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• The interlayer dissipates the largest energy for SPs lying on the flexible seabed. • The light-high speed falling object causes greater dent depth in the scenario of flexible seabed. • The outer pipe experienced the maximum strain and obviously strain concentration. • The dent depth and strain prediction formulas are developed for sandwich pipe. Sandwich pipe (SP) is regarded as an ideal deep water oil and gas transportation solution and has attached more and more attention attributed to its good structural resistance and thermal insulation performance. The local dent damage of SP induced by the falling objects impact might result in the leakage of oil and gas resources. This work investigates the dent behavior of sandwich pipes subjected to falling object impact through finite element(FE) numerical simulation by considering the effect of seabed flexibility. A three-dimensional FE model was established and validated to accurately capture the structural behavior of SP lying on the seabed. The sensitive parameters studies were performed to assess the influence of falling object mass, kinetic energy and buried depth on the dent characteristics. The results show that the flexible seabed foundation can effectively reduce the local dent damage degree of sandwich pipes and most of the kinetic energy is dissipated by the annular layer so as to provide protect for the steel pipes. Besides, the outer pipe, annular layer and inner pipe show different dent depth and strain levels as the kinetic energy of falling objects changes. The degree to which the speed and mass of falling objects affect the characteristics of depressions depends on the magnitude of the kinetic energy of the falling object. Based on the parameters analyses, a group of empirical formulas are established to provide prediction of dent depth and dent strain for sandwich pipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simplified multisupport response spectrum method is presented. The structural response is a sum of two components of a structure with a first natural period less than 2 s. The first component is the pseudostatic response caused by the inconsistent motions of the structural supports, and the second is the structural dynamic response to ground motion accelerations. This method is formally consistent with the classical response spectrum method, and the effects of multisupport excitation are considered for any modal response spectrum or modal superposition. If the seismic inputs at each support are the same, the support displacements caused by the pseudostatic response become rigid body displacements. The response spectrum in the case of multisupport excitations then reduces to that for uniform excitations. In other words, this multisupport response spectrum method is a modification and extension of the existing response spectrum method under uniform excitation. Moreover, most of the coherency coefficients in this formulation are simplified by approximating the ground motion excitation as white noise. The results indicate that this simplification can reduce the calculation time while maintaining accuracy. Furthermore, the internal forces obtained by the multisupport response spectrum method are compared with those produced by the traditional response spectrum method in two case studies of existing long-span structures. Because the effects of inconsistent support displacements are not considered in the traditional response spectrum method, the values of internal forces near the supports are underestimated. These regions are important potential failure points and deserve special attention in the seismic design of reticulated structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have focused on horizontal ground motion, resulting in many coherency functions for horizontal ground motion while neglecting related problems arising from vertical ground motion. However, seismic events have demonstrated that the vertical components of ground motion sometimes govern the ultimate failure of structures. In this paper, a vertical coherency function model of spatial ground motion is proposed based on the Hao model and SMART 1 array records, and the validity of the model is demonstrated. The vertical coherency function model of spatial ground motion is also compared with the horizontal coherency function model, indicating that neither model exhibits isotropic characteristics. The value of the vertical coherency function has little correlation with that of the horizontal coherency function. However, the coherence of the vertical ground motion between a pair of stations decreases with their projection distance and the frequency of the ground motion. When the projection distance in the wave direction is greater than 800 meters, the coherency between the two points can be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The intensity of H Ly (2P–1S) and OI () is mapped in the magnetosphere of Saturn using the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph (UVIS) [Esposito, L.W., Barth, C.A., Colwell, J.E., Lawrence, G.M., McClintock, W.E., Stewart, A.I.F., Keller, H.U., Korth, A., Lauche, H., Festou, M.C., Lane, A.L., Hansen, C.J., Maki, J.N., West, R.A., Jahn, H., Reulke, R., Warlich, K., Shemansky, D.E., Yung, Y.L., 2004. The Cassini ultraviolet imaging spectrograph investigation. Space Science Reviews 115, 299–361] onboard Cassini. Spatial coverage is built up by stepping the slit sequentially across the system (system scan). Data are obtained at a large range of space-craft–Saturn distances. The observed atomic hydrogen distribution is very broad, extending beyond in the equatorial plane, with the intensity increasing with decreasing distances to Saturn. The distribution displays persistent local-time asymmetries, and is seen connecting continuously to the upper atmosphere of the planet at sub-solar latitudes located well outside of the equatorial (ring) plane. This is consistent with the source of the atomic hydrogen being located at the top of the atmosphere on the sun-lit side of the planet on the southern hemisphere. In addition there are a number of temporally persistent features in the intensity distribution, indicating a complex hydrogen energy distribution. The emission from OI is generally distributed as a broad torus centered around although the position of the peak intensity can vary by as much as . There is significant intensity present out to . HST observations of hydroxyl (OH) are re-analyzed and display a distribution half as broad as that of oxygen, also centered at . The observed atomic oxygen distribution requires a sourcing of against loss due to charge capture with the plasma. Using the ion partitioning of Schippers et al. [2008. Multi-instrument analysis of electron populations in Saturn''s magnetosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics) 113 (A12) 7208–+] then recombination of and will account for about a quarter of the mass-loss in the inner magnetosphere, with charge capture of accounting for the rest. The oxygen loss rate is seen to vary by over periods of weeks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nanostructured spherical spinel lithium manganese oxide (LiMnO) with about 200 nm in diameter was synthesized for the first time by mild hydrothermal method. The formation of the nanostructured spheres was through self-assembly of the nanoparticles and nanobelts. The influence of the reaction temperature and the time of formation of the nanostructures have been systematically studied. The thermal stability of the nanostructures has been examined by heating-treatment at different temperatures. Powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy were used to characterize the products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A simple and convenient elemental-direction-reaction route has been successfully developed to prepare α-MnS nanorods under hydrothermal conditions using manganese and sulfur powder as starting materials in the temperature range of 240–260°C. It was found that the temperature was a key factor influencing the phase purity of the titled compound. A possible formation mechanism of the α-MnS nanorods was proposed on the basis of our contrast experimental