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• APRIL and BAFF levels are elevated in the AH of vitreoretinal lymphoma patients and uveitis, and our results show that BAFF and APRIL AH levels are markedly increased in patients with uveitis compared with VRL. • In this retrospective study, we illustrate the potential of APRIL and BAFF as reliable diagnostic biomarkers for differentiating VRL from uveitis. • A significant reduction in AH APRIL and BAFF levels during chemotherapy suggests that they can be used as an indicator for efficacy assessment for VRL patients. Early diagnosis of vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL) is critical for the successful treatment of this rare intraocular malignancy. However, fast and reliable diagnosis of VRL in patients presenting with intermediate or posterior non-infectious uveitis remains a challenge. A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) are vital factors in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and prognosis of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and systemic autoimmune diseases. However, their utility as biomarkers for the diagnosis of VRL and uveitis remains unclear. In this retrospective study, we analyzed APRIL and BAFF levels in the aqueous humor (AH) of 43 eyes of 40 patients, including 23 eyes of 20 patients with VRL, eight eyes of eight patients with uveitis, and 12 eyes of 12 patients with other ocular diseases (OODs). Additionally, we measured their levels after induction of chemotherapy in five eyes of five patients with VRL. AH levels of APRIL reliably distinguished VRL from uveitis, with a specificity of 78.3% and sensitivity of 75%. BAFF also showed similar potential. Serial AH analysis of patients with VRL during chemotherapy demonstrated a corresponding decline in AH levels of APRIL and BAFF. This study extends the spectrum of valuable diagnostic biomarkers for VRL and uveitis. In patients with uveitis, the assessment of AH APRIL may help accelerate the diagnosis of VRL. Moreover, our results underline the important role of APRIL and BAFF in therapeutic monitoring of VRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modeling a rough surface, it is common to assume a Gaussian height distribution. This hypothesis cannot describe an eventual asymmetry between crests and troughs of natural surfaces. We analyzed the bistatic scattering from a rough surface with non-Gaussian height distributions using the Kirchhoff scattering theory. Two extreme cases of Gamma-distributed surfaces were compared in particular: exponential and Gaussian distributions. The bistatic angular dependence was examined under various root mean square (RMS) heights and power spectrum densities. Contribution sources to the coherent and incoherent scattering components were singled out relating to the surface height distribution. For an exponential height surface, the coherent scattering strengthens even as the surface becomes rough. The non-Gaussian effect on the incoherent scattering is connected with surface power spectrum density. The height distribution impacts differ in the different regions of the bistatic scattering plane and thus complicate the differentiation of the scattering patterns due to height distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Some occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are resulted from PreS mutations that reduce secretion of envelope protein (HBsAg). We investigated the ceramide amounts and species in hepatocytes infected with PreS variants that were isolated from HBsAg-seronegative patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the ceramide effects on autochthonous HCC development in murine models.Methods: HBV PreS/S regions from 35 HBsAg-seronegative HCC patients were sequenced. Hepatocyte cell lines and male C57BL/6J mouse livers were transfected with two PreS variant representatives. The ceramides with variated lengths of fatty acyl chains were quantified. Tumour development was examined in the HBV-transfected mice fed different diet types.Results: In HBsAg-seronegative HCC patients, nonneoplastic liver tissues harboured HBsAg and replication-competent HBV. The most frequently detected PreS/S variants carried mutations of altered amino acid properties in HBsAg compared with an isolate from one HBsAg-seronegative HCC patient. Hepatocyte infection with PreS variants caused HBsAg retention within the endoplasmic reticulum and generated more amounts of ceramides with C16:0 ceramide elevated the highest. Saturated fatty acids aggravated the PreS variant-infected hepatocytes to generate abnormal amounts and species of ceramides, which with HBV proteins synergistically activated NLRP3 inflammasome in liver inflammatory macrophages. Liver tumours were only detected in HBV-transfected mice fed high-fat diet, with higher tumour loads in the PreS variant-transfected, associated with abnormal ceramide generation.Conclusions: HBV PreS mutations which altered amino acid properties of envelope proteins inhibited HBsAg secretion. Hepatocyte infection with PreS variants generated abnormal ceramides which with HBV proteins coactivated NLRP3 inflammasome in liver macrophages to promote autochthonous HCC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a wideband filtering power divider using vertically installed planar (VIP) circuit is proposed, where three‐line coupled structures are introduced to realize filtering responses. The even‐odd mode analysis method is applied to assess the electrical performance of the whole structure. The simulated and measured results demonstrate that the proposed design has a wide operation bandwidth (>103%), low insertion loss (<0.6 dB) and good isolation (>15.2 dB). Moreover, the amplitude imbalance and phase imbalance are less than 0.2 dB and 0.5°, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new state observer-based vibration control strategy for the suspension system equipped with magnetorheological (MR) damper is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the Bouc-Wen model is implemented to fit the hysteresis phenomenon of the MR damper. A new dynamic model is successfully formulated including the Bouc-Wen model and electrical equation. According to the energy conservation law, an adjustable current is designed as the control object to adjust the characteristics of the MR damper to absorb the external input energy. Then, the current is assumed as an unavailable state for the suspension system, a supplemental state observer (SSOB) including the correction function and adaptation law is proposed to estimate it. Finally, a supplemental state observer-based sliding mode control (SSOBSMC) integrated with SSOB and sliding mode control (SMC) is proposed to estimate the unavailable current and perform robust vibration control, simultaneously. From the simulation results, the proposed SSOB shows outstanding state estimation ability for the suspension system. The SSOBSMC also performs outstanding state estimation ability and robust vibration control performance, simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A zirconium–cobalt metal–organic framework (ZrCo-MOF) was prepared and used as sensing material to fabricate an aptasensor for trace detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The ZrCo-MOF integrates the 3D porous structure and abundant defects of the MOF framework, the catalytic activity and inherent redox behavior of Co, and high stability of Zr-MOF, providing abundant active sites to effectively anchor aptamers. As a result, the ZrCo-MOF-based aptasensor shows high sensitivity to detect CEA via specific recognition between aptamer and CEA, as well as the formation of aptamer-CEA complex. A detection limit of 0.35 fg·mL−1 was deduced from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy within a wide linear range of 0.001–100 pg·mL−1 for CEA, which was substantially lower than those of most reported CEA biosensors. The ZrCo-MOF-based aptasensor also shows good selectivity, reproducibility, regenerability, stability, and applicability for human serum sample. Therefore, the developed ZrCo-MOF-based aptasensor will be promising for ultrasensitive detection of biomarkers and the early diagnosis of cancer. This work presents a novel electrochemical aptasensor for the trace detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) based on a zirconium–cobalt metal–organic framework (ZrCo-MOF), which shows low detection limit of 0.35 fg·mL−1, high selectivity as well as good reproducibility, regenerability, stability, and applicability. The result provides a promising approach to detect the cancer biomarkers in an early age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the effect of microwave leakage into the diode region on the suppression of backward current in a relativistic backward wave oscillator (RBWO) operating at low magnetic field is investigated by the theoretical analysis, particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation, and experiments. The theoretical results show that some backward electrons are absorbed by the cathode holder due to microwave leakage, and as the microwave power increases, the microwave frequency increases, and the guiding magnetic field decreases, it will promote the absorption of electrons. The PIC simulations based on the first principle reveal that the leakage microwave partially suppresses the backward current and the suppression is enhanced when the incidence TM02 is dominant. In the ${X}$ -band dual-mode RBWO packaged with permanent magnet experiments, a microwave pulse with the power of 3.9 GW, the frequency of 9.93 