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Research on the potential association between life-ever gallstones and depressive symptoms is limited. This study aims to evaluate whether the presence of gallstone disease is associated with depressive symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-March 2020 cycles. The presence of depressive symptoms and gallstone disease was assessed using questionnaire responses. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated using a multivariate logistic regression model, with adjustments made for age, sex, race, body mass index, history of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, and pulmonary disease across different models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure the stability of the results. This study included 6201 adults aged 20 years and above, with 539(8.7%) experiencing depressive symptoms. After adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, CVD history, hypertension, arthritis, pulmonary disease, depressive symptoms were possibly associated with life-ever gallstones (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.91–2.08).When depressive symptoms were categorized as mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe,life-ever gallstones was possibly associated with mild depressive symptoms (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.81–1.56), moderate depressive symptoms (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.89–2.12), moderately severe depressive symptoms (OR 1.93, 95% CI 0.93–3.99), and severe depressive symptoms (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.16–2.88).As a continuous variable, life-ever gallstones was associated with the PHQ-9 score (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.02–0.83). The results remained stable after multiple imputation for all missing data. This cross-sectional study demonstrates no significant association between life-ever gallstones and depressive symptoms in US adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The inflammatory response is a key factor in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI), and anti-inflammatory interventions may offer a promising therapeutic strategy. Forsythoside B (FB) is a phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from Forsythiae fructus, which has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. However, the mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of FB on CIRI remains unclear. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R). FB was administered intraperitoneally for 3 days prior to MCAO/R. Cerebral infarct volume and neurological deficit score were used as indices to evaluate MCAO/R injury. The serum levels of inflammatory factors and antioxidant enzymes were measured. The activation of silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (Sirt1) and the inhibition of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor with a pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) pathway were assessed through western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis. Furthermore, the rats were treated with Sirt1 shRNA 3 days before MCAO/R by stereotactical injection into the ipsilateral hemispheric region to assess the impact of Sirt1 knockdown on the protection of FB during MCAO/R. Results: FB reduced cerebral infarct volume and neurological deficit score in MCAO/R rats. FB reduced pathological changes and cell apoptosis in the hippocampal CA1 region and cortex on the ischemic side of rats. FB inhibited the serum levels of inflammatory factors and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Further study showed that FB inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 pathway and induced Sirt1 activation. Conclusion: FB demonstrated neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the NLRP3 pathway through Sirt1 activation in CIRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, extreme weather events associated with atmospheric blocking in the northern extratropics have become more frequent. This study has revealed the impacts of the stratospheric polar vortex on the blockings over the North Atlantic sector, using both reanalysis data and large-ensemble experiments performed by general circulation model. It is found that a weak stratospheric polar vortex (WPV) can cause more blockings to be generated over Greenland and move more westward than normal, while a strong stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) can cause more blockings to be generated over the south of Greenland and Western Europe. The stratospheric polar vortex could influence blocking anomalies by modulating both synoptic-scale eddy and planetary wave activities. Under WPV conditions, the generation of synoptic-scale eddies is suppressed due to decreased upper-troposphere background baroclinicity, which is favorable for positive geopotential height anomalies and more blockings over Greenland. Additionally, WPV can suppress the planetary wave train that is accompanied with lower pressure center over Greenland, further contributing to the positive geopotential height anomalies and more blockings over Greenland. The abovementioned processes under SPV conditions are nearly opposite to those under WPV conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total least squares estimation based on Gauss–Newton method in nonlinear errors-in-variables (NEIV) model will encounter the problems of convergence, correctness and accuracy of solution related to the selected initial parameter values. In this contribution, a new total least squares estimator is introduced to solve NEIV model. This method is an extension of the homotopy nonlinear weighted least square (HNWLS) method, which is used in the nonlinear Gauss–Markov model where only the dependent variables contain random errors. The new estimator is called homotopy nonlinear weighted total least squares (HNWTLS), because it adopts weighted total least squares adjustment criterion and homotopy method to estimate nonlinear model parameters. The homotopy function of HNWTLS is constructed by using the normal equation of weighted total least squares adjustment criterion. By taking the error vector of independent variables as a parameter vector, the NEIV model is transformed into a classical nonlinear adjustment model. Then, according to the conclusion of HNWLS, the calculation formula of HNWTLS is derived, and the corresponding calculation algorithm is developed accordingly, where the standard Euler prediction and Newton correction method are introduced into it to tracks the homotopy curves. Finally, three examples to demonstrate the advantage and efficiency of HNWTLS estimator are given and some conclusions are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray detectors have numerous applications in medical imaging, industrial inspection, and crystal structure analysis. Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) shows potential as a material for high-performance X-ray detectors due to its wide bandgap, relatively high mass attenuation coefficient, and resistance to radiation damage. In this study, we present Sn-doped Ga2O3 microwire detectors for solar-blind and X-ray detection. The developed detectors exhibit a switching ratio of 1.66 × 102 under X-ray irradiation and can operate stably from room temperature to 623 K, which is one of the highest reported operating temperatures for Ga2O3 X-ray detectors to date. These findings offer a promising new direction for the design of Ga2O3-based X-ray detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a language query, temporal grounding task is to localize temporal boundaries of the described event in an untrimmed video. There is a long-standing challenge that multiple moments may be associated with one same video-query pair, termed label uncertainty. However, existing methods struggle to localize diverse moments due to the lack of multi-label annotations. In this paper, we propose a novel Diverse Temporal Grounding framework (DTG) to achieve diverse moment localization with only single-label annotations. By delving into the label uncertainty, we find the diverse moments retrieved tend to involve similar actions/objects, driving us to perceive these interest moments. Specifically, we construct soft multi-label through semantic similarity of multiple video-query pairs. These soft labels reveal whether multiple moments in the intra-videos contain similar verbs/nouns, thereby guiding interest moment generation. Meanwhile, we put forward a diverse moment regression network (DMRNet) to achieve multiple predictions in a single pass, where plausible moments are dynamically picked out from the interest moments for joint optimization. Moreover, we introduce new metrics that better reveal multi-output performance. Extensive experiments conducted on Charades-STA and ActivityNet Captions show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance in terms of both standard and new metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad-spectrum disease resistance (BSR) is crucial for controlling plant diseases and relies on immune signals that are subject to transcriptional and post-translational regulation. How plants integrate and coordinate these signals remains unclear. We show here that the rice really interesting new gene (RING)-type E3 ubiquitin ligase OsRING113 targets APIP5, a negative regulator of plant immunity and programmed