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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Lipogenesis has been considered as a critical player in HCC initiation and progression. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. Here, we identified zinc fingers and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2), an HCC-associated tumor suppressor, as an important repressor of de novo lipogenesis. Ectopic expression of ZHX2 significantly inhibited de novo lipogenesis in HCC cells and decreased expression of FASN, ACL, ACC1, and SCD1. In accordance with this, ZHX2 was negatively associated with SREBP1c, the master regulator of de novo lipogenesis, in HCC cell lines and human specimens. Results from silencing and overexpression demonstrated that ZHX2 inhibited de novo lipogenesis and consequent HCC progression via repression of SREBP1c. Furthermore, treatment with the SREBP1c inhibitor fatostatin dampened the spontaneous formation of tumors in liver-specific Zhx2 knockout mice. Mechanistically, ZHX2 increased expression of miR-24-3p transcriptionally, which targeted SREBP1c and led to its degradation. In conclusion, our data suggest a novel mechanism through which ZHX2 suppresses HCC progression, which may provide a new strategy for the treatment of HCC. © 2020 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recently, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) show a wide application prospect in the marine field to achieve excellent corrosion resistance. In this paper, the intergranular corrosion (IGC) behaviour of FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) at different laser powers (140, 170, 200, 230, and 260 W) was studied by microstructure analysis and double-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation. All specimens show high IGC resistance, and the degree of sensitisation of SLMed FeCoCrNi HEAs increased with the increase of laser power. Interestingly, no chromium carbides precipitation was found at the grain boundary, which indicates the intergranular corrosion mechanism of SLMed FeCoCrNi HEAs is totally different from that of most alloys caused by Cr depletion. It is found that the superior IGC resistance in SLMed FeCoCrNi HEAs produced by low laser power can be attributed to larger grain size, a higher fraction of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] 3), and low-[Formula: see text] coincidence site lattice boundaries. This work provides a strong insight into the application of additive-manufactured HEAs in harsh corrosion environments.

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has swept the whole world and brought about public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. In the process of SARS-CoV-2 entry, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 plays a key role. In addition, other protein molecules such as transmembrane protease/serine 2, FURIN, Cathepsin L, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 will also affect the interaction between virus and host cells. Since the variations in the virus and human populations could determine transmissibility of the virus and influence an individual’s susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome, research on the variations of above protein molecules and their role in COVID-19 is in full swing. In this review, we systematically reviewed viral and host genetic variations related to SARS-CoV-2 entry, as well as the relationship between the diversity of these variations and COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to provide better insights into the transmission and pathogenesis of COVID-19 from the perspective of genetic variants and epigenetic factors, so as to prevent, control, and treat COVID-19, especially among high-risk populations with genetic risk variants.

The use of smart sensors and actuators to improve industrial and manufacturing processes is known as the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Innovative economic growth is one of the key elements required for the success of IIoT in contemporary industry. Innovation in IIoT is essential for fostering high-quality economic growth and achieving a competitive edge. This study aims to conduct in-depth research on the development path of an innovative economy based on data mining under the new pattern of double circulation in order to enhance industrial innovation capability, realize the modernization of the industrial chain, and accelerate the development of industrial innovation in IIoT. The first step is to use the five urban agglomerations for path analysis of innovative economic development. The five metropolitan agglomerations’ pertinent facts are provided, and their industrial structure’s composition and proportion as well as the input and output of innovation are all examined. We then constructed a model for analyzing the link between technological innovation and economic growth. The investigation of the innovative economic development path based on data mining is achieved using the Microsoft time series technique and the expectation-maximization algorithm to examine the data of innovative economic development. The experiment demonstrates that the method proposed in this study has strong data mining stability and ideal data clustering advantages. In IIoT, it can be used to effectively increase data mining’s efficiency and innovation capacity for the growth of a knowledge-based economy and creating a new pattern in which innovation and market growth are mutually reinforcing.

