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Spinocerebellar ataxia type 11 (SCA11) is a rare disease and the tau tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2) gene was the causative gene. To date, only six SCA11 families have been reported. Here, we reported a Chinese SCA11 pedigree with cerebellar ataxia. Both patients in the family demonstrated typical clinical features of cerebellar ataxia and cerebellar atrophy on brain MRI. A novel heterozygous duplication mutation (c.1211_1217dupAGGAGAA) of the TTBK2 gene was identified in the proband using whole-exome sequencing (WES), which resulted in a frameshift mutation and formed a premature stop codon (p. N406Kfs*47). The mutation was detected in the proband's affected brother, and his unaffected mother, who with a lower percentage of the mutation and considered as an asymptomatic mutation carrier. Our study delineated the genotypic spectrum of SCA11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehending fluid flow in rock masses is essential for modern underground engineering, including chemical energy extraction, nuclear pollutant remediation, and hydrocarbon utilization, complicated by shear-induced and surface roughness effects in fractures. This study employed numerical simulations to investigate the fluid flow behavior in fractures with different surface roughness under shear, where the shear direction is perpendicular to the flow direction. The nonlinear flow of the fluid is observed to have a strong correlation with the confining pressure (Pz), roughness (JRC), and shear displacement (u). The generation of eddy currents is frequently linked to the presence of flow channel intricacies and the velocity of flow at a microscopic scale. The Forchheimer equation could describe the process of nonlinear phenomena accentuation very well. The fracture under Pz caused a reduction in hydraulic transmissivity (T) due to compression. Furthermore, the T changes dramatically as the shear process progresses. Based on the analysis of the Forchheimer coefficient (β) and critical Reynolds number (Rec) parameters used to determine the response of nonlinear flow, it appears that an increase in Pz facilitates the transition of the fluid into a nonlinear flow state. Conversely, shearing has the opposite effect and reduces the tendency toward nonlinear flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silty clay has a remarkable creep effect due to its high moisture content, strong compressibility, and low shear strength. Studying the long-term creep characteristics of soft clay and analyzing its creep damage mechanism is of great engineering value and practical significance for evaluating displacement stability and preventing excessive foundation displacement. In this paper, a series of triaxial consolidation drainage creep tests were performed to investigate the creep behavior of the silty clay interlayer. The test results show that the sample exhibits attenuation creep when the stress level is low; otherwise, it exhibits non-attenuation creep. Based on the fractal derivative theory, a fractal derivative viscoelastic plastic creep model considering the effect of damage is proposed and the analytical solution of the model is also given. By identifying the model parameters, it is found that the fitting curves under different stress levels agree well with the test results, especially in the accelerated stage, which cannot be described by the classical model, demonstrating that the proposed model can well characterize the entire three-stage creep process of silty clay. According to sensitivity analyses of the model parameters, fractal derivative order and damage factor are critical parameters for characterizing the creeping type. In comparison with the classical widely used creep model, the proposed model has the advantages of fewer parameters, higher simulation precision, and higher calculation efficiency, making it more applicable in investigating soil creep properties. The results can provide a precious theoretical reference for the creep characteristic analysis and damage prediction of soil in soft areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on ego depletion theory and interaction ritual theory, this research explores the impact of compulsory citizenship behavior on new-generation knowledge workers' job performance via the mediating role of ego depletion and the moderating role of relational energy employees experienced in interactions with coworkers. Methods: Two studies were conducted to explore the impact of compulsory citizenship behavior on job performance. Study 1 used a 10-day daily diary Survey (N=112) and Study 2 used a questionnaire survey conducted multiple times (N=356) to test the hypotheses. Results: The results of Study 1 and Study 2 were almost convergent. Compulsory citizenship behavior had a negative effect on job performance through the mediating effect of ego depletion. In addition, relational energy negatively moderated the effect of compulsory citizenship behavior on ego depletion and negatively moderated the mediating effect of ego depletion between compulsory citizenship behavior and job performance. Conclusion: The results deepen our understanding of the mechanism underlying the effect of compulsory citizenship behavior on job performance from the theoretical perspective of psychological energy, and also provide practical implications on how to manage new-generation knowledge employees' work behavior and job performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In time-domain astronomy, a substantial number of transients will be discovered by multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observatories, posing a great challenge for follow-up capabilities. We have thus proposed an intelligent X-ray constellation, the Chasing All Transients Constellation Hunters (CATCH) space mission. Consisting of 126 micro-satellites in three types, CATCH will have the capability to perform follow-up observations for a large number of different types of transients simultaneously. Each satellite in the constellation will carry lightweight X-ray optics and use a deployable mast to increase the focal length. The combination of different optics and detector systems enables different types of satellites to have multiform observation capabilities, including timing, spectroscopy, imaging, and polarization. Controlled by the intelligent system, different satellites can cooperate to perform uninterrupted monitoring, all-sky follow-up observations, and scanning observations with a flexible field of view (FOV) and multi-dimensional observations. Therefore, CATCH will be a powerful mission to study the dynamic universe. Here, we present the current design of the spacecraft, optics, detector system, constellation configuration and observing modes, as well as the development plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulsar detection survey has contributed to the study of celestial evolution by providing scientists with a large amount of observational data. In addition, the amount of data collected by the survey has grown exponentially, and there is a large class imbalance in the corresponding data. In this paper, we design a residual convolutional autoencoder (RCAE) based on the structure of the autoencoder, and combine with logistic regression (LR) to construct a network structure framework suitable for pulsar candidate identification. RCAE is used as the primary model to fit the data distribution of the non-pulsar sample, the process does not need to consider the positive and negative pulsar sample imbalance. LR is used as an auxiliary classification model to test the final results. The experimental results on the HTRU Medlat and PMPS-26k data sets show that the best performance is achieved without the use of data generation and complex enhancement methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing nonuniformity correction methods generally have the defects of image blur, artifacts, image over-smoothing, and nonuniform residuals. It is difficult for these methods to meet the requirements of image enhancement in various complex application scenarios. In particular, when these methods are applied to dim small target images, they may remove dim small targets as noise points due to the image over-smoothing. This paper draws on the idea of a residual network and proposes a two-stage learning network based on the imaging mechanism of an infrared line-scan system. We adopt a multi-scale feature extraction unit and design a gain correction sub-network and an offset correction sub-network, respectively. Then, we pre-train the two sub-networks independently. Finally, we cascade the two sub-networks into a two-stage network and train it. The experimental results show that the PSNR gain of our method can reach more than 15 dB, and it can achieve excellent performance in different backgrounds and different intensities of nonuniform noise. Moreover, our method can avoid losing texture details or dim small targets after effectively removing nonuniform noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: N-cre and C-cre added in separate lines reassemble functional Cre in F1 progeny to excise unnecessary DNA, including cre DNA, thereby eliminating generations needed to cross in and out cre. Crop improvement via transgenesis can benefit