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Abstract The gradual progress in aligning financial flows with the adoption of clean technologies reveals a persistent funding gap, signaling a global misallocation of capital. Addressing this challenge necessitates political leadership and robust policies to counteract the insecurities impeding the redirection of financial flows. This study investigates into the impact of energy-related public–private partnership investments (PPPIE) and macro-environmental variables on the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) across Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries from 1999 to 2021. Employing the Dynamac command technique, we conduct autoregressive distribution lag analysis and the Bounds Cointegration Test to evaluate ASEAN’s efforts in achieving SDG7. Results indicate that a ten-year exogenous shock to the GDP growth rate initially causes a temporary decline in both GDP and PPPIE, albeit not statistically significant. However, in the long run, the shock becomes statistically significant, correlating with a negative decline in the GDP growth rate. This underscores the negative impact of external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic growth of ASEAN member countries. Specifically, a percentage increase in PPPIE leads to an 8.3% reduction in the GDP growth rate, revealing a detrimental and unsustainable impact on the economy. This signifies that energy investments in the ASEAN region, are predominantly unsustainable and adversely impact economic growth. Moreover, these energy investments contribute to a significant 52.6% increase in greenhouse gas emissions, indicating a substantial setback in the region’s progress towards meeting SDG7’s clean energy objectives by 2030. This suggests the present state of PPPIE does not align with sustainable clean energy goals of the region. Therefore, recommendations should include diversifying energy sources and investment strategies to enhance sustainable clean energy. Also, policymakers and researchers should reassess the terms and conditions of PPPIE, refining frameworks for private sector involvement to align with long-term economic sustainability goals.

Abstract Chemotherapy is a crucial treatment for colorectal tumors. However, its efficacy is restricted by chemoresistance. Recently, Golgi dispersal has been suggested to be a potential response to chemotherapy, particularly to drugs that induce DNA damage. However, the underlying mechanisms by which Golgi dispersal enhances the capacity to resist DNA-damaging agents remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that DNA-damaging agents triggered Golgi dispersal in colorectal cancer (CRC), and cancer stem cells (CSCs) possessed a greater degree of Golgi dispersal compared with differentiated cancer cells (non-CSCs). We further revealed that Golgi dispersal conferred resistance against the lethal effects of DNA-damaging agents. Momentously, Golgi dispersal activated the Golgi stress response via the PKCα/GSK3α/TFE3 axis, resulting in enhanced protein and vesicle trafficking, which facilitated drug efflux through ABCG2. Identification of Golgi dispersal indicated an unexpected pathway regulating chemoresistance in CRC.

Abstract In-plane anisotropic van der Waals materials have emerged as a natural platform for anisotropic polaritons. Extreme anisotropic polaritons with in-situ broadband tunability are of great significance for on-chip photonics, yet their application remains challenging. In this work, we experimentally characterize through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements a van der Waals plasmonic material, 2M-WS2, capable of supporting intrinsic room-temperature in-plane anisotropic plasmons in the far and mid-infrared regimes. In contrast to the recently revealed natural hyperbolic plasmons in other anisotropic materials, 2M-WS2 supports canalized plasmons with flat isofrequency contours in the frequency range of ~ 3000-5000 cm−1. Furthermore, the anisotropic plasmons and the corresponding isofrequency contours can be reversibly tuned via in-situ ion-intercalation. The tunable anisotropic and canalization plasmons may open up further application perspectives in the field of uniaxial plasmonics, such as serving as active components in directional sensing, radiation manipulation, and polarization-dependent optical modulators.

