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Abstract Increasing evidence has revealed the large-scale nonstationary synchronizations as traveling waves in spontaneous neural activity. However, the interplay of various cell types in fine-tuning these spatiotemporal patters remains unclear. Here, we performed comprehensive exploration of spatiotemporal synchronizing structures across different cell types, states (awake, anesthesia, motion) and developmental axis in male mice. We found traveling waves in glutamatergic neurons exhibited greater variety than those in GABAergic neurons. Moreover, the synchronizing structures of GABAergic neurons converged toward those of glutamatergic neurons during development, but the evolution of waves exhibited varying timelines for different sub-type interneurons. Functional connectivity arises from both standing and traveling waves, and negative connections can be elucidated by the spatial propagation of waves. In addition, some traveling waves were correlated with the spatial distribution of gene expression. Our findings offer further insights into the neural underpinnings of traveling waves, functional connectivity, and resting-state networks, with cell-type specificity and developmental perspectives.

Home battery energy storage systems (HBESSs) has been experiencing an increasingly popularization and marketing process. This consequentially leads to an information filtering challenge for the residential customer to choose the most suitable HBESS products from the large number of candidates HBESSs in the market. This paper proposes a novel personalized HBESS recommender system to provide decision-making support for residential customers to make HBESS choice. The system makes HBESS recommendation following 2 stages: (1) in the first stage, the system uses a federated learning process to aggregately analyze the customers’ preference tendencies on HBESS products from the datasets owned by different HBESS service providers without having the data actually exchanged; based on the learnt preference trends, the system generates a HBESS shortlist that are likely to fit the target customer’s profile; and (2) in the second stage, the system further filters the shortlisted HBESSs by evaluating the household energy cost they can create for the target customer. Combining the considerations of both personal preference and energy cost, several HBESS products are finally selected from the previously generated shortlist and recommended to the target customer. Extensive simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system.

The prevention of chronic wound formation has already been a primary subject in wound management, particularly for deep wounds. The electrospun nanofiber membranes hold tremendous potential in the prevention of chronic wounds due to their micro/nano pore structures. Currently, many natural and synthetic materials have been utilized in the fabrication of nanofiber membranes. However, striking a balance between the structural stability and the biocompatibility remains challenging. It is necessary not only to ensure the long-term durability of nanofiber membranes but also to enhance their biocompatibility for alleviating patients' suffering. In this study, we reported a nanofiber membrane dressing with excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties, which is potential for the treatment of deep wounds. The basal material chosen for the preparation of the nanofiber membrane was a co-polyester (NI-LPGD5) synthesized by non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) and polyglycolic acid with a dihydroxy structure (LPGD—synthesized from glycolic acid and neopentyl glycol). Moreover, curcumin was also added as a bioactive substance to enhance the pro-healing effect of dressings. The physicochemical properties of the prepared nanofiber membranes were characterized through various physicochemical tools. Our results demonstrated that the NI-LPGD5 co-polymer can be electrospun into smooth fibers. Meanwhile, curcumin-loaded nanofiber membranes (Cur/NI-LPGD5) also exhibited a favorable microscopic morphology. The fabricated membranes exhibited suitable mechanical properties, outstanding hygroscopic-swelling rate and water vapor transmittance. Besides, in vitro cell culturing, the cells on the NI-LPGD5 membrane maintained their maximum viability. The potential of in vivo wound healing was further demonstrated through animal experiments. The experimental results showed that the nanofiber membranes effectively prevented chronic wounds from forming and promoted granulation tissue growth without replacing the dressing throughout the healing process. We also found that these nanofiber membranes could effectively promote the expression of related biomarkers to accelerate wound healing, particularly the Cur/NI-LPGD5 membrane. In conclusion, the fabricated membranes possess suitable physicochemical properties and promising bioactivity. As a result, it effectively prevented the formation of chronic wounds and demonstrated significant potential in reducing the frequency of dressing changes.

Abstract Highly effective and selective noble metal-free catalysts attract significant attention. Here, a single-atom iron catalyst is fabricated by saturated adsorption of trace iron onto zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) followed by pyrolysis. Its performance toward catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural is comparable to state-of-the-art catalysts and up to four orders higher than other Fe catalysts. Isotopic labeling experiments demonstrate an intermolecular hydride transfer mechanism. First principles simulations, spectroscopic calculations and experiments, and kinetic correlations reveal that the synthesis creates pyrrolic Fe(II)-plN3 as the active center whose flexibility manifested by being pulled out of the plane, enabled by defects, is crucial for collocating the reagents and allowing the chemistry to proceed. The catalyst catalyzes chemoselectively several substrates and possesses a unique trait whereby the chemistry is hindered for more acidic substrates than the hydrogen donors. This work paves the way toward noble-metal free single-atom catalysts for important chemical reactions.

