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Objective Methods Results Conclusion Numerous surgical techniques for addressing ulnar coronoid process fractures are available; however, a consensus on the optimal approach remains elusive. This study aimed to use the anterior neurovascular interval approach for the surgical management of ulnar coronoid process fractures and to evaluate its clinical outcomes over short‐ to mid‐term follow‐up.This retrospective clinical study included 20 patients with ulnar coronoid process fractures who were treated using the anterior neurovascular interval approach between January 2018 and December 2022. Participants comprised 16 males and four females, aged between 20 and 64 years (mean, 34.3 ± 12.44 years). Clinical and radiological evaluations were based on elbow joint range of motion (ROM), Visual analogue scale (VAS), and Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS). A paired t‐test was used to compare the pre‐operative and final follow‐up VAS and MEPS scores.The follow‐up duration for all patients was at least 12 months (average, 12.65 ± 1.60 months). At the final follow‐up, measurements of elbow ROM included a mean extension of 2.85 ± 3.17°, mean flexion of 135 ± 7.25°, mean pronation of 86.4 ± 4.56°, and mean supination of 84.85 ± 5.54°. All participants reached their target MEPS, with an average score of 97.25 ± 4.72 points, and the final mean VAS score was 0.2 ± 0.52 points. The VAS score was significantly lower and MEPS score was higher at the final follow‐up than those before surgery (p < 0.05). Throughout the follow‐up period, all the fractures united, and the stability of the affected elbows was satisfactory.Employing the anterior neurovascular interval approach for open reduction and internal fixation to manage coronoid process fractures effectively facilitates anatomical restoration and robust fixation of ulnar coronoid process fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water vapor plays a pivotal role in the intricate processes of energy exchange and climate dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal variability of water vapor in distinct climatic regions of China is still limited due to the intricate interplay of complex topography and diverse climatic conditions. This study investigates the multiscale variability of water vapor using 10-year 1-hour data of precipitable water vapor (PWV) from 248 observation stations of the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC). Significant variations in PWV distribution among China's climate regions are observed. Average PWV values vary considerably across regions, with the Tropical and Subtropical Monsoon Climate (TSMC) having the highest mean PWV of 32.09 mm, followed by the Midlatitude Monsoon Climate (MMC) with 15.70 mm, the Humid Continental Climate (HCC) with 9.26 mm, and the Plateau Climate (PC) with 7.66 mm. Seasons exhibit summer concentration and winter reduction across regions. Most stations exhibit increasing PWV trends, while a few show decreasing trends. The amplitude of annual PWV variations is higher in TSMC and MMC regions with a range from 8 to 22 mm, compared to HCC and PC regions with a range from 2 to 15 mm. Semiannual variations range from 0 to 6 mm in each region. PWV negatively correlates with latitude, altitude and pressure, particularly in the TSMC. Positive correlations with temperature exist in all regions, with varying strengths. Thermodynamic factors primarily impact PWV, while dynamic factors have secondary influence, equally significant in the PC region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of hydrogen content on the deformation and fracture behavior of 27Cr−4Mo−2Ni super ferritic stainless steel (SFSS) was investigated in this study. It was shown that the plasticity and yield strength of SFSS were very susceptible to hydrogen content. The introduction of hydrogen led to a significant decrease in elongation and a concurrent increase in yield strength. Nevertheless, a critical threshold was identified in the elongation reduction, after which the elongation remained approximately constant even with more hydrogen introduced, while the yield strength exhibited a monotonic increase with increasing hydrogen content within the experimental range, attributed to the pinning effect of the hydrogen Cottrell atmosphere on dislocations. Furthermore, the hydrogen-charged SFSS shows an apparent drop in flow stress after upper yielding and a reduced work hardening rate during the subsequent plastic deformation. The more hydrogen is charged, the more the flow stress drops, and the lower the work hardening rate becomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have many variants for graph representation learning. Several works introduce PageRank into GNNs to improve its neighborhood aggregation capabilities. However, these methods leverage the general PageRank to perform complex neighborhood aggregation to obtain the final feature representation, which leads to high computational cost and oversmoothing. In this paper, we propose simple hierarchical PageRank graph neural networks (SHP-GNNs), which first utilize the simple PageRank to aggregate different neighborhood ranges of each node and then leverage a jumping architecture to combine these aggregated features to enable hierarchical structure-aware representation. In this case, first, the simple PageRank turns the neighborhood aggregation process to no-learning, thereby reducing the computational complexity of the model. Then, the jumping structure combines the aggregation features of each node's different hierarchy (neighborhood range) to learn more informative feature representation. Finally, the successful combination of the above methods alleviates the oversmoothing problem of deep GNNs. Our experimental evaluation demonstrates that SHP-GNNs achieve or match state-of-the-art results in node classification tasks, text classification tasks, and community prediction tasks. Moreover, since SHP-GNNs' neighborhood aggregation is a no-learning process, SHP-GNNs are more suitable for node clustering tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating joint disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite its prevalence, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains incomplete. In recent years, transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels have emerged as key players in OA pathogenesis. This review provides an in-depth exploration of the role of the TRPV pathway in OA, encompassing its involvement in pain perception, inflammation, and mechanotransduction. Furthermore, we discuss the latest research findings, potential therapeutic strategies, and future directions in the field, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of TRPV channels in OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the toughening mechanism and effects of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (3-APTES) intercalation in calcium–silicate–hydrate (CSH) structures were investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. CSH established a model using 11 Å-tobermorite to simulate the tensile properties, toughness, adsorption energy, average orientation displacement and radial distribution function of 3-APTES intercalation at different Ca/Si ratios under conditions of a CVFF force field, an NVT system, and 298 K temperature. Simulation results demonstrate that 3-APTES alters the fracture process of CSH and effectively enhances its tensile properties and toughness. The presence of 3-APTES molecules increases the energy required to destroy CSH, thereby increasing the adsorption energy of CSH crystals. Furthermore, 3-APTES molecules effectively increase the atom density within the CSH structure. As the Ca/Si ratio increases, Ca–O bond formation is enhanced, with noticeable aggregation occurring because of modification by 3-APTES within the CSH structure. This study found that 3-APTES organic compounds can effectively improve the tensile, toughness, adsorption and other properties of the CSH structure, and further improve the microstructure of CSH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study explored the current views of ophthalmologists in China on the preferred strategy and the primary influencing factors in managing primary angle-closure suspect (PACS). Methods: An online survey was distributed via WeChat to ophthalmologists working in hospitals at all levels throughout China to investigate the optimal management strategy and factors influencing the strategy for treating PACS from February to March 2023. Management strategies examined included regular observation (RO), laser peripheral iridectomy (LPI), and phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation (PEI). The study explored the factors that influenced clinical decision-making processes and collected demographic information from the respondents for analysis. Results: A total of 1009 ophthalmologists responded; 442 responders considered RO as a reasonable option for patients with PACS, while the majority opted for more positive treatments, with 460 choosing LPI and 107 selecting PEI. Further grouping analysis revealed significant differences between tertiary and lower-level hospitals (P < 0.01) and between public and private hospitals (P < 0.05). Significant differences were found among resident, attending, and senior doctors and between northern and southern hospitals. The top three considerations for ophthalmologists who selected RO were ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) without pupillary block, absence of a family history of glaucoma, and good compliance with regular follow-up. For LPI, the factors were UBM indicating pupillary block, glaucoma symptoms, and poor compliance with regular follow-up. For PEI the factors were age, family history of glaucoma, and poor compliance with regular follow-up. Conclusion: The majority of ophthalmologists prefer aggressive treatments such as LPI or PEI over RO when dealing with patients with PACS. Disparity existed among ophthalmologists based on their level of experience, hospital ownership and level, and geographical location. The survey underscores the complexity and multifactorial nature of PACS management and highlights the need for further research and standardization of treatment protocols to ensure optimal patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A liquid metal functionalized, glycerol modified hydrogel composite is developed for enhanced solar steam generation and thermoelectric conversion. [Display omitted] • A hydrogel composite is designed to promote solar driven interfacial evaporation. • A silver coating enhances the photothermal conversion of liquid metal nanofillers. • Glycerol prevents heat loss and modulates bonding state of water in the hydrogel. • The hydrogel composite is applied in solar driven photothermal technology. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) holds great potential in alleviating global freshwater scarcity, which requires the design of efficient energy conversion devices. Herein, a quadruply engineered hydrogel-based evaporator is developed based on multipath regulation of the four key processes involved in SDIE, i.e. , heat generation, energy utilization, water transportation, and evaporation. Surface-tailored liquid metal nanoparticles (EGaIn@Ag NPs) with a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 30.4 % serve as the nanofiller to produce heat efficiently. Vertically aligned microchannels are constructed in the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel through directional freezing to accelerate water transportation. Glycerol is introduced to the PVA matrix to synergistically a) prevent heat loss from the interface to bulk water, and b) modulate the bonding state of water in the hydrogel to reduce the vaporization enthalpy. Such an elaborate design achieves a rather high evaporation rate of 3.26 kg m−2h−1 under 1 sun illumination. The hydrogel evaporator (EGaIn@Ag/PVAG) is applicable in treating real seawater and dye-contaminated sewages, showing favorable desalination durability and self-cleaning property. The synergistic design also imparts the hydrogel with thermoelectric power generation capabilities. This work offers a new insight into the synergistic design of SDIE devices, which is expected to inspire innovations in solar energy conversion and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the lack of scientific guidance, most migratory beekeepers currently arrange their migratory beekeeping routes by experience. The production mode is extensive, and the quality and efficiency need to be improved. Therefore, this study investigates a dynamic migratory route recommendation problem considering the stochastic yield of nectar sources and uncertain disastrous weather events, by which the beekeeper can dynamically follow the practical and effective recommended route to cope with production risk to reach a better revenue. To this end, the problem is first formulated as a Markov decision process considering various flowering durations of nectar sources, migration costs and time, the prices of bee products, and, most importantly, uncertain yields. Then, an approximate dynamic programming algorithm incorporated with offline and online learning procedures is proposed to deal with the curse of dimensionality. Several acceleration methods are also provided to solve the problem more efficiently. The conducted numerical study shows that the proposed model and algorithm perform well in approximation precise and computational efficiency. Finally, the computational results show that the proposed migratory beekeeping route recommendation method effectively deals with yield uncertainty and significantly improves the migratory beekeeping revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Black phosphorene (BlackP) with low diffusion barriers has been extensively researched as one of the new Li-ion batteries (LIBs) anode materials. Nevertheless, the poor mechanical properties and elastic stiffness of BlackP obviously limit its practical application. Thus, owing to the excellent mechanical properties and good elastic stiffness exhibited by Graphdiyne (GDY), the BlackP/GDY Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure was investigated in our study to overcome those disadvantages on the basis of the density functional theory (DFT). Our results suggest that the BlackP/GDY vdW heterostructure has favorable mechanical properties and high thermodynamic stability with a small lattice mismatch, which is owing to the synergistic effect existed in BlackP and GDY. Besides, the adsorption energy of Li adsorption on the BlackP/GDY vdW heterostructure evidently enhanced along with the changing of the heterostructure from semiconductor to metallic. Moreover, the maximum theoretical storage capacity (384.703 mA h/g) of the BlackP/GDY vdW heterostructure is larger than that of Graphite (372 mA h/g). Above all, the minimum diffusion barrier (0.083 eV) is extremely low, which is vital for achieving ultrafast charge and discharge rates. These favorable advantages suggest that the BlackP/GDY vdW heterostructure is a viable ultrafast LIBs anode material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• FLSP improves physical properties of AISI 9310 steel and friction behavior. • Hardened layer, surface hardness, fine grain jointly improves wear resistance. • Hardened layer is the most important factor affecting the wear properties. • FLSP of 150 μJ & 15 μm achieves optimal wear resistance. The wear resistance of gear components significantly influences operational reliability and lifespan of mechanical equipment. Compared with nanosecond time scale laser surface treatment, femtosecond laser shock peening (FLSP) has the advantage of no absorption layer and constraint layer in processing complex geometric structure parts. However, attempts at FLSP for gear materials are quite limited up to now. This paper introduces a methodology employing Pulsed FLSP to enhance the wear resistance of AISI 9310 gear steel. The research delves into the effects of FLSP on the surface morphology, mechanical characteristics, and wear performance of AISI 9310 steel under varying laser energy levels (50 μJ, 100 μJ, 150 μJ, 200 μJ) and pulse spacings (10 μm, 15 μm, 30 μm). The findings reveal that femtosecond laser surface treatment significantly augmented surface microhardness by 9.4 % to 17.4 % and induced a surge in surface residual compressive stress (RCS) by 30.5 % to 103.1 %. Moreover, it introduced a work hardening layer of 150–300 μm in depth direction, resulting in a wear rate reduction ranging from 10.1 % to 61.7 %. The sample treated with 15 μm pulse spacing and 150 μJ laser energy exhibited simultaneously the lowest wear rate and a minimum average coefficient of friction (COF) on 0.47. The advancement in wear resistance is attributed to the synergistic effects of markedly increased surface hardness, gradient hardness in depth direction, and reduced grain size induced by FLSP. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model indicates that deeper work hardening layers are most significant for improving wear resistance, which reduces risk of wear failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pb 1–1.5x La x Zr 0.95 Ti 0.05 O 3 films with different La3+ contents were successfully prepared on the LaNiO 3 /SiO 2 /Si substrates by sol-gel method. The effect of La3+ doping on the microstructure, electrical properties, and energy storage performance of the films are systematically investigated. It is found that the introducing of La3+ with a smaller tolerance factor could enhance the lattice distortion and compressive stresses, leading to smaller grain size, slimmer electric hysteresis loops, and lower phase transition field hysteresis. As a result, a relatively high energy storage density of 30.2 J/cm3 together with the energy storage efficiency of 62.2% has been achieved in Pb 0.82 La 0.12 Zr 0.95 Ti 0.05 antiferroelectric thin films with the optimum doping content. This improvement is largely attributed to the enhanced breakdown field strength from 1442 kV/cm to 1564 kV/cm as a result of grain size reduction. Our results demonstrate the crucial role of decreased tolerance factor in stabilizing the antiferroelectric phase and enhancing the phase transition electric field, and provide an effective route to enhance the energy storage performance of antiferroelectric thin films. • The stress of PbZr 0.95 Ti 0.05 O 3 films could be adjusted by La element contents. • The grain size and phase transition field difference decrease with La element content. • The reduced grain size and phase transition field difference help improve the W rec. • The W rec reaches the maximum value 30.2 J/cm3 in the PLZT-0.12 films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crumb rubber particles (RPs) can improve the impact resistance of concrete structures owing to their high toughness. In the current paper, the dynamic behaviours of RPs reinforced concrete beams under blast loads were investigated. The near-field explosion tests were first performed on the rubber-modified reinforced concrete (RRC) beams with different content of RPs (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 50%). Numerical simulations based on the ConWep, Karagozian and Case concrete (KCC) models were then used to analysis the deformation/failure mechanisms of RRC beams. Finally, an improved single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) method was proposed to predict the dynamic deflection of RRC beams. The experimental results indicated that the crack patterns of the RRC beams changed from bending cracks to shear–bending cracks as the scaled distance decreased. When the blast load had a small scaled distance (0.234 m/kg1/3), the number of cracks decreased with increased rubber content, particularly shear cracks. The numerical simulation revealed that due to the low damping ratio of RRC beams, the vibration amplitude of the RRC beams was lower than that of the beams without RPs. It is believed that the current study can provide valuable insights into the key factors for designing the blast resistance of RPs reinforced concrete structures. • Influence of rubber particles on the blast resistance of RRC beams was analysed. • The damage mechanisms of RRC beams