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Four energetic binders, polyglycidyl nitrate (PGN), poly(3-nitratomethyl-3-methyloxetane) (PNIMMO), poly(bis(azidomethyl)oxetane) (PBAMO), and glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) were, respectively, mixed with dihydroxylammonium 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (TKX-50), forming TKX-50-based polymer bonded explosives (PBXs). Interfacial forces (binding energies) under different temperatures, mechanical properties (tensile modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio), and moldability of TKX-50-based PBXs were investigated by employing molecular dynamics simulation, the energy characteristics of TKX-50-based PBXs were calculated by Chapman–Jouguet (C–J) detonated theory. Results show that temperature has little effect on the binding energies, but the binding energies between every energetic binder and each surface of TKX-50 are different and the order of combined ability between four energetic binders and TKX-50 decrease as follows: PNIMMO > PBAMO > PGN > GAP. Compared with TKX-50, the addition of four energetic binders makes the rigidity of TKX-50-based PBXs decrease and the plasticity improve, the plastic ability rank is in the order of PGN > PNIMMO > PBAMO > GAP. In addition, the moldability of TKX-50-based PBXs is obviously improved, the increasing order is PGN > PNIMMO > PBAMO > GAP. Finally, the detonation performances indicate that compared with common binder, the addition of the energetic binder makes TKX-50-based PBXs have higher energy under the same condition.

Knowledge of forest management types is key to sustainable forest restoration practices, forest biomass assessment, and carbon accounting. However, there are no available global forest-management maps because of the spectral similarity of different forest management types. As such, we applied random forest and change detection algorithms to generate annual maps of 6 forest management types at a spatial resolution of 250 m from 2001 to 2020 including naturally regenerated forest (unmanaged and managed), planted forest (rotation of >15 years and ≤15 years), oil palm plantation, and agroforestry. In general, validation results on a point scale show that the overall accuracy is 86.82% ± 9.14%, indicating that our annual maps accurately represent global spatiotemporal variations in forest management types. Furthermore, we estimated the annual biomass carbon stock of different forest management types. The net expanded areas of planted forest, oil palm plantation, and agroforestry offset 59.56% of the loss of forest area and 77.13% of the loss of biomass carbon stock due to the decrease in the naturally regenerated forest. The decrease of managed natural regeneration forests, the expansion of planted forests with a rotation period of more than 15 years, and agroforestry resulted from reforestation practices, while the expansion of planted forests with a rotation period of less than 15 years and oil palm plantations resulted from the removal of part of agroforestry. Moreover, the expansion of planted forests with a rotation of less than 15 years (72.73%) dominates the global expansion of planted forests, and China has contributed 42.20% of this expansion. Our results are beneficial for nature solution-based climate change mitigation.

As one of the most elegant theories in physics, Yang–Mills (YM) theory not only incorporates Maxwell’s equations unifying electromagnetism, but also underpins the standard model explaining the electroweak and strong interactions in a succinct way. Whereas the highly nonlinear terms in YM equations involving the interactions between potentials and fields retard the resolution for them. In the U(1) case, the solutions of Maxwell’s equations are the electromagnetic waves, which have been applied extensively in the modern communication networks all over the world. Likewise the operator solutions of the YM equations under the assumptions of weak-coupling and zero-coupling predict the SU(2) angular-momentum waves, which is the staple of this work. Such angular-momentum waves are hopefully realized in the experiments through the oscillation of spin angular momentum, such as the “spin Zitterbewegung” of Dirac’s electron.

This study investigated the interfacial fracture properties of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) and fire-damaged concrete using bi-material wedge splitting specimens. The full load versus crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) curves of the bi-material specimens were obtained using wedge splitting tests, and the fracture toughness and fracture energy were calculated. The effects of the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete (20–700 °C) and the interfacial roughness (0–5 mm) on the interfacial damage mode, fracture toughness, and fracture energy were studied. The results indicated that when the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete was lower than 400 ℃ or the interface was smooth, the damage mode of the specimens was primarily adhesive failure. However, when the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete was equal to or greater than 400 °C and the interface was rough, cohesive failure often occurred in the specimens. Owing to the change in the damage mode, the bi-material specimens had the highest values of the fracture toughness and fracture energy at 400 °C. When the maximum temperature experienced by the concrete exceeded 400 °C, both the fracture toughness and fracture energy decreased with the increasing temperature. In this study, the fracture toughness and fracture energy of the bi-material specimens first increased and subsequently decreased with the increaseing roughness, and the maximum fracture toughness and fracture energy values were obtained when the interface roughness was 3 mm. The study results would provide a reference for the surface treatment when ECC was used in the strenthening of fire damaged concrete.

Cancer is primarily a disease of the elderly, but there is a disproportionate lack of data from clinical trials in this population. Oncologists tend to underdiagnose and undertreat geriatric patients with cancer, leading to poor survival outcomes. New therapies or therapeutic combinations such as immunotherapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) can be used in the elderly for better tumor control and survival, with fewer toxicities. The aim of this review is to describe the synergistic effects of immunotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) and to discuss the use of these therapies concurrently and/or sequentially in the elderly. To gain a fuller picture of their elderly patients health, physicians may also consider incorporating a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to evaluate their functional capacity, cognition, physical and mental health, and social supports which we will discuss in this review. It is recommended that oncologists use geriatric assessments in their everyday practice to have better insight on their complex elderly patients, therefore providing them a higher quality of care. They should also be incorporated in clinical trials as a way to assess and include more elderly patients in the study. Ultimately, the elderly deserve to be treated with more than their chronological age in mind, and new combination therapies and use of a geriatric assessment can help achieve that.

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is expressed in B cells and innate immune cells, acting as an essential signaling element in multiple immune cell pathways. Selective BTK inhibition has the potential to target multiple immune-mediated disease pathways. Rilzabrutinib is an oral, reversible, covalent BTK inhibitor designed for immune-mediated diseases. We examined the pharmacodynamic profile of rilzabrutinib and its preclinical mechanisms of action. In addition to potent and selective BTK enzyme and cellular activity, rilzabrutinib inhibited activation and inflammatory activities of B cells and innate cells such as macrophages, basophils, mast cells, and neutrophils, without cell death (in human and rodent assay systems). Rilzabrutinib demonstrated dose-dependent improvement of clinical scores and joint pathology in a rat model of collagen-induced arthritis and demonstrated reductions in autoantibody-mediated FcγR signaling in vitro and in vivo, with blockade of rat Arthus reaction, kidney protection in mouse Ab-induced nephritis, and reduction in platelet loss in mouse immune thrombocytopenia. Additionally, rilzabrutinib inhibited IgE-mediated, FcεR-dependent immune mechanisms in human basophils and mast cell-dependent mouse models. In canines with naturally occurring pemphigus, rilzabrutinib treatment resulted in rapid clinical improvement demonstrated by anti-inflammatory effects visible within 2 wk and all animals proceeding to complete or substantial disease control. Rilzabrutinib is characterized by reversible covalent BTK binding, long BTK residence time with low systemic exposure, and multiple mechanistic and biological effects on immune cells. Rilzabrutinib's unique characteristics and promising efficacy and safety profile support clinical development of rilzabrutinib for a broad array of immune-mediated diseases.

In this article, we study the sharp profiles of positive solutions to the diffusive logistic equation. By employing parameters and analyzing the corresponding perturbation equations, we find the effects of boundary and spatial heterogeneity on the positive solutions. The main results exhibit the sharp effects between boundary conditions and linear/nonlinear spatial heterogeneities on positive solutions.