Search

This paper is concerned with model predictive control (MPC) for multisensor linear systems. In order to fully utilize information and achieve higher control accuracy, two fusion MPC algorithms are proposed. The first algorithm is named estimation-fusion model predictive controller (E-F MPC), which local estimations are fused and then fusion control input is obtained by the fusion estimation. The second algorithm is named control-fusion model predictive controller (C-F MPC), which fuses the control inputs obtained from local systems. The relationships, differences and complexity of the two algorithms are analyzed. The advantages of E-F MPC are that it is simple and easy to implement with high control accuracy, while the disadvantage is the bad robustness because of the heavy estimation, prediction and control tasks for the fusion node. For C-F MPC, with a small loss of accuracy, network throughput and computational cost of its fusion node will be greatly reduced, which makes it good robustness and flexibility. Simulation analysis verifies the effectiveness and correctness of the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with suboptimal fusion estimation weighted by matrices for multisensors linear systems with unknown cross-covariance. First, for reasonable correlation coefficients, the simplest constraints are derived by Shure complement theorem. The constraints can ensure the positive definiteness of the extended estimation error covariance matrix and the fusion estimation error covariance matrix weighted by matrices, and the consistency of the proposed fusion estimation. Then, based on the linear matrix inequality (LMI) algorithm combined with AutoML, a suboptimal fusion estimation weighted by matrices is proposed. The proposed suboptimal fusion algorithm provides an effective way for fusion estimation of linear distributed systems with unknown cross-covariance. Simulations analyses verify the effectiveness and correctness of the conclusion.

Flexible and conductive gels are promising materials as intelligent and wearable electronics. Herein, through a facile one-step in situ free-radical polymerization, tough VSNPs-PAA-Zr4+ionohydrogels with integrated multiple functionalities are prepared, which are dually cross-linked by multivalent vinyl-functionalized silica nanoparticles (VSNPs) and metal coordination between Zr4+and the carboxyl groups in PAA chains. The incorporation of Zr4+with stable valency during polymerization enables the direct formation of a large number of metal coordination cross-links for adequate energy dissipation, overcoming the inhibition of unstable metal ions on the polymerization process. Meanwhile, VSNPs serve as multivalent cross-linkers and effective stress transfer centers. The obtained VSNPs-PAA-Zr4+ionohydrogels show high toughness of up to 25 MJ m–3with a high tensile strength of 3010 kPa and a large elongation at break of 1360%, along with reliable adhesive performance. Attributed to use of an IL/water binary solvent, the ionohydrogels possess excellent water-retentive and antifreezing abilities. Moreover, the existence of large quantities of mobile ions endows the VSNPs-PAA-Zr4+ionohydrogels with a superior conductivity of 4.77 S m–1and a high strain sensitivity with a gauge factor (GF) of 9.04, which are promising materials as intelligent and wearable strain sensors.

ABSTRACTBackgroundRomosozumab is a novel drug for the treatment of osteoporosis. The adverse reactions of romosozumab still need to be explored. The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) provides an enormous dataset for adverse events (AEs) analysis.Research design and methodsAEs registered in FAERS between January 2019 and December 2020 were collected for this study. The reporting odds ratio (ROR) method was applied to analyze the AEs of romosozumab. The number of AEs ≥4 cases and ROR value 95% confidence interval (CI) lower limit >1 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 4,413,695 AEs were collected for this study. There were 1,948 AEs related with romosozumab reported in FAERS. There are 1851 AEs including 17 system classifications after filtered. Injection site pain (ROR = 6.89, CI = 5.60, 8.48), cardiac failure (ROR = 12.62, CI = 9.85, 16.17), renal impairment (ROR = 9.11, CI = 6.98, 11.89), pneumonia (ROR = 1.53, CI = 1.10, 2.21), blood alkaline phosphatase increased (ROR = 14.60, CI = 9.28, 22.97) were possible AEs after romosozumab application.ConclusionsOur study provides an adverse reaction warning for the clinical application of romosozumab and provides a real-world disproportionality analysis data support for the possible AEs of romosozumab.

