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With the demand for high-safety, high-integration, and lightweight micro- and nano-electronic components, an MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component was innovatively designed based on the corona discharge theory. The device subverted the traditional device-level protection method for electromagnetic energy, realizing the innovation of adding a complex circuit system to the integrated chip through micro-nanometer processing technology and enhancing the chip's size from the centimeter level to the micron level. In this paper, the working performance of the MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component was verified through a combination of a simulation, a static experiment, and a dynamic test, and a characterization test of the tested MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component was carried out to thoroughly analyze the effect of the MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component. The results showed that after the strong electromagnetic pulse injection, the pulse breakdown voltage of the MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component increased exponentially in terms of the pulse injection voltage, and the residual pulse current decreased significantly from one-third to one-half of the original, representing a significant protective effect. In a DC environment, the breakdown voltage of the needle-needle structure of the MEMS electromagnetic energy-releasing component was 144 V, and the on-time was about 0.5 ms.

Transition metal oxides, distinguished by their high theoretical specific capacitance values, inexpensive cost, and low toxicity, have been extensively utilized as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors. Nevertheless, their conductivity is generally insufficient to facilitate rapid electron transport at high rates. Therefore, research on bimetallic oxide electrode materials has become a hot spot, especially in the field of micro-supercapacitors (MSC). Hence, this study presents the preparation of bimetallic oxide electrode materials via electro-spark machining (EM), which is efficient, convenient, green and non-polluting, as well as customizable. The fabricated copper-molybdenum bimetallic oxide (MoCuO x ) device showed good electrochemical performance under the electrode system. It provided a high areal capacity of 50.2 mF cm -2 (scan rate: 2 mV s -1 ) with outstanding cycling retention of 94.9% even after 2000 cycles. This work opens a new window for fabricating bimetallic oxide materials in an efficient, environmental and customizable way for various electronics applications.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as motor neuron disease, is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons. This pathological process results in muscle weakness and can culminate in paralysis. To date, the precise etiology of ALS remains unclear. However, a burgeoning body of research indicates that axonal dysfunction is a pivotal element in the pathogenesis of ALS and significantly influences the progression of disease. Dysfunction of axons in ALS can result in impediments to nerve impulse transmission, leading to motor impairment, muscle atrophy, and other associated complications that severely compromise patients' quality of life and survival prognosis. In this review, we concentrate on several key areas: the ultrastructure of axons, the mechanisms of axonal degeneration in ALS, the impact of impaired axonal transport on disease progression in ALS, and the potential for axonal regeneration within the central nervous system (CNS). Our objective is to achieve a more holistic and profound understanding of the multifaceted role that axons play in ALS, thereby offering a more intricate and refined perspective on targeted axonal therapeutic interventions.

Natural fibers exhibit noticeable variations in their cross-sections, and measurements assuming a circular cross-section can lead to errors in the values of their properties. Providing more accurate geometric information of fiber cross-sections is a key challenge. Based on microscopic images of natural fiber structures, this paper proposes a natural fiber microstructure detection method based on the CA-DeepLabv3+ network model. The study investigates a natural fiber microstructure image segmentation algorithm that uses MobileNetV2 as the feature extraction backbone network, optimizes the Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (ASPP) module through cascading, and embeds an Efficient Multi-scale Attention (EMA) mechanism. The results show that the algorithm proposed in this paper can accurately segment the microstructures of multiple types of natural fibers, achieving an average pixel accuracy (mPA) of 95.2% and a mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of 90.7%.

Pyrite is one of the most abundant metal sulfide tailings and is susceptible to oxidation, yielding acidic mine drainage (AMD) that poses significant environmental risks. Consequently, the exploration of pyrite surface oxidation and the kinetic influencing factors remains a pivotal research area. Despite the oxidation of pyrite producing a significant amount of sulfate (SO 4 ), a comprehensive investigation into its influence on the oxidation process is lacking. Leveraging pyrite's semiconducting nature and the electrochemical intricacies of its surface oxidation, this study employs electrochemical techniques-cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-to assess the effect of SO 2- ), a comprehensive investigation into its influence on the oxidation process is lacking. Leveraging pyrite's semiconducting nature and the electrochemical intricacies of its surface oxidation, this study employs electrochemical techniques-cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-to assess the effect of SO 4 2 ⁻ on pyrite surface oxidation. The CV curve shows that SO 4 2- does not change the fundamental surface oxidation mechanism of pyrite, but its redox peak current density decreases with the increase in SO 4 2- , and the surface oxidation rate of pyrite decreases. The possible reason is attributed to SO 4 2- adsorption onto pyrite surfaces, blocking active sites and impeding the oxidation process. Furthermore, Tafel polarization curves indicate an augmentation in polarization resistance with elevated SO 4 2- concentrations, signifying heightened difficulty in pyrite surface reactions. EIS analysis underscores an increase in Weber diffusion resistance with increasing SO 4 2 ⁻, indicating that the diffusion of Fe 3+ to the pyrite surface and the diffusion of oxidized products to the solution becomes more difficult. These findings will improve our understanding of the influence of SO 4 2- on pyrite oxidation and have important implications for deepening the understanding of surface oxidation of pyrite in the natural environment.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps in knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to accommodate these two bitumen phenomena fully. This study aims to propose a new procedure to address this issue utilizing the linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test, LAS with rest period (RP) (LASH) test, and simplified viscoelastic continuum damage (S-VECD) model. This research work used four different types of asphalt binders: neat asphalt (NA), self-healing thermoplastic polyurethane (STPU)-modified bitumen (STPB), self-healing poly (dimethyl siloxane) crosslinked with urea bond (IPA1w)-modified bitumen (IPAB), and styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS)-modified bitumen (SBSB). Before the testing process, all the materials were subjected to short-term and long-term aging. The new procedure showed a superior capacity to analyze and accommodate all bitumen fatigue performances and self-repairing activities compared to the current method. Another finding proved that asphalt binders with a higher self-restoration behavior failed to show a better fatigue performance. Moreover, the higher fatigue performance increments produced by STPU and IPA1w in NA concerning the control bitumen were 123.7% and 143.7%, respectively. Those values were obtained with 1.0% STPU and 0.5% IPA1w in NA. A breakthrough finding demonstrated that asphalt binder fatigue response is augmented when the RP was applied at a higher damage intensity ( S ) value. STPB and IPAB reached their highest increments of fatigue response, containing 1.0% of STPU and 0.5% of IPA1w, respectively. Those augmentations were 207.54% and 232.64%, respectively.

