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This study introduced an innovative system for detecting neutralizing antibodies from serum samples, using optical spectroscopy. This system utilizes a compact optical chip to capture spectral data from lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). Researchers analyzed 265 serum samples sourced from MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. The presence of neutralizing antibodies was confirmed using the LFIA test kit. For validation, the study compared the results with those from the FDA-approved neutralizing antibody ELISA kit, considered the gold standard. Raw light intensity data were converted into reflectance data using a data processing procedure that prominently featured the Savitzky–Golay filter (S–G filter) for data refinement. To predict neutralizing antibody levels, the study leveraged three machine learning (ML) algorithms: SVM, random forest, and MLP. Notably, the MLP model outperformed the others in classifying antibody levels from LFIA spectra, achieving an accuracy of 94.3%. The study advanced quantitative analyses using both conventional image processing and spectral ML regressors, such as SVR, random forest, and MLPR. Spectral methods outperformed image processing, achieving R2 values over 0.8. Moreover, a new hybrid model combining MLP classification with regression improved prediction accuracy (R2 of 0.923). This research underscores the efficacy of combining spectroscopy and ML to detect neutralizing antibodies, paving the way for a potential alternative to traditional laboratory testing.

This study focused on producing metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings on Ti–6Al–4V alloy through laser surface alloying using a novel combination of Inconel 625 and SiC precursor materials. Various ratios of alloying powders were examined to evaluate surface properties such as microhardness, wear resistance, and friction coefficient, along with analyzing the phase composition and microstructure of the coatings. The in situsynthesized MMC coatings exhibited the presence of α-Ti, NiTi, NiTi2, and TiC phases. Additionally, Ti5Si3and α-Ti/Ti5Si3eutectic structures were observed when the SiC content exceeded 20%. In comparison to the titanium substrate, the MMC coating significantly enhanced microhardness by over threefold and reduced wear by 95%. However, it was crucial to carefully select the appropriate combination of alloying powders to avoid a substantial decrease in friction performance and excessive formation of cracks. Through a comparative analysis of experimental results, the optimal precursor material composition was identified as 85% Inconel 625 and 15% SiC. This study demonstrated the effective utilization of Inconel 625 and SiC alloying materials to enhance the surface properties of titanium alloys, thereby expanding their application in challenging environments.

Second-harmonic-generation (SHG) switching is an emerging phenomenon with potential applications in bistable storage and optical switches while also serving as a sensitive probe for inversion-symmetry. Temperature-induced disorder–order phase transition has been proven to be a rational design strategy for achieving SHG bi-state switching; however, pressure-sensitive SHG switching via a disorder–order structural transition mechanism is rarely reported and lacks sensitivity and cyclicity as practical switching materials. Herein, we demonstrate the pressure-induced “dynamical disorder–order” phase transition as an effective strategy for triggering SHG and SHG switching in NH4Cl. The “dynamical disorder–order” phase transition of NH4Cl occurring at as low as 1 GPa is confirmed by comprehensive in situhigh-pressure XRD, molecular vibrational spectra, and Brillouin scattering spectra. The pressure-induced SHG is responsive to a wide excitation wavelength region (800–1500 nm), and the “off–on” switching is reversible for up to 50 cycles, setting a record for pressure-driven switching materials. It is worth noting that when pressure is further increased to 14 GPa, NH4Cl exhibits another SHG “on–off” switching, which makes it the first triplet SHG “off–on–off” switching material. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the key role of N–H···Cl hydrogen bonding in the pressure-induced “dynamic disorder–order” mechanism. Finally, we verified that chemical pressure and physical pressure can jointly regulate the SHG switching behavior of NH4X (X = Cl, Br). The pressure-driven “dynamic disorder–order” transition mechanism sheds light on the rational design of multistable SHG switching materials for photoswitches and information storage.

Learning the generalizable feature representation is critical to few-shot image classification. While recent works exploited task-specific feature embedding using meta-tasks for few-shot learning, they are limited in many challenging tasks as being distracted by the excursive features such as the background, domain, and style of the image samples. In this work, we propose a novel disentangled feature representation (DFR) framework, dubbed DFR, for few-shot learning applications. DFR can adaptively decouple the discriminative features that are modeled by the classification branch, from the class-irrelevant component of the variation branch. In general, most of the popular deep few-shot learning methods can be plugged in as the classification branch, thus DFR can boost their performance on various few-shot tasks. Furthermore, we propose a novel FS-DomainNet dataset based on DomainNet, for benchmarking the few-shot domain generalization (DG) tasks. We conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the proposed DFR on general, fine-grained, and cross-domain few-shot classification, as well as few-shot DG, using the corresponding four benchmarks, i.e., mini-ImageNet, tiered-ImageNet, Caltech-UCSD Birds 200–2011 (CUB), and the proposed FS-DomainNet. Thanks to the effective feature disentangling, the DFR-based few-shot classifiers achieved state-of-the-art results on all datasets.

The aggregated impedance model is widely used for the study of high frequency oscillations (HFOs) in wind farms (WFs). However, the application premise of the aggregated impedance models using different approaches to cluster the whole WF into multiple groups and different approaches to aggregate wind turbines (WTs) and collector lines in the same group is unclear, which needs comprehensive investigation. In this article, based on a practical doubly-fed WF, the detailed impedance model and the aggregated impedance models using different aggregation methods in the high frequency range are developed. Furthermore, the relative error of the oscillation frequency and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the phase in wide frequency range of impedance model are adopted to evaluate the applicability. According to the WF aggregation steps, the impact of various clustering methods on applicability is first explored, followed by the collector line aggregation method and the clustering scale. The results show that the clustering method based on WF layout is recommended for HFO analysis, while the collector line aggregation method based on equal power loss and weighted voltage difference have the same applicability. The clustering scale is suggested to be determined according to the length of the external collector line of each string. The above findings can provide a meaningful reference for the selection of WF aggregation methods for HFO analysis.

