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Automatic building detection from remote sensing images holds significant applications in various domains, including cartography, land-use change detection, urban planning, and 3D intelligent city construction. Driven by the innovation of deep learning technology, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have emerged as a powerful framework for automatic interpretation, exhibiting hierarchical feature generation and robust representation for building extraction. However, the inherent computational limitations of convolutional operators hinder the acquisition of an effective global receptive field. Recent advancements in deep learning have witnessed the adoption of the multi-head self-attention (MHSA) mechanism by Transformer, presenting the superiority of global context construction. Nonetheless, this network structure encounters difficulties in effectively modelling two-dimensional spatial structure features with scale variation in semantic segmentation and often has huge parameters with high algorithm complexity. To address the above problems, this paper proposed a hybrid deep neural network synergistically harnessing the superiority of CNN and Transformer to extract buildings from remote sensing images. Meanwhile, an improved MHSA mechanism is developed to facilitate the construction of multiscale global representations, concurrently reducing computational complexity. Furthermore, the cross-level MHSA modules the semantic correlation between the deep and shallow-level features to refine spatial fine-grained information. The proposed method was comprehensively evaluated on two building datasets via quantitative analysis and visualization. The experimental results confirmed that the developed network and modules outperform other state-of-the-art methods and can effectively improve the accuracy (93.4% F1-score on the WHU dataset, 89.38% F1-score on the CAMB dataset) with high efficiency for building extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several observational studies have suggested that proton‐pump inhibitor (PPI) use might increase diabetes risk, but the mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PPI use on gut microbiota and bile acids (BAs) profiles, and to explore whether these changes could mediate the association of PPIs use with fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels and insulin resistance (IR) in Chinese population. A cross‐sectional study was conducted in Shenzhen, China, from April to August 2021, enrolled 200 eligible patients from the local hospital. Participants completed a questionnaire and provided blood and stool samples. Gut microbiome was measured by16S rRNA gene sequencing, and bile acids were quantified by UPLC‐MS/MS. Insulin resistance (IR) was assessed using the Homeostasis Model Assessment 2 (HOMA2‐IR). PPI use was positively associated with higher levels of FBG and HOMA2‐IR after controlling for possible confounders. PPI users exhibited a decreased Firmicutes and an increase in Bacteroidetes phylum, alongside higher levels of glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) and taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA). Higher abundances of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacterium as well as higher levels of TCDCA in PPI users were positively associated with elevated FBG or HOMA2‐IR. Mediation analyses indicated that the elevated levels of FBG and HOMA2‐IR with PPI use were partially mediated by the alterations in gut microbiota and specific BAs (i.e., Fusobacterium genera and TCDCA). Long‐term PPI use may increase FBG and HOMA2‐IR levels, and alterations in gut microbiota and BAs profiles may partially explain this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a novel design methodology for asymmetric coupled line passive devices. Based on the extraction of distributed parameters of coupled lines from S-parameters, we re-derived modal characteristic parameters and Z matrix of four-port asymmetric coupled lines in inhomogeneous mediums. Then, Z matrices of ten two-port asymmetric coupled line circuits are derived and their frequency responses are analyzed. Inspired by the image parameter method, image impedances are adopted for two-port device designs. Data diagrams which connect geometric parameters with impedances are provided to simplify design processes. Two impedance transformers utilizing the open-ended and short-ended coupled line circuits, respectively, producing high transforming ratios of 100 (50 Ω to 0.5 Ω) and 40 (50 Ω to 2000 Ω) are fabricated to verify the proposed analysis and design method. Excellent agreement between the simulation and measurement result proves the unique superiorities of asymmetric coupled lines with better initial values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of edge perception layer anomaly detection performance has an immeasurable driving effect on the development of smart cities. However, many existing anomaly detection methods often suffer from problems such as ignoring the correlation between multiple source temporal sequences and losing key features of a single temporal sequence. Therefore, a new anomaly detection method using BiLSTM and attention mechanism is proposed. First, a fusion algorithm TCDCD was formed by combining Data Correlation Detection (DCD) and Temporal Continuity Detection (TCD) to preprocess Edge Perception Data (EPD). Then, BiLSTM is employed to gather deep-level features of EPD, and the attention mechanism is utilized to enhance important features that contribute to anomaly detection. Ultimately, the SoftMax classifier is employed to categorize abnormal data. The experimental findings from the SWaT and WADI datasets demonstrate that the suggested method achieves better performance than other newer anomaly detection methods. Among them, the accuracy, precision, recall and F1 of the proposed method on the SWaT dataset were 96.62%, 94.32%, 96.02% and 94.30%, respectively. In terms of performance, it is superior to traditional EPD anomaly detection models, and has good representational and generalization capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the conventional differential evolution (DE) localization algorithm provides reasonable localization results, its improvement in localization performance is limited. Considering the distance information between the tags being an effective way to improve localization performance, this paper proposes a novel cooperative DE-based localization algorithm by presenting the localization process and the fitness function, which contains the distance information between the tags. Specifically, our method first utilizes the conventional DE algorithm to provide the initial values of the tags. Then, according to the initial values, the distance information between the tags is fully utilized to improve the localization performance. The simulation results demonstrate our algorithm's effectiveness in improving the localization performance and simultaneously realizing the localization of all tags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the malignant tumors with the highest mortality worldwide. Our previous studies have revealed that LINC00691 is up-regulated in serum of GC patients as a novel potential biomarker for GC diagnosis and prognosis. However, the roles of serum exosomal LINC00691 in GC has not been clarified. This study aimed to find the expression pattern of serum exosomal LINC00691 in GC patients and the correlation between the level of serum exosomal LINC00691 and the pathology of gastric cancer patients. Methods: We collected the serum of 94 GC patients before surgery and extracted exosomes to detect the expression level of exosomal LINC00691, with 21 healthy volunteers and 17 patients with benign gastric diseases as controls. Surgical GC tissues and paired healthy tissues were collected to culture primary cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and normal fibroblasts (NFs). We then treated NFs with LINC00691-rich GC cell culture supernatant or exosomes and detected the activation markers and biological functions of the fibroblasts. Results: The results of real-time qPCR indicated that the serum exosomal LINC00691 of GC patients was significantly higher than that of healthy subjects and patients with benign gastric diseases, and was associated with the clinicopathology of GC patients. More interestingly, when the NFs were treated with GC exosomes, the level of LINC00691 was significantly increased, the cell proliferation and migration were noticeably enhanced, and the ability to accelerate GC cell proliferation and invasion was promoted, which means that the induced fibroblasts gained the properties of CAFs. In addition, we found that knockdown of LINC00691 and the use of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway inhibitor ruxolitinib effectively deprived exosome-containing GC cell supernatants of the effects on NFs. Conclusion: Our study suggested that exosomal LINC00691 promoted NFs to gained the properties of CAFs depending on JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway as a potential diagnostic biomarker for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Waist circumference (WC), calf circumference (CC), and body mass index (BMI) have been independently linked to mortality. However, it's not yet clear how the waist-calf circumference ratio (WCR) relates to mortality. This study aims to investigate the relationship between WCR, WC, CC, and BMI with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults. Methods: In the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, 4627 participants aged 65 years and older were included, and they were subsequently followed up in 2018. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality, based on WCR, WC, CC, and BMI. Results: During a median follow-up of 3.4 years, 1671 deaths (36.1%) occurred. Compared to the second quartile of WCR, the highest quartile had a higher risk of mortality from all causes (HR 1.42, 95%CI 1.24–1.64), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 1.88, 95%CI 1.38–2.56), and other causes (HR 1.37, 95%CI 1.15–1.63). The first and fourth quartiles of WC had HRs of 2.19 (1.00–4.79) and 2.69 (1.23–5.89), respectively, for cancer mortality. The highest quartile of CC was associated with a lower risk of all-cause and other-cause mortality, whereas the lowest quartile was associated with a higher risk of all-cause, CVD, and other-cause mortality compared to the second CC quartile. Additionally, the lowest quartile of BMI was associated with a higher risk of all-cause and respiratory disease mortality. Interaction analyses showed that the effects of CC on all-cause and CVD mortality were more pronounced in adults aged ≥ 80 years (P-interaction <.05). Conclusions: Higher WCR and lower CC increased the risk of all-cause, CVD, and other-cause mortality. Lower BMI was associated with higher all-cause and respiratory disease mortality risk, while WC only predicted cancer mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For physically gelled colloidal suspensions, there are two routes to transform the gel from solid to liquid. One is to raise the temperature, and the other is to increase the shear deformation. In this investigation, we found that the phase boundary of this solid-to-liquid transformation exhibits a surprising Z-shaped curve in the strain-temperature plane. This nonmonotonic feature in phase transition appears to be present in various nanoparticle-filled colloidal gels with significant differences in chemical composition, filler type, structure, particle shape, average diameter, and particle size distribution. By applying the Kraus model to the breakage and restoration of filler networks and comparing our findings to nonequilibrium glassy behavior, we found that this nonmonotonic phenomenon can be theoretically predicted by combining the glassy melting kinetics of filler networks at high temperatures with the viscosity-retarded dissociation between particles at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the behavior of continental crust during subduction is important for investigating dynamic processes at convergent plate margins. Although simulations have predicted continental crust may experience multiple burial-partial exhumation cycles during subduction, petrological evidence of these cycles is scarce. In this study at Sidaohe, western Dabie, we combine microstructural observations and mineral chemistry with phase equilibrium modeling, Amp-Pl thermobarometry and Zr-in-rutile thermometry to constrain the P-T evolution for three eclogite samples. All samples have a similar mineral assemblage of garnet + omphacite + symplectite (amphibole + plagioclase ± clinopyroxene) + quartz, with accessory rutile/ilmenite. Element mapping and analytical traverses across large garnets from two samples show obviously systematic variations in Ca and, less strongly, Mg, Fe, and XMg [Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)]. Based on phase equilibrium modeling and calculated isopleths for grossular, pyrope and XMg in garnet, we show that P first increased from 23.0 to 28.5 kbar, then decreased to 24.0 kbar, before increasing again to a maximum of 30.5 kbar (±1.0 kbar, 2 sigma error) concomitant with a small increase in T from 580 to 605 °C (±20 °C, 2 sigma error) at the late prograde stage. These data are interpreted to indicate multiple burial cycles and partial exhumation of eclogite during ongoing continental subduction. After the Pmax stage, T first increased to a maximum of 664–644 °C at 25.0–20.0 kbar, then decreased to 581–561 °C (±30 °C, 2 sigma error) at 15.0–10.0 kbar based on results of Zr-in-rutile thermometry. Further decompression and cooling occurred across P-T fields of 590–567 °C at 12.0–10.0 kbar and 520–504 °C (±40 °C, 2 sigma error) at 8.0 kbar. Fine-grained symplectite (clinopyroxene + plagioclase ± amphibole) in the matrix is interpreted to have formed after omphacite due to dehydroxylation of nominally anhydrous minerals during decompression from the Pmax stage. By contrast, formation of coarse-grained symplectite (amphibole + plagioclase) and a veinlet of rutile + quartz that crosscuts one sample may be related to influx of externally sourced H2O. This study shows that: (1) evidence of cyclic burial and partial exhumation may be retained in low-T eclogite during continental subduction, and (2) fluid contributing to widespread retrogression of eclogite during exhumation may be internally and/or externally sourced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, using only high alumina fly ash as raw material and MoO 3 as additive agent, the high-strength porous mullite ceramics were achieved by in situ mullite whisker growth via a calcination method. The influence of MoO 3 addition on pore structure and mechanical properties of as-prepared mullite ceramics was investigated. The mechanism of MoO 3 promoting the formation of mullite whiskers and improving the strength of matrix was elucidated. The porous mullite ceramic reached its best performance with a high porosity of 49.4% and an improved compressive strength of 13.03 MPa with 10 wt% MoO 3 addition calcinated at 1300 °C. Specifically, MoO 3 facilitated the mullite whisks growth mainly by reducing melting point of amorphous SiO 2 /quartz and changing crystal structure of Al 2 O 3. The larger aspect ratio of mullite grain at 1300 °C was easier to form an interlocking structure, which enhanced the strength of mullite ceramic while maintaining high porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are widely used in transportation systems owing to their desirable characteristics such as high efficacy and low operating temperature. However, the fuel cell systems exhibit load changes as well as voltage and power losses so as to reduce dependence on the battery. The aim of the present study was to explore the composition and basic working principle of PEMFC. A PEMFC electrochemical reaction model was then established according to the electrochemical reaction principle of fuel cell to evaluate the effects of Nernst electromotive force, activation overvoltage, Ohmic overvoltage, concentration overvoltage, and electric double layer. The effects of activation loss, concentration loss, and Ohmic loss on the fuel cell were evaluated through simulation analysis. The effect of various factors on the dynamic output of a 60 kW PEMFC was explored through dynamic simulations. The findings showed that a change in current modulated a change in voltage through the Ohmic loss equivalent resistance. The activation loss equivalent resistance and the concentration loss equivalent resistance decreased the voltage loss owing to the presence of the capacitor. The output voltage of the fuel cell decreased with an increase in load current, whereas the output power increased with an increase in load current. Increase in partial pressure of oxygen caused an increase in output power and output voltage of the cell. The internal chemical reaction rate and the voltage output of the fuel cell increases with an increase in the working temperature. The findings of this study provide a basis for conducting further studies to produce efficient fuel cells for application in various systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To compare the efficacy of adipocyte‐derived dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cell and adipose‐derived stromal cell (ADSC) sheets for regenerative treatment of intra‐bony periodontal defects. Materials and Methods: DFAT cells were obtained using the ceiling culture method and were compared with ADSCs using Cell Counting Kit‐8, colony formation assay, surface antigen identification, and multilineage differentiation assays. DFAT and ADSC sheets were prepared in a cell sheet culture medium. The biological characteristics of DFAT cell and ADSC sheets were compared using haematoxylin and eosin staining, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence staining. Micro‐computed tomography and histological staining were used to compare the effects of the two cell sheets on the repair of periodontal intra‐bony defects in rats. Results: DFAT cells and ADSCs demonstrated mesenchymal stem cell characteristics. Both cell types were CD29‐, CD90‐, and CD146‐positive and CD31‐, CD34‐, and CD45‐negative. DFAT cells and ADSCs exhibited similar osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation capabilities and colony formation ability. DFAT cells displayed stronger proliferation capabilities compared with ADSCs. Compared with the ADSC sheets, DFAT cell sheets exhibited a higher expression of periodontal‐related genes and proteins and greater ability to regenerate periodontal tissue. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that DFAT cell sheets are an ideal seed cell source and form of cell delivery for periodontal intra‐bony defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stochastic geometry modeling and analysis of mobile edge computing (MEC) networks contribute to the effective network configuration. Most prior works investigate the MEC network performance by spatial averaging the topological randomness, which can hide the differences among users and result in inaccurate analytical results. To address this limitation, an analytical framework is developed to study the meta distribution of the task offloading performance. We consider the Poisson MEC network where the users with dynamic task requests offload the tasks to the MEC server. Given the model, the $b$ -th moment and the meta distribution of the success task offloading probability are first analyzed. Further, the exact yet convenient approximation of the MEC computing load is derived, based on which the edge computing delay is obtained. Our results demonstrate that the proposed meta-analytical framework allows tractable yet accurate analytical results, and provides additional fine-grained information about MEC-network planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many different grafts to repair damaged tissue. Various types of biological scaffolds, including films, fibers, microspheres, and hydrogels, can be used for tissue repair. A hydrogel, which is composed a natural or synthetic polymer network with high water absorption capacity, can provide a microenvironment closely resembling the extracellular matrix (ECM) of natural tissues to stimulate cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. It has been shown to have great application potential in the field of tissue repair and regeneration. Hydrogels derived from natural tissues retain a variety of proteins and growth factors in optimal proportions, which is beneficial for the regeneration of specific tissues. This article reviews the latest research advances in the field of hydrogels from a variety of natural tissue sources, including bone tissue, blood vessels, nerve tissue, adipose tissue, skin tissue, and muscle tissue, including preparation methods, advantages, and applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Finally, it summarizes and discusses the challenges faced by natural tissue-derived hydrogels used in tissue repair, as well as future research and application directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve effective connection between each node of the Internet of Things (IoT), there is a great demand of precise positioning. The traditional firefly localization algorithm only considers part of the ranging information, and the positioning effect is not good. Therefore, an improved algorithm is proposed to take advantage of the ranging information between unknown nodes to achieve cooperative location. First, all ranging information is considered to construct a new objective function. The firefly optimization approach is then utilized to discover the best solution based on the new goal function. The starting location created by the random technique has a significant impact on the new algorithm's localization performance, thus the traditional firefly localization method's initial position is employed to increase cooperative localization performance. The simulation results demonstrate that the novel approach outperforms the classic firefly technique in terms of placement accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate suspensions occur in situations from blood flow to slurries in drilling applications. Existing investigations of these suspensions generally concentrate on the impact of particle volume fraction for suspensions in Newtonian fluids under free-flow conditions. Recently, particulate-polymer composites have been used in additive manufacturing (AM). Here, the polymer becomes a shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluid during extrusion, creating a particulate suspension. Motivated by the challenges in AM of particulate composites, this study investigates the rheology of suspensions of micrometre-sized particles in shear-thinning silicone while extruded through AM-scaled nozzles (millimetre-scale diameters). The suspensions were observed to follow a power-law behaviour and their rheology was investigated through the measured flow consistency (K) and behaviour (n) indices. The impact of the particle volume fraction (ϕ) and the ratio (ω) of the capillary inside diameter to the particle diameter on both indices were measured. n was found to be only impacted by the suspension fluid type and ϕ. K was found to be constant at large ω , but decreased and then increased to infinity with ω decreasing. Based on its behaviour, K was categorized into two conditions and analysed separately with semi-empirical models. The impact of particle size distribution was also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems that the traditional remote sensing image classification methods cannot effectively integrate a variety of deep learning features and poor classification performance, a land resource use classification method based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) in ecological remote sensing images is proposed. In this study, a seven-layer convolution neural network is constructed, and then the two fully connected layer features of the improved CNN network training output are fused with the fifth layer pooled layer features after dimensionality reduction by principal component analysis (PCA), so as to obtain an effective remote sensing image feature of land resources based on deep learning. Further, the classification of land resources remote sensing images is completed based on a support vector machine classifier. The remote sensing images of Pingshuo mining area in Shanxi Province are used to analyze the proposed method. The results show that the edge of the recognized image is clear, the classification accuracy, misclassification rate, and kappa coefficient are 0.9472, 0.0528, and 0.9435, respectively, and the model has excellent overall performance and good classification effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous mullite ceramics are widely used in heat insulation owing to their high temperature and corrosion resistant properties. Reducing the thermal conductivity by increasing porosity, while ensuring a high compressive strength, is vital for the synthesis of high-strength and lightweight porous mullite ceramics. In this study, ceramic microspheres are initially prepared from pre-treated high-alumina fly ash by spray drying, and then used to successfully prepare porous mullite ceramics with enhanced compressive strength via a simple direct stacking and sintering approach. The influence of sintering temperature and time on the microstructure and properties of porous mullite ceramics was evaluated, and the corresponding formation mechanism was elucidated. Results show that the porous mullite ceramics, calcined at 1550 °C for 3 h, possess a porosity of 47%, compressive strength of 31.4 MPa, and thermal conductivity of 0.775 W/(m∙K) (at 25 °C), similar to mullite ceramics prepared from pure raw materials. The uniform pore size distribution and sintered neck between the microspheres contribute to the high compressive strength of mullite ceramics, while maintaining high porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the anatomical structures, functions, and distribution of vasculature via contrast agent (CA) enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is crucial for precise medical diagnosis and therapy. The clinically used MRI CAs strongly rely on Gd‐chelates, which exhibit low T1 relaxivities and high risks of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) for patients with renal dysfunction. It is extremely important to develop high‐performance and safe CAs for MRI. Herein, it is reported that ultra‐small NaGdF4 nanoparticles (UGNs) can serve as an excellent safe MRI CA via surface engineering with rationally designed novel hydrophilic block co‐polymer (BPn). By optimizing the polymer molecular weights, the polymer‐functionalized UGNs (i.e., UGNs‐BP14) are obtained to exhibit remarkably higher relaxivity (11.8 mm–1 s–1 at 3.0 T) than Gd‐DTPA (3.6 mm–1 s–1) due to their ultracompact and abundant hydrophilic surface coating. The high performance of UGNs‐BP14 enables us to sensitively visualize microvasculature with a small diameter of ≈0.17 mm for up to 2 h, which is the thinnest blood vessel and the longest time window for low field (1.0 T) MR angiography ever reported, and cannot be achieved by using the clinically used Gd‐DTPA under the same conditions. More importantly, renal clearable UGNs‐BP14 show lower risks of inducing NSF in comparison with Gd‐DTPA due to their negligible release of Gd3+ ions after modification with the novel hydrophilic block copolymer. The study presents a novel avenue for boosting imaging‐performance and systemic biosafety of UGNs as a robust MRI CA with great potential in precise diagnosis of vasculature‐related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The whole liver transplantation is the most effective treatment for end-stage fibrosis. However, the lack of available donors, immune rejection and total cost of surgery remain as the key challenges in advancing liver fibrosis therapeutics. Due to the multi-differentiation and low immunogenicity of stem cells, treatment of liver fibrosis with stem cells has been considered as a valuable new therapeutic modality. The pathological progression of liver fibrosis is