Spacecraft recovery technology is crucial in the field of aerospace, in which the parachute plays a key role in slowing down the descent speed of the spacecraft and realizing a smooth landing. In order to construct a dynamically adjustable parachute deployment strategy, it is necessary to measure the parachute dynamic load accurately in real-time. However, the existing sensor measurement scheme makes it difficult to meet the measurement requirements due to its large structure and complex wiring. In order to meet the current demand for real-time measurement of parachute cords dynamic load, a miniature measuring instrument is designed. According to the function and technical requirements of the miniature measuring instrument, the hardware modules of the acquisition system are selected and designed, and the integration debugging and performance optimization of the microcontroller module, A/D sampling module, signal acquisition circuit, and power supply module are carried out. The software of the parachute cords tension acquisition system based on the miniature measuring instrument is developed. The Load Cell is modeled by using SolidWorks 2022 and statically analyzed by using Ansys 2022 R1 Workbench finite element analysis software. Then the final structure of the Load Cell and the pasting position of the strain gauge are determined through the results analysis as well as experimental verification. The hardware module of the signal acquisition system for the miniature measuring instrument is then encapsulated. The force value of the miniature measuring instrument is calibrated and tested many times by using the microcomputer-controlled electronic universal testing machine. The experimental results show that the designed miniature measuring instrument has accurate data, strong stability, and good real-time performance, which meets the demand for real-time accurate measurement of miniature measuring instruments, and can provide reliable data for parachute cords parameter validation and stepless unfolding design.

To address the high power consumption associated with image refresh operations in EPDs, this paper proposes a low-power driving waveform that reduces the refresh power of EPDs by lowering the system's peak power. Compared to traditional waveforms, this waveform first activates the particles before erasing them, thus reducing voltage polarity changes. Additionally, it introduces a specific duration of 0 V voltage during the activation phase based on the physical characteristics of the electrophoretic particles to reduce the voltage span. Finally, a particular duration of 0 V voltage is introduced during the erasure phase to minimize the voltage span while ensuring the stability and consistency of the reference gray scale. The experimental results demonstrate that, in standard power tests, the new driving waveform reduces the power fluctuation value by 1.33% and the energy fluctuation value by 37.24% compared to the traditional driving waveform. This reduction in refresh power also mitigates screen flicker and ghosting phenomena.

Silicon carbide (SiC) single crystals have great prospects for high-temperature energy storage due to their robust structural stability, ultrahigh power output, and superior temperature stability. However, energy density is an essential challenge for SiC-based devices. Herein, a facile two-step strategy is proposed for the large-scale synthesis of a unique architecture of SiC nanowires incorporating MnO 2 for enhanced supercapacitors (SCs), arising from the synergy effect between the SiC nanowires as a highly conductive skeleton and the MnO 2 with numerous active sites. The SiC@MnO 2 integrated electrode-based SCs with ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes were assembled and delivered outstanding energy and power density, as well as a great lifespan at 150 °C. This impressive work offers a novel avenue for the practical application of SiC-based electrochemical energy storage devices with high energy density under high temperatures.

In cold regions with high daily temperature gradients (>20 °C), the durability of cement-stabilized macadam (CSM) base materials is poor and prone to cracking. To effectively reduce the cracking of semi-rigid base layers in cold regions with high daily temperature gradients and extend fatigue life, this study focused on cracking and fatigue characteristics of CSM with a 10% commercial early strength agent (ESA) added by the external mixing method under different curing conditions. The ESA was manufactured by Jiangsu Subote New Materials Co., Ltd. (Nanjing, China). The curing conditions were divided into variable temperature (0-20 °C) and standard temperature (20 °C). CSM curing was carried out through a programmable curing box. The research results indicated that the variable temperature curing conditions reduced the strength and fatigue resistance of CSM and accelerated the modulus attenuation rate of CSM. At the same time, the drying shrinkage of CSM was greater. The temperature shrinkage coefficient and strain of CSM under variable temperature conditions were smaller than those under standard temperature conditions. The effect of variable temperature conditions on the cracking and durability of CSM could not be ignored in cold regions. Compared to standard temperature curing conditions, the indirect tensile strength of CSM reduced by 31.04% under variable temperature conditions, the coefficient of variation increased by 2.97 times, and the discrete type significantly increased. Compared with CSM without ESA, the dry and temperature shrinkage strains of CSM with 10% ESA were reduced by 24.65% and 26.10%, respectively. At a stress level of 0.6, compared to standard temperature curing conditions, the fatigue life of CSM decreased by 97.19% under variable temperature conditions. Under variable temperature conditions, the fatigue life of CSM with 10% ESA increased by 196 times compared to 0% ESA. Adding ESA enhanced the anti-shrinkage cracking, strength, and durability of CSM under variable temperatures. ESA incorporation effectively compensated for the weakened characteristics of CSM under variable temperature conditions. The study proposed a practical approach for boosting the durability of CSM in cold environments.

Steel products typically undergo intricate manufacturing processes, commencing from the liquid phase, with casting, hot rolling, and laminar cooling being among the most crucial processes. In the background of carbon neutrality, thin-slab casting and direct rolling (TSCR) technology has attracted significant attention, which integrates the above three processes into a simpler and more energy-efficient sequence compared to conventional methods. Multi-scale computational modeling and simulation play a crucial role in steel design and optimization, enabling the prediction of properties and microstructure in final steel products. This approach significantly reduces the time and cost of production compared to traditional trial-and-error methodologies. This study provides a review of cross-scale simulations focusing on the casting, hot-rolling, and laminar cooling processes, aiming at presenting the key techniques for realizing cross-scale simulation of the TSCR process.

In this study, hybrid skeleton material ZIF-8@ZIF-67 was synthesized by the epitaxial growth method and then was utilized as a carrier for encapsulating Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase (PFL) through the co-precipitation method, resulting in the preparation of immobilized lipase (PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67). Subsequently, it was further treated with glutaraldehyde to improve protein immobilization yield. Under optimal immobilization conditions, the specific hydrolytic activity of PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67 was 20.4 times higher than that of the free PFL. The prepared biocatalyst was characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). Additionally, the thermal stability of PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67 at 50 °C was significantly improved compared to the free PFL. After 7 weeks at room temperature, PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67 retained 78% of the transesterification activity, while the free enzyme was only 29%. Finally, PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67 was applied to the neryl acetate preparation in a solvent-free system, and the yield of neryl acetate reached 99% after 3 h of reaction. After 10 repetitions, the yields of neryl acetate catalyzed by PFL@ZIF-8@ZIF-67 and the free PFL were 80% and 43%, respectively.

