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The envelope structure with high light transmittance accounts for an increasing proportion of building energy consumption, which is one of the shortcomings of energy conservation and emission reduction. Cellulose-based aerogel has become a research topic of interest because of its low thermal conductivity and good mechanical properties. However, most cellulose-based aerogels are opaque and flammable limiting their applications. Herein, cellulose/silica composite aerogels (CAS) with "organic–inorganic" structures were fabricated by two-step sol–gel method, spin-coating technique and supercritical CO2 drying, using the ionic liquid 1-allyl 3-methylimidazolium chloride salt to dissolve the Cotton pulp, followed by the addition of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) co-precursors into the cellulose gels. The synthesis mechanism, microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties of as-prepared aerogels samples were investigated. The obtained CAS have low density (0.093–0.170 g/cm3), high specific surface area (660.87–1089.70 m2/g), and high mechanical property (compressive strength of 18.74 MPa, tensile strength as high as 1.54 MPa, and bending tests above 500 times). In particular, the CAS4 shows the lowest thermal conductivity (0.0188 W·m−1·K−1), good thermal stability (> 331 °C), high transparency (91.7%) and excellent flame retardancy. In addition, the self-designed aerogels glasses model was placed in a real outdoor environment for 5 h. The results showed that the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the aerogels glasses model was as high as 12 ℃ under the thermal equilibrium state. Thus, the as-prepared high-performance cellulose/silica composite aerogels may increase the role of aerogels glasses in the building envelope and have promising applications in transparent energy-efficient construction and thermal insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common malignancy whose incidence is three times greater in females than in males. The prognosis of ageing patients is poor. This research was designed to construct models to predict the overall survival of elderly female patients with PTC. Methods: We developed prediction models based on the random survival forest (RSF) algorithm and traditional Cox regression. The data of 4539 patients were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Twelve variables were analysed to establish the models. The C-index and the Brier score were selected to evaluate the discriminatory ability of the models. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also drawn to evaluate the accuracy of the models. The clinical benefits of the two models were compared on the basis of the DCA curve. In addition, the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) plot was used to visualize the contribution of the variables in the RSF model. Results: The C-index of the RSF model was 0.811, which was greater than that of the Cox model (0.781). According to the Brier score and the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the RSF model performed better than the Cox model. On the basis of the DCA curve, the RSF model demonstrated fair clinical benefit. The SHAP plot showed that age was the most important variable contributing to the outcome of PTC in elderly female patients. Conclusions: The RSF model we developed performed better than the Cox model and might be valuable for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid level and glomerular ischemic lesions (GIL) in patients with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) and identify relevant risk factors. A total of 201 patients with PMN but normal renal function confirmed by renal biopsy executed in the Liaocheng People's Hospital, China, during January 2020-January 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. The enrolled patients were divided into a hyperuricemia group and a normal serum uric acid group (control group) according to their serum uric acid levels. Then, the participants were further divided into a non-GIL group or a GIL group based on the patient's renal biopsy results. The two groups' clinical and pathological data and meaningful indicators for differences were analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. Additionally, the serum uric acid level prediction value on GIL was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Compared with the control group, the hyperuricemia group exhibited high serum uric acid, the prevalence of GIL, serum albumin, the prevalence of hypertension, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) levels (P < 0.05). Compared with the non-GIL group, the GIL group exhibited were older, had enhanced serum uric acid, serum albumin, and an increased prevalence of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (TA/IF), arteriolosclerosis, and low eGFR levels (P < 0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the serum uric acid and the TA/IF are independent risk factors of GIL (P < 0.05). The AUC of ROC of GIL of PMN patients, predicted based on the serum uric acid concentration, was 0.736 (P < 0.05), wherein the threshold = 426.5 μmol/L and the Youden's index = 0.41. Serum uric acid concentration and the TA/IF are independent risk factors of GIL in patients with PMN, and the former exhibits prediction value on GIL in patients with PMN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Sn-based MAX/MXene hybrids with abundant Sn vacancies, Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V, fabricated by controlled etching method, are demonstrated to be an excellent electrocatalyst for N2 electroreduction. An economic "NH3 farm" has been developed based on Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V electrode, demonstrated by a commercial electrochemical photovoltaic cell, which may open a novel avenue for solar energy-driven synthesis of ammonia directly from air and water. The potential of the "NH3 farm" was demonstrated by a systematic technical economic analysis. Renewable energy driven N2 electroreduction with air as nitrogen source holds great promise for realizing scalable green ammonia production. However, relevant out-lab research is still in its infancy. Herein, a novel Sn-based MXene/MAX hybrid with abundant