Search

Abstract A self-made triaxial testing machine with thermal–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical (THMC) coupling and a tubular heating furnace, combined with in situ (IS) micro-computed-tomography technology was utilized in this study. The evolution of pore-fissure (PF) structure parameters (porosity, PF scale distribution, effective PF volume ratio, and permeability) of bituminous coal under stress-free (SF) and IS conditions with temperature was investigated, and then the mechanism of experimental results was analyzed. Results showed that (1) under SF conditions, at 300–550 °C, the coal samples after pyrolysis are dominated by elongated large fissures, with PF structure parameters positively correlating with temperature. After 400 °C, the number of PFs increases, with most PFs having equivalent diameter (R) ≤ 100 μm. (2) Under IS conditions, coal sample fissures are dominated by elongated large fissures at 300–350 °C and by holes at 350–600 °C. (3) Under IS conditions at 300–600 °C, the PF structure parameters of coal samples initially decrease with temperature and subsequently increase. The number of PFs fluctuates within a certain range, and the PF scale distribution dynamically shifts with temperature. (4) After 300 °C, the PF structure parameters of bituminous coal under SF and IS conditions show a bipolar distribution with temperature. Therefore, the weakening effect of stress on the PF structure of coal samples should not be overlooked during IS pyrolysis mining of coal bodies.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of the original oblique conformal anastomosis presented in this research in reducing the incidence of cervical anastomotic leak after performing totally minimally invasive esophagectomy (TMIE). Methods: The esophagus and stomach of 27 fresh pigs, termed the esophagogastric model, were used to simulate human esophagogastric organs for this study's in vitro experimental objectives. Nine esophagogastric models of similar weight were divided into three groups. Esophagogastrostomy with circular-stapled end-to-side anastomosis was performed. A tension gauge was used to pull the anastomosis, and the tension at which anastomotic leakage occurred was recorded. Furthermore, a retrospective assessment of 539 patients who underwent TMIE was conducted to analyze the influencing factors of cervical anastomotic leakage. Results: Experiments on the esophagogastric models showed a higher fracture strength of oblique conformal anastomosis than that of conventional anastomosis (F2,18 = 40.86, P

Strength and electrical conductivity (EC) are key properties for heat-resistant Al-Zr-based alloy wires used as overhead transmission lines. Developing high-strength conductors with EC over 61.0% IACS has been a long-standing issue for heat-resistant Al conductive wires. In this work, a new design idea involving the coupling design of deformation and ageing was innovatively proposed to produce ultra-heat-resistant Al-0.2Zr-0.06Sc wires. The desired combination of high strength (195 ± 2 MPa) and good EC (61.2% IACS) was successfully achieved without annealing treatment. The strength residual rate of cold-drawn Al-0.2Zr-0.06Sc wire is as high as 94.0% after heat exposure of 280°C/1 h.

Abstract The emerging pseudohalide metal-free perovskite (pseudohalide–MFPs) X-ray detector caters to the demands of timely mobile diagnosis owing to its lightweight, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. However, the performance of these devices is severely limited by poor X-ray absorption, ultra-wide band gap, relative instability, and their unknown biotoxicity. Herein, we construct heavy atom covalent bonds (C–Br/Cl) on the A-site organic cation to reinforce component coordination to modulate X-ray absorption and band gap in pseudohalide–MFPs and further enhance its stability. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that the introduction of halogen atoms can strengthen hydrogen bonding interactions, thereby improving the coordination between different components. The resultant (MDABCOBr)–NH4(BF4)3 (MDABCO = N-methyl-N’-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octonium) single crystal significantly increases X-ray absorption cross-section and crystalline density (from 1.728 to 1.950 g cm−3), and synergistically realizes the band nature modulation (from 7.4 to 5.5 eV) and enhanced ionic migration inhibition (628 meV) with optimized stability. As such, our X-ray detectors realized a sensitivity of 2377 μC Gyair −1 cm−2, an ultralow detection limit of 50.1 nGyair s−1, and impressive operation stability. Moreover, cytotoxicity assay confirmed the compatibility of pseudohalide metal-free perovskite. Finally, within this framework, we successfully fabricate the (MDABCOBr)–NH4(BF4)3-based flexible device to create an ideal in vitro wearable X-ray detection.

Abstract Cuproptosis is a novel type to regulate cell death with copper-dependent manner, and has been reported to involve in the occurrence and development of various malignant tumors. However, the association between cuproptosis and the tumor microenvironment (TME) of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remained unclear. To address this question, we integrated the single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets of ccRCC across different stages, systematically examined the distinctive expression patterns of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) within the TME of ccRCC, and explored the crucial signatures using the spatial transcriptome sequencing (ST-seq) dataset. The cuproptosis activities reduced in cancer tissues along with the ccRCC development, and recovered after therapy. We identified HILPDA+ ccRCC1 subtype, characterized with hypoxia, as cuproptosis susceptible cells associated with a better prognosis. The main co-expression modules of HILPDA+ ccRCC1 subtype highlighted the role in anion transport, response to oxygen species and PD-L1-PD-1 pathway. Furthermore, the immunosuppressive cells might interact with HILPDA+ ccRCC1 subtype via HAVCR2-LGALS9, C3-C3AR1, HLA-A-CD8B and HLA-C-CD8A axises to shape the cuproptosis-related TME landscape. In summary, we anticipate that this study will offer valuable insights and potential strategies of cuproptosis for therapy of ccRCC. Graphical Abstract

Abstract The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is appealing due to its sustainability. However, its efficiency is compromised by the competing 4e− ORR pathway. In this work, we report a hierarchical carbon nanosheet array electrode with a single-atom Ni catalyst synthesized using organic molecule-intercalated layered double hydroxides as precursors. The electrode exhibits excellent 2e− ORR performance under alkaline conditions and achieves H2O2 yield rates of 0.73 mol gcat −1 h−1 in the H-cell and 5.48 mol gcat −1 h−1 in the flow cell, outperforming most reported catalysts. The experimental results show that the Ni atoms selectively adsorb O2, while carbon nanosheets generate reactive hydrogen species, synergistically enhancing H2O2 production. Furthermore, a coupling reaction system integrating the 2e− ORR with ethylene glycol oxidation significantly enhances H2O2 yield rate to 7.30 mol gcat −1 h−1 while producing valuable glycolic acid. Moreover, we convert alkaline electrolyte containing H2O2 directly into the downstream product sodium perborate to reduce the separation cost further. Techno-economic analysis validates the economic viability of this system.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze the development trend, research hotspots, and future development direction on the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) with spinal cord stimulation through bibliometric method. We extracted the literature related to the treatment of NP with spinal cord stimulation from January 2004 to December 2023 from the Web of Science database. As a result, a total of 264 articles were retrieved. By analyzing the annual published articles, authors, countries, institutions, journals, co-cited literature, and keywords, we found that the count of publication in this field has been experiencing an overall growth, and the publications within the past 5 years accounted for 42% of the total output. Experts from the United States and the UK have made significant contributions in this field and established a stable collaborative team, initially establishing an international cooperation network. Pain is the frequently cited journal in this field. The study on spinal cord stimulation therapy for NP especially the study on spinal cord stimulation therapy for back surgery failure syndrome (FBSS) and its potential mechanisms are the research hotspots in this field, while the study on novel paradigms such as high-frequency spinal cord stimulation and spinal cord burst stimulation represents the future development directions. In short, spinal cord stimulation has been an effective treatment method for NP. The novel paradigms of spinal cord stimulation are the key point of future research in this field.

