Search

The industrial applications of commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti) are significantly limited due to the strength-ductility trade-off in metallic materials. The strategy of heterostructured materials has been proposed to design microstructures for desired strength and ductility. To improve the mechanical properties of CP-Ti, a heterostructured rod, consisting of ultrafine fibrous grains and recrystallized grains, was produced by rotary swaging and subsequent annealing. The heterostructured Ti exhibits a high tensile strength of 636 MPa, simultaneously sustaining a high ductility of 11.9%, its tensile toughness is three times that of the swaged sample. The superior mechanical properties are attributed to the significant hetero-deformation induced (HDI) hardening in heterostructured Ti. It is found that the HDI hardening is induced by the interactions between geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) and hetero-interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 21st century, China’s overall national strength has increased continuously. With the rapid development of the tourism industry, people have an increasingly strong demand for travel. Firstly, tourists’ satisfaction to Lianqingshan Scenic Spot was surveyed, and then the types of tourism resources, current development situation and problems in the scenic spot were analyzed. Finally, some countermeasures and suggestions for its development and quality improvement were put forward. It is found that based on the environmental quality, safety and service quality of Lianqingshan Scenic Spot, the basic situation of the development of the scenic spot was investigated, and the comprehensive satisfaction of each item is 3.30, 3.24 and 3.32. The tourists of the scenic spot is mainly from Tengzhou City and its surrounding cities, and the popularity of the scenic spot is relatively low. The management personnel of the scenic spot needs to increase the tourist flow by improving its exposure. The problems of the scenic spot include low popularity, poor environmental quality, low safety of tourists, poor operating condition of catering industry and service quality of service personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences discussing the advances in targeted cancer therapy and mechanisms of resistance. The article highlights that drug resistance is a significant clinical challenge in cancer treatment and is caused by the genetic heterogeneity of cancer cells. The tumor microenvironment and immune response also play a critical role in cancer progression and resistance to immunotherapy. The editorial presents a special issue featuring 13 papers that cover various aspects of clinical discovery, resistance mechanisms, and novel therapeutics in cancer treatment. The aim is to inspire researchers to develop effective solutions to overcome drug resistance and improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients. [Extracted from the article]

Precise and controllable temperature is required for using magnetic hyperthermia in cancer therapy. Magnetic nanoparticles typically need to have a Curie temperature of 42–50 °C to self-regulate hyperthermia temperature via magnetic phase transition. For now, the most studied iron oxide nanoparticles are not suitable for self-regulating hyperthermia applications due to their high Curie temperature of several hundred Celsius degrees. Doping nonmagnetic metal ions into iron oxide nanoparticles is an effective way to decrease Curie temperature, but often leads to low saturation magnetization and poor magnetic heating efficiency, limiting its usage in hyperthermia applications. Magnetic nanoparticles with excellent magnetic heating efficiency and suitable Curie temperature are highly desirable. This paper proposes an approach for enhancing magnetic heating efficiency by regulating oxygen vacancy concentration. Mn 0.46 Zn 0.54 Al 0.25 Fe 1.75 O 4 nanoparticles with Curie temperature at 44.5 °C are prepared by co-precipitation method. Effective regulation of oxygen vacancy concentrations is achieved through hydrogen peroxide oxidation and carbothermal reduction treatments. Research results suggest that increasing oxygen vacancies significantly enhance the magnetism due to the transformation of magnetic couplings on nanoparticles, while barely affecting the Curie temperature. These nanoparticles exhibit high magnetic heating efficiency under an alternating magnetic field, almost 1.5 times of clinical-grade iron oxide nanoparticles, and can self-regulate hyperthermia temperature at 48–49 °C. This work may provide some references for further research on self-regulating temperature magnetic hyperthermia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a classic problem of high-resolution remote sensing image tasks, land cover classification has many challenges, for instance, variable scales and low-edge discrimination. Traditional spatial semantic segmentation methods based on single-scale feature extraction are challenging to model multi-scale features. They cannot effectively fit high-resolution remote sensing images with variable scales and are prone to misclassification issues. On the other hand, spatial multi-scale semantic segmentation methods lack edge constraints, which can easily lead to edge segmentation ambiguity issues. We propose a segmentation network based on a multi-scale frequency-domain attention gating mechanism (MFAGNet) to solve the above problems. Specifically, we obtain multi-scale features through multi-scale input and design the discrete cosine transform channel attention module (DCTCAM). In DCTCAM, we extract global low-frequency features and effectively alleviate misclassification caused by scale changes. The edge features of the image are obtained through the high-frequency feature extraction module (HFEM) by using edge detection operators to enhance the model's ability to recognize edges. Additionally, no further pooling operations are employed except for a single max pooling layer in the backbone network. In this paper, we design a new gating mechanism to dynamically control the extraction ratio of various frequency features so that it can adapt to input images of different scales. This paper conducts comparative experiments on three high-resolution land cover datasets: GID, Vaihingen, and Potsdam. The new algorithm proposed compares with classic semantic segmentation models such as DANet, PSPNet, SegNet, UNet, DeepLabv3+, FcaNet, BiSeNet, AFN, and FastFCN. The experimental results show that MFAGNet is superior to the comparison models. With no significant increase in computing overhead, MFAGNet obtains MIoU of 69.05%, 73.40%, and 79.42% on the standard data sets GID, Vaihingen, and Potsdam, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG), the only current vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) that is licensed in clinics, successfully protects infants and young children against several TB types, such as TB meningitis and miliary TB, but it is ineffective in protecting adolescents and adults against pulmonary TB. Thus, it is a matter of the utmost urgency to develop an improved and efficient TB vaccine. In this milieu, virus-like particles (VLPs) exhibit excellent characteristics in the field of vaccine development due to their numerous characteristics, including but not limited to their good safety without the risk of infection, their ability to mimic the size and structure of original viruses, and their ability to display foreign antigens on their surface to enhance the immune response. In this study, the HPV16 L1 capsid protein (HPV16L1) acted as a structural vaccine scaffold, and the extracellular domain of Ag85B was selected as the M. tb immunogen and inserted into the FG loop of the HPV16 L1 protein to construct chimeric HPV16L1/Ag85B VLPs. The chimeric HPV16L1/Ag85B VLPs were produced via the Pichia pastoris expression system and purified via discontinuous Optiprep density gradient centrifugation. The humoral and T cell-mediated immune response induced by the chimeric HPV16L1/Ag85B VLP was studied in female C57BL/c mice. We demonstrated that the insertion of the extracellular domain of Ag85B into the FG loop of HPV16L1 did not affect the in vitro stability and