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SUMMARY Ghost introgression, or the transfer of genetic material from extinct or unsampled lineages to sampled species, has attracted much attention. However, conclusive evidence for ghost introgression, especially in plant species, remains scarce. Here, we newly assembled chromosome‐level genomes for both Carya sinensis and Carya cathayensis, and additionally re‐sequenced the whole genomes of 43 C. sinensis individuals as well as 11 individuals representing 11 diploid hickory species. These genomic datasets were used to investigate the reticulation and bifurcation patterns within the genus Carya (Juglandaceae), with a particular focus on the beaked hickory C. sinensis. By combining the D‐statistic and BPP methods, we obtained compelling evidence that supports the occurrence of ghost introgression in C. sinensis from an extinct ancestral hickory lineage. This conclusion was reinforced through the phylogenetic network analysis and a genome scan method VolcanoFinder, the latter of which can detect signatures of adaptive introgression from unknown donors. Our results not only dispel certain misconceptions about the phylogenetic history of C. sinensis but also further refine our understanding of Carya's biogeography via divergence estimates. Moreover, the successful integration of the D‐statistic and BPP methods demonstrates their efficacy in facilitating a more precise identification of introgression types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HCV NS5A is a dimeric phosphoprotein involved in HCV replication. NS5A inhibitors are among direct‐acting antivirals (DAA) for HCV therapy. The Y93H mutant of NS5A is resistant to NS5A inhibitors, but the precise mechanism remains unclear. In this report, we proposed a Ser38‐His93‐Asn91 triad to dissect the mechanism. Using pymol 1.3 software, the homology structure of JFH1 NS5A was determined based on the dimer structure of genotype 1b extracted from the database Protein DataBank (www.ebi.ac.uk/pdbsum) with codes 1ZH1 and 3FQM/3FQQ. FLAG‐NS5A‐WT failed to form dimer in the absence of nonstructural proteins from subgenomic replicon (NS3‐5A); however, FLAG‐NS5A‐Y93H was able to form dimer without the aid of NS3‐5A. The Ser38‐His93‐Asn91 triad in the dimer of the Y93H variant predicts a structural crash of the cleft receiving the NS5A inhibitor daclatasvir. The dimerization assay revealed that the existence of JFH1‐NS5A‐1ZH1 and ‐3FQM homology dimers depended on each other for existence and that both NS5A‐WT 1ZH1 and 3FQM dimers cooperated to facilitate RNA replication. However, NS5A‐Y93H 1ZH1 alone could form dimer and conduct RNA replication in the absence of the 3FQM structure. In conclusion, this study provides novel insight into the functional significance of the Ser38‐His93‐Asn91 triad in resistance of the Y93H variant to NS5A inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical metamaterials have attracted intensive attention in recent years for their broad applications in superlenses, electromagnetic cloaking, and bio-sensing. Negative refractive index (NRI) metal–dielectric–metal fishnet metamaterials (MMs) are typically used for beyond-diffraction-limit imaging. However, there are few reports about the substrate-thickness dependence of NRI, which strongly affects the practical application. In our study, it is demonstrated that the membrane-based NRI MMs with a more negative index work better than the bulk substrate-based counterparts. In addition, a regular periodic vibration of NRI with the thickness of the membrane substrate was theoretically studied. The destructive interference of the thin film can explain this phenomenon. Furthermore, the proposed explanation was further proved by substituting the dielectric spacer with a larger permittivity. Therefore, an NRI structure on a membrane substrate with constructive interference can be a good choice in ultra-compact photoelectronic devices. This study can be a guide to the practical application of ultracompact NRI devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze two classes of fully discrete spectral volume schemes (SV) for solving the one‐dimensional scalar hyperbolic equation. These two schemes are constructed by using the forward Euler (EU) method or the second‐order Runge–Kutta (RK2) method in time‐discretization, and by letting a piecewise kth degree(k≥1$$ k\ge 1 $$ is an arbitrary integer) polynomial satisfy the local conservation law in each control volume designed by subdividing the underlying mesh with k$$ k $$ Gauss–Legendre points (LSV) or right‐Radau points (RRSV). We prove that for the EU‐SV schemes, the weak(2) stability holds and the L2$$ {L}_2 $$ norm errors converge with optimal orders 풪(hk+1+τ), provided that the CFL condition τ≤Ch2$$ \tau \le C{h}^2 $$ is satisfied. While for the RK2‐SV schemes, the weak(4) stability holds and the L2$$ {L}_2 $$ norm errors converge with optimal orders 풪(hk+1+τ2), provided that the CFL condition τ≤Ch43$$ \tau \le C{h}^{\frac{4}{3}} $$ is satisfied. Here h$$ h $$ and τ$$ \tau $$ are, respectively, the spacial and temporal mesh sizes and the constant C$$ C $$ is independent of h$$ h $$ and τ$$ \tau $$. Our theoretical findings have been justified by several numerical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) is a feasible, safe, effective and minimally invasive technique to significantly improve the quality of life of advanced severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, three‐dimensional computed tomography (3D‐CT) automatic analysis software combined with pulmonary function test (PFT) was used to retrospectively evaluate the postoperative efficacy of BLVR patients. The purpose is to evaluate the improvement of lung function of local lung tissue after operation, maximize the benefits of patients, and facilitate BLVR in the treatment of patients with advanced COPD. All the reported cases of advanced COPD patients treated with BLVR with one‐way valve were collected and analysed from 2017 to 2020. Three‐dimensional‐CT image analysis software system was used to analyse the distribution of low‐density areas <950 Hounsfield units in both lungs pre‐ and post‐ BLVR. Meanwhile, all patients performed standard PFT pre‐ and post‐operation for retrospective analysis. We reported six patients that underwent unilateral BLVR with 1 to 3 valves according to the range of emphysema. All patients showed a median increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of 34%, compared with baseline values. Hyperinflation was reduced by 16.6% (range, 4.9%‐47.2%). The volumetric measurements showed a significant reduction in the treated lobe volume among these patients. Meanwhile, the targeted lobe volume changes were inversely correlated with change in FEV1/FEV1% in patients with heterogeneous emphysematous. We confirm that 3D‐CT analysis can quantify the changes of lung volume, ventilation and perfusion, to accurately evaluate the distribution and improvement of emphysema and rely less on the observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) was initially developed for rotator cuff arthropathy but has been expanded to treat comminuted proximal humerus fractures. Few studies have compared RSA for traumatic and degenerative indications. We present the first report of mid-term outcomes of RSA comparing both indications in an Asian population. Methods: 113 degenerative and 20 fracture patients underwent RSA from 2010 to 2019. Patients with degenerative indications were 4:1 propensity-score matched to fractures and adjusted for age and sex. Patients were assessed for range of motion (ROM), strength, pain, Constant-Murley score (CMS), University of California Los Angeles Shoulder Score (UCLA) and Oxford shoulder score (OSS) preoperatively, at 6-months and 1-year. Patients' satisfaction, expectation fulfilment and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were analysed. Results: Degenerative patients had better ROM, isometric strength and CMS at 6-months, although at 1-year only abduction was superior (104.8 ± 17.3° vs 86.7 ± 19.8°). No significant differences in pain, UCLA and OSS were observed. Most improvements occurred within 6 months. Similar proportions of patients were satisfied (83.3% vs 73.3%, p = 0.460) and attained MCID (85.0% vs 86.7%, p = 1.000) at 1-year. Discussion: Although initially exhibiting slower recovery, patients with proximal humerus fractures can expect similar functional recovery and satisfaction at 1-year compared to those who received RSA for degenerative