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Reverse electron transfer (RET), an abnormal backward flow of electrons from complexes III/IV to II/I of mitochondria, causes the overproduction of a reduced-type CoQ to boost downstream production of mitochondrial superoxide anions that leads to ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) to organs. Herein, we studied low-coordinated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with abundant oxygen-binding sites to form an electron-demanding trapper that allowed rapid capture of electrons to compensate for the CoQ/CoQH2imbalance during RET. The AuNCs were composed of only eight gold atoms that formed a Cs-symmetrical configuration with all gold atoms exposed on the edge site. The geometry and atomic configuration enhance oxygen intercalation to attain a d-band electron deficiency in frontier orbitals, forming an unusually high oxidation state for rapid mitochondrial reverse electron capture under a transient imbalance of CoQ/CoQH2redox cycles. Using hepatic IRI cells/animals, we corroborated that the CoQ-like AuNCs prevent inflammation and liver damage from IRI via recovery of the mitochondrial function.

The base-mediated allylic defluorinative functionalization of β-CF2H-1,3-enynes with nucleophiles is described, affording terminal monofluoroalkenes bearing an alkynyl group in synthetically useful yields and Z/Eselectivities. Importantly, the resultant Z/Emixture could be separated by flash chromatography in all cases; thus, stereoisomerically pure monofluoroenynes were obtained. Postsynthetic modifications of the synthesized monofluoroenynes were also accomplished to access diverse molecular structures. Computational studies disclosed the origin of the diastereoselectivity.

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of various techniques proposed for text-based human face generation and manipulation. Such methods, targeting bridging the semantic gap between text and visual contents, provide users with a deft hand to turn ideas into visuals via text interface and enable more diversified multimedia applications. However, due to the flexibility of linguistic expressiveness, the mapping from sentences to desired facial images is clearly many-to-many, causing ambiguities during text-to-face generation. To alleviate these ambiguities, we introduce a local-to-global framework with two graph neural networks (one for geometry and the other for appearance) embedded to model the inter-dependency among facial parts. This is based upon our key observation that the geometry and appearance attributes among different facial components are not mutually independent, i.e., the combinations of part-level facial features are not arbitrary and thus do not conform to a uniform distribution. By learning from the dataset distribution and enabling recommendations given partial descriptions of human faces, these networks are highly suitable for our text-to-face task. Our method is capable of generating high-quality attribute-conditioned facial images from text. Extensive experiments have confirmed the superiority and usability of our method over the prior art.

A disordered atomic layer instead of traditional intermetallic compounds is formed in the bonding interface of ceramic and metal in the metallization of ceramics under ultrasonication. A deep understanding of the bonding mechanism between poor-wetted ceramics and low-temperature metals remains limited with regard to high metallization efficiency and nanoscale bonding structure. In this work, the metallization of AlN and TiN ceramics was realized using Sn9Zn metal with the aid of ultrasonication. The microstructure, energy, and element sources of the ceramic/metal interface were analyzed. Results show that a nanoscale amorphous layer is formed between the ceramics and the metal, and this layer can bond easily with AlN or TiN and Sn9Zn because of the irregular arrangement of its atoms. Some dispersed nanocrystals are also present in the amorphous bonding layer. The thermal effect of ultrasonic cavitation produces a high temperature above 106 K, which provides the energy for the bonding of AlN or TiN with Sn9Zn. O and Zn accumulate in the Sn-9Zn/AlN bonding layer. Zn originates from Sn9Zn. O could be from the O2dissolved in the liquid solder or the O2adhering to the ceramic. A small amount of AlN decomposes because of its high ΔG of decomposition. However, TiN decomposes into Ti and N2under the extreme condition caused by ultrasonic cavitation. The accumulated Ti in the Sn-9Zn/TiN bonding layer originates from TiN. The source of the accumulated O is the same as that of Sn-9Zn/AlN bonding layer.

Screening large molecule libraries against pathogenic bacteria is often challenged by a low hit rate due to limited uptake, underrepresentation of antibiotic structural motifs, and assays that do not resemble the infection conditions. To address these limitations, we present a screen of a focused library of alkyl guanidinium compounds, a structural motif associated with antibiotic activity and enhanced uptake, under host-mimicking infection conditions against a panel of disease-associated bacteria. Several hit molecules were identified with activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, highlighting the fidelity of the general concept. We selected one compound (L15) for in-depth mode of action studies that exhibited bactericidal activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusUSA300 with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 1.5 μM. Structure-activity relationship studies confirmed the necessity of the guanidinium motif for antibiotic activity. The mode of action was investigated using affinity-based protein profiling with an L15probe and identified the signal peptidase IB (SpsB) as the most promising hit. Validation by activity assays, binding site identification, docking, and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated SpsB activation by L15, a recently described mechanism leading to the dysregulation of protein secretion and cell death. Overall, this study highlights the need for unconventional screening strategies to identify novel antibiotics.

There have been increasing interests in developing proteomics‐based protein adduct detection for monitoring carcinogen exposure risk. Generating adducted protein standards and characterizing the adduction sites by bottom‐up proteomics, however, require lengthy adduction and enzymatic digestion. Here we demonstrated that microdroplet can greatly accelerate the catechol estrogen adduction on hemoglobin (Hb) as well as one‐pot reaction of adduction and enzyme digestion in millisecond for bottom‐up characterization. The adducted Hb generated by microdroplet reaction was characterized to contain one to two catechol estrogens with the β chain of Hb (Hb‐β) by online in situ intact measurement of mass spectrometry. The adduction sites were further identified to be C112‐Hb‐β or C93‐Hb‐β by microdroplet one‐pot or two‐step adduction and digestion. These results were consistent with the intact measurement and also same as the bulk or endogenous reaction. This method is expected to be applicable to prepare protein standards adducted by other reactive oxidizing species to greatly save time and sample amount. Protein adduction and trypsin digestion are induced by two‐step or one‐pot microdroplet reaction in millisecond to accelerate the preparation and characterization of protein adduct standards. Resulting adduction sites of hemoglobin by genotoxic catechol estrogens are same as those detected from human blood.

