The expansion of university enrollment and the implementation of tuition fees have become focal points of discussion in both current educational practices and theories. While increased university enrollment offers more opportunities for higher education, the high cost of tuition fees has pushed economically disadvantaged students to the brink of discontinuing their studies, prompting widespread concerns about educational equality.

We present three reduced integrable hierarchies of nonlocal integrable NLS type equations from a vector integrable hierarchy associated with a matrix Lie algebra, not being A type. Three similarity transformations are taken to keep the invariance of the transformed zero curvature equations. The key step is to formulate a solution to a reduced stationary zero curvature equation so that the zero curvature formulation works for a reduced case.

In the overall context of national eco-conservation civilization development and considering the hills in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shanxi region, the local forest coverage rate is gradually on the rise, and so is the risk of forest fire. Every year, satellites can monitor and detect hundreds of fire spots on average. In recent years, serious fire took place for several times, leading to loss of life and personal injury. Then the fire-fighting work consumed huge amount of labor and material resources, exerting negative social impacts in many ways. Thus, the analysis of fire climate background in this region and the forecast based on fire weather indexes constitute an important part in the forest fire risk management. Located in the tropical monsoon climate zone, four provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi are similar in terms of climate characteristics. This study tries to analyze the characteristics about fire spots under satellite monitoring, fire climate and fire weather index. The probability distribution analysis of weather index about fire spots in history and key meteorological observation stations as well as the weather index analysis in the early stage of typical fire indicate that the Fine Fuel Moisture Content (FFMC) and the Initial Spread Index (ISI) in the Fire Weather Index (FWI) system is applicable to the fire risk analysis in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shanxi region, which can also effectively indicate the fuel moisture and spread conditions. As regards to the average level in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shanxi, when the FFMC is smaller than 93.5 and the ISI is also smaller than 5.0, there is a low risk of fire; when the FFMC is above 94 and the ISI is larger than 10.0, there is a high risk of fire; and the fire risk will be extremely high if the FFMC is over 96 and the ISI is above 13.0. In the practical fire-fighting management, the fire danger class can be released in reference to the ISI classes and threshold values of key meteorological observation stations under analysis provided by this study.

Previous research has paid little attention to the relationship between corporate governance and brand equity in the tourism industry. This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) on the relationship between brand equity (BE) and corporate profit-ability (CP) with ten control variables including five company characteristics and five macroeconomic variables. Financial data is retrieved from the Taiwan Economics Journal Database (TEJ), covering a total of 196 records from 32 listed companies for 16 years. Results indicate that BE has a significantly positive impact on CP in Taiwanese-listed tourism companies, and that CG moderates the relationship between BE and CP. These findings could help management executives enhance profitability by deepening BE and CG in the tourism industry. Managerial implications are also discussed.

At present paper, we aim to study the long-time behavior of a stochastic semi-linear degenerate parabolic equation on bounded or unbounded domain and driven by a nonlinear noise and defined. Since the theory of pathwise random dynamical systems can not be applied directly to the equation with nonlinear noise, first, we establish the existence of weak pullback mean random attractors for the equation by applying the theory of mean-square random dynamical systems; then, we prove the existence of (pathwise) pullback random attractors for the Wong-Zakai approximate system of the equation. In addition, we establish the upper semicontinuity of pullback random attractors for the Wong-Zakai approximate system of the equation under consideration driven by a linear multiplicative noise.

In order to study the performance of a new type of cement-based grouting material under the coupling effect of freezing-thawing cycle and sulfate attack, experiments were designed and carried out. The damage mechanism of the material under the coupling effect of freezing-thawing and Na2SO4 solution was analyzed by measuring the mass change, relative dynamic elastic modulus, compressive strength loss and microstructure of the new grouting material. With increasing freeze-thaw cycles, mass loss and compres-sive strength loss of the sample in 15% Na2SO4 solution gradually increase, and the relative dynamic elastic modulus gradually decreases. During a 30-cycle freeze-thaw cycle, the mass loss rate, compressive strength loss rate, and relative dynamic elastic modulus of the sample are 4.17%, 24.59%, and 84.3%, respectively, showing good corrosion resistance and frost resistance durability. Microscopic analysis showed that SO42- caused the decomposition of C-S-H gel in the sample and the formation of Gypsum, and the widening of crack width aggravated the internal deterioration, indicating that the material deterioration rate increased under the dual-factor coupling effect.

Few-shot classification is challenging since the goal is to classify unlabeled samples with very few labeled samples provided. It has been shown that cross attention helps generate more discriminative features for few-shot learning. This paper extends the idea and proposes two cross attention modules, namely the cross scaled attention (CSA) and the cross aligned attention (CAA). Specifically, CSA scales different feature maps to make them better matched, and CAA adopts the principal component analysis to further align features from different images. Experiments showed that both CSA and CAA achieve consistent improvements over state-of-the-art methods on four widely used few-shot classification benchmark datasets, miniImageNet, tieredImageNet, CIFAR-FS, and CUB-200-2011, while CSA is slightly faster and CAA achieves higher accuracies.

The biomimetic design of engineering structures is based on biological structures with excellent mechanical properties, which are the result of billions of years of evolution. However, current biomimetic structures, such as ordered lattice materials, are still inferior to many biological materials in terms of structural complexity and mechanical properties. For example, the structure of \textit{Euplectella aspergillum}, a type of deep-sea glass sponge, is an eye-catching source of inspiration for biomimetic design; however, guided by scientific theory, how to engineer structures surpassing the mechanical properties of \textit{E. aspergillum} remains an unsolved problem. The lattice structure of the skeleton of \textit{E. aspergillum} consists of vertically, horizontally, and diagonally oriented struts, which provide superior strength and flexural resistance compared with the conventional square lattice structure. Herein, the structure of \textit{E. aspergillum} was investigated in detail, and by using the theory of elasticity, a lattice structure inspired by the bionic structure was proposed. The mechanical properties of the sponge-inspired lattice structure surpassed the sponge structure under a variety of loading conditions, and the excellent performance of this configuration was verified experimentally. The proposed lattice structure can greatly improve the mechanical properties of engineering structures, and it improves strength without much redundancy of material. This study achieved the first surpassing of the mechanical properties of an existing sponge-mimicking design. This design can be applied to lattice structures, truss systems, and metamaterial cells.

In this paper we establish a topological framework of τ-structures to quantify the evolutionary transitions between two RNA sequence-structure pairs. τ-structures developed here consist of a pair of RNA secondary structures together with a non-crossing partial matching between the two backbones. The loop complex of a τ-structure captures the intersections of loops in both secondary structures. We compute the loop homology of τ-structures. We show that only the zeroth, first and second homology groups are free. In particular, we prove that the rank of the second homology group equals the number γ of certain arc-components in a τ-structure, and the rank of the first homology is given by γ−χ+1, where χ is the Euler characteristic of the loop complex.

This paper uses the complex regression analysis method to establish the customer’s load regression models, which consider economic indicators, temperature and rainfall. Furthermore, the proposed models are used to study the forecasting feasibility of the future energy sales and summer peak load demand. At first, this paper used least-squares techniques to derive regression models for considering economic indicators and temperature of 34 customer energy sales and total energy sales. Besides, the AMI high voltage customer demand data and system generating capacity for 24 hours were adopted to forecast summer peak load. The above-mentioned data analysis tool is used by EViews software to achieve, in order to verify the feasibility of the research framework. The study found that although its forecasting model accuracy is low only when mixed with temperature and high voltage demands. So, when mixed with high voltage demand data and system generating capacity for 24 hours to forecast peak load, the average error is ± 0.87% and in the majority of its energy sales forecasting model of average error is ±3%. This result can provide power company as future reference.

We consider the inverse function $z=g(w)$ of a (normalized) starlike function $w=f(z)$ of order $\alpha$ on the unit disk of the complex plane with $0<\alpha<1.$ Krzy{\. z}, Libera and Z\l otkiewicz obtained sharp estimates of the second and the third coefficients of $g(w)$ in their 1979 paper. Prokhorov and Szynal gave sharp estimates of the fourth coefficient of $g(w)$ as a consequence of the solution to an extremal problem in 1981. We give a straightforward proof of the estimate of the fourth coefficient of $g(w)$ together with explicit forms of the extremal functions.

Using the headphone jack of a mobile phone, the proposed device connects mobile music playback through a customized red laser pointer that is cascaded to batteries and the 3.5-mm stereo plug. The red laser pointer flashes according to the frequency of the music currently playing on the mobile phone. The self-made laser pointer which wavelength is 630–650 nm and maximum output is 5 mw and it will light up when the smart phone’s music starts playing at a music frequency matching the light frequency. The frequency signal of the light received by a solar panel is converted to an electrical analog signal, and the analog current signal is amplified through the energy conversion panel and then output to the direct current motor. The motor shaft does not rotate under a small current, but rather only slightly vibrates according to the magnitude of the currents’ analog frequency. Through gripping the motor shaft with teeth, users can transmit audio to the auditory ossicles (i.e., malleus, incus, and stapes) through the dentary bones. After receiving a music signal, the auditory ossicles enable people with congenital or acquired hearing loss to access external audio.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a typical class of small RNAs that could modulate gene expression in trans at the post-transcriptional level. miRNAs bind to the miRNA binding sites (MBSs) in target mRNAs by sequence complementarity. Alternative splicing (AS) is another commonly occurred process in pre-mRNAs that changes the isoforms of a gene. It is hypothesized that there should be an interaction for gene regulation that involves both AS and miRNA targeting. Studies have verified this hypothesis in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. High-throughput sequencing data suggested that in Arabidopsis a considerably large fraction of MBSs are affected by AS events. The overlapping between MBS and AS exceeds the randomly simulated number. Functional experiments have indicated that the AS events are required for the gene expression changes of miRNA targets. Therefore, AS and MBS are mutually favored. The observed expression changes caused by miRNAs could also be contributed by AS events. In the present perspective article, we propose that the AS analysis should be incorporated in the differential-expression analysis of miRNA studies. When defining a differentially-expressed gene, it should be clarified whether the change in gene expression is caused by AS events or solely by miRNA targeting.

Both in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and severe acute respiratory syndromes (SARS) uncontrolled inflammation could be detected in lung tissue. Whether the similarity mechanism exists is still unknown. PDZ-binding motif (PBM) in SARS-CoV E protein has been demonstrated as virulence factor induce inflammation storm. Study function of PBM in LUAD is significant for mechanism exploration of carcinogenesis mediated by SARS-CoV. To identify gene expression fluctuation induced by PBM, a microarray sequencing data of lung tissue infected by wild type (SARS-CoV-E-wt) and recombinant virus (SARS-CoV-E-mutPBM) was analysis followed by functional enrichment analysis. To understand the role of screened specific genes in LUAD, overall survival and immune correlation were calculated. A total of 12 genes (MAPK1, PRKCA, FGFR4, KDR, PTPRD, BCL2L15, UBD, MAMDC2, LTBP4, PTPRB, LGI3 and ITGA8) might participate in initial and development stage of LUAD through expression variation and mutation. Meanwhile, a total of 12 genes (CARHSP1, EIF4E2, HMGA1, IL1R2, MAGOHB, PVR, ADCY9, ELF5, ESYT3, SCML4, SECL14L4 and THRA) could lead to poorer prognosis via dysregulation. In addition, MAMDC2 and ITGA8 down-regulated by PBM could also alter prognosis. Though the conservative PBM (-D-L-L-V-) could be found at the end of carboxyl terminal in multi E proteins of coronaviruses, the specific function of each one depend on the whole amino acid sequence simultaneously. In conclusion, PBM of SARS-CoV E protein could promote carcinogenesis of LUAD by dysregulating important gene expression profiles followed by influence immune response and overall prognosis. The results in present study also provided reference for the therapy of SARS-CoV-2 in LUAD patients.

Emergence of zoonotic-human pathogens is proven to be a lethal threat to public health, and RNA virus including influenza viruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), plays a pivotal role. As those viruses as airborne microorganisms spread mainly by tiny airborne particles, it is important to de-active those airborne particles before their entry into human bodies. In this study, we investigated the effect of far infrared (FIR) radiation on inhibition of airborne microorganisms. The result confirmed that double stand DNA from airborne microorganisms were stable under mild FIR radiation. However, single strand RNA from them was found to be sensitive to FIR radiation, indicating that RNA virus in airborne particles is instable under FIR radiation. Based on this observation, two models on usage of FIR radiation to prevent RNA virus transmission and cure RNA virus infection were proposed, implying that FIR radiation might be a cheap, convenient, and efficient method in clinic to treat RNA virus.

Endocannbinoids system (ECS) engrossed a considerable interest as potential therapeutic targets in various carcinomas and cancer related conditions alongside with neurodegenerative diseases. Cannabinoids are implemented in several physiological processes such as appetite stimulation, energy balance, pain modulation and the control of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). However, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics interactions could be perceived in drug combinations, so in this short review we tried to shed the light over the potential drug interactions of medicinal cannabis. Hitherto, few data have been provided to the healthcare practitioners about the drug-drug interactions of cannabinoids with other prescription medications. In general, cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, but the bidirectional effects may be expected with concomitant administered agents via affected membrane transporters (glycoprotein p, breast cancer resistance proteins) and metabolizing enzymes (Cytochrome P450 and UDP- glucuronosyltransferases). The caveats should be undertaken to closely monitor the responses of cannabis users with certain drugs to guard their safety, especially for the elderly and people with chronic diseases or kidney and liver conditions.

