Search

Principal component analysis (PCA) is a widely used tool in machine learning algorithms, but it can be computationally expensive. In 2014, Lloyd, Mohseni & Rebentrost proposed a quantum PCA (qPCA) algorithm [Nat. Phys. 10, 631 (2014)] that has not yet been experimentally demonstrated due to challenges in preparing multiple quantum state copies and implementing quantum phase estimations. In this study, we presented a hardware-efficient approach for qPCA, utilizing an iterative approach that effectively resets the relevant qubits in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum processor. Additionally, we introduced a quantum scattering circuit that efficiently determines the eigenvalues and eigenvectors (principal components). As an important application of PCA, we focused on classifying thoracic CT images from COVID-19 patients and achieved high accuracy in image classification using the qPCA circuit implemented on the NMR system. Our experiment highlights the potential of near-term quantum devices to accelerate qPCA, opening up new avenues for practical applications of quantum machine learning algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the host responses to respiratory viruses could help develop effective interventions and therapies against the current and future pandemics from the host perspective. To explore the pathogenesis that distinguishes SARS-CoV-2 infections from other respiratory viruses, we performed a multi-cohort analysis with integrated bioinformatics and machine learning. We collected 3730 blood samples from both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, seasonal human coronavirus (sHCoVs), influenza virus (IFV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or human rhinovirus (HRV) across 15 cohorts. First, we identified an enhanced cellular immune response but limited interferon activities in SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in asymptomatic cases. Second, we identified a SARS-CoV-2-specific 3-gene signature (CLSPN, RBBP6, CCDC91) that was predominantly expressed by T cells, could distinguish SARS-CoV-2 infection, including Omicron, from other common respiratory viruses regardless of symptoms, and was predictive of SARS-CoV-2 infection before detectable viral RNA on RT-PCR testing in a longitude follow-up study. Thereafter, a user-friendly online tool, based on datasets collected here, was developed for querying a gene of interest across multiple viral infections. Our results not only identify a unique host response to the viral pathogenesis in SARS-CoV-2 but also provide insights into developing effective tools against viral pandemics from the host perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integral imaging is a type of true three‐dimensional (3D) display technology that uses a lens array to reconstruct vivid 3D images with full parallax and true color. In order to present a high‐quality 3D image, it's vital to correct the axial position error caused by the misalignment and deformation of the lens array which makes the reconstructed lights deviate from the correct directions, resulting in severe voxel drifting and image blurring. We proposed a sub‐pixel marking method to measure the axial position error of the lenses with great accuracy by addressing the sub‐pixels under each lens and forming a homologous sub‐pixel pair. The proposed measurement method relies on the geometric center alignment of image points, which makes the measurement accuracy high. Additionally, a depth‐based sub‐pixel correction method was proposed to eliminate the voxel drifting. The proposed correction method takes the voxel depth into consideration. The experimental results well confirmed that the proposed measuring and correction methods can greatly suppress the voxel drifting caused by the axial position error of the lenses, and greatly improve the 3D image quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskites have attracted extensive attention as radiation detection material due to their long carrier diffusion length and lifetime, high absorption coefficient, and flexible manufacturing process. Compared with polycrystalline structures, single crystal perovskites improve the performance of optoelectronic devices due to their low defect state density, better photoelectric characteristics, and chemical stability. Herein, we review the recent progress of single crystal perovskite X-ray detectors. First, we briefly introduced the basic concepts, detection mechanisms, figure of merits of perovskite X-ray detectors, and the preparation methods of single crystal perovskites. Then, we summarized the significant advancements in single crystal perovskite X-ray detectors in recent times. Finally, we discussed the critical challenges and some practicable solutions for developing high-performance X-ray detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CD2‐associated protein (CD2AP) is a podocyte‐associated gene and its reduced expression is associated with the development of proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis. However, few studies have focused on the correlation between the expression and prognosis of CD2AP in renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Therefore, we aimed to