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The efficacy of surgical intervention in ameliorating long-term prognosis for moderate volume of cerebral hemorrhage in the thalamus-internal capsule region remains unsubstantiated by clinical investigations. Consequently, the acquisition of credible evidence is imperative to authenticate the effectiveness of these methodologies. One hundred and three eligible patients with moderate-volume thalamus-internal capsule region cerebral hemorrhage. Twenty-seven pairs of successful matches after using the 1:1 propensity score matching method, totaling 54 patients, were analyzed. The short- and long-term treatment outcomes of patients in the stereotactic surgery and conservative treatment groups were compared. The prognosis of the 2 groups of patients was analyzed by logistic regression analysis and model comparison. The primary outcome of this study was to assess the assessment of daily living scores after 6 months of treatment. Based on the analysis of this study, the assessment of daily living of the surgical group were significantly higher than those of the conservative treatment group after 6 months of treatment (P < 0.001), and the difference was statistically significant. The amount of residual hematoma was significantly lower in the stereotactic surgery group than in the conservative treatment group at 3 days, 7 days, and 2 weeks after the onset of the disease (P < 0.001), and the complication rate was lower than the conservative treatment group (P < 0.05). Univariate logistic regression showed that the risk of severe neurological dysfunction for patients in the surgery group was (odds ratio -0.27, 95% confidence interval: 0.08–0.86, P < 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio was 0.29 (95% confidence interval: 0.09–0.96, P < 0.05) after adjusting for all covariates. For moderate-volume thalamus-internal capsule region cerebral hemorrhage, stereotactic paracentesis has the advantage of a shorter hospital stay and a lower complication rate than conservative treatment. Moreover, it yields superior outcomes in terms of daily living assessment scores after six months of treatment and enhanced neurological recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Shear thickening of multimodal suspensions has proven difficult to understand because the rheology depends largely on the microscopic details of stress-induced frictional contacts at different particle size distributions (PSDs). Our discrete particle simulations below a critical volume fraction ϕ c over a broad range of shear rates and PSDs elucidate the basic mechanism of order–disorder transition. Around the theoretical optimal PSD (relative content of small particles ζ 1 = 0.26), particles order into a layered structure in the Newtonian regime. At the onset of shear thickening, this layered structure transforms to a disordered one, accompanied by an abrupt viscosity jump. Minor increase in large-large particle contacts after the order–disorder transition causes apparent increase in radial force along the compressional axis. Bidisperse suspensions with less regular but stable layered structure at ζ 1 = 0.50 show good fluidity in the shear thickening regime. This work shows that in inertial flows where particle collisions dominate, order–disorder transition could play an essential role in shear thickening for bidisperse suspensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gecko can achieve flexible climbing on various vertical walls and even ceilings, which is closely related to its unique foot adhesion system. In the past two decades, the mechanism of the gecko adhesion system has been studied in-depth, and a verity of gecko-inspired adhesives have been proposed. In addition to its strong adhesion, its easy detachment is also the key to achieving efficient climbing locomotion for geckos. A similar controllable adhesion characteristic is also key to the research into artificial gecko-inspired adhesives. In this paper, the structures, fabrication methods, and applications of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are summarized for future reference in adhesive development. Firstly, the controllable adhesion mechanism of geckos is introduced. Then, the control mechanism, adhesion performance, and preparation methods of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are described. Subsequently, various successful applications of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are presented. Finally, future challenges and opportunities to develop gecko-inspired controllable adhesive are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and mortality rate of gastric cancer (GC) have remained high worldwide. Although some progress has been made in immunotargeted therapy, the treatment effect remains limited. With more attention has been paid to the immune potential of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), but the specific mechanisms of tumor immunity are still unclear. Thus, we screened marker genes in TAMs differentiation (MDMs) through single-cell RNA sequencing, and combined with GC transcriptome data from TCGA and GEO databases, the clinical and TME characteristics, prognostic differences, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity among different subtypes of patients with GC in different data sets were analyzed. A prognostic model of GC was constructed to evaluate the prognosis and immunotherapy response of patients with GC. In this study, we extensively studied the mutations in MDMs such as CGN, S100A6, and C1QA, and found differences in the infiltration of immune cells and immune checkpoints including M2 TAMs, T cells, CD274, and CTLA4 in different GC subtypes. In the model, we constructed a predictive scoring system with high accuracy and screened out key MDMs-related genes associated with prognosis and M2 TAMs, among which VKORC1 may be involved in GC progression and iron death in tumor cells. Therefore, this study explores the therapeutic strategy of TAMs reprogramming in-depth, providing new ideas for the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis assessment of GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and mortality rate of gastric cancer (GC) have remained high worldwide. Although some progress has been made in immunotargeted therapy, the treatment effect remains limited. With more attention has been paid to the immune potential of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), but the specific mechanisms of tumor immunity are still unclear. Thus, we screened marker genes in TAMs differentiation (MDMs) through single-cell RNA sequencing, and combined with GC transcriptome data from TCGA and GEO databases, the clinical and TME characteristics, prognostic differences, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity among different subtypes of patients with GC in different data sets were analyzed. A prognostic model of GC was constructed to evaluate the prognosis and immunotherapy response of patients with GC. In this study, we extensively studied the mutations in MDMs such as CGN, S100A6, and C1QA, and found differences in the infiltration of immune cells and immune checkpoints including M2 TAMs, T cells, CD274, and CTLA4 in different GC subtypes. In the model, we constructed a predictive scoring system with high accuracy and screened out key MDMs-related genes associated with prognosis and M2 TAMs, among which VKORC1 may be involved in GC progression and iron death in tumor cells. Therefore, this study explores the therapeutic strategy of TAMs reprogramming in-depth, providing new ideas for the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis assessment of GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the stick-slip piezoelectric actuator has been extensively developed, its consistency in forward and reverse motions is still poor under the same driving voltage and frequency. To improve the consistency in forward and reverse motion, extremely precise adjustment of actuators is necessary. For achieving high consistency in forward and reverse motions with low difficulty in assembly and adjustment, a stick-slip piezoelectric actuator with the symmetric mechanism and optimized installation method was developed in this study. By means of the pseudo-rigid body method (PRBM), matrix-based compliance modeling (MCM) method and the finite element method (FEM), theoretical calculation and analysis of the designed symmetric flexure hinge mechanism (SFHM) were carried out firstly. Then, the effects of installation methods on the forward and reverse motion consistency were investigated by experiments, and accordingly, an optimized installation method was determined. With this method, output performances of the actuator were tested under various voltages, frequencies and external loads, and the consistency in forward and reverse motions were further compared and analyzed. The experimental results indicated that good consistency in forward and reverse motions had been successfully achieved by the symmetric mechanism and optimized installation method, and the ratio of difference λ was only 6.80% which showed the actuator had an extremely competitiveness. High bidirectional motion consistency will reduce the control difficulty of the actuator, which is beneficial to its application in the fields of precision instruments, aerospace and material mechanical performance testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fungal community structure and soil fertility