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Single-layer isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) are one of the most popular self-healing microcapsules but suffers from low shell strength, poor heat resistance, stability and aging properties. In this paper, IPDI microcapsules were encapsulated into double-layer phenolic (PF)/polyurethane (PU) by a two-step process involving interfacial polymerization and in-situ polymerization. The prepared microcapsule composites were comprehensively characterized for their physical and chemical properties using optical microanalysis, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis and depth-sensing indentation analysis. Compared with the single-layer PU-IPDI microcapsule counterpart, the mechanical performance, thermal resistance, aging property and environmental stability of double-layer PF/PU-IPDI microcapsules were significantly improved. The epoxy coating was enhanced with the incorporation of 10 wt.% PF/PU-IPDI microcapsules, whose self-healing performance was evaluated by scratch corrosion test. The results demonstrated successful repair of coating scratches, along with the absence of corrosion on the coated steel substrate soaked in a 10 wt.% NaCl solution for 7 days. By comparing the tensile strength of epoxy coating before and after crack formation, it could be found that the self-healing efficiency was 57.9% when loaded with 10 wt.% of PF/PU-IPDI microcapsules in coating. This study highlights that the rational design of double-layer microcapsules integrated into the epoxy coating matrix could provide excellent anti-corrosion and self-healing properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleoli are fundamentally essential sites for ribosome biogenesis in cells and formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) for a multilayer condensate structure. How the nucleoli integrity is maintained remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal that METTL3/METTL14, the typical methyltransferase complex catalyzing N6-methyladnosine (m6A) on mRNAs maintain nucleoli integrity in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). METTL3/METTL14 deficiency impairs nucleoli and leads to the complete loss of self-renewal in hESCs. We further show that SUV39H1/H2 protein, the methyltransferases catalyzing H3K9me3 were dramatically elevated in METTL3/METTL14 deficient cells, which causes an accumulation and infiltration of H3K9me3 across the whole nucleolus and impairs the LLPS. Mechanistically, METTL3/METTL14 complex serves as an essential adapter for CRL4 E3 ubiquitin ligase targeting SUV39H1/H2 for polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation and therefore prevents H3K9me3 accumulation in nucleoli. Together, these findings uncover a previously unknown role of METTL3/METTL14 to maintain nucleoli integrity by facilitating SUV39H1/H2 degradation in human cells. Nucleoli are essential cellular sites for ribosome biogenesis that are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation. Here the authors show that METTL3/METTL14 maintain nucleoli integrity through mediating SUV39H1/2 degradation in human embryonic stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: Trace amounts of epibrassinolide (EpiBL) could partially rescue wheat root length inhibition in salt-stressed situation by scavenging ROS, and ectopic expression of TaDWF4 or TaBAK1 enhances root salt tolerance in Arabidopsis by balancing ROS level. Salt stress often leads to ion toxicity and oxidative stress, causing cell structure damage and root development inhibition in plants. While prior research indicated the involvement of exogenous brassinosteroid (BR) in plant responses to salt stress, the precise cytological role and the function of BR in wheat root development under salt stress remain elusive. Our study demonstrates that 100 mM NaCl solution inhibits wheat root development, but 5 nM EpiBL partially rescues root length inhibition by decreasing H2O2 content, oxygen free radical (OFR) content, along with increasing the peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities in salt-stressed roots. The qRT-PCR experiment also shows that expression of the ROS-scavenging genes (GPX2 and CAT2) increased in roots after applying BR, especially during salt stress situation. Transcriptional analysis reveals decreased expression of BR synthesis and root meristem development genes under salt stress in wheat roots. Differential expression gene (DEG) enrichment analysis highlights the significant impact of salt stress on various biological processes, particularly “hydrogen peroxide catabolic process” and “response to oxidative stress”. Additionally, the BR biosynthesis pathway is enriched under salt stress conditions. Therefore, we investigated the involvement of wheat BR synthesis gene TaDWF4 and BR signaling gene TaBAK1 in salt stress responses in roots. Our results demonstrate that ectopic expression of TaDWF4 or TaBAK1 enhances salt tolerance in Arabidopsis by balancing ROS (Reactive oxygen species) levels in roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human hematopoiesis starts at early yolk sac and undergoes site- and stage-specific changes over development. The intrinsic mechanism underlying property changes in hematopoiesis ontogeny remains poorly understood. Here, we analyzed single-cell transcriptome of human primary hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) at different developmental stages, including yolk-sac (YS), AGM, fetal liver (FL), umbilical cord blood (UCB) and adult peripheral blood (PB) mobilized HSPCs. These stage-specific HSPCs display differential intrinsic properties, such as metabolism, self-renewal, differentiating potentialities etc. We then generated highly co-related gene regulatory network (GRNs) modules underlying the differential HSC key properties. Particularly, we identified GRNs and key regulators controlling lymphoid potentiality, self-renewal as well as aerobic respiration in human HSCs. Introducing selected regulators promotes key HSC functions in HSPCs derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Therefore, GRNs underlying key intrinsic properties of human HSCs provide a valuable guide to generate fully functional HSCs in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of online games is to enjoy, and several teenagers find this type of online activity to be very enjoyable. Studies show that those with online gaming issues are more likely to display violent, depressed, and anxious behaviors. The primary cause of those disorders is their inability to control and control their own emotions, including their aggression, depression, stress, and other emotional states. This study quantitatively examines the effect of online game exercise interaction sustainability on flow experience, enhancing players' flow experience by using online game exercise interaction as an