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Two-dimensional (2D) half-metallic magnets are expected to achieve breakthroughs in the field of spintronics and quantum computation due to their 100% spin polarization and non-dissipative ballistic transport characteristics. However, the current availability of practical applications for these materials is limited. In this paper, a new 2D material NiVS6As2 is predicted based on density functional theory (DFT). It has a ferromagnetic ground state with a high Curie temperature, TC = 150 K and half-semi-metal (HSM) band structure protected by a structural symmetry degeneracy point on the Fermi surface, which can be controlled by an electric field and strain. When an out-of-plane electric field is applied, NiVS6As2 shows a Chern insulator with a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect. These results expand the family of 2D magnetic semimetals, and provide new theoretical inspiration for understanding the protection of degenerate point symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of high material cost, difficult performance enhancement and complicated manufacturing process of the traditional subtractive manufacturing method for rotary die-cutting tools, this paper takes rotary die-cutting tools as the object and prepares Ni45A/TiC coatings with different TiC contents on the basis of Ni45A coatings as the transition layer to achieve the optimization of the performance of fusion-cladding layer and defect control. The mixed-level orthogonal design was combined with regression analysis to explore the effects of process parameters and TiC powder ratios on the properties and defects of coatings. Following multi-objective optimization, the optimal process parameters were 60wt.% TiC, 1.8 kW laser power, 4 mm/s scanning speed, and 10 L/min gas flow rate. Compared to the optimal outcomes of the orthogonal tests, the validation test saw an increase in the coating's hardness from 1200.2 HV to 1219.6 HV and a decrease in wear volume from 0.546 × 10−3 mm3 to 0.503 × 10−3 mm3. The error of the predicted and verified gray correlation degrees was 1.296%. The research provides a theoretical basis for laser additive manufacturing of high performance rotary cutting tools and technical support for additive manufacturing of curved substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Three stable QTL for grain zinc concentration were identified in wheat landrace Chinese Spring. Favorable alleles were more frequent in landraces than in modern wheat cultivars. Wheat is a major source of dietary energy for the growing world population. Developing cultivars with enriched zinc and iron can potentially alleviate human micronutrient deficiency. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population with 245 lines derived from cross Zhou 8425B/Chinese Spring was used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain zinc concentration (GZnC) and grain iron concentration (GFeC) across four environments. Three stable QTL for GZnC with all favorable alleles from Chinese Spring were identified on chromosomes 3BL, 5AL, and 5BL. These QTL explaining maxima of 8.7%, 5.8%, and 7.1% of phenotypic variances were validated in 125 resequenced wheat accessions encompassing both landraces and modern cultivars using six kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) assays. The frequencies of favorable alleles for QGZnCzc.caas-3BL, QGZnCzc.caas-5AL and QGZnCzc.caas-5BL were higher in landraces (90.4%, 68.0%, and 100.0%, respectively) compared to modern cultivars (45.9%, 35.4%, and 40.9%), suggesting they were not selected in breeding programs. Candidate gene association studies on GZnC in the cultivar panel further delimited the QTL into 8.5 Mb, 4.1 Mb, and 47.8 Mb regions containing 46, 4, and 199 candidate genes, respectively. The 5BL QTL located in a region where recombination was suppressed. Two stable and three less stable QTL for GFeC with favorable alleles also from Chinese Spring were identified on chromosomes 4BS (Rht-B1a), 4DS (Rht-D1a), 1DS, 3AS, and 6DS. This study sheds light on the genetic basis of GZnC and GFeC in Chinese Spring and provides useful molecular markers for wheat biofortification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delineating management zones (MZs) is considered one of the most important steps towards precision nitrogen (N) management, as MZs are required to optimize N inputs and improve environmental health. However, no reports have fully explored the optimization of regional MZs related to policymaking to achieve long-term Sustainable Development Goals. This study developed a new sustainable environmental index (SEI) by integrating the Euclidean distance after feature normalization, spatial autocorrelation, and expert knowledge. The SEI was then used to delineate MZs in the main wheat-producing provinces of China using the fuzzy C-mean clustering. The results showed that compared to the two data-driven-based methods (Random Forest- and all variables-based methods), the SEI-based method performed the best and identified 9 MZs in terms of practical production and spatial distribution of zones. Further analysis indicated that the dominant drivers of MZ delineation showed strong spatial heterogeneity and high input uncertainty. Climatic factors explained 15.6% of the yield variability, while both soil factors and topographic factors individually accounted for 10.2% of the variability. The similar spatial characteristics of input uncertainty were found to be consistent across various MZs, with a high level of uncertainty ranging from 0.7 on a scale of 0 to 1. Finally, this study provided potentially valuable suggestions for policymakers and farmers, as well as possible directions for further N management. Overall, the proposed methodological framework on regional MZs has important implications for precision N management, providing a new perspective for intensive sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) shows good potential in determining muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients. However, whether VI-RADS could predict the prognosis of radical cystectomy (RC) patients has not been reported. Our purpose is to determine whether VI-RADS contributed to predict oncologic outcomes. In this retrospective study, we analysed the information of bladder cancer patients who admitted to our centre from June 2012 to June 2022. All patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and underwent RC were included. VI-RADS scoring was performed by two radiologists blinded to the clinical data. Patients' clinical features, pathology data, and imaging information were recorded. Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate patients' overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Log-rank test was used to assess statistical differences. COX regression analysis was used to estimate risk factors. Ultimately, we included 219 patients, with 188 males and 31 females. The median age was 66 (IQR = 61–74.5) years. The VI-RADS scores were as follows: VI-RADS 1, 4 (1.8%); VI-RADS 2, 68 (31.1%); VI-RADS 3, 40 (18.3%); VI-RADS 4, 69 (31.5%); and VI-RADS 5, 38 (17.4%). Patients with VI-RADS ≥ 3 had poorer OS and PFS than those with VI-RADS < 3. The AUC of VI-RADS predicting 3-year OS was 0.804, with sensitivity of 0.824 and negative predictive value of 0.942. Multivariate COX analysis showed that VI-RADS ≥ 3 was risk factors for OS (HR = 3.517, P = 0.003) and PFS (HR = 4.175, P < 0.001). In the MIBC subgroup, patients with VI-RADS ≥ 4 had poorer OS and PFS. In the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) subgroup, the prognosis of patients with VI-RADS ≥ 3 remained poorer. VI-RADS scores could effectively predict the survival of patients after RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is one of the essential factors for crop growth and development. Rapid and non-destructive monitoring of winter wheat water status is crucial for water diagnosis and irrigation management. Wavelet analysis has been widely used to process hyperspectral reflectance data for remote sensing monitoring of crop water status. However, most studies utilized only a single wavelet feature, and the potential of combined wavelet features remains unclear. This study aimed to use the combination of machine learning algorithms with wavelet analysis to make