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Abstract Within the framework of nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD), we calculate the fragmentation function for a charm quark into an S-wave fully-charmed tetraquark, denoted as T 4c . The charm-to-T 4c fragmentation function is expressed as a sum of products of the perturbatively calculable short-distance coefficients and the nonperturbative long-distance matrix elements (LDMEs). The short-distance coefficients are ascertained through the perturbative matching procedure at lowest order in α s expansion. The LDMEs are approximated using the T 4c four-body wave functions at the origin, which have been evaluated by various phenomenological potential models in literature. Incorporating the celebrated QCD factorization and the charm-to-T 4c fragmentation function, we predict the T 4c production rate at high transverse momentum p T regime in colliders. Both the differential distribution over p T and the integrated cross sections are predicted at the LHC. The cross sections for T 4c states production can reach several femtobarns to several hundreds femtobarns, suggesting a substantial potential for T 4c event production at the LHC. Additionally, we estimate for the photoproduction of T 4c in electron-proton (ep) collisions. It is observed that the cross sections for these processes are moderate at the HERA and EIC, and relatively small at the EicC. Given the luminosities of these colliders, the prospect of detecting these fully-charmed tetraquarks at ep colliders is somewhat challenging.

Abstract The artificial photocatalytic synthesis based on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for H2O2 production is evolving rapidly. However, the simultaneous production of high-value products at electron and hole sites remains a great challenge. Here, we use transformable potassium iodide to obtain semi-crystalline g-C3N4 integrated with the I-/I3 - redox shuttle mediators for efficient generation of H2O2 and benzaldehyde. The system demonstrates a prominent catalytic efficiency, with a benzaldehyde yield of 0.78 mol g−1 h−1 and an H2O2 yield of 62.52 mmol g−1 h−1. Such a constructed system can achieve an impressive 96.25% catalytic selectivity for 2e- oxygen reduction, surpassing previously reported systems. The mechanism study reveals that the strong crystal electric field from iodized salt enhances photo-generated charge carrier separation. The I-/I3 - redox mediators significantly boost charge migration and continuous electron and proton supply for dual-channel catalytic synthesis. This groundbreaking work in photocatalytic co-production opens neoteric avenues for high-value synthesis.

Abstract Ultrasonic scalpel design for minimally invasive surgical procedures is mainly focused on optimizing cutting performance. However, an important issue is the low fatigue life of traditional ultrasonic scalpels, which affects their long-term reliability and effectiveness and creates hidden dangers for surgery. In this study, a multi-objective optimal design for the cutting performance and fatigue life of ultrasonic scalpels was proposed using finite element analysis and fatigue simulation. The optimal design parameters of resonance frequency and amplitude were determined. By setting the transition fillet and keeping the gain structure away from the node position to enable the scalpel to have a high service life with excellent cutting performance. The frequency modulation method of setting the vibration node bosses at the node position and setting the vibration antinode grooves at the antinode position was compared. Then, the mechanism of the influence of various design elements, such as tip, shank, node position, and antinode position, on the resonance frequency, amplitude, and fatigue life of the ultrasonic scalpel was analyzed, and the optimal design principles of the ultrasonic scalpel were obtained. The proposed ultrasonic scalpel design was confirmed by simulations, impedance measurements, and liver tissue cutting experiments, demonstrating its feasibility and enhanced performance. This research introduces innovative design strategies to improve the fatigue life and performance of ultrasonic scalpels to address an important issue in minimally invasive surgery.

Porous β-Ti composites hold large promise for lightweight components due to their exceptional strength-ductility synergy. However, their microstructural behavior under both impact and compressive conditions have received limited attention. This study investigates the compressive and impact behavior of porous β-type Ti–25Nb (at.%) composites fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The composites feature a rhombic dodecahedron (RD) lattice structure and incorporate a central solid cylinder with varying diameters. Microstructural characterizations and finite element simulations were employed to analyze mechanical properties and stress distribution. Incorporation of 3 mm radius cylinders (TIII ∼45% porosity) significantly enhances compressive yield stress (88 ± 10 MPa), impact yield stress (153 ± 10 MPa), and impact energy absorption (41.2 J/cm³) while maintaining material plasticity. Compressive and impact loading initiate a martensitic transformation from β to α″ phase, strengthening the alloy through refined α″ formation with a finer grain size than β phase. Notably, a β→ α″ transformation and grain refinement occur in the node region that connects the solid cylinder and lattices, which undergoes significant deformation during impact. This observation suggests the impact resistance of porous β-Ti composites can be enhanced through tailored microstructures and strategic structural design.

