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A new method for fault location during a single-phase-to-ground fault in the compensated distribution network is proposed in this paper. The method makes full use of the difference between transient-state fault information and the difference between steady-state fault information in two FTUs (feeder terminal units) of each section to determine faulty location. In this method, the transient-state component and steady-state component of zero-sequence current measured by each FTU are extracted by FastICA (fast independent component analysis) algorithm and are represented by the transient-state factor and steady-state factor, which are defined in this paper. Then, the difference between transient-state factors and the difference between steady-state factors in two FTUs of each section are calculated. The two differences corresponding to a certain section are seen as a feature vector, which is given as one input to the fuzzy C-means (FCM) algorithm. All feature vectors will be partitioned into two clusters, one of which represents a faulty section, and the other of which represents a healthy section. As a result, faulty location will be determined. Simulation results show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed method under different fault conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral stroke has one of the highest incidence, mortality and disability rates worldwide. Although studies have confirmed that reperfusion therapy is an effective strategy for treating stroke patients, the secondary injury of brain tissue caused by reperfusion therapy, which is called cerebral ischaemia reperfusion injury (CIRI), is another medical challenge globally. The microenvironment network constructed by multicellular exosomes plays a regulatory role in the occurrence and development of CIRI. In addition, exosomes have potential value as drug delivery carriers for cerebrovascular diseases due to their stability, the ability to pass through the blood--brain barrier and other characteristics. This study reviews the research progress on the signal network constructed by multiple cells through exosomes and exo-somes as drug carriers in CIRI to provide a reference for research to improve CIRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the deterministic factors for e-commerce adoption and the factors that affect e-commerce performance after adoption in manufacturing firms. By using a large survey dataset on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jiaxing city, we find that (1) e-commerce adoption by manufacturing firms is negatively correlated with the firm age and positively correlated with firm size, their experience of supplying for Internet firms, and their own online shopping experience; (2) the e-commerce performance of the manufacturing firms is positively correlated with firms' experience with e-commerce and firms' size in e-commerce business; (3) all the above findings are similar for retailing firms, but manufacturing firms' online performance relies more on their online firm size, and the effect of location choice is more salient for retailing firms. These findings complement the existing literature on e-commerce adoption and have important implications for the development of e-commerce adoption in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A HfO2/Al2O3/AlN stack deposited in a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition system is used as the gate dielectric for GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor structures. Prior to the deposition, in situ remote plasma pretreatments (RPPs) with O2, NH3, and NH3–O2 (in sequence) were carried out. Frequency-dependent capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements reveal that for all the RPP-treated samples, the interface trap density Dit was significantly reduced compared to the sample without RPP. In particular, the NH3-treated sample exhibits an extremely low Dit of ∼1011 cm−2·eV−1 from EC − 0.31 eV to EC − 0.46 eV. To characterize the interface traps at deeper levels, the transfer pulsed I–V measurement was employed further. In the energy range of EC − ET > 0.54 eV, the interface trap charge density Qit of various samples demonstrates the following order: NH3 RPP < NH3–O2 RPP < O2 RPP < without RPP. By adjusting multiple pulse widths, the Dit derived from the Qit result matches the C–V measurement precisely. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the Ga 3d core-level indicates that NH3 RPP facilitates the conversion of Ga2O into GaN at high RF power of 2500 W, whereas O2 RPP mainly oxidizes GaN to relatively stable Ga2O3. Combined with the C–V and pulsed I–V measurements, it is confirmed that a strong positive correlation exists between Ga2O and the interface traps, rather than Ga2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional materials with a coexistence of proton conduction properties, single–molecule magnet (SMM) behaviors and magneto–optical Faraday effects have rarely been reported. Herein, a new pair of Cu(II)–Dy(III) enantiomers, [DyCu2(RR/SS–H2L)2(H2O)4(NO3)2]·(NO3)·(H2O) (R–1 and S–1) (H4L = [RR/SS] –N,N′–bis [3–hydroxysalicylidene] –1,2–cyclohexanediamine), has been designed and prepared using homochiral Schiff–base ligands. R–1 and S–1 contain linear Cu(II)–Dy(III)–Cu(II) trinuclear units and possess 1D stacking channels within their supramolecular networks. R–1 and S–1 display chiral optical activity and strong magneto–optical Faraday effects. Moreover, R–1 shows a zero–field SMM behavior. In addition, R–1 demonstrates humidity– and temperature–dependent proton conductivity with optimal values of 1.34 × 10−4 S·cm−1 under 50 °C and 98% relative humidity (RH), which is related to a 1D extended H–bonded chain constructed by water molecules, nitrate and phenol groups of the RR–H2L ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion paper focuses on foregrounding the issue of the hidden curriculum in L2 writing and how addressing its negative sides can greatly move forward our understanding of students’ writing learning experiences and further promote more effective and equal writing teaching. Specifically, this paper argues that the negative sides of the hidden curriculum could partially account for students’ dissatisfying writing development and unpleasant writing learning experiences and discusses its possible harm to educational effectiveness and equality. The paper then outlines recommendations for future research and proposes strategies for teaching practitioners to better handle the hidden curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As for 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, the creation of proper active defects concentrations is considered as the efficient strategy for improving hydrogen evolution performance. However, the synthesis methods of large‐area MoS2 catalysts with controllable active defects are limited, also for its working mechanism. Herein, thermochemical generation of active defects for MoS2 catalysts has established by annealing sodium hypophosphite, in which the phosphine is spontaneously generated and chemically tailors the MoS2 lattice. The defects formation is confirmed by the investigation of slightly‐changed surface structure and unpaired electrons for the annealed samples. The hydrogen evolution reaction performances of horizontally/vertically grown MoS2 films are improved by controlling reaction conditions, indicating the active defects could form in the basal plane and edges with retained crystal structure. The overpotential of MoS2 samples converted from 10 nm Mo reduces from −520 to −265 mV with largely decreased Tafel slope. The electrochemical microreactor studies reveal the protons adsorption of active sites shows much more significant contribution, than interfacial charge transfer with the enhanced remarkable performance (−100 mV at 10 mA cm−2). This