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The aerodynamic characteristics of flapping rotary wings (FRWs) have received considerable attention in design. In this study, optimizations of aerodynamic performance and kinematics of FRWs over the parameter space are explored. A well-validated Quasi-Steady model is employed to estimate the aerodynamic characteristics of FRWs in hovering flight, and a genetic algorithm is utilized for optimizing. It is assumed that flapping and pitching motion are given by motion parameters actively, while rotation is produced passively. Our results show that the optimal kinematic parameters are independent of flapping frequencies. The maximum lift comes from the high rotational speed caused by the small pitching amplitude, and the maximum power factor is from the large pitching amplitude. The dimensionless optimization of the flapping velocity as reference velocity is comparable to the dimensional results. The optimization model proposed in this study can be applied to the actual model for qualitative analysis. Rotational equilibrium power factor can reach more than 80% of the maximum value without rotation equilibrium constraint, but which rotational status can achieve the maximum power factor depends on the pitching angle at the mid-downstroke (αd). This study is helpful for the kinematic parameter design and further research of FRWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermosensation is vital for the survival, propagation, and adaption of all organisms, but its mechanism is not fully understood yet. Here, we find that TMC6, a membrane protein of unknown function, is highly expressed in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and functions as a Gαq-coupled G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-like receptor to sense noxious heat. TMC6-deficient mice display a substantial impairment in noxious heat sensation while maintaining normal perception of cold, warmth, touch, and mechanical pain. Further studies show that TMC6 interacts with Gαq via its intracellular C-terminal region spanning Ser780 to Pro810. Specifically disrupting such interaction using polypeptide in DRG neurons, genetically ablating Gαq, or pharmacologically blocking Gαq-coupled GPCR signaling can replicate the phenotype of TMC6 deficient mice regarding noxious heat sensation. Noxious heat stimulation triggers intracellular calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of TMC6- but not control vector-transfected HEK293T cell, which can be significantly inhibited by blocking PLC or IP3R. Consistently, noxious heat-induced intracellular Ca2+ release from ER and action potentials of DRG neurons largely reduced when ablating TMC6 or blocking Gαq/PLC/IP3R signaling pathway as well. In summary, our findings indicate that TMC6 can directly function as a Gαq-coupled GPCR-like receptor sensing noxious heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar activity, such as sunspots and flares, has a great impact on humans, living beings, and technologies in the whole world. Changes in sunspots will influence high-frequency and space-navigation radio communications. Based on the full-disk, southern and northern hemispheres sunspot areas (SAs) data in 1874–2023 from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA, extreme value theory (EVT) is applied to predict the trend of the 25th and 26th solar cycles (SCs) in this work. Two methods with EVT, the block maxima (BM) approach and the peaks-over-threshold (POT) approach, are employed to research solar extreme events. The former method focuses on each block's maximum sunspot areas value and is applied for the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The latter method aims to select the extreme values exceeding a threshold value and is used to obtain the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. It is the first time that the EVT is applied on the sunspot areas data from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA. The analysis indicates that the estimated 8-year return levels for sunspot areas are 5701 and 6258 using the two methods, while the estimated 19-year return levels are all 7165. This suggests that the trends of the 25th and 26th solar cycles will be stronger than that of the 24th solar cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), known for causing gastric inflammation, gastritis and gastric cancer, prompted our study to investigate the differential expression of cytokines in gastric tissues, which is crucial for understanding H. pylori infection and its potential progression to gastric cancer. Focusing on Il-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-18, and TNF-α, we analysed gene and protein levels to differentiate between H. pylori-infected and non-infected gastritis. We utilised real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for gene quantification, immunohistochemical staining, and ELISA for protein measurement. Gastric samples from patients with gastritis were divided into three groups: (1) non-gastritis (N-group) group, (2) gastritis without H. pylori infection (G-group), and (3) gastritis with H. pylori infection (GH-group), each consisting of 8 samples. Our findings revealed a statistically significant variation in cytokine expression. Generally, cytokine levels were higher in gastritis, but in H. pylori-infected gastritis, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were lower compared to H. pylori-independent gastritis, while IL-12, IL-18, and TNF-α levels were higher. This distinct cytokine expression pattern in H. pylori-infected gastritis underscores a unique inflammatory response, providing deeper insights into its pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of dielectric ceramics for energy storage has received great research attention due to high power density and extremely high charge–discharge speed in recent years. Herein, the lead-free (1-x)(0.92K0.5Na0.5NbO3-0.08Sr0.7Bi0.2TiO3)-xBi(Zn0.5Zr0.5)O3 [(1-x)(0.92KNN-0.08SBT)-xBZZ] ceramics were prepared. The enhanced energy storage performance in the x = 0.15 sample, with large recoverable energy storage density (Wrec) of 3.35 J/cm3 and high energy efficiency (η) of 81.9%, which can export satisfactory in temperatures (25–150 °C) and frequencies (1–100 Hz). It is revealed that the introduction of BZZ can enhance relaxor behaviors and decrease grain size, which are supported by the dielectric tunability, polarization hysteresis, and microstructure. Also, a superfast discharge speed (t0.9 = 27.2 ns) and a high power density (PD = 26.04 WM/cm3), with minimal fluctuation of ≤ 5.6%, are examined ranging from 20 °C to 120 °C. These characteristics render 0.85(0.92KNN-0.08SBT)-0.15BZZ ceramic promising candidate for high power energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For classical waves, phase matching is vital for enabling efficient energy transfer in many