explanatory variable. Even detrimental outcomes like bond slave, isolation, and indifference may result from the flow experience. For analysis, this study uses both quantitative research and a questionnaire. However, the length of online games had an inverted U-shaped modulator effect on how much flow experience was influenced by game interaction. Playing video games for an excessive amount of time can diminish the efficiency of game interaction and possibly have psychological effects including Internet bond slave, loneliness, and carelessness. The research summarizes the psychological factors influenced due to online games. The policy implications of this finding are that while acknowledging the positive impact of online game exercise interaction on traffic experience. The research focuses on the moderating effect of game duration and controlling gaming time to avoid the negative impact of online games on adolescents' psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging in mammals is accompanied by an imbalance of intestinal homeostasis and accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. However, little is known about how accumulated mtDNA mutations modulate intestinal homeostasis. We observe the accumulation of mtDNA mutations in the small intestine of aged male mice, suggesting an association with physiological intestinal aging. Using polymerase gamma (POLG) mutator mice and wild-type mice, we generate male mice with progressive mtDNA mutation burdens. Investigation utilizing organoid technology and in vivo intestinal stem cell labeling reveals decreased colony formation efficiency of intestinal crypts and LGR5-expressing intestinal stem cells in response to a threshold mtDNA mutation burden. Mechanistically, increased mtDNA mutation burden exacerbates the aging phenotype of the small intestine through ATF5 dependent mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) activation. This aging phenotype is reversed by supplementation with the NAD+ precursor, NMN. Thus, we uncover a NAD+ dependent UPRmt triggered by mtDNA mutations that regulates the intestinal aging. How age-accumulated mtDNA mutations in the small intestine modulate intestinal homeostasis is unclear. Here, the authors show that increased mtDNA mutation burden triggers an ATF5 dependent UPRmt by NAD+ depletion, and thus regulates intestinal aging through impaired Wnt/β-catenin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the potassium promoted Fe–Ce composite oxides supported on the monolithic three-dimensional (3D) macroporous nickel foam substrates (KFeCe@NF) were synthesized by sequential wetness impregnation method and used for catalytic soot combustion. The best catalytic performance was obtained over K(0.1)FeCe@NF catalyst under 10%H2O/800ppmNO/20%O2/N2 atmosphere using a wet contact mode and the lowest T10, T50 and T90 values could reduce to 274 ℃, 313 ℃ and 353 ℃, respectively. A detailed comparison of the structural properties for the samples before and after potassium loading was conducted by XRD, FESEM, EDS and XPS. The addition of K could lead to reduction of partial Fe2O3 to FeO and make the Fe2O3 nanosheets transform into agglomerated nanoparticles. Moreover, the enhanced catalytic performance of KFeCe@NF for soot combustion is main due to the abundant active oxygen species inspired by the strong interaction between potassium and transition metal oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beneficial interactions between plant and endophytes can enormously improve plant resistance against phytopathogens. Endophytic bacteria are well known for their plant propitious attributes. A tobacco seed endophyte Bacillus amyloliquefaciens YN201732 can enhance the ability of tobacco plants to resist powdery mildew, but the mechanisms operating at molecular level are highly elusive. In this study, transcriptome of YN201732-treated and non-treated tobacco leaves were compared under pathogen challenge and control conditions. Overall, analysis elucidates that DEGs related to biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal transduction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, metabolic pathways, immune system process, and disease resistance-related biological functions were enriched in endophyte-treated diseased plant. The key genes of JA/ET pathway were significantly upregulated in tobacco plant after endophyte YN201732 treatment, which indicates the activation of JA/ET-mediated disease resistance against powdery mildew. Additionally, chitinase gene and synthesis of lignin and flavonoids were increased in diseased plant upon endophyte treatment which could help plant to resist pathogen infection. In conclusion, the study provides the molecular dissection of B. amyloliquefaciens YN201732-induced resistance in tobacco plant against powdery mildew and lays a theoretical foundation of employing endophytic bacteria against plant diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bifurcations in kinetic pathways decide the evolution of a system. An example is crystallization, in which the thermodynamically stable polymorph may not form due to kinetic hindrance. Here, we use confined self-assembly to investigate the interplay of thermodynamics and kinetics in the crystallization pathways of finite clusters. We report the observation of decahedral clusters from colloidal particles in emulsion droplets and show that these decahedral clusters can be thermodynamically stable, just like icosahedral clusters. Our hard sphere simulations reveal how the development of the early nucleus shape passes through a bifurcation that decides the cluster symmetry. A geometric argument explains why decahedral clusters are kinetically hindered and why icosahedral clusters can be dominant even if they are not in the thermodynamic ground state. Thermodynamics predicts equilibrium crystal structures and kinetics discover the pathway to form them. The authors investigate the interplay of thermodynamics and kinetics in the formation of colloidal clusters and reveal a bifurcation at an early stage of the crystallization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional SINS/CNS integrated navigation system equipped on ballistic missiles is typically equipped with attitude measurement, which can only estimate the gyro drift and has no effect on accelerometer bias. To address the issue, an improved multi-source information fusion method containing a new nonlinear framework called SINS/RKCNS with the indirect horizon reference and kinematic constraint is proposed, and a MAP-based modified iterated CKF is involved to increase positioning accuracy and system robustness. Furthermore, to reduce the influence of correlated noise, state augmentation is employed in the iterative process. Eventually, experiments are conducted, and the results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In challenging circumstances, the