study presents the large‐area synthesized strategy for MoS2 based catalysts with controllable defects concentration and helps establish rational design principles for future MoS2 family electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoremediation of arsenic (As) by Pteris vittata (P. vittata) is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for restoring As-contaminated sites. However, the phytoextraction efficiency is low in some cases, such as clay soil, thus biochar was applied to enhance the efficiency of As extraction. The paper investigated the effect of biochar on soil characteristic, As mobility, and As uptake in P. vittata with a 90-day greenhouse experiment. Biochar derived from rice straw was added at rates of 0.5, 1.5, and 4% (w/w). The results showed that, under biochar amendment, soil pH raised from 5.24 to 6.03 and 4.91 to 5.85, soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased 11.1–46.1% and 2.8–11.2%, respectively, in rhizosphere and bulk soils. Biochar also increased soil catalase (CAT) activity significantly, especially for the rhizosphere soil. Besides, biochar increased the labile As in the soils and transfer coefficient from roots to aboveground, thereby enhancing As accumulation by P. vittata tissues. The accumulation of As in fronds of P. vittata was up to 350 mg kg−1 in 1.5% biochar, which was more than twice the control and far beyond other biochar treatments. The results indicate that biochar addition is favorable to improve phytoremediation of P. vittata in As-contaminated soil and 1.5% (w/w) biochar may be a reasonable application ratio, thus providing an effective solution to enhance the efficiency of As phytoextraction. Biochar increased soil catalase activity in the rhizosphere of P. vittata. Biochar increased the labile concentration of arsenic in soil and arsenic accumulation in P. vittata significantly. Combining biochar and P. vittata reduced arsenic in soil. Biochar amendment was favorable for phytoremediation of P. vittata in arsenic-contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High hardness and high toughness (Ti,Nb,Ta,Mo,W)(C,N)-based ceramics were prepared using pre-synthesized high-entropy carbonitride (HECN) powder and high-entropy alloy (HEA) via spark plasma sintering. By HEA addition of 5 vol%, dense (Ti,Nb,Ta,Mo,W)(C,N)-based ceramics with fine microstructure was obtained at 1450 °C. Due to the presence of the precipitated (Mo,W) 2 C phase within the HECN matrix, which forms a solid solution with the added HEA, the ceramics exhibited the high Vickers hardness (24.5 ± 1.3 GPa) and fracture toughness (6.1 ± 0.4 MPa m1/2), arise from the fine grain structure of the ceramics and the pronounced effect of crack deflection. This study introduced a new strategy for the preparation of high-entropy carbonitride-based ceramics, which significantly improved the fracture toughness while maintained high hardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: About 10% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are harbored as uncommon mutations. This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of dacomitinib, a second-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKIs), in treating uncommon EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC. Methods: Treatment-naïve advanced NSCLC patients treated with dacomitinib at Hunan Cancer Hospital with uncommon EGFR mutations were evaluated. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and safety. Result: Between December 2019 and December 2021, a total of 16 patients was included. Median PFS was 14.0 (95% CI 4.32–23.7) months, and median OS was not reached. ORR was 68.8% (95% CI 41.3 to 89.0%) and DCR was 93.8% (95%CI 69.8 to 99.8%), including three achieving complete remission (CR) and eight achieving partial remission (PR). Median PFS for patients with brain metastasis was 9.0 (95%CI 6.9 to 11.1) months. Intracranial ORR was 100%, including 2 CR and 4 PR. Major treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) included rash (87.5%), paronychia (62.5%), oral ulcers (50.0%), and diarrhea (50.0%), none of which were ≥ grade 3 TRAEs. Conclusions: Dacomitinib showed good activity and manageable toxicity in NSCLC patients with uncommon EGFR mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) correlated with the intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) severity and the postoperative spinal fusion rate in lumbar spinal stenosis patients accompanied with lumbar disc herniation. Methods: This retrospective study investigated 310 cases of posterior lumbar decompression and fusion. The cumulative grade was calculated by adding the pfirrmann grades of all the lumbar discs. Subjects were grouped based on the median cumulative grade. Logistic regression was used to determine the associations among the demographical, clinical, and laboratory indexes and severe degeneration and fusion. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to measure model discrimination, and Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) test was used to measure calibration. Results: SOD and GR levels were significantly lower in the severe degeneration group (cumulative grade > 18) than in the mild to moderate degeneration group (cumulative grade ≤ 18). Furthermore, the SOD and GR concentrations of the fusion group were significantly higher than that of the non-fusion group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006). The multivariate binary logistic models revealed that SOD and GR were independently influencing factors of the severe degeneration (OR: 0.966, 95%CI: 0.950–0.982, and OR: 0.946, 95%CI: 0.915–0.978, respectively) and non-fusion (OR: 0.962; 95% CI: 0.947–0.978; OR: 0.963; 95% CI: 0.933–0.994). The models showed excellent discrimination and calibration. Trend analysis indicated that the levels of SOD and GR tended to decrease with increasing severity (p for trend < 0.001 and 0.003). In addition, it also revealed that SOD provided protection from non-fusion in a concentration-dependent manner (p for trend < 0.001). However, GR concentration-dependent effects were not apparent (p for trend = 0.301). Conclusion: High serum SOD and GR levels are associated with a better fusion prognosis and a relief in degeneration severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the application of digital technology has long been considered to be an important and integral trend in human resource management (HRM), emerging evidence hints that digital HRM systems may not always work well in practice, and increasing research suggests that the adoption of digital HRM systems might have negative effects on organizations. In this article, we investigate whether a match in the levels of internal consistency exhibited by a digital HRM system and an original high‐performance work system (HPWS), i.e. congruence, impacts firms' data‐driven insight generation. We find that congruence between the digital HRM system and the original HPWS has a negative impact on firms' capability to generate data‐driven insights. Furthermore, organizations with high levels of internal consistency in both the digital and the original non‐digital HRM systems (i.e. high–high congruence) exhibit better data‐driven insight generation than organizations with low levels of internal consistency in both systems (i.e. low–low congruence). The results also reveal that the effect of congruence negatively influences firm financial performance and mediated by data‐driven insight generation. We discuss the implications of this study and call for future research to consider the characteristics of digital HRM systems and the original traditional HRM systems simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density‐modified structural features and mechanical properties of the amorphous Si2BC3N are studied by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The chemical bonds of Si2BC3N are insensitive to