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In the recycling process, aluminum scraps, characterized by a considerable specific surface area, yield a remelt abundant in inclusions. While advanced melt purification systems proficiently extract hydrogen and large inclusions, micron-sized inclusions remain challenging to remove. Despite previous findings suggesting nominal effects of inclusions on the microstructure and properties of aged 7xxx-series plates, the products' airworthiness demands further improvement. This research aims to decipher the influence of micron-sized inclusions on the microstructure and properties of recycled 7xxx aluminum alloy. We prepared thin sheets of varied cleanliness and utilized SEM, EBSD, and TEM to characterize their microstructure at different heat treatment stages. Additionally, high-temperature tensile and bending properties, together with exfoliation corrosion behaviors, were examined. Our results point to the causative role of inclusions in localized dislocation accumulation post-rolling, which annealing can mitigate but not fully eliminate; however, a solid solution can effectively address this issue. The inclusions significantly disrupt the microstructure and properties of the annealed recycled sheet, but their impact on the solid solution-aged recycled sheet is minor. This study's findings can guide the high-end transformation of recycled aluminum alloy and lay a theoretical foundation for sustainable aluminum recycling.

d-Allose is a low-calorie rare sugar with great application potential in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The production of d-allose has been accomplished using l-rhamnose isomerase (L-RI), but concomitantly increasing the enzyme’s stability and activity remains challenging. Here, we rationally engineered an L-RI from Clostridium stercorariumto enhance its stability by comprehensive computation-aided redesign of its flexible regions, which were successively identified using molecular dynamics simulations. The resulting combinatorial mutant M2-4 exhibited a 5.7-fold increased half-life at 75 °C while also exhibiting improved catalytic efficiency. Especially, by combining structure modeling and multiple sequence alignment, we identified an α0 region that was universal in the L-RI family and likely acted as a “helix-breaker”. Truncating this region is crucial for improving the thermostability of related enzymes. Our work provides a significantly stable biocatalyst with potential for the industrial production of d-allose.

The spectral-element spectral-integral (SESI) method is developed to simulate the electromagnetic (EM) scattering from doubly periodic anisotropic objects embedded in multiple regions of layered media with the fully anisotropic materials. The SESI is a hybrid method that combines the spectral-element method (SEM) and spectral-integral method (SIM), the computational domain of which is divided into several SEM and SIM subdomains. Different from our previous work, not only the SEM subdomain can be anisotropic but also the SIM subdomain can be anisotropic. This is achieved by extending the periodic layered medium Green’s function (PLMGF), plane wave of layered medium, and Riemann transmission condition (RTC) in isotropic materials to those in fully anisotropic materials. Four numerical experiments validate the efficiency and accuracy of the developed SIM and SESI method compared with the finite-element method (FEM) or the analytical solver for plane wave of fully anisotropic layered medium.

Multimodal sentiment analysis is an actively growing research area that utilizes language, acoustic and visual signals to predict sentiment inclination. Compared to language, acoustic and visual features carry a more evident personal style which may degrade the model generalization capability. The issue will be exacerbated in a speaker-independent setting, where the model will encounter samples from unseen speakers during the testing stage. To mitigate personal style's impact, we propose a framework named SIMR for learning speaker-independent multimodal representation. This framework separates the nonverbal inputs into style encoding and content representation with the aid of informative cross-modal correlations. Besides, in terms of integrating cross-modal complementary information, the classical transformer-based approaches are inherently inclined to discover compatible cross-modal interactions but ignore incompatible ones. In contrast, we suggest simultaneously locating both through an enhanced cross-modal transformer module. Experimental results show that the proposed model achieves state-of-the-art performance on several datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety issues caused by sodium dendrites limit the widespread application of sodium metal batteries. Herein, a self-healing polymer electrolyte (SPE) is prepared by immersing the self-healing polymer in a liquid electrolyte. Benefiting from the self-healing properties, elastic interface, and dense nonporous structure of the SPE, the fabricated NaK|MC SPE|NaK symmetric battery presents a long battery life (∼590 h) and low polarization voltage (192 mV). Moreover, the PTCDA|MC SPE|NaK full cell also delivers stable long cycles and outstanding rate performance.

This communication presents a novel end-to-end artificial neural network (ANN)-based 2-D electromagnetic (EM) full-wave inversion (FWI) scheme in which the transceiver configurations are allowed to be different in training and testing. The equivalent current on the boundary of the numerical computational domain bridges the different scattered field data excited or recorded by different transceivers used in the training and testing. The transformation is accomplished through the following three steps: first, the fictitious equivalent current is solved from the scattered field recorded in the testing by multiplying it with the inverse of the radiation matrix whose kennel is the Green’s function of the background medium; then, let the obtained fictitious equivalent current radiate under the configuration of the transceivers adopted during training; finally, the scattered field data recorded by the receivers used in the training are input into the trained ANN to predict the dielectric parameters of the scatterers enclosed in the inversion domain. This rigorous transformation enables the end-to-end ANN training and testing for FWI to be implemented for different transceiver configurations and has many potential applications. Several numerical examples are used to validate the feasibility of the proposed inversion scheme.