3D face generation has achieved high visual quality and 3D consistency thanks to the development of neural radiance fields (NeRF). However, these methods model the whole face as a neural radiance field, which limits the controllability of the local regions. In other words, previous methods struggle to independently control local regions, such as the mouth, nose, and hair. To improve local controllability in NeRF-based face generation, we propose LC-NeRF, which is composed of a Local Region Generators Module (LRGM) and a Spatial-Aware Fusion Module (SAFM), allowing for geometry and texture control of local facial regions. The LRGM models different facial regions as independent neural radiance fields and the SAFM is responsible for merging multiple independent neural radiance fields into a complete representation. Finally, LC-NeRF enables the modification of the latent code associated with each individual generator, thereby allowing precise control over the corresponding local region. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations show that our method provides better local controllability than state-of-the-art 3D-aware face generation methods. A perception study reveals that our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of image quality, face consistency, and editing effects. Furthermore, our method exhibits favorable performance in downstream tasks, including real image editing and text-driven facial image editing.

A novel Mg−5Sn−2Al−1Zn (TAZ521) alloy was prepared. Direct extrusion (DE) and extrusion−shearing (ES) processes were performed on the alloy to improve its strength and ductility. The microstructure evolution, texture evolution, and strengthening mechanisms of as-homogenized and as-extruded alloy were investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM, EBSD, and tensile tests. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the DE-processed alloy were improved. However, the alloy exhibited a bimodal microstructure consisting of coarse grains and fine DRXed grains. After the ES process, the microstructure became more uniform and a good combination of strength and ductility was achieved. The TYS, UTS, and EL were 212 MPa, 303 MPa, and 21.7%, respectively. Grain refinement and pinning effect by Mg2Sn precipitates play an important role in the enhancement of strength. Additionally, the improvement of ductility is attributed to the weak basal fiber texture and the activation of non-basal slip.

Different from the previous neutral reaction solvent system, this work explores the synthesis of Al-oxo rings in ionic environments. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) formed by quaternary ammonium salts hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and phenols hydrogen bond donor (HBD) further reduce the melting point of the reaction system and provide an ionic environment. Further, the quaternary ammonium salt was chosen as the HBA because it contains a halogen anion that matches the size of the central cavity of the molecular ring. Based on this thought, five Al8ion pair cocrystals were synthesized via “DES thermal”. The general formula is Q+⊂ {Cl@[Al8(BD)8(μ2-OH)4L12]} (AlOC-180–AlOC-185, Q+= tetrabutylammonium, tetrapropylammonium, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole; HBD = phenol, p-chlorophenol, p-fluorophenol; HL = benzoic acid, 1-naphthoic acid, 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid, anthracene-9-carboxylic acid). Structural studies reveal that the phenol-coordinated Al molecular ring and the quaternary ammonium ion pair form the cocrystal compounds. The halogen anions in the DES component are confined in the center of the molecular ring, and the quaternary ammonium cations are located in the organic shell. Such an adaptive cocrystal binding pattern is particularly evident in the structures coordinated with low-symmetry ligands such as naphthoic acid and pyrene acid. Finally, the optical behavior of these cocrystal compounds is understood from the analysis of crystal structure and theoretical calculation.

IMPORTANCE: Effects of genetic variants on primary angle-closure disease remained uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the associations of common single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and rare coding variants with primary angle-closure disease, its subtypes (including primary angle-closure glaucoma, primary angle-closure suspect, and primary angle-closure) and progression. DATA SOURCES: Eligible studies from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were retrieved up to April 3, 2023. SNV information was extracted from eligible reports and 2 genome-wide association studies summary statistics, UK BioBank and FinnGen. STUDY SELECTION: Studies providing analyzable genotype or allele data in a case-control design for primary angle-closure disease association and longitudinal case-only design for primary angle-closure disease progression. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: PRISMA guidelines were used for literature screening and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale for data quality assessment. Pooled effect size with 95% CIs of SNV associations were calculated using fixed- or random-effect models according to I2 statistics. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: SNVs reported in 2 or more studies were meta-analyzed to generate pooled odds ratios and P values. Common and rare coding variants from single reports were summarized. RESULTS: Sixty-nine citations were eligible for meta-analysis on overall primary angle-closure disease, involving 206 SNVs in 64 genes or loci. Seventeen SNVs in 15 genes or loci showed associations with primary angle-closure disease, and 15 SNVs in 13 genes or loci showed associations with primary angle-closure glaucoma. Two SNVs, ABCA1 rs2422493 and ZNRF3 rs3178915, were associated only with primary angle-closure disease. Two SNVs, PCMTD1-ST18 rs1015213 and COL11A1 rs3753841, were associated with primary angle-closure suspect, and 1 SNV, MMP9 rs3918249, was associated with primary angle-closure. This systematic review and meta-analysis newly confirmed 7 genes or loci associated with primary angle-closure glaucoma: ATOH7, CALCRL, FBN1, IL6, LOXL1, MMP19, and VAV3. Common and rare coding variants in 16 genes or loci that have been associated with primary angle-closure disease were cataloged. Stratification analysis revealed different primary angle-closure disease–associated genes in different ethnic populations. Only 1 study regarding the genetic association of primary angle-closure glaucoma progression was identified. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study revealed the genetic complexity of primary angle-closure disease, involving common SNVs and rare coding variants in more than 30 genes or loci, with ethnic and phenotypic diversities. Further replication, genotype-phenotype correlation, and pathway analyses are warranted.