scenarios, such as waveguide coupling and nonlinear optical frequency conversion. Here, we propose a temporal quasi-phase matching method and realize robust and complete acoustical energy transfer between arbitrarily detuned cavities. In a set of three cavities, A, B, and C, the time-varying coupling is established between adjacent elements. Analogy to the concept of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, amplitudes of the two couplings are modulated as time-delayed Gaussian functions, and the couplings' signs are periodically flipped to eliminate temporal phase mismatching. As a result, robust and complete acoustic energy transfer from A to C is achieved. The non-reciprocal frequency conversion properties of our design are demonstrated. Our research takes a pivotal step towards expanding wave steering through time-dependent modulations and is promising to extend the frequency conversion based on state evolution in various linear Hermitian systems to nonlinear and non-Hermitian regimes. Phase matching is pivotal for realizing complete energy transfer for classical waves. Here, authors propose temporal quasi-phase matching method and realize robust and complete energy transfer between arbitrarily detuned acoustic cavities by combing the concept of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next generation of high-capacity, multi-task optical informatics requires sophisticated manipulation of multiple degrees of freedom (DoFs) of light, especially when they are coupled in a non-separable way. Vector beam, as a typical non-separable state between the spin and orbital angular momentum DoFs, mathematically akin to entangled qubits, has inspired multifarious theories and applications in both quantum and classical regimes. Although qubit rotation is a vital and ubiquitous operation in quantum informatics, its classical analogue is rarely studied. Here, we demonstrate the logical rotation of vectorial non-separable states via the uniform self-assembled chiral superstructures, with favorable controllability, high compactness and exemption from formidable alignment. Photonic band engineering of such 1D chiral photonic crystal renders the incident-angle-dependent evolution of the spatially-variant polarizations. The logical rotation angle of a non-separable state can be tuned in a wide range over 4π by this single homogeneous device, flexibly providing a set of distinguished logic gates. Potential applications, including angular motion tracking and proof-of-principle logic network, are demonstrated by specific configuration. This work brings important insight into soft matter photonics and present an elegant strategy to harness high-dimensional photonic states. The logical rotation of non-separable states with a large tunable range is demonstrated by the uniformly self-assembled chiral superstructures, which enables a set of logic gates, proof-of-principle logic network, and angular motion tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thorax is the central component of the insect flight drivetrain, making it essential to understand how thoracic muscles influence insect flight for flapping wing microair vehicle design. This paper presents a theoretical model that takes into account the influence of thoracic muscles on flapping wing motion with reference to real insects. The thoracic muscle effect is simulated by the chordwise torsional spring, whose stiffness is derived from a comparison test with the results of real insect experiments. The elastic deformation of the flexible flapping wing is modeled by the von Kármán nonlinear plate theory. The predictive quasi-steady aerodynamic model based on the blade element theory can estimate the aerodynamic force, and the modeling of the spanwise bending and twisting is done with quadratic polynomials. The equations of motion are solved using the Newmark-Raphson method. Results suggest that including the influence of thoracic muscles decreases cycle-averaged lift and power, but enhances the efficiency of lift production by 23%. Moreover, it also postpones pitching motion and reduces its amplitude, though the movement trends of the flapping motion remain approximately unchanged regardless of the inclusion of the thoracic muscle effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform a high-precision computation of the three-loop three-point form factor of the stress-tensor supermultiplet in N = 4 SYM. Both the leading-color and sub-leading-color form factors are expanded in terms of simple integrals. We compute the complete set of integrals at a special kinematic point with very high precision using AMFlow. The high-precision leading-color result enables us to obtain the analytic form of a numerical constant in the three-loop BDS ansatz, which is previously known only numerically. The high-precision values of the non-leading-color finite remainder as well as all integrals are also presented, which can be valuable for future use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolution of East Asian monsoonal precipitation across the Last Interglacial (LIG) remains controversial, owing to the discrepancies between various proxies and their low temporal resolution. Through a transient high-resolution global climate simulation covering the interval of 130–120 ka, we illustrate a long-term increasing (decreasing) trend in summer precipitation over south China (northeast Asia) during the LIG (i.e. 130–120 ka). The out-of-phase precipitation evolution across latitudes were coherently regulated by the weakened monsoonal circulation, southward moved western North Pacific high, and southward displaced East Asian westerly jet from the early to late LIG. These atmospheric circulation variations were in turn determined by sea surface temperature anomalies over the Pacific and the propagation of extratropical Rossby waves originating from North Africa. Our results may provide important insights for reconciling discrepancies between precipitation proxies during the LIG and for precipitation behavior in a warmer-than-present world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Branched flows occur ubiquitously in various wave systems, when the propagating waves encounter weak correlated scattering potentials. Here we report the experimental realization of electrical tuning of the branched flow of light using a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) system. We create the physical realization of the weakly correlated disordered potentials of light via the inhomogeneous orientations of the NLC. We demonstrate that the branched flow of light can be switched on and off as well as tuned continuously through the electro-optical properties of NLC film. We further show that the branched flow can be manipulated by the polarization of the incident light due to the optical anisotropy of the NLC film. The nature of the branched flow of light is revealed via the unconventional