Abstract Background In college science laboratory and discussion sections, student-centered active learning strategies have been implemented to improve student learning outcomes and experiences. Research has shown that active learning activities can increase student anxiety if students fear that they could be negatively evaluated by their peers. Error framing (i.e., to frame errors as natural and beneficial to learning) is proposed in the literature as a pedagogical tool to reduce student anxiety. However, little research empirically explores how an instructor can operationalize error framing and how error framing is perceived by undergraduate students. To bridge the gap in the literature, we conducted a two-stage study that involved science graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and undergraduate students. In stage one, we introduced cold calling (i.e., calling on non-volunteering students) and error framing to 12 chemistry and 11 physics GTAs. Cold calling can increase student participation but may increase student anxiety. Error framing has the potential to mitigate student anxiety when paired with cold calling. GTAs were then tasked to rehearse cold calling paired with error framing in a mixed-reality classroom simulator. We identified GTA statements that aligned with the definition of error framing. In stage two, we selected a few example GTA error framing statements and interviewed 13 undergraduate students about their perception of those statements. Results In the simulator, all the GTAs rehearsed cold calling multiple times while only a few GTAs made error framing statements. A thematic analysis of GTAs’ error framing statements identified ways of error indication (i.e., explicit and implicit) and framing (i.e., natural, beneficial, and positive acknowledgement). Undergraduate student interviews revealed specific framing and tone that are perceived as increasing or decreasing student comfort in participating in classroom discourse. Both undergraduate students and some GTAs expressed negative opinions toward responses that explicitly indicate student mistakes. Undergraduate students’ perspectives also suggest that error framing should be implemented differently depending on whether errors have already occurred. Conclusion Error framing is challenging for science GTAs to implement. GTAs’ operationalizations of error framing in the simulator and undergraduate students’ perceptions contribute to defining and operationalizing error framing for instructional practice. To increase undergraduate student comfort in science classroom discourse, GTAs can use implicit error indication. In response to students’ incorrect answers, GTAs can positively frame students’ specific ideas rather than discussing broadly how errors are natural or beneficial.

One battery energy storage system (BESS) can be used to provide different services, such as energy arbitrage (EA) and frequency regulation (FR) support, etc., which have different revenues and lead to different battery degradation profiles. This paper proposes a whole-lifetime coordinated service strategy to maximize the total operation profit of BESS. A multi-stage battery aging model is developed to characterize the battery aging rates during the whole lifetime. Considering the uncertainty of electricity price in EA service and frequency deviation in FR service, the whole problem is formulated as a two-stage stochastic programming problem. At the first stage, the optimal service switching scheme between the EA and FR services are formulated to maximize the expected value of the whole-lifetime operation profit. At the second stage, the output power of BESS in EA service is optimized according to the electricity price in the hourly timescale, whereas the output power of BESS in FR service is directly determined according to the frequency deviation in the second timescale. The above optimization problem is then converted as a deterministic mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model with bilinear items. McCormick envelopes and a bound tightening algorithm are used to solve it. Numerical simulation is carried out to validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed strategy.

The water retention curve (WRC) of a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) is influenced by the presence of exchangeable cations in the leachate during changes in water content in a landfill construction. This research aims to investigate the impact of salinity on the WRC of GCL. To measure the WRC of GCL under different sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations on the drying path, a chilled-mirror dew-point device capable of controlling the GCL’s volume was employed. Additionally, the dry state microstructure of the GCL was examined using electron microscopy. The test outcomes indicate that GCL hydrated with higher salinity has greater suction at the same water content during drying. This influence can be attributed to changes in salinity and the precipitation of NaCl crystals within the bentonite when water evaporates, which in turn affects the bentonite’s microstructure and leads to increased matric suction. By introducing the Fredlund and Xing model and parameter relationship, it is possible to predict the WRC of GCL under salinity effects after measuring the WRC under different salinity conditions on the drying path.

The aim of this study is to introduce a protective layer to safeguard tunnel structures. In practice, one viable approach to create this protective layer between the tunnel structure and surrounding rocks is to pump the material during tunnel construction. The primary components of the proposed material are porous sand, rubber, and cement. Static and dynamic experiments were conducted to assess the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), flexural stiffness, and compaction resistance at various mixing ratios. The results indicate that the addition of porous sand decreases the UCS compared to the solid sand under similar mixing conditions. The addition of rubber offers the elasticity, thereby enhancing the compaction resistance. However, increasing the rubber content compromises UCS. Furthermore, this study presents a linear equation to predict the 7-day UCS, which can be used as a rapid estimation for UCS, flexural stiffness, and compaction resistance of the proposed material. It is important to note that this study only investigates the fundamental mechanical properties of the proposed material, and further comprehensive research is necessary to fully understand its workability, durability, and other behaviour before practical application.