The present study propose an innovative turn-boring operation method and focuses on finding optimal turn-boring process parameters for Ti-6Al-4V by considering multiple performance characteristics using Taguchi orthogonal array with the grey relational analysis, the effect of machining variables such as, feed rate, depth of cut and cutting speed are optimized with considerations of multiple performance characteristics namely surface roughness, roundness error, material removal rate and power consumption the optimal values were found out from the Grey relational grade. The result of the Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) is shown that the most significant factor is cutting speed, followed by feed rate, radial depth of cut. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to make a comparison between the experimental results. Experimental results have shown that machining performance in the turn-boring process can be improved effectively through this approach.

Cadmium(Cd) is a highly toxic and cumulative environmental pollutant. Siderophores are heavy metal chelators with high tolerance to heavy metals such as Cd. Furthermore, ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) has potential remediation capacity for soils contaminated by heavy metals. Consequently, using ryegrass alongside beneficial soil microorganisms that produce siderophores may be an effective means to remediate soils contaminated with Cd. In this study, Bacillus strains WL1210 and CD303 that were previously isolated from the rhizospheres of Nitraria tangutorum in Wulan and Peganum harmala L in Dachaidan, respectively, both arid sandy environments, were evaluated for heavy metal pollution mitigation. The results indicate that both strains of Bacillus exhibit favorable biological characteristics and stress resistance, and they are both producers of siderophores, which promote the growth of ryegrass under Cd stress.

The effect of current density of electrodeposition on the morphology, hardness, and corrosion resistance of the Ni coatings and Ni-Al2O3 coatings on Q345 steels were investigated. The surface of Ni coatings exhibited the cellular structure, while the surface of Ni-Al2O3 composite coatings showed the finer protrusions structure. The thickness of all coatings increased as the current density of electrodeposition increased from 1.5 A/dm2 to 3.0 A/dm2. After coating, the hardness and corrosion resistance of the Q345 steels were significantly enhanced. Furthermore, for the Ni coatings and Ni-Al2O3 coatings, the highest hardness and best anticorrosion property were obtained at 2.5 A/dm2 of electrodeposition current density. Compared with the Ni coatings, the co-deposition of Al2O3 nanoparticles improved the hardness of Ni-Al2O3 coating due to the second phase strengthen, but reduced the thickness and corrosion resistance due to more defects caused by the coelectrodeposition of the Al2O3 particles.

Arctic sea ice prediction holds significant importance for facilitating Arctic route planning, optimizing fisheries management, and advancing the field of sea ice dynamics research. While various deep learning models have been developed for sea ice prediction, they predominantly operate at the seasonal or sub-seasonal scale, often focusing on localized areas, and few cater to full-region daily scale prediction. This study introduces the use of spatiotemporal sequence data prediction models, namely, the convolutional LSTM (ConvLSTM) and predictive recurrent neural network (PredRNN), for the prediction of sea ice concentration (SIC). Our analysis reveals that, when solely utilizing SIC historical data as the input, the ConvLSTM model outperforms the PredRNN model in SIC prediction. To enhance the model's capacity to capture spatiotemporal relationships between multiple variables, we expanded the range of input data types to form the ConvLSTM-multi and PredRNN-multi models. Experimental findings demonstrate that the ConvLSTM-multi model excels in assimilating the influence of reanalysis data on sea ice within the sea ice edge region, thus exhibiting superior performance in predicting daily Arctic SIC over the subsequent 10 days. Furthermore, sensitivity tests on various model parameters highlight the substantial impact of sea surface temperature and prediction date on the accuracy of daily sea ice prediction. Additionally, meteorological and oceanographic parameters primarily affect the prediction accuracy of the thin ice region at the edge of the sea ice.

Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are transcription factors that regulate genes involved in the biogenesis of cholesterol, fatty acids, and triglycerides. SREBPs are involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We review the mechanisms by which SREBPs regulate lipogenesis, the alterations in these processes associated with liver diseases, and therapeutic strategies to target these pathways.

To conduct a precise impact assessment of marine diesel engines, a 200t floating impact platform was utilized to simulate realistic testing conditions. The testing generated the acceleration time curve and the impact response spectrum for the diesel engine. According to the applicable standards, the spectral velocity was chosen as the evaluation index, and an evaluation of the longitudinal, transverse, and vertical impact environment of the diesel engine was conducted. The shock factor interpolation method was corrected using the confidence interval based on normal distribution, and the interpolated confidence interval of the shock factor was determined. The findings reveal that: The 200t-class floating shock platform is capable of providing a reliable shock environment for diesel engine tests. The shock wave serves as the primary external force during the experiment, and the impact of bubble pulsation can be disregarded when assessing using the floating shock platform. To more accurately describe the experimental shock intensity when presented with dispersed data, the confidence interval can be utilized, and the resulting prediction formula provides a higher level of impact safety. The obtained conclusions can serve as a reference for predicting the shock environment of large shipboard equipment using the shock platform.

Nickel is widely used in industrial processes and plays a crucial role in many applications. However, most of the nickel resource mainly exists as nickel oxide in laterite nickel ore with complex composition, resulting in difficulty in upgrading the nickel content using physical separation methods. In this study, high-grade ferronickel concentrates were obtained through a carbothermal reduction and magnetic separation using laterite nickel ore and anthracite as raw materials. The effects of different types of additives (CaF2, Na2SO4 and H3BO3), carbon ratio (nc/no in metal oxides) and grinding time on the recoveries and grades of ferronickel concentrates were experimentally investigated, along with the microstructure and chemical composition of the products. CaF2 was proved to be the primary active additive in the aggregation and growth of the ferronickel particles, and the improvement of the grade of the product. Under the optimal conditions of CaF2 addition of 12 wt.%, carbon ratio of 1.4, and grinding time of 240 s, high-grade magnetically separable ferronickel concentrate with nickel grade 8.93 wt.% and iron grade 63.96 wt.% was successfully prepared. This work presents a practical method for the highly efficient recovery and utilization of iron and nickel from low-grade laterite nickel ore, contributing to the development of strategies for the sustainable extraction and utilization of nickel resources.

Evaluating of long-term satellite-derived ocean color products using in-situ measurements is essential to ensure data quality and integrity. In this study, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) products were evaluated and analyzed by using long-term OC-CCI in-situ data from 2012 to 2021. The results demonstrate that the root mean square difference of VIIRS Rrs product accuracy in most bands is better than 0.002 (sr-1) when considering its average life span of 12 years. However, the VIIRS Rrs products in shorter wavelength bands (e.g., at 412 nm) had significantly lower accuracy in general and a long-term bias over the recent years. The annual precision of VIIRS Rrs products showed a declining trend especially in coastal or eutrophic waters. This accuracy deterioration of the VIIRS Rrs products suggests a strong need for continuous monitoring of its performance and further efforts on improving the atmospheric correction algorithm to specifically deal with satellite records at high SZAs and OZAs.

In this study, seventeen faceted gem-quality chrysoberyls exhibiting an attractive canary yellow color were investigated by a series of gemological, spectral, and chemical methods. Microscopic observation reveals distinct growth lines and inclusions, including CO2 fluids, carbon, and mineral crystals such as calcite, quartz, sillimanite, and mica, identified by the Raman spectrum. The FTIR spectrum exhibits the 2405 and 2160 cm-1 feature peaks and a 3223 cm-1 peak in all samples, which can be accompanied by the 3112 cm-1 shoulder, 3301, and 3412 and 3432 cm-1 peaks. The UV-Vis spectrum shows a Fe-related peak at 440 nm, along with the 650–660 nm band and the absorption band in the blue zone of the visible light. The chemical results of EDXRF reveal a V-poor, Cr-poor, and Fe-rich feature. The spectral and chemical results could contribute to explaining the origin of the canary yellow color, which originates from the abundant amount of Fe with very little influence from Cr or V.

The current deformation and stable state of slopes with historical shatter signs is a concern for engineering construction. Suspected landslide scarps were discovered at the rear edge of the slope of the Genie in the Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor during a field investigation. In order to qualitatively determine the current status of the surface deformation of this slope, this paper uses high-resolution optical remote sensing, airborne LiDAR and InSAR technologies for comprehensive analysis. The interpretation of high-resolution optical and airborne LiDAR data revealed that the rear edge of the slope exhibits three levels of scarps. However, no deformation was detected with the D-InSAR analysis of ALOS-1 radar images from 2007 to 2008 or with the Stacking-InSAR and SBAS-InSAR processing of Sentinel-1A radar images from 2017 to 2020. A geological model of the slope was established in combination with field investigation stipulating that the slope is composed of steep anti-dip layered dolomite limestone and that the scarps at the rear edge of the slope were caused by historical shallow toppling. Further research is recommended to determine the extent of toppling deformation and evaluate the slope stability under the disturbance of tunnel excavation.

As the largest accretionary orogen in the world, the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) has continuous juvenile crustal growth in the Phanerozoic. The northern margin of the North China Craton(NCC) and its adjacent area is the eastern segment of the CAOB, and is a key area to study the geological evolution of Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). In the Permian, the west of the northern margin of NCC belongs to a post-collision extensional environment, and the east belongs to a subduction stage. But, As a connecting area, the Permian evolution of PAO in the middle of northern margin of NCC has not been systematically studied. In order to fill the blank and understand the temporal and spatial continuous evolution process of PAO, this paper focused on the Permian granitic rocks in the Chifeng area, zircon U-Pb dating and the geochemical analysis of the whole rock main and trace elements were conducted in order to build a granite chronological framework, discuss the genesis and tectonic background of the granite rocks as well as the magma-tectonic evolution history in the Chifeng area. Zircon U-Pb dating results of 8 samples are 269±1 Ma, 268±3 Ma, 260±4 Ma, 260±1 Ma, 260±1 Ma, 255±2 Ma, 254±2 Ma, 256±1Ma, which showed that the Permian granitic rocks had undergone three stages of emplacement: (1) The monzogranite and syenite (294-284 Ma); (2) The monzogranite (269-260Ma) and (3) The monzogranite and syenite (256-254Ma). The Middle Permian magmatism (269-260Ma) was represented by the monzogranite assemblages with different grain sizes. The geochemical characteristics showed that they were high-potassium calc-alkaline-potassium dossonite series of granites formed in compressional environment, indicating there was a collision between the Xing’an-Mongolian Orogenic Belt (XMOB) and the North China Craton (NCC). During the Late Permian-Early Triassic (256-248Ma), the granites in the Chifeng area are dominated by the A-type and I-type granites of high-potassium calc-alkaline series formed under an extensional environments, which constituted typical "bimodal" rock assemblage combined with the coeval basic rocks, suggesting the study area was in an extensional environment where the subducting slab is fragmented during the collision between the XMOB and the NCC. According to emplacement time and occurrence location, the plutons are interpreted to have been generated by the subduction-collision of the Paleo-Asian oceanic crust beneath the NCC. This study provides strong evidence for Permian tectonic evolution and the characterization of the eventual closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Chifeng City at the northern margin of the NCC.

The assessment and prediction of drought risk under future climate change and land use land cover (LULC) scenarios is critically important for drought prevention and mitigation, as it enables a clearer understanding of potential shifts in drought patterns. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate sub-seasonal and seasonal meteorological and hydrological drought hazards across the Yellow River Basin (YRB) under projected future climate conditions and LULC patterns. The BCC-CSM1-1 climate model projections from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP) dataset are utilized to represent future climate for 2025-2060 under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The CA-Markov model is employed to predict future LULC distributions. Meteorological and hydrological drought risks across different YRB zones are evaluated through a copula-based risk assessment approach, based on the joint probability distribution of drought duration and severity. The results indicate that sub-seasonal meteorological and hydrological droughts will likely be the primary concern moving forward. Specifically, the upper YRB (zones A, B, C) exhibits greater vulnerability to sub-seasonal meteorological drought, while the Loess Plateau (zones C, E) shows higher susceptibility to sub-seasonal hydrological drought. Moreover, zone F in the downstream region may experience increased seasonal hydrological drought risk due to projected urban expansion in the middle and lower portions of the YRB.

The condensing heat exchanger is commonly applied in various heat exchange systems. It can efficiently recover moisture and heat from the flue gas that contains water vapor. However, the convective-condensation heat transfer process is so complicated that no mature thermal calculation model is available. This study develops a thermal calculation model for the widely employed tubular condensing heat exchanger in industry. To characterize the degree of the heat and mass transfer, this study introduces two parameters, namely the sensible and latent heat transfer efficiencies of fin. The thermal calculations are conducted for the condensing heat exchangers reported in the literature to verify the proposed model by comparing it with the experimental data. The results show that the absolute error of the calculated sensible and latent heat transfer efficiencies is 0.0365 and 0.0268, respectively. Under the working conditions in this study, a maximum difference of 5.2 K has been acquired between the measured and calculated values of the outlet temperature. The relative error of the condensate water flowrate is mostly within ±5.0% and ±10.0% under the bare-tube and finned-tube conditions, respectively, with a maximum deviation of 0.7 and 1.4 kg h-1. This study provides a general model for designing and optimizing various tubular condensing heat exchangers accurately.

