Search

Background: The induced repolarization of tumor growth-promoting M2 macrophages into tumor growth-inhibiting M1 macrophages is a matter of intensive research and is expected to lead towards a novel targetable approach in HCC therapy. Methods: Differentially expressed M2 macrophage-related genes between normal and tumor samples with high and low M2 macrophage infiltration in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and TCGA datasets were identified. A risk score was constructed based on univariate Cox analysis and LASSO-penalized Cox regression analysis. The relationship between the different risk score groups and clinical pathological characteristics as well as immune infiltration characteristics was studied. Subsequently, a nomogram was constructed to predict patients’ prognosis. Western blot and RT-qPCR were carried out to validate the results in human HCC samples. Results: Increased M2 macrophage infiltration was associated with a shorter overall survival (OS). Four important M2 macrophage-related genes (SLC22A1, CPS1, SLC10A1, CYP2C9) were discovered to be strongly correlated with OS and M2 macrophage infiltration. A nomogram incorporating the signature and tumor stage was developed for final clinical translation. Conclusions: SLC22A1, CPS1, SLC10A1 and CYP2C9 genes are associated with tumor-promoting M2 macrophage infiltration and might be potential targets for macrophage-related immunotherapy in HCC patients. Further, this four-gene signature is a potential tool for predicting prognosis in these patients.

Reducing fertilizer-N rate, applying a nitrification inhibitor (NI), and incorporating straw are widely recommended to improve N use efficiency of crops and decrease N losses. A field 15N tracer study was conducted to compare their effectiveness on fertilizer-N fates during the maize growing season in Northeast China. The following six treatments were used: (1) no N fertilization (control); (2) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 (100%N); (3) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 and straw (100%N + S); (4) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 (80%N); (5) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 and NI (Nitrapyrin in this study) (80%N + NI); and (6) 160 kg urea-N ha−1, NI, and straw (80%N + NI + S). The results showed that the five N fertilization treatments yielded 16–25% more grain and 39–60% more crop N uptake than the control, but the differences among the five treatments were not statistically significant. Compared with the 100%N, 20% fertilizer-N reduction (80%N) decreased the 15N concentration in topsoil and plant pools but increased the proportion of plant 15N recovery at harvesting (NUE15N, 60% vs. 50%). Compared with the 80%N, NI co-application (80%N + NI) delayed soil nitrification and increased soil 15N retention at harvesting (52% vs. 36%), thereby decreasing NUE15N significantly. Straw incorporation decreased fertilizer-N retention in soil compared with NI co-application because it promoted NUE15N significantly. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that NI and straw additions are efficient strategies for stabilizing fertilizer-N in soils and potentially minimizing N loss; however, their effects on NUE15N vary and the related mechanism must be further clarified in long-term trials.

This study investigates the application of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) for crack depth estimation in cylindrical structures, focusing on two approaches: reference measurement and dual measurement. It addresses the challenge of applying UPV to curved surfaces, a scenario less studied than that of flat surfaces. The paper details the modification of UPV methodologies to account for curvature, presenting analytic solutions and numerical validations for both approaches. The findings reveal that curvature-adjusted equations yield accurate crack depth estimations, enhancing the reliability of UPV in diverse structural contexts. The study contributes to safer and more effective structural health monitoring, particularly in cylindrical infrastructures like columns and foundations.

In coal seam groups where the spacing between the upper and lower seams is small, the lower seam working face is significantly influenced by residual coal pillars from the upper seam and the void spaces created during mining. This presents considerable challenges for underground mining safety. Through field investigations, the layout of the coal seam quarry above the working face of the 3−1 coal seam in Yanghuopan Mine was examined, along with the distribution of the residual coal pillars. This allowed for the identification of the interlayer rock strata characteristics. Subsequently, we analyzed the mechanism of directional hydraulic fracturing and decompression to determine the key parameters of the 3−1 coal seam. Using the Rock Fracture Process Analysis 3D (RFPA 3D) numerical simulation, we evaluated the effects of various factors on the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fracturing-induced cracks, formulated the evolution law of these fractures, and incorporated the damage variables into the analysis. Additionally, we assessed the influence of different parameters on crack initiation and extension during hydraulic fracturing, using RFPA 3D simulations to derive the evolution law governing directional hydraulic fractures. This allowed us to define the hydraulic fracturing parameters for the 3−1 interbedded rock layers by integrating the process parameter calculations with the damage variables. Based on these findings, an on-site implementation plan was developed and executed, followed by a comprehensive evaluation of the construction results. The study concludes that directional hydraulic fracturing and decompression effectively contribute to the prevention and control of roof-related disasters in the mining of lower coal seams where seam spacing is minimal. This research offers valuable theoretical insights and practical reference for disaster prevention and control in similar geological conditions.

The diel vertical variations of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration are thought of primarily as an external manifestation of regulating phytoplankton’s biomass, which is essential for dynamically estimating the biogeochemical cycle in inland waters. However, information on these variations is limited due to insufficient measurements. Undersampled observations lead to delayed responses in phytoplankton assessment, impacting accurate evaluations of carbon export and water quality in dynamic inland waters. Here, we report the first lidar-observed diel vertical variations of inland Chl-a concentration. Strong agreement with r2 of 0.83 and a root mean square relative difference (RMSRD) of 9.0% between the lidar-retrieved and in situ measured Chl-a concentration verified the feasibility of the Mie–fluorescence–Raman lidar (MFRL). An experiment conducted at a fixed observatory demonstrated the lidar-observed diel Chl-a concentration variations. The results showed that diel variations of Chl-a and the formation of subsurface phytoplankton layers were driven by light availability and variations in water temperature. Furthermore, the facilitation from solar radiation-regulated water temperature on the phytoplankton growth rate was revealed by the high correlation between water temperature and Chl-a concentration anomalies. Lidar technology is expected to provide new insights into continuous three-dimension observations and be of great importance in dynamic inland water ecosystems.

The forming quality of profiled ring rolling not only encompasses macroscopic accuracy but also emphasizes the microstructure. Due to the multiple process parameters and complex metal flow during profiled ring rolling, the various forming defects are difficult to control and difficult to study theoretically. The objective of this study is to establish a comprehensive method for evaluating the forming quality of profiled rings, which considers both the macroscopic forming accuracy and the microstructure. Firstly, the synthetic size factor was defined, and the evolutionary relation between the section forming rate and the diameter growth rate of E-section ring rolling was analyzed in detail. The synthetic size factor can be used to describe the dimensional evolution and evaluate the forming accuracy of the profiled ring rolling process. Taking into full consideration the features of intermittent deformation in local areas, a microstructure evolution model of the Inconel718 alloy during E-section ring rolling, which can accurately predict the recrystallization volume fraction and average grain size of the final ring, was established. Then, combined with finite element simulation, the influence of the rotation speed of the driving roll on the macro-size evolution and microstructure was systematically analyzed. The results indicate that there is often a discrepancy between dimensional accuracy and microstructure uniformity in the optimization trend. For instance, the higher the rotation speed of the driving roll is, the more uniform the microstructure is, but the more difficult it is for the section profile to form. Finally, combined with response surface methodology (RSM), multi-parameter optimization was carried out with section forming accuracy and grain uniformity as the optimization objectives. By using the optimal parameters, an E-section ring with a complete profile and a uniform microstructure was obtained, with a maximum prediction error of the recrystallization volume fraction lower than 5%. The results show that the macroscopic and microscopic quality evaluation methods proposed in this study, as well as the optimization method combining RSM, can be effectively applied to the process optimization of profiled ring rolling.

