Search

Safety issues associated with thermal runaway (TR) in batteries have attracted extensive research attention. However, understanding and predicting TR encounter significant challenges due to the complexities of chemical reactions, venting events, thermal stratification, multiphase interactions, and variable boundary conditions. These challenges are further complicated by intrinsic battery degradation, a phenomenon often insufficiently characterized and governed by multiple mechanisms. These primarily include the depletion of electrolyte and active materials, thickening of the solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI), and formation of lithium plating and dendrites. Such degradation alters the battery's materials and structure, directly causing electrochemical performance penalties and potentially affecting its TR behavior. This study examines the TR behavior of commercial 18,650 cells with lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cathodes, focusing on degradation associated typical usage scenarios: long-term cycling, low-temperature cycling, dynamic cycling with calendar aging. We employ Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to probe internal changes in the electrochemical properties of aged cells compared to fresh counterparts. The EIS results reveal pronounced SEI impedance and substantially increased charge transfer impedance in long-term cycled cells. TR tests were conducted using an Accelerating Rate Calorimeter (EV+ ARC, Thermal Hazard Technology) following the heat-wait-seek (HWS) strategy. Our findings indicate a significant impact of aging mechanisms on second-life battery safety. Specifically, cells subjected to low-temperature cycling demonstrated a considerably lower onset temperature for exothermic reactions, and shorter TR delay time, despite all aged cells showing similar state of health (SOH). Furthermore, the temperature corresponding to the cell voltage drop is consistently much lower for aged cells with dynamic cycling and calendar aging.

In this study, an integrated crystal plasticity and cellular automaton (CA) model has been developed and employed to investigate the processes of cold rolling and annealing in ferritic stainless steel. Crystal plasticity simulates the deformation microstructure, deformation texture and corresponding dislocation density distribution in the cold rolled ferritic stainless steel. Meanwhile, CA predicts the microstructural evolution originating from nucleation and growth. The resolution of the crystal plasticity model has been improved using a newly developed remeshing technique, which allows for the capture of the grain substructure in the deformation microstructure. The developed model has been validated by experimental measurements with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in terms of comparing the orientation distribution functions (ODFs), misorientation, local substructures, and grain size. The good agreement between simulations and experiments indicates that the developed crystal plasticity with CA model is reliable and efficient for predicting the microstructure and texture evolutions during cold rolling and subsequent annealing.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) affect millions of patients globally. Decellularized extracellular matrix materials (dECM) have components, microstructure and mechanical properties similar to healthy cardiac tissues, and can be manufactured into various forms of implantable biomaterials including injectable hydrogels or epicardial patches, which have been extensively reported to attenuate pathological left ventricular remodeling and maintain heart function. Recently, dECM medical devices for ICM treatment have been approved for clinical use or studied in clinical trials, exhibiting considerable translation potential. Cells, growth factors and other bioactive agents have been incorporated with different dECM materials to improve the therapeutic outcomes. In addition, more detailed aspects of the biological effects and mechanisms of dECM treatment are being revealed. This review summarized recent advances in dECM materials from variable sources for cardiac repair, including extraction of extracellular matrix, cell integration, smart manufacturing of injectable hydrogels and cardiac patch materials, and their therapeutic applications. Besides, this review provides an outlook on the cutting-edge development directions in the field.

Identity in sports forms a key stage in which globalization is both constituted and resisted and where various contentions and nuanced dynamics remain to be unpacked. In this paper, we examined the media’s ability, from China and the US separately, to construct and deconstruct the national identity of a naturalized athlete, Eileen Gu (Gu Ailing), an American-born Chinese athlete, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. By combining frame analysis with critical discourse analysis (CDA), salient differences were found in terms of the media frames and discourses used by China and the US in their adoption and interpretations of “sports role”, “ethnic role”, “social role”, and “entertainment role”. Furthermore, we pointed out that the national media from both countries simultaneously attempt to legitimize their stance on Gu’s national identity and stress the maximization of each nation’s own interest. The findings shed light on our existing understanding of the complex identity of naturalized athletes in the context of globalization and argue that media discourses, as constructed by the two countries, remain deeply rooted in an overdetermined East-West binary.

Due to the complex underwater environment, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) may fail due to unknown obstacles in the process of performing tasks. Therefore, studying the real-time obstacle detection and avoidance methods for AUVs based on forward-looking sonar is very important. This article proposes a set of obstacle avoidance algorithms based on the images collected by the multibeam forward-looking sonar carried by AUVs. First, a new obstacle detection network based on a dual-path feature network based on a vision transformer (ViT-DPFN), which combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) and transformer, is proposed to detect obstacles in sonar images quickly and accurately. Then, combined with the current attitude data of AUVs, the obstacle position collected by the sonar image is corrected. Finally, using the fixed obstacle size and position data, the cost function is established based on the model predictive control (MPC) method, the constraint conditions are designed, and the external collision avoidance constraint is established so that AUVs can avoid obstacles in the trajectory tracking process. The simulation and field experiment results show that the proposed method improves the obstacle detection accuracy and processing speed and ensures the navigation safety of AUVs in complex obstacle environments, proving the proposed method’s advancement and effectiveness. The underwater acoustic target detection (UATD) dataset is available at https://github.com/zhenghaotianHEU/UATD-sonar-dataset.

Fog harvesting plays a pivotal role in harnessing atmospheric water resources and holds significant promise for alleviating global water scarcity. Nonetheless, enhancing harvesting efficiency remains a persistent challenge, especially concerning the rapid detachment of droplets from surfaces. In this study, we discovered that the trichomes of Sarracenianot only efficiently harvest and transport liquid but also quickly drain harvested liquid. We have elucidated the augmentation mechanism behind effective fog harvesting and drainage within the lid of Sarracenia. The trichomes facing the counterflow can enhance fog harvesting efficiency by 80% through air-flow-assisted spreading of liquid film. The wedge corner generated by the interface between hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, coupled with the reduction of cross-sectional angles, diminishes the adhesive force of liquid droplets, fosters droplet spheroidization, and substantially facilitates droplet detachment. In addition, the quantitative detachment of droplets can be achieved by adjusting the cross-sectional angle and wetting gradient. This integrated structure combining efficient condensation and detachment has diverse applications in cooling towers and seawater desalination.

