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This study proposes a deep neural network (DNN)-based downscaling model incorporating kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) to investigate the precipitation uncertainty influenced by typhoons in Taiwan, which has a complex island topography. The best tracking data of tropical cyclones from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are utilized to calculate typhoon and non-typhoon precipitation. KPCA is applied to extract nonlinear features of the BCC-CSM1-1 (Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model version 1.1) and CanESM2 (second-generation Canadian Earth System Model) GCM models. The length of the data used in the two GCM models span from January 1950 to December 2005 (historical data) and from January 2006 to December 2099 (scenario out data). The rainfall data are collected from the weather stations in Taichung and Hualien (cities of Taiwan) operated by the Central Weather Administration (CWA), Taiwan. The period of rainfall data in Taichung and in Hualien spans from January 1950 to December 2005. The proposed model is constructed with features extracted from the GCMs and historical monthly precipitation from Taichung and Hualien. The model we have built is used to estimate monthly precipitation and uncertainty in both Taichung and Hualien for future scenarios (rcp 4.5 and 8.5) of the GCMs. The results suggest that, in Taichung and Hualien, the summer precipitation is mostly within the normal range. The rainfall in the long term (January 2071 to December 2080) for both Taichung and Hualien typically fall between 100 mm and 200 mm. In the long term, the dry season (January to April, November, and December) precipitation for Taichung and that in the wet season (May to October) for Hualien are less and more affected by typhoons, respectively. The dry season precipitation is more affected by typhoons in Taichung than Hualien. In both Taichung and Hualien, the long-term probability of rainfall exceeding the historical average in the dry season is higher than that in the wet season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lunar grabens are the largest tensional linear structures on the Moon. In this paper, 17 grabens were selected to investigate the dips and displacement–length ratios (γ) of graben-bounding faults. Several topographic profiles were generated from selected grabens to measure their rim elevation, width and depth through SLDEM2015 (+LOLA) data. The differences in rim elevation (∆h) and width (∆W) between two topographic profiles on each graben were calculated, yielding 146 sets of data. We plotted ∆h vs. ∆W for each and calculated the dip angle (α) of graben-bounding faults. A dip of 39.9° was obtained using the standard linear regression method. In order to improve accuracy, large error data were removed based on error analysis. The results, 49.4° and 52.5°, were derived by the standard linear regression and average methods, respectively. Based on the depth and length of grabens, the γ value of the graben-bounding normal fault is also studied in this paper. The γ value is 3.6 × 10−3 for lunar normal faults according to the study of grabens and the Rupes Recta normal fault. After obtaining the values of α and γ, the increase in lunar radius indicated by the formation of grabens was estimated. We suggest that the lunar radius has increased by approximately 130 m after the formation of grabens. This study could aid in the understanding of normal fault growth and provide important constraints on the thermal evolution of the Moon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the as-cast microstructure and the evolution of the homogenized microstructure of large-scale industrialized Al-Cu-Mg-Ag heat-resistant aluminum alloy ingots were investigated by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive analysis (EDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicate that the dendritic segregation is evident in the ingot along the radial direction, and the grain boundaries are decorated with lots of net-shaped continuous eutectic structures. With the homogenization time extension and the homogenization temperature increase, the eutectic phases (i.e., the primary Al2Cu phase, the Al2CuMg phase, and the AlCuMgAg quaternary phase) at the grain boundaries gradually dissolve back into the matrix. Meanwhile, most of the dendritic grain boundaries gradually become sparse and thinner. Finally, it is found that the optimal homogenization regime of the Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy is 420 °C/5 h+480 °C/8 h+515 °C/24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When solving the problem of the minimum cost consensus with asymmetric adjustment costs, decision makers need to face various uncertain situations (such as individual opinions and unit adjustment costs for opinion modifications in the up and down directions). However, in the existing methods for dealing with this problem, robust optimization will lead to overly conservative results, and stochastic programming needs to know the exact probability distribution. In order to overcome these shortcomings, it is essential to develop a novelty consensus model. Thus, we propose three new minimum-cost consensus models with a distributionally robust method. Uncertain parameters (individual opinions, unit adjustment costs for opinion modifications in the up and down directions, the degree of tolerance, and the range of thresholds) were investigated by modeling the three new models, respectively. In the distributionally robust method, the construction of an ambiguous set is very important. Based on the historical data information, we chose the Wasserstein ambiguous set with the Wasserstein distance in this study. Then, three new models were transformed into a second-order cone programming problem to simplify the calculations. Further, a case from the EU Trade and Animal Welfare (TAW) program