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The unique microstructures of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) provide them with excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical properties, having important applications in the fields of medical devices, military equipment, aerospace, etc. However, the superb mechanical properties also contribute to poor machinability of the BMGs. Currently, researchers have proposed to improve the machinability by single-point diamond turning, laser-assisted machining and ultrasonic vibration-assisted machining, but their plasticity and viscous flow remain unchanged, thus restraining further enhancement of surface quality. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet (APCPJ), which is rich in active particles, can effectively ameliorate material machinability by modulating material properties. In this paper, we propose to use the APCPJ to regulate the properties of BMGs, and carry out nanoindentation, nanoscratching, and micro-milling experiments to investigate the influence mechanisms of APCPJ on the material properties and cutting process. The results demonstrate that after modified by APCPJ, plastic deformability of the BMGs is improved due to the increase of free volume content; meanwhile, the viscous flow is inhibited. The micro-milling experiments indicate that under the conditions of feed rate V f = 500 μm/s, spindle speed n = 30,000 rpm, and cutting depth a p = 5 μm, the improvement effect of APCPJ on the cutting process is relatively optimum. The surface roughness Ra of the Zr-based BMG and Ti-based BMG obtained by APCPJ are respectively 0.076 μm and 0.081 μm, which can be reduced by 37.7 % and 38.2 % compared with dry micro-milling. The cutting forces F z in the direction of cutting depth are also reduced by 30.9 % and 23.3 %, respectively. The APCPJ-assisted micro-milling method proposed in this work may ameliorate the machining quality of BMGs and promote the application of BMGs and APCPJ-assisted machining technology in aerospace and precision machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Purposes Methods Results Conclusions Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of male cancer‐related death. Gleason score (GS) is the primary driver of PCa risk‐stratification and medical decision‐making, but can only be assessed at present via biopsy under anesthesia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising non‐invasive method to further characterize PCa, providing additional anatomical and functional information. Meanwhile, the diagnostic power of MRI is limited by qualitative or, at best, semi‐quantitative interpretation criteria, leading to inter‐reader variability.Computer‐aided diagnosis employing quantitative MRI analysis has yielded promising results in non‐invasive prediction of GS. However, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) do not implicitly impose a frame of reference to the objects. Thus, CNNs do not encode the positional information properly, limiting method robustness against simple image variations such as flipping, scaling, or rotation. Capsule network (CapsNet) has been proposed to address this limitation and achieves promising results in this domain. In this study, we develop a 3D Efficient CapsNet to stratify GS‐derived PCa risk using T2‐weighted (T2W) MRI images.In our method, we used 3D CNN modules to extract spatial features and primary capsule layers to encode vector features. We then propose to integrate fully‐connected capsule layers (FC Caps) to create a deeper hierarchy for PCa grading prediction. FC Caps comprises a secondary capsule layer which routes active primary capsules and a final capsule layer which outputs PCa risk. To account for data imbalance, we propose a novel dynamic weighted margin loss. We evaluate our method on a public PCa T2W MRI dataset from the Cancer Imaging Archive containing data from 976 patients.Two groups of experiments were performed: (1) we first identified high‐risk disease by classifying low + medium risk versus high risk; (2) we then stratified disease in one‐versus‐one fashion: low versus high risk, medium versus high risk, and low versus medium risk. Five‐fold cross validation was performed. Our model achieved an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.83 and 0.64 F1‐score for low versus high grade, 0.79 AUC and 0.75 F1‐score for low + medium versus high grade, 0.75 AUC and 0.69 F1‐score for medium versus high grade and 0.59 AUC and 0.57 F1‐score for low versus medium grade. Our method outperformed state‐of‐the‐art radiomics‐based classification and deep learning methods with the highest metrics for each experiment. Our divide‐and‐conquer strategy achieved weighted Cohen's Kappa score of 0.41, suggesting moderate agreement with ground truth PCa risks.In this study, we proposed a novel 3D Efficient CapsNet for PCa risk stratification and demonstrated its feasibility. This developed tool provided a non‐invasive approach to assess PCa risk from T2W MR images, which might have potential to personalize the treatment of PCa and reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China is the prominent area for agricultural production, but it is also the most typical ecological fragile area with frequent drought disasters. Taking Yulin City at Shaanxi Province in China as the case area, the paper aims to investigate the spatio-temporal changes of agricultural vulnerability to drought in China's agro-pastoral ecotone in the period 2000 to 2020. The results show that: 1) the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City has shifted from high vulnerability in the period 2000–2010 to low vulnerability in the period 2011–2020. 2) There exist obvious spatio-temporal differences of the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City during the research period. 3) Four sensitive events and 14 resilient events were identified in the research and the crops of Yulin had become more resilient to drought. Finally, the paper put forward with policy implications to make adaptive strategies of agriculture to climate change in China's agro-pastoral ecotone in the future, e.g., carrying out agricultural zoning based on agricultural production conditions, intensifying the construction of disaster prevention and relief system, and integrating with modern agricultural technology to develop new type agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical force loading is essential for maintaining bone homeostasis, and unloading exposure can lead to bone loss. Osteoclasts are the only bone resorbing cells and play a crucial role in bone remodeling. The molecular mechanisms underlying mechanical stimulation-induced changes in osteoclast function remain to be fully elucidated. Our previous research found Ca2+-activated Cl− channel Anoctamin 1 (Ano1) was an essential regulator for osteoclast function. Here, we report that Ano1 mediates osteoclast responses to mechanical stimulation. In vitro, osteoclast activities are obviously affected by mechanical stress, which is accompanied by the changes of Ano1 levels, intracellular Cl− concentration and Ca2+ downstream signaling. Ano1 knockout or calcium binding mutants blunts the response of osteoclast to mechanical stimulation. In vivo, Ano1 knockout in osteoclast blunts loading induced osteoclast inhibition and unloading induced bone loss and. These results demonstrate that Ano1 plays an important role in mechanical stimulation induced osteoclast activity changes. An essential role of the Ca2+-activated Cl− channel, Anoctamin 1, is identified in mediating the response of osteoclasts to mechanical stimulation. Ano1 knockout in osteoclasts inhibits unloading- induced osteoclast activation and unloading-induced bone loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the screened 29 hybrid halide compounds from our prior study [Y. Li and K. Yang, Energy Environ. Sci. 12, 2233–2243 (2019)], here, we reported a systematic computational study of the stability diagram, defect tolerance, and optical absorption coefficients for these candidate materials using high-throughput first-principles calculations. We took two exemplary compounds, MA2SnI4 and MA3Sb2I9, as examples to show the computational process, and they are discussed in detail. This work is expected to provide a detailed guide for further experimental synthesis and characterization, with the potential to develop novel lead-free optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnon, an elementary excitation of an orderly magnetic system, is currently receiving substantial attention due to its excellent spin transmission properties. Researchers have observed a clear correlation between magnon transport properties and temperature. Existing theories do include the influence of temperature, but cannot clearly explain many phenomena, including a detected abnormal negative signal. In this article, we build a new magnon transport theory based on the Boltzmann method, which incorporates a magnetic field-induced "anti-diffusion" driving term, a magnon-phonon