subjected to blast loads were discussed. • The FEA results of structural deformation agree well with the test results. • An improved SDOF method of structural response under blast loads was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mollisols are highly fertile soils and function as significant carbon reservoirs. However, determining their ages and formation processes is challenging due to extensive pedoturbation, which undermines conventional dating methods. Here, we employed luminescence, a light‐sensitive property of minerals widely used in geological dating, to investigate and quantify soil mixing. We analyzed over 2,400 luminescence ages of individual K‐feldspar grains from a Mollisol profile in Northeast China, and for the first time, we were able to determine the intensity of pedoturbation in the Mollisol profile over the past 50,000 years. The results showed that the current pedoturbation can penetrate to a depth of approximately 80 cm, with the intensity decreasing with depth. By identifying a significant intensification in historical pedoturbation, we inferred that the paleoenvironment might be suitable for the formation of Mollisols 16,400 years before present. Plain Language Summary: Mollisols, also known as a type of black soils, are highly fertile soils characterized by a thick, dark surface layer rich in soil organic matter. Mollisols are not only crucial for food security but also serve as a significant carbon pool. To predict the future evolution of these valuable soil resources, it is important to understand when and how they formed. However, due to intensive mixing by animals, plants, and freeze‐thaw processes, it is challenging to accurately obtain soil ages using traditional dating methods that rely on undisturbed sedimentation layers. Here, we utilized luminescence, a light‐sensitive property of minerals, to address the challenge of soil mixing. We analyzed more than 2,400 luminescence ages of individual K‐feldspar grains from a Mollisol profile in Northeast China. The results showed that the upper 80 cm of the soil body is currently mixed, with the mixing intensity being most intense at the soil surface and decreasing with depth. Additionally, we observed evidence of historical soil mixing over the past 50,000 years. The intensity of soil mixing increased around 16,400 years ago. We infer that the paleoenvironment might be favorable for forming Mollisols since then. Key Points: Single‐grain luminescence was used to quantify the intensity of pedoturbation in the Mollisol profile over the past 50,000 yearsDust accumulation fostered the formation of the thick, dark, humus‐rich surface layer of the Mollisol profileThe formation processes of the Mollisol profile were traced back to 16,400 years before present [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterborne acrylic coatings, the largest market share of predominant environmentally friendly coatings, face limitations in their extensive application due to their flammability. The flame-retardant properties of the coatings could be significantly enhanced by incorporate inorganic flame retardants. However, inorganic flame retardants tend to aggregate and unevenly disperse in waterborne acrylic coatings, causing a substantial decrease in flame retardancy. In this work, sodium silicate was utilized as a flame retardant, with urea and melamine serving as modifiers and synergistic agents. This combination resulted in the preparation of a sodium silicate/urea/melamine ternary synergistic waterborne acrylic flame-retardant coating. This coating was applied to the surface of poplar veneer to create flame-retardant poplar veneer. Subsequently, various instruments, including a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a limiting oxygen index meter (LOI), a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG), and a cone calorimeter (CONE), were employed to investigate the relevant properties and mechanisms of both the flame-retardant coating and poplar veneer. The results demonstrated that the sodium silicate/urea/melamine ternary synergistic flame retardant did not exhibit aggregation and could be uniformly dispersed in waterborne acrylic coatings. The physical and mechanical properties of the ternary synergistic flame-retardant poplar veneer coating were satisfactory. Melamine and urea, acting as modifiers, not only greatly enhanced the dispersibility of sodium silicate in waterborne acrylic coatings, but also assisted in the formation of a silicon-containing char layer through the generation of nitrogen, achieving ternary synergistic flame retardancy. In conclusion, this work explores a novel method to efficiently and uniformly disperse inorganic flame retardants in organic coatings. It significantly improves the dispersibility and uniformity of inorganic flame retardants in organic polymers, thereby substantially enhancing the flame-retardant performance of coatings. This work provides a theoretical basis for the research and application of new flame-retardant coatings in the field of chemistry and materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous investigations commonly employed solid-state sintering to fabricate Ni-based ferrite ceramics to improve magnetic performance. A few researchers used the hot-pressing method to prepare Ni-based ferrites, but their porosity remained relatively high values (>2%), resulting in high ferromagnetic resonance line widths (Δ H). To date, the influence of high-temperature and high-pressure forming processes on Δ H and spin wave line width (Δ H k) in Ni-based ferrite ceramics has been rarely reported using hot pressing. This study utilized a uniaxial hot-pressing method and systematically investigated the effect of porosity, grain size and grain uniformity on the magnetic properties of Ni-based ferrite ceramics. Porosity played a crucial role in determining Δ H at different sintering temperatures. As the sintering temperature increased, the reduced porosity resulted in a decrease in Δ H. Under varying sintering pressures, the grain uniformity primarily affected Δ H. Increasing pressures led to more uniform grains, causing a decrease in Δ H. The Δ H k was directly associated with the grain sizes. With the increase of sintering temperatures, the grain sizes increased, leading to a decrease in Δ H k. Conversely, as the pressure increased, the decreased grain sizes brought the increased Δ H k. Compared to other hot-pressing results on the Ni-based ferrite ceramics, the optimized high-temperature and high-pressure processing with annealing significantly reduced the porosity of Ni-based ferrite ceramics (0.11%). In comparison with the solid-state sintering without pressures, the optimized hot-pressed Ni-based ferrite ceramics exhibited a 7% increase in saturation magnetization, a 63% reduction in Δ H and a 6.5% increase in Δ H k. The striking reduction of Δ H suggests that microwave devices assembled from Ni-based ferrite ceramics could withstand high power levels while minimizing lower electromagnetic losses, predicting promising applications for Ni-based ferrite materials in high-power microwave ferrite devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) show significant potential for osteogenic differentiation. However, the underlying mechanisms of osteogenic capability in osteoporosis‐derived BMSCs (OP‐BMSCs) remain unclear. This study aims to explore the impact of YTHDF3 (YTH N6‐methyladenosine RNA binding protein 3) on the osteogenic traits of OP‐BMSCs and identify potential therapeutic targets to boost their bone formation ability. Methods: We examined microarray datasets (GSE35956 and GSE35958) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to identify potential m6A regulators in osteoporosis (OP). Employing differential, protein interaction, and machine learning analyses, we pinpointed critical hub genes linked to OP. We further probed the relationship between these genes and OP using single‐cell analysis, immune infiltration assessment, and Mendelian randomization. Our in vivo and in vitro experiments validated the expression and functionality of the key hub gene. Results: Differential analysis revealed seven key hub genes related to OP, with YTHDF3 as a central player, supported by protein interaction analysis and machine learning methodologies. Subsequent single‐cell, immune infiltration, and Mendelian randomization studies consistently validated YTHDF3's significant link to osteoporosis. YTHDF3 levels are significantly reduced in femoral head tissue from postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) patients and femoral bone tissue from PMOP mice. Additionally, silencing YTHDF3 in OP‐BMSCs substantially impedes their proliferation and differentiation. Conclusion: YTHDF3 may be implicated in the pathogenesis of OP by regulating the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of OP‐BMSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] SnO 2 layer between Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4) 3 (LAGP) and lithium anode was prepared through simple scratch-coating process to improve interface properties. The physical phase, morphology, and electrochemical properties of Li/SnO 2 /LAGP structure were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical analytical methods. It was found that SnO 2 layer effectively improved the interface stability of LAGP and lithium anode. The prepared Li/SnO 2 /LAGP/SnO 2 /Li symmetric cell exhibited a large critical current density of 1.8 mA cm−2 and demonstrated excellent cycling characteristics. The polarization voltages of symmetric cell were 0.1 V and 0.8 V after 1000 h of cycling at current densities of 0.04 mA cm−2 and 0.5 mA cm−2, respectively. Li/SnO 2 @LAGP/LiFePO 4 solid-state full cells were also assembled, exhibiting a discharge specific capacity of 150 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.1C with capacity retention rate of 96 %. The good interface properties of Li/SnO 2 /LAGP structure are attributed to the transformation of SnO 2 layer into a buffer layer containing Li 2 O, Sn0, and Li x Sn y alloy during cycling process, which effectively inhibits the reduction reaction between LAGP and lithium anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Observational studies have reported that gut microbiota composition is associated with metabolic syndrome. However, the causal effect of gut microbiota on metabolic syndrome has yet to be confirmed. Methods: We performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study to investigate the causal effect between gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome in European population. Summary statistics of gut microbiota were from the largest available genome-wide association study meta-analysis (n = 13,266) conducted by the MiBioGen consortium. The summary statistics of outcome were obtained from the most comprehensive genome-wide association studies of metabolic syndrome (n = 291,107). The inverse-variance weighted method was applied as the primary method, and the robustness of the results was assessed by a series of sensitivity analyses. Results: In the primary causal estimates, Actinobacteria (OR = 0.935, 95% CI = 0.878–0.996, P = 0.037), Bifidobacteriales (OR = 0.928, 95% CI = 0.868–0.992, P = 0.028), Bifidobacteriaceae (OR = 0.928, 95% CI = 0.868–0.992, P = 0.028), Desulfovibrio (OR = 0.920, 95% CI = 0.869–0.975, P = 0.005), and RuminococcaceaeUCG010 (OR = 0.882, 95% CI = 0.803–0.969, P = 0.009) may be associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome, while Lachnospiraceae (OR = 1.130, 95% CI = 1.016–1.257, P = 0.025), Veillonellaceae (OR = 1.055, 95% CI = 1.004–1.108, P = 0.034) and Olsenella (OR = 1.046, 95% CI = 1.009–1.085, P = 0.015) may be linked to a higher risk for metabolic syndrome. Reverse MR analysis demonstrated that abundance of RuminococcaceaeUCG010 (OR = 0.938, 95% CI = 0.886–0.994, P = 0.030) may be downregulated by metabolic syndrome. Sensitivity analyses indicated no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy. Conclusions: Our Mendelian randomization study provided causal relationship between specific gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome, which might provide new insights into the potential pathogenic mechanisms of gut microbiota in metabolic syndrome and the assignment of effective therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a significant cause of mortality in patients with sepsis. Despite extensive research, its exact cause remains unclear. Our previous research indicated a relationship between non-hepatic hyperammonemia (NHH) and SAE. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between NHH and SAE and the potential mechanisms causing cognitive impairment. In the in vivo experimental results, there were no significant abnormalities in the livers of mice with moderate cecal ligation and perforation (CLP); however, ammonia levels were elevated in the hippocampal tissue and serum. The ELISA study suggest that fecal microbiota transplantation in CLP mice can reduce ammonia levels. Reduction in ammonia levels improved cognitive dysfunction and neurological impairment in CLP mice through behavioral, neuroimaging, and molecular biology studies. Further studies have shown that ammonia enters the brain to regulate the expression of aquaporins-4 (AQP4) in astrocytes, which may be the mechanism underlying brain dysfunction in CLP mice. The results of the in vitro experiments showed that ammonia up-regulated AQP4 expression in astrocytes, resulting in astrocyte damage. The results of this study suggest that ammonia up-regulates astrocyte AQP4 expression through the gut-brain axis, which may be a potential mechanism for the occurrence of SAE. Summary: This study elucidates the intricate relationship between gut microbiota, ammonia production, and brain dysfunction in sepsis associated encephalopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death among older adults. Although the integration of immunotherapy has revolutionized the therapeutic landscape of cancer, the complex interactions between age and immunotherapy efficacy remain incompletely defined. Here, we aimed to elucidate the relationship between aging and immunotherapy resistance. Methods: Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). In vivo T cell proliferation, cytotoxicity and migration assays were performed to evaluate the antitumor capacity of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in mice. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to investigate the expression of IFN-γ-associated gene and natural killer (NK)-associated chemokine. Adoptive NK cell transfer was adopted to evaluate the effects of NK cells from young mice in overcoming the immunotherapy resistance of aged mice. Results: We found that elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) aged ≥ 75 years exhibited poorer progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and a lower clinical response rate after immunotherapy. Mechanistically, we showed that the infiltration of NK cells was significantly reduced in aged mice compared to younger mice. Furthermore, the aged NK cells could also suppress the activation of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells by inhibiting the recruitment and activation of CD103+ dendritic cells (DCs). Adoptive transfer of NK cells from young mice to aged mice promoted TME remodeling, and reversed immunotherapy resistance. Conclusion: Our findings revealed the decreased sensitivity of elderly patients to immunotherapy, as well as in aged mice. This may be attributed to the reduction of NK cells in aged mice, which inhibits CD103+ DCs recruitment and its CD86 expression and ultimately leads to immunotherapy resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni 0.6 Zn 0.4 Fe 2 O 4 (NZF-Zn 0.4) ferrites with different Al–Si–B–Pb (ASBP) glass additions were synthesized via a solid-phase reaction method at 1175 °C. The inclusion of ASBP-glass significantly enhances the grain size, density, shrinkage, and magnetic properties of NZF-Zn 0.4 ferrites without introducing impurity phases. The prepared NZF-Zn 0.4 -1 wt%ASBP ferrites not only exhibit appropriate radial shrinkage but also possess a dense microstructure and outstanding magnetic properties. Subsequently, Y 2.4 Bi 0.5 Al 0.1 Fe 3 O 4 (YIG-Al 0.1) ferrites and NZF-Zn 0.4 -1 wt%ASBP ferrites were chosen as the outer rings and inner cores, respectively. Tightly interconnected YIG-Al 0.1 /NZF-Zn 0.4 –1wt.% ASBP ferrite composite substrates were successfully co-fired within the temperature range of 1175 °C–1225 °C following co-pressing. Furthermore, YIG-Al 0.1 /NZF-Zn 0.4 -1 wt%ASBP composite substrates, co-fired at 1175 °C, exhibit a lack of impurity phases in the interface region, minimal element diffusion, and exceptional electromagnetic properties (NZF-Zn 0.4 -1 wt%ASBP: M s = 81.88 ± 0.05 emu/g; YIG-Al 0.1 : ε r = 18.28 ± 0.05@11.17 GHz, tanδ = 3.14 ± 0.55 × 10−4, M s = 21.62 ± 0.55 emu/g). The wide co-firing temperature range of YIG-Al 0.1 /NZF-Zn 0.4 -1 wt%ASBP composite substrates significantly enhances the shrinkage matching rate of two-phase ferrites, and its exceptional electromagnetic properties hold significant potential for applications in RF band circulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Historically, the pesticidal Bacillus thuringiensis proteins in transgenic cotton cultivars have shown no activity on mirid pests such as the cotton fleahopper. Therefore, control options are limited to foliar applied insecticides, which are often not optimized for reducing potential yield losses. With the inclusion of the Mpp51Aa2 protein, termed ThryvOn, damage from cotton fleahopper feeding can be mitigated. While the effect of the protein has been observed in field studies, there is a limited understanding of the interaction of the protein and the insect. Therefore, the focus of this study was the use of electropenetrography to monitor the feeding behaviors of the cotton fleahopper on both ThryvOn and a non-ThryvOn cotton cultivars. We found that although attempts were made by insects to feed on ThryvOn cotton, they exhibited shorter durations of plant fluid ingestion when feeding. Additionally, the percentage of ingestion events per insect that were sustained was lower. These findings indicate potential damage to the insect gut, consistent with the known symptoms associated with the activity of Bt proteins. Prior to the recent implementation of the Mpp51Aa2 pesticidal protein (ThryvOn), transgenic cotton cultivars have historically offered no control of the cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomocelis seriatus (Reuter)). To evaluate the feeding behavior of cotton fleahoppers on ThryvOn cotton, electropenetrography (EPG) using a Giga-8 DC instrument was used to monitor the probing activity of fourth- and fifth-instar cotton fleahopper nymphs on both ThryvOn and non-ThryvOn cotton squares. Nymphs were individually placed on an excised cotton square for 8 h of EPG recording, after which resulting waveforms were classified as non-probing, cell rupturing, or ingestion. Although there were significantly more cell rupturing events per insect on ThryvOn (mean ± SEM, 14.8 ± 1.7) than on non-ThryvOn squares (mean ± SEM, 10.3 ± 1.6), there was no difference attributable to ThryvOn in the average number of ingestion events per insect. However, the average duration of ingestion events was significantly shorter on squares with ThryvOn (mean ± SEM, 509 ± 148 s) than on squares without (mean ± SEM, 914 ± 135 s). This suggests that cotton fleahoppers continued to probe despite their inability to sustain ingestion. These results provide conclusive evidence that the Mpp51Aa2 pesticidal protein affects the feeding behavior of cotton fleahopper nymphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel sulfates supported binary RuIrO x be synthesized. • A strong catalyst-support interaction between RuIrO x and BaSrSO 4. • The RuIrO x /BSS exhibits a high OER mass activity of only 324 mV overpotential at 1000 A/g Ru + Ir. • It shows outstanding CER activity and stability. Electrolysis for producing hydrogen powered by renewable electricity can be dramatically expanded by adapting different electrolytes (brine, seawater or pure water), which means the anode materials must stand up to complex electrolyte conditions. Here, a novel catalyst/support