Compared to conventional liquid systems, solid-state energy storage systems show more attractive application prospects due to improved safety, higher energy density and thermal/electrochemical stability. However, the commercial development of solid-state energy storage devices is hindered by the chemo-mechanically unstable interface between solid-state electrolyte and electrode. The hydrogel electrolytes have attracted extensive attention for this issue owing to their certain adhesion, intrinsic flexibility, and eco-friendliness. Here, we report a universal strategy for adhesive hydrogel electrolyte that simultaneously achieves robust adhesion and anti-freezing properties. The robust adhesion of hydrogel electrolyte is achieved by combining the tough hydrogel matrix with strong interface interactions. Meanwhile, the hydrogel electrolyte equipped with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and lithium chloride (LiCl) ensures high ionic conductivity and stable mechanical elasticity at 25 ~ −60 °C, thus leading to the anti-freezing electrolyte/electrode interface. More encouragingly, the assembled carbon nanotubes (CNTs)||CNTs supercapacitors and Zn||CNTs hybrid capacitors possess excellent capacitive performance at low temperatures, delivering high energy densities of 3.5 Wh kg−1for CNTs||CNTs supercapacitors and 51.3 Wh kg‐−1for Zn||CNTs hybrid capacitors at −60 °C, and extraordinary cycling durability with stable capacity retention over 10,000 cycles for CNTs||CNTs supercapacitors and Zn||CNTs hybrid capacitors. We expect this strategy to simplify and guide the development of solid-state energy storage devices operating under extreme conditions.

Most current hydrogel actuators suffer from either poor mechanical properties or limited responsiveness. Also, the widely used thermo-responsive poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) homopolymer hydrogels have a slow response rate. Thus, it remains a challenge to fabricate thermo-responsive hydrogel actuators with both excellent mechanical and responsive properties. Herein, ultrafast thermo-responsive VSNPs-P(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels containing multivalent vinyl functionalized silica nanoparticles (VSNPs) are fabricated. The ultrafast thermo-responsiveness is due to the mobile polymer chains grafted from the surfaces of the VSNPs, which can facilitate hydrophobic aggregation, inducing the phase transition and generating water transport channels for quick water expulsion. In addition, the copolymerization of NIPAM with acrylic acid (AA) decreases the transition temperature of the thermo-responsive PNIPAM-based hydrogels, contributing to ultrafast thermo-responsive shrinking behavior with a large volume change of as high as 72.5%. Moreover, inspired by nature, intelligent hydrogel actuators with gradient structure can be facilely prepared through self-healing between the ultrafast thermo-responsive VSNPs-P(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogel layers and high-strength VSNPs-PAA-Fe3+multibond network (MBN) hydrogel layers. The obtained well-integrated gradient hydrogel actuators show ultrafast thermo-responsive performance within only 9 s in 60 °C water, as well as high strength, and can be used for more practical applications as intelligent soft actuators or artificial robots.

Purpose: The effect of hotel employee safety behavior has not as yet been investigated. The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of hotel employee ternary safety behavior on negative safety outcomes, as well as the moderation effects of job vigor and emotional exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey of 16 medium- and high-star-rated hotels in southeast China was conducted and 571 responses were received for model estimation. The statistical analysis techniques adopted were confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression, and structural equation modeling. Findings: The results showed that: (1) safety compliance and participation positively predicted safety adaptation; (2) the three dimensions of safety behavior contributed to reducing negative safety outcomes, and there was a multiple mediation process in their relationship; and (3) job vigor positively moderated the influence of safety compliance and adaption on negative safety outcomes, and emotional exhaustion negatively moderated the influence of safety participation on negative safety outcomes. Originality/value: This research provides greater insights into the relationship between safety behavior and outcome performance within the hotel industry, and yields theoretical and practical implications for improving employee safety behavior and hotel safety performance.

A class of hydrogel electrolytes that couple high adhesion and anti-freezing properties is developed.Zn/Li hybrid capacitors based on the hydrogel electrolyte can tolerate low temperatures and accommodate dynamic deformations across a temperature range of 25 to − 60 °C.This work highlights an advancement for promoting next-generation energy storage system with low-temperature capability and mechanical durability.