Abstract The global terrestrial water storage (TWS), the most accessible component in the hydrological cycle, is a general indicator of freshwater availability on Earth. The global TWS trend caused by climate change is harder to detect than global mean temperature due to the highly uneven hydrological responses across the globe, the brevity of global freshwater observations, and large noises of internal climate variability. To overcome the climate noise and small sample size of observations, we leverage the vast amount of observed and simulated meteorological fields at daily scales to project global TWS through its fingerprints in weather patterns. The novel method identifies the relationship between annual global mean TWS and daily surface air temperature and humidity fields using multi-model hydrological simulations. We found that globally, approximately 50% of days for most years since 2016 have climate change signals emerged above the noise of internal variability. Climate change signals in global mean TWS have been consistently increasing over the last few decades, and in the future, are expected to emerge from the natural climate variability. Our research indicates the urgency to limit carbon emission to not only avoid risks associated with warming but also sustain water security in the future.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) has shown significant potential as a drug or drug delivery system owing to their photothermal capabilities and antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, the actualization of their potential is impeded by inherent constraints, including their considerable size, heightened immunogenicity and compromised biosafety. Conquering these obstacles and pursuing more effective solutions remains a top priority. Similar to extracellular vesicles, bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have demonstrated a great potential in biomedical applications. OMVs from PSB encapsulate a rich array of bioactive constituents, including proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids inherited from their parent cells. Consequently, they emerge as a promising and practical alternative. Unfortunately, OMVs have suffered from low yield and inconsistent particle sizes. In response, bacteria-derived nanovesicles (BNVs), created through controlled extrusion, adeptly overcome the challenges associated with OMVs. However, the differences, both in composition and subsequent biological effects, between OMVs and BNVs remain enigmatic. In a groundbreaking endeavor, our study meticulously cultivates PSB-derived OMVs and BNVs, dissecting their nuances. Despite minimal differences in morphology and size between PSB-derived OMVs and BNVs, the latter contains a higher concentration of active ingredients and metabolites. Particularly noteworthy is the elevated levels of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) found in BNVs, known for its ability to enhance cell proliferation and initiate downstream signaling pathways that promote angiogenesis and epithelialization. Importantly, our results indicate that BNVs can accelerate wound closure more effectively by orchestrating a harmonious balance of cell proliferation and migration within NIH-3T3 cells, while also activating the EGFR/AKT/PI3K pathway. In contrast, OMVs have a pronounced aptitude in anti-cancer efforts, driving macrophages toward the M1 phenotype and promoting the release of inflammatory cytokines. Thus, our findings not only provide a promising methodological framework but also establish a definitive criterion for discerning the optimal application of OMVs and BNVs in addressing a wide range of medical conditions.

With the extension of coal mining in China, fault water inrush has become one of major disasters threatening the safety of coal mine production. Based on the research results related to the mining-induced fault water inrush, this paper proposes a conceptual model of water inrush caused by the erosion synergy of mining-induced rock mass damage rupture and fractured rock mass (fault), derives the permeability evolution equation of the two media, and systematically constructs the cooperative disaster causing mechanism model between mining failure and particle erosion inside faults. The numerical simulation is conducted to study the deformation and failure of rock mass, the particle transport in faults and the evolution characteristics of seepage channel, and systematically explain the temporal and spatial evolution mechanism of seepage catastrophe caused by mining-induced fault inrush. The results show that: ① With the continuous advancement of working face, the damage field of mine floor rock mass is connected with the fault erosion fracture, forming a seepage path of aquifer-fault-mining fracture-working face, and with the increase of erosion time, it finally develops into several dominant water diversion channels, resulting in a sharp increase in water inflow at the working face and a lagging water inrush. ② With the increase of seepage time, the water inflow and fracture opening degree inside faults all show three stages: slow change, sudden increase and stable, and the erosion particle concentration shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. ③ Under the geological conditions of the mining area studied in this paper, in order to prevent the occurrence of fault water inrush, the methods such as advanced grouting or leaving water prevention coal pillars can be adopted, and the advance grouting time should be before the bottom plate fracture zone connects faults, if grouting is not applied, the width of the reasonable water prevention coal pillar should not be less than 20 m.

Abstract Cryptophyte algae are an evolutionarily distinct and ecologically important group of photosynthetic unicellular eukaryotes. Photosystem II (PSII) of cryptophyte algae associates with alloxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins (ACPs) to act as the peripheral light-harvesting system, whose supramolecular organization is unknown. Here, we purify the PSII-ACPII supercomplex from a cryptophyte alga Chroomonas placoidea (C. placoidea), and analyze its structure at a resolution of 2.47 Å using cryo-electron microscopy. This structure reveals a dimeric organization of PSII-ACPII containing two PSII core monomers flanked by six symmetrically arranged ACPII subunits. The PSII core is conserved whereas the organization of ACPII subunits exhibits a distinct pattern, different from those observed so far in PSII of other algae and higher plants. Furthermore, we find a Chl a-binding antenna subunit, CCPII-S, which mediates interaction of ACPII with the PSII core. These results provide a structural basis for the assembly of antennas within the supercomplex and possible excitation energy transfer pathways in cryptophyte algal PSII, shedding light on the diversity of supramolecular organization of photosynthetic machinery.

The low ductility of titanium aluminide at room temperature has been one of the factors that severely limit its applications. In this study, Ti–6Al–4V (Ti64) alloys were combined with Ti–47Al–2Cr–2Nb (TiAl) alloys to make micro-laminated composites with optimal ply configurations to eliminate crack formation in TiAl and improve the ductility. A dual-material laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) system was used to fabricate the TiAl/Ti64 micro-laminate samples. The presence of cracks, elemental composition and mechanical properties were experimentally characterised and analysed to understand the effect of ply configuration and the mechanism of eliminating cracks. It was found that smaller TiAl ply thickness and lower TiAl volume fraction result in fewer cracks formed in the micro-laminates. Elemental composition analysis reveals that the Al content in the first two powder layers (i.e., 200 μm thick in total) of a TiAl ply is reduced to 10%–35% due to the partial mixture of the TiAl ply and the proceeding Ti64 ply in the LPBF. The reduced Al content leads to combined α-Ti, β-Ti and α2-Ti3Al phases instead of γ-TiAl phases, thus eliminating the formation of cracks within the first 200 μm thick region of the TiAl ply. This study demonstrates that crack-free and dense TiAl/Ti6 micro-laminated composites can be produced with the TiAl ply thickness reduced to 200 μm and the TiAl volume fraction reduced to 25% (Ti64 ply thickness 400 μm). Ductility of the crack-free micro-laminates at room temperature is comparable to or even exceeds the properties of TiAl/Ti64-type laminates made by other manufacturing processes, which may imply good machinability. Note that further research is required to investigate the properties and applications of the micro-laminates at elevated temperatures.

