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Within the lower Wumishan Formation at the eastern edge of the Tai-hang Mountains in North China, a ~ 10 m stratigraphic interval contains alternately "bright and dark" laminites with enigmatic loop structures (2.5–27.5 cm in length and 0.6–12 cm in height), preserved in cross-sectional and named "loopites" in this study. The loopites are composed of cores and annulate laminations. Based on the different morphologies, they can be divided into three different types: type I, II and III. Although the loopites are similar to the loop beddings, the formation mechanisms are different. The former is possibly microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS), while the loop beddings preserve evidence of soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) such as boudinage or chain structures, joints and small-scale tensional faults. All three types of loopites have cores. The type I core is made up of relicts of previous microbial mat and the microhighlands, while the type II and III loopites have cores defined by debris and rock fragments. The cores are completely wrapped by microbial mats of later generation. Thus, we can conclude that the formation of loopites is due to the growth, wrapping and deposition of microbial mats, while loop beddings are generated by external triggering mechanism such as earthquake. Furthermore, the discovery and possible formation of loopites may provide a new type of MISS and indicate a stable, anoxic and carbonate-supersaturated environment favorable for microbial mats to form annulate structures, which are controlled by illumination, microtopography and hydrodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous computing has been developing continuously in the field of high-performance computing because of its high performance and energy efficiency. More and more accelerators have emerged, such as GPU, FPGA, DSP, AI accelerator, and so on. Usually, the accelerator is connected to the host CPU as a peripheral device to form a tightly coupled heterogeneous computing node, and then, a parallel system is constructed by multiple nodes. This organization is computationally efficient, but not flexible. When new accelerators appear, it is difficult to join the system that has been built. At the hardware level, we create an array of accelerators and connect them to the existing system through a high-speed network. At the software level, we dynamically organize computing resources from various arrays to build a virtual heterogeneous computing node. This approach also includes a standard programming environment. Therefore, it is a more flexible, elastic, and scalable heterogeneous computing organization. In this paper, a supernode OpenCL implementation is proposed for hybrid parallel computing systems, in which virtual supernodes can be dynamically constructed between different computing arrays, and a standard OpenCL environment is implemented based on RDMA communication of high-speed interconnection, which can be combined with the system-level MPI programming environment, thereby realizing the large-scale parallel computing of the hybrid array. SNCL is compatible with existing MPI/OpenCL programs without the need for additional modifications. Experiments show that the runtime overhead of the supernode OpenCL environment is very low, and it is suitable for deploying applications with high computing density and large data scale between different arrays to utilize their computing power without affecting scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among many technical routes in solving the SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction) deposition problem, a good mixer design can greatly improve the NO x conversion efficiency of the exhaust after-treatment system while avoiding urea deposition failures. This paper presents an anti-deposition mixer with novel conception which was optimized through CFD method, the more layers of wire mesh plates, the lower the evaporation efficiency is affected by the increase in injection volume. The new mixer with three layers of wire mesh plate shows better deposition resistance performance below 250℃through urea deposits boundary experiment, and it reduces the NO x emission value by 9.5% than conventional scheme under WHTC (Word Harmonized Transient Cycle) and WHSC (Word Harmonized Steady-state Cycle) test. By using the new mixer scheme in the after-treatment system, the problem of deposition under a variety of low emission temperature can be solved. • A new conception mixer make SCR system avoiding from urea deposition. • The new mixer scheme improve the engine emission limit of NO x by 9.5%. • The new mixer has excellent urea deposition resistance performance below 250 ℃. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is known to be involved in dexmedetomidine (DEX)‐mediated alleviation of renal ischemia and reperfusion injury, the influence of the association between DEX and SIRT3 on nephritis development remains unclear. In this study, the role of SIRT3 in DEX‐mediated amelioration of inflammation and oxidative stress in nephritis as well as the possible underlying mechanism were explored in vivo and in vitro. Methods: An animal model of glomerulonephritis was generated by injecting mice with interferon‐alpha (IFNα)‐expressing adenoviruses, and periodic acid–Schiff staining was then used to reveal pathogenicity‐related changes in the renal tissue. Additionally, human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) and renal mesangial cells (RMCs) were treated with IFNα to establish cell models of inflammation in vitro. Results: DEX administration alleviated glomerulonephritis in the animal model and upregulated SIRT3 expression in the renal tissue. SIRT3 knockdown inhibited the renoprotective effects of DEX against nephritis. IFNα induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the RMCs and HEK293 cells and reduced their growth, as evidenced by the evaluation of cytokine levels (enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay), reactive oxygen species generation, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities, nuclear factor‐erythroid factor 2‐related factor 2/heme oxygenase‐1 signal transduction, apoptotic cell proportion, and cell viability. In addition to promoting SIRT3 expression, DEX inhibited IFNα‐induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in these cells and promoted their viability. SIRT3 knockdown partially reversed the beneficial effects of DEX on RMCs and HEK293 cells. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DEX exhibits renoprotective activity during nephritis progression, protecting renal cells against inflammatory injury by promoting SIRT3 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the fatigue reliability analysis of aeroengine blade-disc systems, the traditional direct integral modelling methods or separate independent modelling methods will lead to low computational efficiency or accuracy. In this work, a physics-informed ensemble learning (PIEL) method is proposed, i.e. firstly, based on the physical characteristics of blade-disc systems, the complex multi-component reliability analysis is split into a series of single-component reliability analyses; moreover, the PIEL model is established by introducing the mapping of multiple constitutive responses and the multi-material physical characteristics into the ensemble learning; finally, the PIEL-based system reliability framework is established by quantifying the failure correlation with the Copula function. The reliability analysis of a typical aeroengine high-pressure turbine blade-disc system is regarded as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with the direct Monte Carlo, support vector regression, neural network, ensemble learning and physics-informed neural network, the proposed method exhibits the highest computing accuracy and efficiency, and is validated to be an efficient method for the reliability analysis of blade-disc systems. The current work can provide a novel insight for physics-informed modelling and fatigue reliability analyses. This article is part of the theme issue 'Physics-informed machine learning and its structural integrity applications (Part 1)'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Osimertinib is the first-line therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring epidermal growth factor receptor–activating alterations. Although osimertinib has been shown to elicit profound patient responses, cancer cells frequently develop additional alterations that sustain their proliferation capacity. This acquired resistance represents a substantial hurdle in precision medicine for patients with lung cancer. Methods The biological and cellular properties of the G-quadruplex ligand BMVC-8C3O and its anticancer activities were evaluated in non-small cell lung carcinomas. In addition, combined treatment with BMVC-8C3O and osimertinib was evaluated for its effects on the growth of osimertinib-resistant tumors in vivo. Results We demonstrate that BMVC-8C3O effectively suppresses c-FOS expression by stabilizing G-rich sequences located at the c-FOS