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Background: Previous studies have shown that the addition of platinum to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) improved outcomes for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, no studies have assessed the efficacy and safety of the combination of taxane and lobaplatin. In this study, we conducted a randomized controlled phase II clinical study to compare the efficacy and safety of taxane combined with lobaplatin or anthracycline. Methods: We randomly allocated patients with stage I–III TNBC into Arm A and Arm B. Arm A received six cycles of taxane combined with lobaplatin (TL). Arm B received six cycles of taxane combined with anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (TEC) or eight cycles of anthracycline combined with cyclophosphamide and sequential use of taxane (EC-T). Both Arms underwent surgery after NAC. The primary endpoint was the pathologic complete response (pCR). Secondary endpoints were event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: A total of 103 patients (51 in Arm A and 52 in Arm B) were assessed. The pCR rate of Arm A was significantly higher than that of Arm B (41.2% vs. 21.2%, P = 0.028). Patients with positive lymph nodes and low neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) benefited significantly more from Arm A than those with negative lymph nodes and high NLR (Pinteraction = 0.001, Pinteraction = 0.012, respectively). There was no significant difference in EFS (P = 0.895) or OS (P = 0.633) between the two arms. The prevalence of grade-3/4 anemia was higher in Arm A (P = 0.015), and the prevalence of grade-3/4 neutropenia was higher in Arm B (P = 0.044). Conclusions: Neoadjuvant taxane plus lobaplatin has shown better efficacy than taxane plus anthracycline, and both regimens have similar toxicity profiles. This trial may provide a reference for a better combination strategy of immunotherapy in NAC for TNBC in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn this report, new self-healing hydrogels were obtained through simple one-pot free radical polymerization of acrylamide, phenylboronic acid, and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate as copolymer monomers, potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator, and tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) as promoter under low-temperature alkaline (pH = 9) conditions. The boronic acid group of phenylboronic acid (PBA) can interact with the hydroxyl group of hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) to form dynamic boronic ester bonds instead of the conventional bis acrylate crosslinkers. The effect of PBA content on the mechanical strength of the hydrogels was systematically investigated. The hydrogels exhibited higher stress, elongation, and self-healing properties due to the synergistic effect of H-bonds and boronate-diol complexation. Further studies revealed that the A–H–0.2–P–0.08 hydrogels exhibited excellent resistance to compression fatigue and also showed good biocompatibility through in vitro cytotoxicity tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies focused on morphological variation are key for chrono- and biostratigraphy. Morphological variability can be induced by biological and taphonomical biases. Their distinction can become a difficult task due to the lack of population control. Here, we analyse three populations belonging to the genus Protoryctocephalus, two populations from China (P. arcticus and P. balangensis) and a third population of P. arcticus from Greenland. Protoryctocephalus balangensis was collected from the lowermost part of the Kaili Formation where fossils are tectonically deformed while P. arcticus from the 'Tsinghsutung' and Greenland specimens are non-deformed. Geometric morphometrics analysis shows that these three populations indeed belong to the same species. However, the large allometry measured in P. balangensis compared with the 'Tsinghsutung' population and the Greenland population, which is represented by meraspid and early holaspid individuals, suggested that the morphological variation is taphonomically controlled and non-biological. The results suggest that Protoryctocephalus arcticus from the 'Tsinghsutung' Formation is suitable for international correlation, and further studies focus on different aspects such as ontogeny, segment development or fluctuating asymmetry and modularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we reported the synthesis of a new family of thermal stable Ba 3 V 2-x Mn x O 8 blue-green pigment materials based on the [MnO 4 ]3- (V) chromophore. All samples were synthesized by a conventional high-temperature solid state method. Powder X-ray diffraction results showed that the structures of the as-prepared materials were hexagonal crystal system and the space group was R-3m. Infrared and Raman spectra indicated random disorder and structural modification of the pigment. Diffuse reflection spectra were obtained over the range of wavelength 200–1200 nm indicated that the blue-green color of the pigment is caused by optical absorption due to the CT transition in the tetrahedral MnO 4 and the d-d transition of Mn5+ in the yellow-red light region. With the increase of temperature, the color of the pigment basically remains unchanged, showing the good thermal stability. Thus, this paper provides a family of new thermal stable blue-green pigment based on tetrahedral Mn(V) coordination with potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we are concerned with plane wave discontinuous Galerkin (PWDG) methods for time-harmonic Maxwell equations in three-dimensional anisotropic media, for which the coefficients of the equations are piecewise constant symmetric matrices, where each constant symmetric matrix is defined on a medium (subdomain). By using suitable scaling transformations and coordinate (complex) transformations on every subdomain, the original Maxwell equation in anisotropic media is transformed into a Maxwell equation in isotropic media occupying a union domain of specific subdomains of complex Euclidean space. Based on these transformations, we define anisotropic plane wave basis functions and discretize the considered Maxwell equations by PWDG method with the proposed plane wave basis functions. We derive error estimates of the resulting approximate solutions, and further introduce a practically feasible local hp-refinement algorithm, which substantially improves accuracies of the approximate solutions. Numerical results indicate that the approximate solutions generated by the proposed PWDG methods possess high accuracy for the case of strong discontinuity media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) have demonstrated great potential in energy storage devices due to their versatile structures and composite functionalities. However, the application of TMCs in potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) suffers from the issues of large volume expansion, polysulfide dissolution, and sluggish kinetics. To overcome these challenges, this work develops nano-flower-like MnS-Co 3 S 4 confined in poly-pyrrole (PPY) carbon nanotube (denoted as MS-CS-PPY) as an excellent anode in PIBs. The nitrogen-doped PPY framework facilitates the interface electron transfer, confines active materials MS-CS effectively, and mitigates the volume change, thus resulting in boosted reaction kinetics and exceptional cycling stability. TMCs induce the surface capacitance and enable the chemical anchoring of the charge/discharge products during the potassium/de-potassium process. Moreover, this work reveals the potassium/de-potassium reaction mechanism, redox kinetics, and solid electrolyte interphase formation of MS-CS-PPY in different electrolytes through theoretical calculations and experimental studies. The solvation ability of electrolytes plays a vital role in manipulating the redox kinetics of the MS-CS-PPY anode material. This study offers feasible strategies for electrode design and electrolyte selection for developing TMCs negative electrodes in future PIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct synthesis of light olefins from syngas (STO) using bifunctional catalyst composed of oxide and zeolite has attracted extensive attention in both academia and industry. In this study, we present a facile post-treatment approach to obtain hierarchical SAPO-34 by treating the crystallized product in mother liquor at low temperature. The physical and chemical properties of the resulting molecular sieves were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, N2 adsorption–desorption, XRF and NH3-TPD. The obtained