To study material erosion and deposition during different wall conditioning processes in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), two newly developed quartz crystal microbalances (QMBs) at the mid-plane of port C (C-QMB) and port J (J-QMB) with the same radial radius were used for in-situ and real-time measurements during the 2021 autumn experimental campaign. It was found that the material deposition was mainly influenced by the location of the antenna and the power of the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF), rather than the location of the gas inlet, during the wall cleaning with helium plasma and siliconization assisted with ICRF plasma. The higher energy and density of plasma could result in higher deposition rates near the antenna. While, during lithium (Li) coating, the material deposition was greatly influenced by the location of the Li oven due to the deposition of unionized Li atoms. The ICRF power influenced the material deposition behavior far away from the Li ovens. Besides, a stronger effect on impurity suppression was observed with a more uniform deposition trend of Li coating. This necessitates further study on the influence of factors such as the location of the Li oven and ICRF antenna, the temperature of ovens, and ICRF power on the homogeneity of wall conditioning.

Abstract The evolution of excitons from 2D to 3D is of great importance in photo-physics, yet the layer-dependent exciton polarizability hasn’t been investigated in 2D semiconductors. Here, we determine the exciton polarizabilities for 3- to 11-layer black phosphorus—a direct bandgap semiconductor regardless of the thickness—through frequency-resolved photocurrent measurements on dual-gate devices and unveil the carrier screening effect in relatively thicker samples. By taking advantage of the broadband photocurrent spectra, we are also able to reveal the exciton response for higher-index subbands under the gate electrical field. Surprisingly, dark excitons are brightened with intensity even stronger than the allowed transitions above certain electrical field. Our study not only sheds light on the exciton evolution with sample thickness, but also paves a way for optoelectronic applications of few-layer BP in modulators, tunable photodetectors, emitters and lasers.

Abstract Naturally existing in-plane hyperbolic polaritons and the associated optical topological transitions, which avoid the nano-structuring to achieve hyperbolicity, can outperform their counterparts in artificial metasurfaces. Such plasmon polaritons are rare, but experimentally revealed recently in WTe2 van der Waals thin films. Different from phonon polaritons, hyperbolic plasmon polaritons originate from the interplay of free carrier Drude response and interband transitions, which promise good intrinsic tunability. However, tunable in-plane hyperbolic plasmon polariton and its optical topological transition of the isofrequency contours to the elliptic topology in a natural material have not been realized. Here we demonstrate the tuning of the optical topological transition through Mo doping and temperature. The optical topological transition energy is tuned over a wide range, with frequencies ranging from 429 cm−1 (23.3 microns) for pure WTe2 to 270 cm−1 (37.0 microns) at the 50% Mo-doping level at 10 K. Moreover, the temperature-induced blueshift of the optical topological transition energy is also revealed, enabling active and reversible tuning. Surprisingly, the localized surface plasmon resonance in skew ribbons shows unusual polarization dependence, accurately manifesting its topology, which renders a reliable means to track the topology with far-field techniques. Our results open an avenue for reconfigurable photonic devices capable of plasmon polariton steering, such as canaling, focusing, and routing, and pave the way for low-symmetry plasmonic nanophotonics based on anisotropic natural materials.

Big data analytics (BDA) enhances knowledge and decision-making. Despite its importance, the connection between technical progress and political change is neglected in the administrative process. Most studies focus on e-government, e-governance, and how technology can improve existing operations of the bureaucracy. However, this article aims to explore the potential of BDA for public policy systems and provide a linkage for the transformation toward digital and smart governance using preferred reported items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach to reveal the relevant documents and narrative review approach to interpret the application of BDA at each step of the public policy system. In addition, this study identifies several common public policy-related big data sources and techniques that could be used at the various stages of the public policy process. This study argues that BDA has the potential to be used for policy formulation in the four main phases—planning, design, service delivery, and evaluation. Most studies confirm its potential in the policy process for taxation, health, education, transportation, law, economy, and social system. This study reveals that it is also suitable for public policy execution stages, such as public supervision, public regulation, service delivery, and policy feedback. Previous studies have indicated that the application of BDA can transform traditional or manual governance systems into digital and smart governance. We contend that the policy cycle should be seen as a dynamic and iterative process characterized by continuous evolution. Though each step of transformation has its unique challenges in handling BDA and maintaining the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, it can ensure an accurate, prompt, and context-oriented public policy system. These insights provide a novel outlook on effectively managing the interplay between innovation and traditional approaches in the realm of public policy development.

