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Neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation is an attractive and promising treatment strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI). Various pathological processes including the severe inflammatory cascade and difficulty in stable proliferation and differentiation of NSCs limit its application and translation. Here, a novel physico‐chemical bifunctional neural stem cells delivery system containing magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs and methylprednisolone (MP) is designed to repair SCI, the former regulates NSCs differentiation through magnetic mechanical stimulation in the chronic phase, while the latter alleviates inflammatory response in the acute phase. The delivery system releases MP to promote microglial M2 polarization, inhibit M1 polarization, and reduce neuronal apoptosis. Meanwhile, NSCs tend to differentiate into functional neurons with magnetic mechanical stimulation generated by MNPs in the static magnetic field, which is related to the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. SCI mice achieve better functional recovery after receiving NSCs transplantation via physico‐chemical bifunctional delivery system, which has milder inflammation, higher number of M2 microglia, more functional neurons, and axonal regeneration. Together, this bifunctional NSCs delivery system combined physical mechanical stimulation and chemical drug therapy is demonstrated to be effective, which provides new treatment insights into clinical transformation of SCI repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China has thousands years of goat breeding and abundant goat genetic resources. Additionally, the Hainan black goat is one of the high-quality local goat breeds in China. In order to conserve the germplasm resources of the Hainan black goat, facilitate its genetic improvement and further protect the genetic diversity of goats, it is urgent to develop a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip for Hainan black goat. Results: In this study, we aimed to design a 10K liquid chip for Hainan black goat based on genotyping by pinpoint sequencing of liquid captured targets (cGPS). A total of 45,588 candidate SNP sites were obtained, 10,677 of which representative SNP sites were selected to design probes, which finally covered 9,993 intervals and formed a 10K cGPS liquid chip for Hainan black goat. To verify the 10K cGPS liquid chip, some southern Chinese goat breeds and a sheep breed with similar phenotype to the Hainan black goat were selected. A total of 104 samples were used to verify the clustering ability of the 10K cGPS liquid chip for Hainan black goat. The results showed that the detection rate of sites was 97.34% -99.93%. 84.5% of SNP sites were polymorphic. The heterozygosity rate was 3.08%-36.80%. The depth of more than 99.4% sites was above 10X. The repetition rate was 99.66%-99.82%. The average consistency between cGPS liquid chip results and resequencing results was 85.58%. In addition, the phylogenetic tree clustering analysis verified that the SNP sites on the chip had better clustering ability. Conclusion: These results indicate that we have successfully realized the development and verification of the 10K cGPS liquid chip for Hainan black goat, which provides a useful tool for the genome analysis of Hainan black goat. Moreover, the 10K cGPS liquid chip is conducive to the research and protection of Hainan black goat germplasm resources and lays a solid foundation for its subsequent breeding work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For saving fuel and extending the fuel cells (FC)/battery lifetime, this paper proposes a real-time cost-optimal predictive energy management strategy of FC hybrid electric vehicles based on continuation/general minimal residuals (C/GMRES) algorithm. To ensure the preferable continuation for algorithm application, the continuity method is proposed for accurate model approximations. The external penalty method is employed to transform the inequality constraints as an equivalent index cost. Then, the continuous and unconstrained model predictive control problem is reformulated, and the C/GMRES algorithm is proposed for real-time optimization. Given the output, the expected FC control command can be decided by the designed postprocessing rules. The performance of the proposed strategy is validated under simulations and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests. The results manifest that the proposed strategy can effectively save the total cost for the predictive horizon of 5s–60s even when the neural network-based predictive velocity is adopted. Besides, compared with the interior point method, the proposed C/GMRES algorithm achieves similar solving effects while exhibiting more than 100 times computing efficiency. In addition, the execution time of the proposed strategy in each step is less than 1.2 ms under HIL tests, indicating its real-time applicability. • State of health for fuel cells and battery are modeled and optimized. • Continuity method of health-aware system model is proposed. • Real-time optimization algorithm is proposed for this highly nonlinear problem. • Results about horizon length and predictive errors are gained and discussed. • HIL test verifies the control effects and real-time applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aim to compare and assess the surgical parameters and follow-up information of one-hole split endoscopic discectomy (OSE) and microendoscopic discectomy (MED) in the treatment of LDH. Methods: This study included 154 patients with degenerative lumbar disk disease. Sixty-eight patients underwent OSE and 86 patients MED. The VAS score for lower back and lower limb radiation pain, ODI score, modified MacNab score, estimated blood loss (EBL), length of the incision, amount of C-reactive protein, and recurrence and complication rates were examined as indicators for clinical outcomes and adverse events. Results: After surgery, the VAS and ODI scores in the two groups significantly decreased. On the third day after surgery, the VAS and ODI scores of the OSE group were significantly better than those of the MED group. The VAS and ODI scores preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months following the procedure did not substantially vary between the two groups. There was less EBL and a shorter incision with OSE than with MED. There was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the two groups. Conclusion: Compared with MED, OSE is a new alternative option for LDH that can achieve similar and satisfactory clinical outcomes. Furthermore, OSE has many advantages, including less EBL and a smaller incision. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of OSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal runaway propagation of the power battery pack is an essential factor affecting the safety of electric vehicles. The commonly adopted propagation inhibition methods mainly include adding heat insulation materials and enlarging battery spacing, which could cause problematic heat dissipation and lower the system energy density. Herein, an innovative battery thermal management system composed of non-uniform thermal conductivity phase change materials and assisted liquid cooling is proposed. Combining the phase change materials with high and low thermal conductivity balances heat transfer and heat insulation requirements. The cooling performance and the ability of thermal runaway propagation mitigation of the proposed schemes are numerically studied. The results show that the proposed strategy can meet the heat dissipation requirements under normal operation and control the thermal runaway in a safe range by transferring the heat generated from the battery thermal runaway in the set direction. The maximum battery temperature and the temperature difference are 38.1 °C and 2.1 °C, respectively, under 3C discharge. Under thermal runaway conditions, the strategy successful confines the thermal runaway propagation within the middle row. The maximum battery temperature in other rows can be controlled under the irreversible thermal runaway reaction temperature of 200 °C. Further study found that increased thermal conductivity benefits the battery heat dissipation and reduces the risk of thermal runaway. However, it propagates faster and broader once the thermal runaway is triggered. In comparison, the decrease of thermal conductivity is beneficial to the mitigation of propagation but may reduce the overall heat dissipation of the battery module. This study can provide a new way to solve the contradiction between battery temperature control and thermal runaway spread suppression. • An innovative strategy is proposed to mitigate thermal runaway propagation. • Non-uniform phase change materials with different thermal conductivity are adopted. • The thermal runaway generated heat can be limited to transfer in a specific direction. • A suitable combination of high and low thermal conductivity for PCM is necessary. • Temperature control and thermal runaway suppression can be achieved simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The employment of readily obtainable parameters, including voltage and temperature, derived from the battery management system facilitates the real-time evaluation of lithium-ion batteries health status. However, the complex aging mechanisms and noise interference inherent in lithium-ion batteries present substantial challenges to accurate estimation. Hence, this research proposes a multi-model fusion approach utilizing Gramian Angular Field encoding to accurately predict the health status of lithium-ion batteries. Battery voltage and temperature data are acquired through system aging experiments. The Gramian Angular Field-based image encoding transforms these data into images, accentuating the subtle characteristics of the data and thereby enhancing its recognizability by neural networks. Subsequently, two-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks are employed to extract features from the images, followed by one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks to reduce the dimensions of the feature matrix. The battery health status is then predicted utilizing Long Short-term Memory Networks. The culmination is the evaluation of the model performance through the application of quantitative error metrics. The study results show that the method can pinpoint the prediction error to within 2%, significantly improving accuracy over traditional prediction methods. It proves the great potential of direct data, such as voltage and temperature, in predicting battery health. • Predicting lithium-ion battery health state based on multi-easily accessible data. • The temperature and voltage data are converted into 2D images by applying GAF method. • Feature extraction and SOH prediction using CNN-LSTM fusion models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a predictive energy management strategy of FC PHEV based on PMP and co-state boundaries. The model predictive control (MPC) problem is established and transformed as a two-point-boundary-value one by PMP theory, and the physical constraints of FC power, FC power varying rate, and battery current, are merged by methodical derivatives. To