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In this paper, we construct an approximation to the Pitman–Yor process by truncating its two‐parameter Poisson–Dirichlet representation. The truncation is based on a decreasing sequence of random weights, thus having a lower approximation error compared to the popular truncated stick‐breaking process. We develop an exact simulation algorithm to sample from the approximation process and provide an alternative MCMC algorithm for the parameter regime where the exact simulation algorithm becomes slow. The effectiveness of the simulation algorithms is demonstrated by the estimation of the functionals of a Pitman–Yor process. Then we adapt the approximation process into a Pitman–Yor process mixture model and devise a blocked Gibbs sampler for posterior inference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonging the lifetime of SAPO‐34 catalysts and enhancing their olefin selectivity in methanol‐to‐olefin (MTO) reactions are critical yet challenging objectives. Here, a series of hierarchical SAPO‐34 catalysts were synthesized using a straightforward recrystallization method. The incorporation of triethylamine into the recrystallization mother liquor facilitated the formation of mesopores, achieving a high solid yield of up to 90%. Notably, the addition of phosphoric acid and ammonium polyvinyl phosphate alcohol during the recrystallization process significantly enhanced the crystallinity and regularity of the hierarchical SAPO‐34 crystals, consequently increasing the mesopore size. Due to the substantially improved mass transfer efficiency and moderated acidity, the SP34‐0.14P‐0.06R catalysts exhibited a prolonged lifetime of 344 min and 80.3% selectivity for ethylene and propylene at a weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 2 h−1. This performance markedly surpasses that of the parent SP34 catalyst, which demonstrated a lifetime of 136 min and a selectivity of 78.0%. Remarkably, the SP34‐0.14P‐0.06R maintained a lifetime of 166 min even at a high WHSV of 10 h−1, which is more than 5‐fold greater than that of the original microporous SP34. This research offers valuable insights into the design and development of hierarchically porous zeolites with high yields, enhancing the efficiency of MTO reactions and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A behavior intervention architecture was applied in the traffic safety field. • The concept was explored by conducting a survey with 1054 respondents in Japan. • Nudge Theory could effectively nudge drivers to use driving tracking. • Different demographic groups should be nudged with different nudge techniques. Driver tracking has the potential to improve driving skills and reduce traffic accidents. Nudging drivers toward the widespread utilization of driver tracking holds significant potential for enhancing traffic safety. Nudge approach gained popularity by changing environmental factors through careful design and guiding people to make certain choices under non-mandatory conditions. This research is dedicated to examines the impact of nudge approach on driver's willingness to use driver tracking across different age, marital, and income groups. Survey data were collected from a sample of 1054 respondents throughout Japan in 2020. Together with the PLS-SEM model and multigroup analysis, results reveal that (1) natural consequences, comparison of behavior, shaping knowledge, covert learning, identity nudge approaches could all have positive impact on driver's willingness to use driver tracking; (2) it is significantly effective to deploy shaping knowledge nudge approach for the drivers under 50 years old to encourage them to use driver tracking; (3) natural consequence nudge approach is more suitable for drivers older than 50 years old, while the convert learning nudge approach is more appropriate for drivers younger than 50 years old; (4) natural consequences nudge approach is more effective in influencing the willingness of unmarried respondents to use driver tracking, while the covert learning nudge approach is more effective in influencing the willingness of married respondents; (5) comparison of behavior nudge approach is 2 times more effective at persuading drivers to use driver tracking for the higher income group, while driver's identity nudge approach is 2 times more effective for the lower income group. These findings provide valuable insights for drivers, companies, and governments with a superior nudge approach to enhance driving skills, which is beneficial for improving traffic safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glycolysis is critical for harvesting abundant energy to maintain the tumor microenvironment in malignant tumors. Retinoic acid-related orphan receptor α (RORα) has been identified as a circadian gene. However, the association of glycolysis with RORα in regulating gastric cancer (GC) proliferation remains poorly understood. Methods: Bioinformatic analysis and retrospective study were utilized to explore the role of RORα in cell cycle and glycolysis in GC. The mechanisms were performed in vitro and in vivo including colony formation, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT) and subcutaneous tumors of mice model assays. The key drives between RORα and glycolysis were verified through western blot and chip assays. Moreover, we constructed models of high proliferation and high glucose environments to verify a negative feedback and chemoresistance through a series of functional experiments in vitro and in vivo. Results: RORα was found to be involved in the cell cycle and glycolysis through a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) algorithm. GC patients with low RORα expression were not only associated with high circulating tumor cells (CTC) and high vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels. However, it also presented a positive correlation with the standard uptake value (SUV) level. Moreover, the SUVmax levels showed a positive linear relation with CTC and VEGF levels. In addition, RORα expression levels were associated with glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and phosphofructokinase-2/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFKFB3) expression levels, and GC patients with low RORα and high G6PD or low RORα and high PFKFB3 expression patterns had poorest disease-free survival (DFS). Functionally, RORα deletion promoted GC proliferation and drove glycolysis in vitro and in vivo. These phenomena were reversed by the RORα activator SR1078. Moreover, RORα deletion promoted GC proliferation through attenuating G6PD and PFKFB3 induced glycolytic activity in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, RORα was recruited to the G6PD and PFKFB3 promoters to modulate their transcription. Next, high proliferation and high glucose inhibited RORα expression, which indicated that negative feedback exists in GC. Moreover, RORα deletion improved fluorouracil chemoresistance through inhibition of glucose uptake. Conclusion: RORα might be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for GC through attenuating glycolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The built environment is a structural determinant of health. Here we reveal spatially heterogeneous associations of built environment indicators with objective health outcomes (morbidity) by combining a random forest (RF) approach and a multiscale geographically weighted (MGWR) regression method. Using data from six Japanese cities, we found that the ratio of morbidity has obvious spatial agglomerations. The mixed land-use diversity with 1000 m buffer, distance to hospital, proportion of park area with 300 m buffer, and house price with 2000 m buffer, negatively affect health outcomes at all locations. For most locations, high PM2.5 or high floor area ratio with 2000 m buffer are linked to a high ratio of morbidity. Our findings support the use of such data for long-term urban and health planning. We expect our study to be a starting point for further research on spatially heterogeneous associations of the built environment with comprehensive health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the specific effects and mechanisms of donepezil (DNPZ) hydrochloride on inflammation and apoptosis in ulcerative colitis (UC). In vivo and in vitro models of UC were established using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)‐induced mice and NCM460 cells, respectively. Following oral administration of DNPZ, body weight, disease activity index (DAI) scores and colon lengths of mice were recorded. Histopathological damage was detected employing hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Inflammatory factors were tested using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Apoptosis was estimated utilizing terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick‐end labeling and western blot. Low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 1 (LRP1)/AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK)/nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐ κB) signaling proteins were detected utilizing western blot. NCM460 cell viability was assessed by cell counting kit (CCK)‐8. We found that DNPZ partially restored body weight, reduced DAI scores and attenuated intestinal pathological damage in DSS‐induced mice. Additionally, inflammatory factors decreased significantly after DNPZ treatment, accompanied by reduced apoptosis level. Phosphorylation (p)‐AMPK increased and p‐p65 decreased after DNPZ treatment, whereas LRP1 knockdown showed the opposite effect. Moreover, DNPZ treatment greatly restored NCM460 cell viability after