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The pursuit of strong endurance and nonflammable performances has promoted demand for solid-state batteries (SSBs). Meanwhile, the reduction of electrolytes' thickness is the key to improving battery performance. However, a large-scale feasible method to fabricate an ultrathin solid electrolyte exhibiting high ionic conductivities is still a challenge. Here, we show a large-scale feasible method to prepare a succinonitrile/polyacrylonitrile(SN/PAN)-coated Li

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a deadly form of cancer worldwide. Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer and metastatic CRC have a poor long-term prognosis, and rational and effective treatment remains a major challenge. Common treatments include multi-modal combinations of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy; however, recurrence and metastasis rates remain high. The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy (radioimmunotherapy [RIT]) may offer new solutions to this problem, but its prospects remain uncertain. This review aimed to summarize the current applications of radiotherapy and immunotherapy, elaborate on the underlying mechanisms, and systematically review the preliminary results of RIT-related clinical trials for CRC. Studies have identified several key predictors of RIT efficacy. Summarily, rational RIT regimens can improve the outcomes of some patients with CRC, but current study designs have limitations. Further studies on RIT should focus on including larger sample sizes and optimizing the combination therapy regimen based on underlying influencing factors.

The "watch and wait" (W&W) strategy has been widely used in rectal cancer patients who have achieved clinical complete response (cCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), which can save them from surgery and improve their quality of life. However, this strategy also has many unsolved practical problems, including the improvement of cCR/pCR rate, the search for efficient predictors, the standard follow-up and the methods of rescue surgery, etc. Larger sample size and more standardized clinical trials are still needed to obtain credible evidence. Therefore, we must rationally view the cCR after nCRT for middle and low rectal cancer, understand the risk of W&W strategy, and make a reasonable choice. It is particularly important to emphasize that we should actively carry out prospective multi-center clinical trials to produce high-level evidence suitable for Chinese characteristics, so that more rectal cancer patients can benefit from nCRT.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulatory factors in the development of multiple cancers. This study is targeted at exploring the effect of circ_0002623 on bladder cancer (BCa) progression and its mechanism. Circ_0002623 was screened out by analyzing the expression profile of circRNAs in BCa tissues. Circ_0002623, miR-1276, and SMAD2 mRNA expression levels in clinical sample tissues and cell lines were detected through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). After circ_0002623 had been overexpressed or silenced in BCa cells, the cell proliferation, migration, and cell cycle were evaluated by CCK-8, BrdU, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry. Tumor xenograft model was used to validate the biological function of circ_0002623 in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were conducted for analyzing and confirming, respectively, the targeted relationship between circ_0002623 and miR-1276, as well as between miR-1276 and SMAD2. The regulatory effects of circ_0002623 and miR-1276 on the expression levels of TGF-β, WNT1, and SMAD2 in BCa cells were detected by Western blot. We reported that, in BCa tissues and cell lines, circ_0002623 was upregulated, whereas miR-1276 was downregulated. Circ_0002623 positively regulated BCa cell proliferation, migration, and cell cycle progression. Additionally, circ_0002623 could competitively bind with miR-1276 to increase the expression of SMAD2, the target gene of miR-1276. Furthermore, circ_0002623 could regulate the expression of TGF-β and WNT1 via modulating miR-1276 and SMAD2. This study helps to better understand the molecular mechanism underlying BCa progression.

Lithium-oxygen batteries have attracted widespread attention owing to their superior theoretical energy density. However, they are obstructed by sluggish oxygen reduction (ORR) and evolution reaction (OER) kinetics at air cathodes. Herein, different from using single solid or soluble catalysts, solid-soluble synergistic catalysis is proposed to conjointly enhance ORR/OER performances. During discharge, single-atomic zinc/cobalt embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (Zn, Co-N/C) is judiciously engineered as a solid catalyst to regulate the growth pathway of Li

