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Leniency, the act of lessening or removing a negative consequence for misconduct, is a means of addressing workplace misconduct. Although existing research has highlighted that the lenient reaction generally brings benefits, scholars have recently challenged this positive view of leniency by noting its negative outcomes. Drawing upon the attribution theory, we propose that the effects of leader leniency depend on subordinates' relational attributions of such lenient behavior. We conducted an experiment (Study 1, N = 229) and a multi-source and multi-wave survey (Study 2, N = 268). Study 1 used ANOVA analysis and Study 2 used path analysis and bias-corrected bootstrap method to test the model. Results showed that when the subordinate relational attribution is low, leader leniency will trigger subordinate gratitude and increase organizational citizenship behavior. Conversely, when the subordinate relational attribution is high, leader leniency will induce subordinate psychological entitlement, fueling workplace deviance. Our research provides new insight into understanding the losses and gains of leader leniency and identifies the role of relational attribution in the effects of leader leniency. Finally, we discuss our theoretical contributions and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research tries to establish the emissions diffusion model of high-speed motor vehicles on the Capital Ring Expressway (CRE) around Beijing, China, applying the MOVES and the CALPUFF models. Data required for this study have been collected from different sources. The results show that small buses and large trucks have the highest pollutant emissions on the CRE. The pollutants like CO and HC mainly comes from gasoline vehicles, while NOx, PM10 and PM2.5 comes from diesel vehicles. The average concentrations of the diffusion of CO, NOx, CH4, PM10, and PM2.5 along with the CRE are 6.5 mg/m3, 2.3 mg/m3, 0.27 mg/m3, 0.055 mg/m3 and 0.056 mg/m3 respectively. The results of this study have practical significance and influence on the emission reduction and concentration control strategies under different circumstances, and put forward suggestions on changing transportation modes, strengthening supervision and so on. It has produced a number of recommendations for the policy makers including (1) active promotion of new energy vehicles on expressways, (2) strategic change of the mode of passenger and freight transportation on expressways, (3) strengthen traffic management and supervision of motor vehicles on expressways, and (4) strengthen vegetation protection in rural and ecologically sound areas along the route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is a major cause of child death. We investigated the epidemiology of S. pneumoniae in a pediatric fever clinic and explored the genomics basis of the limited vaccine response of serotype 14 strains worldwide. Methods: Febrile disease and pneumonia were diagnosed following criteria from the WHO at the end of 2019 at a tertiary children's hospital. Spn was isolated by culture from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs. The density was determined by lytA-base qPCR. Isolates were serotyped by Quellung and underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Whole-genome sequencing was employed for molecular serotyping, MLST, antibiotic gene determination, SNP calling, recombination prediction, and phylogenetic analysis. Results: The presence of pneumococcus in the nasopharynx (87.5%, 7/8, p = 0.0227) and a high carriage (100%, 7/7, p = 0.0123) were significantly associated with pneumonia development. Living with siblings (73.7%, 14/19, p = 0.0125) and non-vaccination (56.0%, 28/50, p = 0.0377) contributed significantly to the Spn carriage. Serotype 14 was the most prevalent strain (16.67%, 5/30). The genome analysis of 1497 serotype 14 strains indicated S14/ST876 strains were only prevalent in China, presented limited vaccine responses with higher recombination activities within its cps locus, and unique variation patterns in the genes wzg and lrp. Conclusion: With the lifting of the one-child policy, it will be crucial for families with multiple children to get PCV vaccinations in China. Due to the highly variant cps locus and distinctive variation patterns in capsule shedding and binding proteins genes, the prevalent S14/ST876 strains have shown poor response to current vaccines. It is necessary to continue monitoring the molecular epidemiology of this vaccine escape clone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phosphinimide materials described in this paper were synthesized by polymerization precipitation. The properties of complexes coordinated with metal ions can be used as adsorbents for the adsorption of radioactive elements by using ligands such as imide and phosphorus groups. Then, the synthetic phosphinimide was characterized in detail by FT-IR, SEM, EDS and XPS, and its morphology and structural changes were studied. In addition, the effects of the material on the removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions at different pH, sorbent doses, contact times, initial concentrations, and temperatures were studied. The experimental data shows that the adsorption process can fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model well, which is in line with the Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamic study of adsorption shows that the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic process. In addition, at a temperature of 303.15 K and pH = 6, the maximum adsorption of uranium(VI) by phosphinimide in 25 min can reach 234.6 mg g−1, and a removal rate of 97.75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wogonin is a natural flavone compound from the plant Scutellaria baicalensis, which has a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-virus, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulation. However, the potential mechanism of wogonin remains unknown. This study was to confirm the molecular mechanism of wogonin for acute monocytic leukemia treatment, known as AML-M5. The potential action targets between wogonin and acute monocytic leukemia were predicted from databases. The compound-target-pathway network and protein-protein interaction network (PPI) were constructed. The enrichment analysis of related targets and molecular docking were performed. The network pharmacological results of wogonin for AML-M5 treatment were verified using the THP-1 cell line. 71 target genes of wogonin associated with AML-M5 were found. The key genes TP53, SRC, AKT1, RELA, HSP90AA1, JUN, PIK3R1, and CCND1 were preliminarily found to be the potential central targets of wogonin for AML-M5 treatment. The PPI network analysis, GO analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was the significant