in rhizosphere soil have an important effect on the health of Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng). The attack of pathogenic fungi and the imbalance of soil fertility can easily lead to diseases. The effect of Bacillus subtilis on improving the community structure of soil fungi has been confirmed, and the corresponding biological agent products have been commercialized. A pot experiment carried out in a greenhouse explored the effect of a biological agent and fertilizer on the fungal community in the rhizosphere of P. notoginseng. In the experiment, fertilization and the addition of biological agents were set up with three gradients, respectively, and the full coupling experiment was adopted, and the blank control group (CK) was set up at the same time. Therefore, there were thirteen treatments in the experiment. NH4 decreased between 36.42% and 11.56%, AP increased between 6.03% and 92.46%, AK increased between 2.99% and 25.40%, TN increased between 0.10% and 9.41%, and TP increased by 18.25% to 47.73% The addition of Bacillus subtilis biological agent decreased the Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, and ACE index of fungi in the rhizosphere soil of P. notoginseng. The Chao1 index decreased between 0.39% and 78.22%; the ACE index decreased between 0.43% and 78.24%. The main pathogenic fungi Cylindrocarpon and Fusarium of P. notoginseng were different in the experimental results. Cylindrocarpon decreased under F1C1, F2C1, and F3C2 treatments, while Fusarium increased under F1C1, F2C2, F3C1, and F3C3 treatments and decreased Fusarium content in rhizosphere soil of P. notoginseng in other treatments. RDA analysis (Redundancy analysis) showed that NH4-N was negatively correlated with the main pathogen Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium, and Ilyonectria, while AP and AK were positively correlated with Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium, and Ilyonectria. The results of the GRA-TOPSIS analysis showed that the score of F3C2 was the highest, while F2C3 and F2C1 ranked second and third, respectively. The calculation results of the theoretical model based on GRA-TOPSIS analysis showed that the GRA-TOPSIS score was highest when the theoretical optimal fertilizer application rate and bacteria application rate were 116.31 kg hm−2 and 15.83 kg hm−2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-scale indentation model (MSI) for the stiff film-compliant substrate structures is established. • Two dimensionless numbers g /(E s −1/3 E f 1/3 t f) and τ 0 /(E s 2/3 E f 1/3 t f) are proposed to evaluate the indentation size effect. • The predicted bending stiffness by the MSI model is consistent with the experimental results. As critical components or platforms, stiff film-compliant substrate structures are widely used in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and other devices, in which their indentation behavior plays an important role. In this work, a multi-scale indentation model (MSI) for stiff film-compliant substrate structures is established based on the strain gradient theory and the surface elastic model. With this model, the indentation size effect of the structure is investigated from three aspects: the load-depth relationship, the distribution of bending moments in the film, and the surface morphology. The results show that the indentation size effect is mainly caused by the characteristic length and the surface residual stress of the film, and it is sensitive to the modulus ratio of the film to the substrate but has little relation with Poisson's ratio and the contact radius. Based on the above analysis, two dimensionless numbers are proposed to evaluate the indentation size effect of stiff film-compliant substrate structures. Besides, the predicted bending stiffness by the theoretical model is consistent with the experimental result, which verifies the effectiveness of the MSI model. Our research sheds light on the understanding of the indentation size effect of stiff film-compliant substrate structures and provides theoretical guidance for the design of related devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical agriculture has developed rapidly in recent years, pushing artificial light planting to new heights. Under indoor artificial light, the light supply mode has practical significance in studying the impact of lighting conditions on plants. This experiment involved five intermittent light supply modes (with a light period of 16 h and a dark period of 8 h (16/8) as the control group, with a light period of 8 h and a dark period of 4 h repeated twice a day (8/4), a light period of 4 h and a dark period of 2 h repeated four times a day (4/2), a light period of 2 h and a dark period of 1 h repeated eight times a day (2/1), and a light period of 1 h and a dark period of 0.5 h repeated 16 times a day (1/0.5) (as the experimental groups). A total of ten treatments were combined before the continuous light supply mode (B) and after the continuous light supply mode (A). Through experimental settings, we explored the response mechanisms to intermittent and continuous light supply modes as they pertain to lettuce growth, nutrient content, photosynthetic parameters, and light stress. Through research, it was found that continuous light supply significantly increased plant height, root length, aboveground dry and fresh weight, and the underground dry and fresh weight of lettuce. The treatments with a light period 4 h/dark period 2 h (4/2) and a light period 8 h/dark period 4 h (8/4) significantly increased the N, P, K, and Cu contents. Additionally, continuous light supply helped stabilize the Mg, Ca, and Mn contents across all treatment groups. Stomatal closure has been found to cause a decrease in the rate of net photosynthesis, transpiration, and intercellular CO2 concentration. The energy absorbed by antenna pigments is significantly increased when participating in photochemical reactions; however, continuous light supply has been observed to reduce the absorption flux per reaction center (ABS/RC), trapped energy flux per reaction center (TR0/RC), electron transport flux per reaction center (ET0/RC), and the probability that a trapped exciton moves an electron into the electron transport chain beyond QA− (at t = 0) (ET0/TR0). Conversely, the electron transport flux per cross section (ET0/CS) has been found to increase significantly. In summary, among the intermittent light supply treatment groups, the 2/1 treatment group showed the best response to growth indicators, nutrient absorption, and photosynthesis, and could improve the quality of lettuce without adding additional light energy. Continuous light supply in the short term can improve the growth and nutrient absorption of lettuce; both of the two light supply modes produced light stress on lettuce, and this light stress caused by non-circadian rhythm forced the lettuce to increase its photochemical quenching (qI) and electro transport flux crossover (ET0/CS). This paper may provide a theoretical reference for the use of light supply modes in plant factories to improve vegetable yield, and for the study of the response mechanism of light stress under non-circadian rhythm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enrich the output performances and application fields of friction inertial piezoelectric actuators, a multi-mode friction inertial piezoelectric actuator was proposed. It had three driving modes, i.e. the inertial stick-slip mode, the inertial impact mode and the compound driving mode. An integrated flexible mechanism (IFM) consisting of the lever-shaped flexible mechanism (LSFM) and the butterfly-shaped flexible mechanism (BSFM) was designed for achieving these three driving modes. Theoretical analysis of the IFM was performed by using the matrix-based compliance modeling method and the response surface methodology. An experimental system was established to test the output performances of the actuator under various driving modes. Experimental results indicated that the actuator in three driving modes presented different output performances, and the output displacement in the compound driving mode was equivalent to the sum of those in the two single inertial modes. In the compound driving mode, the actuator achieved larger step displacement, and it also achieved good speed, loading capacity as well as motion stability. For instance, the maximum speed was 10.04 mm/s at 250 Hz in the compound driving mode, while they were 5.06 mm/s at 250 Hz in the inertial impact mode and 10.81 mm/s at 450 Hz in the inertial stick-slip mode. Furthermore, output performances of the actuator could be easily tuned in the compound driving mode when two driving voltages were controlled separately, which provided an idea for achieving the linear smooth motion. • A multi-mode friction inertial piezoelectric actuator was proposed. • Output performances of the actuator under various driving modes were characterized. • Better output performances were achieved under the compound driving mode. • The linear smooth motion was realized under the compound driving mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Easy detachment is as important as reliable an attachment to climbing robots in achieving stable climbing on vertical surfaces. To deal with the difficulty of detachment occurring in wheeled and track-type climbing robots using bio-inspired spines, a novel climbing robot utilizing spiny track and dual-rail mechanism is proposed in this