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In this work, we demonstrate a hydrogen-terminated diamond (H-diamond) field-effect transistor (FET) with Al2O3/CeB6 gate materials. The CeB6 and Al2O3 films have been deposited by electron beam evaporation technique, sequentially. For the 4/8/12/15 μm gate length (LG) devices, the whole devices demonstrate distinct p-type normally off characteristics, and all the threshold voltage are negative; all the absolute values of leakage current density are 10−4 A/cm2 at a VGS of −11 V, exhibiting a relatively low leakage current density compared with CeB6 FETs, and this further demonstrates the feasibility of the introduction of Al2O3 to reduce the leakage current density; the maximum drain–source current density is −114.6, −96.0, −80.9, and −73.7 mA/mm, which may be benefited from the well-protected channel. For the 12 μm LG devices, the saturation carrier mobility is 593.6 cm2/V s, demonstrating a good channel transport characteristic. This work may provide a promising strategy for the application of normally off H-diamond FETs significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate cannulation of the adrenal vein is challenging during adrenal venous sampling (AVS) because of the variations in adrenal vein anatomy. This study aimed to investigate the adrenal venous morphology in Chinese and improve the success rate of AVS. A total of 221 participants with primary aldosteronism (PA) who underwent AVS were enrolled. Compare the morphology among subgroups divided according to sex, body mass index (BMI), and with or without adenoma. The success rate of right, left, and bilateral AVS was 98.60%, 97.20%, and 96.85%, respectively. The triangular pattern was the most common (39.37%) on the right side, while the glandlike pattern (70.14%) on the left. The proportion of adrenal venous morphology varies among patients with different sexecs (χ2 = 21.335, P < .001), BMI (χ2 = 10.642 P = .031), and with or without adenoma (χ2 = 10.637, P = .031) on the right side, and the male, obese and adenoma group showed a higher proportion of glandlike pattern than triangular pattern. If only dependent on computed tomography, 9.05% of patients incorrectly diagnose the dominant side, 14.48% of patients would have inappropriate surgery meanwhile 25.34% of patients would miss the surgical opportunity. In conclusion, the most common types of right and left adrenal venous morphology were triangular pattern and glandlike pattern, respectively. Sex, BMI, and the presence of adenoma affected right adrenal venous morphology. Adequate knowledge of the adrenal venous morphology is critical for improving the success rate of AVS and making an appropriate treatment for PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia provides a green alternate to the Haber–Bosch method, yet it suffers from sluggish kinetics and a low yield rate. The nitrate reduction follows a tandem reaction of nitrate reduction to nitrite and subsequent nitrite hydrogenation to generate ammonia, and the ammonia Faraday efficiency (FE) is limited by the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we design a heterostructure catalyst to remedy the above issues, which consists of Ni nanosphere core and Ni(OH)2 nanosheet shell (Ni/Ni(OH)2). In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals Ni and Ni(OH)2 are interconvertible according to the applied potential, facilitating the cascade nitrate reduction synergistically. Consequently, it attains superior electrocatalytic nitrate reduction performance with an ammonia FE of 98.50 % and a current density of 0.934 A cm−2 at −0.476 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, and exhibits an average ammonia yield rate of 84.74 mg h−1 cm−2 during the 102‐hour stability test, which is highly superior to the reported catalysts tested under similar conditions. Density functional theory calculations corroborate the synergistic effect of Ni and Ni(OH)2 in the tandem reaction of nitrate reduction. Moreover, the Ni/Ni(OH)2 catalyst also possesses good capability for methanol oxidation and thus is used to establish a system coupling with nitrate reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium spp., a necrotrophic soil‐borne pathogen, causes root rot disease on many crops. CERK1, as a typical pattern recognition receptor, has been widely studied. However, the function of CERK1 during plant–Fusarium interaction has not been well described. We determined that MdCERK1 is a susceptibility gene in the apple‐Fusarium solani (Fs) interaction, and jasmonic acid (JA) plays a crucial role in this process. MdCERK1 directly targets and phosphorylates the lipoxygenase MdLOX2.1, an enzyme initiating the JA biosynthesis, at positions Ser326 and Thr327. These phosphorylations inhibit its translocation from the cytosol to the chloroplasts, leading to a compromised JA biosynthesis. Fs upregulates MdCERK1 expression during infection. In turn, when the JA level is low, the apple MdWRKY71, a transcriptional repressor of MdCERK1, is markedly upregulated and phosphorylated at Thr99 and Thr102 residues by the MAP kinase MdMMK2. The phosphorylation of MdWRKY71 enhances its transcription inhibition on MdCERK1. Taken together, MdCERK1 plays a novel role in limiting JA biosynthesis. There seems to be an arms race between apple and Fs, in which Fs activates MdCERK1 expression to reduce the JA level, while apple senses the low JA level and activates the MdMMK2‐MdWRKY71 module to elevate JA level by inhibiting MdCERK1 expression. Summary Statement: Chitin Elicitor Receptor Kinase 1, CERK1 plays a well‐known role in plants to initiate the primary defence upon pathogens infection. In addition to this, this study discovered that apple CERK1 interacts with and phosphorylates the lipoxygenase MdLOX2.1 to block the JA biosynthesis. Moreover, the apple MMK2‐WRKY71 module negatively regulates MdCERK1 expression to maintain the JA level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to clarify the role of ball pitch in Al 2 O 3 –SiC–C (ASC) refractory castables and investigate the influence of low temperature treatment on the composition, microstructural evolution, and properties of ASC refractory castables. By utilizing the expansion properties of ball pitch during heating, the castables undergo a low temperature treatment to induce the flow and expansion of ball pitch within the castables. This, in turn, fills the surrounding pores and enhances the physical properties of the castables. The results of this study demonstrate that low-temperature heat treatment of the castables at temperatures at 350 °C significantly improves the hot modulus of rupture, oxidation resistance, and slag resistance after sintering. This improvement is attributed to the optimized microstructure. In comparison to the corresponding samples without low temperature treatment, the high temperature modulus of rupture (HMOR) of the calcined castables treated at 350 °C increases by 33.3%. Additionally, the oxidation index and slag corrosion index after sintering at 1500 °C decrease by 39.6% and 87.31% respectively for the samples low temperature treated at 350 °C, as compared to the samples low temperature treated at 110 °C. This study provides a fresh perspective on the production of ASC castables with exceptional high temperature performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large adiabatic temperature change along with a wide operating temperature region is usually required for the electrocaloric materials to fulfill their refrigeration function. In general, doping foreign ions into BaTiO3 is the frequently utilized strategy in order to obtain excellent electrocaloric materials for the practical application. In the current paper, BaTiO3 lead‐free ferroelectric ceramics were doped by Ca2+ and Sn4+ simultaneously in order to generate a coexistence state at room temperature, where ferroelectric domains and nanodomains exit. As a result, a large polarization and a wide operating temperature range were finally induced. It is found that Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.85Sn0.15O3 has a maximum adiabatic temperature change of 0.85 K and an excellent working temperature region (65 K, ∆T > 90% Tmax) was achieved under an electric field of 50 kV/cm. The above phenomenon indicates that the modified BaTiO3 ceramics can be a good potential electrocaloric material in the state of cross‐existence of ferroelectric domains and nanodomains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring the safety of pipeline transportation is vital for societal well-being. Traditional methods for identifying defects in steel pipelines through ultrasonic echo signal pattern recognition often fail to extract comprehensive and effective features crucial for accurate defect detection. This study introduces an innovative feature extraction method employing a fractional Fourier transform variational modal decomposition (FRFT-VMD), hereafter referred to as the fractional-order VMD algorithm. This method utilises the fourth-order central moment and envelope entropy to optimise several key parameters: the fractional order in the Fourier transform, the number of decomposition layers, and the penalty factor in variational modal decomposition. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, ultrasonic echo signals from both finite element simulations and experimental platforms were analysed using the FRFT-VMD technique. The features extracted were then classified using a Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) to determine defect depths. The results show a recognition accuracy of 95.2% in simulated signals and 89.1% in experimentally measured signals across various defect depths, indicating a significant improvement over existing feature extraction methodologies. The fractional-order VMD algorithm proves to be superior in extracting features that enhance the accuracy of defect identification in steel pipelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Tea, one of the most widely consumed beverages globally, exhibits remarkable genomic diversity in its underlying flavour and health‐related compounds. In this study, we present the construction and analysis of a tea pangenome comprising a total of 11 genomes, with a focus on three newly sequenced genomes comprising the purple‐leaved assamica cultivar “Zijuan”, the temperature‐sensitive sinensis cultivar “Anjibaicha” and the wild accession “L618” whose assemblies exhibited excellent quality scores as they profited from latest sequencing technologies. Our analysis incorporates a detailed investigation of transposon complement across the tea pangenome, revealing shared patterns of transposon distribution among the studied genomes and improved transposon resolution with long read technologies, as shown by long terminal repeat (LTR) Assembly Index analysis. Furthermore, our study encompasses a gene‐centric exploration of the pangenome, exploring the genomic landscape of the catechin pathway with our study, providing insights on copy number alterations and gene‐centric variants, especially for Anthocyanidin synthases. We constructed a gene‐centric pangenome by structurally and functionally annotating all available genomes using an identical pipeline, which both increased gene completeness and allowed for a high functional annotation rate. This improved and consistently annotated gene set will allow for a better comparison between tea genomes. We used this improved pangenome to capture the core and dispensable gene repertoire, elucidating the functional diversity present within the tea species. This pangenome resource might serve as a valuable resource for understanding the fundamental genetic basis of traits such as flavour, stress tolerance, and disease resistance, with implications for tea breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal complex causes of aircraft events, this paper aims to mine association rules between the trigger probability and relative strength via a modified Apriori algorithm. Clustering is adopted for data preprocessing and TF–IDF value calculation. Causative item sets of aircraft events are obtained based on the accident causation 2–4 model and are coded to establish code indicators. By avoiding the use of statistical methodologies to resolve not-a-number (NaN) values for altering the interrelations among causes, an enhancement in the Apriori algorithm is proposed by considering frequent items. By extracting frequent patterns, in this paper, all the association rules that satisfy three perspectives (support, confidence and lift) are determined by constantly generating and pruning candidate item sets. A network graph is used to visualize the association rules between different unsafe events and all types of causes. Finally, 9835 representative pieces of data, including general unsafe events, general incidents and serious incidents from the Southwest Air Traffic Management Bureau, are selected for analysis. The results show that improper energy allocation, poor conflict resolution ability, inadequate onsite management duties, adoption of a luck mentality, and occurrence of controller oversight are highly correlated with general unsafe events, and failure to rectify incorrect recitation is notably correlated with general incidents, while inadequate manual promotion, lack of conflict judgement and insufficient safety management are strongly correlated with serious incidents. This study quantitatively reveals the potential patterns and characteristics of mutual interactions among various types of historical aircraft events and highlights directions for controllable prevention and prediction of aircraft events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melilotus, a member of the Fabaceae family, is a pivotal forage crop that is extensively cultivated in livestock regions globally due to its notable productivity and ability to withstand abiotic stress. However, the genetic attributes of the chloroplast genome and the evolutionary connections among different Melilotus species remain unresolved. Results: In this study, we compiled the chloroplast genomes of 18 Melilotus species and performed a comprehensive comparative analysis. Through the examination of protein-coding genes, we successfully established a robust phylogenetic tree for these species. This conclusion is further supported by the phylogeny derived from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the entire chloroplast genome. Notably, our findings revealed that M. infestus, M. siculus, M. sulcatus, and M. speciosus formed a distinct subgroup within the phylogenetic tree. Additionally, the chloroplast genomes of these four species exhibit two shared inversions. Moreover, inverted repeats were observed to have reemerged in six species within the IRLC. The distribution patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels) within protein-coding genes indicated that ycf1 and ycf2 accumulated nonconservative alterations during evolutionary development. Furthermore, an examination of the evolutionary rate of protein-coding genes revealed that rps18, rps7, and rpl16 underwent positive selection specifically in Melilotus. Conclusions: We present a comparative analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of Melilotus species. This study represents the most thorough and detailed exploration of the evolution and variability within the genus Melilotus to date. Our study provides valuable chloroplast genomic information for improving phylogenetic reconstructions and making biogeographic inferences about Melilotus and other Papilionoideae species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River serve as principal rice production bases in China, yet the biodiversity and ecological processes of bacterial communities in paddy soils are not well understood. This study explores the diversity, composition, ecological function, and assembly processes of abundant and rare bacterial communities in paddy soils. A total of 129 paddy soil samples from 43 sites along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were collected and analyzed using NovaSeq sequencing. The results showed that the dominant phylum for both abundant and rare taxa was Proteobacteria, with a greater relative abundance of the abundant taxa. The diversity of the abundant community was lower than that of the rare community. Soil properties and geographic variables explained more of the variation in the abundant community than in the rare community. The rare community exhibited a significant distance‐decay relationship. The assembly of the abundant community was more influenced by stochastic processes, although both the abundant and rare communities were governed by stochastic processes. It is concluded that both abundant and rare bacterial communities exhibit differing biogeographic patterns, yet they undergo similar ecological processes in the paddy soils along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These observations offer a theoretical framework for a deeper comprehension of the function of both abundant and rare bacteria, as well as the development and preservation of soil bacterial diversity within agricultural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lakes of Jianghan Plain, as an important component of the water bodies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain, have made significant contributions to maintaining the ecological health and promoting the sustainable development of the Jianghan Plain. However, there is a relatively limited understanding regarding the trends of lake area change for