DSS stimulation. DNPZ attenuated DSS‐induced inflammation and apoptosis in NCM460 cells, which was reversed by LRP1 knockdown. In summary, DNPZ hydrochloride attenuates inflammation and apoptosis in UC via LRP1/AMPK/NF‐κB signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convenient and sensitive assay of antibiotic residuals is important for monitoring food safety and human health. Here, with a new self-constrained metal ion-dependent DNAzyme and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) signal amplifications, a simple label-free and highly sensitive aptamer-based fluorescent sensing assay for sarafloxacin is established. The target sarafloxacin molecules bind the aptamers in the duplex DNA probes to release the complementary strands, which cyclically activate the catalytic activity of the self-constrained DNAzymes to cut the substrate sequences to liberate many ssDNA strands. Subsequent HCR of two hairpins is initiated by these ssDNA strands for yielding long dsDNAs with lots of G-quadruplexes, which intercalate thioflavin T dye to generate drastically magnified fluorescence for non-label and sensitive sarafloxacin detection at the detection limit of 29 pM. Also, a highly selective assay of low levels of sarafloxacin in diluted milk samples has been demonstrated, showing the great potential of our approach for the development of versatile sensitive and convenient aptasensors for monitoring different antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In RSSI-based indoor visible light positioning systems, when only RSSI is used for trilateral positioning, the receiver height needs to be known to calculate distance. Meanwhile, the positioning accuracy is greatly affected by multi-path effect interference, with the influence of the multi-path effect varying across different areas of the room. If only one single processing is used for positioning, the positioning error in the edge area will increase sharply. In order to address these problems, this paper proposes a new positioning scheme, which uses artificial intelligence algorithms for point classification. Firstly, height estimation is performed according to the received power data structure from different LEDs, which effectively extends the traditional RSSI trilateral positioning from 2D to 3D. The location points in the room are then divided into three categories: ordinary points, edge points and blind points, and corresponding models are used to process different types of points, respectively, to reduce the influence of the multi-path effect. Next, processed received power data are used in the trilateral positioning method for calculating the location point coordinates, and to reduce the room edge corner positioning error, so as to reduce the indoor average positioning error. Finally, a complete system is built in an experimental simulation to verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes, which are shown to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft magnetic high‐entropy alloy thin films (HEATFs) exhibit remarkable freedom of material‐structure design and physical‐property tailoring, as well as, high cut‐off frequencies and outstanding electrical resistivities, making them potential candidates for high‐frequency magnetic devices. In this study, a CoCrFeNi film with excellent soft magnetic properties is developed by forming a novel core–shell structure via native oxidation, with ferromagnetic elements Fe, Co, and Ni as the core and the Cr oxide as the shell layer. The core–shell structure enables a high saturation magnetization, enhances the electrical resistivity, and thus reduces the eddy‐current loss. For further optimizing the soft magnetic properties, O is deliberately introduced into the HEATFs, and the O‐incorporated HEATFs exhibit an electrical resistivity of 237 µΩ·cm, a saturation magnetization of 535 emu cm−3, and a coercivity of 23 A m−1. The factors that determine the ferromagnetism and coercivity of the CoCrFeNi‐based HEATFs are examined in detail by evaluating the microstructures, magnetic domains, chemical valency, and 3D microscopic compositional distributions of the prepared films. These results are anticipated to provide insights into the magnetic behaviors of soft magnetic HEATFs, as well as aid in the construction of a promising material‐design strategy for these unique materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak brought online learning to the forefront of education. Scholars have conducted many studies on online learning during the pandemic, but only a few have performed quantitative comparative analyses of students' online learning behavior before and after the outbreak. We collected review data from China's massive open online course platform called icourse.163 and performed social network analysis on 15 courses to explore courses' interaction characteristics before, during, and after the COVID-19 pan-demic. Specifically, we focused on the following aspects: (1) variations in the scale of online learning amid COVID-19; (2a) the characteristics of online learning interaction during the pandemic; (2b) the characteristics of online learning interaction after the pandemic; and (3) differences in the interaction characteristics of social science courses and natural science courses. Results revealed that only a small number of courses witnessed an uptick in online interaction, suggesting that the pandemic's role in promoting the scale of courses was not significant. During the pandemic, online learning interaction became more frequent among course network members whose interaction scale increased. After the pandemic, although the scale of interaction declined, online learning interaction became more effective. The scale and level of interaction in Electrodynamics (a natural science course) and Economics (a social science course) both rose during the pan-demic. However, long after the pandemic, the Economics course sustained online interaction whereas interaction in the Electrodynamics course steadily declined. This discrepancy could be due to the unique characteristics of natural science courses and social science courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the kinetic performance of thick electrodes is essential for improving the efficiency of lithium extraction processes. Biochar, known for its affordability and unique three-dimensional (3D) structure, is utilized across various applications. In this study, we developed a biochar-based, 3D-conductive network thick electrode (∼20 mg cm−2) by in-situ deposition of LiFePO 4 (LFP) onto watermelon peel biomass (WB). Utilizing Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations complemented by experimental data, we confirmed that this The thick electrode exhibits outstanding kinetic properties and a high capacity for lithium intercalation in brines, even in environments where the Magnesia-lithium ratios are significantly high. The electrode showed an impressive intercalation capacity of 30.67 mg g−1 within 10 min in a pure lithium solution. It also maintained high intercalation performance (31.17 mg g−1) in simulated brines with high Magnesia-lithium ratios. Moreover, in actual brine, it demonstrated a significant extraction capacity (23.87 mg g−1), effectively lowering the Magnesia-lithium ratio from 65 to 0.50. This breakthrough in high-conductivity thick electrode design offers new perspectives for lithium extraction technologies. The watermelon peel serves as the substrate, simultaneously supporting the in-situ loading of LFP, thereby forming an LFP/WB thick electrode exhibits high lithium absorption capacity and excellent kinetic performance in high Mg2+/Li+ ratio brine. It achieved an impressive absorption rate of 30.67 mg g−1·min−1 in 10 min and an average lithium extraction of 23.87 mg g−1 from salt lake brine. This approach effectively reduced the Mg2+/Li+ ratio from 65 to 0.50, enabling efficient lithium separation and comprehensive biological resource utilization. [Display omitted] • The comprehensive utilization of biological resources is achieved. • The low efficiency of Li + extraction with thick electrode is effectively solved. • Effectively reducing the Mg2+/Li+ ratio in low-grade brine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel carbazole sulfonamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity. Among them, compounds 7 and 15 showed strong potency (IC 50 values of 0.81–31.19 nM) against five different cancer cells including multidrug-resistant MCF7/ADR cells. Compound 15 displayed a high cancer cell selectivity (IC 50 (L02)/average IC 50 : SI = 7.7). The l -valine prodrug 7a and the phosphate prodrug 15a exerted rohust in vivo antitumor efficacies and accepted safety prolifes. Further mechanism studies revealed that 7 and 15 directly bind to the colchicine site in tubulin to block tubulin polymerization, promote microtubule fragmentation at the cellular level, and induce apoptosis with G2/M cell cycle arrest. These compounds also inhibit HEMC-1 cells migration and vascular tube formation. Additionally, compound 7 displayed a selective inhibition of Topo I. Collectively, these studies suggest that 7 and 15 represents a promising new generation of tubulin inhibitors for cancer treatment. [Display omitted] • Compound 7 is a novel dual-mechanism antitumor agent with targeting tubulin and Topo I. • Compounds 7 and 15 showed an average IC 50 value of 17.99 and 6.94 nM against five cancer cells, respectively. • Compound 15 showed a high selective between cancer cells and L02 cells with SI of 7.7. • Compounds 7 and 15 possessed antitumor effect in MCF-7 xenograft model with IR 0f 66 % and 73 %, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the