full use of the spectral information and improve the performance of wavelet analysis in winter wheat water status monitoring. Field experiments under four water and two nitrogen treatments were carried out from 2020 to 2022. Crop water status indicators and canopy reflectance spectra of winter wheat were acquired and analyzed. Wavelet index models and prediction models based on two-band wavelet features and multi-sensitive wavelet features were constructed by employing machine learning algorithms including multiple linear regression (MLR), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM). The results showed that the best prediction of canopy water content, plant water content, and canopy equivalent water thickness was produced by RF (R2 = 0.92, RMSE = 2.39%), SVM (R2 = 0.93, RMSE = 2.12%) and SVM (R2 = 0.79, RMSE = 99.31 μm) based on multiple sensitive wavelet features, respectively. In addition, the wavelet index model also showed a good monitoring ability (R2 = 0.71–0.82). The machine learning models based on multiple sensitive wavelet features after feature selection avoided collinearity between features, made full use of spectral information, and improved the monitoring performance of wavelet transform for winter wheat water status. The findings will be helpful to the water stress diagnosis and accurate irrigation management of winter wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the correlation between the natural gas market, uncertainty, and the stock market in China. The research uses the BK model and considers both high- and low-frequency bands. According to the dynamic spillover indices and connectedness network, natural gas market, uncertainty, and stock market spillover influences are concentrated in the high-frequency band within 12 trading weeks and minor in the low-frequency band. The natural gas market receives information in the return model. In contrast, the uncertainty of the financial and energy market is the primary transmitter and substantially impacts the natural gas market return. In the volatility model, the natural gas market remains the information receiver but is affected by financial market uncertainty and stock market volatility. During the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, results indicate that financial market uncertainty, energy market uncertainty, and stock market volatility exerted a substantial influence on the natural gas market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Four stable QTL for adult-plant resistance (APR) to powdery mildew were identified on chromosome arms 1DL, 2BS, 2DL, and 6BL in the widely grown Chinese wheat cultivar Bainong 64. These QTL had no effect on response to stripe rust or leaf rust. Wheat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a devastating fungal disease. Seedlings of Chinese wheat Bainong 64 are susceptible to Bgt, but adult plants have maintained resistance since it was released in 1996. A population of 171 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from cross Jingshuang 16/Bainong 64 (JS16/BN64) was used to dissect genetic components of powdery mildew resistance. A genetic map comprising 5383 polymorphic markers was constructed using the 15 K SNP chip and kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers. Composite interval mapping identified four stable QTL with favorable alleles all from BN64 on chromosome arms 1DL, 2BS, 2DL, and 6BL in at least four environments. They accounted for 8.3%, 13.8%, 14.4%, and 9.0% of the total phenotypic variation explained (PVE) in maximum, respectively. QPmjbr.caas-1DL, situated about 22 Mb from centromere, is probably a new QTL. QPmjbr.caas-2DL located near the end of arm 2DL and explained the largest PVE. Using genetic maps populated with KASP markers, QPmjbr.caas-2BS and QPmjbr.caas-6BL were fine mapped to a 1.8 cM genetic intervals spanning 13.6 Mb (76.0–89.6 Mb) and 1.7 cM and 4.9 Mb (659.9–664.8 Mb), respectively. The four QTL independent of stripe rust and leaf rust resistance were validated for powdery mildew resistance in another RIL population related to BN64 and a cultivar panel using representative KASP markers. Since BN64 has been a leading cultivar and an important breeding parent in China, the QTL and markers reported in this study will be useful for marker-assisted selection of APR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing has been used for assisting the precision nitrogen (N) management in wheat (Triticum aestivum) production. This study aimed to develop an efficient and energy saving N management strategy based on multi-source data for winter wheat at the farm scale. Five field experiments involving different cultivars and N treatments were conducted to establish and validate the N management strategy in 2017–2021. UAV multi-spectral images, plant sampling, weather and field management data collection were carried out synchronously at Feekes 6.0. Four machine learning methods were used to integrate multi-variate information to determine the optimal parameters in N regulation algorithm. The results showed random forest (RF) algorithm performed best for plant dry matter (R2 = 0.78) and plant N accumulation (R2 = 0.83) estimation, a N nutrition index optimized algorithm (NNIOA), driven by multi-source data, was developed and used for guiding in-season N application. The NNIOA efficiently regulated the deficient, optimal and excessive N status through up- (54.17%), fine- (0.67%) and downward- (18.18%) adjustment of N fertilizers, respectively, while the optimal N treatment achieved highest net profit, energy use efficiency (EUE) and energy productivity (EP). Compared with farmer's practices, the NNIOA increased partial factor productivity (PFP), net profit, EUE and EP by 19.60–27.94%, 22.47–45.13 $ ha−1, 6.94–13.07% and 8.36–12.29%, respectively, while reduced N input (16.77–21.67%), energy input (8.13–10.74%) and CO2 emission (7.60–10.11%) without any yield reduction at study farms. In conclusion, this study supplied a precision N management strategy to implement variable N application for sustainable wheat production at farm scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been extensively studied in tumor development and treatment. CircZNF609 (hsa_circ_0000615) has been shown to serve as an oncogene in all kinds of solid tumors and may act as the novel biomarker in tumor diagnosis and therapy in tumor early diagnosis and therapy. However, the underlying character and mechanism of circZNF609 in cisplatin chemosensitivity and bladder cancer (BCa) development were unknown. The expression level of cell division cycle 25B (CDC25B), microRNA 1200 (miR-1200), and circZNF609 in BCa cells and tissues depended on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CDC25B protein level was assayed with Western blot. Functional assays in vitro and in vivo had been conducted to inspect the important role of circZNF609 on BCa progression and cisplatin chemosensitivity in BCa. RNA sequencing and online databases were used to predict the interactions among circZNF609, miR-1200, and CDC25B. Mechanistic exploration was confirmed by RNA pull-down assay, RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Dual luciferase reporter assay. CircZNF609 expression was increased significantly in BCa cell lines and tissues. For BCa patients, increased expression of circZNF609 was correlated with a worse survival. In vitro and in vivo, enforced expression of circZNF609 enhanced BCa cells proliferation, migration, and cisplatin chemoresistance. Mechanistically, circZNF609 alleviated the inhibition effect on target CDC25B expression by sponging miR-1200. CircZNF609 promoted tumor growth through novel circZNF609/miR-1200/CDC25B axis, implying that circZNF609 has significant potential to act as a new diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target in BCa. Enhancing cisplatin sensitivity is an important direction for bladder cancer management. 1. This research reveals that circZNF609 improves bladder cancer progression and inhibits cisplatin sensitivity by inducing G1/S cell cycle arrest via a novel miR-1200/CDC25B cascades. 2. CircZNF609 was confirmed associated with worse survival of bladder cancer patients. 