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Enhancing discharge energy in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is vital for various applications. This study establishes a theoretical formula for predicting enhanced discharge in multi‐needle‐plate (MP) DBD, accounting for factors like needle count, rotation speed, and voltage frequency. Experiments validate the formula's accuracy, showing that precisely matched parameters result in enhanced discharge power, heightened streamer luminosity, and curved streamer channels. Lissajous figures in MP DBD exhibit elliptical shapes due to residual discharges during voltage fall. Statistical analysis of current pulses and discharge images confirms that dielectric plate rotation increases discharges and extends their duration during voltage fall. Numerical simulations highlight surface charge movement's role in enhancing the electric field and affecting streamer propagation direction in the air gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 -Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 framework improved the stability of CaO. • Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 combined with Co3+/Co2+ enhanced CO 2 activation. • Same CO 2 adsorption and in situ conversion temperature can be operated at 610 °C for low CO 2 concentration flue gas. • Stable CO 2 capture capacity, over 98% CO 2 conversion rate and close to 100% CO selectivity still can be achieved after 100 cycles. Integrating CO 2 capture and in-situ conversion is a promising means of processing low concentration CO 2 in flue gas. The development of a low cost, highly stable catalyst to reduce the running cost is key to the development of this technology. The ultrastable bifunctional multi-stage active metal catalysts (Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 - y (Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5)-Co x CaO) were synthesized by the solid phase synthesis method with low cost industrial powder raw materials. The catalyst was stabilized with calcium aluminate (Ca 12 Al 14 O 33) and calcium ferrite (Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5) as a substrate structural framework for CaO and enhanced the dispersion of CaO. It not only solved the problem of CaO deactivation due to sintering, pore collapse, and agglomeration in the continuous high-temperature reaction, but also showed excellent catalytic performance for reverse-water–gas-shift (RWGS) reaction. On the basis of calcium-looping and RWGS reaction, the high temperature CO 2 capture and in-situ conversion process is realized in the same fixed-bed reactor for processing simulated flue gas with 16.7 vol% CO 2. The results showed that at the optimum operating temperature of 610 °C, the catalyst still maintains a stable CO 2 capture capacity, over 98% CO 2 conversion rate and close to 100% CO selectivity after 100 cycles. The multi-stage active metal structure catalysts provided a unique construction idea for designing ultrastable catalysts for low concentration CO 2 capture and in-situ conversion with great potential for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alfalfa, an essential forage crop known for its high yield, nutritional value, and strong adaptability, has been widely cultivated worldwide. The yield and quality of alfalfa are frequently jeopardized due to environmental degradation. Lignin, a constituent of the cell wall, enhances plant resistance to abiotic stress, which often causes osmotic stress in plant cells. However, how lignin responds to osmotic stress in leaves remains unclear. This study explored the effects of osmotic stress on lignin accumulation and the contents of intermediate metabolites involved in lignin synthesis in alfalfa leaves. Osmotic stress caused an increase in lignin accumulation and the alteration of core enzyme activities and gene expression in the phenylpropanoid pathway. We identified five hub genes (CSE, CCR, CADa, CADb, and POD) and thirty edge genes (including WRKYs, MYBs, and UBPs) by integrating transcriptome and metabolome analyses. In addition, ABA and ethylene signaling induced by osmotic stress regulated lignin biosynthesis in a contradictory way. These findings contribute to a new theoretical foundation for the breeding of high-quality and resistant alfalfa varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organogels have emerged as potential alternatives to trans and saturated fats. We developed semi-solid stable organogels using egg yolk granules-chitosan complex (EYGs-CS). We investigated the impacts of pH and NaCl ionic strength on the structural, rheological, and stability characteristics of the organogels. We found that stable organogels formed under acidic pHs (≤ 5.0) and high ionic strengths (≥ 0.2 M), displaying small droplet sizes, excellent elasticity behavior, poor oil migration, and high stability. The efficient adsorption of EYGs-CS at the oil surfaces formed stable droplets with compact walls. A colloidal 3D-network was formed within the aqueous phase, resulting in elastic and firm organogels. The droplets under acidic conditions showed higher surface charges, which blocked their coalescence through the electrostatic repulsion. The electrostatic shielding at high ionic strengths caused high steric repulsion, resulting in higher stability. This work provides insight into the replacement of harmful fats with healthier alternatives. [Display omitted] • Egg yolk granules-chitosan forms organogels as alternatives to trans/saturated fats. • Acidic pH and high ionic strength foster stable EYGs-CS-based organogels. • Efficient EYGs-CS adsorption forms stable tiny droplets with compact films. • A 3D-network forms, yielding elastic, firm organogels, limiting droplet migration. • Electrostatic and steric repulsions hinder droplet coalescence, enhancing stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Oxygen participation lowers the energy barrier of the reaction. • The co-adsorbed oxygen facilitates the adsorption and dehydrogenation of acetic acid. • A new mechanism involving oxygen was proposed for the synthesis of vinyl acetate. Vinyl acetate is mainly produced by oxidative acetoxylation of ethylene over the Pd/Au bimetallic heterogeneous catalyst. This process requires the involvement of oxygen, but the role of oxygen has not been well studied. The oxygen effect on the synthesis of vinyl acetate is of considerable economic benefit, as the process conditions can be better optimized. In this study, the O 2 adsorption and dissociation on the Pd (100) and Pd/Au (100) surfaces, the effect of the co-adsorbed O atom on the C 2 H 4 , CH 3 COOH and CH 3 COO adsorptions, and the reaction mechanism have been investigated using ab initio density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated results suggest that the O adatoms are detrimental to the adsorption of C 2 H 4 and CH 3 COO, but favorable for CH 3 COOH. For the reaction, the O adatoms reduce the energy barrier of CH 3 COOH dehydrogenation and VA formation, and increase the reaction enthalpy (more exothermic). This study provides further mechanistic insight into VA synthesis on the Pd-based catalysts. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) has revolutionized the landscape of multiple human cancer types, including head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC). Programmed death ligand-2 (PD-L2), a PD-1 ligand, mediates cancer cell immune escape (or tolerance independent of PD-L1) and predicts poor prognosis of patients with HNSCC. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the regulatory process of PD-L2 expression may stratify patients with HNSCC to benefit from anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. In this review, we summarised the PD-L2 expression and its immune-dependent and independent functions in HNSCC and other solid tumours. We focused on recent findings on the mechanisms that regulate PD-L2 at the genomic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels, also in intercellular communication of tumour microenvironment (TME). We also discussed the prospects of using small molecular agents indirectly targeting PD-L2 in cancer therapy. These findings may provide a notable avenue in developing novel and effective PD-L2-targeted therapeutic strategies for immune combination therapy and uncovering biomarkers that improve the clinical efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissolved oxygen (DO) sensors for the practical application usually require good resistance to complex and extreme environments, such as acidic or alkaline corrosion, seawater sediment erosion, protein or bacteria adhesion, etc. Diatom frustules (DFs) are protective shell structures extracted from diatoms, which have delicate hierarchical pores and a large specific surface area, showing their utilization potential as oxygen sensing materials. Herein, we developed a superhydrophobic DO sensor which use the DFs as matrix materials. The sensor was fabricated by spraying the mixture of 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTS) modified DFs and oxygen-sensitive probe platinum (II)− 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl)-porphyrin (PtTFPP) on the bonding substrate. In the DO sensor, DFs provides a tough micro/nano surface structures and PFOTS offers low surface energy, both of which led to a robust superhydrophobic surface of the sensor. Because of the porous structure of DFs and the diffusion enhancement effect of fluorine on oxygen, the sensor has high DO