainable material for crafting efficient and lightweight composites. Additionally, the accurately developed finite element model presented here can be used to assess the influence of several parameters on the composite, thereby optimizing it for a given situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luneburg lenses prepared by alumina stereolithography, have the advantages of low dielectric loss, corrosion resistance, and flexible structure. However, the supporting structure limits the degree of geometric design freedom. This paper analyzes the effects of modifiers and dispersants on paste properties from the molecular structure, which is different from the traditional process that doesn't analyze the influence of similar mechanisms and binding site competition while ignoring the correlation. Based on the dispersant's better flexibility bringing more obvious change in viscosity, we first determine the amount of dispersant and then adapt the amount of modifier to obtain self-supporting pastes of 82 wt % and 24.9 Pa.swithout gradation. The gain and beam deflection angle of Luneburg lenses with high geometric complexity and working bandwidth of 38° formed by stereolithography self-supporting process is matched to the simulation results without manufacturing defects, which provides a theoretical basis for more flexible design and manufacture of Luneburg lenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic pyrolysis of low-rank coal is currently an effective method for producing high-quality tar and gas. In this study, catalytic upgrading of volatiles from Naomaohu (NMH) coal pyrolysis has been conducted in a two-stage fixed-bed reactor using combined CaO and Ni/olivine (Ni-loaded olivine) catalysts. The effect of catalyst distribution modes and catalytic temperature on the tar and gas quality has been investigated. Simulated distillation and GC-MS analysis have been used to investigate the distribution of tar components. The results indicated that the light oil fraction in tar dramatically increased due to the combination of CaO and Ni/olivine. The CaO-Ni/olivine mode is especially better compared to the layouts of the Ni/olivine-CaO mode and the mixed mode. The CaO-Ni/olivine mode ensures a higher light fraction in tar at 69.3% and a light oil fraction at 29.8% at a catalytic temperature of 450 °C, while the heavy tar fraction decreased to 30.7%. Meanwhile, the contents of benzene (heteroatomic substituents) in tar significantly increased from 2.55% to 6.45% compared with the blank test. In this scenario, CaO breaks down macromolecular compounds in tar and cleaves long-chain esters to produce aliphatic hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are then dehydrogenated to produce lighter aromatic hydrocarbons over the CaO surface. Subsequently, the volatiles pass through the Ni/olivine catalysis, where ether compounds are produced by means of dehydration reactions. In addition, the CaO absorbs the CO2 in the pyrolysis gas, leading to an elevation of CH4 and H2 concentration. Particularly, the concentration of H2 significantly increased from 16.2% to 30.37%, while the concentration of CO2 significantly decreased from 37.9% to 10.57%. These findings suggest that the usage of combined CaO and Ni/olivine catalysts is beneficial for improving both the tar and gas quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The histone deacetylase (HDAC) family plays a significant role in a variety of biological processes related to cancer, such as metabolism and cancer progression, and recognized as a target of anti-cancer drugs. Nevertheless, there has been limited systematic research available regarding HDAC family in human cancers using multi-omics approaches. Objective: To evaluate the prognostic implications and immunological features of the HDAC family across multiple cancer types through comprehensive multi-omics analysis. Methods: We studied the associations of HDAC activity and a variety of factors, encompassing immune checkpoint genes, the tumor microenvironment (TME), instability of microsatellites (MSI), inherited mutations, variation in copy number, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and sensitivity to drugs in a variety of cancer types. Moreover, we analyzed the link between the degree of HDAC activity and the effectiveness of immunotherapy in several cohorts, providing significant details about the possible impact of HDACs on immunotherapeutic responses. Furthermore, we explored potential signaling pathways of HDACs in bladder cancer (BC) using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Immune infiltration analysis in bladder cancer was performed based on HDACs expression, copy number or somatic mutations. Furthermore, the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) dataset has been used to validate the expression of the HDACs protein in BC. Results: The HDACs expression exhibits significant heterogeneity across different cancer types and is significantly correlated with patient prognosis, clinical traits, mutations, TME, TMB, MSI, immune checkpoint genes, and objective responses in immunotherapy. The drug sensitivity of cancers was found to be correlated with the gene expression of specific HDAC familial members. In BC, GSEA demonstrates enrichment of multiple immune-related functions and pathways; moreover, there are significant associations between genomic variations in HDACs and the degree of typical immunological cell recruitment. Furthermore, findings from differential expression analysis in BC are validated by protein expression analysis obtained from the HPA database. Conclusions: These findings reveal the significance of HDAC family in survival prognosis and treatment guidance of human cancers, and some of them have the potential to be used as immunotherapy biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the factors that affect the reliability of satellite antenna deployment mechanisms. It employs