hierarchical SAPO-34 were mixed with ZnCrAlOx oxide to prepare the bifunctional catalyst, and the catalytic performance for direct conversion of syngas to light olefins was examined. Compared with the bifunctional catalyst obtained from the SAPO-34 molecular sieves without post-treatment, the bifunctional catalyst with hierarchical SAPO-34 obtained by mother liquor post-treatment showed enhanced performance with higher selectivity of light olefins. Importantly, the bifunctional catalyst with hierarchical SAPO-34 has a good catalytic stability with no obvious deactivation over 100 h of testing. The enhanced catalytic performance of the bifunctional catalyst with hierarchical SAPO-34 could be attributed to the hierarchical structure of SAPO-34 that can increase the rate of mass transfer to avoid further hydrogenation and conversion of olefin products on the catalyst, thus could improve the selectivity of C2–C4 olefins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide aerogel modified by sulfamic acid and ethylenediamine was prepared via one-step reduction self-assembly under atmospheric pressure within 90 °C heating constantly. The adsorption efficiency of palladium (II) was ~ 97.0% at pH 11 within 50 min by the prepared composite. While the composite exhibited adsorption for platinum (IV) at acid condition, giving a rising to an adsorption efficiency was 61.7% at pH 5. Only 25.8% adsorption efficiency of platinum (IV) was found at pH 11, and 17.0% adsorption efficiency of palladium (II) was obtained at pH 5. The adsorption capacity of the composite for palladium (II) was 80 μg mg−1 above, and the adsorption capacity of the composite for platinum (IV) was ~ 160 μg mg−1. The obtained palladium (II) and platinum (IV) can be eluted by urea and surfactant from the surface of the composite, respectively. Understanding the mechanism of the adsorption/desorption between palladium (II)/platinum (IV) and the composite, explored a promising way for recycling and enrichment of noble metal at a low concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Novel immunotherapy combination therapies have improved outcomes for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but responses are limited to a subset of patients. Little is known about the inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity in cellular signaling networks within the HCC tumor microenvironment (TME) that underlie responses to modern systemic therapy. Methods: We applied spatial transcriptomics (ST) profiling to characterize the tumor microenvironment in HCC resection specimens from a prospective clinical trial of neoadjuvant cabozantinib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor that primarily blocks VEGF, and nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor in which 5 out of 15 patients were found to have a pathologic response at the time of resection. Results: ST profiling demonstrated that the TME of responding tumors was enriched for immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) with pro-inflammatory signaling relative to the non-responders. The enriched cancer-immune interactions in responding tumors are characterized by activation of the PAX5 module, a known regulator of B cell maturation, which colocalized with spots with increased B cell marker expression suggesting strong activity of these cells. HCC-CAF interactions were also enriched in the responding tumors and were associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling as there was high activation of FOS and JUN in CAFs adjacent to the tumor. The ECM remodeling is consistent with proliferative fibrosis in association with immune-mediated tumor regression. Among the patients with major pathologic responses, a single patient experienced early HCC recurrence. ST analysis of this clinical outlier demonstrated marked tumor heterogeneity, with a distinctive immune-poor tumor region that resembles the non-responding TME across patients and was characterized by HCC-CAF interactions and expression of cancer stem cell markers, potentially mediating early tumor immune escape and recurrence in this patient. Conclusions: These data show that responses to modern systemic therapy in HCC are associated with distinctive molecular and cellular landscapes and provide new targets to enhance and prolong responses to systemic therapy in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na1/2Eu1/2Cu3Ti4O12 and Na1/2Sm1/2Cu3Ti4O12 dielectric ceramics were synthesized at different sintering temperatures (950, 975 and 1000 °C) by a solid-state reaction method. Phase structure, cation valence state, and dielectric properties of all sintered ceramics were systematically investigated. When the preparation temperature was changed, the Cu+ ion concentration of (Na+, Eu3+) co-doped ceramics changed faster than that of (Na+, Sm3+) co-doped ceramics. Abnormally high dielectric constants of ~ 3.17 × 104 and ~ 1.06 × 104 (at 10 Hz and 303 K) were achieved in Na1/2Sm1/2Cu3Ti4O12 and Na1/2Eu1/2Cu3Ti4O12 ceramics prepared at 950 °C, respectively. However, Na1/2Sm1/2Cu3Ti4O12 and Na1/2Eu1/2Cu3Ti4O12 prepared in high sintering temperature (1000 °C) exhibited a good frequency stability of dielectric permittivity. It was demonstrated that an increasing number of charge carriers induced by the increase of sintering temperature could lead to a competitive coexistence of two polarization mechanisms (surface barrier layer capacitor and internal barrier layer capacitor), further changing the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12-based ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed germination, a vital process for plant growth and development, is regulated by ethylene. Previously, we showed that Tomato Ethylene Responsive Factor 1 (TERF1), an ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) transcription factor, could significantly promote seed germination by increasing glucose content. As glucose can function as a signaling molecule to regulate plant growth and development through HEXOKINASE 1 (HXK1), we aim to illustrate how TERF1 promotes seed germination through the HXK1-mediated signaling pathway. We showed that seeds overexpressing TERF1 exhibited more resistance to N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), an inhibitor of the HXK1- mediated signaling pathway. We identified genes regulated by TERF1 through HXK1 based on transcriptome analysis. Gene expression and phenotype analysis demonstrated that TERF1 repressed the ABA signaling pathway through HXK1, which promoted germination through activating the plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase. TERF1 also alleviated the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to accelerate germination by maintaining reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis through HXK1. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism regulated by ethylene through the glucose-HXK1 signaling pathway during seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomically dispersed metal‐nitrogen‐carbon catalysts (M‐N‐C) have been widely used in the field of energy conversion, which has already attracted a huge amount of attention. Due to their unsaturated d‐band electronic structure of the center atoms, M‐N‐C catalysts can be applied in different electrocatalytic reactions by adjusting their own microscopic electronic structures to achieve the optimization of the structure–activity relationship. Consequently, it is of great significance for the revelation of electrocatalytic mechanism and structure–activity relationship of M‐N‐C catalysts. Thus, this review first introduces the relative research methods, including in situ/operando characterization techniques and theoretical calculation methods. Furthermore, clarifying the electrocatalytic mechanism and structure–activity relationship of M‐N‐C catalysts in different electrochemical energy conversion reactions is focused. Moreover, the future research directions are pointed out based on the discussion. This review will provide good guidance to systematically study the catalytic mechanism of single‐atom catalysts and reasonably design the single‐atom catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapeutic oligonucleotides, such as antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and small interfering RNA (siRNA), are a new class of therapeutics rapidly growing in drug discovery and development. A sensitive and reliable method to quantify oligonucleotides in biological samples is critical to study their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Hybridization LC-MS/MS was recently established as a highly sensitive and specific methodology for the