The broad application prospect of the honeycomb structure wave absorber in industrial and civil fields makes researchers focus on studying its wave absorbing mechanism so as to optimize its structural design and improve its wave absorbing performance. Distinguishing from the equivalent circuit thinking to study the honeycomb structured absorber, a kind of symmetry operation is adopted in this paper for the honeycomb structured absorber from the electromagnetic wave propagation point of view. The reflection loss is assumed to be the result of the loss of the incident electromagnetic wave in the absorbing body and the superposition of multiple refractions, and the symmetry operation can separate the specific physical process of the refracted wave involved in the superposition. The separated electromagnetic wave vector superposition is compared with the simulated and experimental values to verify the correctness of the conjecture. The separation results show that the absorption properties are determined by the internal loss and the phase change caused by the surface structure, which is of positive significance for the optimization and design of honeycomb absorbers.

ObjectivesThe rat model of heart failure (HF) induced by doxorubicin (DOX), a broad spectrum and highly effective chemotherapeutic anthracycline with high-affinity to myocardial tissue that causes severe dose-dependent irreversible cardiotoxicity has been widely recognized and applied in HF pathogenesis and drug therapy studies. The gut microbiota (GM) has attracted significant attention due to its potential role in HF, and research in this area may provide beneficial therapeutic strategies for HF. Considering the differences in the route, mode, and total cumulative dose of DOX administration used to establish HF models, the optimal scheme for studying the correlation between GM and HF pathogenesis remains to be determined. Therefore, focusing on establishing the optimal scheme, we evaluated the correlation between GM composition/function and DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC).MethodsThree schemes were investigated: DOX (at total cumulative doses of 12, 15 or 18 mg/kg using a fixed or alternating dose via a tail vein or intraperitoneal injection) was administered to Sprague Dawley (SD) for six consecutive weeks. The M-mode echocardiograms performed cardiac function evaluation. Pathological changes in the intestine were observed by H&E staining and in the heart by Masson staining. The serum levels of N-terminal pre-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were measured by ELISA. The GM was analysed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Key findingsStrikingly, based on the severity of cardiac dysfunction, there were marked differences in the abundance and grouping of GM under different schemes. The HF model established by tail vein injection of DOX (18 mg/kg, alternating doses) was more stable; moreover, the degree of myocardial injury and microbial composition were more consistent with the clinical manifestations of HF.ConclusionsThe model of HF established by tail vein injection of doxorubicin, administered at 4mg/kg body weight (2mL/kg) at weeks 1, 3 and 5, and at 2mg/kg body weight (1mL/kg) at weeks 2, 4 and 6, with a cumulative total dose of 18mg/kg, is a better protocol to study the correlation between HF and GM.

A method for the simultaneous determination of 21 mycotoxins in milk and dairy products using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry technology was established. After the milk and dairy products were extracted with acidified acetonitrile, they were purified by a Captiva-EMR Lipid purification column and chromatographically separated by a C18 column. The mass spectrometry adopt full scan data-dependent MS/MS acquisition mode (Full MS/ddMS2) detected in positive and negative ion modes, and quantified by external standard method. The 21 mycotoxins all had a good linear relationship within a certain concentration range, the correlation coefficients (r) were greater than 0.99, the limits of quantification were 1.0~93.8 μg/kg, and the average recoveries of all mycotoxins were 60.3%~107.0% at three different levels, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) ranged between 0.4%~14.4%. This method was used to detect commercially available powdered and liquid milk and dairy products. Aflatoxin B2 was detected in a fruit-added yogurt sample. The method was fast, accurate, suitable for the rapid determination of multiple mycotoxins in milk and dairy products, which could be used for efficient screening of mycotoxins risks.