the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K‐S) test to quantify uncertainty characteristics, leading to the acquisition of pertinent stochastic parameters. Subsequently, three‐dimensional models and finite element models of the satellite antenna deployment mechanism are established using SOLIDWORKS and ANSYS software. Modal distribution, harmonic response analysis, random vibration analysis, and deployment process simulation are conducted. Parameterized modeling of the deployment mechanism's dynamics simulation process is performed, taking into consideration parameter uncertainty. Finally, a Kriging surrogate model is utilized to formulate an approximate expression between the factors influencing the reliability of the antenna deployment mechanism and its dynamic response. Based on the general stress‐strength interference theory, a reliability analysis model is constructed. Combined with active learning algorithms, this approach achieves efficient and precise calculations of the reliability of the satellite antenna deployment mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional MXene‐based thick electrodes with stacked and tortuous microstructures suffer from sluggish charge transport and low‐utilization of active substances, thus a limited boost in areal energy density of the assembled micro‐supercapacitors (MSCs). Herein, the duplication of wood‐like microstructure is realized in MXene/Ag‐nanowires (AgNWs) hybrid aerogel electrode (WL‐M/A‐AE) via directional freeze‐drying technique. Benefitting from the uniform 3D vertically‐aligned microchannels as the highways for ions transport throughout the matrix, the WL‐M/A‐AE with a thickness of up to 2000 µm can achieve a 50‐times higher of Cl− diffusion coefficient relative to closely restacked film electrode with the same mass loading of MXene. Furthermore, the evenly interspersed AgNWs serving as percolation network within the electrode matrix can facilitate horizontal electrons transmission between vertically‐aligned loose MXene flakes, while reversibly capture/release Cl− ions via phase conversion (Ag⇔AgCl) to raise the charge storage capacity of the WL‐M/A‐AE. Thus, when coupling with Zn anode, the assembled micro‐redoxcapacitor adopting polyacrylamide/ZnCl2+NH4Cl hydrogel electrolyte can deliver an areal energy density up to 292.5 µWh cm−2 in a more stable way (a smooth discharge plateau contributing 40.9% of the energy). The demonstrated hybrid thick electrode with wood‐like low‐tortuosity microstructure promises an effective avenue for tackling the performance bottlenecks facing traditional MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a projection and contraction method with a double inertial extrapolation step and self-adaptive step sizes to solve variational inequalities with quasi-monotonicity in real Hilbert spaces. Weak and strong convergence results are obtained under some mild conditions. We also give linear convergence results under a special case of our proposed method. Preliminary numerical results show that our proposed method is competitive with other related methods in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a novel wind-hydrogen coupled poly generation system. The system consists of alkaline electrolyzers, fuel cells (FC), organic Rankine cycle (ORC), hydrogen compressors, hydrogen turbines, pumps and storage tanks. By the multistage utilization of the waste heat, more electricity, hydrogen and heat energy are provided to the user, and improve the operating conditions of the equipment. The effects of multiple parameters on the system's exergy efficiency and destruction are discussed. The economic and environmental of the system are evaluated. The results show that rising the electrolyzer operating temperatures and ambient temperatures can slightly improve the system's exergy efficiency. Increasing FC operating temperature, the exergy efficiency of FC-ORC and the system rapidly increased to 51.91 % and 58.83 %, respectively. By increasing the hydrogen storage pressure, the system exergy efficiency increases by 6.87 %. The static payback period of the poly generation system is 7.3 years. [Display omitted] • By multistage use of waste heat, solve the problem of system's low exergy efficiency. • The working temperature of FC significantly affects the system's exergy efficiency. • Static payback period of the wind-hydrogen poly generation system is 7.3 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monotypic catalytic site for bifunctional hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at low overpotential is a grand challenge in alkaline water splitting. Herein, a new strategy of dual‐type atomic site‐support interaction is reported, in which ruthenium heteroatoms are in situ implanted into both the N‐C nanosheet matrix (Ru1‐N‐C) and supported Co2P nanoparticle lattice (Ru2‐P‐Co) for boosting alkaline water splitting. It is found that the Ru1‐N‐C and Ru2‐P‐Co can give rise to a synergistic effect for boosting HER and OER catalysis. Density functional theory calculations disclose that for HER, the Ru‐functionalized Co sites in Co2P assume the task of expediting H2O adsorption‐dissociation, and the adjacent coordination unsaturated Ru1‐N‐C sites can facilitate the following H2 desorption kinetic. The study found that the hydrogen spillover mechanism contributes to an ultralow HER polarization of 69 mV at 10 mA cm−2. While for OER, due to electronegativity discrepancies, the doped Ru within Co2P triggers electronic coupling, thereby efficiently tuning Ru d‐band center. This grants its electronic characteristic preferred for modulating rate‐determining step of OER to reduce the corresponding energy barrier, leading to superior OER catalytic activity . This work offers new understandings into catalyzing different reactions with multiple intermediate adsorptions by different atomic site‐support interplays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel half-sandwich ruthenium complexes termed [(p-cymene)RuClL] were synthesized by chelating arylhydrazone ligands with [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2 and were then fully characterized using different spectroscopic and analytical techniques. The crystal structure of complex 4 indicated that the hydrazone ligands bonded to the ruthenium ion in a bidentate manner through the imine nitrogen and imidazolate oxygen, exhibiting a pseudo-octahedral geometry centered by the ruthenium atom. The as-fabricated air and moisture stable half-sandwich ruthenium complexes demonstrated excellent catalytic activity towards the N-alkylation of hydrazides under mild conditions. Under the catalysis of ruthenium complexes, acyl hydrazides were reacted with different types of alcohols in a one-pot reaction, resulting in N-alkylation hydrazides with different substituents. This catalyst exhibited characteristics such as high catalytic efficiency, broad substrate scope, and mild reaction conditions, indicating that it has great potential for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) performing high-efficiency conversions of solar energy into both electricity and high value-added chemicals are highly desirable but rather challenging. Herein, we demonstrate that a PEC using the oxidatively electropolymerized film of a heteroleptic Ru(II) complex of [Ru(bpy)(L)2](PF6)2 Ru1 {bpy and L stand for 2,2′-bipyridine and 1-phenyl-2-(4-vinylphenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline respectively}, polyRu1, as a working electrode performed both efficient in situ synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and photocurrent generation/switching. Specifically, when biased at −0.4 V vs. saturated calomel electrode and illuminated with 100 mW·cm−2 white light, the PEC showed a significant cathodic photocurrent density of 9.64 μA·cm−2. Furthermore, an increase in the concentrations of quinhydrone in the electrolyte solution enabled the photocurrent polarity to switch from cathodic to anodic, and the anodic photocurrent density reached as high as 11.4 μA·cm−2. Interestingly, in this single-compartment PEC, the hydrogen peroxide yield reached 2.63 μmol·cm−2 in the neutral electrolyte solution. This study will serve as a guide for the design of high-efficiency metal-complex-based molecular systems performing photoelectric conversion/switching and photoelectrochemical oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditory commands are often executed more efficiently than visual commands. However, empirical evidence on the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms remains scarce. In two experiments, we manipulated the delivery modality of informative cues and the prediction violation effect and found consistently enhanced RT benefits for the matched auditory cues compared with the matched visual cues. At the neural level, when the bottom–up perceptual input matched the prior prediction induced by the auditory cue, the auditory-thalamic pathway was significantly activated. Moreover, the stronger the auditory-thalamic connectivity, the higher the behavioral benefits of the matched auditory cue. When the bottom–up input violated the prior prediction induced by the auditory cue, the ventral auditory pathway was specifically involved. Moreover, the stronger the ventral auditory-prefrontal connectivity, the larger the behavioral costs caused by the violation of the auditory cue. In addition, the dorsal frontoparietal network showed a supramodal function in reacting to the violation of informative cues irrespective of the delivery modality of the cue. Taken together, the results reveal novel behavioral and neural evidence that the superior efficiency of the auditory cue is twofold: The auditory-thalamic pathway is associated with improvements in task performance when the bottom–up input matches the auditory cue, whereas the ventral auditory-prefrontal pathway is involved when the auditory cue is violated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amorphous-crystalline heterostructure (Ni/NiMoO 4 /NiCo(OH) x) is prepared by wet chemical etching method for HMFOR and HER. The interaction between NiCo(OH) x and Ni/NiMoO 4 heterointerface regulates the electronic structure of catalyst to facilitate the adsorption behavior of reaction intermediates, thereby showing good performance for HMFOR-assisted H 2 production. [Display omitted] • Coupling of crystalline and amorphous materials provides abundant active sites. • Interactions between heterointerfaces optimize the adsorption of intermediates. • High FDCA selectivity (99.8%) and stability (40 cycles) for HMF oxidation. • Only 1.34 V is required to reach 10 mA cm−2 for HMFOR-assisted H 2 production. The development of catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and stability is critical for biomass upgrading coupled with hydrogen evolution. In this study, we present a simple method for fabricating crystalline-amorphous phase heterostructures using the etching effect of the acidic medium generated during cobalt salt hydrolysis, resulting in the formation of NiCo(OH) x -modified Ni/NiMoO 4 nanosheets electrode (NiCo(OH) x /Ni/NiMoO 4 /NF). The nanosheets array formed during the synthesis process enlarges the surface area of the prepared catalyst, which facilitates the exposure of electrochemically active sites and improves mass transfer. Unexpectedly, the strong coupling interactions between the amorphous-crystalline heterointerface optimize the adsorption of reaction molecules and the corresponding charge transfer process, consequently boosting the catalytic activity for the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Specifically, NiCo(OH) x /Ni/NiMoO 4 /NF catalyst requires only 1.34 V to obtain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for HMFOR-coupled H 2 evolution, and operates stably for 13 consecutive cycles with good product selectivity. This work thus provides