In this work, a hybrid 3-D spectral-element spectral-integral (SESI) method is developed by combining the spectral element method (SEM) and spectral integral method (SIM) for the fast evaluation of electromagnetic (EM) scattering from double Bloch (Floquet) periodic problems with 3-D scatterers embedded in multiple regions of layered media. This 3-D SESI method is a further extension of the previously developed 2-D SESI method. In the proposed method, the computational domain is divided into several SEM and SIM subdomains, where the subdomains are coupled by Riemann transmission conditions (RTCs) to allow the use of nonconforming meshes for these subdomains. Meanwhile, the 3-D periodic layered medium Green’s function (PLMGF) is derived and employed to simulate 3-D structures in layered media without their volumetric discretization. Four numerical experiments show that the developed SIM method is highly efficient and accurate; the SESI method is more efficient than the traditional finite element method (FEM), thus is a promising solver for designing and optimizing frequency selective surfaces (FSSs), metamaterials, and metasurfaces.

Glioma is an intracranial malignant brain tumor with high infiltration. It is difficult to identify the glioma boundary. Raman spectroscopy can potentially detect this boundary accurately in situand in vivoduring surgery. However, when building a classification model for an in vitroexperiment, fresh normal tissue is difficult to obtain. The number of normal tissues is far less than that of glioma tissues, which leads to a classification bias toward the majority class. In this study, a data augmentation algorithm GKIM based on the Gaussian kernel density is proposed for the data augmentation of normal tissue spectra. A weight coefficient calculation formula is proposed based on the Gaussian density instead of a fixed coefficient to synthesize new spectra, which increases sample diversity and improves the robustness of modeling. Additionally, the fuzzy nearest neighbor distance replaces the general fixed neighbor number Kto select the original spectra for synthesis. It automatically determines the nearest spectra and adaptively synthesizes new spectra according to the characteristics of the input spectra. It effectively overcomes the problem of the newly generated sample distribution being too concentrated in specific spaces for the common data augmentation method. In this study, 769 Raman spectra of glioma and 136 Raman spectra of normal brain tissue corresponding to 205 and 37 cases, respectively, were collected. The Raman spectra of the normal tissue were extended to 600. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 91.67%, 91.67%, and 91.67%. The proposed method achieved better predictive performance than traditional algorithms for class imbalance.

A portable electronic personal dosimeter (EPD) with a battery supply is widely used to monitor the dose equivalence of staff in nuclear radiation environments, requiring both a low energy detection limitation and a long operation period. Recently, a commercial silicon p-i-n (Si-PIN) detector has been proposed as a radiation sensor due to its advantages of low cost and high sensitivity. However, such a detector suffers from a large parasitic capacitance, i.e., 20 pF at a supply of several tens of volts. Thus, designing a low-noise front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) at low power dissipation is very critical. In this article, we propose design techniques and characterization of a fully customized low-noise ASIC for this application. An improved charge-sensitive amplifier (CSA) and a CR-(RC)3 pulse shaper with programmable shaping time are proposed to achieve both a low noise floor and a smaller slope of equivalent noise charge (ENC) at room temperature. A four-channel ASIC has been successfully developed in the $0.35~\mu \text{m}$ complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The die size of the prototype chip is 2.5 $\times $ 2.5 mm. The dynamic range of input charges is 0.2–15 fC. The ENC is 102 + 3.5 e− (rms) per picofarad under a power dissipation of ~2 mW/channel. Through the measurement of the ASIC connected to a Si-PIN detector, the energy resolution is 3.8% full-width half maximum (FWHM) at the 59.5 keV of the radioactive source 241 Am. The energy detection threshold is less than 5 keV and the maximum count rate is 320 kcps. The proposed ASIC has passed the verification of a stereotyped EPD.

This article proposes a multi-object tracking (MOT) method called StrongFusionMOT, which fuses the information of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and camera sensors. The major contributions of the proposed StrongFusionMOT are in three aspects. First, in the detection fusion stage, the depth information extracted by means of absolute difference (AD)-census is supplemented to 2-D detections to facilitate the fusion of 2-D and 3-D detections. This detection fusion pattern enhances fusion robustness and provides accurate fusion performance. Second, a new cost function design named shape-distance intersection over union (SDIoU) is proposed by taking into account not only the intersection between the two bounding boxes but also their shapes and relative distances. This cost function eliminates the shortcomings of the existing IoU designs and greatly enhances association precision. Third, a multiframe matching mechanism that involves tracks in the past ${n}$ frames is proposed for reappeared tracks, which effectively suppresses cumulative errors resulting from consecutive frames of track predictions and greatly enhances association robustness. The effectiveness of the proposed StrongFusionMOT is evaluated by means of comparative experiments with the state-of-the-art MOT solutions using the KITTI dataset and the nuScenes dataset. Both quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate the superiorities of the proposed method in terms of various performance metrics.