• Enhanced strength–ductility synergy has been achieved in a Fe Mn C V steel via tuning stacking-fault energy by precipitation. • Precipitation of V-carbides is selected to tune the global stacking-fault energy of the matrix, making tactful use of interstitial element carbon. • Strong work-hardening due to low SFE and fine matrix/twin lamellae provide the good ductility while strengthened by precipitation, achieving the strength–ductility synergy. Deformation-induced twinning or martensitic transformation can improve the work-hardening capability of alloys with face-centered cubic (FCC) structures and suppress strain localization. The stacking fault energy (SFE) of alloys plays a key role in determining deformation mechanisms and mechanical properties. This study developed V-bearing high-Mn steel with a tensile strength of 1288 MPa and uniform elongation of 36 % by tactfully designing the composition. Precipitation of V-carbides was selected to strengthen the steel and tune the global SFE of the matrix by settling carbon. Stronger work-hardening capability due to lower SFE and finer twin/matrix lamellae provided the steel with good ductility, while precipitation strengthened it. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To investigate the design strategy of highly loaded tandem cascades at both the midspan and endwall, the overall performance and flow mechanisms of four typical tandem cascades based on the optimization were analyzed from multiple perspectives numerically. The results show that the interference effects on the Front Blade (FB) and Rear Blade (RB) should not be overlooked during the design phase, and the design strategies at the midspan and endwall are completely different. At the midspan, the optimization aims to increase the interference effects and the strength of the gap jet while maintaining the same load on the FB and RB. However, the endwall optimal airfoil exhibits weakening interference effects, advancement of the gap jet location, and load transfer from the FB to RB. Through further analysis of flow characteristics, the midspan optimal airfoil is beneficial for inhibiting the low-energy fluid from interacting with the suction surface of RB under the design condition, but results in earlier occurrence of corner stall. The endwall optimal airfoil helps suppress the development of the secondary flow and delay the onset of corner stall. Furthermore, by combining the benefits of these two design approaches, additional forward sweep effects are achieved, further enhancing the performance of the tandem cascade.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to review the effects of robot-assisted therapy (RT) for improving poststroke upper extremity motor impairment. Methods. The PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to April 8, 2020. Randomized controlled trials that were conducted to evaluate the effects of RT on upper extremity motor impairment poststroke and that used Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper extremity scores as an outcome were included. Two authors independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to pool the effect sizes across the studies. Results. Forty-one randomized controlled trials with 1916 stroke patients were included. Compared with dose-matched conventional rehabilitation, RT significantly improved the Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper extremity scores of the patients with stroke, with a small effect size (Hedges g = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11-0.38; [I.sup.2] = 45.9%). The subgroup analysis revealed that the effects of unilateral RT, but not that of bilateral RT, were superior to conventional rehabilitation (Hedges g = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.50; [I.sup.2] = 55.9%). Regarding the type of robot devices, the effects of the end effector device (Hedges g = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.09-0.36; [I.sup.2] = 35.4%), but not the exoskeleton device, were superior to conventional rehabilitation. Regarding the stroke stage, the between-group difference (ie, RT vs convention rehabilitation) was significant only for people with late subacute or chronic stroke (Hedges g = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.50; [I.sup.2] = 34.2%). Conclusion. RT might be superior to conventional rehabilitation in improving upper extremity motor impairment in people after stroke with notable upper extremity hemiplegia and limited potential for spontaneous recovery. Keywords: Stroke, Upper Extremity, Unilateral/Bilateral Robot-Assisted Therapy, Meta-Analysis, Randomized Controlled Trial, Introduction Stroke is one of the most common causes of adult-onset neurological disability. (1) According to the Global Burden of Disease study in 2016, (2) stroke is one of the [...]

Gradient structured metallic materials are attracting increasing attention because of their excellent properties. However, with existing manufacturing techniques, most reported gradient structures are limited to the near-surface regions or sample-level. Approaches are needed to prepare large metallic workpieces with throughout gradient microstructures for engineering applications. This work utilizes the characteristics of non-uniform deformation along the thickness direction of power spinning to manufacture high-Mn steel tubes with gradient nanotwins structures. The composition of high-Mn austenitic steel was carefully designed to make the twinning behavior sensitive to changes in strain. Specifically, the twin probability increases from 0.13 % in the innermost layer to 0.49 % in the outermost layer and the corresponding average twin boundary spacing decreases from 154.5 nm to 47.3 nm. The density of nanotwins presents a gradient, while the grain size and geometrically necessary dislocation density are nearly unchanged. A gradient distribution of hardness is obtained along the thickness direction of the tube with the gradient nanotwin structures. The hardness continuously increases from 3.32 GPa to 5.45 GPa distributed over a wall thickness of 8.5 mm. This work proposed a potential way combining material designing and power spinning for manufacturing large rod/tube-liked workpieces with throughout gradient nanotwins.

Ketopantoate hydroxymethyltransferase (KPHMT) plays a pivotal role in d-pantothenic acid biosynthesis. Most KPHMTs are homodecamers with low thermal stability, posing challenges for protein engineering and limiting output enhancement. Previously, a high-enzyme activity KPHMT mutant (K25A/E189S) from Corynebacterium glutamicumwas screened as mother strain (M0). Building upon this strain, our study focused on interface engineering modifications, employing a multifaceted approach including integrating folding-free energy calculation, B-factor analysis, and conserved site analysis. Preliminary screening led to the selection of five mutants in the interface─E106S, E98T, E98N, S247I, and S247D─showing improved thermal stability, culminating in the double-site mutant M8 (M0-E98N/S247D). M8 exhibited a T1/2value of 288.79 min at 50 °C, showing a 3.29-fold increase compared to M0. Meanwhile, the Tmvalue of M8 was elevated from 53.2 to 59.6 °C. Investigations of structural and molecular dynamics simulations revealed alterations in surface electrostatic charge distribution and the formation of increased hydrogen bonds between subunits, contributing to enhanced thermal stability. This investigation corroborates the efficacy of interface engineering modifications in bolstering KPHMT stability while showing its potential for positively impacting industrial d-pantothenic acid synthesis.