Objective To explore the current status of serum phosphorus level in patients on maintenance hemodialysis （MHD）, examine its relationship with clinical parameters and determine the influencing factors of serum phosphorus level. Methods For this multicenter cross-sectional study, 2667 patients on MHD at 27 domestic dialysis centers were recruited from 2019 to 2020. Demographic profiles, primary diseases and laboratory tests were recorded. According to serum phosphorus （P） level, they were assigned into three groups of low blood phosphorus （P

Abstract Artificial photosynthesis using carbon nitride (g-C3N4) holds a great promise for sustainable and cost-effective H2O2 production, but the high carrier recombination rate impedes its efficiency. To tackle this challenge, we propose an innovative method involving multispecies iodine mediators (I−/I3 −) intercalation through a pre-photo-oxidation process using potassium iodide (suspected deteriorated “KI”) within the g-C3N4 framework. Moreover, we introduce an external electric field by incorporating cationic methyl viologen ions to establish an auxiliary electron transfer channel. Such a unique design drastically improves the separation of photo-generated carriers, achieving an impressive H2O2 production rate of 46.40 mmol g−1 h−1 under visible light irradiation, surpassing the most visible-light H2O2-producing systems. Combining various advanced characterization techniques elucidates the inner photocatalytic mechanism, and the application potential of this photocatalytic system is validated with various simulation scenarios. This work presents a significative strategy for preparing and applying highly efficient g-C3N4-based catalysts in photochemical H2O2 production.

Abstract Phospholipase A2(PLA2) superfamily is recognized as being involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia by affecting lipid homeostasis in cell membranes. We hypothesized that PLA2 gene copy number variation (CNV) may affect PLA2 enzyme expression and be associated with schizophrenia risk. This study indicated that in the discovery stage, an increased copy number of PLA2G6 and the deletion of PLA2G3, PLA2G4A, PLA2G4F and PLA2G12F was associated with increased risk of schizophrenia. CNV segments involving six PLA2 genes were detected in publicly available datasets, including two deletion segments specific to the PLA2G4A gene. The relationship between the deletion of PLA2G4A and susceptibility to schizophrenia was then reaffirmed in the validation group of 806 individuals. There was a significant correlation between PLA2G4A deletion and the symptoms of poverty of thought in male patients and erotomanic delusion in females. Furthermore, ELISA results demonstrate a significant decrease in peripheral blood cytosolic PLA2(cPLA2) levels in patients with the PLA2G4A deletion genotype compared to those with normal and copy number duplicate genotypes. These data suggest that the functional copy number deletion in the PLA2G4A gene is associated with the risk of schizophrenia and clinical phenotypes by reducing the expression of cPLA2, which may be an indicator of susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Abstract Psychiatric syndromes are common following recovery from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. This study investigated the prevalence and the network structure of depression, insomnia, and suicidality among mental health professionals (MHPs) who recovered from COVID-19. Depression and insomnia were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire (ISI7) respectively. Suicidality items comprising suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt were evaluated with binary response (no/yes) items. Network analyses with Ising model were conducted to identify the central symptoms of the network and their links to suicidality. A total of 9858 COVID-19 survivors were enrolled in a survey of MHPs. The prevalence of depression and insomnia were 47.10% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 46.09–48.06%) and 36.2% (95%CI = 35.35–37.21%), respectively, while the overall prevalence of suicidality was 7.8% (95%CI = 7.31–8.37%). The key central nodes included “Distress caused by the sleep difficulties” (ISI7) (EI = 1.34), “Interference with daytime functioning” (ISI5) (EI = 1.08), and “Sleep dissatisfaction” (ISI4) (EI = 0.74). “Fatigue” (PHQ4) (Bridge EI = 1.98), “Distress caused by sleep difficulties” (ISI7) (Bridge EI = 1.71), and “Motor Disturbances” (PHQ8) (Bridge EI = 1.67) were important bridge symptoms. The flow network indicated that the edge between the nodes of “Suicidality” (SU) and “Guilt” (PHQ6) showed the strongest connection (Edge Weight= 1.17, followed by “Suicidality” (SU) - “Sad mood” (PHQ2) (Edge Weight = 0.68)). The network analysis results suggest that insomnia symptoms play a critical role in the activation of the insomnia-depression-suicidality network model of COVID-19 survivors, while suicidality is more susceptible to the influence of depressive symptoms. These findings may have implications for developing prevention and intervention strategies for mental health conditions following recovery from COVID-19.

