Search

Stochastic computing is a non‐traditional computing approach that utilizes stochastic bitstreams to represent numerical values. This representation enables the implementation of circuits using basic logic gates, named stochastic circuits. This work proposes a versatile architecture with correlated input bitstreams for biased accumulation. The design offers a notable reduction in the reliance on random number generators, resulting in lower hardware costs and higher computing accuracy when compared with the existing designs. Experimental results show that the application of Gaussian smoothing has a reduction in area by at least 45% and an improvement in peak signal‐to‐noise ratio of at least 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluidization bed reactor is an attractive method to synthesize and process quantities of functional nanoparticles, due to the large gas–solid contact area and its potential scalability. Nanoparticles fluidize not individually but as a form of porous agglomerates with a typical porosity above 90%. The porous structure has a significant effect on the hydrodynamic behavior of a single nanoparticle agglomerate, but its influence on the flow behavior of nanoparticle agglomerates in a fluidized bed is currently unclear. In the present study, a drag model was developed to consider the porous structure effects of nanoparticle agglomerates by incorporating porous-structure-based drag laws in the Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model. Numerical simulations were performed from particulate to bubbling fluidization state to evaluate the applicability of porous-structure-based drag laws. Results obtained for the minimum fluidization and bubbling velocities, bed expansion ratio, and agglomerate dispersion coefficient show that, compared with the drag law of solid sphere, the porous-structure-based drag laws, especially the drag law of fractal porous spheres, provide a closer fit to the experimental data. This indicates that the pore structures have a great impact on gas–solid flow behavior of nanoparticle agglomerates, and the porous-structure-based drag laws are more suitable for describing flows in nanoparticle agglomerate fluidized beds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many algorithms for image processing do not require particularly high precision, but they rely on complicated arithmetic operations for every pixel in an image. The Bernsen algorithm is a typical local thresholding algorithm for solving the problem of uneven lighting. However, this algorithm requires a significant computing overhead and is extremely sensitive to noise. In this work, two stochastic computing architectures are proposed for implementing the Bernsen algorithm by using, respectively, uncorrelated and correlated input bitstreams. Experimental results show that both designs, especially the one using correlated bitstreams, present high fault tolerance of soft errors and low hardware cost in comparison with its conventional binary implementation. However, SC logic with uncorrelated inputs is not always superior to its corresponding binary circuit in energy consumption, especially the circuit that needs long input bitstreams. That means that a reasonable use of correlation can further optimize the SC circuit design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclobutanes with a gem‐dimethyl group are common motifs in natural products. However, strategies for constructing enantioenriched gem‐dimethyl cyclobutanes are still underdeveloped. Herein, we report an enantioselective approach to synthesize a broad group of chiral 2,3‐disubstituted cyclobutanones through sequential 1,4‐conjugate addition/trapping/cross‐coupling of readily available cyclobutenones. The intermediate 2‐bromocyclobutanone provides a valuable synthetic handle for further coupling transformations. In addition, this strategy was successfully utilized to synthesize gem‐dimethyl cyclobutane‐containing natural products, including (+)‐β‐caryophyllene, (−)‐raikovenal, (−)‐1β,9αH‐5‐linoleoyloxy‐4,5‐secocaryophyllen‐4‐one, and (−)‐rumphellanones A−C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclobutanes with a gem‐dimethyl group are common motifs in natural products. However, strategies for constructing enantioenriched gem‐dimethyl cyclobutanes are still underdeveloped. Herein, we report an enantioselective approach to synthesize a broad group of chiral 2,3‐disubstituted cyclobutanones through sequential 1,4‐conjugate addition/trapping/cross‐coupling of readily available cyclobutenones. The intermediate 2‐bromocyclobutanone provides a valuable synthetic handle for further coupling transformations. In addition, this strategy was successfully utilized to synthesize gem‐dimethyl cyclobutane‐containing natural products, including (+)‐β‐caryophyllene, (−)‐raikovenal, (−)‐1β,9αH‐5‐linoleoyloxy‐4,5‐secocaryophyllen‐4‐one, and (−)‐rumphellanones A−C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel algorithm is proposed for optimal extraction of GaN HEMT small-signal model parameters. The proposed Quantum Genetic Algorithm (QGA) exploits the superposition, entanglement and interference of quantum states, which solves the problems of high number of iterations and slow convergence when obtaining optimal solutions using Genetic Algorithms (GA). Meanwhile, it is solved that the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm produces premature convergence and easily falls into the local optimum solution. In order to avoid the influence of distributed parasitic effects in large size devices under high-frequency conditions, a suitable frequency range is determined and combined with direct extraction techniques to determine the range of parameter values. The model parameter values are optimised step by step using QGA. In order to verify the superiority of QGA, QGA and PSO algorithms are both used to optimise GaN HEMT small-signal model parameters. By comparing the modelled S-parameter effects of the QGA and the PSO algorithm, it can be found that the QGA has better consistency with the measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining phototactic bioconvection in non-scattering suspensions with upper heating and collimated irradiation, this study delves into the intricate dynamics influenced by light and microorganisms. The study focuses on the linear stability of the basic state, examining neutral curves. The numerical analysis involves solving a system of equations using the MATLAB bvp4c solver. The investigation considers the impact of parameters, such as the thermal Rayleigh number, critical total intensity, and Lewis number, on the critical bioconvection Rayleigh number. As the critical total intensity varies, a transition from a stationary to an oscillatory solution (and vice versa) is observed. Phototactic microorganisms are incorporated into the model, and the results show how varying parameters affect convection patterns and stability. The findings reveal interesting phenomena, including Hopf bifurcations and limit cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deubiquitinases (DUBs) remove ubiquitin from substrates and play crucial roles in diverse biological processes. However, our understanding of deubiquitination in viral replication remains limited. Employing an oncogenic human herpesvirus Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) to probe the role of protein deubiquitination, we found that Ovarian tumor family deubiquitinase 4 (OTUD4) promotes KSHV reactivation. OTUD4 interacts with the replication and transcription activator (K-RTA), a key transcription factor that controls KSHV reactivation, and enhances K-RTA stability by promoting its deubiquitination. Notably, the DUB activity of OTUD4 is not required for K-RTA stabilization; instead, OTUD4 functions as an adaptor protein to recruit another DUB, USP7, to deubiquitinate K-RTA and facilitate KSHV lytic reactivation. Our study has revealed a novel mechanism whereby KSHV hijacks OTUD4-USP7 deubiquitinases to promote lytic reactivation, which could be potentially harnessed for the development of new antiviral therapies. Author summary: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic herpesvirus associated with several human malignancies. The life cycle of KSHV comprises latency and the lytic phase. The transition from latency to the lytic phase, known as reactivation, is crucial for viral replication and pathogenesis. Previous studies have established that KSHV reactivation is orchestrated