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Copyright of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences is the property of Editorial Board of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To explore the influence of the cosmological constant on black hole images, we have developed a comprehensive analytical method for simulating images of Kerr–de Sitter black holes illuminated by equatorial thin accretion disks. Through the application of explicit equations, we simulate images of Kerr–de Sitter black holes illuminated by both prograde and retrograde accretion disks, examining the impact of the cosmological constant on their characteristic curves, relative sizes, and observed intensities. Our findings reveal that, in comparison to Kerr black holes, the cosmological constant not only diminishes the relative size of a black hole but also amplifies its luminosity. Moreover, an observer’s relative position in the universe ( r 0 / r C ) can influence both the relative size and luminosity of a black hole, where r 0 is the distance from the observer to the black hole, r C is the cosmological horizon determined by the value of the cosmological constant Λ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarized general-relativistic radiative transfer in the vicinity of black holes and other compact objects has become a crucial tool for probing the properties of relativistic astrophysics plasmas. Instruments like GRAVITY, the Event Horizon telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or Imaging x-ray Polarimetry Explorer make it very timely to develop such numerical frameworks. In this article, we present the polarized extension of the public ray-tracing code Gyoto, and offer a python notebook allowing to easily perform a first realistic computation. The code is very modular and allows to conveniently add extensions for the specific needs of the user. It is agnostic about the spacetime and can be used for arbitrary compact objects. We demonstrate the validity of the code by providing tests, and show in particular a perfect agreement with the ipole code. Our article also aims at pedagogically introducing all the relevant formalism in a self-contained manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basidiomycota is one of the major phyla in the fungal tree of life. The outline of Basidiomycota provides essential taxonomic information for researchers and workers in mycology. In this study, we present a time-framed phylogenomic tree with 487 species of Basidiomycota from 127 families, 47 orders, 14 classes and four subphyla; we update the outline of Basidiomycota based on the phylogenomic relationships and the taxonomic studies since 2019; and we provide notes for each order and discuss the history, defining characteristics, evolution, justification of orders, problems, significance, and plates. Our phylogenomic analysis suggests that the subphyla diverged in a time range of 443–490 Myr (million years), classes in a time range of 312–412 Myr, and orders in a time range of 102–361 Myr. Families diverged in a time range of 50–289 Myr, 76–224 Myr, and 62–156 Myr in Agaricomycotina, Pucciniomycotina, and Ustilaginomycotina, respectively. Based on the phylogenomic relationships and divergence times, we propose a new suborder Mycenineae in Agaricales to accommodate Mycenaceae. In the current outline of Basidiomycota, there are four subphyla, 20 classes, 77 orders, 297 families, and 2134 genera accepted. When building a robust taxonomy of Basidiomycota in the genomic era, the generation of molecular phylogenetic data has become relatively easier. Finding phenotypical characters, especially those that can be applied for identification and classification, however, has become increasingly challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly recognized for its global prevalence and potential progression to more severe liver diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, yet the detailed characteristics and ecological alterations of gut microbial communities during the progression from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to NASH remain poorly understood. Methods: In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of gut microbiota composition in individuals with NAFL and NASH to elucidate differences and characteristics. We utilized 16S rRNA sequencing to compare the intestinal gut microbiota among a healthy control group (65 cases), NAFL group (64 cases), and NASH group (53 cases). Random forest machine learning and database validation methods were employed to analyze the data. Results: Our findings indicate a significant decrease in the diversity of intestinal flora during the progression of NAFLD (p < 0.05). At the phylum level, high abundances of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria were observed in both NAFL and NASH patients, whereas Firmicutes were less abundant. At the genus level, a significant decrease in Prevotella expression was seen in the NAFL group (AUC 0.738), whereas an increase in the combination of Megamonas and Fusobacterium was noted in the NASH group (AUC 0.769). Furthermore, KEGG pathway analysis highlighted significant disturbances in various types of glucose metabolism pathways in the NASH group compared to the NAFL group, as well as notably compromised flavonoid and flavonol biosynthesis functions. The study uncovers distinct microbiota characteristics and microecological changes within the gut during the transition from NAFL to NASH, providing insights that could facilitate the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the global energy crisis, the development of high-performance heat transport devices within nano scales has become increasingly important. Theoretical discovery and evaluation of novel structures with high performance in thermal conductivity by affordable calculations could provide significant instructions for experimental studies focusing on thermoelectric device development. For 2-dimensional (2D) functional materials, their heat transport efficiency is correlated with their electronic properties and structural features. In this study, we computationally investigated the heat transport within Janus XClO (X = Cr, Ir); its structural and electronic