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Mobile edge computing (MEC) is considered one of the key technologies for large-scale network services. Task scheduling helps to improve the task completion rate of MEC, by properly mapping tasks generated by devices onto MEC resources. However, the mobility of devices introduces complexities, potentially resulting in failed task offloading or unavailable task results. To tackle this issue, we propose a mobile-aware task scheduling scheme. We first model the trajectory of mobile devices and introduce a strategy for the fastest task offloading, coupled with an efficient result return method. Subsequently, to improve the task completion rate, we present a task scheduling model based on task migration and formulate the relevant problem as a Mixed Integer Non-linear Programming (MINLP) problem. To achieve a solution within a reasonable time complexity, we propose a Particle Swarm Optimization and Genetic Algorithm with a Rescheduling operator (PSOGAR). In PSOGAR, particles update their positions using a mating operator, while maintaining diversity by a mutation operator. In addition, a rescheduling operator is used to further improve the task completion rate. Finally, through simulation experiments, compare PSOGAR with state-of-the-art and classic algorithms. The experimental results show that PSOGAR can improve the task completion rate by 18–31% and can be applied to scenarios with tight task deadlines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Childhood precocious puberty (CPP) is a common pediatric endocrine disorder with significant associated risks. Zhibai Dihuang pill (ZBDHP), a classic recipe of the Qing dynasty with its efficacy of nourishing yin and clearing heat, can downregulate the expression of ESR1 in the uterus and ovaries, thereby inhibiting CPP. However, as of now, the main active ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms of ZBDHP remain unclear. Methods: A comprehensive approach was proposed using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐Q‐Exactive Orbitrap‐MS) and network pharmacology to explore the potentially active constituents of ZBDHP and reveal the underlying mechanisms against CPP. Molecular docking was used to verify the possible mechanisms. Results: A total of 214 constituents derived were identified via UHPLC‐Q‐Exactive Orbitrap‐MS, and 12 of them were definitely characterized using reference standards. Subsequently, compounds tetrahydropalmatine, alisol C, 25‐anhydroalisol A 11‐acetate, hispidone, cavidine, alisol E, melianone, neogitogenin, denudatin B, and 16β‐hydroperoxyalisol B with related targets PIK3CA, HSD11B1, CYP19A1, AR, PTGS2, CDK2, NR3C1, MMP2, MMP1, and MAPK1 were regarded as key components and targets for ZBDHP treating CPP using the compound–target–pathway network. Besides, the results revealed that the pathways conduced obviously to therapeutic efficacy, including pathways in cancer, neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate（cAMP） signaling pathways. Molecular docking indicated that PIK3CA, HSD11B1, and CYP19A1 exhibited high affinities to corresponding compounds. Overall, the study determined the multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway mechanisms of ZBDHP against CPP. Conclusions: This study provided a new method for exploring the chemical constituents and pharmacology mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological insulators are characterized by exhibiting an internal insulating state but a surface conductor state, which makes them advantageous for applications in novel devices. However, for most given acoustic topological metamaterials, the operating frequency is relatively fixed and the effect of temperature on their topological properties is rarely considered. Therefore, a temperature-tunable acoustic topological insulator is constructed in this paper. The quadruple degenerate Dirac cone formed at Γ point can be opened by adjusting the temperature, causing topological band inversion between the doubly degenerate dipolar and quadrupole states, and achieving topological phase transition. The evolution of its topological state with temperature is numerically investigated and a novel topological acoustic waveguide is constructed. The switching effect of temperature on the waveguide device is verified by numerical simulation and experiment. Non-contact active modulation of edge states in the structure is achieved by temperature-controlled topological phases, exhibiting acoustic switching effects. This study can provide corresponding references for the intelligent control of acoustic topology in noise, vibration, and other aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling user intention with limited evidence in short-term historical sequences is a major challenge in session recommendation. In this domain, research exploration extends from traditional methods to deep learning. However, most of them solely concentrate on the sequential dependence or pairwise relations within the session, disregarding the inherent consistency among items. Additionally, there is a lack of research on context adaptation in session intention learning. To this end, we propose a novel session-based model named C-HAN, which consists of two parallel modules: the context-embedded hypergraph attention network and self-attention. These modules are designed to capture the inherent consistency and sequential dependencies between items. In the hypergraph attention network module, the different types of interaction contexts are introduced to enhance the model's contextual awareness. Finally, the soft-attention mechanism efficiently integrates the two types of information, collaboratively constructing the representation of the session. Experimental validation on three real-world datasets demonstrates the superior performance of C-HAN compared to state-of-the-art methods. The results show that C-HAN achieves an average improvement of 6.55%, 5.91%, and 6.17% over the runner-up baseline method on Precision@K, Recall@K, and MRR evaluation metrics, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-layer island working face main roadway coal pillars are affected by complex mining stress superposition, when different coal pillar width combinations, the surrounding rock stress field will produce different degrees of regional loading increase effect; the study of the surrounding rock stress field regional superposition loading increase law is meaningful to explaining the failure mode of the roadway and determining the critical control area. This study combines numerical simulation with on-site monitoring and other methods and draws the following conclusions: The superimposed loading increase law (“decreasing” → “increasing”) of the abutment pressure and deviatoric stress in the lower coal seam of the double-layer island working face during the mining; the type of the principal stress deflection in the advance working face region; and by obtaining the three types of development morphology of the deviatoric stress peak zone of the roadway and its corresponding nine evolution modes (one type of circular tube → four types of inverse hyperbolic body → four types of hyperbolic body) in the double-layered island working face mining. Indicated the critical reinforcement area corresponding to the main roadway when at different combinations of coal pillar widths; determined the main track roadway protective coal pillars width for 40 m and the shape of the roadway peak deviatoric stress zone is the inverse class hyperbolic body mode; according to the evolution mode of the peak deviatoric stress zone, determined the synergistic failure control program for the asymmetric critical zone of the roadway surrounding rock which is a targeted scientific support method; after the feedback of on-site monitoring and, the support program is reasonable and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Himalayan marmot oil (SPO) has been used for pharmaceutical purposes for centuries, but its composition is still unclear. The bioactivity of SPO highly depends on the techniques used for its processing. This study focused on the comprehensive lipidomics of SPO, especially on the ones derived from dry rendering, wet rendering, cold pressing, and ultrasound‐assisted solvent extraction. Methods: We performed lipid profiling of SPO acquired by different extraction methods using ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography Q‐Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry, and 17 classes of lipids (2 BMPs, 12 LysoPCs, 9 LysoPEs, 41 PCs, 24 PEs, 23 Plasmenyl‐PCs, 10 Plasmenyl‐PEs, 10 MGs, 63 DGs, 187 TGs, 2 MGDGs, 3 Cer[NDS]s, 22 Cer[NS]s, 2 GlcCer[NS]s, 14 SMs, 14 CEs, and 6 AcylCarnitines) were characterized. Results: Fifty‐five lipids were differentially altered (VIP > 1.5, p < 0.05) between the extraction techniques, which can be used as potential biomarkers to differentiate SPO extracted by various methods. Additionally, the contents of oleic acid and arachidic acid were abundant in all samples that may suggest their medicinal values and are conducive to in‐depth research. Conclusions: These findings reveal the alterations of lipid profile and free fatty acid composition in SPO obtained with different extraction methods, providing a theoretical foundation for investigating its important components as functional factors in medicines and cosmetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of "Industry 4.0", artificial intelligence technology is gradually being applied in the steel