In order to improve the dynamic performance during the startup process of hydropower units, while considering the efficient and stable speed increase and effective suppression of water pressure fluctuations and mechanical vibrations, optimization algorithms must be used to select the optimal parameters for the system. However, in current research, various multi-objective optimization algorithms still have limitations in terms of target space coverage and diversity maintenance in parameter optimization during the startup process of hydraulic turbines. To explore and verify the optimal algorithms and parameters for the startup process of hydraulic turbines, multiple multi-objective optimization strategies are proposed in this study. Under the condition of constructing a fine-tuned nonlinear model of the control system, this paper focuses on three key indicators: the absolute integral of the speed deviation, the absolute integral of the snail shell water pressure fluctuation, and the relative value of the maximum axial water thrust. Through comparative analysis of the multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm (MOPSO), variant multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm (VMOPSO), multi-objective sine cosine algorithm (MOSCA), multi-objective biogeography algorithm (MOBBO), multi-objective gravity search algorithm (MOGAS), and improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm (IMOPSO), the obtained optimal parameters are compared and analyzed to select the optimal multi-objective optimization strategy, and the most suitable parameters for actual working conditions are selected through a comprehensive weighting method. The results show that, compared to the local optimal solution problem caused by other optimization algorithms, the improved multi-objective optimization method significantly reduces water pressure fluctuations and mechanical vibrations while ensuring stable speed improvement, achieving better control performance. The optimization results have significant guiding significance for ensuring the smooth operation and safety of hydropower units, and provide strong support for making operational decisions.

Micafungin (MFG) is a widely used echinocandin antifungal agent for treating invasive candidiasis, particularly in critically ill patients. However, its pharmacokinetics can be highly variable in this population. This systematic review aims to summarize population pharmacokinetic models and provide recommendations for its use in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Monte Carlo simulations were implemented to compare pharmacokinetic parameters and probability of target attainment (PTA) against various Candida species. A total of 16 studies were included, of which 6 studies were conducted in adult ICU patients. The key covariates were body size, liver function, and sepsis-related organ failure assessment score (SOFA) score. The median MFG clearance in adult ICU patients was 30–51% higher than in adult non-ICU patients. For infections with C. albican with MIC below 0.016 mg/L, micafungin dosages of 100 and 150 mg/d were recommended for adult non-ICU and ICU patients, respectively. For C. tropicalis and C. glabrata, 200 and 250 mg/d were recommended, respectively. However, for C. krusei and C. parapsilosis, none of the tested dosage regimens achieved assumed PTA criteria within MIC ranges of 0.125–0.25 mg/L and 0.125–2 mg/L, respectively. Therefore, MFG dosage regimens in ICU and non-ICU patients should be tailored based on the Candida spp. and their respective MIC values.

Pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) are widely used in the heat dissipation of electronic components, waste heat recovery, solar energy utilization, etc., relying on the pulsating flow of the work material in the pipe and the heat transfer by phase change, and they have the advantages of high heat-transfer efficiency, simple structure, and low cost. In this paper, an experimental method is used to adjust the length of local pipes in the PHP structure, so that the PHP forms a high- and low-staggered asymmetric structure, and to study the effects of different liquid charging rates and heat-source temperatures on the vibration, startup, and operation of the PHP in the asymmetric structure. We found the following: it is difficult to start up and operate the workpiece at 10%, 68%, and 80% liquid charging rates; the effect of the oscillating impact is worse; the temperature difference between the evaporation section of the pulsating heat pipe and condensation section is larger; and the temperature difference between the evaporation section and condensation section is larger. The temperature difference between the evaporation section and condensation section of the pulsating heat pipe is large, the temperature difference is between 10~25 °C, and it is difficult to achieve a small temperature difference in heat transfer. When the liquid charging rate is 30% and 50%, the pulsating heat pipe oscillates better; the pulsation frequency is relatively high; and the temperature difference between the end of the cold and hot sections is small, the temperature difference is between 3 and 7 °C, and the performance of heat transfer is better. However, when the liquid charging rate is 30% and the heat source is 70 °C, the thermal resistance is increased to 0.016 K/W, and the equivalent thermal conductivity is reduced. When the performance of heat transfer is changed to 0.016 K/W and the equivalent thermal conductivity is reduced, the coefficient decreases, and the heat-transfer performance becomes weaker.

Taipei mass rapid transit (MRT), operational since 1996, serves up to two million passengers daily. Equipment malfunctions pose a safety risk, making the dual goals of cost reduction and safety a significant challenge. Recently, outsourcing non-core technical tasks has emerged as an effective cost-control strategy, allowing resource allocation to employee salaries and operational efficiency. This study uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) to prioritize outsourcing for electromechanical equipment. It incorporates analysis from the outsourcing literature, historical data, and ISO documents from Taipei MRT. The research included interviews and surveys with seven senior managers, using software to analyze the outsourcing priorities of four key systems: electrical and fire safety, environmental air conditioning, escalators and elevators, and power supply. It suggests prioritizing environmental air conditioning, followed by power supply systems, escalators and elevators, and electrical and fire safety systems. Additionally, this study employed the FAHP and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for the rigorous evaluation and monitoring of vendor selection to ensure quality service and effective contract execution. By comparing technical expertise, problem-solving capabilities, certifications, response times, and contractual performance, this study identified the most suitable vendors. It concludes with recommendations for Taipei MRT to enhance maintenance quality and reduce costs.

In this paper, we mainly study free U(h)-modules over the N=1 Heisenberg–Virasoro superalgebra. We construct a family of non-weight modules that are free of rank 2 when regarded as modules over the Cartan subalgebra. Moreover, we classify the free U(h)-modules of rank 2 over the N = 1 Heisenberg–Virasoro superalgebra and provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for such g-modules to be isomorphic.

Aiming at the problem that it is difficult to effectively characterize the operation status of hydropower units with a single vibration signal feature under the influence of multiple factors such as water–machine–electricity coupling, a multidimensional fusion feature extraction method for hydroelectric units based on time–frequency analysis and unsupervised learning models is proposed. Firstly, the typical time–domain and frequency–domain characteristics of vibration signals are calculated through amplitude domain analysis and Fourier transform. Secondly, the time–frequency characteristics of vibration signals are obtained by combining the complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition and energy moment calculation methods to supplement the traditional time–domain and frequency–domain characteristics, which have difficulty in comprehensively reflecting the correlation between nonlinear non–stationary signals and the state of the unit. Finally, in order to overcome the limitations of shallow feature extraction relying on artificial experience, a Stacked Denoising Autoencoder is used to adaptively mine the deep features of vibration signals, and the extracted features are fused to construct a multidimensional feature vector of vibration signals. The proposed multidimensional information fusion feature extraction method is verified to realize the multidimensional complementarity of feature attributes, which helps to accurately distinguish equipment state types and provides the foundation for subsequent state identification and trend prediction.