Sn vacancies, Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V, was synthesized by controlled etching Sn@Ti2SnC MAX phase and demonstrated as an efficient electrocatalyst for electrocatalytic N2 reduction. Due to the synergistic effect of MXene/MAX heterostructure, the existence of Sn vacancies and the highly dispersed Sn active sites, the obtained Sn@Ti2CTX/Ti2SnC–V exhibits an optimal NH3 yield of 28.4 µg h−1 mgcat−1 with an excellent FE of 15.57% at − 0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M Na2SO4, as well as an ultra-long durability. Noticeably, this catalyst represents a satisfactory NH3 yield rate of 10.53 µg h−1 mg−1 in the home-made simulation device, where commercial electrochemical photovoltaic cell was employed as power source, air and ultrapure water as feed stock. The as-proposed strategy represents great potential toward ammonia production in terms of financial cost according to the systematic technical economic analysis. This work is of significance for large-scale green ammonia production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict typically occurs when goal-directed processing competes with more automatic responses. Though previous studies have highlighted the importance of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in conflict processing, its causal role remains unclear. In the current study, the behavioral experiment, the continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), and the electroencephalography (EEG) were combined to explore the effects of behavioral performance and physiological correlates during conflict processing, after the cTBS over the rDLPFC and vertex (the control condition). Twenty-six healthy participants performed the Stroop task which included congruent and incongruent trials. Although the cTBS did not induce significant changes in the behavioral performance, the cTBS over the rDLPFC reduced the Stroop effects of conflict monitoring-related frontal-central N2 component and theta oscillation, and conflict resolution-related parieto-occipital alpha oscillation, compared to the vertex stimulation. Moreover, a significant hemispheric difference in alpha oscillation was exploratively observed after the cTBS over the rDLPFC. Interestingly, we found the rDLPFC stimulation resulted in significantly reduced Stroop effects of theta and gamma oscillation after response, which may reflect the adjustment of cognitive control for the next trial. In conclusion, our study not only demonstrated the critical involvement of the rDLPFC in conflict monitoring, conflict resolution processing, and conflict adaptation but also revealed the electrophysiological mechanism of conflict processing mediated by the rDLPFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy with minimal change disease (MCD-IgAN) and mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy without minimal change disease (Non-MCD-IgAN) have similar characteristics on light microscopy. Nevertheless, their discrepancies in clinicopathological features and prognosis remain unknown. A total of 589 patients with biopsy-proven mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy (M-IgAN) combined with light microscopy and immunofluorescence were enrolled. Firstly, the diagnoses of the patients by electron microscopy were recorded and used as the gold standard. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity using nephrotic syndrome (NS) as the diagnostic criteria to identify MCD-IgAN. Then, excluding patients with a 24-h urinary total protein less than 0.5 g/day, incomplete clinical data, or less than the six-month follow-up, we included 184 cases of non-MCD-IgAN and 98 cases of MCD-IgAN. The patients' clinicopathological and outcome data were collected and compared. Among the 589 patients, according to electron microscopy, 381 were diagnosed with non-MCD-IgAN, 167 with MCD-IgAN, and 41 with M-IgAN complicated by other glomerular diseases. Using NS as the diagnostic criteria to distinguish non-MCD-IgAN and MCD-IgAN, the sensitivity and specificity were 83.8% and 99.5%, respectively. The patients in the MCD-IgAN group tended to be younger, hypotensive, with lower urinary erythrocytes, and more likely to achieve complete remission, and fewer patients progressed to the endpoint than those in the non-MCD-IgAN group (all P < 0.05). NS appears to be an objective indicator for differentiating MCD-IgAN from non-MCD-IgAN. Non-MCD-IgAN varies greatly from MCD-IgAN in clinicopathology and treatment response, with a poorer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working memory plays a crucial role in our daily lives, and brain imaging has been used to predict working memory performance. Here, we present an improved connectome-based predictive modeling approach for building a predictive model of individual working memory performance from whole-brain functional connectivity. The model was built using n-back task-based fMRI and resting-state fMRI data from the Human Connectome Project. Compared to prior models, our model was more interpretable, demonstrated a closer connection to the known anatomical and functional network. The model also demonstrates strong generalization on nine other cognitive behaviors from the HCP database and can well predict the working memory performance of healthy individuals in external datasets. By comparing the differences in prediction effects of different brain networks and anatomical feature analysis on n-back tasks, we found the essential role of some networks in differentiating between high and low working memory loads conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concreteness effect refers to the advantage in speed and accuracy of processing concrete words over abstract words. Previous studies have shown that the processing of the two types of words is mediated by distinct neural mechanisms, but these studies were mainly conducted with task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging. This study investigates the associations between the concreteness effect and grey matter volume (GMV) of brain regions as well as resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of these identified regions. The results show that the GMV of left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), right supplementary motor area