insights into the design of efficient and robust catalysts for HMFOR-assisted H 2 evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn sports, noninvasive analysis and monitoring of the human health condition are important to ensure the well-being of the sportsperson and prevent injuries. Multiple biomarker-related substances in body fluids can serve as physiological information and health or health status indicators to detect possible dangers to the athlete. As the glucose content in perspiration may vary with gender and the parts of the body, it is important to develop a highly sensitive and selective glucose detection method. Here, CdTe quantum dots (QDs) are wrapped with a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) to create a fluorescence sensor platform (QD@ZIF-8), which is successfully employed for the determination of glucose levels in human perspiration. The synthesis of QD@ZIF-8 is quickly and easily achieved at room temperature through a one-step process. The resulting platform exhibits strong fluorescence, emitting at a wavelength of 587 nm when excited at 360 nm. The application of ZIF-8 as a transition layer to envelope the CdTe QDs effectively provide chemical and thermal stability, excellent dispersibility, and size selectivity. The sensor is utilized to measure perspiration glucose levels in a diverse group of male and female subjects, revealing significant differences in perspiration glucose concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) appears as a valuable liquid biopsy biomarker in the early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cancer. Here, a biosensing method derived from the AC electrokinetics (ACEK) effect was constructed in this study for the simple, efficient, and rapid method of detection of ctDNA. In the proof-of-concept experiment, ctDNA from the PIK3CA E542K mutant in breast cancer was quantified by detecting a normalized capacitance change rate using a forked-finger gold electrode as the sensing electrode in combination with the ACEK effect. We compared two formats for the construction of the approach by employing varied immobilization strategies; one is to immobilize the DNA capture probe on the electrode surface by Au–S bonding, while the other immobilizes the probe on a self-assembled membrane on the electrode surface by amide bonding. Both formats demonstrated ultrafast detection speed by completing the ctDNA quantification within 1 min and a linear range of 10 fM–10 pM was observed. Meanwhile, the immobilization via the self-assembled membrane yielded improved stability, sensitivity, and specificity than its Au–S bonding counterpart. A detection limit of 1.94 fM was eventually achieved using the optimized approach. This research provides a label-free and minute-scale universal method for the detection of various malignant tumors. The ctDNA biosensors based on the ACEK effect improved according to the probe type or electrode structure and have potential applications in tumor drug efficacy prediction, drug resistance monitoring, screening of high-risk groups, differential diagnosis, monitoring of tiny residual lesions, and prognosis determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been working on standardization of post-quantum cryptography and is approaching the end of round-3 evaluation of algorithms. Key reuse security evaluation is an important part of algorithm evaluation. In order to evaluate the key reuse security of candidate IND-CPA PKEs, at Eurocrypt'19, B |$\breve{\text{a}}$| etu et al. proposed a classical key recovery under plaintext checking attack (KR-PCA) which can recover the reused secret keys by querying an oracle thousands of times. However, the method does not work for cryptosystems which shorten ciphertexts by rounding off the low bits, such as round-3 finalists Kyber and Saber. Subsequently, Dumittan and Vaudenay (ACNS'20) and Qin et al. (ASIACRYPT'21) came up with new effective methods, which require carefully constructed queries. In this paper, we propose an automatic method to recover the reused secret keys of IND-CPA PKEs in Kyber and Saber. Instead of constructing queries carefully, our method uses automated search combined with an optimized bruteforce. The effect and cost of the method depend on the specific parameters. In particular, we can recover the secret keys after thousands of queries in all parameter sets, which is comparable with the current best result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dyslipidemia is characterized by elevated plasma levels of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), triglycerides (TG), and TG‐rich lipoprotein (TGRLs) in circulation, and is closely associated with the incidence and development of cardiovascular disease. Angiopoietin‐like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) deficiency has been identified as a cause of familial combined hypolipidemia in humans, which allows it to be an important therapeutic target for reducing plasma lipids. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of a novel fully human antibody F1519‐D95aA against N‐terminal ANGPTL3 (NT‐ANGPTL3), which potently inhibits NT‐ANGPTL3 with a KD as low as 9.21 nM. In hyperlipidemic mice, F1519‐D95aA shows higher apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and TG‐lowering, and similar LDL‐C reducing activity as compared to positive control Evinacumab (56.50% vs 26.01% decrease in serum ApoB levels, 30.84% vs 25.28% decrease in serum TG levels, 23.32% vs 22.52% decrease in serum LDLC levels, relative to vehicle group). Molecular docking and binding energy calculations reveal that the F1519‐D95aA‐ANGPTL3 complex (10 hydrogen bonds, −65.51 kcal/mol) is more stable than the Evinacumab‐ANGPTL3 complex (4 hydrogen bonds, −63.76 kcal/mol). Importantly, F1519‐D95aA binds to ANGPTL3 with different residues in ANGPTL3 from Evinacumab, suggesting that F1519‐D95aA may be useful for the treatment of patients