ABSTRACTDiabetic nephropathy (DN) has become a major cause of end-stage renal disease, and autophagy disorder is implicated in the pathogenesis of DN. Our previous studies found that vitamin D (VD) and VDR (vitamin D receptor) played a renoprotective role by inhibiting inflammation and fibrosis. However, whether VD-VDR regulates autophagy disorders in DN remains unclear. In this study, we established a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic model in vdrknockout (vdr-KO) mice and VDR specifically overexpressed in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (Vdr-OE) mice. Our results showed that paricalcitol (an activated vitamin D analog) or Vdr-OE could alleviate STZ-induced ALB (albumin) excretion, renal tubule injury and inflammation, while these were worsened in vdr-KO mice. Defective autophagy was observed in the kidneys of STZ mice, which was more pronounced in vdr-KO mice and could be partially restored by paricalcitol or Vdr-OE. In high glucose-induced HK-2 cells, defective autophagy and decreased PRKAA1/AMPK phosphorylation was observed, which could be partially restored by paricalcitol in a VDR-dependent manner. AMPK inhibitor abolished paricalcitol-induced autophagy activation, and AMPK activator restored the defective autophagy in high glucose-induced HK-2 cells. Furthermore, paricalcitol-mediated AMPK activation was abrogated by CAMKK2/CaMKKβ inhibition, but not by STK11/LKB1knockout. Meanwhile, paricalcitol rescued the decreased Ca2+concentration induced by high glucose. In conclusion, VD-VDR can restore defective autophagy in the kidney of STZ-induced diabetic mice, which could be attributed to the activation of the Ca2+-CAMKK2-AMPK pathway in renal tubular epithelial cells.Abbreviations:ACTB/β-actin: actin beta;AGE: advanced glycation end-products;AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase;CAMKK2/CaMKKβ: calcium-calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase 2;CQ: chloroquine;DN: diabetic nephropathy;HG: high levels of glucose;KO: knockout;LG: low levels of glucose;MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3;NOD2: nucleotide binding oligomerization domain containing 2;OE: overexpression;PAS: periodic acid Schiff; Pari: paricalcitol;PTECs: proximal renal tubule epithelial cells;RT: room temperature;SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1;STK11/LKB1: serine/threonine kinase 11;STZ: streptozotocin;TEM: transmission electron microscopy;VD: vitamin D;VDR: vitamin D receptor;WT: wild-type

Point cloud maps generated via LiDAR sensors using extensive remotely sensed data are commonly used by autonomous vehicles and robots for localization and navigation. However, dynamic objects contained in point cloud maps not only downgrade localization accuracy and navigation performance but also jeopardize the map quality. In response to this challenge, we propose in this paper a novel semantic SLAM approach for dynamic scenes based on LiDAR point clouds, referred to as SD-SLAM hereafter. The main contributions of this work are in three aspects: 1) introducing a semantic SLAM framework dedicatedly for dynamic scenes based on LiDAR point clouds, 2) employing semantics and Kalman filtering to effectively differentiate between dynamic and semi-static landmarks, and 3) making full use of semi-static and pure static landmarks with semantic information in the SD-SLAM process to improve localization and mapping performance. To evaluate the proposed SD-SLAM, tests were conducted using the widely adopted KITTI odometry dataset. Results demonstrate that the proposed SD-SLAM effectively mitigates the adverse effects of dynamic objects on SLAM, improving vehicle localization and mapping performance in dynamic scenes, and simultaneously constructing a static semantic map with multiple semantic classes for enhanced environment understanding.

Fungal laccases are industrially important inducible enzymes extensively used in the delignification of lignocellulosics, detoxification of environmental wastes and decolorization of textile dyes. The discovery of new inducers is crucial for laccase productivity by filamentous fungi. In this study, a novel laccase-producing strain S8 from a bambusicolous fungus Shiraia bambusicolawas identified by using 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) as laccase secretion indicator and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The corresponding full-length cDNA of laccase was cloned and characterized. The effect of lanthanum (LaCl3) on extracellular laccase activity was tested at the concentration from 0.2 to 2.0 g/L and at different addition time (day 1–4) in the mycelium culture. In the presence of 1.0 g/L La3+at the beginning of the mycelium cultures, the highest laccase activity (2.7 × 104U/L) is reached after 10 days of cultivation, about tenfold higher compared with non-induced cultures. La3+is shown to be a very strong inducer for fungal laccase activity with no inhibitory effect on fungal growth at the optimized concentration. In vivo, La3+added to the mycelium culture not only promotes a continuous and high expression of laccase gene (lcc1), but also induces a rapid generation of signaling molecules including reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxygen (NO). Both the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) potentiate La3+-induced laccase activity and increase membrane permeability of hyphal cells. Moreover, the scavengers such as 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO) for NO and vitamin C for ROS suppress the induction. These results suggest that these signals can mediate La3+-induced laccase biosynthesis and its secretion. Our study provides a basis for understanding the induction mechanism of La3+on laccase and a practical strategy for enhanced fungal laccase production.