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic yield and outcomes of intraoperative enteroscopy (IOE) in patients with overt small bowel bleeding in the era of balloon‐assisted enteroscopy and capsule endoscopy. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with small bowel bleeding who underwent IOE from January 2005 to April 2016 in a tertiary medical center. A total of 18 patients with overt small bowel bleeding who underwent a total 18 IOE procedures were included. The mean amount of blood transfusion was 35.7 units (SD, 21.4 units), and 11 patients had hypovolemic shock. The diagnostic yield of the IOE procedures was 94.4% (17/18). The most common pathologic diagnosis was ulcer. The rebleeding rate was 44.4% (8/18), and the overall survival rate was 61.1% (11/18). IOE remains a valuable tool for diagnosing overt small bowel bleeding. The usage of IOE might potentially be limited due to critical clinical conditions in the era of deep enteroscopy. A specific caution should be taken in performing IOE due to the high morbidity of the procedure.

Coexistence of antibiotics and heavy metals in agroecosystems promotes antibiotic resistance genes in crops, thus posing risks to human health. It is imperative to comprehensively understand the effects of such co-contaminated environments on the crop-microbe "One Health" system for assessing environmental risks and guiding agricultural practices. Therefore, this study aimed to investigated the tissue-specific responses and interactive characteristics of the crop-microbe system to co-pollution with ofloxacin (OFL) and chromium (Cr) in soil. The results emphasized the hormesis effect induced by low-dose OFL (1 mg L−1) on ginger plants subjected to soil Cr stress. However, plants co-stressed with high-dose OFL (100 mg L−1) and Cr exhibited reduced growth, root activity, antioxidant enzyme activities and photosynthesis-fluorescence performances. In addition, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, reflected by superoxide radical (O2·-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), significantly increased up to 43.34% and 78.63%, respectively, compared to other treatments. High-throughput sequencing indicated that OFL influenced rhizosphere microbial diversity, composition, and evolution, favoring Proteobacteriaproliferation under co-pollution. Notably, enrichments of the antibiotic resistance gene (qnrS) in edible rhizome and potential pathogenic bacteria in ginger rhizosphere were observed under OFL and Cr co-pollution, posing the risk of its spread in the environment and food chain.

ZrO2-strengthened porous mullite insulation materials were prepared by foaming technology utilizing ZrSiO4and Al2O3as primary materials and Y2O3as an additive. The effects of Y2O3contents on the phase composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, and heat conductivity of the porous mullite insulation materials were investigated. A suitable Y2O3content could promote phase transition of monoclinic ZrO2(m-ZrO2) to tetragonal ZrO2(t-ZrO2), reduce pore size, and improve the strengths of as-prepared specimens. The cold crushing strength and bending strength of as-prepared specimens with a 119 µm spherical pore size using 6 wt.% Y2O3were 35.2 and 13.0 MPa, respectively, with a heat conductivity being only 0.248 W/(m K).

Combining epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with an anti‐ vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent, bevacizumab or ramucirumab, is indicated for advanced lung adenocarcinoma harboring EGFR mutation. This study aimed to show the real‐world data of combination therapy and compare the effectiveness between bevacizumab and ramucirumab in combination with an EGFR‐TKI. This retrospective study enrolled 47 patients diagnosed of stage IV lung adenocarcinoma with exon 19 deletion or L858R point mutation, receiving a first‐line EGFR‐TKI with anti‐VEGF agent, including 34 (72%) and 13 (28%) patients receiving bevacizumab and ramucirumab, respectively. The response rate was similar in both groups (p= 0.38). Patients receiving bevacizumab had similar progression free survival (PFS) as those receiving ramucirumab (median PFS: 21.9 vs. 24.2 months, p= 0.4871); similar finding was noted in overall survival (OS) (median OS: 33.5 months vs. not reached, p= 0.4618). Patients receiving ramucirumab experienced a significantly high‐grade hypertension compared to those receiving bevacizumab (p= 0.0351). Multivariable Cox regression analysis found independent risk factors for worse PFS included poorer ECOG performance status, multiple (≥3) metastatic sites, brain metastasis, and pleural metastasis/effusion, while the type of anti‐VEGF agent was not a risk factor. Pericardial metastasis/effusion was the only one independent risk factor for worse OS. In summary, ramucirumab may have similar effectiveness as bevacizumab in combination with an EGFR‐TKI as first line therapy for advanced lung adenocarcinoma harboring susceptible EGFR mutation. Further large‐scale registry‐based cohort studies may be needed to validate our findings.

The vapor–liquid equilibrium data of the three binary systems, including the components of cumene, t-butylbenzene, and sec-butylbenzene, were determined at 101.3 kPa in this paper. The systems did not exhibit azeotropic behavior under the experimental conditions. The Fredenslund test, the Redlich–Kister area test, and Wisniak’s L-W test checked the thermodynamic consistency of the vapor–liquid equilibrium data. The experimental data were correlated by nonrandom two-liquid, Wilson, and universal quasi-chemical activity coefficient models, and their respective binary interaction parameters were obtained correspondingly. The maximum absolute deviation, root-mean-square deviation, and average absolute deviation between experimental data and computed values by thermodynamic models were calculated as well. It showed that all three models could fit the experimental data well. This study can help in designing the distillation process in industrial applications.

