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Abstract The persistence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related hospitalization severely threatens medical systems worldwide and has increased the need for reliable detection of acute status and prediction of mortality. We applied a systems biology approach to discover acute-stage biomarkers that could predict mortality. A total 247 plasma samples were collected from 103 COVID-19 (52 surviving COVID-19 patients and 51 COVID-19 patients with mortality), 51 patients with other infectious diseases (IDCs) and 41 healthy controls (HCs). Paired plasma samples were obtained from survival COVID-19 patients within 1 day after hospital admission and 1–3 days before discharge. There were clear differences between COVID-19 patients and controls, as well as substantial differences between the acute and recovery phases of COVID-19. Samples from patients in the acute phase showed suppressed immunity and decreased steroid hormone biosynthesis, as well as elevated inflammation and proteasome activation. These findings were validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and metabolomic analyses in a larger cohort. Moreover, excessive proteasome activity was a prominent signature in the acute phase among patients with mortality, indicating that it may be a key cause of poor prognosis. Based on these features, we constructed a machine learning panel, including four proteins [C-reactive protein (CRP), proteasome subunit alpha type (PSMA)1, PSMA7, and proteasome subunit beta type (PSMB)1)] and one metabolite (urocortisone), to predict mortality among COVID-19 patients (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.976) on the first day of hospitalization. Our systematic analysis provides a novel method for the early prediction of mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Abstract Purpose Assessing the clinical effectiveness of combining with the first dorsal (plantar) metatarsal artery pedicle free bilobed flap with a cell scaffold to repair mid-distal defects in adjacent fingers. Methods From September 2012 to April 2022, 21 patients with 42 mid-distal defects of adjacent fingers underwent treatment using combined with the first dorsal (plantar) metatarsal artery pedicle free bilobed flap with a cell scaffold. The flaps size ranged from 2.1 cm * 1.6 to 4.9 cm * 3.2 cm. Follow-up evaluations included assessing function, sensation, and appearance, etc. of the injured fingers and donor areas. Results All 42 flaps survived in 21 patients without any vascular crises, and the wounds healed in phase I. The mean follow-up time was 12.2 months (range 7–22 months). During follow-up, in injured fingers, according to the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHOQ), the functional recovery and appearance were satisfactory; in Dargan Function Evaluation (DFE), the results were both “excellent” in fourteen patients, “excellent” and “good” in five patients, both “good” in one patient, “good” and “general” in one. In static two-point discrimination (2PD), the variation ranges from 4 to 9 mm in injured fingers and 6—10 mm in donor toes. Cold Intolerance Severity Score (CISS) is mild in all patients. The visual analogue score (VAS) showed no pain in the injured fingers and donor toes. No deformities or other complications were noted at the donor toes. According to Chinese Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index (C-MFPDI), there was no morbidity on foot function in all donor areas. Conclusion The surgical procedure of combined with the first dorsal (plantar) metatarsal artery pedicle free bilobed flap with a cell scaffold for the repair of mid-distal adjacent fingers defect is highly satisfactory. This approach helps the injured fingers to achieve good function, sensibility and appearance, while also achieving satisfactory results in the donor toes.

The increasing incidence and mortality of prostate cancer worldwide significantly impact the life span of male patients, emphasizing the urgency of understanding its pathogenic mechanism and associated molecular changes that regulate tumor progression for effective prevention and treatment. RNA modification, an important post-transcriptional regulatory process, profoundly influences tumor cell growth and metabolism, shaping cell fate. Over 170 RNA modification methods are known, with prominent research focusing on N6-methyladenosine, N7-methylguanosine, N1-methyladenosine, 5-methylcytidine, pseudouridine, and N4-acetylcytidine modifications. These alterations intricately regulate coding and non-coding RNA post-transcriptionally, affecting the stability of RNA and protein expression levels. This article delves into the latest advancements and challenges associated with various RNA modifications in prostate cancer tumor cells, tumor microenvironment, and core signaling molecule androgen receptors. It aims to provide new research targets and avenues for molecular diagnosis, treatment strategies, and improvement of the prognosis in prostate cancer.

As converter stations are increasingly constructed at high altitudes, how to reasonably select the minimum air spacing of converter station substation equipment has become an important issue for DC power transmission at high altitudes. In order to study the influence of air environment on switching impulse discharge characteristics of air gap at high altitudes, this paper conducts switching impulse discharge tests on 1 m rod-plate air gap under different air pressure, temperature, and humidity conditions, investigates switching impulse discharge characteristics of rod-plate air gap at high altitude, and compares and analyses differences in correction results of various discharge voltage correction methods. Studies have shown that air pressure, temperature, and humidity have an effect on air gap discharge voltage. Meanwhile, based on different atmospheric parameters, correction formulas are obtained for 1m rod-plate air gap discharge voltage, and the elevation correction coefficients of 1m rod-plate air gap at each altitude was obtained. The results of the study provide a reference for external insulation of equipment and its insulation fit in converter stations at high altitude.

Abstract Air gap impulse discharge characteristics of railway tunnel‐catenary at high‐altitude are of great significance to the electrical insulation design. The existing altitude correction methods for non‐uniform air gaps are not applicable to tunnel‐catenary. To investigate the impulse discharge characteristics of the tunnel‐catenary, a typical structural model was built in an artificial climate chamber. Different altitudes were simulated by adjusting the atmospheric pressure. The 50% breakdown voltages of the 300–700 mm tunnel‐catenary gap were tested at 243–4000 m. The test found that the altitude/atmospheric pressure and gap length have an evident effect on the 50% impulse breakdown voltage, and the influence of humidity is relatively small. The polarity effect was analysed by streamer theory. The {d, P, h} parameter method was employed to obtain the fitting formulas for the impulse breakdown voltage. A high‐altitude correction method for the tunnel‐catenary breakdown voltage based on 1 km altitude was proposed. Field natural tests were conducted to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. The results show that the breakdown voltage obtained by the correction method has an average error of 3.66% in the results of the field tests, indicating that the method has engineering application prospects.

Summary: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial biological functions in various tumors, including bladder cancer (BCa). However, the roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of circRNAs in the malignant proliferation of BCa are yet unknown. CircKDM1A was observed to be downregulated in BCa tissues and cells. Knockdown of circKDM1A promoted the proliferation of BCa cells and bladder xenograft growth, while the overexpression of circKDM1A exerts the opposite effect. The dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that circKDM1A was directly bound to miR-889-3p, acting as its molecular sponge to downregulate CPEB3. In turn, the CPEB3 was bound to the CPE signal in p53 mRNA 3′UTR to stabilize its expression. Thus, circKDM1A-mediated CPEB3 downregulation inhibits the stability of p53 mRNA and promotes BCa malignant progression. In conclusion, circKDM1A functions as a tumor suppressor in the malignant proliferation of BCa via the miR-889-3p/CPEB3/p53 axis. CircKDM1A may be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target of BCa.