resistant to Evinacumab. In conclusion, F1519‐D95aA is a novel fully human anti‐NT‐ANGPTL3 antibody with potent plasma ApoB, TG, and LDL‐C lowering activities, which can potentially serve as a therapeutic agent for hyperlipidemia and relevant cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Illeis chinensis feeds on various powdery mildews. It plays a vital role in spreading spores. This paper provides a detailed description of the fine morphology of each of the mouthparts of I. chinensis along with a careful identification and classification of its diverse sensilla types. Specifically, the differences between I. chinensis and predatory ladybeetles are compared, and the functions of each of the mouthparts, as well as their different kinds of sensilla, are discussed. The morphological diversity of insect mouthparts is closely related to changes in food sources and diets. Research into the structures of insect mouthparts may help to establish a fundamental basis for a better understanding of insect feeding mechanisms. In this study, we examined the fine morphology of the mouthparts of Illeis chinensis using scanning electron microscopy. We paid particular attention to the types, quantities, and distribution of sensilla on the mouthparts. Our results showed that the basic components of the mouthparts of I. chinensis are the same as those in other lady beetles, i.e., the labrum, mandible, maxillae, labium, and hypopharynx. We also found structural specialization indicating adaptation to fungal feeding. On the mouthparts, there are eight kinds of sensilla and two kinds of glandular structures, including sensilla chaetica, sensilla basiconica, sensilla styloconica, sensilla coeloconica, sensilla campaniformia, sensilla placodea, sensilla digitiformia, Böhm bristles, perforated plates, and cuticular pores. This is the first time that sensilla digitiformia has been reported in ladybirds. Finally, variations in mouthparts among ladybirds with differing diets, as well as the putative functions of each of the mouthparts and sensilla, were discussed. This research can provide a reference for understanding the functions of the mouthparts in ladybird feeding behavior and thereby contribute to the development of precise insect behavior regulation and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning technology has been employed for precise medical image segmentation in recent years. However, due to the limited available datasets and real-time processing requirement, the inherently complicated structure of deep learning models restricts their application in the field of medical image processing. In this work, we present a novel lightweight LMU-Net network with improved accuracy for medical image segmentation. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) and depth-wise separable convolutions are adopted in both encoder and decoder of the LMU-Net to reduce feature loss and the number of training parameters. In addition, a lightweight channel attention mechanism and convolution operation with a larger kernel are introduced in the proposed architecture to further improve the segmentation performance. Furthermore, we employ batch normalization (BN) and group normalization (GN) interchangeably in our module to minimize the estimation shift in the network. Finally, the proposed network is evaluated and compared to other architectures on publicly accessible ISIC and BUSI datasets by carrying out robust experiments with sufficient ablation considerations. The experimental results show that the proposed LMU-Net can achieve a better overall performance than existing techniques by adopting fewer parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huaduoshan Cu–Mo prospect is in the Duobaoshan orefield, northeast China. The Cu–Mo mineralization occurs in the granodiorites as veinlet-disseminated. The ore-forming process can be divided into four mineralization stages: (I) quartz–pyrite–magnetite; (II) quartz–pyrite–chalcopyrite ± molybdenite; (III) quartz–pyrite–molybdenite–chalcopyrite–sphalerite; and (IV) quartz–calcite–minor pyrite. Liquid-rich two-phase aqueous (L-type), vapour-rich aqueous (V-type) and daughter-minerals three-phase (S-type) fluid inclusions (FIs) were identified at Huaduoshan. The last two types of FIs are absent in stages III and IV. The homogenization temperatures of FIs from stages I to IV are 375–438, 335–378, 283–335, and 223–267 ℃, with corresponding salinities of 2.4–50.4, 2.1–44.9, 2.7–10.1, and 1.7–7.3 wt. % NaCl eqv., respectively. The H–O isotope data of quartz in stages I (δ18OH2O = 6.1–8.0‰, δDH2O = −102.4–−94.6‰) show a magmatic origin of ore-forming fluid; the decreasing δ18OH2O (−6.8–3.2‰) and δDH2O (−117.1–−98.5‰) values of quartz in stage II–IV show the fluid mixing with meteoric water. The S–Pb isotopic values (δ34S = −2.7–0.8; 206Pb/204Pb = 18.236–18.599; 207Pb/204 Pb = 15.504–15.557; 208Pb/204Pb = 37.816–38.629) of pyrites indicate that the ore-forming materials are of magmatic origin. Fluid boiling and mixing may be the major mechanisms of ore precipitation. Zircon U–Pb age (172.1 ± 0.5 Ma) and geochemical data indicate that the ore-related granodiorites are I-type rocks formed in the subduction setting of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean Plate in the Early–Middle Jurassic. In conclusion, we propose that the Huaduoshan Cu–Mo prospect is a porphyry deposit and has potential for further exploration of porphyry Cu–Mo prospecting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a class of large-scale distributed optimization, the calculation of RELM based on the Moore–Penrose inverse matrix is prohibitively expensive, which hinders the formulation of a computationally efficient optimization model. Attempting to improve the model's convergence performance, this paper proposes a low computing cost Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM), where the original update in ADMM is solved inexactly with approximate