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with cancer. The role of inflammation in the association of CAD with cancer remains unclear. The study investigated whether inflammation could impact the relationship between CAD and lung cancer. METHODS: The study involved 96 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients without receiving anti-cancer therapy and 288 matched non-cancer patients. All the patients underwent coronary angiography and were free from previous percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting. SYNTAX score (SXscore) were used to assess severity of CAD. High SXscore (SXhigh) grade was defined as SXscore > 16 (highest quartile). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) served as an inflammatory biomarker. NLR-high grade referred to NLR > 2.221 (median). RESULTS: Among 384 study patients, 380 patients (98.96%) had NLR value (median: 2.221, interquartile range: 1.637–3.040). Compared to non-cancer patients, lung cancer patients had higher rate of SXhigh among total study patients (P = 0.014) and among patients with NLR-high (P = 0.006), but had not significantly higher rate of SXhigh among patients with NLR-low (P = 0.839). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SXhigh was associated with lung cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 1.834, 95% CI: 1.063–3.162, P = 0.029]. Subgroup analysis showed that SXhigh was associated with lung cancer among patients with NLR-high (OR = 2.801, 95% CI: 1.355–5.794, P = 0.005), however, the association between SXhigh and lung cancer was not significant among patients with NLR-low (OR = 0.897, 95% CI: 0.346–2.232, P = 0.823). CONCLUSIONS: Inflammation could lead different association between anatomical severity of CAD and lung cancer. Severity of CAD was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer among patients with high inflammation rather than among patients with low inflammation.

Ex-situ catalysts have been used for Li-oxygen batteries (LOBs), mostly resulting in polycrystalline Li2O2 as the discharge product, whose high energy barrier for oxygen evolution impedes the extraction of full potential of LOBs. In this study, a partial disproportionation gallium-oxygen reaction of superoxide in ( G a 2 O 2 ) 2 + 2 ( O 2 − ) is subtly created prior to the lithium-oxygen one, in-situ growing Ga2O3 nanoparticles at cathode. The Ga2O3 induce the formation of poorly crystalline Li2O2, opposite to the conventional polycrystalline one. Benefitting from the crystallinity and morphology transformations of Li2O2, the chemical oxidation reaction kinetics between iodide redox mediators (RMs) and Li2O2 is significantly enhanced. In this regard, some issues related to RMs, for instance, the well-known Li-I2 side reactions and shuttle effect between the residual I3− and Li anode, can be predominantly suppressed. As a result, the cyclability of the LOBs are significantly improved with stable electrical energy efficiency. Our results lead to two conclusions: (1) non-lithium metal-oxygen reaction with higher thermodynamic potential than lithium-oxygen one is corroborated by theoretical calculations, which can in-situ produce nano-sized metal oxides particles at cathode, functioning surface growth of poorly crystalline Li2O2, and (2) acceleration of the reaction kinetics between the Li2O2 and the oxidized state of RMs is experimentally confirmed, which creates a new solid-soluble mixed catalytic mechanism.

A derailment phenomenon could take place on the windward side of a 120 km/h high-speed train when it runs by a breach, between two windbreak walls, subjected to a normal wind speed of 32 m/s. To study the safety of a high-speed train under different normal speeds of crosswind, six wind speeds are investigated; 32 m/s, 28 m/s, 25 m/s, 20 m/s, 15 m/s, and 10 m/s. The wind forces and moments of the moving train are calculated using the Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) model, which are then applied to the train multi-body dynamics. The pressure fields around the train passing by the breach are analysed, which gives a reasonable explanation for the fluctuation of the wind loads. After an analysis on the response of the train, it is apparent that the risk of derailment on the windward side is much greater than the risk of overturning. The lateral distance of the first wheelset increases towards the windward side as along with the yaw angle of the wheelset, which increases as well with wind speeds of higher than 20 m/s.

This study presents a workflow to optimize the location of CO2 injectors in order to maximize stored volume and prevent fault reactivation due to increases of pore pressure. We combine coupled reservoir flow and geomechanics simulations with neural network surrogate models and find the best injector location based on net present environmental value (NPEV). The surrogate models can complement the numerical reservoir simulations and efficiently optimize the well location and injection rate via the steepest ascent algorithm. We apply the workflow to the Brugge field, a closed synthetic reservoir that incorporates multiple faults, as an example. The surrogate model predicts a NPEV of approximately 0.19 billion carbon credits for the Brugge field, which is consistent with the corresponding reservoir simulation. NPEV will change under different safety factors that serve as an additional injection control to enhance the safety of injection. This proposed workflow could be readily applied to other similar reservoir models.