through efficient DNA integration strategies. As new traits are developed, new transgenes can be stacked by in planta site-specific integration near previous transgenes, thereby facilitating their introgression to field cultivars as a single segregation locus. However, as each round of integration often requires use of selectable markers, it is more convenient to reuse the selection scheme. The Cre recombinase can be used to delete away previously used selection genes, and other DNA no longer needed after transformation, but the constitutive production of this DNA scanning protein can also affect plant growth. We had previously described in Arabidopsis a split Cre protein fragment complement scheme to reassemble a functional Cre recombinase. As our goal for developing this system was to deploy its use in major crop plants, here we show that Cre protein fragment complementation works in rice with precise recombination structures confirmed by DNA sequencing. As each N-terminal and C-terminal fragment is also flanked by lox recombination sites, they can also self-excise to avoid the need to segregate away the cre DNA. Options to form F1 hybrids homozygous for one transgene, or hemizygous for two different transgenes at the same chromosome location, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorless transparent polyimide (CPI) film simultaneously combining with low dielectric loss at high frequency, excellent thermal, mechanical properties and folding resistance is urgently required in nowadays flexible electronics industry. Inspired by liquid-crystal elastomers containing both soft and hard segments, one rigid and flexible single block copolymerization strategy was designed by introducing the hard segments of liquid-crystal-like PI into the flexible perfluorinated CPI, where it was found that tuning the persistence lengths of hard segments of liquid-crystal-like PI can significantly improve the general properties of CPI films. With the persistence lengths of main chain of CPI films increased from 2.17 ± 0.07 Å to 16.56 ± 0.12 Å, the transmittance of CPI films at 550 nm remained above 85%, while the dielectric loss at 10 GHz of CPI films reduced from 0.00479 to 0.00407 with decreasement of 15.1% due to the increased chain rigidity limits friction work. Besides, CPI film with the persistence length of 16.56 ± 0.12 Å also exhibited well mechanical properties like thermal expansion coefficients of 24.8 ppm/K, tensile strengths of 162.5 MPa and Young's moduli of 4.88 GPa, which were 30.1%, 25.8% and 49.7% better than that of the CPI film with the persistence length of 2.17 ± 0.07 Å. Furthermore, this type of CPI films with tunable elasticity also had better folding resistance properties. Therefore, tuning the persistence lengths of main chain of CPI films can meet the application of high frequency/speed communication, flexible display and other fields at the same time. [Display omitted] • One controllable polymerization method was used to regulate the aggregation situation of TAHQ in the main chain and obtain CPI films with various persistence lengths. • With the persistence lengths of CPI films increased from 2.17 ± 0.07 Å to 16.56 ± 0.12 Å, the transmittance of CPI films at 550 nm remained above 85%, and the D f at 10 GHz of CPI films reduced from 0.00479 to 0.00407 with decreasement of 15.1%. • The CPI film with the persistence length of 16.56 ± 0.12 Å exhibited thermal expansion coefficients of 24.8 ppm/K, tensile strengths of 162.5 MPa and Young's moduli of 4.88 GPa, which were 30.1%, 25.8% and 49.7% better than that of the CPI film with the persistence length of 2.17 ± 0.07 Å. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplicial complexes describe the simple fact that in social networks a link can connect more than two individuals. As we show here, this has far-reaching consequences for epidemic spreading, in particular in the context of a multilayer network model, where one layer is a virtual social network and the other one is a physical contact network. The social network layer is responsible for the transmission of information via pairwise or higher order 2-simplex interactions among individuals, while the physical layer is responsible for the epidemic spreading. We use the microscopic Markov chain approach to derive the probability transition equations and to determine epidemic outbreak thresholds. We further support these results with Monte Carlo simulations, which are in good agreement, thus confirming the analytical tractability of the proposed model. We find that information transmission rates are frequently low when actual disease transmission rates in the physical network are low or medium, and we show that this can be mitigated effectively by introducing 2-simplex interactions in the social network. The relative ease of introducing higher-order interactions in virtual social networks means that this could be exploited to inhibit epidemic outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The chlorination and bromination kinetics of CCBs were evaluated and modeled. • CCBs have distinct reactivity with halogen oxidants and photochemical transients. • Modeling showed that both CCBs were stable in natural waters (from days to months). • Free chlorine dominated the CCB degradation in the solar/chlorine system. • CCB transformation from disinfection to natural photolysis produced higher risks. Organic micropollutants present in disinfected wastewater and discharged to sunlit surface waters may be transformed by multiple processes, such as chlorination due to the presence of chlorine residuals, solar irradiation as well as solar-irradiated chlorine residues. This study reports, for the first time, the multi-scenario degradation kinetics, transformation products, and risk evolution of calcium channel blockers (CCBs), a class of emerging pharmaceutical contaminants with worldwide prevalence in natural waters and wastewater. It was found that the chlorination of the studied CCBs (amlodipine (AML) and verapamil (VER)) was dominated by the reaction of HOCl with their neutral species, with second-order rate constants of 6.15×104 M−1 s−1 (AML) and 7.93×103 M−1 s−1 (VER) at pH 5.0–11.0. Bromination is much faster than chlorination, with the measured k app,HOBr values of 2.94×105 M−1 s−1 and 6.58×103 M−1 s−1 for AML and VER, respectively, at pH 7.0. Furthermore, both CCBs would undergo photolytic attenuations with hydroxyl and carbonate radicals as the dominant reactive species in water. Notably, free chlorine mainly contributed to their abatement during the solar/chlorine treatment. Additionally, the halogen addition on the aromatic ring was observed during chlorination and bromination of the two CCBs. Cyclization was observed under solar irradiation only, while the aromatic ring was opened in the solar/chlorine system. Some products generated by the three transformation processes exhibited non-negligible risks of high biodegradation recalcitrance and toxicity, potentially threatening the aquatic environment and public health. Overall, this study elucidated the environmental fate of typical CCBs under different transformation processes to better understand the resulting ecological risks in these environmental scenarios. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the dynamics of stochastic human T‐cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV‐I) infection model with cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) immune response is investigated. First, we show that the stochastic model exists as a unique positive global solution originating from the positive initial value. Second, we demonstrate that the stochastic model is stochastically permanent and stochastically ultimately bounded for any positive initial value. Third, we establish sufficient conditions for the existence of ergodic stationary distribution of the stochastic model. Fourth, the threshold R0∗ between extinction and persistence of the virus is obtained. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometrial carcinoma is a very heterogeneous gynecological cancer. According to the latest molecular classification, endometrial carcinoma is divided into mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd) -related EC and non-MMRd-related EC. And MMRd-related EC is divided into three subtypes according to the characteristics of mutation: MLH1-hypermethylationged endometrial carcinoma (EC-met); Lynch syndrome-related endometrial carcinoma (EC-ls) and mismatch repair gene double somatic variants (EC-dspv). The three subtypes of EC have different pathogenesis and clinical characteristics. Therefore, they must be distinguished according to clinical and immunological characteristics in order to adopt precise treatments. This article mainly introduces the classification of MMRd-related endometrial carcinoma, and compares the three subtypes with the mismatch repair proficiency (MMRp) of EC in terms of clinical and immune features. Finally, this review introduces recent researches and clinical trials related to the treatment and prognosis of MMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important weapons against infectious diseases, vaccines have saved countless lives since their first use in the late eighteenth century. Antibodies produced by effector B cells upon vaccination play a critical role in mediating protection. The past several decades of research have led to a revolution in our understanding of B cell response to vaccination. Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were developed at an unprecedented speed to power our global fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we still face many challenges in the development of vaccines against many other deadly viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and influenza virus. In this review, we summarize the latest findings on B cell response to vaccination and pathogen infection. We also discuss the current challenges in the field and the potential strategies targeting B cell response to improve vaccine efficacy. Key abbreviations box: BCR: B cell receptor; bNAb: broadly neutralizing antibody; DC: dendritic cells; DZ: dark zone; EF response: extrafollicular response; FDC: follicular dendritic cell; GC: germinal center; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus; IC: immune complex; LLPC: long-lived plasma cell; LZ: light zone; MBC: memory B cell; SLPB: short-lived plasmablast; TFH: T follicular helper cells; TLR: Toll-like receptor [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical climate oscillations and tectonic events have influenced the speciation and evolutionary history of many organisms. In this study, we chose Fokienia hodginsii (Dunn) A. Henry & H. H. Thomas (Cupressaceae s.l.), a Tertiary relict conifer, for the inference of the demographic history since the Neogene. Five chloroplast regions and two single‐copy nuclear genes were amplified and sequenced in 497 individuals from 28 populations. The chloroplast data showed that F. hodginsii presented a high level of genetic diversity (HT = 0.860 ± 0.0279) and significant phylogeographic structure (NST > GST, P < 0.05). According tobeast analysis, the divergence time of the two major lineages indicated by the phylogenetic construction produced from chloroplast and nuclear data could be dated to the early Miocene (ca. 19.34–19.95 Ma), which coincided with the onset and intensification of the Asian monsoon. During this time, environmental adaption under the different climatic conditions on either side of the Tanaka Line could have played important roles in maintaining and/or reinforcing the divergence of the two major lineages. The ecological niche modeling results showed that F. hodginsii experienced habitat fragmentation and strengthening of genetic barriers during the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by local expansion during postglacial periods. Our findings show that paleoclimate changes since the Neogene might have triggered the extinction of all but one Fokienia species and its intraspecific lineage differentiation. This study also suggests that Tertiary relicts in subtropical and tropical areas might have had a complex evolutionary history and their intraspecific differentiation time might have been earlier than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamics has been widely used to study the fundamental mechanism of Ni-based superalloys. However, the effect of the potential function and strain rate on mechanical behavior has rarely been mentioned in the previous molecular dynamics studies. In the present work, we show that the potential function of molecular dynamics can dramatically influence the simulation results of single crystal Ni-based superalloys. The microstructure and mechanical behavior of single crystal Ni-based superalloys under four commonly used potential functions are systematically compared. A most suitable potential function for the mechanical deformation is critically selected, and based on it, the role of strain rate on the mechanical deformation is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomena with within-strata characteristics that are more similar than between-strata characteristics are ubiquitous (e.g., land-use types and image classifications). It can be summarized as spatial stratified heterogeneity (SSH), which is measured and attributed using the geographical detector (Geodetector) q-statistic. SSH is typically calibrated by stratification and hundreds of algorithms have been developed. Little is discussed about the conditions of the methods. In this work, a novel stratification method based on head/tail breaks is introduced for the purpose of better capturing the SSH of geographical variables with a heavy-tailed distribution. Compared to conventional sample-based stratifications, the presented approach is a population-based optimized stratification that indicates an underlying scaling property in geographical spaces. It requires no prior knowledge or auxiliary variables and supports a naturally determined number of strata instead of being subjectively preset. In addition, our approach reveals the inherent hierarchical structure of geographical variables, characterizes its dominant components across all scales, and provides the potential to make the stratification meaningful and interpretable. The advantages were illustrated by several case studies in natural and social sciences. The proposed approach is versatile and flexible so that it can be applied for the stratification of both geographical and nongeographical variables and is conducive to advancing SSH-related studies as well. This study provides a new way of thinking for advocating spatial heterogeneity or scaling law and advances our understanding of geographical phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate the solubility and oxidation characteristics of different forms of trace elements, four groups of different forms of trace elements were set up, namely, traditional inorganic trace elements (ITE group), glycine trace elements (GTE group), compound amino acid trace elements (CATE group), and coated inorganic trace elements (CITE group). The premix of different groups of trace elements provided the same level of trace elements for eel compound feed. The results showed that the dissolution rate of ITE group, GTE group, and CATE group (except copper and iron) was higher at 0.5 h, and almost all of them were dissolved after 4.0 h. The dissolution rates of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in CITE group increased with time, and were significantly lower than those in ITE group, GTE group, and CATE group (P<0.05). After adding calcium dihydrogen phosphate, the dissolution rates of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in ITE group, GTE group, and CATE group decreased significantly (P<0.05), while the dissolution rates of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in CITE group increased significantly (P<0.05). The peroxide value of eel feed prepared with different forms of trace element premix increased at first and then decreased. At different time points, the peroxide value of ITE group was the highest, followed by the GTE group, CATE group, and CITE group. The study indicates that the dissolution rate of coated inorganic trace elements and compound amino acid trace elements is lower, which can reduce the peroxide value of eel compound feed, and the effect of coated inorganic trace elements is better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A typical sandy mudstone from the deep-buried roadway of the Kouzidong coal mine was taken as the research object. Based on the micro-mesoscopic experiments combining the acoustic emission (AE) and digital speckle correlation method (DSCM), as well as numerical simulations based on the discrete element method (DEM), both the micro-mesoscopic creep damage evolution and the failure mechanism of sandy mudstone were investigated. The experimental results show that the AE curve of sandy mudstone in the multilevel creep test is consistent with the axial strain curve. Three stages, including the decelerative, isokinetic, and accelerative creep stage, can be identified. The three-dimensional source location of AE events shows that the creep loading leads to more severe, homogeneous, and dispersed microdamage in sandy mudstone and a looser failure mode. It was also found by DSCM techniques that the microscopic deformation field evolution of sandy mudstone in the creep process well corresponds to the three stages of creep failure. A transition of microscopic deformation field from random, via symmetrical, to asymmetrical distribution, can be observed during the creep failure process of sandy mudstone. By introducing the time-dependent stress corrosion theory into the existing parallel-bonded model (PBM) in particle flow code (PFC), the microdamage evolution mechanism of sandy mudstone under creep loading was studied both theoretically and numerically, and the corresponding results revalidate our experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of seepage through a large-scale rock mass containing a filling joint. Firstly, a conceptual model was established to characterize the geomechanical occurrence of a typical water-resistant slab adjacent to a water-bearing structure. Then, a special apparatus was developed to conduct a hydromechanical test of a 3D large-scale rock mass. For a certain boundary stress and inlet water pressure, the pore water pressure in the joint first experiences a dramatic increase before approaching a constant value, and the steady pore water pressure presents a linear decrease along the joint length. A water inrush phenomenon