promoter. The suppression c-FOS expression by BMVC-8C3O increases the sensitivity of acquired resistant cancer cells to osimertinib. Combining BMVC-8C3O and osimertinib has a synergistic effect in inhibiting the growth of acquired resistant cancers both in vitro and in mouse models. The combined inhibitory effect is not limited to BMVC-8C3O, either: several G-quadruplex ligands show varying levels of inhibition activity. We also show that simultaneous inhibition of both the c-FOS and PI3K/AKT pathways by BMVC-8C3O and osimertinib synergistically inhibits the growth of acquired resistant cancer cells. Conclusion These findings unveil a synthetic lethal strategy to prevent and inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor–altered lung cancers with acquired osimertinib resistance. G-quadruplex ligands have the potential to be integrated into current osimertinib-based treatment regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the development of effective yield surface of porous metals, which is characterized with the two constitutive parameters (i.e., q1 and q2) in the widely used Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model. It was found that the influence of q1 and q2 on the mechanical responses may be masked by adjusting the two failure parameters (fc and fF), yielding a set of GTN parameters deviated from the actual situation and leading to the errors in failure predictions. Therefore, the two constitutive parameters should be carefully calibrated according to the hardening behavior of matrix. Further investigations on the void density and distributions proved that cubic cells containing 100 randomly distributed non‐intersecting spherical voids are sufficient in characterizing the homogenization. On this basis, effective yield surface of porous metals with a wide range of void volume fractions (from 0.4% to 20%) was investigated, and a correlation between the constitutive parameters and the power‐law hardening behavior of matrix was established. Finally, experimental verifications were conducted on low alloy steel SA508, indicating the q1 and q2 from this study can yield more accurate mechanical response predictions then the previously suggested values. Highlights: The influence of constitutive parameters on the failure predictions were discussed.Effective yield surfaces of porous metals with f range from 0.4% to 20% were investigated.Correlation between the constitutive parameters and power‐law hardening was established.Experimental verifications were conducted on low alloy steel SA508. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes an algebraic method of regional green wave coordinated control (AM-RGWCC) that can operate efficiently. The research on regional green wave coordinated control (RGWCC) has gradually become a hot spot, improving the overall operational efficiency of the control area more comprehensively and systematically. We usually encounter the difficulties of many constraints, high complexity, and low efficiency when using the modeling method to solve the RGWCC problem. AM-RGWCC is developed in this study to overcome these challenges. The overall coordinated effect is assured by realizing the comprehensive optimization of phase sequence, offset, and common signal cycle. A step-by-step design of AM-RGWCC is established to reduce the complexity by analyzing the comprehensive influence of offset difference and bias distance on the green wave bandwidth. Finally, the case study shows that for a three-by-three road network, an ideal scheme can be obtained by AM-RGWCC to maximize the green wave bandwidth in one second. The green wave bandwidth of each intersection accounts for more than 84%. The results illustrate that the coordinated effect and solving efficiency are significantly improved. The proposed algebraic method will have certain advantages in the RGWCC design of a large-scale road network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the mechanism of general anesthesia has been extensively studied, the underlying neural circuitry has yet to be fully understood. The parabrachial nucleus (PBN) plays a crucial role in modulating wakefulness and promoting arousal from general anesthesia. However, the specific role of PBN projections in the process of general anesthesia remains unclear. In this study, we bilaterally injected AAV-associated viruses encoding excitatory or inhibitory optogenetic probes into the PBN and implanted optical fibers in the LH or BF area. After four weeks, we optogenetically activated or inhibited the PBN-LH and PBN-BF pathways under 1.5 vol% isoflurane. We calculated the time it took for anesthesia induction and emergence, simultaneously monitoring changes in the burst-suppression ratio using electroencephalogram recording. Our findings indicate that optogenetic activation of the PBN-LH and PBN-BF projections plays a significant role in promoting both cortical and behavioral emergence from isoflurane inhalation, without significantly affecting the induction time. Conversely, photoinhibition of these pathways prolonged the recovery time, with no notable difference observed during the induction phase. In summary, our results demonstrate that the PBN-LH and PBN-BF pathways are crucial for promoting arousal from isoflurane general anesthesia, but do not have a pronounced impact on the induction phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the differences between fenestration technique and parallel grafts technique of thoracic endovascular aortic repair, and evaluate the risk of complications after interventional treatment of aortic arch aneurysms. A three‐dimensional aortic model was established from the follow‐up imaging data of patient who reconstructed the superior arch vessel by the chimney technique, which was called the chimney model. Based on the chimney model, the geometric of the reconstructed vessel was modified by virtual surgery, and the normal model, fenestration model and periscope model were established. The blood flow waveforms measured by 2D phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging were processed as the boundary conditions of the ascending aorta inlet and the superior arch vessels outlets of the normal model. The pressure waveform of descending aorta was obtained using three‐element Windkessel model, and specific pressure boundary conditions were imposed at reconstructed branches for the postoperative models. Through computational fluid dynamics simulations, the hemodynamic parameters of each model were obtained. The reconstructed vessel flow rate of the periscope model and the fenestration model are 33% and 50% of that of the normal model, respectively. The pressure difference between the inner and outer walls of the fenestration stent and periscope stent is 3.15 times and 7.56 times that of the chimney stent. The velocity in the fenestration stent and periscope stent is uneven. The high relative residence time is concentrated in the region around the branch stents, which is prone to thrombosis. The "gutter" part of the chimney model may become larger due to the effect of the stent‐graft DF, increasing the risk of endoleak. For patients with incomplete circle of Willis, the periscope technique to reconstruct the supra‐arch vessels may affect blood perfusion. It is recommended to use balloon‐expandable stent for fenestration stent and periscope stent, and self‐expanding stent for chimney stent. For patients with aortic arch aneurysms, the fenestration technique may be superior to the parallel grafts technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, real-time semantic segmentation networks are intensely demanded in resource-constrained practical applications, such as mobile devices, drones and autonomous driving systems. However, most of the current popular approaches have difficulty in obtaining sufficiently large receptive fields, and they sacrifice low-level details to improve inference speed, leading to decreased segmentation accuracy. In this paper, a lightweight and efficient multi-level feature adaptive fusion network (MFAFNet) is proposed to address this problem. Specifically, we design a separable asymmetric reinforcement non-bottleneck module, which designs a parallel structure to extract short- and long-range contextual information and use optimized convolution to increase the inference speed. In addition, we propose a feature adaptive fusion module that effectively balances feature maps with multiple resolutions to reduce the loss of spatial detail information. We evaluate our model with state-of-the-art real-time semantic segmentation methods on the Cityscapes and Camvid datasets. Without any pre-training and post-processing, our MFAFNet has only 1.27 M parameters, while achieving accuracies of 75.9% and 69.9% mean IoU with speeds of 60.1 and 82.6 FPS on the Cityscapes and Camvid test sets, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves an excellent trade-off between inference speed, segmentation accuracy and model size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE1 (SOS1) is a key component of plant salt tolerance. However, how SOS1 transcription is dynamically regulated in plant response to different salinity conditions