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Tassel weight (TW) is a crucial agronomic trait that significantly affects pollen supply and grain yield development in maize breeding. To improve maize yield and develop new varieties, a comprehensive understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying tassel weight is essential. In this study, tropical maize inbred lines, namely CML312, CML373, CML444, and YML46, were selected as female parents and crossed with the elite maize inbred line Ye107, which served as the common male parent, to develop a multi-parent population comprising four F8 recombinant inbred line (RIL) subpopulations. Using 6616 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, we conducted genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS) on 642 F8 RILs in four subpopulations across three different environments. Through GWAS, we identified 16 SNPs that were significantly associated with TW, encompassing two stable loci expressed across multiple environments. Furthermore, within the candidate regions of these SNPs, we discovered four novel candidate genes related to TW, namely Zm00001d044362, Zm00001d011048, Zm00001d011049, and Zm00001d031173 distributed on chromosomes 1, 3, and 8, which have not been previously reported. These genes are involved in processes such as signal transduction, growth and development, protein splicing, and pollen development, all of which play crucial roles in inflorescence meristem development, directly affecting TW. The co-localized SNP, S8_137379725, on chromosome 8 was situated within a 16.569 kb long terminal repeat retrotransposon (LTR-RT), located 22.819 kb upstream and 26.428 kb downstream of the candidate genes (Zm00001d011048 and Zm00001d011049). When comparing three distinct GS models, the BayesB model demonstrated the highest accuracy in predicting TW. This study establishes the theoretical foundation for future research into the genetic mechanisms underlying maize TW and the efficient breeding of high-yielding varieties with desired tassel weight through GS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrow-band blue luminescence materials are desirable in full color display with wide color gamut. Divalent rare earth europium doped luminescence materials show excellent optical properties as promising backlit materials in display. However, narrow-band blue luminescence materials are still lacking. Herein, novel blue emitting Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs are precipitated in the glasses, and effects of EuCl 3 doping concentration and heat-treatment conditions on the growth behavior and optical properties of Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs precipitated in glasses are investigated. Doping concentration of EuCl 3 in glass and the heat-treatment condition can effectively regulate the Eu2+/Eu3+ molar ratio in glasses, size of Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs, and effective doping concentration of Eu2+ ions in CsCaCl 3 NCs formed in the glasses. Besides, effect of phase separation on glass transmittance is explored to improve the glass optical properties. Upon incorporation of Eu2+ ions into CsCaCl 3 NCs in glasses, blue photoluminescence at 435 nm with full width at half maximum of 22 nm and color purity of ∼97.2 % is realized, and concomitantly, photoluminescence lifetimes are extended and quantum efficiency are significantly improved. These results demonstrate that Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs doped glasses are promising blue emitting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrow-band blue luminescence materials are desirable in full color display with wide color gamut. Divalent rare earth europium doped luminescence materials show excellent optical properties as promising backlit materials in display. However, narrow-band blue luminescence materials are still lacking. Herein, novel blue emitting Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs are precipitated in the glasses, and effects of EuCl 3 doping concentration and heat-treatment conditions on the growth behavior and optical properties of Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs precipitated in glasses are investigated. Doping concentration of EuCl 3 in glass and the heat-treatment condition can effectively regulate the Eu2+/Eu3+ molar ratio in glasses, size of Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs, and effective doping concentration of Eu2+ ions in CsCaCl 3 NCs formed in the glasses. Besides, effect of phase separation on glass transmittance is explored to improve the glass optical properties. Upon incorporation of Eu2+ ions into CsCaCl 3 NCs in glasses, blue photoluminescence at 435 nm with full width at half maximum of 22 nm and color purity of ∼97.2 % is realized, and concomitantly, photoluminescence lifetimes are extended and quantum efficiency are significantly improved. These results demonstrate that Eu2+: CsCaCl 3 NCs doped glasses are promising blue emitting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion-exchange has been widely employed to modify the composition and structure of glasses. In this work, Cs–K ion-exchange was carried out to facilitate the precipitation of cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals in the surface layer of glasses. Both Cs 4 PbBr 6 and CsPbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals and KBr nanocrystals can be precipitated through ion-exchange in nitrate salt. Content of Cs 4 PbBr 6 and CsPbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals is strongly dependent on the composition of nitrate salt, ion-exchange conditions, and post-thermal annealing. High concentration of Cs in nitrate salt, long ion-exchange duration, and post-thermal annealing are effective to promote the formation of CsPbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals. Results reported is valuable for the developing of cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals embedded glass for light converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a one-dimensional (1D) multifractal sign retention detrending fluctuation analysis algorithm (MF-S-DFA). The proposed method is based on conventional multifractal detrending fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). As negative values may exist in the calculation in the original MF-DFA model, sign retention is considered to improve performance. We evaluate the two methods based on time series constructed by p-model multiplication cascades. The results indicate that the generalized Hurst exponent H (q) , the scale exponent τ (q) and the singular spectrum f (α) estimated by MF-S-DFA behave almost consistently with the theoretical values. Moreover, we also employ distance functions such as D H and D τ . The results prove that MF-S-DFA achieves more accurate estimation. In addition, we present various numerical experiments by transforming parameters such as n m a x , q and p. The results imply that MF-S-DFA obtains more excellent performance than that of conventional MF-DFA in all cases. Finally, we also verify the high feasibility of MF-S-DFA in ECG signal classification. Through classification of normal and abnormal ECG signals, we further corroborate that MF-S-DFA is more effective than conventional MF-DFA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slip flow is a common phenomenon in micro-/nano-electromechanical systems. It is well known that the mass and heat transfers in slip flow show many unique behaviors, such as the velocity slip and temperature jump near the wall. However, the kinetic understanding of slip flow is still an open problem. This paper first clarifies that the Thermodynamic Non-Equilibrium (TNE) flows can be roughly classified into two categories: near-wall TNE flows and TNE flows away from the wall. The origins of TNE in the two cases are significantly different. For the former, the TNE mainly results from the fluid–wall interaction; for the latter, the TNE is primarily due to the considerable (local) thermodynamic relaxation time. Therefore, the kinetic modeling methods for the two kinds of TNE flows are significantly different. Based on the Discrete Boltzmann Modeling (DBM) method, the non-equilibrium characteristics of mass and heat transfers in slip flow are demonstrated and investigated. The method is solidly verified by comparing with analytic solutions and experimental data. In pressure-driven flow, the DBM results are consistent with experimental data for the Knudsen number up to 0.5. It is verified that, in the slip flow regime, the linear constitutive relations with standard viscous or heat conduction coefficients are no longer applicable near the wall. For the Knudsen layer problem, it is interesting to find that a heat flux (viscous