This study investigated the engineering properties of a rubber–bentonite mixture under different salt solution concentrations, mass ratios, and consolidation pressures. In addition, the effects of different solute ion concentrations on the compression index of the samples were compared. The results showed that the compression coefficient could be reduced effectively by increasing the weight percentage of rubber without being affected by the salt solution. However, with the increase in the salt solution concentration, the compression coefficient of mixed materials with different mass ratios increased, and when the salt solution concentration exceeded 0.5 mol/L, the compression coefficient increased more obviously. In a 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution, the addition of different levels of rubber could increase the compression modulus of the mixed material and reduce the compression ratio of the mixed material. This showed that in an environment with a low salt solution concentration, adding rubber into the mixed material could enhance its compressive deformation resistance. However, when the rubber content exceeded 50%, significant pores appeared in the sample, and the effect of high salt solution concentration intensified. The rubber content also had an effect on the swelling properties of soil, and the degradation of rubber in the salt solution showed reduced mechanical properties. This emphasizes the need to consider the stability and resistance of saline–alkali areas to salt erosion.

Physics graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are tasked with multifaceted teaching assignments, such as leading tutorials and inquiry-based laboratories, yet their professional development rarely includes opportunities to rehearse complex pedagogical skills or receive feedback on their teaching. In this study, physics GTAs practiced specific pedagogical skills during four sessions in a mixed-reality classroom simulator; here, we focus on GTAs’ use of a specific questioning strategy called “Stretch-It.” GTAs can apply Stretch-It by asking students to explain their logic (Explain Logic), either by explaining their work or providing evidence for their claim; or by asking students to take the content further (Follow-Up), either by applying it in an analogous situation or answering the initial question in another way. We found GTAs used all four types of Stretch-It subcategories during simulator sessions that incorporated facilitator feedback about their use of questioning. We also compared the use of Stretch-It questioning in the classroom for a pretraining semester cohort and the high-intensity simulator training cohort and found that the high-intensity cohort’s average use of Explain Logic questions in the observation immediately following the Stretch-It rehearsal was meaningfully higher than the pretraining cohort’s average use of Explain Logic. However, the high-intensity cohort’s use of Explain Logic is unstable, and values fall back within the pretraining average in subsequent classroom observations. We did not find a significant difference between the cohorts’ use of Follow-Up. We discuss the implications of our findings for science, technology, engineering, and medicine GTA professional development and the significance of providing feedback to GTAs about their teaching.

The electrical output performances of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were closely related to its surface potential, surface roughness, β crystalline form, crystallinity, and dielectric constant. In order to improve the high power output, high voltage thermal polarization with injection molding (HVTP-IM) was integrated as a single-process to achieve the injection of PVDF electrets. The physical properties of these injection electrets were explored, including surface potential, surface morphology, crystalline transition, crystallinity, and dielectric constant by changing HVTP-IM temperatures, voltages, and times. The optimal polarization condition during the HVTP-IM process was set at 90 °C, 40 MV/m, and 30 min by comprehensive analysis, and the peak intensity of β-crystal under this condition was 2.03 times as much as that of the virgin PVDF without HVTP-IM. Vertical contact-separated TENGs were constructed via PVDF injection electrets, and their performances were studied by measuring the output electrical signals. The output current and voltage of TENGs based on PVDF injection electrets were twice and seven times higher than that of without treatment by HVTP-IM, and the maximum could be reached 75 µA and 15 V. This study paves a new path for improving the properties of PVDF or other materials to enhance the output performances of triboelectric nanogenerators when they are used as triboelectric materials.

Abstract Background Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) often lead laboratory and tutorial sections in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), especially at large, research-intensive universities. GTAs’ performance as instructors can impact student learning experience as well as learning outcomes. In this study, we observed 11 chemistry GTAs and 11 physics GTAs in a research-intensive institution in the southeastern USA. We observed the GTAs over two consecutive semesters in one academic year, resulting in a total of 58 chemistry lab observations and 72 physics combined tutorial and lab observations. We used a classroom observation protocol adapted from the Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS) to document both GTA and student behaviors. We applied cluster analysis separately to the chemistry lab observations and to the physics combined tutorial and lab observations. The goals of this study are to classify and characterize GTAs’ instructional styles in reformed introductory laboratories and tutorials, to explore the relationship between GTA instructional style and student behavior, and to explore the relationship between GTA instructional style and the nature of laboratory activity. Results We identified three instructional styles among chemistry GTAs and three different instructional styles among physics GTAs. The characteristics of GTA instructional styles we identified in our samples are different from those previously identified in a study of a traditional general chemistry laboratory. In contrast to the findings in the same prior study, we found a relationship between GTAs’ instructional styles and student behaviors: when GTAs use more interactive instructional styles, students appear to be more engaged. In addition, our results suggest that the nature of laboratory activities may influence GTAs’ use of instructional styles and student behaviors. Furthermore, we found that new GTAs appear to behave more interactively than experienced GTAs. Conclusion GTAs use a variety of instructional styles when teaching in the reformed laboratories and tutorials. Also, compared to traditional laboratory and tutorial sections, reformed sections appear to allow for more interaction between the nature of lab activities, GTA instructional styles, and student behaviors. This implies that high-quality teaching in reformed laboratories and tutorials may improve student learning experiences substantially, which could then lead to increased learning outcomes. Therefore, effective GTA professional development is particularly critical in reformed instructional environments.