policy consultation was used to verify the practicability of the proposed models. Through comparison and sensitivity analysis, the numerical results showed that the three new models fit the complex decision environment better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the previous work conducted by Fujii et al., NdBaInO4 compounds present modest oxide-ion conductivities. Therefore, it has been an attractive system of significant interest. In this study, we attempted to partially substitute Ca for Nd and the total electrical conductivity was successfully improved due to the generation of oxygen vacancies. The synthesis, crystal structure, density, surface topography, and electrical properties of NdBaInO4 and Ca-doped NdBaInO4 have been studied, respectively. NdBaInO4 and 10% and 20% molar fractions of Ca-doped NdBaInO4 were synthesized through solid-state reactions. The crystal structure of them was obtained from Le Bail refinement of the XRD pattern, giving the result of the monoclinic structure, which belongs to P21/c space group. The highest total electrical conductivity of 4.91 × 10−3 S cm−1 was obtained in the Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 sample at a temperature of 760 °C in the dry atmosphere and the activation energy was reduced from 0.68 eV to 0.58 eV when the temperature was above 464 °C (737 K) after doping the NdBaInO4 with a 0.1 molar fraction of Ca2+. Moreover, the total conductivity of Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 in the wet atmosphere at moderate temperature was relatively higher than that in the dry atmosphere, which suggests that potential proton conduction may exist in wet atmospheres. In addition, the oxygen diffusion coefficients of Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 (D* = 1.82 × 10−8 cm2/s, 850 °C) was about two times higher than that of Nd0.8Ca0.2BaInO3.90 (D* = 7.95 × 10−9 cm2/s, 850 °C) and was increased significantly by two orders of magnitude when compared with the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the undoped NdBaInO4 (D* = 8.25 × 10−11 cm2/s, 850 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During diagenesis, the transformation of unconsolidated sediments into a sandstone is usually accompanied by compaction, water expulsion, cementation and dissolution, which fundamentally control the extent, connectivity and complexity of the pore structure in sandstone. As the pore structure is intimately related to fluid flow in porous media, it is of great importance to characterize the pore structure of a hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone in a comprehensive way. Although conventional petrophysical methods such as mercury injection porosimetry, low-pressure nitrogen or carbon dioxide adsorption are widely used to characterize the pore structure of rocks, these evaluations are based on idealized pore geometry assumptions, and the results lack direct information on the pore geometry, connectivity and tortuosity of pore channels. In view of the problems, X-ray micro-CT was combined with ImageJ software (version 1.8.0) to quantitatively characterize the pore structure of Berea Sandstone. Based on its powerful image processing function, a series of treatments such as contrast enhancement, noise reduction and threshold segmentation, were first carried out on the micro-CT images of the sandstone via ImageJ. Pores with sizes down to 2.25 μm were accurately identified. Geometric parameters such as pore area, perimeter and circularity could thus be extracted from the segmented pores. According to our evaluations, pores identified in this study are mostly in the range of 30–180 μm and can be classified into irregular, high-circularity and slit-shaped pores. An irregular pore is the most abundant type, with an area fraction of 72.74%. The average porosity obtained in the image analysis was 19.10%, which is fairly close to the experimental result determined by a helium pycnometer on the same sample. According to the functional relationship between tortuosity and permeability, the tortuosity values of the pore network were estimated to be in the range of 4–6 to match the laboratory permeability data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae is a promising metabolism microorganism for the fixation of CO2 from industrial gas while accumulating microalgae biomass. The process of CO2 fixation by microalgae is able to be significantly improved by the regulation of phytohormones. However, the complex metabolic mechanism of microalgae regulated by phytohormones and abiotic stress on CO2 fixation deserves to be explored. To systematically understand the existing status and establish a foundation for promoting the technology, this paper reviews investigations on the metabolic mechanism of microalgae regulated by phytohormones. The influences of nitrogen stress, light intensity stress, heavy metal stress, and salinity stress on CO2 fixation and lipid production are summarized. In addition, a comprehensive overview of the multistage regulation of phytohormones and abiotic stress on CO2 fixation and lipid production through microalgae is presented. The recent advances in CO2 transfer reinforcement and light transmission reinforcement in photobioreactors are discussed. This review provides an insight into the enhancement of CO2 fixation by microalgae regulated by phytohormones, abiotic stress, and mass transfer in multistage photobioreactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the optimization of ultrasonic-assisted aqueous two-phase synchronous extraction of carbohydrates and polyphenols present in artichoke bud, evaluated their antioxidant activities in vitro, and analyzed the composition of carbohydrates and polyphenols by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The powder mass, ultrasonic time, ammonium sulfate concentration, and alcohol–water ratio were considered the influencing factors based on the single-factor experiment results, and a dual-response surface model was designed to optimize the synchronous extraction process to extract carbohydrates and polyphenols. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of ABTS+· and DPPH· and the reducing capacity of Fe3+. The optimal process conditions in this study were as follows: the powder mass of 1.4 g, ammonium sulfate concentration of 0.34 g/mL, alcohol–water ratio of 0.4, and ultrasonic time of 43 min. The polyphenol content in artichoke bud was 5.32 ± 0.13 mg/g, and the polysaccharide content was 74.78 ± 0.11 mg/g. An experiment on in vitro antioxidant activity showed that both carbohydrates and polyphenols had strong antioxidant activities, and the antioxidant activity of polyphenols was stronger than that of carbohydrates. The HPLC analysis revealed that the carbohydrates in artichoke bud were mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, and arabinose, and the molar ratio was 10.77:25.22:2.37:15.74:125.39:48.62:34.70. The polyphenols comprised chlorogenic acid, 4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, caffeic acid, 1,3-dicaffeoylqunic acid, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid A, cynarin, and isochlorogenic acid C, and the contents were 0.503, 0.029, 0.022, 0.017, 0.008, 0.162, 1.621, 0.030 mg/g, respectively. This study also showed that the carbohydrates and polyphenols in artichoke bud could be important natural antioxidants, and the composition analysis of HPLC provided directions for their future research. Carbohydrates and polyphenols in artichoke buds can be separated and enriched using the optimized process technology, and it is an effective means of extracting ingredients from plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some cases, the oil shale deposited in shallow lakes may be genetically associated with the coal-bearing successions. Although paleovegetation is an important controlling factor for the formation of oil shale- and coal-bearing successions, few studies have focused on their joint characterization. In this study, a total of twenty-one oil shale and coal samples were collected from the upper member of the Lower Cretaceous Muling Formation (K1ml2) in the Laoheishan Basin, and investigated for their bulk geochemical, maceral, palynological, and terpenoid biomarker characteristics, in order to reconstruct the paleovegetation and reveal its influence on the formation of oil shale and coal. The K1ml2 is subdivided into lower, middle, and upper units. The studied oil shale samples from the lower and upper units display a high ash yield (Ad), low total organic carbon (TOC) and sulfur (S) contents, and limited hydrocarbon generation potential. The studied coal samples from the middle unit are characterized by low Ad, and high TOC and low S values, and show significant hydrocarbon generation potential. The paleovegetation during the formation of the lower unit was dominated by mire vegetation, such as shrubs (e.g., Lygodiaceae, Schizaeaceae), tree ferns (e.g., Dicksoniaceae/Cyatheaceae), and coniferous trees (e.g., Podocarpaceae). In the middle unit interval, the paleovegetation was represented by highland vegetation (Pinaceae and Araucariaceae) and peat-forming coniferous plants (e.g., Podocarpaceae, Cupressaceae/Taxodiaceae). Various vegetation, such as herbs (e.g., Osmundaceae), shrubs (e.g., Schizaeaceae), and coniferous trees (e.g., Podocarpaceae) was prosperous during the upper unit interval. Coniferous trees could provide abundant hydrogen-rich materials (e.g., resins) to the mire/lake, which may elevate the hydrogen content in peat/lake sediments, and finally result in higher hydrocarbon generation potential in the coal than in the oil shale. Therefore, the influence of paleovegetation on the formation of oil shale and coal should be fully considered when studying oil shale- and coal-bearing successions. The results also provide guidance for further exploration studies on oil shale and coal in northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tectonic features on the Moon can reflect the state of stress during the formation of the structure, and sinuous rilles can provide further insight into the tectonic-thermal evolution of the Moon. Manual visual interpretation is the primary method for extracting these linear structures due to their complex morphology. However, extracting these features from the vast amount of lunar remote sensing data requires significant time and effort from researchers, especially for small-scale tectonic features, such as wrinkle ridges, lobate scarps, and high-relief ridges. In order to enhance the efficiency of linear structure detection, this paper conducts research on the automatic detection method of linear structures using sinuous rilles as an example case. In this paper, a multimodal semantic segmentation method, "Sinuous Rille Network (SR-Net)", for detecting sinuous rilles is proposed based on DeepLabv3+. This method combines advanced techniques such as ECA-ResNet and dynamic feature fusion. Compared to other networks, such as PSPNet, ResUNet, and DeepLabv3+, SR-Net demonstrates superior precision (95.20%) and recall (92.18%) on the multimodal sinuous rille test set. The trained SR-Net was applied in detecting lunar sinuous rilles within the range of 60°S to 60°N latitude. A new catalogue of sinuous rilles was generated based on the results of the detection process. The methodology proposed in this paper is not confined to the detection of sinuous rilles; with further improvements, it can be extended to the detection of other linear structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of autonomous vehicles, the demand for reliable positioning results is urgent. Currently, the ground vehicles heavily depend on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and the Inertial Navigation System (INS) providing reliable and continuous navigation solutions. In dense urban areas, especially narrow streets with tall buildings, the GNSS