happens as a result of connected flowing channels induced by migration of fillings. Using the finite element of COMSOL multiphysics, the influences of filling joint permeability, matrix permeability, and joint thickness as well as the inlet water pressure on seepage evolution in the jointed rock mass were, respectively, investigated. The pore water pressure increases with all these factors, and the stable pressure values increase with the inlet water pressure but decrease along the joint length. The flow velocity undergoes an increase with both the joint permeability and inlet water pressure but presents constant values independent on the matrix permeability or joint thickness. The water pressure contour planes distributed along the flowing path generally transfer from a "long funnel" shape to a "short funnel" shape before reaching a series of parallel pressure planes perpendicular to the joint direction. By using the genetic algorithm, the coupling influences of these factors on the pore water pressure and flow velocity were investigated, and the decision parameters were optimized. The calculated values show a good agreement with the numerical results, indicating a good prediction of the seepage evolution through the filling joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mechanical response of CGBM under static-dynamic combined loads was studied. • Real-time monitoring of crack activities and strain field evolution was achieved. • Typical Failure modes of CGBM regarding various loading paths were identified. This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms for the cemented gangue backfill materials (CGBM) of the roadside filling structures along the gob-side entry with no coal pillars under static-dynamic combined loading. Cuboid cemented gangue backfill samples (CGBS) with dimensions of 50 × 50 × 100 mm were first prepared, with the fractal dimension D = 2.6 characterizing the particle size distribution of aggregates, and then conducted static-dynamic combined loading tests in terms of various pre-static loads (5–11 MPa), amplitudes (2–5 MPa), frequencies (1–16 Hz) and dynamic loading cycles (20–320 cycles). The test results indicate significant differences in the mechanical properties, acoustic emission (AE) responses, maximum principal strain fields, and ultimate failure modes of CGBS under different static-dynamic combined loading paths. With an increasing pre-static load, dynamic loading amplitude and number of cycles, the peak stress decreases by 21.28 %, 12.48 % and 11.84 % respectively, while the peak stress first decreases and then increases with the dynamic loading frequency and reaches the minimum value at the "characteristic frequency" of 4 Hz. The irreversible strain generally experiences an "acceleration - constant speed" variation during the dynamic loading as a result of the gradually stable damage effects. The dynamic elastic modulus increases by 45.84% in the pre-static load range of 5–11 MPa, while decreases with the dynamic loading amplitude. The dissipated energy increases by a factor of 6.5 with the dynamic loading amplitude, and by 27.52% with the pre-static loads. The significantly stimulated cracking activities at the beginning of dynamic loading result in extremely violent AE responses, and then the AE signals weaken due to the dominate role of opening and closure of existing cracks. The RA and AF calculation results illustrate that shear cracks become active at the initial dynamic loading and macroscopic failure stages. As the degradation effects of dynamic loading intensify, three various failure modes of inclined shear failure, "Y" shaped shear failure and conjugate shear failure for the CGBS are respectively classified, especially the conjugate shear failure characterized by two cone-shaped blocks. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanical responses and failure mechanisms of the roadside filling body during the dynamic mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the limited size and imperfections of the optical components in a spectrometer, aberrations inevitably make their way into 2D multifibre spectral images in the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopy Telescope (LAMOST), which leads to obvious spatial variation of the point spread functions (PSFs). However, if spatially variant PSFs are estimated directly, the large storage and intensive computational requirements result in the deconvolution spectrum extraction method becoming intractable. In this paper, we propose a novel method to solve the problem of spatial variation of the PSFs through image aberration correction. When CCD image aberrations are corrected, the convolution kernel can be approximated by only one spatially invariant PSF. Specifically, a novel method based on machine learning is proposed to calibrate the distorted spectral images. The method includes many techniques, such as total least squares (TLS) algorithm, self-supervised learning and multilayer feed-forward neural networksnetworks, and it makes use of a special training set sampling scheme combining 2D distortion features in a flat-field spectrum and calibration lamp spectrum. The calibration experiments on the LAMOST CCD images show that the proposed method is feasible. Furthermore, the spectrum extraction results before and after calibration are compared, and the experimental results show that the characteristics of the extracted 1D waveform are closer to those of an ideal optics system after image correction, and that the PSF of the corrected object spectrum estimated by the blind deconvolution method is nearly centrosymmetric, which indicates that our proposed method can significantly reduce the complexity of spectrum extraction and improve extraction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper experimentally evaluated the influences of the surface roughness and boundary load on the nonlinear flow behavior of real three-dimensional rock fractures. The rough fractures with various joint roughness coefficient (JRC) values in the range of 2.59 to 19.31 were generated with a fractal governing function, and the corresponding fractured granite specimens of a square plate shape in the size of 495 × 495 × 16 mm were manufactured. The fluid flow tests on these fractures were conducted with respect to various hydraulic pressures ranged from 0 to 0.6 MPa and various boundary loads ranged from 7 to 35 kN. The results show that Forchheimer's law provides an excellent presentation of the relation between the hydraulic gradient and the flow rate, and both the linear and nonlinear fitting coefficients in the Forchheimer's law show an increasing trend with both increases in the surface roughness and boundary load. The critical hydraulic gradient and critical Reynolds number decrease with the surface roughness. The critical hydraulic gradient increases more significantly under a small boundary load in the range of 7 to 14 kN than that under a high boundary load in the range of 21 to 35 kN. A cubic polynomial function is applied to analyze the transmissivity as a function of the hydraulic gradient, and the transmissivity shows a decreasing trend when the surface roughness and boundary load increase. The flow behavior is assessed by depicting the normalized transmissivity of the fractures based on the hydraulic gradient, and an increase in the surface roughness shifts the fitting curves downwards. The hydraulic aperture shows a hyperbolic decrease as the boundary load increased, and a power-law equation can be used to evaluate the variations in the nonlinear coefficient in terms of the hydraulic aperture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of carrier gas flow on the external flow field of coaxial powder feeding nozzle. FLUENT software was adopted to establish gas-solid two-phase flow. The simulation of powder stream field under different carrier gas flow was also carried out. Results show that the larger the flow of carrier gas is, the higher the gas flow field velocity at the nozzle outlet is. At the same time, the concentration at the convergence point is lower, and the convergent point is maintained at 0.015 m. Under the condition of 4 L/min, the powder flow convergence is good. When it exceeds 4 L/min, powder spot diameter increases. The experiment of powder aggregation and laser cladding forming were completed, which shows that the forming effect is the best one under the condition of 4 L/min. It is consistent with the simulation analysis results and has a high reference to the optimization of the process parameters of coaxial nozzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectopic pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy is rare and is therefore easily misdiagnosed. To provide information regarding the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, mechanism and prognosis of this condition, we reviewed all cases reported in the English literature. All English language reports on ectopic pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy were retrieved from the PubMed database. A total of 19 English language articles were collected and 20 cases of ectopic pregnancy were reported. Eleven of the 19 patients had a history of tubal pregnancy on one or both sides. All of these pregnancies were by IVF-ET. The site of ectopic pregnancy was the tubal stump in 8 cases, the