C21H21MnN6O6S, monoclinic, P21/c(no. 14), a= 13.093(3) Å, b= 23.810(5) Å, c= 7.9852(17) Å, β= 106.882(4)°, V= 2,382.1(9) Å3, Z= 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0498, wRref(F2) = 0.1299, T= 296(2) K.

The welding characteristics of 5052 aluminum alloy and Q235 low-carbon steel sheet were systematically studied by the refilled friction stir spot welding. The effects of rotation speed and pressure speed on weld forming, tensile strength, and welded joint structure were analyzed in different welding modes. The results indicated two different connection modes: the chimeric mode and the non-chimeric mode. The corresponding depression depth are 2 and 2.4 mm, respectively. In the non-chimeric connection mode, the steel/aluminum metallurgical interface is a smooth transition, the hook structure is obvious, and the welding mechanism mainly depends on the mutual diffusion between atoms. However, in the chimeric mode, a hook structure will be formed at the metallurgical interface of steel and aluminum. The connection mechanism is determined by mechanical interlocking and mutual diffusion. The maximum strength value is 7.48 kN in non-chimeric mode. At this time, the spindle speed is 1300 r/min and the pressure speed is 1 mm/s. There were two types of fractures: the button fracture mode and the peel fracture mode.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ascorbic acid (AA), acting as two significant indicative species, correlate with the oxidative stress status in living brains, which have historically been considered to be involved mainly in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The development of efficient biosensors for the simultaneous measurement of their levels in living brains is vital to understand their roles played in the brain and their interactive relationship in the progress of these diseases. Herein, a robust ratiometric electrochemical microsensor was rationally designed to realize the determination of H2O2and AA simultaneously. Therefore, a specific probe was designed and synthesized with both recognition units responsible for reacting with H2O2to produce a detectable signal on the microsensor and linkage units helping the probe modify onto the carbon substrate. A topping ingredient, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was added on the surface of the electrode, with the purpose of not only facilitating the oxidation of AA but also absorbing methylene blue (MB), prompting to read out the inner reference signal. This proposed electrochemical microsensor exhibited a robust ability to real-time track H2O2and AA in linear ranges of 0.5–900 and 10–1000 µM with high selectivity and accuracy, respectively. Eventually, the efficient electrochemical microsensor was successfully applied to the simultaneous measurement of H2O2and AA in the rat brain, followed by microinjection, and in the PD mouse brain.

The ability to detect single photons has led to the advancement of numerous research fields1–11. Although various types of single-photon detector have been developed12, because of two main factors—that is, (1) the need for operating at cryogenic temperature13,14and (2) the incompatibility with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication processes15,16—so far, to our knowledge, only Si-based single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD)17,18has gained mainstream success and has been used in consumer electronics. With the growing demand to shift the operation wavelength from near-infrared to short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) for better safety and performance19–21, an alternative solution is required because Si has negligible optical absorption for wavelengths beyond 1 µm. Here we report a CMOS-compatible, high-performing germanium–silicon SPAD operated at room temperature, featuring a noise-equivalent power improvement over the previous Ge-based SPADs22–28by 2–3.5 orders of magnitude. Key parameters such as dark count rate, single-photon detection probability at 1,310 nm, timing jitter, after-pulsing characteristic time and after-pulsing probability are, respectively, measured as 19 kHz µm−2, 12%, 188 ps, ~90 ns and <1%, with a low breakdown voltage of 10.26 V and a small excess bias of 0.75 V. Three-dimensional point-cloud images are captured with direct time-of-flight technique as proof of concept. This work paves the way towards using single-photon-sensitive SWIR sensors, imagers and photonic integrated circuits in everyday life.

The permeability index is one of the important production indicators to monitor the operation of blast furnace. It is crucial to grasp the trends of changes in the new permeability index in time. For the complex vibration spectrum of the permeability index, a prediction model of the permeability index based on the VMD–PSO–BP (variational mode decomposition–particle swarm optimization–back propagation) method was proposed. Firstly, the key factors that affect the permeability index of blast furnace were studied from multiple perspectives. Then, the permeability index was divided into multiple sub-modes based on the difference of frequency bands by the VMD algorithm, and a PSO–BP prediction model was established for each sub-mode. Finally, the prediction results of each sub-mode were summed to obtain the final one. The results show that the composite prediction accuracy by using the VMD algorithm is 3% higher than that of the traditional prediction method, which has better applicability.

Inadequate T cell activation has severely limited the success of T cell engager (TCE) therapy, especially in solid tumors. Enhancing T cell activity while maintaining the tumor specificity of TCEs is the key to improving their clinical efficacy. However, currently, there needs to be more effective strategies in clinical practice. Here, we design novel superantigen-fused TCEs that display robust tumor antigen-mediated T cell activation effects. These innovative drugs are not only armed with the powerful T cell activation ability of superantigens but also retain the dependence of TCEs on tumor antigens, realizing the ingenious combination of the advantages of two existing drugs. Superantigen-fused TCEs have been preliminarily proven to have good (>30-fold more potent) and specific (>25-fold more potent) antitumor activity in vitroand in vivo. Surprisingly, they can also induce the activation of T cell chemotaxis signals, which may promote T cell infiltration and further provide an additional guarantee for improving TCE efficacy in solid tumors. Overall, this proof-of-concept provides a potential strategy for improving the clinical efficacy of TCEs.