Some chemotherapy can damage tumor cells, releasing damage-related molecular patterns including ATP to improve immunological recognition against the tumor by immunogenic cell death (ICD). However, the immune-stimulating ATP may be rapidly degraded into immunosuppressive adenosine by highly expressed CD39 and CD73 in the tumor microenvironment, which leads to immune escape. Based on the above paradox, a liposome nanoplatform combined with ICD inducer (oxaliplatin) and CD39 inhibitor (POM-1) is designed for immunochemotherapy. The liposomes efficiently load the phospholipid-like oxaliplatin prodrug, and the cationic charged surface could adsorb POM-1. Rationally designed DSPE-PEG

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has precipitated a global health crisis of unprecedented proportions. Because of its severe impact, multiple COVID-19 vaccines are being rapidly developed, approved and manufactured. Among them, mRNA vaccines are considered as ideal candidates with special advantages to meet this challenge. However, some serious adverse events have been reported after their application, significantly increasing concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and doubts about the necessity of vaccination. Although several fertility societies have announced that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are unlikely to affect fertility, there is no denying that the current evidence is very limited, which is one of the reasons for vaccine hesitancy in the population, especially in pregnant women. Herein, we provide an in-depth discussion on the involvement of the male and female reproductive systems during SARS-CoV-2 infection or after vaccination. On one hand, despite the low risk of infection in the male reproductive system or fetus, COVID-19 could pose an enormous threat to human reproductive health. On the other hand, our review indicates that both men and women, especially pregnant women, have no fertility problems or increased adverse pregnancy outcomes after vaccination, and, in particular, the benefits of maternal antibodies transferred through the placenta outweigh any known or potential risks. Thus, in the case of the rapid spread of COVID-19, although further research is still required, especially a larger population-based longitudinal study, it is obviously a wise option to be vaccinated instead of suffering from serious adverse symptoms of virus infection.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has swept the whole world and brought about public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. In the process of SARS-CoV-2 entry, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 plays a key role. In addition, other protein molecules, such as transmembrane protease/serine 2, FURIN, Cathepsin L, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 will also affect the interaction between virus and host cells. Since the variations in the virus and human populations could determine the transmissibility of the virus and influence an individual's susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome, research on the variations of the above protein molecules and their role in COVID-19 is in full swing. In this review, we systematically reviewed viral and host genetic variations related to SARSCoV- 2 entry, as well as the relationship between the diversity of these variations and the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to provide better insights into the transmission and pathogenesis of COVID-19 from the perspective of genetic variants and epigenetic factors so as to prevent, control, and treat COVID-19, especially among high-risk populations with genetic risk variants.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has currently spread worldwide, leading to high morbidity and mortality. As the putative receptor of SARS-CoV-2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is widely distributed in various tissues and organs of the human body. Simultaneously, ACE2 acts as the physiological counterbalance of ACE providing homeostatic regulation of circulating angiotensin II levels. Given that some ACE2 variants are known to cause an increase in the ligand-receptor affinity, their roles in acquisition, progression and severity of COVID-19 disease have aroused widespread concerns. Therefore, we summarized the latest literature and explored how ACE2 variants and epigenetic factors influence an individual’s susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome in aspects of ethnicity, gender and age. Meanwhile, the possible mechanisms for these phenomena were discussed. Notably, recombinant human ACE2 and ACE2-derived peptides may have special benefits for combating SARS-CoV-2 variants and further studies are warranted to confirm their effects in later stages of the disease process. As the uncertainty regarding the severity and transmissibility of disease rises, a more in-depth understanding of the host genetics and functional characteristics of ACE2 variants will not only help explain individual clinical differences of the disease, but also contribute to providing effective measures to develop solutions and manage future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) leads to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. Here, we investigated the role of the tumor suppressor Zinc fingers and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2) in the progression of NAFLD to HCC. ZHX2 expression was significantly decreased in fatty liver tissues, especially in the liver with NAFLD–HCC. ZHX2 overexpression disturbed lipid homeostasis of cultured HCC cells, and inhibited lipid deposition in hepatocytes both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, ZHX2 inhibited uptake of exogenous lipids through transcriptional suppression of lipid lipase (LPL), leading to retarded proliferation of HCC cells. Importantly, LPL overexpression significantly reversed ZHX2-mediated inhibition of HCC cell proliferation, xenograft tumor growth, lipid deposition, and spontaneous liver tumor formation. Consistently, IHC staining demonstrated a negative correlation of ZHX2 with LPL in an HCC cohort. Collectively, ZHX2 protects hepatocytes from abnormal lipid deposition in NAFLD through transcriptional repression of LPL, which subsequently retards cell growth and NAFLD–HCC progression. These findings illustrate a novel mechanism of NAFLD progression into HCC.