and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) negatively correlates with the concreteness effect. The rsFC of the left IFG, the right MTG and the right ACC with the nodes, mainly in default mode network, frontoparietal network and dorsal attention network positively correlates with the concreteness effect. The GMV and rsFC jointly and respectively predict the concreteness effect in individuals. In conclusion, stronger connectivity amongst functional networks and higher coherent engagement of the right hemisphere predict a greater difference in the verbal memory of abstract and concrete words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, an electrocatalytic electrode NiMoO4@NiCo2O4/NF with heterojunction structure was grown by hydrothermal synthesis and electrodeposition process on nickel foam (NF). The construction and morphology of electrode materials were represented through X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) property of NiMoO4@NiCo2O4/NF was researched in basic solution. The consequences show that the heterostructural electrode NiMoO4@NiCo2O4/NF has outstanding OER catalytic performance, and only at 100 mA cm−2 it can achieve 330 mV overpotential, electronic structure of the electrode interface is well regulated by the combination of the two constituents. Meanwhile, the electrode materials show the good performance in the stability test. The experiment presents a novel method for the preparation of inexpensive, high catalytic activity and continuous durability of non-noble metal based water electrolysis catalyst, which has great development potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass-derived carbon materials have shown great potential for electrochemical energy storage application due to their natural abundance, high porosity, and hierarchical structure. Herein, we report the fabrication of tubular catkin-derived carbon microtubes (denote as CMTs) by directly annealing catkin in Ar, and study the effect of activation on their physicochemical characteristics as well as their lithium storage performance/behavior. The activated CMTs (a-CMTs), which are obtained by annealing pristine CMTs (p-CMTs) (436 m2 g−1, 0.109 cc g−1) with KOH as the activating agent, display a porous structure with a high specific area (1048 m2 g−1) and large pore volume (0.751 cc g−1). When examined as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, both p-CMTs and a-CMTs show excellent cycling and rate performance, delivering reversible capacities of 397 and 493 mA h g−1 after 400 cycles at 100 mA g−1, respectively, which correspondingly show pseudocapacitive and diffusion-controlled lithium storage behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual selective attention can be achieved into bottom-up and top-down attention. Different selective attention tasks involve different attention control ways. The pop-out task requires more bottom-up attention, whereas the search task involves more top-down attention. P300, which is the positive potential generated by the brain in the latency of 300 ~ 600 ms after stimulus, reflects the processing of attention. There is no consensus on the P300 source. The aim of present study is to study the source of P300 elicited by different visual selective attention. We collected thirteen participants' P300 elicited by pop-out and search tasks with event-related potentials (ERP). We collected twenty-six participants' activation brain regions in pop-out and search tasks with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). And we analyzed the sources of P300 using the ERP and fMRI integration with high temporal resolution and high spatial resolution. ERP results indicated that the pop-out task induced larger P300 than the search task. P300 induced by the two tasks distributed at frontal and parietal lobes, with P300 induced by the pop-out task mainly at the parietal lobe and that induced by the search task mainly at the frontal lobe. Further ERP and fMRI integration analysis showed that neural difference sources of P300 were the right precentral gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus (medial orbital), left middle temporal gyrus, left rolandic operculum, right postcentral gyrus, and left angular gyrus. Our study suggests that the frontal and parietal lobes contribute to the P300 component of visual selective attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regret affects decision-making behavior, which is mediated by a cognitive process known as counterfactual thinking in economic science. Several studies indicate that orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a crucial role in decision-making behavior. However, the neural correlates of regret trait and the function of the OFC in decision-making remain unclear. In this study, we employed a typical monetary decision-making task, a modified 'Wheel of Fortune gamble' paradigm, to investigate decision-making behavior and its neural mechanism. We combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and task-evoked functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses to explore the neural substrates of regret trait. VBM analyses revealed that individual Regret Scale Score was negatively associated with the gray-matter volume (GMV) in the frontal and temporal areas, including the bilateral OFC. These results indicate that individuals with high regret trait have smaller GMV in these areas. Moreover, we found stronger task-evoked activation of the left OFC in high regret trait individuals during the decision-maker's choice (choose conditions) phase, whereas we did not find this relationship in computer-selected's (follow conditions) choice phase. Using generalized psychophysiological interactions (PPI) analysis, we further found that the functional connectivity of the left OFC to right inferior frontal gyrus and left cerebellum was stronger in the complete feedback choose condition (under regret theoretical framework) than partial feedback choose condition (under disappointment theoretical framework). These findings verify the critical role of the OFC in the decision-making, more importantly, provide novel insights into the morphological and functional substrates of individual regret trait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antisaccade task requires inhibition