quantification of single-stranded oligonucleotides, e.g., ASOs, in various biological matrices. However, there is no report of this methodology for the bioanalysis of double-stranded oligonucleotides (e.g., siRNA). In this work, we investigated hybridization LC-MS/MS methodology for the quantification of double-stranded oligonucleotides in biological samples using an siRNA compound, siRNA-01, as the test compound. The commonly used DNA capture probe and a new peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe were compared for the hybridization extraction of siRNA-01 under different conditions. The PNA probe achieved better extraction recovery than the DNA probe, especially for high concentration samples, which may be due to its stronger hybridization affinity. The optimized hybridization method using the PNA probe was successfully qualified for the quantitation of siRNA-01 in monkey plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and tissue homogenates over the range of 2.00–1000 ng/mL. This work is the first report of the hybridization LC-MS/MS methodology for the quantification of double-stranded oligonucleotides. The developed methodology will be applied to pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies of siRNA-01. This novel methodology can also be used for the quantitative bioanalysis of other double-stranded oligonucleotides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortly after the cessation of the Cenozoic seafloor spreading in the South China Sea, a period of basaltic magmatism occurred in the Indochina Peninsula. The various types of xenoliths/xenocrysts present in these igneous rocks can provide information about the lithospheric mantle under the Indochina Peninsula. In this study, we present new ages and in situ major and trace element compositions for the xenoliths and olivine xenocrysts from the Wichian Buri and Mae Tha basalt flows in Thailand. The new ages obtained in this study for the Wichian Buri and Mae Tha basalt flows are 9.24 and 2.35 Ma, respectively. Under Thailand, the lithology of the sub-continental mantle lithosphere (SCLM) could be spinel-lherzolite, with a mantle temperature range of 936°C–1096°C. The mantle source of the Cenozoic basalts from Thailand and its adjacent regions could be affect by recycled oceanic crust and carbonates. The origin of spongy textures in clinopyroxene should be resulted from partial melting induced by decompression. SCLM under Thailand were transformed by peridotite-melt interaction, and basaltic melt trapped the mantle xenocryst and xenolith quickly ascended to the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we are concerned with Trefftz discretizations of the time-dependent linear wave equation in anisotropic media in arbitrary space dimensional domains Ω ⊂ R d (d ∈ N). We propose two variants of the Trefftz DG method, define novel plane wave basis functions based on rigorous choices of scaling transformations and coordinate transformations, and prove that the corresponding approximate solutions possess optimal-order error estimates with respect to the meshwidth h and the condition number of the coefficient matrices, respectively. Besides, we propose the global Trefftz DG method combined with local DG methods to solve the time-dependent linear nonhomogeneous wave equation in anisotropic media. In particular, the error analysis holds for the (nonhomogeneous) Dirichlet, Neumann, and mixed boundary conditions from the original PDEs. Furthermore, a strategy to discretize the model in heterogeneous media is proposed. The numerical results verify the validity of the theoretical results, and show that the resulting approximate solutions possess high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Early Cenozoic, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) has undergone a complex tectonic evolution. During this period the Parece Vela Basin (PVB) was formed by seafloor spreading in the back‐arc region of the proto‐Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana (IBM) arc. However, until now, studies of the geological, geophysical, and tectonic evolution of the PVB have been rare. In this study, we obtained in situ trace element and major element compositions of minerals in basalts collected from two sites in the southern part of the PVB. The results reveal that the basalts from site CJ09‐63 were likely formed via ∼10% partial melting of spinel‐garnet lherzolite, while the basalts from site CJ09‐64 were likely formed via 15%–25% partial melting of garnet lherzolite. The order of mineral crystallization for the basalts from site CJ09‐64 was olivine, spinel, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase, while the plagioclase in the basalts from site CJ09‐63 crystallized earlier than the clinopyroxene. Using a plagioclase‐liquid hygrometer and an olivine‐liquid oxybarometer, we determined that the basalts in this study have high H2O contents and oxygen fugacities, suggesting that the magma source of the Parece Vela basalts was affected by subduction components, which is consistent with the trace element composition of whole rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for the experimental evidence of quantum spin liquid (QSL) states is critical but extremely challenging, as the quenched interaction randomness introduced by structural imperfection is usually inevitable in real materials. YCu3(OH)6.5Br2.5 (YCOB) is a spin-1/2 kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet (KHA) with strong coupling of 〈J1〉 ~ 51 K but without conventional magnetic freezing down to 50 mK ~ 0.001〈J1〉. Here, we report a Br nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of the local spin susceptibility and dynamics on the single crystal of YCOB. The temperature dependence of NMR main-line shifts and broadening can be well understood within the frame of the KHA model with randomly distributed hexagons of alternate exchanges, compatible with the formation of a randomness-induced QSL state at low temperatures. The in-plane spin fluctuations as measured by the spin-lattice relaxation rates (1/T1) exhibit a weak temperature dependence down to T ~ 0.03〈J1〉. Our results demonstrate that the majority of spins remain highly fluctuating at low temperatures despite the quenched disorder in YCOB. In search of a quantum spin liquid, spin dynamics in a recently proposed candidate, kagome material YCu3(OH)6.5Br2.5 was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance. The work highlights the role of quantum fluctuations in the presence of random disorder in relation to gapless quantum spin liquids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in the growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) hold great promise for nanoscale optoelectronic device applications. It is established that a small amount of nitrogen (N) incorporation in III-V semiconductor NWs can effectively red-shift their wavelength of operation and tailor their electronic properties for specific applications. However, understanding the impact of N incorporation on non-equilibrium charge carrier dynamics and transport in semiconducting NWs is critical in achieving efficient semiconducting NW devices. In this work, ultrafast optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy has been used to study non-equilibrium carrier dynamics and transport in Te-doped GaAsSb and dilute nitride GaAsSbN NWs, with the goal of correlating these results with electrical characterization of their equilibrium photo-response under bias and low-frequency noise characteristics. Nitrogen incorporation in GaAsSb NWs led to a significant increase in the carrier scattering rate, resulting in a severe reduction in carrier mobility. Carrier recombination lifetimes of 33 ± 1 picoseconds (ps) and 147 ± 3 ps in GaAsSbN and GaAsSb NWs, respectively, were measured. The reduction in the carrier lifetime and photoinduced optical conductivities are due to the presence of N-induced defects, leading to deterioration in the electrical and optical characteristics of dilute nitride NWs relative to the non-nitride NWs. Finally, we observed a very fast rise time of ∼2 ps for both NW materials, directly impacting their potential use as high-speed photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A related group of phosphotriesters known as organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) has become emerging contaminants due to its worldwide use. The lack of an easily hydrolysable bond renders OPFRs inert to the well-known phosphotriesterases capable of hydrolyzing the neurotoxic organophosphates. An OPFRs phosphotriesterase gene stpte was cloned from plasmid pStJH of strain Sphingopyxis terrae