The emergence of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) has enriched the functional pool inherent in canonical amino acids (cAAs). ncAAs are important building blocks in the production of various pharmaceuticals. The biosynthesis of ncAAs has emerged as an alternative to traditional chemical synthesis because of its environmental friendliness and high efficiency. The breakthrough genetic code expansion (GCE) technique developed in recent years has allowed for the incorporation of ncAAs into target proteins, giving them special functions and biological activities. Biosynthesis of ncAAs and their incorporation into target proteins within a single microbe has become an enticing application of such molecules. Based on that, in this study we first review the biosynthesis methods for ncAAs and analyze the difficulties in biosynthesis. We then summarize the GCE methods and analyze their advantages and disadvantages. Further, we review the application progress of ncAAs and anticipate the challenges and future development directions of ncAAs.

Small molecule kinase inhibitors (SMKIs) are one of the heightened concerns in the field of drug research and development. There are seventy-nine (up to July 2023) small molecule kinase inhibitors have been approved by FDA and hundreds kinase inhibitors candidates in clinical trials, which shed light on the treatment of some major diseases. As an important strategy of drug design, computer-aided drug design (CADD) plays an indispensable role in the discovery of SMKIs. CADD methods, such as docking, molecular dynamic, pharmacophore have been applied to the design and optimization of small molecule kinase inhibitors. In the review, we provide an overview of recent advances in CADD and SMKIs; and the application of CADD for discovery of SMKIs.

Wastes from social economic activities had great impact on water quality thereby limiting water usability for domestic purposes. Sewages discharge from people activities, usually consist of undesirable concentrations of soluble chemicals that infiltrate into the surrounding surface and underground water, and then constitute health risk to the populace. In order to investigate the concentration characteristics and health risk for the local residents in Nandong Underground River Watershed (NURW), eleven common heavy metals in the water body analysis were conducted. Health risk assessment (HRA) was taken to analyze eleven heavy metals of 84 water samples from surface and underground waters in NURW: 36 samples underground water and 48 samples surface water. Our results showed that the heavy metals concentration order is that of Fe > Al > Mn > Zn > As > Cd > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cu > Hg. Correlation analysis indicates that these eleven metal elements have certain similarity on material source and migration transformation. The health risks for local residents exposed to metal elements in the water of NURW mainly from carcinogenic risk (10−6～10−4 a−1) through drinking way, and the health risk of heavy metals exposed to children through drinking way was much higher than adults. The maximum exposing health risks of Cr in both underground and surface water were higher than the recommendation standard (5.0×10-5 a-1) from ICRP, and all the values over the standard (5.0×10-6 a-1) recommended by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Dutch Ministry of Construction and Environment and the British Royal Society. The results of health risk assessment shows that Cr in the water of NURW was the mainly source of carcinogenic risk for the local residents, following by Cd and As. Consequently, it is necessary to control the three carcinogenic metals when the water was used as drinking water source.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been a research hot topic in the passed decades due to their unique and fascinating properties. Among them, mechanical properties plays an important role for their application. However, there lacks an effective tool for high-throughput calculating, analysing and visualizing the mechanical properties of 2D materials. In this work, we present, mech2d package, a highly automated toolkit for calculating and analysing second-order elastic constants (SOECs) tensor and relevant properties of 2D materials with considering their symmetry. In the mech2d, the SOECs can be fitted by both strain-energy and stress-strain approach, where the energy or strain can be calculated by first-principles engine, such as VASP. As a key feature, the mech2d package can automatically submit and collect the tasks from local or remote machine with robust fault-tolerant ability, make it suitable for high-throughput calculation. The present code has been validated by several common 2D materials, including graphene, black phosphorene, GeSe2 and so on.

The shortwave infrared Ge-Si photodetector will become the core device of the LiDAR optical receiver. In order to meet the urgent demand for photodetectors in the LiDAR field, we have designed and produced a 32×32 pixel Ge-Si photodetector array proposed and developed to meet the performance requirements of the detector array. A dark current detection system for fast scanning and detecting large-scale Ge-Si detector arrays is proposed and developed to achieve rapid detection of dark current in each pixel of the detector. The system was used to validate the main performance indicators of the detector array we designed, achieving rapid discrimination of array performance and rapid localization of damaged pixels. The scanning test results show that the average dark current of the detector array chip we designed is at the nano ampere level, and the proportion of bad points is less than 1%. The consistency of the array chip is high, which can meet the requirements of light detection at the receiving end of the LiDAR. This work laid the foundation for our subsequent development of a LiDAR prototype system.

Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) is acknowledged as a useful way to transmit data in ocean for short distance application. Carrying UWOC device on mobile platform is quite practical in ocean engineering, which is helpful to exploit its advantages. In application, such platform needs camera to observe surroundings and guide its action. Since the majority of ocean is always dark, active illumination is necessary to imaging. Once UWOC worked in such environment, its performance is affected by the illumination light noise. In this paper, we study the influence of underwater LED illumination on bidirectional UWOC with Monte Carlo method. We simulate forward noise from the LED illumination to the opposite receiver in the cooperative terminal, and the backscattering noise on the adjacent receiver in the same terminal. The results show that the forward noise is reduced with the increase of absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, transmitting distance, and separated distance between receiver and the optical axis of LED. But it becomes greater with FOV of receiver. The backscattering noise is reduced with the increase of absorption coefficient and separated distance between receiver and LED. But it becomes greater with FOV and scattering coefficient, while it has little relation with transmitting distance. In order to reduce such two kind noises, besides inserting optical filter in the receivers and narrow their field, the optical axis of LED light should keep away from the receivers. The results in this paper is helpful for UWOC application.

Lyme disease (LD) is a tick-transmitted infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species which includes B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. garinii. The majority of patients with early LD can be cured by standard treatment, yet some still suffer from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). The presence of Borrelia persisters has been proposed as a contributing factor, which cannnot be completely killed by the currently used antibiotics for Lyme disease. Finding new pharmaceuticals targeting Borrelia persisters is crucial in developing more effective treatment. Here, we first confirmed the existence of persisters in cultures of B. garinii and B. afzelii and then conducted high-throughput screening of a custom drug library against persister-rich stationary-phase cultures of B. garinii and B. afzelii. Among 2427 compounds screened, hypocrellin A (HA), anthracycline class of drugs, and topical antibiotics along with some other natural compounds were identified to have strong potential in killing persisters of B. garinii and B. afzelii. HA was the most active anti-Borrelia compound, capable of eradicating stationary-phase Borrelia persisters, in particular when combined with doxycycline and/or ceftriaxone. Liposoluble antioxidant vitamin E was found to antagonize the activity of HA, indicating HA’s target is the cell membrane where HA-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation took place in the presence of light. HA was found to have distinct bactericidal activity against Borrelia species but had poor or no activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Identification of the above-mentioned drug candidates may help to develop more effective therapies for LD.

Nucleosome positioning plays an important role in crucial biological processes like replication, transcription, and gene regulation. It has been widely used to predict the genome’s function and chromatin organisation. So far, the studies of patterns in nucleosome positioning have been limited to transcription start sites, CTCFs binding sites, and some promoter and loci regions. The genome-wide organisational pattern remains unknown. We have developed a theoretical model to coarse-grain nucleosome positioning data in order to obtain patterns in their distribution. Using hierarchical clustering on the auto-correlation function of this coarse-grained nucleosome positioning data, a genome-wide clustering is obtained for Candida albicans. The clustering shows the existence beyond hetero- and eu-chromatin inside the chromosomes.

We propose a new approach of extending the laser filament plasma channel. By adding a circular aperture quartz plate before the focusing lens, the extension of the plasma channel is doubled. The effects of different diameters, thicknesses of the circular aperture quartz plate and different pulse energies on the length of the plasma channel were investigated. The experimental results show that the thickness of the quartz plate and the depth of the hole have little effects on the plasma channel of the filament, and the diameter of the hole in the center of the quartz plate has a significant effect on the length of the optical filament. The moving-focus model is used to explain the extension of the optical filament.

Background Critical patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia ( COVID-19) have worse outcome and high mortality. However, the histopathology of critical patient with COVID-19 remains undisclosed. Methods We performed the whole lung biopsy, and described the pathological changes of critical COVID-19 patient done with transplant by HE staining, immunohistochemistry and special staining observed under the microscopy. Findings The whole lungs displayed diffuse congestive appearance and partly haemorrhagic necrosis on gross examination. The haemorrhagic necrosis was prominently present in outer edge of the right lower lung. The cut surfaces of the lung displayed severe congestive and haemorrhagic changes. The main pathological changes showed massive pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, and partly hyaline degeneration, variable degrees of hemorrhagic pulmonary infarction. Small vessels hyperplasia, vessel wall thickening, lumen stenosis, occlusion and microthrombosis formation. Focal monocytes, lymphocytes and plasma cells infiltrating into pulmonary interstitium. Bronchiolitis and alveolitis with proliferation, atrophy, desquamation and squamous metaplasia of epithelial cells. Atrophy, vacuolar degeneration, proliferation, desquamation and squamous metaplasia in alveolar epithelial cells. Alveolar cavity congestion was prominent, and contained mucus, edema fluid, desquamated epithelial cells, and inflammatory cells. We also found several multinucleate giant cells and intracytoplasmic viral inclusion bodies. Special stains including Masson stain, sirius red staining, reticular fibers staining indicated massive pulmonary interstitial fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry showed positive for immunity cells including CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD79a, CD5, CD38 and CD68. Interpretation We demonstrate the pathological findings of critical patient with COVID-19, which might provide a deep insight of the pathogenesis and severity of this disease.

The aspirated hypersonic air-breathing propulsion system requires a large amount of power generation, but its special structure makes it impossible to adopt common power generation methods. The high-temperature gaseous hydrocarbon fuel thermal power generation (TPG) system was developed to solve the power generation problem for hypersonic air-breathing propulsion system. But off-design operating conditions of the hypersonic propulsion system results in a more complex process for both propulsion system and the TPG system. To better analyzing the dynamic thermos-physical characteristics of hypersonic airbreathing propulsion system considering thermal-mechanical coupling process among cooling/TPG system, a dynamic analytical model was developed, and the dynamic thermos-physical characteristics of TPG system under different off-design working conditions were conducted. It can be concluded from the analytical results that the dynamic process of thermos-physical characteristics shows a complex trend under the flight Mach number and fuel equivalence ratio off-design working conditions. Such complexity of dynamic characteristics brings difficulties in fuel supply for the propulsion system.

Using the techniques of computer-aided drug design, the docking of Survivin and known active small molecules was simulated and then the key amino acid residue fragment of the target protein was analyzed. It led to the discovery of active groups capable of binding to the critical sites. Through the use of the natural product, Oleanolic Acid, as a lead compound, the introduction of the active groups onto the A-ring, and the modification of the carboxyl group at the C-28 position using esterification or amidation, twenty new Oleanolic acid derivatives had been designed and synthesized.A549 and SGC-7901 cells were used to screen the antitumor activity in vitro through the standard MTT method. The compounds, II₃, III₅ and Ⅳ_4, exhibited more potent cytotoxicity than positive drugs.

Information encryption and anti-counterfeiting play an important role in many aspects of daily life, such as in minimizing economic losses, protecting secure communication and public security, and so on. Owing to the high information capacity and ease of operation, luminescent materials for advanced information encryption and anti-counterfeiting are essential to meet the increasing demand on encryption security. Herein, we summarize two emerging luminescent materials for information encryption and anti-counterfeiting, the AIE materials and room-temperature phosphorescent materials. At last, we discuss the opportunities and anticipations of these two information encryption and anti-counterfeiting materials.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is a group of orofacial pain conditions which is the most common non-dental pain complaint in the maxillofacial region. Due to the complexity of the etiology and often cyclical nature of the disease, the diagnosis and management of TMD remain a challenge where consensus is still lacking in many aspects. While clinical examination is considered the most important process in the diagnosis of TMD, imaging may serve as a valuable adjunct in selected cases. Depending on the type of TMD, many treatment modalities have been proposed, ranging from conservative options to open surgical procedures. In this review, the authors discuss the present thinking in the etiology and classification of TMD, followed by the diagnostic approach and the current trend and controversies in management.

Background: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in the adaptive immune response to pathogens due to its extraordinary polymorphism. However, the spatial patterns of MHC variation in the striped hamster remain unclear, particularly regarding the relative contribution of balancing selection in shaping MHC population and diversity compared to neutral forces. Methods: In this study, we investigated the immunogenic variation of the striped hamster in four wild populations in Inner Mongolia, which experience heterogeneous parasitic stress. Our goal was to identify local adaptation by comparing the genetic structure at MHC with that at seven microsatellite loci, taking into account neutral processes. Results: We observed significant variation in parasite pressure among sites, with parasite burden showing a correlation with temperature and precipitation. Molecular analysis revealed a similar co-structure between MHC and microsatellite loci. We observed lower genetic differentiation at MHC loci compared to microsatellite loci, and no correlation was found between the two. Conclusions: Overall, these results suggest a complex interplay between neutral evolutionary forces and balancing selection in shaping the spatial patterns of MHC variation. Local adaptation was not detected at a small scale but may be applicable at a larger scale.