different types of lakes and their dominant factors over the past three decades in the Jianghan Plain. Based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, combined with the water body index method, the changes in area of three different types of lakes (area > 1 km2) in the Jianghan Lake Group from 1990 to 2020 were extracted and analyzed. Additionally, the Partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was utilized to analyze the driving factors affecting the changes in water body area of these lakes. The results show that from 1990 to 2020, the area of the lakes of the wet season and level season exhibited a decreasing trend, decreasing by 893.1 km2 and 77.9 km2, respectively. However, the area of dry season lakes increased by 59.27 km2. The areas of all three types of lakes reached their minimum values in 2006. According to the PLS-SEM results, the continuous changes in the lakes' area are mainly controlled by environmental factors overall. Furthermore, human factors mainly influence the mutation of the lakes' area. This study achieved precise extraction of water body areas and accurate analysis of driving factors, providing a basis for a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic changes in the lakes of Jianghan Plain, which is beneficial for the rational utilization and protection of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Although saline–alkali stress can improve tomato quality, the detailed molecular processes that balance stress tolerance and quality are not well‐understood.Our research links nitric oxide (NO) and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) with the control of root malate exudation and fruit malate storage, mediated by aluminium‐activated malate transporter 9/14 (SlALMT9/14). By modifying a specific S‐nitrosylated site on pyruvate‐dependent GABA transaminase 1 (SlGABA‐TP1), we have found a way to enhance both plant's saline–alkali tolerance and fruit quality.Under saline–alkali stress, NO levels vary in tomato roots and fruits. High NO in roots leads to S‐nitrosylation of SlGABA‐TP1/2/3 at Cys316/258/316, reducing their activity and increasing GABA. This GABA then reduces malate exudation from roots and affects saline–alkali tolerance by interacting with SlALMT14. In fruits, a moderate NO level boosts SlGABA‐TP1 expression and GABA breakdown, easing GABA's block on SlALMT9 and increasing malate storage. Mutants of SlGABA‐TP1C316S that do not undergo S‐nitrosylation maintain high activity, supporting malate movement in both roots and fruits under stress.This study suggests targeting SlGABA‐TP1Cys316 in tomato breeding could significantly improve plant's saline–alkali tolerance and fruit quality, offering a promising strategy for agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality japonica rice, distinguished by its unique flavor and enriched nutritional value, has attracted significant attention across Asia. The over-application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, however, is a growing concern, threatening both the rice quality and the environmental sustainability of its production. This situation calls for a reevaluation and modification of traditional agricultural practices. Our study investigates the effects of reduced N fertilizer use, complemented by foliar fertilizer application, on the physiological attributes and yield of high-quality japonica rice. The aim is to achieve efficient N use and enhanced crop productivity. The experiment employed 'Sujing 1180', a high-quality japonica rice cultivar, utilizing urea as the N source and a comprehensive macronutrient-rich water-soluble fertilizer for foliar application. Five treatments were established: conventional N application (270 kg ha− 1, N100), 10% N reduction (N90), 10% N reduction with foliar application (N90 + FF), 20% N reduction (N80), and 20% N reduction with foliar application (N80 + FF). These treatments were meticulously examined throughout various growth stages. Photosynthetic parameter analysis indicated that N90 + FF significantly boosted the net photosynthetic rate during the heading stage. N80 + FF maintained higher stomatal conductance at the maturity stage, suggesting that foliar fertilizer is effective in enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal conductance. In terms of N metabolism, N90 + FF notably increased the accumulation of nitrate N during the jointing stage, surpassing other treatments. While N90 and N80 showed reductions in both nitrate and ammonium N levels compared to N100, N90 + FF was particularly effective in elevating nitrate and ammonium N as well as free amino acid concentrations. Regarding N fertilizer efficiency, N90 + FF surpassed N100 across several critical parameters, specifically total N absorption, N recovery efficiency, N agronomic efficiency, and N physiological efficiency. Significantly, N90 + FF showed marked improvements in both N agronomic efficiency and N partial factor productivity. In examining yield and its components, the N90 + FF treatment achieved a higher yield of 9872.48 kg ha− 1, surpassing the 9383.75 kg ha− 1 of N100. N90 + FF had better results in seed-setting rate and average grain number per panicle, with its 1000-grain weight similar to that of N100. The N90 and N80 treatments, however, were less effective in terms of yield and its components. The integrated study findings demonstrate that a strategy incorporating moderate N reduction and foliar fertilizer application markedly optimizes rice photosynthesis, augments N metabolism, and enhances utilization efficiency, leading to increased yields. These insights are valuable for advancing precision agriculture, enhancing japonica rice production efficiency, and promoting sustainable farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new characterization of tabularity in tense logic is established, namely, a tense logic L is tabular if and only if $\mathsf {tab}_n^T\in L$ for some $n\geq 1$. Two characterization theorems for the Post-completeness in tabular tense logics are given. Furthermore, a characterization of the Post-completeness in the lattice of all tense logics is established. Post numbers of some tense logics are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) leads to vision loss. This study aimed to investigate a new method that can directly evaluate the change in muscle cone inner volume (MCIV) and distinguish DON orbits from non-DONs. Materials and methods: This study included 54 patients (108 orbits) who were diagnosed with thyroid eye disease and treated at the Beijing Tongren Hospital between December 2019 and September 2021. The extraocular muscle volume (EOMV), orbital fat volume (OFV), and bony orbit volume (BOV) of the patients were measured using three-dimensional reconstruction. MCIV was measured using artificially defined boundaries. The associations between these volumes and clinical indicators were studied, and the diagnostic efficacy of these volumes for DON was described using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The ROC curve showed that the area under the curve of MCIV/BOV (%) combined with EOMV/BOV (%) reached 0.862 (p < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 76.1%. Conclusion: The combination of MCIV/BOV (%) and EOMV/BOV (%) is a good indicator for the diagnosis of DON, which aids in the early detection and intervention of DON. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous robot-based orchard operations will become an alternative solution in the field of precision agriculture. One of the keys to robotic work is to achieve autonomous navigation that is as accurate as possible to ensure the most accurate working effect. In this work, we propose an orchard path fitting and navigation method based on the fusion of improved A-Star algorithm and Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR) to meet the requirements of autonomous navigation crawler platform for autonomous navigation in orchard environment and ensure accuracy. In this study, the actual speed and turning radius of the left and right tracks of the crawler platform were collected under 5 different slopes and 400 sets of different theoretical speed combinations of left and right tracks through the design nesting test, and the motion model of the crawler platform was constructed based on SVR. Orchard point cloud data were obtained by 3D solid-state LiDAR, and the improved A-star algorithm was used to fit the navigation path and calculate the turning curvature radius. Taking this curvature radius as the optimal navigation target value, the motion model predicts the optimal theoretical speed of left and right tracks, which is used as a reference for autonomous navigation. The comparison experiment of autonomous navigation was carried out in two modes: traditional and improved