subsp. terrae YC-JH3 and was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein St-PTE was purified and analyzed. St-PTE showed the highest catalytic activity at pH 8.5 and 35 °C. The optimal substrate for St-PTE is triphenyl phosphate, with kcat/Km of 5.03 × 106 M−1 s−1, two orders of magnitude higher than those of tricresyl phosphate (4.17 × 104 M−1 s−1), 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (2.03 × 104 M−1 s−1) and resorcinol bis(diphenyl phosphate) (6.30 × 104 M−1 s−1). St-PTE could break the P–O bond of tri-esters and convert aryl-OPFRs into their corresponding di-ester metabolites, including polymers of resorcinol bis(diphenyl phosphate). Mediated by transposase, the gene of OPFRs phosphotriesterase could be transferred horizontally among closely related strains of Sphingomonas, Sphingobium and Sphingopyxis. Key points: • St-PTE from Sphingopyxis terrae subsp. terrae YC-JH3 could hydrolyze aryl-OPFRs. • Metabolites of RBDPP hydrolyzed by phosphotriesterase were identified. • St-PTE could hydrolyze the P–O cleavage of dimer and trimer of RBDPP. • Phosphotriesterase genes transfer among Sphingomonadaceae mediated by transposase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockade of the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway has proven to be a broadly effective cancer immunotherapy. FDA-approved therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting the pathway have high affinity, blocking capacity, and low antibody effector activity. A number of rat antimouse mAbs have been used to model cancer immunotherapy in mouse models. We set forth the amino acid sequences of mAbs specific for mouse PD-1 (29F.1A12) and PD-L1 (10F.9G2) and compare their avidities, blocking capacities, biological activities, and epitope recognition with other commonly used mAbs. Further manipulation of these sequences should facilitate better modeling of immunotherapy in mouse models and the generation of novel agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted extensive interest due to their exceptional optical properties and facile synthesis processes. However, achieving high-efficiency synthesis of high-purity CDs with high yield remains an unresolved critical issue. Herein, we report a facile and versatile self-polymerization-driven bottom-up growth strategy for efficient fabrication of high-purity CDs. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, dopamine and its four analogues were used as the self-polymerizable precursors for self-driven synthesis of fluorescent CDs with high-purity. By employing a mixed-solvent system and rationally regulating periodate oxidation process, the highly controllable self-polymerization processes and efficient solvothermal-assisted production of polydopamine and polyphenols derived CDs were readily achieved. Further integrating high molecular weight membrane dialysis, we successfully obtained the highly purified polydopamine-derived CDs with high yield of 21.1 % and quantum yield of 3.6 %, confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance, capillary electrophoresis and other types of high-resolution characterization techniques. The formation and luminescence mechanisms of the self-polymerized CDs were also elucidated through comparative analysis of their morphological features and elemental compositions. We also demonstrated the broad universality of this self-polymerization driven bottom-up strategy by utilizing by employing four other phenolic compounds, including l -dopa, gallic acid, catechol, and pyrogallol, as readily accessible precursors for high-yield synthesizing highly purified fluorescent CDs. Moreover, the enormous application potential of the high-purity CDs for high-selectivity sensing and high-efficiency electrochromatographic separation was thoroughly demonstrated. A novel self-polymerization driven solvothermal technique has been proposed for the efficient synthesis of highly purified fluorescent CDs with high yield through rational regulation of the polymerization and carbonization pathways of DA and other self-polymerizable precursors. The high purity was achieved through rigorous purification methods and confirmed by multiple high-resolution characterization techniques. The high-purity CDs exhibit significant importance in enhancing sensing selectivity and improving chromatographic separation efficiency, highlighting their great potential for applications in precise detection and advanced fabrication of separation media. [Display omitted] • A novel self-polymerization-driven synthesis method for high-purity CDs was presented. • Highly purified PDA-CDs with high yield were easily achieved by rigorous dialysis. • The high purity of PDA-CDs was validated by high-resolution characterization. • The formation and luminescence mechanisms of high-purity PDA-CDs were elucidated. • The purified CDs were used for highly selective sensing and efficient separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, is an important pest that affects rice (Oryza sativa) production in Asia. The flavone tricin (5,7,4′-trihydroxy-3′,5′-dimethoxy flavone) is a valuable secondary metabolite commonly found in rice plants that can defend rice plants against infestation by BPH. BPH damage can reduce the metabolic level of tricin in rice. Our preliminary transcriptome research results showed that BPH salivary protein 7 (NlSP7), is highly responsive to tricin stimuli. However, the function of NlSP7 in mediating the interaction between the rice plant and the BPH is unknown. In this study, we cloned the NlSP7 gene in N. lugens and found that its mRNA level was greater in the presence of high tricin content than low tricin content, regardless of whether the BPHs were fed a rice plant diet or an artificial diet containing 100 mg/L tricin. Knocking down NlSP7 resulted in BPH individuals spending more time in the non-penetration and pathway phase, and less time feeding on the phloem of rice plants. These changes decreased BPH food intake, feeding behavior, and fitness, as well as the tricin content of the rice plants. These findings demonstrate that the salivary protein 7 of BPH functions as an effector for tricin metabolism in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a graph H and an integer p , the edge blow-up H p + 1 of H is the graph obtained from replacing each edge in H by a clique of order p + 1 where the new vertices of the cliques are all distinct. The Turán numbers for edge blow-up of matchings were first studied by Erdős and Moon. In this paper, we determine the range of the Turán numbers for edge blow-up of all bipartite graphs and the exact Turán numbers for edge blow-up of all non-bipartite graphs. In addition, we characterize the extremal graphs for edge blow-up of all non-bipartite graphs. Our results also extend several known results, including the Turán numbers for edge blow-up of stars, paths and cycles. The method we used can also be applied to find a family of counter-examples to a conjecture posed by Keevash and Sudakov in 2004 concerning the maximum number of edges not contained in any monochromatic copy of H in a 2-edge-coloring of K n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust H ∞ / H 2 controller is proposed for the uncertainty problem of the riser recoil model caused by the degradation of the mechanical properties of the tensioner and the change of the installation inclination. First, an incremental riser recoil discrete-time state-space model with the uncertainty of the controller input matrix is established by considering the tensioner installation inclination change and the mechanical property degradation as permissible perturbations. Then, a discrete-time H ∞ / H 2 controller is designed to simultaneously improve the anti-disturbance performance and the dynamic performance of the tensioner. The state weight matrix and input weight matrix of the linear quadratic controller are used to construct the performance output equation, establish the linear matrix inequality constraints to satisfy the robust H ∞ performance index, minimize the upper bound of the quadratic performance index, obtain the gain matrix, and realize the robust H ∞ / H 2 guaranteed performance control. Finally, based on the field data, the control effects of the robust H ∞ / H 2 controller and the LQR are simulated and compared. The results verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed controller, showing that the tensioner has good dynamic and steady-state characteristics with the introduction of perturbations. • A novel discrete-time robust H ∞ /H 2 control strategy is presented for managing riser recoil in deepwater drilling operations to improve safety and