pathway in the wogonin for AML-M5 treatment. The antiproliferative effects of wogonin on THP-1 cells of AML-M5 presented a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, inducing apoptosis, blocking the cell cycle at the G2/M phase, decreasing the expressions of CCND1, CDK2, and CyclinA2 mRNA, as well as AKT and p-AKT proteins. The mechanisms of wogonin on AML-M5 treatment may be associated with inhibiting cell proliferation and regulating the cell cycle via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem that how straight-chain and branched solvent affect the solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredient, in this work, the molar fraction solubility of form I of probucol in five alcohols with straight and branched alcohols was determined by gravimetric method ranging from 278.15 to 323.15 K. The results showed that the equilibrium solubility of probucol is temperature-dependent and increased monotonically with temperature. More importantly, our findings show that the solubility of probucol rose as the number of straight-chain carbons grew and that it is more soluble in straight-chain alcohols than in branched alcohols with an equivalent carbon count. Furthermore, we conclude that the solubility of probucol in various solvents in straight-chain alcohols is co-dominated by solvent polarity and cohesive energy density, while in branched alcohols, the solubility of PBL is co-dominated by steric hindrance and temperature. Then, three thermodynamic models were employed to correlate the experimental solubility data and derive the dissolution thermodynamic properties of PBL. Our results indicated that except for ethanol, the dissolution process of PBL in other alcohols is enthalpy-driven and spontaneous, while in the case of ethanol, the dissolution of PBL transforms from entropy-driven to enthalpy-driven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetraphenyldithiodiphosphonate is synthesized by polymerization precipitation. The P = S bond of the material has strong polarity, which is conducive to improving the electron mobility of the complex and inhibiting the accumulation between molecules. The synthesized tetraphenyldithiodiphosphonate is characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XPS and XRD. In addition, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model is used to simulate the experimental data well, and the adsorption process conforms to the Langmuir isotherm model. Thermodynamic studies of adsorption have shown that the adsorption process is essentially a spontaneous endothermic process. At room temperature, tetraphenyldithiodiphosphonate demonstrates a maximum adsorption capacity for uranium(VI) reaching 398.8 mg g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research has demonstrated that prosocial rule-breaking behavior (PSRB) generates positive outcomes for employees and organizations. However, scholars know little about the potential dark side of PSRB. This article draws upon the moral balance model to explore the potential double-edged sword effect of PSRB. We propose that when the rules climate is high, employees who engage in prosocial rule-breaking behavior will perceive the loss of moral credits and increase organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, when the rules climate is low, employees who engage in prosocial rule-breaking behavior will produce psychological entitlement, fueling counterproductive behavior. Results from an experiment and a multisource field study support our hypotheses. Our research provides new insight into understanding the perils and benefits of employees' prosocial rule-breaking behavior and reveals the importance of exploring organizational moral climate in this distinct process. Finally, implications for theory and implementation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A magnetic composite catalyst, Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4, was successfully synthesized using a combination of solvothermal and hydrothermal techniques with CoFe2O4 as the base material. The crystal structure, morphology and properties of the Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 composite catalyst were characterized by various instrumental analysis methods. The photocatalytic activity of this composite catalyst was evaluated using ofloxacin (OFX) degradation. The study revealed that the Z-type heterojunction structure was formed by loading the body-centered cubic Ag3PO4 onto the surface of spinel cobalt ferrite CoFe2O4, and this structure can accelerate the recombination of invalid electron–hole pairs and facilitate the separation of valid charge carriers. The visible light catalytic activity of Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 composite catalyst was found to have improved significantly. The degradation effect of Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 composite catalyst on OFX was significantly better than that of pure Ag3PO4 and CoFe2O4, with 4% Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 showing the best possible effect. The degradation rate of OFX could reach up to 95.9% under visible light for 2.5 h, and the degradation process followed the first-order kinetic reaction model. The magnetic properties of the Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 composite catalyst make it easy to enable magnetic separation, recovery, and recycling of the catalyst without secondary contamination after the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The significance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) has been identified in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Consistently, our study probed the functional actions of hsa_circ_0102899 (circ_0102899) in NSCLC cells. Methods: circ_0102899 expression was checked in NSCLC tissues, as well as its correlation with clinical characteristics of patients, Using A459 cells, transfection to alter gene expression was performed, thus measuring the changes of proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and apoptosis, as well as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins. circ_0102899's effects in vivo were validated by tumor xenograft assay. Finally, the regulatory mechanism of circ_0102899 was investigated. Results: circ_0102899 indicated a high-expression level in NSCLC tissues which was associated with NSCLC tumor characteristics. Functionally, circ_0102899 knockdown not only inhibited the growth and EMT process of NSCLC cells, but also inhibited tumor formation in vivo. In terms of the regulatory mechanism, circ_0102899 had a binding to miR-885-5p to target eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4γ2 (EIF4G2). circ_0102899 mediated miR-885–5/EIF4G2 axis to accelerate the process of cell malignant behavior in NSCLC. Conclusion: circ_0102899 promotes EMT and metastasis in NSCLC by regulating the miR-885-5p/EIF4G2 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles have received extensive attention due to their unique energy efficiency and good emission reduction effects. While a large-scale of electric vehicles are gradually replacing traditional fuel vehicles, it is necessary to ensure the energy efficiency of electric vehicles and the effectiveness of their emission reduction effects. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on energy efficiency and emission reduction effects of electric vehicles from 2003 to 2022, using a variety of bibliometric tools such as R Studio, biblioshiny and VOSviewer. The results showed the gradual elimination of traditional energy vehicles, where electric vehicles play an important role in connecting energy efficiency and emission control. The results also showed the top publication outlets, citations trackers, authors with thematic evaluation of energy efficiency and emission reduction effects of electric vehicles. The contribution of the study is manifold. The academic contribution of the present study is the bibliometric analysis which will help academicians to get a quick overview of the most popular journals, top collaborators, documents, authors, and scientific knowledge structure. Secondly, policy makers, environmentalists, researchers, and academician will definitely get a pathway how they should go for future research. Finally, this study suggests more researches trend to focus on the sales of electric vehicles, automobile exhaust emissions, sensitivity analysis of electric vehicles, energy storage analysis to improve the energy efficiency of electric vehicles, and V2G related to the energy efficiency of electric vehicle clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: Glucagon-stimulated hepatic gluconeogenesis contributes to endogenous glucose production during fasting. Recent studies suggest that TGF-β is able to promote hepatic gluconeogenesis in mice. However, the physiological relevance of serum TGF-β levels to human glucose metabolism and the mechanism by which TGF-β enhances gluconeogenesis remain largely unknown. As enhanced gluconeogenesis is a signature feature of type 2 diabetes, elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying TGF-β-promoted hepatic gluconeogenesis would allow us to better understand the process of normal glucose production and the pathophysiology of this process in type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of upregulated TGF-β1 in human type 2 diabetes and the molecular mechanism underlying the action of TGF-β1 in glucose metabolism. Methods: Serum levels of TGF-β1 were measured by ELISA in 74 control participants with normal glucose tolerance and 75 participants with type 2 diabetes. Human liver tissue was collected from participants without obesity and with or without type 2 diabetes for the measurement of TGF-β1 and glucagon signalling. To investigate the role of Smad3, a key signalling molecule downstream of the TGF-β1 receptor, in mediating the effect of TGF-β1 on glucagon signalling, we generated Smad3 knockout mice. Glucose levels in Smad3 knockout mice were measured during prolonged fasting and a glucagon tolerance test. Mouse primary hepatocytes were isolated from Smad3 knockout and wild-type (WT) mice to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Smad3 phosphorylation was detected by western blotting, levels of cAMP were detected by ELISA and levels of protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation were detected by western blotting. The dissociation of PKA subunits was measured by immunoprecipitation. Results: We observed higher levels of serum TGF-β1 in participants without obesity and with type 2 diabetes than in healthy control participants, which was positively correlated with HbA1c and fasting blood glucose levels. In addition, hyperactivation of the CREB and Smad3 signalling pathways was observed in the liver of participants with type 2 diabetes. Treating WT mouse primary hepatocytes with TGF-β1 greatly potentiated glucagon-stimulated PKA/CREB phosphorylation and hepatic gluconeogenesis. Mechanistically, TGF-β1 treatment induced the binding of Smad3 to the regulatory subunit of PKA (PKA-R), which prevented the association of PKA-R with the catalytic subunit of PKA (PKA-C) and led to the potentiation of glucagon-stimulated PKA signalling and gluconeogenesis. Conclusions/interpretation: The hepatic TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway sensitises the effect of glucagon/PKA signalling on gluconeogenesis and synergistically promotes hepatic glucose production. Reducing serum levels of TGF-β1 and/or preventing hyperactivation of TGF-β1 signalling could be a novel approach for alleviating hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An autotrophic denitrifying bioreactor with iron sulfide (FeS) as the electron donor was operated to remove ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3−) synergistically from wastewater for more than 298 d. The concentration of FeS greatly affected the removal of NH4+/NO3−. Additionally, a low hydraulic retention time worsened the removal efficiency of NH4+/NO3−. When the hydraulic retention time was 12 h, the optimal removal was achieved with NH4+ and NO3− removal percentages both above 88%, and the corresponding nitrogen removal loading rates of NH4+ and NO3− were 49.1 and 44.0 mg/(L·d), respectively. The removal of NH4+ mainly occurred in the bottom section of the bioreactor through sulfate/ferric reducing anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Sulfammox/Feammox), nitrification, and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) by functional microbes such as Nitrospira, Nitrosomonas, and Candidatus Kuenenia. Meanwhile, NO3− was mainly removed in the middle and upper sections of the bioreactor through autotrophic denitrification by Ferritrophicum, Thiobacillus, Rhodanobacter, and Pseudomonas, which possessed complete denitrification-related genes with high relative abundances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important method of image classification, Open-Set Recognition (OSR) has been gradually deployed in autonomous driving systems (ADSs) for detecting the surrounding environment with unknown objects. To date, many researchers have demonstrated that the existing OSR classifiers are heavily threatened by adversarial input images. Nevertheless, most existing attack approaches are based on white-box attacks, assuming that information of the target OSR model is known by the attackers. Hence, these attack models cannot effectively attack ADSs that keep models and data confidential. To facilitate the design of future generations of robust OSR classifiers for safer ADSs, we introduce a practical black-box adversarial attack. First, we simulate a real-world open-set environment by reasonable dataset division. Second, we train a substitute model, in which, to improve the transferability of the adversarial data, we combine dynamic convolution into the substitute model. Finally, we use the substitute model to generate adversarial data to attack the target model. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the proposed attack model is the first to utilize dynamic convolution to improve the transferability of adversarial data. To evaluate the proposed attack model, we conduct extensive experiments on four publicly available datasets. The numerical results show that, compared to the white-box attack approaches, the proposed black-box attack approach has a similar attack capability. Specifically, using the German Traffic Sign Recognition Benchmark dataset, our model can decrease the classification accuracy of known classes from 99.8% to 9.81% and can decrease the AUC of detecting unknown classes from 97.7% to 48.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal phase is an intrinsic structural parameter to determine the physicochemical properties and functionalities of materials. The unconventional phases of materials with distinct atomic arrangements from their thermodynamically stable phases have attracted enormous attention. Phase engineering has recently made fruitful achievements in electrocatalysis field to optimize the performance of various electrochemical reactions. In this review, theoretical and experimental advances made in phase engineering of electrocatalysts are summarized. First, we introduce basic understanding on crystal phases of catalysts to show the dialectical relationship between bulk phase and surface catalytic layer, and highlight the multiple functions of phase engineering in catalysis studies. We then describe phase-controlled synthesis of materials through various experimental methods such as wet-chemical method, phase transition, and template growth. As a focus, we discuss the wide usage of phase engineering strategy in different kinds of electrocatalytic materials, and particular emphasis is given to establishment of reasonable crystal phase-activity relationship. Finally, we propose several future directions for developing more desirable electrocatalysts by rational crystal phase design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation of SiCxOy phase is a crucial step during the conversion of polyaluminocarbosilane-derived amorphous Si-Al-C-O fiber into highly crystalline SiC fiber. In this work, the high-temperature degradation process of SiCxOy phase of Si-Al-C-O fiber was directly investigated by TG-MS analysis. Two distinct degradation behaviors were observed in the open and closed systems, and three oxygen-containing gaseous products, namely, CO, SiO and monoatomic O, were detected during the degradation process. Oxygen was found to act as a necessary initiator and accelerant of the degradation reaction of SiCxOy phase. A possible mechanism was proposed for the degradation reaction of SiCxOy phase based on the TG-MS results. Si-Al-C-O fiber was heat-treated under CO-filled Ar atmosphere in open and closed systems. Different effects of CO on the degradation reaction of SiCxOy phase in the two systems were observed and reasonably explained by the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sagittal craniosynostosis (CSO) occurs when the sagittal suture of a growing child's skull is fused prematurely. Surgery, which involves re-moving the affected bones and increasing the volume of the cranium by repositioning the bone segments or using external forces to guide, is the primary treatment for CSO. For preparation of the surgery, physicians usually classify sagittal CSO subtypes by examining the reconstruction of skulls from CT images or the laser scans of the patients' 3D skull. We have proposed an automated sagittal CSO classification algorithm based on features extracted from projected 3D skull images. However, these features would become invalid if they were extracted from irregular skulls or skulls with completely closed sutures. In order to tackle this problem, we proposed a 3D skull multi-view images-based algorithm to classify the subtypes of sagittal CSO, like the physicians diagnosing these 3D reconstruction images of skulls or laser scans. Our innovations include: 1) the first to propose a multi-view learning algorithm to classify the subtypes of sagittal CSO cases, 2) 3D rendering and a patch-based erosion method are adopted for data augmentation to keep the original ratio and shape of the images, and 3) utilizing a transfer leaning training strategy to train the convolutional neural network (CNN) and a multi-view-based prediction strategy for classifying the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some key structural parts made of welding titanium alloys usually serve in hydrogen environment in aerospace, ship building and chemical industries. To investigate the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behaviors of the welded titanium alloy joints and the impact factors, the TC4 titanium alloy joints welded by laser welding method were first treated by ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP). Then, slow-rate tensile tests were conducted under electrochemical hydrogen charging condition to compare the mechanical properties of the TC4 laser welded joints before and after USRP. On this basis, the HE behaviors and mechanisms of the USRP-treated TC4 laser welded joint and the USRP-untreated one were discussed in detail. The results show that USRP could significantly improve the anti-hydrogen embrittlement behaviors of the TC4 laser welded joint, which could be attributed to the grain refinement and residual compressive stress in the deformation layer induced by USRP. The results of this paper provide a theoretical basis for the design of anti-hydrogen embrittlement metal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic data inversion for acoustic impedance (AI) has received increasing attention over the past few decades for its key role in estimating reservoir properties. The calculation of the AI from band-limited post-stack data is a type of nonlinear inverse problem. When the wavelet is unknown, it will be a blind inverse problem. We propose an efficient algorithm for multichannel AI blind inversion from post-stack seismic data. To eliminate the discontinuity in the inversion with the existing single-trace processing strategy, we construct a multichannel blind inversion framework which can obtain the AI model and the wavelet simultaneously. For the AI inversion, Tikhonov and total variation (TV) regularization methods are mostly used. However, traditional Tikhonov regularization assumes smooth variation in the AI model, whereas TV regularization creates a staircase effect where AI changes gradually. A new kind of weighted isotropic total variation (WITV) regularization scheme is proposed to preserve the texture of the data and suppress the noise when solving the ill-posed AI and nonstationary wavelet blind inversion within an acceptable time and memory consumption. We develop an optimization method which helps efficiently refine the inverse procedure based on the alternating-direction method of multipliers (ADMM) iterative scheme. Experimental tests show that the new iterative algorithm efficiently converges to a solution of the nonlinear minimization problem. We illustrate the performance and optimality of our inversion algorithm with simulated and field data, which indicates that our algorithm performs well in both the AI inversion and the wavelet inversion, offering an efficient method for processing large-scale nonstationary multichannel data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit staggered-grid finite-difference (SGFD) methods are widely used for the first-order acoustic wave-equation modeling. The identical implicit SGFD operator is commonly used for all of the first-order spatial derivatives in the first-order acoustic wave-equation. In this paper, we propose a hybrid explicit implicit SGFD (HEI-SGFD) scheme which could simultaneously preserve the wave-equation simulation accuracy and increase the wave-equation simulation speed. We use a second-order explicit SGFD operator for half of the first-order spatial derivatives in the first-order acoustic wave-equation. At the same time, we use the implicit SGFD operator with added points in the diagonal direction for the other first-order spatial derivatives in the first-order acoustic wave-equation. The proposed HEI-SGFD scheme nearly doubles the wave-equation simulation speed compared to the implicit SGFD schemes. In essence, the proposed HEI-SGFD scheme is equivalent to the second-order FD scheme with ordinary grid format. We then determine the HEI-SGFD coefficients in the time–space domain by minimizing the phase velocity error using the least-squares method. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by dispersion analysis and numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Polyethyleneimine modified magnetic chitosan (MCS-PEI) was synthesized by grafting polyethyleneimine onto chitosan and adding magnetic Fe3O4 with sodium polyphosphate as crosslinking agent. The structure of the prepared material was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS, which showed MCS-PEI was successfully synthesized. After a series of single factor experiments, the adsorption data fitted well with the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.99), being the maximum adsorption capacity equal 181.8 mg g−1. The pseudo-second-order model (R2 = 0.997) and Dubinin-Radushkevich model (R2 = 0.9598) indicated that the adsorption process was chemical adsorption. And thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and exothermic. The adsorption rate decreased by no more than 4% after the four adsorption–desorption experiments. This work illustrates that MCS-PEI is an environmental friendly, efficient and low-cost adsorbent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of the nuclear industry, the amount of uranium containing wastewater discharged from the production process is increasing, which poses a great threat to the environment and human health. Therefore, it is an urgent task to find safe, environmentally friendly and efficient water treatment agents. Based on its unique molecular structure, chitosan can chemically react with anion system to adsorb pollutants, which has attracted the attention of scholars in the field of water treatment. However, the poor mechanical and adsorption properties of chitosan and the difficulty of recovery limit its development. To overcome the above shortcomings, chitosan is usually modified. In this paper, several modification methods of chitosan, including blending, crosslinking, grafting, ion imprinting and magnetization modification, are systematically described, and the advantages and disadvantages of different modification methods are analyzed. The application of modified chitosan adsorbent in uranium(VI) containing wastewater treatment is also introduced. Finally, the development trend of chitosan adsorbent in wastewater treatment is prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a new material containing chitosan(CS)-hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HP) composite was synthesized with polyphosphoric acid as the cross-linking agent for the effective removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution. The prepared material was characterized by FTIR, EDS, SEM, BET and XPS. According to batch experiments, its adsorption equilibrium (Qe = 398.8 mg g−1) was reached within 50 min at pH 6.0. The adsorption process could be well fitted to the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir model. The thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption was an exothermic and spontaneous process. Furthermore, the CS-HP has superior absorption reusability. This study proved that CS-HP could be considered as the highly efficient and sustainable material for removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication of sepsis. MicroRNA-22-3p (miR-22-3p) has been found to be involved in septic AKI progression. The purpose of this study was to analyze both the serum and urinary expression of miR-22-3p in septic AKI patients, and evaluated the clinical value of miR-22-3p in the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis-induced AKI. Methods: Serum and urinary expression of miR-22-3p was examined using qRT-PCR. The risk factors related with septic AKI onset were assessed using logistic analysis. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of miR-22-3p, and the Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the predictive value of miR-22-3p for the 28-day survival of septic AKI patients. Results: Both serum and urinary miR-22-3p expression was decreased and negatively correlated with kidney injury biomarkers in septic AKI patients. MiR-22-3p expression was a risk factor for AKI onset and had diagnostic accuracy in septic AKI patients. The expression of both serum and urinary miR-22-3p was lower in patients who died, and served as a prognostic biomarker to predict 28-day survival in septic AKI patients. Conclusion: Serum and urinary miR-22-3p was reduced in sepsis-induced AKI patients, and served as a biomarker to predict AKI occurrence and 28-day survival in sepsis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that is prevalent in advancing age. The pathology of OA disease is still unclear, and there are no effective interventions that can completely alter the OA disease process. Magnetic resonance (MR) image evaluation is sensitive for depicting early changes of knee OA, and therefore important for early clinical