self-assembly of the chimeric HPV16L1/Ag85B VLPs. Importantly, it did not interfere with the immunogenicity of Ag85B. We observed that the chimeric HPV16L1/Ag85B VLPs induced higher Ag85B-specific antibody responses and elicited significant Ag85B-specific T cell immune responses in female C57BL/c mice compared with recombinant Ag85B. Our findings provide new insights into the development of novel chimeric HPV16L1/TB VLP-based vaccine platforms for controlling TB infection, which are urgently required in low-income and developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semi‐open system of lithium‐oxygen batteries (LOBs) results in electrolyte depletion, lithium anode corrosion, and by‐product deposition, and therefore represents a major challenge that hinders their application. Here, the aligned and open microchannel structures of wood are fabricated as separators to provide low‐tortuosity pathways for rapid ionic transport and serve as reservoirs for retaining the electrolyte by capillary forces to improve the electrochemical kinetics. In an open environment, the wood separator can hold 39% of the initial adsorption electrolyte capacity after 40 days, much higher than that of glass fiber (GF, 15%). The cellulose in the wood can confine the crossover effect of water thereby inhibiting the corrosion of lithium anode and reducing the deposition of by‐products. Density functional theory calculations certify that the abundant functional groups and uniform electron distribution in cellulose increase lithium‐ion concentration on the wood surface and promote lithium‐ion migration with a low diffusion barrier. LOBs composed of the wood‐derived separator displayed excellent anodic reversibility (over 1200 h) and effectively improved cathodic lifetime over 300 cycles (1.6 times longer than that of GF separator). These findings illustrate the significant potential of this candidate separator for high‐performance LOBs and are expected to be extended to metal‐air batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In saline and salinity-affected soils, the global productivity and sustainability of cotton are severely affected by soil salinity. High salt concentrations hinder plant growth and yield formation mainly through the occurrence of osmotic stress, specific ion toxicity, and nutritional imbalance in cotton. A number of agronomic practices have been identified as potential solutions to alleviate the adverse effects induced by salinity. While genetic breeding holds promise in enhancing the salinity tolerance of cotton, agronomic practices that improve the root zone environment, ameliorate soil conditions, and enhance salinity tolerance are currently considered to be more practical. This compressive review highlights the effectiveness of agronomic practices, such as furrow seeding, plastic mulching, their combination, densely planting, and the appropriate application of fertilizer and plant growth regulators, in mitigating the negative impact of salinity on cotton. By implementing these agronomic practices, cotton growers can improve the overall performance and resilience of cotton crops in saline and salinity-affected soils. This review provides valuable insights into practical agronomic measures that can be adopted to counteract the adverse consequences of soil salinity on cotton cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergency of Omicron variants, spreading in China and worldwide, has sparked a new wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The high infectivity and persistence of the pandemic may trigger some degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for nursing students experiencing indirect trauma exposure to the epidemic, which hinders the role transition from students to qualified nurses and exacerbates the health workforce shortage. Thus, it's well worth an exploration to understand PTSD and its underlying mechanism. Specifically, PTSD, social support, resilience, and fear of COVID-19 were selected after widely literature review. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social support and PTSD among nursing students during COVID-19, to address the mediating role of resilience and fear of COVID-19 between social support and PTSD, and to provide practical guidance for nursing students' psychological intervention. Methods: From April 26 to April 30, 2022, 966 nursing students from Wannan Medical College were selected by the multistage sampling method to fill the Primary Care PTSD Screen for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Brief Resilience Scale, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Oslo 3 Items Social Support Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, spearman's correlation analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis. Results: 15.42% of nursing students had PTSD. There were significant correlations between social support, resilience, fear of COVID-19, and PTSD (r =-0.291 ~ 0.353, P <0.001). Social support had a direct negative effect on PTSD (β =-0.216; 95% confidence interval, CI: -0.309~-0.117), accounting for 72.48% of the total effect. Analysis of mediating effects revealed that social support influenced PTSD through three indirect pathways: the mediated effect of resilience was statistically significant (β =-0.053; 95% CI: -0.077~-0.031), accounting for 17.79% of the total effect; the mediated effect of fear of COVID-19 was statistically significant (β =-0.016; 95% CI: -0.031~-0.003), accounting for 5.37% of the total effect; the chain mediating effect of resilience and fear of COVID-19 was statistically significant (β =-0.013; 95% CI: -0.022~-0.006), accounting for 4.36% of the total effect. Conclusion: The social support of nursing students not only directly affects PTSD, but also indirectly affects PTSD through the separate and chain mediating effect of resilience and fear of COVID-19. The compound strategies targeted at boosting perceived social support, fostering resilience, and controlling fear of COVID-19 are warranted for reducing PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is one of the most common diseases, causing high maternal morbidity and mortality. However, the correlation of gut microbiota in PIH has not been reported. Our aim was to characterize the intestinal microbiota of patients with PIH compared with healthy people. We analyzed and compared the gut microbiota communities in the feces of 28 PIH patients with pregnancy(not pre-pregnancy) body mass index (including height and weight)-matched healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and then investigate the relationships among gut microbiota, cytokines, and PIH. Compared with the healthy group, microbial α diversity was lower in the PIH group, but not statistically significant different. At the phylum level, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria exhibited obvious differences between the PIH and control groups. LEfSe analysis found 33 differentially abundant taxa between the two groups. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in PIH serum or placenta tissues was higher than that of the control group. In addition to alterations in gut microbiota composition, we also found that the Bac_Prevotellaceae, Pre_Prevotella bacteria were positively correlated with NLRP3 level, but negatively correlated with Bac_Bacteroidaceae, Bac_Bacteroides. PIH patients had gut microbiota dysbiosis and increased NLRP3 levels, which will lead to a better understanding of the relationship between the gut microbiota and PIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1984, Gauduchon [Math. Ann. 267 (1984), pp. 495–518] considered the functional of L^2-norm of his torsion 1-form on a compact Hermitian manifold. He obtained the Euler-Lagrange equation for this functional, and showed that in dimension 2 the critical metrics must be balanced (namely with vanishing torsion 1-form). In this note we extend his result to higher dimensions, and show that critical metrics are balanced in all dimensions. We also consider the L^2-norm of the full Chern torsion, and show by examples that there are critical points of this functional that are not Kähler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an alternative anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), LiVO3 