Ferroptosis, an iron-ion-dependent process of lipid peroxidation, damages the plasma membrane, leading to non-programmed cell death. Osteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent chronic degenerative joint disease among middle-aged and older adults, is characterized by chondrocyte damage or loss. Emerging evidence indicates that chondrocyte ferroptosis plays a role in OA development. However, most research has concentrated on ferroptosis regulation involving typical iron ions, potentially neglecting the significance of elevated copper ions in both serum and joint fluid of patients with OA. This review aims to fill this gap by systematically examining the interplay between copper metabolism, oxidative stress, ferroptosis, and copper-associated cell death in OA. It will provide a comprehensive overview of copper ions’ role in regulating ferroptosis and their dual role in OA. This approach seeks to offer new insights for further research, prevention, and treatment of OA.

Summary: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has high prevalence in Western counties. The high fat content in Western diets is one of the leading causes for this prevalence; however, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully defined. Here, we find that high-fat diet (HFD) induces ferroptosis of intestinal regulatory T (Treg) cells, which might be the key initiating step for the disruption of immunotolerance and the development of colitis. Compared with effector T cells, Treg cells favor lipid metabolism and prefer polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for the synthesis of membrane phospholipids. Therefore, consumption of HFD, which has high content of PUFAs such as arachidonic acid, cultivates vulnerable Tregs that are fragile to lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Treg-cell-specific deficiency of GPX4, the key enzyme in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis and preventing ferroptosis, dramatically aggravates the pathogenesis of HFD-induced IBD. Taken together, these studies expand our understanding of IBD etiology.

IntroductionExcessive glutamate levels induce oxidative stress, resulting in neuronal damage, and cell death. While natural antioxidants show promise for neuroprotection, their effectiveness in the central nervous system (CNS) is limited by the blood -brain barrier. Lutein, a neuroprotective carotenoid, has gained attention for its ability to traverse this barrier and accumulate in various brain regions. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of lutein against glutamateinduced cell death in HT22 cells.MethodsHT22 cells were treated with lutein (1.25-20 μM) for 24 hours. Cell viability, ROS levels, apoptosis, and mitochondrial membrane potential were assessed following lutein pretreatment and glutamate exposure. Protein expression of apoptotic markers was analyzed using Western blotting.ResultsLutein effectively attenuated glutamate-induced apoptosis due to its antioxidant properties. Additionally, lutein inhibited glutamate-induced mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis. We observed that lutein modulated the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2 -related factor 2 (Nrf2) and upregulated the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Inhibition of HO-1 by tin protoporphyrin (SnPP), a synthetic inhibitor, weakened the protective effect of lutein. Furthermore, we demonstrated that lutein prevented the aberrant activation of MAPKs induced by glutamate, including ERK1/2, p38, and JNK, thereby conferring oxidative protection.DiscussionOur study highlights the potent antioxidant properties of lutein, which effectively safeguards against glutamate-induced mitochondrial apoptotic cell death through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway and inhibition of MAPK activation. These findings demonstrate that lutein exerts a neuroprotective effect against glutamate-induced neuronal cell damage.

The persistence of the novel brominated flame retardant, bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), in the environment and its potential for bioaccumulation in living organisms, including humans, further exacerbate its health risks. Therefore, ongoing research is crucial for fully understanding the extent of TBPH’s neurotoxicity and for developing effective mitigation strategies. This study aims to investigate the potential neurotoxicity of TBPH on mouse neurobehavior and to evaluate the protective effects of the natural antioxidant astaxanthin (AST) against TBPH-induced neurotoxicity. The results indicate that exposure to TBPH can lead to a decline in learning and memory abilities and abnormal behaviors in mice, which may be associated with oxidative stress responses and apoptosis in the hippocampus. TBPH may disrupt the normal function of hippocampal neurons by activating the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway. Mice exposed to TBPH treated with AST showed improved learning and memory abilities in the Morris water maze (MWM) and Step-down test (SDT). AST, through its antioxidant action, was able to significantly reduce the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels induced by TBPH, the increased expression of apoptosis markers, and the activation of the ERK1/2-FOS signaling pathway, alleviating TBPH-induced apoptosis in hippocampal neurons and improving neurobehavioral outcomes. These findings suggest that AST may alleviate the neurotoxicity of TBPH by modulating molecular events related to apoptosis and the ERK1/2-FOS signaling pathway. Thus, this study provides evidence for AST as a potential interventional strategy for the prevention or treatment of cognitive decline associated with environmental neurotoxicant exposure.

In order to analyze the relationship between the configuration characteristics, variable mass permeability characteristics and the catastrophe mechanism of falling column process, The influence of the permeability was studied by diffraction instrument, And using the seepage test system of the fall column, The seepage instability process of variable mass broken rock mass is analyzed, The findings suggest that, The proportion of coarse particles accounted for 89.86%, Fine particles accounted for 10.14%, Broken rock particles is better, Low compression performance; The fall column, under strong hydrodynamic conditions, Due to its strong characteristics of migration and loss with water flow, It is easy to induce the subsidence column protrusion water disaster; As the ratio between coarse and fine aggregates increases, Porosity and permeability are both increased; When the axial displacement does not change, With the increasing circumference pressure, The permeability of the broken rock samples is decreasing; The fitting of the seepage velocity of the broken rock mass to the pore pressure gradient follows the Forchheimer relationship, The seepage of the broken rock mass belongs to the category of non-Darcy flow under the triaxial stress; The instability of the subsidence column fracture rock mass presents three seepage instability forms: initial seepage stage, seepage mutation stage and piping stage in different stages.

Abstract Rare earth doped up-conversion luminescent nano-materials exhibit abundant emission colors under suitable excitation condition. In this work, NaYF4:Er/Ho@NaYF4 and NaYbF4:Tm@NaYF4 nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation method. The pure red emission can be realized by the designed NaYF4:Er/Ho@NaYF4 nanocrystals and the R/Gs reach 23.3 and 25 under excitations of 980 and 1550 nm lasers, respectively. The R/G declines as the power increasing with the emission color changing from red to yellow, which is due to the quick saturation of the energy levels, radiating red emissions. Meanwhile, the emission intensity of NaYbF4:Tm@NaYF4 nanocrystals increases by 58.3 folds after encasing the inert shell NaYF4 and the CIE color coordinate reaches (0.1646, 0.0602) under 980 nm laser excitation. Furthermore, broad range multicolor from blue to red and yellow up-conversion emissions is achieved by mixing NaYF4:Er/Ho@NaYF4 and NaYbF4:Tm@NaYF4 nanocrystals, which could be applied to colorful displaying, security anti-counterfeiting and information coding.

The electrochemical oxidation of biomass molecules coupling with hydrogen production is a promising strategy to obtain both green energy and value-added chemicals; however, this strategy is limited by the competing oxygen evolution reactions and high energy consumption. Herein, we report a hierarchical CoNi layered double hydroxides (LDHs) electrocatalyst with abundant Ni vacancies for the efficient anodic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and cathodic hydrogen evolution. The unique hierarchical nanosheet structure and Ni vacancies provide outstanding activity and selectivity toward several biomass molecules because of the finely regulated electronic structure and highly-exposed active sites. In particular, a high faradaic efficiency (FE) at a high current density (99% at 100 mA cm−2) is achieved for HMF oxidation, and a two-electrode electrolyzer is assembled based on the Ni vacancies-enriched LDH, which realized a continuous synthesis of highly-pure 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid products with high yields (95%) and FE (90%).

