Search

The influence of microstructure on the response of energetic structural materials (ESMs) under shock conditions remains inadequately quantified, and the energy release process is not thoroughly understood. In this work, taking the classical Ni/Al ESM as an example, the shock response was investigated by the shock compression theory with the microstructure-based chemical reaction kinetics model. This theory mainly refers to the equation of the state of multi-component materials with mixture rule, and the reaction at the particle contact interface is built to form the multiscale thermodynamics model. The physical states of material after shock, including relative volume, temperature, and extent of reaction, were analyzed. The results revealed the effect of the burn velocity, particle size and molar ratio on the shock response. Furthermore, the model facilitates a comprehensive understanding of energy release, the extent of the intermetallic reaction, and the oxidation reaction. Despite the involvement of only a small portion of materials in the oxidation reaction, the energy release proportion was comparable to that of the intermetallic reaction. Additionally, insights into the effect of the microstructure on the energy release revealed by the model matched the tests well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The transcription factor GATA2 has a pivotal role in haematopoiesis. Heterozygous germline GATA2 mutations result in a syndrome characterized by immunodeficiency, bone marrow failure and predispositions to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia. Clinical symptoms in these patients are diverse and mechanisms driving GATA2‐related phenotypes are largely unknown. To explore the impact of GATA2 haploinsufficiency on haematopoiesis, we generated a zebrafish model carrying a heterozygous mutation of gata2b (gata2b+/−), an orthologue of GATA2. Morphological analysis revealed myeloid and erythroid dysplasia in gata2b+/− kidney marrow. Because Gata2b could affect both transcription and chromatin accessibility during lineage differentiation, this was assessed by single‐cell (sc) RNA‐seq and single‐nucleus (sn) ATAC‐seq. Sn‐ATAC‐seq showed that the co‐accessibility between the transcription start site (TSS) and a −3.5–4.1 kb putative enhancer was more robust in gata2b+/− zebrafish HSPCs compared to wild type, increasing gata2b expression and resulting in higher genome‐wide Gata2b motif use in HSPCs. As a result of increased accessibility of the gata2b locus, gata2b+/− chromatin was also more accessible during lineage differentiation. scRNA‐seq data revealed myeloid differentiation defects, that is, impaired cell cycle progression, reduced expression of cebpa and cebpb and increased signatures of ribosome biogenesis. These data also revealed a differentiation delay in erythroid progenitors, aberrant proliferative signatures and down‐regulation of Gata1a, a master regulator of erythropoiesis, which worsened with age. These findings suggest that cell‐intrinsic compensatory mechanisms, needed to obtain normal levels of Gata2b in heterozygous HSPCs to maintain their integrity, result in aberrant lineage differentiation, thereby representing a critical step in the predisposition to MDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To identify lncRNAs in the peripheral blood as potential diagnostic biomarkers for amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Methods: In the discovery group, a microarray was used to screen for significant differences in lncRNA expression between patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) caused by AD and normal controls (NCs) (n = 10; MCI, 5; NC, 5). Furthermore, two analytic groups were assessed (analytic group 1: n = 10; amnestic MCI (aMCI), 5; NC, 5; analytic group 2: n = 30; AD, 10; aMCI, 10; NC, 10) and finalized in the validation group (n = 150; AD, 50; aMCI, 50; NC, 50). In the analytic and validation groups, real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs between the aMCI and NC groups. Results: We identified 67 upregulated and 220 downregulated lncRNAs among the expression profiles. The panel with lncRNAs T324988, NR_024049, ENST00000567919, and ENST00000549762 displayed the highest discrimination ability between patients with aMCI and NCs. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of this combined model was 0.941, with a sensitivity of 92.00% and specificity of 84.00%. Conclusions: This study reports on a panel of four lncRNAs as promising biomarkers to diagnose aMCIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dynamic model built theoretically and simulated numerically for an unsymmetric bistable laminate is elucidated, elaborating the dynamic regimes. Peak-to-peak amplitude diagrams being amplitude-frequency and amplitude-force response curves are derived. The single-well vibrations, the limit-cycle oscillations, the multiple-period dynamic snap-through, the chaotic dynamic snap-through and the intermittency dynamic snap-through can be detected. The amplitude-frequency response curves exhibit the softening stiffness effect. The dynamic regimes are correlated with the excitation amplitude and the modal frequencies. Deploying the high-level excitation amplitude and the low-level modal frequency leads to the limit-cycle oscillations. Besides, the single-well vibrations are characterized by the period-doubling bifurcation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the evolving landscape of reduction in carbon emissions and integration of renewable energy, this study uses system dynamics (SD) modeling to explore the interconnected dynamics of carbon trading (CT), tradable green certificate (TGC) trading, and electricity markets. Using differential equations with time delays, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of structural relationships and feedback mechanisms within and between these markets. Key findings reveal the intricate interplay between carbon prices, green certificate prices, and electricity prices under various coupling mechanisms. For example, under the three-market coupling mechanism, carbon trading prices stabilize around 150 Yuan/ton, while green certificate prices reach a peak of 0.45 Yuan/KWH, impacting electricity prices, which fluctuate between 0.33 and 1.09 Yuan / KWH during the simulation period. These quantitative results shed light on nuanced fluctuations in market prices and the dynamics of anticipated purchases and sales volumes within each market. The insights gleaned from this study offer valuable implications for policy makers and market stakeholders in navigating the complexities of carbon emission reduction strategies, the integration of renewable energy and market equilibrium. By understanding the dynamics of multi-market coupling, stakeholders can better formulate policies and strategies to achieve sustainable energy transitions and mitigate impacts of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite accumulating evidence linking defective lysosome function with autoimmune diseases, how the catabolic machinery is regulated to maintain immune homeostasis remains unknown. Late endosomal/lysosomal adaptor, MAPK and mTOR activator 5 (Lamtor5) is a subunit of the Ragulator mediating mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activation in response to amino acids, but its action mode and physiological role are still unclear. Here it is demonstrated that Lamtor5 level is markedly decreased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In parallel, the mice with myeloid Lamtor5 ablation developed SLE‐like manifestation. Impaired lysosomal function and aberrant activation of mTORC1 are evidenced in Lamtor5 deficient macrophages and PBMCs of SLE patients, accompanied by blunted autolysosomal pathway and undesirable inflammatory responses. Mechanistically, it is shown that Lamtor5 is physically associated with ATP6V1A, an essential subunit of vacuolar H+‐ATPase (v‐ATPase), and promoted the V0/V1 holoenzyme assembly to facilitate lysosome acidification. The binding of Lamtor5 to v‐ATPase affected the lysosomal tethering of Rag GTPase and weakened its interaction with mTORC1 for activation. Overall, Lamtor5 is identified as a critical factor for immune homeostasis by intergrading v‐ATPase activity, lysosome function, and mTOR pathway. The findings provide a potential therapeutic target for SLE and/or other autoimmune diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between serum copper and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) lacks definitive conclusions, and the intricate interactions with in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle characteristics in infertility remain insufficiently explored. This retrospective study included 560 patients with tubal infertility (no‐PCOS) and 266 patients with PCOS undergoing IVF at the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022. Patients' basic characteristics, hormonal and metabolic parameters, essential trace elements, and IVF cycle characteristics were measured and analyzed. The results revealed a significantly elevated serum copper level in the PCOS group compared to the control group [17.27 (15.54, 19.67) vs 15.4 (13.87, 17.35), μmol/L; p < .001]. Spearman correlation analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between serum copper concentration and body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose (FG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) in the no‐PCOS group. Additionally, a notable negative correlation with high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) was observed (r = −.184, p < .001). Within the PCOS group, serum copper concentration correlated significantly with BMI (r = .198, p = .004) and TG (r = .214, p = .002). The linear trend analysis indicated no significant relationship between serum copper concentration and ovarian response as well as preimplantation outcomes in both groups after adjusting for confounding factors. Our study provided evidence of elevated serum copper concentration in PCOS patients, closely associated with lipid metabolism but showing no correlation with IVF outcomes. These findings provide valuable real‐world data, enriching our nuanced understanding of the role of copper in female fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsThis study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to assess the health literacy of parents of children with asthma in a Chinese context.The preliminary Parents' Health Literacy Scale for Children with Asthma (PHLSCA) was developed based on a literature review and refined to 45 items through two rounds of expert consultation using the Delphi method. A total of 481 parents of children with asthma were recruited from seven hospitals across four provinces in China between February and April 2019. Principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to evaluate the structural and construct validity of the scale.The development and validation processes led to a 38 items scale comprising three subscales, namely: Health Knowledge (11 items), Health Skills (19 items) and Health Behavior (8 items). The scale demonstrated good reliability, with an internal consistency of Cronbach’s α = 0.956 and a split-half reliability of r = 0.887 (p < 0.01). The Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.81 to 1.00, and the Scale-CVI was 0.842. The correlation coefficients and factor analysis results indicated good construct validity, with the factors explaining 59.33% to 62.90% of the variance in each subscale.The final version of the questionnaire (PHLSCA) has been demonstrated to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the health literacy of parents of Chinese children with asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing single‐component fluorochromic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with multiple stages presents a significant challenge in the field of functional and smart MOFs. In this study, this challenge is successfully addressed by designing and synthesizing a novel ligand called cyclooctatetrathiophene‐tetrapyridine (COTTTP), and incorporating it into 3D MOFs known as Zn/Cd‐COTTTP. By exploiting the intrinsic properties of COTTTP, specifically its ability to undergo geometry changes from a bent form to a more planar form, both COTTTP as an individual molecule and the resulting Zn/Cd‐COTTTP MOFs exhibit similar fluorochromic behavior. This behavior manifests as a color change from yellow to orange to red. Characterization techniques such as single crystal X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solid‐state UV–vis and near‐infrared spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy are employed to investigate and confirm the geometry change of COTTTP within the MOF structures. Furthermore, the introduction of an auxiliary rigid ligand to the system is explored, which effectively restricts the geometry change of COTTTP and subsequently diminishes the fluorochromic behavior. This work sheds new light on the design and application of smart porous materials, particularly in the realm of single‐component fluorochromic MOFs. The successful incorporation of COTTTP and the understanding of its geometry change provide insights into the development of functional and responsive MOFs for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Ghost introgression, or the transfer of genetic material from extinct or unsampled lineages to sampled species, has attracted much attention. However, conclusive evidence for ghost introgression, especially in plant species, remains scarce. Here, we newly assembled chromosome‐level genomes for both Carya sinensis and Carya cathayensis, and additionally re‐sequenced the whole genomes of 43 C. sinensis individuals as well as 11 individuals representing 11 diploid hickory species. These genomic datasets were used to investigate the reticulation and bifurcation patterns within the genus Carya (Juglandaceae), with a particular focus on the beaked hickory C. sinensis. By combining the D‐statistic and BPP methods, we obtained compelling evidence that supports the occurrence of ghost introgression in C. sinensis from an extinct ancestral hickory lineage. This conclusion was reinforced through the phylogenetic network analysis and a genome scan method VolcanoFinder, the latter of which can detect signatures of adaptive introgression from unknown donors. Our results not only dispel certain misconceptions about the phylogenetic history of C. sinensis but also further refine our understanding of Carya's biogeography via divergence estimates. Moreover, the successful integration of the D‐statistic and BPP methods demonstrates their efficacy in facilitating a more precise identification of introgression types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical resonators are indispensable tools in optical metrology that usually benefit from an evacuated and highly-isolated environment to achieve peak performance. Even in the more sophisticated design of Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities, the material choice limits the achievable quality factors. For this reason, monolithic resonators are emerging as promising alternative to traditional designs, but their design is still at preliminary stage and far from being optimized. Here, we demonstrate a monolithic FP resonator with 4.5 cm3 volume and 2 × 105 finesse. In the ambient environment, we achieve 18 Hz integrated laser linewidth and 7 × 10−14 frequency stability measured from 0.08 s to 0.3 s averaging time, the highest spectral purity and stability demonstrated to date in the context of monolithic reference resonators. By locking two separate lasers to distinct modes of the same resonator, a 96 GHz microwave signals is generated with phase noise -100 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz frequency offset, achieving orders of magnitude improvement in the approach of photonic heterodyne synthesis. The compact monolithic FP resonator is promising for applications in spectrally-pure, high-frequency microwave photonic references as well as optical clocks and other metrological devices. ©2024. All rights reserved. Optical resonators are essential tools for high precision metrology and applications where the spectral purity is highly demanded. Here, the authors demonstrate a monolithic resonator made of fused silica to support 18 Hz integrated laser linewidth in the ambient environment, and W-band microwave generation with low phase noise of -100 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz frequency offset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is daunting pathology with remarkable breadth and scope, spanning genetics, epigenetics, proteomics, metalobomics and cell biology. Cellular senescence represents a stress-induced and essentially irreversible cell fate associated with aging and various age-related diseases, including malignancies. Senescent cells are characterized of morphologic alterations and metabolic reprogramming, and develop a highly active secretome termed as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Since the first discovery, senescence has been understood as an important barrier to tumor progression, as its induction in pre-neoplastic cells limits carcinogenesis. Paradoxically, senescent cells arising in the tumor microenvironment (TME) contribute to tumor progression, including augmented therapeutic resistance. In this article, we define typical forms of senescent cells commonly observed within the TME and how senescent cells functionally remodel their surrounding niche, affect immune responses and promote cancer evolution. Furthermore, we highlight the recently emerging pipelines of senotherapies particularly senolytics, which can selectively deplete senescent cells from affected organs in vivo and impede tumor progression by restoring therapeutic responses and securing anticancer efficacies. Together, co-targeting cancer cells and their normal but senescent counterparts in the TME holds the potential to achieve increased therapeutic benefits and restrained disease relapse in future clinical oncology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study subjected nuclear-grade 20# pipeline steel to cyclic freeze–thaw ice plugging tests, simulating the plastic deformation experienced by pipes during ice plug removal procedures. Subsequently, the dislocation morphology and mechanical properties of the specimens post cyclic