assess the regulation of CD2AP expression and prognostic value in ccRCC. Methods: Multiple databases were employed to examine the expression of CD2AP in ccRCC. RT‐qPCR, Western Blot and immunohistochemistry were used to validate CD2AP expression in different cell lines and tissue samples. Kaplan–Meier analysis and ROC curve analysis were performed on the predictive prognostic performance of CD2AP. COX regression was used to construct CD2AP‐related prognostic models. The TIMER and TISIDB databases were used to analyze the correlation of tumor‐infiltrating immune cells with gene expression, mutations, somatic copy number variation, and immune molecules. Mass spectrometry was used to detect methylation status of the promoter CpG site of CD2AP in multiple cells. Results: We found that CD2AP expression was downregulated in ccRCC and its lower expression level was correlation with worse patient prognosis, higher tumor stage and grade and distant metastasis through analysis of databases, ccRCC cell lines and clinical tissue samples. Moreover, database and mass spectrometry techniques identified and validated cg12968598 hypermethylation as one of the key reasons for the downregulation of CD2AP expression. CD2AP expression was also associated with macrophage and neutrophil infiltration. Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggest that CD2AP can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in ccRCC patients and that DNA hypermethylation plays an important role in reducing CD2AP expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment perception is one of the most critical technology of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Motion interaction between multiple vehicles in ITS makes it important to perform multi-object tracking (MOT). However, most existing MOT algorithms follow the tracking-by-detection framework, which separates detection and tracking into two independent segments and limit the global efficiency. Recently, a few algorithms have combined feature extraction into one network; however, the tracking portion continues to rely on data association, and requires complex post-processing for life cycle management. Those methods do not combine detection and tracking efficiently. This paper presents a novel network to realize joint multi-object detection and tracking in an end-to-end manner for ITS, named as global correlation network (GCNet). Unlike most object detection methods, GCNet introduces a global correlation layer for regression of absolute size and coordinates of bounding boxes, instead of offsetting predictions. The pipeline of detection and tracking in GCNet is conceptually simple, and does not require complicated tracking strategies such as non-maximum suppression and data association. GCNet was evaluated on a multi-vehicle tracking dataset, UA-DETRAC, demonstrating promising performance compared to state-of-the-art detectors and trackers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of earth-abundant and highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) is crucial for hydrogen production through overall water splitting. Herein, we report a novel nanostructure consisting of vertically oriented CoP hierarchical nanosheet arrays with in situ-assembled carbon skeletons on a Ti foil electrode. The novel Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-67 (ZIF-67) template-derived hierarchical nanosheet architecture effectively improved electrical conductivity, facilitated electrolyte transport, and increased the exposure of the active sites. The obtained bifunctional hybrid exhibited a low overpotential of 72 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 65 mV dec−1 for HER, and an improved overpotential of 329 mV and a Tafel slope of 107 mV dec−1 for OER. Furthermore, the assembled C@CoP||C@CoP electrolyzer showed excellent overall water splitting performance (1.63 V) at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and superior durability. This work provides a structure engineering strategy for metal–organic framework (MOF) template-derived hybrids with outstanding electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus experience the sixth highest rate of 30‐day readmissions among chronic diseases. Timely postdischarge follow‐up is a marker of ambulatory care quality that can reduce readmissions in other chronic conditions. Our objective was to test the hypotheses that 1) beneficiaries from populations experiencing health disparities, including patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods, will have lower odds of completed follow‐up, and that 2) follow‐up will predict longer time without acute care use (readmission, observation stay, or emergency department visit) or mortality. Methods: This observational cohort study included hospitalizations in January–November 2014 from a 20% random sample of Medicare adults. Included hospitalizations had a lupus code, discharge to home without hospice, and continuous Medicare A/B coverage for 1 year before and 1 month after hospitalization. Timely follow‐up included visits with primary care or rheumatology within 30 days. Thirty‐day survival outcomes were acute care use and mortality adjusted for sociodemographic information and comorbidities. Results: Over one‐third (35%) of lupus hospitalizations lacked 30‐day follow‐up. Younger age, living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and rurality were associated with lower odds of follow‐up. Follow‐up was not associated with subsequent acute care or mortality in beneficiaries age <65 years. In contrast, follow‐up was associated with a 27% higher hazard for acute care use (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.27 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09–1.47]) and 65% lower mortality (adjusted HR 0.35 [95% CI 0.19–0.67]) among beneficiaries age ≥65 years. Conclusion: One‐third of lupus hospitalizations lacked follow‐up, with significant disparities in rural and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Follow‐up was associated with increased acute care, but 65% lower mortality in older systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Further development of lupus‐specific postdischarge strategies is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead halide perovskites have made remarkable progress in the field of radiation detection owing to the excellent and unique optoelectronic properties. However, the instability and the toxicity of lead‐based perovskites have greatly hindered its practical applications. Alternatively, lead‐free perovskites with high stability and environmental friendliness thus have fascinated significant research attention for direct X‐ray detection. In this review, the current research progress of X‐ray detectors based on lead‐free halide perovskites is focused. First, the synthesis methods of lead‐free perovskites including single crystals and films are discussed. In addition, the properties of these materials and the detectors, which can provide a better understanding and designing satisfactory devices are also presented. Finally, the challenge and outlook for developing high‐performance lead‐free perovskite X‐ray detectors are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of cooling rates on solidification behaviors, segregation characteristics and tensile property of GH4151 alloy were investigated using microstructure characterization and tensile test. Firstly, a relationship between the secondary dendrite arm spacing and cooling rate was determined and it was confirmed to be valid. Secondly, it can be found from microstructure observations that the morphology of (Nb, Ti)C carbides transits from blocky and script type to fine script type and spotty type, and the refined γ′ phase was observed due to decrease of segregation with increasing cooling rates. Thirdly, the solidification microstructures of the industrial-scale samples were analyzed. The morphology of η phase changes from indistinguishable shape, fine needle-like shape to large block-like shape with increasing ingot diameter. As a result, the mechanical properties of alloy decrease due to increase of brittle precipitations. The experimental results show that the precipitation behavior of GH4151 is affected by segregation degree of elements, and the segregation degree is determined by solute distribution process and solid back-diffusion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on CO2 emissions embodied in trade (CEET) to better promote carbon emission reduction given that foreign trade occupied an increasing proportion of the global economy. Based on technical adjustment, CEET balance worldwide during 2006–2016 was calculated and compared to avoid false transfer. This study also explored the influencing factors of CEET balance and identified the transfer pathway of China. Results indicate that developing countries are the major exporters of CEET, and developed countries are CEET importers in general. China is the largest net exporter of CEET and bears a large amount of it for developed countries. Trade balance and trade specialization are important factors of the imbalance of CEET in China. The transfer of CEET between China and the USA, Japan, India, Germany, South Korea, and other countries is relatively active. Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, electricity, heat, gas, water production and supply, and transportation, storage, and postal services are the major sectors, where the transfer occurs in China. Reducing CO2 emissions requires global cooperation in the context of globalization. Strategies are proposed to deal with imbalances and transfer of CEET issues in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale application of renewable energy is an important strategy to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in the building sector. Energy flexibility is essential for ensuring balance between energy demand and supply when targeting the maximum penetration rate of renewable energy during the operation of regional integrated energy systems. Revealing the energy flexibility characteristics of centralized hot water systems, which are an important source of such flexibility, is of great significance to the optimal operation of regional integrated energy systems. Hence, in this study, based on the annual real-time monitoring data, the energy flexibility of the centralized hot water system in university dormitories is evaluated from the perspective of available storage capacity (CADR), recovery time (trecovery), and storage efficiency (ηADR), by the data-driven simulation method. The factors influencing the energy flexibility of the centralized hot water system are also analyzed. Available storage capacity has a strong positive correlation with daily water consumption and a strong negative correlation with daily mean outdoor temperature. These associations indicate that increased water use on the energy flexibility of the centralized hot water system is conducive to optimal dispatching. In contrast, higher outdoor temperature is unfavorable. The hourly mean value of the available storage capacity in spring and winter is found to be around 80 kWh in the daytime, and about twice that in summer and autumn. Recovery time is evenly distributed throughout the year, while trecovery/CADR in spring and winter is about half that in summer. The storage efficiency was significantly higher in spring, summer, and winter than in autumn. The hourly mean storage efficiency was found to be about 40% in the daytime. The benefits of activating energy flexibility in spring and winter are the best, because these two seasons have higher available storage capacity and storage efficiency, while the benefit of activating energy flexibility is the highest at 6:00 a.m., and very low from midnight to 3:00 a.m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four dinuclear osmium complexes have been constructed for antitumor phototherapy. The most potent Os4 has extremely high photothermal conversion capability under irradiation of an 808 nm low-power laser, targets mitochondria in human melanoma cells without nucleus affinity, and acts as an antitumor photothermal therapy agent in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of dinuclear RuII complexes with extremely high TPA cross sections in the range of 800–900 nm have been designed. The amphiphilic complex Ru3 containing tert‐butyl groups has balanced performance in singlet oxygen generation and photothermal conversion and becomes the ideal drug candidate of the series. Ru3 targets mitochondria without penetrating the nucleus, which substantially increases its photodynamic therapy activity and reduces its dark cytotoxicity. Ru3 successfully suppresses melanoma tumor growth in vitro and in vivo with combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy under low light dose irradiation of an 808 nm low‐power laser, avoiding the known PDT resistance in melanoma. The excellent therapeutic effect of Ru3 facilitates its applications in further human trials for larger or deeper buried tumors, thereby becoming a prospective candidate for a new generation of low‐power IR‐driven dual PDT/PTT drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of dinuclear RuII complexes with extremely high TPA cross sections in the range of 800–900 nm have been designed. The amphiphilic complex Ru3 containing tert‐butyl groups has balanced performance in singlet oxygen generation and photothermal conversion and becomes the ideal drug candidate of the series. Ru3 targets mitochondria without penetrating the nucleus, which substantially increases its photodynamic therapy activity and reduces its dark cytotoxicity. Ru3 successfully suppresses melanoma tumor growth in vitro and in vivo with combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy under low light dose irradiation of an 808 nm low‐power laser, avoiding the known PDT resistance in melanoma. The excellent therapeutic effect of Ru3 facilitates its applications in further human trials for larger or deeper buried tumors, thereby becoming a prospective candidate for a new generation of low‐power IR‐driven dual PDT/PTT drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the factors influencing the success rate of the microdissection testicular sperm extraction (Micro-TESE) in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) and cryptorchidism. Clinical data of 162 patients with cryptorchidism who underwent Micro-TESE due to infertility from December 2015 to May 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were analyzed retrospectively. In the univariate analysis, significant differences in the age of patient at the time of orchidopexy (median [interquartile range, IQR]: 7.0 [4.0–11.0] years vs 11.5 [9.0–14.5] years, P < 0.001), interval between orchidopexy and Micro-TESE (mean ± standard deviation: 17.5 ± 5.0 years vs 14.4 ± 4.4 years, P < 0.001), severity of cryptorchidism (unilateral [62.8%] vs bilateral [31.6%], P < 0.001; location of cryptorchidism, intra-abdominal [27.3%] vs inguinal [44.8%] vs suprascrotal [66.7%], P < 0.001), volume of the dominant testis (median [IQR]: 17.00 [15.00–19.00] ml vs 14.50 [11.75–16.25] ml, P < 0.001), and levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; P = 0.004) and testosterone (P = 0.006) were observed between the successful and failed sperm extraction groups. After conducting the multivariate analysis, four of these factors, including unilateral/bilateral cryptorchidism (P < 0.001), location of cryptorchidism (P = 0.032), age of orchidopexy (P < 0.001), and dominant testicular volume, were adopted in the clinical prediction model to evaluate preoperatively the success rate of Micro-TESE for patients with NOA and cryptorchidism. The