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Abstract High-performance functional fibers play a critical role in various indispensable fields, including sensing, monitoring, and display. It is desirable yet challenging to develop conductive fibers with excellent mechanical properties for practical applications. Herein, inspired by the exquisite fascicle structure of skeletal muscle, we constructed a high-performance bacterial cellulose (BC)/carbon nanotube (CNT) conductive fiber through in situ biosynthesis and enhancement of structure and interaction. The biosynthesis strategy achieves the in situ entanglement of CNTs in the three-dimensional network of BC through the deposition of CNTs during the growth of BC. The structure enhancement through physical wet drawing and the interaction enhancement through chemical treatment facilitate orientation and bridging of components, respectively. Owing to the ingenious design, the obtained composite fibers integrate high strength (939 MPa), high stiffness (52.3 GPa), high fatigue resistance, and stable electrical performance, making them competitive for constructing fiber-based smart devices for practical applications.

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a common medical disorder characterized by various biological, psychological, and social pathogenic factors. At present, little is known about the neural mechanism of SSD. This study evaluated the dysfunction in 45 patients with SSD and 43 controls by combining the amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) methods with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The patients with SSD exhibited significantly greater ReHo values in the right middle cingulate gyrus, and smaller ReHo values in the right precuneus, the left inferior temporal gyrus extending to the left middle temporal gyrus and the left parahippocampal gyrus, and the right pons compared with the controls. The SSD patients showed higher ALFF values in the middle cingulate gyrus extending to the left middle frontal gyrus, the right insula extending to the right inferior frontal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus extending to the left anterior cingulate cortex. These dysfunction areas are involved in self-relevant processes, emotional processing, and body perception, which are closely related to the pathogenesis of SSD.

Young adults are a high-risk population for developing smartphone addiction (SA), which bring about social issues. One theoretically and empirically supported proximal risk factor of SA is preference for smartphone-based internet applications (PSIA). However, most previous studies ignore gender difference and symptomatic heterogeneity of SA. Besides, many previous data analyses contain non-addicts, and the results derived might not be applicable to smartphone addicts. To bridging the gap, we used a symptom-level network analysis to assess gender differences in the links between preferences for 8 smartphone-based internet applications and 4 SA symptoms among young adults with high-level phone addiction (619 women and 415 men). The results showed that: (1) The relationship between the preference for video and the "loss of control" symptom was more pronounced in female addicts compared to their male counterparts. (2) Shopping app had stronger bridge centrality in women's smartphone applications-SA network, which was positively linked with more SA symptoms. (3) Our research identified marginal gender differences in smartphone addicts' psychological networks, with female addicts showing stronger links between social media/eBook preferences and withdrawal symptoms, and male addicts displaying a stronger connection between gaming/eBook and other smartphone activities. The study provides a visualized network association and network metrics for understanding the relationship between PSIA and SA. We propose adopting a selective processing hypothesis and an evolutionary psychology perspective to aid in understanding these gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyoxometalate (POM)-based materials are ideal candidates for implementing molecular memories, and rational POM molecule design is key to higher resistive switching (RS) performance. In this work, in order to obtain a deep structure–property correlation of POM-based memristors, three Anderson-based hybrids, i.e. two-component hybrids (MV)3(MnMo6O18L2)2·4DMF (1) and (MV)2[Cu(DMF)2](MnMo6O18L1)2·6DMF (2), and the three-component one (MV)2(Cu2I3)(MnMo6O18L2)·4CH3CN (3) (L = 2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(pyridine-4-yl)-1,3-propanediol) have been structurally determined. These hybrids together with the precursors (methyl viologen (MV2+), CuI, and (MnMo6O18L2)) were further fabricated as memristors with the structure of ITO/active layer/Ag. Interestingly, three precursors are RS silent or have bad RS performance, but the incorporation of MV2+ in 1 and 2 can trigger the RS performances, and the further decoration of iodocuprate in 3 can render enhanced RS behavior (ON/OFF ratio: 2.32 × 102) with high thermal-tolerance temperature (240 °C) and extremely long-term stability. The RS mechanism could be assigned to the valence change (VC) induced by oxygen vacancy migrations. The presence of air-stable (MnMo6O18L2)3−-MV2+ donor–acceptor couples can stabilize the oxygen vacancies, which not only trigger the RS behaviors in ITO/1/Ag and ITO/2/Ag, but also result in extremely long-term stability in ITO/3/Ag. Besides, the oxygen vacancies can also be stabilized by Cu2I3 with intense cuprophilic interactions, which corresponds to enhanced RS properties in ITO/3/Ag. This mechanism could be validated by the following structural characters in 3: the stronger POM-MV2+ interactions, the better planarity of MV2+, the very short Cu⋯Cu distances and the ABAB-type packing fashion. The structure–property correlation in this work can provide a new strategy for the development of highly efficient and reliable memristors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traction battery is the core component of the electric vehicle. To obtain longer driving ranges, conventional lithium-ion batteries with LiMn2O4, LiCoO2, and LiFePO4 cathodes were gradually replaced by LiNixCoyMn1−x−yO2 batteries. With the increasing energy density and chemical activity of the lithium-ion traction battery, its thermal stability gradually decreases and safety hazards become increasingly serious. In recent years, thermal runaway incidents with traction batteries have occurred frequently at home and abroad, seriously disturbing the development of electric vehicles. Solving the safety problems associated with thermal runaway(TR) and thermal runaway propagation(TRP) of the lithium-ion battery is urgent. In this paper, TR and its propagation behavior, associated with a 42 A·h prismatic lithium-ion battery with a LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode for electric vehicles, were studied under thermal abuse conditions on the cell and module levels. The results indicate that the maximum temperature approaches 920 ℃ inside the cell. The maximum temperature difference is up to 403 ℃ within the cell during TR, and the maximum temperature rise rate inside the cell is 40 ℃·s−1. The TRP time within a lithium-ion battery is 8–12 s under 100% state-of-charge (SOC), and the duration of the vent is 14–18 s. The temperature characteristics of the lithium-ion battery display large differences for the TRP test and adiabaticTR test. In a propagation test, the TR initiates from a forward surface toward the failure point, whereas under the adiabatic test the TR occurs simultaneously in the cell. More than 80% of the particles vented from the cell are LiF and graphite during the adiabatic test. Approximately 90% of the heat released by the TR is used for heating the residual and venting particles of the cell. The study offers a reference guide for the safety design and mitigation strategy of TRP in lithium-ion battery modules, and accident investigations of new energy vehicles.