The design of a scaffold that can regulate the sequential differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) according to the endochondral ossification (ECO) mechanism is highly desirable for effective bone regeneration. In this study, we successfully fabricated a dual-networked composite hydrogel composed of gelatin and hyaluronic acid (termed GCDH-M), which can sequentially release chondroitin sulfate (CS) and magnesium/silicon (Mg/Si) ions to provide spatiotemporal guidance for chondrogenesis, angiogenesis, and osteogenesis. The fast release of CS is from the GCDH hydrogel, and the sustained releases of Mg/Si ions are from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres embedded in the hydrogel. There is a difference in the release rates between CS and ions, resulting in the ability for the fast release of CS and sustained release of ions. The dual networks between the modified gelatin and hyaluronic acid via covalent bonding and host–guest interactions render the hydrogel with some dynamic feature to meet the differentiation development of BMSCs laden inside the hydrogel, i.e., transforming into a chondrogenic phenotype, further to a hypertrophic phenotype and eventually to an osteogenic phenotype. As evidenced by the results of in vitroand in vivoevaluations, this GCDH-M composite hydrogel was proved to be able to create an optimal microenvironment for embedded BMSCs responding to the sequential guiding signals, which aligns with the rhythm of the ECO process and ultimately boosts bone regeneration. The promising outcome achieved with this innovative hydrogel system sheds light on novel scaffold design targeting bone tissue engineering.

We propose a dielectric laser acceleration scheme based on the inverse Cherenkov effect, which utilizes a pair of dielectric prisms with customized surfaces for accelerating subrelativistic electrons. This scheme enables the continuous acceleration of subrelativistic electrons by adaptively adjusting the phase velocity of the acceleration wave along its propagation direction in response to the increasing velocity of electrons. The resulting synchronization between the electrons and the acceleration wave ensures that the electrons are continuously accelerated to higher energies without significant phase slippage. We introduce a design method for this acceleration structure based on the adiabatic approximation and provide an example to verify this method through simulations. Simulation results show that a 100- $\mu \text{m}$ -long structure can continuously accelerate electrons from an initial energy of 100–143.2 keV, and the energy gain far exceeds the maximum energy gain of 9 keV of the nontapered scheme under the same condition. It is worth mentioning that the scheme has the potential to continuously accelerate electrons from an initial energy of 100 keV to near-relativistic energies (>1 MeV). By using mature electron beam lithography, the tapered structure can be integrated into a chip for megaelectronvolt-level tabletop ultrafast electron diffraction.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging technique for determining magnetic nanoparticle distributions in biological tissues. Although system-matrix (SM)-based image reconstruction offers higher image quality than the X-space-based approach, the SM calibration measurement is time-consuming. Additionally, the SM should be recalibrated if the tracer’s characteristics or the magnetic field environment change, and repeated SM measurement further increase the required labor and time. Therefore, fast SM calibration is essential for MPI. Existing calibration methods commonly treat each row of the SM as independent of the others, but the rows are inherently related through the coil channel and frequency index. As these two elements can be regarded as additional multimodal information, we leverage the transformer architecture with a self-attention mechanism to encode them. Although the transformer has shown superiority in multimodal fusion learning across several fields, its high complexity may lead to overfitting when labeled data are scarce. Compared with labeled SM (i.e., full size), low-resolution SM data can be easily obtained, and fully using such data may alleviate overfitting. Accordingly, we propose a pseudo-label-based progressive pretraining strategy to leverage unlabeled data. Our method outperforms existing calibration methods on a public real-world OpenMPI dataset and simulation dataset. Moreover, our method improves the resolution of two in-house MPI scanners without requiring full-size SM measurements. Ablation studies confirm the contributions of modeling SM inter-row relations and the proposed pretraining strategy.

In order to predict the lifetime of InP Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) devices and related circuits in the space radiation environment, a novel model including gamma radiation effects is proposed in this paper. Based on the analysis of radiation-induced device degradation effects including both DC and AC characteristics, a set of empirical expressions describing the device degradation trend are presented and incorporated into the Keysight model. To validate the effective of the proposed model, a series of radiation experiments are performed. The correctness of the novel model is validated by comparing experimental and simulated results before and after radiation.

The mechanical properties and interface damage characteristics of hot-rolled bonded stainless steel/carbon steel (SS/CS) clad plate with thin cladding were investigated. The focus is on mechanical property-microstructure relationships in shear deformation. In detail, the mechanical response of the cladding components and clad plate were characterized. Then a hybrid numerical–experimental identification procedure for the cohesive zone model (CZM) in the simulation of heterogeneous SS/CS interface using finite element (FE) method was developed. A mixed-mode bilinear CZM, considering the anisotropy of the thin cladding was coupled FE model, showing a high accuracy for predicting the shear deformation behavior. The results showed obvious differences in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the SS and CS layers and the formation of an inhomogeneous interfacial layer. Additionally, the bond strength and delamination position of SS/CS clad plate are highly dependent on the interfacial oxide distribution and elemental diffusion behavior. Interestingly, the thin cladding is subjected to bending moments in shear deformation, resulting in delamination of the interface that is not completely dominated by one shear mode. And these abrupt interfacial failures could be clarified via stress-strain state and local damage analysis of the well-reproduced FE model of cladding material.