The perception system of unmanned vehicles has developed rapidly in recent years, but in the process of multisensor fusion, a certain sensor's perception error often occurs which causes great errors in the perception results of the entire multi-sensor system and is harmful to human life and property. Therefore, it requires redundant fusion of the objects perceived by the sensors, and sets weights during the fusion process to eliminate sensors with poor detection results. This paper establishes a multi-sensor perception and a dynamic weight distribution and eliminate system. Multi-sensor weight distribution is performed by Kalman tracking variance. Such a system will greatly reduce the errors of the perception system.

Polyimide memory materials with a donor-acceptor structure based on a charge-transfer mechanism exhibit great potential for next-generation information storage technology due to their outstanding high-temperature resistance and good dimensional and chemical stability. Precisely controlling memory performance by limited chemical decoration is one of core challenges in this field. Most reported work mainly focuses on designing novel and elaborate electron donors or acceptors for the expected memory behavior of polyimides; this takes a lot of time and is not always efficacious. Herein, we report a series of porphyrinated copolyimides coPI-Znx (x=5, 10, 20, 50, 80), where x represents the mole percentage of Zn ion in the central core of the porphyrin. Experimental and theoretical analysis indicate that the Zn ion could play a vital bridge role in promoting the formation and stabilization of a charge-transfer complex by enhancing the hybridization of local and charge transfer (HLCT) excitations of porphyrinated polyimides, endowing coPI-Znx with volatile random access memory performance and continuously tunable retention time. This work could provide one simple strategy to precisely regulate memory performance merely by altering the metal content in porphyrinated polyimides.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for the majority of thyroid cancer and affects a large number of individuals. The pathogenesis of PTC has not been completely elucidated thus far. Metabolic reprogramming is a common feature in tumours. Our previous research revealed the reprogramming of lipid metabolism in PTC. Further studies on lipid metabolism reprogramming may help elucidate the pathogenesis of PTC. Methods: Clinical samples of PTC and para-tumour tissue were analysed using lipidomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches. A multi-omics integrative strategy was adopted to identify the important pathways in PTC. The findings were further confirmed using western blotting, tissue microarray, and bioinformatics. Findings: The differentially expressed substances included 146 lipids, 2975 proteins, and 217 metabolites in PTC samples. Multi-omics data and the results of integrated analysis revealed that the three steps of fatty acid metabolism (hydrolysis, transportation, and oxidation) were significantly enhanced in PTC. The key enzymes in the three steps, namely LPL, FATP2, and CPT1A, respectively, were overexpressed. Moreover, their expression was strongly associated with the TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and PTC prognosis. In addition, the levels of several types of phospholipids and sphingolipids increased significantly in PTC. Interpretation: Our data suggested that enhanced fatty acid metabolism supplied additional energy and substrates for tumour growth, invasion, and metastasis in PTC. This may help elucidate the mechanism underlying PTC pathogenesis and identify the potential therapeutic targets for PTC. Funding Information: Work in the authors' laboratory is supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81702647, NO. 81972819), Taishan Scholar Foundation of Shandong Province (No. tspd20181201), Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Equipment for Biological Diagnosis and Therapy in Universities of Shandong, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR201702190483, No. ZR2020YQ57), Key Technology Research and Development Program of Shandong (No. 2016GSF201161). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This prospective study was approved by the institutional ethical committee of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Shandong Province, China. All the specimens were collected in the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University. The participants provided written informed consent for the use of thyroid tissue specimens for research.

HBV is considered as a "stealth" virus that does not invoke interferon (IFN) responses; however, the mechanisms by which HBV bypasses innate immune recognition are poorly understood. In this study, we identified adenosine deaminases acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1), which is a key factor in HBV evasion from IFN responses in hepatocytes. Mechanically, ADAR1 interacted with HBV RNAs and deaminated adenosine (A) to generate inosine (I), which disrupted host immune recognition and thus promoted HBV replication. Loss of ADAR1 or its deficient deaminase activity promoted IFN responses and inhibited HBV replication in hepatocytes, and blocking the IFN signaling pathways released the inhibition of HBV replication caused by ADAR1 deficiency. Notably, the HBV X protein (HBx) transcriptionally promoted ADAR1 expression to increase the threshold required to trigger intrinsic immune activation, which in turn enhanced HBV escape from immune recognition, leading to persistent infection. Supplementation with 8-azaadenosine, an ADAR1 inhibitor, efficiently enhanced liver immune activation to promote HBV clearance in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, our results delineate a molecular mechanism by which HBx promotes ADAR1-derived HBV immune escape and suggest a targeted therapeutic intervention for HBV infection.