interaction induced thermal driving term, and diverse scattering terms, such as a scattering process which leads magnons to a special state with a collective velocity. We claim that collective velocity is the crucial factor in producing an abnormally negative signal. We formulated an equation capturing the system's spin properties, which we solved. Our results qualitatively explain the abnormal phenomenon observed in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfire is essential in altering land ecosystems' structures, processes, and functions. As a critical disturbance in the China–Mongolia–Russia cross-border area, it is vital to understand the potential drivers of wildfires and predict where wildfires are more likely to occur. This study assessed factors affecting wildfire using the Random Forest (RF) model. No single factor played a decisive role in the incidence of wildfires. However, the climatic variables were most critical, dominating the occurrence of wildfires. The probability of wildfire occurrence was simulated and predicted using the Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The particle swarm optimization (PSO) model and genetic algorithm (GA) were used to optimize the ANFIS model. The hybrid ANFIS models performed better than single ANFIS for the training and validation datasets. The hybrid ANFIS models, such as PSO-ANFIS and GA-ANFIS, overcome the over-fitting problem of the single ANFIS model at the learning stage of the wildfire pattern. The high classification accuracy and good model performance suggest that PSO-ANFIS can be used to predict the probability of wildfire occurrence. The probability map illustrates that high-risk areas are mainly distributed in the northeast part of the study area, especially the grassland and forest area of Dornod Province of Mongolia, Buryatia, and Chita state of Russia, and the northeast part of Inner Mongolia, China. The findings can be used as reliable estimates of the relative likelihood of wildfire hazards for wildfire management in the region covered or vicinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore whether the defect of visual function is a risk factor of knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sports injury and to provide a theoretical basis for the primary prevention of ACL sports injury. This cross-sectional study included 392 participants divided into two groups: the sports injury group (287 with sports injury of knee) and the control group (105 healthy volunteers). Participants in the sports injury group were further divided into the ACL-Intact group (133) and the ACL-Deficient group (154). Participants in the sports injury group received a questionnaire about the conditions of their injury (including injury action, site condition, weather, contact) and a visual examination by synoptophore (including binocular vision, subjective and objective oblique angle, visual fusion range, stereoacuity). Participants in the control group only received the visual examination. In the end, we found that low visual fusion range (p = 0.003) and injury action, especially quick turn (p = 0.001), sudden stop (p < 0.001) and jump (p = 0.001), are the major risk factors for ACL injury in the analysis of the integrated data. In addition, athletes with low vision fusion range have increased risk of ACL sports injury when they make a sudden stop on wooden floor, plastic floor or cement floor on cloudy days (OR = 13.208). Visual factors, especially low fusion range, significantly increase the risk of ACL sports injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroacupuncture (EA) therapy has been widely reported to alleviate neuropathic pain with few side effects in both clinical practice and animal studies worldwide. However, little is known about the comparison of the therapeutic efficacy among the diverse EA schemes used for neuropathic pain. The present study is aimed at investigating the therapeutic efficacy discrepancy between the single and combined-acupoint EA and to reveal the difference of mechanisms behind them. Electroacupuncture was given at both Zusanli (ST36) and Huantiao (GB30) in the combined group or ST36 alone in the single group. Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) was measured to determine the pain level. Electrophysiology was performed to detect the effects of EA on synaptic transmission in the spinal dorsal horn of the vGlut2-tdTomato mice. Spinal contents of endogenous opioids, endocannabinoids, and their receptors were examined. Inhibitors of CBR (cannabinoid receptor) and opioid receptors were used to study the roles of opioid and endocannabinoid system (ECS) in EA analgesia. We found that combined-acupoint acupuncture provide stronger analgesia than the single group did, and the former inhibited the synaptic transmission at the spinal level to a greater extent than later. Besides, the high-intensity stimulation at ST36 or normal stimulation at two sham acupoints did not mimic the similar efficacy of analgesia in the combined group. Acupuncture stimulation in single and combined groups both activated the endogenous opioid system. The ECS was only activated in the combined group. Naloxone totally blocked the analgesic effect of single-acupoint EA; however, it did not attenuate that of combined-acupoint EA unless coadministered with CBR antagonists. Hence, in the CCI-induced neuropathic pain model, combined-acupoint EA at ST36 and GB30 is more effective in analgesia than the single-acupoint EA at ST36. EA stimulation at GB30 alone neither provided a superior analgesic effect to EA treatment at ST36 nor altered the content of AEA, 2-AG, CB1 receptor, or CB2 receptor compared with the CCI group. Activation of the ECS is the main contributor of the better analgesia by the combined acupoint stimulation than that induced by single acupoint stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As rural decline sweeps the world and draws public attention, it becomes necessary to consider the relationship between urbanization and rural development. The paper investigates this topic in China for the period 1989–2018. The research results find positive contribution of urbanization to rural economy in the research period but with a decreasing tendency. Compared to less developed areas, rural economy of developed regions has become less dependent on cities and can flourish in a larger context with the support of modern transportation and telecommunication technologies. However, those peripheral rural areas tend to face continuous and large‐scale rural–urban migration which has aggravated rural decline. Rural economic growth helps to decrease rural outmigration and people will stay in their hometown with available job opportunities to raise their families and maintain livelihood. The paper proposes balance‐friendly urbanization structure and diversified rural economy to improve rural resilience to meet the challenge of rural decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnon, an elementary excitation of an orderly magnetic system, has recently received a great deal of attention due to its excellent spin transmission properties. Many researchers have observed a strong correlation between magnon transport properties and temperature. Although existing theories already include the influence of temperature, they cannot clearly explain many phenomena. In this article, we introduce a new scattering process, inspired by the nature of the magnon itself and based on the Boltzmann method, which clearly impacts the transport properties of the magnon. This new scattering process is named Normal scattering, and makes the transport of the magnon exhibit a fluid-like property, which can be captured by a viscous fluid transport equation. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experimental results and the proportion of Normal scattering in the overall scattering changes with temperature, which convincingly explains the temperature dependence of magnon transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A three-dimensional hollow Ti 3 C 2 /SnO composite was obtained through a solvothermal-freeze-drying process. • The Ti 3 C 2 /SnO composite demonstrates a reliable capacity of 386 mA h g–1 at 500 mA g–1 over 100 cycles. • A effective bandwidth of 4.4 GHz, accompanied by a reflection loss of –40.47 dB could be achieved at merely 1.0 mm in the Ti 3 C 2 /SnO. Tin monoxide (SnO) has recently emerged as a prominent choice for lithium-ion storage due to its exceptional specific capacity. However, challenges such as inevitable structural degradation and poor electronic conductivity limited practical application. We aim to address the interfacial delamination problem by encapsulating SnO nanoparticles within 3D porous N-doped Ti 3 C 2 MXene. In the constructed architecture, the porous MXene served the dual purpose of preventing direct exposure of SnO to the electrolyte and mitigating nanoparticle aggregation, as well as alleviating volume expansion. Consequently, the Ti 3 C 2 /SnO composite demonstrated a reliable capacity of 386 mA h g–1 at 500 mA g–1 over 100 cycles. Furthermore, a remarkable effective bandwidth of 4.4 GHz, accompanied by a reflection loss of –40.47 dB could be achieved at merely 1.0 mm. Our study contributes important insights into the construction of MXene-based nanocomposites, enabling their application in diverse fields such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and microwave absorbers. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), as an environmental endocrine disruptor, has adverse effects on eco-environments and health. Thus, it is crucial to highly sensitive on-site detect DEHP. Herein, a double-enzyme active MnO 2 @BSA mediated dual-modality photoelectrochemical (PEC)/colorimetric aptasensing platform with the cascaded sensitization structures of ZnIn 2 S 4 and TiO 2 as signal generators was engineered for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of DEHP using an all-in-one lab-on-paper analytical device. Benefitting from cascaded sensitization effect, the ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 photosensitive structures-assembled polypyrrole paper electrode gave an enhanced photocurrent signal. The MnO 2 @BSA nanoparticles (NPs) with peroxidase-mimic and oxidase-mimic double-enzymatic activity induced multiple signal quenching effects and catalyzed color development. Specifically, the MnO 2 @BSA NPs acted as peroxidase mimetics to generate catalytic precipitates, which not only obstructed interfacial electron transfer but also served as electron acceptors to accept photogenerated electrons. Besides, the steric hindrance effect from MnO 2 @BSA NPs-loaded branchy polymeric DNA duplex structures further decreased photocurrent signal. The target recycling reaction caused the detachment of MnO 2 @BSA NPs to increase PEC signal, realizing the ultrasensitive detection of DEHP with a low detection limit of 27 fM. Ingeniously, the freed MnO 2 @BSA NPs flowed to colorimetric zone with the aid of fluid channels and acted as oxidase mimetics to induce color intensity enhancement, resulting in the rapid visual detection of DEHP. This work provided a prospective paradigm to develop field-based paper analytical tool for DEHP detection in aqueous environment. [Display omitted] • The cascaded sensitization structure of ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 was in situ grown on polypyrrole paper electrode. • The MnO 2 @BSA NPs exhibited peroxidase- and oxidase-mimic dual-enzymatic activity. • The dual-enzyme active MnO 2 @BSA NPs mediated the PEC/colorimetric detection of DEHP. • An all-in-one lab-on-paper dual-modality analytical device was assembled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of remote sensing data, whether for change detection, spatial and temporal analysis, or numerical simulation of water bodies, requires a complete data set. Here, high temporal and spatial resolution sea surface temperature (SST) data for the Arctic are produced based on optimal interpolation and data reconstruction algorithms with a temporal resolution of 12 h and a spatial resolution of 9 km. The accuracy of the reconstructed data sets is verified using Argo measurements to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the data interpolation empirical orthogonal functions method. The root mean square error of the fusion data (a temporal resolution of 12 h) is relatively stable, ranging from 0.49°C to 0.62°C. In comparison with remote sensing systems (RSS) MW-IR SST and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) OISST, the accuracy of the fusion data (a temporal resolution of 24 h) is in the range of 0.48–0.65°C, while that of the MW-IR SST is in the range of 0.48–0.60°C and AVHRR OISST is in the range of 0.66–0.79°C. The fusion data is more accurate than those of AVHRR OISST, and there is no obvious difference with RSS MW-IR SST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the remarkable progress of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), challenges remain in terms of finding effective and viable strategies to enhance their long‐term stability while maintaining high efficiency. In this study, a new insulating and hydrophobic fluorinated polyimide (FPI: 6FDA‐6FAPB) was used as the interface layer between the perovskite layer and the hole transport layer (HTL) in PSCs. The functional groups of FPI play a pivotal role in passivating interface defects within the device. Due to its high work function, FPI demonstrates field‐effect passivation (FEP) capabilities as an interface layer, effectively mitigating non‐radiative recombination at the interface. Notably, the FPI insulating interface layer does not impede carrier transmission at the interface, which is attributed to the presence of hole tunneling effects. The optimized PSCs achieve an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.61 % and demonstrate excellent stability, showcasing the efficacy of FPI in enhancing device performance and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the remarkable progress of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), challenges remain in terms of finding effective and viable strategies to enhance their long‐term stability while maintaining high efficiency. In this study, a new insulating and hydrophobic fluorinated polyimide (FPI: 6FDA‐6FAPB) was used as the interface layer between the perovskite layer and the hole transport layer (HTL) in PSCs. The functional groups of FPI play a pivotal role in passivating interface defects within the device. Due to its high work function, FPI demonstrates field‐effect passivation (FEP) capabilities as an interface layer, effectively mitigating non‐radiative recombination at the interface. Notably, the FPI insulating interface layer does not impede carrier transmission at the interface, which is attributed to the presence of hole tunneling effects. The optimized PSCs achieve an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.61 % and demonstrate excellent stability, showcasing the efficacy of FPI in enhancing device performance and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of peritendinous adhesion, which hampers the quality and function of the healed tendon, is strongly linked to oxidative stress, inflammatory, and infection that occur after surgery. Tendon damage and repair provide a considerable obstacle for regenerative medicine owing to the absence of patches that possess comprehensive functionality, including self‐healing capacity, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐bacterial properties, as well as tissue repair guidance. A dual dynamic crosslinked network is created by coordination bonds between catechol groups in protocatechuic aldehyde (PA) and Fe3+, as well as a dynamic Schiff base reaction between amino groups in hyaluronic acid‐adipic acid dihydrazide (HA‐ADH) and aldehyde groups in PA. The HA‐ADH@PA/Fe hydrogel exhibits self‐healing ability, tissue adhesion, anti‐bacterial activity, regulation of macrophage polarization via the NF‐κB signaling, oxidative stress elimination, and anti‐inflammation. In addition, a dual‐layer Janus patch is created, taking inspiration from the anatomy and disease progression of tendon adhesion. The inner layer of the patch, which is in direct contact with the operated tendon, is a multifunctional HA‐ADH@PA/Fe hydrogel, encircled further by a poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) (PCL) electrospinning membrane outer layer facing the surrounding tissue. The PCL@HA‐ADH@PA/Fe hydrogel patch reduced tendon adhesion and supported tissue regeneration by stimulating macrophages polarization into an anti‐inflammatory phenotype and resolving both local and systemic inflammation. This research showcased the PCL@HA‐ADH@PA/Fe hydrogel patch as an alternative therapeutic method for preventing the development of adhesions around tendons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient route is proposed to synthesize a novel three-dimensional (3D) magnetic MXene aerogel (3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4). 3D MXene were synthesized by self-assembly of 2D MXene Ti 3 C 2 T x using ethylenediamine (EDA) as crosslinking inducer, then Fe 3 O 4 was in situ coprecipitation onto 3D MXene. 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 was applied as an adsorbent for Ag(I) removal from aqueous solutions. 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 exhibits a cross-linked 3D porous network with magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on its surface and edges. The maximum adsorption capacity of 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 for Ag(I) was 2385 mg g−1. The kinetics and isothermal process during adsorption were described accurately by the pseudo-second-order model and the Freundlich isotherm model, and the adsorption process was driven by chemisorption and multilayer adsorption, where the diffusion mechanism involved surface diffusion and intraparticle diffusion. Furthermore, the 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 are recyclable, retaining 71% of the initial removal rate after 5 adsorption/desorption cycles. [Display omitted] • 3D MXene aerogel was formed by EDA induced self-assembly of nanosheets and subsequently Fe 3 O 4 was assembled. • 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 exhibits a cross-linked porous network and Fe 3 O 4 uniformly were dispersed on its surface and edges. • 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 provides a controllable channel for the transmission of Ag(I), and can quickly be recycled after adsorption. • The adsorption capacity of 3D MXene/Fe 3 O 4 for Ag(I) is 2385 mg.