Search

A novel Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, and mixotrophic bacterium, designated as strain LZ166T, was isolated from the bathypelagic seawater in the western Pacific Ocean. The cells were short rod-shaped, oxidase- and catalase-positive, and motile by means of lateral flagella. The growth of strain LZ166T was observed at 10–45 °C (optimum 34–37 °C), at pH 5–10 (optimum 6–8), and in the presence of 0–5% NaCl (optimum 1–3%). A phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that strain LZ166T shared the highest similarity (98.58%) with Aquibium oceanicum B7T and formed a distinct branch within the Aquibium genus. The genomic characterization, including average nucleotide identity (ANI, 90.73–76.79%), average amino identity (AAI, 88.50–79.03%), and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH, 36.1–22.2%) values between LZ166T and other species within the Aquibium genus, further substantiated its novelty. The genome of strain LZ166T was 6,119,659 bp in size with a 64.7 mol% DNA G+C content. The predominant fatty acid was summed feature 8 (C18:1ω7c and/or C18:1ω6c). The major polar lipids identified were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), glycolipid (GL), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), with ubiquinone-10 (Q-10) as the predominant respiratory quinone. The genomic annotation indicated the presence of genes for a diverse metabolic profile, including pathways for carbon fixation via the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle and inorganic sulfur oxidation. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic results, strain LZ166T represented a novel species of the genus Aquibium, for which the name Aquibium pacificus sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain LZ166T (=MCCC M28807T = KACC 23148T = KCTC 82889T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel method for preparing high-performance, metal-containing carbon foam wave-absorbing materials. The process involves foaming glucose through catalysis by transition metals followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. The resulting carbon foam materials exhibit a highly porous structure, which is essential for their wave-absorption properties. Notably, at a thickness of 2.0 mm, the glucose-derived carbon foam composite catalyzed by Fe and Co (GCF-CoFe) achieved a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −51.4 dB at 15.11 GHz, along with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.20 GHz, spanning from 12.80 GHz to 18.00 GHz. These impressive performance metrics indicate that this approach offers a promising pathway for developing low-density, efficient carbon foam materials for wave-absorption applications. This advancement has significant implications for fields requiring effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, stealth technology, and other related applications, potentially leading to more efficient and lightweight solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road–rail intermodal transportation (RRIT) leverages the advantages of multiple transport modes and is crucial for addressing the current issue of imbalanced development in the transportation sector. However, passengers' behavior in choosing RRIT remains unclear, and it is necessary to optimize travel service quality through analyzing RRIT choice behavior based on user perceptions. This study designed a stated preference experiment that included both direct and multi-modal travel options. A hybrid choice model considering attitude variables was constructed, and four latent attitude variables—convenience, economy, comfort, and riskiness—were extracted to analyze their impact on intercity travel mode choice behavior under conditions of ticket booking uncertainty. The results revealed that the ticket booking success rate is a critical factor in travelers' decision-making. Passengers tend to choose travel options with higher ticket booking success rates, even if it entails a slight increase in the ticket prices for the high-speed rail to high-speed rail transfer option. The attitude variables significantly influence intercity travel mode choice behavior, with travelers generally exhibiting a preference for risk avoidance in their travel options. Moreover, there are differences among various groups of travelers in their preferences and demands for the convenience, economy, and comfort aspects of travel options. These research findings can enhance our understanding of the key factors influencing the selection of RRIT services, thereby supporting RRIT designers and planners in improving service quality and facilitating the future growth of RRIT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of the problems in material distribution routes, we propose the idea of integrating the intelligent connected vehicle system with material distribution, and construct an intelligent connected vehicle material distribution route model based on k-center spatial cellular clustering and an improved cockroach optimization algorithm. Firstly, we set the research scope to include the distribution center, the distribution points and the geographical environment. A cellular spatial model of distribution points is constructed to quantify and visualize the neighborhood relationship between the distribution centers and distribution points. On this basis, we construct an intelligent connected vehicle material distribution route model based on the improved cockroach optimization algorithm, and the optimal material distribution center is determined by searching for the corresponding optimal distribution route of each distribution center. In the experiment, we use the concept of symmetry to design routes that start from the initial points. The route passes through the distribution point, and finally reaches the destination. In this mode, the experiment generates symmetrically round-trip routes and generates different distribution time schedules. Case studies and comparative experiments show that the proposed algorithm has a total distance cost 1.2 km lower than the distance cost generated by the Baidu Map method and 2.7 km lower than the distance cost generated by the 360 Map method. In terms of the total time cost of the proposed algorithm, it is 0.06 h lower than the time cost generated by the Baidu Map method and 0.135 h lower than the time cost generated by the 360 Map method. Compared with the commonly used Dijkstra algorithm and the A* algorithm for route optimization, our proposed algorithm also generates a lower cost than the two other types of optimization algorithms. In the case study, the distance generated by the proposed algorithm is 1.8 km lower than that of the Dijkstra algorithm, and the total time cost is 0.09 h lower than that of the Dijkstra algorithm. The distance generated by the proposed algorithm is 1.6 km lower than that of the A* algorithm, and the total time cost is 0.08 h lower than that of the A* algorithm. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithm has a lower time complexity than the two commonly used optimization algorithms. Therefore, our proposed algorithm can find the distribution route with the lowest transportation cost. Compared to the commonly used electronic maps and the optimization algorithms for distribution route planning, our proposed algorithm can output distribution routes with lower costs under the same distribution sequence, and reduce the transportation costs for intelligent connected vehicle material distribution systems to the maximum extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) has been anticipated to offer diverse real-time applications, wherein the crux is to guarantee the age of information (AoI) for dynamic traffic. However, the traffic temporal variation provokes the interdependence between queue status and interference, in which context the AoI performance remains to be further explored. In this paper, an analytical framework is established to characterize the AoI performance in NOMA-IoT networks with random Bernoulli and deterministic periodic arrivals. Particularly, a numerical algorithm is devised to obtain the queue service rate, and tractable expressions for AoI violation probability and average AoI under both the first-come first-served (FCFS) and the preemptive last-come first-served (LCFS-PR) service disciplines are derived. Simulations are conducted to validate the proposed analysis. The results unveil that LCFS-PR conduces to better AoI performance than FCFS, and yet the gain diverges for each device with different traffic arrival configurations. In addition, the result shows that with sporadic traffic arrival, the periodic pattern outperforms the Bernoulli pattern, whereas this advantage gradually diminishes with more frequent packet arrival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 5083 aluminum alloy and T2 copper were selected for the friction stir lap welding test. The effect of intermetallic compounds on the microstructure and properties of Al/Cu dissimilar metal lap joints was studied. The results showed that the circulating Al/Cu composite structure was formed on the advancing side of the lap joint, and the Al/Cu staggered hook-like structure and copper-rich region were generated on the retreating side. There was no typical 'onion ring' structure in the joint. Element diffusion occurred at the interface of the joint, forming a thin and uniform interfacial layer of Al/Cu intermetallic compounds, thus achieving a well-metallurgical bond at the Al/Cu interface. There were the intermetallic compounds Al2Cu and Al4Cu9, without AlCu, in the lap joint. In addition, dynamic recrystallization occurred in the nugget zone, and higher dislocation density and dislocation entanglement were generated, which enhanced the deformation resistance in the nugget zone and increased the joint strength. The tensile test showed that the ductile–brittle mixed fracture occurred in the heat-affected zone on the advancing side of the aluminum plate, and the fracture had necking. The failure load of the lap joint was 4350 ± 30 N, about 80% of the aluminum base metal. The elongation of the Al/Cu dissimilar lap joint tensile specimen was 2.