properties were well solved by first-principles calculations. Furthermore, to evaluate thermodynamics stability and applicability, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations are conducted. Through a benchmarking study upon these XClO monolayers with different compositions, we noticed that their heat transport efficiency is associated with the percentage of doped magnetic atoms. The theoretical insights provided by this study are highly instructive for future experimental studies focusing on thermal device development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the variety of their forms and properties, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are promising for obtaining nanomaterials with various functional applications. Today, regardless of the method of obtaining AgNPs, there is a problem of stabilizing their surface to prevent aggregation, which significantly reduces their activity and prevents uniform distribution during the preparation of nanomaterials. The aim of this work was the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using an oligomeric ionic liquid (OIL) and the study of their structure and antimicrobial properties. In this work, for the first time, an anionic OIL with a hyperbranched structure developed by us was used as a surface stabilizer in the synthesis of AgNPs. The synthesis of AgNPs was carried out by the reduction of Ag ions in the composition of AgNO3 with trisodium citrate in the presence of this OIL. Using the methods ofUV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray analysis, electron microscopy and the disc-diffusion method, the peculiarities of the structural organization of AgNPs and their antimicrobial properties were studied. UV-visible spectroscopy data indicate the formation of silver nanoparticles and their spherical or quasi-spherical shape. It was found that there are adsorbed ionic and carbonyl groups on the surface of the formed AgNPs, and the formation of host-guest complexes between OIL and silver ions was revealed using FTIR. The formation of AgNPs and complexes between OIL and silver ions is also confirmed by X-ray diffraction. According to electron microscopy, the size of the synthesized nanoparticles varies from 5 to 16 nm, with an average value of 10.2 nm. This average value is very close to the value of 9.3 nm obtained from the results of X-ray analysis. The synthesized silver nanoparticles showed a very high antimicrobial activity against C. albicans fungi, while the width of the inhibition zone (d) was 34 mm. Also, the AgNPs powder shows very high activity against gram-positive bacteria S. aureus (d = 30 mm) and gram-negative bacteria E. coli (d = 12 mm). The approach developed by us to the synthesis of AgNPs in the presence of OIL as a surface stabilizer with certain functionalization of the latter opens up new opportunities in the synthesis of AgNPs and the preparation of highly dispersed related systems, including functionalized nanocomposite polymer materials with antimicrobial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous achievement of chiral multiple‐resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR‐TADF) emitters with narrowband and circularly polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) poses a challenge. Herein, a MR‐TADF emitter, Spiro‐BNCz, embedding spirofluorene structure was developed and chiral separated, whose emission peaks at 528 nm in toluene with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.26, 0.69). The conjugation extension caused by embedding sulfur substituted spirofluorene on B/N framework shortens the singlet‐triplet energy gap and increases spin‐orbital coupling matrix element. Therefore, a fast reverse intersystem crossing rate constant of 2.8 × 106 s−1 and a high photoluminescence efficiency of 92% in film were achieved. The organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) exhibits a maximum external quantum efficiency of 32.3%. Particularly, the circularly polarized OLEDs based on Spiro‐BNCz enantiomers show symmetric CPEL with dissymmetry factors (|gEL|) ≈ 10−3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the wild-type Rhodotorula mucilaginosa GDMCC 2.30 and its high carotenoid-producing mutant JH-R23, which was screened from the space mutation breeding treated wild type, were used as materials. Through whole-genome sequencing and resequencing analysis, the carotenoid metabolic pathway and mechanism of high carotenoid production in the mutant were explored. The R. mucilaginosa GDMCC 2.30 genome comprised 18 scaffolds and one circular mitochondrial genome with a total size of 20.31 Mb, a GC content of 60.52%, and encoding 7128 genes. The mitochondrial genome comprised 40,152 bp with a GC content of 40.59%. Based on functional annotations in the GO, KEGG, and other protein databases, nine candidate genes associated with carotenoid metabolic pathways, and candidate genes of the CrtS and CrtR homologous gene families were identified. The carotenoid metabolic pathway was inferred to start from sugar metabolism to the mevalonate pathway, as is common to most fungi, and the final product of the mevalonate pathway, geranylgeranyl diphosphate, is a precursor for various carotenoids, including β-carotene, lycopene, astaxanthin, and torularhodin, formed through the activity of crucial enzymes encoded by genes such as CrtI, CrtYB, CrtS, and CrtR. Resequencing analysis of the mutant JH-R23 detected mutations in the exons of four genes, including those encoding Gal83, 3-oxoacyl-reductase, p24 proteins, and GTPase. These mutations are interpreted to have an important impact on carotenoid synthesis by JH-R23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the celestine (natural strontium sulfate) is first converted to strontium carbonate (SrCO3). Then, magnetic strontium ferrite nanocomposite was produced from the reaction of obtained SrCO3 (in HNO3) and Fe(NO3)3 solution. Biosynthesized Ag nanoparticles (NPs) supported on SrFe2O4 were prepared by the aqueous horehound (Marrubium vulgare L.) leaf extract. The synthesized nanocomposites were analyzed using different characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The FESEM analysis of Ag/SrFe2O4 nanocomposite confirms the formation