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During the Colonial Period, Maya communities underwent significant social and religious transformations. This paper investigates how the Maya communities of Lamanai, Belize maintained resilience in the 16th century. By examining ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence at Lamanai, especially zoomorphic effigies at two Christian churches, the study demonstrates that resilience was not solely a product of human agency but also arose from engagement with other species and materials. Drawing influence from process philosophy, this paper redefines resilience as a dynamic and creative process encompassing active adaptation, reorganisation, and transformation. It argues that the ability to cross boundaries is essential to resilience. Maya communities were able to transcend the boundaries of properties, entities, realities, and cultures, which enabled them to re-envision their relationships with others and the world. Boundary-crossing allowed them to navigate complex changes with ease and integrate diverse cultural elements into their identity, ultimately fostering resilience in the face of colonial challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mixing of cotton seeds of different cultivars and qualities can lead to differences in growth conditions and make field management difficult. In particular, except for yield loss, it can also lead to inconsistent cotton quality and poor textile product quality, causing huge economic losses to farmers and the cotton processing industry. However, traditional cultivar identification methods for cotton seeds are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and cumbersome, which cannot meet the needs of modern agriculture and modern cotton processing industry. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a fast, accurate, and non-destructive method for identifying cotton seed cultivars. In this study, hyperspectral images (397.32 nm—1003.58 nm) of five cotton cultivars, namely Jinke 20, Jinke 21, Xinluzao 64, Xinluzao 74, and Zhongmiansuo 5, were captured using a Specim IQ camera, and then the average spectral information of seeds of each cultivar was used for spectral analysis, aiming to estab-lish a cotton seed cultivar identification model. Due to the presence of many obvious noises in the < 400 nm and > 1000 nm regions of the collected spectral data, spectra from 400 nm to 1000 nm were selected as the representative spectra of the seed samples. Then, various denoising techniques, including Savitzky-Golay (SG), Standard Normal Variate (SNV), and First Derivative (FD), were applied individually and in combination to improve the quality of the spectra. Additionally, a successive projections algorithm (SPA) was employed for spectral feature selection. Based on the full-band spectra, a Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) model was established. Furthermore, spectral features and textural features were fused to create Random Forest (RF), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) identification models. The results showed that: (1) The SNV-FD preprocessing method showed the optimal denoising performance. (2) SPA highlighted the near-infrared region (800–1000 nm), red region (620–700 nm), and blue-green region (420–570 nm) for identifying cotton cultivar. (3) The fusion of spectral features and textural features did not consistently improve the accuracy of all modeling strategies, suggesting the need for further research on appropriate modeling strategies. (4) The ELM model had the highest cotton cultivar identification accuracy, with an accuracy of 100% for the training set and 98.89% for the test set. In conclusion, this study successfully developed a highly accurate cotton seed cultivar identification model (ELM model). This study provides a new method for the rapid and non-destructive identification of cotton seed cultivars, which will help ensure the cultivar consistency of seeds used in cotton planting, and improve the overall quality and yield of cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of total hysterectomy versus radical hysterectomy in the treatment of neuroendocrine cervical cancer (NECC). Methods: Eligible NECC patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Demographic characteristics, clinical treatment and survival of the patients were collected. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were estimated by Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test. Results: A total of 286 patients were included, with 104 patients undergoing total hysterectomy and 182 patients undergoing radical hysterectomy. The 5-year OS were 50.8% in the total hysterectomy group and 47.5% in the radical hysterectomy group (p = 0.450); and the corresponding 5-year CSS were 51.6% and 49.1% (p = 0.494), respectively. Along with surgery, radiotherapy was given to 49.0% of patients in the total hysterectomy group and 50.5% in the radical hysterectomy group; and chemotherapy was administered to 77.9% of patients in the total hysterectomy group and 85.7% in the radical hysterectomy group. Unexpectedly, in patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy, the OS was superior in the total hysterectomy group compared with the radical hysterectomy group (p = 0.034). While in patients who received chemotherapy alone and those who received neither radiotherapy nor chemotherapy, the OS still remained comparable between the total hysterectomy and radical hysterectomy group. Conclusion: Compared with radical hysterectomy, total hysterectomy was not associated with compromised survival prognosis in patients with NECC. Total hysterectomy has the potential to be a surgical alternative in the multimodal management of NECC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the hydrological processes on the Loess Plateau have undergone significant changes due to the combined effects of climate change and human activities. This study investigates the Qin River basin, the core area of the Loess Plateau. Between 1971 and 2000, the hydrometeorology of the flood season in the Qin basin on the Loess Plateau in China changed abruptly in 1982 and 1992. This study uses distributed hydrologic modeling and statistical analysis to distinguish the spatial and temporal impacts of climate change and human activities. The fastest dynamic changes in land use occurred in grassland and construction land, accounting for 0.36% and −0.1%, respectively, from 1982 to 1991. From 1992 to 2000, it was 0.29% and 0.3%, respectively. The increase in basin area where the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index increased was 95%. However, except for significant changes in runoff from 1981 to 1992, there were no significant changes in precipitation, runoff, and temperature during other flood seasons. During the two studied variation periods, from 1982 to 1991 and from 1992 to 2000, the contribution rate of climate change to flood season runoff ( C C l i m a t e ) decreased from 83.26% to 74.47%, while the contribution rate of human activity disturbance to flood season runoff ( C h u m a n ) increased from 16.74% to 25.53%. In terms of spatial distribution, from 1982 to 1991, areas with a C h u m a n > 50% were primarily concentrated in the upper reaches of the basin, while from 1992–2000, these areas shifted to the lower reaches. This study offers valuable insights for water resource planning and soil conservation measures in the Loess Plateau and similar arid regions worldwide, aiming to ensure water resource safety and sustainability in response to climate change and human interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyllanthus emblica is a natural medicinal herb with diverse bioactivities. Certain extracts from this herb have been confirmed to possess anti-glycolipid metabolic disorder activity. To further develop its utility value and explore its potential in combating glycolipid metabolic disorders, we designed a series of experiments to investigate the structure, antioxidant activity, and anti-glycolipid metabolic disorder activity of Phyllanthus emblica polysaccharides. In this study, we extracted and purified polysaccharides from Phyllanthus emblica and thoroughly analyzed their structure using various techniques, including NMR, methylation analysis, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. We investigated the hypolipidemic and anti-glycolipid metabolism disorder activity of Phyllanthus emblica polysaccharides for the first time utilizing oleic acid (OA) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) as inducers. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of Phyllanthus emblica polysaccharides was assessed in vitro. These findings lay the groundwork for future investigations into the potential application of Phyllanthus emblica polysaccharides as an intervention for preventing and treating diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineered noble metal nanomaterials (NMN) possess adjustable optical, electrical, and biocompatible properties that make them excellent tools for probing the nano‐bio‐interface. Understanding their interactions with biomolecules, cells, and tissues at the nano‐bio‐interface is crucial in designing these nanomaterials for biomedical applications. This review summarizes the structure, properties, synthesis, and passivation methods of noble metal nanoparticles, as well as the construction strategy and detection technology of the nano‐bio‐interface to provide important information about their uptake, distribution, metabolism, and degradation in vivo and in vitro. The related action mechanisms include the kinetic and thermodynamic processes of the nano‐bio‐interface, the driving forces for its formation, and the chemical reactions at the nano‐bio‐interface. By exploring the action mechanism of the nano‐bio‐interface, the antibacterial properties and cytotoxicity of NMN could be better understood, and open up more extensive biological applications. Finally, the future trends of NMNs in the biological field and the challenges encountered in realizing these technologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of government subsidies is essential in supporting collaborative innovation and promoting sustainable development in R&D networks. This study explores the influence of different government subsidy strategies designed for R&D networks on inter-enterprise knowledge transfer. Drawing upon evolutionary game theory, it examines how impact is contingent upon enterprises' risk attitudes and reputation effects. The results indicate that when enterprises exhibit homogeneous risk attitudes, government subsidy policies encouraging risk-seeking behaviors can effectively enhance the knowledge-transferring level. When enterprises possess heterogeneous risk attitudes, a greater diversity of risk attitudes leads to a more conducive environment for knowledge transfer. Incorporating a rigorous reputation tolerance into the design of government subsidies in R&D networks can effectively elevate knowledge transfer. Therefore, policymakers can design tailored government subsidies and incentive mechanisms grounded in enterprises' risk attitudes and reputation effects. This study provides theoretical and policy implications for designing government subsidies and collaboration in R&D networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1, also known as NCOA1) frequently functions as a transcriptional coactivator by directly binding to transcription factors and recruiting to the target gene promoters to promote gene transcription by increasing chromatin accessibility and promoting the formation of transcriptional complexes. In recent decades, various biological and pathological functions of SRC-1 have been reported, especially in the context of tumorigenesis. SRC-1 is a facilitator of the progression of multiple cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, neurological cancer, and female genital system cancer. The emerging multiorgan oncogenic role of SRC-1 is still being studied and may not be limited to only steroid hormone-producing tissues. Growing evidence suggests that SRC-1 promotes target gene expression by directly binding to transcription factors, which may constitute a novel coactivation pattern independent of AR or ER. In addition, the antitumour effect of pharmacological inhibition of SRC-1 with agents including various small molecules or naturally active compounds has been reported, but their practical application in clinical cancer therapy is very limited. For this review, we gathered typical evidence on the oncogenic role of SRC-1, highlighted its major collaborators and regulatory genes, and mapped the potential mechanisms by which SRC-1 promotes primary tumour progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing N use efficiency (NUE) is desirable in turfgrass management. Traditional definition of NUE in turfgrass is essentially the inverse of nitrogen concentration in the clippings and is often evaluated once in a growing season. In this experiment, we followed the Brenderse and Aerts' definition of NUE as the product of mean residence time (MRT) and nitrogen productivity (NP). The objective of this experiment was to identify NP changes over time in Kentucky bluegrass cultivars at different N levels under deficit irrigation. Nine Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and two hybrid bluegrass cultivars from 10 phenotypic classes were tested under N rates of 10 and 40 g m−2. Deficit irrigation at 60% of the evapotranspiration was imposed. The results showed interaction effects on NP from N level, irrigation, and cultivar. Low‐N treatment resulted in higher NP values as compared to high‐N for 'Merit' and 'Martha'. No NP difference existed between N or irrigation levels for 'Blue ghost', 'Geronimo', 'Heidi', 'Bandera', 'Impact', 'Fielder', 'Jackrabbit', and 'Park'. 'Rhythm' showed lower NP values in high‐N combined with full irrigation compared to other treatments. In general, increasing N levels resulted in lower NP, but higher nitrate reductase activity (NaR) and higher net photosynthesis. No N by irrigation interaction effect was detected for effective quantum yield or NaR. In conclusion, leaf‐level NP was shown to be an effective parameter for in‐season monitoring of the above‐ground NUE of Kentucky bluegrass, which provided more dynamic information than clipping yields or a one‐time NUE calculation based on traditional definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snakes of the natricid genus Trachischium Günther, 1858 are distributed in the southern Himalayas. Due to their secretive nature and fossorial habits, their taxonomy, evolution, and ecology remain poorly understood. Based on a multilocus molecular phylogeny and morphological comparisons we explored Trachischium systematics. Results indicated that all representatives of Trachischium form a strongly supported clade with their close relatives in Blythia, and that Blythia is nested within Trachischium. Therefore, we suggest that Blythia is synonymous with Trachischium. Molecular data and morphological comparisons revealed cryptic diversity within Trachischium, and thus we describe one new species from China while also excluding T. guentheri and T. tenuiceps from the Chinese fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To understand the characteristics and hospital management procedures of mass casualty incidents in Jinshan District and to provide clinical suggestions for standardizing the management of mass casualty incidents. Methods A retrospective analysis of mass casualty incidents handled by the Affiliated Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2021 was conducted, and the characteristics and hospital treatment procedures of mass casualty incidents were analyzed. Results The hospital handled 197 mass casualty incidents in 12 years, with a total of 1 430 injured persons. The primary cause of injury was traffic accidents, accounting for 100 cases (50.9%), followed by chemical injuries, accounting for 25 cases (12.7% ). The most common age distribution of the injured population was between 21 and 50 years old, with 995 people (69.5%); 964 (67.4%) were male and 466 (32.6%) were female; 23 (1.6%) were dead on arrival; 73 (5.1%) were admitted to the ICU, and 106 (7.4%) were hospitalized. The frequency of mass casualty incidents was similar in March to May (spring) with 60 cases (30.5%), June to August (summer) with 52 cases (26.4%), and September to November (autumn) with 54 cases (27.4%), while the frequency decreased in December to next February (winter) with 31 cases (15.7%). The highest frequency of occurrence was from 8:00 to 16:00, with 186 cases (94.4%), followed by 16:00 to 24:00, with 11 cases (5.6%), and no mass casualty incidents occurred from 0:00 to 8:00. After the new treatment procedure was implemented in 2016, the forewarning rate increased significantly (P < 0.05), the forewarning content increased (P < 0.01), and the allocation time of treatment materials was significantly shortened (P < 0.01); the accuracy rate of secondary injury assessment increased (P < 0.01), and the retention time was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). Conclusions In Jinshan District of Shanghai, the primary cause of mass casualty incidents was traffic accidents, followed by chemical injuries. The age group with the most mass casualties was between 20 and 50 years old, with males significantly outnumbering females. The key points of mass casualty incident treatment include forewarning, timely initiation of treatment procedures, zone and hierarchical treatment, secondary damage control, timely diversion, experienced commanders, summary, and drills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misinformation has posed significant threats to all aspects of people's lives. One of the most active areas of research in misinformation examines how individuals are misinformed. In this paper, we study how and to what extent agents are misinformed in an extended bounded confidence model, which consists of three parts: (i) online selective neighbors whose opinions differ from their own but not by more than a certain confidence level; (ii) offline neighbors, in a Watts–Strogatz small-world network, whom an agent has to communicate with even though their opinions are far different from their own; and (iii) a Bayesian analysis. Furthermore, we introduce two types of epistemically irresponsible agents: agents who hide their honest opinions and focus on disseminating misinformation and agents who ignore the messages received and follow the crowd mindlessly. Simulations show that, in an environment with only online selective neighbors, the