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Abstract Brown planthopper (BPH) is the most destructive insect pest of rice. Drought is the most detrimental environmental stress. BPH infestation causes adaxial leaf-rolling and bulliform cells (BCs) shrinkage similar to drought. The BC-related abaxially curled leaf1 (ACL1) gene negatively regulates BPH resistance and drought tolerance, with decreased cuticular wax in the gain-of-function mutant ACL1-D. ACL1 shows an epidermis-specific expression. The TurboID system and multiple biochemical assays reveal that ACL1 interacts with the epidermal-characteristic rice outermost cell-specific (ROC) proteins. ROC4 and ROC5 positively regulate BPH resistance and drought tolerance through modulating cuticular wax and BCs, respectively. Overexpression of ROC4 and ROC5 both rescue ACL1-D mutant in various related phenotypes. ACL1 competes with ROC4/ROC5 in homo-dimer and hetero-dimer formation, and interacts with the repressive TOPLESS-related proteins. Altogether, we illustrate that ACL1–ROC4/5 complexes synergistically mediate drought tolerance and BPH resistance through regulating cuticular wax content and BC development in rice, a mechanism that might facilitate BPH-resistant breeding.

The enhanced coalbed methane (ECBM) technology has the potential to enhance coal seam gas extraction efficiency, while also achieving CO2 storage, thereby promoting the dual carbon reduction goals. It holds broad prospects for its application in unconventional natural gas development. The fracture structure and distribution within coal seams determine the effectiveness of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) fracturing, which is pivotal in enhancing coal seam gas extraction efficiency. Under prolonged exposure, the adsorption swelling and dissolution-extraction effects generated by SC-CO2 interacting with coal can alter the morphology of coal fractures. However, during the fracturing process, the contact time between SC-CO2 and coal is relatively short, thus the impact of the adsorption swelling and dissolution-extraction effects of supercritical carbon dioxide on coal fractures under short-term conditions remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the evolution of coal fractures under a short-term SC-CO2 exposure. Different metamorphic coal samples were studied through CT scans to observe the variations in fractures with accumulated immersion time. A grayscale distribution function of CT two-dimensional scan images was established, and the relationship between immersion time and fracture evolution patterns was constructed. This was combined with the XRD experiments to examine the impact of immersion time on the changes in coal composition. The primary factors driving the evolution of coal fractures under a short-term SC-CO2 exposure were thus clarified. The results indicate that under a short-term SC-CO2 exposure, the adsorption-induced swelling leads to the contraction of coal fractures, while the dissolution-extraction effect causes the fractures to expand. During the coal immersion process, both the adsorption-induced swelling and the dissolution-extraction effect occur simultaneously, with their intensities changing over time. Within different time intervals, they alternately dominate the evolution of coal fractures. Different metamorphic coals affect the intensity and dominant time of adsorption expansion and dissolution extraction. The adsorption and expansion dominated when lignite was immersed for 30 min, and the dissolution and extraction increased and dominated when it was immersed for 90−240 min. The adsorption and expansion were stronger when bituminous coal was immersed for 30−90 min, and the dissolution and extraction were dominant when it was immersed for 90−240 min. Adsorption and swelling dominated when anthracite was immersed for 30−150 min, and dissolution and extraction dominated when it was immersed for 150−240 min.

To make use of rubidium salt resources in the Qinghai Salt Lake and to valorize Stellera chamaejasme L., mesoporous activated carbon was prepared by a chemical activation method using rubidium chloride as an activator. Using methylene blue and iodine as pollutant models, the adsorption capacity of mesoporous activated carbon was determined. The specific surface area, pore structure, and surface functional groups of mesoporous activated carbon were determined using a fully automated specific surface area analyzer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT- IR), and an X-ray electron spectrometer (XPS). The surface functional groups of mesoporous activated carbon were found to be mainly comprised of carbon and oxygen. The mesoporous activated carbon had a certain graphitized microcrystalline structure. The carbon yield of the mesoporous activated carbon was 13.55% ± 0.41%, the specific surface area was 877.02 m2/g, the adsorption amount of iodine, 891.35 mg/g, and the adsorption amount of methylene blue, 256.95 mg/g. The dominant pore size was 0.945 nm, the average pore size was 2.43 nm, and the pore volume was 0.26 cm3/g.

Abstract Background A combination of prone positioning (PP) and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is safe, feasible, and associated with potentially improved survival for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, whether ARDS patients, especially non-COVID-19 patients, placed in PP before VV-ECMO should continue PP after a VV-ECMO connection is unknown. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that early use of PP during VV-ECMO could increase the proportion of patients successfully weaned from ECMO support in severe ARDS patients who received PP before ECMO. Methods In this prospective observational study, patients with severe ARDS who were treated with VV-ECMO were divided into two groups: the prone group and the supine group, based on whether early PP was combined with VV-ECMO. The proportion of patients successfully weaned from VV-ECMO and 60-day mortality were analyzed before and after propensity score matching. Results A total of 165 patients were enrolled, 50 in the prone and 115 in the supine group. Thirty-two (64%) and 61 (53%) patients were successfully weaned from ECMO in the prone and the supine groups, respectively. The proportion of patients successfully weaned from VV-ECMO in the prone group tended to be higher, albeit not statistically significant. During PP, there was a significant increase in partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) without a change in ventilator or ECMO settings. Tidal impedance shifted significantly to the dorsal region, and lung ultrasound scores significantly decreased in the anterior and posterior regions. Forty-five propensity score-matched patients were included in each group. In this matched sample, the prone group had a higher proportion of patients successfully weaned from VV-ECMO (64.4% vs. 42.2%; P = 0.035) and lower 60-day mortality (37.8% vs. 60.0%; P = 0.035). Conclusions Patients with severe ARDS placed in PP before VV-ECMO should continue PP after VV-ECMO support. This approach could increase the probability of successful weaning from VV-ECMO. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT04139733. Registered 23 October 2019.

The supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) jet has a wide application prospect in drilling engineering, and its low coal breaking pressure threshold and high efficiency can improve drilling efficiency. But it has the problems of high coal breaking threshold pressure and system energy consumption, which limits its application. The high pulse pressure and resonance effect of the self-excited oscillation pulse SC-CO2 jet can effectively reduce the coal breaking threshold pressure and significantly improve the coal breaking efficiency. Based on this, the variation law and comprehensive effect of the self-oscillating pulse SC-CO2 jet pulse frequency and pulse pressure amplitude at different target distances were studied. Large eddy simulation was used to analyze the flow field structure of the jet, and the variation laws of the pulse frequency and pressure amplitude in the axial direction of the flow field were clarified. The effect of the target distance on the impact frequency and impact pressure of the jet was studied by pulse characteristics test experiment, and the comprehensive effect of pulse characteristics on coal breaking was studied by coal breaking experiment. It was concluded that the pulse frequency and pulse pressure amplitude of the self-oscillation pulsed SC-CO2 jet do not remain constant in the axial direction of the jet, and they gradually decrease with the increasing target distance. Considering only the pulse frequency cannot maximize the resonance effect, and it is necessary to comprehensively consider the influence of pulse frequency and pressure amplitude on the resonance effect. Using displacement response amplitude to characterize resonance effect can reflect the comprehensive influence of frequency and amplitude on resonance. When the target distance is small, from 0 mm to 15 mm, the main influencing factor of the displacement response amplitude is the pulse pressure amplitude. When the target distance is large, from 15 mm to 30 mm, the main influencing factor is pulse frequency. In addition, reducing the pulse frequency and increasing the pressure amplitude can effectively improve the displacement response amplitude. The transition positions of the main influencing factors of displacement response amplitude under different nozzle structure conditions are different, and the optimal target distance is also not the same. In this study, the optimal target distance for nozzle a is 22 mm, where the displacement response amplitude is the largest and the coal breaking effect is the best, while the optimal target distance for nozzle b is 26 mm.

