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As the utilization of nuclear energy continues to expand, there is a growing focus on the development of lightweight and efficient nuclear shielding composites. In this paper, novel WB X /Al (x = 1, 2, 4) composites were designed based on shielding performance. The effects of reinforcement type, volume fraction, and material thickness on the 60Co and 137Cs γ-rays, fast and thermal neutron shielding performances were simulated. The results show that WB/Al composites offer better development potential compared to WB 2 /Al or WB 4 /Al composites. Additionally, a predictive model for the γ-ray shielding effectiveness of WB/Al composites, based on the areal density of tungsten, was proposed. The fabrication process involved mechanical ball milling and spark plasma sintering to fabricate 30 vol% WB/Al composites, with optimization of ball milling time, sintering temperature, and holding time. As a result, a novel nuclear radiation protection composite with uniform composition, a relative density of 97 %, and flexural strength of 527 MPa was acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tangeretin (Tan), a citrus flavonoid, possesses a strong anti-tumor efficacy in various human cancers. However, the precise role of Tan in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis was performed to observe the Tan-related genes in Tan-treated TE-1 cells. The direct relationship between GLI family zinc finger 2 (GLI2) and the promoter of glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) was predicted by bioinformatics analysis and validated by luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. Cell survival after Tan treatment was assessed by CCK8 assay. Gene expression levels were evaluated by a qRT-PCR, western blot, or immunofluorescence method. Cell migration and invasion were detected by wound-healing and transwell assays. The function of Tan in vivo was examined using xenograft studies. Our data indicated anti-migration and anti-invasion functions of Tan in ESCC cells in vitro. Tan also diminished tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, Tan diminished the expression and transcriptional activity of GLI2 in ESCC cells. Silencing of GLI2 resulted in decreased expression of GPNMB by inhibiting GPNMB transcription via the binding site at the GPNMB promoter at position +(1539–1550). Moreover, Tan down-regulated GPNMB expression in ESCC cells, and re-expression of GPNMB reversed anti-migration and anti-invasion functions of Tan in ESCC cells. Our findings uncover anti-migration and anti-invasion effects of Tan in ESCC cells by down-regulating GPNMB by suppressing GLI2-mediated GPNMB transcription, providing new evidence that Tan can function as a therapeutic agent against ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retinal vascular diseases (RVDs), in particular diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and retinopathy of prematurity, are leading contributors to blindness. The pathogenesis of RVD involves vessel dilatation, leakage, and occlusion; however, the specific underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Recent findings have indicated that pericytes (PCs), as critical members of the vascular mural cells, significantly contribute to the progression of RVDs, including detachment from microvessels, alteration of contractile and secretory properties, and excessive production of the extracellular matrix. Moreover, PCs are believed to have mesenchymal stem properties and, therefore, might contribute to regenerative therapy. Here, we review novel ideas concerning PC characteristics and functions in RVDs and discuss potential therapeutic strategies based on PCs, including the targeting of pathological signals and cell‐based regenerative treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The N -CoFeP/NF electrocatalyst is synthesized via the easy way. • AOR using N -CoFeP/NF catalysts requires a lower potential (1.38–1.42 V vs. RHE) at 100 mA cm−2. • Alcohols with secondary hydroxyl group will occur chemical bond breakage have better electrochemical performance than alcohols without chemical bond breakage. Replacing the oxygen evolution reaction with the alcohols oxidation reaction (AOR) in electrolytic water is not only expected to reduce the overall energy consumption, but also realize the green synthesis of high value-added chemicals. However, designing high-activity electrocatalysts toward AOR yet faces a daunting challenge due to the indefinite conversion mechanism of different alcohols. Herein, a self-supported N -CoFeP/NF electrocatalyst on a nickel foam is synthesized via hydrothermal method, followed by low temperature nitriding and phosphating. The N -CoFeP/NF exhibits a fine nanorod nanostructure and high crystallinity. The AOR using N -CoFeP/NF catalysts requires a significantly lower potential (1.38–1.42 V vs. RHE) at 100 mA cm−2, reducing the energy input and the improvement of the overall efficiency. Moreover, alcohols with secondary hydroxyl groups located in the middle of the carbon chain underwent C C bond breakage during oxidation, yielding primarily formic acid (FE = 74 %) and acetic acid (FE = 50 %), which exhibits more attractive performance than alcohols with primary hydroxyl groups located at the end group did not undergo chemical bond breakage at a high current density of 400 mA cm−2. This study provides a novel and effective method to design TMPs and the selection of alcohols for anodic reaction, which can be used as a versatile strategy to improve the performance of anodic AOR coupled hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As coalmines extend more deeply, strong mining-induced earthquakes occur more frequently; these seriously threaten the safety of underground miners and aboveground residents, as well as the productivity and effectiveness of mining activities. The distribution of mining-induced earthquake characteristics and hard roof breaking mechanisms are analyzed and revealed using the methods of field monitoring and theoretical analysis, and prevention and control technology were proposed and applied in a field application, for a typical dynamic disaster problem at Dongtan Coalmine. As indicated by the results, strong mining-induced earthquakes (E ≥ 105 J) were mostly related to the coordinated failure of several strata, and the migration and fracture of the overlying strata led to significant subsidence of the surface. As mining activities advance, the abutment stress within the coal seam in front of the coalface will dynamically change and be transferred more deeply into the coal seam under the influence of a mining-induced earthquake. Based on the mechanical behavior, the fracture structures of the overlying multiplicity of key strata are divided into main and subordinate "O-X" types. As the coal is exploited, the O-X scope gradually increases from the near field to the far field. As indicated by the field application, the implementation of deep-hole blasting could effectively weaken the integrity of the thick and hard rock strata and change the length of the overhang roof, so as to reduce the risk of strong mining-induced earthquakes, i.e., the incidence of strong mining-induced earthquakes above 5 × 105 J would be significantly reduced. Meanwhile, the frequency of rock strata collapse increases, and the average distance from the epicenter centrum to the coal seam is reduced to 47 m. The governing effect is good. We expect that the results of this study could provide references for dynamic disaster governance in similar mine areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the hydro-liquefaction kinetics of lignite contributes to optimizing the mild liquefaction process for lignite. In this paper, the direct liquefaction performance of Shengli lignite (SL) was investigated using a H2/THN system with 4 MPa of initial pressure, and reaction kinetic models were established for the heating-up stage and the isothermal stage. The result showed that the liquefaction performance of the SL was excellent, with a conversion of 62.18% and an oil and gas (O + G) yield of 29.88% at 698.15 K. After one hour of reaction, the conversion and O + G yield were 94.61% and 76.78%, respectively. During the heating-up stage, the easily reactive part of the SL was 50.07%, and it was converted directly into oil, gas, asphaltene (AS), and preasphaltene (PA) simultaneously. There was no significant secondary hydrogenation conversion of the AS and PA products. During the isothermal stage, the hard-to-react part was predominantly converted into AS and PA, while the remaining easily reactive part continue to react completely. The conversion of AS and PA into oil and gas was a rate-controlling step during this stage. The amount of unreacted coal estimated using the model calculated in the isothermal stage was 2.98%, which was significantly consistent with the experimental value of 2.81%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulsed inductively coupled plasma (ICP) has considerable potential to satisfy multiple stringent scaling requirements for use in the semiconductor industry. However, overshoot of plasma parameters during the rising period of the pulse affects the stability and uniformity of the plasma and can lead to a breakdown of the wafer and over-sputtering of the film. In this