misinforming is more successful with broader confidence intervals. Having offline neighbors contributes to being cautious of misinformation, while employing a Bayesian analysis helps in discovering the truth. Moreover, the agents who are only willing to listen to the majority, regardless of the truth, unwittingly help to bring about the success of misinformation attempts, and they themselves are, of course, misled to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of industrial economies, incidents involving spills of petroleum products have become increasingly frequent. The resulting pollutants pose significant threats to air, water, soil, plant and animal survival, as well as human health. In this study, microcrystalline cellulose served as the matrix and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the initiator, while butyl acrylate (BA) and N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) were employed as graft monomers. Through free radical graft polymerization, cellulose-graft-poly(butyl acrylate-N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide) [Cell-g-P(BA-MBA)], possessing oil-adsorbing properties, was synthesized. The chemical structure, elemental composition, surface morphology and wetting properties of the graft polymerization products have been characterized, using infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and contact angle testing. The adsorption properties of Cell-g-P(BA-MBA) for various organic solvents and oils were then assessed. The experimental results demonstrated that Cell-g-P(BA-MBA) exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 37.55 g/g for trichloromethane. Adsorption kinetics experiments indicated a spontaneous and exothermic process involving physical adsorption, conforming to the Freundlich isotherm model. Furthermore, adsorption kinetics experiments revealed that Cell-g-P(BA-MBA) displayed favorable reuse and regeneration performance, maintaining its adsorption capacity essentially unchanged over fifteen adsorption–desorption cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A novel function of plasma membrane-localized H+-ATPase, OsAHA3, was identified in rice, which is involved in saline–alkaline tolerance and specifically responds to high pH during saline–alkaline stress. Saline–alkaline stress causes serious damage to crop production on irrigated land. Plants suffer more severe damage under saline–alkaline stress than under salinity stress alone. Plasma membrane-localized proton (H+) pump (H+-ATPase) is an important enzyme that controls plant growth and development by catalyzing H+ efflux and enabling effective charge balance. Many studies about the role of plasma membrane H+-ATPases in saline–alkaline stress tolerance have been reported in Arabidopsis, especially on the AtAHA2 (Arabidopsis thaliana H+-ATPase 2) gene; however, whether and how plasma membrane H+-ATPases play a role in saline–alkaline stress tolerance in rice remain unknown. Here, using the activation-tagged rice mutant pool, we found that the plasma membrane-localized H+-ATPase OsAHA3 (Oryza sativa autoinhibited H+-ATPase 3) is involved in saline–alkaline stress tolerance. Activation-tagged line 29 (AC29) was identified as a loss-of-function mutant of OsAHA3 and showed more severe growth retardation under saline–alkaline stress with high pH than under salinity stress. Moreover, osaha3 loss-of-function mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 system exhibited saline–alkaline stress sensitive phenotypes; staining of leaves with nitrotetrazolium blue chloride (NBT) and diaminobenzidine (DAB) revealed more reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in osaha3 mutants. OsAHA3-overexpressing plants showed increased saline–alkaline stress tolerance than wild-type plants. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed high expression level of OsAHA3 in leaf, sheath, glume, and panicle. Overall, our results revealed a novel function of plasma membrane-localized H+-ATPase, OsAHA3, which is involved in saline–alkaline stress tolerance and specifically responds to high pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of topological states in photonic crystals has inspired a number of intriguing discoveries, which in turn provide new mechanisms for the manipulation of light in unprecedented ways. Here, we show that light can be effectively guided and trapped at the shifted photonic crystal interfaces (SPCIs). The projected bandgap of SPCIs, which depends on the shift parameter, is characterized by a Dirac mass. Interestingly, the SPCI with zero Dirac mass is a glide-symmetric waveguide featured with gapless interface states that exhibit excellent transmission performance even in the presence of disorders and sharp corners. Moreover, placing two SPCIs with opposite Dirac mass together results in a photonic bound state due to the Jackiw–Rebbi theory. Our work provides an alternative way toward the design of ultracompact photonic devices such as robust waveguides and cavities as well as the cavity-waveguide coupled systems that can serve as high-performance building blocks of miniature integrated topological photonic circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-rich syngas, produced from biomass-based feedstocks, is a promising alternative energy source. However, its combustion characteristics are completely different from those of typical hydrocarbon fuels due to the presence of hydrogen. As a result, the kinetic mechanism of hydrogen-rich syngas premixed flame (HRSPF) propagation is very complex. In this work, the propagation of HRSPF was investigated employing different fan speeds (0–4273 rpm), hydrogen fractions (55%–95%), pressures (1.0 bar–3.0 bar), and equivalence ratios (0.6–1.0). It was found that the propagation speed of turbulent HRSPF increased when the mixing process of turbulent flow was enhanced or the stretching effect of flame front was weakened. When the turbulence intensity increased, the effect of flame inherent instability on the propagation speed of HRSPF was weakened. When the relative changes of thermal diffusion and mass diffusion of flame front were considerable, the effect of diffusional-thermal instability on flame acceleration process was more significant. On the contrary, the effect of hydrodynamic instability on flame acceleration process was more significant. [Display omitted] • The stretching effect of flame front on flame propagation was studied. • Effect of both turbulence and flame inherent instabilities on the u t were evaluated. • Self-similar propagation coupled with diffusional-thermal instability was analyzed. • Effect of accelerated propagation process of the HRSPF was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exceptional cycle in a triangulated category with Serre functor is a generalization of a spherical object. Suppose that A and B are Gorenstein algebras, given a perfect exceptional n -cycle E ⁎ in K b (A - proj) and a perfect exceptional m -cycle F ⁎ in K b (B - proj) , we construct an A - B -bimodule N , and prove the product E ⁎ ⊠ F ⁎ is an exceptional (n + m − 1) -cycle in K b (Λ - proj) , where Λ = ( A N 0 B ). Using this construction, one gets many new exceptional cycles which is unknown before for certain class of algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Punishment promotes cooperation among selfish agents. Unlike previous studies, we propose a new supervision (heterogeneous preference supervision, HPS) mechanism based on the original random supervision (ORS) mechanism considering regulators' limited supervision ability and agents' heterogeneous preferences. The concepts of exemption list capacity, observation period, and removal time are introduced as the variables under the HPS mechanism. A public goods game model is built to verify the supervision effects under the ORS and HPS mechanisms. The simulation results show that the HPS mechanism can promote cooperation more than the ORS mechanism. Increasing the exemption list capacity can make regulators pay more attention to defectors and improve the cooperation level. Setting a relatively moderate observation period benefits a better supervision effect, while a too-small or too-large observation period leads to the collapse of cooperation. Shortening the removal time can increase the updating speed of the exemption list and enhance the role of the exemption list, resulting in improving the fraction of cooperators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many projects have demonstrated that excessive nitrogen (N) addition changed soil microbial biomass; however, the extent varies at different sites around the world. Here, meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of sample site characteristics on the responses of soil microbial biomass to N addition based on 1,642 data from 181 field experiments. Our results showed that soil microbes were more sensitive to N addition in sample sites with mild environmental and soil conditions, such as medium mean annual temperature (1–15 °C), mean annual precipitation (350–600 mm), humidity (30–35), soil carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio (9–20), soil pH (5.0–7.5), or lower ambient N deposition rate (< 25 kg N ha−1 y−1). Under extreme conditions, however, the soil microbial biomass showed less or even insignificant responses to N addition. Contrarily, the