A number of disorders that harm pig production are linked to porcine circoviruses, including PCV2. PCV2 infection is a substantial contributor to porcine-circovirus-associated illnesses (PCAS) and the post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), which have a significant negative economic impact on pig production. Additionally, PCV infection has been labeled as a global concern to cattle and wildlife. This study’s objectives were to examine the prevalence of PCV1/2/3 in Jiangxi Province, China, and to clarify the epidemiological significance of wild boar in PCV epidemiology. The 2020 hunting seasons resulted in the collection of 138 wild boar samples for PCV1/2/3 detection, which was followed by the genetic clarification of PCV2 strains. According to our data, 21.7% (30/138) of the population had PCV1 positivity, 22.5% (31/138) had PCV2 positivity, and 5.8% (8/138) had PCV3 positivity. Additionally, 10 out of 138 wild boar samples had PCV1 and PCV2 co-infections, while 5 out of 138 wild boar samples had PCV2 and PC3 co-infections. Nineteen full-length PCV2 genomes measuring 1767 nt were recovered from various animal tissues using conventional PCR. Eighteen out of nineteen PCV2 strains were identified as PCV2b by phylogenetic tree analysis, which was completed by the reference strain HLJ2015 obtained from domestic pigs in 2015. Additionally, one genotype of PCV2d JX11-2020 (MW889021) shared a sub-branch with the referenced strain TJ (AY181946), which was isolated in domestic pigs in 2002. This finding raises the possibility that domestic pigs could contract PCV2 strains from wild boar, posing a serious threat to the Jiangxi province of China’s pig production industry.

Porcine circovirus-like virus (PCLV) is a member of circovirus that contains a single-strand DNA genome, which may be one of the pathogens that causes diarrheal symptoms in pigs. The Rep protein encoded by the genome of PCLV may be responsible for viral genome replication. The development of serological detection methods for PCLV is of great necessity for clinical diagnosis, as well as epidemiological investigations. Therefore, this study attempted to build an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to examine antibodies against PCLV based on the His-tagged recombinant Rep protein. Full-length PCLV Rep protein was induced and expressed in E. coli and was purified as an antigen to establish an ELISA detection kit. The purified Rep protein was used to inject into mice to produce specific antibodies. There was no cross-reaction of Rep-based ELISA with antisera against other porcine viruses. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficient variations (CVs) were 0.644–8.211% and 0.859–7.246%, respectively, indicating good repeatability. The non-cross-reaction with TGEV, PRRSV and PCV2 testing showed high sensitivity and high specificity for this ELISA assay. A total of 1593 serum samples collected from different pig farms in Jiangxi Province were tested for anti-PCLV Rep antibodies, and 284 (17.83%) of the 1593 samples were Rep antibody positive. Altogether, the indirect ELISA detection tool developed in this study could be applied to examine serum of PCLV antibodies with good repeatability, high sensitivity and high specificity. In addition, field sample detection results suggested that the PCLV antibody has a low prevalence in pig populations in Jiangxi Province of China.

The characteristics of the vibrations induced by the passage of a high-speed train do not only depend on the train speed, axle load, and track irregularity but also depend on the properties of the foundation soil and the surrounding topography. Estimating the vibration characteristics in different terrains is therefore essential. This study investigates the characteristics of propagation and attenuation of the vibrations induced by high-speed trains in loess-terraced slopes. The influence of the soil mechanical properties on the propagation of vibrations is analyzed through a numerical simulation. Field experiments are conducted to measure the vibration induced by a high-speed train at a loess-terraced slope site in Qin’an, Gansu, China. The measured acceleration time history is analyzed in the time domain and frequency domain. The results show that, at the edge of each terrace level, the vibration in the Y direction is the strongest, followed by those in the X and Z directions. The peak ground acceleration values are amplified in all three directions at the fourth terrace level. A model describing the vehicle-roadbed-foundation-terraced slope system is established to study the influence of the elastic modulus of the soil on the vibration characteristics. A change in the elastic modulus of the foundation soil is found to have an evident influence on the horizontal and vertical vibrations in each terrace level. However, a change in the elastic modulus of the soil in a terrace only affects the vibration in that terrace and in the adjacent ones, whereas it has no effect on the vibrations in terraces located farther away. This study can provide some reference values for slope reinforcement along railways.