Drought, excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer, and decline in soil organic matter threaten corn production. This study investigated the potential of water retaining agents, inhibitors, and corn stalks in enhancing soil physicochemical properties to bolster corn yield in semi-arid farmlands. In our study, polyacrylamide addition increased the content of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) in the seedling stage, exchangeable potassium (K) in the mature stage but decreased the content of available phosphorus (P) in the seedling stage. Potassium polyacrylate addition increased the content of NH4+-N and decreased the content of available P in the seedling stage. The addition of inhibitors decreased the content of NH4+-N and available P in the seedling stage, NO3--N and available P in the jointing stage, and NH4+-N in the mature stage, respectively. Corn stalks returning could maintain soil moisture, decrease the content of NH4+-N in the seedling stage and exchangeable K in the mature stage, and increase the content of available P and exchangeable K in the seedling stage. Combined application of inhibitors and corn stalks could increase soil organic carbon (SOC) and ensure corn yield, which was the best fertilization mode in semi-arid cropland.

ObjectiveTo explore whether early quantitative electroencephalograph (EEG) can predict the development of epilepsy in pediatric patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsA total of 78 children with severe TBI who were admitted to our hospital were divided into post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) and non-PTE groups according to whether or not they developed PTE. EEGs of frontal, central and parietal lobes were recorded at the time of their admission. The power values of each frequency band, odds ratio and peak envelope power values of each brain region were statistically analyzed. In addition, the patients were followed up for two years, and the occurrence of PTE was documented.ResultsDuring the follow-up period, PTE occurred in 8 patients. Analysis of EEG signals across different brain regions (frontal, central, and parietal lobes) revealed significant differences between the PTE and non-PTE groups. Patients with PTE exhibited significantly higher δ and θ power values (P

The recycle and utilization of expired drugs is a challenge for many countries at present. The employment of expired drugs as green corrosion inhibitors is expected to address both drug recycling and corrosion prevention issues, with significant economic and environmental value. Herein, the individually and combination corrosion inhibition performance of expired amoxicillin (AMC) and penicillin V potassium tablets (PVP) for lowcarbon steel in 20% acetic acid solution containing 600 mg L-1 chloride ion are evaluated by electrochemistry and weight loss method. Both the AMC and PVP present the mixed-type corrosion inhibitors mainly affect the cathode process when used individually. The optimum inhibition efficiency is 61.22% (AMC) and 79.21% (PVP), which all appear in 5.0 × 10-3 mol L-1. The AMC and PVP are adsorbed on the steel surface by mixed physisorption and chemisorption, which are consistent with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The corrosion inhibition rate drops sharply when AMC and PVP are combined use with a close mole ratio. But a small amount of PVP significantly enhance the corrosion inhibition effect of AMC, the corrosion inhibition rate from 61.22 to 79.72%. The corrosion inhibition rate of AMC and PVP combination inhibitor decreased with the increase of temperature.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common acute abdomen diseases with increasing incidence and substantial healthcare burden. Gut microbiota disturbance, mucosal barrier failure, and bacterial translocation are identified as the dominant cause of infected pancreatic necrosis and high mortality. With the advance of high-throughput sequencing, imbalance between beneficial and facultative pathogenic microorganisms with their metabolic activities in the development of AP has been increasingly recognized, whereas it remains unclear whether dysbacteriosis is the dominant cause of aggravating AP, or merely reflecting different epidemiological or environmental factors at the individual level. This review discussed the alterations of the gut microbiota and their metabolites during AP with detailed molecular mechanisms. Importantly, it highlights microbiome-based medical therapies which influence gut barrier function and immune homeostasis to mitigate inflammatory responses in AP. Our review will provide a novel roadmap of gastrointestinal microecology in AP progression, and contribute to the future development of microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in clinical practice.