Stretchable and conductive hydrogels have emerged as promising candidates for intelligent and flexible electronic devices. Herein, based on a multibond network (MBN) design rationale, super tough and highly stretchable nanocomposite physical hydrogels are prepared, where 2D Ti3C2TxMXene nanosheets serve as multifunctional cross-linkers and effective stress transfer centers. Further MXene-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-Fe3+MBN physical hydrogels fabricated through controlled permeation of Fe3+exhibit prominent and well-balanced mechanical properties (e.g., the tensile strength can reach 10.4 MPa and elongation at break can be as high as 3080%), attributed to the dual cross-linking network with dense Fe3+-mediated coordination cross-links between MXene nanosheets and PAA chains and sparse carboxy-Fe3+cross-links between PAA chains. Moreover, both conductive MXene nanosheets and numerous ions endow the hydrogels with superior conductivity (up to 3.8 S m–1), strain sensitivity (high gauge factor of 10.09), and self-healing performance, showing great prospect as intelligent flexible electronics.

AbstractIn vitro genotoxicity testing plays an important role in chemical risk assessment. The human B-lymphoblastoid cell line TK6 is widely used as a standard cell line for regulatory safety evaluations. Like many other mammalian cell lines, TK6 cells have limited metabolic capacity; therefore, usually require a source of exogenous metabolic activation for use in genotoxicity testing. Previously, we developed a set of TK6-derived cell lines that individually express one of fourteen cytochrome P450s (CYPs). In the present study, we surveyed a panel of major Phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes to characterize their baseline expression in TK6 cells. These results may serve as a reference enzymatic profile of this commonly used cell line.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text

This review discusses surfactants used for chemical flooding, including surfactant-polymer flooding and alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding. The review, unlike most previous reviews in the field, has a surfactant focus, not a focus on the flooding process. It deals with recent results, mainly from 2010 and onward. Older literature is referred to when needed in order to put more recent findings into a perspective.

The study expects to improve the security performance of drones' communication and protect drone networks from physical attacks, thus ensuring the security and real-time performance. $K$-means is used to divide all nodes in the network into more uniform clusters to make the network division in the cluster of drones' ad hoc networks more uniform. Additionally, for the security and confidentiality of drone network nodes, a clustering-based ECC-GKA) algorithm is proposed, suitable for drones' ad hoc networks. Finally, the ECC-GKA algorithm is simulated to analyze the accuracy and security of a drone network. The results reveal that the data transmission rate of the proposed algorithm is 97.22 percent, which is at least 3.61 percent higher than other key agreement algorithms, and even 22.30 percent higher than that of the traditional ElGamal key agreement protocol. In terms of security, it is found that each algorithm converges to a certain constant after 40 iterations, and it is obvious that the average security rate of the proposed ECC-GKA protocol is the largest, which is 1.29 b/s/Hz.; flight speed has no obvious effect on the average security rate. Meanwhile, under the same number of members, the key agreement time of the ECC-GKA algorithm is shorter. Hence, the constructed ECC-GKA protocol is better in data transmission accuracy and security rate, and the time required is shorter. It further improves the network security performance of drones, and provides a reference basis for improving drone system performance in the later stage.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.Scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) appear to be sensitive to sentence processing, especially in some particular aspects. ERP studies on inflectional Indo-European languages report that N400 (negativity around 400 ms), typically elicited by semantic anomalies, is absent when a sentence involves both syntactic and semantic violations. It has been considered that syntactic structure building takes precedence over semantic parsing, and lexical-semantic processing can be blocked by syntactic category incongruence. An ERP experiment was conducted to examine whether such syntactic primacy also exists equally in sentence comprehension in Mandarin Chinese, using the long passive sentences of beiconstructions (beiis a preposition preceding a predicate verb and expressing a passive meaning) with either semantic or syntactic violations, combined violations of both, or no violations. Results showed that a broad negativity appeared in both purely semantic and combined violations in the time window of 300–500 ms, which implies that lexical-semantic parsing is not blocked by syntactic structure failure. Instead, it is of great significance to the comprehension of long passive sentences in Mandarin Chinese (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content1, http://links.lww.com/WNR/A592, which introduces the article).