estimation performance of integrated navigation parameters for tightly coupled GNSS/SINS is impacted by outlier measurements. An effective solution that employs a novel iterative sigma-point structure with a modified robustness optimization approach for enhancing the error compensation effectiveness and robustness of filters utilized in GNSS challenge conditions is proposed in this paper. The proposed method modifies the CKF scheme by incorporating nonlinear regression and numerous iteration processes for ameliorating error compensation. Subsequently, a loss function and penalty mechanism are implemented to enhance the filter's robustness to outlier measurements. Furthermore, to fully incorporate valid information of the innovation and speed up the operation of the proposed method, the outlier measurement detection criteria are established to bypass the penalty mechanism against measurement weights in the absence of outliers in GNSS measurements. Field experiments demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms traditional methods in mitigating navigation errors, particularly when multipath errors and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) reception are increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Highly performed perovskite solar cells are achieved via introducing organic–inorganic CL–NH complex as multifunctional interfacial layer. CL–NH complex not only reduces oxygen vacancies on the surface of SnO2 but also regulates film crystallization, resulting in a superior device efficiency of 23.69%. The resulting device performs excellent stability with 91.5% initial power conversion efficiency retained after 500 h light illumination. For the further improvement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the buried interface between the perovskite and the electron transport layer is crucial. However, it is challenging to effectively optimize this interface as it is buried beneath the perovskite film. Herein, we have designed and synthesized a series of multifunctional organic–inorganic (OI) complexes as buried interfacial material to promote electron extraction, as well as the crystal growth of the perovskite. The OI complex with BF4− group not only eliminates oxygen vacancies on the SnO2 surface but also balances energy level alignment between SnO2 and perovskite, providing a favorable environment for charge carrier extraction. Moreover, OI complex with amine (− NH2) functional group can regulate the crystallization of the perovskite film via interaction with PbI2, resulting in highly crystallized perovskite film with large grains and low defect density. Consequently, with rational molecular design, the PSCs with optimal OI complex buried interface layer which contains both BF4− and −NH2 functional groups yield a champion device efficiency of 23.69%. More importantly, the resulting unencapsulated device performs excellent ambient stability, maintaining over 90% of its initial efficiency after 2000 h storage, and excellent light stability of 91.5% remaining PCE in the maximum power point tracking measurement (under continuous 100 mW cm−2 light illumination in N2 atmosphere) after 500 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the cuckoo search (CS) algorithm has been successfully applied to single-objective optimization problems. But in real life, most optimization problems are multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). In order to enable CS to better solve MOPs, this paper proposes an elite-guided multi-objective cuckoo search algorithm based on cross-operation and information enhancement (CIE-MOCS). This algorithm first enhances its population diversity through crossover operation, then adds elite individuals to guide its update process to speed up the algorithm convergence speed. Finally, the method of information enhancement is adopted in the abandonment process, so that the algorithm is not easy to fall into the local optimum. In order to verify the performance of the algorithm, this paper uses a variety of benchmark functions and performance evaluation indicators to evaluate it, and provides a case to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm in practical applications. The experimental results show that CIE-MOCS has good performance compared with the contrasting algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation of the kinetically trapped bulk heterojunction film morphology in organic solar cells (OSCs) remains a grand challenge for their practical application. Herein, we demonstrate highly thermally stable OSCs using multicomponent photoactive layer synthesized via a facile one-pot polymerization, which show the advantages of low synthetic cost and simplified device fabrication. The OSCs based on multicomponent photoactive layer deliver a high power conversion efficiency of 11.8% and exhibit excellent device stability for over 1000 h (>80% of their initial efficiency retention), realizing a balance between device efficiency and operational lifetime for OSCs. In-depth opto-electrical and morphological properties characterizations revealed that the dominant PM6-b-L15 block polymers with backbone entanglement and the small fraction of PM6 and L15 polymers synergistically contribute to the frozen fine-tuned film morphology and maintain well-balanced charge transport under long-time operation. These findings pave the way towards the development of low-cost and long-term stable OSCs. Degradation of kinetically bulk heterojunction film morphology in organic solar cells is a grand challenge for their practical application. Here, the authors design and synthesise multicomponent photoactive material by facile one-pot polymerization and achieve efficiency of 11.8% and T80 of 1000 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnO2, as a representative manganese-based catalyst with many kinds of crystal forms, has been widely used to activate PMS. However, the role of morphological scale and crystal structures on the catalytic capability of MnO2 still lacks further study. In this study, four different crystal forms of MnO2 (α-MnO2, β-MnO2, γ-MnO2, and δ-MnO2) are succeeded in being fabricated via hydrothermal processes and evaluated by activating PMS for the removal of Reactive Yellow X-RG, typical azo dye. Experiment results indicate that α-MnO2 with a one-dimensional structure exhibits the best catalytic performance among the four as-prepared MnO2, which can be attributed to its broadest crystal interplanar distance (0.692), the highest portion of Mn (III)/Mn (IV) (4.194), and lowest value of average oxidation state AOS (2.696). Correlation analysis confirms that interplanar distance is the most relative factor with the catalytic activity of MnO2 among the three studied factors (R2 = 0.99715). Meanwhile, the morphological scale structure of α-MnO2 can also account for its highest catalytic ability among the four as-prepared