intensity statistics and the rapid fidelity decay along the light propagation. Our study unveils an excellent platform for the tuning of the branched flow of light which creates a testbed for fundamental physics and offers a new way for steering light. Here the authors experimentally realize the electrical tuning of branched flow of light in nematic liquid crystals. The statistical properties and the polarization effect of the branched flow of light in the film are systematically studied adding fundamental insights on branched flow of light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invertebrate species are a natural reservoir of viral genetic diversity, and invertebrate pests are widely distributed in crop fields. However, information on viruses infecting invertebrate pests of crops is limited. In this report, we describe the deep metatranscriptomic sequencing of 88 invertebrate samples covering all major invertebrate pests in rice fields. We identified 296 new RNA viruses and 13 known RNA viruses. These viruses clustered within 31 families, with many highly divergent viruses constituting potentially new families and genera. Of the identified viruses, 13 RNA viruses clustered within the Fiersviridae family of bacteriophages, and 48 RNA viruses clustered within families and genera of mycoviruses. We detected known rice viruses in novel invertebrate hosts at high abundances. Furthermore, some novel RNA viruses have genome structures closely matching to known plant viruses and clustered within genera of several plant virus species. Forty-five potential insect pathogenic RNA viruses were detected in invertebrate species. Our analysis revealed that host taxonomy plays a major role and geographical location plays an important role in structuring viral diversity. Cross-species transmission of RNA viruses was detected between invertebrate hosts. Newly identified viral genomes showed extensive variation for invertebrate viral families or genera. Together, the large-scale metatranscriptomic analysis greatly expands our understanding of RNA viruses in rice invertebrate species, the results provide valuable information for developing efficient strategies to manage insect pests and virus-mediated crop diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the dissociation effect of J / Ψ in magnetized, rotating QGP matter at finite temperature and chemical potential using gauge/gravity duality. By incorporating angular velocity into the holographic magnetic catalysis model, we analyze the influence of temperature, chemical potential, magnetic field, and angular velocity on the properties of J / Ψ meson. The results reveal that temperature, chemical potential, and rotation enhance the dissociation effect and increase the effective mass in the QGP phase. However, the magnetic field suppresses dissociation, and its effect on the effective mass is non-trivial. Additionally, we explore the interplay between magnetic field and rotation, identifying a critical angular velocity that determines the dominant effect. As a parallel study, we also examine the rotation effect in the holographic inverse magnetic catalysis model, although the magnetic field exhibits distinctly different behaviors in these two models, the impact of rotation on the dissociation effect of J / Ψ is similar. Finally, we investigate the influence of electric field and demonstrate that it also speeds up the J / Ψ dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag and Pb co-doped polycrystalline SnSe materials were prepared by melting, high-energy ball milling and hot pressing sintering successively, and then their thermoelectric properties were investigated systematically. The results show that the addition of Pb can effectively improve the conductivity. The room temperature carrier concentration of the Sn0.94Ag0.01Pb0.05Se sample reaches 2.9 × 1018 cm−3. Ag2Se phase was formed in the material. With the increase of Ag and Pb content, the SnSe polycrystalline grains grew significantly, resulting in the increase of thermal conductivity. The ZT value of the Sn0.98Ag0.01Pb0.01Se sample at 873 K is 1.4, which is lower than that of pure SnSe polycrystalline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motional consensus of self-propelled particles is studied in both noise-free cases and cases with noise by the standard Vicsek model. In the absence of noise, we propose a simple method, using grid-based technique and defining the normalized variance of the ratio of the number of particles locally to globally, to quantitatively study the movement pattern of the system by the spatial distribution of the particles and the degree of aggregation of particles. It is found that the weaker correlation of velocity leads to larger degree of aggregation of the particles. In the cases with noise, we quantify the competition between velocity alignment and noise by considering the difference of the variety of order parameter result from the velocity alignment and noise. The variation of the effect of noise on motional consensus is non-monotonic for the change of the probability distribution of noise from uniform to non-uniform. Our results may be useful and encourage further efforts in exploring the basic principles of collective motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the rotation effects of the hot and dense QCD matter in a non-perturbative regime by the gauge/gravity duality. We use the gravitational model that is designated to match the state-of-the-art lattice data on the thermal properties of (2+1)-flavor QCD and predict the location of the critical endpoint and the first-order phase transition line at large baryon chemical potential without rotation. After introducing the angular velocity via a local Lorentz boost, we investigate the thermodynamic quantities for the system under rotation in a self-consistent way. We find that the critical temperature and baryon chemical potential associated with the QCD phase transition decrease as the angular velocity increases. Moreover, some interesting phenomena are observed near the critical endpoint. We then construct the 3-dimensional phase diagram of the QCD matter in terms of temperature, baryon chemical potential, and angular velocity. As a parallel investigation, we also consider the gravitational model of SU(3) pure gluon system, for which the 2-dimensional phase diagram associated with temperature and angular velocity has been predicted. The corresponding thermodynamic quantities with rotation are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop MRI-based radiomics model for predicting prostate cancer (PCa) in men with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of 4–10 ng/mL, to compare the performance of radiomics model and PI-RADS v2.1, and to further verify the predictive ability of radiomics model for lesions with different PI-RADS v2.1 score. 