likelihood of successful sperm retrieval by Micro-TESE in men with NOA and cryptorchidism increased in patients with mild forms of cryptorchidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise is ubiquitous in real quantum systems, leading to non-Hermitian quantum dynamics, and may affect the fundamental states of matter. Here we report in an experiment a quantum simulation of the two-dimensional non-Hermitian quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) model using the nuclear magnetic resonance processor. Unlike the usual experiments using auxiliary qubits, we develop a stochastic average approach based on the stochastic Schrödinger equation to realize the non-Hermitian dissipative quantum dynamics, which has advantages in saving the quantum simulation sources and simplifying the implementation of quantum gates. We demonstrate the stability of dynamical topology against weak noise and observe two types of dynamical topological transitions driven by strong noise. Moreover, a region where the emergent topology is always robust regardless of the noise strength is observed. Our work shows a feasible quantum simulation approach for dissipative quantum dynamics with stochastic Schrödinger equation and opens a route to investigate non-Hermitian dynamical topological physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in Taihu Lake Basin has caused widespread concern. However, the spatial temporal distribution of PAHs in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin remains largely unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level, spatial distribution, sources, and environment risk caused by PAHs in upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin. The concentrations of total 16 PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 188.64 to 1060.39 ng/g, with an average of 472.62 ng/g. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs were the predominant compounds in most sample sites. The results of source analysis demonstrated that the PAH pollution was mainly sourced from mixture of combustion and direct petroleum spillage. The ecological risk assessment showed that moderate ecological risk caused by the PAH contaminants might occur in most sample sites. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) ranged from 2.07 ×10−4 − 2.66 × 10−3 for children and 9.66 ×10−5 − 1.24 × 10−3 for adult, indicating moderate cancer risk of PAH-contaminated sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we reported an improved approach for the synthesis of d/l Agrimonolide from 4‐Chlororesorcinol. It was found that a microwave assisted intramolecular esterification is an effective way to construct the 3,4‐dihydroisocoumarin core structure. The target d/l Agrimonolide is obtained in 7 steps with the overall yields of 20.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vortex electromagnetic waves (VEMWs) carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are promising to benefit the higher degree of freedom for inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging on account of their helical wavefront. For high‐speed targets, the 'stop and go' hypothesis is no longer valid. Thus, the intrapulse movement of the target will cause the broadening and shift of the one‐dimensional range profile and the blurring of the OAM eigenvalues coupling azimuth. This contribution proposes a high‐speed target imaging method for the VEMW ISAR. First, an OAM‐based ISAR imaging model for high‐speed targets is derived and the echo characteristics are analysed. Subsequently, in order to effectively estimate the ratio of the echo to correct the imaging result, an estimation method that takes into account the calculation speed and accuracy is proposed. On this basis, the target velocity distribution obtained under multiple echoes is analysed to improve the accuracy of the results. Finally, the range profile and azimuthal profile are reconstructed. Compared with the existing vortex electromagnetic imaging algorithm, the proposed method can effectively eliminate the influence of high‐speed motion on the range and azimuth profile. This work provides suggestions for the development of EM vortex ISAR imaging technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis plays an important role in both carcinogenesis and cancer treatment. Understanding the mechanisms through which resistance to apoptosis occurs in cancer cells has huge implications for cancer treatment. Although pieces of evidence have shown that elevated levels of global O-GlcNAcylation play an anti-apoptotic role in myriad cancers, the underlying mechanism is still ambiguous. In this study, we demonstrated that FOXA2, an essential transcription factor for liver homeostasis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, inhibits doxorubicin (DOX)-induced apoptosis through elevating cellular O-GlcNAcylation in HCC cells. In response to DOX treatment, elevated FOXA2 and global O-GlcNAcylation level was observed in HCC cells, and higher FOXA2 levels indicated lower levels of DOX-induced apoptosis. Subsequently, we demonstrated that FOXA2 is a direct transcriptional activator of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) rate-limiting enzyme GFPT1. The upregulation