The surface discharge of silicone rubber (SIR) is one of the main reasons to accelerate the aging of its surface material in power systems. It is known that static water droplets on the SIR surface can make the flashover voltage substantially fall, while the flashover characteristics of water droplets impacting the SIR surface are unknown. In this work, the dynamic flashover characteristics of the water droplets impacting the SIR surface are studied. When the water droplets impact the SIR surface, they will stretch first and then shrink. The minimum flashover voltage occurs at the moment when the spreading area of the water droplet reaches the maximum, and this flashover voltage drop is nearly 1.8 times that of the static water droplet. When the water droplet begins to shrink, the bright arc first turns into a filament-like arc and then disappears as the water droplet continues to shrink. At the same time, when the droplet falls at a large height, the water droplet will be broken under the action of electric arc force, and the broken water droplet will likely make the static flashover voltage to further fall.

Abstract Nowadays, end fitting corrosion reduces the mechanical strength and flashover voltage of insulators, forming a huge threat to high‐voltage direct current transmission lines. At present, the parameters of electrolytic corrosion inhibition measures are selected based on the premise of the constant annual corrosion rate. However, with the development of corrosion, corrosion products accumulate on the insulator surface, which may impact the corrosion rate. In order to clarify the influence of corrosion products, this work studied how corrosion products influence the corrosion rate from the corrosion phenomenon, corrosion current, feature and formation of corrosion products. The results showed that corrosion products of iron and zinc were excellent in adhesion on the insulator surface and could not be cleaned by rain, which was able to increase the corrosion rate. In future, in the selection of the quality of the zinc ring bonded on insulator fittings, there will be a demand to consider the influence of corrosion products on the corrosion rate.

Naturally occurring hyperbolic polaritons exist in a class of layered materials. Here, the authors show evidence, via optical spectroscopy, of hyperbolic exciton-polaritons in phosphorene, originating from its in-plane anisotropy and strong exciton resonances.

The Cr-plated coating inside a gun barrel can effectively improve the barrel’s erosion resistance and thus increase the service life. However, due to the cyclic thermal load caused by high-temperature gunpowder, micro-element damage tends to occur within the Cr coating/steel substrate interface, leading to a gradual deterioration in macro-mechanical properties for the material in the related region. In order to mimic this cyclic thermal load and, thereby, study the thermal erosion behavior of the Cr coating on the barrel’s inner wall, a laser emitter is utilized in the current study. With the help of in-situ tensile test and finite element simulation results, a shear stress distribution law of the Cr coating/steel substrate and a change law of the interface ultimate shear strength are identified. Studies have shown that the Cr coating/steel substrate interface’s ultimate shear strength has a significant weakening effect due to increasing temperature. In this study, the interfacial ultimate shear strength decreases from 2.57 GPa (no erosion) to 1.02 GPa (laser power is 160 W). The data from this experiment is employed to establish a Cr coating/steel substrate interface shear damage model. And this model is used to predict the flaking process of Cr coating by finite element method. The simulation results show that the increase of coating crack spacing and coating thickness will increase the service life of gun barrel.

As a type of public land, park green spaces (PGSs) carry the daily recreation and social communication of urban residents, and the inequity of their space accessibility has been widely confirmed. However, the optimized suggestions based on evaluations of accessibility and equity in previous studies cannot guide actual planning effectively because the reasonable locations and scales of construction of PGSs were difficult to accurately identify. This study first constructed two equity objective functions: the minimum standard deviation (SD) and the minimum Gini coefficient (GC) in accessibility; then an improved two-step optimization method considering location-allocation was adopted to maximal accessibility equity (MAE) for optimizing the spatial layout of PGSs and doing comparisons of these two objectives for further analysis. The results showed that the improved method based on covering the accessibility blind area and preserving the existing PGSs could optimize the location selection and rationally determine the area. The two objective functions were both effective for optimization, but the GC minimization is more advantageous than the SD for achieving the MAE. The accessibility value increased significantly in a higher proportion of regions, and the overall accessibility median increased by 0.0445. It is worth mentioning that the MAE optimization would lead to a new imbalance between supply and demand in some regions. This indicated that the strictly restricted area standard may lead to the oversupply of PGSs in some areas, while the improvement of equity might not mean the improvement of accessibility. The proposed optimization framework could achieve the optimal layout of PGSs on the goal of MAE. Our findings also could provide inspiration for the equity allocation of other types of public facility lands and support decision-making for government departments regarding management and planning.