ambient soil microbial characteristics, such as total microbial biomass, the ratios of fungi-to-bacteria (F:B), and gram-positive to gram-negative bacteria, were linearly correlated with the microbial responses (P < 0.05). Furthermore, these microbial characteristics are comprehensively structured by the environmental conditions and soil properties. For soil microbiota, fungal biomass decreased the most after N addition, especially arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Saprophytic fungal biomass changed insignificantly and actinomycete biomass even increased. These results indicate that when accurately predicting the effect of N deposition on soil microbial biomass, the characteristics of sample sites should be synthetically considered, especially soil F:B and C:N. Furthermore, more field experiments in Southern hemisphere countries should be executed in the future, as less data are available in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic exploitation of unconventional gas and oil in deep shale relies closely on effective hydraulic fracturing stimulations. However, the fracturing operations of deep shale reservoirs face challenges of insufficient fracture growth and a rapid decline in productivity due to the increasing in situ stress level. In addition, the shale strata on the margin of the Sichuan Basin are frequently folded and faulted, and the change in bedding inclinations significantly complicates the process of hydraulic fracturing. The investigation of the combined effect of the in situ stress level and bedding anisotropy on the hydraulic fracture configuration is vital for fracturing engineering design. To analyze this, we conducted hydraulic fracturing tests on shale cores to simulate the hydraulic fracture initiation and growth from a horizontally positioned perforation. By using acoustic emission detection and CT scans, the influence of natural stress levels and the angle of the shale's bedding on the process of hydraulic fracturing in shale and the resulting fracture geometry were analyzed. The results showed that the area of hydraulic fracture under a higher stress level (σ1 = 50 MPa, σ3 = 40 MPa) was about 13%~23% smaller than that created under the lower stress level (σ1 = 30 MPa, σ3 = 20 MPa) when the bedding angle was smaller than 60°. With the increase in bedding angle, the curves of the fracture area and fracture network index under two different stress levels presented similar decreasing trends. Also, the time from micro-crack generation to sample breakdown was significantly reduced when the bedding orientation changed from the horizontal to vertical position. The increasing stress level significantly increased the breakdown pressure. In particular, the fracturing of shale samples with bedding angles of 0° and 30° required a higher fluid pressure and released more energy than samples with larger bedding inclinations. Additionally, the measurement of the sample radial deformation indicated that the hydraulic fracture opening extent was reduced by about 46%~81% with the increasing stress level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shale oil and gas economic exploitation depends closely on effective hydraulic fracturing stimulations. However, due to the reservoir heterogeneity and in-situ stress variation, the hydraulic fracturing through multiple perforations in shale is confronted with imbalanced fracture growth. To investigate, we reported a new laboratory study that simulates hydraulic fracturing through multiple perforations in shale blocks. The effect of horizontal in-situ stress difference on simultaneous and asynchronous fracture growth from spiral perforations was analyzed. The results show that the in-situ stress difference significantly influences hydraulic fracture initiation and growth, fluid pressure behavior, and fracture orientation. Under a high value of horizontal in-situ stress difference, parallel transverse fractures are initiated simultaneously and growing independently along the direction of σH. Higher injection pressure is required to promote hydraulic fracture propagation with the decrease of horizontal in-situ stress difference. The induced fractures grow asynchronously from two adjacent perforations and later merge into a large tortuous fracture. Besides, the azimuth angle of hydraulic fracture deflects from the direction of σH, and the inclination angle gradually decreases. When the value of σh is close to σH, an inclined longitudinal fracture and multiple mini-transverse fractures are created from spiral perforations, resulting in a prolonged fracturing process and a significant near-wellbore fracture complexity. Highlights: A novel test configuration was developed to investigate multiple hydraulic fractures initiation and propagation from spiral perforations in shale Hydraulic fracture geometry, orientation, perforation breakdown, and fluid pressure behavior showed a clear dependence on stress difference The simultaneous and asynchronous fractures growth from multiple perforations was characterized based on the acoustic emission source location [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-driving cars are expected to replace human drivers shortly, bringing significant benefits to society. However, they have faced opposition from various organizations that argue it is challenging to respond to instances involving unavoidable personal injury. In situations involving deadly collisions, self-driving cars must make decisions that balance life and death. This paper investigates the ethical and moral decision-making challenges for self-driving cars from an algorithmic perspective. To address this issue, we introduce the accident-prioritized replay mechanism to the Deep Q-Networks (DQN) algorithm based on early humanities research. The mechanism quantifies a reward function that takes priority into account. RGB (red, green, blue) images obtained by the camera installed in front of the self-driving cars are fed into the Xception network for training. To evaluate our approach, we compare it to the conventional DQN algorithm. The simulation results indicate that the Rawlsian DQN algorithm has superior stability and interpretability in decision-making. Furthermore, the majority of respondents to our survey accept the final decision made by our algorithm. Our experiment demonstrates that it is possible to incorporate ethical considerations into self-driving car decision-making, providing a solution for rational decision-making in emergency and dilemma circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a clean fuel with low carbon emissions, hydrogen-rich syngas has higher flame propagation speed and higher adiabatic flame temperature than other gaseous fuels, so its local flame propagation characteristics are also different from other fuels. In this paper, an experimental study on the hydrogen-rich syngas turbulent premixed flame was carried out at different pressures [101–303 kPa (1.0–3.0 bar)] when the hydrogen fraction was 65%, the fan speed was 3,559 revolutions/min (rpm), and the equivalence ratio was 1.0. The results show that with the propagation of the flame or the increase in pressure, the fluctuation amplitude of flame local radius and flame local pulsation radius becomes smaller. Similarly, the flame local propagation speed increases with the increase of pressure. By analyzing the correlation between the turbulent premixed flame front structure and the turbulent premixed flame propagation process in hydrogen-rich syngas, it is found that when the pressure increases, the correlation between the flame local pulsation propagation speed and the flame local pulsation radius weakens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly efficient blue quantum‐dot light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs) are still a challenge for displays and solid‐state lighting due to light trapping in a device. Herein, an internal diffraction wrinkle pattern is used to demonstrate a spectrum‐independent enhancement strategy for light out‐coupling. The optimized device with wrinkle pattern shows a peak external quantum efficiency of 15.25% and a maximum luminance of 13 134 cd m−2, and the enhancement of those is 23% and 28%, respectively. The improvement of device performance can be attributed to the extraction of waveguide light by the internal wrinkle pattern used as a diffraction grating. Moreover, simulation also shows that wrinkle pattern is an attractive option to improve the performances of blue QLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Color-leaved O. fragrans is a variety of Osmanthus fragrans, which has both the fragrance of Osmanthus and the color of color-leaved plants. However, the molecular mechanism of color change of color-leaved O. fragrans is not clear. In this study, we analyzed the regulatory mechanism of four different color leaves of 'Ziyan Gongzhu' through physiological, transcriptome and metabolome levels. Results: Firstly, we measured the leaf pigments content and leaf chromatic parameters for correlation analysis, indicating a significant correlation between them. Overall, the content of chlorophyll a + b is low and the content of anthocyanin is high in T1 and T2 leaves, along with low expression of chlorophyll synthesis genes (HEMA, CHLG, and CAO, etc.) and high expression of anthocyanin synthesis genes (F3H, F3'H, DFR