study, a step waveform modulation method is used to reduce the overshoot at the initial stage of the pulse. The behavior of the discharge is monitored by measuring (i) the modulated step waveform signal on the function generator, (ii) the input power (by a time-resolved VI-probe), and (iii) the amplitudes of the coil voltage and current (by voltage and current probes, respectively), as well as (iv) the plasma parameters including the electron density, the effective electron temperature, and the electron energy probability distribution function (by a time-resolved Langmuir probe). It was found that the state of the plasma can be controlled by changing the waveform, such as varying the time of the rising edge, varying the initial amplitude, and varying the duration of the low-high amplitude. The results indicated that the overshoot value of the electron density can be reduced by using a low-high step waveform. When the amplitude of the waveform was 500/550 mV and the duration was 200/300 μs, the overshoot value observed was 1/4 of that of the conventional ICP pulse discharge. In addition, increasing the duty cycle of the pulse could also reduce the overshoot value due to the high electron density that occurs during the afterglow period. Moreover, the plasma can reach a steady state more quickly at high pressure by using a step waveform of high amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Drought stress is one of the dominating challenges to the growth and productivity in crop plants. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of plants responses to drought stress is fundamental to improve fruit quality. However, such molecular mechanisms are poorly understood in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.). In this study, we explored that the BTB‐BACK‐TAZ protein, MdBT2, negatively modulates the drought tolerance of apple plantlets. Moreover, we identified a novel Homeodomain‐leucine zipper (HD‐Zip) transcription factor, MdHDZ27, using a yeast two‐hybrid (Y2H) screen with MdBT2 as the bait. Overexpression of MdHDZ27 in apple plantlets, calli, and tomato plantlets enhanced their drought tolerance by promoting the expression of drought tolerance‐related genes [responsive to dehydration 29A (MdRD29A) and MdRD29B]. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that MdHDZ27 directly binds to and activates the promoters of MdRD29A and MdRD29B. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo assays indicate that MdBT2 interacts with and ubiquitinates MdHDZ27, via the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway. This ubiquitination results in the degradation of MdHDZ27 and weakens the transcriptional activation of MdHDZ27 on MdRD29A and MdRD29B. Finally, a series of transgenic analyses in apple plantlets further clarified the role of the relationship between MdBT2 and MdHDZ27, as well as the effect of their interaction on drought resistance in apple plantlets. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which the MdBT2‐MdHDZ27 regulatory module controls drought tolerance, which is of great significance for enhancing the drought resistance of apple and other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge tracing aims to model learners' knowledge mastery based on their historical interaction records and predict their future performance. Due to its great potential in enabling personalized learning in intelligent tutoring systems, it has received extensive attention. However, most deep learning-based knowledge tracing methods have significant predictive performance. It is difficult to extract meaningful interpretations from the thousands of parameters in neural networks. The interpretability of knowledge tracing refers to the ability of learners to easily understand the predicted results.To address this problem, based on learning factors that influence the learner's exercise performance, this paper proposes a novel knowledge tracing model which is named Integrating Learning factors and Bayesian network for interpretable Knowledge Tracing (LBKT). Firstly, meaningful learning factors, including knowledge mastery, learning ability, and exercise difficulty, are calculated from learners' historical interaction records using deep learning and statistical methods. Then, Bayesian network is constructed to capture the causal relation between the three learning factors and exercise response. Finally, the Bayesian network is generated through structure and parameter learning to obtain interpretable prediction of future exercise performance. The proposed model named LBKT is evaluated on three public real-world educational datasets. The experiment results demonstrate that our approach achieves better predictive performance compared to baseline knowledge tracing methods, while also exhibiting significant superiority in model interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations may survive environmental deterioration by evolutionary adaptation. However, such evolutionary rescue events may be associated with ecological costs, such as reduction in growth performance and loss of ecologically important genetic diversity. Those negative ecological consequences may be mitigated by additional adaptive evolution. Both the ecological costs and the opportunities for additional evolution are contingent on the severity of environmental deterioration. Here, we hypothesize that populations evolutionarily rescued from faster, relative to slow, environmental deterioration suffer more severe long-term fitness decline and diversity loss. An experiment with the model adaptive radiation of bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens exposed to abruptly or gradually increased antibiotic stress supported our hypothesis. The effect of additional adaptive evolution in recovering population size and ecological diversity was far from perfect. Cautions are therefore needed in predicting the role of rapid evolution for mitigating the impacts of environmental changes, in particular very fast environmental deterioration. We also found that bacterial populations rescued from gradually increased antibiotic stress evolved higher levels of antibiotic resistance, lending more support to aggressive chemotherapy in pathogen control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roof-cutting blasting by explosives involves certain operational risks and is prone to cause damage to surrounding rock. Accordingly, a new non-explosive directional rock-breaking technology called Instantaneous Expansion with a Single Fracture (IESF) has been developed. This paper focuses on the research of the crack propagation behavior and damage extent of rock mass under the action of IESF. Firstly, the directional rock-breaking principle of IESF is analyzed, and the theoretical radius of the crushed zone ( R c ) and fracture zone ( R f ) for conventional blasting (CB), shaped-charge blasting (SCB), and IESF under cylindrical charge conditions are derived. Subsequently, a field comparative experiment of the three methods was conducted. The results showed that CB produced cracks in random orientations around the hole wall, SCB produced secondary cracks in addition to two primary cracks in splitting direction, and the cracks produced by CB and SCB contain both Mode I and Mode II. Conversely, IESF only produces Mode I cracks in the presplitting direction. Finally, R c and R f of the three numerical models considering the rock mass heterogeneity were statistically analyzed, the results demonstrate that R c (IESF) < R c (SCB) < R c (CB), while R f (IESF) > R f (SCB) > R f (CB). The statistical analysis of the monitoring point pressure and Young's modulus during the damage process further verified the directional rock-breaking mechanism of IESF. The research results have improved the theoretical system of IESF and contributed to the promotion and application of IESF technology. Highlights: Through field tests, the crack propagation behavior of the rock mass in the borehole under conventional blasting (CB), shaped-charge blasting (SCB), and instantaneous expansion with a single fracture (IESF) was investigated. Theoretical radius of the crushed zone ( R c ) and fracture zone ( R f ) of rock mass under the action of CB, SCB, and IESF under cylindrical charge conditions were derived. Three numerical models considering the heterogeneity of rock mass were established based on the theory of progressive damage failure, and numerical solutions for R c and R f under three rock-breaking technologies were obtained, verifying the accuracy of the analytical solutions. The superiority of IESF in directional rock-breaking was verified through comparative analysis of the damage range of rock mass under three rock-breaking technologies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical CoSe 2 @NiMn-LDH@Cu 1.8 Se/CF nanosheet arrays with core-shell structure are synthesized via phase pseudomorphic transformation process achieved by selective selenization for Cu and Co elements for green chemistry energy storage. [Display omitted] As an emerging energy storage device, the practical application of supercapacitors (SCs) is currently constrained by their low energy density. Enhancing the capacitance of supercapacitors by leveraging the synergistic effect of multiple components in composite electrodes with well-designed structures can effectively