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A D-shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed to measure the refractive index in visible and near-infrared regions. Compared with traditional PCF, the use of D-shaped PCF can avoid filling materials and coatings in the hole. The plasma material of sensors is silver, and graphene is coated on the surface of the silver film. Graphene layer can not only prevent the oxidation of the silver but also improve the performance of the sensor. Then the influence of structural parameters on the sensor performance is studied by the finite element method (FEM). Results show that the performance of the sensor is not sensitive to the structural parameters, which makes the sensor has a good manufacturing tolerance. Moreover, when the refractive index (RI) of the analyte is 1.33 ~ 1.41, the maximum wavelength sensitivity is 13,750 nm/RIU, and the corresponding RI resolution is 7.27 × 10−6 RIU−1. In addition, the maximum figure of merit is 201 RIU−1. The proposed sensor is advanced with high sensitivity, simple structure and big fabrication tolerance, which could become a competitive candidate for water pollution monitoring, medical diagnosis, biochemical analysis, and detection fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For practical lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs), the high sulfur loading and lean‐electrolyte are necessary conditions to achieve the high energy density. However, such extreme conditions will cause serious battery performance fading, due to the uncontrolled deposition of Li2S and lithium dendrite growth. Herein, the tiny Co nanoparticles embedded N‐doped carbon@Co9S8 core–shell material (CoNC@Co9S8NC) is designed to address these challenges. The Co9S8NC‐shell effectively captures lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and electrolyte, and suppresses the lithium dendrite growth. The CoNC‐core not only improves electronic conductivity, but also promotes Li+ diffusion as well as accelerates Li2S deposition/decomposition. Consequently, the cell with CoNC@Co9S8NC modified separator delivers a high specific capacity of 700 mAh g−1 with a low‐capacity decay rate of 0.035% per cycle at 1.0 C after 750 cycles under a sulfur loading of 3.2 mg cm−2 and a E/S ratio of 12 µL mg−1, and a high initial areal capacity of 9.6 mAh cm−2 under a high sulfur loading of 8.8 mg cm−2 and a low E/S ratio of 4.5 µL mg−1. Besides, the CoNC@Co9S8NC exhibits an ultralow overpotential fluctuation of 11 mV at a current density of 0.5 mA cm–2 after 1000 h during a continuous Li plating/striping process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to investigate the characteristics of casein phosphopeptides in Chinese human milk, and their potential relationship to infant growth. Using the liquid chromatography-Orbitrap-mass spectrometry technique, a total of 15 casein phosphopeptides were identified from 200 human milk samples. Also, our results indicate that casein phosphopeptides were phosphorylated with only one phosphate. The relative concentrations of casein phosphopeptides at 6 months postpartum were increased compared with milk at 2 months (FDR < 0.05). Significantly positive correlations were observed between casein phosphopeptides and infant growth, as shown by four casein phosphopeptides were positively correlated with the infants' weight-for-age Z -scores (r s range from 0.20 to 0.29), and three casein phosphopeptides were positively correlated with the infants' length-for-age Z-scores (r s range from 0.19 to 0.27). This study is the first to reveal the phosphorylated level and composition of casein phosphopeptides in Chinese human milk, and their potential relationship with infant growth. [Display omitted] • First discovery of the composition of casein phosphopeptides in Chinese human milk. • Casein phosphopeptides in human milk were found to be hypo-phosphorylated. • Casein phosphopeptides increased with the duration of lactation. • Casein phosphopeptides were positively correlated to infant weight and length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Clarified rainfall interception and redistribution by single and mixed leaf litters. • Small leaves fill gaps in large leaves' structure to enhance effective interception. • Strong interception capability of litters reduces infiltration flow on sloped land. As a crucial component within the vertical structure of the forests, leaf litter plays a significant role in the hydrological effects of the forest ecosystem. Studying the impact of different types of leaf litter combinations on the hydrological performance, as well as understanding how the ratio of leaf types in the litter layer influences it, are crucial for achieving a deeper comprehension of the role of the litter layer in forest hydrological processes. The objectives of this study were to determine the rainfall interception characteristics of single leaf litters with different types (Pinus massoniana , Cinnamomum camphora and Magnolia grandiflora) and mixing degrees (P. massoniana × C. camphora , P. massoniana × M. grandiflora , and C. camphora × M. grandiflora , with mixing ratios of 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1) under various slope gradients (0°, 5° and 25°). The results showed that with varying combinations of leaf litters and different mixing degrees, there existed certain disparities in runoff mitigation efficiency. In particular, the response time of the P. massoniana × M. grandiflora to rainfall gradually advanced as the proportion of P. massoniana increased. The maximum and minimum interception capacity of the leaf litters were both highest for C. camphora , and minimum interception capacity of the mixed litters of P. massoniana × C. camphora decreased with an increasing proportion of P. massoniana. When C. camphora accounted for a larger proportion in the mixed litters of C. camphora × M. grandiflora , the minimum interception capacity was larger. In the combination of P. massonian × C. camphora , the proportion of infiltration flow was the highest when the mixing ratio was 1:1, while that of slope and lateral flow was the lowest. On the sloped land, the infiltration flow of P. massoniana × M. grandiflora increased with the increasing proportion of P. massoniana , while the slope flow was opposite. Mixtures of litters affect the accumulation spatial structure of the litter layer, consequently altering the interception and redistribution characteristics of rainfall. The research provides a reliable foundation for objectively assessing the water transfer mechanism and conservation function of the litter layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Bronze titanium dioxide (TiO2[B]) is widely used to improve lithium‐ion storage performances owing to their open crystal structure, pseudocapacitance effect, and high theoretical specific capacity. However, the reported storage performances of TiO2(B) for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are not ideal, due to the sluggish lithium‐ion diffusivity and poor electronic conductivity. Herein, mesoporous TiO2(B) ultrathin nanosheets with rich oxygen vacancies supported on carbon nanotubes (TiO2[B]‐CNTs) were constructed to enhance lithium‐ion storages via a simple solvothermal method combined with an annealing process under Ar atmosphere. The CNTs substrate in situ induces the orderly growth of mesoporous TiO2(B) ultrathin nanosheets with ~5 nm thinness and rich oxygen vacancies into a stabilized microstructure, which not only prevent aggregation of nanosheets, but also ensure effective exposure surface, as well as enhance the electronic conductivity. As‐obtained TiO2(B)‐CNTs electrodes in LIBs at 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles still show superior cycling performances with ~280 mAh g−1. Specifically, the TiO2(B)‐CNTs electrodes maintain good long‐term cycling performances. The specific capacities reached ~230 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1in the 700th cycle, and ~150 mAh g−1 at 2.0 A g−1 in the 1000th cycle, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epitaxial Cd2SnO4 films were fabricated on MgO(00l) single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique at various substrate temperatures and growth oxygen pressures. The microstructure, transport, and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. High‐resolution X‐ray diffraction and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that all the Cd2SnO4 films are grown epitaxially on MgO(00l) substrates. Atomic force microscope images indicate that the films have smooth surface morphologies. Hall‐effect measurements reveal that the epitaxial film grown at 680°C and 40 Pa presents the minimum resistivity value of 0.61 mΩcm and maximal Hall mobility of 32.87 cm2 V−1 s−1. The metal–semiconductor transitions of Cd2SnO4 films were observed and explained by competitive effects of two conductive mechanisms. The optical transmittance of the Cd2SnO4 films is higher than 75% in the visible and near‐infrared range, and the optical bandgap was determined to be about 3.09 eV for the film grown at optimal condition. The band structure and density of states of the Cd2SnO4 were calculated by the density functional theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A systematic study of the crystallization properties of mullite in slag. • The kinetic characterization parameters of mullite were obtained. • Provided optimized conditions for smooth slagging of slag with high SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 content. Mullite crystallization leading to poor slag discharge, is the bottleneck of solid fuel gasification. In order to quantify the crystallization behavior and prevent slag blocking, the crystallization thermodynamics and kinetics of slags in the main crystalline phase region of mullite were studied using FactSage, XRD, SEM-EDS and