Here, arrays of 2H-TaSe2 nanoribbons are shown to exhibit a broadband plasmonic response that can be tuned from THz to telecom range. These localized plasmons can also couple to charge density wave excitations, offering insights on the physics of plasmonic excitations in 2D correlated materials.

Plasma-wall interaction is one of the key issues in tokamaks, as the material erosion and deposition will strongly influence the lifetime of plasma facing materials, fuel retention and plasma performance. Material migration and deposition have been firstly analyzed after the 2017 experimental campaign in EAST with tungsten (W) upper divertor, molybdenum inner wall and graphite lower divertor. It is found that the deposited elements on plasma-facing materials (PFMs) mainly consisted of Li, C, O, W and Mo etc, which was from the deposition of wall conditioning material and the sputtering of PFMs. More than 90 wt% of the deposits were lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide due to the routine lithium wall conditioning in EAST. Quantitative characterization of element density on graphite tile from lower inner divertor showed that W and Mo deposition increased when closer to the lower divertor, which is consistent with the decreasing normalized poloidal magnetic flux. The element composition of PFMs along poloidal direction has been measured by handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The concentration of deposited Mo and W is less than 0.2 wt% on most of the PFM surface. Double peaks of W concentration near the upper W divertor and at the midplane tile were observed on the TZM inner wall surface at the high-field side, which can be explained by higher redeposition at the location near the upper inner divertor or with a smaller normalized poloidal magnetic flux. Besides, more redeposited Mo and W was found at the inner and outer divertor near strike points compared with the dome region.

Abstract. Background. The association between dietary sodium intake and blood pressure variability (BPV) in hypertensive patients remains unclear. The objective of this study was to demonstrate whether dietary sodium intake is a predictor of elevated BPV in Chinese patients with hypertension. Methods. A total of 235 patients with essential hypertension were enrolled in the Department of Cardiology, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital in 2018 to 2019, all of whom underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. BPV was calculated as the standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), variation independent of mean (VIM) of blood pressure measurements, respectively, and divided into diurnal systolic BPV (SBPV), diurnal diastolic BPV (DBPV), nocturnal SBPV, and nocturnal DBPV. 24-h urine samples were collected to measure 24-h urine sodium excretion, which represents dietary sodium intake. The relationship between dietary sodium intake and BPV was analyzed by using Spearman correlations and multiple linear regression analysis. Results. Nocturnal SBPV-SD, CV, VIM, and nocturnal DBPV-SD in the high urine sodium excretion group were significantly higher than those in the medium and low urine sodium excretion groups, whereas diurnal SBPV-SD, CV, VIM, diurnal DBPV-SD, CV, VIM, and nocturnal DBPV-CV, VIM were not. Using the Spearman correlation analysis, we found a linear correlation between 24-h urine sodium excretion and nocturnal SBPV-SD, CV, VIM (SD, r = 0.22, P = 0.001; CV, r = 0.17, P = 0.009; VIM, r = 0.16, P = 0.020), nocturnal DBPV-SD (r = 0.21, P = 0.001), respectively. After further adjusting for confounding factors by multiple linear regression, the positive correlations remained between 24-h urine sodium excretion and nocturnal SBPV-SD, CV, VIM (SD, β = 0.224, P

