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The pneumonia outbreak caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection poses a serious threat to people worldwide. Although vaccines have been developed, antiviral drugs are still needed to combat SARS‐CoV‐2 infection due to the high mutability of the virus. SARS‐CoV‐2 main protein (Mpro) is a special cysteine protease that is a key enzyme for SARS‐CoV‐2 replication. It is encoded by peptides and is responsible for processing peptides into functional proteins, making it an important drug target. The paper reviews the structure and peptide‐like inhibitors of SARS‐CoV‐2 Mpro, also the binding mode and structure–activity relationship between the inhibitors and Mpro are introduced in detail. It is hoped that this review can provide ideas and help for the development of anti‐coronavirus drugs such as COVID‐19, and help to develop broad‐spectrum antiviral drug for the treatment of coronavirus diseases as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine. In recent years, various studies have shown that inhibiting this enzyme can treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cancer. This study designed and synthesized a series of novel thiazolidone hDHODH inhibitors. Through biological activity evaluation, Compound 14 was found to have high inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value reaching nanomolar level. Preliminary structure–activity relationship studies found that the carboxyl group in R1 and the naphthalene in R2 are key factors in improving activity. Through molecular docking, the binding mode between inhibitors and proteins was elucidated. This study provides an important reference for further optimizing hDHODH inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep network models rely on sufficient training samples to perform reasonably well, which has inevitably constrained their application in classification of hyperspectral images (HSIs) due to the limited availability of labeled data. To tackle this particular challenge, we propose a hybrid relation network, H-RNet, by combining three-dimensional (3-D) convolution neural networks (CNN) and two-dimensional (2-D) CNN to extract the spectral–spatial features whilst reducing the complexity of the network. In an end-to-end relation learning module, the sample pairing approach can effectively alleviate the problem of few labeled samples and learn correlations between samples more accurately for more effective classification. Experimental results on three publicly available datasets have fully demonstrated the superior performance of the proposed model in comparison to a few state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species in Microdochium, potential agents of biocontrol, have often been reported as plant pathogens, occasionally as endophytes and fungicolous fungi. Combining multiple molecular markers (ITS rDNA, LSU rDNA, TUB2 and RPB2) with morphological characteristics, this study proposes three new species in the genus Microdochium represented by seven strains from the plant hosts Miscanthus sinensis and Phragmites australis in Hainan Island, China. These three species, Microdochium miscanthi sp. Nov., M. sinense sp. Nov. and M. hainanense sp. Nov., are described with MycoBank number, etymology, typification, morphological features and illustrations, as well as placement on molecular phylogenetic trees. Their affinity with morphologically allied and molecularly closely related species are also analyzed. For facilitating identification, an updated key to the species of Microdochium is provided herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-boundary transport of air pollution is a difficult issue in pollution control for the North China Plain. In this study, an industrial district (Shahe City) with a large glass manufacturing sector was investigated to clarify the relative contribution of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) to the city's high levels of pollution. The Nest Air Quality Prediction Model System (NAQPMS), paired with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), was adopted and applied with a spatial resolution of 5 km. During the study period, the mean mass concentrations of PM 2.5 , SO 2 , and NO 2 were observed to be 132.0, 76.1, and 55.5 μg/m3, respectively. The model reproduced the variations in pollutant concentrations in Shahe at an acceptable level. The simulation of online source-tagging revealed that pollutants emitted within a 50-km radius of downtown Shahe contributed 63.4% of the city's total PM 2.5 concentration. This contribution increased to 73.9±21.2% when unfavorable meteorological conditions (high relative humidity, weak wind, and low planetary boundary layer height) were present; such conditions are more frequently associated with severe pollution (PM 2.5 ≥ 250 μg/m3). The contribution from Shahe was 52.3±21.6%. The source apportionment results showed that industry (47%), transportation (10%), power (17%), and residential (26%) sectors were the most important sources of PM 2.5 in Shahe. The glass factories (where chimney stack heights were normally < 70 m) in Shahe contributed 32.1% of the total PM 2.5 concentration in Shahe. With an increase in PM 2.5 concentration, the emissions from glass factories accumulated vertically and narrowed horizontally. At times when pollution levels were severe, the horizontally influenced area mainly covered Shahe. Furthermore, sensitivity tests indicated that reducing emissions by 20%, 40%, and 60% could lead to a decrease in the mass concentration of PM 2.5 of of 12.0%, 23.8%, and 35.5%, respectively. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, generative adversarial networks have been widely used to generate realistic fake images, and the current research mainly focuses on deepfake detection in face images. However, we are now facing the emergence of fake satellite images, which could potentially mislead and threaten national security. To address this issue, we propose a hybrid network of convolutional neural network and Transformer for deepfake geographic image detection. Specifically, our method combines the local modeling capability of convolutional neural networks with the global modeling capability of transformers. This allows us to effectively extract both local features and global representations from the satellite images. Additionally, we enhance the detection performance of the model by introducing channel attention mechanisms. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms existing approaches. Furthermore, under common image processing scenarios, such as Joint Photographic Experts Group compression and Gaussian noise corruption, our method also performs better than other comparison methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal extraction condition of sea pineapple shell extract (SPSE) was obtained using response surface methodology (RSM), in which the SPSE contained total carotenoid content of 25.58 ± 0.30 μg/g dry weight (DW) and total phenolic content of 2.33 ± 0.03 mg/g DW. The hardness, springiness, and cohesiveness of fermented rice cake (FRC) increased when the amount of added SPSE increased, while the specific volume decreased. The color of the surface and section of FRC with SPSE was darker, more reddish, and more yellowish. Compared to the control, the ash, fat, and carbohydrate contents of the FRC with 2.5 g SPSE/kg rice flour slightly increased. Based on sensory evaluation, the FRC with SPSE 2.5 g/kg rice flour was acceptable by consumers. Therefore, the addition of SPSE to FRC is viable as it enhances its nutritional and functional quality, along with novel eating properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The region along the Taihang Mountains in the North China Plain (NCP) is characterized by serious fine particle pollution. To clarify the formation mechanism and controlling factors, an observational study was conducted to investigate the physical and chemical properties of the fine particulate matter in Jiaozuo city, China. Mass concentrations of the water-soluble ions (WSIs) in PM 2.5 and gaseous pollutant precursors were measured on an hourly basis from December 1, 2017, to February 27, 2018. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) method and the FLEXible PARTicle (FLEXPART) model were employed to identify the sources of PM 2.5. The results showed that the average mass concentration of PM 2.5 was 111 μg/m3 during the observation period. Among the major WSIs, sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium (SNA) constituted 62% of the total PM 2.5 mass, and NO 3 − ranked the highest with an average contribution of 24.6%. NH 4 + was abundant in most cases in Jiaozuo. According to chemical balance analysis, SO 4 2−, NO 3 −, and Cl− might be present in the form of (NH 4) 2 SO 4 , NH 4 NO 3 , NH 4 Cl, and KCl. The liquid-phase oxidation of SO 2 and NO 2 was severe during the haze period. The relative humidity and pH were the key factors influencing SO 4 2- formation. We found that NO 3 − mainly stemmed from homogeneous gas-phase reactions in the daytime and originated from the hydrolysis of N 2 O 5 in the nighttime, which was inconsistent with previous studies. The PMF model identified five sources of PM 2.5 : secondary origin (37.8%), vehicular emissions (34.7%), biomass burning (11.5%), coal combustion (9.4%), and crustal dust (6.6%). [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel method for fault detection based on an adaptive interval regression model characterized by the upper regression model (URM) and lower regression model (LRM) has been proposed. Applying the proposed method, a confidence band for the measured data, derived in the normal operating conditions of a system, is constructed.The method combines the superiorities of model sparse representation and computational efficiency of linear programming support vector regression (LP-SVR) with some ideas from L1-norm on approximation errors. First, the upper and lower L1-norms with respect to upper bound approximation error are considered, and the both norms subject to respective constraints are integrated into LP-SVR to form new upper and lower optimization problems, respectively. Following that, optimization problem corresponding to URM and LRM are solved by linear programming and interval regression model is thus constructed to judge whether the fault occurs or not. The proposed method returns an interval output as opposed to a point output. Finally, the efficacy of this method is demonstrated by applying it on the benchmark Tennessee Eastman problem, and has been compared with conventional techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA), dynamic-PCA (DPCA) and One-Class Support Vector Machine(1-class SVM). It is shown that the proposed method is superior to those approaches in terms of performance measure of detection latency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the magnetization dynamics of sputtered Co40Fe40B20 thin films in a wide range of thicknesses used as free layers in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions, with the technique of broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). We have observed a large interface-induced magnetic perpendicular anisotropy in the thin film limit. The out-of-plane angular dependence of the FMR measurement revealed the contributions of two different damping mechanisms in thick and thin film limits. In thinner films (< 2 nm), two-magnon scattering and inhomogeneous broadening are significant for the FMR linewidth, while the Gilbert damping dominates the linewidth in thicker films (≥ 4 nm). Lastly, we have observed an inverse scaling of Gilbert damping constant with film thickness, and an intrinsic damping constant of 0.004 in the CoFeB alloy film is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal stability, sensitivity, and noise of micron-scale magnetic tunnel junctions based on MgO tunnel barriers have been studied for both the memory and sensing configurations. Junctions show solid high-temperature performance with substantial magnetoresistance observed even at 500 °C. At temperatures above 375 °C, the junctions begin to experience irreversible degradation due to interlayer diffusion. The thermal stability of these devices depends strongly on the exchange bias of the device and hence on the properties of the antiferromagnetic layer. Sensitivities as high as 3.3%/Oe have been obtained at room temperature for junctions configured as low-field sensors. Sensitivity values are constant up to temperatures of 300 °C, above which performance decays due to a loss of exchange bias and overall magnetoresistance. Noise spectra are 1/f at frequencies up to 51 kHz, and sensors have a resultant field noise better than 1 nT/Hz0.5 at 100 kHz. A comparison is made with devices fabricated with alumina tunnel barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the microstructures of magnetic tunneling junctions using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). These junctions exhibit large magnetoresistance of 34% at room temperature and at tens of gauss. HRTEM reveals well-defined layered polycrystalline metallic structures. The important Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] tunneling barrier has an amorphous structure containing a few tiny crystalline inhomogeneties. Though the barrier is flat over large length scales, its interfaces with the neighboring electrodes are rough. We have characterized the roughness amplitude and wavelength, which are consistent with the magnitude of offset bias fields in measured hysteretic magnetoresistance curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have fabricated and studied the magnetic properties of the Ni[SUB81]Fe[SUB19]/Al[SUB2]O[SUB3]/Ni[SUB81]Fe[SUB19] based magnetic tunnel junction sensors. Magnetoresistance (MR) of 35% is achieved with a small applied field (< 10 Oe). The introduction of a hard axis bias field linearizes the MR response. The hysteresis disappears in hard-axis fields greater than 3 Oe, which corresponds to the effective anisotropy field along the easy axis. A sensitivity of 3.5%/Oe has been demonstrated in this linear region. Low-frequency noise measurements indicate that sensor noise is dominated by field-dependent 1/ƒ noise caused by magnetization fluctuations. Finally, a noise level as low as 1 nT/Hz[SUP1/2] has been obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a fuzzy weighted least squares support vector regression (FW-LSSVR) with data reduction for nonlinear system modeling based only on the measured data. The proposed method combines the advantages of data reduction with some ideas of fuzzy weighted mechanism. It not only possesses the capability of illuminating local characteristic of the modeled plant but also can deal with the problem of boundary effects resulted from local LSSVR method when the modeled data is at the boundary of whole data subset. Furthermore, in comparison of the SVR, the proposed method only utilizes fewer hyperparameters to construct model, and the overlap factor λ can be chosen in relatively smaller value than SVR to further reduce more computational time. First of all, distilling the original input space into several regions with fuzzy partition by applying Gustafson-Kessel clustering algorithm (GKCA) is a foundation for data reduction and the overlap factor is introduced to reduce the size of subsets. Following that, those subset regression models (SRMs) which can be simultaneously solved by LSSVR are integrated into an overall output of the estimated nonlinear system by fuzzy weighted. Finally, the proposed method is demonstrated by experimental analysis and compared with local LSSVR, weighted SVR, and global LSSVR methods by using the index of computational time and root-mean-square error (RMSE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy (RT) is applied in prostate cancer patients with a biochemical recurrence (BcR) after radical prostatectomy (RP). However, for the patients with persistent PSA but not undergoing the process of BcR, it remains unknown whether the application of RT can exempt them from the upcoming BcR. In this study, we identified 104 patients treated with RP who had persistent PSA level >0.1 but ≤0.2 ng/mL at 6–8 weeks after RP, of which 52 were treated with postoperative RT. Overall, 51 patients experienced BcR, among which 20 patients were treated with postoperative RT. The 5-year BCR-free survival rate of patients treated with or without postoperative RT was 96.2 and 50.0% respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that statistical differences in BcR-free survival were observed regarding to applying RT on patients with Gleason score ≤7 (p = 0.0365), with pathological tumor stage T2 or T3 (p = 0.0210 and p = 0.0073, respectively), without or with lymph node invasion (p = 0.0118 and p = 0.0303, respectively), with