A-Star algorithm. The results show that the average values of the maximum lateral and longitudinal deviation of the improved automatic navigation method between orchards row are 6.90 cm and 9.88 cm, respectively. Compared with the method combined with the traditional A-Star algorithm and SVR, the values were 8.94 cm and 10.88 cm and were optimized by 29.57% and 10.12%, respectively. The autonomous navigation method proposed in this paper can meet the needs of orchards rows autonomous navigation, and can be widely applied to different orchard site environments (slope, ground obstacles, bad surface conditions), which can provide reference for the production practices of unmanned orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated substance P can be utilized to predict early mortality during the first week of cerebral infarction. Whether aprepitant, a substance P receptor blocker could be utilized to alleviate poststroke pneumonia which is investigated in this study. Intraluminal monofilament model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was constructed in C57BL/6J male mice, and the relative expression of substance P was detected in collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenate at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours poststroke. On the other hand, different concentrations of aprepitant (0.5, 1, and 2 mg/kg) were atomized and inhaled into MCAO mice. Inflammation cytokines and bacterial load were detected in collected BALF and lung tissue homogenate at 72-hour poststroke, and lung injury was revealed by histological examination. Aprepitant administration decreased total proteins, total cells, neutrophils, and macrophages in BALF. The concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon γ, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and IL-10 in lung tissue homogenates were also diminished by the administration of aprepitant. In conclusion, aprepitant could attenuate poststroke pneumonia in mice suggesting its potential therapeutic use in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in situ imaging of the cutting process exhibits outstanding advantages in reconstructing the precise and visual thermoplastic deformation fields. The physical and geometric characteristics of deformation fields provide a deeper understanding of the cutting processes. In this paper, a mechanism-image hybrid analysis method is proposed to acquire the characteristics of the serrated chip deformation in the orthogonal cutting of TA15 titanium alloy based on in situ imaging. The established hybrid analysis method combines the shear-plane theory with the streamline method and image segmentation method, which realizes the identification of pixel coordinates of the main shear plane (MSP) and the primary shear zone (PSZ) and then the extraction of the physical and geometric variables from the digital image correlation (DIC) full-field measurements. Consequently, the variations of equivalent strain rate, strain, temperature, and the geometric characterizations of MSP and PSZ during an individual serration formation of TA15 titanium alloy were quantitatively investigated. It was found that the physical and geometric variables reached stability in the final stage of serration evolution and were averaged as the DIC-based equivalent characterizations to analyze the impact of cutting depth and tool rake angle. Meanwhile, the DIC-based equivalent characterizations were compared with the results obtained by the classical analytical models to illustrate the advantages of the DIC-based analysis. The findings also support that the established hybrid analysis method holds the potential to characterize the serrated chip formation of other materials and improve the models of PSZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid discrimination of bacteria is currently an emerging trend in the fields of food safety, medical detection, and environmental observation. Traditional methods often require lengthy culturing processes, specialized analytical equipment, and bacterial recognition receptors. In response to this need, we have developed a paper-based fluorescence sensor array platform for identifying different bacteria. The sensor array is based on three unique carbon quantum dots (CQDs) as sensing units, each modified with a different antibiotic (polymyxin B, ampicillin, and gentamicin). These antibiotic-modified CQDs can aggregate on the bacterial surface, triggering aggregation-induced fluorescence quenching. The sensor array exhibits varying fluorescent responses to different bacterial species. To achieve low-cost and portable detection, CQDs were formulated into fluorescent ink and used with an inkjet printer to manufacture paper-based sensor arrays. A smartphone was used to collect the responses generated by the bacteria and platform. Diverse machine learning algorithms were utilized to discriminate bacterial types. Our findings showcase the platform's remarkable capability to differentiate among five bacterial strains, within a detection range spanning from 1.0 × 103 CFU/mL to 1.0 × 107 CFU/mL. Its practicality is further validated through the accurate identification of blind bacterial samples. With its cost-effectiveness, ease of fabrication, and high degree of integration, this platform holds significant promise for on-site detection of diverse bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to mortality rates, with family income being a quantifiable marker of SES. However, the precise association between the family income-to-poverty ratio (PIR) and all-cause mortality in adults aged 40 and older remains unclear. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from NHANES III, including 20,497 individuals. The PIR was used to assess financial status, and various demographic, lifestyle, and clinical factors were considered. Mortality data were collected from the NHANES III linked mortality file. The study revealed a non-linear association between PIR and all-cause mortality. The piecewise Cox proportional hazards regression model showed an inflection point at PIR 3.5. Below this threshold, the hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality was 0.85 (95% CI 0.79–0.91), while above 3.5, the HR decreased to 0.66 (95% CI 0.57–0.76). Participants with lower income had a higher probability of all-cause mortality, with middle-income and high-income groups showing lower multivariate-adjusted HRs compared to the low-income group. This study provides evidence of a non-linear association between PIR and all-cause mortality in adults aged 40 and older, with an inflection point at PIR 3.5. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the non-linear relationship between family income and mortality when addressing socioeconomic health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of nonpyrolytic catalysts featuring precisely defined active sites represents an effective strategy for investigating the fundamental relationship between the catalytic activity of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts and their local coordination environments. In this study, we have synthesized a series of model electrocatalysts with well‐defined CoN4 centers and nonplanar symmetric coordination structures. These catalysts were prepared by a sequential process involving the chelation of cobalt salts and 1,10‐phenanthroline‐based ligands with various substituent groups (phen(X), where X=OH, CH3, H, Br, Cl) onto covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs). By modulating the electron‐donating or electron‐withdrawing properties of the substituent groups on the phen‐based ligands, the electron density surrounding the CoN4 centers was effectively controlled. Our results demonstrated a direct correlation between the catalytic activity of the CoN4 centers and the electron‐donating ability of the substituent group on the phenanthroline ligands. Notably, the catalyst denoted as BCTF−Co‐phen(OH), featuring the electron‐donating OH group, exhibited the highest ORR catalytic activity. This custom‐crafted catalyst achieved a remarkable half‐wave potential of up to 0.80 V vs. RHE and an impressive turnover frequency (TOF) value of 47.4×10−3 Hz at 0.80 V vs. RHE in an alkaline environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of nonpyrolytic catalysts featuring precisely defined active sites represents an effective strategy for investigating the fundamental relationship between the catalytic activity of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts and their local coordination environments. In this study, we have synthesized a series of model electrocatalysts with well‐defined CoN4 centers and nonplanar symmetric coordination structures. These catalysts were prepared by a sequential process involving the chelation of cobalt