Geometric straining of particles in porous media is of critical importance in a broad range of natural and industrial settings, such as contaminant transport in aquifers and the permeability decline due to pore plugging in oil reservoirs. Pore network modeling is a computationally efficient approach to simulate transport problems in porous media that has been used to simulate particle deposition and size exclusion. However, existing network models are unable to simulate particle jamming due to the simplification of geometry and the lack of capability for simulating particle–particle interactions. Here, we develop a novel pore network model for particle jamming in porous media. The jamming in pore throats is predicted by the probability of jamming, which is a function of pore/particle size ratio, particle concentration, and coefficient of friction (COF). A unified probability model is developed based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations of particle jamming in porous media consisting of a single layer of spherical grains. The geometry is based on two packing extremes, those with grains arranged in a triangle and a square. The model is then implemented into the pore network model to predict jamming in porous media. This framework combines the efficiency of network modeling and the accuracy of direct simulations on particle jamming. We verify the model against CFD-DEM simulations. The results of network simulations show that the probability of jamming increases with COF. At low particle concentrations (C = 5%), the probability of jamming for large pore throats is small. There is a critical particle concentration (C = 9%) when the grain/particle size ratio is 10, above which jamming is self-reinforcing and the inlet face of the porous medium will be completely blocked (C = 11%). The effect of velocity on the probability of jamming is insignificant compared with the effects of particle concentration and pore/particle size ratio.

ABSTRACT: Full-scale implementation of CO2 storage requires a number of challenges to be addressed, among them is reliably assessing geomechanical risk at storage sites. A 3D mechanical earth model (MEM) can be used to understand how rock types and stresses are distributed in the 3D space of the reservoir and surrounding formations. However, due to meshing limitations, the MEM is typically derived from simplified geological frameworks and does not relate with static and flow simulation models anymore. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed a general solution to readily assess the geomechanical risk of CO2 geological storage while preserving the geology’s integrity. We present a case study based on an offshore field in which the storage formation is composed of stacked anticlinal sandy layers sealed by shaly caprocks. We investigate fault stability by explicitly simulating the fault slippage and observe a significant fault reactivation with a maximum magnitude of ~ 0.3 m. A high resolution sub-model of the near-wellbore region indicates a stable wellbore condition. This workflow permits us to combine a reliable representation of the subsurface with a state-of-the-art rock mechanics finite element solver, which can be leveraged across the entire lifecycle of CO2 storage. 1. INTRODUCTION CO2 geological storage is a proposed solution to curb carbon emissions to the atmosphere (Bachu, 2008; Benson and Cole, 2008; Bickle, 2009). A large-scale CO2 storage project requires annual CO2 injection of millions of tons into deep geological media where the caprock and faults provide structural trapping of CO2 (Michael et al., 2010; Fuss et al., 2014; Tang et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2021). However, full-scale implementation of CO2 storage requires a number of challenges to be addressed, among them is reliably assessing geomechanical risk at storage sites (Rutqvist, 2012). For instance, CO2 injection increases the pore pressure and reduces the effective stresses, which may reactivate existing faults or induce damaging geomechanical changes to the caprock (Cappa and Rutqvist, 2011; Faulkner et al., 2018; Ju et al., 2021; Sun et al., 2021b). Fault reactivation is one risk of CO2 storage because it may compromise the sealing behavior as well as induce seismic events (Zheng et al., 2009; Apps et al., 2010; Zoback and Gorelick, 2012). Therefore, it is critical to maintain the integrity of caprock and faults to ensure the long-term CO2 storage security.