Hypertension and hyperhomocystinemia have a joint effect on the risk of stroke. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) and blood pressure in two independent Chinese populations. Four thousand five hundred and fifty-five participants who underwent health examinations between March 2016 and September 2016 at Peking University First Hospital were enrolled as ‘Population 1’, and 2689 participants who were admitted to Peking University First Hospital between January 2014 and December 2015 were enrolled as ‘Population 2’. None of the study participants were taking antihypertensive medication or vitamins, or had cardio-cerebrovascular disease or chronic kidney disease stages 4 or 5. In Population 1, a 5 μmol/L increase in tHcy was associated with a 0.47 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23–0.70 mmHg, p< 0.01) increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 0.14 mmHg (95% CI: −0.02 to 0.30 mmHg, p= 0.08) increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In Population 2, a 5 μmol/L increase in tHcy was associated with a 0.42 mmHg (95% CI: 0.13–0.72 mmHg, p< 0.01) increase in SBP and a 0.29 mmHg (95% CI: 0.09–0.49 mmHg, p< 0.01) increase in DBP. The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in Population 1 (by 47%; odds ratio [OR] 1.47, 95% CI: 1.09–1.98, p= 0.01) and in Population 2 (by 55%;OR 1.55, 95% CI: 1.15–2.08, p< 0.01) in participants with tHcy ≥ 15 μmol/l than in those with tHcy < 10 μmol/L. Stratified analysis showed that the association was stronger in women than in men.

Nitraria tangutorumB. (NT), Hippophae rhamnoidesL. (HR), Lycium ruthenicumM. (LR), Lycii fructus(LF), Rosa xanthinaL. (RX), and Rubuscor chorifoliusL. f. (RC) are six berries from Tibetan Plateau. They have been used in traditional folk medicine with a long history, which are rich in anthocyanins. However, detailed study of their anthocyanins remains scarce. Therefore, a method for rapid simultaneous identification and quantification of 12 anthocyanins from berries using UPLC-Quadruple-Orbitrap MS system (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS) was established in this work. It was verified with limit of detection (3.86–11.61 µg/L), limit of quantification (3.86–11.61 µg/L), precision (0.95–2.38%), repeatability (0.96–2.08%), stability (0.86–2.31%), mean recovery (95.8–103.1%), recovery range (93.1–107.2%) and RSD less than 5.21%. It was then used in the analysis of anthocyanins in six berries species; 8, 7, 7, 7, 6 and 9 species of anthocyanins have been identified in NT, LF, LR, HR, RC and RX, respectively based on their own retention time and exact mass in positive mode, and for the first time quantified successfully in each berry (31.11 ± 0.42–2978 ± 25.67 μg.g−1). Finally, 2, 2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity (0.92 ± 0.12–5.61 ± 0.23 mM TE/100 g), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (1.23 ± 0.15–7.42 ± 0.28 mM TE/100 g) and total antioxidant activity (T-AOC) assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the six berries.

Mixed application of controlled‐release and normal urea (MCU) is considered as a promising alternative to farmers’ practice with one‐time nitrogen fertilization (FP) and optimal split nitrogen fertilization (OPT). In this study, MCU effectiveness on maize (Zea maysL.) were investigated by conducting 2‐yr field experiments on sandy and clay soils. Across the 2 yr, grain yields in MCU increased by 22 and 18% relative to FP on sand and clay soils, respectively, and net returns increased by 65 and 19%, respectively, while total N losses reduced by 228 and 193 kg N ha−1, respectively. In general, MCU showed significant advantages in agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits relative to FP across soil types, and the advantages were more remarkable on sandy soil. Although OPT also showed better effectiveness relative to FP, while its performances were similar to MCU on clay soil but slightly less effective on sandy soil. Compared to FP, the lower N rate and optimized N management in MCU and OPT effectively reduced N loss and ensured sufficient soil N availability to meet maize N demand at the later growth stage, accumulated more dry matter (DM) and N in plants that associated with larger post‐silking ratios, and consequently improved grain yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency (REN). Our results demonstrated that MCU is an effective and promising method to concurrently meet smallholders’ requirement for simplified fertilization and the optimal N management strategy, could replace OPT as an optimal N management method for maize on both two soil types, especially on sandy soil.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. The pathogenesis of AD is very complicated. For decades, the amyloid hypothesis has influenced and guided research in the field of AD. Meanwhile, researchers gradually realized that AD is caused by multiple concomitant factors, such as autophagy, mitochondrial quality control, insulin resistance and oxidative stress. In current clinical trials, the improvement strategies of AD, such as Aβ antibody immunotherapy and gamma secretase inhibitors, are limited. There is mounting evidence of neurodegenerative disorders indicated that activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) may have broad neuroprotective effects. We reviewed the researches on AMPK for AD, the results demonstrated that activation of AMPK is controversial in Aβ deposition and tau phosphorylation, but is positive to promote autophagy, maintain mitochondrial quality control, reduce insulin resistance and relieve oxidative stress. It is concluded that AMPK might be a new target for AD by aggressively treating the risk factors in the future.

