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This paper puts forward an improved multi-objective bacterial colony chemotaxis (MOBCC) algorithm based on Pareto dominance. A time-varying step size tactic is adopted to increase the global and local searching abilities of the improved MOBCC algorithm. An external archive is created to keep previously found Pareto optimal solutions. A non-dominated sorting method integrating crowding distance assignment is applied to enhance the time efficiency of the improved MOBCC algorithm. A hybrid method combining bacterial individual mutation, oriented mutation of bacterial colony and local search of external archive is applied to enhance the convergence of the algorithm and maintain the diversity of solution set. The framework of MOEAs based on Pareto dominance is integrated into the improved MOBCC algorithm properly through replacements of the bacterial individuals in the bacterial colony, archive operation, and updating of the bacterial colony. The improved MOBCC algorithm is compared with three common multi-objective optimization algorithms SPEA2, NSGA-II and MOEA/D on fifteen test problems and evolution of optimization, and the experimental results confirm the validity of the improved MOBCC algorithm. Furthermore, the effects of the improved MOBCC algorithm’s parameters on the performance of the improved MOBCC algorithm are analyzed.

In this paper, a highly efficient dual-band transmitarray antenna using cross and square rings elements is presented for X and Ku bands. The dual-band transmitarray is designed for downlink/uplink frequencies of Ku band satellite communications. The transmitarray element consists of four metal patches and two dielectric substrates. The metal patch is printed on both sides of the substrate. By optimizing the parameters, the transmitarray element can achieve a transmission phase coverage greater than 360° and work independently in both frequency bands. Then, a method to select the size of the element is proposed, so that all the elements in the array can realize the transmission phase of the two frequencies as much as possible. A 201-elements transmitarray antenna is fabricated and measured and the band ratio of the antenna is 1.13. The measured maximum gain at 11.5 GHz is 22.4 dB, corresponding to the aperture efficiency is 52.7%. The measured maximum gain at 13 GHz is 24.2 dB, corresponding to the aperture efficiency is 62.4%. The 1-dB gain bandwidths are 9.7% (10.8-11.9 GHz) at X band and 9% (12.6-13.8 GHz) at Ku band.

In this work, we report a method to enlarge the trapezoidal cantilever-based harvester power by using the high-performance Sc0.2Al0.8N/aluminum nitride (AlN) composite film and introducing symmetrical corners to both sides of the beam. Energy harvesters with variable beam structure and piezoelectric film are designed and evaluated by simulations and experiments. The trapezoid with corners (TWCs) cantilever is verified to improve the output power by a factor of five times when compared with the conventional trapezoidal cantilever without corners. The maximum power density of the ScAlN/AlN-based TWC cantilever harvester is about twice that of the AlN-based harvester, reaching 2.054 mW $\cdot \text{g}^{-2}\cdot $ cm−3 at a frequency of 330.25 Hz. The optimization of piezoelectric film and structure can give an inspiration for further improving the performance of cantilever-based energy harvesters.

Background Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is associated with an increased number of neonatal complications, but its impact on neonatal metabolism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the differential metabolomics of infants born to mothers with and without PIH. Methods Blood samples of a total of 115 infants born to mothers with (n=56) and without (n=59) PIH were collected and assigned to two groups, respectively, from the neonatal department of Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. A tandem mass spectrometer was used to generate metabolic profiling of amino acid, free carnitine, and acyl-carnitines. The resulting data were analyzed using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis based on the difference between infants born to mothers with or without PIH. Results A significant relationship was observed between the two groups (with and without PIH) in the metabolic fingerprint. According to the pattern recognition analysis combined with variance importance, 25 metabolites with high importance were found. The top ten substances were selected for analysis. Compared with infants born to mothers without PIH, glycine levels increased, and C14DC, C22, C4DC, C5:1, C6DC, C5-OH, proline, C14-OH, and C20 decreased in infants born to mothers with PIH. Conclusions Using liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS metabolomics, a significant relationship was detected between neonatal metabolism and maternal hypertension. It is important to correct the subsequent infantile metabolic disorder by balancing the biomarker metabolites and suppling adequate nutrition to improve the health and growth of newborns of PIH mothers.