hybrid of binary Ru 3.5 Ir 1 O x supported by barium strontium sulfate (BaSrSO 4) was synthesized (RuIrO x /BSS) by exchanging the anion ligands of support. The as-synthesized RuIrO x /BSS exhibits compelling oxygen evolution (OER) and chlorine evolution (CER) performances, which affords to 10 mA cm−2 with only overpotential of 244 mV and 38 mV, respectively. The performed X-ray adsorption spectra clearly indicate the presence of an interface charge transfer effect, which results in the assignment of more electrons to the d orbitals of the Ru and Ir sites. The theoretical calculations demonstrated that the electronic structures of the catalytic active sites were modulated to give a lower overpotential, confirming the intrinsically high OER and CER catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the inaccurate frequency band division in empirical wavelet transform (EWT) induced by high noise and modulation edge band, this study proposes an improved EWT (IEWT) and applies it to operational modal analysis (OMA) in civil structures. The IEWT segments the frequency band using spectral trend determined with removing the high-frequency components of the Fourier spectrum. The synchroextracting transform is employed to denoise the frequency components obtained from IEWT combined with the random decrement technique and Hilbert transform to identify modal parameters. The effectiveness of IEWT and the proposed modal analysis method is comprehensively verified by a full-scale cable-stayed footbridge. The results demonstrate that the proposed IEWT, random decrement technique, and Hilbert transform can accurately identify the modal parameters from multi-setup ambient vibration measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a user-friendly molecular generative pipeline called Pocket Crafter, specifically designed to facilitate hit finding activity in the drug discovery process. This workflow utilized a three-dimensional (3D) generative modeling method Pocket2Mol, for the de novo design of molecules in spatial perspective for the targeted protein structures, followed by filters for chemical-physical properties and drug-likeness, structure–activity relationship analysis, and clustering to generate top virtual hit scaffolds. In our WDR5 case study, we acquired a focused set of 2029 compounds after a targeted searching within Novartis archived library based on the virtual scaffolds. Subsequently, we experimentally profiled these compounds, resulting in a novel chemical scaffold series that demonstrated activity in biochemical and biophysical assays. Pocket Crafter successfully prototyped an effective end-to-end 3D generative chemistry-based workflow for the exploration of new chemical scaffolds, which represents a promising approach in early drug discovery for hit identification. Scientific contribution: Hit identification is a time-consuming and costly step in drug discovery process. Here we developed a molecule generative pipeline called Pocket Crafter that can speed up this process greatly. This workflow utilized 3D generative modeling method Pocket2Mol for the de novo design of molecules in spatial perspective for the target and applies filters for chemical-physical properties and drug-likeness to generate top virtual hits with further structure–activity relationship analysis and clustering to output a focused set of hit compounds, which led to the success of hit finding as it showed in our demo case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the risk of burnout among frontline nurses. However, the prevalence of burnout and its associated factors in the post-pandemic era remain unclear. This research aims to investigate burnout prevalence among frontline nurses in the post-pandemic period and pinpoint associated determinants in China. Methods: From April to July 2023, a cross-sectional study was carried out across multiple centers, focusing on frontline nurses who had been actively involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. The data collection was done via an online platform. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey was utilized to evaluate symptoms of burnout. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to pinpoint factors associated with burnout. Results: Of the 2210 frontline nurses who participated, 75.38% scored over the cut-off for burnout. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that factors like being female [odds ratio (OR) = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.29–0.58] and exercising 1–2 times weekly[OR = 0.53, 95%CI = 0.42–0.67] were protective factors against burnout. Conversely, having 10 or more night shifts per month[OR = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.39–2.84], holding a master's degree or higher[OR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.59–5.15], poor health status[OR = 2.43, 95% CI = 1.93–3.08] and [OR = 2.82, 95%CI = 1.80–4.43], under virus infection[OR = 7.12, 95%CI = 2.10-24.17], and elevated work-related stress[OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.17-2.00] were all associated with an elevated risk of burnout. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that post-pandemic burnout among frontline nurses is influenced by several factors, including gender, monthly night shift frequency, academic qualifications, weekly exercise frequency, health condition, and viral infection history. These insights can inform interventions aimed at safeguarding the mental well-being of frontline nurses in the post-pandemic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary research on terrestrial carbon exchange processes is paramount for a nuanced comprehension of global and local climatic fluctuations and their interaction with anthropogenic activities. This study delves into the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation carbon exchanges within the Three Northern Protection Forest Project Area, leveraging two decades of MODIS NPP data and an innovative NEP estimation model. Our analysis highlights a generally increasing trend in Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) from 2000 to 2020, with significant growth in approximately 32.97% of the study area and slight increases in 24.18%. Notably, lower NEP values were found in desert and arid zones, whereas higher values were observed in more vegetated regions like Ningxia, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and the northeast. The study also assesses the impact of climate variables and land-use changes on NEP, identifying both negative and positive correlations in specific regions. Despite the overall positive trend towards ecological restoration and enhancement, significant uncertainties remain, emphasizing the urgent need for further research to support ecosystem resilience and sustainable management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskites have been widely utilized in the fields of photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic (PV) due to their exceptional characteristics. However, the search for stable perovskite materials among thousands of perovskite materials still poses a significant challenge. In this study, we developed an optimal model for predicting the thermodynamic stability of perovskites using machine learning (ML) based on a dataset of 2877 ABX 3 (X = O 、 F 、 Cl 、 Br 、 I) perovskites. Both four classification and four regression ML algorithms were employed and evaluated using the five-fold cross-validation approach. For classification models to distinguish stable perovskites, the Gradient Boosting Classification (GBC) exhibits the highest accuracy and AUC values of 0.872 and 0.939, respectively. For regression models to predict E hull values, the eXtreme Gradient Boosting Regression (XGBR) shows the best performance, with RMSE of 0.108 and R2 of 0.93. Furthermore, further model validation suggests that combining both models can obtain a more accurate predictions on the perovskite stability. Subsequently, analysis of hidden structure-properties trends reveals a strong dependence of perovskite stability on the elements occupying the A-site. Finally, 23 and 18 stable perovskite compounds with suitable bandgap for PEC and PV applications were also screened, respectively. Our research demonstrates the enormous potential of ML in accelerating the analysis of stability in ABX 3 perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorylation proteomics is the basis for the study of abnormally activated kinase signaling pathways in breast cancer, which facilitates the discovery of new oncogenic agents and drives the discovery of potential targets for early diagnosis and therapy of breast cancer. In this study, we have explored the aberrantly active kinases in breast cancer development and to elucidate the role of PRKCD_pY313 in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) progression. We collected 47 pairs of breast cancer and paired far-cancer normal tissues and analyzed phosphorylated tyrosine (pY) peptides by Superbinder resin and further enriched the phosphorylated serine/threonine (pS/pT) peptides using TiO2 columns. We mapped the kinases activity of different subtypes of breast cancer and identified PRKCD_pY313 was upregulated in TNBC cell lines. Gain-of-function assay revealed that PRKCD_pY313 facilitated the proliferation, enhanced invasion, accelerated metastasis, increased the mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced ROS level of TNBC cell lines, while Y313F mutation and low PRKCD_pY313 reversed these effects. Furthermore, PRKCD_pY313 significantly upregulated Src_pY419 and p38_pT180/pY182, while low PRKCD_pY313 and PRKCD_Y313F had opposite effects. Dasatinib significantly inhibited the growth of PRKCD_pY313 overexpression cells, and this effect could be enhanced by Adezmapimod. In nude mice xenograft model, PRKCD_pY313 significantly promoted tumor progression, accompanied by increased levels of Ki-67, Bcl-xl and Vimentin, and decreased levels of Bad, cleaved caspase 3 and ZO1, which was opposite to the trend of Y313F group. Collectively, the heterogeneity of phosphorylation exists in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. PRKCD_pY313 