ABSTRACTIn feedback control systems of wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), timely adjustments before the occurrence of deviations (feedforward control) would reduce excessive requirements on the sensitivity and accuracy of characteristic parameters of control systems. However, the search for characteristic parameters suitable for feedforward control is extremely rare in the WAAM field. Herein, based on ‘mass-spring' theory, a model of droplet oscillation momentum (DOM) is developed to describe the dynamic behavior of a pendant droplet and its influencing mechanism on surface roughness. The model combines the contribution of wire movement to droplet displacement with experimental correction of the spring/damping coefficients. The results show that the predictions of the model are in good agreement with the experimental values, and DOM is quadratically correlated with the surface roughness. Therefore, the model can be expected as a characteristic parameter to elucidate the development of surface-forming quality of WAAM-fabricated components.

Members of bZIP gene family play crucial roles in various biological processes, including plant growth and development, stress response, and light signal transduction. Despite their significance, there is limited information on the function of the bZIP gene family in peanuts. In this investigation, we identified a total of 99 bZIP gene family members in the peanut genome, distributed across 20 chromosomes. Phylogenetic tree analysis categorized the peanut bZIP gene family into 10 groups, with groups I, D, A and S being the most widely distributed. Transcriptome analysis of peanut pods revealed that 10 bZIP family genes exhibited significant induction in response to light, suggesting their potential involvement in light signal transduction in peanuts. Within the peanut bZIP family, group H comprises six genes AhbZIP13, AhbZIP63, AhbZIP39, AhbZIP44, AhbZIP91 and AhbZIP96. Particularly, the expression of the AhbZIP63 (AhHYH) gene significantly increased under light induction, indicating a pivotal role in light signal transduction. DAP-seq analysis of AhbZIP63 (AhHYH) demonstrated its direct regulation of genes associated with UV response and cellular response to nutrient levels.

The fabrication of devices that integrate two or more topological states simultaneously and achieve precise control over their edge state and interface states holds paramount importance. We report the quantized edge-channel transport and spin-polarized interface states in folded graphene ribbons under a magnetic field and predict that fully spin-polarized states can be generated at the interface. Our results also suggest that the system has the potential to exhibit the quantum spin Hall phase, the quantum Hall phase, and a coexistence of both phases. These phases can be manipulated by applying a bias potential and Zeeman splitting. Furthermore, the quantized conductance demonstrates a plateau at 3e2/h, which can be attributed to the presence of fully spin-polarized states. These outcomes provide a foundation for future explorations and manipulations of this novel form of edge-channel transport.

BackgroundRegulatory B cells (Bregs) play a pivotal role in suppressing immune responses, yet there is still a lack of cell surface markers that can rigorously identify them. In mouse models for multiple sclerosis (MS), TIM-1 or TIGIT expression on B cells is required for maintaining self-tolerance and regulating autoimmunity to the central nervous system. Here we investigated the activities of human memory B cells that differentially express TIM-1 and TIGIT to determine their potential regulatory function in healthy donors and patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS.MethodsFACS-sorted TIM-1+/-TIGIT+/- memory B (memB) cells co-cultured with allogenic CD4+ T cells were analyzed for proliferation and induction of inflammatory markers using flow cytometry and cytokine quantification, to determine Th1/Th17 cell differentiation. Transcriptional differences were assessed by SMARTSeq2 RNA sequencing analysis.ResultsTIM-1-TIGIT- double negative (DN) memB cells strongly induce T cell proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. The TIM-1+ memB cells enabled low levels of CD4+ T cell activation and gave rise to T cells that co-express IL-10 with IFNγ and IL-17A or FoxP3. T cells cultured with the TIM-1+TIGIT+ double positive (DP) memB cells exhibited reduced proliferation and IFNγ, IL-17A, TNFα, and GM-CSF expression, and exhibited strong regulation in Breg suppression assays. The functional activity suggests the DP memB cells are a bonafide Breg population. However, MS DP memB cells were less inhibitory than HC DP memB cells. A retrospective longitudinal study of anti-CD20 treated patients found that post-treatment DP memB cell frequency and absolute number were associated with response to therapy. Transcriptomic analyses indicated that the dysfunctional MS-derived DP memB/Breg population exhibited increased expression of genes associated with T cell activation and survival (CD80, ZNF10, PIK3CA), and had distinct gene expression compared to the TIGIT+ or TIM-1+ memB cells.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that TIM-1/TIGIT expressing memory B cell subsets have distinct functionalities. Co-expression of TIM-1 and TIGIT defines a regulatory memory B cell subset that is functionally impaired in MS.

Abstract Diatoms are dominant marine algae and contribute around a quarter of global primary productivity, the success of which is largely attributed to their photosynthetic capacity aided by specific fucoxanthin chlorophyll-binding proteins (FCPs) to enhance the blue-green light absorption under water. We purified a photosystem II (PSII)-FCPII supercomplex and a trimeric FCP from Cyclotella meneghiniana (Cm) and solved their structures by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The structures reveal detailed organizations of monomeric, dimeric and trimeric FCP antennae, as well as distinct assemblies of Lhcx6_1 and dimeric FCPII-H in PSII core. Each Cm-PSII-FCPII monomer contains an Lhcx6_1, an FCP heterodimer and other three FCP monomers, which form an efficient pigment network for harvesting energy. More diadinoxanthins and diatoxanthins are found in FCPs, which may function to quench excess energy. The trimeric FCP contains more chlorophylls c and fucoxanthins. These diversified FCPs and PSII-FCPII provide a structural basis for efficient light energy harvesting, transfer, and dissipation in C. meneghiniana.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Baimai ointment in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: This study presents a prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial protocol. A total of 194 cases will be employed, with a 1:1 allocation ratio for each group. Patients will receive either Baimai ointment or placebo over a 14-day treatment period, which will be followed by a 1-week follow-up period. Visual analogue scale scores will be used for the level of pain, the Japanese Orthopedic Association score will be measured primarily to determine the functional status, the Likert scale will be graded for the level of numbness, and rescue therapy use and compliance with health education will be recorded. Laboratory tests and adverse event records will also be applied for safety assessments. Discussion: In summary, this trial will assess the clinical efficacy and safety of Baimai ointment for LDH for the first time. The use of a placebo has the advantage of precluding anticipatory biases resulting from inadequate blinding. Outcome assessors, data managers, statisticians, and all related study staff will be blinded to avoid any bias caused by subjective factors in the study subjects and investigators. Valuable information for clinical LDH treatment and future research on Baimai ointment will be generated from the findings.