industry. In actual production, there is a serious lag in viscosity measurement methods. First, this paper used big data technology to analyze and process the viscosity test data and then established prediction models based on the CatBoost model and the LSTM model, respectively, for the viscosity of the titanium-bearing slag. Finally, the information entropy method was used to integrate the results, and an integrated model was established to predict the viscosity of the titanium-bearing slag. The results showed that the integrated model had better performance than the other two single models, with a prediction accuracy of 96.04% and an improvement of 2.06–5.49% compared with the prediction accuracy of the single models. The results show that the integrated model has more practical significance in guiding production practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the distribution characteristics of intestinal flora in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) of different severities and the relationship between different intestinal flora and sleep structure disorder, hypoxemia and obesity. Methods: A total of 25 healthy volunteers and 80 patients with OSAHS were enrolled in this study. The control group was healthy, and the experimental group comprised patients with OSAHS. The apnoea–hypopnea index (AHI), minimum saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2min), mean saturation of peripheral oxygen, body mass index, maximum apnoea time and other indicators were collected in clinical practice. The patients with OSAHS were divided into 20 mild and 42 moderate OSAHS cases, as well as 18 patients with severe OSAHS according to the AHI classification. Bioinformatics-related statistics were analysed using the QIIME2 software, and clinical data were analysed with the SPSS 22.0 software. Results: The changes in microbial alpha diversity in the intestinal flora of patients with OSAHS showed that richness, diversity and evenness decreased, but the beta diversity did not change significantly. The Thermus Anoxybacillus, Anaerofustis, Blautia, Sediminibacterium, Ralstonia, Pelomonas, Ochrobactrum, Thermus Sediminibacterium, Ralstonia, Coccidia, Cyanobacteria, Anoxic bacilli and Anaerobes were negatively correlated with AHI (r = −0.38, −0.36, −0.35, −0.33, −0.31, −0.29, −0.22, −0.18) and positively correlated with SpO2min (r =0.38, 0.2, 0.25, 0.22, 0.24, 0.11, 0.23, 0.15). Conclusion: Some bacteria showed a significant correlation with clinical sleep monitoring data, which provides a possibility for the assessment of disease risk, but the mechanisms of their actions in the intestinal tract are not clear at present. Further research and observations are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the correlation between the levels of serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), haem oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and cognitive impairment in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Methods: Serum LPS, Nrf2, HO-1 levels and cognitive impairment were measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score in 56 patients in the "severe" group, 67 patients in the "mild-to-moderate" group and 100 healthy people in the "control" group. The differences in general conditions and serological indexes between the three groups were compared, the correlation between the MoCA scores and the serological indexes was explored and the independent predictors of the MoCA scores were analysed. Results: Serum LPS, Nrf2 and HO-1 levels were higher in the severe group than in the mild-to-moderate group and the control group (p < 0.05). A total of 71 patients with OSA had combined cognitive impairment, accounting for 57.7%, and the MoCA scores were lower in the severe group than in the mild-to-moderate group and the control group (p = 0.018). Serum LPS, Nrf2 and HO-1 levels were significantly higher in the severe group and mild-to-moderate group than in the control group (p < 0.05) and were negatively correlated with the MoCA scores. Lipopolysaccharide (p < 0.001) and HO-1 (p = 0.002) could be considered independent predictors of the MoCA score. Conclusion: Serum LPS and HO-1 levels are closely related to cognitive impairment in patients with OSA and have potential clinical value in the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lint percentage of seed cotton is one of the most important parameters for evaluating seed cotton quality and affects its price. The traditional measuring method of lint percentage is labor-intensive and time-consuming; thus, an efficient and accurate measurement method is needed. In recent years, classification-based deep learning and computer vision have shown promise in solving various classification tasks. Results: In this study, we propose a new approach for detecting the lint percentage using MobileNetV2 and transfer learning. The model is deployed on a lint percentage detection instrument, which can rapidly and accurately determine the lint percentage of seed cotton. We evaluated the performance of the proposed approach using a dataset comprising 66 924 seed cotton images from different regions of China. The results of the experiments showed that the model with transfer learning achieved an average classification accuracy of 98.43%, with an average precision of 94.97%, an average recall of 95.26%, and an average F1-score of 95.20%. Furthermore, the proposed classification model achieved an average accuracy of 97.22% in calculating the lint percentage, showing no significant difference from the performance of experts (independent-sample t-test, t = 0.019, P = 0.860). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the MobileNetV2 model and transfer learning in calculating the lint percentage of seed cotton. The proposed approach is a promising alternative to traditional methods, providing a rapid and accurate solution for the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on the impact of circuit parameters on the transmission of electrical energy in wireless power transfer systems designed for intelligent sensing devices within the urban electric power Internet of Things (IoT). Relying on the essential principles of resonant mutual inductance models, the paper conducts an analytical investigation into the phenomena of power-frequency splitting characteristics, efficiency-frequency splitting characteristics, and efficacy synchronization characteristics within wireless energy transmission technologies. The investigation includes a detailed analysis of a wireless power transfer system model operating at 100 kHz, delineating how varying circuit parameters influence the system's efficiency. Via the utilization of graphical software and computational programming for simulation modeling, this research delved into the dynamics between key parameters such as equivalent load and coupling coefficient and their influence on distinct splitting phenomena. This rigorous approach substantiated the validity of the proposed power-frequency and efficiency-frequency splitting characteristics outlined in the study. Based on the analytical results, it is shown that selecting an appropriate equivalent load or utilizing impedance matching networks to adjust the equivalent load to a suitable size is crucial in consideration of the system's output power, voltage withstand level, and transmission efficiency. The research findings provide a theoretical basis for the design of wireless power supply systems for non-directly buried cable front-end sensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy evolution is of great significance for exposing the failure mechanism of coal reservoirs and evaluating the fracturing effect. This study conducted uniaxial compression experiments with bedding intersection angle (θ) as a variable, calculated the energy and analyzed their controlling effects on coal deformation, failure and brittleness. The results show that, with increase in θ, the failure mode of coal changes from tensile fracture to shear failure, and the strength, elastic energy (Ue) and total energy (U) of coal all show a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. Based on the comprehensive criteria of the elastic energy ratio (Ue/U) and stress–strain curve, a new division method of the compression stage is proposed, and the determination of the critical point between stages can avoid the influence of human subjective factors. The transformation of Ue and external loads jointly provides the energy source for the release of dissipated energy (Ud). Ue is the main energy type in the pre-peak stage, and a significant amount of energy is converted into Ud in the failure stage. A new brittleness index was constructed by utilizing the relationship between Ue and Ud. It was found that brittleness is negatively correlated with θ and positively correlated with Ue/U at the peak point. A model of the mechanical strength of coal with structured planes has been constructed and validated by experimental data, which can be used to analyze the effect of structural planes on coal strength. When the hydraulic fracturing direction is parallel or at a low angle to the bedding plane, it is favorable for the formation of extensive fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims at improving the medium- and low-temperature strength of Al2O3-C unfired slide plate materials. Sucrose, nickel nitrate hexahydrate, ethyl orthosilicate and oxalic acid aqueous solution with the mass ratio of 1:0. 15:2. 