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This study develops a vehicle-pedestrian safety application for signalized urban crossings in a connectedautomated vehicle (CAV) environment and establishes a microscopic simulation environment to implement the safety application using a highly flexible open-source simulation tool. A widely-used surrogate safety measure (SSM) namely, post-encroachment time (PET), is used to capture the number of conflicts. A reinforcement learning algorithm is used to train the CAV agents to determine the optimal timing to cross the intersection with the consideration of pedestrian safety. A variety of real-world datasets are used to calibrate and validate the simulation environment. The simulation results show that the pedestrian safety application can significantly reduce the number of potential conflicts, and the reinforcement-leaming-trained CAV agents have demonstrated lower average travel times when crossing intersections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a magnetization study which examined field and temperature dependence of vortex pinning of organic single crystal superconductors with the field H parallel to the axis perpendicular to the conducting plane. Illustration of an overlay of the magnetization as a function of field at different temperatures; Description of the normalized relaxation rate as a function of field; Graph of irreversibility field as a function of temperature.

Focuses on a study which examined the magnetization in a single crystal Nd[sub1.85]Ce[0.15]CuO[sub4-δ] superconductors in the magnetic field parallel to the c-axis direction. Way in which the crystal was grown; Details on hysteresis loops; Predictions based on the collective pinning theory.

Studies the ferromagnetic behavior of decamethylchromocenium tetracyanoethanide. Magnetic properties of decamethylchromocenium tetracyanoethanide; Measurement of the low temperature magnetization; Temperature and field dependence of magnetization for the decamethylchromocenium tetracyanoethanide.

Presents magnetic studies of copper (Cu)-based organometallic monomers and polymers. Molecular structure of the monomer; Effect of side groups on the valence of Cu; Overlay of the magnetic susceptibility versus temperature.

Presents a study that investigated magnetic relaxation in single-crystal thallium-calcium-barium-copper-oxygen superconductors. Magnetic-flux phases in high temperature superconductors; Different flux dynamics observed; Explanation of the reverse creep flux-line roughening.