The exact control of pore structure in carbon is desirable for offering a leap forward in a wide range of industrial applications, but the intractable hurdle relating to the anisotropic etching of carbon remains. Here, metal nano-drills are developed by which controllable pore size and adjustable hole depth can be rationally designed in both SP2- and SP2-SP3 hybridized carbon. A new catalytic drilling behavior is demonstrated, whereby the catalytic metal nanoparticles (Ru, Ni, Au, Pt, etc.) as drilling forces, accompanied by chemical etching, thermodynamically catalyze the decomposition of the surface barrier layer (K2CO3) and dynamically accelerate the anisotropic carbon etching rates. Subsequently, metal nano-drills open the enclosed internal spaces of activation carbonized microtubes (RCMT). Benefiting from the drilling structure featured by outer-inter connecting, RCMT exhibits 2.5 times higher Li2O2 accommodation capacity as the lithium-oxygen battery cathode and 2.8 times higher specific capacitance as the electric double-layer supercapacitor electrode than the carbonized microtube without the drilling process.

Lithium anode protection is an effective strategy to prohibit the continuous loss of redox mediators (RMs) resulting from the unfavorable "shuttle effect" in lithium-oxygen batteries. In this work, an in situ Li anode protection method is designed by utilizing an organic compound, 1-Boc-3-iodoazetidine (BIA), as both a RM and an additive, to form a lithium anode protective layer. The reaction between Li metal and BIA can form lithium iodide (LiI) and lithium-based organometallic. LiI can effectively reduce the charging overpotential. Meanwhile, the in situ-formed anode protection layer (lithium-based organometallic) can not only effectively prevent RMs from being reduced by the lithium metal, but also inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites. As a result, the lithium-oxygen battery with BIA shows a long cycle life of 260 cycles with a notably reduced charging potential. In particular, the battery with BIA achieves an excellent lifespan of 160 cycles at a large current density of 2000 mA g-1.

Oiling out during the crystallization process often generates agglomeration. This research is focused on the control of agglomeration in the antisolvent crystallization of the propylparaben-ethanol-water system in the presence of oiling out, that is, the liquid-liquid phase separation phenomenon. Crystallization trajectories were designed to start from a homogeneous solution with different initial concentrations of propylparaben in ethanol, crossing the liquid-liquid phase separation region in the ternary phase diagram by adding the antisolvent of water. A combination of process analytical technology tools, such as focused beam reflectance measurement, particle visual monitoring, and attenuated total reflectance ultraviolet/visible, enabled the detection of the different stages of the oiling out crystallization process, including the droplet formation of the dispersed phase, prenucleation, nucleation, and crystal growth both in the liquid-liquid phase-separated system and in the homogeneous solution. The crystals tended to form normally at higher initial concentrations of propylparaben while tending to agglomerate at a lower initial concentration. Crystallization experiments were also performed with the addition of sonication, with variation in sonication start time, duration, and power. The results showed that ultrasound could reduce the agglomeration dependent on the initial application time. The mechanism of crystallization and agglomeration in oiling out was discussed.

An experiment of falling wheels was performed in this study along with full-field tests, for a type of subway train on four subway lines. The results confirmed that 40–80 Hz vibration signals on the ground and train are caused by the wheel–rail P2 force. Vehicle–track-coupled dynamics models were created where the single-layer elastic support model, double-layer elastic support model and floating slab track model were considered. The results were validated by available experimental data and three types of theoretical models: Jenkins, Winkler and double-beam model. This shows that the amplitude of the P2 force increases with larger suspended rail joint angle, higher train speed, heavy unsuspended mass and stronger fastener stiffness. Besides, both fastener damping and the vertical stiffness of primary suspension enabled control of the amplitude of the P2 force in a limited interval. Supporting stiffness of track and unsprung mass played a key role in the frequency of the P2 force. However, the vertical stiffness of the primary suspension had a reduced effect on the frequency of P2 force as compared with the supporting stiffness. Thus, for an effective change to the supporting stiffness, the fastener stiffness could be changed accordingly.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease that affects the entire joint, often resulting in severe pain, disability, psychological distress, and a lower quality of life. Patient self-management is emphasized in OA clinical recommendations. Currently, the clinical treatment of OA mainly focuses on pain relief and the improvement of joint function, with few options for regenerating degenerative cartilage or slowing the progression of OA. Therefore, we first reviewed the current treatment of OA, and then summarized the research advances of nanotechnology in OA treatment, including nano drug delivery systems for small molecule drugs, nucleic acids and proteins, nano-scaffolds for cartilage regeneration, and nanoparticle lubricants. Finally, we discussed the opportunities and potential challenges of nanotechnology in OA treatment.