Islet or β-cell transplantation is currently considered to be the ideal treatment for diabetes, and three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting of a bionic pancreas with physiological stiffness is considered to be promising for the encapsulation and transplantation of β-cells. In this study, a 5%GelMA/2%AlgMA hybrid hydrogel with pancreatic physiological stiffness was constructed and used for β-cell encapsulation, 3D bioprinting, and in vivo transplantation to evaluate glycemic control in diabetic mice. The hybrid hydrogel had good cytocompatibility and could induce insulin-producing cells (IPCs) to form pseudoislet structures and improve insulin secretion. Furthermore, we validated the importance of betacellulin (BTC) in IPCs differentiation and confirmed that IPCs self-regulation was achieved by altering the nuclear and cytoplasmic distributions of BTC expression. In vivo transplantation of diabetic mice quickly restored blood glucose levels. In the future, 3D bioprinting of β-cells using biomimetic hydrogels will provide a promising platform for clinical islet transplantation for the treatment of diabetes.

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is one of the most common disorders related to the spine. Inflammation, apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation contribute to disc degeneration in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). This study focused on the role and mechanism of the p38 inhibitor TAK-715 in intervertebral disc degeneration. Methods: NPCs were treated with IL-1β to mimic apoptosis, followed by the addition of TAK-715. It was determined that apoptosis, inflammatory mediators (COX-2), inflammatory cytokines (HMGB1), and ECM components (collagen II, MMP9, ADAMTS5, and MMP3) existed in NPCs. In addition, the p38MAPK signaling pathways were examined. The role of TAK-715 in vivo was determined by acupuncture-induced intervertebral disc degeneration. Following an intradiscal injection of TAK-715, MRI and a histopathological analysis were conducted to assess the degree of degeneration. Results: IL-1β-induced apoptosis was alleviated by TAK-715 in vitro, and antiapoptotic proteins were upregulated. Furthermore, TAK-715 blocked IL-1β-induced inflammatory mediator production (COX-2) and inflammatory cytokine production (HMGB1) and degraded the ECM (collagen II, MMP9, ADAMTS5, and MMP3). By inhibiting the phosphorylation of p38, TAK-715 exerted its effects. In a rat tail model, TAK-715 ameliorates puncture-induced disc degeneration based on MRI and histopathology evaluations. Conclusion: TAK-715 attenuated intervertebral disc degeneration in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that it might be an effective treatment for IDD.

Globally, a persistent decline of freshwater availability has been identified over a number of intensively irrigated agricultural regions. Large‐scale inter‐basin water transfer (IBWT) has been suggested as a key tool for stabilizing regional terrestrial water storage (TWS). However, IBWT projects are prohibitively expensive, and their large‐scale cost effectiveness remains unclear. Here we quantify the IBWT impacts on TWS trends in the North China Plain (NCP), a global hotspot for TWS depletion and IBWT. Based on in‐situ observations, remote sensing, and water balance principles, we provide a framework to disentangle complex climate and anthropogenic impacts on NCP TWS. Results show that the NCP TWS depletion rate was significantly attenuated in 2015–2021, which is primarily attributable to recently enhanced IBWT. Otherwise, the average NCP TWS would currently be 94.9 ± 4.9 mm (or 12.2 ± 0.6 km3) lower. However, the positive effect of IBWT is partly offset by increased crop water consumption (−24.1 ± 5.2 mm or −3.1 ± 0.7 km3). IBWT and agricultural management (i.e., reducing crop density) are both necessary for stabilizing future NCP TWS. Otherwise, a TWS declining trend exceeding 100 mm/year may occur under elevated CO2conditions. As such, this study verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of IBWT for mitigating regional water shortages, as well as the crucial role of agricultural management in stabilizing regional TWS. A new framework for reconstructing terrestrial water storage (TWS) is proposedThis framework physically distinguishes climate and human impacts on TWS anomaly variationsInter‐basin water transfer and agriculture management are critical for stabilizing TWS over the North China Plain A new framework for reconstructing terrestrial water storage (TWS) is proposed This framework physically distinguishes climate and human impacts on TWS anomaly variations Inter‐basin water transfer and agriculture management are critical for stabilizing TWS over the North China Plain

