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Parenting practices and technoference are associated with the development of children's attentional control. Intraindividual reaction time variability (IIRTV) is an index of executive brain function and attentional control. Nonetheless, no study has examined the direct and interactive relationship between parenting practices, technoference, and IIRTV. This study examined this phenomenon in a representative sample of the parents of 191 typically developing Chinese children (aged 8–10 years). Parents completed the technoference questionnaire and the Chinese version of the Alabama parenting questionnaire. Children's attentional control was assessed by IIRTV in the Go/No-go and the heart and flower tasks. Resultantly, technoference and corporal punishment positively correlated with IIRTV. Technoference interacted with parenting behaviors to predict IIRTV. This study indicates that technoference has a direct negative association with the development of children's attentional control. It may also moderate the relation between parenting practices and children's attentional control. Highlights: Technoference exhibited a direct negative association with the development of children's attentional control. Corporal punishment was positively related to intraindividual reaction time variability. Technoference moderated the relation between parenting practices and children's attentional control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Message: Innovatively, we consider stomatal detection as rotated object detection and provide an end-to-end, batch, rotated, real-time stomatal density and aperture size intelligent detection and identification system, RotatedeStomataNet. Stomata acts as a pathway for air and water vapor in the course of respiration, transpiration, and other gas metabolism, so the stomata phenotype is important for plant growth and development. Intelligent detection of high-throughput stoma is a key issue. Nevertheless, currently available methods usually suffer from detection errors or cumbersome operations when facing densely and unevenly arranged stomata. The proposed RotatedStomataNet innovatively regards stomata detection as rotated object detection, enabling an end-to-end, real-time, and intelligent phenotype analysis of stomata and apertures. The system is constructed based on the Arabidopsis and maize stomatal data sets acquired destructively, and the maize stomatal data set acquired in a non-destructive way, enabling the one-stop automatic collection of phenotypic, such as the location, density, length, and width of stomata and apertures without step-by-step operations. The accuracy of this system to acquire stomata and apertures has been well demonstrated in monocotyledon and dicotyledon, such as Arabidopsis, soybean, wheat, and maize. The experimental results that the prediction results of the method are consistent with those of manual labeling. The test sets, the system code, and their usage are also given (). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a series of heteropolyacid-modified lignin-MOF derived bimetallic catalyst for the efficient in situ hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using isopropanol as hydrogen-donating solvent. [Display omitted] Catalytic conversion of biomass-derived value-added chemicals was of great significance for the utilization of renewable biomass resources to instead of fossil chemicals. Biomass-derived lignin was regarded as an important support and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was a vital platform chemical derived from cellulose. Herein, a series of lignin-MOF hybrid catalysts were prepared and modified with different heteropolyacids (HPAs), which were then successfully introduced into the selective conversion of HMF to 5-hydroxymethylfurfuryl alcohol (MFA). The effect of different HPA, calcination temperature, etc. were all studied, and all catalysts were well characterized. It was confirmed that silicotungstic acid modified catalyst (Ni 3 Co-MOF-LS@HSiW) exhibited the best catalytic performance, while the highest conversion of HMF was up to 100%, with the best MFA yield of 86.5%. The finding in this study could provide novel insights for the utilization of lignin and preparation of value-added biomass-derived chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a composite excitation method is used to optimize the design of an existing cantilevered cylindrical ultrasonic motor to avoid vibration interference. Modal and transient simulation analysis of the stator structure was carried out by the finite element method. Optimized stator structure is simpler than the original motor. Simulation analysis results show that the circumferential amplitude is increased by more than 35% with 55.7% reduction in ceramic usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrients play important roles in the growth and development of most plant species. However, in perennial trees, the function of nutrients in different genotypes is poorly understood. Three different nutrient levels (low, sufficient, and high nutrient levels) were applied to two contrasting Eucalyptus urophylla cultivars (a high-growth cultivar ZQUA44 and a low-growth cultivar ZQUB15), and growth and expression levels were analyzed. Although the growth traits of both genotypes under nutrient starvation treatment were much lower than under abundant nutrients, tree height, crown width, and biomass of different ZQUA44 tissues were much higher than those of ZQUB15 at all three nutrient levels. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) clustered into six subclusters based on their expression patterns, and functional annotation showed that the DEGs involved in glutathione metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis may be responsible for nutrient starvation across different genotypes, while the DEGs involved in carotenoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism may have a range of functions in different genotypes. The DEGs encoding the MYB-related family may be responsible for nutrient deficiency in all genotypes, while B3 may have different functions in different genotypes. Our results demonstrate that different genotypes may form different pathways to coordinate plant survival when they face abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To establish a new method for quantitative detection of house dust mite (HDM)–sIgE based on light-initiated chemiluminescence assay (LiCA). Methods The assay was established after optimizing the reaction conditions, and the assay performance was evaluated according to the clinical guidelines. Further, the results of LiCA were compared with those from the ELISA and ImmunoCAP methods. Results Coefficients of variation for repeatability ranged from 4.22% to 7.69%, and intermediate precision from 8.38% to 10.34%. The limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), and limit of quantitation (LoQ) were 0.066 kUA/L, 0.165 kUA/L, and 0.171 kUA/L, respectively. The coefficient of correlation (r) between the results of LiCA and ELISA was 0.9263, and the r between the results of LiCA and ImmunoCAP was 0.8870. Conclusions A HDM-sIgE quantitation assay based on LiCA was established, which could be used as a new reliable analytical tool for the determination of HDM-sIgE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gene knock‐in (KI) in animal cells via homology‐directed repair (HDR) is an inefficient process, requiring a laborious work for screening from few modified cells. HDR tends to occur in the S and G2/M phases of cell cycle; therefore, strategies that enhance the proportion of cells in these specific phases could improve HDR efficiency. Results: We used various types of cell cycle inhibitors to synchronize the cell cycle in S and G2/M phases in order to investigate their effect on regulating CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HDR. Our results indicated that the four small molecules—docetaxel, irinotecan, nocodazole and mitomycin C—promoted CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KI with different homologous donor types in various animal cells. Moreover, the small molecule inhibitors enhanced KI in animal embryos. Molecular analysis identified common signal pathways activated during crosstalk between cell cycle and DNA repair. Synchronization of the cell cycle in the S and G2/M phases results in CDK1/CCNB1 protein accumulation, which can initiate the HDR process by activating HDR factors to facilitate effective end resection of CRISPR-cleaved double-strand breaks. We have demonstrated that augmenting protein levels of factors associated with the cell cycle via overexpression can facilitate KI in animal cells, consistent with the effect of small molecules. Conclusion: Small molecules that induce cell cycle synchronization in S and G2/M phases promote CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HDR efficiency in animal cells and embryos. Our research reveals the common molecular mechanisms that bridge cell cycle progression and HDR activity, which will inform further work to use HDR as an effective tool for preparing genetically modified animals or for gene therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysregulated epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in cervical cancer metastasis and associated with histone acetylation. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of histone acetylation in cervical cancer EMT and metastasis are still elusive. Methods: We systematically investigated the expression patterns of histone acetylation genes and their correlations with the EMT pathway in cervical cancer. The expression of CSRP2BP among cervical cancer tissues and cell lines was detected using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analyses. The effects of CSRP2BP on cervical cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenicity were examined by cell growth curve, EdU assay, flow cytometry and xenotransplantation assays. Wound healing assays, transwell migration assays and pulmonary metastasis model were used to evaluate the effects of CSRP2BP on cell invasion and metastasis of cervical cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. RNA-seq, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and luciferase reporter assays were used to uncover the molecular mechanisms of CSRP2BP in promoting cervical cancer EMT and metastasis. Results: We prioritized a top candidate histone acetyltransferase, CSRP2BP, as a key player in cervical cancer EMT and metastasis. The expression of CSRP2BP was significantly increased in cervical cancer tissues and high CSRP2BP expression was associated with poor prognosis. Overexpression of CSRP2BP promoted cervical cancer cell proliferation and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, while knockdown of CSRP2BP obtained the opposite effects. In addition, CSRP2BP promoted resistance to cisplatin chemotherapy. Mechanistically, CSRP2BP mediated histone 4 acetylation at lysine sites 5 and 12, cooperated with the transcription factor SMAD4 to bind to the SEB2 sequence in the N-cadherin gene promotor and upregulated N-cadherin transcription. Consequently, CSRP2BP promoted cervical cancer cell EMT and metastasis through activating N-cadherin. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the histone acetyltransferase CSRP2BP promotes cervical cancer metastasis partially through increasing the EMT and suggests that CSRP2BP could be a prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for combating cervical cancer metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularization of combined cooling, heating and power microgrid containing renewable energy sources (RES-CCHP MG) can effectively alleviate the energy crisis and reduce the emission of air pollutants. However, uncertainties in renewable energy generation and load negatively affect the operation of microgrid. To solve this problem, a multi-time scale optimal dispatch strategy combining robust optimization and rolling optimization is proposed. First, the price-based demand response is introduced to establish the RES-CCHP MG model that is more in line with practical application requirements. In the day-ahead dispatching stage, robust adjustment coefficients are introduced to improve the defects of traditional robust optimization which is conservative, and a two-layer robust optimization model is established to improve the ability to resist risks. In the intra-day dispatching stage, in order to reduce the impact of day-ahead prediction error and real-time power fluctuation, the hierarchical rolling optimization model based on model prediction control is established to face the situation that different loads have different response speeds. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional optimal dispatching strategy, the operating cost and the peak-to-valley difference of electric load are reduced by 5.4% and 14.7%, respectively, and the utilization of renewable energy is increased by 4.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer, in which serous ovarian carcinoma (SOC) is the most common histological subtype. Although PARP inhibitors (PARPi) and antiangiogenics have been accepted as maintenance treatment in SOC, response to immunotherapy of SOC patients is limited. Methods: The source of transcriptomic data of SOC was from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus. The abundance scores of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC scores) were estimated for each sample by xCell. Weighted correlation network analysis is correlated the significant genes with MSC scores. Based on prognostic risk model construction with Cox regression analysis, patients with SOC were divided into low- and high-risk groups. And distribution of immune cells, immunosuppressors and pro-angiogenic factors in different risk groups was achieved by single-sample gene set enrichment analysis. The risk model of MSC scores was further validated in datasets of immune checkpoint blockade and antiangiogenic therapy. In the experiment, the mRNA expression of prognostic genes related to MSC scores was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction, while the protein level was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: Three prognostic genes (PER1, AKAP12 and MMP17) were the constituents of risk model. Patients classified as high-risk exhibited worse prognosis, presented with an immunosuppressive phenotype, and demonstrated high micro-vessel density. Additionally, these patients were insensitive to immunotherapy and would achieve a longer overall survival with antiangiogenesis treatment. The validation experiments showed that the mRNA of PER1, AKAP12, and MMP17 was highly expressed in normal ovarian epithelial cells compared to SOC cell lines and there was a positive correlation between protein levels of PER1, AKAP12 and MMP17 and metastasis in human ovarian serous tumors. Conclusion: This prognostic model established on MSC scores can predict prognosis of patients and provide the guidance for patients receiving immunotherapy and molecular targeted therapy. Because the number of prognostic genes was fewer than other signatures of SOC, it will be easily accessible on clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examined the relations between parental media behaviors and child's executive function (EF). • Parental problematic smartphone use was positively related to children's EF difficulties. • Technoference mediated the relationship between parental problematic smartphone use and EF. • These relationships were varied between preschooler and elementary school child. Smartphones can affect the relationship between parents and their children, and this technoference of technology has been associated with children's socio-emotional development. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the association between the problematic use of smartphones by parents in relation to children's executive function (EF). The current study thus explored whether parental problematic smartphone use and technoference were associated with children's EF. A total of 472 parents of children aged 3–9 years answered questionnaires that measured their problematic smartphone use, technoference, and children's EF. Results indicated that parental problematic smartphone use was significantly correlated with children's EF difficulties. Furthermore, the positive relationship between parental problematic smartphone use and children's EF problems was partly due to the interference of technology with parent–child activities. Furthermore, the relationships between parental problematic smartphone use, technoference, and children's working memory problems were moderated by the children's age group. These findings emphasize the important influence of parental media use on children's EF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On February 26, 2021, the ancient Moli landslide in Guoye town, Zhouqu County, Gansu Province, China, was reactivated. The volume of the reactivated landslide was approximately 2120 × 104 m3, which was classified as a remote accumulation layer landslide in a deep superlarge fault fracture zone. No casualties occurred due to timely warnings. The deformation characteristics and failure mechanisms of the landslide were systematically studied by means of field investigations and engineering mapping, field exploration, deep displacement monitoring, and high-density electrical methods. We found that the geological structure and landform of Zhouqu County are extremely complex. The sliding mass of this landslide was mainly gravelly soil with poor soil mechanical properties. The gravelly clay and phyllite clastic layers were prone to sliding. The landslide as a whole presented the comprehensive characteristics of front edge erosion traction and rear load displacement and was associated with multiple secondary landslides. The Heisongping–Sanjiaoping fault zone of the Bailong River passes through the rear edge of the landslide, and a variety of inducing factors worked together to make the landslide failure mechanism particularly complex. The monitoring and comprehensive control of this kind of landslide should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various deep learning‐based video frame interpolation methods have been proposed in the past few years, but how to generate high quality interpolated frames in videos with large motions, complex backgrounds and rich textures is still a challenging issue. To deal with this limitation, a frame interpolation method based on residual blocks and feature pyramids is proposed. U‐Net is the main architecture of our method, which can capture multi‐layer information, segment objects from the background and obtain parameters with motion information to guide frame interpolation. However, the upsampling and subsampled of U‐Net will lose important information. In order to acquire more detailed contextual information, shortcut connection is used in the encoder basic module. At the same time, feature pyramid network is employed to capture features at different scales of the decoder to improve the representation of inter‐frame spatial‐temporal features. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperform the baseline methods in both of objective and subjective evaluations on different datasets. In particular, the method has obvious advantages on datasets which contain complex background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was proposed for the determination of ultra-trace copper. It was based on the reaction of Cu(II) with the laboratory-prepared chelating agent 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-dimethylaminoaniline (5-Br-PADMA) in a HAc-NaAc buffer solution at pH 5.0 to form stable hydrophobic chelates, which were separated and enriched by DLLME with chlorobenzene (C6H5Cl) and acetonitrile (CH3CN) as extraction and disperser solvents, respectively. The sedimented phase containing the chelates was then determined with GFAAS. Various operating variables that may be affected by the extraction process such as the pH of the solution, the concentration of the chelating agent 5-Br-PADMA, the types and volumes of extraction and disperser solvents, the extraction time, and the centrifugation time were investigated. Under optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range from 0.02 ng/mL to 0.16 ng/mL of copper with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.9961, and the detection limit was 0.01 ng/mL based on 3Sb. The relative standard deviation for six replicate measurements of 0.05 ng /mL of copper was 3.9%. An enrichment factor (EF) of 110 was obtained. The method has the advantages of low detection limit, high sensitivity, simple operation, less consumption of organic solvents, higher enrichment factor, and environmental friendliness and was applied to the determination of trace copper in environmental water samples with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanin has an increasing market demand in cosmetics, food, medicine as well as aerospace due to its unique properties. Heterologous expression of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) from the melanin-producing strain Streptomyces fungicidicus NW-EN1 in Escherichia coli shortened the fermentation cycle of melanin. HPPD catalyzed 4-hydrophenylpyruvate (HPP) to form homologous acid (HGA) and finally form melanin. The purified melanin had the highest absorption peak at 460 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope scanning showed that the pigment had universal characteristic peaks. The presence of HGA, a predictor of pyomelanin, was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The recombinant E. coli produced 804.4 ± 5.9 mg/L pyomelanin within 48 h. Metal ions had a great influence on the production of pyomelanin. Pyomelanin was stable in response to light intensity and had a protective effect against bacteria under UV irradiation. Meanwhile, we utilized the chromogenic effect after whole-cell catalysis to reflect the inhibition of the HPPD inhibitors (mesotrione and isoxaflutole) on HPPD by observing the color change. As a rapid method to test the action of inhibitors, this method is expected to be useful for the development of HPPD-inhibiting herbicides. [Display omitted] • Engineered strains for melanin production have promising industrial applications. • Enables real-time detection of melanin production. • It provides a new idea for the screening of novel herbicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cropping system conversion, from rice to vegetable, showed various influences on the greenhouse gases (GHG) emission with conversion time and fertilizer/irrigation management. In this study, we evaluated the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model for predicting carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and crop yields as rice converted to vegetable cropping system under conventional or no fertilization from 2012 to 2014. Then, we quantified the long-term (40 years) impacts of rice-vegetable cropping system conversions and fertilization levels (0, 50, 100 and 150% conventional fertilization rate) on GHGs emissions and global warming potentials (GWP) using the calibrated model. The DNDC model-simulated daily GHG emission dynamics were generally consistent with the measured data and showed good predictions of the seasonal CH4 emissions (coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.96), CO2 emissions (R2 = 0.75), N2O emissions (R2 = 0.75) and crop yields (R2 = 0.89) in response to the different cropping systems and fertilization levels across the two years. The overall model performance was better for rice than for vegetable cropping systems. Both simulated and measured two-year data showed higher CH4 and CO2 emissions and lower N2O emissions for rice than for vegetable cropping systems and showed positive responses of the CO2 and N2O emissions to fertilizations. The lowest GWP for vegetable without fertilization and highest the GWP for rice with fertilization were obtained. These results were consistent with the long-term simulation results. In contrast to the two-year experimental data, the simulated long-term CH4 emissions increased with fertilization for the rice-dominant cropping systems. The reasonable cropping systems and fertilization levels were recommended for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial septal defect is one of the most common types of congenital heart disease. This study aims to explore the surgical and cosmetic effects of open-heart surgery with right vertical axillary incision for simple congenital heart disease in infants.Methods: From June 2018 to October 2021, children who underwent direct surgery of atrial septal defect in our department were selected for a propensity score matched study. Those with direct surgery through the right vertical axillary incision were included in the right vertical axillary incision group. According to age and weight, propensity score matching method was employed to match children from the right vertical axillary incision group with those undergoing direct surgery through median sternotomy (median sternotomy group) at a 1:2 ratio. Surgery outcomes between two groups were compared to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of right vertical axillary incision group.Results: The median incision length (median, [interquartile range]) in right vertical axillary incision group (4.8 cm, [4.0-5.0]) was shorter than that in median sternotomy group (p < 0.001). The median drainage volume of drainage tube of the right vertical axillary incision group (117.5 ml, [92.8,152.8]) was smaller than that of median sternotomy group (p = 0.021). While no residual bubbles cases in the left and right ventricles and outflow tract were present in the right vertical axillary incision group, 44% of residual air bubble rate in right ventricular outflow tract was detected in median sternotomy group (p = 0.001). Additional sedation and analgesia (p = 0.003), wound infection or poor healing (p = 0.047), thoracic deformity healing (p = 0.029) and appearance satisfaction questionnaire (p = 0.018) in the right vertical axillary incision group were better than those in the median sternotomy group.Conclusion: Right axillary vertical incision can effectively reduce surgical trauma, accelerate postoperative rehabilitation. This surgical approach also provides better cosmetic effect, which is easily accepted by children's families and worthy of further clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the design and technological fabrication process of Yin or Yang-shaped, micron-sized electromechanical system (MEMS) elements displaying asymmetric hollow cylinders with two different curvatures of the cylinder shell. By adapting the process steps, two neighboring shutter MEMS elements can either be attached to each other to create asymmetric hollow cylinders or remain disconnected to form curled cylindrical or ellipsoidal tubes or tube fractions. A novel 3D self-organization process has been developed to connect two neighboring shutter elements, exploiting surface tension forces via