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This work presents a novel InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode, fabricated in the separate absorption, grading, charge, and multiplication configuration operated at non-cryogenic conditions under low-frequency ramp gating. An optimized three stage InP multiplication layer of $1\mu m$ thickness offers an extended linear mode operation by reducing the punch-through voltage, and indefinitely increasing the avalanche threshold voltage. A large background dark current is observed following steady, and linear multiplication in approximately direct relationship with the ramp gating. For 1310 nm short-wave infrared, normal incidence pulsed illumination at instant-to-peak voltage ratios of $(0.11,0.2,0.6, 0.89, 0.98, 0.9)$ , a sort of negative differential resistance is incorporated into the device in a qualitative sense, owing to the illumination induced switching/variations in the intrinsic values of electron, and hole avalanche coefficients in the multiplication region. Under fixed illumination, an interesting deduction from the transient photo response is the slow quenching phenomenon prolonging $\sim 120 \mu s$ for all the electrical field establishments in the device. The related measurement scheme paves the way for futuristic ramp-driven InGaAs/InP APDs for detecting SWIR wavelengths under required low power consumption environments.

Laser junction temperature (Tj) is an essential parameter that directly affects the light power and lifetime of semiconductor lasers. Here, we investigate the effect of Tj on an InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) laser grown on a Si(001) substrate. Under 1% low pulsed current (1 µs pulse width and 100 µs period), the pure temperature-induced mode shift rate is 0.084 nm/°C. By increasing the duty cycle and measuring the corresponding mode wavelength shift, the laser’s Tj under the continuous-wave (Tj-CW) mode is predicted to be from 31.1 to 81.6 °C when the injection current increases from 100 to 550 mA. Next, the average thermal resistance is 36.2 °C/W. Moreover, the non-negligible increase in Tj-CW is analyzed to significantly reduce the mean-time-to-failure of Si-based QD laser, especially for cases under high CW injection currents. These results provide an accurate reference for the thermal analysis of silicon-based QD lasers and point the way to high performance on-chip light sources by improving the laser heat accumulation.

Traditional battery management systems (BMS) encounter significant challenges, including low precision in predicting battery states and complexities in managing batteries, primarily due to the scarcity of collected signals. The advancement towards a “smart battery”, equipped with diverse sensor types, promises to mitigate these issues. This review highlights the latest developments in smart sensing technologies for batteries, encompassing electrical, thermal, mechanical, acoustic, and gas sensors. Specifically, we address how these different signals are perceived and how these varied signals could enhance our comprehension of battery aging, failure, and thermal runaway mechanisms, contributing to the creation of BMS that are safer and more reliable. Moreover, we analyze the limitations and challenges faced by different sensor applications and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each sensing technology. Conclusively, we present a perspective on overcoming future hurdles in smart battery development, focusing on appropriate sensor design, optimized integration processes, efficient signal transmission, and advanced management systems.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multifactor, multiple genes disease which involving a variety of mechanisms. Neuroinflammatory response is one of the mechanisms. Many inflammatory cytokines are involved. It may be used in clinic as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Many proteins encoded by mutant genes can damage the function of immune system, lead to immune dysfunction and drive the inflammatory response of central nervous system and peripheral immune system. There are many kinds of inflammatory cytokines with great diversification in their levels which influenced by the stage, type and comorbidity of the disease, the results are not consistent at present, and there is no single inflammatory cytokine identified as a specific marker. Inflammatory cytokines have a certain prospect as therapeutic monitoring markers and targets.

The Kuanchuanpu biota (ca. 535 Ma) from the basal Cambrian in South China yields various phosphatized, three-dimensionally preserved microscopic fossils, such as animal embryos, cyanobacteria, and algae. This provides an exceptional window for investigating the rapid divergent evolution of animal phyla in the early Cambrian ocean. However, the fossil eukaryotic algae are poorly documented and are not properly incorporated into the conceptual food web of the Cambrian ocean ecosystem. In this study, we report a new taxon of calathiform alga, Calathophycus irregulatus Tang gen. et sp. nov., and an indeterminate alga, from the Kuanchuanpu biota. Calathophycus irregulatus can be distinguished from other reported phosphatized multicellular algal fossils from the Kuanchuanpu biota and the Ediacaran Weng’an biota (Guizhou Province, China), based on the external morphology and features of cell clump aggregation. The observation of C. irregulatus and the indeterminate alga indicates a certain diversity of algae at the beginning of the Cambrian. Concerning the regularly or irregularly shaped multicellular algal fossils from the Kuanchuanpu Formation, co-occurring spherical fossils, previously interpreted as “cleavage stage” of animal embryos, should be reconsidered in affinity.