closely related to the changes in the activities of intrahepatic cells. Damaged hepatocytes, activated Kupffer cells and other inflammatory cells lead to hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation, further promoting apoptosis of damaged hepatocytes, while stem cells can work on fibrosis-related intrahepatic cells through relevant transduction pathways. Herein, this article elucidates the phenomena and the mechanisms of the crosstalk between various types of stem cells and intrahepatic cells including HSCs and hepatocytes in the treatment of liver fibrosis. Then, the important influences of chemical compositions, mechanical properties and blood flow on liver fibrosis models with stem cell treatment are emphasized. Clinical trials on stem cell-based therapy for liver fibrosis are also briefly summarized. Finally, continuing challenges and future directions of stem cell-based therapy for hepatic fibrosis are discussed. In short, stem cells play an important advantage and have a great potential in treating liver fibrosis by interacting with intrahepatic cells. Clarifying how stem cells interact with intrahepatic cells to change the progression of liver fibrosis is of great significance for a deeper understanding of liver fibrosis mechanisms and targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conserved microRNA396 (miR396) is involved in growth, development, and abiotic stress responses in a variety of plants by regulating target genes. Here, we obtained transgenic Chrysanthemum indicum (C. indicum) overexpressing the cin-miR396a gene. The transgenic plants (TGs) had longer internodes and fewer epidermal hairs in contrast with the wild-type (WT) control. cin-miR396a overexpression in C. indicum reduced salt tolerance and drought tolerance. After salt and drought stress compared with WT plants, the transgenic C. indicum exhibited a relative decrease in leaf water content, and the leaf free proline content, also exhibited a relative increase, in the leaf conductivity and leaf Malondialdehyde content, while the total chlorophyll content did not differ significantly from WT, and the Na+/K+ ratio in the roots of transgenic C. indicum increased after salt stress. We also identified two target genes of cin-miR396a , CiGRF1 and CiGRF5 , whose expression was induced by salt and drought treatments and suppressed in transgenic C. indicum. Taken together, our results reveal a unique role for the regulatory module of miR396a-GRFs in C. indicum development and response to abiotic stresses. cin-miR396a plays a negative regulatory role in C. indicum in response to salt and drought stresses. • The miRNA information of Chrysanthemum indicum was reported for the first time. • Overexpression of cin-miR396a in C. indicum resulted in longer internodes and fewer epidermal hairs. • Over-expression of cin-miR396a in C. indicum increased susceptibility to drought and salt stress. • CiGRF1 and CiGRF5 were first identified as target genes of cin-miR396a in C. indicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background& Aims: Little is known on the gender-specific effect and potential role of non-linear associations between metabolic syndrome (MetS) components and liver cancer risk. We evaluated these associations based on the UK Biobank cohort.Methods: We included 474,929 individuals without previous cancer based on the UK Biobank cohort. Gender-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated by Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for potential confounders. Non-linear associations for individual MetS components were assessed by the restricted cubic spline method.Results: Over a median follow-up of 6.6 years, we observed 276 cases of liver cancer (175 men, 101 women). MetS [HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.27-1.72] and central obesity [HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.18-2.31] were associated with higher risk of liver cancer in men but not in women. Participants with hyperglycaemia has higher risk of liver cancer. High waist circumference and blood glucose were dose-dependently associated with increased liver cancer risk in both genders. For high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (both genders) and blood pressure (women), U-shaped associations were observed. Low HDL cholesterol (< 1.35 mmol/L) in men and high HDL cholesterol in women (> 1.52 mmol/L) were associated with increased liver cancer risk.Conclusions: MetS components showed gender-specific linear or U- shaped associations with the risk of liver cancer. Our study might provide evidence for individualized management of MetS for preventing liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel materials employed in severe conditions including strong corrosion, high load and multi-factor coupling damages can easily cause incredible degradation until failure, and the protective CrN-based coatings should be one of promising candidates to relieve those damages for the steel equipment or components. In present paper, the monolayer CrAlN and multilayer Cr/CrAlN coatings were successfully deposited on steel substrates by multi-arc ion technology, and their microstructure, mechanical, tribological and corrosion performances were systematically investigated. The results show that the special multilayer Cr/CrAlN coating could possess much better load-bearing capacity and wear resistance than that of monolayer CrAlN coating, which was due to the facts that the multilayer architecture can effectively release the internal stress and inhibit the expansion of defects. Particularly, the multilayer interfaces could effectively prevent the aggressive medium in seawater infiltrating into the inside of coating, and thus the multilayer Cr/CrAlN coating could have higher corrosion resistance compared to monolayer CrAlN coating. As a result, this multilayer Cr/CrAlN coating could achieve excellent combined performances, indicating that it has greatly potential application as protective coating in seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the association between body composition and subsequent risk of the major gynecologic malignancies. Methods: This is a prospective analysis of participants from the UK Biobank. We measured baseline body composition and confirmed cancer diagnosis through linkage to cancer and death registries. We evaluated hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence interval (CIs) with COX models adjusting for potential confounders. Results: We document 1430 cases of the top three gynecologic malignancies (uterine corpus cancer 847 cases, ovarian cancer 514 cases, and cervical cancer 69 cases) from 245,084 female participants (75,307 were premenopausal and 169,777 were postmenopausal). For premenopausal women, whole body fat‐free mass (WBFFM) was associated with an increased risk of uterine corpus cancer (Adjusted HR per unit increase 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06). For postmenopausal women, compared with the first quartile, the fourth quartile of WBFFM and whole body fat mass(WBFM) was associated with 2.16 (95% CI 1.49–3.13) times and 1.89 (95% CI 1.31–2.72) times of increased uterine corpus cancer risk, respectively. Regarding the distribution of body fat mass (FM)/fat‐free mass (FFM), FFM distributed in the trunk was associate with increased uterine corpus cancer risk in premenopausal (HR 1.18,95% CI 1.07–1.31) and postmenopausal women (HR 1.13,95% CI 1.09–1.18). Meanwhile, FM/FFM distributed in the limbs present an U‐shaped associations with uterine corpus cancer risk. We did not observe any association between aforementioned body composition indices with ovarian or cervical cancer. Conclusion: FM is associated with an increased risk of uterine corpus cancer in postmenopausal women. Meanwhile, FFM is found to be a risk factor for uterine corpus cancer in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. No association of body composition with ovarian or cervical cancer was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalyst is a key factor to affect the photoreduction performance. However, the cost of preparing catalysts is relatively high and can be reduced by using waste-based materials. In this study, waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) were used as copper sources to prepare waste-based Cu2O photocatalyst for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by chemical precipitation method. Under visible light, the influence factors of photocatalytic reduction activity, such as light intensity, pH, and catalyst dosage, were investigated. Then, the effects of photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by pure Cu2O, purified Cu2O and waste-based Cu2O photocatalysts were compared. The result indicated that the photocatalytic reduction of pure Cu2O and purified Cu2O were similar, higher than that of waste-based Cu2O. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that no new phases were formed in the three catalysts, but their morphologies observed by scanning electron microscope energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was found that the pure Cu2O and purified Cu2O are cubic, whereas the waste-based Cu2O is spherical and contains impurity Sn. It is considered that morphologies and impurity of the catalysts are the key factors for photocatalytic reduction efficiency. Finally, the electron transfer rate and the photocurrent response performance verified that the photocatalytic effect of pure Cu2O and purified Cu2O were better than that of waste-based Cu2O. It is believed that the copper from waste PCBs can be used as high value-added copper material catalysts by an effective preparation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genomic copy number of LINC01061 is amplified in papillary thyroid cancer. However, its role in gastric cancer is not clear. Materials and Methods: Tissues and serum of GC patients were collected to detect the expression of LINC01061 by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). ShRNA were applied to knock down the expression of LINC01061. Growth curves and colony formation experiments were applied to evaluate cell growth. Cell migration was assessed by transwell migration experiments. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was examined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: The expression of LINC01061 was upregulated in tissues and serum of GC patients and it was associated with the clinicopathological features and survival time. Functional study indicated that cell growth and migration were suppressed after LINC01061 knockdown. Cell cycle arrest and increased apoptosis occurred when LINC01061 expression was inhibited. EMT was also impaired combined with a decrease in β-catenin expression after LINC01061 knockdown. Conclusions: Our data indicate that LINC01061 is a novel biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of GC. LINC01061 promoted progression of GC through cell cycle regulation and EMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An equivalent method has been presented to analyze an $N$ -port network composed of transmission lines or coupled lines. Based on this method, a three-port coupled line with one-port short-circuited can be seemed equal to another three-port network without port coupling at the central frequency. A new Gysel out-of-phase power divider with output port spacing approaching 0 wavelength at the central frequency, arbitrary power dividing ratio, and arbitrary terminal real impedance has been proposed to reduce the size and output port spacing. A power divider with power dividing ratio $k^{2} = 3^{2}$ and a power divider with power dividing ratio $k^{2} = 1000$ have been implemented on printed circuit board (PCB). It can be observed that there is good agreement between the simulated and measured results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, there are about a thousand million tons of waste serpentine tailings (WSTs) that cause serious environmental problems. So it is urgent to treat WSTs. In this work, the MgO in WSTs was extracted to synthetize a high value-added Mg(II)Al(III) layered double hydroxide (LDH) by an alkali fusion process, and the purified SiO2 can be obtained by the precipitation of Na2SiO3. The results indicated that the MgO extraction rate increased with the increase of Na2CO3 content and calcination temperature. The serpentine structure was destroyed and the MgO extraction rate increased rapidly to reach 91.4% when the temperature reached 750°C and the ratio of WSTs and Na2CO3 was 1:2. However, when the temperature was over 800°C, the serpentine completely transformed into forsterite with higher crystal strength, which was difficult to react with Na2CO3. The Mg-Al-LDH synthesis was carried out using a chemical precipitation method. It was not conducive to synthesis of Mg-Al-LDHs for using the rich magnesium solution that was obtained under low MgO extraction rate. The structure and surface morphology of the LDHs were characterized by an X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the Mg(II)Al(III)LDHs property of adsorbing Pb and P was investigated. The removal rate of Pb could reach about 99% and there was good adsorption capacity for P. This indicates that it is possible to synthetize high value-added Mg(II)Al(III) LDH by WSTs that could be recycled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel photochromic complexes [Zn2(bpdc)2(m-DPNDI)2]·H2O (1) and [Cd(bpdc)(m-DPNDI)]·H2O (2) (H2bpdc = 4,4′-diphenic acid, m-DPNDI = N,N′-bis(3-pyridyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxydiimide) were prepared through a solvothermal method. In complexes 1 and 2, the selection of electron-deficient ligand m-DPNDI and electron-rich ligand bpdc2− is aimed at forming a complete donor–acceptor pair and establishing a suitable electron transfer pathway to realize photoinduced electron transfer. Both complexes exhibited interesting photochromic and photoresponsive luminescence behaviours, which was verified by EPR, XRD and IR measurements. Furthermore, the existence of interpenetrating networks and abundant π⋯π interactions in 1 makes the framework intact at below 460 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional Cuckoo search (CS) localization method can obtain good positioning results that are highly accurate and robust. However, its positioning performance is constrained by the limited distance information available between the unknown node and the anchor node. In order to further enhance the positioning accuracy of the CS method, an improved CS localization algorithm is proposed that can take advantage of all of the distance information available. In the positioning process, an objective function which contains the distance information among the unknown nodes is given. Firstly, we use this distance information between the anchor node and the unknown node to determine an initial position through the conventional CS method. Then, based on the initial position, all of the distance information available is used to compute a more precise position. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can enhance the positioning accuracy in comparison with the conventional CS algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a conventional power divider, power dividing network and isolation network are usually independent of each other. To reduce the size of out-of-phase power divider with arbitrary power ratio, coupled microstrip lines are proposed to facilitate power dividing and isolation of a power divider simultaneously in this article. Formulations have been derived for the proposed out-of-phase power divider with arbitrary ratio. Two compact power dividers are implemented on the printed circuit board (PCB) with power ratio $k^{2} = 9$ and $k^{2} = 1000$. It can be observed that there is a satisfactory agreement between the simulated and measured results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust quantification of pressure (P)–temperature (T) paths for subduction‐related HP/UHP metamorphic rocks is fundamental in recognizing spatial changes in both the depth of detachment from the down‐going plate and the thermal evolution of convergent margin sutures in orogenic belts. Although the Chinese southwestern (SW) Tianshan is a well‐known example of an accretionary metamorphic belt in which HP/UHP metabasites occur in voluminous host metasedimentary schists, information about the P–T evolution of these rocks in the eastern segment is limited, precluding a full understanding of the development of the belt as a whole. In this study at Kekesu in the eastern segment of the SW Tianshan, we use microstructural evidence and phase equilibrium modelling to quantify the peak and retrograde P–T conditions from two lawsonite‐bearing micaschists and an enclosed garnet–epidote blueschist; for two of the samples we also constrain the late prograde P–T path. In the two micaschist samples, relics of prograde lawsonite are preserved in quartz inclusions in garnet, whereas in the metabasite, polymineralic aggregates included in garnet are interpreted as pseudomorphs after lawsonite. For garnet micaschist TK21, which is mainly composed of garnet, phengite/paragonite, albite, chlorite, quartz and relict lawsonite, with accessary rutile, titanite and ilmenite, the maximum P–T conditions for the peak stage are 18.0–19.0 kbar at 480–485°C. During initial exhumation, the retrograde P–T path passed through metamorphic conditions of 15.0–17.0 kbar at 460–500°C. For garnet–glaucophane micaschist TK33, which is mainly composed of garnet, glaucophane, phengite/paragonite, albite, chlorite, quartz, relict lawsonite and minor epidote, with accessary titanite, apatite, ilmenite and zircon, the maximum P conditions for the peak stage are >24.0 kbar at 400–500°C. During exhumation, the P–T path passed through metamorphic conditions of 17.5–18.5 kbar at 485–495°C and 14.0–17.5 kbar at 460–500°C. For garnet–epidote blueschist TK37, which is mainly composed of garnet, glaucophane, epidote, phengite, chlorite, albite and quartz, with accessary titanite, apatite, ilmenite, zircon and calcite, the prograde evolution passed through metamorphic conditions of ~20.0 kbar at ~445°C to Pmax conditions of ~21.5 kbar at 450–460°C and Tmax conditions of 19.5–21.0 kbar at 490–520°C. During exhumation, the rock passed through metamorphic conditions of 17.5–19.0 kbar at 475–500°C, before recording P–T conditions of <17.5 kbar at <500°C. These results demonstrate that maximum recorded pressures for individual samples vary by as much as 6 kbar in the eastern segment of the SW Tianshan, which may suggest exhumation from different depths in the subduction channel. Furthermore, the three samples record similar P–T paths from ~17.0 to 15.0 kbar, which suggests they were juxtaposed at a similar depth along the subduction interface. We compare our new results with published information from eclogites in the same area before considering the wider implications of these data for the orogenic development of the belt as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: A new bioceramic material iRoot BP Plus has been introduced and reported to have good biocompatibility, sealing ability and antibacterial activity. It has also been reported to be successfully used for procedures such as pulpotomy, pulp floor perforation repair and so on. However, there are only a few reports on the use of iRoot BP Plus in the management of traumatized teeth with an exposed pulp. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of partial pulpotomy with iRoot BP Plus in immature permanent teeth with complicated crown fracture or complicated crown-root fracture.Material and Methods: The study was prospectively designed, and 110 immature permanent teeth with complicated crown fracture or complicated crown-root fracture were randomly allocated into two groups (n = 55). All teeth were clinically and radiographically assessed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after partial pulpotomy with iRoot BP Plus (experimental group, n = 50) or calcium hydroxide (control group, n = 49) as the pulp capping agent. Eleven cases were lost during follow up, and 99 teeth were finally analysed.Results: There were no intergroup differences in the survival rate, survival time, root length and dentin wall thickness. The calcific bridge was significantly thinner in the iRoot BP Plus group than in the calcium hydroxide group (0.97 ± 0.13 mm vs 1.36 ± 0.12 mm; F = 5.128, P = .029).Conclusions: iRoot BP Plus may be an effective capping material for partial pulpotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new power divider is proposed with a compact size. In 50- $\Omega $ systems, impedance transformation is of great importance for power dividers. Coupled microstrip lines with capacitor loaded and two short-circuited ports are introduced to properly transform impedance and increase degrees of freedom in power divider designs. Image impedance and image transfer constant of coupled microstrip lines with capacitor loaded are derived. The main structural parameters of the power divider are calculated accordingly. A special design procedure is illustrated for the proposed power divider with the capacitor loaded, which is implemented on a printed circuit board. A good agreement between the simulated model and the fabricated sample is observed, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed circuit model and the design scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the large transverse edge effect for U-shaped ironless permanent magnet synchronous linear motor affect the distribution of air gap magnetic field is large, it will reduce the no-load back electromotive force and thrust. This paper proposes a novel method to evaluate the effect of transverse edge effect based on Kriging surrogate model. By comparing the results of the two-dimensional and three-dimensional finite element analysis of the air gap magnetic field of the motor, it can be seen transverse length of the motor, air gap height and thickness of the permanent magnet are the main influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems in large-scale cellular networks are considered and an analytical framework to evaluate the outage performance is developed. Different from the previous work where the users’ distribution is assumed to be completely independent of the Base Station (BS) locations, the deployment of the BSs and the location of NOMA-user pair are modeled as Poisson Cluster Process so that the relation between system throughput and the density of BSs could be effectively formulated and clearly revealed. Under the proposed system model, the closed-form expressions of outage probabilities are derived for 2-user downlink NOMA systems. Furthermore, the power allocation strategy is proposed for minimizing the maximal outage probability among NOMA users. And the average area spectral efficiency is also defined and derived to evaluate the throughput of the network. The accuracy of the theoretical results is verified by the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The LDL-C lowering effect of ezetimibe has been attributed primarily to increased catabolism of LDL-C via up-regulation of LDL receptor (LDLR) and decreased cholesterol absorption. Recently, ezetimibe has been demonstrated to have reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) promoting effects in mice, hamsters and humans. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not clear. The aim of this study is to investigate whether ezetimibe improves RCT-related protein expression in LDLR−/− hamsters. Methods: A high-fat diet was used to induce a human-like hyperlipidemia in LDLR−/− hamsters. Lipid profiles were assayed by commercially available kits, and the effects of ezetimibe on lipid metabolism-related protein expression were carried out via western blot. Results: Our data demonstrated that ezetimibe administration significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol (~ 51.6% reduction, P < 0.01) and triglyceride (from ~ 884.1 mg/dL to ~ 277.3 mg/dL) levels in LDLR−/− hamsters fed a high-fat diet. Ezetimibe administration (25 mg/kg/d) significantly promoted the protein expression of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase A1 (CYP7A1), LXRβ and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ; and down-regulated the protein expression of PPARα and PPARβ. However, it showed no significant effect on sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c, SREBP-2, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1), and ATP-biding cassette (ABC) G5/G8. Conclusion: Ezetimibe may accelerate the transformation from cholesterol to bile acid via promoting CYP7A1 and thereby enhance RCT. As a compensatory mechanism of TG lowering, ezetimibe promoted the protein expression of PPARγ and decreased PPARα and β. These results are helpful in explaining the lipid-lowering effects of ezetimibe and the potential compensatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probabilistic shaping (PS) combined with bipolar amplitude shift keying modulation is a promising transmission scheme to increase spectral efficiency. Different from the existing design of the point to point communications, we propose a PS-based uplink nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme for fading channels to support multiple connections simultaneously, where successive interference cancellation (SIC)-based maximum a posterior (MAP) detection is implemented at the receiver. To exploit the shaping gain for each user, we first theoretically analyze the ergodic channel capacity and the constellation constrained (CC) capacity with discrete-constellation inputs, respectively. And then, a multi-step optimization scheme for maximizing the ergodic CC capacity is proposed to obtain the optimal probability mass function (PMF) of these input signals. The order of optimization is inverse to the SIC decoding order so that for each specific user, the remaining multiuser interference is calculated based on the optimal PMF of the later decoded users. Furthermore, based on this non-equiprobable transmission scheme, the closed-form pairwise error probability expressions for each user are obtained for the first time. Finally, compared with the uniform scheme, the simulations show that the proposed PS NOMA strategies achieve more than 1 dB gain in terms of the error performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely reported that gestational exposure to fine particulate matters (PM 2.5) is associated with a series of adverse birth outcomes. However, the discrepancy between ambient PM 2.5 concentrations and personal PM 2.5 exposure would significantly affect the estimation of exposure-response relationship. Our study aimed to predict gestational personal exposure to PM 2.5 from the satellite-driven ambient concentrations and analyze the influence of other potential determinants. We collected 762 72-h personal exposure samples from a panel of 329 pregnant women in Shanghai, China as well as their time-activity patterns from Feb 2017 to Jun 2018. We established an ambient PM 2.5 model based on MAIAC AOD at 1 km resolution, then used its output as a major predictor to develop a personal exposure model. Our ambient PM 2.5 model yielded a cross-validation R2 of 0.96. Personal PM 2.5 exposure levels were almost identical to the corresponding ambient concentrations. After adjusting for time-activity patterns and meteorological factors, our personal exposure has a CV R2 of 0.76. We established a prediction model for gestational personal exposure to PM 2.5 from satellite-based ambient concentrations and provided a methodological reference for further epidemiological studies. • Gestational personal exposure to PM 2.5 is predictable with novel machine learning approaches. • Satellite-driven ambient PM 2.5 concentrations is the dominant predictor and major contributor of personal exposure in Shanghai. • Meteorological factors, socio-demographic status and time-activity patterns are also useful in predicting personal PM 2.5 exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The P–T regime of 6.8–8.0 kbar and 320–380 °C was constrained for the Aksu blueschist based on the phase equilibria modeling first. • An apparent thermal gradient of ∼470 °C/GPa was calculated for the peak stage. • The ages of blueschist facies metamorphism were limited to 