Polarization reconfigurable antennas are useful in certain wireless systems to adapt to different incident polarizations or measurement systems. In this work, we develop an innovative and simple frequency-controlled polarization-rotating antenna. The antenna provides continuous adjustment of the orientation of linear polarization (LP) over a range of 180°, making it suitable for applications such as identifying objects with diverse orientations in sensing and detection systems. We introduce a general model of an LP antenna, in which the orientation of polarization can be controlled with an adjustable phase shift. By substituting the phase shift in the model with one that is frequency dependent, a 180° LP rotation can be attained by sweeping the source frequency across a custom-designed bandwidth. This allows the implementation of an antenna system that can continuously adjust the orientation of LP in response to frequency scanning over a wide operating bandwidth. As demonstrated in a prototype, a 180° polarization scan with a realized gain varying between 7.0 and 9.8 dBi is achieved by sweeping the frequency from 9.6 to 11.65 GHz. The continuously frequency-scanning polarization rotation behavior offers a novel and efficient solution for polarization reconfiguration.

Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS) is a rapid, non-culture-based, high-throughput technique for pathogen diagnosis. Despite its numerous advantages, only a few studies have investigated its use in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

ABSTRACT The reinforcing effect of graphene oxide on cementitious materials under high strain rate remains largely unknown. Existing studies on microfiber reinforced cementitious composites showed that the dynamic increase factor [...]

A doubly mononuclear cobalt(II) complex [Co(Hpmt)2(N3)2]2(1) (Hpmt = 2-(2-pyridylmethylamino)ethanesulfonic acid; N3= azide anion) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis showed that 1has crystallized in orthorhombic crystal system, Cmc21space group. In the two independent and identical complexes, the cobalt(II) centers are both hexa-coordinated in distorted CoN6octahedrons. The reduced Schiff base ligand Hpmt displayed a new coordination mode of bidentate chelate (κ2-N,N′). The careful comparisons between Hpmt upon coordination and as free acid form demonstrated that the conformation flexibility might be responsible for its multiple coordination modes. The N–H⋯O and C–H⋯N hydrogen bonds constructed the 3D network, and this mainly agreed with the Hirshfeld surface analysis results.

Ferroptosis holds significant potential for application in cancer therapy. However, ferroptosis inducers are not cell-specific and can cause phospholipid peroxidation in both tumor and non-tumor cells. This limitation greatly restricts the use of ferroptosis therapy as a safe and effective anticancer strategy. Our previous study demonstrated that macrophages can engulf ferroptotic cells through Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Despite this advancement, the precise mechanism by which phospholipid peroxidation in macrophages affects their phagocytotic capability during treatment of tumors with ferroptotic agents is still unknown. Here, we utilized flow sorting combined with redox phospholipidomics to determine that phospholipid peroxidation in tumor microenvironment (TME) macrophages impaired the macrophages ability to eliminate ferroptotic tumor cells by phagocytosis, ultimately fostering tumor resistance to ferroptosis therapy. Mechanistically, the accumulation of phospholipid peroxidation in the macrophage endoplasmic reticulum (ER) repressed TLR2 trafficking to the plasma membrane and caused its retention in the ER by disrupting the interaction between TLR2 and its chaperone CNPY3. Subsequently, this ER-retained TLR2 recruited E3 ligase MARCH6 and initiated the proteasome-dependent degradation. Using redox phospholipidomics, we identified 1-steaoryl-2-15-HpETE-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (SAPE-OOH) as the crucial mediator of these effects. Conclusively, our discovery elucidates a novel molecular mechanism underlying macrophage phospholipid peroxidation-induced tumor resistance to ferroptosis therapy and highlights the TLR2-MARCH6 axis as a potential therapeutic target for cancer therapy.

Humility is a traditionally esteemed virtue in Chinese culture and a desired personal quality in teachers. While previous research shows that teacher humility has a positive effect on students, there is limited empirical research on how it impacts student learning motivation. Therefore, we designed a moderated mediation model to examine how teacher humility affects college students’ learning motivation, focusing on the mediating role of academic self-efficacy and the moderating role of teacher ability trustworthiness. We used a questionnaire to survey 808 college students from the Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Henan provinces in China and utilized SPSS 19.0 and SPSS macro PROCESS for hypothesis testing. The findings suggest that teacher humility indirectly and positively influences student learning motivation by enhancing academic self-efficacy. Moreover, teacher ability trustworthiness moderates the relationship between teacher humility and academic self-efficacy, as well as the indirect effect of teacher humility on student learning motivation via academic self-efficacy. There was a more significant positive correlation between teacher humility and academic self-efficacy for students with higher than lower trust in their teachers’ abilities. Based on these outcomes, we recommend that teachers exhibit humility in their interactions with students to increase learning motivation. Teachers should also enhance their professional abilities to win students’ trust. This study also discusses limitations and directions for future research.

The development of deep generative models has inspired various facial image editing methods, but many of them are difficult to be directly applied to video editing due to various challenges ranging from imposing 3D constraints, preserving identity consistency, ensuring temporal coherence, etc. To address these challenges, we propose a new framework operating on the StyleGAN2 latent space for identity-aware and shape-aware edit propagation on face videos. In order to reduce the difficulties of maintaining the identity, keeping the original 3D motion, and avoiding shape distortions, we disentangle the StyleGAN2 latent vectors of human face video frames to decouple the appearance, shape, expression, and motion from identity. An edit encoding module is used to map a sequence of image frames to continuous latent codes with 3D parametric control and is trained in a self-supervised manner with identity loss and triple shape losses. Our model supports propagation of edits in various forms: I. direct appearance editing on a specific keyframe, II. implicit editing of face shape via a given reference image, and III. existing latent-based semantic edits. Experiments show that our method works well for various forms of videos in the wild and outperforms an animation-based approach and the recent deep generative techniques.