kinetic performance of thick electrodes is key to enhancing lithium extraction from salt lakes. Nano-melamine foam (MF), known for its unique porous structure, is ideal for building a three-dimensional (3D) conductive network, thereby boosting electrode kinetics. In our study, we developed a thick electrode (20 mg·g−1) with a 3D-conductive network by in-situ growing LiFePO 4 (LFP) onto a nanoscale MF substrate. This electrode exhibited superior kinetic performance and a high lithium adsorption capacity in brine, achieving up to 32.8 mg·g−1 in just 10 min. Remarkably, even in simulated brine with a high Mg2+/Li+ ratio, it maintained an average coulomb efficiency of 62 %, significantly lowering the Mg2+/Li+ ratio from 65.6 to 0.47. It also showed exceptional stability in actual brine, maintaining an average coulomb efficiency of about 56.6 %. Our development of this high conductivity, thick electrode provides new insights into efficient lithium extraction methods. • The introduction of melamine foam significantly enhanced the extraction efficiency of lithium，addressing the low efficiency commonly associated with lithium extraction in salt lakes. • Demonstrated effectiveness of the LFP/MF materials in real salt lake brine environments, highlighting their potential for practical applications. • The construction of 3D network thick electrode provides a new idea for extracting lithium from salt lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of air entrainment on rheological behavior of fresh cementitious materials has attracted a lot of attention in the past years, but the results are still in controversy. In this research, cement mortars were prepared with equivalent air contents using different air-entraining admixtures (AEAs) to measure their fresh-state performance and hardened air-void system at variable temperature conditions, which aimed to clarify and unveil the coupled effects of different surfactants and temperature for the first time. The adsorption amount of AEA, zeta potential of cement, along with hydration kinetics of mixtures were evaluated to characterize the interaction of air bubbles with cement grains. It was found that for mixture without superplasticizer (SP), the impact of air entrainment on rheological parameters was dependent on the interaction intensity of AEA molecules with cement. For SP-plasticized mixture, air entrainment tended to cause a shear-thinning behavior with decreased plastic viscosity, while its influence on yield stress was in accordance with the situation without SP. The hardened samples with anionic surfactant contained more small voids and lacked big voids, whereas the samples with cationic surfactant showed opposite outcomes. With temperature decreasing, both the average chord length and the spacing factor of air voids increased owing to the reduced yield stress of mixture. The results will provide in-depth illustrations for understanding how air bubbles change the rheological behavior of mixture, and more importantly it will explain the seemingly inconsistent findings reported by previous literatures. • How air bubbles affected rheological behavior of mixtures with various states was clarified. • The coupled influence of surfactant type and temperature on air-void system were explored. • The crucial role of surfactant interaction with cement for fresh-state performance was revealed. • The reasons why temperature decreasing at fresh-state degraded air-void structure were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of machine learning, multilabel learning gradually evolved from the traditional text classification problem. In this study, a multiview multilabel via optimal classifier chain (MVMLOCC) algorithm based on the nearest-neighbor model is proposed. The algorithm model establishes a multilabel chain classifier for each view of the dataset and predicts unknown data samples by dynamically adjusting the weights of chain learners. When an unknown example is input, multiple chain classifier models are multiplied by corresponding weights to obtain the final tag set situation. The model makes full use of the relevance between multiple tags and the complementarity and integrity between multiple perspectives and can achieve better learning results. The final experimental results show that our proposed model can be applied to different multilabel classification tasks and has achieved excellent performance under different evaluation indicators. This study mainly studies the multiview and multilabel classification method and uses active learning technology to solve the problem of high label components in data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the energy consumption of elderly and non-elderly households, recognizing the ever-increasing importance of the aging population for energy policy. Decisions of the domestic (in-home) and transport (out-of-home) sectors at the household level are jointly incorporated by building a multivariate Hierarchical Archimedean Copula model with intra-sector and inter-sector dependencies. Data from a life-oriented behavioral survey in Japan are used, which includes 532 elderly households and 340 non-elderly households. A variety of life-related factors, together with built environment factors, are introduced into the above model. Modeling analysis results show that inter- and intra-sector dependencies are heterogeneous across households in terms of these factors. It is found that almost equal numbers of influential factors are sensitive and insensitive to age-based sample segmentation. Various similarities and dissimilarities across energy types between elderly and non-elderly households are revealed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared image target recognition provides an important means of night traffic management and battlefield environment monitoring. With the improvement of the performance of infrared sensors and the popularization of applications, it becomes possible to obtain multiview infrared images of the same target in the same scene. A target recognition method combining multiview infrared images is proposed. At first, the internal correlation analysis of multiview infrared images is performed based on the nonlinear correlation information entropy (NCIE). The view subset from all the multiview images with the largest NCIE is selected as candidate samples for the subsequent target recognition. The joint sparse representation (JSR) is used to classify all infrared images in the candidate view subset. JSR can effectively investigate the internal correlation of multiple related sparse representation problems and improve the reconstruction accuracy and classification capabilities. In the experiments, the tests are performed on the collected infrared images of multiple types of traffic vehicles, under the conditions of original, noisy, and occluded samples. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method can be verified by comparative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 3D-rGO, an electrode with a three-dimensional conductive network was successfully constructed, which shortened the transmission path of Li+ and showed excellent kinetic properties (the rate in the first 10 min was 3.58mg·g−1·min−1), and it also has a high adsorption capacity (35.8mg·g−1). [Display omitted] • Significant improvement in the kinetic performance of lithium extraction using the LFP/rGO materials, addressing the low efficiency commonly associated with lithium extraction in salt lakes. • Demonstrated effectiveness of the LFP/rGO materials in real salt lake brine environments, highlighting their potential for practical applications. • The development of a three-dimensional conductive network-incorporated thick electrode provides new insights for the fabrication of high-performance lithium extraction electrodes. Constructing thick electrodes with high Li+ adsorption capacity and excellent kinetic performance effectively addresses the low efficiency of lithium extraction from salt lake brines. However, an increase in the content of active material can hinder the Li+ mass transfer within the electrode, resulting in polarization and reduced kinetic performance, which ultimately affects the extraction efficiency. This study synthesized a three-dimensional(3D) conductive network-incorporated thick electrode (∼20 mg/cm2) composed of the redox graphene oxide-loaded LFP(LFP/rGO) composite through an in situ hydrothermal method. The electrode material showed excellent kinetic performance and a high adsorption capacity for Li+ in salt lake brine. Under a constant voltage of 0.8 V in Li+ solution, the Li+ adsorption capacity reached 36.78 mg·g−1 within 10 min, exhibiting an average coulombic efficiency of over 83.53 %. Furthermore, the LFP/rGO composite thick electrode exhibited a Li+ adsorption capacity of 32.82 mg·g−1, along with an average coulombic efficiency of 74.6 %, even in the West Taijinar old brine solution. Additionally, the electrode material demonstrated remarkable cycling stability, maintaining a capacity of 172.09 mAh·g−1 after 50 cycles at a 0.2C rate in a high-concentration salt lake brine. Our preparation strategy offers novel insights for high-performance lithium extraction electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a finite-horizon optimal control based on a linear periodically time-varying (LTPV) state–space model for single-phase cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter with low-capacitance. This LPTV model, characterized by periodic time-varying state matrices, integrates the branch current and capacitor voltages as state variables, modulation signals as control inputs. This