Abstract Background The placenta serves as the sole maternal organ responsible for transmitting nutrients to the fetus, playing a crucial role in supporting standard fetal growth and development. To date, only a small number of studies have investigated the impact of maternal gestational weight gain and lipid concentrations on placental development. This study aimed to explore the influence of weight gain during pregnancy and lipid levels in the second trimester on placental weight, volume, and the placental weight ratio. Methods This birth cohort study encompassed 1,358 mother-child pairs. Placental data for each participant was gathered immediately post-delivery, and the study incorporated data on gestational weight gain throughout pregnancy and lipid profiles from the mid-trimester. A linear regression model was employed to assess the correlations between gestational weight gain, mid-trimester lipid levels, and metrics such as placental weight, placental volume, and the placental-to-birth weight ratio (PFR). Results In the study groups of pre-pregnancy underweight, normal weight, and overweight, the placental weight increased by 4.93 g (95% CI: 1.04–8.81), 2.52 g (95% CI: 1.04–3.99), and 3.30 g (95% CI: 0.38–6.22) per 1 kg of gestational weight gain, respectively. Within the pre-pregnancy underweight and normal weight groups, the placental volume increased by 6.79 cm^3 (95% CI: 3.43–10.15) and 2.85 cm^3 (95% CI: 1.31–4.39) per 1 kg of gestational weight gain, respectively. Additionally, placental weight exhibited a positive correlation with triglyceride (TG) levels (β = 9.81, 95% CI: 3.28–16.34) and a negative correlation with high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels (β = − 46.30, 95% CI: − 69.49 to − 23.11). Placental volume also showed a positive association with TG levels (β = 14.54, 95% CI: 7.69–21.39). Conversely, PFR demonstrated a negative correlation with increasing HDL-C levels (β = − 0.89, 95% CI: − 1.50 to − 0.27). Conclusions Gestational weight gain was significantly correlated with both placental weight and volume. This association was especially pronounced in women who, prior to pregnancy, were underweight or of normal weight. Additionally, TG and HDL-C levels during the mid-trimester were linked to placental development.

Abstract In the context of extremely uneven sources and loads in China, several large‐scale power transmission systems have been established. Affected by the small equivalent impedance of the system, the increase of negative sequence currents during open‐phase operation has seriously threatened the stable operation of synchronous generators. The necessity of negative sequence current suppression is particularly prominent. To address the above issues, this paper analyzes the feasible negative sequence suppression capacity of the grid‐connected inverter under the principle of positive sequence priority. Using the geometric analysis method to determine the optimal suppression capacity. The none‐phase‐locked loop (PLL) control method is used to improve the response speed and form the negative sequence current suppression strategy adapted to the open‐phase operation period. A simulation model was built in PSCAD to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. The result shows that the suppression strategy has a faster response than the conventional PLL control. In scenarios with large negative sequence currents to be suppressed, a maximum suppression effect of approximately 63% can be achieved. Compared with the traditional suppression capacity selection, the strategy in this paper can reduce the residual of negative sequence current by about 10% at most. The negative sequence currents intruding into the generator can be effectively suppressed without additional devices.

The MGM (1, n) model has the characteristics of less data required, simple modeling, and high prediction accuracy. It has been successfully applied to short-term forecasting across various economic, social, and technological domains, yielding promising outcomes. There is insufficient attention paid to the interpolation coefficient of the model. The interpolation coefficients determine the extent of model fitting, which, in turn, impacts its prediction accuracy. This study made some improvements to the interpolation coefficients and proposed an improved MGM (1, n) model. IMGM (1, n) model and MGM (1, n) model were employed to compare the performance of the improved MGM (1, n) model. Upon a series of comparisons and analyses, it was concluded that the improved MGM (1, n) model has higher fitting and prediction accuracy than the other two forecasting methods. The method was used to forecast the short-term electricity consumption of Linfen City. The findings revealed that by 2030, the electricity demand in Linfen City is projected to be 563.7 billion kWh.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of classical optical communications in quantum key distribution (QKD) over hollow-core fiber (HCF), multi-core fiber (MCF) and single-core fiber (SCF) and propose wavelength allocation schemes to enhance QKD performance. Firstly, we theoretically analyze noise interference in QKD over HCF, MCF and SCF, such as spontaneous Raman scattering (SpRS) and four-wave mixing (FWM). To mitigate these noise types and optimize QKD performance, we propose a joint noise suppression wavelength allocation (JSWA) scheme. FWM noise suppression wavelength allocation and Raman noise suppression wavelength allocation are also proposed for comparison. The JSWA scheme indicates a significant enhancement in extending the simultaneous transmission distance of classical signals and QKD, reaching approximately 100 km in HCF and 165 km in MCF under a classical power per channel of 10 dBm. Therefore, MCF offers a longer secure transmission distance compared with HCF when classical signals and QKD coexist in the C-band. However, when classical signals are in the C-band and QKD operates in the O-band, the performance of QKD in HCF surpasses that in MCF. This research establishes technical foundations for the design and deployment of QKD optical networks.

The Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells serve as a common choice in biopharmaceutical production, traditionally cultivated in stirred tank bioreactors (STRs). Nevertheless, the pursuit of improved protein quality and production output for commercial purposes demand exploration into new bioreactor types. In this context, inverted frustoconical shaking bioreactors (IFSB) present unique physical properties distinct from STRs. This study aims to compare the production processes of an antibody-based biotherapeutic in both bioreactor types, to enhance production flexibility. The findings indicate that, when compared to STRs, IFSB demonstrates the capability to produce an antibody-based biotherapeutic with either comparable or enhanced bioprocess performance and product quality. IFSB reduces shear damage to cells, enhances viable cell density (VCD), and improves cell state at a 5-L scale. Consequently, this leads to increased protein expression (3.70 g/L vs 2.56 g/L) and improved protein quality, as evidenced by a reduction in acidic variants from 27.0% to 21.5%. Scaling up the culture utilizing the Froude constant and superficial gas velocity ensures stable operation, effective mixing, and gas transfer. The IFSB maintains a high VCD and cell viability at both 50-L and 500-L scales. Product expression levels range from 3.0 to 3.6 g/L, accompanied by an improved acidic variants attribute of 20.6%–22.7%. The IFSB exhibits superior productivity and product quality, underscoring its potential for incorporation into the manufacturing process for antibody-based biotherapeutics. These results establish the foundation for IFSB to become a viable option in producing antibody-based biotherapeutics for clinical and manufacturing applications.

Abstract Agriculture is directly related to food security as it determines the global food supply. Research in agriculture to predict crop productivity and losses helps avoid high food demand with little supply and price spikes. Here, we review ten crop models and one intercomparison project used for simulating crop growth and productivity under various impacts from soil–crop–atmosphere interactions. The review outlines food security and production assessments using numerical models for maize, wheat, and rice production. A summary of reviewed studies shows the following: (1) model ensembles provide smaller modeling errors compared to single models, (2) single models show better results when coupled with other types of models, (3) the ten reviewed crop models had improvements over the years and can accurately predict crop growth and yield for most of the locations, management conditions, and genotypes tested, (4) APSIM and DSSAT are fast and reliable in assessing broader output variables, (5) AquaCrop is indicated to investigate water footprint, quality and use efficiency in rainfed and irrigated systems, (6) all models assess nitrogen dynamics and use efficiency efficiently, excluding AquaCrop and WOFOST, (7) JULES specifies in evaluating food security vulnerability, (8) ORYZA is the main crop model used to evaluate paddy rice production, (9) grain filling is usually assessed with APSIM, DAISY, and DSSAT, and (10) the ten crop models can be used as tools to evaluate food production, availability, and security.