results, which revealed that α-MnS nanorods were formed via an in situ sulfiding Mn(OH)2 nanorods produced by the reaction of manganese and water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two-dimensional digital microfluidic platforms, on which droplets are actuated by electrowetting on dielectrics, have merits such as dynamic reconfigurability and ease for automation. However, concerns for digital microfluidic platforms based on low-cost printed circuit boards, such as the scalability of the electrode array and the reliability of the device operation, should be addressed before high throughput and fully automatic applications can be realized. In this work we report the progress in addressing those issues by using active-matrix circuitry to automatically drive a large electrode array with enhanced device reliability. We describe the design and the fabrication of a robust and scalable active-matrix driven digital microfluidic platform based on printed-circuit board technology. Reliable actuation of aqueous and organic droplets is achieved using a free-standing double-layer hydrophobic membrane. To demonstrate the versatility of the digital microfluidic platform, a pentapeptide is synthesized on the device within 30 minutes. With these improvements, a fully automatic, scalable, robust, reusable, and low-cost digital microfluidic platform capable of parallel manipulation of a large number of droplets can find numerous applications in chemical engineering, bioengineering and biomedical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical demulsification is the most effective, common and the cheapest method to break crude oil emulsion during oil extraction. The chemical demulsification process is related with the natural emulsifier displacement by demulsifier. In this article, a single droplet in situ displacement method was employed to evaluate demulsifier displace capacity and the experimental device was built. This device determines the displacement capacity of demulsifier by measuring the oil-water interfacial tension, demulsifier concentration and saturated adsorption amount of demulsifier. Displacement capacities of four commercially available polyether demulsifiers and the relationship between demulsifier displacement capacity and demulsification performance were investigated. The results showed that the demulsifier displacement capacity was not affected by natural emulsifier type (asphaltene, resin, or mixture of asphaltene) and was related to the demulsifier type, concentration, and temperature. Demulsifier displacement capacity increased with demulsifier concentration and temperature. However, only when the asphaltene concentration of was over 6.78 wt%, the demulsification increased with demulsifier displacement capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long cyclic stability and high rate performance have been the major challenges of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Composite metal oxides as a promising anode materials for LIBs have been studied extensively due to their high theoretical capacity, abundant reserves and large-scale production. Yet, their practical applications are seriously restricted by the volume change and poor conductivity. Herein, the ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers with different mole ratios of Ti/Zn were successfully synthesized by electrospinning method. The ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers with a Zn/Ti mole ratio of 1:1 exhibited the highest reversible capacity of 912 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 100 mA g−1. Meanwhile, the ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers also possess an excellent rate capability even at a high current density up to 5 A g−1. The Coulombic efficiency of ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers has been steady at around 100% regardless of rate and long cycle. The good electrochemical properties of ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers with a Zn/Ti mole ratio of 1:1 may be attributed to the synergistic effect of C and the introduction of interface between ZnO and TiO2. Overall, the ZnO/TiO2/C nanofibers were demonstrated unexpectedly high specific capacity retention, high reversibility and excellent rate performance as the anode materials of LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocellulose has many excellent properties and functions and is a good candidate material. In this review, three major groups of nanocellulose are evaluated in detail: cellulose nanofiber (CNF), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). We concentrated on the preparation and separation techniques to produce nanocellulose including mechanical, biological, and chemical treatment methods. These traditional single treatment methods have many restrictions such as long treatment time, high energy consumption and low recovery rate of nanocellulose. In order to overcome these defects, researchers combined mechanical treatment with biological and chemical treatment methods to prepare nanocellulose. The structure and properties of nanocellulose were significantly improved by the combined treatment method. Besides, the use and impact of nanocellulose in five industrial sectors: composite material, food industry, biomedical science, wasterwater treatment as well as energy and electronics are described and discussed. The future research directions and new applications challenges of this sustainable nanocellulose are described in detail in this paper in the original manuscript. [Display omitted] • The morphological and structural characteristics of nanocellulose were analyzed. • The separation method of biomass nanocellulose was discussed and summarized. • The mechano-deep eutectic solvent is a new green method to prepare nanocellulose. • The size and crystallinity of nanocellulose depend on the preparation method. • Nanocellulose is widely used in all aspects of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated Raman spectra of nanometer-sized particles of tin oxide at room temperature. Sample preparation; Division of the Raman spectrum peaks of nanometer tin oxide; Conclusions.

For microbial safety, thermal processing is applied during caprine milk processing, which affects the stability of proteins, specially the whey proteins. Therefore, this study evaluated the changes of glycated serum proteome in caprine milk products using a robust ion mobility time-of-flight proteomic technique, without glycated peptides enrichment. In total, 302 proteins were identified in whey and 41 lactosylation sites from 16 proteins. The number of identified whey proteins decreased from 202 to 194, 178 and 186 in pasteurised milk (PM), spray-dried milk (SDM) and ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk serum, respectively, as the heating intensity increased. Nevertheless, lactosylation sites increased 16 in raw milk to 20 in PM, 25 in UHT and 27 in SDM serum. Moreover, major whey proteins contained the highest number of lactosylation sites as expected. The results of this study may contribute to measurement of the quality of caprine milk after industrial processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal molybdates have attracted considerable attention as promising anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high theoretical specific capacity and excellent electrochemical performance. However, their low rate capacity and rapid capacity attenuation hinder their application in SIBs. Here, amorphous NiMoO4/graphene nanofibers were prepared via an electrospinning method. The electrochemical performance of NiMoO4 was first reported as the anode for SIBs. Amazingly, the amorphous NiMoO4/graphene delivered an outstanding specific capacity of 260 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1 at a potential range from 0.01–2.7 V and an excellent rate performance of 160 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1. The superior electrochemical properties of amorphous NiMoO4 can be ascribed to its amorphous structure and reduced diffusion distance, and the strong synergy of NiMoO4 and graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tim-3 is a promising target for antitumor immunotherapy. A number of clinical trials are evaluating the efficacy of anti-Tim-3 therapies as a single agent or combinations in solid tumors and haematologic malignancies. However, there remains a considerable lack of data on Tim-3 signalling, especially the genetic characteristics and immune microenvironment, in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Herein, we identified three genetic mutations in galectin-9, a major ligand of Tim-3, in six patients with DLBCL (6/188, 3.2%) that were not detected in the COSMIC database. The Oncomine database showed that the mRNA levels of Tim-3 were higher in DLBCL cells than those in normal B cells. Multiplexed immunofluorescence revealed that patients with Tim-3-expressing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (Tim-3+ TILs) exhibited poor outcomes than those with Tim-3- TILs (p = 0.041). The median survival times of these patients were 65.