Sulfur disproportionation (S0DP) poses a challenge to the robust application of sulfur autotrophic denitrification due to unpredictable sulfide production, which risks the safety of downstream ecosystems. This study explored the S0DP occurrence boundaries with nitrate loading and temperature effects. The boundary values increased with the increase in temperature, exhibiting below 0.15 and 0.53 kg-N/m3/d of nitrate loading at 20 and 30 °C, respectively. A pilot-scale sulfur-siderite packed bioreactor (150 m3/d treatment capacity) was optimally designed with multiple subunits to dynamically distribute the loading of sulfur-heterologous electron acceptors. Operating two active and one standby subunit achieved an effective denitrification rate of 0.31 kg-N/m3/d at 20 °C. For the standby subunit, involving oxygen by aeration effectively transformed the facultative S0DP functional community from S0DP metabolism to aerobic respiration, but with enormous sulfur consumption resulting in ongoing sulfate production of over 3000 mg/L. Meanwhile, acidification by the sulfur oxidation process could reduce the pH to as low as 2.5, which evaluated the Gibbs free energy (ΔG) of the S0DP reaction to +2.56 kJ, thermodynamically suppressing the S0DP occurrence. Therefore, a multisubunit design along with S0DP inhibition strategies of short-term aeration and long-term acidification is suggested for managing S0DP in various practical sulfur-packed bioreactors.

In order to solve the problem that it is difficult to accurately model the complex fluid domain in the negative pressure chamber of the robot in the process of wall climbing, and thus cannot quickly and steadily adsorb, a double closed-loop control strategy based on parameter identification and particle swarm optimization is proposed in this paper to improve the speed and stability of the adsorption response of the robot in the process of wall climbing. Firstly, a vacuum negative pressure wall climbing robot with a spring pressure regulating structure is developed, and the critical conditions of the robot’s instability are solved by mechanical analysis. Then, the rigid-flexible coupling model of the whole machine was established based on mass, spring and Maxwell viscoelastic elements. The model parameters of the adsorption system were identified by vacuum adsorption test. Compared with the experimental data, the accuracy of the model was more than 80%. On this basis, PID controller is used to adjust the adsorption response speed of the robot, a double closed-loop stable adsorption control strategy is designed, and the control parameters of the adsorption system are adjusted by using the dynamic weight standard particle swarm optimization algorithm. Finally, simulation and prototype tests show that, the proposed control strategy can shorten the static and dynamic response time of the adsorption system by about 3.5 s and 1.4 s, the flow response time by about 1.15s, the maneuvering performance of the whole system is improved by about 26%, and the parameter overshoot and steady-state error are lower, which provides a theoretical reference for the stability control and engineering application of the wall-climbing robot.

Abstract

High-quality n-type AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) and lnGaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were successfully monolithically grown on 4-inch off-cut Ge (100) wafers. Even without any design and process optimization for the Ge substrates, the Ge-based half VCSELs have photoluminescence and reflectance spectra comparable to those grown on conventional GaAs wafers. Flat and sub-nm RMS surface roughness and uniform DBR and MQW growth across the wafer were achieved. These results strongly support full VCSEL growth and fabrication on larger-area Ge wafers for the mass production of AlGaAs-based VCSELs.

Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) has been used to measure vital signs such as heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure (BP), and blood oxygen. Recent studies adopt features developed with photoplethysmography (PPG) to achieve contactless BP measurement via rPPG. These features can be classified into two groups: time or phase differences from multiple signals, or waveform feature analysis from a single signal. Here we devise a solution to extract the time difference information from the rPPG signal captured at 30 FPS. We also propose a deep learning model architecture to estimate BP from the extracted features. To prevent overfitting and compensate for the lack of data, we leverage a multi-model design and generate synthetic data. We also use subject information related to BP to assist in model learning. For real-world usage, the subject information is replaced with values estimated from face images, with performance that is still better than the state-of-the-art. To our best knowledge, the improvements can be achieved because of: 1) the model selection with estimated subject information, 2) replacing the estimated subject information with the real one, 3) the InfoGAN assistance training (synthetic data generation), and 4) the time difference features as model input. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we conduct a series of experiments, including dynamic BP measurement for many single subjects and nighttime BP measurement with infrared lighting. Our approach reduces the MAE from 15.49 to 8.78 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 10.56 to 6.16 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure(DBP) on a self-constructed rPPG dataset. On the Taipei Veterans General Hospital(TVGH) dataset for nighttime applications, the MAE is reduced from 21.58 to 11.12 mmHg for SBP and 9.74 to 7.59 mmHg for DBP, with improvement ratios of 48.47% and 22.07% respectively.

Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) are essential for a wide range of military and civil applications as they significantly reduce mission duration and improve coverage compared to using a single Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Nevertheless, the dynamic and mobile nature of FANETs, coupled with fluctuating data traffic patterns, pose significant challenges for adaptive routing and efficient packet delivery. At present, most of the existing routing protocols for FANETs are designed based on mobility or topology information without taking into account data traffic and the associated joint decision-making approach. This narrow focus can result in poor network performance, characterized by longer delivery delay and lower delivery ratio. Thus, this paper proposes the Joint Prediction and Entropy weight-based (JPE) routing protocol by considering both current and future network conditions. The protocol uses a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to predict and obtain the mobility, buffer available size, and Link Expiration Time (LET) of each Neighbouring UAV (NU) in order to avoid high-mobility, high-traffic, and weak-link UAVs and establish an appropriate path. The routing decision problem is then formulated as an optimization problem and solved using the proposed Entropy Weight-based Multi-Metric (EWMM) approach. The integrated prediction and decision process considers both current and future multi-metric factors. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the LSTM-based Joint Prediction (JP) model and show that the JPE protocol outperforms the PAP and SPA protocols, improving Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) and delay performance by 30.13% and 31.24% respectively.