paper. The spiny track consists of dozens of spiny feet, and the movement of each spiny foot is guided by the specially designed dual-rail mechanism to achieve reliable attachment and easy detachment. First, the design of the climbing robot and the dual-rail mechanism are presented. Then, the dual-rail model is constructed to analyze the attaching and detaching movements of the spiny feet, and a mechanical model is established to analyze the force distribution on the spiny track. Finally, a robot prototype is developed, and the analysis results are verified by the experiment results. Experiments on the prototype demonstrated that it could climb on various rough vertical surfaces at a speed of 36 mm/s, including sandpaper, brick surfaces, concrete walls with pebbles, and coarse stucco walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress plays a vital role in viral replication. Tripartite motif containing 16 (TRIM16) is involved in diverse cellular processes. However, the role of TRIM16 in oxidative stress induced by infection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus (HPAIV) is unclear. We found that under conditions of H5N1 HPAIV infection, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in A549 cells peaked at 24 h post infection (hpi), and antioxidant genes' expression levels were down-regulated. Overexpression of TRIM16 in A549 cells resulted in a decrease in the titter of H5N1 HPAIV and led to significant up-regulation of the antioxidant genes' expression levels, which indicates that TRIM16 positively regulates the sequestosome 1/Kelch-like associated enoyl-CoA hydratase 1 protein/nuclear factor erythrocyte 2-derived 2-like 2 (SQSTM1/NRF2/KEAP1) pathway. Under basal conditions, TRIM16 led to a modification of NRF2 through an increase in K63-linked poly-ubiquitination of NRF2. Collectively, our findings provide new insight into understanding TRIM16′s role in anti-oxidative stress in H5N1 HPAIV infected A549 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible organic monitoring system that can work in short‐wave infrared (SIR) region has great potential in autonomous driving, night driving safety, military encryption, biomedical imaging, and robot engineering. Especially, the development of infrared artificial vision system device that can autonomously improve the computing speed and adapt to different brightness ambient light is very important. However, it is a challenge for mimicking infrared visual adaptation because of the need for infrared absorbing materials and the need to control the concentration of carriers. In this study, inorganic quantum dot material is combined with organic materials to promote carrier separation and introduce interface defects that adjust the carrier concentration in transistors, which induce the synaptic behavior under SIR (1100 nm) light in darkness and the ability to adapt to white ambient light. Furthermore, the device array realizes the image recognition of SIR light at night with white ambient light of different brightness, exhibiting good self‐adaptability, and strong anti‐interference ability. These results demonstrate promising applications of the infrared synaptic phototransistors in adapted bionic optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar accumulation of atmospheric mercury (Hg), particularly gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(0)), accounts for a significant amount of atmospheric Hg deposition and influences the Hg geochemical cycle. Foliar Hg accumulation occurs as the net result of uptake, adsorption, fixation, re-emission, and other processes. The combination of these processes influences foliar Hg speciation, translocation, toxicity, transport, and bioavailability, which eventually affects the environmental risk of Hg. Therefore, a systematic understanding of the various processes involved in foliar Hg accumulation is urgently needed. This review summarizes the current knowledge, research progress, and remaining knowledge gaps regarding foliar Hg accumulation processes and the biochemical mechanisms involved. Atmospheric Hg is biochemically fixed within foliage after stomatal and/or nonstomatal uptake, with foliar Hg then volatilized after reduction, washed off via throughfall, deposited on soil surfaces via litterfall or stored within vegetation over time. Mechanisms underlying these processes and future perspectives on foliar accumulation are hereby discussed with the aim of reducing knowledge gaps on foliar Hg accumulation. The combination of different methods, such as Hg speciation analysis, isotope tracer techniques, element imaging, biological technologies, and ecologically microcosmic methods, will help clarify Hg speciation, transformation, and subcellular distribution in foliage, and quantitate different Hg fluxes during foliar Hg accumulation and litterfall decomposition. Measurements and modeling on the foliar accumulation process of atmospheric Hg under natural and human perturbations are also essential. These future investigations will help comprehensively understand the processes influencing atmospheric Hg interactions with foliage and evaluate the environmental fates and risks of foliar Hg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contact behaviors of rough surfaces, which consist of asperities with random geometric properties at small length scale, have been extensively investigated on contact behaviors in engineering and scientific research. Due to the complexity of loading condition and surface topography, the limitation of traditional statistical model leads to the inaccuracy of prediction for rough surface contact behaviors. Starting from the multi-asperity contact theory, we release the restrictions of classical GW model and propose an elastic-plastic interacting model to investigate the coalescence effect of neighboring asperities in this paper. Through numerous simulations and analyses, the results show that the plasticity can be measured by material and morphology parameters. With the increasing of plasticity and the decreasing of asperity peak distance, the contact interface transits from interaction dominated to coalescence dominated contact relationships. With the increasing of loading, the shape of contact zone changes from two independent circles with expanding radius to a joint point, and finally the contact zone becomes a single ellipse. The coalescence status of neighboring asperities is influenced by the plasticity and the initial distance between asperity peaks. Our study provides some basis for establishing a statistical or discrete rough surface model considering merging, predicting the contact behaviors between solids, and revealing the evolution of contact spot information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bromophenols (BPs) are a class of ubiquitous emerging halogenated pollutants. Their 19 congeners are problematically separated and detected. This work described the separation and detection of 19 BP congeners by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Investigations into the derivatization of bromophenols were carried out using two silylation reagents (N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide and N-methyl-N-(trimethylsily)trifluoroacetamide), two alkylation reagents (methyl iodide and trimethylsilyldiazomethane) and acetic anhydride prior to GC-MS analysis. Optimal chromatographic separation, sensitivity, and linearity were achieved after BP derivatization using acetic anhydride, featuring the equipment detection limits of 0.39–1.26 pg and correlation coefficients of 0.9948–0.9999 (linear range: 0.5–250 ng mL−1) for all 19 BP congeners. Furthermore, the simultaneous determination of 19 bromophenols and 19 bromoanisoles, common environmental transformation products of BPs, is also demonstrated. The improved analytical performance on GC-MS after derivatization would benefit investigations on the environmental origins, behaviors and fates of BPs and their environmental metabolites. [Display omitted] • Five derivatization reagents were compared for bromophenol analysis. • Acetylation achieved the best selectivity, linearity, and sensitivity. • All bromophenols and bromanisoles can be resolved on GC-MS using acetylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The powertrain of a fuel cell vehicle typically consists of two energy sources: a proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack and a battery package. In this paper, multi-dimensional dynamic programming (MDDP) is used to solve the energy management strategy (EMS) of fuel cell hybrid powertrain. This study built a fuel cell hybrid powertrain model, in which the battery model is built based on the Thevenin equivalent circuit. In order to improve the calculating efficiency and maintain the accuracy of the algorithm, the state variables in each stage are divided into primary and secondary. In the reverse solution process, the corresponding relationship between the multi state variables grid and the optimal cumulative function has been changed from three-dimensional to two-dimensional. The EMS based on MDDP is applied to component sizing of a commercial vehicle. Simulations were conducted using MATLAB under the C-WTVC working condition. By analyzing the fuel economy and system durability, the optimal component combination of comprehensive performance is obtained. Compared with the EMS based on dynamic programming (DP), the proposed method effectively improves the calculation accuracy: the hydrogen consumption can be reduced by 3.10%, and the durability of the fuel cell and battery can be improved by 1.08% and 0.13%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, cubic perturbations of the integral system (1 + x) 2 d H where H = (x 2 + y 2) / 2 are considered. Some useful formulae are deduced that can be used to compute the first three Melnikov functions associated with the perturbed system. By employing the properties of the ETC system and the expressions of the Melnikov functions, the existence of exactly six limit cycles is given. Note that there are many cases for the existence of third-order Melnikov functions, and some existence conditions are very complicated—the corresponding Melnikov functions are not presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The radiation dose for patients with low‐grade gliomas (LGGs) is controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the radiation dose on survival for patients with LGGs and especially for molecularly defined subgroups. Methods: Three hundred fifty‐one patients with newly diagnosed LGGs from the multicenter Chinese Glioma Cooperative Group received postoperative radiotherapy (RT) in 2005‐2018. The RT dose, as a continuous variable, was entered into a Cox regression model using penalized spline regression to allow for a nonlinear relationship between the RT dose and overall survival (OS) or progression‐free survival (PFS). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)–adjusted propensity scores were used to correct for potential confounders. Dose effects on survival within IDH mutation and 1p/19q codeletion defined subgroups were analyzed. Results: The risk of mortality and disease progression decreased sharply until 54 Gy. High‐dose RT (≥54 Gy) was associated with significantly better 5‐year OS (81.7% vs 64.0%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.33; P <.001) and PFS (77.4% vs 54.5%; HR, 0.46; P <.001) than low‐dose RT (<54 Gy). IPTW correction confirmed the associations (HR for OS, 0.44; P =.001; HR for PFS, 0.48; P =.003). High‐dose RT was associated with longer PFS (HR, 0.25; P =.002; HR, 0.21; P =.039) and OS (HR, 0.27; P =.006; HR, 0.07; P =.017) in IDH‐mutant/1p/19q noncodeleted and IDH wild‐type subgroups, respectively. No significant difference in survival was observed with high‐dose RT in the IDH‐mutant/1p/19q codeleted subgroup. Conclusions: High‐dose RT (≥54 Gy) was effective in LGGs. Patients with an IDH mutation/1p/19q noncodeletion or IDH wild‐type may need to be considered for high‐dose RT. Lay Summary: The radiotherapy dose‐response was observed in patients with low‐grade gliomas, and high‐dose radiotherapy (≥54 Gy) was associated with improved survival.Patients with an IDH mutation/1p/19q noncodeletion or wild‐type IDH may have improved survival with the administration of high‐dose radiotherapy. High‐dose radiotherapy (≥54 Gy) is an independent protective factor for overall survival and progression‐free survival in low‐grade gliomas. Patients with an IDH mutation/1p/19q noncodeletion or IDH wild‐type benefit from high‐dose radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant expression of Anillin (ANLN) has been shown to function in the development of multiple cancers. However, its effects on colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remain unclear. We aimed to explore the role of ANLN in CRC development. By real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), we assessed the expression level of ANLN in CRC tissues and cell lines. The role of ANLN in CRC cell proliferation was evaluated by CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, EdU assays and cell cycle assays. A mouse tumorigenic model was established to evaluate the in vivo function of ANLN. We found that ANLN was overexpressed in CRC tissues and cell lines. Highly expressed ANLN correlated with tumor size, tumor number, and stage in patients with CRC. Silencing ANLN in CRC cell lines suppressed proliferation both in vitro and in vivo and induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. Downregulation of ANLN led to reduced phosphorylated levels of AKT and ERK. However, total AKT protein showed no change. SP2, a critical transcription factor, was implicated in the upregulation of ANLN. Our study demonstrated that ANLN regulates CRC cell proliferation via the PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathways, indicating that ANLN may represent a novel and effective target for CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submerged waterjets often yield low coal-breaking efficiency and have limited permeability. This study introduced a novel approach to enhance submerged waterjets by harnessing the annular fluid hydraulic energy of a borehole. A new waterjet modulator was developed using large eddy simulation (LES) combined with the response surface method (RSM). The reliability of the method was verified by submerged waterjet high-frequency pulsation pressure test experiments. The results indicated that the pulsation amplitude of the annular fluid enhanced self-excited oscillation pulsed waterjet (AFESOPW) was 330.05%, 45.17%, and 32.56% higher than those of the continuous waterjet, self-excited oscillation pulsed waterjet (SOPW), and pre-optimized waterjet, respectively. Additionally, the pulsating pressure peak increased by 42.84%, 19.60%, and 25.81%, respectively. Under the submerged condition, the outlet pulsating pressure peak of the AFESOPW was 1.32–1.58 times the inlet pressure. The self-priming annular fluid weakened the hinderance of the submerged environmental pressure and enhanced the waterjet pulsation effect. [Display omitted] • A novel approach to enhance the submerged waterjet was proposed. • The mechanism of self-priming pressurization was revealed. • A new waterjet modulator optimization method was formed. • A new submerged waterjet pulsating pressure test system was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury enhances brain injury and increases its morbidity and mortality. The purpose of our study was to further explore the specific pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia disease by studying the role of p53 in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and its mechanism to provide a new target for the treatment of cerebral ischemia. Methods: Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) was established in rats. The changes in p53 and apoptotic proteins in the rat model were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The effects of p53 inhibitors on cerebral is-chemia-reperfusion injury in rats were evaluated by modified neurological severity score (mNSS) and infarct area. Subsequently, neural stem cells (NSCs) were isolated and cultured in vitro, and oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) was induced to establish an in vitro ischemia-reperfusion injury model. Cell viability and migration were detected by CCK-8 and transwell assays. Apoptosis of NSCs was detected by flow cytometry. Finally, protein expression in the Wnt pathway activated by p53 was detected by Western blotting. Results: Compared with the sham group, p53 levels, mNSS, cerebral infarction area, and apoptosis were significantly increased in the MCAo group (p < 0.05). When the p53 inhibitor PFT-α was injected, the increase in these levels was reversed. Also, the viability and migration of cells decreased and apo-ptosis increased in the in vitro OGD model, whereas the viability, migration, and apoptosis were significantly reversed after the addition of p53 inhibitors (p < 0.05). Finally, p53 induced Wnt signaling pathway proteins β-catenin and cyclin D1 decrease in the MCAo group, while p53 inhibitors reversed their inhibitory effect on the Wnt signaling pathway. Conclusion: We confirmed in vivo and in vitro that inhibition of p53 has a protective effect on the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, which may be related to the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medium/high entropy alloys have some excellent properties, such as high strength, high plasticity, high toughness, high wear resistance, etc., which are better than those of traditional metal alloys. The mechanical properties of medium/high entropy alloys have always been the focus of academic research, but research on their interface mechanical behaviors is still missing. In this paper, we have designed a fretting friction and wear testing system, whose accuracy has been verified. A series of friction experiments have been carried out on the medium entropy alloy–steel friction pair. The friction responses have been investigated, and the factors affecting the friction coefficient have been revealed. Results show that the friction coefficient increases with the increase in the maximum horizontal displacement and decreases with the increase in the normal pressure. The sliding velocity and the normal load together affect the friction coefficient between the friction pairs. Compared with the commonly used titanium alloy and nickel alloy, the friction coefficient between the medium entropy alloy–steel friction pair is smaller during the fretting cycle process. Despite the experimental results, a theoretical model is also proposed to qualitatively explain the corresponding experimental phenomena. Our research sheds light on revealing the interfacial mechanical properties of the medium entropy alloy and provides a basis for tribological design and its internal mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with