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, a two-dimensional numerical study is carried out to investigate the performance of a novel Double-Chamber Parallel Flexible Valve micropump, which utilized the electrowetting-on-dielectrics (EWOD) effect to drive the microfluid flow. By observing the flow fields, the internal circulations are seen on both the left and right sides of the pump. The generation of the backflow is discussed as well by tracking the movement of the vortices. Only slight flow fluctuations are seen in the micropump. Based on the simulation results, the structural parameters including the width of the inlet and the outlet, the width of the pumping channel and the diverging angle in the micropump are analyzed, and the influence of these parameters on the pumping volume and the maximum pressure are discussed. Eventually, a group of optimal parameter combinations is given according to the simulation results to extend the operating potential of the micropump. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence of rural industries has brought about significant changes in the traditional small-scale farmer management model, as well as new requirements for the quality and skills of agricultural practitioners in China. Meanwhile, it has inevitably affected the agricultural environmental total factor productivity (AETFP). This paper endeavors to assess the impact of industrial convergence on AETFP, striving to clarify their inherent connection and furnish insightful guidance for policymaking. Utilizing inter-provincial panel data from China spanning 2008 to 2021, this paper applies the SBM-GML model for measurement purposes and employs the entropy method to evaluate the extent of industrial convergence in rural areas. It delves into the mechanism through which industrial convergence influences AETFP, utilizing the intermediary effect model and incorporating two mediating variables: rural human capital and agricultural scale operations. The findings of this research reveal that industrial convergence exerts a direct positive influence on AETFP, while rural human capital and agricultural scale operations serve as partial mediators in this process. Additionally, the stability of the transmission mechanism receives further validation via the application of interaction terms. Consequently, it is possible to enhance AETFP via the expedited convergent development of industries, coupled with the strategic utilization of rural human capital and agricultural scale operations as catalysts for further improvements in AETFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inconel 718 (IN718) nickel-based superalloy is widely used in aerospace and nuclear applications owing to its excellent comprehensive mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, and hot corrosion resistance. However, the elemental segregation caused by heterogeneous solidification during casting has great influence on the mechanical properties. Therefore, accurately characterizing the segregation behavior is necessary. Traditional quantitative characterization of elemental segregation uses various sampling methods, in which only macroscopic segregation results are obtained. In this study, micro-beam X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) is used for the quantitative characterization of element micro-segregation in IN718 superalloy. The concentration distributions of Cr, Fe, Mo, Nb, and Ti in IN718 alloy are determined with optimized testing parameters, and the degree of elemental segregation in different regions of the analytical area is calculated. It is found that the segregation degree of Nb and Ti in the testing area is larger than other alloying elements. The correlation between the microstructure distribution and the segregation degree of Nb and Ti has been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS). There is severe segregation of Nb and Ti in areas where Nb-containing precipitates are accumulated. The distribution of abnormal signals of Nb with a high fluorescence intensity has a close relationship with the area of precipitates-enriched Nb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comprehensively explores the cross-scale effects of gravity on macroscopic flow formation and weld bead formation in variable polarity plasma arc welding. Gravity-induced changes in welding direction were achieved through welding at different spatial positions. The properties of the weld bead were investigated at various spatial locations. Additionally, an elemental tracing technique was employed to study the internal flow behavior of molten metal. In the flat welding position, there is an observable trend of increasing grain size in the welded bead, accompanied by a significant expansion of the coarse grain zone. Consequently, the properties of the weld bead in the flat position are inferior to those achieved in the vertical welding position. This phenomenon can be attributed to the accumulation of molten metal at the exit side of the keyhole, resulting in temperature accumulation. Research indicates that the internal flow within the weld pool plays a critical role in causing this phenomenon. The study's findings reveal the presence of two distinct vortex flow patterns within the weld pool: one aligned with the welding direction and the other directed towards the interior of the weld pool. Particularly noteworthy is the substantial expansion of the flow channel area in the flat welding position, which significantly amplifies the impact of internal flow. This enhanced flow intensity inevitably leads to the increased buildup of molten metal at the keyhole exit side. These studies lay the groundwork for achieving high-quality and controllable spatial-position welding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is an important virulence factor of the Fusarium head blight of wheat and threatens the health of humans. The effect of fungicides on DON production after stressing wheat to produce H2O2 and the effect of nontarget pesticides on DON accumulation are largely unknown. Five pesticides were selected to explore the effect of pesticide-induced oxidative stress on DON production in vitro and in vivo. Epoxiconazole and hexaconazole significantly induced an increase in H2O2 in vitro, and H2O2 further stimulated the production of DON and the expression of the Tri5 gene. Imidacloprid, isoproturon, and mesosulfuron-methyl had no direct effect in vitro. All pesticides activated the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase in wheat and caused the excessive accumulation of H2O2. However, excessive H2O2 did not stimulate the accumulation of DON. Imidacloprid indirectly stimulated the production of DON in vivo, which may be due to its impact on the secondary metabolism of wheat. In brief, pesticide-induced H2O2 in vitro is an important factor in stimulating DON production, but the stressed physiological H2O2 in wheat is not sufficient to stimulate DON production. The bioaccumulation results indicated that imidacloprid and epoxiconazole increase the risk of DON contamination, especially under field spraying conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to further improve the mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility of the material. We propose a novel method via double-glow plasma alloying–nitriding processing to obtain a Nb–Zr–N alloying layer on medical 316L (316LVM). The surface phase composition and microstructure were observed via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The three-dimensional confocal map of the samples was measured via laser profilometer, the static water contact angle was measured via optical contact angle measuring instrument, and the surface reflectivity was measured via spectrophotometer. Results revealed that the obvious Nb2N and Zr3N4 phase and uniform nanoscale cytosolic organization are obtained at the argon–nitrogen ratio of 1:1 and of gradient distribution of nitride composition forms in the alloying layer. The addition of nitrogen element significantly improved the hardness, friction, and wear properties of the samples. The nano-scale structure of Nb–Zr–N layer plays a better protective role for the substrate with high corrosion resistance, and the corrosion resistance rate is approximately one order of magnitude higher than that of the matrix. In addition, the nontoxic Nb–Zr–N alloying layer exhibits excellent biocompatibility for improving the adsorption, proliferation, and differentiation of cells. Therefore, our work provides a feasible method by which to modify the surface of the Nb–Zr alloying