In recent decades, numerous instances of blockages have been reported in coastal nuclear power plants globally, leading to serious safety accidents such as power reduction, manual or automatic power loss, or shutdown of nuclear power units. Loss or shortage of cooling water may compromise the reliability of the cooling water system, thus threatening the operational safety of power plants and resulting in revenue reduction. This study provides a comprehensive review of the current state of cooling water system safety in coastal nuclear power plants worldwide and the common challenges they face, as well as the relevant research on cooling water system safety issues. The research overview and progress in investigation methods, outbreak mechanisms, prevention and control measures, and practical cases of blockages were summarized. Despite existing research, there are still many shortcomings regarding the pertinence, comprehensiveness and prospects of related research, and many problems urgently need to be solved. The most fundamental concern involves understanding the list of potential risks of blockages and their spatially distributed effects in surrounding waters. Furthermore, knowledge of the biological cycles and ecological habits of key organisms is essential for implementing risk prevention and control and for building a scientific and effective monitoring system.

In the steel industry is facing the new normal situation of transformation and upgrading， with the help of intelligent equipment to drive the steel industry to green and high-end development is expected to achieve the optimization of the steel production organization. Continuous casting tundish with constant temperature and low superheat can effectively improve the quality of steel， so it is necessary to develop the heating technology of tundish. Therefore， tundish heating temperature control technology has been paid more and more attention. Regarding to the hot issues of tundish plasma heating technology， which has attracted increasing attention in recent years， systematically describes the heating principle and equipment characteristics， introduces the research and development of equipment and metallurgical functions of plasma heating technology at home and abroad， and mainly analyzes the influence of plasma heating technology on the flow field， temperature field， inclusion removal and chemical composition of steel liquefication in tundish， and the metallurgical effect of practical application. Based on the deep understanding of the research and application of plasma heating technology， the new problems found in the heating process of a new type of hollow graphite electrode plasma equipment independently developed in China are discussed， and the ways to further improve its metallurgical effect are discussed. Analysis indicates that the domestically developed hollow graphite electrode plasma heating equipment is better suited to meet the transformation needs of China's steel industry. This equipment provides an effective solution to issues such as the instability of superheat in casting steel， lower cleanliness levels in molten steel， and uneven composition of molten steel. It addresses the shortcomings in the intelligent positioning of the "one-key heating" intermediate package， thus enhancing its precision.

The regulation of spermatogonial proliferation and apoptosis is of great significance for maintaining spermatogenesis. The single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of the testis was performed to identify genes upregulated in spermatogonia. Using scRNA-seq analysis, we identified the spermatogonia upregulated gene origin recognition complex subunit 6 (Orc6), which is involved in DNA replication and cell cycle regulation; its protein expression in the human and mouse testis was detected by western blot and immunofluorescence. To explore the potential function of Orc6 in spermatogonia, the C18-4 cell line was transfected with control or Orc6 siRNA. Subsequently, 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays, flow cytometry, and western blot were used to evaluate its effects on proliferation and apoptosis. It was revealed that ORC6 could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of C18-4 cells. Bulk RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis indicated that Orc6 was involved in the activation of wingless/integrated (Wnt)/β-catenin signaling. Western blot revealed that the expression of β-catenin protein and its phosphorylation (Ser675) were significantly decreased when silencing the expression of ORC6. Our findings indicated that Orc6 was upregulated in spermatogonia, whereby it regulated proliferation and apoptosis by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Abstract Mix‐dimensional heterojunctions (MDHJs) photodetectors (PDs) built from bulk and 2D materials are the research focus to develop hetero‐integrated and multifunctional optoelectronic sensor systems. However, it is still an open issue for achieving multiple effects synergistic characteristics to boost sensitivity and enrich the prospect in artificial bionic systems. Herein, electrically tunable Te/WSe2 MDHJs phototransistors are constructed, and an ultralow dark current below 0.1 pA and a large on/off rectification ratio of 106 is achieved. Photoconductive, photovoltaic, and photo‐thermoelectric conversions are simultaneously demonstrated by tuning the gate and bias. By these synergistic effects, responsivity and detectivity respectively reach 13.9 A W−1 and 1.37 × 1012 Jones with 400 times increment. The Te/WSe2 MDHJs PDs can function as artificial bionic visual systems due to the comparable response time to those of the human visual system and the presence of transient positive and negative response signals. This work offers an available strategy for intelligent optoelectronic devices with hetero‐integration and multifunctions.