sensitivity, I 0 /I 100 which represents for oxygen sensitivity reaches up to 129. Additionally, the sensor showed good tolerance on mechanical abrasion, acidic or alkaline corrosion and biofouling. Owing to these good performances, the use of DFs is expected to provide a new strategy for the rational design of high performance DO sensing devices. • Diatom frustule was first attempted as the matrix material for the oxygen sensing. • Self-cleaning and antifouling properties were achieved by superhydrophobic surface. • The hierarchical pores and fluorine enhance the sensitivity of oxygen detection. • The sensors have a good resistance to complex and extreme environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the growing demand for texture-modified foods (TMFs) among individuals with dysphagia, the structural properties of alkali-heat treated egg white protein aggregates (AHEWP) were investigated to developed hydrogel foams as suitable soft gels. The results showed that AHEWP presented partially unfolded and higher content of β-sheet structures. The alkaline shift suppressed thermally denatured molecular unfolding (exposing aromatic and hydrophobic amino acids) and blocked hydrogen bonding, leading to the generation of small-sized AHEWP. Within the pH range of 10.5–11.25, raising temperature promoted more covalent bonding to produce structurally compact aggregates. Compared to EWP, AHEWP exhibited remarkably stable foams (85.62–91.99% of FS) and could form Ca2+ crosslinked cold gels, which were contributed to the formation of hydrogel foam. The alkali-heat treatment of high intensity gave a less increase in surface tension and richer interfacial proteins. SEM and microrheology revealed that the alkaline shift transformed the hydrogel network of AHEWP into a "sheet-like" stacking structure, accompanied by a rise in the macroscopic viscosity index and a change of gelation rate. At pH 11.0 and 11.25, the higher temperature, the denser the pore and the lower the elasticity index. The self-supporting property and water loss of AHEWP hydrogel foam reduced, and their time stability enhanced with increasing pH and/or temperature. According to IDDSI, AHEWP hydrogel and hydrogel foam were attributed to level 4–7 and 4–5, respectively. Overall, AHEWP has the potential to establish hydrogel foam systems that will serve as a valuable reference for designing protein-based soft gel TMFs for dysphagia diets. [Display omitted] • Protein unfolding was inhibited by an alkaline shift during thermal denaturation. • Alkali-heat treatment enhanced structural properties of protein to varying degrees. • Alkali-heat treated egg white protein was able to create Ca2+-induced cold gel. • Hydrogel foams formed by alkali-heat aggregates could achieve 4–5 of IDDSI level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent nanoparticle-based superhydrophobic coatings can be utilized in a variety of real-word applications. However, one major challenge that limits the practical applications in large-scale manufacturing is their poor durability or complicated fabrication procedures. Herein, we develop a simple and low-cost technique based on spin-coating to prepare double-layer structured superhydrophobic surfaces, where modified nanoparticles are attached to a semi-cured rough nanoparticle-epoxy layer. The average optical transmittance of the prepared coatings was 97.6% with pristine glass or PET as the substrates. The resultant water-repellent surfaces yield a static water contact angle of 153.4°±1.7° and sliding angle of 5.1°±1.1°. The nanocomposite surfaces also retain water repellency after tape-peeling, water jet impact, mechanical bending, heat treatment, HCl immersing, and UV irradiation, which makes the prepared surfaces sustainable in the case of outdoor situations. Further, the outstanding superhydrophobicity and durability of the coatings enable their excellent self-cleaning function. We envisage a combination of these attractive properties may provide a practical route for potential transparent applications. • A double-layered superhydrophobic coating was fabricated facilely. • Surfaces impart optical transparency of 97.6% compared to pristine glass. • Surfaces yield good mechanical and environmental durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a novel use of fibrous egg white protein (FEWP) in food preservation and nutraceutical applications. In this study, food-grade FEWP was used as an encapsulating material, along with chitosan (CS), to stabilize emulsions. The emulsion system was then used as a delivery system to improve the stability of retinyl acetate (RA). The structural and functional properties, as well as the stability and rheological behavior of the FEWP/CS copolymer, was investigated. The stability of RA-enriched emulsions was also evaluated. FEWP and CS stabilized emulsions exhibited smaller particle size and enhanced stability against different ionic strengths and storage periods. Additionally, RA-encapsulated emulsions stabilized by FEWP:CS (25:1 w/w) effectively inhibited apple browning. This study provides a promising strategy for delivering antioxidant components, highlighting its potential in food preservation and nutraceutical applications. • Novel use of fibrous egg white protein enhanced retinyl acetate stability. • Fibrous egg white protein exhibited better emulsification properties. • Encapsulated retinyl acetate inhibits apple browning, promising food preservation. • Smaller particle size, improved salt and storage stability in emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the wetting of TC4 substrate by molten Ag-Cu alloy under various high magnetic fields (HMFs) during the heating process. By examining changes in melt morphology, variations in contact angle, and characterizing the interface microstructure, we elucidated the underlying mechanism through which HMFs affected wetting behavior. The findings suggest that higher magnetic flux density resulted in smaller contact angles and more extensive spreading at the same temperature, culminating in a greater final spreading diameter. However, there was no significant difference in the final contact angle under various HMFs. Moreover, higher magnetic flux density resulted in a longer precursor zone and thicker reaction layer. The composition of precursor zones and reaction layers remained consistent with and without an HMF. The spreading process was divided into two stages regardless of the presence or absence of an HMF. In the absence of an HMF, the sluggish formation and spreading of precursor zone led to a lower spreading rate in the first spreading stage. Subsequently, as temperature rose, interface reactions drove rapid melt spreading, accelerating the spreading rate during the second spreading stage. In the presence of HMFs, the strong thermo-electromagnetic convection within melt and at liquid/solid interface notably promoted interface reactions and rapid formation of precursor zones, leading to a substantially heightened spreading rate in the first spreading stage. The slowing reaction rate and the limited volume of the melt collectively resulted in a slower spreading rate in the second spreading stage. This study provides new insights into modifying reactive wetting, with potential applications in advanced brazing techniques. • Higher magnetic flux density led to smaller contact angles and more extensive spreading at the same temperature, resulting in a larger final spreading diameter. • In the presence of HMFs, the strong thermoelectric magnetic force within melt and at liquid/solid interface notably promoted interface reactions and rapid formation of precursor zones. • The application of an high magnetic field did not change the types of intermetallic compounds formed at the interface, but it did change the amount of intermetallic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High osmotic pressure system facilitated the preparation of reduced-salt salted egg yolk. • The mixed sucrose-phosphate-salt pickling system accelerated salt penetration. • Phosphate promoted the formation of dense and stable network structures in protein. • Small molecular weight protein bound with each other to form large aggregates. • The salted egg yolk of 28 d had loose sandy texture and lower salt content (1.07%). This paper was dedicated to the study of the effect of sucrose-phosphate on aspects of physicochemical properties, lipid distribution and protein structure during the picklig of reduced‐salt salted egg yolk (SEY). This work constructed a reduced‐salt pickling system from a new perspective (promoting osmosis) by using a sucrose-phosphate-salt. Results showed that SEY-28d achieved a desirable salt content (1.07 %), hardness (573.46 g) and springiness (0.65 g). The matured SEY was in excellent quality with orange-red color and loose sandy texture. This was because the lipoprotein aggregated with each other through hydrophobic interaction to form a stable network structure. In addition, the hypertonic environment accelerated salt penetration. These also created good condition for lipid spillage. The results of confocal laser scanning microscope also verified this phenomenon. This work provides important guidance for new reduced‐salt curing of traditional pickled foods, deep processing of SEY, and industry development in the field of poultry egg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthetic α-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) modified by tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide (TBA+OH−) was