layer via ion nitriding and shows the prospect of its application in medical and biological fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Assessing suitable habitats for species has great potential to guide the management and conservation of threatened species, especially rare species that are poorly studied and remote from human populations. Vormela peregusna, a mustelid mammal endemic to Eurasia, was assessed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2015 due to its low population size and increasing human threats. We used the ensemble model to assess the distribution of suitable areas for V. peregusna under current and future climate change conditions to contribute to the better protection of endangered animals. Habitat loss and human threats are putting the marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) on the brink of extinction. Numerous recent studies have found that climate change will further deteriorate the living environment of endangered species, leading to their eventual extinction. In this study, we used the results of infrared camera surveys in China and worldwide distribution data to construct an ensemble model consisting of 10 commonly used ecological niche models to specify potential suitable habitat areas for V. peregusna under current conditions with similar environments to the sighting record sites. Changes in the suitable habitat for V. peregusna under future climate change scenarios were simulated using mid-century (2050s) and the end of the century (2090s) climate scenarios provided by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). We evaluated the accuracy of the model to obtain the environmental probability values (cutoff) of the V. peregusna distribution, the current distribution of suitable habitats, and future changes in moderately and highly suitable habitat areas. The results showed that the general linear model (GLM) was the best single model for predicting suitable habitats for V. peregusna, and the kappa coefficient, area under the curve (AUC), and true skill statistic (TSS) of the ensemble model all exceeded 0.9, reflecting greater accuracy and stability than single models. Under the current conditions, the area of suitable habitat for V. peregusna reached 3935.92 × 104 km2, suggesting a wide distribution range. In the future, climate change is predicted to severely affect the distribution of V. peregusna and substantially reduce the area of suitable habitats for the species, with 11.91 to 33.55% of moderately and highly suitable habitat areas no longer suitable for the survival of V. peregusna. This shift poses an extremely serious challenge to the conservation of this species. We suggest that attention be given to this problem in Europe, especially the countries surrounding the Black Sea, Asia, China, and Mongolia, and that measures be taken, such as regular monitoring and designating protected areas for the conservation of vulnerable animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trihelix is a plant-specific transcription factor family and has critical roles in plant growth and development and stress resistance. There is less information about Trihelix transcription factor genes and their potential functions in strawberries (Fragaria vesca). In the present study, we performed a detailed bioinformatics analysis of the Trihelix family in strawberries including physicochemical properties, chromosomal location, exon–intron distribution, domain arrangement, and subcellular localization. Thirty Trihelix family members were identified and divided into five subfamilies. The expression of FvTrihelix genes in different tissues/organs, i.e., root, stolon, leaf, flower, and fruit, was measured in strawberries after infection with Colletotrichum. gloeosporioides and foliar applications of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA). Most of the genes showed differential expression responses following C. gloeosporioides infection and hormone treatments (SA and JA), suggesting critical roles in disease resistance and hormonal signaling pathways. As anticipated, the ectopic expression of FvTrihelix6 in Arabidopsis thaliana increased resistance against Colletotrichum. higginsianum infection. FvTrihelix6 protein was localized in the nucleus. We surmise that FvTrihelix6 enhances resistance against pathogens through the SA and JA signaling pathways. This study provides novel insights into the strawberry Trihelix transcription factor genes and new candidates for disease-resistance breeding of strawberries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As blockchain technology continues to advance, smart contracts, a core component, have increasingly garnered widespread attention. Nevertheless, security concerns associated with smart contracts have become more prominent. Although machine-learning techniques have demonstrated potential in the field of smart-contract security detection, there is still a lack of comprehensive review studies. To address this research gap, this paper innovatively presents a comprehensive investigation of smart-contract vulnerability detection based on machine learning. First, we elucidate common types of smart-contract vulnerabilities and the background of formalized vulnerability detection tools. Subsequently, we conduct an in-depth study and analysis of machine-learning techniques. Next, we collect, screen, and comparatively analyze existing machine-learning-based smart-contract vulnerability detection tools. Finally, we summarize the findings and offer feasible insights into this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemp protein, with its important nutritional and industrial value, has trickled into the aisles of protein demand; however, its poor functional properties have largely limited its implementation in food. Herein, we aimed to modify hemp protein isolate (HPI) via glycosylation coupling with pullulan polysaccharide, and we subsequently characterized its structural and functional properties. The conjugation variables were HPI to pullulan ratio (i.e., 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 w/w), incubation temperature (i.e., 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C), and incubation time (i.e., 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h). Native HPI was used as a control for comparison purposes. We found that DG tended to decrease when the pullulan to HPI ratio was greater than 1:1 and when the temperature exceeded 80 °C. SDS-PAGE analysis shows that when the DG is increased, wider and heavier molecular weight bands emerge near the top of the running gel, while such observations were absent in the control. Further, glycosylation could loosen the HPI's secondary and tertiary structures, as well as increase surface hydrophobicity. The solubility of HPI after glycosylation significantly increased (p < 0.05) at pH 7.0 compared to HPI without glycosylation. Emulsifying activity improved significantly (p < 0.05), with glycosylation with HPI–pullulan at a ratio of 1:3 showing maximum emulsifying activity of 118.78 ± 4.48 m2/g (HPI alone: 32.38 ± 3.65 m2/g). Moreover, the HPI–pullulan glycosylation time of 24 h showed maximum foaming activity (23.04 ± 0.95%) compared to HPI alone (14.20 ± 1.23%). The foaming stability of HPI (79.61 ± 3.33%) increased to 97.78 ± 3.85% when HPI–pullulan was conjugated using a glycosylation temperature of 80 °C. Compared with the un-glycated HPI, HPI–pullulan also increased WHC (4.41 ± 0.73 versus 9.59 ± 0.36 g/g) and OHC (8.48 ± 0.51 versus 13.73 ± 0.59 g/g). Intriguingly, correlation analysis showed that protein functional characteristics were significantly and positively correlated with DG. Overall, our findings support the notion that pullulan conjugation provides further functional attributes to the HPI, thereby broadening its potential implementation in complicated food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is the primary source of active tuberculosis (ATB), but a preventive vaccine against LTBI is lacking. Methods: In this study, dominant helper T lymphocyte (HTL), cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), and B-cell epitopes were identified from nine antigens related to LTBI and regions of difference (RDs). These epitopes were used to construct a novel multiepitope vaccine (MEV) based on their antigenicity, immunogenicity, sensitization, and toxicity. The immunological characteristics of the MEV were analyzed with immunoinformatics technology and verified by enzyme-linked immunospot assay and Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine assay in vitro. Results: A novel MEV, designated PP19128R, containing 19 HTL epitopes, 12 CTL epitopes, 8 B-cell epitopes, toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists, and helper peptides, was successfully constructed. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the antigenicity, immunogenicity, and solubility of PP19128R were 0.8067, 9.29811, and 0.900675, respectively. The global population coverage of PP19128R in HLA class I and II alleles reached 82.24% and 93.71%, respectively. The binding energies of the PP19128R-TLR2 and PP19128R-TLR4 complexes were −1324.77 kcal/mol and −1278 kcal/mol, respectively. In vitro experiments showed that the PP19128R vaccine significantly increased the number of interferon gamma-positive (IFN-γ+) T lymphocytes and the levels of cytokines, such as IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-10. Furthermore, positive correlations were observed between PP19128R-specific cytokines in ATB patients and individuals with LTBI. Conclusions: The PP19128R vaccine is a promising MEV with excellent antigenicity and immunogenicity and no toxicity or sensitization that can induce robust immune responses in silico and in vitro. This study provides a vaccine candidate for the prevention of LTBI in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an old infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent and control TB. However, there is relatively little literature that systematically analyzes the progress of new TB vaccine research from a bibliometric perspective. This study was conducted to examine the development of TB vaccines over the past 20 years and to identify research priorities and directions for the future. Methods: The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) of the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database was selected to search the literature related to TB vaccines. The countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords of each publication were analyzed and visualized using the VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix software. Furthermore, GraphPad Prism and Microsoft Excel 365 were also used for statistical analysis. Results: As of 20 October 2022, 7960 publications related to TB vaccines were identified with 288,478 citations. The United States of America (USA) accounted for the largest share (2658, 33.40%), followed by the United Kingdom (UK, 1301, 16.34%), and China (685, 8.6%). Regarding affiliations, the University of London had the most publications (427) and shared the highest H-index (76) with the Statens Serum Institut of Denmark. In terms of the number of articles for the journals and authors, the journal Vaccine ranked first with 629 articles. Professor Peter Anderssen has published the highest number of papers (160). The burst keywords and thematic maps analysis showed that future trends in TB vaccine development would focus on exploring the interaction mechanisms between M. tuberculosis and the host. Conclusion: The number of publications on TB vaccines has grown over the past two decades. Developed countries play a significant role in TB vaccine research, and developing countries are fast catching up. We believe that future research will be aimed at understanding the fine molecular mechanisms of host–pathogen interaction, leading to the development of better TB vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of solid rocket engine use seriously affects the survivability and combat effectiveness of weaponries. To study the engine safety against fragment in complex battlefield environments, the fragment impact safety simulation study of a high-energy four-component HTPB propellant solid engine (hereafter referred to as high-energy HTPB propellant engine) was conducted. The equation of state parameters and reaction rate equation parameters of the detonation product of high-energy HTPB propellant were calibrated by using a 50 mm diameter cylinder test and Lagrange test combined with genetic algorithm. The nonlinear dynamics software LS-DYNA was used to build a finite element model of the fragment impact engine and simulate the mechanical response of the high-energy HTPB propellant under different operating conditions. This study shows that the critical detonation velocity decreases with the increase of the number of fragments. When the number of fragments is more than 5, the influence of this factor on the critical detonation velocity is no longer obvious. Under the same loading strength conditions, the greater the metal shell strength and the greater the shell wall thickness, the more difficult it is for the high-energy HTPB propellant to be detonated by the shock. This study can provide a reference for the design and optimization analysis of solid rocket engine fragment impact safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for heavy oil, core annular flow (CAF) is an economical method to transport heavy oil, and many researchers have explored the energy-saving aspects of the CAF method. This paper presents a review of CAF energy saving and factors affecting CAF energy saving. Among them, the energy saving of CAF mainly concerns the changes in pressure drop and drag reduction efficiency; the factors affecting the energy saving of CAF mainly concern the problem of stability, the issue of restarting the pipeline system, the impact of a nozzle, the impact of fouling on the flow in the pipe, and the problem of oil–water accumulation. The aim of this paper is to provide a reference for the practical application of CAF in heavy oil transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized pathologically by abnormal aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) in the brain and clinically by fine movement deficits at the early stage, but the roles of α-Syn and associated neural circuits and neuromodulator bases in the development of fine movement deficits in PD are poorly understood, in part due to the lack of appropriate behavioral testing paradigms and PD models without motor confounding effects. Here, we coupled two unique behavioral paradigms with two PD models to reveal the following: (i) Focally injecting α-Syn fibrils into the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and the transgenic expression of A53T-α-Syn in the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN, PITX3-IRES2-tTA/tetO-A53T mice) selectively impaired forelimb fine movements induced by the single-pellet reaching task. (ii) Injecting α-Syn fibers into the SN suppressed the coordination of cranial and forelimb fine movements induced by the sunflower seed opening test. (iii) Treatments with the adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) antagonist KW6002 reversed the impairment of forelimb and cranial fine movements induced by α-Syn aggregates in the SN. These findings established a causal role of α-Syn in the SNc-DLS dopaminergic pathway in the development of forelimb and cranial fine movement deficits and suggest a novel therapeutic strategy to improve fine movements in PD by A2AR antagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the crystal mechanical properties of 3,4-dinitrofurazanofuroxan (DNTF) and hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) deeply, the crystals of DNTF and CL-20 were prepared by the solvent evaporation method. The crystal micromechanical loading procedure was characterized by the nanoindentation method, and then obtained the mechanical parameters. In addition, the crystal fracture behaviors were investigated with scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The results show that the hardness for DNTF and CL-20 was 0.57 GPa and 0.84 GPa, and the elastic modulus was 10.34 GPa and 20.30 GPa, respectively. CL-20 obviously exhibits a higher hardness, elastic modulus and local energy-dissipation and a smaller elastic recovery ability of crystals than those of DNTF. CL-20 crystals are more prone to cracking and have a lower fracture toughness value than DNTF. Compared to DNTF crystals, CL-20 is a kind of brittle material with higher modulus, hardness and sensitivity than that of DNTF, making the ignition response more likely to happen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Glioma is the most common primary malignancy of the adult central nervous system (CNS), with a poor prognosis and no effective prognostic signature. Since late 2019, the world has been affected by the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Research on SARS-CoV-2 is flourishing; however, its potential mechanistic association with glioma has rarely been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation of SARS-CoV-2-related genes with the occurrence, progression, prognosis, and immunotherapy of gliomas. Methods: SARS-CoV-2-related genes were obtained from the human protein atlas (HPA), while transcriptional data and clinicopathological data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases. Glioma samples were collected from surgeries with the knowledge of patients. Differentially expressed genes were then identified and screened, and seven SARS-CoV-2 related genes were generated by LASSO regression analysis and uni/multi-variate COX analysis. A prognostic SARS-CoV-2-related gene signature (SCRGS) was then constructed based on these seven genes and validated in the TCGA validation cohort and CGGA cohort. Next, a nomogram was established by combining critical clinicopathological data. The correlation between SCRGS and glioma related biological processes was clarified by Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). In addition, immune infiltration and immune score, as well as immune checkpoint expression and immune escape, were further analyzed to assess the role of SCRGS in glioma-associated immune landscape and the responsiveness of immunotherapy. Finally, the reliability of SCRGS was verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) on glioma samples. Results: The prognostic SCRGS contained seven genes, REEP6, CEP112, LARP4B, CWC27, GOLGA2, ATP6AP1, and ERO1B. Patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the median SARS-CoV-2 Index. Overall survival was significantly worse in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group. COX analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated excellent predictive power for SCRGS for glioma prognosis. In addition, GSEA, immune infiltration, and immune scores indicated that SCRGS could potentially predict the tumor microenvironment, immune infiltration, and immune response in glioma patients. Conclusions: The SCRGS established here can effectively predict the prognosis of glioma patients and provide a potential direction for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep–wake rhythm disturbances have a negative impact on attention. However, how it affects attention and whether the restoration of regular rhythms can restore attention are unclear. This study aims to explore the effects of sleep–wake rhythm disturbances on three subfunctions of attention (alertness, orientation, and executive control) and the restoration of regular rhythms on these functions. Twenty-one participants in the experimental group (who experienced sleep–wake rhythm disturbances for at least one month; aged 18–26) were required to sleep regularly following a sleep schedule, whereas 20 participants in the control group (who maintained regular sleep for at least three months; aged 19–22) received no manipulation of their sleep. All participants were assessed using the attention network test three times in six days. All of them wore spectrum activity monitors and kept sleep diaries every day. The results showed that the effects of alertness and executive control in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group. After five days of regular sleep, the difference in the alertness effect between the two groups significantly decreased. These results suggested that under natural conditions, sleep–wake rhythm disturbances could negatively influence alertness and executive control, and a short period of restoring a regular rhythm has a recovery effect on alertness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge tracing (KT), aiming to model learners' mastery of a concept based on their historical learning records, has received extensive attention due to its great potential in realizing personalized learning in intelligent tutoring systems. However, most existing KT methods focus on a single aspect of knowledge or learner, not paying careful attention to the coupling influence of knowledge and learner characteristics. To fill this gap, in this paper, we explore a new paradigm for the KT task by exploiting the coupling influence of knowledge and learner. A novel model called Dual-Centric Knowledge Tracing (DCKT) is proposed to model knowledge states through two joint tasks of knowledge modeling and learner modeling. In particular, we first generate concept embeddings in abundant knowledge structure information via a pretext task (knowledge-centric): unsupervised graph representation learning. Then, we deeply measure learners' prior knowledge the knowledge-enhanced representations and three predefined educational priors for discriminative feature enhancement. Furthermore, we design a forgetting-fusion transformer (learner-centric) to simulate the declining trend of learners' knowledge proficiency over time, representing the common forgetting phenomenon. Extensive experiments were conducted on four public datasets, and the results demonstrate that DCKT could achieve better knowledge tracing results over all datasets via a dual-centric modeling process. Additionally, DCKT can learn meaningful question embeddings automatically without manual annotations. Our work indicates a potential future research direction for personalized learner modeling, which is of both accuracy and high interpretability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's high-speed rail and civil aviation gradually move from a competitive relationship to a cooperative relationship, air-rail integration services (ARISs) have begun to be promoted, and an increasing number of passengers are choosing the combined travel mode of high-speed rail and aviation. As two long-distance transportation modes are involved, transfer time also affects transfer service satisfaction, and the factors affecting the transfer time of ARIS need to be further clarified. In this study, a stated preference (SP) survey on the transfer reservation time of ARIS passengers was conducted, the perception accuracy of the transfer reservation time was analyzed, and the influencing factors of the transfer reservation time in each link were analyzed by using a multivariate ordered logistic regression model. The results show that the average transfer time of air-rail combined transportation passengers is 102 to 128 min; more than half of passengers' reservation time is reasonable; and passengers' genders, educations, occupations, incomes, travel modes, costs, and distances have different degrees of impact on the transfer reservation time. This study holds a certain guiding significance for improving the service quality of air-rail intermodal transportation and improving transfer efficiency and provides a theoretical basis for personalized and customized services for air-rail intermodal passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissection of the complex multistep process of metastasis exposes vulnerabilities that could be exploited to prevent metastasis. To search for possible factors that favor metastatic outgrowth, we have been focusing on secretory S100A8/A9. A heterodimer complex of the S100A8 and S100A9 proteins, S100A8/A9 functions as a strong chemoattractant, growth factor, and immune suppressor, both promoting the cancer milieu at the cancer-onset site and cultivating remote, premetastatic cancer sites. We previously reported that melanoma cells show lung-tropic metastasis owing to the abundant expression of S100A8/A9 in the lung. In the present study, we addressed the question of why melanoma cells are not metastasized into the brain at significant levels in mice despite the marked induction of S100A8/A9 in the brain. We discovered the presence of plasma histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG), a brain-metastasis suppression factor against S100A8/A9. Using S100A8/A9 as an affinity ligand, we searched for and purified the binding plasma proteins of S100A8/A9 and identified HRG as the major protein on mass spectrometric analysis. HRG prevents the binding of S100A8/A9 to the B16-BL6 melanoma cell surface via the formation of the S100A8/A9 complex. HRG also inhibited the S100A8/A9-induced migration and invasion of A375 melanoma cells. When we knocked down HRG in mice bearing skin melanoma, metastasis to both the brain and lungs was significantly enhanced. The clinical examination of plasma S100A8/A9 and HRG levels showed that lung cancer patients with brain metastasis had higher S100A8/A9 and lower HRG levels than nonmetastatic patients. These results suggest that the plasma protein HRG strongly protects the brain and lungs from the threat of melanoma metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evacuation signs are one of the key factors which influence the building evacuation efficiency and evacuees' route choice behaviors. It is important to test the effectiveness of evacuation signs, and an eye movement test was verified to be a good way. In this paper, both reality and MR (Mixed-Reality) evacuation experiments were carried out to collect the eye movement data of participants, such as gaze position, fixation duration, and number of gazes. In the reality experiment, participants took part in an emergency evacuation at a T-junction corridor with the glass-type eye-tracking device. In order to collect eye movement data in the MR experiment, the eye tracking device was integrated into the Microsoft HoloLens device (MR-ET for short). In either reality or MR experiments, each participant took part in five sub-experiments with five different types of evacuation signs. It was found that (1) the evacuation signs with a black background, green foreground and flashing lights have a better effect in guidance; (2) the flashing lights can better attract the attention of the participants, and enhanced the participants' understanding of the signs. (3) An X-mark will hinder participants' understanding of the signs and increase their reaction time. According to the results of the experiments, it is also found that the eye-tracking test in an MR environment is also a good method to test the effectiveness of the evacuation signs, and such a method can also be used in building safety design without damaging a wall or changing the reality environment of a building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrate is the preferred nitrogen source for plants and plays an important role in plant growth and development. Under various soil stresses, plants reallocate nitrate to roots to promote stress tolerance through the ethylene-ethylene response factors (ERFs)-nitrate transporter (NRT) signaling module. As a light signal, ultraviolet B (UV-B) also stimulates the production of ethylene. However, whether UV-B regulates nitrate reallocation in plants via ethylene remains unknown. Here, we found that UV-B-induced expression of ERF1B, ORA59, ERF104, and NRT1.8 in both Arabidopsis shoots and roots as well as nitrate reallocation from hypocotyls to leaves and roots were impaired in ethylene signaling mutants for Ethylene Insensitive2 (EIN2) and EIN3. UV-B-induced NRT1.8 expression and nitrate reallocation to leaves and roots were also inhibited in the triple mutants for ERF1B, ORA59, and ERF104. Deletion of NRT1.8 impaired UV-B-induced nitrate reallocation to both leaves and roots. Furthermore, UV-B promoted ethylene release in both shoots and roots by enhancing the gene expression and enzymatic activities of ethylene biosynthetic enzymes only in shoots. These results show that ethylene acts as a local and systemic signal to mediate UV-B-induced nitrate reallocation from Arabidopsis hypocotyls to both leaves and roots via regulating the gene expression of the ERFs-NRT1.8 signaling module. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn starch was dually modified using thermostable α-amylase and pullulanase to prepare resistant starch (RS). The concentration of starch liquid, the amount of added thermostable α-amylase, the duration of enzymatic hydrolysis and the amount of added pullulanase were optimized using RSM to increase RS content of the treated sample. The optimum pretreatment conditions were 15% starch liquid, 3 U/g thermostable α-amylase, 35 min of enzymatic hydrolysis and 8 U/g pullulanase. The maximum RS content of 10.75% was obtained, and this value was significantly higher than that of native corn starch. The degree of polymerization (DP) of the enzyme-modified starch decreased compared with that of native starch. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed to assess structural changes in native and pretreated starch. The effect of dual enzyme pretreatment on the structure and properties of corn starch was significant. Unlike the untreated one, the pretreated corn starch showed clear pores and cracks. Significant differences in RS contents and structural characterization between starch pretreated and untreated with dual enzymes demonstrated that the dual enzyme modification of corn was effective in enhancing RS contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine ranching is a stock enhancement project that has been an important part of aquaculture in China. Due to the lack of scientific management, disasters have occurred, resulting in millions of economic losses. Based on the observation system of marine ranches, a three-dimensional water quality model of marine ranches was developed to study the spatio-temporal variation of key ecological indicators, including the concentrations of chlorophyll-a, zooplankton, detritus, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen (DO). The model is coupled offline with the residual current, temperature, and salinity simulated by a regional oceanic modeling system (ROMS). The conservative characteristic finite difference (C-CFD) scheme is introduced to solve the equations, which guarantees model stability and mass conservation and allows for a larger time step compared to traditional difference schemes. In state-of-the-art water quality models, the biogeochemical processes are parameterized. Due to the complexity of the water quality model, a combination of global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and the adjoint method is introduced as the methodology to optimize the model parameters. Morris' sampling method is implemented as the GSA method to find out the key factors of the water quality model. The optimization of sensitive parameters with the adjoint method significantly improves the model precision, while the other parameters can be set as empirical values. The results indicate that the combination of GSA and the adjoint method is efficient in the parameter optimization of the water quality model. The model is applicable in marine ranches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The railway wheel is the key component of high-speed railway train. To assure the safety in service, higher requirements are put forward in this study for the composition, microstructure uniformity, and comprehensive properties of wheel materials. In this paper, the high throughput quantitative distribution characterization methods of composition, microstructure, inclusions and Vickers hardness of high-speed railway wheel materials based on the spark source original position analysis technique, high throughput scanning electron microscope (SEM) combined with image batch processing technology, and automatic two-dimensional quantitative distribution analysis technique of inclusions and micro hardness have been studied. The distribution trend of the content of nine elements, size and quantity of sulfides and oxides, ferrite area fraction, and Vickers hardness from the wheel tread surface to the radial depth of about 50 mm below the surface has been discussed. The influence of inclusions distribution on the element segregation and the effect of rim-chilling process with different water spraying angle on the distribution of microstructure and micro hardness have been investigated. It was found that unsynchronized cooling on both sides of the rim altered the phase behavior of ferrite and pearlite and obvious inhomogeneity distribution of ferrite appeared, which led to the asymmetrical Vickers hardness in areas near or away from the flange. Based on the quantitative characterization of area fraction and micro hardness on the same location of wheel rim, a statistical mapping relationship between ferrite area fraction and Vickers hardness was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of bearing by analyzing vibration signals is challenging and meaningful. To address this issue, a novel method based on spectrum image similarity is proposed in this paper. First, spectrum images for the whole lifecycle data of reference bearings are obtained by performing fast Fourier transformation (FFT). Second, the similarity is calculated between the current monitored data of operating bearing and run-to-failure images of reference bearings. Then, the weights of reference bearings are derived based on the similarity measures. Finally, the RUL of the operating bearing is estimated with the weighted average of the RULs of referenced bearings. The proposed method is demonstrated based on 2012 PHM Data Challenge Competition data, which shows its effectiveness and practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their low minimal environmental risk and other ethical considerations, plant-derived sterilants are used to control rodent populations. However, the effects of plant-derived sterilants are not immediate, and their efficacy on rodent control is controversial, which negatively affects sterilant research and application. Here, a meta-analysis of the available literature was conducted to evaluate the effects of two plant-derived sterilants, triptolide and curcumol, on rodent populations. Using a random-effects and a fixed-effects model, we calculated the weighted mean difference (WMD) and relative risk (RR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). After the application of plant-derived sterilants, the rodent population density tended to decrease. Three outcome-related measures in rodents, i.e., capture rate (RR = 0.31, 95% CI [0.20, 0.47]), pregnancy rate (RR = 0.49, 95% CI [0.40, 0.61]), and sperm survival rate (WMD = −17.53, 95% CI [−28.96, −6.06]), significantly decreased, as shown by a significant reduction of ovarian, uterine, and testicular organ coefficients. However, the number of effective rodent holes did not change significantly after the interventions, indicating that the studied sterilants did not directly eradicate the rodent populations. This study provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the inhibitory mechanisms of plant-derived sterilants on rodent populations and for the rational use of these sterilants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functionally graded materials (FGMs), which constitute a new type of composite material, have received considerable attention in industry because of the spatial gradient of their composition and the microstructure-induced gradient in their material performance, which make them better suited for high-performance multifunctional applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) has become one of the most promising techniques for the manufacture of materials and structures because of its high flexibility. The combination of advanced materials (FGMs) and advanced manufacturing methods (AM) is expected to facilitate the further development of such engineering materials. In this paper, the definition, historical development and material gradient types of FGMs are introduced. The classification, process principle and typical research results of the AM of metal FGMs are summarized and discussed. In particular, the research status of wire and arc additive manufacture (WAAM), which is more suitable for the preparation of large-scale metal FGMs, is reviewed in detail according to the types of FGMs, and a double-wire bypass plasma arc additive manufacturing technique, which is suitable for inducing a gradient along the direction of single-pass cladding, is proposed. On the basis of this summary of the important achievements made to date, future research is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel bypass coupling variable polarity plasma arc was proposed to achieve the accurate adjusting of heat and mass transfer in the welding and additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy. However, the physical characteristics and decoupled transfer behavior remain unclear, restricting its