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In accordance with the actual production circumstances of enterprises, a scheduling problem model is designed for open-shop environments, considering AGV transport time. A Q-learning-based method is proposed for the resolution of such problems. Based on the characteristics of the problem, a hybrid encoding approach combining process encoding and AGV encoding is applied. Three pairs of actions are constituted to form the action space. Decay factors and a greedy strategy are utilized to perturb the decision-making of the intelligent agent, preventing it from falling into local optima while simultaneously facilitating extensive exploration of the solution space. Finally, the proposed method proved to be effective in solving the open-shop scheduling problem considering AGV transport time through multiple comparative experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible job shops motivated by small batches and multiple orders require the collaboration of machines and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) scheduling to boost shop floor flexibility and productivity. The joint scheduling of machines and AGVs can better achieve global optimization. However, joint scheduling requires two NP hard problems to be solved simultaneously. Therefore, this paper employs a multi-AGV flexible job shop scheduling problem (MA-FJSP) with an effective hybrid algorithm. First of all, a model is established with the objectives of minimizing the makespan, the total AGV running time and the total machine load. To solve the MA-FJSP, high-quality initialization methods and improved elite strategies are designed to improve global convergence in the proposed algorithm. In addition, a problem-knowledge-based neighborhood search is integrated to improve its exploitation capability. At last, a series of comparative experimental studies were performed to exam the effectiveness of the improved algorithm. The results demonstrate that the solutions gained by the proposed algorithm perform well in respect of convergence, diversity and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) is important for modern manufacturing companies to achieve manufacturing efficiency and improve resource utilization. Meanwhile, multiple objectives need to be considered in the realistic decision-making process for manufacturing systems. Based on the above realistic manufacturing system requirements, it becomes increasingly important to develop effective methods to deal with multi-objective IPPS problems. Therefore, an improved NSGA-II (INSGA-II) algorithm is proposed in this research, which uses the fast non-dominated ranking method for multiple optimization objectives as an assignment scheme for fitness. A multi-layer integrated coding method is adopted to address the characteristics of the integrated optimization model, which involves many optimization parameters and interactions. Elite and mutation strategies are employed during the evolutionary process to enhance population diversity and the quality of solutions. An external archive is also used to store and update the Pareto solution. The experimental results on the Kim test set demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed INSGA-II algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributed manufacturing mode is an important paradigm of networked development in the context of globalization. The integration of process planning and shop scheduling in distributed discrete manufacturing system can fully use the production system's flexibility, which is helpful to further enhance the anti-risk ability of enterprises, improve production efficiency, and reduce production costs. This paper established the mathematical model of the distributed integrated process planning and scheduling (DIPPS) in heterogeneous manufacturing environment and designed a high-dimensional integrated encoding to deal with the coupling problem of multiple sub-problems of the DIPPS. Based on this encoding method, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed to solve the DIPPS problem. According to the characteristics of the DIPPS, a hierarchical crossover operator with three sub-crossover operations is designed to expand the search dimension of the IGA. The mutation operators are planned to maintain population variety. Finally, five sets of experiments are planned to test the viability of the suggested approach for resolving the DIPPS problem. The outcomes demonstrate that the IGA algorithm outperforms competing algorithms in various scale jobs and factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To address volume expansion from active sulfur and shuttle effect from polysulfides during the electrochemical process of lithium sulfur batteries, nitrogen/sulfur co‐doping porous active carbons (NS‐PACs) derived from biomass cattail were manufactured by one‐step activated hydrothermal method. The effects of N/S atoms co‐doping and the activation of KOH on NS‐PACs were investigated in the macro‐morphology, micro‐structure, and electrochemical performance using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET), as well as galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. The experimental data demonstrated that the NS‐PACs show stable foam‐likes porous structure, and the specific surface area (SSA) and pore volumes are 2155.81 m2g−1 and 1.43 cm3g−1, respectively, and reveals perfect N/S atoms doping with S atomic content of 1.4% and N atomic content of 0.78%. Moreover, the initial discharge capacity of NS‐PACs is 1477.8 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and the extraordinary long‐run cycling stability after 500 cycles reaches 803.4 mAh g−1 at 2.0 C. These outstanding electrochemical performances of NS‐PACs are associated with efficient physical confinement by porous architecture together with the potent chemical adsorption of N/S atoms with polysulfide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study numerically simulates the two-dimensional flow of Oldroyd-B fluid around an isosceles right-angled triangular cylinder with five orientations. The log-conformation reformulation is employed to stabilize the numerical simulations. By adjusting the triangular orientation angle (θ), three types of fluids development process can be observed: from steady to vortex shedding at θ = 0 and π , keeping the vortex shedding at θ = π 4 and 3 π 4 , and from vortex shedding to steady state at θ = π 2 . When the triangular cylinder faces the incoming stream with the inclined plane, the elastic effect acting on the cylinder is strong, otherwise it is weak. For θ = π 2 , the effects of the viscosity ratio (β), the Reynolds number (R e), and the Weissenberg number (W i) are further investigated. When the elasticity is reduced by changing the viscosity ratio (β) that ranged from 0 to 0.9, the final flow state will transition from stable to vortex shedding state, which indicates the restraining effect of elasticity on wake instability. In the high elastic Oldroyd-B fluid, the critical Reynolds number for vortex shedding is about 110 for W i = 1. Besides, the Weissenberg numbers (W i) ranged from 0.25 to 8 are discussed at R e = 100. With the increase of W i , four different flow states of the wake are observed: periodic vortex shedding at low Weissenberg number W i = 0. 25 , stabilizing for W i ranged from 0.5 to 1, semi-periodic strong vortex shedding for W i is about 2, and chaos when W i ≥ 4. The results indicate that excessively strong elastic effects may also lead to unstable flows. Finally, the flow states corresponding to each Reynolds number and Weissenberg number in a certain range (90 ≤ R e ≤ 120 and 0. 