In the railway system environment, the interconnection of a vast array of intelligent sensing devices has brought about revolutionary changes in the management and monitoring of railway transportation. However, this also poses challenges to the communication service quality within the railway Internet of Things (IoT). Through collective intelligence and collaboration, the nodes within the railway IoT can not only share data and information but also work synergistically to enhance the overall intelligence level and improve decision-making quality of the network. Therefore, this paper proposes a reconnection mechanism based on the computation of node game-theoretic benefits and optimizes this process with the concept of swarm intelligence collaboration. Initially, the game-theoretic benefit values of the nodes in the railway IoT network are calculated. Subsequently, based on the weight priority of the edges, the two edges with the larger weights are selected, and connections are established between nodes with similar game-theoretic benefit values to enhance the network’s robustness. This approach enables rapid networking and efficient communication transmission within the railway IoT, providing robust assurance for the safe and stable operation of the railway.

To investigate the expulsion effect of different expulsion modes on Hexagrammos otakii, this study examined various environmental conditions in an indoor tank. Specifically, different lighting conditions (white, blue, and green light at illumination intensities of 5000 lx, 8000 lx, and 10000 lx) were explored, as well as varied sound conditions (sound frequencies of 150 Hz, 300 Hz, and 450 Hz at different sound pressure levels of 130 dB, 140 dB, and 150 dB) and bubble curtain conditions (air volumes of 60 L/min, 120 L/min, and 180 L/min). Additionally, the expulsion effect of different fish densities (1.56 tails/m2, 2.35 tails/m2, 3.13 tails/m2) of Hexagrammos otakii was investigated. The findings revealed that the bubble curtain exhibited the most effective expulsion effect on Hexagrammos otakii, with an expulsion rate of (40.4 ± 12.0) %, the highest period of 53%, and an average expulsion distance of 3.0 expulsion intervals when the air volume was 180 L/min and the fish density was 1.56 tails/m2. Conversely, the expulsion effect of light and sound on Hexagrammos otakii was found to be insignificant, with the expulsion rate of sound not exceeding 20% and that of light being lower than 15%. These results have implications for the selection and design of fish expulsion equipment in offshore areas, such as those surrounding wind farms and nuclear power plants. Therefore, this study provides valuable scientific reference for resource managers and practitioners in the field.

The progression pattern of tumors has an impact on the survival of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has been applied in the design of clinical trials for multiple second-line drugs. Previous research results have been contradictory, and the clinical impact of different progression patterns and their role in survival are still in question.PurposeThe study aims to analyze the impact of different progression patterns and tumor burden size on survival of HCC patients, as well as their interactions, through a retrospective cohort study.Patients and methodsThe study involved 538 patients who had undergone treatment with sorafenib and had shown radiographic progression. The progression pattern was analyzed using Cox regression by including an interaction term between progression pattern and tumor burden, which was then visualized through a graphical analysis. Tumor burden was categorized into low, medium, and high subgroups based on the six-and-twelve criteria, allowing for an exploration of the effect of progression pattern on survival in different tumor burden situations.ResultsCompared to patients with only intrahepatic progression (NIH/IHG) with an overall survival (OS) of 14.1/19.9 months and post-progression survival (PPS) of 8.1/13.1 months respectively, patients with extrahepatic lesions (NEH/EHG) had worse overall and postprogressive survival (OS: 9.3/9.2 months, PPS: 4.9/5.1 months). The hazard ratio for extrahepatic progression (NEH/EHG) compared to intrahepatic progression (NIH/IHG) at low, medium, and high tumor burden were [HR 2.729, 95%CI 1.189-6.263], [HR 1.755, 95%CI 1.269-2.427], and [HR 1.117, 95%CI 0.832-1.499], respectively.ConclusionThe study concluded that the interaction between the tumor progression patterns and tumor burden significantly affects the prognosis of HCC patients. As the tumor burden increases, the sensitivity of the patient’s risk of death to the progression pattern decreases. These findings are valuable in personalized treatment and trial design.