ABSTRACTOffline electronic cash is a new and well-acknowledged type of e-cash scheme that can release the bank from participating in every spending protocol. However, it is still an unsolved problem to design a secure and efficient fair offline e-cash scheme. Considering this problem, in this paper, we have proposed a fair offline electronic cash scheme with multiple banks in pairing-based instantiation. We adopt Groth–Sahai non-interactive zero-knowledge proof technology in our scheme, to design non-interactive e-cash transactions. Additionally, inspired by Water’s group signature, our solution supports not only multiple users, but also users with accounts in different banks. Moreover, our scheme has efficient double-spending checking and a fair control mechanism. We have formally defined the security properties of the scheme in a standard model, and provided the detailed security proofs of the security properties concerning chosen ciphertext attack (CCA) anonymity, unforgeability and traceability. Analysis and comparison show that our scheme has advantages both in security and in efficiency.

Intelligent robots are expected to collaboratively work with humans in dynamically changing daily life environments. To realize successful human-robot collaboration, robots need to deal with latent spatiotemporal complexity in the workspace and the task. To overcome this crucial issue, three levels of adaptability-motion modification, action selection, and role switching-should be considered. This paper demonstrates that a single hierarchically organized neuro-dynamical system called a multiple timescale recurrent neural network can achieve these levels of adaptability by utilizing hierarchical and bidirectional information processing. The system is implemented in a humanoid robot and the robot is required to learn to perform collaborative tasks in which some parts must be performed by a human partner and others by the robot. Experimental results show that the robot can perform collaborative tasks under dynamically changing environments, including both learned and unlearned situations, thanks to different levels of adaptability acquired in the system.

Houses in mild-climate countries, such as Australia, are often ill-equipped to provide occupants protection during cold weather due to their design. As a result, we rely on energy to warm homes, however, energy is becoming increasingly expensive, and evidence is emerging of a sizable burden to population health of being unable to afford to warm homes causing exposure to cold indoor temperatures.

The trend of the era of the Internet of Everything has promoted the integration of various industries and the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and the scope of influence of the IoT is developing in a wider and deeper level. With the extension of the fields involved, the in-depth progress of the IoT is facing a bottleneck. For example, the security of IoT network and software have problems that are difficult to reconcile. Graph-powered learning methods such as graph embedding and graph neural network (GNN) are expected. How to use the graph learning method in IoT is a question that has to be discussed in relation to the future of the Internet of Things. This paper comprehensively discusses related research and summarizes the progress of using graph-powered learning to promote the network anomaly detection, malware detection, IoT device management, service recommendation and other aspects of IoT. And discuss the results of using graph theory and graph-powered learning methods according to the IoT fields such as smart transportation, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Social Internet of Things (SIoT), smart medical care, smart home, smart grid, and smart city. Finally, in view of the existing issues and trends, this paper proposes future research directions including city various predictions, dynamics and heterogeneity, semantic analysis, resource consumption, point cloud, digital twins, and remote sensing.

Cu-SSZ-13 has been used as the main catalyst in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for diesel because of its excellent hydrothermal stability and SCR activity. SO2poisoning is one of the main factors affecting the SCR activity of Cu-SSZ-13 at low temperatures. The effects of the actual exhaust atmosphere on the characteristics of SO2poisoning were experimentally investigated. In the absence of NH3, CuSO4species generated at Cu sites gradually increased with an increase in the SO2poisoning temperature, while the amount of H2SO4species was stable below 350 °C. The SCR NOxconversions of samples SO2poisoned at 250 °C was lower than those of samples poisoned at both 150 and 400 °C. In the presence of NH3, (NH4)2SO4species were generated, and more importantly, the production of CuSO4species was significantly promoted, which substantially reduced SCR NOxconversions for the samples poisoned at 150 and 250 °C. When the SO2poisoning temperature was 400 °C, NH3inhibited CuSO4species generation, and NOxconversions were basically unchanged. The SO2-poisoned Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst can recover most of its activity at high regeneration temperatures above 650 °C, but the regeneration temperature can be reduced to 450 °C, and all sulfate species can be decomposed while NH3is present during regeneration.