In order to study the effect of different gust durations on the safety of a high-speed train passing by a wind-break breach at a speed of 120 km/h, the root locus method is used to analyze the suspension modes of the train under different speeds. The original gust is obtained based on the Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) model when the train passes by a 12 m breach between two windbreaks with a normal crosswind speed of 32 m/s. A group of scaling factors for stretching and compressing the time windows is applied to change the gust duration without changing the amplitude. The results show that when the gust duration is close to the natural period of the suspension system, the train responses and derailment coefficient of the train can be amplified. As the attack angles of the first and second wheelset are still in the clockwise direction when overlooking the wheelset, the first wheelset is more vulnerable than the second wheelset. When the gust duration is longer than the natural period of lower sway, the initial fluctuation of the train response can be relieved.

Summary The reduction of pore pressure caused by depletion can induce significant reservoir compaction and loss of permeability, especially in unconsolidated reservoirs. In this paper, we develop a numerical approach on the basis of computer-based simulations of unconsolidated rock samples subjected to mechanical tests that replicate the one-dimensional (1D) strain depletion path and allow for a prediction of permeability loss. The 1D strain stress path is a good approximation for long and thin conventional reservoirs with a compliant caprock. The numerical sample consists of crushable stiff and soft grains (proxies for sand and shale) simulated with the discrete element method (DEM) coupled with the bonded-particle model (BPM). Model parameters are calibrated through numerical single-grain-crushing tests which reproduce the experimentally measured sand strength. Grain crushing induced by the uniaxial strain stress path results in a pronounced reduction of porosity and permeability, which manifests more readily for samples with large grain size. The change of particle-size distribution indicates that high effective stresses cause grain crushing and production of a significant amount of fines that lower permeability. Simulation results indicate that the presence of soft grains and inclusions (e.g., shale fragments) facilitates grain crushing. Reservoir simulations—incorporating the change of porosity and permeability as a compaction table—show that the compaction can enhance cumulative production due to compaction drive but also reduces production rate by impairing the reservoir permeability. This multiscale numerical workflow bridges grain-scale compaction behavior and field-scale reservoir production.

Field tests were carried out to measure the wheel-rail forces of a high-speed train passing by a windbreak breach with a crosswind speed and a train speed of 32 m/s and 120 km/h, respectively. Unst...

The transport of photosynthetic products and salts occurs continuously in the phloem tissues of the vascular hydrophyte, Typha. Multiphase transport of oxygen, electrons, and ions also plays an essential role in lithium–oxygen battery (LOB) cathodes. The similarity in transport behavior is the inspiration for the development of advanced cathode design from natural phloem tissues. Using a top-down process, the special tissues are converted into micron-scale sieve tubes. The designed structure has a high ratio of the tube diameter to the size of the discharged product (6 : 1), which ensures the uniform coverage of Li2O2 on micro-channel surfaces avoiding pore-clogging on typical nanoscale carbons, and exhibits a high specific capacity of 9100 mA h g−1. Besides, the biologically enhanced structure also plays a pivotal role in the extraordinary cycling stability of 270 cycles with a cutoff capacity of 1000 mA h g−1 due to the robust structure and thick tube walls. In addition, iodomethane, a bio-waste volatilized from plants, is utilized as an electrolyte additive and improves the round-trip efficiency to 86%. The integration of phloem tissue carbon and iodomethane paves the way for the ready conversion of abundant biomass into high-value engineering products for energy-related applications.

Photocatalytic H2 evolution is a clean technology to alleviate energy and environmental issues. The limited light absorption and the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers are the major hurdles constraining the application of numerous photocatalysts. Herein, we report a simple and effective strategy, a multistep heat-treatment method, to synthesise a defective g-C3N4/RGO/TiO2 composite to increase its rate of activity for H2 production. The defects, nitrogen and oxygen vacancies, are simultaneously introduced on the surface of the g-C3N4/RGO/TiO2 composite. The vacancy defects essentially endow g-C3N4/RGO/TiO2 with a boosted photocatalytic H2 evolution rate (4760 μmol h-1 g-1) under visible-light irradiation, which is higher than that of the most of g-C3N4/TiO2 composites. This is attributed to the improved visible-light absorption as well as the separation and transfer rate of photogenerated charge carriers arising from vacancy defects. This study may provide an avenue for preparing defective photocatalysts for efficient H2 evolution.