BackgroundWith the rapid growth of global aging, frailty has become a serious public health burden, affecting the life quality of older adults. Depressive symptoms (depression hereafter) and sleep quality are associated with frailty, but the pathways in which sleep quality and depression affect frailty remain unclear.MethodThis cross-sectional study included 1866 community-dwelling older adults. Demographic characteristics and health-related data of them was collected, and we also assessed frailty, depression, and sleep quality. Descriptive statistics were carried out and ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors correlated with frailty. Spearman correlation analysis and mediation analysis were employed to assess associations between sleep quality, depression and frailty. Two-sided p

ε-Poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) is a novel biopolymer consisting of 25–35 L-lysine residues, which is formed by the dehydration condensation of ε-NH2 and α-COOH. ε-PL possesses many excellent characteristics, such as antimicrobial activity, edibility, water solubility, biodegradability, thermostability and nontoxicity. As a natural and safe food preservative, ε-PL possesses many excellent advantages such as thermal stability, edibility, water solubility, degradability, and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and has been successfully utilized in Japan, South Korea, the United States, China and other countries. ε-PL is usually produced by fermentation with Streptomyces albulus, and improving ε-PL-producing stains is crucial for enhancing ε-PL production and reducing costs. At present, researchers have obtained microbial strains capable of producing high levels of ε-PL by using physicochemical mutagenesis, ribosome engineering, genome shuffling, genetic engineering and other methods. This review introduces the mechanism of ε-PL biosynthesis and recent progress in strain improvement for the production of ε-PL, and gives an overview of the fermentation process of ε-PL. Finally, this review concludes with an outlook on future research directions. We hope that this review can help promote strain improvement for green biological manufacturing of ε-poly-L-lysine.

Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a key parameter controlling the short-term carbon (C) cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. The effect of urea application (156 kg N ha-1) and corn stalks returning (9.0 tons ha-1) on soil microbial CUE and corn yield in semi-arid cropland was studied using the 18O-labeled water approach during a one-year experiment. In semi-arid cropland, applying urea reduced soil microbial CUE by 44%, while the soil microbial CUE was increased significantly by 34% after returning corn stalks to the field. The application of urea increased the total nitrogen content of soil by 23%, and corn stalks returning further increased nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) by 45%, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by 53%, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) by 122%. Compared with no fertilization, urea application increased the corn height by 4% and the corn yield by 21%. Corn stalks returning combined with urea reduced the corn stalks by 37% compared with no fertilizer. There was no significant difference in corn yield between corn stalks returning combined with urea and single urea application. Therefore, corn stalks returning combined with urea may be an effective agronomic measure to increase soil carbon sequestration, improve soil fertility, maintain corn yield, restore soil fertility, and improve production capacity.

This study aimed to reveal the influence of different free-iron-oxides contents on the strength and deformation characteristics of in situ lateritic soil. A test method that combined the selective chemical dissolution method and in situ Ménard pressuremeter test (PMT) was proposed. The soaking time in dithionite–citrate–bicarbonate (DCB) solution was used as a variable to control the free-iron-oxides content in lateritic soil. Then, the in situ lateritic soil boreholes with different soaking time were tested by PMT. The results showed that the in situ horizontal pressure p0, critical edge pressure pf, ultimate pressure prediction pl, pressuremeter modulus Em, shear modulus Gm, and foundation-bearing capacity f0k of lateritic soil decreased rapidly after immersing in DCB solution within 1–4 d. With increasing soaking time, the decrease rate reduced gradually. Moreover, the relationship curve between free-iron-oxides content and soaking time declined rapidly and then stabilized, and the free-iron-oxides content at the inflection point was 30.11 g/kg. When the free-iron-oxides content changed to the inflection point, the free-iron-oxides that played a cementing role was largely removed, indicating that the effective cementing iron-content of Miaoling lateritic soil was about 52.9%. This study demonstrated that the proposed test method can determine the influence of free-iron-oxides content on the strength and deformation characteristics of lateritic soil.