An increase in the use of the gun barrel will cause wear of the inner wall, which reduces the muzzle velocity and the spin rate of the projectile. The off-bore flight attitude and trajectory of the projectile also change, affecting the shooting power and the accuracy. Exterior ballistic data of a high-speed spinning projectile are required to study the performance change. Therefore, based on the barrel's accelerated life test, the whole process of projectile shooting is reproduced using numerical simulation technology, and key information on the ballistic performance change at each shooting stage are acquired. Studies have shown that in the later stages of barrel shooting, the accuracy of shooting has not decreased significantly. However, it is found that the angle of attack of the projectile increases as the wear of the barrel increases. The maximum angle of attack reaches 0.106 rad when the number of shots reaches 4300. Meanwhile, elliptical bullet hole has appeared on the target at this shooting stage. Through combining external ballistic theory with simulation results, the primary reason of this phenomenon is found to be a significant decrease in the muzzle spin rate of the projectile. At the end of the barrel life, the projectile muzzle spin rate is 57.5% lower than that of a barrel without wear.

Frailty, as a kind of geriatric syndrome, increases adverse health outcomes such as falls, depression, deformity, disability and death in the elderly. The pathogenesis of frailty is not yet clear, and chronic inflammation is considered to be the main mechanism for its occurrence and development. Inflammation induces frailty by leading to sarcopenia, obesity, a variety of chronic diseases and immune dysfunction. Nutrition support, drug therapy and exercise intervention can reduce the level of inflammatory factors, reduce the inflammatory response, thus promoting muscle growth, reduce obesity, have a certain improvement effect on frailty. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672⁃6731.2020.01.010

Objective: To study the correlation between serum inflammatory factors, oxidative stress factors and frailty, and cognitive frailty in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD).Methods: A total of 281 patients with CSVD were selected from Tianjin Huanhu Hospital and Inner Mongolia People's Hospital from March 2019 to March 2021. CSVD was diagnosed by MRI. The FRAIL scale was used to evaluate the frailty of patients. Patients with CSVD with frailty and MMSE score

A quantum‐inspired optimisation algorithm with dynamic scale sampling is proposed for converging to the ground state efficiently to obtain the optimal solution. The proposed algorithm maintains diversity to discourage premature convergence through the niching method. Dynamic adjustment of sampling resolution is utilised to find a balance between exploration and exploitation. Energy level transition inside each niche and niches energy balance among niches improve the searching efficiency by guidance energy information of energy equilibrium point. The experimental results on benchmark function sets with compared algorithms show that the proposed scheme is dominant in accuracy and stability.

Tertiary-level interpreter training and education have developed rapidly in China, and over 200 undergraduate and over 200 postgraduate T&I programs have been launched over the past decade. Despite the rapid development, there has been no standardized framework allowing for the reliable and valid measurement of interpreting competence in China. Against this background, the China Standards of English (CSE), which are the Chinese counterpart to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), were unveiled in 2018 after 4 years of government-funded research and validation. One vital component of the CSE is the descriptor-referenced interpreting competence scales. This article provides a systematic account of the design, development, and validation of the interpreting competence scales in China. Within the CSE, the construct of interpreting competence was defined according to an interactionist approach. It not only encompasses cognitive abilities, interpreting strategies, and subject-matter knowledge but also considers performance in typical communicative settings. Based on the construct definition, a corpus of relevant descriptors was built from three main sources, including: (a) interpreting training syllabuses, curricular frameworks, rating scales, and professional codes of conduct; (b) previous literature on interpreting performance assessment, competence development, and interpreter training and education; and (c) exemplar-generation data on assessing interpreting competence and typical interpreting activities, which were collected from interpreting professionals, trainers, and trainees. The corpus contains 9,208 descriptors of interpreting competence. A mixed-method survey was then conducted to analyze, scale, and validate the descriptors among 30,682 students, 5,787 teachers, and 139 interpreting professionals from 28 provinces, municipalities, and regions in China. The finalized set included 369 descriptors that reference interpreting competence. The CSE—Interpreting Competence Scales with theoretically and empirically based descriptors represent a major effort in research on interpreting competence and its assessment, and they have significant potential to be applied widely in interpreting training, research, and assessment.