With the development of deep learning, several graph neural network (GNN)-based approaches have been utilized for text classification. However, GNNs encounter challenges when capturing contextual text information within a document sequence. To address this, a novel text classification model, RB-GAT, is proposed by combining RoBERTa-BiGRU embedding and a multi-head Graph ATtention Network (GAT). First, the pre-trained RoBERTa model is exploited to learn word and text embeddings in different contexts. Second, the Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (BiGRU) is employed to capture long-term dependencies and bidirectional sentence information from the text context. Next, the multi-head graph attention network is applied to analyze this information, which serves as a node feature for the document. Finally, the classification results are generated through a Softmax layer. Experimental results on five benchmark datasets demonstrate that our method can achieve an accuracy of 71.48%, 98.45%, 80.32%, 90.84%, and 95.67% on Ohsumed, R8, MR, 20NG and R52, respectively, which is superior to the existing nine text classification approaches.

Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites, prized for their exceptional properties, often encounter surface quality issues during slotting due to their inherent heterogeneity. This paper tackles CFRP slotting challenges by employing multi-tooth mills in experiments with various fibre orientations and tool feed rates. In-plane scratching tests are performed under linearly varying loads; then, slotting experiments are conducted at different parameters. The scratching test results indicate that the fibre orientation and cutting angles have significant influences on forces and fracture process. The slotting experiments demonstrate that cutting forces and surface roughness S a of the bottom slotting surface are notably affected by the fibre orientation, with disparities between up-milling and down-milling sides. Reorganising S a data by local fibre cutting angle θ highlights consistent S a variations between up-milling and down-milling sides for 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°, with lower S a on the up-milling side. However, for 90° < θ ≤ 150°, S a variations diverge, with lower S a on the down-milling side. Unexpectedly, S a on the down-milling side decreases with increasing θ in this range. Additionally, the tool feed rate exerts a more pronounced influence on S a on the up-milling side.

Small-pore zeolites catalyze the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction via a dual-cycle mechanism, encompassing both olefin- and aromatic-based cycles. Zeolite topology is crucial in determining both the catalytic pathway and the product selectivity of the MTO reaction. Herein, we investigate the mechanistic influence of MCM-35 zeolite on the MTO process. The structural properties of the as-synthesized MCM-35 catalyst, including its confined cages (6.19 Å), were characterized, confirming them as the catalytic centers. Then, the MTO reactions were systematically performed and investigated over a MCM-35 catalyst. Feeding pure methanol to the reactor yielded minimal MTO activity despite the formation of some aromatic species within the zeolite. The results suggest that the aromatic-based cycle is entirely suppressed in MCM-35, preventing the simultaneous occurrence of the olefin-based cycle. However, cofeeding a small amount of propene in methanol can obviously enhance the methanol conversion under the same studied reaction conditions. Thus, the exclusive operation of the olefin-based cycle in the MTO reaction, independent of the aromatic-based cycle, was demonstrated in MCM-35 zeolite.

The portable Raman spectrometer boasts portability, rapid analysis, and high flexibility. It stands as a crucial and powerful technical tool for analyzing the chemical composition of samples, whether biological or non-biological, across diverse fields. To improve the resolution of grating spectrometers and ensure a wide spectral range, many spectrometer systems have been designed with double-grating structures. However, the impact of external forces, such as installation deviations and inevitable collisions, may cause differences between the actual state of the internal spectrometer components and their theoretical values. Therefore, spectrometers must be calibrated to establish the relationship between the wavelength and the pixel positions. The characteristic peaks of commonly used calibration substances are primarily distributed in the 200-2000 cm-1 range. The distribution of characteristic peaks in other wavenumber ranges is sparse, especially for spectrometers with double-channel spectral structures and wide spectral ranges. This uneven distribution of spectral peaks generates significant errors in the polynomial fitting results used to calibrate spectrometers. Therefore, to satisfy the calibration requirements of a dual-channel portable Raman spectrometer with a wide spectral range, this study designed a calibration method based on an optical frequency comb, which generates dense and uniform comb-like spectral signals at equal intervals. The method was verified experimentally and compared to the traditional calibration method of using a mercury-argon lamp. The results showed that the error bandwidth of the calibration results of the proposed method was significantly smaller than that of the mercury-argon lamp method, thus demonstrating a substantial improvement in the calibration accuracy.

Freezing conditions under different humidity will influence the mechanical properties of geotextiles, leading to the gradual fracture of geotextiles. It brings hidden danger to the whole isolation, reinforcement and protection of rock and soil. It is particularly important to study the tensile and puncture properties of geotextiles considering low temperature and moisture content. In this paper, a series of tensile and puncture tests of geotextiles are performed under different low temperatures (0, -3, -6, -9, and -12 °C) and at different moisture content levels (0, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 80%). From the microscopic perspective, the failure mechanism considering the low temperature and moisture content was explained comprehensively. Experimental results indicate that with a decrease in freezing temperature, the tensile strength of geotextiles increases as a parabolic function while the elongation at failure decreases as an exponential function. Additionally, the puncture strength of geotextiles presented a parabolic increase with the decreasing temperature. Under the freezing temperature environment, the higher moisture content of geotextiles can generate a higher puncture strength increment. This research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the tensile and puncture properties of geotextile materials considering low temperature and moisture content. It can provide important guidance for the design of slopes, the reinforcement of earthen dams, and roadbed reinforcement with geotextiles in cold regions.

Background: Mpox virus (MPXV) infections have increased in many countries since May 2022, increasing demand for diagnostic tests and research on the virus. To ensure personnel safety, appropriate and reliable measures are needed to disinfect and inactivate infectious samples; Methods: We evaluated the stability of infectious MPXV cultures stored at different temperatures and through freeze-thaw cycles. Heat physical treatment (56 °C, 70 °C, 95 °C), chemical treatment (beta-propiolactone (BPL)) and two commercialized disinfectants (Micro-Chem Plus (MCP) and ethanol) were tested against infectious MPXV cultures; Results: The results indicated that MPXV stability increases with lower temperatures. The MPXV titer was stable within three freeze-thaw cycles and only decreased by 1.04 log 10 (lg) 50% cell culture infective dose (CCID 50 ) per milliliter (12.44%) after twelve cycles. MPXV could be effectively inactivated at 56 °C for 40 min, 70 °C for 10 min, and 95 °C for 5 min. For BPL inactivation, a 1:1000 volume ratio (BPL:virus) could also effectively inactivate MPXV. A total of 2% or 5% MCP and 75% ethanol treated with MPXV for at least 1 min could reduce >4.25 lg; Conclusions: MPXV shows high stability to temperature and freeze-thaw. Heat and BPL treatments are effective for the inactivation of MPXV, while MCP and ethanol are effective for disinfection, which could help laboratory staff operate the MPXV under safer conditions and improve operational protocols.