used to fabricate highly transparent and superhydrophilic coating on glass substrate through a facile and effective approach. The influence of molar ratio between TBA+OH− and ZrP on the surface topographical morphology, as well as the hydrophilicity and transparency of coating was explored. It was found that, the higher concentration of TBA+OH− is, the better surface wettability and light transmission performance are. With more introduction of TBA+OH−, more TBA+ ions can be intercalated into the ZrP interlayers to form exfoliated nanoplatelets, which are able to continuously cover the whole glass substrate as revealed by scanning electron microscopy and atom force microscopy. As a result, the contact angle of the prepared coatings can reach to ~4.5° at 400 ms and ~0° within 1 s. The completely exfoliated structure of ZrP nanoplatelets and high surface charge density provided by TBA+ ions make a great contribution to the highly transparent and superhydrophilic coatings on glass substrates. The detailed mechanisms on fabricating high-performance superhydrophilic coatings on glass substates by TBA+OH− modifying ZrP nanoplatelets are carefully elaborated. • The more TBA+ ions lead to the exfoliated ZrP dispersed on glass substrates. • 2.The exfoliated ZrP and high surface charge density contributes to the superhydrophilic coatings. • The contact angle can reach to ~4.5° at 400 ms and ~0° within 1 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Dec 31, 2019, 68 imported cases and 175 locally acquired infections have been reported in Singapore. We aimed to investigate options for early intervention in Singapore should local containment (eg, preventing disease spread through contact tracing efforts) be unsuccessful.Methods: We adapted an influenza epidemic simulation model to estimate the likelihood of human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a simulated Singaporean population. Using this model, we estimated the cumulative number of SARS-CoV-2 infections at 80 days, after detection of 100 cases of community transmission, under three infectivity scenarios (basic reproduction number [R0] of 1·5, 2·0, or 2·5) and assuming 7·5% of infections are asymptomatic. We first ran the model assuming no intervention was in place (baseline scenario), and then assessed the effect of four intervention scenarios compared with a baseline scenario on the size and progression of the outbreak for each R0 value. These scenarios included isolation measures for infected individuals and quarantining of family members (hereafter referred to as quarantine); quarantine plus school closure; quarantine plus workplace distancing; and quarantine, school closure, and workplace distancing (hereafter referred to as the combined intervention). We also did sensitivity analyses by altering the asymptomatic fraction of infections (22·7%, 30·0%, 40·0%, and 50·0%) to compare outbreak sizes under the same control measures.Findings: For the baseline scenario, when R0 was 1·5, the median cumulative number of infections at day 80 was 279 000 (IQR 245 000-320 000), corresponding to 7·4% (IQR 6·5-8·5) of the resident population of Singapore. The median number of infections increased with higher infectivity: 727 000 cases (670 000-776 000) when R0 was 2·0, corresponding to 19·3% (17·8-20·6) of the Singaporean population, and 1 207 000 cases (1 164 000-1 249 000) when R0 was 2·5, corresponding to 32% (30·9-33·1) of the Singaporean population. Compared with the baseline scenario, the combined intervention was the most effective, reducing the estimated median number of infections by 99·3% (IQR 92·6-99·9) when R0 was 1·5, by 93·0% (81·5-99·7) when R0 was 2·0, and by 78·2% (59·0 -94·4) when R0 was 2·5. Assuming increasing asymptomatic fractions up to 50·0%, up to 277 000 infections were estimated to occur at day 80 with the combined intervention relative to 1800 for the baseline at R0 of 1·5.Interpretation: Implementing the combined intervention of quarantining infected individuals and their family members, workplace distancing, and school closure once community transmission has been detected could substantially reduce the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections. We therefore recommend immediate deployment of this strategy if local secondary transmission is confirmed within Singapore. However, quarantine and workplace distancing should be prioritised over school closure because at this early stage, symptomatic children have higher withdrawal rates from school than do symptomatic adults from work. At higher asymptomatic proportions, intervention effectiveness might be substantially reduced requiring the need for effective case management and treatments, and preventive measures such as vaccines.Funding: Singapore Ministry of Health, Singapore Population Health Improvement Centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since foam concrete inevitably leads to foam bursting and merging during the molding process, the relationship between specific pore connectivity and pore diameter distribution on foam concrete properties is still difficult to characterize exactly. This study intentionally introduced hollow microspheres of three sizes (40 µm, 60 µm, and 80 µm) into foam concrete to control the number and diameter of isolated pores. The influence of isolated porosity and pore diameter distribution on the properties of foam concrete were evaluated by dry density, mechanical property and thermal conductivity. Meanwhile, the SEM and X-CT technologies were employed to assess the pore structure of the sample, and the measured thermal conductivity was compared with the theoretical thermal conductivity calculated by the formula based on the isolated porosity. Finally, the correlation between isolated pores and heat transfer paths were analyzed by the calculated tortuosity. The results of the dry density and mechanical tests indicated that the dry density tended to be lower with the increase of isolated pores' diameter, which 80 µm hollow microspheres resulted in a notable reduction in the dry density within the three size groups, whereas 28 days compressive strength trended oppositely. The 40 µm hollow microsphere specimen with a dry density of 400 kg/m3 exhibited the better mechanical property among three groups, which was 1.82 MPa, due to the uniform distribution within the matrix, preventing fusion between foams. Specifically, the trend of the theoretical value calculated by the formula was consistent with that of the measured value, proving that the decrease in thermal conductivity of sample can be attributed to the increase of isolated porosity. The lowest thermal conductivity and highest tortuosity were achieved by specimens mixed with 80 µm hollow microspheres at the dry density of 300 kg/m3, which were 0.07045 W/(m·K) and 2.015, respectively, demonstrating that specimens mixed with 80 µm hollow microspheres exhibited a more complex heat transfer path than the other two groups. • Hollow microsphere was introduced to qualify isolated pore structures in the foam concrete. • The relationship between the number and diameter of isolated pores and foam concrete's performance was discussed. • X-CT was utilized to analyze the pore structures of foam concrete. • The tortuosity was used to characterizate the heat transfer path of foam concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experimental analysis of surface wettability induced water flow behaviour. • The mechanism of the superhydrophobic-dry anti-icing state was proposed. • Wettability of surfaces significantly affects runback water heat transfer characteristics. Aircraft icing is a serious threat to flight safety, therefore, active anti-icing systems are widely utilized in the aviation industry. In order to reduce the energy consumption of anti-icing systems, passive anti-icing methods combined with superhydrophobic surfaces are of interest. However, the passive protection of superhydrophobic surfaces is not as effective as expected when applied to aircraft anti-icing, which involves high speed and high humidity condition. The flow and heat transfer of runback water is an issue of fundamental importance for understanding of the aircraft anti-icing processes. In order to understand the mechanism of passive anti-icing on superhydrophobic surface, this study experimentally investigated the runback water flow and heat transfer behavior on airfoil with different surface wettabilities in a straight-flow spray wind tunnel. It was found that the runback water film was more likely to break up and form the rivulets when the wettability is more hydrophobic, with the breakup location closing to the leading edge, and the wetted surface area became smaller, therefore reducing ice accumulation. The water droplets on superhydrophobic surface shed away easily to make the surface have no runback water, which enables low energy consumption for the dry anti-icing method. The coupled analysis of the flow and heat transfer behavior indicated that surface wettability altered the runback water patterns, leading to changes in the convective heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area, ultimately affecting the overall heat transfer process. In addition, the droplet erosion resistance of superhydrophobic surfaces prepared by two methods were tested and compared in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CSEY gel moisture was further reduced due to salt permeation (egg white → egg yolk). • CSEY with a storage period (≤14 d) had good processing and eating value. • The quality of CSEY gel was seriously affected by salt penetration and water migration. • Ethyl acetate as the main flavor substance was not detected in CSEY-21 d sample. • Oxidation by air disrupted the hydrogen bonding force between lipoproteins. There is an urgent need to explore the salt penetration and water migration in the cooked salted egg yolk (CSEY) gel. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of salt and water on the physicochemical, structural and flavor characteristics of CSEY gel stored at 25 °C. The hardness of the yolk increased significantly (608.0 g → 2730.7 g) during storage. The results of LF-NMR showed that the free water content in the yolk gel was enhanced. The microstructure of CSEY could be observed by SEM, which showed that during storage, polyhedral particles were dispersed due to the heating process. In addition, ethyl acetate (71.9 %) was completely undetectable in the CSEY-21 d. In summary, the sample at and before 14 d of storage had good processing value. Therefore, this work would provide theoretical guidance for the low-sodium pickling of SEY (salted egg yolk) and its suitable storage methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • PDP can simultaneously remove atrazine and Cr (VI) in water. • Z-scheme GTM photocatalyst can be induced by PDP to enhance ATZ and Cr (VI) removal. • The highest removal efficiency of ATZ and Cr (VI) reached 96.2% and 79.8% in PDP system with GTM-5, respectively. • A mechanism of redox performance improvement in PDP synergic GTM system was proposed. • The degradation pathway of ATZ was proposed based on intermediates and the ecotoxicity was assessed. Simultaneous removal of atrazine (ATZ) and Cr (VI) by pulsed discharge plasma (PDP) coupled with Z-scheme graphene-TiO 2 -MnFe 2 O 4 (GTM) photocatalyst was investigated. The structural morphology, bandgap structure, and photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were systematically characterized by various characterization methods. The results showed that GTM was hybridized and exhibited high separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs. PDP can remove ATZ and Cr (VI) simultaneously, and the addition of GTM significantly enhanced the removal efficiencies of ATZ and Cr (VI) in PDP system, which can be attributed to higher separation efficiency of charge carriers and strong redox ability in the Z-scheme system. At Cr (VI) and ATZ initial concentrations of 10 mg/L, discharge power of 7 W, electrode gap of 10 mm, air flow rate of 4 L/min, graphene content of 5 %, catalyst dosage of 0.2 g/L and pH of 3.1, the highest removal efficiencies of ATZ and Cr (VI) reached 96.2 % and 79.8 %, which were 27.3 % and 32.1 % higher than those in single PDP system, respectively. Meanwhile, the energy efficiencies of ATZ and Cr (VI) also reach the maximum (440.0 mg/kWh and 216.8 mg/kWh), which are 2.3 and 2.0 times that of single PDP system, respectively. ·OH and h+ play a key role in the ATZ degradation. e aq , ·H, H 2 O 2 , e- and Fe2+ work in the Cr (VI) removal. The possible degradation pathways of ATZ were deduced according to the intermediates determined by LC-MS. Finally, the ecotoxicity of intermediates was evaluated by a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct catalytic cracking of heavy crude oil has gained attention as an alternative and cheapest method of producing raw materials for the petrochemical industry. The Py-GC/MS technique was used to study the effects of calcium aluminate base catalysts and ZSM-5 acid zeolites on heavy crude oil conversion. The results showed that ZSM-5 with a Si/Al ratio of 40 (40Z) outperformed zeolites with Si/Al ratios of 80 and 200, with a maximum selectivity of 65% for light olefins and BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene). Among all base catalysts studied, calcium aluminate (CaAl-3) had the highest selectivity of 23% of C 2 -C 4 olefins and BTX. The "Mix" model outperformed the "Base + Acid" or "Acid + Base" models in terms of minimizing hydrogen transfer reactions and maximizing the yield and selectivity of light olefins. The 30 C catalyst (30%CaAl-3 +70%40Z) exhibited significant co-effect of basic and acidic catalysis, with maximum light olefin selectivity and total olefinicity of 72% and 81%, respectively. The results of the present work showed that acid-base coupled catalytic pyrolysis was a viable approach for improving the yield of light olefins and aromatics. • Acid-base coupled catalytic pyrolysis process was proposed. • ZSM-5 (SiAl = 40) and CaAl-3 showed maximum light olefins and aromatics selectivity. • The "Mix model" exhibited significant co-effect of basic and acidic catalysis. • Highest light olefins yield and total olefinicity was obtained over 30%CaAl-3/70%40ZSM-5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low dye exhaustion and poor colorfastness of cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes were the inevitable issues, which may potentially limit their application in textile industries. Hence, there is great demand for improving dyeing performance of natural dyes to expand their application. This work presents a facile and efficient way to improve dye exhaustion and color fastness of cotton fabrics dyed with Coptis chinensis (C. chinensis) extract through fabric pretreatment and aftertreatment processes. The cotton fabrics were firstly treated with critic acid (CA) to increase their capacity of anionic sites. Enhanced effect of water repellent agent as the aftertreatment chemical, which was applied to improve washing fastness of dyed fabrics, was evaluated. The color characteristics, color fastness and functionalities of dyed fabrics were also assessed. The results indicated that pretreated cotton fabrics displayed higher color strength than the untreated fabrics. Additionally, the dyed fabrics treated with water repellent agents showed better washing fastness. The antibacterial activity of dyed fabric was increased up to 98% and the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) value reached 349.69. What's more, the dyed fabrics also exhibited excellent wrinkle resistance and waterproof property. The integration of antibacterial, antiultraviolet, antiwrinkle and waterproof properties in the cotton fabrics dyed with C. chinensis extract was a meaningful achievement, which exhibited great potential application in medical textile and garment. [Display omitted] • Simultaneous dyeing and functional finishing were achieved by using C. chinensis extract. • Pretreatment of cotton fabrics with CA was beneficial for enhancing color strength. • Aftertreatment of dyed cotton fabrics with water repellent agent improve washing colorfastness. • The dyed cotton fabrics exhibit excellent multifunctional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Angiogenesis impairment caused by GBHs is related to mitochondrial dysfunction. • GBHs have negative impact on placental function. • Maternal GBHs exposure during pregnancy impairs postnatal progeny health. • Betaine protects placenta and postnatal progeny against GBHs-induced damage. • The limit level of glyphosate residue by governments needs to be reappraised. Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most widely used pesticide worldwide and can provoke placental injury. However, whether and how GBHs damage angiogenesis in the placenta is not yet known. This work evaluated the safety of glyphosate on pregnant sows based on the limit level by governments and investigated the effects and mechanism of Low-GBHs (20 mg/kg) and High-GBHs (100 mg/kg) exposure on placental angiogenesis. Results showed that gestational exposure to GBHs decreased placental vessel density and cell multiplication by interfering with the expression of VEGFA, PLGF, VEGFr2 and Hand2 (indicators of angiogenesis), which may be in relation to oxidative stress-induced disorders of mitochondrial fission and fusion as well as the impaired function of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Additionally, GBHs destroyed barrier function and nutrient transport in the placenta, and was accompanied by jejunum oxidative stress in newborn piglets. However, GBHs exposure had no significant differences on sow reproductive performance. As a natural antioxidant, betaine treatment protected placenta and newborn piglets against GBHs-induced damage. In conclusion, GBHs impaired placental angiogenesis and function and further damaged the health of postnatal progeny, these effects may be linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. Betaine treatment following glyphosate exposure provided modest relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The syngas generation from biomass/vapour pyrolysis wih molten copper slag is an innovative technology in chemical industry. Copper slag and rice straws are representative undervalued trashes as metallurgical and agricultural by-products. But the inappropriate handling of them, including direct burying or open burning, could severely aggregate environmental pollution. This present study investigated the biomass pyrolysis integrating waste heat from molten copper slags through carbon-loops extension. The mechanism of integrated looping gasification was identified, where the effects of the mass ratio of FeO/SiO 2 , minor elements contents of (Al 2 O 3 +CaO), operational temperature and pressure on target syngas yields were systematically explored through thermodynamic calculation and experimental results. Thermodynamics calculations confirmed that increased mass ratio of FeO/SiO 