Phosphor-in-glass film (PiGF) has been considered as a credible color converter in laser-driven white lighting. However, the PiGF confronts the inevitable roadblock of low light extraction efficiency, serious backward scattering, and low saturation threshold in transmissive configuration. In this work, a unique reflection design of heat-conducting PiGF-B converter was proposed for high-quality laser-driven white lighting. The PiGF-B converters with different film thicknesses and side lengths were excited by a blue laser diode (LD) and their optothermal performance was evaluated and compared with the traditional PiGF-T converter. Attributing to the backward emission light collection of mirror Al reflection cup and the high thermal conductivity of sapphire heat sink, the saturation power density and luminous flux threshold of PiGF-B-5 converter are 1925.3 lm and 15 W/mm2, which are over two times higher than the traditional PiGF-T-5 converter of 398.6 lm and 6 W/mm2, respectively. Furthermore, the PiGF-B-5 converter displays better correlated color temperature (CCT) and thermal stability even under higher power laser excitation. The results demonstrate that the PiGF-B converter provides an effective strategy for enabling high-quality laser-driven white lighting.

It is widely accepted that prevéraison application of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) can delay the ripening of grapes and improve their quality. However, how NAA impacts grape aroma compound concentrations remains unclear. This study incorporated the analyses of aroma metabolome, phytohormones, and transcriptome of Vitis viniferaL. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes cultivated in continental arid/semiarid regions of western China. The analyses demonstrated that NAA application increased β-damascenone and 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene (TDN) in the harvested grapes by delaying véraison and upregulating VvPSY1and VvCCD4bexpressions. Additionally, NAA treatment decreased 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) at the same phenological stage. Notably, abscisic acid (ABA) levels increased in NAA-treated grapes during véraison, which triggered further changes in norisoprenoid metabolisms. The ABA-responsive factor VvABF2 was potentially involved in VvPSY1positive modulation, while the auxin response factor VvARF10 may play a role in VvCCD4bupregulation and VvOMT2downregulation during NAA induction. VvARF10 possibly acts as a crosstalk node between the ABA and auxin signaling pathways following NAA treatment in regulating aroma biosynthesis.

The pursuit of immortality has always been a long-standing aspiration of humanity. However, with increasing age comes the unexpected onset of aging. Although time is impartial, the process of ageing lacks uniformity. The human immune system changes with age and immune ageing significantly weakens an individual's resistance against various pathogens and cancer cells while simultaneously elevating the risk of immune disorders and chronic inflammation. Consequently, individuals who share the same chronological age may exhibit varying disease-fighting abilities. The substantial inter-individual variability underscores the imperative of precise monitoring to investigate the progressive alterations experienced by the immune system during ageing. Actually, numerous studies have focused on the changes in different lymphocyte subsets in diseases and immuno-senescence. However, quantitatively assessing host immunity remains a challenge, a comprehensive analysis of the alterations in both lymphocyte number and phenotype alterations induced by ageing remains lacking in China. Previous studies have primarily focused on the phenotypic changes in immune subsets during ageing, often utilizing a limited control cohort or lacking appropriate age-matched controls. Therefore, the standard immune markers and immune age evaluation model tailored to the Chinese population were currently needed. In a recent study, Jia et al. conducted a comprehensive investigation on a large-scale healthy Chinese cohort and successfully developed the first and largest immune age prediction model specifically tailored for the Chinese population. Here, we discussed this immune age evaluation model for the Chinese population and gave some suggestions for further improvement.

How well can we approximate a quantum channel output state using a random codebook with a certain size? In this work, we study the quantum soft covering problem, which uses a pairwise-independent random codebook to approximate the target output state of a quantum channel. We establish a one-shot error exponent bound and a one-shot strong converse bound on the approximation error measured in terms of the expected trace distance between the codebook-induced state and the true channel output state. When using independent and identically-distributed random codebook with a rate above the quantum mutual information $I(X{\,:\,}B)_{\rho} $ , we prove that the error decays exponentially with its error exponent expressed by the sandwiched Rényi information. On the other hand, when the rate of the codebook size is below the quantum mutual information, the error converges to one exponentially fast. Similar results are obtained using a random constant composition codebook, whereas the sandwiched Augustin information gives the error exponent. In addition to the above large deviation analysis, our results also hold in the moderate deviation regime.

Herein, luminescence-tunable white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with enhanced color quality were fabricated by cone-shape multi-color phosphor-in-glasses (PiGs) with 3D ceramic substrate. The optical performance of WLEDs was studied by adjusting the red film thickness of PiG and the cavity depth of ceramic substrate. As the cavity depth increases from 1 to 1.3 mm, the luminous efficiency (LE) and correlated color temperature (CCT) increase first and then decrease. The LE and CCT decrease with the increase of red film thickness. Besides, the WLEDs packaged by varied cavity depth and red phosphor thickness all achieve a CRI of above 80. The PiG3-WLED gains a CCT deviation of 243 K, which improve 90.4% and 71.2% than that of PiG1-WLED and PiG2-WLED, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed WLEDs can achieve high color uniformity and good CRI with tunable luminescence.