signals are possibly blocked by the surrounding tall buildings, and under this condition, the geometry distribution of the in-view satellites is very poor, and the None-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) and Multipath (MP) heavily affects the positioning accuracy. Further, the INS positioning errors will quickly diverge over time without the GNSS correction. Aiming at improving the position accuracy under signal challenging environment, in this paper, we developed an MIMU(Micro Inertial Measurement Unit)/Odometer integration system with vehicle state constraints (MO-C) for improving the vehicle positioning accuracy without GNSS. MIMU/Odometer integration model and the constrained measurements are given in detail. Several field tests were carried out for evaluating and assessing the MO-C system. The experiments were divided into two parts, firstly, field testing with data post-processing and real-time processing was carried out for fully assessing the performance of the MO-C system. Secondly, the MO-C was implemented in the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS)/integrated navigation system (INS) for evaluating the MO-C performance during the BDS signal outage. The MIMU standalone positioning accuracy was compared with that from the MIMU/Odometer integration (MO), MO-C and MIMU with constraints (M-C) for assessing the Odometer, and the influence of the constraint on the positioning errors reduction. The results showed that the latitude and longitude errors could be suppressed with Odometer assisting, and the height errors were suppressed while the state constraints were included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) plays an important role in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) growth and development; however, long-term effects of N application levels on cane and sugar production in different sugarcane cultivars under field conditions remain unclear. In this study, we investigate the agronomic, yield, and quality traits in three sugarcane cultivars (GT11, B9, and ROC22) under different N levels (0, 150, and 300 kg/ha urea) from 2015 to 2019. Continuous four-year field experiments of plant and ratoon crops were carried out by using two-factor split-plot design. The results showed that N fertilizer application improved the tillering rate, stalk diameter, plant height, stalk weight, millable stalks/ha, cane yield, sugar yield and juice rate of cane, and the difference between N application and non-N application was significant. The cane yield, millable stalks/ha, juice rate, and juice gravity purity increased with the increase of N application, but the milled juice brix and sucrose % cane decreased with the increase of N application. The sugar yield was the highest at 150 kg/ha urea application, while the cane yield was the highest at 300 kg/ha urea application. Different N fertilizer application levels significantly regulated the activities of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and the contents of chlorophyll and nitrate N in plant leaves, which reflected the regulation in nitrogen metabolism and alteration in dry matter production and distribution, cane yield and sugar accumulation in different sugarcane cultivars. During the four-year experiment duration, the cane yield and sugar yield generally showed ROC22 > B9 > GT11. These data suggested that 300 kg/ha urea application was suitable for the plant and first ratoon crops, and 150 kg/ha urea application was suitable for the second and third ratoon crops. Both cane and sugar yields could be the highest in a four-year production cycle under this circumstance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidirectional isothermal forging (MDIF) was used on a Ti-44Al-4Nb-1.5Cr-0.5Mo-0.2B (at. %) alloy to obtain a crack-free pancake. The microstructural evolution, such as dynamic recovery and recrystallization behavior, were investigated using electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy methods. The MDIF broke down the initial near-lamellar microstructure and produced a refined and homogeneous duplex microstructure. γ grains were effectively refined from 3.6 μm to 1.6 μm after the second step of isothermal forging. The ultimate tensile strength at ambient temperature and the elongation at 800 °C increased significantly after isothermal forging. β/B2→α2 transition occurred during intermediate annealing, and α2 + γ→β/B2 transition occurred during the second step of isothermal forging. The refinement mechanism of the first-step isothermal forging process involved the conversion of the lamellar structure and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) of γ grains in the original mixture-phase region. The lamellar conversion included continuous dynamic recrystallization and DDRX of the γ laths and bugling of the γ phase. DDRX behavior of γ grains dominated the refinement mechanism of the second step of isothermal forging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that cell morphology plays a vital role in the mechanical properties of the closed-cell aluminum foam. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) realistic structure was obtained by using the synchrotron X-ray micro-tomography technique and then translated into a numerical model for a further finite-element simulation. In order to investigate the early compressive deformation in the closed-cell aluminum foam, we chose three different strain levels, namely, 0.2% (initiation of plastic strain), 2.8% (propagation of plastic strain band), and 6% (formation of collapse band) to discuss the evolution forms of plastic strain concentration by simulation. We found that the curvature, anisotropy, and distribution of cell volume of adjacent cells played a vital role in the initiation of plastic strain. Furthermore, the phenomenon that plastic strain band propagated along the direction aligned 45° with respect to the orientation of the compression was also investigated in the propagation of the plastic strain band and formation of the collapse band. Finally, the comparison between experimental results and simulation results was performed to illustrate the early location of these three different levels in the whole compressive deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flame retardancy of asphalt binders with layered double hydroxides (LDHs) was investigated using limiting oxygen index (LOI) and cone calorimeter tests. The flame-retardant mechanism of the LDHs was also studied with thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The cone calorimeter testing results indicated that 2 wt.