2 (higher than 1.5) and minor elements contents showed obvious catalytic effect on syngas generations, promoted, accompanied with obvious reduction of air pollutants emission. Since FeO favoured solid biomass conversion into syngas, exergy efficiency of generated syngas increased as the mass ratio of FeO/SiO 2 was enhanced. Non-isothermal experiments confirmed the incorporation of FS1-5 and FS5-1 obviously undermined the polluting gas yields, which were in overall agreement with thermodynamics results. Meanwhile, the solid ash waste could serve as raw materials for soil nutrients, and the generated syngas could be utilized for electricity generation, based on which an integrated and sustainable looping system would be proposed. Therefore, the favourable results could thus provide significant insights for deepened understanding of biomass gasification as well as the efficient utilization of rice straw and copper slag. • The carbon-loops circulating copper industry and biomass utilization was optimized. • The influence of copper slag composition on syngas yields was proposed. • Exergy efficiency of syngas increased as the mass ratio of FeO/SiO 2 was enhanced. • Non-isothermal experiments confirmed copper slag undermined the polluting gas yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring simple synthesis method of high-performance sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) electrode materials has always been highly concerned in large-scale energy storage technology filed. Here, ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) Fe x Co 1-x Se 2 nanosheets as anode material for SIBs are successfully synthesized by one-step solvothermal method. The average thickness of Fe 0·08 Co 0·92 Se 2 nanosheets is approximately 3.08 nm, which is about equivalent to the thickness of six b -axis crystal cells. When employed as anode for SIBs, Fe 0·08 Co 0·92 Se 2 nanosheets display a high initial discharge specific capacity of 679.8 mAh/g, a high initial coulombic efficiency of 85.5% and superior reversible specific capacity of 510.4 mAh/g at 1 A/g. Simultaneously, Fe 0·08 Co 0·92 Se 2 also exhibits an enhanced rate capability (480.0, 460.0, 435.1 mAh/g at 0.2, 2, 4 A/g respectively) and outstanding cycling stability at relatively large current density (397.0 mAh/g at 4 A/g after 1000 cycles). The excellent Na-ion storage performance of Fe x Co 1-x Se 2 nanosheets could be ascribed to the abundant electrochemical active sites and shorten ion transfer tunnels provided by this ultrathin 2D structure and bimetallic ion synergistic effect by heteroatom doping. Noticeably, the capacitive contribution may play the key role in the admirable rate capability through electrochemical kinetics analysis of Fe 0·08 Co 0·92 Se 2 nanosheets. Therefore, this work presents a simple preparation of ultrathin 2D selenide nanosheets and an effective low-cost regulation strategy for improving Na-ion storage performance. In this paper, ultrathin 2D Fe x Co 1-x Se 2 nanosheets with enhanced sodium-ion storage performance is presented. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Successful reperfusion does not always lead to good neurological outcomes and impaired microcirculation can be one of the underlying causes. Intra-arterial alteplase after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) may improve microcirculation contributing to neurological recovery, but prospective randomised studies are still needed to validate its efficacy and safety. We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial alteplase after MT for acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) with large-vessel occlusion (LVO)., Methods and Analysis: The Intra-arterial Alteplase for Acute Ischaemic Stroke After Mechanical Thrombectomy (PEARL) study is a multicentre, prospective, open-label, blinded-endpoint, randomised controlled trial. We consecutively screen AIS patients with anterior circulation LVO and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of 6-25, who reach stable expanded Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction scores of 2b50-3 on angiography after MT. Eligible participants are 1:1 randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group. Participants in the experimental group will receive intra-arterial alteplase (0.225 mg/kg and a maximum dose of 20 mg) after MT and standard medical treatment, while those in the control group will receive standard medical treatment alone after the procedure. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients with a 90-day modified Rankin scale of 0-1. A total of 324 participants are required to test the superiority hypothesis with 80% power at a two-tailed significance level of 0.05., Ethics and Dissemination: This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (SYSKY-2023-390-02) and will be conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approvals have been obtained separately for all centres participating in the study. Study results will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals., Trial Registration Number: NCT05856851., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

This study employed egg yolk granules (EYG) in combination with chitosan (CS) to evaluate the feasibility of constructing low-fat Pickering emulsion gels and investigated the properties of emulsion gels with different oil volume fractions (0-50 %) to address the stability issue. The results showed that the self-supporting structure of the emulsion gels gradually increased at 0-40 % oil phase, and the oil droplet sizes were all smaller than 10 μm. However, when the oil phase reached 50 %, the emulsion showed water-oil phase separation. The addition of oil modified the state and movement of water molecules in the emulsion system, which in turn affected the water and oil loss rates. Notably, the emulsion gels exhibited similar rheological and textural characteristics to mayonnaise at 30 % oil phase. Furthermore, the emulsion gels demonstrated promising centrifugation and freeze-thaw stability. This study suggests an innovative and efficient approach to low-fat mayonnaise substitution with consistent quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chaotic systems have aroused interest across various scientific disciplines such as physics, biology, chemistry, and meteorology. The deterministic but unpredictable nature of a chaotic system is an ideal feature for random number generation. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are a promising technology that effectively harnesses chaos, offering advantages such as a compact footprint, scalability, and low power consumption. This paper presents a true random number generator (TRNG) based on a double-well MEMS resonator integrated with an actuator and position sensor. The potential energy landscape of the proposed MEMS resonator is actively tunable with a direct current voltage. Experimental demonstrations of tunable bistability and chaotic resonance are reported in this paper. A chaotic time sequence is generated through piezoresistive sensing of the position of the MEMS resonator once it is driven into the chaotic regime. Subsequently, the randomness of the bit sequence, achieved by applying the exclusive or function to a digital chaotic sequence and its delayed differential is confirmed to meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology specifications. Moreover, the throughput and energy efficiency of the proposed MEMS-based TRNG can be adjusted from 50 kb s -1 and 0.44 pJ per bit at a low energy barrier to 167 kb s -1 and 6.74 pJ per bit at a high energy barrier by changing the MEMS device's potential well. The tunability of the proposed double-well MEMS resonator not only offers continuous adjustments in the energy efficiency of TNRG but also unveils vast and diverse research opportunities in analog computing, encryption, and secure communications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Medicago truncatula is a key model plant for studying legume plants, particularly alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), due to its well-defined genetic background. Plant-specific GASA ( Gibberellic Acid Stimulated Arabidopsis ) genes play various roles in plant growth and development, abiotic stress, and hormone responses. However, limited information is available on GASA research in Medicago . In this study, 26 MtGASAs were identified and analyzed for its structure, evolution, and expressions. Sequence alignments and phylogeny revealed that 26 MtGASAs containing conserved GASA domains were classified into three clades. The chromosomal locations and gene synteny revealed segmental and tandem repetition evolution. Analysis of cis -regulatory elements indicates that family members likely influence various hormone signaling pathways and stress-related mechanisms. Moreover, the RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses revealed that 26 MtGASAs were extensively involved in abiotic stresses and hormone responses. Notably, seven MtGASA genes ( MtGASA1 , 10 , 12 , 17 , 23 , 25 and 26 ) were all dramatically activated by NaCl and Mannitol treatments, and four MtGASAs ( MtGASA7 , 10 , 23 and 24 ) were significant activated by GA 3 , PBZ, ABA, and MeJA treatments. Collectively, this study is the first to identify and describe GASA genes in Medicago on a genome-wide scale. The results establish a basis for functional characterization, showing that these proteins are essential in responding to various abiotic stresses and hormonal signals.