Face recognition system performance is affected by face image quality. In this paper, a face matching score, instead of a subjective perceptual score, is used as the image quality label to build a face image quality database; therefore, the ground truth quality achieved high accordance with the recognition performance. The database contains five common practical application distortion types for 19 people and three to five collection scenes for each. In addition, a face image quality algorithm based on a local gradient is proposed to judge the image quality. Making use of the fact that face landmarks can locate contour areas that have rich gradient information, a new mask based on human visual characteristics is designed to evaluate the image quality by using the local gradient information of landmark neighborhoods; this method was used to control for the influence of the image content and background. Our algorithm does not rely on a large amount of training data, and it has low computational complexity. The experimental results show that the algorithm is effective and efficient for evaluating image quality and improving the performance of face recognition systems.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Lipogenesis has been considered as a critical player in HCC initiation and progression. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. METHODS: ZHX2 overexpression and knockdown were introduced into HCC cell lines. BODIPY staining and D-Glucose- 13C6 labeled lipid mass spectrometry were involved to estimate lipogenesis in HCC cell lines. Colony formation and cell proliferation assays were used to determine HCC development. Hepatocytes specific Zhx2 knockout mice (Zhx2-KOhep) were included to induce spontaneous liver tumor. qRT-PCR, western blotting and dual luciferase assays were used to detect gene regulation. FINDINGS: Ectopic expression of ZHX2 significantly inhibited de novo lipogenesis in HCC cells and decreased expression of FASN, ACL, ACC and SCD1. In accordance, ZHX2 was negatively associated with SREBP1c, the master regulator of de novo lipogenesis, in HCC cell lines and human specimens. Further studies demonstrated that ZHX2 inhibited de novo lipogenesis and consequent HCC progression via repression of SREBP1c. Furthermore, treatment with SREBP1c inhibitor, fatostatin, dampened the spontaneous tumor formation in Zhx2-KOhep mice. Mechanically, ZHX2 transcriptionally increased expression of miR-24-3p, which targets on SREBP1c. INTERPRETATION: ZHX2 inhibits de novo lipogenesis in HCC cells by down-regulating the expression of SREBP1c via miR-24-3p, and further inhibits the development of HCC. These new findings may provide a new strategy for the treatment of HCC. FUNDING STATEMENT: This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation of China (Key project 81830017 and 81902443,81702647,81902051,81972819), Taishan Scholarship (No.tspd20181201), National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFE0126500), National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (81425012), Shandong Provincial Key Innovation project (No.2018FYJH0503), Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Equipment for Biological Diagnosis and Therapy in Universities of Shandong, Key Research and Development Program of Shandong (2019GSF108238) . DECLARATION OF INTERESTS: All authors declare no potential conflicts of interest. ETHICS APPROVAL STATEMENT: The Medical Ethics Committee of Shandong University approved the use of human specimens in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. All mice were housed under conditions free of specific pathogens and euthanized according to regulations established by the Animal Care Committee of Shandong University.

The high-temperature application of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) fabricated via selective laser melting (SLM) relies on an in-depth understanding of the mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms involved. This study conducted tensile testing of FeCoCrNi HEA, at various temperatures and strain rates, where the microstructure was systematically characterized before and after deformation. The FeCoCrNi HEAs fabricated via SLM exhibited a greatly enhanced tensile strength at room temperature compared to those produced by traditional processing, but the strength at high temperature was significantly compromised. Experimental data were used to calculate the parameters of a constitutive model based on three classical mathematical models to predict the flow behavior at elevated temperatures. The softening mechanism was attributed to the evolution of the dislocation network, and a structure–mechanism–property relationship at elevated temperatures was established. Further, cracks initiated at the grain boundaries at elevated temperatures owing to nano-clustering. These results are expected to contribute to the development and improvement of SLM-HEAs for use at high temperatures.

A series of Ce/Fe-Zr-SO42- catalysts have been prepared and developed for selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia (NH3-SCR). The catalysts were characterized by XRD, H2-TPR, N2 adsorption-desorption, NH3-TPD and DRIFTS. The characterization results demonstrated that the coexistence of cerium and sulfuric acid on Fe-Zr catalyst could contribute to excellent SCR performance. Among all samples, Ce/Fe-Zr-0.3 S catalyst showed the optimal NOX conversion, reaching more than 80% at 250 °C at a GHSV of 60000 h-1. Moreover, the optimum concentration of SO42- to modify Ce/Fe-Zr catalyst was 0.3 mol/L. The low sulfuric acid concentration contributed to improving low-temperature activity, while high concentration leaded to outstanding high-temperature activity. According to H2-TPR and NH3-TPD, the presence of SO42- increased the total amount of acid sites and more stable sulfate species were formed with higher concentration of sulfuric acid. In situ DRIFTS revealed the NH3 molecule was mainly activated at the Lewis acid site and reacted with the adsorbed NOX species (such as bidentate nitrates) to produce N2 and H2O, which conformed to the L-H reaction mechanism.