GHz, and the efficiency of 33% was measured when the diode voltage was 820 kV and diode current was 14.5 kA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are recognized as potential etiological agents in the development of oral cancer in smokers. In particular, benzo[ a ]pyrene (B[ a ]P) and dibenzo[ def,p ]chrysene (DB[ a,l ]P) are detected in cigarette smoke and the environment and can induce DNA damage, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis in the oral cavity of rodents. Consequently, DNA adducts are regarded as the most direct markers of genotoxicity and can be used as biomarkers of cancer risk. Thus, this study used LC-MS/MS analysis with isotope labeled internal standard to detect and quantify DNA adducts derived from B[ a ]P and DB[ a,l ]P in buccal cells of cigarette smokers and non-smokers. Participants in this study include 21 smokers and 16 non-smokers. Our data are the first to report that levels (mean ± SD) of BPDE-N2-dG were significantly (P < 0.001) higher in smokers (20.18 ± 8.40 adducts/108 dG) than in non-smokers (0.84 ± 1.02 adducts/108 dG). Likewise, levels of DBPDE-N6-dA in smokers (5.49 ± 3.41 adducts/108 dA) were significantly higher (P = 0.019) than non-smokers (2.76 ± 2.29 adducts/108 dA). Collectively, the results of this clinical study support that PAHs in tobacco smoke can contribute to the development of oral cancer in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special attention has been paid in recent years to the social and environmental implications of municipal solid waste. There are potential social and environmental issues associated with storing any waste in landfill. Soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination are issues related to landfill and the migration of contaminants by leaching to adjacent areas. The current research attempts to simulate the penetration of landfill contaminants through groundwater leaching, using PART modeling approaches. Multiple social factors, taken from five years of data from 20 counties and cities in Taiwan were used as predictors of groundwater arsenic content. The results indicate that the proposed model attains a precision rate of 87%. The findings suggest that county and city demographics and the volume of waste removed are two major factors in determining the arsenic content of groundwater. The proposed predictive model can be adopted by agencies as an effective early warning tool for groundwater arsenic levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common and causes many deaths worldwide. The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism by which long non‐coding RNA FGD5‐AS1 regulates HCC cell proliferation and stemness. Methods: Tumor and normal adjacent tissues were harvested from HCC patients. Real‐time quantitative reverse transcription‐PCR was applied to examine the expression of FGD5‐AS1, miR‐223, Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) and FAT1. The protein levels of ECT2, FAT1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), OCT4, CD133 and CD90 were analyzed by western blot. The localization of FGD5‐AS1 was examined by Fluorescence in situ hybridization. Cell proliferation was analyzed with CCK‐8 and colony formation assays. Spheroid formation was used for analyzing cell stemness. Gene interaction was examined by RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase activity assays. A subcutaneous xenograft mouse model was established to analyze HCC growth and stemness in vivo. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to analyze the expression PCNA and OCT4 in subcutaneous tumors. Results: FGD5‐AS1 was upregulated in HCC and its high expression indicated poor prognosis of patients. High expression of FGD5‐AS1 enhanced HCC cell proliferation and stemness. Knockdown of FGD5‐AS1 restrained tumor growth and stemness in mice. FGD5‐AS1 directly sponged miR‐223 and promoted the expression of ECT2 and FAT1 in HCC. Both knockdown of miR‐223 and overexpression of ECT2 and FAT1 reversed FGD5‐AS1 silencing‐mediated suppression of HCC cell proliferation and stemness. Conclusion: FGD5‐AS1 directly sponged miR‐223 and promoted the expression of ECT2 and FAT1 in HCC, thus enhancing HCC cell proliferation and stemness. Our study identifies potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a well-known biodegradable and biocompatible polymer. However, its poor crystallization ability restricts its broad applications. In this work, PLA/boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing. From either the melt or the glassy state, the effect of BNNTs on the nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behavior of PLA was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as polarized optical microscopy (POM). It was found that a small amount (0.25 wt%) of BNNTs could enhance both nonisothermal melt and cold crystallization of PLA remarkably. The Avrami equation was employed to analyze the calorimetric characterization of the isothermal crystallization behavior. It was found that the Avrami exponent of PLA crystallization was almost not changed in the presence of BNNTs, suggesting that both the melt and cold crystallization mechanism is unchanged with the addition of BNNTs. This investigation reveals that BNNTs are effective nucleator of PLA in substituting for carbon nanotubes (CNTs), when colorless products are demanded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imaging performance of the lunar-based synthetic aperture radar (LBSAR) is susceptible to the orbital perturbation effects. In particular, the perturbations of orbital inclination and right ascension of ascending node (RAAN) could give rise to the temporally varying orbit drift of LBSAR and further lead to Doppler errors in the radio signal. As a result, the LBSAR image performance might be influenced by such effects. This study comprehensively probes into the phase error induced by perturbations of orbital inclination and RAAN, and its effects on the LBSAR imaging performance are further explored. It is found that the LBSAR imaging performance in terms of focusing quality and geometric fidelity is affected by the perturbations of orbital inclination and RAAN, wherein the deterioration of focusing quality is closely associated with the synthetic aperture time. In this regard, the azimuth resolution on a decameter level is optimum for Earth observation of LBSAR with satisfactory image quality. Regarding the geometric fidelity, the accuracy requirement for the orbit determination of the LBSAR under perturbations of the orbital inclination and RAAN is proposed. The analysis results show that the LBSAR orbit determination in terms of the position and velocity determinations is most strenuous in the z-direction. Finally, point target responses are simulated to illustrate the preceding analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method of retrieving plant height and phonological information by GNSS is proposed. • The retrieval heights are in relatively high agreement with in-situ values, with RMSE of less than 9 cm. • The difference between estimated phenology metric dates and reference value from NDVI is within 8 days. • High correlations observed between GNSS-IR observations and NDVI and low to LAI. Monitoring vegetation growth utilizing the Global Navigation Satellite System-interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) technology has obtained widespread attention in recent years. GNSS-IR based approaches demonstrate the advantageous characteristics of high temporal resolution while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Most existing studies generally utilize reflected signals to retrieve the plant height and vegetation water content, while few studies focus on vegetation phenology and yield. In this study, both phenology metric dates and plant height of wheat were extracted using reflected signals data from GPS and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) in a wheat farmland, located at northeast of Henan, China. The results showed that there was reasonable consistency between the retrieval heights and in-situ measurements, with the correlation coefficient of 0.836 for GPS and 0.868 for BDS. The damping coefficient calculated by signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) presented obvious characteristics during different wheat growth stages and the trends of the damping coefficient were basically consistent with that of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). When taking a lag between the leaf area index (LAI) and the damping coefficient into consideration, the correlation was greatly increased. Moreover, the phenology metrics dates extracted by the damping coefficient were close to those estimated by NDVI with errors less than 8 days. Hence, this research preliminarily proves the feasibility of obtaining the wheat phenological period by using GNSS-IR technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • In this study, a stable, uniform, and sensitive SERS substrate was successfully synthesized by combining COFs and AgNPs. • We conducted a detailed analysis of the specific role of COFs in the substrate through their characterization and DFT simulation. • The detection limits achieved in amoxicillin aqueous solution, lake water, and honey were found to be satisfactory. Specifically, the detection limits were 0.279 μg/L in the aqueous solution, 8.246 μg/L in lake water, and 2.47 ng/g in honey. This study presents the design of a Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, COF@Ag, for the sensitive detection of Amoxicillin (AMX) in lake water and