has shown great potential. We wished to fully reveal its potential for lithium storage. We introduced low-cost oxalic acid as a carbon source to construct a LiVO3/C core–shell structure. Employed as LIB anodes, the highly reversible specific capacity of LiVO3/C reached 776.0 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1. During five periods of rate testing at various current densities (0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 A g−1), the average capacity of the LiVO3/C electrode was 365.8 mA h g−1 at 5.0 A g−1, and retained a high discharge capacity of 569.0 mA h g−1 when the current was returned to 0.2 A g−1. Impressively, the LiVO3/C anode presented an unprecedented high-rate long cycling performance of 205.0 mA h g−1 at 10.0 A g−1 after 2000 cycles. The unprecedented lithium-storage ability was attributed to the unique core–shell structure, in which all-around carbon encapsulation provided many interfaces, and enhanced the electron conductivity and structural consistency of the LiVO3/C electrode. Moreover, the adaptive reaction dynamics of the LiVO3/C electrode were documented. That is, the gradually increasing pseudocapacitance contribution and decreasing charge-transfer impedance upon cycling were the intrinsic drivers of the excellent rate performance. This work promotes further development of anode materials based on LiVO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The types of fractured-vuggy reservoirs are diverse, with dissolution holes and fractures of different scales as the main reservoir spaces. Clarifying the connectivity between wells is crucial for improving the recovery rate of fractured-vuggy reservoirs and avoiding problems of poor water- flooding balance and serious water channeling. A traditional dynamic connected model hardly describes the geological characteristics of multiple media, such as karst caves and fractures, which cause multiple solutions from the calculation. The static analysis is the basis for connectivity evaluation. In this study, we designed an intelligent search strategy based on an improved A* algorithm to automatically find a large-scale fractured-vuggy connected path by seismic multi-attribute analysis. The algorithm automatically evaluates the interwell-connected mode and clarifies the relationship between the static connected channel and the fractured-vuggy space configuration. Restricted by various factors, such as seismic identification accuracy, a static connectivity study can hardly determine the filling and half-filling inside the channel effectively, even if it can identify the main connectivity channels. An injection-production response analysis based on dynamic production data can more accurately reflect the reservoir's actual connectivity and degree of filling. This paper further studies dynamic response characteristics based on multifractals combined with production data. To reduce the evaluation uncertainty, we combined the static and dynamic connected analysis results to comprehensively evaluate the main connected modes, such as large fracture connectivity, cavern connectivity, and fractured-vuggy compound connectivity. We use the Tahe oilfield as an example to carry out an automatic evaluation of the connected pattern. The comprehensive evaluation results of the new algorithm were basically consistent with the tracer test results and can better reflect the interwell space-configuration relationship. Our model has certain guiding significance for the adjustment of working measures during waterflooding in fractured-vuggy reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedded retaining walls equipped with ground heat exchangers is one kind of energy geostructures, harvesting the shallow ground energy for heating and cooling buildings. However, past investigations mainly focus on the thermal assessment of energy walls, but pay limited attention to mechanical wall behavior and associated ground response. At present, there is no standard preliminary code for assessing the long-term mechanical performance of energy walls. In this study, a comprehensive literature review is conducted to summarize the existing studies on the long-term mechanical behavior of both conventional retaining walls and thermo-active ones, respectively. The review identifies three most critical mechanical factors for energy walls (i.e., horizontal wall movement, ground settlement, and basement heave), while their permissible values can be referred to standard preliminary design criteria of conventional retaining walls in the short-term and limited long-term field measurements. For elaborating the application of design criteria, a parametric study is implemented to evaluate the long-term mechanical performance of energy walls in stiff clay under various thermal conditions, including the influence of thermal solicitations, station temperature and asymmetrical operation mode. The vivid assessing results show that the thermal-induced mechanical movements due to geothermal operation may cause unfavorable serviceability issues (e.g., cracks), but are unlikely to bring critical damages to the structural performance. The identified critical mechanical factors and evaluation of thermal influences in this study provide some guidance for the mechanical assessment of long-term energy wall behavior, particularly in the light of limited field measurements and demonstration cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of magnetic carbon nanotubes for multi-modal cancer treatment, incorporating both hyperthermia and drug delivery functions, has drawn substantial interest. Yet, the present method of regulating hyperthermia temperature involves manually adjusting the magnetic field intensity, adding to the complexity and difficulty of clinical applications. This study seeks to design novel magnetic carbon nanotubes capable of self-temperature regulation, and investigate their drug loading and release characteristics. Using the co-precipitation method, we synthesized magnetic carbon nanotubes with a Curie temperature of 43 °C. A comprehensive investigation was conducted to analyze their morphology, crystal structure, and magnetic characteristics. To enhance their functionality, chitosan and sodium alginate modifications were introduced, enabling the loading of the antitumor drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) into these magnetic carbon nanotubes. Subsequently, the loading and release properties of DOX were investigated within the modified magnetic nanotubes. Under alternating magnetic field, magnetic carbon nanotubes exhibit self-regulating properties by undergoing a magnetic phase transition, maintaining temperatures around 43 °C as required for hyperthermia. On the other hand, during magnetic induction heating, the release percentage of DOX reached 23.5% within 2 h and 71.7% within 70 h at tumor pH conditions, indicating their potential for sustained drug release. The prepared magnetic carbon nanotubes can effectively regulate the temperature during hyperthermia treatment while ensuring controlled drug release, which presents a promising method for preparing nanomaterials that synergistically enhance magnetic hyperthermia and chemotherapy drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using structure prediction software based on particle swarm optimization algorithm, we have discovered a new atmospheric superconductor BeB2C, and the electron–phonon Wannier (EPW) software was used to calculate the superconducting critical temperature, the obtained Tc = 30.3 K, when the effective Coulomb shielding constant and the Ep-ph constant are set to 0.16 and 0.8036 respectively. At the same time, first-principles calculation method was used to study the energy bands and density of states of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a class of quintic systems is investigated. The first 13 focal values are computed with the aid of MATHEMATICA. Then the necessary conditions of integrability and linearizability are obtained and the sufficiency of every condition is proved. Meanwhile, bifurcation of limit cycles is discussed, 13 limit cycles can be bifurcated from the origin. As far as the number of limit cycles enclosing an isolated singular point is concerned, this is so far the best result for elementary singular points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing students are experiencing complex learning environments and will experience complex work environments in future clinical work, which lead to emotional problems easily. However, one's beliefs about controlling their emotions portend a series of vital psychological outcomes. So, it is especially important to search for suitable tools to assess the emotion and regulation beliefs of nursing students and give timely intervention to improve their physical and mental health. This study aimed to translate the American version of the Emotion and Regulation Beliefs Scale (ERBS) into Chinese, revise the original scale and form a simplified version, and assess the reliability and validity of the brief Chinese version in nursing students. Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional design and the multistage sampling design. The ERBS was translated into Chinese, and the reliability and validity of the Chinese version were tested in 980 nursing students. Results: The content validity index was 0.920. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor model for the Chinese version of Brief-ERBS, and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the model fit the Brief-ERBS well. Furthermore, the three-factors model was obtained by using exploratory factor analysis, explaining 51.023% variance, and the communalities of the items ranged from 0.359 to 0.680. With modified confirmatory factor analysis, the fit indices were chi-square/degree of freedom (CMIN/DF) = 4.092, goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.949, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) = 0.927, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.913, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.914, Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.908, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.061. The two-tailed independent samples t-test showed the scores of the top (50%) and low (50%) groups reached the level of significance (P < 0.001). A highly positive correlation between the Brief-ERBS total score and the ERBS total score was found (r = 0.972, P < 0.01). The Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.798, the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.784, and the retest coefficient was 0.879. Conclusion: The Chinese version of Brief-ERBS has good reliability and validity, and may be used for the beliefs about emotional management in Chinese nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the multi-pulse chaotic dynamics of a sandwich plate with truss core under transverse and in-plane excitations. In order to analyze the complicated nonlinear behaviors of the sandwich plate model by means of the improved extended Melnikov technique, the two-degrees non-autonomous system is transformed into an appropriate form. Through theoretical analysis, the sufficient conditions for the existence of multi-pulse homoclinic orbits and the criterion for the occurrence of chaotic motion are obtained. The damping coefficients and transverse excitation parameters are considered as the control parameters to discuss chaotic behaviors of the sandwich plate system. Numerical results and the maximal Lyapunov exponents are performed to further test the existence of the multi-pulse jumping orbits. The theoretical predictions and numerical results demonstrate that the chaos phenomena may exist in the parametrical excited sandwich plate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been significant progress in designing electrode materials and exploring the electrochemical reaction mechanisms in battery systems, the morphological, structural, and compositional evolution of electrode materials during charge/discharge processes remain poorly understood. This review focuses on the morphological evolution of electrode materials during cycling. First, electrode design in lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), pointing out the inevitable morphological variations in the electrode during cycling, is discussed. To describe such variations, the origins of electrochemical activation, sintering, and reconstruction in LIBs are introduced. Their development, providing a profound interpretation of the morphological evolution and associated performance, in situ characterization of the reconstruction process, and advanced means for self‐adaptive reconstruction, is summarized. Subsequently, electrode materials and energy‐storage devices applicable to these concepts are introduced. Finally, current research challenges, e.g., deficiencies in the available research methods, limited information available on electrochemical reconstruction, and lack of precise control over electrochemical reconstruction, are discussed. Furthermore, the most likely areas where further breakthroughs in electrochemical reconstruction may be achieved are discussed. This review is expected to promote research interest in studies on the morphological, structural, and compositional variations in electrode materials and expand the connection between electrochemical activation, sintering, and reconstruction, facilitating the development of energy‐storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty acid profile was one of the important characteristic parameters of edible oil. With the intensification of interest in microalgae as a potential source of edible oil, rapid methods are needed to determine the fatty acid composition of microalgae. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was applied to determine the lipid and fatty acid contents of Nannochloropsis oceanica, a species rich in eicosapentaenoic acid. Samples with different intracellular components were obtained by setting different culture conditions (light intensity and nitrogen concentration). In the spectra of FTIR, some characteristic bands for lipids (3025–2800 cm−1, 1770–1710 cm−1, 1480–1350 cm−1) were identified. Partial least square regression (PLSR) models were developed to predict total biomass, lipid contents, and main fatty acid contents (palmitic acid C16:0, palmitoleic acid C16:1, eicosatetraenoic acid C20:4, eicosapentaenoic acid C20:5). Generally, the prediction ability of the model established with full spectra was slightly better than that of the model established with specific bands. In the optimized model, excellent coefficients of determination (R2 ≥ 0.90), both for calibration and prediction, were found for all variables, except for fatty acid C20:4, which was slightly worse (R2 = 0.8797). The pretreatment methods of samples were further studied. It was found that the acid-heating method (0.1 M HCl, 100 °C, 0.5 h) effectively reduced the interference of the carbohydrate in samples, thus improving the measurement of the characteristic fatty acids C20:4 and C20:5 of N. oceanica. This study showed the feasibility of FTIR as a rapid screening method for evaluating biomass and lipid content, especially some special fatty acid profile of microalgae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various storage and seepage spaces exist in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs composed of multi-scale dissolution pores and fractures. The frequent regulation of the working system causes nonlinear and unstable production data along with complex water breakthrough characteristics, which lead to difficulty in real-time prediction. Traditional methods based on the water drive curve and autoregressive machine learning ignore the spatial correlation among production wells and local geological characteristics. To address these problems, we propose a model based on improved attention, the spatiotemporal multi-graph convolutional network (STMCN), for production prediction. The unit production wells are abstracted as directed graph network nodes to establish adjacency, connectivity and correlation graphs to extract the spatial and semantic features from different perspectives through graph convolutional networks. To depict the law of fluid movement, we realize the fusion of spatial and semantic information through dynamic routing. Aiming at the autocorrelation characteristics of production sequences, the model uses the self-attention mechanism to capture