Abstract Based on the engineering environment where rocks surrounding wellbores in energy storage areas are influenced by high temperature, cool and hot water, thermal stress etc. in the exploitation of hydrothermally geothermal energy, the experimental study on mechanical properties of ring granite under the static and dynamic loads in the water-heat condition was performed. The experimental results showed that when the ring granite was influenced by the inner diameters, heating temperatures, curing temperatures and heat recovery cycle times, the impact load-strain curves were nonlinear. However, the concave stages, platform stages and cliff-like drop stages appeared in the load-strain curves under the static loads. The radical peak loads decreased exponentially with the growth of the damage factors and the dynamic peak loads were far greater than the static peak loads. By analyzing the damage cracks and broken fragments, it was found that under the static and dynamic radical loads, the cracks generated in the ring specimens were tensile cracks and the failure mode was tensile failure. However, the dynamic failure was more aggressive than the static failure. Then, the apparent deformation modulus was defined to describe the deformation characteristics of ring granite before the radical peak loads. And it is found that the variation law of dynamic apparent deformation modulus is more dispersed than the changes of static apparent deformation modulus. Finally, based on the deformation and failure characteristics of ring granite obtained from the tests, the static and dynamic failure criteria considering whether the cracks along the loading direction were generated in the inner ring wall were deduced and verified by the corresponding tests.