gain the accurate co-state boundaries, the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker condition, for the first time, is employed to derive the general expressions, and a correction method is developed to modify the co-state boundaries for effectiveness guarantees. By inputting the feedback SOC, power demand, and the unified constraint, the shrunken enclosed range between the developed co-state boundaries can be determined in real time, thereby benefiting the efficient co-state calibration. Based on the co-state bounds, the concise but highly effective heuristic rules are proposed to calibrate the co-state online iteratively, and an analytical method is proposed to fast find the optimal solution of Hamilton function. The global optimality of the proposed strategy for the addressed MPC problem is also strictly proved. The validations and sensitivity analysis for the initial state of charge (SOC), the SOC reference, the predictive velocity accuracy, and the horizon length, are implemented under simulations, and the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy under on-board environment. The results yield that, the proposed strategy can implement the timely and high-efficiency co-state updates, the smooth control commands, the expected SOC tracking effects, and improve the fuel economy. Additionally, <0.5 ms per sample is spent for the predictive horizon length 40 under HIL tests, indicating the real-time applicability of proposed strategy. • General expressions of co-state bounds are theoretically derived by KKT condition. • Designed analytical method fast minimizes Hamilton function with global optimality. • Heuristic rules by modified co-state bounds can efficiently decide co-state online. • Good co-state calibration stability favors robustness to reference and predicted speed. • HIL tests of designed method show desired fuel savings and high computing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for high energy density in lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles poses a challenge to maintaining its optimum operating temperature while reducing the risk of thermal runaway (TR) propagation. This study proposes a novel hybrid TR propagation mitigation system that balances heat transfer and thermal insulation requirements using low and high thermal conductivity phase change materials (PCM), heat pipes (HP), and air-cooling. The design and optimization of such a mitigation system are complex due to the many design parameters involved. The Adaptive-Kriging-High dimensional model representation (Adaptive-Kriging-HDMR) is used to establish a surrogate model of the system, and the sensitivity of the system's design parameters is evaluated with the maximum battery temperature and the system weight as the targets, thereby improving the efficiency of model calculation and reducing the dimension of optimization parameters. Then, the design of the sensitive parameters is optimized using an extended elitist non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm (E-NSGA-II) multi-objective optimization algorithm. The results show that the modeling difficulty and optimization calculation time are significantly reduced by using a surrogate model. The calculation time for a single surrogate model only takes a few seconds instead of several hours for the original three-dimensional heat transfer and flow calculation. The thermal conductivity of high thermal conductivity-PCM, the distance between battery and low thermal conductivity-PCM, the battery spacing, and the HP length significantly affect the system. The optimized system substantially reduces the overall weight of the battery system while ensuring its good heat dissipation capability. In the case of TR in a single battery, the system succeeds in limiting the TR propagation to the same row, with the maximum battery temperature in the second row being only 64.3 °C, well below the battery TR trigger point. Under more severe conditions, such as TR occurring in two batteries simultaneously, the maximum battery temperature in the second row is 155.5 °C, and no TR spreads to the adjacent row. This study provides a rapid and effective method for designing a TR propagation mitigation system. It can serve as a reference for the engineering design and optimization of battery thermal management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pasteurella multocida (Pm) infection can cause pasteurellosis in goats. Currently, the mechanisms of Pm infection in goats are limited. In this study, the effects of Pm infection to goats were characterized from the aspects of histopathology, miRNA and mRNA expression dynamics in lung of goats infected for 1, 2, 5 and 7 days and the clinical symptoms of animals. We further revealed the potential role of differentially expressed RNAs, which are commonly involved in and regulate the host immune reaction to the Pm infection. The differentially expressed genes were mapped to marker genes of the immune cells in the lung, which further confirmed the cells detected by the histopathological method. Pasteurella multocida (Pm) infection causes severe respiratory disease in goats. We investigated the effects of the Pm infection intratracheally on the histopathology, miRNA and mRNA expression dynamics in the lung of goats infected for 1, 2, 5 and 7 days. Pm infection caused fever, which significantly (p < 0.05) increased the body temperature of the goats from day 1 to 5. Haemotoxylin–eosin staining of the infected lung tissue showed characteristics of suppurative pneumonia with inflammatory cells infiltration and the lung structure destruction. During the Pm infection of the goats, compared with the control group, there were 3080, 3508, 2716 and 2675 differentially expressed genes and 42, 69, 91 and 108 significantly expressed miRNAs (|log2Fold Change| > 1, p < 0.05) in the Pm_d1, Pm_d2, Pm_d5 and Pm_d7 groups, respectively. Five miRNAs and nine immune-related genes were selected for confirmation by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that the expression patterns of the miRNAs and genes were consistent with those determined by next-generation sequencing. The differentially expressed genes were enriched in cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, cell adhesion molecules, complement and coagulation cascades, tight junction and phagosome Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and cytokine production, leukocyte migration, myeloid leukocyte migration, cell periphery, plasma membrane, extracellular region part, extracellular region and other Gene Ontology terms. The differentially expressed genes were mapped to marker genes in human and mouse lung cells. The results showed the presence of some marker genes of the immune cells. Compared with the CK group, five miRNAs and 892 common genes were differentially expressed in the Pm_d1, Pm_d2, Pm_d5 and Pm_d7 groups. The target relationships between the common 5 miRNAs and 892 differentially expressed genes were explored and the miRNAs involved in the host immune reaction may act through the target genes. Our study characterized goats' reaction in the lung from histopathological and molecular changes upon Pm infection, which will provide valuable information for understanding the responses in goats during Pm infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administration of vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 can increase spine fusion rates, improve clinical symptoms, promote bone information, and avoid further decline in bone mineral density after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion or posterior lumbar interbody fusion, which may be an effective and promising option to improve spine fusion in patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis within early postoperative period. Study Design.: A prospective and nonrandomized concurrent controlled trial. Objective.: To address the early effects of concurrent treatment with vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 on fusion rates in patients who have undergone spinal surgery. Summary of Background Data.: Intervertebral pseudarthrosis has been reported after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) or posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), especially in patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis. No study has assessed the early effects of concurrent treatment with vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 on fusion rates. Methods.: Patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis who underwent TLIF or PLIF in our department were included. Patients in the VK2+VD3 group received vitamin K2, vitamin D3, and calcium treatment, whereas subjects in the control group only received calcium and vitamin D3. Spine fusion was evaluated by computed tomography. The Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOA-BPEQ) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to assess the clinical and neurological symptoms. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolism markers were measured for osteoporotic evaluation. Results.: Seventy-eight patients were included, and nine patients subsequently discontinued because of 2019-nCoV. At six months postoperatively, complete fusion rates were significantly higher in the VK2+VD3 group than that in the control group (91.18% vs 71.43%, P  = 0.036). At six months postoperatively, BMD was increased in the VK2+VD3 group and was higher than that in the control group, although there was no significant difference. At three months postoperatively, a significant increase in procollagen type I amino terminal propeptide (91.81%) and a slight decrease in C-terminal end peptide (8.06%) were observed in the VK2+VD3 group. In both groups, the JOA-BPEQ and VAS scores were significantly improved after spine surgery. Conclusion.: Administration of vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 can increase lumbar interbody fusion rates, improve clinical symptoms, promote bone information, and avoid further decline in BMD within six months after TLIF or PLIF. Level of Evidence: 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: With the increasing demand for the driving range of new energy vehicles, the energy of power battery is increasing. As a temperature‐sensitive component, the life, safety, and charge–discharge performance of lithium‐ion power battery will be affected by the working temperature, which makes the battery thermal management system particularly important. Concerning the fact that the thermal contact resistance between the power battery and the heat transfer components has become the bottleneck of battery thermal management system, this study firstly establishes a traditional sandwich structure of phase change material–based thermal management system and then try to reduce the thermal contact resistance of the system by increasing the thermal conductivity of the cooling part and filling the interface with high thermal conductivity material. The thermal contact resistance and the heat flux between the power battery and the thermal management module are experimentally tested and calculated. Based on the external and internal temperature of battery, the effect of contact resistance on the performance of a thermal management system is discussed. The results show that when