For 3D animators, choreography with artificial intelligence has attracted more attention recently. However, most existing deep learning methods mainly rely on music for dance generation and lack sufficient control over generated dance motions. To address this issue, we introduce the idea of keyframe interpolation for music-driven dance generation and present a novel transition generation technique for choreography. Specifically, this technique synthesizes visually diverse and plausible dance motions by using normalizing flows to learn the probability distribution of dance motions conditioned on a piece of music and a sparse set of key poses. Thus, the generated dance motions respect both the input musical beats and the key poses. To achieve a robust transition of varying lengths between the key poses, we introduce a time embedding at each timestep as an additional condition. Extensive experiments show that our model generates more realistic, diverse, and beat-matching dance motions than the compared state-of-the-art methods, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Our experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the keyframe-based control for improving the diversity of the generated dance motions.

Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population, especially in Asia, where rice provides more than 50% of the caloric supply for at least 520 million people, most of them are either extremely impoverished or poor. Information on rice production is thus essential for agricultural management and the formulation of food security policies. The objective of this research is to develop an approach combining remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques with a crop growth model for enhancing yield estimation and crop management in Taiwan. The data processing involves three main steps: (1) data pre-processing to generate model inputs, (2) crop yield modeling through assimilating satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) into a crop growth model using the AI particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, and (3) model validation. The assimilation process was performed using a cost function based on the difference between remotely-sensed and simulated LAI values. The optimization process began with an initial parameterization and appropriately adjusted input parameters in the model. The fitness value derived from a cost function was determined using the PSO. The results of yield estimates obtained from the crop growth model based on optimized inputs were evaluated using the government’s yield statistics, revealing close agreement between these two datasets. The root mean square percentage error (RMSPE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for the first crop were 19.8% and 17.1%, and the values for the second crop were 8.4% and 6.3%, respectively. The relative percentage error (RPE) values of 18.5% and − 5.1%, respectively, showed a slight overestimate and underestimate for the first and second crops.

The fatigue failure rule of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy stir welded joint is studied under two-stage variable amplitude loading by fatigue experiments and finite element simulation. The results show that the friction stir welding (FSW) joints have different weak areas under different loading conditions. The fracture position of the FSW joint is related to the loading sequence of variable amplitude load and cycle number. The cycle number and crack length under the first-stage loading influence the fatigue life and fracture location of the FSW joints. When the cycle ratio of the first-stage loading is 70 ~ 80%, the fracture position of the corresponding specimen does not change. The simulation results show that the corresponding cycle ratios of critical damage under low–high load and high-low load are 77.8% and 74.4%, respectively, which are consistent with the experimental results. When the crack length is greater than 400 μm under low–high load, or when the crack length is greater than 500 μm under high-low load, the crack location does not change.

Multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) is a crucial component of modern decision theory, with extensive application in several practical problems. In this particular setting, the pervasive problem of uncertainty has prompted the development of many theoretical frameworks, most notably the fuzzy set (FS) and its subsequent expansions, to address imprecise and ambiguous information. Among the many frameworks, the neutrosophic set (NS) has become a significant paradigm due to its ability to clearly define truth, falsehood, and indeterminacy. This unique characteristic allows for a more nuanced approach to dealing with ambiguity within decision-making scenarios. However, both the FS and the NS demonstrate constraints when faced with ambiguous and inconsistent circumstances. To address these constraints, this research explores the conceptual domain of neutrosophic fuzzy set (NFS), which represents a fusion of fuzzy FS and NS theories. This study presents a novel scoring mechanism that enables a comprehensive evaluation of NFSs and a customized distance measure designed to accurately identify inconsistencies within the dataset in both forward and backward directions. Following that, a decision-making framework is presented, derived from the extensions of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Autocratic approaches for group MADM using NFSs. The amalgamation of these techniques is further augmented using frequency as a criterion to get a definitive ranking for alternatives. Simultaneously, using the distinctive benefits of the TOPSIS and the Autocratic technique enables a thorough assessment, enhancing the strength and knowledge of decision-making in situations that include group decision-makers and NFS. The suggested strategy is applied to deal with industrial machine selection problems, where the decision values of the attributes for alternatives and the weights of the attributes are given by decision-makers based on NF values. These values facilitate assessing determination levels of alternative characteristics and attribute weights. This study contributes significantly to the broader discussion on decision-making in situations involving uncertainty and its direct relevance to the selection of machines. One notable characteristic of these approaches to reduce computation complexity is integrating decision and weight matrices from various management viewpoints into a unified aggregated assessment matrix. Despite strategies aimed at addressing decision-making challenges involving group suggestions and the use of neutrosophic fuzzy numbers, the analytical results indicate that the proposed approaches demonstrate a desirable level of computational simplicity.

This letter proposes a novel technique to produce desired circularly polarized (CP) pencil beams at entire working frequency band for ultrawideband (UWB) planar array while suppressing grating lobes in pencil beams at high-frequency band. The approach is based on a ${\text {2}}\times {\text {2}}$ irregular sequential rotated subarray (ISRS) configuration, using UWB linearly polarized elements. The synthesis procedure involves optimizing initial element rotation angle of each ISRS, while ensuring that the rotation interval of $\pi /2$ is still maintained between neighboring elements of each subarray. The phase term applied to the array elements is determined by the contribution of the phase associated with rotation. The proposed technique suppresses grating lobes in the obtained patterns at high-frequency band more effectively than the sequential rotation technique (SRT) while maintaining a simple sequential phase feeding network compared with the random SRT. Finally, one typical case of synthesizing pencil beam with a planar rotated Vivaldi array is presented to confirm the benefits of the proposed technique.