Data clustering is a difficult problem due to the complex and heterogeneous natures of multidimensional data. To improve clustering accuracy, we propose a scheme to capture the local correlation structures: associate each cluster with an independent weighting vector and embed it in the subspace spanned by an adaptive combination of the dimensions. Our clustering algorithm takes advantage of the known pairwise instance-level constraints. The data points in the constraint set are divided into groups through inference; and each group is assigned to the feasible cluster which minimizes the sum of squared distances between all the points in the group and the corresponding centroid. Our theoretical analysis shows that the probability of points being assigned to the correct clusters is much higher by the new algorithm, compared to the conventional methods. This is confirmed by our experimental results, indicating that our design indeed produces clusters which are closer to the ground truth than clusters created by the current state-of-the-art algorithms.

A novel Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating, a high-temperature corrosion-resistant material for water wall protection of power plant ultra-supercritical boilers, has been prepared via arc spraying. A systematic study was conducted to evaluate the high-temperature corrosion behavior of this coating, and its resistance to corrosion at high temperatures was scientifically assessed. The results indicate that the thickness of Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating is approximately 350 μm, exhibiting typical amorphous characteristics as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope characterization. During each stage of the 750 °C corrosion test, the oxygen content of the amorphous coating was significantly lower than that of the contrast coating (PS45 alloy coating), indicating a superior corrosion protection effect at high temperature. After 100 h of continuous testing, the corrosion mass gain of the amorphous coating was only 28.62% that of PS45 coating and 3.89% that of T12 steel substrate, indicating significantly depressed high-temperature corrosion kinetics. The excellent high-temperature corrosion resistance of Fe–Cr–Mo amorphous coating is primarily attributed to the stable Fe/Cr oxide film generated by the metastable state of the amorphous state, which serves as an excellent barrier. Furthermore, under the influence of heat in a high-temperature environment, the amorphous structure gradually transforms into a nanocrystalline structure. In contrast, the oxide film of the amorphous/nanocrystalline coating has low thermal stress, leading to better adhesion with the coating and resistance to cracking and peeling, thus providing excellent sustained protection.

The Farm Animal Genotype-Tissue Expression (FarmGTEx) project has been established to develop a public resource of genetic regulatory variants in livestock, which is essential for linking genetic polymorphisms to variation in phenotypes, helping fundamental biological discovery and exploitation in animal breeding and human biomedicine. Here we show results from the pilot phase of PigGTEx by processing 5,457 RNA-sequencing and 1,602 whole-genome sequencing samples passing quality control from pigs. We build a pig genotype imputation panel and associate millions of genetic variants with five types of transcriptomic phenotypes in 34 tissues. We evaluate tissue specificity of regulatory effects and elucidate molecular mechanisms of their action using multi-omics data. Leveraging this resource, we decipher regulatory mechanisms underlying 207 pig complex phenotypes and demonstrate the similarity of pigs to humans in gene expression and the genetic regulation behind complex phenotypes, supporting the importance of pigs as a human biomedical model.

We report on a high-performance oxide-confined 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) believed to have the highest modulation bandwidth at low bias currents for datacenter applications. This article has extensively discussed the device's characteristics, including static performance, optical spectra, small-signal response, relative intensity noise (RIN), and large-signal performance. The VCSEL with an oxide aperture of 4 μm delivers a 3.7 mW optical power, low spectral width, below −150 dB/Hz VCSEL RIN, and a breakthrough 33.4 GHz frequency response at room temperature (25 °C). Designed for high-performance short-reach communication networks and telecommunication applications, this high-speed 850-nm VCSEL supports data rates of up to 64 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) and 106.25 Gb/s (53.125 Gbaud) 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-4) in multi-mode fiber (MMF) without the need for feed-forward equalization (FFE), decision feedback equalizer (DFE), or any offline digital signal processing (DSP).

The inner voltage control loop and inductor current active damping loop of grid-forming (GFM) converters perform the output voltage control and filter resonance damping, and their stability design has been widely developed in the literature. However, the equivalent external-damping characteristics have not been fully explored. In this article, the analysis shows that inappropriate design focusing only on self-stability would lead to negative external damping in a wide low/middle-frequency band when LC resonant frequency is greater than one-sixth sampling frequency and less than one-third sampling frequency, which may cause system instability when interacting with loads or grids. Therefore, a low/middle-frequency positive external-damping design method under self-stability constraint is proposed for inner control loop of GFM converters. The detailed design process is presented with simple implementation. The key feature is the use of negative proportional gain of voltage controller. Through the proposed design method, the GFM converters can improve system damping capability, which is beneficial to promoting large-scale integration of distributed generation systems based on power electronics. Simulation and experimental results are finally provided to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the design method.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are generally reported to participate in the development of Osteoarthritis (OA) by acting as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). However, the molecular mechanism is largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the possible mechanisms contributing to osteoarthritis (OA).Methods: Four gene expression profiles from patients with OA were downloaded from a public database and integrated to screen important RNAs associated with OA. Differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNAs were filtered, and a ceRNA network was constructed. An in vitro OA model was established by treating chondrocytes with IL-1β. The expression levels of MMP-13, COL2A1, aggrecan, and RUNX2 were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. Cell proliferation ability was detected by CCK-8 assay. Flow cytometry was used for apoptosis assay. A dual luciferase reporter gene was used to confirm the relationship between DLEU1, miR-492, and TLR8.Results: An OA-related ceRNA network, including 11 pathways, 3 miRNAs, 7 lncRNAs, and 16 mRNAs, was constructed. DLEU1 and TLR8were upregulated, and miR-492 was downregulated in IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. Overexpression of DLEU1 suppressed viability and promoted apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in IL-1β induced chondrocytes. Luciferase reporter assay validated the regulatory relations among DLEU1, miR-492, and TLR8. Further study revealed that the effects of DLEU1 on chondrocytes could be reversed by miR-492.Conclusion: DLEU1 may be responsible for the viability, apoptosis, and ECM degradation in OA via miR-492/TLR8axis.