Circular RNA (circRNA) vaccines have attracted increasing attention due to their stable closed-loop structures and persistent protein expression ability. During the synthesis process, nicked circRNAs with similar molecular weights to those of circRNAs are generated. Analytical techniques based on differences in molecular weight, such as capillary electrophoresis, struggle to distinguish between circRNAs and nicked circRNAs. The characteristic degradation products of circRNAs and their biological activities remain unclear. Therefore, developing methods to identify target circRNAs and non-target components and investigating degradation patterns will be beneficial to gaining an in-depth understanding of the properties and quality control of circRNAs vaccines. The reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) method was established for identification of target circRNAs, product-related substances, and impurities. Subsequently, we investigated the degradation patterns of circRNAs under thermal acceleration conditions and performed biological analysis of degradation products and linear precursors. Here, RP-HPLC method effectively identified circRNAs and nicked circRNAs. With thermal acceleration, circRNAs exhibited a “circular→nicked circRNAs→degradation products” degradation pattern. Biological analysis revealed that the immunogenicity of degradation products significantly decreased, whereas linear precursors did not possess immunogenicity. Thus, our established RP-HPLC method can be used for purity analysis of circRNA vaccines, which contributes to the quality control of circRNA vaccines and promoting the development of circRNA technology.

Internode length is a crucial phenotypic trait of bamboo, significantly impacting its processing and utilization. Phyllostachys edulis ‘Tubaeformis’ (Shengyin Bamboo), a variety of Moso bamboo, exhibits drastically shortened internodes, making it a valuable ornamental bamboo species. We used PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing and second-generation sequencing to identify genome-wide alternative splicing (AS) events in Moso bamboo and its dwarf mutant, Shengyin bamboo, and compared the differences between the two. Our sequencing data unveiled 139,539 AS events, with retained introns as the most prevalent events. A large number of genes were differentially alternatively spliced (DAS) between Moso bamboo and Shengyin bamboo, and genes related to RNA splicing were most significantly enriched. The high expression of SR isoforms in the 24th internode of Moso bamboo is likely the main factor leading to its greater number of alternative splicing events. Alternative splicing affects the functional domains of partial GRF, E2F, and NAM isoforms, leading to the loss of domains in some isoforms and enabling some isoforms to acquire new functional domains, and this phenomenon is more common in Shengyin bamboo. AS modifies the functional domains of certain GRF isoforms, frequently resulting in domain losses or endowing isoforms with novel domains, and this phenomenon is more common in Shengyin bamboo. We used PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing and second-generation sequencing to identify genome-wide alternative splicing (AS) events in Moso bamboo and its dwarf mutant, Shengyin Bamboo and compared the differences between the two.

Ti17 alloy is mainly used to manufacture aero-engine discs due to its excellent properties such as high strength, toughness and hardenability. It is often subjected to creep–fatigue cyclic loading in service environments. Shakedown theory describes the state in which the accumulated plastic strain of the material stabilizes after several cycles of cyclic loading, without affecting its initial function and leading to failure. This theory includes three behaviors: elastic shakedown, plastic shakedown and ratcheting. In this paper, the creep–fatigue tests (CF) were conducted on Ti17 alloy at 300 °C to study its shakedown behavior under creep–fatigue cyclic loading. Based on the plasticity–creep superposition model, a theory model that accurately describes the shakedown behavior of Ti17 alloy was constructed, and ABAQUS finite element software was used to validate the accuracy of the model. TEM analysis was performed to observe the micro-mechanisms of shakedown in Ti17 alloy. The results reveal that the Ti17 alloy specimens exhibit plastic shakedown behavior after three cycles of creep–fatigue loading. The established finite element model can effectively predict the plastic shakedown process of Ti17 alloy, with a relative error between the experimental and simulation results within 4%. TEM results reveal that anelastic recovery controlled by dislocation bending and back stress hardening caused by inhomogeneous deformation are the main mechanisms for the plastic shakedown behavior of Ti17 alloy.

Agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), increasingly integral to crop protection through spraying operations, are significantly influenced by their downwash fields, which in turn affect the distribution of spray droplets. The key parameters impacting spray deposition patterns are the velocity of the downwash airflow and its spatial extent. Understanding the interplay of these parameters can enhance the efficacy of UAV applications in agriculture. Previous research has predominantly focused on downwash airflow velocity, often neglecting the spatial scope of the downwash. This paper presents an applied foundational study grounded in the compressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. Leveraging a dependable k-ε turbulence model and dynamic mesh technology, it develops an effective three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to analyze the downwash field’s distribution characteristics during UAV hover. To validate the CFD method, a visualization test was conducted using EPS (expanded polystyrene foam) balls dispersed in the airspace beneath the UAV, illustrating the airflow’s spatial distribution. Additionally, a parameter η was introduced to quantify changes in the wind field’s range, enabling the mapping of the cross-sectional area of the downwash airflow at various velocities within the UAV’s airspace. The study reveals that the downwash field’s overall shape evolves from a “four-point type” to a “square-like” and then to an “ellipse-like” configuration. Lower downwash airflow velocities exhibit a more rapid expansion of the wind field area. High-velocity downwash areas are concentrated beneath each rotor, while lower-velocity zones coalesce under each rotor and extend downward, forming a continuous expanse. Within the UAV’s downwash area, the deposition of droplets is more pronounced. At a given nozzle position, an increase in downwash airflow velocity correlates with greater droplet deposition within the downwash field. This research bridges a gap in downwash field studies, offering a solid theoretical foundation for the development of future UAV downwash field models.

Double perovskite materials have gradually become widely studied due to their potential applications in solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. We take Cs2NaFeCl6 as an example to investigate the carrier mobility with respect to the acoustic phonon and the optical phonon scattering mechanisms. By considering the deformation potential, carrier effective mass, and bulk modulus, the longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonon-determined mobilities for electrons and holes in Cs2NaFeCl6 are found to be μe = 2886.08 cm2 v−1 s−1 and μh = 39.09 cm2 v−1 s−1, respectively. The optical scattering mechanism involves calculating the Fröhlich coupling constant, dielectric constant, and polaron mass to determine the multiple polar optical (PO) phonon-scattering-determined mobilities, resulting in μe = 279.25 cm2 v−1 s−1 and μh = 21.29 cm2 v−1 s−1, respectively. By combining both interactions, the total electron mobility and hole mobility are determined to be 254.61 cm2 v−1 s−1 and 13.78 cm2 v−1 s−1, respectively. The findings suggest that the polarization of both electrons and ions, small coupling constant, and bulk modulus in Cs2NaFeCl6’s lattice make PO scattering a significant contribution to carrier mobility in this specific double perovskite, highlighting the importance of considering this in enhancing the optoelectronic properties of Cs2NaFeCl6 and other double perovskites.

Addressing the challenges of high decoding latency, reduced spectral efficiency, and substantial storage requirements in a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)Aided Successive Cancellation List (CA-SCL) polar decoder, this paper proposes a chaotic phase modulation direct-sequence spread spectrum (CPMDSSS)-assisted adaptive serial cancellation list decoding method for underwater acoustic communication. The method involves segmenting the information bits to be transmitted, computing CRC for each segment, and mapping all CRCs to a CPMDSSS, which is then modulated onto the pilot subcarriers of underwater acoustic orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to increase spectral efficiency. At the receiving end, CRCs are obtained by demodulating the CPMDSSS to verify the segmented information and adaptively select the number of decoding paths. The theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate that compared to CA-SCL, the proposed method effectively reduces the required storage units and improves spectral efficiency, with an average reduction of approximately 80% in the decoding paths. Sea trials further indicate that the proposed method reduces the average decoding paths by approximately 71% and decreases the average decoding delay by approximately 64% compared to CA-SCL.