In order to improve the positioning accuracy and system reliability of the visual odometer in outdoor environment, this paper proposes an unmanned vehicle positioning system using monocular camera and Inertial measurement unit (IMU). The system uses improved ORB algorithm to extract image feature points and establishes a tightly coupled visual-inertial odometer system based on sliding window and nonlinear optimization. Verified by experiment, it can adapt to the environment of changing light, and can complete the positioning task of unmanned vehicles in the outdoor environment.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with limited therapeutic options, characterized as excessive systemic inflammation and multiple organ failure. Macrophages play critical roles in sepsis pathogenesis. Metabolism orchestrates homeostasis of macrophages. However, the precise mechanism of macrophage metabolism during sepsis remains poorly elucidated. In this study, we identified the key role of zinc fingers and homeoboxes (Zhx2), a ubiquitous transcription factor, in macrophage glycolysis and sepsis by enhancing 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (Pfkfb3) expression. Mice with myeloid Zhx2-specific deletion (abbreviated as MKO) showed more resistance to cecal ligation and puncture and LPS-induced sepsis, exhibiting as prolonged survival, attenuated pulmonary injury, and reduced level of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β. Interestingly, Zhx2 deletion conferred macrophage tolerance to LPS-induced glycolysis, accompanied by reduced proinflammatory cytokines and lactate. Consistently, treatment of glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxyglucose almost completely abrogated the protection of mice from LPS-induced sepsis initiated by Zhx2 deletion in macrophages. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays confirmed that Zhx2 enhanced transcription of Pfkfb3, the glycolysis rate-limiting enzyme, via binding with Pfkfb3 promoter. Furthermore, Pfkfb3 overexpression not only rescued the reduction of macrophage glycolysis caused by Zhx2 deficiency, displaying as extracellular acidification rates and lactate production but also destroyed the resistance of mice to LPS-induced sepsis initiated by transfer of bone marrow–derived macrophages from MKO mice. These findings highlight the novel role of transcription factor Zhx2 in sepsis via regulating Pfkfb3 expression and reprogramming macrophage metabolism, which would shed new insights into the potential strategy to intervene sepsis.

The emergence of mobile augmented reality children’s puzzle games conforms to the development of the information age. One augmented reality game named “Baby Running” was researched and developed, based on Unity engine and the Vuforia, which improves the interaction between the game and the player, and exercises the child’s concentration and reaction. The paper will discuss the game planning, game system design, key technologies, game testing, and the system’s conclusion and some future directions.

We wished to explore the ability of the meq-deleted Marek's disease virus (MDV) vaccine strain SC9-1 to acquire the meq gene from the MDV wild strain Md5 by recombination. Chicken embryo fibroblast cells (CEFs) were co-infected with the SC9-1 vaccine virus and Md5 virus, passaged to third generation, and viral DNA was extracted from a single plaque in the cell culture. Specific pathogen-free chickens pre-immunized with the SC9-1 vaccine virus were infected with the Md5 virus. Viruses were isolated from chickens-at different time points. Then, viral DNA was extracted from a single plaque and amplification by polymerase chain reaction done to identify isolated viruses. The flip recombina-se sites (FRT) residue region was cloned and sequenced. Results showed that the isolated viruses in cultured CEFs or in chickens were the SC9-1 or Md5 virus, and recombinant viruses were not detected. Sequence analyses revealed that the homology of the FRT residue sequence between the isolated virus and parent virus was 100%. Therefore, there is little chance that SC9-1 can acquire the meq gene from Md5 by natural recombination. Also, the meq-gene knockout region had good genetic stability during serial passages in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the value of the mean platelet volume to platelet count (MPV/P) ratio for predicting in-hospital and long-term cardiac mortality in older non-ST elevation-acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 452 older NSTE-ACS patients who received primary PCI. The patients were divided into two groups based on MPV/P ratios: high MPV/P group (N.=150) defined as a value in the third tertile (>0.056628) and low MPV/P group (N.=302) in the lower two tertiles (≤0.056628). Clinical outcomes included non-fatal reinfarction, heart failure, and cardiac mortality. RESULTS Multivariate analyses showed that high MPV/P and MPV values were independent predictors of cardiac mortality. The in-hospital cardiac mortality of the high MPV/P group was higher than the low MPV/P group (1.3% vs. 14.7%, P

