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Ni60 alloy is one of the important brands of nickel-based self-fusing alloys. It is widely used in industries such as metallurgy, mining, and other fields for the repair and protection of fragile parts. However, there is little literature on the effect of C content on its properties. In this study, two Ni60 alloy coatings with different C contents prepared by flame spraying and remelting were investigated by means of XRD, SEM, EBSD, friction wear testing, thermodynamic calculation, etc. The results showed that the calculated freezing range (FR) of Ni60 decreased from 983-1165.90 °C to 980-1154.28 °C and the melting range (MR) of Ni60 decreased from 966.27-1089.28 °C to 958.91-1045.41 °C when the C content increased from 0.72 wt.% (S1) to 1.01 wt.% (S2). Besides, the Cr7C3 phase size of the Ni60 layer increased with the increase of C addition. The coating shrinks during the remelting and solidification process, and the inner pores do not have sufficient time to escape, caused by the decreased FR, leading to the generation of holes and the degradation of surface quality in S2. However, the hardness of the S2 was 66 HV higher than that of S1, and the wear resistance of the S2 coating was superior as well because of more precipitated carbides therein. This work would give a hint at balancing the processability and mechanical properties for the development of high-performance coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fisheye camera calibration is an essential task in photogrammetry. However, previous calibration patterns and the robustness of the adjoint processing methods are limited due to the fisheye distortion and various lighting. This problem leads to additional manual intervention in the data collection. Moreover, it is arduous to accurately detect the board target under fisheye's distortion. To increase the robustness in this task, we present a novel encoded board "Meta‐Board" and a learning‐based target detection method. Additionally, an automatic image orthorectification is integrated to alleviate the distortion effect on the target iteratively until convergence. A low‐cost control field with the proposed boards is built for the experiment. Results on both virtual and real camera lenses and multi‐camera rigs show that our method can be robustly used in calibrating the fisheye camera and reaches state‐of‐the‐art accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a solar-assisted DX-PVT heat pump (direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal) is intimately relevant to the system configuration. Inappropriate system configuration will undermine the system performance. This work assessed the effect of the equipment area of PVT modules on the PVT heat pump system driven by novel direct-expansion roll-bond PVT modules, and aimed to propose optimal system configuration. An analytical model was developed for the PVT heat pump system and validated by the experimental results. Simulations were conducted to reveal the effect of A / V t h , a proposed parameter to describe the system configuration, namely the ratio of the modules' area to the theoretical displacement of the compressor. The results showed that the larger A / V t h lead to higher COP but lower HGF (heat gain factor). With A / V t h increasing from 0.768 to 2.303 m2 h/m3, the COP increases by 61.3% (from 3.1 to 5.0) but the HGF decreases by 39.6% (from 0.91 to 0.55). Higher levels of solar irradiation strengthens the positive effect of the increasing A / V t h on thermodynamics performance and weakens the negative effect of that on the heat collection performance. The enhancement in COP is 42.8%/70.9% with A / V t h increasing from 0.768 to 2.303 m2 h/m3 when solar irradiation is 500 W/m2/800 W/m2, while the decrease in HGF is 49.2%/39.2%, respectively. A configuration optimization was also conducted to balance the thermodynamics and heat collection performance. The A / V t h varying from 1.535 to 1.919 m2 h/m3 was suggested as the optimized configuration when solar irradiation is 500 W/m2. After optimization, the IPLV and HGF can exceed that of air-source heat pump and flat-plate collectors by 40%, showing considerable performance advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the window-opening behavior in a three-star green building with an operation mark in Ningbo was investigated. Four single offices facing south were selected, and the measurement lasted 20–40 days in the cooling season. An analysis of the relationship between window use and environmental factors was assessed by monitoring the occupancy state, the window action and window state, the time, and the temperature and humidity. A statistical analysis method was conducted to reveal the similarities and differences in window use among different occupants. The main findings were as follows: The window adjustment behaviors of different people vary significantly. In terms of adjustment time, there are two modes of behaviors. In addition, the occupancy state had a great impact on window action. Moreover, some people prefer to open the windows in the morning and close the windows at departure time, However, some of them prefer to open the windows at departure time and close the windows at the arrival time. Some irrational window opening behaviors were found in this research. Through correlation analysis, it was shown that the longer time the occupants were in the office, the higher window-opening duration and window-opening frequency would be. If the window was closed at arrival time, the total opening duration of window was significantly reduced. Also, window opening duration and closing duration are proportional to each other. With the help of principal component analysis (PCA) of the 12 features that affected window adjustment, the correlation between the window opening behaviors and the features could be clearly illustrated. A stochastic model of window-opening behavior based on logistics regression and uncertainty analysis was used in this paper. The cooling energy consumption of the stochastic model is 99.9% higher than the energy consumption generated by a fixed number of air changes, and the average energy consumption exceeds the fixed value by more than 21%. The findings of this study have certain guiding significance for promoting energy conservation by occupants' behaviors in green buildings in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the current state-of-the-art in the detoxification and valorization of solid residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), especially fly ash, using plasma vitrification. The principles and advances in hazardous material elimination, resource recovery, and system integration using plasma vitrification for MSWI fly ash are identified. The global production and the characteristics of MSWI fly ash are first reviewed. Then, the features and principles of plasma technologies used for MSWI fly ash treatment from the thermodynamic and physical aspects are provided. The mechanisms of detoxification of MSWI fly ash from the perspectives of dioxins destruction and metal separation by plasma vitrification are also discussed. Moreover, the recovery methods of valuable elements for vitrified slag are introduced. Finally, the improvement pathways of plasma vitrification processes from the domains of engineering performance, environmental impact, and economic viability are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the contributions of chemical components in the particulate matter in Lhasa, the size distribution characteristics of the chemical components, such as carbonaceous species (organic carbon, OC; elemental carbon, EC), water-soluble ions (NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3−) and trace elements (Na, Ca, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, K, Mg, and Pb), were investigated from August 2018 to May 2019. Principal component analysis (PCA) was also used to simulate the source of the particulate matter. The chemical components showed bimodal size distributions, except for Cu. The highest mass concentration of OC appeared at < 0.49 μm, and the second highest one existed at 1.5–3.0 μm in winter or at 3.0–7.2 μm in other seasons. The maximum concentrations of NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3− were at < 0.49 μm and peaked at 0.95–1.5 μm or > 3.0 μm. For seasonality, the concentrations of NO3− and SO42− were considerably higher in summer and autumn; trace elements (except for Cu, Zn, V, and Ni), OC, and EC presented higher values during late