3. CircZNF609 act as a prognostic biomarker for bladder cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence showed that heavy metal exposure including cadmium (Cd) exposure might contribute to memory function impairment in youth, while this association has not been extensively explored in senior groups. Complementary therapy like physical activity (PA) is proved to enhance memory; however, the combined effects of Cd exposure and PA are interesting issues worth investigating. Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014 were analyzed. Multivariable weighted linear regression model and restricted cubic splines analysis were used to examine the association between blood Cd, PA, and memory function. Ultimately, 1884 samples were analyzed, and the weighted participants were 98,350,183. Results showed that in the immediate and delayed recall tests, a negative association was found between blood Cd and scores for the fully adjusted model, while a positive association was detected with PA on memory test scores. In subgroup analysis, for the delayed recall test, in lower Cd exposure (Cd = Q1), stronger effect size was found in the moderate level PA group than the higher level PA group (moderate level PA group, β = 1.133, 95% CI: 0.330, 1.936; high level PA group, β = 0.203, 95% CI: − 0.314, 0.719), and this finding also existed in higher (Cd = Q4) exposure (moderate level PA group, β = 0.988, 95% CI: 0.267, 1.708; high level PA group, β = 0.830, 95% CI: 0.261, 1.400). Moreover, the non-linear relationship between Cd exposure and performance of CERAD test under different levels of PA was reported, and the moderate level PA group performed best from lower to higher blood Cd. According to our research, the benefit of PA did not always expand with the PA intensity increment under different Cd exposure. Performing an appropriate level of physical exercise could alleviate the memory decline under Cd exposure in the elder groups. Further biological investigations are warranted to verify these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Adult-plant stripe rust resistance gene Yr86 in Chinese wheat cultivar Zhongmai 895 was mapped to the physical interval 710.2–713.2 Mb on the long arm of chromosome 2A. Adult-plant resistance to stripe rust is generally more durable than all-stage resistance. Chinese wheat cultivar Zhongmai 895 showed stable stripe rust resistance at the adult-plant stage. To map the genetic loci underlying its resistance, 171 doubled haploid (DH) lines from a Yangmai 16/Zhongmai 895 cross were genotyped with the wheat 660 K SNP chip. Disease severities of the DH population and parents were assessed in four environments. A major QTL designated QYryz.caas-2AL was mapped to interval 703.7–715.3 Mb on the long arm of chromosome 2A using both chip-based and KASP (kompetitive allele-specific PCR) marker-based methods, explaining 31.5 to 54.1% of the phenotypic variances. The QTL was further validated in an F2 population of cross Emai 580/Zhongmai 895 with 459 plants and a panel of 240 wheat cultivars using KASP markers. Three reliable KASP markers predicted a low frequency (7.2–10.5%) of QYryz.caas-2AL in the test panel and remapped the gene to the physical interval 710.2–713.2 Mb. Based on different physical positions or genetic effects from known genes or QTL on chromosome arm 2AL, the gene was predicted to be a new one for adult-plant stripe rust resistance and was named Yr86. Twenty KASP markers linked to Yr86 were developed in this study based on wheat 660 K SNP array and genome re-sequencing. Three of them are significantly associated with stripe rust resistance in natural population. These markers should be useful for marker-assisted selection and also provide a starting point for fine mapping and map-based cloning of the new resistance gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PD-1 has become a common target for cancer treatment. However, the molecular regulation of PD-1 expression homeostasis remains unclear. Here we report the PD-1 3' UTR can dramatically repress gene expression via promoting mRNA decay. Deletion of the PD-1 3' UTR inhibits T cell activity and promotes T-ALL cell proliferation. Interestingly, the robust repression is attributable to cumulative effects of many weak regulatory regions, which we show together are better able to maintain PD-1 expression homeostasis. We further identify several RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that modulate PD-1 expression via the 3' UTR, including IGF2BP2, RBM38, SRSF7, and SRSF4. Moreover, despite rapid evolution, PD-1 3' UTRs are functionally conserved and strongly repress gene expression through many common RBP binding sites. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism of maintaining PD-1 expression homeostasis and might represent a general model for how small regulatory effects play big roles in regulation of gene expression and biology. Demonstration that the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) 3' UTR plays a crucial role regulating gene expression by promoting mRNA decay and various RNA binding proteins, including IGF2BP2, RBM38, SRSF7, and SRSF4, regulate PD-1 expression via the 3' UTR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor of the World Journal of Urology discusses a study on the prognostic significance of preoperative proteinuria in predicting renal function outcomes after partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. The authors highlight some limitations of the study, including its retrospective nature, single-center design, and small sample size. They suggest that a multicentric approach and a larger cohort size would enhance the generalizability and reliability of the findings. Additionally, they propose considering more detailed assessments of proteinuria levels and the impact of concurrent management of cardiovascular risks. Addressing these points would strengthen the study's contribution to the clinical management of renal cell carcinoma patients. [Extracted from the article]

This letter to the editor responds to an article titled "Tamsulosin 0.8 mg daily dose in management of BPH patients with failed tamsulosin 0.4 mg monotherapy and unfit for surgical intervention" by Dogha et al. The authors appreciate the study's exploration of non-surgical options for BPH but raise concerns about the sample size, selection criteria, lack of a control group, high dropout rate, and unclear impact on patients' quality of life. They suggest a follow-up study with a randomized controlled trial design, a larger and more diverse patient population, and extended follow-up to validate the preliminary findings. The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. [Extracted from the article]

This letter to the editor responds to an article titled "Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy in younger versus older adults with renal cell carcinoma: a propensity score-matched analysis" published in the World Journal of Urology. The authors of the letter acknowledge the strengths of the study but raise several concerns. They question the generalizability of the findings due to the inclusion of patients from different institutions with varying surgical expertise. They also highlight the need for long-term oncological outcomes and a deeper analysis of the types and management of complications. Additionally, the authors suggest including a discussion on the cost-effectiveness of the procedure in older patients. They believe that addressing these limitations would enhance the study's utility and applicability for healthcare professionals. [Extracted from the article]

This letter to the editor responds to a study on the relationship between patient position and stone-free rates in retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). The authors commend the study for addressing an important aspect of patient positioning but raise a few points for further discussion. They suggest that larger, multicenter trials with more diverse populations are needed to validate the reported benefits. They also recommend specifying the timing of postoperative assessments and including long-term follow-up data to evaluate the sustainability of the observed benefits. Additionally, the authors suggest considering a broader demographic representation to enhance the generalizability of the findings. [Extracted from the article]