increase their energy density. Here, a wire-sheet-particle hierarchical heterostructured CoSe 2 @NiMn-layered double hydroxide (NiMn-LDH) @Cu 1.8 Se/Copper foam (CF) electrode is synthesized via phase pseudomorphic transformation process achieved by selective selenization for Cu and Co elements. Benefiting from the stable support structure of CuBr 2 , the large specific surface area of NiMn-LDH, and the excellent conductivity of CoSe 2 , the prepared binder-free electrode shows excellent electrochemical properties. The CoSe 2 @NiMn-LDH@Cu 1.8 Se hybrid electrode exhibits a superior specific areal capacitance of 7064 mF cm−2 at 2 mA cm−2 and a stable cyclic performance with 80.11 % capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. Furthermore, the assembled CoSe 2 @NiMn-LDH@Cu 1.8 Se/CF//AC (activated carbon) asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) achieves an energy density of 36.6 Wh kg−1 when the power density is 760.6 W Kg−1 and retains 87.35 % of the initial capacitance after 5000 cycles. Overall, this pioneering research provided new insight for preparing supercapacitor electrode materials by selective selenization and ration design of the structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By pyrolyzing phosphomolybdic acid-modified Fe-doped ZIF-8 precursor, Fe nanoparticles with Mo and N co-doped carbon frameworks (Fe-NP/MNCF) was created, and the catalysts were intended to be bifunctional ORR and CO 2 RR catalysts. [Display omitted] Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) derived carbon materials are considered to be excellent conductive mass transfer substrates, and the large specific surface area provides a favorable platform for loading metal nanoparticles. Tuning the coordination of metals through polyacid doping to change the MOF structure and specific surface area is an advanced strategy for designing catalysts. Modification of Fe-doped ZIF-8 pre-curing by pyrolysis of phosphomolybdic acid hydrate (PMo), Fe nanoparticles confined by Mo and N co-doped carbon frameworks (Fe-NP/MNCF) were fabricated, and the impact of PMo doping on the shape and functionality of the catalysts was investigated. The Zn-air battery (ZAB) driven CO 2 electrolysis was realized by using Fe-NP/MNCF, which was used as bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) catalysts. The results show that the half-wave potential (E 1/2) of Fe-NP/MNCF is 0.89 V, and the limiting diffused current density (j L) is 6.4 mA cm−2. The ZAB constructed by Fe-NP/MNCF shows a high specific capacity of 794.8 mAh g Zn −1, a high open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.475 V, and a high power density of 111.6 mW cm−2. Fe-NP/MNCF exhibited efficient CO 2 RR performance with high CO Faraday efficiency (FE CO) of 87.5 % and current density for the generation of carbon dioxide (j CO) of 10 mA cm−2 at −0.9 V vs RHE. ZAB-driven CO 2 RR had strong catalytic stability. These findings provide new methods and techniques for the preparation of advanced carbon-based catalysts from MOFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory (DFT) computational studies of a series of single-atom catalysts (SACs). Geometry of M1/PTA (M1 = Mn, Fe, Co, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt; phosphor tungstic acid (PTA) = [PW12O40]3−), different spin multi-gravity, adsorption site screening, metal–support interactions and M1/PTA SACs catalyzed catalytic cycle for O2 and olefin oxidation. Studies have shown that the most likely anchoring sites for isolated single atoms on M1/PTA SACs are quadruple holes on the surface of the PTA support. According to the PTA-Os bond, all single Os-based MOs are responsible for the non-bonding nature. It greatly maintains the catalytic activity of the PTA-loaded single-atom catalyst. Among these M1/PTA SACs, Os/PTA and Ru/PTA SACs have better activation ability for oxygen molecules, because the catalyst can produce dissociative adsorption of O2 and greatly weaken the bond energy of the O–O bond. Finally, the mechanism of Os/PTA SAC catalyzing the epoxidation of O2 and propylene is proposed. The reaction process of Os/PTA SAC activated O2 with propylene epoxidation, the relative energies, structures of intermediates and transition states were analyzed, and the reaction energy barrier of the rate determination step (RDS) was 24.48 kcal·mol−1 for the reaction between the second oxygen atom and C3H6. This indicates the reaction is thermodynamically and kinetically feasible and provides an important and reliable theoretical basis for the experimental synthesis and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives This study aims to examine why rural-to-urban migrant workers in China remain in the workforce after age 60. Research Design and Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted and transcribed. Interview transcriptions were coded and analyzed by inductive content analysis. Results Rural-to-urban migrant workers in China continue to work even after they reach age 60 for reasons related to personal and family finances, as well as cognitive motivational, sociocultural, and working condition factors. Discussion and Implications Findings from this study deepen our understanding of the specific reasons why older rural-to-urban migrant workers in China continue working after age 60. While these findings emphasize the need for improved welfare programs and enhanced health care for older migrant workers, they also underscore the importance of providing a healthy and safe work environment for older workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep coal mining activities close to a fault generally cause shear stress concentration and slipping of the fault. This increases the risk of coal bumps and severely endangers miners' lives as well as the effectiveness and productivity of mines. In this study, seismicity distribution resulting from fault slipping induced by mining in the graben structural area and the coal bump seismic precursors are investigated using high-precision seismic monitoring technology. Subsequently, the evolution of stresses in rock masses and fault reactivation characteristics during the mining process is analysed via numerical simulation. With the advancement of the working face, the maximum principal stress difference between the two sides of the fault gradually increases, resulting in shear slipping of the fault (i.e., fault reactivation). Seismicities occur frequently because of the repeated release of accumulated elastic energy. The number and total energy of mining-induced seismicities in the hanging wall of the fault are higher than those in the footwall. The frequency and number of mining-induced seismicities decrease before the occurrence of the coal bump. Additionally, the mechanism of the coal bump induced by fault slipping, caused by the superposition of static and dynamic stresses during coal mining, is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) are significantly elevated in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, dynamic changes and prognostic value of this biomarker in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 have not been determined. Methods: A total of 124 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were prospectively recruited for the study. Serial blood samples were obtained at the time of admission (D1), 3–4 days following standard-care treatments (D2), and 1–2 days prior to discharge or any time collected prior to death (D3). Plasma VWF antigen, ADAMTS13 antigen, and ADAMTS13 proteolytic activity, as well as the ratio of VWF/ADAMTS13 were determined, followed by various statistical analyses. Results: On admission, plasma levels of VWF in COVID-19 patients were significantly elevated compared with those in the healthy controls, but no statistical significance was detected among patients with different disease severity. Plasma ADAMTS13 activity but not its antigen levels were significantly lower in patients with severe or critical COVID-19 compared with that in other patient groups. Interestingly, the ratios of plasma VWF antigen to ADAMTS13 antigen were significantly higher in patients with severe or critical COVID-19 than in those with mild to moderate disease. More importantly, plasma levels of VWF and the ratios of VWF/ADAMTS13 were persistently elevated in patients with COVID-19 throughout hospitalization. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses demonstrated that an increased plasma level of VWF or ratio of VWF/ADAMTS13 at D2 and D3 was associated with an increased mortality rate. Conclusions: Persistent endotheliopathy, marked by the elevated levels of plasma VWF or VWF/ADAMTS13 ratio, is present in all hospitalized patients following SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is strongly associated with mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-dimensional implicit electrostatic particle-in-cell model is applied for the simulation of non-uniformly magnetized capacitively coupled plasmas. In the absence of a magnetic field, the plasma density is concentrated at the center of the reactor, under the studied parameters. This leads to the formation of a radial density gradient and subsequently generates a radial electric field that causes the deflection of incident ions toward the bottom electrode. Minimizing ion deflection is imperative in order to prevent detrimental effects on plasma processing. In pursuit of this objective, a static magnetic field is applied to the capacitively coupled plasmas by installing direct current coils on the upper section of the reactor. This arrangement has been observed to considerably alter the radial distributions of plasma density and the incident angle of ion bombardment on the bottom electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the complex working environment of space astronomical telescopes, the influence of various disturbance sources on the imaging quality cannot be ignored. This paper focuses on compensating for the space telescope line-of-sight (LOS) deviation and suppressing the low-frequency disturbance problem in astronomical observation. A closed-loop control method based on dual-port adaptive internal model control (AIMC) for the fine image stabilization system (FISS) was proposed. To be specific, the fine guidance sensor (FGS) as the high-precision detection unit of the FISS calculates the telescope LOS deviation and sends it to the controller unit in real time. The controller unit drives the large-aperture fast steering mirror (FSM), which performs high-precision two-dimensional rotation to compensate for the telescope LOS deviation, according to the dual-port AIMC control algorithm. Moreover, the dual-port AIMC control method adds an AIMC loop on the basis of the feedback loop and adjusts the filter parameters adaptively according to the target angular velocity of the FSM, achieving higher disturbance suppression capability. The experimental results verify that the control method proposed can effectively compensate for the LOS deviation and suppress the composite frequency disturbance. In the 0–8 Hz frequency band, the power spectral density integral values of the star centroid deviation in the X and Y directions of the FGS are, respectively, suppressed by 97.38% and 98.38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has identified that unmet needs are associated with adverse mental health outcomes in older adults. However, the unmet needs of older adults' spousal caregivers are unknown. The present study examined the association between unmet needs and depression among spousal caregivers, and whether marital satisfaction mediated this association. We included 1,856 participants who provided care to their spouses with difficulties in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey. Unmet needs of spousal caregivers were assessed as the total number of ADL/IADL tasks with which respondents had unmet needs. Path models were conducted to evaluate the associations between unmet needs, marital satisfaction, and depression. Subgroup analyses by sex were conducted to examine the sex differences regarding the associations. Spousal caregivers with more unmet ADL/IADL needs reported higher levels of depression (p < 0.001). Additionally, for wife caregivers, unmet ADL/IADL needs were associated with lower marital satisfaction, and lower marital satisfaction was associated with higher degrees of depression, indicating that marital satisfaction partially mediated the association between unmet needs and depression (p < 0.01). However, marital satisfaction did not mediate the association between unmet needs and depression among husband caregivers. The mediating effect of marital satisfaction on the association between unmet needs and depression only existed in wife caregivers. Social services should be provided to meet the needs of caregivers with ADL/IADL difficulties, and interventions should be implemented to promote the marital satisfaction of wife caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fitness effects of mutations may generally depend on temperature that influences all rate‐limiting biophysical and biochemical processes. Earlier studies suggested that high temperatures may increase the availability of beneficial mutations ('more beneficial mutations'), or allow beneficial mutations to show stronger fitness effects ('stronger beneficial mutation effects'). The 'more beneficial mutations' scenario would inevitably be associated with increased proportion of conditionally beneficial mutations at higher temperatures. This in turn predicts that populations in warm environments show faster evolutionary adaptation but suffer fitness loss when faced with cold conditions, and those evolving in cold environments become thermal‐niche generalists ('hotter is narrower'). Under the 'stronger beneficial mutation effects' scenario, populations evolving in warm environments would show faster adaptation without fitness costs in cold environments, leading to a 'hotter is (universally) better' pattern in thermal niche adaptation. We tested predictions of the two competing hypotheses using an experimental evolution study in which populations of two model bacterial species, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens, evolved for 2400 generations at three experimental temperatures. Results of reciprocal transplant experiments with our P. fluorescens populations were largely consistent with the 'hotter is narrower' prediction. Results from the E. coli populations clearly suggested stronger beneficial mutation effects at higher assay temperatures, but failed to detect faster adaptation in populations evolving in warmer experimental environments (presumably because of limitation in the supply of genetic variation). Our results suggest that the influence of temperature on mutational effects may provide insight into the patterns of thermal niche adaptation and population diversification across thermal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FeNiCoMnRu@CNT HEAs exhibit excellent HER and OER properties in alkaline seawater. To accomplish two-electrode total water splitting when constructed into Zn air cells, it only needed 1.6 V, and the timing voltage curve showed a steady current density of 10 mA cm−2 during constant electrolysis for more than 30h in alkaline seawater. [Display omitted] High entropy alloys (HEAs) are those metallic materials that consist of five or more elements. Compared with conventional alloys, they have much more catalytic active sites due to unique structural characteristics such as high entropy effect and lattice distortion, endowing them with promising applications in the region of hydrolysis catalysts. Herein, we successfully loaded high-entropy alloys onto carbon nanotubes (FeNiCoMnRu@CNT) by hydrothermal means. It exhibits excellent HER and OER properties in alkaline seawater. To accomplish two-electrode total water splitting when constructed into Zn air cells, it only needed 1.6 V, and the timing voltage curve showed a steady current density of 10 mA cm−2 during constant electrolysis for more than 30 h in alkaline seawater. The remarkably high HER and OER activity of FeNiCoMnRu@CNT HEAs NPS indicates the potentially broad application prospect of HEAs for Zn air battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to observe the therapeutic effect of extracorporeal shock wave (ESW) on extensional joint contracture of knee joint in rats and its mechanism on articular capsule fibrosis. Thirty-two SD rats were randomly divided into blank control, immobilization, natural recovery, and ESW intervention groups. Except for the control group, the left knee joints of other rats were fixed with external fixation brace for 4 weeks when they were fully extended to form joint contracture. The effect of intervention was assessed by evaluating joint contracture, total cell count and collagen deposition in joint capsule, and protein expression levels of TGF-β1, p-Smad2/3, Smad2/3, p-JNK, JNK, I and III collagen in joint capsule. ESW can effectively reduce arthrogenic contracture, improve the histopathological changes of anterior joint capsule, inhibit the high expression of target protein and the excessive activation of TGF-β1/Smad2/3/JNK signal pathway. Inhibition of excessive activation of TGF-β1/Smad2/3/JNK pathway may be one of the potential molecular mechanisms by which extracorporeal shock wave can play a role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quaternary ammonium chitosan (QCS) is a cationic polymer with high antimicrobial properties, but its cations can cause damage to normal cells. Thus, the biocompatibility of QCS in hydrogel dressings should be concerned. In this study, QCS was used as an additive in the preparation of the carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA) hydrogel, and the effect of its content in the hydrogel on antibacterial and biocompatibility was systematically investigated. First, QCS was mixed at a different ratio with CMC to form a QCS/CMC solution. Then, the QCS/CMC solution was added into the OHA solution to obtain the OHA-CMC/QCS hydrogel, which is a double cross-linked network formed by the Schiff base and electrostatic interaction. With the increase of the QCS content in the hydrogel, its mechanical and antibacterial properties were enhanced. The antibacterial rate of OHA-CMC/QCS5 hydrogel with 5% QCS content against Staphylococcus aureus reached 99.80%, and it also showed biocompatibility under the experimental conditions. This work provides a theoretical basis for the use of QCS to prepare the hydrogels that are both antibacterial and biocompatible. The prepared OHA-CMC/QCS5 hydrogel is an ideal candidate