In this paper, an efficient method for single image dehazing is proposed based on haze density estimation. We provide two forms of haze density estimation in different color spaces, which are called scene-based haze density estimation in HSV color space and pixel-based haze density estimation in RGB color space. The attenuation model of pixel-level transmission is established based on the two haze density estimations by an exponential function. Guided filtering is applied to smooth the transmission map and maintain the local edges. Global atmospheric light is obtained adaptively by smoothed transmission. A series of experiments on different types of hazy images are implemented, and the results reveal that the proposed method can obtain high-quality haze-free images along with abundant details, high color fidelity, and few halo artifacts.

Self-compacting concrete could be poured under the action of gravity, without vibration, and has good working performance. It could reduce the noise during production, and reduce the labor of workers. In recent years, more and more scholars begin to study the concrete. In this paper, ABAQUS finite element software is used to simulate the self-compacted concrete prestressed T-beam under different parameters, using the self-compacting concrete constitutive model. The cooling method is used to simulate the prestress applying, and the performance of beam is analyzed. It is found that the bearing capacity of the member improves with the increasing of the reinforcement ratio, the prestress increases the stiffness of the member, and reduces the deflection of the member, but the ductility is reducing with the increasing of prestress.

According to the statistics of China’s health organization, there are a large number of deaf-mute people in the whole country. Sign language is used to communicate between deaf and dumb people. When they communicate with people who don’t know sign language, it will bring a lot of inconvenience. Based on the above problems, we propose a sign language gesture recognition system based on data glove. The overall architecture is composed of stnm32 MCU, flex4.5 bending sensor, mpu6050 six axis sensor, Bluetooth transmission module and mobile phone voice app. It collects the user’s hand movement information through flex4.5 bending sensor and mpu6050 six axis sensor, Then the STM32 microcontroller processes the data and compares it with the action data in the database. Then the action voice command is sent to the mobile phone through the Bluetooth transmission module, and finally the voice playback and text display are carried out through the mobile phone app. The software of sign language gesture recognition system is developed by using processing software based on Java language, which is connected with it to complete the recognition of sign language actions, and then output the words to be said through the intelligent voice system.

The influence of vibration molding method and manual poking molding method on strength and water permeability of polymer pervious cement concrete with water cement ratio of 0.27, 0.30 and 0.33 is studied. It is found that the compressive strength of vibration molding increases with the increasing of vibration time and the water permeability coefficient decreases. The strength of concrete with vibration molding is higher than that of manual poking molding, and the water permeability coefficient is lower. However, the water permeability coefficient with both molding methods is more than 0.5mm/s.

The relative density of high-entropy alloys fabricated with selective laser melting (SLM) was enhanced via a process optimization method based on polynomial regression analysis. The resulting alloy exhibited a high relative density (99.71%) and excellent tensile properties (tensile strength = 720 MPa; post-fracture elongation = 31.85%). Optimization has been more commonly based on volumetric energy density (VED), but the unreliability of this method has been evidenced by the large difference in relative densities achieved using the VED-based approach. The high strength of alloy samples was investigated based on structural characterization, and the formation mechanisms of various defects are discussed. There is no micro-segregation or secondary phase according to both theoretical calculations and experimental observation. The strengthening mechanism of SLM FeCoCrNi sample has been reported by quantitative analysis of dislocation strengthening and fine grain strengthening. It was found that the dislocation strengthening contributed more than fine grain strengthening to the increased yield strength in SLM. This deeper insight into the processing and the strengthening mechanisms is expected to contribute to improved mechanical properties of SLM products, thereby increasing the potential for industrial applications of SLM.