MnO2, including its large specific area and advantageous one-dimensional nanostructure. Furthermore, according to the response surface methodology, when the dosage of PMS is 2.369 g/L, the dosage of α-MnO2 is 0.991 g/L, and the initial dye concentration is 1025 mg/L, the maximum removal rate of Reactive Yellow X-RG is up to 97.38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of information age, it is essential to cope with network security problems, ensure the popularization of Internet of Things (IoT) technology based on the Internet, and guarantee the information security, life security, and property security of all countries and individuals. Therefore, the principle and advantages of deep learning (DL) technology is expounded first, and then an IoT security threat model is established combined with edge computing (EC) technology. Additionally, the traditional algorithm is improved to be adapted to the application environment of the current United Nations cyberspace governance actions, and is trained and optimized by data sets. Finally, a modification plan is formulated according to the actual test results. In the experiment, EC is used to establish an excellent IoT security threat model with an efficient and accurate algorithm. The result shows that DL technology and EC technology significantly improve the judgment ability of the IoT security threat model and promote the efficiency of network space governance. This model can inspire the application of emerging computer technology to the IoT network and cyberspace governance, guarantee the construction of global information interconnection, and provide a reference for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lead-free base glaze suitable for pearlescent pigments was prepared by a low-temperature solid-phase reaction with alkali waste. Tests were performed to evaluate the effects of the sintering conditions and alkali waste composition on the prepared base glaze and pearlescent glaze. The experimental results show that partially replacing SiO2 with B2O3 effectively reduced the sintering temperature and time to form a glass network, but the network structure becomes disconnected as the B2O3 content increases. An amorphous base glaze was obtained when soda ash was replaced with a small amount of alkali waste, but increasing the addition of NaCl further was adverse to base glaze formation by resulting in crystallization of the base glaze and a decrease in the bridging oxygen content. The pearlescent pigment was thermally stable in the glaze at 750 °C, while higher temperatures caused the crystalline phase of NaAlSiO4 to appear and adhere to the surface of pigment granules, which degraded the pearlescent effect of the glaze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the parameter estimation problems of photovoltaic cell models. In order to overcome the complexity of the model structure, through applying the hierarchical identification principle and decomposing the photovoltaic cell model into two sub-models with a smaller number of parameters. The nonlinear identification model becomes a combination of a linear sub-model and a nonlinear sub-model. A two-stage gradient-based iterative and a two-stage Newton iterative algorithms are proposed to estimate the parameters of photovoltaic cell models by using the negative gradient search and the Newton method. The performance of the proposed algorithms is assessed by using the simulation from the experimental data, and the evaluation results test the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. In particular, the model built by using the obtained parameter estimates can fit the I-V curve, the P-V curve and the maximum power point well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximum likelihood methods have wide applications in system modeling and parameter estimation. For the purpose of improving the precision of parameter estimation, this paper presents a maximum likelihood recursive generalized extended least squares (ML-RLS) algorithm for a bilinear-parameter system with autoregressive moving average noise based on the over-parameterization identification model. An over-parameterization-based recursive generalized extended least squares algorithm is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed ML-RLS algorithm for comparison. The simulation test shows that the proposed algorithm has a higher estimation accuracy than the recursive least squares algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) have received extensive attention due to their excellent mechanical robustness and performance stability. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of all-PSCs still lags behind those of organic solar cells (OSCs) based on non-fullerene small molecule acceptors. Herein, we report highly efficient all-PSCs via sequential deposition (SD) with donor and acceptor layers coated sequentially to optimize the film microstructure. Compared with the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) all-PSCs, an optimized morphology with vertical component distribution was achieved for the SD-processed all-PSCs due to the synergistic effect of swelling of polymer films and using additive. Such strategy involves using chlorobenzene as the first layer processing-solvent for polymer donor, chloroform as the second processing-solvent for polymer acceptor with trace 1-chlor-onaphthalene, efficiently promoting exciton dissociation and charge extraction and reducing trap-assisted recombination. Consequently, over 16% all-PSCs fabricated via SD method was realized for the first time, which is much higher than that (15.2%) of its BHJ counterpart and also among the highest PCEs in all-PSCs. We have further demonstrated the generality of this approach in various all-polymer systems. This work indicates that the SD method can yield excellent all-PSCs and provides a facile approach to fabricating high-performance all-PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) has been demonstrated in both fiber-based and free-space channels using attenuated lasers. Decoy-state QSDC by exploiting four decoy states has been proposed to address the problem of photon-number-splitting attacks caused by the use of attenuated lasers. In this study, we present an analysis of the practical aspects of decoy-state QSDC. First, we design a two-decoy-state protocol that only requires two decoy states, thereby significantly reducing experimental complexity. Second, we successfully perform full parameter optimization for a real-life QSDC system by introducing a genetic algorithm. Our simulation results show that the two-decoy-state protocol could be the best choice for developing a practical QSDC system. Furthermore, full optimization is crucial for a high-performance QSDC system. Our work serves as a major step toward the further development of practical decoy-state QSDC systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ring-width