Serine protease 50 (PRSS50/TSP50) is highly expressed in spermatocytes. Our study investigated its role in testicular development and spermatogenesis. Initially, PRSS50 knockdown was observed to impair DNA synthesis in spermatocytes. To further explore this, we generated PRSS50 knockout (Prss50−/−) mice (Mus musculus), which exhibited abnormal spermatid nuclear compression and reduced male fertility. Furthermore, dysplastic seminiferous tubules and decreased sex hormones were observed in 4-week-old Prss50−/− mice, accompanied by meiotic progression defects and increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells. Mechanistic analysis indicated that PRSS50 deletion resulted in increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and elevated levels of MAP kinase phosphatase 3 (MKP3), a specific ERK antagonist, potentially accounting for testicular dysplasia in adolescent Prss50−/− mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that PRSS50 plays an important role in testicular development and spermatogenesis, with the MKP3/ERK signaling pathway playing a significant role in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The incidence of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures is increasing every year. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can shed new light on the treatment of osteoporosis. This study aimed to explore the role and mechanism of paeoniflorin in promoting osteogenic differentiation of an osteoblast precursor cell line (MC3T3-E1). Methods MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in osteogenic induction medium (OIM) and OIM combined with different concentrations of paeoniflorin. The optimal dose of paeoniflorin was assessed by a cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Then, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining were performed to assess the osteogenic capacity of paeoniflorin. The transcription of osteogenic genes and the expression of osteogenic proteins were assessed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The transcription of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway genes and proteins was assessed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Finally, Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1), a Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway inhibitor, was used to identify whether the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was involved in the osteogenic differentiation of paeoniflorin. Osteoclastogenesis in RAW264.7 cells was identified by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. Results At concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 100 μM, paeoniflorin was not cytotoxic to MC3T3-E1 cells. Paeoniflorin significantly increased the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, paeoniflorin significantly increased osteogenic differentiation gene and protein expression. Through bioinformatic analysis, paeoniflorin-affected genes were found to be involved in different signaling pathways, such as the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Paeoniflorin enhanced β-catenin and CyclinD1 expression compared with that of the control groups. DKK-1 partially reversed the promoting effects of paeoniflorin in promoting osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Moreover, paeoniflorin inhibited the osteoclastogenesis of RAW264.7 cells. Conclusion Paeoniflorin promotes osteogenic differentiation in MC3T3-E1 cells by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Paeoniflorin is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Northeast China (NEC) is one of the major maize production areas in China. Agro-climatic resources have obviously changed, which will seriously affect crop growth and development in this region. It is important to investigate the contribution of climate change adaptation measures to the yield and resource use efficiency to improve our understanding of how we can effectively ensure high yield and high efficiency in the future. In this study, we divided the study area into five accumulated temperature zones (ATZs) based on growing degree days (GDD). Based on the meteorological data, maize data (from agro-meteorological stations) and the validated APSIM-Maize Model, we first investigated the spatial distributions and temporal trends of maize potential yield of actual planted cultivars, and revealed the radiation use efficiency (RUE) and heat resource use efficiency (HUE) from 1981 to 2017. Then according to the potential growing seasons and actual growing seasons, we identified the utilization percentages of radiation (PR) resource and heat resource (PH) for each ATZ under potential production from 1981 to 2017. Finally, we quantified the contributions of cultivar changings to yield, PR and PH of maize. The results showed that during the past 37 years, the estimated mean potential yield of actual planted cultivars was 13 649 kg ha–1, ranged from 11 205 to 15 257 kg ha–1, and increased by 140 kg ha–1 per decade. For potential production, the mean values of RUE and HUE for the actual planted maize cultivars were 1.22 g MJ–1 and 8.58 kg (°C d)–1 ha–1. RUE showed an increasing tendency, while HUE showed a decreasing tendency. The lengths of the potential growing season and actual growing season were 158 and 123 d, and increased by 2 and 1 d per decade. PR and PH under potential production were 82 and 86%, respectively and showed a decreasing tendency during the past 37 years. This indicates that actual planted cultivars failed to make full use of climate resources. However, results from the adaptation assessments indicate that, adoption of cultivars with growing season increased by 2–11 d among ATZs caused increase in yield, PR and PH of 0.6–1.7%, 1.1–7.6% and 1.5–8.9%, respectively. Therefore, introduction of cultivars with longer growing season can effectively increase the radiation and heat utilization percentages and potential yield.