autumn and winter. The ratio between OC and EC (4.15–33.80) indicated the existence of secondary pollution in Lhasa. The [NO3−]–[SO42−] ratios during summer and autumn exceeding 1 suggested that the currently predominant vehicle exhaust made a greater contribution to the aerosols. According to the results of a PCA, the main pollution sources of particulate matter in Lhasa were suspended dust, biomass burning, fossil fuel combustion, secondary pollution, and vehicular emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microbes are an abundant source of enzymes with unique properties that may be useful for industrial applications. As most wild-type strains show low chlorogenic acid esterase expression and activity, and most microbes cannot be cultured in the laboratory, a metagenomic approach provides methods of identifying new enzymes. In this study, a gene encoding a chlorogenic acid esterase, named Tan410, was isolated from a soil metagenomic library and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant enzyme, with a predicted molecular weight of 54.88 kDa, was purified to homogeneity. The Km and Vmax values for Tan410 were 1.26 mM and 0.33 mM min–1, respectively, with chlorogenic acid as the substrate. Its optimum temperature and pH for reaction were 30 °C and 7.5, respectively. The enzyme exhibited moderate thermostability and broad pH stability (3.0–10.0). Tan410 was also able to hydrolyse ethyl ferulate, methyl caffeate, propyl gallate, ethyl gallate, methyl vanillate, methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, methyl 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate, and methyl 3,5-dihydroxybenzoate, and it released caffeic and ferulic acids from agricultural byproducts (destarched wheat bran and coffee pulp). Tan140 has potential for industrial application in biomass valorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micronsized spherical CL-20/RDX composites with uniform size were prepared by an electrospray method. After preparation, the morphology, crystal structure, thermal decomposition property, explosion performance and mechanical sensitivity were characterized. Different structures existed in the CL-20/RDX composites with different molar ratios. The CR11e composites had the lowest apparent activation energy and the lowest critical temperature of thermal explosion. The explosion pressure and mechanical sensitivity of CL-20/RDX composites were lower than that of raw CL-20 and decreased with increasing RDX content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Thalassemia (β-thal) is one of the most common monogenic recessive inherited diseases worldwide. The mutation spectrum of β-thal has been increasingly broadened by various genetic testing methods. The discovery and identification of novel and rare pathogenic thalassemia variants enable better disease prevention, especially in high prevalence regions. In this study, a Chinese thalassemia family with an unclear etiology was recruited to the Thalassemia Screening Program. Blood samples collected from them were primarily screened by hematology analysis and clinical routine genetic screening. Subsequently, targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing were performed to find and identify a novel deletion variant. The deletion, discovered by targeted NGS, was validated through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). First, a large novel β-thal deletion (3488 bp) related to a high Hb F level, NC_000011.9: g.5245533_5249020del (Chongqing deletion) (GRCh37/hg19), was found and identified in the proband and her mother. The deletion removed the entire β-globin gene and led to absent β-globin (β0). We then validated this large novel deletion in the proband and her mother by qPCR. We first discovered and identified a large novel β-thal deletion related to elevated Hb F level, it helps broaden the spectrum of pathogenic mutants that may cause β-thal intermedia (β-TI) or β-thal major (β-TM), paving the way for effective thalassemia screening. Next-generation sequencing has the potential of finding rare and novel thalassemia mutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mass transfer and related electrochemical reactions in the catalytic layer (CL) are crucial for the performance of high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs), but there is a lack of understanding of the optimal phosphoric acid content and Pt/C catalyst loading in the CL. In this work, we investigate the influences of Pt/C catalyst numbers (N Pt/C) and phosphoric acid film thickness (δ PA) on mass transfer and electrochemical reactions of the cathode CL using a pore-scale model (300 × 300 × 300 nm3). The results reveal that larger N Pt/C and δ PA can impede oxygen diffusion, while lower N Pt/C and δ PA lead to fewer reaction active sites and lower conductivity, both of which result in lower current density. Therefore, the balance of three-phase transport is extremely important for CL. There is a 3D volcanic relationship between current density, Pt/C catalysts, and phosphoric acid film. At N Pt/C = 200 (7407 per μm3) and δ PA = 4 nm (the volume fractions of 37.22 % and 17.87 %), the highest current density can be achieved at a potential of 0.5 V (vs. RHE), which increased with the decrease of potential. This work is valuable for understanding the optimizing the microstructure and three-phase transport pathway of the CL to improve the performance of HT-PEMFCs. • Catalyst layer is reconstructed numerically in a HT-PEMFCs with a pore-scale model. • The influence of Pt/C catalyst number and phosphoric acid film thickness is studied. • The balance between the three phases of the transmission pathway is very important. • A 3D volcano-shaped relationship is obtained to describe the current density, N Pt/C and δ PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of reaching the peak of carbon in the construction industry is urgent. However, the research on the feasibility of realizing this goal and the implementation of relevant policies in China is relatively superficial. In view of the historical data of energy consumption and building CO2 emission from 1995 to 2019, this paper establishes a BP neural network model for predicting building CO2 emissions. Moreover, the influencing factors, such as population, GDP, and total construction output, are introduced as the parameters in the model. Through the scenario analysis method explores the practical path to accomplish the peak of building CO2 emissions. When using traditional prediction methods to predict building carbon emissions, the long prediction cycle will increase the possibility of significant errors. Therefore, this paper constructs the calculation model of building carbon emission and forecasts the future carbon emission value through the BP neural network to avoid the error caused by the nonlinear relationship between influencing factors and predicted value. It will effectively predict the feasibility of the carbon peak and the carbon-neutral target set by government, and provide a useful predictive tool for adjusting the new energy structure and formulating related emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry widely uses WC coatings to protect vital machine parts, including industrial gas turbines, ball valves, and aircraft landing gear shafts. To enhance the comprehensive performance of WC-10Co cemented carbide coatings, this study added VC and Cr 3 C 2 grain inhibitors to refine the WC particles. Two novel powder compositions, S1 (WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC) and S2 (WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr) were developed using the spray granulation method, alongside a commercial WC-10Co-4Cr powder as a control. These coatings were applied to 316 stainless steel substrates using the HVOF technique and subjected to XRD, SEM, hardness, friction, and electrochemical analysis. The microstructures, phase compositions, and various properties of WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC and WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coatings were systematically investigated. The results indicate a significant reduction in decarburization and porosity in S1 and S2 coatings compared to the commercial WC-10Co-4Cr coatings. VC and Cr 3 C 2 suppressed the Ostwald ripening phenomenon, leading to smaller WC particle sizes in S1 and S2 coatings. In terms of performance, WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC exhibited the highest hardness and superior wear resistance, while the WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coating