C3-functionalized dihydroquinolinones represent a class of important biologically active compounds. Although methods for synthesizing C2/4-functionalized dihydroquinolinones have been extensively reported, research on the synthesis of C3-functionalized dihydroquinolinone is extremely rare. Herein, we report for the first time a method for C3-alkenylated dihydroquinolinones via iron(III)-catalyzed amine-release triple condensation of enaminones. These reactions exhibit broad substrate scope and offer operationally simple, low-cost catalyzed procedures in a single step. Subsequent intramolecular and intermolecular additions to the alkene moiety provide diverse C3-functionalized dihydroquinolinone derivatives.

Background: Kobreisa littledalei, belonging to the Cyperaceae family is the first Kobresia species with a reference genome and the most dominant species in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau alpine meadows. It has several resistance genes which could be used to breed improved crop varieties. Reverse Transcription Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) is a popular and accurate gene expression analysis method. Its reliability depends on the expression levels of reference genes, which vary by species, tissues and environments. However, K.littledalei lacks a stable and normalized reference gene for RT-qPCR analysis., Results: The stability of 13 potential reference genes was tested and the stable reference genes were selected for RT-qPCR normalization for the expression analysis in the different tissues of K. littledalei under two abiotic stresses (salt and drought) and two hormonal treatments (abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA)). Five algorithms were used to assess the stability of putative reference genes. The results showed a variation amongst the methods, and the same reference genes showed tissue expression differences under the same conditions. The stability of combining two reference genes was better than a single one. The expression levels of ACTIN were stable in leaves and stems under normal conditions, in leaves under drought stress and in roots under ABA treatment. The expression of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) expression was stable in the roots under the control conditions and salt stress and in stems exposed to drought stress. Expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were stable in stems of ABA-treated plants and in the roots under drought stress. Moreover, RPL6 expression was stable in the leaves and stems under salt stress and in the stems of the GA-treated plants. EF1-alpha expression was stable in leaves under ABA and GA treatments. The expression levels of 28 S were stable in the roots under GA treatment. In general, ACTIN and GAPDH could be employed as housekeeping genes for K. littledalei under different treatments., Conclusion: This study identified the best RT-qPCR reference genes for different K. littledalei tissues under five experimental conditions. ACTIN and GAPDH genes can be employed as the ideal housekeeping genes for expression analysis under different conditions. This is the first study to investigate the stable reference genes for normalized gene expression analysis of K. littledalei under different conditions. The results could aid molecular biology and gene function research on Kobresia and other related species., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The label transition matrix has emerged as a widely accepted method for mitigating label noise in machine learning. In recent years, numerous studies have centered on leveraging deep neural networks to estimate the label transition matrix for individual instances within the context of instance-dependent noise. However, these methods suffer from low search efficiency due to the large space of feasible solutions. Behind this drawback, we have explored that the real murderer lies in the invalid class transitions, that is, the actual transition probability between certain classes is zero but is estimated to have a certain value. To mask the invalid class transitions, we introduced a human-cognition-assisted method with structural information from human cognition. Specifically, we introduce a structured transition matrix network (STMN) designed with an adversarial learning process to balance instance features and prior information from human cognition. The proposed method offers two advantages: 1) better estimation effectiveness is obtained by sparing the transition matrix and 2) better estimation accuracy is obtained with the assistance of human cognition. By exploiting these two advantages, our method parametrically estimates a sparse label transition matrix, effectively converting noisy labels into true labels. The efficiency and superiority of our proposed method are substantiated through comprehensive comparisons with state-of-the-art methods on three synthetic datasets and a real-world dataset. Our code will be available at https://github.com/WheatCao/STMN-Pytorch.

With the development and popularization of the Beidou-3 navigation satellite system (BDS-3), to ensure its unique short message function, it is necessary to integrate a radio frequency (RF) transmitting circuit with high performance in the BDS-3 terminal. As the key device in an RF transmitting circuit, the RF power amplifier (PA) largely determines the comprehensive performance of the circuit with its transmission power, efficiency, linearity, and integration. Therefore, in this paper, an L-band highly integrated PA chip compatible with 3 W and 5 W output power is designed in InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology combined with temperature-insensitive adaptive bias technology, class-F harmonic suppression technology, analog pre-distortion technology, temperature-insensitive adaptive power detection technology, and land grid array (LGA) packaging technology. Additionally, three auxiliary platforms are proposed, dedicated to the simulation and optimization of the same type of PA designs. The simulation results show that at the supply voltage of 5 V and 3.5 V, the linear gain of the PA chip reaches 39.4 dB and 38.7 dB, respectively; the output power at 1 dB compression point (P1dB) reaches 37.5 dBm and 35.1 dBm, respectively; the saturated output power (Psat) reaches 38.2 dBm and 36.2 dBm, respectively; the power added efficiency (PAE) reaches 51.7% and 48.2%, respectively; and the higher harmonic suppression ratios are less than -62 dBc and -65 dBc, respectively. The size of the PA chip is only 6 × 4 × 1 mm 3 . The results also show that the PA chip has high gain, high efficiency, and high linearity under both output power conditions, which has obvious advantages over similar PA chip designs and can meet the short message function of the BDS-3 terminal in various application scenarios.