Bus hub is characterized with multiple berths, each serving specific bus routes. When bus routes at different berths share the same stops en route, passengers to the shared stops may rush among these berths to catch the newly arriving bus, causing inconvenience and deteriorating bus service level. Thus, this research attempts to optimize bus route assignment to the berths at a bus hub to minimize passenger transfer distance among the optional berths. The problem is modeled with integer linear programming, with the constraints of bus service capacity. To enhance computation efficiency, exclusive and inclusive constraints based on the count of shared stops among the bus routes are additionally added to the original model, though they may bring gap from the optimal solution. Case study follows to apply the proposed set of models to a bus terminal, where a total of 26 routes are assigned to 11 berths. It is found that the models with additional constraints can greatly reduce calculation time at the cost of small or no gap from the optimal solution. Thus, the models with additional constraints are recommended to obtain ideal solution quickly. This research provides insights into bus route management at the bus terminal with multiple berths, contributing to enhanced passenger waiting experience.

Three types of steels were designed on the basis of GX40CrNiSi25-12 austenitic heat resistant steel by adding different Mn contents (2wt.%, 6wt.%, and 12wt.%). Thermodynamic calculation, microstructure characterization and mechanical property tests were conducted to investigate the effect of Mn addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the austenitic heat resistant steel. Results show that the matrix structure in all the three types of steels at room temperature is completely austenite. Carbides NbC and M23C6 precipitate at grain boundaries of austenite matrix. With the increase of Mn content, the number of carbides increases and their distribution becomes more uniform. With the Mn content increases from 1.99% to 12.06%, the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation increase by 14.6%, 8.0% and 46.3%, respectively. The improvement of the mechanical properties of austenitic steels can be explained by utilizing classic theories of alloy strengthening, including solid solution strengthening, precipitation strengthening, and grain refinement. The increase in alloy strength can be attributed to solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening caused by the addition of Mn. The improvement of the plasticity of austenitic steels can be explained from two aspects: grain refinement and homogenization of precipitated phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the subchronic toxicity of GmDREB3 gene modified wheat in the third generation rats. SPF Wistar rats were fed with transgenic wheat diet (Gm), parental wheat diet (Jimai22) and AIN-93 rodent diet (Control), respectively, for two generations, to produce the third generation rats which were used for this study. The selected fresh weaned offspring rats (20/sex/group) were given the same diet as their parents for 13 weeks. No toxicity-related changes were observed in rats fed with Gm diet in the following respects: clinical signs, body weights, body weight gains, food consumption, food utilization rate, urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry and histopathology. The results from the present study demonstrated that 13 weeks consumption of Gm wheat did not cause any adverse effects in the third generation rats when compared with the corresponding Jimai22 wheat.

We report on the significantly improved linewidth enhancement factor (αH-factor) of 1.3-µm InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers by direct Si doping, compared with ones having identical structures but without the Si doping. It is found that the αH-factors for the ground-state and first excited-state at their gain peak positions of the Si-doped QD lasers are 1.48 and 0.63 while those of the undoped QD lasers are 2.07 and 1.07, greatly decreasing by about 28.5% and 41.1%, respectively. Furthermore, theoretical calculation and analysis suggest that direct Si doping would increase the electron quasi-Fermi level in conduction, leading to the increase in population inversion. Meanwhile, the appearance of a built-in electric field caused by the Si doping would accelerate the capture of electrons into QDs and strengthen the confinement effect of electrons, resulting in an increased differential gain.

About 90% of traffic crashes are caused by human factors, within which traffic violations are one of the most typical and common causes. In order to investigate the relationship between traffic violations and traffic crashes, this research targets signalized intersections in two Chinese cities: Yinchuan and Suqian. Thirty-one intersections are selected as the research sites, and additionally, the traffic volume, traffic violation, and traffic crash data of each intersection are collected for one year. A White’s test is conducted to test the homoscedasticity of the data and a multiple linear regression model is employed to investigate the relationship between traffic crashes and violations. The results show the following: (1) although the research sites are located in two different cities, the data is homoscedastic, which suggests that the above result may be statistically stable between different cities. (2) There is a significant multiple linear regression relationship (R2 = 0.782, adjusted R2 = 0.716) between the total number of traffic crashes and traffic violations. Among the chosen 7 independent variables, four are significantly related to the dependent variable, namely, driving commercial vehicle during internship, wrong-way entry, speeding, and traffic-light violation. (3) With the increase of annual average daily traffic (AADT), the number of total crashes goes up; however, the injury-or-fatality rate decreases, which means that intersections with smaller traffic volumes tend to have higher traffic crash severity. Based on the above conclusions, it is possible to conduct more targeted enforcement to improve the safety of intersections.

