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This work proposes an intelligent grey-wolf-optimizer-improved Apriori algorithm (GWO-Apriori) to mine the association rules of hidden dangers in hydrogen pipeline transmission stations. The optimal minimum support and minimum confidence are determined by GWO instead of the time-consuming trial approach. Experiments show that the average support and average confidence of association rules using GWO-Apriori increase by 29.8% and 21.3%, respectively, when compared with traditional Apriori. Overall, 59 ineffective association rules out of the total 105 rules are filtered by GWO, which dramatically improves data mining effectiveness. Moreover, 23 illogical association rules are excluded, and 12 new strong association rules ignored by the traditional Apriori are successfully mined. Compared with the inefficient and labor-intensive manual investigation, the intelligent GWO-Apriori algorithm dramatically improves pertinency and efficiency of hidden danger identification in hydrogen pipeline transmission stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/epoxy (EP) resin composites with various mass loadings of PEG (50%-80%), in which PEG acted as phase change materials (PCMs) and EP served as the supporting matrix to afford structural strength and avoided the leakage of melt PEG, was made via casting mold technique. The effect of PEG mass content on the form-stability, thermal property, morphology, and mechanical property of the composite phase change materials (CPCMs) were characterized by Fourier transformation infrared spectroscope (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results displayed that the EP was compatible well with the PEG, and the CPCMs showed excellent form-stability, good thermal reliability and stability even with 80 wt% PEG loading and under high temperature. In addition, the average adhesion force of the PEG/EP CPCMs increased as the PEG mass loading increased. In summary, the as-prepared form-stable PEG/EP CPCMs had promising potential for practical latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) applications. KEYWORDS adhesion force, epoxy resin, form-stable, phase change material, polyethylene glycol, 1 | INTRODUCTION Due to the increasing energy crisis, environmental pollution, and global warming, exploring and developing renewable and cleanable energy such as thermal energy have attracted extensive attention. As [...]

The mechanism by which inflammasome activation is modulated remains unclear. In this study, we identified an AIM2-interacting protein, the E3 ubiquitin ligase HUWE1, which was also found to interact with NLRP3 and NLRC4 through the HIN domain of AIM2 and the NACHT domains of NLRP3 and NLRC4. The BH3 domain of HUWE1 was important for its interaction with NLRP3, AIM2, and NLRC4. Caspase-1 maturation, IL-1[beta] release, and pyroptosis were reduced in Huwe1-deficient bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) compared with WT BMDMs in response to stimuli to induce NLRP3, NLRC4, and AIM2 inflammasome activation. Furthermore, the activation of NLRP3, NLRC4, and AIM2 inflammasomes in both mouse and human cells was remarkably reduced by treatment with the HUWE1 inhibitor BI8622. HUWE1 mediated the K27-linked polyubiquitination of AIM2, NLRP3, and NLRC4, which led to inflammasome assembly, ASC speck formation, and sustained caspase-1 activation. Huwe1-deficient mice had an increased bacterial burden and decreased caspase-1 activation and IL-1[beta] production upon Salmonella, Francisella, or Acinetobacter baumannii infection. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms of inflammasome activation as well as a potential therapeutic target against bacterial infection., Introduction Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes activated by infection and sterile stress that contribute to the initiation of pyroptotic cell death and release of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1[beta] and IL-18 (1, [...]

Carbon-based foam or aerogels show prominent potential as electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials owing to their light weight, low density, abundant pore structure, and good electrical conductivity. In this work, a series of nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels with abundant micropore and nanosized pores, prepared based on carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) hydrogels and via freeze-drying and pyrolysis, exhibit good EMW absorption performances. Through simply adjusting the additive amount of dicyandiamide (DCD), nitrogen-doped CMC derived carbon aerogels (NCCAs) with various morphologies, pore structures, and chemical compositions are obtained. The synthesized NCCA10 and NCCA20 achieve a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −56.05 dB (2.8 mm) and −39.4 dB (1.7 mm) and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 2.88 GHz at 2.7 mm and 4.88 GHz at 1.6 mm, respectively. The EMW absorption mechanism implies that the enhanced performance of NCCAs can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of dielectric loss, multiple reflection loss, conductive loss, and impedance adjustment. This study provides a good way to explore EMW adsorption materials with a broad bandwidth and good absorption behavior via nitrogen element doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of thermal energy storage materials applied in various fields has been attracting considerable attention in recent years. In this paper, a series of 1,6-hexanediol (HDL)/silicon dioxide (SiO2) form-stable composite phase change materials (fs-CPCMs) with various mass percentage of HDL loadings were made through sol–gel technique. For HDL/SiO2 fs-CPCMs, HDL was served as PCM, and silica gel was acted as the supporting matrix to keep a stable state without leakage of the composites even the temperature was over 85 °C. The results from form-stability test and DSC measurements showed that the as-prepared fs-CPCM with the mass fraction of HDL at 70 wt% presented good form-stability, suitable melting point (43.5 °C), and reasonable fusion enthalpy of 130.9 J/g. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy indicated that only physical adsorption existed between the HDL and silica gel. Moreover, the thermal performance tests showed that the thermal energy storage and release rates of the as-prepared HDL/SiO2 fs-CPCM was enhanced compared to pure HDL. In summary, the as-prepared fs-CPCMs exhibit reasonable latent heats, good thermal stabilities, and reliability, which are promising candidates for energy-saving construction materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional circuit elements are constrained by limitations in area and power efficiency at processing physical signals. Recently, researchers have delved into high-order dynamics and coupled oscillation dynamics utilizing Mott devices, revealing potent nonlinear computing capabilities. However, the intricate yet manageable population dynamics of multiple artificial sensory neurons with spatiotemporal coupling remain unexplored. Here, we present an experimental hardware demonstration featuring a capacitance-coupled VO2 phase-change oscillatory network. This network serves as a continuous-time dynamic system for sensory pre-processing and encodes information in phase differences. Besides, a decision-making module for special post-processing through software simulation is designed to complete a bio-inspired dynamic sensory system. Our experiments provide compelling evidence that this transistor-free coupling network excels in sensory processing tasks such as touch recognition and gesture recognition, achieving significant advantages of fewer devices and lower energy-delay-product compared to conventional methods. This work paves the way towards an efficient and compact neuromorphic sensory system based on nano-scale nonlinear dynamics. It is challenging to create efficient and compact neuromorphic sensory system based on nano-scale nonlinear dynamics. Yang et al. present a capacitance-coupled VO2 oscillatory network, which serves as a continuous-time dynamic system for sensory pre-processing, enabling tasks such as touch and gesture recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, which are compounded by drug resistance. By manipulating the coagulation system, S. aureus gains a significant advantage over host defense mechanisms, with hypercoagulation induced by S. aureus potentially aggravating infectious diseases. Recently, we and other researchers identified that a higher level of LL-37, one endogenous antimicrobial peptide with a significant killing effect on S. aureus infection, resulted in thrombosis formation through the induction of platelet activation and potentiation of the coagulation factor enzymatic activity. In the current study, we identified a novel antimicrobial peptide (RK22) from the salivary gland transcriptome of Hirudinaria manillensis (H. manillensis) through bioinformatic analysis, and then synthesized it, which exhibited good antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, including a clinically resistant strain with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6.25 μg/mL. The RK22 peptide rapidly killed S. aureus by inhibiting biofilm formation and promoting biofilm eradication, with good plasma stability, negligible cytotoxicity, minimal hemolytic activity, and no significant promotion of the coagulation system. Notably, administration of RK22 significantly inhibited S. aureus infection and the clinically resistant strain in vivo. Thus, these findings highlight the potential of RK22 as an ideal treatment candidate against S. aureus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Poecilobdella manillensis attacks its prey, the prey bleeds profusely but feels little pain. We and other research teams have identified several anticoagulant molecules in the saliva of P. manillensis, but the substance that produces the paralyzing effect in P. manillensis is not known. In this study, we successfully isolated, purified, and identified a serine protease inhibitor containing an antistasin-like domain from the salivary secretions of P. manillensis. This peptide (named poeciguamerin) significantly inhibited elastase activity and slightly inhibited FXIIa and kallikrein activity, but had no effect on FXa, trypsin, or thrombin activity. Furthermore, poeciguamerin exhibited analgesic activity in the foot-licking and tail-withdrawal mouse models and anticoagulant activity in the FeCl3-induced carotid artery thrombosis mouse model. In this study, poeciguamerin was found to be a promising elastase inhibitor with potent analgesic and antithrombotic activity for the inhibition of pain and thrombosis after surgery or in inflammatory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug resistance (MDR) caused by ATP-Binding Cassette Subfamily B Member 1 (ABCB1, P-glycoprotein, P-gp) is a major barrier for the success of chemotherapy in clinics. In this study, we designed and synthesized a total of 19 Lissodendrins B analogues and tested their ABCB1-mediated MDR reversal activity in doxorubicin (DOX)-resistant K562/ADR and MCF-7/ADR cells. Among all derivatives, compounds D1, D2, and D4 with a dimethoxy-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline fragment possessed potent synergistic effects with DOX and reversed ABCB1-mediated drug resistance. Notably, the most potent compound D1 merits multiple activities, including low cytotoxicity, the strongest synergistic effect, and effectively reversing ABCB1-mediated drug resistance of K562/ADR (RF = 1845.76) and MCF-7/ADR cells (RF = 207.86) to DOX. As a reference substance, compound D1 allows for additional mechanistic studies on ABCB1 inhibition. The synergistic mechanisms were mainly related to the increased intracellular accumulation of DOX via inhibiting the efflux function of ABCB1 rather than from affecting the expression level of ABCB1. These studies suggest that compound D1 and its derivatives might be potential MDR reversal agents acting as ABCB1 inhibitors in clinical therapeutics and provide insight into a design strategy for the development of ABCB1 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and convenient method is demonstrated in this work by continuously applying uniaxial tensile strains to tune the high-frequency properties of flexible magnetic films. The magnetostriction effect causes the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the Ti/Fe/Ni81Fe19/Fe/Ti multilayer film when the flexible substrate transitions from the convex state to the planar state after preparation. In addition, the microstructure, magnetic domain morphology, and the high-frequency magnetic performance of the pre-strained Ti/Fe/Ni81Fe19/Fe/Ti multilayer films are investigated. The results show that the flexible Ti/Fe/Ni81Fe19/Fe/Ti multilayer films' initial permeability can be monotonically varied over a hundred units, and the resonant frequency can be adjusted around 1.5 GHz. The flexible Ti/Fe/Ni81Fe19/Fe/Ti films, with their elastic-tunable magnetic performance, are promising candidate materials for flexible microwave devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]