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This study aims to improve the predictive ability of financial brand data. help investors and decision-makers better identify different financial brands' performance, and reduce unnecessary financial risks. The stock prices of various financial brands are undertaken as the experimental objects. The characteristics of financial data and the original model network structure are analyzed based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The long short-term memory (LSIM) neural and the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO algorithm) are adopted to optimize the model's parameters, The autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) algorithm is used to analyze the spatio-temporal data, and a data prediction model for the financial brand based on the ARIMA-PSO-LSTM algorithm is proposed. In addition, the validity and effectiveness of the proposed model are proved through the analysis and testing of specific example data. It is found that the model based on the IoT shows higher processing speed in contrast to the conventional method: the model proposed in this study shows smaller errors and improved accuracy in dam prediction than the PSO-LSTM model and the LSTM model; the model presents better fitting effects and better performance compared with the latest research model. The experimental results reveal that combining the three algorithms can integrate the advantages of various algorithms, and the three algorithms can complement each other, thereby improving the ability of financial data analysis. The model established in this study shows high accuracy and good adaptability in identifying financial brands and predicting financial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing structural materials from sustainable raw materials is considered an efficient way to reduce the potential threat posed by plastics. Nevertheless, challenges remain regarding combining excellent mechanical and thermal properties, especially the balance of strength and toughness. Here, we report a 3D nanofiber network interfacial design strategy to strengthen and toughen all‐natural structural materials simultaneously. The introduced protonated chitosan at the interface between the surface oxidized 3D nanonetwork of bacterial cellulose forms the interfacial interlocking structure of nanonetworks, achieving a robust physical connection and providing enough physical contact sites for chemical crosslinking. The obtained sustainable structural material successfully integrates excellent mechanical and thermal properties on the nanoscale of cellulose nanofibers, such as light weight, high strength, and superior thermal expansion coefficient. The relationship between structural design and comprehensive mechanical property improvement is analyzed in detail, providing a universal perspective to design sustainable high‐performance structural materials from nanoscale building blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic assembly and disassembly of primary cilia is critical for tissue development and homeostasis. Here the authors identify lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a physiological extracellular factor that initiates cilia disassembly through both YAP/TAZ mediated transcription and calcium/calmodulin mediated activation of Aurora A.

ObjectiveRecent studies have revealed a strong association between the cerebellum and psychiatric disorders. However, the structural changes in the cerebellar regions and functional connectivity (FC) patterns in patients with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) have not been elucidated.MethodsThirty-seven patients with SSD (29 drug-naive and 8 medicated patients) and 37 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The spatially unbiased infratentorial (SUIT) cerebellar atlas-based voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate the changes in cerebellar regional gray matter (GM). Seed-based FC was further computed to explore the pattern of abnormal FC across the whole brain. Correlations were calculated to investigate the relationship between cerebellar structural (and FC) changes and clinical characteristics.ResultsAfter controlling for age, sex, total intracranial volume, medication, and mean FD covariates, all patients with SSD had increased mean GM volume (GMV) in the posterior lobules of the cerebellum bilaterally when compared with HCs, specifically, in the bilateral cerebellar crura I and II. Patients with SSD showed significantly stronger FC between the right crura I and II and bilateral precuneus inferior parietal region, and postcentral gyrus, extending to the superior parietal lobe, cingulate gyrus, and the white matter subgyral. In addition to the two clusters, right lingual gyrus was also a surviving cluster with significantly higher FC. Partial correlation analysis revealed that the degree of regional GMV increases in the two significant clusters and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score was negatively correlated. Moreover, the FC of right crura I and II with the left parietal lobe and right lingual gyrus were also negatively associated with the HAMD score.ConclusionsSSD exhibited significant microstructural changes and changes in FC pattern in the posterior cerebellar lobe. These results shed new light on the psychological and neural substrates of SSD and may serve as a potential treatment target for SSD based on the cerebellar area.

It is desirable yet challenging to develop sustainable structural materials to replace petroleum-based plastics. Here, the authors report a facile assembly method for manufacturing high-performance structural materials with a unique combination of high strength, toughness and stiffness.

Abstract The development of novel methods for highly efficient protein purification remains a research focus in the biotechnology field because conventional purification approaches, including affinity purification, gel filtration, and ion-exchange chromatography, require complex manipulation steps and are costly. Here, we describe a simple and rapid protein purification strategy in which the SUMO tag and Ulp1 protease are surface-displayed separately on Escherichia coli cells. After protein induction, the cells are harvested, resuspended in cleavage buffer, and incubated together for cleavage. In this approach, the surface-displayed Ulp1 cleaves the membrane-anchored SUMO fusion protein, resulting in the release of the target protein from the C-terminal of SUMO into the solution. The bacterial cells harboring SUMO and Ulp1 on their surfaces can be easily removed by centrifugation. To evaluate the purification method, we used red fluorescent protein (mCherry). Purified mCherry protein (7.72 ± 1.05 mg from 1 L of bacterial culture) was obtained after only 30 min of incubation. The protein purity was higher than 80%, and could be further improved (> 90%) by simple ultrafiltration. This study offers a promising and simple strategy for the purification of recombinant protein in its native form that requires only cleavage and centrifugation steps.