and ANS, etc.), resulting purple red and light purple in T1 and T2 leaves, respectively. It was also found that the pigment closely related to the color leaves of 'Ziyan Gongzhu' was cyanidin. The content anthocyanins, may be regulated by two putative MYB activators (OfMYB3 and OfMYB4) and two putative MYB repressors (OfMYB1 and OfMYB2). In contrast, the content of chlorophyll a + b is high and the content of anthocyanin is low in T3 and T4 leaves, along with high expression of chlorophyll synthesis genes and low expression of anthocyanin synthesis genes, resulting yellow green and dark green in T3 and T4 leaves, respectively. And abnormal chloroplast development affects chlorophyll content in T1, T2, and T3 leaves. Although the content of carotenoids first dropped in T2 leaves, it then rapidly accumulated in T4 leaves, in sync with the increase in the expression of genes related to carotenoid biosynthesis (ZDS, LHYB, and ZEP, for example). Analysis of photosynthetic, carbohydrate and hormone-related differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs) and DEGs found that they may participate in the regulation of leaf color change of 'Ziyan Gongzhu' by affecting pigment synthesis. Conclusion: Our results pave the way for a comprehensive knowledge of the regulatory processes governing leaf color in 'Ziyan Gongzhu' and identify possible genes for application regarding molecular colored-leaf cultivar breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enamel coating has potential application in steel rebar protection due to its high durability, excellent corrosion resistance, and strong coating/concrete interface bond. The newly developed low temperature enamel (LTE) coating has a substantially lower sintering temperature than that of traditional enamel coatings, whereas its adhesion mechanism to the substrate is expected to vary dramatically. In this study, abrasives of various particle sizes were used to blast steel substrates to create various surface states, to investigate the influence of substrate surface roughening on the interfacial properties of LTE coating. The surface roughness of substrates was quantitatively characterized by a 3D optical profiler. The adhesion, impact resistance, and abrasion resistance of LTE coating under different substrate surface states were investigated by pull-off, falling weight impact, and Taber abrasion test, respectively. The results showed that with increasing substrate surface roughness, the adhesion strength and impact resistance of the LTE coating were greatly improved. Within the investigated range, the substrate surface roughness had negligible influence on abrasion resistance. Overall, appropriate substrate surface roughening can provide the LTE coating with sufficient interface adhesion, impact resistance, and abrasion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our experiment revealed that the addition of Janus nanosheets to polypropylene (PP) has a significant impact on the viscoelasticity of the composite system. Specifically, when 0.10 wt% of Janus nanosheets were added, the complex viscosity of the composite system increased. However, when we added less than 0.05 wt% of Janus nanosheets, there was a reduction in complex viscosity, which is known as the non-Einstein phenomenon. The Cole–Cole plot showed that the nanosheet network structure did not have a significant effect on the viscosity of the composite system. Additionally, we used carbon dioxide as a foaming agent to autoclave foaming using modified PP from Janus nanosheets, and the results demonstrated that increasing the number of Janus nanosheets decreased the apparent density and strengthened the cell structure of foaming beads, resulting in improved closed porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the two-step method is considered with the generalized Newton method as a predictor step. The three-point Newton–Cotes formula is taken as a corrector step. The proposed method's convergence is discussed in detail. This method is very simple and therefore very effective for solving large systems. In numerical analysis, we consider a beam equation, transform it into a system of absolute value equations and then use the proposed method to solve it. Numerical experiments show that our method is very accurate and faster than already existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach to question answering is challenging because it usually requires finding useful information from within and between question and answer sentences for sentence semantic matching. The key information mined from existing question and answer sentences, as a supplement to semantic information, maybe helpful for this task. However, capturing the intra-sentence and inter-sentence semantic interactions is somewhat difficult given the implicit interrelationships between question and answer sentences. Although the learning effect of multi-layer neural network is good, it lacks explanatory and theoretical support. This paper mainly studies how to select the best answer sentence from a set of question and answer sentences, mine information more effectively, perform semantic matching, and have a certain interpretability. Therefore, we propose a hierarchical attention network (QHAN) based on the mathematical framework of quantum theory, which integrates the attention mechanism under quantum measurement and density matrix (DMATT) and the attention mechanism under quantum weak measurement and weak value (WMATT) in one in a unified model framework. QHAN can not only discover key sentences in a set of question and answer sentences and key words in a sentence, but also perform sentence semantic matching quickly and accurately. Furthermore, QHAN has the advantage of interpretability in terms of models due to the physical meaning and attentional full weight distribution implied by quantum theory. Extensive experiments on the question answering dataset show that our method is comparable to the baselines and can explain why the selected question and answer sentence is the best option in terms of intra-sentence and inter-sentence attention distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elucidation of species diversity and distribution is critical within the fields of evolution, genetics, and conservation. The genus Sibynophis contains rare snakes that have historically received little attention. In this study, we conducted comprehensive sampling and use both mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers to explore Sibynophis species diversity within China. Our findings revealed that S. c. miyiensis should be considered synonymous with S. c. grahami, and S. c. grahami should be gave a specific rank as S. grahami. In addition, we discovered S. triangularis was new to China and Myanmar. Based on the specimens and molecular phylogeny results, we redefined the species distribution boundaries of each Chinese species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As one of the most preferred forms of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) nowadays, speech-based HCI enables people to communicate verbally with machines, leveraging technologies such as speech recognition and speech synthesis. Current paradigm of speech-based HCI focus on the content of speech only, failing to comprehend deeper pointing information in voice interaction. In particular, when encountering scenarios with multiple smart voice devices around, if people intend to interact with a certain device, the lack of extra pointing information (like the role played by the direction of eye gaze) would cause unintended response from the other devices, resulting in poor interaction experience during HCI. Hence, an interesting problem is: Is it possible for the devices to be aware of the orientation of human voice with only the acoustic speech signals? There is little research studying this topic, except for very a few primary works with much room for improvement. The main challenge of this study lies in capturing the concealed orientation information embedded within the speech signal, while simultaneously maintaining the scheme’s practicality and high precision. In this paper, we propose Oriennet, for identifying the orientation of human voice. With a series of features intentionally designed in view of the indoor voice propagation model and mouth radiation pattern, as well as the application of attention mechanism, Oriennet achieve 95% accuracy in terms of judging whether people are facing the device or not. Even for the fine-grained task of classifying people’s specific orientation from 8 different directions, our work achieved an accuracy of 74%, far outperforming the existed works. We have validated the robustness of Oriennet under various conditions (noisy environment; different people, rooms, languages, locations; fewer microphones), demonstrating its promising applicability in real-life scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remaining useful life (RUL) prediction is critical for industrial equipment status detection, and the accurate prediction results provide decision-makers with actionable information. Preventive maintenance can be carried out to prevent the sudden failure of the equipment effectively based on the predicted results. However, as Industry 4.0 technologies develop, the amount of data collected by sensors is also