Abstract Unclean air discharge refers to the discharge phenomenon of a large number of polluting gases, droplets or solid particles floating in the air, which will cause insulation breakdown and safety accidents for the power transmission equipment that have been left outdoors for a long time. In order to investigate the effects of particle concentration, particle size and dielectric constant on DC breakdown characteristics of unclean air gap, a self‐made discharge chamber was designed in this study. The air was filtered and passed into the discharge chamber to remove the influence of impurities contained in the air on the experimental results. Then, solid particles with different concentration, particle size and particle dielectric constant were added to the discharge chamber to carry out the DC positive polarity breakdown characteristic experiment. The experimental results show that compared with dry clean air, the presence of solid particle increases the breakdown voltage of the gap, and the increase proportion of breakdown voltage is related to the particle concentration, particle size and particle dielectric constant. With the same particle type and particle size, the increase proportion of breakdown voltage increases with the higher concentration, which up to 10.49%. For further investigating, the fluid mechanics model was selected to simulate the process of streamer discharge in unclean air. The results show that compared with dry clean air, the presence of particles enhances the gap discharge ionisation process, but also enhances the adsorption of particles, and the latter has stronger effect than the former, thus increases the gap breakdown voltage. At the same time, the enhancement of adsorption effect increases the electric field intensity of the gap and speeds up the development process of streamer discharge.

Composite insulators have been widely used in power grids due to their excellent electrical-external-insulation performance. Long-term operation at high voltage levels accelerates the aging of composite insulators; however, there is a scarcity of research on aged composite insulators operating at 500 kV for over ten years. In this paper, the mechanical, electrical, and microscopic properties were tested on different sheds along a 500 kV composite insulator that had been running for 18 years. Additionally, the results were compared with a new insulator and the standards for live insulator operation. The results showed that the aging of the high-voltage end of composite insulators was the most serious. The results of the physical properties test indicated that the insulator’s hardness was compliant but its tensile strength and break elongation did not meet standards. Under wet conditions, the pollution flashover voltage decreases by about 50% compared to the new insulator. Combined with the microscopic test results, the shed skeleton structure could be damaged and the filler might be lost during the aging process of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The hardness of the insulator would increase by the precipitation of inorganic silicon; however, inorganic silicon might destroy the hydrophobicity and other properties of insulator sheds. These results can provide theoretical references for insulator life prediction and operation protection.

The development and utilization of clean energy is becoming more extensive, and wind power generation is one of the key points of this. Occasionally, wind turbines are faced with various extreme environmental impacts such as icing, lightning strikes and so on. In particular, the icing of wind turbines increases icing–wind loads, and results in a reduced power output. And blades broken down lead to large-area shutdown accidents caused by high-speed rotating, which seriously affects the reliability and equipment safety of wind power generation. Relevant institutions and researchers at home and abroad have carried out a lot of research on this. This paper summarizes the formation and influencing factors of wind turbine icing, the influence of icing on wind power generation, and defense technologies. First, it introduces the formation conditions and mechanisms of icing in wind farm regions and the relationship between meteorological and climatic characteristics and icing, and analyzes the key influence factors on icing. Then, the impact of icing on wind turbines is explained from the aspects of mechanical operation, the power curve, jeopardies and economic benefits. And then the monitoring and safety status of wind turbines icing is analyzed, which involves collecting the relevant research on anti-de-icing in wind power generation, introducing various anti/de-icing technologies, and analyzing the principle of icing defense. Finally, this paper summarizes wind turbine icing and its defense technologies, and puts forward the future research direction based on the existing problems of wind power generation icing.

Abstract Background N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is associated with mammalian mRNA biogenesis, decay, translation and metabolism, and also contributes greatly to gastrointestinal tumor formation and development. Therefore, the specific mechanisms and signaling pathways mediated by methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), which catalyzes the formation of m6A chemical labeling in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD), are still worth exploring. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was constructed to detect the expression of METTL3 in gastric cancer cell lines and patient tissues. The biological function of METTL3 was investigated in vitro/in vivo by Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation assay, Transwell assay and nude mouse tumorigenesis assay. Based on the LinkedOmics database, the genes co-expressed with METTL3 in the TCGA STAD cohort were analyzed to clarify the downstream targets of METTL3. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (MeRIP-qPCR) and RNA stability analysis were employed to explore the mechanism of METTL3 in gastric cancer progression. Results We analyzed TCGA data and found that METTL3 was frequently elevated in STAD, and demonstrated that METTL3 was present at high levels in clinical STAD tissues and cells. High METTL3 expression was more likely to have advanced TNM tumors and distant metastasis. On the other hand, METTL3 silencing effectively impeded the higher oncogenic capacity of AGS and HGC27 cells in vivo and in vitro, as reflected by slowed cell growth and diminished migration and invasion capacities. Continued mining of the TCGA dataset identified the co-expression of angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) and METTL3 in STAD. Lower level of ANGPTL3 was related to increased level of METTL3 in STAD samples and shorter survival times in STAD patients. ANGPTL3 enrichment limited the growth and metastasis of STAD cells. Besides, ANGPTL3 mRNA levels could be decreased by METTL3-dominated m6A modifications, a result derived from a combination of MeRIP-qPCR and RNA half-life experiments. Importantly, the inhibitory effect of METTL3 silencing on cancer could be reversed to some extent by ANGPTL3 inhibition. Conclusions Overall, our findings suggested that METTL3 functioned an oncogenic role in STAD by reducing ANGPTL3 expression in an m6A-dependent manner. The discovery of the METTL3-ANGPTL3 axis and its effect on STAD tumor growth will contribute to further studies on the mechanisms of gastric adenocarcinoma development.

Abstract Background and aims Developing accessible, affordable, and effective approaches to smoking cessation is crucial for tobacco control. Mobile health (mHealth) based interventions have the potential to aid smokers in quitting, and integrating treatments from multiple sources may further enhance their accessibility and effectiveness. As part of our efforts in smoking cessation, we developed a novel behavioral intervention delivery modality for smoking cessation that integrated three interventions using the WeChat app, called the “Way to Quit” modality (WQ modality). It is presented here the protocol for a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of the WQ modality in Chinese smokers. Methods Eligible participants (n = 460) will be recruited via online advertisement in Beijing, China. They will be randomly assigned to receive either quitline-based treatment (QT, n = 230) or WQ modality-based treatment (WQ, n = 230) using a block randomization method. Participants in the QT group will receive telephone-assisted treatment over a four-week period (multi-call quitline protocol), while those in the WQ group will receive integrated interventions based on the WQ modality for four weeks. A four-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy (gums) will be provided to all participants. Participants will be asked to complete phone or online follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12-months. At 1-month follow-up, individuals with self-reported smoking abstinence for more than 7 days will be invited to receive an exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) test for biochemical validation. The primary aim is to determine whether the WQ modality is effective in assisting smokers in quitting smoking. The secondary aims are to evaluate the acceptability, satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness of the WQ modality. Discussion If the WQ modality is determined to be effective, acceptable, and affordable, it will be relatively easy to reach and provide professional cessation treatments to the communities, thus helping to reduce the disparities in smoking cessation services between different regions and socioeconomic groups. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2200066427, Registered December 5, 2022.