In this study, we evaluate the impact of rehearsing teaching skills in a mixed-reality classroom simulator on graduate teaching assistants’ (GTAs) instructional practices as well as undergraduate student learning outcomes. The simulator training is intended to provide GTAs opportunities to deliberately practice essential pedagogical skills that support active learning, specifically in the context of the combined tutorial and laboratory sections of an algebra-based introductory physics sequence. Over three semesters, GTAs participated in different numbers of simulator rehearsal sessions: no simulator training, one session, and four sessions. We conducted 109 classroom observations for 23 GTAs, using a modified version of the Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS); we also documented the frequencies of questioning-related skills (e.g., cold calling) implemented by the GTAs. Undergraduate student learning outcomes were measured by pre- and posttests of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM). To classify and characterize GTAs’ instructional practices, we conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis and found three instructional styles: the small-group facilitator, the whole-class facilitator, and the waiter. The results suggest that four-session simulator training throughout a semester supported GTAs (i) to shift away from the style of the waiter toward the whole-class facilitator, and (ii) to implement posing questions and cold calling techniques. While new GTAs were found to have more interactive behaviors than experienced GTAs in the semester with no simulator training, we found that four-session simulator training supported both new and experienced GTAs to use more interactive instructional styles and to implement questioning-related skills more frequently. Although the results demonstrate the effectiveness of simulator training, our analysis also indicates areas for improvement. GTAs tended to shift away from the style of the small-group facilitator toward the whole-class facilitator when they participated in four-session training, and the weekly implementations of questioning-related skills decreased over the course of a semester despite an increased total implementation. In addition, student learning outcomes in different semesters (with different numbers of simulator rehearsal sessions) did not show a statistically significant difference. However, GTAs’ instructional styles were correlated with student performance on FCI posttest with a small effect size when controlling for FCI pretest scores and lecture instructors; no correlation was found between GTAs’ instructional style and student performance on the CSEM posttest. We conclude with a discussion of factors that may have led to the success of the simulator training as well as strategies to further enhance the effectiveness of the simulator training.

Instructor's feedback plays a critical role in students' development of conceptual understanding and reasoning skills. However, grading student written responses and providing personalized feedback can take a substantial amount of time, especially in large enrollment courses. In this study, we explore using GPT-3.5 to write feedback on students' written responses to conceptual questions with prompt engineering and few-shot learning techniques. In stage I, we used a small portion (n=2?0) of the student responses on one conceptual question to iteratively train GPT to generate feedback. Four of the responses paired with human-written feedback were included in the prompt as examples for GPT. We tasked GPT to generate feedback for another 16 responses and refined the prompt through several iterations. In stage II, we gave four student researchers (one graduate and three undergraduate researchers) the 16 responses as well as two versions of feedback, one written by the authors and the other by GPT. Students were asked to rate the correctness and usefulness of each feedback and to indicate which one was generated by GPT. The results showed that students tended to rate the feedback by human and GPT equally on correctness, but they all rated the feedback by GPT as more useful. Additionally, the success rates of identifying GPT's feedback were low, ranging from 0.1 to 0.6. In stage III, we tasked GPT to generate feedback for the rest of the students' responses (n=6?5). The feedback messages were rated by four instructors based on the extent of modification needed if they were to give the feedback to students. All four instructors rated approximately 70% (ranging from 68% to 78%) of the feedback statements needing only minor or no modification. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) as an assistant to generate feedback for student written responses with only a relatively small number of examples in the prompt. An AI assistant can be one of the solutions to substantially reduce time spent on grading student written responses.

The core part of a hybrid truss bridge is the connection joint which combines the concrete chord and steel truss-web members. To study the mechanical behavior and failure mode of steel–concrete connection joints in a hybrid truss bridge, static model tests were carried out on two connection joints with the scale of 1:3 under the horizontal load which was provided by a loading jack mounted on the vertical reaction wall. The specimen design, experimental setup and testing procedure were introduced. In the experiment, the displacement, strain level, concrete crack and experimental phenomena were factually recorded. Compared with the previous study results, the experimental results in this study demonstrated that the connection joints had the excellent bearing capacity and deformability. The minimum ultimate load and displacement of the two connection joints were 5200 kN and 59.01 mm, respectively. Moreover, the connection joints exhibited multiple failure modes, including the fracture of gusset plates, the slippage of high-strength bolts, the local buckling of compressive splice plates, the fracture of tensile splice plates and concrete cracking. Additionally, the strain distribution of the steel–concrete connection joints followed certain rules. It is expected that the findings from this paper may provide a reference for the design and construction of steel–concrete connection joints in hybrid truss bridges.