the density variation, which is reflected by the negligible changes in bond lengths, peak locations in density of states and Bader charge values under different densities. Instead, the composition of chemical bonds is altered. Meanwhile, high‐density condition induces the transition of polyhedral units from the sp2‐like trigonal configuration to the tetrahedral configuration, especially for B, C, and N. This variation is the main structural responding mechanism of Si2BC3N to increased density, which is different from the stretching and/or shrinkage of bonds as occurred in crystals. The increased tetrahedron content shall further benefit the amorphous structure stability of Si2BC3N by impeding the separation of turbostratic BN(C), and enhance the second‐order elastic constants, elastic moduli and tensile/shear strengths of Si2BC3N. The high density may decrease the debonding capability of the fiber/Si2BC3N interface but will not change the preference for crack deflection at interfaces. These results suggest the promising prospect of mechanical property optimization of SiBCN ceramics through density tailoring in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive species are one of the most serious threats to biodiversity. Pomacea canaliculata is considered one of the world's 100 worst invasive species. Major determinants of invasive species distribution are their environmental tolerances, and an understanding of correlations between local environmental variables (e.g., pH, concentration of dissolved oxygen) and genetic diversity is necessary to better prevent and manage the spread of invasive species. However, while such studies have demonstrated associations between the distribution and density of P. canaliculata and water quality correlates, the principal mechanisms relating genetic and these environmental correlates have not been fully articulated. Here, the correlation between physicochemical parameters and genetics of P. canaliculata were analyzed. The results showed that P. canaliculata among the six collection locations had robust genetic diversity, significant genetic differentiation, limited gene flow, and stable population dynamics. RDA analysis showed that genetic variation in P. canaliculata was significantly correlated with concentration of dissolved oxygen and pH. These results will provide a basis for effectively preventing and managing the spread of invasive species and identifying which habitats may be more at risk of invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic-field-dependence critical current I c (H a) is measured for the Mo/Au bilayer transition-edge sensors. A model based on a surface barrier delaying the first penetration of magnetic flux into a flat superconducting strip, including both the geometrical and Bean–Livingston barrier, in combination with two Josephson junction models with different characteristic lengths, is found to ubiquitously fit the I c (H a) curves of devices with various geometry designs. The bulk penetration depth, London depairing current density, Josephson junction critical current, self-field coupling coefficient, and conditions of the first vortex entry are investigated throughout the superconducting transition. The evidences of Josephson effect are observed in both Fraunhofer interference pattern and Shapiro steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ti-TAN TurboID plasmid toolbox allows for proximity labeling experiments in Nicotiana benthamiana, a model plant, in a fast and cost-efficient manner. This toolbox enables the detection of protein-protein interactions, including weak or short-lived interactions, which are challenging to study using conventional methods. The plasmid collection includes vectors for fusing TurboID to the protein of interest, as well as controls for different subcellular localizations. The toolbox is designed to be accessible and user-friendly, making proximity labeling accessible to plant scientists globally and advancing our understanding of protein-protein interaction networks in plants. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Rural general practitioners (GPs) have insufficient diagnostic information to deal with complex clinical scenarios due to the inequality in medical imaging resources in rural and remote communities. The objective of this study is to explore the value of a tele-mentored handheld ultrasound (tele-HHUS) system, allowing GPs to provide ultrasound (US) services in rural and remote communities. Methods: Overall, 708 patients underwent tele-HHUS examination between March and October 2021 and March and April 2022 across thirteen primary hospitals and two tertiary-care general hospitals. All US examinations were guided and supervised remotely in real time by US experts more than 300 km away using the tele-HHUS system. The following details were recorded: location of tele-HHUS scanning, primary complaints, clinical diagnosis, and US findings. The recommendations (referral or follow-up) based on clinical experience alone were compared with those based on clinical experience with tele-HHUS information. Results: Tele-HHUS examinations were performed both in hospital settings (90.6%, 642/708) and out of hospital settings (9.4%, 66/708). Leaving aside routine physical examinations, flank pain (14.2%, 91/642) was the most common complaint in inpatients, while chest distress (12.1%, 8/66) and flank discomfort (12.1%, 8/66) were the most common complaints in out-of-hospital settings. Additionally, the referral rate increased from 5.9% to 8.3% (kappa = 0.202; p = 0.000). Conclusions: The tele-HHUS system can help rural GPs perform HHUS successfully in remote and rural communities. This novel mobile telemedicine model is valuable in resource-limited areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. A novel form of copper-dependent and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent cell death, cuproptosis, has been described in many cancers. The roles and potential mechanisms of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) are still unclear in HNSCC. Method: We downloaded TCGA datasets of HNSCC genomic mutations and clinic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Based on the Cuproptosis-related differentially expressed genes in HNSCC, we constructed a prognostic signature. Results: Eight CRGs have been identified as associated with the prognosis of HNSCC. According to Kaplan–Meier analyses, HNSCC with a high Risk Score had a poor prognosis. Furthermore, the AUC of the Risk Score for the 1-, 3-, and 5- year overall survival was respectively, 0.70, 0.71, and 0.68. TCGA data revealed that T cell functions, such as HLA, cytolytic activity, inflammation regulation, co-inhibition, and co-stimulation, differed significantly between members of the low and high groups. The immune checkpoint genes PD-L1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 were also expressed differently in the two risk groups. Conclusions: A CRG signature was defined that is associated with the prognosis of patients with HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SET and MYND domain-containing protein 2 (SMYD2) is a histone lysine methyltransferase that has been reported to regulate carcinogenesis and inflammation. However, its role in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) homeostasis and vascular diseases has not been determined. Here, we investigated the role of SMYD2 in VSMC phenotypic modulation and vascular intimal hyperplasia and elucidated the underlying mechanism. We observed that SMYD2 expression was downregulated in injured carotid arteries in mice and phenotypically modulated VSMCs in vitro. Using an SMC-specific SMYD2 knockout mouse model, we found that SMYD2 ablation in VSMCs exacerbated neointima formation after vascular injury in vivo. Conversely, SMYD2 overexpression inhibited VSMC proliferation and migration in vitro and attenuated arterial narrowing in injured