positive surgical margins (p < 0.0001), and with Pre-RT PSA ≤0.5 ng/mL (p < 0.0001). In multivariate analyses, PSA after surgery, Gleason score, pathological tumor stage, immediate androgen deprivation therapy after RP, and postoperative RT were significant predictors of BcR for patients with persistently elevated PSA (all p < 0.05). Finally, a coefficient-based nomogram was constructed with an excellent C-index for 5-year BCR prediction (0.76, 95% CI 0.73–0.79). These findings suggested that postoperative RT affords excellent control in BcR for patients with persistent PSA after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of the green energy development strategy, new energy vehicles and related industries have been experiencing rapid growth, leading to an expansion in the market scale of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) industry. While the high energy density of LIB is being pursued, the risk of thermal runaway (TR) cannot be underestimated. Water mist (WM) is currently considered an efficient and environmentally friendly fire extinguishing agent, highly favored for its exceptional cooling capabilities. In this study, an alternative WM control strategy is proposed that capitalizes on the distinct advantages of varying particle sizes of WM during different cooling stages and integrates them to enhance overall cooling effectiveness. The experimental results demonstrate that the utilization of WM with mixed particle sizes not only reduces the peak temperature of TR, but also significantly shortens the cooling time. Compared to using WM with a single particle size, this method greatly reduces water consumption and enhances its utilization rate. This finding can offer valuable suggestions for the future implementation of WM in battery fire suppression systems design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expression recognition has been widely used in lots of fields such as health care and intelligent robot systems. However, recognizing facial expression in the wild is still very challenging due to variations, light intensity, occlusions and the ambiguity of human emotion. When training samples cannot include all these environments, the classification can easily lead to errors. Therefore, this paper proposes a new heuristic objective function based on the domain knowledge so as to better optimize deep neural networks for facial expression recognition. Moreover, we take the specific relationship between the facial expression and facial action units as the domain knowledge. By analyzing the mixing relationship between different expression categories and then enlarging the distance of easily confused categories, we define a new heuristic objective function which can guide deep neural network to learn better features and then improve the accuracy of facial expression recognition. The experimental results verify the effectiveness, universality and the superior performance of our methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional fault diagnosis of analog circuits relies heavily on feature extraction and selection, which is ad-hoc and often needs complex signal processing and domain knowledge. This has severely limited the applications of fault diagnosis. To address this issue, this paper proposes an analog circuit fault diagnosis method based on Deep Belief Network (DBN). Our contributions include development of an intelligent diagnosis solution that does not rely on manual feature extraction and selection, and providing comprehensive comparison studies on two representative experimental circuits with different levels of complexities under soft fault modes. One significant advantage of the proposed method is that it extracts features adaptively from the raw time series signals and automatically classifies the fault mode, which significantly simplifies the design of diagnosis and increases the flexibility so that it can be applied to different diagnosis problems. The experimental comparison studies show that the proposed method has higher performance, lower requirements on data (small number of sampling points in learning instance), and more reliable performance (consistent diagnosis accuracy for different fault modes) than existing methods. Performance regarding the number of instances and the number of sampling points in instances are studied. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in analog circuit diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extended target tracker based on structural appearance and improved distribution fields is proposed in terms of current issues that there is no one general tracking algorithm to different scenarios. For extended target with specific geometric structure and pose variation in simple scenarios, in order to get stable tracking point, we construct a structural appearance model to represent target and utilize triangle and line character to obtain tracking point. In complex scenarios with certain texture information and image blurring, to reduce computational complexity and enhance the adaptivity of tracking box, an improved distribution fields is presented in which non-uniform delamination technology is proposed and the BRISK is used to detect key points in tracking box. Numerical experiments on simulation sequences and public database were provided to demonstrate the good performance of this proposed scheme. The conclusion can be drawn that triangle achieves the best stability among geometric graphics and skeleton can reflect the intrinsic geometric structure of the target in simple scenarios. Moreover, non-uniform delamination technology can reduce computational complexity and the BRISK can achieve affine transformation parameters in complex scenarios, so the tracking box can adapt to scale and rotation changes when matching is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relation extraction is one of the important research topics in the field of information extraction research. To solve the problem of semantic variation in traditional semisupervised relation extraction algorithm, this paper proposes a novel semisupervised relation extraction algorithm based on ensemble learning (LXRE). The new algorithm mainly uses two kinds of support vector machine classifiers based on tree kernel for integration and integrates the strategy of constrained extension seed set. The new algorithm can weaken the inaccuracy of relation extraction, which is caused by the phenomenon of semantic variation. The numerical experimental research based on two benchmark data sets (PropBank and AIMed) shows that the LXRE algorithm proposed in the paper is superior to other two common relation extraction methods in four evaluation indexes (Precision, Recall, F-measure, and Accuracy). It indicates that the new algorithm has good relation extraction ability compared with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-level ozone (O3) pollution has become a serious environmental issue in major urban agglomerations in China. To investigate the spatiotemporal patterns and regional transports of O3 in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH-UA), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD-UA), the Triangle of Central China (TC-UA), Chengdu–Chongqing (CY-UA), and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration (PRD-UA), multiple transdisciplinary methods were employed to analyze the O3-concentration data that were collected from national air quality monitoring networks operated by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC). It was found that although ozone concentrations have decreased in recent years, ozone pollution is still a serious issue in China. O3 exhibited different spatiotemporal patterns in the five urban agglomerations. In terms of monthly variations, O3 had a unimodal structure in BTH-UA but a bimodal structure in the other urban agglomerations. The maximum O3 concentration was in autumn in PRD-UA, but in summer in the other urban agglomerations. In spatial distribution, the main distribution of O3 concentration was aligned in northeast–southwest direction for BTH-UA and CY-UA, but in northwest–southeast direction for YRD-UA, TC-UA, and PRD-UA. O3 concentrations exhibited positive spatial autocorrelations in BTH-UA, YRD-UA, and TC-UA, but negative spatial autocorrelations in CY-UA and PRD-UA. Variations in O3 concentration were more affected by weather fluctuations in coastal cities while the variations were more affected