ABSTRACTHome Health Care Routing and Scheduling Problem (HHCRSP) has been widely investigated in operations research. In this paper, a model based on the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) is proposed, which is able to deal with daily HHCRSPs. Human factors are considered in our formulation of the problem and we seek a balance between the different stakeholders’ satisfaction criteria. The considered temporal constraints are soft and controlled by the stakeholders’ personalised tolerance and satisfaction rates. We will explain how this new Satisfaction-Oriented HHCRSP (SOH2CRSP) model is built and solved by using an open-source solver: the OptaPlanner. In order to examine the impact of human factors, a study will estimate the added value provided when satisfaction is considered in the problem formulation. The comparison is based on a use case derived from the dataset of an existing HHC organisation. The numerical results will show the benefits of our approach.

The dielectric laser accelerator (DLA) based on the inverse Cherenkov effect has emerged as a promising candidate for next-generation desktop or even on-chip particle accelerators. To achieve a high acceleration gradient, the width of the bunch channel is typically in the subwavelength scale, which essentially limits the accelerated beam current. To overcome this limitation, here we put forward a novel acceleration structure featuring multiple bunch channels, which is composed of a set of dielectric prisms and a series of dielectric slabs. The introduction of slab boundaries redistributes the laser-induced surface wave in the bunch channel. By adjusting the thicknesses of the slabs, the same field distributions can be obtained in all channels, enabling simultaneous acceleration of multiple electron beams and enhancing the output current intensity by several times. Detailed theoretical analysis, combined with full-field and particle tracking simulations, verify the effectiveness of our approach. This proposed scheme has great potential in developing high-current DLAs for practical applications.

Nemaline myopathy (NM) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disease that is diagnosed on the basis of the presence of nemaline rods on skeletal muscle biopsy. Although NM has typically been classified by causative genes, disease severity or prognosis cannot be predicted. The common pathologic end point of nemaline rods (despite diverse genetic causes) and an unexplained range of muscle weakness suggest that shared secondary processes contribute to the pathogenesis of NM. We speculated that these processes could be identified through a proteome-wide interrogation using a mouse model of severe NM in combination with pathway validation and structural/functional analyses. A proteomic analysis was performed using skeletal muscle tissue from the Nebconditional knockout mouse model compared with its wild-type counterpart to identify pathophysiologically relevant biological processes that might impact disease severity or provide new treatment targets. A differential expression analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Core Analysis predicted perturbations in several cellular processes, including mitochondrial dysfunction and changes in energetic metabolism and stress-related pathways. Subsequent structural and functional studies demonstrated abnormal mitochondrial distribution, decreased mitochondrial respiratory function, an increase in mitochondrial transmembrane potential, and extremely low ATP content in Nebconditional knockout muscles relative to wild type. Overall, the findings of these studies support a role for severe mitochondrial dysfunction as a novel contributor to muscle weakness in NM.

ACTA1encodes skeletal muscle-specific α-actin, which polymerizes to form the thin filament of the sarcomere. Mutations in ACTA1are responsible for approximately 30% of nemaline myopathy (NM) cases. Previous studies of weakness in NM have focused on muscle structure and contractility, but genetic issues alone do not explain the phenotypic heterogeneity observed in patients with NM or NM mouse models. To identify additional biological processes related to NM phenotypic severity, proteomic analysis was performed using muscle protein isolates from wild-type mice in comparison to moderately affected knock-in (KI) Acta1H40Yand the minimally affected transgenic (Tg) ACTA1D286GNM mice. This analysis revealed abnormalities in mitochondrial function and stress-related pathways in both mouse models, supporting an in-depth assessment of mitochondrial biology. Interestingly, evaluating each model in comparison to its wild-type counterpart identified different degrees of mitochondrial abnormality that correlated well with the phenotypic severity of the mouse model. Muscle histology, mitochondrial respiration, electron transport chain function, and mitochondrial transmembrane potential were all normal or minimally affected in the TgACTA1D286Gmouse model. In contrast, the more severely affected KI.Acta1H40Ymice displayed significant abnormalities in relation to muscle histology, mitochondrial respirometry, ATP, ADP, and phosphate content, and mitochondrial transmembrane potential. These findings suggest that abnormal energy metabolism is related to symptomatic severity in NM and may constitute a contributor to phenotypic variability and a novel treatment target.

Stress graphitization is a unique phenomenon at the carbon nanotube (CNT)–matrix interfaces in CNT/carbon matrix (CNT/C) composites. A lack of fundamental atomistic understanding of its evolution mechanisms and a gap between the theoretical and experimental research have hindered the pursuit of utilizing this phenomenon for producing ultrahigh-performance CNT/C composites. Here, we performed reactive molecular dynamics simulations along with an experimental study to explore stress graphitization mechanisms of a CNT/polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon matrix composite. Different CNT contents in the composite were considered, while the nanotube alignment was controlled in one direction in the simulations. We observe that the system with a higher CNT content exhibits higher localized stress concentration in the periphery of CNTs, causing alignment of the nitrile groups in the PAN matrix along the CNTs, which subsequently results in preferential dehydrogenation and clustering of carbon rings and eventually graphitization of the PAN matrix when carbonized at 1500 K. These simulation results have been validated by experimentally produced CNT/PAN-based carbon matrix composite films, with transmission electron microscopy images showing the formation of additional graphitic layers converted by the PAN matrix around CNTs, where 82 and 144% improvements of the tensile strength and Young’s modulus are achieved, respectively. The presented atomistic details of stress graphitization can provide guidance for further optimizing CNT–matrix interfaces in a more predictive and controllable way for the development of novel CNT/C composites with high performance.