7:0 0.03 were added to ethanol aqueous solution in turn, and dried at 110 °C for 18 h, obtaining SiC polymer precursor. Then, tabular corundum, α-Al2O3 micropowder and flake graphite were used as the main raw materials, added with the SiC polymer precursor and Zn powder, pressed at 150 MPa into green bodies of 150 mm x25 mm x25 mm, cured at 180 °C for 24 h, and then heat treated at 600, 800, 1 000, 1 200 and 1 400 °C for 3 h under carbon embedded conditions. The effects of the SiC polymer precursor and Zn powder on the properties of Al2O3-C materials were studied. The results show that the Al2O3-C material has the optimal comprehensive performance when adding 4.5% SiC polymer precursor and 1.5% Zn powder; at low temperatures, Zn powder melts and forms metal bonding phases in the material system; at medium temperatures, the pyrolysis reaction of the SiC polymer precursor and the catalysis of Zn powder after evaporation make the system form SiC fiber bonding phases. They work together to give Al2O3-C unfired slide plate material high medium- and low-temperature strength, which overcomes the failure problem caused by the low strength in application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, is closely linked to aqueous overaccumulation and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). For refractory glaucoma, aqueous shunts with valves are commonly implanted for effective aqueous drainage control and IOP stabilization. However, existing valved glaucoma implants have the disadvantages of inconsistent valve opening/closing pressures, poor long‐term repeatability due to their reliance on moving parts, and complex architectures and fabrication processes. Here, we propose a novel valving concept, the droplet Laplace valve (DLV), a three‐dimensional printable moving‐parts‐free microvalve with customizable and consistent threshold valving pressures. The DLV uses a flow discretization unit governed by capillarity, comprising a droplet‐forming nozzle, and a separated reservoir to digitize continuous flow into quantifiable droplets. Unlike the classic one‐time‐use Laplace valves, the DLV's unique design allows for its reusability. The opening pressure is adjustable by varying the nozzle size, like the classic Laplace valves (following the Young–Laplace equation), while the closing pressure can be modified by tuning the separation distance and the reservoir size. Various DLVs with customizable opening pressures from 5 to 11 mmHg have been demonstrated, with opening/closing pressure differences suppressed down to <0.5 mmHg (<0.15 mmHg under the best conditions). Thanks to its moving‐parts‐free nature and digitized flow properties, the DLV shows a highly repeatable valving performance (<1.7%, 1000 cycles) and a predictable linear flow rate–pressure correlation (R2 > 0.99). Preliminary ex vivo validation in an enucleated porcine eye confirms the DLV's efficiency in aqueous shunting and prompt IOP stabilization. The DLV technology holds great promise in glaucoma implants for IOP management and various microsystems for flow control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Both intestinal symptoms and comorbidities exist in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and influence their quality of life (QOL). More research is needed to determine how these variables impact the QOL of IBS patients. This study aimed to determine which specific factors had a higher influence on QOL and to further compare the effects of intestinal symptoms and comorbidities on QOL. Methods: IBS patients were recruited from six tertiary hospitals in different regions of China. QOL, gastrointestinal symptoms, and comorbidities were assessed by different scales. Correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and mediation model were used for statistics. Results: Four hundred fifty‐three IBS patients (39.7% women, mean age 45 years) were included and no significant differences in QOL were found across demographic characteristics. Abnormal defecation (r = −0.398), fatigue (r = −0.266), and weakness (r = −0.286) were found to show higher correlation with QOL. More than 40% of IBS patients were found to suffer from varying degrees of anxiety or depression, and anxiety (r = −0.564) and depression (r = −0.411) were significantly negatively correlated with QOL (P < 0.001). Psychological factors showed the strongest impact (β′ = −0.451) and play a strong mediating role in the impact of physiological symptoms on QOL. Anxiety was found to be the strongest factor (β′ = −0.421). Conclusion: Compared with other symptoms, psychological symptoms, particularly anxiety, are more common and have a more negative influence on QOL. The QOL of IBS patients is also significantly impacted by abnormal defecation, abdominal distension, and systemic extraintestinal somatic symptoms. In the treatment of IBS patients with unhealthy mental status, psychotherapy might be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millettia speciosa Champ. (MSCP) enjoys widespread recognition for its culinary and medicinal attributes. Despite the extensive history of MSCP cultivation, the disparities in quality and bioactivity between wild and cultivated varieties have remained unexplored. In this study, 20 wild and cultivated MSCP samples were collected from different regions in China. We embarked on a comprehensive investigation of the chemical constituents found in both wild and cultivated MSCP utilizing UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS technology and multivariate analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In total, 62 chemical components were unequivocally identified or tentatively characterized. Via the multivariate statistical analysis, we successfully pinpointed nine compounds with the potential to serve as chemical markers, enabling the differentiation between wild and cultivated MSCP varieties. Moreover, both genotypes exhibited substantial antioxidant and anti-fatigue properties. The bioactivities of wild MSCP were marginally higher when compared to their cultivated counterparts. This study illuminates the impressive antioxidant and anti-fatigue potential present in both wild and cultivated MSCP genotypes, further augmenting the allure of this species and opening new avenues for the economic valorization of MSCP. Hence, this study provides a valuable method for the identification and quality control of MSCP and a method in chemistry and pharmacology to assess an alternative possibility for cultivated MSCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid non-destructive testing technologies are effectively used to analyze and evaluate the linoleic acid content while processing fresh meat products. In current study, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology was combined with deep learning optimization algorithm to model and analyze the linoleic acid content in 252 mixed red meat samples. A comparative study was conducted by experimenting mixed sample data preprocessing methods and feature wavelength extraction methods depending on the distribution of linoleic acid content. Initially, convolutional neural network Bi-directional long short-term memory (CNN-Bi-LSTM) model was constructed to reduce the loss of the fully connected layer extracted feature information and optimize the prediction effect. In addition, the prediction process of overfitting phenomenon in the CNN-Bi-LSTM model was also targeted. The Bayesian-CNN-Bi-LSTM (Bayes-CNN-Bi-LSTM) model was proposed to improve the linoleic acid prediction in red meat through iterative optimization of Gaussian process acceleration function. Results showed that best preprocessing effect was achieved by using the detrending algorithm, while 11 feature wavelengths extracted by variable combination population analysis (VCPA) method effectively contained characteristic group information of linoleic acid. The Bi-directional LSTM (Bi-LSTM) model combined with the feature extraction data set of VCPA method predicted 0.860 Rp2 value of linoleic acid content in red meat. The CNN-Bi-LSTM model achieved an Rp2 of 0.889, and the optimized Bayes-CNN-Bi-LSTM model was constructed to achieve the best prediction with an Rp2 of 0.909. This study provided a reference for the rapid synchronous detection of mixed sample indicators, and a theoretical basis for the development of hyperspectral on-line detection equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation is conducted to examine the impact of nitrogen fraction on vented explosions of hydrogen–air–nitrogen mixtures in a 1-m-long cylindrical duct at 1 bar and 281 K. The study employs high-speed shadowgraph imaging, a pressure testing system, and infrared thermal imaging to record the venting process. The results showed that as the nitrogen fraction increases, the rupture time of the vent cover gradually increases. However, the internal peak overpressure exhibits an opposite trend, with P2 (caused by the ignition of unburned gas outside the tube by the escaping flame) near the vent consistently dominating. The frequency of Helmholtz oscillations initially decreases and then increases with increasing nitrogen fraction. Higher nitrogen fractions are associated with a greater likelihood of lower external peak overpressure but a decreasing trend in maximum external impulse. The maximum temperature shows an initial decrease followed by an increase with the addition of nitrogen fraction. This trend is also observed for flame length, flame width, high-temperature duration (>500 °C), and heat energy. Furthermore, the study determined safety zones that are free from thermal radiation damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is an effective and noninvasive treatment for patients with refractory angina and chronic heart failure. However, previous studies evaluating the influence of EECP on endothelial function showed inconsistent results. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of EECP on endothelial function measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing the influence of EECP versus usual care on FMD in adult population. A random-effects model incorporating the potential influence of heterogeneity was used to pool the results. Nineteen studies with 1647 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with usual care or conventional therapy, additional treatment with EECP for 3–7 weeks was associated with a significantly improved FMD (mean difference [MD]: 1.96%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.57–2.36, p < 0.001, I2 = 52%). Subgroup analysis showed consistent results in patients with coronary artery disease and in patients with other diseases (p for subgroup difference = 0.21). Results of meta-regression analysis showed that the mean baseline FMD level was positively correlated with the influence of EECP on FMD (coefficient = 0.42, p < 0.001). Results of subgroup analysis suggested that the increment of FMD following EECP was larger in patients with baseline FMD ≥ 5% (MD: 2.69, 95% CI: 2.27–3.10, p < 0.001; I2 = 15%) compared to those with baseline FMD < 5% (MD: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.13–1.85, p < 0.001; I2 = 0%; p for subgroup difference < 0.001). EECP may be effective in improving endothelial function measured by FMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) are widely cultivated as perennial ornamentals worldwide with important edible, medicinal, and ornamental value. In this study, a total of 9139 SSR loci were detected in the daylily cultivar 'Autumn Red' through Single Molecular Real Time sequencing, of which 2604 unigenes contained two or more SSR loci. Tri-nucleotide repeats were predominated (5270, 57.66%) among the SSR loci, followed by di-nucleotide repeats (3253, 35.50%). Forty (44.44%) valid EST-SSR markers were identified from 90 synthesized EST-SSR markers by screening six accessions, including one daylily wild species, one daylily variant, two daylily cultivars and two night lily landraces cultivated in the National Hemerocallis Germplasm Resource Bank of China. Genetic diversity analysis of 104 Hemerocallis accessions was conducted using 30 polymorphic EST-SSR markers and a total of 98 alleles was identified with an average of 3.23, ranging from 2 to 8 alleles per loci. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.01 to 0.70, with an average of 0.25. Five markers (XC007, XC057, XC058, XC068 and XC072) showed high polymorphism (PIC > 0.5). Cluster analysis showed that daylilies and night lilies were clustered into two phylogenetic groups, which was confirmed by population structure analysis and PCoA analysis. Among them, Cluster I was classified into six subclusters (Group A–F) in the NJ dendrogram. Combined with the analysis of morphological characteristics of accessions, it was found that the genetic distance may be affected by the source of accessions, which needs further research. Finally, DNA fingerprints of 104 Hemerocallis accessions were constructed using seven efficient EST-SSR markers. The EST-SSRs developed in this study provided useful tools for the identification of daylily accessions and molecular marker assisted breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Claystone is potentially the main rock formation for the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive nuclear waste. A major factor that affects the deformation of the host medium is effective stress. Therefore, studying the effective stress principle of claystone is essential for a stability analysis of waste disposal facilities. Consolidated drained (CD) tests were carried out on claystone samples to study their effective stress principle in this paper. Firstly, two samples were saturated under a specified confining pressure and pore pressure for about one month. Secondly, the confining pressure and pore pressure were increased to a specified value simultaneously and then reverted to the previous stress state (the deformations of the samples were recorded during the whole process). Different incremental combinations of the confining pressure and pore pressure were tried at this step. Finally, the effective stress coefficients of the samples were obtained through a back analysis. Furthermore, some potential influencing factors (the neutral stress and loading rate) of the effective stress coefficient were also studied through additional tests. Some interesting results are worth mentioning: (1) the effective stress coefficient of claystone is close to one; (2) the neutral stress and loading rate may have little effect on the effective stress coefficient of claystone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion of steel bars embedded in reinforced concrete structures considerably reduces the service life and even causes early failure of the structure. Herein, alumina/titania ceramic coated rebars is investigated in terms of interface bonding and corrosion resistance. By means of first-principles study, the Fe-O interaction at the steel-ceramic interface is probed, illustrating the effect of doped Ti on the thermodynamic stability and interface bonding of Fe/Al2O3 interface. Experimentally, the phase transition from α-Al2O3 to γ-Al2O3 at high temperature is uncovered, which results in the densification and self-repairing of defect regions of the coating. Doped titania can further diminish coating's porosity and promote the interface bonding, and consequently decay its deterioration after exposure to simulated pore solution. In addition, improving fineness of the precursor can also diminish permeable defects and so exhibits well performance on isolating rebar from electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rolling treatments have been identified as a promising fabrication and deformation processing technique for graphene/metal composites with high performance. However, it is still a challenge to choose appropriate rolling parameters to achieve high strength, ductility and electrical conductivity of the composite simultaneously. In this study, graphene/Cu composites were prepared with an in situ growth method and rolling treatment. The effects of rolling deformation and temperature on the microstructural evolution of graphene and Cu grains, interface bonding between graphene and the matrix, mechanical and electrical properties were systemically investigated. The cold-rolled composite with 85% deformation displayed a maximum ultimate strength of 548 MPa, a high elongation of 8.8% and a good electrical conductivity of 86.2% IACS. This is attributed to oriented graphene arrangement and matrix grain refinement. Our research provides a comprehensive understanding for the rolling behavior of graphene/Cu composites, and can promote the development of graphene-based composites with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A weldable Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloy was produced using vacuum induction melting and an argon-protected casting method to achieve high strength and ductility, and the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloys were comparatively investigated. The results reveal that fine equiaxed grains with an average grain size of 40 μm in an as-cast Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloy change little after heat treatments, bringing about a grain-boundary strengthening of 46.1 MPa. The coarse T-Mg32(Al, Zn)49 phases at grain boundaries are completely dissolved into the matrix through solid-solution treatment, and T-Mg32(Al, Zn)49 with diameters ranging from 10 to 25 nm and Al3Sc with diameters ranging from 5 to 20 nm gradually precipitate during the artificial aging process. The Mg solid solubility is 4.67% in the as-cast Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloy, and it increased to 5.33% after solid-solution treatment and dramatically decreased to 4.15% after post-aging treatment. The contributions of solid-solution strengthening to as-cast, post-solid-solution and post-aging Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloys are 78.2 MPa, 85.4 MPa and 72.3 MPa, respectively. The precipitation strengthening of the post-aging alloy is 49.7 MPa, which is an increase of 21% in comparison to that of both as-cast and post-solid-solution alloys. The alloy achieves an optimal tensile strength of 355.3 MPa, yield strength of 175 MPa and elongation of 22% after undergoing solid-solution treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovation of structural forms and the increase in the energy-saving requirements of buildings have led to higher requirements regarding the application conditions of steel slag foam concrete (SSFC) to ensure that the SSFC has a lower thermal conductivity and sufficient compressive strength, which has become the primary research object. Through a comprehensive consideration of 7 d compressive strength and thermal conductivity, the recommend mix ratio of SSFC was as follows: maximum SS size = 1.18 mm, water–cement ratio = 0.45, replacement rate of SS = 20–30%. Moreover, a theoretical formula was derived to determine thermal conductivity versus porosity based on fractal theory. The measured values of the foam concrete found elsewhere corroborate the fractal relationship regarding