rapidly increasing. The existing RUL prediction methods are gradually unable to cope with complex industrial equipment data, and deep learning methods gradually come to the fore. In this background, this paper proposes a transformer-based model with a multi-layer encoder–decoder structure to extract domain-invariant features. The decoder in the traditional transformer structure only obtains a single piece of information from the last layer of the encoder, and this paper uses an integrated layer-cross decoding strategy to compensate. Based on the encoder–decoder cross-connection, each decoder layer is provided with global view information from the final encoder layer simultaneously, improving the model's performance. The validity and superiorities of the proposed method are evaluated through several experiments on the publicly available C-MAPSS dataset provided by NASA. As can be seen from the results, the proposed method gets higher prediction accuracy than other network architectures and state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new (1) and five known (2-6) bromophenols were isolated from the organic extract of the marine red alga Symphyocladia latiuscula. Their structures were assigned by interpretation of NMR and MS data, and these compounds were determined as 2,3,5'-tribromo-3',4,4',5-tetrahydroxy-diphenylmethane (1), 2-methoxy-3-bromo-5- hydroxymethylphenol (2), 5-(2,3-dihydroxybenzyl)-3,4-dibromobenzene-1,2-diol (3), 5-(2-bromo-3,4-dihydroxy-6- (methoxymethyl)benzyl)-3,4-dibromobenzene-1,2-diol(4), methyl 2-(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenyl) acetate (5), and 3,4-dibromo-5-(methoxymethyl)benzene-1,2-diol (6). All these compounds were evaluated for DPPH radical scavenging activity, and they displayed potent antioxidant activity with IC50 values ranging from 9.6 to 31.5 μM. These compounds also showed moderate ABTS radical scavenging activity with TEAC value ranging from 2.1 to 3.0 mM. The results suggested that these bromophenols or the marine red alga S. latiuscula may have potential application in food as natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn‐air battery is a promising next‐generation energy storage device. Its performance, however, is limited by a high overpotential resulted from the slow kinetics of the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This study reports a simple strategy for preparation of a fluorine‐doped Co−N−C composite as highly efficient electrocatalyst for ORR. The C@PVI‐(TPFC)Co‐800 catalyst was prepared by pyrolysis of F‐containing Co‐corrole that was assembled on PVI‐functionalized carbon black through the axial imidazole coordination (PVI=polyvinylimidazole, TPFC=5,10,15‐triperfluorophenyl‐21H, 22H‐corrole). The C@PVI‐(TPFC)Co‐800 catalyst exhibited much more positive ORR half‐wave potential (E1/2=0.88 V vs. RHE) than its counterpart C@PVI‐(TPC)Co‐800 (E1/2=0.82 V, TPC=5,10,15‐triphenyl‐21H, 22H‐corrole) without F‐doping in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte. C@PVI‐(TPFC)Co‐800 also achieved a greater kinetic current density and enhanced durability in alkaline media. In addition, a Zn‐air battery with C@PVI‐(TPFC)Co‐800 loaded at the cathode delivered much higher peak power density (Pmax=141 mW/cm2) and open‐circuit voltage (OCV=1.45 V) over the C@PVI‐(TPC)Co‐800 counterpart (Pmax=110 mW/cm2, OCV=1.39 V) and the commercial 20 % Pt/C (Pmax=119 mW/cm2, OCV=1.42 V) as well. The promoted catalyst performance for ORR was attributed to the increased specific surface area, more defects generated, and reduced electron density distribution around the Co metal center after F‐doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The grain size and grain distribution mode have a significant impact on the tribological properties of Babbitt alloy. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of differentiated SnSb grain size distribution on the improvement of tribological properties of Babbitt alloy. Design/methodology/approach: Babbitt (marked by babbitt-cr), with a differentiated SnSb grain size distribution, was fabricated using a selective zone laser surface treatment. Bare Babbitt with coarse SnSb grain was marked as babbitt-c, and Babbitt with refined SnSb grain was marked as babbitt-r. The microstructure, microhardness and wettability of specimens were tested. The tribological properties of babbitt-c, babbitt-r and babbitt-cr were evaluated under dry and lubricated conditions. Findings: The microstructure transforms from single coarse SnSb grain distribution or single refined SnSb grain distribution to differentiated SnSb grain size distribution, as a result of selective zone laser surface treatment. Among three specimens of microhardness, babbitt-cr showed the highest microhardness. The lipophilicity property of babbitt-cr was better compared to babbitt-c. A mixture of coarse and refined grain is beneficial to improve the tribological properties of Babbitt alloy under dry condition. Furthermore, compared with babbitt-c, the wear resistance of babbitt-cr was enhanced under lubricated condition. However, the anti-wear property of babbitt-cr was not significantly improved relative to babbitt-r with an increase in the loads. Originality/value: The study demonstrates that modulated different grain size alternating distribution modes can improve the tribological properties of Babbitt alloy. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-09-2022-0259/ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the effect of zirconia corundum on the preparation of chrome corundum castables, samples were prepared using tabular corundum, white fused corundum, active alumina micropowder, chromium oxide micropowder and fused ziconia corundum particles as the main raw materials, and pure calcium aluminate cement as the binder. The effects of the fused zirconia corundum particles addition (1-0.5 mm, 0, 4.5%, 9%, and 18%, by mass) on the linear change rate, the apparent porosity, the cold modulus of rupture, and the thermal shock resistance of chrome corundum castables were studied, and the microstructure of the samples was analyzed. The results show that: (1) with the zirconia corundum addition increasing, the permanent linear change on heating of the samples gradually increases, the apparent porosity gradually increases, the cold modulus of rupture gradually decreases, and the thermal shock resistance gradually increases; (2) according to SEM, it can be found that the phase transformation of ZrO2 after heat treatment leads to a large number of microcracks in the material. On one hand, the cold modulus of rupture of the material is reduced; on the other hand, the thermal shock resistance of the material is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the survival prediction value of lymph node ratio (LNR) and preoperative thyroglobulin (Tg) in the prognosis of thyroid papillary carcinoma (PTC). Methods: A total of 495 patients with PTC and lymph node metastasis treated at the Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were selected for a retrospective study. The disease‐free survival (DFS) of patients was the follow‐up endpoint. DFS was calculated for all patients. The Cox proportional risk regression model and nomogram were used to predict the survival prognosis of PTC with lymph node metastasis by index. LNR and preoperative Tg level cutoff values were obtained using ROC curves. To express DFS, Kaplan–Meier survival curves were created. Using 3‐ and 5‐year calibration curves and AUC values, the prognostic models' precision and discrimination were assessed. Clinical decision curve analysis was used to forecast clinical benefitability. Finally, the results were validated using internal cross‐validation. Results: The cutoff values of LNR and preoperative Tg level were 0.295 and 50.24, respectively, and they were divided into two groups according to the cutoff values. Multifactorial Cox regression models showed that NLNM, LNR, and preoperative Tg level (all p < 0.05) were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of PTC with lymph node metastasis. Kaplan–Meier curves showed higher DFS rates in the group with low NLNM (<10), LNR (<0.295), and preoperative Tg level (<50.24) groups. The 3‐year and 5‐year calibration curves showed good agreement. A ROC curve analysis was performed on the nomogram model, and its AUC values at 3 and 5 years were, respectively, 0.805 and 0.793. Clinical decision curves indicate good clinical benefit. Finally, internal cross‐validation demonstrated the legitimacy of the prognostic model. Conclusion: The LNR and preoperative Tg levels, in combination with other independent factors, were effective in predicting the survival prognosis for patients with PTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: High yield and stress resistance are the major prerequisites for successful crop cultivation, and can be achieved by modifying plant architecture. Evolutionarily conserved growth‐regulating factors (GRFs) control the growth of different tissues and organs of plants. Here, we provide a systematic overview of the expression patterns of GRF genes and the structural features of GRF proteins in different plant species. Moreover, we illustrate the conserved and divergent roles of GRFs, microRNA396 (miR396), and GRF‐interacting factors (GIFs) in leaf, root, and flower development. We also describe the