171 patients with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/mL were divided into training (n = 119) and testing (n = 52) groups. PI-RADS v2.1 score was assessed by two radiologists. All volumes of interest were segmented on T2-weighted imaging, diffusion weighted imaging, and apparent diffusion coefficient sequences, from which quantitative radiomics features were extracted. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to establish radiomics model for predicting PCa. The diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The radiomics model exhibited the best performance in predicting PCa, which was better than the performance of PI-RADS v2.1 scoring by the junior radiologist in the training group [area under the curve (AUC): 0.932 vs 0.803], testing group (AUC: 0.922 vs 0.797), and the entire cohort (AUC: 0.927 vs 0.801) (P < 0.05). The radiomics model performed well for lesions with PI-RADS v2.1 score of 3 (AUC = 0.854, sensitivity = 84.62%, specificity = 84.34%) and PI-RADS v2.1 score of 4–5 (AUC = 0.967, sensitivity = 98.11%, specificity = 86.36%) assigned by junior radiologist. The radiomics model quantitatively outperformed PI-RADS v2.1 for noninvasive prediction of PCa in men with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/mL. The model can help improve the diagnostic performance of junior radiologists and facilitate better decision-making by urologists for management of lesions with different PI-RADS v2.1 score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, analytical solutions are developed for the super-critical vibration of fluid-conveying pipes with elastic supports. By accounting for the geometric nonlinearity, the nonlinear buckling problem is solved and the equilibrium configurations are obtained. Using a coordinate transform, the dynamic model of a super-critical pipe is obtained for the vibrations around the non-trivial equilibrium configuration. The present analytical solutions of interest for the equilibrium configurations, the natural frequencies, the mode shape, and the transient response are obtained by combining the Laplace transform method with the complex mode method. The Laplace transform method is applied to formulate a steady-state Green's function solution. Using the complex mode methodology, vibration characteristics of the super-critical pipe around the equilibrium configurations are presented. The present analytical solutions can be readily reduced to classical boundary conditions by setting end-spring parameters to zero or infinity. Numerical simulations are conducted to understand the impact mechanisms of the elastic support parameters on the free and forced vibration characteristics. This work offers important guidance for optimization and design of super-critical fluid-conveying pipes with elastic supports for engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New 40SiCr pearlite wheel steels contained 0.4 wt.% C, 1.07 wt.% Cr, 1.33 wt.% Si and 0.84 wt.% Mn with hardness of 256, 306, 325 and 382 HBW were used to conduct sliding friction experiments coupled with the commercial U71Mn rail steel. Different hardness ratios of Hw/Hr (hardness of wheel/hardness of rail) with 0.79, 0.81, 0.89 and 1.04 were obtained to study the optimal Hw/Hr and obtain the minimal wear loss of wheel/rail steels. The sliding wear test was conducted under the constant loads of 200 N and sliding speed of 200 rpm. The results showed as the hardness increased, the ferrite content decreased and the generation of plate cementite (PC) and spherical cementite (SC), the wear loss of wheel samples decreased with the increasing Hw/Hr. Furthermore, when the Hw/Hr was 0.81, the rail sample wear loss and the wheel/rail total wear loss were the lowest simultaneously. When the Hw/Hr was 0.79, adhesive wear of the rail led to high wear loss. When the Hw/Hr was 0.89 and 1.04, hard wheel fragments ground the coupled rail and abrasive wear also caused high rail wear loss. From the perspective of wear performance, the wear loss of 40SiCr-633(i.e., Hw/Hr=0.81) wheel was close to that of ER8 wheel under the same wear conditions while ensuring the lowest rail wear loss, so 0.81 was the best Hw/Hr in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using gauge/gravity duality, we calculate the spectral function of the heavy vector mesons with the presence of an intense magnetic field in a hot and dense medium. The results show that, a general conclusion, as the increases of magnetic field, chemical potential and temperature, the height of the peak of the spectral function decreases and the width increases. A nontrivial result is the change from the peak position of spectral function. We explain this non-trivial behavior by the interplay of the interaction between the two heavy quarks and the interaction between the medium with each of the heavy quarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the mass spectra of Q ¯ Q Q ¯ Q (Q = c, b) systems in QCD sum rules with the complete next-to-leading order (NLO) contribution to the perturbative QCD part of the correlation functions. Instead of meson-meson or diquark-antidiquark currents, we use diagonalized currents under operator renormalization. We find that differing from conventional mesons q ¯ q and baryons qqq, a unique feature of the multiquark systems like Q ¯ Q Q ¯ Q is the operator mixing or color configuration mixing induced by NLO corrections, which is crucial to understand the color structure of the states. Our numerical results show that the NLO corrections are very important for the Q ¯ Q Q ¯ Q system, because they not only give significant contributions but also reduce the scheme and scale dependence and make Borel platform more distinct, especially for the b ¯ b b ¯ b in the MS ¯ scheme. We use currents that have good perturbation convergence in our phenomenological analysis. With the MS ¯ scheme, we get three JPC = 0++ states, with masses 6.35 − 0.17 + 0.20 GeV, 6.56 − 0.20 + 0.18 GeV and 6.95 − 0.35 + 0.21 GeV, respectively. The first two seem to agree with the broad structure around 6.2 ~ 6.8 GeV measured by the LHCb collaboration in the J/ψJ/ψ spectrum, and the third seems to agree with the narrow resonance X(6900). For the 2++ states we find one with mass 7.03 − 0.26 + 0.22 GeV, which is also close to that of X(6900), and another one around 7.25 − 0.35 + 0.21 GeV, which has good scale dependence but slightly large scheme dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of optical transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM) has broadened our understanding of light and is expected to promote optics and other physics. However, some fundamental questions concerning the nature of such OAM remain, particularly whether they can survive from observed mode degradation and hold OAM values higher than 1. Here, we show that the strong degradation actually origins from inappropriate time-delayed kx–ω modulation, instead, for transverse OAM having inherent space-time