Nitrogen loss is an unavoidable problem during composting processes, and the ammonia oxidation process significantly affects nitrogen transformation. The objective of this study was to evaluate nitrogen transformation when garbage enzyme (GE), biochar (BC), pelelith (PL) and combinations thereof were added during sewage sludge composting. Meanwhile, the succession of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) were also explored via quantitative polymerase chain reaction and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that GE + BC and GE + PL treatments decreased ammonia (NH3) formation by 23.8% and 8.3%, and that of nitrous oxide (N2O) by 25.7% and 26.3% relative to the control, respectively. Simultaneously, the GE, GE + BC, and GE + PL treatments boosted the succession of AOA and AOB, and increased the activities of ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) activities and the gene copies of AOA and AOB. The AMO activities, NH4-N, NO3-N, and C/N, significantly affect AOA and AOB community structures. The network analysis predicted that the AMO and HAO were secreted mainly by the unclassified_Archaea and norank_Crenarchaeota, whereas it also showed that the GE + BC improved microbial associations with AOA, enzymatic activity, and environmental factors. Thus, the addition of garbage enzyme and biochar appears to be a promising mitigation strategy to reduce nitrogen losses during the composting process.

In this article, a silicon carbide (SiC) asymmetric MOSFET with a step trench (AST-MOS) is proposed and investigated. The AST-MOS features a step trench with an extra electron current path on one side, thereby increasing the channel density of the device. A thick oxide layer is also employed at the bottom of the step trench, which is used as a new voltage-withstanding region. Furthermore, the ratio of the gate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd) to the gate-to-source capacitance (Cgs) is significantly reduced in the AST-MOS. As a result, the AST-MOS compared with the double-trench MOSFET (DT-MOS) and deep double-trench MOSFET (DDT-MOS), is demonstrated to have an increase of 200 V and 50 V in the breakdown voltage (BV), decreases of 21.8% and 10% in the specific on-resistance (Ron,sp), a reduction of about 1 V in the induced crosstalk voltage, and lower switching loss. Additionally, the trade-off between the resistance of the JFET region (RJFET) and the electric field in the gate oxide (Eox) is studied for a step trench and a deep trench. The improved performances suggest that a step trench is a competitive option in advanced device design.

Background: The relative availability of the essential amino acid tryptophan in the brain, as indicated by the tryptophan index, which is the ratio of tryptophan to its competing amino acids (CAAs) in circulation, has been related to major depression. However, it remains unknown whether tryptophan availability is involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Aims: We aimed to investigate the relationship between the tryptophan index and the risk of ischemic stroke. Methods: We performed a nested case–control study within a community-based cohort in eastern China over the period 2013 to 2018. The analysis included 321 cases of ischemic stroke and 321 controls matched by sex and date of birth. The plasma levels of tryptophan and CAAs, including tyrosine, valine, phenylalanine, leucine, and isoleucine, were measured by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression analyses were employed to determine incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: After adjustment for body mass index, current smoking status, educational attainment, physical activity, family history of stroke, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, an elevated tryptophan index was significantly associated with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke in a dose–response manner (IRR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63–0.93, per standard deviation increment). The plasma tryptophan or CAAs were not separately associated with the risk of ischemic stroke. Conclusions: The tryptophan index was inversely associated with the risk of ischemic stroke. Our novel observations suggest that the availability of the essential amino acid tryptophan in the brain is involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke.

The chalkiness, starch fine structure, and physiochemical properties of rice starch were analyzed and their correlations were investigated under different nighttime temperatures during the early grain-filling stage. Compared to MT, medium temperature (MT) and low (LNT) and high (HNT) nighttime temperatures resulted in an increased chalky grain rate (CGR) and chalkiness degree (CD). LNT mainly affected the chalkiness by increasing peak1 (short branch chains of amylopectin), the branching degree, and the proportion of small starch granules but decreasing peak2 (long branch chains of amylopectin) and peak3 (amylose branches). This altered the pasting properties, such as by increasing the peak viscosity and final viscosity. However, HNT mainly affected the chalkiness by increasing peak2 and the crystallinity degree but decreasing peak1 and peak3. Regarding the thermal properties, HNT also elevated peak and conclusion temperatures. The CGR and CD were significantly and positively correlated with the proportions of small and medium starch granules, peak1, branching degree, gelatinization enthalpy, setback viscosity, and pasting time but markedly and negatively correlated with the proportion of large starch granules, amylose content, peak3, peak viscosity, and breakdown viscosity. These findings suggest that LNT and HNT disrupted the starch structure, resulting in increased chalkiness. However, their mechanisms of action differ.

Aero-space aluminum alloys, as vital materials in aerospace engineering, find extensive application in various aerospace components. However, prolonged usage often leads to the emergence of fatigue natural cracks, posing significant safety risks. Therefore, research on accurate quantitative detection techniques for the cracks in aerospace-aluminum alloys is of vital importance. Firstly, based on the three-points bending experimental model, this paper prepared the fatigue natural crack specimen, and the depth of the natural crack is calibrated. Then, given the complexity of geometric characteristics inherent in natural cracks, the pulsed eddy current signal under the different natural crack depth is acquired and analyzed using an experimental study. Finally, to better exhibit the non-linearity between PEC signal and crack depth, a GA-based BPNN algorithm is proposed. The Latin Hypercube method is considered to optimize the population distribution in the genetic algorithm. The results indicate that the characterization accuracy reaches 2.19% for the natural crack.

Large-tow carbon fiber (LCF) meets the low-cost requirements of modern industry. However, due to the large and dense number of monofilaments, there are problems with uneven and insufficient infiltration during material preparation. The permeability of large-tow carbon fibers can be used as a two-scale expression of resin flow during infiltration, making it an important factor to consider. This paper provides support for the study of pore formation. A two-dimensional model of randomly bundled large-filament carbon fibers is generated based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) maps. Microstructure size parameters are obtained, and a semi-analytical model of the transverse permeability of large-filament-bundled carbon fibers is established. Permeability values are then obtained. The analysis shows that the monofilaments in the tow are arranged randomly, and their periodic arrangement cannot be used to calculate permeability. Additionally, the number of monofilaments in a carbon fiber tow of the same volume fraction affects the permeability of the tow. Therefore, the permeability model of large-tow carbon fibers is reliable.