The stable operation of high-voltage transmission lines is significantly affected by atmospheric icing. Research on the physical processes of icing and de-icing of transmission lines in micro-terrain, as well as the factors affecting them, is a crucial theoretical foundation for enhancing current icing prediction capabilities and guiding the planning of transmission lines in mountainous areas. The difficulty lies in the fact that, unlike the calculation of surface radiation, the amount of radiation received by the lines is affected by a combination of terrain, environmental shading, and the orientation of the lines. Therefore, this work initially establishes a method for calculating the total amount of radiant heat received per unit length of the line throughout the day at various heights from the ground, based on the angle of solar incidence and the three-dimensional spatial position of the lines. Furthermore, a method of mapping the regional heat radiation by gridding the direction of the lines was proposed, providing the daily heat radiation and equivalent Joule heat. The proposed mapping method supports anti-icing planning for high-voltage transmission lines in micro-terrain areas.

The external insulation strength of the power equipment sleeve in the substation and converter station will be reduced with the increase in altitude and atmosphere pollution. The weakness of external insulation seriously threatens the safe operation of electrical equipment. At present, there are few studies and conclusions that focus on the flashover characteristics of power equipment bushing in high-altitude polluted areas. Therefore, this paper takes the 220 kV voltage level bushing as the research object and studies the Alternating Current (AC) pollution flashover characteristics and lightning and switching impulse flashover characteristics at low pressure. The insulation configuration at high-altitude polluted areas is analyzed. Finally, the insulation configuration scheme, which is suitable for high-altitude polluted areas, is proposed. The results show that the AC pollution flashover voltages of the bushing decrease with the decrease in the atmospheric pressure and the increase in the salt density as a power exponent function. The impulse flashover voltages also decrease with the decrease in the atmospheric pressure as a power exponent function. The atmospheric pressure/pollution impact characteristic index is related to the type of voltage, the value of the atmospheric pressure, and the value of the salt density. The test bushing does not meet the insulation configuration requirements in some high-altitude polluted areas. Through the analysis and calculation of the test results, the bushing insulation configuration scheme in high-altitude polluted areas is proposed. The research results can provide a reference for the external insulation design of bushings in substations and converter stations in high-altitude polluted areas.

The pollution flashover problem of hollow insulators, one of the primary faults in substations, can be improved by optimizing the shed parameters. Combining the artificial pollution test and electric field simulation, this paper studies the optimal shed parameters for 220 kV hollow porcelain insulators at high altitudes. The AC artificial pollution flashover test was conducted by solid-layer and up-and-down methods in the artificial climate chamber to analyze the pollution flashover characteristics of the 220 kV hollow porcelain insulator at various altitudes and pollution degrees. After the validity of the artificial pollution flashover test and the direction of optimization of the shed parameters were clarified, electric field simulation was implemented on a two-dimensional axisymmetric model to analyze the effects of shed spacing and large shed overhang on the electric field distribution of the insulator. Based on the pollution flashover characteristics and the simulation analysis results, we find that appropriately increasing the shed spacing and reducing the large shed overhang can improve the surface electric field distribution of the hollow porcelain insulator, thereby improving its pollution flashover characteristics.

Silicone rubber housings crack under the combined internal and external factors and expose the core rod. The exposed core rod deteriorates or breaks under electric fields and electrical current. Based on the main characteristics and mechanism of the core rod corrosion, this paper performs an electrical erosion test in an acid-fog environment and analyzes the core rod's macroscopic results and physicochemical properties. The results indicate the following. First, the discharge on core rod during the electrical erosion process contains four consecutive stages. The electrical current, partial discharge, temperature increase, and macroscopic morphology show regular changes at different stages. The arc usually occurs in the carbonization channel, making the channel have the maximum heat. The area of the core rod heating constantly changes but mainly at the high-voltage side and presents as a regional temperature increase. Second, the fracture of glass fiber and ablation of epoxy resin matrix are related to the continuous action of nitric acid. The generation, expansion, and release of pyrolysis gas form bubbles and pores on the epoxy resin matrix. Erosion and pyrolysis cause the loss of the epoxy resin matrix. Third, the combined effect of electrical current, nitric acid, and heat damage the core rod axially and radially. The study provides support for the subsequent core rod deterioration and fracture mechanism.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play dual roles in plant stress response, but how plants modulate the dual roles of ROS in stress response is still obscure. OsJAB1 (JUN-activation-domain-binding protein 1) encodes the rice CSN5 (COP9 signalsome subunit 5). This study showed that, similar to the Arabidopsis homolog gene CSN5B, OsJAB1-overexpressing (driven by a CaMV 35S promoter) plants (OEs) impaired rice salt stress tolerance; in contrast, OsJAB1-inhibited-expression (using RNA-interfering technology) plants (RIs) enhanced rice salt stress tolerance. Differing from CSN5B that negatively regulated ascorbate (Asc) biosynthesis, Asc content increased in OEs and decreased in RIs. ROS analysis showed that RIs clearly increased, but OEs inhibited ROS accumulation at the early stage of salt treatment; in contrast, RIs clearly decreased, but OEs promoted ROS accumulation at the late stage of salt treatment. The qPCR revealed that OEs decreased but RIs enhanced the expressions of ROS-scavenging genes. This indicated that OsJAB1 negatively regulated rice salt stress tolerance by suppressing the expression of ROS-scavenging genes. This study provided new insights into the CSN5 homologous protein named OsJAB1 in rice, which developed different functions during long-term evolution. How OsJAB1 regulates the Asc biosynthesis that coordinates the balance between cell redox signaling and ROS scavenging needs to be investigated in the future.

ObjectivesMagnetic susceptibility changes in brain MRI of Wilson’s disease (WD) patients have been described in subcortical nuclei especially the basal ganglia. The objectives of this study were to investigate its relationship with other microstructural and functional alterations of the subcortical nuclei and the diagnostic utility of these MRI-related metrics.MethodsA total of 22 WD patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) underwent 3.0T multimodal MRI scanning. Susceptibility, volume, diffusion microstructural indices and whole-brain functional connectivity of the putamen (PU), globus pallidus (GP), caudate nucleus (CN), and thalamus (TH) were analyzed. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was applied to evaluate the diagnostic value of the imaging data. Correlation analysis was performed to explore the connection between susceptibility change and microstructure and functional impairment of WD and screen for neuroimaging biomarkers of disease severity.ResultsWilson’s disease patients demonstrated increased susceptibility in the PU, GP, and TH, and widespread atrophy and microstructural impairments in the PU, GP, CN, and TH. Functional connectivity decreased within the basal ganglia and increased between the PU and cortex. The ROC model showed higher diagnostic value of isotropic volume fraction (ISOVF, in the neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging model) compared with susceptibility. Severity of neurological symptoms was correlated with volume and ISOVF. Susceptibility was positively correlated with ISOVF in GP.ConclusionMicrostructural impairment of the basal ganglia is related to excessive metal accumulation in WD. Brain atrophy and microstructural impairments are useful neuroimaging biomarkers for the neurological impairment of WD.

Silicone rubber insulators are widely used in power grids because of their excellent performance, but aging has been an inevitable problem of silicone rubber, especially in extreme conditions, such as acidic conditions. In order to clarify the performance changes in silicone rubber in an acidic environment, this paper uses the developed acid-resistant silicone rubber sheet and common silicone rubber samples as the research objects, and conducts an aging comparison test on them in a natural acidic environment. The electrical properties, physical properties, and chemical properties of the two types of silicone rubber specimens with different aging times are analyzed to obtain the performance characteristics of silicone rubber under a natural acidic environment. The research results show that the dry flash voltage and pollution flashover voltage of the acid-resistant silicone rubber after one year of aging are greater than those of the common type; the water repellency of both types of silicone rubber remains in good condition. The silicone rubber produced by our team according to the self-developed acid-resistant silicone rubber formula has indeed played a role in delaying aging in an acidic environment compared with the common-type silicone rubber.