displayed the lowest corrosion rate in a 5 wt% H 2 SO 4 solution at 25 °C, all while maintaining excellent mechanical properties. This study opens potential directions for the creation of high-performance WC-based coatings. • VC and Cr 3 C 2 suppressed the Ostwald ripening phenomenon, leading to smaller WC particle sizes. • WC-10Co-2Cr 3 C 2 -2VC exhibited the highest hardness and superior wear resistance. • WC-10Co-2VC-2Cr coating displayed the lowest corrosion rate in a 5 wt% H 2 SO 4 solution at 25 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column is a new form of CFST columns, consisting of an outer elliptical tube filled with concrete. Although the study on mechanical performance of the elliptical CFST members is receiving more and more attention, they have been limited to static behavior. Against this background, an experimental study on elliptical CFST columns was carried out under combined axial compression and cyclic lateral loading. The failure modes, hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, load carrying capacity, deformability, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation ability was obtained and discussed. The test results indicated that the elliptical CFST columns possess excellent seismic performance and ductility. Valuable experimental data were provided for the formulation of the theoretical hysteresis model of the elliptical CFST columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of D-dimer for acute aortic dissection (AAD) by the method of meta-analysis.Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases from the establishment of the databases to December 2020 were systematically searched, and the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) system was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. STATA 15.0 software was applied to calculate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR) to draw summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curve and calculate the area under the curve (AUC). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to explore the source of heterogeneity.Results: A total of 16 clinical studies were enrolled in this study, including 1135 patients. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity was 0.96 (95% CI 0.91-0.98), the pooled specificity was 0.70 (95% CI 0.57-0.81), and the pooled DOR was 56.57 (95% CI 25.11-127.44), the pooled +LR was 3.25 (95% CI 2.18-4.85), the pooled -LR was 0.06 (95% CI 0.03-0.12), and the AUC was 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.95). Meta-regression and subgroup analysis results showed that publication year, sample size and cutoff value might be sources of heterogeneity. When the concentration of D-dimer was less than or equal to 500 ng/ml, the sensitivity significantly increased.Conclusion: D-dimer has an excellent diagnostic value for AAD. It is a useful tool for detecting suspected AAD because of the excellent pooled sensitivity. D-dimer ≤ 500 ng/ml increases the potential to identify the suspected patients with AAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWCNT) films require high-quality preparation and optimization for use in carbon-based electronic devices. Tremendous progress has been made in s-SWCNTs sorting technology with conjugated polymers to obtain high-purity s-SWCNT films. However, one drawback of this technology is residual polymer wrapping on s-SWCNT surfaces. These residual polymers have poor conductivity, impeding the charge transport between the nanotube-electrode and the nanotube-nanotube. To address this issue, a rapid annealing and cooling method was developed for cleaning the s-SWCNT films, which can thoroughly remove the wrapped polymers from the surfaces of s-SWCNTs, effectively reducing the contact resistance between the nanotube-metal electrode and the nanotube-nanotube. Our results show that thin-film transistors made of cleaned s-SWCNTs exhibited improved performance when compared with pristine s-SWCNT films rinsed with an organic solvent. The contact resistance between the s-SWCNTs and the electrode was reduced by 700%, while the on–state current density of the CNT-TFTs increased by nearly 600%. These results thus demonstrated the effectiveness of our developed method for removing polymers from the surfaces of s-SWCNTs, which is essential for the further development of carbon nanotube electronic devices and circuits. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of apricot kernel skins (AKS) addition and ultrasound treatment were investigated on the rheological and texture properties of the dough, and the specific volume, texture, and sensorial properties of bread by a three‐factor Box–Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM), so as to make full use of the by‐products of AKS in industry. The results indicate that the incorporation of AKS in bread making did have some negative influences on the physical properties of dough and the quality of bread. Interestingly enough, the adverse effects from AKS addition could definitely be decreased by ultrasound treatment, with which the specific volume, springiness, cohesiveness, and resilience of bread could be improved to an extent, resulting in a good taste and sensory acceptability of the bread. In a word, this research could provide a novel approach for the AKS utilization in processing industry of apricot kernels. Novelty impact statement: The acceptable amount of apricot kernel skins (AKS) added to bread ingredients is no more than 6%.The optimal parameters for ultrasonic treatment of dough to reduce the negative effects of AKS on bread are 350 W power and 40‐min processing time.Ultrasound could improve the specific volume, springiness, cohesiveness, and resilience of bread with AKS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the recognition accuracy of students’ psychological stress data in the English MOOC classroom teaching process, this paper improves the traditional fuzzy C-means algorithm, and uses the deviation value to represent the difference between the average algebraic distance of the neighborhood point and the center pixel. By calculating the deviation value, the influence of the neighborhood point on the center point can be measured, and the noise resistance of the algorithm can be improved. Moreover, this paper constructs a quantitative identification model of student stress data based on the needs of English MOOC teaching stress analysis, and uses image database to verify the basic performance of the algorithm, and constructs a data analysis system of student stress in English MOOC classroom, which is used in practice. In addition, this paper uses student facial expression recognition as a basis for quantitative identification of student stress, and designs experiments to analyze the reliability of the system. From the statistical results, it can be seen that the data analysis system of the students’ psychological stress in the English MOOC classroom teaching process constructed in this paper is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An ETSC with inner concentrating by reflective coating was proposed and fabricated. • The best coating angle was 180° and efficiency increased with eccentric distance. • The thermal efficiency of the novel inner concentrating ETSC was increased by 10%. • The heat loss coefficient of the ETSC-IC was decreased by 27% to 48%. Evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC) is widely used for domestic and industrial applications. Using reflective coating in an ETSC to realize concentration is a method to heighten the thermal efficiency due to solar irradiation could be reflected by the coating on the lower half of the outer glass tube and concentrated to the eccentric inner absorber. In this paper, an evacuated tube solar collector with inner concentrating (ETSC-IC) by reflective coating was proposed and fabricated. A series of experimental tests of the ETSC-IC was conducted to investigate the thermal performance. In addition, the mathematical model of the novel collector with inner concentrating was developed, and the structural parameters of the inner reflective concentrating evacuated tube, including the coating angel and the eccentric distance, have been analyzed. The optical and thermal analysis revealed that the best coating angle of the evacuated tube was 180°, and the thermal performance of the ETSC-IC enhanced with the increase of the eccentric distance under the best coating angle. The thermal efficiency of the ETSC-IC could reach 0.65 to 0.72 on the condition that the