A wideband conformal array antenna utilizing dual-polarized transmission and reflection elements is proposed. The proposed transmission and reflection element employs four-layer metal structures to obtain a larger phase coverage. To improve the bandwidth, the period is set to 0.3λ0 to smooth the phase response. The −2.0 dB bandwidths of the transmission and reflection elements are 77.0% and 190.0%, respectively. Furthermore, an all-metal monopole antenna is designed as a feed structure, which utilizes two orthogonal metal cylinders to enhance the bandwidth. For high gain, the conformal array antenna is assembled in a decagonal arrangement employing five transmission panels and five reflection panels, where each panel consists of 6 × 24 elements. Then, a transmission-reflection hybrid phase compensation method is used to collimate a far-field beam. The beam-scanning range of 360° is achieved by mechanically rotating the relative location of the ten panels. The measured results show that the prototype has a peak gain of 19.0 dBi. The −10 dB bandwidth and 3 dB gain bandwidth are 102.0% and 20.0%, respectively. This antenna is an attractive candidate for communication systems that require a conformal structure.

In this paper, a distance-assisted teaching quality assessment model based on AHP and entropy weight method was constructed. First, we construct the quality evaluation system of distance auxiliary teaching, thereby obtaining the evaluation indicators. Then, we construct the evaluation index judgement matrix of AHP according to the scale of the judgement matrix, and use the square root method to calculate the quality evaluation index of distance auxiliary teaching after the consistency test of the judgement matrix through CI. The weight coefficient is used to calculate the entropy weight of each evaluation index by using the entropy weight method. Finally, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to construct the quality evaluation model of distance-assisted teaching, and the evaluation results are obtained. The simulation experiment results show that the constructed model has higher accuracy and shorter evaluation time for remote assisted teaching quality assessment.

Cysteine (Cys) is one of the most basic mercaptans in the human body. As an important endogenous small molecule mercaptan, Cys plays a vital role in various physiological processes and can participate in maintaining redox balance to ensure homeostasis. Abnormal Cys levels can lead to a variety of diseases. However, the detection of cysteine may be interfered with by other small molecule biothiols. Therefore, the design of fluorescent probes based on the structural characteristics and reactivity of cysteine has become the focus of current research. In this paper, a fluorescent probe (3-(2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazol-2-yl)-2-oxo-2H-benzo[g]chromen-8-yl acrylate, BTAB) for Cys detection was synthesized with acrylic ester as the reaction site. Under the conditions of gradual optimization, BTAB can achieve selectivity and anti-interference ability for Cys detection. The linear range of Cys was 0.3–10 μM, and the detection limit was 0.154 μM. Finally, this probe was applied to detect the Cys content in bovine serum samples with satisfactory results.

In order to analyze the influence of the distance between heat sources (DLA) on the welding process, the effects of DLAon the droplet transfer behavior, weld formation characteristics and weld formation mechanism of AH36 in laser and cable-type welding wire gas metal arc welding arc hybrid welding were studied. Real-time photography was conducted using a high-speed camera to determine the droplet transfer and arc behaviors; the surface morphology and macroscopic cross-section of the weld obtained from the experiment were observed and analyzed. The arc height decreases with the increase in the DLA, the arc width shows the opposite change, and the welding current decreases. The allure of the laser to the arc increases with the increase in the DLA. The frequency of droplet transfer increases with the increase in the DLA, but the growth rate decreases. The continuous increase in the DLAleads to the tendency of the droplet size to decrease first and then increase, and the minimum value is obtained when the DLAis 4 mm. The DLAhas obvious influence on the weld formation. The weld penetration and reinforcement change similarly, increasing first and then decreasing as the DLAincreases, and the laser area of the weld also increases first and then decreases.

Inhibition of γ-secretase, an intramembrane protease, to reduce secretion of Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides has been considered for treating Alzheimer’s disease. However, γ-secretase inhibitors suffer from severe side effects. As an alternative, γ-secretase modulators (GSM) reduce the generation of toxic peptides by enhancing the cleavage processivity without diminishing the enzyme activity. Starting from a known γ-secretase structure without substrate but in complex with an E2012 GSM, we generated a structural model that included a bound Aβ43 peptide and studied interactions among enzyme, substrate, GSM, and lipids. Our result suggests that E2012 binding at the enzyme–substrate–membrane interface attenuates the membrane distortion by shielding the substrate–membrane interaction. The model predicts that the E2012 modulation is charge-dependent and explains the preserved hydrogen acceptor and the aromatic ring observed in many imidazole-based GSM. Predicted effects of γ-secretase mutations on E2012 modulation were confirmed experimentally. We anticipate that the study will facilitate the future development of effective GSMs.

Computational catalyst design requires identification of a metal and ligand that together result in the desired reaction reactivity and/or selectivity. A major impediment to translating computational designs to experiments is evaluating ligands that are likely to be synthesized. Here, we provide a solution to this impediment with our ReaLigands library that contains >30,000 monodentate, bidentate (didentate), tridentate, and larger ligands cultivated by dismantling experimentally reported crystal structures. Individual ligands from mononuclear crystal structures were identified using a modified depth-first search algorithm and charge was assigned using a machine learning model based on quantum-chemical calculated features. In the library, ligands are sorted based on direct ligand-to-metal atomic connections and on denticity. Representative principal component analysis (PCA) and uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) analyses were used to analyze several tridentate ligand categories, which revealed both the diversity of ligands and connections between ligand categories. We also demonstrated the utility of this library by implementing it with our building and optimization tools, which resulted in the very rapid generation of barriers for 750 bidentate ligands for Rh-hydride ethylene migratory insertion.