Over the past decade, ultraviolet (UV) detection has been a subject of major interest for both research scientists and engineers because of its important applications in both the civil and military fields. The rapid development of interdisciplinary research has enabled the realization of UV detectors based on a variety of principles. Among these devices, UV detectors based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology offer unique advantages of remote wireless operation capability and zero power consumption. This article provides a comprehensive review of the working principles, important parameters, and the acoustic wave and materials types used in SAW-based UV detectors. The research and development status of these detectors are discussed and the most commonly used methods to optimize device performance are also summarized. Novel types of acoustic UV detectors based on thin film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs) and Lamb wave resonators (LMRs) are briefly introduced. Finally, future development challenges are proposed and suggestions for future directions are provided to aid the development of this important research field.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe gastrointestinal disease affecting premature infants. Mounting evidence supports the therapeutic effect of melatonin on NEC, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: NEC was induced in 10-day-old C57BL/6 pups via hypoxia and gavage feeding of formula containing enteric bacteria, and then, mice received melatonin, melatonin + recombinant IL-17, melatonin + anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody, melatonin + Ex-527, or melatonin + Compound C treatment. Control mice were left with their dams to breastfeed and vehicle-treated NEC pups were used as controls for treatment. Ileal tissues were collected from mice and analyzed by histopathology, immunoblotting, and flow cytometry. FITC-labeled dextran was administered to all surviving pups to evaluate gut barrier function by fluorometry. We used molecular biology and cell culture approaches to study the related mechanisms in CD4+ T cells from umbilical cord blood. Results: We demonstrated that melatonin treatment ameliorates disease in an NEC mouse model in a manner dependent on improved intestinal Th17/Treg balance. We also showed that melatonin blocks the differentiation of pathogenic Th17 cells and augments the generation of protective Treg cells in vitro. We further demonstrated that the Th17/Treg balance is influenced by melatonin through activation of AMPK in the intestine, in turn promoting SIRT1 activation and stabilization. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that melatonin-induced activation of AMPK/SIRT1 signaling regulates the balance between Th17 and Treg cells and that therapeutic strategies targeting the Th17/Treg balance via the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway might be beneficial for the treatment of NEC.

The cyclopentadithiophene (CPT) unit is a classic building block for constructing organic semiconductor materials with excellent performances. In this work, we designed and synthesized a new acceptor BCPT-4F, incorporating a CPT fused central backbone. BCPT-4F shows a redshift absorption in the near-infrared region compared with CPT based acceptors with an unfused backbone. Importantly, the photovoltaic device based on PBDB-T:BCPT-4F achieved a promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.43% with a high short circuit current density (Jsc) of 22.96 mA cm−2. Furthermore, based on the above binary device, a ternary device with F-Br as the third component achieved a high PCE of 14.23%, which is presently the highest efficiency for devices with CPT based photovoltaic materials.

With the increasing growth of gas-fired units and power-to-gas facilities, the power system and natural gas system become an integrated electricity and natural gas system (IENGS), which brings new opportunities to mitigate the associated environmental issues and deal with various uncertainties from electricity load, renewable energy generation, and gas load. Different geographical locations may have many IENGSs which are connected by electric or gas transmission lines, thus formulating multi-area IENGSs. These multi-area IENGSs are not simple addition of individual IENGSs, since renewable energy may distribute unequally between different IENGSs, and excess renewable energy needs to be transmitted from one area to another, but is limited by potential tie-line congestions. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an economic dispatch model for multi-area IENGSs considering tie-line congestion, maximum allowable emission bounds and hourly spinning reserve constraints. The considered multi-area IENGS consists of multiple single-area IENGSs, among which wind energy distribution varies considerably. The maximum allowable emission bounds of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxygen are separately set based on their different influences on the environment. The hourly spinning reserves are allocated for both the power system and the natural gas system, which are provided by fossil fuel-fired units, power-to-gas facilities, gas pipelines, and natural gas storage facilities. After that, the presented model is converted into a mixed-integer linear programming problem for higher computing efficiency. Case studies for integrated systems are analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.

The microcontroller smart planter project has an intelligent watering system which is based on a microcontroller programmed to adjust the upper and lower soil moisture limits, detection functions and so on. It also enables the acquisition, setting and comparison of data signals. In this paper, we discuss the microcontroller-based intelligent flowerpot project, the Flower “Dock”, to understand the purpose, significance and basic conditions of the project, and focus on the design of the microcontroller-based intelligent flowerpot project.

This paper presents a ring-shaped Lamb wave resonator based 300 nm-thick Z-cut LiNbO 3 thin film. The proposed structure applied the alternative voltage along both the x and y direction by arranging ring-shaped electrodes, thus exciting the two-dimensional Lamb waves by utilizing both the e 24 and e 15 piezoelectric constants. The measured impedance results show first order asymmetric mode (A 1 ) mode resonance above 6 GHz with effective electromechanical coupling coefficient (K2 eff ) of 8.91%, and third order asymmetric mode (A 3 ) mode resonance above 17 GHz with K2 eff of 1.77%. In the meanwhile, the proposed structure realized a static capacitance (Co) of 0.13 pF within an active region area at 200×200 µm2, which has great potential for 50 Ω impedance match within a miniature size applied in super high frequency, spurious modes free RF front-ends filters.

Due to the increasing demand of higher frequencies for RF front end technologies, mainly for 5G smartphones, there is a need to develop filters for higher frequencies and large bandwidths. One of the promising candidates for satisfying those demands is the recently emerged laterally-excited bulk acoustic wave resonators. In this study, we aim to realize a resonator operating at 6 GHz based on the first-order antisymmetric (A1) mode utilizing Z-cut LiNbO3 thin films and square spiral electrodes.