stress) component in the velocity (temperature) Knudsen layer approximates a hyperbolic sinusoidal distribution. The findings enrich the insights into the non-equilibrium characteristics of mass and heat transfers at micro-/nano-scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas is associated with coal mining; it commonly exists in the coal seam. It is one of the major dangers during the production because its reaction between the coal masses may induce the gas-coal outburst as well as it being an expositive matter. The gas accident has caused a huge amount of property damage and casualties. Therefore, the primary precaution for coal mining is gas control. At present, drilling and extraction are the main approaches for gas accident prevention. After drilling, the ground pressure will be released; the gas which is in a free state or absorbed in the coal seam will be easy to extract as the migration channel is enhanced. Hence, one of the most concerned problems is the stress redistribution of the coal and rock mass around the borehole. In practical engineering, there are many joints distributed in the coal and rock strata, so it is necessary to investigate the effect of the drilling in the jointed coal and rock mass. In this paper, the boundary element model of the borehole in the jointed coal and rock mass is established to study the influence of joints on the stress and displacement field. The following results can be obtained. The number of joints has a significant effect on the maximum displacement of the coal and rock mass. The maximum displacement increases with the number of the joint. The position of the maximum displacement shifts from the boundary of the borehole to the far field. Meanwhile, it can be found that the displacement may reach a peak value when the joint angle is 30° and if the joint number is less than 4, and the maximum displacement may occur under the joint angle of 45° and if the joints number continuous increases. The von Mises stress has a trend of increasing with the number of joints when the joint angle is less than 30°, while it has a decreasing trend when the joint angle is larger than 30°. The max stress may occur at the joint angle of 15°. The maximum shear stress occurs mostly in the No. 4 joint and the No.7 joint. When the joint angle is 30°, the maximum shear stress occurs in the No. 3 joint and the No. 4 joint. The overlap of the position of the maximum von Mises stress or the maximum displacement with different joint angles or different numbers of joint leads to a reexploration of such positions. The position of the maximum von Mises stress and the maximum displacement o is relatively steady, which locates symmetrically around the borehole. The line between the points that behaves as the maximum von stress is approximately perpendicular to the joint direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is not clear how Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplications (FLT3-ITD) regulates checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this study, we investigated the regulatory effect of FLT3-ITD on CHK1. Our results showed that CHK1 was highly expressed in FLT3-ITD positive AML. The overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate of AML patients with high CHK1 level were lower than those of patients with low CHK1 level. Mechanistically, FLT3-ITD recruited p300 to the CHK1 promoter and subsequently acetylated H3K27, thereby enhancing the transcription of CHK1. Interfering with the expression of CHK1 significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in FLT3-ITD positive MV4-11 cells. In addition, CHK1 knockdown promoted the sensitivity of MV4-11 cells to the epigenetic inhibitors JQ1 and C646. This study discovers a new therapeutic target for FLT3-ITD + AML and provided evidence for the combination of epigenetic inhibitors for AML treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavation of coal mine often encounters the fault problem. In this paper, the analytical study of the pressure of the fault that the work face may cross is carried out. The evolution of the stress and moment of the fault is investigated. Afterwards, a numerical study is performed. The stress and displacement of the rock mass near the work face and the fault are calculated under each situation (the initial fracture and periodical fracture of the immediate roof, the forward direction fault, and the reverse direction fault), and the changes in the contact pressure and stress near the fault during the excavation are analyzed. The effect of searching tunnel on the mining pressure is also studied. The calculation results indicate that although the searching-tunnel can decrease the stress at the roof of the fault (reverse direction fault), it may increase the stress at other positions. It can therefore be concluded that, for the forward direction fault, the effect of the searching tunnel to decrease the contact pressure and dissipate the energy is limited; on the contrary, it will aggravate the fragmentation degree and make the support more difficult, while, for the reverse direction fault, the excavation of searching tunnel can not only provide a better understanding of the characters of the fault but also have a positive effect on the ground control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the term "ecosystem" has garnered substantial attention in scholarly and managerial discourse, featuring prominently in academic and applied contexts. While individual scholars have made significant contributions to the study of various types of ecosystem, there appears to be a research gap marked by a lack of comprehensive synthesis and refinement of findings across diverse ecosystems. This paper systematically addresses this gap through a hybrid methodology, employing bibliometric and content analyses to systematically review the literature from 1993 to 2023. The primary research aim is to critically examine theoretical studies on different ecosystem types, specifically focusing on business, innovation, and platform ecosystems. The methodology of this study involves a content review of the identified literature, combining quantitative bibliometric analyses to differentiate patterns and content analysis for in-depth exploration. The core findings center on refining and summarizing the definitions of business, innovation, and platform ecosystems, shedding light on both commonalities and distinctions. Notably, the research unveils shared characteristics such as openness and diversity across these ecosystems while highlighting significant differences in terms of participants and objectives. Furthermore, the paper delves into the interconnections within these three ecosystem types, offering insights into their dynamics and paving the way for discussions on future research directions. This comprehensive examination not only advances our understanding of business, innovation, and platform ecosystems but also lays the groundwork for future scholarly inquiries in this dynamic and evolving field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of strain path across martensitic transformation in materials with two transformation orientation relationships (ORs) is challenging due to the temporal and spatial limitation of the modern techniques. In this work, an analyzing strategy, i.e. , the determination of transformation path via the variant organization feature of martensite, was suggested and applied for the Ni–Mn-based alloys as an example, based on the consideration that the different crystallographic symmetries of transformation systems will result in distinct organizations of martensite variants. For the selected Ni–Mn-based alloys, the orientation examination revealed that both the K−S and the Pitsch OR are respected. Further analyses in terms of the strain and stress compatibility condition and the minimum energy criteria showed that, theoretically, the K−S path produces 2 variants as a self-accommodated variant group, whereas the Pitsch path produces 4 variants as a self-accommodated variant group. Compared with the experimental results, the Pitsch path is the energetically favorable transformation path and actually occurs in stress-free austenite of the Ni−Mn based alloys. The significance of this work is multi-fold. It first resolves the long puzzling issue of transformation strain path of Ni–Mn-based alloys. Moreover, the analyzing scheme can be generalized to determine the transformation characters for martensitic transformation in other systems with multiple possible transformation orientation relationships. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analysed over 350 references from all well-famed databases. • We provided a comprehensive survey on deep learning in food category recognition. • This review encompassed current challenges & applications, strengths & limitations. • Fundamental deep learning rules and performance assessment methods were reviewed. • Convolutional neural networks, transfer and semi-supervised learning were reviewed. Integrating artificial intelligence with food category recognition has been a field of interest for research for the past few decades. It is potentially one of the next steps in revolutionizing human interaction with food. The modern advent of big data and the development of data-oriented fields like deep learning have provided advancements in food category recognition. With increasing computational power and ever-larger food datasets, the approach's potential has yet to be realized. This survey provides an overview of methods that can be applied to various food category recognition tasks, including detecting type, ingredients, quality, and quantity. We survey the core components for constructing a machine learning system for food category recognition, including datasets, data augmentation, hand-crafted feature extraction, and machine learning algorithms. We place a particular focus on the field of deep learning, including the utilization of convolutional neural networks, transfer learning, and semi-supervised learning. We provide an overview of relevant studies to promote further developments in food category recognition for research and industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms is of great significance for clinical detection and diagnosis. Based on the hybridization hindrance caused by graphene oxide (GO) and hairpin probe, we report a T7 Exo-assisted cyclic amplification technique to distinguish single-base mismatch for highly sensitive and selective detection of mutant-type DNA. When the mutant-type target is completely complementary to the probe, the T7 Exo hydrolyzes the probe and releases the fluorescent molecule from the GO surface, resulting in a fluorescence signal. Conversely, when the wild-type mismatch target is present, the weak hybridization prevents the release of FAM-labeled probe from the GO surface. Therefore, the FAM-labeled probe cannot be degraded efficiently by T7 Exo, and the fluorescence is still quenched by GO. The detection limit of the proposed method can be as low as 34 fM due to the cyclic signal amplification. The experimental results showed that the established method could be used to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms accurately and sensitively at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We attempted to analyze the aberrant pathways and genes underlying the successive stages of colorectal cancer (CRC). The CRC related microarray data (GSE77953) were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus database, which included 17 colonic adenoma, 17 carcinoma, 11 CRC metastases, and 13 normal colonic epithelium samples. The differential expression patterns in colonic adenoma, carcinoma, and metastases were analyzed. Gene functional interaction (FI) and coexpressed network were constructed. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed to investigate the perturbed pathways, and disease-related genes were explored based on the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database. Total 438 genes were identified to be differentially expressed in colonic adenoma, 885 in carcinoma and 736 in metastases. The upregulated genes in adenoma were significantly related with ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and protein export related pathways. The downregulated genes in carcinoma and metastases were enriched in the same pathways, such as nitrogen metabolism, mineral absorption, and steroid hormone biosynthesis. FI network was constructed with 219 and 3914 edges, which were further divided to 12 modules. The genes in module 0 were closely related with ribosome, protein export, and RNA transport. Coexpressed genes were enriched in ribosome, protein export, and mineral absorption pathways. Total eight common upregulated genes were found to be the CRC-related genes such as RNF43 (ring finger protein 43), EIF3H (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit H), and STRAP (serine/threonine kinase receptor associated protein). The common downregulated genes included ABCG2 (ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2), GCG (glucagon), and SULT1A1 (sulfotransferase family 1A member 1). Oxidative phosphorylation, nitrogen metabolism, mineral absorption, and protein synthesis may significantly be perturbed in the progression of CRC. The overexpression of EIF3H may be the predictor for CRC formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new form of combined pulsed laser (CPL) consisting of continuous wave (CW) laser and nanosecond (ns) pulse train was proposed for drilling Q235B steel without high-pressure gas jet. The average power of CW laser ranged from 100 to 700 W, while the average power of the ns laser was fixed at 12 W. The experiments were carried out to study the influence of the average CW laser power on the drilling efficiency and quality of CPL. The results show that there were two completely different matching mechanisms between the CW laser and ns pulse train. Firstly, during the CPL drilling with the 100-200 W CW laser, the ns pulse train could be used to timely and periodically eject the central part of the molten metal, leaving a recast layer with a thickness of up to 200 μm. In addition, for the CPL drilling with the 550 W CW laser, a little part of molten metal was continuously ejected by the ns pulse train, and all of the remaining molten metal could be removed by the boiling of molten metal, thus leaving a recast layer with thickness less than 10 μm. The new CPL presented in this paper has an important guiding significance for improving the quality and making full use of the high efficiency of CW laser drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profound and comprehensive knowledge on hot deformation of metastable β titanium alloy is essential to process optimization and microstructure control. In this work, the hot compression behavior of a β quenched metastable β titanium alloy is thoroughly studied by examining microstructural evolution to resolve the related deformation mechanisms. It is demonstrated that the deformation of the alloy presents three characteristic stress-strain stages: a linear stage (Stage I), a discontinuous yielding (Stage II) and a steady-state (Stage III). Before and during Stage I, the β to α phase transformation happened intensively along the β grain boundaries with more than 90% of the boundaries occupied by grain boundaries α (α GB). The linear behavior deviates from the Young's modulus when the linear deformation proceeds to the late stage, indicating the onset of plastic deformation. This behavior results from dislocation slip near β grain boundary regions. The discontinuous yielding of Stage II is originated from the fragmentation of the α GB and the intensive formation of mobile dislocations near the β grain boundary areas. The steady-state of Stage III arises from two orientation dependent deformation modes of the β grains. For those in favorable activation orientation for their {110} β <1 1 ¯ 1> β systems with respect to the external compressive load (type I), the deformation is realized by the dislocation slip and by the formation of slip bands; whereas for those with their {1 1 ¯ 2 ¯ } β < 1 ¯ 1 1 ¯ > β systems - the major lattice deformation for structure change from β to α - in favorable activation orientations (type II), the deformation is achieved by intensive phase transformation by forming intragranular α precipitates. The present results provide new information on hot deformation mechanisms of metastable β titanium alloys, especially the phase transformation associated lattice deformation as an important plastic deformation mode. Image 1 • Hot deformation of Ti-7333 is studied in connection with multiscale microstructures. • Contribution of the fragmentation of α GB to the discontinuous yielding is evidenced. • Two orientation dependent deformation modes of β grains in steady-state are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, hotspot regions, QTL clusters, and candidate genes for eight ear-related traits of maize (ear length, ear diameter, kernel row number, kernel number per row, kernel length, kernel width, kernel thickness, and 100-kernel weight) were summarized and analyzed over the past three decades. This review aims to (1) comprehensively summarize and analyze previous studies on QTLs associated with these eight ear-related traits and identify hotspot bin regions located on maize chromosomes and key candidate genes associated with the ear-related traits and (2) compile major and stable QTLs and QTL clusters from various mapping populations