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Yttrium oxide (Y 2 O 3) nanoparticles have critical applications in many industries, including ceramics, optics, and biomedicine. However, conventional synthesis methods are typically cumbersome and time-consuming. Herein, a novel emulsion detonation method successfully achieved the one-step synthesis of Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles. In this method, yttrium nitrate hexahydrate was uniformly dispersed in the emulsion explosive as a precursor and an auxiliary oxidizer. After the emulsion explosive was detonated in a detonation chamber, the detonation products were collected, purified and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, Raman spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, field emission transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet spectrophotometer. The results show that the as-synthesized powders are high-purity cubic phase yttrium oxide nanoparticles with a spherical-like morphology and an average particle size of approximately 30 nm. These Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles have a wide (5.53 eV) energy band gap, close to the conventional methods. Based on detonation theory, thermochemical theory, and characterization results, this text discussed the mechanism of the Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles synthesized by the emulsion detonation method. During detonation, the formation of the Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles underwent three stages: the formation of the Y 2 O 3 molecules by the collision of Y and O ions, the formation of the crystal nucleus at supersaturation concentration, and crystal growth. This study provides a novel, cost-effective method for efficiently synthesizing Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractTesting for the autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) effect is an important problem in economic and financial time series. In this article, we consider the ARCH effect test for high-dimensional time series. Our test statistic is built based on the maximum element of Spearman’s rank correlation at different lags. The bootstrap methods are used to approximate the null distribution of the proposed test statistics. We also consider the goodness-of-fit test for ARCH models by applying the test to the residuals of fitted models. Simulation results show that the proposed test statistics enjoy good properties of size in finite samples. Compared to the existing methods, the new test possesses much better power. Moreover, the test is not sensitive to the underlying distribution of the time series. The proposed method is illustrated via two real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: To investigate the impact of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on pregnancy outcomes. Methods: We selected 512 pregnant women, collected the data including maternal demographics, main adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal HBV infected markers HBeAg and HBV-DNA loads status, then have a comparative analysis. Results: There were 319 solitary ICP patients without HBV infection (Group I) and 193 ICP patients with HBV infection. Of the latter, there were 118 cases with abnormal liver function(Group II) and 80 cases with normal liver function(Group III). All HBV-infected pregnant women with ICP were divided into hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg)-positive group (102 cases) and HBeAg-negative group (91 cases), according to the level of the serum HBeAg status; and into high viral load group (92 cases), moderate viral load group (46 cases) and low viral load group (55 cases) according to the maternal HBV-DNA level. Group II had a higher level of serum total bile acids, transaminase, bilirubin as well as a higher percentage of premature delivery, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) compared with the other two groups(P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in the above indicators between the Group I and Group III. Among the HBV-infected patients with ICP, HBeAg-positive group had a higher level of serum transaminase, bilirubin and bile acid as well as earlier gestational weeks of delivery, lower birth weight of new-borns and a higher rate of NICU admission than HBeAg-negative group (P < 0.05). Those with a high viral load (HBV-DNA > 106 IU/ml) had a higher level of transaminase, bilirubin, and bile acid as well as shorter gestational weeks of delivery, lower birth weight of new-borns and a higher rate of NICU admission compared with those with a low or moderate viral load (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HBV-infected pregnant women with ICP combined with abnormal liver function have more severe liver damage, a higher percentage of preterm birth and NICU admission. HBeAg-positive status and a high HBV-DNA load will increase the severity of conditions in HBV-infected pregnant women with ICP. HBV-infected patients with ICP who have abnormal liver function, HBeAg-positive or a high viral load should be treated more actively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-infrared responsive photothermal therapy is an emerging and non-invasive cancer treatment. However, the inability of real-time imaging tracking and monitoring for the photothermal agents (PTAs) severely limits the accuracy of treatment. In this study, a series of visual xGd-WO 3 @PEG PTAs were synthesized by a one-pot solvothermal method. The effect of different Gd doping amounts on the structure, morphology, and photothermal performance has been investigated in detail. Under the near-infrared laser irradiation, the samples exhibited satisfied photothermal properties of hyperthermia in a short time. The photothermal conversion efficiency and stability of the xGd-WO 3 @PEG (x = 7 %) were further investigated. Subsequently, the near-infrared thermal and CT imaging performance was studied. The in vitro cell viability on LO2 normal and 4T1 cancer cells have also been conducted. The results showed the xGd-WO 3 @PEG nanomaterials have excellent potential in imaging-guided photothermal cancer therapy. PEGylated xGd-WO 3 nanocrystals with near-infrared plasmon resonance and defective structures were prepared by one step solvothermal method. The samples demonstrated excellent NIR thermal/CT imaging performance and high killing effect on cancer cell. Such visual TMO photothermal agents have potential application for bio-imaging guided cancer therapy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Panax notoginseng (Burk) F. H. Chen is one of the most famous Chinese traditional medicinal plants. The taproot is the main organ producing triterpenoid saponins, and its development is directly linked to the quality and yield of the harvested P. notoginseng. However, the mechanisms underlying the dynamic metabolic changes occurring during taproot development of P. notoginseng are unknown. Results: We carried out metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate metabolites and gene expression during the development of P. notoginseng taproots. The differentially accumulated metabolites included amino acids and derivatives, nucleotides and derivatives, and lipids in 1-year-old taproots, flavonoids and terpenoids in 2- and 3-year-old taproots, and phenolic acids in 3-year-old taproots. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, metabolic pathway and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites at all three developmental stages. Integrative analysis revealed that the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway was involved in not only the development of but also metabolic changes in P. notoginseng taproots. Moreover, significant accumulation of triterpenoid saponins in 2- and 3-year-old taproots was highly correlated with the up-regulated expression of cytochrome P450s and uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferases genes. Additionally, a gene encoding RNase-like major storage protein was identified to play a dual role in the development of P. notoginseng taproots and their triterpenoid saponins synthesis. Conclusions: These results elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the accumulation of and change relationship between primary and secondary metabolites in P. notoginseng taproots, and provide a basis for the quality control and genetic improvement of P. notoginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional explosive welding is performed in the atmosphere. In addition to causing many hazardous effects (air shock wave, vibration, and noise), air medium also affects the welding quality. To study the influence of the vacuum environment on the above problems, this study conducted CP-Ti/Q235 explosive welding in the vacuum (0.1 atm), and set another experiment in the atmospheric environment as a reference. The results showed that the vacuum environment significantly reduced the hazardous effects. Compared with the atmospheric environment, the