In this paper, we demonstrate a first-order antisymmetric (A1) mode z-cut LiNbO 3 thin film resonator with arc shaped electrode. Arc shaped electrodes are only adopted on the top of the LiNbO 3 thin film piezoelectric material, and the positive and negative voltage is applied alternately to excite A1 mode in the piezoelectric layer. Some parametric finite element simulations are also presented in this paper. We simulated and fabricated the resonators operating at 6 GHz with an electromechanical coupling coefficient ( $K^{2}{_{eff}}$ ) of 17.97% and extracted quality factor (Q) of 975. This achievement provides a potential solution to satisfy the needs of high frequency and large bandwidth.

State-of-the-art adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) presents important limitations, such as small field-of-view (FOV) and require complex, cumbersome hardware, preventing wide clinical deployment. Here, we introduce adaptive-glasses full-field OCT (FFOCT), a compact retinal imaging system allying high resolution, high frame rate (300Hz) and 5° FOV (footprint: 50 cm × 30 cm).

Existing researches verify Porter hypothesis mainly through one of its core establishment paths, innovation compensation, but ignore the other one, first-mover advantage. To further clarify the mechanism of Porter hypothesis, this paper considers both paths and further distinguishes between environmental R&D and non-environmental R&D. Based on the principle of the smooth transition of "charge to tax" in China, this paper, taking Chinese A-share listed companies that have disclosed environmental R&D from 2008 to 2017 as sample and predicting environmental tax by pollution charge, analyses the relationship between environmental tax and firm performance and the transmission mechanism between them. Our results show that environmental tax can improve firm performance and this influence remains in long term. After introducing instrument variable (IV) to deal with endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness tests, we find that the relationship between environmental tax and firm performance is robust causality. Furthermore, using mediating effect model to analyse the transmission mechanism, we prove that environmental tax can affect firm performance through innovation compensation and first-mover advantage, which confirms the two core paths of Porter hypothesis. This study reveals the micro mechanism of environmental tax on firm performance, provides evidence from China to support strong Porter hypothesis, and helps guide environmental tax reform and corporate green strategy management.

Introduction: Carnitine–acylcarnitine translocase deficiency (CACTD) is a rare and life-threatening autosomal recessive disorder of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation caused by variation of the Solute carrier family 25 member 20 (SLC25A20) gene. Carnitine–acylcarnitine translocase is one of the crucial transport proteins in the oxidation process of mitochondrial fatty acids. In Asia, the c.199-10T>G splice site variation is the most frequently reported variant of SLC25A20. Patients with CACTD with c.199-10T>G variation usually present with a severe clinical phenotype.Materials and Methods: Herein, we report a neonatal case of late-onset CACTD in mainland China. Symptoms emerged 61 days after birth; the patient presented with a severe metabolic crisis, and her clinical condition rapidly deteriorated, and she died of respiratory insufficiency and cardiac arrest at 61 days. We present the clinical and biochemical features of this patient and briefly review previously reported CACTD cases with c.199-10T>G variation.Results: Acylcarnitine profiling by tandem mass spectrometry and high-throughput sequencing revealed that our patient was homozygous for the c.199-10T>G variation, confirming the diagnosis of CACTD. Histopathologic analysis of the liver by Prussian blue staining showed focal iron deposition in hepatocytes, and electron microscopy analysis revealed a large number of lipid droplet vacuoles in diffusely distributed hepatocytes.Conclusion: The development of CACTD in our patient 61 days after birth is the latest reported onset for CACTD with SLC25A20 c.199-10T>G variation. Early recognition of symptoms and timely and appropriate treatment are critical for improving the outcome of this highly lethal disorder. Death from late-onset CACTD may be caused by the accumulation of long-chain fatty acids as well as iron deposition in the heart leading to heart failure.

With the rapid commercialization of fifth generation (5G) technology in the world, the market demand for radio frequency (RF) filters continues to grow. Acoustic wave technology has been attracting great attention as one of the effective solutions for achieving high-performance RF filter operations while offering low cost and small device size. Compared with surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators have more potential in fabricating high- quality RF filters because of their lower insertion loss and better selectivity in the middle and high frequency bands above 2.5 GHz. Here, we provide a comprehensive review about BAW resonator researches, including materials, structure designs, and characteristics. The basic principles and details of recently proposed BAW resonators are carefully investigated. The materials of poly-crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN), single crystal AlN, doped AlN, and electrode are also analyzed and compared. Common approaches to enhance the performance of BAW resonators, suppression of spurious mode, low temperature sensitivity, and tuning ability are introduced with discussions and suggestions for further improvement. Finally, by looking into the challenges of high frequency, wide bandwidth, miniaturization, and high power level, we provide clues to specific materials, structure designs, and RF integration technologies for BAW resonators.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to perform gene detection in 2 clinical cases of highly suspected ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) pediatric patients by first-generation sequencing technology in order to confirm the pathogenic genetic factors of their families and allow the families to undergo genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The peripheral DNA samples of 2 children with highly suspected OTCD (the probands) and their parents were collected. DNA fragments corresponding to exons 1-10 of the OTC gene from the samples were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and then subjected to Sanger sequencing to confirm the pathogenic mutation sites. RESULTS The probands were both confirmed to have OTCD. The proband in Family 1 was a male carrying a c.867+1G>C mutation at a splice site within the OTC gene. The gene detection results of amniotic fluid cells at 16 weeks of pregnancy showed that the fetus was a male who also carried the c.867+1G>C mutation. The proband in Family 2 was a male carrying a c.782T>C(p. I261T) mutation in the OTC gene. The gene detection results of amniotic fluid cells at 18 weeks showed that the fetus was a male without pathogenic mutations in the OTC gene. The gene detection results of peripheral blood from the fetus after birth were consistent with those obtained from amniotic fluid cells. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric children who are clinically suspected of OTCD can receive a definitive diagnosis through OTC gene detection.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of knee joint pain treated with scraping combined with collateral bloodletting therapy in comparison with the routine acupuncture techniques. Methods From March 2017 through to September 2017, 60 outpatients of knee joint pain were collected from the Acupuncture-Moxibustion Department. They were randomly divided into the group A (treated with scraping combined with collateral bloodletting therapy) and the group B (treated with the simple needling therapy of acupuncture), 30 cases in each one. Once treatment was given every day and 10 times consist of one course, two courses of treatment were required. At the end of treatment, the visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted to evaluate the pain index, tenderness index and the overall effect of the patients in the two groups. Based on the Lysholm knee scale, the scores were compared in the patients of the two groups before and after treatment. Results The total effective rate was 96.7% in the group A and was 86.7% in the group B, indicating the significant difference (P Conclusion The scraping combined with collateral bloodletting therapy is significant in the efficacy on knee joint pain and feasible in the clinical guidance.