low-grade gliomas (LGGs) harboring O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter nonmethylation (MGMT-non-pM) have a particularly short survival and are great resistance to chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of high-dose radiotherapy (RT) for LGGs with MGMT-non-pM.Methods: 268 patients with newly diagnosed adult supratentorial LGGs from the multicenter Chinese Glioma Cooperative Group (CGCG) received postoperative RT during 2005-2018. MGMT promoter methylation analysis was conducted by pyrosequencing in all patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using the Cox regression to determine the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RT dose-response on MGMT status defined subtypes was analyzed.Results: On univariate analysis, the following were statistically significant favorable factors for both PFS and OS: oligodendrogliomas(p = 0.002 and p = 0.005), high-dose RT (> 54 Gy) (p = 0.021 and p = 0.029) and 1p/19q codeletion (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, RT dose (> 54 Gy vs. ≤ 54 Gy) and IDH mutation were independently prognostic markers for OS (HR, 0.47; 95%CI, 0.22-0.98; p = 0.045; and HR, 0.44; 95%CI, 0.21-0.96; p = 0.038, respectively) and PFS (HR, 0.48; 95%CI, 0.26-0.90; p = 0.022; and HR, 0.51; 95%CI, 0.26-0.98; p = 0.044, respectively). High-dose RT was associated with longer OS (HR, 0.56; 95%CI, 0.32-0.96; p = 0.036) and PFS (HR, 0.58; 95%CI, 0.35-0.96; p = 0.033) than low-dose RT in MGMT-non-pM subtype. In contrast, no significant difference in either OS (p = 0.240) or PFS (p = 0.395) was observed with high-dose RT in the MGMT-pM subtype.Conclusions: High-dose RT (> 54 Gy) is an independently protective factor for LGGs and is associated with improved survival in patients with MGMT-non-pM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: PTPRZ1‐MET (ZM) is a critical genetic alteration driving the progression of lower‐grade glioma. Glioma patients harboring ZM could benefit from MET inhibitors. According to the remarkable role of ZM as a driver of glioma progression and indicator of MET inhibitor sensitivity, it is necessary to detect this alteration even when it presents in glioma with relatively fewer copies. Methods: Herein, we proposed that ZM could be detected with a high‐sensitive method of reverse transcriptase PCR with 50 amplification cycles. Via this newly proposed detection method, we depicted the incidence preference of ZM fusion in a cohort of 485 glioma patients. To further explore the oncogenic nature of ZM, we predicated the protein structure alteration of MET kinase brought by its fusion partner. Results: The incidence of ZM fusions was much higher than previous report. ZM fusions exhibited a striking preference in lower‐grade glioma and secondary glioblastoma. By contrast, none of patients with primary glioblastoma was detected harboring ZM fusion. In each of the four variants of ZM, the fusion partner segment of MET contained a remarkable coiled‐coil motif. In glioma cells expressing ZM, MET kinase could be activated in a ligand‐independent manner, which might be contributed by the special coiled‐coil structure brought by the fusion partner. Corresponding to the 3D structural analysis and cell line experiment, the ZM positive clinical specimens showed hyperactivations of MET signaling. Conclusions: ZM fusions are critical drivers of glioma progression and effective target of MET inhibitor. Early detection could be performed with a high‐sensitive method of reverse transcriptase PCR. The hyperactivations of MET signaling driving glioma progression might be contributed by a ligand‐independent activation enabled by the protein structure modification of extracellular domain of MET in ZM fusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Radiotherapy (RT) is a cornerstone of the glioblastoma (GBM) treatment. However, the resistance of tumour cells to radiation results in early recurrence. The mechanisms underlying GBM radioresistance remain unclear. Screening for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to radiation might be a potential solution to this problem. Method: RT‐associated DEGs were screened based on the RNA sequencing of 15 paired primary and recurrent GBMs. The mRNA and protein expression of candidate genes were validated in RNA sequencing of The Chinese Genome Atlas (CGGA) dataset and 18 cases of GBM samples. The relationship between the candidate gene and radiation was confirmed in irradiated GBM cells. The association of candidate gene with clinical characteristics and survival was investigated in the CGGA and TCGA dataset. Biological function and pathway analysis were explored by gene ontology analysis. The association of the candidate gene with radiosensitivity was verified using cell counting Kit‐8, comet, and colony formation assays in vitro and subcutaneous tumour xenograft experiments in vivo. Results: Gelsolin (GSN) was selected for further study. GSN expression was significant elevated in recurrent GBM and up‐regulated in irradiated GBM cell lines. High expression of GSN was enriched in malignant phenotype of glioma. Moreover, high expression of GSN was associated with poor prognosis. Further investigation demonstrated that GSN‐knockdown (GSN‐KD) combined with RT significantly inhibited cell proliferation and enhanced radiosensitivity in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, GSN‐KD could lead to more serious DNA damage and promotes apoptosis after RT. Conclusion: Radiation induced up‐regulated of GSN. GSN‐KD could enhance the radiosensitivity of GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has become an unprecedented public crisis. We retrospectively investigated the clinical data of 197 COVID-19 patients and identified 88 patients as disease aggravation cases. Compared with patients without disease aggravation, the aggravation cases had more comorbidities, including hypertension (25.9%) and diabetes (20.8%), and presented with dyspnoea (23.4%), neutrophilia (31.5%), and lymphocytopenia (46.7%). These patients were more prone to develop organ damage in liver, kidney, and heart (P < 0.05). A multivariable regression analysis showed that advanced age, comorbidities, dyspnea, lymphopenia, and elevated levels of Fbg, CTnI, IL-6, and serum ferritin were significant predictors of disease aggravation. Further, we performed a Kaplan–Meier analysis to evaluate the prognosis of COVID-19 patients, which suggested that 64.9% of the patients had not experienced ICU transfers and survival from the hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering high fidelity virtual reality (VR) video over mobile networks is very challenging since VR applications usually require very high bandwidth and ultra low latency. With the evolution of 5G mobile networks, multi-cell multi-access edge computing (MEC) networks enable low latency data communication. However, even in this setting, the requirements of VR applications are tough to meet. To optimize the end-to-end latency for VR video delivery over multi-cell MEC networks, we propose a rendering-aware tile caching scheme. As a first step we propose collaborative tile caching in 5G MEC networks by enabling multiple cell sites to share caches so that the network caching performance is improved. Hence, the amount of redundant data delivered and eventually the latency are both significantly reduced. Second, our scheme offloads viewport rendering of VR video to the MEC server and closely couples this with cache placement, allowing thus the rendering-induced latency to be reduced. Finally, a low-delay request routing algorithm is integrated with the proposed cache placement scheme to further optimize the end-to-end latency of VR video delivery. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed rendering-aware caching scheme can achieve better latency performance than the state-of-the-art decoupled caching/rendering schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Size effects and thermal effects together determine the microscale plastic response of metallic structures in high-integrated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at different temperatures. To investigate the microscale plastic behavior of metallic materials at different temperatures, a thermo-mechanical coupled microscale plasticity model is developed. In the mechanical part of this model, the framework of conventional plasticity theory is maintained, and the plastic strain gradient is introduced as an internal variable to increase the tangential hardening modulus without the introduction of higher-order stress and higher-order boundary conditions. The influence of temperature on the mechanical parameters (e.g. the yield strength) is calibrated by experiment results. In the thermal part of this model, the heat generation in the plastic deformation stage is calculated by the difference between the plastic work and the hardening stored energy influenced by the plastic strain gradient. Due to the strong nonlinearity of the coupled equations, a finite element solution algorithm that combines the radial return method and the staggered solution scheme is proposed. The effectiveness of this model and its solution algorithm is verified by comparisons with the experiment results and a numerical benchmark example. Finally, taking the tensile behavior of a plate with a hole in its center as an example, the coupling effect of strain gradient strengthening and thermal softening on the microscale plastic behavior of metallic