by seasonal changes in inland cities. O3 transport in the center cities of the five urban agglomerations was examined by backward trajectory and potential source analyses. Local areas mainly contributed to the O3 concentrations in the five cities, but regional transport also played a significant role. Our findings suggest joint efforts across cities and regions will be necessary to reduce O3 pollution in major urban agglomerations in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first direct analysis of the endogenous β-catenin phosphorylation activity in colon cancer SW480 cells. By comparing parental SW480 cells that harbor a typical truncated adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) form, cells expressing full-length APC and APC-depleted cells, we provide the formal demonstration that APC is necessary for β-catenin phosphorylation, both for priming of the protein at residue serine 45 and for the subsequent phosphorylation of residues 33, 37 and 41. Truncated APC still sustains a surprisingly high phosphorylation activity, which requires the protein to bind to β-catenin through the APC 20-amino-acid (20AA) repeats, thus providing a biochemical explanation for the precise truncations found in cancer cells. We also show that most of the β-catenin phosphorylation activity is associated with a dense insoluble fraction. We finally examine the impact of full-length and truncated APC on β-catenin nuclear transport. We observe that β-catenin is transported much faster than previously thought. Although this fast translocation is largely insensitive to the presence of wild-type or truncated APC, the two forms appear to limit the pool of β-catenin that is available for transport, which could have an impact on β-catenin nuclear activities in normal and cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops and illustrates a novel cost function which is the combination of these terms constituted of decomposing least square‐support vector machine (LS‐SVM) and error terms for the identification of Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy system based only on measured data without any prior knowledge. The proposed method combines the advantages of fuzzy system theory and some ideas from LS‐SVM. Firstly, Gustafson–Kessel clustering algorithm is applied to split training data into R clustering subsets. Likewise, LS‐SVM is also decomposed into R terms and consequent parameters ak for T–S fuzzy system corresponding to these terms obtained by decomposing LS‐SVM are combined with the error terms to form the new total cost function. Following that, this constrained optimisation problem based on the total cost function can be solved by applying the Lagrange technique. The resulting fuzzy system generated by this method has the following distinct features: (i) the obtained new cost function can be regarded as a structural risk instead of empirical risk; (ii) although incorporating LS‐SVM concept into the cost function of T–S fuzzy model, it is shown that the computation process cannot only avoid the selection of kernel function, but also merely use the scalar product for original input space to further reduce the calculation greatly; and (iii) as seen in the proposed novel cost function, the approach can well guarantee the performance of both local‐regression models and global model. Finally, the viability and superiority of the method are verified by simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new optical image encryption method based on compressed sensing and Arnold transformation is proposed. First, dimensional reduction and random projection, the characteristics of compressed sensing, are utilized to compress and encrypt a digital image. Second, Arnold transformation is used to scramble the encryption image followed by compressed sensing with low data volume. Then, the encryption image is encrypted again by double random phase encoding optical encryption technique; two random phase masks generated by sequences of irrational number are been used as secret keys. In the end, the multi-encrypted information is embedded into the host image and transmitted. At the receiver, original image information is reconstructed approximately via orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm. The peak signal-to-noise ratio and the normalized cross-correlation between the original image and the decrypted one are used to calculate the quality of the decryption image. The experimental results demonstrate that our method is secure and robust. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] The representative morphological features of pyroptosis are excessive cell swelling and subsequent membrane rupture. However, the mechanism underlying the cell's inherent inability to regulate volume during the progression of pyroptosis is poorly understood. In the current study, we found that both volume-activated chloride currents (I cl, vol) and the regulatory volume decrease (RVD) were markedly decreased in bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDMs) undergoing pyroptosis induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and nigericin. The inhibition of I Cl, vol and RVD by the chloride channel blockers, tamoxifen or DCPIB, led to the emergence of pyroptosis-like phenotypes such as activated-caspase-1, pyroptotic-body-like bubbles, and a fried-egg–like appearance. Moreover, the expression of the volume-activated chloride channel (VRAC) constituent protein Leucine-Rich Repeat-Containing 8A (LRRC8A) was significantly down-regulated in pyroptotic BMDMs treated with LPS and nigericin. The silencing of LRRC8A expression by small interfering RNA (si)-LRRC8A transfection not only reduced I Cl, vol and RVD, but also caused BMDMs to show pyroptosis-like manifestations such as activated-caspase-1, membrane bubbles, and have a fried-egg–like appearance. These results reveal a new mechanism for the loss of volume regulation in the process of pyroptotic cell swelling and strongly suggest that a functional deficiency of VRAC/LRRC8A plays a key role in this disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the Internet and information technology (in particular, generative adversarial networks and deep learning), network data are exploding. Due to the misuse of technology and inadequate supervision, deep-network-generated face images flood the network, and the forged image is called a deepfake. Those realistic faked images launched a serious challenge to the human eye and the automatic identification system, resulting in many legal, ethical, and social issues. For the needs of network information security, deep-network-generated face image identification based on different color spaces is proposed. Due to the extremely realistic effect of deepfake images, it is difficult to achieve high accuracy with ordinary methods for neural networks, so we used the image processing method here. First, by analyzing the differences in different color space components in the deep learning network model for face sensitivity, a combination of color space components that can effectively improve the discrimination rate of the deep learning network model is given. Second, to further improve the discriminative performance of the model, a channel attention mechanism was added at the shallow level of the model to further focus on the features contributing to the model. The experimental results show that this scheme achieved better accuracy in the same face generation model and in different face generation models than the two compared methods, and its accuracy reached up to 99.10% in the same face generation model. Meanwhile, the accuracy of this model only decreased to 98.71% when coping with a JPEG compression factor of 100, which shows that this model is robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under years of control measures in China, a comprehensive analysis including statistical analysis, geographical analysis, and health impact assessment was conducted on millions of hourly PM2.5 concentrations data during the period of 2017–2020 in six typical major urban agglomerations. During the period of 2017–2020, PM2.5 concentrations in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH-UA), Central Plains urban agglomeration (CP-UA), Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRD-UA), Triangle of Central China urban agglomeration (TC-UA), Chengdu–Chongqing urban agglomeration (CY-UA), and Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration (PRD-UA) decreased at a rate of 6.69, 5.57, 5.45, 3.85, 4.66, and 4.1 µg/m3/year, respectively. PM2.5 concentration in BTH-UA decreased by 30.5% over four years, with an annual average of 44.6 µg/m3 in 2020. CP-UA showed the lowest reduction ratio (22.1%) among the six regions, making it the most polluted urban agglomeration. In southern BTH-UA, northeastern CP-UA, and northwestern TC-UA, PM2.5 concentrations with high levels formed a high–high agglomeration, indicating pollution caused by source emission in these areas was high and hard to control. Atmospheric temperature, pressure, and wind speed have important influences on PM2.5 concentrations. RH has a positive correlation with PM2.5 concentration in north China but a negative correlation in south China. We estimated that meteorological conditions can explain 16.7–63.9% of the PM2.5 changes in 129 cities, with an average of 33.4%, indicating other factors including anthropogenic emissions dominated the PM2.5 changes. Among the six urban agglomerations, PM2.5 concentrations in the CP-UA were most influenced by the meteorological change. Benefiting from the reduction in PM2.5 concentration, the total respiratory premature mortalities in six regions decreased by 73.1%, from 2017 to 2020. The CP-UA had the highest respiratory premature mortality in six urban agglomerations. We suggested that the CP-UA needs more attention and stricter pollution control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Silkworm hemolymph is an important defense tissue to resist bacteria and virus infections. To study the response of silkworm hemolymph in the resistance of Bombyx mori L. nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), we constructed a near-isogenic silkworm line with BmNPV resistance using highly resistant and highly susceptible parental strains. In this paper, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI)-mass spectrometry were employed to investigate the differences of protein patterns in the hemolymph of the highly resistant, highly susceptible and near-isogenic silkworm strains after BmNPV was administrated to the larvae. A comparison between the proteomes of these three silkworm strains led us to identify two differentially expressed proteins, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase 2 and aminoacylase. The expression levels of these proteins were higher in the BmNPV resistant strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a ubiquitously distributed environmental pollutant known to cause DNA damage, which may be repaired through nucleotide excision repair (NER). The significantly negative correlation between Hsp70 levels and the level of DNA damage in workers exposed to coke oven emission had been found. However, little is known about how Hsp70 modulate the DNA repair process. In a series of experiments using the human bronchial epithelia cells (16HBE) exposed to different concentrations of BaP for 24h, we measured expression of NER subunit xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) group A, C, F, G (XPA, XPC, XPF, XPG), excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) and Hsp70, and analyzed their possible correlations. Co-localizations of Hsp70 with NER subunit were detected by confocal microscope. We found that in vitro exposure to BaP reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner ranging from 2 to 64μM. Our results showed that levels of XPA, XPG and Hsp70 significantly increased at cells exposed to 1 or 2μM BaP. In addition, curve estimation showed there was a significant correlation between relative ratios of Hsp70 and XPA, XPG in cells exposed to different concentrations of BaP. Moreover, confocal microscopy demonstrated increased co-localization of Hsp70 with XPA, XPG in nuclei of cells exposed to BaP. These results suggested that Hsp70 might play a role in nucleotide excision repair. However, the mechanisms underlying this observation need further investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a ubiquitously distributed environmental pollutant known to cause DNA damage, which may be repaired through nucleotide excision repair (NER). However, little is known about dynamic changes in levels of DNA damage and their correlations with levels of NER proteins in cells exposed to BaP. In a series of experiments using the human bronchial epithelia cells (16HBE) exposed to different concentrations of BaP for different times, we measured dynamic changes in levels of DNA damage and expression of NER subunit xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) groups A, C, F, G (XPA, XPC, XPF, XPG) and excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1), and analyzed their possible correlations. We found that in vitro exposure to BaP reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner ranging from 2 to 64μM and increased DNA damage in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Our results showed that levels of these NER proteins significantly increased and peaked at 12th or 24th, 8th or 12th and 4th or 8th hours in cells exposed to 2, 8 and 16μM BaP, respectively. ERCC1 expression increased by 2.4-, 4.2- and 19.3-fold for exposure to 2, 8 and 16μM BaP, respectively, compared with control group. Moreover, levels of ERCC1 in cells exposed 16μM BaP significantly higher than those in 2 and 8μM BaP from 2nd to 48th hours. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between Olive tail moments and relative ratios of ERCC1 in cells exposed to BaP. Our results suggested ERCC1 may be an important limiting factor for NER, but the mechanisms underlying this observation needs further investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Magnetic properties of Ni81Fe19/Al2O3/Ni81Fe19 tunneling junctions are studied for different Al thicknesses and plasma oxidation times. A maximal magnetoresistance of 34% is obtained with Al thickness of 20 A˚. Magnetometry reveals large exchange bias fields (∼400 Oe) over a wide range of barrier thicknesses, indicating junctions of high quality. Transport measurements conducted on junctions before and after thermal annealing show a dramatic improvement in barrier quality after annealing. Interlayer coupling fields have been measured as a function of barrier thickness for different oxidation times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Analyzes the spectroscopic calculation of asymmetric top free radicals. Machine implementation of the spectral analysis; Advantages and disadvantages of the laser magnetic resonance technique; Efficacy of the Hamiltonian theory in calculating complicated spectra.

• The hydrogen embrittlement is unveiled by the dramatically decreasing of impact absorbing energy when increasing H content. • The hydrogen is found to concentrate in β phase at the α grain boundaries. • No hydride formed after H charging, however, hydrides can form during the twin-jet electropolishing procedure. • The hydrogen enhanced decohesion is considered to be responsible for the weakening of β phase by the solute hydrogen. The hydrogen embrittlement of near α Ti-2.5Al-2Zr-1Fe alloy is demonstrated by the decreasing of impact toughness when increasing the charged H content in the near surface layer. In order to get knowledge of the role of hydrogen and the possible embrittle mechanisms, a series of experiments are performed. First, the fracture mode was analyzed by scanning electron microscope and optical microscope. Then the deuterium charge and secondary ion mass spectroscope (SIMS) study was carried out to obtain the precise distribution of H in microstructure scale. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) study was performed to identify whether hydride formation occurs. Both Focused Ion Beam (FIB) lift out and conventional grinding methods were used to prepare the TEM sample. No hydride was observed in the sample prepared by FIB lift out method, while hydrides appeared in the sample prepared by conventional method. The results suggest that hydride formation relates with the TEM sample preparation process rather than the H charge process. The charged deuterium was found to concentrate in β phase at α grain boundaries by SIMS, which should be the cause of crack growth along β phase. Among the hydrogen embrittle mechanisms, the weakening of β phase was most probably caused by hydrogen enhanced decohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture farms cultivating Saccharina japonica are highly active in Wando, Korea, and Rongcheng, China. However, the yield of S. japonica significantly declined in the Rongcheng region in 2022 compared to previous records, whereas that in Wando remained at a normal level, presumably due to the presence of a pathogenic microbiome. We used environmental DNA (eDNA) metagenomic analysis to compare the microbial compositions of seawater from aquaculture farms in Wando and Rongcheng. Seawater samples were collected from one Korean site in Wando (WA) and two Chinese sites in Ailian Bay (AB) and Lidao Bay (LB). Metagenomic analysis focusing on the microbial 16S rRNA identified 38 phyla and 58 families of microbiomes in all regions. Potentially pathogenic bacterial groups associated with S. japonica in AB and LB were more abundant than in WA, suggesting their potential influence on mortality and the decline in the harvest yield of S. japonica. The microbial composition of WA was distinguished from those of the other two sites, which clustered together with higher similarity. Since the S. japonica aquaculture industry is important for both countries, this comparative eDNA monitoring is a valuable initiation towards the next step of problem-solving practices in coastal management in these two aquaculture systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The buried Daxing Uplift connects the Beijing Sag and Dachang Sag, which is the critical tectonic unit for understanding the structural evolution of the Beijing Sub-plain and its linkages to regional tectonics. This study combines paleomagnetic, 26Al-10Be isochron dates and sedimentary analyses from a new borehole (Yx02) in the northeastern Beijing Sub-plain to shed fresh light on regional tectonic processes and the sedimentary history since the Pliocene. The main findings are as follows: (1) the Daxing Uplift had formed three depositional episodes: alluvial-fan, lacustrine-delta, and alluvial-fan sedimentation since the Cenozoic; (2) The borehole records the Brunhes, Gauss normal chron, and the Matuyama, Gilbert reversed chron in the Daxing Uplift, the corresponding depths are 0–148.9 m, 148.9–315.0 m, 315.0–520.5 m and 520.5–650 m; (3) An important tectonic event started in ~4.3 Ma, disintegrated NE-trending basin and range terrain, reactivated the NW-trending Nankou-Sunhe fault, and formed Shunyi fault in Beijing Sub-plain. Sedimentation occurs exclusively in the Beijing Sag and the northeastern Daxing Uplift during ~4.3–1.77 Ma; (4) During ~1.77–1.07 Ma, a transition from an extension to a strike-slip occurred, and is described not only in a progressively higher increase of the overall deposition rate, but also in a decrease of the relative deposition disparity between sags and uplifts. Since then, the Beijing Sub-plain has been shaped, associated with an overall subsidence depression in the Bohai Bay Basin. This work enhances our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Beijing Sub-plain, the division of tectonic episodes, and the initiation time of the latest tectonic movement in the break-up region, North China Craton, since the Neogene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have more and more potential in the emergency rescue tasks under disastrous conditions. Thus, the environmental adaptability of UVAs under extreme high and low temperature levels is very important. Firstly, we built an extreme environmental testing chamber that could simulate multiple disaster conditions. Secondly, the performance of the whole machine of UVAs especially the flying performance under extreme temperature (−30–60 °C) was investigated. Thirdly, the electrical performance of lithium-ion battery used in UVAs was investigated at the same time. Main conclusions were: (1) The high temperature condition even 60 °C had little effect on the flying performance, while significantly degraded the lifetime and discharging capacity, and even damaged the lithium-ion battery. (2) The low temperature condition significantly decreased the flying performance and the battery performance. UAV could not work normally when the environmental temperature was below −25 °C. (3) The low-temperature condition played greater effect on the battery performance than that of high-temperature condition and the testing results of battery discharge experiments well explained this phenomenon. (4) The irreversible and the reversible heat took the dominant role for lower and high temperatures, respectively. • Extreme environmental experiment chamber simulated extreme disaster conditions. • Flying performance of UVA under extreme temperature. • Environmental adaptability of lithium-ion battery under extreme temperature. • Discharge performance of lithium battery under extreme temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarized a study that aims to investigate the applicability of a fracture mechanics (FM) based approach for calculating the fatigue lives of the mooring lines of a spar-based floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) in time-domain. Tension ranges of mooring lines are calculated from a time-domain hydrodynamic analysis, taking into account the effects of wind, wave and current. Mooring tension cycles with corresponding ranges are counted by a rain-flow counting method. A comparison between fatigue lives of mooring system predicted by S–N curves, T-N curves, and the FM based approaches is made and the results show that the FM based approach generally provides reasonable estimate of fatigue lives of the mooring lines of the FOWT. Parametric studies were further performed to investigate the effects of loading sequence, stress concentration factor, initial crack shape, initial crack size and critical crack depth on fatigue life prediction of the FM based approach. It was observed that the predicted fatigue life is sensitive to stress concentration factor and initial crack size. A comparative study on three kinds of mooring design with different chain diameters is also made and the applicability of each design is discussed. • A comparative study is conducted to investigate the validity of a FM based time-domain mooring fatigue analysis or a FOWT. • A comparison on time-domain mooring fatigue life prediction between S–N & T-N curves, and FM based approaches is made. • Effects of wind, wave, and current are taken into account in the time-domain mooring system fatigue analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the role and possible interrelationship between orexin B-sirtuin 1-HIF-1α signaling pathways in diabetes-mellitus induced vascular dysfunction and enhancement in myocardial injury. Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg) was employed to induce diabetes mellitus in male Wistar albino rats, which were kept for eight weeks. The vascular function was noted by assessing acetylcholine-induced relaxation in norepinephrine precontracted mesenteric arteries. The hearts were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion injury on the Langendorff apparatus. Myocardial injury was assessed by noting the release of CK-MB, cardiac troponin and measuring myocardial infarction. The levels of orexin B, sirtuin 1 and HIF-1α were measured. YNT-185 (orexin B type 2 receptor agonist), STR2104 (sirtuin 1 agonist) and EX527 (sirtuin 1 antagonist) were employed as pharmacological tools. Diabetes led to significant development of vascular dysfunction and enhanced ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated hearts. There was a significant decrease in the levels of orexin B, sirtuin 1 and HIF-1α in diabetic animals. Treatment with YNT-185 and/or STR2104 significantly attenuated the diabetes-induced increase in myocardial injury and vascular dysfunction. Co-administration of EX527 abolished the effects of YNT-185 suggesting orexin B-mediated effects may be through activation of sirtuin 1. Moreover, YNT-185-induced increase in the expression of sirtuin 1 and HIF-1α was also abolished in the presence of EX527. Diabetes-induced significant decline in orexin B levels in the plasma along with a decrease in the expression of sirtuin 1 and HIF-1α in the heart following ischemia-reperfusion injury may possibly contribute in exacerbating the myocardial injury and vascular dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐objective optimization of the main bearing assembly structure entails a high computational cost; moreover, the experimental measurement of the main‐bearing‐hole out‐of‐roundness has the problem of poor accuracy and inadequate repeatability. To