The SC-CO2 jet drilling and completion technology can ensure the stability of coalbed methane wells, improve drilling speed and rock breaking efficiency, and has a wide application prospect. However, the high energy consumption and complex system of coal breaking limit its engineering application. The impact frequency of self-excited oscillation pulse SC-CO2 jet is the same as the natural frequency of coal and rock mass or satisfies the phase relationship, which can give full play to the resonance effect and achieve a better coal breaking effect. The nozzle structure is the key to affect the jet impact frequency. The existing frequency modulation method of self-resonating pulsed water jet is not suitable for the SC-CO2 jet. In order to realize the modulation of the impact frequency of the SC-CO2 jet, a large eddy simulation was used to study the influence law of different nozzle structures on the impact frequency of self-excited oscillation pulse SC-CO2 jet, and the influence degree of different nozzle structure parameters on jet impact frequency was obtained by weight analysis. The influence rule of nozzle structure on the jet impact frequency and the reliability of jet impact frequency modulation method are verified by jet impact frequency measurement experiment and coal breaking experiment. The results show that the diameter and length of the oscillating cavity, and the angle of the collision wall are the key factors affecting the jet impact frequency. The jet impact frequency can be substantially modulated by adjusting the structure of the oscillating cavity, so as to achieve the resonance effect. By adjusting the oscillating cavity structure, the jet impact frequency forms resonance with the inherent frequency of coal, then the coal breaking effect is significantly improved, and the smaller the resonance multiplier, the better the coal breaking effect of the jet, which can effectively improve the coal breaking efficiency. When the natural frequency of coal is 25 Hz, the outlet diameter of the upstream and downstream nozzle is set as 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm, and the diameter, length and angle of the oscillating chamber are adjusted to 10 mm, 3 mm and 120° respectively. The jet impact frequency reaches 25051.83 Hz, which is 1002.0 times of the natural frequency of coal and forms a resonance effect with the natural frequency of coal, effectively improves the coal breaking efficiency.

Considering the lack of studies on the transient vibro-acoustic properties of conical shell structures, a Jacobi–Ritz boundary element method for forced vibro-acoustic behaviors of structure is proposed based on the Newmark-β integral method and the Kirchhoff time domain boundary integral equation. Based on the idea of the differential element method and the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the vibro-acoustic model of conical shells is established. The axial and circumferential displacement tolerance functions are expressed using Jacobi polynomials and the Fourier series. The time domain response of the forced vibration of conical shells is calculated based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method and Newmark-β integral method. On this basis, the time domain response of radiated noise is solved based on the Kirchhoff integral equation, and the acoustic radiation characteristics of conical shells from forced vibration are analyzed. Compared with the coupled FEM/BEM method, the numerical results demonstrate the high accuracy and great reliability of this method. Furthermore, the semi-vertex angle, load characteristics, and boundary conditions related to the vibro-acoustic response of conical shells are examined.

Isothermal uniaxial compression experiments were performed in the temperature range of 340–460 °C and the deformation rate range of 0.001–1 s−1 to analyze the hot deformation behavior of the rapidly-solidified Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy in hot isostatic pressing state. A strain-compensated constitutive model was established to determine the flow stress in the alloy (based on the true stress-true strain data), and the average activation energy for the hot deformation was calculated as Q = ∼146 kJ/mol. The proposed model exhibited a high predictability with an average absolute relative error of 2.68% and a correlation coefficient of 0.99724. The processing map revealed that the alloy in the hot isostatic pressed state offers better workability than the spray-deposited alloy, and its optimal workable ranges at a strain of 0.78 are 370–390 °C/0.004–0.01 s−1 and 400–460 °C/0.005–0.06 s−1, respectively. The microstructural evolution shows that the main dynamic softening mechanism changes from dynamic recovery to continuous dynamic recrystallization with the increase in temperature and the decrease in strain rate.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with good water solubility and fluorescence properties were successfully synthesized from Chenopodium quinoa Willd. straw, a biomass by-product, by a one-step carbonization method. Structural characterization of the fabricated carbon quantum dots by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated the presence of a large number of functional groups on the surface of the carbon quantum dots, which gives them good water solubility. The synthesized carbon quantum dots were characterized optically by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and other analytical tools. Results indicate the addition of alkali metal ions gave a different degree of promotion of fluorescence intensity (Li+＞Cs+＞K+＞Na+＞Rb+), and according to this feature carbon quantum dots can be used as a new means of alkali metal ion detection.

The long-term persistence of biochar in soil is often predicted by extrapolating mineralization data from short-term laboratory incubations. Single first-order, double first-order, triple first-order and power models have been employed for this purpose, all of which have an inherent assumption that biochar is biodegradable. However, recent insights challenge this assumption by suggesting that a large fraction of biochar is inert. If so, it would make sense to reflect this in the models used, by incorporating an inert carbon (C) pool. We hypothesized that such inert pool models would fit better to incubation data than existing models and give more reliable long-term predictions. We evaluated this by fitting the models to data from a recently compiled extensive dataset of biochar incubations. The inclusion of an inert pool enhanced the model fits over first-order models in most cases. However, inert pool models overestimated biochar persistence compared to the measured outcomes. By contrast, the double first-order model, which has been the most widely used to date, underestimated biochar persistence even in the short term. The power model in general outperformed all other models and gave the most reliable predictions, although it was sensitive to increasing or fluctuating mineralization rates in the datasets.

The water transfer project has alleviated the shortage of water resources, but frequent scheduling of water distribution hubs can harm the water transmission buildings. This article is based on the RNG k-ε turbulence model to construct a three-dimensional mathematical model of the water flow passing through the gate of the North-Line of the Huangchigou water distribution hub of the water diversion from the Han to the Wei River. Combined with the physical model experiment, the influence of the unsteady flow process of the North-line of the Huangchigou water distribution hub on the hydraulic response in its water distribution tank and tunnel is investigated. The research results indicate that, when the North-line gate closes faster, the earlier the overflow occurs in the side-channel spillway, increasing in abandoned water volume. In addition, excessively rapid gate adjustment can result in a sharp increase in pressure in front of the North-line gate. It will also increase the cavity area caused by the detachment of the bottom edge of the gate, forming a strong vortex behind the gate. From the perspective of safe operation of the gate, the closing time of the North-line gate should not be less than 100s. The research results can provide reference for the design, safe operation, and emergency control of water transmission and distribution hub projects.