To enhance the efficiency and quality of grain refinement achieved by cold deformation, the structural state of the material before cold deformation should be changed radically. In this study, a FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) was chosen as the initial material for investigating cold deformation. The microstructure and mechanical properties of compressed samples (50 % reduction along the building direction) annealed at 773–1373 K for 2 h are compared. As the annealing temperature increased, the rate of recrystallization increased continuously. After annealing for 2 h at a temperature lower than 973 K (recrystallization temperature), the work hardening from cold deformation was not released. As a result, the sample had high strength but low ductility. After annealing at temperatures ≥973 K, both the tensile strength and elongation at fracture became much higher than those of the as-printed sample. Annealing at 1173 K achieved the smallest average grain diameter and the narrowest grain diameter distribution, and many twins existed, which are the main reasons why the sample showed both high strength and ductility (tensile strength, 806.7±14.8 MPa; elongation at fracture, 55.8±2.1). Recrystallized grains were found to nucleate within the original columnar grain, indicating that a large amount of the deformation energy accumulated inside the grain. Dislocation networks, which constitute a unique structure of AM builds, significantly increased the storage rate of deformation energy during cold deformation. Therefore, in the subsequent annealing process after cold deformation, efficient recrystallization could be realized, significantly improving the mechanical properties of the alloy and increasing the potential of AM for industrial applications.

Marek's disease (MD) has become increasingly common in China, resulting in considerable economic loss. The etiological agent is unclear. In this study, we isolated a field MD virus (MDV) strain, designated SX1301, from CVI988/Rispens-vaccinated chickens with tumors. Co-infection of avian leukosis virus, reticuloendotheliosis virus, and chicken infectious anemia virus was excluded by polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, DNA blotting hybridization, and indirect immunofluorescence assay. As with most strains isolated in China, SX1301 had the same amino acid mutation of meq protein at positions 77(E), 80(Y), and 115(A) Animal experimental results showed development of lethal MD in 57% and MD tumor in 23% of the specific pathogen-free chickens inoculated with SX1301, with tumors mainly distributed in spleen, liver, and kidney. CVI988/Rispens protected 83% of chickens upon challenge with SX1301, with a mortality rate and tumor incidence of 10% and 7%, respectively. These results implicated SX1301 as a virulent MDV strain, with commercial MDV vaccine CVI988/Rispens unable to confer adequate protection against SX1301. There have been no reports of very virulent (vv) plus MDV in China, but frequently occurring virulent MDV may account for the repeated outbreaks of MD. Vaccines with greater efficacy are needed to protect against MDV.

Metal matrix composites reinforced by carbon nanostructured material are beneficial in achieving a balance between strength and ductility. However, achieving this balance in stainless steel through the selective laser melting (SLM) process remains a challenge. In this study, SLM is used to fabricate 316 L stainless steel matrix composites, which are reinforced with 0.1 wt.% single-layer graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The optimal process parameters are obtained by combining the analyses of the relative density and mechanical properties. The results show that the GNPs in the 316 L/GNPs composites are dispersed at the grain boundary, either parallel or at a certain angle to the grain boundary. Based on the tensile test, the ultimate tensile strength of the 316 L/GNPs composites is 738 MPa, which was 17.9 % higher than that of 316 L. Furthermore, both SLM-printed 316 L and 316 L/GNPs composites have an elongation of ∼38 %. The interaction between the GNPs and the molten pool, and the redistribution of the GNPs leads to the formation of a lamellar and relatively high-density distribution area of GNPs in the molten pool. The strengthening mechanism of 316 L/GNPs composites is also elucidated. These results provide insights into enhancing the combined strength-ductility property of other SLM-printed GNPs reinforced metal matrix systems.

The eutectic 80Au/20Sn solder alloy is widely used in high power electronics and optoelectronics packaging. In this study, low cycle fatigue behavior of a eutectic 80Au/20Sn solder alloy is reported. The 80Au/20Sn solder shows a quasi-static fracture characteristic at high strain rates, and then gradually transforms from a transgranular fracture (dominated by fatigue damage) to intergranular fracture (dominated by creep damage) at low strain rates with increasing temperature. Coffin-Manson and Morrow models are proposed to evaluate the low cycle fatigue behavior of the 80Au/20Sn solder. Besides, the 80Au/20Sn solder has enhanced fatigue resistance compared to the 63Sn/37Pb solder.

Geological barriers play an important role in preventing pollution of groundwater. Basalts are common geological media; however, there have not been any studies that report the effect of basalt type on the metal ion adsorption performance. In this study, we explored the metal ion (Zn2+ and Cd2+) adsorption ability of two kinds of weathering basalts, the origin weathering basalt (WB) and the eluvial deposit (ED), both of which were derived from same basaltic formation. Characteristics of the sediments were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) measurement, and the rapid potentiometric titration (RPT) method. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the Zn2+ and Cd2+ adsorption performance of WB and ED and how adsorption was affected by contact time, initial metal ion concentration, pH, and ionic strength. Despite WB and ED having similar chemical compositions, WB exhibited better adsorption than ED likely due to the fact that WB was rougher and had more small-sized spherical structures and stronger electrostatic forces. The adsorption process fits the Freundlich isotherm model well. The adsorption efficiency decreased with a decrease of pH (from 4 to 2) and with increasing ionic strength. These results suggest that a geological barrier composed of WB media might be able to effectively sequester metallic contaminants to prevent them from reaching groundwater.