and mapping methods and techniques providing valuable insights for fine mapping, gene cloning, and breeding for high-yield and high-quality maize. Previous research has demonstrated that QTLs for ear-related traits are distributed across all ten chromosomes in maize, and the phenotypic variation explained by a single QTL ranged from 0.40% to 36.76%. In total, 23 QTL hotspot bins for ear-related traits were identified across all ten chromosomes. The most prominent hotspot region is bin 4.08 on chromosome 4 with 15 QTLs related to eight ear-related traits. Additionally, this study identified 48 candidate genes associated with ear-related traits. Out of these, five have been cloned and validated, while twenty-eight candidate genes located in the QTL hotspots were defined by this study. This review offers a deeper understanding of the advancements in QTL mapping and the identification of key candidates associated with eight ear-related traits. These insights will undoubtedly assist maize breeders in formulating strategies to develop higher-yield maize varieties, contributing to global food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Many phase transformations produce crystallographic variants. Under a mechanical constraint, certain variants could be selected. Although efforts have been made on resolving the selection rule, the transformation lattice deformation associated selection mechanism has not been well addressed. Thus in the present work, α variant selection of the β to α transformation in a metastable β-Ti alloy under compression was studied. Results show that the selection of the α variants is strongly affected by the imposed strain and the applied load with dependence on the local crystal perfection of the β grains. In the slightly deformed β grains, 2 Burger orientation relationship (BOR) variants forming 'cross-shaped' clusters and interrelated by a 90° rotation around the <1 1.38 2. 38 ¯ 0> α axis are selected and form in large quantities (group I variants). Such variants consume the maximum deformation work by the applied load. This energy consumption is rooted from the maximum strain contribution of the selected variants to the macroscopic deformation and the maximum shear stress from the external load resolved on their { 1 1 ¯ 2 ¯ } β < 1 ¯ 1 1 ¯ > β systems for transformation. In the heavily deformed β grains occupied by dislocation slip bands, several numbers (2–4) of BOR variants are selected but form in much less quantities (group II variants). The selection energy criterion is still obeyed by the group II variants but with restriction from the local deformation. The present work provides clear information on the interweaving of the imposed compression with the internal lattice deformation and its impact on the β to α transformation variant selection. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In light of the youth mental health crisis, as 1 in 5 children have a mental disorder diagnosis by age 3, identification of transdiagnostic behavioral vulnerability prior to impairing psychopathology must occur at an earlier phase of the clinical sequence. Here, we lay the groundwork for a pragmatic irritability measure to identify at‐risk infant‐toddlers. Methods: Data comprised N = 350 diverse infant‐toddlers and their mothers assessed at ∼14 months old for irritability (Multidimensional Assessment Profiles‐ Temper Loss‐Infant/Toddler (MAPS‐TL‐IT) and impairment (Early Childhood Irritability‐Related Impairment Interview, E‐CRI; and Family Life Impairment Scale (FLIS). Bimonthly follow‐up surveys assessed impairment (FLIS) over the following year. Results: Stepwise logistic regression indicated that 5 MAPS‐TL‐IT items were most informative for differentiating concurrent impairment on the FLIS: "frustrated about small things"; "hit, bite, or kick during tantrums"; "trouble cheering up when grumpy"; "grumpy during fun activities" and "tantrums in public". With this summed score, Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis differentiating concurrent impairment on the E‐CRI indicated good classification accuracy for (Area under the curve = 0.755, p < 0.05), with a cutoff of 5 maximizing sensitivity (71.4%) and specificity (70.6%). Elevated irritability on this MAPS‐TL‐IT clinically optimized screener increased likelihood of persistently elevated FLIS impairment trajectories over the following year more than fourfold (OR = 4.37; Confidence intervals = 2.40–7.97, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings represent the first step toward a pragmatic tool for screening for transdiagnostic mental health risk in toddlers, optimized for feasibility in clinical care. This has potential to strengthen resilience pathways via earlier identification of mental health risk and corollary prevention in toddlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It relies on the synergy between artificial intelligence (AI) and software engineering, improving both software productivity and quality, for example, providing coding suggestions for better productivity or locating defects to avoid poor quality. Intelligent software engineering is an emerging topic that has attracted great attention in both academia and industry. The first paper, titled 'Syntax-based metamorphic relation prediction via the bagging framework' by Li et al., proposes a multi-dimensional program structure-based metamorphic relation prediction approach, which is composed of feature extraction and prediction model building. [Extracted from the article]

Phase transformation in solids always follows specific orientation relationships (ORs). The OR usually ensures a minimum lattice deformation for the structure change. However, in many cases different ORs are respected by the same transformation. The selection role and the link between the OR and the existing crystal defects needs further investigation. Thus, in this work, the α to β heating phase transformation induced by high density Electric Current Pulse (ECP) treatments in an annealed Cu–40%Zn alloy was investigated. Results show that the β phase obeys the K-S OR when formed along the α grain boundaries or in their vicinities, or the N-W OR when formed in the α grain interiors. In the former sites, the {111} α /< 1 1 ¯ 0 > α dislocation arrays were frequently observed, whereas in the latter, the {111} α /< 11 2 ¯ > α stacking faults were often found. Transformation strain analyses revealed that under the K-S OR the maximum lattice deformation required is a shear on the {111} α plane in the < 1 1 ¯ 0 > α direction, whereas under the N-W OR the maximum deformation is a shear on the {1 11 } α plane in the < 11 2 ¯ > α direction. Thus the existing {111} α /< 1 1 ¯ 0 > α dislocation arrays along the α grain boundaries and in their vicinities provide pre-strain required by the transformation via the K-S path, whereas the {111} α /< 11 2 ¯ > α stacking faults boarded by {111} α /< 11 2 ¯ > α partial dislocations offer pre-strain facilitating the transformation via the N-W path. The present results provide new information on the role of crystal defects on phase transformation strain path and the selection of transformation ORs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An out-of-band (OB) third-order intermodulation (IM3) cancellation technique is proposed and analyzed. By exploiting a baseband (BB) auxiliary path (AP) with high-pass feature, the in-band desired signal, and OB interferers are split. OB IM3 products are then reconstructed in the AP and cancelled in the BB. The approach is implemented using a 65-nm CMOS 0.5- to 2.5-GHz frequency-translational noise-cancelling receiver, and it achieves 8.8-MHz BB bandwidth, 40-dB gain, 3.3-dB noise figure, 5 dBm OB third-order input intercept points (IIP3), and −6.5-dBm OB B1dB without IM3 cancellation with 36 mW at 1-GHz local oscillator (LO) frequency and 1.2-V supply. After IM3 cancellation, the effective OB-IIP3 has increased to 32.5 dBm with an extra 34 mW for narrowband interferers (two tones). For wideband interferers, 18.8-dB cancellation is demonstrated over 10 MHz with two −15-dBm modulated interferers. The LO leakage is −92 and −88 dBm at 1- and 2-GHz LO, respectively. This technique can achieve both high OB linearity and good LO isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise detection accuracy is crucial in suppressing random-valued impulse noise. Both false and miss detections determine the final estimation performance. Deterministic detection methods, which distinctly classify pixels into noisy or uncorrupted pixels, tend to increase the estimation error because some uncorrupted edge points are hard to discriminate from the random-valued impulse noise points. This paper proposes an iterative structure-adaptive fuzzy estimation (SAFE) for random-valued impulse