BackgroundCompared with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients, non-HIV patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) have more rapid onset, more rapid progression, and higher mortality.ObjectivesTo investigate the predictive value of variables obtained upon hospital admission for in-hospital death and 90-day outcomes in non-HIV-PCP patients with respiratory failure (RF).MethodsThis was a single center retrospective study in a tertiary care institution over 15 years. It included all adults inpatients (≥18 years old) with laboratory confirmed non-HIV-PCP with RF who were discharged or died from Peking University First Hospital between April 1st, 2007 and November 1st, 2022. Epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, imaging and outcome data were collected from patient records.ResultsIn this study, a total of 146 non-HIV-PCP patients with RF were included. There were 57 patients (39%) died during hospitalization, 44 patients (53%) died in Intensive care unit (ICU). A total of 137 patients completed 90 days of follow-up, of which 58 (42.3%) died. The multivariable regression analysis revealed that a CD8+ T cell count

ABSTRACT Microorganisms play a central role in sustaining soil ecosystems and agriculture, and these functions are usually associated with their complex life history. Yet, the regulation and evolution of life history have remained enigmatic and poorly understood, especially in protozoa, the third most abundant group of organisms in the soil. Here, we explore the life history of a cosmopolitan species—Colpoda steinii. Our analysis has yielded a high-quality macronuclear genome for C. steinii, with size of 155 Mbp and 37,123 protein-coding genes, as well as mean intron length of ~93 bp, longer than most other studied ciliates. Notably, we identify two possible whole-genome duplication events in C. steinii, which may account for its genome being about twice the size of C. inflata’s, another co-existing species. We further resolve the gene expression profiles in diverse life stages of C. steinii, which are also corroborated in C. inflata. During the resting cyst stage, genes associated with cell death and vacuole formation are upregulated, and translation-related genes are downregulated. While the translation-related genes are upregulated during the excystment of resting cysts. Reproductive cysts exhibit a significant reduction in cell adhesion. We also demonstrate that most genes expressed in specific life stages are under strong purifying selection. This study offers a deeper understanding of the life history evolution that underpins the extraordinary success and ecological functions of microorganisms in soil ecosystems.IMPORTANCEColpoda species, as a prominent group among the most widely distributed and abundant soil microorganisms, play a crucial role in sustaining soil ecosystems and promoting plant growth. This investigation reveals their exceptional macronuclear genomic features, including significantly large genome size, long introns, and numerous gene duplications. The gene expression profiles and the specific biological functions associated with the transitions between various life stages are also elucidated. The vast majority of genes linked to life stage transitions are subject to strong purifying selection, as inferred from multiple natural strains newly isolated and deeply sequenced. This substantiates the enduring and conservative nature of Colpoda’s life history, which has persisted throughout the extensive evolutionary history of these highly successful protozoa in soil. These findings shed light on the evolutionary dynamics of microbial eukaryotes in the ever-fluctuating soil environments. This integrative research represents a significant advancement in understanding the life histories of these understudied single-celled eukaryotes.

Carbon adsorbent material with a specific surface area as high as 436 m2/g was prepared by chemical activation method using cellulose as raw material and cesium chloride as activator, and its structure was characterized. Its adsorption performance on methylene blue solution was investigated, and the adsorption thermodynamics of crystalline violet dye at different temperatures was studied. The results showed that the surface of the prepared activated carbon material was smooth with abundant pores. The methylene blue adsorption value was as high as 176 mg/g, and it could adsorb methylene blue solution quickly and efficiently. It had good adsorption effect on crystal violet solution, the saturated adsorption amount reaches 281 mg/g at 40 °C, and the removal reached 92%, which indicated a self-heating adsorption reaction. Thus, CsCl could be used as an activator of wood raw material for the preparation of activated carbon samples.

Abstract It is significant to predict welding quality during gas metal arc welding process. The welding defect detection algorithm has been developed based on convolutional neural network (CNN). The sensing system and image processing algorithm for molten pools has been developed. It overcomes the interference caused by the arc light to obtain clear images of the molten pool's boundaries. The molten pools images are used to build up training set and test set for training and testing the CNN model. The model is designed to extract the visual features of molten pool images to predict the penetration state, the welding crater, and slags. Through optimizing the network parameters such as kernel-size, batch-size and learning rate, the prediction accuracy is higher than 95%. Moreover, the model enhances additional focus on the welding crater based on the welder experience. The mechanisms between molten pool characteristics and welding defects were analyzed based on the welder experience and the visual features of the model. It is found that the model judges the occurrence of burn-through with the black hole in the middle zone of the molten pool. When the surface pores are generated, the model exhibits a strong response to circular voids in the semi-solid region at the trailing end of the molten pool. The size and shape of fusion holes exhibit a strong correlation with the molten state. When the shape of the crater does not appear concave, it often signifies excessive penetration. It contributes to enhancing the algorithm's robustness during various welding scenarios.

At high speeds, flow-induced vibration noise is the main component of underwater vehicle noise. The turbulent fluctuating pressure is the main excitation source of this noise. It can cause vibration of the underwater vehicle’s shell and eventually radiate noise outward. Therefore, by reducing the turbulent pressure fluctuation or controlling the vibration of the underwater vehicle’s shell, the radiation noise of the underwater vehicle can be effectively reduced. This study designs a cone–column–sphere composite structure. Firstly, the effect of fluid–structure coupling on pulsating pressure is studied. Next, a machine learning method is used to predict the turbulent pressure fluctuations and the fluid-induced vibration response of the structure at different speeds. The results were compared with experimental and numerical simulation results. The results show that the deformation of the structure will affect the flow field distribution and pulsating pressure of the cylindrical section. The machine learning method based on the BP (back propagation) neural network model can quickly predict the pulsating pressure and vibration response of the cone–cylinder–sphere composite structure under different Reynolds numbers. Compared with the experimental results, the error of the machine learning prediction results is less than 7%. The research method proposed in this paper provides a new solution for the rapid prediction and control of hydrodynamic vibration noise of underwater vehicles.

Nanocarbons have potential applications in almost all areas of materials science. While we have appreciated the various discoveries and applications of many nanocarbons, we recognize that the field remains challenging in terms of tunability. In this research, we report a new strategy for the self-assembly of surfactant @ salt from the concept of carbon nanostructure design, and introduce the concept of “separator”. On the one hand, it allows the core and shell to be formed in one step. On the other hand, it allows the ordered aggregates to remain in their original shape under thermal action. The surface morphology, degree of graphitization, elemental composition and surface chemical state, formation mechanism, and specific luminescent properties of carbon nanomaterials were investigated. TEM reveals that (dodecyldimethyl betaine) BS-12 @ LiCl carbon nanospheres with tunable size (from 55 nm to 70 nm) can be successfully synthesized. Raman and XRD show that the structure of carbon nanospheres has some defects and disordered carbon. XPS and FTIR analyses indicate that the defects present in the carbon nanosphere structure are related to the N and O elements. The detailed growth mechanism shows that the micelle structure in the system can be well adjusted by changing the concentration of surfactant. PL research demonstrates that the synthesized carbon nanospheres have UV luminescent properties. Most importantly, the method can be further developed into a general strategy for self-assembly using a variety of surfactants and “separators” as promising candidates for future practical applications of nanocarbon materials.

Using PVC as raw material and KOH as activator, the carbon adsorption material with ultra-high specific surface area up to 5677.2 m2/g was prepared by chemical activation method, and its structure was characterized to study its adsorption performance on methylene blue solution; the activated mixture was analyzed for chlorine element and the recovery of chlorine element was calculated. The results show that the surface of the obtained activated carbon material is in the shape of smooth lotus root flakes with well-developed pore structure; the adsorption value of methylene blue adsorption can reach 765.0 mg/g, which can adsorb methylene blue solution quickly and efficiently; the elemental chlorine can be recovered efficiently with a recovery rate of 95.33 %, which can effectively reduce the toxic hydrogen chloride gas produced in the process of PVC pyrolysis. Excellent adsorption capacity of H2, CO2 and CH4. This experiment can provide an effective method for the harmless treatment of PVC.