honey. Furthermore, the study investigates the role of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in SERS detection. The characterization results demonstrate the capability of COFs to efficiently enrich Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs), resulting in a more concentrated distribution of hotspots and an enhanced electromagnetic field on the substrate. By employing density functional theory (DFT) simulation, the frontier electronic orbitals of COFs and AMX were analyzed, and the chemical bonds and weak interactions in the system were examined using the Interaction Region Indicator (IRI) method to propose potential enhancement mechanisms. In aqueous solutions, the linear range is 1 μg/L-30 μg/L, with a limit of detection (LOD) 0.279 μg/L. In lake water, the linear range span from 100 μg/L to 500 μg/L, with a detection limit of 8.244 μg/L. For honey, the linear range extend from 20 ng/g to 100 ng/g, with a detection limit of 2.917 ng/g. This method holds key significance in facilitating the rapid detection of amoxicillin and advancing the application of COFs in SERS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicides and opioid overdose deaths are among the most pressing public health concerns in the US. However direct evidence for the association between opioid use and suicidal behavior is limited. The objective of this article is to examine the association between frequency and dose of prescription opioid use and subsequent suicide attempts. Methods and findings: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 4 years of statewide medical claims data from the Connecticut All-Payer Claims Database. Commercially insured adult patients in Connecticut (n = 842,773) who had any medical claims beginning in January 2012 were followed through December 2015. The primary outcome was suicide attempt identified using International Classification of Diseases (ICD 9) diagnosis codes. Primary predictor variables included frequency of opioid use, which was defined as the number of months with claims for prescription opioids per year, and strength of opioid dose, which was standardized using morphine milligram equivalent (MME) units. We also controlled for psychiatric and medical comorbidities using ICD 9 codes. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to examine the association between frequency, dose, and suicide attempts, adjusting for medical and psychiatric comorbid conditions. Interactions among measures of opioid use and comorbid conditions were analyzed. In this cohort study with follow-up time up to 4 years (range = 2–48 months, median = 46 months), the hazard ratios (HR) from the time-to-event analysis indicated that patients prescribed opioid medications for at least 6 months during the past year and at 20–50 MME levels or higher had 4.44 (95% CI: [3.71, 5.32]) to 7.23 (95% CI: [6.22, 8.41]) times the risk of attempted suicide compared to those not prescribed opioids. Risk of suicide attempt was sharply elevated among patients with psychiatric conditions other than anxiety who were prescribed more frequent and higher opioid doses. In contrast, more frequent and higher doses of prescription opioids were associated with lower risk of suicide attempts among patients with medical conditions necessitating pain management. This study is limited by its exclusive focus on commercially insured patients and does not include patients covered by public insurance. It is also limited to patients' receipt of prescription opioids and does not take into account opioids obtained through other means, nor does it include measures of actual patient opioid use. Conclusions: This analysis provides evidence of a complex relationship among prescription opioids, mental health, pain and other medical comorbidities, and suicide risk. Findings indicate the need for proactive suicide surveillance among individuals diagnosed with affective or psychotic disorders who are receiving frequent and high doses of opioids. However, appropriate opioid treatment may have significant value in reducing suicide risk for those without psychiatric comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is caused by an uncontrolled inflammatory response, whose underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. It is well known that the majority of human genes can be expressed as alternative isoforms. While isoform switching is implicated in many diseases and is particularly prominent in cancer, it has never been reported in the context of sepsis. Patients presented to the emergency department of three tertiary care hospitals from January 2020 to December 2020 were enrolled. Clinical variables and genome-wide transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained. Isoform switching analysis were performed to identify significant isoform switches and relevant biological consequences. A total of 48 subjects with sepsis, involving 42 survivors and 6 non-survivors, admitted to the emergency department of three tertiary care hospitals were enrolled in this study. PBMCs were extracted for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Patients (n = 4) with mild stroke or acute coronary syndrome without infection were enrolled in this study as controls. The most frequent functional changes resulting from isoform switching were changes affecting the open reading frame, protein domains and intron retention. Many genes without differences in gene expression showed significant isoform switching. Many genes with significant isoform switches ( | d I F | > 0.1) were associated with higher mortality risk, including PIGS, CASP3, LITAF, HBB and RUVBL2. The study for the first time described the landscape of isoform switching in sepsis, including differentially expressed isoform fractions between patients with and without sepsis and survivors and nonsurvivors. The biological consequences of isoform switching, including protein domain loss, signal peptide gain, and intron retention, were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The signal propagation of the lunar-based synthetic aperture radar (LBSAR) is affected by perturbations of the lunar orbit, wherein the apsidal precession that exerts a significant impact on the LBSAR imaging performance of the LBSAR deserves special care. Accordingly, the orbital determination used to maintain well-focused quality and high geometric fidelity in the existing SAR system becomes critical for the LBSAR. In this article, through establishing criteria for the orbital determination of LBSAR based on its imaging performance under the influence of apsidal precession, we investigate the accuracy requirements for the LBSAR orbital determination in terms of the position and velocity determinations. Analysis results show that the required accuracy for the LBSAR position determination depends on the geometric fidelity in the range direction, while the accuracy requirement for the velocity determination is dominated by the azimuth positioning accuracy. The focusing quality is not a primary issue for the LBSAR orbital determination. In addition, the far look angle of LBSAR accounts for the highest accuracy requirement in the position and velocity determinations; thus, it can be treated as the optimum look angle for the LBSAR orbital determination. It is also found that both velocity and position determinations are challenging in the ${z}$ -direction for the LBSAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on improving the operating efficiency of the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) submerged pump system in the LNG receiving terminals and achieve energy saving. The minimum input energy consumption of the LNG submerged pump system is taken as the objective function, and an optimization model for the operation of the LNG submerged pump system with variable frequency speed is established. LINGO18.0 optimization software is used to solve the model to get the optimal LNG submerged pump operation plan that satisfies the constraints. Taking a certain LNG receiving terminal as an example, the operation optimization of its LNG submerged pump system is carried out, and the input energy consumption of the system before and after optimization is compared. The results show that the use of variable frequency pumps can reduce the energy consumption of the LNG submerged pump system of LNG receiving terminals, and the optimization model can reduce the input power consumption of the system by about 10% under different transportation conditions. After applying the optimization model to actual production, it is found that the model has certain practicability for guiding the production of LNG receiving terminal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To develop and validate a radiomics model based on 18F-FDG PET/CT images to preoperatively predict occult axillary lymph node (ALN) metastases in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) with clinically node-negative (cN0); Methods: A total of 180 patients (mean age, 55 years; range, 31–82 years) with pathologically proven IDC and a preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT scan from January 2013 to January 2021 were included in this retrospective study. According to the intraoperative pathological results of ALN, we divided patients into the true-negative group and ALN occult metastasis group. Radiomics features were extracted from PET/CT images using Pyradiomics implemented in Python, t-tests, and LASSO were used to screen the feature, and the random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), stochastic gradient descent (SGD), and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) were