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Resolving evolutionary relationships among closely related species with interspecific gene flow is challenging. Genome‐scale data provide opportunities to clarify complex evolutionary relationships in closely related species and to observe variations in species relationships across the genomes of such species. The Himalayan–Hengduan subalpine oaks have a nearly completely sympatric distribution in southwest China and probably constitute a syngameon. In this study, we mapped resequencing data from different species in this group to the Quercus aquifolioides reference genome to obtain a high‐quality filtered single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset. We also assembled their plastomes. We reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships, explored the level and pattern of introgression among these species and investigated gene tree variation in the genomes of these species using sliding windows. The same or closely related plastomes were found to be shared extensively among different species within a specific geographical area. Phylogenomic analyses of genome‐wide SNP data found that most oaks in the Himalayan–Hengduan subalpine clade showed genetic coherence, but several species were found to be connected by introgression. The gene trees obtained using sliding windows showed that the phylogenetic relationships in the genomes of oaks are highly heterogeneous and therefore highly obscured. Our study found that all the oaks of the Himalayan–Hengduan subalpine clade from southwest China form a syngameon. The obscured phylogenetic relationships observed empirically across the genome are best explained by interspecific gene flow in conjunction with incomplete lineage sorting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) blood concentrations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Method: Patients with SLE who had been taking HCQ for more than 12 months were recruited. All subjects gave written informed consent. Various clinical characteristics and laboratory values were examined. The blood concentration of HCQ was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the relationship of eGFR to HCQ blood concentration was mainly investigated. Result: In total, 115 patients with SLE receiving long-term HCQ therapy were included in the study. The median concentration of HCQ was 1096 ng/ml (range 116–8240 ng/ml). The eGFR was strongly associated with blood concentration of HCQ (P = 0.011, P < 0.05), when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), weight-adjusted dose, prednisone use and immunosuppressive drug use. No statistically significant association were found between age, duration, BMI, weight-adjusted HCQ dose, corticosteroid use, immunosuppressant use and blood concentrations of HCQ. Conclusion: We provided novel evidence that impaired renal function influenced the blood concentration of HCQ. Patients with low eGFR need to adjust the HCQ dosage according to the monitoring results of HCQ blood concentrations. Key points • A higher HCQ blood concentration was associated with low eGFR. • This finding reinforces the importance of routine HCQ measurement to maintain normal blood concentrations. • HCQ blood monitoring will be useful for dose modification in patients with renal dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) defines a group of hematological malignancies with heterogeneous aggressiveness and highly variable outcome, making therapeutic decisions a challenging task. We tried to discover new predictive model for T-ALL before treatment by using a specific pipeline designed to discover aberrantly active gene. Results: The expression of 18 genes was significantly associated with shorter survival, including ACTRT2, GOT1L1, SPATA45, TOPAZ1 and ZPBP (5-GEC), which were used as a basis to design a prognostic classifier for T-ALL patients. The molecular characterization of the 5-GEC positive T-ALL unveiled specific characteristics inherent to the most aggressive T leukemic cells, including a drastic shut-down of genes located on the mitochondrial genome and an upregulation of histone genes, the latter characterizing high risk forms in adult patients. These cases fail to respond to the induction treatment, since 5-GEC either predicted positive minimal residual disease (MRD) or a short-term relapse in MRD negative patients. Conclusion: Overall, our investigations led to the discovery of a homogenous group of leukemic cells with profound alterations of their biology. It also resulted in an accurate predictive tool that could significantly improve the management of T-ALL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An indicator displacement assay, namely polymeric PNPY-n/UD consisting of a cationic polynorbornene backbone with pyridinium functional groups (PNPY-1,2,3) and an anionic uranine dye (UD) as an indicator, has been developed for highly sensitive "turn-on" fluorescence sensing of ATP. While PNPY-1/UD itself is non-emissive, a bright green fluorescence signal was observed in the presence of ATP [Ka = 2.17 × 105 M−1, LOD = 5.7 nM]. The potential of a highly photostable system PNPY-1/UD was also validated in detecting ATP levels in live-cell imaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an abnormal phenomenon that the source-drain current (I D) of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure devices decreases under visible light irradiation. When the incident light wavelength is 390 nm, the photon energy is less than the band gaps of GaN and AlGaN whereas it can causes an increase of I D. Based on the UV light irradiation, a decrease of I D can still be observed when turning on the visible light. We speculate that this abnormal phenomenon is related to the surface barrier height, the unionized donor-like surface states below the surface Fermi level and the ionized donor-like surface states above the surface Fermi level. For visible light, its photon energy is less than the surface barrier height of the AlGaN layer. The electrons bound in the donor-like surface states below the Fermi level are excited and trapped by the ionized donor-like surface states between the Fermi level and the conduction band of AlGaN. The electrons trapped in ionized donor-like surface states show a long relaxation time, and the newly ionized donor-like surface states below the surface Fermi level are filled with electrons from the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel at AlGaN/GaN interface, which causes the decrease of I D. For the UV light, when its photon energy is larger than the surface barrier height of the AlGaN layer, electrons in the donor-like surface states below the Fermi level are excited to the conduction band and then drift into the 2DEG channel quickly, which cause the increase of I D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) severity measurement scales are important in clinical trials as objective outcome measures and are often required for government and private insurance plans. These scales are sometimes underused by clinicians due to a variety of factors including time constraints and lack familiarity. We conducted a literature review on the most commonly used AD measurement scales and provide succinct user guides and scoring explanations, advantages and disadvantages, and interscale comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA), usually associated with congenital heart disease (CHD), is a very rare clinical condition. Pulmonary artery dissection (PAD) is considered the most life-threatening complication of PAA, and patients can progress from being asymptomatic to sudden death. We report the following case of PAA associated with complicated congenital heart disease and simultaneous chronic PAD. To our knowledge, few such complicated cases have ever been reported.Case Presentation: A 36-year-old male presented to our hospital with a 10-year history of heart fatigue after activities and aggravated for 2 years. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) and echocardiogram showed a giant main pulmonary artery aneurysm (14 cm) with complicated congenital heart disease (a small patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defects, aortic coarctation). Chronic PAD, which was mistaken for a pulmonary valve before operation, was detected during surgery.Conclusions: PAA associated with complicated CHD and simultaneous PAD is very rare, and its clinical symptoms are varied. Radiologists and surgeons should pay attention to determining whether this patient simultaneously had PAD when PAA was detected on preoperative CTA imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oily wastewater discharged from households and industries, especially stable oil-in-water emulsions, causes serious pollution to the human habitat. Thus, it is urgent to find an environmentally friendly, efficient, and low-cost method for separating stable oil-in-water emulsions. In this paper, a superhydrophilic wood-based composite membrane (wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane) for separating oil-water emulsion was reported. The wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane was made by in-situ growing MIL-100(Fe) on wood, which enhances the hydrophilic properties and roughness. The vertical micro-nano structure and superhydrophilicity of wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane determines separation flux and efficiency. Consequently, the wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane displays high separation flux (more than 1061 L·m−2·h−1) and efficiency (more than 99.9 %). In addition, the wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane has good mechanical stability, chemical stability, and anti-fouling properties. The wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane is expected to replace other filter membranes in water treatment and environmental restoration. [Display omitted] • The wood/MIL-100(Fe) membrane was successfully constructed by in-situ growth. • The membrane has advantages such as green material, low cost, and facile processes. • The membrane exhibits high flux and efficiency for separating oil/water emulsions. • The membrane shown excellent stability and anti-fouling ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relative effectiveness of transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BD) using clinician-rated measures of depressive symptoms. Topics discussed include clinical response among MDD versus BD patients, responses rates observed in large randomized controlled rTMS trials, and methodological error or bias resulting to differences between unipolar and BD participants.

The current self-examples learning is a promising direction for image super-resolution (SR) task, but still has several main drawbacks: (i) less ability of adapting the neighboring and non-local information for self-regression function learning; (ii) less priors from the training data generated by recursively down-sampling the low resolution (LR) input. In this work, we propose an external learning assisted self-examples learning SR (Exter-SESR) framework to alleviate these issues, which is conducted in a two-stage procedure. The first part is a hybrid neural network (HNN) that takes large LR image patches as input and extracts compact features from external dataset. The learned features can offer better neighboring and non-local priors. Meanwhile, a part of HNN is able to estimate an initial high resolution (HR) image to address the second issue, since the new training data from the initial HR images does not only preserve the original prior, but also involve the extra ones from the external data. The second part is to further refine the SR output using a SESR based model. In addition, we analyze the effects of different self-examples models on the SR performance and find that Gaussian process regression (GPR) achieves superior performance. Experimental results on the benchmark show that our proposed method outperforms the existing SESR methods by a large margin in terms of both quantitative and qualitative measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wisely utilizing the internal and external learning methods is a new challenge in super-resolution problem. To address this issue, we analyze the attributes of two methodologies and find two observations of their recovered details: 1) they are complementary in both feature space and image plane and 2) they distribute sparsely in the spatial space. These inspire us to propose a low-rank solution which effectively integrates two learning methods and then achieves a superior result. To fit this solution, the internal learning method and the external learning method are tailored to produce multiple preliminary results. Our theoretical analysis and experiment prove that the proposed low-rank solution does not require massive inputs to guarantee the performance, and thereby simplifying the design of two learning methods for the solution. Intensive experiments show the proposed solution improves the single learning method in both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Surprisingly, it shows more superior capability on noisy images and outperforms state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional coupled dictionary learning approaches are designed for noiseless image super-resolution (SR), but quite sensitive to noisy images. We find that the cause is the commonly used ℓ F -norm coefficients transition term. In this paper, we propose a robust ℓ 1 -norm solution by introducing two sub-terms: LR coefficient sparsity constraint term and HR coefficient conversion term , which are able to prevent the noise transmission from noisy input to output. By incorporating our simple yet effective non-linear model inspired by auto-encoder, the proposed ℓ 1 -norm dictionary learning achieves a more accurate coefficients conversion. Moreover, to make the coefficients conversion more reliable in the iterative process, we bring the non-local self-similarity constraint to regularize the HR sparse coefficients updates. The improved sparse representation further enhances SR inference on both synthesized noisy and noiseless images. Using standard metrics, we show that results are significantly clearer than state-of-the-arts on noisy images and sharper on denoised images. In addition, experiments on real-world data further demonstrate the superiority of our method in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollution characteristic of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in common used mineral oils, semi-refined oils, refined oils and solid wastes produced during the used mineral oil regeneration process was analyzed. The results showed that total PAHs content in six common used mineral oils was as follows: used engine oil > used quenching oil > used casting oil > used hydraulic oil > used antirust oil > used industrial lubricating oil. Furthermore, this order was dependent on the source of PAHs and oil working temperatures. Additionally, total PAHs content in regenerated oils was as follows: semi-refined oil > refined oil > crude oil, which was related to the catalytic cracking process of crude oil and adsorption refining process of semi-refined oil. The ranking of total PAHs content in regenerated wastes varied depending on the regeneration technology used as follows: waste adsorption sand > acid sludge > waste clay > precipitation sludge > cracked residue. In all types of used mineral