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In this research, pendimethalin was synthesized by a two-step reaction with N-(1-Ethylpropyl)− 3,4-dimethylaniline as raw material and nitric acid as nitration reagent. The research focused on the second-step reaction, which was far more dangerous than the first-step. The effects of reaction temperature (T p), feeding time (t), stirring rate (SR) and nitric acid concentration (φ) on the yield and thermal hazard of the second step reaction were explored by experiments. The optimal process conditions were obtained. In addition, concentration variation of each component during the reaction were monitored by using HPLC for intermediate sampling. Combined with the theoretical calculation, the possible reaction mechanism was deduced. The reaction can be divided into two main paths according to the sequence of nitro substitution. In one of these paths the nitro group replaced the H first at position 2 and then at position 6, while in the other path it was completely reversed. Both paths eventually produced pendimethalin. Finally, the thermal hazard was analyzed by Stoessel criticality diagram. The risk levels for the two-step reaction were level 1 and level 3, respectively. This study provides theoretical support for the safe production of the nitration and synthesis of pendimethalin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest proportion of myeloid immune cells in tumors, macrophages play an important role in tumor growth and regression according to their different phenotypes, thus reprogramming macrophages has become a new research direction for cancer immunotherapy. Yeast-derived whole β-glucan particles (WGPs) can induce M0 macrophages to differentiate into M1 macrophages and convert M2 macrophages and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) into M1 macrophages. In vitro, studies have confirmed that WGP-treated macrophages increase the activating receptors in natural killer cells (NK cells) and enhance the cytotoxicity of NK cells. The extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signaling pathway is involved in WGP-mediated regulation of the macrophage phenotype. Further in vivo studies show that oral WGP can significantly delay tumor growth, which is related to the increased proportion of macrophages and NK cells, the macrophage phenotype reversal, and the enhancement of NK cell immune function. NK-cell depletion reduces the therapeutic efficacy of WGP in tumor-bearing mice. These findings revealed that in addition to T cells, NK cells also participate in the antitumor process of WGP. It was confirmed that WGP regulates the macrophage phenotype to regulate NK-cell function. ERK1/2 signaling pathway involved in WGP regulation of macrophage phenotype. Macrophages polarized by WGP upregulate NK cell activity. NK cells participate in the antitumor effect of WGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire accident is one of the significant threats to the urban utility tunnel (UUT) during operation, and the emergency response is challenging due to the compact tunnel structure and potential hazard sources involved. Traditional fire detection techniques are reviewed in this study, and it has been determined that their performance cannot satisfy the requirements for early fire incident detection. Integrating advanced sensing technologies and data-driven anomaly detection has recently been regarded as a feasible solution for intelligent safety system implementation. This article proposed an approach that utilized a fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) system and deep anomaly detection models to monitor the fire exotherm during the early stages of accidents. The variable fire exotherm is simulated with an embedded-system controlled electrical heating platform. Moreover, autoencoder (AE) based and convolutional neural network (CNN) based methods have been designed for anomaly detection. The temperature data collected from the FO-DTS in the experiment was employed as the training set for the data-driven models. Furthermore, the anomaly detection models were tested, and the results showed that the proposed CNN model can achieve a higher accuracy rate in detecting the simulated fire exotherm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel model combining variate-centric Transformer with large kernel temporal convolution was proposed. • Variate-centric Transformer was proposed to make self-attention acts on variables. • Large kernel temporal convolution was used to learn causal temporal information. • Experiments of microreactor process were conducted, which made algorithms be tested in real-world data. Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) is an essential tool to ensure safety in chemical industries, and nowadays, many reconstruction-based deep learning methods are active in fault detection. However, many algorithms still suffer from not ideal actual performance. Inspired by the core mechanism of Transformer and large kernel convolution, this paper proposes a novel model combining variate-centric Transformer with large kernel temporal convolution. Variate-centric Transformer depends on self-attention to capture the multivariate correlations of input data, and large kernel temporal convolution collects period information to summarize temporal features. A benchmark dataset Tennessee Eastman process (TEP) and experiment data from the microreactor process are used to test the performance of fault detection. Compared with other reconstruction-based methods, results demonstrate that our model achieves a higher fault detection rate and a lower detection latency, and shows a significant potential for process safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug delivery technologies that could convert promising therapeutics into successful therapies have been under broad research for many years. Recently, β-glucans, natural-occurring polysaccharides extracted from many organism species such as yeast, fungi and bacteria, have attracted increasing attention to serve as drug delivery carriers. With their unique structure and innate immunocompetence, β-glucans are considered as promising carriers for targeting delivery especially when applied in the vaccine construction and oral administration of therapeutic agents. In this review, we focus on three types of β-glucans applied in the drug delivery system including yeast β-glucan, Schizophyllan and curdlan, highlighting the benefits of β-glucan based delivery system. We summarize how β-glucans as delivery vehicles have aided various therapeutics ranging from macromolecules including proteins, peptides and nucleic acids to small molecular drugs to reach desired cells or organs in terms of loading strategies. We also outline the challenges and future directions for developing the next generation of β-glucan based delivery systems. Drug delivery construction strategies of β-glucans from diverse sources. (Drawn by us.) [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-active-bridge (DAB) converters are widely used in bidirectional power transmission and voltage conversion. At present, phase-shift (PS) control is one of the most common and mature control methods for DAB converters. To improve the efficiency and performance of DAB converters, the soft switching and current stress are optimized by increasing the inner phase-shift ratio. However, under different PS controls, it is difficult to establish a unified mathematical model using the traditional instantaneous integral method. To solve this problem, based on the approximate equivalence of the fundamental component of a high-frequency link decomposed by Fourier series, an optimal fundamental modulation strategy is proposed, which takes the fundamental reactive power as the objective of optimization. The trajectories for each of the electrical parameters are analyzed intuitively through a vector diagram of the phasor. A practical optimal control strategy scheme for engineering is obtained. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis and the proposed method are verified by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomedical named entity recognition (BNER) is a critical task for biomedical information extraction. Most popular BNER approaches based on deep learning utilize words and characters as features to represent medical texts. However, many medical terminologies are composed of multiple words and characters, and splitting medical terminology into multiple words (or characters) and assigning weight values for each word (or character) by a standard attention mechanism may disperse the attention score and result in a lower weight value for the medical terminology. This paper proposes a Dictionary-guided Attention Network (DGAN) for BNER in Chinese electronic medical records (EMRs). First, the medical concepts are extracted as large-size words to supplement the comprehensive semantic information of the medical terminology by matching the EMR text to the biomedical dictionary. Then, based on the matched dictionary results, an optimized attention strategy is proposed to focus on the medical concept and adaptively assign higher weights to the characters contained in a concept. Furthermore, semisupervised learning is introduced to reduce the manual labeling of data and to handle the entities not defined in the medical dictionary. To validate our new model in recognizing biomedical named entities, we conduct comprehensive experiments on a real-world Chinese EMR dataset and the CCKS2017 dataset. Our promising results illustrate that our method not only achieves a state-of-the-art performance in BNER but also reduces manual data annotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on current issues of difficulties in controlling horizontal well trajectory and high cost in drilling deflecting, a compound deflecting BHA (bottom hole assembly) with diameter-adjustable stabilizer (DAS) and bending-adjustable housing (BAH) is presented. According to the DAS operational principles and the stress condition in operation, the computational formula of wedge's axial moving displacement and piston's radial telescopic displacement of the DAS driven by drilling fluid pressure is presented. This formula is verified by lab experimental simulation. Three-points-circle method is utilized to calculate geometrical build up rate of compound deflecting BHA, and the result is verified by field data. The method is utilized to make design and calculate for compound BHA. The research can be used as a reference for compound deflecting drilling in horizontal wells. The flow rate and pressure difference have a very serious impact on the flow regulator erosion, so the flow rate and pressure difference should be controlled when the DAS works, and it is suggested that the flow regulator should maintain and replace frequently when in service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disease diagnosis represents a critical and arduous endeavor within the medical field. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, spanning from machine learning and deep learning to large model paradigms, stand poised to significantly augment physicians in rendering more evidence-based decisions, thus presenting a pioneering solution for clinical practice. Traditionally, the amalgamation of diverse medical data modalities (e.g., image, text, speech, genetic data, physiological signals) is imperative to facilitate a comprehensive disease analysis, a topic of burgeoning interest among both researchers and clinicians in recent times. Hence, there exists a pressing need to synthesize the latest strides in multi-modal data and AI technologies in the realm of medical diagnosis. In this paper, we narrow our focus to five specific disorders (Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, depression, heart disease, epilepsy), elucidating advanced endeavors in their diagnosis and treatment through the lens of artificial intelligence. Our survey not only delineates detailed diagnostic methodologies across varying modalities but also underscores commonly utilized public datasets, the intricacies of feature engineering, prevalent classification models, and envisaged challenges for future endeavors. In essence, our research endeavors to contribute to the advancement of diagnostic methodologies, furnishing invaluable insights for clinical decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes numerical simulations of the typical hovering mode of dragonfly wings with different sweeping motions. The simulation process involves solving the three-dimensional unsteady Navier–Stokes equations and exploring the effects of the sweeping motion on aerodynamic performance. Various parameters related to the three-dimensional sweeping motion are studied, including the sweeping amplitude, phase difference between flapping and sweeping motions, asymmetry of sweeping amplitudes of the forewing and hindwing, and frequency of sweeping motion. The results show that as the sweeping amplitude of the forewing and hindwing increases from 0 to 35°, the time-averaged lift and the lift efficiency increase by ∼4 times and ∼3.6 times respectively, while the power consumption first decreases and then increases. Moreover, increasing the sweeping amplitude delays the shedding of the trailing edge vortex. A phase difference of ∼60° between flapping and sweeping maximizes efficiency and the change in phase difference can lead to vertical forces in opposite directions on the forewing and hindwing. Accordingly, the flow field interference between the two wings will be more serious. Greater symmetry between the sweeping amplitudes of the two wings leads to better lift performance. There is an optimal sweeping frequency which is also the same as the flapping motion, representing an elliptical trajectory that can make lift ∼0.75 times higher. The optimal combination of various sweeping motion parameters may contribute to better aerodynamic performance in the hovering