In order to obtain the impact frequency of resonant coal breaking by self-excited oscillation pulsed supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) jet, large eddy simulation was used to analyze the formation and development process of self-excited oscillation pulsed SC-CO2 jet, the variation of jet impact frequency in the nozzle and the free flow field, and the variation of jet impact frequency at different positions in the jet axis and under different cavity lengths. The test device of jet impact frequency was developed, and experiments were performed to verify the conclusions of the numerical simulations. The results show that the frequency of the self-excited oscillation pulsed SC-CO2 jet is different in the nozzle and the free flow field. In the nozzle, the frequency generated by the fluid disturbance is the same, and the jet frequency at the exit of the nozzle is consistent with that inside the nozzle. In the free flow field, due to the compressibility of CO2, the pressure, velocity and other parameters of SC-CO2 jets have obvious fluctuation patterns. This feature causes the impact frequency of the self-excited oscillation pulsed SC-CO2 jet to decrease gradually in the axis. Changing the cavity length allows the adjustment of the jet impact frequency in the free flow field by affecting the disturbance frequency of the self-excited oscillation pulsed SC-CO2 jet inside the nozzle.

Abstract Liquid biopsy of cancers, detecting tumor-related information from liquid samples, has attracted wide attentions as an emerging technology. Our previously reported large-area PERFECT (Precise-Efficient-Robust-Flexible-Easy-Controllable-Thin) filter has demonstrated competitive sensitivity in recovering rare tumor cells from clinical samples. However, it is time-consuming and easily biased to manually inspect rare target cells among numerous background cells distributed in a large area (Φ ≥ 13 mm). This puts forward an urgent demand for rapid and bias-free inspection. Hereby, this paper implemented deep learning-based object detection for the inspection of rare tumor cells from large-field images of PERFECT filters with hematoxylin-eosin (HE)-stained cells recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). CenterNet, EfficientDet, and YOLOv5 were trained and validated with 240 and 60 image blocks containing tumor and/or background cells, respectively. YOLOv5 was selected as the basic network given the highest mAP@0.5 of 92.1%, compared to those of CenterNet and EfficientDet at 85.2% and 91.6%, respectively. Then, tricks including CIoU loss, image flip, mosaic, HSV augmentation and TTA were applied to enhance the performance of the YOLOv5 network, improving mAP@0.5 to 96.2%. This enhanced YOLOv5 network-based object detection, named as BALFilter Reader, was tested and cross-validated on 24 clinical cases. The overall diagnosis performance (~2 min) with sensitivity@66.7% ± 16.7%, specificity@100.0% ± 0.0% and accuracy@75.0% ± 12.5% was superior to that from two experienced pathologists (10–30 min) with sensitivity@61.1%, specificity@16.7% and accuracy@50.0%, with the histopathological result as the gold standard. The AUC of the BALFilter Reader is 0.84 ± 0.08. Moreover, a customized Web was developed for a user-friendly interface and the promotion of wide applications. The current results revealed that the developed BALFilter Reader is a rapid, bias-free and easily accessible AI-enabled tool to promote the transplantation of the BALFilter technique. This work can easily expand to other cytopathological diagnoses and improve the application value of micro/nanotechnology-based liquid biopsy in the era of intelligent pathology.

Chitin-based activated carbon (CAC) was prepared by a two-step process of carbonization and potassium carbonate chemical activation. The CAC was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption/ desorption, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption performance of CAC for Orange II (O II) was evaluated in terms of contact time, adsorption temperature, initial concentration, adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and thermodynamics. The CAC had a surface area of 1320 m2 g-1 and a total pore volume of 1.10 cm3 g-1. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 1010 mg g-1 at 318.2 K for O II, respectively. Equilibrium isotherms showed that the Langmuir model had a higher coefficient of determination than the Freundlich model. The thermodynamic results indicated that the adsorption process of O II onto CAC 800 was spontaneous and endothermic. Given the results of this work, CAC can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of dyes from wastewater.

ABSTRACTColpoda are cosmopolitan unicellular eukaryotes primarily inhabiting soil and benefiting plant growth, but they remain one of the least understood taxa in genetics and genomics within the realm of ciliated protozoa. Here, we investigate the architecture of de novo assembled mitogenomes of six Colpoda species, using long-read sequencing and involving 36 newly isolated natural strains in total. The mitogenome sizes span from 43 to 63 kbp and typically contain 28–33 protein-coding genes. They possess a linear structure with variable telomeres and central repeats, with one Colpoda elliotti strain isolated from Tibet harboring the longest telomeres among all studied ciliates. Phylogenomic analyses reveal that Colpoda species started to diverge more than 326 million years ago, eventually evolving into two distinct groups. Collinearity analyses also reveal significant genomic divergences and a lack of long collinear blocks. One of the most notable features is the exceptionally high level of gene rearrangements between mitochondrial genomes of different Colpoda species, dominated by gene loss events. Population-level mitogenomic analysis on natural strains also demonstrates high sequence divergence, regardless of geographic distance, but the gene order remains highly conserved within species, offering a new species identification criterion for Colpoda species. Furthermore, we identified underlying heteroplasmic sites in the majority of strains of three Colpoda species, albeit without a discernible recombination signal to account for this heteroplasmy. This comprehensive study systematically unveils the mitogenomic structure and evolution of these ancient and ecologically significant Colpoda ciliates, thus laying the groundwork for a deeper understanding of the evolution of unicellular eukaryotes.IMPORTANCEColpoda, one of the most widespread ciliated protozoa in soil, are poorly understood in regard to their genetics and evolution. Our research revealed extreme mitochondrial gene rearrangements dominated by gene loss events, potentially leading to the streamlining of Colpoda mitogenomes. Surprisingly, while interspecific rearrangements abound, our population-level mitogenomic study revealed a conserved gene order within species, offering a potential new identification criterion. Phylogenomic analysis traced their lineage over 326 million years, revealing two distinct groups. Substantial genomic divergence might be associated with the lack of extended collinear blocks and relaxed purifying selection. This study systematically reveals Colpoda ciliate mitogenome structures and evolution, providing insights into the survival and evolution of these vital soil microorganisms.

Abstract Carbon nanomaterials have attracted much attention in the field of science and technology for their excellent properties; however, developing a simple, environmentally friendly, and versatile synthesis strategy for the preparation of carbon nanomaterials with novel structures remains a great challenge. Herein, a surfactant @ salt (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide DTAB @ NaCl) self‐assembly strategy for the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials with novel structures, i.e., carbon nanoframes is reported. The synthesis differs from the traditional template method in that it is characterized by the introduction of surfactants for separation and protection, and the salt can be recycled. In addition, the carbon frame size in this system can be adjusted on demand by simply adjusting the concentration of surfactant, thus realizing that the carbon nanoframe size is adjustable in the range of 232.58–322.51 nm. Impressively, the carbon nanoframe has purple, blue, and green PL emission behavior. It is anticipated that this research will provide new insights into the development of novel carbon nanomaterials.