a sequential drying process. The process conditions have been analyzed and optimized to fabricate the two different geometries of the MEMS elements. The resulting MEMS system elements were characterized by focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy. The contribution of Casimir force, van der Waals force, and other physical interfacial forces are discussed in the formation of the asymmetric hollow cylinders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating environments of ship pipeline valves are complicated. A single sensor may struggle to comprehensively characterize the valve fault features. Pressure variations in the pipeline network may result in changes of the feature distribution of the valve leakage acoustic emission (AE) signals, which makes it challenging for traditional data-driven detection models to achieve satisfactory generalization performance. Unfortunately, there has been limited attention in the current literature on multi-sensor cross-domain fault diagnosis for the ship pipeline valves. To address this research gap, this study aims to develop a novel multi-sensor cross-domain fault diagnosis method. Firstly, the time-frequency-multisqueezing transform (TFMST) is employed for time-frequency analysis of the valve leakage AE signals. By accurately describing harmonic and pulse components in the AE signals, the time-frequency domain features of the valve leakage can be extracted. Subsequently, a multi-sensor deep transfer learning model based on multi-channel fusion convolutional neural network (MCFCNN) is proposed, which utilizes the domain adaptation strategy to minimize the maximum mean discrepancy between source domain data and target domain data, significantly improving the robustness of the fault detection to variations of operating environments. Experimental testing has been carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, and the results indicate effective valve leakage detection. • A multi-sensor deep transfer learning fault diagnosis framework is proposed for leakage monitoring. • TFMST is utilized to generate a concentrated TFR of leakage sound emission signals from valve leaks. • A multi-sensor information fusion cross-domain fault diagnosis model is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study generated nectin1-mutant mice with single amino acid substitution and tested the anti-pseudorabies virus (PRV) ability of the mutant mice, with the aim to establish a model for PRV-resistant livestock. A phenylalanine to alanine transition at position 129 (F129A) of nectin1 was introduced into the mouse genome to generate nectin1 (F129A) mutant mice. The mutant mice were infected with a field-isolated highly virulent PRV strain by subcutaneous injection of virus. We found that the homozygous mutant mice had significantly alleviated disease manifestations and decreased death rate and viral loading in serum and tissue compared with heterozygous mutant and wild-type mice. In addition to disease resistance, the homozygous mutant mice showed a defect in eye development, indicating the side effect on animals by only one amino acid substitution in nectin1. Results demonstrate that gene modification in nectin1 is an effective approach to confer PRV resistance on animals, but the mutagenesis pattern requires further investigation to increase viral resistance without negative effect on animal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chondrogenesis is the formation of chondrocytes and cartilage tissues and starts with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) recruitment and migration, condensation of progenitors, chondrocyte differentiation, and maturation. The chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs depends on co-regulation of many exogenous and endogenous factors including specific microenvironmental signals, non-coding RNAs, physical factors existed in culture condition, etc. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) exhibit self-renewal capacity, pluripotency and cellular plasticity, which have the potential to differentiate into post-mitotic and benign cells. Accumulating evidence has shown that CSCs can be induced to differentiate into various benign cells including adipocytes, fibrocytes, osteoblast, and so on. Retinoic acid has been widely used in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Previous study confirmed that polyploid giant cancer cells, a type of cancer stem-like cells, could differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes. In this review, we will summarize signaling pathways and cytokines in chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs. Understanding the molecular mechanism of chondrogenic differentiation of CSCs and cancer cells may provide new strategies for cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological progress is vital for China to reduce carbon emissions. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between intellectual property (IPR) protection and city carbon emissions can better serve China achieve carbon peak and carbon neutral goals. This study focuses on exploring the spatial effects of IPR protection on city-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through research and development (R&D) investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) technology spillover, and intercity technology spillover (DS). This work developed an extended Environmental Kuznets Curve model to investigate the influencing mechanism of IPR protection using the geographical weighted regression Kriging method. Our study period covered 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017. We identified spatial correlation characteristics in various cities and found that the impact of IPR protection on carbon emissions through R&D investment showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing. IPR protection through DS had a significant impact of inhibiting CO2 emissions. The impact of IPR protection on carbon emissions through FDI showed a trend of fluctuating up and down. Space coordination in IPR protection, technology convergence between cities, infrastructure construction, and a strict negative list of foreign investment all contributed to city carbon-emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leafy spurge is a perennial, noxious, and invasive weed. It has been a major threat to the prairie ecosystems in North America due to encroachment and has caused significant biological and economic impacts. Advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and UAV-based sensors facilitate non-destructive, low cost, flexible and near-real-time vegetation monitoring and provide a promising alternative to field surveys for mapping invasive species. This study investigated the utility of UAV technology for mapping and monitoring flowering leafy spurge in a heterogeneous landscape. The study was conducted in a complex landscape of grasses, shrubs, and trees, near Last Mountain Lake in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images were acquired in 28 June 2015 and 5 July 2017 with partial overlap of geographical coverage during peak leafy spurge flowering period using a fixed-wing UAVs equipped with consumer-grade cameras. The images were classified using a hybrid classification schema, combination of Hue-Intensity-Saturation (HIS) thresholding and object-based post-processing methods. This method had some limitations in separating flowering leafy spurge from the surrounding vegetation however, flowering leafy spurge were effectively detected with an overall accuracy of 78% using 2015 image and 75% using 2017 image. The change in flowering leafy spurge distribution for a common area of coverage overlap was quantified based on maps generated for the two years. Leafy spurge coverage declined 0.2%, approximately 0.27 ha, in 2017. The results revealed that UAV RGB images can be routinely used for operational programmes to monitor leafy spurge in complex landscapes and aid in the management activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have examined the moderating effect of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) on the association between marital conflict and externalizing problems, however the findings were inconsistent. One possible reason is that the covariation of internalizing problems in externalizing problems. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine this issue. Participants were 332 Chinese adolescents (54.5% boys) age from 13 to 15 years old. At T1, electrocardiogram monitoring was performed on adolescents during the resting state and stressor tasks (a speech task and a mental arithmetic task) to obtain RSA data. The Chinese version of the Achenbach Youth Self-Report-2001 (YSR-2001) and the Chinese version of the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict scale were used to assess adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problems and their perception of marital conflict, respectively. Adolescents' problem behaviors were assessed again in the second and third waves of data collection, with a 1-year lag among each wave. The results revealed that the 3- interactions of marital conflict × RSA reactivity in speech task × sex significantly predicted the trajectory of externalizing problems when controlling for internalizing problems from externalizing problems. Specifically, girls with greater RSA suppression to the speech task reported low and stable externalizing problems, however, boys with the same pattern were associated with slightly increased levels of externalizing problems. While, RSA augmentation to the speech task predicted the increase in externalizing problems among both girls and boys in high marital conflict families over time. However, this interaction effects were not significant when not partial out internalizing problems from externalizing problems. The findings highlight the importance of controlling for the covariation of internalizing problems when examining the interaction effects of person and environment on the development of adolescents' externalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of microgrids and the combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) systems can foster a better utilization of energy. In order to achieve economic optimization and peak-load reduction of the CCHP microgrids model, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimal scheduling model for CCHP microgrids integrated with renewable energy, energy storage system and incentive based demand response. First, linearization methods are applied to change the original nonlinear optimization model into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem. Then, an augmented ε-constraint (AUGMECON) method is implemented to solve the multi-objective optimization problem (MOP). Finally, the final scheme is selected from the obtained Pareto optimal set by fuzzy clustering method according to the preference of decision maker. The results show that the CCHP microgrids is effective in reducing pollutant gas emissions and reducing the cost of treating them. And compared with the other four intelligent algorithms, the proposed MILP method has better accuracy and computational efficiency. In addition, with the inclusion of the peak-load shifting function, the interruptible load and the battery can effectively respond to peak load changes by shifting the peak of the exchange power curve in the point of common coupling (PCC) of the CCHP microgrids. In the end, the sensitivity analysis is carried out and the results present that electricity price, natural gas price, and the efficiency of PV have varying degrees of impact on model performance. • A multi-objective optimization model including economy and load shifting is built. • Turning the model into a mixed integer linear programming problem. • Multi-objective optimization problem solved with an augmented ε-constraint method. • Optimal scheduling is realized in terms of accuracy and computation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing efficient and robust oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is of great importance for various electrochemical energy storage and conversion applications. Herein, we developed IrP2 nanocrystals uniformly anchored in P,N-codoped carbon nanosheets (IrP2@PNC-NS) as highly active OER electrocatalysts. The ultrathin PNC-NS reconstructs an agaric-like porous structure, which can inhibit the agglomeration of the IrP2 nanocrystals effectively. Moreover, the in-situ phosphatization leads to the formation of a strong electron interaction between PNC-NS and IrP2 nanocrystals, endowing the heterostructure materials with satisfying synergistic effects. Benefiting from the collaborative advantages of ideal configuration structure and favorable synergistic effects, IrP2@PNC-NS exhibits excellent OER performance with a low overpotential of 221 mV at 10 mA cm−2, and a small Tafel slope of 37.5 mV dec−1. DFT calculations reveal that the synergistic effects derived from the IrP2/PNC interfaces, which can effectively tune the activation barriers towards facilitating the oxygen evolution process. This work provides new insight into the design of heterostructure materials for advanced OER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts have been made to improve the therapeutic efficiency of tumor treatments, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown excellent potential in tumor therapy. Monotherapy for the treatment of tumors has limited effects due to the limitation of response conditions and inevitable multidrug resistance, which seriously affect the clinical therapeutic effect. In this study, we chose to construct a multiple cascade synergistic tumor drug delivery system MIL−101(Fe)−DOX−TCPP−MnO2@PDA−Ag (MDTM@P−Ag) using MOFs as drug carriers. Under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) and Ag NPs loaded on MDTM@P−Ag can be activated to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and achieve photothermal conversion, thus effectively inducing the apoptosis of tumor cells and achieving a combined photodynamic/photothermal therapy. Once released at the tumor site, manganese dioxide (MnO2) can catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the acidic microenvironment of the tumor to generate oxygen (O2) and alleviate the hypoxic environment of the tumor. Fe3+/Mn2+ will mediate a Fenton/Fenton-like reaction to generate cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH), while depleting the high concentration of glutathione (GSH) in the tumor, thus enhancing the chemodynamic therapeutic effect. The successful preparation of the tumor drug delivery system and its good synergistic chemodynamic/photodynamic/photothermal therapeutic effect in tumor treatment can be demonstrated by the experimental results of material characterization, performance testing and in vitro experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the strengths of zero carbon emission and high gravimetric energy density, hydrogen energy is recognized as a primary choice for future energy supply. Electrochemical water splitting provides a promising strategy for effective and sustainable hydrogen production through renewable electricity, and one of the immediate challenges toward its large‐scale application is the availability of low‐cost and efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Given the enormous efforts in the exploration of potential transition‐metal carbide (TMC) electrocatalysts, this review aims to summarize the recent advances in synthetic methods and optimization strategies of TMC electrocatalysts. Additionally, the perspectives for the development of novel efficient TMC‐based catalysts are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of integrated energy systems (IES) in urban areas is gradually increasing, yet the constraint of limited building space poses a significant challenge to effective system planning. In this paper, to address the issue of area limitation from the perspective of improving solar energy utilization. A novel IES utilizing solar spectral beam splitting (SBS) for hydrogen production is proposed, which introduces SBS technology to make full use of the sun's full-spectrum energy. Furthermore, the incorporation of photocatalytic hydrogen production introduces an innovative approach to meet the hydrogen needs of hydrogen refuelling stations, facilitating highly efficient co-generation of cooling, heating, electricity, and hydrogen supply. To determine the optimal system configuration, a comparison is made with a stand-alone solar system using a honey badger-simulated annealing optimization algorithm. The results show that the SBS-IES achieves a solar energy utilization rate of 37.72% and reduces equipment footprint by 20.48%. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed to analyse the impact of changes in floor space on the system. This innovative system is suitable for small-scale IES and serves as an efficient solution for urban energy systems. • Application of equipment using solar spectral beam splitting technology to integrated energy systems. • Providing hydrogen demand for hydrogen refuelling stations and expanding the application scenario for integrated energy systems. • Feasibility validation of photocatalytic hydrogen production for on-site hydrogen supply. • An integrated energy system suitable for small buildings in urban areas is proposed. • A honey badger-simulated annealing optimization algorithm is applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Integral material for easy recycling. • Nanomaterial loading for enhanced adsorption and oxidation properties. • Easy and convenient preparation method. The remediation of geogenic high arsenic groundwater is of great significance for environmental protection. In this study, a feasible strategy for in-situ growth of MnO 2 and FeOOH on a three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon foam skeleton was developed by simple calcination carbonization and activation treatment of modified carbon foams. This work demonstrates that arsenic in aqueous solution can be efficiently removed by the dual