article aims to design a full state feedback control for the periodic currents and capacitor voltages tracking, without decoupling control bandwidth for current and capacitor voltage as in conventional studies. This is indeed particularly important for low-capacitance CHB, because the capacitor voltage ripple and current are interacted with each other. After deriving the LPTV model from a bilinear time-varying model, an optimal problem with a performance index over a finite-time interval as the objective function is formulated. In order to solve this optimal problem, the dynamic programming is used so as to obtain an optimal control matrix. Simulations on a 45-level CHB converter and experiments on a 5-level low-capacitance single-phase CHB prototype verify the proposed control strategy, corroborating its excellent performance at transient- and steady-state. • Build a linear periodically time-varying (LPTV) state–space model under natural-frame, integrating the branch current and sum of SM capacitor voltages as state variables while modulation signals as control inputs. • Design an optimal controller based on the LPTV system for current and capacitor voltage tracking. • The proposed method is superior to the conventional cascaded control at the aspects of elimination of filters for extracting average capacitor voltages, simple tuning process and rapid response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to tackle the environmental problems induced by Portland cement production and industrial solid wastes landfilling, this study aims to develop novel ternary cementless fly ash-based geopolymer by recycling red mud and blast furnace slag industrial solid wastes. The fresh-state properties, mechanical strength, water permeability, phase assemblage and microstructure were systematically investigated to evaluate the performance variation and reveal the hydration mechanism for geopolymers with different mixing proportions. The results showed that a higher slag content or a lower red mud content could result in the higher fluidity and shorter setting time for fresh mixture. The existence of slag promoted the transformation of N-A-S-H to C-A-S-H gel, which contributed to higher compressive strength and better resistance to water penetration. However, an excessive incorporation of 30% red mud may impede the generation of N-A-S-H gel and form more flocculent-like loose hydrates, thus to mildly degrade the mechanical strength and anti-permeability. The synergetic utilization of red much and blast furnace slag in fly ash-based geopolymer led to much less CO 2 emission compared with the condition that red much or slag was singly added, which demonstrated prominent environmental advantages for such kind of ternary cementless geopolymer with equivalent mechanical strength. [Display omitted] • A series of novel cementless geopolymers with ternary solid wastes were designed with low CO 2 emission. • Synergetic utilization of red mud and slag endowed fly ash-based geopolymer with adaptive fresh properties. • The influential mechanisms of red mud and slag on strength and permeability of geopolymer were clarified. • The hydration products and microstructure of geopolymer with red mud and slag were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) printing of ceramics has attracted increasing attention in various fields. However, the pyrolysis of organic components used for binding or polymerization in 3D printing commonly causes a large shrinkage (up to 30 %–40 %), high porosity, and cracking or deformation, severely limiting practical applications. In this study, 3D printing of Al 2 O 3 ceramic architectures with ultra-low shrinkage is realized by introducing inorganic binder aluminum dihydrogen phosphate (Al(H 2 PO 4) 3 , AP) as a ceramic precursor. Compared to organic binders, the inorganic AP binder can undergo crystallization conversion, which reduces mass loss during sintering at high temperatures, resulting in low shrinkage. Moreover, AP can be used as a rheological modifier to regulate the printability of the ceramic ink for direct ink writing of Al 2 O 3 ceramic architectures, such as wood-piled scaffolds, honeycomb structures, and tubes with high fidelity. The resultant Al 2 O 3 structural ceramics sintered at 1250 °C exhibit good mechanical performance and structural integrity. Most importantly, the linear shrinkage of the printed ceramics is less than 5 %, which is several times lower than that of ceramics with organic binders. This study provides a viable strategy for fabricating high-performance ceramic architectures with good dimensional fidelity for practical applications. ∙ Al 2 O 3 ceramics with aluminum phosphate binder were printed by using direct ink writing. ∙The resultant Al 2 O 3 ceramic exhibited ultra-low dimensional shrinkage owing to the inorganic binder. ∙Al 2 O 3 ceramics are programmable in size and shape, with good stability, reusability, and fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the dual role of the transport sector in the Covid-19 pandemic: spreading the virus around the world and being most negatively impacted by the pandemic. This paper describes and analyzes the following: (a) actions taken by the governments and international community in order to control the spreading and to alleviate negative economic impacts including massive fiscal and monetary stimulus funding; (b) detailed discussions on the impacts of the pandemic on air transport, rail and bus transport, and urban transit, and major countries' responses to reduce the negative effects; (c) discussions on the positive effects of the pandemic on the environment and climate change by suggesting policy measures in order to make it sustainable over the long term. Finally, the paper addresses social acceptance issue of the behavioral changes necessary in the post-pandemic world, in particular reflecting historical experience of the Spanish flu case. We end the paper with some observations and discussion of the normative issues for a sustainable development of the transport sector. • The impacts of three Covid-19 waves on the world economies have enforced many countries to start large stimulus packages. • The negative impacts on transportation activities are severe for aviation, rail and public transit. • Car travel is on the way of recovering while biking rides are increasing and parcel services are booming. • It will be difficult for mass transport modes to return to previous Covid growth paths because of reduced confidence of passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has influenced economies and societies across the globe and will thoroughly reshape our world as it continues to unfold. The pandemic is likely to trigger permanent long-term impacts on the transport sector in the post-COVID world. While a post-COVID "new normal" will be likely to incur negative consequences, it may provide an opportunity to move toward a more sustainable transport sector. This paper is aimed at developing an urban economic model with an energy focus to depict the dynamics of travel demand, energy consumption, and emissions in the post-COVID world. A set of scenarios was created according to model assumptions regarding lifestyle changes and policy interventions accompanied by the expected post-COVID new normal, to explore long-term pathways toward a deep decarbonization of the transport sector. Scenario simulations demonstrated that working from home, online shopping, and a bike-friendly infrastructure will contribute to a reduction in energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, whereas a significant shift from bus to car transport and the decreasing use of car-sharing services will adversely affect CO 2 emission reductions. The arrival of the post-COVID world may contribute to an 11% reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2060, while the maximum reduction potential could be as high as 44%. Supporting policies and strategies for encouraging remote work and online shopping as well as for promoting safe public transport, active transport, and carpooling services are needed to strongly decarbonize the transport sector in the post-COVID world. Moreover, population distribution and urban structure may also be influenced by the arrival of the post-COVID new normal, which warrant further attention for urban planning. • An urban economic model that accommodates detailed transport and energy technology representations is presented. • Several scenarios are analyzed to depict decarbonization pathways for the transport sector in the post-COVID world. • The arrival of the post-COVID new normal may contribute to reducing CO 2 emissions by a maximum of 44% by 2060. • The impacts of the oncoming new normal on urban structure deserve more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To design effective policies against COVID-19, there is a need for more evidence-based research. However, associations between actual policies and temporal behavior changes have remained underexplored. To fill this important research gap, a nationwide retrospective life-oriented panel survey on individuals' behavior changes from April to September 2020 was implemented in Japan. Reliability of information sources, risk perceptions, and attitudes toward policymaking were also investigated. Valid data were collected from 2643 respondents residing in different parts of the country. Risks were reported about general infections and public transport use. Attitudes toward policymaking were mainly about policymaking capacity and PASS-LASTING based policy measures. A dynamic structural equation model (DSEM) was developed to quantify dynamic associations between