salts and 1,10‐phenanthroline‐based ligands with various substituent groups (phen(X), where X=OH, CH3, H, Br, Cl) onto covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs). By modulating the electron‐donating or electron‐withdrawing properties of the substituent groups on the phen‐based ligands, the electron density surrounding the CoN4 centers was effectively controlled. Our results demonstrated a direct correlation between the catalytic activity of the CoN4 centers and the electron‐donating ability of the substituent group on the phenanthroline ligands. Notably, the catalyst denoted as BCTF−Co‐phen(OH), featuring the electron‐donating OH group, exhibited the highest ORR catalytic activity. This custom‐crafted catalyst achieved a remarkable half‐wave potential of up to 0.80 V vs. RHE and an impressive turnover frequency (TOF) value of 47.4×10−3 Hz at 0.80 V vs. RHE in an alkaline environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimaterial fibers, as a new generation and rapidly developed fiber materials, have been widely used in advanced photonic and optoelectronic devices, energy conversion, optogenetics, smart fabrics, artificial muscles, micro/nano fabrications, 3D printing fields, etc. The great success of multimaterial fibers are mainly benefited from their multifunctionality, outstanding performance, and scalable manufacturing capability. In this review, a comprehensive review is given on the novel sensing principles, advanced manufacture techniques, and multifunctional sensing applications of multimaterial fibers. The development history of multimaterial fibers are introduced, and the importance of the appearance of multimaterial fibers are also evaluated. In addition, the commonly used fabrication techniques of multimaterial fibers with excellent scalability are summarized, and the general design strategies and working principles of multimaterial fibers are also highlighted. Furthermore, the recent advances of multimaterial fibers in diverse meaningful applications such as optical sensing, thermal sensing, chemical sensing, deformation sensing, microfluidic sensing, acoustic sensing, physiological sensing, neural sensing, radiation detection, and magnetic sensing are summarized. The future developments and challenges of multimaterial fibers are also indicated. In summary, this review is envisioned to not only provide fabrication methods and working principles of multimaterial fibers, but also demonstrate its great potentials in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing and developing functional glasses with high efficiency and flexible wideband near-infrared emission tunability is of great research interest for optical communications. Here, strategies of composition optimization and new synthesis technique are employed to effectively regulate rare-earth ions photoluminescence. A series of Er3+-doped(up to 12 mol%) Ta 2 O 5 –La 2 O 3 –Ga 2 O 3 glasses are fabricated via a levitation melting technique and exhibit small hydroxyl absorptions, wide transparency range, high refractive indices(n d ≥ 2.038), irradiation- and thermal stability (T g > 868 °C). Upon 980 nm pumping, the 1.5 μm emission intensity reaches the highest value at 2.5 mol% Er 2 O 3 with a bandwidth of 112 nm. Strikingly, the fluorescence lifetime, absorption and emission cross-section and largest gain coefficient of glass with x = 2.5 at 1.5 μm are evaluated to be 4.37 ms, 16.7 × 10−21 cm2, 11.8 × 10−21 cm2 and 6.43 cm−1, respectively. Additionally, structural and temperature stability properties are also characterized. Possible mechanisms related to the reduction in quantum-yield and lifetime are elaborated in detail. Glass uniformity is creatively confirmed by the micro-area fluorescence spectra for the first time. This exploration of high content doping strategy for achieving high-performance glasses may extend the possible versatile applications, and provide feasible design insights into engineering more multi-functional materials with programmable features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sedimentation immunity is one of the key features of magnetorheological (MR) dampers, which means the lifetime-long service without degradation under the sedimentation of MR fluid. In this paper, an active-dispersing mechanism is established with twin-tube configuration toward the sedimentation immunity, by adding a circulation channel powered by rotating blades between the tubes when the MR damper is not in operation. Finite element (FE) method is employed to reveal the re-dispersion process once the MR fluid settled to a specific degree, and the benefits of circulating channel and twin-tube sedimentation-immunity system for the MR fluid are discovered by the simulation. Ultimately, a self-adaptive system could be built to ensure the MR fluid in the damper keeping in a relative uniform and thus the sedimentation immunity is fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the grinding-induced microstructural and mechanical evolution in high-entropy nickel-based superalloys GH4169 and DD5, underscoring their distinct behaviors under varying machining conditions. Leveraging "Random Substitution" in Material Studio, the research developed intricate atomic models to accurately depict the complex chemical compositions and microstructures of these superalloys. Neper software was employed for multi-scale modeling, specifically analyzing the unit cells of GH4169. A critical focus was placed on the effects of key grinding parameters—depth, spindle speed, and feed rate—on the crystallographic deformation of GH4169, contrasting it with the response of DD5. The study highlighted a notable transition in GH4169's material removal mechanism from plastic flow to chip spallation at enhanced grinding depths and feed rates, while maintaining lattice integrity at higher grinding speeds. GH4169 consistently demonstrated greater tangential and normal forces during grinding compared to DD5, reflecting intricate machining complexities. The differential crystal orientations between these superalloys significantly impacted the grinding force distribution and heat dissipation during the process. This comprehensive analysis provides pivotal insights into the micro-level grinding process parameters, enriching both theoretical and practical understanding of material machinability in advanced manufacturing contexts. The study's novelty lies in its application of detailed atomic models and multi-scale modeling to uncover subtle microstructural and mechanical dynamics during the grinding of superalloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state lithium--oxygen batteries offer great promise in meeting the practical demand for high-energy-density and safe energy storage. We have developed fibrous gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) using a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) matrix via electrospinning. The 3D structure of GPEs enhances electrolyte absorption, while the interconnected design promotes strong interactions between Li+ and polar groups within the PAN matrix, thereby improving ion transport efficiency. In practical tests, both lithium symmetric cells and Li--O2 batteries demonstrated the ability to operate at high current densities over long cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurements of the total cross section of the e + e − ⟶ γ γ γ reaction from the VENUS, TOPAS, OPAL, DELPHI, ALEPH, and L3 collaborations, collected between 1989 and 2003, are used to perform a χ 2 test to validate the current quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory and search for possible deviations with the direct contact term annihilation. By observing a deviation from the QED predictions on the total cross section of the e + e − ⟶ γ γ γ reaction above s = 180.0 GeV, a non-QED direct contact term is introduced following the dimension 6 effective theory to explain the deviation. In the non-QED direct contact term, a threshold energy scale Λ is included and explained to the finite interaction length in direct contact term and in consequence the size of the electron involved in the annihilation area. The experimental data of the total cross section is compared to the QED cross section by a χ 2 test, which gives a best fit of the Λ to be 1576 ± 202 GeV, corresponding to a finite interaction length of r e = 1.25 ± 0.16 × 1 0 − 17 (cm). In the direct contact term annihilation, this interaction length is a measure of the size of an electron r e . By combining all the data results from the mentioned collaborations, we have at least 2 to 3 times more statistics than every single experiment at high s region. This induces the best precision on r e compared to the previous measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning to recognize novel