oils and regenerated wastes, the maximum and minimum proportions of the total PAHs content were composed of 2–3 ring-PAHs and 5–6 ring-PAHs, respectively. The majority of PAHs in the used mineral oils entered into regenerated wastes during regeneration process, while a small number remained in the regenerated oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 concentrations in layers of different depths in semi-aerobic and anaerobic landfills was analyzed over a period of 5 years. The results showed that most of the municipal solid waste became basically stable after 5 years of landfill disposal. In the upper and middle layer, the concentration of CH 4 in the semi-aerobic landfill was significantly lower than that in the anaerobic landfill in different landfill periods, while in the lower layer, there was little difference in the CH 4 concentration between the semi-aerobic and anaerobic landfills. The average concentration of CH 4 and CO 2 in the anaerobic landfill was always higher than that in the semi-aerobic landfill, while the O 2 concentration showed an opposite variation in different landfill periods. This was related to the aerobic reaction of landfill waste around the perforated pipe in the semi-aerobic landfill, which inhibited effective landfill gas generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A competitive adsorption strategy has been designed to electrochemically detect phosphopeptides (P-peptides) based on the specific binding between ZrO 2 and P-peptides. In this method, a porous ZrO 2 thin film electrodeposited on a glassy carbon electrode was used to competitively capture P-peptides from their mixture with non-phosphopeptides labelled with electrochemical probe of ferrocene (Fc-peptides). The Fc-peptides previously adsorbed on the ZrO 2 film modified electrode to saturation can be replaced by the non-electroactive P-peptides by competing the binding sites on ZrO 2 , resulting in a decrease of peak current of Fc-peptide/ZrO 2 modified electrode. The change of peak current is directly related to the concentration of the P-peptides in solution, and thus, P-peptides can be quantitatively determined. The results reveal that the decreased peak current is linear proportional to the logarithm of the concentration of P-peptides from 0.1 μM to 500 μM with a detection limit of 0.0934 μM (S/N = 3), showing the high sensitivity of the competitive biosensor. Results show that the adsorption of Fc-peptides on the modified electrode follows the first-order kinetics. The binding rate constant k b and the dissociation rate constant k d are calculated as 49.6 M −1 s −1 and 1.97 × 10 −3 s −1 , respectively. The present approach offers a useful platform for the detection of phosphopeptides and will be a promising strategy for the electrochemical study of protein post-translational modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent Tm3+/Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing BaF2 nanocrystals are prepared. Under excitation of a 980-nm laser diode (LD), compared with the glass before heat treatment, the Tm3+/Er3+/Yb3+co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics can emit intense blue, green and red up-conversion luminescence and Stark-split peaks; X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results show that BaF2 nanocrystals with an average diameter of 20 nm are precipitated from the glass matrix. Stark splitting of the up-conversion luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics indicates that Tm3+, Er3+ and (or) Yb3+ ions are incorporated into the BaF2 nanocrystals. The up-conversion luminescence intensities of Tm3+, Er3+ and the splitting degree of luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics increase significantly with the increase of heat treat temperature and heat treat time extension. In addition, the possible energy transfer process between rare earth ions and the up-conversion luminescence mechanism are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The China-Myanmar border is a particularly interesting region that has very high prevalence of and considerable diversity of HIV-1 recombinants. Due to the transient nature of their work, long-distance truck drivers (LDTDs) have a comparatively high potential to become infected with HIV-1 and further spread virus to other individuals in the area they travel within. In this study, we hypothesized that Burmese LDTDs crossing the China-Myanmar border frequently may potentially be involved in the cross-border transmission of HIV, and contribute to the extremely high prevalence of HIV-1 inter-subtype recombinants in this border region. Methods: A molecular epidemiology study was conducted among 105 Burmese LDTDs between 2008 and 2010. HIV-1 genetic fragments including p17, pol, vif-vpr, vpr-env, and C2V3 were amplified and sequenced. The subtype characterization and HIV-1 transmission were determined by both phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses. Results: Diverse forms of HIV-1, including subtypes CRF01_AE (41.9%), C (8.6%), B (4.8%), CRF02_AG (1.0%), and inter-subtype recombinants (33.3%), as well as dual infection (10.5%), were detected among the tested LDTDs. Phylogeographic analyses based on pure subtype revealed that 77.8% Burmese LDTDs acquired HIV-1 infection in Yunnan, and the others in Myanmar. Both the C-related and CRF01_AE-related recombinants from these LDTDs appeared to have close genetic relationship with those from IDUs in Myanmar and Dehong. Conclusions: Burmese LDTDs may contribute to HIV-1 transmission along the China-Myanmar border. The results may provide some new perspective for understanding the on-going generation and prevalence of HIV-1 recombinants in the border region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABT-737 is a BH3 mimetic small molecule inhibitor that can effectively inhibit the activity of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins including Bcl2, Bcl-xL and Bcl-w, and further enhances the effect of apoptosis by activating the proapoptotic proteins (t-Bid, Bad, Bim). In this study, we demonstrate that ABT-737 improved the radiation sensitivity of cervical cancer HeLa cells and thereby provoked cell apoptosis. Our results show that ABT-737 inhibited HeLa cell proliferation and activated JNK and its downstream target c-Jun, which caused the up-regulation of Bim expression. Blockade of JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway resulted in significant down-regulation of ABT-737-induced Bim mRNA and protein expression level. Also, ABT-737 could evoke the Bim promoter activity, and enhance the radiation sensitivity of HeLa cells via JNK/c-Jun and Bim signaling pathway. Our data imply that combination of ABT-737 and conventional radiation therapy might represent a highly effective therapeutic approach for future treatment of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To depict the aerodynamic characteristics of flight vehicle accurately, a Wavelet Neural Network (WNN) method, based on improved Particle Swarm Optimization (IPSO) algorithm, is proposed for aerodynamic modeling from flight data. First the multi-particle information share strategy and mutation operation are introduced into Simple PSO algorithm in order to improve the modeling capability of WNN, and then according to modeling flow the aerodynamic model from flight data for flight vehicles is established by WNN based on IPSO algorithm. Simulation results show that the method proposed has a good capability with features of precision, convergence and surmounting prematurity or local optimum, and is also effective and feasible for aerodynamic modeling from flight data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Prior studies in different tumor models have