low density of the gas medium attenuated the shock wave (69.27%) during the explosive welding, resulting in reduced levels of vibration (74.46%) and noise (45.31%). Microstructure analysis found that in both environments, the wavelength and amplitude of the waveform interface were remarkably different at the end portion, and the overall waveform obtained in the vacuum was more uniform than that in the atmosphere. Through the two-step simulation, the pressures of the interstitial gas shock wave were respectively 15.4 and 1.66 MPa under the atmospheric and vacuum environments. Therefore, the interstitial gas shock wave affected the movement of the flyer plate, causing welding instability, especially in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the participation of the gas during the wave formation led to the appearance of the pores and microcracks. In contrast, the vacuum environment effectively decreased the micro-defects of the bonding interface, improving the welding quality. This study revealed the detailed advantages of the vacuum environment and provided a reference for explosive welding in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of event‐triggered‐based secure adaptive neural‐networked (NN) consensus tracking control for a class of switched nonlinear multi‐agent systems (MASs) with unknown control directions under network attacks. In order to mitigate the effects of sensor and actuator attacks, a new event‐triggered‐based secure adaptive NN consensus tracking control protocol is proposed by exploring backstepping and the average dwell time method and the Nussbaum gain technique. In addition, if the switching happens between any two consecutive triggering instants, then asynchronous switching between subsystems of each follower and candidate controllers of subsystems will arise. Without any strict limitation on maximum asynchronous time, the asynchronous switching is handled by constructing a novel switching event‐triggered mechanism (ETM) and event‐triggered‐based adaptive NN controllers of subsystems for each follower. Meanwhile, the protocol proposed can guarantee that consensus tracking errors converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Also, a strictly positive lower bound on inter‐event time is guaranteed. Finally, a practical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being a powerful weapon against cancer cells, cisplatin's therapeutic potential is hampered by numerous adverse reactions, including acute kidney injury (AKI). Compound 5 has 3-SH fragments at the end of the vertical short alkyl side chain, which is an ROS scavenger synthesized. In this study, we evaluated the protective effect of compound 5 on the kidney after cisplatin administration and its mechanism. The results founded that compound 5 can alleviate serum urea nitrogen and serum creatinine induced by cisplatin administration in vivo. In addition, histopathological analysis of the kidneys showed that compound 5 significantly reduced cisplatin-induced (Cis -induced) renal toxicity compared with the cisplatin group. A mechanism study showed that compound 5 significantly reduces NOX4 levels, improves the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and GSH-Px), reduces Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, increases the total antioxidant level, reduces oxidative stress, and thus reduces kidney tissue damage. At the same time, compound 5 activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway. In addition, it can increase the expression of Bax, reduce the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis, which is beneficial to the survival of kidney cells. Additionally, compound 5 did not interfere with the antitumor effects of cisplatin in in vivo xenotransplantation models. • Compound 5, a free radical scavenger, mitigates kidney damage caused by cisplatin. • It suppressed renal MDA, NOX4, Nrf2, boosted SOD and GSH-Px, thus improving T-AOC. • It augmented Bax, downregulated Bcl-2 and caspase3, ultimately inhibiting apoptosis. • It does not affect the antitumor effect of cisplatin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, many sparse linear discriminant analysis methods have been proposed for classification and variable selection of the high-dimensional data. In order to solve the multiclass sparse discriminant problem for high-dimensional data under the Gaussian graphical model, this paper proposes a multiclass sparse discrimination analysis method by incorporating the graphical structure among predictors, which is named as IG-MSDA method. Our proposed IG-MSDA method can be used to estimate the vectors of all discriminant directions simultaneously. Under certain regularity conditions, it is shown that the proposed IG-MSDA method can consistently estimate all discriminant directions and the Bayes rule. Further, we establish the convergence rates of the estimators for the discriminant directions and the conditional misclassification rates. Finally, simulation studies and a real data analysis demonstrate the good performance of our proposed IG-MSDA method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First‐principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) are used to investigate the phase transition characteristics, electronic structures, and optical properties of pure and Co‐doped VO2 (M1 and R phase). Studies show that the metal‐to‐insulator phase transition temperature of VO2 is significantly reduced after Co doping, which is correlated to the decrease of bandgap value. Besides, the decrease of the energy required for electron transition of M1‐phase Co‐doped VO2 corresponds to the imaginary part of the dielectric peak moving to the low‐energy region. For both the M1‐ and R‐phase VO2, the visible light transmissivity of the Co‐doped VO2 is increased than that of pure VO2, which is beneficial to the application of VO2 film as visible windows. In addition, the absorptivity and reflectivity of Co‐doped R‐phase VO2 in the infrared light range are larger than those of M1‐phase VO2, indicating that the Co‐doped VO2 can block more infrared light at higher temperature to fulfill the purpose of lowering temperature. Overall, these results give new insights for the application of Co‐doped VO2 as a photoenergy material to regulate the room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phototherapy, including photothermal and photodynamic therapy, has gained extensive attention in the tumor treatment field recently, while synergistic therapy can significantly improve curative effects. However, a complicated photo-responsive nanosystem, different excitation wavelengths, and low tissue depth hindered its actual application. Herein, single near-infrared responsive PEGylated defective MoO2 nanocrystals were fabricated by a green hydrothermal method. The photothermal and photodynamic performances of the samples were presented in detail under a safe power of 1064 nm (NIR-II, 1.0 W cm−2). Interestingly, the photodynamic properties were prompted by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) photothermal effect obviously, and the collaborative enhancement mechanism was explored in depth. Subsequently, the in vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated on the 4T1 cancer cells under NIR-II irradiation. This work may provide guidance for the facile fabrication of TMOs for NIR-II responsive and enhanced dual-modal phototherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major component of water cycle, the accuracy quantification of different precipitation products is critical for evaluating climate change and ecosystem functions. However, a lack of evidence is available to choose a precise precipitation product in relative applications. Here, to solve this limit, we analyze the spatiotemporal pattern and accuracy of four precipitation products, including CHIRPS V2.0, PERSIANN-CDR, ECMWF ERA5-Land, and GLDAS_NOAH025_3H, over China during the period of 1981–2020, based on the five precipitation traits (i.e., spatial pattern of multi-year average, annual trend, seasonality, frequency, and intensity), and meteorological gauge observations are taken as the benchmark. Our results show that, compared to other products, CHIRPS data has the strongest ability to present spatial pattern of multi-year average precipitation, especially in most parts of northeastern and southern China, and ERA5 has the weakest ability to simulate the multi-year average precipitation. All four precipitation products can accurately depict the spatial pattern of seasonality, among which CHIRPS and ERA5 have the highest and lowest fitting ability, respectively, but four products poorly describe the spatial pattern of precipitation intensity and frequency at a daily scale. These products only correctly predict the interannual precipitation trend in some local areas. Our findings provide evidences to select high-quality precipitation data, and could help to improve the accuracy of relative geophysical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates show that carbonate reservoirs contribute to 60% of the world's total oil and gas production, where fractured reservoir bodies are the most widely and commonly distributed. Among all materials for plugging fractured reservoir bodies, gel plugging agent is very suitable, for which can solve the problems of rapid increase of water cut and rapid production reduction of wells. However, the plugging mechanism of gel plugging agent in fractured carbonate oil reservoir is still unclear. In this paper, AM/AMPS phenolic gel was prepared. Besides, a microscopic visualization research system of fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs was designed and established independently, and the fractured core model was self-made. Through the core flow test and microscopic visualization experiment, the plugging performance and mechanism of gel plugging agent in fractured carbonate oil reservoir were thorughly studied. The results demonstrated that AM/AMPS phenolic gel has selective plugging performance in fractures. After the system is gelled, it mainly plugs the water-bearing layer, with a water plugging rate as high as 99.82 %, and basically does not plug the oil-bearing layer, with an oil plugging rate of only 11.7%. It can be known that gel plugging agent has a plugging mechanism of mainly "inhibiting high-permeability reservoirs and unclogging low-permeability reservoirs", and it is characterized by "plugging without stopping". As a result, it can slowly migrate through high-permeability reservoirs and form a re-plugging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tricobalt tetraoxide (Co 3 O 4) nanoparticles have excellent applications in the fields of electricity, photocatalysis, and ceramics, whereas conventional synthesis methods require sophisticated equipment, strictly controlled conditions, and long duration. Herein, a new method for the synthesis of Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles was proposed. In this emulsion detonation method, the precursor cobalt nitrate hexahydrate (Co(NO 3) 2 ·6H 2 O) was added during the production of the explosives and was therefore more uniformly dispersed than in other detonation methods. The preparation and detonation durations of the explosives were on the scale of minutes and microseconds, respectively, which are much shorter than those in other nanomaterial synthesis methods. The collected products were briefly purified and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and field emission transmission electron microscopy. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements were performed. The results show that the synthesized products were of high purity and consisted mainly of sphere-like particles with a dimensional distribution of approximately 50 nm. The electrochemical properties of these Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles were similar to those synthesized by conventional methods. Combined with the detonation theory and the initial composition of the products, the analysis showed that the synthesis mechanism is mainly divided into two stages: formation and polymerization. Therefore, this approach could provide a new and effective synthesis method for the low-cost production of Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Scrophularia ningpoensis is a well‐known medicinal crop. Continuous cropping seriously affects the yield and quality, but little is known about the influence of continuous cropping on metabolic pathways. In this study, the difference in protein abundance between continuous cropping and non‐continuous cropping of S. ningpoensis roots was studied by proteomics, and the molecular mechanism that protects S. ningpoensis against continuous cropping was explored. RESULTS: The results suggested that continuous cropping in S, ningpoensis altered the expression of proteins related to starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, citric acid cycle, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, monoterpenoid biosynthesis, sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis, and steroid biosynthesis. Among these processes, the most affected were phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism, which may be important for continuous cropping resistance. CONCLUSION: The effect of continuous cropping on S. ningpoensis was demonstrated at the proteome level in this work, and identified candidate proteins that may cause continuous cropping reactions. The paper provides the theoretical foundation and scientific reference for enhancing the continuous cropping resistance of S. ningpoensis. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to determine the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on overall survival (OS) of patients with stage IIIB–IV non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLC from January 2015 to December 2018 in the Department of Oncology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kaplan–Meier plots, log‐rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to describe the effect of T2DM on the OS of patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLC. Results: This study collected data on 76 patients with NSCLC and T2DM (group A) and 214 NSCLC patients without T2DM (group B). After propensity score matching (PSM) analysis, 74 patients were included in each group. The mean OS of all patients was 17 months (range, 11–31 months). The mean OS of group A was 15 months (range, 8–25 months) and the mean OS of group B was 20 months (range, 14–39 months). The mean OS of group B was longer than group A, and the difference was statistically significant. Univariate analysis of the clinical data showed that T2DM and complications were significantly correlated with the prognosis of patients with stage IIIB‐IV NSCLC (p = 0.003 and p = 0.034). Multivariate Cox model analysis showed that T2DM and complications were independent prognostic factors for patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLC (p = 0.002 and p = 0.024, respectively). Conclusion: Stage IIIB–IV NSCLC patients without T2DM have an increased OS compared to patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLE and T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was aimed at evaluating the regulatory effects of dietary lipid levels on growth performance, osmoregulation, fatty acid composition, lipid metabolism, and physiological response in Acanthopagrus schlegelii under low salinity (5 psu). An 8-week feeding trial was conducted in juvenile A. schlegelii with an initial weight of 2.27 ± 0.05 g, and six isonitrogenous experimental diets were formulated with graded levels of lipid: 68.7 g/kg (D1), 111.7 g/kg (D2), 143.5 g/kg (D3), 188.9 g/kg (D4), 239.3 g/kg (D5), and 269.4 g/kg (D6), respectively. Results indicated that fish fed with diet containing 188.9 g/kg lipid significantly improved growth performance. Dietary D4 improved ion reabsorption and osmoregulation by increasing the concentrations of Na+, K+, and cortisol in serum and activities of Na+/K+-ATPase as well as expression levels of osmoregulation related to gene expression levels in the gill and intestine. The expression levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis-related genes were dramatically upregulated when dietary lipid levels increased from 68.7 g/kg to 189.9 g/kg with levels of docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and DHA/EPA ratio being highest in the D4 group. When fish fed dietary lipid levels from 68.7 g/kg to 188.9 g/kg, lipid homeostasis could be maintained by upregulating sirt1 and pparα expression levels, whereas lipid accumulation was observed in dietary lipid levels of 239.3 g/kg and over. Fish fed with high dietary lipid levels resulted in physiological stress related to oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress. In conclusion, based on weight gain, the optimal dietary lipid requirement of juvenile A. schlegelii reared at low-salinity water is 196.0 g/kg. These findings indicate that the optimal dietary lipid level can improve growth performance, n-3 LC-PUFA accumulation, and osmoregulatory ability and maintain lipid homeostasis and normal physiological functions of juvenile A. schlegelii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor that seriously endangers health. Early ovarian cancer symptoms are frequently challenging to detect, resulting in a large proportion of patients reaching an advanced stage when diagnosed. Conventional diagnosis relies heavily on serum biomarkers and pathological examination, but their sensitivity and specificity require improvement. Targeted therapy inhibits tumor growth by targeting certain characteristics of tumor cells, such as signaling pathways and gene mutations. However, the effectiveness of targeted therapy varies among individuals due to differences in their unique biological characteristics and requires individualized strategies. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for ovarian cancer due to its long-lasting antitumor effect. Nevertheless, issues such as variable efficacy, immune-associated adverse effects and drug resistance remain to be resolved. The present review discusses the diagnostic strategies, rationale, treatment strategies and prospects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the optimal method for simulating impact welding, we compared detailedly the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and structured arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (S-ALE) methods in predicting bonding interface. Based on the experimental results of Cu-Q235 steel atmospheric explosive welding, an in-depth analysis was presented. The results show that the SPH and S-ALE methods converged at element sizes of 2.5 and 2 μm, respectively. When the element size was further reduced to 0.5 % of the wavelength, the errors of both methods were less than 5 %. Benefiting from the gradient mesh, the efficiency of the S-ALE method was 2–4 times that of the SPH method at the same element size. With the addition of the gas medium, the S-ALE method derived the formation mechanism of the gap gas shockwave and indicated that the pressure distribution is not uniform. Furthermore, the local high pressure of the gas shockwave prevents the vortex closure during the wave formation, generating the pore. The calculated pressure and velocity of the wavefront were 20 MPa and 3500 m s−1, respectively. In conclusion, the SPH is suitable for fast previewing waveform interfaces, while the S-ALE method has the advantage of capturing fine waveform structures under various environmental conditions. [Display omitted] • Independent analyses of the impact welding process was carried out by the SPH and S-ALE methods. • The SPH and S-ALE methods revealed different reasons for describing the initial disturbance. • The two methods present their own advantages in facing different problems. • The S-ALE method can capture some defects generated by explosive welding in the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tahe oil field is a typical fissure cave carbonate reservoir with a temperature of up to 120~140 °C and a total salinity of formation water of (20~25) × 104 mg/L. In this paper, AM/AMPS was selected as the polymer, 1, 5-dihydroxy naphthol as the cross-linking agent, and polypropylene fiber as the system stabilizer to synthesize a novel gel plugging agent independently; the gel has good thermal stability at a high temperature of 130 °C and increased salinity of 20 × 104 mg/L, and has a dense and relatively stable three-dimensional network structure under a scanning electron microscope. The performance evaluation of the gel plugging agent indicated that: the gel dehydration rate increased gradually with the increase in temperature and salinity, making it suitable for reservoirs with temperatures below 140 °C and formation water salinity below 250,000 mg/L; the viscosity of the gel bulk was 125.3 mPa∙s, the post-gelatinizing viscosity was 42,800 mPa∙s, and the gelatinizing time at 120 °C, 130 °C and 140 °C was 10–20 h, 8–18 h, and 7–16 h, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four fluorimetric probes had been developed to rapidly detect 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). They were designed and synthesized on the basis of 1,3,4-thiadiazole framework combining calculation with experiment. Among them, SK-1 displayed strong blue emission with fluorescence quantum yield as high as 63.6% in solution. Further evaluation demonstrated that SK-1 displays good selectivity and high sensitivity for rapid and visual detection of TNP. It brought significant changes in both colour and fluorescence emission spectrum. The detection limit was as low as 38 nM. Quenching mechanism was confirmed as photo-induced electron transfer (PET) by nuclear magnetic titration and DFT calculations. What's more, application in real water samples and solid phase paper tests illustrated the practical significance of detection of TNP in both vapor and solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate segmentation of the left atrium (LA) from late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE CMR) images is crucial for aiding the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation. Few-shot learning holds significant potential for achieving accurate LA segmentation with low demand on high-cost labeled LGE CMR data and fast generalization across different centers. However, accurate LA segmentation with few-shot learning is a challenging task due to the low-intensity contrast between the LA and other neighboring organs in LGE CMR images. To address this issue, we propose an Adaptive Dynamic Inference Network (ADINet) that explicitly models the differences between the foreground and background. Specifically, ADINet leverages dynamic collaborative inference (DCI) and dynamic reverse inference (DRI) to adaptively allocate semantic-aware and spatial-specific convolution weights and indication information. These allocations are conditioned on the support foreground and background knowledge, utilizing pixel-wise correlations, for different spatial positions of query images. The convolution weights adapt to different visual patterns based on spatial positions, enabling effective encoding of differences between foreground and background regions. Meanwhile, the indication information adapts to the background visual pattern to reversely decode foreground LA regions, leveraging their spatial complementarity. To promote the learning of ADINet, we propose hierarchical supervision, which enforces spatial consistency and differences between the background and foreground regions through pixel-wise semantic supervision and pixel-pixel correlation supervision. We demonstrated the performance of ADINet on three LGE CMR datasets from different centers. Compared to state-of-the-art methods with ten available samples, ADINet yielded better segmentation performance in terms of four metrics. • A few-shot LA segmentation framework for handling low-intensity contrast scenarios. • Spatial-specific and semantic-aware dynamic weights for difference encoding. • Spatial-agnostic and semantic-aware dynamic weights for single pattern encoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available evidence suggests that air pollutants can cause stroke, but little research has investigated the confounding effects of urban-rural differences. Here, we investigated the urban-rural difference in the correlation between particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) exposure and stroke. This cohort study was based on a prospective multi-city community-based cohort (Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study (GPHCS)) in Guizhou Province, China. A total of 7988 eligible individuals (≥18 years) were enrolled with baseline assessments from November 2010 to December 2012, and follow-up was completed by June 2020. Two major particulate matters (PMs, including PM 2.5 and PM 10) were assessed monthly from 2000 by using satellite-based spatiotemporal models. The risk of stroke was estimated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. The association between particulate matters' exposure and stroke in different areas (total, urban, and rural) and the potential modification effect of comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia) and age (≤65/>65 years) were examined using stratified analyses. The risk of stroke increased for every 10 μg/m3 increase in mean PMs' concentrations during the previous 1 year at the residential address (HR: 1.26, 95%CI: 1.24, 1.29 (PM 2.5); HR: 1.13, 95%CI: 1.11, 1.15 (PM 10)). The presence of diabetes and dyslipidemia increased the risk of PM 10 -induced stroke in whole, urban, and rural areas. Specifically, people living in rural areas were more likely to experience the effects of PMs in causing a stroke. The risk of stroke due to PMs was statistically increased in the young and older populations living in rural areas. In conclusion, long-term exposure to PMs increased the risk of stroke and such association was more pronounced in people living in rural areas with lower income levels. Diabetes and dyslipidemia seemed to strengthen the association between PMs and stroke. • A multi-city prospective cohort study in Southwest China. • PMs' (PM 2.5 and PM 10) exposures were associated with higher risk of stroke. • Rural populations with lower income levels were more susceptible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Densities and specific heat capacities of molten FNaBe+ M F n (M = Rb, Sr, Y, Zr) were predicted. • Structural characteristics of multivalent halophilic fission products in molten FNaBe were analyzed. • Volume increments of molten FNaBe+ M F n were primarily caused by the Na-Na and M -F interaction. • Specific heat capacities of molten FNaBe+ZrF 4 were closely related to the stability of Zr-F bonds. • Concentration of YF 3 additive had a positive effect on the heat capacity of molten FNaBe+YF 3. A comprehensive study by integrating first principles molecular dynamic (FPMD) simulations and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments on the physicochemical properties of multiple halophilic fission products (M F n = RbF, SrF 2 , YF 3 , and ZrF 4) and molten NaF-BeF 2 (FNaBe) mixed salts is reported. The effect mechanism of product type on density and specific heat capacity has been discussed from the interionic distance and its stability, coordination number and its distribution, as well as the neighbor cluster structure and its orientation. It is concluded that volume increments of molten FNaBe+ M F n are primarily caused by Na-Na and M -F interactions, while the highest specific heat capacities (c p) of molten FNaBe+ZrF 4 is closely related to the stability of Zr-F bonds and its coordination structures. Furthermore, the DSC results assisted by quantitative analysis of elements indicate that the additive concentration of YF 3 is positively correlated with c p of molten FNaBe+YF 3 in a certain range. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop anti-ischemic stroke drugs with higher blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetrating capability and neuroprotective activity, a series of hybrid compounds containing edaravone analogue and 3- n -butylphthalide (NBP) ring-opened derivatives were synthesized and biologically evaluated. Among them, compound 10a displayed the highest protective activity in SH-SY5Y cells against oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) and H 2 O 2 insults. Experiment results indicated that 10a could inhibit platelet aggregation via the synergistic action of the edaravone analogue and NBP, and its oral administration protected the rats against ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury. Moreover, 10a effectively inhibited apoptosis and reduced oxidative stress in OGD-exposed cells. Further analysis suggested that 10a might alleviate oxidative damage in SH-SY5Y cells via the modulation of the Nrf2 pathway. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that 10a can emerge as a potential candidate drug for the treatment of ischemic stroke. • Novel compounds with edaravone and 3- n -butylphthalide ring were synthesized. • 10a with dimethylamino moiety had highest neuroprotective activity. • 10a inhibited platelet aggregation and suppressed cell apoptosis. • 10a reduced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells via the Nrf2 pathway. • 10a protected the rats against ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Highly sensitive fluorescent hydrazone derivatives for detection of Cu(II) ion were synthesized. • Probe PF emitted bright green fluorescence and achieved detection within 10 s. • The detection limit of PF was as low as 0.021 µM. • A color signal-based visual assessment was developed using 'Colorimeter' and smartphone sensing platform. Two novel fluorescent probes PF and KF based on hydrazine, coumarin/quinoline and pyrimidine motif were synthesized. Both of them showed great turn-off fluorescence response to Cu2+ in aqueous solution, which was accompanied by a significant change from bright green and blue fluorescence to dark. They possessed satisfactory detection performances to Cu2+ including specific selectivity and anti-interference, low detection limit, fast response and recyclability. In addition, they were successfully used for paper-based indicators that can be easily applied for naked-eye detection of Cu2+ as expected. Probe PF was also successfully used for portable detection of Cu2+ by smartphone sensing platform and in real water samples. DFT calculations and systematic experiment research indicated possible mechanism was that Cu2+ bound to fluorophore molecules through spin–orbit coupling effect, formation of PF / KF + Cu2+ complex led to fluorescence quenching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new compounds phomtersines A-C (1 – 3) together with nine known compounds were isolated from the marine-derived fungus Phomopsis tersa FS441. Their structures were sufficiently established by spectroscopic methods, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR techniques and modified Snatzke's method. Moreover, compounds 1–12 were evaluated for cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. As a result, phomtersine B (2) and the known compound 10 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against the four tested cell lines with IC 50 values ranging from 20.21 to 36.53 μM, and phomtersine A (1) exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against LPS-induced NO production. [Display omitted] • Phomtersines A-C were isolated from the marine-derived fungus Phomopsis tersa. • The structures were established by spectroscopic methods and modified Snatzke's method. • The cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of all compounds were measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Structural and thermophysical properties of molten FNaBe-ZrF 4 were simulated by FPMD. • Strong competitive effect between Zr and Be had been identified from the RDFs and PMFs. • Short- and intermediate-range coordination structures of -cation-F-cation- were captured. • Density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity of molten FNaBe increased with the addition of ZrF 4. • ZrF 4 is preferably 8.70 mol% to maintain the comprehensive performance of molten mixture. Molten NaF-BeF 2 (FNaBe) eutectic salt containing a small amount of ZrF 4 additive has attracted extensive attention in the application of fuel salt carriers for the Gen IV nuclear reactor. Herein, the local structures of radial and angular distribution functions (RDFs and ADFs) as well as the thermophysical properties of densities, thermal conductivities, and viscosities for molten FNaBe- x ZrF 4 (x = 2.3 to 12.5 mol%) are investigated through first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. Compared with pure FNaBe, the additive hardly changes the nearest neighbor structures between cations and F anions but has a noticeable impact on the RDFs of F-F and Na-Na pairs. Besides, the interaction potential barriers between Zr-F and Be-F ionic pairs are quite similar, indicating that the ability of Zr and Be to capture F ions is equivalent. From ADFs, the quadrilateral Na-F-Na-F rings, corner-shared tetrahedral Be-F series, and corner-shared octahedral Zr-F cluster configurations are clearly identified. Overall, the density, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of molten FNaBe are prominently increased by the addition of ZrF 4. Eventually, it is predicted that the optimal additive concentration of ZrF 4 is 8.7 mol% considering the comprehensive physicochemical performance of the molten mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the seasonal frozen area of northeast China, cement concrete is usually in a working environment of cold climate and chlorine erosion coupling effect. In general, with a reasonable addition of air entraining agent (AEA) and multimineral admixtures such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume, the durability of cement concrete under the effects of freeze-thaw and salt solution can be significantly improved in cold regions. However, due to several more compositions of cement concrete with multiple mineral admixtures, it would take excessive trial mixtures to select the desired mixture proportion based on the conventional method. This means a great deal of costs of raw materials and laboratory experimental time. In this paper, the experimental scheme of mixture proportion for air-entrained concrete with multimineral admixtures was designed based on the orthogonal experiment design method. Based on the compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability, and weight loss and relative dynamic elastic modulus after salt freeze-thaw cycles, the influence of different mineral admixtures and their dosages on the durability of concrete subjected to freeze-thaw in salt solution was analyzed. After that, based on genetic algorithm, an optimization of mixture proportion was proposed, which only requires less trial mixes and accessible optimization process. The test results indicated the superiority of air-entrained concrete with multimineral admixtures when serving in salt freeze-thaw environment. Eventually, it was also verified that the optimized concrete in this paper could achieve pleasurable durability performances under salt freeze-thaw cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High expression of suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS) has been detected during various viral infections. As a negative feedback regulator, SOCS participates in the regulation of multiple signalling pathways. In this study, to study the related mechanism between SOCS and BDV and to explore the effect of SOCS on IFN pathways in nerve cells, downregulated of SOCS1/3 in oligodendroglial (OL) cells and OL cells persistently infected with BDV (OL/BDV) were constructed with RNA interference technology. An interferon inducer (poly I:C, PIC) and