It is necessary to improve the output power and spectral width of superluminescent diodes (SLDs) simultaneously. In this paper, we show that both the output power and the spectral width of the SLDs based on InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) can be significantly enhanced by direct Si-doping in the QDs. The maximum output power of the Si-doped QD-SLD reaches 20.5 mW at an injection current of 570 mA, while that of the undoped one with an identical structure is only 17.8 mW at the injection current of 550 mA. Moreover, the broadest spectral width of the doped QD-SLD is 105 nm, while that of the undoped QD-SLD is 93 nm. The enhanced performance of the doped QD-SLDs can be attributed to the direct Si doping that leads to inactivating the nonradiative recombination centers within or near the QDs and provides excess carriers to occupy the higher excited states.

Tumor plasticity refers to tumor cell's inherent property of transforming one type of cell to different types of cells. Tumor plasticity is the main cause of tumor relapse, metastasis and drug resistance. Cancer stem cell (CSC) model embodies the trait of tumor plasticity. During carcinoma progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays crucial role in the formation of CSCs and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) based on epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity. And the unique tumor microenvironment (TME) not only provides suitable niche for CSCs but promotes the building of CSCs and VM that nourishes tumor tissue together with neoplasm metabolism by affecting tumor plasticity. Therapeutic strategies targeting tumor plasticity are promising ways to treat malignant tumor. In this article, we discuss the recent developments of potential drug targets related to CSCs, EMT, TME, VM, and metabolic pathways and summarize drugs that target these areas in clinical trials.

Two-stop-line signalized roundabouts (TSLSR) are widely utilized in China. To calculate the capacity and optimal cycle length accurately, a model considering internal space constraint of the roundabout is developed in this paper. Firstly, the operational principle of TSLSR is analyzed. TSLSR is modeled as being equivalent to a four-phase intersection with left-turn protection phases, and the left-turn lane is further simplified as the “short-lane model”. Secondly, based on the above analysis, the capacity of TSLSR is modeled and additionally, the accuracy and sensitivity of the model are also analyzed. Finally, the optimal cycle length of TSLSR which maximizes the capacity is put forward. Results show that the accuracy of the capacity model is low without considering the internal space constraint of the roundabout. However, the model developed in this paper is shown to improve the accuracy (about 20%) and control the relative error to be within 10%. The parameter sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the cycle length and radius of the central island have a significant influence on the capacity of the left-turn lane and results in an optimal value of signal cycle length maximizing the capacity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum zinc status of pregnant women in the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (CACDNS) in 2015–2016. Methods: A total of 7147 apparently healthy pregnant women were randomly selected in 302 national monitoring sites. Information on age, race, residence region, education, pregnancy, and family income per annum was collected, and the concentration of serum zinc was determined. The evaluation of serum zinc status was further performed according to the recommendations by the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). Results: The median concentration of serum zinc was 858.9 μg/L with an interquartile range (IQR) of 712.9 μg/L and 1048.9 μg/L, while the overall prevalence of zinc deficiency was 3.5% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 3.0% and 3.9%. Serum zinc status of pregnant women changed greatly in the different categories, particular in pregnancy and family income per annum (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of zinc deficiency (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The lower prevalence of zinc deficiency generally indicated a better zinc status for pregnant women in the CACDNS in 2015–2016. However, a well-designed evaluation system of zinc status for pregnant women should be continually optimized and improved by inducing more parameters such as biochemical, dietary, or functional indicators.

Aiming to realize high-speed optical transmitters for isolator-free telecommunication systems, 1.3 μm p-modulation doped InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers with a 400 μm long cavity have been reported. Compared with the un-doped QD laser as a reference, the p-doped QD laser emits at ground state, with an ultra-low threshold current and a high maximum output power. The p-doped QD laser also shows enhanced dynamic characteristics, with a 10 Gb/s large-signal direct modulation rate and a 7.8 GHz 3dB-bandwidth. In addition, the p-doped QD laser exhibits a strong coherent optical feedback resistance, which might be beyond −9 dB.