individuals' behavior changes over time and subjective assessments (i.e., attitudes) of policymaking. Survey results revealed that behavior changes are mostly characterized by avoidance behaviors. Modeling estimation results showed a statistically-significant sequential cause-effect relationship between accumulated behavior changes in the past, subjective factors, and the most recent behavior changes. The most recent behavior changes are mostly affected by accumulated behavior changes in the past. Effects of subjective assessments of policymaking on the most recent behavior changes are significant but moderate. Among attitudes toward policymaking, attitudes toward policymaking capacity are more influential than willingness to follow PASS-LASTING based policy measures. High risks of using public transport are found to significantly influence the most recent behavior changes, together with other risk perception factors. Insights into effective COVID-19 policymaking are summarized. [Display omitted] • A nationwide life-oriented panel survey was implemented online in Japan in 2020. • Various behavior changes are mostly characterized by avoidance behaviors in Japan. • Impacts of risk perception during the use of public transport are revealed. • Impacts of policymaking capability on activity-travel behaviors are confirmed. • Impacts of PASS-LASTING policies on activity-travel behaviors are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to provide scientifically-sound evidence for designing more effective COVID-19 policies in the transport and public health sectors by comparing 418 policy measures (244 are transport measures) taken in different months of 2020 in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. The effectiveness of each policy is measured using nine indicators of infections and mobilities corresponding to three periods (i.e., one week, two weeks, and one month) before and after policy implementation. All policy measures are categorized based on the PASS approach (P: prepare-protect-provide; A: avoid-adjust; S: shift-share; S: substitute-stop). First, policy effectiveness is compared between policies, between countries, and over time. Second, a dynamic Bayesian multilevel generalized structural equation model is developed to represent dynamic cause-effect relationships between policymaking, its influencing factors and its consequences, within a unified research framework. Third, major policy measures in the six countries are compared. Finally, findings for policymakers are summarized and extensively discussed. [Display omitted] • COVID-19 transport-related policymaking in six developed countries are compared. • Effectiveness of 418 PASS-based policy measures are examined by using 27 indicators. • Policy effectiveness is compared between policies, between countries and over time. • A dynamic Bayesian multilevel generalized structural equation model is developed. • Dynamic relationships between policymaking, factors and consequences are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travelers often change their behavior in reaction to adverse weather conditions. This paper seeks to conduct an empirical evaluation of both ordered and unordered discrete outcome frameworks for examining the adaptive behavior decisions of intercity travelers and investigate the varying effects of explanatory factors on different alternatives of adaptive behavior during adverse weather. The data from 754 respondents in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, China are collected by a two-phase survey instrument. To capture the unobserved heterogeneity more effectively, this paper develops three advanced models to investigate the variations in intercity travel behavior during adverse weather. Four alternative adaptive behaviors are determined as outcome variables: maintaining original travel plans, changing only the intercity mode, changing the departure date, and canceling the trip, while potential influencing factors including adverse weather conditions, trip-related characteristics, individual attributes and urban agglomeration attributes are statistically assessed. The results indicate that the unordered models consistently outperform their ordered counterparts, and the incorporation of multilayer heterogeneity enhances the model fit. Furthermore, significant factors and their coefficient values vary across the different adaptive behavior alternatives. Intercity travelers demonstrate a higher probability of changing departure dates or canceling trips during snowy and windy days compared to rainy and foggy days. Trains exhibit higher flexibility and reliability during adverse weather, and access attributes significantly affect intercity travel adaptive behavior. Additionally, the analysis of individual and urban agglomeration attributes uncovers variations in adaptive behavior among individuals and cities. These findings provide profound insights into the complexities and variations of intercity travel behavior during adverse weather, and propose practical strategies to mitigate the detrimental impacts of adverse weather on intercity travelers. • Adaptive behavior of intercity travelers during adverse weather is investigated. • Unordered framework outperforms ordered counterparts in adaptive behavior study. • Multilayer unobserved heterogeneity in the adaptive behavior is accounted for. • The varying effects of explanatory factors on different adaptive alternatives are examined. • Practical strategies are proposed to mitigate negative impacts of adverse weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the transport sector and the corresponding policy measures are becoming widely investigated. Considering the various uncertainties and unknowns about this virus and its impacts (especially long-term impacts), it is critical to understand opinions and suggestions from experts within the transport sector and related planning fields. To date, however, there is no study that fills this gap in a comprehensive way. This paper is an executive summary of the findings of the WCTRS COVID-19 Taskforce expert survey conducted worldwide between the end of April and late May 2020, obtaining 284 valid answers. The experts include those in the field of transport and other relevant disciplines, keeping good balances between geographic regions, types of workplaces, and working durations. Based on extensive analyses of the survey results, this paper first reveals the realities of lockdowns, restrictions of out-of-home activities and other physical distancing requirements, as well as modal shifts. Experts' agreements and disagreements to the structural questions about changes in lifestyles and society are then discussed. Analysis results revealed that our human society was not well prepared for the current pandemic, reaffirming the importance of risk communication. Geographical differences of modal shifts are further identified, especially related to active transport and car dependence. Improved sustainability and resilience are expected in the future but should be supported by effective behavioral intervention measures. Finally, policy implications of the findings are discussed, together with important future research issues. • Findings are derived from a worldwide expert survey implemented in April–May 2020. • Guidelines and contingency plans were reported by only about 30% of experts. • Remarkable modal shifts away from public transport usage were reported. • Developing countries were equally active in taking measures as developed countries. • Various long-term changes in lifestyles and society were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the characteristics of individuals with voluntary behavioural changes (cancellation and postponement of bookings) during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Japan. In addition, the temporal trends of these changes were captured. A cross-sectional analysis and a time series analysis were conducted. A nation-wide retrospective panel survey was conducted at the end of March 2020 (n = 1052). Odds ratios for cancellations/postponements with respect to individual characteristics were calculated in the analysis. To determine the temporal trend, the incidence ratios were compared throughout the time series analysis for four time periods: period 1, before the announcement of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) from the World Health Organisation (WHO) (January 1–31); period 2, after the announcement of PHEIC (February 1–26); period 3, after the announcement of school closures by the Japanese government (February 27 – March 11); and period 4, after the announcement of the pandemic by the WHO (March 12–31). In total, 72% of respondents cancelled or postponed their bookings at least once, and about half of the changes occurred in period 3. Elderly individuals' changes in gatherings were, on average, 5.9 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9 – 17.9) higher than those of young individuals. The incidence rate of change in gatherings during period 3 was 7.11 times (95% CI: 5.16 – 9.81) higher than in period 2 and 3.15 times (95% CI: 2.25 – 4.43) higher than in period 4. Significant interaction terms were observed in age and residential city size, but not sex, of the respondents. A significant proportion of the Japanese population voluntarily changed their behaviour during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the government's announcement of school closures was a key trigger during this time. [Display omitted] • Temporal behavioural changes for the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in Japan were evaluated. • A high percentage of the population had voluntarily