Railway system insulators are affected by pollution, altitude, and other environmental situations during operation, which causes reduced electrical performance or even flashover accidents. These factors threaten the safety of railway operations in high-altitude areas. However, the natural contamination characteristics of a railroad in a plateau area is still unclear. In this study, a natural pollution accumulation test for railway insulators in a high-altitude area was carried out, and the distribution rules of nonsoluble deposit density (NSDD), equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD), NSDD/ESDD ratio, and nonuniformity (T/B) of the pollution distribution of the tested insulators were calculated. Meanwhile, the chemical compositions of the pollution from different test sites were analyzed. The differences of pollution accumulation between railway insulators and suspended insulators of a power system and the influencing factors were compared and analyzed by combining with a numerical simulation. The results show that the pollution level of railroad insulators is mainly distributed in level b and above. A pollution sample is mainly composed of sodium chloride, while the NSDD/ESDD ratio of pollution is mostly distributed from 0 to 5, with T/B value ranges from 1/0.62 to 1/1.76. The amount of insulator contamination is influenced by the location inside and outside the tunnel. Additionally, the pollution amount is influenced by the structure and type of insulators. Finally, this paper studies the creepage distance and structural height required by railway insulators in a plateau area according to the natural pollution accumulation characteristics of railway insulators, which can provide a reference for a railway electrical external insulation configuration in a high-altitude area.

Due to excellent anti-pollution performance, composite insulators have been widely used in transmission lines. However, composite insulators present various failures after long-term outdoor operation under environmental, mechanical, and electrical stress. This paper aims to investigate the mechanical deterioration of silicone rubber exposed to electrical stress in an acidic corrosive environment. This study examines the mechanical properties before and after experiments and uses physicochemical properties to analyze aging causes and mechanisms. The results are as follows: a) Subjected to electrical stress in acid mist, alumina tri-hydrate (ATH) decomposition and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pyrolysis occur on the silicone rubber, and oxidative crosslinking reactions take place. The contents of highly oxidized silicon and oxygen increase, and carbon content decreases. The surface discharge aggravates the above progress. b) The electric field has no obvious effect on the penetration of nitric acid into silicone rubber. The surface discharge becomes intense with the increased energized voltage, resulting in decreased hydrophobicity and degraded surface properties. c) Mechanical properties of silicone rubber exposed to acid conditions continuously degrade. Physical crosslinking of the silicone rubber increases along with corrosion time and nitric acid concentration, increasing hardness, decreasing tensile strength, and elongation at break. This paper investigates the relationship between mechanical and physicochemical properties, and the results can provide references for studying the failure mechanism of silicone rubber in an acid corrosion environment.

# Background The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created significant challenges in the management of oncology patients, including patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). We suspect that the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the number of CRC inpatients and outpatients, which might leave many CRC patients unable to get timely medical treatment. At the time, the most important task was to satisfy the imperious demand for rapid optimization of processes and the development of efficient and effective triage and treatment strategies, as well as emergency distant clinical reasoning. # Methods The number of outpatients and inpatients, as well as surgeries performed in Shanghai East Hospital from December 2019 to February 2020 were collected. Using December 2019 data as the baseline status before the pandemic, the changes during this period were analyzed which can reflect the impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of CRC patients. In addition, a triage system and management strategy for patients with CRC during COVID-19 were designed and implemented. To evaluate their effectiveness, we assessed COVID-19 infection rates among CRC patients in relation to total patients and healthcare staff. # Result Compared with the pre-COVID-19 period (December 2019), a drastic decline in the number of outpatient visits (2,789 to 120) and inpatient hospitalizations (207 to 50) for all the CRC patients, as well as in non-emergency colorectal surgeries (133 to 23), was observed in February 2020 at our hospital. # Conclusion A multidisciplinary triage strategy aligned with regional guidance and digital, artificial intelligence (AI)-technology solutions can help increase the efficacy in patient management, allow efficient access to care and reduce the incidence of COVID-19 among CRC patients. PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE

In recent years, varying degrees of surface pulverization had been found on composite insulators running for years in severe outdoor environment such as dry, high altitude, salt fog and intensive ultraviolet radiation. Research on the basic characteristics of powdered substance is essential to maintain a high reliability of the power grid. In this study, the characteristics of the powdered layer of the composite insulator sheds aged for more than 10 years under three different environmental stresses are analyzed. The results show that powdered substance of each composite insulator sample contains two parts: the organic silicon which is oxidative degradation product of the original material polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and the partially dehydrated and deteriorated flame retardant filler aluminum hydroxide (ATH). However, the thickness of the powdered layer, the particle size distribution of the powdered substance and the composition ratio between the two components are different. The average particle size of powdered substance is between 2–7 μm. The content of Al element is 31.8–34.5%, the content of Si element is 12.7–17.5%, and the mass fraction ratio of two types of powdered substance is about 1/2–1/3. The essence of pulverization is finally concluded that the composite insulator is severely oxidized and degraded under the effect of various aging factors. The organic component silicone rubber is decomposed to fragments, and the bonding between inorganic flame retardant filler and polymer become weak. They will be detached from the main body skeleton and lost partly, then build up at the surface, forming powdered layer.

The objective of this study was to assess whether convalescent plasma therapy could offer survival advantages for patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An electronic search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane library and MedRxiv was performed from January 1st, 2020 to April 1st, 2022. We included studies containing patients with COVID-19 and treated with CCP. Data were independently extracted by two reviewers and synthesized with a random-effect analysis model. The primary outcome was 28-d mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay, ventilation-free days, 14-d mortality, improvements of symptoms, progression of diseases and requirements of mechanical ventilation. Safety outcomes included the incidence of all adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs). The Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool 2.0 was used to assess the potential risk of bias in eligible studies. The heterogeneity of results was assessed by I^2 test and Q statistic test. The possibility of publication bias was assessed by conducting Begg and Egger test. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) method were used for quality of evidence. This study had been registered on PROSPERO, CRD42021273608. 32 RCTs comprising 21478 patients with Covid-19 were included. Compared to the control group, COVID-19 patients receiving CCP were not associated with significantly reduced 28-d mortality (CCP 20.0% vs control 20.8%; risk ratio 0.94; 95% CI 0.87-1.02; p = 0.16; I² = 8%). For all secondary outcomes, there were no significant differences between CCP group and control group. The incidence of AEs (26.9% vs 19.4%,; risk ratio 1.14; 95% CI 0.99-01.31; p = 0.06; I² = 38%) and SAEs (16.3% vs 13.5%; risk ratio 1.03; 95% CI 0.87-1.20; p = 0.76; I² = 42%) tended to be higher in the CCP group compared to the control group, while the differences did not reach statistical significance. In all, CCP therapy was not related to significantly improved 28-d mortality or symptoms recovery, and should not be viewed as a routine treatment for COVID-19 patients.Trial registration numberCRD42021273608. Registration on February 28, 2022Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, Identifier CRD42022313265.