noise suppression. This SAFE method is developed in the framework of Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation. The structure-adaptive fuzziness is reflected by two structure-adaptive metrics based on pixel reliability and patch similarity, respectively. The reliability metric for each pixel (as noise free) is estimated via a novel-minimal-path-based structure propagation to give full consideration of the spatially varying image structures. A robust iteration stopping strategy is also proposed by evaluating the reestimation error of the uncorrupted intensity information. The comparative experimental results show that the proposed structure-adaptive fuzziness can lead to effective restoration. An efficient implementation of this SAFE method is also realized via graphics-processing-unit-based parallelization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The β to α phase transformation of Ti alloys progresses in a displacive-diffusive mixed-mode. The associated transformation strain has important influence on the resultant microstructure. In this work, the microstructural features of α precipitates in a metastable β Ti alloy, Ti-7333, were thoroughly investigated. Special attention was paid to the intragranular α for the advantage of a stress-free transformation environment. Results show that the constituents of each α precipitate is not single. Two kinds of nano-sized α domains exist. One is situated on the broad face of the major α precipitate (named interface α), and the other goes through the major α (termed penetrating α). The interface α is related with the β matrix by the Burgers orientation relationship (BOR) and with the major α by a 60°/ 〈 11 2 ¯ 0 〉 α rotation. The nucleation of such α particles is induced by the largest shear strain generated by the formation of the major α. They act as stress-associated sympathetic nuclei of the neighboring α precipitates and eventually contribute to the formation of the triangular α cluster. The penetrating α does not obey the BOR with the β matrix but is related with the major α by a 60° rotation around another 〈 11 2 ¯ 0 〉 α axis. The nucleation of such α is induced by the largest normal strain generated by the formation of the main α plate. This work provides comprehensive information on the displacive characters of the β to α transformation and their impact on the microstructure of metastable β Ti alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetic modeling and simulation of reactive flows, especially for those with detonation, are further investigated. From the theoretical side, a new set of hydrodynamic equations are deduced, where the viscous stress tensor and heat flux are replaced by two non-equilibrium quantities that have been defined in our previous work. The two non-equilibrium quantities are referred to as Non-Organised Momentum Flux (NOMF) and Non-Organised Energy Flux (NOEF), respectively, here. The numerical results of viscous stress (heat flux) have a good agreement with those of NOMF (NOEF) near equilibrium state. Around sharp interfaces, the values of NOMF (NOEF) deviate reasonably from those of viscous stress (heat flux). Based on this hydrodynamic model, the relations between the two non-equilibrium quantities and entropy productions are established. Based on the discrete Boltzmann model, four kinds of detonation phenomena with different reaction rates, including Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) regime, are simulated and investigated. The differences of the four kinds of detonations are studied from three aspects: hydrodynamic quantities, non-equilibrium quantities and entropy productions. It is found that, the effects of NTC on hydrodynamic quantities are to lower the von-Neumann peaks of density, pressure, and velocity, to broaden the reaction zone, and to subdue the chemical reaction. It may also vanish the peak of temperature. Consequently, the effects of NTC are to widen the non-equilibrium regions and reduce the amplitude of the non-equilibrium effects in the reaction zone. Besides, it is also found that the (local) entropy production has three sources: the chemical reaction, NOEF and NOMF. As for the global entropy production in the system, the portion caused by reaction is much larger than the other two, and the portion caused by NOMF is larger than that by NOEF. Furthermore, the effect of NTC is to widen the region with entropy production caused by reaction and lower the global entropy productions caused by reaction, NOMF and NOEF, which means that NTC drives detonation closer to an isentropic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel-rich layered oxides are attracting extensive interest as cathode materials to build high-energy lithium-ion batteries, but their intrinsic structural instability and interfacial parasitic reactions deteriorate the cycling performance. Herein, we report concentration-gradient Mg and Al doped LiNi 0.95 Co 0.03 Al 0.01 Mg 0.01 O 2 (NCAMg) as a stable and high-capacity cathode material. The obtained NCAMg microparticles exhibit outstanding cyclability (capacity retention of 95.6% after 100 cycles) and remarkable rate capability (172.9 mAh g−1 at 10 C). The gradient Mg and Al doping boosts the electrochemical performance by restraining the undesirable H2–H3 phase conversion and the anisotropic volume change. Moreover, the enrichment of Mg and Al at particle shell enhances the Li-ion diffusivity, inhibits the growth of microcracks, and significantly improves the thermal stability over LiNiO 2. The results indicate that Mg and Al gradient co-doping is an efficient and practical route to upgrade Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials for LIBs. [Display omitted] • A Mg, Al gradient co-doped LiNi 0.95 Co 0.03 Al 0.01 Mg 0.01 O 2 cathode is designed. • Gradient doping strengthens the shell of cathode particles. • Mg, Al co-doping inhibits harmful phase transition and growth of microcracks. • Mg gradient distribution results in faster kinetics and the formation of MgO coating layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate fruit classification is difficult to accomplish because of the similarities among the various categories. In this paper, we proposed a novel fruit-classification system, with the goal of recognizing fruits in a more efficient way. Our methodology included the following steps. First, a four-step pre-processing was employed. Second, the features (colour, shape, and texture) were extracted. Third, we utilized principal component analysis to remove excessive features. Fourth, a novel fruit-classification system based on biogeography-based optimization (BBO) and feedforward neural network (FNN) was proposed, with the short name of BBO-FNN. The experiment employed over 1653 chromatic fruit images (18 categories) by fivefold stratified cross-validation. The results showed that the proposed BBO-FNN yielded an overall accuracy of 89.11%, which was higher than the five state-of-the-art methods: genetic algorithm-FNN, artificial bee colony-FNN, particle swarm optimization-FNN, kernel support vector machine, and ant colony optimization-FNN. Also, the BBO-FNN achieved the same accuracy as fitness-scaling chaotic artificial bee colony-FNN, but it performed much faster than the latter. The proposed BBO-FNN was effective in fruit-classification in terms of classification accuracy and computation time. This indicated that it can be applied in credible use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. It can help improve the hospital throughput to accelerate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Patients will benefit from less waiting time. Task. In the last decade, various rapid MRI techniques on the basis of compressed sensing (CS) were proposed. However, both computation time and reconstruction quality of traditional CS-MRI did not meet the requirement of clinical use. Method. In this study, a novel method was proposed with the name of exponential wavelet iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm with random shift (abbreviated as EWISTARS). It is composed of three successful components: (i) exponential wavelet transform, (ii) iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm, and (iii) random shift. Results. Experimental results validated that, compared to state-of-the-art approaches, EWISTARS obtained the least mean absolute error, the least mean-squared error, and the highest peak signal-to-noise ratio. Conclusion. EWISTARS is superior to state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a heuristic global optimization method, proposed originally by Kennedy and Eberhart in 1995. It is now one of the most commonly used optimization techniques. This survey presented a comprehensive investigation of PSO. On one hand, we provided advances with