function of "oxidation and adsorption" from the composite of MnO 2 -FeOOH co-loaded carbon foam (CF). The prepared 3D monolithic has the advantages of low cost, easy preparation, and independent integrity. It can be innovatively used for arsenic remediation of groundwater systems. The MnO 2 serves as the oxidizer to convert highly toxic As(III) into less toxic As(V), the FeOOH acts as the adsorbent for the capture of As(V), and CF offers an interconnected porous network for efficient mass transfer as well as a robust skeleton for facile recycling. The maximum adsorption capacity of As(III) and As(V) for MnO 2 -FeOOH@CF can reach 63 and 78 mg g−1, respectively. After repeatedly utilizing the free-standing adsorbent three times, its adsorption capacity for As(III) and As(V) can still reach 84 % and 85 % of the initial adsorption capacity, respectively. The low cost, high efficiency of arsenic removal, and easy preparation and recycling endow the MnO 2 -FeOOH@CF to be a promising adsorbent in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current single energy storage approach and market incentives do not fully exploit the potential of diverse energy storage methods and market incentives. Additionally, the traditional operation method often results in a poor alignment between energy supply and demand. Moreover, the conventional solution algorithm struggles to address complex problem-solving involving multiple variables. To address these issues, this paper proposes an improved carbon-neutral energy system (ICNES). Firstly, ICNES enhances residual energy utilization by implementing dual-layer residual power and heat treatment. Secondly, to enhance the effectiveness of market incentives, ICNES incorporates an improved approach that combines a dual-layer carbon capture drive, step carbon penalty, carbon reward, and green certificate trading. Thirdly, to improve the supply–demand matching, ICNES introduces a dynamic hybrid operation approach (DFHL). Finally, the paper proposes a honey badger-pattern search algorithm (HB-PSA) to optimize the configuration of ICNES for the DFHL multivariate scenario. Results indicate that compared to conventional carbon-neutral energy systems, ICNES reduces annual operating costs by 6.686%, CO 2 emissions by 9.538%, primary energy consumption by 12.826%, and energy waste rate by 17.465%. Furthermore, HB-PSA increases the optimization rate from 48.693% to 53.88% of the local optimum. • Dual-layer residual electric and residual heat treatment system is proposed. • Dual-layer carbon treatment for carbon neutrality and carbon profitability. • Carbon markets and green certificate are used in carbon-neutral energy system. • Dynamic hybrid operation to improve the matching of supply and demand. • A honey badger-pattern search algorithm is proposed for solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated energy system (IES) plays an important role in realizing efficient use of clean energy. Considering the influence of various uncertainties, an IES scheduling model based on non-complete interval multi-objective fuzzy optimization is proposed to improve the operation efficiency of IES and to reduce the external impacts of IES. Firstly, the uncertainties of renewable energy, load and demand response are described by interval numbers, and a multi-objective optimization model considering satisfaction with electricity is proposed to guarantee the reduction of user experience loss in optimizing IES electricity load. Secondly, by analyzing the shortcomings of the traditional interval optimization methods and improving them, a non-complete interval multi-objective fuzzy optimization model is proposed in the day-ahead scheduling stage, which improves the operational efficiency of IES. In addition, an optimum interval cross section search model is proposed in the real-time scheduling stage to further improve the practicality of the proposed interval optimization model. The simulation results under typical day in summer show that compared with the traditional optimization model, the proposed model improves the economy, environmental protection, reliability and renewable energy consumption rate of IES by 2.51%, 13.07%, 5.03% and 8.17% respectively, which proves the effectiveness of the proposed model in optimization performance. • The model resolves the uncertainty of RES with a utilization rate of more than 90%. • An improved interval optimization model improves the economic efficiency by 13.11%. • The multi-objective model can reconcile conflicts between different objectives. • The optimum interval cross section search model improves IES real-time benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial production of monophenols was mainly dependent on fossil resources, due to growing energy demand and escalating environmental issues, more efficient and sustainable strategy, such as utilization of biomass as raw materials to economically produce monophenols, was desired, which could liberate us from the reliance on fossil resource and was of great industrial and social significance. Herein, a novel strategy was reported to produce biomass-derived monophenols from lignin by directly deconstructing C-O bond under mild conditions. A series of NiM-MOFs (M=Co, Mo, and Cu) derived bimetallic catalysts were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method, which were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and NH 3 -TPD. The synergistic effect between the Ni and Mo greatly improved the catalytic activity and inhibited the transformation to by-products. In addition, we explored a new binary solvents system of MeOH-THF to effectively enhance the selectivity of monophenols. Under optimal catalytic conditions, Ni4Mo1/C-BN catalyst could break the C-O bonds in lignin dimer under 160 ℃ to afford phenol and benzoic acid, and the possible reaction pathway was proposed. The high yield of lignin oil from the oxidation of various realistic lignin also confirmed the superiority of this catalytic system. The lignin depolymerization products were characterized by element analysis, GPC and GC-MS, confirming the presence of mainly guaiacyl-type (G) products, while the highest yield was assigned to vanillin. • Ni4Mo1/C-BN showed best activity for lignin dimer and lignin oxidation. • The introduction of Mo can greatly increase the lignin oil from 62 wt% to 93 wt%. • A new binary solvent was exploited for the oxidative depolymerization of lignin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to achieve the "double carbon" goal in energy systems has been the concern of governments. Integrated energy system (IES) is affected by climate change during his operation, in order to study the impact of climate change on IES and achieve the "double carbon" goal in energy systems, this paper proposes an integrated machine learning(IML) to forecast the long-term load, then investigates IES costs and carbon emissions in relation to climate, followed by the establishment of carbon peak energy system(CPES) and carbon neutral energy system(CNES), finally the honey badger algorithm is used to optimize the configuration of CPES and CNES. The results show that: IML can accurately make load forecasts. Under climate change, changes in load reduce the cost and carbon emissions of IES, and changes in equipment efficiency increase the cost and carbon emissions of IES. When both are considered, the cost and carbon emissions of IES increase by 1.18% and 0.92% per decade respectively. The costs of CPES and CNES increase by 0.93% and 1% respectively for every 10 years earlier than the year of achievement. To meet China's "double carbon" goal, CPES and CNES need to increase their costs by 1.97% and 2% respectively. • Integrated machine learning proposed for long-term load forecasting. • Studied the impact of system equipment efficiency and load with climate change. • Proposing carbon peaking energy system to achieve the carbon peak goal. • Proposed carbon-neutral energy system to achieve carbon neutrality goal. • The increased costs of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutral were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene (ET) is one of the many important signaling hormones that functions in regulating defense responses in plants. Gene expression profiling was conducted under exogenous ET application in the high late blight resistant potato genotype SD20 and the specific transcriptional responses to exogenous ET in SD20 were revealed. Analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) generated a total of 1226 ET-specific DEGs, among which transcription factors, kinases, defense enzymes and disease resistance-related genes were significantly differentially expressed. GO enrichment and KEGG metabolic pathway analysis also revealed that numerous defense regulation-related genes and defense pathways were significantly enriched. These results were consistent with the interaction of SD20 and Phytophthora infestans in our previous study, indicating that exogenous ET stimulated the defense response and initiated a similar defense pathway compared to pathogen infection in SD20. Moreover, multiple signaling pathways including ET, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin and gibberellin were involved in the response to exogenous ET, which indicates that many plant hormones work together to form a complex network to resist external stimuli in SD20. ET-induced gene expression profiling provides insights into the ET signaling transduction pathway and its potential mechanisms in disease defense systems in potato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intraindividual reaction time variability (IIRTV) is a unique cognitive function index that is independent of accuracy and has been found to be related to children's externalizing problems. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity to challenge tasks was also found to be a potential influence factor of children's externalizing problems. The present study examined whether IIRTV interacts with RSA reactivity to relate to externalizing problems in children. The flanker task was administered to 168 early elementary school-age children to assess their IIRTV, and the Child Behavior Checklist-Chinese version (CBCL-CV) was completed by their parents to assess children's externalizing problems. Electrocardiogram data were collected during the resting and task period to calculate resting RSA and RSA reactivity. The results indicated that children's IIRTV was correlated with their externalizing problems. Importantly, IIRTV interacted with RSA reactivity to relate to externalizing problems. IIRTV was positively related to externalizing problems in children with RSA suppression but was not significantly related to externalizing problems in children with RSA augmentation during the task. These findings suggest that poor attentional or cognitive control, as indexed by greater IIRTV, is related to more externalizing problems. Moreover, during mild cognitive stress, greater RSA suppression might indicate poor physiological regulation, which is more likely to increase externalizing problems for children with poor attentional or cognitive control. • Intraindividual reaction time variability (IIRTV) was positively correlated with children's externalizing problems. • IIRTV interacted with RSA reactivity to relate to children's externalizing problems. • Greater IIRTV combined with RSA suppression during flanker task to relate to more externalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an adaptive fractional‐order non‐singular fast terminal sliding mode (FO‐NFTSM) scheme based on time delay estimation (TDE) is proposed for the control of robotic manipulators. A new FO‐NFTSM surface with a continuous TSM‐type switch item is designed to ensure good performance, such as fast finite‐time convergence, high precision and being non‐singular. The chattering problem is solved by introducing a saturation function into the control signal. The TDE element is used to estimate the robot's unknown dynamic parameters and external disturbances. The Lyapunov stability theory is used to prove the finite‐time stability of the control system. The proposed control algorithm is applied to a two‐link robotic manipulator and the comparative results verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control approach in comparison with existing control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the relation between electronic game play and executive function (EF) in Chinese preschoolers. One hundred and nineteen 3- to 6-year-old children participated. Children's working memory, inhibition, and planning were assessed as measures of EF development. Parents completed a questionnaire regarding children's electronic game play time and the game content. The results showed that time spent on electronic games (M = 0.30 h, SD = 0.41, ranging from 0 to 2.14 h per day) was positively related to EF when controlling for other relevant factors, such as children's age, gender, and socioeconomic status. However, action content in electronic games was negatively related to one inhibition aspect of EF, but not two other aspects, namely working memory and planning. The results of the present study indicate time spent using media is associated with EF development in children but that evidence for content-related issues is inconclusive. Highlights: Whether electronic games are beneficial or harmful to children is a matter of public debate. Children's working memory, inhibition, and planning were assessed as measures of executive function (EF). Time spent on electronic games was positively related to EF. Action game content was negatively but weakly correlated with inhibition, but not working memory or planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double skeleton interpenetrating network fixed the quaternary ammonium salt, and various internal conduction modes cooperated to promote the transport of hydroxide ions. [Display omitted] The alkaline solid-state electrolytes have received widespread attention for their good safety and electrochemical stability. However, they still suffer from low conductivity and poor mechanical properties. Herein, we report the synthesis of double-network featured hydroxide-conductive membranes fabricated by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS) as the double-skeletons. Then, we implanted quaternary ammonium salt guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (GG) as the OH− conductor for high-performance electrochemical devices. By virtue of the unique stripe-like structure shared from the double skeleton with a high degree of compatibility and stronger hydrogen bond interactions, the polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan-guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (PCG) solid-state electrolytes achieved optimal thermal stability (> 300 °C), mechanical property (∼ 34.15 MPa), dimensional stability (at any bending angle), and high ionic conductivity (13 mS cm−1) and ion mobility number (t ion ∼ 0.90) compared with chitosan-guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (CG) and polyvinyl alcohol-guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (PG) electrolyte membrane. As a proof-of-concept application, the "sandwich"-type zinc-air battery (ZAB) assembled using PCG membrane as the electrolyte realized a high open-circuit voltage (1.39 V) and an excellent power density (128 mW cm−2). Notably, in addition to its long-term cycle life (30 h, 2 mA cm−2) and stable discharge plateau (12 h, 5 mA cm−2), it could even enable a flexible ZAB (F-ZAB) to readily power light-emitting diodes (LED) at any bending angle. These merits afford the PCG membrane a promising electrolyte for improving the performance of solid-state batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving distraction detection can effectively prevent the occurrence of traffic accidents. Thus, monitoring a driver's state is very important for road safety. At present, most driving distraction detection methods focus on singular aspects, such as gaze distraction or hand distraction, and rarely focus on cognitive distraction as it is difficult to detect. This study proposed a driving distraction detection method based on gaze activity. A multi‐channel convolutional neural network was used to classify the driver's gaze area and calculate the gaze activity. In cognitive distraction, the driver's gaze activity is significantly lower than that in the normal driving state. The activity thresholds via experiments have been obtained and used to determine whether drivers were in a cognitively distracted state. Through experiments, the accuracy of this method reached 92.36%. To identify driving distractions more comprehensively, a gaze distraction algorithm based on the two‐second rule has been added to the method. The experiment demonstrated that our method in combination with this algorithm improved all of the indicators (when compared to only the gaze activity algorithm), and the accuracy rate increased to 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a four-microorganism three-step fermentation process was established for producing medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) from starch, which was used as the sole carbon source. The four microorganisms used for this process were Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae L2612, Acetobacter orientalis, and Pseudomonas putida KT2440-acs. The initial carbon source starch concentration was set to 30 g/L, the maximum glucose concentration reached 17.66 g/L at 48 h after starch hydrolysis, and then, 2.36 g/L of acetic acid was obtained at 96 h. The final output of mcl-PHA was 0.5 g/L at 144 h, overall productivity for mcl-PHA was 3.47 mg/(L·h) and the total starch to mcl-PHA yield for the process was 16.67 mg/g. Although the overall yield and conversion rate of this process were not high, this is the first attempt to produce mcl-PHA using starch as a substrate, and it provides a feasible strategy for producing PHA from kitchen waste. The production process of mcl-PHA with a clear flora structure and short fermentation cycle was realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a hybrid machine‐learning method based on oil‐immersed power transformer fault diagnosis Probability Neural Network (PNN) optimized via a Multi‐Verse Optimizer (MVO) algorithm. PNN is a radial basis function prefeedback neural network based on Bayesian decision theory. It has strong fault tolerance and has significant advantages in pattern classification. However, the performance of PNN is greatly affected by the hidden‐layer unit‐smoothing factor, and the classification result is affected. MVO is a metaheuristic algorithm with strong global convergence. Therefore, the smoothing factor of MVO‐optimized PNN (MVO‐PNN) can effectively improve the fault diagnosis ability. Recent studies have demonstrated the MVO algorithm. We utilize an experiment about the oil data in the power transformer in Jiangxi Province, China. The results show that MVO‐PNN can significantly improve the accuracy of power transformer fault classification and is more efficient than the Cuckoo search algorithm, Bat algorithm, Genetic Algorithm optimization, and other algorithms capabilities in some cases. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric carcinoma (GC) refers to a common digestive system disease that exhibits a very high incidence. MicroRNA hsa-mir-3923 belongs to a type of miRNA, of which the function has been merely investigated in breast, pancreatic cancers and pre-neoplasic stages of gastric cancer. It has not been studied or reported in gastric carcinoma, so the relationship between gastric hsa-mir-3923 expression and the clinics feature and pathology of GC cases was examined. This study employed data mining for analyzing gastric carcinoma data in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. A Chi squared test was performed for assessing the relations of hsa-mir-3923 expression with clinics-related and pathology-regulated variables. This study conducted the assessment of the role of hsa-mir-3923 in prognostic process using Kaplan–Meier curves, Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and proportional hazards model (Cox) study. With the use of Gene Expression Omnibus, this study carried out gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). In the meantime, the common miRNA database was compared to predict potential target genes; as revealed by co-expression analysis, a regulatory network probably existed, containing hsa-mir-3923. For the analysis of the most tightly associated cytological behavior and pathway in GC, this study adopted the databases for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (David) and KO-Based Annotation System (KOBAS). Cytoscape, R and STRING were employed for mapping probable regulatory networks displaying relations to hsa-mir-3923. Lastly, we obtained 69 genes most tightly associated with hsa-mir-3923 and described their relationship with Circos plot. As revealed from the results, hsa-mir-3923 displayed up-regulation in gastric carcinoma, and it displayed associations with vital status, N stage and histologic grade when being expressed. The predicted results of miRNA target genes suggested that there may be a close relationship between 66 genes and hsa-mir-3923 in gastric cancer. As indicated from co-expression data, a small regulating network of 4 genes probably existed. Our results elucidated that hsa-mir-3923 high-expression reveals poor prognosis of GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the sixth most common cancer in women. Since early EC has a good prognosis, identifying methods for early diagnosis is valuable. Here, we aimed to study the role of HDAC6, which has been indicated important in many kinds of cancers, in EC diagnosis and therapy. First, the expression levels of HDAC6 in EC tissues and cells were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blotting, and through bioinformatics and dual luciferase assays, HDAC6 was found to be a direct target of miR-206. Then, CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays were performed; these results indicated that HDAC6 promoted EC cell proliferation, metastasis and invasion, while miR-206 produced the opposite effects. In addition, rescue assays verified that the effect of miR-206 could be reversed by HDAC6, and global gene expression analysis confirmed the relationship between miR-206 and HDAC6. Finally, we measured the levels of PTEN, p-AKT and p-mTOR and other key molecules and speculated that miR-206 might target HDAC6 to suppress EC progression via the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway. In conclusion, downregulation of miR-206 and upregulation of HDAC6 in EC may predict poor prognosis, and as the target gene of miR-206, HDAC achieves its carcinogenic effect through the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Traditional approaches for sequencing insertion ends of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries are laborious and expensive, which are currently some of the bottlenecks limiting a better understanding of the genomic features of auto‐ or allopolyploid species. Here, we developed a highly efficient and low‐cost BAC end analysis protocol, named BAC‐anchor, to identify paired‐end reads containing large internal gaps. Our approach mainly focused on the identification of high‐throughput sequencing reads carrying restriction enzyme cutting sites and searching for large internal gaps based on the mapping locations of both ends of the reads. We sequenced and analysed eight libraries containing over 3 200 000 BAC end clones derived from the BAC library of the tetraploid potato cultivar C88 digested with two restriction enzymes, Cla I and Mlu I. About 25% of the BAC end reads carrying cutting sites generated a 60–100 kb internal gap in the potato DM reference genome, which was consistent with the mapping results of Sanger sequencing of the BAC end clones and indicated large differences between autotetraploid and haploid genotypes in potato. A total of 5341 Cla I‐ and 165 Mlu I‐derived unique reads were distributed on different chromosomes of the DM reference genome and could be used to establish a physical map of target regions and assemble the C88 genome. The reads that matched different chromosomes are especially significant for the further assembly of complex polyploid genomes. Our study provides an example of analysing high‐coverage BAC end libraries with low sequencing cost and is a resource for further genome sequencing studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that ions play important roles in our life sciences, and the detection of ions has attracted more and more attention. In this work, we focus on the sensing response mechanism of a novel fluoride chemosensor, 4‐((tert‐butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)isophthalaldehyde (BIPA). Based on density functional theory and time‐dependent density functional theory methods, we clarify that fluoride anions could trigger the cleavage reaction of the Si‐O bond of BIPA in the ground state. And, the potential energy curve of desilylation process reveals the rapid response to fluoride anions. Comparing the binding energies between fluoride anions and other anions, we confirm that only the fluoride anions could be detected using the BIPA chemosensor in ethanol solvent. Considering the photo‐excitation process, we find the strong intramolecular charge transfer process for the S0 → S1 transition could explain the red shift of the absorption spectra of the BIPA system. This work not only clarifies the specific fluoride‐sensing mechanism, but also plays a role in facilitating designing and synthesizing of novel fluorescent sensors in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve robust finite-time trajectory tracking control, this paper proposes a novel neural-network-based nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode (NFTSM) control strategy for n-link robotic manipulators including actuator dynamics, subject to the model uncertainty and external disturbances. The suggested NFTSM control method can improve the finite-time convergence rate of system states, owing to the introduction of nonlinear item on the sliding surface. In addition, the singular problem is settled via introducing a saturation function into the control signal. In this control scheme, the precise dynamics of the robot system are unknown completely. Considering that the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) has a fast study convergence speed and great approximation ability, three RBFNNs are utilized to estimate the manipulator-actuator dynamic parameters, along with an adaptive weight update law. Meanwhile, by designing robust control items, the approximation errors of RBFNNs are compensated, and the external disturbances are suppressed. Then, the finite-time stability of the controlled system is proved by Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the proposed control approach is employed to a two-link robotic manipulator. The simulation results verified the effectiveness of the proposed control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]