used to build the prediction models. The best-performing model was further tested by the permutation test; Results: Among the four models, RF had the best prediction results, the AUC range of RF was 0.661–0.929 (mean AUC, 0.817), and the accuracy range was 65.3–93.9% (mean accuracy, 81.2%). The p-values of the permutation tests for the RF model with maximum and minimum accuracy were less than 0.01; Conclusions: The developed RF model was able to predict occult ALN metastases in IDC patients based on preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the dimensions of high power microwave devices is an efficient method to improve the power capacity. However, an overmoded structure usually results in mode competition and a low beam-wave conversion efficiency. In this paper, a multi-mode operation mechanism is used to avoid mode competition and increase the efficiency. The calculation results of nonlinear theory of beam-multimode interaction show that the optimized conversion efficiency is up to 48% when TM01 mode, TM02 mode, and TM03 mode are all considered. As only the TM01 mode, TM02 mode, or TM03 mode is taken into account independently, the corresponding efficiency is 38%, 22%, or 20%. Based on this, a multi-mode relativistic backward wave oscillator is proposed with the ratio of the mean diameter of the slow wave structure (SWS) to the wavelength of the output microwave to be 3.5. The non-uniform SWS is used to increase the beam-wave conversion efficiency, and a combined reflector is adopted to reflect partial of the mixed microwave modes and make the device compact. The particle-in-cell simulations show that as the diode voltage is 1.1 MV, the beam current is 22.8 kA, and the external magnetic field is 0.76 T, the conversion efficiency is 45%, and the output microwave of 11.3 GW is the mixed modes of TM01 mode, TM02 mode, and TM03 modes with the corresponding power ratio of 74%, 7%, and 19%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A trash to high-value-added material strategy of waste conversion is presented. • Two interactions of polyurethane surface and silica are revealed. • The mechanism of coalescence demulsification of emulsions is revealed. • The obtained materials can separate immiscible and emulsified oil/water mixtures. • The scaling up of the oil/water separator from lab to a factor of 100 was studied. Polyurethane plastic waste (PUPW), a port-abundant solid waste, is difficult to degrade naturally and poses a severe threat to the environment. Hence, the effective recycling of PUPW remains a challenge. Herein, a strategy of converting PUPW into stacked oil/water filtration layer grain through a layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly process is investigated. Notably, such PU-based, grain-stacked, and switchable wettability of the oil/water filter layer is first reported. The grain-stacked filter layers are flexible for separating immiscible oil/water mixtures, water-in-oil emulsions (WOE), and oil-in-water emulsions (OWE) under gravity over 10 cycle-usages. They can withstand strong acid/alkali solutions (pH = 1–14) and salt solutions over 12 h. Besides, 100-times scale-up experiments have indicated that the obtained filter layers exhibit an upper to 98.2 % separation efficiency for 10 L real industrial oil/water emulsion in the 24 h continuous operation. The demulsification mechanism for emulsions is that the electrostatic interaction along with adsorption between emulsion droplets and grains leads to the uneven distribution of surfactants on the interface film of the emulsion droplets, increasing the probability of tiny droplets colliding and coalescing into large droplets to achieve oil/water separation. This work proposes an effective and economical method of abundant plastic waste for industrial-scale oil–water separation rather than just on the laboratory-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the computation of the backscattered field in simulation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) raw data. We develop an improved Kirchhoff approximation to estimate the surface fields induced by the incident waves. The improved Kirchhoff approximation is a second-order iterative solution of the integral equations governing the targets’ electric and magnetic current densities. In computing the second-order re-radiated fields, we applied the shoot-bouncing-ray (SBR) technique to enhance propagation path tracking efficiency. The geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) was employed to account for the diffraction fields from the edges and wedges, which constitute the total scattered fields collected by SAR in synthetic aperture. As the SAR moves along the azimuth direction, the backscattered signal computation is repeated as the antenna beam crosses the targets. This procedure demands heavy computational resources but requires no priori assumptions of radar cross-sections (RCSs) nor speckle statistics. The raw data is generated as an output signal of the SAR system response into which the backscattered signal is input. We chose three types of the target to demonstrate our approach to confirm the effectiveness. The first set of targets are three dihedral reflectors – two of them were rotated to constitute three unique scattering matrices. The results show that the polarimetric information, both relative amplitudes and phases, are well–preserved. The second target is a rough surface with exponential power spectral density and Gaussian height probability density. We examined image speckle statistics of multi-looking image. The third target type is an electrically large cargo ship (container) sitting over a sea surface. Polarimetric analysis via the Pauli and Y4R decompositions reveals that the polarimetric features are well preserved. Simulation results demonstrate that the present approach is fully coherent in streamlining the data flow from backscattered field to complex single look images within the SAR imaging scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the bistatic radar scattering coefficients related to an oil-covered sea surface are predicted by modeling both the oil damping effect on surface roughness–through the advanced integral equation method–and the oil modification on the dielectric properties of the scattering surface. The bistatic scattering is analyzed in the whole upper scattering space under different radar frequencies, incidence angles, wind speeds, and oil thicknesses. Numerical predictions show that the scattering energy of an oil-covered sea surface is generally higher in the forward scattering zone than that in the backward one. In addition, the oil damping effect is the main mechanism ruling the scattering behavior in the backward region. The information related to the bistatic scattering geometry is also explored to retrieve oil thickness, representing one of the key parameters for radar-based marine oil pollution observation. A new index is proposed to quantify the sensitivity of bistatic scattering coefficients to oil thickness in different cases: single-polarization features, dual co-polarization features, namely, the polarization ratio (PR) and the normalized polarization difference index (NPDI), and dual-angular scattering features. Numerical results show that the bistatic scattering coefficients result in an enhanced sensitivity to oil thickness with respect to the monostatic case. The single HH-polarized scattering coefficients show better oil thickness sensitivity in the backward region, while the VV-polarized ones are more sensitive to oil thickness in the forward region. The combination of dual-polarized scattering coefficients significantly improves the oil thickness sensitivity compared to single-polarization radar observations, especially in the forward region. PR outperforms NPDI, even though the latter can suppress the effect of wind speed. The combination of dual-angular observations can significantly increase its sensitivity of oil thickness in the backward region but at the expense of reduced sensitivity in the forward region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate the single-particle excitation spectrum and the Landau liquid parameters for the archetypal model of solids, the three-dimensional uniform electron gas, with the variational diagrammatic Monte Carlo method, which gives numerically controlled results without systematic error. In the metallic range of density, we establish benchmark values for the wave-function renormalization factor Z, the effective mass m ∗ / m , and the Landau parameters F 0 s and F 0 a with unprecedented accuracy, and we resolve the long-standing puzzle of non-monotonic dependence of mass on density. We also exclude the possibility that experimentally measured large reduction of bandwidth in Na metal can originate from the charge and spin fluctuations contained in the model of the uniform electron gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are related to several inflammatory disorders. However, the potential links between such alternations and the risk of developing late fracture-related infection (FRI) remain unclear. This study investigated associations between genetic variations in the VDR and susceptibility to late FRI in the Chinese Han population. Between January 2016 and December 2019, 336 patients with late FRI and 368 healthy controls were genotyped six VDR genetic variations, including ApaI (rs7975232), BsmI (rs1544410), FokI (rs2228570), TaqI (rs731236), GATA (rs4516035), and Cdx-2 (rs11568820). Significant associations were observed between rs7975232 and FRI