In this work, acrylic cellulose hydrogel, a typical natural polymer adsorbent, was modified using MXene through in situ polymerization to create a synthetic inorganic-polymer composite known as MXene/cellulose hydrogel. FTIR, XRD, SEM, and thermogravimetric analyses were applied to characterize the chemical structure and micromorphology. The MXene/cellulose hydrogel was utilized for the removal of Pb 2+ from wastewater. Under optimal experimental conditions (initial Pb 2+ concentration of 0.04 mol/L, adsorption time of 150 min, pH = 5.5, and MXene doping content of 50% at 30 °C), a maximum adsorption capacity of 410.57 mg/g was achieved. The MXene/cellulose hydrogel corresponded with the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation model and exhibited a better fit with the Freundlich isotherm model.

Plastic production has increased dramatically, leading to accumulated plastic waste in the ocean. Marine plastics can be broken down into microplastics (<5 mm) by sunlight, machinery, and pressure. The accumulation of microplastics in organisms and the release of plastic additives can adversely affect the health of marine organisms. Biodegradation is one way to address plastic pollution in an environmentally friendly manner. Marine microorganisms can be more adapted to fluctuating environmental conditions such as salinity, temperature, pH, and pressure compared with terrestrial microorganisms, providing new opportunities to address plastic pollution. Pseudomonadota (Proteobacteria), Bacteroidota (Bacteroidetes), Bacillota (Firmicutes), and Cyanobacteria were frequently found on plastic biofilms and may degrade plastics. Currently, diverse plastic-degrading bacteria are being isolated from marine environments such as offshore and deep oceanic waters, especially Pseudomonas spp. Bacillus spp. Alcanivoras spp. and Actinomycetes. Some marine fungi and algae have also been revealed as plastic degraders. In this review, we focused on the advances in plastic biodegradation by marine microorganisms and their enzymes (esterase, cutinase, laccase, etc.) involved in the process of biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (PP) and highlighted the need to study plastic biodegradation in the deep sea.

As a plant-specific transcription factor, the SPL gene family plays a critical role in plant growth and development. Although the SPL gene family has been identified in diverse plant species, there have been no genome-wide identification or systematic study reports on the SPL gene family in Catalpa bungei . In this study, we identified 19 putative SPL gene family members in the C. bungei genome. According to the phylogenetic relationship, they can be divided into eight groups, and the genes in the same group have a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. Synteny analysis showed that fragment duplication played an important role in the expansion of the CbuSPL gene family. At the same time, CbuSPL genes have cis-acting elements and functions related to light response, hormone response, growth and development, and stress response. Tissue-specific expression and developmental period-specific expression analysis showed that CbuSPL may be involved in flowering initiation and development, flowering transition, and leaf development. In addition, the ectopic expression of CbuSPL4 in Arabidopsis confirmed that it can promote early flowering and induce the expression of related flowering genes. These systematic research results will lay a foundation for further study on the functional analysis of SPL genes in C. bungei .

Telluriums (Te) with various nanostructures, including particles, wires, and sheets, are controllably synthesized by adjusting the content of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in a facile solvothermal reaction. Te nanostructures all have complete grain sizes with excellent crystallinity and mesopore structures. Further, the formation mechanisms of Te nanostructures are proposed to be that the primary nuclei of Te are released from the reduction of TeO 3 2- using N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O, and then grow into various nanostructures depending on the different content of PVP. These nanostructures of Te all exhibit the photocatalytic activities for the degradation of MB and H 2 production under visible light irradiation, especially Te nanosheets, which have the highest efficiencies of degradation (99.8%) and mineralization (65.5%) at 120 min. In addition, compared with pure Te nanosheets, the rate of H 2 production increases from 412 to 795 μmol∙h -1 ∙g -1 after the introduction of Pt, which increases the output by nearly two times. The above investigations indicate that Te with various nanostructures is a potential photocatalyst in the field of degradation of organic pollutants and H 2 fuel cells.

At present, it is known that when there is clay in concrete, polycarboxylates (PCE) will preferably adsorb in the clay, so that PCE cannot be fully combined with cement particles, which reduces the workability of the cement slurry. In this paper, a new type of maltitol-ammonium salt cationic (KN-lm) sacrificial agent (SA) has been successfully developed via a simple method, which makes PCE easier to bond with cement particles in the cement slurry containing clay. The effect of KN-lm on the fluidity of clay-containing cement paste is studied, and the experimental results show that KN-lm, as an efficient SA of cement slurry, makes PCE more compatible with clay-containing cement slurry, and increases the initial fluidity of cement slurry by about 19%. Further investigations of TOC, XRD, and zeta potential measurements reveal that a KN-lm ion is only preferably adsorbed into clay compared to PCE through electrostatic adsorption but without having any crystal structure change, thus resulting in good dispersion of cement particles. The addition of KN-lm plays an important role in hindering the hydration expansion of the clay by preferential electrostatic adsorption, which means PCE cannot easily insert into the interlayer of the clay.

N-glycanase 1 (NGLY1) is an essential enzyme involved in the deglycosylation of misfolded glycoproteins through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway, which could hydrolyze N-glycan from N-glycoprotein or N-glycopeptide in the cytosol. Recent studies indicated that NGLY1 inhibition is a potential novel drug target for antiviral therapy. In this study, structure-based virtual analysis was applied to screen candidate NGLY1 inhibitors from 2960 natural compounds. Three natural compounds, Poliumoside, Soyasaponin Bb, and Saikosaponin B2 showed significantly inhibitory activity of NGLY1, isolated from traditional heat-clearing and detoxifying Chinese herbs. Furthermore, the core structural motif of the three NGLY1 inhibitors was a disaccharide structure with glucose and rhamnose, which might exert its action by binding to important active sites of NGLY1, such as Lys238 and Trp244. In traditional Chinese medicine, many compounds containing this disaccharide structure probably targeted NGLY1. This study unveiled the leading compound of NGLY1 inhibitors with its core structure, which could guide future drug development.