increasing the thermal conductivity of the cooling part, the battery external and internal temperatures under 3C, 4C, and 5C discharge are reduced by 8.3%, 8.1%, 7.6% and 5.2%, 9.3%, 6.3%, respectively, as compared to the traditional sandwich structure of phase change material–based thermal management system. And the temperatures are further reduced by 6.5%, 7.7%, 6.3% and 7.8%, 6.1%, 7.3% when the interface between the battery and the thermal management module are filled with graphene with high thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the power battery can work within the optimum operating temperature range for a long period and can ensure battery safety by reducing the thermal contact resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aging population, osteoporosis, which leads to poor fusion, has become a common challenge for lumbar surgery. In addition, most people with osteoporosis are elderly individuals with poor surgical tolerance, and poor bone quality can also weaken the stability of internal fixation. This study compared the fixation strength of the bilateral traditional trajectory screw structure (TT-TT), the bilateral cortical bone trajectory screw structure (CBT-CBT), and the hybrid CBT-TT (CBT screws at the cranial level and TT screws at the caudal level) structure under different bone mineral density conditions. A finite element (FE) analysis study. Above all, we established a healthy adult lumbar spine model. Second, under normal and osteoporotic conditions, three transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) models were established: bilateral traditional trajectory (TT-TT) screw fixation, bilateral cortical bone trajectory (CBT-CBT) screw fixation, and hybrid cortical bone trajectory screw and traditional trajectory screw (CBT-TT) fixation. Finally, a 500-N compression load with a torque of 10 N/m was applied to simulate flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. We compared the range of motion (ROM), adjacent disc stress, cage stress, and posterior fixation stress of the different fusion models. Under different bone mineral density conditions, the range of motion of the fusion segment was significantly reduced. Compared to normal bone conditions, the ROM of the L4–L5 segment, the stress of the adjacent intervertebral disc, the surface stress of the cage, and the maximum stress of the posterior fixation system were all increased in osteoporosis. Under most loads, the ROM and surface stress of the cage and the maximum stress of the posterior fixation system of the TT-TT structure are the lowest under normal bone mineral density conditions. However, under osteoporotic conditions, the fixation strength of the CBT-CBT and CBT-TT structures are higher than that of the TT-TT structures under certain load conditions. At the same time, the surface stress of the intervertebral fusion cage and the maximum stress of the posterior fixation system for the two structures are lower than those of the TT-TT structure. Under normal bone mineral density conditions, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion combined with TT-TT fixation provides the best biomechanictability. However, under osteoporotic conditions, CBT-CBT and CBT-TT structures have higher fixed strength compared to TT-TT structures. The hybrid CBT-TT structure exhibits advantages in minimal trauma and fixation strength. Therefore, this seems to be an alternative fixation method for patients with osteoporosis and degenerative spinal diseases. This study provides biomechanical support for the clinical application of hybrid CBT-TT structure for osteoporotic patients undergoing TLIF surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant roots release various organic materials that may modify soil structure and affect heat and mass transfer processes. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a synthetic root exudate (SRE) on penetrometer resistance (PR), thermal conductivity (λ), hydraulic conductivity (k) and evaporation of water in a sandy soil. Soil samples, mixed with either distilled water or the SRE, were packed into columns at a designated bulk density and water content, and incubated for 7 days at 18°C. Soil PR, λ, k and evaporation rate were monitored during drying processes. Compared with those incubated with water, samples incubated with SRE had visible hyphae, greater PR (0.7–5.5 MPa in the water content range of 0.11 to 0.22 m3 m−3) and λ (0.2–0.7 W m−1 K−1 from 0.05 to 0.22 m3 m−3), and increased k in the wet region but decreased k in the dry region. SRE treatment also reduced the overall soil water evaporation rate and cumulative water loss. Analysis of X‐ray computed tomography (CT) scanning showed that the SRE‐treated samples had a greater proportion of small pores (<60 μm). These changes were attributed mainly to SRE‐stimulated microbial activities. Highlights: The effects of incubating a sandy soil with a synthetic root exudate (SRE) on soil physical properties and evaporation are examined.SRE incubation increased the fraction of small pores.SRE incubation increased soil penetrometer resistance and thermal conductivity.Soil hydraulic conductivity was increased in the wet region but was reduced in the dry region.SRE incubation reduced the overall evaporation rate and cumulative water loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A data-driven multi-objective predictive control approach is proposed to increase the power production and reduce fatigue loads on a wind farm level using evolutionary optimization. The FLORIS (FLOw Redirection and Induction in Steady-state) tool is employed to characterize the wake characteristics within a wind farm and generate necessary data for data-driven prediction. A data driven wind farm predictor (WFP) is then constructed by using the turbine yaw angles as inputs and the wind farm power and thrust load as outputs under different inflow wind speeds and wind directions. Based on the WFP, a constrained optimization problem is formulated and the multi-objective predictive controller (MOPC) is designed based on wake steering and evolutionary optimization while considering the yaw angle control constraints. Extensive design experiments are conducted under various wind speeds and wind directions, and the results indicate that the wind farm thrust can be reduced by up to 12.96% while the wind farm power production can be well maintained at almost the same level by using the proposed control in comparison with a conventional model predictive control. The yaw angles optimized from the proposed control are more responsive and active in tuning the wind farm power production and thrust load mitigation than that in the conventional control method. • Designing a data-driven multi-objective predictive controller. • Designing a data driven wind farm predictor. • Providing data from the FLORIS for the multi-objective optimization of yaw angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a material with the advantage of adsorption–enrichment and photocatalysis degradation has great practical significance in water treatment. BiPO4, as a promising photocatalyst for environmental purification, still suffers from small specific surface area and relative low photocatalytic activity. Herein, BiPO4–SiO2 hybrid hydrogels were successfully fabricated by facile two-step methods. BiPO4 nanorods are uniformly compounded with SiO2 spheres, and the specific surface area of BiPO4 is enhanced by 2.3 times after forming a network structure. 90% BiPO4–SiO2 hybrid hydrogel presents the highest photocatalytic degradation activities, which is 3.4 times that of pure BiPO4. The total organic carbon removal ability of BiPO4 is also enhanced by 1.1 times after constructing a hybrid hydrogel. The pollutant removal enhancement of BiPO4–SiO2 hybrid hydrogel can be attributed to the synergistic effect of adsorption–enrichment and photocatalytic degradation. Our results may provide a promising way to greatly enhance the pollutant removal performance of BiPO4, which may promote the industrial application of BiPO4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aroma is an important quality factor for unrefined vegetable oils especially the condiment oils, whose application and acceptability largely depend on their aroma attributes. The ever-advanced techniques including extraction, separation, detection and identification in flavor science allow hundreds of volatile compounds and aroma-active compounds with high complexity to be identified, which enables us a deep and comprehensive understanding of the aroma in various type of vegetable oils. Studies show that several avenues, mainly including enzymatic reaction, Maillard reaction, Strecker degradation, caramelization, lipid oxidation and thermal degradation of other compounds, account for the formation of these aroma compounds, though some may dominate over others depending on the processing methods/conditions. Based on these findings, novel approaches such as mild-heat treatment, roasting, microwave processing, infrared radiation, enzymatic treatment and fermentation, among others, have been applied to pretreat oil seeds or fruits with the aim to modulate the flavor generation and sensory quality in oils, whereby promising and insightful results are obtained. This review summarizes and discusses the volatile composition and key aroma compounds in common unrefined vegetable oils, their generation pathways as well as the approaches used to modulate their formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis-related bone fracture and falls have a severe impact on patients’ daily lives. Osteoblasts are bone-building cells that play a vital role in bone formation and remodeling. Imbalanced osteoblast differentiation could lead to osteoporosis. GPR39 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor that mediates metabolic pathways. In this study, we show that GPR39 is expressed in MC3T3-E1 cells. Osteoblast differentiation culture media induces GPR39, suggesting that GPR39 is a differentiation-responsive factor. Activation of GPR39 using its selective agonist TC-G 1008 induces alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), and type I collagen (Col-I) expression, and increases cellular ALP activity and calcium deposition, implying that GPR activation promotes cells toward osteoblast differentiation. Treatment with TC-G 1008 also increases Runx-2 expression and AMPK activation. However, the inhibition of AMPK by Compound C abolished TC-G 1008-mediated ALP, OCN, and Col-I induction, and reduces ALP activity and cellular calcium deposition as well as Runx-2 induction. These data indicate that TC-G 1008-mediated GPR39 activation involves AMPK-mediated Runx-2 induction. In summary, our study uncovers a new role of GPR39 activation in osteoblast differentiation, implying that GPR39 could be a promising therapeutic target for osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Reviewing current status and future prospects of continuously variable speed wind turbines. • Personal sophisticated discussions and critical comments are provided to existing systems. • Analyzing the high potential of using hydro-viscous transmission in megawatt wind turbines. Abstract Continuously variable speed wind turbines (CVSWTs) without using fixed speed gearboxes continue being as viable