•g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SS-concrete is easily prepared by immersing superhydrophobic concrete into oil. • The SS-concrete shows high impedance and good anti-corrosion ability. • The SS-concrete has excellent slippery property with a water sliding angle of ∼3°. • The SS-concrete shows good resistance against various liquid foulings. • The SS-concrete has good anti-bacterial adhesion ability. Due to superhydrophilicity and porosity, the concrete structure of buildings in marine engineering is easily corroded and polluted. Superhydrophobic concrete has been studied and applied to alleviate this problem; however, the poor stability under high pressure and in contact with foulings hampers its wide application. To overcome the above challenges, we develop an environment-friendly and inexpensive super-slippery concrete (SS-concrete) by injecting oil into the interior and outer surface of the superhydrophobic concrete (SH-concrete). The impendence of SS-concrete is 3 orders of magnitude larger than that of ordinary concrete (O-concrete), indicating that the corrosion resistance of concrete has been significantly improved. Moreover, the stable protective oil layer of the SS-concrete prevents the infiltration and adhesion of water, ice, oils, ink, milk and even bacteria, showing excellent anti-fouling ability. Therefore, the SS-concrete may have great potential application in the concrete-based buildings in marine engineering field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Cr-doped Li3V2-xCrx(PO4)3/C (x = 0.00, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) composites was synthesized using Sol-gel method. The influence of Cr doping on the structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of Li3V2(PO4)3/C were studied. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all of the samples are consistent with those of monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3, indicating that Cr3+ can be successfully doped into the lattice of Li3V2(PO4)3. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy mages revealed the morphology and the uniform distribution of Cr in the samples. In the potential range of 3.0–4.3 V, the Li3V1.9Cr0.1(PO4)3/C composite exhibited the highest discharge capacity of 125.1 mAh/g at 0.1 C, while the Li3V1.8Cr0.2(PO4)3/C performed a capacity of 95.8 mAhg−1 with a high capacity retention ratio of 91.6% after 40 circles, which is still lower than the capacity of the Li3V1.9Cr0.1(PO4)3/C. Based on the excellent electrochemical performance, Li3V1.9Cr0.1(PO4)3/C will be a promising cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical forces are essential to maintain skeletal homeostasis, and microgravity exposure leads to bone loss. During space flight, bone mineral density is decreased because of the inactivation of osteoblast and activation of osteoclast. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is still not clear. CD44 acts as a cellular surface adhesion molecule, which plays an important role in signal transduction between cells. Numerous studies have shown that CD44 plays diverse roles in promoting pre-osteoclast fusion. However, the role of CD44 in the alteration of osteoclast function induced by simulated microgravity remains to be fully elucidated. In this work, we utilized a ground-based, microgravity-simulation system, the Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor (RWVB). Using the RWVB, we demonstrated that simulated microgravity enhanced osteoclast function, meantime CD44 mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased. To verify the effects of CD44 on alteration of osteoclast function induced by simulated microgravity, specific siRNAs targeting CD44 were transfected. The results showed knockdown of CD44 inhibited the alteration of osteoclast function induced by simulated microgravity. Moreover, we found that clinorotation activated the NF-κB/NFATc1-mediated signaling pathway, which was downregulated after knockdown of CD44. Our study provided evidence that CD44 positively regulated osteoclast function and therapeutic suppression of CD44 may counteract bone loss induced by simulated microgravity. • CD44 was significantly increased in osteoclasts under SMG. • Knockdown of CD44 inhibited the upregulation of osteoclast function under SMG. • CD44 mediated the activation of osteocalsts through NFκB/NFATc1 pathway under SMG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have demonstrated that dialogue‐based intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) can be effective in assisting students in learning. However, little research has attempted to explore the necessity of equipping dialogue‐based ITS with one of the most important capabilities of human tutors, that is, maintaining polite interactions with students, which is essential to provide students with a pleasant learning experience. In this study, we examined the role of politeness by analysing a large‐scale real‐world dataset consisting of over 14K online human–human tutorial dialogues. Specifically, we employed linguistic theories of politeness to characterise the politeness levels of tutor–student‐generated utterances, investigated the correlation between the politeness levels of tutors' utterances and students' problem‐solving performance and quantified the power of politeness in predicting students' problem‐solving performance by applying Gradient Tree Boosting. The study results showed that: (i) in the effective tutorial sessions (ie, sessions in which students successfully solved problems), tutors tended to be very polite at the start of a tutorial session and become more direct to guide students as the session progressed; (ii) students with better performance in solving problems tended to be more polite at the beginning and the end of a tutorial session than their counterparts who failed to solve problems; (iii) the correlation between tutors' polite expressions and students' performance was not evident in non‐instructional communication; and (iv) politeness alone cannot adequately reveal students' problem‐solving performance, and thus other factors (eg, sentiment contained in utterances) should also be taken into account. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Human–human tutoring is acknowledged as an effective instructional method.Polite expression can help strengthen the relationship between tutors and students.Polite expression can promote students' learning achievements in many educational contexts.What this paper adds By considering the students' prior progress on a problem‐based learning task, we demonstrated the extent to which tutors and students display politeness in tutoring dialogues.Tutors' polite expressions might not correlate with students' problem‐solving performance in online human–human tutoring dialogues.Politeness alone was insufficient to predict the students' performance.Implications for practice Tutors might consider using words with positive sentiment values to express politeness to students with prior progress, which might encourage those students to make a further effort.The polite strategy of expressing indirect requests could help tutors mitigate the sense of directness, but this strategy should be carefully used in delivering instructional hints, especially for students without prior progress.To better assist students without prior progress, tutors might consider using more direct expression to explicitly guide students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the interaction between the esterified amide gemini surfactant C12-(BAE)-C12, where BAE stands for the bis(acetoxy)ethane linking group, and the non-ionic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was investigated by the surface tension method. It was found that there was no apparent interaction between them. The interaction between C12-(BAE)-C12 and sodium polyelectrolyte polyacrylate (NaPAA) was investigated by surface tension, micropolarity and turbidity measurements. The results showed that there was a strong interaction between them. The aggregates were formed by electrostatic attraction between the molecules of C12-(BAE)-C12 and NaPAA in the bulk. This process led to the appearance of two inflection points, the critical aggregation concentration (cac) and the critical micelle concentration (CMC), on the surface tension and micropolarity curves. In addition, the inorganic salt NaBr had two opposite effects, promoting or inhibiting the interaction between C12-(BAE)-C12 and NaPAA. This was related