of spherical Ag NPs dispersed on the surface of strontium ferrite with an average particle size below 50 nm. The reduction/decolorization time of 10 ppm methyl orange (MO) solution in the presence of 10.6 × 10−3 M sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solution and 9 mg of Ag/SrFe2O4 catalyst with good activity and reusability was 2.5 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Experimental Biology (1563-0218) is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Functional Polymers is the property of Journal of Functional Polymers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Computer-Aided Design & Computer Graphics / Jisuanji Fuzhu Sheji Yu Tuxingxue Xuebao is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By their paternal transmission, Y-chromosomal haplotypes are sensitive markers of population history and male-mediated introgression. Previous studies identified biallelic single-nucleotide variants in the SRY, ZFY and DDX3Y genes, which in domestic goats identified four major Y-chromosomal haplotypes, Y1A, Y1B, Y2A and Y2B, with a marked geographical partitioning. Here, we extracted goat Y-chromosomal variants from whole-genome sequences of 386 domestic goats (75 breeds) and seven wild goat species, which were generated by the VarGoats goat genome project. Phylogenetic analyses indicated domestic haplogroups corresponding to Y1B, Y2A and Y2B, respectively, whereas Y1A is split into Y1AA and Y1AB. All five haplogroups were detected in 26 ancient DNA samples from southeast Europe or Asia. Haplotypes from present-day bezoars are not shared with domestic goats and are attached to deep nodes of the trees and networks. Haplogroup distributions for 186 domestic breeds indicate ancient paternal population bottlenecks and expansions during migrations into northern Europe, eastern and southern Asia, and Africa south of the Sahara. In addition, sharing of haplogroups indicates male-mediated introgressions, most notably an early gene flow from Asian goats into Madagascar and the crossbreeding that in the 19th century resulted in the popular Boer and Anglo-Nubian breeds. More recent introgressions are those from European goats into the native Korean goat population and from Boer goat into Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This study illustrates the power of the Y-chromosomal variants for reconstructing the history of domestic species with a wide geographical range., (© 2022 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The health risk of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) has been a global concern, while the report on occurrence and prevalence of ARGs in coastal zone is relatively scarce. This study investigated typical ARGs in soil and sediment in coastal line of eastern China and assessed its relationship with antibiotics and heavy metals as well as microbial community. Results showed that eight ARGs were all detected in the samples, and β-lactam resistance gene blaTEM reached the highest absolute abundance (6.28 × 10 7  ~ 6.48 × 10 8 copies/g) and relative abundance (2.3 × 10 -2 copies/16S rRNA) among samples. Amoxicillin and tetracycline were most frequently detected with the average concentration of 2.28 μg/kg and 3.48 μg/kg, respectively. Cr and Zn were found to be most abundant heavy metals with average value of 82.1 and 59.1 mg/kg, respectively. Proteobacteria, Campilobacterota, Bacteroidota, and Firmicutes were dominant phyla in most samples, while bacterial community varied significantly among samples. Redundancy analyses (RDA) showed that microbial community and antibiotics (amoxicillin and tetracycline) were driving factors of ARGs distribution, while heavy metals were not significantly correlated with ARGs. This study is helpful to understand the fate of ARGs in coastal zone., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Aims: To examine the prevalence of factors of cognitive frailty in patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (MHD)., Design: A cross-sectional study., Methods: From September 2023 to January 2024, 1023 patients undergoing MHD were recruited from 11 hospitals in Chengdu, China, using convenience sampling. The participants' sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, health information and laboratory indicators were assessed using a general information questionnaire. Cognitive frailty was assessed using the Fried Frailty Phenotype and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scales. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the associations between cognitive frailty and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Independent variables for the multivariate logistic regression model encompassing age, sex, educational level, marital status, visual impairment, hearing impairment, falls within a year, depression, weight, height, Malnutrition-inflammation score and serum albumin, sodium, phosphorus, total cholesterol and creatinine levels., Results: Among 1023 participants with a mean age of 69.52 years, 300 (29.3%) had cognitive frailty, with a predominance of older patients. Regression analysis showed that advanced age, low literacy and low serum creatinine, sodium and total cholesterol levels were positively correlated with cognitive frailty. Furthermore, 17.1% of the participants experienced depression, a risk factor for cognitive frailty, and malnutrition was an independent risk factor for cognitive frailty., Conclusion: Older adult patients undergoing (MHD) are at an increased risk of developing cognitive frailty. The aetiology of cognitive frailty in this cohort was multifactorial. Targeted interventions should be designed and implemented based on these factors, prioritising nutritional guidance and mood management to prevent or reverse cognitive frailty., Reporting Method: The study adhered to the STROBE checklist., Impact: Older adult patients undergoing MHD are at increased risk of developing cognitive frailty. Cognitive frailty screening must be incorporated into the routine assessment of older patients undergoing MHD., Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