Flexible transparent conductive materials show great potential in wearable electronics, flexible sensors, and so on. But the most used flexible conductive materials like hydrogels and ionogels suffer from evaporation and solvent leakage. For the application in these fields, integrated performances of preeminent resilience, transparency, stability, and conductivity that do not change with deformation are prerequisites. It is still challenging to handle the trade-off among these performances. Herein, a facile approach is established to balance these properties into one elastomer. Through the thiol–ene click reaction, mercaptopropyl-modified polydimethylsiloxane (mPDMS) is cross-linked and grafted by PEG-based macromonomers to prepare conductive elastomers. By anchoring with mPDMS through carbon–sulfur bonds, PEG can be evenly dispersed, resulting in ultratransparency (97%) and stable conductivity of as high as 1.68 × 10–2S m–1, comparable to pure PEG/lithium salt conductivity. It also has a wide electrochemical stability window with a high voltage of 4.8 V. Moreover, the multibond network strategy is employed through grafting ligand 1-vinylimidazole to mPDMS to construct dynamic cross-links between Zn(II) and 1-vinylimidazol, bestowing excellent properties to the elastomers. Overall, elastomers with a well-balanced performance of high resilience, good conductivity, and ultratransparency are obtained, providing promising applications for soft electronics, lithium battery electrolytes, and flexible devices.

ABSTRACTPlant immunity is initiated by cell surface-localized receptors upon perception of pathogen-derived microbe or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs/PAMPs), damage/danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and phytocytokines. Different patterns activate highly overlapping immune signaling at the early stage but divergent physiological responses at the late stage. Here, we indicate that plant elicitor peptide 1 (Pep1), a well-known DAMP, induces lignin and callose depositions, two types of late immune responses for strengthening the plant cell wall. Pep1-induced lignin and callose depositions in Arabidopsisroot rely on early signaling components for Pep1 perception and signaling propagation. The phytohormone jasmonic acid and ethylene differently regulate the Pep1-regulated cell wall consolidation. Pep1 application in root also triggers a systemic immune signaling in shoot, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) is essential for the signaling communication between root and shoot. Collectively, the study reveals that Pep1 strengthens cell walls in root and triggers a systemic immune signaling from root to shoot.

Objective.We previously demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS; ASMSC) have a greater osteogenic differentiation capacity than MSC from healthy donors (HDMSC) and that this difference underlies the pathogenesis of pathological osteogenesis in AS. Here we compared expression levels of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNA between osteogenically differentiated ASMSC and HDMSC and explored the precise mechanism underlying abnormal osteogenic differentiation in ASMSC.Methods.HDMSC and ASMSC were induced with osteogenic differentiation medium for 10 days. Microarray analyses were then performed to identify lncRNA and mRNA differentially expressed between HDMSC and ASMSC, which were then subjected to bioinformatics analysis and confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. In addition, coding-non-coding gene co-expression (CNC) networks were constructed to examine the relationships between the lncRNA and mRNA expression patterns.Results.A total of 520 lncRNA and 665 mRNA were differentially expressed in osteogenically differentiated ASMSC compared with HDMSC. Bioinformatics analysis revealed 64 signaling pathways with significant differences, including transforming growth factor-β signaling. qRT-PCR assays confirmed the reliability of the microarray data. The CNC network indicated that 4 differentially expressed lncRNA, including lnc-ZNF354A-1, lnc-LIN54-1, lnc-FRG2C-3, and lnc-USP50-2 may be involved in the abnormal osteogenic differentiation of ASMSC.Conclusion.Our study characterized the differential lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles of osteogenically differentiated ASMSC and identified 4 lncRNA that may participate in the abnormal osteogenic differentiation of ASMSC. These results provide insight into the pathogenesis of pathological osteogenesis in AS.

Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of intravenous (IV) infusion of allogenic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients who are refractory to or cannot tolerate the side effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). AS patients enrolled in this study received four IV infusions of MSCs on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. The percentage of ASAS20 responders (the primary endpoint) at the fourth week and the mean ASAS20 response duration (the secondary endpoint) were used to assess treatment response to MSC infusion and duration of the therapeutic effects. Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score Containing C-reactive Protein (ASDAS-CRP) and other preestablished evaluation indices were also adopted to evaluate the clinical effects. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to detect changes of bone marrow edema in the spine. The safety of this treatment was also evaluated. Thirty-one patients were included, and the percentage of ASAS20 responders reached 77.4% at the fourth week, and the mean ASAS20 response duration was 7.1 weeks. The mean ASDAS-CRP score decreased from 3.6 ± 0.6 to 2.4 ± 0.5 at the fourth week and then increased to 3.2 ± 0.8 at the 20th week. The average total inflammation extent (TIE) detected by MRI decreased from 533,482.5 at baseline to 480,692.3 at the fourth week (p> 0.05) and 400,547.2 at the 20th week (p< 0.05). No adverse effects were noted. IV infusion of MSCs is a feasible, safe, and promising treatment for patients with AS.

The development of Digital Twins has enabled them to be widely applied to various fields represented by intelligent manufacturing. A Metaverse, which is parallel to the physical world, needs mature and secure Digital Twins technology in addition to Parallel Intelligence to enable it to evolve autonomously. We propose that Blockchain combined with other areas does not simultaneously require all of the basic elements. We extract the immutable characteristics of Blockchain and propose a secure multidimensional data storage solution called BlockNet that can ensure the security of the digital mapping process of the Internet of Things, thereby improving the data reliability of Digital Twins. Additionally, to address some of the challenges faced by multiscale spatial data processing, we propose a nonmutagenic multidimensional Hash Geocoding method, allowing unique indexing of multidimensional information and avoiding information loss due to data dimensionality reduction while improving the efficiency of information retrieval and facilitating the implementation of the Metaverse through spatial Digital Twins based on these two studies.

Abstract: The light transmission properties through two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides based on coupling of square cavities are studied by the finite-difference time-domain technique. Through interlacing the adjacent cavities along the direction vertical to the waveguide, the coupling distance between the adjacent cavities is extended, and the group velocity of the guiding modes can be slowed by five-fold compared with that in vacuum. Because of the different spatial field distributions of various resonant modes, the corresponding group velocities are also different for the same CROW structure.

It is unclear whether fluid management goals are best achieved by bolus injection or continuous infusion of loop diuretics. In this study, we compared the effectiveness and safety of a continuous infusion with that of a bolus injection when an increased loop diuretic dosage is required in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Based on the in situ DRIFTS studies, the mechanism of formation and decomposition of NH4NO3(decomposition to N2O) over Cu-SSZ-13 with different Cu loadings was investigated. Under standard SCR conditions, NH4NO2can form over all catalysts, which can be more easily oxidized to NH4NO3over higher Cu content catalysts because of their stronger oxidative ability resulting from the elevation of Cu(OH)+. Hence, a higher Cu content leads to more low-temperature N2O formation, while N2O barely occurred over Cu-0 and Cu-0.7 catalysts. When NO2exists, NO3–forms from the disproportionation reaction of NO2first, then reacts with NH3to form NH4NO3, leading to N2O formation over all catalysts. Nevertheless, Cu2+is active for the reaction between NH4NO3and NO. The increase of Cu2+allows more NH4NO3consumption, and the self-inhibition of NH4NO3alleviates, which allows NH4NO3to decompose to N2O at lower temperatures, and N2O formation peak shifts toward lower temperatures.

Dome seeing degrades the image quality of ground-based telescopes. To achieve dome seeing of the Four Meter Telescope (FMT) less than 0.5 arcsec, structural optimizations based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation were proposed. The results of the simulation showed that dome seeing of FMT was 0.42 arcsec, which was mainly caused by the slope angle of the dome when the slope angle was 15° and the wind speed was 10 m/s. Furthermore, the lower the air speed was, the less dome seeing would be. Wind tunnel tests (WT) with a 1:120 scaled model of the retractable dome and FMT indicated that the calculated deviations of the CFD simulation used in this paper were less than 20% and the same variations of the refractive index derived from the WT would be a convincing argument for the validity of the simulations. Thus, the optimization of the retractable dome was reliable and the method expressed in this paper provided a reference for the design of next generation of ground-based telescope dome.