shown that, under conditions of PTEN deficiency, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway appear to play a major role in the tumor cell’s proliferative and survival pathway, and that pharmacological inhibition of this pathway results in tumor growth inhibition. This study aimed to explore whether sensitivity to p38MAPK inhibitors are specifically due to status of PTEN in endometrial cancer cells. We developed a series of endometrial cancer cell lines with different PTEN expressions (Ishikawa, RL-952, HEC-1B and HEC-1A cells) or introduced the wild-type PTEN and PTEN-siRNA in four endometrial cancer cells to change its PTEN expression with a p38MAPK inhibitor, SB203580 for 2 days. Cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, and cell cycle distribution were studied, and activation of AKT, ATF-2, and p38MAPK was examined by Western blotting. In cultivated PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells, in addition to an activation of AKT, a phosphorylation of p38MAPK and ATF-2 was evident, while PTEN-positive endometrial cancer cells lacked AKT activation but revealed a reduced expression of p-p38MAPK and p-ATF-2. These PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells demonstrated an increased sensitivity to the anti-proliferative effects induced by SB203580 compared with the PTEN-positive endometrial cancer cells, which corresponded to alterations in cell cycle response and cell apoptosis. PTEN-deficient endometrial cancer cells exhibit higher p38MAPK activity, and genetic studies demonstrate that p38MAPK functions dependently of AKT. Furthermore, PTEN loss sensitizes cells to p38MAPK inhibition in endometrial carcinoma cells. These findings indicate that inhibitors of p38MAPK have the potential to be effective in the treatment of endometrial cancer patients with PTEN-deficient tumors and should be evaluated in this setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, a series of the green-emitting phosphors NaCa0.98− x Mg x PO4: was prepared through high temperature solid-state reaction. The structure and spectroscopic properties of these samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, reflectance spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The effect of Mg2+ co-doping concentration on the PL intensity of as-prepared samples was also investigated. The enhanced intensities of excitation and emission band of Eu2+ and a slight red-shift of the emission peak were observed due to Mg2+ co-doping. When the x value is 0.08, the phosphors possessed the maximum emission intensity monitored at 360nm and the emission spectrum shows a single band centered at about 500nm. The obtained phosphors had strong absorption in near-UV zone (350–400nm), which can match the emission of near-UV light-emitting diodes. The prepared material is potential green phosphors for white LEDs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective Vulvar Paget's disease is a rare disease. It has a relatively high misdiagnosis rate and there are still controversies regarding its treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate its clinical features and summarize the experience of the management of this disease in order to gain a better acknowledge of this rare disease and improve its cure rate. Methods The clinical records of 13 cases of vulvar Paget's disease admitted in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University and the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 1964 to December 2006 was analyzed. Results The average age of 13 cases was 61 years and the mean time from the onset of the disease to diagnose was 2 years. Pathologically intraepithelial Paget's disease was the commonest (10/13) followed by invasive Paget's disease (2/13) and Paget's disease with underlying adenocarcinoma (1/13). Three patients underwent simple vulvectomy. Three patients underwent wide local excision. Four patients underwent radical vulvectomy and three patients underwent radical vulvectomy with unilateral lymph node dissection and eight patients remain free of disease and three had recurrence of Paget's disease, one died of disease and finally one died of other etiology. Conclusion Surgery is the first choice for the patients of vulvar Paget's disease. Patients who are not suitable for long term follow up, extensive lesions or old aged are more preferable for radicaI vulvectomy and also the expectation rate of lower recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent use of bacterial technology for the restoration of a polluted urban stream in China, this paper will show the general feasibility of such biological treatment from the perspective of numerical modelling. Based on the results, a low concentration of BOD5 can be achieved in shorter distance for higher bacterial concentration applied. Generally greater flow of domestic wastewater will be proportionally balanced by higher bacterial growth. Under limited DO concentration, higher bacterial concentration would also create a breaking point on the declining distribution of BOD5. The combination of oxygenation and artificial mixing of bacteria would result in lower concentrations of BOD5 at the downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, a settlement measurement device was used to track the settlement of different layers in composting piles, and time courses of settlement velocity, bulk density distribution, and effective bulk density were investigated. Settlement is divided into two stages: the physical compressive settlement and the mass loss settlement. At the end of the former stage, bulk density (ρ′) and pile height (h) follow ρ′ = AhB , where A is a fitting parameter for the initial bulk density of the composting material, and B is the compression parameter. The physical compressibilities of composting mixtures are night-soil sludge and garden refuse (1:1)>sewage sludge and cornstalks (5:4)>night-soil sludge and garden refuse (2:3)>sewage sludge and bark (1:1). Adding the proportion of bulking agent in the proper extent effectively retarded composting settlement. Bark exhibits a better supporting capability than cornstalk does as a bulking agent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The formation of covalently linked composites of multi–walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and glucose oxidase (GOD) with high-function density for use as a biosensing interface is described. The reaction intermediates and the final product were characterized by using FT–IR spectroscopy, and the MWCNT-coated GOD nanocomposites were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Interestingly, it was found that the GOD–MWCNT composites are highly water soluble. Electrochemical characterization of the GOD–MWCNT composites that were modified on a glassy carbon electrode shows that the covalently linked GOD retains its bioactivity and can specifically catalyze the oxidation of glucose. The oxidation current shows a linear dependence on the glucose concentration in the solution in the range of 0.5–40 mM with a detection limit of 30 μM and a detection sensitivity of 11.3 μA/mMcm2. The present method may provide a way to synthesize MWCNT related composites with other biomolecules and for the construction of enzymatic reaction-based biofuel cells and biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistical parameters of phase resolved partial discharge (PD) distribution and ultra-wideband (UWB) characteristics of PD pulse are proposed for aging assessment of large generator insulation. Multi-stress aging tests of the model generator stator bar specimens were performed and PD measurements were conducted using both digital PD detector with frequency ranging from 40 kHz to 400 kHz and UWB PD detector with