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l -Carnosine (l -Car), an endogenous dipeptide presents in muscle and brain tissues of various vertebrates, has a wide range of application values. The enzymatic preparation of l -Car is a promising synthetic method because it avoids the protection and deprotection steps. In the present study, a dipeptidase gene (Cp PepD) from Clostridium perfringens with high l- Car synthetic activity was cloned and characterized. In an effort to improve the performance of this enzyme, we carried out site saturation mutagenesis using Cp PepD as the template. By the o -phthalaldehyde (OPA)-derived high throughput screening method, mutant A171S was obtained with 2.2-fold enhanced synthetic activity. The enzymatic properties of Cp PepD and mutant A171S were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, 63.94 mM (14.46 g L−1) or 67.02 mM (15.16 g L−1) l -Car was produced at the substrate concentrations of 6 M β-Ala and 0.2 M l -His using wild-type or mutant A171S enzyme, respectively. Although the mutation enhanced the enzyme activity, the reaction equilibrium was barely affected. • A dipeptidase (Cp PepD) from Clostridium perfringens with high l- Car synthetic activity was identified. • By site-directed saturation mutation and high throughput screening, mutant A171S was obtained with 2.2-fold enhanced enzyme activity. • The enzymatic properties of Cp PepD and mutant A171S were investigated. • Under the optimized conditions, up to 67.02 mM (15.16 g L−1) l -Car were produced. • Although the mutation enhanced the enzyme activity, the reaction equilibrium was barely affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive neuroimaging research on brain structural and functional correlates of suicide has produced inconsistent results. Despite increasing recognition that damage in multiple different brain locations that causes the same symptom can map to a common brain network, there is still a paucity of research investigating network localization of suicide. To clarify this issue, we initially identified brain structural and functional damage locations in relation to suicide from 63 published studies with 2135 suicidal and 2606 nonsuicidal individuals. By applying novel functional connectivity network mapping to large-scale discovery and validation resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging datasets, we mapped these affected brain locations to 3 suicide brain damage networks corresponding to different imaging modalities. The suicide gray matter volume damage network comprised widely distributed brain areas primarily involving the dorsal default mode, basal ganglia, and anterior salience networks. The suicide task-induced activation damage network was similar to but less extensive than the gray matter volume damage network, predominantly implicating the same canonical networks. The suicide resting-state activity damage network manifested as a localized set of brain regions encompassing the orbitofrontal cortex and middle cingulate cortex. Our findings not only may help reconcile prior heterogeneous neuroimaging results, but also may provide insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of suicide from a network perspective, which may ultimately inform more targeted and effective strategies to prevent suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1- x)MgAl 2 O 4 - x MgTa 2 O 6 composite ceramics based on the MgO-Al 2 O 3 -Ta 2 O 5 pseudoternary phase diagram were prepared by the solid-state reaction. MgAl 2 O 4 and MgTa 2 O 6 could coexist due to their different crystal structures. MgAl 2 O 4 inhibited the rapid growth of MgTa 2 O 6 grains, and dense microstructures (ρ > 95%) with a uniform grain size distribution was obtained, with an optimal densification temperature of 1550 - 1575 °C. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ f) and quality factor (Q × f) were optimized by introducing MgTa 2 O 6 phases with low dielectric loss and positive τ f. In addition, the partial solid solutions of Al3+ into Ta5+ sites resulted in loosening bonds within [Al/TaO 6 ] octahedra and abnormally large polarizabilities, which was confirmed by the decrease in V Ta-O and the redshift of A 1 g (Ta-O) mode. Consequently, the relative permittivity (ε r) and τ f values o f MgAl 2 O 4 -MgTa 2 O 6 composite ceramics were further enhanced, exceeding the predicted ones. The 0.6MgAl 2 O 4 -0.4MgTa 2 O 6 composition sintered at 1550 °C achieved excellent performance, with a near-zero τ f value of 3.3 ± 1.7 ppm/°C, a low ε r of 16.4 ± 0.3 and an ultra-high Q × f of 179,000 ± 6700 GHz @ 8.94 ± 0.04 GHz. These findings hold promising applications in the field of 5 G/6 G high-frequency communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images can capture the atomic‐resolution details of the dynamically changing structure of nanomaterials. Here, we propose a new scheme and an improved reconstruction algorithm to reconstruct the exit wave function for each image in a focal series of HRTEM images to reveal structural changes. In this scheme, the wave reconstructed from the focal series of images is treated as the initial wave in the reconstruction process for each HRTEM image. Additionally, to suppress noise at the frequencies where the signal is weak due to the modulation of the lens transfer function, a weight factor is introduced in the improved reconstruction algorithm. The advantages of the new scheme and algorithms are validated by using the HRTEM images of a natural specimen and a single‐layer molybdenum disulphide. This algorithm enables image resolution enhancement and lens aberration removal, while potentially allowing the visualisation of the structural evolution of nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of geo-localization broadly refers to the process of determining an entity's geographical location, typically in the form of Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. The entity of interest may be an image, a sequence of images, a video, a satellite image, or even objects visible within the image. Recently, massive datasets of GPS-tagged media have become available due to smartphones and the internet, and deep learning has risen to prominence and enhanced the performance capabilities of machine learning models. These developments have enabled the rise of image and object geo-localization, which has impacted a wide range of applications such as augmented reality, robotics, self-driving vehicles, road maintenance, and 3D reconstruction. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of visual geo-localization, which may involve either determining the location at which an image has been captured (image geo-localization) or geolocating objects within an image (object geo-localization). We will provide an in-depth study of visual geo-localization including a summary of popular algorithms, a description of proposed datasets, and an analysis of performance results to illustrate the current state of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permeable surface mapping, which mainly is the identification of surface materials that will percolate, is essential for various environmental and civil engineering applications, such as urban planning, stormwater management, and groundwater modeling. Traditionally, this task involves labor-intensive manual classification, but deep learning offers an efficient alternative. Although several studies have tackled aerial image segmentation, the challenges in permeable surface mapping arid environments remain largely unexplored because of the difficulties in distinguishing pixel values of the input data and due to the unbalanced distribution of its classes. To address these issues, this research introduces a novel approach using a parallel U-Net model for the fine-grained semantic segmentation of permeable surfaces. The process involves binary classification to distinguish between entirely and partially permeable surfaces, followed by fine-grained classification into four distinct permeability levels. Results show that this novel method enhances accuracy, particularly when working with small, unbalanced datasets dominated by a single category. Furthermore, the proposed model is capable of generalizing across different geographical domains. Domain adaptation is explored to transfer knowledge from one location to another, addressing the challenges posed by varying environmental characteristics. Experiments demonstrate that the parallel U-Net model outperforms the baseline methods when applied across domains. To support this research and inspire future research, a novel permeable surface dataset is introduced, with pixel-wise fine-grained labeling for five distinct permeable surface classes. In summary, in this work, we offer a novel solution to permeable surface mapping, extend the boundaries of arid environment mapping, introduce a large-scale permeable surface dataset, and explore cross-area applications of the proposed model. The three contributions are enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of permeable surface mapping while progressing in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design processes can be decomposed into several steps, including information acquisition and application. Retrieving prior knowledge and experience is an important