Objectives Multiple lung cancers may present as multiple primary lung cancers (MPLC) or intrapulmonary metastasis (IPM) with variations in clinical stage, treatment, and prognosis. However, the existing differentiation criteria based on histology do not fully meet the clinical needs. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) may play an important role in assisting the identification of different pathologies. Here, we extended the relevant data by combining histology and NGS to develop detailed identification criteria for MPLC and IPM. Materials and Methods Patients with lung cancer (each patient had ≥2 tumors) were enrolled in the training (n = 22) and validation (n = 13) cohorts. Genomic profiles obtained from 450-gene-targeted NGS were analyzed, and the new criteria were developed based on our findings and pre-existing Martini & Melamed criteria and molecular benchmarks. Results The analysis of the training cohort indicated that patients identified with MPLC had no (or

Multipath interference in radar signals caused by sea, ground, and other environments poses significant challenges to the target detection, tracking, and classification capabilities of radar systems. Existing methods for radar signal identification require labeled samples and focus mainly on the classification of normal signals. However, in practice, anomalous samples (multipath interference signals) may be scarce and highly imbalanced (i.e., mostly normal samples). To address this problem, we propose a deep anomaly detection with attention (DADA) for semisupervised detection of multipath radar signals. The method transforms radar signals into time–frequency images and is trained exclusively on normal samples. The autoencoder architecture is extended with a feature extractor network to capture latent sample features. CBAM attention is introduced to improve feature extraction. By learning the distribution of normal samples in high-dimensional image space and low-dimensional feature space, a two-dimensional feature space representing normal samples is constructed. A one-class SVM then learns the boundary of normal samples for anomaly detection. Extensive experiments on radar signal datasets validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted developmental condition that commonly appears during early childhood. The etiology of ASD remains multifactorial and not yet fully understood. The identification of biomarkers may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms and pathophysiology of the disorder. The present study aimed to explore the causes of ASD by investigating the key biomedical markers, trace elements, and microbiota factors between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and control subjects.MethodsMedline, PubMed, ProQuest, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and EMBSCO databases have been searched for publications from 2012 to 2023 with no language restrictions using the population, intervention, control, and outcome (PICO) approach. Keywords including “autism spectrum disorder,” “oxytocin,” “GABA,” “Serotonin,” “CRP,” “IL-6,” “Fe,” “Zn,” “Cu,” and “gut microbiota” were used for the search. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist was used to assess the article quality, and a random model was used to assess the mean difference and standardized difference between ASD and the control group in all biomedical markers, trace elements, and microbiota factors.ResultsFrom 76,217 records, 43 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled analyses showed that children with ASD had significantly lower levels of oxytocin (mean differences, MD = −45.691, 95% confidence interval, CI: −61.667, −29.717), iron (MD = −3.203, 95% CI: −4.891, −1.514), and zinc (MD = −6.707, 95% CI: −12.691, −0.722), lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium (MD = −1.321, 95% CI: −2.403, −0.238) and Parabacteroides (MD = −0.081, 95% CI: −0.148, −0.013), higher levels of c-reactive protein, CRP (MD = 0.401, 95% CI: 0.036, 0.772), and GABA (MD = 0.115, 95% CI: 0.045, 0.186), and higher relative abundance of Bacteroides (MD = 1.386, 95% CI: 0.717, 2.055) and Clostridium (MD = 0.281, 95% CI: 0.035, 0.526) when compared with controls. The results of the overall analyses were stable after performing the sensitivity analyses. Additionally, no substantial publication bias was observed among the studies.InterpretationChildren with ASD have significantly higher levels of CRP and GABA, lower levels of oxytocin, iron, and zinc, lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Parabacteroides, and higher relative abundance of Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, and Clostridium when compared with controls. These results suggest that these indicators may be a potential biomarker panel for the diagnosis or determining therapeutic targets of ASD. Furthermore, large, sample-based, and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.

Titanium alloys fabricated by wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) are prone to produce defects with coarse intracrystalline α lamellae, continuous grain boundary of α phase (GB-α), and chemical segregation. The synergistic combination of the factors leads to high strength at the expense of plasticity. Adding activating flux of CaF2 during WAAM can provide an effective way to achieve a remarkable strength-ductility combination of Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Adding CaF2 produced refined intragranular α lamellae, discontinuous GB-α with dowel-like α lamellae (DL-α, primary α phase penetrated through the GB-α and embedded within adjacent β grains), as well as achieved concentration modulations. The tailored microstructure induced multistage strain hardening behavior (sequentially activated multiple strain hardening) during tensile plastic deformation, which allows WAAM-fabricated Ti–6Al–4V alloy a high tensile strength with good plasticity. The good strength-ductility balance is mainly attributed to the utilization of multiple strengthening mechanisms in titanium alloys. This study provides a novel method to improve the mechanical properties of WAAM-fabricated titanium alloys.

Abstract Accurate parameter estimation in radar systems is critically hindered by multipath interference, a challenge that is amplified in complex and dynamic environments. Traditional methods for parameter estimation, which concentrate on single parameters and rely on statistical assumptions, often struggle in such scenarios. To address this, the deep adaptive temporal network (DAT-Net), an innovative deep learning model designed to handle the inherent complexities and non-stationarity of time series data, is proposed. In more detail, DAT-Net integrates both the pruned exact linear time method for effective time series segmentation and the exponential scaling-based importance evaluation algorithm for dynamic learning of importance weights. These methods enable the model to adapt to shifts in data distribution and provide a robust solution for parameter estimation. In addition, DAT-Net demonstrates the capability to comprehend inherent nonlinearities in radar multipath interference signals, thereby facilitating the modeling of intricate patterns within the data. Extensive validation experiments conducted across parameter estimation tasks and demonstrates the robust applicability and efficiency of the proposed DAT-Net model. The architecture yield root mean squared error scores as low as 0.0051 for single-parameter estimation and 0.0152 for multiple-parameter estimation.

The construction of floor pumping roadway in flooding mining area can affect the water resistance of floor strata, increase the risk of coal mining and bring challenges to the floor grouting reinforcement technology. So, the study on the influence of roadway on the water resistance of floor strata under far field stresses and the optimization of control technology was carried out. According to the axial and cross section characteristics of the floor pumping roadway, an analysis model of the bending resistance of key rock strata under the far field principal stresses was established and the theoretical solutions of the deformation and the bending moment of the siltstone under the floor failure area with and without a floor pumping roadway were obtained. Furthermore, the application effect of grout filled casing pipes on the reinforcement of rock strata is studied and verified numerically. First, according to the far field principal stresses, the stress component σ′ acting on siltstone II is obtained in the local coordinate system. According to Levy solution of elastic rectangular thin plate single trigonometric series, the precise solutions of rock deformation and bending moment are obtained by using the generalized simply supported edge theory and superposition method. The exact solution of the deflection equation for the thin plate of strata penetrated by the gas roadway with two adjacent edges free and two adjacent edges fixed is got, while the ratio of mining distance to working face length is 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00, respectively. The calculation results show that the displacement of siltstone II at the intersection of roadway under the influence of roadway under the elastic condition is the largest, which is larger than the maximum displacement of the four sides fixed with the same geometric size. The maximum bending moment of the fixed side of siltstone II under the influence of floor pumping roadway is one order of magnitude higher than that of the fixed side. It illustrates that the siltstone II influenced by gas roadway is easier to be deformed than that without roadway, and its resistance to deformation is reduced to some extent. Based on this, an optimization method for grouting reinforcement of floor rock strata is proposed. The vertical depth of grout filling casing pipes entering into siltstone III is designed to be greater than 2 m, which can play the role of fixed end and increase constraints on free edge of siltstone II. The long slurry casing pipes can improve the boundary conditions of siltstone II and increase the resistance strength due to the deformation difference within the reinforcement range.The numerical results verify the actual effect of grout filling casing on the siltstone deformation.