by a viral transcription factor, RTA. However, the specific molecular mechanisms governing RTA stability have remained elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that KSHV RTA recruits two host deubiquitinases (DUBs), OTUD4, and USP7, to promote RTA deubiquitination and stabilization, facilitating viral reactivation. Intriguingly, the DUB activity of OTUD4 is dispensable; instead, OTUD4 serves as an adaptor protein that recruits USP7 to deubiquitinate and stabilize RTA. Our study not only unveils the mechanism by which KSHV exploits the OTUD4-USP7 deubiquitinases to enhance lytic reactivation but also provides insights into the development of novel antiviral therapeutic strategies targeting host deubiquitinase complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluoroalkylated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are a subclass of man-made chemicals that have been widely used in industrial production and consumer products. As a result, PFCAs have been found to accumulate in the environment and bioaccumulate in organisms, leading to potential health and environmental impacts. This study investigated the inhibition of 11 PFCAs on gonadal 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in humans, rats, and mice. We observed a V-shaped inhibition pattern against human granulosa (KGN) cell 3β-HSD2 starting from C9 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, IC 50 , 100.8 μM) to C11 (8.92 μM), with a V-shaped turn. The same V-shaped inhibition pattern was also observed for PFCAs against rat testicular 3β-HSD1 from C9 (IC 50 , 50.43 μM) to C11 (6.60 μM). Mouse gonadal 3β-HSD6 was insensitive to the inhibition of PFCAs, with an IC 50 of 50.43 μM for C11. All of these PFCAs were mixed inhibitors of gonadal 3β-HSDs. Docking analysis showed that PFCAs bind to the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)/steroid binding sites of these enzymes and bivariate correlation analysis showed that molecular length determines the inhibitory pattern of PFCAs on these enzymes. In conclusion, the carbon chain length determines the inhibitory strength of PFCAs on human, rat, and mouse gonadal 3β-HSDs, and the inhibitory strength of PFCAs against human and rat 3β-HSD enzymes shows V-shaped turn. [Display omitted] • PFAS inhibit human and rat 3β-HSDs. • The potency of perfluoroalkyl carbonic acids is increased from C9 to C11 and then is declined. • Carbon chain length determines the potency of PFAS with a V-shaped pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active learning (AL) is an approach that can reduce the dependence on the labeled set significantly. However, most current active-learning methods are only concerned with the first two columns of the posterior probability matrix during the sampling phase. When the difference between the first and second-largest posterior probabilities of several samples is proximate, these approaches fail to distinguish them further. To improve these deficiencies, we propose an active-learning algorithm, joint posterior probabilistic active learning combined with conditional random field (JPPAL_CRF). In the active-learning sampling phase, a new sampling decision function is built by jointing all the information in the posterior probability matrix. By doing so, the variability between different samples is refined, which makes the selected samples more meaningful for classification. Then, a conditional random field (CRF) approach is applied to mine the regional spatial information of the hyperspectral image and optimize the classification results. Experiments on two common hyperspectral datasets validate the effectiveness of JPPAL_CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzophenones (BPs) are a class of chemicals found in various personal care and cosmetic products, such as sunscreens and lotions. Their usage is known to cause reproductive and hormonal health risks, but the exact mechanism of action remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of BPs on human and rat placental 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3β-HSDs), which play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, particularly progesterone. We tested inhibitory effects of 12 BPs, and performed structure-activity relationship (SAR) and in silico docking analysis. The potency of BPs to inhibit human 3β-HSD1 (h3β-HSD1) is BP-1 (IC 50 , 8.37 μM)>BP-2 (9.06 μM)>BP-12 (94.24 μM)>BP-7 (1160 μM) >BP-8 (1257 μM) >BP-6 (1410 μM) > other BPs (ineffective at 100 μM). The potency of BPs on rat r3β-HSD4 is BP-1 (IC 50 , 4.31 μM)>BP-2 (117.3 μM)>BP-6 (669 μM) >BP-3 (820 μM)>other BPs (ineffective at 100 μM). BP-1, BP-2, and BP-12 are mixed h3β-HSD1 inhibitors and BP-1 is a mixed r3β-HSD4 inhibitor. LogP, lowest binding energy, and molecular weight were positively associated with IC 50 for h3β-HSD1, while LogS was negatively associated with IC 50. The 4-OH substitution in the benzene ring plays a key role in enhancing the effectiveness of inhibiting h3β-HSD1 and r3β-HSD4, possibly through increasing water solubility and decreasing lipophilicity by forming hydrogen bonds. BP-1 and BP-2 inhibited progesterone production in human JAr cells. Docking analysis shows that 2-OH of BP-1 forms hydrogen bonds with catalytic residue Ser125 of h3β-HSD1 and Thr125 of r3β-HSD4. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that BP-1 and BP-2 are moderate inhibitors of h3β-HSD1 and BP-1 is a moderate inhibitor of r3β-HSD4. There is a significant SAR differences for 3β-HSD homologues between BPs and distinct species-dependent inhibition of placental 3β-HSDs. [Display omitted] • BP-1 and BP-2 potently inhibit placental human 3β-HSD1. • BP-1 potently inhibits placental rat 3β-HSD4. • BP-1 and BP-2 inhibit progesterone production by human JAr cells. • BP-2 is more potent to inhibit human 3β-HSD1 than rat 3β-HSD4. • LogP and LogS are correlated with the IC50 values of human 3β-HSD1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid Δ5,4-isomerase 1 (3β-HSD1) plays a critical role in the biosynthesis of progesterone from pregnenolone in the human placenta to maintain normal pregnancy. Whether they inhibit placental 3β-HSD1 and mode of inhibition remains unclear. In this study, we screened 21 pesticides and fungicides in five classes to inhibit human 3β-HSD1 and compared them to rat homolog 3β-HSD4. 3β-HSD activity was measured by catalyzing pregnenolone to progesterone in the presence of NAD+. Of the 21 chemicals, azoles (difenoconazole), thiocarbamates (thiram and ferbam) and organochlorine (hexachlorophene) significantly inhibited human 3β-HSD1 with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) values of 2.77, 0.24, 0.68, and 17.96 μM, respectively. We also found that difenoconazole, ferbam and hexachlorophene are mixed/competitive inhibitors of 3β-HSD1 while thiram is a mixed/noncompetitive inhibitor. Docking analysis showed that difenoconazole and hexachlorophene bound steroid-binding site. Difenoconazole and hexachlorophene except thiram and ferbam also significantly inhibited rat 3β-HSD4 activity with IC 50 of 1.12 and 2.28 µM, respectively. Thiram and ferbam significantly inhibited human 3β-HSD1 possibly by interfering with cysteine residues, while they had no effects on rat 3β-HSD4. In conclusion, some pesticides potently inhibit placental 3β-HSD, leading to the reduction of progesterone formation. [Display omitted] • Difenoconazole, thiram, and ferbam are potent human 3β-HSD1 inhibitors. • Hexachlorophene is a moderate human 3β-HSD1 inhibitor. • The species-dependent difference for inhibition of placental 3β-HSD. • Thiram and ferbam inhibit human 3β-HSD1 by targeting cysteine residues. • Thiram and ferbam do not inhibit rat 3β-HSD4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most human teeth have an exposed surface layer of calcified enamel, which is harder than the inner layer of dentin. The interface between the enamel and dentin is called the dentin–enamel junction (DEJ), which ensures that teeth do not collapse and fall off. The purpose of this study was to use finite element analysis software through the J -integral method and the extended finite element method (XFEM) to simulate three models of DEJ structures: (i) wavy DEJ with no thickness, (ii) rectangle DEJ with a thickness of 0.3 mm, and (iii) wavy DEJ with a thickness of 0.3 mm. This paper demonstrates that the layered structure of human teeth plays a positive role in enhancing the fracture strength and preventing the crack from spreading to the depths of