PSO, including its modifications (including quantum-behaved PSO, bare-bones PSO, chaotic PSO, and fuzzy PSO), population topology (as fully connected, von Neumann, ring, star, random, etc.), hybridization (with genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, Tabu search, artificial immune system, ant colony algorithm, artificial bee colony, differential evolution, harmonic search, and biogeography-based optimization), extensions (to multiobjective, constrained, discrete, and binary optimization), theoretical analysis (parameter selection and tuning, and convergence analysis), and parallel implementation (in multicore, multiprocessor, GPU, and cloud computing forms). On the other hand, we offered a survey on applications of PSO to the following eight fields: electrical and electronic engineering, automation control systems, communication theory, operations research, mechanical engineering, fuel and energy, medicine, chemistry, and biology. It is hoped that this survey would be beneficial for the researchers studying PSO algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth characteristics of eutectic Si in unmodified and Sr-modified Al–12.7%Si alloys were investigated by microstructure-correlated crystallographic analyses. For the unmodified alloys, the formation of repeated single-orientation twin variants enables rapid growth of eutectic Si according to the twin plane re-entrant edge (TPRE) mechanism. Microscopically, Si crystals are plate-like elongated in one 〈1 1 0〉 direction that is not in accordance with the 〈1 1 2〉 growth assumed by the TPRE model. The 〈1 1 0〉 growth direction is realized by paired 〈1 1 2〉 zigzag growth on parallel twinning planes, leading to alternate disappearance and creation of 141° re-entrants. As each twinning plane is associated with three re-entrants, Si crystals may extend in three co-planar 〈1 1 0〉 directions and cause the formation of equilateral plates. With the formation of α-Al around eutectic Si, the number of re-entrants is reduced. The planar isotropic growth of eutectic Si becomes anisotropic, leading to the formation of long plates. The reduction of the number of re-entrants also accounts for the width and thickness changes over the length of Si plates. This complex growth mode results in Si crystals exposing only their low-energy {1 1 1} planes to the melt. For the Sr-modified alloys, substantial changes appear in the eutectic Si morphology, attributable to the restricted TPRE growth and the impurity induced twinning (IIT) growth. The former enhances lateral growth by forming new twins with parallel twinning planes, while the latter leads to isotropic growth by forming differently oriented twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A statistical analysis is conducted on sequential {1 0 −1 2}–{1 0 −1 2} double extension twinning in a Mg AZ31 alloy obtained after two mutually perpendicular successive compressions. Indeed, primary twins form during the first compression, which produce secondary twins during the second compression. Here, “sequential double twinning” is adopted to describe this twinning mechanism, which is different from classic double twinning obtained during monotonic loading. Double extension twins, no matter sequential or classic ones, can be classified into Groups I–IV according to their misorientations with respect to the parent grain. In the present study, the majority of the sequential double extension twins have relatively high Schmid factors (SFs) and a misorientation of <0, 14, −14, 1> 60° with respect to the parent grain (Group III). However, the classical SF based analysis fails to explain why secondary twin variants in Group III are preferred over their nearest orientated neighbors in Group IV, since their SF differences are negligible. Therefore, a static double inclusion model is developed to analytically compute the elastic energy in a final configuration of sequential double twinning. The model well explains the predominance of secondary twins in Group III by a noticeable greater decrease of free energy after secondary twinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural and crystallographic features of seven-layer modulated (7M) martensite in Ni 50 Mn 30 Ga 20 thin films grown on MgO(0 0 1) substrate were revealed by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and secondary electron imaging (SEI). Locally, each group of martensite plates consisted of four orientation variants that are twin-related to one another. The Type-I and Type-II twin relationships were most prevalent in individual plate groups with low or high relative SEI contrast, respectively. A general procedure was developed to quantitatively assess the accommodation capacities of twin variant pairs constrained by the rigid substrate. It is understood that the configuration of either Type-I twin variant pairs in low relative contrast zones or Type-II twin variant pairs in high relative contrast zones can effectively accommodate the shear deformation in the film normal direction – a deformation that tends to “peel” the film surface off the substrate. As a consequence, it brings about the preferential formation of Type-I and Type-II twins during the martensitic transformation. This finding is of significance as it highlights the role of external constraint on microstructure control toward property modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reversible data hiding (RDH), a promising data-hiding technique, is widely examined in domains such as medical image transmission, satellite image transmission, crime investigation, cloud computing, etc. None of the existing RDH schemes addresses a solution from a real-time aspect. A good compromise between the information embedding rate and computational time makes the scheme suitable for real-time applications. As a solution, we propose a novel RDH scheme that recovers the original image by retaining its quality and extracting the hidden data. Here, the cover image gets encrypted using a stream cipher and is partitioned into non-overlapping blocks. Secret information is inserted into the encrypted blocks of the cover image via a controlled local pixel-swapping approach to achieve a comparatively good payload. The new scheme M P S A allows the data hider to hide two bits in every encrypted block. The existing reversible data-hiding schemes modify the encrypted image pixels leading to a compromise in image security. However, the proposed work complements the support of encrypted image security by maintaining the same entropy of the encrypted image in spite of hiding the data. Experimental results illustrate the competency of the proposed work accounting for various parameters, including embedding rate and computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure of modulated martensite in Mn-rich off-stoichiometric Ni 2 Mn 1.44 In 0.56 alloy was determined with high-resolution powder neutron diffraction and synchrotron X-ray diffraction in the frame of (3 + 1)-dimensional superspace theory. The average crystal structure and the modulation wave vector were firstly derived by analyzing the reflection separations induced by the martensitic transformation on the basis of the transformation orientation inheritance. This treatment could be applied to predetermine the modulated structures of materials with displacive structural transformation. The crystal structure of modulated martensite was finally refined by the Rietveld method. Results show that the martensite possesses an incommensurate 6M modulated structure of superspace group I2/m ( α0γ ) 00 , with lattice parameters a = 4.3919(4) Å, b = 5.6202(1) Å, c = 4.3315(7) Å, and β = 93.044(1)°, and the modulation wave vector q = 0.343(7) c *. The detailed site occupations for extra-Mn atoms with respect to the stoichiometric case were investigated by ab initio calculations. The extra-Mn atoms have a preference to be uniformly dispersed. A threefold layered superstructure in the 3-dimensional space was proposed to approximately describe the incommensurate modulated structure. This 6M superstructure model is considered to be representative for off-stoichiometric Ni–(Co)–Mn–In modulated martensite with martensitic transformation around room temperature. The present study is expected to offer an important basis for reliable crystallographic and microstructural characterizations on Ni–Mn–In alloys, so as to understand the underlying mechanisms of their multifunctional magneto-responsive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A statistical analysis is conducted on the formation of {1 0 -1 2} extension twin variants with low Schmid factors (SFs), based on large data sets acquired by electron backscatter diffraction on a deformed Mg AZ31 alloy. Two physical conditions of the analyzed low SF twins are characterized: those solely at grain boundaries (group 1) and those in a pair of cross-boundary twins (group 2). The presence of a majority of them can be explained by strain compatibility arguments. The twins in group 1 require not only the most or more accommodation through basal slip with very low critical resolved shear stress (CRSS), but also the least or less accommodation through pyramidal slip with very high CRSS, in their neighboring grains. Those in group 2 also require the least or less accommodations through pyramidal slip and/or contraction twinning with very high CRSSs, but in their neighboring twins. However, they require the most or more accommodation through prismatic slip and/or extension twinning with low CRSSs. This is due to the texture of the material with respect to the loading geometry that renders different low CRSS accommodation systems available to the two different groups of low SF twins. The shears induced by low SF twins can be accommodated by several different deformation systems. In such cases, twin variant selection criteria depending on only one deformation system are limited in the prediction of twin variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new metal–organic complexes Cu[Hbpdc] 2 ( 1 ), [Ni(bpdc)(H 2 O)]·H 2 O ( 2 ) and [Ni(H 2 bpdc)(H 2 O) 2 ]SO 4 ( 3 ) (H 2 bpdc=2,2′-bipyridyl-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid) have been hydrothermally prepared and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1 is a 3-D supramolecular architecture formed by hydrogen bonding interactions between carboxyl O atoms and strong face-to-face π ⋯ π stacking interactions between bipyridyl rings of Hbpdc − ligands, 2 exhibits an intriguing 2-D sheet constructed from [Ni(bpdc)(H 2 O)] units and 3 displays an infinite 1-D chain built by {[Ni(H 2 bpdc)(H 2 O) 2 ] 2+ } fragments through SO 4 2− . Moreover, thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analyses of 3 have been conducted and the TG curve shows two-stage weight loss between 300 and 950 K and the corresponding apparent activation energies are calculated by Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) method and Friedman method. The most probable kinetic model function of the dehydration reaction of 3 has been estimated by Coats–Redfern integral method and Achar–Bridly–Sharp differential method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper Ti (T40) is deformed by interrupted in situ tensile tests. Twinning activation and evolution are evidenced by scanning electron microscopy/electron backscatter diffraction and analyzed by examining their strain accommodation in the frame of all the potential accommodative systems in their neighborhoods. It is revealed that the formation of twins results from the local incompatible strains produced by dislocation slips in grain boundary areas. Either high positive Schmid factor and low positive Schmid factor twins or even negative Schmid factor twins could be activated. Twins are always accompanied by certain accommodative deformation (twinning and slip) in their immediate neighborhoods. Accommodative slips and twins have different impacts on the further development of the initiating twins. Twins accommodated by twins and possessing high Schmid factors have a higher capacity to propagate and repeatedly nucleate; whereas twins accommodated by slips and possessing low Schmid factors have less power and are static. Twins can be permanent or transient depending on their Schmid factors. For those with positive Schmid factors, their strain contributions are consistent with the macroscopic strains, thus they are stable, whereas those with negative Schmid factors are unstable. The formation of such twins is due to the unbalanced local constraints induced by high Schmid factor deformation that generate the so-called back-stress. These twins make opposite contributions to the macroscopic strains. With deformation, the back-stress could be accommodated by local high Schmid factor compatible deformation. The crystal of the twinned part has to make a positive contribution in accordance with the macroscopic strains to be compatible with its surroundings, which may give rise to the activation of detwinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish a simple two-compartment model for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow (RPF) estimations by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Materials and Methods: A total of eight New Zealand white rabbits were included in DCE-MRI. The two-compartment model was modified with the impulse residue function in this study. First, the reliability of GFR measurement of the proposed model was compared with other published models in Monte Carlo simulation at different noise levels. Then, functional parameters were estimated in six healthy rabbits to test the feasibility of the new model. Moreover, in order to investigate its validity of GFR estimation, two rabbits underwent acute ischemia surgical procedure in unilateral kidney before DCE-MRI, and pixel-wise measurements were implemented to detect the cortical GFR alterations between normal and abnormal kidneys. Results: The lowest variability of GFR and RPF measurements were found in the proposed model in the comparison. Mean GFR was 3.03±1.1 ml/min and mean RPF was 2.64±0.5 ml/g/min in normal animals, which were in good agreement with the published values. Moreover, large GFR decline was found in dysfunction kidneys comparing to the contralateral control group. Conclusion: Results in our study demonstrate that measurement of renal kinetic parameters based on the proposed model is feasible and it has the ability to discriminate GFR changes in healthy and diseased kidneys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Two kinds of hexagonal structures are identified in the β precipitates of a Cu-40Zn alloy to be formed through a two-stepped atomic displacement. • The concomitant formation of the two hexagonal structures minimize the lattice distortion of each single formation. • The new information on the formation mechanism of the two hexagonal structures in a Body Centre Cubic matrix are provided, which is a common feature of many alloys systems. Two nano-scaled hexagonal distortions in high temperature BCC phase during cooling is commonly observed in many alloys systems. Although efforts have been made on studying the lattice softening of the BCC structure during cooling, the distortion mechanisms are less addressed. Thus, the formation of two hexagonal structures in the β precipitates in a Cu-40Zn alloy treated by ECP was thoroughly investigated. Results show that the β precipitates contain two kinds of nano-sized and diffuse atomic clusters one with a η structure obeying the Burgers OR and the other a ω structure obeying the Blackburn OR. They were each formed through a two-stepped atomic displacement. For the η structure, the first step is the atomic shuffle of each second 110 β plane in the < 1 1 ¯ 0 > β direction and the second is a structure change mainly by a {1 1 ¯ 2} < 1 ¯ 11> β shear. For the ω structure, the first is an atomic shuffle on each second and third { 11 2 ¯ } β plane in the ± [1 1 1] β directions and then normal strains in three mutually perpendicular directions. The concomitant formation of the two structures minimizes the lattice distortion of single formation. The present results provide new information on the formation mechanism of the two hexagonal structures in a BCC matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The coupling chemo-mechanical behavior of smart structured electrode is obtained. • Smart structured design can provide more space for electrode lithiated expansion. • Mechanical stress can affect electrode electrochemical performance greatly. • Smart structured electrode has long life and great electrochemical performance. In battery cyclic operation, the diffusion of lithium atoms and its induced electrochemical reactions can result in the huge mechanical stress and electrode volume expansion, which may influence the electrode stability and lead to the electrode polarization. The smart structured material in a shape of hollow re-entrant honeycomb is reported to have great mechanical fracture resistance and shows perfect mechanical property. In this paper, a new analytical model is developed to study the coupling chemo-mechanical behavior of the smart structured electrode in battery cyclic operation. Our study reveals the smart structured design can help to lower the electrode mechanical stress level, provide more space for electrode lithiated expansion and realize the mechanical long life of electrode. Furthermore, smart structured electrode can solve the inconformity problem of electrode potential to some degree. It may generate less overpotential and voltage gap