an IFN‐α/β R1 antibody were used as stimulation in the SOCS1/3 low‐expression cell models, qRT‐PCR was used to detect type I IFN and BDV nucleic acid expression, Western blot was used to detect the expression of BDV P40 protein. After BDV acute infection with OL cells which with downregulated SOCS expression, the virus accounting was not detected, and the viral protein expression was lower than that of OL/BDV cells; the OL/BDV cells with downregulated SOCS expression had lower virus nucleic acid and protein expression than OL/BDV cells. Stimulated by IFN‐α/β R1 antibody, the expression of type I interferon in OL/BDV cells decreased, and the content of BDV nucleic acid and protein increased, which was higher than that of OL/BDV cells. From the results, it was concluded that downregulating SOCS1/3 can inhibit the formation of acute BDV infection and virus replication in persistent BDV infection by promoting the expression of IFN‐α/β and that SOCS can be used as a new target for antiviral therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Phase transition behavior of NaCl–MgCl 2 eutectic was first revealed. • 5-fold coordination dominates the coordination structure of Mg2+ in NaCl-MgCl 2. • High temperature is conducive to the formation of 4-fold coordinated structure. • Simulated thermophysical properties of NaCl–MgCl 2 agree well with experiments. First principle molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations in combination with experimental measurements are applied to investigate the phase transition behavior of NaCl-MgCl 2 eutectic salt from 823 to 573 K. First, the essential phase transition indexes of thermal expansion coefficient, density, melting point, and enthalpy of fusion for NaCl-MgCl 2 eutectic obtained by simulations and experiments are in good agreement with each other. Second, the micro-structural characteristics during phase transition are depicted by the temperature dependences of angular distribution function, radial distribution function and coordination number. The structural evolution of NaCl-MgCl 2 eutectic is illustrated from the rearrangement of polyhedral M g C l n 2 - n clusters, and it is founded that high and low temperature are conducive to the formation of 4-fold and 6-fold coordinated structure, respectively. Third, the ionic self-diffusion coefficients for NaCl-MgCl 2 eutectic are predicted and concluded that Mg2+ behaves like a complex than as a free ion resulting in less diffusivity. Therefore, the shear viscosities of molten NaCl-MgCl 2 as well as the corresponding pre-exponential factor and activation energy are evaluated considering the solvodynamic mean radius of all the diffusive particles. Ultimately, two figures of merit for molten NaCl-MgCl 2 are deduced to evaluate the heat-transfer and heat-loss performance by integrating multiple thermal properties including density, viscosity, specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Overall, these simulation results are in satisfactory agreement with available reference data, indicating that the FPMD simulations work extremely well in predicting the thermophysical and structural properties of NaCl-MgCl 2 , which also provide insights for the applications of binary chloride salts in thermal energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on survival of patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed NSCLC patients who had undergone radical lung cancer surgery from January 2011 to December 2014 in the Anhui Medical University affiliated Anhui Provincial Hospital. Kaplan‐Meier plots, log‐rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to describe the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the overall survival of patients with NSCLC. Results: A total of 769 patients with NSCLC were enrolled, including 126 in the diabetic mellitus group and 643 in the nondiabetic mellitus group. The one, three, and five‐year survival for patients with and without diabetes mellitus were 86.1% versus 89.6%, 49.5% versus 62.4%, and 33.3% versus 40.6%, respectively. The Cox model showed that type 2 diabetes mellitus was a poor independent prognostic factors for NSCLC patients. In addition, metformin is a good independent prognostic factor for patients with non‐small cell lung cancer with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusions: NSCLC patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus have an increased survival rate compared with those with type 2 diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia–methane (NH3–CH4) mixtures have potentials to serve as low-carbon fuels for gas turbines. Recent studies demonstrated that secondary air injection was an effective strategy to reduce NOx emissions from the combustion of NH3–CH4–air mixtures. However, the effects of secondary air injection on the performance of thermoacoustic instability of NH3–CH4–air flames remain unknown. To this end, this study experimentally investigated the thermoacoustic instability performance of a premixed, swirl-stabilized NH3–CH4–FF air combustor without and with secondary air injection. Without secondary air injection, thermoacoustic instabilities were widely detected at NH3 ratios below 50% (by volume). It was discovered that such instabilities were significantly suppressed by secondary air injection over a wider range of operating conditions. In conjunction with the analysis of the flame and flow dynamics, it was revealed that the secondary air injection suppressed the large amplitude axial oscillations of the flame and the flow field. Combined with the experimental results, it was inferred that the introduction of secondary air changed the velocity and pressure distribution downstream of the primary combustion zone, which in turn affected the formation and evolution of the vortex structures, thereby mitigating thermoacoustic coupling. Finally, emission measurements were discussed and the results indicated that the secondary air injection strategy reduced unburnt NH3 and CO emissions to a certain extent as well as decreased NOx emissions at specific equivalence ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor with a high incidence and mortality worldwide. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy is a common treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) as it reduces colostomy and local recurrence. The RAS (rat sarcoma)-RAF (extracellular signal-regulated kinase)-MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)-ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway regulates important cellular processes in the CRC. Abnormal ERK activation stimulates cell growth and provides a survival advantage. Our group has previously reported that the compound KZ02 has a stronger ability to inhibit tumor growth than AZD6244 (a MEK inhibitor). In this study, we evaluated the antitumor activity of KZ02 in combination with ionizing radiation (IR) and investigated its mechanism of action in BRAF -mutated colorectal cancer. Our results showed that this combination kills tumor cells better than either radiation or drugs alone, both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, studies have shown that KZ02 inhibits ERK overactivation. The combination resulted in a G1 phase arrest, a reduction in the radioresistant S phase, and aggravating DNA damage. It can also inhibit Pim-1 (Moloney murine leukemia virus-1), p-BAD (Bcl-2 associated agonist of cell death), Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) and Bcl-XL (B-cell lymphoma-extra large) levels and promote apoptosis when combined with radiation. Our results suggest that KZ02 significantly increases the radiosensitivity of BRAF -mutated CRC cells by perturbing the cell cycle, increasing DNA damage, and promoting tumor apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the association between methylation and the high expression of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) in ovarian cancer by detecting the methylation rate and the degree of expression. The present study investigated the expression of SOCS1 mRNA and SOCS1 protein in ovarian cancer and normal ovary tissues using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry, and the methylation status of the CpG islands of SOCS1 mRNA in ovarian cancer tissue were examined using a methylation-specific PCR. The expression levels of SOCS1 mRNA in ovarian cancer specimens were significantly increased compared with that in the normal ovary tissues (P=0.0215). Consistent with this, the expression levels of SOCS1 protein in ovarian cancer specimens were significantly increased, while the methylation rate of SOCS1 mRNA was significantly decreased compared with that in the normal ovary tissues. Therefore, it may be concluded that the low methylation rate of SOCS1 mRNA in ovarian cancer increased the expression of SOCS1 mRNA, which may serve a role in the development of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract CeF 3 and CeF 3 :Tb3+ particles have been successfully synthesized in a low temperature