the dependencies in production sequences. The gating mechanism is designed to achieve dynamic production prediction by adaptively aggregating the spatiotemporal characteristics. This paper evaluates the predictive performance of our model by two real-world datasets of the Tahe Oilfield. The results show that the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of our proposed model for the prediction of well A2 were 3.19, 4.66 and 0.07, respectively, which were better than the relatively new baseline model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Excellent-performance composite polymer electrolytes containing 10 wt% BN nanofillers with high dispersity were obtained. • The room-temperature ionic conductivity and the Li+ transference number of the composite electrolytes increase to 4 and 2 times those of the pristine electrolyte, respectively. • The high-content BN fillers can capture the anions, inhibit the polymer crystallization, and form fast-ion BN/polymer interfaces, thus improving the electrical properties. • The composite electrolyte-based metallic lithium batteries deliver greatly-enhanced rate performance and cycling stability at room temperature. Polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based solid-state electrolytes have great potential in the development of solid-state metallic lithium batteries. However, it is difficult to apply them in metallic lithium batteries at room temperature because of the poor ionic conductivity and the lithium dendrite-induced safety problem. Herein, high-performance composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) are developed by filling high-content boron nitride (BN) nanosheets with well dispersity in the PEO-LiTFSI matrices. Theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations reveal that the BN nanofillers with a strong Lewis acid property can capture TFSI− to release more free Li+, reduce the polymer crystallinity, and facilitate the generation of rich BN/PEO-LiTFSI fast-ion interfaces. Thus, the ionic conductivity and the Li+ transference number of the CPEs at room temperature greatly increase to 4 and 2 times those of the pristine electrolyte, respectively. Hence, the Li/CPE/Li batteries can operate steadily at 0.05 mA/cm2 (0.05 mAh/cm2) and 30 °C for 1200 h. Furthermore, the LiFePO 4 /CPE/Li batteries show higher initial capacity of 132 mAh/g and capacity retention of 84 % after 90 cycles at 0.3C and 30 °C than the pristine electrolyte-based batteries (29 %). This study provides a feasible case to prepare excellent-performance CPE films containing high nanofiller content for room-temperature solid-state metallic lithium batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a common phenomenon in ecological environment. At present, researchers have shown that fish can adapt to hypoxia through various ways as improve respiratory efficiency, promote angiogenesis, and reduce metabolism, but different tissues have different coping strategies. The heart is the key organ for coping with environmental pressure such as hypoxia and has physiological plasticity. However, the changes in the fish heart under hypoxia are still opaque. Here we used multi-level techniques such as western blot, immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy to explore the effects of IH on heart. First, we found that IH induced a significant increase in the ratios of heart weight/ body weight (the HW/BW of IH group is approximately 1.24 times that of C group at D16) and more collagen deposition, accompanied by higher levels of plasma catenine (CA), heart myoglobin (Mb), and nitric oxide (NO). Second, IH promoted angiogenesis through increasing the content of hemoglobin (Hb) and Erythropoietin (EPO), and the expression of related genes and protein that regulated angiogenesis, the EPO concentration increased 0.61-fold after IH. Third, IH exposure altered calcium signals, the content of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial Ca2+ increased 0.67-fold and 0.63 -fold respectively, the expression of calcium channels has also been altered. Finally, IH induced the enhancement of the mitochondrial function, the dynamic changes of fusion, division, biogenesis, and autophagy in mitochondria, and ultimately lead to the enhancement of the mitochondrial function. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that changing the structure, promoting angiogenesis, reprogramming Ca2+ signaling, and up-regulating mitochondrial turnover were the compensatory mechanisms of heart remodeling in the hypoxia adaptation of the largemouth bass. [Display omitted] • Intermittent hypoxia (IH) exposure promoted structural and functional remodeling of the heart in largemouth bass. • IH exposure increased angiogenesis in heart. • IH exposure activated calcium signaling in heart. • IH exposure up-regulated mitochondrial turnover in heart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tarim Basin region harbors abundant carbonate reservoirs in which fractures throughout the structures play a crucial role in facilitating the transportation of oil and gas. The degree and distribution of fracture development play a crucial role in achieving a high yield and stable production. Seismic attribute analysis is a widely used and efficacious approach for examining fractures in reservoirs. However, different seismic attributes characterize fractures at different scales, and any single seismic attribute may be of poor quality, making it difficult to describe reservoir channel media comprehensively. In the present study, the seismic attribute volume was sliced from three perspectives to obtain complete geological spatial structural information of the seismic volume. This was accomplished using a shifted window (Swin) transformer module guided by a t-distribution before extracting and capturing the prior information and global contextual cues of the seismic attributes. Additionally, a dual-branch fusion (DBFusion) network that combined a convolutional neural network and a Swin transformer to extract the spatial geological structural features of seismic attributes was used to facilitate a comprehensive integration of local and global contextual information. Through the DBFusion network modeling, the network comprehensively extracted local information and integrated complementary global information. Taking three-dimensional seismic data from a unit in the Tarim Basin as an example, this study explores the fusion of three attributes: coherence, ant tracking, and curvature. When compared to individual attributes, the fused attributes can comprehensively leverage the advantages of all three seismic attributes in reflecting fractures. This results in a more precise representation of fractures of varying sizes in the fused output. It was discovered through comparative experiments that the DBFusion network proposed in this paper exhibits the best performance compared to other models. • The DBFusion network is proposed for fracture attribute fusion. • The geological spatial structure information is extracted from multiple angles. • The T-distribution prior is proposed to extract and capture the prior information. • CNN and Swin Transformer are combined to extract the spatial geological structural features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6 KLF4 elevated the adaptation to ER stress and cell metastasis via regulating NUCB2 expression. a-d Mel-RM cells with or without NUCB2 knockdown were treated with 3 M TM. 3 KLF4 inhibited ER stress-induced apoptosis and facilitated cell metastasis in melanoma cells. a-d KLF4 was stably knocked down in Mel-RM and A375 cells and then the cells were treated with 3 M TM at the indicated times. [Extracted from the article]