DSC. Mullite crystallization temperatures ranged from 1189 °C to 1325 °C, and an increase in the cooling rate reduced the mullite onset crystallization temperature as detected by DSC. Kinetic analysis showed that mullite possesses strong nucleation capacity and crystallize tendency, and the minimum activation energy of crystallization of slags was 304.4 kJ/mol. The Si-O-Al structure was regarded as the key short-range ordered structure for mullite crystallization ability, and its concentration was reduced by increasing SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3. Then the crystallization tendency could be weakened by adjustment of SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3. Meanwhile, slags with SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 = 2.0 or Fe 2 O 3 ≤ 15 wt% showed weak crystallization tendency or glassy slag, which was favorable for slagging operation. The results of this study can provide theoretical guidance for the smooth slagging of ash slag in the main crystalline phase of mullite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of deep learning and the wide usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), CNN-based algorithms of vehicle detection in aerial images have been widely studied in the past several years. As a downstream task of the general object detection, there are some differences between the vehicle detection in aerial images and the general object detection in ground view images, e.g., larger image areas, smaller target sizes, and more complex background. In this paper, to improve the performance of this task, a Dense Attentional Residual Network (DAR-Net) is proposed. The proposed network employs a novel dense waterfall residual block (DW res-block) to effectively preserve the spatial information and extract high-level semantic information at the same time. A multiscale receptive field attention (MRFA) module is also designed to select the informative feature from the feature maps and enhance the ability of multiscale perception. Based on the DW res-block and MRFA module, to protect the spatial information, the proposed framework adopts a new backbone that only downsamples the feature map 3 times; i.e., the total downsampling ratio of the proposed backbone is 8. These designs could alleviate the degradation problem, improve the information flow, and strengthen the feature reuse. In addition, deep-projection units are used to reduce the impact of information loss caused by downsampling operations, and the identity mapping is applied to each stage of the proposed backbone to further improve the information flow. The proposed DAR-Net is evaluated on VEDAI, UCAS-AOD, and DOTA datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Metal oxides with high RI will improve the sensing performance of fiber sensors. • Compared to silver-based sensors, the maximum sensitivity of TiO 2 composite film sensors has increased by 16.92 %. • Compared to silver-based sensors, the maximum sensitivity of ZnO composite film sensors has increased by 4.62 %. • The maximum temperature sensitivity of the two composite membrane sensors is 4.9 nm/℃ and 4.3 nm/℃, respectively. With the widespread application of fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors in the field of biochemical sensing, especially in the detection of large molecules such as proteins, the sensitivity of traditional fiber SPR sensors has made it difficult to meet the requirements of detection accuracy in practical applications. This article proposes and proves an effective method for selecting the optimal metal oxide material to improve the sensing performance of SPR sensors. Metal oxides (TiO 2 and ZnO) can improve the sensitivity by enhancing the evanescent field of fiber SPR phenomenon. Through simulation, it was found that when the metal oxide film of the composite film sensor maintains the same thickness, the metal oxide with a high effective refractive index (RI) has a better improvement effect on the sensitivity of the SPR sensor. Experimental results show that the maximum RI sensitivity of TiO 2 composite film sensors and ZnO composite film sensors in the RI range of 1.333–1.420 is 15,200 nm/RIU and 13,600 nm/RIU, respectively. Compared to silver-based sensors, RI sensitivity has increased by 16.92 % and 4.62 %, respectively. To further verify the enhancement effect of different metal oxides on fiber sensors, another layer of PDMS film is deposited on TiO 2 and ZnO films. Within the temperature sensing range, the maximum temperature sensitivity of these two composite film temperature sensors is 4.9 nm/°C and 4.3 nm/°C, respectively. Overall, metal oxides with high RI can improve the sensing performance of fiber optic sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A broadband dual-parameter sensor is proposed and demonstrated. • The sensor cascaded gold film and silver film, which made the range of parameters to be measured larger. • The two detection channels are independent of each other and do not affect each other. • The sensor is simple in structure and easy to prepare. Dual-parameter sensor has relatively small detection range because of restriction on resonance wavelength range. To overcome this problem, we propose a cascaded gold and silver SPR dual-parameter sensor. As the resonance wavelength ranges of gold and silver are different, cascading the two metals to make one sensor broadens the resonance wavelength range, thus increasing the sensor's detection range. The sensor uses no-core fiber as the probe and multimode fiber (MMF) as the input (output) coupler, which constitutes an MMF-NCF-MMF sensing structure. By using Magnetron sputtering, gold and silver are deposited on the outer surface of NCF. The effects of coating time and NCF length on the sensing performance were experimentally investigated to determine the optimal coating time and NCF length. The experimental results shows that the two channels of the sensor are independent of each other without crosstalk and have an extensive range of parameters to be measured. The maximum sensitivity is 3231 nm/RIU in the RI range of 1.333–1.385. It has a maximum temperature sensitivity of 6.68 nm/°C from 0 to 80 °C. In addition, the sensor has good stability and repeatability. The proposed sensor has a simple and integrated structure and is suitable for applications requiring large detection range sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henan area is climatologically situated in the transition between northern and southern China and the transition is reported to be highly sensitive to climate changes during the Holocene. To better understand the Holocene climatic and environmental changes in Henan area where high-quality data are lacking, this paper first reviewed those published palaeoenvironmental records in attempt to provide a low-resolution framework of the Holocene environmental changes in Henan area, and then synthesized the moisture proxy records from the surrounding areas in attempt to define a high-resolution trend of the Holocene moisture variation for our target site (i.e., Zhengzhou within Henan area). Two major conclusions can be drawn. First, the high-resolution Holocene moisture curve for our target site well follows the general moisture trend of China and the curve is well corroborated by two recently-reported data sets: one from Mangshan loess-palaeosol sequence and another from Laomu-Dongshiya Cave. Second, our synthesis supports an earlier notion stating that the "Holocene Moisture Optimum" in China was a delayed response to the oceanic "Holocene Thermal Optimum". The latter might in turn be a delayed response to the summer insolation peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BaSn1−xTixO3 (BSTO, x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0) epitaxial films were deposited on LaAlO3(001) substrates by employing a pulsed laser deposition system. Their composition dependent structure and optical properties were systematically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. High resolution x-ray diffraction characterization showed that the film lattice parameters decrease linearly with the increase in Ti concentrations, following Vegard's law. Optical property measurements revealed that all films have the optical transmittance of more than 70% in the visible and infrared wavelength range. Interestingly, the bandgap nonlinearity of BSTO films was observed, and the film at Ti doped x = 0.25 has the largest bandgap value of 4.04 eV. The calculated electronic structure and the density of states of BSTO films determined by DFT suggested that the strong hybridization between Sn 5s and Ti 3d orbitals caused the initial expansion of the bandgap, whereas upon further increasing the doping content, Ti 3d orbitals dominated the conduction band, leading to the bandgap reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A compact dual-channel sensor is proposed and demonstrated. • The sensor can detect temperature and refractive index simultaneously. • The two detection channels are independent and do not interfere with each other. • The sensor structure is simple and easy to prepare. To improve the integration of sensors and meet the trend of miniaturization of devices, we propose and demonstrate a compact dual-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) fiber sensor for detecting refractive index (RI) and temperature. In this sensor, we chose the simplest structure of optical fiber: no-core fiber (NCF), as the sensing probe. Then the silver film was deposited on the NCF surface using magnetron sputtering to excite the SPR effect. Two sensing channels were constructed on the NCF, one channel deposited with silver film for RI detection, and another channel deposited with PDMS and silver film for temperature detection. Such a construction makes the sensor compact and small. The performance of the proposed sensor is studied theoretically and experimentally. The experiment shows that the maximum sensitivity of the sensor is 3039 nm/RIU and 3.53 nm/°C when the RI ranges from 1.333 to 1.375 and the temperature ranges from 0 °C to 70 °C, respectively. The significant advantage of our proposed sensor is its simple, compact, and easy-to-prepare structure, which opens up a new direction for device miniaturization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CoSe nanoparticles embedded in N -doped carbon with in-situ growth of CNTs are synthesized. • Dual-mediators consist of heterogeneous (CoSe@CNTs) and homogeneous (CoCp 2) mediators. • Dual-mediation pathways improve sulfur redox kinetics under lean electrolyte. The high energy density (2500 Wh kg−1) makes that lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) have a great potential in energy storages. However, the practical application of LSBs is severely hampered by several inherent problems, including the sluggish sulfur redox kinetics, the shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and poor electronic conductivity. Although heterogeneous or homogeneous mediators could improve the cycling performance of LSBs to a certain extent, single mediators could not completely promote sulfur conversions, especially under high sulfur loading and lean electrolyte. Herein, dual-mediator systems consist of heterogeneous and homogeneous mediators that are introduced to address the above issues. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and electrochemical analysis indicate that CoSe nanoparticles embedded in urchin-like nitrogen-doped porous carbon with in-situ growth of CNTs (CoSe@CNTs) as heterogeneous mediators and soluble CoCp 2 as homogeneous mediators could effectively accelerate the bidirectional conversion kinetics of liquid LiPSs ↔ solid Li 2 S through the synergistic effect. As a consequence, the cell with dual-mediators delivers a high initial specific capacity of 1005 mAh/g with a low attenuation rate of 0.045 % per cycle at a current density of 1.0C under sulfur loading of 2.8 mg cm−2 after 800cycles. Importantly, it still maintains a high areal capacity of 6.53 mAh cm−2 under lower electrolyte/sulfur ratio (E/S, 4.2 µL mg−1) and higher sulfur loading of 7.3 mg cm−2 over 100cycles at 0.1C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying precise point positioning (PPP) technology to island control surveys without ground base stations was implemented by estimating static PPP accuracy and convergence speed with the length of observation data and data interval. The results show that static PPP accuracy can be achieved mm to the cm degree of IGS station. Horizontal accuracy is smaller than 1cm and vertical accuracy is better than 3cm. In addition, we obtained the interval and convergence time for use in control surveys with static PPP method. An example is investigated to verify the validity and practicability of the proposed methos for island control surveys in comparison with GAMIT/GLOBK results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postmortem catabolism of Adenosine Triphosphate and Adenosine Triphosphate-related compounds, K value, pH, and texture of crucian carp were investigated during storage in ice. ATP and Adenosine Diphosphate degraded to Inosinic acid within 48 hours postmortem. There was a good relationship between pH value and IMP concentration (r = −0.753), IMP reached a top point at 3.33 ± 0.17 μmols/g in 4 hours postmortem; meanwhile, Hypoxanthine reached a bottom point at 0.038 ± 0.0052 μmol/g. K value increased linearly (r = 0.96) from an initial value of 0.54 to 1.66% in 48 hours postmortem. Texture analyses results suggested that rigor mortis lasted about 1 hour postmortem, after resolution of rigor, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness decreased in accordance with storage time (r = −0.88,−0.78, and −0.78, respectively). Those results indicated that it was better to effectively utilize the crucian carp in 2–4 hours postmortem. The K value might not be a good indicator to monitoring the loss of freshness of crucian carp during storage in ice since the K value was much lower than marine fish. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dam is an important way of water-resources utilization in large rivers. To date, more than 50 000 dams with various sizes have been constructed in the Yangtze River basin, with many other dams proposed to be constructed by 2020. Dam construction has played significant roles in flood control, irrigation, navigation, and energy supply; however, the enormous negative effects, such as landslides, ecological problems, and water quality decline, could surpass positive gains. Although a long and complicated evaluation process had been carried out and the countermeasures for numerous foreseen negative impacts of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) had been implemented, many uncertainties and debating opinions on the benefits and costs of this project still exist. In this review, we synthesize the negative impacts that have occurred as a result of the TGD, including reservoir-triggered seismicity, landslides, water quality control, ecological problems, siltation, and sediment discharge decline to assure an environmentally friendly operation of the TGD and regional sustainable development in the Yangtze River basin, especially in the Three Gorges Reservoir region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central Plains of China witnessed a crucial cultural transformation towards the end of the Longshan period from a chiefdom-like society to a state-level society that has been speculated to be associated with regionally favorable environmental conditions. However, this speculation has not yet been substantiated. We first compiled the information on human migrations and extreme floods during the late Longshan period and then compared the relationships of human settlements with hydrogeomorphic settings in the Central Plains between the Longshan and Xinzhai-Erlitou periods. Our comparison shows that the course of the Yellow River was relatively stable during the Longshan period in the eastern Central Plains, where abundant highlands might have existed for human dwellings. However, geologically and archaeologically documented extreme floods that occurred at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP changed hydrogeomorphic settings in key locations along the Yellow River. The northern Henan area and the bordering area of Henan, Shandong and Anhui Provinces were subjected to frequent crevasses from flooding of the Yellow River at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP, which might have forced human migrations. Consequently, the northern Henan area and the bordering area of the three provinces lacked human settlements, whereas the western Central Plains contained concentrated human settlements during the Xinzhai-Erlitou period. We propose that the success of the above-mentioned cultural transformation was likely causally associated with hydrogeomorphic setting changes in the lower Yellow River Basin. Specifically, the frequent crevasses from flooding of the Yellow River at ~ 4000 cal. yr BP in the eastern alluvial plain regions made the western hilly and mountainous regions of present-day Henan Province the "refuge" for eastern immigrants during the late Longshan period. After the floods, human reoccupation and subsequent population increase beyond the local optimum carrying capacity within the Luoyang Basin during the Erlitou period might be a key driver of local social complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ZnO/MnO 2 hybrid nanostructure was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal process. • Such ZnO/MnO 2 hybrid nanostructure electrode and the assembled supercapacitor exhibit a long-term cyclic life and stability. • A possible mechanism of electrochemical performance of ZnO/MnO 2 hybrid nanostructure was discussed. ZnO/MnO 2 hybrid nanostructure for electrode and asymmetric supercapacitor is fabricated and electrochemical performance of the as-prepared active material is investigated in this paper. The as-synthesized electrode material possesses a wheel-like shape composed of the nanosheets and nanoparticles. This ZnO/MnO 2 electrode with 3-electrode measurement and the assembled supercapacitor show maximum area capacitance of 271.1 mF cm−2 and 376.7 mF cm−2 at current densities of 2 mA cm−2, respectively, as well as energy density of 109.8 mWh cm−2 and 610.2 mWh cm−2 , power density of 3240 mW cm−2 and 6480 mW cm−2, respectively. Moreover, the as-prepared electrode material has a long-term cyclic life and stability (95% after 50,000 cycles) and the assembled supercapacitor possesses 97% retention after 10,000 cycles, respectively. Excellent electrochemical performance of the as-fabricated hybrid nanostructure could be contributed to the unique hybrid nanostructure and good pseudocapacitance of MnO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work explains that TiO 2 and ZnO can significantly modulate the resonance wavelength range of SPR sensors. • It is experimentally demonstrated that the two oxide films have the effect of enhancing the sensitivity of the SPR sensor. • The dual-channel sensor prepared using the cascade method of two oxide films has a wide sensing bandwidth. • The performance of the proposed dual-channel sensor is highly stable and not easily oxidized. In order to broaden the bandwidth of SPR dual-channel sensors, this work proposes to tune the resonance wavelength range of the sensors using a cascade of ZnO and TiO 2 films. The two oxides are transversely deposited on Ag-based no-core fiber to form a dual-channel sensor that can be used for refractive index (RI) and temperature measurements. Among them, Ag/ZnO is used for RI sensing and Ag/TiO 2 /PDMS is used for temperature sensing. The simulation and experimental results show that ZnO and TiO 2 have the