by the facile molten salt synthesis (MSS) method using NaNO 3 and KNO 3 as the reaction medium. The phase, morphology, photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence properties of the samples were investigated systematically. The substitution of Tb3+ ions in the CeF 3 lattice has a significant influence on the phase, microstructure and photoluminescent intensity. The emission intensity of CeF 3 : Tb3+ increases with the concentration of Tb3+, reaching a maximum at 20%Tb mol. The excitation peaks suggest the energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+, and the maximal energy transfer rate is estimated to be 98.2%. Under the excitation of the low voltage electron beams, the CeF 3 :Tb3+ phosphor shows the characteristic emissions of Tb3+ which is similar to the photoluminescence properties. The outstanding luminescence properties make the as-obtained samples highly potential in displays, sensors and telecommunications. Graphical abstract CeF 3 and CeF 3 :Tb3+ particles were prepared in a large scale by a facile molten salt synthesis (MSS) method. The substitution of Tb3+ ions in the CeF 3 lattice induces the transformation of phase, microstructure and morphology. High energy transfer rate of 98.2% is obtained at the Tb3+ concentration of 20%, making the as-obtained samples highly potential in displays, sensors and telecommunications. Low Temperature Molten Salt Synthesis of CeF 3 and CeF 3 :Tb3+ Phosphors with Efficient Luminescence Properties fx1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local coordination structure, as well as its structural dynamics, of molten LiCl-KCl-PuCl3 mixture is revealed by first-principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations in terms of radial distribution functions, partial structural factors, and van Hove correlation functions. The self-diffusion coefficients and ionic conductivities are evaluated from the mean square displacements of ions, and the viscosity is then estimated from the self-diffusion coefficient of Pu3+. It is concluded that the FPMD simulations give satisfactory results compared with existing literature values. Therefore, the FPMD simulations can provide basic physicochemical information if such information is unavailable in literature and microscopic insight into the mechanism of the pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The relation between flow instability and friction pressure drop of flow boiling in multichannel was investigated by visualization experiments and theoretical analysis. Based on visualization observation, both slug flow and liquid-plug flow were the dominating flow patterns for all operation conditions, and combing with flow instability simultaneous. With theoretical analysis, the vapor slug extension growth velocity would affect the shear force which was the main reason for friction pressure drop. In addition, the channels number and the channel length had significant effects on flow instability. With the simplified vapor growth model and the analysis on the collected database statistically, the modified friction factor, f inter , and the structure factor, f str , were proposed for the revised homogenous friction pressure drop correlation. By comparing with the database, the modified pressure drop correlation predicted the collected experimental data in a good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the side effects of and resistance to cisplatin, a variety of Pt(IV) prodrugs were designed and synthesized via different modifications including combination with lipid chains to increase hydrophobicity, conjugation with short peptide chains or nanoparticles to improve drug delivery, or addition of bioactive ligands to the axial positions of Pt(IV) complexes to exert dual-function effects. This review summarizes the recent progress in the development of Pt(IV) prodrugs conjugated with bioactive-targeting ligands, including histone deacetylase inhibitors, p53 agonists, alkylating agents, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Although Pt(IV) complexes that conjugated with bioactive ligands show satisfactory anticancer effects, none has been approved for clinical use. Therefore, we hope that this review will contribute to further study and development of Pt(IV) complexes conjugated with bioactive and other ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boletus auripes is edible and medicinal boletus mushrooms rich in diverse nutrients and bioactive compounds, of which indigestible dietary polysaccharides are the most abundant compounds involved the regulation of gut microbes. However, the physicochemical, digestive, and fermentation characteristics of Boletus auripes polysaccharide (BAP) are not well studied. This study aimed to investigate the influence of different digestive stages on BAP's physicochemical characteristics and biological activities, and its effect on intestinal flora. We found that mannose (0.23 %), glucose (0.31 %), galactose (0.17 %), and fucose (0.19 %) were the main monosaccharides of BAP, with a high-molecular-weight (Mw) and a low-Mw fraction of 2084.83 and 62.93 kDa, respectively. During the course of digestion, there were slight alterations in the chemical composition, monosaccharide composition, and Mw of BAP. Despite these changes, the fundamental structural features of BAP remained largely unaffected. Moreover, the antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of BAP were weakened under simulated saliva-gastrointestinal digestion. However, gut microbiota decomposed and utilized BAP to generate various short-chain fatty acids during fermentation, which decreased the pH of fecal cultures. Meanwhile, BAP modulated the gut microbiota composition and increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. These findings suggest that BAP have potential for maintaining intestinal health and protecting against interrelated diseases. [Display omitted] • Physiochemical properties of BAP were slightly affected by simulated digestion. • Antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of BAP declined as digestion proceeded. • BAP could be metabolized and utilized by intestinal flora. • BAP reduced the proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroides (F/B). • SCFAs, especially acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, remarkably promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the operation of fuel cell vehicles, sulfur dioxide (SO 2) as a primary air pollutant can be transported to the cathode of the fuel cell with the air, leading to poisoning of the cathodic Pt-based catalyst, and subsequently, causing performance degradation and even shutdown. Therefore, there is an urgent need for SO 2 -tolerant Pt-based catalysts to mitigate poisoning in the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report a carbon-supported Mo doped PtCo alloy catalyst with high-performance and anti-sulfur poisoning, termed as Mo-PtCo/C. Detailed investigations demonstrate that the Co in PtCo alloy nanoparticles (NPs) greatly promote ORR activity but do little to improve the SO 2 -tolerance. However, the PtCo alloy NPs doped with Mo not only exhibit a higher ORR activity, but also a superior SO 2 poisoning resistance and a superior recovery performance. The optimal Mo-PtCo/C catalyst demonstrates a high initial mass activity of 871.0 mA mg Pt −1, which is higher than that of the PtCo/C catalyst (initial value=558.8 mA mg Pt −1) and 6.6 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C (20 wt.% Pt, initial value=174.6 mA mg Pt −1), along with a low mass activity loss of 36.19% after SO 2 poisoning, which is much lower than 82.4% of the PtCo/C catalyst and 81.3% of the commercial Pt/C. More importantly, it is revealed that MoO 3 formed on the PtCo NPs surface after Mo doping helps to reduce the electrooxidation potentials of SO 2 to the operating potential of the fuel cell, thereby markedly boosting SO 2 -tolerance. Furthermore, the fuel cells test also confirmed that MoO 3 improved the SO 2 -tolerance of the Mo-PtCo/C catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic prediction has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. However, it is challenging due to the dynamic and heterogeneous spatial–temporal correlations. Most of the existing methods adopt the attention mechanism to capture the dynamic spatial features, but it is difficult for the attention mechanism to learn the real-time change of spatial dependencies, which restrict accurate spatial dependencies learning. Furthermore, most methods are out at elbows when solving heterogeneous spatial–temporal data. To overcome these problems, we propose a novel traffic prediction model called Dynamic spatial–temporal Heterogeneous Graph Convolution Network. Different from the existing methods, we have designed a dynamic localized graph and a corresponding adaptive localized graph convolution network, which are capable of simultaneously capturing dynamic and heterogeneous spatial correlations. We propose a gated adaptive