thermal conductivity versus porosity. This fractal relationship offers a straightforward and scientifically sound way to forecast the thermal conductivity of SSFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The formation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) is the basis of molluskan reproduction, but limited information is reported on this topic. PRDI-BF1 and RIZ homology domain-containing proteins (PRDMs), especially PRDM1 (also known as BLIMP1) and PRDM14, have been reported to be essential for the formation of PGCs. In this study, we systematically characterized the putative PRDMs in a bivalve mollusk species, Mulinia lateralis, and analyzed their sequence structures, phylogenetic relationships, and expressional profiles. Furthermore, we analyzed the temporal–spatial expression patterns of Ml-prdm1 and Ml-prdm14 RNA in early embryos and larvae. Our study suggests that Ml-prdm1 may function as an important regulator of PGC formation in M. lateralis. Mollusca represents one of the ancient bilaterian groups with high morphological diversity, while the formation mechanisms of the precursors of all germ cells, primordial germ cells (PGCs), have not yet been clarified in mollusks. PRDI-BF1 and RIZ homology domain-containing proteins (PRDMs) are a group of transcriptional repressors, and PRDM1 (also known as BLIMP1) and PRDM14 have been reported to be essential for the formation of PGCs. In the present study, we performed a genome-wide retrieval in Mulinia lateralis and identified 11 putative PRDMs, all of which possessed an N-terminal PR domain. Expressional profiles revealed that all these prdm genes showed specifically high expression levels in the given stages, implying that all PRDMs played important roles during early development stages. Specifically, Ml-prdm1 was highly expressed at the gastrula stage, the key period when PGCs arise, and was specifically localized in the cytoplasm of two or three cells of blastula, gastrula, or trochophore larvae, matching the typical characteristics of PGCs. These results suggested that Ml-prdm1-positive cells may be PGCs and that Ml-prdm1 could be a candidate marker for tracing the formation of PGCs in M. lateralis. In addition, the expression profiles of Ml-prdm14 hinted that it may not be associated with PGCs of M. lateralis. The present study provides insights into the evolution of the PRDM family in mollusks and offers a better understanding of the formation of PGCs in mollusks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the early development of marine invertebrates, planktic larvae usually occur, and their body surfaces often form specific types of cilia that are involved in locomotion and feeding. The echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus sequentially undergoes the formation and disappearance of different types of body surface cilia during embryonic and larval development. The morphological characteristics and molecular mechanisms involved in the process remain unclear. In this study, we found that body surface cilia in U. unicinctus embryos and larvae can be distinguished into four types: body surface short cilia, apical tufts, circumoral cilia and telotrochs. Further, distribution and genesis of the body surface cilia were characterized using light microscope and electron microscope. To better understand the molecular mechanism during ciliogenesis, we revealed the embryonic and larval transcriptome profile of the key stages of ciliogenesis in U. unicinctus using RNA-Seq technology. A total of 29,158 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from 24 cDNA libraries by RNA-Seq. KEGG pathway enrichment results showed that Notch, Wnt and Ca2+ signaling pathways were significantly enriched during the occurrence of apical tufts and circumoral cilia. Furthermore, all DEGs were classified according to their expression pattern, and DEGs with similar expression pattern were grouped into a module. All DEG co-expression modules were correlated with traits (body surface short cilia, apical tufts, circumoral cilia and telotrochs) by WGCNA, the results showed DEGs were divided into 13 modules by gene expression patterns and that the genes in No. 7, No. 8 and No. 10 modules were to be highly correlated with the occurrence of apical tufts, circumoral cilia and telotrochs. The top 10 hub genes in the above three modules were identified to be highly correlated with ciliogenesis, including the reported cilium-related gene Cnbd2 and unreported cilium-related candidate genes FAM181B, Capsl, Chst3, TMIE and Innexin. Notably, Innexin was included in the top10 hub genes of the two modules (No. 7 and No. 8), suggesting that Innexin may play an important role in U. unicinctus apical tufts, circumoral cilia and telotrochs genesis. This study revealed the characteristics of ciliogenesis on the body surface of U. unicinctus embryos and larvae, providing basic data for exploring the molecular mechanism of ciliogenesis on the body surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic insult stimulates proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the subventricular zone (SVZ) after stroke. However, only a fraction of NSC‐derived neuroblasts from SVZ migrate toward poststroke brain region. We have previously reported that direct‐current stimulation guides NSC migration toward the cathode in vitro. Accordingly, we set up a new method of transcranial direct‐current stimulation (tDCS), in which the cathodal electrode is placed on the ischemic hemisphere and anodal electrode on the contralateral hemisphere of rats subjected to ischemia–reperfusion injury. We show that the application of this bilateral tDCS (BtDCS) promotes the migration of NSC‐derived neuroblasts from SVZ toward the cathode direction into poststroke striatum. Reversing the position of the electrodes blocks the effect of BtDCS on the migration of neuroblasts from SVZ. BtDCS protects against neuronal death and improves the functional recovery of stroke animals. Thus, the migration of NSC‐derived neuroblasts from SVZ toward poststroke brain region contributes to the effect of BtDCS against ischemia‐induced neuronal death, supporting a potential development of noninvasive BtDCS as an endogenous neurogenesis‐based stroke therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional porous network encapsulation strategy is an effective means to obtain composite phase-change materials (PCMs) with high heat storage capacity and enhanced thermal conductivity. Herein, macroporous reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels with adjustable pore size are prepared by the emulsion template method and hydrothermal reduction process. Further, the shape-stabilized rGO-aerogel-based composite PCMs are constructed after the combination of 3D porous rGO supports and paraffin wax (PW) through vacuum melting infiltration. By regulating the pore structure of the rGO aerogel network, the rGO-based composite PCMs achieve excellent energy storage properties with a phase-change enthalpy of 179.94 J/g for the loading amount of 95.61 wt% and an obvious enhancement in thermal conductivity of 0.412 W/m−1·K−1, which is 54.89% higher than pristine PW and enduring thermal cycling stability. The obtained macroporous rGO-aerogel-based composite PCMs with high thermal storage and heat transfer performance effectively broaden the application of PCMs in the field of thermal energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the panel data of eight member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from 1996 to 2019, this study explores the impact of demographic changes on life insurance consumption in SCO member countries under the framework of static panel model and dynamic panel model. And the study analyzes the heterogeneity of religious division and different aging degrees. The empirical results show that both old-age dependency ratio and teenager dependency ratio have positive impacts on life insurance consumption in the SCO countries. Besides, the current consumption of ordinary life insurance significantly stimulates the future consumption of ordinary life insurance. Furthermore, demographic changes have heterogeneous impacts on life insurance consumption in terms of different religions and different degrees of aging. Our findings provide managerial implications for insurance companies that carry out life insurance business in SCO member states. Insurance companies should consider the policyholders' life insurance consumption in accordance with demographic changes of both old-age dependency ratio and teenager dependency ratio, and also take differentiated life insurance sales strategies according to different degrees of aging and whether the residents believe in Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene, with its two linearly dispersing Dirac points with opposite windings, is the minimal topological nodal configuration in the hexagonal Brillouin zone. Topological semimetals with higher-order nodes beyond the Dirac points have recently attracted considerable interest due to their rich chiral physics and their potential for the design of next-generation integrated devices. Here we report the experimental realization of the topological semimetal with quadratic nodes in a photonic microring lattice. Our structure hosts a robust second-order node at the center of the Brillouin zone and two Dirac points at the Brillouin zone boundary—the second minimal configuration, next to graphene, that satisfies the Nielsen–Ninomiya theorem. The symmetry-protected quadratic nodal point, together