IntroductionThis study seeks to explore validity and reliability evidence for core residency entrustable professional activities (CR-EPAs) that were developed by Peking University First Hospital (PKUFH) in 2020.MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted in PKUFH. Trainers (raters) assessed pediatric residents on CR-EPAs over 1 academic year, bi-annually. Critical components within a validity evidence framework were examined: response process (rater perceptions), the internal structure (reliability and contributions of different variance sources), and consequences (potential use of a cutoff score).ResultsIn total, 37 residents were enrolled, and 111 and 99 trainers’ ratings were collected in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. For rater perceptions, all the raters considered CR-EPAs highly operational and convenient. In all ratings, individual EPAs correlate with total EPA moderately, with Spearman correlation coefficients spanning from 0.805 to 0.919. EPA 2 (select and interpret the auxiliary examinations), EPA 5 (prepare and complete medical documents), EPA 6 (provide an oral presentation of a case or a clinical encounter), and EPA 7 (identify and manage the general clinical conditions) were EPAs correlated with other EPAs significantly. The results of the generalizability theory indicated that the variability due to residents is the highest (nearly 78.5%), leading to a large size of the reliability estimates. The matching results indicate that the lowest error locates at 5.933.ConclusionThe rating showed good validity and reliability. The ratings were reliable based on G-theory. CR-EPAs have a magnificent internal structure and have promising consequences. Our results indicate that CR-EPAs are a robust assessment tool in workplace-based training in a carefully designed setting.

The climate change mitigation benefits of biochar systems arise largely from carbon storage in biochar. However, while biochar is increasingly recognized as a carbon dioxide removal technology, there are on-going scientific discussions on how to estimate the persistence of biochar carbon when biochar is used in soils. Estimates vary from decades to millennia, building on different modelling approaches and evidence. Here, we revisited the persistence estimates derived from extrapolation of biochar incubation experiments, with the aims of making incubation data available, modelling choices transparent, and results reproducible. An extensive dataset of biochar incubations, including 129 biochar decomposition time series, was compiled and is made available alongside code for its analysis. Biochar persistence correlations were sensitive to data selection procedures and to the curve fitting modelling step, while soil temperature adjustments methods had less impact. Biochar H/C ratio remained the main predictor of biochar persistence, in line with previous research, regardless of the extrapolation assumptions (multi-pool exponential functions or power function) used in curve fitting. The relation between H/C and percentage of biochar carbon remaining after 100 years (BC100) was better explained by a power model than a linear model, with R2 values between 0.5 and 0.9. Using multi-pool exponential functions, estimated BC100 varied between 90 % and 60 % for H/C from 0 to 0.7. However, using power functions, BC100 was constrained between 90 % and 80 % for the same H/C range. Additional information about the biochar, the pyrolysis conditions or the environmental incubation conditions did not significantly increase explained variance. Notably, the dataset lacks observations at H/C ratios below 0.2, of biochar made from manure and biosolids, biochar from processes other than slow pyrolysis, field studies, and incubation temperatures below 10 °C, which should guide future experimental work. The detailed analysis performed in this study does not cast doubts on the longevity of biochar carbon storage; rather, it confirms previous knowledge by critically examining the modelling, elucidating the assumptions and limitations, and making the analysis fully reproducible. There is a need for further interdisciplinary work on integration of various theories and approaches to biochar persistence, ultimately leading to the formulation of policy-relevant conclusions.

Abstract Climate change can lead to and intensify drought disasters. Quantifying the vulnerability of disaster-affected elements is significant for understanding the mechanisms that transform drought intensity into eventual loss. This study proposed a growth-stage-based drought vulnerability index (GDVI) of soybean using meteorological, groundwater, land use, and field experiment data and crop growth model simulation. The CROPGRO-Soybean model was used to simulate crop growth and water deficit. Four growth stages were considered since the sensitivity of soybean to drought is strictly related to the growth stage. The GDVI was applied to the Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province, China, with the goal of quantifying the spatiotemporal characteristics of soybean drought vulnerability in typical years and growth stages. The results show that: (1) The sensitivity of leaf-related parameters exceeded that of other parameters during the vegetative growth stage, whereas the top weight and grain yield showed a higher sensitivity in the reproductive growth stage; (2) A semi-logarithmic law can describe the relationship between the drought sensitivity indicators and the GDVI during the four growth stages. The pod-filling phase is the most vulnerable stage for water deficit and with the highest loss upper limit (over 70%); (3) The 2001 and 2002 seasons were the driest time during 1997−2006. Fuyang and Huainan Cities were more vulnerable to drought than other regions on the Huaibei Plain in 2001, while Huaibei and Suzhou Cities were the most susceptible areas in 2002. The results could provide effective decision support for the categorization of areas vulnerable to droughts.

Abstract Background In recent years, there have been breakthroughs in the preclinical research of respiratory diseases, such as organoids and organ tissue chip models, but they still cannot provide insight into human respiratory diseases well. Human lung slices model provides a promising in vitro model for the study of respiratory diseases because of its preservation of lung structure and major cell types. Methods Human lung slices were manually prepared from small pieces of lung tissues obtained from lung cancer patients subjected to lung surgery. To evaluate the suitability of this model for lung fibrosis research, lung slices were treated with CdCl2 (30 μM), TGF-β1 (1 ng/ml) or CdCl2 plus TGF-β1 for 3 days followed by toxicity assessment, gene expression analysis and histopathological observations. Results CdCl2 treatment resulted in a concentration-dependent toxicity profile evidenced by MTT assay as well as histopathological observations. In comparison with the untreated group, CdCl2 and TGF-β1 significantly induces MMP2 and MMP9 gene expression but not MMP1. Interestingly, CdCl2 plus TGF-β1 significantly induces the expression of MMP1 but not MMP2, MMP7 or MMP9. Microscopic observations reveal the pathogenesis of interstitial lung fibrosis in the lung slices of all groups; however, CdCl2 plus TGF-β1 treatment leads to a greater alveolar septa thickness and the formation of fibroblast foci-like pathological features. The lung slice model is in short of blood supply and the inflammatory/immune-responses are considered minimal. Conclusions The results are in favor of the hypothesis that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is mediated by tissue damage and abnormal repair. Induction of MMP1 gene expression and fibroblast foci-like pathogenesis suggest that this model might represent an early stage of IPF.

A novel high depth-to-width ratio of 15:1 narrow-gap gas metal arc welding technique was developed for the welding of S500Q steel in a horizontal butt joint. The bead arrangement of the I groove was optimized to produce a high-quality connection with the upper sidewall of the joint. The microstructure and mechanical properties were observed and evaluated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, tensile testing, and micro-hardness and impact toughness testing at 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, and 4/5 thickness of the joint. The 3/5 T position exhibited the highest strength, which was attributed to the presence of finer carbide precipitates. The highest micro-hardness appeared at 4/5 T. The highest impact toughness appeared at 3/5 T. The formation of coarse granular bainite was the major reason for the decrease in impact toughness in other regions. A microscopic fracture at 1/5 T and 3/5 T was further analyzed. It was observed that the width of the fibrous zone at 3/5 T was significantly larger than that at 1/5 T. The radial zones at 1/5 T were observed to exhibit cleavage, with secondary cracks on the fracture surface.

The engine casing components operate in high-temperature and high-pressure environments. Process holes are drilled when defects occur. Welding is employed in the repair of process holes as a process for permanently joining materials. The traditional welding method relies on padding, which results in poor back formation of process holes. Additionally, the shape of the process holes imposes high requirements on the size of the droplet transition. The conventional approach of adjusting a welding current makes it difficult to achieve stable droplet transition and precise formation of small holes. It poses a challenge for the robotic welding process. To deal with this problem, the influence of the high-frequency vibration GTAW process on the directional transition of molten droplets is studied. The molten droplet directional transition process is developed. The impact of vibration energy on the molten pool is reduced. Welding repair experiments for process holes are successfully conducted. When the frequency is 3 Hz, the transition of droplets changes from a continuous one-droplet transition to a discontinuous liquid bridge transition. The residual height and mechanical properties of the repaired area are tested. The experimental results indicated that the residual height after dual-side repair is ≤0.7 mm. The X-ray and fluorescent penetration tests have a 100% first-pass qualification rate. The repaired area demonstrates a hardness of 480 HV and a room-temperature tensile strength of 1069 MPa. The repair process requirements for the casing are met.