Mass spectrometry-based dereplication and prioritization led to the discovery of four multi-N-methylated cyclodecapeptides, auyuittuqamides E–H (1–4), from a soil-derived Sesquicilliumsp. The planar structures of these compounds were elucidated based on analysis of HRESIMS and NMR data. Absolute configurations of the chiral amino acid residues were assigned by a combination of the advanced Marfey’s method, chiral-phase LC-MS analysis, and J-based configuration analysis, revealing that 1–4contain both d- and l-isomers of N-methylleucine (MeLeu). Differentiation of d- and l-MeLeu in the sequence was achieved by advanced Marfey’s analysis of the diagnostic peptide fragments generated from partial hydrolysis of 1. Bioinformatic analysis identified a putative biosynthetic gene cluster (auy) for auyuittuqamides E–H, and a plausible biosynthetic pathway was proposed. These newly identified fungal cyclodecapeptides (1–4) displayed in vitrogrowth inhibitory activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faeciumwith MIC values of 8 μg/mL.

Non-isothermal Creep Age Forming (CAF), including loading, heating, holding, cooling and springback stages, is an advanced forming technique for manufacturing high performance large integral panels at short production period and low cost. However, the creep deformation and aging precipitation during heating stage is often neglected in experiments and modeling, leading to low forming precision. To achieve shape forming and property tailoring simultaneously, a deep understanding of the non-isothermal creep aging behavior and the establishment of predictive models are urgently required. A new five-stage creep feature of Al-Cu-Li alloy during the non-isothermal creep aging is observed. The microstructural interactions between the dislocations, solute atoms, Guinier Preston zones (GP zones) and T1precipitates are found to dominate the five-stage creep aging behavior. The physical-based model considering temperature evolution history is established to describe the five-stage creep feature. The springback and yield strength of non-isothermal creep age formed plates with different thicknesses are predicted and compared by non-isothermal CAF experiments and corresponding simulations. The CAF experiments show that the springback and yield strength of the non-isothermal creep age formed plate are 62.1% and 506 MPa, respectively. Simulation results are in good agreement with experimental results. The proposed model broadens the application of traditional CAF models that mainly focus on isothermal conditions.

The ultrashort terahertz (THz) pulse with a broad frequency spectrum has important applications in THz spectroscopy and imaging. Previous THz-pulse generating methods are restricted by either low power or high cost. Here, we propose a novel scheme for generating ultrashort THz pulses, which uses a low-energy sheet electron beam to drive an inclined array of size-graded grooves. The diffraction radiation (DR) from each groove is successively generated and coherently superimposed at a specified direction via the Cherenkov effect. A single-cycle THz pulse with a spectrum band covering the region from 0.1 to 1 THz can be realized. In addition, using several arrays of grooves, a train of ultrashort THz pulses can be further obtained. The radiation power, which depends on the beam current, reaches as high as several kilowatts by using available electron beams. It affords an effective way of generating ultrashort THz pulses with broad application prospects.

Dielectric laser accelerator (DLA) is a promising candidate for next-generation on-chip particle accelerator. However, practical applications of DLA to date have been restricted due to low accelerated bunch charge and low energy gain, especially for subrelativistic particles. To break through these limitations, here we propose a multistage DLA scheme with inverse Cherenkov effect. The first stage, formed by a pair of symmetric dielectric prisms, is to prebunch a long (tens to hundreds of laser-wavelengths) electron beam with relatively high bunch charge (several to tens of femto-coulombs) via velocity bunching. The subsequent stages, consisting of pairs of dielectric prism stacks, are to fulfill cascade acceleration of the prebunched beam. The synchronization of subrelativistic particles with laser field is realized via adjusting the prism angles in each stack. With theoretical analyses and simulations, we obtain an energy gain of more than 400 keV for an electron beam with initial energy of 100 keV. Compared with that of a non-prebunched beam, the accelerated bunch charge of a prebunched beam is more than four times higher. This proposed scheme affords an effective way of developing an on-chip particle accelerator with high energy gain and high bunch charge.

In this study, single-walled carbon nanoangles/carbon nanofibers (SWCNHs/CNFs) were synthesized by electrospinning, followed by annealing in a N2atmosphere. The synthesized composite was structurally characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical sensor was fabricated by modifying a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for luteolin detection, and its electrochemical characteristics were investigated using differential pulse voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and chronocoulometry. Under optimized conditions, the response range of the electrochemical sensor to luteolin was 0.01–50 μM, and the detection limit was 3.714 nM (S/N = 3). The SWCNHs/CNFs/GCE sensor showed excellent selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility, thus enabling the development of an economical and practical electrochemical method for the detection of luteolin.

The dielectric laser accelerator (DLA) based on the inverse Cherenkov effect (ICR) is one of the promising options for developing next-generation desktop or even ON-chip particle accelerators. In order to realize efficient acceleration and to counteract bunch deflection in the tiny-size bunch channel, especially in the subrelativistic region, the available inverse-Cherenkov DLAs exclusively resort to the double-side driven scheme, which uses two identical laser beams to simultaneously and symmetrically drive a mirror dual-prism structure. This complicates the optical system and increases the difficulty of implementation in practice. Here we propose a novel inverse-Cherenkov DLA scheme that uses a single-side laser beam to drive a dielectric prism-slab structure. The laser-induced fields are reflected on both sides of the dielectric slab, which changes the field distribution in the bunch channel. By properly choosing the thickness of the slab and the laser wavelength, the fields in the bunch channel can be symmetrically distributed, which is just like that in the double-driven scheme. So the single-side driven model can realize the same acceleration gradient and focusing effects as the double-driven scheme, which doubles the acceleration efficiency and simplifies the optical system in practice. Detailed theoretical analyses are performed, the results of which are verified by full-field and particle-tracking simulations. This proposed scheme is of significance for developing miniaturized inverse-Cherenkov DLAs.