Background: In attempts to understand the migraine patients’ overall brain functional architecture, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) were considered in the current study. Migraine, a severe and multiphasic brain condition, is characterized by recurrent attacks of headaches. BOLD fluctuations in a resting state exhibit similar temporal and spectral profiles in both WM and GM. It is feasible to explore the functional interactions between WM tracts and GM regions in migraine.Methods: Forty-eight migraineurs without aura (MWoA) and 48 healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Pearson’s correlations between the mean time courses of 48 white matter (WM) bundles and 82 gray matter (GM) regions were computed for each subject. Two-sample t-tests were performed on the Pearson’s correlation coefficients (CC) to compare the differences between the MWoA and healthy controls in the GM-averaged CC of each bundle and the WM-averaged CC of each GM region.Results: The MWoAs exhibited an overall decreased average temporal CC between BOLD signals in 82 GM regions and 48 WM bundles compared with healthy controls, while little was increased. In particular, WM bundles such as left anterior corona radiata, left external capsule and bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus had significantly decreased mean CCs with GM in MWoA. On the other hand, 16 GM regions had significantly decreased mean CCs with WM in MWoA, including some areas that are parts of the somatosensory regions, auditory cortex, temporal areas, frontal areas, cingulate cortex, and parietal cortex.Conclusion: Decreased functional connections between WM bundles and GM regions might contribute to disrupted functional connectivity between the parts of the pain processing pathway in MWoAs, which indicated that functional and connectivity abnormalities in cortical regions may not be limited to GM regions but are instead associated with functional abnormalities in WM tracts.

Abstract Plastic packaging materials are widely used because of their advantages of light weight, low cost, and convenience, especially as victuals packaging materials. Approximately 146 million metric tons of plastics were used for packaging in 2015, but most of these plastics had already been discarded and followed by serious white pollution. What's worse, the victuals packaging materials, especially polystyrene (PS) foam containers, can release microplastics (MPs) during daily usage. Through the combination of various appropriate chemical (eg, spectroscopy) and physical (eg, microscopy) characterization and analysis, the existence of MPs is proved and MPs can be intuitively observed. Although the impacts of MPs on ecosystems and human health are still under discussion, existing studies have shown that MPs can be integrated into habitats through soil transportation, affecting the health of various terrestrial invertebrates. Faced with this shocking reality, reducing the use of PS foam containers at high temperatures and developing healthy materials to substitute these plastics are promising solutions.

Background: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the liver is a rare primary malignancy of the liver. The identification of lymphoepithelioma-like cholangiocarcinoma is very limited as there are currently very few reports of such cases. Although previous studies have reported the lymphoepithelioma-like cholangiocarcinoma pathologic features, few studies have revealed the clinic features, imaging characteristics, and clinical course and outcomes. This study was analyzed from multiple aspects such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and pathological characteristics, aiming to improve the comprehensive understanding of this rare subtype of disease. Case Presentation: A 43-year-old female with a history of hepatitis B for over 20 years presented with a lesion found in the right lobe of her liver. After discussion by a multidisciplinary team (MDT), malignant tumors cannot be excluded based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound and MRI. Thus, we decided to perform surgery for the patient. Postoperative pathology confirmed lymphoepithelioma-like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. After 3 months of follow-up, the patient was still alive and no recurrence was observed. Conclusion: The purpose of this article is to describe a rare case of lymphoepithelioma-like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and analyze its contrast-enhanced ultrasound and contrast-enhanced MRI features, which will be helpful for physicians in diagnosing this disease. From the perspective of CEUS, the wedge-shaped highly enhanced area around the lesion in the arterial phase appears to be inflammatory but looks malignant based on the extremely fast washout. The lesion showed a low signal on T1WI, a high signal on T2WI and DWI, and an abnormal perfusion shadow can be seen behind the lesion. In particular, this subtype of cholangiocarcinoma has a good prognosis, the clinician should improve the recognition of the disease to strive for early diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FGF signaling through ERK is known to promote the differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ES cells). Here, the authors demonstrate that the lncRNA Trincr1 binds and represses TRIM71 in ES cells, leading to downregulation of SHCBP1 protein, the reduction of FGF/ERK signaling and the promotion of self-renewal.

Microtubule asters originate from centrosomes but their role during interphase remains largely unknown. Here, the authors find that microtubule asters anchored by previously-uncharacterized FSD1 play a role in ciliogenesis by maintaining the dynamic localization of centriolar satellites.