intervention for relieving the symptom. Automated cartilage segmentation based on MR images is a vital step in experimental longitudinal studies to follow-up the patients and prospectively define a new quantitative marker from OA progression. In this paper, we develop a deep learning–based coarse-to-fine approach for automated knee bone, cartilage, and meniscus segmentation with high computational efficiency. The proposed method is evaluated using two-fold cross-validation on 507 MR volumes (81,120 slices) with OA from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI)1 dataset. The mean dice similarity coefficients (DSCs) of femoral bone (FB), tibial bone (TB), femoral cartilage (FC), and tibial cartilage (TC) separately are 99.1%, 98.2%, 90.9%, and 85.8%. The time of segmenting each patient is 12 s, which is fast enough to be used in clinical practice. Our proposed approach may provide an automated toolkit to help computer-aided quantitative analyses of OA images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) including the variable valence Co2+ ions (CoAl-LDHs) is discovered to be capable of serving as the support and the reducing agent for the fabrication of well-distributed PdAu nanoparticles because of the low potential for reduction. Specifically, the active metal precursors undergo the redox process, in which Co2+ is oxidized to Co3+, while active metal ions are successfully reduced to bimetallic PdAu nanoparticles with the dispersion of 73%. Furthermore, the obtained catalysts are evaluated in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol as the probing reaction to explore the catalytic behavior. As for intrinsic activity, PdAu/CoAl-LDHs derived by the above in situ spontaneous reduction exhibits activation energy of 62.4 kJ mol−1, much lower than that of PdAu/CoAl-LDHs prepared by sol-immobilization. When the reaction time reaches to 4 h, the benzaldehyde selectivity over the former catalyst is up to 94%, originating from the surface electron starvation of active metals that promots the hydroxyl groups reacting with O2 to produce benzaldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the assessment of equivalence of the spectral radiance scales in the wavelength range from 250 to 2500 nm, reproduced at the national metrology institutes of Korea (KRISS), China (NIM), and Russia (VNIIOFI), carried out in the framework of international comparisons. The common set of three tungsten strip lamps was used as an artefact. Based on a series of blind measurements of the lamps spectral radiance performed at each laboratory alternately, the reference value of the comparison was determined at each wavelength as a weighted mean of the measured data of three laboratories. The degree of equivalence of each laboratory was then calculated as the deviation of the measurement data of that participant from the reference value. A data analysis method was proposed for calculating the degree of equivalences and their uncertainties. The method is based on processing spectral radiance ratios, rather than differences, which allows eliminating the influence of a result of one particular participant to results of other laboratories. The comparison results confirm the equivalence of spectral radiance scales of all the laboratories within their expanded uncertainties (k = 2) except a few wavelength points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-polyethyleneimine) microspheres with the solid structure were synthesized by precipitation polymerization method for the separation of highly toxic uranium(VI). The structure and morphology of the prepared microspheres were analyzed via FTIR, SEM–EDS, TEM and BET. The optimal adsorption conditions were also investigated, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 274.2 mg g−1. The experimental results showed that the adsorption kinetics conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetics and was in good agreement with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Removal of uranium(VI) ions was achieved by the complexation between the amino groups on the adsorbent and uranyl ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical and thermophysical properties of Xenotime-type REPO4 (RE = Lu, Yb, Er, Y and Sc) have been theoretically and experimentally investigated for a potential environmental barrier coating (EBC) topcoat application. The results show that the current studied REPO4 exhibits a quasi-ductile property, suggesting a potential long life expectancy of its made coatings. Further, from the study of underlying parameters governing thermophysical properties of a ceramic, low thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) and low thermal conductivities cannot be achieved simultaneously, due to mutual exclusive nature of above two parameters. REPO4 has been unveiled to have rather small TECs, attributing partly to its weak lattice anharmonicity, and is thus well-matched with silicon carbide based ceramic matrix composites. Last, the current investigated REPO4 exhibits very good high-temperature water vapor corrosion resistance, excellent calcium-magnesium aluminosilicates (CMAS) resistance as well as excellent chemical compatibility with silicon bond coats at elevated temperatures. Therefore, the Xenotime-type rare earth phosphates are a promising EBC topcoat material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geoscientists mainly identify subsurface geologic features using exploration-derived seismic data. Classification or segmentation of 2D/3D seismic images commonly relies on conventional deep learning methods for image recognition. However, complex reflections of seismic waves tend to form high-dimensional and multi-scale signals, making traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) computationally costly. Here we propose a highly efficient and resource-saving CNN architecture (SeismicPatchNet) with topological modules and multi-scale-feature fusion units for classifying seismic data, which was discovered by an automated data-driven search strategy. The storage volume of the architecture parameters (0.73 M) is only ~2.7 MB, ~0.5% of the well-known VGG-16 architecture. SeismicPatchNet predicts nearly 18 times faster than ResNet-50 and shows an overwhelming advantage in identifying Bottom Simulating Reflection (BSR), an indicator of marine gas-hydrate resources. Saliency mapping demonstrated that our architecture captured key features well. These results suggest the prospect of end-to-end interpretation of multiple seismic datasets at extremely low computational cost. The authors present an automated design approach to propose a new neural network architecture for seismic data analysis. The new architecture classifies multiple seismic reflection datasets at extremely low computational cost compared with conventional architectures for image classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly (cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone) (PZD) microspheres were prepared by precipitation polymerization with simple scheme and convenient operation, and used as a special effect adsorbent for adsorbing cationic dye, which is methylene blue (MB) in water. The synthesized PZD microspheres were characterized by SEM, TEM and XPS techniques. The influences of temperature, adsorption time, pH initial MB solution concentration and adsorbent dosage on MB adsorption were studied. The experimental results show that the adsorption of MB dye by PZD microspheres is more in line with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model than the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In addition, the adsorption process was further resolved using Weber's intraparticle diffusion model. Thermodynamic experiments show that the adsorption process is spontaneously carried out by endotherm. The mechanism of adsorption of MB dye by PZD microspheres may be related to the existence of a lot of electron-rich atoms N, P, S in the adsorbent, the electrostatic attraction and π–π stacking effect between PZD microspheres and MB dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly crosslinked organic–inorganic hybrid polymer poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-melamine) microspheres (PZM) were synthesized by a simple method. The microspheres was characterized by FTIR, SEM and EDX. It was applied to eliminate thorium(IV) from aqueous solution under various conditions, i.e., pH, initial concentration, dosage and contact time. The experimental data were well-imitated via the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and its adsorption processes comply with the Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption thermodynamic studies demonstrated that the adsorption process, in essence, was spontaneous and endothermic. Furthermore, the maximum experimental adsorption capacity was 98.6 mg g−1 for initial thorium(IV) concentration 50 mg L−1. When pH = 0.0, the thorium(IV) removal efficiency reached at 76.9%, which indicates that the adsorbent can also was used in a peracid environment. Adsorption behavior of thorium(IV) onto the microspheres were weakly affected via temperature, implying that adsorption would be done at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid–liquid-phase equilibrium is an important part of chemical thermodynamics, and its basic theoretical research plays a vital role in the advancement of the chemical industry. Solid–liquid equilibria for binary mixtures of 3-nitrotoluene and 4-nitrotoluene were measured using differential scanning calorimetry under atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa). The results showed that the phase diagram of the 3-nitrotoluene + 4-nitrotoluene binary system presented a eutectic behavior, and the eutectic point was x1 = 0.6487, TE = 272.15 K. Furthermore, the experimental results were correlated with Wilson and nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) activity coefficient models well. The relative standard deviations were 0.496 and 0.236, respectively, and the absolute mean deviations were 0.005 and 0.001, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether) crosslinked microspheres with active amino groups on the surface were prepared by one-step precipitation polymerization method. The as-prepared material were characterized by means of FTIR, XPS, XRD, EDS and SEM. The effects of pH, time of contact, dosage, initial concentration and temperature on the adsorption of uranium(VI) by the crosslinked microspheres were studied, and the adsorption mechanism was elucidated. Under the optimized adsorption conditions, the adsorption removal efficiency reached 97.03%. The experimental results fit the Langmuir isotherm model and adsorption processes comply with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic data revealed that the adsorption behavior of uranium(VI) on the microspheres was spontaneous and exothermic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether) microspheres (PZA) was based on hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (ODA). It was synthesized via one-step precipitation method. The PZA microspheres were characterized by FT-IR, XPS, zeta potential and SEM/EDS. Through experimental research, PZA microspheres had the optimal adsorption performance with pH value 3.5, contact time of 60 min, thorium(IV) ions concentration of 30 mg L−1, and PZA microspheres of 10 mg. The maximum adsorption capacity of PZA microspheres for thorium(IV) was 29.04 mg g−1. The adsorption process could be described by the quasi-second order kinetic model and simulated by the Langmuir isotherm equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure morphologies have been characterized by high resolution laboratory X-ray computed tomography in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Carbon and Silicon Carbide (C/C-SiC) ceramic composites fabricated by Gaseous Silicon Infiltration (GSI) from C/C preforms of three different architectures: 3D stitched cloth fabric; 3D orthogonal woven fabric; and needled short-cut felt. Each composites' microstructure was influenced by the structure of the C/C preform. By incorporating tomography with gravimetric analysis, the 3D distribution of the SiC was visualized, showing a connected SiC network in the needled short-cut felt, and more heterogeneous SiC formation on the surfaces of the fiber bundles in the stitched and woven fabrics. The needled short-cut felt provided the largest contact surface for the GSI reaction and generated ~56% volume fraction of SiC, which is almost twice and three times that achieved in the stitched and woven fabrics respectively. Differences in the open and closed pore distributions were also measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry and tomography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this work was to investigate whether tetraspanin 7 autoantibodies (TSPAN7A) are valuable in predicting poor beta cell function in individuals with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA).Methods: The cross-sectional study involved participants with LADA (n = 173), type 1 diabetes (n = 158), type 2 diabetes (n = 204) and healthy control participants (n = 170). The longitudinal study involved 53 participants with LADA, with a 3-year follow-up. In both cohorts, TSPAN7A in the sera were measured by a luciferase immunoprecipitation system assay, and physical and clinical characteristics were recorded.Results: The prevalence of TSPAN7A in LADA, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and healthy control participants was 21.4% (37/173), 26% (41/158), 0.5% (1/204) and 1.2% (2/170), respectively. Importantly, measurement of TSPAN7A significantly increased the number of