curvature information. Based on quasi-Newton techniques, the ADMM approach allows us to solve convex optimization with reasonable accuracy and computational effort. By introducing this algorithm into the RELM model, the model fitting problem can be decomposed into a set of subproblems that can be executed in parallel to achieve efficient classification performance. To avoid the storage of expensive Hessian for large problems, BFGS with limited memory is proposed with computational efficiency. And the optimal parameter values of the step-size search method are obtained through Wolfe line search strategy. To demonstrate the superiority of our methods, numerical experiments are conducted on eight real-world datasets. Results on problems arising in machine learning suggest that the proposed method is competitive with other similar methods, both in terms of better computational efficiency as well as accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful visual word recognition requires the integration of phonological and semantic information, which is supported by the dorsal and ventral pathways in the brain. However, the functional specialization or interaction of these pathways during phonological and semantic processing remains unclear. Previous research has been limited by its dependence on correlational functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results or causal validation using patient populations, which are susceptible to confounds such as plasticity and lesion characteristics. To address this, the present study employed continuous theta‐burst stimulation combined with fMRI in a within‐subject design to assess rapid adaptation in regional activity and functional connectivity of the dorsal and ventral pathways during phonological and semantic tasks. This assessment followed the precise inhibition of the left inferior parietal lobule and anterior temporal lobe in the dorsal and ventral pathways, respectively. Our results reveal that both the dorsal and ventral pathways were activated during phonological and semantic processing, while the adaptation activation and interactive network were modulated by the task type and inhibited region. The two pathways exhibited interconnectivity in phonological processing, and disruption of either pathway led to rapid adaptation across both pathways. In contrast, only the ventral pathway exhibited connectivity in semantic processing, and disruption of this pathway alone resulted in adaptive effects primarily in the ventral pathway. These findings provide essential evidence supporting the interactive theory, phonological information processing in particular, potentially providing meaningful implications for clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited transport efficiency of remediation reagents in the subsurface environment is regarded as a key challenge facing in situ soil remediation. Herein, taking advantage of natural hollow fibers, tubular micromotors capable of autonomous movement to facilitate the migration of remediation reagents and achieve efficient degradation of organic pollutants in soil are developed. Widely‐used nanocatalysts in soil treatment, Fe3O4 and MnO2, are integrated on the fiber surface to enable self‐propulsion via recoil of micro/nanobubbles and activation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and peroxymonosulfate. Featured with tiny sizes and wireless motion, the micromotors navigate in microchannels and microenvironments with complex terrain. The dependence of transport efficiency in heterogeneous and porous environments on H2O2 concentration is revealed based on column studies. With fluorescent g‐C3N4 decorated on the surface to enable visualization, the horizontal/vertical migration of prepared micromotors in soil is proved to be greatly enhanced due to self‐propulsion and bubble generation. The micromotors exhibit excellent catalytic performances toward the degradation of a wide spectrum of water‐soluble antibiotics and water‐insoluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Overall, the bioinspired micromotors unveil a new strategy to improve the transport of remediation reagents in the subsurface environment, which holds great potential for efficient in situ soil treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are effective method for tumor treatment. However, the limited variety and quantity of photothermal agents (PTAs) and photosensitizer (PSs) are still major challenges. Moreover, the cell apoptosis mechanism induced by PDT and PTT is still elusive. A fused-ring small molecule acceptor–donor acceptor′ donor–acceptor (A-DA′D-A) type of Y5 (Scheme 1) has a narrow band-gap and strong light absorption. Herein, we used Y5 to polymerize with thiophene unit to obtain polymer PYT based on polymerized small molecule strategy, and PYT nanoparticles (PYT NPs) was prepared via one-step nanoprecipitation strategy with DSPE-PEG2000. PYT NPs had excellent biocompatibility, good photostability, high photothermal conversion efficiency (67%) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capacity under 808 nm laser irradiation (PYT NPs + NIR). In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that PYT NPs + NIR had the ability to completely ablate tumor cells. It was demonstrated that cell apoptosis induced by PYT NPs + NIR was closely related to mitochondrial damage. This study provides valuable guidance for constructing high-performance organic PTAs and PSs for tumor treatment.Highlights: Y5 molecule was polymerized with thiophene unit to synthesize PYT by polymerized small molecule strategy. PYT nanoparticles (PYT NPs) was prepared via one-step nanoprecipitation strategy with DSPE-PEG2000. PYT NPs had excellent performance of photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy and fluorescence imaging for tumor. Polymerized small molecule strategy is feasible to increase the variety and quantity of PTAs and PSs for the design of