vessels in mice. SMYD2 downregulation promoted VSMC phenotypic switching accompanied with enhanced proliferation and migration. Mechanistically, genome-wide transcriptome analysis and loss/gain-of-function studies revealed that SMYD2 up-regulated VSMC contractile gene expression and suppressed VSMC proliferation and migration, in part, by promoting expression and transactivation of the master transcription cofactor myocardin. In addition, myocardin directly interacted with SMYD2, thereby facilitating SMYD2 recruitment to the CArG regions of SMC contractile gene promoters and leading to an open chromatin status around SMC contractile gene promoters via SMYD2-mediated H3K4 methylation. Hence, we conclude that SMYD2 is a novel regulator of VSMC contractile phenotype and intimal hyperplasia via a myocardin-dependent epigenetic regulatory mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black carbon (BC), an important component of atmospheric aerosol, plays a significant role in regional climate, hydrological cycle, variation of monsoon rainfall, and human health. The 40-year detailed atmospheric BC over China from 1981 to 2020 is systematically investigated through the MERRA-2 reanalysis dataset. MERRA-2 BC generally showed a good correlation (R = 0.68) compared with 673 monthly samples from ground-based observation at 35 stations around China. The overall annual average of MERRA-2 BC concentration over China is 1.15 μg/m3, with a fast growth rate during 1981–2007 and a relatively slow decrease after that. The winter season has the highest mean concentration of BC, followed by autumn and spring, whereas summer shows relatively weaker values. The order of annual average BC concentrations during 1981–2020 is Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH, 4.02 μg/m3) > Sichuan Basin (SB, 3.94 μg/m3) > Yangtze River Delta (YRD, 2.68 μg/m3) > Pearl River Delta (PRD, 1.47 μg/m3). The monthly mean BC concentrations over the BTH, YRD, PRD and SB are estimated to be smallest 3.18 μg/m3 in May, 1.94 μg/m3 in August, 0.82 μg/m3 in July, 3.04 μg/m3 in June, respectively, whilst largest consistently in December with 5.09 μg/m3, 3.83 μg/m3, 2.12 μg/m3, and 5.41 μg/m3, respectively. Our study indicates the primary potential source areas for BC are concentrated in the research city and its surroundings. Beijing and Chengdu are more BC-polluted areas than Shanghai and Guangzhou. Long-distance, regional transfer from south BTH contributes importantly to BC pollution in Beijing under the influence of prevailing southerly winds. The geographical location of Chengdu causes the transport and accumulation of BC inside the SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding deformation mechanisms in semi-crystalline polymers during stretching is useful for guiding the processing of high-performance polymer products. In the current work, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the crystal changes in crystallized polyethylene/carbon nanotube nanocomposites during uniaxial stretching. Both crystal fragmentation and melting occur at low strains. Crystals with small sizes are easier to melt, while those with large sizes would break into smaller crystals. In addition, crystals in interfacial regions are more likely to melt or break due to the orientation motion of carbon nanotubes. It was also found that the recrystallization process is closely related to the stretch-induced orientation of chain segments. After orientation of chain segments along stretching direction is saturated, the recrystallization of highly oriented segments dominates. The current simulation findings are effective complements to the theories of the mechanism of plastic deformation in semicrystalline polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety and food security are subjects of great concern around the world. Ensuring a sustainable supply of nutrient-dense and safe food is a grand challenge. Nanotechnology will bring great opportunities to improve food safety and enhance agricultural productivity in a sustainable way. This study presents a critical concise overview of the basic principles and applications of diverse nanotechnologies in solving food safety and security issues. Following an overview of recent work relevant to food safety issues, several key applications of nanotechnology in food packaging and contaminant detection are outlined. The important role of nanotechnology in addressing agricultural production, water resource management (such as nanofiltration and nanosterilization), harmful substance adsorption, and nutrient delivery is discussed. Finally, opportunities for further research and development in nanotechnology for food safety and security are identified. It is noteworthy that large scale industrial applications of nanotechnology are not commonplace yet as major issues of cost and potential adverse effects on human health continue to remain impediments to be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Legume nodules produce large quantities of heme required for the synthesis of leghemoglobin (Lb) and other hemoproteins. Despite the crucial function of Lb in nitrogen fixation and the toxicity of free heme, the mechanisms of heme homeostasis remain elusive.Biochemical, cellular, and genetic approaches were used to study the role of heme oxygenases (HOs) in heme degradation in the model legume Lotus japonicus. Heme and biliverdin were quantified and localized, HOs were characterized, and knockout LORE1 and CRISPR/Cas9 mutants for LjHO1 were generated and phenotyped.We show that LjHO1, but not the LjHO2 isoform, is responsible for heme catabolism in nodules and identify biliverdin as the in vivo product of the enzyme in senescing green nodules. Spatiotemporal expression analysis revealed that LjHO1 expression and biliverdin production are restricted to the plastids of uninfected interstitial cells. The nodules of ho1 mutants showed decreased nitrogen fixation, and the development of brown, rather than green, nodules during senescence. Increased superoxide production was observed in ho1 nodules, underscoring the importance of LjHO1 in antioxidant defense.We conclude that LjHO1 plays an essential role in degradation of Lb heme, uncovering a novel function of nodule plastids and uninfected interstitial cells in nitrogen fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cachexia (CAC) is a debilitating metabolic syndrome. Although dietary interventions are attractive, long-term adherence to specific diets is difficult to maintain and can lead to systemic side effects. Ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate (EHB) is a commonly used food additive found in wine and Tribolium castaneum. In this study, we investigated the effects of EHB administration in cachectic mice. After a single intraperitoneal injection of EHB into mice, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HB) levels were significantly increased in the serum and gastrocnemius of mice. The administration of EHB alleviated cachexia-related symptoms, ameliorated skeletal muscle atrophy, and improved survival in cachectic mice. In addition, the supplementation of cachectic mice with 3-HB by EHB administration significantly reduced tumor weights, indicating the anti-tumor effects of 3-HB. Remarkably, the addition of 3-HB to the culture medium significantly attenuated the C2C12 myotube atrophy induced by the culture supernatant of CT26 cell lines, highlighting its potential to counteract the destructive effects of tumor-derived elements on muscle tissue. NMR-based metabolomics analysis provided insights into the underlying mechanisms and revealed that the anti-cachexia effects of 3-HB treatment can be attributed to three key mechanisms: the promotion of the TCA cycle and the attenuation of proteolysis, the promotion of protein synthesis and the improvement of metabolic homeostasis, and a reduction in inflammation and an enhancement of the