visual classes from few samples is challenging but promising. Previous studies have shown that few-shot model tends to overfit and lead to poor generalization performance, which is because it finds a biased distribution based on a few samples. In addition, in agriculture-specific domains, there are more serious research challenges such as imbalanced disease distribution, one-shot representation biases, fine-grained recognition, and granularity shift. As far as we know, this study is the first work on the fine-grained "Coarse-to-Fine" few-shot plant disease classification, which classifies "fine-grained novel classes" (specific to disease severity) based on "coarse-grained base classes" (specific to plant species). A complete two-stage in-use calibration strategy is presented in this paper. Firstly, we propose an attention-based inverse Mahalanobis distance weighted prototype calibration module (AIPCM). By transferring statistics from sample-rich coarse-grained base classes to sample-scarce fine-grained novel classes, we achieve prototype calibration for 1-shot sample and obtain an unbiased distribution in the feature space. Secondly, to generate more reasonable decision boundaries, we propose a prior-driven task-adapted decision boundary calibration module (TDBCM) based on class-covariance metric. The original Euclidean/Cosine distance is updated to the Mahalanobis distance by introducing the prior mean and covariance of the high-dimensional features. Experimental results on several datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art (SOTA) models. It can be said that our work is a valuable supplement to the domain-specific agricultural applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate needle manipulation to avoid abrupt deformation of fragile vessels is a critical determinant of the success of microvascular anastomosis. However, no study has yet evaluated the area changes in surgical objects using surgical videos. The present study therefore aimed to develop a deep learning-based semantic segmentation algorithm to assess the area change of vessels during microvascular anastomosis for objective surgical skill assessment with regard to the "respect for tissue." The semantic segmentation algorithm was trained based on a ResNet-50 network using microvascular end-to-side anastomosis training videos with artificial blood vessels. Using the created model, video parameters during a single stitch completion task, including the coefficient of variation of vessel area (CV-VA), relative change in vessel area per unit time (ΔVA), and the number of tissue deformation errors (TDE), as defined by a ΔVA threshold, were compared between expert and novice surgeons. A high validation accuracy (99.1%) and Intersection over Union (0.93) were obtained for the auto-segmentation model. During the single-stitch task, the expert surgeons displayed lower values of CV-VA (p < 0.05) and ΔVA (p < 0.05). Additionally, experts committed significantly fewer TDEs than novices (p < 0.05), and completed the task in a shorter time (p < 0.01). Receiver operating curve analyses indicated relatively strong discriminative capabilities for each video parameter and task completion time, while the combined use of the task completion time and video parameters demonstrated complete discriminative power between experts and novices. In conclusion, the assessment of changes in the vessel area during microvascular anastomosis using a deep learning-based semantic segmentation algorithm is presented as a novel concept for evaluating microsurgical performance. This will be useful in future computer-aided devices to enhance surgical education and patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of alloying elements to the steel matrix during the preparation process can significantly affect the properties of TiC reinforced steel matrix composites. In this study, the effects of Mn on the electronic structure and crystal structure stability of Fe supercells, along with as well as the stability of the TiC/Fe(Mn) interface, were analyzed through first-principles calculations. Additionally, 8 vol% TiC/Fe–C composites were prepared through the master alloy method. The effects of Mn contents (0, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, and 2.0 wt%) on the interface mismatch and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The results revealed that Mn formed a solid solution and generated a stronger Fe–Mn bond compared with the Fe–Fe bond, and no interface chemical reaction occurred. The addition of a small amount of Mn improved the interface bonding between TiC particles and the steel matrix. The TiC particles were uniformly distributed in the matrix at the grain boundaries, with only a small amount dispersed within the grains. The TiC particles and steel matrix exhibited excellent, continuous, and stable interface bonding. The addition of Mn reduced the interface mismatch between TiC particles and the matrix. As the Mn content increased, the tensile strength and elongation of the composites first increased and then decreased, while the hardness of the composites increased. The addition of 1.2 wt% Mn resulted in an increase in the tensile strength, elongation, and hardness of the composite by 1160 MPa, 7.3%, and 43 HRC, respectively. These values were 109.8%, 151.7%, and 31.1% higher than those of the composite without Mn addition. However, an excess of Mn led to severe distortion of the Fe lattice and clustering at the interface, resulting in the degradation of the mechanical properties in the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New dynamic, wireless and cost-effective analytical devices are developing rapidly in biochemical analysis. Here, we report on a remotely-controlled rotating electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensing system for enzymatic detection of a model analyte, glucose, on both polarized sides of an iron wire acting as a bipolar electrode. The iron wire is controlled by double contactless mode, involving remote electric field polarization, and magnetic field-induced rotational motion. The former triggers the interfacial polarization of both extremities of the wire by bipolar electrochemistry, which generates ECL emission of the luminol derivative (L-012) with the enzymatically produced hydrogen peroxide in presence of glucose, at both anodic and cathodic poles, simultaneously. The latter generates a convective flow, leading to an increase in mass transfer and amplifying the corresponding ECL signals. Quantitative glucose detection in human serum samples is achieved. The ECL signals were found to be a linear function of the glucose concentration within the range of 10–1000 μM and with a limit of detection of 10 μM. The dynamic bipolar ECL system simultaneously generates light emissions at both anodic and cathodic poles for glucose detection, which can be further applied to biosensing and imaging in autonomous devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work develops the Milstein scheme for commutative stochastic differential equations with piecewise continuous arguments (SDEPCAs), which can be viewed as stochastic differential equations with time-dependent and piecewise continuous delay. As far as we know, although there have been several papers investigating the convergence and stability for different numerical methods on SDEPCAs, all of these methods are Euler-type methods and the convergence orders do not exceed 1/2. Accordingly, we first construct the Milstein scheme for SDEPCAs in this work and then show its convergence order can reach 1. Moreover, we prove that the Milstein method can preserve the stability of SDEPCAs. In the last section, we provide several numerical examples to verify the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clock drift is common for the autonomous ocean bottom seismometer, and a technique of linear drift correction is usually used to fix this kind of timing error assuming that the internal clock has constant drift rate during deployment. However, non‐linear component of clock drift has also been found recently. In order to test the behaviours of the clock drift for 19 Chinese ocean bottom seismometers from a three‐dimensional controlled‐source seismic survey, we have analysed two types of differences in direct wave travel‐times, including one from all shots to the ocean bottom seismometer onboard and another one from the nearest two shots on different shooting lines to the ocean bottom seismometer on the seafloor. Comparison of the differences in direct wave travel‐times from seismic data with and without clock drift correction shows that linear drift correction can commendably eliminate them for most of the ocean bottom seismometers, but some large residuals remain for part of the ocean bottom seismometers. These