% of the LDHs can decease the peak heat and smoke release rate of asphalt binders. Because a low dose of LDHs can be well dispersed in asphalt binder and favor the formation of polyaromatic structures during combustion, the thermal oxidation resistance and compactness of the char layer can be improved. The LOI of asphalt binder can be increased and the heat and smoke release during combustion can be decreased with 25 wt.% LDHs. The decomposition of LDHs can absorb the heat release of the initial two stages of asphalt combustion and reduce the burning rate of asphalt. Due to the loss of loosely bound water in the LDHs during the blending process and the decrease of dispersibility at a high LDH dose, the improvement of thermal stability is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A KF/γ-Al2O3 solid base catalyst was prepared by wet impregnation and applied to the synthesis of eugenol ethyl ether (EEE) from eugenol and diethyl carbonate. By measuring the yield of eugenol ethyl ether, we investigated the effects of the catalyst active component, impregnation temperature, KF impregnation concentration, impregnation time, and calcination temperature on catalyst performance. The results showed that the KF/γ-Al2O3 catalyst can adequately facilitate the conversion of eugenol to EEE. The characterizations of the catalysts were examined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characterizations of EEE were examined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (H1-NMR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). It was found that the KF/Al2O3 catalyst (impregnation temperature 60 °C, KF impregnation concentration 40%, impregnation time 8 h, and calcination temperature 450 °C) showed the best effect. The yield of EEE remained 51.2% after recycling the supported catalyst three times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of changes in forest coverage is crucial for managing protected forest areas, particularly in the face of climate change. This study monitored forest cover dynamics in a 6535 ha mountain area located in north-west Romania as part of the Apuseni Natural Park from 2003 to 2019. Two approaches were used: vectorization from orthophotos and Google Earth images (in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019) and satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM, 7 ETM, and 8 OLI) pre-processed to Surface Reflectance (SR) format from the same years. We employed four standard classifiers: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), and three combined methods: Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) with Natural Breaks (NB), Otsu Method (OM) and SVM, to extract and classify forest areas. Our study had two objectives: (1) to accurately assess changes in forest cover over a 17-year period and (2) to determine the most efficient methods for extracting and classifying forest areas. We validated the results using performance metrics that quantify both thematic and spatial accuracy. Our results indicate a 9% loss of forest cover in the study area, representing 577 ha with an average decrease ratio of 33.9 ha/year−1. Of all the methods used, SVM produced the best results (with an average score of 88% for Overall Quality (OQ)), followed by RF (with a mean value of 86% for OQ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthraquinone dyes are the second most important type of dyes after azo dyes. In particular, 1-aminoanthraquinone has been extensively utilized in the preparation of diverse anthraquinone dyes. This study employed a continuous-flow method to synthesize 1-aminoanthraquinone safely and efficiently through the ammonolysis of 1-nitroanthraquinone at high temperatures. Various conditions (reaction temperature, residence time, molar ratio of ammonia to 1-nitroanthraquinone (M-ratio), and water content) were investigated to explore the details of the ammonolysis reaction behavior. Operation conditions for the continuous-flow ammonolysis were optimized using Box–Behnken design in the response surface methodology, and ~88% yield of 1-aminoanthraquinone could be achieved with an M-ratio of 4.5 at 213 °C and 4.3 min. The developed process's reliability was evaluated by performing a 4 h process stability test. The kinetic behavior for the preparation of 1-aminoanthraquinone was investigated under continuous-flow mode to guide the reactor design and to gain a deeper understanding of the ammonolysis process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chromobox (CBX) proteins are essential components of polycomb group proteins and perform essential functions in bladder cancer (BLCA). However, research on CBX proteins is still limited, and the function of CBXs in BLCA has not been well illustrated. Methods and Results: We analyzed the expression of CBX family members in BLCA patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. By Cox regression analysis and survival analysis, CBX6 and CBX7 were identified as potential prognostic factors. Subsequently, we identified genes associated with CBX6/7 and performed enrichment analysis, and they were enriched in urothelial carcinoma and transitional carcinoma. Mutation rates of TP53 and TTN correlate with expression of CBX6/7. In addition, differential analysis indicated that the roles played by CBX6 and CBX7 may be related to immune checkpoints. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to screen out immune cells that play a role in the prognosis of bladder cancer patients. Multiplex immunohistochemistry staining confirmed a negative correlation between CBX6 and M1 macrophages, as well as a consistent alteration in CBX6 and regulatory T cells (Tregs), a positive correlation between CBX7 and resting mast cells, and a negative correlation between CBX7 and M0 macrophages. Conclusions: CBX6 and CBX7 expression levels may assist in predicting the prognosis of BLCA patients. CBX6 may contribute to a poor prognosis in patients by inhibiting M1 polarization and promoting Treg recruitment in the tumor microenvironment, while CBX7 may contribute to a better prognosis in patients by increasing resting mast cell numbers and decreasing macrophage M0 content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate the energy crisis and propel a low-carbon economy, hydrogen (H2) plays an important role as a renewable cleaning resource. To break the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) bottleneck, we need high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Based on the synergistic effect between bimetallic oxides, hierarchical mesoporous CoNiO2 nanosheets can be fabricated. Combining physical representations with electrochemical measurements, the resultant CoNiO2 catalysts present the hierarchical microflowers morphology assembled by mesoporous nanosheets. The ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets and porous surface characteristics provide the vast channels for electrolyte injection, thus endowing CoNiO2 the outstanding HER performance. The excellent performance with a fewer onset potential of 94 mV, a smaller overpotential at 10 mA cm−2, a lower Tafel slope of 109 mV dec−1 and better stability after 1000 cycles makes CoNiO2 better than that of metallic Co and metallic Ni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The relationship between m1A-related lncRNAs and HCC is still unclear. In this study, five m1A-related lncRNAs (AL031985.3, NRAV, WAC-AS1, AC026412.3, and AC099850.4) were identified and used to develop a prognostic signature. The prognostic signature was an independent risk factor related to OS in HCC patients. Synergistic effects on patient survival were observed after combining with TP53 or TMB. In addition, we also screened small molecules which could be potential drugs for HCC patients. Our results suggested that five m1A-related lncRNAs generated a prognostic signature that could be a promising prognostic prediction approach and therapeutic response assessment tool for HCC patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of m1A-related lncRNAs in HCC. N1-methyladenosine (m1A) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, their association with HCC is still unclear. In this study, lncRNAs related to m1A were extracted from the mRNA expression matrix in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Five m1A-related lncRNAs (AL031985.3, NRAV, WAC-AS1, AC026412.3, and AC099850.4) were identified based on lasso Cox regression and they generated a prognostic signature of HCC. The prognostic signature was identified as an independent prognosis factor in HCC patients. Moreover, the prognostic signature achieved better performance than TP53 mutation status or tumor mutational burden (TMB) scores in the stratification of patient survival. The immune landscape indicated that most immune checkpoint genes and immune cells were distributed differently between both risk groups. A higher IC50 of chemotherapeutics (sorafenib, nilotinib, sunitinib, and gefitinib) was observed in the high-risk group, and a lower IC50 of gemcitabine in the low-risk group, suggesting the potential of the prognostic signature in chemosensitivity. In addition, fifty-five potential small molecular drugs were found based on drug sensitivity and NRAV expression. Together, five m1A-related lncRNAs generated a prognostic signature that could be a promising prognostic prediction approach and therapeutic response assessment tool for HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of material removal strategies and initial stress states on the machining deformation of aluminum alloy plates were investigated through a combination of finite element simulation and experiments. We developed different machining strategies described by Tm+Bn, which removal m mm materials form top and n mm materials from the bottom of the plate. The results demonstrate that the maximum deformation of structural components with the T10+B0 machining strategy could reach 1.94 mm, whereas with the T3+B7 machining strategy was only 0.065 mm, decreasing by more than 95%. The asymmetric initial stress state had a significant impact on the machining deformation of the thick plate. The machined deformation of thick plates increased with the increase in the initial stress state. The concavity of the thick plates changed with the T3+B7 machining strategy due to the asymmetry of the stress level. The deformation of frame parts was smaller when the frame opening was facing the high-stress level surface during machining than when it was facing the low-stress level. Moreover, the modeling results for the stress state and machining deformation were accurate and in good accordance with the experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering practical application and commercialization, the research of non-toxic and stable halide perovskite and its application in the field of photoelectric detection have received great attention. However, there are relatively few studies on deep ultraviolet photodetectors, and the perovskite films prepared by traditional spin-coating method have disadvantages such as uneven grain size and irregular agglomeration, which limit their device performance. Herein, uniform and ordered Cs3Cu2I5 nanonet arrays are fabricated based on monolayer colloidal