Novel coronavirus infection is a recent infective agent that causes severe potentially fatal pneumonia. The clinical presentation includes asymptomatic infection, severe pneumonia, and acute respiratory failure. Data pertaining to the clinical presentation of solid organ transplant recipients are scarce. Two cases of novel coronavirus infection in two recipients of renal transplant with variable clinical presentations and outcomes are reported. The first patient presented with progressive respiratory symptoms, acute renal failure, and passed away, whereas the second one, although presented with respiratory tract symptoms and hypoxemia remained stable and exhibited an excellent clinical recovery despite recent reception of thymoglobulin induction. This paper reports rare cases of novel coronavirus infection in renal transplant recipients. For an enhanced insight of the novel coronavirus infection and acute kidney injury on the clinical presentation, severity, and outcome in solid organ transplant recipients, further investigations are required.

Schistosoma infection in snails can be monitored by microscopy or indirectly by sentinel mice. As both these approaches sometimes miss infections, more sensitive tests are needed, particularly in low-level transmission settings. In this study, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique, designed to detect a specific 28S ribosomal S. japonicum gene with high sensitivity, was compared to microscopy using snail samples from 51 areas endemic for schistosomiasis in five Chinese provinces. The results were compared with those by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) adding DNA sequencing as a reference when needed. The testing of pooled snail samples showed that a dilution factor of 1/50, i.e., one infected snail plus 49 non-infected ones, would still result in a positive reaction after the recommended number of amplification cycles. Testing a total of 232 pooled samples, emanating from 4,006 snail specimens, with the LAMP assay showed a 6.5% rate of infection, while traditional microscopy found only 0.04% positive samples in the same materials. Parallel PCR analysis confirmed the diagnostic accuracy of the LAMP assay, with DNA sequencing even giving LAMP a slight lead. Microscopy and the LAMP test were carried out at local schistosomiasis-control stations demonstrating that the potential of the latter assay to serve as a point-of-care (POC) test with results available within 60–90 minutes, while the more complicated PCR test had to be carried out at the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD) in Shanghai, China. In conclusion, LAMP was found to be clearly superior to microscopy and as good as, or better, than PCR. Application of LAMP testing would be useful for surveillance and risk prediction as it requires less time than other techniques and can be used under field conditions, which improves and accelerates schistosomiasis control.

Solid-state transformer (SST) is a promising technology for smart grids due to its flexible power control (better reliability) and high efficacy (by decreasing losses) compared with traditional transformers. The SST is designed in tandem with three stages, i.e., the input, isolation, and output stages. As three converter stages are used to design the SST to make a more reliable device in practice, it is highly prone to instabilities. Moreover, the key objective of SST design is to implement a modern power distribution system to make it more intelligent and reliable. The stability issue can be even more complicated by the presence of distributed energy resources in the distribution system. Thus, the stability of SST must be measured prior to /during the design, and to determine, a state-space model is used, which is developed in this paper. Each stage of SST is modeled with its controller, and the system's stability is measured through the controllability and observability test. Further, the conversion from state-space to transfer function model is done, and the stability of SST is shown using frequency and time-domain diagrams. With these, the different plots, namely, the Bode plot, Nyquist plot, Nichols chart, Root locus, pole-zero plot, and Eigen plot, are used to ascertain the relative and absolute stability. Finally, the SST Simulink model is tested and validated through hardwate-in-the-loop simulation, i.e., OPALRT, to show its effectiveness and applicability.

The investigation of the spatiotemporal propagation characteristics of the "meteorological-agricultural-hydrological" drought system, under diverse climatic conditions, is crucial for the development of a robust drought warning system and the effective implementation of proactive drought prevention and resilience strategies. To achieve this, the current study utilizes the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate key components of the watershed water cycle, such as evaporation, surface water, soil water, and groundwater. Specifically, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), the Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI), and the Nonlinear Joint Hydrological Drought Index (NJHDI) are employed to characterize meteorological drought, agricultural drought, and hydrological drought, respectively. By analyzing the correlation between these types of drought, the propagation characteristics of the "meteorological-agricultural-hydrological" drought system are elucidated using the rigorous strongest correlation coefficient method. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is chosen as the case study for this research. Results showed that (1) The propagation time from meteorological to agricultural drought exhibited distinct seasonal characteristics, with durations of 5-6 months in spring, 2-3 months in summer, 3-5 months in autumn, and 6-8 months in winter. Compared to 1961-1990, the propagation time increased in spring and summer but decreased in autumn and winter during 1991-2010 for most YRB regions. (2) The agricultural to hydrological drought propagation showed no clear seasonal differences but increased over time. Specifically, zone C (arid/semi-arid with moderate temperatures) had shorter propagation time of 1-5 months, while zones B (transitional plateau to mid-latitude) and E (semi-arid/semi-humid temperate continental climate) experienced longer propagation time of 7-12 months. (3) Despite the extended timescales, agricultural-hydrological drought correlation was weaker than meteorological-agricultural linkage. This is because meteorological deficits directly reduce soil moisture, rapidly inducing agricultural drought. However, groundwater sustaining baseflow during agricultural drought delays streamflow deficits, prolonging the agricultural-hydrological propagation time.

Solar heating technology is a promising solution to promote China to achieve the “3060 double carbon” target as soon as possible. And seasonal thermal storage (STS) can effectively solve the mismatch problem of solar heating systems between the supply and demand of thermal energy. Due to the instability of solar radiation resources and heat demand, it is necessary to analyze the dynamic response characteristics of the system. Yet, related studies are still scarce. In this study, a solar heating system with a solar tower receiver and STS was introduced in north China. The dynamic performance of the system is analyzed with a dynamic simulated method in a typical day or typical operation modes, and the switch mechanism between multiple operation modes is also revealed. The impact of different heating strategies on system performance was analyzed. Results showed that the solar fraction of the system reached 89.4% in the third year, which was 3.6% higher than the first year. The quality-quantity heating operation strategies can be effective ways to improve the discharge efficiency of STS and the system performance without any heat pump. The electricity consumption of the pump on the heating side could be significantly reduced by 44.6% compared with the quality control.

Soil aggregates, as the basic component of soil, make great contributions to the stability of soil structure and soil carbon (C) sequestration. Recently, grassland is experiencing continuous grazing, which greatly affects soil aggregation and soil C storage. However, how soil aggregates and soil C in different grassland respond to grazing remain unclear. In this study, three national fenced grassland monitoring field stations which represented mountain meadow (MM), temperate steppe (TS), temperate steppe desert (TSD) were selected, soil samples at 0–10 cm depth of inside and outside the fence were collected to explore the effect of grazing and grassland type on composition, stability and nutrients of soil aggregates. The results showed that the bulk soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available nitrogen (AN) and available phosphorus (AP) varied greatly among the three grassland types, with the highest values in MM. Soil aggregates composition showed significantly response to both grassland type and grazing, especially the proportion of soil aggregates &gt;2 mm, which significantly decreased 51.68% on average in grazing plots compared with fenced plots, whereas sharply decreased in MM and TSD. A significant decrease (on average 25.08%) of the mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates under grazing was detected across all grassland types. The effect of grazing on nutrients in macroaggregates (&gt;0.25 mm) was greater than that in microaggregates (&lt;0.25 mm). Aggregate-associated SOC concentration decreased under grazing in MM and TSD, however, SOC density showed different response to grazing across all grassland types, with minor effect on MM, decreasing SOC density in TS and increasing on TSD, respectively. The magnitude of grazing effect size on aggregate-associated SOC varied in different soil particle size, with greater response in aggregates &gt; 2 mm and the biggest value in TDS. In addition, correlation analysis showed that MWD of soil aggregates had significant negative correlation with soil bulk density, but significant positive correlation with SOC, TN and TP concentration. Results of RDA showed that BD, soil nutrients were the main influence factors of the composition and stability of aggregates. Overall, grazing had significant influence on soil aggregation, stability and SOC, played a crucial role in grassland soil stability and the accumulation of SOC.

Establishment of mixed-forests has gained increasing attention as a way to optimize forest production, to improve ecological benefits and as a safety net for impacts of future climate uncertainties. However, practical knowledge about which species and what proportion of them should be mixed is still lacking. Thus, this study was conducted with the aim of identify suitable species for mixture with Acacia cincinnata. The mixture tested in the present study was A. cincinnata + Eucalyptus robusta (6:4), A. cincinnata + Acacia mangium (3:1) and monospecifc plantation of A. cincinnata established in 2014. After 7 years of growth, we analyzed the effects of species mixture on growth of tree species, understory vegetation and soil physico-chemical properties as well as bacterial community structure and diversity. The results showed that species mixture had no significant effect on growth characteristics, such as diameter and singletree volume of A. cincinnata. However, mixed-species planting increased the total stocking volume compered to monospecific plantation of A. cincinnata. Furthermore, stand mixture significantly increased species diversity, biomass and nutrient stocks in the understory vegetation. The soil of mixed stand of A. cincinnata and A. mangium had the highest C and N contents, whereas the soil of pure A. cincinnata stand had the highest P content. The diversity of soil bacterial community were the highest in the mixed stand of A. cincinnata and E- robusta, followed by pure A. cincinnata stand and A. cincinnata + A. mangium stand. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria was higher in soils of mixed stands. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Firmicutes was high in the soil of A. cincinnata + A. mangium while the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was high in A. cincinnata + E. robusta stand. As a whole, the study demonstrated that establishing mixed-species plantation enhance the diversity and composition of understory vegetation, soil physico-chemical and soils bacterial community; thereby increasing biodiversity, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration in the biomass and soil. From the viewpoints of forest productivity and ecological benefits, it is advisable to establish a mixed plantation of A. cincinnata and A- mangium in southern China. As a whole, our work revealed that the sustainability of mixed-species plantation relies on the interactions between soil attributes, vegetation, and bacterial community.

Lithium-ion batteries have attracted enormous interests recently as promising power sources. However, the safety issue associated with the employment of highly flammable liquid electrolyte impedes the further development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Recently, researchers reported the use of electrospun core-shell fiber as the battery separator consisting of polymer layer as protective shell and flame retardants loaded inside as core. In case of a typical battery shorting, the protective polymer shell melts during thermal-runaway and the flame retardants inside would be released to suppress the combustion of the electrolyte. Due to the use of a single precursor solution for electrospinning containing both polymer and flame retardants, the weight ratio of flame retardants is limited and dependent. Herein, we developed a dual-nozzle, coaxial electrospinning approach to fabricate the core-shell nanofiber with a greatly enhanced flame retardants weight percentage in the final fibers. The weight ratio of flame retardants of triphenyl phosphate in the final composite reaches over 60 wt.%. The LiFePO4-based cell using this composite nanofiber as battery separator exhibits excellent flame-retardant property without compromising the cycling stability or rate performances. In addition, this functional nanofiber can also be coated onto commercial separators instead of being used directly as separators.

The combination of new-generation information technology and manufacturing technology has resulted in major and profound impact on future development paradigm of manufacturing. It is challenging for existing methods to conduct a multidimensional trend exploration related to machine tool domain, which is the basis of virtually everything in manufacturing. In this paper, we proposed an integrating approach framework combined topic models, bibliometric, trend analysis and patent analysis to mine insightful information about future development from multi-source data related to machine tool, such as papers, grants, patents and news. Specifically, papers and grants provided two different perspectives to explore the current focuses and future trends in machine tool research. Furthermore, the future technology development of machine tool was investigated through patents analysis. Finally, news related to machine tool industry in recent years was analyzed to analyze future machine tool business mode. The integration of the above various analytical methods and the multi-dimensional mining of literatures enabled the analysis of the future development of machine tool domain systematically from multi-perspectives which include research, technology development and industry. The conclusions obtained in this paper is beneficial to different communities of machine tool in terms of determining the research directions for researchers, identifying industry opportunities for corporations and developing reasonable industry policy for policy makers.

In this work, a tailored extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm to enhance the overall robustness of gas analyzer based on the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) method is presented. The ELM model is tailored through activation function selection, input weight and bias searching, and cross validation method to address the analyzer robustness issues for industrial process analysis field application. The two particular issues are the inaccurate gas concentration measurement caused by the process gas background components variation, and the inaccurate spectra shift calculation caused by spectral interference. By using our algorithm, the concentration error is reduced by one order of magnitude over a much larger stream pressure and component range compared with that obtained by classical least square (CLS) fitting methods based on reference curves. Additionally, it is shown that with our algorithm, the wavelength shift accuracy is improved to less than 1 count over 1000 counts spectra length. In order to test the viability of our algorithm, a trace ethylene (C₂H₄) TDLAS analyzer with coexisting methane was implemented, and its experimental measurements support analyzing robustness enhancement effect.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a crop plant with high economic value, but the epigenetic regulation of its growth and development has only rarely been studied. The peanut histone deacetylase 1 gene (AhHDA1) has been isolated and is known to be ABA- and drought-responsive. In this paper, we investigate the role of AhHDA1 in more detail, focussing on the effect of altered AhHDA1 expression in hairy roots at both the phenotypic and transcriptional levels. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of A. hypogaea hairy roots was used to analyse how overexpression or RNA interference of AhHDA1 affects this tissue. In both types of transgenic hairy root, RNA sequencing was adopted to identify genes that were differentially expressed, and these genes were assigned to specific metabolic pathways. AhHDA1-overexpressing hairy roots were growth-retarded after 20 d in vitro cultivation, and superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide accumulated to a greater extent than in control or RNAi groups. Overexpression of AhHDA1 is likely to accelerate flux through various secondary synthetic metabolic pathways in hairy roots, as well as reduce photosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation. Genes encoding the critical enzymes caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase (Araip.XGB85) and caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (Araip.Z3XZX) in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, chalcone synthase (Araip.B8TJ0) and polyketide reductase (Araip.MKZ27) in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, and hydroxyisoflavanone synthase (Araip.0P3RJ) and isoflavone 2'-hydroxylase (Araip.S5EJ7) in the isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathway were significantly upregulated by AhHDA1 overexpression, while their expression in AhHDA1-RNAi and control hairy roots remained at a lower level or was unchanged. Our results suggest that alteration of secondary metabolism activities is related to overexpression of AhHDA1, which is mainly reflected in phenylpropanoid, flavonoid and flavonoid biosynthesis. Future studies will focus on the function of AhHDA1 interacting proteins and their action on cell growth and stress responses.