activates Src and accelerates TNBC progression, which could be inhibited by Dasatinib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerial recovery and redeployment can effectively increase the operating radius and the endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the challenge lies in the effect of the aerodynamic force on the recovery system, and the existing road-based and sea-based UAV recovery methods are no longer applicable. Inspired by the predatory behavior of net-casting spiders, this study introduces a cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) for UAV aerial recovery, which utilizes an end-effector camera to detect the UAV's flight trajectory, and the CDPR dynamically adjusts its spatial position to intercept and recover the UAV. This paper establishes a comprehensive cable model, simultaneously considering the elasticity, mass, and aerodynamic force, and the static equilibrium equation for the CDPR is derived. The effects of the aerodynamic force and cable tension on the spatial configuration of the cable are analyzed. Numerical computations yield the CDPR's end-effector position error and cable-driven power consumption at discrete spatial points, and the results show that the position error decreases but the power consumption increases with the increase in the cable tension lower limit (CTLL). To improve the comprehensive performance of the recovery system, a multi-objective optimization method is proposed, considering the error distribution, power consumption distribution, and safety distance. The optimized CTLL and interception space position coordinates are determined through simulation, and comparative analysis with the initial condition indicates an 83% reduction in error, a 62.3% decrease in power consumption, and a 1.2 m increase in safety distance. This paper proposes a new design for a UAV aerial recovery system, and the analysis lays the groundwork for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low back pain is the leading cause of productivity loss, imposes a significant economic burden on the patients and society. Oxidative stress is considered a critical factor in the complex pathophysiological process and pathogenic mechanism of low back pain. Adjustment dietary pattern can effectively increase antioxidant biomarkers levels within the body to reduce oxidative stress. The composite dietary antioxidant index (CDAI) serves a reliable scoring system for quantifying the potential dietary antioxidant capacity of daily diets. Objective: We aim to investigate the potential association between CDAI and low back pain, in order to enhance the management of low back pain through dietary guidance. Methods: This study included 17,682 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2000, 2001–2002, 2003–2004 and 2009–2010. The weighted logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between CDAI and low back pain, while restricted cubic spline (RCS) was employed to examine non-linear trend and cutoffs. Results: After adjusting for all confounders, the results showed that there was no significant association between CDAI and low back pain. However, individuals in the highest quartile of CDAI exhibited an 11.7% less likelihood of experiencing a low back pain than those in the lowest quartile (OR = 0.883; 95% CI [0.787,0.991], P = 0.034), and the trend test was also significant (P for trend < 0.001). RCS indicated a linear relationship between CDAI and low back pain (P for non-linear = 0.876). Gender subgroup analysis showed that this negative association was significant in the female population (OR = 0.983; 95% CI [0.968, 0.998], P = 0.027), and females in the highest quartile of CDAI were 19.7% less likely to suffer low back pain than those in the lowest quartile (OR = 0.803; 95% CI [0.682,0.945], P = 0.008). Additionally, the changes in zinc (OR = 1.009; 95% CI [1.002, 1.016], P = 0.015) and selenium (OR = 0.379; 95% CI [0.164, 0.875], P = 0.023) per milligram were independently associated with low back pain. Conclusion: The fully adjusted model showed no significant association between CDAI and low back pain, but it was significant in quartiles. Meanwhile, subgroup analysis by gender revealed a negative association between CDAI and low back pain in the female population. Additionally, the findings of this study also suggested that the antioxidant diets should be studied in a dietary pattern context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Environmental lead (Pb) exposure have been suggested as a causative factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the role of Pb content of human body in ALS outcomes has not been quantified clearly. The purpose of this study was to apply Bayesian networks to forecast the risk of Pb exposure on the disease occurrence. Methods: We retrospectively collected medical records of ALS inpatients who underwent blood Pb testing, while matched controlled inpatients on age, gender, hospital ward and admission time according to the radio of 1:9. Tree Augmented Naïve Bayes (TAN), a semi-naïve Bayes classifier, was established to predict probability of ALS or controls with risk factors. Results: A total of 140 inpatients were included in this study. The whole blood Pb levels of ALS patients (57.00 μg/L) were more than twice as high as the controls (27.71 μg/L). Using the blood Pb concentrations to calculate probability of ALS, TAN produced the total coincidence rate of 90.00%. The specificity, sensitivity of Pb for ALS prediction was 0.79, or 0.74, respectively. Conclusion: Therefore, these results provided quantitative evidence that Pb exposure may contribute to the development of ALS. Bayesian networks may be used to predict the ALS early onset with blood Pb levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial degradation is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for removing microcystin-LR (MC-LR). However, the application of free bacteria has limitations due to low operational stability and difficulties in recovery. In a previous study, our group successfully isolated a highly efficient MC-LR-degrading bacterium, Sphingopyxis sp. YF1, from Taihu. To enhance its practical potential in addressing MC-LR-contaminated water pollution, a novel biological material named polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber @Sphingopyxis sp. YF1 (PAN-CF@YF1) was synthesized. The immobilization conditions of strain Sphingopyxis sp. YF1 on PAN-CF surfaces were optimized using Box–Behnken design and response surface methodology (RSM), which turned out to be an optimal pH of 7.6 for the culture medium, a ratio of 0.038 g of supporting materials per 100 mL of culture media, and an incubation time of 53.4 h. The resultant PAN-CF@YF1 showed a great degradation effect both for low and high concentrations of MC-LR and exhibited satisfactory cyclic stability (85.75% after six cycles). Moreover, the application of PAN-CF@YF1 in the bioreactors demonstrated effective and sustainable MC-LR removal, with a removal efficiency of 78.83% after three consecutive treatments. Therefore, PAN-CF@YF1 with high degradation activity, environmental compatibility, straightforward preparation, and recyclability shows significant application potential for the bioremediation of MC-LR-contaminated water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Texas, the cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter)) is considered a highly economically damaging pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Current control methods rely heavily on foliar chemical insecticides throughout the growing season. Considering the cost of insecticides and the critical timeliness of their application, chemical control methods are often not optimized to reduce potential yield losses. The Mpp51Aa2.834_16 gene in cotton (ThryvOn) has shown effectiveness against thrips and several piercing and sucking mirid insect pests, suggesting it has the potential to mitigate yield losses caused by the cotton fleahopper. Choice and no-choice caged feeding assays were conducted to assess the impact of cotton fleahoppers on ThryvOn cotton square retention under controlled laboratory conditions. In the choice assay, feeding by cotton fleahoppers significantly reduced square retention in the gene-lacking cotton to 46%, while the ThryvOn cotton retained 60% of the squares. In the no-choice assay, cotton fleahopper nymph feeding significantly reduced square retention in the cotton not expressing Mpp51Aa2 to 61%, whereas the ThryvOn cotton was unaffected. Based on the differences in square retention observed in both the choice and no-choice feeding assays, our findings indicate that the Mpp51Aa2 protein influences cotton fleahopper feeding preferences and the susceptibility of cotton plants to damage caused by cotton fleahoppers. Our study offers confirmation of the activity of ThryvOn on cotton fleahoppers observed in the field. The ThryvOn trait's activity towards cotton fleahoppers is consistent with that found for other mirid pests in cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supergiant Shuangjianzishan (SJS) Ag–Pb–Zn deposit, located in the southern Great Xing'an Range (SGXR), is the largest Ag deposit in China. The SJS deposit can be divided into two ore blocks: the Shuangjianzishan ore block and the Xinglongshan ore block. Given the importance of the Xinglongshan ore block in the SJS deposit, our work is focused on the Xinglongshan ore block. The vein orebodies in the Xionglongshan ore block mainly occur in the NW-, NNW-, and NNE-trending fault zones, and its mineralization is mainly related to a deep concealed syenogranite. Here, we present new geochronology, isotope geochemistry, and fluid inclusion data for the Xinglongshan ore block and provide additional insights into the metallogenic mechanism of the deposit. The dating results show that the syenogranite related to the mineralization formed at approximately 137 Ma, which is coherent with some previous age determinations in sulfides from the ore deposit. The mineralization of the Xinglongshan ore block can be divided into four stages: sphalerite–arsenopyrite–pyrite–chalcopyrite–quartz stage (stage