temporal convolution network to capture the temporal heterogeneity of traffic data and enjoy global receptive fields. Finally, a global correlations fusion network is provided to incorporate the global spatial–temporal correlations. Compared with 11 baselines, our proposed model achieves state-of-the-art performance in the accuracy of prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable degradation prognosis of mechanical components is very important for condition-based maintenance to improve the reliability and reduce the cost of maintenance. This paper reports the development of a fuzzy feature fusion and multimodal regression method for the degradation prognosis of mechanical components. Initially, the raw features from the vibration signals of the mechanical components are extracted. A degradation index is subsequently yielded by merging the obtained features through/using the fuzzy fusion technique. The ensemble empirical mode decomposition is then introduced to decompose the fusion index into several multimodal sub-series to acquire more detailed information. Extreme learning machines are established to predict the sub-series in different modes. The predicted results are obtained by integrating the multimodal sub-results. The reported approach was evaluated with real data from a rolling element bearing. Moreover, two peer models were imported to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results indicate that the reported approach is capable of erecting the degradation index reflecting the bearing degradation and that it had better performance in the remaining useful life prediction than the peer methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteopontin (OPN) is a promoter for tumor progression. It has been reported to promote non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression via the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling. As the increased acetylation of NF-κB p65 is linked to NF-κB activation, the regulation of NF-κB p65 acetylation could be a potential treatment target for OPN-induced NSCLC progression. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a deacetylase, and the role of SIRT1 in tumor progression is still controversial. The effect and mechanism of SIRT1 on OPN-induced tumor progression remains unknown. The results presented in this research demonstrated that OPN inhibited SIRT1 expression and promoted NF-κB p65 acetylation in NSCLC cell lines (A549 and NCI-H358). In this article, overexpression of SIRT1 was induced by infection of SIRT1- overexpressing lentiviral vectors. The overexpression of SIRT1 protected NSCLC cells against OPN-induced NF-κB p65 acetylation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as indicated by the reduction of OPN-induced changes in the expression levels of EMT-related markers and cellular morphology. Furthermore, SIRT1 overexpression significantly attenuated OPN-induced cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, overexpression of SIRT1 inhibited OPNinduced NF-κB activation. As OPN induced NSCLC cell EMT through activation of NF-κB signaling, OPN-induced SIRT1 downregulation may play an important role in NSCLC cell EMT via NF-κB signaling. The results suggest that SIRT1 could be a tumor suppressor to attenuate OPN-induced NSCLC progression through the regulation of NF-κB signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the fundamental flow pattern characteristics of R134a flow boiling in a micro-channel heat sink were investigated based on high-speed flow visualization. Visual experiments were operated with R134a as the working fluid. The test section was composed with 20 parallel rectangular channels 500 μm wide, 500 μm deep, and 60 mm long. Mass flux and heat flux were variable from 164 to 573 kg/m 2  s and 1 kW/m 2 to 200 kW/m 2 , respectively, at the inlet temperature of 22 °C. Flow images were recorded with speed up to 10,000 frames/s. Bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow, liquid lump flow, and annular flow were observed experimentally and the results plotted onto an x-G flow pattern map. For “M”-shaped heat transfer coefficient curve, five observed flow patterns were combined into one curve to reflect the heat transfer characteristics of flow boiling in micro-channels. Mechanisms of transition regions (bubbly-slug, slug-churn, churn-liquid lump, and liquid lump-annular) were established accordingly. The Active Nucleation Site Density N a was found to be the most significant parameter in regards to the bubbly-slug and slug-churn transition mechanisms. To verify the effect of the Active Nucleation Site Density ( N a ) on the bubbly-slug transition, the relations of N a and Boiling number at bubbly and slug flow regions were compared; the resulting slope features made the relations of N a and Boiling number easily distinguishable. Classification between the bubbly flow and slug flow of R134a was proposed based on these distinctions. The proposed criterion classified the transition region between the bubbly and slug flow. The proposed transition criterion was proven effective and feasible by comparison against previous transition criteria and datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new breed of solid-state transformer (SST) distribution tail system mainly based on hybrid cascaded multilevel converter and resonant DC-DC converters between medium-voltage distribution and low-voltage customer side. The proposed SST topology mainly combines per-phase cascaded H-bridge converters based on the DC transformers (DCTs) with the square-wave two-level VSC based on the assembled DCT together. The proposed system can offer the operational flexibility for active and reactive power control for medium-voltage side based on the simplified single-stage control system structure concept thanks to the characteristics of the resonant DC-DC converters working under the quasi-resonant mode. Additionally, compared to the existing SST systems, it offers better features such as smaller space volume, simpler control system, lower unit cost, etc. To illustrate the feasibility of the proposed SST distribution tail system, this paper assesses its dynamic performance during steady-state and network alterations, including its response to medium-voltage ac-side unbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As flow boiling in mini/micro-channel, slug flow was corresponding to the optimal heat transfer ability owing to the evaporation of thin liquid film. Based on the heat transfer mechanism of liquid film evaporation, a simplified heat transfer model of slug flow was proposed. Li-Wu heat transfer correlation (Int J Heat Mass Transf 53(9): 1778-1787, 2010) was revised by introducing evaporation parameter, C . With the evaporation parameter, C , the revised correlation predicted the slug flow database with MAE (Mean Absolute Error) 25.14%, which improved the prediction accuracy remarkably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pd@MIL-100(Fe) composite nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), powder X-ray diffraction analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and element mapping. Due to the local restriction or confinement effect of the unique pore/surface structure within the MIL-100(Fe) nanospheres, small Pd nanoparticle (4–6 nm) were obtained with high stability without using any surfactant as stabilizer. The as-synthesized Pd@MIL-100(Fe) composite nanoparticles were then employed for the catalytic reduction of 2/3/4-nitrophenol, which exhibiting high catalytic activity and recyclability attributed to the synergistic effect between Pd nanoparticles and MIL-100(Fe) nanospheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial–temporal graph neural network has drawn more and more attention in recent years and is widely used to various real-world applications. However, learning the spatial–temporal graph neural network structure presents unique challenges including: (i) the dynamic spatial correlation; (ii) the dynamic temporal correlation. Even the existing methods take into account the spatial correlation, they still learn the static road network structure information, which cannot reflect the dynamic of road relations. Some of the works has focused on modeling the long-term time series, but the improvements have been limited tightly. To overcome these challenges, we proposed a novel approach called Multi-View Spatial–Temporal Graph Neural Network. Differ from the existing research, we designed a multi-view temporal transformer module to extract dynamic temporal correlation and enhance the expression of medium and long-term temporal features. We propose a multi-view spatial structure and a corresponding multi-view graph convolutional module, which are capable of simultaneously combining the features of static road network structure and dynamic changes. Compared with 11 baselines, our proposed model has achieved significant improvement in the accuracy of prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]