indications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyphosate (Glyp) is an organophosphorus herbicide, and its abuse causes potential harm to the environment and human health. Thus, the development of simple and portable methods for rapid and visual detection of glyphosate is of great importance. Herein, we successfully developed a new fluorescent probe L with dansyl fluorophore as a fluorescent dye and tetrapeptide (Ala-Ser-Arg-His-NH2) as a recognition group. According to the design, L exhibited a specific fluorescence quenching response to Cu2+ and formed an L-Cu2+ ensemble with a molecular ratio of 2:1, demonstrating a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 12.04 nM. Interestingly, the L-Cu2+ ensemble as a relay response probe exhibited a specific fluorescence "off–on" response to glyphosate without interference from other pesticides and anions based on the strong complexation of glyphosate and Cu2+. The LOD of the L-Cu2+ ensemble for glyphosate was calculated as 12.59 nM. Additionally, the results of three recovery experiments with real samples showed that L has good practicability and accuracy in detecting glyphosate. Test strips were also fabricated to achieve facile detection of glyphosate to demonstrate the practical application potential of the L-Cu2+ ensemble. The L-Cu2+ ensemble was integrated with a smartphone for semi-quantification of glyphosate in a field environment under a 365 nm UV lamp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A5 (CV-A5) is a re-emerging enterovirus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease in children under five years of age. CV-A5-M14-611 is a mouse-adapted strain that can infect orally and lead to the death of 14-day-old mice. Here, recombinants based on CV-A5-M14-611 were constructed carrying three reporter genes in different lengths. Smaller fluorescent marker proteins, light, oxygen, voltage sensing (iLOV), and nano luciferase (Nluc) were proven to be able to express efficiently in vitro. However, the recombinant with the largest insertion of the red fluorescence protein gene (DsRed) was not rescued. The construction strategy of reporter viruses was to insert the foreign genes between the C-terminus of VP1 and the N-terminus of 2A genes and to add a 2A protease cleavage domain at both ends of the insertions. The iLOV-tagged or Nluc-tagged recombinants, CV-A5-iLOV or CV-A5-Nluc, exhibited a high capacity for viral replication, genetic stability in cells and pathogenicity in mice. They were used to establish a rapid, inexpensive and convenient neutralizing antibody assay and greatly facilitated virus neutralizing antibody titration. Living imaging was performed on mice with CV-A5-Nluc, which exhibited specific bioluminescence in virus-disseminated organs, while fluorescence induced by CV-A5-iLOV was weakly detected. The reporter-gene-tagged CV-A5 can be used to study the infection and mechanisms of CV-A5 pathogenicity in a mouse model. They can also be used to establish rapid and sensitive assays for detecting neutralizing antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) in children is associated with various comorbidities, posing challenges for treatment and management. There have been few investigations of these multimorbidities in Chinese children with AR. Here, we investigated the prevalence of multimorbidities in children with moderate to severe AR and analyzed the influencing factors using real-world data. Methods: In total, 600 children who visited the outpatient clinic of our hospital and were diagnosed with moderate-severe AR were prospectively enrolled. All children underwent allergen detection and electronic nasopharyngoscopy. Parents or guardians completed a questionnaire that included age, sex, mode of delivery, feeding pattern, and familial history of allergy. The multimorbidities investigated included atopic dermatitis (AD), asthma, allergic conjunctivitis (AC), chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), adenoid hypertrophy (AH), tonsil hypertrophy (TH), recurrent epistaxis, and recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs). Results: The AR multimorbidities reported in children were as follows: recurrent epistaxis (46.5%), AC (46.3%), AD (40.7%), asthma (22.5%), RRIs (21.3%), CRS (20.5%), AH (19.7%), and TH (12.5%). In univariate logistic regression analysis, age (<6 years), birth mode, familial history of allergy, and single dust mite allergy were associated with AR multimorbidity (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that a familial history of allergy was an independent risk factor for AC (odds ratio [OR] = 1.539, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.104–2.145) and AH (OR = 1.506, 95% CI: 1.000–2.267) (p < 0.05). Age (<6 years) was independently associated with the risk of AD (OR = 1.405, 95% CI: 1.003–1.969) and RRTIs (OR = 1.869, 95% CI: 1.250–2.793) (p < 0.05), cesarean section with AR and CRS risk (OR = 1.678, 95% CI: 1.100–2.561), and single dust mite allergy with asthma (OR = 1.590, 95% CI: 1.040–2.432) and CRS (OR = 1.600, 95% CI: 1.018–2.515) risk (p < 0.05). Further, non-dust mite allergy was independently associated with AR and CRS (OR = 2.056, 95% CI: 1.084–3.899). Conclusion: AR was found to be accompanied by different comorbidities, including both allergic and non-allergic comorbidities, complicating disease treatment. These findings demonstrated that age (<6 years), familial history of allergy, types of allergens, and cesarean section were risk factors for different multimorbidities associated with AR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The external voltage-driven polymer translocation through a conical pore (with a large opening at the entry and a small tip at the exit) is studied by using the Langevin dynamics simulation in this paper. The entire translocation process is divided into an approaching stage and a threading stage. First, the approaching stage starts from the polymer entering the large opening and ends up at a terminal monomer reaching the pore tip. In this stage, the polymer will undergo the conformation adjustment to fit the narrowed cross-sectional area of the pore, leading to three approaching modes: the non-stuck mode with a terminal monomer arriving at the pore tip smoothly, the weak-stuck mode for the polymer stuck inside the pore for a short duration with minor conformational adjustments, and the strong-stuck mode with major conformational changes and a long duration. The approaching times (the duration of the approaching stage) of the three approaching modes show different behavior as a function of the pore apex angle. Second, the threading stage describes that the polymer threads through the pore tip with a linear fashion. In this stage, an increase in the apex angle causes the reduction of the threading time (the duration of the threading stage) due to the increase in the driving force with the apex angle at the tip. Moreover, we also find that with the increase in the apex angle or the polymer length, the polymer threading dynamics will change from the quasi-equilibrium state to the non-equilibrium state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The helper CD4+ T cell-type 17 (Th17) cells and regulatory CD4+ T cells (Tregs) are balanced through numerous molecular regulators, particularly metabolic factors, and their alteration causes immune dysregulation. Herein, we report that peroxisome proliferator of activated receptor-alpha (Pparα), a lipid metabolism regulator, suppresses Th17 differentiation. We demonstrated that Pparα ablation improves Th17 and pro-Th17 factor HIF-1α by enhancing the expression and nuclear localization of NFκB-activator IκB kinase-alpha (IKKα). Unexpectedly, we found that IKKα directly interacts with RORγt and enhances the expression of Il17a gene. Meanwhile, IKKα also interacts with Foxp3, leading to the post-translational regulation of Foxp3 by elevating its proteasomal degradation, and influencing Th17 development. Pparα deficiency leads to enhanced Th17 development in vivo and is associated with enhanced pathology in a murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. Overall, our data indicate that Pparα may serve as a potential therapeutic target for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Upregulation of Pparα in activated CD4+ T cells inhibits IKKα expression and IKKαdependent degradation of Foxp3 and elevation of IL17a, thus could constitute a potential therapeutic target for autoimmune, cancer and inflammatory diseases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur(VI)‐fluoride exchange linkage as a