options for modern wind power industry. CVSWTs have an infinite number of transmission ratios in contrast to specific gear ratios of a standard wind turbine. This transmission flexibility allows the generator to maintain a constant speed regardless of highly turbulent wind speeds. The development of CVSWTs has made great progress in recent years due to the high demand for renewable energy sources. Therefore, this paper serves to provide a systematic review of the CVSWTs including mechanical, hydraulic and hydro-mechanical type CVSWTs. The operating principles, design topologies and basic characteristics are described and analyzed. The comparisons and new trends of the CVSWTs are also discussed, which indicate the feasibility of applying CVSWTs in wind power industry and the high potential of using hydro-viscous transmission in megawatt CVSWTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal Runaway Propagation (TRP) of lithium-ion battery packs has serious hazards. However, the TRP prediction is challenging because of the substantial uncertainty and hard-to-acquire data. To solve this problem, a fuzzy system and multi-task CNN-LSTM method are proposed to predict TRP multiple steps ahead. The TRP dataset is constructed by 25 sets of experiments and 130 sets of simulations. The uncertain SoC, charging and discharging conditions, and thermal runaway (TR) trigger points are considered in both experiments and simulations. Then, the fuzzy system is introduced to reason about the TR probability of the battery and optimized by a sparrow search algorithm (SSA). A multi-task CNN-LSTM model is proposed to extract fuzzy and physical information by employing a convolutional neural network (CNN) and multiple long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks, respectively, and output the temperature of multiple cells simultaneously. Finally, the models are evaluated in the simulation and experimental validation sets with different window lengths and time resolutions. The results show that the fuzzy information significantly improves the prediction accuracy of the method, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 98.48% for the 3s prediction horizon and 97.27% for the 18s prediction horizon in the experimental validation set. • A data-driven method for predicting thermal runaway propagation is developed. • Uncertain initial SoCs, charging or discharging, and TR points are considered. • A fuzzy system optimized by SSA is introduced to reason about uncertainty. • A multi-task CNN-LSTM model is proposed for simultaneous temperature prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation of battery health is an effective means of improving the safety and reliability of electrical equipment. However, developing data-driven models to estimate battery state of health (SOH) is challenging when the amount of data is restricted. In this regard, this study proposes a method for estimating the SOH of lithium batteries based on sample data generation and a temporal convolutional neural network. First, we analyzed the charge/discharge curves of the batteries, from which we extracted features that were highly correlated with the SOH decay. Then, we used a Variational Auto-Encoder (VAE) to learn the features and distributions of the sample data to generate highly similar data and enrich the number of samples. Finally, a temporal convolutional neural network (TCN) was built to mine the nonlinear relationship between features and SOH by combining the source and extended domain data to realize SOH estimation. The experimental results show that the proposed method in this study has less than 2% error in SOH estimation, which improves the accuracy by 64.9% based on its baseline model. The feasibility of using data-driven models for battery health management in data-constrained application scenarios is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fingerprinting localization systems are outstanding for its convenient deployment, where a major challenge is the high cost for collecting a huge number of received signal strength fingerprints. Mobile crowdsensing (MCS) paradigm is cost-effective for large-scale data collection; however, a quality-aware data pricing mechanism dedicated to MCSed fingerprints accommodating practical application situations including budget constraints and online data submission is still unavailable. In this paper, we present a data pricing scheme dedicated to MCSed fingerprints by enhancing the online learning technique. We first reveal the principle of fingerprints quality assessment for accurate localization. Based on the principle, we design corresponding loss and regret function, which is able to reflect values of the fingerprints with respect to localization accuracy. We then present an online pricing scheme for MCSed data, which results in that the worker's payoff is a random variable following an optimal probability density function leading to the minimum expected regret. Furthermore, we extend our scheme to application scenarios with different budget settings, where the pricing strategies for the scenarios of regret minimization with fixed budget and budget minimization for certain fingerprints quality level are investigated. Experimental results are presented to verify our theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an interest to enhance the aroma of palm kernel oil (PKO), Viscozyme L, an enzyme complex containing a wide range of carbohydrases, was applied to alter the carbohydrates in palm kernels (PK) to modulate the formation of volatiles upon kernel roasting. After Viscozyme treatment, the content of simple sugars and free amino acids in PK increased by 4.4-fold and 4.5-fold, respectively. After kernel roasting and oil extraction, significantly more 2,5-dimethylfuran, 2-[(methylthio)methyl]-furan, 1-(2-furanyl)-ethanone, 1-(2-furyl)-2-propanone, 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde and 2-acetyl-5-methylfuran but less 2-furanmethanol and 2-furanmethanol acetate were found in treated PKO; the correlation between their formation and simple sugar profile was estimated by using partial least square regression (PLS1). Obvious differences in pyrroles and Strecker aldehydes were also found between the control and treated PKOs. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly discriminated the treated PKOs from that of control PKOs on the basis of all volatile compounds. Such changes in volatiles translated into distinct sensory attributes, whereby treated PKO was more caramelic and burnt after aqueous extraction and more nutty, roasty, caramelic and smoky after solvent extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an interest to enhance the aroma of palm kernel oil (PKO), Pentopan mono BG (xylanase) was applied to alter the carbohydrates in palm kernels (PK) so as to modulate the formation of volatiles during kernel roasting. The result showed that a 1.3-fold increment of total soluble sugars was found in PK after Pentopan treatment, which promoted the generation of O -heterocyclic volatile compounds during kernel roasting. Overall, an increment of 1.5-, 1.4- and 1.3-fold of O -heterocyclic compounds were found in PKO derived from treated PK after light, medium and dark roasting, of which the elevation in furfural and 2-furanmethanol contents was the most obvious. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly discriminated treated PKO with various kernel roasting degrees from that of control PKO on the basis of all aroma-active compounds; the aroma in PKO from treated, roasted PK was highly correlated with 2-[(methyldithio)methyl]-furan, 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde, 2-furanmethanol, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine and ethyl pyrazine. Sensory evaluation showed that PKO derived from medium roasted PK imparted more caramelic, nutty and smoky odor notes relative to the untreated PKO. This study suggests Pentopan pretreatment of PK followed by roasting may be a novel way to modulate PKO aroma and potentially widen its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The aroma of palm kernel oil ( PKO) affects its applications. Little information is available on how enzymatic modification of palm kernels ( PK) affects PK and PKO aroma after kernel roasting. RESULTS Celluclast (cellulase) pretreatment of PK resulted in a 2.4-fold increment in the concentration of soluble sugars, with glucose being increased by 6.0-fold. Higher levels of 1.7-, 1.8- and 1.9-fold of O-heterocyclic volatile compounds were found in the treated PK after roasting at 180 °C for 8, 14 and 20 min respectively relative to the corresponding control, with furfural, 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde, 2-furanmethanol and maltol in particularly higher amounts. Volatile differences between PKOs from control and treated PK were also found, though less obvious owing to the aqueous extraction process. Principal component analysis based on aroma-active compounds revealed that upon the proceeding of roasting, the differentiation between control and treated PK was enlarged while that of corresponding PKOs was less clear-cut. Celluclast pretreatment enabled the medium roasted PK to impart more nutty, roasty and caramelic odor and the corresponding PKO to impart more caramelic but less roasty and burnt notes. CONCLUSION Celluclast pretreatment of PK followed by roasting may be a promising new way of improving PKO aroma. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aroma of palm kernel oil (PKO) affects its application. Aiming to improve its aroma quality, the effects of protease/peptidase (Flavourzyme) pretreatment on the palm kernels (PK) before kernel roasting were investigated. The results showed that more pyrazines (6.7-, 10-, 3.4-fold) were found in PKO derived from treated PK after light, medium, and dark kernel roasting, respectively, compared to the corresponding control, as detected by headspace (HS) - solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography (GC) - mass spectrometer (MS), and flame ionisation detector (FID) (HS-SPME-GC-MS/FID). Principal component analysis (PCA) based on aroma-active compounds revealed that after kernel roasting, the control oil was more correlated with O-heterocyclic compounds while the oil from treated PK was more closely related to N-heterocyclic compounds. Sensory evaluation further indicated that after Flavourzyme pretreatment, the obtained PKO (with medium kernel roasting degree) possessed more nutty, roasty, and caramelic flavor notes. These aroma changes could be attributed to the altered aroma precursors in PK due to Flavourzyme treatment, of which 1.5- and 20.7-fold increments of soluble sugars and free amino acids were found. This study demonstrated that by enriching thermal reaction reactants, Flavourzyme is capable of positively modifying the aroma of PKO after kernel roasting. Practical applications: Flavourzyme pretreatment followed by roasting rendered the resultant PKO a more nutty, roasty, and caramelic aroma. Such improvement in aroma would not only be beneficial for the current utilization of PKO especially in bakery and confectionery areas, but also widen the scope of its applications. Besides, enzyme pretreatment combined with the thermal reactions, which was the first time applied in the aroma modification of seeds oils, was demonstrated to be an effective approach for aroma modulation. Flavourzyme pretreatment of palm kernel (PK) was proved to be able to significantly increase the content of pyrazine in the resultant palm kernel oil (PKO) after different degrees of kernel roasting. As expected, more nutty, roasty, and caramelic sensory notes were found in PKO produced by enzyme treated PK than that of the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The physical effects of battery correlated equivalent circuit model parameters. • Low and medium-frequency EIS sensitive to battery aging. • Combined circuit parameters and gated recurrent unit to estimate battery SoH. • Considering the effect of ambient temperature and SoC on EIS. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is one of the critical techniques to characterize the state of health (SoH) of lithium-ion batteries, which has different performances under different SoH and dynamic working conditions. However, the identification parameters of full-frequency EIS will consume too much computing time. Considering that low and medium-frequency EIS plays a dominant role in battery aging, the present paper constructs a simplified equivalent circuit (SECM) based on low and medium-frequency EIS. Based on the fitted SECM parameters, three SECM parameters are selected as features by grey correlation analysis. Combined with the ambient temperature and SoC under dynamic conditions, the Gated recurrent unit neural network estimates the SoH of lithium-ion batteries. The proposed method has good accuracy and robustness for different SoC states and ambient temperature variations. This method's error values are less than 2 %, which proves the critical value of low and medium-frequency EIS signals in battery management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm kernel oil (PKO) is obtained from the seeds of oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jackqu ). In this study, volatiles and aroma-active compounds of PKO were studied by head-space solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/flame ionisation detector (HS-SPME/GC/MS/FID) and solvent-assisted flavour evaporation -gas chromatography/olfactometry/mass spectrometry (SAFE-GC/O/MS), respectively. An optimised HS-SPME sampling method was obtained for extraction at 60 °C for 40 min. With this method, the volatiles of PKO from palm kernels subjected to different roasting times (up to 30 min) at 180 °C were analysed. Totally 73 volatiles were found, including 19 O-heterocyclic compounds (16 furans and 3 pyrans), 15 N-heterocyclic compounds (10 pyrazines and 5 others), 15 carbonyl compounds (5 aldehydes and 10 ketones), 11 acids, 4 alcohols, 3 esters, 3 sulphur and 3 volatile phenols. With the extension of roasting times, peak areas of O-heterocyclic compounds, N-heterocyclic compounds, aldehydes and cyclic ketones increased significantly whereas those of acids, alcohols and esters generally decreased. Results of GC/O/MS showed that 2-nonanone, octanoic acid and methyl octanoate were the most aroma-active compounds in unroasted PKO, while in roasted PKO, the most active volatiles were ethyl pyrazine, 2-nonanone, 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, maltol, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, benzoic acid ethyl ester, octanoic acid, 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde and isomaltol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-mode and multi-task data-driven method is proposed to predict thermal runaway propagation in battery modules. • A thermal runaway propagation simulation model is developed to supplement the thermal runaway experimental data. • The proposed thermal propagation prediction model is validated in 18,650 batteries with different chemical compositions. • The proposed warning strategy is effective for different state of charge and different model window lengths. Thermal runaway (TR) propagation is triggered in a battery pack by abnormalities such as a cell fire or explosion, which leads to severe consequences. Predicting the TR propagation is challenging due to the complex, high non-linearity, and uncertain disturbances of TR. This paper establishes an electro-thermal coupling simulation model of TR propagation to supplement experimental data and public datasets for model training and verification. Then, a data-driven fusion model named Multi-Mode and Multi-Task Thermal Propagation Forecasting Neural Network (MMTPFNN) is established quantitative advance multi-step prediction of TR propagation in Li-ion battery modules, and a temperature-based TR propagation grading warning strategy is proposed. The TR propagation is mainly influenced by the thermal characteristics of surrounding batteries, and the temperature distribution in the entire battery module is of great significance to the prediction of TR propagation. Herein, the model is presented by using the thermal image and the discrete operating data of cells. Furthermore, because TR is a small probability event, obtaining the thermal image of the battery module requires additional system memory and computational resources. A switching strategy of the prediction model is established to improve the applicability of the model with the temperature threshold of 60 °C. When the battery is in a safe temperature range (below 60 °C), the long short-term memory (LSTM) model is run to predict the battery temperature. Once the battery temperature is detected above 60 °C, the thermal image is captured, and the MMTPFNN model is run to predict the TR propagation. In the validation section, different network structures are discussed, and different time resolutions and different window settings of the MMTPFNN are compared. Finally, the early warning strategy with three alert levels is introduced, and the effectiveness of the warning strategy with different window settings and initial SoCs is further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing researches of electric vehicle (EV) drive system mainly focus on the motor itself, without considering the EV energy consumption and battery life simultaneously. Thence, in this paper, a control method of EV drive system based on its energy consumption and battery life is proposed. Combining the EV driving state with the motor control, the relationship between the velocity and acceleration and the optimal dq -axis currents is established. Then, a drive system global control strategy for EV based on optimized acceleration curve is proposed, in which the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) control is used below motor base speed and the voltage closed-loop feedback flux weakening control is used above motor base speed. Furthermore, the proposed control strategy is verified by both MATLAB/Simulink simulation and experiment. The simulation and experimental results show that compared with original working conditions, the energy consumption per kilometer and the percentage of battery capacity loss per kilometer of the global control strategy based on optimized acceleration curve are both reduced, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. • A drive system global control strategy for electric vehicle is proposed. • The relationship between acceleration curve and motor control is established. • The MTPA control is used below motor base speed. • The voltage closed-loop flux weakening control is used above motor base speed. • The proposed control strategy is verified by both simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vortioxetine is an antidepressant with multimodal activity approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Two separate randomized, placebo-controlled trials evaluated the effects of multiple doses of vortioxetine (10 mg/day) on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of aspirin and warfarin in healthy volunteers. In the aspirin study, subjects received vortioxetine 10 mg or placebo once daily for 14 days, followed by coadministration with aspirin 150 mg once daily for 6 days, in 2 periods with a crossover design. In the warfarin study, subjects were randomized after reaching target international normalized ratio (INR) values on warfarin to receive vortioxetine 10 mg or matching placebo once daily for 14 days, with all subjects receiving a maintenance dose of warfarin (1-10 mg). Vortioxetine had no effect on the steady-state pharmacokinetic parameters of aspirin or its metabolite salicylic acid, and no statistically significant effect on the inhibition of arachidonic acid-, adenosine-5′-diphosphate-, or collagen-induced platelet aggregation at any time points. Coadministration of vortioxetine did not alter the pharmacokinetics of ( R)- and ( S)-warfarin enantiomers, or the mean coagulation parameters of warfarin treatment alone. Coadministration of vortioxetine doses in healthy volunteers had no effect on aspirin or warfarin pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. Vortioxetine was well tolerated when coadministered with aspirin or warfarin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical simulation of combined natural convection and radiation in a square enclosure heated by a centric circular cylinder and filled with absorbing-emitting medium is presented. The ideal gas law and the discrete ordinates method are used to model the density changes due to temperature differences and the radiation heat transfer correspondingly. The influence of Rayleigh number, optical thickness and temperature difference on flow and temperature fields along with the natural convection, radiation and total Nusselt number at the source surfaces is studied. The results reveal that the radiation heat transfer as well as the optical thickness of the fluid has a distinct effect on the fluid flow phenomena, especially at high Rayleigh number. The heat transfer and so the Nusselt number decreases with increase in optical thickness, while increases greatly with increase in temperature difference. The variation in radiation heat transfer with optical thickness and temperature difference is much more obvious as comparison with convection heat transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object. Osteosarcoma is an intractable malignant disease, and few therapeutic methods can thoroughly eradicate its focuses. This study attempted to investigate the related mechanism of osteosarcoma by bioinformatics methods. Methods. GSE70367 and GSE69470 were obtained from the GEO database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and miRNAs were analyzed using the GEO2R tool and then visualized with R software. Moreover, the targets of the miRNAs in the DEGs were screened and then used for enrichment analysis. Besides, the STRING database and Cytoscape were applied to illustrate the protein-protein interaction network. RT-qPCR was performed to measure the expression of key genes and miRNAs. Western blot was applied to detect the signaling pathway. Results. 