series was developed from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) in the northeastern forest area of Inner Mongolia, China. By analyzing the relationships between tree-ring data and climate records, an August–September mean maximum temperature (T89) series during 1845 and 2012 was reconstructed based on a simple linear regression equation. This reconstructed series explained 40.9% variance of the observed temperature from 1959 to 2012. The reconstructed T89 series was consistent with the historical disaster events caused by extreme climate (e.g., flood, frost disaster, and cold damage). Besides, the temperature comparisons showed that the year in which the warm months (April–September) in northeast China began to warm up has latitude differences. It started with a gradual delay from north to south, starting 1980 in the south region, after 1950 AD in the central region and after 1940 in the north region. Our study can enrich high-resolution temperature series in Northeast China and help clarify the characteristic of recent warming in northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) aided multiple-input single-output communication system, where statistical channel state information (CSI) is exploited for transmit beam-forming and IRS beamforming. A tight upper bound is derived for the ergodic capacity of the system. Based on which, the joint optimization of transmit beam and IRS beam are studied. Depending on whether a line-of-sight path exists between the access point and user, two different cases, namely, Rician fading and Rayleigh fading, are separately treated. Specifically, for the Rician fading case, an iterative algorithm is proposed, which is guaranteed to converge. For the Rayleigh fading case, closed-form designs are obtained for the transmit beam and IRS beam. Simulation results show the proposed beamforming scheme achieves similar performance as the benchmark algorithm requiring instantaneous CSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Immune response initiation and regulation require activation of dendritic cells (DCs). However, the mechanism by which ferritin, a carrier for immunogen, induces DCs maturation remains unclear. Results: Recombinant ferritin nanoparticle (RFNp), were prepared through the baculovirus expression vector system, formed spherical and hollow cage-liked proteins with a diameter of approximately 12.17 ± 0.87 nm. They induced bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) maturation via surface molecules up-regulation of (MHC II, CD80, CD86 and CD40), increased pro-inflammatory cytokines production (IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ), and decreased antigen capturing capacity. They positively regulated IκBα and NF-κB (p65) phosphorylation, and facilitate NF-κB (p65) translocation into mature BMDCs nuclei. Following pre-treatment of RFNp-treated BMDCs with TLR4 and NF-κB (p65) inhibitors, respectively, surface molecule expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines production, and IκBα and NF-κB (p65) activities were suppressed. RFNp-treated BMDCs can also facilitate T-cell proliferation and differentiation into Th1 and Th2. Conclusion: RFNps induced DCs maturation lends the potential application of RFNps as carrier platforms in DC-based vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gob-side entry retaining is a common method in underground coal mining. Conventional gob-side entry retaining (CGER) always causes stress concentration and large deformation around roadways under the condition of thick and hard sandstone roofs. Thus, an innovative method of no pillar gob-side entry retaining (NPGER) in longwall mining is proposed in this paper. First, a physical model was established to explore the mechanism of the new method. The modeling results indicate that the progressive caving of the strata in the middle of the stope is consistent with CGER. The major difference between NPGER and CGER is that CGER collapsed with a structure of a long arm beam, but NPGER collapsed with a structure of a short arm beam near the roadway. In the end, a new roadway with a gangue rib was formed when the immediate roof and main roof slipped along the pre-cutting plane. Subsequently, the numerical simulation software Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) was adopted to establish the numerical model of the 8501 working face in Tangshangou coal mine. The NPGER process is simulated. The evolution of the roof structure and stress characteristics were clearly demonstrated. The results showed that the roof structure noticeably changed from a long beam to a short beam after roof fracturing. The retained roadway was under low stress conditions, and the stress was transferred to the deep rock. In the end, the NPGER method was applied in the field, and the results showed that the retained roadway could meet the requirements of the next working face, which may provide guidance for longwall mining with thick and hard roofs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is a rapidly increasing industry, and managers in China are searching sustainable development in the context of much more intensive culture. Our study area focused on an embayment that exposed to suspended culture of oysters. Impact of oyster expansion was evaluated in the context of ecosystem which do not limits to the phytoplankton−oyster relationship but other interspecific relations by the use of food web model. Following recently proposed measures, the ecological carrying capacity (ECC) was defined as the maximum amount of oyster biomass that would not yet cause ecosystem function to depredate beyond their resilience capacity, i.e., not to cause any other group's biomass to fall below 10% of its original biomass. The result suggests that an increase of oyster biomass caused negative impact on the ecosystem in terms of biomass of the most of functional groups and ecosystem indicators such as flow diversity and transfer efficiency. The ECC of oyster in suspended culture was 976 t km−2 (1.8 times of present biomass), and exceeding the levels will cause zooplanktivorous fish biomasses to fall below the 10% threshold. The ecosystem-based ECC assessment method in the present simulation dynamically predicted the impact of oyster development on other organisms in the environment to guide the sustainable development of bivalve culture in Sanggou Bay and provides an approach for the assessment of bivalve ECC in other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a new evaporative condenser with an annular elliptic finned tube heat exchanger that includes a round inner tube and elliptic outer finned tube was designed and analyzed. The refrigerant flows between the round inner tube and the elliptic outer tube, and it simultaneously exchanges heat with the cooling water in the inner tube, the spray water, and the cooling air flowing