teeth. At the same time, we also justify of the scalloped structure and concave orientation of the DEJ interface. The residual stresses in DEJ and its adjacent dentin region are also an important factor of tooth resistance to crack propagation. In addition, the configuration of the DEJ interface and residual stresses in DEJ and dentin areas are further justified by means of XFEM method. The findings in this study provide potential inspiration for the biomimetic design toward strengthening the dentin and dentin-like materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic computing (SC) encodes numerical values into probabilistic binary bitstreams to enable complex arithmetic operations to be transformed into simple bit operations. Different operations can be performed through the same SC element by adjusting the correlation between bitstreams. In this work, two stochastic mean circuits (MCs) are proposed by manipulating positively and negatively correlated bitstreams, respectively named PCMC and NCMC, to improve computing accuracy, lower area, and power consumption. Furthermore, a general structure for MCs, denoted as GMC, is also proposed to generalize their design approach. Compared with the existing multiplexer (MUX)‐based stochastic MCs, the proposed circuits have approximately 50%, 59%, 61%, and 64% reduction in area, and 100×, 10×, 151×, and 12 × improvement in MSE, for 2‐, 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐input situations, respectively. With applications to edge detection and mean filtering, the proposed designs are superior to the existing counterparts in terms of accuracy and hardware cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of hydrogels has garnered significant attention in health monitoring and human motion sensing. However, the synthesis of multifunctional conductive hydrogels with excellent strain/pressure sensing and photoresponsiveness remains a challenge. Herein, the conductive hydrogels (BPTP) with excellent mechanical properties, fatigue resistance and photoresponsive behavior composed of polyacrylamide (PAM) matrix, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yloxy-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNs) reinforcement and polydopamine-modified black phosphorus (BP@PDA) photosensitizer are prepared through a facile free-radical polymerization approach. The PDA adhered to the BP surface by π-π stacking promotes the optical properties of BP while also preventing BP oxidation from water. Through hydrogen bonding interactions, TOCNs improve the homogeneous dispersion of BP@PDA nanosheets and the mechanical toughness of BPTP. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of PDA and TOCNs, the conductive BPTP integrates superior mechanical performances, excellent photoelectric response and photothermal conversion capability. The BPTP-based sensor with high cycling stability demonstrates superior strain sensitivity (GF = 6.0) and pressure sensing capability (S = 0.13 kPa−1) to monitor various human activities. Therefore, this work delivers an alternative construction strategy for generating high-performance conductive hydrogels as multifunctional wearable sensors. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land subsidence is caused by the interaction between groundwater flow and soil deformation. At present, in the field of land subsidence calculation, there is an increasing tendency to use Biot's consolidation theory to precisely simulate the coupling processes of flow and deformation. However, there are some practical problems with large-scale numerical computation, such as large computational loads, low efficiency, and difficulty in obtaining parameters. The Finite Layer Method employs orthogonality of analytical functions to achieve decoupling among various series terms. And the method can be enhanced through parallel computing to optimize the efficiency of solving complex and extensive problems due to its decoupling property. Based on this, combined with the nonlinear homotopy method, a new approach for the reversal of land subsidence is proposed. The validity of the parallel program is confirmed through comparison with established solutions, and the impact of various factors on the efficiency of parallel computing is analyzed. The results indicate that the parallel approach enhances computational efficiency, while the homotopy inversion technique exhibits broad convergence characteristics. • Parallel finite layer method can effectively calculate land subsidence. • The homotopy inversion method obtains the hydrogeological parameters. • Viscoelastic model identified by the parallel homotopy inversion method. • Parallel method improves the efficiency of forward and inversion calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the dynamic response of Maxwell fluid in an elastic cylindrical tube is considered. Focusing on the viscoelastic flow through a thin-walled slender elastic cylindrical shell and neglecting inertia in the liquid and solid, a non-homogeneous linear diffusion equation controlling the coupled viscous–elastic system is obtained. The fluid pressure and deformation fields are obtained by numerical Laplace inversion. The results show that the relaxation time of Maxwell fluid has a significant effect on the flow and deformation fields of the viscoelastic system. This research can be used for the design and control of complex time-varying deformation fields and has a certain value for the applications of soft actuators, micro-autonomous systems, and soft robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) is associated with a greater response to neuroinflammation and the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the mechanisms for this association are not clear. The activation of calcium-dependent cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) is involved in inflammatory signaling and is elevated within the plaques of AD brains. The relation between APOE4 genotype and cPLA2 activity is not known. Methods: Mouse primary astrocytes, mouse and human brain samples differing by APOE genotypes were collected for measuring cPLA2 expression, phosphorylation, and activity in relation to measures of inflammation and oxidative stress. Results: Greater cPLA2 phosphorylation, cPLA2 activity and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) levels were identified in ApoE4 compared to ApoE3 in primary astrocytes, brains of ApoE-targeted replacement (ApoE-TR) mice, and in human brain homogenates from the inferior frontal cortex of persons with AD dementia carrying APOE3/4 compared to APOE3/3. Higher phosphorylated p38 MAPK but not ERK1/2 was found in ApoE4 primary astrocytes and mouse brains than that in ApoE3. Greater cPLA2 translocation to cytosol was observed in human postmortem frontal cortical synaptosomes with recombinant ApoE4 than ApoE3 ex vivo. In ApoE4 astrocytes, the greater levels of LTB4, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were reduced after cPLA2 inhibition. Conclusions: Our findings implicate greater activation of cPLA2 signaling system with APOE4, which could represent a potential drug target for mitigating the increased neuroinflammation with APOE4 and AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Genetic Algorithm-Extreme Learning Machine (GA-ELM) neural network algorithm is proposed to model the relevant characteristics of GaN pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (P-HEMT) large signal. This algorithm solves the over-fitting problem of the Back Propagation (BP) neural network algorithm in the prediction data. It has the characteristics of fast calculation speed, so it can greatly save calculation processing time. It can also randomly generate the connection weights of the input layer, the hidden layer and the threshold of the hidden layer neurons, avoiding errors in parameter selection. In order to verify the superiority of the algorithm, the modeling effects of the BP neural network algorithm model, the Genetic Algorithm-Back Propagation (GA-BP) neural network algorithm model and the GA-ELM neural network algorithm model are compared in this paper. The results show that the proposed GA-ELM neural network algorithm model has the highest accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic computing (SC) is an approximate computing paradigm using probabilities and aims at realizing circuits with low hardware cost. Basic operations (such as addition) have been comprehensively studied, whereas there are few studies on