This letter to the editor responds to an article titled "Impact of Health and Digital Health Literacy on Quality of Life Following Radical Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer: Prospective Single-Center Cohort Study" by Keles et al. The authors commend the study for exploring the impact of health literacy (HL) and digital health literacy (e-HL) on quality of life (QoL) after prostate cancer surgery. However, they raise concerns about the study's methodology, including the demographic homogeneity of the cohort and the reliance on self-reported measures. They suggest that incorporating objective measures and considering non-significant results more critically would strengthen the study's conclusions. The authors also acknowledge the need for future research to explore these variables in more diverse populations and using a mixed-methods approach. [Extracted from the article]

This letter to the editor responds to a study on the use of cotrimoxazole as prophylaxis for transrectal prostate biopsy. The authors commend the study for addressing the need for alternative antibiotics due to restrictions on fluoroquinolones. However, they suggest that the study could benefit from a comparison group to assess cotrimoxazole's efficacy, consideration of confounding factors such as patient comorbidities, and exploration of the impact of antibiotic resistance rates on prophylaxis outcomes. The authors recommend future research to include a randomized controlled trial design, broader examination of antibiotic regimens, and more detailed microbial resistance data. [Extracted from the article]

Nodal-loop semimetals are novel quantum materials that have attracted considerable research interest from scholars for their fascinating properties due to the band crossing characteristic. Nevertheless, nodal loop semimetals in two-dimensional (2D) lattices are quite rare. Here, we report our new discovery of a Zn4C2 monolayer with a P4/mmm symmetry tetragonal lattice that possesses a robust Dirac nodal-loop state, using first-principles calculations. Further calculations show that the gapless nodal-loop is protected by the horizontal mirror symmetry, which can be well maintained at external strains between -8% and 8%, and is also robust against the choice of Ueff for correlation effect and the choice of functional. The results of this paper reveal a new type of novel 2D Dirac nodal-loop material, which provides a new potential material for high-speed electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-Density Parity-heck Codes (LDPC) with excellent error-correction capabilities have been widely used in both data communication and storage fields, to construct reliable cyber-physical systems that are resilient to real-world noises. Fast prototyping field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based decoder is essential to achieve high decoding performance while accelerating the development process. This paper proposes a three-level parallel architecture, TLP-LDPC, to achieve high throughput by fully exploiting the characteristics of both LDPC and underlying hardware while effectively scaling to large-size FPGA platforms. The three-level parallel architecture contains a low-level decoding unit, a mid-level multi-unit decoding core, and a high-level multi-core decoder. The low-level decoding unit is a basic LDPC computation component that effectively combines the features of the LDPC algorithm and hardware with the specific structure (e.g., Look-Up-Table, LUT) of the FPGA and eliminates potential data conflicts. The mid-level decoding core integrates the input/output and multiple decoding units in a well-balancing pipelined fashion. The top-level multi-core architecture conveniently makes full use of board-level resources to improve the overall throughput. We develop an LDPC C++ code with dedicated pragmas and leverage HLS tools to implement the TLP-LDPC architecture. Experimental results show that TLP-LDPC achieves 9.63 Gbps end-to-end decoding throughput on a Xilinx Alveo U50 platform, 3.9x higher than existing HLS-based FPGA implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrically controlled half-metallicity in antiferromagnets is of great significance for both fundamental research and practical application. Here, by constructing van der Waals heterostructures composed of two-dimensional (2D) A-type antiferromagnetic NiI2 bilayer (bi-NiI2) and ferroelectric In2Se3 with different thickness, we propose that the half-metallicity is realizable and switchable in the bi-NiI2 proximate to In2Se3 bilayer (bi-In2Se3). The polarization flipping of the bi-In2Se3 successfully drives transition between half-metal and semiconductor for the bi-NiI2. This intriguing phenomenon is attributed to the joint effect of polarization field-induced energy band shift and interfacial charge transfer. Besides, the easy magnetization axis of the bi-NiI2 is also dependent on the polarization direction of the bi-In2Se3. The half-metallicity and magnetic anisotropy energy of the bi-NiI2 in heterostructure can be effectively manipulated by strain. These findings provide not only a feasible strategy to achieve and control half-metallicity in 2D antiferromagnets, but also a promising candidate to design advanced nanodevices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the inherent safety and high mass/heat transfer efficiency of microreactor, the continuous micro-reaction technology has been widely applied in hazardous chemistry recently. In this work, a continuous ozonolysis system based on micro-packed bed reactors (µPBRs) was developed with the synthesis of benzaldehyde as a model reaction. The effects of operating variables (e.g., stirring time, molar ozone/olefin ratio, reaction pressure, reaction temperature and liquid residence time) on the olefins conversion and product distribution were investigated. Based on the experimental results, the optimum reaction conditions are as follows: stirring time 1 h, molar ratio of ozone to olefin 1.2, reaction pressure 0.1 MPa, and the reaction temperature ranging from − 15 to 10℃, as opposed to the low temperature (<-50℃) routinely employed for batch operation. In addition, the full conversion of styrene and a benzaldehyde yield of ~ 93% was observed with the liquid residence time of 3.8–30.8 s. Consequently, the flow ozonolysis technique upon µPBRs allows for a sustainable, safe and efficient approach to oxidize olefins to aldehydes/ketones compared to traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "A novel method for optimizing regional-scale management zones based on a sustainable environmental index" published in the journal Precision Agriculture. The original version of the article contained a mistake in the published version, specifically two circles above Figure 4(k) that appeared mistakenly in the PDF version. However, the online version of the article is correct. The correction has been made and the original article has been updated. The correction notice is provided by the authors and includes the names of all the authors involved in the article. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Mo2FeB2 coatings were fabricated by laser cladding with different pre-placed powder sizes. In the present research, a coaxial nozzle head coupled with a continuous fiber laser with a maximum power of 3 kW was used. The influence of powder size (~ 6 μm, ~ 13 μm, ~ 65 μm) on the morphology, microstructure, microhardness, wear resistance, and fracture toughness of the coating were discussed in this research. The morphology showed that coating obtained with ~ 6-μm powder size had excellent wettability and avoided obvious defects; microstructure revealed that the coating appeared particle agglomeration phenomenon with the increase of powder size. The coating obtained with ~ 6 μm had herringbone and feature structures to improve the density, and the bonding zone had typical columnar crystal and no cracks. The microhardness, wear resistance, and fracture toughness decreased as the increase of powder size. The optimal microhardness, COF, and fracture toughness of coating reached 1138.56 HV0.5, 0.59, 14.65 MPa·m1/2, respectively, when powder size was ~ 6 μm. The wear form of coatings was typical abrasive wear and adhesive wear; the fracture mechanism was transgranular fracture. The research can provide a reference for the preparation of Mo2FeB2 ternary boride coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrugated steel plate shear wall (CSPSW) with inelastic buckling of a