susceptibility in the recessive (P = 0.019, OR = 0.530, 95% CI 0.310-0.906) model. Patients with AA genotype had a relatively higher level of serological vitamin D (20.6 vs. 20.3 vs. 17.9 ng/ml) (P = 0.021) than those of AC and CC genotypes. Although no statistical differences were observed, potential correlations may exist between rs1544410 (dominant model: P = 0.079, OR = 0.634), rs2228570 (dominant model: P = 0.055, OR = 0.699), and rs4516035 (dominant model: P = 0.065, OR = 1.768) and the risk of FRI development. In the Chinese cohort, ApaI was associated with a decreased risk of developing FRI, and patients with the AA genotype had a higher vitamin D level. Further studies are required to assess the role of genetic variations in BsmI, FokI, and GATA in the pathogenesis of late FRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High power microwave (HPM) sources without guiding magnetic field have the advantages of compactness and miniaturization. However, the efficiency is generally limited due to the poor beam quality and low beam transmission rate. Here, we demonstrate a scheme that actually makes use of the large oscillation of electrons in the absence of a magnetic field. In a novel radial three-cavity transit-time oscillator (TTO) with two output ports, about half of the diode current is deposited on the walls of the first two cavities. On the one hand, the truncated electrons are with lower energy, which has delivered some of their kinetic energy to the standing-wave field in the first two cavities. Other electrons then gain energy from the standing-wave field and are accelerated to a much higher beam voltage than the diode voltage. On the other hand, after part electrons are truncated by the first two cavities, the remained electrons are characterized with smaller energy spread, higher current modulation coefficient, which results in a very efficient energy exchange between the beam current and the electromagnetic field in the third cavity with two extraction gaps. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation shows that when the diode voltage is 496 kV, beam current is 43.4 kA, the total output microwave powers are 11.4 GW, corresponding to an unprecedented beam-wave conversion efficiency of 53%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyploidization plays a crucial role in plant breeding and genetic improvement. Although the phenomenon of polyploidization affecting the area and number of plant epidermal pavement cells is well described, the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon is still largely unknown. In this study, we found that the leaves of autotetraploid birch (Betula pendula) stopped cell division earlier and had a larger cell area. In addition, compared to diploids, tetraploids have a smaller stomatal density and fewer stomatal numbers. Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis revealed no significant difference in global DNA methylation levels between diploids and tetraploids. A total of 9154 differential methylation regions (DMRs) were identified between diploids and tetraploids, with CHH-type DMRs accounting for 91.73% of all types of DMRs. Further research has found that there are a total of 2105 differentially methylated genes (DMEGs) with CHH-type DMRs in birch. The GO functional enrichment results of DMEGs showed that differentially methylated genes were mainly involved in terms such as cellular process and metabolic process. The analysis of differentially methylated genes and differentially expressed genes suggests that hyper-methylation in the promoter region may inhibit the gene expression level of BpCYCD3;2 in tetraploids. To investigate the function of BpCYCD3;2 in birch, we obtained overexpression and repressed expression lines of BpCYCD3;2 through genetic transformation. The morphogenesis of both BpCYCD3;2 -OE and BpCYCD3;2 -RE lines was not affected. However, low expression of BpCYCD3;2 can lead to inhibition of cell division in leaves, and this inhibition of cell proliferation can be compensated for by an increase in cell size. Additionally, we found that the number and density of stomata in the BpCYCD3;2 -RE lines were significantly reduced, consistent with the tetraploid. These data indicate that changes in cell division ability and stomatal changes in tetraploid birch can be partially attributed to low expression of the BpCYCD3;2 gene, which may be related to hyper-methylation in its promoter region. These results will provide new insights into the mechanism by which polyploidization affects plant development. • There is no significant difference in global DNA methylation levels between diploid and tetraploid birches. • The decrease in the expression level of BpCYCD3;2 gene in tetraploids may be attributed to hypermethylation of the promoter region. • The decrease in BpCYCD3;2 expression level can lead to changes in the number and area of leaf epidermal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that the number of wheelchair users is on the rise at the global level due to population aging, it is crucial to secure their rights to have adequate access to healthcare services. Spatial accessibility to healthcare services has been well recognized to influence people's health. However, research on healthcare accessibility of wheelchair users is scarce. This study proposes a barrier-free path planning method to estimate wheelchair users' travel time as the measurement of their accessibility. A study on Wuhan, China, is conducted to evaluate the spatial accessibility to healthcare services for wheelchair users and compare it with the general population. The results show that: (1) the levels of healthcare accessibility are unevenly distributed across the city center and the periphery of the study area for both wheelchair users and the general population, while wheelchair users have lower accessibility overall; (2) both similarities and differences in hospital and travel mode selection to access healthcare services co-exist in the study area between the two groups; (3) significant inequality in healthcare accessibility is observed in Hongshan and Qingshan districts. The research findings are beneficial for policymakers to further improve healthcare accessibility and its equality by optimizing the allocation of hospital resources and barrier-free public transport. • Proposes a barrier-free path planning method to estimate wheelchair user's accessibility. • Compares the spatial accessibility to healthcare services for wheelchair users with that of the general population. • Explores the similarities and differences in hospital and travel-mode selection pertinent to healthcare access for the two groups. • Measures the equality in healthcare accessibility between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a numerical study of the wave scattering from a modulated rough surface characterized by a modulated correlation function that shows zero crossings along the lag distance. The zero crossings imply the presence of multiscale roughness. In such a way, we treat the rough surface to include a baseband correlation length and a modulation length. The modulation ratio, the ratio of baseband correlation length, and the modulated length determine the degree of multiscale roughness. We then examine the dependence of bistatic scattering, both in level and angular trends, on the modulation length. The results indicate that as the modulation ratio increases, the scattering coefficients reduce in the incident plane. Comparing the model predictions with two independent sets of measurement data demonstrates a good agreement of the scattering coefficients between the experimental data and the model predictions with modulation effects. The proposed modulated rough surface concept offers higher flexibility to model the radar scattering of multiscale rough surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon microspheres were synthesized using itaconic acid fermentation waste liquid as the raw material by the hydrothermal method. The sequential porous adsorbent was prepared (by chemical activation) using carbon microspheres as a carbonaceous framework. The adsorbent was characterized by SEM, BET, Raman, XRD, XPS, and elemental analysis. Also, the adsorption performance of the adsorbent was tested using the batch adsorption method. The effects of several parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose, and concentration of Cr(VI) on the sorption of Cr(VI) were investigated. The results indicate that an outstanding adsorbent with a specific surface area of 1802.16 m2 g−1 and a maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) of 270.14 mg g−1 has been acquired. According to the adsorption isotherm model, the kinetic model, and the intra-particle diffusion model, it was found that the adsorption process of Cr(VI) by the adsorbent conforms to the Freundlich model and the quasi-second-order kinetic model. The evaluation of the thermodynamic parameters (ΔH > 0, ΔS > 0, and ΔG < 0) revealed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. The mechanistic studies showed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) likely involved electrostatic attraction and a redox reaction. After 5 cycles of repeated usage, the adsorbent maintains good adsorption stability to Cr(VI), favoring its practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the optimization problem of multiple objectives with contradictions and conflicts in the process of allocating the tolerance for complex products, taking advantage of the features of coordinating, and balancing contradictions and conflicts of cooperative