next generation of click chemistry was introduced by Sharpless and coworkers in 2014. Distinguished from CuAAC, the SuFEx reaction proceeds under metal‐free conditions, and the reactive linkers are variable, enabling access to a diverse class of linkage compounds. Therein, a series of SuFEx linkers emerged has been widely prevalent in diverse fields. The SVI−F bond in comparison to SVI−Cl bond features excellent stability and chemoselectivity. The linkage chemistry primarily involves the formation of S−O and S−N bonds via commercially available phenols and amines, yet less study on C‐SuFEx linkage. This review will focus on three types of linkage for SuFEx linkers comprising S−O, S−N, and S−C bonds, and we hope to provide a practical guidance for SuFEx linkage chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to examine how reward-associated emotional facial distractors could capture attentional resources in a demanding visual task using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the learning phase, a high- or low-reward probability was paired with angry, happy, or neutral faces. Then, in the test phase, participants performed a face-irrelevant task with no reward at stake, in which they needed to discriminate the length of two lines presented in the center of the screen while faces that were taken from the learning phase were used as distractors presented in the periphery. The behavioral results revealed no effect of distractor emotional valence since the emotional information was task-irrelevant. The ERP results in the test phase revealed a significant main effect of distractor emotional valence for the parieto-occipital P200 (170–230 ms); the mean amplitudes in both the angry- and happy-face conditions were more positive than the neutral-face condition. Moreover, we found that the high-reward association enhanced both the N170 (140–180 ms) and EPN (260–330 ms) relative to the low-reward association condition. Finally, the N2pc (270–320 ms) also exhibited enhanced neural activity in the high-reward condition compared to the low-reward condition. The absence of emotional effects indicated that task-irrelevant emotional facial stimuli did not impact behavioral or neural responses in this highly demanding task. However, reward-associated information was processed when attention was directed elsewhere, suggesting that the processing of reward-associated information worked more in an automatic way, irrespective of the top-down task demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) inputs from legume residues over the long-term contribute to improve soil N cycling and the productivity of succeeding plants in species-diverse ecosystems. Litter mixtures enhance soil fertility, thus enhancing biomass production, which in turn creates positive diversity–productivity feedback in the long-term. Positive effects of litter diversity on the composition and diversity of soil organisms increase over time. Residue-borne pathogens and pests gradually accumulate through litter input from monocultures, whereas diverse plant-litter mixtures reduce the incidence and spread of residue-borne pathogens and pests in the long-term. Plant litter can strengthen biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships in both natural and managed ecosystems. Appropriate management of residues from plant mixtures across multiple growing seasons can promote the sustainability of food production systems. Plant biodiversity–productivity relationships become stronger over time in grasslands, forests, and agroecosystems. Plant shoot and root litter is important in mediating these positive relationships, yet the functional role of plant litter remains overlooked in long-term experiments. We propose that plant litter strengthens biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships over time in four ways by providing decomposing detritus that releases nitrogen (N) over time for uptake by existing and succeeding plants, enhancing overall soil fertility, changing soil community composition, and reducing the impact of residue-borne pathogens and pests. We bring new insights into how diversity–productivity relationships may change over time and suggest that the diversification of crop residue retention through increased residue diversity from plant mixtures will improve the sustainability of food production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to investigate misalignment (tilt and decentration) and rotational stability of the implantable collamer lens V4c 6 months after implantation and to explore the potential risk factors associated with postoperative misalignment and rotation. Methods: A total of 36 eyes of 36 patients with high myopia and myopic astigmatism who underwent implantable collamer lens V4c implantation were included in this study. Tilt, decentration, and rotation of the implantable collamer lens were assessed postoperatively at l week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Correlation analysis was used to identify the potential risk factors for implantable collamer lens tilt, decentration, and rotation at 6 months postoperatively. Higher-order aberration was measured to evaluate the effect of implantable collamer lens misalignment on visual quality at pupil diameters of 4.0 mm and 6.0 mm. Results: The tilt and decentration at the last follow-up were 2.43 ± 1.35° and 0.278 ± 0.160 mm, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between tilt and decentration (r = 0.31, P = 0.046). No significant correlation was detected between implantable collamer lens decentration and internal higher-order aberrations (P > 0.05). The degree of implantable collamer lens rotation (3.11 ± 2.00°) was significantly associated with the vault (r = − 0.422, P = 0.01), while it was positively associated with the preoperative anterior chamber depth (r = 0.36, P = 0.034). No significant correlation was found between postoperative astigmatism and rotation (r = − 0.07, P = 0.351). Conclusions: The implantable collamer lens V4c provides relatively stable misalignment and rotation after implantation. The ICL lens vault is a potential risk factor for postoperative implantable collamer lens rotation. The absolute value of decentration and tilt was relatively small, which showed no correlation with internal higher-order aberration in short-term observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to use high-frequency ultrasound guidance to compare the efficacy of percutaneous release combined with intra-tendon sheath injection (PR-ITSI) and percutaneous release only (PR-ONLY) in the treatment of adult trigger finger (TF) patients. Materials and methods: A total of 48 patients were randomly divided into PR-ITSI group and PR-ONLY group. The thickness of the A1 pulley was measured prior to surgery and 1-year after surgery. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scale score of affected fingers were evaluated at 1 day, 1 month, and 1 year after surgery. Results: The overall difference of VAS score between the two groups after treatment was statistically significant (p<0.001), while the VAS scores gradually decreased in both groups at different time-points after treatment. The VAS scores in the PR-ITSI group at 1 day and 1 month after surgery were 1.475 and 0.904 (p<0.001), respectively, which were lower than those in the PR-ONLY group. Different treatment methods had no effect on the VAS score at 1 year after surgery (p=0.055). The thickness of the A1 pulley at 1 year after surgery was lower than that before surgery (p<0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in A1 pulley thickness between the two groups (p=0.095). The rate of PGI-I scale improvement by one grade at 1 day, 1 month, and 1 year after surgery in the PR-ITSI group was 15.322 times (95%CI: 4.466-52.573, p<0.001), 14.807 times (95%CI: 2.931-74.799, p=0.001), and 15.557 times (95%CI: 1.119-216.307, p=0.041), respectively, than that in the PR-ONLY group. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided PR-ITSI is superior to PR-ONLY in the VAS score and PGI-I scale for adult TF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fixed point iterative approach for solving the third-order tensor linear complementarity problems (TLCP) is presented in this paper. Theoretical analysis shows that the third-order tensor linear complementarity problem is equivalent to a fixed point equation under tensor T-product. Based on the fixed point equation, a fixed point iterative method is proposed and corresponding convergence proof are studied. Moreover, we provide estimations of the convergence rate. The computer-simulation results further substantiate that the proposed fixed point iterative method can solve the TLCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration motion of defects in metal halide perovskites' quantum dots (MHPQDs) results in charge-carrier trapping which has become more complicated. We study two-step trapping mediated by mobile defects between the ground state of MHPQDs and a fixed-depth defect using a full-configuration defect method, where all possible trapping processes mediated by these mobile defects could be reproduced and the fastest channels among them are picked out. We find that these two-step trapping processes could keep more one order of magnitude faster than these direct ones as mobile defects with the appropriate localization strength, which implies that these indirect trapping should play the crucial rule to determine the non-radiative recombination losses. These results provide the significant explanation for studying non-radiation processes of carriers in the presence of the migration defects in recent experiments. Moreover, this model will be available to analyze some key performance related defects in electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence and uniqueness of solutions and fast algorithms for tensor complementarity problems are hot topics in nowadays. We present a time-varying tensor complementarity problem (TVTCP) under tensor-tensor product (t-product). Theoretical analysis shows that the TVTCP is equivalent to a time-varying absolute value equation (TVAVE) under the mild conditions. Based on the absolute value equation, some neural networks for solving time-varying tensor inverse and TVTCP under the t-product are proposed and corresponding convergence are studied. Moreover, if the activation function (AF) of the neural networks is Mwsbp function, then we present the upper bound of the convergence time for the proposed neural networks. The numerical test results further illustrate that the proposed neural networks can solve time-varying tensor inverse and TVTCP effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the problem of joint detection, tracking, and classification (JDTC) for multiple extended objects (EOs) within a Poisson multi-Bernoulli (MB) mixture (PMBM) filter, where an EO is described as an ellipse, and the ellipse is modeled by a random matrix. The EOs are classified according to the size information of the ellipse. Usually, detection, tracking, and classification are processed step-by-step. However, step-by-step processing ignores the coupling relationship between detection, tracking, and classification, resulting in information loss. In fact, detection, tracking, and classification affect each other, and JDTC is expected to be beneficial for achieving better overall performance. In the multi-target tracking problem based on RFS, the overall performance of the PMBM filter satisfying the conjugate priors has been verified to be superior to other filters. Specifically, the PMBM filter propagates multiple MB simultaneously during iterative updates and model the distribution of hitherto undetected EOs. At present, the PMBM filter is only applied to multiple extended objects tracking problem. Therefore, we consider using the PMBM filter to solve the JDTC problem of multiple EOs and further improve JDTC performance. Furthermore, the closed-form implementation based on the product of a gamma Gaussian inverse Wishart (GGIW) and class probability mass function (PMF) is proposed. The details of parameters calculation in the implementation process and the derivation of class PMF are presented in this paper. Simulation experiments verify that the proposed algorithm, named the JDTC-PMBM-GGIW filter, performs well in comparison to the existing JDTC strategies for multiple extended objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional target tracking is carried out based on the point measurements extracted from the radar resolution cells. This is not suitable for situations of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this paper, we aim to investigate the problem of the joint detection and tracking (JDT) of a target by directly using the received signals of passive multi-static radar without feeding the signals to matched filters. To this end, a novel likelihood function is proposed exploiting the statistical properties of coherent processing between the reference and surveillance signals. With such a likelihood function, the particle Bernoulli filter is employed to perform direct JDT (DJDT) of the target. A remarkable feature of the proposed method is that it is able to achieve satisfactory performance when the SNR of received signals is low. Furthermore, the proposed method cannot only achieve the existence and kinematic state of the target, but also the time-varying SNR of each receiver, which serves as an important input for sensor adjustment. The performance of the proposed method is verified via simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of a pipe's inner surface grinding, a single-phase nanostructured austenite was formed on the surface of an AISI 304 stainless steel. The electrochemical corrosion behavior was compared with a coarse-grained counterpart of identical surface roughness. Experimental results show that the nanostructured austenite shows a higher pitting potential and a wider passivation interval than those of its coarse-grained counterpart. The enhanced corrosion resistance was attributed to the fast diffusion of Cr within the nanostructure and, hence, the formation of a thicker passive film to efficiently protect the surface against the ion attack. This work provides insights into a simple processing method to improve the surface strength and pitting resistance of stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binary polymer systems show advantage in many applications. Herein, we study the conformational properties of a binary polymer system consisted of flexible and stiff polymers confined in slits using molecular dynamics simulation. The flexible and stiff polymers have the same chain length and concentration. Two surface enrichment structures, surface enrichment structure of stiff polymers and surface enrichment structure of flexible polymers, are observed dependent on the surface property and polymer concentration. In repulsive slits at high polymer concentration, surface enrichment structure of stiff polymers is observed as the unique structure. For attractive slits of the same attraction strength to both polymers, surface enrichment structure of stiff polymers even appears at low polymer concentration. Surface enrichment structure of flexible polymers can be observed when the surface attraction to the flexible polymers is much stronger than that to the stiff polymers. Our simulation results indicate that the structure of the binary polymer system can be controlled by varying the surface properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tip vortex cavitation (TVC) affects hydrodynamic performance and can cause drastic vibration and noise; therefore, it is crucial to predict the evolution of TVC, understand its generation mechanism, and determine methods to control it. In this work, a large eddy simulation was performed to resolve unsteady turbulence, and the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model was used to capture transient cavitating flow. Both wetted and cavitating conditions were used in the first step to validate the numerical methods. The mechanism of TVC development and the interactions between the tip vortex and TVC were also revealed. Next, active control by water injection was performed to suppress TVC, and the side and top injection circumstances were explored and compared. Parametric studies were conducted for the side injection condition by changing the injection velocity and angle. The results showed that both side and top injections had remarkable effects on TVC control. Flow field analysis demonstrated that the top injection flow affected the local velocity magnitude and direction of the incident flow of the tip vortex, thus reducing the vortex strength and TVC. For the side injection condition, the injection flow directly influenced the incepted structures of the tip vortex. As a result, injection flow deeply deformed the tip vortex and decreased the generation and intensity of TVC. Furthermore, increasing the injection velocity or the component of the velocity in the cross-streamwise direction could effectively increase the cavitation inhibition rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is often limited by the insolubility of sonosensitizers and unfavorable hypoxia tumor microenvironment. To meet this challenge, an oxygen-generating polymer vesicle is developed to achieve enhanced SDT. The hydrophilic coronas and the hydrophobic membrane of polymer vesicles can function as different modules for the simultaneous delivery of manganese dioxide and chlorine e6 (designated as Ce6-MnO 2 -PVs). These Ce6-MnO 2 -PVs exhibited high catalase mimetic activity and could efficiently generate reactive oxygen species upon ultrasound activation. In vivo results showed that Ce6-MnO 2 -PVs almost completely eradicated the subcutaneous tumors (94% volume reduction) without any obvious systemic toxicity. Moreover, these Ce6-MnO 2 -PVs showed effective behavior for the attenuation of crucial tumor progression-releated factors. Specially, the expression levels of both hypoxia-inducible factor-1 α and vascular endothelial growth factor at 4 h post-injection detected by immunofluorescence were reduced by 66% and 52%, respectively. These findings suggest that Ce6-MnO 2 -PVs may serve as an effective and safe platform for enahnced SDT in hypoxic tumors. [Display omitted] • Polymer vesicles were designed for simultaneous delivery of MnO 2 and Ce6. • High catalase mimetic activity was found in the acidic environment. • Enhanced sonodynamic therapy could be achieved by modulating tumor hypoxia. • Expression of hypoxia-responsive proteins was significantly attenuated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an economical imaging system with integrated hardware and software to capture multispectral images of Lepidoptera with high efficiency. This method facilitates the comparison of colors and shapes among species at fine and broad taxonomic scales and may be adapted for other insect orders with greater three-dimensionality. Our system can image both the dorsal and ventral sides of pinned specimens. Together with our processing pipeline, the descriptive data can be used to systematically investigate multispectral colors and shapes based on full-wing reconstruction and a universally applicable ground plan that objectively quantifies wing patterns for species with different wing shapes (including tails) and venation systems. Basic morphological measurements, such as body length, thorax width, and antenna size are automatically generated. This system can increase exponentially the amount and quality of trait data extracted from museum specimens. An accessible approach to multispectral imaging analysis of museum butterfly specimens is presented using consumer technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Mulisan decoction (MLS) is a classic formula of traditional Chinese medicine for treating hyperhidrosis. The mechanism remains unclear. Context: Mulisan decoction (MLS) is a classic formula of traditional Chinese medicine for treating hyperhidrosis. The mechanism remains unclear. Materials and methods: Fifty rats were divided into control, model, and three doses of MLS intervention groups (n=10). Rats except for control group were induced diseases features of the applicable scope of MLS via i.p. reserpine (0.5 mg/kg/d) for 10 days. From day 11, MLS groups were administrated orally MLS at 0.6, 3, and 15 g/kg once a day for 14 days, respectively. After the last administration, sweating was induced in all rats via s.c. pilocarpine (25 mg/kg), the right hind foot of rats was stained, and sweat point numbers were observed. Rat serum was collected to detect IL-2, IL-6, IFN-c, and TNF-a. Rat plasma was collected for endogenous metabolite analysis via UPLC-QE-Focus-MS. Results: Rats treated with MLS presented a significant decrease in sweat point numbers (13.5%), increase in body weight (13.2%), and promotion in the balance of Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio via increasing IL-2 (38.3%), IFN-c (20.1%), and TNF-a (22.0%) and decreasing IL-6 (24.7%) compared with the model group (p<0.05). Plasma metabolomics disclosed 15 potential biomarkers related to model rats, of which two could be significantly reversed by MLS (p<0.05). The involved pathways were pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, and porphyrin metabolism. Conclusions: MLS demonstrated a good antiperspirant effect and metabolism improvement. These findings inspire more clinical study validation on immune improvement and antiperspirant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microstructure and mechanical properties of non-equiatomic (CuNi)100−xCox (x=15, 20, 25 and 30, at.%) medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) prepared by vacuum arc-melting were investigated. Results show that all the as-cast MEAs exhibit dual face-centered cubic (fcc) solid-solution phases with identical lattice constant, showing typical dendrite structure consisting of (Ni, Co)-rich phase in dendrites and Cu-rich phase in inter-dendrites. The positive enthalpy of mixing among Cu and Ni-Co elements is responsible for the segregation of Cu. With the increase of Co content, the volume fraction of (Ni, Co)-rich phase increases while the Cu-rich phase decreases, resulting in an increment of yield strength and a decrement of elongation for the (CuNi)100−xCox MEAs. Nano-indentation test results show a great difference of microhardness between the two fcc phases of the MEAs. The measured microhardness value of the (Ni, Co)-rich phase is almost twofold as compared to that of the Cu-rich phase in all the (CuNi)100−xCox MEAs. During the deformation of the MEAs, the Cu-rich phase bears the main plastic strain, whereas the (Ni, Co)-rich phase provides more pronounced strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian leukosis (AL) is a general term for a variety of neoplastic diseases in avian caused by avian leukosis virus (ALV). No vaccine or drug is currently available for the disease. Therefore, the disease can result in severe economic losses in poultry flocks. Increasing the resistance of poultry to ALV may be one effective strategy. In this review, we provide an overview of the roles of genes associated with ALV infection in the poultry genome, including endogenous retroviruses, virus receptors, interferon-stimulated genes, and other immune-related genes. Furthermore, some methods and techniques that can improve ALV resistance in poultry are discussed. The objectives are willing to provide some valuable references for disease resistance breeding in poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport of plumes in turbulent convective systems must be understood to study the mantle and various industrial applications. We measured the probability density function P(T) of the temperature at various radial and vertical positions in the bulk of a convection cell. The asymmetric-shaped distribution was decomposed into a turbulent background and plumes. The temperature of the turbulent background was fitted by a Gaussian function according to the peak of P(T). We proposed a simple quantity A ≡ (⟨T⟩ − Tbg) to describe the effective strength of the plume, where ⟨T⟩ is the time-averaged value of the local temperature. The hot plume diminishes as it rises in the cell. The plume strength varies logarithmically with the vertical position. For larger Ra, the plume along the centerline has a longer travel distance in terms of the thermal boundary layer. For a given Ra, the strength and travel distance of the plume increase as the measurements move closer to the sidewall. At the cell center, the temperature fluctuations can be decomposed into fluctuations due to the turbulent background σbg and fluctuations due to the plume. The value of σbg is so small that the relation between σbg and the vertical position can be fitted by a logarithmic function or a power law. The Ra dependence on these two fluctuations was also investigated. The measurements were collected in a cylindrical cell with a unity aspect ratio of 1, and FC72 was used as the working fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In-class engagement enhances learning and can be measured using observational tools. As the COVID-19 pandemic shifted teaching online, we modified a tool to measure the engagement of instructors and students, comparing in-person with online teaching and different class types. Methods: Video recordings of in-person and online teachings of six identical topics each were evaluated using our ‘In-class Engagement Measure’ (IEM). There were three topics each of case-based learning (CBL) and lecture-based instruction (LLC). Student IEM scores were: (1) no response, (2) answers when directly questioned, (3) answers spontaneously, (4) questions spontaneously, (5) initiates group discussions. Instructor IEM scores were: (1) addressing passive listeners, (2) asking ≥1 students, (3) initiates discussions, (4) monitors small group discussion, (5) monitoring whole class discussions. Results: Twelve video recorded sessions were analysed. For instructors, there were no significant differences in percentage time of no engagement or IEM scores when comparing in-person with online teaching. For students, there was a significantly higher percentage time of no engagement for the online teaching of two topics. For class type, there was overall less percentage time of no engagement and higher IEM scores for CBL than LLC. Conclusion: Our modified IEM tool demonstrated that instructors’ engagement remained similar, but students’ engagement reduced with online teaching. Additionally, more in-class engagement was observed in CBL. “Presenteeism”, where learners were online but disengaged was common. More effort is needed to engage students during online teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cobalt-catalyzed C H activation and isocyanide insertion of 1 H -indole-3-carboxamides for the divergent synthesis of two types of indole-containing molecules has been developed. Notably, the reaction with MgSO 4 as the additive produces 1 H -indole-2,3-dicarboxamides, while PivOK promotes the formation of 3-imino-3,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4- b ]indol-1(2 H)-ones in moderate to high yields. Control experiments reveal that 3-imino-3,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4- b ]indol-1(2 H)-ones is likely to be transformed to 1 H -indole-2,3-dicarboxamides via the nucleophilic attack of H 2 O in the reaction system. [Display omitted] • A novel cobalt-catalyzed C H activation and isocyanide insertion reaction. • Controlled by base added, two types of indole-containing molecules were produced • Non-noble metal catalyst. Non-noble cobalt catalysts have been employed in various C H bond activation and functionalization in recent years. Herein, we report a cobalt-catalyzed C H activation and isocyanide insertion of 1 H -indole-3-carboxamides for the divergent synthesis of two types of indole-containing molecules. Notably, the reaction with MgSO 4 as the additive produces 1 H -indole-2,3-dicarboxamides, while PivOK promotes the formation of 3-imino-3,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4- b ]indol-1(2 H)-ones in moderate to high yields. Control experiments reveal that 3-imino-3,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4- b ]indol-1(2 H)-ones is likely to be transformed to 1 H -indole-2,3-dicarboxamides via the nucleophilic attack of H 2 O in the reaction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since lacquer painting first appeared in the world of art, research into it has grown steadily. People have developed a keen interest in modern lacquer painting as a result of the extensive study of lacquer culture in both domestic and international academic circles. Many artists and art enthusiasts have contributed significantly to the study and research of lacquer painting and have made helpful attempts at modern lacquer painting. But it is challenging to describe the emotion that a lacquer painting's color conveys. This paper presents a decision-making framework for emotional cognitive learning based on the theory of emotional cognitive evaluation because there are relatively few researchers who have specifically studied the relationship between the creation of lacquer paintings and emotions and because there are also few research materials and documents for reference. The assessment of an emotional state is the central component of this framework. The observation module in the model framework is used to gather the emotional data that the lacquer painting expresses. The issue of emotional expression in lacquer painting is resolved by the emotional evaluation system, which combines the preprocessed information with prior knowledge to evaluate. The importance of affective cognitive expression in lacquer painting and the necessity of affective computing in the fields of machine learning and decision control is obtained on the basis of discussing the research status and content of affective cognition and affective computing. The efficiency of expression was increased by 1.3 percent as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the policy of "keeping trash off of the ground" in Taiwan, long-term exposure to repetitive motion in waste collection process results in high risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMDs). Thus, we assessed the moderation and mediation effects of job-related stress and job support on work-related UEMDs among municipal waste collectors.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two cities located at northern Taiwan during 2018-2019. 626 municipal waste collectors voluntarily participated and anonymously filled out a structured questionnaire. The moderation and mediation effects of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and social support on UEMDs were analyzed by Haye's Process Macro Model.Results: Prevalence of UEMDs in municipal waste collectors were 43.4% for neck, 56.0% for shoulder, 24.1% for upper back, and 33.1% for hand/wrist. There was high prevalence of shoulder (72.2%), neck (48%), and upper back (30%) in female workers compared to male, most significantly in shoulders. In univariate and multivariate analysis, high ERI and low job support were significantly associated with ORs of 3.11 (95% CI:1.58-6.13) for elbow, 2.79 (95% CI:1.39-5.56) for shoulder, 3.39 (95% CI:1.64-7.00) for upper back and 3.83 (95% CI:1.98-7.41) for hand/wrist. Prevalent UEMDs were positively associated with high ERI in municipal waste collectors but negatively with job support. The moderation effects of ERI and job support on UEMDs, of which the measured synergy index exceeded one, were 18.24 for shoulder, 3.32 for elbow, and 2.45 for hand/wrist, but mediation effects were not significant.Conclusions: This study found municipal waste collectors with work-related upper extremity disorders were significantly associated with work-related psychological risk factors. Therefore, waste collection cannot only to be improved by semi-automatic and automatic processes but immediate intervention programs for the reduction of psychological risk factors is needed promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Coxsackievirus A2 (CV-A2) has become one of the main serotypes of enterovirus species A associated with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in China. It has also caused HFMD epidemics in many countries all over the world. Currently, there are no effective, preventive vaccines against it. A CV-A2 strain was isolated in RD cells and then adapted to grow in Vero cells. This is in compliance with guidelines for cell substrates allowed for human vaccines by the Chinese regulatory authority. Groups of newborn Kunming mice were inoculated on day 3 and day 9 using two formulations of candidate vaccines, empty particles and full particles. They were then challenged on day 14 at a lethal dose with a mouse-adapted strain. The mice in the control group all died within 14 days post-challenge whereas most of the mice in the candidate vaccine groups survived. It was found that the titers of neutralizing antibodies was dose-dependent in sera of immunized mice. The results also showed that the vaccine candidates stimulated a strong humoral immune response and protected the mice from disease and death. The virus loads in tissues or organs were significantly reduced and pathological changes were either weak or not observed in the immunized groups compared with those in Al(OH) 3 control group. Preliminary mapping of the nucleotide and amino acid residues potentially related to cell tropism of the vaccine strain and virulence of the challenge strain was performed. The results showed that the RD cell-isolated and Vero cell-adapted CV-A2 strain is a promising vaccine candidate. This active immunization-challenge mouse model mimics the vaccination and then exposure to wildtype viruses, compared with passive immunization-challenge model, and is invaluable for efficacy evaluation in studies on multivalent vaccines containing CV-A2 against HFMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a corrigendum published in the journal Oncology Letters. The authors of the original article contacted the Editorial Office to report errors in the data panels for the cell migration and invasion assay experiments. The Editorial Office conducted an investigation and granted the authors permission to publish a corrigendum. The revised and corrected versions of the figures are included in the corrigendum. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused. The article focuses on the role of miR-137 in suppressing proliferation, migration, and invasion of colon cancer cell lines by targeting TCF4. [Extracted from the article]