corrugated steel plate (CSP) could restrict the elastic out-of-plane buckling of in-filled steel plates with appropriate CSPs, and lateral displacement could be restricted in the structures. So, the CSPSWs with inelastic buckling of CSPs could be applicable in high buildings or the structures with strict requirements of lateral displacement. This paper presents the research works on the seismic behaviour of the CSPSW with inelastic buckling of a corrugated steel plate. A numerical model was developed to simulate the seismic performance of the CSPSW with the inelastic buckling of the CSP, and the FE model was validated through experiment. Subsequently, parametric analyses were performed to investigate for the effects of those key parameters on the seismic behaviour of CSPSWs, such as the height—thickness ratio, aspect ratio, horizontal panel width, corrugation angle, initial imperfections, and surrounding frame stiffness. The buckling and post buckling behaviour, failure modes, ductility and energy absorption capacity of the shear walls were discussed. The results reveal that the CSPSW show high strength, better ductility, and stable hysteretic characteristics. The failure modes of the CSPSWs with CSPs inelastic buckling are the failure of the tension field strips along the along the diagonals in the whole CSPs. And the corners of CSPs in CSPs are weak parts, which should be strengthened in future designs. Besides these, the surrounding frame stiffness should be greater than I c min to ensure energy-dissipating capacity and buckling capacity stability of CSPSWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing data from optical canopy sensors has been successfully used for precision nitrogen (N) management. This study aimed to explore the potential of multispectral camera mounted on fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in guiding in-season N topdressing for regional wheat production. Wheat plot and field experiments were conducted with multiple cultivars and N rates during 2017–2019. Manual sampling and UAV photography were carried out at wheat key growth stages. A modified sufficiency index algorithm (MSIA), driven by UAV spectral data, was developed and used for variable rate N recommendation (VRNR). Firstly, data from plot experiment was used to determine the local optimum N rate ( N OPT ) for attaining the maximum available yield, and to quantify the relationships between vegetation index and above ground biomass, plant N uptake (PNU), and grain yield. The results suggested that local N OPT was 283.5 kg ha−1, and red-edge soil adjusted vegetation index (RESAVI) yielded the highest accuracy in constructing PNU monitoring model (R2 = 0.78) and dynamic curves of UAV spectrum (R2 > 0.95). Secondly, using UAV spectral data of field experiment, the calculated real-time PNU and sufficiency index, along with N OPT , were imported into MSIA for in-season VRNR. Compared to local empirical N fertilization, MSIA gave accurate N recommendation rate according to wheat growth status, with harvest index and nitrogen agronomic efficiency averagely increased by 3.1% and 11.9%, respectively under 15.4% reduced N input and undiminished yield return. This study supplies a new approach to implement VRNR for regional wheat production supported by UAV imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WCoB-TiC composite coatings with in-situ formation of NbC were fabricated on the surface of an AISI 1045 substrate by laser cladding. The geometric characteristics, microstructure, microhardness, and fracture toughness of coatings were investigated by means of an optical microscope (OM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), and a microhardness tester. In addition, the elastic constants and bulk property of the reinforced phases were investigated by first principles calculation. The results showed that a reliable metallurgical bonding was formed between the coating and the substrate and in-situ synthesized reinforcement phases of the coating consisted of WCoB, W2CoB2, TiC, NbC, (Nb,Ti,W)C, and traces of Nb2C. The dilution rate and porosity had a negative effect with the addition of Nb. According to the results of SEM, EDS, and EPMA, Nb was diffused uniformly in the TiC structure. The NbC phase had the highest hardness among all in-situ synthesized reinforcement phases, which reached 24.525 GPa, while Nb2C reflected the strongest metallicity. The microhardness and fracture toughness of the coating were increased firstly and then decreased following the increase of Nb content, and when the Nb addition was 4 wt%, the coating had the highest average microhardness and fracture toughness (1755.42 HV0.5, 8.23 MPa·m1/2, respectively). The microhardness and fracture toughness was 24% and 30% higher than that of the coating without Nb addition, respectively. From the crack propagation morphology of coatings, all coatings had fine transgranular fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil nutrients vary greatly and information regarding their spatial-temporal variability is critical for achieving site-specific nutrient management. However, the problem is that the high cost of soil sampling and laboratory analysis limits the number of samples current research budgets can afford. Besides, large sampling intervals sometimes fail to capture the variability of typical soil properties. Consequently, determining a reasonable yet feasible sampling interval to characterize the spatial variation of soil properties is greatly needed to delineate soil nutrient management zones (MZs). For this purpose, this study used four sampling intervals, 25 m × 25 m, 50 m × 50 m, 75 m × 75 m, and 100 m × 100 m by resampling the raw data acquired from seven adjacent fields located in Quzhou County to estimate the optimal design of soil sampling. Five soil properties (pH, electrical conductivity, extractable phosphorus, extractable potassium, and soil organic matter) were selected to delineate MZs using principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. The results indicated that indigenous P and K varied significantly, with the coefficients of variation of 34.33% and 24.01 %, respectively. The findings suggested that the optimal soil sampling interval was 50 m to accurately delineate MZs in medium- and small-scale farmlands. Besides, findings also demonstrated that site-specific P and K management could save approximately 21 kg P ha−1 and 30 kg K ha−1 as compared to conventional farming practices while ensuring target yield. The results can help make precision P and K management decisions in medium- and small-scale farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the TiC–Ni35A composite coating was fabricated on the AISI 1045 steel substrate by laser cladding process. The cross-sectional morphology, microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of coatings obtained under different laser energy densities (E) and TiC powder ratios (PR) were analyzed. According to the results, all the coating had a reliable metallurgical bonding with the AISI 1045 steel substrate. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the coating phases were Ni and TiC. The average microhardness of the Ni35A-80wt.