ice plugging were examined. The cyclic ice plugging process led to an increase in the dislocation density within the specimens. After 20 and 40 cycles of ice plugging, the internal dislocation structures evolved from individual dislocation lines and dislocation tangles to high-density dislocation walls and dislocation cells. These high-density dislocation walls and cells hindered dislocation motion, giving rise to strain hardening phenomena, thereby resulting in increased strength and hardness of the specimens with an increasing number of ice plugging cycles. In addition, a large stress field was generated around the dislocation buildup, which reduced the pipe material's plastic toughness. The findings elucidate the effects of cyclic ice plugging on the microstructure and properties of nuclear-grade 20# pipeline steel, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the safe and stable application of ice plugging technology in nuclear piping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a hot extrusion forming process for magnesium (Mg) alloy square tubes, namely, tube-extrusion-continuous expending shear (TECES), was proposed. The thin-walled hollow square tube of Mg alloy with a thickness of 3 mm was successfully prepared by hot extrusion experiment. The evolution rules of effective stress, effective strain, and flow velocity in the process of tube forming were analyzed by numerical simulation, and the influence of different expanding ratios on tube forming was compared. The results show that the effective stress distribution of the tube is not uniform during the forming process, and the maximum stress appears at the first shear corner. In the shear deformation (SD) zone, there is a high strain zone at the corner of the square tube and outside the tube wall. As the tube is extruded, the uniformity of strain distribution in the deformation zone is improved. In the whole forming process, the flow rate of the tube increases first and then decreases, and the whole remains stable. As the expansion ratio increases when the expansion ratio is greater than 1.6, the resistance of plastic deformation increases, the fluidity of the metal becomes worse, and the formed tube cracks at the corner or is difficult to fill. When the expansion ratio is less than 1.6, the damage value area appears on the inner side of the tube wall, and the distribution uniformity is poor, which may lead to cracks or uneven thickness of the tube wall. The microstructure characterization of different deformation zones of the tube was carried out, and the results show that the TECES process can effectively refine the grain, and the average grain size of the formed tube is 10.1 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly reliable software systems rarely fail during tests because they are usually designed with fault-tolerant mechanisms and tested comprehensively. It is usually difficult to obtain sufficient failure data to carry out reliability measurements by using traditional software reliability models. These models are typically based on probabilistic statistics, and the measurement accuracy cannot be guaranteed with insufficient failure data. We propose a nonparametric bootstrap (NBP) resampling method and six parametric bootstrap (PB) resampling methods to construct software reliability models for small sample conditions based on commonly used models, i.e., the Jelinski–Moranda (J–M), Goel–Okumoto (G–O), Musa–Okumoto (M–O), Schneidewind, Duane and Littlewood-Verrall models. The bootstrap is a statistical procedure that resamples a single dataset to create many simulated samples. Our experimental results on fourteen failure datasets collected from industry and academia show that the proposed models improve by 10.2–18.0% failure time prediction accuracy, 24.7–30.7% curve fitting accuracy, and 7.7–42.9% reliability measurement accuracy compared with the original models. Furthermore, our approaches achieve 58.3–91.1% better failure time prediction accuracy in the case of small sample conditions compared to state-of-the-art machine learning and neural network-based methods. Overall, our approaches can perform more accurate reliability measurements than the original models even in scenarios with limited failure data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The small-molecule glucosyltransferase loss-of-function mutant ugt76b1 exhibits both SID2- or NPR1-dependent and independent facets of enhanced plant immunity, whereupon FMO1 is required for the SID2 and NPR1 independence. The small-molecule glucosyltransferase UGT76B1 inactivates salicylic acid (SA), isoleucic acid (ILA), and N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP). ugt76b1 loss-of-function plants manifest an enhanced defense status. Thus, we were interested how UGT76B1 genetically integrates in defense pathways and whether all impacts depend on SA and NHP. We study the integration of UGT76B1 by transcriptome analyses of ugt76b1. The comparison of transcripts altered by the loss of UGT76B1 with public transcriptome data reveals both SA-responsive, ISOCHORISMATE SYNTHASE 1/SALICYLIC ACID INDUCTION DEFICIENT 2 (ICS1/SID2)- and NON EXPRESSOR OF PR GENES 1 (NPR1)-dependent, consistent with the role of UGT76B1 in glucosylating SA, and SA-non-responsive, SID2/NPR1-independent genes. We also discovered that UGT76B1 impacts on a group of genes showing non-SA-responsiveness and regulation by infections independent from SID2/NPR1. Enhanced resistance of ugt76b1 against Pseudomonas syringae is partially independent from SID2 and NPR1. In contrast, the ugt76b1-activated resistance is completely dependent on FMO1 encoding the NHP-synthesizing FLAVIN-DEPENDENT MONOOXYGENASE 1). Moreover, FMO1 ranks top among the ugt76b1-induced SID2- and NPR1-independent pathogen responsive genes, suggesting that FMO1 determines the SID2- and NPR1-independent effect of ugt76b1. Furthermore, the genetic study revealed that FMO1, ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1 (EDS1), SID2, and NPR1 are required for the SA–JA crosstalk and senescence development of ugt76b1, indicating that EDS1 and FMO1 have a similar effect like stress-induced SA biosynthesis (SID2) or the key SA signaling regulator NPR1. Thus, UGT76B1 influences both SID2/NPR1-dependent and independent plant immunity, and the SID2/NPR1 independence is relying on FMO1 and its product NHP, another substrate of UGT76B1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistically significant increases in ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality with cumulative occupational external radiation dose were observed in the National Registry for Radiation Workers (NRRW) cohort. There were 174 541 subjects in the NRRW cohort. The start of follow up was 1955, and the end of the follow-up for each worker was chosen as the earliest date of death or emigration, their 85th birthday or 31 December 2011. The dose-response relationship showed a downward curvature at a higher dose level >0.4 Sv with the overall shape of the dose-response relationship best described by a linear-quadratic model. The smaller risk at dose >0.4 Sv appears to be primarily associated with workers who started employment at a younger age (<30 years old) and those who were employed for more than 30 years. We modelled the dose response by age-at-first exposure. For the age-at-first exposure of 30+ years old, a linear dose-response was the best fit. For age-at-first exposure <30 years old, there was no evidence of excess risk of IHD mortality for radiation doses below 0.1 Sv or above 0.4 Sv, excess risk was only observed for doses between 0.1–0.4 Sv. For this age-at-first exposure group, it was also found that the doses they received when they were less than 35 years old or greater than 50 years old did not contribute to any increased IHD risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionCerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI) is still a complicated disease with high fatality rates worldwide. Transmembrane Protein 79 (TMEM79) regulates inflammation and oxidative stress in some other diseases.CIRI mouse model was established using C57BL/6J mice through middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion (MCAO/R), and BV2 cells were subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to simulate CIRI. Brain tissue or BV2 cells were transfected or injected with lentivirus-carried TMEM79 overexpression vector. The impact of TMEM79 on CIRI-triggered oxidative stress was ascertained by dihydroethidium (DHE) staining and examination of oxidative stress indicators. Regulation of TMEM79 in neuronal apoptosis and inflammation was determined using TUNEL staining and ELISA.TMEM79 overexpression mitigated neurological deficit induced by MCAO/R and decreased the extent of cerebral infarct. TMEM79 prevented neuronal death in brain tissue of MCAO/R mouse model and suppressed inflammatory response by reducing inflammatory cytokines levels. Moreover, TMEM79 significantly attenuated inflammation and oxidative stress caused by OGD/R in BV2 cells. TMEM79 facilitated the activation of Nrf2 and inhibited NLRP3 and caspase-1 expressions. Rescue experiments indicated that the Nrf2/NLRP3 signaling pathway mediated the mitigative