Based on climate data from 254 meteorological stations, this study estimated the effects of climate change on rice planting boundaries and potential yields in the southern China during 1951–2010. The results indicated a significant northward shift and westward expansion of northern boundaries for rice planting in the southern China. Compared with the period of 1951–1980, the average temperature during rice growing season in the period of 1981–2010 increased by 0.4°C, and the northern planting boundaries for single rice cropping system (SRCS), early triple cropping rice system (ETCRS), medium triple cropping rice system (MTCRS), and late triple cropping rice system (LTCRS) moved northward by 10, 30, 52 and 66 km, respectively. In addition, compared with the period of 1951–1980, the suitable planting area for SRCS was reduced by 11% during the period of 1981–2010. However, the suitable planting areas for other rice cropping systems increased, with the increasing amplitude of 3, 8, and 10% for ETCRS, MTCRS and LTCRS, respectively. In general, the light and temperature potential productivity of rice decreased by 2.5%. Without considering the change of rice cultivars, the northern planting boundaries for different rice cropping systems showed a northward shift tendency. Climate change resulted in decrease of per unit area yield for SRCS and the annual average yields of ETCRS and LTCRS. Nevertheless, the overall rice production in the entire research area showed a decreasing trend even with the increasing trend of annual average yield for MTCRS.

Previous studies demonstrated climate change had reduced rice yield in China, but the magnitude of the reduction and the spatial variations of the impact have remained in controversy to date. Based on a gridded daily weather dataset, we found there were obvious changes in temperatures, diurnal temperature range, and radiation during the rice-growing season from 1961 to 2010 in China. These changes resulted in a significant decline of simulated national rice yield (simulated with CERES-Rice), with a magnitude of 11.5%. However, changes in growing-season radiation and diurnal temperature range, not growing-season temperatures, contributed most to the simulated yield reduction, which confirmed previous estimates by empirical studies. Yield responses to changes of the climatic variables varied across different rice production areas. In rice production areas with the mean growing-season temperature at 12–14°C and above 20°C, a 1°C growing-season warming decreased rice yield by roughly 4%. This decrease was partly attributed to increased heat stresses and shorter growth period under the warmer climate. In some rice areas of the southern China and the Yangtze River Basin where the rice growing-season temperature was greater than 20°C, decrease in the growing-season radiation partly interpreted the widespread yield decline of the simulation, suggesting the significant negative contribution of recent global dimming on rice production in China's main rice areas. Whereas in the northern rice production areas with relatively low growing-season temperature, decrease of the diurnal temperature range was identified as the main climatic contributor for the decline of simulated rice yield, with larger decreasing magnitude under cooler areas.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an important mitochondria-bound enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative deamination of monoamine neurotransmitters. Accumulating evidence suggests a significant association of increased MAOA expression and advanced high-grade prostate cancer (PCa) progression and metastasis. Herein, a series of novel conjugates combining the MAOA inhibitor isoniazid (INH) and tumor-targeting near-infrared (NIR) heptamethine cyanine dyes were designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds G1–G13 were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity against PC-3 cells using the MTT assay, and molecular docking studies were performed. Results showed that most tested compounds exhibited improved antitumor efficacy compared with INH. Moreover, conjugates G10 and G11 showed potent anticancer activity with IC50 values (0.85 and 0.4 μM respectively) comparable to that of doxorubicin (DOX). This may be attributable to the preferential accumulation of these conjugates in tumor cells. G10, G11, and G12 also demonstrated moderate MAOA inhibitory activities. This result and the results of molecular docking studies were consistent with their cytotoxicity activities. Taken together, these data suggest that a combination of the MAOA inhibitor INH with tumor-targeting heptamethine cyanine dyes may prove to be a highly promising tool for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

The spatiotemporal characteristics of hydrothermal resources in southern rice production area of China have changed under the background of climate change, and this change would affect the effectiveness of hydrothermal resources during local rice growing period. According to the cropping system subdivision in southern rice production area of China during 1980s, this study used climate data from 254 meteorological stations and phonological data from 168 agricultural observation stations in the south of China, and adopted 6 international evaluation indices about the effectiveness of hydrothermal resources to analyze the temporal and spatial characteristics of hydrothermal resources during the growing period of single cropping rice system and double cropping rice system for 16 planting zones in the whole study area. The results showed that: in southern rice production area of China, the effectiveness of thermal resources of single cropping rice area (SCRA) was less than that of double cropping rice area (DCRA), whereas the effectiveness of thermal resources of both SARA and DCRA showed a decreasing trend. The index value of effective precipitation satisfaction of SCRA was higher than that of DCRA, nevertheless the index value of effective precipitation satisfaction of both SCRA and DCRA showed a decreasing trend. There was a significant linear relationship between effective thermal resource and water demand, likely water demand increased by 18 mm with every 100°C d increase of effective heat. Effective precipitation satisfaction index (EPSI) showed a negative correlation with effective heat, yet showed a positive correlation with effective precipitation. EPSI reduced by 1% when effective heat resource increased by 125°C d. This study could provide insights for policy makers, land managers or farmers to improve water and heat resource uses and rationally arrange rice production activities under global climate change condition.