with the Dirac points, leads to the coexistence of massive and massless components in a hybrid chiral particle. This gives rise to unique transport properties, which we demonstrate by directly imaging simultaneous Klein and anti-Klein tunnelling in the microring lattice. Topological semimetals can host coexisting higher-order topological nodes that may enable unique physical properties. Here, based on these topological principles, authors design and experimentally realise simultaneous massive and massless chiral quasiparticles in a photonic microring lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) is a traditional pharmaceutical technology in Chinese medicine. Traditionally, proper processing of CHMs is necessary to meet the specific clinical requirements of different syndromes. Processing with black bean juice is considered one of the most important techniques in traditional Chinese pharmaceutical technology. Despite the long-standing practice of processing Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua (PCH), there is little research on the changes in chemical constituents and bioactivity before and after processing. This study investigated the influence of black bean juice processing on the chemical composition and bioactivity of PCH. The results revealed significant changes in both composition and contents during processing. Saccharide and saponin content significantly increased after processing. Moreover, the processed samples exhibited considerably stronger DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacity, as well as FRAP-reducing capacity, compared to the raw samples. The IC50 values for DPPH were 1.0 ± 0.12 mg/mL and 0.65 ± 0.10 mg/mL for the raw and processed samples, respectively. For ABTS, the IC50 values were 0.65 ± 0.07 mg/mL and 0.25 ± 0.04 mg/mL, respectively. Additionally, the processed sample demonstrated significantly higher inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and α-amylase (IC50 = 1.29 ± 0.12 mg/mL and 0.48 ± 0.04 mg/mL) compared to the raw sample (IC50 = 5.58 ± 0.22 mg/mL and 0.80 ± 0.09 mg/mL). These findings underscore the significance of black bean processing in enhancing the properties of PCH and lay the foundation for its further development as a functional food. The study elucidates the role of black bean processing in PCH and offers valuable insights for its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is a crucial and widely used method for gene expression analysis. Selecting suitable reference genes is extremely important for the accuracy of RT-qPCR results. Commonly used reference genes are not always stable in various organisms or under different environmental conditions. With the increasing application of high-throughput sequencing, transcriptome analysis has become an effective method for identifying novel stable reference genes. Results: In this study, we identified candidate reference genes based on transcriptome data covering embryos and larvae of early development, normal adult tissues, and the hindgut under sulfide stress using the coefficient of variation (CV) method in the echiuran Urechis unicinctus, resulting in 6834 (15.82%), 7110 (16.85%) and 13880 (35.87%) candidate reference genes, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed that the candidate reference genes were significantly enriched in cellular metabolic process, protein metabolic process and ribosome in early development and normal adult tissues as well as in cellular localization and endocytosis in the hindgut under sulfide stress. Subsequently, ten genes including five new candidate reference genes and five commonly used reference genes, were validated by RT-qPCR. The expression stability of the ten genes was analyzed using four methods (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and ∆Ct). The comprehensive results indicated that the new candidate reference genes were more stable than most commonly used reference genes. The commonly used ACTB was the most unstable gene. The candidate reference genes STX12, EHMT1, and LYAG were the most stable genes in early development, normal adult tissues, and hindgut under sulfide stress, respectively. The log2(TPM) of the transcriptome data was significantly negatively correlated with the Ct values of RT-qPCR (Ct = − 0.5405 log2(TPM) + 34.51), which made it possible to estimate the Ct value before RT-qPCR using transcriptome data. Conclusion: Our study is the first to select reference genes for RT-qPCR from transcriptome data in Echiura and provides important information for future gene expression studies in U. unicinctus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an extensively used gasoline additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) can leak into the subsurface, and this not only damages the ecological environment but also affects the geotechnical characteristics of the soil. In this study, the geotechnical properties of MTBE-contaminated soil, such as the basic physical properties of strength, compressibility, hydraulic conductivity, leachability, electrical resistivity and microstructural characteristics, are comprehensively investigated. The results show that the Atterberg limits consistently decrease with increasing MTBE content in the soil. As the MTBE content increases from 0 to 10%, the specific surface area of the soil decreases by 28%, the sand content increases by 22%, and the clay and silt contents decrease by 3 and 18%, respectively. The soil compression index, hydraulic conductivity, leached MTBE concentration and electrical resistivity increase, while the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) decreases, with increasing MTBE content. Microstructural analysis shows that increasing the MTBE content results in mineralogical alterations that decrease the illite and kaolinite content of the soil. The aggregation and flocculated structures can be detected by an increase in the number and size of inter-aggregate pores. In addition, the electrical resistivity of the contaminated soil is used to assess the geotechnical properties of the MTBE-contaminated soil based on well-established empirical relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planting bamboo and trees is of great importance in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat restoration. In practice, however, simply planting bamboo and trees cannot effectively and rapidly restore lost, degraded, and fragmented habitats. Based on present restoration work in the Qinling Mountains, China, we argue that: (1) Planting should be done on open and suitable forest lands, but the area that could be afforested is relatively small. (2) Forests that have regrown naturally on cut‐over lands are mostly middle‐aged and early secondary stands, which need to be managed, not replanted. (3) Plantations of non‐native larch (Larix spp.) urgently need to be replaced and replanted with native trees and bamboos, but new policies are needed that allow these plantations to be thinned or cut. (4) Bamboo forests in the mid‐high mountain zones need to be assessed to determine if they are disclimaxes of degraded forests. Pilot studies are needed to determine the best need and practices to rehabilitate and restore them. We conclude that the restoration of panda habitat cannot be accomplished simply through tree and bamboo plantings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As for the tight sandstones, pore-scale fluid flow ability is one of the most fundamental parameters that determine potential development capacity when compared to conventional reservoirs due to relatively tiny spaces. The determination of pore-throat structures and their impact on fluid flow behavior could improve the forecast ability for development. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to study the effects of differences in microscopic pore structures on moveable fluid saturation in tight sandstone reservoirs. Casting thin sections (CTS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), constant-rate mercury injection (CRMI), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), etc. are used as experimental methods to qualitatively describe the differences in accumulation space types and to quantitatively compare and analyze the differences in microscopic pore structures between reservoirs for Chang 6 formation in the Jiyuan and Heshui areas. The different characteristic parameters are chosen to analyze their correlations with moveable fluid saturation. Thus, as a result, due to good correlations with moveable fluid saturation, parameters such as throat radius, pore-throat radius ratio, and pore-throat amount allocation ratio are chosen to characterize the differences in microscopic pore structures between reservoirs in those areas. Differences in throat radius, pore-throat radius ratio, and a pore-throat amount allocation ratio of microscopic pore structure of Chang 6 members in these two areas have led to differences in moveable fluid saturation to some extent. This research provided the evidence about the coupling law between pore-scale fluid flow capacity and pore-throat configuration in tight sandstone reservoirs, and the results can provide theoretical guidance for field development of oil and gas fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum communication networks are gradually moving toward practicality, and giving rise to the rapid development of quantum information industry. The decentralized quantum distributed communication network (QDCN) based on quantum node information transfer can meet more realistic scenarios, such as direct node information interaction. However, the prerequisite for two nodes to complete secure and stable communication is the establishment of mutual trust evaluation between nodes. In this paper, a practical mutual trust evaluation model in QDCN is proposed to enhance node's privacy and security. Only Bell states measurement and two-qubit projective measurement are needed to complete the trust evaluation between two communication nodes. The quantum circuit diagram required for model building is presented, and the security analysis proved that this model has a better privacy and security performance and higher particle efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave index (PSPWI) and mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI), novel impedance-based markers of reflux burden, are associated with esophageal dynamics. We aim to investigate the characteristics of PSPWI and MNBI in Chinese refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (RGERD) patients with different esophageal dynamic changes. 