of a prepotent prosaccade to a peripheral target and initiation of a saccade to the opposite location, and, therefore, is used as a tool to investigate behavioral adjustment. The frontal and parietal cortices are both known for their activation during saccade generation, but it is unclear whether their neuroanatomical characteristics also contribute to antisaccades. Here, we took antisaccade cost (antisaccade latency minus prosaccade latency) as an index for additional time for generating antisaccades. Fifty-eight participants conducted pro and antisaccade tasks outside the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and their structural MRI (sMRI) data were also collected to explore brain regions neuroanatomically related to antisaccade cost. Then, twelve participants performed saccade tasks in the scanner and their task-state functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected to verify the activation of structurally identified brain regions during the saccade generation. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) results revealed that gray matter volume (GMV) of the left precentral gyrus and the left insula were positively correlated with the antisaccade cost, which was validated by the prediction analysis. Brain activation results showed the activation of the precentral during both pro and antisaccade execution period, but not the insula. Our results suggest that precentral gyrus and insula play vital roles to antisaccade cost, but possibly in different ways. The insula, a key node of the salience network, possibly regulates the saliency processing of the target, while the precentral gyrus possibly mediates the generation of saccades. Our study especially highlights an outstanding role of the precentral gyrus in flexible oculomotor control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel pH-colorimetric intelligent films were designed from agar and methylcellulose matrix (AM) with soybean wax (SBW) in several percentages (5, 10, 15, and 20%w/w) combined with purple cauliflower (CF) anthocyanins as an indicator of the shrimp freshness at 4 °C and 25 °C of storage temperatures. The color was observed in a mixture of AM/CF anthocyanins with SBW (hydrophobic), which completely converted in pH acidity 2–6 and somewhat in pH alkalinity 7–12, equivalent to the color seen when exposed to ammonia vapors 100 mmol/L. The spectroscopic analysis indicated that SBW was successfully settled into the AM/CF film. The homogenized SBW films enhanced the mechanical, thermal, antioxidant, control release of the anthocyanins and physical properties, significantly reducing water vapor permeability in AM/CF/15%SBW. Remarkably, SBW films showed total protection for UV–Vis light and a beneficial decline in visible light. Lastly, pH-colorimetric film validity to indicate the freshness/spoilage of a model food (shrimp) was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be involved in the initiation and progression of human tumors including cervical cancer (CC). However, the mechanisms underlying of their actions in CC remain to be fully elucidated. Herein, the differentially expressed miRNAs that were screened based on GSE55940 microarray data retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and miR-103a-3p was significantly upregulated in CC tissues which was selected as the target miRNA for further research. We also found that high expression of miR-103a-3p was closely associated with histological grades, FIGO stage and distant metastasis as well as reflected poor overall survival. Moreover, miR-103a-3p inhibition decreased the growth capacity of SiHa and HeLa cells by inducing cell apoptosis. And F-box and WD repeat-domain containing protein 7 (FBXW7), a well-known tumor suppressor in many cancer types, was identified as a direct target of miR-103a-3p. It was further found that FBXW7 was significantly downregulated in CC tissues, and it was inversely correlated with miR-103a-3p expression levels. Further investigation demonstrated that FBXW7 upregulation could simulate the roles of miR-103a-3p knockdown in cell viability and apoptosis. Moreover, FBXW7 knockdown efficiently abrogated the influences of CC cells proliferation caused by miR-103a-3p inhibition. Notably, miR-103a-3p could block FBXW7 mediated the downstream transcription factor pathways. Taken together, these findings suggest that miR-103a-3p functions as an oncogene in CC by targeting FBXW7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this study, we investigated the clinical and pathologic characteristics and prognosis of overlapping obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG) and immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) (ORG + IgAN), which is rare in the clinic. Methods: We included 62 cases of ORG + IgAN, 110 cases of ORG without other glomerulopathy (ORG alone) and 124 cases of IgAN without other glomerulopathy (IgAN alone). The clinical, pathologic and prognostic data were collected and compared. Results: ORG + IgAN patients showed a higher incidence of body mass index (BMI), higher incidence of hyperuricemia, higher incidence of hypertriglyceridemia and higher blood glucose than the IgAN alone(all P < 0.05). ORG + IgAN patients presented with higher incidence of microscopic hematuria, greater mesangial cell proliferation and a higher proportion of crescents than the ORG alone (all P < 0.05). The ORG + IgAN patients who received corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy achieved a higher cumulative rate of partial or complete remission (PR or CR, P = 0.009). However, there was no significant difference in the cumulative renal survival rate between the ORG + IgAN patients in the glucocorticoids/immunosuppressors and non-glucocorticoids/immunosuppressors groups (P = 0.356). Obesity-related focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (O-FSGS) and body mass index (BMI) were significantly associated with poor prognosis (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: ORG + IgAN should be considered in obese patients who present with metabolic abnormalities and microscopic hematuria. Although corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy achieves higher cumulative incidence rates of PR or CR, there is no benefit to long-term prognosis but an increased risk of