efficiency. • Address the challenges of equipment performance loss or failure and extreme marine environments by improving the robustness and responsiveness of tensioner systems under model uncertainty. • Demonstrate the excellent anti-disturbance performance and dynamic performance of the proposed control strategy. • Validate the effectiveness of Discrete Robust H ∞ /H 2 Best Guaranteed Performance Control (DRHGPC) through simulation and emphasise its potential for practical application in improving the safety of deepwater drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An imbalance between available resource reserves generated by human activities and disposal measures causes a series of harmful problems related to water, soil and human health, such as those from hazardous metal ions (HMs) and their carrier materials (LMs). As excellent intermediates with adjustable spatial structures and many active sites, geopolymers can be directly used as adsorbents to remove HMs from wastewater or produced by LMs via in situ stabilization/solidification methods. This paper first reviews the common methods used to optimize the pore structures of geopolymers and then reports the common methods for optimizing LM-based geopolymers. For geopolymers-based adsorbents, the pore structure is vital in the adsorption of the target ions, and the application of functional auxiliary materials among adsorbents has been summarized. The feasibility of using geopolymers for in situ stabilization/solidification of HMs is highlighted, but instability and low mechanical strength remain significant factors hindering their development. Finally, the mechanism for bonding between HMs and geopolymers is summarized, and future developments, challenges, and possible solutions are briefly described. The effective collision between geopolymers and hazardous metal ions (HMs) is presented in two ways: geopolymer-based adsorbents or in-situ stabilization/solidification by LMs-based geopolymer (LMs: aluminosilicate materials loading HMs), meaning further applications of geopolymers in the field of clean energy and sustainable development. However, in either binding mode, the open pore structure is the key factor in determining the maximum adsorption capacity. At the same time, systematic adsorption-desorption processes are the way to take geopolymer-based adsorbents to large-scale industrial applications, but care should be taken to reduce energy input and waste output. On the other hand, LMs-based geopolymer should pay more attention to the optimization of mechanical properties and limiting ion leaching capacity. To sum up, 'theoretical demonstrations-laboratory simulation-engineering applications' as a necessary way for the development of adsorbents and in-situ stabilization/solidification, it should focus on their performance and behaviour in a real work environment. [Display omitted] • Geopolymers are good intermediates for adsorbing and stabilizing/solidifying. • Adsorbent and in-situ stabilization/solidification have similar working mechanisms. • Optimizing pore structure is significant to adsorption capacity. • Compressive strength and leaching capacity hinder the use of geopolymer. • Performance in real working environment is necessary for the development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Suxiao Jiuxin Pill (SJP) has been used for treating chronic stable angina (SA) for more than 40 years in China. SJP is composed of two Chinese herbs and has the effect of activating blood and promoting qi, according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory. The study aims to determine the effects of adjunct SJP on conventional therapy in patients with SA which provides a complementary choice and its evidence for clinical medication for treating SA. Participants with SA were recruited and randomized 1:1 to either the SJP group or the control group for 24 weeks. Both groups received conventional treatment according to local tertiary hospital protocols, and the participants received additional SJP (composed of Ligusticum wallichii and Borneol) or placebo in treatment and control groups respectively. The primary outcome was the curative efficacy rate at week 4. Secondary outcomes are the curative efficacy rate, the total score of angina pectoris symptoms, CCS Angina Classification improvement, Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) score, TCM syndrome scores (TCMSS), and the curative efficacy rate of TCMSS. Adverse events and adverse drug reactions were observed and recorded for safety analysis. A total of 324 participants with SA from 13 hospitals in China were enrolled in this trial. Compared with the control group, the curative efficacy rate of SA, the curative efficacy rate of TCMSS significantly increased, and the total score of angina pectoris symptoms and TCMSS significantly reduced in the SJP group at week 4, 12, and 24, accompanied by the statistically significant improvement in the curative efficacy rate based on CCS grade reduction (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, the SAQ score (physical limitation, angina stability, and treatment satisfaction) was evaluated as the quality of life significantly improved after treatment (P < 0.05). The medication compliance, concomitant medication, and rates of adverse events were similar between the two groups (P > 0.05). The present prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial confirms that adjunct SJP to conventional treatment increased the curative efficacy and life quality of SA patients with no significant adverse drug reactions during the clinical application. (ID, ChiCTR1900021876, URL = http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=34955). [Display omitted] • SJP improved the symptoms and reduced the angina classification of SA patients. • SJP improved the quality of life of SA patients in three dimensions of SAQ. • SJP improved the TCM syndrome of SA patients. • SJP treating SA with few adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication presents a Fabry–Pérot cavity antenna with a thin polarizer loaded inside the cavity. The antenna is excited by a linearly polarized magneto-electric dipole. To realize self-circular-polarizing characteristics, a polarizer with the meander line is placed between the partially reflective surface and the reflective ground plane. Sharing the same radiating aperture, left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) and right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) waves can be generated by separate input ports. After analyzing the mechanism of the circular polarization, simulation and measurement are carried out to verify the proposed design. The operating bandwidth is 4%, from 27.4 to 28.5 GHz, covering fifth-generation (5G) 28 GHz band. The peak gain is 16.85 and 17.20 dBi for LHCP and RHCP, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Turán number of a graph H, ex(n,H), is the maximum number of edges in a graph of order n that does not contain a copy of H as a subgraph. Lidický, Liu and Palmer determined ex(n,Fk1,...,km) for sufficiently large n and proved that the extremal graph is unique, where Fk1,...,km is the union of pairwise vertex‐disjoint paths on k1,...,km vertices. There are a few kinds of graphs F for which ex(n,F) are known exactly for all n, including cliques, matchings, paths, cycles on odd number of vertices and some other special graphs. In this paper, using a different approach from Lidický, Liu and Palmer, we determine ex(n,Fk1,...,km) for all integers n when at most one of k1,...,km is odd. Furthermore, we show that there exists a family of pairs of bipartite graphs (F,G) such that ex(n,F)=ex(n,G) for all integers n, which is related to an old problem of Erdős and Simonovits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An open resonator antenna for orbital angular momentum (OAM) generation and dual-mode application is proposed. The excitation of OAM mode is deduced by the open resonator theory and the circular array theory. In the cavity, eight aperture coupled patch antenna elements are used to excite two higher-order Laguerre–Gaussian HE21 modes with a 90° phase difference. Verifying by simulation and experiment, the proposed low-profile antenna can radiate left-hand or right-hand circularly polarized waves of OAM modes $l=\pm 1$ , which have a relatively low divergence angle of ±9° and high gain of around 13 dBi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we are concerned with plane wave discontinuous Galerkin (PWDG) methods for Helmholtz equation and time-harmonic Maxwell equations in three-dimensional anisotropic media, for which the coefficients of the