Abstract This work first proposes a novel flashover model based on the deduced residual resistance of the ice layer. The most important finding of the field icing tests is that the double‐layer ice‐melting water film exists on the inner and outer surfaces of the ice layer. The conductivity of melting water on the inner and outer surface of the ice layer has been measured, and the corresponding surface conductivity has been calculated. According to the proposed flashover model, the ratio η of the resistance of the ice layer to that of the pollution layer gradually increases with the increase of the ratio k of the resistance of the outer surfaces to that of inner surfaces, and eventually approaches saturation. Furthermore, the icing flashover criterion has been modified, and the voltage gradient of the inner surface is less than that of the outer surface. Test results show that the ice flashover voltage is lower than the pollution flashover voltage between 2.18–9.69% and 14.75–20.32% under light ice and semi‐cylindrical ice, respectively. The simulation results based on the proposed model and the classic model are compared with the field test data. Results show that the proposed model could attain a high accuracy of dc flashover voltage and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Insulators are widely used in transmission lines as insulating elements [...]

This paper reviews the application of various advanced anti-icing and de-icing technologies in transmission lines. Introduces the influence of snowing and icing disasters on transmission lines, including a mechanical overload of steel towers, uneven icing or de-icing at different times, Ice-covered conductors galloping and icing flashover of insulators, as well as the icing disasters of transmission lines around the world in recent years. The formation of various icing categories on transmission lines, as well as the effect of meteorological factors, topography, altitude, line direction, suspension height, shape, and electric field on ice-covered transmission lines, are all discussed in this study. The application of various advanced anti/de-icing technologies and their advantages and disadvantages in power transmission lines are summarized. The anti/de-icing of traditional mechanical force, AC/DC short-circuit ice melting, and corona effect is introduced. Torque pendulum and diameter-expanded conductor (DEC) have remarkable anti-icing effects, and the early investment resources are less, the cost is low, and the later maintenance is not needed. In view of some deficiencies of AC and DC ice melting, the current transfer intelligent ice melting device (CTIIMD) can solve the problem well. The gadget has a good effect and high reliability for de-icing conductors in addition to being compact and inexpensive. The application of hydrophobic materials and heating coatings on insulators has a certain anti-icing effect, but the service life needs further research. Optimizing the shed’s construction and arranging several string kinds on the insulators is advisable to prevent icing and the anti-icing flashover effect. In building an insulator, only a different shed layout uses non-consumption energy.

Polymer insulators using silicone rubber materials as sheds and sheaths are widely used in power systems to replace traditional porcelain and glass insulators which are heavy, inconvenient to install, and prone to pollution flashover. However, in recent years, polymer insulators that have been operating in harsh outdoor environments for many years have experienced different degrees of aging. The aging degree and aging products of silicone rubber are the focus of research. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a technical method to analyze the internal molecular bonds and functional groups of materials, and it is often used to study the aging degree and aging products of silicone rubber. In this paper, the aging characteristics of silicone rubber samples in a high altitude area, salt fog environment, and acid environment were studied by FTIR. The results showed that the silicone rubber in a harsh environment, such as strong radiation, salt fog, and acid fog was degraded to some extent, and its main chain was cut off, the degree of polymerization was reduced, and the content of hydrophobic functional groups was reduced. Infrared spectroscopy can be used to analyze the aging phenomenon of polymers.

Composite insulators operate in harsh field environments all year round. Their various properties and states of aging require attention. It is important to study the performance changes of composite insulator sheds after aging to evaluate the life of insulators operating on grids. For this reason, 22 composite insulator sheds from different factories, with different voltage levels and different ages years were selected to conduct mechanical properties testing. The mechanical properties include hardness, tensile strength, and elongation at break, and were investigated by thermogravimetric (TGA) testing, surface morphology, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) characterization. The changes in mechanical properties of high temperature vulcanization (HTV) composite insulator silicone rubber aged in the natural environment were analyzed, including the reasons for these changes. The results showed that the transverse relaxation time T2 of the sample was closely related to its aging state. The more serious the silicone rubber’s aging, the smaller was the T2. The state of the composite insulator can be evaluated by using T2 and aging years simultaneously. With the actual degree of aging in the silicone rubber intensified, its tensile strength and elongation at break generally showed a downward trend.

This paper calculates and analyzes the collision and freezing characteristics of water droplets on the cylindrical conductors with different diameters and deduces the variation law of icing weight change rate on different diameters rotating cylindrical conductors with wind speed, ambient temperature, liquid water content, and median volume diameter. Then, a prediction and value-seeking method of icing environment parameters based on rotating circular conductors is determined. The laboratory test results show that the measured values of ambient temperature T, wind speed U, liquid water content w and median volume diameter MVD are in good conformity with the reference values measured by other instruments, and the average errors of each parameter are 3.41%, 5.44%, 6.08% and 7.20%, respectively. The field natural experiment was carried out at Hunan Xuefengshan Energy Equipment Safety National Observation and Research Station. The obtained icing environmental parameters were substituted into the icing simulation calculation model of the LDQ-100 glass insulator. Compared with the field experiment results, the simulated ice shape and the field ice shape were in good agreement. The error between the numerical calculation results of the icing weight and the field icing weight of the experimental insulator was less than 6%.

The safety and stability of power systems are seriously threatened by the decay-like fracture of composite insulators. This paper analyzes the aging characteristics (physical properties, NMR, and FTIR) of the silicone rubber sheds of the decay-like fractured insulator. The same V-string insulator and a new insulator are used for comparison. The study shows that the sheds’ degradation is concentrated on the side with heavy pollution. The physical properties (appearance, pollution, hardness, and hydrophobicity) of the high voltage end decrease significantly compared to other positions, but there is no direct connection between the physical properties of sheds and the decay-like fracture of the core rod. The severity of aging increases with a decrease in the equivalent transverse relaxation time T2. The main chain of the PDMS material was severely damaged at the location of the insulator fracture. NMR and FTIR can well judge the aging degree of silicone rubber housings. However, no definite characteristic quantity can characterize the decay-like fracture. It is challenging to evaluate the decay-like fracture of the silicone rubber shed only by its aging degree.

Abstract Background The tripartite motif (TRIM) family proteins are implicated in the pathogenesis of various human malignancies. The up-regulation and oncogenic roles of TRIM52 have been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma. In the current study, we aimed to examine its expression and possible function in colorectal cancer (CRC). Method Immunohistochemical staining or immunoblotting analysis was carried out to detect protein expression. Cell proliferation and apoptosis was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Results TRIM52 expression was increased in 67.5% of CRC tissues (54/80) compared to matched normal colonic mucosa. TRIM52 expression was closely related with tumor size (p = 0.0376), tumor stage (p = 0.0227) and overall survival (p = 0.0177). Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting TRIM52 had the potential anti-proliferative effects on CRC cell lines, SW480 and LoVo, by inducing cell apoptosis. In addition, an in vivo xenograft experiment confirmed the in vitro results. In addition, TRIM52 shRNAs decreased the phosphorylation of STAT3, but increased the protein expression of SHP2, a negative regulator of STAT3 phosphorylation. TRIM52 formed a complex with SHP2 and promoted the ubiquitination of SHP2. Furthermore, inhibition of the STAT3 signaling by AG490 in RKO cells significantly abolished the effects of TRIM52 overexpression on cell proliferation, apoptosis and STAT3 activation. Conclusions TRIM52 might exert oncogenic role in CRC via regulating the STAT3 signaling pathway.