A carbon layer usually covers the outside of SnS/MoS2 nanosheets produced by a traditional C-layer cladding process, resulting in a material with a lower specific surface area and fewer active sites. Therefore, it is difficult for these as-obtained SnS and MoS2 materials to be directly employed as electrode materials. There is a great need to develop a new C-layer coating process that can effectively coat active materials and simultaneously increase the specific surface area. In this study, novel SnS@C/MoS2 nanotubes were designed and synthesized by a self-sacrificing template method (SSTM). Specifically, MoO3 nanoribbons were first coated with Sn to produce Sn-MOF, and SnS@C/MoS2 nanotubes with a particular nanosheet architecture preserved were achieved via an elegant SSTM vulcanization strategy. This SSTM preparation method not only retains the nanosheet microstructure of the surface but also leaves a thin layer of amorphous carbon on the surface, which greatly improves the conductivity and effectively improves the cycling stability. In addition to above-mentioned advantages, there is a synergistic effect between the various components of the SnS@C/MoS2 nanotubes, which has a positive effect on the electrochemical performance. When used as the anode of a lithium-ion battery (LIB), the SnS@C/MoS2 composite can maintain a specific discharge capacity of 970.9 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1, and a specific discharge capacity of 778.1 mAh g−1 even after 1000 cycles at a current density of 2 A g−1. This method provides a reference for the synthesis of other nanostructured materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Oilfield Chemistry is the property of Sichuan University, Oilfield Chemistry Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The group of large clostridial toxins (LCTs) includes toxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB) from Clostridioides difficile, hemorrhagic and lethal toxins from Paeniclostridium sordellii, alpha toxin from Clostridium novyi (TcnA), and cytotoxin from Clostridium perfringens. These toxins are associated with severe pathologies in livestock, including gas gangrene (P. sordellii and C. novyi), infectious necrotic hepatitis (C. novyi), avian necrotic enteritis (C. perfringens), and enterocolitis (C. difficile). Immunoprophylaxis is crucial for controlling these diseases, but traditional vaccines face production challenges, such as labor-intensive processes, and often exhibit low immunogenicity. This has led to increased interest in recombinant vaccines. While TcdA and TcdB are well-studied for human immunization, other LCTs remain poorly characterized and require further investigation. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of understanding lesser-explored toxins and proposes using immunoinformatics to identify their immunodominant regions. By mapping these regions using silico tools and considering their homology with TcdA and TcdB, the study aims to guide future research in veterinary vaccinology. It also explores alternatives to overcome the limitations of conventional and recombinant vaccines, offering guidelines for developing more effective vaccination strategies against severe infections in animals., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The iron-sulfur domain (CISD) proteins of CDGSH are classified into three classes: CISD1, CISD2, and CISD3. During premature ageing, mutations that affect these proteins, namely their binding sites, could result in reduced protein production and an inability to preserve cellular integrity. Consequently, this leads to the development of conditions such as diabetes. Notably, CISD3 plays a crucial role in the management of age-related disorders such as Wolfram syndrome, which is often referred to as DIDMOAD (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness). Computational analyses have predicted that CISD3 regulates the redox state, safeguards the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, and maintains intracellular calcium levels. CISD3, a member of a recently discovered gene family associated with the CDGSH iron protein apoptotic compensatory response, fulfils a crucial function in mitigating the effects of accelerated ageing. The compound "(-)-(2S)-7,4'-Dihydroxyflavanone" has been discovered by computational drug design as a possible activator of CISD3. It shows potential therapeutic benefits in ameliorating metabolic dysfunction and enhancing glucose regulation. The ligand binds to the binding pocket of the CISD3 protein, increasing the stability of the protein and enhancing its functionality. The current research investigates the binding processes of the molecule in various structures and its anticipated effects on these tissues, therefore providing valuable insights into the mitigation of age-related diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. The projected tripling of the worldwide population of individuals aged 50 and above by 2050 necessitates the urgent development of immunoinformatics-based approaches, including pharmaceutical therapies that target CISD3, to prevent age-related pathologies. The stimulation of CISD3, namely by compounds such as "(-)-(2S)-7,4'-Dihydroxyflavanone", has the potential to counteract telomere shortening and improve metabolic pathways., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Conjugated polymers (CPs) have attracted much attention in recent years due to their structural abundance and tunable energy bands. Compared with CP-based materials, the inorganic semiconductor TiO2 has the advantages of low cost, non-toxicity and high photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) performance. However, studies on polymeric-inorganic heterojunctions, composed of D-A type CPs and TiO2, for boosting the PHP efficiency are still rare. Herein, an elucidation that the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity can actually be improved by forming polymeric-inorganic heterojunctions TFl@TiO2, TS@TiO2 and TSO2@TiO2, facilely synthesized through efficient in situ direct C–H arylation polymerization, is given. The compatible energy levels between virgin TiO2 and polymeric semiconductors enable the resulting functionalized CP@TiO2 heterojunctions to exhibit a considerable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (HER). Especially, the HER of TSO2@TiO2 