effect of TMEM79 on CIRI in vivo and in vitro.Overall, TMEM79 was confirmed to attenuate CIRI via regulating the Nrf2/NLRP3 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), the agency that regulates the prices of patented medicines in Canada, published proposed amendments to the regulatory framework in December 2017. Because of a series of changes and delays, the revised policy has not yet been finalized. We sought to evaluate the potential early impact of the uncertainty about the PMPRB policy on patented-medicine launches. Methods: We developed a retrospective cohort of patented medicines (molecules) sold in Canada and the 13 countries that the PMPRB currently uses or has proposed to use as price comparators, from sales data from the IQVIA MIDAS database for 2012–2021. The outcome was whether a molecule was launched (i.e., sold) in a specific country within 2 years of its global first launch (2-yr launch). We compared the change of 2-year launch before (2012–2017) and after the proposed amendments were published ("uncertain period," 2018–2021) in Canada with the change in the United States and the other 12 countries as a group ("other-countries group"), using interrupted time series and logistic regressions, respectively. We further conducted analyses for each individual country and subgroups by molecule characteristics, such as therapeutic benefit, separately. Results: We included 242 and 107 new molecules launched before publication of the proposed amendments and during the uncertain period, respectively. The corresponding 2-year launch proportions were 45.0% and 30.8% in Canada, 81.4% and 82.2% in the US, and 83.9% and 70.1% in the other-countries group. All analyses showed changes in 2-year launch during the uncertain period in the US and in the other-countries group that were similar to the changes in Canada. Greater decreases were observed in Norway and Sweden than in Canada. The 2-year launch proportion for molecules with major therapeutic benefit decreased from 45.8% to 31.3% in Canada during the uncertain period and from 87.5% to 62.5% in the other-countries group, but increased from 91.7% to 100% in the US. Interpretation: No negative impact of the PMPRB-policy uncertainty on molecule launches was observed when comparing Canada with price-comparator countries, except for molecules with major therapeutic benefit. The reduction in launches of medicines with major therapeutic benefit in Canada requires continuing investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: WHO stated the environment is an important factor affecting the development of hospice care. The environment is the sum of factors affecting behavior besides the individual factors. Currently, a scale to comprehensively assess the hospice environment of nurse is still lacking. This study aimed to develop an instrument to investigate the environmental factors affecting hospice care of nurses. Methods: Literature review and a semi-structured interview were conducted to form the items pool of the Hospice Care Environment Scale. Two rounds of Delphi expert consultation were conducted by 16 experts to revise the scale dimensions and entries to form the Hospice Care Environment Scale. A psychometric evaluation was then performed among 530 oncology nurses in a large tertiary oncology hospital in Hubei Province. The 500 valid questionnaires were randomly divided into two groups in a 1:1 ratio, sample 1 (n1 = 250) for item screening and sample 2 (n2 = 250) for quality evaluation of the resulting scale. Item analysis, reliability analysis, validity analysis and acceptability analysis were performed. Result: The Hospice Care Environment Scale consists of two dimensions and 13 entries. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the Hospice Care Environment Scale was 0.970, and the Cronbach's α coefficient of the two dimensions were 0.952 and 0.969, respectively, with the Item-content validity index and average Scale- content validity index of the scale was both 1.000. The validation factor analysis showed the standardized path coefficients of each item were basically above 0.5, and the factor structure model was stable and suitable. The average completion time of the scale was about 3 min, which had good feasibility. Conclusion: The Hospice Care Environment Scale to assess the environment of hospice care services, has good content and construct validity and reliability. This scale can provide guidance to evaluate the hospice care environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is a serious threat to women's health with high morbidity and mortality. The development of more effective therapies for the treatment of breast cancer is strongly warranted. Growing evidence suggests that targeting glucose metabolism may be a promising cancer treatment strategy. We previously identified a new glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) inhibitor, DC-5163, which shows great potential in inhibiting tumor growth. Here, we evaluated the anticancer potential of DC-5163 in breast cancer cells. Methods: The effects of DC-5163 on breast cancer cells were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Seahorse, glucose uptake, lactate production, and cellular ATP content assays were performed to examine the impact of DC-5163 on cellular glycolysis. Cell viability, colony-forming ability, cell cycle, and apoptosis were assessed by CCK8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and immunoblotting respectively. The anticancer activity of DC-5163 in vivo was evaluated in a mouse breast cancer xenograft model. Results: DC-5163 suppressed aerobic glycolysis and reduced energy supply of breast cancer cells, thereby inhibiting breast cancer cell growth, inducing cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, and increasing apoptosis. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed using a breast cancer xenograft mouse model. DC-5163 treatment markedly suppressed tumor growth in vivo without inducing evident systemic toxicity. Micro-PET/CT scans revealed a notable reduction in tumor 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT uptake in the DC-5163 treatment group compared to the DMSO control group. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DC-5163 is a promising GAPDH inhibitor for suppressing breast cancer growth without obvious side effects. 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT PET/CT can noninvasively assess the levels of glycolysis and proliferation in tumors following treatment with DC-5163. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li5FeO4 (LFO) is emerging as a promising prelithiation additive due to the high lithium donor capacity (>700 mAh g−1), cheap raw materials, good environmental adaptability, and reliable synthesis approach. However, LFO suffers from extremely poor air stability and the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Herein, LFO is subjected to different atmospheres (the main component of air) of O2, CO2, N2, and 30% humidity air to unravel its reaction mechanism with air and the interfacial chemistry. It is found that Li+ ions will escape from the LFO crystal lattice to construct Li2O, Li2CO3, and LiOH impurity phases with an obvious change of LFO surface morphology in contact with O2, CO2, and humidity air. These insulating species remarkedly inhibit Li+ ion diffusion from the material and thus lead to an increment of interfacial impedance and an apparent capacity degradation. Consequently, the initial charging capacity decays rapidly from 681.5 to 169.4 mAh g−1 (under O2) and to 54.8 mAh g−1 (under CO2), respectively. In this regard, a facile coating strategy is proposed on the surface of LFO to effectively improve its air stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study presents the experimental findings investigating the effect of different interruptions on stress levels and validates indicators for interruption detection based on machine learning. Data were collected from one hundred and four subjects across simulated office-like tasks (i.e., writing and problem-solving) by four interruption types (i.e., distraction, intrusion, break, and multitasking). Behavioral data (RT and error rate), physiological signals (HR and EDR), and subjective ratings were recorded. Features based on ANOVA were extracted and entered into the classification models as inputs to examine how well different variables could be used to evaluate interruptions. Different stress outcomes were found on objective and subjective measures by interruption type. Also, we found that a combination of physiological signals, behavioral data, and subjective ratings provides the best accuracy. Additionally, the results suggest that task performance is a more reliable indicator than subjective ratings for interruption measurement and classification. This study uses methods that could be adapted for office workers, and the results provide preliminary support for developing an early interruption detection system. The methods employed in this research may benefit office staff, and the results offer preliminary support for developing an early interruption detection system to enhance worker health and company productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cationic lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) within ether‐based electrolytes are essential intermediates pivotal in instigating the shuttle effect. Suppressing the generation of cationic LiPSs is crucial for enhancing the performance of high‐energy‐density Li‐S batteries in practical applications. Herein, for the first time, it is demonstrated that cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) can significantly enhance the dissociation of LiPSs, leading to a decrease in cationic LiPSs species within the electrolyte. Employing NMR and in‐situ Raman spectroscopy, it is observed that CoPc interacts with sulfur anions within LiPSs, modifying the dissociation equilibrium of LiPSs in 1,2‐dimethoxyethane (DME)/1,3‐dioxolane (DOL) electrolyte. This CoPc‐mediated shift toward dissociation equilibrium reduces the concentration of cationic LiPSs, effectively suppressing the electromigration of LiPSs intermediates toward the Li anode during the charging process of Li‐S battery. As a result, the Li‐S battery enabled a high reversible areal capacity of 4.2 mAh cm−2 at a high sulfur loading of 5.0 mg cm−2 and a low electrolyte/sulfur (E/S) ratio of 3 µL mgs−1. This work affords a promising strategy for tackling the fundamental challenges regarding Li‐S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in‐depth understanding of the composition‐property‐performance relationship of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is the basis of developing a reliable SEI to stablize the Zn anode‐electrolyte interface, but it remains unclear in rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries. Herein, a well‐designed electrolyte based on 2 M Zn(CF3SO3)2‐0.2 M acrylamide‐0.2 M ZnSO4 is proposed. A robust polymer (polyacrylamide)‐inorganic (Zn4SO4(OH)6.xH2O) hybrid SEI is in situ constructed on Zn anodes through controllable polymerization of acrylamide and coprecipitation of SO42− with Zn2+ and OH−. For the first time, the underlying SEI composition‐property‐performance relationship is systematically investigated and correlated. The results showed that the polymer‐inorganic hybrid SEI, which integrates the high modulus of the inorganic component with the high toughness of the polymer ingredient, can realize high reversibility and long‐term interfacial stability, even under ultrahigh areal current density and capacity (30 mA cm−2~30 mAh cm−2). The resultant Zn||NH4V4O10 cell also exhibits excellent cycling stability. This work will provide a guidance for the rational design of SEI layers in rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in‐depth understanding of the composition‐property‐performance relationship of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is the basis of developing a reliable SEI to stablize the Zn anode‐electrolyte interface, but it remains unclear in rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries. Herein, a well‐designed electrolyte based on 2 M Zn(CF3SO3)2‐0.2 M acrylamide‐0.2 M ZnSO4 is proposed. A robust polymer (polyacrylamide)‐inorganic (Zn4SO4(OH)6.xH2O) hybrid SEI is in situ constructed on Zn anodes through controllable polymerization of acrylamide and coprecipitation of SO42− with Zn2+ and OH−. For the first time, the underlying SEI composition‐property‐performance relationship is systematically investigated and correlated. The results showed that the polymer‐inorganic hybrid SEI, which integrates the high modulus of the inorganic component with the high toughness of the polymer ingredient, can realize high reversibility and long‐term interfacial stability, even under ultrahigh areal current density and capacity (30 mA cm−2~30 mAh cm−2). The resultant Zn||NH4V4O10 cell also exhibits excellent cycling stability. This work will provide a guidance for the rational design of SEI layers in rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study mean values for exponential sums of divisor functions. We improve previous results of [M. Pandey, Moment estimates for the exponential sum with higher divisor functions, C. R. Math. Acad. Sci. Paris 360 (2022) 419–424]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, community detection has emerged as a prominent research area in the analysis of complex network structures. Community detection models based on non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) are shallow and fail to fully discover the internal structure of complex networks. Thus, this article introduces a novel constrained symmetric non-negative matrix factorization with deep autoencoders (CSDNMF) as a solution to this issue. The model possesses the following advantages: (1) By integrating a deep autoencoder to discern the latent attributes bridging the original network and community assignments, it adeptly captures hierarchical information. (2) Introducing a graph regularizer facilitates a thorough comprehension of the community structure inherent within the target network. (3) By integrating a symmetry regularizer, the model's capacity to learn undirected networks is augmented, thereby facilitating the precise detection of symmetry within the target network. The proposed CSDNMF model exhibits superior performance in community detection when compared to state-of-the-art models, as demonstrated by eight experimental results conducted on real-world networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of solar interface evaporation for seawater desalination or sewage treatment is an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach; however, achieving efficient solar energy utilization and ensuring the long-term stability of the evaporation devices are two major challenges for practical application. To address these issues, we developed a novel ceramic fiber@bioderived carbon composite aerogel with a continuous through-hole structure via electrospinning and freeze-casting methods. Specifically, an aerogel was prepared by incorporating perovskite oxide (Ca0.25La0.5Dy0.25)CrO3 ceramic fibers (CCFs) and amylopectin-derived carbon (ADC). The CCFs exhibited remarkable photothermal conversion efficiencies, and the ADC served as a connecting agent and imparted hydrophilicity to the aerogel due to its abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. After optimizing the composition and microstructure, the (Ca0.25La0.5Dy0.25)CrO3 ceramic fiber@biomass-derived carbon aerogel demonstrated remarkable properties, including efficient light absorption and rapid transport of water and solutes. Under 1 kW m−2 light intensity irradiation, this novel material exhibited a high temperature (48.3 °C), high evaporation rate (1.68 kg m−2 h−1), and impressive solar vapor conversion efficiency (91.6%). Moreover, it exhibited long-term stability in water evaporation even with highly concentrated salt solutions (25 wt%). Therefore, the (Ca0.25La0.5Dy0.25)CrO3 ceramic fiber@biomass-derived carbon aerogel holds great promise for various applications of solar interface evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of immobilized enzymes with high activity and stability is critical. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much academic and industrial interest in the field of enzyme immobilization due to their unique properties. In this study, the amino-functionalized ionic liquid (NIL)-modified metal–organic framework (UiO-66-NH2) was prepared to immobilize Candida rugosa lipase (CRL), using dialdehyde starch (DAS) as the cross-linker. The results of the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) confirmed that the NIL was successfully grafted to UiO-66-NH2. The CRL immobilized on NIL-modified UiO-66-NH2 (UiO-66-NH2-NIL-DAS@CRL) exhibited satisfactory activity recovery (79.33%), stability, reusability, and excellent organic solvent tolerance. The research results indicated that ionic liquid-modified UiO-66-NH2 had practical potential for application in enzyme immobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The aim of this study was to detect the copy number variations in 25 Wannan spotted pigs and 10 Asian wild boars with whole genome sequencing data. The selection signatures of Wannan spotted pigs compared to those of Asian wild boars were calculated with fixation index (Fst). A total of 195 selected CNVs were under selected, harboring 80 genes. The selected genes were associated with reproduction, fatty acid composition, immune system, ear size, and feed efficiency. This study provides a new insight for understanding the characteristics of Wannan spotted pigs based on copy number variations. Copy number variation (CNV) is an important structural variation used to elucidate complex economic traits. In this study, we sequenced 25 Wannan spotted pigs (WSPs) to detect their CNVs and identify their selection signatures compared with those of 10 Asian wild boars. A total of 14,161 CNVs were detected in the WSPs, accounting for 0.72% of the porcine genome. The fixation index (Fst) was used to identify the selection signatures, and 195 CNVs with the top 1% of the Fst value were selected. Eighty genes were identified in the selected CNV regions. Functional GO and KEGG analyses revealed that the genes within these selected CNVs are associated with key traits such as reproduction (GAL3ST1 and