anti-tumor drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profound impact of excited magnetic states on the intricate interplay between electron and lattice behaviors in magnetic materials is a topic of great interest. Unfortunately, despite the significant strides that have been made in first-principles methods, accurately tracking these phenomena remains a challenging and elusive task. The crux of the challenge that lies before us is centered on the intricate task of characterizing the magnetic configuration of an excited state, utilizing a first-principle approach that is firmly rooted in the ground state of the system. We propose a versatile self-adaptive spin-constrained density functional theory formalism. By iteratively optimizing the constraining field alongside the electron wave function during energy minimization, we are able to obtain an accurate potential energy surface that captures the longitudinal and transverse variations of magnetization in itinerant ferromagnetic Fe. Moreover, this technique allows us to identify the subtle coupling between magnetic moments and other degrees of freedom by tracking energy variation, providing new insights into the intricate interplay between magnetic interactions, electronic band structure, and phonon dispersion curves in single-layered CrI 3 . This new methodology represents a significant breakthrough in our ability to probe the complex and multifaceted properties of magnetic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu-based tandem catalysis provides an efficient route to boost production of C2+ products for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR), but colloidally synthesized Cu NPs are still less explored in tandem electrocatalyst design. A Cu-based tandem catalyst was constructed in hexane by assembling colloidal Cu NPs and Ni–N–C nanocarbon with tunable Cu NPs/Ni–N–C mass ratios, of which colloidal Cu NPs are homogeneously distributed over Ni–N–C nanocarbon. The Cu NPs/Ni–N–C tandem catalysts have been fully characterized by TEM, PXRD and XPS. In the H-type cell, the CO2RR contrast experiments verified that the optimized Cu NPs/Ni–N–C composite produced tandem effect in generating C2H4, benefiting from which a fourfold promotion in faradaic efficiency, and fivefold enhancement in partial current density were achieved compared to the reference Cu NPs/Vulcan carbon. Finally, the post-CO2RR Cu NPs/Ni–N–C catalysts were also measured by CV, EIS, TEM and XPS to further understand the change of tandem catalyst during CO2RR. An efficient Cu-based tandem catalyst was designed by compositing colloidal Cu NPs and Ni–N–C nanocarbon, which boosts cascade production of C2H4 from electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Miltefosine is the first and only oral medication to be successfully utilized as an antileishmanial agent. However, the drug is associated with differences in exposure patterns and cure rates among different population groups e.g. ethnicity and age (i.e., children v adults) in clinical trials. In this work, mechanistic population physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models have been developed to study the dose-exposure–response relationship of miltefosine in in silico clinical trials and evaluate the differences in population groups, particularly children and adults. Methods: The Simcyp population pharmacokinetics platform was employed to predict miltefosine exposure in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a virtual population under different dosing regimens. The cure rate of a simulation was based on the percentage of number of the individual virtual subjects with AUCd0-28 > 535 µg⋅day/mL in the virtual population. Results: It is shown that both adult and paediatric PBPK models of miltefosine can be developed to predict the PK data of the clinical trials accurately. There was no significant difference in the predicted dose-exposure–response of the miltefosine treatment for different simulated ethnicities under the same dose regime and the dose-selection strategies determined the clinical outcome of the miltefosine treatment. A lower cure rate of the miltefosine treatment in paediatrics was predicted because a lower exposure of miltefosine was simulated in virtual paediatric in comparison with adult virtual populations when they received the same dose of the treatment. Conclusions: The mechanistic PBPK model suggested that the higher fraction of unbound miltefosine in plasma was responsible for a higher probability of failure in paediatrics because of the difference in the distribution of plasma proteins between adults and paediatrics. The developed PBPK models could be used to determine an optimal miltefosine dose regime in future clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As the global population continues to grow and the demand for unique meat flavor increases, goat meat has emerged as a sustainable choice for meat consumption. However, improving goat meat production and quality has become a pressing challenge for the industry. The PLEC gene has multiple regulatory effects on muscle development. Our previous study revealed that the PLEC gene in Leizhou black goats has numerous structural variations. In this study, three CNVs were identified in 417 Leizhou black goats. PLEC CNV-1 showed a significant association with chest circumference, body weight, carcass weight, the cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi lumbar muscle, and shear stress (p < 0.05). The gain type is significantly associated with PLEC expression in muscle (p <0.01). These findings suggest that PLEC CNV-1 plays a key role in the growth and muscle development of Leizhou black goats, highlighting its potential as a valuable molecular marker for genetic improvement in goat breeding programs. The plectin (PLEC) gene is crucial in regulating muscle development and maintaining the cytoskeleton. An abnormal expression of PLEC can lead to muscle