equations are matrices instead of numbers. We first define novel plane wave basis functions based on rigorous choices of scaling transformations and coordinate transformations. Then we derive the error estimates of the resulting approximate solutions with respect to the condition number of the coefficient matrices, under a new assumption on the shape regularity of polyhedral meshes. Numerical results verify the validity of the theoretical results, and indicate that the approximate solutions generated by the proposed PWDG method possess high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chirality is a fundamental characteristic of natural molecules and a crucial factor in the biochemical reactions of living cells and organisms. Recently, researchers have successfully introduced chiral molecules to the surfaces of nanomaterials, creating chiral nanomaterials that exhibit an upscaling of chiral behavior from the molecular scale to the nanoscale. These chiral nanomaterials can selectively induce autophagy, apoptosis, and photothermal ablation in tumor cells based on their chirality, making them promising for application in anti-tumor therapy. However, these interesting and important phenomena have hitherto received little attention. Accordingly, we herein present a review of recent research progress in the field of chiral nanomaterials for tumor therapy along with brief looks at the mechanistic details of their actions. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives of chiral nanomaterials in terms of maximizing their potential in tumor therapy are discussed. Thus, this review provides a helpful introduction to the design of chiral nanomaterials and will hopefully highlight the importance of chirality in tumor therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel active disturbance rejection control (NADRC) with a super-twisting extended state observer (SESO) is utilized in the rocket launcher servo system. The main arguments in the shipborne rocket launcher system are control accuracy and antidisturbance ability, which are closely related to phase delay and bandwidth. Firstly, we use Taylor's formula approach to compensate the phase delay in traditional tracking differentiator (TD). Secondly, we design the parallel structured SESO to improve the observation bandwidth, so that it can estimate states with desired accuracy in NADRC. Finally, sinusoidal simulation results show Taylor's formula-based TD can suppress noise and compensate phase delays effectively. In comparison with traditional ADRC, the proposed NADRC is shown to have better tracking performance and stronger robustness. Semiphysical experiments are conducted to prove the feasibility of NADRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first consider the time-harmonic Maxwell equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions in three-dimensional anisotropic media, where the coefficients of the equations are general symmetric positive definite matrices. By using scaling transformations and coordinate transformations, we build the desired stability estimates between the original electric field and the transformed nonphysical field on the condition number of the anisotropic coefficient matrix. More importantly, we prove that the resulting approximate solutions generated by plane wave least squares (PWLS) methods have the nearly optimal L2 error estimates with respect to the condition number of the coefficient matrix. Finally, numerical results verify the validity of the theoretical results, and the comparisons between the proposed PWLS method and the existing PWDG method are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nano-sheet SAPO-34 molecular sieves were synthesized using an aminothermal method. Triethylamine (TEA) was used as the major solvent and template, along with varying amounts of tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH). Physicochemical properties of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by techniques of XRD, SEM, BET, XRF, and NH3-TPD. As the amount of TEAOH increases, the composition of the product changes from a mixture of SAPO-5 and SAPO-34 to pure nano-sheet SAPO-34 molecular sieves. A TEAOH increment causes a reduction in crystallinity and particle size, as well as an increase in acid sites. Additionally, there is a non-linear relationship between the silicon content in molecular sieves and the amount of TEAOH added in the system. In the conversion of methanol to olefins using various SAPO-34 catalysts, the nano-sheet samples with the highest crystallinity and moderate acidity exhibited the longest lifetime and higher selectivity to C2= + C3= olefins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) is a B7 family member that maintains T cell and myeloid quiescence and is a promising target for combination cancer immunotherapy. During inflammatory challenges, VISTA activity reprograms macrophages towards reduced production of proinflammatory cytokines and increased production of interleukin (IL)-10 and other anti-inflammatory mediators. The interaction of VISTA with its ligands is regulated by pH, and the acidic pH ~6.0 in the tumor microenvironment (TME) facilitates VISTA binding to P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1). Targeting intratumoral pH might be a way to reduce the immunoinhibitory activity of the VISTA pathway and enhance antitumor immune responses. We review differences among VISTA therapeutics under development as candidate immunotherapies, focusing on VISTA binding partners and the unique structural features of this interaction. V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) binds to V-set and Ig domain-containing 3 (VSIG3) and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) ligands, and signaling may be bidirectional. VISTA binds to PSGL-1 at acidic pH, such as in the tumor microenvironment (TME), but not at physiological pH. VISTA activity imposes quiescence on mammalian myeloid and naïve T cells, and inhibits T cell activation and cytokine production. It can promote peripheral tolerance via enhanced activation-induced T cell death. VISTA is particularly upregulated on myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) via hypoxia, and can contribute to the immunoinhibitory functions of myeloid cells by reducing Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and cell migration, as well as by reprogramming myeloid cells towards reduced production of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-12, and increased production of IL-10 and other anti-inflammatory mediators. Antagonistic VISTA antibodies are in clinical development for treating some cancers; drugs that target the acidity of the TME might reduce immunoinhibitory activity in acidic niches and combine well with VISTA or checkpoint blockade therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two types of slope characteristic indicators are proposed for time frequency images under linear varying speed. • The superiority in intra-class state-aware stability and inter-class state-aware sensitivity is verified. • The influences of time-varying, noise and image cropping are considered in robustness verification process. • Fault recognition rate using one single indicator is discussed. • An feature fusion strategy by numerical addition of a slope feature and a Tamura feature is proposed to achieve high-precision intelligent diagnosis. Under the condition of linear varying speed regulation, the vibration signal of the rolling bearing is non-stationary, and its fault frequency is time-varying, which makes it difficult to extract the bearing fault characteristics. In order to better improve the fault identification accuracy of rolling bearing, two slope characteristic indicators of time–frequency ridges (TFRs) based on time–frequency images (TFIs) are proposed, which are called pseudo-slope and pseudo-angle. The intra-class state-aware stability and inter-class state-aware sensitivity of the characteristic indicators are verified by simulation and experiment. At the same time, the robustness of the slope features of TFRs and the Tamura features under the influence of time-varying, noise and image cropping are compared, and it is proved that the stability of the slope features of TFRs are better than that of the Tamura features. In the case of one single-index identification, the fault recognition rate of pseudo-slope and pseudo-angle features is higher than that of Tamura single-index features. On the basis of single-index identification, a new feature fusion by numerical summation of pseudo-slope feature and Tamura contrast feature is proposed, and the fault identification accuracy of the fused feature