infection. Moreover, O-FSGS and BMI are significantly associated with poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition have largely affected soil respiration (Rs) in forest ecosystems. However, few studies have explored how N and P individually or in combination to influence Rs and its components (autotrophic respiration, Ra; heterotrophic respiration, Rh), especially in highly P-limited subtropical forests. To address this question, we conducted a field manipulation experiment with N and/or P addition in a 50-year-old subtropical secondary forest. Results: We found that N addition on average reduced Rs, Ra, and Rh by 15.2%, 15%, and 11.7%, respectively during 2-year field study. P addition had an inconsistent effect on Ra, with Ra increasing by 50.5% in the first year but reducing by 26.6% in the second year. Moreover, P addition on average decreased Rh by 8.9%–30.9% and Rs by 6.7%–15.6% across 2 years. In contrast, N and P co-addition on average increased Rs, Ra, and Rh by 1.9%, 7.9%, and 2.1% during the experimental period. Though Rs and Rh were significantly correlated with soil temperature, their temperature sensitivities were not significantly changed by fertilization. Ra was predominantly regulated by soil nitrogen availability (NH4+ and NO3−), soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and enzyme activities, while the variation in Rh was mainly attributable to changes in soil microbial community composition and soil β-D-Cellubiosidase (CB) and β-Xylosidase (XYL) activities. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the contrasting responses of Rs and its components to N or P addition against N and P co-addition, which should be differentially considered in biogeochemical models in order to improve prediction of forest carbon dynamics in the context of N and P enrichment in terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated Punica granatum extract (PGE) as potential proliferation inhibitory agent for bladder cancer cells and elucidated the possible mechanism. PGE reduced viabilities of HT-1197 and RT4 cells in concentration-based manner at 72 h. Colony forming potential of HT-1197 and RT4 cells was also significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited on exposure to 2 and 12 mg/mL PGE. Exposure to 12 mg/mL PGE for 72 h significantly (p < 0.05) decreased miR‑10b expression and suppressed migration potential of HT-1197 and RT4 cells. In PGE exposed HT-1197 and RT4 cells, invasiveness was reduced to 30.25 and 33.47%, respectively. PGE treatment of HT-1197 and RT4 cells caused a significant (p < 0.05) elevation in HOXD10 protein and mRNA levels compared to control. The miR‑10b mimic transfection in HT-1197 and RT4 cells reversed inhibitory effect of PGE on cell viability. Thus, PGE exhibited cytotoxicity and anti-invasive effect on HT-1197 and RT4 cells through targeting miR‑10b and up-regulation of HOXD10 expression. Thus, PGE may be developed as therapeutic agent for treatment of bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working memory (WM) training is a prevalent intervention for multiple cognitive deficits, however, the transfer effects to other cognitive tasks from gains in WM induced by different training techniques still remains controversial. Therefore, the current study recruited three groups of young adults to investigate the memory training transference, with N-back group (NBG) (n = 50) training on dual n-back task, Memory Palace group (MPG) (n = 50) on method of loci, and a blank control group (BCG) (n = 48) receiving no training. Our results showed that both training groups separately improved WM capacity on respective trained task. For untrained tasks, both training groups enhanced performance on digit-span task, while on change detection task, significant improvement was only observed in NBG. In conclusion, while both techniques can be used as effective training methods to improve WM, the dual n-back task training method, perhaps has a more prominent transfer effect than that of method of loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sb-based compounds are regarded as promising anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Here, uniform SbVO4 nanospheres with an average size of around 100 nm are prepared by a facile microwave hydrothermal treating the mixed solution of SbF3 and NaVO3 at 160 °C for 90 min. When evaluated as an anode material for SIBs, the SbVO4 electrode displays superior sodium storage properties with good cycling stability and high rate capability, delivering a high reversible capacity of 318 mAh/g after 50 cycles at 200 mA/g and even 210 mAh/g at high current densities of 2 A/g. This work opens the door for convenient synthesis of nanostructured SbVO4 as excellent anode materials for SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcript alterations often result from somatic changes in cancer genomes1. Various forms of RNA alterations have been described in cancer, including overexpression2, altered splicing3 and gene fusions4; however, it is difficult to attribute these to underlying genomic changes owing to heterogeneity among patients and tumour types, and the relatively small cohorts of patients for whom samples have been analysed by both transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing. Here we present, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive catalogue of cancer-associated gene alterations to date, obtained by characterizing tumour transcriptomes from 1,188 donors of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)5. Using matched whole-genome sequencing data, we associated several categories of RNA alterations with germline and somatic DNA alterations, and identified probable genetic mechanisms. Somatic copy-number alterations were the major drivers of variations in total gene and allele-specific expression. We identified 649 associations of somatic single-nucleotide variants with gene expression in cis, of which 68.4% involved associations with flanking non-coding regions of the gene. We found 1,900 splicing alterations associated with somatic mutations, including the formation of exons within introns in proximity to Alu elements. In addition, 82% of gene fusions were associated with structural variants, including 75 of a new class, termed 'bridged' fusions, in which a third genomic location bridges two genes. We observed transcriptomic alteration signatures that differ between cancer types and have associations with variations in DNA mutational signatures. This compendium of RNA alterations in the genomic context provides a rich resource for identifying genes and mechanisms that are functionally implicated in cancer. Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the needs of the plant classification, the BP neutral network identification method has been researched based on the characters of the plant leaves veins in this paper. Firstly, the plant leaves image which achieved by the digital device is needed to be pretreated. Secondly, the leaves veins should be extracted by the Canny edge detection, and we use the leaves veins' binary image to figure out the seven Hu invariant moment. Finally, the seven invariant moment is used to be the input of the BP neutral network to classify the plant leaves. The arithmetic is work out under the integrated environment of MATLAB, and the test result shows that the correct identification rate of the five different plant leaves' types could reach 96.67%. The identification method is high in rate of correction rate and is easy to implement. It not only can be widely used in the classification research of the plant, but also could improve the accuracy of the plant classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable attention has been devoted to understanding how objects are localized when there is ample time and attention to detect them. However, in the real world, we often must react to, or act upon, objects that we have glimpsed only briefly and are not directly at the focus of our attention. This paper describes two experiments examining the role of attentional constraints on 2-D (directional) localization, particularly in cases in which targets have been detected but are not within the spatial focus of attention. Targets were asterisks presented briefly (34–150 ms) above or below a central fixation point. Just prior to the target's appearance, a cue directed attention toward, or away from, the target. Participants indicated whether or not they saw the target, and then used a mouse to indicate the target's location. The impact of guessing was mitigated by removing trials that participants had flagged as not detected. Longer glimpses generally benefitted localization; by contrast, cue validity had very little effect on response sensitivity, bias or precision. At very brief durations, invalid cueing did result in a small increase in foveal bias. These results indicate that the directional location of objects can be extracted reasonably well from brief glimpses even with reduced attention. This directional information provides an important basis for 3-D localization of objects on the ground, via their angular declination. The current studies suggest that egocentric distance perception might be similarly robust to reduced attention when localization is based primarily on a target's angular declination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand soil N2O fluxes from temperate forests in a climate-sensitive transitional zone, N2O emissions from three temperate forest types (Pinus tabulaeformis, PTT; Pinus armandii, PAT; and Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata, QAT) were monitored using the static closed-chamber method from June 2013 to May 2015 in the Huoditang Forest region of the Qinling Mountains, China. The results showed that these three forest types acted as N2O sources, releasing a mean combined level of 1.35 ± 0.56 kg N2O ha−1 a−1, ranging from 0.98 ± 0.37 kg N2O ha−1 a−1 in PAT to 1.67 ± 0.41 kg N2O ha−1 a−1 in QAT. N2O emission fluctuated seasonally, with highest levels during the summer for all three forest types. N2O flux had a significantly positive correlation with soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm or in the water-filled pore space, where the correlation was stronger for temperature than for the water-filled pore space. N2O flux was positively correlated with available soil nitrogen in QAT and PAT. Our results indicate that N2O flux is mainly controlled by soil temperature in the temperate forest in the Qinling Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel has attracted much attention as a cheap and readily available electrocatalyst towards the electrooxidation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). For the electrocatalytic reaction, the larger the surface area of the electrode, the more active sites can be provided, and the better the catalytic performance of the electrode can be achieved. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) porous electrode was successfully prepared by a simple two-step method. Firstly, the Ni–SiO2 composite was uniformly deposited on the carbon paper (CP) by electrodeposition, and then the SiO2 component in the Ni–SiO2 composite was removed by after dealloying (AD) to form a Ni–SiO2/CP (AD) electrode with a 3D porous structure, which has high catalytic activity area and good gas–liquid mass transfer property. The prepared Ni–SiO2/CP (AD) exhibits superior catalytic activity for H2O2 electrooxidation. At normal temperature, Ni–SiO2/CP (AD) in 1.0 mol dm−3 NaOH + 0.2 mol dm−3 H2O2 electrolyte solution, the oxidation current density reached 355 mA cm−2, which is 1.85 times the Ni/CP current density under the same conditions. This study provides a new idea for preparation of high catalytic activity of Ni catalyst for the electrooxidation of H2O2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous evidence showed that working memory (WM) contents can bias visual selection. However, less is known about how the WM effects change when the WM representation is not held successfully. Here, we investigated this problem using event-related potentials. Subjects maintained a color in WM while performing a search task. The color cue contained the target (valid) or the distractor (invalid). Subjects could either remember the color accurately (correct WM) or not (incorrect WM). An N2-posterior contralateral component and a sustained posterior contralateral negativity (SPCN) were recorded in the valid and incorrect WM condition, while only an attenuated SPCN was elicited in the valid and correct WM condition. No reliable lateralized