cell death (PCD), for 26S proteasomal degradation. The osring113 mutants in Nipponbare exhibited decreased BSR, while the overexpressing OsRING113 plants showed enhanced BSR against Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Furthermore, APIP5 directly suppressed the transcription of the Bowman-Birk trypsin inhibitor genes OsBBTI5 and AvrPiz-t-interacting protein 4 (APIP4). Overexpression of these two genes, which are partially required for APIP5-mediated PCD and disease resistance, conferred BSR. OsBBTI5 and APIP4 associated with and stabilized the pathogenesis-related protein OsPR1aL, which promotes M. oryzae resistance. Our results identify an immune module with integrated and coordinated hierarchical regulations that confer BSR in plants. [Display omitted] • OsRING113 ubiquitinates APIP5 to enhance broad-spectrum disease resistance • OsBBTI5 and APIP4 repressed by APIP5 are required for APIP5-mediated regulation • OsRING113 attenuates APIP5-mediated OsBBTI5 and APIP4 repression • OsBBTI5 and APIP4 stabilize OsPR1aL to enhance rice immunity Zhang et al. demonstrate that the E3 ubiquitin ligase OsRING113, a positive regulator of broad-spectrum disease resistance, ubiquitinates and targets the negative regulator of programmed cell death APIP5 for degradation. The transcription factor APIP5 normally represses the expression of OsBBTI5 and APIP4 , which results in stabilizing the defense-related protein OsPR1aL and enhancing immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collagen from jellyfish has many beneficial effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory activities. However, whether jellyfish collagen hydrolysate (JCH) has any effects on high-fat diet-induced obesity remains unknown. Consequently, we in the present study orally administrated JCH in high-fat diet-fed mice to explore its effects on body weight gain, inflammatory and oxidative status, and cecum microbe composition. The results showed that oral administration of JCH prevented the body weight gain in high-fat diet-treated mice. Meanwhile, glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol level in serum were maintained by JCH administration. Furthermore, JCH administration alleviated oxidative stress by increasing the GSH content and decreasing the level reactive oxygen species in the liver and improved inflammatory response by decreasing the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 gene in the liver and ileum. Importantly, JCH administration helps recover the alteration of microbiota composition induced by high-fat diet, and the genus Romboutsia may critically involve in the beneficial effects of JCH administration. In conclusion, our results indicated that JCH could be potentially used for the prevention and treatment of diet-induced obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of skin trauma is high and the repair process is complex, often leading to poor healing and other issues, which can result in significant economic and social burdens. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a valuable resource with proven effectiveness and safety in wound repair, widely utilized in clinical practice. A systematic analysis of wound healing with a focus on TCM research progress holds both academic and clinical importance. This article reviews the research progress of TCM in promoting wound healing, and provides basic data for the development of innovative drugs that promote wound healing. This article provides a review of the literature from the past decade and conducts a thorough analysis of various databases that contain reports on the use of TCM for wound repair. The data for this systematic research was gathered from electronic databases including CNKI, SciFinder, and PubMed. The study explores and summarizes the research findings and patterns by creating relevant charts. This study reviewed the mechanism of wound healing, experimental TCM methods to promote wound healing, the theory and mode of action of TCM to promote wound healing, the active ingredients of TCM that promote wound healing, the efficacy of TCM formulae to promote wound healing, and the potential toxicity of TCM and its antidotes. This study enriched the theory of TCM in promoting wound healing. Skin wound healing is a complex process that can be influenced by various internal and external factors. This article offers a theoretical foundation for exploring and utilizing TCM resources that enhance wound repair. By analyzing a range of TCM that promote wound healing, the article highlights the clinical importance and future potential of these medicines in promoting wound healing. [Display omitted] • The complex process of wound healing was reviewed. • The experimental methods of TCM promoting wound healing were reviewed. • The mechanism of TCM promoting wound healing was reviewed. • The active components of TCM for wound healing were reviewed. • This article reviews the research progress of TCM formulae in promoting wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hormone melatonin is synthesized from serotonin by two enzymatic reactions (AANAT and ASMT/HIOMT) in the pineal gland following a circadian rhythm with low levels during the day and high levels at night. The robust nightly peak of melatonin secretion is an output signal of the circadian clock to the whole organism. However, so far the regulatory roles of endogenous melatonin in mammalian biological rhythms and physiology processes are poorly understood. Here, we establish congenic mouse lines (>N10 generations) that are proficient or deficient in melatonin synthesis (AH+/+ or AH−/− mice, respectively) on the C57BL/6J genetic background by crossing melatonin‐proficient MSM/Ms with C57BL/6J. AH+/+ mice displayed robust nightly peak of melatonin secretion and had significantly higher levels of pineal and plasma melatonin vs AH−/− mice. Using this mice model, we investigated the role of endogenous melatonin in regulating multiple biological rhythms, physiological processes, and rhythmic behaviors. In the melatonin‐proficient (AH+/+) mice, the rate of re‐entrainment of wheel‐running activity was accelerated following a 6‐hour phase advance of dark onset when comparted with AH−/− mice, suggesting a role of endogenous melatonin in facilitating clock adjustment. Further in the AH+/+ mice, there was a significant decrease in body weight, gonadal weight and reproductive performance, and a significant increase in daily torpor (a hypothermic and hypometabolic state lasting only hours during adverse conditions). Endogenous melatonin, however, had no effect in the modulation of the diurnal rhythm of 2‐[125I]‐iodomelatonin receptor expression in the SCN, free‐running wheel behavior in constant darkness, life span, spontaneous homecage behaviors, and various types of social‐emotional behaviors. The findings also shed light on the role of endogenous melatonin in mice domestication and provide new insights into melatonin's action in reducing energy expenditure during a food shortage. In summary, the congenic mice model generated in this study offers a significant advantage toward understanding of the role of endogenous melatonin in regulating melatonin receptor‐mediated rhythm behaviors and physiological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of pedestrian detection is to identify the location and size of pedestrians in images or videos. However, occlusions are very common in real‐life scenarios, which make pedestrian detection more difficult. In order to solve the occlusion problem in pedestrian detection, a semantic feature enhancement module to acquire more informative and richer semantic features is proposed. The detector enhances semantic features by fusing feature maps of different layers, and detects pedestrians based on their locations and scales. The Experiments performed on Caltech and CityPersons datasets show that the algorithm achieves superior performance for detecting occluded pedestrians, especially heavily occluded ones. 30.6% and 47.9% log‐average missing rates are achieved in the heavily occluded subsets of Caltech and Cityperons, respectively. Moreover, this method is robust to the detection of heavily occluded pedestrians, and the module can be easily used by other detection frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual relationship detection, as a challenging task used to find and distinguish interactions between object-pairs in one image, has received much attention recently. In this work, we devise a unified visual relationship detection framework with two types of correlation exploitation to address the combination explosion problem in the object-pairs proposing stage and the non-exclusive label problem in the predicate recognition stage. In the object-pairs proposing stage, with the exploitation of relative location correlation between two objects in one pair, one location-embedded rating module (LRM) is developed to effectively select plausible proposals. In the predicate recognition stage, one label-correlation graph module (LGM) is introduced to measure the implicit semantic correlation among predicates; and then assign discrete distributed labels to predicates to improve the precision of top-n recall. Experiments on the two widely used VRD and VG datasets show that our proposed method outperforms current state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoroptes ovis var. cuniculi infestation rapidly causes skin lesion, cutaneous inflammatory