The anomalous roll-up of the absolute value of threshold voltage ( $\vert {V}_{\text {t}}\vert $ ) is observed for pMOS with embedded SiGe source/drain (eSiGe S/D) as the gate width decreases. It is revealed that the raised eSiGe height reduction for the wide pMOS may result in more B atoms diffusion into channel region from Si cap layer, causing the net doping level decrease of channel region as well as $\vert {V}_{\text {t}}\vert $ . The wider the pMOS, the smaller the $\vert {V}_{\text {t}}\vert $ is; ~60% $\vert {V}_{\text {t}}\vert $ increase can be observed as the gate width decreases. It is demonstrated that increasing the raised eSiGe height together with reducing B concentration in Si cap layer can effectively realize 20% $\vert {V}_{\text {t}}\vert $ decrease without the pMOS performance degradation.

To suppress the high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) in Modular Multilevel Converter based High Voltage Direct Current (MMC-HVDC) transmission system, this article proposes a frequency estimation-based adaptive mitigation approach, including the oscillation frequency estimation (OFE) function and the oscillation suppression function by band-stop filter (BSF). Firstly, the proposed OFE function which is based on the rotating frame transformation and LPF can mitigate the influence of background harmonics, and rapidly identify frequency and amplitude of the HFO. Then, a BSF with adaptively corrected parameters, based on the identified frequency from OFE function, is embedded in the inner control loop of MMC to regulate the system damping in the interested frequency range. Thus, the impedance characteristic of MMC system in the oscillation frequency band can be adaptively reshaped to mitigate the HFO. The working principle of OFE function and suppression function by BSF is presented, and the parameters selection procedures are also provided. Finally, the proposed approach is validated by electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations and controller hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiments. The results show that the presented adaptive mitigation approach shows a favorable identification and oscillation suppression ability for the HFOs.

Ferroptosis has been demonstrated a promising way to counteract chemoresistance of multiple myeloma (MM), however, roles and mechanism of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in regulating ferroptosis of MM cells remain elusive. Here, we uncovered that MM cells were more susceptible to ferroptotic induction under the interaction of BMSCs using in vitro and in vivo models. Mechanistically, BMSCs elevated the iron level in MM cells, thereby activating the steroid biosynthesis pathway, especially the production of lanosterol, a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in MM cells. We discovered that direct coupling of CD40 ligand and CD40 receptor constituted the key signaling pathway governing lanosterol biosynthesis, and disruption of CD40/CD40L interaction using an anti-CD40 neutralizing antibody or conditional depletion of Cd40l in BMSCs successfully eliminated the iron level and lanosterol production of MM cells localized in the Vk*MYC Vk12653 or NSG mouse models. Our study deciphers the mechanism of BMSCs dictating ferroptosis of MM cells and highlights the therapeutic potential of non-apoptosis strategies for managing refractory or relapsed MM patients.

We study quantum soft covering and privacy amplification against quantum side information. The former task aims to approximate a quantum state by sampling from a prior distribution and querying a quantum channel. The latter task aims to extract uniform and independent randomness against quantum adversaries. For both tasks, we use trace distance to measure the closeness between the processed state and the ideal target state. We show that the minimal amount of samples for achieving an $\varepsilon $ -covering is given by the $(1-\varepsilon )$ -hypothesis testing information (with additional logarithmic additive terms), while the maximal extractable randomness for an $\varepsilon $ -secret extractor is characterized by the conditional $(1-\varepsilon )$ -hypothesis testing entropy. When performing independent and identical repetitions of the tasks, our one-shot characterizations lead to tight asymptotic expansions of the above-mentioned operational quantities. We establish their second-order rates given by the quantum mutual information variance and the quantum conditional information variance, respectively. Moreover, our results extend to the moderate deviation regime, which are the optimal asymptotic rates when the trace distances vanish at sub-exponential speed. Our proof technique is direct analysis of trace distance without smoothing.

This article reports on the preparation of native/waxy corn starch (NCS/WCS)‐based films with the addition of pullulan (PUL). Our study investigated the effects of varying amounts of PUL and amylose contents on the structure, mechanical and physicochemical properties of corn starch films. Notably, it was observed that WCS films with low amylose content exhibited superior transparency, while NCS films with high amylose content demonstrated enhanced tensile strength (up to 7.35 ± 0.18 MPa). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis indicated that the addition of PUL did not change the molecular interactions within the corn starch films. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results supported that the WCS films were amorphous, while the NCS film exhibited B‐type and V‐type crystals. Moreover, an increase in PUL content led to a gradual reduction in the crystallinity of both WCS films and NCS films. The addition of PUL improved the mechanical properties and oxygen barrier characteristics of these films but had an adverse impact on their water vapor barrier properties. These findings offer valuable insights for the selection of additives for corn starch film, which can further enhance the practical application potential of corn starch films in food and other industries. This article reports on the preparation of native/waxy corn starch‐based films with the addition of pullulan. Our study investigates the effects of varying amounts of pullulan and amylose content on the structure, mechanical and physicochemical properties of corn starch films.

This letter proposes an orthogonally polarized dual-band shared-aperture antenna (SAA) based on the concept of structure reuse of metasurface (MTS). The designed MTS has two layers. At lower band, the MTS is excited by a 2 × 2 slot array to suppress the unwanted modes and stabilize the antenna pattern. At higher-band, the MTS is reused. Each cell of the MTS is considered as a stacked patch antenna and connected in series to form a 4 × 8 series-fed antenna array. The array is differentially fed through a balun to avoid tilting of the main beam. Since the polarization direction of the array is orthogonal to the MTS-based antenna, the isolation is improved. The proposed SAA has a very high aperture reuse efficiency through reusing the whole structure of MTS. In addition, the planar structure is compact and suitable for integration. As an example, we designed a SAA working at about 30 and 60 GHz to verify this concept.