for antimicrobial dressings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal management has been widely focused due to its broad applications. Generally, the deformation can largely tune the thermal transport. The main challenge of flexible electronics/materials is to maintain thermal conductance under large deformation. This work investigates the thermal conductance of a nano-designed Si metamaterial constructed with curved nanobeams by molecular dynamics simulation. Interestingly, it shows that the thermal conductance of the nano-designed Si metamaterial is insensitive under a large deformation (strain ∼ −41%). The new feature comes from the designed curved nanobeams, which exhibit a quasi-zero stiffness. Further calculations show that, when under large deformation, the average stress in nanobeam is ultra-small (<151 MPa), and its phonon density of states are little changed. This work provides valuable insight on the multifunction, such as both stable thermal and mechanical properties, of nano-designed metamaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of the study are to investigate the effect of electrical stimulation on disuse muscular atrophy induced by immobilization (IM) and to explore the role of PERK signal and Parkin-dependent mitophagy in this process. Design: In the first subexperiment, 24 rabbits were divided into four groups, which underwent different periods of IM. In the second subexperiment, 24 rabbits were divided into four groups on average in accordance with different kinds of interventions. To test the time-dependent changes of rectus femoris after IM, and to evaluate the effect of electrical stimulation, the wet weights, cross-sectional area and fat deposition of rectus femoris were assessed in this study, along with the protein levels of atrogin-1, p-PERK, Parkin, and COXIV. Results: The wet weights and cross-sectional area decreased, and the fat deposition increased in rectus femoris after IM, along with the elevated protein levels of atrogin-1, p-PERK, Parkin, and decreased protein levels of COXIV. The above histomorphological and molecular changes can be partially ameliorated by electrical stimulation. Conclusions: Immobilization of unilateral lower limb could induce rectus femoris atrophy, which can be partially rectified by electrical stimulation. PERK signal and Parkin-mediated mitophagy may be the mechanisms by which electrical stimulation can play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new scalarane sesterterpenes, hyrtiosins F and G (1 and 2), along with two known related compounds, hyrtiosin D and sesterstatin 6 (3 and 4), were isolated from the Hainan marine sponge Hyrtios erecta. The structures of new compounds 1 and 2 were determined by detailed analysis of 1D and 2D NMR spectra and by comparison of the spectroscopic data with those reported in the literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aryl nitriles, cyanation, coupling reaction, ligand, copper cyanide Remarkably, these reactions often proceed at relatively low temperatures and catalytic loadings in comparison with previous ligand-promoted Cu-catalyzed coupling reactions with (hetero)aryl halides. Keywords: aryl nitriles; cyanation; coupling reaction; ligand; copper cyanide EN aryl nitriles cyanation coupling reaction ligand copper cyanide 1395 1398 4 07/11/23 20230725 NES 230725 Graph Aryl nitriles have been frequently found in various drug molecules, dyes, and natural products. This result indicated that the active copper center coordinated with ligand might hinder I ortho i -substituted aryl bromide's approaching, showing a significant difference in reaction mechanism from the traditional Rosenmund-von Braun reaction. [Extracted from the article]

The surface charging effect of positive ions at the trench bottom during the etching of dielectric materials has become a severe problem with the shrinkage of electronic feature dimensions. Pulsed plasmas have been widely used to overcome surface charging issues during plasma etching in industry. In this work, synchronized dual-level radio frequency pulsed modulation on capacitively coupled plasmas is investigated based on 1D3V particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulations. It is found that the plasma always remains a certain initial density during the dual-level pulse modulation, as the high frequency (HF) source still presents during pulse off time (with a reduced voltage amplitude), which may facilitate high processing efficiency. Meanwhile, many HF sheath oscillations are simulated at the initial stage of a pulse period, which induces vast high energy electrons to strike the electrode. When the HF voltage is maintained at a very low value during the pulse off (i.e. 0.1 V HF ), more electrons with higher energy bombard the bottom of the trench, effectively alleviating the charging effect. Furthermore, the nonlinear behavior of sheath oscillations is proved to be very sensitive to dual-frequency voltage amplitudes and pulse ramp-up times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To extend the time span of the microwave (MW) land surface temperature (LST) dataset in China, this study proposed an optimized empirical algorithm for Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) LST retrieval based on the algorithm for its predecessor, the AMSR-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). A modified comprehensive classification system of environmental variables (CCSEV) that considered the impact of landform, landcover, atmospheric conditions, and solar radiation on the variation of LST was first constructed, and the LST for each class in the CCSEV was then retrieved through stepwise regression using the brightness temperature in different AMSR2 channels. The results indicate that the annual RMSE of the AMSR2 LST, compared to the reference Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST from 2012 to 2020, varies between 3.26 K and 3.61 K in the daytime and 2.76 K and 2.96 K in the nighttime, respectively. The RMSE of the AMSR2 LST compared to the field measurements at the sites of the Beidahe river basin and Naqu regions varies between 4.16 K and 5.26 K in the daytime and 2.4 K and 5.17 K in the nighttime. The accuracy is relatively low in the warmer months and daytime due to the stronger solar radiation, and is also relatively low in western China due to the dominate highly fluctuating topography and barren and arid landcover. Generally, the accuracy of the AMSR2 LST is comparable with that of the AMSR-E LST retrieved by the predecessor algorithm, which facilitates coherent long-term applications using AMSR series LST datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have various motor difficulties, including standing up, gait initiation and freezing of gait. These abnormalities are associated with cortico‐subthalamic dysfunction. We aimed to reveal the characteristics of cortico‐subthalamic activity in PD patients during different motor statuses. Methods: Potentials were recorded in the superior parietal lobule (SPL), the primary motor cortex (M1), premotor cortex (PMC), and the bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) in 18 freely walking patients while sitting, standing, walking, dual‐task walking, and freezing in medication "off" (Moff) and "on" (Mon) states. Different motor status activities were compared in band power, and a machine learning classifier was used to differentiate the motor statuses. Results: SPL beta power was specifically inhibited from standing to walking, and negatively correlated with walking speed; M1 beta power reflected the degree of rigidity and was reversed by medication; XGBoost algorithm classified the five motor statuses with acceptable accuracy (68.77% in Moff, 60.58% in Mon). SPL beta power ranked highest in feature importance in both Moff and Mon states. Conclusion: SPL beta power plays an essential role in walking status classification and could be a physiological biomarker for walking speed, which would aid the development of adaptive DBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With sociodemographic changes, men are increasingly taking responsibility for spousal caregiving. Previous studies have described gender differences in the psychological outcomes of caregiving; however, few have focused exclusively on husband caregivers. This study investigates the influence of starting spousal caregiving on the psychological well-being of older husbands in rural areas and examines whether living arrangements can moderate this relationship. A total of 1,167 baseline non-caregiver husbands aged 60 and above in rural areas were taken from the 2011–2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The generalized estimating equation (GEE) was employed to examine the effects of spousal caregiving transitions and living arrangement changes on depressive symptoms over four years. Compared with rural husbands who remained non-caregivers, those transitioning into activities of daily living (ADL) caregiving reported higher depressive symptoms at follow-up (B = 1.67, p < 0.05). Moreover, the increase in depressive symptoms when transitioning into ADL caregiving was significantly lower among participants who changed from living with spouse alone to living with spouse and other family members together (B = − 5.37, p < 0.05). There was an association between transitioning into ADL caregiving and an elevated level of depression over four years among older husbands, which could be alleviated by living with family members. Co-residence with family members could serve as a natural support resource, buffering adverse mental health outcomes when older husbands start a demanding caregiving role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate the value of the cardiac magnetic resonance intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) technique in microcirculatory dysfunction in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods. The medical records of 19 patients with HCM in our hospital from January 2020 to May 2021 were collected retrospectively, and 23 healthy people with a similar age and gender distribution to the patients with HCM were included as controls. All the included subjects underwent clinical assessment and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The original IVIM images were analysed, and the imaging parameters of each segment were measured. The HCM group was divided into non-hypertrophic myocardium and hypertrophic myocardium groups. The differences in imaging parameters between the normal and HCM groups were compared. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between end-diastolic thickness (EDTH) and each IVIM parameter. Results. The D ∗ and f values in the HCM group were lower than those in the normal group (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.004 , respectively). The f, D, D ∗ , and EDTH values of the hypertrophic segment, non-hypertrophic segment, and normal groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The difference in D ∗ values among the mild, moderate, severe, and very severe HCM groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in EDTH among the mild, moderate, severe, and very severe groups (p < 0.001). There were significant differences in the values of D, D ∗ , and f between the non-delayed enhancement group and the delayed enhancement group (p < 0.05). The EDTH values of 304 segments in the HCM group were negatively correlated with f (r = −0.219, p = 0.028) and D ∗ values (r = −0.310, p < 0.001). Conclusion. The use of IVIM technology can achieve a non-invasive early quantitative assessment of microvascular disease in HCM without the injection of a contrast agent and provide a reference for the early diagnosis of and intervention in myocardial ischemia in patients with HCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Rapid and efficient analysis of cancer has become a focus of research. Artificial intelligence can use histopathological data to quickly determine the cancer situation, but still faces challenges. For example, the convolutional network is limited by the local receptive field, human histopathological information is precious and difficult to be collected in large quantities, and cross-domain data is hard to be used to learn histopathological features. In order to alleviate the above questions, we design a novel network, Self-attention based multi-routines cross-domains network (SMC-Net). Approach. Feature analysis module and decoupling analysis module designed are the core of the SMC-Net. The feature analysis module base on multi-subspace self-attention mechanism with pathological feature channel embedding. It in charge of learning the interdependence between pathological features to alleviate the problem that the classical convolution model is difficult to learn the impact of joint features on pathological examination results. The decoupling analysis module base on the designed multi-channel and multi-discriminator architecture. Its function is to decouple the features related to the target task in cross-domain samples so that the model has cross-domain learning ability. Main results. To evaluate the performance of the model more objectively, three datasets are used. Compared with other popular methods, our model achieves better performance without performance imbalance. In this work, a novel network is design. It can use domain-independent data to assist in the learning of target tasks, and can achieve acceptable histopathological diagnosis results even in the absence of data. Significance. The proposed method has higher clinical embedding potential and provides a viewpoint for the combination of deep learning and histopathological examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The novel two-path thermal energy storage with fin-enhanced PCM is designed and manufactured. • The thermal performance and temperature profile are experimentally investigated. • Heat transfer rate and accumulated thermal energy are fitted by test data. • Thermal environment during emergency cooling is analyzed with different inlet condition of CRAC. Emergency cooling system is necessary to guarantee high security for data center. Thermal energy storage is one of the feasible methods for emergency cooling with quick response ability to supply higher thermal safety. To simplify the traditional thermal energy storage system and improve its heat transfer efficiency, the novel two-path latent thermal energy storage unit developed for emergency cooling is experimentally studied. The effects of inlet temperature, flow rate on thermal performance of LTES, including heat transfer rate, accumulated energy, effectiveness and overall heat transfer coefficient, are investigated during both charging and discharging processes. Results from the experimental analysis show that the released energy of system could reach up to 2.9 MJ with the average heat transfer rate 1575W-2286 W. The overall heat transfer coefficient ranges from about 297–660 W/K when the flow rate of HTF varied from 12 to 16 L/min. The experimental LTES is then studied integrated with CRAC for emergency cooling. For air flow rate higher than 300 m3/h, and thermal load lower than 1800 W, the LTES meets 15 min of emergency cooling. The inlet and outlet air temperature of CRAC are successfully controlled under 40.5 °C and 23.9 °C. The newly designed LTES shows good thermal performance, and provides more flexibility and adaptability for real application in data center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex reaction process involving six‐electron transfer, high overpotential and slow kinetic rate of methanol oxidation, the development process of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) has been hampered. Herein, a simple one‐step solvent reduction approach was employed to simultaneously reduce metal ions supported on carbon nanotubes and prepared ternary metal alloy nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes electrocatalyst (PtRuPd@CNT). Compared with PtRu@CNT binary metal catalyst, the as‐prepared PtRuPd@CNT ternary metal catalyst displayed more outstanding methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) catalytic performance and good CO anti‐poisoning ability. In the case of using 8 M methanol, the MOR performance of PtRuPd@CNT was 1.8 times better than the PtRu@CNT electrocatalyst. The addition of the Pd atom regulates the surface electronic structure of PtRu alloy, and the strong electronic interaction enhances the MOR activity of the PtRu@CNT catalyst. Furthermore, the addition of the Pd atom in the PtRuPd@CNT electrocatalyst also diminishes adsorption of CO intermediate species on the Pt surface, boosting the CO anti‐poisoning ability of the catalyst and improving the stability. Therefore, the PtRuPd@CNT electrocatalyst incorporating the Pd atoms could actualize the practical application prospect as an efficient concentrated DMFC anode catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of Government as a Platform (GaaP) has recently encountered setbacks in practice worldwide. While existing literature on inter‐governmental collaboration has emphasized organizational restructuring and data sharing, this study argues that a pragmatic way to improve administrative efficiency in the absence of formal institutional change is to adopt an alternative model to GaaP: platform‐enabled government. Enabled by innovations of the middle‐tier platform, this new model of platform governance integrates the functions of distributed systems of multiple departments into a sequential workflow without the requirement of institutional reform or sharing proprietary data. To demonstrate how this model facilitates information flow across institutional boundaries and improves collaborative governance, we analyze horizontal, vertical, and public‐private collaboration using a diverse case study design. We examine administrative review, law enforcement, and contact tracing during the pandemic in the context of China. Our findings suggest accommodating institutional boundaries is a practical and effective approach to advance the digital government agenda in decentralized contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good understanding of the processes of land surface temperature (LST) change is important for assessing regional climate change. In the present study, we obtained the MODIS MOD11A2 LST products over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2001 to 2020. In order to comprehensively assess the spatial and temporal variability of LST in the YRD region over the past two decades, the Theil–Sen Median trend analysis and Mann–Kendall test, BFAST01 trend decomposition, and landscape