Blood Nitrogen Mixed-Activated Carbon (BN-AC) containing multiple nitrogen functional group was successfully prepared with pig blood meal as raw material and phosphoric acid as activator. These nitrogen-containing functional groups will provide more adsorption sites, thus, the adsorption efficiency of carbon materials is significantly improved. Research shows that BN-AC was used to remove phenol from wastewater, Under the optimum technological conditions, the maximum adsorption capacity and removal rate of phenol by BN-AC were 56.35 mg/g and 94.18%, respectively. This study not only realized the resource utilization of waste pig blood and expanded the selection range of activated carbon raw materials, but more importantly contributed to the current environmental protection field.

Diamond/aluminum composite material has the advantages of high thermal conductivity, low expansion, and lightweight, which has a wide range of application prospects in the field of electronic packaging thermal management. However, the serious interface problems between diamond and aluminum limit the full play of the thermal conductivity of composite materials. A reasonable interface design can maximize the thermal conductivity of composite materials. This article focuses on the interface modification of diamond/aluminum composites, briefly describing the theoretical basis of interface design, the research status of interface modification, interface reaction and composite stability, and prospects for diamond/aluminum composites material development.

Abstract Cauliflower is one of the most important vegetable crops grown worldwide. However, the lack of genetic diversity information and efficient molecular markers hinders efforts to improve cauliflower. This study aims to construct DNA fingerprints for 329 cauliflower cultivars based on SNP markers and the KASP system. After rigorous filtering, a total of 1662 candidate SNPs were obtained from nearly 17.9 million SNP loci. The mean values of PIC, MAF, heterozygosity and gene diversity of these SNPs were 0.389, 0.419, 0.075, and 0.506, respectively. We developed a program for in silico simulations on 153 core germplasm samples to generate ideal SNP marker sets from the candidates. Finally, 41 highly polymorphic KASP markers were selected and applied to identify 329 cauliflower cultivars, mainly collected from the public market. Furthermore, based on the KASP genotyping data, we performed phylogenetic analysis and population structure analysis of the 329 cultivars. As a result, these cultivars could be classified into three major clusters, and the classification patterns were significantly related to their curd solidity and geographical origin. Finally, fingerprints of the 329 cultivars and 2D barcodes with the genetic information of each sample were generated. The fingerprinting database developed in this study provides a practical tool for identifying the authenticity and purity of cauliflower seeds and valuable genetic information about the current cauliflower cultivars.

Pharmaceutical corporations prefer amorphous active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) because of their high apparent solubility and bioavailability, which are caused by long-range disorder, large unit surface free energy, and easily wetted particle surfaces. APIs in amorphous form tend to recrystallize into crystalline form during production, transportation, and storage, leading to differences in safety and clinical efficacy, which has been a major obstacle to development of amorphous drugs. In this study, rapid and nondestructive methods for quantitative analysis of amorphous indomethacin (A-INDO) content in A-INDO and γ-indomethacin (γ-INDO) binary mixtures were established based on Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Near-Infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with chemometrics methods. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to establish quantitative analysis models of A-INDO content ranging from 0.000 % to 10.000 % w/w %. A variety of spectral pretreatment methods were used to pretreat the spectral, reducing the influence of inconsistent particle size and uneven mixing, and highlighting the sample component information. The two analytical techniques’ best PLSR models were selected, and the performance of the best models was confirmed by the validation samples. The most effective PLSR model based on ATR-FTIR was Y = 0.99456 X + 0.21526, R2 = 0.99456, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.714 % and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 2.164 %. The optimal PLSR model based on NIR was Y = 0.99950 X + 0.07465, R2 = 0.99950, with LOD = 0.246 % and LOQ = 0.747 %. The results showed that the PLSR models established by ATR-FTIR and NIR solid-state analytical techniques combined with stoichiometric method could be used to detect the content of amorphous APIs and to control the production quality of APIs.

To solve the problem of unmanned plugging weld for the steam generator in high temperature gas cooled reactor, a new seven-degrees-of-freedom robot with 3-PSP and SCARA structure is designed based on the scheme of serial-parallel robot. In order to achieve simple and stable motion control, the D-H method and analytical method are used to study its serial-parallel kinematics and establish an accurate kinematics model. Based on MATLAB software and existing kinematic models, the Monte Carlo method is introduced to analyze the position and posture accessibility of the robot which has redundant degrees of freedom, and the rationality of the institutional design is verified. To ensure the high precision performance of the robot, the positional accuracy of the prototype is tested and analyzed under the different operating conditions by means of the standardized robot performance tests. In addition, in order to ensure the quality of plugging weld, through the T22 base material for several groups of TIG welding process experiments and mechanical properties testing to determine the reliable plugging welding process parameters. The results show that the robot can meet the requirements of plugging welding, and has accurate motion control, good reachability, high position and posture accuracy and strong expandability.

Wellbore stability is essential for safe and efficient drilling during oil and gas exploration and development. This paper introduces a hydrophobic nano-silica (HNS) for use in strengthening the wellbore wall when using a water-based drilling fluid (WBF). The wellbore-strengthening performance was studied using the linear swelling test, hot-rolling recovery test, and compressive strength test. The mechanism of strengthening the wellbore wall was studied by means of experiments on the zeta potential, particle size, contact angle, and surface tension, and with the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface free energy changes of the shale before and after HNS treatment were also calculated using the contact angle method. The experimental results showed that HNS exhibited a good performance in inhibiting shale swelling and dispersion. Compared with the use of water, the use of HNS resulted in a 20% smaller linear swelling height of the bentonite pellets and an 11.53 times higher recovery of water-sensitive shale—a performance that exceeds those of the commonly used shale inhibitors KCl and polyamines. More importantly, the addition of HNS was effective in preventing a decrease in shale strength. According to the mechanism study, the good wellbore-strengthening performance of HNS can be attributed to three aspects. First, the positively charged HNS balances parts of the negative charges of clay by means of electrostatic adsorption, thus inhibiting osmotic hydration. Second, HNS fabricates a lotus-leaf-like surface with a micro-nano hierarchical structure on shale after adsorption, which significantly increases the water contact angle of the shale surface and considerably reduces the surface free energy, thereby inhibiting surface hydration. Third, the decrease in capillary action and the effective plugging of the shale pores reduce the invasion of water and promote wellbore stability. The approach described herein may provide an avenue for inhibiting both the surface hydration and the osmotic hydration of shale.