BACKGROUND Studies demonstrate that T cells secrete interleukin and other cytokines to promote the growth and activation of B cells, and B lymphocytes release antibodies that attach to the PLA2R and THSD7A surface antigens on podocytes to create immunological complexes that are deposited beneath the glomerular epithelium, which damage the filtration barrier and trigger proteinuria.The combination regimen of Calcineurin inhibitors（CNIs）and rituximab(RTX) could simultaneously inhibit the proliferation of T and B lymphocytes and reduced the production of immune complexes.This kind of therapeutic method for idiopathic membranous nephropathy may achieve better clinical results and less complications. METHODS Fifty-eight patients who were diagnosed as idiopathic membranous nephropathy（IMN）through a biopsy suffering from nephrotic syndrome (NS) were recruited, and were divided into RTX treatment group(RTX group), CNIs combined with RTX treatment group(CNIs+RTX group) and CNIs combined with glucocorticoids(GC) treatment group(CNIs+CG group) according to their treatment background. All patients in 3 groups were followed up for at least 12 months. Clinical composite remission(including complete or partial remission) at 12 months was the main result; safety and the incidence of adverse events were the secondary outcomes. RESULTS The PLA2R antibody level of RTX+CNIs group at the baseline much higher than RTX and CNIs+GC groups (240.30(84.56,386.99)RU/ml vs. 44.94(11.48,143.94)RU/ml, 7.72(2.00,102.68) RU/ml, respectively, p=0.006). The PLA2R antibody concentrations among the three groups become comparable at the end of 3 months(36.80(2.10,88.05) RU/ml vs.14.32(2.00,47.98)RU/ml, 2.60(2.00,24.50) RU/ml, respectively, p>0.05). At 12 months, all patients in the CNIs+GC group achieved immune remission, and the PLA2R-ab concentration was less than 14RU/ml. At 3 months, 33of 58 patients(56.90%) had a composite remission(complete or partial remission), including 4 of 14 patients (27.85%) in the RTX group, 11 of 17 patients(64.71%) in the CNIs+RTX group and 18 of 27 patients (66.67%) in the CNIs+GC group (p=0.048). At 12 months, 51 of 58 patients(87.93%) had a composite remission, including 12 of 14 patients (85.71%) in the RTX group, 15 of 17 patients(88.24%) in the CNIs+RTX group and 24 of 27 patients (88.89%) in the CNIs+GC group (p=0.957). During the 12-month study, 7 patients did not response for the treatment. 1 patient relapsed during the 12-month treatment with a re-elevation of antibodies. Adverse events occurred in 18(31.03%)patients in the whole study, including 3 patients(5.17%) in the RTX group, 2 patients(3.45%) in the CNIs+RTX and 13patients(22.41%) in the CNIs+GC group(p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The combination of CNIs and RTX can effectively alleviate idiopathic membranous nephropathy with nephrotic syndrome in the first 3 months，as well as the combination of CNIs and GC, and the efficacy of both treatment methods for IMN was superior to that of RTX alone at the first 3 months. Furthermore, the RTX+CNIs group had less side effects compared with GC+CNIs group. So CNIs combined with RTX could be recommended as a superior therapeutic method for IMN treatment to shorten remission durion with less complications.

To investigate the variation patterns of spectral characteristics of main branches in fruit trees due to uneven distribution of growth, pruning, and fruit quality, as well as to determine the optimal fruit vi-bration harvesting, a vibration differential model of tree branches was constructed using the concen-trated mass method. A three-dimensional model of the fruit tree was built using finite element software. The spectral characteristics of each branch were obtained using the linear sweep frequency method. The method of changing the mass of each branch was employed to simulate the variation in branch mass. The frequency of occurrence, mean acceleration, and coefficient of variation of the inherent frequencies were used as evaluation indicators. The results revealed that when the vibration frequency of the fruit tree was at the peak frequency in the tree trunk spectrum, the frequency of occurrence and mean accel-eration were optimal. And the coefficient of variation of branch acceleration was less than 1, indicating a moderate dispersion. Additionally, reducing the branch mass resulted in an increase in the peak fre-quency of the tree trunk spectrum. Therefore, the growth, pruning, and uneven distribution of the branches in fruit trees can alter the spectral characteristics. When harvesting fruit by vibration, selecting the peak frequency in the trunk vibration spectrum as the excitation force frequency yields the best fruit detachment.

Trichoderma spp. are widely used in plant disease control as biocontrol agents. Inducing plant disease resistance is an important biocontrol mechanism of Trichoderma. It is of great significance to explore the factors involved in the surface recognition and interaction of Trichoderma with plants. Hydrophobin is a small molecular protein rich in cysteine in higher filamentous fungi and has been found to participate in the morphogenesis and interaction of fungi with other organisms. In this study, the type II hydrophobic protein-coding gene Thfb6 from T. harzianum TH33 was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified recombinant protein Thfb6 induced a hypersensitive response in tobacco leaves, a burst of reactive oxygen species, and an accumulation of callose, phenolic substances, and lignin in tobacco, indicating that Thfb6 can induce an early defense reaction in tobacco. Thfb6 also enhanced the systemic resistance of tobacco against tobacco mosaic virus. The rate of lesion number reduction by treatment with Thfb6 could be up to 36.02%. Thfb6 increased the activity of tobacco defense-related enzymes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase, which were all more than three times the control after 3–5 days post treatment of Thfb6. The transcription of resistance-related genes, including the PAL gene, non-expresser of pathogenesis-related gene1 (NPR1), and basic pathogenesis-related gene 1 (PR1-b), were upregulated after Thfb6 treatment. The relative expression levels of the PAL and NPR1 genes were highest on the third and fourth days after Thfb6 treatment, at 5.5 times and 8.3 times that of the control, respectively. The relative expression level of PR1 on the sixth day after Thfb6 treatment was 5.3 times that of the control. These results indicate that the improvement of defense-related enzyme activity and the induced expression of disease-resistance-related genes were the main mechanisms by which Thfb6 induced systemic resistance in tobacco.

In this study, we had investigated the use of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) as a novel pretreatment method for the extraction of sodium alginate (SA) from Laminaria japonica. Our results demonstrated that under optimal condition of 100 MPa HPH pressure, 4 cycles, pH 6.0, and 0.5% ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid tetrasodium salt (EDTA) concentration (w/v) for 3.0 hours, the extraction yield of HPH reached 34%, which was higher than that achieved by previous methods such as complex enzyme hydrolysis (CE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), and complex enzyme-ultrasonic combined method (CE-UC). To further characterize the extracted SA, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using SEM, FTIR, MRS, NMR, XRD, TGA, and T-AOC assay. Our findings revealed the following: 1) HPH treatment significantly disrupted the structure of L. japonica cells and reduced their crystallinity to 76.27%, the lowest among all pretreatment samples; 2) the extracted SA had a greater tendency to form elastic gels; and 3) the antioxidant activity of HPH-extracted SA reached 0.02942 mgVceq∙mg-1, which was the highest among all tested methods. Based on these results, we concluded that HPH extraction not only increased the yield of SA but also enhanced its antioxidant activity.

A novel fluorescent probe (C460@Tb-MOFs) was designed and synthesized through encapsulating the fluorescent dye 7-diethylamino-4-methyl coumarin into terbium-based metal-organic framework by a simple ultrasonic impregnation method. It is impressive that this dye-modified metal-organic framework can specifically detect styrene and temperature upon luminescence quenching. The sensing platform of this material exhibit great selectivity, fast response and good cyclability toward styrene detection. It is worth mentioning that the sensing process undergoes a distinct color change from blue to colourless, providing conditions for accurate visual detection of styrene liquid and gas. The significant fluorescence quenching mechanism of styrene toward C460@Tb-MOFs is explored in detail. Moreover, the dye-modified metal-organic framework can also achieve temperature sensing from 298 to 498 K with high relative sensitivity at 498 K. The preparation of functionalized MOFs composites by fluorescent dyes provides an effective strategy for the construction of sensors for multifunctional applications.

Macrobrachium rosenbergii is a valuable freshwater prawn in Asian aquaculture. In recent years, a new symptom that was generally called as ‘white head’ caused high mortality in M. rosenbergii farms in China. Samples of M. rosenbergii, M. nipponense, Procambarus clarkii, M. superbum, Penaeus vannamei, and Cladocera from a farm suffering from ‘white head’ in Jiangsu Province were collected and analyzed in this study. Pathogen detection showed that all samples were positive for Shrimp hemocyte iridescent virus (SHIV). Histopathological examination revealed dark eosinophilic inclusions and pyknosis in hematopoietic tissue, hepatopancreas and gills of M. rosenbergii and M. nipponense. Blue signals of in situ DIG-labeled LAMP (ISDL) appeared in hematopoietic tissue, hemocytes, hepatopancreatic sinus, and antennal gland. TEM of ultrathin sections showed a large number of SHIV particles with a mean diameter about 157.9 nm. The virogenic stromata and budding virions were observed in hematopoietic cells. Quantitative detection by TaqMan probe based real-time PCR of different tissues in natural infected M. rosenbergii showed that hematopoietic tissue contained the highest SHIV load with a relative abundance of (25.4±16.9)%. Hepatopancreas and muscle contained the lowest SHIV load with a relative abundance at (2.44±1.24)% and (2.44±2.16)%, respectively. Above results verified that SHIV is the pathogen causing ‘white head’ in M. rosenbergii, and M. nipponense and Pr. clarkii are also the susceptible species of SHIV.

Zinc is mostly extracted from zinc oxide and sulfide minerals, and this process involves flotation as a key step. While it is easier to float the sulfide mineral, its consumption and depletion has led to an increased reliance on zinc oxide minerals, including smithsonite; hence the development of efficient ways of collecting smithsonite by flotation is an important objective. Herein, we describe the use of 2-(hexadecanoylamino)acetic acid (HAA), a novel surfactant, as a collector during smithsonite flotation. The mechanism and flotation performance of HAA during smithsonite flotation were investigated by total organic carbon (TOC) content studies, zeta potential measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, and XPS analyses, combined with micro-flotation experiments. The flotation results revealed that HAA is an excellent collector in pulp over a wide pH range (9–12) and at a relatively low concentration (2 × 10^‒4 mol/L), at which a recovery of close to 90% of the smithsonite mineral was obtained. TOC-content studies reveal that the good flotation recovery is ascribable to large amounts of collector molecule adsorbed on the smithsonite surface, while zeta potential measurements show that the HAA is chemically adsorbed onto the smithsonite. FTIR and XPS analyses reveal that the HAA-collector molecules adsorb onto the smithsonite surface as zinc-HAA complexes involving carboxylate moieties and Zn sites on the smithsonite surface in alkaline solution.

A series of novel chiral nonmetallocene pincer-type rare earth metal dialkyl complexes bearing the chiral monoanionic tridentate C2-symmetric 1,3-bis(oxazolinymethylidene)isoindoline (BOXMI) ligand (BOXMI)Ln(CH2SiMe3)2 1-3 (1, Ln = Sc, yield = 57%; 2, Ln = Lu, yield = 55%; 3, Ln = Y, yield = 62%) have been prepared in moderate yields via the acid-base reaction between the BOXMI ligand and rare earth metal tri(trimethylsilylmethyl) complexes. The X-ray diffractions show that both of the complexes 1 and 2 contain one Boxmi ligand and two trimethylsilylmethyl ligands, adopting a distorted-trigonal-bipyramidal configuration. In the presence of cocatalyst such as borate and AlR3, these complexes 1-3 exhibit high activities up to 6.8 × 104 (g of polymer)/(molLn h) and high cis-1,4-selectivities up to 97%) in the polymerization of isoprene in toluene, yielding the cis-1,4-polyisoprenes with high molecular weights (Mn up to 710000 g/mol) and bimodal molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn = 2.0-4.5).

Following our previous success in identifying new steroid-based anticancer agents, we herein disclosed the structural requirements for retaining high potency against cancer cells and associated modes of action. The structurally novel steroidal dimer by001 inhibited growth of different esophageal cancer cells and colony formation at low micromolar levels, elevated cellular ROS levels and caused mitochondrial dysfunction. Mechanistic studies showed that by001 induced cell death through the mitochondria and death receptor-mediated apoptotic pathways and autophagy induction, as well as inhibited migration.