nonlinear operations (such as division and square root) in SC. In this paper, a stochastic division circuit is proposed by using maximally correlated input bitstreams to eliminate the necessity for distinguishing the divisor and dividend. Additionally, four stochastic square root circuits are designed with improved accuracy by decreasing the correlation between intermediate bitstreams via inserting delay elements. Experimental results show that both the proposed division and square root circuits achieve lower mean squared errors (MSEs) while requiring nearly the same hardware resources, compared with the state‐of‐the‐art designs. This result shows the potential in exploiting signal correlation in SC circuit design for high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microvascular disease is frequently found in major pathologies affecting vital organs, such as the brain, heart, and kidneys. While imaging modalities, such as ultrasound, computed tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, are widely used to visualize vascular abnormalities, the ability to non-invasively assess an organ's total vasculature, including microvasculature, is often limited or cumbersome. Previously, we have demonstrated proof of concept that non-invasive imaging of the total mouse vasculature can be achieved with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-labeled human erythrocytes and positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT). In this work, we demonstrate that changes in the total vascular volume of the brain and left ventricular myocardium of normal rats can be seen after pharmacological vasodilation using 18F-FDG-labeled rat red blood cells (FDG RBCs) and microPET/CT imaging. FDG RBC PET imaging was also used to approximate the location of myocardial injury in a surgical myocardial infarction rat model. Finally, we show that FDG RBC PET imaging can detect relative differences in the degree of drug-induced intra-myocardial vasodilation between diabetic rats and normal controls. This FDG-labeled RBC PET imaging technique may thus be useful for assessing microvascular disease pathologies and characterizing pharmacological responses in the vascular bed of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing deep methods for image recognition require massive labeled samples in each visual category for training. However, large amounts of data annotations are timeconsuming, and some uncommon categories only have rare samples available. For this issue, we focus on more challenging few-shot learning (FSL) task, where just few labeled images are used in the training stage. Existing FSL models are constructed with various convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which are trained on an auxiliary base dataset and evaluated for new fewshot predictions on a novel dataset. The performance of these models is difficult to break through because of the domain shift between base and novel datasets and the monotonous network architectures. Considering that, we propose a novel automatic attribute consistent network called Auto-ACNet to overcome the above problems. On one hand, Auto-ACNet utilizes the attribute information about base and novel categories to guide the procedure of representation learning. It introduces the consistent and non-consistent subnets to capture the common and different attributes of image pair, which helps to mitigate the domain shift problem. On the other hand, the architecture of Auto-ACNet is searched with the popular neural architecture search (NAS) technique DARTS, for obtaining a superior FSL network automatically. And the DARTS’s search space is improved by adding the position-aware module to extract the attribute characteristics better. Extensive experimental results on two datasets indicate that the proposed Auto-ACNet achieves significant improvement over the state-of-the-art competitors in this literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the flexibility and agility, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a promising way for gathering data generated by wireless sensor networks. However, the limited battery capacity of the UAV restricts its application on many occasions, e.g., the networks deployed in the wild. In this paper, we propose a cooperative trajectory planning scheme to deal with the energy issue of the UAV, where a truck carrying backup batteries moves along with the UAV acting as a “mobile recharging station”. Our optimization task is to minimize the total mission time for gathering data from all the sensor nodes, which can be achieved by solving two problems: First, we need to divide the entire mission area into multiple subregions so that the UAV can hover over each subregion to collect the data of the sensor nodes through just one taking-off and landing under the constraint of battery capacity; second, we should find out the optimal trajectory of the truck so that the UAV can get to the hovering positions of each subregion from the truck and fly back to it before the battery drains considering the road condition in real world. We introduce an efficient clustering algorithm to partition the area into subregions in a load-balanced way to minimize the number of movements of the UAV. The trajectory planning task is formulated as a coordinated traveling salesman problem, which is solved by a three-step trajectory planning algorithm heuristically, and we also give the analysis of the upper bound and lower bound to demonstrate the performance guarantee. Numerical results show that our proposed scheme provides an effective and cost-efficient way for the data collection of large-scale wireless sensor networks in practical scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-situ nanoscale TiC particles reinforced Ti6Al4V composites was prepared by selective laser melting (SLM) from the mixture of Ti6Al4V alloy powders and graphene powders, the microstructure and interface bonding of the composites were studied. The composites were mainly composed of α, α' martensite and α+β structures. More TiC were formed in the overlapping regions than that in the molten pool, the solidification rate in overlapping regions was slow, which was beneficial to TiC nucleation and growth. The TiC and Ti matrix displayed following orientation relationships: axis [0 0 1] β-Ti ∥[-1 -1 1] TiC ∥[0 -1 1 0 ] α-Ti , lattice plane (2 2 2) TiC //(0 0 0 2) α-Ti , lattice plane (1 1 1) TiC //(0 0 0 2) α-Ti , lattice plane (1 1 1) TiC //(1 0 -1 0) α-Ti. The TiC and Ti matrix have a small degree (6.2%) of mismatch between (1 1 1) TiC and (0 0 0 2) α-Ti , and the semi-coherent interface was occurred. TiC preferentially nucleated and grew up along its (1 1 1) plane. The situ synthesized TiC was added into the Ti6Al4V alloy, refined the grains, and increased the microhardness of the alloy. The microhardness of the composites was 13.6% higher than that of Ti6Al4V alloy. The TiC effectively pinned the dislocations and grain boundaries were responsible for the enhanced mechanical properties of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is presented to study the unsteady oscillatory electroosmotic flow of Maxwell fluid in a microchannel of an isosceles right triangular cross section. An external time-dependent electric field is applied and high zeta potential conditions are considered. Due to the difficulty of theoretical solution, a numerical method is adopted. The numerical solutions are derived by employing the finite difference method. Finally, the effects of some dimensionless variables, the relaxation time, the angular Reynolds number, the wall zeta potential, and the ratio between the typical length and the Debye length on the velocity profiles, are interpreted graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacement is the most intuitive reflection of the comprehensive behavior of concrete dams, especially the time effect displacement, which is a key index for the evaluation of the structural behavior and health status of a dam in long-term service. The main purpose of this paper is to establish a state space model for separating causal components from the measured dam displacement. This approach is conducted by initially proposing two equations, which are the state and observation equations, and model parameters are then optimized by the Kalman filter algorithm. The state equation is derived according to the creep deformation of dam concrete and foundation rock and is used to preliminarily predict the dam time effect