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 71.2-88.6) and 79.9 months (95% CI: 54.4-75.6), respectively. Furthermore, we defined a novel subtype of exhausted T cells, named as exhausted Tim-3+ CD8+ T cells, and found that patients with exhausted Tim-3+ CD8+ T cells (median survival, 62.8 months, 95% CI: 50.0-75.6) exhibited shorter survival than those with nonexhausted Tim-3- CD8+ T cells (median survival, 82.5 months, 95% CI: 72.0-92.9; p = 0.034). Overall, these findings provide the genetic status of the Tim-3 ligand in DLBCL. Patients with Tim-3+ TILs and exhausted Tim-3+ CD8+ T cells exhibited inferior survival, thus highlighting the possibility of potential therapeutic applications of the inhibition of Tim-3 alone or in combination with other immune checkpoints for treatment of patients with DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnS is considered as a promising anode candidate for next-generation Li- and Na-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and large interlayer distance, which provides excessive space for intercalation of Li- and Na-ions. However, the low electronic conductivity and large volumetric changes during charge/discharge process lead to its poor rate capability and severe capacity degradation. Herein, a sandwich-like SnS/N, S co-doped rGO/SnS structure is delicately tailored by using selective vulcanization and in situ decomposition processes. The unique sandwich-like SnS/rGO/SnS structure provides open channels for ion storage and ameliorates the electrical conductivity. RGO substrate and chemical bonds between SnS and rGO improves the electronic conductivity and furnishes additional ions/electrons transport routes. Moreover, the co-doping of N and S renders abundant sites for ions adsorption, inducing a strong pseudocapacitance effect and favoring fast electrochemical kinetics. Therefore, at the current density of at 1 A g−1, the sandwich-like SnS/rGO/SnS electrode delivered a high reversible capacity of 797.9 mAh g−1 and 359.2 mAh g−1 as an anode material in Li- and Na-ion batteries, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human genes form a large variety of isoforms after transcription, encoding distinct transcripts to exert different functions. Single-molecule RNA sequencing facilitates accurate identification of the isoforms by extending nucleotide read length significantly. However, the gene or isoform diversity is lowly represented by the mRNA molecules captured by single-molecule RNA sequencing. Here, we show that a cDNA normalization procedure before the library preparation for PacBio RS II sequencing captures 3.2–6.0 fold more full-length high-quality isoform species for different human samples, as compared to the non-normalized capture procedure. Many lowly expressed, functionally important isoforms can be detected. In addition, normalized PacBio RNA sequencing also resolves more allele-specific haplotype transcripts. Finally, we apply the cDNA normalization based long-read RNA sequencing method to profile the transcriptome of human gastric signet-ring cell carcinomas, identify new cancer-specific transcriptome signatures, and thus, bring out the utility of the improved protocols in gene expression studies. Hu et al. combine cDNA normalization before library preparation with a software tool to increase the capture of RNA isoform species in single-molecule RNA sequencing. They demonstrate that this approach can detect previously unknown transcripts in gastric signet-ring cell carcinomas that are not present in non-malignant tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image denoising and high-level vision tasks are usually handled independently in the conventional practice of computer vision, and their connection is fragile. In this paper, we cope with the two jointly and explore the mutual influence between them with the focus on two questions, namely (1) how image denoising can help improving high-level vision tasks, and (2) how the semantic information from high-level vision tasks can be used to guide image denoising. First for image denoising we propose a convolutional neural network in which convolutions are conducted in various spatial resolutions via downsampling and upsampling operations in order to fuse and exploit contextual information on different scales. Second we propose a deep neural network solution that cascades two modules for image denoising and various high-level tasks, respectively, and use the joint loss for updating only the denoising network via back-propagation. We experimentally show that on one hand, the proposed denoiser has the generality to overcome the performance degradation of different high-level vision tasks. On the other hand, with the guidance of high-level vision information, the denoising network produces more visually appealing results. Extensive experiments demonstrate the benefit of exploiting image semantics simultaneously for image denoising and high-level vision tasks via deep learning. The code is available online: https://github.com/Ding-Liu/DeepDenoising [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blind image deblurring is a challenging problem in computer vision, which aims to restore both the blur kernel and the latent sharp image from only a blurry observation. Inspired by the prevalent self-example prior in image super-resolution, in this paper, we observe that a coarse enough image down-sampled from a blurry observation is approximately a low-resolution version of the latent sharp image. We prove this phenomenon theoretically and define the coarse enough image as a latent structure prior of the unknown sharp image. Starting from this prior, we propose to restore sharp images from the coarsest scale to the finest scale on a blurry image pyramid and progressively update the prior image using the newly restored sharp image. These coarse-to-fine priors are referred to as multi-scale latent structures (MSLSs). Leveraging the MSLS prior, our algorithm comprises two phases: 1) we first preliminarily restore sharp images in the coarse scales and 2) we then apply a refinement process in the finest scale to obtain the final deblurred image. In each scale, to achieve lower computational complexity, we alternately perform a sharp image reconstruction with fast local self-example matching, an accelerated kernel estimation with error compensation, and a fast non-blind image deblurring, instead of computing any computationally expensive non-convex priors. We further extend the proposed algorithm to solve more challenging non-uniform blind image deblurring problem. The extensive experiments demonstrate that our algorithm achieves the competitive results against the state-of-the-art methods with much faster running speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured spherical spinel LiMnO was synthesized at the temperature as low as 70 °C using CTAMnO4 as manganese source under the hydrothermal conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A number of studies suggest an association between miRNAs and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of microRNA (miR-150) in primary gastrointestinal (PGI)-DLBCL, by assessing the association between miR-150 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with PGI-DLBCL. A total of 84 patients diagnosed with PGI-DLBCL were recruited and both tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissue samples were collected. miR-150 expression was assessed via reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q)PCR analysis. The results demonstrated that miR-150 expression was significantly lower in PGI-DLBCL tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that the optimal cut-off value of miR-150 for predicting survival was 8.965 with high sensitivity (79.8%) and specificity (77.1%). Patients were divided into two groups according to this cut-off value, as follows: High (n=18) and low expression (n=66) groups. Low miR-150 expression was significantly associated with clinical stage, International Prognostic Index (IPI), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status and use of rituximab. RT-qPCR analysis demonstrated that miR-150 expression was significantly lower in patients with high IPI scores compared with patients with low IPI scores. Downregulated miR-150 expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS) time and progression-free survival (PFS) time in patients with PGI-DLBCL. Furthermore, miR-150 level and IPI score were identified as two risk factors for OS and PFS. The diagnostic value of miR-150 was evaluated via ROC curve analysis, with an area under the curve value of 0.882. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that miR-150 is a potential diagnostic marker of PGI-DLBCL, and may also serve as a useful prognostic factor for survival outcomes in patients with PGI-DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical applications of metal oxides in lithium-ion batteries require the robust and fast lithium storage performance in the wide temperature range. Construction of the suitable structure is still considered as an important approach to address metal oxide anode issues (volume expansion and inferior conductivity). Herein, an electrostatic adsorption-carbothermic reduction process is developed to prepare 1D hierarchical CoO@N-doped graphene microrods (CoO@N-rGO). 1D hierarchical microrod-like structure coated by a uniform & tight N-doped graphene not only builds up a bifunctional conductive path for Li+ and electrons, but also enhances the ability to accommodate the volumetric change. Oxygen vacancies caused by incomplete reduction of Co3+ would accelerate the kinetic process of conversion reaction. Moreover, a dominant pseudocapacitive effect (80.06%) induced by above structural features ensures the fast lithium storage properties. When served as anode material in LIBs, the as-prepared CoO@N-rGO manifests the high reversible capacity of 1588 mAh g−1, excellent long-term cycling stability under high current density (948 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 2 A g−1). Particularly, due to the reduced side-reaction between electrolyte and modified electrode, the CoO@N-rGO retains a reversible capacity of 1164 mA g−1 after 1000 cycles under 1 A g−1 at 55 °C. Image 1 • CoO@N-rGO microrods exhibit the excellent cyclic stability at 55 °C. • An electrostatic adsorption-carbothermic reduction process is presented. • Pseudocapacitive contribution is dominated in the lithium storage process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Cocoon-like Ag 3 PO 4 with hollow structure was fabricated by a simple ion-exchange route. The as-obtained samples displayed highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic performance for removing ciprofloxacin. Highlights • Cocoon-like Ag 3 PO 4 was fabricated through a facile ion-exchange route using Ag 2 MoO 4 as precursor. • Cocoon-like Ag 3 PO 4 possessed high BET surface area because of the highly hollow structure. • Excellent photocatalytic degradation for ciprofloxacin was achieved attributed to the special hollow structure. Abstract Cocoon-like Ag 3 PO 4 (C-Ag 3 PO 4) with hollow structure was synthesized via ion-exchange route using Ag 2 MoO 4 and Na 2 HPO 4 as precursors. Photocatalytic degradation experiments of the C-Ag 3 PO 4 toward ciprofloxacin (CIP) were investigated under visible light irradiation. The C-Ag 3 PO 4 showed superior photodegradation of CIP owing to its larger surface area and hollow structure. Besides, the C-Ag 3 PO 4 exhibited improved photocatalytic performance and good stability after repeating cycles, which could be attributed to the formed metal silver under visible light irradiation. Moreover, radical trap experiment was carried out, which indicated that the photo-induced holes (h+) and superoxide radicals (O 2 −) acted as the main reactive species in the photodegradation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Structural fabrication and modification are the effective approaches to regulate the electrochemical performances of anatase TiO 2. Herein, the template-annealing-etching processes are carried out to synthesize inverse opal TiO 2 with N-doped carbon layer and oxygen vacancies surface as an anode material for advanced lithium ion batteries and sodium ion batteries. These structural features not only shorten the diffusion paths and enhance the electronic conductivity, but also induce the dominant pseudocapacitive contribution. As a result, the as-prepared electrode exhibits the excellent Li+/Na+ storage performances, including a high capacity retention (462 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g−1) and a fast cycling capability (180 mAh g−1 after 3500 cycles under 10 A g−1) for lithium storage; a reversible capacity of 140 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles under 1 A g−1 for sodium storage. Revealed by cyclic voltammetry, the pseudocapacitive contribution is as high as 74.49% and 73.38% at 1 mV s−1 for lithium ion batteries and sodium ion batteries, respectively. This work may promise a general approach to synthesize metal oxides anode materials for advanced energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Few layer 2D MoS 2 vertical grown on biomass-based hollow carbon fibers showed excellent lithium and sodium storage performance. Highlights • Porous, hollow, individual carbon fibers are prepared by processing the palm silk. • Fewer layer 2D MoS 2 are vertically grown on BHCFs via a facile hydrothermal method. • The MoS 2 @BHCF electrodes display excellent lithium and sodium storage performance. • DFT calculations verify an optimized structure of MoS 2 vertically grown on BHCF. • A lower energy barrier of Li diffusing through MoS 2 crystals than Na is testified. Abstract 2D MoS 2 sheets have been extensively served as the anode materials for lithium and sodium ion batteries (LIBs, SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity. However, its low electrical conductivity and large volume change during cycles impair the rate performance and lifespan of the electrodes. Herein, few layer MoS 2 nanosheets vertically grown on biomass-based hollow carbon fibers (BHCFs) derived from palm silk are prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations verify an optimized structure of MoS 2 vertically grown on BHCF surface and the strong interaction between the S edges of MoS 2 and the carbon surface. The few layer nanosheets structure and the enhanced conductivity of MoS 2 by biomass derived hollow BHCF ameliorate the diffusion of both Li and Na ions and electrons, as well as the electrode reaction kinetics. Deservedly, the MoS 2 @BHCF electrodes display excellent lithium and sodium storage performance, especially remarkable high-rate capabilities in LIBs. The higher reversible capacity in LIBs than in SIBs reflects the better kinetics of MoS 2 @BHCF in LIBs, owing to a much lower energy barrier of Li atoms diffusing through MoS 2 crystals than the Na counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Using low cost, environment-friendly, and sustainable biomass is a unique approach to the preparation carbon-based composites for lithium ion batteries. In our research, hollow, derived microtubes (HMD) were fabricated from graphene/loofah sponge. Each microtube was wrapped with graphene, resulting in conductivity improvement, and facilitated easily controlled growth of ultra-thin MoS 2 nanosheets. The method employed a simple process of soaking the HMD in graphene oxide (GO) dispersion liquid, and subsequent carbonization and activation of the HMD/rGO. When ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets were vertically and uniformly grown on the surface of the HMD/rGO, via the hydrothermal method, the HMD/rGO/MoS 2 composite was obtained, and exhibited reversible lithium storage capacity of 838.2 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 after 200 cycles. This excellent electrochemical performance could be due to the high conductivity of HMD/rGO, a synergistic effect between HMD/rGO and MoS 2 nanosheets, a reasonable structural design, and the high theoretical specific capacity of MoS 2. Such a structure not only provides a novel, high-quality carbon template/matrix from cheap loofah sponge, but also provides a new way to design sustainable electrodes for electrochemical energy storage, and makes economical, multifunctional, carbon-based hybrids available for other applications. Graphical abstract Natural porous biomass carbons HMD/rGO/MoS 2 composite was obtained by activation, carbonization and hydrothermal method, and further used as the electrode materials for LIBs. The HMD/rGO/MoS 2 composite as anode material exhibits a reversible discharge capacity of 838.2 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1 after 200 cycles. After the hydrothermal treatment and carbonization process of biomass loofah sponges, the obtained HMD/rGO/MoS 2 has an excellent electrochemical performance, which may due to the more vertically aligned ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets, the high conductivity of HMD/rGO, synergistic effect of HMD/rGO and MoS 2 nanosheets, reasonable structural design, and high theoretical specific capacity of MoS 2. Image 1 Highlights • The biomass is a promising raw material to prepare the carbon-based composites for LIBs. • The HMD/rGO can improve the conductivity and easily controlled grown for ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets. • The as-obtained anode material exhibits an excellent rate performance and cycle stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face sketch synthesis is a crucial issue in digital entertainment and law enforcement. It can bridge the considerable texture discrepancy between face photos and sketches. Most of the current face sketch synthesis approaches directly to learn the relationship between the photos and sketches, and it is very difficult for them to generate the individual specific features, which we call rare characteristics. In this paper, we propose a novel face sketch synthesis approach through residual learning. In contrast to traditional approaches, which aim to reconstruct a sketch image directly (i.e., learn the mapping relationship between the photo and sketch), we aim to predict the residual image by learning the mapping relationship between the photo and residual, i.e., the difference between the photo and sketch, given an observed photo. This technique will render optimizing the residual mapping easier than optimizing the original mapping and deriving rare characteristic information. We also introduce a joint dictionary learning algorithm by preserving the local geometry structure of a data space. Through the learned joint dictionary, we transform the face sketch synthesis from an image space to a new and compact space; the new and compact space is spanned by learned dictionary atoms, where the manifold assumption can be further guaranteed. Results show that the proposed method demonstrates an impressive performance in the face sketch synthesis task on three public face sketch datasets and various real-world photos. These results are derived by comparing the proposed method with several state-of-the-art techniques, including certain recently proposed deep learning-based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Label information plays an important role in a supervised hyperspectral image classification problem. However, current classification methods all ignore an important and inevitable problem—labels may be corrupted and collecting clean labels for training samples is difficult and often impractical. Therefore, how to learn from the database with noisy labels is a problem of great practical importance. In this paper, we study the influence of label noise on hyperspectral image classification and develop a random label propagation algorithm (RLPA) to cleanse the label noise. The key idea of RLPA is to exploit knowledge (e.g., the superpixel-based spectral–spatial constraints) from the observed hyperspectral images and apply it to the process of label propagation. Specifically, the RLPA first constructs a spectral–spatial probability transform matrix (SSPTM) that simultaneously considers the spectral similarity and superpixel-based spatial information. It then randomly chooses some training samples as “clean” samples and sets the rest as unlabeled samples, and propagates the label information from the “clean” samples to the rest unlabeled samples with the SSPTM. By repeating the random assignment (of “clean” labeled samples and unlabeled samples) and propagation, we can obtain multiple labels for each training sample. Therefore, the final propagated label can be calculated by a majority vote algorithm. Experimental studies show that the RLPA can reduce the level of noisy label and demonstrates the advantages of our proposed method over four major classifiers with a significant margin—the gains in terms of the average overall accuracy, average accuracy, and kappa are impressive, e.g., 9.18%, 9.58%, and 0.1043. The MATLAB source code is available at https://github.com/junjun-jiang/RLPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Three-dimensional hierarchical NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P electrodes have been successfully synthesized for advanced asymmetric supercapacitors. Highlights • Hierarchical NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P electrodes on nickel foam are rationally constructed. • This unique structure provides more electroactive sites for Faradaic reaction. • The NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P-30 electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 2900 F g−1. • The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor can easily power 14 LEDs. Abstract Herein, a novel three-dimensional hierarchical NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P structure is successfully fabricated through a facile hydrothermal and subsequent electrodeposition process. One-dimensional Ni 2 P nanoneedles decorate on two-dimensional NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets can effectively enhance the electrical conductivity and surface area of NiCo 2 O 4 to promote fast Faradaic reaction. The optimized NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P-30 electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 2900 F g−1 at 0.008 A cm−2. Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is fabricated by using the NiCo 2 O 4 /Ni 2 P-30 as positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode, the device achieves an excellent electrochemical property with the energy density of 40.7 W h kg−1 at 800 W kg−1. Besides, the as-assembled device also exhibits an excellent cycling performance of ∼92.0% of initial capacitance after 5000 cycles indicating its outstanding conductivity and structural stability. All of the results demonstrate that the hierarchical NiCo 2 O 4 / Ni 2 P composites are electrodes in energy storage application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract The P-doped dandelion-like MnCo 2 S 4 electrodes have been successfully constructed for high performance asymmetric supercapacitor. Highlights • P-doped dandelion-like MnCo 2 S 4 were fabricated. • This hierarchical structure is beneficial to faradaic reaction. • The P-doped MnCo 2 S 4 electrode shows a high specific capacity of 543.3F g−1. • The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor can light three LEDs. Abstract A novel electrode material based on P-doped dandelion-like MnCo 2 S 4 spheres was fabricated and examined for application in electrochemical supercapacitors. The unique structure made up of nanoneedles endows high electrical conductivity and large accessible ion-diffusion surface area. When used as the electrode, the P-doped MnCo 2 S 4 nanostructures give an improved specific capacity of 543.3F g−1. A supercapacitor employing the P-MnCo 2 S 4 and active carbon as the electrodes shows a high energy density of 20.8 W h k g−1 at a power density of 400 W kg−1, and an excellent cycling stability of 91.1% retention after 5000 cycles. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we show that the as-made supercapacitor is able to drive three LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful popularization of wearable energy storage devices lies in the exploitation of scalable fabrication technologies that are based on economically viable materials. Herein, we reveal that discarded cotton pads can be used as a cost-efficient substrate for the in situ polymerization of pyrrole and exhibited good mechanical flexibility, lightness, and high conductivity. To extend the applications of the resulting PPy-coated cotton pads (PCPs) to the supercapacitor field, a layer of MnO2 nanosheets was further decorated on the surface of PCPs (PCPs@MnO2) by a simple electrochemical deposition technique. The PPy coating not only improves the electrical conductivity of the cotton pads, but also increases the contact between the active materials and the cotton fibers. Amazingly, ultrathin (≈ 0.8 mm) flexible solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) using PCPs@MnO2 as the positive electrode and active carbon coated on PCPs (PCPs@AC) as the negative electrode display a high areal capacitance of 1.21 F cm−2 at 1 mA cm−2, and a high energy density of 6.8 mW h cm−3 at a power density of 11.2 mW cm−3, which can also be tailored and folded into various shapes with only slight capacitance fading. These findings demonstrate that the prepared advanced ultralight, flexible and renewable cotton pads hold great promise for practical application in wearable energy storage systems with high cost effectiveness and scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spherical N-doped mesoporous TiO 2 /C (MTC) composite micro-particles are produced by spray drying (SD) and carbonization process. The particle size of MTC microsphere is between 2 and 3.4 µm, and the N-doped amorphous C around TiO 2 could provide a conductive matrix, and buffer the volume change. When evaluated as electrodes for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Li-S batteries (LSBs), the MTC microsphere exhibits relatively high discharge-voltage plateau, excellent capacity retention and rate capability. As anode for LIBs, after 200 cycles, a reversible capacity more than 230 mA h g −1 can achieved at 1 C. And for LSBs, a specific capacity of 1317.7 mA h g −1 at 1 C and the capacity retention of 73.8% after 500 cycles. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to robust scaffolding architecture and conductive N-doped carbon matrix. The excellent electrochemical performance and process ability of the MTC microspheres make them very attractive as electrode materials for use in high rate battery application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the weak error in averaging principle for a stochastic wave equation on a bounded interval [ 0 , L ] , perturbed by an oscillating term arising as the solution of a stochastic reaction–diffusion equation evolving on the fast time scale. Under suitable conditions, it is proved that the rate of weak convergence of the original solution to the solution of the corresponding averaged equation is of order 1 via an asymptotic expansion approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leptomeningeal metastasis is an uncommon but devastating complication. The incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has been increasing in recent decades, due to the poor central nervous system penetration of drugs and the prolonged overall survival of patients, leptomeningeal metastases has gradually increased over time. Patients with leptomeningeal metastases have short survival durations and poor quality of life; there are few studies about non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with leptomeningeal metastases. We investigated characteristics and outcomes of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients with leptomeningeal metastases.Methods: This study included 27 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients with leptomeningeal metastases diagnosed at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between 2013 and 2016. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the overall survival of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with leptomeningeal metastases.Results: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma was the most common cancer subtype (21/27, 78%), and more than half of the patients showed extranodal involvement (18/27, 67%). Survival analysis has shown extranodal involvement (P = 0.0205), International Prognostic Index (P = 0.0112), performance status (P < 0.0001), parenchymal involvement (P = 0.0330) and received radiotherapy (P = 0.0056) were predictive factors of prognosis for these patients with leptomeningeal metastases. Cox regression analysis has shown patients with concurrent parenchymal involvement and received radiotherapy are correlated with good prognosis.Conclusions: Given the small number of patients who were included, this study exhibited limitations with respect to analytical power and the random selection of patients. Nevertheless, this investigation revealed characteristics of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients with leptomeningeal metastases and suggested that such patients could benefit from multimodal therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study which explored an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of the interaction between polyimide film made by the Langmuir-Blodgett method and silicon. Background on silicon carbide; Description of the experimental setup; Results and discussion.

The separation of aromatic isomers, in particular xylene isomers, represents a big issue in chemical and petroleum industries, owing to their similar molecular sizes and boiling points. In this work, the investigation ofpillar[6]arene derivative modified by long alkyl chains (P6A-C10) as a stationary phase for high-resolution gas chromatographic (GC) separations of xylene isomers is presented. Pillar[n]arenes are a new class of macrocyclic hosts that can accommodate specific guests due to their highly symmetrical and rigid pillar architectures with π -electron rich cavities. The P6A-C10 column showed high-resolution performance towards xylene isomers, with peculiar advantages if compared with the commercial HP-5, HP-35, DB-17, and PEG-20Mcolumns.A quantum chemistry calculation has been performed, showing a difference in non-covalent interactions with the P6A-C10 pillar framework, which leads to specific selectivity for xylene isomers.Furthermore, the P6A-C10 column exhibited good repeatability. [Display omitted] • Novel pillararene-based stationary phase. • High resolving performance towards xylene and other aromatic isomers. • Advantageous performance of the P6A-C10 column over the commercial HP-5, HP-35, DB-17, and PEG-20 M columns. • Quantum chemistry calculation was utilized to assess the separation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cheap, environment‐friendly and renewable biomass is a promising raw material to prepare the carbon‐based composites for the lithium‐ion batteries. Herein, the loofah sponge‐derived hollow carbon fibers (LDHCF) were obtained by the activation and carbonization process of biomass loofah sponges. The LDHCF with the porous structure shows the high surface area and active sites. When LDHCF were coated with SnO2 nanoparticles via the hydrothermal method, the SnO2/LDHCF composite as anode material exhibits a reversible capacity of 562.1 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 after 100 cycles and the columbic efficiency is 99.0% due to the good conductivity, buffer effect of LDHCF, and high theoretical specific capacity of SnO2. Such the structure not only proves a novel high‐quality carbon template/matrix, but also provides a preferable way to make sustainable anodes in electrochemical energy storage and economical multi‐functional carbon‐based hybrids available for other practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate that the good rate capability, and excellent long cycling performance of the biomass‐based SnO2/LDHCF (loofah sponge‐derived hollow carbon fibers) composite was fabricated via the hydrothermal treatment and carbonization process. The SnO2/LDHCF composite as anode material for LIBs exhibits a reversible capacity of 562.1 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 after 100 cycles and the columbic efficiency is 99.