Garlic, as an important economic crop in China, still has room for improvement in terms of identification using remote sensing technology, Among them, high-precision classification of garlic has become an important subject. The Erhai Lake is an important freshwater lake in China. Under the influence of technology and policies, significant changes have occurred in the cultivation of garlic crops. this study constructed multidimensional features for crop classification suitable for Google Earth Engine, and Propose a method for identifying garlic crops using sample and feature datasets under limited conditions. The results indicate that: 1) In the land-use classification of the Erhai Lake Basin, the importance ranking of characteristic bands, from high to low, is as follows: spectral features, vegetation features, texture features, and terrain features. 2) The Random Forest method based on feature selection demonstrates high classification accuracy in land-use classification within the Erhai Lake Basin in Yunnan Province. The overall classification accuracy reaches 95.79%, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.9481. 3) The expansion direction of garlic cultivation in the Erhai Lake Basin initially strengthened and then weakened from 1999 to 2023. The vertical development of garlic cultivation reached saturation, showing a slow trend towards horizontal expansion between 2005 and 2018. The planting distribution in various townships in the Erhai Lake Basin gradually shifted from a relatively uniform distribution to an upstream development in the basin. This study utilizes the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform and machine learning algorithms to compensate for the lack of statistical data on garlic cultivation in the Erhai Lake Basin. Simultaneously, it accurately, rapidly, and efficiently extracts planting information, demonstrating significant potential for practical applications.

The role of land surface temperature (LST) is of utmost importance in multiple academic disciplines such as climatology, hydrology, ecology, and meteorology. Until to now, many methods have been proposed to estimate LST from satellite thermal infrared data. The Thermal Infrared Sensor (IRS) on the Chinese ZY1-02E satellite is a pivotal instrument employed for gathering thermal infrared (TIR) data of land surfaces. The objective of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of a single-channel approach based on water vapor scaling (WVS) for deriving LST from ZY1-02E IRS data because of its wide spectrum range, i.e., 7~12μm, affected strongly by both atmospheric water vapor and ozone. Three study areas, namely Baotou, Heihe River Basin, and Yantai-sea sites, were selected as validation sites to evaluate the LST inversion accuracy. This evaluation was also conducted by cross-comparison between the retrieved LST and MODIS LST product. The results revealed that the WVS-based method exhibited an average bias of 0.63K and an RMSE of 1.62K compared to the in-situ LSTs. The WVS-based method demonstrated reasonable accuracy through cross-validation with the MODIS LST product, with an average bias of 0.77K and RMSE of 2.0K. These findings provide that the WVS-based method is effective to estimate LST from ZY1-02E IRS data.

Cordycepin is an extract from the insect fungus Cordyceps. militaris, which is a traditional medicine with various biological function. In previous studies, cordycepin had been reported with excellent anti-obesity effect, but the mechanism is unclear. A large quantity of evidences showed that prolactin plays an important part in body weight regulation, hyperprolactinemia can promote appetite and accelerate fat deposition. In this study, we explored the molecular mechanism of the anti-obesity effect of cordycepin by reducing prolactin release via an adenosine A₁ receptor. In vivo, obese rats model was induced by high fat diet for 5 weeks, the serum and liver lipids coupling with serum prolactin were reduced by treatment of cordycepin, the results suggested that cordycepin is a potential drug for therapying obesity which could be related with prolactin. In vitro, cordycepin could inhibit prolactin secretion in GH₃ cells via upregulating the expression of adenosine A₁ receptor, the inhibition effect could be blocked by an antagonist of adenosine receptor A1 DPDPX, prolactin induced the upregulation of lipogenesis genes PRLR, and P-JAK2 in 3T3-L1 cells. Intriguingly, cordycepin would down-regulate the expression of prolactin receptor (PRLR). Thus, we concluded that cordycepin modulate body weight by reducing prolactin release via an adenosine A₁ receptor.

To reduce the redundant counting of TDC in high-speed applications and thus reduce power consumption, a TDC architecture is proposed to quantify the difference between two adjacent rows of pixel signals. This structure can remove the identical part between two rows of pixel signals by adjusting the start and stop signal of the TDC, which will reduce the number of flipping of D flip-flops in the TDC. In the 110nm CMOS process, simulation results show that this design achieves an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 4.72 bits and a Figure of Merit (FoM) of 104.7 fJ/step - 162.3 fJ/step with a power consumption ranging from 60 µW to 93 µW. Compared with traditional counting methods, the proposed TDC can reduce counting power consumption by 30%.

When dealing with limited sample sizes or missing values in time series data, achieving high accuracy in forecasting becomes challenging. This challenge is particularly common in wind energy forecasting, where many wind farms lack complete data. In this paper, we employ the widely-used ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model for time series forecasting. To address the difficulties posed by limited sample sizes and missing values, we adopt a unique approach by utilizing multiple ARIMA models for different datasets. A key distinction from other multiple models methods for time series forecasting lies in each model within our approach using its own dataset, making the fusion process more intricate. To overcome this, we incorporate neural networks and two techniques for model fusion: direct fusion with a learning mechanism and compensation for missing data through training. For each ARIMA model, we introduce a noise estimation method to circumvent the white noise assumptions inherent in ARIMA models. Finally, we apply these methods to wind energy prediction, and our experimental results showcase a significant enhancement in forecasting accuracy.

Individuals have different rumination patterns after experiencing traumatic events in different cultural backgrounds and situations. This study was aimed to explore the experience of Chinese young and middle-aged patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to understand the content and nature of their rumination. Fourteen participants were selected using the purposive sampling method in XXX hospital from May 2023 to December 2023. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’ s 7-step phenomenological method. The content of rumination in young and middle-aged patients with ACS can be summarized into 2 categories: non-adaptive rumination and adaptive rumination. Non-adaptive rumination included 3 themes: worry or anxiety, scare, and depression. Adaptive rumination included 4 themes: tracing of disease processes, enhancement of disease cognition, improvement of health awareness, and adjustment of lifestyle cognition. In conclusion, although Chinese young and middle-aged patients with ACS experience negative emotions after a traumatic cardiac event, they gradually make positive changes, and optimism and information support play important roles in this transition, which provide a fundamental understanding of rumination experiences in Chinese young and middle-aged patients with ACS and provide new data for healthcare providers when designing intervention programs to enhance post-traumatic growth in these patients.

Ship detection from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is crucial for various fields in real-world applications. Numerous deep learning-based detectors have been investigated for SAR ship detection, which require a substantial amount of labeled data for training. However, SAR data annotation is time-consuming and demands specialized expertise, resulting in that deep learning-based SAR ship detectors struggle due to a lack of annotations. With limited labeled data, semi-supervised learning is a popular approach for boosting detection performance by excavating valuable information from unlabeled data. In this paper, a semi-supervised SAR ship detection network is proposed, termed as Multi-Teacher Dempster-Shafer Evidence Fusion Net-work (MTDSEFN). The MTDSEFN is an enhanced framework based on the basic teacher-student skeleton frame, comprising two branches: the Teacher Group (TG) and the Agency Teacher (AT). The TG utilizes multiple teachers to generate pseudo-labels for different augmentation versions of unlabeled samples, which are then refined to obtain high-quality pseudo-labels by using Dempster-Shafer (D-S) fusion. The AT not only serves to deliver weights of its own teacher to the TG at the end of each epoch, but also updates its own weights after each iteration, enabling the model to effectively learn rich information from unlabeled data. The combination of TG and AT guarantees both reliable pseudo-label generation and learning comprehensive diversity information from numerous unlabeled samples. Extensive experiments were performed on two public SAR ship datasets, and the results demonstrated the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approach.

For underwater vehicles navigating in Arctic Sea ice-covered waters, fatigue damage is a crucial issue. Many scholars have conducted low-temperature fatigue analysis on low-temperature ma-terials and substrate platforms for ships, and the results show that low-temperature is beneficial for improving the mechanical properties of materials. However, they mainly focus on low-temperature performance experiments and simulation analysis of standard components of materials, and there are very few fatigue life experimental studies on underwater vehicle me-chanical structures. This paper conducts experimental investigations on a scaled model of an underwater vehicle rudder mechanism in a polar environment laboratory. Using a comparative analysis method involving simulations and experiments, the low-temperature fatigue test data of the scaled underwater vehicle rudder mechanism are analyzed, and the quantified analysis be-tween fatigue and different low-temperature loading cycles, as well as the influence of icing on the fatigue life, is explored. It is indicated that the arctic environment can decrease the fatigue life of the underwater vehicle rudder mechanism by deteriorating its material properties. The paper builds the foundation for the fatigue life of an underwater vehicle rudder mechanism in arctic low-temperature environments.

The efficiencies of conventional triple organic Rankine cycle (TORC) configurations are restricted by the low critical temperatures of common working fluids (＜320 °C). This paper proposes a high-temperature TORC system. A near-azeotropic mixture biphenyl/diphenyl oxide (BDO), which has stellar track record in the high-temperature ORC applications, is innovatively adopted as the top and middle ORC fluid simultaneously. The top cycle evaporation temperature is up to 400 °C in view of BDO’s high stability. Five conventional organic fluids are chosen for the bottom ORC. Fundamentals of the TORC system are illustrated, and mathematical models are built. Thermo-economic performance is investigated. The results hint that the optimal thermodynamic property is achieved on the use of benzene as the bottom fluid. The maximum thermal and exergy efficiencies are respectively 40.86% and 74.14%. The largest irreversible loss occurs inside the heat exchanger coupling the middle and bottom ORCs, accounting for above 30% of the total entropy generation. The levelized energy cost (LEC) is 0.0284 $/kWh. Given the same heat source condition, the TORC system can boost efficiency by 1.02% and drive down LEC by 0.0024 $/kWh compared with a BDO mixture-based cascade ORC.

The conventional phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae has been identified several significant virulence determinants against Caenorhabditis elegans, but their mechanisms of action remain elusive. Here, we report the nematicidal activity and action receptor of a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP03) of a wild-type P. syringae MB03 against C. elegans. Purified MCP03 exhibited significant nematicidal toxicity against C. elegans, with a half-lethal concentration of 124.4 μg mL1, and detrimental effects on the growth and brood size of C. elegans. Additionally, MCP03-treated worms showed severe pathological destruction of the intestine and ovary, and depressed wrinkles of the cuticle. Through yeast two-hybrid assays, we identified a subunit of a COP9 signalosome, namely CSN-5, functionated as an action receptor of MCP03. In vitro pull-down and in vivo co-localization assays verified the binding interaction between MCP03 and CSN-5. RNA interference assays confirmed that MCP03 acts on CSN-5 to adversely affect the brood size, growth, and cuticle integrity of C. elegans. Following MCP03 infection, the expression of several genes relative to reproduction, growth, and cuticle formation, such as kgb-1, unc-98, and col-117, were significantly downregulated, which implicated the pathological changes of MCP03-treated nematodes. Thus, this study demonstrates that MCP03 acted on the receptor protein CSN-5 causing lethality and detrimental effects on the fertility, growth, and morphogenesis of C. elegans, which will provide new insights into the signaling pathways and mechanism underlying the nematicidal action of MCP03 towards C. elegans.

Abstract: The traditional model of closed circuit ball milling systems has been used for several decades, however, if the classifier of the closed circuit ball mill system performs the duties of both pre-classification and check-classification, the characterization error of the traditional model is large. To address this problem, a new model is obtained by modifying and supplementing the traditional one. The most important feature of the new model compared to the traditional model is that the circulating load is considered to be the fresh feed for the entire system rather than the ball mill. The error between the slurry level height calculated using the traditional model and the actual is 52.31%, which is 13.77 times higher than that of the new model. When the relative capacity varies greatly, that of the ball mill calculated by the traditional model fluctuates between 0.95 and 1.15, while the new model is 0.6 to 1.4. The new model has a higher accuracy than the traditional model in characterizing the production status of the grinding system, which is of some significance for industrial production.

Aiming to reveal the kinetic characteristics of ceramic ball grinding of fine magnetite comprehensively, two types of ceramic balls ground with the same filling rate and total weight as steel balls were researched. The results show that the breakage rate of ceramic ball grinding is only half of that of steel ball grinding with the same media filling rate. With the same total media weight and the feed size less than 0.212 mm, the breakage rate of the ceramic ball grinding approaches the steel ball grinding and is 21.43% higher than that of the steel ball grinding. The main crushing form of magnetite changed from impact to abrasion in ceramic ball grinding compared with steel ball grinding, which significantly affected the value of the zero-order output constant a. Consequently, there is a noticeable difference in the variation of the parameter β related to the fines generation rate of the ceramic ball grinding compared with the steel ball grinding.