game theory, this paper uses cooperative game theory to solve the multiobjective optimization problem of tolerance allocation. The quality requirements and cost requirements of assembly products are used as the game decision parties, and the fuzzy clustering method is used to group the design variables of tolerance allocation problem of the steam turbine to form the strategic space of game parties. Take the quality level and cost level of the assembly product as the optimization goals, complete the calculation of the utilities of the two game parties, and establish the multiobjective optimization model of tolerance allocation based on cooperative game theory. Finally, the Shapley value method based on cooperative game theory, the Nash equilibrium method based on noncooperative game theory, and the traditional single-objective optimization method with the quality as the constraint and the cost as the optimization objective are used to solve the tolerance allocation problem of steam turbine. The solution results show that the method of cooperative game realized the balance, coordination, and comprehensive optimization of the quality and cost from the perspective of collective interests, overcame the shortcomings of the traditional single-objective optimization method, and obtained better result than the Nash equilibrium method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between the impact factor (IF) and the number of journal papers in Chinese publishing system. The method proposed by Huang (2016) is used whereas to analysis the data of Chinese journals in this study. Based on the analysis, we find the following. (1) The average impact factor (AIF) of journals in all disciplines maintained a growth trend from 2007 to 2017. Whether before or after removing outlier journals that may garner publication fees, the IF and its growth rate for most social sciences disciplines are larger than those of most natural sciences disciplines, and the number of journal papers on social sciences disciplines decreased while that of natural sciences disciplines increased from 2007 to 2017. (2) The removal of outlier journals has a greater impact on the relationship between the IF and the number of journal papers in some disciplines such as Geosciences because there may be journals that publish many papers to garner publication fees. (3) The success-breeds-success (SBS) principle is applicable in Chinese journals on natural sciences disciplines but not in Chinese journals on social sciences disciplines, and the relationship is the reverse of the SBS principle in Economics and Education & Educational Research. (4) Based on interviews and surveys, the difference in the relationship between the IF and the number of journal papers for Chinese natural sciences disciplines and Chinese social sciences disciplines may be due to the influence of the international publishing system. Chinese natural sciences journals are losing their academic power while Chinese social sciences journals that are less influenced by the international publishing system are in fierce competition. More implications could be found if long-term tracking and comparing the international publishing system with Chinese publishing system are taken. It is suggested that researchers from different countries study natural science and social sciences journals in their languages and observe the influence of the international publishing system. This paper presents an overview of the relationship between IF and the number of journal papers in Chinese publishing system from 2007 to 2017, provides insights into the relationship in different disciplines in Chinese publishing system, and points out the similarities and differences between Chinese publishing system and international publishing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photoelectrochemical (PEC)–electrochemical (EC) dual-mode biosensing strategy based on COF@MOF heterostructure was developed for efficiently analyzing Cr(III) ions. A two-dimensional phthalocyanine-based COF (CoPc-PT-COF) was in situ grown on a Cu-based MOF (Cu-MOF) substrate via covalent binding between carboxyl groups in Cu-MOF and amino groups in CoPc-PT-COF (denoted as CoPc-PT-COF@Cu-MOF). The coexistence of both phthalocyanine and bipyridine in CoPc-PT-COF@Cu-MOF affords the outperformed electro- and photo-activities, thus serving as a photoelectric beacon with favorable energy-band configuration and amplified electrochemical response. Due to the high porosity and rich functionality of the obtained heterostructure, the DNA strands can be tightly anchored over CoPc-PT-COF@Cu-MOF via diverse interactions. Thanks to the specific recognition between DNA strands and Cr3+ ions, the CoPc-PT-COF@Cu-MOF-based biosensor can be used to determine Cr3+ ions in an aqueous environment by PEC–EC mode. The gained biosensor shows an extremely low limit of detection (LOD) of 14.5 fM (for PEC) and 22.9 fM (for EC) within the Cr3+ concentration range from 0.1 pM to 100 nM, along with high selectivity, good reproducibility and stability. Moreover, this novel biosensor exhibits acceptable applicability for analyzing the trace Cr3+ from diverse samples (e.g., river and tap water). As a result, this work provides new insights into the construction of a high-efficiency PEC–EC dual-mode biosensor for detecting heavy metal ions from complex environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With millions of years of evolution, owls have developed many excellent characteristics in terms of their flight. The speed of an owl in flight is similar to the relative speed of the blade of a small wind turbine with respect to air. Therefore, the owl wing airfoil is selected as the design airfoil of the wind turbine blade to reduce the flow separation under low Reynolds number. In this study, we analyze an owl wing‐section airfoil and the non‐smooth leading‐edge shape of an owl's wing, and implement an orthogonal optimum design to optimize the wavelength and amplitude of the non‐smooth leading edge. We extract the cross‐sectional features of the airfoil and the non‐smooth leading‐edge shape of the wing. Based on the orthogonal optimum design results, we determine the optimal combination of the wavelength, amplitude, and airfoil, and then design a horizontal‐axis wind turbine blade through bionic coupling. The flow field at different tip speed ratios (TSRs) is simulated using the k‐ωSST turbulence model at the rated wind speed. The results show that the power coefficient (CP) of the bionic wind turbine at a high tip speed ratio is 17.7% higher than that of the standard type. Furthermore, we analyze the operation of the turbine at TSRs of 2 and 5. At a high TSR, the leading edge bulge of the bionic wind turbine blade can change the flow direction distribution of the airflow on the blade surface, make the airflow to adhere to the suction surface, and then reduce the stall area on the suction surface of the blade. Thus, the wind turbine produces higher torque, thereby generating higher power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breakthrough infections of hepatitis B virus (HBV) after neonatal vaccination occurred in some adolescents and young adults who were born to mothers with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). We aimed to determine the impacts of prenatal HBsAg exposure on the generation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and antibodies (anti-HBs) specific to HBsAg. To mimic human prenatal HBsAg exposure, we mated female Alb1-HBV (HBV-M) mice with male C57BL/6J mice. Of their first filial generation (F1), HBV-M/F1+ expressed HBsAg in liver tissues and blood, and HBV-M/F1− mice exposed HBsAg in amniotic fluid. At their four weeks old, each HBV-M/F1 mouse was immunized with hepatitis B vaccine containing 5 μg HBsAg subcutaneously. Both HBV-M/F1− and HBV-M/F1+ mice had reduced generation of HBsAg-specific CD4+CXCR5+PD1+ Tfh cells and CD138+IgD− plasma cells in comparison with C57BL/6J mice. Results of coculturing the Tfh cells with B cells that were isolated from different strains of mice indicated that CD4+ T cell activation in response to HBsAg was critical for anti-HBs generation after prenatal HBsAg exposure. When interleukin (IL) 21 was supplemented, the generation of HBsAg-specific Tfh and plasma cells in HBV-M/F1− mice was improved, while supplementation showed little effect in HBV-M/F1+ mice. In HBV-M/F1− mice, HBV vaccine booster improved the generation of Tfh cells and plasma cells, and enhanced anti-HBs production. Impaired generation of HBsAg-specific Tfh cells and plasma cells after prenatal HBsAg exposure can be improved by HBV vaccine booster, most likely increasing IL-21 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantage of wind energy is significant to the improvement of energy structure. This paper is mainly to demonstrate a bionic design for wind turbine blades inspired by the airfoil of owl wing and the herringbone groove structure of owl feathers. The blade of A 200 W horizontal axis wind turbine is taken as prototype blade. The design of bionic airfoil blade is based on 50% and 70% cross section airfoils of owl wing, which is combined with the parameters of the prototype blade. The design of bionic coupling blade is based on bionic airfoil blade, which is coupled with the herringbone groove structure. Numerical simulation is utilized to study the aerodynamic performance of all blades. These simulations utilize an incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes solver and shear stress transport k–ω turbulent model at different tip speed ratios (TSRs). Results show that the power coefficient (Cp) of bionic airfoil blades is higher than that of prototype blade in the TSR of 6–9; the Cp of bionic coupling blades is higher than that of bionic airfoil blades in the TSR of 6–10. The larger curvature of leading edge of blades leads to larger flow velocity, which leads to the smaller pressure on the leeward surface. The herringbone groove structure enhances the flow attachment by generating vortices, which reduces the pressure on the leeward surface of bionic coupling blades. Compared with the prototype blade and bionic airfoil blade, the pressure difference between the windward surface and the leeward surface of the bionic coupling blade is larger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase and mutations in EGFR is a major driver force of lung cancer. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are group of promising agents to treat cancer patients with EGFR mutations. However, the application of TKIs is often hampered by the development of drug-resistance. In the present study, we studied the role of Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in regulation of lung cancer cells response to Lapatinib (Lap). Lap resistant NSCLC cells A549/Lap and H1944/Lap were created and GPX4 was knockdown by lentivirus shGPX4. Change of cell viabilities and cell death were measured by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. ROS, MDA, GSH and Fe2+ were detected by commercial kits. Xenograft mice was used to assay the in vivo effects of GPX4 on the sensitivity of Lap. We found that GPX4 and mTORC1 signalling was upregulated in Lap resistant NSCLC cells when compared to Lap sensitive NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, upregulation of GPX4 was due to enhanced activation of mTORC1 in Lap resistant NSCLC cells. Inhibition of mTORC1 led to the downregulation of GPX4 which promoted Lap induced ferroptosis as evidenced by increase of ROS, MDA, Fe 2+ and decrease of GSH. Rescue experiments confirmed the role of GPX4 in regulation of Lap induced ferroptosis. In vivo experiments also indicated that silencing of GPX4 enhanced the anticancer effect of Lap via promoting ferroptosis. Overall, targeting GPX4 might be a potential strategy to enhance antitumor effects of Lap. • GPX4 and mTOR signalling were upregulated in NSCLC cells that are resistance to Lapatinib. • Inhibition of GPX4 or mTOR could overcome resistance to Lapatinib by promoting ferroptosis in NSCLC cells. • mTOR signalling pathway positively regulate the expression of GPX4. • Knockdown of GPX4 enhanced the anti-tumour effects of Lapatinib in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modularity is a widely-used objective function to determine communities from a given network. The leading eigenvector method is a popular solution that applies the first eigenvector to determine the communities. The low computation cost is the major advantage of the leading eigenvector method. However, the leading eigenvector method only can split a network into two communities. To detect multiple communities, the modularity maximization is transformed to the vector partition problem (VPP). We propose an algorithm which is called as the partition at polar coordinate protocol (PPCP) to solve the VPP problem. The goal of PPCP is to find non-overlapping vertex vector sets so as to maximize the quadratic sum of the norms of community vectors. The proposed PPCP has two steps to determine the communities that are the network structure analysis and the community determination. During the network structure analysis, we obtain following issues. First, the vertex vectors belong to different communities can be separated by the distribution angles. Second, a node with a higher degree corresponds to a vertex vector with a larger norm. So, we propose three refinement functions including the noise reduction, the common-friends model and the strong connectivity hypothesis to improve the accuracy of PPCP. In our simulations, PPCP detects communities more precisely than Fine-tuned algorithm especially in the network with the weak structure. Moreover, the proposed refinement functions can capture the special properties of the network. So, PPCP with refinement functions performs much better than Fine-tuned algorithm and PPCP without refinement functions in terms of the accuracy in detecting communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RAS mutations (HRAS, NRAS, and KRAS) are among the most common oncogenes, and around 19% of patients with cancer harbor RAS mutations. Cells harboring RAS mutations tend to undergo malignant transformation and exhibit malignant phenotypes. The mutational status of RAS correlates with the clinicopathological features of patients, such as mucinous type and poor differentiation, as well as response to anti-EGFR therapies in certain types of human cancers. Although RAS protein had been considered as a potential target for tumors with RAS mutations, it was once referred to as a undruggable target due to the consecutive failure in the discovery of RAS protein inhibitors. However, recent studies on the structure, signaling, and function of RAS have shed light on the development of RAS-targeting drugs, especially with the approval of Lumakras (sotorasib, AMG510) in treatment of KRASG12C-mutant NSCLC patients. Therefore, here we fully review RAS mutations in human cancer and especially focus on emerging strategies that have been recently developed for RAS-targeting therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A supplemental state observer‐based sliding mode control (SSOBSMC) for a dynamic system is proposed in this paper. First, a supplemental state vector is formulated including system output and supplemental output. A supplemental state observer (SSOB) is proposed to estimate the unavailable states. Furthermore, the SSOBSMC consisting of SSOB and sliding mode control (SMC) is proposed to perform state estimation and robust tracking control for the dynamic system with some unavailable states. To demonstrate the application of the proposed methods, a mass‐spring‐damper (MSD) system is used as an application example to perform numerically. From the simulation results, the SSOB shows a good ability for state estimation, while the SSOBSMC simultaneously demonstrates accuracy in state estimation ability as well as a robust tracking control performance for the non‐linear MSD system. The major contributions of this paper are the proposed SSOB that can accurately estimate the unavailable states for the non‐linear dynamic system with time‐varying disturbances; and the SSOBSMC, which simultaneously displays accuracy in state estimation ability and robust tracking control performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate and cost-effective islanding detection is in a great need for distributed generation (DG) integration. An onsite contactless islanding detection scheme is proposed in this article, based on a small number of tiny and portable electric field (EF) sensors. In contrast to the existing mainstream detection techniques, which are heavily depended on the instrument transformer measurement in substations, the proposed contactless scheme is able to be deployed on the ground below the overhead feeders, enabled by a compact EF sensor and the associated accurate frequency measurement algorithm. The effectiveness, robustness, efficiency, and security advantages of the proposed method are investigated and verified by the simulations using various feeder configurations. It is further supported by the laboratory experiments based on a scale-down overhead feeder testbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We read with great interest the article by Figueiredo et al[1] regarding lower hand grip in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), for which it was demonstrated that patients with RA presented with lower bone strength of 2nd metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint through a finite element analysis (FEA) using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scan. Lower hand grip in rheumatoid arthritis patients is associated with low finite element analysis using high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography scan of the 2nd metacarpophalangeal joint. For instance, small and large joints such as knee joints differ in many ways.[[3]] The application of FEA to knee joints is mostly the evaluation of surgery or implants[5] and it can also be used to evaluate hip contact mechanics.[6] As a result, we believe it would be more comprehensive to generalize FEA from small joints to large joints to meet clinical criteria. [Extracted from the article]