remains elusive. Here, we report that C-type Cyclin1;1 (CycC1;1) negatively regulates salt tolerance by interfering with WRKY75-mediated transcriptional activation of SOS1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Disruption of CycC1;1 promotes SOS1 expression and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis because CycC1;1 interferes with RNA polymerase II recruitment by occupying the SOS1 promoter. Enhanced salt tolerance of the cycc1;1 mutant was completely compromised by an SOS1 mutation. Moreover, CycC1;1 physically interacts with the transcription factor WRKY75, which can bind to the SOS1 promoter and activate SOS1 expression. In contrast to the cycc1;1 mutant, the wrky75 mutant has attenuated SOS1 expression and salt tolerance, whereas overexpression of SOS1 rescues the salt sensitivity of wrky75. Intriguingly, CycC1;1 inhibits WRKY75-mediated transcriptional activation of SOS1 via their interaction. Thus, increased SOS1 expression and salt tolerance in cycc1;1 were abolished by WRKY75 mutation. Our findings demonstrate that CycC1;1 forms a complex with WRKY75 to inactivate SOS1 transcription under low salinity conditions. By contrast, under high salinity conditions, SOS1 transcription and plant salt tolerance are activated at least partially by increased WRKY75 expression but decreased CycC1;1 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene Insensitive 2 (EIN2) is an integral membrane protein that regulates ethylene signaling towards plant development and immunity by release of its carboxy-terminal functional portion (EIN2C) into the nucleus. The present study elucidates that the nuclear trafficking of EIN2C is induced by importin β1, which triggers the phloem-based defense (PBD) against aphid infestations in Arabidopsis. In plants, IMPβ1 interacts with EIN2C to facilitate EIN2C trafficking into the nucleus, either by ethylene treatment or by green peach aphid infestation, to confer EIN2-dependent PBD responses, which, in turn, impede the phloem-feeding activity and massive infestation by the aphid. In Arabidopsis, moreover, constitutively expressed EIN2C can complement the impβ1 mutant regarding EIN2C localization to the plant nucleus and the subsequent PBD development in the concomitant presence of IMPβ1 and ethylene. As a result, the phloem-feeding activity and massive infestation by green peach aphid were highly inhibited, indicating the potential value of EIN2C in protecting plants from insect attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel C3 symmetric 1,1'‐bi‐2‐naphthol‐based Schiff base (R,R,R)‐6 has been synthesized which shows highly selective fluorescence enhancement with Zn2+ among 21 metal cations examined. Its sensitivity and selectivity are found to be greater than other related C2 (1) and C1 [(R)‐9] symmetric compounds in the fluorescent recognition of Zn2+. The mechanistic study reveals that the selective fluorescence enhancement of the probe can be attributed to the formation of a unimolecular multidentate 6‐coordinated Zn2+ complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain is frequently reported in clinical practice. Therefore, it is important to identify effective therapy to relieve pain. In this work, we selected Forsythoside B (FB), a phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl, to evaluate its effect in modulating inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and the involved mechanisms. We discovered that FB could attenuate inflammatory pain triggered by CFA injection and exert anti-anxiety effects. In detail, proinflammatory cytokines, consisting of IL-6 and TNF-α, were decreased after FB administration in the CFA-injected mice. Furthermore, the FB application ameliorated the activation of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the microglia and astrocytes markers respectively. Therefore, our findings indicate that FB could be a promising treatment for chronic inflammatory pain. • Forsythiaside B ameliorates complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced thermal hypersensitivity and mechanical allodynia. • Forsythiaside B exerts anxiolytic effects in CFA-injected mice. • Forsythiaside B decreases CFA-induced proinflammatory cytokines level in the spinal cord. • Forsythiaside B attenuates CFA-triggered microglia and astrocyte activation in the spinal cord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphone apps are closely integrated with our daily lives, and mobile malware has brought about serious security issues. However, the features used in existing traffic-based malware detection techniques have a large amount of redundancy and useless information, wasting the computational resources of training detection models. To overcome this drawback, we propose a feature selection method; the core of the method involves choosing selected features based on high irrelevance, thereby removing redundant features. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has implemented malware detection and achieved outstanding detection ability. However, almost all malware detection models in deep learning include pooling operations, which lead to the loss of some local information and affect the robustness of the model. We also propose designing a malware detection model for malicious traffic identification based on a capsule network. The main difference between the capsule network and the neural network is that the neuron outputs a scalar, while the capsule outputs a vector. It is more conducive to saving local information. To verify the effectiveness of our method, we verify it from three aspects. First, we use four popular machine learning algorithms to prove the effectiveness of the proposed feature selection method. Second, we compare the capsule network with the convolutional neural network to prove the superiority of the capsule network. Finally, we compare our proposed method with another state-of-the-art malware detection technique; our accuracy and recall increased by 9.71% and 20.18%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies in Arabidopsis reported that the PPR protein SOAR1 plays critical roles in plant response to salt stress. In this study, we reported that expression of the Arabidopsis SOAR1 (AtSOAR1) in rice significantly enhanced salt tolerance at seedling growth stage and promoted grain productivity under salt stress without affecting plant productivity under non-stressful conditions. The transgenic rice lines expressing AtSOAR1 exhibited increased ABA sensitivity in ABA-induced inhibition of seedling growth, and showed altered transcription and splicing of numerous genes associated with salt stress, which may explain salt tolerance of the transgenic plants. Further, we overexpressed the homologous gene of SOAR1 in rice, OsSOAR1, and showed that transgenic plants overexpressing OsSOAR1 enhanced salt tolerance at seedling growth stage. Five salt- and other abiotic stress-induced SOAR1-like PPRs were also identified. These data showed that the SOAR1-like PPR proteins are positively involved in plant response to salt stress and may be used for crop improvement in rice under salinity conditions through transgenic manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge graph was first used in the information search of the Internet as a way to improve the quality of the search because it contains a huge amount of structured knowledge data. In this paper, the knowledge map algorithm is studied through natural language processing technology and probabilistic fuzzy information aggregation, and the knowledge map completion algorithm is cognitive-fitted. NLP is natural language processing. Based on the experiments in this paper, it can be seen that, after combining the algorithm, the behavior data set of 1000 Amazon users was analyzed, and it can be found that the accuracy of the algorithm improves as the proportion of data in the experiment increases. Among them, the 10% dataset has a correct rate of 0.66; the 30% dataset has a final accuracy rate of 0.68; and the 50% dataset has a final accuracy rate of 0.70. The experimental results of this paper show that using probabilistic fuzzy information aggregation and natural language processing technology as a way to complete the knowledge graph can improve the accuracy of the operation. It plays an important role in the development of intelligent cognition and search engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eukaryotic aquaporins share the characteristic of functional multiplicity in transporting distinct substrates and regulating various processes, but the underlying molecular basis for this is largely unknown. Here, we report that the wheat (Triticum aestivum) aquaporin TaPIP2;10 undergoes phosphorylation to promote photosynthesis and productivity and to confer innate immunity against pathogens and a generalist aphid pest. In response to elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, TaPIP2;10 is phosphorylated at the serine residue S280 and thereafter transports CO 2 into wheat cells, resulting in enhanced photosynthesis and increased grain yield. In response to apoplastic H 2 O 2 induced by pathogen or insect attacks, TaPIP2;10 is phosphorylated at S121 and