Short-wall block filling mining (SBBM) technology has become an effective way to recover coal resources beneath the aquifer, which are unsuitable, or cannot be used by long-wall mining, such as corner coal pillars, industrial square pillars, and irregular coal blocks as well as the coal beneath buildings, railways, and water bodies. The SBBM method can not only enhance the recovery ratio but also provide a solution for the environment problems associated with gangues on the surface. However, whether the height of water flowing fractures will reach to the aquifer to cause water loss during SBBM has always been a key problem. Therefore, based on the theory of elastic foundation beam and SBBM characteristics, a mechanical model for calculating the height of a water flowing fracture zone in the overlying strata of SBBM was established, and this model calculated that the height of the water flowing fracture zone was 27.0 m in the experimental working face, and the height of the water flowing fracture zone was measured as 26.8 m according to washing fluid loss in the hole, core damage analysis, and drilling TV imaging detection. The comparison results demonstrated that the calculated value almost fit well with the field-measured data, validating the accuracy of the proposed mechanical model, while the predicted value (48.7 m) in the Regulations of coal mining under building, railways and water-bodies deviates greatly from the measured results. This reveals that the prediction formula in Regulations is not effective in predicting the height of the water flowing fracture zone in SBBM. The present research results are of great significance to further enhancing the recovery ratio of coal resources and improving the water-preserved mining theory.

In quantum mechanics, probability amplitudes are complex numbers and the relative phases between the terms in superposition states have measurable effects. This article describes an investigation into sophomore- and junior-level students’ reasoning patterns in relating relative phases and real-world quantum phenomena. The investigation involved one observational experiment and three testing experiments, during which we formulated and tested three hypotheses that allow us to gain insights into why students have difficulty recognizing the measurable effects of relative phases. We found that, in both spin-1/2 and infinite square well contexts, many students do not recognize that quantum states differing only by a relative phase are experimentally distinguishable. Moreover, student ability to recognize the measurable effects of relative phase does not improve when given (i) a task that specifically prompts students to compare the probabilities for a particular observable and (ii) a task that does not require taking inner products or changing basis. We also examined the extent to which lacking proficiency with complex numbers may have hindered student understanding of relative phase. The data indicate that most students are proficient with complex numbers. These findings suggest that many students do not, in fact, recognize the purpose of using complex numbers in superposition states. We discuss possible explanations for why students do not seem to recognize this purpose, and we also provide suggestions for future avenues of research.

The Born rule, which describes the formalism for determining probabilities, is one of the most fundamental postulates in quantum mechanics. This paper presents results from an investigation into how students apply the Born rule to determine probabilities for energy and position measurements. The investigation includes two stages with independent methods: a quantitative analysis of student written work and a qualitative analysis of student individual interviews. The data from written tasks suggest that after instruction many students have not developed a coherent model for determining probabilities that they can apply to observables regardless of whether the eigenvalues are discrete or continuous. Moreover, many students seem to lack a functional understanding of quantum states and inner products that allows them to translate between Dirac notation and wave function representation. These results motivate student interviews, which allow us to probe student reasoning in depth. Prior research suggests that various features of each notation used in quantum mechanics may have an impact on how students perform computations. We postulate that the features of quantum notations may also interact with student sensemaking. Therefore, we analyze student interviews through the lens of the structural features of quantum notations framework. In particular, we discuss how different structural features may facilitate or hinder student sensemaking about concepts relevant to determining probabilities. The results from both quantitative and qualitative data suggest that unsuccessfully differentiating between a wave function and its associated state vector in Dirac notation may be a primary barrier for students to develop a model for determining probabilities for discrete and continuous cases.

Background: Ischemic Stroke (IS) stands as one of the primary cerebrovascular diseases profoundly linked with inflammation. In the context of neuroinflammation, an excessive activation of microglia has been observed. Consequently, regulating microglial activation emerges as a vital target for neuroinflammation treatment. Catalpol (CAT), a natural compound known for its anti-inflammatory properties, holds promise in this regard. However, its potential to modulate neuroinflammatory responses in the brain, especially on microglial cells, requires comprehensive exploration. Methods: In our study, we investigated into the potential anti-inflammatory effects of catalpol using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells as an experimental model. The production of nitric oxide (NO) by LPSactivated BV2 cells was quantified using the Griess reaction. Immunofluorescence was employed to measure glial cell activation markers. RT-qPCR was utilized to assess mRNA levels of various inflammatory markers. Western blot analysis examined protein expression in LPS-activated BV2 cells. NF-κB nuclear localization was detected by immunofluorescent staining. Additionally, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) were conducted to explore the binding affinity of catalpol with key targets. Results: Catalpol effectively suppressed the production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by LPS and reduced the expression of microglial cell activation markers, including Iba-1. Furthermore, we observed that catalpol downregulated the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β, as well as key molecules involved in the NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway, including NLRP3, NF-κB, caspase1, and ASC. Our mechanistic investigations shed light on how catalpol operates against neuroinflammation. It was evident that catalpol significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, both of which serve as upstream regulators of the inflammatory cascade. Molecular docking and MDs showed strong binding interactions between catalpol and key targets such as NF-κB, NLRP3, and IL-1β. Conclusion: Our findings support the idea that catalpol holds the potential to alleviate neuroinflammation, and it is achieved by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB, ultimately leading to the downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Catalpol emerges as a promising candidate for the treatment of neuroinflammatory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The low frequency line spectrum noise radiated by ships has strong stability and is difficult to eliminate, which is the key information required for passive signal detection. A vector coherent frequency‐domain batch adaptive line enhancement method is proposed to address the issue of insufficient detection capability of traditional scalar adaptive line enhancement (ALE) algorithms for ship characteristic line spectra in complex deep‐sea environments. This method not only introduces the idea of frequency‐domain batch processing, but also uses synchronously collected sound pressure and particle velocity as dual input, fully utilising the coherence characteristics between vector channels to output high gain line spectrum signals and improve computational efficiency. In simulation and sea trial data validation, compared with the time‐domain vector coherent adaptive line enhancement algorithm, this method has shorter time consumption, higher efficiency, and can improve the detection ability of line spectrum signals under low signal‐to‐noise ratio conditions. The bearing estimation results output by this algorithm is also more accurate.