The microstructure characteristics of TiAl alloy prepared by laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED) are coarse columnar grains parallel to the building direction, which results in serious mechanical properties and anisotropy and limits its application. In the present study, TiB2 can be used as an effective grain refiner due to the extremely high Q value (growth inhibition factor; the larger the Q value of an alloying element, the stronger its grain refinement effect.) of B. With TiB2 addition, TiAl alloys prepared by laser-directed energy deposition with the microstructure of full equiaxed grains were obtained, and the grain size was significantly reduced by about 30% with 0.45 wt.% TiB2. This value has been further increased to 45% when adding 0.9 wt.% TiB2. Moreover, the γm phase was nearly eliminated and the width of (α2 + γ) lamellar was significantly decreased, which has positive effects on mechanical properties. Meanwhile, TiB2 precipitates uniformly distribute in the matrix, as a reinforced particle to increase the hardness and compressive strength of the alloys. The microhardness of the TiAl alloy increased with the increasing content of TiB2. The addition of TiB2 improved the room and high-temperature compressive properties of TiAl alloy while slightly increasing its ductility. These findings have important guiding significance for expanding the application of TiAl alloys.

Motivated by the increasing interest in sustainable agriculture and the potential benefits associated with organic certification, this study employs a multidimensional fixed-effects model to analyze data derived from onsite surveys conducted among 681 apple farmers in the Loess Plateau region of China to explore the influence of organic certification on absolute and relative agricultural product prices given online market access. The findings indicated a significant increase in apple prices among farmers who held organic certifications and engaged in online market sales, with prices rising by CNY1.60 per half kilogram. Additionally, this study highlights that the amalgamation of organic certification with online market access significantly enhances agricultural product prices by facilitating better dissemination of market information among farmers. Furthermore, this research addresses a critical gap in the existing literature by clarifying the differential impact of organic certification across distinct farmer demographics and geographical regions. The more pronounced positive impact of organic certification on prices observed among cooperative members and farmers in the low-altitude areas is particularly noteworthy. These results underscore the crucial role of online market access in achieving premium effects and price stability for organically certified products.

Over the past three decades, China has seen aerosol levels substantially surpass the global average, significantly impacting regional climate. This study investigates the long-term and seasonal variations of aerosols in the Huai River Basin (HRB) using MODIS, CALIOP observations from 2007 to 2021, and ground-based measurements. A notable finding is a significant decline in the annual mean Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) across the HRB, with MODIS showing a decrease of approximately 0.023 to 0.027 per year, while CALIOP, which misses thin aerosol layers, recorded a decrease of about 0.016 per year. This downward trend is corroborated by improvements in air quality, as evidenced by PM2.5 measurements and visibility-based aerosol extinction coefficients. Aerosol decreases occurred at all heights, but for aerosols below 800 m, with an annual AOD decrease of 0.011. The study also quantifies the long-term trends of five major aerosol types, identifying Polluted Dust (PD) as the predominant frequency type (46%), which has significantly decreased, contributing to about 68% of the total AOD reduction observed by CALIOP (0.011 per year). Despite this, Dust and Polluted Continental (PC) aerosols persist, with PC showing no clear trend of decrease. Seasonal analysis reveals aerosol peaks in summer, contrary to surface measurements, attributed to variations in the Boundary Layer (BL) depth, affecting aerosol distribution and extinction. Furthermore, the study explores the influence of seasonal wind patterns on aerosol type variation, noting that shifts in wind direction contribute to the observed changes in aerosol types, particularly affecting Dust and PD occurrences. The integration of satellite and ground measurements provides a comprehensive view of regional aerosol properties, highlighting the effectiveness of China’s environmental policies in aerosol reduction. Nonetheless, the persistence of high PD and PC levels underscores the need for continued efforts to reduce both primary and secondary aerosol production to further enhance regional air quality.

The tracking of carbon and aerosol co-emissions is essential for environmental management. Satellite-based atmospheric synoptic observation networks provide large-scale and multifaceted data to help resolve emission behaviors. This study employs a comprehensive analysis of atmospheric dynamics, combustion byproducts, and aerosol characteristics around power plants. Strong correlations between Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 500 nm and the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon dioxide (XCO2) were observed, revealing synchronous peaks in their emission patterns. The investigation into combustion completeness utilized metrics such as the ratio of carbon monoxide (CO)/XCO2 and Black Carbon Extinction (BCEXT)/Total Aerosol Extinction (TOTEXT). Discrepancies in these ratios across cases suggest variations in combustion efficiency and aerosol characteristics. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) distributions closely mirrored XCO2, indicating consistent emission patterns, while variations in sulfur dioxide (SO2) distributions implied differences in sulfide content in the coal used. The influence of coal composition on AOD/XCO2 ratios was evident, with sulfide content contributing to variations besides combustion efficiency. This multifactorial analysis underscores the complex interplay of combustion completeness, aerosol composition, and coal components in shaping the air quality around power stations. The findings highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of these factors for effective air quality management.

At present, all the flight controllers of agricultural UAVs cannot accurately and quickly control the influencing factors of the UAV coupled rotor airflow backward tilt angle during the application process. To solve the above problem, a Rotor Airflow Backward Tilt Angle (RABTA) controller is established in this paper. The RABTA controller integrates advanced sensor technology with a novel algorithmic approach, utilizing real-time data acquisition and state–space analysis to dynamically adjust the UAV’s rotor airflow, ensuring precise control of the backward tilt angle. The control effect of the traditional flight controller and RABTA controller in the process of pesticide application and the corresponding operation effect are compared and analyzed. The comparison results show that the RABTA controller reduces the control error to less than 1 degree, achieving a 48.3% improvement in the uniformity of the distribution of pesticides droplets across the crop canopy, which means that the UAV field application effect is implemented and the innovation of the UAV field application control mode is realized.

Human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) holds significant importance in the fields of medicine and cosmetics. Therefore, it becomes imperative to develop a highly efficient fermentation system for hEGF production. In this study, a stable hEGF-secreting expression strain was created by integrating the hEGF gene into the genome of Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21, and an immobilized fermentation system was developed based on biofilm to facilitate continuous hEGF production. After optimization of fermentation conditions and gene dosage, the production of hEGF was increased from 13.9 mg/L to 52.4 mg/L in free-cell fermentation. Moreover, genetic modifications targeting dgcC, csgD, bcsA, and bcsB proved to enhance biofilm formation. When the bcsB was overexpressed in BL21-hEGF-C5, the biofilm-forming ability was enhanced by 91.1% and the production of hEGF was increased by 28% in biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation. In conclusion, this study successfully confirms the feasibility of continuous hEGF production through the biofilm system of E. coli, providing valuable insights for the development of other proteins in the field of continuous biomanufacturing.

Soils derived from black shale enriched in heavy metals pose risks to the environment and human health. Eighty sets of soil–rice samples were collected in northwest Zhejiang, China. The results showed significant enrichment of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn in the studied soil. Sequential extraction data indicated that Cd had relatively high bioavailability. Thirty-four percent of the rice samples exceeded the heavy metal pollution thresholds of national food safety standards. A comprehensive evaluation of soil heavy metals using the potential ecological risk index (RI) revealed low-to-moderate-grade risk. Risk assessment code (RAC) levels decreased as follows: Cd > Ni > Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > As > Hg. The RAC of Cd was high and very high risk, whereas those of others were no or low risk. Cd was the major contributor to the environmental risk based on the total heavy metal concentration, toxicity, and chemical fractions. The health risk to the local populace was assessed using the method recommended by the USEPA. Local people may experience both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks, and children face greater health risks than adults. As, Cd, and Pb are the most significant contributors to non-carcinogenic health risks, and Cd is the main carcinogenic risk. In conclusion, special attention should be given to heavy metal pollution in black shale-derived soils.