this phosphorylated form transports H 2 O 2 into the cytoplasm, where H 2 O 2 intensifies host defenses, restricting further attacks. Wheat resistance and grain yield could be simultaneously increased by TaPIP2;10 overexpression or by expressing a TaPIP2;10 phosphomimic with aspartic acid substitutions at S121 and S280, thereby improving both crop productivity and immunity. The wheat aquaporin TaPIP2;10 is phosphorylated at the serine residue S280 in response to increased atmospheric CO 2 and thereafter transports CO 2 into wheat cells, resulting in enhanced photosynthesis. In response to apoplastic H 2 O 2 induced by pathogen or insect attacks, TaPIP2;10 is phosphorylated at S121 and thereby transports H 2 O 2 into the cytoplasm, where H 2 O 2 intensifies wheat resistance against further attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale, nonlinear and uncertain factors of hybrid power systems (HPS) have always been difficult problems in dynamic stability control. This research mainly focuses on the dynamic and transient stability performance of large HPS under various operating conditions. In addition to the traditional synchronous power generator, wind-driven generator and ocean wave generator, the hybrid system also adds battery energy storage system and unified power flow controller (UPFC), making the system more diversified and more consistent with the current actual operation mode of the complex power grid. The purpose of this study is to propose an adaptive least squares Petri fuzzy probabilistic neural network (ALTS-PFPNN) for UPFC installed in the power grid to enhance the behavior of HPS operation. The proposed scheme improves the active power adjustment and dynamic performance of the integrated wave power generation and offshore wind system under a large range of operating conditions. Through various case studies, the practicability and robustness of ALTS-PFPNN method are verifying it by comparison and analysis with the damping controller based on the designed proportional integral differential (PID) and the control scheme without UPFC. Time-domain simulations were performed using Matlab-Simulink to validate the optimal damping behavior and efficiency of the suggested scheme under various disturbance conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common cutworm, Spodoptera litura , has developed with varying degrees of resistance to most commonly used insecticides. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) with broad substrate specificities have been frequently reported to be involved in insecticide detoxification, but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Herein, seven CYP6AE subfamily P450s which possess six classical substrate recognition sites and several conserved catalytic motifs were identified from the genome of S. litura. Spatiotemporal expression profiles showed that these CYP6AE subfamily members were predominantly expressed in the larval midgut. Among them, CYP6AE43 and CYP6AE48 were significantly induced by three pyrethroids including β -cypermethrin, λ -cyhalothrin and fenvalerate. Knockdown of CYP6AE43 or CYP6AE48 by RNA interference dramatically increased the larval susceptibility to the pyrethroids. When silencing them simultaneously, the larval susceptibility to pyrethroids was higher than when silencing them individually, indicating a cooperative relationship between these two P450s in pyrethroid detoxification. Homology modeling and molecular docking analyses showed that these three pyrethroids could stably bind to CYP6AE43 and CYP6AE48, with the binding free energies from −37.58 to −84.24 kcal mol−1. These results indicate that induction of CYP6AE43 and CYP6AE48 contributes to pyrethroid detoxification and promotes the development of resistance to pyrethroids in S. litura. • Seven CYP6AE subfamily members were identified from S. litura genome. • All these CYP6AE P450 genes were primarily expressed in larval midgut. • Induction of CYP6AE43 and CYP6AE48 was responsible for pyrethroid detoxification. • Three pyrethroids could stably bind to CYP6AE43 and CYP6AE48 in molecular docking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practice, a vital challenge problem is how to accurately evaluate the failure probability of rare events with a minimum of samples. Although adaptive Kriging combined with truncated importance sampling (AK-TIS) provides a viable method to address this problem, unsatisfied samples are often added in Kriging modeling and thereby result in an unacceptable computing burden. To efficiently acquire best-desired samples and reduce the calls of real limit state function (LSF), a moving-zone renewal (MZR) strategy-based AK-TIS (MZR-AK-TIS) approach is proposed. By dividing the whole large candidate sampling pool into several small sub-candidate sampling pools, the MZR strategy can ceaselessly find desired samples and update the Kriging model as the moving of the sub-sampling pool. MZR-AK-TIS not only inherits the advantages of AK-TIS but also reduces its computing time in two aspects. One is the size reduction of the candidate sampling pool in each sub-zone, and the other is the reduction of the call number of real LSF since the samples outside the sub-sampling pool do not need to participate in Kriging updating. The proposed method is verified by several numerical cases and applied to the aeroengine variable stator vane mechanism. The analysis results demonstrate that MZR-AK-TIS holds the potential to reduce the computing cost while ensuring accuracy in rare event analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytomelatonin is a universal signal molecule that regulates plant growth and stress responses; however, only one receptor that can directly bind with and perceive melatonin signaling has been identified so far, namely AtPMTR1/CAND2 in Arabidopsis. Whether other plants contain a similar receptor and, if so, how it functions is still unknown. In this study, we identified a new phytomelatonin receptor in the monocot maize (Zea mays), and investigated its role in plant responses to osmotic and drought stress. Using homology searching, we identified a plasma membrane-localized protein, Zm00001eb214610/ZmPMTR1, with strong binding activity to melatonin as a potential phytomelatonin receptor in maize. Overexpressing ZmPMTR1 in Arabidopsis Col-0 promoted osmotic stress tolerance, and rescued osmotic stress sensitivity of the Arabidopsis cand2-1 mutant. Furthermore, ZmPMTR1 also largely rescued defects in melatonin-induced stomatal closure in the cand2-1 mutant, thereby reducing water loss rate and increasing tolerance to drought stress. In addition, we identified a maize mutant of ZmPMTR1 , EMS4-06e2fl , with a point-mutation causing premature termination of protein translation, and found that this mutant had lower leaf temperatures, increased rate of water loss, and enhanced drought stress sensitivity. Thus, we present ZmPMTR1 as the first phytomelatonin receptor to be identified and examined in a monocot plant, and our results indicate that it plays an important function in the response of maize to drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel decoupling method based on the superposition principle is proposed for compact multi-input–multi-output (MIMO) antenna systems in this work. A dielectric block is introduced to encompass all radiators in a compact MIMO system and works as a decoupler when the block is appropriately designed. Owing to the presence of dielectric–air boundary (DAB) introduced by the dielectric block, scattered paths show up for electromagnetic (EM) waves inside the block. For any two encompassed primary radiators, mutual couplings via the direct and scattered paths are superposed one on another. Because the scatted wave paths can be controlled by changing the shape and dimension of the DAB, mutual coupling between two encompassed primary radiators can be minimized with a properly designed DAB. To illustrate this decoupling principle, the electric field distribution of a basic Hertzian dipole wrapped in a dielectric decoupler is first studied. Results show that this method can generate several field valleys inside the dielectric block and can lead to good isolation when a second radiator is placed at a valley. A dual-port antenna wrapped in a dielectric decoupler is then proposed for demonstration. By optimizing the DAB shape, this antenna can realize a measured 20 dB isolation bandwidth of 12.6%, covering the whole 3.3–3.7 GHz 5G frequency range 1 (FR1) band. Furthermore, a quad-port decoupled antenna is studied to show the generality of the proposed decoupling method. Using a hollow rectangular dielectric block, isolations among four ports of more than 21.5 dB can be obtained in the 3.3–3.7 GHz band with a 20-dB isolation bandwidth of 18%. The envelope correlation coefficients (ECCs) and calculated ergodic channel capacity (CC) results show that the proposed compact dual-port and quad-port antennas are competitive for MIMO applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential yet challenging to investigate heteroclinic trajectories in chaotic dynamics of high-dimensional systems. This paper presents an efficient approach for precise