initiated behavioural changes. • Differences in behavioural changes were observed across individual characteristics. • The government announcement for school closures was a key trigger for behavioural change across all ages. • Significant interaction effects between time periods and characteristics were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T-2 toxin is widely found in nature and also contaminates field crops and grain storage, posing a potential threat to human health. In this study, an ultra-sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor has been developed for the detection of T-2 toxin using Ti 3 C 2 MXene-based nanomaterials functionalized with gold nanorods (AuNRs) and Ru(bpy) 3 2+ (Ti 3 C 2 @AuNRs-Ru) as the luminescent indicator. Specifically, gold nanorods are grown in situ on the surface of Ti 3 C 2 MXene, and Ru(bpy) 3 2+ is loaded onto Ti 3 C 2 @AuNRs via electrostatic force to form the Ti 3 C 2 @AuNRs-Ru luminescent probe, which is then modified on the electrode surface. The aptamer of T-2 toxin is connected to the electrode surface through Au-S bonds, and then the capture chain (cDNA) with a quenching probe of ferrocene is introduced to the system. Ferrocene can quench the luminescence of the probe, reducing the ECL signal. In the presence of T-2 toxin, it binds to the aptamer with higher affinity, so the quenching probe is competed down, resulting in the recovery of the ECL signal. The increase in ECL signal is linearly correlated with the logarithm of T-2 toxin concentration, with the detection range of 50 fg/mL to 50 ng/mL and a detection limit of 6.44 fg/mL. This strategy utilizes the high catalytic activity and excellent conductivity of MXene, improving the sensitivity significantly. The proposed sensor has been successfully applied for the detection of actual samples and provides a new strategy for the detection of hazardous pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thixotropic behavior of fresh cement-based materials has been found to be derived from the reversible breakage and agglomeration of flocculated cement grains. The existence of thixotropy can lead to significant variations in shear stress and apparent viscosity under the same shear rate, which brings great challenges for measuring rheological performance. This paper highlights the difference between strong and weak particles flocculation for the first time, and then reveals the intrinsic interactions of various thixotropic and rheological parameters. The thixotropic behavior and dynamic yield stress were evaluated for cement paste samples with different resting time and temperature conditions. It was found that the longer resting time, the higher temperature, and the larger solid volume fraction increased the difficulties for both the structural breakdown and the subsequent structural re-buildup processes, indicating the lower reversibility of thixotropic behavior; These factors also led to higher dynamic yield stress, more amount of strongly-bound flocs, but less weakly bound flocs. After removal of shear force, the microstructure reconstruction ability of fresh cement paste was highly correlated to the recovery of dispersed weak flocs, but with little regard to strong flocs. The dynamic yield stress value could be dependent on the breakage degree of flocculation, while the prolonged duration of last several steps in the descending portion of the rheometric procedure enhanced the dynamic yield stress due to structural re-buildup. The results will provide new in-depth insights into the roles of strong and weak flocs in the reversible thixotropic behavior of fresh cement-based materials. • The roles of strong and weak flocs in thixotropy of cement paste were separately clarified. • The influence of resting time and temperature on thixotropy of cement paste were explored. • The higher binding strength of flocs resulted in the less reversibility of thixotropic behavior. • The higher dynamic yield stress was measured with the prolonged duration of last shear steps. • The intrinsic relations among various thixotropic and rheological parameters were established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has had wide-reaching and unprecedented impacts on the transport sector worldwide. At present, there is no globally agreed timeframe for when this pandemic will end. The current and near-future potential impacts must be addressed in a relatively comprehensive and seamless way. The present study proposed a PASS (P: Prepare–Protect–Provide; A: Avoid–Adjust; S: Shift–Share; S: Substitute–Stop) approach for policymaking that accounts for COVID-19 and future public health threats. The PASS approach was illustrated conceptually, and then policy measures were recommended by referring to the past and ongoing best practices. Policymaking challenges and research issues were discussed. Image 1 • •Impacts of COVID-19 on the transport sector are targeted. • •A PASS approach was proposed for policymaking for addressing pandemics. • •Policy measures are recommended based on the PASS approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of smartphone apps to detect driving risks and/or provide warning information to drivers is a hot topic in traffic safety research. However, scientific evidence on the effectiveness of such apps to reduce dangerous driving is still limited. To provide additional insights, this study examines whether and how driving risks diagnoses and real-time warning information provided through a smartphone app could assist drivers to control their vehicles on expressways safely. For this research purpose, a 3-month driving experiment was conducted in Japan, where the different combination and utilization of app functions were investigated. During the experiment, a series of questionnaire surveys were also carried out in response to six different app versions. A bivariate ordered probit model was estimated to jointly represent speed limit compliance and acceleration/deceleration simultaneously. Model estimation results show that with the warning information provided via the smartphone app, it is more effective to improve drivers' performance on speed limit compliance than on acceleration/deceleration control. The app improves speed limit compliance and acceleration/deceleration control of careless drivers but only improves speed limit compliance of irritable and excessively confident drivers and acceleration/deceleration control of aggressive drivers. Finally, implications of analysis results to traffic safety measures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the simulation efficiency of mistuned blisk, a method called receptance substructure component modal synthesis method (RSCMSM) is proposed to reduce its degrees of freedom (DOFs). The advantage of this method is that only the interface DOFs need to be solved, which observably enhances the computational efficiency. The modal frequencies, maximum modal shape and frequency response function are calculated via RSCMSM. It is seen that the smooth frequency band is governed by blade vibration and the steep frequency band is governed by disk or bladed-disk coupling vibration. In addition, a peak is observed for the tuned blisk but many peaks appear for the mistuned blisk and many small wave crests are observed near the peak. To verify validity of this method, the computational time of RSCMSM is compared with high fidelity finite element method (HFFEM) and classical substructure component modal synthesis method (CSCMSM), which manifests that the computational efficiency increases by 32.19 %–80.82 % than that of HFFEM when the mistuned level is 0 %~5 %. Moreover, computational efficiency of RSCMSM is increased by 0.85 %–7.56 % than that of CSCMSM. The validity of RSCMSM is verified for calculating the complex mechanical structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neuroinflammation plays an important role in pathogenesis of germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH). Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) is a member of the neurotrophin family and interacts with the tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB). NT-4 has been shown to confer neuroprotective effects following cerebral ischemia. We aimed to investigate the neuroprotective function of NT-4-TrkB signaling, as well as its downstream signaling cascade phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1), following GMH in neonatal rats.Methods: GMH was induced by intraparenchymal injection of bacterial collagenase (0.3 U) in P7 rat pups. A total of 163 pups were used in this study. Recombinant human NT-4 was administered intranasally at 1 h after the collagenase injection. The selective TrkB antagonist ANA-12, selective PI3K inhibitor LY294002, and FoxO1 activating CRISPR were administered intracerebroventricularly at 24 h prior to NT-4 treatment to investigate the underlying mechanism. Short-term and long-term neurobehavioral assessments, immunofluorescence staining, Nissl's staining, and Western blot were performed.Results: Expression of phosphorylated TrkB increased after GMH, reaching the peak level at day 3 after hemorrhage. TrkB receptors were observed on neurons, microglia, and astrocytes. The administration of rh-NT-4 induced phosphorylation of TrkB, expression of PI3K, and phosphorylation of Akt. Meanwhile, it decreased FoxO1 and IL-6 levels. Selective inhibition of TrkB/PI3K/Akt signaling in microglia increased the expression levels of FoxO1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. FoxO1 activating CRISPR increased the expression of IL-6, suggesting that FoxO1 might be a potential inducer of pro-inflammatory factors. These results