750–805 Ma. The first occurrence of blueschist in the Neoproterozoic signifies a transition in thermal regime from a warmer Archean–Proterozoic Earth to modern colder subduction characterized by blueschist facies or ultrahigh pressure metamorphism. To evaluate the thermal regime of the transition, we apply phase equilibrium modeling to the Aksu blueschist in northwestern China to constrain the pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions of the peak mineral assemblages and to calculate the thermal regime recorded by the blueschist. Phase equilibrium modeling in the Na 2 O–CaO–K 2 O–FeO–MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –H 2 O–O system indicates that the peak mineral assemblage (glaucophane/riebeckite + epidote + phengite + albite + quartz + chlorite) was developed at P–T conditions of 6.8–8.7 kbar and 320–410 °C for a stilpnomelane-bearing epidote blueschist (AK04) and of 6.5–8.0 kbar and 310–380 °C for an epidote blueschist (AK06). These P–T data define an apparent thermal gradient of ∼470 °C/GPa for the peak stage which is typical of the high-pressure intermediate type metamorphic facies series. In addition, we present new LA–ICP–MS U–Pb ages from detrital zircons from two blueschists (AK04 and AK06) and SHRIMP U–Pb ages from zircon from a cross-cutting post-metamorphic mafic dyke (AK134) to constrain the age of the metamorphism. The youngest concordant detrital zircon ages give a maximum depositional age for the blueschist protoliths of 806 ± 10 (AK04) and 803 ± 10 Ma (AK06), respectively, and the SHRIMP U–Pb ages of zircons from the mafic dyke yields a weighted mean age of 769 ± 19 Ma interpreted to date crystallization. These results constrain the age of Aksu blueschist facies metamorphism to between 769 ± 19 and c. 805 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel hierarchical porous NiMoS4 microspheres with high electrochemical performance was successfully prepared using a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The dual application of porous NiMoS4 microspheres in energy harvesting and storage (i.e., dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and supercapacitors (SCs), respectively) is explored. In contrast to NiS2 nanosheets, MoS2 nanosheets and Pt counter electrodes (CEs), the NiMoS4 microspheres CE demonstrated the lowest charge transfer resistance and highest electrocatalytic activity for the I 3 − /I− redox couple reaction. The NiMoS4-based DSSC showed a higher power conversion efficiency (8.9%) even than that of Pt-based DSSC (8.7%) under simulated standard global AM 1.5 G sunlight (100 mW cm − 2 ). As an electroactive material for SCs, the assembled NiMoS4//AC asymmetric supercapacitor showed excellent specific capacitance (118.7 F g − 1 at 1 A g − 1) , high energy density of 42.2 Wh kg − 1 (with a power density of 799.2 W kg − 1) , and superior cycling durability with a specific capacitance retention of 79.5% after 9000 cycles at 3 A g − 1 . Porous NiMoS4 microspheres were synthesized using a facile hydrothermal technique for energy conversion (DSSCs) and energy storage (SCs) applications. The NiMoS4 CE achieved a PCE of up to 8.9% for DSSCs. An ASC device, employing the NiMoS4 electrode and active carbon electrode, delivers a high specific energy of 118.7 F g − 1 at 1 A g − 1 as well as high energy density of 42.2 Wh kg − 1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The environmental impacts of mariculture in large scale have attracted worldwide attention. Identifying the sources of sedimentary organic matter plays a key role in elucidating the environmental impacts of the mariculture. In this study, surface sediments of the Sanggou Bay were sampled in October 2014, as well as March, May and August 2015 for grain size, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses. Results showed that silt was the primary fraction in mariculture areas, and the grain size distribution was closely related with mariculture and hydrodynamic conditions. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.97, p < 0.001) between total organic carbon and total nitrogen indicated that they were homologous. According to the combined analysis of δ13C and C/N, the main source of sedimentary organic matter was shellfish deposition, kelp and soil organic matter. Using a three-end-member mixed model, the contribution rates of shellfish biodeposition, soil organic matter and kelp were found to be 48.53% > 37.44% > 14.03%, respectively. These results highlighted the significant impact of shellfish biodeposition on the benthic environments. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Mariculture and hydrodynamic conditions were responsible for sedimentary grain size. • Total organic carbon was significantly correlated with median grain size. • Total organic carbon and total nitrogen were homologous in surface sediments. • Shellfish deposition was dominant source of sedimentary organic matter in Sanggou Bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "Brain-Computer Interface-Based Communication in the Completely Locked-In State" which appeared in the 2017 issue.

Abstract Objective Metabolomics may unravel global metabolic changes in response to environmental exposures and identify important biological pathways involved in the pathophysiology of childhood obesity. Phthalate has been considered an obesogen and contributing to overweight and obesity in children. The purpose of this study is to evaluate changes in urine metabolites in response to the environmental phthalate exposure among overweight or obese children, and to investigate the metabolic mechanisms involved in the obesogenic effect of phthalate on children at puberty. Methods Within the national Puberty Timing and Health Effects in Chinese Children (PTHEC) study, 69 overweight/obese children and 80 normal weight children were selected into the current study according to their puberty timing and WGOC (The Working Group for obesity in China) references. Urinary concentrations of six phthalate monoesters (MMP, MEP, MnBP, MEHP, MEOHP and MEHHP) were measured using API 2000 electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (ESIMS/MS). Metabolomic profiling of spot urine was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Differentially expressed urinary metabolites associated with phthalate monoesters exposure were examined using orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis and multiple linear regression models. In addition, the candidate metabolites were regressed to obesity indices with multiple linear regression models and logistic regression models in all subjects. Results Compared with normal weight children, higher levels of MnBP were detected in urinary samples of children with overweight and obesity. After adjusting for confounders including chronological age, gender, puberty onset, daily energy intake and physical activity and socio-economic level, positive association remained between urinary MnBP concentration and childhood overweight/obesity [OR = 1.586, 95% CI:1.043,2.412]. We observed elevated MnBP concentration was significantly correlated with increased levels of monostearin, 1-monopalmitin, stearic acid, itaconic acid, glycerol 3-phosphate, 5-methoxytryptamine, kyotorphin, 1-methylhydantoin, d-alanyl-d-alanine, pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylglycol, and butyraldehyde. Meanwhile, increased MnBP concentration was also significantly correlated with decreased levels of lactate, glucose 6-phosphate, d -fructose 6-phosphate, palmitic acid, 4-acetamidobutyric acid, l-glutamic acid, n -acetyl- l -phenylalanine, iminodiacetic acid, hydroxyproline, pipecolinic acid, l-ornithine, n -acetyl-l-glutamic acid, guanosine, cytosin, and (s)-mandelic acid in the normal weight subjects. The observations indicated that MnBP exposure was related to global urine metabolic abnormalities characterized by disrupting arginine and proline metabolism and increasing oxidative stress and fatty acid reesterification. Among the metabolic markers related to MnBP exposure, 1-methylhydantoin, pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid and monostearin were found to be positively correlated with obesity indices, while hydroxyproline, l-ornithine, and lactate were negatively associated with overweight/obesity in children. Conclusions Our results suggested that the disrupted arginine and proline metabolism associated with phthalate exposure might contribute to the development of overweight and obesity in school-age children, providing insights into the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms involved in childhood obesity. Highlights • Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) exposure was significantly associated with overweight/obesity in Chinese school-age children. • MnBP exposure was related to global urine metabolic abnormalities in school children of China. • The disrupted arginine and proline metabolism might play an important role in mediating the putative obesogenesis of MnBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three isostructural coordination polymers of the formula [MCl2(DMSO)2(pz)]n (pz = pyrazine, DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide, M = Mn, Fe and Co for 1–3) were synthesized through the solvothermal reaction of MCl2, DMSO and pz. By introducing DMSO and chloride as electron donor ligands and pz as an accepter, a donor–metal–accepter (D–M–A) system was constructed. Radicals generated by photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from a donor to an accepter result in a dramatic change of vibronic absorption spectra in UV regions and remarkable enhancement of magnetic susceptibility. The mechanism of PET was also determined by PXRD, IR, EPR and XPS measurements. This is the first example of bridging pz complexes which exhibit both photochromism and photomagnetism in a PET process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report newly found strongly retrograded eclogite blocks in the Kekesu Valley, eastern segment of southwestern Tianshan, northwestern China. Based on detailed petrographical studies and mineral chemistry analyses, we constrain P-T evolution of two representative samples via phase equilibrium modeling method using THERMOCALC software. The peak stage is evidenced by the primary inclusions of omphacite+glaucophane+lawsonite (inferred)+chlorite+white mica in garnet. Using grossular and pyrope isopleth thermobarometry in garnet, the P peak conditions for this stage were constrained to be ~23 kbar, 480-500 °C and the T peak conditions were constrained to be 19-20 kbar, 500-520 °C. Subsequent exhumation led to the transformation of lawsonite to epidote. Using Si-inphengite barometry, the P was constrained to be 16-20 kbar at T of 500-520 °C for this stage. Further retrograde stage was evidenced by the mineral assemblages of glaucophane+garnet+epidote+paragonite+ chlorite+white mica+quartz. Later stage retrogression is evidenced by glaucophane+epidote+chlorite+ quartz+white mica+albite+actinolite with P of 5-9 kbar when T<490 °C, indicating the eclogite may have been exhumed to the middle crust level and overprinted by blueschist-greenschist facies metamorphism. The results show that eclogite at the eastern segment of SW Tianshan shares similar P-T path to the HP rocks from the western segment, implying a similar P-T evolution for these rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New zircon U–Pb ages, whole‐rock geochemistry and zircon Hf isotopes from the Habo porphyry Western Yunnan, China, were determined to provide constraints on the timing of uplift of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. The intrusive rocks consist of shoshonitic porphyry (syenite porphyry and monzonite porphyry). Zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) U–Pb dating indicates coeval emplacement ages of ~35 Ma. The porphyries have alkaline affinities, enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare earth elements (LREEs) (e.g., Rb, Th, U, Pb), with depletion of high field strength elements (HFSEs) (e.g., Nb, Ti, Ta) and weak Eu anomalies. They display uniform Lu–Hf isotopic compositions with negative zircon εHf(t) values ranging from ‐3.9 to ‐0.6. The chemical characteristics of the syenite porphyries indicated that they most likely originated from the lower crust, with mantle‐derived material involved in their generation. Geochemically, the monzonite porphyries are similar to the syenite porphyries; however, the lower MgO contents suggest that they were produced by different degrees of partial melting of the same lower crust source. Combined with the geochemical and isotopic data in this paper, imply that the alkali‐rich porphyries of the Habo polymetallic deposit were derived from the partial melting of lower crust, enriched by mantle magma, formed in a conversion stage from stress extrusion (a strike‐slip shear process) to local stress relaxation (a strike‐slip pull‐apart process) at the Ailaoshao tectonic zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an ubiquitous environmental endocrine disruptor, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has been shown to interfere with the development of reproductive organs and induce pathological changes in prostate. Our previous finding showed that in utero and lactational (IUL) DEHP exposure could disrupt the balance of testosterone and estrogen and increase the susceptibility of prostate carcinogenesis. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the early-life specific epigenetic modifications could mediate the effect of DEHP exposure on prostate carcinogenesis in rodents, for epigenetic modifications play important roles in regulating prostate carcinogenesis. The pregnant rats were treated with corn oil (negative control) or DEHP at 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/kg BW/day from GD7 to PND21. On PND21, the expression and DNA methylation change of six prostate carcinogenesis-related genes ( ESR2/GSTP1/NKX3.1/PSCA/PTGS2/Rassf1a ) were assessed through SYBR-Green real-time PCR combined with pyrosequencing assay in F1 male offspring. On PND196, the relationship b( STP1, PSCA and PTGS2 in a dose-dependent manner, which were positively correlated with PIN scores, Gleason scores, serum PSA concentrations and negatively correlated with prostate/body weight ratio on PND196. Meanwhile, 1 mg/kg BW/day DEHP markedly reduced DNA methylation level of PSCA in all studied CpG sites. Significant inverse correlations between methylation levels of the promoter CpG site and PSCA mRNA expression were observed. These results indicated that transcriptional changes of GSTP1, PSCA and PTGS2 induced by DEHP exposure might be contribute to the increasing susceptibility of prostate carcinogenesis in late life. Moreover, hypomethylation of PSCA could mediate the effect of DEHP on prostate carcinogenesis in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we present an example of phase equilibrium modeling of medium-temperature–ultrahigh-pressure (MT–UHP) eclogites that includes consideration of the influence of ferric iron (O) and H2O on the phase equilibria. As a case study, we focus on the intergranular coesite-bearing eclogites at Yangkou in the Sulu Belt. Based on phase equilibrium modeling of four eclogites, we monitor changes in phase relations during deep subduction and exhumation, and investigate fluid behavior during decompression. To determine the appropriate O and H2O contents to use in calculating P – T pseudosections for these eclogites, we use an iterative process in which calculated temperature/pressure (T / P)– O /H2O phase diagrams are combined with constraints from petrological observations. P – T pseudosections were calculated for each of the four eclogites to constrain the P – T conditions. The highest P – T conditions retrieved were P  >   5·5 GPa at T  >   850°C, although variation in mineral compositions suggests that the maximum P – T conditions could have been higher. A P – T path was reconstructed based on microstructural evidence, mineral compositions that constrain P – T conditions within phase assemblage fields, average P calculations and mineral thermobarometry. During exhumation, the retrograde P – T path passed through metamorphic conditions of P  =   4·0–3·4 GPa at T  =   850–800°C and P  =   2·4–1·7 GPa at T  =   800–750°C, before reaching crustal levels at P  =   1·3–0·9 GPa at T  =   730–710°C. The prograde evolution is suggested to have followed a high d T /d P path during the early stage of subduction, followed by a low d T /d P segment to the metamorphic peak. During exhumation, the eclogites at Yangkou became domainal, made up of host-rock with low a (H2O) in which garnet and omphacite have partially re-equilibrated and intergranular coesite has been preserved, cut by veins and veinlets where a (H2O) was higher and new mineral assemblages have developed. In the veins, the new assemblage comprises coarse phengite and quartz with symplectites of K-feldspar + plagioclase + biotite + quartz around the phengite. By contrast, the veinlets comprise symplectites of hornblende + plagioclase ± quartz ± clinopyroxene after omphacite; similar symplectites occur at the edges of the phengite–quartz veins against host eclogite. We interpret the coarse phengite and quartz, which previously could have been coesite, to have formed by precipitation of solutes from fluid migrating under UHP conditions, whereas we interpret the symplectites around the phengite to have formed by local melting and crystallization during exhumation from HP eclogite- to HP amphibolite-facies conditions. The symplectites in the veinlets and along the edges of the phengite–quartz veins are interpreted to have formed by reaction of local grain-boundary fluid with the host under HP amphibolite-facies conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this correspondence, an uplink nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system where the base station (BS) trends to decode the independent information of users occupying the same radio resource simultaneously is considered. Different from the traditional successive interference cancellation (SIC) decoding scheme where the later decoding can only be processed after the successful decoding of the previous users, an advanced SIC decoding strategy is proposed to achieve outage balancing for the later decoded users. Under the proposed SIC decoding mechanism, the BS regards the unsuccessfully decoded users’ information as the interference on the following users, i.e., even the outage occurs for any of the previous decoded users, the BS will still try to decode the following users’ information. The outage performance with the new decoding strategy is theoretically analyzed. The closed-form expressions of the outage probability for each user are derived for an uplink 2-user NOMA system. The accuracy of the theoretical results is verified by the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]