Making full use of industrial by-products is an effort to achieve 'zero waste' and promote greener development. Methyl ester residue (MER) is a waste commonly found in oleochemical manufacturers, such as palm oil mills. Contrary to conventional cement and clay, MER was employed as an alternative binder to fabricate a novel eco-friendly roofing tile, henceforth referred to as MER-RT. Parameters tested were transverse strength, water absorption, sulfate resistance, and fire resistance. During the optimization phase, a range of 6–11% of MER was mixed with a fixed composition of fly ash and fine sand, compacted and cured at 190° C for 12–48 hours. Considering the electrical energy consumption, the optimal curing duration chosen was 24 hours as this MER-RT achieved a dry transverse strength of 4112 N whereas curing for an additional 18 hours further contributed to only 16% strength gain. The optimal MER-RT was found to contain 10% MER as it showed the highest dry transverse strength (6410 N), the highest wet transverse strength (3681 N) and the lowest water absorption percentage (2.67%), meeting the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Besides exhibiting minimal corrosion under the sodium sulfate test, the optimal MER-RT was non-flammable and did not undergo structural changes when exposed to fire. The study reveals the potential of both MER and fly ash as green binders and fillers for roof tiles, despite their origins as industrial waste. • Up to 10% of methyl ester residue could be used as a green binder in roofing tiles. • The roofing tiles produced reached a dry transverse strength of up to 6410 N. • The optimized specimen has good durability against water, sodium sulfate and fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a low-power 18/12-bit 1 MS/s reconfigurable pipelined-successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (pipelined-SAR ADC). The proposed pipelined-SAR ADC employs a two-stage SAR structure coupled through a residual amplifier, with the forestage performing 12-bit coarse quantization and the poststage handling 7-bit fine quantization, one bit of redundancy is contained in the rear stage. The input signal is sampled by the first stage, SAR ADC, using the upper plate of a capacitor array and is quantized by charge redistribution. This eliminates the need of additional DACs and subtractors, allowing direct acquisition of the residuals. In addition, the residuals can be amplified by reusing the capacitor array as a switching capacitor. To minimize static power consumption, dynamic logic is adopted in each module of the pipelined-SAR ADC. The calibration of comparator offset and capacitor mismatch is carried out using analog front-end calibration techniques. Implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process, the simulation results show an extra-low power consumption of 1.76 mW with 3.3 V supply voltage and 1 MS/s sampling rate, indicating an exceptional Schreier figure of merit (FOMs) at 181.64 dB. By shutting down the modules of the second-stage SAR ADC, the 18-bit ADC can be dynamically configured as a 12-bit ADC with a sampling rate of up to 5 MS/s. [Display omitted] • The proposed pipelined-SAR ADC eliminates the need for additional DACs and subtractors. • The proposed ADC can be reconfigured from 18-bit to 12-bit. • Capacitance in residual amplifier reuses capacitance of the first stage SAR ADC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the existing machine learning-based heart sound classification methods achieve limited accuracy. Since they primarily depend on single domain feature information and tend to focus equally on each part of the signal rather than employing a selective attention mechanism. In addition, they fail to exploit convolutional neural network (CNN) - based features with an effective fusion strategy. In order to overcome these limitations, a novel multimodal attention convolutional neural network (MACNN) with a feature-level fusion strategy, in which Mel-cepstral domain as well as general frequency domain features are incorporated to increase the diversity of the features, is proposed in this paper. In the proposed method, DilationAttenNet is first utilized to construct attention-based CNN feature extractors and then these feature extractors are jointly optimized in MACNN at the feature-level. The attention mechanism aims to suppress irrelevant information and focus on crucial diverse features extracted from the CNN. Extensive experiments are carried out to study the efficacy of the feature level fusion in comparison to that with early fusion. The results show that the proposed MACNN method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches in terms of accuracy and score for the two publicly available Github and Physionet datasets. The findings of our experiments demonstrated the high performance for heart sound classification based on the proposed MACNN, and hence have potential clinical usefulness in the identification of heart diseases. This technique can assist cardiologists and researchers in the design and development of heart sound classification methods. • Novel multimodal architecture is proposed using a feature-level fusion scheme. • Obtained better performance on two publicly available Github and Physionet datasets. • Cardiologists can use a system to identify heart valve problems in patients accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reverse distribution of renewable energy resources and load centers makes exploring the optimal transmission mode of long-distance and large-scale renewable hydrogen the key to solving the bottleneck of renewable hydrogen development. This study incorporates hydrogen pipeline (HGP), natural gas pipeline (NGP), and Ultra High Voltage (UHV) into an optimal planning model framework and analyzes the optimal transmission mode, quantity, network, and cost of large-scale renewable hydrogen in China. Constructing a sensitivity analysis framework, this study also investigates the optimal transmission mode changes under different scenarios. The results show that the optimal mode of large-scale renewable hydrogen transmission in the province is NGP, and 5.4% of supply level is the critical point to export renewable hydrogen inter-provincially. It switches to the combination of NGP and HGP when the unit transmission costs of these elements decrease to a certain proportion simultaneously or switches to HGP when the unit transmission cost of HGP decreases more than that of NGP. The complementary transmission mode of NGP and UHV is the optimal mode for inter-provincial transmission, and the HGP can be put into use for inter-provincial transmission only when the unit transmission cost of which is reduced to less than 25%. Jilin is the key node in the NGP network, and Tibet and Gansu are the key nodes in UHV network, and the participation or absence of which will have significant impact on the renewable hydrogen transmission system. Only minor adjustments to the transmission technical parameters of NGP or HGP can promote the qualitative overflight of the optimal transmission volume of them so as to achieve the target optimization at the minimum cost. • Optimal planning model framework for renewable hydrogen transmission is proposed. • The optimal transmission mode, network, and cost of renewable hydrogen are analyzed. • Thresholds and spatial features of the optimal plan vary with hydrogen supply level. • Renewable hydrogen will be transmitted inter-provincially at 5.4% of supply level. • Multiple equilibria for modes selection are observed by cost sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the impact of correlated fading on the performance of wireless multiple access channels (MAC) in the presence and absence of side information (SI) at transmitters, where the fading coefficients are modeled according to the Fisher-Snedecor $\mathcal {F}$ distribution. Specifically, we represent two scenarios: ($i$) clean MAC (i.e, without SI at transmitters), ($ii$) doubly dirty MAC (i.e., with the non-causally known SI at transmitters). For both system models, we derive the closed-form expressions of the outage probability (OP) as well as the average capacity (AC) under independent fading conditions. Besides, exploiting copula theory, we obtain the exact analytical expressions for the OP and the AC under positive dependence fading conditions in both considered models. Finally, the validity of the analytical results is illustrated numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Microvascular decompression (MVD) has become accepted as an effective therapeutic option for hemifacial spasm (HFS); however, the curative rate of MVD for HFS varies widely (50–98%) in different medical centers. This study could contribute to the improvement of the MVD procedure. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 32 patients in whom initial MVD failed in other hospitals and who underwent a second MVD at our center. The clinical characteristics, operative findings, outcome of the second MVD, and complications were recorded. Results There were 18 women and 14 men (56.3 and 43.7%, respectively). The left-to-right ratio was 19:13. The mean age of the patients was 59.8 years. We found an undiscovered conflict site located in zone 4 in 10 patients and in the root entry zone in 8 patients. The initial MVD failed in nine patients because of ignorance of the arterioles that originate from the anterior inferior cerebellar artery. There were no special findings in four patients. No Teflon felts were found in the whole surgical field in one patient. Conclusion Omission of the offending vessel is the most common cause of an unsuccessful MVD. Intraoperative abnormal muscle response associated with the Z-L response is a good measure to correctly identify the involved arterioles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • This paper addresses the problem of pedestrian trajectory prediction, which plays significant roles in many applications such as human-robot cooperation and video surveillance. • It proposes an evolving spatiotemporal graph attention network model, which employs a time-varying graph convolution to extract time-varying features and an evolving attention mechanism to describe the recursive temporal interactions. • It improves the pedestrian trajectory predicting results and proves the strength of the model with ablation studies. Predicting pedestrian trajectory is an essential task in many applications. While previous studies based on graphs seek to model spatiotemporal information among pedestrian interactions, most of them neglect the recursive and continuous relations between neighboring time points. In this paper, we propose an evolving spatiotemporal graph attention network to predict future trajectories of pedestrians. This model considers the evolving relations of social interactions between contiguous time points and uses coordinates. The interaction is modeled by an evolving and dynamic attention mechanism. The social influence of each pedestrians of current frame is evolved from that of last frame and will be utilized to generate the social influence of next frame. The proposed model was tested on two challenging datasets and the experimental results prove the strength of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous strengthening of application requirements, neutron sources are becoming more and more compact, integrated and mobile. There are challenges in two aspects. The first is to achieve high transmission efficiency of high beam current physically, the second is to achieve integration and miniaturization technically. The coupling of RFQ and DTL is a feasible way. A preliminary study on the key physical problems in the RFQ-DTL coupled cavity has been accomplished. For the beam dynamics, the compact matching of RFQ and DTL was studied for the coupled cavity. Taking the compact physical design of the RFQ-DTL for deuterium ion beam of 30 mA with the energy of 11 MeV without MEBT as an example, we studied the smooth transition of the phase advance per unit length, the ability of RFQ transition cell to rotate beam in the transverse phase space, the transverse and longitudinal acceptance optimization of DTL. The RFQ and DTL can be matched transversely and longitudinally after removing MEBT, and the transmission efficiency is 98.7%. For direct coupling of four-vane RFQ and CH-DTL, we studied the realization of the coupling, the factors affecting the field amplitude ratio, the tuning of the cavity, and the influence of the superimposed field on the beam transmission. The field amplitude ratio between RFQ and CH-DTL is from 16.5 to 36.2. Under the influence of the superimposed field, the difference in normalized RMS emittance is less than 1%. We have designed, constructed and cold-test the 750 MHz model cavity. The normalized electric field coefficients measured and simulated are basically in agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, treatment of diabetes and associated obesity involves Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy to reduce the absorption of nutrients from the intestine to achieve blood glucose control. However, the surgical procedure and subsequent recovery are physically and psychologically burdensome for patients, with possible side effects, so alternative treatments are being developed. In this study, two methods, solution casting and machine direction orientation (MDO), were used to prepare intestinal implants made of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) film and implant them into the duodenum of type 2 diabetic rats for the treatment of obesity and blood glucose control. The PVDF film obtained by the MDO process was characterized by FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD and piezoelectricity tests, which showed higher composition of β crystalline phase and better elongation and mechanical strength in specific directions. Therefore, the material was finally tested on rats after it was proven to be non-toxic by biological toxicity tests. The PVDF was implanted into alloxan-induced diabetic rats, which were used as a model of impaired insulin secretion due to pancreatic beta cell destruction rather than obesity-induced diabetes, and rats were tracked for 24 days, showing significantly improved body weight and blood glucose levels. As an alternative therapeutic option, intestinal sleeve implant showed future potential for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the outage performance of a novel two-user multi-relay non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-based hybrid satellite-terrestrial relay network (HSTRN), in which one user has a direct link to the satellite (termed as the direct-link user), while the other user (termed as the relay-aided user) seeks the help of the direct-link user or the $K$ dedicated decode-and-forward (DF) relays to acquire its desired signal. A relaying protocol and a three-stage relay selection strategy are proposed for minimizing the whole system outage probability (WSOP) and providing full diversity order (DO) for both users. Exact and asymptotic outage probabilities of the considered network are derived, showing that under the proposed relay selection strategy, the relay-aided user, the direct-link user and the whole system each can achieve a DO of $K + 1$. Finally, numerical results are presented to verify the theoretical analyses, manifest the impacts of key parameters on the system performance, and demonstrate the advantages of our proposed relay selection scheme over other benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel beam‐controlling antenna based on a single‐layer digital coding metasurface (DCMS) is presented. A transmission‐type DCMS is placed in the near‐field of the source antenna to form a low‐profile structure with the height of 0.15λ0 in total. These DCMS elements have two kinds of particles with different transmissivity responses to y‐polarized wave, corresponding to two basic digital element 0 and 1 respectively. By designing the coding sequences on DCMS carefully, the radiating mode can be dynamically and real‐time controlled. The proposed antenna has multi‐function that can realize wide‐angle beam‐scanning and wide‐to‐narrow beam switching simultaneously. The scanning angle ranges from −85° to +85° in H‐plane with the gain fluctuation less than 2dBi. The simulation results are verified by experiments. This type of antenna can be applied in a variety of wireless communication systems with the outstanding advantages of low‐profile, low‐cost, and multi‐function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]