201 RGERD and 76 functional heartburn patients, undergone off-PPI endoscopy, esophageal manometry and impedance-pH monitoring, were included. Comparisons of conventional and novel impedance-pH metrics were made among different esophageal dynamics groups. Receiver operating-characteristic analyses were utilized to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of PSPWI and MNBI in differentiating abnormal esophageal dynamics. Correlations were used to investigate their associated factors. PSPWI and MNBI of RGERD with esophagogastric junction (EGJ) injury and esophageal dysmotility were lower than EGJ injury alone or normal dynamics (p < 0.05 for both comparisons). PSPWI with esophageal peristalsis abnormality was lower than EGJ injury (p = 0.049), while MNBI showed no statistical difference. PSPWI, MNBI and their combination have auxiliary diagnostic values for esophageal peristalsis [area under the curves (AUCs): 0.683, 0.656, 0.708)] while only their combination for EGJ injury (AUC: 0.610). And they positively correlated with esophageal motility while negatively correlated with ineffective swallows and acid reflux events. PSPWI and MNBI, indicating impairment of esophageal chemical clearance and mucosa integrity, were lower in RGERD patients with multiple esophageal dynamic injuries than single injuries or normal dynamics. Moreover, they provided useful contributing information for potential dynamic injuries if manometry has already been found normal or marginal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithology identification is an important task in oil and gas exploration. In recent years, machine learning methods have become a powerful tool for intelligent lithology identification. To address the redundancy of conventional logging data and unbalanced distribution among formation lithology classes due to the complexity of depositional environment and inhomogeneity of subsurface space, this paper investigates the affiliation-weighted one-to-one support vector machine (WOVOSVM) lithology identification method based on geochemical logging data. This method uses geochemical logging data, which can directly reflect the formation lithology information, as input, and achieves intelligent and accurate lithology classification under the calculation of WOVOSVM. In this study, Shahezi Formation of Songke 2 Well in Songliao Basin, China is taken as the experimental object, and two data sets with different distribution characteristics are selected as the input. Use WOVOSVM, Adaboost, random forest (RF) and traditional support vector machine (SVM) to identify lithology, and compare and analyze the results. The results are as follows: (1) Accuracy metrics of most of the four classification models were above 60%, indicating the geochemical logging data can effectively reflect the formation lithology information, which is a reliable indicator for the intelligent identification of logging lithology. (2) When the data set has a strong imbalance, the lithology recognition performance of WOVOSVM is better than other methods, the average value of accuracy metrics is more than 72%, F1 value is 8.77% to 14.56% higher than other models, especially in the small sample lithology category recognition, 70% of the samples are correctly classified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sinter ore quality directly affects the stability of blast furnace production. In terms of both physical and chemical properties, the main indicators of sinter quality are the TFe content, alkalinity, and drum index. By analyzing the massive historical data on the sinter production of a steel company, this study proposes a sinter quality prediction system based on Granger causality analysis and a stacking integration algorithm. First, based on real historical data of sintering production in steel enterprises (including coal gas pressure, ignition temperature, combustion air pressure, etc.), data preprocessing of raw data was carried out using a combination of feature engineering and the sintering process. Second, Pearson correlation analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and Granger causality analysis were used to screen out the characteristic parameters with a strong influence on the target variable of sinter quality (drum Index, TFe, alkalinity). Third, a prediction model for sinter quality parameters was developed using a stacking integration algorithm pair for training. Finally, a program development tool was used to realize the establishment and online operation of a sinter ore quality prediction system. The test results showed that the predicted goodness of fit of the model for the TFe content, alkalinity (R), and drum index were 0.942, 0.958, and 0.987, respectively, and the model calculation time met the actual production requirements. By establishing a suitable model and running the program online, the real-time prediction of the main indicators of sinter quality was realized to guide production promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A step towards the next generation of high-capacity, noise-resilient communication and computing technologies is a substantial increase in the dimensionality of information space and the synthesis of superposition states on an N-dimensional (N > 2) Hilbert space featuring exotic group symmetries. Despite the rapid development of photonic devices and systems, on-chip information technologies are mostly limited to two-level systems owing to the lack of sufficient reconfigurability to satisfy the stringent requirement for 2(N − 1) degrees of freedom, intrinsically associated with the increase of synthetic dimensionalities. Even with extensive efforts dedicated to recently emerged vector lasers and microcavities for the expansion of dimensionalities1–10, it still remains a challenge to actively tune the diversified, high-dimensional superposition states of light on demand. Here we demonstrate a hyperdimensional, spin–orbit microlaser for chip-scale flexible generation and manipulation of arbitrary four-level states. Two microcavities coupled through a non-Hermitian synthetic gauge field are designed to emit spin–orbit-coupled states of light with six degrees of freedom. The vectorial state of the emitted laser beam in free space can be mapped on a Bloch hypersphere defining an SU(4) symmetry, demonstrating dynamical generation and reconfiguration of high-dimensional superposition states with high fidelity.A fully integrated semiconductor microlaser that exploits spin–orbit coupling of light emits in a four-dimensional Hilbert space, with flexible control of up to six degrees of freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the hip joint forces, Von Mises stress, contact pressure and micro‐motion of hip prosthesis for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) patients under different hip joint centers using musculoskeletal (MSK) multi‐body dynamics and finite element analysis. Methods: Both MSK multi‐body dynamics model and finite element (FE) model were based on CT data of a young female DDH patient with total hip replacement and were developed to study the biomechanics of the S‐ROM hip prosthesis. The same offset of hip joint center along all six orientations compared with the standard position was set to predict its effects on both MSK multi‐body dynamics and contact mechanics during one gait cycle. Results: The hip joint forces in the entire walking gait cycle showed two peak values and clear differences between them under different hip joint centers. The hip joint force increased when the hip joint center moved posteriorly (2101 N) and laterally (1969 N) to the anatomical center (1848 N) at the first peak by 13.7% and 6.6%, respectively. The hip joint force increased sharply when the hip center deviated laterally (2115 N) and anteriorly (2407 N), respectively, from the standard position (1742 N) at the second peak. For the sleeve of the S‐ROM prosthesis, the maximum Von Mises stress and contact pressure of the sleeve increased if the hip joint center deviated from the anatomical center posteriorly at the first peak. However, the Von Mises stresses and contact pressure increased at anterior and lateral orientations, compared to that of the standard position at the second peak. Small changes were observed for the maximum relative sliding distance along most of the orientations at both peaks except in the lateral and medial orientations, in which an increase of 8.6% and a decrease of 13.6% were observed, respectively. Conclusion: The hip joint center obviously influenced the hip joint forces, stress, contact pressure and micro‐motion of the hip implant for this female patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The root of Millettia speciosa Champ. (MSCP) is used in folk medicine and is popular as a soup ingredient. The root is composed of the rhizome and radix, but only the radix has been used as a food. Thus, it is very important to compare the chemical components and antioxidant activities between the rhizome and radix. The extracts were analyzed by UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS and multivariate analysis, and the antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2,20-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazo-line-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays. Ninety-one compounds were detected simultaneously and temporarily identified. Ten compounds were identified as chemical markers to distinguish the rhizome from the radix. The antioxidant activities of the radix were higher than the rhizome. Correlation analysis showed that uvaol-3-caffeate, 3-O-caffeoyloleanolic acid, and khrinone E were the main active markers for antioxidant activity, which allowed for the rapid differentiation of rhizomes and the radix. Therefore, it could be helpful for future exploration of its material base and bioactive mechanism. In addition, it would be considered to be used as a new method for the quality control of M. speciosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social relationships play an important role in improving the quality of recommender systems (RSs). A large number of experimental results show that social relationship-based recommendation methods alleviate the problems of data sparseness and cold start in RSs to some extent. However, existing recommendation methods have difficulty in accurately obtaining user features and item features, which seriously affects recommendation system performance. To accurately model social relationships and improve recommendation quality, we use both explicit (e.g. user-item ratings, trust relationships) and implicit (e.g. social tags) social relationships to mine users' potential interest preferences; thus, we propose a social recommendation method incorporating trust relationships and social tags. The method maps user features and item features to a shared feature space using the above social relationship, obtains user similarity and item similarity through potential feature vectors of users and items, and continuously trains them to obtain accurate similarity relationships to improve recommendation performance. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves superior performance over the other social recommendation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking as an example the practical teaching of the design of children's solar-energy-based ultraviolet disinfection products, we analyzed the practical activities in four stages of teaching—case background, research methods, product design, and practical results—in the practical teaching mode based on solar green energy. This paper presents and proposes a design solution for a solar-powered green energy-based multifunctional inductive UV disinfection product for children to provide additional services for school interventions and improve public health in primary and secondary schools. This new innovative design for a children's disinfection product is based on solar green energy and enhances the graded disinfection strategy in schools, reducing the number of viruses and the potential risk of virus transmission in the educational environment. The proposed program aims to be project-oriented, combining green energy concepts with innovative educational concepts, classroom content with social prevention products, digital technology with innovative thinking, promoting the development of innovative and digital abilities of teachers and students, and promoting the development of practical teaching in digital media. The practical results show that the model has positive teaching effects, practical value for students, schools and society, cultivation of digital innovation ability of teachers and students, and reference significance for practical teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application research progress of biomarker detection methods based on genetic material ( RNA and DNA), immunology ( antigen/antibody) and combined with microchip technology was reviewed. It was pointed out that the detection method based on genetic material acted directly on the target substance, and had high accuracy and good sensitivity, but it had many detection steps and high requirements for the detection environment; The detection method based on immunology was simple to operate, had high portabihity, and could realize instant detection. However, the accuracy was slightly lower. It was suitable for rapid and large-scale virus screening; Combining with microchip technology made the detection method more diverse. It could realize the detection of target substances in a short time, and the accuracy and degree of automation have been improved. This method showed great development potential in virus screening and disease diagnosis. In the future, the detection technology of biomarkers could be further studied in terms of optimizing the catalyst of the reaction, increasing the degree of purification of nucleic acid extracts, improving the automation of detection equipment, building multiple detection systems, realizing the miniaturization of detection equipment and visualization of detection information, etc. to improve detection accuracy and equipment portability so as to realize the continuous development of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many bilaterians, Hox genes are generally clustered along the chromosomes and expressed in spatial and temporal order. In vertebrates, the expression of Hox genes follows a whole-cluster spatio-temporal collinearity (WSTC) pattern, whereas in some invertebrates the expression of Hox genes exhibits a subcluster-level spatio-temporal collinearity pattern. In bilaterians, the diversity of collinearity patterns and the cause of collinearity differences in Hox gene expression remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate genomic organization and expression pattern of Hox genes in the echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus (Annelida, Echiura). Urechis unicinctus has a split cluster with four subclusters divided by non-Hox genes: first subcluster (Hox1 and Hox2), second subcluster (Hox3), third subcluster (Hox4, Hox5, Lox5, Antp and Lox4), fourth subcluster (Lox2 and Post2). The expression of U. unicinctus Hox genes shows a subcluster-based whole-cluster spatio-temporal collinearity (S-WSTC) pattern: the anterior-most genes in each subcluster are activated in a spatially and temporally colinear manner (reminiscent of WSTC), with the subsequent genes in each subcluster then being very similar to their respective anterior-most subcluster gene. Combining genomic organization and expression profiles of Hox genes in different invertebrate lineages, we propose that the spatio-temporal collinearity of invertebrate Hox is subcluster-based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivated land is the principal land source for urban expansion. Recent large-scale urban expansion through the occupation of cultivated land has influenced regional food security and the realization of sustainable development goals. Based on data regarding the cultivated land occupied for urban construction in the Chengdu metropolitan area from 2000 to 2018, the spatio-temporal evolution of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion was analysed using the contribution index. Based on a model comparison, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was used to explore the spatio-temporal pattern and evolution path of significant driving factors. The results demonstrate that (1) the total area of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion from 2000 to 2018 was 470.528 km2 and mainly concentrated in the main urban area of Chengdu City and its surrounding districts and counties. The K value continued to decline from 93.23 to 37.48, indicating that the contribution of cultivated land in urban expansion is decreasing. (2) The GWR model, with a better fitting effect, demonstrates that the significant factors that influence the cultivated land occupied by urban expansion in the study area gradually shift from population aggregation factors to food safety and the proportion of non-farming population. (3) The evolution type of the driving force is mainly dominated by continuous change, and there is significant spatial heterogeneity in the evolution path. The population density → proportion of non-farm population → grain yield → comprehensive and proportion of cultivated land → per capita fixed asset investment → comprehensive → proportion of non-farm population were typical pathways. (4) Realizing the coordination between urban system structural optimization and cultivated land protection policies in the Chengdu metropolitan area is an important way to guarantee regional food and ecological security and promote the green and high-quality development of the metropolitan area. This study can promote coordination between urban expansion and cultivated land protection in metropolitan areas and provide a reference basis for sustainable economic and social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]