The aviation grade-maintained recycling of 7XXX aluminum alloy has been achieved. However, there is still a lack of research on the optimization of the microstructure and properties of recycled aviation alloy. This work explores the effect of solid solution treatment on the microstructure and properties of recycled 7050-T7451 plate and its mechanism. The mechanism of "solid solution synergistic regulation of mechanics and corrosion resistance" was elucidated. After the solid solution of recycled aviation aluminum plates, the incomplete dissolution of Al2CuMg caused stress concentration and deteriorated the mechanical properties. In addition, the Cu clusters promoted the anodic dissolution of Al, reducing the corrosion resistance. Therefore, the solution temperature of recycled 7050 sheet was increased from 470 °C to 480 °C for 100 minutes. And the residual Al2CuMg was reduced by 56.6%, which synergistically improved the mechanical and corrosion resistance properties of recycled 7050 plates. The mechanical properties of two sets of recycled 7050-T7451 plates reached 516.3 MPa and 522.0 MPa, with elongation 17.5% and 17.3%, and there was no intergranular corrosion. This work explored the regulation mechanism of microstructure and properties of recycled 7050-T7451 plate, laying the foundation for the application of recycled aviation aluminum alloys.

Rosa rugosa, an ornamental plant with medicinal properties, and its red-colored hips are rich in bioactive compounds. However, limited research has been conducted on the accumulation of pigments in its hips and the molecular regulatory mechanism. A comprehensive analysis of carotenoid metabolites at three different stages (mature green (MG), breaker (B) and mature red (MR)) in R. rugosahips was performed using UPLC-APCI-MS/MS. A total of 18 carotenoids, including eight carotenes and ten xanthophylls, were identified, and their different accumulation patterns were observed in distinct stages. The analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using gene ontology (GO) highlighted 28 terms. The KEGG pathway analysis revealed that enriched pathways in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in MG versus B. RrGGPPS1 was identified as the producer of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) through a genetic complementation assay in Escherichia coliand in vitroenzymatic assay. Furthermore, transiently silencing the RrGGPPS1gene in rose resulted in the reduction of carotenoids in petals. This study provides a foundation for future research on understanding the regulation and biosynthesis of carotenoid metabolism in R. rugosahips.

The glioma margin is a region of brain tissue where glioblastoma tissue transitions to normal tissue with varying levels of cancer cell concentration. This article uses Raman spectroscopy to detect the glioma margin, which is a fuzzy and uncertain substance that cannot be accurately identified by conventional pattern recognition algorithms. This article applies abundance estimation to Raman spectral unmixing of glioma marginal tissues for the accurate and real-time determination of the tumor surgical boundary during an operation. This article introduces a novel method: the mutation endmember library sparse mixed abundance estimation model. This method adds different representative Raman spectra to each endmember library to account for its dynamic properties, thus reducing errors from such variations and fully capturing the diversity within the substance. Moreover, it uses group sparse endmember bundle decomposition, where each substance endmember library consists of multiple Raman spectra. Fractionally mixed norms are used to ensure intergroup and intragroup sparsity, eliminate redundant spectra, and enhance the generalization ability of the abundance estimation. This method was compared with conventional abundance estimation methods. The experimental results of 112 human glioma margin tissues demonstrate that this method outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy, stability, and generalization ability. This article demonstrates the potential of miniature Raman spectroscopy as a new approach to in vivo and noninvasively determining intraoperative margin assessment.

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the outcome and factors correlated with maintenance peritoneal dialysis (PD) to provide guidance for improving prognosis, and prolonging the catheterization and survival times of patients on PD with end-stage renal disease.Methods Clinical data of patients at The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were retrospectively analyzed. We compared the survival and technique survival rates of patients, and analyzed relevant factors.Results A total of 510 cases of PD were included. Two hundred thirty-nine patients continued to receive PD treatment, 73 received kidney transplants, 72 transferred to hemodialysis, and 126 died. The main reasons of death were cardiovascular (27.00%) and cerebrovascular diseases (23.80%). The main reasons of transfer to HD were peritonitis and inadequate dialysis. The survival rates at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 years were 95.75%, 90.34%, 82.35%, 66.21%, and 54.32%, respectively. The technique survival rates at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 years were 93.22%, 86.76%, 77.91%, 63.16%, and 47.67%, respectively. Female sex and older age were protective factors that affected patients’ withdrawal from PD and survival time.Conclusions Death is the primary reason for withdrawal from PD. Female sex and older age affect patients’ withdrawal from PD and survival.

The problems of effective viable bacteria easy loss  were solved by BC@SL.Rs stress was relieved by BC@SL through direct inhibition and defensive feedback.BC@SL  optimized defensive feedback by reshaping root exudates and microbiota.