9 upregulated genes and 39 downregulated genes in GSE69470 were identified as the DEGs, and 31 upregulated genes and 56 downregulated genes in GSE70367 were identified as the DEGs. Moreover, 21 common genes were found in the DEGs of GSE70367 and GSE69470. The enrichment analysis showed that the common DEGs of GSE70367 and GSE69470 were related with cell development, covalent chromatin modification, and histone modification and involve in the regulation of MAPK, mTOR, and AMPK pathways. Besides, the miRNAs including miR-543, miR-495-3p, miR-433-3p, miR-381-3p, miR-301a-3p, miR-199b-5p, and miR-125b-5p were identified as the biomarkers of osteosarcoma. In addition, the target genes including HSPA5, PPARG, MAPK14, RAB11A, RAB5A, MAPK8, LEF1, HIF1A, CAV1, GS3KB, FOXO3, IGF1, and NFKBIA were identified as hub nodes. It was found that miR-301a-3p expression was decreased and mRNA expression of RAB5A and NFKBIA was increased in the pathological tissues. The AKT-PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway was activated in pathological tissues. Conclusion. In this study, 7 miRNAs and 13 hub genes were identified, which might be candidate markers. miR-301a-3p, RAB5A, and NFKBIA were abnormally expressed in osteosarcoma tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To offer references for ventilation and load fluctuation of propeller in actual seaway, this paper presents a RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations) investigation on open propeller dynamic loads in regular head waves at variant submergence depths, from the perspective of the coupled oblique-flow and free-surface effect. Discussions are made concerning the dynamic integral loads and single-blade loads (both axial and in-plane), and instantaneous single-blade loads at different azimuthal positions. CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) verification and validation are conducted based on an experiment in calm water and regular head waves conducted in a circulating water channel. As conclusions, under fully-submerged condition, single-blade load variations are related solely to the unsteady oblique-flow environment, with shifts of azimuthal positions corresponding to the maximum and minimum thrust and torque due to inflow non-uniformity. Under periodical-emerging condition, high-frequency integral-load fluctuations are identified by both simulation and experiment, resulting from the enhanced propeller-surface interactions due to upward wake inclination; this enhanced propeller-surface interaction also causes serious ventilation, abrupt rises or drops of axial single-blade loads, and destruction and dissipation of propeller vortex system. Furthermore, the self-induction effect on the load distribution non-uniformity is found to be unobvious in regular waves due to the unsteady and non-uniform inflow environment. • Investigation on the propeller dynamic loads in waves considering the coupled free-surface and oblique-flow effect. • As the periodically-emerging propeller approaches the wave crest, high-frequency thrust fluctuation and vortex destruction are identified. • Under full submergence, minor shifts of azimuthal positions of maximum/minimum single-blade loads occur. • Self-induction effect is found to be unobvious in regular waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A hybrid thermal management system with PCM, HP and liquid cooling is proposed. • A surrogate model is established based on Adaptive-Kriging-HDMR method. • Four sensitive factors are determined through global sensitivity analysis. • The optimized system is evaluated in the condition of cycling and thermal runaway. The hybrid thermal management scheme for lithium-ion battery combining the advantages of various thermal management strategies has been widely adopted. However, due to the complex influence parameters involved in the hybrid thermal management system, its optimal design has become a difficult problem. In this study, a hybrid thermal management system based on phase change material (PCM), liquid cooling, and heat pipe is first designed, and then a precise and reliable numerical heat transfer model is established. In order to optimize the system and improve the optimization efficiency, the Adaptive-Kriging-High dimensional model representation (HDMR) method is used to construct a surrogate model of the thermal management system, and the influencing factors sensitivity analysis and optimization design of the hybrid thermal management system are also conducted. The results show that the thermal conductivity of PCM, the thickness of PCM, the length of heat pipe and the velocity of inlet water have a significant influence on the maximum temperature and temperature difference of the battery system. According to the optimization design of these four factors based on the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), it is found that the optimized thermal management system has the best ability to dissipate heat and maintain temperature uniformity as compared to the original design. In addition, this optimization system has the ability to prevent thermal runaway propagation under the condition of thermal abuse conditions. With these prominent performances, the proposed method is expected to provide insights into the engineering design and optimization of the battery thermal management system for electric vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Erosion induced greater total and labile SOC storage on the depositional position. • Old C contributed to a large proportion of labile SOM on the eroding position. • New C was preferentially preserved in macroaggregates. • Aggregates played important roles in the physical sequestration of SOC. • Both silt and clay fractions and aggregates protected labile SOM. The characteristics of soil organic matter (SOM) such as stocks, sources and stability, are important for understanding soil functioning and C cycling in an eroding field. In this study we investigated the characteristics of SOM in bulk soil and aggregates collected from three positions (shoulder, back, and foot) on a sloping field in Northeast China using stable and radioactive isotope (13C and 14C) and thermogravimetry (TG) techniques. The field had originally been populated with C 3 grassland plants before conversion to C 4 corn dominated arable cropping approximately 80 years ago. Soil samples were collected from 0–120 cm soil profiles in 20 cm depth intervals. Erosion rates were estimated by 137Cs analysis to be 0.21 cm yr–1 and 0.08 cm yr–1 at the shoulder and back positions, respectively. A greater proportion of small macroaggregates (2–0.25 mm) and microaggregates (0.25–0.053 mm) were found in the topsoil and subsoil layers at the foot position compared with the shoulder position. The concentration and storage of soil organic C (SOC) in the bulk soil was significantly lower at the shoulder and back positions compared with the foot position. Greater thermal-labile SOM concentration and storage were observed at the foot position compared with the shoulder and back positions. Positive relationships between C 4 -derived SOC and the proportion of thermal-labile SOM suggested that most thermal-labile SOM was C 4 -derived from the recent corn (young SOC), while most stable SOM fractions were C 3 -derived from previous grassland vegetation (old SOC). However, labile SOM from old SOC was also an important part of total thermal-labile SOM, particularly in deep soil horizons (below 40 cm) at all sampling positions. Small macroaggregates had a greater SOC content, δ 13C, and thermal-labile SOM proportion, and younger SOC age, compared with microaggregates and silt + clay (<0.053 mm) fractions, except at the 40–60 cm depth at the foot position. As the mass of aggregates accounted for 32–50% of the bulk soil, about half of thermal-labile and total SOC were stored as associations with silt + clay fractions at erosional and depositional points. Our results indicated that: (1) more thermal-labile and total SOM were stored at depositional position, (2) compared with new carbon sources, old SOM contributed to a large proportion of thermal-labile SOM on an eroding slope, particularly in deep soil, and, (3) soil aggregates and silt + clay fractions had equivalent roles in SOC sequestration in both erosional and depositional locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature attribution is widely used in interpretable machine learning to explain how influential each measured input feature value is for an output inference. However, measurements can be uncertain, and it is unclear how the awareness of input uncertainty can affect the trust in explanations. We propose and study two approaches to help users to manage their perception of uncertainty in a model explanation: 1) transparently show uncertainty in feature attributions to allow users to reflect on, and 2) suppress attribution to features with uncertain measurements and shift attribution to other features by regularizing with an uncertainty penalty. Through simulation experiments, qualitative interviews, and quantitative user evaluations, we identified the benefits of moderately suppressing attribution uncertainty, and concerns regarding showing attribution uncertainty. This work adds to the understanding of handling and communicating uncertainty for model interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Previous studies had shown that lncRNA HULC exhibited different effects in human cancers. However, the role of HULC was not reported in osteosarcoma. Hence, we designed this research to explore the function of HULC in osteosarcoma. Methods. Firstly, HULC expression was measured in osteosarcoma tissues and cells via the RT-qPCR assay. The protein expression was detected through western blot. Then, CCK-8 and Transwell assays were conducted to measure cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Results. The expression of HULC was obviously higher in osteosarcoma tissues and cells compared with normal control. Moreover, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were inhibited by HULC knockdown in osteosarcoma cells. HULC overexpression markedly increased osteosarcoma cell proliferation and tumor size in vivo. Furthermore, HULC increased the activity of AKT-PI3K-mTOR pathway by blocking PTEN in osteosarcoma cells. LY294002 inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, and PI3K. Overexpressing HULC enhanced cell migration and invasion of SAOS-2 cells and MG63 cells, while LY294002 reversed the effects. Conclusion. HULC enhanced the progression of osteosarcoma through targeting PTEN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goats have become one of the most adaptive and important livestock species distributed in developing countries in recent years. The Hainan Black goat is a native goat breed of the Hainan region that is generally well-liked by the local population and is thus raised in large numbers. However, the genomic diversity and selective signals of the Hainan Black goat have not been clearly elucidated yet. Therefore, in this study, we performed whole-genome resequencing of 16 Hainan Black goats and compared the results with those of 71 goats of 6 other breeds from different geographic regions. Principal component analysis (PCA) and phylogenetic analysis identified seven lineages for all goats. Hainan Black goats showed the most similarity with Leizhou goats and the least similarity with Boer goats. Selective sweep analysis identified candidate genes associated with various functions, including immune resistance to disease (TNFAIP2 (TNF alpha induced protein 2) and EXOC3L4 (exocyst complex component 3 like 4)), melanin biosynthetic process (CDH15 (cadherin 