In this article, a ship maneuverability based collision avoidance dynamic support system in close-quarters situation is presented. The dynamic calculation model of collision avoidance parameter is employed to calculate the dynamic DCPA and TCPA in real-time when ship is maneuvering. Then the collision avoidance dynamic support system is developed by combining the mathematical model of ship maneuvering motion, the control mechanism of ship maneuvering motion and the dynamic calculation model of collision avoidance parameter. Following this approach, the proposed system is able to eliminate the insufficiency of neglect of ship maneuverability in the process of avoiding collision. Moreover, by incorporating the close-quarters situation into the proposed collision avoidance dynamic support system, simulation examples consisting three encounter scenarios of two ships in close-quarters situation are applied to demonstrate the significance and necessity of ship maneuverability in the process of collision avoidance and illustrate the merits and effectiveness of the proposed system. The simulation results show that the proposed dynamic support system is a reasonable, effective and practicable system for collision avoidance, particularly in close-quarters situation.

Singular beams which possess helical phase wavefront or spatially inhomogeneous polarization provide new freedom for optical field manipulation. However, conventional schemes to produce the singular beams have difficulty in realizing the flexible switch between different singular beams. In this work, we have experimentally demonstrated the capability of dielectric metasurfaces to generate three types of singular beams and switch between them at working wavelength of 1550 nm. We have shown vortex beam and cylindrical vector beam generation with single metasurface and cylindrical vector vortex beam generation with two cascaded metasurfaces. Moreover, experimental demonstration on switching cylindrical vector beam into vortex beam has also been done by combining one quarter-wave plate and a Glan laser polarizer. The experimental results match well with the analysis from the Jones matrix calculations. The average conversion efficiency of cylindrical vector beam to vortex beam was estimated to be 47.7%, which was about 2.3% lower than the theoretical prediction.

Beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are very helpful in enhancing the information carrying capacity in free-space optical communications. However, atmospheric turbulence and energy attenuation will seriously affect communication quality and signal transmissions. Here, a novel coherent separation detection technology for OAM mode division multiplexing is proposed, and numerical simulation work is conducted. With the proposed structure, two light beams with different OAM states, each encoded with 16-quadrature-amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency-modulated (QAM-OFDM) signals, can be demultiplexed and allow two orders of magnitude bit error rate (BER) lower than direct separation detection. Moreover, we show the scalability of multiplexing four OAM beams, achieving a 20 m free-space transmission with BER below 3.8 × 10–3 for all channels at signal-noise ratio (SNR) 18 dB. Our results show that coherent separation detection has excellent antinoise performance and can effectively extend the communication distance. It also paves the way for entirely new coherent optical OAM communications.

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr1−xNb1−yO3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials., Conventional plasmons in metals often suffer from high plasmonic loss in the optical range. Here, the authors report a distinct form of tunable correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating Sr1−x NbO3+δ films, with multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range.

Black phosphorus (BP), a new two-dimensional (2D) material, has been deeply developed for extensive applications in electronics and optoelectronics due to its similar physical structure to graphene and thickness dependent direct band gap. Here, we demonstrated a submicrosecond passive Q-switching Er-doped fiber laser with BP as saturable absorber (SA). The BP saturable absorber was fabricated by mechanical exfoliation method. By taking full advantage of the ultrafast relaxation time of BP-SA and careful design of compact ring cavity, we obtained stable Q-switching pulses output with a shortest duration as narrow as 742 ns. With increasing the pump power, the pulse repetition rate accreted gradually almost linearly from 9.78 to 61.25 kHz, and the pulse duration declined rapidly at lower pump power regime and retained approximate stationary at higher pump power regime from 3.05 to 0.742 μs. The experimental results indicate that BP-SA can be an effective SA for nanosecond Q-switching pulse generation.