Abstract Since dietary intake is challenging to directly measure in large-scale cohort studies, we often rely on self-reported instruments (e.g., food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour recalls, and diet records) developed in nutritional epidemiology. Those self-reported instruments are prone to measurement errors, which can lead to inaccuracies in the calculation of nutrient profiles. Currently, few computational methods exist to address this problem. In the present study, we introduce a deep-learning approach—Microbiome-based nutrient profile corrector (METRIC), which leverages gut microbial compositions to correct random errors in self-reported dietary assessments using 24-hour recalls or diet records. We demonstrate the excellent performance of METRIC in minimizing the simulated random errors, particularly for nutrients metabolized by gut bacteria in both synthetic and three real-world datasets. Additionally, we find that METRIC can still correct the random errors well even without including gut microbial compositions. Further research is warranted to examine the utility of METRIC to correct actual measurement errors in self-reported dietary assessment instruments.

Abstract Background Commensal bacteria in the intestine release enzymes to degrade and ferment dietary components, producing beneficial metabolites. However, the regulatory effects of microbial-derived enzymes on the intestinal microbiota composition and the influence on host health remain elusive. Xylanase can degrade xylan into oligosaccharides, showing wide application in feed industry. Results To validate the immune-protective effects of xylanase, Nile tilapia was used as the model and fed with xylanase. The results showed that dietary xylanase improved the survival rate of Nile tilapia when they were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. The transcriptome analysis showed significant enrichment of genes related to interleukin-17d (il-17d) signaling pathway in the xylanase treatment group. High-throughput sequencing revealed that dietary xylanase altered the composition of the intestinal microbiota and directly promoted the proliferation of Allobaculum stercoricanis which could produce butyrate in vitro. Consequently, dietary xylanase supplementation increased the butyrate level in fish gut. Further experiment verified that butyrate supplementation enhanced the expression of il-17d and regenerating islet-derived 3 gamma (reg3g) in the gut. The knockdown experiment of il-17d confirmed that il-17d is necessary for butyrate to protect Nile tilapia from pathogen resistance. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that butyrate increased the abundance of IL-17D+ intestinal epithelial cells in fish. Mechanistically, butyrate functions as an HDAC3 inhibitor, enhancing il-17d expression and playing a crucial role in pathogen resistance. Conclusion Dietary xylanase significantly altered the composition of intestinal microbiota and increased the content of butyrate in the intestine. Butyrate activated the transcription of il-17d in intestinal epithelial cells by inhibiting histone deacetylase 3, thereby protecting the Nile tilapia from pathogen infection. This study elucidated how microbial-derived xylanase regulates host immune function, providing a theoretical basis for the development and application of functional enzymes. Video Abstract

Abstract The light field display technology based on panel light modulation has obvious industrial advantages. However, light field displays still causes discomfort for users in practical applications, due to issues such as angle of view, number of viewpoints, and crosstalk, etc. As a new type of high performance 2D display technology, mini/micro light emitting diode (MLED) has the potential to provide higher quality 3D display effects, but it may also bring new technological challenges. This paper provides a detailed investigation of technical principles and the latest research progress in light field display technology based on panel light modulation, and analyzes the industrial and academic research difficulties, which are brought about by the combination of MLED and naked-eye light field display. This paper is the first to complete a technical review specifically focused on MLED and naked-eye light field display, which is expected to accelerate the technological development and application process of naked-eye light field display based on MLED panels.