displacement. Considering the generally recognized three components of dam displacement, the hydraulic-seasonal-time (HST) model is used to establish the observation equation, which is used to update the time effect displacement. The efficiency and rationality of the established state space model is verified by an engineering example. The results show that the hydraulic component separated by the state space model only contains the instantaneous elastic hydraulic deformation, while the hysteretic elastic hydraulic deformation is divided into the time effect component. The inverted elastic modulus of dam body concrete is an instantaneous value for the state space model but a comprehensive reflection of the instantaneous and hysteretic elastic deformation ability for the HST model, where the hysteretic elastic deformation is a part of the hydraulic component. For the Xiaowan arch dam, the inverted values are 42.9 and 36.7 GPa for the state space model and HST model, respectively. The proposed state space model is useful to improve the interpretation ability of the separated displacement components of concrete dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The mathematical monitoring models that are currently used for the displacement of arch dams are mostly established for a single monitoring point, without considering the spatial association of the displacements at multiple monitoring points. The main purpose of this paper is to develop and verify a mixed‐coefficient panel model for dam displacements of multiple monitoring points. To maintain the largest similarities of the deformation mechanism of different monitoring points represented by one panel model, the displacement monitoring points on dam body are first divided into several groups according to the similarity index of the incremental distance between their measured displacement time series. The mixed‐coefficient panel models are then established for each clustered zone in which the adjustment coefficient of the FEM‐calculated hydraulic component is determined to be identical for all the monitoring points in the same zone, whereas the regression coefficients of the temperature and time effect component are considered to be variable, in order to reflect the similarities and differences of deformation mechanism in different dam regions. Based on the hydraulic, hysteretic, seasonal, and time (HHST) causal factors, the proposed panel model is verified by the measured radial displacement field of the Jinping‐I arch dam. The modeling results demonstrate that the proposed mixed‐coefficient panel model can effectively represent the overall deformation behavior and structural integrity of a high arch dam, and it has good performance in the interpretation and prediction of the dam displacement and the inversion analysis of viscoelastic parameters of the dam body concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio access network (RAN) slicing is one of the key technologies in 5G and beyond mobile networks, where multiple logical subnets, i.e., RAN slices, are allowed to run on top of the same physical infrastructure so as to provide slice-specific services. Due to the dynamic environments of wireless networks and the diverse requirements of RAN slices, inter-slice radio resource management (IS-RRM) has become a highly challenging task in RAN slicing. In this paper, we propose a novel online convex optimization (OCO) framework for IS-RRM, which directly learns the instant resource allocation from the data revealed by previous allocations, such that sophisticated modeling and parameterization can be avoided in highly complicated and dynamic wireless environments. Specifically, an online IS-RRM scheme that employs multiple expert-algorithms running in parallel is proposed to keep track of the environmental changes and adjust the resource allocation accordingly. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results show that our proposed scheme can guarantee long-term performance comparable to the optimal strategies given in hindsight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluidization behaviors of SiO 2 nanoparticles with high initial bed heights of 8–24 cm are investigated experimentally. The effects of the initial bed height and the superficial gas velocity on the minimum fluidization velocity, bed heights, axial solid distributions and the agglomerate diameter are discussed. The results show that the minimum fluidization velocity decreases significantly with the increase of the initial bed height. Over 80% of nanoparticles are fluidized at the bottom dense region of the bed under all fluidization conditions. The high bed expansion arises from a significant increase of the upper dilute region of the bed. The mean diameter of agglomerates measured in the dilute region increases with the initial bed height and the superficial gas velocity. There exists a low-frequency mass transfer between the dense and dilute regions of the bed. [Display omitted] • The fluidization behaviors at high initial bed heights are investigated. • The minimum fluidization velocity decreases with increasing initial bed height. • The high bed expansion arises from a significant increase of the dilute region. • The mean agglomerate diameter increases with the initial bed height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) is associated with a greater response to neuroinflammation and the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the mechanisms for this association are not clear. The activation of calcium-dependent cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) is involved in inflammatory signaling and is elevated within the plaques of AD brains. The relation between APOE4 genotype and cPLA2 activity is not known. Methods: Mouse primary astrocytes, mouse and human brain samples differing by APOE genotypes were collected for measuring cPLA2 expression, phosphorylation, and activity in relation to measures of inflammation and oxidative stress. Results: Greater cPLA2 phosphorylation, cPLA2 activity and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) levels were identified in ApoE4 compared to ApoE3 in primary astrocytes, brains of ApoE-targeted replacement (ApoE-TR) mice, and in human brain homogenates from the inferior frontal cortex of patients with AD carrying APOE3/E4 compared to APOE3/E3. Greater cPLA2 phosphorylation was also observed in human postmortem frontal cortical synaptosomes and primary astrocytes after treatment with recombinant ApoE4 ex vivo. In ApoE4 astrocytes, the greater levels of LTB4, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were reduced after cPLA2 inhibition. Conclusions: Our findings implicate greater activation of cPLA2 signaling system with APOE4, which could represent a potential drug target for mitigating the increased neuroinflammation with APOE4 and AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incompressible flow of a Maxwell fluid through a curved duct with a rectangular cross section is numerically investigated over a wide range of the Dean number and curvature of the duct. Unsteady solutions, such as periodic, multi-periodic, and chaotic solutions, are obtained by using the spectral method. The combined effects of the large Dean number, Deborah number, and curvature on fluid flow behaviors are discussed in detail. It is found that increasing the Deborah number accelerates the occurrence of the four-cell structure of secondary flow no matter what the Dean number is. Periodic solutions are found to appear for the case of a smaller Dean number due to the presence of elasticity. The periodic solution turns to a chaotic solution if the Dean number is further increased. The chaotic solution is weak for a smaller Deborah number, while it becomes strong for a larger Deborah number. In addition, time evolution calculations at Dn = 300 show that the flow state changes significantly if the curvature δ is increased to be the critical value of the curvature δc = 0.26, while it remains almost unchanged for δ > δc or δ < δc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halides have currently been discovered to be ideal electrolytes for all-solid-state Li batteries (ASSLBs) due to their variability, splendid electrochemical stability, and high Li+ conductivities. Here, we studied the electrochemical properties of Li 2-2 x Zn x MgCl 4 (x = 0–0.3) and their application in ASSLBs. By Zn substitution into the Li site of Li 2 MgCl 4 , the Li + conductivities of Li 1.6 Zn 0.2 MgCl 4 (1.2 × 10−5 S/cm) at