of FOXA2 expression induced the synthesis of intracellular UDP-GlcNAc, which is the sugar substrate of O-GlcNAcylation produced by the HBP. The flux through the HBP elevated the global O-GlcNAcylation level and led to the activation of survival signaling pathways in HCC cells. Furthermore, GFPT1 was proved to be an important downstream regulator of FOXA2-mediated apoptotic suppression. These results provide insights into the molecular mechanism by which FOXA2 inhibits DOX-induced HCC cell apoptosis and suggest that targeting FOXA2 might offer a new strategy for HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The car-free carrier platform is a product of the rapid development of the modern logistics industry and has a vital strategic value for promoting the construction of a country's comprehensive transportation. However, due to the unreasonable platform pricing model, the industry is currently in a bottleneck period. In order to solve this problem, we established a gray correlation model to calculate the degree of correlation between each characteristic index and platform pricing based on the massive historical transaction data of a certain platform and performed K-means clustering on the results to discover the main factors affecting platform pricing. Based on the abovementioned results, we created a pricing optimization model based on the BP neural network, with the structure of 8-13-1 to predict the freight pricing of the order and test the prediction results. The test shows that the goodness of fit (R2) of the predicted value is close to 1, and the prediction error range is less than 3.7%, which proves the accuracy and effectiveness of the BP neural network model and provides an effective reference for the optimization of the pricing model of the car-free carrier platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two typical brominated flame retardants (BFRs), namely, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), were persistent organic pollutants widely detected in various environmental media. This study aimed to successfully synthesize micro-nano-structured magnetite particles (MNMPs) with surface modification by citric acid molecules. The synthesized composites served as an adsorbent for extracting TBBPA and HBCD from environmental water samples followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. The obtained MNMPs were characterized in terms of crystal structure, morphology, size distribution, hydrophobic and hydrophilic performance and magnetism. The results indicated that the MNMPs exhibited high surface area, good dispersibility, and strong magnetic responsiveness for separation. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized, including sample pH, amount of sorbents, extraction time and desorption conditions. Under the optimum conditions, the recovery was 83.5 and 107.1%, limit of detection was 0.13 and 0.35μg/mL (S/N = 3), and limit of quantification was 0.37 and 0.59 μg/mL (S/N = 10) for TBBPA and HBCD respectively. The relative standard deviations obtained using the proposed method were less than 8.7%, indicating that the MNMP magnetic solid-phase extraction method had advantages of simplicity, good sensitivity and high efficiency for the extraction of the two BFRs from environmental water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herring and mackerel are two of the most important pillars of Scottish fisheries. In recent years, global warming has caused a gradual rise in ocean temperatures. In order to survive and reproduce, herring and mackerel populations will migrate. This will have a huge impact on Scotland's fisheries. Therefore, we need to predict the relocation of fish stocks in advance, make timely adjustments to the fishing range, and minimize the loss of the fishing industry. In this article, we subdivide the research target sea area into 39 regions, establish the optimal SARIMA model for each region based on the collected seawater temperature time series data, and take region 13 and region 15 as examples to fit the ARIMA (3, 3, 1) (1, 2, 1) and ARIMA (2, 3, 1) (0, 2, 1) models with a period of 12. The results show that the SARIMA model fits well in all regions and predicts the temperature changes in the studied sea area from 2021 to 2050. Finally, according to the predicted sea temperature in different periods, the migration position of the fish school is predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic molybdenum (e.g., molybdenum dialkyldithiocarbamate, Mo-DTC) is a typical additive for liquid lubricants which can produce a significant anti-wear role with only a minor addition. In this article Mo-DTC additives were used to enhance the wear resistance of a phenolic resin. Phenolic/Mo-DTC composites with various Mo-DTC filler ratios were prepared by hot-press molding. The hardness and wear performance of the composites were measured by a Shore durometer and by an M-2000 friction and wear tester, respectively. The results showed that after adding the Mo-DTC filler, both the hardness and the anti-wear properties of the composites materials were improved. Under the condition of high-speed with a smooth ring, the wear scar length for the sample with 1% Mo-DTC content decreased by 45.6% compared with