and subsequent adaptive immune response in rabbits. To success feeding and survive on the host skin, this mite should product bioactive molecules to confront host tissue repair and immune defense, but these molecules of this mite remains mostly unknown. Serpins have been proved to involve in diverse biological functions including parasite reproduction, survival and modulating host defense. Limited information is currently available on serpins from Psoroptes mites. Herein, we identified four novel serpins (PsoSP3-PsoSP6) in P. ovis var. cuniculi using bioinformatics and molecular biology techniques. Sequence analysis revealed that PsoSP3-PsoSP6 comprised the common features of typical serpins superfamily including serpin domains, signature or the reactive centre loop (RCL) domain. The recombinant PsoSP4-PsoSP6 (rPsoSP4-rPsoSP6) revealed variable potency inhibition on trypsin, chymotrypsin and elastase except for rPsoSP3 in inhibitory activity assays. By quantitative RT-PCR, the expressions of PsoSP3 and PsoSP4 were higher in juvenile mites (larva and nymph) than in adult mites, however, PsoSP5 and PsoSP6 appeared near-exclusive expression in adult female mites. Immunolocalization showed that native PsoSP4 protein was localized in uterus, whilst native PsoSP3, PsoSP5 and PsoSP6 were specifically localized in the ovarian nutritive cell (ONC) in ovary. Our findings indicated that PsoSP3-PsoSP6 might play critical roles in development and reproduction physiologies. rPsoSP4-rPsoSP6 might participate in modulating host inflammation, immune response and tissue repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of fifth/sixth-generation (5 G/6 G) telecommunication technologies has led to increased demands for silicate ceramic materials. In this work, Ge4+-substituted diopside, CaMg 0.9 Zn 0.1 Si 2- x Ge x O 6 (CMZSG, x = 0.0–2.0) ceramics were synthesized via the conventional solid-state method. All samples were sintered densely at 1200 ℃ for 4 h. CMZSG ceramics keep a single phase with C 2/ c and the lattice parameters vary smoothly with x. When 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.8, Ge4+ substitution prevents the abnormal grain growth. CMZSG ceramics have enhanced dielectric properties after substituting Ge4+, and the sample with x = 0.1 has the greatest dielectric properties with ε r = 7.78 and Q × f = 190,300 GHz. The dielectric properties in the microwave and terahertz bands are compared, and the larger ε r and Q × f values in the terahertz band are found due to the withdrawal of the partial polarization mechanism and different measurement methods. The relationship between lattice distortions and the dielectric properties is established. Both the local distortion in [Si/GeO 4 ] tetrahedra chain and the distortion within [Si/GeO 4 ] tetrahedron are found to contribute to the enhancement of Q × f values. Furthermore, the increased lattice expansion and the distortion within [Si/GeO 4 ] tetrahedron contribute to a larger negative τ f. These conclusions can guide us to design silicate ceramics with higher Q × f values and near-zero τ f for application. The CaMg 0.9 Zn 0.1 Si 1.9 Ge 0.1 O 6 ceramics exhibit excellent dielectric properties with ε r = 7.48 and Q × f = 303,400 GHz in the terahertz band, rendering it a promising dielectric material for future terahertz mobile communication systems. • The Q × f values in the microwave and terahertz bands vary in the same trend. • Bond strains are calculated from the distortion theorem of the bond-valence theory. • The Q × f values and τ f have strong correlation with lattice distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of electronic devices and wireless communication tools, it is urgent to design and fabricate low-cost, lightweight and effective electromagnetic absorption materials to solve interference of electromagnetic waves. Herein, a new strategy toward porous carbon/graphite nanosheet/ferromagnetic nanoparticle (PC/GNS/Fe) composites was designed to investigate the influence of crystalline carbon on electromagnetic wave absorption. To begin with, graphite nanosheets (GNSs) were incorporated into the porous polyimide by in situ polymerization, and Fe were added as a magnetic particle source and an agent to regulate the pore size. A series of PC/GNS/Fe composite absorbents were obtained. The direct carbonization of porous polymer precursors was beneficial to the design of the pore structure of materials. A hierarchically porous structure derived from the phase separation process was well maintained in the polyimide pyrolysis process. The results demonstrated that the presence of crystalline carbon could influence the reflection loss value and the frequency range. Hence, the absorbing performance can be optimized by adjusting the pore structure and the content of crystalline carbon in materials, which is conducive to obtaining electromagnetic wave absorption materials with excellent comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The Schistosoma japonicum (S japonicum)‐infected ApoE gene deficiency (ApoE−/−) mice were used to determine effect of ApoE on hepatic immunopathology. Methods: Murine activities and appetite, body weight, and ratio of liver weight to its body weight (Hepatic mass index, HMI) were observed. Worm load and liver egg burden were evaluated as the infection intensity. Number and size of liver egg granulomas and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were investigated. We analysed hepatic fibrosis by markers of fibrosis in tissue, detected hepatic Th17 and Treg frequency by flow cytometry, and measured hepatic expressions of RORγt, Foxp3, IL‐17A and TGF‐β1 via qPCR. Lipid metabolism was determined by serum levels of cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) as well as hepatic Oil red O staining. Results: In the infected ApoE−/− mice, the increased infection intensity aggravated the hepatic immunopathology (evidenced by increased HMI, elevated egg granulomas and increased ALT levels) and fibrosis (increased hepatic collagen deposition). ApoE deficiency resulted in significantly elevated ratio of hepatic Th17/Treg and higher serum levels of TC and TG, along with higher level of hepatic Oil red O staining. Conclusions: ApoE deficiency promotes hepatic pathology and fibrosis by exacerbating Th17/Treg imbalance and altering lipid metabolism in murine schistosomiasis japonica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Bowman–Birk trypsin inhibitors (BBIs) play important roles in animal and plant immunity, but how these protease inhibitors are involved in the immune system remains unclear. Here, we show that the rice (Oryza sativa) BBI protein APIP4 is a common target of a fungal effector and an NLR receptor for innate immunity. APIP4 exhibited trypsin inhibitor activity in vitro and in vivo. Knockout of APIP4 in rice enhanced susceptibility, and overexpression of APIP4 increased resistance to the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. The M. oryzae effector AvrPiz‐t interacted with APIP4 and suppressed APIP4 trypsin inhibitor activity. By contrast, the rice NLR protein Piz‐t interacted with APIP4, enhancing APIP4 transcript and protein levels, and protease inhibitor activity. Our findings reveal a novel host defence mechanism in which a host protease inhibitor targeted by a fungal pathogen is protected by an NLR receptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scale variation of pedestrians in a crowd image presents a significant challenge for vision-based people counting systems. Such variations are mainly caused by perspective-related distortions due to the camera pose relative to the ground plane. Following the density-based counting paradigm, we postulate that generating density values adaptive to object scales plays a critical role in the accuracy of the final counting results. Motivated by this, we distill the underlying information from depth cues to obtain scale-aware representations that can respond to object scales considering the fact that the scale is inversely proportional to the object depth. Specifically, we propose a depth embedding module as add-ons into existing networks. This module exploits essential depth cues to spatially re-calibrate the magnitude of the original features. In this way, the objects, although in the same class, will attain distinct representations according to their scales, which directly benefits the estimation of scale-aware density values. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the depth embedding module and validate that exploiting depth cues to perceive object scale variations in convolutional neural networks improves crowd counting performances. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach on four popular benchmark datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of cross‐infection is high when the susceptible persons are exposed to the pathogen‐laden droplets or droplet nuclei exhaled by infectors. This study proposes a jet integral model to predict the dispersion of exhaled contaminants, evaluating the exposure risk and determining a threshold distance to identify the direct and indirect exposures in both thermally uniform and stratified environments. The results show that the maximum concentration of contaminants exhaled by a bed‐lying infector clearly decreases in a short distance (<1.8 m) in a uniform environment, while it maintains high values in a long distance in a stratified environment. The lock‐up phenomenon largely weakens the decay of the concentration. The direct exposure of the receiver is determined primarily by the impact scope of the exhaled airflow, while the indirect exposure is mainly related to the ventilation rate and air distribution in the room. In particular, the distance of direct exposure is the longest (approximately 2 m) when the receiver's breathing height is at the lock‐up layer in a stratified environment. Our study could be useful for developing effective prevention measures to control cross‐infection in the initial stage of design of indoor layouts and ventilation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The problem remains unsolved in DMFCs applications that the increase in proton conductivity is usually caused the permeation of methanol. Herein, a novel kind of pore-filling membrane is investigated to meet this challenge. The porous substrate is fabricated from block poly (ether sulphone) with low degree of sulfonation, which form well-developed conductive channels owing to an aggregation of sulfonic acid groups, ensuring low methonal crossover and swelling ratio. The pore structures are achieved by a solution casting method which introduces alpha-cyclodextrin as the porogen. The resulting porous substrate possesses homogeneous opening pore structures. Then, the filling electrolyte, an organic-soluble tetrabutylammonium 4-vinylbenzene sulfonate, is used to fill the substrate and form a crosslinked network inside the pores to ensure high proton conductivity. The pore-filling membrane with block polymers shows higher proton conductivity (0.083 S cm−1 at 80 °C) than that prepared by random polymers (0.072 S cm−1 at 80 °C). Compared with Nafion 117, the composite membrane exhibits higher dimensional stability (6.6%) and methanol resistance (4.0 × 10−7 cm2 s−1). Furthermore, the pore-filling membrane outperforms Nafion 117 with an open circuit voltage of 0.61 V as well as a maximum power density of 46.8 mW/cm2 under 10 M methanol condition. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Novel CSPS filled SPES pore-filling proton exchange membrane. • Porous substrate based on block sulfonated copolymers enhanced proton conductivity. • Significant suppression of methanol crossover over pore-filling membranes. • Single cell performance outperformed Nafion 117 in 10 M methanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) changes on wintertime frontogenesis in the northern middle latitudes are analyzed. Both composite analysis and model simulations reveal that the intensity and frequency of frontogenesis over West Russia, the Mongolian Plateau, the Mediterranean and the southern North Atlantic during weak SPV years are significantly stronger and larger than those during strong SPV years, while the frontogenesis over the northern parts of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans are weaker and less occur during weak SPV years. These features are more noticeable in middle January and February. The contributions of resultant deformation changes to frontogenesis intensity changes over most regions of the middle latitudes are larger than those of horizontal divergence changes, and the contribution of stretching deformation is slightly larger than that of shearing deformation. The changes in frontogenesis intensity are attributed to changes in the tropospheric circulation and temperature gradient associated with the SPV changes. Potential vorticity (PV) anomalies in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) caused by the weakened and shifted SPV towards Eurasia lead to tropospheric cyclonic flows, favoring more cold-air mass transported towards mid-latitude Eurasia. Meanwhile, more high-PV air towards Eurasia results in steeper tropospheric isentropes during weak SPV years. Consequently, both temperature gradient and frontogenesis over Russia are enhanced. More southward transport of cold-air mass due to the equatorward shift of the polar jet stream induced by the weak SPV enhances the frontogenesis over the southern North Atlantic. Furthermore, the angle between dilatation axis and the isentropes over West Russia, the Mongolian Plateau and the southern North Atlantic is more likely to occur between 0° and 45°, which promotes stronger frontogenesis over these regions during weak SPV years. By contrast, opposite processes occur over the northern North Atlantic, causing weaker frontogenesis there. • Weak SPV enhances frontogenesis in some regions over the northern middle latitudes. • Resultant deformation dominates the SPV-induced frontogenesis changes. • Weakened and shifted SPV induce stronger cold air and frontogenesis. • Favorable angle between dilatation axis and isentropes promotes frontogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve robust estimation performance of fully correlated nonlinear error-in-variables model, three median robust estimate methods are discussed on base of Nonlinear Weighted Total Least Squares (NWTLS), namely, median parameter method, median parameter initial value method and median variance method. After the discussion of the median robust estimation theory and the derivation of the calculation formula of the three median robust estimation methods, three iterative algorithms are developed. Through two nonlinear regression examples, four schemes including no artificial outliers, different location of outliers, different degrees of correlation, and different ratios of outliers are adopted, which proves the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that from the statistical point of view, although the three median methods have different antioutlier effects for different nonlinear models, they are more effective than RNWTLS and NWTLS; the robust estimation results of three median methods are related to the functional model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with rising prevalence. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that resveratrol, a dietary phytochemical, is capable of attenuating NAFLD development and progression; however, results from clinical studies are inconsistent and inconclusive. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of resveratrol on NAFLD, using several parameters to provide new insights for clinical application. We systematically searched EMBASE, PubMed, Science Citation Index, Elsevier, and Cochrane Library databases for studies published up to date (July 2016), in English, to identify and screen eligible, relevant studies. Either a fixed-effect model or random model was used to estimate mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the effect of resveratrol on NAFLD. Four randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials involving 156 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Levels of low-density lipoprotein (MD = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.74, P < 0.05) and total cholesterol (MD = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.80, P < 0.05) were higher in the resveratrol treatment groups than in placebo control groups, whereas other parameters were not altered. Overall, this study indicates that resveratrol treatment has negligible effects on attenuating NAFLD, given the small improvement in NAFLD features. More high-quality clinical trials of resveratrol for NAFLD are required to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of Coptis chinensis (RC) and Dolomiaea souliei (VR) has long been used as a classic herb pair for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, the rationality of evidence-based RC and VR combination was explored from the perspective of metabolism, gut microbiota and gastrointestinal function. After 5 weeks treatment, VR extracts (700 mg/kg) and RC alkaloids (800 mg/kg) showed no toxic effect on mice. However, RC administration significantly decreased the body weight of mice. Gastric emptying, gastrointestinal motility function and the absorption of FITC dextran were retarded in the mice of RC group, taking RC along with low dose VR (RC-VRL) and high dose VR (RC-VRH) reversed the impaired gastrointestinal function caused by RC. RC administration significantly increased villus height/crypt depth value. Notably, VR administration increased the number of crypts in mice ileum and reduced villus height/crypt depth value in VR and RC combination group. RC treatment significantly increased the expression of occludin compared to NC group; RC-VRL treatment reversed this tendency. While, VR administration increased ZO1 expression by 99.4% compared to NC mice. As for gut microbiota, RC gavage decreased the gut microbiota diversity, but gut microbiota in VR group was similar to NC group, and VR and RC combination increased gut microbiota diversity. RC administration obviously increased the proportion of Akkermansia muciniphila , Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron , Parabacteroides distasonis , and Escherichia coli , compared to NC mice. VR treatment increased the richness of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron , Parabacteroides distasonis. RC-VRL and RC-VRH treatment dose-dependently increased the richness of Rikenellaceae RC9 , Lactobacillus , and decreased the abundance of Psychrobacter , Bacteroides and Ruminococcus in mice. Serum metabolomic analysis revealed that RC gavage significantly down regulated 76 metabolites and up regulated 31 metabolites. VR treatment significantly down regulated 30 metabolites and up regulated 12 metabolites. Weight