Abstract Electrooxidation of biomass platforms provides a sustainable route to produce valuable oxygenates, but the practical implementation is hampered by the severe carbon loss stemming from inherent instability of substrates and/or intermediates in alkaline electrolyte, especially under high concentration. Herein, based on the understanding of non-Faradaic degradation, we develop a single-pass continuous flow reactor (SPCFR) system with high ratio of electrode-area/electrolyte-volume, short duration time of substrates in the reactor, and separate feeding of substrate and alkaline solution, thus largely suppressing non-Faradaic degradation. By constructing a nine-stacked-modules SPCFR system, we achieve electrooxidation of glucose-to-formate and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)-to-2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) with high single-pass conversion efficiency (SPCE; 81.8% and 95.8%, respectively) and high selectivity (formate: 76.5%, FDCA: 96.9%) at high concentrations (formate: 562.8 mM, FDCA: 556.9 mM). Furthermore, we demonstrate continuous and kilogram-scale electrosynthesis of potassium diformate (0.7 kg) from wood and soybean oil, and FDCA (1.17 kg) from HMF. This work highlights the importance of understanding and suppressing non-Faradaic degradation, providing opportunities for scalable biomass upgrading using electrochemical technology.

Interleukin (IL)-17A, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is a fundamental function in the onset and advancement of multiple immune diseases. To uncover the primary compounds with IL-17A inhibitory activity, a large-scale screening of the library of traditional Chinese medicine constituents and microbial secondary metabolites was conducted using splenic cells from IL-17A-GFP reporter mice cultured under Th17-priming conditions. Our results indicated that some aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides isolated from a wetland mud-derived fungus, Myrothecium gramineum, showed remarkable IL-17A inhibitory activity. Nine new aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides, myrogramins A–I (1, 4–11), and two known ones (2 and 3) were isolated and identified from the strain. Compounds 1, 3, 4, 10, and 11 exhibited significant IL-17A inhibitory activity. Among them, compound 3, with a high fermentation yield dose-dependently inhibited the generation of IL-17A and suppressed glycolysis in splenic cells under Th17-priming conditions. Strikingly, compound 3 suppressed immunopathology in both IL-17A-mediated animal models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and pulmonary hypertension. Our results revealed that aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides are a novel class of immunomodulators with IL-17A inhibitory activity, and hold great promise applications in treating IL-17A-mediated immune diseases.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), as a type of life-threatening and highly disabled disease, has limited therapeutic approaches. Here, we show that exosomes derived from young healthy human plasma exhibiting typical exosomes features could facilitate functional recovery of ICH mice. When these exosomes are intraventricularly delivered into the brain after ICH, they mainly distribute around the hematoma and could be internalized by neuronal cells. Strikingly, exosomes administration markedly enhanced the behavioral recovery of ICH mice through reducing brain injury and cell ferroptosis. MiRNA sequencing revealed that microRNA-25-3p (miR-25-3p) was differentially expressed miRNA in the exosomes from young healthy human plasma, compared with exosomes from the old control. Importantly, miR-25-3p mimicked the treatment effect of exosomes on behavioral improvement, and mediated the neuroprotective effect of exosomes against ferroptosis in ICH. Furthermore, luciferase assay and western blotting data illustrated that P53 as assumed the role of a downstream effector of miR-25-3p, thereby regulating SLC7A11/GPX4 pathway to counteract ferroptosis. Taken together, these findings firstly reveal that exosomes from young healthy human plasma improve functional recovery through counteracting ferroptotic injury by regulating P53/SLC7A11/GPX4 axis after ICH. Given the easy availability of plasma exosomes, our study provides a potent therapeutic strategy for ICH patients with quick clinical translation in the near future.

The oscillation center may intrude into the generator group when out-of-step oscillation occurs in a large-scale power transmission base. This will lead to an “avalanche” generator tripping of the generator group and seriously affect the safety and stability of the system. Considering that the HVDC system has the advantages of large capacity and long transmission distance, it is often used as a parallel transmission corridor for large-scale power transmission bases. In addition, there is generally a certain reserve capacity in power plants. Starting from inputting reserve capacity and increasing the DC transmission power, a flexible extrapolation strategy of oscillation center based on energy rebalancing is proposed in this paper. The reserve energy at the sending system, the transfer energy in the transmission corridor, and the cut energy at the receiving end are counted. Then the energy transferred in the DC system is comprehensively predicted for complete extrapolation of the oscillation center, and the energy transfer constraints are formulated. The specific energy adjustment schemes of the sending system, power transmission corridor, and the receiving system are determined on the premise of meeting the stability of the system. Finally, the feasibility of this strategy is verified by simulation with the impedance trajectory of the generator and the change curve of power angle during the oscillation period.

The very fast transient overvoltage/overcurrent (VFTO/VFTC) signals generated during disconnectors switching operation may result in a significant threat to the reliability of power grids. While there are several commercial types of disconnectors, there is still a lack of understanding of the electromagnetic interference characteristics that is generated during the very fast transient process of the disconnectors. Based on the transient voltage and current data of disconnector capacitive small current test, this paper extracts the characteristics of the corresponding macropulse and monopulse waveforms. Also, the paper presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of the transient waveform characteristic data through probability density function fitting and Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test of the sample cumulative empirical distribution. The statistical results show that the probability density distribution of the switching operation macropulse waveform follows generalized extreme value and inverse gaussian distribution. The maximum peak values of VFTO and VFTC monopulse are found to be 50 kV and 370 A with a respective rise time at the range of nano- and micro-seconds.​ The frequency bands of VFTO and VFTC macro waveforms are basically distributed within 16 MHz. Results of this paper can pave the way into a more scientific basis for the design of disconnectors considering the strong electromagnetic disturbance and the formulation of system level electromagnetic compatibility standard tests, ensure the safe and stable operation of the power grid.

Southwest Guizhou mining area is a typical karst development mining area in China. Under the influence of mining, the height of karst roof water conducting cracks is abnormally developed. During the rainy season, atmospheric precipitation is extremely easy to enter the underground working face through ultra-high water conducting channels, causing water inrush disasters at the working face, seriously affecting the normal production of the mine. Therefore, based on the analysis of the occurrence characteristics of karst caves in Xintian Coal Mine, the development rules of karst roof water conducting fracture zones during mining were studied by means of on-site measurement, indoor simulation, and theoretical analysis. The development mechanism of ultra-high water conducting fractures was revealed. The results show that: ①The roof karst caves in the study area have obvious zonation phenomenon from top to bottom in the layers such as the surface, the Yulongshan section, and the Changxing Formation. The surface water holes develop along the gullies, and the karst caves in the upper and middle parts of the strong aquifer in the Yulongshan section develop, presenting different forms of beads. The Changxing Formation only locally hosts karst caves with smaller diameters; ② Karst caves in karst aquifers have an important impact on water conducting fractures. Without karst caves, the development height of water conducting fractures is 43.1 m, and the fracture mining ratio is 14.4. Under karst caves, the development of water conducting fractures is abnormal, with a height of 173.1 m, and a fracture mining ratio of 57.7, which communicates with the strong limestone aquifer in the Yulong Mountain section; ③ Karst roof water conducting fissures consist of two parts: mining upward fissures and karst cave instability downward fissures. Under the influence of mining, karst caves become unstable under the combined action of concentrated stress and mining additional stress, and are prone to form downward fissures, which communicate with mining upward fissures, ultimately forming a special ultra-high water conducting fissure in southwestern Guizhou mining area.