The Fourier-based gradient field integration method can efficiently reconstruct transparent surfaces from the measured gradient data in the Shape-from-polarization method. However, for the differentiation operator having large truncation errors and lacking constraints on adjacent heights, it will increase the reconstructing error of the Fourier-based integration method. This paper presents an accurate Fourier-based integration approach to improve the reconstruction accuracy, in which a new differentiation operator is derived by limiting the truncation error and increasing heights and slopes in the operator. In order to modify the data obtained by the new operator to meet the requirements of both periodicity and size for the use of the discrete Fourier transform, we propose a method to extend the raw gradient data by first performing antisymmetric extension and then performing periodic extension. A series of simulations and experiments have been developed to verify the performance of the proposed method. By comparing the approach of this paper with other Fourier-based approaches, including Frankot-Chellappa, Southwell-FT and Simpson-FT, both of the simulation and experiment results show that the proposed Fourier-based integration method performs a higher accuracy than other approaches. In the reconstruction experiment, the reconstruction error can be reduced from 0.065 ~ 0.081 mm to 0.020 mm for the spherical surface, and from 0.060 ~ 0.12 mm to 0.016 mm for the free-form surface.

For storage in deep saline formations, where CO2 is injected into the pore spaces of rocks previously occupied by saline groundwater (brine), relative permeability is a key input parameter for predictive models. CO2 injectivity is considered to reach the maximum value at the CO2 endpoint relative permeability when brine saturation becomes irreducible. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of viscosity ratio, interfacial tension and wettability on relative permeability during CO2-brine drainage. A multiphase lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) is employed to numerically measure pore-scale dynamics in CO2-brine flow in the sample of Berea sandstone. CO2/brine with interfacial tension from 30 to 45 mN/m and viscosity ratio from 0.05 to 0.17 (the range of values expected for typical storage reservoirs conditions) are carried out to systematically assess the influence on the relative permeability curves. Although CO2 storage in sandstone saline aquifers is predominantly water wet, there are contradictory results as to the magnitude of the contact angle and its variation with fluid conditions. Therefore, the range of wetting conditions is studied to gain a better insight into the effect of wettability on supercritical CO2 displacement. In this study, it is observed that interfacial tension variations play a trivial impact while both of viscosity ratio and wettability are likely to have a significant effect on relative permeability curves under representative condition of storage reservoirs. We also perform a near-wellbore scale geomechanics analysis to investigate the impact of relative permeability on CO2 injectivity. The result shows that water-wet condition facilitates the CO2 injection when there is no fracture induced.

The mechanical behaviour of sedimentary rocks is conditioned by the interactions at the grain-grain contacts. We present a micromechanics digital rock workflow based on a cohesive contact model and introduce a general parameterization that can capture two extreme contact behaviours: free grains and fixed grains, as well as any intermediate degree of grain consolidation. With this parametric cohesive contact model, we can simulate a wide range of sedimentary rocks, from unconsolidated to well-consolidated rocks. We present a benchmark study on several samples and compare with laboratory-measured elastic moduli to calibrate its degree of consolidation. Simulations that do not include the grain contact modelling, tend to overestimate the elastic moduli, which manifests the significance of this contribution to capture well the grain contact behaviour. To demonstrate the impact of properly capturing the degree of consolidation on the rock strength and failure pattern, we present results for numerical uniaxial compression testing. This workflow provides physics-based solution to complex grain contact behaviour, which complements laboratory core analysis, and can be useful to reveal underlying grain-scale processes governing rock mechanical behaviour.