past the outer tube. Using field measurement for the traditional round finned tube evaporative condenser in the Futong Metro Station of Line 14 in Beijing, China, the theoretical heat transfer performance of the annular elliptic finned tube evaporative condenser was analyzed and simulated. Compared with a round finned tube heat exchanger, the heat exchange capacity of the annular elliptic finned tube increased by 2.34% to 9.28%; the total heat transfer coefficient increased by 47.42%, and the power consumption of the fan in the air-conditioning system with an annular elliptic finned tube heat exchanger decreased by 11.18% to 14.65%. Therefore, the energy-saving performance and the heat transfer performance of the new annular elliptic finned tube heat exchanger were enhanced compared to the round finned tube heat exchanger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella developed drug-resistance under durative antibiotic pressures pressure. The widespread prevalence of Salmonella has been associated with not only drug-resistance but also pathogenicity. Outer membrane porin proteins (OMPs) are critical for the drug resistance of bacteria. Virulence genes in Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs) play key roles in the virulence of bacteria. In this study, we analyzed the expression levels of three critical genes in ciprofloxacin-resistant strains and ciprofloxacin-susceptible strains of Salmonella, including outer membrane porin protein F (ompF), virulence genes invA and invE. In the clinical ciprofloxacin-resistant strains of Salmonella, the expression level of ompF was decreased. Meanwhile, the expression levels of invA and invE were decreased except for only one strain, indicating generally decreased virulence. These results were also verified with ciprofloxacin-induced resistant strains. Thus, it was informative for understanding the drug-resistance in Salmonella. Monitoring drug-resistance and virulence relevant genes would be significant in the prevention and control of salmonellosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of rail vehicles, 301L strip has become the main material of the rail vehicles, and its flatness quality has got much attention. Meanwhile, 20-roll mill becomes the most important cold rolling equipment for 301L strip forming, because of its high precision and wide application. To study the flatness control theory of cold rolling 301L strip in 20-roll mill, a finite element model is established based on elastoplastic theory. The stress–strain field is used to characterize the strip flatness under different rolling parameters. After analysis, the results show that the front and back tension have the most obvious effects on strip flatness. The friction coefficient and rolling speed are beneficial to the control of the strip flatness when they increase within a certain range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White-box cryptography (WBC) protects key extraction from software implementations of cryptographic primitives. Many academic works have been done achieving partial results toward WBC, but a complete solution has not been found yet by the cryptography community. As a result, the industry can only on proprietary and non-publicly scrutinized white-box implementations. It is therefore of interest to investigate the obtainable resistance of an AES implementation to thwart a white-box adversary in this paradigm. To this purpose, the ECRYPT CSA project has organized the WhibOx contest as the catch the flag challenge of CHES 2017. Researchers and engineers were invited to participate either as designers by submitting the source code of an AES-128 white-box implementation with a freely chosen key, or as breakers by trying to extract the hard-coded keys in the submissions. The participants were not expected to disclose their identities or the underlying designing/attacking techniques. In the end, 94 submitted challenges were all broken, and only 13 of them held more than one day. The strongest (in terms of surviving time) implementation survived for 28 days (which is more than twice as much as the second one). It was only broken by the authors of the present paper with reverse engineering and algebraic analysis. In this paper, we give a detailed description of the different steps of our cryptanalysis. We then generalize it to an attack methodology to break further obscure white-box implementations. In particular, we formalize and generalize the linear decoding analysis that we use to extract the key from the encoded intermediate variables of the target challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of S and Se treatment on cabbage, especially the interactions of S and Se metabolism with the biosynthesis of glucosinolate (GSL), including glucoraphanin, which is a major aliphatic GSL in cruciferous vegetables and the precursor of the anticancer compound sulforaphane, were examined. Cabbage plants were treated with sulfate and selenite (SeO32−), and the total S, Se, and GSL contents of cabbage head and outer foliage leaves were measured. Results showed that selenite treatment was beneficial to GSL biosynthesis and Se accumulation in cabbage head and outer foliage leaves. GSL synthesis was induced by exogenous selenite-elevated sulfate treatment at certain concentration ratios, i.e., 50-μΜ selenite + 1-mΜ sulfate or 100-μΜ selenite + 4-mΜ sulfate. A high exogenous sulfate concentration was more favorable to GSL accumulation than a low sulfate concentration. According to the relative expression of genes on GSL synthesis, an increase in the GSL content was attributed to the upregulation of gene expression and possible transportation from the outer foliage leaf to the head of cabbage. These results might be helpful for increasing the health benefits of cabbage by supplying exogenous S and Se. Further research should explore the effects of sulfate and selenite on GSL precursor substances to reveal the reason why total GSL contents increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We conducted a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety of multiple endovascular treatments for femoropopliteal lesions.Methods: Nine treatments for femoropopliteal lesions were identified. We compared major amputation and all-cause mortality at 12-month follow-ups and primary patency at 6-, 12- and 24-month follow-ups of the treatments.Results: Altogether, 26 studies (52 study arms; 4102 patients) were considered eligible. In terms of primary patency, drug-eluting stent (DES) placement was the most effective treatment at 6- and 12-month follow-ups and covered stent (CS) placement at 24-month follow-ups, whereas directional atherectomy (DA) was the least effective treatment during all follow-up periods; both DES and CS placements were better than the majority of other single treatments, including balloon angioplasty, DA, nitinol stent (NS) placement and