I), sphalerite–galena–pyrite–silver-bearing mineral–quartz stage (stage II), sphalerite–galena–silver-bearing mineral–quartz–calcite stage (stage III), and weakly mineralized quartz–calcite stage (stage IV). Four types of fluid inclusions (FIs) have been identified within quartz and calcite veins: liquid-rich, gas-rich, pure-liquid, and pure-gas FIs. The homogenization temperatures in the four stages exhibit a gradual decrease, with stage I ranging from 253 to 302 °C, stage II from 203 to 268 °C, stage III from 184 to 222 °C, and stage IV from 153 to 198 °C, respectively. The salinity for stages I, II, III, and IV falls within the ranges of 3.4–6.6 wt% NaCl eqv., 2.6–7.2 wt% NaCl eqv., 2.9–7.0 wt% NaCl eqv., and 1.2–4.8 wt% NaCl eqv., respectively, indicative of a low-salinity ore-forming fluid. The δ18Owater and δD values of the ore-forming fluid span from −13.9‰ to 7.4‰ and −145‰ to −65‰, with δ13CV-PDB values between −11.0‰ and −7.9‰. These values suggest that the ore-forming fluid predominantly originated from a mixture of magmatic and meteoric water. The 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of sulfides range from 18.278 to 18.361, 15.530 to 15.634, and 38.107 to 38.448, respectively. These ratios imply that the ore-forming material was primarily derived from the Early Cretaceous granitic magma, which resulted from the mixing of depleted mantle- and crustal-derived magmas. The fluid mixing was the dominant mechanism for mineral precipitation. The Xinglongshan ore block belongs to a magmatic-hydrothermal vein-type deposit related to the Early Cretaceous syenogranite, and the Shuangjianzishan ore block belongs to an intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposit related to coeval subvolcanic rocks. The Ag–Pb–Zn mineralization at Shuangjianzishan is genetically related to the Early Cretaceous volcanic–intrusive complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasticity and fracture properties of high-strength bolts are crucial to the mechanical behaviours of bolted connections subjected to extreme loadings. However, the material properties of high-strength bolts have not been comprehensively studied. This paper presents a collaborative experimental and numerical investigation to characterise the material plasticity and fracture properties of normal high-strength bolts (NBs) and weathering high-strength bolts (WBs) under monotonic tension. Eighteen cylindrical tensile coupons, cut from M20, M24 and M30 grade 10.9 NBs and WBs, are tested to capture the full-range engineering stress-strain relationships. The combined Swift-Voce weighting model is modified to describe and calibrate the material true stress-strain relationship of NBs and WBs. Then, a void-growth model (VGM) incorporated with the calibrated true stress-strain relationship is used to simulate the ductile fracture of tensile coupons. The calibration process collaborating experimental results and finite element (FE) simulations to obtain material parameters of high-strength bolts is demonstrated in detail. This collaborating method is further employed to simulate the plasticity and fracture properties of normal bolts with various grades under tension, as well as grade 10.9 high-strength bolts subjected to monotonic tension at elevated temperatures in literature. FE simulation results show a high accuracy with experimental results across all specimens, proving the rationality of the proposed method for material plasticity and fracture properties of high-strength bolts. • Tensile coupon tests are conducted on normal and weathering high-strength bolts. • The combined Swift-Voce model is used to calibrate the true stress-strain relationships of bolt materials. • The void growth model is calibrated to predict the tensile fracture of bolt materials. • The calibration process is suitable to common grade bolts and bolts at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti- x Al coatings (x =25, 33.3, 50, 66.7, and 75 at%) were fabricated in situ using high-frequency induction heating synthesis (HFIHCS). The process parameters for preparing Ti-Al coatings via HFIHCS were orthogonally optimized employing the finite element method. The effect of the aluminum content on the microstructures and phase compositions of Ti-Al coatings fabricated by HFIHCS, as well as their oxidation behaviors at 900℃ for 100 h was investigated. The results showed that the distribution of interfacial temperature difference was influenced by induced current (62.11%), relative density of compact (9.86%), and indenter material (28.03%). The minimum interfacial temperature difference was achieved with an induced current of 300 A, a graphite indenter material, and a compact density of 82.9%. The Ti- x Al coatings exhibited a core (Ti)-shell (Ti x Al y) ring structure. The rise in aluminum content in the Ti- x Al coatings led to a gradual reduction in the titanium-rich phase, accompanied by a progressive increase in the aluminum-rich phase and the interface thickness of zones Ⅰ and Ⅱ. The porosities of Ti- x Al coatings containing over 50 at% aluminum exhibited an order of magnitude higher than those of Ti- x Al coatings with 50% aluminum or lower. The mechanisms of reaction, pore-forming, and interfacial diffusion for Ti- x Al coatings were predominantly controlled by dissolution-precipitation, thermal expansion of intrinsic pores within the cold-pressed compact and voids formed after molten aluminum flow, and liquid-solid co-diffusion, respectively. The increase in aluminum content in the Ti- x Al coatings led to in a gradual decrease in its oxidative weight gain, a shift in the oxidation kinetics from a linear-parabolic to a parabolic law, and an enhancement in preservation of internal core-shell characteristics and the likelihood of forming a protective layer of thin Al 2 O 3. The oxidation behaviors of Ti- x Al coatings with a core-shell structure were co-controlled by the aluminum content and the porosity affected by the aluminum content. • Ti- x Al IMC coatings using HFIHCS. • Orthogonal optimization of process parameters for preparing Ti-Al coating. • Effect of Ti:Al ratios on microstructure and porosity. • Effect of Ti:Al ratios on oxidation behavior. • Mechanisms of reaction, pore-forming, and interfacial diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A skeleton-based activity recognition approach with attention mechanisms is proposed to infer human activities from human skeleton data. • Two types of attention, namely the spatial attention and the channel attention, are introduced, forming a convolutional block attention module. • Evaluations on benchmark datasets proved the superior performance of the proposed approach over the baseline model. Inferring human activities from the skeletons extracted from activity photos or videos is a fundamental yet important issue in the research community of computer vision. Current skeleton-based activity recognition methods have accomplished this task by extracting features in either spatial or temporal perspective, or combining both views; however, the extracted features lack further after-processing like feature augmentation. Aiming at the above shortcomings, this article presents a new human activity recognition approach based on human skeleton data, named C onvolutional B lock A ttention M odule-based S patial T emporal C onvolutional N etwork (CBAM-STGCN). To enhance the discriminative validity of the generated features, we leverage the attention mechanism to weight feature units within each dimension by introducing two attention modules designed in terms of different aspects into the model architecture. Specifically, the original feature map of an activity sample is adaptively refined by the convolutional block attention module, where two separate attention maps obtained with regard to spatial and channel dimensions are adopted to generate the corresponding attended feature maps. Evaluation results on the Kinetics benchmark dataset showed that the proposed model has improved 1.76 % and 2.43 % according to top-1 and top-5 metrics, respectively, compared to the conventional baseline model. Further ablation experiments proved that both channel and spatial attention modules contribute to the model performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcystins (MCs) significantly threaten the ecosystem and public health. Biodegradation has emerged as a promising technology for removing MCs. Many MCs-degrading bacteria have been identified, including an indigenous bacterium Sphingopyxis sp. YF1 that could degrade MC-LR and Adda completely. Herein, we gained insight into the MCs biodegradation mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics of MCs-degrading bacteria, and revealed the toxic risks of the MCs degradation products. The biochemical characteristics and genetic repertoires of strain YF1 were explored. A comparative genomic analysis was performed on strain YF1 and six other MCs-degrading bacteria to investigate their functions. The degradation products were investigated, and the toxicity of the intermediates was analyzed through rigorous theoretical calculation. Strain YF1 might be a novel species that exhibited versatile substrate utilization capabilities. Many common genes and metabolic pathways were identified, shedding light on shared functions and catabolism in the MCs-degrading bacteria. The crucial genes involved in MCs catabolism mechanisms, including mlr and paa gene clusters, were identified successfully. These functional genes might experience horizontal gene transfer events, suggesting the evolutionary dynamics of these MCs-degrading bacteria in ecology. Moreover, the degradation products for MCs and Adda were summarized, and we found most of the intermediates exhibited lower toxicity to different organisms than the parent compound. These findings systematically revealed the MCs catabolism mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics of MCs-degrading bacteria. Consequently, this research contributed to the advancement of green biodegradation technology in aquatic ecology, which might protect human health from MCs. [Display omitted] • Sphingopyxis sp. YF1 was a novel indigenous bacterium with various