molecular networks involving the miR396–GRF–GIF module, and illustrate how this module coordinates with different signaling molecules and transcriptional regulators to control development of different plant species. GRFs promote leaf growth, accelerate grain filling, and increase grain size and weight. We also provide some molecular insight into how coordination between GRFs and other signaling modules enhances crop productivity; for instance, how the GRF–DELLA interaction confers yield‐enhancing dwarfism while increasing grain yield. Finally, we discuss how the GRF‐GIF chimera substantially improves plant transformation efficiency by accelerating shoot formation. Overall, we systematically review the conserved and divergent roles of GRFs and the miR396–GRF–GIF module in growth regulation, and also provide insights into how GRFs can be utilized to improve the productivity and nutrient content of crop plants. Significance Statement: Growth‐regulating factors (GRFs) are evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that control the growth of tissues and organs in different plant species. Our work systematically reviews the conserved and divergent roles of GRFs and the miR396–GRF/GIF module in growth regulation and stress adaptation and also provides insights into how GRFs can be utilized to improve crop yield, stress resistance, and nutrient content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a semantic segmentation model for remote sensing (RS) images pre-trained on an annotated dataset greatly decreases when testing on another unannotated dataset because of the domain gap. Adversarial generative methods, e.g., DualGAN, are utilized for unpaired image-to-image translation to minimize the pixel-level domain gap, which is one of the common approaches for unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA). However, the existing image translation methods face two problems when performing RS image translation: (1) ignoring the scale discrepancy between two RS datasets, which greatly affects the accuracy performance of scale-invariant objects; (2) ignoring the characteristic of real-to-real translation of RS images, which brings an unstable factor for the training of the models. In this paper, ResiDualGAN is proposed for RS image translation, where an in-network resizer module is used for addressing the scale discrepancy of RS datasets and a residual connection is used for strengthening the stability of real-to-real images translation and improving the performance in cross-domain semantic segmentation tasks. Combined with an output space adaptation method, the proposed method greatly improves the accuracy performance on common benchmarks, which demonstrates the superiority and reliability of ResiDualGAN. At the end of the paper, a thorough discussion is conducted to provide a reasonable explanation for the improvement of ResiDualGAN. Our source code is also available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We tried to show the effect of sinomenine (SIN) in diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) and the related underlying mechanism. Methods: Network pharmacological analysis and bioinformatics analysis were carried out for identification of the active ingredients of Sinomenium acutum and the related genes. The DPNP rat model was constructed and primary rat spinal cord microglial cells were isolated for in vitro cell experiments. The therapeutic role of SIN in DPNP was determined in vivo and in vitro through analysis of microglial cell activation and inflammatory response. Results: Therapeutic role of S. acutum in DPNP was mainly achieved by regulating 14 key genes, among which the target gene prostaglandin‐endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) of SIN might be the key gene. An in vivo experiment showed that SIN inactivated the inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 alpha–X‐box binding protein 1 pathway by downregulating PTGS2, which relieved pain symptoms in DPNP rats. It was confirmed in vivo that SIN inhibited the pathway through PTGS2 to alleviate the activation of spinal cord microglial cells and inflammatory response. Conclusion: SIN decreases the expression of PTGS2 to inactivate the inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 alpha–X‐box binding protein 1 signaling pathway, which inhibits microglial activation, as well as the release of inflammatory factors, thus alleviating DPNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crustal thickness plays a key role in many geological processes. However, it remains challenging to quantify crustal thickness in the geological past. Here we propose an Extremely Randomized Trees algorithm‐based machine learning model to recover crustal thickness of old geological regions. The model is trained using major oxide and trace element compositions of 1,480 young intermediate to felsic rocks from global arcs and collisional orogens and geophysical measurements of crustal thickness. The model provides better estimations of crustal thickness than the commonly used methods based on Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N when applied to the testing data. The validity of this model is further demonstrated by its applications to the Kohistan–Ladakh, Gangdese and Talkeetna arcs, where paleocrustal thicknesses have been well constrained. We then use this model to construct the Mesozoic crustal thickness evolution of the Erguna Block in the southeast of the Mongol–Okhotsk suture belt. The closure time of the suture zone is still debated. Our results suggest that the crustal thickness of the Erguna Block increased from 43 ± 9 km at 210 Ma to 62 ± 7 km at 180 Ma, remained constant between 180 and 150 Ma, and then thinned to 36 ± 4 km at 120 Ma. These results suggest that the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean closed in the Early–Middle Jurassic and the thickened crust was stretched during the Cretaceous. We show that the thick crust and compression‐extension transition seem to be favorable for the formation of porphyry copper deposits in the Erguna Block during the Late Jurassic. Plain Language Summary: Crustal thickness influences surface processes, magmatic compositions, formation of porphyry deposits, and regional lithospheric strength and stress regime, and its evolution may track tectonic paradigm changes. Although present crustal thickness can be detected by geophysical methods, it is more difficult to quantify crustal thickness in the geological past. We propose a machine learning model that is trained with major oxide and trace element compositions of magmatic rocks to quantify crustal thickness. The performance of our machine learning model on the testing data and several collisional zones shows that it provides a better crustal thickness estimate than the widely used Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N methods. As a case study, we apply this model to the Mesozoic magmatic belt in the Erguna Block southeast of the Mongol–Okhotsk suture in the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt, and suggest that the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean closed at ∼180 Ma. Key Points: The machine learning model provides better estimations of crustal thickness than the commonly used methods based on Sr/Y and (La/Yb)NThe reconstructed crustal thicknesses of the Kohistan–Ladakh, Talkeetna and Gangdese arcs are consistent with previous studiesThe crustal thickness evolution of Erguna Block suggests Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean closed at ∼180 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is widely thought to be associated with oxidative stress. Momordica charantia (MC) is a classic vegetable and traditional herbal medicine widely consumed in Asia, and M. charantia polysaccharide (MCP) is the main bioactive ingredient of MC. We previously reported an antioxidative and neuroprotective effect of MCP in models of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and hemorrhage injury. However, the role played by MCP in neurodegenerative diseases, especially during aging, remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of MCP against oxidative stress and brain damage in a D-galactose-induced aging model (DGAM). The Morris water maze test was performed to evaluate the spatial memory function of model rats. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured and telomerase activity was determined. The results showed that MCP treatment attenuated spatial memory dysfunction induced by D-galactose. In addition, MCP increased antioxidant capacity by decreasing MDA and increasing SOD and GSH levels. MCP treatment also improved telomerase activity in aging rats. Mechanistically, MCP promoted the entry of both Nrf2 and β-Catenin into the nucleus, which is the hallmark of antioxidation signaling pathway activation. This study highlights a role played by MCP in ameliorating aging-induced oxidative stress injury and reversing the decline in learning and memory capacity. Our work provides evidence that MCP administration might be a potential antiaging strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies an unrelated parallel machine photolithography scheduling problem with dual resource constraints (DRC). This is an emerging problem in the semiconductor industry, where the masks can be transferred from one working station to another, increasing the flexibility of production through sharing the auxiliary resource. It gives rise to a complex DRC scheduling problem involving jobs, machines, and masks, restricted by sequence-dependent setup time and station-dependent mask transfer time. This study proposes two mixed-integer programming (MIP) models (Model 1 and Model 2) and an improved naked mole-rat algorithm that hybrids with a genetic algorithm (GA) and variable neighborhood search algorithm (VNS). Numerical experiments show that Model 2 performs better compared with Model 1, and the improved naked mole-rat algorithm brings a significant improvement over GA and VNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first-principles method based on density functional theory has been used to investigate the adsorption performance of cyanide ions on intrinsic and B-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We first investigate the effect of B-doping on the reactivity of CNTs. It is found that B-doping enhances the reactivity of CNTs while it ensures the structure of the doped CNTs is stable. Then, we perform a comparative analysis of various indices for each adsorption system. The results show that the adsorption effect of intrinsic CNTs on cyanide ions is weak, and there exists only physical adsorption between them. After B-doping, the adsorption energy between CNTs and cyanide ions increases by 87.6–122.8%, and the adsorption distance decreases substantially. The analysis of the energy band structure, partial density of states (PDOS) and charge density shows that the p -orbital electrons of both C and N atoms in CN − are filled into the p -hybrid orbital of the B atom and the effective overlap of charges of each adsorption system is greatly increased as well. Therefore, the adsorption effect of B-doped CNTs on cyanide ions is greatly enhanced, and there is chemical adsorption formed between them. In addition, through analyzing the geometric structure and PDOS of each adsorption system, it can be seen that the adsorption effect of B-doped CNTs on the C atom in CN − is better than that on the N atom. This study shows that B-doped CNTs can be used as an effective adsorbing or sensing material for CN − in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconductivity becomes more interesting when it encounters dimensional constraint or topology because it is of importance for exploring exotic quantum phenomena or developing superconducting electronics. Here, the coexistence of naturally formed surface superconducting state and 3D topological Dirac state in single crystals of BaMg2Bi2 is reported. The electronic structure obtained from the first‐principles calculations demonstrates that BaMg2Bi2 is an ideal Dirac material, in which the Dirac point is very close to the Fermi level and no other energy band crosses the Fermi level. Superconductivity up to 4.77−−5.17 K can be observed under ambient pressure in the measurements of resistivity. The anisotropic upper critical field and angle dependent magnetoresistance reveals the 2D characteristic of superconductivity, indicating that superconductivity occurs on the surface of the sample and is absent in the bulk state. The study not only provides BaMg2Bi2 as a suitable platform to study the interplay between superconductivity and topological Dirac state but also indicates that MgBi‐based materials may be a promising system for exploring new superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ammonium and nitrate are the main components of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) from atmosphere, while their ratio varies worldwide. However, it remains unclear whether forest soil ecosystem changes differ when various ratios of mixed N are added. Methods: Ammonium and nitrate were mixed in different ratios (3:7, 4:6, 5:5, 6:4, and 7:3) and forest soils were fertilized for four years. Then, the soil pH, microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and organic carbon (SOC) were determined. The potential mechanism was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: Ammonium addition induced a greater fungal biomass decrease than nitrate addition (-0.618 vs. -0.329). The fungal biomass decrease further led to a decline in degradation enzymes, which resulted in SOC accumulation. Phosphatase activity increased and correlated with C-degrading enzymatic activities after N addition, indicating that phosphorous may become the limiting factor that controls degradation. Both ammonium and nitrate addition caused soil acidification (P < 0.05), but the acidification did not affect the enzymatic activities (P > 0.05). Moreover, when the added mixed N component ratios were closer to the ambient N component ratios, fewer changes in soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activities, and SOC were observed. This can be explained by the home-field advantage, because soil microbes may have adapted more readily to the ambient N components of the sample site and display fewer responses when the added N is nearly similar to the ambient N types. Conclusion: When designing N addition field experiments, the type of N compounds should be considered, besides the amount and duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normalized least mean M-estimate (NLMM) algorithm exhibits good robustness in impulsive noises, but it suffers from the trade-off between convergence rate and steady-state misadjustment. In response to this problem, this paper proposes a switching step-sizes NLMM (SSS-NLMM) algorithm, which selects the optimal step-size at each iteration by comparing the mean square deviation (MSD) values of the algorithm with different step-sizes. Furthermore, to improve the convergence of the algorithm in the transition stage, we embed a feedback mechanism on the minimum MSD. Simulations in various environments have verified that the proposed SSS-NLMM algorithm has better performance than its counterparts in terms of convergence rate and steady-state misadjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimized approach to producing lattice‐matched heterointerfaces for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution has not yet been reported. Herein, we present the synthesis of lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructures using a gradient heating epitaxial growth method. The well lattice‐matched heterointerface of Mo2C−Mo2N generates near‐zero hydrogen‐adsorption free energy and facilitates water dissociation in acid and alkaline media. The lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructures have low overpotentials of 73 mV and 80 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in acid and alkaline solutions, respectively, comparable to commercial Pt/C. A novel photothermal‐electrocatalytic water vapor splitting device using the lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructure as a hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst displays a competitive cell voltage for electrocatalytic water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimized approach to producing lattice‐matched heterointerfaces for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution has not yet been reported. Herein, we present the synthesis of lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructures using a gradient heating epitaxial growth method. The well lattice‐matched heterointerface of Mo2C−Mo2N generates near‐zero hydrogen‐adsorption free energy and facilitates water dissociation in acid and alkaline media. The lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructures have low overpotentials of 73 mV and 80 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in acid and alkaline solutions, respectively, comparable to commercial Pt/C. A novel photothermal‐electrocatalytic water vapor splitting device using the lattice‐matched Mo2C−Mo2N heterostructure as a hydrogen evolution electrocatalyst displays a competitive cell voltage for electrocatalytic water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time monitoring of wind turbine performance degradation can improve the economics and safety of wind farms. Normal operational data can accurately reflect the generation performance of a wind turbine and in the wind-speed coordinate system these normal data constitute the "main power band". This paper invokes a Dirichlet Process Gaussian Mixture Model (DPGMM) to cluster operational data in each horizontal power bin, and the number of Gaussian components can be determined automatically. The confidence ellipses of Gaussian components can be used to identify the contour of the main power band which is then used as baseline performance model. In the monitoring phase, Mahalanobis distance is used to judge whether new monitoring data lies outside the contour of main power band and thus should be labeled as degraded operational data. When the proportion of such data exceeds a set value in a sliding window, a wind turbine performance degradation alarm is triggered. Degradation degree and rate can quantitatively measure the severity of performance degradation. For an industrial performance degradation case caused by gearbox oil over temperature, the method proposed timely gives alarm only 12 points (2 h) later than the first degraded operational data appears and is proved to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]