α-Amanitin is a representative toxin found in the Amanita genus of mushrooms, and the consumption of mushrooms containing α-Amanitin can lead to severe liver damage. In this study, we conduct toxicological experiments to validate the protective effects of Ganoderic acid A against α-amanitin-induced liver damage. By establishing animal models with different durations of Ganoderic acid A treatment and conducting a metabolomic analysis of the serum samples, we further confirmed the differences in serum metabolites between the AMA+GA and AMA groups. The analysis of differential serum metabolites after the Ganoderic acid A intervention suggests that Ganoderic acid A may intervene in α-amanitin-induced liver damage by participating in the regulation of retinol metabolism, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, sphingosine biosynthesis, spermidine and spermine biosynthesis, and branched-chain amino acid metabolism. This provides initial insights into the protective intervention mechanisms of GA against α-amanitin-induced liver damage and offers new avenues for the development of therapeutic drugs for α-Amanitin poisoning.

Herein, a novel self-supporting CuO/nickel-cobalt-sulfide (NCS) electrode was designed in a two-step electrodeposition technique followed by a calcination process. Three-dimensional copper foam (CF) was exploited as the current collector and spontaneous source for the in situ preparation of the CuO nanostructures, which ensured sufficient deposition space for the subsequent NCS layer, thus forming abundant electrochemical active sites. Such a hierarchical structure is conducive to providing a smooth path for promoting electronic transmission. Therefore, the optimized CuO/NCS electrode exhibits outstanding energy storage capability with extremely superior specific capacitance ( C s) of 7.08 F cm -2 at 4 mA cm -2 and coulombic efficiency of up to 94.83%, as well as excellent cycling stability with capacitance retention of 83.33% after 5000 cycles. The results presented in this work extend our horizons to fabricate novel hierarchical structured electrodes applied to energy storage devices.

Selective dehydrogenative silylation is one of the most valuable tools for synthesizing organosilicon compounds. In this study, a regio- and stereoselective ruthenium-catalyzed dehydrogenative intermolecular silylation was firstly developed to access ( E )-alkenyl silyl-ether derivatives and silyl-ether heterocycles with good functional group tolerance. Furthermore, two pathways for RuH 2 (CO)(PPh 3 ) 3 /NBE-catalyzed dehydrogenative intermolecular silylation of alcohols and alkenes as well as intermolecular silylation of naphthol derivatives were investigated with H 2 SiEt 2 as the hydrosilane reagent.

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most serious rice diseases worldwide. The early indica rice thermosensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) line HD9802S has the characteristics of stable fertility, reproducibility, a high outcrossing rate, excellent rice quality, and strong combining ability. However, this line exhibits poor blast resistance and is highly susceptible to leaf and neck blasts. In this study, backcross introduction, molecular marker-assisted selection, gene chipping, anther culture, and resistance identification in the field were used to introduce the broad-spectrum blast-resistance gene R6 into HD9802S to improve its rice blast resistance. Six induction media were prepared by varying the content of each component in the culture medium. Murashige and Skoog's medium with 3 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid, and 1 mg/L kinetin and N6 medium with 800 mg/L casein hydrolysate, 600 mg/L proline, and 500 mg/L glutamine could improve the callus induction rate and have a higher green seedling rate and a lower white seedling rate. Compared to HD9802S, two doubled haploid lines containing R6 with stable fertility showed significantly enhanced resistance to rice blast and no significant difference in spikelet number per panicle, 1000-grain weight, or grain shape. Our findings highlight a rapid and effective method for improving rice blast resistance in TGMS lines.

Volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS), which are considered to be the most troublesome impurities in current biogas-cleaning technologies, need to be removed. In this study, we fabricated a series of Fe 3 O 4 -urea-modified reduced graphene-oxide aerogels (Fe 3 O 4 -urea-rGOAs) by using industrial-grade graphene oxide as the raw material. A fixed-bed dynamic adsorption setup was built, and the adsorption properties of the Fe 3 O 4 -urea-rGOAs for hexamethyldisiloxane (L2, as a VMS model pollutant) were studied. The properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated by employing various characterization techniques (SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and N 2 adsorption/desorption techniques). The results showed that the Fe 3 O 4 -urea-rGOA-0.4 had a high specific surface area (188 m 2 g -1 ), large porous texture (0.77 cm 3 g -1 ), and the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity for L2 (146.5 mg g -1 ). The adsorption capacity considerably increased with a decrease in the bed temperature of the adsorbents, as well as with an increase in the inlet concentration of L2. More importantly, the spent Fe 3 O 4 -urea-rGOA adsorbent could be readily regenerated and showed an excellent adsorption performance. Thus, the proposed Fe 3 O 4 -urea-rGOAs are promising adsorbents for removing the VMS in biogas.

The Lentinus edodes protein (LP) is a high-quality protein known for its well-balanced amino acid composition. In this study, we developed three-dimensional (3D)-printed microwaveable food using a combination of LP and potato flour, and optimized the formulation to achieve a ratio of LP: potato flour: xanthan gum: water = 2:8:1:23. The 3D-printed samples exhibited better shape, weight, and size compared to the molded samples after microwave treatment, with the most favorable microwave effect observed at a 90% filling ratio. The LP content affected the viscosity and retrogradation value of the LP-potato starch mixture. Microwave duration affected the surface hardness, interior softness, and moisture content of the product. The highest overall score of 8.295 points was obtained with a microwave processing duration of 2 min. This study lays a foundation for the development of LP-based 3D-printed food.

Volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) must be removed because the formation of silica in the combustion process seriously affects the resource utilization of biogas. Herein, a series of APTMS ((3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane)-modified activated porous carbon (APC) adsorbents (named APTMS@APC) were prepared for VMS efficient removal. The as-prepared adsorbents were characterized using SEM, FTIR, Raman, X-ray diffraction analyses, and N 2 adsorption/desorption. The results showed that the surface modification with APTMS enhanced the hydrophobicity of APC with the water contact angle increasing from 74.3° (hydrophilic) to 127.1° (hydrophobic), and meanwhile improved its texture properties with the S BET increasing from 981 to 1274 m 2 g -1 . The maximum breakthrough adsorption capacity of APTMS@APC for hexamethyldisiloxane (L2, model pollutant) was 360.1 mg g -1 . Effects of an inlet L2 concentration (31.04-83.82 mg L -1 ) and a bed temperature (0-50 °C) on the removal of L2 were investigated. Meanwhile, after five adsorption-desorption cycles, the APTMS@APC demonstrated a superior cycling performance. This indicated that the hydrophobic APTMS@APC has a great significance to remove VMS.