The time-delay integration (TDI) technique is increasingly used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of remote sensing and imaging by exposing the scene multiple times. Inspired by the principle of TDI, we propose a TDI-like pushbroom multi-slit hyperspectral imaging (MSHSI) approach. In our system, multiple slits are used to significantly improve the throughput of the system, thereby enhancing the sensitivity and SNR through multiple exposures of the same scene during pushbroom scan. Meanwhile, a linear dynamic model for the pushbroom MSHSI is established, where the Kalman filter (KF) is employed to reconstruct the time-varying overlapped spectral images on a single conventional image sensor. Further, we designed and fabricated a customized optical system that can operate in both multi-slit and single slit modes to experimentally verify the feasibility of the proposed method. Experimental results indicate that the developed system improved SNR by a factor of about 7 compared to that of the single slit mode, while demonstrating excellent resolution in both spatial and spectral dimensions.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoVs) have emerged as a global health threat, which had caused a high rate of mortality. There is an urgent need to find effective drugs against these viruses. Objective: This study aims to predict the activity of unsymmetrical aromatic disulfides by constructing a QSAR model, and to design new compounds according to the structural and physicochemical attributes responsible for higher activity towards SARS-CoVs main protease. Methods: All molecules were constructed in ChemOffice software and molecular descriptors were calculated by CODESSA software. A regression-based linear heuristic method was established by changing descriptors datasets and calculating predicted IC 50 values of compounds. Then, some new compounds were designed according to molecular descriptors from the heuristic method model. The compounds with predicted values smaller than a set point were constantly screened out. Finally, the properties analysis and molecular docking were conducted to further understand the structure-activity relationships of these finalized compounds. Results: The heuristic method explored the various descriptors responsible for bioactivity and gained the best linear model with R 2 0.87. The success of the model fully passed the testing set validation, proving that the model has both high statistical significance and excellent predictive ability. A total of 5 compounds with ideal predicted IC 50 were found from the 96 newly designed derivatives and their properties analyze was carried out. Molecular docking experiments were conducted for the optimal compound 31a, which has the best compound activity with good target protein binding capability. Conclusion: The heuristic method was quite reliable for predicting IC 50 values of unsymmetrical aromatic disulfides. The present research provides meaningful guidance for further exploration of the highly active inhibitors for SARS-CoVs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Song, Sun, Ma, Wang, Luan, Zhai, Su and Liu.)

Aedes aegypti abundance in residential estates is hypothesized to contribute to localised outbreaks of dengue in Singapore. Knowing the factors in the urban environment underlying high Ae. aegypti abundance could guide intervention efforts to reduce Ae. aegypti breeding and the incidence of dengue. In this study, objective data on Ae. aegypti abundance in public apartment blocks estimated by Singapore's nationally representative Gravitrap surveillance system was obtained from the National Environmental Agency. Low and high abundance status public apartment blocks were classified based on the Gravitrap Aegypti Index, corresponding to the lowest and highest quartiles respectively. An environmental case-control study was conducted, wherein a blinded assessment of urban features hypothesised to form breeding habitats was conducted in 50 randomly sampled public apartment blocks with low and high abundance statuses each. Logistic regression was performed to identify features that correlated with abundance status. A multivariable logistic model was created to determine key urban features found in corridors and void decks which were predictive of the Ae. aegypti abundance status of the public apartment block. At a statistical level of significance of 0.20, the presence of gully traps [Odds Ratio (OR): 1.34, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.10, 1.66], age of the public apartment block [OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.48, 3.60], housing price [OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.61] and corridor cleanliness [OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.07] were identified as important predictors of abundance status. To reduce Ae. aegypti abundance around public apartment blocks and potential onward dengue transmission, gully traps could be remodelled or replaced by other drainage types. Routine inspections of Ae. aegypti breeding should be targeted at older and low-income neighbourhoods. Campaigns for cleaner corridors should be promoted., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Fernandez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Iron nanoparticles (NPs) priming is known to affect the seed germination and seedling growth in many plants. However, whether it has an important role in stimulating the growth of perennial Qinghai-Tibet Plateau plants remains unclear. In this study, the effects of seed priming with different concentrations of nFe 2 O 3 and FeCl 3 (10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 mg L -1 ) on seed germination, plant growth, photosystem, antioxidant enzyme activities, root morphology, and biomass distribution of Kobresia capillifolia were evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results showed that compared with treatment materials, concentration had more significant effects on K. capillifolia development. There was no significant impact on germination rate were discovered under all treatments, but decreased the seed mildew rate at 100 mg L -1 nFe 2 O 3 . Compare with control, Fe-based priming significantly decreased root biomass. All Fe-based treatments increased rubisco activity of leaves, and significantly enhanced Pn at ranged from 10 to 100 mg L -1 . Meanwhile, chlorophyll contents were decreased, the chloroplasts were swollen, and thylakoids were disorganized under all Fe treatments. Iron-based priming significantly enhanced SOD, POD, and CAT activities in Kobresia roots. In conclusion, the thick cuticle-covered seed coat of K. capillifolia postponed the penetration of FeNPs into seeds, so FeNPs priming had a weak impact on seed germination. The sustainable release of Fe ions from FeNPs and the uptake of Fe ions by roots affected the physiology, biochemistry and morphology of K. capillifolia. The findings of this study provide an in-depth understanding of how FeNPs impact the alpine meadow plant, K. capillifolia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Mid-infrared (MIR) photonic integrated circuits have generated considerable interest, owing to their potential applications, such as thermal imaging and biochemical sensing. A challenging area in the field is the development of reconfigurable approaches for the enhancement of on-chip functions, where a phase shifter plays an important role. Here, we demonstrate a MIR microelectromechanical system (MEMS) phase shifter by utilizing an asymmetric slot waveguide with subwavelength grating (SWG) claddings. The MEMS-enabled device can be easily integrated into a fully suspended waveguide with SWG cladding, built on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. Through engineering of the SWG design, the device achieves a maximum phase shift of 6π, with an insertion loss of 4 dB and a half-wave-voltage-length product (V π L π ) of 2.6 V·cm. Moreover, the time response of the device is measured as 13 µs (rise time) and 5 µs (fall time).

Objective To investigate the effect of inhibitor of differentiation 2 (Id2) on the proportion of CD4 + T cells by detecting the proportion of CD4 + T cell subsets and Id2 expression in peripheral blood and joint synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A total of 51 RA patients (including 18 patients providing synovial fluid) and 31 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. The proportions of CD4 + T cells, Th1 cells, and Th17 cells, and their expression of Id2 in peripheral blood and synovial fluid of RA patients and HCs were detected by flow cytometry. Results Compared with HCs group, the proportions of circulating CD4 + T cells, Th1 cells, and Th17 cells and their expression of Id2 in RA patients did not change significantly. The proportions of CD4 + T cells and Th1 cells, and Id2 expression in CD4 + T cells in synovial fluid of RA patients were significantly higher than those in peripheral blood of RA patients and HCs. The expression rate of Id2 in CD4 + T cells was positively correlated with the expression of IFN-γ, but not with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), and Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28). Conclusion CD4 + T cells are enriched in RA synovial fluid, and their Id2 expression may promote Th1 cell differentiation.