solar irradiation was around 950 W/m2 and the temperature of inlet water varied between 45 °C and 70 °C, and the ambient temperature was 31.2 °C. The thermal efficiency of the ETSC-IC was improved by approximately 10% compared with the conventional evacuated tube due to the enhanced irradiation concentrating and the reduction of heat loss caused by the coating on the outer glass tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explosion characteristics of diethyl ether-Al mixtures under different ambient pressure (57.4–101.3 kPa), temperature (263–333 K), and relative humidity (48.3–90%) were investigated in a 20 L explosion vessel. The explosion pressures and lower flammability mass concentration limits of diethyl ether-Al mixture under different ambient conditions were obtained after a series of experiments. The components of explosion exhaust gas and the morphologies of solid residues were examined by a gas detector and a scanning electron microscope, respectively. The results showed that the ambient pressure had a greater influence on the explosion pressure of diethyl ether-Al mixtures than ambient temperature and relative humidity, while the ambient temperature had a greater influence on the lower flammability mass concentration limit than ambient pressure and relative humidity. The explosion exhaust gases were mainly composed of CO and CO 2 with a small amount of NO and NO 2 , and the solid residues were mainly composed of Al 2 O 3 and unreacted Al. The effect mechanism of different ambient conditions on the explosion of diethyl ether-Al mixture was discussed based on these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel esterase gene was isolated from a soil metagenomic library. The gene encoded a protein of 520 amino acids which contained a 21 aa signal peptide. Primary structure analysis of the protein sequence revealed that it contained a conserved active site motif (SxSxG) and a structural motif (CS-D-HC). Then the esterase gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified esterase showed that it was expressed in a highly soluble form and its molecular mass was estimated to be 55 kDa. Characterization of the esterase revealed that it exhibited high activity toward p-nitrophenyl esters with short acyl chains and especially p-nitrophenyl acetate, suggesting that it was a typical carboxylesterase rather than a lipase. With p-nitrophenyl acetate as substrate, the enzyme showed its optimal activity at pH 7.0 and 30 °C, and it was stable at a broad pH range from 4.5 to 10.0 and temperature not higher than 50 °C. Furthermore, the enzyme showed different substrate specificity from known esterase, it was not only hydrolyzing against p-nitrophenyl esters, but also hydrolyzing all hydroxybenzoic esters and hydroxycinnamic ester assayed. As it was an enzyme active on a broad range of phenolic esters, simultaneously possessing feruloyl esterase, chlorogenate esterase and tannase activities, it could serve as a valuable candidate for applications in biotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pole-like objects provide important street infra- structure for road inventory and road mapping. In this article, we proposed a novel pole-like object extraction algorithm based on plane filtering from mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. The proposed approach is composed of two parts. In the first part, a novel octree-based split scheme was proposed to fit initial planes from off-ground points. The results of the plane fitting contribute to the extraction of pole-like objects. In the second part, we proposed a novel method of pole-like object extraction by plane filtering based on local geometric feature restriction and isolation detection. The proposed approach is a new solution for detecting pole-like objects from mobile LiDAR data. The innovation in this article is that we assumed that each of the pole-like objects can be represented by a plane. Thus, the essence of extracting pole-like objects will be converted to plane selecting problem. The proposed method has been tested on three data sets captured from different scenes. The average completeness, correctness, and quality of our approach can reach up to 87.66%, 88.81%, and 79.03%, which is superior to state-of-the-art approaches. The experimental results indicate that our approach can extract pole-like objects robustly and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is a promising method for extracting heat from the deep geothermal energy which has been widely used for residential heating in high latitude areas. The solar assisted photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) heat pump could convert solar energy into useful heat efficiently, and could be further used to heat water from the BHE to a higher temperature level. In this paper, a residential heating system using BHE coupled with solar assisted PV/T heat pump is therefore proposed with further performance analysis. The simulation results show that a larger mass flow rate could increase the BHE's heat extract capacity but also increase the flow resistance and pump power under nominal conditions. The circulating water would not extract heat from rock-soil if the inlet temperature exceeds 48.5 °C when mass flow rate is 12 kg/s. Furthermore, the maximum water temperature from this hybrid system could reach 40.8 °C while the solar fraction is 67.5% when the area of PV/T module is 1000 m2, solar irradiation is 600 W/m2 and depth of the BHE is 2500 m. In the meantime, the heating COP of this hybrid system could reach 7.4 and the system could operate independently without power input from electrical grid. • A hybrid residential heating system using borehole heat exchanger coupled with solar assisted PV/T heat pump is proposed. • The structure and operating parameters of this hybrid system have been analyzed. • The heating COP of this hybrid system could reach 7.4, while the solar fraction is 67.5%. • The maximum thermal effect radius of a 2500 m borehole heat exchanger is within 8 m. • Higher mass flow rate and inlet temperature lead to lower heating COP and temperature difference between outlet and inlet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general method for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of 4‐alkyl‐4H‐chromenes was developed. With readily available β‐alkyl‐substituted enones and 2‐hydroxylated arylboronic acids, a rhodium‐catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition/intramolecular hemi‐acetalization/acid‐promoted dehydration sequence leads to the formation of 4‐alkyl‐4H‐chromenes in up to 99% yield and with up to >99% ee. The current study remedies the methodological deficiency in asymmetric synthesis of 4‐alkyl‐4H‐chromenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The efficiency factor of direct expansion PVT module is derived and validated. • Proposed a novel design method for PVT module employing roll-bond evaporator. • Parameter analysis is conducted to evaluate the thermal performance of four different channel patterns. • Hexagon and rectangle types have better temperature uniformity while grid and linear types have lower pressure loss. Direct expansion solar assisted PVT (photovoltaic/thermal) heat pump is a combination of PVT technology and heat pump technology, which can improve the comprehensive conversion efficiency of solar energy, and it is suitable for solar heating applications. In this paper, the efficiency factor of direct expansion PVT module employing roll-bond panel has been theoretically derived, modified, and validated by experimental results. Moreover, the efficiency factor could be used to design, evaluate, and optimize the thermal performance of direct expansion solar assisted heat pump systems. In addition, parameter analysis of four evaporator unit types has been conducted, and the recommendation values of each parameter have also been presented. The simulation results show that the roll-bond evaporator (fluid channel width: 10 mm) with hexagon and rectangle patterns have better temperature distribution uniformity than grid and linear types, and their temperature differences are both 0.038 °C while their dimensionless pressure losses are 0.109 and 0.230, respectively. To specifically design different kinds of PVT collector/evaporator or direct expansion evaporators, a novel design method for roll-bond evaporator is proposed, and a combination of hexagon and grid types is recommended for PVT module. Moreover, the recommendation fluid channel width of the roll-bond panel is 8 mm to 13 mm while the scaling ratio is 0.8 to 1.2. The modified efficiency factors are 0.521, 0.564, 0.549, and 0.342 of hexagon, grid, rectangle, and linear types when the fluid channel width is 10 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postural instability and gait disorder dominant (PIGD) is one of the most common disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), which seriously affects patients' quality of life. Therefore, it is essential to identify PIGD and develop targeted interventions to reduce the risk of PIGD in PD patients. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the gait characteristics of PD patients based on wearable devices and to establish a predictive model for their related influencing factors. Methods: The retrospective medical records of patients from January 2020 to September 2023 were collected, including 159 patients with PD (divided into PIGD [n = 73] and non‐PIGD [n = 86] groups) and 200 healthy patients (as the healthy control group). Information from social demographic data, a blood test, scale scores, gait analysis based on wearable devices, white matter lesions, and the Fazekas scale was extracted and analyzed. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, the mean step length, mean rate, mean angular velocity, and step length were lower in the PD group, while the mean steps were higher in the turning test. The incidence of PIGD was 46% in PD patients, and PD patients with the non‐tremor onset mode were more likely to develop PIGD than those with the tremor onset mode. Compared to the non‐PIGD group, the PIGD group showed more serious gait problems in different experimental tasks and had a higher Hoehn and Yahr (H‐Y) stage, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, Hamilton Depression Scale score, periventricular white matter (PVWM) score, deep white matter score, and Fazekas scale score, but they had lower hemoglobin levels, D‐dimer levels, Tinetti Balance scores, Tinetti Gait scores, Berg Balance Scale scores, and Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Logistic regression analysis showed that the MMSE score was negatively correlated with the occurrence of PIGD, while the HAMA score, H‐Y stage, PVWM score, and non‐tremor form of onset were positively correlated with the occurrence of PIGD Conclusion: The incidence of gait disorder in PD patients is higher than that in the normal population. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety state, H‐Y stage, PVWM score, and the non‐tremor mode of onset can be considered independent risk factors for PIGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively reduce building energy consumption and enhance indoor thermal comfort, this study developed a sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization method for an office building in Hangzhou considering the effects of parameter interactions. We utilized Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) to sample the parameters and subsequently simulated the energy consumption and discomfort hours for the building's four orientations. Following this, Gaussian process regression models were established, and the feature importance ranking method (FIRM) alongside an interaction effects method were employed to quantify the sensitivity of 10 parameters. Lastly, a multi-objective optimization was performed for total energy consumption and discomfort hours, yielding a set of Pareto-optimal solutions. Through the VIKOR method, the optimal solution within the Pareto set was identified, resulting in three sets of optimal solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two previously undescribed nitrogen-containing compounds, penisimplicins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from Penicillium simplicissimum JXCC5. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configuration of 2 was determined by Marfey's method, ECD calculation, and DP4+ analysis. Both structures of 1 and 2 feature an unprecedented manner of amino acid-derivatives attaching to a polyketide moiety by C-C bond. The postulated biosynthetic pathways for 1 and 2 were discussed. Additionally, compound 1 exhibited significant acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of 6.35 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early experiments have shown the promises of alloying with Mg + Ag (or Mg + Zn) on the performance of Al–Li alloys. To better understand the interaction between solutes and second phases in Al–Li alloys, Mg, Ag and Zn segregation to Al/δ′ interface as well as their substitution in δ′ bulk were investigated at the atomic level using first principles modelling and calculations. Energetics results and local charge analyses revealed that Mg, Ag and Zn can segregate to Al/δ′ interface by different preference, but have no significant influence on the interface adhesion. Ag and Zn can also dissolve into δ′ bulk, and enhance the local metallic bonding with nearest-neighboring Al atoms. Based on these results, a multi-fold benefit mechanism was suggested for the combined alloying with Mg + Ag (or Mg + Zn) in Al–Li alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haemophilia is a blood clotting disorder known as 'Christmas disease' caused when the blood has defect with the clotting factor(s). Bleeding leads various issues, such as chronic pain, arthritis and a serious complication during the surgery. Identifying this disease is mandatory to take the necessary treatment and maintains the normal clotting. It has been proved that the level of factor IX (FIX) is lesser with haemophilia patient and the attempt here is focused to quantify FIX level by interdigitated electrode (IDE) sensor. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was utilized to modify IDE sensing surface. On this surface, dual probing was evaluated with aptamer and antibody to bring the possible advantages. The detection limit with antibody was found to be 1 pM, while aptamer shows 100 fM. Further, a fine-tuning was attempted with sandwich pattern of aptamer-FIX-antibody and antibody-FIX-aptamer and compared. Specific elevation of detection with 10 folds was noticed and displayed the detection at 100 f. in both sandwich patterns. In addition, FIX was detected in the diluted human serum by aptamer-FIX-antibody sandwich, it was found that FIX detected from the dilution factor 1:640. A novel demonstration is with higher discrimination against other clotting factors, XI and VII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete-filled steel tubular columns are widely used in structural systems, and elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular columns are receiving more and more attention. An experimental study on cold-formed elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular stub columns was carried out under monotonic and cyclic axial compression. The failure modes, axial load–displacement curves, ultimate loads, hoop strain–axial strain behavior, strength deterioration, and residual deformation were obtained and discussed. Complementary finite element models considering the complex non-uniform confinement between steel tube and concrete were developed and validated by experimental results. Then, the validated FE model was used to study the influence of aspect ratio, yield strength of steel, and compressive strength of concrete on the axial capacity of elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular stub columns. Finally, a relatively simple superposition method was put forward to predict the axial bearing capacity of elliptical concrete-filled steel tubular stub columns. Compared with the test data, both the numerical method and superposition method can generate accurate predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A solar PV/T heat pump is proposed for residential heating in high latitude area. • Design of build-in PCM heat storage unit is proposed and simulated. • The overall efficiency of this solar PV/T heat pump system can reach above 75%. PV/T (photovoltaic/thermal) technology is a combination of PV module (photovoltaic utilization) and collector (photothermal utilization), which can improve the comprehensive utilization efficiency of solar energy and has a broad application prospect. In this paper, PV/T module is coupled with heat pump evaporator to form a direct-expansion solar PV/T heat pump which is suitable for heat application in high latitude area. To achieve stable residential heating, a solar PV/T heat pump system coupled with build-in PCM (phase change material) heat storage is therefore proposed and simulated. Meanwhile, the mathematical model