effect of broadening the resonance wavelength range by 44 nm and 72 nm, respectively. In addition, when the two oxides are added to the Ag-based sensor, the SPR valley is red-shifted, and the sensitivity is enhanced. The experimental results also show that the two oxides make the silver film less susceptible to oxidation and enhance the stability of the sensor. Numerical results show that the maximum RI sensitivity of the sensor is 4630 nm/RIU, and the temperature sensitivity is 5.8 nm/°C. The range of the object to be measured is 1.333–1.385, 0–50 °C. This ability to broaden the sensor bandwidth provides a new direction for designing and applying high-performance multi-channel SPR sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a dual-core two-parameter optical fiber sensor based on the surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect. It is analyzed by the finite element method. The proposed sensor is a dual-channel structure designed with photonic crystal fiber (PCF) as the base material: one channel is coated with a gold film to measure the refractive index (RI) of the solution to be measured, and the other channel is coated with a gold film and polydimethylsiloxane to measure the temperature of the solution to be measured. The exposed microslot structure on both sides reduces the complexity of sensing measurements. The results show that the maximum RI sensitivity of the sensor is 19,900 nm/RIU, and the maximum sensitivity to temperature is 8.7 nm/℃. This work is conducive to realizing a PCF sensor with high sensitivity, large measurement range, real-time monitoring, and easy preparation. As a result, the sensor is expected to be widely used in fields such as biology and chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow spherical structures with abundant mesoporous are of great interest for electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Although there are many synthetic strategies, using template-free methods to construct the hollow spherical structures still faces great challenges. Herein, we designed a simple template-free method to successfully obtain uniform hollow TiO 2 microspheres (TiO 2 –H) with a well-defined hollow interior and abundant mesoporous. Owing to the structural superiority, the as-prepared TiO 2 –H as an electrode material for LIBs delivers a high specific capacity of ∼132 mAh g−1 at a current density of 2.0 C after 200 cycles. Besides, it also exhibits satisfying long-term cycling performances with a high specific capacity of ∼100 mAh g−1 at a large current density of 5.0 C after 800 cycles. These superior cycling performances and strong structure stability of TiO 2 –H electrodes are attributed to the hollow spherical structures with large specific surface areas and rich mesoporous, which can ensure Li ion diffusion and provide sufficient electrochemical reaction sites, as well as remit the large volume changes. Image 1 • Hollow TiO 2 microspheres with abundant mesoporous were constructed by a simple and template-free method. • The unique hollow spherical structures are beneficial to accelerate lithium ion diffusion and buffer the volume expansion. • Such satisfying long-term cycling performances at large current densities for lithium storage can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite-structured (Sm x Sr 1- x)SnO 3 (SSSO) films with x = 0–0.15 were epitaxially grown on LaAlO 3 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and the microstructure, transport and optical properties were investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction results show that the lattice constants gradually decrease with the Sm content increasing. Atomic force microscopy images confirm that all the films possess a smooth surface with low surface roughness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements prove the existence of Sm3+ state in the doped SSSO films. Hall-effect measurements show that the film at x = 0.06 has the lowest room-temperature resistivity of 5.91 mΩcm and the highest electron mobility of 14.8 cm2/Vs. Temperature-dependent resistivity curves were fitted and explained by weak localization effect and e -- e - interactions at low temperatures for films at x = 0.04 to 0.10. Optical transparency of all the films is more than 70% in the wavelength range from 600 to 1800 nm, and the band gaps increase gradually from 4.27 to 4.60 eV with increasing Sm content to 0.06, which can be ascribed to Burstein-Moss effect. Furthermore, the insertion of pure SrSnO 3 buffer layer between the substrate and the SSSO film considerably reduces the density of dislocations, thereby leading to the improved electrical transport property. All these results bring rare-earth element Sm a step closer to optoelectronic applications of all-perovskite transparent and conductive oxides. The transparent and conductive Sm-doped SrSnO 3 thin films were prepared. For comparison, a SrSnO 3 buffer layer was inserted between the film and the substrate. Image 1 • Transparent conducting Sm-doped SrSnO 3 films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. • The film at x = 0.06 has the lowest room-temperature resistivity of 5.91 mΩcm and the highest mobility of 14.8 cm2/V. • The electrical conductivity is enhanced greatly with the insertion of SrSnO 3 buffer layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to detect the comprehensive fatty acid (FA) profile in human milk, including total fatty acids (total FAs), Sn-2 fatty acids (Sn-2 FAs), and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and further analyzed the influence of the sampling regions on human milk FA profile. The results showed that oleic acid (C18:1n9c), palmitic acid (C16:0), and linoleic acid (C18:2n6c) were the main FA species in total FAs, and Sn-2 C16:0 was the dominant Sn-2 FA species. Moreover, the PLFAs were mainly comprised of PL C16:0, PL stearic acid (PL C18:0), PL C18:1n9c, and PL C18:2n6c. Furthermore, FAs showed geographical differences, such as the highest content of linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n3) of total FAs was observed in Lanzhou and Weihai, respectively. Therefore, these results provide more FA data for the Chinese human milk database, and further enrich the theoretical information for the development of infant formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work utilizes TiO 2 film to tune the sensing bandwidth and the resonance wavelength range to the near-infrared band. • A dual-channel sensor with wide bandwidth is proposed. • The experimental results show that the RI range of the sensor is 1.333–1.385, and the temperature range is 10–80 ℃. • The sensor has simple structure and good repeatability. Facing the diversity and complexity of the types of parameters to be measured, multi-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) fiber sensors provide an excellent solution. However, the sensing bandwidth is a key factor affecting the sensor performance. In this paper, we explore a method to modulate the sensing bandwidth using the TiO 2 film. A dual-channel SPR sensor with a wide sensing bandwidth is proposed. In this sensor, no-core fiber (NCF) is used as the sensing probe, and multimode fibers are used for the transmission of optical signals. The sensor has a cascaded composite film structure, the region coated with Ag film as the refractive index sensing region and the region coated with Ag/TiO 2 /PDMS as the temperature sensing region. The experimental results show that the sensing bandwidth of the sensor varies for different TiO 2 coating times. It indicates that the TiO 2 film can regulate the sensing bandwidth flexibly. Therefore, to achieve the optimal sensing effect, the TiO 2 coating time can be flexibly adjusted according to the RI characteristics of the environment. The maximum sensitivity of this dual-channel sensor is 4.5 nm/°C and 3151 nm/RU when the temperature range is between 10 and 80 °C and the RI range is between 1.333 and 1.385, respectively. In addition, we discuss the repeatability and stability of this dual-channel sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the extraction of hypoglycemic peptides from food proteins has gained increasing attention. Neuropeptides, hormone peptides, antimicrobial peptides, immune peptides, antioxidant peptides, hypoglycemic peptides and antihypertensive peptides have become research hotspots. In this study, bioinformatic methods were used to screen and predict the properties of pig collagen-derived hypoglycemic peptides, and their inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase were determined in vitro. Two peptides (RL and NWYR) were found to exhibit good water solubility, adequate ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, and toxicity) properties, potentially high biological activity, and non-toxic. After synthesizing these peptides, NWYR showed the best inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase with IC50 = 0.200±0.040 mg/mL, and it can regulate a variety of biological processes, play a variety of molecular functions in different cellular components, and play a hypoglycemic role by participating in diabetic cardiomyopathy and IL-17 signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that NWYR had the best binding effect with the core target DPP4 (4n8d), with binding energy of -8.8 kcal/mol. NWYR mainly bonded with the target protein through hydrogen bonding, and bound with various amino acid residues such as Asp-729, Gln-731, Leu-765, etc., thus affecting the role of the target in each pathway. It is the best core target for adjuvant treatment of T2DM. In short, NWYR has the potential to reduce type 2 diabetes, providing a basis for further research or food applications as well as improved utilization of pig by-products. However, in subsequent studies, it is necessary to further verify the hypoglycemic ability of porcine collagen active peptide (NWYR), and explore the