The impact of different degrees of hydrolysis (DHs) on fibrillation when trypsin mediates wheat gluten (WG) fibrillation has not been thoroughly investigated. This study discussed the differences in amyloid fibrils (AFs) formed from wheat gluten peptides (WGPs) at various DH values. The results from Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence analysis indicated that WGPs with DH6 were able to form the most AFs. Changes in Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) absorption spectra and secondary structure also suggested a higher degree of fibrillation in DH6 WGPs. Analysis of surface hydrophobicity and ζ-potential showed that DH6 AFs had the highest surface hydrophobicity and the most stable water solutions. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images revealed the best overall morphology of DH6 AFs. These findings can offer valuable insights into the development of a standardized method for preparing wheat gluten amyloid fibrils.

Phages possess the ability to selectively eliminate pathogenic bacteria by recognizing bacterial surface receptors. Since their discovery, phages have been recognized for their potent bactericidal properties, making them a promising alternative to antibiotics in the context of rising antibiotic resistance. However, the rapid emergence of phage-resistant strains (generally involving temperature phage) and the limited host range of most phage strains have hindered their antibacterial efficacy, impeding their full potential. In recent years, advancements in genetic engineering and biosynthesis technology have facilitated the precise engineering of phages, thereby unleashing their potential as a novel source of antibacterial agents. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the diverse strategies employed for phage genetic engineering, as well as discuss their benefits and drawbacks in terms of bactericidal effect.

This manuscript presents an ultra-low-power analog multiplier-divider compatible with digital code words, which is applicable to the integrated structure of resistive random-access memory (RRAM)-based computing-in-memory (CIM) macros. Current multiplication and division are accomplished by a current-mirror-based structure. Compared with digital dividers to achieve higher precision and operation speed, analog dividers present the advantages of a reduced power consumption and a simple circuit structure in lower precision operations, thus improving the energy efficiency. Designed and fabricated in a 55 nm CMOS process, the proposed work is capable of achieving 8-bit precision for analog current multiplication and division operations. Measurement results show that the signal delay is 1 μs when performing 8-bit operation, with a bandwidth of 1.4 MHz. The power consumption is less than 6.15 μW with a 1.2 V supply voltage. The proposed multiplier-divider can increase the operation capacity by dividing the input current and digital code while reducing the power consumption and complexity required by division, which can be further utilized in real-time operation of edge computing devices.

With the aim of achieving the combat technical requirements of super-quick (SQ) initiation and reliable self-destruction (SD) of a small-caliber projectile fuze, this paper describes a high-functional-density integrated (HFDI) inertial switch based on the "ON-OFF" state transition (i.e., almost no terminal ballistic motion). The reliable state switching of the HFDI inertial switch is studied via elastic-plastic mechanics and verified via both simulations and experiments. The theoretical and simulation results indicate that the designed switch can achieve the "OFF-ON" state transition in the internal ballistic system, and the switch can achieve the "ON-OFF" state transition in the simulated terminal ballistic system within 8 μs or complete the "ON-OFF" state transition as the rotary speed sharply decreases. The experimental results based on the anti-target method show the switch achieves the "ON-OFF" state transition on the μs scale, which is consistent with the simulation results. Compared with the switches currently used in small-caliber projectile fuzes, the HFDI inertial switch integrates more functions and reduces the height by about 44%.

A low-driving energy and bistable recoverable MEMS safety and arming device (S&A), based on microcasting technology and deep silicon etching technology, is proposed to meet safety system requirements. A force-electromagnetic combination solution is constructed for the Si MEMS S&A, with parameters and strength verified, ultimately achieving an S&A size of (13 × 13 × 0.4) mm. Additionally, a low-driving energy U-shaped electromagnetic coil (USEC) model is designed using microcasting technology, and an electrical-magnetic-mechanical coupling mathematical model is established to explore the relationship between design parameters and driving capacity and reliability. With a driving power of 8 V/0.5 A, the model achieves a stable electromagnetic driving force of 15 mN with a travel distance of 0.5 mm. Finally, the fabrication and testing of the USEC and S&A are carried out, with driving capability and S&A disarming ability tests conducted to verify the feasibility of the system design. Compared to the existing S&A, this scheme has the advantages of low-driving energy, recoverability, fast response speed, and strong adaptability.

High-pressure torsion (HPT) is an effective severe plastic deformation method to produce ultrafine-grained (UFG) and nanocrystalline (NC) materials. In the past, most studies have focused on the evolutions in the microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of HPT-deformed materials at peripheral regions. The corresponding evolutions at a special area were observed in this study to reveal the potential plastic deformation mechanism for face-centred cubic (FCC) material with high stacking fault energy. A decreasing trend was found in grain size, and the final grain size was less than 1 μm. However, close observation revealed that the general trend could be divided into different sub-stages, in which grain elongation and grain fragmentation were dominant, respectively. Additionally, microhardness demonstrated a non-linear increase with the development of plastic deformation. Finally, the microhardness reached a high level of ~64 HV. At the early stages of HPT, the C component was transformed into a cube component, suggesting the material flows around the shear plane normal (SPN) axis at these stages. However, finally they will be replaced by ideal simple shear orientations.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women and is a big challenge to clinical treatment due to the high morbidity and mortality. The pH/ROS dual-responsive nanoplatforms may be an effective way to significantly improve the therapeutic efficacy of breast cancer. Herein, we report a docetaxel (DTX)-loaded pH/ROS-responsive NP that could achieve active targeting of cancer cells and selective and complete drug release for effective drug delivery. The pH/ROS-responsive NPs were fabricated using nanocarriers that consist of an ROS-responsive moiety (4-hydroxymethylphenylboronic acid pinacol ester, HPAP), cinnamaldehyde (CA, an aldehyde organic compound with anticancer activities) and cyclodextrin (α-CD). The NPs were loaded with DTX, modified with a tumor-penetration peptide (circular RGD, cRGD) and named DTX/RGD NPs. The cRGD could promote DTX/RGD NPs penetration into deep tumor tissue and specifically target cancer cells. After internalization by cancer cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis, the pH-responsive acetal was cleaved to release CA in the lysosomal acidic environment. Meanwhile, the high ROS in tumor cells induced the disassembly of NPs with complete release of DTX. In vitro cellular assays verified that DTX/RGD NPs could be effectively internalized by 4T1 cells, obviously inducing apoptosis, blocking the cell cycle of 4T1 cells and consequently, killing tumor cells. In vivo animal experiments demonstrated that the NPs could target to the tumor sites and significantly inhibit the tumor growth in 4T1 breast cancer mice. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrated that DTX/RGD NPs could significantly improve the antitumor effect compared to free DTX. Thus, the DTX/RGD NPs provide a promising strategy for enhancing drug delivery and cancer therapy.