Ferrocene-functionalized polymers (poly(NIPAM/FCN)) and their β-CD (β-Cyclodextrin) complex have been prepared. The inclusion complexation between them was investigated by several techniques, including 1H NMR spectra, cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis spectra and dynamic light scattering measurements. The results showed that β-CD could interact with the reduced ferrocene side groups and hardly affect the oxidized form. Thus a redox-responsive inclusion complexation system based on β-CD and poly(NIPAM/FCN) was obtained. In addition, the effect of this inclusion complexation on the solution properties of this polymer was also investigated. LCST (lower critical solution temperature) increased and the viscosity decreased upon addition of β-CD into the reduced polymer solution due to the disruption of the hydrophobic interaction between the ferrocene side groups by the inclusion complexation. Yet LCST and viscosity of the oxidized polymer solution changed slightly, which resulted from the weak interaction exerted by β-CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of Transition Edge Sensors (TES) is limited by excess noise that is not predicted by the current theory of microcalorimeters and bolometers. The nature of this noise is currently unknown, but is likely to be dominated by fundamental physics of supeconductors. The University of Miami has recently started a joint effort between the microcalorimeter group and the superconductivity group to study and characterize the noise in TES. In particular, we plan to investigate the effect of flux motion due to self-field and external field and the effect of fluctuating order parameter by measuring the para-conductivity due to fluctuations in the number of Cooper pairs near the transition. We also plan to characterize the fundamental physical parameters of the TES to better predict their properties. In this paper we report our preliminary qualitative assessment of the problem, based on the literature, and we illustrate the experimental techniques that we plan to use for the investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Macau Science Satellites (MSS‐1) mission, consisting of twin low earth orbit satellites (Satellite A and B), is the first low‐inclination and high‐precision geomagnetic surveying satellite project in China. Among the multiple scientific payloads equipped with the scientific satellites, MSS‐1 carries a GNSS radio occultation (RO) receiver on Satellite A, and aims to observe the Earth's ionosphere and monitor the space weather especially in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) area. This paper focuses on the ionospheric data of MSS‐1 obtained during the first 3 months after its launch, and assesses the RO products as well as initial scintillation measurements. Results show that MSS‐1 RO data have very good agreement with contemporary COSMIC‐2 and ionosonde observations. The scintillation amplitude indices S4 are comparable with that of COSMIC‐2 and well reflect the occurrence rates and distributions of equatorial plasma bubble and sporadic E (Es) in June solstice season. Special attentions are paid to the SAA longitude sector and inspire explorations on the seasonal variations and local‐time dependences of ionospheric irregularities. Key Points: The MSS‐1 ionospheric radio occultation products are comparable with COSMIC‐2 and ionosondesScintillation characteristics in the June solstice season are well reflected based on MSS‐1 high‐rate measurements [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural evolution and densification kinetics of α-alumina were investigated and compared between conventional sintering and microwave sintering at 2.45GHz in the intermediate stage, where the microwave seems to be the most efficient. Based on classical kinetics models, the calculated kinetics parameter demonstrated that the densification is greatly influenced by the presence of an electromagnetic field during sintering. It was assumed that the grain boundary diffusion is enhanced by an electromagnetic pressure induced by the microwave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The yattle (dzo) is an interspecific hybrid of the taurine cattle (Bos taurus) and the domestic yak (Bos grunniens). F1 hybrid yattle bulls are sterile due to spermatogenic arrest and have misregulation of spermatogenesis genes in the testes. However, the expression pattern of Y chromosome‐linked genes in cattle, yaks and yattle testes is still unknown. In this study, we analyzed the mRNA expression pattern of 10 genes known to be present as single copies in the X‐degenerate region of the bovine male‐specific region of the Y chromosome. Using male‐specific primers and reverse transcription quantitative PCR, the ubiquitously transcribed tetratricopeptide repeat gene, Y‐linked (UTY), oral‐facial‐digital syndrome 1, Y‐linked (OFD1Y) and ubiquitin specific peptidase 9, Y‐linked (USP9Y) genes were ubiquitously expressed and significantly more highly expressed in yattle than in cattle and yaks testes (P < 0.001). RNA binding motif protein, Y‐linked (RBMY) had testes‐specific expression, and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 1A, Y‐linked (EIF1AY) was expressed mainly in testis, whereas yattle and cattle did not show significant differences with respect to the expression of RBMY and EIF1AY. Thus, based on the model of yattle bull sterility, the high expression of UTY,OFD1Y and USP9Y may be associated with yattle infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to recognize M-type stars which are classified as 'UNKNOWN' due to poor quality in the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) DR5 V1. A binary nonlinear hashing algorithm based on Multi-Layer Pseudo-Inverse Learning (ML-PIL) is proposed to effectively learn spectral features for M-type-star detection, which can overcome the bad fitting problem of template matching, particularly for low S/N spectra. The key steps and the performance of the search scheme are presented. A positive data set is obtained by clustering the existing M-type spectra to train the ML-PIL networks. By employing this new method, we find 11 410 M-type spectra out of 642 178 'UNKNOWN' spectra, and provide a supplemental catalogue. Both the supplemental objects and released M-type stars in DR5 V1 are composed of a whole M-type sample, which will be released in the official DR5 to the public in June 2019. All the M-type stars in the data set are classified as giants and dwarfs by two suggested separators: (1) a colour diagram of H versus J − K from 2MASS, (2) line indices CaOH versus CaH1, and the separation is validated with the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (HRD) derived from Gaia DR2. The magnetic activities and kinematics of M dwarfs are also provided with the equivalent width (EW) of the Hα emission line and the astrometric data from Gaia DR2 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossbreeding between cattle (Bos taurus) and yak (Bos grunniens) exhibits significant hybrid advantages in milk yield and meat production. By contrast, cattle–yak F1 hybrid bulls are sterile. Copy number variations (CNV) of multicopy gene families in male-specific regions of the mammalian Y chromosome (MSY) affect human and animal fertility. The present study investigated CNV of TSPY (testis-specific protein, Y-encoded), HSFY (heat-shock transcription factor, Y-linked), ZNF280BY (zinc finger protein 280B, Y-linked), and PRAMEY (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma, Y-linked) in 5 yak breed bulls (n = 63), cattle–yak F1 (n = 22) and F2 (n = 2) hybrid bulls, and Chinese Yellow (CY) cattle bulls (n = 10) by quantitative real-time PCR. TSPY showed restricted amplification in yak bulls in that the average geometric mean copy number (CN) was estimated to be 4 copies. The most compelling finding is that there is a tremendous expansion of TSPY CN in F1 hybrids (385 copies; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 351– 421) and F2 hybrids (356 copies) compared with the male parent breed CY cattle (142 copies; 95% CI = 95–211). Copy numbers of HSFY and ZNF280BY were also extensively expanded on the Y chromosome in yak and CY cattle bulls. The geometric mean CN of HSFY and ZNF280BY were estimated to be 123 (95% CI = 114–132) and 250 copies (95% CI = 233–268) in yak bulls and 71 (95% CI = 61–82) and 133 (95% CI = 107–164) copies in CY cattle, respectively. Yak and CY cattle have 2 copies of the PRAMEY gene on the Y chromosome. Similarly to TSPY gene, the F1 and F2 hybrid bulls have higher CN of HSFY, ZNF280BY, and PRAMEY than CY cattle (P < 0.01). These results indicated that the MSY of yak and cattle–yak crossbred hybrids was fundamentally different from cattle MSY in the context of genomic organization. Based on the model of cattle–yak F1 and F2 hybrid bull sterility, the CNV of TSPY may serve as a potential risk factor for crossbred bull (B. taurus × B. grunniens) infertility. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine differences in multicopy genes in MSY between yak and cattle–yak bulls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of various factors on the ductility of thin metal films on polymer substrates through structural modeling of these polymer-supported metal films using finite element analysis software ABAQUS. The various system parameters include the thickness of the film h, the thickness of the polymer substrate H, the thickness ratio between the film and substrate h/H and the Young's modulus of the substrate Es. The results demonstrate that each parameter influences the ductility of films except the thickness ratio between the film and substrate h/H. Furthermore, an orthogonal experiment is performed to analyze the combined action of the parameters on the ductility of polymer-supported metal films. It can be concluded that the most dominating factor that influences the ductility of films on polymer substrate is the thickness of the thin metal film h, while the Young's modulus of the substrate while Es plays a secondary role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To investigate apoptosis of the CD8+ T cells (Tc) subpopulation in rodent cardiac allograft recipients, which were treated by donor specific transfusion combined with blockade of Inducible costimulator (ICOS)/B7 homologous protein (B7h) costimulation. Methods: Donor hearts were heterotopically transplanted into the necks of recipient mice using Chen''s technique. Postoperative graft survival was recorded. Both the percentage of CD3+CD8+ICOS+ Tc in recipients'' peripheral blood and the apoptosis of CD8+ Tc in recipient draining lymph nodes were detected by flow cytometry analysis. Results: In comparison with the allogeneic group, the survival of cardiac grafts was prolonged by combined treatment with 5 × 106 ICOS-Fc-targeted B cells on day 0 of transplantation and 10 mg/kg/d ICOS-Fc on days 0 to 6 (84.38 ± 29.14 days versus 7.00 ± 0.76 days, P < .01). The treatment group showed a stable CD8+Tc clone size in recipient peripheral blood (49.4% ± 3.11% versus 50.0% ± 2.46%, P > .05); however, the percentage of CD3+CD8+ICOS+ Tc decreased significantly compared with the allogeneic group (7.5% ± 2.02% versus 14.0% ± 3.03%, P < .05). Compared with allogeneic group, apoptosis of the CD8+ Tc subpopulation in recipient draining lymph nodes was up-regulated significantly at postoperative 7 days in the treatment group (19.53% ± 5.10% versus 8.70 ± 3.14%, P < .05). Conclusion: Apoptosis of CD8+ Tc in recipient draining lymph nodes was enhanced by pretreatment with donor specific transfusion and impaired ICOS/B7h allorecognition, which may have been associated with the variation in the CD3+CD8+ICOS+ Tc subpopulation in peripheral blood and at least partially contributed to unresponsiveness toward cardiac allograft. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Now with the rapid development of information science and technology, intelligent apparel recommend has drawn wide attention in apparel retail industry. Intelligent management and effective recommend are two issues of crucial importance for the retail store to enhance its corporate influence and increase its economic benefits. This paper proposes an intelligent recommend system design scheme for apparel retail which is based on expert system. By comprehensive utilization of databasemanagement and expert system technology, the proposed system provides a solid solution in improving the customer shopping experience. This paper presents a kind of object-oriented blackboard structure, which is applied in the apparel recommend expert system and establishes expert rule on the basis of apparel characteristic elements. Through the establishment of the rule base, the system generates personal recommend list by positive rule reasoning mechanism engine. The proposed method thus gives dress collocation scheme for the customer through the human-machine interaction from the point of view of the apparel experts. This design scheme avails the customers to experience targeted service with intellectualization, and personalization and it has certain reference significance for promoting apparel retail intelligence development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Inducible costimulator (ICOS)/B7h costimulation plays a crucial role in acute and chronic allograft rejection. To test the role of the ICOS signal in T-cell activation and expansion, we used ICOS-Fc–targeted B cells as donor antigen presenting cells to challenge the allogeneic response in vitro. Methods: In vitro, the binding of ICOS-Fc with B7h on splenic B cells was confirmed by flow cytometry analysis. To evaluate the capacity of ICOS-Fc–targeted B cells to elicit an allogeneic response in vitro, we performed mixed lymphocyte reactions. Results: The binding of B7h on splenic B cells by ICOS-Fc was confirmed at a saturating concentration of 100 μg/mL. Blockade of ICOS/B7h in direct allorecognition depressed proliferation of alloreactive T cells in vitro. Conclusions: ICOS/B7h signal plays an important role in direct allorecognition, eliciting allogeneic responses in vitro. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ni/polyaniline (PANi) nanocomposites were prepared by chemical polymerization, and electromagnetic characteristics were then studied at 2–18 GHz. The permittivity of the Ni/PANi nanocomposite presents dual dielectric relaxations with increasing content of PANi to over 15.6 wt %, which is ascribed to a cooperative consequence of the core/shell interfaces and the dielectric PANi shells. Additionally, the permeability presents a strong natural resonance around 2–8 GHz, which is dominant among microwave magnetic loss. The proper matching of the permittivity and the permeability contributes to enhanced microwave absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]