method of acquiring design information, thus designers' precedents retrieval styles reflect their design thinking. The obvious difference between industrial (ID) and mechanical design (MD) education is well known: ID education focuses on cultivating design thinking abilities, while MD education focuses on cultivating technical abilities. The background discipline influences design thinking methods. This study aims at exploring the similarities and differences between ID and MD students' precedents retrieval styles in the design process. Forty-eight junior and senior undergraduate students participated in a brainstorming experiment using the think-aloud method. Participants' prior knowledge and experience retrieved during brainstorming were coded and the frequency ratios were analyzed. We conclude that ID students are more inclined to extract and apply episodic precedents than MD students. Compared with semantic precedents, episodic precedents have a greater possibility for being applied to the final solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave dielectric ceramics play a vital role in wireless communication systems. However, it is a great challenge to obtain ideal performances of single-phase ceramics. In this work, (La 0.2 Nd 0.2 Sm 0.2 Eu 0.2 Gd 0.2) 2 Zr 3 (MoO 4) 9 (abbreviated as L5ZMO) high-entropy ceramics were successfully prepared by the solid-state reaction method, the pure trigonal L5ZMO structure can be synthesized in the mixture calcined at 700 °C. Rietveld refinement based on XRD data reveals that lattice parameters of L5ZMO ceramics are affected by the radius of the five rare earth elements, which indicates that the rare earth elements have been solubilized and randomly distributed in the Ln-site. The relative density illustrates a strong dependence on sintering temperature, which gradually increases with increasing sintering temperature. Based on the analysis of bond characteristics, the Mo–O bond exhibits a vital effect on the dielectric properties of L5ZMO ceramics. Besides, the infrared reflection spectrum and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy analysis show that ionic polarization is the dominant polarization in the microwave/terahertz bands. Meanwhile, the tan δ can be further reduced by optimizing process parameters. Notably, the L5ZMO high-entropy ceramics sintered at 750 °C exhibit outstanding dielectric properties of ε r = 10.46, Q · f = 59,713 GHz, and τ f = −21.94 ppm/°C, indicating that the high-entropy design optimizes τ f (−38.8 ppm/°C) of the simple La 2 Zr 3 (MoO 4) 9 ceramics. The attempt provides theoretical guidance for the application of high-entropy design concepts in microwave/terahertz bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new simultaneous retrieval method of the SIRAW algorithm is introduced and carried out on FY3D/MERSI-II satellite images to obtain the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and normalized water-leaving radiance (WLR) over the ocean. In order to improve the operation efficiency of SIRAW, a machine learning solver is developed to improve the speed of forward radiative transfer computation during retrieval. Ground-based measurement data from AERONET-OC and satellite products from VIIRS are used for comparative verification. The results show that the retrieved AOT and WLR from SIRAW are both in good agreement with those of AERONET-OC and VIIRS. Further, considering the degradation of the MERSI sensor, a new calibration scheme on 412 nm and 443 nm is adopted and an evaluation is carried out. Inter-comparison of derived WLR between MERSI and VIIRS indicates that the new calibration scheme could effectively improve the WLR retrieval accuracy of MERSI with better consistency to the official data of VIIRS. Therefore, this paper confirms that a simultaneous retrieval scheme combined with effective calibration coefficients can be used for high-precision retrieval of real aerosol and water-leaving radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resveratrol (RES) is a secondary metabolite synthesized by plants in response to environmental stress and pathogen infection, which is of great significance for the industrial production of RES by fermentation culture. In this study, we aimed to explore the biosynthesis pathway of RES and its key enzymes in the Priestia megaterium PH3, which was isolated and screened from peanut fruit. Through Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis, we quantified the RES content and distribution in the culture medium and determined that Priestia megaterium PH3 mainly secreted RES extracellularly. Furthermore, the highest production of RES was observed in YPD, yielding an impressive 127.46 ± 6.11 μg/L. By optimizing the fermentation conditions, we achieved a remarkable RES yield of 946.82 ± 24.74 μg/L within just 2 days, which represents the highest reported yield for a natural isolate produced in such a short time frame. Our investigation revealed that the phenylpropane pathway is responsible for RES synthesis in this bacterium, with cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) identified as the main rate-limiting enzyme. Overall, our findings highlight the robust RES production capabilities of Priestia megaterium PH3, offering novel insights and potential applications for bacterial fermentation in RES production. Key points: • RES synthesized by the bacterium was confirmed through the phenylpropane pathway. • The key rate-limiting enzyme for biosynthesis-RES is C4H. • RES reached 946.82 ± 24.74 μg/L after fermentation for 2 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of geothermal potential has gained prominence among scholars, with a focus on establishing a reliable prediction model to reduce development risks. However, little attention has been given to predicting and evaluating the geothermal potential in Dali's Eryuan area. This study introduces a novel hierarchical model integrating remote sensing, a Geographic Information System (GIS), and geophysics for the first-ever effective prediction of geothermal potential in Eryuan. The dataset includes lithology, seismic epicenter data, fault distribution, Bouguer gravity anomalies, SRTM-DEM images, and Landsat 8 remote sensing images. These datasets are converted into evidence maps and normalized to generate distinct evidence factor layers. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a hierarchical model establishes weights for each evidence factor, resulting in a comprehensive prediction map. The results reveal the overall favorable geothermal potential in Eryuan, except the central area. Key hotspots include the Niujie–Sanying–Gromwell Lake and Liantie–Qiaohou, followed by the Youshou, Dengchuan, and Xixiang towns. Validation against known hot springs confirms the model's accuracy and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) is a rail-sea intermodal transport corridor whose fundamental purpose is to closely connect western China and ASEAN through shortening the transport distance and trade time cost. Since the ILSTC is still a new initiative, there are few research focusing on its performance and implementation effects. Using computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, this paper attempts to analyze the economic impacts of the ILSTC since 2019 by simulating the scenario of transport time cost reduction. Results show that the ILSTC can promote the gross domestic product of China and the entire ASEAN by 0.20% and 0.84%, respectively; China's and the whole ASEAN's social welfare are both improved by more than US$10 billion; China's export and import with the whole ASEAN increases by 9.97% and 9.54%, respectively; The value-added trade flow contained in China's intermediate products which export to ASEAN countries first and finally return to China become larger; The impact on different sectors are heterogeneous, in which bilateral value-added and gross trade of grains and crops would increase most significantly; The value-added provided from service industry are also improved. Overall, the ILSTC plays a more important role in promoting the macro-economy of China and ASEAN countries than trade liberalization. On these basis, related conclusions for the promotion of commercial relationship between China and ASEAN countries are proposed, hoping to provide reference for traders and policy makers. • Measure the economic effects of China and ASEAN countries from the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). • Expand the simulation results from the perspective of value-added trade to track changes in intra-industry trade. • Shed lights on better policy options between trade liberalization and the ILSTC for policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearshore sediment distribution is a significant component of fundamental geographic data, but the inherent optical properties of the water column make the large-scale observation of sediment particularly difficult. The development of satellite-based imaging sensors has enabled earth observation to capture more types and finer granularities of ground information, making it possible to obtain the target sediment distribution on a large scale. We use the proposed wavelet clustering algorithm to separate noise points and signal photons from ICESat-2 and then combine multispectral