In recent years, composite insulators have been widely applied in transmission lines; however, deterioration of insulation properties caused by aging may cause power supply's large-scale outage and badly impact the social economy development. Therefore, in this paper, an entirely new method for evaluating aging properties of silicon rubber for composite insulators based on microscopic images was proposed. The microscopic images were collected by portable digital microscope-B011, and defective area proportion (k) was extracted by calculating and comparing the defective area pixel with the background pixel. Thus, the salt fog flashover experiments were conducted in a multifunction artificial climate chamber to indicate aging properties of silicon rubber material; then, the equations for calculating silicone rubber flashover voltage (U50) by k were established. The value of U50 can even decrease by 57.3% with the increase in the value of k. Moreover, a complete aging evaluation procedure of silicone rubber composite insulators was obtained. Taking a city as an example, the critical failure k (k1 = 19.6) value of composite insulators in the area was obtained. Finally, the future research directions of this paper were clarified; besides, future usage scenarios of this paper were clearly displayed.

In this paper, silicone rubber on composite insulators from three different manufacturers with an operating duration between 1 and 10 years were sampled. In order to investigate the law of diminishing performance of these samples in aging process, widely adopted aging process evaluation test methods such as Hydrophobicity test, Water absorption test were performed. Based on test results, parameters significantly correlated with operating time were obtained by means of correlation calculation. Finally, considering the differences of parameter values among three manufacturers, the relative decrease value (denoted as w) of parameters was proposed as a unified standard and the equivalent equations between w and operating time were established for predicting lifespan of composite insulators in high altitude area. Test results indicate that parameters including saturated water absorption ratio δs, the relative content of Si and O elements (XSi and XO) are significantly correlated with operating time, and these three parameters can be used to characterize aging degree of composite insulators. Besides, for the relative error σ1 between theoretical operating time calculated by the equivalent relationship obtained in this paper and actual operating time is less than 20%, within the allowable error range of engineering practice, this equation can be applied to predict the operating time of composite insulators from three manufacturers in future research.

In recent years, room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) coated insulators have been increasingly applied in transmission lines. A large number of RTV coating damages on insulators are currently found. In this paper, three typical damage modes of the RTV coating were simulated, and then, the pollution flashover characteristics were studied. Results indicated that there is a big difference between the ac flashover performances of RTV coated insulators under different damage modes. The flashover voltage, as well as the critical leakage current, is largely influenced by salt deposit density (SDD), damage modes, and damage area. The relationship between SDD and U50 still meets negative power function when RTV coating was damaged. Insulators with fan-shaped damage have lowest flashover voltage and greatest critical leakage current. Both 2D and 3D FEM models of the RTV coating damaged insulator pollution layer were developed to calculate leakage current density on the damaged surface; it is discovered that the starting position of the arc usually occurs where the current density is maximum. Different damage modes lead to the change of the surface pollution layer conductivity and the uneven distribution of the current density, which is the main reason that pollution flashover characteristics are directly related to the damage modes.

Ascorbate (ASC) plays a critical role in plant stress response. The antioxidant role of ASC has been well-studied, but there are still several confusing questions about the function of ASC in plant abiotic stress response. ASC can scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and should be helpful for plant stress tolerance. But in some cases, increasing ASC content impairs plant abiotic stress tolerance, whereas, inhibiting ASC synthesis or regeneration enhances plant stress tolerance. This confusing phenomenon indicates that ASC may have multiple roles in plant abiotic stress response not just as an antioxidant, though many studies more or less ignored other roles of ASC in plant. In fact, ACS also can act as the cofactor of some enzymes, which are involved in the synthesis, metabolism, and modification of a variety of substances, which has important effects on plant stress response. In addition, ASC can monitor and effectively regulate cell redox status. Therefore, we believe that ASC has atleast triple roles in plant abiotic stress response: as the antioxidant to scavenge accumulated ROS, as the cofactor to involve in plant metabolism, or as the regulator to coordinate the actions of various signal pathways under abiotic stress. The role of ASC in plant abiotic stress response is important and complex. The detail role of ASC in plant abiotic stress response should be analyzed according to specific physiological process in specific organ. In this review, we discuss the versatile roles of ASC in the response of plants to abiotic stresses.

To improve feature learning ability and accurately diagnose the faults of rolling bearings under a strong background noise environment, we present a new shrinkage function named leaky thresholding to replace the soft thresholding in the deep residual shrinkage networks (DRSNs). In this work, we discover that such improved deep residual shrinkage networks (IDRSNs) can be realized by using a group searching method to optimize the slope value of leaky thresholding, and leaky thresholding in the IDRSNs can more effectively eliminate the noise of signal features. We highlight that our techniques can significantly improve the performance on various fundamental tasks. Experimental results show that IDRSNs achieve better fault diagnosis results on noised vibration signals compared with DRSNs. Moreover, we also provide a normalized processing to further improve the fault diagnosing accuracy of rolling bearing under a strong background noise environment.

For the benefit of knowing the method of insulator deicing using hot water, this paper investigated the physical aspects of propagation and the spatial temperature distribution of a hot water jet in the air. The numerical calculation model for the water jet flow field was established and validated, and the temperature spatial variation rule and influencing factors of the water jet were analyzed. The results indicate that the water column breaks as the distance increases. The numerical calculation results and the experimental results of the water jet flow field were approximated. As the distance increases, the mass entrainment rate of the water jet gradually increases, and the normalized axis velocity decreases approximately linearly. The jet temperature rises with the rise in the initial temperature of the hot water, and the rising rate decreases with the increase in distance. The temperature of the water jet falls as the jet distance increases. With the rise in the outlet pressure, the temperature of the water jet drops slightly. The influence of environmental wind speed on the water jet temperature is more significant than ambient temperature—the water jet temperature increases as the nozzle diameter increases. The thorough deicing efficiency is most outstanding when the hot water output temperature is around 86 °C and the jet pressure is ~3.5 MPa.