application and development. A three-dimensional model of the bypass coupling variable polarity plasma arc was built based on Kirchhoff's law, the main arc and the bypass arc are coupled by an electromagnetic field. The model of current attachment on the tungsten electrode surface is included for simulating different heating processes of the EP and EN phases in the coupling arc. The distribution of temperature field, flow field, and current density of the bypass coupling variable polarity plasma arc was studied by the three-dimensional numerical model. The heat input on the base metal under different current conditions is quantified. To verify the model, the arc voltages are compared and the results in simulation and experiment agree with each other well. The results show that the radius of the bypass coupling arc with or without bypass current action on the base metal is different, and the flow vector of the bypass coupling arc plasma with bypass current is larger than the arc without bypass current. By comparing the heat transfer on the electrodes' boundary under different current conditions, it is found that increasing the bypass current results in the rise in heat input on the base metal. Therefore, it is concluded that using bypass current is unable to completely decouple the wire melting and the heat input of the base metal. The decoupled degree of heat transfer is one of the important factors for accurate control in the manufacturing process with this coupling arc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adenosine A2A receptor subtype is recognized as a non-dopaminergic pharmacological target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, notably Parkinson's disease (PD). The selective A2A receptor antagonist istradefylline is approved in the US and Japan as an adjunctive treatment to levodopa/decarboxylase inhibitors in adults with PD experiencing OFF episodes or a wearing-off phenomenon; however, the full potential of this drug class remains to be explored. In this article, we review the pharmacology of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists from the perspective of the treatment of both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD and their potential for disease modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil–water annular flow is an efficient method of heavy oil transportation for energy-saving. To deeply study the influencing factors of the energy savings of oil–water annular flow, this paper compares the interface fluctuation and energy-saving situation of oil–water annular flow under different pipe structures (such as straight pipe, sudden-contraction pipe, and elbow pipe), flow parameters, and fluid properties. In the straight pipe, the flow parameters can impact the oil–water annular flow pattern and the energy savings, and the interface fluctuation is consistent with the energy savings. The stable oil–water core annular flow has slight interface fluctuation and significant energy savings. At the same time, the influences of pipe structure and fluid properties on energy saving are also analyzed. In the sudden-contraction pipe, the oil–water interface fluctuates, largely due to the sharp changes in flow cross-section, which leads to reduced energy savings. In the elbow, the oil–water interface fluctuates greatly due to the influence of centrifugal force caused by flow direction variation, and also leads to a decline in energy savings. The effects of oil property or annulus liquid property on the interface fluctuates, and the energy savings are analyzed; reducing surface tension is an effective measure to provide an energy-saving effect. These results can provide a reference for the design of heavy-oil-transportation pipelines, the analysis of interface fluctuation, and the energy-saving evaluation of oil–water annular flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceleration sensors are frequently applied to collect vibration signals for bearing fault diagnosis. To fully use these vibration signals of multi-sensors, this paper proposes a new approach to fuse multi-sensor information for bearing fault diagnosis by using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), correlation coefficient analysis, and support vector machine (SVM). First, EEMD is applied to decompose the vibration signal into a set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), and a correlation coefficient ratio factor (CCRF) is defined to select sensitive IMFs to reconstruct new vibration signals for further feature fusion analysis. Second, an original feature space is constructed from the reconstructed signal. Afterwards, weights are assigned by correlation coefficients among the vibration signals of the considered multi-sensors, and the so-called fused features are extracted by the obtained weights and original feature space. Finally, a trained SVM is employed as the classifier for bearing fault diagnosis. The diagnosis results of the original vibration signals, the first IMF, the proposed reconstruction signal, and the proposed method are 73.33%, 74.17%, 95.83% and 100%, respectively. Therefore, the experiments show that the proposed method has the highest diagnostic accuracy, and it can be regarded as a new way to improve diagnosis results for bearings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the arrival of the big data era, it has become possible to apply deep learning to the health monitoring of mine production. In this paper, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based method is proposed to monitor the health condition of the balancing tail ropes (BTRs) of the hoisting system, in which the feature of the BTR image is adaptively extracted using a CNN. This method can automatically detect various BTR faults in real-time, including disproportional spacing, twisted rope, broken strand and broken rope faults. Firstly, a CNN structure is proposed, and regularization technology is adopted to prevent overfitting. Then, a method of image dataset description and establishment that can cover the entire feature space of overhanging BTRs is put forward. Finally, the CNN and two traditional data mining algorithms, namely, k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and an artificial neural network with back propagation (ANN-BP), are adopted to train and test the established dataset, and the influence of hyperparameters on the network diagnostic accuracy is investigated experimentally. The experimental results showed that the CNN could effectively avoid complex steps such as manual feature extraction, that the learning rate and batch-size strongly affected the accuracy and training efficiency, and that the fault diagnosis accuracy of CNN was 100%, which was higher than that of KNN and ANN-BP. Therefore, the proposed CNN with high accuracy, real-time functioning and generalization performance is suitable for application in the health monitoring of hoisting system BTRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correct affiliations are: SP 1 sp First Institute of Oceanography, and Key Laboratory of Marine Science and Numerical Modeling, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao 266061, China SP 2 sp Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China SP 3 sp Shandong Key Laboratory of Marine Science and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao 266061, China SP 4 sp North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of SOA, Qingdao 266061, China SP 5 sp Physical Oceanography Laboratory/CIMST, Ocean University of China and Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266100, China B * b Correspondence: xqinglv@ouc.edu.cn The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused and state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. Advancing Three-Dimensional Coupled Water Quality Model of Marine Ranches: Model Development, Global Sensitivity Analysis, and Optimization Based on Observation System. Reference 1 Liu Y., Jiang F., Zhao Z., Tana, Lv X. Advancing Three-Dimensional Coupled Water Quality Model of Marine Ranches: Model Development, Global Sensitivity Analysis, and Optimization Based on Observation System. [Extracted from the article]