images and a quasi-analytical algorithm to calculate substrate reflectance to reduce the influence of the inherent properties of the water body. Furthermore, a new deep learning model, TSDANet, is being built to combine substrate reflectance and multispectral image data from SuperDove for nearshore sediment identification. We use field data to validate the method through a large number of experiments. The experiments demonstrate that the wavelet clustering algorithm has a coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.90 and 0.95 for signal point extraction over a large scale of high and low photon densities compared with a digital elevation model, respectively. Compared to single-source data, the TSDANet sediment classification kappa improves by 6.44% on average and 8.28% at its maximum. The results indicate that the identification and classification of sediment using ICESat-2 and SuperDove data is a new and highly feasible method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to limited resources and environmental pollution, monitoring the geological environment has become essential for many countries' sustainable development. As various high-resolution remote-sensing (RS) imaging platforms are continuously available, the remote sensing of the geological environment (GERS) provides a fine-grain, all-weather, and low-cost method for identifying geological elements. Mainstream machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods can extract high-level high-dimensional semantic information and thus supply an efficient tool for high-precision classification and recognition in many fields. Therefore, the integration of advanced methods and multi-source RS images for GERS interpretation has achieved remarkable breakthroughs during the past decades. However, to the best of our knowledge, a systematic survey of the advances of GERS interpretation regarding ML and DL methods is still lacking. Through the collection of extensive published research in this area, this survey outlines and analyzes the challenges, progress, and promising directions of GERS interpretation. Specifically, the main challenges and difficulties in identifying GERS elements are first summarized in four aspects: sufficient element characteristics and variations, complex context disturbance, RS image quality and types, and other limitations in GERS interpretation. Second, we systematically introduce various RS imaging platforms and advanced ML and DL methods for GERS interpretation. Third, the research status and trends of several GERS applications, including their use for lithology, soil, water, rock glacier, and geological disaster, are ultimately collected and compared. Finally, potential opportunities for future research are discussed. After the systematic and comprehensive review, the conclusive findings suggest that longtime large-scale GERS interpretation and corresponding change pattern analysis will be a significant future direction to meet the needs of environment improvement and sustainable development. To complete the above goals, a fusion of satellite, airplane, environmental monitoring, geological survey, and other types of data will provide enough discriminative information, and expert knowledge, GIS, and high-performance computing techniques will be helpful to improve the efficiency and generalizability of ML and DL methods for processing the multi-platform RS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the CH3NH3PbI3-based optoelectronic memristor, the high ion-migration randomness induces high fluctuation in the resistive switching (RS) parameters. Grain boundaries (GBs) are well known as the ion-migration sites due to their low energy barrier. Herein, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) passivation method is developed to reduce GBs of the CH3NH3PbI3 film and improve the switching uniformity of the memristor. The crystal grain size of CH3NH3PbI3 increases with the addition of PAN, and the corresponding number of GBs is consequently reduced. The fluctuations of the RS parameters of the memristor device are significantly reduced. With the memristor, nonvolatile image sensing, image memory, and image Boolean operations are demonstrated. This work proposes a strategy for developing high-performance CH3NH3PbI3 optoelectronic memristors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 1 (ACSL1) plays an important role in fatty acid metabolism and fat deposition. The transcription of the ACSL1 gene is regulated specifically among cells and physiological processes, and transcriptional regulation of ACSL1 in adipogenesis remains elusive. Here, we characterize transcription factors (TFs) associated with adipogenesis in the porcine ACSL1 gene. CCAAT-enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)α, a well-known adipogenic marker, was found to enhance the expression of the ACSL1 gene via binding two tandem motifs in the promoter. Further, we demonstrate that ACSL1 mediates C/EBPα effects on adipogenesis in preadipocytes cultured from subcutaneous fat tissue of pigs via gain- and loss-of-function analyses. The cAMP-response element binding protein, another TF involved in adipogenesis, was also identified in the regulation of ACSL1 gene expression. Additionally, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened in the promoter of ACSL1 among four breeds including the Chinese indigenous Min, and Duroc, Berkshire, and Yorkshire pigs through sequencing of PCR products. Two tightly linked SNPs, −517G>T and −311T>G, were found exclusively in Min pigs. The haplotype mutation decreases promoter activity in PK-15 and ST cells, and in vivo the expression of ACSL1, illustrating a possible role in adipogenesis regulated by C/EBPα/ACSL1 axis. Additionally, a total of 24 alternative splicing transcripts were identified, indicating the complexity of alternative splicing in the ACSL1 gene. The results will contribute to further revealing the regulatory mechanisms of ACSL1 during adipogenesis and to the characterization of molecular markers for selection of fat deposition in pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies have played a vital role to minimize the spread of COVID-19, and to control its pitfalls for the general public. Without such technologies, bringing the pandemic under control would have been tricky and slow. Consequently, exploration of pandemic status, and devising appropriate mitigation strategies would also be difficult. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of community-beneficial digital technologies that were employed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we demonstrate the practical applications of ten major digital technologies that have effectively served mankind in different ways during the pandemic crisis. We have chosen these technologies based on their technical significance and large-scale adoption in the COVID-19 arena. The selected technologies are the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence(AI), natural language processing(NLP), computer vision (CV), blockchain (BC), federated learning (FL), robotics, tiny machine learning (TinyML), edge computing (EC), and synthetic data (SD). For each technology, we demonstrate the working mechanism, technical applications in the context of COVID-19, and major challenges from the perspective of COVID-19. Our analysis can pave the way to understanding the roles of these digital COVID-19-fighting technologies that can be used to fight future infectious diseases to prevent global crises. Moreover, we discuss heterogeneous data that have significantly contributed to addressing multiple aspects of the ongoing pandemic when fed to the aforementioned technologies. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a pioneering work on community-beneficial and transformative technologies in the context of COVID-19 with broader coverage of studies and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary functional units of the thyroid gland are follicles of various sizes comprised of a monolayer of epithelial cells (thyrocytes) surrounding an apical extracellular cavity known as the follicle lumen. In the normal thyroid gland, the follicle lumen is filled with secreted protein (referred to as colloid), comprised nearly exclusively of thyroglobulin with a half-life ranging from days to weeks. At the cellular boundary of the follicle lumen, secreted thyroglobulin becomes iodinated, resulting from the coordinated activities of enzymes localized to the thyrocyte apical plasma membrane. Thyroglobulin appearance in evolution is essentially synchronous with the appearance of the follicular architecture of the vertebrate thyroid gland. Thyroglobulin is the most highly expressed thyroid gene and represents the most abundantly expressed thyroid protein. Wildtype thyroglobulin protein is a large and complex glycoprotein that folds in the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to homodimerization and export via the classical secretory pathway to the follicle lumen. However, of the hundreds of human thyroglobulin genetic variants, most exhibit increased susceptibility to misfolding with defective export from the endoplasmic reticulum, triggering hypothyroidism as well as thyroidal endoplasmic reticulum stress. The human disease of hypothyroidism with defective