prediction of heteroclinic cycles in n -dimensional (n ≥ 3) piecewise affine systems. Moreover, it systemically investigates different types of heteroclinic cycles in the considered systems, and proposes the corresponding existence conditions with rigorous proofs by analyzing the dynamics of stable and unstable manifolds. In addition, three numerical examples with both a heteroclinic cycle and a chaotic set are provided to verify the established results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For complex systems involving multiple operating conditions and multiple failure modes, its reliability analysis usually presents the cascade failure correlation between multiple levels (i.e., operating condition level, failure mode level) and the strong coupling analysis between multiple physical fields (i.e., fluid, thermal, structure), leading to the traditional integral or separate reliability modeling methods prone to unacceptable computing efficiency or accuracy. In this study, to improve the computing performance of the multi-level reliability analysis, by fusing the cascade synchronous strategy (CSS) and wavelet neural network-based AdaBoost (WNN-Ada) ensemble learning, a cascade ensemble learning (CEL) method is proposed. The complex composite function approximation (including three composite levels and nine nonlinear sub-functions) and the multi-level reliability evaluation of aeroengine turbine rotor system (including three operating conditions and three failure modes) are served as the numerical and engineering experiments, to evaluate the effectiveness of the present cascade ensemble learning. The comparison investigation in two experiments reveals that the presented approach shows evident advantages in terms of computing accuracy as well as computing efficiency. The current efforts shed light on the development of reliability modeling for complex multi-level systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface crack identification with visual images is a kind of non-contact detection solution, which is not limited by the material of the tested object and is easy to achieve online automation. Therefore, it has the advantages of fast speed, low cost and high precision. Firstly, the public data sets of typical pavement crack are comprehensively collected, and the characteristics of sample images and the random variable factors are summarized. Subsequently, the advantages and disadvantages of hand-crafted feature engineering, machine learning, and deep learning crack identification methods are compared. Finally, from the aspects of network architecture, testing performance and predicting effectiveness, this paper reviews the development and progress of typical deep learning algorithms such as self-built CNN, transfer learning (TL) and encoder-decoder (ED) that can be easily trained and deployed. We can see the obvious improvement of performance and effect because of algorithm optimization and computing power enhancement. The results show that real-time patch-level and fast pixel-level crack detection can be realized on low computing power GPU platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is the most common malignant tumor of the male urinary system. Nanodrug delivery systems (NDDS) have been widely applied in drug delivery for tumor therapy; however, nanotherapeutics encounter various biological barriers that prevent successful accumulation of drugs, specifically at diseased sites. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a CRPC-targeting nanocomposite with fine biocompatibility for penetrating various biological barriers, delivering sufficient drugs to the targeting site and improving therapeutic efficiency. In this work, CRPC cell membranes were firstly adapted as biomimetic vectors for the encapsulating PEG−PLGA polymer containing the chemotherapy drug docetaxel (DTX). The CRPC membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles can easily escape early recognition by the immune system, penetrate the extracellular barrier, and evade clearance by the circulatory system. In addition to the characteristics of traditional nanoparticles, the CRPC cell membrane contains an arsenal of highly specific homotypic moieties that can be used to recognize the same cancer cell types and increase the targeted drug delivery of DTX. In vivo fluorescence and radionuclide dual-model imaging were fulfilled by decorating the biomimetic nanosystem with near-infrared dye and isotope, which validated the homotypic targeting property offered by the CRPC cell membrane coating. Importantly, remarkably improved therapeutic efficacy was achieved in a mice model bearing CRPC tumors. This homologous cell membrane enabled an efficient drug delivery strategy and enlightened a new pathway for the clinical application of tumor chemotherapy drugs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double silicon-on-insulator (DSOI) technology featuring two buried oxide layers under silicon film has drawn excessive attention to space applications by modulating the electric field in back channel. This article studied the impact of the total ionizing dose (TID) effect on the n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (nMOSFETs) based on DSOI materials. Radiation-induced degradation in performance only appeared in the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) with $W/L = 0.15~\mu \text{m}$ /10 $\mu \text{m}$ after 1.5 Mrad(Si) irradiation and recovered with negative $V_{\mathrm {bg}}$ applied. However, due to the weak coupling effect between the front and back gates, the threshold voltage ($V_{\mathrm {th}}$) of nMOSFET with $W/L = 10~\mu \text{m}$ /10 $\mu \text{m}$ and $10~\mu \text{m}/0.13~\mu \text{m}$ declined 0.06 V compared with devices before irradiation when $V_{\mathrm {bg}}$ is set to 0 V. The TCAD simulation and testing results reveal that the electric field introduced by negative back-gate bias could effectively mitigate the TID-induced performance degradation in DSOI nMOSFETs. The investigation will facilitate the application of DSOI technology for high-radiation-dose conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a response to previous research on G-quadruplex ligands and their potential in gene expression modulation. The authors conducted an investigation using the G-quadruplex ligand BMVC-8C3O and found that it demonstrated potent synergistic effects when combined with osimertinib in suppressing the growth of EGFR-altered non-small cell lung cancer cells. They also discovered that BMVC-8C3O may have the potential to directly interact with the c-FOS protein, disrupting its role in transcriptional regulation and suppressing the expression of downstream genes. However, further experiments are needed to authenticate these findings and assess the impact of this interaction on downstream gene expressions. The research was supported by grants from the National Science and Technology Council. [Extracted from the article]

The prediction of driving conditions is an important basis for the energy management systems of new energy vehicles. Accurate predictions of driving conditions can help reduce the use of on-board energies such as gasoline and electricity, and improve the efficiency of energy use. Aiming at the limitations of existing driving condition prediction, this paper proposes a full-path driving condition prediction based on driving environment characteristics. BP neural network optimized by GA algorithm is used to establish a prediction model of driving condition characteristic parameters based on driving environment characteristics, and use road traffic environment information to predict driving condition characteristic parameters. And use the predicted characteristic parameters to perform fuzzy matching to predict the type of driving conditions of the vehicle for a period of time in the future. In this paper, some roads in Nanjing are used as an example to verify the prediction model. The results show that the prediction accuracy has reached 94.18%. When it is applied to energy consumption prediction, the prediction error is only 5.82%. This method provides a more accurate and reliable driving condition prediction method for new energy vehicles, which is conducive to the design of more reliable and efficient energy management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic restriction policy (TRP) is common practice to alleviate urban congestion and air pollution. However, effects of TRP for non-local vehicles and elevated expressways on local and regional air quality are understudied. Using air pollutant data collected by ground-based national and roadside environmental monitoring stations and field measurements, comparative research design and regression discontinuity analysis were performed to investigate the local and regional variations in air pollutant concentrations with and without the TRP. Results indicate that traffic restriction significantly decreased the local and regional concentration levels of primary gaseous pollutants (e.g., NOX and CO), particularly under more stringent TRP during China International Import Expo, which also brought an ozone increase due to the reduced effect of NOX titration. However, the