address these issues, an improved NSGA‐II algorithm based on the fixed‐sized candidate set adaptive random testing (FSCS‐ART) algorithm and an adaptive strategy is proposed, and a more accurate method for measuring out‐of‐roundness based on the compensation method is developed. Accordingly, a mathematical model and a parametric model are established for optimization. Finally, the optimal design scheme is obtained by solving with the improved NSGA‐II algorithm. The results show that the proposed out‐of‐roundness measurement method has a high accuracy, with <5% error. The improved NSGA‐II algorithm exhibits a better solution convergence compared with the original algorithm does. The optimized solution of the improved NSGA‐II algorithm has a higher fitness when the two algorithms evolve to the same generation in the late stage, and the distribution of the Pareto optimal of the improved algorithm solution is closer to the Pareto frontier. After optimization, the stresses at the danger areas of the engine block and bearing cap are reduced by 13.67% and 6.71%, respectively. The out‐of‐roundness of the main bearing hole is reduced by 14.13%, and the maximum contact pressure on the dangerous contact surface is reduced by 14.08%. This study makes a significant contribution to the design of internal combustion engines because it facilitates the development of high‐power diesel engines by optimizing the reliability of the main bearing assembly structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is the most important virus that threatens sericulture industry. At present, there is no effective treatment for BmNPV infection in silkworms, and lncRNA plays an important role in biological immune response and host-virus interaction, but there are relatively few studies in silkworms. In this study, the four midgut tissue samples of the resistance strain NB (NB) and susceptible strain 306 (306) and the NB and 306 continuously infected with BmNPV for 96 h are used for whole transcriptome sequencing to analyze the differences in the genetic background of NB and 306 and the differences after inoculation of BmNPV, and the significantly different mRNA, miRNA and lnRNA between NB and 306 after BmNPV inoculation were screened. By comparing NB and 306, 2651 significantly different mRNAs, 57 significantly different miRNAs and 198 significantly different lncRNAs were screened. By comparing NB and 306 after BmNPV inoculation, 2684 significantly different mRNAs, 39 significantly different miRNAs and 125 significantly different lncRNAs were screened. According to the significantly different mRNA, miRNA and lncRNA screened from NB and 306 and NB and 306 after virus inoculation, the mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA regulatory network was constructed before and after virus inoculation, and the BmBCAT-Bomo_chr7_8305-MSTRG.3236.2 regulatory axis was screened from them, and it was found that BmBCAT was not Bomo_chr7_8305 regulated in the genetic background, after viral infection, MSTRG.3236.2 competes for binding Bomo_chr7_8305 regulates BmBCAT. The whole transcriptome sequencing results were verified by qPCR and the time-series expression analysis was performed to prove the reliability of the regulatory network. The BmBCAT-Bomo_chr7_8305-MSTRG.3236.2 regulatory axis may play a potential role in the interaction between silkworms and BmNPV. These results provide new insights into the interaction mechanism between silkworms and BmNPV. • At present, there have been studies on small RNA regulation by using sensitive silkworm varieties, but no studies have conducted whole transcriptome analysis by comparing resistant and sensitive silkworm strans inoculated with virus. • The mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA ceRNA regulatory network was constructed, from which the BmBCAT-Bomo_chr7_8305-MSTRG.3236.2 regulatory axis was screened, and the whole transcriptome sequencing results were verified by qPCR and the time-series expression analysis was performed to prove the reliability of the regulatory network. • From the perspective of lncRNA to explain the significantly different genes, our research results may provide new clues to the molecular mechanism that reveals the interaction between silkworm and virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the use of non‐insulin antidiabetic medicines in China. Materials and Methods: We analysed the national procurement data for 29 non‐insulin antidiabetic medicines from nine subgroups in China from 2015 to 2022. We estimated the number of defined daily doses (DDDs) procured per year in seven regions of China for nine subgroups and adjusted the data by the number of patients with diabetes. For each subgroup, the regional ratio was calculated by comparing the procurement per patient in each region with the procurement nationwide. The regional disparity was the difference between the highest and lowest regional ratios. We compared the medication patterns across regions. Results: Nationally, between 2015 and 2022, the number of DDDs per patient increased from 14.45 to 47.37. The two most commonly used categories were sulphonylurea and biguanides, which increased from 7.04 to 15.39 (119%) and 3.28 to 11.11 (239%) DDDs per patient, respectively. The procurement of new drugs (dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors, sodium‐glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists) increased quickly and had >5000% relative changes. Particularly for sodium‐glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors, it increased from 0.08 to 5.03 DDDs (6662%). The southwest region had the highest relative change (319%), while the southern region had the lowest (118%). Biguanide and thiazolidinediones had the lowest (1.19) and highest level (2.21) of regional disparity in 2022, respectively. Conclusion: The procurement of non‐insulin antidiabetic medicines in China has increased a lot from 2015 to 2022. In terms of DDDs per patient, sulphonylurea ranked first, followed by metformin. The procurement of new drugs increased greatly. A large regional disparity existed in medicine usage and patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characterization of switching field and its angular dependence has been tremendously useful in understanding the switching mechanisms in magnetic thin-films and patterned structures. However, the study of the distribution in switching fields (SFD) in arrays and its angular dependence is less common. In this work, we investigate this dependency in arrays of (Co/Pd)n multilayer nanostructures. Results from arrays with different element sizes and periodicities (pitches) are presented, and we found that, like the switching field, the SFD varies with applied field angle in a Stoner-Wohlfarth-like fashion. Furthermore, when the SFD is represented as a dependent variable of the switching field, we consistently found a linear relationship between the two, and that the slope depends on both array element size and pitch. In general, the SFD in arrays with the largest structures and the smallest pitch tends to have the strongest dependence on the switching field. For arrays with nanostructures of a fixed size, however, we found that SFD values are virtually identical, regardless of pitch, if the reversal field is applied near 45° with respect to the surface normal. That the minimum SFD depends only on the size of the elements and not the pitch has significant implications for the practical design of densely-packed magnetic nanostructure arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low frequency voltage noise was measured in highly sensitive magnetic tunnel junctions with MgO tunnel barrier. The voltage noise is observed to scale linearly with the magnetic field sensitivity. Fluctuations in noise, possibly due to local domain nucleation or annihilation inside the free layer, are also observed. Results indicate that an external hard-axis bias field can significantly suppress the magnetization fluctuations of the free layer and lower the magnetic field noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel purified PV/T-Trombe wall based on thermal catalytic oxidation. • Higher thermal and electrical efficiency considering formaldehyde degradation. • Linear relation of air thermal efficiency with normalized temperature difference. • High utilization on the PV cells compared with other PV/T systems. On one hand, PV/T air system is in unused condition in summer