The untapped potential for carbon sequestration in agricultural soils represents one of the most cost-effective tools for climate change mitigation. Increasing soil organic matter also brings other agronomic benefits such as improved soil structure, enhanced water-and-nutrient-retention capacity, and biological activity. Broadly, soil organic carbon storage is achieved by increasing carbon inputs (plant residues and organic amendments) and reducing carbon outputs (soil loss mechanisms, decomposition). With a focus on carbon inputs—more specifically, organic amendments—as leverage to increase soil organic carbon, we compared the respiration rates and carbon storage of incubated soil cores amended with maize straw, manure, two digestates and the solid fraction of digestate. Using the variation in the natural 13C abundance found in C4 and C3 plants as a tracer, we were able to partition the CO2 emissions between the exogenous organic matter materials elaborated from maize (C4) and native soil organic carbon (C3). The addition of digestate resulted in an additional 65 to 77% of remaining organic carbon after 92 days. The digestate-derived CO2 was fitted to a second-order kinetic carbon model that accounts for the substrate C that is assimilated into the microbial biomass. The model predicted a carbon sequestration potential of 56 to 73% of the total applied organic carbon after one to two years. For the solid fraction, the results were higher, with 89% of the applied organic carbon after 92 days and a sequestration potential of 86%. The soil priming ranged from −19% to +136% in relation to the unamended control soil, highlighting a surprisingly wide spectrum of results that warrants the need for further research on soil–digestate interactions.

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with pulmonary involvement from a single Chinese cohort. Methods Newly diagnosed AAV patients with pulmonary involvement, as defined by CT, were recruited from January 2010 to June 2020. Clinical data and CT images were collected retrospectively. Baseline CTs were evaluated and re-classified into four categories: interstitial lung disease (ILD), airway involvement (AI), alveolar hemorrhage (AH), and pulmonary granuloma (PG). Results A total of 719 patients were newly diagnosed with AAV, 366 (50.9%) of whom combined with pulmonary involvement at baseline. Among the AAV cases with pulmonary involvement, 55.7% (204/366) had ILD, 16.7% (61/366) had AI alone, 14.8% (54/366) had PG, and 12.8% (47/366) had AH alone. During follow-up of a median duration of 42.0 months, 66/366 (18.0%) patients died, mainly died from infections. Survival, relapse, and infection were all significantly different based on the radiological features. Specifically, the ILD group tends to have a poor long-term prognosis, the PG group is prone to relapse, and the AI group is apt to infection. The AH group has a high risk of both early infection and relapse, thus a poor short-term prognosis. Conclusion AAV patients with diverse radiological features have different clinical characteristics and outcomes. Therefore, the intensity of immunosuppressive therapy must be carefully valued by considering the baseline CT findings among AAV patients with pulmonary involvement.

AbstractMetal nanoparticles, especially silver, have been used in various medical scenarios, due to their excellent antimicrobial effects. Recent studies have shown that AgNPs do not exert mutagenic effects on target bacteria, but the degree to which they compromise eukaryotic genomes remains unclear. To study this, we evaluated the mutagenic effects of AgNPs on the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombeS. pombe

C. korshinskii is one of the most widely-planted sand-fixing legumes in northwest China and exploring its rhizosphere microbiome is of great ecological importance. However, the effect of long-term sand fixation on the composition, diversity, and underlying functions of microbes in the C. korshinskii rhizosphere in dryland ecosystems remain unclear. Here, we performed high-throughput sequencing using a 16S rRNA (absolute quantification) and bacterial functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa (FAPROTAX) analysis and an ITS (relative quantification) and fungal functional guild (FUNGuild) analysis to investigate the C. korshinskii rhizosphere microbiome and metabolic functional groups at different sand-fixing ages (six years, CK6; twelve years, CK12; and eighteen years, CK18) and determined the physicochemical properties of the rhizosphere soil. Results showed that the key bacterial taxa of the rhizosphere were significantly more abundant in CK18 than in CK12 and CK6 at the phylum-class-genus level, and that fungal Glomeromycota was also significantly more abundant in the CK18 rhizosphere compared to CK12 and CK6. Among these bacterial taxa, the enrichment effect of key, functional, genus-level species of bacteria was the most obvious, including Rhizobium, Ensifer, Neorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Streptomyces, Sphingomonas, and Flavobacterium, which are N-fixing and/or phosphate-solubilizing groups. The significant improvement seen in the physicochemical properties of the CK18 rhizosphere soil, including the higher total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), higher N:P ratio, and lower C:N ratio, all demonstrated the relationship between the rhizosphere microbes and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. A redundancy analysis (RDA) of different taxonomic levels indicated a close positive relationship between rhizosphere microbes and AN. In addition, the functional groups of the C. korshinskii rhizosphere bacteria were closely related to soil AN and were mainly composed of chemoheterotrophy and aerobic chemoheterotrophy. A Spearman correlation analysis revealed that these functional groups were mainly identified from bacterial Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, and fungal Glomeromycota. Our study provides evidence that the rhizosphere microbes of C. korshinskii are closely related to the accumulation of N in the restoration of desert ecosystems, and that the ecological functional processes they are involved in mainly involve C and N cycles, which play an important role in desertification reversal.

Absract: Carbon nanomaterials are very versatile, but the tunable preparation of their morphology and emission colors is still very challenging. Herein, we present a simple self-assembly method for the preparation of tunable carbon nano (Tween-80@NaCl), where the key tunable parameter is the concentration. More specifically, the structural and optical properties of carbon nanomaterials can be controlled by modulating the concentration of surfactants. It is worth mentioning that salt plays an important role in separating the micelle structure and protecting the micelle morphology. The samples were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction to determine the microcrystalline structure and crystal size. The evolution of the micellar structure was established by transmission electron microscopy analysis of the transformation of the Tween-80@NaCl structure. The continuous adjustment of surfactant concentration leads to a change in micelle morphology, like from large-sized blocks to small-sized rods. In addition, carbon nanoparticles with typical fluorescence properties can be obtained by simply changing the surfactant concentration and can easily change from purple fluorescence to dark blue. Notably, this simple strategy of separating first and then carbonizing provides inspiration for future structural design of carbon nanomaterials.

As one of the widely used materials for hydro turbine runners, 13Cr4Ni martensitic stainless steels (13/4 MSS) manufactured by forging and wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), respectively, were selected for high-cycle fatigue tests, and the effects of microstructures and defect characteristics on fatigue mechanism were investigated. The results indicate that compared to the forged 13/4 MSS, the microstructure of the WAAM test piece is very fine, and the martensite units, consequently, are smaller in size. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength are 685 MPa and 823 MPa for the forged specimen and 850 MPa and 927 MPa for the WAAM specimens, respectively. The fatigue strength of 107 cycles at room temperature is 370 MPa for forged specimens and 468 MPa for WAAM specimens. The predominant defect of the forged 13/4 MSS specimen is inclusion, and the fatigue initiates mainly at the surface and subsurface. While for the WAAM specimen, the most commonly found defects are pores, and the fatigue initiation is internal and at the subsurface. In addition, the fine microstructure, as well as the high strength and hardness, enable the WAAM material to have higher fatigue strength. In order to assess the effect of defects on fatigue performance, the stress intensity factor and El-Haddad model were adopted in the present study. It was found that the forged specimens with fish-eye (FIE) zones and the WAAM specimens with granular bright facet (GBF) zones have longer fatigue life. The fatigue strengths of the forged 13/4 MSS were therefore predicted by defect size. In contrast, the fatigue strengths of the WAAM 13/4 MSS were predicted by both defect and GBF sizes.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is regarded as a novel technique to realize the customized production of films. However, the relative lack of printable materials with excellent mechanical properties and tailored functionalities seriously restricts its wide application. Herein, a promising multifunctional 3D printing filament was fabricated by incorporating lignin into the polylactic acid (PLA) matrix and firstly applied to film production. The results indicate that lignin was an excellent mechanical reinforcement of the PLA matrix, especially for toughening. Only 0.5% lignin doping improved the toughness by 81.8%. Additionally, 3D-printed films with 0.5–5% lignin exhibited excellent ultraviolet (UV)-blocking capability of 87.4–99.9% for UVB and 65.6–99.8% for UVA, as well as remarkable antioxidant properties, ranging from 24.0% to 79.0%, and high levels of haze, ranging from 63.5% to 92.5%. Moreover, the prepared PLA/lignin (P/L) films based on 3D printing achieved the customization of film production and have potential applications in the fields of packaging, electronic products, medical care, and so forth. Overall, this work not only enriches the 3D printing composites with tailored multifunctionality but also brings the promising potential for the production of customized films.