pattern analysis were used in this study. We show that the rate of linear change in LST in the YRD ranges from −0.019 °C/month to 0.046 °C/month. The BFAST01 trend decomposition identifies more details of LST change and monotonic increases, reversal increase, and interruption increase are the main warming trends. The distribution of the different trend types shows strong aggregation with high spatial heterogeneity. The LST breakpoints are mainly located in the northern and southern YRD, which frequently occurred during 2010–2013. Of the various land types, breakpoints occur most frequently in cropland and high NDVI (0.5–0.7) areas, and the intensity of most of them is within 2 °C. In addition, much stronger warming occurs in urban areas than in other land types. Our study provides a better understanding of the dynamics of LST in the YRD region over the past 20 years and highlights that breakpoints cannot be circumvented in regional temperature assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Tiller number per plant—a cardinal component of ideal plant architecture—affects grain yield potential. Thus, alleles positively affecting tillering must be mined to promote genetic improvement. Here, we report a Tiller Number 1 (TN1) protein harbouring a bromo‐adjacent homology domain and RNA recognition motifs, identified through genome‐wide association study of tiller numbers. Natural variation in TN1 affects its interaction with TIF1 (TN1 interaction factor 1) to affect DWARF14 expression and negatively regulate tiller number in rice. Further analysis of variations in TN1 among indica genotypes according to geographical distribution revealed that low‐tillering varieties with TN1‐hapL are concentrated in Southeast Asia and East Asia, whereas high‐tillering varieties with TN1‐hapH are concentrated in South Asia. Taken together, these results indicate that TN1 is a tillering regulatory factor whose alleles present apparent preferential utilization across geographical regions. Our findings advance the molecular understanding of tiller development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug rotation (cycling), in which multiple drugs are administrated alternatively, has the potential for limiting resistance evolution in pathogens. The frequency of drug alternation could be a major factor to determine the effectiveness of drug rotation. Drug rotation practices often have low frequency of drug alternation, with an expectation of resistance reversion. Here we, based on evolutionary rescue and compensatory evolution theories, suggest that fast drug rotation can limit resistance evolution in the first place. This is because fast drug rotation would give little time for the evolutionarily rescued populations to recover in population size and genetic diversity, and thus decrease the chance of future evolutionary rescue under alternate environmental stresses. We experimentally tested this hypothesis using the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and two antibiotics (chloramphenicol and rifampin). Increasing drug rotation frequency reduced the chance of evolutionary rescue, and most of the finally surviving bacterial populations were resistant to both drugs. Drug resistance incurred significant fitness costs, which did not differ among the drug treatment histories. A link between population sizes during the early stages of drug treatment and the end‐point fates of populations (extinction vs survival) suggested that population size recovery and compensatory evolution before drug shift increase the chance of population survival. Our results therefore advocate fast drug rotation as a promising approach to reduce bacterial resistance evolution, which in particular could be a substitute for drug combination when the latter has safety risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cypermethrin (CYP), a prototypical synthetic pyrethroid, reportedly causes metabolic disruption, while its stereoselective impact remains elusive. This study initially revealed that only α-CYP caused significant weight loss at 8.5 mg/(kg•day) in rats. All three CYP isomers caused the accumulation of hepatic glycogen, and hyperlipemia phenotype as the increment of total triglyceride. Rats treated with α-CYP had markedly high blood glucose levels and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index. The systematic inflammation of θ-CYP group rats was evidenced by high lipopolysaccharide-binding protein levels and abnormalities of leukocytes indices. By examining the gut microbiome, we found that α-CYP-treated rats had low contents of Firmicutes and high levels of Verrucomicrobia while Elusimicrobia was enriched in the β-CYP group. The increasing alpha diversity in the θ-CYP group may be due to the dominance of pathogenic bacteria and the increase of probiotics to counteract adverse effects. Exclusively, the α-CYP group enriched total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), whereas most SCFAs depleted in the θ-CYP group. The correlation analysis further found Firmicutes, an energy storage modulator, was positive to body weight (BW), while SCFAs exerted the opposite, confirming the low BW in α-CYP. Blood glucose that correlated well with SCFAs and Verrucomicrobia can be accounted for the discrepancy between α-CYP and θ-CYP. Overall, the three isomers exerted stereoselective glycolipid disruption in rats, and gut homeostasis acted as vital indicators. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation protection safety and wear comfort of personal protective equipment (PPE) are of vital importance to nuclear personnel involved. Unfortunately, it is difficult for current PEE to meet the increasing requirements, which causes tremendous threats to health and reduced working efficiency. Here, a highly filled polymer fiber for textile‐based PPE to deal with the dilemma is put forward. PbWO4 (PWO) particles are superficially modified with styrene maleic anhydride (SMA) and then titanate coupling agent (bis(dioctyl pyrophosphate) ethylene titanate (BPET)) to form PWO@SMA‐BPET. After that, as high as 70 wt% PWO@SMA‐BPET/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers are obtained by solution blending and wet spinning in succession. Synergistic effects of surface modification with SMA and BPET lead to uniform dispersion PWO particles and good compatibility of interfaces in highly filled fibers. Importantly 36.6% γ‐ray (105 keV) shielding has been detected at three‐layer fabrics with 70 wt% PWO@SMA‐BPET/PVA fiber. Besides, the fabrics also display 116 mm s−1 of air permeability and 5388 g m−2 24 h of water vapor permeability, respectively. This work discloses synergistic effects on surface modification of high loading inorganic particles in polymer fibers, which give a further boost to γ‐ray shielding safety and wear comfort of PPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zirconia nanorods and polyhedral particles were prepared using the molten-salt method. The effects of the LiF dosage on the ZrO 2 crystal morphology were studied using XRD combined with Rietveld refinement, FE-SEM combined with EDS, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and high-temperature microscopy. The results show that the ZrO 2 obtained with LiF is in the monoclinic phase. ZrO 2 nanorods were synthesized at low LiF dosages. Polyhedral ZrO 2 particles were synthesized, and the ZrO 2 crystal planes (100) and (200) were exposed to a high LiF dosage. LiF promoted the dissolution of ZrO 2 and was adsorbed onto the ZrO 2 crystal surface. This work provides a new strategy for controlling morphology and crystal surface exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of different amounts of N heteroatoms on the structural and electronic properties of pristine graphene and the adsorption behavior of Li atoms on N-doped graphene via first-principles calculations. The obtained results suggest that new N hexagonal structures are formed around the C hexagonal structure. The third-nearest neighbor structures are always maintained between the new N atoms and one of the original ones. Among the different N-doped graphene samples, the di- and tetra-N-doped and superlattice C3N exhibit semiconductor properties, while the others exhibit non-magnetic metallic properties. Studies on superlattice C3N reveal that N-doped graphene does not exhibit the aggregation of Li adatoms typical of pristine graphene. Single Li and two Li adatoms show non-magnetic metallic properties and semiconductor properties, respectively. The formation of multiple N-doped graphene samples explains the physical formation process of superlattice C3N. Their corresponding electronic properties and Li adsorption behavior are expected to motivate graphene applications in gas storage and sensing, catalysts, and biological devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endotheliopathy is a common pathologic finding in patients with acute and long COVID-19. It may be associated with disease severity and predispose patients to long-term complications. Plasma levels of a proteoglycan, syndecan-1, are found to be significantly elevated in patients with COVID-19, but its roles in assessing disease severity and predicting long-term outcome are not fully understood. Methods: A total of 124 consecutive hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were prospectively enrolled and blood samples were collected on admission (T1), 3–4 days following treatment (T2), and 1–2 days prior to discharge or death (T3). Plasma levels of syndecan-1 were determined using an immunosorbent assay; various statistical analyses were performed to determine the association between plasma syndecan-1 levels and disease severity or the 60-day mortality rate. Results: Compared with those in the healthy controls, plasma levels of syndecan-1 in patients with critical COVID-19 were significantly higher (p < 0.0001). However, there was no statistically significant difference among patients with different disease severity (p > 0.05), resulting from large individual variability. Longitudinal analysis demonstrated that while the levels fluctuated during hospitalization in all patients, plasma syndecan-1 levels were persistently elevated from baseline in critical COVID-19 patients. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses revealed that elevated plasma levels of syndecan-1 (>260 ng/mL at T1, >1018 ng/mL at T2, and >461 ng/mL at T3) were significantly associated with the 60-day mortality rate. Conclusions: Endotheliopathy, marked by glycocalyx degradation and elevated plasma syndecan-1, occurs in nearly all hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection; elevated plasma syndecan-1 is associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential‐driven semiconductor‐to‐metal transition is investigated in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides by employing a new proposed method, i.e., the fixed‐potential method (FPM). Under the same voltage, the semiconducting and metallic phases will be charged differently due to their different electronic properties. The potential‐driven phase transition process is simulated by the injection of unequal electrons in the semiconducting and metallic phases. The unequal electron injection is more consistent with the actual experimental process, although equal electron injection also can theoretically induce a phase transition. MoTe2 is chosen as a prototypical example to examine the physical mechanism. When the fixed electrode potential is above the potential of zero‐charge, excess electrons are injected into the metallic 1T' phase instead of the semiconducting 2H phase, stabilizing the 1T' phase. In addition, the potential‐dependent kinetics, in which the charge transfer is fluctuating, suggests that increasing the electrode potential will decrease the kinetic barrier of the 2H→1T' transition process. The calculated relative transition voltage of 2.5 V agrees well with the experimental results, demonstrating the validity of the FPM. This study provides new insight into potential‐driven semiconductor‐to‐metal phase transitions and suggests a new theoretical approach for studies under constant voltage conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the low cost and easy deployment, self-supervised depth completion has been widely studied in recent years. In this work, a self-supervised depth completion method is designed based on multi-modal spatio-temporal consistency (MSC). The self-supervised depth completion nowadays faces other problems: moving objects, occluded/dark light/low texture parts, long-distance completion, and cross-modal fusion. In the face of these problems, the most critical novelty of this work lies in that the self-supervised mechanism is designed to train the depth completion network by MSC constraint. It not only makes better use of depth-temporal data, but also plays the advantage of photometric-temporal constraint. With the self-supervised mechanism of MSC constraint, the overall system outperforms many other self-supervised networks, even exceeding partially supervised networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manipulation of the morphology of the active layers is crucial for improving the performance of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. In particular, the development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) has led to a large number of new materials with more complex interactions. Therefore, the investigation on the morphology control mechanism is the key aspect in providing guidance for material design and device optimization. In this study, the film morphology optimization using 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) additive and a ternary fullerene acceptor strategy have been carried out based on the PCE10:ITIC blends. It is seen that suitable amount of DIO helps to increase the crystallization of the blended thin film. However, excessive DIO elevates the crystallization-induced phase separation and the domain size can exceed the exciton diffusion length, leading to efficiency drop. The addition of fullerene acceptor can improve the carrier transport of the blends, and its presence could retard the excessive phase separation induced by DIO additive. Under the joint optimization of the solvent additive and PC71BM acceptor, the film morphology achieves a balance between crystallization and phase separation scales, the exciton diffusion and carrier transport are also optimized, and the short-circuit current (JSC) and fill factor (FF) of the device can be improved significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy acetic acid-Na (MPCA-Na) is a phenoxy carboxylic acid selective hormone herbicide that is widely used in the crop fields. However, drift of MPCA-Na during application is highly damaging to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and other crop plants. This study was carried out from 2019 to 2020 to determine the effects of different concentrations of MPCA-Na on physiological and metabolic activities besides growth and yield of cotton plants at seedling, budding, flowering and boll stages. Moreover, we evaluated the different combinations of 24-epibrassinolide, gibberellin (GA3), phthalanilic acid and seaweed fertilizer to ameliorate herbicide damage. Results: 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy acetic acid-Na (MPCA-Na) exposure caused a decrease in the chlorophyll content, and an increase in the soluble protein content, Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and protective enzyme activity. It also caused significant reductions in plant height, boll number and the single boll weight at the seedling and budding stages, but had little effects on plant height and the single boll weight at flowering and boll stage. Under the maximum recommended dose of MPCA-Na (130 g/L), the number of cotton bolls at seedling and budding stages decreased by 75.33 and 79.50%, respectively, and the single boll weight decreased by 46.42 and 36.31%, respectively. Nevertheless, the number of G. hirsutum bolls and single boll weight at flowering and boll stage decreased by 48.15 and 5.38%, respectively. Application of plant growth regulators decreased the MDA content, and increased chlorophyll, soluble protein content and protective enzyme activity, and alleviated MCPA-Na toxicity. Positive effects in case of growth regulators treated plants were also observed in terms of G. hirsutum yield. Phthalanilic acid + seaweed fertilizer, 24-epibrassinolide + seaweed fertilizer, and GA3 + seaweed fertilizer should be used at the seedling, budding, and flowering and boll stages, respectively. Conclusions: The results of current study suggest that certain plant growth regulators could be used to alleviate MPCA-Na damage and maintain G. hirsutum yield. When the cotton exposed to MCPA-Na at the seedling stage, it should be treated with phthalanilic acid + seaweed fertilizer, while plants exposed at the budding stage should be treated with 24-epibrassinolide + seaweed fertilizer, and those exposed at the flowering and boll stages should be treated with GA3 + seaweed fertilizer to mitigate stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel nuclear shielding material capable of shielding neutrons and gamma rays, WB-reinforced Al (WB/Al) composites, was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The microstructure of the composites was characterized, and the effects of WB content, heat treatment and matrix type on the properties of the composites were discussed. The results demonstrate that the WB particles are uniformly dispersed in the aluminum matrix and formed a good binding interface with the matrix. WAl 12 as an interfacial reaction product is identified, and segregation of Si and Mg elements at the reinforcement/matrix interface occurs. The mechanical properties of the WB/Al composites are sensitive to the WB content. The hardness, elastic modulus and bending strength of the composites increase monotonously as the WB volume fraction increasing, up to 234%, 107% and 91.6% higher respectively than those of the monolithic 6061Al. However, the tensile strength reaches a peak point when the volume fraction is 20%. The effects of T6 treatment and matrix type are not pronounced, especially for the composites with high WB content. The thermal neutron and gamma ray shielding properties of the composites both increase with the increase of material thickness and WB content. The WB/Al composites developed in this work show good application prospects in the field of nuclear radiation protection, due to their good mechanical properties and well neutron and gamma-ray shielding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]