In this paper, we target at improving the downlink user sum rate in satellite integrated terrestrial network (SITN). Wherein, the densely deployed low earth orbit (LEO) satellites provide backhaul to terrestrial base stations (TBSs) and TBSs serve the ground users (GUs) over different bands. Note that the user sum rate is dependent on the user association and backhaul capacity. Moreover, the backhaul capacity is determined by multi-connectivity feature between the TBSs and LEO satellites. However, the densification and high dynamics of SITN aggravate the inter-satellite interference, which degrades the backhaul capacity. To this end, we propose a joint interference management and user association (JIMUA) scheme, which exploits collaborative computing to enhance the backhaul capacity and satisfy the user demands. The service demands of GUs and dwell duration of LEO satellites can be captured by introducing a collaborative computing coefficient. With this aid, the TBSs can predict the highly dynamic trajectory of dense deployed LEO satellites. Accordingly, the searching space of satellites can be reduced, the interference can be mitigated and backhaul capacity can be improved with high time efficiency. Moreover, the user association is achieved by dividing GUs into different groups, while the required user demands can be satisfied. Considering the dense deployment of LEO satellites, the user sum rate of SITN could be enhanced by JIMUA compared with the benchmark. With the well tuned collaborative computing coefficient, the backhaul capacity can be increased over 12%. Consequently, the user sum rate can be improved over 7%. Moreover, with the increasing user density, the gap between the user sum rate of JIMUA and the optimal solution can be reduced to less than 4%.

Optical computing has potential advantages of light-speed parallel processing and low power consumption over electronic computing. Logic gates are fundamental building blocks of modern computing systems. In this work, two types of single-pixel imaging systems are investigated for performing a non-imaging task of optical logic gate operations for the first time. In the first scheme, the spatial light intensity distribution of object image and illumination pattern is encoded based on the input binary values. Then the logic gate output result is indicated by the maximum single-pixel intensity when the encoded object image is incoherently illuminated by a most matched pattern. In the second scheme, the light amplitudes in corresponding sub-regions are directly proportional to the binary input values. A universal linear approximation model in the complex-amplitude domain allows the detected light intensity of a single-pixel holography system representing the logic gate output result. Various logic gate operations such as AND, OR and XOR can be implemented by these two systems in an individual or compound manner.

Tea green leafhopper(TGL), Empoasca onukii, is of biological and economic interest. Despite numerous studies, the mechanisms underlying its adaptation and evolution remain enigmatic. Here, we use previously untapped genome and population geneticsapproaches to examine how the pest adapted to different environmental variables and thus has expanded geographically. We complete a chromosome-level assembly and annotation of the E. onukiigenome, showing notable expansions of gene families associated with adaptation to chemoreception and detoxification. Genomic signals indicating balancing selection highlight metabolic pathways involved in adaptation to a wide range of tea varieties grown across ecologically diverse regions. Patterns of genetic variations among 54 E. onukiisamples unveil the population structure and evolutionary historyacross different tea-growing regions in China. Our results demonstrate that the genomic changes in key pathways, including those linked to metabolism, circadian rhythms, and immune system functions, may underlie the successful spread and adaptation of E. onukii. This work highlights the genetic and molecular basis underlying the evolutionary success of a species with broad economic impacts, and provides insights into insect adaptation to host plants, which will ultimately facilitate more sustainable pest management.

Creep age forming (CAF) is an advanced forming technology that combines creep deformation and age hardening processes. When compared with the conventional forming technologies including roll bending and shot-peen forming, CAF has many advantages of low residual stress, excellent dimensional stability, good service performance and short production cycle. It is an optimal technique for precise manufacturing for shape and properties of large-scale complicated thin-walled components of light-weight and high strength aluminum alloys in the aviation and aerospace industries. Nevertheless, CAF has an inevitable disadvantage that a large amount of springback occurs after unloading, which brings a challenge on the accurate shape forming and property tailoring of components. Therefore, how to achieve accurate prediction and control of springback has always been a bottleneck hindering the development of CAF to more industrial applications. After the factors of affecting springback and measures of reducing springback are summarized from the internal and external aspects, constitutive models for predicting springback and springback compensation methods for CAF of aluminum alloy panel components are reviewed. Then, a review of research progresses on tool design for CAF is presented. Finally, in view of the key issue that it is difficult to predict and control the shape and properties of components during CAF, the technical challenges are discussed and future development trends of CAF are prospected.

Due to the complex structure and thermal mismatch of coaxial through silicon via (TSV), cracks easily occur under thermal load, leading to interface delamination or spalling failure. The reliability issue of coaxial TSV is important for its application in three-dimensional packaging, so it is of great significance to predict the crack trend and evaluate the reliability of coaxial TSV. In this paper, an algorithm model with the combination of whale optimization algorithm (WOA) and back propagation (BP) neural network for the reliability prediction of coaxial TSV is proposed. Based on finite element method (FEM), the training and validation datasets of the energy release rates (ERR) of the crack at the critical interface are calculated to construct the deep learning neural network. Six key structure parameters affecting the reliability of coaxial TSV are selected as the input values of the BP neural network. The maximum relative error of whale optimization algorithm optimized back propagation (WOA-BP) neural network model is 0.88%, which is better than the prediction results of the traditional BP and genetic algorithm (GA) optimized BP models. The WOA-BP neural network model was also compared with BP and GA-BP neural network models with four error metric models. It is verified that WOA-BP neural network model has the best prediction performance. The proposed model can be used to achieve improved prediction accuracy for the interface reliability of coaxial TSV under complex structural conditions since it has higher accuracy and stronger robustness.

Hydrogen energy is regarded as the most promising clean energy in the 21st century. The efficient and safe use of hydrogen energy has become one of the research hotspots. Therefore, solid-state hydrogen storage has gradually attracted the research interest of people. MgH2has a high hydrogen storage content and can be used as a carrier for hydrogen storage. However, the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of MgH2are poor, and it requires a high temperature to release and store hydrogen. Therefore, it is necessary to modify MgH2. Catalyst modification research is one of them. This paper mainly introduces the progress of research on MgH2modification by different kinds of new catalysts in recent years., including carbon-based supported materials, metals and metal oxides, MXA and MXene materials, and metal compounds. The catalytic effects of various catalysts are summarized in detail, and the catalytic mechanism is analyzed. Finally, the prospect of new hydrogen storage material catalysts is made. These conclusions will be helpful to those researchers who study MgH2hydrogen storage material catalysts.