heterojunction reaches up to 11,220 μmol g−1 h−1, approximately 5.47 and 1260 times higher than that of pristine TSO2 and TiO2 photocatalysts. The intrinsic merits of a donor-acceptor conjugated polymer and the interfacial interaction between CP and TiO2 account for the excellent PHP activity, facilitating the separation of photo-generated excitons. Considering the outstanding PHP behavior, our work discloses that the coupling of inorganic semiconductors and suitable D-A conjugated CPs would play significant roles in the photocatalysis community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the expected quantizing scheme with suitable mixed-precision policy is the key to compress deep neural networks (DNNs) in high efficiency and accuracy. This exploration implies heavy workloads for domain experts, and an automatic compression method is needed. However, the huge search space of the automatic method introduces plenty of computing budgets that make the automatic process challenging to be applied in real scenarios. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end framework named AutoQNN, for automatically quantizing different layers utilizing different schemes and bitwidths without any human labor. AutoQNN can seek desirable quantizing schemes and mixed-precision policies for mainstream DNN models efficiently by involving three techniques: quantizing scheme search (QSS), quantizing precision learning (QPL), and quantized architecture generation (QAG). QSS introduces five quantizing schemes and defines three new schemes as a candidate set for scheme search, and then uses the Differentiable Neural Architecture Search (DNAS) algorithm to seek the layer- or model-desired scheme from the set. QPL is the first method to learn mixed-precision policies by reparameterizing the bitwidths of quantizing schemes, to the best of our knowledge. QPL optimizes both classification loss and precision loss of DNNs efficiently and obtains the relatively optimal mixed-precision model within limited model size and memory footprint. QAG is designed to convert arbitrary architectures into corresponding quantized ones without manual intervention, to facilitate end-to-end neural network quantization. We have implemented AutoQNN and integrated it into Keras. Extensive experiments demonstrate that AutoQNN can consistently outperform state-of-the-art quantization. For 2-bit weight and activation of AlexNet and ResNet18, AutoQNN can achieve the accuracy results of 59.75% and 68.86%, respectively, and obtain accuracy improvements by up to 1.65% and 1.74%, respectively, compared with state-of-the-art methods. Especially, compared with the full-precision AlexNet and ResNet18, the 2-bit models only slightly incur accuracy degradation by 0.26% and 0.76%, respectively, which can fulfill practical application demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Condiment is the property of China Condiment and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aimed to preliminarily explore the distribution characteristics of the ozone (O3) pollution period in 2021 in Changsha, which is a typical city in central and southern China, and the differences in reasons for ozone and other pollutions were also investigated. The study was based on the hourly environmental monitoring and meteorological data in 2021 provided by the Ecological Environment Monitoring Center and Meteorological Observatory of Hunan Province. The effects of topography, precursors, meteorological conditions, and other factors on the O3 concentration were analyzed. The results showed that the overall air quality of 14 environmental monitoring stations in Changsha in 2021 was less affected by sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide, and principally affected by particulate matter and O3. Among the 14 environmental monitoring stations, the duration of pollution due to O3 was in the range of 0-29 days, with a maximum concentration of 252 µg/m³; the daily O3 concentrations were in the range of 29-94 µg/m³, showing "unimodal" trends in general; and the monthly average O3-8 h (the daily maximum 8-h O3 concentrations) concentrations were in the range of 44-149 µg/m³, showing "bimodal" trends in general. Generally speaking, compared with the provincial control sites, the ozone concentration of the national control sites was higher, and the urban areas were higher than the suburbs. The O3 concentrations were ranked in the following order: summer > autumn > spring > winter, and the urban area was affected to a larger extent by the emission. The concentrations of O3 and NO2 varied in opposite trends. The O3 concentration exhibited a typical "inverted U-shaped" profile, while that of NO2 substantially exhibited a "U-shaped" profile. The O3 concentration was significantly positively correlated with the daily average wind speed and ambient temperature but negatively correlated with the wind direction, wind pressure, and humidity. The following conditions promoted the generation of O3 in Changsha: ambient temperature of around 30°C, relative humidity of around 50%, and wind speed of 0.5-2.0 m/s. These findings are beneficial for the scientific prediction, warning, and control of O3 pollution in the central and southern regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industrial Water Treatment is the property of CNOOC Tianjin Chemical Research & Design Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Infectious bursal disease (IBD), caused by IBD virus (IBDV), is an extremely contagious immunosuppressive disease that causes major losses for the poultry industry worldwide. Recently, the novel variant IBDV (G2d) has been highly prevalent in Korea, but the current vaccines against this very virulent IBDV have limited efficacy against this novel variant. To develop a vaccine against this variant IBDV, a recombinant virus designated rHVT-VP2 was constructed by inserting the IBDV (G2d) VP2 gene into herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The PCR and sequencing results obtained showed that the recombinant virus rHVT-VP2 was successfully constructed. Vaccination with rHVT-VP2 generated IBDV-specific antibodies in specific pathogen-free chickens starting from 2 weeks post-immunization. Seven days after the challenge, the autopsy results showed that the bursa atrophy rates of the rHVT-VP2, HVT, vaccine A, and positive control groups were 0%, 100%, 60%, and 100%, respectively, and the BBIX values were 1.07 ± 0.22, 0.27 ± 0.05, 0.64 ± 0.33, and 0.32 ± 0.06, respectively. These results indicate that rHVT-VP2 can provide 100% protection against a challenge with the IBDV (G2d), whereas vaccine A only provides partial protection. In conclusion, vaccination with the recombinant virus rHVT-VP2 can provide chickens with effective protection against variant IBDV (G2d). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the shadow and optical appearance of the hairy Reissner–Nordström (RN) black hole illuminated by two toy models of static accretion. The hairy RN black hole was constructed in the gravitation decoupling approach to describe the deformation of a Schwarzschild black hole due to the inclusion of additional arbitrary source (scalar field, tensor field, fluidlike dark matter, etc.). So it is characterized by the parameters: mass (M), deformation factor (α ), electric charge (Q) and the additional hairy charge ( l o )., differentiating from the case in RN black hole. Though the specific background theory that results in this hairy RN black hole is still tricky, here we shall focus on the novel observable features introduced by the hair of this black hole. First, we find that for the hairy RN black hole, the event horizon, radius of photon sphere and critical impact parameter all increase as the increasings of Q and l o , but decrease as α grows. Furthermore, the three characterized parameters are found to have significant effects on the photon trajectories, and shadows as well as images of the hairy RN black hole surrounded by the static accretion disk and spherical accretion, respectively. In particular, both Q and l o have mutually reinforcing effects on the optical appearance and shadows of the hairy RN black hole, which implies that we may not distinguish the electric charge and hairy charge from the shadow and image of black hole in this scenario. Additionally, because of the competing effects of the charge parameters ( Q , l o ) and the deviation parameter α on the observed intensities of brightness, the optical appearance between the hairy RN black hole and RN black hole could have degeneracies, indicating the indistinguishability. Our current results contribute more to the phenomenal aspects which could be helpful to build the background theory of this hairy RN black hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The coating-modified magnesium (Mg) alloys exhibit controllable corrosion resistance, but the insufficient antibacterial performance limits their clinical applications as degradable implants. Superhydrophobic coatings show excellent performance in terms of both corrosion resistance and inhibition of bacterial adhesion and growth. In this work, a hydroxyapatite (HA)/palmitic acid (PA) superhydrophobic composite coating was fabricated on the Mg alloy by the hydrothermal technique and immersion treatment. The HA/PA composite coating showed superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 153° and a sliding angle of 2°. The coated Mg alloy exhibited excellent corrosion resistance in the simulated body fluid, with high polarization resistance (77.10 kΩ·cm2) and low corrosion current density ((0.491 ± 0.015) µA·cm−2). Meanwhile, the antibacterial efficiency of the composite coating was over 98% against E. coli and S. aureus in different periods. The results indicate that the construction of such superhydrophobic composite coating (HA/PA) on the Mg alloy can greatly improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloy implants within the human body and avoid bacterial infection during the initial stages of implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex sand-casting process combined with the interactions between process parameters makes it difficult to control the casting quality, resulting in a high scrap rate. A strategy based on a data-driven model was proposed to reduce casting defects and improve production efficiency, which includes the random forest (RF) classification model, the feature importance analysis, and the process parameters optimization with Monte Carlo simulation. The collected data includes four types of defects and corresponding process parameters were used to construct the RF model. Classification results show a recall rate above 90% for all categories. The Gini Index was used to assess the importance of the process parameters in the formation of various defects in the RF model. Finally, the classification model was applied to different production conditions for quality prediction. In the case of process parameters optimization for gas porosity defects, this model serves as an experimental process in the Monte Carlo method to estimate a better temperature distribution. The prediction model, when applied to the factory, greatly improved the efficiency of defect detection. Results show that the scrap rate decreased from 10.16% to 6.68%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: NOX4, PDE11A and GHR have previously been screened as candidate genes for litter size in sheep. Therefore, it is necessary to validate these genes in the sheep population and identify loci that are associated with litter size. In this study, the results of association analysis showed that c.1057-4C > T in NOX4 and c.1983C > T in PDE11A were significantly associated with litter size in Small Tail Han sheep, and their effects were independent of each other. In summary, this study provided two new genetic markers for improving litter size in sheep. In previous studies, NOX4, PDE11A and GHR genes have been screened as important candidate genes for litter size in sheep by using the GWAS method; however, neither their effects on litter size nor the loci associated with litter size have been identified. In this study, three candidate loci (c.1057-4C > T in NOX4, c.1983C > T in PDE11A and c.1618C > T in GHR) were first screened based on our previous resequencing data of 10 sheep breeds. After the three loci were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY technology, we carried out population genetics analysis on the three loci