In the later stage of water flooding, the water cut of the reservoir is high and the water channeling of the interlayer is severe, leading to the invalid or inefficient circulation of injected water and to poor development results. However, the three-phase foam (TPF), which combines the advantages of foam and particles, is strongly applicable for high water cut reservoirs. To explore the plugging and profile control mechanisms of the TPF and the degree of improving oil recovery, branched-formed particle gel (B-PPG), surfactant DLY-05, and N2were mixed to form the TPF. The system was used in two-dimensional flooding experiments consisting of homogeneous, positive rhythm, reverse rhythm, and high-permeability channel models. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out with the displacement phenomenon and the dynamic parameters of oil production. Such a water cut, production pressure difference, and recovery factor were analyzed in detail. The results show that the TPF has good adaptability to four high water cut models. When TPF is injected, the water cut of the produced liquid is significantly reduced, and the production pressure difference and oil recovery factor are significantly increased. The decrease in water cut ranges from 17.26 to 22.27%, corresponding to an increase in the oil recovery factor of 20.63 to 28.28%. The dynamic changes in the model flow line and flow field in different flooding stages show that the TPF can control the profile and flooding oil. In addition, when flexible particles deform and enter the small pore throat, residual oil is squeezed and carried out. The research results provide a theoretical reference for the application of a three-phase foam in actual reservoirs. The study of TPF in a high water cut reservoir provides a reference for its application in an actual reservoir in the future.

In this work, we present a high‐reliability gate driver on array (GOA) for a 10.7‐in. HD (1,280 × RGB × 720) TFT‐LCD panel, featuring an alternatively double‐sided noise‐eliminating function. The gate driver circuit is designed with 12‐phase clock signals that exhibit 75% signal overlapping, threshold voltage recovering, and double‐sided driving schemes. The double‐sided driving scheme reduces the number of mental wires and TFTs in the gate driver circuit, resulting in a smaller layout area for GOA. By utilizing dual levels of voltage, we implemented a negative gate bias method to mitigate threshold voltage shifts for the noise‐eliminating and driving TFTs. This prevents the noises from clock signals effectively. The reliability test of the proposed GOA with 720 stages passed a strict testing condition (90°C and −40°C) for simulation and exhibited good performance over 800 hours at 90°C for measurement. A novel a‐Si gate driver on array (GOA) circuit with dual levels of voltage and negative gate bias method enhances the reliability and performance of the proposed GOA circuit, which also exhibits good performance over 800 h at 90°C for measurement.

Reactive fillers consisting of reduced sulfur and iron species (SFe-ReFs) have received increasing attention in tertiary wastewater treatment for nitrate and phosphate coremoval. However, the existing SFe-ReFs suffer from either low performance (e.g., pyrrhotite and pyrite) or unsatisfactory use in terms of combustible risk and residual nonreactive impurities (e.g., sulfur mixing with natural iron ores). Here, we developed a new type of sulfur-siderite composite ReF (SSCReF) with a structure of natural siderite powders eventually embedded into sulfur. SSCReFs exhibited many excellent properties, including higher mechanical strengths and hardness and especially much poorer ignitability compared to pure sulfur. By using SSCReF to construct packed-bed reactors, the highest denitrification and dephosphorization rates reached 829.70 gN/m3/d (25 wt % siderite) and 36.70 gP/m3/d (75 wt % siderite), respectively. Dephosphorization was demonstrated to be dependent on sulfur-driven denitrification, in which the acid produced from the later process promoted Fe(II)dissolution, which then directly combined with phosphate to form vivianite or further converted into phosphate adsorbents (ferrihydrite, a green rust-like compound). Water flush was an effective way to finally wash out these surface deposited Fe–P compounds, as well as those nonreactive impurities (Si and Al-bearing compounds) detached from SSCReF. Such a highly efficient and safe SSCReF holds considerable application potential in secondary effluent polishing.

Recovered carbon from aluminum electrolysis is extremely valuable for use, and it has been well used as a low-cost anode material for lithium-ion batteries. However, recovered carbon as a sodium-ion battery anode exhibits very low capacity due to its small interlayer spacing. Herein, we report an expanded recovered carbon as a sodium-ion battery anode. By introducing interlayer oxygen-containing groups to widen the interlayer spacing and regulating the oxygen content by reduction temperature, the expanded recovered carbon has a moderate oxygen content of 22.5 at. % and an expanded interlayer spacing of 0.3475 nm. The expanded recovered carbon can deliver an excellent initial Coulombic efficiency of 83.87% and a high reversible capacity of 252.5 mAh g–1after 300 cycles at 200 mA g–1. In addition, it also maintains a high average capacity of 171.76 mAh g–1for 1500 cycles at a high current density of 1000 mA g–1.

Considering the comprehensive effect of the internal non-inertial system of planetary gear transmission (PGT) and external non-inertial system of the body, combined with the modified Heywood formula and Hertz formula, a calculation model for the dynamic bending stress and contact dynamic stress of the PGT in a non-inertial system (NIS) is proposed. The stress non-inertial coefficients (KNI) describing the influence of the additional effects on the dynamic stress in the non-inertial system are defined. Additionally, the variation law of non-inertial coefficients under two typical non-inertial conditions of variable-speed horizontal flight and somersault motion was studied. The effect of gear installation and manufacturing errors on the non-inertial coefficients under two maneuvering conditions was analyzed. The results indicated that non-inertial coefficients increase with an increase in the maneuverability of the body, and the variable-speed horizontal flight and somersault motion have significant effects on the changing trend of non-inertial coefficients with the gear installation and manufacturing errors. Compared with the gear error, the effect of the NIS has a significant influence on the non-inertial coefficients.