•A rare case of primary mediastinal malignant meningioma was reported.•Gene sequencing and clonal evolution analysis can help to find suitable therapeutic targets.•FGF6 amplification mutation can promote the progression of malignant meningioma.•FGF6 gene amplification may be a target for using anlotinib.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle wasting disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding dystrophin. Gene therapy using micro-dystrophin (MD) transgenes and recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors hold great promise. To overcome the limited packaging capacity of rAAV vectors, most MD do not include dystrophin carboxy-terminal (CT) domain. Yet, the CT domain is known to recruit α1- and β1-syntrophins and α-dystrobrevin, a part of the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC), which is a signaling and structural mediator of muscle cells. In this study, we explored the impact of inclusion of the dystrophin CT domain on ΔR4-23/ΔCT MD (MD1), in DMDmdxrats, which allows for relevant evaluations at muscular and cardiac levels. We showed by LC-MS/MS that MD1 expression is sufficient to restore the interactions at a physiological level of most DAPC partners in skeletal and cardiac muscles, and that inclusion of the CT domain increases the recruitment of some DAPC partners at supra-physiological levels. In parallel, we demonstrated that inclusion of the CT domain does not improve MD1 therapeutic efficacy on DMD muscle and cardiac pathologies. Our work highlights new evidences of the therapeutic potential of MD1 and strengthens the relevance of this candidate for gene therapy of DMD.

In the post-COVID-19 era, the mediatization of sports mega-events is timely and notable. This study focuses on the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and investigates how mediated processes influenced the Olympics. The data were gathered in two ways: we examined 783 WeChat posts from three salient Chinese media institutions, namely, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organising Committee (BOCOG), China Central Television (CCTV), and Beijing Television (BTV), as well as conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with BOCOG staff and members of the general public. We discovered that the Games were narrated around two major themes—the development of technology and “going green”—both of which were heavily influenced by the country’s national agenda. As a result, the Chinese public was thoroughly immersed in the tech-savvy Olympics scenario, and the Green Olympics concept was widely shared in their daily practices. This study adds to the literature by incorporating communicative figuration as an analytical framework to improve the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of media saturation theory. Additionally, this research sheds light on the study of sports mediatization in China in the context of a pandemic.

Fog harvesting is an important method to solve the water shortage in arid and semi-arid areas by collecting water from air. Improving fog harvesting efficiency is still a big challenge to be overcome. Herein, under the inspiration of natural creatures, a novel harvesting structure that couples a hierarchical microchannel (HMC) needle with the Janus membrane by taking a conical pore as their junction is proposed. Such an HMC-conical pore-Janus membrane system can improve the harvesting efficiency by regulation of liquid behavior in the whole fog harvesting process involving droplet capture from air, high speed transport on the microchannel, and droplet detachment from Janus. The synergistic effects of the hierarchical channel-conical pore-Janus structure are exploited in terms of capture, transport, and detachment capabilities, and their underlying mechanism to enhance fog harvesting efficiency is built. Compared with the traditional harvesting structure, the proposed hierarchical channel-conical-Janus coupling mode was demonstrated to improve fog harvesting efficiency by 90%. Such a coupled system has potential applications in efficient fog harvesting systems, microfluidic devices, and liquid manipulation.

After 3D printing technology has been advancing for several years, it still faces a huge challenge to fabricate 3D metal structures with high-resolution. In this study, a facile strategy of making high-resolution metallic structures based on the bioinspired 3D printing method was proposed. A bioinspired initiator, dopamine, was mixed into a 3D printing photopolymer, which could be conducive to fabricating metallic structures after direct surface-initiated electroless plating (ELP). Because of the intrinsic high resolution of the structures printed with the digital light processing (DLP) technology, complex objects with a feature resolution on the order of 137 μm were fabricated. Moreover, Cu- and Ni-parts of complex structures with a high resolution were demonstrated. By combining the advantages of 3D printing in structure design with those of surface modification assisted by catechol groups, the proposed method was confirmed as a cost-effective method to significantly enhance the capability of 3D printing, and it could endow the 3D printing technology with more practical applications in electronics, acoustic absorption, catalyst supports and other fields.

There are limited naturally derived protein biomaterials for the available medical implants. High cost, low yield, and batch-to-batch inconsistency, as well as intrinsically differing bioactivity in some of the proteins, make them less beneficial as common implant materials compared to their synthetic counterparts. Here, we present a milk-derived whey protein isolate (WPI) as a new kind of natural protein-based biomaterial for medical implants. The WPI was methacrylated at 100 g bench scale, >95% conversion, and 90% yield to generate a photo-cross-linkable material. WPI-MA was further processed into injectable hydrogels, monodispersed microspheres, and patterned scaffolds with photo-cross-linking-based advanced processing methods including microfluidics and 3D printing. In vivo evaluation of the WPI-MA hydrogels showed promising biocompatibility and degradability. Intramyocardial implantation of injectable WPI-MA hydrogels in a model of myocardial infarction attenuated the pathological changes in the left ventricle. Our results indicate a possible therapeutic value of WPI-based biomaterials and give rise to a potential collaboration between the dairy industry and the production of medical therapeutics.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of neck contour changes and setup errors on spinal cord (SC) doses during the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to establish a rapid dose estimation method. The setup errors and contour changes in 60 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 10 NPC patients were analysed in different regions of the neck (C1–C3, C4–C5 and C6–C7). The actual delivered dose to the SC was calculated using the CBCT images, and univariate simulations were performed using the planning CT to evaluate the dose effects of each factor, and an index ${\mathrm{Dmax}}_{\mathrm{displaced}}$was introduced to estimate the SC dose. Compared with the planned dose, the mean (maximum) Dmax increases in the C1–C3, C4–C5 and C6–C7 regions of the SC were 2.1% (12.3%), 1.8% (8.2%) and 2.5% (9.2%), respectively. The simulation results showed that the effects of setup error in the C1–C3, C4–C5 and C6–C7 regions were 1.5% (9.7%), 0.9% (8.2%) and 1.3% (6.3%), respectively, and the effects of contour change were 0.4% (1.7%), 0.7% (2.5%) and 1.5% (4.9%), respectively. The linear regression model can be used to estimate the dose effect of contour changes (R2> 0.975) and setup errors (R2= 0.989). Setup errors may lead to a significant increase in the SC dose in some patients. This study established a rapid dose estimation method, which is of great significance for the daily dose evaluation and the adaptive re-planning trigger of the SC.