materials is investigated. The results show that the microscale plastic behavior of metallic materials at high temperatures depends on the competition between thermal softening and strain gradient strengthening. Our study provides a theoretical basis and a reliable simulation method for the design of MEMS at different temperatures. • A new thermo-mechanical coupled microscale plasticity model that accounts for the size effect and the thermal effect is developed; • The finite element solution algorithm combining the radial return method and the staggered solution scheme for this model is proposed. • The effectiveness of this model and its solution algorithm is verified by comparisons with the experiment results. • The plastic behavior of microscale metallic materials at high temperatures depends on the competition between thermal softening and strain gradient strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonium (NH 4 +) absorption by crops enhances inorganic phosphate (Pi) acquisition efficiency mediated by rhizosphere acidification. The application of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) prolong NH 4 + retention in soil by inhibiting ammonia oxidation and facilitating ammonium uptake by crops which may promote crop P utilisation. However, the efficacy of NIs on enhanced P-utilisation efficiency has not been comprehensively evaluated, and the mechanism underlying these effects remains unclear. Here, a meta-analysis of 92 peer-reviewed articles (1217 paired observations) was conducted to investigate soil pH and crop P absorption changes under NIs amendment, and boosted regression tree model was adopted to identify the primary factor regulating enhanced P-efficiency. The results showed that the addition of NIs reduced the rhizosphere soil pH by 12.37% and increased bulk soil pH by 2.38%, increased plant N and P uptake by 16.09% and 8.49%, respectively, and shoot N and P concentrations by 4.38% and 6.73%, respectively. NIs significantly decreased the crop N/P ratio and alleviated P limitation for crop production. Fertiliser (N and P) application method, NI product type, and soil properties (soil organic carbon, available P, total N content and soil texture) are major factors affecting crop P uptake. Using dicyandiamide (DCD) or 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) as NIs combined with the application of ammonium-based fertiliser, adoption of subsurface or one-time N application, or application of these fertilisers to coarse-textured soils could significantly decrease rhizosphere soil pH while increasing crop P uptake. This study quantitatively demonstrated the positive impact of NIs on crop P acquisition using a meta-analysis approach, enhanced the knowledge on the incidental efficacy of N stabilisers and provide a strategy for the sustainable management of N and P in agriculture. [Display omitted] • Applying nitrification inhibitors induces rhizosphere acidification. • Divergent changes between rhizosphere and bulk soil pH after NIs amendment. • NIs amendment improved crop P uptake and concentration. • Crop N/P ratio declined and P limitation alleviated after NIs amendment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor and is associated with very low survival rates. The development of reliable biomarkers can help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in glioma development. Here the expression of ABCC8 mRNA, clinical characteristics, and survival information based on 1893 glioma samples from four independent databases were analyzed. The expression patterns of ABCC8 mRNA were compared by a Chi square test. The overall survival rate of gliomas was evaluated according to the expression level of ABCC8 mRNA. The prognostic value of this marker in gliomas was tested using Cox single factor and multi factor regression analyses. We found patients with low WHO grade, oligodendrocytoma, low molecular grade, IDH mutation, and 1p19q combined deletion had high ABCC8 mRNA expression. The patients with high expression of ABCC8 mRNA had longer survival. ABCC8 mRNA expression was a new independent prognostic index for glioma. Temozolomide chemotherapy was an independent index to prolong overall survival in high ABCC8 mRNA expression glioma patients, whereas in patients with low expression, there was no significant difference. So ABCC8 mRNA expression could be an independent prognostic indicator for glioma patients and could predict the sensitivity of glioma to temozolomide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stiff film/compliant substrate composite structure with a high modulus ratio finds a wide range of applications in production and in scientific research, and its indentation behavior cannot be described by the traditional theory when the film thickness is reduced from the millimeter scale to the micrometer or nanometer scale. In order to better understand the trans-scale indentation response of the composite structure caused by the reduction in the film thickness, this problem is solved analytically with the strain gradient theory and integral transformation. The gradient effect on the indentation response of the system is assessed in detailed from three aspects: load-displacement relationship, surface topography and distribution of bending moment on the film. In addition, the influences of film thickness, modulus ratio of the film to the substrate, contact radius and Poisson's ratio on the gradient effect are investigated. It is found that the gradient effect on the indentation response of the system, which is not sensitive to the contact radius and Poisson's ratio, is related not only to the film thickness but also to the modulus ratio of the film to the substrate. Based on the above analysis, a dimensionless number (g/ l) is proposed to evaluate the gradient effect on the indentation behaviors of the system. And with the help of the dimensionless number, a new simple and accurate method for measuring the material length scale is proposed. Our research provides a theoretical basis for an in-depth understanding of the gradient effects on the indentation response of the stiff film/compliant substrate system and for the measurement of the material length scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to study the influence of molecular structural difference between deformed soft and hard coal on methane adsorption and obtains the quantitative indexes that reflect the above influence degree. In this paper, XRD and FTIR experiments were adopted to determine the molecular structure of typical deformed soft and hard coals with different ranks. The molecules structural parameters of deformed soft and hard coal were compared and analyzed. Based on the above structural difference characteristic, four corresponding physical models of macromolecular structure are established. A simulation for deformed soft and hard coals was established to test out the behavior difference of adsorption and its mechanism; by using Materials Studio (MS) software, same scenario is also applied on the other four physical models listed above. Then, the isothermal adsorption methane experiments of four kinds coal samples were carried out to verify the above simulation results. The results show that the molecular structure of deformed soft and hard coals has significant differences, i.e. comparing with hard coal, deformed soft coal has smaller interlayer spacing d 0 0 2 ; greater lateral sizes L a, stacking heights L c and the crystal nuclei sizes L a/ L c. Deformed soft coal had a more orderly structure crystal nuclei, bigger crystal volume, the larger basic structure unit (BSU) and more flattened. Deformed soft coal has less oxygen-containing functional groups, lower fatty hydrocarbon content and more C = C. These findings verified that dynamic metamorphism promotes aromatization and large molecular polycondensation of the coal, thus improving the aromatic degrees of the crystal nucleus. Due to the increasing of the lateral sizes being beneficial and the stacking heights being not conducive to the adsorption of the coal, the L a/ L c was proposed as an indicator of the coal adsorption methane ability. The isothermal adsorption experiments show that the adsorption capacity of deformed soft coal with the same rank is greater than that of hard coal, which is in good consistency with the above research results. Also, the above experimental results provide a theoretical basis for the determination of coalbed methane content and the estimation of CBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wavefront sensing at X‐ray free‐electron lasers is important for quantitatively understanding the fundamental properties of the laser, for aligning X‐ray instruments and for conducting scientific experimental analysis. A fractional Talbot wavefront sensor has been developed. This wavefront sensor enables measurements over a wide range of energies, as is common on X‐ray instruments, with simplified mechanical requirements and is compatible with the high average power pulses expected in upcoming X‐ray free‐electron laser upgrades. Single‐shot measurements were performed at 500 eV, 1000 eV and 1500 eV at the Linac Coherent Light Source. These measurements were applied to study both mirror alignment and the effects of undulator tapering schemes on source properties. The beamline focal plane position was tracked to an uncertainty of 0.12 mm, and the source location for various undulator tapering schemes to an uncertainty of 1 m, demonstrating excellent