drug-coated balloon use, during all follow-up periods. In terms of 12-month major amputation and all-cause mortality, DA was the most safe treatment, whereas NS placement was the least safe single treatment.Conclusions: DES and CS placements have shown encouraging results in terms of primary patency for femoropopliteal lesions, DES placement performs better within 12 months after operation and CS placement at approximately 24 months, while DA seems to be less effective. DA may be better than other treatments in terms of major amputation and all-cause mortality, while NS seems to be less safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Ferritin is an attractive vector for the delivery of drug molecules and antigen proteins because of its unique structural and biochemical features. In this study, recombinant ferritin from Helicobacter pylori was expressed in the soluble form employing the baculovirus expression system. Results: The optimum conditions for producing recombinant ferritin comprised MOI 5 of rBV-ferritin for 96 h of infection. The recombinant ferritin was purified by Ni Sepharose™ 6 Fast Flow, with a purity and yield of 92.5% and 11.25 mg/L, respectively. In addition, the recombinant ferritin showed a multimeric structure under non-denaturing conditions, as well as self-assembled spherical cage architecture with a diameter of approximately 12 nm. Dot-ELISA results suggested that the His-tag at the N-terminus likely existed on the surface of the recombinant ferritin. Conclusion: Recombinant ferritin was produced by the baculovirus expression system, which has the potential to display exogenous proteins, and may aid in the delivery of drugs for disease prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the solution algorithm for multiobjective scheduling problems has gained more and more concerns from the community of operational research since many real-world scheduling problems usually involve multiple objectives. In this paper, a new evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) algorithm, which is termed as decomposition based multiobjective genetic algorithm with adaptive multipopulation strategy (DMOGA-AMP), is proposed to addressmultiobjective permutation flowshop scheduling problems (PFSPs). In the proposed DMOGA-AMP algorithm, a subproblem decomposition scheme is employed to decompose a multiobjective PFSP into a number of scalar optimization subproblems and then introduce the decomposed subproblems into the running course of algorithm in an adaptive fashion, while a subpopulation construction method is employed to construct multiple subpopulations adaptively to optimize their corresponding subproblems in parallel. In addition, several special strategies on genetic operations, i.e., selection, crossover, mutation and elitism, are also designed to improve the performance of DMOGA-AMP for the investigated problem. Based on a set of test instances of multiobjective PFSP, experiments are carried out to investigate the performance of DMOGA-AMP in comparison with several state-of-the-art EMO algorithms. The experimental results show the better performance of the proposed DMOGA-AMP algorithm in multiobjective flowshop scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study an optimal investment policy of a risky project when there exists the possibility that a firm may permanently exit the business under deeply deteriorated market conditions in the future. To capture the riskiness of the investment return rate, a Geometric Brownian motion is adopted to model the firm's profit stream. Applying the real options framework, this paper aims at characterizing the firm's optimal investment policy of the risky project under permanent exit option. It is shown that the investment threshold is no longer a monotonic function of the market uncertainty. Specifically, the investment threshold can decrease with market uncertainty for moderate uncertainty. And the investment threshold will eventually increase with market uncertainty if the uncertainty becomes sufficiently high. Extensive numerical experiments are conducted to check the robustness of the theoretic results. Some managerial implications are derived for investment decisions under the exit option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration effect in flowshop scheduling has gained a growing concern from the community of operational research in recent years. However, all of existing studies focus on two- or three-machine flow shops. In this paper, a m-machine (m > 3) flowshop scheduling problem (FSSP) with deteriorating jobs is investigated and a novel metaheuristic algorithm called multi-verse optimizer (MVO) is employed to solve it. The MVO algorithm can accomplish the optimization process via exchanging objects of universes through white/black hole and wormhole tunnels. In the novel MVO algorithm, a new elitist selection scheme is designed to construct the effective white/black hole tunnels, whereas two different local search operators are hybridized and embedded to further enhance the exploitation capability. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm can achieve the satisfactory performance in solving the investigated FSSP with deteriorating jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new anode material of Sn-Ti thin film was successfully prepared by magnetron co-sputtering of two separate targets at the atmosphere of Ar at normal temperature. The structure, surface morphology, and electrochemical performance of the Sn-Ti thin film electrodes are examined by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical tests. Furthermore, the effects on the electrochemical performance of the Ti content in the Sn-Ti thin films are studied. Results show that increasing the power of Ti target can improve the cyclic performance of Sn-Ti thin film electrodes. It is very interesting that no any cracks or material pulverization are observed on these Sn-Ti thin films, which indicate that the Ti can improve the stability of Sn-based anode materials. Such improved electrochemical properties benefit from the good mechanical support by Ti and uniform Ti doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isophorone diisocyanate-loaded microcapsules were synthesized with controllable size for self-healing of structural polymer materials. The obtained microcapsules showed good compatibility with polymer resins, e.g., one-component epoxy and multi-component polyurethane/water glass structural materials. During the processing of composite self-healing materials, the highly cross-linked composite capsule wall ensured the integrity of microcapsules and prevented the leakage and degradation of reactive liquid isocyanates effectively. A relatively larger amount of self-healing agent could be released to the local cracks with the increasing size and content of microcapsules in polymer matrix which improved the self-healing efficiency