suggested that PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling may be the downstream pathway of activation of TrkB. The rat pups treated with rh-NT-4 performed better than vehicle-treated animals in both short-term and long-term behavioral tests.Conclusion: These data showed that rh-NT-4 reduced the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, improved neurological function, attenuated neuroinflammation, and thereby mitigated post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus after GMH by TrkB/PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 pathway. These results indicated that rh-NT-4 could be a promising therapeutic strategy to ameliorate neuroinflammation and hydrocephalus after GMH or other similar brain injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an additional effort for exploring the unknowns about the ownership behavior of autonomous vehicles (AVs), we implemented an online stated preference (SP) survey in Japan and collected 1728 responses from car users across the whole country in 2016. The SP choice set included three types of AVs (conditional, high, and full automation) and a conventional vehicle. Each respondent answered three SP profiles. SP Attributes of AVs (additional purchase cost, reduction rate of insurance, reduction rate of permanent parking cost, penetration rate in the market, and release timing to the market) were defined relative to the conventional vehicle. Changes in future income were assumed based on each respondent's historical trend for assisting him/her to show more realistic responses. It was found that on average, respondents are willing to pay an additional 402,233 to 793,611 JPY to purchase an AV in the future. Estimating a mixed logit model with repeated choices and correlations between random-effect parameters following a normal distribution confirmed the significant influence of unobserved and correlated heterogeneities with respect to SP attributes. Both expected and unexpected results with respect to the random-effect variables are observed. Policy implications of analysis results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Car ownership of Japanese young people has declined since 1999. • Temporal trends of car expenditure shares varied across income groups. • Car and other expenditures are jointly modeled with inter-choice interactions. • The influence of car-related utility was moderate and fluctuated over time. • Influences of low-income status and the number of household members are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide insights into the coupled influence of typical anti-freezing agents (AFAs) and cold environment on rheological performance of cement mortar with/without different superplasticizer (SP) and air-entraining agent (AEA) components. Fresh mixtures were prepared with chemical admixtures singly or in groups (AFA; AFA/SP; AFA/SP/AEA) for the continuous measurement of their time-dependent rheological behavior at variable temperatures (24 °C; 0 °C; −5 °C; −10 °C). Hydration kinetics, pore solution and air-void system were systematically evaluated to provide evidences supporting for the variations in rheological parameters. It was found that the yield stress of mixture decreased and the plastic viscosity increased with the temperature falling from 24 °C to 0 °C, while both the yield stress and the plastic viscosity increased rapidly with the temperature falling from 0 °C to −10 °C. Temperature could affect the rheological parameters development by changing the interaction of SP with ions. For the SP-plasticized mixtures under low temperature, the dosage of calcium nitrite (CN) as AFA should be carefully restricted. For the air-entrained mixtures, the incorporation of CN enhanced the shear stress in the high shear rate region, while the incorporation of ethylene glycol (EG) showed a converse behavior. The results will provide theoretical supports for the manufacture and the early-age properties control of flowable concrete during winter construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In aquatic ecosystems, both phytoplankton and bacteria play pivotal roles. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, considerable research focused on phytoplankton colony attached and free-living bacteria has revealed the close relationship between them, and indicated that the entire bacterial community mediates crucial biogeochemical processes in aquatic ecosystems. However, our understanding of their distribution patterns and response to environmental factors remains poor. Besides, picocyanobacteria, which were omitted from attached bacteria analysis, were reported to be important in cyanobacterial blooms. To explore the spatiotemporal variation of the entire bacterial community with their driving environmental factors and detect the relationships among them, we collected 61 water samples spanning one year and the entire Lake Taihu regions for surveying the entire bacterial community. Our results indicated: 1) seasonal variation of the bacterial community composition was stronger than spatial variation due to the clearly seasonal variation of Microcystis , Synechococcus (pico-cyanobacteria) and other bacteria (Actinomycetales , Pirellulaceae and Sphingobacteriaceae); 2) the spatial distribution of the bacterial community showed that different phyla were dominant in different regions; 3) the bacterial co-occurrence networks varied seasonally and were dominated by Microcystis, ACK-M1, Chthoniobacteraceae, Synechococcus, Pirellulaceae and Pelagibacteraceae ; 4) phytoplankton density, chlorophyll a , water temperature and total nitrogen were the major factors that drove the spatiotemporal variation of bacterial community composition. This study revealed the seasonal succession and spatial distribution of the entire bacterial community in Lake Taihu, providing new insights into the relationship between water bloom-forming cyanobacterial species and other bacteria, and their response to environmental factors in eutrophic freshwater ecosystem. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Analyzed the seasonal and spatial dynamics of the entire bacterial community composition involved in cyanobacterial blooms • Found strong seasonal but weak spatial succession in bacterial community composition due to the cyanobacterial variation • Explored the relationships among Microcystis , Synechococcus (pico-cyanobacteria) and their related bacteria • Determined the main factors that drove the spatiotemporal variation of bacterial community composition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract It is essential to better understand the opinions and behaviors of various stakeholders (e.g., persons in companies, customers, government, and local community) when taking effective traffic management and operation measures. Existing studies have examined the interactions between companies and customers in the context of distribution chains; however, even though the importance of other inter-agent interactions is recognized, no efforts have been made, at least in the context of inter-city truck transport routes on expressways. To fill this research gap, this study implemented a stated preference (SP) survey to managers and drivers of transport companies along the expressways in the western part of Japan in 2014–2015, where some new traffic management measures encouraging behavioral changes are investigated. As a result, we obtained 525 valid SP responses from 52 companies (one manager and several drivers from each company). Our survey results first revealed that about 60% of truck transport routes were decided by company managers, and decisions by drivers are minor. A modeling analysis based on a path-size bivariate probit model is further conducted to explicitly represent the interaction between company managers and drivers. The existence of the interaction is statistically supported. We further revealed the similarities and dissimilarities of factors affecting managers' and drivers' decisions, together with the relative importance of measures encouraging behavioral changes. Finally, we made extensive discussions about the implications of analysis results. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Interpersonal interaction (InIn) within transport company is focused on. • A path-size bivariate probit model with InIn and route-overlapping and is built. • Inter-city truck route choices are investigated using an SP data. • About 60% of truck transport routes are decided by company managers. • The roles of monetary incentives to behavioral changes are identified to be limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Coupling Influence of vibration parameters and rheology on concrete segregation was presented. • Segregation led to severer degradation on transport than mechanical performance of concrete. • Chloride ion permeability of the top concrete exponentially increased with the degradation of ITZ. Abstract Vibrating consolidation process is widely applied to field construction of cement concrete. Improper vibration can easily lead to the instability of fresh concrete and then induce performance degradation of hardened concrete. In this study, two poker vibrators with different vibrating duration were adopted for consolidating fresh concrete mixture with variable rheological performance. The variation of apparent density along casting direction was employed to evaluate the segregation state. Rebound hammer, chloride ion penetration and cement-aggregate interfacial transition zone (ITZ) microhardness were performed on selected samples at different casting depths of hardened concrete prisms. Results show that either higher