Background: The objective of this research was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to ferroptosis in the annulus fibrosus (AF) during intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Methods: We analyzed gene data from degenerated and normal AF obtained from the GSE70362 and GSE147383 datasets. An analysis to determine the functional significance of the DEGs was conducted, followed by the creation of a network illustrating the interactions between proteins. We further analyzed the immune infiltration of the DEGs and determined the hub DEGs using LASSO regression analysis. Finally, we identified the hub ferroptosis-related DEGs (FRDEGs) and verified their expression levels using Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), Western blot, Immunohistochemical Staining (IHC), and Immunofluorescence (IF). Results: By analyzing the GSE70362 and GSE147383 datasets, we identified 118 DEGs. In degenerative AF groups, we observed a significant increase in immune infiltration of resting memory CD4+ T cells. LASSO regression analysis revealed 9 hub DEGs. The construction of a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve yielded an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.762. Furthermore, we found that MGST1 is a hub gene related to ferroptosis. Our examination of immune infiltration indicated that MGST1 primarily influences macrophage M0 in different immune cell expression groups. Finally, our observations revealed a marked upregulation of MGST1 expression in the degenerated annulus fibrosus tissue. Conclusion: Our findings indicate an upsurge in MGST1 levels within degenerative AF, potentially playing a crucial role in the exacerbation of IDD. These findings provide a foundation for further exploration of the pathological mechanisms underlying IDD and offer potential drug targets for intervention.

The booming growth of the internet of things has brought about widespread deployment of devices and massive amounts of sensing data to be processed. Federated learning (FL)-empowered mobile edge computing, known for pushing artificial intelligence to the network edge while preserving data privacy in learning cooperation, is a promising way to unleash the potential information of the data. However, FL’s multi-server collaborative operating architecture inevitably results in communication energy consumption between edge servers, which poses great challenges to servers with constrained energy budgets, especially wireless communication servers that rely on battery power. The device-to-device (D2D) communication mode developed for FL turns high-cost and long-distance server interactions into energy-efficient proximity delivery and multi-level aggregations, effectively alleviating the server energy constraints. A few studies have been devoted to D2D-enabled FL management, but most of them have neglected to investigate server computing power for FL operation, and they have all ignored the impact of dataset characteristics on model training, thus failing to fully exploit the data processing capabilities of energy-constrained edge servers. To fill this gap, in this paper we propose a D2D-assisted FL mechanism for energy-constrained edge computing, which jointly incorporates computing power allocation and dataset correlation into FL scheduling. In view of the variable impacts of computational power on model accuracy at different training stages, we design a partite graph-based FL scheme with adaptive D2D pairing and aperiodic variable local iterations of heterogeneous edge servers. Moreover, we leverage graph learning to exploit the performance gain of the dataset correlation between the edge servers in the model aggregation process, and we propose a graph-and-deep reinforcement learning-based D2D server pairing algorithm, which effectively reduces FL model error. The numerical results demonstrate that our designed FL schemes have great advantages in improving FL training accuracy under edge servers’ energy constraints.

Due to the advantages of coastal areas in the fields of agriculture, transport, and fishing, increasingly more people are moving to these areas. Sea level information is important for these people to survive after extreme sea level events. With the recent improvements in computing and storage capacities, image analysis as a new measuring method is being rapidly developed and widely applied. In this paper, a multi-camera-based sea level height measuring system was built along Japan’s coast and a deep-learning-based stereo matching method has been proposed for this system to complete 3D measurements. In this system, cameras are set with long base distances to ensure the long-distance monitoring system’s precision, which causes a huge difference between the fields of view of the left and right cameras. Since most common network structures complete stereo matching by depth-wise cross-correlation between left and right images, they rely too much on the high-quality rectification of two images and fail on our long-distance sea surface images. We established a feature detection and matching network to realize sea wave extraction and sparse stereo matching for the system. Based on our previous result using the traditional method, the initial disparity was computed to reduce the search range of stereo matching. A training set with 785 pairs of sea surface images and 10,172 pairs of well-matched sea wave images was constructed to supervise the network. The experimental results verified that the proposed method can realize sea wave extraction and mask generation. It can also realize sparse matching of sea surface images regardless of poor rectification.

The abuse and irrational use of tetracyclines (TCs) in human medicine and animal husbandry has become a serious concern, affecting the ecological environment and human health. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and selective method using fully automatic solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of twelve TCs in water. Four isotope-labeled internal standards for TCs were used to correct matrix effects. Several parameters affecting extraction efficiency were systematically optimized, and the optimum experimental conditions found were 1.0 L water sample with 0.5 g/L Na2EDTA (pH 3.0) extracted and enriched by CNW HLB cartridge and eluted by 4 mL of acetone:methanol (v/v, 1:1). The enrichment factors were up to 798−1059 but only requiring about 60 min per six samples. Under the optimized conditions, the linearity of the method ranged from 0.2 to 100 μg/L for 12 TCs, the detection limits were as low as 0.01−0.15 ng/L, and the recoveries were in the range of 70%–118%, with relative standard deviations less than 15%. The developed method can be successfully utilized for the determination of 12 TCs in pure water, tap water, river water, and mariculture seawater. In summary, three and six TCs were detected in river water and mariculture seawater, respectively, with total concentrations of 0.074–0.520 ng/L (mean 0.248 ng/L) and 0.792–58.369 ng/L (12.629 ng/L), respectively. Tetracycline (TC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) were the dominant TCs in river water, while doxytetracycline (DXC) and OTC were dominant in mariculture seawater.

The accuracy of voltage transformer (VT) measurements is imperative for the security and reliability of power systems and the equitability of energy transactions. The integration of a substantial number of electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging infrastructures into the grid poses new challenges for VT measurement fidelity, including voltage instabilities and harmonic disruptions. This paper introduces an innovative transformer measurement error prediction model that synthesizes Multivariate Variational Mode Decomposition (MVMD) with a deep learning framework integrating Bidirectional Temporal Convolutional Network and Multi-Head Attention mechanism (BiTCN-MHA). The paper is aimed at enhancing VT measurement accuracy under fluctuating load conditions. Initially, the optimization of parameter selection within the MVMD algorithm enhances the accuracy and interpretability of bi-channel signal decomposition. Subsequently, the model applies the Spearman rank correlation coefficient to extract dominant modal components from both the decomposed load and original ratio error sequences to form the basis for input signal channels in the BiTCN-MHA model. By superimposing predictive components, an effective prediction of future VT measurement error trends can be achieved. This comprehensive approach, accounting for input load correlations and temporal dynamics, facilitates robust predictions of future VT measurement error trends. Computational example analysis of empirical operational VT data shows that, compared to before decomposition, the proposed method reduces the Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) by 17.9% and the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) by 23.2%, confirming the method’s robustness and superiority in accurately forecasting VT measurement error trends.