room temperature is two orders higher than that of Li 2 MgCl 4 (1.9 × 10−7 S/cm). The activation energy is reduced to 0.28 eV for Li 1.6 Zn 0.2 MgCl 4 (Li 2 MgCl 4 is 0.47 eV). We attributed the enhanced electrochemical performance to Li vacancies generated from the Zn substitution. In addition, we fabricated a Li | Li 1.6 Zn 0.2 MgCl 4 | Li cell to appraise the electrochemical performance in the lithiation and stripping. It is demonstrated that Li 1.6 Zn 0.2 MgCl 4 can cycle for 100 h under a current density of 0.07 mA/cm2. This study demonstrates that introducing Li vacancy into Li 2 MgCl 4 may be a valid way to promote the electrochemical properties of the halides. In this work, we report the electrochemical properties of the Zn-substituted Li 2 MgCl 4 (Li 2-2 x Zn x MgCl 4 (x = 0–0.3)). Based on the enhanced electrochemical properties, we fabricate a Li | Li 1.6 Zn 0.2 MgCl 4 | Li symmetric half-cell to evaluate the electrochemical stability during the lithiation and stripping processes. This study shows that the introduction of Li vacancy greatly improves the Li+ conductivities of the halide solid electrolytes, which provides constructive insights into the design of new superior solid electrolytes. [Display omitted] • The electrochemical properties of the Zn-substituted Li2MgCl4 (Li2-2 x Zn x MgCl4 (x = 0–0.3)) were studied. • Li vacancy introduction through Zn substitution into the Li site improves Li+ conductivities by two orders. • A Li.|Li1.6Zn0.2MgCl4|Li symmetric half-cell was fabricated to evaluate the electrochemical stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisphenols, estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals, disrupt at least one of three endocrine pathways (estrogen, androgen, and thyroid). 17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (17β-HSD1) is a steroidogenic enzyme that catalyzes the activation of estradiol from estrone in human placenta and rat ovary. However, whether bisphenols inhibit 17β-HSD1 and the mode of action remains unclear. This study we screened 17 bisphenols for inhibiting human 17β-HSD1 in placental microsomes and rat 17β-HSD1 in ovarian microsomes and determined 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) and mode of action. We observed some bisphenols with substituents were found to significantly inhibit both human and rat 17β-HSD1 with the most potent inhibition on human enzyme by bisphenol H (IC 50 = 0.90 μM) when compared to bisphenol A (IC 50 = 113.38 μM). Rat enzyme was less sensitive to the inhibition of bisphenols than human enzyme with bisphenol H (IC 50 = 32.94 μM) for rat enzyme. We observed an inverse correlation between IC 50 and hydrophobicity (expressed as Log P). Docking analysis showed that they bound steroid-binding site of 17β-HSD1. The 3D-QSAR models demonstrated that hydrophobic region, hydrophobic aromatic, ring aromatic, and hydrogen bond acceptor are key factors for the inhibition of steroid synthesis activity of 17β-HSD1. [Display omitted] • BPA analogues have been widely used but disrupt at least one of three endocrine pathways. • Bisphenols inhibit both human and rat 17β-HSD1. Rat enzyme was less sensitive than human enzyme. • Docking analysis showed that they bound steroid-binding site of 17β-HSD1. • 3D-QSAR models demonstrated HBA, HY, RA, HYA are key factors. • An inverse correlation between IC 50 and hydrophobicity (expressed as Log P). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The mathematical monitoring model‐based interpretation of recorded quantities, especially of displacements, is essential for the structural health diagnosis of concrete dams. In practice, dam displacements are frequently interpreted and predicted by the hydraulic, seasonal, and time model, which considers the thermal deformation effect of a dam body by the periodic harmonic factor. The main purpose of this paper is to replace this factor with the measured temperatures of a dam body. This approach is conducted by performing a time series shape feature‐based spatial clustering method for the temperature field of a dam body in the first step. The principal components are then extracted from each cluster and used as the temperature factors in the monitoring model. An engineering example of the Jinping‐I arch dam demonstrates the good performance of the proposed clustering method and established monitoring models. By comparing the shape feature clustering‐based temperature principal component factor with the periodic harmonic factor, it can be concluded that the proposed models can describe the thermal deformation effect of concrete dams more reasonably: in the presented case study, especially for the dam parts of one half of the dam height above the foundation plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near infrared (NIR) light excitable photosensitizers are highly desirable for photodynamic therapy with deep penetration. Herein, a NIR‐II light (1200 nm) activated photosensitizer TQ‐BTPE is designed with aggregation‐induced singlet oxygen (1O2) generation for two‐photon photodynamic cancer cell ablation. TQ‐BTPE shows good two‐photon absorption and bright aggregation‐induced NIR‐I emission upon NIR‐II laser excitation. The 1O2 produced by TQ‐BTPE in an aqueous medium is much more efficient than that of commercial photosensitizer Ce6 under white light irradiation. Upon NIR‐II excitation, the two‐photon photosensitization of TQ‐BTPE is sevenfold higher than that of Ce6. The TQ‐BTPE molecules internalized by HeLa cells are mostly located in lysosomes as small aggregate dots with homogeneous distribution inside the cells, which favors efficient photodynamic cell ablation. The two‐photon photosensitization of TQ‐BTPE upon NIR‐I and NIR‐II excitation shows higher 1O2 generation efficiency than under NIR‐I excitation owing to the larger two‐photon absorption cross section at 920 nm. However, NIR‐II light exhibits better biological tissue penetration capability after passing through a fresh pork tissue, which facilitates stronger two‐photon photosensitization and better cancer cell ablation performance. This work highlights the promise of NIR‐II light excitable photosensitizers for deep‐tissue photodynamic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the slip boundary condition, the rotating electro-osmotic flow of a third grade fluid in a channel formed by two parallel plates is investigated in the present study. The charge distribution is treated with the Debye–Hückel approximation analytically. Based on the finite difference method, the velocity profile for rotating electro-osmotic flow of third grade fluid is obtained numerically. It is shown that the non-Newtonian parameter of third grade fluid and the velocity slip factor play the important roles for the rotating electro-osmotic flow. The increasing non-Newtonian parameter slows down the flow and decreases the velocity magnitude, and the increasing slip parameter β has the similar influence on the velocity profile. Furthermore, the effect of the inclusion of third grade on the velocity profile is more conspicuous in the area near the walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3-D simulations of falling film flow around curved egg-shaped tubes are conducted. • The influence of Re and inter-tube spacing on falling film flow are examined. • The average film thickness firstly increases and then decreases as the increase of Re. • Film thickness of basin zone is thinner than the prediction results of circular tube. Shell-side falling film flow is extremely important for the heat transfer performance of spiral wound heat exchangers used in liquefied process of natural gas. In this paper, 3-D simulations using hydrocarbon (n-pentane) as the testing fluid are conducted to study the fluid flow characteristic of heat exchanger with curved egg-shaped tube. The effects of different Re numbers (Re) and longitudinal inter-tube spacing (S) on the inter-tube flow modes and the distribution of film thickness (δ) with Re varying from 327 to 2944 are investigated. The axial and circumferential distribution of δ is analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results show that when Re is relatively small (327 and 736), the effect of S on average value of δ (δ a) is negligible. When Re is relatively large (1472 and 2944), the increase of S would thicken δ on tube lower perimeter. When Re increased from 327 to 2944, δ a firstly increases and then decreases as the increase of Re and the ratio (L b) of the axial length of basin zone to