% TiC coating reached up to 75.1 HRC. The minimum coefficient of friction of the composite coating was only about 30% of the AISI 1045 steel substrate. The wear form was mainly adhesive wear when altering the TiC powder ratios, while the wear form also contained abrasion wear under different energy densities. The ability of decomposition and re-nucleation of TiC was significantly improved with the increase of laser energy densities and the decrease of TiC powder ratios. The microhardness, wear resistance, and coefficient of friction of the composite coating were improved because of the TiC strengthening phase particles. Compared with the AISI 1045 steel substrate, the microhardness and wear resistance of the composite coating were increased by 5.3 times and 6.3 times, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown adipocytes share the same developmental origin with skeletal muscle. Here we find that a brown adipocyte-to-myocyte remodeling also exists in mature brown adipocytes, and is induced by prolonged high fat diet (HFD) feeding, leading to brown fat dysfunction. This process is regulated by the interaction of epigenetic pathways involving histone and DNA methylation. In mature brown adipocytes, the histone demethylase UTX maintains persistent demethylation of the repressive mark H3K27me3 at Prdm16 promoter, leading to high Prdm16 expression. PRDM16 then recruits DNA methyltransferase DNMT1 to Myod1 promoter, causing Myod1 promoter hypermethylation and suppressing its expression. The interaction between PRDM16 and DNMT1 coordinately serves to maintain brown adipocyte identity while repressing myogenic remodeling in mature brown adipocytes, thus promoting their active brown adipocyte thermogenic function. Suppressing this interaction by HFD feeding induces brown adipocyte-to-myocyte remodeling, which limits brown adipocyte thermogenic capacity and compromises diet-induced thermogenesis, leading to the development of obesity. Brown adipocytes contribute to energy balance, and adipocyte development and brown adipocyte thermogenesis are in part regulated by epigenetic modifications. Here the authors report that the histone demethylase Utx maintains brown adipocyte identity via demethylation of PRDM16, which in turn represses myogenic remodelling via DNMT1-mediated Myod1 promoter hypermethylation in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of brown fat thermogenesis increases energy expenditure and alleviates obesity. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is important in brown/beige adipocyte thermogenesis. Here we discover a fat-derived "adipokine" neurotrophic factor neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) and its receptor Tropomyosin receptor kinase C (TRKC) as key regulators of SNS growth and innervation in adipose tissue. NT-3 is highly expressed in brown/beige adipocytes, and potently stimulates sympathetic neuron neurite growth. NT-3/TRKC regulates a plethora of pathways in neuronal axonal growth and elongation. Adipose tissue sympathetic innervation is significantly increased in mice with adipocyte-specific NT-3 overexpression, but profoundly reduced in mice with TRKC haploinsufficiency (TRKC +/−). Increasing NT-3 via pharmacological or genetic approach promotes beige adipocyte development, enhances cold-induced thermogenesis and protects against diet-induced obesity (DIO); whereas TRKC + /− or SNS TRKC deficient mice are cold intolerant and prone to DIO. Thus, NT-3 is a fat-derived neurotrophic factor that regulates SNS innervation, energy metabolism and obesity. Activation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis increases energy expenditure and promotes weight loss in mice. Here the authors identify neurotrophic factor neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) as an adipokine that regulates sympathetic nervous system growth and innervation in adipose tissue and increases white adipose beiging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regenerative refrigeration is an important reverse work-heat conversion cycle with a theoretical coefficient of performance (COP) identical to the Carnot efficiency. Practical regenerative refrigerators are capable of working down to 4 K and largely fulfill the refrigeration requirement of modern technologies in many fields, especially for space applications. However, the enthalpy flow associated with the pressure dependence, abbreviated as pressure-induced enthalpy flow, brought about by real gas effects degrades the theoretical COP of the refrigerator to below about 30% of the Carnot efficiency at the temperatures of below the critical point. This paper reviews the long history of exploring the real gas effects which dates back to the 1970s and continues to now. Important explorations of uncovering the loss mechanism and reducing such losses are summarized. The theories that are in accordance with experimental results and simulation results are expounded. We further carry out analyses on the expansion components, including the pulse tube and the clearance gap. Several inferences are made in order to explore the long-lasting puzzles about real gas effects. It is emphasized that the underlying cause of the loss in the regenerator is an indirect effect of the real gas properties. Further study about carrying out a direct verification of the theory is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power management for heterogeneous servers has been playing a key role in improving energy efficiency in data centers. Running latency-critical web services on such scenario is still challenging due to the overheads of task transition between such servers. In this paper, we present a runtime power management system, Montgolfier, which is built on a latency-aware feedback control mechanism. It consolidates wimpy and brawny servers into composite nodes performing latency-critical applications to improve overall energy efficiency while ensuring QoS. The key idea behind Montgolfier is to mitigate the negative effect of server switches by dynamic load prediction and to determine thin-provisioned configurations in fine-grain manner within servers for daily fluctuating loads. Our evaluation results show that Montgolfier reduces energy consumption by up to 34.9% without violating any QoS constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud storage over the internet gives opportunities for easy data sharing. To preserve the privacy of sharing data, the outsourced data is usually encrypted. The searchable encryption technique provides a solution to find the target data in the encrypted form. And the public-key encryption with keyword search is regarded as a major approach for the searchable encryption technique. However, there are still several privacy leakage challenges for the further adoption of these major schemes. One is how to resist the keyword guessing attack which still leaks data user's keywords privacy. Another is how to construct the access control policy to prevent illegal access of outsourced data sharing since illegal access always leak the privacy of user's attribute. In our paper, we firstly try to design a novel secure keyword index to resist the keyword guessing attack from access pattern and search pattern. Second, we propose an attribute-based encryption scheme which supports an enhanced fine-grained access control search. This allows the authenticated users to access different data although their searching request contains the same queried keywords, and meanwhile unauthenticated users cannot get any attribute privacy information. Third, we give security proofs to show that the construction of keyword index is against keyword guessing attack from the access pattern and search pattern, and our scheme is proved to be IND-CPA secure (the indistinguishability under chosen plaintext attack) under the standard model. Finally, theoretical analyses and a series of experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency of our scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eocene Niubao Formation is the primary research target of oil exploration in the Lunpola Basin. Crude oil was extracted from Well Z1 on the northern margin of the basin in 1993. In this study, an integrated evaluation of the source rock, geothermal, and maturity histories and the fluid inclusion and fluid potential distributions was performed to aid in predicting areas of hydrocarbon accumulation. Due to the abundance of organic matter, the kerogen types, maturity, and oil-sources correlate with the geochemical data. The middle submember of the second member of the Niubao Formation (E2n2-2) is the most favorable source rock based on the amount of oil produced from the E2n2-3 and E2n3-1 reservoirs. One- and two-dimensional basin modeling, using BasinMod software, shows that the E2n2-2 source rock started to generate hydrocarbon at 35-30 Ma, reached a maturity of R0=0.7% at 25-20 Ma, and at present, it has reached the peak oil generation stage with a thermal maturity of R0=0.8% to less than R0=1.0%. By using fluid inclusion petrography, fluorescence spectroscopy, and microthermometry, two major periods of oil charging have been revealed at 26.1-17.5 and 32.4-24.6 Ma. The oil accumulation modeling results, conducted by using the Trinity software, show a good fit of the oil shows in the wells and predict that the structural highs and lithologic transitions within the Jiangriaco and Paco sags are potential oil traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) with segmental renal artery clamping has become