Before and after heat treatment, 0Cr15Ni5Cu3MoN stainless steel (SS) samples were immersed in sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) environment to study the effect of heat treatment on the antimicrobial properties of Cu-containing stainless steel. The effect of heat treatment on the corrosion resistance and antibacterial ability of 0Cr15Ni5Cu3MoN SS was studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and electrochemistry. The results show that 0Cr15Cu3 SS has better antibacterial properties with fewer bacteria adsorbed on the surface after heat treatment, and its corrosion resistance is significantly improved. Interestingly, on the 7th day of immersion, the corrosion resistance of the heat-treated stainless steel was lower than that of the rolled stainless steel. This was due to the fact that the rolled samples were protected by biofilm at this time, while the surface bacteria on the heat-treated samples died, resulting in the exposure of the substrate surface and thus reducing the corrosion resistance of the heat-treated samples. Thus, because of the strong bactericidal properties of the heat-treated Cu-containing stainless steel, the corrosion resistance of the samples suddenly decreases in the middle stage of corrosion, and this discovery provides a new view to study the corrosion process of Cu-containing stainless steel in the SRB environment.

Background.There is a lack of knowledge on the scope and nature of the research by faculty members in occupational science (OS) and/or occupational therapy (OT) programs in Canada. Purpose.To describe the research activities of faculty members in these programs and directions. Method.A cross-sectional survey was distributed to 173 faculty members across all 14 Canadian OT that addressed: 1) research topics and methods, 2) populations, and 3) funding. Findings.Based on respondents (N=  121), research is focused on a range of topics and populations with most conducting qualitative research. Many conduct research examining the effectiveness of interventions, with few respondents focused on OS research. Federal and provincial grants agencies were the largest source of funding. Implications.Research topics studied were not always proportional to practice although emerging areas were being investigated that can expand the evidence base and scope of practice. Despite limited occupation-specific funding options, respondents were accessing funding from varied sources. Collaborations among faculty members, clinicians, and individuals with lived experience can create priorities for future OS and/or OT research in Canada.

This work investigates the scattering characteristics of the rudder structure of aircraft considering electromagnetic discontinuities through multi level fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) of the computational electromagnetics. Firstly, the scattering characteristics of the rudder seam and its influence on the omnidirectional radar cross section (RCS) are performed. Based on the traditional high-frequency analysis theory, the source and spatial contribution distribution of seam scattering are further studied. Numerical results demonstrate that the sidewall of the rudder seam is an important scattering source, and the radar absorbing material (RAM) coated on the sidewall of the seam has a good RCS reduction effect. In addition, this work presents the influence of the rudder deflection on the stealth performance, analyzes the effect of the rudder movement of the ordinary aileron and the split drag rudder on the scattering characteristics of the whole aircraft. The common aileron has little effect on the stealth performance of the aircraft, and it only causes scattering peak in the direction opposite to the control surface. However, the split drag rudder has great damage to the opposite direction stealth performance of the aircraft. When its deflection angle is 45°, the mean value of the opposite direction RCS increases by about two orders of magnitude compared with the deflection angle 0° state. The results indicate that the structure of aircraft rudder has a significant impact on the RCS characteristics of the whole aircraft.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the exocrine pancreas. Disruptions in organelle homeostasis, including macroautophagy/autophagy dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, have been implicated in human and rodent pancreatitis. Syntaxin 17 (STX17) belongs to the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) subfamily. The Qa-SNARE STX17 is an autophagosomal SNARE protein that interacts with SNAP29 (Qbc-SNARE) and the lysosomal SNARE VAMP8 (R-SNARE) to drive autophagosome-lysosome fusion. In this study, we investigated the role of STX17 in the pathogenesis of AP in male mice or rats induced by repeated intraperitoneal injections of cerulein. We showed that cerulein hyperstimulation induced AP in mouse and rat models, which was characterized by increased serum amylase and lipase activities, pancreatic edema, necrotic cell death and the infiltration of inflammatory cells, as well as markedly decreased pancreatic STX17 expression. A similar reduction in STX17 levels was observed in primary and AR42J pancreatic acinar cells treated with CCK (100 nM) in vitro. By analyzing autophagic flux, we found that the decrease in STX17 blocked autophagosome-lysosome fusion and autophagic degradation, as well as the activation of ER stress. Pancreas-specific STX17 knockdown using adenovirus-shSTX17 further exacerbated pancreatic edema, inflammatory cell infiltration and necrotic cell death after cerulein injection. These data demonstrate a critical role of STX17 in maintaining pancreatic homeostasis and provide new evidence that autophagy serves as a protective mechanism against AP.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) has not been systematically studied in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). We sought to explore whether MSA patients suffer from a heavier CSVD burden relative to healthy individuals and whether CSVD has a relationship with motor, cognitive, and emotional dysfunction in patients with MSA. This study consecutively recruited 190 MSA patients and 190 matched healthy controls whose overall CSVD burden and single CSVD imaging markers (including white matter hyperintensity (WMH), microbleeds, lacunes, and enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS)) were measured. Of the MSA patients, 118 completed multi-dimensional outcome assessments. Spearman’s correlations and multivariable linear regressions were performed. We observed a greater burden of overall CSVD, WMH, and EPVS in MSA patients compared with controls, but not for microbleeds and lacunes. Motor dysfunction and cognitive impairment were significantly worse in subjects with severe CSVD than those with none-to-mild CSVD. In patients with MSA, the severity of CSVD burden was positively associated with motor impairments as measured by the Unified Multiple System Atrophy Rating Scale-II (β= 2.430, p = 0.039) and Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (β= 1.882, p = 0.015). Of CSVD imaging markers, different associations with MSA outcomes were displayed. WMH was associated with motor, cognitive, and emotional deficits, while the EPVS in the centrum semiovale, basal ganglia, and hippocampus regions was correlated only with motor severity, anxiety, and cognition, respectively. Similar findings were noted in MSA-cerebellar and MSA-parkinsonian patients. Concomitant CSVD may be correlated with worse multi-dimensional dysfunction in patients with MSA.