Chinese pepper rust is a live parasitic fungal disease caused by Coleosporium zanthoxyli, which seriously affects the cultivation and industrial development of Z. armatum. Cultivating and planting resistant cultivars is considered the most economical and environmentally friendly strategy to control this disease. Therefore, the mining of excellent genes for rust resistance and analysis of the mechanism of rust resistance are the key strategies to achieve the targeted breeding of rust resistance. However, there is no relevant report on pepper rust resistance at present. The aim of the present study was to further explore the resistance mechanism of pepper by screening the rust-resistant germplasm resources in the early stage. Combined with the analysis of plant pathology, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, we found that the genes and metabolites related to phenylpropanoid metabolism were highly enriched in resistant varieties after pathogen infection, which indicated that phenylpropanoid metabolism might mediate the resistance of Z. armatum. This finding was further confirmed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, which revealed that the expression levels of core genes involved in phenylpropane metabolism in disease-resistant varieties were high. In addition, the difference in flavonoid content in the leaves between resistant and susceptible varieties further supported the conclusion that the flavonoid pathway is one of the main pathways involved in resistance formation in Chinese pepper, and MeJA is involved in the formation of resistance. Our research results not only help to better understand the resistance mechanism of Z. armatum rust but also contribute to the breeding and utilization of resistant varieties.

Anthracnose is one of primary diseases in tea plants that affects tea yield and quality. The geographical distribution, occurrence regularity, and agronomic measures of tea plants with anthracnose have been researched for decades. However, the pathogenic cause of anthracnose in tea plants is diverse in different regions of the world. Identifying the specific pathogenic fungi causing tea anthracnose is an essential control measure to mitigate this disease. In this study, 88 Diaporthales and 45 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from 3 different types of diseased tea leaves. Based on multilocus phylogenetic and morphological analysis, 3 known species, including Discula theae-sinensis, Diaporthe ueckerae, Diaporthe lithocarpus, and 3 indistinguishable species of Diaporthales were identified. In adddition, 8 known species of Colletotrichum, C. fructicola, C. camelliae, C. aenigma, C. siamense, C. henanense, C. karstii, C. tropicicola, C. gigasporum, were identified. This study is the first to report C. tropicicola and C. gigasporum in tea plant in China. Discula theae-sinensis was the most common species in this study and caused disease lesions around wounded areas of tea leaves. The dual trials in vitro indicated Discula theae-sinensis and Colletotrichum were slight inhibition. Co-inoculating Discula theae-sinensis and C. fructicola was superior to single inoculation at low concentration.

In this paper, COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to simulate and analyze the process of cleaning oily sludge by high-speed stirring rotor. The physical phenomena such as velocity field, pressure field, heat dissipation and cavitation generated by the rotor during the process of the oily sludge cleaning were analyzed. The results showed that in the process of cleaning the oily sludge by high-speed stirring rotor, the shear force, heat dissipation and pressure increased with the enhance in the rotor speed. Cavitation occurs in the impeller area of the rotor because of the change of pressure, so the cavitation bubbles were formed. Shear force, heat dissipation and cavitation contributed to the separation of oil phase in oily sludge. Meanwhile, the simulation results were verified by experiments.

The rock strata movement deformation generated by the mining process of the mine will inevitably lead to surface subsidence and a series of environmental hazards, so it is particularly important to monitor the rock strata movement deformation and surface subsidence in the goaf area. With the development of surface subsidence monitoring technology, InSAR technology has been widely used in the research of surface subsidence in mining areas with the advantages of high precision and wide monitoring. In this paper, by obtaining the image data of 59 Sentinel-1A scenes in the mining area, the obtained PS points were analyzed and processed by ArcGIS difference analysis by PS-InSAR technology, and the surface deformation cloud map and settlement curve of the mining area in various periods were obtained, and the rock strata movement deformation and surface subsidence law of the goaf before treatment and after different treatment methods were studied by influencing factors such as stope layout and mining depth. The results show that the rock strata movement deformation and surface subsidence degree of the goaf under different treatment methods are different due to different influencing factors, and their positions also change dynamically with time. Applying InSAR technology to study rock strata movement deformation and surface subsidence can provide an important basis for mine safety mining, goaf treatment, rock strata movement deformation and surface subsidence monitoring.

With the increasing demand for medicinal plants and the increasing shortage of resources, improving the quality and yield of medicinal plants and making more effective use of medicinal plants has become an urgent problem to be solved. In the process of growth and development of medicinal plants, due to the threat of various adversity, there are problems such as nutrient loss and yield decline. Using traditional chemical pesticides to control the stress resistance of plants will cause serious pollution to the environment and even endanger human health. Therefore, it is necessary to find suitable pesticide substitutes from natural ingredients. As an important part of the microecology of medicinal plants, endophytes can promote the growth of medicinal plants, improve the stress resistance of hosts, and promote the accumulation of active components of hosts. Because it has a more positive and direct impact on the host, and can metabolize rich medicinal ingredients, so researchers pay attention to it. This paper reviews the research in recent five years, aiming to provide ideas for improving the quality of medicinal plants, developing more microbial resources, exploring more medicinal natural products, and providing help for the development of the research on medicinal plants and endophytes.

In response to the structural optimization problem of PCB stator coreless disc motors, the orthogonal response surface method was used to optimize the motor structure, determine the basic parameters of the motor preliminarily, and conduct orthogonal experiments on the motor parameters based on the optimization design objectives, The optimization factors were the quantity of magnetic pole of the motor rotor, the ratio of main/auxiliary pole size, the thicknessof the permanent magnet, and the air gap length.The motor torque，the amplitude of magnetic density of the air gap and waveform distortion rateare used as optimization objectives. The motor parameters that make the motor torque reach the maximum, the air gap magnetic density maximum, and the waveform distortion rate minimum. Due to the use of PCB plates instead of motor stator cores in PCB coreless disc motors,The service life of the PCB board during motor operation will be reduced with the temperature rise generated by the stator winding To solve this problem, the response surface analysis of the motor is carried out to reduce the temperature rise of the stator windings during the operation of the motor. PCB board and stator winding are the main factors affecting the temperature rise of the motor.Taking the thickness of the PCB board, the hole diameter on the board, and the uneven width of the stator winding as optimization factors, the motor parameters with the lowest temperature rise of the motor winding are obtained. Simulation analysis is conducted using Ansys/Maxwell software, and the results prove the feasibility of optimization.

Abstract: To reduce the indiscriminate use of pesticides and extend the postharvest shelf life of peach fruit (cv. Baihua) from southeast China, microbial antagonism of indigenous yeasts was mainly studied and applied in construction of composite film. After isolation, purification, cultivation and identification, a total of 14 yeast strains from 9 genera were screened out from the surface of peaches. By experimental analysis of in vitro inhibition zone and in vivo colonizing capacity, Candida oleophila sp-ELPY12B and Cryptococcus laurentii sp-ELPY15A, which have conservative structure of D1/D2 domain sequences and were considered as new species by phylogenetic analysis, were finally chosen as fungicides against the major pathogens. In combination of Na-alginate film (0.4 % glycerin as plasticizer and 0.1 % Tween-80 as emulsifier), the preservative effects of composite-treated groups (1 × 108 CFU mL−1 of Candida oleophila sp-ELPY12B and Cryptococcus laurentii sp-ELPY15A) showed best antifungal effects, which significantly delayed the postharvest preservation period about 6 - 7 d under ambient temperature of 25 ± 3°C and relative humidity of 50 - 70%.

We report photon-phonon atomic coherence (cascade- and nested-dressing) interaction from various phase transitions of Eu3+: BiPO4 crystal. Such atomic coherence spectral interaction evolves from out of phase fluorescence to in-phase spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) by changing the time gate. The dressing dip switch and three dressing dips of SFWM result from strong photon-phonon destructive cross- and self-interaction for hexagonal phase, respectively. The more phonon dressing result in destructive interaction, while less phonon dressing result in constructive interaction of atomic coherences. The experimental measurements of photon-phonon interaction agree with theoretical simulations. Based on our results, we proposed a model for an optical transistor (as an amplifier and switch).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a serious threat to human health, and combination therapy is proved to be an economic and effective strategy to fight the resistance. However, the abuse of drug combinations would conversely accelerate the spread of AMR. In our previous work, it had been concluded that the mutant selection indexes (SIs) of one agent against a specific bacterial strain are closely related to the proportions of two agents in a drug combination. To discover probable correlations, predictors and laws for further proposing feasible principles and schemes guiding the AMR-preventing practice, here three aspects were further explored. First, the power function (y=ax^b, a > 0) correlation between the SI (y) of one agent and the ratio value (x) of two agents in a drug combination was further established based on the mathematical and statistical analyses for those experimental data, and two rules a₁ × MIC₁ = a₂ × MIC₂ and b₁ + b₂ = -1 were discovered from both equations of y=a₁x^b1 and y=a₂x^b2 respectively for two agents in drug combinations. Simultaneously, it was found that one agent with larger MPC alone for drug combinations show greater potency for narrowing itself MSW and preventing the resistance. Second, a new concept as mutation-preventing selection index (MPSI) was proposed and used for evaluating the mutation-preventing potency difference of two agents in drug combinations, and the positive correlation between the MPSI and the mutant prevention concentration (MPC) or minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was subsequently established. Inspired by this, the significantly positive correlation, contrary to previous reports, between the MIC and the corresponding MPC of antimicrobial agents against pathogenic bacteria was established using one hundred and eighty-one of data pairs reported. These results together of above three aspects indicate that the MPCs in alone and combination are very important indexes for drug combinations to predict the mutation-preventing effects and the trajectories of collateral sensitivity, and while the MPC of an agent can be roughly calculated from its corresponding MIC. Subsequently, the former conclusion was further verified and improved by the antibiotic exposure to forty-three groups designed as different drug concentrations and various proportions. The results further proposed that the C/MPC for the agent with larger proportion in drug combinations can be considered as a predictor and is the key to judge whether the resistance and the collateral sensitivity occur to two agents. Based on these above correlations, laws, and their verification experiments, some principles were proposed, and a diagram of the mutation-preventing effects and the resistant trajectories for drug combinations with different concentrations and ratios of two agents was presented. Simultaneously, the reciprocal of MPC alone (1/MPC), proposed as the stress factors of two agents in drug combinations, together with their SI in combination, is the key to predict the mutation-preventing potency and control the trajectories of collateral sensitivity. Finally, a preliminary scheme for antimicrobial combinations preventing the AMR was further proposed for subsequent improvement research and clinic popularization, based on the above analyses and discussion. Moreover, some similar conclusions were speculated for triple or multiple drug combinations.

(1) Background: In order to study the effects of different electric cookers on the nutritional components of millet porridge, five different electric cookers were selected to cook millet porridge, and sensory and nutritional components in millet porridge, millet soup, and millet grains were analyzed. (2) Methods: Using principal component and cluster analysis, a variety of nutritional components were comprehensively compared. (3) Results: The results showed that among the different cooked samples, the content of amylose and reducing sugar was the highest in the samples cooked by electric cooker no. 3. The electric cooker no. 4 samples had the highest sensory evaluation score, crude fat, and protein content. The contents of ash, fatty acids, bound amino acids, and minerals were the highest in the electric cooker no. 5 samples. The sensory evaluation score and content of crude fat, ash, reducing sugar, direct starch, and Cu were higher in millet grains than in millet soup or porridge. The content of fatty acid, protein, amino acid, Zn, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Ca was highest in millet soup. Different electric cookers produced millet porridge with varying nutritional levels. (4) Conclusions: This study provides a reference for the further development of new electric cookers.

Carbonaceous material (CM) is common in meta-sediments and is generally interpreted to be intimately associated with gold mineralization. For the Bumo deposit in Hainan Province, South China, CM is mainly hosted by greenschist facies- to amphibolite-facies metamophic rocks of the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Baoban Group and by auriferous veins and is used as an important gold prospecting indicator. However, the genesis of CM and the relationship with gold mineralization are still not clear. Field work and thin section observation indicates that two types of CM occur, i.e., layered and veinlet. Layered CM, up to meters thick, prevails in the deposit. More importantly, Au-bearing sulfides are commonly distributed along the boundary between the quartz veins and layered CM. In contrast, veinlet CM, co-precipitated with gold and sulfides, has the thickness of micro- to centi- meters, and these thin veins occur in quartz veins and hydrothermally altered rocks. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis indicates that layered CM has a stringy shape and laminate structure, while veinlet CM occurs as isometric particles. Raman carbonaceous material geothermometer indicates that layered CM with high maturity is formed at elevated temperatures of 400 – 550°C, consistent with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In contrast, veinlet CM with low maturity is formed at 200 – 350°C, generally consistent with gold mineralization. In addition, layered CM has δ13C values ranging from -30 to -20%, demonstrating a biogenic origin. Consequently, it is interpreted that layered CM is formed by a pre-ore metamorphic event during Caledonian, and its reducing nature promotes gold precipitation via destabilization of aqueous Au bisulfide complexes or facilitating sulfidation. Veinlet CM is hydrothermal origin, and its precipitation modified the chemical conditions of ore fluids, leading to the destabilization of Au complexes and thus favorable for mineralization.

Artemia franciscana, native to America, has recently colonized non-indigenous populations in Eurasia, Mediterranean regions and Australia. In present we sought to evaluate the potential effects of colonization of A. franciscana on genetic differentiation in the new environments in UAE. We used the COI marker to determine population genetic structure and identify the origins of exotic populations in UAE. Our findings have confirmed the colonization of both localities by A. franciscana. Genetic variation of invasive A. franciscana were exclusively lower than native population in Great Salt Lake and San Francisco Bay. Results have showed the studied population could not possibly have colonized directly from natural American localities, perhaps resulting from secondary introduction events from other non-indigenous populations. Genetic analysis have yielded different demographic patterns for invasive studied populations. Al Wathba Wetland Reserve (AWWR) population have represented demographic expansion. In contrast, Godolphin Lakes (GL) population was at demographic equilibrium. Neutrality tests have documented the excess of both recent and historical mutations in the COI gene pool of invasive AWWR Artemia throughout establishment in the new environment.