TRP only exhibited limited impacts on mitigating regional particulate pollution. These findings suggest that the air quality improvements due to the non-local TRP highly depend on the types of pollutants and the spatial locations. [Display omitted] • Pollutant data from Shanghai monitoring networks are used for policy evaluation. • Comparative research design and regression discontinuity analysis are performed. • Restriction brings a sharper decline in primary gaseous pollutants than particles. • Restriction hardly improves urban air quality of Shanghai where particles dominate. • Air quality impacts highly depend on the types of pollutants and spatial locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It's often hard for existing mathematical models to unify and optimize all control variables including phase time, signal phase sequence, offset and signal cycle at the same time. An optimization model for regional green wave coordinated control based on Ring-and-Barrier structure under unsaturated signalized network is proposed in this study. The constraints of signal timing parameters, such as signal cycle, signal phase sequence and phase time, are explored for the intersections based on Ring-and-Barrier structure. It is proved that the comprehensive optimization of phase time and signal cycle, signal phase sequence and offset can be achieved. And a three-dimensional time-space diagram is innovatively proposed to display the regional green wave coordinated control effect. The coordination effect of the model proposed in this paper is compared with the coordination effect of Synchro via a case study. It demonstrates that the regional signal timing scheme obtained by this model can lead to a better result in all aspects of each intersection, each artery and the whole control area. In the meanwhile, the proportion of bandwidth at each intersection is wider than 79% while satisfying the minimum demand of traffic flow at each intersection. To sum up, this model can improve the overall optimization effect of regional signal coordination control by optimizing the phase time, and achieve the comprehensive optimization of signal cycle, signal phase sequence, offset and phase time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baishuihe landslide, a typical large-scale deposit landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, has attracted considerable societal and scholarly attention. Since 2003, 11 displacement monitoring points have been established on the landslide mass for monitoring displacement data. Displacement monitoring data from 14 years have been widely applied in landslide displacement prediction research. However, there is a lack of research involving interpretations of displacement data. To interpret landslide displacement from geological and hydrodynamic perspectives, we applied integrated geophysical methods, including electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), self-potential (SP), and surface nuclear magnetic resonance (SNMR), to model the landslide structure and investigate groundwater activity. The results indicate that the landslide deposit is predominantly located at the foot of the landslide, with a total volume of approximately 7.7 × 106 cubic meters. The thickness gradually increases in the eastern direction of the landslide along the sliding direction, while in the western direction, it initially increases and then decreases. The SNMR results reveal that groundwater is primarily situated in the gravel soil layer, demonstrating a volumetric water content of approximately 2.8% per unit volume. The SP results suggest that below an elevation of 190 m, the groundwater flow field is turbulent and irregular. Above an elevation of 190 m, the general direction of the groundwater flow field tends to align roughly with the sliding direction. Through the integration of GPS displacement monitoring data and comprehensive geophysical analysis, we discerned that the thickness of the deposit layer, the morphology of the sliding surface, and the interaction with groundwater recharge collectively exert significant influences on the displacement of the Baishuihe landslide. Generally, the thickness of the deposit layer and the morphology of the sliding surface determine whether the landslide will exhibit significant displacement. At a more detailed level, the weight of the accumulated mass and the influence of groundwater play a significant role in determining the displacement velocity. • SP, ERT, and SNMR were used in the investigation of the Baishuihe landslide. • The detailed structure of the landslide mass was delineated using the resistivity results. • The presence of groundwater and its dynamic information within the landslide mass was revealed through SNMR and SP. • Geophysical survey results were applied to explain the displacement differences within the landslide mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two asymmetrical β-diketiminate magnesium methyl complexes have been successfully synthesized. • They have been employed as highly efficient catalysts in the cyanosilylation of ketones at room temperature. • A plausible reaction mechanism was proposed based on the corresponding experiments and DFT calculations. Two asymmetrical β-diketiminate magnesium methyl complexes [(DippArNacnac)MgMe(THF)] have been synthesized in high yields and structurally characterized via single crystal X-ray diffraction etc. Subsequently, they have been successfully employed as highly efficient catalysts in the cyanosilylation of ketones including natural products with low catalyst loading (0.2 mol %) under the solvent-free condition at room temperature. A plausible mechanism was proposed base on the corresponding stoichiometric experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model is promising in failure prediction as it takes the micromechanical behavior of ductile metals into consideration. However, its engineering applications have scarcely progressed due to the difficulty in determining its eight strongly coupled parameters. Taking the physical background of GTN model into consideration, a set of methods was established to determine all parameters in the GTN model. The knowledge of continuum damage mechanics was introduced to experimentally determine the development of void volume fraction through an interrupted uniaxial tensile test, by which the three parameters regarding void nucleation were analytically derived. Other parameters in the GTN model were also uniquely determined through a joint use of the chemical composition analysis, the cell model analyses, and the inverse finite element method. Reliability of this novel parameter determination method was verified through failure predictions on both cracked and un‐cracked specimens of STPT410. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitellin (Vn) homeostasis is central to the fecundity of oviparous insects. Most studies have focused on the synthesis and transportation of Vn as a building block for developing eggs during vitellogenesis; however, less is known about how the utilization of this nutrient reserve affects embryonic development. Here, we show that the single ortholog of the knirps and knirps‐like nuclear receptors, KNRL, negatively regulates Vn breakdown by suppressing the expression of hydrolase genes in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. KNRL was highly expressed in the ovary of adult females, and knockdown of KNRL by RNA interference resulted in the acceleration of Vn breakdown and the inhibition of embryonic development. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that numerous hydrolase genes, including cathepsins and trypsins were up‐regulated after KNRL knockdown. At least eight of the nine significantly enriched Gene Ontology terms for the up‐regulated genes were in proteolysis‐related categories. The expression levels of five selected trypsin genes and the enzymatic activities of trypsin in the embryos were significantly increased after KNRL knockdown. Moreover, trypsin injection prolonged egg duration, delayed embryonic development, accelerated Vn breakdown and severely reduced egg hatchability, a pattern similar to that observed in KNRL‐silenced N. lugens. These observations suggest that KNRL controls Vn breakdown in embryos via the transcriptional inhibition of hydrolases. Generally, this study provides a foundation for understanding how embryo nutrient reserves are mobilized during embryogenesis and identifies several genes and pathways that may prove valuable targets for pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The graphical progression method can obtain grand coordinated schemes with minimal computational complexity. However, there is no standardized solution for this method, and only a few related studies have been found thus far. Therefore, based on the in-depth discussion of the graphical optimization theory mechanism, a process-oriented and high-efficiency graphical method for symmetrical bidirectional corridor progression is proposed in this study. A two-round rotation transformation optimization process of the progression trajectory characteristic lines (PTC lines) is innovatively proposed. By establishing the updated judgment criteria for coordinated mode, the first round of PTC line rotation transformation realizes the optimization of coordinated modes and initial offsets. Giving the conditions for stopping rotation transformation and determining rotation points, rotation directions, and rotation angles, the second round of PTC line rotation transformation achieves the final optimization of the common signal cycle and offsets. The case study shows that the proposed graphical method can obtain the optimal progression effect through regular graphing and solving, although it can also be solved by highly efficient programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: Five novel pterocarpan derivatives (1—5) and three known pterocarpans were isolated from the roots of Sophora flavescens Ait. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic data (UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and HR‐ESI‐MS). Notably, compounds 1—5 were the first reported natural products, which possess unique pterocarpan‐glucose‐long chain aliphatic acid structures. The kinds of aliphatic acids were determined by comparison with authentic aliphatic acids using HPLC‐ELSD analysis after acid hydrolysis. The absolute configurations of 1—5 were confirmed by analysis of their ECD spectra. All compounds were evaluated against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced TNF‐α production in RAW264.7 cells, and compound 1 showed significant inhibitory activity with inhibition rate of 86.22%, IC50 = 0.79 μmol/L (dexamethasone as positive control, inhibition rate of 71.38%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results from a spectroscopic monitoring campaign to obtain reverberation mapping measurements and investigate the broad-line region (BLR) kinematics for active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of Mrk 817 and NGC 7469. This campaign was undertaken with the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope. The median spectroscopic sampling is 2.0 days for Mrk 817 and 1.0 day for NGC 7469. We detect time lags of the broad emission lines, including Hβ, Hγ, He ii, and He i for both AGNs, including Fe ii for Mrk 817 with respect to the varying AGN continuum at 5100 Å. Investigating the relationship between line widths and time lags of the broad emission lines, we find that the BLR dynamics of Mrk 817 and NGC 7469 are consistent with the virial prediction. We estimate the masses of central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and the accretion rates of both AGNs. Using the data of this campaign, we construct the velocity-resolved lag profiles of the broad Hγ, Hβ, and He i lines for Mrk 817, which show almost the same kinematic signatures in that the time lags in the red wing are slightly larger than the time lags in the blue wing. For NGC 7469, we only clearly construct the velocity-resolved lag profiles of the broad Hγ and Hβ, which show very similar kinematic signatures to the BLR of Mrk 817. These signatures indicate that the BLR of Keplerian motion in both AGNs seemingly has outflowing components during the monitoring period. We discuss the kinematics of the BLR and the measurements, including SMBH mass and accretion rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tournefortia sarmentosa is a traditional Chinese medicine used to reduce tissue swelling, to exert the antioxidant effect, and to detoxify tissue. T. sarmentosa is also used to promote development in children and treat heart dysfunction. However, many of the mechanisms underlying the effects of T. sarmentosa in the treatment of disease remain unexplored. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant effect of T. sarmentosa on rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). T. sarmentosa reduced the cell death induced by H2O2. T. sarmentosa inhibited H2O2-induced changes in cell morphology, activation of cell death-related caspases, and production of reactive oxygen species. In addition, we further analyzed the potential active components of T. sarmentosa and found that the compounds present in the T. sarmentosa extract, including caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid A, and salvianolic acid B, exert effects similar to those of the T. sarmentosa extract in inhibiting H2O2-induced H9c2 cell death. Therefore, according to the results of this study, the ability of the T. sarmentosa extract to treat heart disease may be related to its antioxidant activity and its ability to reduce the cellular damage caused by free radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A floating two-stage buffer collision-prevention system (FTBCPS) has been proposed to reduce the impact loads on the bridge pier in this paper. The anti-collision process can be mainly divided into two stages. First, reduce the ship velocity and change the ship initial moving direction with the stretching and fracture of the polyester ropes. Second, consume the ship kinetic energy with the huge damage and deformation of the FTBCPS and the ship. The main feature of the FTBCPS lies in the first stage and most of the ship kinetic energy can be dissipated before the ship directly impacts on the bridge pier. The contact stiffness value between the ship and the FTBCPS can be a significant factor in the first stage and the calculation method of it is the focus of this paper. The contact force, the internal force and the general equation of motion have been given in the first part. The structure model of the ship and the FTBCPS are then established in the ANSYS Workbench. After that, 38 typical load cases of the ship impacting on the FTBCPS are conducted in LS-DYNA. The reduction processes of the ship kinetic energy and the ship velocity in different load cases have been investigated. It can be summarized that the impact angle and the ship initial velocity are the main factors in the energy and velocity dissipation process. Moreover, the local impact force-depth curves have also been studied and the impact angle is found to be the only significant factor on the ship impact process. Next, the impact force-depth curves with different impact angles are fitted and the contact stiffness values are accordingly calculated. Finally, the impact depth range, the validity of the local simulation results and the consistency of the fitted stiffness value are verified respectively, demonstrating that the fitted stiffness values are applicable in the global analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture is of vital importance in starch modification; however, the molecular interaction between water and starch during the process is far from being fully understood. In this study, two fundamental issues of starch esterification by the solvent‐free method are focused on: 1) the effect of moisture content of starch on the modification and 2) the effect of the physical state, solid or liquid, of chemical agents. The esterification of corn starch with varying contents of moisture (2.69–23.48 wt%) is investigated by the solvent‐free method, using both solid (maleic anhydride and maleic acid) and liquid (acetic anhydride and acetic acid) esterifying agents for comparison. The degree of substitution (DS) and reaction efficiency (RE) is measured by titration. FTIR, 1H NMR, DSC, XRD, and SEM are used to evaluate the properties of the modified starches. It is found that when the moisture content is below 5.55 wt%, it is hard for esterification to happen because of strong interactions between H‐bonds and the low activity of hydroxyl groups. Both DS and RE reached the maximum points when the moisture is ≈14.89 wt%, then decreased with further increasing moisture content, mainly due to side reaction and dilution of the esterifying agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been widely recognized as promising applications of hydrogen energy in automobiles and stationary power generation. Water management in PEMFC is crucial at high current densities, where mass transfer polarization and ohmic losses are the primary factors that limit performance. Both the flow field and the microporous layer (MPL) have a significant impact on water management efficiency. In this study, the researchers investigated the synergistic interaction between the flow field and MPL. Two types of flow fields were carefully examined: a single serpentine flow field and a triple serpentine flow field, along with two different MPL loadings. The water retention and mass transfer properties of various flow fields and MPLs were investigated. The maximum power density of the best combination is 9.86% higher than that of the worst combination, reaching 1.47 W/cm2. It was found that the water management properties of the flow fields and the MPL need to be coordinated to achieve effective water management. The essence of synergistic interaction is to facilitate the balance between ohmic resistance and mass transfer resistance by matching the flow field and the MPL. It is indicated that there is no universal optimal MPL loading, and the optimal MPL loading needs to be determined according to the flow field conditions. This work provides a fundamental overview of the engineering development of electrode