thyroglobulin (either homozygous, or compound heterozygous) can be experimentally modeled in thyrocyte cell culture, or in whole animals, such as mice that are readily amenable to genetic manipulation. From a combination of approaches, it can be demonstrated that in the setting of thyroglobulin misfolding, thyrocytes under chronic continuous ER stress exhibit increased susceptibility to cell death, with interesting cell biological and pathophysiological consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphitic C3N4-based materials are promising for photocatalytic H2 evolution applications, but they still suffer from low photocatalytic activity due to the insufficient light absorption, unfavorable structure and fast recombination of photogenerated charge. Herein, a novel anion–cation co-doped g-C3N4 porous nanotube is successfully synthesized using a self-assembly impregnation-assisted polymerization method. Ni ions on the surface of the self-assembly nanorod precursor can not only cooperate with H3P gas from the thermal cracking of NaH2PO2 as an anion–cation co-doping source, but, more importantly, suppress the shape-collapsing effect of the etching of H3P gas due to the strong coordinate bonding of Ni-P, which leads to a Ni and P co-doped g-C3N4 porous nanotube (PNCNT). Ni and P co-doping can build a new intermediate state near the conduction band in the bandgap of the PNCNT, and the porous nanotube structure gives it a higher BET surface area and light reflection path, showing a synergistic ability to broaden the visible-light absorption, facilitate photogenerated charge separation and the light-electron excitation rate of g-C3N4 and provide more reaction sites for photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction. Therefore, as expected, the PNCNT exhibits an excellent photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 240.91 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is 30.5, 3.8 and 27.8 times as that of the pure g-C3N4 nanotube (CNT), single Ni-doped g-C3N4 nanotube (NCNT) and single P-doped g-C3N4 nanotube (PCNT), respectively. Moreover, the PNCNT shows good stability and long-term photocatalytic H2 production activity, which makes it a promising candidate for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are a kind of emerging environmental contamination, and are commonly found in antibiotic application situations, attracting wide attention. Fish skin mucosal surface (SMS), as the contact interface between fish and water, is the first line of defense against external pollutant invasion. Antibiotics are widely used in aquaculture, and SMS may be exposed to antibiotics. However, what happens to SMS when antibiotics are applied, and whether ARGs are enriched in SMS are not clear. In this study, Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to antibiotic and antibiotic resistant bacteria in the laboratory to simulate the aquaculture situation, and the effects of SMS on the spread of ARGs were explored. The results showed that SMS maintained the stability of the bacterial abundance and diversity under apramycin (APR) and bacterial exposure effectively. Until 11 days after stopping APR exposure, the abundance of ARGs in SMS (mean value was 3.32 × 10−3 copies/16S rRNA copies) still did not recover to the initial stage before exposure, which means that enriched ARGs in SMS were persistently remained. Moreover, non-specific immunity played an important role in resisting infection of external contamination. Besides, among antioxidant proteins, superoxide dismutase showed the highest activity. Consequently, it showed that SMS became a barrier of antibiotic resistance genes under APR exposure, and ARGs in SMS were difficult to remove once colonized. This study provided a reference for understanding the transmission, enrichment process, and ecological impact of antibiotics and ARGs in aquatic environments. • Skin mucosal surface maintained the stability of the bacterial abundance and diversity under apramycin exposure. • Non-specific immunity played an important role in resisting infection of external contamination in fish skin. • Antibiotic resistance genes in skin mucosal surfaces were difficult to remove once colonized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a relatively natural and safe botanical insecticide for controlling the storage pest Tribolium castaneum in the egg and pupal stages. It examined how Elsholtzia densa Benth. essential oil (EO) and its primary components, β -caryophyllene and limonene, affected T. castaneum eggs and pupae through contact and fumigation. Among th, the contact activities of β -caryophyllene against T. castaneum eggs and pupae are LD 50 (median lethal dose, 50%) = 0.156 mg/cm2 and ED 50 (median effective dose, 50%) = 16.35 mg/pupa respectively. The study also investigated the effect of β -caryophyllene and limonene on T. castaneum eggs and pupae through synergistic contact and fumigation. When the mixing ratio of β -caryophyllene and limonene was 7:1, the LD 50 value of contact activity against T. castaneum eggs was reduced to 0.100 mg/cm2, displaying an obvious synergistic effect. Experiments were conducted to investigate the antitoxic effect of β -caryophyllene on T. castaneum eggs and pupae, as well as its effects on the enzymatic activity of acetylcholinesterase, succinate dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase and carboxylesterase in T. castaneum pupae. Finally, the molecular docking techniques were employed to confirm the aforementioned effects on enzyme function. The findings of this study might help improve storage pest control with T. castaneum and create eco-friendly insecticides using E. densa EO, β -caryophyllene, and limonene. [Display omitted] • Elsholtzia densa Benth. EO and β -caryophyllene have excellent inhibitory activity against Tribolium castaneum eggs. • When β -caryophyllene and limonene are mixed in a ratio of 7:1, the contact activity on T. castaneum eggs is the best. • T. castaneum pupae showed certain antitoxic effects on β -caryophyllene. • β -Caryophyllene can significantly inhibit the enzyme activity of succinate dehydrogenase in T. castaneum pupae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are recognized as highly promising materials for flexible and transparent electrode applications. However, existing material-processing methods fail to achieve uniform and reliable AgNWs junctions. In this study, we propose a new method using the laser shock effect combined with the laser heating effect, for creating AgNW junctions within thin films. We explored the welding mechanism of AgNWs through optic-thermal welding, laser shock-enabled mechanical welding, and laser-shock-enabled optical-thermal-mechanical (LS-OTM) experiments, as well as numerical simulations, and the results demonstrate that the innovative mechanism of the LS-OTM process lies in its utilization of laser shock to adjust the gap between the nanowire junctions, which in turn achieves a fine control of the thermal effect of the heating laser localised surface plasmon resonance, and the atomic diffusion in the solid state at intermediate temperature under the action of the impact force is the mechanism of the formation of high-quality junctions. We prepared flexible transparent conductive films and studied their transmittance, conductivity, and thermal properties, the results show that the flexible transparent conductive films prepared by LS-OTM welding method have excellent transmittance, conductivity, and thermal properties, this verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of this processing strategy. The LS-OTM method is a viable solution for manufacturing transparent, conductive films from AgNWs for emerging applications such as flexible heated films, flexible displays, and wearable medical devices. [Display omitted] • A novel synchronized laser-coupled synergistic nano hotspot modulation strategy is proposed. • Nanogap modulation of laser shock allows for precise fine-tuning of the LSPR thermal effect. • The process facilitates moderate-temperature atomic diffusion at interfaces. • The process increases the quantity of solder joints while preventing solder joint melting. • The process is suitable for photothermal modulation of a wide range of nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the accurate perception of occluded objects for autonomous vehicles is a challenging problem. Human vision can always quickly locate important object regions in complex external scenes, while other regions are only roughly analysed or ignored, defined as the visual attention mechanism. However, the perception system of autonomous vehicles cannot know which part of the point cloud is in the region of interest. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore how to use the visual attention mechanism in the perception system of autonomous driving. In this paper, we propose the model of the spatial attention frustum to solve object occlusion in 3D object detection. The spatial attention frustum can suppress unimportant features and allocate limited neural computing resources to critical parts of the scene, thereby providing greater relevance and easier processing for higher-level perceptual reasoning tasks. To ensure that our method maintains good reasoning ability when faced with occluded objects with only a partial structure, we propose a local feature aggregation module to capture more complex local features of the point cloud. Finally, we discuss the projection constraint relationship between the 3D bounding box and the 2D bounding box and propose a joint anchor box projection loss function, which will help to improve the overall performance of our method. The results of the KITTI dataset show that our proposed method can effectively improve the detection accuracy of occluded objects. Our method achieves 89.46%, 79.91% and 75.53% detection accuracy in the easy, moderate, and hard difficulty levels of the car category, and achieves a 6.97% performance improvement especially in the hard category with a high degree of occlusion. Our one-stage method does not need to rely on another refining stage, comparable to the accuracy of the two-stage method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by increased pulmonary arterial pressure, resulting in right ventricular overload, right heart failure and eventually death. Treprostinil is a prostacyclin analogue that is used in the treatment of PAH. As an orphan drug, limited information is available regarding its disposition and its use in special populations such as elderly, paediatric and pregnant patients. The objective of the current study was to develop a robust physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for treprostinil intravenous injection and extended‐release tablet as the first step to optimize treprostinil pharmacotherapy in patients. Methods: PBPK model was built using Simcyp simulator which integrated physicochemical properties, observed or predicted parameters for drug absorption, distribution and elimination for treprostinil, and population specific physiological characteristics. Three clinical trials after intravenous infusion and nine studies after oral administration of treprostinil extended‐release tablet in healthy volunteers were used to develop and validate the model. The simulated PK profiles were compared with the observed data. Extrapolation of the model to patient populations including patients with hepatic impairment was conducted to validate the predictions. Results: Most of the observed data were within the 5th and 95th percentile interval of the prediction. Most of the percentage error in the PK parameters were within ±50% of the corresponding observed parameters. The developed model predicted the lung exposure of treprostinil to be approximately 0.17 times of concentration in plasma. Conclusion: Predicted absorption, distribution, and metabolic enzyme kinetics gave an insight into the disposition of treprostinil in humans. Extrapolation of the established model to patient populations with hepatic impairment successfully documented the model reliability. The developed model has the potential to be used in the PK predictions in other special patient populations with different demographic, physiological and pathological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Increasing the number of conjugated C=C bonds can inhibit the occurrence of ESIPT reaction. • The ICT process can be promoted by increasing the number of conjugated C=C bonds. • The difficulty of the ESIPT reaction can be judged by the potential energy curves. The electronic structure of the molecule is significantly influenced by the number of conjugated C=C bonds. In this work, the influence of the conjugated C=C bonds of the SNCN derivatives on the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) properties are studied by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The calculation level is proved to be reasonable by calculating electronic spectra. The hydrogen bond parameters, infrared vibrational frequency (IR), reduction density gradient (RDG) isosurface, topological analysis and potential energy curves of SNCN derivatives in ground state (S0) and the first excited state (S1) are analyzed. According to theoretical research results, ESIPT reaction has a higher likelihood of occurring in the S1 state. Moreover, the ESIPT reaction becomes more challenging to occur with the number of conjugated C=C bonds rising. Finally, the analyses of the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), dipole moment and charge transfer transition confirm that the ICT effect is aided by the increased number of conjugated C=C bonds. This work indicates that the number of conjugated C=C bonds can regulate the ESIPT and ICT processes, which provides guidance for the study of fluorescent groups with similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercapacitors, pivotal in mitigating the energy crisis stemming from dwindling fossil fuel reservoirs, necessitate meticulous consideration of electrode material preparation. While lignin-derived carbon materials sourced sustainably exhibit commendable potential as electrode materials, their intrinsic low capacitance limits widespread utilization. Herein, nitrogen atom doping of lignin (CNL) was accomplished employing a chemical modification technique employing cyanuric chloride as a dopant. The resultant nitrogen content measured at 2.85 %. Subsequent to CNL carbonation, the generated C 3 N 4 was selectively confined to the internal surface of the CNLMS-800 through a domain-limited activation method, thereby rendering it suitable for deployment as a supercapacitor electrode material. CNLMS-800 manifests a substantial specific surface area of 1778.0 m2 g−1 and a concomitantly diminutive pore size of 2.6 nm. Noteworthy, the specific capacitance of CNLMS-800 attains 473.0 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in a 6 M KOH electrolyte. The resultant energy density reaches 39.0 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 338.0 W kg−1. Crucially, even after 20,000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 10 A g−1, the capacitance retention attains an impressive 87.5 % in the KOH electrolyte. This innovative utilization of sustainable resources for electrode fabrication epitomizes a seminal advancement in the field of energy technology. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy flexibility with FCEV2B, waste-to-energy and demand-side management. • A transient model with dynamic fuel cell degradation in power and thermal efficiency. • Optimal system configurations and control strategies for performance improvement. • A synergistic strategy for FC degradation mitigation and service lifetime extension. • Carbon footprint analysis of hydrogen economy for carbon neutrality transition. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) cogeneration powered by hydrogen can provide demand-side flexibility, and mitigate grid reliance of district buildings. Nevertheless, optimal configuration and high-efficient operation of the cogenerated FCEV-building system considering load characteristics have not been studied. In this study, a general approach with optimal system configurations and control strategies on an integrated FCEV-based cogeneration system is proposed for techno-economic performance improvement. A transient system model is developed with a state-of-the-art fuel cell degradation model on the latest automotive fuel cell techniques to characterize both power and thermal efficiency change with fuel cell decaying. Considering the dominant impact of large load changes on fuel cell degradation in FCEV's dual functions (Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) interaction and transportation), an innovative synergistic control strategy with fixed operating power is specially designed to mitigate fuel cell degradation and prolong its service lifetime. Results showed that energy flexibility can be improved by the optimal system configurations and the proposed control strategies (e.g., compared to the traditional system, the FCEV-based combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems can improve the on-site electrical energy fraction from 33.26% to 61.90%, and the off-peak grid shifted ratio from 33.71% to 53.60%, respectively), together with the decrease in operating costs between 4.49 and 6.87 CNY/m2·a. Sensitivity analysis results indicate that, the CCHP systems will be economically feasible for office buildings when the hydrogen price and the absorption chiller initial costs fall below 26.1 CNY/kg and 7900 CNY/kW. Moreover, regarding the dynamic degradation of fuel cells under large-range load change cycling, start-stop cycling, idling condition, and maximum power condition, the proposed mitigation strategy can effectively reduce the average FCEV degradation rates per unit power by 17.80%, compared to the strategy with dynamic operating power. This research provides a comprehensive methodology to evaluate the impact of system configurations and control strategies to improve energy efficiency, energy flexibility, and economic performance, and reduce FCEV degradation, together with carbon footprint analysis of hydrogen economy, accelerating carbon neutrality with advanced H 2 techniques and sustainable buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blue mold caused by Penicilliumexpansum (P. expansum) causes severe fruit losses, and there is an urgent need to explore safe natural products to control post-harvest diseases and investigate potential antifungal mechanisms. In this study, flavonoids (GBLF) were