coupling, immediate modulation is necessary. Thus, using immediate x–ω modulation, we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally degradation-free spatiotemporal Bessel (STB) vortices with transverse OAM even beyond 102. Remarkably, we observe a time-symmetrical evolution, verifying pure time diffraction on transverse OAM beams. More importantly, we quantify such nontrivial evolution as an intrinsic dispersion factor, opening the door towards time diffraction-free STB vortices via dispersion engineering. Our results may find analogues in other physical systems, such as surface plasmon-polaritons, superfluids, and Bose-Einstein condensates. It remains unclear whether transverse orbital angular momentum beams can maintain OAM values above 1. Here the authors demonstrate the generation of beams with transverse OAM up to 100 by the inverse design of phase and find an intrinsic dispersion factor to describe the nontrivial evolution of such beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common human γ-herpesvirus, infects more than 90% of adults worldwide. The purpose of this study was to establish a novel EBV detection method by combining the recombinase aided amplification (RAA) assay with an initial enrichment step that utilizes magnetic beads coated with a recombinant human mannan-binding lectin (rhMBL, M1 protein). An M1 protein–protein A magnetic bead complex (M1 beads) was prepared and used to achieve separation and enrichment of EBV from blood. After nucleic acid extraction, DNA was amplified by RAA. Using 388 whole blood samples and 1 serum sample, we explored the specificity, sensitivity and applicability of the newly developed detection method and compared it with commercial quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) following M1 bead enrichment, traditional qPCR and traditional RAA. After enrichment, the positivity rate of EBV was increased from 15.94% to 17.74% by RAA (P < 0.05) and from 7.20% to 15.17% by qPCR (P < 0.05). The viral loads after enrichment were increased by 1.13 to 23.19-fold (P < 0.05). Our data demonstrates that an RAA assay incorporating M1 bead enrichment is a promising tool for detecting low EBV viral loads in blood samples that will facilitate an early response to EBV infection. Key points: The RAA with an enrichment step that utilizes magnetic beads coated with M1 protein. A very effective method for detecting low-load virus in blood samples. The first report describing virus detection using this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-channel lidar has fast acquisition speed, large data volume, high dimension, and vital real-time storage, which makes it challenging to be met using the traditional lidar data storage methods. This paper presents a novel approach to storing the multi-channel lidar data based on the principle of the tree structure, the adjacency linked list, the binary data storage. In the proposed system, a tree structure is constructed by the four-dimensional structure of the multi-channel lidar data, and a data retrieval method of the multi-channel lidar data file is given. The results show that the proposed tree structure approach can save the storage capacity and improve the retrieval speed, which can meet the needs for efficient storage and retrieval of multi-channel lidar data, and improve the data storage utilization and the practicality of multi-channel lidar system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied color-octet contributions for J/ψ inclusive production at B factories, i.e., e+e− → J/ψ(3 P J 8 ,1 S 0 8 ) + X non − c c ¯ , using the soft gluon factorization (SGF) approach, in which the J/ψ energy spectrum is expressed in a form of perturbatively calculable short-distance hard parts convoluted with one-dimensional soft gluon distributions (SGDs). The series of velocity corrections originated from kinematic effect can be naturally resummed in this approach. Short-distance hard parts have been calculated analytically to next-to-leading order in αs. Renormalization group equations for SGDs have been derived and solved, which resums Sudakov logarithms originated from soft gluon emissions. Our final result gives a upper bound for color-octet matrix elements consistent with that extracted from hadron colliders. This may relieve the well-known universality problem in the NRQCD factorization. As a comparison, we also analytically calculated short-distance hard parts in the NRQCD factorization, with Sudakov logarithms resummed by using soft collinear effective theory. The comparison shows that velocity corrections from kinematic effect, which have been resummed in SGF, are significant for phenomenological study. Furthermore, it is found that Sudakov logarithms originated from soft gluon emissions are very important, while it is not the case for Sudakov logarithms originated from jet function. Therefore, the partial Sudakov resummation in SGF has already captured the main physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyzes the free vibration of a spinning functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced metal foam (FG-GPLRMF) beam. The differential transformation method is extended to analyze flap-wise bending vibration and chordwise bending vibration with Coriolis force effect for the first time. The beam is modeled using the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The Halpin–Tsai micromechanics model is utilized to predict effective material properties. Various types of graphene platelet (GPL) and porosity distributions are considered. The governing equations and corresponding boundary conditions of the FG-GPLRMF beam are obtained via Hamilton's principle. Results show that the vibration characteristics of the FG-GPLRMF beam are affected by the GPL geometry size, types of porosity, and GPL distributions. Among different types of porosity, the Porosity-A causes the highest fundamental natural frequency, while the Porosity-B corresponds to the lowest one of the spinning FG-GPLRMF beam in most cases. Moreover, the GPL pattern and porosity distribution have a coupled effect on the bending vibration of the spinning FG-GPLRMF beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An axion insulator is theoretically introduced to harbor unique surface states with half-integer Chern number C . Recently, experimental progress has been made in different candidate systems, while a unique Hall response to directly reflect the half-integer Chern number is still lacking to distinguish an axion state from other possible insulators. Here we show that the C = 1 2 axion state corresponds to a topological state with Chern number N = 1 in the Majorana basis. In proximity to an s − wave superconductor, a topological phase transition to an N = 0 phase takes place at critical superconducting pairing strength. Our theoretical analysis shows that a chiral Majorana hinge mode emerges at the boundary of N = 1 