A series of new sulfamide derivatives have been synthesized, their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and ESI-MS. Some target compounds were assessed by the tool of Dock6, and inhibition effects of all the new compounds on carbonic anhydrase II have been investigated. In addition, some compounds have been investigated for their antihypoxic effects in mice. Results indicated that nine target compounds exhibit as effectively as acetazolamide and 10 compounds have more potent inhibition effects on carbonic anhydrase II than acetazolamide. Three of them (I-8, I-18 and I′-3) can prolong markedly the survival time of mice in hypoxia, which are worth carrying out further studies.

This paper present an efficient real time rectangle speed limit sign recognition system. The system design considers computation load and hardware resources for driver assistant system. First multi-scale overlapping LBP features are used to train AdaBoost cascade classifier for speed limit sign object detection. Then a simple linear prediction method is used to do tracking task. At the recognition stage, a novel efficient algorithm is used to correct rotation angle, and then integral image based adaptive threshold algorithm is adopted to segment the speed limit number. The clustering based binary tree of linear support vector machine is adopted for classification task. The system is tested on real road scene video sequences. It achieves 98.3% recognition rate with approximate 16fps frame rate on laptop

To summarize the operation approach and management during cochlear implant operation in children with sigmoid sinus antedisplacement.Five hundred and thirty-eight profound hearing loss children were performed auditory and imagiological examinations before cochlear implant. We analyzed the location of the sigmoid sinus from the high resolution CT scan and then performed cochlear implant to all these patients.In all these 538 cochlear implant children, 4 cases (0.74%) had significant sigmoid sinus antedisplacement which cause the operation more difficult, 64 cases (11.9%) had slight sigmoid sinus antedisplacement which did not impact the ordinary cochlear implant procedures.Significant sigmoid sinus antedisplacement that impact cochlear implant operative procedures were seldom happen in children. In 538 cochlear implant children of our center, 4 cases had significant sigmoid sinus antedisplacement that impact cochlear implant operative procedures, we successfully complete these 4 operation through removal of the incus and abrasive reduction the posterior wall of bony external acoustic meatus.

To discuss the indication and approach of cochlear implantation with common cavity inner ear malformation.Through imaging examination preoperatively for profound sensorineural hearing loss patients, we found 6 cases with common cavity inner ear malformation, in which cochlear, vestibule and lateral semicircular canal formed a big cavity. Among these cases, five had residual hearing, in the others, residual hearing was not detected.Among these cases with common cavity, 5 cases with residual hearing were treated with cochlear implantation, in 3 cases we selected round window approach, in the other 2 cases, we implanted the electrodes through the joint of the common cavity and posterior semicircular canal. Postoperatively, All these 5 patients have auditory response with cochlear implantation. The patient without residual hearing was not given cochlear implantation.In patients with common cavity inner malformation, those who have residual hearing have indication for cochlear implantation, but it must be emphasized that their effect may not be as good as patients without inner ear malformation. In those patients without residual hearing, cochlear implantation should better not be performed.

Flexible and semi-flexible micro-endoscopes were used in cochlear scala tympani inspection , to explore their application in inner ear examination.Fifteen profound hearing loss patients preparing for cochlear implant were included in this study. During the operation, micro-endoscopy was performed after opening the cochlear scala tympani. And 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 9 mm into the cochlear scala tympani, while 0. 5 mm diameter flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 25 mm. The inspecting results were compared with video recording.Using 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, we canould check cochlear scala tympani with depth range of 15-25 mm, but the video imaging was not clear enough to examine the microstructure in the cochlear. With 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we could reach 9 mm deep into the cochlear. During the examination, we found 3 cases with calcification deposit in osseous spiral lamina, l case with granulation tissue in the lateral wall of scala tympani, no abnormal findings in the other 11 cases.Inspecting the cochlear scala tympani with 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, even though we can reach the second circuit of the cochlear, it is difficult to find the pathology in the cochlear because of the poor video imaging. With 1 mm semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we can identify the microstructure of the cochlear clearly and find the pathologic changes, but the inserting depth was limited to 9 mm with limitation to examine the whole cochlear.