antioxidant capacity. This study provided compelling evidence for the protective effects of 3-HB treatment on the cachectic gastrocnemius and highlighted the efficacy of EHB administration as a ketone supplementation approach to achieve nutritional ketosis without the need for dietary restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydroboration of CO2 into bis(boryl)acetal (BBA) compounds is an important transformation, since it enabled to selectively reduce CO2 by 4e‐and to subsequently use the BBA compounds as C1 and Cn sources. However, the influence of the nature of the boryl moieties on the reactivity of BBA compounds has not been evaluated so far. In the present study, four BBA compounds – including two new ones – were reacted with 2,6‐diisopropylaniline to afford the expected imine. Significant differences in the rate of the reaction from minutes to weeks have been observed depending on the BBA used, showing the importance of the nature of the boryl moieties. Theoretical investigations enabled to propose a mechanism involving the addition of the aniline to the BBA as the rate‐determining step and to determine that the steric hindrance of the BBA compounds is the main factor driving the rate of this condensation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammoniacal nitrogen present in leachate manganese electrolytes has gravely affected the ecosystem. This goal of this study was to use the anoxic and oxic process to treat the leachate from low COD/Nitrogen (C/N) manganese wastewater residue and to examine the reactor's removal of nitrogen efficiency, sludge morphology, and microbial community of the reactor. The results indicate that the removal efficiencies of NH4+–N and TN are 95.33%±0.19% , 91.63%±3.06% , and 98.09%±1.49% for chemical oxygen demand (COD) respectively, after a 193 day operation. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the activated sludge surface's microbial body revealed elevated microbe densities that progressively complicated internal voids and layers as well as reasonably dense microbial colonies. Thauera and Truepera, the dominant bacteria in the system, are capable of completing removing nitrogen and COD from the reactor. The growth and reliable operation of shortcut nitrification and denitrification processes is supported by Nitrosomonas. Manganese can be oxidized by a genus of bacteria called Aminobacter. Manganese can be used in this system as an electron donor to promote nitrogen removal. According to the aforementioned conclusion, this study has succeeded in achieving a stable shortcut nitrification and denitrification of manganese auto oxygen at a low C/N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider the fluctuation of environmental noise and the incubation period of virus, a stochastic vector-host model with incubation delay is proposed to describe the transmission of Dengue fever virus (DFVs) between humans and mosquitoes. By constructing suitable stochastic Lyapunov functional, the existence and uniqueness of global positive solutions of this model are proved. Furthermore, some sufficient conditions are obtained for the asymptotic pathwise estimation of solutions. In addition, we also consider the asymptotic pathwise estimation of solutions, the existence and uniqueness of stationary distribution of this model without delay, which imply that disease is stochastic persistent. Finally, numerical simulations explain the theoretical results and discuss the effects of stochastic perturbations and delays on DFVs transmission. Our results imply that the spread of DFVs presents many unpredictability under the influence of stochastic perturbation, and the reproduction number can no longer be used as a threshold condition for the extinction or persistence of disease. Moreover, ignoring the incubation delay will not only overestimate the risk of disease outbreaks but also underestimate the duration of diseases. Rational application of stochastic perturbations on disease transmission and incubation periods will play a very important role in vector-borne disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Large continental earthquakes are infrequent, but they are important for understanding active tectonics. Many pre-1990, magnitude greater than 7 earthquakes have not been well documented due to a lack of data. The declassification of KeyHole (KH) imagery provides opportunities for investigating those historical events. In this study, we present new geodetic observations of surface deformation from the 1976 November 24 Ms 7.3 Chaldiran earthquake in eastern Turkey. We use various historical KH imagery and modern Pleiades stereo imagery to determine the coseismic deformation, providing new constraints on the 1976 rupture. Based on the image measurements, we resolve the coseismic slip at depth. The inverted slip from a simple elastic dislocation model, ∼4.0 m at shallow depth of the Hidirmentes segment, is larger than the surface displacement, around 3 m from previous field surveys, suggesting that the coseismic deformation is a combination of slip on the primary fault with 30 ± 16 per cent off-fault deformation. We also measure cumulative offsets at two sites with well-preserved features, and find a constant ratio of horizontal to vertical offsets throughout the past few earthquake cycles. Both the observed constant slip ratio in this study and offset clusters from previous field measurements support that the Chaldiran fault exhibits a characteristic slip behaviour in the late Quaternary. By combining all the geodetic and geological observations in the broader region, we also present a brief analysis of the slip rate of the Chaldiran fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaos recognition is necessary to determine the prediction possibility for specific time series. In this paper, we attempt to seek a novel chaos recognition method based on the recurrent plot (RP) and the convolutional neural network (CNN). The RP can transform the time series into a two-dimensional image, which intuitively reflects the inherent nature of the time series. On the other hand, the CNN is powerful in pattern classification. In this way, the existing chaos recognition results can be unified in a general framework to form accumulated knowledge, which can be used to recognize novel dynamics. First, three major time series classes, namely chaotic, periodic and random ones generated from the classical dynamics, are represented by the RPs respectively. Then, these RPs are used as the dataset to train the residual neural network (ResNet). In this process, the transfer learning is used to speed up convergence. The chaos recognition precision can be up to 97.6%. Finally, different encoding methods and classification networks are used for comparative experiments, and the resultant ResNet is applied to the time series from a supercavitating vehicle motion and two hyperchaotic systems. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), one of the most vulnerable brain regions in Alzheimer's disease (AD), plays a critical role in cognition. Leucine-rich repeat and immunoglobulin-like domain-containing nogo receptor-interacting protein-1 (LINGO-1) negatively affects nerve growth in the central nervous system; however, its role in the pathological damage to the mPFC remains to be studied in AD. In this study, an anti-LINGO-1 antibody was administered to 10-month-old APP/PS1 mice, and behavioral tests, stereological methods, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to answer this question. Our results revealed that LINGO-1 was highly expressed in the neurons of the mPFC of AD mice, and the anti-LINGO-1 antibody improved prefrontal cortex-related function and reduced the protein level of LINGO-1, atrophy of the volume, Aβ deposition and massive losses of synapses and neurons in the mPFC of AD mice. Antagonizing LINGO-1 could effectively alleviate the pathological damage in the mPFC of AD mice, which might be an important structural basis for improving prefrontal cortex-related function. Abnormal expression of LINGO-1 in the mPFC may be one of the key targets of AD, and the effect initiated by the anti-LINGO-1 antibody may provide an important basis in the search for drugs for the prevention and treatment of AD. • Anti-LINGO-1 antibody delays atrophy of the mPFC and reduces Aβ deposition in the mPFC in AD mice. • Anti-LINGO-1 antibody decreases the neuronal LINGO-1 protein in the mPFC of AD mice. • Anti-LINGO-1 antibody delays the losses of neurons and dendritic spines in the mPFC of AD mice. • Anti-LINGO-1 antibody increases the synapses on the neurite in the mPFC of AD mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a powerful but computationally intensive method, hybrid computational models study the dynamics of multicellular systems by evolving discrete cells in reacting and diffusing extracellular microenvironments. As the scale and complexity of studied biological systems continuously increase, the exploding computational cost starts to limit large-scale cell-based simulations. To facilitate the large-scale hybrid computational simulation and make it feasible on easily accessible computational devices, we develop Gell (GPU Cell), a fast and memory-efficient open-source GPU-based hybrid computational modeling platform for large-scale system modeling. We fully parallelize the simulations on GPU for high computational efficiency and propose a novel voxel sorting method to further accelerate the modeling of massive cell-cell mechanical interaction with negligible additional memory footprint. As a result, Gell efficiently handles simulations involving tens of millions of cells on a personal computer. We compare the performance of Gell with a state-of-the-art paralleled CPU-based simulator on a hanging droplet spheroid growth task and further demonstrate Gell with a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) simulation. Gell affords ~150X acceleration over the paralleled CPU method with one-tenth of the memory requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shear thickening polishing (STP) method is a gentle polishing method developed in recent years. In this work, a high-efficiency polishing of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) crystals with good surface quality were accomplished using this technique. Analysis was done on the impacts of four main polishing parameters on surface roughness Sa and material removal rate (MRR), namely, abrasive particle size S, abrasive particle concentration C, polishing speed Vw, and workpiece polishing angle θ. The Taguchi method and grey relational analysis method were used respectively to optimize the process parameters to decrease the surface roughness Sa and improve MRR in the polishing process. An orthogonal experiment with four factors and four levels was carried out. The optimal process parameter combination obtained by the Taguchi method was as follows: abrasive particle size 5000#, abrasive particle concentration 15 wt%, polishing speed 60 r/min, and polishing angle 15°. Surface roughness Sa decreased from 100 ± 10 nm to 1.024 nm, with MRR 243.03 nm/min in 40 min of polishing under the optimized conditions. Principal component analysis was applied to grey relational analysis to evaluate the weight values of surface roughness Sa and MRR. The optimal process parameters were obtained: abrasive particle size 3000#, abrasive particle concentration 6 wt%, polishing speed 100 r/min, and polishing angle 16.06°. Surface roughness was reduced to 0.813 nm, with MRR 377.19 nm/min in 40 min of polishing. The grey relational analysis method produced a lower surface roughness Sa and higher MRR in the STP process of YAG crystal compared to the Taguchi method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein crystallization is an important tool for structural biology and nanostructure preparation. Here, we report on kinetic pathway‐dependent protein crystals that are controlled by light. Photo‐responsive crystallites are obtained by complexing the model proteins with cationic azobenzene dyes. The crystalline state is readily switched to a dispersed phase under ultraviolet light and restored by subsequent visible‐light illumination. The switching can be reversibly repeated for multiple cycles without noticeable structure deterioration. Importantly, the photo‐treatment not only significantly increases the crystallinity, but creates crystallites at conditions where no ordered lattices are observed upon directly mixing the components. Further control over the azobenzene isomerization kinetics produces protein single crystals of up to ≈50 μm. This approach offers an intriguing method to fabricate metamaterials and study optically controlled crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein crystallization is an important tool for structural biology and nanostructure preparation. Here, we report on kinetic pathway‐dependent protein crystals that are controlled by light. Photo‐responsive crystallites are obtained by complexing the model proteins with cationic azobenzene dyes. The crystalline state is readily switched to a dispersed phase under ultraviolet light and restored by subsequent visible‐light illumination. The switching can be reversibly repeated for multiple cycles without noticeable structure deterioration. Importantly, the photo‐treatment not only significantly increases the crystallinity, but creates crystallites at conditions where no ordered lattices are observed upon directly mixing the components. Further control over the azobenzene isomerization kinetics produces protein single crystals of up to ≈50 μm. This approach offers an intriguing method to fabricate metamaterials and study optically controlled crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interscale transfer of kinetic energy and Reynolds stress in homogeneous shear turbulence (HST) is numerically investigated using three-dimensional bandpass filtering technique. The flow fields of a statistically steady HST are obtained using direct numerical simulation at three Reynolds numbers 2000, 5000, and 12 500 based on box depth. Visualizations of typical flow structures of bandpass filtered fields show that the small-scale structures are nearly isotropic, whereas the large-scale ones show the preferential alignment with the direction of mean shear. Quantitative results of both kinetic energy and Reynolds stress fluxes between two specific scales show the existence of scale locality. In specific, the eddies of a length scale L mostly transfer their energy or Reynolds stress to eddies of size 0.3L to 0.4L, which seems to be independent in the limit of the high Reynolds number. Furthermore, through the analysis on the vortex stretching, it is shown that the small-scale structures of scale L ω are stretched mostly by straining structures of size about 2 L ω , while large-scale structures are stretched mostly by mean shear. Finally, the evaluation of alignment between vortical structures and strain rate shows that small-scale structures are more likely to align with the strain structures of five times their size, and large-scale ones are mainly align with the mean shear strain. These findings can help enhance our comprehension of the interscale transfer and scale interaction of vortical structures in turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective maritime accident prediction will benefit both maritime safety management and the insurance industry. Due to the complex non-linearity and non-stationarity nature of maritime accident data, its prediction is still a challenge in the research field. An autoregressive integrated moving average with explanatory variables (ARIMAX) model was proposed to predict maritime accidents accurately, and a multi-factor accident prediction framework was developed. Additionally, the impacts of eight influencing