Leaky wave antennas (LWAs) have been widely investigated for wireless systems because of their simple feed, low profile, and easy integration. They typically have a dispersive traveling wave leading to beam squinting behavior, which can significantly decrease the useful operating bandwidth in point-to-point communications. An innovative method that avoids beam squint with frequency over a wide band is developed in this work using a negative dispersion slope. By integrating a baffle of square bracket-shaped metal pieces into a transverse-slot LWA, the main beam angle is almost fixed at an angle, $\theta = 37^{\circ } \pm 2^{\circ }$ , across a wide frequency band from 9.5 to 12.2 GHz. The wide bandwidth is a consequence of the negative dispersion slope produced by the interaction between the baffle and the slotted waveguide. In the $\theta = 37^{\circ }$ direction, the gain variation is less than 3 dB across this band. Equivalent circuit analysis and full-wave modeling are presented to demonstrate the negative-slope dispersion diagram. The obtained 3-dB gain curve exhibits a filter characteristic. In addition, the bandwidth can be chosen by a suitable selection of parameters. It is the first time that these desirable features have been reported for wideband fixed-beam LWAs. The final antenna was fabricated with a low-cost additive manufacturing (3-D printing) technology. The measured results agree well with the simulated ones and verify the effectiveness of the antennas developed in this way.

ABSTRACT Graphene oxide (GO) is a novel class of two-dimensional nanoscale sheet material due to its excellent dispersibility in water, high aspect ratio and good intrinsic strengths. In order to [...]

ABSTRACT Porosity is an intrinsic property of many cementitious materials. This study uses a new centrifugation-based low-melting-point metal intrusion technique to characterize and analyze the shape of pores in cementitious [...]

The research topic of sketch-to-portrait generation has witnessed a boost of progress with deep learning techniques. The recently proposed StyleGAN architectures achieve state-of-the-art generation ability but the original StyleGAN is not friendly for sketch-based creation due to its unconditional generation nature. To address this issue, we propose a direct conditioning strategy to better preserve the spatial information under the StyleGAN framework. Specifically, we introduce Spatially Conditioned StyleGAN (SC-StyleGAN for short), which explicitly injects spatial constraints to the original StyleGAN generation process. We explore two input modalities, sketches and semantic maps, which together allow users to express desired generation results more precisely and easily. Based on SC-StyleGAN, we present DrawingInStyles, a novel drawing interface for non-professional users to easily produce high-quality, photo-realistic face images with precise control, either from scratch or editing existing ones. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations show the superior generation ability of our method to existing and alternative solutions. The usability and expressiveness of our system are confirmed by a user study.

This paper presents a compact configured 5G dual-band MIMO loop antenna system for laptop computers. The antenna system consists of two identical 95 × 2 mm2four-antenna units that are arranged on the top edge of the display ground plane and are 10 mm away from the left and right sides. The four-antenna unit, each being a two-dimensional loop antenna of the same structure and size, are constructed on the on a 0.4 mm-thick FR4 substrate. The loop antenna with only 23 × 2 mm2size is composed of a T-shaped feed-in section and a double short-circuit loop. In addition, the four loop antennas are arranged in the same direction and side by side with only 1 mm space to form a high-isolation four-antenna unit. The two sets of four-antenna units can cover 5G dual-band operation at 3300–3600 MHz and 4800–5000 MHz. The measured isolation between eight antennas is all better than 15 dB, the measured antenna efficiency is between 35% and 62%, and the measured envelop correlation coefficient ECC calculated from the electric-field radiation pattern is all less than 0.2. This compactly configured eight-antenna system is only 2 mm high in profile, making it ideal for use in 5G laptops with a high screen-to-body ratio.

A base-controlled divergent cyclization between 2-mercaptobenzimidazoles and β-CF3-1,3-enynes providing either trifluoromethylated or fluorinated benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazines has been developed. The β-CF3-1,3-enyne, as a three-carbon synthon, underwent a 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0] undec-7-ene (DBU)-catalyzed tandem hydroamination/intramolecular hydrothiolation to give CF3-substituted 3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine, whereas reaction with KOH afforded fluorinated 4H-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine exclusively. In addition, the synthetic utility of this methodology was showcased through a variety of downstream derivatizations.

An adaptive command filter control strategy was proposed to realize the asymptotic tracking of the roll speed, which successfully suppressed torsional vibration for the main drive system of the rolling mill with nonlinear friction, nonlinear damping, current harmonic, time-varying stiffness and unknown disturbance. A finite time predetermined performance method was proposed, so that the speed tracking error of the main transmission system was always constrained in the performance function and converged to its minimum boundary within the specified time. Based on the adaptive estimation of harmonic amplitude, the torque control law of the motor was obtained by using the filter backstepping method, which prevented the torsional vibration of the system caused by the input fluctuation and avoided the complexity explosion of the controller design, and the stability of the closed-loop system was strictly proved by the Lyapunov theory. The actual numerical simulation verified the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

We report a new method for the synthesis of trifluoromethylated and sulfonylated oxazolines by electrochemical radical cascade cyclizations of N-allylamides with sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate or sulfonylhydrazines. This protocol provides a green and useful strategy to synthesize trifluoromethylated and sulfonylated oxazolines with a broad substrate scope under ambient conditions.