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been widely applied as efficient elicitors to improve production of biologically important secondary metabolites in plants. However, their effects on microbial secondary metabolites were seldom reported. In this study, lanthanum (LaCl3) was used as an elicitor in mycelium cultures of Shiraia bambusicolato stimulate the production of hypocrellin A (HA), a promising photosensitizer for anticancer photodynamic therapy. La3+at 1.0 g/L not only increases HA content by 2.50-fold in mycelia, but stimulates HA exudation to the medium with the highest production (225.05 mg/L) on day 6. Further analysis shows that La3+can induce the intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) accumulation with 2.33-fold higher contents of H2O2in mycelium. HA production induced by La3+treatment can be suppressed by ROS scavengers. Further analysis reveals that the elicitation of La3+on HA accumulation is mediated by ROS generation to enhance expression of HA biosynthetical genes. The expression of ATP-binding cassette transporter gene (SbABC) for HA exudation is also regulated partially via ROS generated by NADPH oxidase. These results indicate that the enhanced HA production by La3+might be mediated by ROS signaling pathway. Our results provide a basis for understanding REE elicitation on fungal metabolites and a practical biotechnological process for enhanced production of HA.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of sepsis characterized by a rapid degradation of renal function. The effect of vitamin D on AKI remains poorly understood. Here, we showed that vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation protects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced AKI by blocking renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis. Mice lacking VDR developed more severe AKI than wild-type (WT) control mice after LPS treatment, which was manifested by marked increases in body weight loss and accumulation of serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine as well as the magnitude of apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells. In the renal cortex, LPS treatment led to more dramatic downregulation of Bcl-2, more robust induction of p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) and miR-155, and more severe caspase-3 activation in VDR knockout mice compared with WT control mice. Conversely, paricalcitol pretreatment markedly prevented LPS-induced AKI. Paricalcitol ameliorated body weight loss, attenuated serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine accumulation, blocked tubular cell apoptosis, prevented the suppression of Bcl-2, and reversed PUMA and miR-155 induction and caspase-3 activation in LPS-treated WT mice. In HK2 cells, LPS induced PUMA and miR-155 by activating NF-κB, whereas 1,25(OH)2D3blocked PUMA and miR-155 induction by repressing NF-κB activation. Both PUMA and miR-155 target Bcl-2 to promote apoptosis; namely, PUMA inhibits Bcl-2 activity, whereas miR-155 promotes Bcl-2 mRNA degradation and inhibits Bcl-2 protein translation. Collectively, these data provide strong evidence that LPS induces tubular cell apoptosis via upregulating PUMA and miR-155, whereas vitamin D/VDR signaling protects against AKI by blocking NF-κB-mediated PUMA and miR-155 upregulation.

Bradykinin (BK) is a major kinin substance in the Kallikrein-Kinin System (KKS) that acts in conjunction with target cell bradykinin receptors and is involved in a variety of systems and organs. Functional regulation and pathophysiological processes such as cardiovascular, renal, central nervous system regulation, glucose metabolism, cell proliferation, smooth muscle contraction, inflammation, pain, shock, and tissue damage processes, etc. The role and mechanism of receptors in the mediation of ischemic injury in tissues was reviewed.

Background: Kinins are pro-inflammatory peptides that mediate numerous vascular and pain responses in tissue injury. Kinins exert their biological functions via two G-protein-coupled receptors: Bradykinin 1 Receptor (B1R) and Bradykinin 2 Receptor (B2R). We previously demonstrated the up-regulation of B2R after Hypoxia/Reoxygenation (H/R) injury in primary cultured cortical neurons. However, the role of B2R in inflammasome-induced pyroptosis remains unknown. Methods: We induced H/R neuronal injury in primary cultured cortical neurons harvested from embryonic day 17 brains. Next, we examined the neuroprotective function of B2R in H/R-induced neuronal apoptosis or necrosis using an annexin V FITC/Propidium Iodide (PI) double-staining technique. The pyroptosis signaling cascade, including caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 levels and Cleaved Gasdermin D (GSDMD) expression was examined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Results: H/R injury significantly increased B2R protein expression (P<0.05) as well as the percentage of early apoptotic and necrotic or late apoptotic neurons as verified by the annexin V FITC/PI flow cytometric analysis. Bradykinin (BK), a specific B2R agonist, caused a significant decrease in apoptotic neuronal death after H/R injury, while HOE140, a specific B2R antagonist, markedly reduced the neuroprotective effect of B2R. Following H/R injury, BK downregulated the caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 levels (P<0.01). In contrast, pretreatment with HOE140 significantly increased caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 levels (P<0.01). Further analysis revealed that GSDMD, a key executioner of pyroptosis, is a target for B2R-mediated inhibition of neuronal pyroptosis. Cleaved GSDMD expression was significantly inhibited by BK pretreatment and significantly enhanced by HOE140 pretreatment (P<0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that activation of B2R plays an important role in pyroptosis mediated by H/R injury.

Large-eddy simulation (LES) with fully resolved rotor method (FRM) is applied to explore the turbulent wake flow characteristics and vortex evolution laws of a two-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine. Relevant wind tunnel experiments have been done based on time resolved particle image velocimetry (TRPIV) technique. The simulation results are validated by the experimental data and they are in good agreement. The axial average velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, shear Reynolds stress, and vortex structure of the wind turbine wake are analyzed based on the comparison of LES results and experimental data. It is observed that the wake diameter of wind turbine enlarges with the increase of tip speed ratio (TSR). Turbulent kinetic energy meets its minimum value when x/R=2.0. Shear Reynolds stress appears a positive peak in the near wake when x/R<2.0, and the value of shear Reynolds stress decreases along the axial direction. The blade tip vortex dissipates more quickly than the central vortex in the wind turbine wake, and the gradient of the relationship curve between the blade tip vortex core position and the vortex age decreases as the TSR increases. With the increase of TSR, the thrust coefficient increases, and the power coefficient increases first and then decreases. The present work proves that LES with FRM could calculate wind turbine turbulent wake flow with a high accuracy.