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of CuCo 2 O 4 nanostructures with different morphologies were prepared by a hydrothermal method in combination with thermal treatment. The morphology, structure and composition were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As the electrode materials for supercapacitors, CuCo 2 O 4 nanoneedles delivered the highest specific capacitance compared with other CuCo 2 O 4 nanostructures. Electrochemical performance measurements demonstrate that the carbon layer can improve the electrochemical stability of CuCo 2 O 4 nanoneedles. The CuCo 2 O 4 @C electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1432.4 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 , with capacitance retention of 98.2% after 3000 circles. These characteristics of CuCo 2 O 4 @C composite are mainly due to the unique one dimensional needle-liked architecture and the conducting carbon, which provide a faster ion/electron transfer rate. These excellent performances of the CuCo 2 O 4 @C electrode confirmed the material as a positive electrode for hybrid supercapacitor application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high specific capacities and environmental benignity, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have shown fascinating potential to replace the currently dominant Li-ion batteries to power portable electronics and electric vehicles. However, the shuttling effect caused by the dissolution of polysulfides seriously degrades their electrochemical performance. In this paper, Mn2O3 microcubes are fabricated to serve as the sulfur host, on top of which Al2O3 layers of 2 nm in thickness are deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form Mn2O3/S (MOS) @Al2O3 composite electrodes. The MOS@Al2O3 electrode delivers an excellent initial capacity of 1012.1 mAh g−1 and a capacity retention of 78.6% after 200 cycles at 0.5 C, and its coulombic efficiency reaches nearly 99%, giving rise to much better performance than the neat MOS electrode. These findings demonstrate the double confinement effect of the composite electrode in that both the porous Mn2O3 structure and the atomic Al2O3 layer serve as the spacious host and the protection layer of sulfur active materials, respectively, for significantly improved electrochemical performance of the Li-S battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnMoO4 nanotubes of diameter about 120 nm were successfully synthesized by a single-spinneret electrospinning technique followed by calcination in air, and their structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties were studied with the aim to fabricate high-performance supercapacitor devices. The obtained MnMoO4 nanotubes display a 1D architecture with a porous structure and hollow interiors. Benefiting from intriguing structural features, the unique MnMoO4 nanotube electrodes exhibit a high specific capacitance, excellent rate capability, and cycling stability. As an example, the tube-like MnMoO4 delivers a specific capacitance of 620 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1, and 460 F g−1 even at a very high current density of 60 A g−1. Remarkably, almost no decay in specific capacitance is found after continuous charge/discharge cycling for 10,000 cycles at 1 A g−1. An asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated from this MnMoO4 nanotubes and activated carbon displayed a maximum high energy density of 31.7 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 797 W kg−1, demonstrating a good prospect for practical applications in energy storage electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a very serious problem in cancer therapy. To effectively reverse MDR in tumor treatments, a new pH-sensitive nano drug delivery system (NDDS) composed of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and d -a-tocopheryl poly-ethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) copolymers was synthesized to deliver doxorubicin (DOX) into drug-resistant breast cancer cell line (MCF-7/ADR). DOX@MSNs-TPGS were characterized to have a single peak size distribution, high DOX loading efficiency and a pH-dependent drug release profile. MSNs-TPGS were internalized via caveolae, clathrin-mediated endocytosis and energy-dependent cellular uptake. The DOX@MSNs-TPGS exhibited 10-fold enhanced cell killing potency compared to free DOX and DOX@MSNs. The enhanced MDR reversal effect was ascribed to the higher amount of cellular uptake of DOX@MSNs-TPGS in MCF-7/ADR cells than that of free DOX and DOX@MSNs, as a result of the inhibition of P-gp mediated drug efflux by TPGS. In vivo studies of NDDS in tumor-bearing mice showed that DOX@MSNs-TPGS displayed better efficacy against MDR tumors in mice and reached the tumor site more effectively than DOX and DOX@MSNs, with minimal toxicity. These results suggest DOX@MSNs-TPGS developed in this study have promising applications to overcome drug resistance in tumor treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random invariant manifolds and foliations play an important role in the study of the qualitative dynamical behaviors for nonlinear stochastic partial differential equations. In a general way, these random objects are difficult to be visualized geometrically or computed numerically. The current work provides a perturbation approach to approximate these random invariant manifolds and foliations. After briefly discussing the existence of random invariant manifolds and foliations for a class of stochastic systems driven by additive noises, the corresponding Wong–Zakai type of convergence result in path-wise sense is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composites consisting of selenium/carbon (Se/C) encapsulated by ultra-thin Ni(OH) nanosheet shell are synthesized as cathode for high-performance lithium-selenium batteries. The Se/C-Ni(OH) cathode presents excellent discharge capacities and cyclic stability with almost 100% Coulombic efficiencies. It delivers a reversible capacity of 323 mAh g after 300 cycles with almost negligible capacity degradation after 100 cycles at a high current density of 1 C. Several unique functional features of the composite electrodes are responsible for the findings. The uniform mixture of Se and carbon black in the composite promotes the utilization of the active materials with enhanced ion/electron transfer. The Ni(OH) nanosheets maintain the integrity of Se/C core during cycles, reducing the shuttling effect reactions of polyselenides. These results demonstrate that the Se/C-Ni(OH) composite cathode is a promising candidate for application in rechargeable lithium-selenium batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimum-cost flow algorithms have recently achieved state-of-the-art results in multi-object tracking. However, they rely on the whole image sequence as input. When deployed in real-time applications or in distributed settings, these algorithms first operate on short batches of frames and then stitch the results into full trajectories. This decoupled strategy is prone to errors because the batch-based tracking errors may propagate to the final trajectories and cannot be corrected by other batches. In this paper, we propose a greedy batch-based minimum-cost flow approach for tracking multiple objects. Unlike existing approaches that conduct batch-based tracking and stitching sequentially, we optimize consecutive batches jointly so that the tracking results on one batch may benefit the results on the other. Specifically, we apply a generalized minimum-cost flows (MCF) algorithm on each batch and generate a set of conflicting trajectories. These trajectories comprise the ones with high probabilities, but also those with low probabilities potentially missed by detectors and trackers. We then apply the generalized MCF again