Densoviruses (DVs) are single-stranded DNA viruses and exclusively happen in invertebrates. Most of DVs reported in insects are pathogenic to their native hosts, however, no pathogenic effect of them has been examined in vertebrates. Hence, DVs are the potential agents used in pest managements. Aphids are the primary vectors of plant viruses. In this study, we identified a novel DV in Chinese Sitobion miscanthi population, provisionally named “Sitobion miscanthi densovirus” (SmDV). Taxonomically, SmDV belongs to genus Hemiambidensovirus. In S. miscanthi, SmDV is hosted in diverse cells and can be horizontally transmitted via wheat feeding. Subject to SmDV, aphids activate their intrinsic antiviral autophagy pathway. Grouped with ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, chlorophyll metabolism, p450 related drug metabolism, and retinoid metabolism, aphids form a complex immune network response to the infection of SmDV. Obviously, it works as elder aphids still alive even they contain the highest examined concentration of SmDV. This study provides a foundation for the identifications of novel DVs, and further improves the understanding of the molecular interactions between insects and DVs.

To elucidate the application value of insect endogenous protease and its inhibitor genes in pest control, we analyzed in detail the transcriptome sequence of the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. We obtained 12 protease genes and 11 protease inhibitor genes, and comprehensively analyzed of their spatiotemporal expression by qRT-PCR. In which, a previous unstudied serine protease inhibitor gene attracted our attention. It belongs to the canonical serine proteinase inhibitor family, a trypsin inhibitor-like cysteine-rich domain (TIL)-type protease inhibitor, but its TIL domain lacks two cysteine residues, and it was named as ACB-TIL. Its expression level is relatively very low in the absence of pathogen stimulation, and can be up-regulated expression induced by Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), virus (BmNPV), and dsRNA (dsEGFP), but cannot be induced by fungus spores (Metarrhizium anisopliae). Prokaryotic expressed ACB-TIL protein can significantly inhibit the melanization in vitro. Injecting this protein into insect body can inhibit the production of antimicrobial peptides of attacin, lebocin and gloverin. Inhibition of ACB-TIL by RNAi can cause the responses of other immune-, protease- and inhibitor-related genes. ACB-TIL is primarily involved in Asian corn borer humoral immunity in responses to Gram-negative bacteria and viruses. This gene can be a potential target for pest control since this will mainly affect insect immune response.

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) is a highly destructive pathogen for soybean production worldwide. The use of resistant varieties is the most effective way of preventing yield loss. Handou 10 is a commercial soybean variety with desirable agronomic traits and SCN resistance, however genes underlying the SCN resistance in the variety are unknown. An F2:8 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Zheng 9525 (susceptible) and Handou 10 was developed and its resistance to SCN HG type 2.5.7 (race 1) and 1.2.5.7 (race 2) was identified. We identified seven quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with additive effects. Among these, three QTLs on Chromosomes 7, 8, and 18 were resistant to both races. These QTLs could explain 1.91–7.73% of the phenotypic variation of SCN’s female index. The QTLs on chromosomes 8 and 18 have already been reported and were most likely overlapped with rhg1 and Rhg4 loci, respectively. However, the QTL on chromosome 7 was novel. Candidate genes for the three QTLs were predicted through genes functional analysis and transcriptome analysis of infected roots of Handou 10 vs. Zheng 9525. Transcriptome analysis performed also indicated that the plant–pathogen interaction played an important role in the SCN resistance for Handou 10. The information will facilitate SCN–resistant gene cloning, and the novel resistant gene will be a source for improving soybeans’ resistance to SCN.

Abstract Many bronze objects were unearthed in the capital of the Shu state in present-day Chengdu. However, only a few metallurgical studies have been carried out on those objects. This research attempts to study the alloy techniques and possible ore sources of 28 bronze objects recently excavated from the Baishoulu cemetery in Chengdu. Elemental composition and lead isotope ratios were measured, and metallographic observations were conducted. The results indicate that most objects were copper–tin–lead alloys with variable tin and lead content. The samples showed evidence of casting, as well as cold working and annealing techniques. The lead isotope data indicate that multiple lead sources were used in Baishoulu; however, the exact number is not yet known. Most of the lead sources in Baishoulu are the same as those in Zeng state bronze and Chu state bronze. In addition, some of the bronzes came from sources that were widely used in the Central Plains and surrounding regions. This new information aids in understanding the cultural interactions between Shu and other states. Moreover, some bronzes might have used local lead sources. Copper and tin sources were difficult to determine; however, the different trace elemental patterns between Baishoulu and Bayilu bronzes indicate different copper and tin sources might be used. Additionally, copper and lead may originate from different sources in the Shu state. Systematic data are necessary to disclose a possible metal source exchange network involving the Shu state in the Warring States period.

Abstract Background To systematically evaluate the correlation between percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) and recurrence in stage I lung cancer. Methods The databases of PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and China Biology Medicine disc were retrieved to collect relevant literatures about the correlation between PTNB and recurrence in stage I lung cancer. The retrieval time was limited from the time of their database establishment to April 30/2020.Screened the literature, extracted the data and assessed the quality of studies included. Then the meta-analysis was performed by using Stata l6.0 software. Results A total of 8 cohort studies involving 2760 lung cancer patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that PTNB did not increase the risk of total recurrence and pleural recurrence in the patients with stage I lung cancer. The result of subgroup analysis is according to the tumor location. For stage I lung cancer, PTNB will increase the risk of pleural recurrence in patients with sub-pleural lesions but not in those without sub-pleural lesions. Conclusions To stage I lung cancer, PTNB is not associated with the total recurrence and pleural recurrence but PTNB will increase the risk of pleural recurrence in patients with sub-pleural lesions.

Abstract This article discusses the bronze weapons discovered in the Xinghelu cemetery of Chengdu, China in order to study the production of bronze weapons in the Shu state. Metallographic microscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) were used to analyze 56 bronze samples. The results show that normal size weapons contain more lead or tin than the equivalent small weapons. Some normal size weapons were made from the same lead sources as the small ones; others, such as the dagger-axe and scabbards, might be imported products. To match the imported scabbards, swords of comparable size were cast or chosen. Most of the small weapons may have been produced by type, while the variable alloying composition and size for each weapon suggests multiple casting processes.

Combined with the WRSR and improved CRITIC objective assignment method, this paper measures and grades the institutional innovation levels of high-tech industries in various provinces (cities and districts) in China, compares them horizontally and vertically, and interprets the temporal and spatial difference. Advanced members are located in the eastern coastal area, and the backward members are mainly composed of the western and northeast areas (cities, districts), while the rest are at a moderate level. Vertically, the levels in most provinces (cities, districts) have maintained a stable situation, and the overall level is low. Furthermore, the research puts forward some countermeasures from three aspects of government intervention, market development and the property right system, to effectively improve the institutional innovation level of high-tech industries in China.