and N = 0 regions on the surface of an axion insulator. Furthermore, we propose a half-integer quantized thermal Hall conductance via a thermal transport measurement, which is a signature of the gapless chiral Majorana mode and thus confirms the C = 1 2 (N = 1 ) topological nature of an axion state. Our proposals help to theoretically comprehend and experimentally identify the axion insulator and may benefit the research of topological quantum computation. In topological condensed-matter systems, axion insulators are elusive excitation and active research in running to spot their signature. In this work, the authors theoretically propose a picture to characterize the surface of axion insulators and a possible detection scheme for thermal transport experiments with a precisely half-quantized outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical modeling of a functionally graded (FG) graphene nanoplatelet (GPL)-reinforced assembled beam–plate structure resting on elastic supports is presented for the first time, and its free vibration analysis is performed. Herein, the assembled structure is modeled according to the Kirchhoff plate theory and the Rayleigh beam theory. The graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs) gradiently distribute in the beam's radial direction and in the plate's thickness direction, respectively. By adopting the rule of mixture and the Halpin–Tsai model, the effective material properties can be obtained. By employing the Lagrange's equation and considering the effects of Coriolis force and centrifugal force, the coupled governing equations of the assembled structure are determined. Furthermore, the assumed modes method and substructure modal synthesis method are applied to obtain the frequencies of the assembled beam–plate structure. A comprehensive numerical investigation is carried out to discuss the influence of the structural and material parameters on the vibration behavior of the beam–plate structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next-to-leading order (NLO) (O ( α s 3 )) corrections for gluon fragmentation functions to a heavy quark-antiquark pair in 3 P J 1 8 states are calculated within the NRQCD factorization. We use the integration-by-parts reduction and differential equations to semi-analytically calculate the fragmentation functions in full-QCD, and find that infrared divergences can be absorbed by the NRQCD long distance matrix elements. Thus, the NRQCD factorization conjecture is verified at two-loop level via a physical process, which is free of artificial ultraviolet divergences. Through the matching procedure, infrared-safe short distance coefficients and O ( α s 2 ) perturbative NRQCD matrix elements ⟨ O 3 P J 1 8 (3 S 1 8 )⟩ are obtained simultaneously. The NLO short distance coefficients are found to have significant corrections comparing with the LO ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transient three-dimensional powder-scale model was established for understanding the flow field and mass transfer within the molten pool during the selective laser melting (SLM) of Inconel 718 alloy by considering some important physical phenomena, such as, a transition from powder to solid, nonlinearities produced by temperature-dependent materials' properties, and fluid flow in the calculation. The influence of laser power or scanning speed on the flow field and cooling rate was discussed in detail. The simulation results reveal that the motion of molten pool and higher cooling rate promote the mass transfer and benefit the solute distribution by increasing laser power. However, with increasing the scanning speed, the melt flow speed and cooling rate are elevated, resulting in an agglomeration of the solute elements, which is ascribed to the shorter dwelling time of liquid. Therefore, the segregation of Nb can be effectively suppressed by increasing laser power or decreasing scanning speed, which can decrease the dwelling time of liquid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the fragmentation function of the gluon to color-octet 3S1 heavy quark-antiquark pair using the soft gluon factorization (SGF) approach, which expresses the fragmentation function in a form of perturbative short-distance hard part convoluted with one-dimensional color-octet 3S1 soft gluon distribution (SGD). The short distance hard part is calculated to the next-to-leading order in αs and all orders in velocity expansion. By deriving and solving the renormalization group equation of the SGD, threshold logarithms are resummed to all orders in perturbation theory. The comparison with gluon fragmentation function calculated in NRQCD factorization approach indicates that the SGF formula resums a series of velocity corrections in NRQCD which are important for phenomenological study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, insufficient bone volume always occurs in the posterior maxilla which makes implantation difficult. Short implants combined with transcrestal sinus floor elevation (TSFE) may be an option to address insufficient bone volume. Purpose: The clinical performance of short implants combined with TSFE was compared with that of conventional implants combined with TSFE according to the survival rate. Method: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we followed the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. Articles were identified through PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and manual searching. Eligibility criteria included clinical human studies. The quality assessment was performed according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. The odds ratio (OR) with its confidence interval (CI) was considered the essential outcome for estimating the effect of short implants combined with TSFE. Results: The registration number is INPLASY202050092. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, including 1 cohort study and 10 cross-sectional studies. With respect to the 1-year survival rate, no significant effect was observed between short implants (length ≤ 8 mm) and conventional implants combined with TSFE (I2=0%, OR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.55-1.96). Similarly, no difference was seen between the two groups regarding the survival rate during the healing period (I2=10%, OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.28-1.97) and 3-year loading (OR=1.76, 95% CI: 0.65-4.74). Conclusion: There was no evidence that the survival rate of short implants combined with TSFE was lower or higher than that of conventional implants combined with TSFE when the residual bone height was poor and the implant protrusion length of short implants was less than or similar to conventional implants. Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the lack of random controlled trials in our meta-analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inconel 718 alloys were fabricated by selective laser melting under different scanning speeds to investigate the change of the morphology of molten pool, direction of grain growth, and tensile properties. Results show that as the scanning speed increases from 1,000 to 1,450 mm·s−1, the ratio between depth and width of molten pool increases, yet their overlapping regimes decrease. Meanwhile, increasing scanning speed can promote the solidified structure evolve from cell to columnar dendrites, and decrease the dendrite spacing from 0.54 to 0.39 µm; the average columnar grain size also decreases from 84.42 to 73.51 µm. At different scanning speeds, the preferred orientation of grains along the building is mainly <001> direction. In addition, the tensile properties of samples under different scanning speeds present a non-monotonic transition. The maximum ultimate tensile strength and elongation can reach 1,014±19 MPa and 19.04±1.12 (%), respectively, at the scanning speed of 1,300 mm·s−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer memristors with light weight and mechanical flexibility are preeminent candidates for low-power edge computing paradigms. However, the structural inhomogeneity of most polymers usually leads to random resistive switching characteristics, which lowers the production yield and reliability of nanoscale devices. In this contribution, we report that by adopting the two-dimensional conjugation strategy, a record high 90% production yield of polymer memristors has been achieved with miniaturization and low power potentials. By constructing coplanar macromolecules with 2D conjugated thiophene derivatives to enhance the π–π stacking and crystallinity of the thin film, homogeneous switching takes place across the entire polymer layer, with fast responses in 32 ns, D2D variation down to 3.16% ~ 8.29%, production yield approaching 90%, and scalability into 100 nm scale with tiny power consumption of ~ 10−15 J/bit. The polymer memristor array is capable of acting as both the arithmetic-logic element and multiply-accumulate accelerator for neuromorphic computing tasks. Though polymer memristors are promising for low‐power flexible edge computing applications, realizing efficient nanometer‐scale arrays remains a challenge. Here, the authors report a record high 90% production yield in nm‐scale 2D conjugated polymer memristors with homogeneous resistive switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effect of CYP2C19 polymorphisms on the clinical outcomes of clopidogrel therapy in patients after stenting procedure for cerebral artery stenosis in northeast China. 568 patients performed CYP2C19 genotype screening in the neurosurgery department of our hospital; 154 patients were finally recruited according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and followed-up for 6 months. Ischemic events including (1) transient ischemic attack (TIA); (2) stent thrombosis; (3) ischemic stroke; and (4) death were defined as primary clinical endpoints. The frequencies of CYP2C19*1, *2 and *3 alleles in 568 patients were 63.1%, 31.1% and 5.8%, respectively. 154 patients were classified into extensive (65 patients; 42.2%), intermediate (66 patients; 42.9%), and poor (23 patients; 14.9%) metabolizer groups. A χ2 test showed a significant difference in primary clinical endpoints at 6 months (P = 0.04), and a multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the CYP2C19 loss-of-function (LOF) alleles associated with post-procedure prognosis. The Kaplan–Meier curve revealed that there was no significant difference in ischemic events between *2 and *3 alleles carriers. Our study verifies that CYP2C19 *2 and *3 have significant impact on the clinical outcomes of clopidogrel therapy in patients with stenting procedure for cerebral artery stenosis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformer is the most important equipment in the power system. The research and development of fault diagnosis technology for Internet of Things equipment can effectively detect the operation status of equipment and eliminate hidden faults in time, which is conducive to reducing the incidence of accidents and improving people's life safety index. Objective: To explore the utility of Internet of Things in power transformer fault diagnosis system. Methods: A total of 30 groups of transformer fault samples were selected, and 10 groups were randomly selected for network training, and the rest samples were used for testing. The matter-element extension mathematical model of power transformer fault diagnosis was established, and the correlation function was improved according to the characteristics of three ratio method. Each group of power transformer was diagnosed for four months continuously, and the monitoring data and diagnosis were recorded and analyzed result. GPRS communication network is used to complete the communication between data acquisition terminal and monitoring terminal. According to the parameters of the database, the working state of the equipment is set, and various sensors are controlled by the instrument driver module to complete the diagnosis of transformer fault system. Results: The detection success rate of the power transformer fault diagnosis system model established in this paper is as high as 95.6%, the training error is less than 0.0001, and it can correctly identify the fault types of the non training samples. It can be seen that the technical support of the Internet of Things is helpful to the upgrading and maintenance of the power transformer fault diagnosis system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delayed emergence from anesthesia was previously reported in a case study of a child with Glycine Encephalopathy. To investigate the neural basis of this delayed emergence, we developed a zebrafish glial glycine transporter (glyt1 − / −) mutant model. We compared locomotor behaviors; dose–response curves for tricaine, ketamine, and 2,6-diisopropylphenol (propofol); time to emergence from these anesthetics; and time to emergence from propofol after craniotomy in glyt1−/− mutants and their siblings. To identify differentially active brain regions in glyt1−/− mutants, we used pERK immunohistochemistry as a proxy for brain-wide neuronal activity. We show that glyt1−/− mutants initiated normal bouts of movement less frequently indicating lethargy-like behaviors. Despite similar anesthesia dose–response curves, glyt1−/− mutants took over twice as long as their siblings to emerge from ketamine or propofol, mimicking findings from the human case study. Reducing glycine levels rescued timely emergence in glyt1−/− mutants, pointing to a causal role for elevated glycine. Brain-wide pERK staining showed elevated activity in hypnotic brain regions in glyt1−/− mutants under baseline conditions and a delay in sensorimotor integration during emergence from anesthesia. Our study links elevated activity in preoptic brain regions