This paper presents an efficient underwater image enhancement method, named ECO-GAN, to address the challenges of color distortion, low contrast, and motion blur in underwater robot photography. The proposed method is built upon a preprocessing framework using a generative adversarial network. ECO-GAN incorporates a convolutional neural network that specifically targets three underwater issues: motion blur, low brightness, and color deviation. To optimize computation and inference speed, an encoder is employed to extract features, whereas different enhancement tasks are handled by dedicated decoders. Moreover, ECO-GAN employs cross-stage fusion modules between the decoders to strengthen the connection and enhance the quality of output images. The model is trained using supervised learning with paired datasets, enabling blind image enhancement without additional physical knowledge or prior information. Experimental results demonstrate that ECO-GAN effectively achieves denoising, deblurring, and color deviation removal simultaneously. Compared with methods relying on individual modules or simple combinations of multiple modules, our proposed method achieves superior underwater image enhancement and offers the flexibility for expansion into multiple underwater image enhancement functions.

Photoacoustic technology is a promising tool to provide morphological and functional information in biomedical research. To enhance the imaging efficiency, the reported photoacoustic probes have been designed coaxially involving complicated optical/acoustic prisms to bypass the opaque piezoelectric layer of ultrasound transducers, but this has led to bulky probes and has hindered the applications in limited space. Though the emergence of transparent piezoelectric materials helps to save effort on the coaxial design, the reported transparent ultrasound transducers were still bulky. In this work, a miniature photoacoustic probe with an outer diameter of 4 mm was developed, in which an acoustic stack was made with a combination of transparent piezoelectric material and a gradient-index lens as a backing layer. The transparent ultrasound transducer exhibited a high center frequency of ~47 MHz and a -6 dB bandwidth of 29.4%, which could be easily assembled with a pigtailed ferrule of a single-mode fiber. The multi-functional capability of the probe was successfully validated through experiments of fluid flow sensing and photoacoustic imaging.

A new pH-sensitive film was developed using Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum (ASKG), soybean protein isolate (SPI), and natural anthocyanin extracted from Lycium ruthenicum Murr. The film was prepared by adsorbing anthocyanins dissolved in an acidified alcohol solution on a solid matrix. ASKG and SPI were used as the solid matrix for the immobilization of the Lycium ruthenicum Murr. anthocyanin extract, which was absorbed into the film as a natural dye using the facile-dip method. Regarding the mechanical properties of the pH-sensitive film, the tensile strength (TS) values increased approximately 2-5-fold, but the elongation at break (EB) values decreased significantly by about 60% to 95%. With the increase in anthocyanin concentration, the oxygen permeability (OP) values first decreased by about 85%, and then increased by about 364%. The water vapor permeability (WVP) values increased by about 63%, and then decreased by about 20%. Colorimetric analysis of the films revealed variations in color at different pH values (pH 2.0-10.0). Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and XRD patterns indicated compatibility among ASKG, SPI, and anthocyanin extracts. In addition, an application test was conducted to establish a correlation between film color change and carp meat spoilage. At storage temperatures of 25 °C and 4 °C, when the meat was totally spoiled, the TVB-N values reached 99.80 ± 2.53 mg/100 g and 58.75 ± 1.49 mg/100 g, and the film's color changed from red to light brown and from red to yellowish green, respectively. Therefore, this pH-sensitive film could be used as an indicator to monitor the freshness of meat during storage.

The Invar alloy is widely used for aircraft wing mould manufacturing. In this work, keyhole-tungsten inert gas (K-TIG) butt welding was used to join 10 mm thick Invar 36 alloy plates. The effect of heat input on the microstructure, morphology and mechanical properties was studied by using scanning electron microscopy, high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, microhardness mapping, tensile and impact testing. It was shown that regardless of the selected heat input, the material was solely composed of austenite, although the grain size changed significantly. The change in heat input also led to texture changes in the fusion zone, as qualitatively determined with synchrotron radiation. With increases in heat input, the impact properties of the welded joints decreased. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the joints was measured, which demonstrated that the current process is suitable for aerospace applications.

Information self-destruction devices represent the last protective net available to realize information security. The self-destruction device proposed here can generate GPa-level detonation waves through the explosion of energetic materials and these waves can cause irreversible damage to information storage chips. A self-destruction model consisting of three types of nichrome (Ni-Cr) bridge initiators with copper azide explosive elements was first established. The output energy of the self-destruction device and the electrical explosion delay time were obtained using an electrical explosion test system. The relationships between the different copper azide dosages and the assembly gap between the explosive and the target chip with the detonation wave pressure were obtained using LS-DYNA software. The detonation wave pressure can reach 3.4 GPa when the dosage is 0.4 mg and the assembly gap is 0.1 mm, and this pressure can cause damage to the target chip. The response time of the energetic micro self-destruction device was subsequently measured to be 23.65 μs using an optical probe. In summary, the micro-self-destruction device proposed in this paper offers advantages that include low structural size, fast self-destruction response times, and high energy-conversion ability, and it has strong application prospects in the information security protection field.

Herein, a scalable electrodeposition strategy is proposed to achieve hierarchical CuO/nickel-cobalt-sulfide (NCS) electrodes using two-step potentiostatic deposition followed by high-temperature calcination. The introduction of CuO provides support for the further deposition of NSC to ensure a high load of active electrode materials, thus generating more abundant active electrochemical sites. Meanwhile, dense deposited NSC nanosheets are connected to each other to form many chambers. Such a hierarchical electrode prompts a smooth and orderly transmission channel for electron transport, and reserves space for possible volume expansion during the electrochemical test process. As a result, the CuO/NCS electrode exhibits superior specific capacitance ( C s) of 4.26 F cm -2 at 20 mA cm -2 and remarkable coulombic efficiency of 96.37%. Furthermore, the cycle stability of the CuO/NCS electrode remains at 83.05% within 5000 cycles. The multistep electrodeposition strategy provides a basis and reference for the rational design of hierarchical electrodes to be applied in the field of energy storage.