In optical covert communication systems based on gain-switched distributed feedback semiconductor lasers, the trade-off between the modulation frequency and the spectral imperceptibility limits the bit rate of the secure channel. To improve the system performance in terms of the bit rate and covertness, optical time-division multiplexing is introduced to optical covert communication for the first time. The optical time-division multiplexed covert channel can work under both multiple-user and single-user conditions. The optical time-division multiplexed covert communication system is demonstrated via a system simulation. The results show that the covertness is enhanced by the optical time-division multiplexing in the spectral domain. The receiver sensitivity of the multiple-user condition is lower than the single-user one.

Reduced graphene films have attracted widespread commercial interest due to high electrical conductivity toward (EMI) shielding. At present, the preparation path of reduced graphene film is to use graphene oxide (GO) as the raw material through self-assembly and high-temperature heat treatment. However, the thickness of reduced graphene films is not high and uniform because of the higher mobility of the graphene oxide slurry, which destroys the reliability of the membrane in the field of electromagnetic interference shielding. Here, we propose the use of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to increase the viscosity of graphene oxide to prepare reduced graphene films with high and uniform thickness. After modification with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, the EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of reduced graphene oxide films stabilized at 91–96 dB at 8–12 GHz, which is higher than pure graphene films. Meanwhile, the addition of CMC does not affect the structure of reduced graphene films. This work broadens the application of reduced graphene films in electromagnetic shielding.

Quantifying the dryland patterns of plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and their stoichiometric values along environmental gradients is crucial for understanding ecological strategies. To understand the plant adaptive strategies and ecosystem nutrient concentrations across three desert ecosystems (e.g., desert, steppe desert, and temperate desert), we compiled a dataset consisting of 1295 plant species across three desert ecosystems. We assessed the element concentrations and ratios across plant growth forms, plant organs, and soils and further analysed the leaf vs. root N, P, and N:P scaling relationships. We found that the leaf N, P, and C concentrations were significantly different only from those of certain other growth forms and in certain desert ecosystems, challenging the generality of such differences. In leaves, the C concentrations were always greater than the N and P concentrations and were greater than those in soils depending on the soil chemistry and plant physiology. Thus, the element concentrations and ratios were greater in the organs than in the soils. The values in the leaf versus the root N, P, and N:P scaling relationships differed across the three desert ecosystems; for example, αN (1.16) was greater in the desert, αP (1.10) was greater in the temperate desert ecosystem, and αN:P (2.11) was greater in the desert ecosystem. The mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT) did not have significant effects on the leaf elemental concentrations or ratios across the desert ecosystems. This study advances our understanding of plant growth forms and organs, which support resource-related adaptive strategies that maintain the stability of desert ecosystems via divergent element concentrations and environmental conditions.

During 14–16 March 2021, a large-scale dust storm event occurred in the northern region of China, and it was considered the most intense event in the past decade. This study employs observation data for PM2.5 and PM10 from the air quality monitoring station, the HYSPLIT model, ground-based polarized Lidar networks, AGRI payload data from Fengyun satellites and CALIPSO satellite Lidar data to jointly explore and scrutinize the three-dimensional spatial and temporal characteristics of aerosol transport. Firstly, by integrating meteorological data for PM2.5 and PM10, the air quality is assessed across six stations within the Lidar network during the dust storm. Secondly, employing a backward trajectory tracking model, the study elucidates sources of dust at the Lidar network sites. Thirdly, deploying a newly devised portable infrared 1064 nm Lidar and a pulsed 532 nm Lidar, a ground-based Lidar observation network is established for vertical probing of transboundary dust transport within the observed region. Finally, by incorporating cloud imagery from Fengyun satellites and CALIPSO satellite Lidar data, this study revealed the classification of dust and the height distribution of dust layers at pertinent sites within the Lidar observation network. The findings affirm that the eastward movement and southward compression of the intensifying Mongolian cyclone led to severe dust storm weather in western and southern Mongolia, as well as Inner Mongolia, further transporting dust into northern, northwestern, and northeastern parts of China. This dust event wielded a substantial impact on a broad expanse in northern China, manifesting in localized dust storms in Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Gansu, and surrounding areas. In essence, the dust emanated from the deserts in Mongolia and northwest China, encompassing both deserts and the Gobi region. The amalgamation of ground-based and spaceborne Lidar observations conclusively establishes that the distribution height of dust in the source region ranged from 3 to 5 km. Influenced by high-pressure systems, the protracted transport of dust over extensive distances prompted a gradual reduction in its distribution height owing to sedimentation. The comprehensive analysis of pertinent research data and information collectively affirms the precision and efficacy of the three-dimensional aerosol monitoring conducted by the ground-based Lidar network within the region.

The release of organic contaminants has grown to be a major environmental concern and a threat to the ecology of water bodies. Persulfate-based Advanced Oxidation Technology (PAOT) is effective at eliminating hazardous pollutants and has an extensive spectrum of applications. Iron-based metal–organic frameworks (Fe-MOFs) and their derivatives have exhibited great advantages in activating persulfate for wastewater treatment. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of recent research progress on the significant potential of Fe-MOFs for removing antibiotics, organic dyes, phenols, and other contaminants from aqueous environments. Firstly, multiple approaches for preparing Fe-MOFs, including the MIL and ZIF series were introduced. Subsequently, removal performance of pollutants such as antibiotics of sulfonamides and tetracyclines (TC), organic dyes of rhodamine B (RhB) and acid orange 7 (AO7), phenols of phenol and bisphenol A (BPA) by various Fe-MOFs was compared. Finally, different degradation mechanisms, encompassing free radical degradation pathways and non-free radical degradation pathways were elucidated. This review explores the synthesis methods of Fe-MOFs and their application in removing organic pollutants from water bodies, providing insights for further refining the preparation of Fe-MOFs.

Alcoholic liver injury is a serious risk to human health. Probiotics have become a popular form of treatment. Lacticaseibacillus casei Grx12 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum Grx07 isolated from the gut of long-lived people in Rugao, Jiangsu, were studied to determine their protective effects and possible mechanisms of action on alcoholic liver injury. The results showed that rat serum ALT and AST were restored, and liver injury was reduced after the probiotics intervention. The level of antioxidant enzymes and antioxidants such as SOD, GSH and GSH-Px in the rat liver was significantly increased (p < 0.05), which reduces the level of MDA, a peroxidation product in the liver, and thus alleviates liver oxidative stress. L. casei Grx12 and L. fermentum Grx07 also could significantly enhance the expression of Nrf2 protein in the rat liver to regulate the anti-oxidative stress response in the body and cells (p < 0.05). The levels of ADH, Na+-K+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase in the rat liver were significantly increased (p < 0.05), which enhanced the body’s metabolism of alcohol. The rat serum LPS and liver TNF-α, IL-6, VEGF, TGF-β1 and NF-κB levels were significantly reduced (p < 0.05), indicating that the probiotics could relieve liver inflammation. The results of this study indicate that L. casei Grx12 and L. fermentum Grx07 have certain protective effects on alcoholic liver injury in rats, likely because of their antioxidant properties and ability to prevent oxidative stress and relieve inflammation.