15), ASIP (agouti signaling protein), and PARD3 (par-3 family cell polarity regulator)), and light sensitivity (CNGB3 (cyclic nucleotide gated channel subunit beta 3) and CNBD1 (cyclic nucleotide binding domain containing 1)), underlying strong selection signatures in Hainan Black goats. The melanin biosynthetic process, circadian entrainment, regulation of cyclic adenosine 3,5-monophosphate (cAMP)-mediated signaling, and the Rap-1 signaling pathway were significantly enriched in Hainan Black and Alashan Cashmere goats. This result may be important for understanding each trait. Selection signature analysis revealed candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genes correlated with the traits of Hainan Black goats. Collectively, our results provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of specific traits correlated with the Hainan island climate, artificial selection in certain local goat breeds, and the importance of protecting breed resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dynamic load characteristics of a near-surface open propeller in regular head waves based on a model experiment in a circulating water channel, with the aid of captured free-surface profiles. The influences of periodical variation of submergence depth and inflow velocity on the dynamic load characteristics are systematically investigated, and the thrust hysteresis in periodical emergence condition is quantitatively evaluated. As conclusions, a critical instantaneous submergence depth is identified for this propeller in regular waves at a certain advance ratio; above this value, the dynamic load characteristics are not dominated by the propeller-surface interactions. For a periodically emerged propeller, the influence of the periodical variation of inflow velocity on the dynamic load characteristics is more significant as either submergence depth or wave height increases. With increasing wave period, the wave-caused load fluctuation amplitude increases in a more obvious manner in periodical emergence condition, but decreases less obviously in full submergence condition. Regarding the thrust hysteresis, it takes approximately 5 revolutions for this propeller in full submergence to regain full thrust. Lastly, the thrust fluctuation and loss due to slipstream inclination is considered responsible for thrust hysteresis, which happens as the previously emerged propeller heads into full submergence. • A systematical discussion of dynamic load in waves considering the periodical variation of submergence depth and inflow velocity. • A high-resolution camera is used to capture the free-surface deformation and ventilation. • A critical instantaneous submergence depth is identified at a certain advance ratio. • A quantitative evaluation of the minimum revolutions in full submergence for this propeller to regain full thrust. • Tip-vortex related ventilation due to upward slipstream inclination is considered as also responsible for the thrust hysteresis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A simple model for penetrometer resistance is developed. • Input variables can be estimated from heat pulse and shear wave measurements. • Matric potential does not need to be measured to estimate penetrometer resistance. • Combined effects of compaction and drying are taken into account by the small strain shear modulus. • A method that could be used in the field is proposed. Continuous estimates of penetrometer resistance (Q) would be useful in root elongation and in soil management studies. However, penetrometers produce estimates of penetration resistance at discrete time points. In this paper, a method with the potential to provide continuous estimates of penetrometer resistance is developed. We use measurements of soil water content, shear wave velocity (V s) determined from piezo electric devices, and bulk density (ρ b) determined with the heat pulse (HP) method, to estimate penetrometer resistance. Soil samples of a loamy sand were packed into cylinders with axial pressures of 50, 100, and 200 kPa, and allowed to equilibrate at matric potentials of −2, −6, −10, −30, −100, −300, and −500 kPa. Thermal conductivity (λ), V s and Q were measured after equilibration. A λ -based approach was applied to estimate ρ b , and small strain shear modulus (G) was calculated from ρ b and V s. Our results confirmed a linear relationship between Q and G (where G = V s 2 ρ b), which provides a basis to estimate penetrometer data in the field using buried sensors and a physically based model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An adaptive backstepping controller is proposed to extract the maximum marine current energy. • The uncertainty and disturbance can be well estimated and compensated in the controller. • An adaptive update law is designed to compensate for the system parameter uncertainties. The renewable energy from marine currents is highly promising as a clean, reliable and predictable energy source for the next-generation electricity generation. Therefore, the paper focuses on the design and implementation of the high-efficiency control for maximizing the marine current power generation and hence an adaptive backstepping controller with uncertainty and disturbance estimation is proposed for a generic horizontal marine turbine. The turbine design principle and dynamics modelling are presented and then the control problem is formulated. Consequently, the controller is designed to be composed of a marine turbine speed control loop and a q-axis current control loop while the uncertainty and disturbance is estimated and compensated. A swell filter is also incorporated into the control loop to smooth generator power fluctuations. The stability of the proposed control is verified via the Lyapunov synthesis and all the tracking errors are guaranteed to converge to zero asymptotically. The proposed control is verified and the test results indicate that the generator produces obviously more power (up to 30% more power) when using the proposed control in comparison with a conventional backstepping control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analysis of tri-cortical pedicle screw fixation was preformed on thoracic vertebrae for the first time by computed tomography followed by three dimensional finite element analysis. • Tri-cortical pedicle screw fixation in thoracic vertebrae can provide better stability and strength than the uni-cortical and bi-cortical techniques. • Tri-cortical pedicle screw internal fixation can be used in the osteoporotic thoracic vertebral body to improve the anchoring strength and reduce the risk of loosening. The technique of tri-cortical pedicle screw (TCPS) has been used to improve the anchoring strength in the sacral vertebrae. However, no studies have reported their application in the thoracic vertebrae. Our research is aimed to assess the stability and strength of the TCPS in thoracic vertebrae under osteoporotic condition by three dimensional (3D) finite element method on the basis of medical image reconstruction using computed tomography (CT), and verifying its effectiveness in clinical application. The 3D finite element models were constructed using Mimcs to transfer two dimensional CT images into 3D models by marching cubes algorithm of six-partition. Six physiological activities were simulated in 3D finite element models. Compared with the strength and stability of the uni-cortical pedicle screw (UCPS) and bi-cortical pedicle screw (BCPS), the effectiveness of TCPS was assessed. The stress distribution and maximum stress were measured to evaluate the strength. The maximum displacement and the range of motion were analysed to assessed the stability. Four geometrically accurate and nonlinear T7–T9 finite element models were constructed successfully by 3D finite element method based on the CT images. Three kinds of internal fixation methods in the osteoporotic thoracic vertebral body can improved the maximum stress, decrease the maximum displacement and range of motion in six physiological activities. The range of motion and maximum displacement of TCPS decreased more significantly than that of UCPS and BCPS. The maximum von Mises stress of TCPS was minimum and UCPS was maximum under the condition of extension, right lateral bending, left rotation and right rotation. Effectively, TCPS can provide better stability and strength than that of UCPS and BCPS techniques in the osteoporotic thoracic vertebrae. In practice, the technique of TCPS can be applied in the osteoporotic thoracic vertebral body to enhance the griping strength of the screws and reduce the risk of pedicle screw loosening. However, further cadaver experiments and more biomechanical analysis are necessary to confirmed our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is the first study to compare the biomechanical advantages between the new pedicle screw-plate orthopedic internal fixation system and traditional pedicle screw-rod orthopedic internal fixation system by the finite element method. • The novel pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system has lower profile in orthopedics. • The novel pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system has higher strength when comparing with the traditional pedicle screw-rod orthopedic internal fixation system. • The novel spine pedicle screw-plate system can be used as a new internal fixation and provide better comfort for patients. The traditional pedicle screw-rod internal fixation system has been widely used for thoracic diseases in clinical practice, but its high profile increases the damage to soft tissue, leading to long-term intractable back stiffness. The purpose of this study is to compare biomechanical advantages between the new spine pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system and traditional pedicle screw-rod internal fixation system using finite element analysis. Based on computed tomography (CT), four three-dimensional finite element models of T7-T9 were constructed. The downward concentrated force of 150 N and the moment of 5 Nm was applied to the models to simulate six physiological activities, including flexion, extension, left and right lateral bending, left and right axial torsion. The maximum displacement, range of motion (ROM) and maximum stress of the two models in six physiological activities, was measured to evaluate the biomechanical advantages of the novel pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system. The novel pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system has a lower profile than the traditional pedicle screw-rod internal fixation system. With regards to the stability, the maximum displacement of the models of two internal fixation systems decreased by 56.2%–91.4% under the six motion status when comparing with the unstable model. Meanwhile, the ROM remained unchanged between the two models of internal fixation systems besides the left lateral bending. However, there is no significant difference in the ROM between the models of the two internal fixation systems in left lateral bending motion (P = 0.203). In terms of the strength, the maximum stress in the model with the new pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system was higher than that of model with the traditional pedicle screw-rod internal fixation system in every