Midori is a lightweight block cipher designed by Banik et al. and presented at the ASIACRYPT 2015 conference. According to the block size, it consists of two algorithms, denoted as Midori-64 and Midori-128. Midori generates 8-bit S-Boxes from 4-bit S-Boxes and applies almost MDS matrices instead of MDS matrices. In this paper, we introduce the meet-in-the-middle fault attack model in the 4-round cell-oriented fault propagation trail and reduce the key space in the last round by $ 2^{45.71} $ and $ 2^{39.86} $ for Midori-64 and Midori-128, respectively. For Midori-64, we reduce the time complexity from $ 2^{80} $ to $ 2^{28} $, $ 2^{32} $ and $ 2^{56} $ for the different single fault injection approaches. For Midori-128, we provide a 4-round fault attack method, which slightly increases the complexity compared to previous attacks. Our results indicate that the first and last four rounds of Midori must be protected to achieve its security.

Lightweight cryptography algorithms are a class of ciphers designed to protect data generated and transmitted by the Internet of Things. They typically have low requirements in terms of storage space and power consumption, and are well-suited for resource-limited application scenarios such as embedded systems, actuators, and sensors. The NIST-approved competition for lightweight cryptography aims to identify lightweight cryptographic algorithms that can serve as standards. Its objective is to enhance data security in various scenarios. Among the chosen standards for lightweight cryptography, ASCON has been selected. ASCON-HASH is a hash function within the ASCON family. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the differential characteristics of ASCON-HASH, utilizing the quadratic S-box. Additionally, we employ message modification techniques and ultimately demonstrate a non-practical collision attack on the 2-round ASCON-HASH, requiring a time complexity of 298 hash function calls.

The boiler combustion process contains complex physicochemical changes, which is a nonlinear time-varying industrial process with strong interference and multivariate strong coupling. For this kind of boiler combustion process with typical nonlinear characteristics and complex mechanism, it is difficult to establish an accurate mechanism model by conventional modeling methods, so it is difficult to meet the new requirements for the optimal control of the boiler. The large amount of data accumulated in the operation process contains rich system information, and the data-driven modeling and control method provides an effective way for the operation optimization of the unit. Data dynamic characterization and control technology is an important means of data mining, coal-fired boiler data has obvious temporal and drift characteristics, for the current data tracking and supervision algorithms mostly lack of dynamics, real-time and stability issues, design an adaptive clustering model based on the improved growth of neural gas model (GNG), the establishment of nodes based on the probability, the range of the search, the average distance of node A node generation and deletion mechanism based on probability, range search and average distance of nodes is established to realize real-time monitoring of drift data. Finally, the experiments are carried out by analyzing the dynamic data of coal-fired boiler, and the experimental results show that the model and algorithm have stronger real-time tracking ability for dynamic drift data, and can accurately and effectively monitor and control the dynamic data of coal-fired boiler.

Emergency disposal is a critical aspect for railway stations to ensure safety. This requires the implementation of emergency plan simulations and cost-effective immersive drills. In the paper, we incorporate a set of disposals for events into emergency processes and model the personnel, supplies, and equipment to create multiple emergency scenarios. Additionally, we introduce a digital twin-based solution for multiple scenarios of emergencies. This solution completely restores the key components of a station in the information space and provides an immersive way for emergency disposals. The four-dimensional model used in the solution simulates and interacts with the station, and it is composed of the details of passenger station physical entity, multi-scenario emergency virtual entity, digital twin connection, and emergency twin service. The digital twin for versatile emergency events such as fire disaster, natural disaster (e.g., flood, earthquake), social security incident, and public health event have been constructed using the model. The solution was tested at Qinghe, a station during Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway in China. By utilizing the actual operation data of Qinghe, we validated the multi-scenario emergency drills, simulated the corresponding emergency disposal plans, and assessed the proposed solution from three aspects: the fidelity of the real-world simulation, coverage of the multiple emergency scenarios, and the user-friendliness. The evaluations indicate that the proposed solution attains good score and the acceptable level of system usability scale.