By using optical heterodyne technique, we demonstrated the stable emission of sub-terahertz wave with the frequency ranging from 88 GHz to 101 GHz, which can operate as microwave source for nonlinear response measurement system. Mutual frequency beating of two well-separated sideband signals at a 0.1 THz photo-detector (PD) allows for the generation of sub-terahertz signal. Based on this approach, we have achieved the radiation of 0.1 THz wave with power up to 4 mW. By transmittance measurement, two-dimensional nanomaterial topological insulator (TI: Bi2Te3) shows saturable absorption behaviors with normalized modulation depth of 47% at 0.1 THz. Our results show that optical heterodyne technique could be developed as an effective microwave source generation for nonlinear measurement at sub-terahertz, even terahertz band.

Phase transitions in halide perovskites triggered by external stimuli generate significantly different material properties, providing a great opportunity for broad applications. Here, we demonstrate an In-based, charge-ordered (In + /In 3+ ) inorganic halide perovskite with the composition of Cs 2 In(I)In(III)Cl 6 in which a pressure-driven semiconductor-to-metal phase transition exists. The single crystals, synthesized via a solid-state reaction method, crystallize in a distorted perovskite structure with space group I 4/ m with a = 17.2604(12) Å, c = 11.0113(16) Å if both the strong reflections and superstructures are considered. The supercell was further confirmed by rotation electron diffraction measurement. The pressure-induced semiconductor-to-metal phase transition was demonstrated by high-pressure Raman and absorbance spectroscopies and was consistent with theoretical modeling. This type of charge-ordered inorganic halide perovskite with a pressure-induced semiconductor-to-metal phase transition may inspire a range of potential applications.

BACKGROUND: Increased frequency of CCR9(+) CD4(+) T cells in peripheral blood is linked to several gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases; however, its relationship with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is not understood. We investigated whether the frequencies of CCR9(+) CD4(+) T cells and related subsets were increased in peripheral blood of both patients and mice with NEC. METHODS: CCR9(+) CD4(+) T cells and related subsets were evaluated by flow cytometry in peripheral blood collected from both patients and mice with NEC and controls. The suppressive function of CCR9(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells in NEC was assessed via in vitro suppression assay. An in vitro T cell polarization assay was performed to investigate the role of proinflammatory cytokines in Treg cell polarization. In vivo Treg cell polarization analysis was performed using NEC mice treated with anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antibody. FINDINGS: A higher proportion of CCR9(+) CD4(+) T cells occurred in peripheral blood of both patients and mice with NEC than in controls. Elevated CCR9(+) CD4(+) T cells were primarily CCR9(+) IL-17-producing Treg cells, possessing features of conventional Treg cells, but their suppressive activity was seriously impaired and negatively correlated with the severity of intestinal tissue injury. IL-6 promoted polarization of CCR9(+) Treg cells to CCR9(+) IL-17-producing Treg cells, and blocking IL-6 signalling inhibited this conversion in vitro and ameliorated experimental NEC in vivo. INTERPRETATION: Collectively, these data suggested that CCR9(+) IL-17-producing Treg cells may be a biomarker of severity and highlight the possibility that antibodies targeting IL-6R could ameliorate NEC by modulating lymphocyte balance. FUND: This work was supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (2017A020215100), the Science and Technology Foundation of Guangzhou, China (201704020086 and 201604020154), the Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (A2017304 and A2014704), and the Social Science and Technology Development Foundation of Dongguan, China (2016108101037).

Background Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder involving the metabolism of organic acids. Methods Here, we report the case of a patient who developed acute metabolic crisis after vaccination and was diagnosed with cblA type MMA after hospitalization. Results Further examination revealed a homozygous pathogenic variant in the MMAA gene that caused the disease in the patient but did not conform to Mendelian inheritance. Using chromosomal microarray analysis, maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) was found on chromosome 4q26‐q35.2 of the patient. The MMAA gene of the patient was inherited only from the mother and carried the same pathogenic variant on both alleles of chromosome 4. MMAA gene expression levels in whole blood were detected by real‐time PCR. Conclusion The nonsense pathogenic variant, NM_172250.2:c.742C>T (p.Gln248*), carried by the patient leads to a premature termination of transcription of the gene, thereby resulting in partial loss of protein function while retaining some others. Segmental UPD 4 is rare, and to our knowledge, has not been reported previously., We report a case that developed acute metabolic crisis after vaccination, and was diagnosed with cblA‐type of methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) after hospitalization. Using chromosomal microarray analysis, maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) was found in chromosome 4q26‐q35.2 of the patient. MMA due to UPD 4 had not been reported earlier.