hypoglycemic mechanism of NWYR from multiple perspectives such as key target genes, protein expression levels and differences in metabolites in animal models of hyperglycemia, which will provide further theoretical support for its improvement in the treatment of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing methods enable highly sensitive, fast response, and label-free analysis of biomolecular interactions. For SPR sensors, sensitivity and full width at half maximum (FWHM) are two incompatible performance parameters. We propose a refractive index (RI) sensor using a dual-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and SPR effects to achieve high sensitivity and a narrow FWHM simultaneously. The air holes of the sensor appear in a hexagonal arrangement, and polishing technology introduces two polishing planes into the cladding. A gold film is deposited on one side of the polished plane to form a highly sensitive RI sensing channel. Five gold nanowires are deposited on the other side of the polished plane to form a RI sensing channel with a narrow FWHM. We analyzed and optimized its structural parameters using the finite element method and determined the optimal structural parameters. The numerical results demonstrate that the maximum sensitivity of the sensor is 21,000 nm/RIU with the narrowest FWHM of 31 nm. Therefore, measuring the refractive index simultaneously with two sensing channels increases the detection accuracy of the measurement. In addition, the findings further indicate that variations in structural parameters do not significantly impact the sensing performance of the sensor, which makes the production of the sensor relatively simple. In conclusion, our work provides a new research method for realizing high sensitivity and a narrow FWHM simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are more susceptible to acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury. However, the mechanism remains largely elusive. Clinical observation showed that high levels of hepatokine fetuin-B (FetB) in plasma are significantly associated with both diabetes and coronary artery diseases. This study was aimed to determine whether FetB mostly derived from liver exacerbates MI/R-induced injury and the underlying mechanisms in T2DM. Mice were given high-fat diet and streptozotocin to induce T2DM model and subjected to 30 min MI followed by reperfusion. Diabetes caused increased hepatic FetB expression and greater myocardial injury as evidenced by increased apoptosis and myocardial enzymes release following MI/R. In T2DM hearts, insulin-induced phosphorylations of insulin receptor substrate 1 at Tyr608 site and Akt at Ser473 site and glucose transporter 4 membrane translocation were markedly reduced. Interaction between FetB and insulin receptor-β subunit (IRβ) was enhanced assessed by immunoprecipitation analysis. More importantly, FetB knockdown via AAV9 alleviated MI/R injury and improved cardiac insulin-induced signaling in T2DM mice. Conversely, upregulation of FetB in normal mice caused exacerbated MI/R injury and impairment of insulin-mediated signaling. In cultured neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes, incubation of FetB significantly reduced tyrosine kinase activity of IR and insulin-induced glucose uptake, and increased hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, FoxO1 knockdown by siRNA suppressed FetB expressions in hepatocytes treated with palmitic acid. In conclusion, upregulated FetB in diabetic liver contributes to increased MI/R injury and cardiac dysfunction via directly interacting with IRβ and consequently impairing cardiac insulin signaling. • Hepatokine fetuin-B is significantly upregulated in diabetes. • Upregulated fetuin-B exacerbates MI/R injury in diabetes and suppression of fetuin-B exerts cardiac protective effects. • Fetuin-B interacts with insulin receptor-β subunit, impairs cardiac insulin signaling and consequently causes MI/R injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To reduce the danger for firefighters and ensure the safety of firefighters as much as possible, based on the back propagation neural network (BPNN) the fire sensor multi-sensor information fusion detection system is investigated. Method: According to previous studies, the information sources and information processing methods for the design of this study are first explained. Then, the basic structure and flowchart of the research object in this study are designed. Based on the structure diagram and flowchart, the BPNN is selected to fuse the feature layers in this study, and the fuzzy control is selected to fuse the decision layers in this study. The multi-sensor information fusion detection system collects information for the sensors first, processes the collected information, and sends it to the processor of the robot. The processor analyzes and processes the received signal, and transmits the obtained information to the control terminal through the wireless communication system. Results: Through the tests in this study, it is found that when the number of hidden layer nodes of the BPNN is 7, the optimal training result is obtained. On this basis, the test of BPNN in this study is performed. The test results show that after 127 iterations, the error of the BPNN reaches the lowest target value, indicating that the BPNN achieves an excellent level of accuracy. The trained BPNN has a running time of 0.0276 s and a mean square error of 0.0013. The smaller the mean square error value is, the higher the accuracy of the BPNN is, which shows that the BPNN meets the high precision requirements of this study. Conclusion: The research on the multi-sensor information fusion detection system of fire robots in this study can provide theoretical support for the research on forest fire detection in China. Since the proposed BPNN-based robot is applied to the inspection and processing of forest remaining fire, the results are applicable to the forests of various countries, with a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilms are the chief culprits of most intractable infections and pose great threat to human health. Developing effective strategies to sweep away the detrimental microbe and stubborn biofilm still remains a challenge. Here, an ultrasound (US) activated microbomb is constructed by encapsulating perfluorohexane (PFH) and iron‐tannin modified calcium peroxide (CaO2‐TA‐Fe) in poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide) (PLGA) vesicles as the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating reactors for dental biofilm elimination. Upon the US irradiation by ultrasonic toothbrush, the swiftly vaporized PFH can not only promptly explode the PLGA shell to facilitate the generation of H2O2 from CaO2, but also blast the tight biofilm for effective delivery of the lethal hydroxyl free radicals (•OH) caused by degradative Fe3+ from iron‐tannin network, thereby proceeding cascade catalysis eradication of biofilm. As a proof‐of‐concept, this study demonstrates the proposed synergetic paradigm that integrates the US‐triggered explosion with ROS‐induced sterilization for stubborn biofilm elimination, and is a promising tactic for the costly and prevalent caries prevention as well as the biofilm‐associated diseases treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the effect of ε-Polylysine on bacterial communities, sensorial, and chemical properties [total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), biogenic amines, and breakdown products of adenosine triphosphate] of bighead carp ( Aristichthys nobilis ) fillets stored at 4 ± 1 °C. Bacterial communities were explored by the culture-dependent method and the high-throughput sequencing targeting on 16S rRNA genes. The results showed that the major genera in spoiled control samples were Aeromonas , Pseudomonas , Shewanella , and Acinetobacter . ε-Polylysine inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas , Shewanella , and Acinetobacter . Consequently, Aeromonas and Janthinobacterium were dominant in spoiled treated samples. The sensorial shelf-life of the control and treated groups were 8 days and 10 days, respectively. Furthermore, due to the inhibitory effect of ε-Polylysine on bacteria, chemical changes of the treated group were slower, reflecting as lower concentrations of TVB-N, putrescine, cadaverine, and hypoxanthine, and higher contents of inosine 5′-monophosphate and hypoxanthine riboside at the end of storage. In conclusion, ε-Polylysine altered the bacterial communities and delayed quality deterioration of bighead carp fillets during chilled storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most common methods to detect non-technical losses involve Deep Learning-based classifiers and samples of consumption remotely collected several times a day through Smart Meters (SMs) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This approach requires a huge amount of data, and training is computationally expensive. However, most energy meters in emerging countries such as Brazil are technologically limited. These devices can measure only the accumulated energy consumption monthly. This work focuses on detecting energy theft in scenarios without AMI and SM. We propose a strategy called HyMOTree intended for the hyperparameter tuning of tree-based algorithms using different multiobjective optimization strategies. Our main contributions are associating different multiobjective optimization strategies to improve the classifier performance and analyzing the model's performance given different probability cutoff operations. HyMOTree combines NSGA-II and GDE-3 with Decision Tree, Random Forest, and XGboost. A dataset provided by a Brazilian power distribution company CPFL ENERGIA™ was used, and the SMOTE technique was applied to balance the data. The results show that HyMOTree performed better than the random search method, and then, the combination between Random Forest and NSGA-II achieved 0.95 and 0.93 for Precision and F1-Score, respectively. Field studies showed that inspections guided by HyMOTree achieved an accuracy of 76%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation and temperature hardness are important for electronic devices operating in harsh environments such as modern medical equipment, outer space, and nuclear energy industries. In this work, we report radiation and temperature-hardened flexible ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 epitaxial films that were grown on flexible inorganic mica substrates via van der Waals heteroepitaxy and can be further used for building high-performance electronic devices. We systematically investigated the effect of 60Co-gamma radiation and temperature on the ferroelectric properties of Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films and their flexibility as well. Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films exhibit a radiation and temperature tolerance of up to 20 Mrad and 175 °C, respectively. In particular, the 20 Mrad-irradiated Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 film has an excellent retention even after 105 s with extrapolate retention time longer than 10 years and polarization fatigue up to 1010 cycles as well as moderate flexibility and bending stability after bending 105 cycles. Furthermore, we identified that the degradation of macroscopic ferroelectric properties of irradiated Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films originates from the ferroelectric domain pinning effect induced by the ionization effect. Our work demonstrates that flexible ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films are promising for developing novel flexible electronic devices for applications in harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thin films based on Li-doped Zn 0.4 Ni 0.6 -δ ≏ δ O ceramic were successfully prepared. • Thin films with high Ni/Zn atom ratio still maintain the rock-salt structure. • The structure, optical, electrical properties and Li-ionic storage were investigated. • Li-doped Zn 0.4 Ni 0.6 -δ ≏ δ O films exhibit the prospect of multifunctional applications. Nanostructured (Zn 0.4 Ni 0.6 - δ ◻ δ) 0.95 Li 0.05 O thin films were successfully prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The multifunctional properties such as optical, thermal sensitivity and Li-storage of the thin films were investigated. The prepared thin films maintain a rock-salt phase, have a wide optical band gap of 3.77 eV, and show typical negative temperature coefficient (NTC) of resistivity. The thin film also delivers a high reversible specific capacity of 797 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g−1 for application of an electrode in Li-ion batteries. This work provides potential functional applications in the fields of photoelectric devices, thermal sensors and new energy devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many coastal cities reclaim land from the sea to meet the rapidly growing demand for land caused by population growth and economic development. Settlement in reclaimed land may delay construction and even damage infrastructures, so accurately predicting the settlement over reclaimed areas is important. However, the limited settlement observation and ambiguous final settlement estimation affect accurate settlement prediction in traditional methods. This study proposes a new strategy to solve these problems by using the Multitemporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MT-InSAR) method and takes the Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, built on reclaimed land, as an example. The MT-InSAR is adopted to process the Sentinel-1 images to obtain the settlement history of the study area. The results show that settlement mainly occurs in the reclaimed areas, with the maximum average settlement rate exceeding 40 mm/y. We use the statistical properties of curve fitting to choose the best curve model from several candidate curve models to predict the settlement time series. The Asaoka method is used to identify the critical state between settlement and stability. We predict the consolidation time of the whole study area and reveal that the deformation rate is positively correlated with the consolidation time. The maximum remaining settlement time is over ten years since 24 December 2019. Therefore, manual compaction operations can be carried out to speed up settlement in the areas that need a long time to consolidate. The proposed method can be used to predict the settlement of similar reclaimed areas, and the predicted results can provide a reference for engineering construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the conductivity of metal particle inks is a hot topic of scientific research. In this paper, a method for preparing metal-filled particles was proposed. By adding filled particles to the ink, the size distribution of particles could be changed to form a bimodal distribution structure in accordance with Horsfield's stacking model. The filling particles had small volume and good fluidity, which could fill the gaps between the particles after printing and improve its electrical conductivity without significantly changing the metal solid content in the ink. Experimental results show that the silver content of the ink slightly increased from 15 wt% to 16.5 wt% after adding filled particles. However, the conductivity of the ink was significantly improved, and after sintering, the resistivity of the ink decreased from 70.2 μΩ∙cm to 31.2 μΩ∙cm. In addition, the filling particles prepared by this method is simple and has a high material utilization rate, which could be applied to the preparation of other kinds of metal particle inks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human milk (HM) provides optimal nutrition for infants, but infant formula (IF) serves as a potential alternative to HM when breastfeeding is not an option. However, IF possesses a more intense aroma than HM, and it is often challenging to reduce this disparity due to its stringent production regulations. Therefore, investigating the interaction between HM proteins and odor molecules is essential for comprehending the distinct odor characteristics of HM and guiding improvements in IF to mimic the aroma of HM. This research aims to characterize the HM odor and explore the influence of HM α -lactalbumin (HMLB) on the release of HM odor skeleton compounds (OSC) using a combination of computer simulation, human perceptions, and instrumental analyses. A total of 20 OSCs were identified. Notably, the release of most of these compounds was negatively correlated with the HM protein content, with the strongest negative correlations being observed for hexanal, nonanal, and decanal (|R| ≥ 0.7, P < 0.01). The molecular docking simulations demonstrated that HMLB inhibited the volatilization of hexanal, nonanal, and decanal, thereby increasing the odor threshold of these odor compounds (61.94 %, 241.5 %, and 198.6 %). This inhibition was mainly achieved through the formation of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, a finding corroborated by multi-spectroscopic analysis. Overall, the experimental results provide valuable insights into the odor mechanism of HM and contribute to the development of IF that mimics the HM odor. [Display omitted] • Twenty odor skeleton components (OSC) that make up HM odor were characterized. • Most of the OSCs were negatively correlated with the total protein content of HM. • Non-covalent interactions of OSCs with α -lactalbumin (HMLB) affected their release. • The quenching of OSCs fluorescence by HMLB was based on a static mechanism. • The odor thresholds of OSCs were significantly increased by HMLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of Al–Fe–Mn–Si particle characteristics in AA3003 alloy on the morphology and resistance of anodic oxide films against corrosion. The results show that low-silicon-content Al–Fe–Mn–Si particles oxidise simultaneously with the matrix to form a discontinuous porous oxide film, and complex small pores are formed in the porous layer; although high-silicon-content Al–Fe–Mn–Si particles have the same oxidation rate as the alloy matrix, the growth of the oxide film is hindered by unoxidised particles in the porous layer due to the influence of particle size and chemical composition, resulting in uneven growth of the oxide film and ultimately causing defects such as enlarged pores and cracks. A mechanism model for Al–Fe–Mn–Si particles affecting the morphology of oxide film growth was established. Electrochemical test results show that compared with the oxide film of the high-silicon-content alloy, the oxide film of the low-silicon-content alloy has better corrosion resistance performance, with a corrosion potential of −0.512V (compared with −0.836V for the high-silicon alloy) and a corrosion current density of 3.34 × 10−8A/cm2 (compared with 9.614 × 10−7 A/cm2 for high-silicon alloy). The barrier layer attained an elevated impedance value and exhibited self-repairing capabilities. • Influence and mechanism of Al–Fe–Mn–Si particle properties on anodic oxide growth morphology and corrosion resistance. • A mechanism model for Al–Fe–Mn–Si particles affecting the morphology of oxide film growth was established. • The effect of particle properties on anodic oxide film was studied using linear voltammetry and anodic oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The layered material of nickel cobalt manganese oxide lithium oxide is one of the most promising lithium-ion battery (LIBs) materials, with the characteristics of high capacity and high density. However, most nickel-rich layered oxides have the phenomenon of cation mixing and the phenomenon that the layered structure changes to the spinel structure during the cycle, which results in poor capacity and cycle performance under high cut-off voltage. Herein, we modified LiNi 0. 