components were found for the invalid trials. These findings suggest that the WM effects on visual search are affected by the resource interchange between WM and search processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report on a disposable sensor for the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric (DPASV) determination of the ions Zn(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II). Simultaneous detection is accomplished by using a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) co-modified with an in-situ plated bismuth (Bi)) film and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The synergistic effect of the Bi film, and the large surface and good electrical conductivity of the AuNPs strongly assist in the co-deposition of the three ions. Four well-defined and fully separated anodic stripping peaks, at 540 mV for Zn(II), 50 mV for Pb(II), 140 mV for Bi(III) and 295 mV for Cu(II), all vs. Ag/AgCl, can be seen. The modified SPCE was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Under the optimized conditions, the sensor has a good response to these ions. The detection limits (at an S/N ratio of 3) are 50 ng·L for Zn(II), 20 ng·L for Pb(II), and 30 ng·L for Cu(II). The method was applied to the determination of the 3 ions in spiked lake water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to develop a high-strength carbon-fiber felt reinforced carbon/alumina aerogel (CF-C/AlO) with low thermal conductivity. The carbon-fiber felt reinforced resorcinol formaldehyde/alumina aerogel (CF-RF/AlO) was initially prepared using sol­gel technique followed by ambient pressure drying technique. The CF-C/AlO was obtained after the thermal treatment at 1600 °C under flowing argon atmosphere. Both CF-RF/AlO and CF-C/AlO displayed extremely little linear shrinkages due to the high structural strength of carbon fiber felt. The compression strength of CF-C/AlO were 0.50, 0.78, 1.30 and 2.35 MPa, the corresponding compressive stress at the strains of Ɛ , Ɛ , Ɛ and Ɛ , respectively. The thermal conductivity of CF-C/AlO is as low as 0.284 W/(m·K) at a ultrahigh temperature 1600 °C under argon, which is only about one half of the value of carbon fiber felt (0.538 W/(m·K)). The as-synthesized CF-C/AlO possessed greatly controllable and stable structure, which would be fabricated and machined to a large-scale composites and be used as high temperature thermal insulators. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of graphene dendrites with controlled morphologies (flower-like and tree-like) were achieved by changing applied potential in electrochemical reaction. The growth of graphene dendrites proceeded with two different oriented attachment modes. When applied potential ≤60 V, graphene nanosheets preferentially extended into branches, resulting in the formation of flower-like dendrites. While applied potential ≥60 V, more graphene nanosheets were produced on electrode and grew along the stem directions, leading to the formation of tree-like dendrites. Moreover, the effects of different morphology of graphene dendrite on its electrochemical performances were investigated. The results showed that tree-like dendrite electrode had a larger specific capacitance (138 F/g at 100 mv/s) than that of flower-like dendrite electrode. Generally, graphene dendrites with controlled morphologies might have promising applications as electrode materials for supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resorcinol-formaldehyde/alumina composite (RF/AlO) gels were initially prepared using sol-gel techniques, and then dried to aerogels with supercritical fluid CO. RF/AlO aerogels were successfully converted to monolithic carbon/alumina composite (C/AlO) aerogels after carbonization under flowing Ar at 800 °C. The samples were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, and the compressive strengths were also measured. The results indicated that the resulting C/AlO aerogels prepared from hydrated AlCl possessed microstructures containing highly reticulated networks of fibers, 2-5 nm in diameter and of varying lengths, whereas the samples prepared from hydrated Al(NO) were amorphous with microstructures comprised of interconnected spherical particles with diameters in the 5-15 nm range and the alumina were surrounded by amorphous carbon. The difference in microstructure resulted in each type of aerogels displaying distinct physical and mechanical properties. In particular, the as-prepared C/AlO aerogels with the weblike microstructure were far more mechanically robust than those with the colloidal network. Correspondingly, the compressive strengths are 5.6 and 2.8 MPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resorcinol-formaldehyde/silica composite (RF/SiO) aerogels were synthesized using sol-gel process followed by supercritical CO drying. Monolithic carbon/silicon carbide composite (C/SiC) aerogels were formed from RF/SiO aerogels after carbothermal reduction. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate that β-SiC was obtained after carbothermal reduction. Scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption reveal that the as-prepared C/SiC aerogels are typical mesoporous materials. The pore structural properties were measured by nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis. The resulting C/SiC aerogels possess a BET surface area of 564 m/g, a porosity of 95.1 % and a pore volume of 2.59 cm/g. The mass fraction of SiC in C/SiC aerogels is 31 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermoelectric generator (TEG) efficiency booster with buck-boost conversion and power management is proposed as a TEG battery power conditioner suitable for a wide TEG output voltage range. An inverse-coupled inductor is employed in the buck-boost converter, which is used to achieve smooth current with low ripple on both the TEG and battery sides. Furthermore, benefiting from the magnetic flux counteraction of the two windings on the coupled inductor, the core size and power losses of the filter inductor are reduced, which can achieve both high efficiency and high power density. A power management strategy is proposed for this power conditioning system, which involves maximum power point tracking (MPPT), battery voltage control, and battery current control. A control method is employed to ensure smooth switching among different working modes. A modified MPPT control algorithm with improved dynamic and steady-state characteristics is presented and applied to the TEG battery power conditioning system to maximize energy harvesting. A 500-W prototype has been built, and experimental tests carried out on it. The power efficiency of the prototype at full load is higher than 96%, and peak efficiency of 99% is attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closure or the presence of a 'hole' is an emergent perceptual feature that can be extracted by the visual system early on. This feature has been shown to have perceptual advantages over openness or 'no-hole'. in this study, we investigated when and how the human brain differentiates between 'hole' and 'no-hole' figures. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a passive observation paradigm. Two pairs of simple figures (Experiment 1) and two sets of Greek letters (Experiment 2) were used as stimuli. The ERPs of 'hole' and 'no-hole' figures differed ∼90 ms after stimulus onset: 'hole' figures elicited smaller P1 and N1 amplitudes than 'no-hole' figures. These suggest that both P1 and N1 components are sensitive to the difference between 'hole' and 'no-hole' figures; perception of 'hole' and 'no-hole' figures might be differentiated early during visual processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the perception of 3-D object motion has considered time to collision, time to passage, collision detection, and judgments of speed and direction of motion but has not directly studied the perception of the overall shape of the motion path. We examined the perception of the magnitude of curvature and sign of curvature of the motion path for objects moving at eye level in a horizontal plane parallel to the line of sight. We considered two sources of information for the perception of motion trajectories: changes in angular size and changes in angular speed. Three experiments examined judgments of relative curvature for objects moving at different distances. At the closest distance studied, accuracy was high with size information alone but near chance with speed information alone. At the greatest distance, accuracy with size information alone decreased sharply, but accuracy for displays with both size and speed information remained high. We found similar results in two experiments with judgments of sign of curvature. Accuracy was higher for displays with both size and speed information than with size information alone, even when the speed information was based on parallel projections and was not informative about sign of curvature. For both magnitude of curvature and sign of curvature judgments, information indicating that the trajectory was curved increased accuracy, even when this information was not directly relevant to the required judgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the sustainable Ce-Mn chemical conversion coating was fabricated on 6063 aluminium alloy by means of Ce(NO3)3 and KMnO4 as the inhibitors and NaF as the accelerator. The morphologies, composition and valence state of the coating were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The results indicated that the Ce-Mn conversion coating was formed. The anticorrosion of the coating was evaluated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution at room temperature by using polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It indicated that the treated surface presented better anticorrosion behavior in chloride media than on the original material surface. The corrosion resistance of Ce-Mn conversion coating was about equal to the trivalent chromium conversion coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Chen’s theory, topological differences are perceived faster than feature differences in early visual perception. We hypothesized that topological perception is caused by the sensitivity in discriminating figures with and without “holes”. An ERP experiment was conducted utilizing a passive paradigm to investigate the differences in perceiving figures with “hole” and with “no-hole”. The results showed differences in N170 components between figures with “holes” and with “no-holes”. The inversion of the “hole” could influence the latency of N170, but the inversion of the “no-hole” could not, which indicated that global features are processed first in the “hole” perception whilst local features are given priority to the “no-hole” perception. This result was similar to studies concerning face and non-face objects, suggesting a configural processing of the “hole”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a developing and the most populous country in the world, China faces major challenges in energy supply and environmental protection. It is of great importance to develop clean and alternative fuels for internal combustion engines. On the basis of researches on DME engine and vehicle at Shanghai Jiaotong University in the last twelve years, fuel injection, combustion, performance and exhaust emissions of DME engine and DME vehicle are introduced in this paper. The results indicate that DME engines can achieve high thermal efficiency and ultra low emissions, and will play a significant role in meeting the energy demand while minimizing environmental impact in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study of a turbocharged diesel engine operating on dimethyl ether (DME) was conducted. The combustion and emission characteristics of the DME engine were investigated. The results show that the maximum torque and power of DME are greater than those of diesel, particularly at low speeds; the brake specific fuel consumption of DME is lower than that of diesel at low and middle engine speeds, and the injection delay of DME is longer than that of diesel. However, the maximum cylinder pressure, maximum pressure rise rate and combustion noises of the DME engine are lower than those of diesel. The combustion velocity of DME is faster than that of diesel, resulting in a shorter combustion duration of DME. Compared with the diesel engine, NO x emission of the DME engine is reduced by 41.6% on ESC data. In addition, the DME engine is smoke free at any operating condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]