As the research topics and specialties of the Information Schools (iSchool) have always been evolving, the new trends in research are emerging constantly. Whether the evolution of iSchool is still pursuing its vision and focusing on specific tracks of the information, technology and people deserves to be investigated. In this paper, the literatures published on 86 Information Science and Library Science journals, included in the Social Sciences Citation Index database of Web of Science between 2006 and 2015 are selected as the dataset. A co-word analysis is conducted to study the research topics of iSchool first. Then, combined with temporal and longitudinal information from literatures, under the help of Citespace, we identify the evolution of each topic. Based on the knowledge evolution, we reveal that the information is the primary line of all topics in the studied period. Technology helps create innovative information systems and designs information solutions to promote the evolution of iSchool, and the evolution of iSchool aims to maximize the potential of humans. In such a comprehensive way of exploring iSchool, a clear identity about iSchool vision is not only can be made, an effective research framework and a reliable reference for real-time tracking research is also provided.

Microelectromechanical (MEMS) piezoelectric accelerometers are diversely used in consumer electronics and handheld devices due to their low power consumption as well as simple reading circuit and good dynamic performance. In this paper, a tri-axial piezoelectric accelerometer with folded beams is presented. The four beam suspensions are located at two sides of the mass aligned with edges of the mass, and the thickness of the beams is the same as the thickness of the mass block. In order to realize the multi-axis detection, a total of 16 sensing elements are distributed at the end of the folded beams. The structural deformations, stress distribution, and output characteristics due to the acceleration in x-, y-, and z-axis directions are theoretically analyzed and simulated. The proposed accelerometer is fabricated by MEMS processes to form Mo/AlN/ScAlN/Mo piezoelectric stacks as the sensing layer. Experiments show that the charge sensitivity along the x-, y-, and z-axes could reach up to ~1.07 pC/g, ~0.66 pC/g, and ~3.35 pC/g. The new structure can provide inspiration for the design of tri-axial piezoelectric accelerometers with great sensitivity and linearity.

Since that setting frequency signal as an agent can provide the distributed generations (DGs) with the opportunities to adaptively maintain supply and demand balance, a new energy management strategy with modified droop control for islanded microgrid containing photovoltaic (PV)/battery/fuel cell (FC)-eletrolyser is proposed in this study. Without the communication line or central supervisor, the three power sources operate in the mode that the PV units track and offer the maximum power in order to make full use of energy, the battery units regulate charging or discharging power based on the state of charge (SOC) and loads to guarantee balanced SOC, and the FC-eletrolyser unit working as the system backup supplies the deficient system energy or absorbs the redundant system energy for safe and stable operation. This strategy does not only enable the plug and play capability for the DGs with voltage control mode, but also make it possible to maintain autonomous energy optimising operation. Simulation and experimental results are given to verify the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed strategy.

Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a ubiquitously expressed protein kinase, which regulates cell fate in numerous injury conditions. Therefore, ASK1 may be a promising novel therapeutic target for injury. However, the expression and distribution of ASK1 in the perinatal brain following hypoxia-ischemia (HI) remains to be elucidated. In the present study, western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to determine the expression and distribution of ASK1 and any associated downstream targets in the perinatal rat brain following HI. NQDI‑1, a specific inhibitor of ASK1 was intracerebroventricularly injected following neonatal rats brain insult for neuroprotection. The results revealed an increased expression of ASK1 and this expression was localized to the neurons and astrocytes, compared with the sham controls. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the ASK1/ c‑Jun N‑terminal kinases (JNK) pathway was involved in the brain damage following HI in neonatal rats. Notably, NQDI‑1 significantly inhibited the in vivo expression levels of ASK1, phosphorylated (p‑)JNK, p‑c‑Jun, p53 and caspase 3. Reduced acute hypoxic‑ischemic cerebral injury and cell apoptosis was observed following the injection of NQDI‑1. Collectively, NQDI-1 attenuated acute perinatal hypoxic‑ischemic cerebral injury by inhibiting the expression of ASK1 and cell apoptosis. This may be a promising novel neuroprotective inhibitor for perinatal cerebra injury.

Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters have been extensively used in consumer products for mobile communication systems due to their high performance and a standard CMOS compatible integration process. However, a traditional BAW filter generally presents only one frequency transmission band; hence, it cannot meet the demands of multi-mode wireless communication systems. In this work, we propose a radio frequency dual-band filter based on a dual-mode film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). The dual-mode FBAR consists of molybdenum electrodes and an aluminum nitride film with a c axis tilt angle, which leads to the coexistence of the longitudinal mode and the shear mode in the resonator. The influence of the tilt angle on the resonant frequency and electromechanical coupling coefficient of the dual-mode FBAR is investigated. Subsequently, the behaviors of the dual-mode FBAR have been emulated by a modified Butterworth–Van Dyke model with two motional branches, which is further used to design and optimize the dual-band filter. The dual-mode FBAR-based filters connected in a ladder configuration present two dual passbands of 43 MHz and 105 MHz, respectively. The developed filters with dual passbands can give an inspiration to the design of BAW devices in modern wireless communications.

An acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) type small molecule acceptor ITOT-4Cl incorporating a dithienopyran (DTP) fused backbone, has been designed and synthesized. With the strong electron-donating capability of the backbone D unit, ITOT-4Cl shows a narrow band gap of 1.28 eV, and has an efficient absorption in near-infrared region up to 968 nm. The photovoltaic devices based on PBDB-T:ITOT-4Cl give a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.50%, with a high short circuit current density (Jsc) of 22.89 mA cm−2. With F–Br as the third component, the ternary organic solar cells device shows an enhanced PCE of 14.29% with an improved Jsc of 24.40 mA cm−2, which is among the best results for oxygen heterocycle fused nonfullerene acceptor based devices.

Wide bandgap two-dimensional semiconductors are of paramount importance for developing van der Waals heterostructure electronics. This work reports the use of layer and strain engineering to introduce the feasibility of two-dimensional hexagonal (h)-AlN to fill the scientific and application gap. We show that such one- to five-layer h-AlN has an indirect bandgap, tunable from 2.9 eV for a monolayer to ∼3.5 eV for multilayer structures, along with isotropic effective masses and carrier mobilities between zigzag and armchair directions. With an increase in the layer number to bulk AlN, the bandgap will experience a transition from an indirect gap to direct gap. Surprisingly, high room-temperature mobilities of electrons and holes (of the order of 1000 cm2 V−1 s−1) in a relaxed monolayer h-AlN system and widely adjustable effective masses and carrier mobilities in a different layer h-AlN are observed. In the presence of strain engineering, the bandgap decreases obviously with an increase in tensile strain; meanwhile, the isotropy and value of effective mass or carrier mobility in monolayer h-AlN can also be modulated effectively; the hole mobilities in the armchair direction, especially, will be enhanced dramatically. With a tunable bandgap, high carrier mobilities, and modifiable isotropy, our results indicate that few-layer h-AlN has potential applications in future mechano-electronic devices.

The design of the smart flowerpot is based on STC89C52 single-chip microcomputer, which uses photosensitivity and photoelectricity, that usually used in the environment detection sensor, to perform the real-time monitoring of flower growth, in order to maintain the environmental parameters suitable for flower growth inside the flowerpot, and guarantee a stable and healthy living environment for plants and evaluate the health status. The overall system adopts a modular design, and takes the measurement of soil temperature and humidity sensor module as an example for detailed design. The smart flowerpot has the advantages of simple and stable operation and convenient debugging.

In order to ensure the safe navigation of ships, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System was incorpo­rated into the Safety of Life at Sea regulations, and the amendment has already came into force. Became mandatory for compulsorily fitted craft, the system includes an important Maritime Safety Information Broadcasting System. Nowa­days, due to the lack of relevant norms, the seafarers in many sea areas still need to read and identify the theme of the messages artificially, with low efficiency and accuracy. To solve this problem, several machine learning based solutions have been presented and analyzed. However, a mathematically solidly founded naive Bayes classifier did now show its best during the previous research. Thus, the Bayes' Theorem based classifier is explored in detail. Navigational Talex dataset, with thousands of messages collected in navigational area VI from 2011 to 2016 are used, and naive Bayes classifiers with different event models, tokenization algorithms, and word bag sizes are compared in terms of accuracy, precision and recall rate, and F-Measure respectively. The chosen classifier performs well on the newest Navigational Talex messages.

In this paper, a novel rating based fuzzy analytic network process (F-ANP) model is proposed for the evaluation of ship maneuverability and the improvement of maneuverability standards. By incorporating the F-ANP technique into the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) maneuverability standards, the proposed model is able to solve the problem of mutual dependencies of the maneuvering factors inherent in the evaluation of ship maneuverability and the insufficiency of unreasonable weights of maneuvering factors assigned in current maneuverability standards. Following this model, the more synthesized and advanced evaluation process for ship maneuverability is achieved and the more reasonable weights for each maneuvering factor are assigned. The pairwise comparison matrices are formed by the expert team. To deal with the problem of ambiguity and vagueness, the index attribute values are fuzzied with triangular fuzzy number. Furthermore, the maneuvering data of three ships are applied to the case studies and discussions to illustrate the reasonableness, effectiveness and advantages of the proposed rating based F-ANP model by comparing with the common F-AHP model and current ABS standards. The comparative results are encouraging, and show that the proposed rating based F-ANP approach is a viable and effective tool for evaluation of ship maneuverability.

We present a novel method to generate fast switchable optical vortex by beam combining. Optical vortex is generated by the coherent superposition of Gaussian beams, and vortex mode switching is achieved by phase modulating each Gaussian beam with an electro-optic phase modulator (EOPM). We analyze the effects of different parameters on the combined optical vortex quality and use a spiral phase plate to measure the beam combining efficiency. The results show that the Gaussian beam waist radius, the beam-arrays, and the translation distance all have a substantial effect on the combined beam quality and combining efficiency, an efficiency of over 80% can be achieved by choosing parameters appropriately. And the rate of vortex mode switching can increase from ∼100Hz (traditional method) to ∼1GHz (EOPM).