motion status but left and right lateral bending motion. The novel pedicle screw-plate internal fixation system has lower profile in orthopedics and higher strength, However, it has no disadvantage when comparing with the traditional pedicle screw-rod internal fixation system in terms of the stability. In summary, we suggest that the novel spine pedicle screw-plate system can be used as a new internal fixation and provide better comfort for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new electro-hydraulic servo pitch system is proposed for wind turbine. • An adaptive robust integral sliding mode pitch angle controller. • A projection adaptive law is designed. • Comparative experiments have been performed. A new electro-hydraulic servo pitch system is proposed to enhance pitch angle control performances and hence to smooth generator power fluctuations for wind turbines. The pitch system mainly consists of a variable-speed hydraulic pump, a hydraulic motor and a pitch gear set. The hydraulic pump is employed to directly regulate the direction and rotational speed of the hydraulic motor that achieves the final pitch angle control through the gear set. An adaptive robust integral sliding mode pitch angle controller and a projection type adaptation law are synthesized to accurately track the desired pitch angle trajectory and compensate for model uncertainties and uncertain disturbances. The proposed controller and the adaptation law have their achievable performances in practice. Comparative results verify that the proposed pitch angle controller, together with the adaptation scheme, gives improved performances for the accurate pitch angle tracking and generator power control regardless of various uncertainties and disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state fermentation with Yarrowia lipolytica was applied to palm kernels (PK) with the aim to modulate the aroma of palm kernel oil (PKO) obtained after kernel roasting. The results showed that, the metabolic activities of Y. lipolityca brought about significant changes to the volatile profile of obtained PKO either by providing thermal reaction reactants or by directly contributing aroma compounds. After fermentation, a decreased content in glucose (60%) while an elevated amount (7-fold) in free amino acids was found in PK, which further impacted the formation of volatile compounds by influencing the Maillard reaction and Strecker degradation during roasting. More Strecker aldehydes and N-heterocyclic compounds were formed in PKO derived from fermented PK especially after intensified roasting. In addition, the catabolism of Y. lipolytica imparted some distinct volatile compounds such as 2-phenylethanol to the obtained PKO. However, the lipase excreted by Y. lipolytica hydrolysed PK lipids and released 5-fold more free fatty acids in fermented PKO, relative to the blank and control PKO, which likely contributed to the off-flavor. On the basis of all volatile categories, principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separated the fermented PKO from the blank and control PKO, with light roasted, fermented PKO being correlated with acids, alcohols and aliphatic aldehydes; medium and dark roasted, fermented PKO tending to be dominated by pyrroles, pyrazines and furanones, which is in correspondence with sensory changes of PKO. This study demonstrated that combining fermentation with roasting could provide a novel way to modulate the volatile composition and aroma of PKO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though historically known as a toxic gas, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has displayed a new face as the third endogenous gaseous signaling molecule after nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Here in this review, we survey the role and therapeutic potential of H2S in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Specifically, reduction of H2S by cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) downregulation upon cisplatin treatment may contribute to cisplatin-induced renal cell injury, possibly by augmentation of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, while H2S donation may prevent subsequent renal dysfunction by inhibiting NADPH oxidase activation. Intriguingly, H2S slow-releasing compound GYY4137 seems to increase the anticancer activity of cisplatin, at least in several cancer cell lines, and this is probably due to its own anticancer effect. However, the efficacy of H2S donors in tumor-bearing animals remains to be tested in terms of renal protection and cancer inhibition after receiving cisplatin. Furthermore, accumulative evidence regarding usage of polysulfide, a novel H2S derived molecule, in the therapy of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity, was also summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three commercial proteases, namely Protamex, Neutrase, and Alcalase were applied to treat palm kernel (PK) powders with the aim to modify the flavor of palm kernel oil (PKO) obtained from roasted PK. The results showed that after protease treatment and roasting, the volatile profile of obtained PKO was significantly modified with more pyrazines and other N‐heterocyclic compounds being formed. Protamex, among others, was especially effective in enhancing the generation of such N‐heterocyclic compounds. Besides, aroma‐active compounds such as benzeneacetaldehyde, 1‐(2‐furanyl)‐ethanone and 5‐methyl‐2‐furancarboxaldehyde were found at higher levels in protease‐treated PKO, whereas the content of 2‐furanmethanol decreased. On the basis of all pyrazines and other aroma‐active compounds, principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separated the protease‐treated PKOs from their respective control, with the volatile profile of PKOs derived from Protamex‐ and Alcalase‐treated PK being the most distinct. Practical applications: The flavor quality is an important factor to edible oils which determines their application and acceptability to a large extent. For a long time, PKO is used as non‐flavor related fat base in food areas. The results in this study suggest that it is possible to use proteases to pretreat PK to modulate the flavor of PKO. The improvement in flavor would not only be beneficial for the current utilization of PKO, especially in bakery and confectionery areas, but also widen the scope of its applications. Besides, protease pretreatment combined with the thermal reactions as a novel approach might also be applied to modulate the flavor of other seeds' oils with or without adaption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) is a highly infectious, zoonotic pathogen. Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) is an important virulence component of the outer membrane of P. multocida. OmpA mediates bacterial biofilm formation, eukaryotic cell infection, and immunomodulation. It is unclear how OmpA affects the host immune response. We estimated the role of OmpA in the pathogenesis of P. multocida by investigating the effect of OmpA on the immune cell transcriptome. Changes in the transcriptome of rat alveolar macrophages (NR8383) upon overexpression of P. multocida OmpA were demonstrated. A model cell line for stable transcription of OmpA was constructed by infecting NR8383 cells with OmpA-expressing lentivirus. RNA was extracted from cells and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq platform. Key gene analysis of genes in the RNA-seq dataset were performed using various bioinformatics methods, such as gene ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, and Protein–Protein Interaction Analysis. Our findings revealed 1340 differentially expressed genes. Immune-related pathways that were significantly altered in rat alveolar macrophages under the effect of OmpA included focal adhesion, extracellular matrix and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathways, antigen processing and presentation, nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. The key genes screened were Vegfa , Igf2r , Fabp5 , P2rx1 , C5ar1 , Nedd4l , Gas6 , Cxcl1 , Pf4 , Pdgfb , Thbs1 , Col7a1 , Vwf , Ccl9 , and Arg1. Data of associated pathways and altered gene expression indicated that OmpA might cause the conversion of rat alveolar macrophages to M2-like. The related pathways and key genes can serve as a reference for OmpA of P. multitocida and host interaction mechanism studies. • P. multocida OmpA was transcriptionally overexpressed in rat alveolar macrophages. • Dysfunction and polarization of alveolar macrophages. • Significant functional changes in tissue repair, angiogenesis and immunosuppression were found in RNA-seq bioinformatics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method for estimating lithium batteries' state of health (SoH) is proposed. • Transformation of EIS data into 2D pseudo-images. • Unsupervised feature extraction using VGG16 neural network. • Integration of feature extraction and SoH in one framework. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a key technique characterizing the batteries' State of Health (SOH). The extraction of features from the limited EIS information for SOH estimation relies heavily on the researcher's prior knowledge. This study proposes a method to enhance the EIS feature information and perform unsupervised feature extraction to estimate the SOH. First, the EIS data is transformed into images using Gramian angular field, which enhances the data features. Next, the images were subjected to unsupervised feature extraction using the VGG16 neural network framework. Finally, the unsupervised feature extraction and SOH prediction were integrated into a neural network framework to achieve end-to-end training and prediction. The experimental results show that the proposed method's SOH estimation error is less than 2%, and its accuracy is improved by 55.6% compared to its benchmark model; the feasibility of unsupervised feature extraction is demonstrated, overcoming the drawbacks of artificially performed feature extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hydro-kite like ocean energy converter is proposed in this paper to harness both ocean current and wave energy. The proposed ocean energy converter is typically designed to consist of a hydro-kite like kite floating or submerged in the ocean and an energy conversion unit set on a ship. The ocean wave or current energies can be generated by pulling a pre-tensioned flexible tether that connects the hydro-kite-like kite and the energy conversion unit. The general dynamics of the novel ocean energy converter is basically described and modelled based on the dynamics of key components under both ocean wave and current conditions. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed ocean energy converter are evaluated through computational fluid simulations under both fully submerged ocean current and semi-submerged ocean wave conditions. The simulation results verify that the hydro-kite can be used to generate power from both ocean current and wave conditions and the design parameters of the hydro-kite such as the angle of attack, draft should be optimally controlled or designed to maximize the ocean energy generations under different ocean current speeds, wave periods and heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]