capabilities. • Comparative genomic analysis showed metabolic potentials of MCs-degrading strains. • Evolutionary dynamics indicated the functional genes might experience HGT events. • The MCs catabolism mechanisms of MCs-degrading bacteria were revealed. • The main products of Adda degradation were less toxic than the parent compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural bioelectrochemical phenomenon termed as biogeobattery has exhibited a great ability to enlarge the effective remediation area even to meter-scale by the conductive electroactive bacteria (EAB) and native minerals matrix, which would be an evolution of heavy metal remediation by bioelectrochemistry in the future. In this review, starting from the introduction of elementary parts of the biogeobattery, the progresses of key conduits, cytochromes, and connectors for extracellular electron transfer (EET)-coupled heavy metal in the biogeobattery networks are discussed. Given that the shortage of enriched organics and conductive conditions in the natural biogeobattery has been identified as the main challenges for rapid metal reduction, the potential of native inorganic Fe/S/NH 4 as electron donors to drive the EET are discussed. Meanwhile, establishing conductive networks by minerals and carbon materials additives are evaluated to enhance the EET in the biogeobattery. Particularly, in order to manipulate the formation of the networks, an applicable high-resolution analytical method is firstly proposed here to further decipher the EET-coupled heavy metal reduction process. Overall, this review would contribute to the real application of bioelectrochemistry to reduce heavy metals from soils efficiently. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the microstructure and corrosion behavior of in-situ synthesized TiC/Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo composites are thoroughly investigated. An orientation relationship exists between TiC and α-Ti: (020) TiC ∥(0−111) α and [100] TiC ∥[1−10−1] α , and the interface of TiC and α-Ti is completely coherent. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of TiC/Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo composites is higher than that of Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo alloy, which indicates that the comprehensive impact of solid solution strengthening resulting from the interstitial C, second phase (TiC) strengthening, galvanic corrosion between TiC and matrix, and shedding effect is beneficial to the improvement in corrosion performance. In addition, the corrosion mechanism of TiC/Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-1Mo composites is systematically illustrated. • The in-situ synthesized TiC/Ti6321 composites are successfully fabricated. • The formation mechanisms of precipitated, primary and eutectic TiC are elaborated. • Thoroughly exploring orientation relationship and interface bonding of TiC and α-Ti. • The corrosion mechanism of TiC/Ti6321 composites is systematically illustrated. • Revealing effects of the C content on the corrosion resistance of Ti6321 alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex joint disease that currently has no cure. OA involves metabolic disorders in chondrocytes and an imbalance between autophagy and apoptosis. As a common risk factor for OA, obesity induces changes in the fatty acid composition of synovial fluid, thereby disturbing chondrocyte homeostasis. However, whether unsaturated fatty acids affect the development of OA by regulating chondrocyte autophagy remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects of oleic and linoleic acids on chondrocyte autophagy and related mechanisms. Based on the mass spectrometry results, the levels of multiple unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic and linoleic acids, in the synovial fluid of patients with OA and obesity were significantly higher than those in patients with OA only. Moreover, we found that FOXO1 and SIRT1 were downregulated after oleic and linoleic acids treatment of chondrocytes, which inhibited chondrocyte autophagy. Importantly, the upregulation of SIRT1 and FOXO1 expression not only increased the level of autophagy but also improved the expression of chondrocyte extracellular matrix proteins. Furthermore, upregulated SIRT1 and FOXO1 expression alleviated the destruction of the articular cartilage in an OA rat model. Our results suggest that SIRT1/FOXO1 signaling can alleviate oleic acid- and linoleic acid-induced cartilage degradation both in vitro and in vivo and that the SIRT1/FOXO1 pathway may serve as an effective treatment target for inhibiting OA progression. • OLA and LA increase significantly in the SF of patients with OA and obesity. • OLA and LA affect the development of OA by regulating chondrocyte autophagy. • OLA and LA affect chondrocyte autophagy by downregulation of SIRT1/FOXO1 signaling. • Upregulated SIRT1 and FOXO1 alleviate OLA- and LA-induced cartilage degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The effect of asphaltenes on hydrate formation at the interface is studied. • The influence of asphaltenes on hydrate nucleation is related to the number. • The growth of larger water cages is more likely to be inhibited. • The limited mass transfer process is the crucial factor affecting hydrate growth. Asphaltenes are important components in crude oil, and hydrates are key elements impairing deep-sea flow assurance. So far, the study on the interaction mechanism between the two in water-in-oil emulsion systems is still limited. In this article, the effects of the molecule number of asphaltenes on the nucleation and growth of hydrates was investigated through 2500 ns molecular dynamics simulation. Moreover, hydrate growth experiments were conducted synchronously to verify the relationship between the effect of an increase in asphaltene concentration on hydrate growth at the macro level and the effect of an increase in asphaltene molecule number on hydrate growth at the micro level. The simulation results indicate that the addition of 5 and 10 asphaltene molecules can inhibit the nucleation of hydrates while 15 asphaltene molecules will shorten the induction period. Besides, hydrate growth is promoted in the presence of 5 asphaltene molecules but inhibited with further increase of asphaltene molecules. Experimentally, all concentrations of asphaltenes show inhibitory effects on the growth of hydrates. Based on the comprehensive analysis of structural parameters, potential energy and molecular transport properties, and by combining the measurement results of dynamic interfacial tension and interfacial dilational modulus, it is concluded that affecting the mass transfer process is the major way of asphaltenes affecting the growth of hydrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, hot rolled Ti–Nb–Ni sheet with thickness of 1.8 mm was subjected to cold rolling with different reductions (20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 75 % and 85 %). Microstructure evolution and corrosion resistance of sheets with and without being cold rolled were investigated. Mechanical twins are generated for 20 % and 40 % cold rolled sheets, while dislocation slip becomes dominant for reductions larger than 40 %. Typical TD-split basal texture was observed in all of specimens. Corrosion resistance of the sheets in solution of pH = 3 H 2 SO 4 with 0.1 ppm F− at 80 °C were evaluated. All the sheets possessed corrosion current densities lower than 1 μA cm−2, meeting the requirement of Department of Energy. Hot rolled sheet possessed the noblest OCP (−0.212 V), lowest corrosion current density (0.15 μA cm−2) and steady state current density (0.012 μA cm−2), as well as the largest polarization resistance of all the sheets (749.1 kΩ cm2). Besides, corrosion resistance for cold rolled sheets becomes inferior with reduction increasing. This can be attributed to increased dislocation density which provides more available active sites and deteriorates corrosion resistance with reduction increasing. Therefore, to obtain desirable corrosion resistance in PEMFC environment, Ti–Nb–Ni sheets with microstructure possessing massive dislocations should be avoided. • Novel Ti–Nb–Ni sheet for PEMFC bipolar plates substrates was addressed. • I corr lower than 1 μA cm−2 in simulated PEMFC solution at 80 °C were gained. • I ss lower than 0.05 μA cm−2 were obtained after 6 h potentiostatic polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at comparing the response and damage of unidirectional (UD), woven fabric (WF) and hybrid UD/WF fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates subjected to low velocity impact. The unidirectional tape and/or woven fabric (plain weave) carbon/epoxy prepregs are laminated and hot-pressed to produce UD, WF and sandwich-like hybrid UD/WF specimens. Impact responses of specimens are determined through low velocity impact (LVI) tests with impact energies of 10 J, 17 J and 25 J. After the LVI tests, the damage of specimens is characterized and analyzed using a combination of visual inspection, ultrasonic phased-array inspection, micro-computed tomography (CT) inspection, cross-sectional microscopic observation, and thermal de-ply test. Also, the LVI damage mechanisms of the three types of specimens are quantitatively compared by using the inter fiber crack volume ratio, total delamination area and fiber fracture length. It is concluded that the fiber architecture plays an important role in determining low velocity impact behavior of composite laminates. Especially, for the sandwich-like hybrid UD/WF laminates whose surface is a WF layer and the core is a UD layer, the WF layer on the surface plays an important role in reducing matrix cracking, delamination and fiber fracture, thus improving its LVI resistance. [Display omitted] • The LVI performance of three types of laminates, UD, WF and hybrid UD/WF laminates, was experimentally compared. • The LVI damage mechanisms of laminates were quantitatively compared by using the IFCVR, TDA and FFL. • The impact damage was characterized and analyzed by combining several NDT and DT methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]