that of the neat phenolic resin whereas for a wire rope ring a decrease of 16% was observed for 0.5% Mo-DTC. Based on the wear morphology of the composites, the wear mechanisms of the designed phenolic/Mo-DTC composites were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct current (DC) glow discharge positive column has played an important role in the field of plasma material surface modification. In this kinetic study of hydrogen glow discharge in the positive column, it is found that electron energy distribution function (EEDF) obviously departs from Maxwell distribution. The EEDF tail moves to higher energy when the ratio between electric field E and density of neutral species N (E/N) increases and the tail moves toward higher energy if hydrogen atom proportion increases at the same E/N. It is also shown that electron temperature augments with the increase of E/N. Additionally, the dissociation ratio percentage of H2 rises with the increase of E/N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The anti-fibrotic hormone, relaxin, has been inferred to disrupt transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smad2 phosphorylation (pSmad2) signal transduction and promote collagen-degrading gelatinase activity via a nitric oxide (NO)- dependent pathway. Here, we determined the extent to which NO, soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) were directly involved in the anti-fibrotic actions of relaxin using a selective NO scavenger and sGC inhibitor, and comparing and combining relaxin's effects with that of an NO donor. Methods and Results: Primary renal cortical myofibroblasts isolated from injured rat kidneys were treated with human recombinant relaxin (RLX; 16.8 nM), the NO donor, diethylamine NONOate (DEA/NO; 0.5-5 μM) or the combined effects of RLX (16.8 nM) and DEA/NO (5 μM) over 72 h. The effects of RLX (16.8 nM) and DEA/NO (5 μM) were also evaluated in the presence of the NO scavenger, hydroxocobalamin (HXC; 100 μM) or sGC inhibitor, ODQ (5 μM) over 72 h. Furthermore, the effects of RLX (30 nM), DEA/NO (5 μM) and RLX (30 nM) C DEA/NO (5 μM) on cGMP levels were directly measured, in the presence or absence of ODQ (5 μM). Changes in matrix metalloproteinase (μMP)-2, μMP-9 (cell media), pSmad2 and a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA; a measure myofibroblast differentiation) (cell layer) were assessed by gelatin zymography and Western blotting, respectively. At the highest concentration tested, both RLX and DEA/NO promoted μMP-2 and μMP-9 levels by 25-33%, while inhibiting pSmad2 and a-SMA expression by up to 50% (all p < 0.05 vs. untreated and vehicletreated cells). However, 5μM of DEA/NO was required to produce the effects seen with 16.8 nM of RLX over 72 h. The anti-fibrotic effects of RLX or DEA/NO alone were completely abrogated by HXC and ODQ (both p < 0.01 vs. RLX alone or DEA/NO alone), but were significantly enhanced when added in combination (all p < 0.05 vs. RLX alone). Additionally, the direct cGMP-promoting effects of RLX, DEA/NO and RLXCDEA/NO (which all increased cGMP levels by 12-16-fold over basal levels; all p < 0.01 vs. vehicletreated cells) were significantly inhibited by pre-treatment of ODQ (all p < 0.05 vs. the respective treatments alone). Conclusion: These findings confirmed that RLX mediates its TGF-β1-inhibitory and gelatinase-promoting effects via a NO-sGC-cGMP-dependent pathway, which was additively augmented by co-administration of DEA/NO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of the ground and the lowest excited state of methyl bromide (CH3Br) have been studied with and without inclusion of the solvent effects in this work. The geometric parameters, energies, and frequencies of the ground state and the triplet state are calculated by using the MP2(full)/6-311++G** level of theory. The vertical excitation for the singlet state is also investigated. It is found that the theoretical results performed by the TDDFT/B3P86/6-311++G** method are in the best agreement with the experimental results. In addition, the dissociation energy of CH3Br molecule is computed at MP2(full)/6-311++G** level of theory for the gas phase and in water. The ionisation potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), electronegativity (χ), electrophilicity index (ω), hardness (η), softness (S), and chemical potential (μ) values are calculated from HOMO-LUMO energies both in the gas phase and in solvent (water). These theoretical results could serve as a guide for future experimental investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment and management of environmental specimen banks (ESBs) has long been a problem worldwide. The complexity of specimen environment has made the management of ESB likewise complex. Through an analysis of the development and management of ESBs worldwide and in light of the sophisticated Internet of Things (IOT) technology, this paper presents IOT technology-based ESB management methods. An IOT technology-based ESB management system can significantly facilitate ESB ingress and egress management as well as long-term storage management under quality control. This paper elaborates on the design of IOT technology-based modules, which can be used in ESB management to achieve