the axial measurement range increases from 52% to 76%. In addition, δ of basin zone is almost always much lower (59.23% thinner when Re = 2944) than the classic prediction results of equal-perimeter circular tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the oscillatory flow of a Maxwell fluid in a long tube of isosceles right triangular cross section is considered. The analytical expressions for the velocity and phase difference for the flow driven by the periodic pressure gradient are obtained explicitly. The numerical solutions are calculated by using a high-order compact finite difference method. The effects of relaxation time and the Deborah number on the velocity and phase difference are discussed numerically and graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical analysis is presented for the oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a rectangular straight duct subjected to a simple harmonic periodic pressure gradient. The numerical solutions are obtained by a finite difference scheme method. The stability of this finite difference scheme method is discussed. The distributions of the velocity and phase difference are given numerically and graphically. The effects of the Reynolds number, relaxation time, and aspect ratio of the cross section on the oscillatory flow are investigated. The results show that when the relaxation time of the Maxwell model and the Reynolds number increase, the resonance phenomena for the distributions of the velocity and phase difference enhance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel visible‐light‐induced radical cascade trifluoromethylation/cyclization of N‐benzamides with CF3SO2Na has been achieved. This protocol provides an efficient strategy for the synthesis of CF3‐containing isoquinoline‐1,3‐diones under mild reaction conditions. The reaction features metal‐free, air oxidation, CF3SO2Na as CF3 source, additives free and operational simplicity. Moreover, the representative products displayed significant potencial antifungal activities in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the purpose of improving the quality of services, softwares or online services are collecting various of user data, such as personal information and locations. Such data facilitates mining statistical knowledge of users, but threatens users' privacy as it may reveal sensitive information (e.g., identities and activities) about individuals. This work considers distribution estimation over user-contributed data meanwhile providing rigid protection of their data with local $\epsilon$ε-differential privacy ($\epsilon$ε-LDP), which sanitizes each user's data on the client's side (e.g, on the user's mobile device). Our privacy protection covers both qualitative data (e.g., categorical data) and discrete quantitative data (e.g., location data). Specifically, for categorical data, we derive an optimal $\epsilon$ε-LDP mechanism (termed as $k$k-subset mechanism) from mutual information perspective, and further show its optimality over existing approaches within the context of discrete distribution estimation; for discrete quantitative data that have arbitrary distance metric, we provide an efficient extension of $k$k-subset mechanism by proposing a variant of the popular Exponential Mechanism (EM) to tackle the asymmetry issue on the data domain. Experiments on real-world datasets and simulated scenarios show that our mechanism is highly efficient and reduces nearly a fraction of $\exp (-\frac{\epsilon }{2})$exp(-ε2) error for distribution estimation when compared to existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chaotic convection in Oldroyd-B fluid saturated porous medium is studied. • The effect of temperature modulation is included. • The research is on the basis of Darcy-Brinkman model. • The exchange of chaotic motion from steady convection is found. The analysis of chaotic convection of Oldroyd-B fluid in porous medium under temperature modulation is presented on the basis of Darcy-Brinkman model. A four-dimensional nonlinear system resulting from a truncated Galerkin expansion of the conservation and constitutive equations is set up to deal with the stability of convection with different Darcy number and Darcy-Rayleigh number. The chaotic behavior is controlled by Darcy-Rayleigh number while Darcy number has a great influence on the stability of system. With the lower boundary which is heated in a time-periodic manner, the system will change over to a state of periodic or chaotic motion from steady convection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3-D falling film flow simulations calculated with VOF method are performed. • The influence of tilt and sloshing conditions on falling film flow are examined. • The tilt conditions make the column flow much easier convert to sheet flow. • Under roll motion, a secondary crest zone nearby the main crest zone emerges. The shell-side flow patterns and liquid film thickness (δ) distribution of the falling film are extremely important for the comprehensive performance of the spiral-wound heat exchangers. In this paper, 3-D simulations calculated with volume of fluid (VOF) method are performed to study the inter-tube flow modes and the distribution characteristics of δ around the tube. At first, the effects of different spray densities, longitudinal inter-tube spacings (S t) and spray holes arrangements (S h) on the δ distribution are studied to determine the appropriate values. After that, the influence of tilt and sloshing conditions are examined based on the selected geometric parameters. The results show that although the value of S t has a significant influence on the fluctuation range of δ in stable zone, the average δ in stable zone could remain in the same level. For the spray holes arrangement, the decrease of S h does not thicken the δ in stable zone but promotes a 46% axial length expansion for the crest zone with a thicker δ. The tilt conditions significantly deteriorate the inter-tube flow modes transitions, which makes the column flow much easier convert to sheet flow. Under roll motion, a secondary crest zone emerges nearby the original main crest zone and its δ is 30%–40% thinner than that of the original main crest zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The flexible and self-healing supercapacitors (SCs) are considered to be promising smart energy storage devices. Nevertheless, the SCs integrated with flexibility, lightweight, pattern editability, self-healing capabilities and desirable electrochemical properties remain a challenge. Herein, an all-in-one self-healing SC fabricated with the free-standing hybrid film (TCMP) composed of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yloxy-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNs) carried carbon nanotubes (CNTs), manganese dioxide (MnO 2) and polyaniline (PANI) as the electrode, polyvinyl alcohol/sulfuric acid (PVA/H 2 SO 4) gel as the electrolyte and dynamically cross-linked cellulose nanofibers/PVA/sodium tetraborate decahydrate (CNF/PB) hydrogel as the self-healing electrode matrix is developed. The TCMP film electrodes are fabricated through a facile in-situ polymerization of MnO 2 and PANI in TOCNs-dispersed CNTs composite networks, exhibiting lightweight, high electrical conductivity, flexibility, pattern editability and excellent electrochemical properties. Benefited from the hierarchically porous structure and high mechanical properties of TOCNs, excellent electrical conductivity of CNTs and the desirable synergistic effect of pseudocapacitance induced by MnO 2 and PANI, the assembled SC with an interdigital structure demonstrated a high areal capacitance of 1108 mF cm−2 at 2 mA cm−2, large areal energy density of 153.7 μWh cm−2 at 1101.7 μW cm−2. A satisfactory bending cycle performance (capacitance retention up to 95 % after 200 bending deformations) and self-healing characteristics (∼90 % capacitance retention after 10 cut/repair cycles) are demonstrated for the TCMP-based symmetric SC, delivering a feasible strategy for electrochemical energy storage devices with excellent performance, designable patterns and desirable safe lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a double-stranded DNA virus etiologically associated with multiple malignancies. Both latency and sporadic lytic reactivation contribute to KSHV-associated malignancies, however, the specific roles of many KSHV lytic gene products in KSHV replication remains elusive. In this study, we report that