Bone drilling is a common surgical operation, which often causes an increase in bone temperature. A temperature above 47 °C for 60 s is the critical temperature that can be allowed in bone drilling because of thermal bone osteonecrosis. Therefore, thermal management in bone drilling by a rotating heat pipe was proposed in this study. A new rotating heat pipe drill was designed, and its heat transfer mechanism and thermal management performance was investigated at occasions with different input heat flux and rotational speed. Results show that boiling and convection heat transfer occurred in the evaporator and film condensation appears in the condenser. The thermal resistance decreases with the increase of the rotational speed at the range from 1200 to 2000 rpm and it decreases as the input heat flux rises from 5000 to 10,000 W/m2 and increases at 20,000 W/m2. The temperature on the drill tip was found to be 46.9 °C with an input heat flux of 8000 W/m2 and a rotational speed of 2000 rpm. The new designed rotating heat pipe drill showed a good prospect for application to bone drilling operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assays to simultaneously detect multiple potential agents of bioterrorism are limited. Two multiplex PCR and RT-PCR enzyme hybridization assays (mPCR-EHA, mRT-PCR-EHA) were developed to simultaneously detect many of the CDC category "A" bioterrorism agents. The "Bio T" DNA assay was developed to detect: Variola major (VM), Bacillus anthracis (BA), Yersinia pestis (YP), Francisella tularensis (FT) and Varicella zoster virus (VZV). The "Bio T" RNA assay (mRT-PCR-EHA) was developed to detect: Ebola virus (Ebola), Lassa fever virus (Lassa), Rift Valley fever (RVF), Hantavirus Sin Nombre species (HSN) and dengue virus (serotypes 1-4). Sensitivity and specificity of the 2 assays were tested by using genomic DNA, recombinant plasmid positive controls, RNA transcripts controls, surrogate (spiked) clinical samples and common respiratory pathogens. The analytical sensitivity (limit of detection (LOD)) of the DNA asssay for genomic DNA was 1×100∼1×10² copies/mL for BA, FT and YP. The LOD for VZV whole organism was 1×10-2 TCID50/mL. The LOD for recombinant controls ranged from 1×10²∼1×10³copies/mL for BA, FT, YP and VM. The RNA assay demonstrated LOD for RNA transcript controls of 1×104∼1×106 copies/mL without extraction and 1×105∼1×106 copies/mL with extraction for Ebola, RVF, Lassa and HSN. The LOD for dengue whole organisms was ∼1×10-4 dilution for dengue 1 and 2, 1×104 LD50/mL and 1×10² LD50/mL for dengue 3 and 4. The LOD without extraction for recombinant plasmid DNA controls was ∼1×10³ copies/mL (1.5 input copies/reaction) for Ebola, RVF, Lassa and HSN. No cross-reactivity of primers and probes used in both assays was detected with common respiratory pathogens or between targeted analytes. Clinical sensitivity was estimated using 264 surrogate clinical samples tested with the BioT DNA assay and 549 samples tested with the BioT RNA assay. The clinical specificity is 99.6% and 99.8% for BioT DNA assay and BioT RNA assay, respectively. The surrogate sensitivities of these two assays were 100% (95%CI 83-100) for FT, BA (pX02), YP, VM, VZV, dengue 2,3,4 and 95% (95%CI 75-100) for BA (pX01) and dengue 1 using spiked clinical specimens. The specificity of both BioT multiplex assays on spiked specimens was 100% (95% CI 99- 100). Compared to other available assays (culture, serology, PCR, etc.) both the BioT DNA mPCR-EHA and BioT RNA mRT-PCR-EHA are rapid, sensitive and specific assays for detecting many category "A" Bioterrorism agents using a standard thermocycler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folate-aminocaproic acid-doxorubicin (FA-AMA-hyd-DOX) was firstly synthesized by our group. It was indicated that FA-AMA-hyd-DOX was pH-responsive, and had strong cytotoxicity on a folate receptor overexpressing cell line (KB cells) in vitro. The aim of our study was to further explore the potential use of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX as a new therapeutic drug for breast cancer. The cellular uptake and the antiproliferative activity of the FA-AMA-hyd-DOX in MDA-MB-231 cells were measured. Compared with DOX, FA-AMA-hyd-DOX exhibited higher targeting ability and cytotoxicity to FR-positive tumor cells. Subsequently, the tissue distribution of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX was studied, and the result confirmed that DOX modified by FA can effectively increase the selectivity of drugs in vivo. After determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX in MDA-MB-231 tumor-bearing nude mice, the antitumor effects and the in vivo safety of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX were systematically evaluated. The data showed that FA-AMA-hyd-DOX could effectively increase the dose of DOX tolerated by tumor-bearing nude mice and significantly inhibit MDA-MB-231 tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, FA-AMA-hyd-DOX treatment resulted in almost no obvious damage to the mice. All the positive data suggest that FA-targeted FA-AMA-hyd-DOX is a promising tumor-targeted compound for breast cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin (IL) 23 (p19/p40) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and is upregulated in psoriasis skin lesions. In clinical practice, anti-IL-23Ap19 antibodies are highly effective against psoriasis. IL-39 (p19/ Epstein-Barr virus-induced (EBI) 3), a newly discovered cytokine in 2015, shares the p19 subunit with IL-23. Anti-IL-23Ap19 antibodies may bind to IL-39; also, the cytokine may contribute to the pathogenesis of psoriasis. To investigate IL23Ap19- and/or EBI3-including cytokines in psoriatic keratinocytes, we analyzed IL-23Ap19 and EBI3 expressions in psoriasis skin lesions, using immunohistochemistry and normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) stimulated with inflammatory cytokines, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-Ms/Ms). Immunohistochemical analysis showed that IL-23Ap19 and EBI3 expressions were upregulated in the psoriasis skin lesions. In vitro, these expressions were synergistically induced by the triple combination of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-17A, and interferon (IFN)-γ, and suppressed by dexamethasone, vitamin D3, and acitretin. In ELISA and LC-Ms/Ms analyses, keratinocyte-derived IL-23Ap19 and EBI3, but not heterodimeric forms, were detected with humanized anti-IL-23Ap19 monoclonal antibodies, tildrakizumab, and anti-EBI3 antibodies, respectively. Psoriatic keratinocytes may express IL-23Ap19 and EBI3 proteins in a monomer or homopolymer, such as homodimer or homotrimer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prognostic factors for clinical outcome after spinal cord (SC) injury (SCI) are limited but important in patient management and education. There is a lack of evidence regarding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical outcomes in SCI patients. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether baseline MRI features predicted the clinical course of the disease. This study is an ancillary to the prospective North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN) registry. Patients were enrolled from 2005–2017. MRI within 72 h of injury and a minimum follow-up of one year were available for 459 patients. Patients with American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS) E were excluded. Patients were grouped into those with (n = 354) versus without (n = 105) SC signal change on MRI T2-weighted images. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for commonly known a priori confounders (age and baseline AIS). Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was any adverse event. Secondary outcomes were AIS at the baseline and final follow-up, length of hospital stay (LOS), and mortality. A regression model adjusted for age and baseline AIS. Patients with intrinsic SC signal change were younger (46.0 (interquartile range (IQR) 29.0 vs. 50.0 (IQR 20.5) years, p = 0.039). There were no significant differences in the other baseline variables, gender, body mass index, comorbidities, and injury location. There were more adverse events in patients with SC signal change (230 (65.0%) vs. 47 (44.8%), p < 0.001; odds ratio (OR) = 2.09 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31–3.35), p = 0.002). The most common adverse event was cardiopulmonary (186 (40.5%)). Patients were less likely to be in the AIS D category with SC signal change at baseline (OR = 0.45 (95% CI 0.28–0.72), p = 0.001) and in the AIS D or E category at the final follow-up (OR = 0.36 (95% CI 0.16–0.82), p = 0.015). The length of stay was longer in patients with SC signal change (13.0 (IQR 17.0) vs. 11.0 (IQR 14.0), p = 0.049). There was no difference between the groups in mortality (11 (3.2%) vs. 4 (3.9%)). MRI SC signal change may predict adverse events and overall LOS in the SCI population. If present, patients are more likely to have a worse baseline clinical presentation (i.e., AIS) and in- or outpatient clinical outcome after one year. Patients with SC signal change may benefit from earlier, more aggressive treatment strategies and need to be educated about an unfavorable prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical statistics were used to study the stability of weld pool and the elimination of weld defects in aluminum alloy plasma arc keyhole welding at continuously varying positions. In the mathematical model, the mass transfer position and spatial welding position were taken as the input, and the shape of the welded joints (symmetry/deviation) was taken as the output. The results showed that the fitted curves of the front, back, and average deviations of the weld seam were all similar to the actual curves. According to the optimum results obtained in the experiment and the mathematical models, the mass transfer position only needs to be adjusted once (near to 30°) during the continuously varying positions, from vertical-up to horizontal welding. A breakthrough from fixed environmental variables to dynamic environmental variables in the process control of the keyhole weld pool was realized, which enabled the Al-alloy keyhole weld pool to resist the disturbance caused by gravity during variable position welding. The deviation of the welded joints of the whole plate was smaller than 0.5 mm, and the mechanical properties of the weld reached at least 85% compared to those of the base material, thus meeting the requirements of Al-alloy welding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]