bandwidth from 10 MHz to 3 GHz at different aging stages. The test results show that the skewness and UWB frequency characteristics of PD can be taken as the characterization parameters for aging assessment of generator insulation. Furthermore, the measurement results of real generator stator bars show that these methods based on statistical parameters and UWB characteristics of PD are prospective for aging assessment and residual lifetime estimation of large generator stator insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that water is a widely available, non-toxic, and safe solvent, its application in organic synthesis remains an ongoing challenge due to the insolubility of numerous catalysts, reactants and products in water. In this study, a triphenylamine modified cyanophenylenevinylene derivative (TPCI) is reported, which exhibits excellent water solubility and remarkable selectivity and efficiency for producing singlet oxygen (1O2) in water, rendering it perfectly suited for use as an efficient photosensitizer for photocatalytic reactions of hydroazaobenzenes, olefins, and hydrosilanes to obtain functional organic molecules of azoaromatics, carbonyls, and silanols with good functional-group tolerance as well as a broad substrate scope under blue light irradiation. The present study introduces a new type II photosensitizer that enables the synthesis of functional organic molecules through photocatalytic oxidation using visible light in water with high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amorphous cathode materials Li 2 O–V 2 O 5 –MoO 3 and Li 2 O–V 2 O 5 –MoO 3 –Fe 2 O 3 were produced via melt quenching. By analyzing the structure, elemental valence, and electrochemical characteristics of Li 2 O–V 2 O 5 –MoO 3 at different ratios, the effects of MoO 3 addition on vanadium-based amorphous cathode materials were explored. 20Li 2 O–60V 2 O 5 –20MoO 3 has a high initial capacity (268.0 mAh/g for the first reversible discharge at a current density of 50 mA/g), which is based on the properties that MoO 3 supplies additional oxidation reductions and has [MoO6] structural units to widen the diffusion channels for lithium ions in the network structure. Unfortunately, the network of the structural elements [MoO6] and [VO4] is unstable, which causes the material to have poor cycle stability and exhibit an unsatisfactory current response. The network structure stability of Li 2 O–V 2 O 5 –MoO 3 –Fe 2 O 3 is increased by adding Fe 2 O 3 to provide [FeO4], which strengthens the link between each structural unit. Vanadium oxidation reductions are promoted, and iron oxidation reductions replace the role of molybdenum in the charge/discharge. The discharge product transforms from LiVMoO 5 to Li 2 FeV 3 O 8 with increased de-embedding Li efficiency. The 20Li 2 O–60V 2 O 5 –10MoO 3 –10Fe 2 O 3 achieves an initial reversible specific capacity of 255.2 mAh/g at 50 mA/g, 139.7 mAh/g additional specific capacity after 100 cycles, and 110.5 mAh/g specific capacity at a high current density of 400 mA/g. The test findings show that 20Li 2 O–60V 2 O 5 –10MoO 3 –10Fe 2 O 3 efficiently increases high-current responsiveness and cycle stability while retaining a high capacity. In this study, we propose a compositional design strategy, which is based on the coordinated multi-electronic effect of multiple transition metal elements and the design of a stable disordered network structure, to incorporate MoO 3 and Fe 2 O 3 into vanadium-based amorphous to create a novel cathode material. This work offers a fresh perspective on investigating innovative lithium-ion battery cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) is the main method to get fresh water from seawater or wastewater. The balance between evaporation rate and salt resistance is still a major challenge for ISSG. Herein, a wood aerogel island solar evaporator (WAISE) with tunable surface structure and wettability by synthesizing poly(n‐isopropylacrylamide)‐modified multi‐walled carbon nanotube photothermal layers. Compared to dense surface structure evaporators, interfacial moisture transport, thermal localization, and surface water vapor diffusion of WAISE are greatly promoted, and the evaporation rate of WAISE increased by 87.64%. WAISE allows for record performance of 200 h continuous operation in 20% NaCl solution without salt accumulation. In addition, the photo‐thermal‐electric device is developed based on WAISE with continuous water purification, power generation, and irrigation functions. This work provides a new direction for the development of multifunctional water purification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] In the present work, we have designed and synthesized a triphenylamine modified cyanophenylenevinylene derivative (TPCI), which can self-assembly with cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) through host-guest interactions to form supramolecular complexes (TPCI-CB[6]) and supramolecular polymers (TPCI-CB[8]) in the aqueous solution. The supramolecular assemblies of TPCI-CB[6] and TPCI-CB[8] not only exhibited high singlet oxygen (1O 2) production efficiency as photosensitizers, but also realized the application in the construction of artificial light-harvesting systems due to the excellent fluorescence properties in the aqueous solution. The production efficiency of 1O 2 has been effectively improved after the addition of CB[6] and CB[8] for TPCI, which were applied as efficient photosensitizers in the photooxidation reactions of thioanisole and its derivatives with the highest yield of 98% in the aqueous solution. The excellent fluorescence properties of TPCI-CB[6] and TPCI-CB[8] can be used as energy donors in artificial light-harvesting systems with energy acceptors sulforhodamine 101 (SR101) and cyanine dye 5 (Cy5), in which one-step energy transfer processes of TPCI-CB[6]+SR101 and TPCI-CB[8]+Cy5, and a two-step sequential energy transfer process of TPCI-CB[6]+SR101+Cy5 were constructed to simulate the natural photosynthesis system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An artificial light-harvesting system (ALHS) was developed in aqueous solution by employing the electrostatic co-assembly of a tetraphenylethylene derivative modified with two sulfonate groups (TPE-BSBO) and hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (PEI) as the energy donors, and 4,7-bis(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DBT) as the energy acceptors. The ALHS exhibits not only high efficiency in energy transfer and conversion but also a significant enhancement in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially superoxide anion radicals (O2˙−), facilitating its utilization in photocatalytic oxidation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported that REBACIN effectively eliminates persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. Here, we conducted a prospective multicenter cohort study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of REBACIN, taking into account factors such as specific hrHPV subtype and patient's age. According to inclusion/exclusion criteria and participant willingness, 3252 patients were divided into REBACIN group while 249 patients into control group. Patients in REBACIN group received one course treatment of intravaginal administration of REBACIN while no treatment in control group. After drug withdrawal, participants in both groups were followed up. The clearance rate of persistent hrHPV infection in REBACIN group was 60.64%, compared to 20.08% in control group. Specifically, the clearance rates for single-type infection of HPV16 or HPV18 were 70.62% and 69.23%, respectively, which was higher than that of HPV52 (59.04%) or HPV58 (62.64%). In addition, the single, double, and triple/triple+ infections had a clearance rate of 65.70%, 53.31%, and 38.30%, respectively. Moreover, 1635 patients under 40 years old had a clearance rate of 65.14%, while it was 55.08% for 1447 patients over 40 years old. No serious adverse effects were found. This study confirmed that REBACIN can effectively and safely eliminate persistent hrHPV infection, which the clearance rate of HPV16/18 is higher than that of HPV52/58, the clearance rate of single-type infection is higher than that of multiple-type infections, and the clearance rate in young patients is higher than that in elder patients, providing a guidance for REBACIN application in clearing hrHPV persistent infection in real-world settings. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Registration Number: ChiCTR1800015617 http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=26529 Date of Registration: 2018-04-11 • REBACIN is safe and effective for eliminating persistent high-risk HPV infection in a real-world clinical setting. • HPV16/18 is cleared more easily than HPV52/58. • Single-type infections are cleared more easily than multiple-type infections. • Young patients have a higher clearance rate than older patients. • Providing valuable guidance for clinical use of REBACIN while also suggesting potential areas for future basic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Coronary heart disease (CHD) has been regarded as a serious and common disease in the modern society. This study aims to investigate the effect of Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI (BXRM) on angina pectoris of coronary heart disease and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI-mediated protective activity against this disease. Methods. The effects of Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI on clinical symptoms of patients' angina were indicated by hemorheology indicators including high shear of blood viscosity, low shear of blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, erythrocyte rigidity index, D-D dimer, fibrinogen content, and lipid content. The effects of Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI on isoprenaline-induced myocardial cell injury were determined by conducting H&E staining and by performing ELISA to examine the serum content of MDA, SOD, Na+/K+-ATPase, cAMP, and the content of inflammatory factors in isoprenaline-induced rats. Meanwhile, western blot and real time PCR were used to determine the expression of genes involved in oxidation and energy metabolism, and real time PCR was also used for determination of miR-542-3p expression. Luciferase reporter assay was conducted to test the binding sites of miR-542-3p on GABARAP 3′UTR. The chemical compositions of Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI were determined by liquid LC-QTOF-MS. Results. Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI significantly attenuated the clinical symptoms of patients' angina by improving the patients' heart rate and by decreasing the level of hemorheology indicators and also by reducing the serum content of TC, TG, LDL, and elevated HDL content. H&E staining demonstrated that Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI ameliorated the myocardial ischemia in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI downregulated serum MDA content and upregulated the content of SOD, Na+/K+-ATPase, and cAMP in isoprenaline-induced rats. Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI significantly improved oxidation stress by increasing PPARα expression, and it inhibited inflammation by downregulating expression and contents of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. Then, Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI-containing serum increased the SOD content, and reduced the MDA content in angiotensin II-stimulated HUVEC cells. The granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI-containing serum obviously downregulated protein expressions of P40phox, P47phox, and P67phox in plasma membrane, and it significantly increased protein levels of P40phox, P47phox, and P67phox in the cytoplasm of HUVEC cells. Furthermore, GABARAP was reduced in heart tissues of ISO-induced rats and in angiotensin II-stimulated cell lines, and GABARAP was required for the inhibitory activity of Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI on oxidation and inflammation in vivo and in vivo. GABARAP could be upregulated by Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI by inhibiting the expression of miR-542-3p, which may significantly enhance oxidation and inflammation by targeting GABARAP in cardiomyocytes. Moreover, the silencing of GABARAP could obviously reverse the granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI-mediated protective activity against coronary heart disease, and interfering GABARAP expression also could partly block the anti-miR-542-3p-controlled oxidation and inflammation in cardiomyocytes. Besides, salidroside, loganin, and polydatin were the main compounds of granules of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI. Conclusion. Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI is an excellent prescription for treatment of coronary heart disease by suppressing inflammation and NAPDH-mediated oxidative stress. The miR-542-3p/GABARAP axis is required for Granule of BU-XIN RUAN-MAI, exhibiting its protective activity against the pectoris of coronary heart disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superhydrophobic coatings have a wide range of applications in all areas of our lives, however, poor mechanical robustness limits their practical use. The use of organic solvents to prepare coatings can pose safety and environment pollution problems, also increase the cost of production. Water-based coating solution is used to prepare superhydrophobic coatings, which are safe and easy to scale. Thus, we demonstrate that silica nanoparticles, fluorinated alkyl silanes (FAS), fluorocarbon surfactants (FS-3100), and water can form stable system for preparation of superhydrophobic coatings on soft and hard substrates. After coating treatment, the superhydrophobic coatings exhibit excellent chemical stability (resistant to acid, alkali, salt, and ultraviolet radiation) and good mechanical robustness due to superhydrophobicity and crosslinking effects of FAS and FS-3100. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic coatings can delay water freezing time and poses superior anti-icing performance. This simple water-based coating solution may provide a new way of thinking for the later development of new coating technologies that are economical for all applications. • The water-based coating solution for superhydrophobic coatings is successfully constructed. • The water-based coating solution without organic solvent • The superhydrophobic coatings show excellent chemical stability and mechanical robustness. • The superhydrophobic coatings superior anti-icing and anti-freezing performance [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Investigations into the photosynthetic response of urban trees on paved land under drought stress would help to improve the management of trees under rapid urbanization and climate change. An experiment was designed to grow two common greening tree saplings, ash (Fraxinus chinensis Roxb.) and ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.), in environments of both land pavement and drought. The results showed that (1) land pavement increased surface and air temperatures and decreased air humidity as well as net photosynthetic rate (P n) and photosynthetic capacity (A max) of ginkgo significantly; (2) drought significantly decreased P n , A max and maximum net photosynthetic rate (P nmax) as well as other photosynthetic parameters of both ash and ginkgo; (3) the negative effects of the combination of land pavement and drought on photosynthetic parameters were more significant than the effects of drought treatment for both ash and ginkgo. This implies that urban trees, especially those growing on land pavements, will confront harsher environments and a greater decline of photosynthesis under the severe and more frequent droughts predicted in the future. Overall, ash showed more tolerance to land pavement and drought than ginkgo, indicating that the selection of tolerant tree species is important for urban planting. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Land pavement inhibited photosynthesis of ginkgo significantly. • Drought significantly decreased photosynthesis of both ash and ginkgo. • Greater inhibition of land pavement on photosynthesis of urban trees under drought • Studying photosynthesis processes helps to explain non-stomatal regulation of tree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] In the present work, we designed and synthesized a cationic cyano-substituted p-phenylenevinylene derivative (PPTA), which can form supramolecular assemblies through electrostatic interaction with a type of polyelectrolyte material anionic guar gum (GP5A). A polyelectrolyte-based artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) was constructed by selecting a fluorescent dye sulforhodamine 101 (SR101) that matched its energy level as an energy acceptor. The energy harvested by the acceptors was used in the aqueous phase cross dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) reaction with a yield of up to 87%. In addition, the general applicability of polyelectrolyte materials to build artificial LHS was demonstrated by three other polyelectrolyte materials sodium polyphenylene sulfonate (RSS), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium polyacrylate (PAAS), in which the CDC reaction was also carried out by these three LHSs and obtained high yields. This work not only provides a new method to construct LHSs by using polyelectrolyte materials, but also provides a beneficial exploration for further applying the energy harvested in LHSs to the field of photocatalysis in an aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orthogonal expansion based unconditionally stable FDTD method has been developed and attracted much attention recently. It can be implemented by two schemes: marching-on-in-order and paralleling-in-order solution, which respectively use weighted Laguerre polynomials (WLP) and associated Hermite (AH) functions as temporal expansions and testing functions. This paper proposed to use Legendre polynomials as another kind of orthogonal basis to make a new parallelingin- order based unconditionally stable FDTD method. Numerical result shows it has much better performance in long time simulation case when compared with AH FDTD method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, increasing automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are being introduced into the production line. The path planning and scheduling of multiple AGVs are complex tasks that are closely related to application scenarios. In this study, a robot's working area was divided to minimize the collision probability. Improved ant colony optimization (ACO) and improved probabilistic road map (PRM) algorithms were used for path planning to enhance the transportation efficiency. The priorities of AGVs were specified. The collision criteria were determined, and the responses for different collision types were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonmigratory grasshopper Oedaleus infernalis Saussure (Orthoptera : Acridoidea) is an agricultural pest to crops and forage grasses over a wide natural geographical distribution in China. The genetic diversity and genetic variation among 10 geographically separated populations of O. infernalis was assessed using polymerase chain reaction-based molecular markers, including the intersimple sequence repeat and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase sequences. A high level of genetic diversity was detected among these populations from the intersimple sequence repeat (H: 0.2628, I: 0.4129, Hs: 0.2130) and cytochrome oxidase analyses (Hd: 0.653). There was no obvious geographical structure based on an unweighted pair group method analysis and median-joining network. The values of FST, θII, and Gst estimated in this study are low, and the gene flow is high (Nm>4). Analysis of the molecular variance suggested that most of the genetic variation occurs within populations, whereas only a small variation takes place between populations. No significant correlation was found between the genetic distance and geographical distance. Overall, our results suggest that the geographical distance plays an unimpeded role in the gene flow among O. infernalis populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shielding effectiveness of electromagnetic shielded enclosure would be decreased by blast shocks. An electromagnetic shielded enclosure with the shock isolator with own patented technology is designed and constructed. The field blasting and shielding performance tests are conducted to study the effect of blast shock on the the shielding effectiveness of electromagnetic shielded enclosure with integral shock isolation. The results show that the vibration acceleration of electromagnetic shielded enclosure with integral shock isolation is only 18 m/s² although the input vibration acceleration peak is up to 115 m/s² under the blast shocks of 160 kg cumulative charge. This means that the integral shock isolation effectively reduces the impact of blast shock on electromagnetic shielded enclosure. The electromagnetic shielded enclosure meets the requirement of Grade I . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional Markov random field (MRF) is inefficient to present the local features of images, which often lead to over-segment results of images. To solve this problem, this paper proposed an adaptive local prior MRF model. The proposed model utilized adjacent region information to build a adaptive local feature MRF model. Then it proposed local region belief propagation (BP) algorithm to pass local region messages over the proposed MRF model. Furthermore, it proposed a fast convergence strategy to solve the large-scale computing of region BP algorithm. Compared with conventional region BP algorithm, the experiments results show that, the proposed approach can obtain more accurate segmentation results and also more speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the effects of S100A8 and S100A9 on proliferation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and the regulatory effects of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Methods. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE1) were cultured and randomly divided into three groups: control group, S100A8/S100A9 overexpression group, and siRNA S100A8/S100A9 group. CCK-8 method was used to detect the effect of S100A8 and S100A9 on the viability of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. The effects of S100A8 and S100A9 on the colony forming ability of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells were detected by colony forming assay. The effects of S100A8 and S100A9 on the proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells were detected by EdU staining. The mRNA levels of PI3K and Akt were detected by RT-PCR. The expression levels of PI3K and Akt in NPC cells were detected by Western blot. Wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI3K/Akt pathway, was used to inhibit the activation of PI3K/Akt pathway. Results. Compared with the control group, the cell viability, the number of plate clones, the positive rate of EdU staining, and the mRNA and protein levels of PI3K and Akt were increased in the overexpression group. Compared with the control group, the cell viability, the number of plate clones, the positive rate of EdU staining, and the mRNA and protein levels of PI3K and Akt were decreased in the siRNA group. After inhibiting the activation of PI3K/Akt pathway, the viability of NPC cells in the overexpression group decreased significantly at 48 h and 72 h, while that in the siRNA group increased significantly. Conclusion. SiRNA S100A8 and S100A9 could inhibit the proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, and the underlying mechanism may be related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The epoxy/mica insulation in a generator stator deteriorates under the conditions of thermal, electrical, vibrational and thermo-mechanical stresses when the generator is running. To assess the insulation aging status and to understand the deterioration process, an ultra-wide band partial discharge testing method was adopted in this study. A multi-stress accelerated aging equipment was established to imitate the actual service conditions. Obvious change in the waveforms of discharge pulses was observed when the epoxy/mica insulation was under accelerated aging condition in the laboratory. The test results indicated the formation and growth of voids in the insulation during the aging process. Furthermore, optical microscopy and SEM were used to examine the insulation. Delamination and cracks in the insulation were observed which accorded with the ultra-wide band partial discharge test results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: The aim of this study was to use a metabonomics approach to identify potential biomarkers of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for predicting the prognosis of acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF). Methods: Using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, EBC metabolites of ACLF patients surviving without liver transplantation (n = 57) and those with worse outcomes (n = 45), and controls (n = 15) were profiled from a specialized liver disease center in Beijing. The metabolites were used to identify candidate biomarkers, and the predicted performance of potential biomarkers was tested. Results: Forty‐one metabolites, involving glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, as candidate biomarkers for discriminating the different outcomes of ACLF were selected. A prognostic model was constructed by a panel of four metabolites including phosphatidylinositol [20:4(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)/13:0], phosphatidyl ethanolamine (12:0/22:0), L‐metanephrine and ethylbenzene, which could predict the worse prognosis in ACLF patients with sensitivity (84.4%) and specificity (89.5%) (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.859, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.787–0.931). Compared with Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (AUC = 0.639, 95% CI = 0.526–0.753) and MELD‐sodium (MELD‐Na) score (AUC = 0.692, 95% CI = 0.582–0.803), EBC‐associated metabolite signature model could better predict worse outcomes in patients with ACLF (p < 0.05). Using the MELD‐Na score and EBC metabolite signatures, a decision tree model was built for predicting the prognosis of ACLF identified on logistic regression analyses (AUC = 0.906, 95% CI = 0.846–0.965). Conclusion: EBC metabolic signatures show promise as potential biomarkers for predicting worse prognosis of ACLF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising candidate for the next generation of new anode materials, the modification and optimization of silica-based anode materials are significant. Using chitosan (CS) as the carbonaceous precursor, the N-containing Si@C microcapsules were prepared by emulsification cross-linking combined with high-temperature pyrolysis method. The microcapsule structure offers additional space for nano-Si and effectively enhances the electrochemical properties of the anode. Moreover, optimizing the CS:Si ratio is advantageous in achieving a synergistic effect between silicon and carbon. When CS:Si = 4:1, the first specific capacity was 762.78 mAh/g and the retention rate was 69.27 % after 100 cycles. To further enhance the material properties, urea was added to a ratio of CS:Si = 4:1 as an N supplement for elemental doping modification. The specific capacity of the anode had a positive correlation with N content within a certain range. As the N content increases, the pyridine-N content and density of C vacancies also increase, which improves the storage form and diffusion path of Li+. When 0.75 g urea was added, the first reversible specific capacity reached 1108.88 mAh/g and the retention rate was 92.41 % after 100 cycles. This work offers environmentally friendly and safe methods, as well as a new modification concept for N-doped microsphere-encapsulated silicon-carbon composites. • Microcapsule structure provides additional physical buffer space. • Chitosan as biomass polymers containing N. • Nanosilicon diffusely distributed inside the carbon shell. • The increase of N can optimize the storage form and diffusion path of Li+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel molybdenum-based cathode materials Li 2 O -MoO 3 -V 2 O 5 -P 2 O 5. • [MoO6], [PO4] and [VO4] co-form a stabilized amorphous structure. • Suppressing Mo5+/Mo4+ conversion improves cycling stability. Li 2 O-MoO 3 -P 2 O 5 and Li 2 O-MoO 3 -V 2 O 5 -P 2 O 5 amorphous cathode oxides were prepared using a simple melt quenching technique. The discharge-specific capacity of the 2Li 2 O-5MoO 3 -V 2 O 5 -2P 2 O 5 after 100 cycles was 141.43 mAh/g, with a capacity retention rate of 77.27 %, while the discharge-specific capacity of the 2Li 2 O-6MoO 3 -2P 2 O 5 after 100 cycles was 100.52 mAh/g, with a capacity retention rate of 55.78 %, in the voltage range of 1.5–4.2 V and at a current density of 10 mA/g. According to the findings, vanadium pentoxide may help molybdenum-based amorphous cathodes perform better electrochemically. In particular, the Mo5+/Mo4+ transition is inhibited, and the Mo6+/Mo5+ transition is promoted by the presence of the V5+/V4+ transition in the charge/discharge cycle of the Li 2 O-MoO 3 -V 2 O 5 -P 2 O 5 amorphous material, shortening the structural self-regulation process in the electrochemical cycle and significantly increasing cycle stability. The study provided a new idea for investigating novel cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an accurate dc-side impedance modeling method of modular multilevel converter (MMC) and a control strategy for improving the stability of the dc system in MMC-based dc grid. First, the impedance modeling method based on harmonic linearization is adopted to establish the dc-side small-signal impedance model of MMC, which considers the internal multiharmonic coupling characteristics and the complete control system. Second, an equivalent model is established to analyze the frequency impedance characteristics of the dc ports in MMC-based dc grid, and the stability of dc ports is further analyzed based on the impedance-based stability criterion. Then, considering both the dynamic characteristics and stability of the dc system, a specific design method of controller parameter optimization and additional virtual damping controller is proposed. Based on MATLAB/Simulink, a detailed time-domain simulation model of MMC-based dc grid is established. The simulation results prove the accuracy of the proposed impedance modeling method and the validity of the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]