factors on the number of maritime accidents were also investigated, and the predictions from the ARIMAX model were contrasted with those from earlier maritime accident prediction models, as well as autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), back-propagation neural network (BPNN), and support vector regression (SVR). The findings imply that an increase in any one of the eight factors may increase the number of maritime accidents worldwide. The ARIMAX model, which incorporates accident factors, is accurate enough to estimate the number of global maritime accidents and outperforms the ARIMA, BPNN, and SVR models in terms of prediction precision and robustness. The ARIMAX model outperforms earlier marine accident prediction models and has good applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ethnically diverse society calls for an in-depth understanding of national identity construction. This study investigates the perception of Chinese national identity among a group of ethnic Tibetans living in Southwest China. It identifies an indirect relationship between Chinese media use and Chinese national identity through the mediation of media trust and the moderation of age. The moderated mediation model shows that media use does not directly affect the perception of Chinese national identity among the ethnic Tibetans. Instead, it is indirectly related to Chinese national identity via media trust. The relationship between media trust and Chinese national identity is also moderated by a respondent's age, with the relationship stronger among younger than among older respondents. The moderated mediation model is significant after controlling for respondents' gender, general education, religiosity, perceived discrimination, bilingual education and peer influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A power system shows chaotic oscillation when it is subjected to periodic load disturbance, which makes it a challenging and interesting problem for stability control of chaotic power system. In this paper, a unified controller is designed to solve the fixed-time and preassigned-time stability problems of fourth-order chaotic power systems. In addition, based on Lyapunov stability theory, sufficient conditions are established for the fixed-time and preassigned-time stability of the underlying chaotic power systems, and a more accurate estimation of the settling time is also derived. Finally, according to numerical simulations, we validate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dissolved carbonates enhanced catalytic activity and stability of CuS for PMS activation. • CO 3 2− as electron transfer medium increased CO 3 •−/1O 2 evolution and Cu2+/Cu+ cycling. • CO 3 •−/1O 2 is high reactivity for electron-rich phenolic compounds. • The CO 3 2−-induced enhancement was linearly correlated with electronic effect of phenol substituents. This study investigated the enhancement effects of dissolved carbonates on the peroxymonosulfate-based advanced oxidation process with CuS as a catalyst. It was found that the added CO 3 2− increased both the catalytic activity and the stability of the catalyst. Under optimized reaction conditions in the presence of CO 3 2−, the degradation removal of 4-methylphenol (4-MP) within 2 min reached 100%, and this was maintained in consecutive multi-cycle experiments. The degradation rate constant of 4-MP was 2.159 min−1, being 685% greater than that in the absence of CO 3 2− (0.315 min−1). The comparison of dominated active species and 4-MP degradation pathways in both CO 3 2−-free and CO 3 2−-containing systems suggested that more CO 3 •−/1O 2 was produced in the case of CO 3 2−deducing an electron transfer medium, which tending to react with electron-rich moieties. Meanwhile, Characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetry measurement verified CO 3 2− enabled the effective reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+. By investigating the degradation of 11 phenolics with different substituents, the dependence of degradation kinetic rate constant of the phenolics on their chemical structures indicated that there was a good linear relationship between the Hammett constants σ p of the aromatic phenolics and the logarithm of k in the CO 3 2−-containing system. This work provides a new strategy for efficient removal of electron-rich moieties under the driving of carbonate being widely present in actual water bodies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multi-object auction models with unit demand agents, two standard assumptions are the quasi-linearity of utility functions and the coincidence between price increment and valuation unit. Under these assumptions, the exact ascending auction of Demange et al. (1986) , the sealed-bid Vickrey auction, as well as the approximate ascending auction of Demange et al. (1986) identify the minimum price equilibrium (MPE) while elegantly exhibiting efficiency and incentive-compatibility. We demonstrate that these auctions fail to identify the MPEs and are substantially inefficient and manipulable if these assumptions are dropped. We also discuss the implications of our negative results for multi-object auction models with multi-unit demand and matching with contracts models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We talk to authors Yu Zhou, Ting Shan, and Feiyan Liu about their paper "m6A modification negatively regulates translation by switching mRNA from polysome to P-body via IGF2BP3" (in this issue of Molecular Cell), their passion for RNA biology, and what it's like leading a "wet and dry" lab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow channel optimization is an important method to improve the water-gas transport capacity and enhance the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In this study, the size ratio of the opposite sinusoidal wave flow channel (OSWFC) is optimized, and three-dimensional numerical models are developed to evaluate the comprehensive performance. The results show that OSWFCs obtain performance enhancement compared to the parallel flow channel. 1:1 wave channel has a maximum improvement of 19.53% in mass transfer capacity by the most frequent flow disturbance, while 1:3 has a maximum increasement of 37.5% in water removal performance by the virtue of gentle wave structure. Large pressure loss decreases the mass transfer efficiency, although it with the maximum mass transfer capacity, the mass transfer evaluation criterion of 1:1 wave channel is less than that of 1:3. Moreover, a significant correlation between water-gas transport capacity and electrochemical performance is demonstrated by Pearson correlation coefficient. [Display omitted] • The OSWFC has a significant performance enhancement at high current densities. • The wave flow channel with ratio of 1:1 has the best mass transfer capacity. • The wave flow channel with ratio of 1:3 has the best water removal performance. • MTEC is proposed to evaluate the mass transfer efficiency. • PCC is proposed to evaluate the comprehensive performance of PEMFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expansion is the result of the comprehensive action of various social and economic factors, among which variation in land prices is regarded as the leading factor affecting the direction and intensity of urban expansion. However, few of existing studies have explored the interaction relationship between urban expansion and variations in residential land prices, which needs to be looked at urgently in both theoretical research and decision-making practice. In this study, based on theoretical analysis, a panel vector autoregression model was constructed using the data of 104 cities in China from 2001 to 2017. The results show that there is a long-term two-way causality and mutual promotion between urban expansion and increases in residential land prices. The increase in the residential land supply