SETD2), fatty acid composition (PRKG1, ACACA, ACSL3, UGT8), immune system (LYZ), ear size (WIF1), and feed efficiency (VIPR2). The findings of this study contribute novel insights into the genetic CNVs underlying WSP characteristics and provide essential information for the protection and utilization of WSP populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractFlow-induced vibration is known as a prevalent phenomenon in various industries. As a result of the flow, dynamic fluid forces are generated, which lead to the excitation of the system. Multiphase flow, found commonly in both natural and industrial settings, including industrial plants, is a significant source of noise and vibration. In the two-phase flow, as a particular case of multiphase flow, flow configuration plays a major role in the system’s traits. Despite recent advancements in flow-induced vibration, it is still considered an unresolved topic. This research develops a new multi-physics simulation for the stability study of a two-directional functionally graded tilted curved cylindrical nanopipe conveying a liquid-gas two-phase flow. Nonlocal stress–strain gradient theory (NSGT) with two size-dependent parameters (nonlocal and length scale) is presented to simulate the current nanostructure. Newton’s second law has been employed to govern the resultant forces that act on a control volume at a differential fluid element of fluid. Hiring the finite element (FE) approach alongside the generalized differential quadrature role (GDQR), both the eigenvector and eigenvalue problems are presented for analyzing the characteristics of the nanosystem under various situations. An exhaustive parametric analysis is also provided to make clear the role of varied parameters such as velocity of fluid flow, aerodynamic pressure, air yaw angle, and gas volume fraction coefficient on the system’s fundamental frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring on reliability modeling and analysis on a marine equipment in a dynamic environment is a meaningful and challenging issue, because the system commonly carries out the task at sea away from land and suffers a distinct influence of environment. Thus, a reliability model of a multi‐state repairable system operating in dynamic environment is developed by introducing the background of the marine power system in this paper. The novelty of the research lies in the modeling and computing methods are relatively innovative by employing the aggregated stochastic processes, Hadamard production and matrix‐analytic method. First, the working modes of the marine power system under several different kinds of conditions are introduced. Then, the evolution of both the system states and environment are described as discrete‐time Markov chains with multiple and different transition probability matrices. The failure probability and repair probability of components are also distinct in different environments. Furthermore, some performance indexes, especially the index relevant to the environment, are derived, respectively. Finally, the conclusion is obtained by a numerical example of the marine power system, which also illustrates the validity and applicability of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiently removing excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by various factors on the ocular surface is a promising strategy for preventing the development of dry eye disease (DED). The currently available eye drops for DED treatment are palliative, short-lived and frequently administered due to the short precorneal residence time. Here, we developed nanozyme-based eye drops for DED by exploiting borate-mediated dynamic covalent complexation between n-FeZIF-8 nanozymes (n-Z(Fe)) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to overcome these problems. The resultant formulation (PBnZ), which has dual-ROS scavenging abilities and prolonged corneal retention can effectively reduce oxidative stress, thereby providing an excellent preventive effect to alleviate DED. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that PBnZ could eliminate excess ROS through both its multienzyme-like activity and the ROS-scavenging activity of borate bonds. The positively charged nanozyme-based eye drops displayed a longer precorneal residence time due to physical adhesion and the dynamic borate bonds between phenyboronic acid and PVA or o-diol with mucin. The in vivo results showed that eye drops could effectively alleviate DED. These dual-function PBnZ nanozyme-based eye drops can provide insights into the development of novel treatment strategies for DED and other ROS-mediated inflammatory diseases and a rationale for the application of nanomaterials in clinical settings. Highlights: Modification of dynamic covalent bonds based on borate bonds can improve the solubility and dispersion of Fe-based nanozymes in solution. The nanozyme-based eye drops enable reactive groups to bind to the chemical groups present in the mucin layer to confer carrier adhesion, thereby increasing the retention time of the carrier on the ocular surface. Nanozyme-based eye drops have synergistic effects on Fe-based nanozymes, and borate bonds effectively neutralize excess ROS in the microenvironment of the ocular surface, thereby reducing oxidative stress and direct oxidative damage. Nanozyme-based eye drops could effectively alleviate DED and may be a promising nanotherapeutic strategy for DED treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abuse of illicit drugs poses serious threats to the physical and mental health of users, as well as to the overall safety and welfare of society. In this work, we present a newly developed technique for drug detection based on mass spectrometry. This technique combines Leidenfrost desorption with low-temperature arc plasma ionization mass spectrometry. This method is applicable for detecting furanyl fentanyl in complex matrices. Key advantages of this technique include minimal sample fragmentation and high sensitivity for detection. The Leidenfrost desorption plays a pivotal role in this methodology, as it spontaneously concentrates analyte molecules during the gradual evaporation of the solvent. Eventually, these concentrated molecules are redistributed at their highest concentrations, resulting in exceptionally high sensitivity. In the course of our investigation, we achieved a remarkable detection limit of 10 pg mL−1 for furanyl fentanyl in pure water. Moreover, the characteristic ion peaks of furanyl fentanyl can be distinctly identified within complex matrices such as wine, beverages, urine, and lake water. This innovative drug detection technology offers several advantages, including a simple setup, cost-effectiveness, rapid detection, high sensitivity, and minimal sample pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe stabilization of Pickering emulsions using micro/nanoparticles has gained significant attention due to their wide range of potential applications in industries such as cosmetics, food, catalysis, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. There is a growing demand for the development of environmentally friendly micro/nanoparticles to create stable Pickering emulsions. Naturally occurring polysaccharides like pectin offer promising options as they can assemble at oil/water interfaces. This polysaccharide is considered a green candidate because of its biodegradability and renewable nature. The physicochemical properties of micro/nanoparticles, influenced by fabrication methods and post-modification techniques, greatly impact the characteristics and applications of the resulting Pickering emulsions. This review focuses on recent advancements in Pickering emulsions stabilized by pectin-based micro/nanoparticles, as well as the application of functional materials in delivery systems, bio-based films and 3D printing using these emulsions as templates. The effects of micro/nanoparticle properties on the characteristics of Pickering emulsions and their applications are discussed. Additionally, the obstacles that currently hinder the practical implementation of pectin-based micro/nanoparticles and Pickering emulsions, along with future prospects for their development, are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-learning is a pivotal and potentially influential machine learning approach to solve challenging problems in reinforcement learning. However, the costly hyper-parameter tuning for training stability of meta-learning is a known shortcoming and currently a hotspot of research. This paper addresses this shortcoming by introducing an online and easily trainable hyper-parameter optimization approach, called Meta Parameters Learning via Meta-Learning (MPML), to combine online hyper-parameter adjustment scheme into meta-learning algorithm, which reduces the need to tune hyper-parameters. Specifically, a basic learning rate for each training task is put forward. Besides, the proposed algorithm dynamically adapts multiple basic learning rate and a shared meta-learning rate through conducting gradient descent alongside the initial optimization steps. In addition, the sensitivity with respect to hyper-parameter choices in the proposed approach are also