Optimisation problems exist widely in real‐life applications. A quantum‐inspired optimisation algorithm under the harmonic oscillator well transforms the function optimisation into solving the ground state wave function through the transformation of the Schrödinger equation. A novel approach using energy equipartition for the exchange of energy information is present to construct the candidate solutions. Elitists preservation is utilised to preserve dominant energy information for the improvement of search efficiency. Experiments on benchmark test functions for the 30D problem show that the proposed approaches are more effective than compared algorithms.

Mycotoxins are a type of toxins harmful for not only animal but also human health. Cooccurrence of multi-mycotoxins could occur for food infected by several molds, producing multi-mycotoxins. It is necessary to develop corresponding determination methods, among which current mass spectrometry (MS) dominates. Currently, the accurate identification and quantitation of mycotoxins in complex matrices by MS with low resolution is still a challenge since false-positive results are typically obtained. Here, a method for the simultaneous determination of 23 mycotoxins in broiler tissues using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap HRMS was established. After the extraction by acetonitrile-water-formic acid (80:18:2, v/v/v), the purification by multifunctional purification solid phase extraction cartridges and the chromatographic separation on a C18 column, representative mycotoxins were determined by HRMS in full scan/data-dependent MS/MS acquisition mode. The quantitation was based on the external standard method. An MS/MS database of 23 mycotoxins was established to achieve qualitative screening and simultaneous quantification. Mycotoxins had a good linear relationship within a certain concentration range with correlation coefficients (r2) larger than 0.991 as well as the limit of quantitation of 1.80–300 μg/kg. The average recoveries at three different levels of low, medium and high fortification were 61–111% with relative standard deviations less than 13.5%. The method was fast, accurate, and suitable for the precise qualification of multiple mycotoxins in broiler tissues. 15 μg/kg zearalenone (ZEN) was detected in one liver sample among 30 samples from markets including chicken breast meat, liver, and gizzards. The result illustrated that the pollution of ZEN should not be neglected considering its harmful effect on the target organ of liver.

Task allocation is an essential part of many military applications of WSAN such as intelligent minefield.The key problem of task allocation decision in these systems for the optimal scheme on task allocation is how to obtain the node-target assignment.Combing with the factors of target’s parameters and node’s own status,the various influence factors of task efficiency were analyzed and the positive and negative indicators were processed by range normalization method separately.The linear-weighted task efficiency function was proposed in the applications of WSAN such as intelligent minefield.It can be utilized as the evaluation index of assignment schemes since it reflected the integrated impact of target’s threat and node’s value on the system more comprehensively.Task efficiency function can be constructed flexibly based on the demand of different multifactor task allocation application.The essence of the problem was how to make node-target assignment to achieve the maximum task efficiency of the whole system.This problem turned into assignment problem and can be solved.Finally,an application was implemented to demonstrate this scheme.The results show that the model is suitable for small-scale multifactor task allocation problem in intelligent minefield system.

Fusarium wilt of banana, which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), is a serious soil-borne fungal disease. Now, the epigenetic molecular pathogenic basis is elusive. In this study, with methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) technique, DNA methylation was compared between the leaves inoculated with Foc TR4 and the mock-inoculated leaves at different pathogenic stages. With 25 pairs of primers, 1 144 and 1 255 fragments were amplified from the infected and mock-inoculated leaves, respectively. DNA methylation was both changed and the average methylated CCGG sequences were 34.81 and 29.26% for the infected and the mock-inoculated leaves. And DNA hypermethylation and hypomethylation were induced by pathogen infection during all pathogenic stages. Further, 69 polymorphic fragments were sequenced and 29 of them showed sequence similarity to genes with known functions. And RT-PCR results of four genes indicated that their expression patterns were consistent with their methylation patterns. Our results suggest that DNA methylation plays important roles in pathogenic response to Foc TR4 for banana.