The effects of maize/peanut intercropping on crop yields, peanut nodulation, biological nitrogen (N) fixation in peanuts, crop N uptake, and N use efficiency under different N application rates were studied. A long-term maize/peanut intercropping micro-plot experiment was started in 2015. The experiment included the following three planting patterns: maize sole crop (SM), peanut sole crop (SP), and maize and peanut intercropping (intercropping maize: IM; intercropping peanut: IP). Additionally, three N application rates were tested as follows: 0 kg·ha−1 (N0), 150 kg·ha−1 (N150), and 300 kg·ha−1 (N300). The results indicated that N fertilization significantly increased maize yield. Intercropping increased maize yield while decreasing peanut yield across different N application rates. Both N fertilization and intercropping significantly increased the maize harvest index (HI), whereas intercropping decreased the peanut HI under N300. The number and fresh weight of peanut nodules decreased with the increasing N application rate with reductions ranging from 31.15% to 45.23% and 39.60% to 46.67%, respectively. Intercropping increased the number of peanut nodules by an average of 62.56% under the N0 treatment. Intercropping significantly improved the N absorption capacity of the whole intercropping system, and the contribution of maize was higher than that of peanuts. Maize demonstrated a stronger competitive ability for N uptake compared with peanuts in the intercropping system. Intercropping significantly increased the N use efficiency for both maize and peanuts. However, the N use efficiency of maize increased with N application rates, while that of peanut decreased. Compared with sole crops, intercropping increased the partial factor productivity of maize by 55.2% but decreased that of peanuts by 56.3%. In conclusion, at an N application rate of 150 kg·ha−1, maize/peanut intercropping increased overall crop yield and improved the N absorption and use capacity of maize

Maize/peanut intercropping is practiced widely to increase land productivity and considered a sustainable way for using and saving resources through peanut’s complementary N source via biological N2 fixation. Our study aims to understand how maize/peanut intercropping affects the nodulation of peanuts under water-limiting conditions and different nitrogen inputs. A two-year micro-plot experiment in 2015–2016 and a two-year field experiment in 2017–2018 were conducted to quantify nodulation in maize/peanut intercropping and sole peanut cropping under four N fertilization rates (N-free, low, medium, and high N) in rain-fed water-limited conditions. In the micro-plot experiment, intercropped peanuts increased nodule biomass compared to sole peanuts. The nodule number of intercropped peanuts was 51.6% (p = 0.001) higher than that of sole cropped peanuts, while nodule weights did not differ at high N fertilization rates and were lower in the no-N fertilization control. However, the results were different in the field experiment. Both the nodule number and single weight of the sole cropped peanut were 48.7% (p = 0.020) and 58.9% (p = 0.014) higher than that of the intercropped peanut. The ratio of the nodule weight to aboveground dry matter at the beginning peg in the dry year of 2017 was lower in intercropping than sole cropping, especially at low N fertilization rates. The potential increase in nodulation found in a well-controlled micro-plot environment might be limited by strong water and light competitions in field conditions. The results could contribute to the understanding of interspecific interactions in cereal/legume intercropping.

Maize/peanut intercropping may improve soil health through reducing nitrogen (N) fertilization. However, the effects of maize/peanut intercropping combined with reduced N fertilization on the soil fungal community structure have not been well reported. Using a long-term localized micro-zone experiment, we investigated the combined effects of intercropping and N fertilizer application on soil fungal community diversity and composition. Three cropping patterns (maize/peanut intercropping, maize monoculture, and peanut monoculture) and three N application levels (0 kg·hm−2, 150 kg·hm−2, and 300 kg·hm−2) were assessed. The results showed that the total numbers of fungal species and unique species (operational taxonomic units, OTUs) in both maize and peanut soils tended to first increase and then decrease with increasing N application. Compared with monoculture, the numbers of total OTUs and unique OTUs in intercropped maize soil decreased by 4.14% and 12.79%, respectively, but the total numbers of OTUs and unique OTUs in peanut soil increased by 1.08% and 3.78%, respectively. With increasing N application, the soil fungal Ace and Chao indices of maize soil first increased and then decreased, while the fungal Shannon, Ace, and Chao indices of peanut soil decreased. Compared with the monoculture system, intercropping significantly reduced the maize soil fungal Ace and Chao indices but increased the peanut soil fungal Shannon, Ace, and Chao indices. Nitrogen application and intercropping significantly altered the fungal community structure of maize soil, while N application had no significant effect on the fungal community structure of peanut soil, though intercropping significantly changed the fungal community structure of peanut soil. At the phylum level, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, unclassified_k_Fungi, and Chytridiomycota were the dominant taxa. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that soil nitrate (NO3−) content was the main environmental factor shaping the soil fungal community. In conclusion, excessive N fertilization (300 kg·hm−2) can reduce soil fungal community diversity; maize/peanut intercropping reversed the negative effect of N application on fungal community of peanut soil, but not that of maize soil. Soil NO3− content is the primary environmental driver of soil fungal communities.