to the concentration of NaBr itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rapid urbanization growth during the past decades which has highly promoted its affluence has induced various challenges for the countryside. The problem of rural decline of quite many villages which are suffering depopulation in turn challenges the urbanization sustainability in China. By way of in-depth historical and literature review, the paper finds distorted urban-rural relationship and the tendency of village decline owing to China's long time urban biased policy. By further investigating China's new-type urbanization strategy, the paper draws concerns about future rural development which is less mentioned in the plan. It calls for ruralization and actions to revitalize the countryside so as to be adapted to China's new-type urbanization plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A synergistic combined strategy with quinolinic acid (QA) and DMF was developed. • A multi-passivation mechanism of QA was investigated. • The high-quality perovskite films with grain size over 1 µm were formed. • A champion device with undoped PEDOT:PSS with a PCE of 18.56% was fabricated. We developed a new combined method in which quinolinic acid (QA) passivation and DMF solvent annealing are carried out sequentially to enhance the performance of inverted perovskite solar cells. Upon systematic investigation, we found that: 1). One QA molecule not only passivates more than one defects within lattice or neighboring lattices, creating a multi-passivation effect, but also enhances the interactions between lattices, due to pyridine ring and dicarboxylic acid functional groups in the molecule; 2). By combining with DMF solvent annealing post-treatment sequentially, high quality perovskite films with very large grain size over 1 µm are obtained on the substrate of PEDOT: PSS. As a result, the PSC fabricated with the combined method demonstrates an excellent humidity stability and yields a PCE of 18.56% with 20% and 11.6% increment of V oc and J sc , respectively. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest reported PCE for inverted PSCs with undoped PEDOT:PSS as hole transporting layer. Therefore, our work indicates that the combined strategy of multi-passivation with QA and solvent annealing with DMF sequentially has a significant potential for highly-efficient and stable inverted planar PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the roles of physical capital, human capital, and social capital in China's economic growth during the reform period 1981-2010. Empirical estimation confirms that physical capital and human capital contribute to the economic growth, probably due to the capital accumulation and the improvement of labor productivity. The impact of social capital turns from being insignificant in the 1980s and the 1990s to be positive in the 2000s, suggesting its rising importance in recent decades. A declining role of physical capital in the economic growth in China from 1990s to 2000s is also found. The findings hold for several additional robustness checks, including focusing on longer term determinants of the economic growth, subregional analysis, and endogeneity. Furthermore, the foreign direct investment inflows and adjustment of economic ownership structure are also important for economic growth in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has excellent properties and has been widely used in various fields. However, the PTFE surfaces have relatively poor wettability and adhesive property, which restrains their widespread applications. Although atmospheric-pressure plasma jets have been employed to treat the PTFE surfaces, hydrophilization effect and processing efficiency still need to be further improved. In this paper, we propose to add ammonia water into the working gas of the atmospheric-pressure plasma jets to better modify the PTFE surfaces. The influences of ammonia water contents on surface wettability and adhesive property of the PTFE surfaces were investigated by water contact angle (WCA) measurement and peel strength experiments, respectively. When the ammonia water-mixed ratio was 1%, a WCA of ∼19° was obtained after 120 s plasma treatment, which was much lower than that treated by pure helium plasma jet (∼29°) and untreated surface (∼101°). In addition, the adhesive property was also well improved by the ammonia water-mixed plasma jets: peel strength of the sample treated by the ammonia water-mixed plasma jet was respectively 119 N/m and 446 N/m larger than that of the sample treated by pure helium plasma jet and the untreated sample. • Ammonia water is added into working gas of plasma jets to better modify PTFE. • The ammonia-mixed plasma jets show much better hydrophilization effect than others. • Water contact angle decreases from ∼101° to ∼19° after 120s plasma treatment. • Peel strength with epoxy glue is improved by 431% after the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experienced rapid urbanization in recent decades. However, rural areas lag behind cities, leading to increased urban-rural economic disparities. As China's traditional agricultural zone, the "Three Mountains and One Beach"(TMOB) area is the collective name for the four concentrated poverty areas in Henan Province, including Dabie Mountain, Funiu Mountain, Taihang Mountain and Yellow River Beach Area. In 2014, nearly 4 million people lived under China's poverty line. Poverty is a manifestation of rural system decline and the result of uncoordinated development. This study constructed a theoretical analysis framework for regional rural poverty formation and rural development. Then, a case study was developed in the TMOB area to identify key constraints on rural development and discuss development strategies for different types of poverty-stricken rural areas. The results show that key constraints to rural development in the case area are rapid labour loss, weak urban driving force, lagging infrastructure and public services, a single industrial structure, and poor economic foundation. Four types of constraints on rural development are drawn: natural resource-constrained type, industry-constrained type, infrastructure-constrained type, and human resource-constrained type. Poverty-stricken rural areas should implement policies according to their constraint types and adopt function-oriented poverty reduction and development strategies. • A theoretical analysis framework for rural poverty formation and development was established. • Constraints of rural development in the study area are multifaceted, including labour, economy, and infrastructure. • Rural areas in the impoverished region of Henan can be summarized into four types according to their constraints. • The specific development direction and model for different rural types are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper introduces a new way of decomposing regional inequality. It divides the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region into three sets of districts in terms of the urban-rural resource flows: urban, peri-urban, and peripheral areas. Unlike the administrative divisions, these three sets of districts show how resource flows and agglomerates at the regional level. The paper decomposes regional inequality according to the three sets of districts. The paper's findings show that regional inequality decreased between 1990 and 1994, after which it remained steady. The study, for the first time, brings peri-urban areas into a regional decomposition analysis, and contributes to the understanding of urban-rural resource flows and inequality changes at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Sequence alignment is one of the most popular tools of modern biology. NCBI's PSI-BLAST utilizes iterative model building in order to better detect distant homologs with greater sensitivity than non-iterative BLAST. However, PSI-BLAST's performance is limited by the fact that it relies on deterministic alignments. Using a semi-probabilistic alignment scheme such as Hybrid alignment should allow for better informed model building and improved identification of homologous sequences, particularly remote homologs.Results: We have built a new version of the tool in which the Smith-Waterman alignment algorithm core is replaced by the hybrid alignment algorithm. The favorable statistical properties of the hybrid algorithm allow the introduction of position-specific gap penalties in Hybrid PSI-BLAST. This improves the position-specific modeling of protein families and results in an overall improvement of performance.Availability: Source code is freely available for download at http://bioserv.mps.ohio-state.edu/HybridPSI, implemented in C and supported on linux.Contact: bundschuh@mps.ohio-state.eduSupplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Extracting hot‐carriers before they relax back to the band edge will reduce thermal dissipation above the bandgap, which is one of the primary sources of efficiency loss in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). It requires slow cooling of hot‐carriers together with the efficient extraction of hot‐carriers. Here, a novel interface engineering is demonstrated by embedding radical‐containing nanographene (r‐NG●) between perovskite and poly[bis(4‐phenyl)(2,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐amine] (PTOAA) to harvest this excess energy. This strategy accelerates the extraction rate of the hot‐hole (3 times that of control at 400 K) by augmenting the relaxation channel, which is related to the “quasi‐SOMO” energy state of r‐NG●. Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics calculation further revealed that radical character promotes the rotation of the cation in perovskite, which contributes to generating strong nonadiabatic couplings and multiple phonon modes. In addition, the band bending effect of buried perovskite and improved conductivity of PTOAA also facilitate exciton dissociation and hole collection efficiency (97.5%). Consequently, the resultant r‐NG● decorated PSCs delivered an impressive efficiency of 24.20%, along with better thermal and humidity stability. Moreover, it can maintain 93% of its initial efficiency after 300 hours of illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐based synthetic computed tomography (sCT) simplifies radiation therapy treatment planning by eliminating the need for CT simulation and error‐prone image registration, ultimately reducing patient radiation dose and setup uncertainty. In this work, we propose a MRI‐to‐CT transformer‐based improved denoising diffusion probabilistic model (MC‐IDDPM) to translate MRI into high‐quality sCT to facilitate radiation treatment planning. Methods: MC‐IDDPM implements diffusion processes with a shifted‐window transformer network to generate sCT from MRI. The proposed model consists of two processes: a forward process, which involves adding Gaussian noise to real CT scans to create noisy images, and a reverse process, in which a shifted‐window transformer V‐net (Swin‐Vnet) denoises the noisy CT scans conditioned on the MRI from the same patient to produce noise‐free CT scans. With an optimally trained Swin‐Vnet, the reverse diffusion process was used to generate noise‐free sCT scans matching MRI anatomy. We evaluated the proposed method by generating sCT from MRI on an institutional brain dataset and an institutional prostate dataset. Quantitative evaluations were conducted using several metrics, including Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Peak Signal‐to‐Noise Ratio (PSNR), Multi‐scale Structure Similarity Index (SSIM), and Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC). Dosimetry analyses were also performed, including comparisons of mean dose and target dose coverages for 95% and 99%. Results: MC‐IDDPM generated brain sCTs with state‐of‐the‐art quantitative results with MAE 48.825 ± 21.491 HU, PSNR 26.491 ± 2.814 dB, SSIM 0.947 ± 0.032, and NCC 0.976 ± 0.019. For the prostate dataset: MAE 55.124 ± 9.414 HU, PSNR 28.708 ± 2.112 dB, SSIM 0.878 ± 0.040, and NCC 0.940 ± 0.039. MC‐IDDPM demonstrates a statistically significant improvement (with p < 0.05) in most metrics when compared to competing networks, for both brain and prostate synthetic CT. Dosimetry analyses indicated that the target dose coverage differences by using CT and sCT were within ± 0.34%. Conclusions: We have developed and validated a novel approach for generating CT images from routine MRIs using a transformer‐based improved DDPM. This model effectively captures the complex relationship between CT and MRI images, allowing for robust and high‐quality synthetic CT images to be generated in a matter of minutes. This approach has the potential to greatly simplify the treatment planning process for radiation therapy by eliminating the need for additional CT scans, reducing the amount of time patients spend in treatment planning, and enhancing the accuracy of treatment delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative disease of the joint, featured by articular cartilage destruction and subchondral bone marrow lesions. Articular cartilage and subchondral bone constitute an osteochondral unit that guarantees joint homeostasis. During OA initiation, activated osteoclasts in subchondral bone ultimately result in impaired capacities of the subchondral bone in response to mechanical stress, followed by the degradation of overlying articular cartilage. Thus, targeting osteoclasts could be a potential therapeutic option for treating OA. Here, we observed that farnesoid X receptor (FXR) expression and osteoclast fusion and activity in subchondral bone were concomitantly changed during early‐stage OA in the OA mouse model established by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT). Then, we explored the therapeutic effects of FXR agonist GW4064 on the osteochondral pathologies in ACLT mice. We showed that GW4064 obviously ameliorated subchondral bone deterioration, associated with reduction in tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) positive multinuclear osteoclast number, as well as articular cartilage degradation, which were blocked by the treatment with FXR antagonist Guggulsterone. Mechanistically, GW4064 impeded osteoclastogenesis through inhibiting subchondral bone osteoclast fusion via suppressing c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) 1/2/nuclear factor of activated T‐cells 1 (NFATc1) pathway. Taken together, our results present evidence for the protective effects of GW4064 against OA by blunting osteoclast‐mediated aberrant subchondral bone loss and subsequent cartilage deterioration. Therefore, GW4064 demonstrates the potential as an alternative therapeutic option against OA for further drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new type of oxygen mixing cold plasma jet is developed to modify metal materials. • The plasma jet can treat various metal materials to be superhydrophilic within 20 s. • The high-efficiency plasma treatment does not cause serious structural damages. • Mechanisms leading to the high-efficiency treatment are systematically studied. Engineering metal materials have been widely developed and applied in aviation, aerospace and biomedicine fields. Wettability improvement of these materials can alleviate problems caused by low adhesion and poor bioactivity, thereby facilitating their practical applications. Compared with other methods, atmospheric pressure cold plasma treatment has better versatility and can efficiently improve wettability without causing serious damages, and has therefore been widely used in polymer hydrophilization. However, when treating metal materials, the cold plasma may induce surface breakdown or have low efficiency. In this paper, we developed a new cold plasma jet by mixing oxygen into working gas to achieve high-efficiency and low-damage modification. When oxygen mixing ratio was 0.4 %, the cold plasma jet could modify TC4 titanium alloy surface to be superhydrophilic within 20 s, which was much more efficient than traditional plasma jet (120 s). We then further investigated the mechanism contributing to higher efficiency, and found that the oxygen-mixing plasma jet did not cause serious damages, while generating more polar groups by higher-concentration active particles, as confirmed by surface energy calculation and optical emission spectra. Besides titanium alloy, the oxygen-mixing plasma jet could also achieve rapid hydrophilization of various engineering metal materials, showing promising application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective collaboration and teamwork skills are critical in high‐risk sectors, as deficiencies in these areas can result in injuries and risk of death. To foster the growth of these vital skills, immersive learning spaces have been created to simulate real‐world scenarios, enabling students to safely improve their teamwork abilities. In such learning environments, multiple dialogue segments can occur concurrently as students independently organise themselves to tackle tasks in parallel across diverse spatial locations. This complex situation creates challenges for educators in assessing teamwork and for students in reflecting on their performance, especially considering the importance of effective communication in embodied teamwork. To address this, we propose an automated approach for generating teamwork analytics based on spatial and speech data. We illustrate this approach within a dynamic, immersive healthcare learning environment centred on embodied teamwork. Moreover, we evaluated whether the automated approach can produce transcriptions and epistemic networks of spatially distributed dialogue segments with a quality comparable to those generated manually for research objectives. This paper makes two key contributions: (1) it proposes an approach that integrates automated speech recognition and natural language processing techniques to automate the transcription and coding of team communication and generate analytics; and (2) it provides analyses of the errors in outputs generated by those techniques, offering