state. This research provides theoretical guidance for the design of dragonfly-like aircraft with multiple degrees of freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at determine the effect of interface oxides on shear properties of 316L stainless steel/HSLA steel clad plate by studying interface microstructure, characteristics of interface oxides and shear fracture model. It was found that carbon element diffusion caused the forming of a decarburized ferrite zone (DFZ) of the substrate and a carburized austenite region (CAZ) of the clad metal, and between those two metals, a high-hardness band (HHB) with rapid element component change are formed in the solid-state diffusion bonding process. It was revealed that, at the micro-scale, when oxides concentrated area on the boundary of CAZ reaches up to a threshold size, DFZ crack may carve across the rigid HHB and propagate along CAZ boundary during the shear test. Thus macro-scale nonuniform distribution of oxides led to massive competitive cracking between the plastic DFZ and the high-strength CAZ, and statistically maintain the shear strength at a high level for test samples with a medium oxidation level. Nevertheless, those clad plates may still fail to meet the performance request of products, since the cladding interface tended toward a low fracture toughness failure during the process of deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sign and magnitude of the surface charge govern the particle interactions and hence determine the physical properties of dispersions. The present work is to evaluate the distortions, isomorphic and broken surface bond as the sources of the permanent or variable surface charges of kaolinite. The theoretical permanent charge density ( σ cc ) was calculated by XRF. The experimental permanent charge density ( σ p ) and variable charge density ( σ v ) were obtained by the method of potentiometric titration. The degree of broken bonds ( D b , b ) of Al–O–Al and Si–O–Si at the side of kaolinite structure were characterized by the numbers and strength of surface hydrogen in 1 H MAS NMR, absorbance of Al–OH or Si–OH in FTIR and edge fractures in FESEM . The surface area was measured by N 2 adsorption–desorption. The defects such as basal z corrugation (∆ z ), tetrahedral rotation angles ( θ ) and octahedral flattening angles ( ψ ) were obtained by the XRD rietveld refinement. The negative σ cc or σ p of three samples KA, KB and KC are 0.012, 0.007 and 0.009 C·m − 2 or 0.24, 0.19 and 0.22 C·m − 2 , respectively. D b , b of three samples are D b , b-KA > D b , b-KC > D b , b-KB . The σ v depend on the degree of the broken bonds at edges of kaolinite and can be affected by pH significantly. The negative variable charge density at alkaline condition decreased with the increase of the degree of broken bonds at the side of kaolinite structures. Surface charges of kaolinite come from the defects such as isomorphic substitutions and broken bonds Al–O–Al and Si–O–Si. The distortions in structure e.g. ∆ z , θ and ψ may not directly create the surface charges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adsorption of polymer on colloidal particle has significant influence on colloid structure and dynamics. Here we introduce a new method to monitor the adsorption in situ, based on the different emission behavior of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen in different micro environments. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and colloidal silica (CS) were used as a model system. It was found that AIE molecules exhibited extremely low fluorescence intensity in water and PVA solution, while their emission efficiency was enhanced when adsorbed on CS, and became significantly boosted when PVA was adsorbed on CS at the same time. The fluorescence intensity increases with the amount of added PVA and reaches a saturation point, which is earlier than that obtained by the well-established solvent relaxation NMR method, due to their different sensitivities for adsorption segments in specific conformation. This new method is advantageous in quick response, where the measurement can be finished within 2 min, while others usually take hours. Therefore, it is expected that this new method may be used to monitor the dynamical adsorption process of polymer on colloidal particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matrine, alkaloid isolated fromSophora flavescens, is known to be pleiotropic by exerting anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, as well as anti-cancer effects. However, the precise molecular targets or pathways responsible for its activities still remain unclear. The present study aimed to determine the underlying mechanisms of matrine in inhibiting the chronic myeloid leukemia cells (CML). It was observed that matrine treatment significantly suppressed CML cells proliferation, induced apoptosis and resulted in the accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase, accompanied by a significant decrease in Bcl-xL, Cyclin D1, and c-Myc expression. Western blot analyses revealed that matrine treatment resulted in the down-regulation in phospho-STAT3 and phospho-JAK2 without significantly effects on STAT3 and JAK2 protein levels. Matrine significantly reduced the expression of IL-6, a potent upstream activating factor of STAT3. These results strongly suggested the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathway play an important role in matrine’s anti-leukemia effects in K562 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic scintillators are extensively used in various radiation measurement systems. However the total internal reflection decreases the scintillation light output, leading to a low detection efficiency especially in these weak signal detection situations. In the present investigation, we have designed a light extraction scheme based on the photonic crystal formed with a monolayer periodic array of polystyrene nanospheres by a self-assembly method. The photonic crystal coated on the surface of plastic scintillator can significantly enhance the light extraction by 120% compared with the plain reference sample under X-ray excitation, which is achieved by the principle of the coupling of evanescent field near the scintillator-air interface with the photonic crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, we have demonstrated that a modified self-assembled photonic crystal with conformal high refractive index material TiO 2 can achieve a great enhancement of light extraction efficiency. A 2.26 fold wavelength- and angle-integrated enhancement ratio can be achieved. The conformal layer increases the number of leaky modes and thus improve the extraction efficiency. The enhancement is attributed to the leaky modes based on the individual microspheres with conformal layer. Their low quality factors with a broadband characteristic are advantageous to the broadband enhancement for the emission spectra of plastic scintillator. Furthermore, the