5 Co 0. 2 Mn 0. 3 O2 with Ti and Na co-doping to observe the changes in the specific capacity, cycle performance and crystal structure of the material. Ti and Na co-doped LiNi 0. 5 Co 0. 2 Mn 0. 3 O2 has the most obvious effect on increasing the discharge specific capacity and improving the cycle performance. In sthe voltage range of 3–4.5 V, its discharge specific capacity reaches 183.5 mAh/gat 0.5C, and the capacity retention rate after 100 cycles is 81.96%, and its discharge specific capacity reaches 164.2 mAh/g at 1C and after 100 cycles Capacity retention rate is 80.93%. The introduction of Ti and Na plays an important role in improving the cation mixing phenomenon and improving the stability of the crystal structure. The NCM523 capacity and cycling efficiency of Ti and Na co-doping pair are the best, which is attributed to the co-doping of Ti and Na, increases the Li layer spacing, stabilizes the crystal structure, and effectively prevents the collapse of crystal lamellar structure in the process of cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southeastern Lixiahe Plain (SELP) is the site of the only identified Neolithic human settlements in the eastern Northern Jiangsu Plain, East China, and it also represents the junction of the Lixiahe Plain (LP), the Northern Jiangsu coastal Plain, and the Yangtze River Delta northern flank Plain. Based on previous studies and lithology, marine micropaleontological analysis, and the results of AMS 14C dating of three sets of strata from the Neolithic "ruins area", we discussed the timings and mechanisms and the regional significance of the Early–Middle Holocene marine–terrestrial transitions in the SELP as well as the origins of its Neolithic culture. A rare phenomenon is identified in the study: Under the background of the rapid sea-level rise in the Early Holocene, the eastern part of the area accreted from the marine environment to a coastal tidal flat at approximately 8000 a BP (8900 cal a BP). This accretion was due to the obstruction of the palaeogeomorphic uplift belts to the east and south of the LP and the convergence and accumulation of sediments caused by the radiating tidal current field in the South Yellow Sea. The western part transformed into a swamp environment at approximately 5500 a BP (6300 cal a BP) due to the formation of the Yangtze River north coastal sand bank during the Early to Middle Holocene. As the first new land formed in the study area during the Holocene, the marine–terrestrial changes of the SELP formed the boundaries of the spatial evolution of the three plains, thus limiting their respective evolution range. As the archaeological evidence necessary to build a complete evidence chain is lacking, palaeogeography and traffic problems limit our current understanding on the Neolithic cultural origins in the SELP, which may be the future direction of research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 3D dual impeller stirring tank was used as a model to simulation combine with experiments to explore the acid leaching kinetics of high-calcium and -silicon manganese ores. The effects of stirring speed, temperature, and aeration rate on the spatial distribution of gas and liquid phases were investigated, and the influence of the gas phase on the flow state was further explored by using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Meanwhile, the effects of stirring speed, temperature, and aeration rate on the leaching rate of target element manganese were studied by experiments. According to simulations and experiments, stirring speed at 500 rpm perfectly. The aeration rate was 7 m/s, the suitable leaching temperature was 140 °C by experiments. These results also showed that the leaching of high-calcium and -silicon manganese ores follows the control of Interface chemical reaction.The apparent activation energy of the reaction was 43.4 kJ.mol−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Hypertension in obesity has become a major threat for public health. Omentin-1, a novel adipokine, is down-regulated in obesity. Tetrahydroxystilbene glycoside (TSG) is the main ingredient extracted from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb (PMT), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb safely used for protecting cardiovascular systems over bimillennium. This study aims to examine (i) the impact of omentin-1 downregulation on obesity-related hypertension in murine models and the underlying mechanisms; (ii) whether tetrahydroxystilbene glycoside (TSG) improved endothelial dysfunction and obesity-associated hypertension via the increase of omentin-1. (TSG-treated) male Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats and omentin-1 knockout (OMT-/-) mice were used. In vitro , human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mature adipocytes differentiated from human visceral preadipocyte (HPA-v) were maintained in a co-culture system. TSG was the main active component of PMT reducing systolic blood pressure and improving endothelial vasodilation. Fortnight-TSG treatment (100 mg/kg/day) increased serum omentin-1 level, also activated Akt/eNOS signaling and enhanced NO bioactivity; decreased expression of NOX2 and p22phox, suppressed production of superoxide and peroxynitrite anion. OMT-/- mice showed elevated blood pressure and impaired endothelial vasorelaxation, whereas hypotensive effect of TSG was blunted. In co-culture system, TSG incubation promoted binding of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) and Itln-1 promoter in adipocytes, activated Akt/eNOS/NO signaling and attenuated oxidative/nitrative stress in HUVECs. Suppression of Itln-1 with siRNA significantly blocked the protective effect of TSG in vitro. Down-regulation of omentin-1 induces endothelial dysfunction and hypertension in obesity. TSG treatment (at least partially) increases omentin-1 via promoting binding of PPAR-γ and Itln-1 promoter in adipose tissues, subsequently exerts protective effects on endothelial function via activating Akt/eNOS/NO signaling and attenuating oxidative/nitrative stress. These results suggest that TSG could be developed as a promising anti-hypertension agent that protects against endothelial dysfunction and obesity-associated cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ninety-four odor-active compounds were identified from HM by DHS-GC × GC-O-MS. • Nonanal and octanal were the most important odor-active compounds in most HM. • Fat content was closely related to the amounts of odor-active compounds in HM. • Aldehydes have most abundant species and the highest correlation with fat content. • HM odor attributes were contributed by synergistic effect of odor-active compounds. Odor is an important indicator of human milk (HM) quality, with a proven function. Here, the effect of inter-individual nutrient differences on key odor-active compounds (OACs) and odor attributes of HM samples was investigated using flavor analysis techniques and correlation network analysis. A total of ninety-four OACs were identified from 30 HMs, of which 24 key OACs could represent the basic odor characteristics of HMs. Fat content was closely related to the amounts of OACs, with aldehydes being the most abundant species and having the highest correlation with fat content. Of them, nonanal and octanal were the most important OACs in HM, having both high flavor dilution factor (2 ∼ 64, 4 ∼ 128) and odor activity values (<1 ∼ 37, 2 ∼ 36) in most samples. Additionally, different pattern of synergism between key OACs contribute to each odor attribute of HM. These findings will provide insights for subsequent in-depth studies of HM flavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melatonin functions as an endogenous protective molecule in multiple vascular diseases, whereas its effects on thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) and underlying mechanisms have not been reported. In this study, TAAD mouse model was successfully induced by β‐aminopropionitrile fumarate (BAPN). We found that melatonin treatment remarkably prevented the deterioration of TAAD, evidenced by decreased incidence, ameliorated aneurysmal dilation and vascular stiffness, improved aortic morphology, and inhibited elastin degradation, macrophage infiltration, and matrix metalloproteinase expression. Moreover, melatonin blunted oxidative stress damage and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) loss. Notably, BAPN induced a decrease in SIRT1 expression and activity of mouse aorta, whereas melatonin treatment reversed it. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that blocking SIRT1 signaling partially inhibited these beneficial effects of melatonin on TAAD. Additionally, the melatonin receptor was involved in this phenomenon. Our study is the first to report that melatonin exerts therapeutic effects against TAAD by reducing oxidative stress and VSMC loss via activation of SIRT1 signaling in a receptor‐dependent manner, thus suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy for TAAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stunning stress resulted in textural softening and poor water retention of fillets. • Stunning stress led to myofibril fragmentation and detachment from sarcolemma. • Stunning stress facilitated cathepsin B and L releases in myofibrils. • Myofibril segmentation and increased cathepsin contributed to fillet softening. This study aimed to investigate the effect of stunning stress on textural properties and water-holding capacity (WHC) of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) fillets and its underlying mechanisms based on intrinsic proteases activity, myofibril microstructure, and myowater dynamic measurements. The results suggested that compared with the non-stressful percussion, ice/water and gill cut stunning resulted in accelerated muscle tenderization with intensive myofibril disintegration and sarcolemma-myofibril detachments. Myowater mobility and distribution were altered by stunning stress, in which gill cut facilitated the migration of immobilized water and free water, thus enhancing the centrifugation loss. In addition, stunning stress promoted the activation of endogenous proteases and the release of cathepsin B and L from lysosomes to myofibrils, which showed significant (P < 0.01) correlations with decreased shear force and elevated myofibril fragmentation index of fillets. Therefore, faster accumulation of cathepsins and myofibril disintegration together contributed to the weakening of texture and WHC in stunning-stressed fish fillets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New SPE-UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous analysis of 20 oxylipins and 5 PUFAs. • Optimized solid-phase extraction and chromatographic conditions. • A rapid, sensitive and reproducible method for breast milk and infant formula. • Contents of oxylipins and PUFAs in breast milk were higher than infant formula. Oxylipins and their precursors (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, LCPUFAs) are key intercellular signaling molecules influencing the inflammatory response. Each oxylipin has pro- and/or anti-inflammatory effects, and the relative abundance of different oxylipins can alter the inflammatory balance, making it important to clarify the oxylipin profile of breast milk for optimal infant health. The extraction, identification, and simultaneous quantification of oxylipins in breast milk are challenging due to the structural similarity, limited stability, and the low endogenous concentration of oxylipins and the complex matrix of breast milk. This study aimed to develop a solid phase extraction-ultra high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-UPLC-MS/MS) method for the comprehensive and specific quantification of oxylipins and their precursors in breast milk. The LC conditions (including column, mobile phase, and gradient conditions) and SPE procedure (including SPE cartridges, elution solvent, and elution volume) were optimized to achieve accurate quantification and better analyte recovery. A single 18-minute chromatographic run allows for the quantification of 20 oxylipins and 5 PUFAs. The results showed good linearity (R2 > 0.99) over the concentration range of 2 to 100 ng/mL, with the instrument detection limits ranging from 0.01 to 0.90 ng/mL for oxylipins and 0.02 to 0.59 ng/mL for PUFAs. The method is rapid, sensitive, and reproducible (RSD ≤ 10%) and is suitable for the quantitative analysis of oxylipins and their precursors in infant formula samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thiessen polygon concept was applied to analyze how Neolithic sites were gathered and the features of agriculture, living environment and transportation in the Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province, East China, in the Shishanzi cultural period (8.0–6.5 ka BP), Dawenkou cultural period (6.5–4.5 ka BP), and Longshan cultural period (4.5–4.0 ka BP). The Thiessen polygon analysis method was effective in determining the settlement center of the region and helped to confer the complex relationships among agriculture, the living environment and transportation during the Neolithic Age. From the Shishanzi cultural period to the Longshan cultural period, a growing number of small polygons showed enhancement in the degree of gathering and cultural communication. In the Dawenkou and Longshan cultural periods, the central part of Huaibei Plain was the settlement center and the distance from the center of each Thiessen polygon to its edges was decreasing. This indicates that the ancients' dependence on agriculture and development conditions increased over the three cultures. The development of Neolithic cultures was also affected by the environmental changes in the Huaibei Plain. From the Shishanzi cultural period to the Longshan cultural period, the climate tended to be dry, and the area of marsh decreased. However, there was little change in temperature, which was beneficial to the ancients' lives and production. Not only did cultural sites and small polygons increase constantly, but groups of sites and settlement centers also appeared in the central part of plain and areas along the main stream of the Huai River. The Neolithic culture developed vigorously, and the abilities of ancients to adapt to environment and transform nature gradually improved. The NW to SE direction of the small polygons' distribution suggests the control of the ancient rivers on transportation in the Huaibei Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projecting how the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall will change with global warming is essential for human sustainability. Reconstructing Holocene climate can provide critical insight into its forcing and future variability. However, quantitative reconstructions of Holocene summer precipitation are lacking for tropical and subtropical China, which is the core region of the EASM influence. Here we present high-resolution annual and summer rainfall reconstructions covering the whole Holocene based on the pollen record at Xinjie site from the lower Yangtze region. Summer rainfall was less seasonal and ~ 30% higher than modern values at ~ 10-6 cal kyr BP and gradually declined thereafter, which broadly followed the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Over the last two millennia, however, the summer rainfall has deviated from the downward trend of summer insolation. We argue that greenhouse gas forcing might have offset summer insolation forcing and contributed to the late Holocene rainfall anomaly, which is supported by the TraCE-21 ka transient simulation. Besides, tropical sea-surface temperatures could modulate summer rainfall by affecting evaporation of seawater. The rainfall pattern concurs with stalagmite and other proxy records from southern China but differs from mid-Holocene rainfall maximum recorded in arid/semiarid northern China. Summer rainfall in northern China was strongly suppressed by high-northern-latitude ice volume forcing during the early Holocene in spite of high summer insolation. In addition, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation might be responsible for droughts of northern China and floods of southern China during the late Holocene. Furthermore, quantitative rainfall reconstructions indicate that the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) simulations underestimate the magnitude of Holocene precipitation changes. Our results highlight the spatial and temporal variability of the Holocene EASM precipitation and potential forcing mechanisms, which are very helpful for calibration of paleoclimate models and prediction of future precipitation changes in East Asia in the scenario of global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the biochemical changes (proteins degradation, total volatile basic nitrogen, biogenic amines, volatile organic compounds, nucleotides catabolism and related enzymes) of bighead carp samples inoculated with four different bacteria ( Shewanella putrefaciens , Aeromonas sobria , Acinetobacter bohemicus , and Pseudomonas helmanticensis ) during storage at 4 ± 1 °C. A. sobria exhibited the strongest proteolytic activity. A. sobria , P. helmanticensis , and S. putrefaciens were responsible for putrescine production, whereas S. putrefaciens was the sole producer of cadaverine. Alcohols and S-compounds were mainly released by A. sobria and S. putrefaciens , respectively. The fastest degradation rates of hypoxanthine riboside and hypoxanthine were found in samples inoculated with P. helmanticensis and S. putrefaciens . Inosine nucleosidase was mainly resulted by A. sobria , P. helmanticensis and S. putrefaciens , whereas xanthine oxidase was derived from both fish muscle and secretions of P. helmanticensis and S. putrefaciens . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melatonin, a circadian molecule secreted by the pineal gland, confers a protective role against cardiac hypertrophy induced by hyperthyroidism, chronic hypoxia, and isoproterenol. However, its role against pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and the underlying mechanisms remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the pharmacological effects of melatonin on pathological cardiac hypertrophy induced by transverse aortic constriction ( TAC). Male C57 BL/6 mice underwent TAC or sham surgery at day 0 and were then treated with melatonin (20 mg/kg/day, via drinking water) for 4 or 8 weeks. The 8-week survival rate following TAC surgery was significantly increased by melatonin. Melatonin treatment for 8 weeks markedly ameliorated cardiac hypertrophy. Compared with the TAC group, melatonin treatment for both 4 and 8 weeks reduced pulmonary congestion, upregulated the expression level of α-myosin heavy chain, downregulated the expression level of β-myosin heavy chain and atrial natriuretic peptide, and attenuated the degree of cardiac fibrosis. In addition, melatonin treatment slowed the deterioration of cardiac contractile function caused by pressure overload. These effects of melatonin were accompanied by a significant upregulation in the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma co-activator-1 beta ( PGC-1β) and the inhibition of oxidative stress. In vitro studies showed that melatonin also protects against angiotensin II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and oxidative stress, which were largely abolished by knocking down the expression of PGC-1β using small interfering RNA. In summary, our results demonstrate that melatonin protects against pathological cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload through activating PGC-1β. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]