insights for researchers and practitioners involved in the design of similar systems.Practitioner notesWhat is currently known about this topic Immersive learning environments simulate real‐world situations, helping students improve their teamwork skills.In these settings, students can have multiple simultaneous conversations while working together on tasks at different physical locations.The dynamic nature of these interactions makes it hard for teachers to assess teamwork and communication and for students to reflect on their performance.What this paper adds We propose a method that employs multimodal learning analytics for automatically generating teamwork‐related insights into the content of student conversations.This data processing method allows for automatically transcribing and coding spatially distributed dialogue segments generated from students working in teams in an immersive learning environment and enables downstream analysis.This approach uses spatial analytics, natural language processing and automated speech recognition techniques.Implications for practitioners Automated coding of dialogue segments among team members can help create analytical tools to assist in evaluating and reflecting on teamwork.By analysing spatial and speech data, it is possible to apply learning analytics advancements to support teaching and learning in fast‐paced physical learning spaces where students can freely engage with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) is a major threat to buried pipelines. The crevices beneath disbonded coatings provide the environment for the survival and growth of SRB, accelerating the attachment of SRB and significantly reducing the effectiveness of buried pipelines. In this work, the influence of initial pH values (6.4, 8.0) and SRB concentrations (2.0 × 101, 4.5 × 102, 2.5 × 103 cells/mL) were investigated on the behaviors of L415 carbon steel. The results indicated that the overall uniform corrosion rate of L415 carbon steel decreased while the maximum pitting corrosion rate exhibited an increasing trend with the increasing of initial concentration of SRB. In comparison to the pH 6.4 environment, the overall risk of pitting corrosion in pH 8.0 environment was reduced due to the biomineralization of SRB, enhancing the protection of metal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet‐induced degradation has emerged as a critical stability concern impeding the widespread adoption of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), particularly in the context of phase‐unstable wide‐band gap perovskite films. This study introduces a novel approach by employing a fully aromatic carbazole‐based self‐assembled monolayer, denoted as (4‐(3,6‐dimethoxy‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)phenyl)phosphonic acid (MeO‐PhPACz), as a hole‐selective layer (HSL) in inverted wide‐band gap PSCs. Incorporating a conjugated linker plays a pivotal role in promoting the formation of a dense and highly ordered HSL on substrates, facilitating subsequent perovskite interfacial interactions, and fostering the growth of uniform perovskite films. The high‐quality film could effectively suppress interfacial non‐radiative recombination, improving hole extraction/transport efficiency. Through these advancements, the optimized wide‐band gap PSCs, featuring a band gap of 1.68 eV, attain an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.10 %. Remarkably, MeO‐PhPACz demonstrates inherent UV resistance and heightened UV absorption capabilities, substantially improving UV resistance for the targeted PSCs. This characteristic holds significance for the feasibility of large‐scale outdoor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet‐induced degradation has emerged as a critical stability concern impeding the widespread adoption of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), particularly in the context of phase‐unstable wide‐band gap perovskite films. This study introduces a novel approach by employing a fully aromatic carbazole‐based self‐assembled monolayer, denoted as (4‐(3,6‐dimethoxy‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)phenyl)phosphonic acid (MeO‐PhPACz), as a hole‐selective layer (HSL) in inverted wide‐band gap PSCs. Incorporating a conjugated linker plays a pivotal role in promoting the formation of a dense and highly ordered HSL on substrates, facilitating subsequent perovskite interfacial interactions, and fostering the growth of uniform perovskite films. The high‐quality film could effectively suppress interfacial non‐radiative recombination, improving hole extraction/transport efficiency. Through these advancements, the optimized wide‐band gap PSCs, featuring a band gap of 1.68 eV, attain an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.10 %. Remarkably, MeO‐PhPACz demonstrates inherent UV resistance and heightened UV absorption capabilities, substantially improving UV resistance for the targeted PSCs. This characteristic holds significance for the feasibility of large‐scale outdoor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational technology innovations leveraging large language models (LLMs) have shown the potential to automate the laborious process of generating and analysing textual content. While various innovations have been developed to automate a range of educational tasks (eg, question generation, feedback provision, and essay grading), there are concerns regarding the practicality and ethicality of these innovations. Such concerns may hinder future research and the adoption of LLMs‐based innovations in authentic educational contexts. To address this, we conducted a systematic scoping review of 118 peer‐reviewed papers published since 2017 to pinpoint the current state of research on using LLMs to automate and support educational tasks. The findings revealed 53 use cases for LLMs in automating education tasks, categorised into nine main categories: profiling/labelling, detection, grading, teaching support, prediction, knowledge representation, feedback, content generation, and recommendation. Additionally, we also identified several practical and ethical challenges, including low technological readiness, lack of replicability and transparency and insufficient privacy and beneficence considerations. The findings were summarised into three recommendations for future studies, including updating existing innovations with state‐of‐the‐art models (eg, GPT‐3/4), embracing the initiative of open‐sourcing models/systems, and adopting a human‐centred approach throughout the developmental process. As the intersection of AI and education is continuously evolving, the findings of this study can serve as an essential reference point for researchers, allowing them to leverage the strengths, learn from the limitations, and uncover potential research opportunities enabled by ChatGPT and other generative AI models. Practitioner notesWhat is currently known about this topic Generating and analysing text‐based content are time‐consuming and laborious tasks.Large language models are capable of efficiently analysing an unprecedented amount of textual content and completing complex natural language processing and generation tasks.Large language models have been increasingly used to develop educational technologies that aim to automate the generation and analysis of textual content, such as automated question generation and essay scoring.What this paper adds A comprehensive list of different educational tasks that could potentially benefit from LLMs‐based innovations through automation.A structured assessment of the practicality and ethicality of existing LLMs‐based innovations from seven important aspects using established frameworks.Three recommendations that could potentially support future studies to develop LLMs‐based innovations that are practical and ethical to implement in authentic educational contexts.Implications for practice and/or policy Updating existing innovations with state‐of‐the‐art models may further reduce the amount of manual effort required for adapting existing models to different educational tasks.The reporting standards of empirical research that aims to develop educational technologies using large language models need to be improved.Adopting a human‐centred approach throughout the developmental process could contribute to resolving the practical and ethical challenges of large language models in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sevoflurane preconditioning induces brain ischemic tolerance, but the mechanism remains poorly elucidated. Nitration is an important form of post-translational modification in pathological signaling. This study was to investigate the role of thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) nitration in neuroprotection effect induced by sevoflurane preconditioning in a transient stroke model in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were preconditioned with 2% sevoflurane or vehicle oxygen exposure, 1 h per day, for 5 consecutive days. At 24 h after the last exposure, rats