crystal (MCC) templates prepared with 1 μm polystyrene (PS) spheres, which enhance light-harvesting ability. Furthermore, the performance of the lateral photodetector (PD) is significantly enhanced when using Cs3Cu2I5 nanonet compared to the pure Cs3Cu2I5 film. Under deep ultraviolet light, the Cs3Cu2I5 nanonet PD exhibits a high light responsivity of 1.66 AW−1 and a high detection up to 2.48 × 1012 Jones. Meanwhile, the unencapsulated PD has almost no response to light above 330 nm and shows remarkable stability. The above results prove that Cs3Cu2I5 nanonet can be a great potential light-absorbing layer for solar-blind deep ultraviolet PD, which can be used as light absorption layer of UV solar cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial progress has been made in perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), but the fabrication of high-performance blue PeLEDs still remains a challenge due to its low efficiency, spectral instability and short operational lifetime. How to produce an efficient and stable blue PeLED is the key to realizing the application of PeLEDs in full-color displays. We herein report a blue PeLED usint the ligand-assisted reprecipitation method, in which phenylethylammonium bromide (PEABr) was used as ligands, and chloroform was used as anti-solvent to prepare blue perovskite nanocrystal films. By increasing the PEABr content from 40% to 100% (The ratio of x% PEABr refers to the molar ratio between PEABr and PbBr2), the film quality is highly improved, and the emission exhibits a blue shift. Introducing a poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) hole transport layer into the device, the PVK layer can not only achieve efficient hole injection, but can also isolate the PEDOT: PSS layer to inhibit the non-radiative recombination of metal halide luminescence layer, reduce surface ion defects and successfully inhibit halide atom migration. Finally, the PeLED presents a stable electroluminescence under different driving voltages without any red shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific duration between the impact event and subsequent volcanic flows is highly variable based on previous works. The method of crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) has been previously used to date the basalt in Orientale Basin, which yielded inconsistent resultant Absolute Model Age (AMA) ranges. The inconsistency may be attributed to the choice of counting area and identified superposed craters. In this study, we integrated the Chang'E-2 (CE-2) imaging data (7 m/pix) and the IIM and 20 m CE-2 DTMS data, re-divided Mare Orientale, and re-estimated the age of the basalts there. The ages revealed that (1) the central basalts had multiphase eruptions, beginning at 3.77 Ga (30 My after the impact event) with the longest duration of 1.51 Gy; (2) the edge basalts have a similar features as the central basalts, beginning at 3.75–3.50 Ga (50–300 My after the impact) with the longest duration of 0.67 Gy. Compared with the basalts along the basinal margin, the central basalts have higher Ti but lower Mg# contents, consistent with the basaltic magma fractionation trend. Spatial distribution characteristics indicate that the basalt eruption occurred in the impact direction upstream and in the center, but almost absent in the impact direction downstream. Accordingly, we speculate that the longevity of the lunar mare basaltic volcanism was affected by gravity changes, material balance, and other post-impact processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condition monitoring is used to assess the reliability and equipment efficiency of wind turbines. Feature extraction is an essential preprocessing step to achieve a high level of performance in condition monitoring. However, the fluctuating conditions of wind turbines usually cause sudden variations in the monitored features, which may lead to an inaccurate prediction and maintenance schedule. In this scenario, this article proposed a novel methodology to detect the multiple levels of faults of rolling bearings in variable operating conditions. First, signal decomposition was carried out by variational mode decomposition (VMD). Second, the statistical features were calculated and extracted in the time domain. Meanwhile, a permutation entropy analysis was conducted to estimate the complexity of the vibrational signal in the time series. Next, feature selection techniques were applied to achieve improved identification accuracy and reduce the computational burden. Finally, the ranked feature vectors were fed into machine learning algorithms for the classification of the bearing defect status. In particular, the proposed method was performed over a wide range of working regions to simulate the operational conditions of wind turbines. Comprehensive experimental investigations were employed to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) noodles are a traditional Chinese food with a high nutritional value; however, starch adulteration is a big concern. The objective of this study was to develop a reliable method for the rapid detection of cassava (Manihot esculenta) components in sweet potato noodles to protect consumers from commercial adulteration. Five specific Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of cassava were designed, genomic DNA was extracted, the LAMP reaction system was optimized, and the specificity of the primers was verified with genomic DNA of cassava, Ipomoea batatas, Zea mays, and Solanum tuberosum; the detection limit was determined with a serial dilution of adulterated sweet potato starch with cassava starch, and the real-time LAMP method for the detection of the cassava-derived ingredient in sweet potato noodles was established. The results showed that the real-time LAMP method can accurately and specifically detect the cassava component in sweet potato noodles with a detection limit of 1%. Furthermore, the LAMP assay was validated