standardized, smart, information-based ESB management. ESB management has far-reaching implications for environmental management and for research in environmental science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors influence the non-metallic inclusions in electroslag steel including furnace atmosphere and inclusions' content in the consumable electrode, slag amount and its composition, power input, melting rate, filling ratio, and so on. Fluoride containing slag, which influences the non-metallic inclusions to a great extent, has been widely used for the electroslag remelting process. The current paper focuses on the effect of fluoride containing slag on the inclusions in electroslag ingots based on the interaction of the slag-metal interface and electroslag remelting process. In this work, die steel of CR-5A and several slags have been employed for investigating the effect of slag on inclusions in an electrical resistance furnace under argon atmosphere in order to eliminate the effect of ambient oxygen. Specimens were taken at different times for analyzing the content, dimensions, and type of non-metallic inclusions. Results of quantitative metallographic analysis indicate that a multi-component slag has better capacity for controlling the amount of inclusions; especially protective gas atmosphere has also been adopted. The findings of inclusions in electroslag steel by SEM-EDS analysis reveal that most non-metallic inclusions in electroslag steel are MgO-AlO inclusions for multi-component slags, but it is AlO inclusions when remelting using conventional 70 wt pct CaF-30 wt pct AlO slag. The maximal inclusions' size using multi-component slags is less than that using conventional binary slag. Small filling ratio as well as protective gas atmosphere is favorable for controlling the non-metallic inclusions in electroslag steel. All the results obtained will be compared to the original state inclusions in steel, which contribute to choice of slag for electroslag remelting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed the first theoretical investigation of the mechanisms and the kinetics of the OH radical reaction with cyclopentane (C5H10). The geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of all of the stationary points are calculated at the BHandHLYP and MP2 levels of theory. The energies of all of the stationary points are refined by using the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ calculation and the calculated potential barrier height agrees best with the experimental value. The minimum energy path (MEP) is obtained by the same level of theory and energetic information of the selected points along the MEP is further refined by the CCSD(T) method. The rate constants are evaluated in the temperature range 200–900K by using the conventional transition-state theory (TST), the canonical variational transition-state theory (CVT), and the CVT coupled with the small-curvature tunnelling (SCT) correction (CVT/SCT) method. A general agreement is found among the TST, CVT, and CVT/SCT theories. A comparison between the theoretical and the experimental results is made. The calculated rate constants are in good agreement with the experimental ones in the measured temperature range. The fitted four-parameter expression of the calculated forward CVT/SCT rate constants of the title reaction is [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms and the kinetics of the OH radical reaction with 4-hydroxy-2-butanone (4H2B) are investigated theoretically. Five hydrogen-abstraction channels are identified for the title reaction. The first potential energy profile of the title reaction is presented. The rate constants for each reaction channel are evaluated using transition state theory method in the temperature range of 200-1,000 K. Branching ratio of the title reaction is calculated and plotted. It is shown that the 'in-plane hydrogen abstraction' from the methoxy end is the dominant channel, and the other hydrogen-abstraction channels play the minor role. The comparison between theoretical and experimental results is discussed. The three-parameter Arrhenius expression for the rate constants is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Physics is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The mechanism and kinetics of 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropanol (CFCFCHOH) reaction with Chlorine atom (Cl) is investigated in this work. Two hydrogen abstraction channels of the title reaction are identified. The geometries of all the stationary points in the potential energy surface are obtained at the BHandHLYP/6-311G** level, and the energies of the selected points along the minimum energy path (MEP) are improved by the CCSD(T) method. A dual-level direct dynamics method is employed to study the kinetic nature of the hydrogen-abstraction reaction channels. The calculated rate coefficients show that the hydrogen abstraction from the CH group is the primary channel. The calculated total rate coefficients are in best agreement with the experimental values. The four-parameter rate coefficients expression of the title reaction between the temperatures 200 K and 1000 K is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]