To study the phenomenon of large deformation and the failure of roadways under dynamic pressure, this paper takes the 10607 gas drainage roadway as the research object and presents the results of a theoretical derivation of equations for the boundary of the plastic zone of a dynamic pressure roadway with and without supporting force. The impacts of the mining influence coefficient and supporting force on the plastic zone boundary were explored for various lateral pressure coefficients. As the supporting force was increased, it was observed that there was a slight reduction in the radius of the plastic zone of the dynamic pressure roadway, while its scope and shape barely changed. Based on the failure mechanism of the dynamic pressure roadway, active and passive support technology was proposed, and the support effect was analyzed using FLAC3D 5.0 numerical simulation software for the case of the 10607 gas drainage roadway.

Against the background of climate warming, marine heatwaves (MHWs) and terrestrial drought events have become increasingly frequent in recent decades. However, the combined effects of MHWs and terrestrial drought on CO2 uptake in marginal seas are still unclear. The East China Sea (ECS) experienced an intense and long-lasting MHW accompanied by an extreme terrestrial drought in the Changjiang basin in the summer of 2022. In this study, we employed multi-source satellite remote sensing products to reveal the patterns, magnitude, and potential drivers of CO2 flux changes in the ECS resulting from the compounding MHW and terrestrial drought extremes. The CO2 uptake of the ECS reduced by 17.0% (1.06 Tg C) in the latter half of 2022 and the Changjiang River plume region shifted from a CO2 sink to a source (releasing 0.11 Tg C) in July-September. In the majority of the ECS, the positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly during the MHW diminished the solubility of CO2 in seawater, thereby reducing CO2 uptake. Moreover, the reduction in nutrient input associated with terrestrial drought, which is unfavorable to phytoplankton growth, further reduced the capacity of CO2 uptake. Meanwhile, the CO2 sink doubled for the offshore waters of the ECS continental shelf in July-September 2022, indicating the complexity and heterogeneity of the impacts of extreme climatic events in marginal seas. This study is of great significance in improving the estimation results of CO2 fluxes in marginal seas and understanding sea–air CO2 exchanges against the background of global climate change.

Cylinder liners, considered a crucial component of internal combustion (IC) engines, often require excellent mechanical properties to ensure optimal engine performance under elevated temperatures, pressures, and varying loads. In this work, a new low-alloy cylinder liner, incorporating a low content of molybdenum, copper, and chromium into gray cast iron, was fabricated using a centrifugal casting process. Subsequently, the heat treatment processes were designed to achieve bainite microstructures in the cylinder liner through rapid air cooling, isothermal transformation, and tempering. The effects of different air-cooling rates and tempering temperatures on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of cylinder liner were investigated. The results revealed that during the supercooled austenite transformation process, rapid air cooling at a rate of 14.5–23.3 °C/s can effectively bypass the formation of pearlitic structures and directly induce the formation of bainite structures. Once the temperature exceeded 480–520 °C, hardness and tensile strength increased with the temperature increase owing to the enhancement of the lower bainite content, the reduction of residual austenite, and the precipitation of the fine hard carbides in the matrix. With temperatures above 520–550 °C, the carbide and lower bainite organization coarsened, thereby reducing the hardness and tensile strength of the material. Therefore, the optimal heat treatment parameters were rapid cooling at 14.5–23.3 °C/s rate to obtain bainite, and tempering of 480–520 °C for finer and more uniform bainite. In addition, the results of the characterization of the mechanical properties of the cylinder liner after heat treatment showed that the hardness, tensile strength, and wear resistance were improved with the refinement of the bainite.

Circadian rhythm disruption is associated with impaired glucose homeostasis and type 2 diabetes. For example, night shift work is associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes. However, the effects of chronic circadian disruption since early life on adult metabolic health trajectory remain unknown. Here, using the “Short Day” (SD) mouse model, in which an 8 h/8 h light/dark (LD) cycle was used to disrupt mouse circadian rhythms across the lifespan, we investigated glucose homeostasis in adult mice. Adult SD mice were fully entrained into the 8 h/8 h LD cycle, and control mice were entrained into the 12 h/12 h LD cycle. Under a normal chow diet, female and male SD mice displayed a normal body weight trajectory. However, female but not male SD mice under a normal chow diet displayed glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, which are associated with impaired insulin signaling/AKT in the skeletal muscle and liver. Under high-fat diet (HFD) challenges, male but not female SD mice demonstrated increased body weight gain compared to controls. Both male and female SD mice developed glucose intolerance under HFD. Taken together, these results demonstrate that environmental disruption of circadian rhythms contributes to obesity in a sexually dimorphic manner but increases the risk of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in both males and females.

A SiC double-trench MOSFET embedded with a lower-barrier diode and an L-shaped gate-source in the gate trench, showing improved reverse conduction and an improved switching performance, was proposed and studied with 2-D simulations. Compared with a double-trench MOSFET (DT-MOS) and a DT-MOS with a channel-MOS diode (DTC-MOS), the proposed MOS showed a lower voltage drop (VF) at IS = 100 A/cm2, which can prevent bipolar degradation at the same blocking voltage (BV) and decrease the maximum oxide electric field (Emox). Additionally, the gate–drain capacitance (Cgd) and gate–drain charge (Qgd) of the proposed MOSFET decreased significantly because the source extended to the bottom of the gate, and the overlap between the gate electrode and drain electrode decreased. Although the proposed MOS had a greater Ron,sp than the DT-MOS and DTC-MOS, it had a lower switching loss and greater advantages for high-frequency applications.

Accurate and consistent observations of diurnal variability of sea surface temperature (SST DV) and its impact on air–sea heat fluxes over large areas for extended periods are challenging due to their short time scale and wide coverage. The hourly gap-free SSTs generated from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency-Japan Agency for Marine–Earth Science and Technology (JAXA-JAMSTEC) are input to the COARE3.5 bulk flux algorithm to investigate the impact of SST DV on air–sea heat fluxes over the Northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO). The main results are as follows. (1) The JAXA-JAMSTEC SSTs were found to be in good agreement with the buoy observations on SST DV with a very slight negative bias of −0.007 °C and a root mean square error of 0.018 °C. (2) The case study conducted on 26 June 2020 showed that the fluxes’ diurnal amplitudes were about 30–50 W m−2, and evolution was in agreement with SST DV. (3) The average impact of SST DV on heat fluxes was 2.93 W m−2 over the subtropical NWPO, decreasing from southeast to northwest and from low to high latitudes, and showing a clear seasonal cycle during 2019–2022. This research highlights the need to consider SST DV for accurate estimation of heat fluxes, which is crucial for climate and atmospheric studies.

Nighttime Thermal InfraRed (NTIR) image colorization, also known as the translation of NTIR images into Daytime Color Visible (DCV) images, can facilitate human and intelligent system perception of nighttime scenes under weak lighting conditions. End-to-end neural networks have been used to learn the mapping relationship between temperature and color domains, and translate NTIR images with one channel into DCV images with three channels. However, this mapping relationship is an ill-posed problem with multiple solutions without constraints, resulting in blurred edges, color disorder, and semantic errors. To solve this problem, an NTIR2DCV method that includes two steps is proposed: firstly, fuse Nighttime Color Visible (NCV) images with NTIR images based on an Illumination-Aware, Multilevel Decomposition Latent Low-Rank Representation (IA-MDLatLRR) method, which considers the differences in illumination conditions during image fusion and adjusts the fusion strategy of MDLatLRR accordingly to suppress the adverse effects of nighttime lights; secondly, translate the Nighttime Fused (NF) image to DCV image based on HyperDimensional Computing Generative Adversarial Network (HDC-GAN), which ensures feature-level semantic consistency between the source image (NF image) and the translated image (DCV image) without creating semantic label maps. Extensive comparative experiments and the evaluation metrics values show that the proposed algorithms perform better than other State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) image fusion and translation methods, such as FID and KID, which decreased by 14.1 and 18.9, respectively.