This study presents a theoretical model to simulate the temperatures and productivity of a single-slope, single-basin solar still when an external solar enhancement is used. Experiments were performed in the New Mexico region (32.3199° N, 106.7637° W) to validate the numerical model. A point focusing Fresnel lens was used in the experiments to enhance the solar input. It was found that a significant rise in the productivity of the still was achieved with the Fresnel lens. Parametric study by varying the water depth showed the Fresnel lens was more effective for larger water depths. In addition, the Fresnel lens can aid in improving the overall efficiency of the solar still.

Chemotherapy resistance observed in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) may be related to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), but the underlying mechanism(s) remain unclear. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are intimately involved in tumor recurrence, and targeting them increases chemo-sensitivity. We investigated whether fibroblasts might increase CSCs thus mediating chemotherapy resistance. CSCs were isolated from either patient-derived xenografts or CRC cell lines based on expression of CD133. First, CSCs were found to be inherently resistant to cell death induced by chemotherapy. In addition, fibroblast-derived conditioned medium (CM) promoted percentage, clonogenicity and tumor growth of CSCs (i.e., CD133+ and TOP-GFP+) upon treatment with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) or oxaliplatin (OXA). Further investigations exhibited that exosomes, isolated from CM, similarly took the above effects. Inhibition of exosome secretion decreased the percentage, clonogenicity and tumor growth of CSCs. Altogether, our findings suggest that, besides targeting CSCs, new therapeutic strategies blocking CAFs secretion even before chemotherapy shall be developed to gain better clinical benefits in advanced CRCs.

AbstractThe mechanical properties of ultrahigh-strength steel (UHSS) produced through the gradient thermoforming process (GTP) are significantly influenced by residual stress and deformation. However, the precise distribution of these factors during GTP remains unclear. To address this issue, a detailed thermal model is developed, incorporating key heat transfer mechanisms, including coupled heat conduction and radiation, using the method of separation of variables. Furthermore, the displacement and stress fields of UHSS rectangular plates are derived using the differential quadrature method (DQM), accounting for phase transitions and external load. The combination of the separation of variables and DQM methods significantly improves computational efficiency. Furthermore, this study presents the first analysis of the combined effects of thermal load, phase transitions, and external forces on UHSS rectangular plates. Finally, through a combination of theoretical analysis, experimental validation, and case studies, the influence of material properties, geometric parameters, and external load on the temperature, stress, and displacement fields is examined. The findings reveal that heating rate, phase transitions, and external load play a critical role in the stress and displacement distribution in UHSS plates during GTP. This research provides a theoretical foundation for optimizing GTP process parameters and material design, ultimately enhancing the quality and performance of UHSS components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose ‒ This study identified subtypes and prognostic signature of stage I and stage II gastric cancer based on neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-related genes. Methods ‒ The gene expression data associated with stage I and stage II gastric cancer were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. NET-related genes were obtained from previous reference. Differentially expressed NET-related genes were selected by consensus cluster analysis. The differences in immune infiltration between two subtypes were analyzed. Prognosis-related genes were further screened by univariate Cox regression analysis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) of prognostic signatures was conducted with clusterprofiler. Finally, a miRNA–mRNA–transcription factor (TF) network was constructed. Results ‒ Total 43 differential NET-related genes were obtained and two subtypes were obtained based on these genes. Patients of cluster 2 had a better prognosis compared to cluster 1. Eight types of immune cells were differential in infiltration level between two subtypes. Following univariate Cox regression analysis, two genes of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and nuclear factor, erythroid 2- like 2 (NFE2L2) significantly related to patient survival were selected. GSEA of single gene revealed that CXCR4 was associated with allograft rejection and NFE2L2 was associated with drug metabolism-cytochrome P450. A network with 421 miRNA–mRNA–TF regulatory pairs was constructed. Conclusion ‒ The present study identified two subtypes and a prognostic signature for stage I and stage II gastric cancer based on NET-related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]