Semiconductor compounds are widely used for photocatalytic hydrogen production applications, where photogenerated electron–hole pairs are exploited to induce catalysis. Recently, powders of a metallic oxide (Sr1−xNbO3, 0.03, Metallic oxide SrNbO3 has been identified as an efficient hydrogen evolution photocatalyst. Here, Venkatesan and co-workers show that its visible light absorption stems from plasmon resonance, thanks to its large carrier density (despite a large 4.1 eV bandgap), as opposed to from an interband transition.

This paper presents a neural network compensation strategy for the path tracking control of a spherical mobile robot BHQ-2 including a pendulum with two degrees of freedom. Based on our previous work, we propose a simplified method to decompose the dynamics model of BHQ-2 to be two sub-dynamics models. Applying the fuzzy guidance control method and a neural network compensation strategy, a path tracking controller for robot BHQ-2 is designed.

A Highway Intelligent Space System (HISS) is proposed to study vehicle environment perception in this paper. The nature of HISS is that a space sensors system using laser, ultrasonic or radar sensors are installed in a highway environment and communication technology is used to realize the information exchange between the HISS server and vehicles, which provides vehicles with the surrounding road information. Considering the high-speed feature of vehicles on highways, when vehicles will be passing a road ahead that is prone to accidents, the vehicle driving state should be predicted to ensure drivers have road environment perception information in advance, thereby ensuring vehicle driving safety and stability. In order to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the HISS, a traditional vehicle-mounted sensor system for environment perception is used to obtain the relative driving state. Furthermore, an inter-vehicle dynamics model is built and model predictive control approach is used to predict the driving state in the following period. Finally, the simulation results shows that using the HISS for environment perception can arrive at the same results detected by a traditional vehicle-mounted sensors system. Meanwhile, we can further draw the conclusion that using HISS to realize vehicle environment perception can ensure system stability, thereby demonstrating the method's feasibility.

Twist2 is a highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that plays a critical role in embryogenesis. Recent evidence has revealed that aberrant Twist2 expression contributes to tumor progression; however, the role of Twist2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its underlying mechanisms remain undefined. In this report, we demonstrate that Twist2 is overexpressed in human HCC tumors. We show that ectopic expression of Twist2 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotypes, augments cell migration and invasion and colony-forming abilities in human HCC cells in vitro, and promotes tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, we found a higher percentage of CD24(+) liver cancer stem-like cells in Twist2-transduced HCC cells. Twist2-expressing cells exhibited an increased expression of stem cell markers Bmi-1, Sox2, CD24 and Nanog and an increased capacity for self-renewal. Knockdown of CD24 in HepG2/Twist2 cells decreased the levels of Sox2, pSTAT3 and Nanog, and reversed the cancer stem-like cell phenotypes induced by ectopic expression of Twist2. Furthermore, Twist2 regulated the CD24 expression by directly binding to the E-box region in CD24 promoter. Therefore, our data demonstrated that Twist2 augments liver cancer stem-like cell self-renewal in a CD24-dependent manner. Twist2-CD24-STAT3-Nanog pathway may play a critical role in regulating liver cancer stem-like cell self-renewal. The identification of the Twist2-CD24 signaling pathway provides a potential therapeutic approach to target cancer stem cells in HCCs.

Three half-turn (Type A) and four half-turn (Type B) hexagonal wire mesh panels were used for tensile tests with and without one center-cut wire mesh panel. The panel opening was 120 by 150 mm. The test loadings were applied either parallel (in longitudinal direction) or perpendicular (in transverse direction) to the twist wire sections. The study results indicated that the ultimate tensile strength for Type A and hexagonal wire mesh panels without any cut loading in longitudinal or transverse direction were similar. However, the four half-turn hexagonal wire panels showed better tensile resistance after one wire broke at the panel center for both loadings either in longitudinal or in transverse condition. This implied that the presence of broken wires within the four half-turn hexagonal wire mesh showed slight influence on the panel’s tensile strength. In general, the tensile strengths for the test conditions for loading in longitudinal direction were about double of those loading in transverse direction. In conclusion, four half-turn (Type A) hexagonal wire mesh is a better structural pattern than a three half-turn (Type B) hexagonal wire mesh for slope stability and river bank protection applications.

The family of solution-processed tin-based perovskites is demonstrated as a new and superior near-infrared gain medium. Due to the large electron–hole bimolecular recombination associated with tin and the reduced trap density with SnF2 treatment, these lead-free “green” perovskites yield stable coherent light emission extending to ≈1 μm at strikingly low thresholds. NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore) ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Accepted version

In order to enhance customer's brand loyalty of B2C website and improve customer's repeat purchase rate in the website, this research based on the perspective of customer's online shopping experience. To conclude the influencing factors of consumer's brand loyalty to B2C website: website experience, logistics experience, product experience and after-sales experience. Finally, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are proposed to improve customer's experience and brand loyalty to B2C website. Such as enhance the responsiveness of website's services, strengthen website's sensory experience; improve the order processing speed and the logistics service quality; rich the product information of website, provide competitive products; improve the quality of after-sales service, shape excellent service brand. This paper's innovation is that Consumers' shopping experience was analyzed from the online experience to offline experience. Therefore, the conclusions can be applied to B2C website in some degree.