sensitivity. These findings pave the way to use the fractional Talbot wavefront sensor as a routine, robust and sensitive tool at X‐ray free‐electron lasers as well as other high‐brightness X‐ray sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occurrences of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in tree bark from four species were investigated. Species-dependent congener distribution patterns were firstly reported for perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs). The majority of PFSAs and PFCAs in Chinese red pine bark were C5–C7 PFSAs and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, containing six carbon atoms, C6), whereas perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS, C4) and longer chain congeners (PFCAs: C ≥ 7; PFSAs: C ≥ 8) took a larger proportion in the fissured bark from Canadian poplar, Chinese scholartree and weeping willow. The species-dependent congener profiles depended on the structures and chemical compositions of tree bark, as well as the translocation of PFASs within plants. Different tree bark characteristics caused different retention abilities for particle-bound and gaseous PFASs. Particle-bound PFASs retained in the rougher structures of fissured bark led to preferential retention of long chain congeners (the major fraction in the particle phase), while lipid-rich Chinese red pine bark retained more gaseous PFASs (mainly short chain congeners). Besides, the abundance of short chain PFASs in red pine bark was consistent with the chain length-dependent translocation behaviors of PFASs in various plants, suggesting that translocation of PFASs within plants to tree bark may be invovled. Unlabelled Image • Species-dependent bark accumulation of PFASs was firstly observed and explored. • Gaseous diffusion and plant translocation contributed to more short chain PFASs occurring in Chinese red pine bark. • Particle entrapment was responsible for preferential accumulation of long chain PFASs in fissure bark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research of platinum (Pt)–based catalysts focuses on reducing Pt loading in the catalysts while enhancing the catalytic activity. As a rare‐earth element, lanthanum (La) has demonstrated good synergistic effect with Pt‐based catalysts, because of its catalytic promoting capability and high dispersibility. Here, we fabricated La‐doped nano‐Pt‐based catalytic membrane electrode using ion beam sputtering method. The effect of La on the morphology and electrochemical performance of the catalytic membrane electrode was investigated by scanning electron microscope, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical measurements. Compared with pure Pt‐based sample, the electrochemical activity specific area of the La‐doped sample increases by 74.59%, with 63.95% increase in exchange current density. The results also show that La2O3 enhances oxygen enrichment of the membrane electrode and reduces interfacial energy among Pt grains while pinning the grain boundaries. In addition, the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES) measurement shows that the Pt loading in the membrane electrodes is below 0.1 mg/cm2. Thus, enhanced catalytic performance is achieved in catalysts with lower Pt loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) of simple construction with a bi-component emitting layer, in which a novel, dual-role deep blue TADF emitter as both the non-doped blue emitter and efficient host of an orange TADF emitter of TXO-TPA. The deep blue molecule (SDPS-4PhCz, CIE y ∼ 0.04) was designed using spiro-diphenylsulfone (SDPS) as electron-accepting group and four 9-phenyl-9H-carbazole (N-PhCz) as the electron-donating groups. SDPS-4PhCz showed delayed fluorescence with short delayed lifetime of 1.4 μs via fast reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) from "hot exciton" triplet excited state. The solution-processed, non-doped deep blue inverted OLED device exhibited a maximum EQE of 4.92% with low efficiency roll-off. The two-color WOLED with extremely simple device architecture showed an EQE above 17%, CIE (0.39, 0.44) and high CRI of 64 by spin-coating method. Image 1 • A new deep blue emitter via a spiro concept was designed. • The non-doped deep blue OLED showed a low efficiency roll-off. • The fast RISC process in SDPS-4PhCz coincided with "hot exciton" mechanism. • The two-color WOLED showed an EQE above 17% by spin-coating method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coal mines, the effective extraction of relief gas and the prevention of dynamic disasters depend on accurate predictions of the spatial distribution of mining stress in the overlying rock. However, at present, the prediction of stress relief and concentration zones based on operational experience or empirical modeling differs significantly from actual measurements in the field. The fundamental problem is the difficulty in modeling the transfer mechanism of the mining overburden load under the influence of key strata. In this study, a mechanical model of the spatial distribution of the mining stress field based on the structure of overburden key strata was established. The model demonstrates that the key strata are the main bearing bodies of the overlying rock, both before and after the fracture, and the overburden rock load can be transferred to the coal and rock mass around the stope through the key strata in the fracture and bending subsidence zones, thus forming a mining stress field. Equations for calculating the plane distributions of mining stress under the key strata at different horizons and abutment pressures on the stope were established, and a spatial distribution prediction method for the mining stress field based on the overburden key strata structure was proposed. The study area was the Gaojiapu Coal Mine, where it was found that the key stratum of the 400.45 m thick Luohe Formation sandstone bore most of the overlying rock load and transferred the load to the coal and rock mass around the stope. This load distribution is the root cause of a high concentration and wide influence range of mining stresses, leading to serious deformation of the main roadway and frequent dynamic disasters. The mining stress concentration was maximized at a mining length of 1458 m × 1458 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report in this paper a generalized theory that describes the interaction between a monochromatic light beam and an optical system that includes one photoelastic modulator, one analyzer, and one photodetector. Based on the theory, a detailed four-step procedure is presented, which allows a precise measurement of the four Stokes parameters. An analysis of the systematic and random errors arising from the four-step measurements is also given as well as a calibration procedure that involves the use of a general retardation plate. As a practical application the procedure is used to analyze the magneto-optical properties of magnetic thin films grown on GaAs(001) substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A theoretical indentation model applicable to film/substrate systems with large modulus ratios (E f /E s = 102–105) is established. • A new convenient method for measuring the modulus of nanofilm with limited thickness by indentation on hard film/soft substrate system is proposed. • Compared with the free-standing indentation test or bulge test, this method is more convenient and cheaper. • The effectiveness of the model and method was verified by experiments and simulations. Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) materials have received extensive attention due to their excellent physical and chemical properties, whose mechanical properties play critical roles in their applications. In this paper, a new convenient method for measuring the modulus of nanofilm by indentation on hard film/soft substrate system is proposed. In order to verify the correctness of the new method, the graphene oxide (GO) nanofilm deposited on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is tested. The modulus of the GO nanofilm is measured as 60.39 ± 7.82 GPa, which is consistent with the modulus measured by previous researches. Finally, the finite element method (FEM) is used to investigate the effectiveness of the new method and to evaluate its error sensitivity to the indenter size, film radius, and the surface roughness. The results show that this method can accurately measure the modulus of nanofilm through the indentation response of the hard film/soft substrate system. Compared with the free-standing indentation test, the method proposed by us eliminates the disadvantages of boundary adhesion and has the advantages of simple sample preparation, easy operation, and high success rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two spiro-D configured host materials DCPSO and DAPSO bearing electron-withdrawing group spironaphthalenone and electron-donating group phenylcarbazole or triphenylamine were designed and synthesized. The spironaphthalenone moiety was embedded in the host skeleton such that the host materials have twisted conformation and separated molecular frontier orbitals. The triplet energy of the DCPSO and DAPSO were estimated to be 2.60 and 2.45 eV, respectively, rendering them suitable host materials for red organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The single-carrier transporting devices revealed that DCPSO is a bipolar material with more balanced hole and electron flux in the emitting