assemblies. • The Synergistic interaction depends on gas-liquid transport property of flow fields and gas diffusion layers. • There is no universal optimal microporous layer loading. • The optimal microporous layer loading needs to be determined according to the flow field conditions. • The maximum power density of the best combination is 9.86% higher than that of the worst combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution caused by marine engines fueled with fossil fuels is a matter of growing significance. The search for renewable and clean energy sources and improvements in the way fossil fuels are burnt aims to reduce the environmental impact of these engines. For this purpose, fatty acid methyl esters were produced from pure canola oil using KOH-assisted methanol-based transesterification with a maximum yield of 90.68 ± 1.6%. The marine engine's model was created with CONVERGE software, followed by experimental verification. This paper examines the blended fuel characteristics of a diesel engine with biodiesel blends (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) at different loads of engines (50%, 75%, and 100%). It also explores the variation in these characteristics of B10 (10% biodiesel–diesel blends) at three different load conditions and four different EGR rates (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%). The results indicate that the addition of biodiesel to diesel fuel reduces CO, HC, and soot emissions, while increasing NOx emissions. Additionally, the EGR rate decreases NOx emissions but results in higher levels of soot, CO, and HC emissions. Finally, response surface methodology was used to elicit the engine's characteristics. It was determined that the optimum experimental operating conditions were 100% engine load, 6.9% biodiesel addition, and 7.7% EGR. The corresponding BTE, BSFC, NOx, and HC emissions were 38.15%, 282.62 g/(kW-h), 274.38 ppm, and 410.37 ppm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analgesic efficacy of acupuncture has been widely recognized. However, the mechanism by which manual acupuncture-generated mechanical stimuli translate into biological signals remains unclear. This study employed a CFA-induced inflammatory pain rat model. Acupuncture intervention was then performed following standardized procedures. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assessed inflammatory cytokines levels, while immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR screened the level of p38 and F-actin expression in the ST36 acupoint area of rats. Results indicated increased inflammatory factors, including IL-1β and TNFα, with reduced paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) and paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL) in CFA rats compared to unmodeled rats. After acupuncture intervention, the heightened expression level of F-actin and p38 mRNA and the phosphorylation of p38 in the acupoint area was observed alongside decreased inflammatory factors in diseased ankle joints. The application of lifting and thrusting manipulations further enhanced the effect of acupuncture, in which the molecular expression level of muscle and connective tissue increased most significantly, indicating that these two tissues play a major role in the transformation of acupuncture stimulation. Moreover, antagonizing p38 expression hindered acupuncture efficacy, supporting the hypothesis that p38 MAPK-mediated F-actin transduces mechanical signals generated by acupuncture and related manipulation into biological signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel wideband circularly polarized (CP) horn antenna with a pair of twisted ridges is investigated in this communication. The wide impedance bandwidth is obtained by adapting a pair of exponential-shaped ridges, whereas the wide axial ratio (AR) bandwidth is achieved by twisting the ridges. The impedance matching and AR can be tuned easily and independently, which is an attractive feature of the design. An $X$ -band right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) design was simulated with CST Microwave Studio. Its metal-printed prototype was fabricated to validate the simulation. The measured 15 dB impedance and 3 dB AR bandwidths are 53% (7.43–12.80 GHz) and 65% (7.63–15.00 GHz), respectively, with an overlapping bandwidth of 51% (7.63–12.80 GHz). The measured peak antenna gain is between 8.0 and 10.1 dBic in the operating band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface nuclear magnetic resonance (SNMR) method is widely used in groundwater detection because of its sensitivity to hydrogen in water and direct water detection. However, low signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNRs) restrict the development of this technique. An optimum pulse sequence is designed according to correspondence between the pulse moment strength and its best detection depth. Because only selection of the pulse intensity distribution according to the target aquifer depth is required and the "on‐resonance" pulse pattern is still employed, this pulse sequence emission can be easily achieved using existing SNMR instrumentation. Numerical simulation results and field experiments show that, compared with traditional exponential growth pulses, the optimum pulse sequence effectively improves the SNR of the SNMR method. The aquifer boundary, water content, and pore characteristics of the inversion result are thus more consistent with characteristics of underground structures. Additionally, because the optimum pulse sequence focuses most of the pulse moments in the target depth range, in situations where two aquifers are separated by a relatively narrow aquitard, it is better able to resolve the individual aquifers than the traditional pulses. Optimum pulse moments improve the SNR by enhancing the signal amplitude, compared with various filtering methods, and obtain a better detection effect. This kind of pulse sequence can be used as an alternative pulse sequence form of the SNMR method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six undescribed lavandulylated flavonoids (1–6) were isolated from the roots of Sophora flavescens. Remarkably, compounds 1 and 2, which were composed of a flavane unit and a phloroglucinol unit, were the first reported dimers. Compounds 3 and 4 were the first reported neoflavonoids with lavandulyl units. Compounds 5 and 6 were chalcone with oxidized lavandulyl units. Their structures were fully characterized by cumulative analyses of UV, IR, HRESIMS, NMR and ECD spectroscopic data, along with computational calculations through density functional theory. Compounds 1 and 2 showed significant protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B inhibitory activities with IC 50 values of 2.669 and 3.596 μM, respectively. [Display omitted] • Six undescribed lavandulylated flavonoids (1–6) were isolated from the roots of Sophora flavescens. • Compounds 1 and 2 were the first reported dimers which were composed of a flavane unit and phloroglucinol unit. • Compounds 1 and 2 showed significant protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B inhibitory activities with IC 50 values of 2.669 and 3.596 μM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Smectic nanostructured electrolytes were prepared for solvent-free li-ion batteries. • High content LiBF 4 formed dynamic lamellar conducting channels in smectic electrolytes. • Smectic electrolytes showed robust stability and high efficiency for li-ion battery. • Phase transition of electrolytes could thermally switch on/off li-ion batteries. • The work gave new light on developing efficient and smart electrolytes for li-ion battery. Developing electrolytes with desirable electrochemical performance and robust stability remains a huge challenge to meet the efficiency and durability demands of energy storage and conversion devices. Herein, the potential of ionic liquid crystals as high-performance electrolytes is demonstrated. Smectic ionic liquid crystals only consisting of conventional [C 14 Mim][BF 4 ] and LiBF 4 are designed and prepared as electrolytes for solvent-free lithium-ion batteries. [C 14 Mim][BF 4 ] has good miscibility with LiBF 4 to form smectic liquid crystals. LiBF 4 is highly concentrated by [C 14 Mim][BF 4 ] layers in the smectic electrolytes to form dynamic lamellar conducting channels, which enable considerable ion conductivities of 10–4 ∼ 10–3 S cm−1. The smectic electrolytes possess robust cyclic stability and energy conversion efficiency in Li/LiFePO 4 batteries, which show a charge/discharge capacity of 154.7 mA h g−1 at a 1 C current density, as well as stable performance after 100 charge/discharge cycles even at 80 ℃. Additionally, the phase transition behavior of the electrolytes can be applied as a smart switch to thermally tune on/off the batteries. The electrolytes show almost no charge/discharge behavior under crystal phase, but automatically operate efficiently with charge/discharge capacities >150 mA h g−1 once entering the smectic phase. The present work sheds new light on developing high-performance and smart electrolytes for solvent-free Li-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]