Landslides frequently occur on mountain slopes due to earthquakes and rainfall. When a landslide occurs near a river, the landslide mass moves at a certain speed towards the river channel and eventually stops at the channel either due to frictional resistance or by being blocked by the upslope on the opposite bank of the river. If the width of the river channel at the landslide site (BW) is narrow and the volume of the landslide (VL) is sufficient, the landslide may block the river channel, resulting in landslide dams. Landslide dam is a significant hazard in mountainous area, when dam failure will cause severe destruction and affect downstream area. The frequency, scale, and disaster of landslide dam will be more serious than before based on global climate change. To reduce disasters caused by landslide dams, rapid assessments of dam stability and dam-break discharge must be conducted in the early stages of the formation of landslide dams. One of the essential parameters for these assessments is the minimum height of the landslide dam ( H D min ). However, landslides may occur in remote, inaccessible mountainous areas where the geometrical parameters of landslide dams may not be immediately obtained, making it difficult to perform emergency risk assessments of barrier lakes. The magnitude of H D min changes due to the effects of the run-out distance of the landslide (Lrun ‐ out) and BW, but a quantitative relationship has not been reported in the literature. Hence, this study investigated the effects of VL, the slope angle (θS), the maximum height of the landslide (HL), BW, and other parameters on H D min through laboratory experiments. The relationship between Lrun ‐ out, BW, and H D min was determined, and a dimensionless method for evaluating H D min was established. This method can be applied to predict the minimum height of landslide dams when the position of the landslide is known. Additionally, when landslide dams form but H D min is not known due to difficulties in on-site study, this method can quickly assess the height of the dam and provide an assessment of the risks related to the landslide dam. This greatly reduces the uncertainties associated with the prevention and emergency management of landslide dams, and can assist government authorities to set up the disaster early warning plans of landslide dam under future climate change condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore drilling is a complex and hazardous operation. The safety of the drilling operation is a strong function of many time-dependent parameters. The traditional risk analysis model fails to capture the impact of spatial and temporal variations of these parameters. This paper presents a Bayesian Network (BN) model for the offshore drilling operation. The model uniquely considers the evolution of hazards as a function of time and space, and failure of the safety barriers. The model development is explained using the bowtie approach, which is routinely used in the industry for risk management. The bowtie model is subsequently transformed into a BN model and simulated for the well blowout scenarios. The blowout risk is updated based on operational field observations. An uncertainty analysis is also conducted to capture the spatial variability of the parameters. The results of the BN model provide a dynamic risk profile of the blowout accident during the drilling operation. Other possible accident scenarios, such as lost circulation, can also be analyzed using the proposed model. The proposed BN model serves as a robust tool for risk management of offshore drilling operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate method is proposed to calculate volume integrals arising from integral equation (IE) analysis using the Schaubert–Wilton–Glisson (SWG) basis function (BF). The volume integral is transformed into a summation of some of line integrals. The dimension reduction is achieved using the divergence theorem twice. Finally, each line integral is evaluated using an accuracy-controllable quadrature rule. We compare our results with those generated by Mathematica. Good agreement is found, which verifies the effectiveness and correctness of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulation of random rough surface finds wide applications in scientific disciplines, e.g., radar remote sensing of terrain and sea. In scattering simulation of rough surface, not only energy conservation must be ensured, but also, perhaps equally important, the surface inherent properties must be preserved. However, the proper choice of surface and grid sizes that are statistically representative poses a problematic issue. This study applied the entropy measure to determine such parameter settings by examining the relative error of sample entropy associated with roughness parameters and by noticing the fact that a rough surface with certain roughness parameters, including power spectrum density function, must have unique sample entropy. It is found that if the two criteria are met, proper choice of surface length and grid size is attainable to warrant minimum uncertainties of rough surfaces and maximum information content for different roughness spectra density functions under different correlation lengths. The feasibility and superiority of the proposed entropy-based method are validated in terms of minimum error of roughness parameters and also the energy conservation in bistatic scattering coefficients of rough surfaces generated using obtained simulation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The observation of gravitational wave enables human to explore the origin, formation and evolution of universe governed by the gravitational interaction and the nature of gravity beyond general theory of relativity. The groundbreaking discovery of Gravitational Wave by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory provides a brand-new observation way. While detecting gravitational wave on ground is limited by noises and test scale, space detection is an optimized alternative to learn rich sources in range of 0.1 mHz–1 Hz. Considering the great significance of space gravitational wave detection, ESA proposed LISA project, CAS also proposed Taiji project. Due to the extremely weak gravitational wave signal and high measurement accuracy requirement, the spaceborne GW observation antenna is accomplished by three spacecrafts constitute isosceles triangle formation intersatellite interferometer. The arm length of the interferometer reaches millions of kilometers between them, and the measurement accuracy reaches pico-meter magnitude. There are many key technologies including pm magnitude space laser interferometer metrology, drag-free control using TM of Gravity Reference Sensor, μ N micro thruster, ultra-clean & ultra-stable spacecraft, etc. This paper focuses on key technologies of the ultra-clean & ultra-stable spacecraft, analyzing the design of mechanical, thermal control and magnetic clean. Moreover, it reports the preliminary results of the technological breakthrough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of low resources utilization of rotating blades in the selection process of aeroengine fan rotor blades, this paper takes the first-order bending dispersion, first-order torque dispersion, and gravitational moment difference of rotor blades as the selection criteria and takes the minimum remaining blades as the optimization goal. An intelligent selection algorithm of blades based on the collocation degree of blades is proposed and achieves the efficient selection and full utilization of rotating blades. Aiming at the problem of multiple installations and multiple adjustments and low assembly success rate of fan rotor blades, this paper takes the gravity moment difference of the two blades at the diagonal position of 180° as the constraint and takes the minimum residual unbalance as the optimization objective, adopts the improved simulated annealing algorithm to optimize the assembly sequence of rotating blades, and greatly reduces the residual unbalance of blades, which is beneficial to reduce the number of assembly adjustments of blades. The optimizing selection and optimizing matching methods of rotating blades realize the full utilization and efficient assembly of blades and lays a foundation for the reliability and robustness of the assembly quality and service performance of blades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum species complex is an important soil-borne disease worldwide that affects more than 450 plant species, including peanut, leading to great yield and quality losses. However, there are no effective measures to control bacterial wilt. The reason is the lack of research on the pathogenic mechanism of bacterial wilt. Results: Here, we report the complete genome of a toxic Ralstonia solanacearum species complex strain, Rs-P.362200, a peanut pathogen, with a total genome size of 5.86 Mb, encoding 5056 genes and the average G + C content of 67%. Among the coding genes, 75 type III effector proteins and 12 pseudogenes were predicted. Phylogenetic analysis of 41 strains including Rs-P.362200 shows that genetic distance mainly depended on geographic origins then phylotypes and host species, which associated with the complexity of the strain. The distribution and numbers of effectors and other virulence factors changed among different strains. Comparative genomic analysis showed that 29 families of 113 genes were unique to this strain compared with the other four pathogenic strains. Through the analysis of specific genes, two homologous genes (gene ID: 2_657 and 3_83), encoding virulence protein (such as RipP1) may be associated with the host range of the Rs-P.362200 strain. It was found that the bacteria contained 30 pathogenicity islands and 6 prophages containing 378 genes, 7 effectors and 363 genes, 8 effectors, respectively, which may be related to the mechanism of horizontal gene transfer and pathogenicity evaluation. Although the hosts of HA4–1 and Rs-P.362200 strains are the same, they have specific genes to their own genomes. The number of genomic islands and prophages in HA4–1 genome is more than that in Rs-P.36220, indicating a rapid change of the bacterial wilt pathogens. Conclusion: The complete genome sequence analysis of peanut bacterial wilt pathogen enhanced the information of R. solanacearum genome. This research lays a theoretical foundation for future research on the interaction between Ralstonia solanacearum and peanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]