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) technology with SO2recyclable regeneration has been increasingly used for basic aluminum sulfate (aluminum base); in this process, chemical reaction and physical mass transfer synergistically affect desulfurization. In this study, experiments and ANSYS numerical simulation were performed to determine the multicomponent continuity equation, gas-phase volume overall mass transfer coefficient (KGae), and chemical mass transfer complex factor (F) by analyzing the reaction kinetics and using two-film theory. The chemical reaction rate (r) was calculated using the consumption rates of SO2and active Al2O3, and KGaewas obtained using flue gas apparent velocity and SO2mole fraction. The effect of different factors on the chemical mass transfer of aluminum base FGD was then determined. Results showed that both rand dynamic field of gas–liquid two-phase flow affected the mass transfer capacity and desulfurization effect of the aluminum base. The inlet SO2concentration exhibited a greater influence on KGaeand Fthan the concentration of the absorption solution. Chemical mass transfer originated at the phase interface, and the reaction mainly occurred in the liquid-phase boundary film. Mass transfer resistance was mainly concentrated in the gas-phase boundary film. The aeration rate affected bubble formation, diffusion morphology, and gas–liquid contact time. Increasing the number of small bubbles and preventing coalescence improved the desulfurization efficiency. Moreover, KGaeincreased linearly with the increasing aeration rate (0.05–0.15 m/s), and Fremained stable at a high level (about 0.05). The mass transfer capacity was mainly controlled by aeration rate, and the comprehensive effect of aluminum base FGD was mainly controlled by liquid-phase mass transfer conditions caused by the chemical reactions. Under the condition with 12.5% absorption solution and 0.05 m/s aeration rate, KGaewas only 2.346 × 10–6kmol/(s·m3·kPa). Furthermore, KGaeincreased rapidly with increasing concentration of absorption solution, whereas Fdecreased rapidly to the minimum value of 0.03443 with increasing aeration rate (0.15–0.2 m/s) under the conditions of low absorption solution concentration. The mass transfer capacity and comprehensive effect of aluminum base desulfurization were controlled by both physical mass transfer conditions due to the aeration rate and the liquid-phase mass transfer conditions caused by chemical reactions.

In the evolutionary process, honey bee populations became divergent due to geographical barriers or ecological adaptation, but to date which specific barriers and ecological isolation conditions that blocked the honey bee gene flow remain uncertain. Here, the morphometric divergence of Apis ceranawas studied across southwestern China, a region of diverse topography, featuring a low-elevation basin in the east and a high-elevation mountain and plateau in the west. A multivariate morphometric analysis was conducted on 1482 A. ceranaindividuals from 25 sampling sites across Sichuan province. The populations dwelling in high-elevation areas with larger body sizes and darker coloration were differentiated from the eastern low-elevation basin population. Moreover, the populations dwelling in the Jinshajiang, Yalongjiang, and DaduRiver Valleys showed significant divergence. Our data indicate that the morphometric variation between the high and low altitudes, probably due to the adaptation to the integrated effects of ecological factors such as air temperature, humidity, the nectar and pollen plants, and light intensity etc. Additionally, the mountains with an altitude of more than 3300 m and a honey bee-free zone probably served as a barrier to gene flow between the river valley populations.

Wind tunnel experiments of the wake characteristics of a two-blade wind turbine, in the downstream region of 0

There are 45%-71% machining chips generated during the manufacturing process of aviation components. Most of these MCs are down-grade recycled as cast alloy, causing resource waste. In this work, aviation MCs were added into the melt for grade-maintaining recycling. A systematic evaluation was conducted on the melt quality, microstructure evolution, and properties of industrial recycled 7050-T7451 plates with a capacity of 60t/furnace, as well as a comparison with the primary plates. The composition of the recycled 7050 melt is qualified, and the hydrogen content is below 0.075ml/100gAl. The results of PoDFA and LiMCA show that the inclusions in the recycled 7050 melt are mainly below 40μm in diameter, and the number of inclusions is 3 times that of the primary melt. TEM shows that the dispersed phase particles of the recycled plate are more uniform and finer. EBSD shows that the recrystallization ratio of recycled 7050-T7451 plate is 8.3%, much lower than the 23.9% of the primary plate. The mechanical and corrosion properties of the recycled 7050-T7451 all meet the AMS 4050 standard. The cost of grade-maintaining recycling can be saved by 6,130,000 USD per year for a production line with an annual output of 20,000 tons of plates. This work clarified the process, cost, microstructure, and properties of recycled 7050-T7451 plate, laying a foundation for the application of grade-maintaining recycled aviation aluminum alloys.