abdominal cavity in 4 cases, the ovary in 3 cases, the retroperitoneum in 3 cases, and the uterine cornua in 2 cases. All patients underwent successful resection of the ectopic pregnancy, of which 10 were laparoscopic surgery and 10 were laparotomy. Six of 8 cases of heterotopic pregnancy were successful gestation to the last trimester and were delivered after treatment. Ectopic pregnancy is still possible following IVF-ET after bilateral salpingectomy. The location of these ectopic pregnancies is complex and it is necessary to beware of the possibility of a heterotopic pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper experimentally investigates the role of high temperature treatment on pore characteristics, permeability, critical Reynolds number, and flow nonlinearity of granite exposed to temperatures of 100~800 °C. First, variations in pore characteristics, porosity, and pore fractal dimension of granite were analyzed using the mercury intrusion method. Then, a number of water flow tests were conducted on the samples with confining pressures varying from 10 to 30 MPa. The results show that (i) the cumulative pore volume of granite shows an increase with temperatures, which first increases gradually in the range of 100~400 °C, and increases significantly in the range of 400~800 °C. The pore structure becomes developed gradually; (ii) as the temperature increases from 100 to 800 °C, the pore fractal dimension decreases by 12.09%, indicating gradually weaken complexity of pore distributions. An exponential function is used to evaluate the increasing porosity of rock based on the temperature levels; (iii) the relations between volume flow rate and pressure gradient can be well described using the Forchheimer's law. Both linear and nonlinear coefficients increase with the confining pressure. The equivalent permeability experiences an exponential increase with the temperature due to thermally induced defects; (iv) by defining a critical nonlinear effect factor of 10%, the critical pressure gradient was calculated, which increases with the confining pressure. The critical Reynolds number shows a decrease of 25.49%~67.74% with confining pressure due to more isolated contact areas and tortuous flow paths but increases by a factor of 5.97~17.24 with the temperature. A three-order polynomial function is used to analyze the decrease in transmissivity versus the pressure gradient. The Forchheimer's law results are evaluated by plotting the normalized transmissivity against the pressure gradient, and an increase in the temperature generally shifts the fitted curves downward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a devastating disease with high mortality and morbidity, and the underlying mechanisms of miR-19a in CRC are poorly understood. In our study, dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to evaluate the binding of miR-19a with thrombospondin-1 (THBS1). Cell viability, migration, and invasiveness were assessed using MTT, wound healing, and Transwell assays, respectively. Tube-formation assays with human lymphatic endothelial cells (HLECs) were used to evaluate lymphangiogenesis, and tumor xenograft assays were used to measure tumor growth. The results showed that miR-19a was up-regulated and THBS1 was down-regulated in CRC tissues and cells. Applying an inhibitor of miR-19a suppressed survival, migration, and invasiveness, and inhibited the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC). Further mechanistic study identified that THBS1 is a direct target of miR-19a. THBS1 silencing attenuated the above-mentioned suppressive effects induced with the miR-19a inhibitor. Furthermore, the miR-19a inhibitor suppressed the migration and tube-formation abilities of HLECs via targeting the THBS1–MMP-9/VEGFC signaling pathway. And the inhibition of miR-19a also suppressed tumor growth and lymphatic tube formation in vivo. In conclusion, miR-19a inhibition suppresses the viability, migration, and invasiveness of CRC cells, and suppresses the migration and tube-formation abilities of HLECs, and further, inhibits tumor growth and lymphatic tube formation in vivo via targeting THBS1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study experimentally investigated the internal fracture geometries and hydraulic properties of deformable rock samples subjected to various loading paths. Three loading paths, uniaxial compression, conventional triaxial compression, and triaxial prepeak unloading, were administered to granite samples. A high-precision X-ray microfocus-computed-tomography scanning system was adopted to explore the internal failure modes of the deformable samples, and a series of flow tests with different hydraulic pressures and confining stresses were then performed. The results show that the samples after uniaxial compression exhibit a typical splitting failure mode; however, for conventional triaxial compression and prepeak unloading, the samples generally show tensile-shear failure modes. The relationship between the flow rate and pressure gradient of the sample after uniaxial compression can be best described using the Forchheimer law. Both the linear and nonlinear coefficients in the Forchheimer law increase with increasing confining stress. As the confining stress increases from 4 to 20 MPa, the critical hydraulic gradient that quantifies the onset of nonlinear flow increases from 5.33 to 56.74, but the transmissivity decreases due to the fracture closure. For water flow through the samples after conventional triaxial compression and prepeak unloading, two representative types of nonlinear flow behaviors induced by inertial effects and fracture dilation were observed. Different loading paths lead to different failure mechanisms and thus different fluid-flow responses, and the samples subjected to prepeak unloading with a high confining pressure possess a more significant flow capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the transport properties and permeability evolution characteristics of fluid flow through thermally treated rock samples containing single fractures. First, splitting fractures were generated in cylindrical granite samples after high-temperature exposure (25–800 °C). Then a series of water flow tests through both intact and fractured samples were conducted in a triaxial cell under different confining pressures (10–30 MPa) and varying inlet hydraulic pressures (0.4–6 MPa). The results show that as the temperature increases from 25 to 800 °C, the standard deviations of the 3D spatial distribution parameters, including the asperity height, slope angle, and aspect direction of the fracture surface mesh element planes, all increase, indicating gradually increasing fracture surface roughness. The relationships between the pressure gradient and flow rate of intact samples, fractured rock samples, and the fractures themselves can all be well fitted using the Forchheimer's law. Both linear and nonlinear coefficients in the Forchheimer's law increase with increasing confining pressure. An exponential function is used to evaluate the equivalent permeability of intact samples based on temperature levels. The permeability undergoes an increasing trend as the temperature increases due to thermally induced defects, but undergoes a decreasing trend as the confining pressure increases due to defect closure. Two representative types of flow characteristics through the fractured rock samples, dominated by either the rock matrix or fracture flow, are identified. In the temperature range of 25–800 °C, the critical Reynolds number of the fractures declines, which first remains generally constant for temperatures of 25–400 °C and then experiences a dramatic decrease for temperatures of 400–800 °C. The nonlinear coefficient bf in Forchheimer's law versus the hydraulic aperture eh curves displays a decreasing trend following a power-law relationship. The Forchheimer's law results are evaluated by plotting the normalized transmissivity against the pressure gradient. An increase in the confining pressure shifts the fitted curves downward. As the temperature increases, the contribution of the matrix to the overall discharge capacity of the fractured rock samples gradually enhances, while that for the fractures weakens. The reduction extent in permeability of the rough-walled fractures is more remarkable than that of the matrix under an applied confining pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent perovskite photocatalysts activated by Pr3+ were prepared by combustion. The structural phase, morphology, and chemical composition of the as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of the synthesized samples were investigated on the basis of the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV light irradiation. CaTiO3:Pr3+ was obtained in high purity and good crystallinity with a perovskite structure. The degradation of the photocatalyst was fitted with pseudo-first-order kinetics according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. Compared to CaTiO3:Pr3+, Ca1–xTiO3:Pr3+ (x = 0–0.3) multifunctional materials exhibit higher luminescence intensity and photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of MB. Ca0.8TiO3:0.1%Pr3+ exhibited the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We synthesized RuNi single-atom alloy catalysts by thermal reduction of single Ru atoms dispersedLDH. • EXAFS analysis demonstrated the successful synthesis of RuNi single-atom alloy. • Under photothermal condition, the RuNi catalyst showed the best performance, achieving high production rates of H 2 and CO, respectively. • CO 2 -emitting thermal decomposition of MgCO 3 reaction was coupled with CO 2 -consuming DRM reaction to convert CO 2. Traditional industries, which usually involve the thermal decomposition of carbonates into metal oxide, give a great contribution to the production of carbon dioxide (CO 2). Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a process that transforms the greenhouse gases CO 2 and CH 4 into syngas (CO and H 2), providing an efficient method for the usage of CO 2 and the creation of high value-added chemicals. However, such traditional process typically requires high temperature and pressure to break the C O and C H bond, resulting in high operating costs. The development of solar-driven catalysis for the DRM is crucial to the search for a more sustainable path. Herein, RuNi single-atom alloy (RuNi-SAA) supported on Al 2 O 3 was synthesized and exhibited enhanced production rates of H 2 and CO (8.98 and 10.70 mmol·g−1·min−1, respectively) under photothermal condition. Additionally, CO 2 -emitting carbonates thermal decomposition reaction in traditional industries was combined with CO 2 -consuming DRM reaction to reduce CO 2 emission. The selectivity of CO 2 can be significantly reduced from 100% (direct carbonates thermal decomposition) to 20%, with simultaneously producing H 2 and CO (0.68 and 0.44 mmol·g−1·min−1). This study presents an effective strategy to construct highly reactive SAA catalysts for photothermal DRM reaction and offers an alternative method to utilize and directly convert CO 2 in traditional industries for the manufacture of high value-added chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferon‐inducible protein 204 (p204) binds to microbial DNA to elicit inflammatory responses and induce interferon production. p204 also modulates cell proliferation and differentiation by regulating various transcription factors. The C‐terminal HIN domains in p204 are believed to be responsible for DNA binding, but the binding mode is not fully understood. The DNA‐binding affinity of the p204 HIN1 domain has been characterized and its crystal structure has been determined, providing insight into its interaction with DNA. Surface‐charge distribution together with sequence alignment suggests that the p204 HIN domain uses its L12 and L45 loops for DNA binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to the regular enzymatic glycosylation, lysine glycation also attaches a sugar molecule to a peptide, but it does not need the help of an enzyme. It has been found that lysine glycation is involved in various biological processes and is closely associated with many metabolic diseases. Thus, an accurate identification of lysine glycation sites is important to understand its underlying molecular mechanisms. The glycated residues do not show significant patterns, which make both in silico sequence-level predictions and experimental validations a major challenge. In this study, a novel predictor named MDS_GlySitePred is proposed to predict lysine glycation sites by using multidimensional scaling method (MDS) and support vector machine algorithm. As illustrated by the average results of tenfold cross-validation repeated 50 times, MDS_GlySitePred achieves a satisfactory performance with a sensitivity of 95.08%, a specificity of 97.65%, an accuracy of 96.58%, and Matthew's correlation coefficient of 0.93 on the extensively used benchmark datasets. Experimental results indicate that MDS_GlySitePred significantly outperforms four existing glycation site predictors including NetGlycate, PreGly, Gly-PseAAC, and BPB_GlySite. Therefore, MDS_GlySitePred can be a useful bioinformatics tool for the identification of glycation sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a metamodel-based constrained optimization method, called Radial basis function-based Constrained Global Optimization (RCGO), to solve optimization problems involving computationally expensive objective function and inequality constraints. RCGO is an extension of the adaptive metamodel-based global optimization (AMGO) algorithm which can handle unconstrained black-box optimization problems. Firstly, a sequential sampling method is implemented to obtain the initial points for building the radial basis function (RBF) approximations to all computational expensive functions while enforcing a feasible solution. Then, an auxiliary objective function subject to the approximate constraints is constructed to determine the next iterative point and further improve the solution. During the process, a distance function with a group of exponents is introduced in the auxiliary function to balance the local exploitation and the global exploration. The RCGO method is tested on a series of benchmark problems, and the results demonstrate that RCGO needs fewer costly evaluations and can be applied for costly constrained problems with all infeasible start points. And the test results on the 30D problems demonstrate that RCGO has advantages in solving the problems. The proposed method is then applied to the design of a cycloid gear pump and desirable results are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the effect of pre-existing flaw geometry on mechanical behavior and crack coalescence modes of sandstone specimens containing combined flaws with different fissure angle, ligament length and fissure length under uniaxial compression. The flaw geometry is a combination of a single hole and an inclined fissure underneath, which is generated by a high pressure water-jet cutting machine and is different from that reported in previous studies. The effect of flaw geometry on mechanical behavior of sandstone specimens is analyzed. Basically, mechanical parameters including the peak strength, peak axial strain, elastic modulus and secant Young’s modulus for the flawed specimens are lower than those for the intact specimens, with the reduction extent related to the fissure angle, ligament length and fissure length. Variation trends of the crack initiation stress for all tested cases are studied. Initiated crack types and cracking modes also depend on the combined flaws geometry. For the flawed specimens with a small fissure angle, ligament length or fissure length, cracking modes are generally characterized by cracks initiated from the hole-wall and evolved to the specimen boundary. However, when the fissure angle, ligament length or fissure length is increased, cracks initiated from both the hole-wall and fissure tips produce the main failure planes, accompanied by a free-standing “triangular prism structure” within the specimens. Numerical simulations using RFPA2D (Rock Failure Process Analysis in two dimensions) are carried out on the flawed sandstone specimens and agree well with the experimental results in the peak strength and overall cracking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The fracture mechanism of each SCB sample at different inclination angles of bedding is revealed by the quantitatively analysis of fracture surface. • The mode I fracture characteristics of SCB samples are strongly influenced by the asymmetric loading coefficient, groove width and bedding strength. • The fracture mode of numerical SCB samples is divided into two groups and each group was then divided into three subgroups. Bedding shows great influences on the fracture properties of bedded rocks. To investigate the mode I fracture properties of bedded rocks, three-point bending tests of bedded rocks at different inclination angles of bedding are carried out. The influences of asymmetric loading coefficient, groove width and bedding strength on mode I fracture properties are then studied by numerical simulation. The laboratory test results reveal that with the increasing inclination angle of bedding, the bedding effect is reinforced which leads to the fact that mode I fracture toughness values continuously decrease and fracture modes of test samples transform from through the bedding to along the bedding. The peak values of mean height and maximum height, and the JRC values of fracture plane increase initially and decrease afterwards with the increasing inclination angle of bedding. The numerical simulation results show that the fracture load, fracture mode and microcracks' percentage of test samples are strongly influenced by the asymmetric loading coefficient, groove width and bedding strength. According to the numerical results, the fracture mode of test samples is first divided into two groups based on the principal whether the principal crack initiates at the groove. Each group is then divided into three subgroups according to the compositions of principal crack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism and quantitative descriptions of nonlinear fluid flow through rock fractures are difficult issues of high concern in underground engineering fields. In order to study the effects of fracture geometry and loading conditions on nonlinear flow properties and normalized transmissivity through fracture networks, stress-dependent fluid flow tests were conducted on real rock fracture networks with different