layer than that of DAPSO . Employing DCPSO as host, high external quantum efficiencies of 16.6% and 13.3% as well as negligible efficiency roll-off were achieved for red phosphorescent and red TADF OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the chain of stereoscopic video processing, stereoscopic video coding and viewing are usually two independent stages. Conventional stereoscopic video coding puts an emphasis on improving the coding efficiency by seeking the optimal tradeoff between the coding bit rate and the signal-based distortion, while neglecting the perceptual behaviors of binocular combination when stereoscopic video is viewed by human beings. In this paper, we propose to utilize binocular combination to optimize the stereoscopic video coding from the perspective of perceptual quality measurement. Specifically, we propose a novel binocular-combination-oriented measurement for visual distortion and then derive the Lagrange multiplier for the binocular-combination-oriented rate-distortion optimization (RDO). Via extensive subjective tests, the results show that the proposed perceptual RDO can save more than 5% BD rate over the traditional RDO in multiview extension of High Efficiency Video Coding for stereoscopic video coding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce-doped BaTiO[sub 3] (BTO) films were grown by pulsed laser deposition. Highly c-axis-oriented BTO:Ce/YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]0[sub 7−x] bilayer structures on a SrTiO[sub 3] (100) substrate were fabricated for electrical property characterization. Typical hysteresis and butterfly type C-V plots were observed. The remanent polarization and coercive field are 3 μC/cm² and 20 kV/cm, respectively. Highly α-axis-oriented Ce-doped and undoped BTO films were also deposited on MgO(100) substrates. Their linear and quadratic electro-optic effects were measured and compared. The Ce-doped films showed a larger linear electro-optic coefficient and obvious hysteresis in the quadratic electro-optic coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of cores in a chip multiprocessor increase, the directory size becomes excessive. Current research shows that directory size can be reduced by tracking private entries with coarse-grain directory entries called region entries. In order to indicate which blocks the region owner has cached, the present vector in the region entries in the dual-grain directory (DGD) uses a bit vector format. If a coarser-grain region granularity is used, the length of the region entries becomes excessive. Besides, most of the latest scalable directories use the short-entry directory format with only one pointer. Therefore, DGD has limited flexibility of region granularity and is incompatible with the latest scalable directories. In this paper, we propose a scalable short-entry dual-grain coherence directory with flexible region granularity (SS-DGD). In private region entries, a counter is used instead of the original bit vector. Region entries using counters and private block entries using a single pointer always have the same length, giving SS-DGD the flexibility of region size. To reduce the directory size, SS-DGD is divided into a shared directory and a private directory that includes private block entries and private region entries. With the same total number of directory entries, SS-DGD has a smaller directory size than previous DGD because the private directory entries in SS-DGD are shorter. And the detailed simulation-based study shows that there are no statistically significant differences in execution time and network traffic between SS-DGD and DGD. In the 64-core system, our proposal can reduce the directory size by 29.9%. More importantly, the region entries in SS-DGD can be used in the latest scalable directories and have a high potential to compress the number of directory entries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower divertor, as the most critical part of experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), has functions of protecting the vacuum vessel, particles exhausting, and heat load handling. Doped graphite with SiC coating is adopted as plasma-facing material, which is bolted to active water-cooling heat sink by an M8 screw with a soft graphite sheet inserted between graphite tile and heat sink to improve the capacity of heat transmission currently. In order to guarantee excellent performance of lower divertor, every striking target, which contains 27th graphite tiles, must be inspected for its assembly quality before being installed in EAST device. This paper introduces a rapid nondestructive inspection method for EAST lower divertor by infrared (IR) thermography. The poor assembly quality, such as unevenness of contact surface of graphite tile or heat sink, overlap of the soft graphite sheet, and unqualified values of torque, can be detected qualitatively by comparison of the surface temperature evolution of graphite tiles in symmetric positions of the same divertor target when water flowing in the tube welded into heat sink is changed from hot to cold. The 3-D thermal finite-element analyses are performed to simulate the case of target with excellent assembly quality and defect-free tiles and as a reference for the experimental observations obtained by IR thermography eventually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indentation behavior of two-dimensional (2D) materials mounted on the substrates with varying stiffness is investigated using finite element method (FEM). The primary objective of present work is to understand the effect of the ratio of the elastic modulus of 2D-material to that of the substrate ( λ ) on the indentation deformation of the composite structure (2D-material/substrate). It is found that with the increase of λ , the deformations of both 2D-material and substrate become less localized; the contact area rapidly decreases with λ , which cannot be properly predicted by the classic indentation models. Therefore, for a large value of λ (e.g., λ  > 10 4 ), the existing indentation models are not able to properly describe the indentation response of 2D-material/substrate. In addition, due to an ultra-low thickness of 2D-material, the indentation behavior of 2D-material/substrate is mainly controlled by the substrate properties when λ is lower than 10 3 ; whereas the ratio of the strain energy of 2D-maerial to that of the overall strain energy rapidly increases with λ , which will reach the peak value of 1/3 at λ  = 10 6 . Therefore, for a high λ , it is possible to determine the elastic modulus of 2D-material from the overall indentation response of 2D-material/substrate by the inverse analysis with the help of FEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) material loaded with nickel was prepared, and to the best of the authors' knowledge, it was the first time that RGO material used as a catalyst in the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae. The effect of RGO support Ni catalyst on the yield and quality of bio-oil derived from HTL of Spirulina was studied in this research. The results showed that the catalyst could improve the yield of bio-oil, and the performance in improving the quality of bio-oil was significantly increased. GC–MS analysis showed that RGO catalyst could promote the formation of hydrocarbons. When the loading amount of Ni was 5%, the oxygen content of bio-oil was the lowest (14.79%), and when the loading amount of Ni was increased to 25%, the content of hydrocarbons was the highest (11.41%). In addition, RGO catalyst also increased the content of low boiling point components (<400°C) in bio-oil from 68% to 81%. This study can provide valuable information for the further application of graphene in microalgae HTL and the production of high-quality bio-oil in the future. • The first time that RGO material used as the catalyst in hydrothermal liquefaction. • The catalyst significantly increased the yield of hydrocarbons and changed the composition of bio-oil. • The mechanism was explored that the catalyst significantly promoted hydrolysis and decarboxylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic-imide-based thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials with a twisted donor-acceptor-donor skeleton were efficiently synthesized and exhibited excellent thermal stability and high photoluminescence quantum yields. The small Δ EST value (<0.1 eV) along with the clear temperature-dependent delayed component of their transient photoluminescence (PL) spectra demonstrated their excellent TADF properties. Moreover, the performance of organic light-emitting diodes in which TADF materials AI-Cz and AI-TBCz were used as dopants were outstanding, with external quantum efficiencies up to 23.2 and 21.1 %, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic-imide-based thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials with a twisted donor-acceptor-donor skeleton were efficiently synthesized and exhibited excellent thermal stability and high photoluminescence quantum yields. The small Δ EST value (<0.1 eV) along with the clear temperature-dependent delayed component of their transient photoluminescence (PL) spectra demonstrated their excellent TADF properties. Moreover, the performance of organic light-emitting diodes in which TADF materials AI-Cz and AI-TBCz were used as dopants were outstanding, with external quantum efficiencies up to 23.2 and 21.1 %, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]