dense conformal layers have excellent combination with the self-assembled microspheres and the whole preparation process cannot destroy the plastic scintillator, which is beneficial to the practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising scintillator in the field of medical imaging systems, LYSO with its high refractive index suffers from a low light extraction efficiency due to the total internal reflection. Here, we demonstrate that a photonic structure formed by an anodized aluminum oxide layer can enhance the light extraction efficiency by the outcoupling the light trapped in the crystal. An enhancement of light output by 25% can be achieved by an AAO layer covered on the surface of LYSO. The imperfect periodicity of AAO can lead to a consistent enhancement for the entire range of emission wavelength and directionality. Such enhanced light output is practical and attractive for use in the scintillation detection systems. It is important to note that the fabrication method of AAO is simple and low-cost for the large area applications, which is obviously advantageous over the expensive traditional methods such as electron beam lithography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An array of monolayer of periodic nanospheres is used to efficiently extract the light from a scintillator of high refractive indexwith broadband capability. Compared with the plain sample without nanospheres, the enhancement of wavelength- and angleintegrated luminescence by 72 and 68% can be achieved under the excitation of ultraviolet and g-ray radiation, respectively. The whispering-gallery modes for the individual sphere and the periodic arrangement are responsible for the enhancement of light extraction. Such a photonic structure is advantageous over the traditional two-dimensional photonic crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We propose a 2D photonic crystal structure to enhance the light extraction of scintillator. [•] This structure is a periodic array of hexagonally close-packed polystyrene nanosphere. [•] The maximum enhancement of extraction efficiency reaches 25%. [•] The enhancement shows angular-dependence and wavelength-dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a facile route was designed to prepare four new hyperbranched poly(arylene-ethynylene)s containing azo-chromophore moieties through one-pot 'A2+B3' approach via simple Sonogashira coupling reaction. The polymers were all soluble in organic solvents and demonstrated good nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, because of the three-dimensional spatial isolation effect of these hyperbranched polymers. Due to the different B3-type comonomer, the self-assembly effect of pentafluoroaromatic in the interior of these polymers were different, leading to the different trends of the NLO activities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: High temperature corrosion and microstructure deterioration phenomenon of KHR35H radiant tubes had been investigated after a service life of approximately 2years in annealing process. Analyses revealed that deterioration in mechanical properties of the radiant tube was caused primarily by significant growth of precipitates during high temperature service. Internal oxidation and simultaneously in situ carbides dissolution were responsible for the formation of large number of voids and microcracks at the inner wall of the tubes, which brought the reduction of effective thickness of the tube wall and may act as crack sources under either thermal shock or creep deformation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new series of azobenzene-containing polyurethanes were prepared and post-azo coupling reactions were successfully used to modify the subtle structure of the azobenzene chromophore moieties. The polymers were characterized and their nonlinear optical properties were investigated by means of second harmonic generation processes. One of the polymers exhibited highest nonlinear optical effects (d 33 =58.2pm/V), in which carbazolyl moieties were introduced to the chromophore groups as the isolation moieties. The results demonstrate the possibility of controlling the properties of polymers after the polymerization process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Three hyperbranched polymers (P1–P3) containing second-order nonlinear optical chromophores were synthesized by copolymerization of aromatic dialdehydes (carbazole, triphenylamine or benzene moieties) with sulfonyl-based chromophores attached with three active methylene groups, from “A2 +B3” approach based on simple Knoevenagel reaction. For comparison, their corresponding linear analogue polymers (P4–P6) were prepared. All the polymers are soluble in common organic solvents, and exhibit good thermal stability. The tested NLO properties of the hyperbranched polymers are better than their corresponding linear polymers, due to the three-dimensional spatial separation of the chromophores in the obtained hyperbranched polymeric structures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sulfur corrosion is one of the significant concerns that could cause potential hazards in the petrochemical industry, and the traditional periodical inspection techniques are insufficient to support timely and reliable monitoring of iron sulfides oxidation. The emerging data-driven fault detection models and innovative sensing technologies provide new opportunities to process safety monitoring. This article proposed an integrated approach that employed fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) system, electrochemical gas sensors, embedded systems, and neural networks to detect the exotherm of early-stage iron sulfides oxidation in complex scenarios. Specifically, the sulfides oxidation exotherm is simulated using programmed electrical heating devices, and a software simulation is conducted to optimize the heating rods power selection; the exothermic chemical reaction is carried out with the oxidation of dimethyl sulfoxide (DSMO) by hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) in a simulated stainless-steel reactor. The continuous temperature data and its spatial distribution of the targeted reactor surface are generated by the DTS, and the SO 2 concentration is collected as an additional criterion. The edge computing gateway can handle the field data collection from different types of protocols and other auxiliary tasks. Furthermore, the performance of the field sensing system and the anomaly detection neural networks are tested. The result shows that the proposed method is able to distinguish the simulated iron sulfides oxidation exotherm from the chemical reaction exotherm with an acceptable accuracy rate. The details of the system components are also demonstrated as a reference for deploying similar sulfides oxidation monitoring tasks in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To provide a systematic overview of diabetes risk prediction models used for prediabetes