residuals are inferred to be possibly related to the non‐linear component of clock drift caused by the temperature shock during deployment. The non‐linear clock drift usually varies from different ocean bottom seismometers and thus difficult to correct completely and resultantly will influence the timing accuracy somewhat. Hence, higher uncertainties are suggested to assign to the picked travel‐times for the ocean bottom seismometer with possibly larger non‐linear clock drift in the further tomographic modelling and the internal clock for this kind of ocean bottom seismometer should be recalibrated prior to the next experiment if which requires higher timing accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine factors, healthcare utilization, and medical costs associated with potentially inappropriate use of benzodiazepines in persons living with HIV (PLWH). We used big data from Medicare claims in 2017. Potentially inappropriate use of benzodiazepines was defined as having any benzodiazepine claims in individuals 65+ years or having benzodiazepine claims for more than four weeks in individuals 18–64 years. Logistic regressions, zero-inflated negative binomial regressions, and generalized linear models were used. This study included 1,211 PLWH and 235 (19.41%) had potentially inappropriate use of benzodiazepines. PLWH who were 65+ years (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.96), non-Hispanic blacks (OR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.41), or Hispanics (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.88) were less likely to use benzodiazepines inappropriately. PLWH who had potentially inappropriate use of benzodiazepines had more inpatient (IRR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.94), outpatient (IRR: 1.14; 95% CI 1.02, 1.28), and emergency room (IRR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.68) visits. Potentially inappropriate use of benzodiazepines was associated with higher total (β: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.25), Medicare (β: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.28), and out-of-pocket (β: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.36) costs. This study provides real-world evidence to support deprescribing benzodiazepines in PLWH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of excited‐state charge transfer (CT) in second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) fluorophore proceeds with conformational change that govern fluorescence. Unveiling the relationship between CT dynamics and conformational change in excited state is of great fundamental significance in optimizing NIR‐II fluorescence but remains less explored. This study unveils the pivotal role of large conformational change in promoting the evolution of emissive CT state into nonemissive CT state in NIR‐II fluorophore (CA‐BBT). Spectroscopic and computational results reveal that large conformational rotation/twisting leads to a pronounced increase in the CT character in excited state. This heightened CT character in CA‐BBT enables a rapid evolution of emissive CT state into a nonemissive CT state within 1.4 ps, as observed by ultrafast spectroscopy. Subsequently, this nonemissive state dominates nonradiative decay, resulting in very low NIR‐II fluorescence. Preventing such detrimental evolution by constraining the conformational dynamics of CA‐BBT results in a 10‐fold enhancement of NIR‐II fluorescence, enabling high‐resolution dynamic visualization of vasculature within osteosarcoma. This study offers a profound understanding of the relationship between CT dynamics and conformational changes in NIR‐II fluorescence, presenting innovative perspectives to develop bright NIR‐II fluorophores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To identify the trajectories of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and assess the associations of BMI trajectory, WC trajectory, or the two combined, with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk in Chinese adults. Materials and Methods: This study was based on a prospective project—the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China‐PAR). A total of 54 434 participants (39.21% men) who were measured on at least two occasions were included. Three slowly increasing trajectory patterns were identified for BMI, and four for WC, by latent mixed modelling. A nine‐category variable was derived by combining the WC trajectory (low, moderate, moderate‐high/high) and the BMI trajectory (low, moderate, high). Logistic regression models were applied to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The risk of developing T2DM increased with elevated BMI or WC trajectory levels (all ptrend <0.001). The risks were 2.85 (2.59–3.14) for high BMI trajectory and 4.34 (3.78–4.99) for high WC trajectory versus low trajectory groups, respectively. The association was more pronounced among younger individuals (pinteraction <0.001). In the joint analysis, compared to participants with low WC and BMI trajectory, those with moderate‐high/high WC combined with high BMI trajectory had the highest risk of T2DM (OR 3.96, 95% CI 3.48–4.50); even those who maintained moderate‐high/high WC but low BMI trajectory showed a higher T2DM risk (OR 3.00, 95% CI 2.31–3.91). Conclusions: This study suggests that simultaneous dynamic and continuous monitoring of BMI and WC may contribute more than single measurements to predicting T2DM risk and determining preventive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of neoplastic polyps in gallbladder polyps (GPs) increases sharply with age and is associated with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). This study aims to predict neoplastic polyps and provide appropriate treatment strategies based on preoperative ultrasound features in patients with different age level. Methods: According to the age classification of WHO, 1523 patients with GPs who underwent cholecystectomy from January 2015 to December 2019 at 11 tertiary hospitals in China were divided into young adults group (n=622), middle-aged group (n=665) and elderly group (n=236). Linear scoring models were established based on independent risk variables screened by the Logistic regression model in different age groups. The area under ROC (AUC) to evaluate the predictive ability of linear scoring models, long- and short- diameter of GPs. Results: Independent risk factors for neoplastic polyps included the number of polyps, polyp size (long diameter), and fundus in the young adults and elderly groups, while the number of polyps, polyp size (long diameter), and polyp size (short diameter) in the middle-aged groups. In different age groups, the AUCs of its linear scoring model were higher than the AUCs of the long- and short- diameter of GPs for differentiating neoplastic and non-neoplastic polyps (all P<0.05), and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed that the prediction accuracy of the linear scoring models was higher than the long- and short- diameter of GPs (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The linear scoring models of the young adults, middle-aged and elderly groups can effectively distinguish neoplastic polyps from non-neoplastic polyps based on preoperative ultrasound features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and blood pressure (BP) is a controversial issue. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and identified 58 genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with PM2.5 as instrument variables. Inverse-variance weighted (IVW) was used as the primary analysis approach. MR-Egger, weighted median, simple model, and weighted model methods were selected for quality control. We found a significant negative causal association of higher genetically predicted PM2.5 levels with lower systolic BP (SBP), while no causal relationship was identified between PM2.5 and diastolic BP (DBP). For each 1 standard deviation increase in genetically predicted PM2.5 levels, the beta value (95% CI) of SBP was -0.14 (-0.25, -0.03) for IVW (p=0.02), and -0.13 (-0.22, -0.04) for weighted median (p=0.005). Increased PM2.5 concentrations can lead to decreased SBP levels. Our findings provided novel insights into the controversial topic on the causal relationship between PM2.5 and BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the influence of aerodynamic prestress on vibration characteristics of mistuned blisk is investigated by comparative study considering one-way fluid–structure interaction. It is found that the aerodynamic prestress changes twisted angle of the blade, increases natural frequencies of the mistuned blisk and affects the sensitivity of natural frequency to rotational velocity. To facilitate the mechanism study of these phenomena, a simplified