Abstract The deterioration and deformation of brittle rock generally appear in railway tunnels with the operation of large buried deep tunnel. To investigate the macro-micro fracture and acoustic emission evolution characteristics of brittle rock, this paper conducted the uniaxial compression, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and acoustic emission (AE) signal monitoring under different loading rates. The results showed that the loading rate has an obvious enhancement effect on mechanical parameters. The increased loading rate extends the elastic deformation and improves the bearing strength, elastic modulus and deformation modulus. The fracture patterns include shear fracture, composite fracture, and tension fracture. The oblique shear fracture is transformed into composite fracture and tension fracture with the loading rate increasing. The microscopic fracture shows that increasing loading rate inhibits the evolution of oblique shear fractures and promotes the expansion of tensile fractures. The roughness level of tensile fractures is significantly lower than that of oblique shear fracture and composite fracture. The AE parameters and deformation behavior are characterized by simultaneous evolution. The AE amplitude changes from low-level and low-density distribution to high-level and high-density distribution as the loading rate increases. The AE activity intensity of tensile fracture is significantly greater than that of oblique shear fracture and composite fracture. The warning timeliness of cumulative AE events and cumulative AE energy is generally earlier than the AE b-value under the same loading rate, and the early warning timeliness of cumulative AE events is similar to that of cumulative AE energy.

Abstract Polyploidization plays an important role in plant speciation and adaptation. To address the role of polyploidization in grass diversification, we studied Phragmites australis, an invasive species with intraspecific variation in chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 36 to 144. We utilized a combined analysis of ploidy estimation, phylogeny, population genetics and model simulations to investigate the evolution of P. australis. Using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), we conducted a genome-wide analysis of 88 individuals sourced from diverse populations worldwide, revealing the presence of six distinct intraspecific lineages with extensive genetic admixture. Each lineage was characterized by a specific ploidy level, predominantly tetraploid or octoploid, indicative of multiple independent polyploidization events. The population size of each lineage has declined moderately in history while remaining large, except for the North American native and the US Land types, which experienced constant population size contraction throughout their history. Our investigation did not identify direct association between polyploidization events and grass invasions. Nonetheless, we observed octoploid and hexaploid lineages at contact zones in Romania, Hungary, and South Africa, suggestively due to genomic conflicts arising from allotetraploid parental lineages.

Objective For the early selection and evaluation of unconventional gas resources such as shale gas and dissolved gas, it is often difficult to obtain formation burial depth by seismic structural interpretation due to the lack of seismic data. Therefore, it is necessary to effectively predict the burial depth of the target layer using other non-seismic data. Methods Both regional geological maps and digital elevation model (DEM) are widely covered and easily accessible basic data. In this study, a new method for predicting structural height and buried depth of target layer is established by superposing regional DEM information with geological map which contains the attitude of stratum, trend of underground structures, as well as the relation between buried depth of underground layer and age of surface layer. Results This method is effective for predicting the burial depth of Marine strata with relatively stable sedimentary thickness. The buried depth of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in Sichuan Basin and its periphery is predicted based on 36 geological maps with scale of 1∶200 000 and DEM data, and then the contour map of the buried depth of Longmaxi Formation provides important parameters for the evaluation of shale gas preservation conditions in this area. Conclusion The method of predicting the burial depth of Marine strata by using non-seismic data such as regional geological map and DEM can not only provide effective support for the early selection evaluation of shale gas, but also can be applied to the resource evaluation of water-soluble gas in deep high-pressure aquifers and the structural optimization of CO2 geological storage in deep saline aquifers.

The Da'anzhai Member of the Lower Jurassic in northern Sichuan Basin is one of the major oil-bearing formations in the basin. In recent years, with the development of unconventional exploration theories, exploration efforts have shifted towards the shale reservoirs in the Da'anzhai Member, enhancing the understanding of the exploration directions for continental shale oil in northern Sichuan. Based on the data from shale oil exploration wells LY1 and YY2, including core samples, experiments, drilling, and fracturing data, a reassessment of the oil and gas formation conditions, resource potential, and engineering geological conditions was conducted. The results indicate that: (1) The second submember of the Da'anzhai Member in Langzhong has a good resource base and formation conditions, indicating great exploration potential. The second submember mainly develops three lithologies: shale, shell limestone, and shale interbedded with shell limestone. The shale exhibits good hydro- carbon source quality and is generally in a middle to high-mature stage. Its hydrocarbon production intensity is (20-90)×104 t/km2, and the retained hydrocarbon accounts for 66% to 78% of the total hydrocarbon production, with a shale oil resource amounting to 3.26×108 t. (2) The shale samples from the second submember in the study area have poorly developed fracture networks, characterized by poor permeability conditions, difficult drilling and compressibility conditions. The matrix-type shale oil has high crude oil viscosity and high wax content. The coupling configuration relationship between the permeability of the shale samples and the fluidity of the shale oil is key to achieving high production in target layers. (3) Given the current poor production results in matrix-type shale exploration, it is recommended to adopt a combined conventional and unconventional exploration method to study the formation system of the shale and limestone interlayer reservoirs in the research area, considering high-quality shale and fracture-porosity type limestone as favorable exploration targets. Through the integration of geological and engineering research methods, efforts should be made to tackle technical challenges related to drillability, compressibility, and production, thereby improving engineering and technological levels.