atrophy and muscular dystrophy. In a previous study, we found that Leizhou black goats exhibit abundant structural variations in the PLEC gene. However, the genetic effects of these variations on growth traits and meat quality in goats are not fully understood. In this study, three PLEC copy number variations (CNVs) were identified in a population of 417 Leizhou black goats, using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology. Population distribution analysis revealed a high abundance of various types of these three CNVs. PLEC mRNA was found to be highly expressed in muscle tissue and remained consistently high from 1 month to 24 months after birth. Specifically, the gain type of CNV-1 (chr14: 81056401-81064800) showed a significant association with PLEC mRNA expression in muscle tissue (p < 0.01). The sequence of CNV-1 in PLEC shares similarities with three domain superfamilies associated with muscle development and skin disease. Furthermore, there were significant differences in chest circumference, body weight, carcass weight, the cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi lumbar muscle, and shear stress between different types of CNV-1 (p < 0.05). Notably, goats with the CNV-1 gain type demonstrated better phenotypic values compared to those with loss and normal types. These findings suggest that PLEC CNV-1 could play a crucial role in the growth and muscle development of Leizhou black goats, making it a potential marker for assisted selection in goat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the high flux tubes of 25 mm outer diameter with the content of 8% and 12% nanoparticles were experimentally studied with the refrigerant R141b under atmospheric pressure. The liquid mass flux was controlled from 128.30 to 252.03 kg/m2·s, the maximum heat flux provided by the electric heating rod was 80 kW/m2, and the range of the superheated degree was from −7 to 4 °C. The results indicate that the porous media promotes the phase change at a low superheated degree, and the heat transfer capacity is 1.88 times that of the smooth tube. Additionally, the vapor quality increases significantly with the increase of nanoparticle concentration. Moreover, the heat transfer coefficient decreases as the outer wall temperature increases due to the formation of the gas film but increases with the increase of nano-powder content. Under the same superheated degree condition, the maximum heat transfer coefficient of the sintered porous tube with 12% nano-powder content is 1.3 times that of the tube with 8% nano-powder content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains incurable in clinical, nanotechnology-based drug delivery strategies show promising perspective in alleviating GBM, while limited blood-brain-barrier (BBB) permeation, short blood half-live accompanied by the poor tumor accumulation and penetration, significantly restrict the therapeutic outcomes. Herein, a versatile super-small zwitterionic nano-system (M CB (S)) based on carboxybetaine (CB) zwitterion functionalized hyperbranched polycarbonate (HP CB) is developed to overcome the brain delivery challenges. After grafting with amino-functionalized IR780 (free IR780), the ultimate paclitaxel (PTX)-encapsulated micelles (M CB (S)-IR@PTX) are precisely activated by near-infrared (NIR) for accelerated drug release and effective combinational GBM therapy. Importantly, M CB (S)-IR@PTX with the crosslinked structure and CB zwitterion prolongs blood-circulation, and CB-zwitterion further facilitates BBB-traversing through betaine/γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter-1 (BGT-1) pathway. Combined with the benefit of super small-size, M CB (S)-IR@PTX highly accumulates at tumor sites and penetrates deeply, thus efficiently inhibiting tumor growth and strikingly improving survival time in U87MG orthotopic GBM-bearing mouse model. The ingenious nanoplatform furnishes a versatile strategy for delivering therapeutics into the brain and realizing efficient brain cancer therapy. Illustration of the super-small zwitterionic micelle (M CB (S)-IR@PTX) to facilitate blood-circulation, improve BBB-transport and enhance tumor penetration and accumulation for efficient glioblastoma therapy. [Display omitted] • Crosslinked structure and zwitterion-shielding for facilitated blood-circulation • Small size and zwitterion-mediated betaine/GABA transporter-1 (BGT-1) pathway for improved BBB-crossing • Small size with zwitterion-produced adsorption-mediated transcytosis for accumulation and penetration • PTT-induced accelerated drug release and hyperthermia for efficient combinational therapy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The function and regulation of miRNAs in progression of chordoma were unclear. Methods: Five miRNAs were identified by the machine learning method from the miRNA expression array. CCk-8 assay, EDU assay, wound healing migration assay, and trans-well assay were used to reveal the effect of the miRNAs in chordoma cell lines. Moreover, bioinformation analysis and the mRNA expression array between the primary chordomas and recurrent chordomas were used to find the target protein genes of miRNAs. Furthermore, qRT-PCR and luciferase reporter assay were used to verify the result. Results: miR-186-5p, miR-30c-5p, miR-151b, and miR-125b-5p could inhibit proliferation, migration, and invasion of chordoma while miR-1260a enhances proliferation, migration, and invasion of chordoma. Recurrent chordoma has a worse disease-free outcome than the primary chordoma patients. AMOT, NPTX1, RYR3, and P2RX5 were the target protein mRNAs of miR-186-5p; NPTX1 was the target protein mRNAs of miR-125b-5p; and AMOT and TNFSF14 were the target protein mRNAs of miR-1260a. Conclusions: miR-186-5p, miR-125b-5p, miR-1260a, and their target protein mRNAs including AMOT, NPTX1, RYR3, P2RX5, TNFSF14 may be the basement of chordoma research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]