amplitude or longer duration of poker vibration causes the severer segregation of fresh concrete and the plastic viscosity plays a main role in controlling vibration-induced segregation. Both mechanical performance and chloride permeability variation along casting direction tends to linearly increase with the segregation level. The severe segregation presents a worse harmful impact on the long-term durability than on the mechanical performance. Chloride ion permeability of the top concrete exponentially increased with the thicker ITZ width or the lower ITZ bonding for all vibrated concretes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the predominant microbial species in patients with ethmoidal sinusitis is conducive to its successful treatment. The aim of the present study was to determine the microbial composition and the predominant fungal and bacterial species in patients with ethmoidal sinusitis. A sample was obtained from 3 patients with ethmoidal sinusitis and from the ethmoid sinus of 2 healthy volunteers. Those samples were sequenced using an Illumina/Solexa sequencing platform for mapping to human, fungal, and bacterial genomes. Fungal and bacterial expressions in those samples were analyzed through bioinformatics and statistical methods. The sequencing data revealed that the dominant fungal strains in the ethmoidal sinusitis samples compared with the healthy controls (8_S33 and 10_S9) were Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus flavus, and the dominant bacterial strains were Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Together, these findings indicate that the development of ethmoidal sinusitis is associated with the presence of fungi and bacteria, which may benefit the successful diagnosis and treatment for patients with ethmoidal sinusitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here a highly sensitive fluorescent thrombin biomarker sensing method by integrating the DNA walker and CRISPR/Cas12a system. The presence of thrombin causes the localization of DNA moving arms on AuNP tracks via their proximity bindings with the dye-labeled probes immobilized on AuNPs. With the assistance of the primer and DNA polymerase, the arm sequences move continuously on the AuNP tracks to generate many CRISPR/Cas12a-responsive dsDNAs, which push the dye to move away from AuNPs to restore its fluorescence. Moreover, the dsDNAs can be recognized and cut by the CRISPR/Cas12a to trigger its trans -cleavage activity for cyclically cleaving the fluorescently quenched signal probes on the AuNP tracks, which liberates the dye from AuNPs to further enhance the fluorescence restoration to achieve highly sensitive thrombin assay with detection limit of 29.5 fM. Selectively detecting thrombin against other interference proteins and in diluted serums by such sensing method has also been verified, making it an attractive approach for monitoring other protein biomarkers at low levels for the diagnosis of diseases. [Display omitted] • A sensitive fluorescent sensing method for the detection of thrombin is developed. • The DNA walker and CRISPR/Cas12a enable a two-stage amplification of the signal. • The proximity hybridization leads to a high selectivity of the assay method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with a general class of transformation models that contains many important semiparametric regression models as special cases. It develops a self-induced smoothing for the maximum rank correlation estimator, resulting in simultaneous point and variance estimation. The self-induced smoothing does not require bandwidth selection, yet provides the right amount of smoothness so that the estimator is asymptotically normal with mean zero (unbiased) and variance-covariance matrix consistently estimated by the usual sandwich-type estimator. An iterative algorithm is given for the variance estimation and shown to numerically converge to a consistent limiting variance estimator. The approach is applied to a data set involving survival times of primary biliary cirrhosis patients. Simulation results are reported, showing that the new method performs well under a variety of scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive partial sequencing of 16S rRNA genes has become the predominant tool used for studying microbial ecology. However, determining which hypervariable regions and primer sets should be used for screening microbial communities requires extensive investigation if controversial results are to be avoided. Here, the performances of different variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene on bacterial diversity studies were evaluated in silico with respect to the SILVA non-redundant reference database (SILVA SSU Ref 123NR), and subsequently verified using samples from Lake Taihu in China, a eutrophic lake. We found that the bacterial community composition results were strongly impacted by the different V regions. The results show that V1–V2 and V1–V3 regions were the most reliable regions in the full-length 16S rRNA sequences, while most V3 to V6 regions (including V3, V4, V3–V4, V5, V4–V5, V6, V3–V6, V4-V6, and V5–V6) were more closely aligned with the SILVA SSU Ref 123NR database. Overall, V4 was the most prominent V region for achieving good domain specificity, higher coverage and a broader spectrum in the Bacteria domain, as confirmed by the validation experiments. S-D-Bact-0564-a-S-15/S-D-Bact-0785-b-A-18 is, therefore, a promising primer set for surveying bacterial diversity in eutrophic lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel one-step hydrothermal method has been developed to deposit a superhydrophobic hydroxyapatite coating on Mg-Gd-Nd-Zn-Zr alloy substrate from a solution containing stearic acid and calcium-phosphate compounds. The as-prepared coatings were mainly made up of hydroxyapatite and calcium stearate. When the volume ratio of ethanol and deionized water is 6:4, the hydroxyapatite coating had a maximum contact angle of 152.8° and a sliding angle of < 2°. Potentiodynamic polarization studies proved that the superhydrophobic hydroxyapatite coatings reduced the corrosion current density in Hank' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) by four orders of magnitude. Besides, the prepared coatings induced < 0.1% of hemolysis, satisfying the judging criterion for excellent blood compatibility. This rapid and environmentally friendly method could be of great value for the application of biomedical magnesium alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue argues the importance of a paradigm shift from traditional approaches to the life-oriented approach for a better understanding of travel behavior and for better supporting cross-sectoral transport policymaking. The life-oriented approach focuses on the interdependencies between life choices, and for travel behavior analysis, it not only considers travel behavior as the results from various life choices, but also the reverse relationship of travel behavior influencing life choices. Here, first, we introduce the life-oriented approach in general, and then apply it to travel behavior research. Second, we summarize the findings from ten papers included in this special issue. These ten papers deal with topics such as commuting, ‘peak car’ phenomenon, travel mode choice, residential biography, holiday travel behavior, and happiness. Evidence is presented mainly from developed countries, but with an exception from China. Each paper presents unique and innovative efforts. Finally, we discuss several important future research challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a behavioral viewpoint, people choose where to live based on various factors, including their current situations, past experience, and plans for the future. Some aspects of residential preference might be constant over time, inherited from the initial stage of life, and other parts might be responses to residential biography or other biographical domains like household structure, employment/education, and travel. Capturing these intertemporal dependences needs a life course analysis of residential location choices. However, a serious methodological gap exists between the perceived importance of dynamic life course analyses and quantitative modeling approaches. This study developed a dynamic choice model with cross-sectional and longitudinal heterogeneities as well as discounted utility (called the DU-DCLH model) to describe the decision-making process for residential relocation by incorporating various intertemporal dependences over the life course. Model parameters were estimated using data collected from a life history survey conducted in Japan in 2010. The estimation results firstly confirm the effectiveness of the DU-DCLH model for portraying the dynamics of residential mobility over a life course. Next, it was found that previous experiences dominate decisions on residential location choice and can explain more than 75% of the total variations in choice. It was also revealed that as the mobility age increases, the influence of the past on their choices increases continuously. In contrast, the influence of the present situation is small and almost negligible. Furthermore, the study empirically confirmed not only the influence of time-constant and time-varying preference for residential neighborhoods but also the specific influence of household biography, employment/education biography, and travel biography. This study enriches the existing research by providing a systematic modeling framework incorporating broader behavioral mechanisms for residential location choice over the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]