blade model with chordwise variable thickness is established. The effects of Young's modulus, rotational velocity and pre-twisted angle on natural frequency are investigated by the first-order shear deformation plate theory and Chebyshev–Ritz method. The results show that the natural frequency of the blade is positively correlated with the rotational velocity and pre-twisted angle. For different twisted angles, the same rotational velocity change can cause different natural frequency increments. In addition, the aerodynamic prestress can suppress the effect of Young's modulus mistuning on natural frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurements of the total cross section of the e + e − ⟶ γ γ γ reaction from the VENUS, TOPAS, OPAL, DELPHI, ALEPH, and L3 collaborations, collected between 1989 and 2003, are used to perform a χ 2 test to validate the current quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory and search for possible deviations with the direct contact term annihilation. By observing a deviation from the QED predictions on the total cross section of the e + e − ⟶ γ γ γ reaction above s = 180.0 GeV, a non-QED direct contact term is introduced following the dimension 6 effective theory to explain the deviation. In the non-QED direct contact term, a threshold energy scale Λ is included and explained to the finite interaction length in direct contact term and in consequence the size of the electron involved in the annihilation area. The experimental data of the total cross section is compared to the QED cross section by a χ 2 test, which gives a best fit of the Λ to be 1576 ± 202 GeV, corresponding to a finite interaction length of r e = 1.25 ± 0.16 × 1 0 − 17 (cm). In the direct contact term annihilation, this interaction length is a measure of the size of an electron r e . By combining all the data results from the mentioned collaborations, we have at least 2 to 3 times more statistics than every single experiment at high s region. This induces the best precision on r e compared to the previous measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To alleviate the congestion caused by long parking lines in office-oriented garages, we explore the parking reservation management strategy and focus on the optimization of arrival patterns. A k-means algorithm based on dynamic time warping (DTW) is initially applied to extract the representative arrival patterns of parking vehicles. Based on these patterns, a bi-objective arrival optimization model is then developed to decrease traffic delay time and reduce individual discomfort due to arrival time shifts. The Pareto solution set is obtained, suggesting a potentially optimal balance between traffic delay and individual discomfort. The further analysis indicates that, strategically redistributing a small percentage of vehicle arrivals can mitigate congestion under certain conditions. For small-, medium-, and large-sized garages, shifting 9.01%, 6.90% and 11.07%, respectively, of the arrival demand to either of the adjacent time windows can reduce traffic delay time by 32.74%, 49.01% and 63.27%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing technology with horizontal wells is a highly efficient approach to stimulate the unconventional reservoir by creating lots of fractures to increase the oil and gas recovery rate. However, some field monitoring data indicate that multiple fractures could not propagate uniformly due to stress interference, which leads to a lower stimulation volume and production capacity. Therefore, investigating the stress interference mechanism between multiple fractures is important to obtain a higher production capacity for unconventional reservoirs. In this study, a two-dimensional XFEM (expanded finite element method) model was established to investigate the influence of stress interference on the fracture propagation of multiple fractures in horizontal wells. The different injection parameters, completion parameters, and fracturing patterns were investigated by sixteen simulation cases. The results show that first the influencing degree of stress interference from different parameters is fracture spacing, injection flow rate, number of fractures, and fluid viscosity, respectively. Second, compared to the simultaneous fracturing and sequential fracturing, the zip fracturing pattern (sides fractures created first and then mid-fracture) could create more uniform fractures in the reservoir. Third, a small fracture spacing and a higher injection flow rate could lead to a faster stress interference, but the fluid viscosity and the number of fractures have little effect on the occur timing of stress interference. This study could provide some meaningful perspective on the field fracturing design in horizontal wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solute carrier (SLC) family is a large group of membrane transport proteins. Their dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer. The most well-known SLC is the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS), also known as sodium/iodide co-transporter or solute carrier family 5 member 5 (SLC5A5) in thyroid cancer. The dysregulation of NIS in thyroid cancer is well documented. The role of NIS in the uptake of iodide is critical in the treatment of thyroid cancer, radioactive iodide (RAI) therapy in particular. In addition to NIS, other SLC members may affect the autophagy, proliferation, and apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells, indicating that an alteration in SLC members may affect different cellular events in the evolution of thyroid cancer. The expression of the SLC members may impact the uptake of chemicals by the thyroid, suggesting that targeting SLC members may be a promising therapeutic strategy in thyroid cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees suffer from low resources in the workplace because of multiple work roles in project-based organization (PBO). Based on the conservation of resources theory (COR), this study identifies both employee resilience and organizational support as critical personal and job resources. It then examines how servant leadership enhances employee work engagement in PBO through the mediating roles of employee resilience and organizational support. This study uses a questionnaire-based quantitative research design to collect data from 437 employees in PBO. The collected data were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test hypotheses. The research findings indicate that servant leadership positively affects work engagement. Additionally, the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement is mediated by employee resilience and organizational support. This study deepens the understanding of how servant leadership promotes work engagement in PBO by providing personal and job resources. The findings deepen our understanding of how servant leadership enhances work engagement in PBO. The findings also provide implications for PBO to enhance sustainable well-being at work and organizational productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

· The rotating pre-twisted blade with NACA airfoil is innovative developed. · Ti-SiC composites are used in the rotating pre-twisted airfoil blade. · Mori-Tanaka method is used to study material properties of Ti-SiC composites. · Campbell diagram is used to study vibration characteristics of the rotating blade. In this paper, a pre-twisted blade model is established based on the FSDT (first-order shear deformation theory), where the Ti-SiC fiber reinforced composite and NACA 4-digit airfoil are innovatively proposed. Rayleigh-Ritz method is utilized to deduce the pre-twisted blade natural frequencies and mode shapes where the exponential polynomials satisfying the cantilever boundary conditions are taken as admissible functions. Comparing with the existing literature, the precision of the model and the method is verified. The material properties of Ti-SiC fiber reinforced composites are calculated by the M-T (Mori-Tanaka) method and FE (Finite Element) method to guarantee the reliability of the calculation method. In addition, the parameters affecting blade vibration, such as rotating speed and aspect ratio, are studied in detail. The research findings indicate that the addition of SiC fibers enhances the properties of the composite blade, and then improves the frequency of the rotating blade. Additionally, the pre-twisted angle, rotating speed, aspect ratio and blade shape significantly affect the natural frequency of Ti-SiC composite airfoil blade. The well-established model accurately predicts the dynamic behaviors of the rotating blade, which has certain guiding value for the optimization of blade material and geometric size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]