screening to promote primary prevention of diabetes. Methods: The Cochrane, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched for a comprehensive search period of 30 August 30, 2023, and studies involving diabetes prediction models for screening prediabetes risk were included in the search. The Quality Assessment Checklist for Diagnostic Studies (QUADAS‐2) tool was used for risk of bias assessment and Stata and R software were used to pool model effect sizes. Results: A total of 29 375 articles were screened, and finally 20 models from 24 studies were included in the systematic review. The most common predictors were age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, history of hypertension, and physical activity. Regarding the indicators of model prediction performance, discrimination and calibration were only reported in 79.2% and 4.2% of studies, respectively, resulting in significant heterogeneity in model prediction results, which may be related to differences between model predictor combinations and lack of important methodological information. Conclusions: Numerous models are used to predict diabetes, and as there is an association between prediabetes and diabetes, researchers have also used such models for screening the prediabetic population. Although it is a new clinical practice to explore, differences in glycaemic metabolic profiles, potential complications, and methods of intervention between the two populations cannot be ignored, and such differences have led to poor validity and accuracy of the models. Therefore, there is no recommended optimal model, and it is not recommended to use existing models for risk identification in alternative populations; future studies should focus on improving the clinical relevance and predictive performance of existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CuI thin film scintillator has potential applications in radiation detection systems due to its fast component of luminescence. Severe Fresnel reflection due to its large refractive index decreases its external quantum efficiency. In this article, we design an antireflection coating of SiO2 to efficiently eliminate Fresnel reflection and thus improve luminescence intensity. The optimal thickness of coating aimed at the maximum transmission for the omni-directional integration is obtained. The reduced Fresnel reflection by the antireflection coating is based upon the gradient-index and the interference effect. The luminescence intensity with an antireflection coating is increased by 20% at the emission peak wavelength. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we have investigated the light extraction of scintillator using by the photonic crystal consisting of an array of monolayer polystyrene nanospheres and a conformal layer. The effect of the conformal layer on the extraction efficiency was systematically analyzed. It is found that the conformal layer will strongly affect the optical properties of the photonic crystal. The coupling efficiency can be controlled by increasing mode number through varying the thickness and refractive index of the conformal layer. When the mode number increases, the multi-extraction process plays an important role in the ultimate extraction efficiency. Thus, at this situation, the extraction efficiency is more favorable for a thin scintillator. This conclusion is also applicable to other solid-state light-emitting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the temperature-dependence of X-ray excited luminescence of β-Ga2O3 single crystals. The recombination of free-electrons with self-trapped holes (STHs) responsible for the ultraviolet luminescence (UVL) band was observed. For the as-grown sample with a high electron concentration, the Auger recombination becomes important, which accelerates the decay dynamics and reduces the ultraviolet luminescence band. The ultraviolet luminescence band is controlled by temperature quenching due to the migration of self-trapped holes to VGa3− centers. Annealing in an oxygen environment can increase the VGa3− concentration, which contributes to the blue-green luminescence band when VGa3− captures a self-trapped hole forming a VGa2− center at rising temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted extensive attention owing to their attractive optical properties, small size, low cost, and good biocompatibility. However, there are still challenges in unequivocally unraveling the photoluminescence (PL) origin and the structure-function relationship associated with the surface groups of CDs. Herein, we have successfully enhanced the PL efficiency of GA/N-CDs by targeted passivation of the amine groups of N-doped CDs (N-CDs) with glutaraldehyde (GA), to facilitate their bioimaging applications under one-photon and two-photon excitations. In particular, we have systematically investigated the regulation effects of this surface modification on the optical properties, exciton dynamics, and blinking behavior using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies, and single-particle fluorescence imaging microscopes. The effective passivation of the amine surface group of N-CDs not only regulates the energy levels and properties of surface states, but importantly activates an additional emissive center via an aldehyde-amine condensation reaction. Meanwhile, the hydrogen bonding interactions between GA and the related surface groups of N-CDs further restrain the non-radiative exciton relaxations. This synergetic effect greatly enhances the PL efficiency of two separate emission centers and the photostability of GA/N-CDs. Moreover, the photoblinking of N-CDs is significantly suppressed and the two-photon excitation PL property is also markedly increased after the surface modification, endowing GA/N-CDs the outstanding performances for fluorescence bioimaging under Vis-NIR excitations. Our findings contribute to mechanistic insights into the correlation between photophysical properties and surface states/groups, as well as demonstrate an effective post-modification strategy to improve the PL efficiency and stability of carbon-based dots. Surface modification to enhance emission and suppress blinking of N-CDs for Vis-NIR excitation fluorescence imaging. [Display omitted] • Highly emissive GA/N-CDs are prepared by a targeted surface modification of N-CDs. • Aldehyde-amine condensation activates an additional emissive center of GA/N-CDs. • Regulation mechanisms of enhanced emission are revealed by photophysical studies. • Single-particle blinking study indicates an outstanding photostability of GA/N-CDs. • GA/N-CDs demonstrate multi-photon optical properties for Vis-NIR excitation imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although porous anodized aluminum oxide layer can be used to extract scintillation light from a LYSO scintillator, the low refractive index contrast of porous AAO layer obtains a moderate enhancement. In this investigation, we have designed and fabricated a modified porous