individuals with LADA found to be positive for multiple antibodies (32.4% vs 22%; p < 0.001). Further logistic regression analysis demonstrated that positivity for TSPAN7A (OR 2.87, p = 0.034), disease duration (OR 1.83, p = 0.019) and GAD antibody titre (OR 2.67, p = 0.009) were risk factors for beta cell function in LADA, while BMI (OR 0.34, p = 0.001) was a protective factor. In the prospective study in individuals with LADA, the median annual decrease in rates of fasting C-peptide and 2 h postprandial C-peptide in individuals who were positive for TSPAN7A was significantly higher when compared with the decrease in those who were negative for TSPAN7A (34.6% vs 7.9%, p = 0.043 and 33.2% vs 11%, p = 0.041, respectively).Conclusions/interpretation: TSPAN7A are valid islet autoantibodies for use in East Asian populations with autoimmune diabetes and can discriminate individuals with LADA who have lower beta cell function after disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term occupational exposure to low level of fluoride can induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in many cells, including lymphocyte. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Hence, this study was designed to explore the potential oxidative stress and apoptosis of long-term occupational exposure to low level of fluoride in aluminum smelter workers. A total of 120 aluminum smelter workers were recruited in control, low-, middle-, and high-fluoride exposure groups with 30 workers for each group. The peripheral blood samples were collected, centrifuged, and isolated to obtain serum and lymphocyte suspensions. The air and serum fluoride concentrations were detected by fluoride ion-selective electrode method. The lymphocytic apoptosis rate, DNA damage, oxidative stress, and mRNA levels of p53, Bcl-2, and Bax were assessed by Annexin V/PI staining, comet assay, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Results showed that the air and serum fluoride concentrations of fluoride-exposed groups were higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). Fluoride exposure might induce apoptosis, DNA damage and oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner in lymphocytes (p < 0.05). The expression levels of p53 and Bax were increased with fluoride exposure in lymphocytes (p < 0.05), whereas the Bcl-2 expression was decreased but not significantly. Taken together, these observations indicate that long-term occupational exposure to low level of fluoride may lead to oxidative stress and induce apoptosis through the p53-dependent pathway in peripheral blood lymphocytes of aluminum smelter workers. Serum fluoride level may be the potential biomarker of fluoride exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-phloroglucinol) (PCPP) microspheres, a new solid phase extraction for extracting uranium(VI), synthesized via one-pot precipitation copolymerization. The PCPP microspheres were characterized by FT-IR, SEM/EDS, zeta potential and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. Through the extraction experiment to evaluate the extraction behavior of the PCPP microspheres for uranium(VI). The extractant can achieve the optimal effect under the conditions of contact time with 60 min, pH = 3.5, initial concentration 100 mg L−1 and extractant dosage 0.70 g L−1. The extraction behavior obeyed with the pseudo second-order model and Langmuir isotherm model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular methods such as quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and sandwich hybridization assay (SHA) enable a more rapid and specific enumeration of harmful algal species compared to microscopic cell counts. Integrating these methods into routine monitoring and management strategies, however, has been slow. While comparisons to microscopy have been made, direct comparisons between molecular methods using environmental samples are sparse. Here, we directly compare qPCR to SHA for enumerating the harmful algal species, Heterosigma akashiwo, in environmental samples collected in Delaware’s inland bays. To ensure comparability, a single cellular homogenate was generated from field samples and split for analysis by qPCR and SHA. Results show a significant correlation between qPCR and SHA when Heterosigma is above bloom levels (1 × 105 cells L−1), but not during non-bloom conditions. qPCR and SHA were also more highly correlated when samples were collected at lower temperatures (< 25 °C) and/or with high levels of chlorophyll a (greater than or equal to 30 μg L−1), independent of Heterosigma cell concentration. There was no evidence of cross-reactivity in primers and probes for H. akashiwo during blooms of the closely related species, Chattonella subsalsa. However, qPCR to SHA ratios were elevated during blooms of other phytoplankton species, suggesting suppression of the SHA signal or enhancement of qPCR. Results of this study may have significant implications for research, where precise evaluations of cell numbers are often required. However, precise cell counts at non-bloom levels may not be as critical to management, suggesting either technique could be incorporated into rapid and effective decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid-liquid phase equilibrium for binary system of 2,4,6-trimethylphenol (TMP) and 2,5-dimethylphenol (DMP) was built by differential scanning calorimeter under atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa). Two thermodynamic models of Wilson and NRTL were employed to correlate and calculate the experimental data for the system. The mean-root-square error values are 0.1924 and 0.2204. The residual sums of square values are 0.4810 and 0.6315, respectively. Values R2 are all larger than 0.9995. The pure TMP, pure DMP and the mixture of them were confirmed by gas chromatography, Raman spectrometer and X-ray diffraction before and after the determination. In addition, the specific heat (Cp) of solid TMP and DMP between 285.15 and 335.15 K and liquid TMP and DMP between 353.15 and 403.15 K were determined at atmospheric pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adsorption of uranium (VI) using tetraphenylimidodiphosphinate (Htpip) was studied. Factors of affecting sorption efficiency have been investigated and results showed the adsorption of uranium (VI) was equilibrium at pH 4.5, time 20 min, adsorbent dosage 0.005 g and initial concentration 50 mg L−1 reaching 99.86 mg g−1 of adsorption capacity and 99.86% of removal efficiency. Additionally, the interfering ions studies showed that the adsorbent possessed excellent adsorption selectivity of uranium (VI). The surface morphology of Htpip was investigated by SEM. The adsorption process of uranium (VI) onto Htpip fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model very well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]