and performed association analysis between the polymorphism of the three loci and the litter size of sheep. The results of population genetics analysis suggested that c.1057-4C > T in NOX4 and c.1983C > T in PDE11A may be subject to natural or artificial selection. The results of association analysis indicated that litter size was significantly associated with c.1057-4C > T in NOX4 and c.1983C > T in PDE11A (p < 0.05) in Small Tail Han sheep, and there was no significant interaction effect between the two loci on the litter size. In summary, c.1057-4C > T in NOX4 and c.1983 C > T in PDE11A can be considered candidate molecular markers for improving litter size in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, nanozymes - a unique class of nanomaterials with inherent enzyme-mimetic properties - have fascinated researchers, revealing unexpected enzyme-like activity of nanomaterials previously considered biologically inert. In particular, as metal-free catalyst for biological processes, carbon-based nanozymes have grown in popularity due to their exceptional physical and chemical characteristics. So far, a variety of carbon-based nanozymes with various structures such as fullerene, graphene oxide, carbon dot, carbon nanotube, and carbon nanosphere have been reported possessing a wide range of enzyme-like properties. However, the structure-activity relationship of the carbon-based nanozymes have not yet been comprehensively discussed. In this review, we thoroughly examine the recent findings on the structure-activity connection of carbon nanozymes, in an effort to comprehend the underlying mechanism of carbon nanozymes and throw light on the future direction of the systematic design and construction of functionally specific carbon nanozymes. We also will address the broad range of applications of carbon nanozymes from in vitro detection to replacing specific enzymes in living systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human enteric viruses are important etiological agents of waterborne diseases. Environmental waters are usually contaminated with low virus concentration requiring large concentration factors for effective detection by (RT)-qPCR. Low-pressure reverse osmosis is often used to remove water contaminants, but very few studies focused on the effective virus removal of reverse osmosis treatment with feed concentrations as close as possible to environmental concentrations and principally relied on theoretical virus removal. The very low viral concentrations usually reported in the permeates (i.e. at least 5 log of removal rate) mean that very large volumes of water need to be analysed to have sufficient sensitivity and assess the process efficiency. This study evaluates two methods for the concentration of adenoviruses, enteroviruses and MS2 bacteriophages at different viral concentrations in large (< 200 L) and very large (> 200 L) volumes. The first method is composed of two ultrafiltration membranes with low-molecular weight cut-offs while the second method primarily relies on adsorption and elution phases using electropositive-charged filters. The recovery rates were assessed for both methods. For the ultrafiltration-based protocol, recovery rates were similar for each virus studied: 80% on average at high virus concentrations (106–107 viruses L−1) and 50% at low virus concentrations (103–104 viruses L−1). For the electropositive-charged filter-based method, the average recoveries obtained were about 36% for ADV 41, 57% for CV-B5 and 1.6% for MS2. The ultrafiltration-based method was then used to evaluate the performance of a low-pressure reverse osmosis lab-scale pilot plant. The retentions by reverse osmosis were similar for all studied viruses and the validated recovery rates applied to the system confirmed the reliability of the concentration method. This method was effective in concentrating all three viruses over a wide range of viral concentrations. Moreover, the second concentration method using electropositive-charged filters was studied, allowing the filtration of larger volumes of permeate from a semi-industrial low-pressure reverse osmosis pilot plant. This reference method was used because of the inability of the UF method to filter volumes on the order of one cubic metre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling waste biomass to pyrolytic carbon has become a development direction of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) anodes. However, it remains a challenge to precisely control the composition and structure of biomass to modify the properties of derived carbon. Herein, a strategy of hydrolyzing cellulose in phellem with sulfuric acid is proposed, which can promote cellulose fracture, reduce the graphitization and increase the content of closed pores in hard carbon. Accordingly, after the regulation of closed pore structure, the reversible capacity increased from 207 to 330 mAh g -1 at 20 mA g -1 , realizing an increase of ≈130 mAh g -1 in the plateau region and the initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) is enhanced from 78% to 90%. When applied in full cell with O3-Na[Ni 1/3 Fe 1/3 Mn 1/3 ]O 2 , it showed an energy density of 247 Wh kg -1 . This strategy has certain universality, and it provides the feasibility to use low-value cellulose-containing biomass to fabricate high-performance hard carbon materials., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Nitrogen-heterocycles are privileged structures in both marketed drugs and natural products. On the other hand, C-H amination reactions furnish unconventional and straightforward approaches for the construction of C-N bonds. Yet, most of the known methods rely on precious metal catalysts. Herein we report a site-selective intermolecular C(sp 3 )-H amination of N-heterocycles, catalyzed by inexpensive FeCl 2, which allows the functionalization of a wide range of pharmaceutically relevant cyclic amines. The C-H amination occurs site-selectively in α-position to the nitrogen atom, even when weaker C-H bonds are present, and furnishes Troc-protected aminals or amidines. The method employs the N-heterocycle as limiting reagent and is applicable to the late-stage functionalization of complex molecules. Its synthetic potential was further illustrated through the derivatization of α-aminated products and the application to a concise total synthesis of the reported structure for senobtusin. Mechanistic studies allowed to propose a plausible reaction mechanism involving a turnover-limiting Fe-nitrene generation followed by fast H atom transfer and radical rebound., (© 2024 The Author(s). Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Starting from N-acyl sulfonimidamides, mechanochemically generated rhodium nitrenoids undergo intramolecular N-O couplings to provide unprecedented 1,3,2,4-oxathiadiazole 3-oxides in good to excellent yields. The cyclization proceeds efficiently with a catalyst loading of only 0.5 mol % in the presence of phenyliodine(III) diacetate (PIDA) as oxidant. Neither an inert atmosphere nor additional heating is required in this solvent-free procedure. Under heat or blue light, the newly formed five-membered heterocycles function as nitrene precursors reacting with sulfoxides as exemplified by the imidation of dimethyl sulfoxide., (© 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have become one of the hotspots in large-scale energy storage due to their advantages of high safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the metallic Zn anode is prone to dendritic growth and electrochemical corrosion on the surface during cycling, posing a serious challenge to the cycling life of AZIBs. Herein, a simple, low-cost and suitable for mass production method is reported to construct an anti-corrosive nano-copper particle protective coating on the surface of a metallic zinc (Cu–Zn) anode. The prepared nano-copper particles are evenly distributed on the surface of Zn, providing a uniform electric field distribution and successfully suppressing electrochemical corrosion on the surface. Importantly, it is confirmed microscopically that the Cu–Zn anode maintains homogeneous stripping and plating processes, effectively alleviating dendrite formation. Additionally, the resulting Cu–Zn anode exhibits a lower overpotential, which offers a lower interfacial transfer resistance of the battery. The symmetric battery test results show that the unmodified bare Zn anode fails after 58 h at 1 mA cm−2 and 0.5 mA h cm−2, while the Cu–Zn anode can remain stable for more than 3200 h. Furthermore, the assembled Cu–Zn‖‖α-MnO2 battery delivers a capacity of 173.2 mA h g−1 after 2500 cycles at a high current density of 2000 mA g−1, and the capacity retention rate is 90.6%. The results indicate the great potential application of the nano-copper particle-modified zinc anode, which has provided an appealing strategy for improving the stability of AZIBs to promote the industrial development of the energy storage field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scalar Field Dark Matter model has been known in various ways throughout its history; Fuzzy, BEC, Wave, Ultralight, Axion-like Dark Matter, etc. All of them consist in proposing that dark matter of the universe is a spinless field Φthat follows the Klein-Gordon (KG) equation of motion □Φ-dV/dΦ=0, for a given scalar field potential V. The difference between different models is sometimes the choice of the scalar field potential V. In the literature we find that people usually work in the non-relativistic, weak-field limit of the Klein- Gordon equation, where it transforms into the Schrödinger equation and the Einstein equations into the Poisson equation, reducing the KG-Einstein system, to the Schrödinger-Poisson system. In this paper, we review some of the most interesting achievements of this model from the historical point of view and its comparison with observations, showing that this model could be the last answer to the question about the nature of dark matter in the universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly reversible and stable cycling of zinc metal anodes remains a challenge due to the undesirable side reaction of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and dendrite formation. Herein, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with large area and continuous growth was developed and used as the artificial solid–electrolyte interface (SEI) coating, which plays two roles to protect the electrode surface by (1) mitigating the side reactions and (2) inducing the epitaxial electrodeposition of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Zn to form the compact Zn structure aligned in (002) orientation. From the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, hBN exhibits a remarkably small lattice mismatch (4.1%) with the Zn (002) surface. Additionally, insignificant Zn binding energy of hBN (−0.20 eV) reveals a weak interaction between hBN and Zn atoms; therefore fewer seeding points are provided for generating Zn dendrites. In addition, the low surface energy of the hBN interface enhances the electrolyte wettability to the electrode–electrolyte interface, promoting smooth Zn plating. Consistently, highly horizontally aligned Zn metal deposition without dendrites and H2 formation was visualized from an in situ optical cell. The symmetric cell shows stable cycling with a significantly smaller plating overpotential of 0.15 V over 300 cycles, while a full cell with an AlxVOH cathode exhibits highly stable cycling over 50 cycles with a 73.6% capacity retention rate and improved rate capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a number of initially approved magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP)-based nano-medicines have been withdrawn due to the obscure nano-bio effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study the cellular effects triggered by IONPs on cells. In this study, we investigate the time-course cellular effects on the response of RAW 264.7 cells caused by Si-IONPs via pharmacological and mass spectrometry-based proteomics techniques. Our results revealed that Si-IONPs were internalized by clathrin-mediated endocytosis within 1 hour, and gradually degraded in endolysosomes over time, which might influence autophagy, oxidative stress, innate immune response, and inflammatory response after 12 hours. Our research provides a necessary assessment of Si-IONPs for further clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]