anodized aluminum oxide layer with conformal deposition layer of high refractive index material of TiO 2 on the surface of LYSO scintillator, achieving a significant enhancement by 60% with wavelength- and angle-integrated emission intensity. The fabrication method of the present study is simple and low-cost for the large area applications in the field of radiation detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Letter, monolayers of arrays of periodic polystyrene (PS) spheres are designed to couple onto the surface of cerium-doped lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate scintillator to improve the light extraction efficiency. The enhancement of extraction efficiency up to 38% relative to the reference case without polystyrene spheres is achieved. Combining with the simulation for the transmission as well as its dispersion relation, detailed analysis of the effect of whispering gallery modes and diffraction on the extraction mechanism are given. As a result, the optimal diameter of 414 nm is obtained based on a trade-off between the transmission loss and the diffraction enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although therapeutic cancer vaccines have been gaining substantial ground, the development of cancer vaccines is impeded because of the undegradability of delivery systems, ineffective delivery of tumor antigens and weak immunogenicity of adjuvants. Here, we made use of a whole glucan particle (WGP) to encapsulate ovalbumin (OVA), thereby formulating a novel cancer vaccine. Results from in vitro experiments showed that WGP-OVA not only induced the activation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) including driving M0 BMDM polarization to the M1 phenotype, upregulating the costimulatory molecules and inducing the generation of cytokines, but also facilitated antigen presentation. After oral administration of the WGP-OVA formulation to mice with OVA-expressing tumors, these particles can increase tumor-infiltrating OVA-specific CD8+ CTLs and repolarize tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) toward M1-like phenotype, which led to delayed tumor progression. These findings revealed that WGP could serve as both an antigen delivery system and an adjuvant system for promising cancer vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumors can induce the generation and accumulation of immunosuppressive cells in –the tumor microenvironment (TME). Among them, tumor-educated dendritic cells (TEDCs) involved in tolerance induction contribute greatly to the progression of tumors. However, the mechanisms governing the immunosuppressive function of dendritic cells in the TME are unclear. In this study, we found that the expression of transcription factor EB (TFEB) was significantly increased in TEDCs induced by cancer cell supernatant. TFEB knockdown significantly promoted the differentiation and maturation of TEDCs, with upregulated expression of CD11c and costimulatory molecules (CD86 and MHC-II) but reduced expression of the inhibitory molecule PD-L1, and enhanced their ability to induce Th1 proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, TEDCs with TFEB knockdown significantly reduced tumor growth with increased infiltration of CD11c+MHC-II+ dendritic cells and effector T cells in tumor masses, thus leading to a delay in tumor progression. These findings demonstrate a critical role of TFEB in regulating the immunosuppression of TEDCs, with potential implications as an antitumor immune therapeutic approach. • TFEB was upregulated in tumor-educated DCs (TEDCs). • TFEB knockdown in TEDCs enhances T cell activation in vitro. • TFEB knockdown in TEDCs inhibits tumor growth in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modular multilevel converter–bidirectional DC–DC converter (MMC–BDC) is a prospective solution for the bidirectional DC–DC power conversion between medium-voltage DC (MVDC) bus and distributed energy storage system. Researchers have studied its application in the shipboard power system. In face of distributed energy storage devices with discrepant state of charge (SOC), the sub-modules (SMs) of MMC–BDC should work under inconsistent power to unify the SOC level. The existing unbalanced SM power control strategies fail to consider unbalanced operation range and efficiency. Therefore, this study proposes a novel unbalanced control strategy based on the feedforward compensation method, which is characterized by inconsistent SM voltage. Comparisons are made to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed strategy over traditional ones, and the dynamic characteristics are analyzed. Simulation and experiment results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed unbalanced operation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexes formed by DNA or siRNAinteracting with polycationsshowed great potential as nonviral vectors for gene delivery. Thephysicochemical properties of the DNA/siRNA complexes, which couldbe tuned by adjusting the characteristics of polycations, were directlyrelated to their performance in gene delivery. Using 21 bp double-strandedoligonucleotide (ds-oligo) and two icosapeptides (with the repeatingunits being KKGG and KGKG, respectively) of the same charge densityas model molecules, we investigated the effect of charge distributionon the kinetics of complexation and the structure of the final complexes.Even though the distribution of the charged groups in peptides wasonly adjusted by one position, the complexes formed by (KKGG)5and ds-oligo were larger in size and easier to precipitatethan those formed by (KGKG)5. Counterintuitively, it wasnot the charged groups but the hydrophilic neutral spacers that determinedthe kinetics and the structure of the complex. We attributed suchan effect to the water-mediated disproportionation process. The hydrophilicspacers next to each other were better than that in the separatedpattern in holding water molecules after forming the complex. Thewater-rich domains in the complex functioned as a lubricant and facilitatedthe relaxation of the polyelectrolyte, resulting in a fast complexationprocess. The resulting complex was thus larger in size and lower insurface energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginkgo biloba extract 761 (EGb761), a standardized extract from the Ginkgo biloba leaf, is purported to inhibit NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal excitotoxicity and protect neurons form ischemic injury. However, the specific signal pathway involved in the effects of EGb761 on synaptic plasticity is still in dispute. In this article, effects of EGb761 and its monomer component ginkgolide A (GA), ginkgolide B (GB), ginkgolide C (GC) and quercetin on rat hippocampal synaptic plasticity were studied. The evoked Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and miniature EPSCs were recorded on hippocampal slices from SD rats (14–21 days of age) by whole-cell patch-clamp recording and long-term potentiation (LTP) was induced by theta-burst stimulation. Acutely applied EGb761 inhibited the LTP, but bilaterally affect the evoked EPSCs. The evoked EPSCs were increased by incubation of lower concentration of EGb761, then the evoked EPSCs were decreased by incubation of higher concentration of EGb761. EGb761 monomer component GA, GB and GC could also inhibit the TBS-induced LTP and EPSC amplitude but not paired-pulse ratio (PPR). But quercetin, another monomer component of EGb761, led to increase in EPSC amplitude and decrease in PPR. Simultaneously, EGb761 and its monomer component ginkgolides inhibited the post-ischemic LTP (i-LTP) by inhibiting the EPSCs and the AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 expression on postsynaptic membrane. The results indicated that high concentration of EGb761 might inhibit LTP and i-LTP through inhibition effects of GA, GB and GC on AMPA receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Three new hyperbranched polymers (P1–P3) were prepared by copolymerization of tribromoaryl moieties (triphenylamine, carbazole and fluorene moieties) with 9,9-dihexylfluorene-2,7-bis(trimethyleneborate) from “A2 +B3” approach based on Suzuki polycondensation reaction. They are soluble in common organic solvents, and exhibit good thermal stable luminescence. Interestingly, unlike most of fluorene-containing polymeric materials, P3 emits strong green light due to its special structure. Double-layer devices with configurations ITO/PEDOT/Polymer (50nm)/TPBI(50nm)/LiF(0.5nm)/Al(80nm) were fabricated and emitted blue or green light, with maximum luminance in the range of 25–142cd/m2 and the current efficiency up to 0.18cd/A. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Our novel orthogonal decoding is superior to the traditional non-orthogonal approach. • Our analytical principle could provide a valid inference for functional independence. • The evaluation and readiness processes are independently encoded in the human brain. • Evaluation and readiness signals are linked to distinct cognitive behaviors. How to retrieve latent neurobehavioural processes from complex neurobiological signals is an important yet unresolved challenge. Here, we develop a novel approach, orthogonal-Decoding multi-Cognitive Processes (DeCoP), to reveal underlying latent neurobehavioural processing and show that its performance is superior to traditional non-orthogonal decoding in terms of both false inference and robustness. Processing value and salience information are two fundamental but mutually confounded pathways of reward reinforcement essential for decision making. During reward/punishment anticipation, we applied DeCoP to decode brain-wide responses into spatially overlapping, yet functionally independent, evaluation and readiness processes, which are modulated differentially by meso‑limbic vs nigro-striatal dopamine systems. Using DeCoP, we further demonstrated that most brain regions only encoded abstract information but not the exact input, except for dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and insula. Furthermore, we anticipate our novel analytical principle to be applied generally in decoding multiple latent neurobehavioral processes and thus advance both the design and hypothesis testing for cognitive tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Femtosecond laser has proved to be a promising approach for single crystal diamond (SCD) processing, but the interaction mechanism between femtosecond laser and SCD is not well understood and need further theoretical investigation. In this paper, the simple rate equation was utilized to analyze the free electron excitation and evolution process and the temporal evolution of free electron density was simulated. In order to reveal the thermal interaction between electron and lattice subsystem of ablated SCD, the improved two temperature model which takes the variation of optical properties of the SCD surface caused by the excited plasma into account has been built up. The laser ablation threshold of SCD was also predicted under two theoretical models respectively. According to the single pulse ablation experiments, the simulated ablation thresholds of SCD are basically in agreement with the experimental results. Unlabelled Image • The free electron excitation and evolution process and the temporal evolution of free electron density were analyzed. • The electron-lattice thermal interaction was simulated based on the improved two temperature model. • The reflectivity and absorption coefficient of SCD during the ablation process has been proved to be time dependent. • The simulated ablation thresholds of SCD were basically in agreement with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing challenge to prevent illicit drug smuggling across borders and seaports. However, the existing techniques in-and-of-themselves are not sufficient to identify the illicit drugs rapidly and accurately. In the present study, combining nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) spectroscopy and the element (or isotope) ratio approach, we present a novel inspection method that can simultaneously reveal the elemental (or isotopic) composition of the illicit drugs, such as widely abused methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, ketamine and morphine. In the NRF spectroscopy, the nuclei are excited by the induced photon beam, and measurement of the characteristic energies of the emitted γ rays from the distinct energy levels in the excited nuclei provides "fingerprints" of the interested elements in the illicit drugs. The element ratio approach is further used to identify drug elemental composition in principle. Monte Carlo simulations show that four NRF peaks from the nuclei 12 C, 14 N and 16 O can be detected with high significance of 7−24 σ using an induced photon beam flux of 10 11 . The ratio of 14 N / 12 C and/or 16 O / 12 C for illicit drugs inspected are then extracted using the element ratio approach. It is found that the present results of simulations are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations. The feasibility to detect the illicit drugs, inside the 15-mm-thick iron shielding, or surrounded by thin benign materials, is also discussed. It is indicated that, using the state-of-the-art γ -ray source of high intensity and energy-tunability, the proposed method has a great potential for identifying drugs and explosives in a realistic measurement time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by biological nanochannels, a novel cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-regulated artificial nanochannel based on a tripeptide Arg-Thr-Ala (RTA) design is developed. Highly specific binding between the tripeptide and cAMP triggers an obvious conformational transition of a smart polymer chain from a contracted state to a swollen one, which leads to a dynamic modulation of the gating behaviours of the nanochannels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-size β-Ga2O3 single