loss caused by RC may attribute to the elevated methylxanthine level in mice. The potential adverse effects caused by high dose RC intake may partially alleviate by high serum contents of adenosine, inosine and urolithin A resulted from VR coadministration. VR may alleviate RC caused "fluid retention" via normalizing gastrointestinal function, gut microbiota and modulating the perturbed metabolism. [Display omitted] • Combination RC with VR reverses the impaired gastrointestinal function caused by RC. • VR administration reduced villus height/crypt depth value compared to RC group. • Compared to RC group, VR and RC combination increased gut microbiota diversity. • RC increased occludin expression, while VR increased ZO1 expression. • VR may alleviates RC adverse effects by increase serum adenosine, inosine and urolithin A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese words and phrases often appear in various types of form tables, and many of them have a small vocabulary. To segment and recognize Chinese words and phrases is a challenging task because they contain an uncertain number of characters and might be cursively written, and segmentation might produce crack or noise characters. In this paper, we propose to combine a holistic method and a segmentation-based method for recognizing the Chinese day and month item on Chinese checks. The holistic method takes all the characters as a single unit and recognizes the unit without segmentation. The segmentation-based method segments a word into the predicted number of characters and then recognizes them. First, it uses projection and structure analysis to find as many candidate segmentation lines as possible. Then, it exploits a predicted word length to reduce the segmentation lines. Finally, it uses recognition scores to select the optimal recognition result. The encouraging experimental results show that our method is feasible and powerful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Image deblurring techniques play important roles in many image processing applications. As the blur varies spatially across the image plane, it calls for robust and effective methods to deal with the spatially-variant blur problem. In this paper, a Saliency-based Deblurring (SD) approach is proposed based on the saliency detection for salient-region segmentation and a corresponding compensate method for image deblurring. We also propose a PDE-based deblurring method which introduces an anisotropic Partial Differential Equation (PDE) model for latent image prediction and employs an adaptive optimization model in the kernel estimation and deconvolution steps. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we propose to use all the training samples in the original space or in the transform space to represent and classify test samples. It is shown that this method somewhat possesses some of the properties of sparseness. In other words, a large portion of the solution components have very small absolute values and only a few have large absolute values. Our analysis mathematically partially supports this claim of sparseness. We also explore other characteristics of the proposed method and compare the proposed sample representation method with transform methods that are based on conventional coordinate axes. The proposed method performs better than the state-of-the-art face recognition methods. Further, our method can be solved at a low computational cost. Its algorithm is simple and easy to understand, and its classification procedure is intuitive. The performance of our method is shown by a large number of face recognition experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It has been proved that representation-based classification (RBC) can achieve high accuracy in face recognition. However, conventional RBC has a very high computational cost. Collaborative representation proposed in [1] not only has the advantages of RBC but also is computationally very efficient. In this paper, a combination of direct matching of images and collaborative representation is proposed for face recognition. Experimental results show that the proposed method can always classify more accurately than collaborative representation! The underlying reason is that direct matching of images and collaborative representation use different ways to calculate the dissimilarity between the test sample and training sample. As a result, the score obtained using direct matching of images is very complementary to the score obtained using collaborative representation. Actually, the analysis shows that the matching scores generated from direct matching of images and collaborative representation always have a low correlation. This allows the proposed method to exploit more information for face recognition and to produce a better result. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Proposing a computational imaging method to realize large depth-of-field imaging. • Designing an AF-boosted optical imaging model to capture multi-focus images. • Capturing 5000 raw images to build a real scene dataset for image fusion task. • Training an end-to-end image fusion network tailored to the proposed optical model. • Developing a pilot system to combine optical model with image fusion algorithm. Large DOF (depth-of-field) imaging with high SNR (signal-noise-ratio) is useful for applications such as machine vision and medical imaging. In traditional optical systems, DOF extension is always implemented at the cost of SNR. In this paper, we present a MPCAM (Multi-PSF Camera) system highly integrated with AF (auto-focus) function to realize both large DOF and high SNR imaging. MPCAM based on MPGAN (Multi-PSF Generative Adversarial Network) is first proposed to automatically extract multiple PSFs (point spread functions) and realize high fidelity image reconstruction by features fusion. The proposed end-to-end generative image fusion network is flexible and can be designed with different input dimensions for a given AF application, which is vital to circumvent the trade-off between DOF and SNR. We build a dataset containing 5000 raw images tailored to the proposed network by an off-the-shelf camera. Results show that our MPCAM system can produce images with average higher values than raw images over 4.625, and 0.061 in PNSR (peak signal to noise ratio), and SSIM (structure similarity) metrics, respectively. Moreover, compared to the classic and latest image fusion methods, the results also verify that our method has achieved comparable or even better performance. Due to its advance in high SNR and large DOF imaging, this novel, portable and inexpensive system is suitable for computational applications such as microscopic pathological diagnosis, domain-specific computational imaging and smartphone photography. The implementation code of MPGAN and dataset are available from https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/ktd970903/multi-psf-camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new superhydrophilic membrane was developed for oil-in-water emulsion separation. • This emulsion separation membrane is composed of low-cost tannic acid, Fe3+ and HPO 4 2-. • The total organic carbon contents of the filtrates after this membrane separation were less than 50 ppm and the separation fluxes were higher than 1500 L m-2 h−1. • A 5-minute photo-Fenton reaction can restore the original wettability and flux of the fouled membrane. The separation of oil-in-water emulsions containing surfactants has been a challenge in the field of water purification. The main reason limiting the use of membrane separation technology for emulsions is the reduction in flux due to membrane fouling. Introducing photo-Fenton self-cleaning reaction into membrane filtration to reduce the adverse effects of membrane fouling represents a promising direction in membrane fields. In this study, a two-step immersion method was used to prepare tannic acid (TA)-Fe(III) as a composite coating on a pristine polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, and then HPO 4 2- was added to the coating, which greatly improved the hydrophilicity and compactness of the coating. The resulting membrane had separation fluxes of more than 1500 L m-2 h−1 for various oil-in-water emulsions at a transmembrane pressure of 0.1 bar, and the carbon content of all filtrates was less than 50 ppm. The prepared membranes exhibit satisfactory antifouling ability. After 50 min of continuous high-efficiency separation, the membrane undergoes a photo-Fenton reaction under ultraviolet light to restore the original wettability and flux. After 5 self-cleaning cycles, it can still recover to 96.96% of the original flux. The high permeation and excellent self-cleaning property of the PVDF/TA-Fe(III)-HPO 4 membrane manifest its attractive potential application in water purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Unequal loss protection is an effective tool in delivering compressed video streaming over packet-switched networks robustly. A critical component in any unequal-loss-protection scheme is a metric for evaluating the importance of different frames in a Group-Of-Pictures (GOP). In the case of video streaming over 3G mobile networks, packet loss usually corresponds to whole-frame loss due to low bandwidth and small picture size, which results in high error rates and thus most of the existing low-complexity transmission-distortion-estimate models may be ineffective. In this paper, we firstly develop a recursive algorithm to compute the GOP-level transmission distortion at pixel-level precision using pre-computed video information. Based on the study on the propagating behavior of the whole-frame-loss transmission distortion, we then propose a piecewise linear-fitting approach to achieve low-complexity transmission distortion modeling. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed two models are accurate and robust. The proposed transmission distortion models are fast and accurate importance assessment tools in allocating limited channel resources optimally for the mobile streaming video. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Perovskite (NH 4) 2 Sn 1-x Te x Cl 6 phosphors were developed for solid-state lighting. • The phosphors show broad orange emission with high PLQY (FWHM: 127 nm; PLQY: 84%). • The structure–property relations were revealed. • The excellent warm wLED was created using the title phosphors. Low-dimensional lead-based perovskite materials have recently attracted extensive attentions for their diverse structures, unique optoelectronic properties and enhanced stability. However, the toxicity of lead, low photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and complex preparation processes limit their practical applications. Herein, we present a simple room-temperature synthesis of orange-emitting lead-free perovskite derivative (NH 4) 2 SnCl 6 :Te phosphors with a large quantity at one time. By introducing Te4+ ions with 5s2 active lone pairs, (NH 4) 2 SnCl 6 :Te exhibits broadband emission peaked at 590 nm, a large full width at half maximum (FWHM) about 127 nm and a maximum PLQY up to 83.51%. Density functional theory calculations combined with comprehensive spectroscopic data reveal that the incorporated Te4+ ions change the band structure and trigger the formation of Jahn-Teller-like self-trapped excitons (STEs) in [TeCl 6 ]2− centers. In addition, (NH 4) 2 SnCl 6 :Te shows excellent ambient and thermal stabilities. Using (NH 4) 2 SnCl 6 :0.5%Te as an orange down-conversion material, highly stable wLEDs with a Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) of (0.39, 0.38), correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3855 K, and color rendering index (CRI) of 83 are demonstrated. We expect these results to facilitate the development of low-cost, environmentally friendly and high-performance novel phosphors for future lighting and display technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic stratospheric polar vortex is a key component of the climate system, which has significant impacts on surface temperatures in the mid-latitudes and polar regions. Therefore, understanding polar vortex variability is helpful for extended-range weather forecasting. The present study evaluates long-term changes in the position and strength of the polar vortex in the Arctic lower stratosphere during the winters from 1980/81 to 2013/14. Simulations of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models are compared with Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA2) reanalysis dataset. Overall, the CMIP6 models well capture the spatial characteristics of the polar vortex with spatial correlation coefficients between the potential vorticity (PV) in the lower stratosphere from simulations and MERRA2 products generally greater than 0.85 for all CMIP6 models during winter. There is a good agreement in the position and shape of the polar vortex between the CMIP6 multi-model mean and MERRA2, although there exist differences between simulations of individual CMIP6 models. However, most CMIP6 models underestimate the strength of polar vortex in the lower stratosphere, with the largest negative bias up to about −20%. The present study further reveals that there is an anticorrelation between the polar vortex strength bias and area bias simulated by CMIP6 models. In addition, there is a positive correlation between the trend of EP-flux divergence for wavenumber one accumulated in early winter and the trend in zonal mean zonal wind averaged in late winter. As for the long-term change in polar vortex position, CanESM5, IPSL-CM5A2-INCA, UKESM1-0-LL, and IPSL-CM6A-LR well capture the persistent shift of polar vortex towards the Eurasian continent and away from North America in February, which has been reported in observations. These models reproduce the positive trend of wavenumber-1 planetary waves since the 1980s seen in the MERRA2 dataset. This suggests that realistic wave activity processes in CMIP6 models play a key role not only in the simulation of the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex but also in the simulation of the polar vortex position shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is known to cause variations in the transport of chemical tracers but the role of chemical processes in modulating their QBO signals remains unclear. Using ozone observations (Stratospheric Water and OzOne Satellite Homogenized, SWOOSH) and a chemical transport model (SLIMCAT), we analyze the role of chemical processes in the QBO impact on stratospheric ozone in the tropics and Northern Hemisphere during winter and early spring over the period 1979–2015. During easterly QBO (EQBO) phases tropical ozone concentrations decrease in the lower stratosphere (40–100 hPa, ~16–23 km) and middle stratosphere (above 15 hPa, ~30 km) but increase in the transition region between 15 and 40 hPa (~23–30 km) compared to westerly (WQBO) phases. Although the contributions of chemical processes to the ozone QBO signal are less than those of dynamical processes, this study highlights their non-negligible role. The negative chemical ozone tendencies in the tropical lower stratosphere, that are attributed to less downward ultraviolet radiation and weaker oxygen photolysis, partially contribute to the negative ozone anomalies at this altitude during EQBO phases, particularly in February and March. In contrast, the negative chemical ozone tendencies related to increased NO 2 and stronger NO 2 -catalyzed ozone loss, which are important in the middle stratosphere, cannot explain the ozone increases in the transition region during EQBO phases, which is mainly caused by the QBO-induced transport of ozone-rich air from above. The positive chemical ozone tendencies in the extratropics during EQBO phases are mainly related to lower temperatures and less active catalytic ozone loss cycles. In addition, reduction in polar stratospheric cloud occurrence associated with the warmer Arctic stratosphere during EQBO phases weakens the heterogeneous chemical processes in the lower stratosphere and decreases chlorine activation, partially contributing to the positive chemical ozone tendency and ozone increases in this region. • Contribution of chemical processes to the ozone QBO signal is not negligible. • QBO can significantly affect oxygen photolysis in tropical lower stratosphere. • QBO can influence heterogeneous chemical process in Arctic stratosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the rapid development of electronic devices and wireless communication tools, it is urgent to design and fabricate low-cost, lightweight and effective electromagnetic absorption materials to solve electromagnetic interference of electromagnetic waves. Herein, a facile pre-modification method was employed to design alginate-based Fe@SAC composite absorbers. The core-shell structure could increase the crystallinity of carbon, contributing to a high dielectric loss capacity. The multiple interface polarization effect induced by this structure enhanced the interaction between electromagnetic waves and absorbers, thus accomplished a better wave absorbing effect. Besides, the eddy effect of magnetic particles can also be avoided to realize the impedance matching. Fe@SAC achieved the strongest loss to electromagnetic waves at 9.76 GHz, with the minimum reflection loss up to −41.59 dB. The effective absorption bandwidth reached 2.80 GHz (11.28–14.08 GHz) with a matching thickness merely of 1.5 mm. This efficient, simple and green strategy provides new ideas and development directions for the design of electromagnetic wave absorbers. The influence of the structure on the electromagnetic absorbing performance was explored through studies of the structure, morphology, electromagnetic parameters and absorbing properties of sodium alginate-based carbon and Fe particles composite absorbers with core-shell structure (Fe@SAC) and composite structure (Fe/SAC). ga1 • Alginate-based composite absorbers. • Core-shell structure. • Synergistic effect of Fe and C. • Enhance dielectric loss capability. • Multiple interface polarization effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A semi-crystalline PEEK porous matrix. • Pore-filled PFSA/PEEK composite membranes. • Superior proton conductivity, dimensional stability and methanol resistance comparable to commercial Nafion. • Preferable single cell performance in 10 M methanol. In light of the essential role of typical reinforced PEMs (Gore-SELECT®) in pursuing novel alternatives, we demonstrate for the first time the potent capability of pore-filled semi-crystalline poly (ether ether ketone) membranes that represent by far the most effective polymer materials for methanol blocking of direct methanol fuel cells. The stable structure of poly (ether ether ketone) matrixes contributes to a low swelling behavior so as to restrain the methanol permeation across membranes in high concentration methanol solutions. Porous matrixes are endowed with the ability to conduct protons by an inorganic modifier of phosphotungstate-ionic liquid. In order to improve the interaction of phosphotungstate-ionic liquid and inert matrixes, the porous matrix is pre-modified by a co-deposition reaction of polydopamine and polyethyleneimine. The anchored modifier of polydopamine and polyethyleneimine in the matrix decelerates the leakage of ionic liquid and phosphotungstate. The developed composite membrane performs a heightened proton conductivity up to 0.11 S cm−1 at 80 °C to benefit from the superior proton conductive capacity of the phosphotungstate-ionic liquid, and exhibits extremely low methanol crossover (4.5 × 10−7 cm2 s−1) and favorable selectivity (12.22 × 104 S s cm−3) compared to those of Nafion 117. Especially, an excellent single cell performance with a maximum power density of 107 mW cm−2 is carried out under 10 M methanol at 70 °C. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing an efficient oily wastewater treatment method has become an urgent problem due to the increasing severe situation of oil pollution. Here, the s-kaolin particles modified PAN composite membrane with superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity was successful fabricated through electrospinning. The composite membrane exhibited good oil adsorption capacity to different kinds of oil and organic solvent, and the maximum absorption capacity achieve 37.2 times of its own weight. Moreover, the composite membrane can efficient separate immiscible oil/water mixtures with excellent separation efficiency (above 95 %) and high separation flux (1960.1 L h−1 m−2). Due to tolerance to most solvents of the PAN, the composite membrane possess good stability after adsorbed oil and separated oil and water mixtures (more than 10 cycles). Furthermore, the composite membrane shows considerable separation efficiency toward different kinds of water-in-oil emulsion under impressed pressure. The excellent separation ability, high porosity and good recyclability of the composite membranes allowed their potential application in practical oily wastewater treatment in environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The shear properties of UHPC-NSC interface were systematically studied through a series of double-sided direct shear tests. • Different factors affecting the shear capacity of the UHPC-NSC interface were discussed. • The factors included strength of NSC, ages of UHPC at loading, curing regimes for UHPC, surface treatment of NSC substrate, wettability of NSC substrate, addition of expansive agent for UHPC, and exertion of tensile or compressive stress on the interface except for shear stress. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an innovative cement-based material with high tensile and compressive strengths, extremely low permeability, and excellent durability. It is suitable for repair and rehabilitation of damaged normal strength concrete (NSC) structures. However, in order to ensure that the UHPC layer co-works well with the NSC structures, a good shear bond between UHPC and NSC is the main concern. In this study, the shear properties of UHPC-NSC interface were systematically studied through a series of double-sided direct shear tests, and the shear capacity and corresponding interfacial failure modes were obtained. Different factors affecting the shear capacity of the UHPC-NSC interface were discussed, namely, strength of NSC, age of UHPC at loading, curing regime for UHPC, surface treatment of NSC substrate, wettability of NSC substrate, addition of expansive agent for UHPC, and exertion of tensile or compressive stress on the interface except for shear stress. The test results showed that the interface between the UHPC layer and NSC substrate exhibited an excellent bond behavior. Most specimens failed in a mode of partial interface failure + partial NSC failure or complete NSC failure in shear, and the remaining few specimens developed purely interface failure. Also, shear failure of some test specimens performed a certain degree of brittleness. According to the test results, the higher the strength or wettability of NSC substrate, the greater the shear capacity of the interface. The shear capacity of UHPC-NSC interface increased rapidly when the age of UHPC increased from 3 days to 7 days, and at the age of 7 days, the shear strength of UHPC-NSC interface could reach more than 90% of the final shear strength. It was revealed that the shear strength of UHPC-NSC interface with steam curing for UHPC at a temperature of 90 °C reduced by 12.9% compared to that with normal curing. The addition of expansive agent to UHPC slowed down the development of the shear capacity of UHPC-NSC interface at the early age and slightly reduced the shear capacity at the age of 28 days and 180 days. Roughing NSC surfaces could significantly improve the interfacial shear capacity. Moreover, the number and area of UHPC tenons in the holes, UHPC grooved joints or post-installed rebars could also affect the shear capacity of the interface. The shear capacity of UHPC-NSC interface under combined tensile and shear stresses decreased significantly, while the shear capacity under combined compressive and shear stresses increased obviously with the increment of shear capacity gradually decreased as the increase of normal compressive stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, demands for the utilization of thin membranes in the next generation of direct methanol fuel cells become urgent to acquire the high power density. However, the fuel crossover coefficient is inversely proportional to the thickness of membranes which easily causes the reduction of the energy density. Hence, we propose a thin reinforced pore-filling composite membrane that is fabricated from a highly sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) electrolyte and a high mechanical strength semi-crystalline poly (ether ether ketone) porous matrix. The semi-crystalline poly (ether ether ketone) derived from a soluble precursor of PEEK-1,3-dioxolane is first reported to be used for preparing the porous membrane. Uniform pore structures of the porous matrix are obtained by a water induced phase inversion method. As-prepared porous PEEK shows high toughness with an elongation at break of 8.2%. The reinforced composite membrane (only 20 μm) demonstrates superior methanol tolerance (3.2 × 10−7 cm2 s−1) and good proton conductivity due to the packed-acid structure. In addition, the membrane electrode assembly indicates a preferable behavior in single cell performance, with an open circuit voltage of 0.53 V and a peak power density of 34.6 mW/cm2. Image 1 • Thin reinforced pore-filling PEM based on semi-crystalline PEEK. • Reversible chemical modification of soluble PEEK. • Pore fabrication via water induced phase inversion method. • Significant membrane resistance to methanol crossover and swelling. • Superior single cell performance in 10 M methanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase of oil pollution accidents, the purification of oily water has become a serious global problem to be solved. Herein, the Cu 2 (OH)PO 4 nanosheets-covered robust mesh membranes are fabricated by a facile green wet-chemical method at different pH conditions. By the combination of the superwetting ability with photocatalytic performance of Cu 2 (OH)PO 4 , the nanosheets-covered mesh membrane fabricated at pH 9.7 exhibits a superhydrophilicity and underwater ultralow oil adhesive superoleophobicity for efficient removal of various oils from water with an oil sliding angle about 1.4°. Simultaneously, the membrane presents a high photocatalytic activity for methylene blue under visible light irradiation. After 15 cycles of separation, the test demonstrates a superior separation stability of the membrane with high permeating flux of ∼94,801 Lm−2 h-1 and separation efficiency above 99.5%. In consideration of the excellent mechanical property, chemical stability, thermal resistance and high separation capacity, the as-prepared mesh membrane is promisingly applied in purifying oily wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) might be linked to suicidal ideation, but we do not yet have all the relevant details. This study aimed to dig deeper into the connection between UI and suicidal ideation using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: We examined 31,891 participants aged ≥ 20 years from NHANES 2005–2018 who provided complete information. We used standardized surveys to check for UI and signs of suicidal ideation. To better understand this relationship, we used statistical tools such as multivariable logistic regression, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analyses. Results: Among the 31,891 participants, 28.9% reported UI and 10.7% reported suicidal ideation. Those with UI exhibited a significantly greater incidence of suicidal ideation (15.5%) than did those without UI (8.8%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for various factors, including age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, educational level, lifestyle factors, and chronic comorbidities, UI remained significantly associated with suicidal ideation (OR:1.54, 95% CI = 1.39–1.7, P < 0.001). Among all types of UI, MUI participants were more likely to experience suicidal ideation. Compared with no UI, higher odds of suicidal ideation suffered from MUI (OR:2.11, 95%CI:1.83–2.44, P < 0.001), SUI (OR:1.4, 95%CI:1.19–1.65, P < 0.001), UUI(OR:1.37,95%CI:1.16–1.62, P < 0.001) after full adjustment. With the exception of individuals living with a partner, the remaining subgroups exhibited a positive correlation between urinary incontinence and suicidal ideation, considering that factors such as age, sex, and prevalent comorbidities such as hypertension, depression, and diabetes did not reveal any statistically significant interactions (all P > 0.05). Sensitivity analyses, incorporating imputed missing covariates, did not substantially alter the results (OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.4–1.68, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Urinary incontinence may correlate with increased suicidal ideation risk, priority screening for suicidal ideation and timely intervention are essential for individuals with urinary incontinence, but prospective studies are needed to verify the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropopause fold events are one of the major processes in stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) in the mid-latitudes. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a hotspot of STE in the world. It has been proved that the tropopause fold events over the TP could impact on tropospheric ozone concentration in summer, yet most of these studies only focus on tropopause fold events at individual stations. In this study, we use ozone soundings data over Minle County (38.41°N, 100.65°E) and surface observations in the TP to verify the effect of tropopause fold events on surface ozone concentration. The stratospheric ozone tracers (O 3 S) simulation by the WACCM model and the passive tracers simulation by the WRF model indicate that the tropopause fold event observed on 11 July 2020 contributed to surface ozone in the northern regions of TP. In addition, we identified all the tropopause fold events that occurred over the TP in each July from 2015 to 2020 and quantified their impacts on surface ozone concentration. The results show that the average increase in surface ozone concentration is 15.94 ppbv during the period affected by the tropopause fold events. The site most affected by tropopause fold events is Shannan City, followed by Nyingchi City. This study revealed the importance of the influence of tropopause fold event on surface ozone concentration in the TP in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoroptes ovis var. cuniculi is a common ectoparasite of wild and domestic rabbits worldwide that causes economically devastating losses in commercial rabbit husbandry and significantly affects the overall health of rabbits. Serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) is present in almost all organisms that are involved in host–pathogen interactions, inflammatory responses, and reproductive development, among others. However, very little research has been carried out on P. ovis var. cuniculi serpins. Methods: Two serpin genes of P. ovis var. cuniculi (Pso c 27 and PsoSP2 cDNAs) were cloned and molecularly characterized. The transcriptional profiles and tissue localization of these two serpins in P. ovis var. cuniculi were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The potential function of recombinant Pso c 27 and PsoSP2 (rPso c 27 and rPsoSP2) in the serodiagnosis of P. ovis var. cuniculi infestation in rabbits was evaluated using a newly devleoped indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Both the 523-residue Pso c 27 and the 240-residue PsoSP2 proteins contained typical serpin domains and signatures. Both Pso c 27and PsoSP2 cDNAs were expressed throughout the life-cycle; specifically, the cDNAs showed significantly higher expression in female mites than in larva, nymph, and male mites (Pso c 27: F(3, 8) = 1935.953, P < 0.0001; PsoSP2: F(3, 8) = 660.669, P < 0.0001). The native Pso c 27 and PsoSP2 proteins localized in the ovary and mouthparts of adult female mites, respectively. Compared to rPsoSP2, rPso c 27 showed better diagnostic efficiency, with higher values of sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (rPso c 27 vs rPsoSP2: 96.0 vs 90.0%; 90.91 vs 78.18%; 0.988 vs 0.964, respectively). Moreover, rPso c 27 showed seropositivity in 80% of the rabbits as early as the 2 weeks post-infestation, prior to visible clinical signs and microscopy-positive of skin scrapings. Conclusions: These results suggest that these two serpins may play essential roles in reproductive development, serum-feeding, and pathogenicity of P. ovis var. cuniculi. Compared to PsoSP2, Pso c 27 appears to be a potential antigen for serodiagnosis of P. ovis var. cuniculi infestation in rabbits, especially at the early stage of infestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposome recognizes that humans are constantly exposed to multiple environmental factors, and elucidating the health effects of complex exposure mixtures places greater demands on analytical methods. We aimed to explore the association between mixed exposure to metals and hyperuricemia (HUA), and highlight the potential of explainable machine learning (EML) and causal mediation analysis (CMA) for application in the analysis of exposome data. Pre-pandemic data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2020 and a total of 13780 individuals were included. We first used traditional statistical models (multiple logistic regression (MLR) and restricted cubic spline regression (RCS)) and EML to explore associations between mixed metals exposures and HUA, followed by the CMA using the 4-way decomposition method to analyze the interaction and mediation effects among BMI or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), metals and HUA. The prevalence of HUA was 18.91% (2606/13780). The MLR showed that mercury (Q4 vs Q1: OR = 1.08, 95% CI:1.02–1.14) and lead (Q4 vs Q1: OR = 1.23, 95% CI:1.13–1.34) were generally positively associated with HUA. Higher concentrations of lead, mercury, selenium and manganese were associated with the increased odds of HUA, and BMI and eGFR were the top two variables attributable to the risk of developing HUA in the EML. Subgroup analyses from the MLR and EML consistently demonstrated the positive relationship between exposure to lead, mercury and selenium in participants with BMI <25 kg/m2 and BMI ≥30 kg/m2. BMI mediated 32.12% of the association between lead exposure and HUA, and the interaction between BMI and lead accounted for 3.88% of the association in the CMA. Heavy metals can increase the HUA risk and BMI or eGFR can mediate and interact with metals to cause HUA. Future studies based on exposome can attempt to utilize the EML and CMA. [Display omitted] • The widest possible range of data on metals and covariates form NHANES were involved that were openly available. • Two innovative methods (explainable machine learning and causal mediation analysis) were applied to exposome data. • Higher concentrations of lead, mercury, selenium and manganese were associated with the higher risk of hyperuricemia. • BMI and eGFR can mediate and interact with metals to cause hyperuricemia, especially for Pb and Hg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The recent criteria to evaluate electromagnetic wave absorber include low density, strong absorbency, wide absorption bandwidth and thin absorber thickness, but its performance at low frequencies is always ignored. In this paper, the porous magnetic carbon nanofibers (P-CNF/Fe) for high-efficient electromagnetic wave absorption at low frequencies were fabricated by electrospinning followed by stabilization and carbonization. With the introduction of porous nanostructure, the permittivity of carbon nanofibers was decreased at low frequency and the impedance matching of permittivity and permeability was realized. The electromagnetic absorbing properties were investigated in detail. The minimum reflection coefficient reaches −44.86 dB at 4.42 GHz, and the widest effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) in the frequency was 3.28 range from 12.96 to 16.24 GHz. Consequently, considering the EM wave absorption performance, P-CNF/Fe synthesized in this work can be a promising candidate in the field of EM wave attenuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hyperbranched poly(phenylene sulfide) (HPPS) is successfully synthesized by modified polycondensation of an AB2 monomer with a core molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sketch retrieval aims at retrieving the most similar sketches from a large database based on one hand-drawn query. Successful retrieval hinges on an effective representation of sketch images and an efficient search method. In this paper, we propose a representation scheme which takes sketch strokes into account with local features, thereby facilitating efficient retrieval with codebooks. Stroke features are detected via densely sampled points on stroke lines with crucial corners as anchor points, from which local gradients are enhanced and described by a quantized histogram of gradients. A codebook is organized in a hierarchical vocabulary tree, which maintains structural information of visual words and enables efficient retrieval in sub-linear time. Experimental results on three data sets demonstrate the merits of the proposed algorithm for effective and efficient sketch retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]