D-Allulose, a functional sweetener, can be synthesized from fructose using D-allulose 3-epimerase (DAEase). Nevertheless, a majority of the reported DAEases have inadequate stability under harsh industrial reaction conditions, which greatly limits their practical applications. In this study, big data mining combined with a computer-guided free energy calculation strategy was employed to discover a novel DAEase with excellent thermostability. Consensus sequence analysis of flexible regions and comparison of binding energies after substrate docking were performed using phylogeny-guided big data analyses. TtDAE from Thermogutta terrifontiswas the most thermostable among 358 candidate enzymes, with a half-life of 32 h at 70 °C. Subsequently, structure-guided virtual screening and a customized strategy based on a combinatorial active-site saturation test/iterative saturation mutagenesis were utilized to engineer TtDAE. Finally, the catalytic activity of the M4 variant (P105A/L14C/T63G/I65A) was increased by 5.12-fold. Steered molecular dynamics simulations indicated that M4 had an enlarged substrate-binding pocket, which enhanced the fit between the enzyme and the substrate. The approach presented here, combining DAEases mining with further rational modification, provides guidance for obtaining promising catalysts for industrial-scale production.

The refining of aluminum scraps commonly employs nitrogen-fluxes to eliminate impurities. However, the aluminum nitride (AlN)generated by the reaction between nitrogen and the aluminum melt, along with residual fluxes, contribute to low cleanliness of the recycled aluminum melt and pose difficulties for the disposal of secondary aluminum dross (SAD) . Our innovative research has resulted in the recycling of aerospace-grade clean aluminum alloy melts. The results indicate that the argon bubble floating process adsorbs inclusions and hydrogen, achieving an aerospace-grade ultra-clean melt. The solid-liquid interface between the tube wall and the melt provides a diffusion channel for hydrogen atoms, and the bubbles rising up along the wall lead to a higher hydrogen content in the melt. The argon refining dross is primarily composed of Al and Al2O3, which can be recycled as a raw material for aluminum electrolysis. Argon refining can decrease the hydrogen content and the number of inclusions with particle size ≥40μm in the recycled aluminum melt to the level of aerospace aluminum alloy melt. Nonetheless, the particle size ≥20μm remains 1.5-2.5 times that of primary aluminum.

The article discusses the function of polyester fibers for the production of new synthetic fibers which is also used for apparel making and spinning through use of processes like oiling, drawing and crimping including stacking effect and towing to impact crimping quality.

The article offers information on the large-capacity ZLHV909 aftertreatment range for polyester staple fibers from Hi-Tech Heavy Industry Co. Ltd.

Since wind energy is a key source of clean energy in suburban areas where multiple energy sources complement each other, it is crucial to be able to accurately predict the inlet boundary of wind turbines in order to transform the efficiency of wind turbines. Therefore, in this paper, by setting up testing stations in the suburban area of Hohhot and collecting real-time data of wind speed and wind direction in different measurement heights for three years, and using the least squares method to estimate the parameters of the exponential law, logarithmic law, and composite function model, and conducting various goodness-of-fit tests, the optimal composite function is obtained as the wind profile form in the suburban area of the city, which is named as the Suburban Exponential of Wind profile (SE). And the inter-parameter analysis of this function, using linear regression statistical method to regress between parameters and parameters and between parameters and wind speed, summarize the physical significance of each parameter of this function. Respectively, parameter ais the ultimate wind speed under the vertical height of the region, parameter bis the reference height, parameter cand the roughness length z0meet the linear relationship, and effectively reflect the influence of building dynamics roughness on the vertical distribution of wind speed, to make up for the shortcomings of the traditional wind profile formula, and provide a basis for accurate micro-siting of small wind turbines.

For the rolling element bearing–rotor system, the bearing stiffness and eventual system vibration performance are influenced by the shape and position errors of the bearing housing. In this article, a rotor supported by two cylindrical roller bearings is investigated. The load and deformation between the roller and the raceways of the bearing and the bending deformation of the rotor are analysed. An analytical model is established for calculating the radial and angular stiffnesses of the bearing considering the bearing housing deflections. Consequently, a vibration model which can consider the influences of the bearing housing deflections is developed for the bearing–rotor system. With a calculation example, the influences of the housing deflection angles on the vibration performance of the bearing–rotor system are studied numerically and a series of conclusions are obtained and explained.

A non-destructive method of collecting samples for DNA analysis of the Chinese giant salamander is described and validated. DNA was extracted from the skin secretion and shedding using a Chelex-based method, and partial 12S rRNA gene sequences were amplified and sequenced. Sequences from skin secretion and shedding were cross-checked against the reported sequences from liver and were found to be identical. This method provides a non-destructive way of carrying out larger studies of the genetics of rare amphibians and may be of general use for genetic-based field studies of amphibians.

Amphibian skin can produce abundant secretion which contains many bioactive compounds. In this work, skin secretion of the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) was obtained by mild electrical stimulation of the dorsal skin surface, and the main physiopathological properties of the secretion were described. Intraperitoneal administration of the skin secretion caused lethal effects in mice. Low doses of the skin secretion induced significant systemic and local effects like edema and nociception in mice. The activities of phospholipase A2and proteolytic enzyme were likely related to the physiopathological activities observed. The work proved the complex toxic effects of the Chinese giant salamander skin secretion and provided clues to study its physiological function further.