discussed compared with model-agnostic meta-learning method. The experimental results on reinforcement learning problems demonstrate MPML algorithm is easy to implement and delivers more highly competitive performance than existing meta-learning methods on a diverse set of challenging control tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) into thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters holds great promise for the advancement of highly efficient organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Despite recent advancements, a thorough comprehension of the underlying mechanisms remains imperative for the practical application of such materials. In this work, we introduce a novel approach aimed at modulating the TADF process by manipulating dynamic processes in excited states through aggregation effect. Our findings reveal that aggregation not only enhances both prompt and delayed fluorescence simultaneously but also imposes constraints on molecular reorientation. This constraint reinforces spin‐orbit coupling and reduces the energy gap between singlets and triplets. These insights deepen our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing the aggregation effect on TADF materials and provide valuable guidance for the design of high‐efficiency photoluminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating spin dynamics in electrocatalysis is crucial for the rational design of magnetically heterogeneous catalysts. Utilizing spin‐polarized density functional theory calculation, herein, the spin dynamic of diatomic Co₂‐supported γ‐graphyne (Co2‐GY) catalysts during the process of CO electroreduction (eCORR) is identified, focusing on the effect of the applied potential and acidity on spin dynamic and catalytic performance. In particular, the obtained Co2‐GY shows a new efficient C2 pathway of CH2* + CHO* coupling mechanism, resulting in the optimal CH3CH2OH product with ∆G of 0.50 eV and the selectivity of 99.99% under alkaline conditions. Under acidic media, Co2‐GY exhibits the optimal C1 product (CH3OH) with ∆G of 0.27 eV and a selectivity of 99.99%. During CO electroreduction, the reaction environment (pH and applied potential) influences spin dynamics in catalyst‐reactant systems, affecting the spin transition of diatomic Co2 active sites among four magnetic states: ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, paramagnetic, and diamagnetic. These findings will be helpful for the rational design of transition‐metal heterogeneous catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current complex situations of electronic intelligence (ELINT), the authors present a radar emitter structure (RES) identification method based on deep learning at a new level to address the issue of incomplete cognitive information. Firstly, due to the fact that existing simulation data cannot fully reflect the structure features of the entire radar emitter, the structure feature‐level RES model is built using direct digital synthesiser (DDS) technology and radio frequency (RF) simulation platform. Afterwards, considering that the structure features are reflected in the frequency domain, a stacked frequency sparse auto encoder (sFSAE) network is constructed by adding a constraint term in frequency domain to the loss function of sparse auto encoder (SAE). Using deep learning to extract structure features with constraints in different domains is instructive for feature extraction techniques under variable operating parameters. Finally, the extracted structure features are input into the Softmax classifier to perform the identification from the radar signal to the RES. The experimental results show that the proposed method has high generalisation ability and robustness under different modulation types, different operating parameters and different signal to noise ratio (SNR). It also has a high identification rate even for untrained modulated signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The snap-through behaviors and nonlinear vibrations are investigated for a bistable composite laminated cantilever shell subjected to transversal foundation excitation based on experimental and theoretical approaches. An improved experimental specimen is designed in order to satisfy the cantilever support boundary condition, which is composed of an asymmetric region and a symmetric region. The symmetric region of the experimental specimen is entirely clamped, which is rigidly connected to an electromagnetic shaker, while the asymmetric region remains free of constraint. Different motion paths are realized for the bistable cantilever shell by changing the input signal levels of the electromagnetic shaker, and the displacement responses of the shell are collected by the laser displacement sensors. The numerical simulation is conducted based on the established theoretical model of the bistable composite laminated cantilever shell, and an off-axis three-dimensional dynamic snap-through domain is obtained. The numerical solutions are in good agreement with the experimental results. The nonlinear stiffness characteristics, dynamic snap-through domain, and chaos and bifurcation behaviors of the shell are quantitatively analyzed. Due to the asymmetry of the boundary condition and the shell, the upper stable-state of the shell exhibits an obvious soft spring stiffness characteristic, and the lower stable-state shows a linear stiffness characteristic of the shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice plug technology is an effective method for isolating the pipeline system, which are promising methods utilized in the nuclear, chemical, and power industries. To reduce the cold energy consumption and temperature stress, the multi-stage (1–10) of time-dependent thermal boundary conditions was proposed for the formation of ice plug, while the gradient cooling wall temperature of multi-stage was applied. A numerical model considering the liquid–solid phase change, heat transfer, and time-dependent thermal boundary condition has been established. The effects of the ratio of length and diameter of the cooling wall lc/d (1–9) on the formation rate and heat flux of ice plug in the pipe has been investigated. The fastest formation rate of ice plug with 800 mm in the axial direction (7.47 cm3/s) was observed in the pipe with the lc/d of 5. The formation rate of ice plug and the ice formation volume under unit energy consumption VE under various stages (1–10) of cooling wall temperature have been compared. The VE of eight temperature stages (1.45 cm3/kJ) was 1.16 times than the VE of one temperature stage, which satisfied the freezing rate at the same time. This investigation provides insight for proposing an energy-saving system for the formation of ice plug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the existence of various super‐resolution (SR) methods, most of them focus on designing models for specific upscaling factors rather than fully exploiting inter‐scale correlation to improve efficiency. In contrast, multi‐scale SR methods can effectively reduce the redundancy of network parameters by aggregating the feature extraction processes corresponding to multiple scales into a unified process. The aim of this study is to enhance the compactness and efficiency of the SR model. Thus, an efficient multi‐scale SR method called the diverse branch feature refinement network (DBFRN) is proposed. By decoupling the training process and inference process based on the idea of structural re‐parameterization, multi‐branch topology is adopted to enrich multi‐scale learning and merge branches to achieve efficient inference with equivalent effects. Specifically, two re‐parameterization strategies are designed and two corresponding feature refinement blocks for different feature levels in multi‐scale SR network. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed multi‐scale SR method is effective and efficient, and it can outperform advanced single‐scale methods in terms of quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black spot, caused by Alternaria brassicicola (Ab), poses a serious threat to crucifer production, and knowledge of how plants respond to Ab infection is essential for black spot management. In the current study, combined transcriptomic and metabolic analysis was employed to investigate the response to Ab infection in two cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) genotypes, Bo257 (resistant to Ab) and Bo190 (susceptible to Ab). A total of 1100 and 7490 differentially expressed genes were identified in Bo257 (R_mock vs. R_Ab) and Bo190 (S_mock vs. S_Ab), respectively. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that "metabolic pathways", "biosynthesis of secondary metabolites", and "glucosinolate biosynthesis" were the top three enriched KEGG pathways in Bo257, while "metabolic pathways", "biosynthesis of secondary metabolites", and "carbon metabolism" were the top three enriched KEGG pathways in Bo190. Further analysis showed that genes involved in extracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, jasmonic acid signaling pathway, and indolic glucosinolate biosynthesis pathway were differentially expressed in response to Ab infection. Notably, when infected with Ab, genes involved in extracellular ROS production were largely unchanged in Bo257, whereas most of these genes were upregulated in Bo190. Metabolic profiling revealed 24 and 56 differentially accumulated metabolites in Bo257 and Bo190, respectively, with the majority being primary metabolites. Further analysis revealed that dramatic accumulation of succinate was observed in Bo257 and Bo190, which may provide energy for resistance responses against Ab infection via the tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway. Collectively, this study provides comprehensive insights into the Ab–cabbage interactions and helps uncover targets for breeding Ab-resistant varieties in cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Methods Results Conclusions To compare safety and efficacy of isolated and combined UV‐light corneal crosslinking (CXL) and fine‐needle diathermy (FND) to regress pathological corneal vessels in vivo.Mice with inflamed and pathologically vascularized corneas received CXL or FND as monotherapy or a combination of both treatments. Corneal pathological blood and lymphatic vessels, immune cells and the morphology of anterior segment structures were evaluated.All three approaches were able to regress blood and lymphatic vessels in mice. A comparative analysis of the three methods revealed that the FND monotherapy and the CXL + FND combination were significantly more effective than the CXL monotherapy, one and 2 weeks after therapy and especially in regressing lymphatic vessels. Furthermore, the combination therapy induced significantly less immune cell recruitment compared to the monotherapies. All three methods were safe to use in regards of corneal integrity.A combination of FND and CXL led to regression of pathological corneal lymphatic and blood vessels and reduced the infiltration of immune cells into inflamed murine corneas. This approach offers a new effective, safe and clinically usable strategy to treat eyes with mature pathological blood vessels and even more so for lymphatic vessels, for example prior to high‐risk corneal transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single-cell clustering has played an important role in exploring the molecular mechanisms about cell differentiation and human diseases. Due to highly-stochastic transcriptomics data, accurate detection of cell types is still challenged, especially for RNA-sequencing data from human beings. In this case, deep neural networks have been increasingly employed to mine cell type specific patterns and have outperformed statistic approaches in cell clustering. Results: Using cross-correlation to capture gene–gene interactions, this study proposes the scCompressSA method to integrate topological patterns from scRNA-seq data, with support of self-attention (SA) based coefficient compression (CC) block. This SA-based CC block is able to extract and employ static gene–gene interactions from scRNA-seq data. This proposed scCompressSA method has enhanced clustering accuracy in multiple benchmark scRNA-seq datasets by integrating topological and temporal features. Conclusion: Static gene–gene interactions have been extracted as temporal features to boost clustering performance in single-cell clustering For the scCompressSA method, dual-channel SA based CC block is able to integrate topological features and has exhibited extraordinary detection accuracy compared with previous clustering approaches that only employ temporal patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the microbial variations and biomarkers in the vaginal and oral environments of patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer (CC) and to develop novel prediction models. Materials and methods: This study included 164 samples collected from both the vaginal tract and oral subgingival plaque of 82 women. The participants were divided into four distinct groups based on their vaginal and oral samples: the control group (Z/KZ, n = 22), abortion group (AB/KAB, n = 17), HPV-infected group (HP/KHP, n = 21), and cervical cancer group (CC/KCC, n = 22). Microbiota analysis was conducted using full-length 16S rDNA gene sequencing with the PacBio platform. Results: The vaginal bacterial community in the Z and AB groups exhibited a relatively simple structure predominantly dominated by Lactobacillus. However, CC group shows high abundances of anaerobic bacteria and alpha diversity. Biomarkers such as Bacteroides, Mycoplasma, Bacillus, Dialister, Porphyromonas, Anaerococcus, and Prevotella were identified as indicators of CC. Correlations were established between elevated blood C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and local/systemic inflammation, pregnancy, childbirth, and abortion, which contribute to unevenness in the vaginal microenvironment. The altered microbial diversity in the CC group was confirmed by amino acid metabolism. Oral microbial diversity exhibited an inverse pattern to that of the vaginal microbiome, indicating a unique relationship. The microbial diversity of the KCC group was significantly lower than that of the KZ group, indicating a link between oral health and cancer development. Several microbes, including Fusobacterium, Campylobacter, Capnocytophaga, Veillonella, Streptococcus, Lachnoanaerobaculum, Propionibacterium, Prevotella, Lactobacillus, and Neisseria, were identified as CC biomarkers. Moreover, periodontal pathogens were associated with blood CRP levels and oral hygiene conditions. Elevated oral microbial amino acid metabolism in the CC group was closely linked to the presence of pathogens. Positive correlations indicated a synergistic relationship between vaginal and oral bacteria. Conclusion: HPV infection and CC impact both the vaginal and oral microenvironments, affecting systemic metabolism and the synergy between bacteria. This suggests that the use of oral flora markers is a potential screening tool for the diagnosis of CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed the direct extrusion and continuous-shear deformation (DECS) process for the co-extrusion of Mg-AZ31B/Al 6063, aiming to prepare high-plasticity Mg/Al composite sheets. The effect of extrusion temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al composite sheet was systematically studied. The results show that Mg/Al composite sheets with no voids or cracks at the interface were successfully prepared by the DECS process. The microstructure of the Mg layer at different extrusion temperatures primarily consists of equiaxed fine grains, with grain sizes of 7.29 μm, 8.98 μm, and 9.88 μm at 330℃, 360℃, and 390℃, respectively. The Mg layer exhibits a typical extrusion texture, with the c-axis of most grains parallel to the transverse direction (TD). With the increase in extrusion temperature, the c-axis of some grains deviates from the TD toward the normal direction (ND). The Al layer mainly consists of elongated deformed grains and fine dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) grains distributed along the extrusion direction (ED). The AZ31 Mg alloy with refined grains maintains the ultimate tensile strength of the Mg/Al composite sheet, while the Al matrix enhances its plasticity. At 330℃, the Mg/Al composite sheet shows an ultimate tensile strength of 244.48 MPa ± 4.35 and an elongation of 39.42% ± 0.06. The influence of the bonding layer thickness on the shear and tensile properties of the composite sheet was studied, revealing that increasing the bonding layer thickness reduces the shear strength of the Mg/Al composite sheet but positively affects its tensile strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transforming polyolefin waste into liquid alkanes through tandem cracking‐alkylation reactions catalyzed by Lewis‐acid chlorides offers an efficient route for single‐step plastic upcycling. Lewis acids in dichloromethane establish a polar environment that stabilizes carbenium ion intermediates and catalyzes hydride transfer, enabling breaking of polyethylene C−C bonds and forming C−C bonds in alkylation. Here, we show that efficient and selective deconstruction of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) to liquid alkanes is achieved with anhydrous aluminum chloride (AlCl3) and gallium chloride (GaCl3). Already at 60 °C, complete LDPE conversion was achieved, while maintaining the selectivity for gasoline‐range liquid alkanes over 70 %. AlCl3 showed an exceptional conversion rate of 5000 gLDPEmolcat-1h-1 ${{{\rm g}}_{{\rm L}{\rm D}{\rm P}{\rm E}}{{\rm \ }{\rm m}{\rm o}{\rm l}}_{{\rm c}{\rm a}{\rm t}}^{-1}{{\rm \ }{\rm h}}^{-1}}$ , surpassing other Lewis acid catalysts by two orders of magnitude. Through kinetic and mechanistic studies, we show that the rates of LDPE conversion do not correlate directly with the intrinsic strength of the Lewis acids or steric constraints that may limit the polymer to access the Lewis acid sites. Instead, the rates for the tandem processes of cracking and alkylation are primarily governed by the rates of initiation of carbenium ions and the subsequent intermolecular hydride transfer. Both jointly control the relative rates of cracking and alkylation, thereby determining the overall conversion and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]