A dual digital micromirror devices (DMDs) camera for high dynamic range imaging is presented. The dual DMDs camera consists of two DMDs, an objective imaging lens, and a reimaging lens, both of which were connected by a symmetric relay imaging lens whose responsibility is to correct the off-axis aberrations caused by the two tilted DMDs. The dual DMDs camera can meet a dynamic range of 216 dB in maximum when the gray level of imaging sensor (CMOS) is 12 bits, comparing with the single DMD camera whose dynamic range, on the same terms, is only 144 dB in maximum. In our final design, the aberration is well corrected and the modulation transfer function values across the entire field of the whole system are above 0.3 at 37 line pairs/mm.

The unsatisfactory stabilities of carbon-based cathodes and lithium anodes are the major hurdles limiting the development of Li-air (O2) batteries. Herein, we propose an extremely simple cell formation process for non-aqueous Li-O2 batteries, by a discharge-charge process in argon prior to O2 atmosphere, to produce protective films on both CNTs-cathode and lithium-anode surfaces. The films are mainly composed of lithium fluoride derived from LiTFSI decomposition and endows lithium oxygen batteries with enhanced cycling stability (>200 cycles) under a consistent capacity condition (1000 mAh g−1). This study reveals that LiF-rich films could effectually suppress the parasitic reactions of electrodes against the reactive intermediates and electrolyte attacks. This simple approach provides a new strategy to protect both electrodes for lithium oxygen batteries.

The objective of the research was to improve the process design of a combined antisolvent-cooling crystallization to reduce the degree of agglomeration of a real active pharmaceutical ingredient product, which was manufactured using a crystallization stage employing a methanol/water solvent system. Knowledge was gained from the use of process analytical technology (PAT) tools to monitor the process variables, allowing particle size, degree of agglomeration, solute concentration, and supersaturation to be tracked throughout the process. Based on knowledge of the solubility behavior and interpretation of the PAT histories, changes were made to the sequences of antisolvent addition and cooling within the crystallization process to reduce agglomeration in the final product. Different seed loadings and seeding addition points were also investigated to maintain operation within lower supersaturation regions of the phase diagram to limit agglomeration and avoid an undesired polymorphic transformation to an unstable form. The improved sequences of operations and seeding conditions did not provide sufficient improvement in the product quality and so were augmented by applying wet milling for further deagglomeration followed by temperature cycling to remove fine particles generated during milling. Open-loop heating and cooling cycles produced some limited improvements, whereas closed-loop direct nucleation control methods using FBRM as a feedback sensor for particle counts per second were much more successful at producing high-quality crystals of the desired polymorphic form. The work shows that understanding the trajectory of the process through the phase diagram to follow appropriate supersaturation profiles gives improved control of the various kinetic mechanisms and can be used to improve the quality of the final product.

To explore the influence of complex terrain on wind characteristics of the surface layer and to better develop and utilize wind energy resources of high-altitude regions in central and western China, two typical topographies: the Qiaodi Village in Sichuan (in western China, site 1) and the Nanhua Mountain in Shanxi (in central China, site 2), were selected for this study. The diurnal and monthly variations of the atmospheric stability were contrasted at the two sites, according to the Obukhov length calculated by the eddy covariance data. The energy exchange process between complex underlying surfaces and the atmospheric boundary layer can be reflected to a certain extent by investigating the diurnal variation differences of the turbulent fluxes at the two sites. The results show that: (1) the dominant boundary layer at site 1 during nighttime is the neutral boundary layer, while at site 2 it is the stable; (2) the horizontal wind speed at 10 m above the ground is the highest (lowest) in the neutral (unstable) boundary layer at site 1, while it is the highest (lowest) in the neutral and weak-unstable (stable) boundary layer at site 2, and (3) the momentum flux, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux all show unimodal diurnal characteristics. There is a 1 h lag in the flux peak at site 1 compared to site 2.