an important method to minimize the warm ischemia of the kidney during the surgery. In the present study, we adopted a new model of calculating surgery-related kidney volume loss (SKVL), which was derived from the imaging technology to predict the outcomes of LPN with segmental renal artery clamping. Methods: A total of 111 consecutive patients underwent LPN with available pre- and post-operation computed tomography (CT) scanning data were retrospectively analyzed. The SKVL was calculated using the parameter derived from the CT scan. The correlation between the SKVL and the perioperative outcomes as well as the renal function loss was estimated by the logistic regression analyses. Results: The mean SKVL was 8.99 cm3; kidney volume and tumor volume was 147.48 cm3 and 25.87 cm3, respectively. The SKVL was associated with maximum diameter of tumor (P = 0.001), tumor volume (P < 0.001), intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.001), and the warm ischemia time (P = 0.004), but not associated with the surgery time (P = 0.322) and complications (P = 0.638). Besides, the SKVL was associated with the renal function loss after LPN (P < 0.001). The multivariable logistic regression showed that SKVL was an independent parameter to predict the renal function loss. Conclusions: SKVL is a pre-operation parameter derived from the imaging data, which may be used to predict the perioperative outcomes and renal function loss of patients undergoing LPN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stirling-type pulse tube cryocoolers (SPTCs) working at liquid-helium temperatures are appealing in space applications because of their promising advantages such as high reliability, compactness, etc. Worldwide efforts have been put in to develop SPTCs operating at liquid-helium temperatures especially with helium-4 as the working fluid. Staged structure is essential to reach such low temperatures. Generally, both the regenerator of the last section and the pulse tube together with the phase shifter are precooled by its upper stage or by external cold source to a low temperature of around 20 K. However, the precooling effects on the regenerator and the pulse tube are synthetic in previous studies, and their independent effects have not been studied clearly. In this manuscript, the precooling effects on the regenerator and on the pulse tube together with the phase shifter are tested independently on a unique-designed precooled SPTC. The tested precooling temperature is between 13.3 K and 22 K, and the no-load refrigeration temperature gets down to 3.6 K. Further analyses and numerical calculations have been carried out. It is found that the influence on the regenerator is remarkable, which is different from previous conclusions. It is also found that the precooling effects on the pulse tube are relatively weak because of the large pressure-induced enthalpy flow of a real gas working at the temperatures near to the critical point. Furthermore, the phase shifting capacity is analyzed with two cases and with both helium-4 and helium-3 as working fluids, and it keeps quite constant after optimizing the frequency and the precooling temperature for each case. The investigation on these independent effects will provide valid reference on the precooling mechanism study of SPTCs working down to liquid-helium temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active canopy sensor (ACS)-based precision nitrogen (N) management (PNM) is a promising strategy to improve crop N use efficiency (NUE). The GreenSeeker (GS) sensor with two fixed bands has been applied to improve winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) N management in North China Plain (NCP). The Crop Circle (CC) ACS-470 active sensor is user configurable with three wavebands. The objective of this study was to develop a CC ACS-470 sensor-based PNM strategy for winter wheat in NCP and compare it with GS sensor-based N management strategy, soil N test-based in-season N management strategy and conventional farmer's practice. Four site-years of field N rate experiments were conducted from 2009 to 2013 to identify optimum CC vegetation indices for estimating early season winter wheat plant N uptake (PNU) and grain yield in Quzhou Experiment Station of China Agricultural University located in Hebei province of NCP. Another nine on-farm experiments were conducted at three different villages in Quzhou County in 2012/2013 to evaluate the performance of the developed N management strategy. The results indicated that the CC ACS-470 sensor could significantly improve estimation of early season PNU (R = 0.78) and grain yield (R = 0.62) of winter wheat over GS sensor (R = 0.60 and 0.33, respectively). All three in-season N management strategies achieved similar grain yield as compared with farmer's practice. The three PNM strategies all significantly reduced N application rates and increased N partial factor productivity (PFP) by an average of 61-67 %. It is concluded that the CC sensor can improve estimation of early season winter wheat PNU and grain yield as compared to the GS sensor, but the PNM strategies based on these two sensors perform equally well for improving winter wheat NUE in NCP. More studies are needed to further develop and evaluate these active sensor-based PNM strategies under more diverse on-farm conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to assess the reporting quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts published in leading laser medicine journals and investigate the association between potential predictors and reporting quality. The official online archives of four leading laser medicine journals were hand-searched to identify RCTs published in 2014 and 2015. A reporting quality assessment was carried out using the original 16-item CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) for Abstracts checklist. For each abstract, an overall CONSORT score (OCS) was calculated (score range, 0 to 16). Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to identify significant predictors of reporting quality. Chi-square (or Fisher's exact) tests were used to analyze the adequate reporting rate of each quality item by specialty area. A total of 129 RCT abstracts were included and assessed. The mean OCS was 4.5 (standard deviation, 1.3). Only three quality items (interventions, objective, conclusions) were reported adequately in most abstracts (>80 %). No abstract adequately reported results for the primary outcome, source of funding, and status of the trial. In addition, sufficient reporting of participants, outcome in the methods section, randomization, and trial registration was rare (<5 %). According to multivariable linear regression analysis, the specialty area of RCT abstracts was significantly associated with their reporting quality (P = 0.008). The reporting quality of RCT abstracts published in leading laser medicine journals is suboptimal. Joint efforts by authors, editors, and other stakeholders in the field to improve trial abstract reporting are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-season site-specific nitrogen (N) management is a promising strategy to improve crop N use efficiency and reduce risks of environmental contamination. To successfully implement such precision management strategies, it is important to accurately estimate yield potential without additional topdressing N application (YP) as well as precisely assess the responsiveness to additional N application (RI) during the growing season. Previous research has mainly used normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or ratio vegetation index (RVI) obtained from GreenSeeker active crop canopy sensor with two fixed bands in red and near-infrared (NIR) spectrums to estimate these two parameters. The development of three-band Crop Circle active sensor provides a potential to improve in-season estimation of YP and RI. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) identify important vegetation indices obtained from Crop Circle ACS-470 sensor for estimating rice YP and RI; and (2) evaluate their potential improvements over GreenSeeker NDVI and RVI. Four site-years of field N rate experiments were conducted in 2012 and 2013 at the Jiansanjiang Experiment Station of China Agricultural University located in Northeast China. The GreenSeeker and Crop Circle ACS-470 active canopy sensor with green, red edge, and NIR bands were used to collect rice canopy reflectance data at different key growth stages. The results indicated that both the GreenSeeker (best R = 0.66 and 0.70, respectively) and Crop Circle (best R = 0.71 and 0.77, respectively) sensors worked well for estimating YP and RI at the stem elongation stage. At the booting stage, Crop Circle red edge optimized soil adjusted vegetation index (REOSAVI, R = 0.82) and green ratio vegetation index (R = 0.73) explained 26 and 22 % more variability in YP and RI, respectively, than GreenSeeker NDVI or RVI. At the heading stage, the GreenSeeker sensor indices became saturated and consequently could not be used for YP or RI estimation, while Crop Circle REOSAVI and normalized green index could still explain more than 70 % of YP and RI variability. It is concluded that both sensors performed similarly at the stem elongation stage, but significantly better results were obtained by the Crop Circle sensor at the booting and heading stages. Furthermore, the results revealed that Crop Circle green band-based vegetation indices performed well for RI estimation while the red edge-based vegetation indices were the best for estimating YP at later growth stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decreased epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) gene expression, a hallmark of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), is essential for triggering metastatic advantage of the colon cancer. Genetic mechanisms underlying the regulation of E-cadherin expression in EMT have been extensively investigated; however, much is unknown about the epigenetic mechanism underlying this process. Here, we identified ubiquitously transcribed tetratricopeptide repeat on chromosome X (UTX), a histone demethylase involved in demethylating di- or tri-methylated histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me2/3), as a positive regulator for the expression of E-cadherin in the colon cancer cell line HCT-116. We showed that inactivation of UTX down-regulated E-cadherin gene expression, while overexpression of UTX did the opposite. Notably, overexpression of UTX inhibited migration and invasion of HCT-116 cells. Moreover, UTX demethylated H3K27me3, a histone transcriptional repressive mark, leading to decreased H3K27me3 at the E-cadherin promoter. Further, UTX interacted with the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) protein CBP and recruited it to the E-cadherin promoter, resulting in increased H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac), a histone transcriptional active mark. UTX positively regulates E-cadherin expression through coordinated regulation of H3K27 demethylation and acetylation, switching the transcriptional repressive state to the transcriptional active state at the E-cadherin promoter. We conclude that UTX may play a role in regulation of E-cadherin gene expression in HCT-116 cells and that UTX may serve as a therapeutic target against the metastasis in the treatment of colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID)-6 codes, maximum distance separable (MDS) based RAID-6 codes are popular because they have the optimal storage efficiency. Although vertical MDS codes exhibit better load balancing compared to horizontal MDS codes in partial stripes, an I/O unbalancing problem still exists in some vertical codes. To address this issue, we propose a novel efficient data layout, uniform P-code (UPC), to support highly balanced I/Os among P-coded disk arrays (i.e., PC). In UPC, the nonuniformly distributed information symbols in each parity chain of P-code are moved along their columns to other rows, thus enabling the parity chain to keep original parity relationships and tolerate double disk failures. The UPC scheme not only achieves optimal storage efficiency, computational complexity, and update complexity, but also supports better I/O balancing in the context of large-scale storage systems. We also conduct a performance study on reconstruction algorithms using an analytical model. Besides extensive theoretical analysis, comparative performance experiments are conducted by replaying real-world workloads under various configurations. Experimental results illustrate that our UPC scheme significantly outperforms the PC scheme in terms of average user response time. In particular, in the case of a 12-disk array, the UPC scheme can improve the access performance of the RAID-6 storage system by 29.9% compared to the PC scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complexity of investigating deformation mechanisms in helical rolling (HR) process with traditional analytical method, it is significant to develop a 3D finite element (FE) model of HR process. The key forming conditions of cold HR of bearing steel-balls were detailedly described. Then, by taking steel-ball rolling elements of the B7008C angular contact ball bearing as an example, a completed 3D elastic-plastic FE model of cold HR forming process was established under SIMUFACT software environment. Furthermore, the deformation characteristics in HR process were discovered, including the forming process, evolution and distribution laws of strain, stress and damage based on Lemaitre relative damage model. The results reveal that the central loosening and cavity defects in HR process may have a combined effect of large negative hydrostatic pressure (positive mean stress) caused by multi-dimensional tensile stresses, high level transverse tensile stress, and circular-alternating shear stress in cross section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term digital preservation is an important issue in data storage area. For years, magnetic media based solutions, such as tape and hard disk drive (HDD) based archive systems, monopolize the data archiving market due to their high capacity and low cost. However, in the era of big data, rapidly increasing volume, velocity, and variety of data set bring numerous challenges to the archive systems in various aspects, such as capacity, cost, performance, reliability, power consumption, and so on. In recent years, high capacity optical media, such as bluray discs (BDs) and holographic discs, emerge with the revival of optical storage. Due to the natural simple construction of the optical media, the archive systems based on those optical media, e.g., BD library, demonstrate attractive properties, such as cost per bit, reliability, power consumption, and so on, thus become feasible options in long-term digital preservation. In this paper, we reviewed and compared both the magnetic and optical media based solutions for long-term digital preservation, followed by a summarization on techniques to improve the optical media based archive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR) is an important enzyme involved in folate metabolism, which is essential for DNA synthesis and methylation. Genetic variations in the MTHFR gene seem to contribute to a decreased activity of MTHFR, ultimately confer increased susceptibility to cancer. As the most extensively studied polymorphism, MTHFR C677T polymorphism was shown to contribute to cancer susceptibility but the results were inconsistent. The authors performed a meta-analysis including 134 studies (46,207 cases and 69,160 controls) to address the issue. Odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. Overall, a significant elevated risk of cancer was associated with the MTHFR C677T polymorphism in T-allele versus C-allele comparison (OR = 1.06, 95 % CI 1.02-1.11, P < 0.001), homozygote model (OR = 1.08, 95 % CI 1.01-1.17, P < 0.001) and dominant model (OR = 1.05, 95 % CI 1.00-1.10, P < 0.001). In the stratified analyses, significantly increased cancer risks were indicated among Asians in all genetic models except for heterozygote model. Further analysis revealed that C677T was significantly associated with an increased risk of esophageal and stomach cancer. This meta-analysis supports an association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and increased risk of esophageal and stomach cancer, especially among Asians. Additionally, more high-quality studies and that the covariates responsible for heterogeneity should be controlled to obtain a more conclusive response about the function of MTHFR C677T in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]