N-TiO 2 /Ni(OH) 2 nanofiber was successfully prepared by combining the electrospinning and solvothermal method. It has been found that under visible light irradiation, the as-obtained nanofiber exhibits excellent activity for the photodegradation of rhodamine B, and the average degradation rate reaches 3.1%/min -1 . Further insight investigations reveal that such a high activity was mainly due to the heterostructure-induced increase in the charge transfer rate and separation efficiency.

The AP2/ERF transcription factor family is one of the most important gene families in plants and plays a vital role in plant abiotic stress responses. Although Erianthus fulvus is very important in the genetic improvement of sugarcane, there are few studies concerning AP2/ERF genes in E. fulvus . Here, we identified 145 AP2/ERF genes in the E. fulvus genome. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into five subfamilies. Evolutionary analysis showed that tandem and segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of the EfAP2/ERF family. Protein interaction analysis showed that twenty-eight EfAP2/ERF proteins and five other proteins had potential interaction relationships. Multiple cis-acting elements present in the EfAP2/ERF promoter were related to abiotic stress response, suggesting that EfAP2/ERF may contribute to adaptation to environmental changes. Transcriptomic and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that EfDREB10 , EfDREB11 , EfDREB39 , EfDREB42 , EfDREB44 , EfERF43 , and EfAP2-13 responded to cold stress, EfDREB5 and EfDREB42 responded to drought stress, and EfDREB5 , EfDREB11 , EfDREB39 , EfERF43 , and EfAP2-13 responded to ABA treatment. These results will be helpful for better understanding the molecular features and biological role of the E. fulvus AP2/ERF genes and lay a foundation for further research on the function of EfAP2/ERF genes and the regulatory mechanism of the abiotic stress response.

RecA family recombinases are the core enzymes in the process of homologous recombination, and their normal operation ensures the stability of the genome and the healthy development of organisms. The UvsX protein from bacteriophage T4 is a member of the RecA family recombinases and plays a central role in T4 phage DNA repair and replication, which provides an important model for the biochemistry and genetics of DNA metabolism. UvsX shares a high degree of structural similarity and function with RecA, which is the most deeply studied member of the RecA family. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of UvsX has not been resolved. In this study, a comprehensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulation of the UvsX protein dimer complex was carried out in order to investigate the conformational and binding properties of UvsX in combination with ATP and DNA, and the simulation of RecA was synchronized with the property comparison learning for UvsX. This study confirmed the highly conserved molecular structure characteristics and catalytic centers of RecA and UvsX, and also discovered differences in regional conformation, volatility and the ability to bind DNA between the two proteins at different temperatures, which would be helpful for the subsequent understanding and application of related recombinases.

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) solid-state logic control chip with three layers-diversion layer, control layer, and substrate layer-is designed to satisfy fuse miniaturization and integration requirements. A mathematical model is established according to the heat conduction equation, and the limit conditions of different structures are presented. The finite element multi-physical field simulation method is used to simulate the size and the action voltage of the diversion layer of the control chip. Based on the surface silicon process, fuse processing, and testing with the MEMS solid-state fuse-logic control chip, a diversion layer constant current, maximum current resistance test, and a control layer of different bridge area sizes, the bridge area size is 200 × 30 μm, and the minimum electrical explosion voltage is 23.6 V. The theoretical calculation results at 20 V and 100 μF demonstrate that the capacitor energy is insufficient to support the complete vaporization of the bridge area, but can be partially vaporized, consistent with the experimental results.

Fatigue cracking is a common form of flexible pavement distress, which generally starts and spreads through bitumen. To address this issue, self-healing elastomer (SHE) modified bitumens were elaborated to assess whether these novel materials can overcome the neat asphalt (NA) fatigue performance and whether the current failure definition, failure criterion, and fatigue-restoration criteria can fit their performance. All bitumens were subjected to short-term and long-term aging. Linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test, LAS with rest period (LASH), and simplified viscoelastic-continuum-damage (S-VECD) model were utilized to appraise the behavior of the mentioned bitumens. The results showed that maximum stored pseudo-strain energy (PSE) and tau (τ) × N (number of loading cycles) failure definitions exhibited high efficiency to accommodate the fatigue life of NA and SHE-modified bitumens. Both failure criteria identified that SHE-modified bitumen (containing 1% of SHE) showed the highest increment of fatigue performance (67.1%) concerning NA. The failure criterion based on total released PSE, in terms of the area under the released PSE curve, was the only failure concept with high efficiency (R 2 up to 0.999) to predict asphalt binder fatigue life. As well, the current framework to evaluate bitumen self-restoration failed to fully accommodate asphalt binder behavior, because bitumen with higher restoration could not exhibit greater fatigue performance. Consequently, a new procedure to assess this property including fatigue behavior was proposed, showing consistent results, and confirming that SHE-modified bitumen (containing 1% of SHE) exhibited the highest increment of fatigue performance (154.02%) after application of the rest period. Hence, the optimum SHE content in NA was 1%. Furthermore, it was found that a greater number of loading cycles to failure (Nf) did not ensure better fatigue performance and stored PSE influenced the bitumen fatigue behavior.

A convolutional neural network-based multiobject detection and tracking algorithm can be applied to vehicle detection and traffic flow statistics, thus enabling smart transportation. Aiming at the problems of the high computational complexity of multiobject detection and tracking algorithms, a large number of model parameters, and difficulty in achieving high throughput with a low power consumption in edge devices, we design and implement a low-power, low-latency, high-precision, and configurable vehicle detector based on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) with YOLOv3 (You-Only-Look-Once-version3), YOLOv3-tiny CNNs (Convolutional Neural Networks), and the Deepsort algorithm. First, we use a dynamic threshold structured pruning method based on a scaling factor to significantly compress the detection model size on the premise that the accuracy does not decrease. Second, a dynamic 16-bit fixed-point quantization algorithm is used to quantify the network parameters to reduce the memory occupation of the network model. Furthermore, we generate a reidentification (RE-ID) dataset from the UA-DETRAC dataset and train the appearance feature extraction network on the Deepsort algorithm to improve the vehicles' tracking performance. Finally, we implement hardware optimization techniques such as memory interlayer multiplexing, parameter rearrangement, ping-pong buffering, multichannel transfer, pipelining, Im2col+GEMM, and Winograd algorithms to improve resource utilization and computational efficiency. The experimental results demonstrate that the compressed YOLOv3 and YOLOv3-tiny network models decrease in size by 85.7% and 98.2%, respectively. The dual-module parallel acceleration meets the demand of the 6-way parallel video stream vehicle detection with the peak throughput at 168.72 fps.