The rapid development of neuro-inspired computing demands synaptic devices with ultrafast speed, low power consumption, and multiple non-volatile states, among other features. Here, a high-performance synaptic device is designed and established based on a Ag/PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 (PZT, (111)-oriented)/Nb:SrTiO 3 ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ). The advantages of (111)-oriented PZT (~1.2 nm) include its multiple ferroelectric switching dynamics, ultrafine ferroelectric domains, and small coercive voltage. The FTJ shows high-precision (256 states, 8 bits), reproducible (cycle-to-cycle variation, ~2.06%), linear (nonlinearity <1) and symmetric weight updates, with a good endurance of >10 9 cycles and an ultralow write energy consumption. In particular, manipulations among 150 states are realized under subnanosecond (~630 ps) pulse voltages ≤5 V, and the fastest resistance switching at 300 ps for the FTJs is achieved by voltages <13 V. Based on the experimental performance, the convolutional neural network simulation achieves a high online learning accuracy of ~94.7% for recognizing fashion product images, close to the calculated result of ~95.6% by floating-point-based convolutional neural network software. Interestingly, the FTJ-based neural network is very robust to input image noise, showing potential for practical applications. This work represents an important improvement in FTJs towards building neuro-inspired computing systems., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

HfO 2 -based ferroelectric materials are good candidates for constructing next-generation nonvolatile memories and high-performance electronic synapses and have attracted extensive attention from both academia and industry. Here, a Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 -based ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) memristor is successfully fabricated by epitaxially growing a Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 film on a 0.7 wt % Nb-doped SrTiO 3 (001) substrate with a buffer layer of La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO 3 (∼1 u.c.). The FTJ shows a high switching speed of 20 ns, a giant electroresistance ratio of ∼834, and multiple states (eight states or three bits) with good retention >10 4 s. As a solid synaptic device, tunable synapse functions have also been obtained, including long-term potentiation, long-term depression, and spike-timing-dependent plasticity. These results highlight the promising applications of Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 -based FTJ in ultrafast-speed and high-density nonvolatile memories and artificial synapses.

The worldwide pandemic, coronavirus COVID-19, has been posing a serious threat to the global economy and security in last 2 years. The monthly consumption and subsequent discarding of 129 billion masks (equivalent to 645,000 tons) pose a serious detrimental impact on environmental sustainability. In this study, we report a novel type of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with supreme filtration performance and controllable degradation rates, which are mainly composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and artificially cultured diatom frustules (DFs). In this way, the filtration efficiency of particular matter (PM) and the pressure drop were significantly improved in the prepared PLA/DFs NFMs as compared with the neat PLA NFM. In specific, with incorporation of 5% DFs into fibers, PM 0.3 removal with a filtration efficiency of over 99% and a pressure drop of 109 Pa were achieved with a membrane thickness of only 0.1 mm. Moreover, the yield strength and crystallinity degree of the PLA/DFs5 NFMs were sharply increased from 1.88 Mpa and 26.37% to 2.72 Mpa and 30.02%. Besides those unique characters, the PLA/DFs5 presented excellent degradability, accompanied by the degradation of 38% in 0.01 M sodium hydroxide solution after 7 days and approximately 100% in natural condition after 42 days, respectively. Meanwhile, the environmentally friendly raw materials of the composite polylactic acid and artificially cultured diatom frustules could be extracted from corn-derived biomass and artificially cultivated diatoms, ensuring the conformance to carbon neutrality and promising applications in personal protection., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42114-022-00474-7., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.)

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) specifically express forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) and CD25, which are indispensable components in the immune system to maintain immune self-tolerance and homeostasis. In recent years, Tregs that exist in non-lymphatic tissues have gradually obtained people's attention. Through genomics, proteomics, metabolic regulation and other in vivo and in vitro functional studies, it has been found that tissue-resident Tregs have unique phenotype that are different from circulating Tregs, and can perform some non-immune functions in addition to its immunosuppressive function in the tissues. By summarizing various functions of non-lymphoid tissue Tregs, we aimed to provide reference for studies on the functional mechanism of tissue-resident Tregs and treatment targeting tissue-resident Tregs.

Background: Despite the licensure of the world's first dengue vaccine and the current development of additional vaccine candidates, successful Aedes control remains critical to the reduction of dengue virus transmission. To date, there is still limited literature that attempts to explain the spatio-temporal population dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes within a single city, which hinders the development of more effective citywide vector control strategies. Narrowing this knowledge gap requires consistent and longitudinal measurement of Aedes abundance across the city as well as examination of relationships between variables on a much finer scale., Methods: We utilized a high-resolution longitudinal dataset generated from Singapore's islandwide Gravitrap surveillance system over a 2-year period and built a Bayesian hierarchical model to explain the spatio-temporal dynamics of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in relation to a wide range of environmental and anthropogenic variables. We also created a baseline during our model assessment to serve as a benchmark to be compared with the model's out-of-sample prediction/forecast accuracy as measured by the mean absolute error., Results: For both Aedes species, building age and nearby managed vegetation cover were found to have a significant positive association with the mean mosquito abundance, with the former being the strongest predictor. We also observed substantial evidence of a nonlinear effect of weekly maximum temperature on the Aedes abundance. Our models generally yielded modest but statistically significant reductions in the out-of-sample prediction/forecast error relative to the baseline., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that public residential estates with older buildings and more nearby managed vegetation should be prioritized for vector control inspections and community advocacy to reduce the abundance of Aedes mosquitoes and the risk of dengue transmission.

Background: With at least 94 countries undergoing or exiting lockdowns for contact suppression to control the COVID-19 outbreak, sustainable and public health-driven exit strategies are required. Here we explore the impact of lockdown and exit strategies in Singapore for immediate planning., Methods: We use an agent-based model to examine the impacts of epidemic control over 480 days. A limited control baseline of case isolation and household member quarantining is used. We measure the impact of lockdown duration and start date on final infection attack sizes. We then apply a 3-month gradual exit strategy, immediately re-opening schools and easing workplace distancing measures, and compare this to long-term social distancing measures., Findings: At baseline, we estimated 815 400 total infections (21.6% of the population). Early lockdown at 5 weeks with no exit strategy averted 18 500 (2.27% of baseline averted), 21 300 (2.61%) and 22 400 (2.75%) infections for 6, 8 and 9-week lockdown durations. Using the exit strategy averted a corresponding 114 700, 121 700 and 126 000 total cases, representing 12.07-13.06% of the total epidemic size under baseline. This diminishes to 9 900-11 300 for a late 8-week start time. Long-term social distancing at 6 and 8-week durations are viable but less effective., Interpretation: Gradual release exit strategies are critical to maintain epidemic suppression under a new normal. We present final infection attack sizes assuming the ongoing importation of cases, which require preparation for a potential second epidemic wave due to ongoing epidemics elsewhere., Funding: Singapore Ministry of Health, Singapore Population Health Improvement Centre., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Molecular dynamics simulation studies were employed to investigate the microscopic behaviors of CH 4 and CO 2 molecules in slit-nanopores (SNPs) with various surfaces and different compositions. Three kinds of SNPs were constructed by a pair-wise combination of graphene, silica, and the calcite surface. The grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulation methods were used to investigate the adsorption and self-diffusion of the gases in the nanopores. It is found that in all three cases, the CH 4 molecules prefer to adsorb onto the graphene surface, whereas the CO 2 molecules prefer to adsorb onto the calcite surface. The adsorption intensity of gases adsorbed onto various surfaces, the adsorption distances, along with the details of adsorption orientations of CH 4 and CO 2 molecules on various surfaces are calculated. The surface characteristics, such as surface roughness and charge distribution, are analyzed to help understand the microscopic adsorption behaviors of the gases on the specific surface. It was found that competitive adsorptions of CO 2 over CH 4 broadly occurred, especially in the SNPs containing calcite, because of the strong adsorption interactions between the CO 2 molecules and the calcite surface. This work provides the microbehaviors of CH 4 and CO 2 in SNPs with various surfaces in different compositions to provide useful guidance for better understanding about the microstate of gases in complex nanoporous shale formation and to give out useful guidance for enhancing shale gas recovery by injecting CO 2 ., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.