number of intersections (1, 4, 7, and 12) and subjected to various applied boundary loads (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 kN). For all cases, the inlet hydraulic pressures ranged from 0 to 0.6 MPa. The test results show that Forchheimer’s law provides an excellent description of the nonlinear fluid flow in fracture networks. The linear coefficient a and nonlinear coefficient b in Forchheimer’s law J=aQ+bQ2 generally decrease with the number of intersections but increase with the boundary load. The relationships between a and b can be well fitted with a power function. A nonlinear effect factor E=bQ2/(aQ+bQ2) was used to quantitatively characterize the nonlinear behaviors of fluid flow through fracture networks. By defining a critical value of E = 10%, the critical hydraulic gradient was calculated. The critical hydraulic gradient decreases with the number of intersections due to richer flowing paths but increases with the boundary load due to fracture closure. The transmissivity of fracture networks decreases with the hydraulic gradient, and the variation process can be estimated using an exponential function. A mathematical expression T/T0=1-exp⁡(-αJ-0.45) for decreased normalized transmissivity T/T0 against the hydraulic gradient J was established. When the hydraulic gradient is small, T/T0 holds a constant value of 1.0. With increasing hydraulic gradient, the reduction rate of T/T0 first increases and then decreases. The equivalent permeability of fracture networks decreases with the applied boundary load, and permeability changes at low load levels are more sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial cell myofibroblast transition (EndoMT) is found during the process of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats, and plays a very important role in sustaining inflammation and collagen secretion. Moreover, some studies have suggested that the Notch1 signaling pathway may be involved in the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs), a protein marker of EndoMT. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the expression level of α-SMA and Notch1-related signaling molecules in PMVECs from BLM-induced rats and determine the relationship between the Notch1 signaling pathway and the expression of α-SMA in PMVECs. We found that the expression levels of α-SMA, Notch1, and Jagged1 were upregulated, while the expression levels of Dll4 were downregulated. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the expression of Jagged1 and the α-SMA proteins in PMVECs, and NF-κB was downregulated by decreasing the expression of Jagged1. In conclusion, the Jagged1/Notch1 signaling pathway is activated in PMVECs during the pathogenesis of BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats, and it may induce α-SMA expression via a non-canonical pathway involving NF-κB as the target molecule. The precise mechanism and the molecules involved in this signaling pathway need to be further elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat loss from the cement production accounts for a large amount of the energy consumption in energy-intensive industry. In order to recover the heat loss, a waste heat power generation system is proposed in this work. The system contains a suspension preheater boiler, an air quenching cooler boiler, a condenser, a turbine and a heat recovery system with nine heat recovery exchangers. Then, integration of the thermodynamic and thermal resistance analyses yields physical model relations between the system requirements and the design parameters, i.e. the thermal conductance and the mass flow rates, which form the constraint equation group of a global optimization model. With the aid of the conditional extremum principles, the equation group is solved to obtain the optimal structural and operational parameters for the heat power generation system. Besides, experimental measurements are investigated to determine the heat transfer characteristics of the heat recovery exchangers. Finally, an optimization case of a practical system is studied and some factors that affect the optimal results are discussed. The results illustrate that the global optimization method can obtain the optimal design parameters for each component in the waste heat power generation system. The required thermal conductance of the heat recovery system could reduce by 22% compared with the values before optimization. The vaporization temperature will decrease as the total mass flow rate and the work output of the turbine increase. Besides, the total thermal conductance will increase as the inlet temperature of the cooling water in the condenser and the work output in the turbine increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As modern engineering design usually involves dependence of one discipline on another, multidisciplinary system analysis (MDSA) plays an important role in the multidisciplinary simulation and design optimization on coupled systems. The paper proposes an MDSA method based on minimal feedback variables (MDSA_MF) to enhance the solving efficiency. There are two phases in the method. In phase 1, design structural matrix (DSM) is introduced to represent a coupled system, and each off-diagonal element is denoted by a coupling variable set; then an optimal sequence model is built to obtain a reordered DSM with minimal number of feedback variables. In phase 2, the feedback in the reordered DSM is broken, so that the coupled system is transformed into one directed acyclic graph; then, regarding the inputs depending on the broken feedback as independent variables, a least-squares problem is constructed to minimize the residuals of these independents and corresponding outputs to zero, which means the multidisciplinary consistence is achieved. Besides, the MDSA_MF method is implemented in a multidisciplinary platform called FlowComputer. Several examples of coupled systems are modeled and solved in the platform using several MDSA methods. The results demonstrate that the proposed method could enhance the solving efficiency of coupled systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome is a multi-protein platform that recognizes aberrant cytoplasmic dsDNA and induces cytokine maturation, release and pyroptosis. It is composed of AIM2, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and caspase-1. Recent X-ray crystallographic and high resolution cryo-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) studies have revealed a series of structures in AIM2 inflammasome activation and regulation. One prominent feature common in multiple steps is the assembly of high-order structures, especially helical filaments nucleated by upstream molecules, rather than stoichiometric complexes. In this review, we track the AIM2 inflammasome activation process step by step, using high-resolution structures to illustrate the overall architecture of AIM2 inflammasome and its assembly and regulatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many studies examined the effects of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) on the deaths of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory disease (RD), few research has paid attention to the effects of prolonged continuous exposure to high PM 2.5 pollution. This study estimated the excess risks (ER) of CVD and RD mortalities associated with prolonged continuous exposure to high PM 2.5 pollution for the whole population and specific subsociodemographic groups in Beijing, which is the capital city of China with over 20 million residents and having severe PM 2.5 pollution problems. Our results suggested that when high PM 2.5 pollution occurred continuously, at various thresholds and durations, the adverse effects on CVD and RD mortalities varied significantly. The CVD mortality risks in association with prolonged continuous high PM 2.5 pollution exposure were more serious for single individuals (including unmarried, divorced, and widowed), illiterate and outdoor workers than for other specific subsociodemographic groups. When the daily PM 2.5 concentration higher than 105 μg/m 3 consecutively occurs, at the ninth day, the ERs of CVD death for single individuals, illiterate and outdoor workers groups reached to 45% (95% CI: 22, 71), 51% (95% CI: 28, 79) and 53% (95% CI: 29, 82) respectively. On the other hand, prolonged continuous high PM 2.5 pollution level appeared to contribute a higher proportion of RD deaths among illiterate and outdoor workers, but less significant for the other specific subsociodemographic groups. When the duration with daily PM 2.5 pollution higher than 115 μg/m 3 reached to six days, the ERs for outdoor workers and illiterate attributed to prolonged continuous PM 2.5 pollution exposure increased 36% (95% CI: 5, 76) and 49% (95% CI: 16, 91) respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Safe, sensitive, and non-invasive imaging methods to assess the presence, extent, and turnover of myocardial fibrosis are needed for early stratification of risk in patients who might develop heart failure after myocardial infarction. We describe a non-contrast cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) approach for sensitive detection of myocardial fibrosis using a canine model of myocardial infarction and reperfusion. Methods Seven dogs had coronary thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary arteries followed by fibrinolytic reperfusion. CMR studies were performed at 7 days after reperfusion. A CMR spin-locking T 1 ρ mapping sequence was used to acquire T 1 ρ dispersion data with spin-lock frequencies of 0 and 511 Hz. A fibrosis index map was derived on a pixel-by-pixel basis. CMR native T 1 mapping, first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging, and post-contrast late gadolinium enhancement imaging were also performed for assessing myocardial ischemia and fibrosis. Hearts were dissected after CMR for histopathological staining and two myocardial tissue segments from the septal regions of adjacent left ventricular slices were qualitatively assessed to grade the extent of myocardial fibrosis. Results Histopathology of 14 myocardial tissue segments from septal regions was graded as grade 1 (fibrosis area, < 20% of a low power field, n = 9), grade 2 (fibrosis area, 20–50% of field, n = 4), or grade 3 (fibrosis area, > 50% of field, n = 1). A dramatic difference in fibrosis index (183%, P < 0.001) was observed by CMR from grade 1 to 2, whereas differences were much smaller for T 1 ρ (9%, P = 0.14), native T 1 (5.5%, P = 0.12), and perfusion (− 21%, P = 0.05). Conclusion A non-contrast CMR index based on T 1 ρ dispersion contrast was shown in preliminary studies to detect and correlate with the extent of myocardial fibrosis identified histopathologically. A non-contrast approach may have important implications for managing cardiac patients with heart failure, particularly in the presence of impaired renal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat loss from rotary kilns accounts for certain amounts of the total energy consumption in chemical and metallurgical industries. To reduce the heat loss, a parallel and a series-parallel heat recovery systems with nine heat recovery exchangers are proposed to preheat the cold water in this paper. Experimental measurements are carried out to determine the heat transfer coefficient equations of each heat recovery exchanger. Then, the heat recovery systems are analyzed to deduce the mathematic relation between the design parameters and the system requirements, i.e. the temperatures and heat transfer rates of the nine heat recovery exchangers. The total heat transfer area, the total power consumption and the entropy generation due to heat transfer and fluid flow are set as the objective functions in four multi-objective optimization (MOO) cases. With the aid of the genetic algorithm in the Matlab 2015, the optimized operational and structural parameters are obtained. Finally, the MOO results are compared with that of the single objective optimization (SOO) method and the original values. The optimization results show that the MOO method are more suitable for the operational parameters design of the heat recovery systems compared with the SOO method. The required total heat transfer area and the total power consumption are decreased by at least 12.1% and 13.7%, respectively. Besides, as the entropy generation due to heat transfer and fluid flow decrease in the MOO cases, the corresponding heat transfer area and power consumption of the heat recovery system decrease, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We make the first attempt to incorporate the deep denoiser prior for infrared small target detection. Through the plug-and-play framework, the proposed method can better preserve fine image details and remove noise. • Considering that different singular values have different importance, we use the weighted sum of weighted tensor nuclear norm for more accurate background estimation. • An efficient algorithm is developed for solving the proposed problem based on alternating direction multiplier method. Many existing low-rank methods have achieved good detection performance in uniform scenes, but they suffer from a high false alarm rate in complex noisy scenes. Therefore, it is important to improve the detection performance of low-rank models in noisy scenes. In this paper, we first formulate an implicit regularizer by plugging a denoising neural network (termed as deep denoiser), which can learn deep image priors from a large number of natural images. Then, we use the weighted sum of weighted tensor nuclear norm for more accurate background estimation. Finally, alternating direction multiplier method is used to solve the model under the plug-and-play framework. By integrating low-rank prior with deep denoiser prior, our model achieves higher accuracy. Experiments on different scenes demonstrate that our method achieves an improved performance in terms of visual effects and quantitative metrics. Specially, the overall accuracy of AUC value (AU C OA) achieved by the proposed method on Sequences 1-6 are 1.24 % , 1.16 % , 0.63 % , 1.9 % , 0.82 % , 2.06 % higher than those achieved by the second top performing methods, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The application of artificial intelligence patient-controlled analgesia (AI-PCA) facilitates the remote monitoring of analgesia management, the implementation of mobile ward rounds, and the automatic recording of all types of key data in the clinical setting. However, it cannot quantify the quality of postoperative analgesia management. This study aimed to establish an index (analgesia quality index (AQI)) to re-monitor and re-evaluate the system, equipment, medical staff and degree of patient matching to quantify the quality of postoperative pain management through machine learning. Methods: Utilizing the wireless analgesic pump system database of the Cancer Hospital Affiliated with Nantong University, this retrospective observational study recruited consecutive patients who underwent postoperative analgesia using AI-PCA from June 1, 2014, to August 31, 2021. All patients were grouped according to whether or not the AQI was used to guide the management of postoperative analgesia: The control group did not receive the AQI guidance for postoperative analgesia and the experimental group received the AQI guidance for postoperative analgesia. The primary outcome was the incidence of moderate-to-severe pain (numeric rating scale (NRS) score ≥ 4) and the second outcome was the incidence of total adverse reactions. Furthermore, indicators of AQI were recorded. Results: A total of 14,747 patients were included in this current study. The incidence of moderate-to-severe pain was 26.3% in the control group and 21.7% in the experimental group. The estimated ratio difference was 4.6% between the two groups (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2% to 6.0%; P < 0.001). There were significant differences between groups. Otherwise, the differences in the incidence of total adverse reactions between the two groups were nonsignificant. Conclusions: Compared to the traditional management of postoperative analgesia, application of the AQI decreased the incidence of moderate-to-severe pain. Clinical application of the AQI contributes to improving the quality of postoperative analgesia management and may provide guidance for optimum pain management in the postoperative setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-modified molecular sieves (MNaY, M = Ni, Co, Cu) have been synthesized by the impregnation method, these catalysts were used for the study of liquid phase oxidation of p-tert-butyltoluene (PTBT) to synthesize p-tert-butylbenzaldehyde (PTBD) for the first time. The catalysts have been characterized by X-ray, XPS, SEM, BET, and TGA. The results show that the Ni/NaY exhibits suitable and stable catalytic activity. Recycle runs show that Ni/NaY was stable for at least five cycles. Under the optimized conditions of having a reaction time of 7 h, 6 mL of PTBT, 0.2 g of Ni/NaY, 0.1 g of N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI), 18 mL of acetonitrile, a reaction temperature of 70 °C, and a rotating speed 200 r/min, the conversion of PTBT reached 29.3-30.6% with a PTBD selectivity of 77.2%. Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupled THM (thermal-hydromechanical) processes have become increasingly important in studying the issues affecting subsurface flow systems. CO2 permeability of the fracture in caprock is a key factor that affects sealing efficiency of caprock. A new model associated with coupled THM processes that shows a good reliability was derived. Then, based on the COMSOL multiphysics software, a series of numerical calculations were performed on caprock models with a single fracture subject to coupled THM effects. Transmissivity of the fracture as a function of fracture angle, overburden pressure, fluid pressure difference, injected CO2 temperature, and the initial fracture aperture was elucidated, respectively. Average transmissivity of the fracture undergoes an increase by 1.74 times with the fracture angle (45°–90°), 2-3 orders of magnitude with the fluid pressure difference (5–30 MPa), and 4-5 orders of magnitude with the initial fracture aperture (0.05–0.5 mm), while it decreases by 3-4 orders of magnitude as overburden pressure increases from 30 to 80 MPa. Injected CO2 temperature has a small impact on the fracture permeability. This work provides an alternative tool to enrich the numerical modeling for the assessment of CO2 caprock sealing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]