•Peptaibiotics are linear, amphipathic fungal polypeptides containing non-proteinogenic amino acid residues.•Trichodermafungi are the major source peptaibiotics.•Isolation can be performed by growing the fungi under solid culture media.•Sequencing and structural determination can be performed by MALDI, LC-MS, HRMS, NMR and Marfey's method.•Biologically active and used to combat several bacterial and fungal pathogens.

Wrapping insulation of coatings is effective for enhancing the microwave-absorbing properties (MAPs) of ferromagnetic absorbents (FMAs). However, the process is still limited by the low bonding strength with the matrix. Herein, an in situregulation strategy based on the preparation of thin thickness and strong adhesion insulating layers through HNO3oxidation was developed to address the limitations. The oxidation process of FeSiAl (FSA) powders was carried out by HNO3following three main steps. First, the original oxide layer first reacted with HNO3to form Fe3+and Al3+. Second, the oxide layer composed of Al2O3and Fe3O4was preferentially formed due to the negative change in Gibbs free energy. Finally, the oxide and pigment-deposition layers were subjected to competitive growth and dissolution accompanied by the dissolution of Fe and Al atoms. Oxidation time up to 10 min resulted in the formation of a bilayer structure with a thickness of ∼50 nm on the FSA surface, as well as an outer layer crammed of Al(OH)3and Fe(OH)3, and an inner layer containing mixed Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Al2O3, and SiO2. The MAPs of as-treated FSA achieved minimum reflection loss (RL) of −25.90 dB at 13.36 GHz, as well as absorption bandwidth of 5.61 GHz (RL < −10 dB) at 10.13–15.74 GHz and thickness of 2.5 mm. In sum, the developed route looks promising for the preparation of high-performance FMAs.

Emerging data support the pivotal role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in normal cellular physiology and disease conditions. However, despite their abundance, there is much less information about the lipid mediators carried in EVs, especially in the context of acute lung injury (ALI). Our data demonstrate that C57BL/6 mice subjected to intranasal Escherichia colilipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI release, a higher number of EVs into the alveolar space, compared to saline-treated controls. EVs released during ALI originated from alveolar epithelial cells, macrophages, and neutrophils and carry a diverse array of lipid mediators derived from ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The eicosanoids in EVs correlated with cellular levels of arachidonic acid, expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX), and cytochrome epoxygenase p450 proteins in pulmonary macrophages. Furthermore, EVs from LPS-toll-like receptor 4 knockout (TLR4-/-) mice contained significantly lower amounts of COX and LOX catalyzed eicosanoids and ω-3 PUFA metabolites. More importantly, EVs from LPS-treated wild-type mice increased TNF-α release by macrophages and reduced alveolar epithelial monolayer barrier integrity compared to EVs from LPS-treated TLR4−/− mice. In summary, our study demonstrates for the first time that the EV carried PUFA metabolite profile in part depends on the inflammatory status of the lung macrophages and modulates pulmonary macrophage and alveolar epithelial cell function during LPS-induced ALI.

Numerous cohort studies have reported the association of long-term exposure to particulate matter <10 μm in diameter (PM10) and hypertension in American and European countries. However, these results have been inconsistent and subject to various confounding factors. The study aimed to explore the effect of long-term exposure to high-level concentrations of PM10on incident hypertension in a large-scale cohort from northern China. A retrospective cohort study of 39,054 participants aged between 23 and 98 years old from four cities in northern China was followed from 1998 to 2009. Excluding those with hypertension, 37,386 non-hypertensive participants (overall population) were followed for self-reported hypertension. The individuals’ exposure to PM10was the mean concentration during the follow-up period, according to the data of local environmental monitoring centers. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated by Cox proportional hazards models. The adjusted potential confounding factors included sociodemographic information, lifestyle, and diet. There were 2619 (7.0%) incident cases of hypertension among the overall population. In multivariable models, the HR (95% CI) of incident hypertension was 1.537 (1.515, 1.560) for each 10 μg/m3increase in PM10. Stratified analyses showed individuals (age <65) were prone to developing hypertension. Moreover, the effects of PM10increased and produced an HR (95% CI) of 1.555 (1.527, 1.584) for the healthy population in the sensitivity analysis. We found that the association between long-term exposure to PM10air pollution and incident hypertension was significantly positive.