of solar PV/T heat pump coupled with build-in PCM heat storage system is established and verified. The simulation results show that the temperature of underfloor heating which using build-in PCM heat storage can reach 22–31 °C after 39 h when the circulating water is 40 °C. Moreover, the heating COP (Coefficient of Performance) increases with the increase of solar radiation, ambient temperature and area of PV/T collector, and decrease of wind speed, respectively. A 20 m2 PV/T panel module can output 21.4% of the electricity to power grid when the solar radiation intensity is 600 W/m2 and meet the heat demand of a 100 m2 room while maintain the operation of the system. Meanwhile, the heating COP can reach 5.79 which is 70% higher than the conventional air conditioning system and the electrical, thermal, overall efficiencies are 17.77%, 55.76% and 75.49%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During pressurized thermal shock (PTS) transient, the surface crack near the inlet nozzle region of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) may propagate constantly and even through the thickness of base wall. The temperature dependent material properties are introduced to evaluate the thickness effects of base wall and inlet pipe on the integrity of the structure. By means of elastic and elastic-plastic fracture analysis, the different ultimate internal pressure values related to nil-ductility reference temperature for various base wall thicknesses are compared. It is confirmed that the elastic-plastic fracture analysis is more applicable for relatively low nil-ductility reference temperatures. It is also found that the results obtained by the XFEM are in good agreement with those obtained by the traditional K-T method in case of brittle initiation. Then the thickness effects of inlet pipe on the structural integrity are emphatically analyzed. Also, the effect of crack sizes on the bearing capacity of the nozzle region is demonstrated by crack propagation paths and damage degrees. To avoid brittle fracture, the allowable inlet pipe thicknesses corresponding to various crack sizes in a wide range of reference temperatures are obtained. The proposed method has a good ability to predict the integrity of the RPV structure through the analysis, comparison and mutual verification of different finite element meshes. • A 3-D finite element model is established for the beltline around the inlet nozzles of reactor pressure vessels. • The XFEM are used to simulate the crack propagation for different thicknesses of base wall and inlet pipe under pressurized thermal shock. • By comparing the results of elastic and elastic-plastic fracture analysis, the law of ductile-brittle transition is summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color correction across multiple images for consistency is a challenging problem in image mosaicking. To facilitate the global color optimization, existing methods mainly use less flexible correction models, e.g., linear or gamma function, which often struggle to cover the practically existing color discrepancy. In this paper, we present a novel color consistency correction method that models the color remapping function with a parameterized spline curve for each image. Thanks to the flexible model representation, on the one hand, our method has the capability to handle very challenging cases, i.e. hundreds of images with drastic color discrepancy; On the other, some important image properties, e.g., image gradient, contrast, and dynamic range, can be effective formulated with model parameters. Thus, the visual quality of individual images, along with the global color consistency, are comprehensively considered in our specifically designed cost function, which is solved in a closed form via convex quadratic programming. In addition, considering the possibly existing alteration objects within inter-image overlaps, we also propose an functional change detection algorithm with gradient and color features utilized, which guarantees the accuracy of the extracted color correspondences. We have tested the proposed approach on several challenging dataset of diverse genres, which shows that our method substantially outperforms state-of-the-art methods in both visual quality and quantitative metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general method to access diverse chiral phenols by rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate arylation using hydroxylated arylboronic acids in ethanol was developed. Recycling of the rhodium catalyst by flash chromatography on silica gel was feasible in this system. The synthetic utility of the strategy was demonstrated by efficient synthesis of chiral drug tolterodine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we propose to employ electron beam surface melting (EBSM) to refine microstructural length scale and obtain suited microstructure morphology of Nb-Si based alloys. As characterized by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and atom probe tomography (APT), nano-lamellar eutectics are created in Nb-20Si (at.%) alloys upon EBSM. Theoretical analysis based on the competitive growth models demonstrates the preferred formation of Nb solid solution (Nbss)/Nb 3 Si eutectics under selected processing parameters. The large cooling rate during EBSM, higher than 8 × 104 K/s, promotes the formation of the nano-scale eutectics. Compared to the initial coarse eutectics by arc melting, simultaneous enhancement of hardness and fracture toughness is enabled owing to the controlled microstructural length scale and morphology. Display Omitted • Nano-lamellar eutectics are created by electron beam surface melting. • Theoretical analysis based on the competitive growth models is performed. • Simultaneous enhancement of hardness and fracture toughness is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Reducing the usage of Sc element, as well as improving the thermal stability of nano-precipitate L1 2 –Al 3 Sc are critical in expanding the application field of Al–Sc based alloys. Previous experiments showed that the impurity Si plays a leading role in accelerating the precipitation and strengthening the thermal stability of Al–Sc-Zr alloy, but the micro mechanism of these effects are not be given at atomic and electron scale. Herein, we performed a first-principles calculations to focus on the segregation behaviors of Si and Zr at Al (0 0 1)/L1 2 -Al 3 Sc (0 0 1) interface. The results show that the ahead segregated Si atom, which prefers to occupy the Al site of Al 3 Sc precipitate side, contributes to induce Zr substituting the Sc atom that is the nearest neighbor of Si rather than the Sc site in Al matrix side. A quantitative calculation suggests that the reduction of Sc usage can at least reach 12 % as the concentration of added Si in Al bulk is about 0.06 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical image segmentation holds significant importance for doctors, patients, and the entire health care industry. For doctors, it provides more accurate information about cardiac structures, aiding in improving diagnoses and treatment decisions. For patients, segmentation techniques enable personalized medical care, enhancing treatment outcomes and satisfaction. The entire health care sector benefits from the advancement of this technology, driving the development of medical science and contributing to better health care quality and patient well-being. Additionally, segmentation plays a crucial role in research and education, facilitating the accumulation and dissemination of medical knowledge. In summary, the application of medical image segmentation has profound implications for progress in the medical field and patient welfare. In recent years, with technological advancements and innovative algorithms, medical image quality has greatly improved, with higher resolution and reduced noise and artifacts. Simultaneously, the application of deep learning techniques has made the automatic analysis and diagnosis of medical images more precise and efficient. However, due to the complex structures and diversity often present in medical images, models tend to have limited generalization across different datasets, leading to unstable segmentation performance. Considering the excellent image segmentation performance of the three-dimensional (3D) U-Net model, this study introduces an improved spatial attention mechanism on the basis of the 3D U-Net model to enhance its segmentation performance. The spatial attention mechanism enhances the model's feature extraction capabilities. The