Background/Aims: A few Rho GTPase activating proteins (RhoGAPs) have been identified as tumor suppressors in a variety of human cancers. ARHGAP17, a member of RhoGAPs, has been reported to be involved in the maintenance of tight junction and epithelial barrier. The present study aimed to explore its expression in colon cancer and the possible function in colonic carcinogenesis. Methods: The mRNA and protein expression was assessed by realtime PCR and immunoblotting, respectively. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation and invasion, respectively. Results: We found that ARHGAP17 expression was obviously lower in colon cancer specimens than in normal colonic mucosa. ARHGAP17 expression was associated with tumor stage, size and differentiation. In vitro analysis demonstrated that ARHGAP17 overexpression inhibited cell growth and invasion of HCT-8 and HCT-116 cells. In addition, an in vivo experimental metastasis model showed that ARHGAP17 overexpression restricted cancer metastasis to the lung. Mechanically, we found that Wnt signaling contributed to the functions of ARHGAP17 in colon cancer cells. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) in The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset showed that the Wnt signaling pathway was negatively associated with ARHGAP17 expression. The mRNA expression of β-catenin (an important signaling transducer of canonical Wnt signaling) gene (CTNNB1) was negatively correlated with ARHGAP17 expression. Immunoblot analysis of downstream effectors of β-catenin (c-Myc/p27 and MMP7) in ARHGAP17 overexpressing colon cancer cells and metastatic tumors within the lung also validated the GSEA result. ARHGAP17 overexpression increased the phosphorylation of glycogen synthetase kinase 3β, and decreased β-catenin nuclear localization and transcriptional activity. Furthermore, inhibition of Wnt signaling by Wnt Inhibitor Factor-1 (WIF-1) in HIEC cells with ARHGAP17 knockdown significantly attenuated the promotion effects of ARHGAP17 knockdown on cell proliferation, invasion and the activation of β-catenin. Conclusion: these results suggest that ARHGAP17 might serve as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer progression and metastasis through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

As a result of lightning strikes, pollution, and ice, overhead distribution wires might be short-circuited and trip. As a result, researchers have developed a new lightning protection composite insulator. There is still a need to test its pollution and icing performance. Based on the finite element and field test method, this paper studies the electric field distribution and AC (Alternating Current) breakdown characteristics of polluted novel lightning protection insulators under icing conditions. Firstly, the finite element calculated results show that this novel insulator’s electric field distribution is different from that of a conventional insulator. The locations with sizeable electric fields are located in the insulation section, and the electric field in the arrester section is tiny. In addition, when the insulator surface is covered with ice, there is an increase in the electric field along the surface and pin electrodes. Compared with the dry conditions, when there is an ice layer and icicle, electric field peaks increase by 48.85% and 46.08%, respectively. Secondly, the test results show that there are three types of arc paths in different pollution levels. The arc paths are related to ESDD (equivalent salt deposit density) under icing conditions. Uf shows a downward trend with increased pollution levels, and the maximum flashover voltage is 2.70 times more than the minimum. Finally, four fitting methods are proposed in this paper. After comparing the goodness of fit of different functions, the quadratic function and negative power function with the constant term are recommended as empirical formulas for calculating flashover voltage of novel insulators under icing conditions in different pollution levels. The research results of this paper have a specific guiding role for the selection of the external insulation of transmission lines and structural optimization of novel insulators.

The pollution on insulators is composed of various chemical components, which threaten the stability of external insulation. However, the existing insulation designs have not taken this issue into consideration. This work aimed to study the influence of pollution chemical components on flashover performance of insulators with various materials. Flashover tests of porcelain, glass and silicone rubber insulators polluted by eight types of common contaminants were conducted. Based on the test data, the influence of chemical components and their solubility on equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD) and insulator flashover performance were analysed; and the electrical properties of different types of insulators were compared. Results show that the ESDD contribution rate changes with chemical components. The dissolution characteristic has a significant influence on the measurement of ESDD; slightly soluble contaminants need to be considered separately. The corresponding insulator flashover gradient for ions can be summarised as Cl^−

Through spatial electric field monitoring, it is expected to realize insulator pollution condition monitoring and contamination flashover warning in a non-contact way. Therefore, in this paper, the spatial electric field distribution characteristics of 110 kV composite insulators are simulated, where the effects of different surface states and their discharge levels on the spatial electric field of insulators are analyzed. On this basis, a non-contact monitoring method for composite insulator pollution based on the spatial electric field is proposed. The results show that there are significant differences in the spatial electric field of the composite insulator among three conditions, namely cleaning, pollution layer wetting, and dry band arcing. Increases of pollution layer wetting and dry band arcing would lead to an increase of the amplitude of the spatial electric field of the insulator. Verification experiments well indicated that it is feasible to identify the degree of pollution layer wetting as well as dry band arcing of the insulator string by fixed-point monitoring, the spatial electric field signal at the cross-strand of d = 0.5 m and directly opposite the last three positions. Research results can provide references for the online monitoring of overhead line polluted insulators and its flashover warning.

Pollution-induced flashover is one of the most serious power accidents, and the pollution degree of insulators depends on atmospheric environmental parameters. The pollution models used in the power system research are usually static, but the environmental parameters are dynamic. Therefore, the study on the dynamic pollution prediction model is of great importance. In this paper, the dynamic pollution prediction model of insulators based on atmospheric environmental parameters was built, and insulators’ structure coefficients were proposed based on the model. Firstly, the insulator dynamic pollution model based on meteorological data (PM2.5, PM10, TSP (total suspended particulate), and wind speed) was proposed, and natural pollution tests were also conducted as verification tests. Furthermore, insulator structure coefficients c1, c2 (c1: pollution ratio of U210BP/170 to XP-160; c2: calculated pollution ratio of U210BP/170T to XP-160) were then obtained, and their influence factors were discussed. At last, insulator structure coefficients were calculated, and it can be seen that the calculated error of insulator structure coefficients was acceptable, with the average re (relative errors) at 9.0% (c1) and 13.5% (c2), which verifies the feasibility of the model. Based on the results in this paper, the NSDD (non-soluble deposit density) of insulators with different structures can be obtained using the insulators’ structure coefficient and the reference XP-160 insulator’s NSDD.

In recent years, the performances of rubber composite insulators, which operate in the coastal foggy regions, have attracted researchers’ concern because of the observation of their degradation. In this paper, salt-fog experiments with DC test voltage of high-temperature vulcanized (HTV) silicone rubber (SR) have been conducted. The electrical strength and material performances of samples with salt-fog treatment were focused on. The DC flashover voltage, hydrophobicity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and dielectric parameter were investigated. It was found that the samples’ performances deteriorated after salt-fog treatment. The DC flashover voltage of HTV SR decreased in the salt-fog environment. The hydrophobicity of the material deteriorated and the static contact angle (CA) became small. Under the action of electric and thermal stress, the surface of samples after salt-fog treatment became rough and porous. The absorption peak of the hydrophobic groups decreased, indicating that the molecular chain of SR material was broken, and the filler was consumed, bringing down the arc resistance of the sample. The absorption of moisture further led to insulation performance loss and then reduced the electrical strength of the material. Degradation of physicochemical properties will eventually lead to a decline in electrical strength.

Currently, it is founded that under unidirectional wind and certain landform, composite insulators are always fan-shaped non-uniformly polluted. In this paper, artificial pollution tests on three types of composite insulators with different shed configurations and under various fan-shaped non-uniform pollution conditions were carried out. Then the flashover performances of composite insulators, porcelain insulators and glass insulators were compared. Results indicate that there is a big difference between ac flashover performance of composite insulators under non-uninform pollution and uninform pollution. The flashover voltage of composite insulator is largely influenced by salt deposit density (SDD), the ratio of SDD of windward side to leeward side (W/L), the occupation ratio of leeward side k and the shed configurations. The relationship between SDD and U(50) still meets negative power function when composite insulator is fan-shaped non-uninform polluted. There is a reduction of 17.8–27.6% in the flashover strength when the ratio W/L of SDD decreases from 1/1 to 1/15. The shed configurations of composite insulators have great effects on the flashover performance. Composite insulators always have better withstand property compared to glass and porcelain insulators under either uniform pollution or fan-shaped non-uniform pollution.