BACKGROUND: Previously, the clinical value of seven autoantibodies (p53, PGP9.5, SOX2, GAGE7, GBU4-5, MAGEA1, and CAGE) has been surveyed in our pilot observation and other published studies. Herein, we aimed to further investigate the role of these autoantibodies in the diagnosis and staging of LC. METHODS: We included a total of 135 individuals, who were divided into a Lung cancer (LC) group and a control group according to the final diagnosis. Seven autoantibody detection kits were used (ELISA method) for the expression measurement. The patients’ demographics information (e.g., age, gender, and smoking history) were also documented. RESULTS: Among the seven types of autoantibodies, only P53 and GBU4-5 were significantly increased in the LC group compared to the controls. Also, the P53 autoantibody was markedly different among the various subtype groups. Meanwhile, the GBU4-5 level was significantly higher in the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients compared to patients with adenocarcinoma (ADC). Autoantibodies against PGP9.5, SOX2, GBU4-5, and CAGE were found to be associated with stages. Their expressions were notably higher in the advanced stage (IV) versus early stages (I–II). Using logistic regression, the outcomes of LC prediction and stage prediction showed that the area under curve (AUCs) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.743 and 0.798, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our study confirmed the diagnostic value of tumor-associated autoantibodies, which may be useful as latent tumor markers to facilitate the detection of early LC. Single autoantibody testing is not yet sufficient in LC cancer screening, and the combined detection of autoantibodies can improve the sensitivity of detection compared with single antibody detection, especially for P53, PGP9.5, SOX2, GBU4-5, and CAGE autoantibodies.

With the increase of fungal infection and drug resistance, it is becoming an urgent task to discover the highly effective antifungal drugs. In the study, we selected the key ergosterol bio-synthetic enzymes (Squalene epoxidase, SE; 14 α-demethylase, CYP51) as dual-target receptors to guide the construction of novel antifungal compounds, which could achieve the purpose of improving drug efficacy and reducing drug-resistance. Three different series of amide naphthyl compounds were generated through the method of skeleton growth, and their corresponding target products were synthesized. Most of compounds displayed the obvious biological activity against different Candida spp. and Aspergillus fumigatus. Among of them, target compounds 14a-2 and 20b-2 not only possessed the excellent broad-spectrum anti-fungal activity (MIC50, 0.125–2 μg/mL), but also maintained the anti-drug-resistant fungal activity (MIC50, 1–4 μg/mL). Preliminary mechanism study revealed the compounds (14a-2, 20b-2) could block the bio-synthetic pathway of ergosterol by inhibiting the dual-target (SE/CYP51) activity, and this finally caused the cleavage and death of fungal cells. In addition, we also discovered that compounds 14a-2 and 20b-2 with low toxic and side effects could exert the excellent therapeutic effect in mice model of fungal infection, which was worthy for further in-depth study.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy that is endemic to China and Southeast Asia. Radiotherapy is the usual treatment, however, radioresistance remains a major reason for failure. This study aimed to find key radioresistance regulation models and marker genes of NPC and clarify the mechanism of NPC radioresistance by RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of the differences in gene expression profiles between radioresistant and radiosensitive NPC tissues. A total of 21 NPC biopsy specimens with different radiosensitivity were analyzed by RNA sequencing. Differentially expressed genes in RNA sequencing data were identified using R software. The differentially expressed gene data derived from RNA sequencing as well as prior knowledge in the form of pathway databases were integrated to find sub‐networks of related genes. The data of RNA sequencing with the GSE48501 data from the GEO database were combined to further search for more reliable genes associated with radioresistance of NPC. Survival analyses using the Kaplan–Meier method based on the expression of the genes were conducted to facilitate the understanding of the clinical significance of the differentially expressed genes. RT‐qPCR was performed to validate the expression levels of the differentially expressed genes. We identified 1182 differentially expressed genes between radioresistant and radiosensitive NPC tissue samples. Compared to the radiosensitive group, 22 genes were significantly upregulated and 1160 genes were downregulated in the radioresistant group. In addition, 10 major NPC radiation resistance network models were identified through integration analysis with known NPC radiation resistance‐associated genes and mechanisms. Furthermore, we identified three core genes, DOCK4, MCM9, and POPDC3 among 12 common downregulated genes in the two datasets, which were validated by RT‐qPCR. The findings of this study provide new clues for clarifying the mechanism of NPC radioresistance, and further experimental studies of these core genes are warranted., In this work, we identified several key radioresistance regulation models and marker genes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and partly demonstrated the mechanism of NPC radioresistance by RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of the differences in gene expression profiles between radioresistant and radiosensitive NPC tissues.