using commercial sweet potato noodle samples, and results showed that 57.7% of sweet potato noodle products (30/52) from retail markets were adulterated with cassava starch in China. This study provides a promising solution for facilitating the surveillance of the commercial adulteration of sweet potato noodles from retail markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of Ti-aluminide multi-layered composites have attracted great attention for their excellent mechanical properties, such as high specific strength, high specific stiffness, tolerable toughness, and low density. The preparation of the composite produced by a hybrid procedure composed of Vacuum Hot Pressing (VHP) and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) using Ti foils and Al foils has been performed. Further, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDXS) were carried out to identify the microstructure and phase formation of the composite. In addition, an in-situ three-point bending test was conducted on the notched specimen to observe the crack propagation behavior carefully. The results indicate that the densified composite was obtained without any apparent voids and pores which could undesirably develop into the source of cracks. Furthermore, all the pure Al foils were totally consumed to form a series of the Ti-Al compounds through the diffusive reaction between the adjacent Ti and Al foils. Moreover, the in-situ observation demonstrates the initiation and propagation of cracks in the intermetallic layers and the role of residual Ti layers to blunt and bridge the cracks by their plastic deformation. This study provides a new strategy for fabricating the Ti-aluminide multi-layered composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) are highly conserved proteins that are involved in the translocation of tRNA and play a key role in modulating plant senescence and multiple pathways. However, the functions of VDACs in plants are still poorly understood. Here, a novel VDAC gene was isolated and identified from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). MsVDAC localized to the mitochondria, and its expression was highest in alfalfa roots and was induced in response to cold, drought and salt treatment. Overexpression of MsVDAC in tobacco significantly increased MDA, GSH, soluble sugars, soluble protein and proline contents under cold and drought stress. However, the activities of SOD and POD decreased in transgenic tobacco under cold stress, while the O2- content increased. Stress-responsive genes including LTP1, ERD10B and Hxk3 were upregulated in the transgenic plants under cold and drought stress. However, GAPC, CBL1, BI-1, Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD were upregulated only in the transgenic tobacco plants under cold stress, and GAPC, CBL1, and BI-1 were downregulated under drought stress. These results suggest that MsVDAC provides cold tolerance by regulating ROS scavenging, osmotic homeostasis and stress-responsive gene expression in plants, but the improved drought tolerance via MsVDAC may be mainly due to osmotic homeostasis and stress-responsive genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is considered as a prospective indicator of vegetation photosynthetic activity and the ecosystem carbon cycle. The current coarse spatial-temporal resolutions of SIF data from satellite missions and ground measurements still cannot satisfy the corroboration of its correlation with photosynthesis and carbon flux. Practical approaches are needed to be explored for the supplementation of the SIF measurements. In our study, we clarified the diurnal variations of leaf and canopy chlorophyll fluorescence for a subtropical evergreen coniferous forest and evaluated the performance of the canopy chlorophyll concentration (CCC) approach and the backward approach from gross primary production (GPP) for estimating the diurnal variations of canopy SIF by comparing with the Soil Canopy Observation Photosynthesis Energy (SCOPE) model. The results showed that the canopy SIF had similar seasonal and diurnal variations with the incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) above the canopy, while the leaf steady-state fluorescence remained stable during the daytime. Neither the CCC nor the raw backward approach from GPP could capture the short temporal dynamics of canopy SIF. However, after improving the backward approach with a correction factor of normalized PAR incident on leaves, the variation of the estimated canopy SIF accounted for more than half of the diurnal variations in the canopy SIF (SIF687: R2 = 0.53, p < 0.001; SIF760: R2 = 0.72, p < 0.001) for the subtropical evergreen coniferous forest without water stress. Drought interfered with the utilization of the improved backward approach because of the decoupling of SIF and GPP due to stomatal closure. This new approach offers new insight into the estimation of diurnal canopy SIF and can help understand the photosynthesis of vegetation for future climate change studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrolytes are involved in the thermal runaway (TR) process of cells, which is a potential hazard in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Therefore, the effects of different mass ratio of carbonate solvents (ethylene carbonate (EC)/propylene carbonate (PC)/ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC)) with LiBF4 and different environmental pressure on the combustion characteristics of electrolyte such as flame centerline temperature, mass loss rate (MLR) and heat release rate (HRR) were analyzed. The combustion process could be divided into four stages: ignition, stable combustion stage, stable combustion with flame color change stage and extinguishing; with the decrease of pressure, the MLR of electrolyte declined and the combustion time prolonged, while the temperature of flame centerline increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]