and reduced sensorimotor integration to lethargy-like behaviors and delayed emergence from propofol in glyt1−/− mutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trigeminal neuralgia is a debilitating condition, and the pain easily spreads to other parts of the face. Here, we established a mouse model of partial transection of the infraorbital nerve (pT-ION) and found that the Connexin 36 (Cx36) inhibitor mefloquine caused greater alleviation of pT-ION-induced cold allodynia compared to the reduction of mechanical allodynia. Mefloquine reversed the pT-ION-induced upregulation of Cx36, glutamate receptor ionotropic kainate 2 (GluK2), transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), and phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK) in the trigeminal ganglion. Cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia induced by pT-ION or by virus-mediated overexpression of Cx36 in the trigeminal ganglion was reversed by the GluK2 antagonist NS102, and knocking down Cx36 expression in Nav1.8-expressing nociceptors by injecting virus into the orofacial skin area of Nav1.8-Cre mice attenuated cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia. In conclusion, we show that Cx36 contributes greatly to the development of orofacial pain hypersensitivity through GluK2, TRPA1, and p-ERK signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition variation of the TiAl-4722 alloys was examined in a batch of the industrial scale master ingots, and in the corresponding castings prepared by conventional vacuum arc remelting (VAR) combined with induction skull melting (ISM) and investment casting processes. The content changes of major elements and interstitial elements were evaluated based on the chemical analysis at the top and bottom of the ingots and castings. Results show that the contents of C, N, H, Fe and Si have almost no change in the ingots and castings, suggesting that the chemical analysis on these elements can be based on the batch analysis. The O content keeps almost the same in different ingots, but exhibits relatively large differences in castings, which was probably influenced by the reaction between the shell mold and the molten alloy, and the spalling of face coat of the shell mold during casting. For the major elements of Al, Nb and Cr, the composition difference between the top and the bottom of the ingots is less than that of the castings. But for the O element, the trend is different, especially for the castings, suggesting that the investment casting is a homogenization process for Cr and Nb, but a differentiation process for O. The contents of major elements in castings fluctuate mainly in the same range as that in the ingots, indicating that the contents of the major elements are controllable during investment casting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermetallic Ti-45Al-8Nb-(W, B, Y) (at.%) and Ti-46Al-5Nb alloys are directionally solidified at a constant growth rate of 30 µm·s-1 using a Bridgman type apparatus. The quenched microstructures and lengths of different phase regions were observed and measured after various growing times of 0-30 min. Results show that the phase transformations in different phase regions are mainly depending on the high temperature microstructure and the supercooling degree during quenching process. After isothermal holding, the primary phase grows into the liquid phase, the dendrites change from equiaxed to columnar grains, and the length of the L+ß phase region, L+ß+a phase region and mushy zone varies, indicating that the entire directional solidification process can be described by a static equilibrium - nonequilibrium - dynamic equilibrium evolution process. In addition, the gap between the original growth interface and front interface shows that the actual crystal growth rate is not equal to the drawing velocity during directional solidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the microstructure and microhardness, Ti-48Al (at.%) alloy was rapidly solidified by melt spinning under different cooling rates. The microstructure and microhardness of rapidly solidified Ti-48Al alloy were systematically investigated. Results show that the average lamellar colony size of the alloy reduces from 60.6 µm to 11 µm as the cooling rate increases from 2.3×105 to 5.1×105 K·s-1, caused by the increase of nucleation rate at a higher cooling rate. At the high cooling rate of (4.3- 5.1)×105 K·s-1, the a phase is the primary phase, and a few metastable a phases are reserved, which then transform into a2 phase and subsequently lead to the formation of a2 equiaxed grain. The lamellar spacing also decreases with the increase of cooling rate. The relationship between lamellar spacing (d) and cooling rate (v) is d=33.6v -1.34. The microhardness increases with the increase of cooling rate because the refined lamellar spacing and grain size can improve the microhardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(*, IBS-D FSN vs. control FSN in BDNF+/- mice; #, IBS-D FSN in BDNF+/+ mice vs. in BDNF+/- mice; †control FSN in BDNF+/+ mice vs. in BDNF+/- mice). (B) TrkB/Fc significantly suppressed the effect of IBS-D FSN at 30, 45 and 60 mmHg (*, IBS-D FSN vs. control; #, IBS-D FSN vs. [Extracted from the article]

Many patients of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) are unresponsive to the current anti-VEGF treatment. The mechanisms for anti-VEGF resistance are poorly understood. We explore the unique property of the apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) binding protein (AIBP) that enhances cholesterol efflux from endothelial cells and macrophages to thereby limit angiogenesis and inflammation to tackle anti-VEGF resistance in CNV. We show that laser-induced CNV in mice with increased age showed increased resistance to anti-VEGF treatment, which correlates with increased lipid accumulation in macrophages. The combination of AIBP/apoA-I and anti-VEGF treatment overcomes anti-VEGF resistance and effectively suppresses CNV. Furthermore, macrophage depletion in old mice restores CNV sensitivity to anti-VEGF treatment and blunts the synergistic effect of combination therapy. These results suggest that cholesterol-laden macrophages play a critical role in inducing anti-VEGF resistance in CNV. Combination therapy by neutralizing VEGF and enhancing cholesterol removal from macrophages is a promising strategy to combat anti-VEGF resistance in CNV. By combining advanced age and laser photocoagulation, Zhu et al. establish a novel CNV model of anti-VEGF resistance. They show that lipid accumulation in old macrophages promote angiogenesis, and that apoA-I binding protein (AIBP) inhibits angiogenesis by reducing this lipid accumulation. They further show that the combination of AIBP/apoA-I and anti-VEGF treatment overcomes anti-VEGF resistance and effectively suppresses CNV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]