while PV/T water system exists the freezing problem in winter. On the other hand, the indoor air pollution has been gotten more and more attention. Therefore, this article proposed a purified PV/T-Trombe wall, which could produce sustainable electricity and degrade gaseous formaldehyde in whole year, realize space heating in winter and supply hot water in summer. The focus in this article was the comprehensive performance investigation in winter. Firstly, continuous six full-day experiments were conducted to investigate the thermal and electrical performance. Secondly, based on the verified system heat and mass transfer model, the formaldehyde degradation performance was investigated. Thirdly, the performance comparisons of the proposed system with other PV/T systems were conducted. Main results were: (1) The average daily electrical efficiency and air thermal efficiency were 11.9% and 36.6%, respectively. (2) The dependence between the air thermal efficiency and the modified normalized temperature difference well fitted the linear relationship under natural convection condition. (3) The clean air delivery rate was in the range of 42.5–81.6 m3/h and the daily generated volume of clean air was 202.9 m3/(m2·day). (4) The thermal and electrical efficiency considering formaldehyde degradation was 50.3%, with the increase of 3.7% due to the contribution from formaldehyde degradation. (5) The ratio of the electrical efficiency considering formaldehyde degradation to the standard PV cell efficiency approached up to 98.6%, which indicated a high utilization on the PV cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated the use of highly sensitive magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensors for the detection of individual micron-sized magnetic labels. By integrating the MTJ sensor into a microfluidic channel, we were able to detect the presence of moving superparamagnetic beads (Dynabeads® M-280) in real time by direct measurement of the magnetic dipole fields associated with single beads. The dipolar fields of a single bead were sufficient to obtain a signal of 80 μV with signal to noise ratio of 24 dB in an applied field of 15 Oe. Our data show conclusively that MTJ sensors are very promising candidates for future applications involving the accurate detection and identification of biomolecules with magnetic labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • DP of fructan is one of the most crucial factors in deciding its properties. • Production of fructan with designed DP by transgenic plants is emphasized. • Biosynthesis of tailor-made fructan is a more promising approach than extraction. • Enzymes and variants used for the synthesis of different fructans are summarized. Fructan, a widespread functional polysaccharide, has been used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and material production fields because of its versatile physicochemical properties and biological activities. Inulin from plants and levan from microorganisms are two of the most extensively studied fructans. Fructans from different plants or microorganisms have inconsistent molecular weights, and the molecular weight of fructan affects its properties, functions, and applications. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the production and application of fructans having various molecular weights, and biotechnological processes have been explored to produce tailor-made fructans from sucrose. This review encompasses the introduction of extraction, enzymatic transformation, and fermentation production processes for fructans with diverse molecular weights. Notably, it highlights the enzymes involved in fructan biosynthesis and underscores their physiological effects, with a special emphasis on their prebiotic properties. Moreover, the applications of fructans with varying molecular weights are also emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flame-to-flame interaction in a dual-pool fire scenario is a crucial issue. However, current research on multiple fires in tunnels primarily focuses on scenarios where the fire sources are situated along the central axis of the tunnel. However, in real tunnel fires, the lateral positions of the fire sources are variable and unpredictable. Therefore, studying the flame behavior of two fire sources at different lateral positions within the tunnel is of significant importance in elucidating the interaction mechanisms between two fire sources inside the tunnel. In this investigation, a synergistic approach involving experimental inquiry and theoretical derivation was employed to systematically examine the phenomena of flame merging and tilting induced by two pool fires at diverse lateral positions within a naturally ventilated tunnel. The results indicate that flame entrainment is more likely to occur due to sidewall restrictions in tunnels, thereby increasing the probability of flame merging. A piecewise expression for determining the probability of flame merging from dual fire sources within tunnels was established. Furthermore, considering how sidewalls influence flame tilting angles, an air entrainment model for dual fire sources within tunnels was developed to derive flame tilting angles at different lateral positions and fire source spacing within tunnels. [Display omitted] • Studied flame traits of 2 heptane fires in a naturally ventilated tunnel. • Flame merging probability and tilt angle with different lateral fire positions. The maximum flame tilt angle is 24.20°. • Established dual-fire air entrainment model for predicting flame tilt angle. • Modified the velocity of flame entrains air from the region between fire sources. • Establishing the tilt angle of the flame by analyzing its geometric characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, low sugar and low energy have become an important trend in the food industries. Therefore, the bioconversion of the functional low-calorie rare sugars attracts more and more attention. l -Ribulose 3-epimerase (LREase) belongs to the ketose 3-epimerase (KEase) family, which could not only efficiently catalyze the reversible C-3 epimerization between l -ribulose and l -xylulose but also between d -fructose and d -allulose. In this paper, a hyperthermostable LREase from Labedella endophytica was identified and characterized. It exhibited maximum catalytic activity at pH 6.0 and 80 °C with 1 mM Ni2+. In the presence of Co2+, the t 1/2 values at 60, 65, and 70 °C were 37.7, 9.0, and 4.6 h, respectively, and T m value was 80.9 °C. From 500 g/L d -fructose, it could produce 154.2 g/L d -allulose with a conversion rate of 30.8% in 10 h. In view of its strong thermostability and high catalytic efficiency, L. endophytica LREase might be a good potential alternative for d -allulose industrial production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FC@NF and T@CF were prepared by LBL self-assembly and soaking methods, respectively. • Fire-retardant performance and mechanism of FC@NF were investigated. • FCF-TENG was fabricated for self-powered sensing in fire scenarios. The fabrics commonly used in architectural decorative materials pose significant fire hazards due to their flammability and rapid fire spread. Moreover, the traditional fire-alarm systems may fail to function properly in complex fire environments owing to power supply disruptions. In this study, we developed a low-cost and eco-friendly flame-retardant conductive fabric-based triboelectric nanogenerator (FCF-TENG) by integrating flame-retardant conductive nylon fabric and polytetrafluoroethylene soaked cotton fabric. This nanogenerator exhibits excellent flame-retardant properties and remarkable energy-harvesting capabilities. The nylon fabric, treated with layer-by-layer self-assembly method, possesses outstanding self-extinguishing capability and melt-dripping resistance. Additionally, the electrical performance of FCF-TENG significantly improves, with a 10-fold boost in conductivity, and the open-circuit voltage increases by 84% to 92 V. Besides, by incorporating the rectifier circuit, the FCF-TENG is capable of completely charging a 1 μF capacitor within 30 s. Furthermore, the FCF-TENG was successfully applied as a self-powered sensor in the fire-alarm system and served as a safety exit indicator for evacuees and fire rescue. This work presents an effective and innovative application of multifunctional smart textiles for energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]