ablation of ORF55, a late gene encoding a tegument protein, does not impact KSHV lytic reactivation but significantly reduces the production of progeny virions. We found that cysteine 10 and 11 (C10 and C11) of pORF55 are palmitoylated, and the palmytoilation is essential for its Golgi localization and secondary envelope formation. Palmitoylation-defective pORF55 mutants are unstable and undergo proteasomal degradation. Notably, introduction of a putative Golgi localization sequence to these palmitoylation-defective pORF55 mutants restores Golgi localization and fully reinstates KSHV progeny virion production. Together, our study provides new insight into the critical role of pORF55 palmitoylation in KSHV progeny virion production and offers potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of related malignancies. Author summary: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic herpesvirus associated with multiple human malignancies. Nonetheless, the roles of numerous viral proteins in the viral life cycle remain inadequately characterized. Employing CRISPR knockout screening, we identified the viral tegument protein pORF55 as pivotal in the production of infectious progeny virions. We found that pORF55 is palmitoylated at cysteine 10 and 11, which is required for its Golgi localization. Palmitoylation-deficient mutants of pORF55 are unstable and fail to support secondary envelopment formation, a critical step for viral assembly and egress. Interestingly, we found that forced restoration of the Golgi localization of the palmitoylation-deficient pORF55 mutants completely reinstates the infectious progeny virion production. Hence, our study underscores the central role of Golgi localization resulting from pORF55 palmitoylation. Our study not only elucidates the role of pORF55 in viral replication, but also suggests targeting its palmitoylation as a potential therapeutic strategy for curtailing viral replication and treating related pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A biomimetic polyhydroxyl nanocellulose/MXene-based film is designed and prepared. • Sequential bridging strategy facilitates build mechanically robust composite films. • Al3+-induced ionic bonds enhance electron transfer and heat conduction among Ti 3 C 2 T x. • Highly electroconductive films show superior photoelectric/photothermal responses. • Patterned films can be assembled into waterproof and flexible wearable electronics. High-performance electronics based on transition-metal carbides/nitrides (MXene) have attracted extensive attention due to their two-dimensional structure, modifiable surface chemistry and excellent conductivity. However, because of the weak interconnections between adjacent nanosheets, the construction of robust and flexible macroscopic MXene-based films for wearable electronics remains a challenge. Herein, mechanically tough, highly electroconductive and multi-photoresponsive films (TTM-Al) with a hierarchical nacre-like structure composed of tannic acid-modified 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yloxy-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TA@TOCNs) and MXene are developed via sequentially bridged hydrogen and ionic bonds. TA@TOCNs with abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups as the intercalation layer can enhance the hydrogen bonding interactions with adjacent MXene nanosheets and improve the dispersibility, film-forming ability, mechanical toughness, as well as the in-plane orientation of MXene nanosheets, which can facilitate the construction of well-aligned "brick and mortar" structure. The ionic bonds induced by aluminum ions and oxygen-containing groups in TA@TOCNs and MXene can not only strengthen the interlocking ability and mechanical toughness of TTM-Al, but also promote the electron transfer and heat conduction between MXene nanosheets. Benefiting from the synergism of sequentially bridged hydrogen and ionic bonds, the optimized ultra-thin TTM-Al (∼40 μm) integrates high mechanical strength (∼118.56 MPa), toughness (∼6.84 MJ m−3), electroconductivity (∼5587 S m−1), photoelectric response (photosensitivity ∼ 3050%) and fast photothermal conversion capability (saturation temperature up to 181.6 °C in only 20 s) under near-infrared irradiation. The patternable and flexible devices based on polydimethylsiloxane encapsulated TTM-Al demonstrate the tunable photoelectric/photothermal dual response, enhanced mechanical and waterproof properties, delivering an alternative construction strategy for next-generation multifunctional photoresponsive wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a long tube with a rectangular cross section is considered. The analytical expressions for velocity profile and phase difference are obtained, and particularly, the singularities of the exact solution are discussed. Furthermore, the convenient expressions of velocity and phase difference are given explicitly for calculations. The effects of the relaxation time and Deborah number on the velocity profile and phase difference are discussed numerically and graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of Darcy–Brinkman model, linear stability analysis is used to study bio-thermal convection in a suspension of gyrotactic microorganisms in a highly porous medium heated from below. A Galerkin method is performed to solve the governing equations generating a correlation between the traditional thermal Rayleigh number and the critical value of the bioconvection Rayleigh number. The effects of three variables including the bioconvection Péclet number, the gyrotaxis number and the modified Darcy number on both the wave number and the critical bioconvection Rayleigh number are analyzed and shown graphically. Results indicate that the critical bioconvection Rayleigh number becomes larger with increasing Darcy number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Three new types of arc-winglet vortex generator (VG) are proposed. • The two types of planar arc-winglet VGs improve the secondary flow behind the tubes. • The curved arc VG can effectively guide more fluid into the region behind the tubes. • The comprehensive performance for curved arc VG is better than that of planar arc VG. Abstract Vortex generator can effectively enhance the heat transfer performance on the fin surface by introducing the secondary flow and intensifying the mixing of fluid. In this study, four new types of arc-winglet vortex generator (VG) are proposed and the three-dimensional CFD numerical simulation was employed to investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics. The results indicate that compared with the conventional rectangular-winglet VG, the two types of plane arc VGs provide a significant improvement on the size of secondary flow behind the tubes and all the wake region size of the fins with the four types of arc-winglet VGs decreased to some extent, especially for the two types of curved arc VGs. The heat transfer enhancement of the fin with curved arc VGs is mainly completed by guiding more fluid to flow into the previous wake region and then scour the downstream tubes directly. In addition, compared with the rectangular-winglet VGs, the Nusselt number averagely increases by 11.5% for the equal-perimeter arc VGs fin, 19.9% for the curved equal-area arc VGs fin, and 35.9% for the curved equal-perimeter arc VGs fin. Although the equal-perimeter arc VG and the curved equal-perimeter arc VG have the same geometry size, the Nusselt number of the fin with the former one averagely increases by 22.2% while the pressure drop only increases by 13.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction mechanism of the Pd2+-catalyzed regioselective C(sp2)–H acylation of azoxybenzenes with α-oxocarboxylic acids has been studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This reaction mechanism involves five major steps: C–H activation, deprotonation, decarboxylation, reductive elimination and oxidation. Our calculation results indicate that the N-coordinated pathway is better than the O-coordinated pathway, which can be interpreted by distortion-interaction analysis of the C–H bond activation transition states. Furthermore, we also suggest that the C–H bond acylation of aryl 1 is more favorable than that of aryl 2, which can be attributed to the fact that five-membered ring transition states are more favorable than four-membered ring transition states and the ON-group has positive charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]