than thin film electrode in cyclic operation, which shows great electrochemical performance. This work indicates that smart structured electrode has great mechanical long life and electrochemical performance in battery operation. The developed analytical model may help for the electrode design and provide a theoretical way to understand the chemo-mechanical performance of the battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gesture recognition has been studied for decades and still remains an open problem. One important reason is that the features representing those gestures are not sufficient, which may lead to poor performance and weak robustness. Therefore, this work aims at a comprehensive and discriminative feature for hand gesture recognition. Here, a distinctive Fingertip Gradient orientation with Finger Fourier (FGFF) descriptor and modified Hu moments are suggested on the platform of a Kinect sensor. Firstly, two algorithms are designed to extract the fingertip-emphasized features, including palm center, fingertips, and their gradient orientations, followed by the finger-emphasized Fourier descriptor to construct the FGFF descriptors. Then, the modified Hu moment invariants with much lower exponents are discussed to encode contour-emphasized structure in the hand region. Finally, a weighted AdaBoost classifier is built based on finger-earth mover's distance and SVM models to realize the hand gesture recognition. Extensive experiments on a ten-gesture dataset were carried out and compared the proposed algorithm with three benchmark methods to validate its performance. Encouraging results were obtained considering recognition accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Structural modulation of martensitic phases is regarded as a prerequisite for magnetically or electrically induced reversible strains in shape-memory alloys. Controversy surrounds the crystal structure of modulated martensite. Here, we explore this critical issue through combined spatially resolved microstructural and crystallographic characterizations of a polycrystalline Ni53Mn22Ga25 alloy, by comparing the high-resolution Kikuchi patterns with those predicted according to various hypotheses—7M(IC) or nanotwin combination structure—on the modulated martensite. Detailed analysis has demonstrated that the modulated martensite plates may possess a monoclinic incommensurate superstructure, other than the nanotwinned tetragonal non-modulated structure. Such an incommensurate superstructure can generate a more favorable plate interface configuration for field-driven twinning/detwinning, capable of producing large reversible actuation strain. Moreover, the thermodynamically metastable modulated martensite may transform into the non-modulated martensite by further local lattice distortion, which would degrade the magnetic shape-memory effect. By taking into account the microstructure–property correlation, the ambiguity concerning the modulated martensitic structure could be clarified, which is essential to the understanding of the stability of modulated martensitic phases and their functionality as shape-memory materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-N Ni-free stainless steels are used for their excellent mechanical properties combined with their high corrosion resistance, especially for biomedical applications. Even though it is well-known that secondary hardening during annealing after cold working has been observed in many materials, this phenomenon was not reported for these materials, one of the best known being Biodur108©, although numerous efforts have been made to increase its hardness. In this work, thermomechanical treatments at low temperature of cold-deformed Biodur108© were conducted to increase the hardness. Hardness as high as 830 Hv was obtained. For this material, the annealing of a deformed sample at intermediate temperature leads to a secondary hardening phenomenon. The mechanisms responsible for this secondary hardening were analyzed. It was found that for deformed samples, annealing at 575 °C leads to the formation of small Cr2N precipitates along grain boundaries and sub-grain boundaries, and simultaneously with a new body-centered cubic (BCC) phase that possesses a super structure. The newly formed phases have sub-micrometric grain sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: DNA/cationic surfactant interaction is relevant from the viewpoint of gene therapy, where the complexation and resulting compaction are essential to protect DNA from nuclease, and to allow entry of DNA into cells. In this work, light input and host–guest inclusion controlled DNA complexation by a novel cationic surfactant 1-[6-(4-phenylazo-phenoxy)-hexyl]-3-methylimidazolium bromide (AzoC6Mim) is reported. The surfactant is covalently attached with an azobenzene group, which undergoes reversible photoisomerizations by changing light input. Under visible light, trans-AzoC6Mim can bind to salmon sperm DNA through electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic interaction, resulting into DNA compaction. Under UV light, although cis-AzoC6Mim still binds to DNA chain, DNA/surfactant complex is decompacted owing to the decrease of surfactant hydrophobicity. On the other hand, azobenzene group can form an inclusion complex with α-CD through host–guest interaction, which removes AzoC6Mim from DNA chain and decompacts the DNA/surfactant complex. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Automated and accurate classification of MR brain images is of importance for the analysis and interpretation of these images and many methods have been proposed. In this paper, we present a neural network (NN) based method to classify a given MR brain image as normal or abnormal. This method first employs wavelet transform to extract features from images, and then applies the technique of principle component analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensions of features. The reduced features are sent to a back propagation (BP) NN, with which scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) is adopted to find the optimal weights of the NN. We applied this method on 66 images (18 normal, 48 abnormal). The classification accuracies on both training and test images are 100%, and the computation time per image is only 0.0451s. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For Ni–Mn–Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys, the characteristic features of modulated martensite (including the number/shape of constituent variants, the inter-variant orientation relationship and the geometrical distribution of variant interfaces) determine the attainability of the shape memory effect. In the present work, a comprehensive microstructural and crystallographic investigation has been conducted on a bulk polycrystalline Ni50Mn28Ga22 alloy. As a first attempt, the orientation measurements by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) – using the precise information on the commensurate 5M modulated monoclinic superstructure (instead of the conventionally simplified non-modulated tetragonal structure) – were successfully performed to identify the crystallographic orientations on an individual basis. Consequently, the morphology of modulated martensite, the orientation relationships between adjacent variants and the characters of twin interfaces were unambiguously determined. With the thus-obtained full-featured image on the configuration of martensitic variants, the possibility of microstructural modification by proper mechanical “training” was further discussed. This new effort makes it feasible to explore the crystallographic/microstructural correlations in modulated martensite with high statistical reliability, which in turn provides useful guidance for optimizing the microstructure and shape memory performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Path finding is a fundamental research topic in transportation planning, intelligent transportation system, routine selection, etc. It is usually simplified as the shortest path (SP) in deterministic networks. However, some parameters in real life are stochastic. In this article, a more pragmatic model for stochastic networks was proposed, which not only considers determinist variables but also the mean and variances of random variables. In order to fasten the solution of our model, a novel method was proposed, which combines artificial immune system (AIS), chaos operator, and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Numerical experiments were presented to demonstrate that this proposed model is valid, effective, and more close to real-life, and CIPSO outperforms GA and PSO in respect of route optimality and convergence time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]