caused by urban expansion will restrain the rise of residential land prices, but this effect is not sustained over the long run. Both urban expansion and residential land price rises are subject to inertia, the latter to a greater extent than the former. The results also reveal that the interaction differs for cities at different stages of economic development. Based on the analysis, policy suggestions for guiding urban expansion and further exerting macrocontrol over land market are proposed. It is very necessary to study the land price of urban housing, because this issue is related to the increase in people's happiness in life. Land price change is considered the dominant factor affecting the direction and intensity of urban expansion. Therefore, studying the relationship between urban expansion and residential land price is helpful to guide the orderly and reasonable urban expansion. The purpose of this study is to clarify the detailed process of urban expansion and residential land price, so as to help policymakers to formulate corresponding policies in different links, and to combine the research conclusions with the process of making policy recommendations, in order to provide beneficial help for urban planners and decision-makers in urban planning and land price regulation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The irregular ocean environment brings difficulties to observation and affects the movement state of underwater vehicles. Multisource information fusion can provide more reliable results on information-rich datasets. This paper proposes a multisource information fusion-based environment perception and dynamics model for underwater vehicles in irregular ocean environments. First, the multisource observation data is decomposed by the latent feature disentanglement learning model into the latent stable and dynamical features. The dynamical feature is predicted by the retrospect regression method and then integrated with the latent stable feature to predict the ocean field. After that, the environment-vehicle coupling effect is explored by thermodynamics and statics simulation. Then, a real-time dynamic model of the underwater vehicle is constructed by combining multisource information from physical principles, environmental perception, and sensor observations. Finally, extensive experiments are performed on a novel underwater glider and a publicly available South China Sea dataset to verify the proposed method. • An environment perception model is proposed for the underwater vehicle array. • A real-time dynamic model is proposed for the underwater vehicle. • Environment-vehicle coupling effect is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Immune-related pneumonitis is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening adverse event associated with anti-programmed cell death protein-1 therapy, and has a higher recurrence rate than that of other pneumonitis. Glucocorticoids are the first treatment of choice for patients with immune-related pneumonitis over grade 1. Given the toxicity associated with glucocorticoids, they should be withdrawn gradually as soon as pneumonitis is controlled. However, low-dose glucocorticoids are maintained in some patients to prevent immune-related pneumonitis. Case report: We report a rare case of a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma who developed grade 2 immune-related pneumonitis, requiring long-term low-dose glucocorticoid maintenance therapy, during which pneumonitis disappeared, and complete response was achieved. Management and outcome: Tislelizumab treatment was stopped tentatively, and the patient was given prednisone at an initiating dose of 1 mg/kg/d. The cough symptoms were relieved significantly, and pneumonitis was reduced. The prednisone gradually dwindled, but the immune-related pneumonitis was recurrent, requiring prednisone 10 mg daily maintenance therapy. Subsequently, prednisone and tislelizumab were administered simultaneously, and at present, pneumonitis disappeared and the lesions are in complete remission. Discussion: Low-dose glucocorticoids might play an important role in controlling the recurrence and development of immune-related pneumonitis. The dose and course of glucocorticoid in immune-related pneumonitis patients should be individualized to minimize the toxicity of glucocorticoid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalized homogeneous control with integral action for a multiple‐input plant operating under uncertainty conditions is designed. The stability analysis is essentially based on a special version of the nonsmooth Lyapunov function theorem for differential equations with discontinuous right‐hand sides. A Lyapunov function for analysis of the closed‐loop system is presented. For negative homogeneity degree, this Lyapunov function becomes a strict Lyapunov function allowing an advanced analysis to be provided. In particular, the maximum control magnitude and the settling‐time of the closed‐loop system are estimated and a class of disturbances to be rejected by the control law is characterized. The control parameters are tuned by solving a system of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs), whose feasibility is proved at least for small (close to zero) homogeneity degrees. The theoretical results are illustrated by numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving efficient blue electroluminescence (EL) remains the fundamental challenge that impedes perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) towards commercial applications. The bottleneck accounting for the inefficient blue PeLEDs is broadly attributed to the poor‐emissive blue perovskite emitters based on either mixed halide engineering or reduced‐dimensional strategy. Herein, we report the high‐performing sky‐blue PeLEDs (490 nm) with the maximum EQE exceeding 15 % by incorporating a molecular modifier, namely 4,4′‐Difluorophenone, for significantly suppressing the non‐radiative recombination and tuning of the low‐dimensional phase distribution of quasi‐2D blue perovskites, which represents a remarkable paradigm for developing the new generation of blue lighting sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving efficient blue electroluminescence (EL) remains the fundamental challenge that impedes perovskite light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) towards commercial applications. The bottleneck accounting for the inefficient blue PeLEDs is broadly attributed to the poor‐emissive blue perovskite emitters based on either mixed halide engineering or reduced‐dimensional strategy. Herein, we report the high‐performing sky‐blue PeLEDs (490 nm) with the maximum EQE exceeding 15 % by incorporating a molecular modifier, namely 4,4′‐Difluorophenone, for significantly suppressing the non‐radiative recombination and tuning of the low‐dimensional phase distribution of quasi‐2D blue perovskites, which represents a remarkable paradigm for developing the new generation of blue lighting sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charge transport through single‐molecule electronic devices can be controlled mechanically by changing the molecular geometrical configuration in situ, but the tunable conductance range is typically less than two orders of magnitude. Herein, we proposed a new mechanical tuning strategy to control the charge transport through the single‐molecule junctions via switching quantum interference patterns. By designing molecules with multiple anchoring groups, we switched the electron transport between the constructive quantum interference (CQI) pathway and the destructive quantum interference (DQI) pathway, and more than four orders of magnitude conductance variation can be achieved by shifting the electrodes in a range of about 0.6 nm, which is the highest conductance range ever achieved using mechanical tuning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]