were subjected to focal brain ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 90 min, followed by 72-h reperfusion. Trx-1 expression and activity, as well as the content of nitrotyrosine at penumbra were detected at 24 h after preconditioning and 2, 8, 24, 72 h after MCAO. Nitrated Trx-1 was examined by immunoprecipitation at 8 h after MCAO. The role of Trx-1 nitration in ischemic tolerance was assessed by administration of nitrated human-Trx-1 prior to MCAO. Neurological scores, brain infarct volumes and TUNEL staining were evaluated at 24 h after reperfusion. Results: Ischemic stroke decreased Trx-1 activity but not the expression in penumbra tissue. The content of nitrotyrosine was elevated after MCAO. Preconditioning with sevoflurane increased Trx-1 activity and reduced its nitration at 8 h after MCAO in comparison with vehicle preconditioning. The decrement of Trx-1 activity was correlated with its nitration level. Exogenous administration of nitrated human-Trx-1 reversed the brain ischemic tolerance of sevoflurane preconditioning, exacerbating brain infarct volume, neurobehavioral defects and apoptosis, while administration of human-Trx-1 had no effect on the sevoflurane preconditioning-induced neuroprotection. Conclusion: Ischemic stroke reduces Trx-1 activity via post-translational nitrative modulation in rats. Sevoflurane preconditioning induces brain ischemic tolerance and anti-apoptosis by partially preserving Trx-1 activity via inhibiting nitration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) MXene-based materials are gained significant attention as a prospective anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their superior metallic conductivity, high volumetric capacitance, and thermal stability. However, the unsatisfactory electrochemical performance of MXene-based anodes essentially restricts their practical use attributed to the prevalent interlayer stacking. The urchin-like Ti 3 C 2 @CNTs involve grafting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) onto the 3D hollow MXene via catalytic growth could promise to overcome this obstacle. As conductive bridges, the CNTs further expedite the exchange of charges at the interface, resulting in improved electrochemical kinetics of the composite, which exhibits a high specific capacity of 286.2 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 2000 cycles. Beneficial from the well-designed architecture, outstanding microwave absorption was achieved with the optimal reflection loss of −48.1 dB covering the C band. This study proposed a practical strategy for fabricating the Ti 3 C 2 @CNTs composite in high-performance lithium-ion batteries and microwave absorbers. • An effective strategy is to prepare a 3D urchin-like Ti 3 C 2 @CNTs composite. • The 3D Ti 3 C 2 @CNTs electrode displays a high specific capacity of 286.2 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 2000 cycles. • The composite exhibits outstanding microwave absorption with the optimal reflection loss of –48.1 dB covering the C band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a temperature-sensitive perm agent that can reduce the risk of the active ingredient sodium thioglycolate (TGA(Na) in the perm agent to humans. We found that the loading of TGA(Na) in the pure poloxamer formulation reduces its gelation temperature and allows it to gel at room temperature, so we added cationic surfactants to increase its gelation temperature. The temperature-sensitive perm agent was prepared by adjusting the ratio of additives to the desired temperature, and it remained liquid below 32 °C and solidified on contact with the scalp (32 °C). The release behavior of sodium thioglycolate was studied by in vitro release studies and rheology, and the perm performance was investigated. The results showed that its perm efficiency was comparable to that of conventional perm agents, but its sodium thioglycolate transdermal volume was much lower than that of conventional perm agents, with a reduction of nearly 62 %. These results suggest the potential of the temperature-sensitive perm as a healthier alternative for perm design products. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Paper-based cascade sensitized structure of CuInSe 2 /Cu 3 (BTC) 2 /Y:ZnO was assembled. • The entropy-driven SDA propelled DNAzyme roller amplification strategy was designed. • Surface plasmon resonance-enhanced cascaded sensitization effect was proposed. Herein, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-enhanced cascaded sensitization effect of CuInSe 2 /Cu 3 (BTC) 2 /yttrium doped ZnO (Y:ZnO) photosensitive structures were integrated on lab-on-paper photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing platform for the ultrasensitive detection of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) based on entropy-driven strand displacement amplification (SDA) propelled DNAzyme roller amplification strategy. The Y element doping equipped the paper-based Y:ZnO nanorods with enhanced PEC performance, which was further cosensitized with Cu 3 (BTC) 2 metal-organic framework (MOF) and CuInSe 2 quantum dots (QDs), giving a cascaded sensitization effect for generating a robust and stable photocurrent signal. The SPR effect between CuInSe 2 QDs and Au nanoparticles (NPs) was activated with the aid of entropy-driven SDA propelled DNAzyme roller amplification-induced conversion of target miRNA-21 to Au NPs-labelled track DNA (track DNA-Au), which could effectively promote the photogenerated carrier separation and transfer of CuInSe 2 /Cu 3 (BTC) 2 /Y:ZnO cascade sensitized structures via hot-electron transfer mechanism, further enhancing the photocurrent signal. Based on this designed "signal-on" mode, the quantitative detection of miRNA-21 was achieved with high sensitivity, good specificity, and excellent practicability, which provided a promising model for developing lab-on-paper diagnostic tool for biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The inhibition of the vibration of the molecules in the aggregated state is the main reason for its AIE mechanism. • It was found that the introduction of cyanine into the acceptor part of the molecule would make △ESTsmaller. • The cyano connections between the acceptor and other acceptors can effectively increase the twist angle and promote the reverse inter-system crossing process. Wise design strategies for efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules are highly desirable. In this work, the effect of cyano-substitution effects on the molecular photophysical properties of five TADF molecules was investigated. The energy gap (△E ST), natural transition orbitals (NTOs) properties, the Huang-Rhys factor and reorganization energies, rate constants for the intersystem crossing (k ISC) and reverse intersystem crossing (k RISC) are analyzed based on density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) in combination with the thermal vibration correlation function (TVCF) method to measure method. CzTrzBp-CN-4 has the smallest △E ST and larger spin-orbital coupling (SOC) in the film, leading to larger k RISC , suggesting that the cyano connections between the acceptor and other acceptors can effectively increase the twist angle and promote the k RISC , predicting that it may have TADF properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate deep-learning-based image inpainting techniques for emergency remote sensing mapping. Image inpainting can generate fabricated targets to conceal real-world private structures and ensure informational privacy. However, casual inpainting outputs may seem incongruous within original contexts. In addition, the residuals of original targets may persist in the hiding results. A Residual Attention Target-Hiding (RATH) model has been proposed to address these limitations for remote sensing target hiding. The RATH model introduces the residual attention mechanism to replace gated convolutions, thereby reducing parameters, mitigating gradient issues, and learning the distribution of targets present in the original images. Furthermore, this paper modifies the fusion module in the contextual attention layer to enlarge the fusion patch size. We extend the edge-guided function to preserve the original target information and confound viewers. Ablation studies on an open dataset proved the efficiency of RATH for image inpainting and target hiding. RATH had the highest similarity, with a 90.44 % structural similarity index metric (SSIM), for edge-guided target hiding. The training parameters had 1 M fewer values than gated convolution (Gated Conv). Finally, we present two automated target-hiding techniques that integrate semantic segmentation with direct target hiding or edge-guided synthesis for remote sensing mapping applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Chinese government's emergency emissions reduction strategy which aims to reduce air pollution and mentions topics including a decline in the concentration of particulate matter and a study about the environmental effects of urban and rural development.