Under dc electric field, pollution may be more easily deposited around insulator string caps and pins, distributing non-uniformly on its inner and outer parts, and presenting ring-like shape. dc Flashover tests of 7-unit XHP-160 insulator string were carried out. During the tests, the ring-shaped non-uniform pollution was simulated using solid-layer method by changing the ratio I/O of inner-to-outer surface salt deposit density (SDD) and radius (r) of the heavily polluted area (the inner part). On the basis of the test data, the effects of ring-shaped non-uniform pollution on dc flashover characteristics were studied. Then, the relative variation trend of flashover voltage, surface pollution layer resistance, and leakage current were discussed. Research results show that the ratio I/O affects the dc flashover performance of the insulator string. The flashover voltage increases with the increase of I/O. With the increase of the radius r, the flashover voltage will increase at first and then decrease. Under ring-shaped non-uniform pollution, surface pollution layer resistance of insulator will increase, which results in lower leakage current and higher flashover voltage. The results will be of certain value in providing references for outdoor insulation selection.

Salt stress causes significant reductions in rice production worldwide; thus, improving salt tolerance is a promising approach to meet the increasing food demand. Wild rice germplasm is considered a valuable genetic resource for improving rice cultivars. However, information regarding the improvement of salt tolerance in cultivated rice using wild rice genes is limited. In this study, we identified a salt-tolerant line Dongxiang/Ningjing 15 (DJ15) under salt-stress field conditions from the population of a salt tolerant Dongxiang wild rice × a cultivated rice variety Ningjing16 (NJ16). Genomic resequencing analysis of NJ16, DJ15 and Dongxiang wild rice revealed that the introgressed genomic fragments were unevenly distributed over the 12 chromosomes (Chr.) and mainly identified on Chr. 6, 7, 10, and 11. Using quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, we found 9 QTL for salt tolerance (qST) at the seedling stage located on Chr. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10. In addition, sequence variant analysis within the QTL regions demonstrated that SKC1/HKT8/HKT1;5 and HAK6 transporters along with numerous transcriptional factors were the candidate genes for the salt tolerant QTL. The DJ15/Koshihikari recombinant inbred lines that contained both qST1.2 and qST6, two QTL with the highest effect for salt tolerance, were more tolerant than the parental lines under salt-stress field conditions. Furthermore, the qST6 near-isogenic lines with IR29 background were more tolerant than IR29, indicating that qST1.2 and qST6 could improve salt tolerance in rice. Overall, our study indicates that wild rice genes could markedly improve the salt tolerance of cultivated rice.

DC flashover performance of ice-covered composite insulators with a parallel air gap (CI/PAG) is an important technical consideration when such insulators are used to isolate ground wires for the purpose of DC ice-melting. Tests on tension and suspension types of CI/PAG were thus carried out in the artificial climate chamber to investigate their DC icing flashover performance. The influences of parallel air gap, ice thickness, pollution severity and air pressure on DC negative 50% flashover voltage (U50%) of CI/PAG were investigated. Test results show that the parallel air gap affected both the discharge path and U50%. With increasing ice thickness, U50% declined by up to 52%; this effect was more evident when the breakdown occurred in the air gap. The pollution severity affected U50% only when the flashover happened along insulator surface. With a decrease of atmospheric pressure, U50% decreased. U50% and the ratio of air pressure were in a power function relationship with a positive characteristic exponent which was relevant to the discharge path.

Rice is an important monocotyledonous crop worldwide; it differs from the dicotyledonous plant Arabidopsis in many aspects. In Arabidopsis, ethylene and auxin act synergistically to regulate root growth and development. However, their interaction in rice is still unclear. Here, we report that the transcriptional activation of OsEIL1 on the expression of YUC8/REIN7 and indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA)-dependent auxin biosynthesis is required for ethylene-inhibited root elongation. Using an inhibitor of YUC activity, which regulates auxin biosynthesis via the conversion of IPA to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), we showed that ethylene-inhibited primary root elongation is dependent on YUC-based auxin biosynthesis. By screening phenotypes of seedling primary root from mutagenesis libraries following ethylene treatment, we identified a rice ethylene-insensitive mutant, rein7-1, in which YUC8/REIN7 is truncated at its C-terminus. Mutation in YUC8/REIN7 reduced auxin biosynthesis in rice, while YUC8/REIN7 overexpression enhanced ethylene sensitivity in the roots. Moreover, YUC8/REIN7 catalyzed the conversion of IPA to IAA, truncated version at C-terminal end of the YUC8/REIN7 resulted in significant reduction of enzymatic activity, indicating that YUC8/REIN7 is required for IPA-dependent auxin biosynthesis and ethylene-inhibited root elongation in rice early seedlings. Further investigations indicated that ethylene induced YUC8/REIN7 expression and promoted auxin accumulation in roots. Addition of low concentrations of IAA rescued the ethylene response in the rein7-1, strongly demonstrating that ethylene-inhibited root elongation depends on IPA-dependent auxin biosynthesis. Genetic studies revealed that YUC8/REIN7-mediated auxin biosynthesis functioned downstream of OsEIL1, which directly activated the expression of YUC8/REIN7. Thus, our findings reveal a model of interaction between ethylene and auxin in rice seedling primary root elongation, enhancing our understanding of ethylene signaling in rice.

In this paper, composite insulators of the same batch from Factory A, aged for 1−12 years in a high altitude area experimental station of Hunan province, were sampled. In order to investigate the changing law of lifespan prediction parameters with aging time, widely accepted testing methods, such as the static contact angle (CA) and hardness, were employed for composite insulators in accordance with previous research. Based on test results, lifespan prediction parameters were concluded and some parameters significantly correlated with aging time were filtered by means of correlation calculation. On this basis, a prediction method which can be used to determine the aging time of composite insulators was proposed based on a back propagation (BP) neural network. Test results indicate that parameters, including the static contact angle (θav), the relative content of Si (XSi) and O (XO) elements, and salt-fog flashover voltage (Uf), have significant correlation with aging time, and that these parameters can be used to evaluate the aging degree of composite insulators. In addition, due to the high accuracy in experimental verification, the method proposed in this paper can be used to predict the aging time of composite insulators from Factory A in high altitude areas in future research.

Experience shows that under unidirectional wind or certain terrain, the surface of post insulators is non-uniformly polluted between windward and leeward sides, which affects the flashover characteristics. In this paper, a formulation of residual pollution layer resistance was proposed under this non-uniformity and a typical post insulator was taken as an example to analyze and calculate its residual resistance. The theoretical resistance was verified by numerical simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics. The proposed resistance formulation was then implemented in a DC flashover dynamic model to determine the flashover voltage (Ucal), which was validated by artificial flashover tests. Then the factors affecting DC flashover voltage were analyzed. Research results indicate that: the residual resistance formulation agrees well with simulation results, especially when the arc length exceeds 70% of the leakage distance. The good concordance between theoretical and experimental flashover voltages with most relative error within ±10%, validates the flashover model and its residual resistance formulation. Ucal gets impaired under this non-uniformity. The degree of reduction is related to salt deposit density ratio (m) of windward to leeward side and leeward side area proportion (k).