indicator is 98.61%, which realizes high-precision identification of rolling bearing faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capillary microsampling (CMS) is a technique that can significantly reduce the blood collection volume compared to conventional sampling methods, and thus is much preferred for studies in rats and mice. BIIB131 (SMTP-7) is a novel thrombolytic drug candidate currently under Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. To support the safety studies in rats, an accurate and reliable CMS LC–MS/MS assay for the quantification of BIIB131 in rat plasma was developed and validated. This method utilized stable-isotope labeled [13C 5 15N 2 ]-BIIB131 as the internal standard. The samples were extracted using acid-assisted liquid–liquid extraction with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and formic acid. The chromatographic separation was achieved on an ACE Excel 3 Super C18 analytical column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 3.0 µm) using a gradient elution. The mass spectrometric detection of BIIB131 and its internal standard was achieved using positive ion electrospray multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The standard curve ranged from 0.50 to 300 ng/mL for BIIB131 and was fitted to a 1/x2 weighted linear regression model. For regular QCs, the intra-assay precision was 1.7–6.1 % CV, the inter-assay precision was 2.7–11.0 % CV, and the intra-assay and inter-assay accuracy (%Bias) were –20.0–10.6 % and –7.8–6.3 %, respectively. For CMS QCs, the intra-assay and inter-assay precision were 2.2–13.6 % and 6.7–12.9 % CV, and the intra-assay and inter-assay accuracy (%Bias) were –13.2–15.0 % and –7.8–4.2 %, respectively. The validated CMS LC–MS/MS method has been successfully applied to a safety study in rats. • A novel capillary microsampling LC–MS/MS method for quantitation of BIIB131 in rat plasma. • Acid-assisted LLE to minimize matrix effect and improve extraction recovery. • First reported bioanalytical method for SMTP family compounds. • The validated method has been successfully applied to a safety study in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting different types and quantities of wastes is crucial for proper waste management and sustainable growth and development. High levels of disaster waste (DW) can negatively impact emergency responses, public health, and recovery and rebuilding processes, making the effective management of DW highly important. Most existing waste identification methods cannot suitably identify DW since it is highly subjective in form. In this study, we examined the applicability of different deep learning-based image recognition techniques for DW recognition. A DW image dataset was collected and categorized into normal and hard cases. Then, experiments were conducted using these three network models: DeepLabV3+, ResNeSt-50, and ResNeSt-101. The experimental results indicated that the mean intersection over union (mIoU) of the DeepLabV3+ model was 0.802 for the normal case and that of the ResNeSt-101 model was 0.676 for the hard case, indicating favorable performances. Overall, the deep learning-based image analysis method is more robust than existing methods, particularly in terms of its ability to accurately identify waste in various forms, such as mixed or piled up waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore whether reduced-dose (RD) gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) and deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) of 40 keV virtual monoenergetic image (VMI) enhanced the early detection and diagnosis of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM). Thirty-five participants with pathologically confirmed colorectal cancer were prospectively enrolled from March to August 2022 after routine care abdominal computed tomography (CT). GSI mode was used for contrast-enhanced CT, and two portal venous phase CT images were obtained [standard-dose (SD) CT dose index (CTDI vol) = 15.51 mGy, RD CTDI vol = 7.95 mGy]. The 40 keV-VMI were reconstructed via filtered back projection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction (ASIR-V 60 %, AV60) of both SD and RD images. RD medium-strength deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR-M) and RD high-strength deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR-H) were used to reconstruct the 40 keV-VMI. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the liver and the lesions were objectively evaluated. The overall image quality, lesion conspicuity, and diagnostic confidence were subjectively evaluated, to compare the differences in evaluation results among the different images. All 35 participants (mean age: 59.51 ± 11.01 years; 14 females) underwent SD and RD GSI portal venous-phase CT scans. The dose-length product of the RD GSI scan was reduced by 49–53 % lower than that of the SD GSI scan (420.22 ± 31.95) vs (817.58 ± 60.56). A total of 219 lesions were identified, including 55 benign lesions and 164 metastases, with an average size of 7.37 ± 4.14 mm. SD-FBP detected 207 lesions, SD-AV60 detected 201 lesions, and DLIR-M and DLIR-H detected 199 and 190 lesions, respectively. For lesions ≤ 5 mm, there was no statistical difference between SD-FBP vs DLIR-M (χ2 McNemar = 1.00, P = 0.32) and SD-AV60 vs DLIR-M (χ2 McNemar = 0.33, P = 0.56) in the detection rate. The CNR, SNR, and noise of DLIR-M and DLIR-H 40 keV-VMI images were better than those of SD-FBP images (P < 0.01) but did not differ significantly from those of SD-AV60 images (P > 0.05). When the lesions ≤ 5 mm, there were statistical differences in the overall diagnostic sensitivity of lesions compared with SD-FBP, SD-AV60, DLIR-M and DLIR-H (P ＜0.01). There were no statistical differences in the sensitivity of lesions diagnosis between SD-FBP, SD-AV60 and DLIR-M (both P ＞0.05). However, the DLIR-M subjective image quality and lesion diagnostic confidence were higher for SD-FBP (both P < 0.01). Reduced dose DLIR-M of 40 keV-VMI can be used for routine follow-up care of colorectal cancer patients, to optimize evaluations and ensure CT image quality. Meanwhile, the detection rate and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of small lesions, early liver metastases is not obviously reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dynamic response of fully clamped foam-filled X-type sandwich beam under low-velocity impact is analytically and numerically studied. • An analytical model is developed for the dynamic response of the sandwich beam with foam-filled X-type core under low-velocity impact. • The numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical ones. • Face-sheet thickness, X-type folding plate thickness, and foam strength have noticeable effects on the low-velocity impact response. The dynamic response of a fully clamped foam-filled X-type sandwich beam under low-velocity impact is studied analytically and numerically. The analytical model is developed for the dynamic response of the sandwich beam with foam-filled X-type core under low-velocity impact based on the yield criterion. The numerical calculations are carried out, and analytical results are in good agreement with numerical ones. The effects of face-sheet thickness, X-type folding plate thickness and foam strength on the impact resistance of the foam-filled X-type sandwich beam are discussed. It is shown that face-sheet thickness, X-type folding plate thickness, and foam strength have noticeable effects on the low-velocity impact response of the foam-filled X-type sandwich beam. The present analytical model can be used to predict the low-velocity impact of the foam-filled X-type sandwich beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exfoliation of non‐layered (structurally) bulk materials at the nanoscale is challenging because of the strong chemical bonds in the lattice, as opposed to the weak van der Waals (vdW) interactions in layered materials. We propose a top‐down method to exfoliate ϵ‐MnO2 nanosheets in a family of charge‐ordered La1−xAExMnO3 (AE=Ca, Sr, Ba) perovskites, taking advantage of the Jahn–Teller disproportionation effect of Mn3+ and bond‐strength differences. ϵ‐MnO2 crystallized into a nickel arsenide (NiAs) structure, with a thickness of 0.91 nm, displays thermal metastability and superior water oxidation activity compared to other manganese oxides. The exfoliation mechanism involves a synergistic proton‐induced Mn3+ disproportionation and structural reconstruction. The synthetic method could also be potentially extended to the exfoliation of other two‐dimensional nanosheet materials with non‐layered structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exfoliation of non‐layered (structurally) bulk materials at the nanoscale is challenging because of the strong chemical bonds in the lattice, as opposed to the weak van der Waals (vdW) interactions in layered materials. We propose a top‐down method to exfoliate ϵ‐MnO2 nanosheets in a family of charge‐ordered La1−xAExMnO3 (AE=Ca, Sr, Ba) perovskites, taking advantage of the Jahn–Teller disproportionation effect of Mn3+ and bond‐strength differences. ϵ‐MnO2 crystallized into a nickel arsenide (NiAs) structure, with a thickness of 0.91 nm, displays thermal metastability and superior water oxidation activity compared to other manganese oxides. The exfoliation mechanism involves a synergistic proton‐induced Mn3+ disproportionation and structural reconstruction. The synthetic method could also be potentially extended to the exfoliation of other two‐dimensional nanosheet materials with non‐layered structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Insect drugs have great potential for treating cardiovascular diseases. Xinmailong (XML) injection, a bioactive composite extracted from Periplaneta americana (a species of cockroach), was wildly used in treating heart failure in China. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of XML injection for the improvement of cardiac function in HF. Materials and Methods. Online literature search for relevant studies was performed using databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and Wanfang. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), six-minute walk test (6MWT), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were selected as target outcomes. The analysis was performed using Stata 12.0, and sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis and metaregression. Results. 32 studies were included in this meta-analysis after meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The results demonstrated that additional use of XML improved LVEF (WMD = 5.82, 95% CI: 5.52–7.13, P < 0.00001) and 6MWT (WMD = 51.48, 95% CI: 35.83–67.13, P < 0.00001) and reduced BNP (WMD = −172.84, 95% CI: −205.79 to −139.89, P < 0.00001). The results of subgroup analyses and metaregression suggested that XML injection has more cardiac function improvement for middle-aged HF patients than youth, and greater LVEF and 6MWT improvement were associated with higher average age. Conclusions. XML plus conventional treatment demonstrated a significant effect in reducing cardiac dysfunction in HF patients, and age is a potential factor of higher efficacy. Given the heterogeneity and bias of the included RCTs, large, prospective, rigorous trials are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite-structured ABX3 halides are one of the most promising families of materials with many potential applications. However, the controllable growth methods of their crystal facets and the corresponding synthetic chemistry have not yet been resolved. In this paper, we report a ligand substitution strategy for the facet-tunable growth of perovskite structure KMF3 (M = Mg, Mn, Co, Ni and Zn) fluorides under mild hydrothermal conditions. The competition of the strong ligand of NH3 and weak ligand of F− in the octahedral crystal fields of M2+ results in different facet evolution routes for KMF3 samples with the M-site of empty-, partially- or fully-filled 3d orbitals. Although X-ray diffraction results indicated that all five KMF3 compounds are crystalized into the same space group (Pm3m, no. 221), the crystal shape of KMF3 with M = Mg, Mn, Co and Ni evolved from cubic shape to edge-truncated chamfer box shape, while KZnF3 evolved from cubic shape to corner-truncated cubic shape under the same set of synthetic conditions. The cubic shape habitat morphology of KMF3 crystals is enclosed by {100} facets, chamfer box {100} and {110} facets, and corner-truncated cube {100} and {111} facets. The crystal shape formation mechanism was analysed based on ligand field theory and the Bravais–Friedel–Donnay–Harker (BFDH) theory. We expect that the shape controllable synthetic method can benefit the growth of other halide material crystals, and the shape tunable crystals can find more important applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) have been widely applied in the shipborne rocket launcher systems due to their high torque density and high efficiency. However, since there are many external disturbances from the shipborne rocket launcher, the tracking performance under random noises needs to be improved. In this paper, an improved finite control set optimal control (IFCSOC) based on a super-twisting extended state observer (SESO) is investigated for position tracking control of PMSMs. The SESO can improve the anti-interference ability of the proposed controller. Moreover, in order to improve tracking accuracy, Taylor's formula is used to solve the phase-lag problem of nonlinear tracking differentiator in IFCSOC. Simulation shows that compared with conventional FCSOC, IFCSOC exhibits better robustness under random disturbances. Furthermore, the semiphysical experiment is conducted to verify the proposed IFCSOC strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) have been widely applied in the shipborne rocket launcher systems due to their high torque density and high efficiency. However, since there are many external disturbances from the shipborne rocket launcher, the tracking performance under random noises needs to be improved. In this paper, an improved finite control set optimal control (IFCSOC) based on a super-twisting extended state observer (SESO) is investigated for position tracking control of PMSMs. The SESO can improve the anti-interference ability of the proposed controller. Moreover, in order to improve tracking accuracy, Taylor's formula is used to solve the phase-lag problem of nonlinear tracking differentiator in IFCSOC. Simulation shows that compared with conventional FCSOC, IFCSOC exhibits better robustness under random disturbances. Furthermore, the semiphysical experiment is conducted to verify the proposed IFCSOC strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) have been widely applied in the shipborne rocket launcher systems due to their high torque density and high efficiency. However, since there are many external disturbances from the shipborne rocket launcher, the tracking performance under random noises needs to be improved. In this paper, an improved finite control set optimal control (IFCSOC) based on a super-twisting extended state observer (SESO) is investigated for position tracking control of PMSMs. The SESO can improve the anti-interference ability of the proposed controller. Moreover, in order to improve tracking accuracy, Taylor's formula is used to solve the phase-lag problem of nonlinear tracking differentiator in IFCSOC. Simulation shows that compared with conventional FCSOC, IFCSOC exhibits better robustness under random disturbances. Furthermore, the semiphysical experiment is conducted to verify the proposed IFCSOC strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-profile and high-gain Gaussian beam antenna (GBA) operating at 1 THz is demonstrated for the first time. Imprint and dry etching technologies in silicon are employed. A complementary antenna feed based on the magnetoelectric dipole is proposed for enhancing the radiation characteristics of the antenna. The microfabrication technologies are compatible with the Si-based integrated circuit manufacturing process. The terahertz (THz) antenna is realized with over 20 dBi in antenna gain. With high-precision fabrication technologies, a highly efficient THz GBA with smooth morphology and much lower profile than conventional horn and lens antennas is developed. Moreover, the antenna has the characteristic of low sidelobe levels which is advantageous in many wireless applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we are concerned with numerical method for nonhomogeneous Helmholtz equations with variable wave numbers. We derive generalized plane wave basis functions for three-dimensional homogeneous Helmholtz equations with variable wave numbers. Then, by combining the local spectral element method, we design a generalized plane wave discontinuous Galerkin method for the discretization of such nonhomogeneous Helmholtz equations (in both dimensions two and three dimensions). We show that the approximation solutions generated by the proposed discretization method yield error estimates with high accuracies. Numerical results indicate that the resulting approximate solutions generated by the new method possess high accuracy and verify the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]