to obtain the optimal matching between trajectories from consecutive batches. Our proposed approach is simple, effective, and does not require training. We demonstrate the power of our approach on data sets of different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The fluorescence-guided photothermal therapy (FPTT) has great potential in cancer treatment. However, the conventional FPTT has to be stimulated by external light, which tends to increase background noise and leads to the inaccurate infrared light irradiation for PTT. In this study, upconverting and persistent luminescent nanocarriers (UPLNs) loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (UPLNs@mSiO 2 ) were first designed to solve the problem mentioned above. The UPLNs cores can effectively reduce the short-lived autofluorescence interference by exerting the delay time between signal acquisition and pulsed excitation light. For testing the luminescence properties, the indotcyanine green (ICG) as photothermal agent was encapsulated into the UPLNs@mSiO 2 . The experimental results showed that the UPLNs@mSiO 2 nanoparticles could significantly reduce the short-lived autofluorescence interference and improve signal-to-noise ratio during FPTT. Our data suggest that UPLNs@mSiO 2 may be a promising tool for improving the accuracy of PTT in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy is a lysosome-dependent catabolic process involving in the degradation and recycling of unnecessary or damaged proteins and organelles. Emerging evidence indicates that autophagy dysfunction is closely related to various human diseases including cancer, aging, myopathies and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, using genetic knockdown, we uncover the role of Numb, an endocytic adaptor protein, in regulating the late steps of autophagy. We found that Numb depletion led to the accumulation of autophagic vacuole, as verified by RFP-LC3 staining combined with transmission electron microscopy. Further investigation indicated that Numb depletion impaired autophagic degradation through inhibiting the activities of lysosomal enzymes (Cathepsin D, β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase). Moreover, Numb depletion induced elevation of lysosomal pH values and decrease of glycosylated lysosome-associated membrane proteins. We further observed that Rab7 activity was inhibited in Numb-depleted cells. Together, our findings revealed a novel function of Numb and its likely mechanism in regulation of autophagy events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images are vulnerable to different kinds of distortions, such as blur, noise, blockiness etc, which all degrade the image quality. Among the distorted images, out-of-focus blurred images are frequently-encountered and occupy a large proportion. However, few efforts have been done to quality evaluation for these images. In this paper, we devise a dedicated quality evaluation scheme to automatically infer the quality of out-of-focus blurred images, which is named GPSQ (Gradient magnitude and Phase congruency-based and Saliency-guided Quality model). In GPSQ, a pair of low-level features, including gradient magnitude (GM) and phase congruency (PC), are extracted to characterize the image local blurriness. Then saliency detection is performed on the image to generate a corresponding saliency map. Finally, we weight the local structure map with the saliency map to estimate the visual quality of the out-of-focus blurred image. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed GPSQ delivers high consistency with subjective evaluation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and control over the growth of novel nanomaterial for flexible electrode are significant and practical for the study of portable energy storage devices. Herein, the flexible all-solid-state charge-storage devices assembled by the hierarchical CoMnO nanoneedle array on the Ni foam electrode have been designed and manufactured. The CoMnO electrode is prepared via a hydrothermal process and subsequent annealing treatment. The CoMnO electrode has a high-power battery-type behavior with a capacity of 223 mAh g at a discharge current density of 1 A g in a three-electrode system. When applied in the flexible all-solid-state charge-storage device, it displays a satisfactory capacity of 46 mAh g at a discharge current density of 1 A g, an energy density of 23.29 Wh kg at a power density of 0.5 kW kg and a power density of 4 kW kg at an energy density of 12 Wh kg. About 80.3% of the initial capacity is achieved after 5000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 4 A g, which shows the excellent cycling stability of the device. This work demonstrates the potential application of the CoMnO nanoneedle array electrode for high-performance flexible charge-storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving a control over the growth of one-dimensional nanomaterial is significant for the study of energy storage material and device. In the present work, nickel tungstate (NiWO 4 ) nanofiber was synthesized by electrospinning technique combined with subsequent annealing treatment. The obtained NiWO 4 nanofiber is found to be highly crystalline and possesses a diameter of about 180 nm and a length of several millimeters. The influence of severe-annealing treatment on the structure and the electrochemical performance is studied and found that the temperature of annealing is a crucial factor in the crystalline phase, purity, structure and morphology. The impurities in the product of electrospinning disappeared, when the annealing temperature is raised from 650 to 670 °C, and a pure phase of mesoporous NiWO 4 nanofiber is obtained. However, for the temperature raising from 670 to 700 °C, the crystalline grains of the nanofiber grew and merged rapidly, as the mesoporous structure is disappeared. The lithium-ion battery furnished by the NiWO 4 nanofiber annealed at 700 °C as anode material, shows a moderate performance, while the battery provided by NiWO 4 nanofiber annealed at 670 °C exhibits an excellent lithium storage performance with high initial coulombic efficiency, high specific capacity, good cycle performance and rate performance. The initial coulombic efficiency could reach as high as 77.1%. A high reversible capacity of 514 mAh g −1 at a current density of 100 mA g −1 is achieved after 100 charge/discharge cycles, which indicated that NiWO 4 nanofiber was a promising candidate anode material for lithium ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel type of NiCo2S4/carbon nanotube (NCS/CNT) nanocomposite has been successfully prepared via a simple refluxing route without any surfactant and template. SEM and TEM observations confirm that the as-obtained NiCo2S4/CNT nanocomposites exhibit a necklace-like architecture, in which the NiCo2S4 particles are threaded with CNTs. As electrode materials for supercapacitors, the nanocomposites deliver an obviously pseudocapacitive behavior enhanced by a synergistic effect. When the loaded amount of CNTs is 10 mg (NCS/CNT-10), the maximum specific capacitance reaches up to 2210 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and the specific capacitance can be maintained at 1949 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 14 000 multi-rate charge–discharge cycles. By applying the NCS/CNT-10 composite as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode, an asymmetric supercapacitor was fabricated with excellent electrochemical performance. Such a large enhancement of the electrochemical performance is attributed to the strong necklace-like architectures, which possess advantages such as high electric conductivity, good mechanical stability and excellent strain accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. B Correction to: Annals of Hematology b https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-022-04914-8 In the published paper, the contribution of the 3 authors Fenghua Gao, Tingting Zhang and Hengqi Liu were omitted: Fenghua Gao, Tingting Zhang and Hengqi Liu contributed equally to this work and share first authorship. Correction to: Risk factors for POD24 in patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. [Extracted from the article]