extracted and purified from mature Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBL). According to an analysis of UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, and LC-MS, GBLF contained 10 flavonoids, including 8 quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. The inhibition halo diameter by GBLF ethanol solution reached a maximum of 11.2 ± 0.3 mm, which significantly inhibited the growth of P. expansum. In the GBLF ethanol solution treatment trial, the mycelial cells of P. expansum reached their maximum cell conductivity, protein leakage rate, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content at 48 h, with values of 3.89 ± 0.17 ms/cm, 5.22 ± 0.08 mg/L, and 5.76 ± 0.09 mmol/kg, respectively, which were 2.7, 13.74, and 4.76 times higher than those of the control. Compared with 12 h, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) in the enzyme antioxidant system were 3.38 ± 0.11 U/mg, 5.23 ± 0.09 U/mg, and 2.66 ± 0.10 U/mg, respectively, which decreased by 30.2%, 20.09%, and 51.47%. In conclusion, quercetin and kaempferol derivatives in GBLF may act on P. expansum by increasing the permeability of cell membranes, reducing enzymatic antioxidant activity, and accelerating lipid peroxidation.Graphical Abstract: Blue mold caused by Penicilliumexpansum (P. expansum) causes severe fruit losses, and there is an urgent need to explore safe natural products to control post-harvest diseases and investigate potential antifungal mechanisms. In this study, flavonoids (GBLF) were extracted and purified from mature Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBL). According to an analysis of UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, and LC-MS, GBLF contained 10 flavonoids, including 8 quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. The inhibition halo diameter by GBLF ethanol solution reached a maximum of 11.2 ± 0.3 mm, which significantly inhibited the growth of P. expansum. In the GBLF ethanol solution treatment trial, the mycelial cells of P. expansum reached their maximum cell conductivity, protein leakage rate, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content at 48 h, with values of 3.89 ± 0.17 ms/cm, 5.22 ± 0.08 mg/L, and 5.76 ± 0.09 mmol/kg, respectively, which were 2.7, 13.74, and 4.76 times higher than those of the control. Compared with 12 h, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) in the enzyme antioxidant system were 3.38 ± 0.11 U/mg, 5.23 ± 0.09 U/mg, and 2.66 ± 0.10 U/mg, respectively, which decreased by 30.2%, 20.09%, and 51.47%. In conclusion, quercetin and kaempferol derivatives in GBLF may act on P. expansum by increasing the permeability of cell membranes, reducing enzymatic antioxidant activity, and accelerating lipid peroxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examined the neural correlates of 6 semantic dimensions in narrative processing. • Specific and overlapping neural correlates for different dimensions were identified. • Specific areas were found both outside and inside the general semantic network. • Overlapping areas were found mainly in the default mode network. • Left anterior superior temporal gyrus and angular gyrus were found as hub areas. Multiple sensory-motor and non-sensory-motor dimensions have been proposed for semantic representation, but it remains unclear how the semantic system is organized along them in the human brain. Using naturalistic fMRI data and large-scale semantic ratings, we investigated the overlaps and dissociations between the neural correlates of six semantic dimensions: vision, motor, socialness, emotion, space, and time. Our findings revealed a more complex semantic atlas than what is predicted by current neurobiological models of semantic representation. Brain regions that are selectively sensitive to specific semantic dimensions were found both within and outside the brain networks assumed to represent multimodal general and/or abstract semantics. Overlaps between the neural correlates of different semantic dimensions were mainly found inside the default mode network, concentrated in the left anterior superior temporal gyrus and angular gyrus, which have been proposed as two connector hubs that bridge the multimodal experiential semantic system and the language-supported semantic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plumbago zeylanica L., a traditional Chinese medicine, has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and it is critical important to explore the chemical compounds and evaluate their biological actions from the medicinal plant. However, the chemical structure and biological activities of polysaccharides from P. zeylanica. were still poorly understood. In this study, two water-soluble polysaccharides named WPZP-2-1 and WPZP-2-2 were purified from P. zeylanica L. Chemical and spectroscopic tests showed that the main chain of WPZP-2-1 was →4)-α-D-GalpA-(1 → 2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→, and the branch chain was galactose or arabinose. The main chain of WPZP-2-2 was composed of →4)-α-D-GalpA-(1 → 2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→, and the O-2 and O-3 of →4)-α-D-GalpA had a small amount of acetylation. In addition, in vitro test showed that WPZP-2-1 and WPZP-2-2 significantly improved the inflammatory damage of LPS + IFN-γ-induced THP-1 cells via reducing the protein levels of CD14, TLR4 and MyD88, thereby promoting IL-10 expression and inhibiting the mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β. Those findings indicated that WPZP-2-1 and WPZP-2-2 from the plant should be served as the potential anti-inflammatory agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single atom catalysts (SACs) have received a great deal of attention due to their extremely high active site utilization and superior activities. The exploration of metal SACs has been carried out by screening the elemental periodic table from first‐row to second‐row, and even third‐row transition metals. However, Re SACs have not been reported, even if Re metal sites also play essential roles in catalyzing many important reactions. The construction of Re SACs may maximize Re catalytic sites and provide new Re active sites for higher activity. Herein, we used 1,10‐phenanthroline to complex Re cations on carbon black, followed by heat treatment to obtain Re SAC. The Re SAC exhibited an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) half‐wave potential of 0.72 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 0.1 M KOH, superior to Re nanoparticles catalyst (0.67 V vs. RHE). Re SAC exhibited better stability at 0.5 V vs. RHE than Pt/C, showing potential as a new electrocatalyst for ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Porphyrin is an important photosensitizer for singlet oxygen (1O 2) formation. However, porphyrin derivatives still display low efficiency and difficult recovery. In this work, an Ag-based MOFs (AgTPyP; TPyP, 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl) porphyrin) is synthesized. Compared with ligand TPyP, AgTPyP shows nearly 100% conversion and selectivity in the photocatalytic selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and obvious photodynamic therapeutic effect under visible light. Combined characterizations suggest that 1O 2 is the only active oxygen species, which is due to the large exciton binding energy and narrow energy gap between the lowest excited singlet state (S 1) and the lowest triplet state (T 1) induced by the presence of Ag+ ion. The selectivity and conversion efficiency of five-cycle experiments do not decrease, indicating the excellent stability of AgTPyP. This work provides an alternative approach to simultaneously enhance the exciton effect of porphyrin and stabilize Ag-based photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thrust bearings are widely used in many rotary industrial applications. In this work, a thrust bearing surface under the mixed lubrication regime is analysed and then optimised with aim for use in an injection moulded polymer bearing. A model which couples the mechanical deformation, boundary lubrication and solid contact is developed to investigate the behaviour of the thrust bearing under the load balance condition. This model provides the predictions of important quantities such as load carrying capacity from fluid and solid contact, minimum film thickness and contact pressure. More important, the large‐scale surface geometry is optimised using a quadratic geometry and this large‐scale surface is superimposed with the small‐scale roughness from measured surface to form an optimised surface. This large‐scale geometry might be controlled in the injection moulding process of polymer thrust bearings, whereas it is more difficult to control the roughness. The fluid load carrying capacity for the optimised surface has more than doubled compared to the fluid load carrying capacity for the measured surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High switching fluctuation induced by the random formation and rupture of conductive filaments (CFs) is a critical issue for the development of organic-inorganic perovskite-based resistive switching (RS) memory devices. In this study, a rapid microwave-annealing method is developed to reduce grain boundaries (GBs) of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) film and improve the switching reliability of the Au/MAPbI3/FTO device. The crystal grain size of MAPbI3 is increased and the corresponding GBs number is reduced with microwave irradiation time ranging from 40 to 120 s. In the optimized case, the dispersion of the RS parameters of the Au/MAPbI3/FTO cell is greatly reduced. Specifically, the fluctuations of the high/low resistance states and SET/RESET voltages dropped from 70.4%/69.5% and 40.5%/40.3% to 20.1%/26.7% and 16.0%/11.9%, respectively. The device can be operated with reduced compliance current. These results demonstrate that reducing the number of GBs is a feasible strategy to reduce the randomness of the CFs, and thus achieve more stable RS performance in MAPbI3-based memory devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purple sweet potatoes extract (PSPE) have been used as a natural food antioxidant with high anthocyanin concentrations. Research investigated the lifespan and the mechanisms of PSPE on female Drosophila melanogaster. Supplementation of PSPE extended the lifespan by 16.3% and had a protective effect on injury by oxidative stress. PSPE treatment enhanced the endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Furthermore, PSPE significantly up‐regulated foxo‐related genes, inhibited mTOR mRNA expression, and activated autophagy to maintain intestinal homeostasis. Meanwhile, PSPE improved intestinal barrier dysfunction by 22.86%, decelerated the abnormal proliferation rate of intestinal stem cell (ISCs) by 23.77%, and improved intestinal integrity in geriatric D. melanogaster. In conclusion, PSPE may maintain intestinal homeostasis, and improve the antioxidant and stress resistance capacity through the insulin and rapamycin pathway, thereby extending the lifespan. Therefore, it provides active support to the development and application of PSPE in functional food. Practical applications: In recent years, with the increase of age, age‐related complications have generally increased and seriously affected people's healthy life. Purple sweet potato is a nutrient‐rich substance, which not only has a unique color but also contains rich anthocyanins, so it has many potential biological and pharmacological functions. Our results showed that the PSPE had a good effect of maintaining the intestinal homeostasis of the older adult, and provided a favorable theoretical basis for the development of PSPE functional products and scientific academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a series of Pr 2 Zr 3 (Mo 1− x W x O 4) 9 ceramics were prepared using the solid-state reaction method and investigated in terms of phase compositions, lattice stress, lattice vibrations, and dielectric properties at microwave, terahertz, and infrared regions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that all ceramics possess a trigonal structure (R-3c space group) with no discernible second-phase presence. Moreover, the ceramics exhibit oriented growth along the (0,0,18) crystal plane. The densification of all ceramics occurred within the range of 800–825 °C. Raman spectroscopy exhibited a minor blue shift in the predominant peak as the x value increased. The complex permittivity (ε′ and ε″) were evaluated using both infrared reflectance spectrum and terahertz time-domain (THz-TD) spectroscopy. Interestingly, the THz-TD spectral data exhibited a closer agreement with the measured values, which was attributed to a significant relaxation polarization mechanism. Specifically, the peaks below 400 cm−1 contributed significantly to the dielectric parameters, accounting for 88.4% and 95.7% of ε′ and ε″, respectively. As a result of these findings, it is suggested that Pr 2 Zr 3 (Mo 0.94 W 0.06 O 4) 9 (ε r = 9.82, Qf = 81,892 GHz, τ f = −17.90 ppm/°C) ceramics synthesized at 825 °C hold promise as potential materials for high-frequency communication circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an analysis is given about dynamic characteristics for a quasi-zero-stiffness isolator coupled with mechanical disturbance from a view of engineering application. In addition to traditional Columbo friction and linear damping in the vertical direction, the influence of other disturbing parameters such as geometrically nonlinear damping, friction and inertia of rods is also taken into consideration. The dynamic equation is formulated with parameters above to give an investigation of static characteristics, respectively, based on Newton's second law and D'Alembert's principle. Moreover, the frequency–amplitude response and transmissibility characteristics are obtained for this model subjected to the vibrating base by using average method with the introduction of piecewise function and then analyze the effect on the vibration response and isolation caused by disturbance. Furthermore, the passive vibration isolation simulation is conducted to verify the theorem. Therefore, it is recommended that the geometrically nonlinear damping can be introduced to the quasi-zero-stiffness system appropriately which can decrease the peak value of transmissibility in the low-frequency range, and nearly has no effect on the high-frequency region. And the mass of the rod should not be bigger than 10 - 3 times of the isolator. The conclusions can provide engineering guidance for design and application about quasi-zero-stiffness system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) possess target-customized and range-adjustable selectivity, and have attracted increasing researches to develop new synthetic methods and new forms of applications. By wisely choosing functional monomers with interaction with a certain part of the template, and special cross-linkers to enhance the imprinting effect, the resulting MIP could be expected to possess enhanced capture-ability towards the targeted template of one entity or one species. Here, a polymerizable imidazolium-type ionic liquid monomer was investigated to find out how it could enhance the interaction with a flavone-type template in imprinting compared to how it behaved in free solution. And combined with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), the imprinted monolith in capillary with an optimal imprinting factor (IF = 5.4) was used as a capture column in on-line SPME-HPLC and off-line LC-MS/MS. The hybrid-imprinted monolith could selectively capture and enrich baicalin and its analogues in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Scutellaria baicalensis for further qualitative and quantitative analysis, with an LOD of 0.001 μg mL−1. Besides, the structural similarities of extracted compounds were parameterized and systematically analyzed for better understanding of the obtained wide selectivity. This work utilized an ionic liquid and POSS combined to enhance the wide selectivity of MIP, which was of potential application in selectively capturing certain compound groups in complex analytes, especially by means of 2-dimensional LC systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical methods to study cognitive function are to record the electrical activities of animal neurons during the training of animals performing behavioral tasks. A key problem is that they fail to record all the relevant neurons in the animal brain. To alleviate this problem, we develop an RNN-based Actor–Critic framework, which is trained through reinforcement learning (RL) to solve two tasks analogous to the monkeys' decision-making tasks. The trained model is capable of reproducing some features of neural activities recorded from animal brain, or some behavior properties exhibited in animal experiments, suggesting that it can serve as a computational platform to explore other cognitive functions. Furthermore, we conduct behavioral experiments on our framework, trying to explore an open question in neuroscience: which episodic memory in the hippocampus should be selected to ultimately govern future decisions. We find that the retrieval of salient events sampled from episodic memories can effectively shorten deliberation time than common events in the decision-making process. The results indicate that salient events stored in the hippocampus could be prioritized to propagate reward information, and thus allow decision-makers to learn a strategy faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) involves rapid cycles of melting and solidification, often resulting in significant thermal stress variations, microcrack formation, and compromised structural integrity, especially for complex structures. Effective strategies are crucial for regulating temperature and stress distribution during laser-based metal AM processes; however, traditional thermal management approaches suffer from limitations in action area and response speed. In this study, the novel Liquid Metal-Assisted Additive Manufacturing (LMAAM) process is developed to enhance real-time temperature and stress control during deposition. This is the first known attempt to utilize liquid tin as an auxiliary thermal management material for AM. Numerical simulations and experimental analysis are performed to determine the relationship between LMAAM process conditions and resultant material microstructural properties. The results show that compared to AM without active thermal management, the incorporation of liquid tin yields an approximate 20 % increase in the cooling rate, a roughly 30 % reduction in residual tensile stress, a decrease in part grain size, and a roughly 30 % enhancement in microhardness. LMAAM technology opens up new possibilities for metal AM of highly reliable and intricate structures like multi-chambers, multi-channels, and deep blind holes. [Display omitted] • A novel process of liquid metal-assisted laser additive manufacturing is developed. • Liquid metal is proposed to serve as an auxiliary material for thermal management. • This method enables real-time control of deposition temperature and stress. • The process yields deposits with fewer defects and higher mechanical strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginkgo seed protein (GSP) has excellent processing characteristics and antioxidant properties. In this study, Gingko endophytic protein (GEP) was synthesized by Ginkgo endophytic Pseudomonas R6. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the molecular weights of GSP and GEP were mainly distributed at 17 KDa and 48 KDa, respectively. FTIR showed that GEP and GSP exhibited characteristic absorption in the amide I, II, and III bands, and absorption in amide A and B indicated the presence of hydrogen bonding. HPLC analysis showed that both proteins had 17 amino acids, but their relative abundance was different, with GSP having the highest Ser content (74.713 mg/g) and GEP having the highest Val content (35.905 mg/g). Stomata were observed on the surface of both proteins by SEM, and there were lamellar and some spherical structures on GEP, while the opposite was observed on GSP. GEP had superior solubility, OHC, FC and EC, while GSP showed good WHC. Both proteins exhibited antioxidant activities, with GSP exhibiting stronger hydroxyl radical scavenging ability than GEP, with IC 50 of 0.46 mg/mL and 1.54 mg/mL, respectively. This work demonstrates the antioxidant potential of GEP as an alternative to GSP in the food industry. [Display omitted] • Pseudomonas R6, a superior strain with high Ginkgo protein production, was obtained. • GEP showed superior solubility, oil retention, foaming and emulsification properties. • Conformational identification to obtain the unique endophytic protein structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The bacterial communities on MPs showed localization characteristics after traveling. • The localization degree was higher when former and latter environments were similar. • The time for being localized was shorter than the time pre-cultured at former sites. • The stability of bacterial communities on MPs increased after arriving at new sites. • Environments decided invasive bacteria, and pathogen were not delivered specifically. Microplastics (MPs) are considered as distinct substrates for bacterial colonization, they can carry bacterial communities to travel around environments. The bacterial communities on traveling MPs prefer to be gradually consistent with those on local MPs that were always in the same environment, and this process of change in the bacterial communities on traveling MPs was called 'localization'. However, the dynamics of localization process and their influencing factors are still unclear. Therefore, we simulated the MPs migration process along the water flow direction in the estuary. We used quantitative analysis to study the dynamics of bacterial communities on the migrated MPs. We found the localization characteristics depended on the differences between the former and latter environments, as well as the preexisting bacteria. The localization degree was higher when the former and latter environments were similar. In most cases, compared with the first cultivation of pristine MPs, the time for localization was shorter. Moreover, although the entire bacterial communities tended to be localized, the preexisting bacteria on the migrated MPs had selective effects on subsequent bacterial colonization. Furthermore, the preexisting bacteria on MPs could set up the connections with the bacteria that existed at the latter site, and the stability of the entire bacterial communities on the migrated MPs increased with time. Overall, our findings indicated that the localization characteristics of bacterial communities on traveling MPs were related to the precultured time and environmental differences, which were helpful to understand the colonized bacteria transportation and MPs ecological effects. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrophobic metal surfaces have widespread applications in self-cleaning, ice removal, corrosion resistance, and drag reduction. The fine structure of these surfaces is crucial for their hydrophobic properties. Currently, pulse laser direct surface texturing is commonly employed to create hydrophobic surfaces, but this method primarily operates at room temperature. However, the rapid cooling rate and significant temperature gradient of the thin melted layer generated at room temperature often result in high stress concentration and cracks within the fine structure, compromising the overall integrity of the hydrophobic surface when subjected to complex external loads. To assess structural robustness by evaluating crack propagation, fatigue performance serves as a vital indicator. The thermal effect helps mitigate thermal cracking caused by direct laser irradiation and introduces an additional strengthening mechanism through dynamic strain aging. By utilizing the Leidenfrost effect, water can act as a confinement layer to achieve high temperature laser shock, which is expected to enhance the fatigue performance of hydrophobic structures. In this study, we propose a technique called 3D hot laser shock peening without coating (3HLSPwoC) as a cost-effective and efficient method to fabricate multi-scale self-armored hydrophobic surfaces with enhanced fatigue properties. We systematically discuss and analyze the wettability and mechanical properties of samples manufactured using different approaches. Furthermore, we reveal the underlying mechanism responsible for the fatigue performance improvement achieved through the 3HLSPwoC process, supported by molecular dynamics calculations and finite element simulations. Compared with the samples manufactured at room temperature, the surface of 3HLSPwoC samples exhibit greater plastic deformation, with no visible cracks on the surface. Additionally, these samples possess higher compressive residual stress and hardness. Notably, 3HLSPwoC samples demonstrate superior fatigue performance and enhanced durability of the hydrophobic properties. 3HLSPwoC has proved to be a novel process for manufacturing advanced hydrophobic surfaces with comprehensive mechanical properties. [Display omitted] • A novel 3D gradient hot laser shock peening without coating strategy is proposed. • Cracks on metal surfaces produced by direct laser irradiation are suppressed. • Water can serve as a confinement layer based on the Leidenfrost effect. • The plastic deformation caused by high-temperature laser shock is more pronounced. • Enhanced surfaces exhibit excellent mechanical properties and hydrophobic durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovalbumin (OVA) is widely used to prepare nanocomposites for the delivery of bioactive compounds. During long-term storage of shell eggs, natural OVA is slowly transformed into a more heat-stable form called S-OVA, which can also be obtained artificially through alkali-heat treatment. This study aimed to reveal the effects of alkali-heat and ultrasonic treatment on the structure, stability and polyphenol encapsulation ability of OVA by analyzing the interaction mechanism through molecular docking and multispectral analysis. The results showed that the proteins treated with alkali-heat and ultrasound had higher stability and surface hydrophobicity, reflecting the change in their functional properties. The S-OVA generated by alkali-heat treatment had higher thermal stability and formed softer gels than those generated by ultrasound treatment. The results of infrared spectroscopy and molecular docking indicated that hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds were the main forces stabilizing the formation of catechin-OVA complexes. X-ray diffraction showed that OVA was a good carrier for catechins, which existed in an amorphous state in the hydrophobic core of proteins. Both ultrasound and alkali-heat treatments exposed hydrophobic groups in the protein and significantly enhanced the ability of the protein to bind polyphenols (increased from 15.72 nmol/mg to 44.10 nmol/mg and 43.18 nmol/mg, respectively), resulting in greater antioxidant capacity. This study mainly revealed the binding mode of OVA with polyphenols and explained the reasons for the changes in the functional properties of OVA by revealing the structural changes in proteins under different treatments, providing a basis for the advantages of alkali-heat and ultrasonic treatment of OVA in the food industry. [Display omitted] • The effects of alkali-heat and ultrasound treatment on the OVA were verified. • Alkali-heat treatment improved the thermal stability of OVA. • Alkali-heat and ultrasound treatment of OVA enhanced its functional properties. • Catechin-OVA complex was dominated by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]