crystals without sub-grain boundaries and cracks were grown by the optimized EFG technology. The thermal volatilization of Ga2O3, polycrystalline growth and cracking were systematically characterized and analyzed from phenomenological and crystallographic points. The proportion of CO2 gas in the growth atmosphere and axial temperature gradient of the thermal field play important roles in suppressing the thermal decomposition and volatilization of a Ga2O3 melt. A higher seeding temperature could effectively inhibit polycrystalline growth. Furthermore, the effects of annealing in an oxygen environment on the optical properties of β-Ga2O3 crystals were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quantity and large-size β-Ga2O3 single crystals were grown by the optimal edge-defined film-fed method. Under the excitation of 241Am α-ray, the scintillation light yields of the as-grown and after-annealed β-Ga2O3 single crystal are estimated to be 4797 and 6788 ph/5.5 MeV-α, respectively. The energy resolutions of the as-grown and after-annealed β-Ga2O3 single crystal are 21.8% and 19.1%, respectively. Annealing in the air can eliminate some color centers and decrease the concentration of free electrons, which can lead to the near-infrared absorption. The light yield and the energy resolution are some slightly worse than that of the commercial Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) scintillator. However, the fast component with the time constant of 7 ns for the as-grown and after-annealed β-Ga2O3 single crystal reaches 25% of the total yield, suggesting that the β-Ga2O3 single crystal grown by the present method is a promising fast scintillator, which could be used in the ultrafast timing resolution detection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detector based on the plastic scintillator film with large-area photonic crystals has been designed and demonstrated for measuring pulsed neutron flux. Compared with the reference detector, the neutron sensitivity and the gamma sensitivity of the detector using the scintillator film with photonic crystals were enhanced by more than 20%, which is attributed to the improved light extraction efficiency and the controllable angular profile of scintillation light by the photonic crystal. The application of the photonic crystals is beneficial to the improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio of the detector in the calibration experiment, thus expanding the lower limit of the measurable neutron flux without sacrificing the ratio of the neutron sensitivity to the gamma sensitivity. This research indicates that photonic crystals play an important role in the fields where scintillation photons need to be extracted and collected as many as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study sought to explore the role of alpha-Enolase 1 (ENO1) in retinoblastoma (RB) which remains uncertain. Methods The expression of ENO1 in RB cell lines was examined by RT-qPCR and western blot. The biological function of ENO1 on cell proliferation in RB was determined in vitro . The predicted target of ENO1 was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay and rescue experiment. The validation of clinical tissue samples was performed by RT-qPCR. Results Elevated ENO1 could promote the proliferation of RB cells. The dual luciferase reporter assay confirmed that ENO1 is the target for miR-22-3p. In rescue experiment, the result also indicated that miR-22-3p inhibits the proliferation of RB cells by negatively regulating the expression of ENO1. These differences were statistically significant ( P <0.05). Conclusion ENO1 functions as an oncogene in RB and inhibiting ENO1 by miR-22-3p suppresses the proliferation of RB cell lines. miR-22-3p/ENO1 pathway may serve as a novel target in RB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, β -Ga 2 O 3 single crystals were grown by the Floating Zone method. At room temperature, the X-ray excited emission spectrum includes ultraviolet and blue emission bands. The scintillation light output is comparable to the commercial BGO scintillator. The scintillation decay times are composed of the dominant ultra-fast component of 0.368 ns and a small amount of slightly slow components of 8.2 and 182 ns. Such fast component is superior to most commercial inorganic scintillators. In contrast to most semiconductor crystals prepared by solution method such as ZnO, β -Ga 2 O 3 single crystals can be grown by traditional melt-growth method. Thus we can easily obtain large bulk crystals and mass production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts Periodic nanostructures have attracted considerable interest and been applied in many fields. However, nanostructures of sufficiently large areas and depths are necessary for the development of practical devices. In this study, large-area high-aspect-ratio periodic nanostructures were fabricated by using a hybrid technology based on X-ray interference lithography, and then the patterns were transferred onto various substrates successfully. The final periodic nanostructures on the substrate attained measurements up to square centimetres with depths greater than 200 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale periodic structures have been utilized in the scintillator field to obtain enhanced light extraction efficiency. Sufficient structure depth is necessary to achieve better extraction efficiency. Recently, a soft X-ray interference lithography (SXIL) has been developed in the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). SXIL can be used to fabricate a high aspect ratio pattern due to the uniform distribution of the beam dose at the photoresist depth. A grating mask with a new photon stop layer was attempted, mainly consisting of Perm alloy, and it was optimized for the SXIL to increase the entire service life. Preliminary results suggest that PMMA structure with an aspect ratio of up to 3 has been successfully manufactured using SXIL techniques. Therefore, this technique has been studied to fabricate the artificial nanostructure on the scintillator in the high efficiency radiation detector area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent commissioning of the HIRFL-CSR has demonstrated its ability to perform direct mass measurement for short-lived nuclides. Projectile fragments produced by the 78Kr ions at 481.88 MeV/u were separated with the new radioactive beam line in Lanzhou (RIBLL2), and injected into and stored in the experimental storage ring (CSRe). By operating the CSRe as an isochronous mass spectrometry, a typical mass resolution around 2.0×10-5 has been achieved. The masses for 63Ge, 65As and 67Se were measured for the first time. The measured masses are compared with theoretical predictions and the location of the proton drip-line for As isotopes is discussed. The implication of the 65As mass in the astrophysical rapid proton capture process has also been addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]