Background: The strong inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability and the narrow therapeutic window of tacrolimus (TAC) have hampered the clinical application. Gene polymorphisms play an important role in TAC pharmacokinetics. Here, we investigate the influence of genotypes of IL-10, CYP3A5, CYP2C8,and ABCB1on dose-adjusted trough blood concentrations (the C0/Dratio) of TAC to reveal unclear genetic factors that may affect TAC dose requirements for renal transplant recipients. Methods: Genetic polymorphisms of IL-10, CYP3A5, CYP2C8,and ABCB1in 188 renal transplant recipients were determined using Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP). Statistical analysis was applied to examine the effect of genetic variation on the TAC C0/Dat 5, 10, 15, and 30 days after transplantation. Results: Recipients carrying the IL-10 -819C> T TTgenotype showed a significantly higher TAC C0/Dthan those with the TC/CCgenotype (p&lt; 0.05). Additionally, the TAC C0/Dvalues of recipients with the capacity for low IL-10activity (-819 TT)engrafted with CYP3A5non-expressers were higher compared to the intermediate/high activity of IL-10 -819C> T TCor CCcarrying CYP3A5expressers, and the difference was statistically significant at different time points (p&lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Genetic polymorphisms of IL-10 -819C> Tand CYP3A5 6986A> Ginfluence the TAC C0/D, which may contribute to variation in TAC dose requirements during the early post-transplantation period. Detecting IL-10 -819C> Tand CYP3A5 6986A> Gpolymorphisms may allow determination of individualized tacrolimus dosage regimens for renal transplant recipients during the early post-transplantation period.

BackgroundThe anxiety of college students in learning a foreign language may affect their learning results, so it is very important to find effective teaching methods to alleviate the anxiety. This study explores the effects of Japanese text translation teaching based on three-dimensional transformation on college students’ foreign language learning anxiety.Subjects and Methods100 undergraduate students majoring in Japanese in a university were randomly divided into test group and control group, with 50 students in each group. The test group received Japanese text translation teaching based on 3D conversion, and the control group received traditional text translation teaching. Anxiety questionnaire was used to assess the anxiety level of students, and the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS23.0.ResultsThe statistical analysis showed that the level of foreign language learning anxiety of the test group was significantly lower than that of the control group (t=3.42, P< 0.05). Specific data showed that the average anxiety score of the test group was 3.55, and the average score of the control group was 4.27. In addition, students in the test group performed better in translation accuracy (test group: 83%; Control group: 76%).ConclusionsJapanese text translation teaching based on 3D transformation can effectively alleviate the anxiety of college students in foreign language learning. Through interactive and immersive learning experiences, students can better understand and apply language knowledge, thereby reducing anxiety levels. Adopting this teaching method can improve foreign language teaching and enhance students’ learning effect and experience.Acknowledgement2022 Yancheng College of Technology Teaching Reform Research Projects (No.JYKT2022B060).

Background and Objective: Chromosomal abnormalities are one of the genetic disorders caused by abnormal chromosome number or structure and can endanger multiple organs, morphology and function of the systems in the human body. This study aims to investigate the relationship between prenatal diagnosis indications and abnormal karyotypes to improve prenatal screening. Methods: The karyotype analyses were carried out on 4646 pregnant women with prenatal diagnosis indications referred to the first medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from 2012 to 2019. The incidence, distribution, and statistical features of chromosomal abnormality of different prenatal diagnosis indications were analyzed, and the relationships with the prenatal diagnosis indications were assessed. Results: A total of 351 fetal chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 4646 karyotypes, with an incidence of 7.6%. The chromosomal abnormality incidence in the single indication group, two indications group, and three indications group was 5.8%, 16.1%, and 70.0%, respectively, indicating a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Advanced maternal age (AMA), high-risk maternal serum screening (MSS), and non-invasive prenatal DNA testing (NIPT) were the important indications for predicting abnormal karyotype. The number of prenatal diagnosis indications was highly correlated with fetal chromosomal abnormalities. The overall incidence of chromosomal abnormalities showed a tendency to increase with age. The incidence of Trisomy 21 was 3.2%, accounting for 42.5% of all chromosomal abnormalities, and the incidence tended to increase with maternal age. Conclusion: Prenatal karyotype analysis of pregnant women with prenatal diagnosis indications can effectively prevent the birth of defective children. AMA, MSS and NIPT were the important indications for predicting abnormal karyotype. In addition, the number of prenatal diagnosis indications is highly correlated with chromosomal abnormalities.

The emerging interface solar-thermal water evaporation has been widely studied to solve fresh water shortage because of its high solar-thermal conversion efficiency, environmental friendliness, and low cost. However, traditional water evaporation systems inevitably lose heat to the environment, which not only greatly affects the water evaporation rate but also hinders their practical applications. In this work, an interface solar-thermal water evaporation system with enhanced heat localization, which is combined by a hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) film (heating layer) and hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/CNT foam (evaporating layer), is demonstrated. Under solar irradiation, the temperature of the hydrophobic CNT film is higher than that of the hydrophilic PVA/CNT foam due to the differences in wettability, so the thermal energy in the CNT film can be continuously transferred to the PVA/CNT foam evaporator, forming a gradient heating effect and greatly increasing the water evaporation rate. As a result, the water evaporation rate can reach 4.2 kg m–2h–1under a solar illumination of 1 kW m–2, which is among the highest water evaporation rate levels. More importantly, this water evaporation system structure is simple, can be easily scaled up, and has gradient applicability to other photothermal materials, which provides a route to improve the interfacial solar steam evaporation rate.

[Display omitted]

It has been confirmed that the orbital hybridization between Sm3+4f and Cu+3d significantly improves the adsorption of intermediates and increases local CO coverage, thereby stabilizing Cu+and facilitating electrochemical CO2reduction to C2H4.

Sport and development have a long and intricate relationship. Since 2022, a grassroots basketball league named “Village Basketball Association” has gained widespread attention across China and the world, and made significant contributions to local development. In this study, we examined how the VBA was narrated by the Chinese media and how its connection with local and national agendas of development was discursively constructed. By combining content analysis and critical discourse analysis, we found that the Chinese media showcased a strong discursive inclination towards development topics when reporting the VBA. This further includes the construction of the VBA as a special stage, with emphasis on its grassroots nature, politicizing the VBA with efforts and agenda of development, and de-contextualizing it from the sporting realm to construct it as a model for rural development. Based on our findings, we propose a “balanced and coordinated framework” of sport for development studies to address the current theoretical niches.