Curcumin is the main secondary metabolites of Curcuma longa and other Curcuma spp, and has been reported to have some potential in preventing and treating some physiological disorders. This study investigated the effect curcumin in inhibiting high-fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in rats. Twenty-six male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (170-190 g) were randomly divided into a standard food pellet diet group (Control group), a high-fat diet and streptozotocin group (HF+STZ group), and a high-fat diet combined with curcumin and STZ group (HF+ Cur +STZ group). Compared with the HF+STZ group, the HF+Cur+STZ group exhibited significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (AST) and aspartate transaminase (ALT) levels, and liver coefficients; in the livers of these rats, the expression of malondialdehyde (MDA) and Bax was downregulated, whereas that of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Bcl-2 was upregulated. Moreover, the liver histology of these rats was improved and resembled that of the control rats. These results suggest that curcumin prevents high-fat diet and STZ-induced hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, mainly via anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic mechanisms in the liver.

Graphene-based composites have been widely explored for electrode and electrocatalyst materials for electrochemical energy systems. In this paper, a novel composite material of the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGON) with gold nanoparticles (NPs) (rGON-AuNP) is synthesized, and its morphology, structure and composition are characterized by SEM, HRTEM, XRD, EDX, FTIR, Raman, and UV-Vis techniques. To confirm this material’s electrochemical activity, a glucose oxidase (GOD) is chosen as the target reagent to modify the rGON-AuNP layer to form GOD/rGON-AuNP/glassy carbon (GC) electrode. Two pairs of distinguishable redox peaks, corresponding to the redox processes of two different conformational GOD on AuNP, are observed on the cyclic voltammograms of GOD/rGON-AuNP/GC electrode. Both cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are employed to study the mechanism of direct electron transfer from GOD to GC electrode on the rGON-AuNP layer. In addition, this GOD/rGON-AuNP/GC electrode shows catalytic activity toward glucose oxidation reaction.

A new di-mannitol adipate ester-based zinc metal alkoxide (DMAE-Zn) was synthesized as a bi-functional PVC thermal stabilizer for the first time. The materials were characterized with Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Characterization results confirmed the formation of Zn-O bonds in DMAE-Zn; and that DMAE-Zn had a high decomposition temperature and a low melting point. The thermal stability of DMAE-Zn on PVC also was tested by conductivity test, thermal aging test, and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS) test. PVC stabilized by DMAE-Zn had a good initial color and excellent long-term stability. UV-VIS also showed that the conjugated structure in PVC stabilized by DMAE-Zn was almost all of the triene, suggesting that the addition of DMAE-Zn would suppress the formation of conjugated structures above tetraene. Dynamic processing performance of PVC samples tested by torque rheometer indicated that, having a good compatibility with PVC chains in the amorphous regions, DMAE-Zn contributed good plasticizing effect to PVC. DMAE-Zn thus effectively demonstrates bi-functional roles, e.g., thermal stabilizers and plasticizers to PVC. Furthermore, FT-IR, HCl absorption capacity test, and complex ZnCl₂ test were also used to verify the thermal stability mechanism of DMAE-Zn for PVC.

Particulate matter is a severe source of atmospheric pollution in urban cities, and it has adverse effects on human health. This study was conducted during the whole year of 2016 to monitor the concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 on the Beijing Hanshiqiao wetland and bare land in Beijing to analyze their correlations with meteorological factors and compare the removal efficiency between two land surface types. The results indicated that (1) the PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations on the bare land were higher than those on wetland as a whole, reaching the highest value both at night and dusk and the lowest value near noon. The average concentration of PM₁₀ was higher in winter (wetland: 137.48 μg·m^-3; bare land: 164.75 μg·m^-3) and spring (wetland: 205.18 μg·m^-3; bare land: 244.85 μg·m^-3) and the concentration of PM_2.5 on the wetland also reached the higher value in winter and spring with the average of 84.52 μg·m^-3 and 98.98 μg·m^-3, whereas, it was higher in spring and summer on the bare land; (2) concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were significantly positively affected by the relative humidity (P < 0.01) and negatively influenced by wind speed (P < 0.05). The relationship between PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations and temperature was found complicated: it showed a significantly negative correlation (P < 0.01) in winter and spring and was insignificant in autumn, but in summer, only the correlation between the PM₁₀ concentration and temperature on wetland was significant (P < 0.01); (3) the removal efficiencies of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 followed the order of spring > winter > autumn > summer on the wetland, and the removal efficiency of PM₁₀ was greater than that of PM_2.5. This study is aim to provide practical measures to improve the air quality and facilitate sustainable development in Beijing.

Two region asymmetric polymers PR2F and PR1F with three repeat units of A-D-A, π-D-A, and π-D-π along the polymer backbone were attained by polymerizing different fluorinated benzothiadiazole-thiophene units, FBT-T and 2FBT-T units (A–π), with benzodithiophene unit (D), respectively. Here, the new region asymmetric polymers were in contrast to the traditional polymers featuring a D–A or D–π–A–π backbone. Both the region asymmetric polymers showed a low lying of HOMO energy level in relation to that of the PC61BM acceptor and then obtained the high open-circuit voltage of ~1 V in both PR2F and PR1F devices. Bulk-heterojunction devices based on PR2F with difluorinated BT exhibited an appreciable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.73% due to the relatively high and balanced charge carrier mobilities, while the mono-fluorinated BT polymer PR1F-based devices gave a lower PCE of 2.92%. These results indicate that the region asymmetric conjugated polymer is a promising class of materials for polymer solar cell applications, and it is significant to further understand the influence of polymer structure on optoelectronic properties.

Among all the processing technologies of heat-treatable aluminum alloys like 2219 aluminum alloy, using friction stir welding (FSW) as the joining technology and using electromagnetic forming (EMF) for plastic forming technology both have obvious advantages and successful applications. Therefore, there is a broad prospect for the compound technologies which can be used on the 2219 aluminum alloy to manufacture the large-scale thin-wall parts in the astronautic industry. The microstructure and mechanical properties of 2219 aluminum alloy under the process compounded of FSW, heat treatment, and EMF were investigated by means of tensile test, optical microscope (OM), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the reduction of strength, which was caused during the FSW process, can be recovered effectively by the post-welding heat treatment composed of solid solution and aging, while the ductility was still reduced after heat treatment. Under the compound technology of FSW, heat treatment, and EMF, the forming limit of 2219 aluminum alloy decreased distinctly due to the poor ductility of the welding joint. A ribbon-pattern, which was formed due to the banded structure caused by FSW process, was found on the fracture surface of welded 2219 aluminum alloy after EMF treatment. During the EMF process, because of the effects of induced eddy current, a unique structure, which was manifested as a molted-surface appearance under the SEM observation, was formed as the material fractured.

Dislocation is one of the major challenges in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) image stitching. In this paper, we propose a new dynamic programming for seamlessly stitching UAV images using optical flow. Our solution consists of two steps: Firstly, an image-matching algorithm is used to correct the images so that they are in the same coordinate system. Secondly, a new dynamic programming algorithm is develop based on the concept of a stereo dual-channel energy accumulation using optical flow. A new energy aggregation and traversal strategy is adopted in our solution, which can find a more optimal seam line for adjacent image stitching. Our algorithm overcomes the theoretical limitation of the classical Duplaquet algorithm. Experiments show that the algorithm can effectively solve the dislocation problem in UAV image stitching. Beyond that, our solution is also direction-independent, which has more adaptability and robustness for UAV images.

The knowledge of protein function is essential for the study of biological processes, the understanding of disease mechanism and the exploration of novel therapeutic target. Apart from experimental methods, a number of in-silico approaches have been developed and extensively used for protein function prediction. Among these approaches, BLAST predicts functions based on protein sequence similarity, and machine learning predicts functional families from protein sequences irrespective of their similarity, which complements BLAST and other methods in predicting diverse classes of proteins including distantly related proteins and homologous proteins of different functions. However, their identification accuracies and the false discovery rate have not yet been assessed so far, which greatly limits the usage of these prediction algorithms. Herein, a comprehensive comparison of the performances among four popular functional prediction algorithms (BLAST, SVM, PNN and KNN) was conducted. In particular, the performance of these algorithms were systematically assessed by four metrics (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and Matthews correlation coefficient) based on the independent test datasets generated from 93 protein families defined by UniProtKB Keywords. Moreover, the false discovery rates of these algorithms were evaluated by scanning the genomes of four representative model species (homo sapiens, arabidopsis thaliana, saccharomyces cerevisiae and mycobacterium tuberculosis). As a result, the substantially higher sensitivity and stability of BLAST and SVM were observed compared with that of PNN and KNN. But the machine learning algorithms (PNN, KNN and SVM) were found capable of significantly reducing the false discovery rate (SVM < PNN ≈ KNN). In summary, this study comprehensively assessed the performance of four popular algorithms applied to protein function prediction, which could facilitate the selection of the most appropriate method in the related biomedical research.

p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) is not only the useful molecular target in treating life-threatening tyrosinemia type I, but also an important target for chemical herbicides. A combined in silico structure-based pharmacophore and molecular docking based virtual screening were performed to identify novel potential HPPD inhibitors. The complex based pharmacophore model (CBP) with 0.721 of ROC used for screening compound showed remarkable ability to retrieve known active ligands from decoy molecule. The ChemDiv database was screened using CBP-Hypo2 as a 3D query, and the best-fit hits subjected to molecular docking with two methods of LibDock and CDOCKER in Accelrys Discovery Studio 2.5(DS 2.5) to discern interactions with key residues at the active site of HPPD. 4 Compounds with top rank in HipHop model and well-known binding model were finally chosen as identification of lead compounds with potentially inhibitory effects on active site of target. The results provided powerful insight to the development of novel HPPD inhibitors herbicides using computational techniques.

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area (QTPA) features a unique environment that has witnessed the selective breeding of diverse breeds of domestic livestock, exhibiting remarkable adaptability. Nevertheless, Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. represent tick-borne bacterial pathogens that pose a global threat and have substantial impacts on both human and animal health, as well as on the economy of animal husbandry within the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau area. In this study, a total of 428 samples were systematically collected from 20 distinct areas within the Qinghai plateau. The samples included 62 ticks and 366 blood samples obtained from diverse animal species, to detect the presence of Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. The prevalence of infection in this study was determined as follows: Anaplasma bovis accounted for 16.4% (70/428), A. capra for 4.7% (20/428), A. ovis for 5.8% (25/428), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato for 6.3% (27/428), Coxiella burnetii for 0.7% (3/428), and Rickettsia spp. for 0.5% (2/428). Notably, no cases of A. marginale and A. phagocytophilum infections were observed in this study. The findings revealed an elevated presence of these pathogens in Tibetan sheep and goats, with no infections detected in yaks, Bactrian camels, donkeys, and horses. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first investigation of tick-borne bacterial pathogens infecting goats, cattle, horses, and donkeys within the Qinghai plateau of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area. Consequently, our findings contribute valuable insights into the distribution and genetic diversity of Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. within China.

A novel coronavirus strain (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first appeared in December 2019 and can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. However, there are only limited therapy choices and no vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is currently available. Here we report about a case of a SARS-CoV-2 caused pneumonia successfully treated with thalidomide. Thalidomide is an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory agent and was combined with a low-dose glucocorticoid. We suggest, that the effects of thalidomide might be related to regulating immunity, inhibiting the inflammatory cytokine surge, alleviating anxiety to reduce oxygen consumption, relieving vomit and lung exudation.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the causative agent of infectious bronchitis, which causes considerable economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. It is imperative to develop safe and efficient candidate vaccines to control IBV infection. In the current study, recombinant baculoviruses co-expressing S1 and N proteins, mono-expressing S1 or N proteins alone of IBV were constructed and prepared into subunit vaccines rHBM-S1-N, rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N. The levels of immune protection of these subunit vaccines were evaluated by inoculating specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens at 14 days of age, boosting with the same dose 14 days later, and following challenge with a virulent GX-YL5 strain of IBV 14 days post-booster (dpb). The commercial vaccine strain H120 was used as a control. The IBV-specific antibody levels as well as the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected within 28 days post-vaccination (dpv). The morbidity, mortality, and re-isolation of virus from the tracheas and kidneys of challenged birds were evaluated at 5 days post-challenge (dpc). The results showed that the IBV-specific antibody levels and the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte in rHBM-S1-N group were higher than those of rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N groups, especially the cellular immunity response. At 5 dpc, the mortality, morbidity and virus re-isolation rate of rHBM-S1-N were slightly higher than those of H120 group, but were lower than those of rHBM-S1 group and rHBM-N group. The present study demonstrated that the protection of recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins was better than that of recombinant baculoviruses mono-expressing S1 or N protein alone. Thus, the recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins could serve as a potential IBV vaccine and this demonstrates that the bivalent subunit vaccine including the S1 and N proteins might be a strategy for the development of an IBV subunit vaccine.