enhanced network can capture dependencies among features across both channel and spatial dimensions in the entire global scope. Additionally, it can strengthen any two correlated features within the input feature vector, thereby enhancing the model's representational capacity. Through detailed experimental validation, the effectiveness of the proposed model is thoroughly demonstrated. Its superiority in performance and computational efficiency positions it as a significant breakthrough in the medical image segmentation field, providing a strong foundation for future research and clinical practice in medical image processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coking coal was extracted with tetrahydrofuran solvent using ultrasonic and microwave-assisted method at 50°C and atmospheric pressure. Wettability of raw coal and its residue (residual coal) was tested with capillary penetration method. The raw and residual coals were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with curve-fitting analysis. The variation of main surface functional groups of coking coal before and after extraction and its effect on wettability were analyzed. The results were obtained as the following: after extraction with tetrahydrofuran, hydroxyl, ether oxygen, and carbonyl in the coal structure were dissolved, the content of hydrophilic functional groups reduced, and then the hydrophobicity of coal enhanced. At the same time, part of aliphatic hydrocarbon dissolved, the length of aliphatic chains (I2) decreased from 3.961 of raw coal to 3.636 of residual coal, the length of aliphatic chains became shorter, aliphatic CH2 side-chains decreased and aliphatic CH3 side-chains increased, and hydrophobic functional groups content increased. In the aromatic structure, four hydrogens per ring increased and two, three, and five hydrogens per ring decreased. Reduction of substitution functional groups and aliphatic hydrocarbon decreased with the side-chains breakage produce more active sites, which increases the degree of condensation of the aromatic ring (I3). The combined action of the decrease of the hydrophilic functional groups and the increase of the hydrophobic functional groups made the wettability of the coking coal become weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrically conductive and flame-retardant maleic anhydride grafted high-density polyethylene (MA-HDPE) nanocomposites with satisfactory mechanical properties are fabricated by melt compounding MA-HDPE with polyethyleneimine (PEI)-modified reduced graphene oxide (PEI@RGO) as the conductive nanofiller and brominated polystyrene (BPS) as the flame retardant. The modification with PEI significantly improves the interfacial compatibility and dispersion of the RGO sheets in the MA-HDPE matrix, leading to electrically conductive nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties. Furthermore, the addition of 25 wt% of BPS makes the nanocomposite flame-retardant with a UL-94 V-0 rating. Thus, the multifunctional RGO/MA-HDPE nanocomposites with good electrical, flameretardant, and mechanical properties would have potential applications in construction and pipeline fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Automatic crack detection from images of various scenes is a useful and challenging task in practice. In this paper, we propose a deep hierarchical convolutional neural network (CNN), called as DeepCrack, to predict pixel-wise crack segmentation in an end-to-end method. DeepCrack consists of the extended Fully Convolutional Networks (FCN) and the Deeply-Supervised Nets (DSN). During the training, the elaborately designed model learns and aggregates multi-scale and multi-level features from the low convolutional layers to the high-level convolutional layers, which is different from the standard approaches of only using the last convolutional layer. DSN provides integrated direct supervision for features of each convolutional stage. We apply both guided filtering and Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) methods to refine the final prediction results. A benchmark dataset consisting of 537 images with manual annotation maps are built to verify the effectiveness of our proposed method. Our method achieved state-of-the-art performances on the proposed dataset (mean I/U of 85.9, best F-score of 86.5, and 0.1 s per image). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a classical task to automatically extract road networks from very high-resolution (VHR) images in remote sensing. This paper presents a novel method for extracting road networks from VHR remotely sensed images in complex urban scenes. Inspired by image segmentation, edge detection, and object skeleton extraction, we develop a multitask convolutional neural network (CNN), called RoadNet, to simultaneously predict road surfaces, edges, and centerlines, which is the first work in such field. The RoadNet solves seven important issues in this vision problem: 1) automatically learning multiscale and multilevel features [gained by the deeply supervised nets (DSN) providing integrated direct supervision] to cope with the roads in various scenes and scales; 2) holistically training the mentioned tasks in a cascaded end-to-end CNN model; 3) correlating the predictions of road surfaces, edges, and centerlines in a network model to improve the multitask prediction; 4) designing elaborate architecture and loss function, by which the well-trained model produces approximately single-pixel width road edges/centerlines without nonmaximum suppression postprocessing; 5) cropping and bilinear blending to deal with the large VHR images with finite-computing resources; 6) introducing rough and simple user interaction to obtain desired predictions in the challenging regions; and 7) establishing a benchmark data set which consists of a series of VHR remote sensing images with pixelwise annotation. Different from the previous works, we pay more attention to the challenging situations, in which there are lots of shadows and occlusions along the road regions. Experimental results on two benchmark data sets show the superiority of our proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method was used to predict the surface energies of three low-index surfaces for intermetallic compound B2-AgMg. The results show that Ag-terminal and Mg-terminal are the two kinds of surface models for (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces which are non-stoichiometry. (1 1 0) surface has only one surface terminal, which is stoichiometry, and the smallest surface energy (about 0. 8 6 2 J / m 2) in three low-index surfaces. The surface energies are related to the chemical potential of Ag and Mg atoms for (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces, but it is of no concern to this factor for stoichiometry (1 1 0) surface. Analysis of electronic properties is coincident with the calculated surface energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The performance of tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) is related to the characteristic of matrix/W interfaces, which depends directly on the wettability of the matrix materials on W. This work designs a novel WHA that selects an AlCrFeNiV-system high entropy alloy (HEA) as matrix based on its wetting behavior on polycrystalline W. The wetting experiments show that this W/HEA system exhibits low contact angles at the temperatures for liquid phase sintering (LPS), and dissolutive wetting with a moderate W solubility in the HEA. This favorable wetting behavior benefits the densification process during LPS, leading to clean matrix/W interfaces with high bonding strength and hence a high ultimate tensile strength of 1132 MPa in the resulting W/HEA composite. These results indicate that the AlCrFeNiV-system HEA is a promising matrix material for WHAs. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • A novel tungsten heavy alloy using high entropy alloy as matrix (W/HEA composite) is prepared by liquid phase sintering. • Dissolutive wetting of W by HEA melt with low contact angles is investigated. • W/HEA composite has fine W particle size of 13.15 μm and strong interfacial bonding. • W/HEA composite has a high yield strength of 705 MPa and high ultimate tensile strength of 1132 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common pediatric primary bone tumor, with high malignancy rates and a poor prognosis following metastasis. At present, the role of microRNA (miR)-542-3p in OS remains to be elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the expression level of miR-542-3p in OS, and its potential molecular mechanisms, via a bioinformatics analysis. First, the expression of miR-542-3p in OS based on the continuous variables of the Gene Expression Omnibus database and PubMed was studied. Subsequently, the potential target genes of miR-542-3p were predicted using gene expression profiles and bioinformatics software. On the basis of the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery, version 6.8, a study of gene ontology (GO) enrichment and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway knowledge base was conducted to explore the biological value of miR-542-3p in OS. Finally, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was completed using the STRING database. The expression of miR-542-3p in OS was revealed to be significantly higher compared with that in normal tissue. In total, 1,036 target genes of miR-542-3p were obtained. The results of the GO enrichment analysis revealed that the significant terms were 'bone development', 'cell cycle arrest' and 'intracellular signal transduction'. The results of the KEGG analysis revealed the highlighted pathways that were targeted to miR-542-3p, including the sphingolipid signaling pathway (P=3.91×10−5), the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) signaling pathway (P=3.17×10−5) and the insulin signaling pathway (P=1.04×10−5). The PPI network revealed eight hub genes: Ubiquitin-60S ribosomal protein L40, Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate, mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, epidermal growth factor receptor, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, PI3K regulatory subunit 1, AKT1, and actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 1A, which may be the key target genes of miR-542-3p in OS. Taken together, these results have demonstrated that miR-542-3p was overexpressed in OS. The potential target genes and biological functions of miR-542-3p may provide novel insights into the differentially expressed genes that are involved in OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We report the significant effect of Ti substitution on GFA and mechanical properties of Ni-free Zr-based BMGs. A series of Zr 65-x Ti x Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) bulk alloys were fabricated by the injection copper-mold casting method, and new Zr 65-x Ti x Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 BMGs with Ti content of 2–6 at.% were developed. Both the GFA and mechanical properties of the Zr 65-x Ti x Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 alloys are significantly enhanced with the increase of Ti content up to 4 at.%. The as-prepared quinary Zr 61 Ti 4 Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 BMG shows the largest supercooled liquid region width of 86 K, compressive fracture strength of 1915 MPa and compressive plasticity of 11.4%, which are much higher than 38 K, 1745 MPa and 3.0% of the pristine Zr 65 Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 BMG. Highlights • New Ni-free quinary Zr-Ti-Cu-Al-Fe BMGs have been prepared. • The GFA and mechanical properties are significantly enhanced by Ti substitution for Zr. • The Zr 61 Ti 4 Cu 17.5 Fe 10 Al 7.5 BMG exhibits a supercooled liquid region width of 86 K and a compressive plasticity of 11.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Ti 44.5 Ni 44.5 Nb 9 Co 2 alloys with different cold rolling ratios were annealed at 650 °C to investigate the influence of cold rolling ratio on the microstructure and recovery properties. The change in cold rolling ratio remarkably affected the distribution of β -Nb phase and the density of dislocations and precipitates. The density of dislocations increased with the increase of cold rolling ratio, which facilitated preferential nucleation and growth of Ti 2 Co precipitates. Meanwhile, high density of dislocations and precipitates retarded the recovery and recrystallization process. Owing to the strengthening effect of dislocations and nanoscale precipitates, the 40% cold rolled Ti 44.5 Ni 44.5 Nb 9 Co 2 alloy annealed at 650 °C after 16% pre-strain exhibited 25% enhancement in the total recovery strain and over 50% improvement for the recovery stress compared to the typical Ti-Ni-Nb alloys. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Prior cold rolled deformation plays important role on the microstructure of alloy. • High-density precipitates and dislocations can improve recovery properties. • The recovery strain of the alloy annealed at 650 °C after 16% strain shows 13.25%. • The recovery stress of the alloy annealed at 650 °C after 16% strain shows 584 MPa. • The alloy possesses wide transformation hysteresis and better recovery properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Hierarchically porous carbons were prepared through triconstituent co-assembly of resols, oligomer silicates from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and triblock copolymer F127 template, followed by carbonization and removal of silica. The as-prepared carbons possess abundant micropores and two kinds of mesopore with sizes of 3.7 and 6.3 nm. Upon the electrochemical testing against sodium, the hierarchically porous carbon electrodes exhibit sloping voltage profile during the first charge and subsequent cycles with superior electrochemical performance, delivering a reversible capacity of 180 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 200 cycles, which is much higher than 120 mAh g−1 of the hierarchically porous carbon electrode without the addition of TEOS during the synthesis. The improved electrochemical performance may be ascribed to the combined contribution from the finer graphitic domain, higher degree of structural disorder, more abundant surface functional groups and most importantly, interconnected hierarchically mesoporous structure. Highlights • Facile method for the preparation of hierarchically porous carbons. • The structural features of the carbons herein are beneficial to Na+ storage. • The hierarchically porous carbon offers a high reversible capacity upon cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures the displacement of water molecules across tissue components and thus provides information on the microstructure of brain white matter. This study examined the effect of Tai Chi and the relation of Tai Chi experiences and skills with brain white matter. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was obtained from the DTI magnetic resonance images of two group participants, namely, the long-term Tai Chi practitioners and sedentary counterparts. Whole-brain voxel-based analysis showed that the Tai Chi group had higher FA in the splenium of corpus callosum (p = 0.015) than the control group. Rank correlation analysis revealed that in the Tai Chi group, the FA value of the splenium of corpus callosum was moderately related with exercise duration (r = 0.45, p = 0.045) but highly related with skill level (r = 0.699, p = 0.001). Long-term Tai Chi practice could benefit to the brain white matter, and these impacts were correlated with exercise duration and skill level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • An arabinogalactan, HH1-1 was purified and characterized from Carthamus tinctorius. • The backbone of HH1-1 was composed of 1,6-linked Gal p branched at its C-3. • The branches contained 1,5-linked/1,3,5-linked, T-arabinose and T-galactose. • HH1-1 had immune-enhancing activity by activating NF-κB signaling. • HH1-1 could also induce TNF-α, IL-1β and iNOS expressions. Abstract Previous studies showed that polysaccharides from flowers of Carthamus tinctorius L. had immunomodulating activities. However, their structures were little known. Here, an arabinogalactan, named as HH1-1 with a relative molecular weight of 70.9 kDa, was isolated from flowers of Carthamus tinctorius L. by hot water extraction, followed by purification of a DEAE-Cellulose 32 column and a Sephacryl S-200HR column, subsequently. The structure of HH1-1 was evaluated to have a backbone of 1,6-linked Gal p branched at C-3 by side chain of 1,3-linked Gal p , with sub-branches attached at its C-3 position. The branches mainly contained 1,5-linked, 1,3,5 linked, terminal arabinose and terminal galactose. Biological activity assays showed that this polysaccharide had immune-enhancing activity by multiple ways, including promoting immune responses by activation of NF-κB signaling and increasing TNF-α, IL-1β and iNOS expressions in lymphocytes and macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]