of the composites. Based on the microcapsules with a diameter of ~96 μm, the healing efficiency of epoxy composites containing 15 wt% of capsules and polyurethane/water glass composites containing 20 wt% of capsules could reach to 105 and 101% recovery of fracture toughness, respectively. The crack-healing effect was further verified by scanning electron microscopy. Meanwhile, a possible self-healing mechanism of microcapsules to the cracks of composite polymer materials was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autonomous route planning in coverage search is an important subject of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mission planning. Pre-planning is simple and feasible for the coverage search mission of single UAV in regular areas. As to the dynamic mission in complicated environment of multi-UAV, the route planning will encounter the difficulties of reasonable task distribution and the real-time environment changes which include the changes of the mission area, the detection of threat area, the interference of communication and so on. At this point, making the UAV to do real-time autonomous planning is necessary. However, it is hard to fulfil requirements of real-time, autonomous and efficient at the same time. According to a scalable knowledge base, this paper proposes a coverage search algorithm which is based on the mapping between the basic behavior combination and surroundings. A UAV's coverage search simulation model with random shapes is built with a discrete map to update the environment and the changes of the mission on time. Comparison of the simulation analysis and the dynamic programming shows that the method has amazing expandability and can change the search strategy feasibly. It is efficient, and the ratio of coverage redundancy can be decreased to 1.21. It also has the potentiality in real-time calculation, and the computing time can be shortened to about 2 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the consensus tracking problem of a class of nonlinear multi-agent systems by using observer-based control. The systems are in output-feedback form with both actuator hysteresis and external disturbances. Radial basis function neural networks are used to approximate unknown nonlinear functions. By constructing a state observer and using the backstepping technique, a distributed adaptive neural output-feedback control scheme is proposed to solve the consensus tracking problem. Approximation errors of neural networks together with external disturbances are adaptively estimated and counteracted. For a communication graph containing a spanning tree, we show that the proposed controller guarantees all signals of the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the consensus tracking error and the observer error converge to an adjustable neighborhood of the origin. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to verify the performance of the control design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the -tubulin ( -tub), and the translationelongation factor 1- (EF1- ) regions of the representative isolate (CGMCC3.24134) were amplified using primers ITS4/ITS5, EF1-728 F/EF2 and T1/BT-2b, respectively (Maharachchikumbura et al. [2]). Keywords: Pestalotiopsis australasiae; Leaf spot; Malania oleifera EN Pestalotiopsis australasiae Leaf spot Malania oleifera 1211 1211 1 09/15/23 20230801 NES 230801 In May 2021, irregularly shaped, brown, necrotic leaf spots were observed on 13% of 250 I Malania oleifera i Chun & S.K.Lee plants surveyed in Funing County, Yunnan Province, China (23°39'N, 105°44'E). [Extracted from the article]

With outstanding material removal ability and high finish quality, robotic belt grinding has great advantages in processing difficult-to-machine materials like nickel-based superalloys. Tool wear is a severe problem in such grinding processes; thus, detection of tool wear is critical to precision finishing of a surface profile. This work proposes a novel acoustic signal-based detection method that combines a random forest (RF) classifier and a multiple linear regression (MLR) model to detect different wear periods and evaluate the remaining grinding ability for robotic belt grinding of nickel-based superalloys. The correlation between grinding sound and belt conditions is established through experimental studies and signal analysis. Through mapping the acoustic features of grinding sound and conditions of grinding belts, the RF classifier and the MLR model are trained and applied in prediction of grinding belt conditions. The total prediction accuracy of RF classifier for distinguishing different wear periods is over 94%, and the mean absolute percentage error of MLR model for evaluating the grinding ability in accelerated wear period is less than 9%. The online detection method can be used as a basis for adaptive control of grinding parameters to achieve precision profile finishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ensemble of neural networks has been proved to be an effective machine learning framework. However, very limited studies in the current literature examined the neural network ensemble for online regression; furthermore, these methods were combination of online individual models and did not consider the ensemble diversity. In this paper, a novel online sequential learning algorithm for neural network ensembles for online regression is proposed. The algorithm is built upon the decorrelated neural network ensembles (DNNE) and thus referred to as Online-DNNE; so it uses single-hidden layer feed-forward neural networks with random hidden nodes' parameters as ensemble components and introduces negative correlation learning to train base models simultaneously in a cooperative manner which can effectively maintain the ensemble diversity. The Online-DNNE only learns the newly arrived data, and the computation complexity is thus reduced. The results of the experiments with benchmarks show the effectiveness and significant advantages of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) named hybrid MOEA with adaptive multi-population strategy (HMOEA-AMP) is proposed for multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs).In the framework of HMOEA-AMP, the particle swarm optimization and differential evolution are hybridized to guide the exploitation of the Pareto optimal solutions and the exploration of the optimal distribution of the achieved solutions, respectively. Multiple subpopulations are constructed in an adaptive fashion according to a number of scalar subproblems, which are decomposed from a MOP through a set of predefined weight vectors. Comprehensive experiments using a set of benchmark are conducted to investigate the performance of HMOEA-AMP in comparison with several state-of-the-art MOEAs. The experimental results show the advantage of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]