Eleven new brominated depsidones, namely spiromastixones U-Z5 (1–11) along with five known analogues (12–16), were isolated from a deep-sea-derived fungus Spiromastix sp. through the addition of sodium bromide during fermentation. Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of the spectroscopic data including high-resolution MS and 1D and 2D NMR data. Compounds 6–10 and 16 exhibited significant inhibition against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) with MIC values ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 μM. Particularly, tribrominated 7 displayed the strongest activity against MRSA and VRE with a MIC of 0.5 and 1.0 μM, respectively, suggesting its potential for further development as a new antibacterial agent.

We performed quantum chemical calculations on the geometries, electronic structures, bonding properties, and stability strategy of endohedral metallofullerenes TM@C28 (TM = Sc−, Y−, La−, Ti, Zr, Hf, V+, Nb+, Ta+). Our calculations revealed that there are three different lowest-energy structures with C2v, C3v, and Td symmetries for TM@C28. The HOMO–LUMO gap of all these structures ranges from 1.35 eV to 2.31 eV, in which [V@C28]+ has the lowest HOMO–LUMO gap of 1.35 eV. The molecular orbitals are mainly composed of fullerene cage orbitals and slightly encapsulated metal orbitals. The bonding analysis on the metal–cage interactions reveals they are dominated by the Coulomb term ΔEelstat and the orbital interaction term ΔEorb, in which the orbital interaction term ΔEorb contributes more than the Coulomb term ΔEelstat. The addition of one or two CF3 groups to [V@C28]+ could increase the HOMO–LUMO gap and further increase the stability of [V@C28]+.

The spatiotemporal variations in suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the lower reaches of the Yellow River exhibit significant variability and are influenced by reservoir operations. Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of SSC in water holds crucial implications for environmental protection and reservoir operation management. Based on daily-scale SSC monitoring data from four hydrological stations in the lower Yellow River, this study established an SSC remote sensing model applicable to Landsat series satellite data. The independent variable of the model, Rrs(NIR)/(Rrs(G) + Rrs(R) + Rrs(SWIR)), demonstrated sensitivity to water bodies with different SSC values. Distinctive spatiotemporal characteristics in sediment transport were observed across the lower Yellow River. Spatially, the SSC values in the Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi reservoirs were notably lower than those in other river sections, averaging 1008.42 ± 602.83 mg/L and 1177.89 ± 627.95 mg/L, respectively. Over time, the majority of the river sections (96%) exhibited decreasing trends in SSC during 1984–2022, particularly in the downstream Xiaolangdi reservoir, with average SSC values of 4265.58 ± 1101.77 mg/L in the 1980s and 1840.80 ± 2255.15 mg/L in the 2020s. Seasonal variations in SSC were prominent, with higher summer concentrations, averaging 5536.43 ± 2188.77 mg/L (2020s summer) and 814.11 ± 158.27 mg/L (2020s winter). Reductions in SSC during 1984–2022 primarily occurred in summer, weakening its seasonal variability in the lower Yellow River. Water discharge emerged as a critical factor influencing suspended sediment transport, with SSC increasing in high-water-flow months. Following the construction of the Xiaolangdi reservoir, the relationship between SSC and water discharge at different stations underwent notable alterations. This study enhances our understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of suspended sediment transport in the lower Yellow River, providing valuable insights for utilizing long-term Landsat series data in the dynamic monitoring of river sediment transport.

Cybersecurity faces constant challenges from increasingly sophisticated network attacks. Recent research shows machine learning can improve attack detection by training models on large labeled datasets. However, obtaining sufficient labeled data is difficult for internal networks. We propose a deep transfer learning model to learn common knowledge from domains with different features and distributions. The model has two feature projection networks to transform heterogeneous features into a common space, and a classification network then predicts transformed features into labels. To align probability distributions for two domains, maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) is used to compute distribution distance alongside classification loss. Though the target domain only has a few labeled samples, unlabeled samples are adequate for computing MMD to align unconditional distributions. In addition, we apply a soft classification scheme on unlabeled data to compute MMD over classes to further align conditional distributions. Experiments between NSL-KDD, UNSW-NB15, and CICIDS2017 validate that the method substantially improves cross-domain network attack detection accuracy.

A single-phase five-level T-type topology has been investigated in this article. This topology has emerged as a viable option for renewable energy systems (RES) due to its inherent benefits. The finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) strategy has been implemented to this topology in order to improve the performance and overall reliability of the system. This control strategy empowers the inverter to predict future behavior based on a discrete set of control signals, enabling precise modulation and high-speed response to system dynamics. In the realm of RES, integration of FCS-MPC with multilevel inverters (MLIs) holds great potential to enhance energy conversion efficiency, grid integration, and overall system reliability. The article is structured to present an overview of the evolving landscape of power electronic systems, and the advantages of FCS-MPC. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the FCS-MPC control strategy applied to the single-phase five-level T-type topology. The study covers various aspects including the theoretical framework, hardware development, and experimental evaluation. It is obvious from the analysis that this inverter topology is reliable. Several redundant states make it fault-tolerant which helps in maintaining the output voltage at the same level even in the fault conditions. Additionally, the results show that the output load voltage is maintained at the same level irrespective of load change. Also, output load voltage has maintained the high-quality sinusoidal characteristics as the total harmonic distortion (THD) is very low. With all these features, this system is suitable within the framework of RES.

It is an important issue to explore achieving high accuracy long-term crop classification with limited historical samples. The West Liaohe River Basin (WLRB) serves as a vital agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China, which experiences significant changes in crop planting structure due to a range of policy. Taking WLRB as a case study, this study constructed multidimensional features for crop classification suitable for Google Earth Engine cloud platform and proposed a method to extract main grain crops using sample augmentation and model migration in case of limited samples. With limited samples in 2017, the method was employed to train and classify crops (maize, soybean, and rice) in other years, and the spatiotemporal changes in the crop planting structure in WLRB from 2014 to 2020 were analyzed. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) Integrating multidimensional features could discriminate subtle differences, and feature optimization could ensure the accuracy and efficiency of classification. (2) By augmenting the original sample size by calculating the similarity of the time series NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) curves, migrating the random forest model, and reselecting the samples for other years based on the model accuracy scores, it was possible to achieve a high crop classification accuracy with limited samples. (3) The main grain crops in the WLRB were primarily distributed in the northeastern and southern plains with lower elevations. Maize was the most predominant crop type with a wide distribution. The planting area of main grain crops in the WLRB exhibited an increasing trend, and national policies primarily influenced the variations of planting structure in maize and soybean. This study provides a scheme for extracting crop types from limited samples with high accuracy and can be applied for long-term crop monitoring and change analysis to support crop structure adjustment and food security.