125 ≤ W i ≤ 4) are given in this study. • The strong elasticity mainly acts on the hypotenuse of the leading edge of the triangular cylinder. • The vortex shedding can be inhibited by the elasticity. • Inertial elastic instability is observed at high Weissenberg numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: This single‐arm, open‐label, multicenter, phase 3 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of seraprevir, an hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 3/4A (NS3/4A) inhibitor, combined with sofosbuvir for treating Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection without cirrhosis. Methods: Treatment‐naive or interferon‐experienced adult patients without cirrhosis were treated with a universal, combinational regimen of seraprevir 100 mg, twice daily and sofosbuvir 400 mg, once daily, for 12 or 24 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virologic response at week 12 after treatment (SVR12). Results: Overall, 205 patients with genotype 1 HCV infection without cirrhosis were enrolled from 23 sites, 202 of whom completed the full treatment and post‐treatment course and 3 discontinued follow‐up. In total, 27 patients (13.2%) were interferon experienced. SVR12 was achieved by 201 out of 205 (98.0% [95% CI, 95.1%, 99.5%]) patients, 100.0% of patients with genotype 1a, and 98.0% of genotype 1b. In the other exploratory study, SVR 12 was achieved by 100% patients with genotype 2 (n = 21), genotype 3 (n = 7), and genotype 6 (n = 8). The majority of adverse events were mild to moderate and transient and did not require a specific medical intervention. Conclusions: The all‐oral, ribavirin‐free regimen of seraprevir and sofosbuvir is an effective and well‐tolerated treatment option for Chinese patients mono‐infected with HCV, including those with a history of interferon treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) is of great significance to the improvement of the overall quality of machinery manufacturing system. In the actual manufacturing process, the manufacturing system is often accompanied by some unpredictable uncertain disturbance factors, for instance uncertain processing time of jobs and changes of due date, etc. These uncertain disturbance events will ultimately affect production efficiency and customer satisfaction. Consequently, this paper considers the multi-objective IPPS problem with uncertain processing time and uncertain due date. A multi-layer collaborative optimization (MLCO) method is designed for the fuzzy multi-objective IPPS (FMOIPPS) problem, including three layers. For the process planning layer, the basic genetic algorithm is used to provide various near optimal process plans for the process selection system. For the process selection layer, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is designed to optimize the process selection population. A sharing function method is introduced to maintain population diversity. An individual comprehensive evaluation method is introduced to evaluate non-dominated solutions. The crowded distance, fast non-dominated sorting and elite strategy based on NSGAII is adopted in the proposed MOGA. The external archive method is employed to preserve the non-dominated solutions generated during population evolution. For the scheduling layer, a MOGA with a boundary search strategy is proposed. The boundary search strategy is designed to improve the search ability of boundary solutions. Three optimization objectives are minimizing the spread of fuzzy makespan, minimizing fuzzy makespan and maximizing average customer satisfaction simultaneously. The target of scheduling layer is to make scheduling arrangements for the process information obtained by process selection layer. Through mutual cooperation among each layer, guide the overall optimization process, and finally get satisfactory solutions. Different problem examples of various scales are employed to verify feasibility and effectiveness of the MLCO method. The experimental results indicate that the MLCO method can effectively address FMOIPPS problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem that the uncertain disturbance factors in the workshop production have an impact on the real-time execution of the scheduling scheme, a job shop scheduling scheme with place buffer under uncertain disturbance was proposed to deal with the disturbance factors in the production workshop system combining simulation technology with intelligent optimization algorithm. Normally distributed random variables were utilized to describe uncertain processing time, and uniformly distributed intervals were employed to describe the average failure interval time and average repair time. The place buffer's parameters before severely blocked equipment were adjusted to affect the maximum completion time. An uncertain scheduling simulation model for job shop production was constructed by Plant Simulation software and genetic algorithm was used to solve the model. The simulation results showed that the adjustment of the place buffer's time parameter could obtain the best fitness value, which verified that the proposed method could effectively reduce the impact caused by uncertain processing time and random machine failures during the workshop production scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, sulfur host, Mn 3 O 4 -CNTs microsphere was prepared by ultrasonic spraying with subsequent impregnation methods and appeared to effectively mitigate the dissolution of intermediate polysulfides from the Li-S cathode. Mn 3 O 4 -CNTs microspheres are caddice-like balls that are interwoven with CNTs that contains Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles. These novel Mn 3 O 4 -CNTs microspheres were found to exhibit high initial charge and discharge capacities of 1216 and 1227 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C and they exhibited a favorable cycle stability of 1087 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C after 200 cycles. These attributes make this new material a good, potential cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the impact of combining aluminum sulfate with straw and irrigation water to enhance soil quality in soda saline–alkali soil, in this study a field experiment was conducted in Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. With beet IM1162 as the indicator crop, four levels of aluminum sulfate dosage (30, 60, 90, 120 g m−2) and four levels of drip irrigation water quota (225, 270, 315, 360 m3 ha−1) were set. The study examined the impact of varying levels of aluminum sulfate and irrigation water on soil water salt and crop yield. Next, using a comprehensive evaluation method, the optimal quantities of aluminum sulfate and irrigation water needed for effective soil improvement were determined. The research findings indicate that the most effective treatment (W2S3) involved an aluminum sulfate dosage of 90 g m−2 and an irrigation quota of 270 m3 ha−1. This treatment resulted in significant improvements compared to the control (CK) group. Specifically, in the 0–50 cm soil layer, the following improvements were observed: the water storage capacity (SWS) increased by 51.7%; evapotranspiration (ET) increased by 16.2%; water use efficiency (WUE) increased by 55.0%; and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) increased by 98.1% (p < 0.05). These results emphasize the importance of optimizing the combination of aluminum sulfate dosage and irrigation water quota to improve soil conditions and crop performance. It is worth nothing that this study highlights the potential for enhancing water use efficiency and crop yield in agricultural practices, which can contribute to sustainable and efficient farming practices. The study results revealed significant improvements in soil quality and crop yield when compared to the control group (CK). Specifically, in the 0–50 cm soil layer: the soil salt content decreased by 19.8%, soil pH increased by 8.7%, and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) decreased by 34.0%. Moreover, the crop yield in the treatment group increased significantly, by 32.1%. These findings indicate the positive impact of the intervention on soil health and agricultural productivity. The study employed the game theory combination weighting method to comprehensively evaluate soil water, salt, and various yield indicators. The results showed that the sustainability weight for crop yield reached 0.116, emphasizing the aim of soil improvement: the sustainable enhancement of crop yield. This approach underscores the importance of balanced soil management practices to ensure long-term agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. The comprehensive evaluation results of grey relation analysis and the TOPSIS coupling model showed that the soil improvement effect score was the highest when the dosage of aluminum sulfate was 61.7–120.0 g m−2, and the irrigation quota was 250.4–319.4 m3 ha−1, which was the recommended range for the local area. The research findings discussed in the provided sources contribute to the theoretical basis for soil improvement in soda–saline–alkali land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and functional properties of slowly digestible starch (SDS) modified using pullulanase and prepared from chestnut starch were studied. The modified chestnut starches had 41.9 % SDS, which was higher than native chestnut starches (6.51 %) and cooked chestnut starches (18.6 %). The hydrolysis rate of the modified starches was 74.1 %. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the modified starch granules had a large surface area with signs of cracks and dents, and the cross-sections showed hollow internal structures. X-ray diffraction indicated that the crystallisation of the starch changed from the Cb-type to the V-type, although it retained a few C-type characteristics. Compared with native chestnut starch, the modified starches have a higher gelatinisation temperature using differential scanning calorimetry; and the texture profile analysis hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess of modified starch gels decreased significantly, while adhesiveness increased. When debranched using pullulanase there was a decreased solubility, swelling power, and freeze-thaw stability of the modified starches. These findings suggest that pullulanase modification changed the in vitro digestibility and crystalline structure of the modified starches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there is ample evidence suggesting the important role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in autoimmune diseases via modulating B cells function. Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a progressive immune-mediated liver disease with unclear pathogenic mechanism. Whether the miRNA in peripheral B cells of PBC involve the mechanisms of pathology and progression is not known. The present study explores miRNA deregulation in peripheral B-cell of PBC from stage I to IV and healthy controls. Peripheral B cells were obtained from 72 PBC patients (stage I, n = 17; stage II, n = 23; stage III, n = 16; stage IV, n = 16) and 15 healthy controls. Initially, in a discovery study, miRNA array analysis was performed, subsequently, in a validation study, quantitative PCR was used to investigate miRNA expression profile in B cells of PBS patients compared to healthy controls. Based on bioinformatics analysis, we identified the potential biological processes and significant signaling pathways affected by these microRNAs, and generated the microRNA–gene network. The discovery study identified 558 miRNAs differentially expressed in B cells of PBC patients compared to controls. Interestingly, among all differentially expressed miRNAs, hsa-miR-223-3p and hsa-miR-21-5p were the only miRNAs that showed consistent and significant down-regulation from stage I to stage III of PBC. Bioinformatics showed that potential target genes of both miRNAs involved in migration, cell differentiation, apoptosis, and signal transduction pathways. In conclusion, our results suggest that the expression profiles of miRNA in peripheral B cells of PBC patients are closely associated with the disease progression, especially the down-regulation of hsa-miR-223-3p and hsa-miR-21-5p. Taken together, our study offers novel perspectives on the role of miRNAs in PBC pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process planning and scheduling are two major sub-systems in a modern manufacturing system. In traditional manufacturing system, they were regarded as the separate tasks to perform sequentially. However, considering their complementarity, integrating process planning and scheduling can further improve the performance of a manufacturing system. Meanwhile, the multiple objectives are needed to be considered during the realistic decision-making process in a manufacturing system. Based on the above requirements from the real manufacturing system, developing effective methods to deal with the multi-objective integrated process planning and scheduling (MOIPPS) problem becomes more and more important. Therefore, this research proposes a multi-objective genetic algorithm based on immune principle and external archive (MOGA-IE) to solve the MOIPPS problem. In MOGA-IE, the fast non-dominated sorting approach used in NSGA-II is utilized as the fitness assignment scheme and the immune principle is exploited to maintain the diversity of the population and prevent the premature condition. Moreover, the external archive is employed to store and maintain the Pareto solutions during the evolutionary process. Effective genetic operators are also designed for MOIPPS. To test the performance of the proposed algorithm, three different scale instances have been employed. And the proposed method is also compared with other previous algorithms in literature. The results show that the proposed algorithm has achieved good improvement and outperforms the other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The facile and controllable synthesis for monoclinic WO 3 nanospheres. • The novel three-dimensional equilibrium diffusion behaviors for monoclinic WO 3. • The continuous geometric evolutions of hydrogen bonds for monoclinic WO 3. • WO 3 revealed fast kinetics and durable stability for aqueous ammonium-ion batteries. Aqueous ammonium-ion batteries (AAIBs) have attracted tremendous attentions due to their plentiful resources, inherent security and environmental friendliness. From the first-principles calculations and ex-situ measurements, monoclinic WO 3 revealed the three-dimensional equilibrium diffusion behaviors during the electrochemical processes, and the novel evolution processes of reversible building/breaking between geometric hydrogen bonds and traditional linear hydrogen bonds. Specifically, monoclinic WO 3 delivered a high specific capacity of 150.6 mAh g-1 at the current density of 0.1 A g-1, and exhibited excellent rate capability of 48 mAh g-1 at the current density of 5.0 A g-1 and outstanding cycling stability of 86.6 % capacity retention after 500 cycles. Furthermore, the ammonium-ion full batteries based on the monoclinic WO 3 anode and γ-MnO 2 cathode achieved a perfect energy density of 64.9 Wh kg-1 and an extreme ultra-long lifespan with 95.4 % capacity retention after 5000 cycles at the current density of 3.0 A g-1. Thus, the novel insights on NH 4 + diffusion behaviors and the evolution mechanisms of hydrogen bonds could promote the development of the practical applications for monoclinic WO 3 in aqueous ammonium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lamellar tin deposits were prepared by galvanostatical electroplating from the aqueous acidic-sulfate bath, with gelatin and benzalacetone dissolved in ethanol (A) as additive, and their morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Cathodic polarization curves revealed that the absorbability of A on the cathode surface was higher than that of gelatin. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated preferred orientations of tin growth led to the formation of lamellar structure and distortion of tin lattice. The growth mechanism of lamellar tin was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissolution of cathode material is imminently resolved in the commercial application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). The β-VO 2 /carbon nanotubes (CNTs) microspheres with various constructions were acquired by the ultrasonic atomization depositions. β-VO 2 /CNTs core-shelled microspheres, which the VO 2 cores are homogeneously covered by CNTs shells, can suppress more effectively the VO 2 dissolution. The β-VO 2 / CNTs core-shelled microspheres exhibited a higher capacity of 380 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.05 A g−1, and maintained a steadier capacity retention of 80% after 7800 cycles. The construction of perfect CNTs shells is considerably effective to restrain the dissolution of β-VO 2 and improve the cycle stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) from infected hepatocytes, we generated two therapeutic molecules specifically activated in cells infected with HCV. A dominant active mutant of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) and a negative regulator of HCV replication, VAP-C (Vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein subtype C), were fused with the C-terminal region of IPS-1 (IFNβ promoter stimulator-1), which includes an HCV protease cleavage site that was modified to be localized on the ER membrane, and designated cIRF7 and cVAP-C, respectively. In cells expressing the HCV protease, cIRF7 was cleaved and the processed fragment was migrated into the nucleus, where it activated various IFN promoters, including promoters of IFNα6, IFNβ, and IFN stimulated response element. Activation of the IFN promoters and suppression of viral RNA replication were observed in the HCV replicon cells and in cells infected with the JFH1 strain of HCV (HCVcc) by expression of cIRF7. Suppression of viral RNA replication was observed even in the IFN-resistant replicon cells by the expression of cIRF7. Expression of the cVAP-C also resulted in suppression of HCV replication in both the replicon and HCVcc infected cells. These results suggest that delivery of the therapeutic molecules into the liver of hepatitis C patients, followed by selective activation of the molecules in HCV-infected hepatocytes, is a feasible method for eliminating HCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) in assembly is becoming increasingly popular in the field of intelligent manufacturing. However, safety concerns remain the most critical issue to be addressed. The complex assembly environment and the individual differences of workers make it challenging to ensure safety effectively. Furthermore, the concept of human-centric manufacturing also places higher requirements on safety and efficiency of HRC assembly. The application of digital twin (DT) technology has bolstered the cognitive and decision-making capabilities in the context of HRC assembly. This technological advancement provides essential support for addressing safety concerns in HRC assembly processes guided by a human-centric approach. A personalised safety detection method for HRC assembly based on DT technology is proposed. This approach involves personalised modelling and simulation of real objects within the HRC process, establishing a collision detection model based on skeleton points. Subsequently, human motion prediction methods drive safety monitoring between humans and robots. Ultimately, personalised safety warning strategies are applied to ensure the safety of the assembly process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical applications for Li–S batteries rely on the restriction of shuttle effect from polysulfides and the improvement of conductivity of sulfur and Li 2 S. 3D hierarchical nitrogen-doped graphene/carbon nanotubes (N-GCNTs) microspheres were prepared by one-step ultrasonic spraying deposition method. N-GCNTs microspheres are consisted of sucrose, graphene and water-soluble carbon nanotubes and are named according to different mass ratio, like N-GCNTs-1 (1:1:1), N-GCNTs-2 (1:3:1) and N-GCNTs-3 (1:5:1). N-GCNTs-2 microspheres have 3D porous structure with abundant of N atoms which is constituted by the intertwine of nanotubes and graphene, and maintained the characteristics of 1D and 2D nano-carbon. By contrast, N-GCNTs-1 microspheres shows broken microspheres connected by a few CNTs, and N-GCNTs-3 microspheres expose the smoother and integrated spheres which are hardly found CNTs. N-GCNTs-2 microspheres mainly manifest the eminent physical characterization for big BET specific surface area (575. 8 m2g-1) and pore volumes (0. 303568 cm3g-1) and high sulfur content (87.5%). Moreover, N-GCNTs-2 microspheres show the high initial discharge capacities of 1465. 1 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C , good cycle stability of 1315. 1 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles and outstanding long-term cycling performance of 849. 1 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 2.0 C. The N-GCNTs-2 microspheres effectively enhance the electrochemical performance of cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries due to 3D hierarchical porous structure and successful N-doping. • A novel sulfur host was fabricated by one-step ultrasonic method. • N-GCNTs microspheres have 3D porous conductive structure with perfect N-doping. • N-GCNTs microspheres retain the structural features of 1D CNT and 2D graphene. • N-GCNTs microspheres can effectively prevent the dissolution of polysulfide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Copper sulfide (Cu x S) was first selected as electrode materials for AAIBs. • The flower-like CuS exhibited outstanding NH 4 + storage performance. • The NH 4 + energy storage mechanism in CuS host was revealed. • The electrolyte composition was adjusted to effectively improve the electrode stability. The aqueous ammonium-ion batteries (AAIBs) exhibit significant significance because of their high energy, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and high safety. Nonetheless, electrode materials with good cycle stability as well as great capacity have a crucial role in developing aqueous ammonium ion batteries. Herein, flower-like CuS microspheres were successfully utilized in AAIBs. The experimental results demonstrated that the as-synthetized copper sulfides revealed high conductivity and flower-like microspheres, and its initial discharge capacity was as high as 710 mAh g−1 at the 0.1 A g−1 current density. Moreover, the cycle stability of batteries were greatly improved by optimizing the electrolyte composition. These results represent a novel design strategy for the AAIBs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No adjuvant treatment has been established for patients who remain at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after curative-intent resection or ablation. We aimed to assess the efficacy of adjuvant atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus active surveillance in patients with high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma. In the global, open-label, phase 3 IMbrave050 study, adult patients with high-risk surgically resected or ablated hepatocellular carcinoma were recruited from 134 hospitals and medical centres in 26 countries in four WHO regions (European region, region of the Americas, South-East Asia region, and Western Pacific region). Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio via an interactive voice–web response system using permuted blocks, using a block size of 4, to receive intravenous 1200 mg atezolizumab plus 15 mg/kg bevacizumab every 3 weeks for 17 cycles (12 months) or to active surveillance. The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival by independent review facility assessment in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT04102098. The intention-to-treat population included 668 patients randomly assigned between Dec 31, 2019, and Nov 25, 2021, to either atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (n=334) or to active surveillance (n=334). At the prespecified interim analysis (Oct 21, 2022), median duration of follow-up was 17·4 months (IQR 13·9–22·1). Adjuvant atezolizumab plus bevacizumab was associated with significantly improved recurrence-free survival (median, not evaluable [NE]; [95% CI 22·1–NE]) compared with active surveillance (median, NE [21·4–NE]; hazard ratio, 0·72 [adjusted 95% CI 0·53–0·98]; p=0·012). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 136 (41%) of 332 patients who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and 44 (13%) of 330 patients in the active surveillance group. Grade 5 adverse events occurred in six patients (2%, two of which were treatment related) in the atezolizumab plus bevacizumab group, and one patient (<1%) in the active surveillance group. Both atezolizumab and bevacizumab were discontinued because of adverse events in 29 patients (9%) who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. Among patients at high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence following curative-intent resection or ablation, recurrence-free survival was improved in those who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus active surveillance. To our knowledge, IMbrave050 is the first phase 3 study of adjuvant treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma to report positive results. However, longer follow-up for both recurrence-free and overall survival is needed to assess the benefit–risk profile more fully. F Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Spirofluorene (SF) and benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole (BTA) have been considered as promising building blocks to construct n‐type photovoltaic materials. Herein, three new small molecule acceptors (SMAs) named BTA21, BTA23 and BTA27 with the structure of A2 = A1‐D‐A1 = A2 have been designed, in which SF and BTA were used as a central unit of D and bridged acceptor unit of A1, respectively. In addition, 3‐ethylrhodanine, 2‐(3‐ethyl‐4‐ oxothiazolidin‐2‐ylidene)malononitrile and malononitrile were chosen as terminal acceptor units to modulate the properties of the final SMAs. Three SMAs show wide optical band gaps (Eg) of 2.19, 2.15 and 2.21 eV, respectively, with gradually down‐shift of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels in the order of BTA21, BTA23 and BTA27 depending on the electron‐withdrawing capability of terminal acceptor units. BTA21 shows great advantages with respect to donor poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) over BTA23 and BTA27, such as well energy‐level matching, complementary absorption and proper morphology. Concequently, P3HT:BTA21 shows the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 3.28% with an open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.02 V, a short‐circuit current (JSC) of 5.45 mA·cm–2 and a fill factor (FF) of 0.59. These results indicate that the terminal acceptor group end‐capped in SMAs plays a significant role in controlling their optical, electronic, and photovoltaic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demander-dominated market scenarios are becoming increasingly common owing to the emergence of alternative service providers and competitive market environment. However, these scenarios have not been considered in previous studies pertaining to decentralized scheduling problems. Thus, service providers cannot formulate optimal production scheduling schemes for such scenarios. In this study, we investigate a demander-dominated decentralized scheduling problem in which the demander can adopt the private-strategic behavior of transferring partial orders towards its alternative service providers. The aim of this study is to provide guidance to service providers for developing high-quality production scheduling solutions under asymmetric information. First, we design a multi-round information interaction mechanism with a learning strategy to realize information interaction. Subsequently, a metaheuristic algorithm termed MAM is developed based on the multi-round information interaction mechanism to solve the proposed problem. A problem-dependent initialization method and a solution generation method integrating the learning strategy are developed to improve the search efficiency. Experimental results indicate the usefulness of the initialization method and learning strategy. Based on a comparison with two well-established adapted algorithms, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is confirmed, particularly for instances with loose due dates. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of MAM on both the service provider and the demander by comparing it with traditional centralized approaches. Statistical results show that the proposed algorithm yields high-quality solutions for the service provider and that maintaining the confidentiality of private information is conducive to the demander, particularly when the due dates are tight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hexagonal prism CuSn alloy was prepared at room temperature from 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([Emim][DCA]) by the direct template-free electrodeposition method with different concentrations of Cu(I) and Sn(II) at a low current density of 0.04 A dm−2. Moreover, the electrodeposition time was also investigated, and the results indicated that the composition of the CuSn alloy became complex and the structure turned unstable with expanding time. The cycling performance of the hexagonal prism-structural CuSn electrode was investigated, with the first discharge capacity of 345 mAh g−1 and a discharge capacity of about 210 mAh g−1 after 10 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY DESIGN: Case report. OBJECTIVE: We report a rare case that a ganglion cyst compressed the sciatic nerve and caused sciatica and claudication in a 51-year-old male. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Sciatica and claudication commonly occurs in spinal stenosis. To our knowledge, only 4 cases have been reported on sciatica resulting from posterior ganglion cyst of hip. METHODS: A 51-year-old male had a 2-month history of radiating pain on his right leg. He could only walk 20 to 30 m before stopping and standing to rest for 1 to 3 minutes. Interestingly, he was able to walk longer distances (about 200 m) when walking slowly in small steps, without any rest. He had been treated as a case of lumbar disc herniation, but conservative treatment was ineffective. On buttock examination, a round, hard, and fixative mass was palpated at the exit of the sciatic nerve. MR imaging of hip revealed a multilocular cystic mass located on the posterior aspect of the superior gemellus and obturator internus, compressing the sciatic nerve. RESULTS: On operation, we found that the cyst extended to the superior gemellus and the obturator internus, positioned right at the outlet of the sciatic nerve. At 18 months of follow-up, the patient continued to be symptom free. He returned to comprehensive physical activity with no limitations. CONCLUSION: For an extraspinal source, a direct compression on the sciatic nerve also resulted in sciatica and claudication. A meticulous physical examination is very important for the differential diagnosis of extraspinal sciatica from spinal sciatica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous ammonium-ion batteries are eco-friendly and abundant systems that exhibit diffusion. These systems have been reported in recent years. Vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5) with a layered structure is a good electrode material. A Co-doped V 2 O 5 cathode characterized by good reversibility and rate performance was prepared using the hydrothermal method to improve the ionic diffusion kinetics characterizing the systems and address the issue of low conductivity of V 2 O 5. Saturated V 2 O 5 (NH 4) 2 SO 4 solution was used as the electrolyte to fabricate the ammonium ion battery. Pure V 2 O 5 and V 2 O 5 samples with varying levels of cobalt dopants, V 2 O 5 -2Co samples doped with 2 % cobalt exhibited a maximum capacity of 172 mAh g–1 and coulombic efficiency of 61.6 % after 500 cycles at the current density of 1.0 A g–1. This indicated good cyclic reversibility. The high energy density was established to be ~152 Wh kg–1, and the capacity retention rate was 49.2 % after 1000 cycles. These results indicate that Co-doped V 2 O 5 nanoparticles can potentially help in improving the electronic conductivity of the system and provide an effective pathway for rapid electron transfer. • Co-doped V 2 O 5 samples were synthesized by a low-cost and facile hydrothermal method. • Co doping enhances V 2 O 5 conductivity and inhibits particle agglomeration to provide higher surface area. • The Co-doped V 2 O 5 cathode exhibits remarkable rate capability and good cycling stability for ammonium storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel EOCA approach for noisy signal is proposed. • Sixteen OCA models with complementary characteristics are developed. • A new cost function is designed and partial derivative is derived for training. • Theory analysis is conducted to compute the error bound of EOCA. • Effectiveness of EOCA is demonstrated in 3 case studies. Despite significant advances in auto-encoder (AE) based intelligent fault diagnosis recently, their assumption of high-quality sensor data is unrealistic due to noisy environment. Aiming at such problem, this work proposes a novel ensemble orthogonal contractive auto-encoder (EOCA) method to improve diagnosis accuracy. By designing a new cost function including contractive term and orthogonal constrain, OCA can learn robust and non-redundant features from noisy input. To make fault patterns separable, fisher discriminant analysis is cascaded with OCA for mapping these features into a new coordinate space with maximum class separability. Considering the limitation of a single model, sixteen different OCAs with complementary activation functions as well as a new ensemble strategy based on expert model are developed to produce a stable diagnosis result. Additionally, to prove the effectiveness, error bound of EOCA is analyzed and theoretical basis is found for supporting OCA design. EOCA is verified on three cases including three-phase flow facility, gear box and self-priming centrifugal pump. Experiments are conducted by introducing various strength of white Gaussian noise. Results show that EOCA is better than single OCA, canonical AE, sparse AE, denoising AE and several advanced ensemble methods under strong noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • C doped g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst is synthesized by a simple thermal-condensation method. • C doping substitutes the bridged N and extends the pi-conjugated system in g-C 3 N 4. • CCN are demonstrated to be high efficiency in charge separation and transfer. • SMX is easily photodegraded in actual water environment by CCN-0.05. • CCN-0.05 exhibits selective degradation for sulfonamide antibiotics in water. A simple method for preparing C self-doped g-C 3 N 4 (CCN) was proposed by calcining urea and barbituric acid to effectively degrade sulfamethoxazole (SMX). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and element content analysis implied C atom replaced the original position of the bridging N atom to form CCN. Compared to g-C 3 N 4 , the absorption edge of CCN was red-shifted. As a result, the band gap of CCN was reduced, which improved the light absorption capacity of CCN and the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole. Ultimately, the photocatalytic activity of CCN was finally boosted. CCN can effectively degrade SMX under visible light. Among CCN with various C dosage, when 0.05 g of barbituric acid was added in the preparation process, the obtained sample (CCN-0.05) exhibited uppermost degradation efficiency on SMX, which can reach 99.0 % after irradiation for 60 min. Additionally, the first-order kinetic reaction rate constant (0.086 min−1) was 8.9 times higher than that of g-C 3 N 4 (0.0097 min−1). Electron paramagnetic resonance and trapping experiments showed that the dominant reactive species on SMX degradation were surface ·O 2 − and photogenerated holes by CCN-0.05 under visible light. Moreover, CCN-0.05 can still achieve effective removal of SMX under actual water backgrounds and showed selective degradation on sulfonamides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical features and factors affecting the prognostic survival of hepatic hydrothorax (HH) are currently unknown.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 131 patients with HH using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to assess factors influencing the prognosis of HH.Results: A total of 131 patients were enrolled: the male to female ratio was 80:51 (1.59:1), and the mean age was 52.76 ± 11.88 years. Hepatitis B cirrhosis was the main cause of HH, and abdominal distention and dyspnea were the most common clinical signs. Ascites was present in varying amounts in all patients and was the most common decompensated complication, with pleural effusions mostly seen on the right side (107/131; 82%), followed by the left side (16/131; 12%) and bilateral effusions (8/131; 6%). For overall survival without transplantation, the estimated median survival time was 21 (95% confidence interval [CI]:18-25) months, and survival rates at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were 77.2%, 62.4%, and 29.7%, respectively. After controlling for covariates that were associated with liver-related mortality in the univariate analysis, males (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.721, 95% CI: 1.114-2.658, P = 0.005) and combined hepatic encephalopathy (HR: 2.016, 95% CI: 1.101-3.693, P = 0.001) were found to be associated with an increase in liver-related mortality.Conclusions: In this cohort of HH patients without liver transplantation, male sex and hepatic encephalopathy were associated with a higher risk of liver-related death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) was an innovative process for nitrogen removal. In this study, the influence of sulfate in different concentrations (100, 200, 300, and 400 mg L−1) on Anammox process were investigated in nine identical sequential batch reactors, four of which were extra supplied for organics, to study the combined effect. The results indicated the obvious inhibition by sulfate which decreased the total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) to 84.1%, 81.2%, 81.2%, and 72.5%, from the control results as 91.9%. Whereas, the organics addition alleviated the inhibitory effect, through consuming the oxygen in influent, promoting the secretion of protein, and inducing the denitrifying bacteria, for which the sulfate only slightly decreased the TNRE to 89.0%, 83.7%, 83.6%, and 75.7%, respectively. Candidatus Kuenenia and Denitratisoma could coexist in Anammox system and cooperatively contribute to the nitrogen removal, when treating the nitrogenous wastewater contains both sulfate and organics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problems of poor welding completeness and inefficient configuration for defective automotive body-in-white panels, we propose a method for detecting and configuring the welding completeness of automotive body-in-white panels based on digital twin (DT) and mixed reality (MR). The method uses DT to build an MR-oriented DT framework for the detections and configuration of body-in-white panel welding completeness. We propose a method to build a DT knowledge base for panels, a Yolov4-based welding completeness detection method, and a MR-based configuration method for the welding completeness in panels. Our team develop a panel welding completeness detection and configuration system to fully validate the effectiveness of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heteroatom‐doping of carbon materials has gained much attention recent decades since it was believed to be a brilliant strategy to endow carbon with enhanced physical and chemical properties. In addition, the doped carbon has been frequently employed in various fields such as supercapacitors, batteries, catalytic hydrogenation reactions due to its unique structure and superior features, among which selective hydrogenation is an essential procedure during organic synthesis and has wide industrial applications. It is proved that the incorporation of heteroatoms could have a great effect on the original carbon, such as charge distribution and surface defects, which could further influence the electronic effect and physical interaction between carbon carrier and supported metal, thereby enhance its catalytic performance in hydrogenation reactions. Herein, we briefly reviewed recent progress in the effect of heteroatoms on carbon properties. Meanwhile, the synthesis strategies of doped‐carbon and the application of these catalysts in series of hydrogenation reactions were also summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the green single-machine scheduling problem that considers the delay cost and the energy consumption of manufacturing equipment and builds its integrated optimization model. The improved ant colony scheduling algorithm based on the Pareto solution set is used to solve this problem. By setting the heuristic information, state transition rules, and other core parameters reasonably, the performance of the algorithm is improved effectively. Finally, the model and the improved algorithm are verified by the simulation experiment of 10 benchmark cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern manufacturing system, many flexible manufacturing system and NC machines are introduced to improve the production efficiency. Therefore, most parts have a large number of flexible process plans. However, a part can use only one process plan in the manufacturing process. So, the process planning problem has become a crucial problem in the manufacturing environment. It is a combinatorial optimization problem to conduct operations selection and operations sequencing simultaneously with various constraints deriving from the practical workshop environment as well as the parts to be processed. It is a NP-hard problem. In order to solve this problem effectively, this paper proposes a novel modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to optimize the process planning problem. To improve the performance of the approach, efficient encoding, updating, and random search methods have been developed. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach, seven cases have been conducted. The proposed algorithm has also been compared with the genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm. The results show that the proposed modified PSO algorithm can generate satisfactory solutions and outperform other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the incidence of depression in adolescents under the influence of COVID-19 epidemic, and to explore the relationship between qi-stagnation constitution and depression. Methods In this study, 11,548 junior high school students were selected from Shandong, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Fujian and Henan provinces by means of total population sampling from March 20 to March 31, 2020 after online classes. The subjects were surveyed with questionnaires developed by the present research team, Patient Health Questiornaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and qi-stagnation scale, their risks of COVID-19 infection were investigated and all the results were analyzed statistically. Results 1. Of the 11,548 adolescents, 1,694 (14.67%) suffered depression. 2. Risk factors for adolescent depression included female (OR = 1. 507,95% CI: 1.344-1.690), graduation (OR = 1. 352,95% CI: 1.193 ~ 1. 532), COVID-19 infection risk (OR = 1. 552,95% CI: 1. 132 ~ 2. 128), and qi-stagnation constitution fpf, E-mail; qumiao@ xwhosp. org (OR = 3. 571,95% CI; 3. 170 ~ 4. 024), and protective factors included good relationship between parents (OR = 0. 859, 95% CI: 0. 753 ~ 0. 980), and good parent-child relationship (OR = 0. 246,95% CI; 0. 216 ~0. 281) . Adolescents with qi-stagnation constitution were exposed to a 3. 6 times higher risk of depression than those without qi stagnation. Conclusion In the context of COVID-19 epidemic, the detection rate of depression in adolescents was not significantly higher than that in the non -epidemic period. Instead, the influence of qi-stagnation constitution on the occurrence of depression was greater, even higher than that of the risk of COVID-19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low contents of water-soluble carbohydrates and/or low indigenous microbial activity in wilted maize stover (WMS) usually hinder the establishment of the ensiling process, thereby resulting in a low biogas production because of high loss of dry matter (DM). To enhance the biological activity and substrate biodegradability, this study applied the synergistic regulation of sucrose (carbon source) and increasing levels of urea (nitrogen source) during the ensiling process of WMS. Compared with the application of only sucrose, a higher organic acid content (lactic acid (85 g/kg-DM) and acetic acid (14 g/kg-DM)) and higher degradation ratios for lignocellulose (hemicellulose (28%), cellulose (22%), and lignin (17%)) were observed with urea applications of 1.7% (DM) and 3.9% (DM), respectively. This was caused by the enhanced activities of the hetero-fermenter (Weissella) and cellulolytic bacteria (Cellulosimicrobium). A simultaneous addition of urea and sucrose during the ensiling of WMS increased the specific methane yield by 11.2%–21.1% in comparison to raw WMS. Moreover, an economic cost estimation revealed that this approach could be an effective storage strategy for the efficient production of methane when employing a 1.7% (DM) urea application. Unlabelled Image • Ensiling WMS with sucrose and urea addition for efficient CH 4 yield was studied. • Hetero-lactic acid fermentation was enhanced by urea addition. • Activity of cellulolytic bacteria was promoted due to the addition of urea. • Urea-assisted ensiling process increased the CH 4 yield by 11.2%–21.1%. • Excessive urea caused butyric acid fermentation and a storage loss of up to 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims. There are few studies on the prevalence and clinical characteristics of portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) in patients with portal hypertension. In addition, invasive right heart catheterization further limits the clinical diagnosis of POPH patients. Methods. From January 2018 to December 2019, 1004 patients with portal hypertension were treated in the Department of Hepatology, the First Hospital of Jilin University. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 188 patients with portal hypertension were finally included. We collected complete clinical data, laboratory examinations, and imaging examinations. Patients were divided into a POPH group and a non-POPH group based on echocardiographic results. We calculated the prevalence of POPH in patients with portal hypertension. The differences in clinical characteristics of the two groups of patients were compared. Results. The prevalence of POPH in patients with portal hypertension was 2.8%. Among the 188 patients with portal hypertension with fingertip oxygen saturation < 95 % at rest, 28 patients had POPH (12 males and 16 females), with an average age of 63 ± 8 , and 160 patients did not have POPH (110 males, 50 women), with an average age of 59 ± 11. The proportion of women in the POPH group (P < 0.01) and patients without liver cancer (P = 0.044) was high. Compared to patients without POPH, patients with POPH had lower hemoglobin (related to the severity of anemia, P < 0.01), higher creatinine (P < 0.05), and lower partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide (P < 0.05). Patients with POPH had a higher incidence of atrial enlargement, ventricular enlargement, mitral valve regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation, pulmonary artery widening, pericardial effusion, and aortic regurgitation than those without POPH. The risk of POPH did not increase with the aggravation of the Child-Pugh classification. Conclusion. The prevalence of POPH in patients with portal hypertension is 2.8%. The proportion of women and nonliver cancer in POPH patients was higher than that in non-POPH patients. In addition, the POPH group had higher creatinine and lower hemoglobin, and echocardiography showed that POPH patients had more cardiac structural changes. In patients with portal hypertension, the risk in patients with POPH has nothing to do with the Child-Pugh classification and MELD score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims. Alcohol-associated liver disease is exhibiting an increasing disease burden. In terms of pathogenesis, inflammation is closely related to alcohol-induced liver injury. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a novel inflammatory biomarker. Here, we aim to evaluate the role of the NLR and other biomarkers in predicting short-term mortality in alcoholic cirrhotic patients. Methods. This was a retrospective study that included 459 male alcoholic cirrhosis patients. Among them, 345 patients completed follow-up. Based on their 30-day mortality information, patients were separated into surviving and nonsurviving groups. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical features were collected for further analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with short-term mortality, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to establish the predictive value of these factors. Results. The prognostic scores were significantly higher in the nonsurviving group than in the surviving group: NLR: 5.5 vs. 3.2 (P < 0.001), model for end-stage liver disease (MELD): 15.4 vs. 7.9 (P < 0.001), Maddrey's discriminant function (MDF): 39.8 vs. 12.7 (P < 0.001), and the integrated MELD (i-MELD): 37.9 vs. 28.4 (P < 0.001). Logistic regression demonstrated that albumin (ALB), NLR, and i-MELD values were significantly correlated with patient death in 30 days. On ROC analysis, the diagnostic accuracy for 30-day mortality of the NLR (area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.72, P < 0.001) was similar to that of the MELD or i-MELD (AUROCs of 0.71 and 0.74, respectively, P < 0.001). The new biomarker, NLA, calculated as 100 × NLR / ALB , had the best prognostic value. The cutoff values of the NLR and NLA for predicting 30-day mortality were 4.2 and 19.6, respectively. Conclusions. The NLR and its related biomarker NLA are simple and robust predictors of 30-day mortality in alcoholic cirrhosis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: The relationship between antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) levels and the severity or prognosis of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is unclear. This study explored the clinical significance of serum IgG antimitochondrial M2 antibody (IgG-M2) levels. Methods: From 2008 to 2017, a retrospective analysis was conducted with PBC patients who had available quantitative values of serum IgG-M2 levels obtained with ELISA based on triple expression hybrid clones. The patients were divided into two groups based on high and low concentrations of IgG-M2. Baseline parameters, the incidence of adverse events, and prognosis were compared. Results: Among the 530 PBC patients, the levels of albumin, cholinesterase, hemoglobin, fibrinogen and triglycerides and the red blood cell count were significantly lower in the high-concentration group than in the low-concentration group (n = 263, 49.6%). The red cell distribution width (RDW) and levels of serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgM and IgA were significantly higher in the high-concentration group than in the low-concentration group. Spearman's correlation analysis suggested that the correlation between the above baseline indicators and IgG-M2 levels was statistically significant but weak (r < 0.2, P < 0.05). In total, 203 patients were followed up, of whom 87 (42.9%) were in the high-concentration group. During the median follow-up period of 52 months (range: 28–75), 121 (59.6%) experienced hepatic decompensation, and 37 (18.2%) died or underwent liver transplantation. There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications or survival (log-rank test: P = 0.079) between the two groups. One year after ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment, the two groups had similar responses. In addition, the levels of IgG-M2 did not fluctuate significantly during treatment. Conclusion: IgG-M2 levels were not related to the disease severity, prognosis or efficacy of UDCA. The levels of IgG-M2 did not change significantly during treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model‐Based Systems Design (MBSD) formalizes the application of system modeling. However, it is still difficult for designers to implement MBSD in practice. One of the challenges is to make the field of design more unified, as different MBSD methodologies focus on specific areas, and various designers from different areas use ambiguous terms. Moreover, the failure of some products originates in undiscovered couplings of functions in the design stage. Axiomatic Design (AD) provides a scientific foundation for system design. In order to reduce ambiguity and alleviate functional couplings, this paper integrates AD with the MBSD and proposes a unified systems design approach, called Axiomatic Model‐Based Systems Design (A‐MBSD). A‐MBSD uses four pillars: (a) the fundamental framework of AD; (b) the Independence Axiom; (c) a new behavior domain (BD); and (d) an A‐MBSD modeling profile. Finally, the design of a Forest Fire Satellite Monitoring and Control System demonstrates that the proposed approach can improve unity and alleviate the coupling of functions in a system design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In north China, large amounts of excessively wilted maize stover are produced annually. Maize stover wet storage strategies and subsequent biogas production was examined in this study. Firstly, wet storage performances of harvested maize stover, air-dried for different time durations, were evaluated. Results showed that optimal storage performance was obtained when the initial water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content after air-drying was higher than 8.0%. Therefore, cellulase and glucose were added to the excessively wilted maize stover to achieve the targeted pre-storage WSC levels. Good storage performances were observed in treatments with addition of 76.4 g/kg DM glucose and 12.5 g/kg DM of cellulase; the specific methane yield increased by 23.7% and 19.2%, respectively. However, use of glucose as additive or co-storing with high WSC substrates can serve as economically feasible options to adapt wet storage of excessively wilted maize stover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen and sulfur pollutants coexist in many industrial wastewaters, which may cause serious water pollution issues. In this study, Anammox coupled with sulfide-depending autotrophic denitrification process (coupling process) was established by adding sulfide to an Anammox system in a membrane bioreactor. Variations in nitrogen and sulfur removal performance, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), key enzyme activities, and microbial components were analyzed. The sulfide in 25.0 mg L−1 successfully induced denitrification, and then helped establish the coupling process. This process achieved 96.1% TN removal and complete sulfide removal when the sulfide was increased to 100.0 mg L−1. The protein and polysaccharide in EPS gradually increased to 2.0 and 4.9 mg g−1 SS, respectively. The hydroxylamine oxidoreductase activity, Heme-c content, nitrite reductase activity, and nitrate reductase activity slightly decreased to 19.1 EU g−1 SS, 0.001 mmol g−1 SS, 0.002 μg min−1 mg−1 protein, and 0.005 μg min−1 mg−1 protein, respectively, indicating the slight suppression of sulfide in high concentration on the coupling process. However, after acclimatization, the Anammox and denitrifying bacteria interacted and cooperatively contributed to the simultaneous nitrogen and sulfur removal, with relative abundances of Thiobacillus -denitrifying bacteria and Candidatus Kuenenia -Anammox bacteria of 31.7% and 9.0%, respectively. The establishing strategy was proposed and then verified in another Anammox system, in which the coupling process was also established, with TN removal increasing from 73.4% to 82.5%. [Display omitted] • Anammox coupled with sulfide-depended autotrophic denitrification process was established. • Sulfide in 25.0 mg L−1 was the effective concentration for inducing denitrification. • Sulfide was completely removed by the coupling process. • The TN removal increased from 65.9% to 96.1% in the coupling system. • Thiobacillus and Candidatus Kuenenia were the dominant genera in the coupling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) combines the robot's mechanical properties and predictability with human experience, logical thinking, and strain capabilities to alleviate production efficiency. However, ensuring the safety of the HRC process in-real time has become an urgent issue. Digital twin extends functions of virtual models in the design phase of the physical counterpart in the production phase through virtual-real interactive feedback, data fusion analysis, advanced computational features, etc. This paper proposes an HRC safety control framework and corresponding method based on the digital twin. In the design phase, virtual simulation and virtual reality technology are integrated to construct virtual twins of various HRC scenarios for testing and analyzing potential safety hazards. In the production phase, the safety distance between humans and robots of the HRC scene is monitored and calculated by an iterative algorithm according to machine vision and a convolutional neural network. Finally, the virtual twin is driven based on real-scene data, real-time online visual monitoring, and optimization of the HRC's overall process. A case study using ABB-IRB1600 is presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]