Hyperspectral reflectance (350–2500 nm) measurements were made over two experimental rice fields containing two cultivars treated with three levels of nitrogen application. Four different transformations of the reflectance data were analyzed for their capability to predict rice biophysical parameters, comprising leaf area index (LAI; m2green leaf area m−2soil) and green leaf chlorophyll density (GLCD; mg chlorophyll m−2soil), using stepwise multiple regression (SMR) models and support vector machines (SVMs). Four transformations of the rice canopy data were made, comprising reflectances (R), first-order derivative reflectances (D1), second-order derivative reflectances (D2), and logarithm transformation of reflectances (LOG). The polynomial kernel (POLY) of the SVM using Rwas the best model to predict rice LAI, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.0496 LAI units. The analysis of variance kernel of SVM using LOGwas the best model to predict rice GLCD, with an RMSE of 523.0741 mg m−2. The SVM approach was not only superior to SMR models for predicting the rice biophysical parameters, but also provided a useful exploratory and predictive tool for analyzing different transformations of reflectance data.

Background: A new 2-dimensional strain echocardiography (2DSE) method has been introduced that measures myocardial deformations by tracking localized acoustic markers. We compared strains measured in vitro and in vivo by 2DSE with those obtained by sonomicrometry. Methods: For the in vitro study, a tissue-mimicking gelatin block was cyclically compressed and longitudinal strains obtained by 2DSE and sonomicrometry crystals. For the in vivo study, arrays of crystals were implanted into the apical anteroseptal (test region) and midposterior (control region) in 16 open-chest pigs and strains measured by 2DSE and crystals at baseline and after acute ischemia. Results: In vitro, pooled data demonstrated good correlation (r = 0.99, P < .0001) and close agreement (bias +/- 2SD = 0.7 +/- 2.2%) of 2DSE and sonomicrometry. For a combination of low testing strains (5.4%) and strain rates (0.8 and 1.2 Hz), 2DSE overestimated strains by sonomicrometry. In vivo, linear regression analysis of pooled measurements demonstrated again a good correlation (r = 0.94, P < .0001) and agreement (1.1 +/- 7.5%) of 2DSE with sonomicrometry with a trend toward lower absolute values of strains by 2DSE. Conclusion: The 2DSE demonstrated good overall correlation and agreement with sonomicrometry for the tested in vitro and in vivo values. Some caution with 2DSE measurements is needed for combinations of low strains and strain rates.

The microstructural and mechanical properties of sugarmediated chitosanpolyethylene glycolbased scaffolds and composites, which are composed of βdicalcium pyrophosphate βDCP and sugarmediated scaffolds, were investigated. All of the scaffolds were prepared by various freezedrying protocols. The differences in the freezedrying process of the sugarmediated chitosanpolyethylene glycol scaffold for three types of sugar sucrose, glucose, and Dfructose were determined by scanning electron microscopic observation, water retention, density, and porosity analyses. The sugarmediated scaffolds prepared by scheme I of the freezedrying process show large pores, poorly connective interlayers, and disintegrated inner structures, different from the small pores and wellconnective channel structures as shown in the scheme II freezedrying process. The key factors for controlling pore structure and size in the scheme I freezedrying process were formulation and composition, but for the scheme II freezedrying process, the key factor was freeze protocol. The composite scaffolds were macroporous, and the microstructure changed considerably with added βDCP content. The incorporation of βDCP granules caused a significant enhancement of compressive modulus and yield strength. The increased mechanical strength may be attributable not only to the physical complexation between the sugarmediated scaffold and βDCP, but also the chemical reaction to apatite formed on the cell wall. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 64A: 262–272, 2003

The present study showed that corticosterone (B) could induce a rapid activation of p38 and c‐Jun NH2‐terminal protein kinase (JNK) in PC12 cells. The dose–response and time–response curves were bell‐shaped with maximal activation at 10−9M and at 15 min. RU38486 had no effect, and bovine serum albumin‐coupled B could induce the activation. Genistein failed to block the phosphorylation, suggesting the pathway was not involved in tyrosine kinase activity. Phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate could mimic, while Gö6976 could abolish the actions. These results demonstrated that B might act via a putative membrane receptor to activate p38 and JNK rapidly through a protein kinase C‐dependent pathway.

The present study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of roxadustat in patients with renal anemia and erythropoietin (EPO) hyporesponsive who are receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

The liqud crystals (LCs) monomers 4-(Undecenoic-1-yloxybenzoyloxy)-4'-cyanobenzene e M1 and 5-{4-[4-(4-undecyloxy) biphenyl] -oxycarbonyl} pentanoic acid cholesteryl ester M2 are synthesized. The liquid crystals polymer was synthesized by nematic and chiral LC monomers. The property of the LC materials are detected by POM and DSC. The bandgaps of the LC polymer are influenced by the change of temperature. The effect of temperature on the reflective wavelength is decreased from 513nm to 394nm with temperature increased. The chiral LC polymer is a one dimension photonic materials. The optical and thermal property of the CLCs polymer is controlled by the out field, and widely used for display, smart windows and chiral liquid crystal laser etc.