In the context of salt cavern applications, this experimental study is dedicated to the characterization of fluid transfer and poromechanical properties of salt rock under isotropic and/or deviatoric stresses. Triaxial test was used to investigate permeability variation with deviatoric stress and time, and simultaneously to get damaged sample. Uniaxial test was also performed as it is more likely to produce damaged sample with cracks, thus highlighting the crucial role of cracking on permeability and couplings. Those pre-damaged samples were then tested again under hydrostatic loading to investigate damage effects and potential sealing/healing. Meanwhile, X-ray micro-tomography experiments were performed to evaluate the internal microstructural changes due to mechanical loadings. They revealed to be consistent with both the permeability evolution and the coupling effect intensity, which is characterized by Biot's coefficient measurements. The damaged samples were found to have higher permeability and more significant coupling effects due to cracking. The results also support the hypothesis that fluid flows through cracks or grain joints and that couplings are mainly due to fluid pressure effect into those cracks. Time effects on permeability were detected for both hydrostatic and triaxial tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the tourism year, tourism fever has become an emerging vocabulary among the public. However, the maintenance of a good ecological environment is the basis for maximizing the benefits of resources and the environment and developing tourism industry. In this paper, forest land, wetland coverage area and urban air quality were as the indicators of ecological environment quality, and the correlation between ecological environment quality and the number of inbound tourists and tourism income as well as the number of domestic tourists and tourism income in Shandong Province was analyzed. The results show that the overall ecological environment quality of Shandong Province has been continuously improved since 2008. By 2015, the forestry coverage rate increased to 24%, and the wetland area also expanded to 173 hm². The total tourism income of Shandong Province continued to increase from 245.22 billion yuan in 2009 to 587.80 billion yuan in 2014, and the number of foreign tourists also rose from 3.10 million to 4.457 million. Typical eco-environmental quality indicators such as forest area and forest greening rate had a significant linear correlation with tourism income, and the correlation coefficients were all higher than 0.85. The results can provide relevant scientific reference for the future development of ecotourism and the protection of ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium vanadate, Na3VO4, is prepared for the first time as a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), showing satisfactory capacity, an ultra-long cycle life and excellent rate capability. When cycling at a current of 0.1 A g−1, the Na3VO4 electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 535.2 mA h g−1 after 610 cycles. Then cycling at a current of 1 A g−1, the Na3VO4 electrode still retains a discharge capacity of 208 mA h g−1 after 2000 cycles. After rate performance testing from 0.1 to 1.6 A g−1 over 210 cycles, the Na3VO4 electrode retains a satisfactory capacity of 350 mA h g−1, when the current returns to 0.1 A g−1. The superior comprehensive electrochemical performance and low cost of Na3VO4 endow it with great potential for practical applications in LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core talents who support China's innovative development and participate in international competition, on which the realization of the two centennial goals depends, are currently receiving basic education. Therefore, there is an urgent need to accelerate the innovation quality education for adolescents, and establish a scientific model of innovation quality training for cultivation and selection of talents. Through the analysis of the current situation of innovation quality cultivation and assessment both in China and in the world, this study proposes a new model of innovation quality assessment and training based on the cognitive theory of brain science, combined with the quantitative assessment technology of psychology, aiming to change the traditional evaluation system and promote the innovation quality cultivation of Chinese youth. The quality assessment paradigm and tool set designed and developed according to this model have been tested in practice in the training and assessment of adolescents, and will be explored more deeply in the cultivation of innovative talents in the future. It is suggested that the evaluation and cultivation should be carried out mainly from the psychological personality (innovative personality) and cognitive ability (innovative ability) which are the core of innovative quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fenton or Fenton‐like reactions are ubiquitous in nature, and the hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generated in these reactions are accountable for a plethora of oxidation processes both in the environment and in vivo. Among these oxidation reactions, lipid oxidation initiated by ·OH radicals has long been oversimplified as a peroxidation mechanism, but in reality, it is a highly complicated process that can result in a large variety of products. Using the unique field‐induced droplet ionization mass spectrometry (FIDI‐MS) methodology that is capable of selective sampling of amphiphilic molecules that reside at the air–water interface, here, we show distinct mechanisms from the ultraviolet (UV)‐enhanced Fenton oxidations of two phospholipids, POPC and POPG, even though these two lipids possess the same functional groups that are vulnerable to ·OH attack. We postulate that it is the different packing densities that determine the permeability of ambient NO molecules into the monolayers, resulting in highly distinct reaction pathways and products. We anticipate that this work will be a wake‐up call that the lipid peroxidation mechanism is sometimes taken for granted and that lipid oxidation can be subtly affected by various factors that deserves deeper investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chalcogenide cathodes with multi‐electron transfer characteristics are indispensable to aluminum‐ion batteries (AIBs). Nevertheless, their grievous capacity degradation and sluggish reaction kinetics remain fundamental challenges for the practical application. Herein, a Cu2S/Ni3S2 multiphase structure within the metal‐organic frame (MOF) derived carbon decoration layer (CNS@MC) is constructed to elevate the intrinsic electronic properties of chalcogenide cathode and realize high‐performance AIBs. The existence of outer carbon layer and strong orbital interaction at inner heterointerfaces eliminates the bandgap and arises more electrons at Fermi level, efficiently reducing the energy barrier for electron transfer and achieving high reactivity within cathodes. The CNS@MC also presents a strong electronic interaction with active solvent groups, which is beneficial to capture Al3+ and facilitate the three‐electron charge‐storage reactions. Experimental results demonstrate that the tailored CNS@MC cathode possesses superior redox kinetics due to the sufficient surface area and rapid Al‐ion diffusion during cycling. Meanwhile, the robust CNS@MC delivers ultra‐high electrochemical stability (131.1 mAh g−1 over 3500 cycles) with high coulombic efficiency and outstanding rate performance. This work offers new opportunities for optimizing the intrinsic properties of the chalcogenide electrodes based on MOF derivatives and heterostructure, providing novel thoughts for designing high‐performance AIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) hold great promise as future energy storage systems, they are impeded by insulated discharge product Li2O2 and sluggish oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution revolution (ORR/OER) kinetics. The application of a highly efficient cathode catalyst determines the LOBs performance. The d‐band modulation and catalytic kinetics promotion are important concept guidelines for the performance enhancement of cathode catalysts. In this work, the homogeneous in‐plane distortion‐derived synergistic catalytic capability of an Ag2Mo2O7 catalyst with modulated d‐band centers and promoted ORR/OER kinetics is demontrated. The uniform elongation of Ag─O bonds and compression of Mo─O bonds in (020) plane leads to d‐band splitting and d‐band center optimization and delivers improved adsorption behavior for high ORR/OER capability. Furthermore, the spatial and energy overlap of Ag dxz and O2 anti‐bonding π* orbitals facilitate electron injection during ORR process and reduce the energy barrier for charge transfer and O2 desorption during OER process, accelerating the ORR/OER kinetics. As a result, the (020) plane‐exposed Ag2Mo2O7 cathode exhibits ultralong cycle stability of 817 cycles at 500 mA g−1 and large specific discharge/charge capacities of 15898/15180 mAh g−1. This work provides facile concept guidance for optimizing catalytic capability through controlled lattice distortion in cathode catalysts for LOBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activating transcription factor 2(ATF2), a transcription factor belonging to the AP-1 family, plays an important role in inflammation. However, its biological functions and underlying molecular mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain unclear. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to identify the expression of ATF2 and Sprouty2(SPRY2) in RA synovial tissues. SW982 cells were stimulated by TNF-α to establish an in vitro RA fibroblast-like synoviocyte (RA-FLS) model. Transwell and monolayer wound-healing were used to detect cell migration and invasion. RNA interference (si-ATF2) and adenovirus vector (Ad-SPRY2) methods were employed to manipulate ATF2 or SPRY2 expression in SW982 cells. The protein expression and phosphorylation levels in SW982 cells were evaluated by western blot. ATF2 expression and phosphorylation were upregulated in the RA synovial tissues. In RA-FLS model, ATF2 expression and phosphorylation were increased in a time-dependent manner. ATF2 knockdown inhibited the migration and invasion of RA-FLS model, reducing the inflammatory factors, which was consistent with the influence on cell behaviors caused by SPRY2 overexpression. Moreover, SPRY2 overexpression inhibited the TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of ERK and ATF2 in SW982 cells. The high expression and phosphorylation of ATF2 promoted migration and invasion of RA-FLSs. SPRY2 might inhibited the inflammatory responses of RA-FLSs via suppressing ERK-ATF2 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spherical k -means problem (SKMP), which is a well-studied clustering problem in text mining, we are given an n -point set D in d -dimensional unit sphere S d , and an integer k ≤ n. The goal is to find a center subset S ⊂ S d with | S | ≤ k that minimizes the sum of cosine dissimilarity measure for each point in D to the nearest center. We prove that any γ -approximation algorithm for the k -means problem (KMP) can be adapted to the SKMP with 2 γ -approximation ratio. It follows that there is a local search (18 + ϵ) -approximation algorithm for the SKMP, by leveraging the classical local search (9 + ϵ) -approximation algorithm for the KMP. Therefore, an interesting problem arises, that is whether there exists an approximation algorithm using local search scheme directly for the SKMP. In this paper, we present a local search approximation algorithm for the SKMP and prove its performance guarantee is (2 (4 + 7) + ϵ). We also conduct numerical computation to show the efficiency of the local search approximation algorithm by single-swap operation in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoporous metals have excellent surface area. These metals can be used to a variety of catalytic usage, particularly to reduce carbon dioxide in to value-added products. The present paper has utilized nanoparticles of fibrous CoMn2O4 that are proposed through a naive wet chemical reduction method as catalyst to carbon dioxide methanation. It is found that methane formation has highly efficient performance as well as selectivity because of their high porosity, high surface energy and controllable crystallinity as well as high number of atomic steps divisions. The nanocatalyst structure of fibrous CoMn2O4 istotally characterized by taking advantage of different techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a N2 adsorption/desorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Asphalt rheological properties of field and laboratory aging can be corresponding. • Rheological and microscopic properties differ between field and laboratory aging. • Early aging behavior can restore and simulate with laboratory aging. • Laboratory aging fails to fully simulate field aging behavior. In this study, the correlation and difference of Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) modified asphalt rheological and microscopic performance under field aging and laboratory aging were analyzed. The asphalt recovery experiment obtained SBS modified asphalt after construction aging (CA), 1 year field aging (1A), and 5 years field aging (5A) as field aging samples. The SBS modified asphalt samples were obtained by laboratory aging methods: ultraviolet aging (UV), rotating film oven test (RTFOT), and pressure aging vessel (PAV). Dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) experiments were applied to test the SBS modified asphalt rheological performance, and infrared spectroscopy (IR) and fluorescence microscopy (FM) were applied to test the SBS modified asphalt microscopic performance. By contrasting the SBS modified asphalt correlation and difference in rheological and microscopic performance during field aging and laboratory aging, the conclusion demonstrates that the degree of rheological and microscopic performance after CA treatment is not significantly different from that after RTFOT treatment. However, from the micro performance analysis, the micro performance indexes of PAV (10H) and PAV (20H) were significantly lower than those of 1A and 5A, and the rheological and micro properties are different after accelerated aging. This suggests that accelerated aging can recover and simulate the behavior in the early stages of field aging, but with increasing age, accelerated aging cannot fully simulate the aging behavior in more complex situations, resulting in a lower degree of accelerated aging than in the mid- to late-stage field aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A resilience assessment framework for underground structures is proposed. • Performance-Time-Cost three-dimensional space is constructed. • The composite performance of the evaluated system is continuously evaluated. • The formulas for comprehensive resilience assessment are derived. Scientifically and reasonably evaluating the safety of existing underground structures under adjacent construction disturbances is of great importance. In this paper, a resilience assessment framework including five steps is proposed to investigate the composite performance and comprehensive resilience of the evaluated structure-stratum system under adjacent construction disturbance. A Performance-Time-Cost three-dimensional space is constructed to interpret the evolution laws of composite performance and recovery costs over time. Using the cross-matrix method from the concept of resilience, the resilience indicator system is constructed. Moreover, the composite performance with multiple indicators of the evaluated system is continuously evaluated using the set pair analysis theory and the combined weights in terms of game theory. Furthermore, the formulas for comprehensive resilience assessment are derived from the perspectives of maximum and cumulative damage of composite performance. Finally, the correctness and rationality of the resilience assessment are verified by engineering applications. The resilience framework proposed in this paper provides theoretical and technical support for the safety state evaluation and control technology of existing underground structures under adjacent construction disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three Co(II) metal–organic frameworks (Co-MOFs) build by 4,4′-bis(imidazolyl)diphenyl ether (bidpe), m-Phthalic acid (H2mpa), 5-Nitroisophthalic acid (H2nmpa) and 5-sulfonatobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylate (H2smpa), namely: [Co(mpa)(bidpe)]n (1), [Co(nmpa)(bidpe)]n (2), {[Co1.5(smpa)(bidpe)2]·1.5H2O·0.25DMA}n (3), were synthesized under same solvothermal condition. The compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that compound 1 shows a 4-connected sql net with Schläfli point symbol (44·62). Compound 2 displays a 3, 5-connected net with Schläfli point symbol (42·67·8)(42·6). Compound 3 possesses a 3-connected net with Schläfli point symbol (42·6). The photocatalytic investigations indicate that compounds 1–3 afford good photocatalytic capabilities in degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methylene violet (MV). Furthermore, the possible photocatalytic mechanisms have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peach gummosis caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is one of the most detrimental diseases to peaches in southern China. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play major roles in plant-pathogen interactions, however, their roles in the pathogenesis of peach gummosis, especially shoot disease in perennials, are largely unknown. In this study, the effects of L. theobromae on ROS production-scavenging systems and on signalling transduction during L. theobromae -induced gummosis in current-year peach shoots were investigated. The infection by L. theobromae led to a ROS burst and activated the plant antioxidant enzyme-dependent scavenging system. With disease progression, the capacity of the plant antioxidant machinery declined, and allowed for ROS accumulation and eventual malondialdehyde production. As for the fungus L. theobromae , the transcripts of genes related to ROS production were significantly repressed, and concomitantly the expression of genes related to antioxidant systems and oxidative stress resistance was markedly upregulated, perhaps to alleviate oxidative stress for successful colonisation. Moreover, genes involved in phytohormones biosynthesis and pathogenesis-related proteins were all markedly promoted, which could contribute to the restriction of disease development in peach shoots. Overall, the results showed that the ROS production-scavenging system in P. persica might affect disease development during peach- L. theobromae interaction. Our findings lay the foundations for future in-depth investigations of the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks underlying L. theobromae -mediated shoot diseases in terms of ROS production-scavenging systems. • L. theobromae stimulated ROS burst and lipid peroxidation in peach shoots. • Antioxidant enzymes were activated and then decreased in inoculated peach shoots. • Antioxidant genes in L. theobromae were highly induced during the infection. • Increased transcripts of defence-related genes may restrict gummosis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study is dedicated to the measurements of gas permeability under confinement and to preliminary characterizations of salt rock poromechanical behavior. Salt porosity and permeability under loading are recorded either with argon or hydrogen gas. Permeability measurements carried out with both gases led to similar values. Poromechanical effects occur but they are weak and strongly dependent on the level of confining pressure. Furthermore, triaxial tests have been used to investigate the evolution of permeability of damaged salt samples with time and confinement. These experimental characterizations are finally analysed in the context of gas storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation of antioxidants by oxidizers imposes great challenges to both living organisms and the food industry. Here we show that the host–guest complexation of the carefully designed, positively charged, amphiphilic guanidinocalix[5]arene pentadodecyl ether (GC5A‐12C) and negatively charged oleic acid (OA), a well‐known cell membrane antioxidant, prevents the oxidation of the complex monolayers at the air–water interface from two potent oxidizers hydroxyl radicals (OH) and singlet delta oxygen (SDO). OH is generated from the gas phase and attacks from the top of the monolayer, while SDO is generated inside the monolayer and attacks amphiphiles from a lateral direction. Field‐induced droplet ionization mass spectrometry results have demonstrated that the host–guest complexation achieves steric shielding and prevents both types of oxidation as a result of the tight and "sleeved in" physical arrangement, rather than the chemical reactivity, of the complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of wind power in China shows a dramatic growth in the past decade in terms of installed capacity. However, wind power companies mainly focus on the construction of new wind farms continuously, while operations management once wind farms are built is seldom paid attention to. The problem is crucial for ensuring efficient power generation, especially when wind turbines' performance declines over time and disruption/failure often occurs. Efficient disruption recovery operations are critical for restoring the failures of wind turbine generators as fast as possible. This paper aims to optimize the disruption recovery operations for wind farms by determining the maintenance schedule and route for multiple maintenance teams. This optimization problem is formulated as a deterministic mixed integer linear programming model with the objective of minimizing the loss of power generation due to failure. In view of the high uncertainty of repair time, a chance-constrained programming model and a cutting-plane solution algorithm are further proposed. A case study based on a real wind farm demonstrates (1) the proposed model is applicable for solving real-world-sized problems; (2) the optimal maintenance route often shows a crossing pattern, which is quite different from that of traditional vehicle routing problems; and (3) the working time limit violation for maintenance teams due to uncertain repair time can be effectively avoided. Overall, the proposed optimization model provides decision-making support for wind farm maintenance work and shows a great potential in wind farm energy management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate continuous development of the wind power industry, maintaining technological innovation and reducing cost per kilowatt hour of the electricity generated by the wind turbine generator system (WTGS) are effective measures to facilitate the industrial development. Therefore, the improvement of the system availability for wind farms becomes an important issue which can significantly reduce the operational cost. To improve the system availability, it is necessary to diagnose the system fault for the wind turbine generator so as to find the key factors that influence the system performance and further reduce the maintenance cost. In this paper, a wind farm with 200 MW installed capacity in eastern coastal plain in China is chosen as the research object. A prediction model of wind farm's faults is constructed based on the Gaussian process metamodel. By comparing with actual observation results, the constructed model is proved able to predict failure events of the wind turbine generator accurately. The developed model is further used to analyze the key factors that influence the system failure. These are conducive to increase the running and maintenance efficiency in wind farms, shorten downtime caused by failure, and increase earnings of wind farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid analysis of pharmaceutical preparations is of great interest in clinical studies with benefits for identifying counterfeit drugs. In this study, droplet spray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (DSI-MS/MS) was developed for the rapid determination of adenine arabinoside monophosphate in pharmaceutical injections without complex sample pretreatment. The sample solution was loaded on the slip corner placed in front of the inlet of a mass spectrometer, and high voltage was applied to the solution to create a charged spray from the corner for MS analysis. The sample was loaded for analysis without additional sample preparation protocols, which greatly simplifies the operation. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were determined to be 2.7 and 9.1 ng/mL, respectively. The recoveries were in the range from 96% to 112%, and the calculated relative standard deviations were less than 7% for the DSI-MS/MS method. Three adenine arabinoside monophosphate pharmaceutical injection samples and a degraded sample obtained by acid treatment at 40 °C were successfully analyzed by directly dissolving and diluting the sample. Moreover, the sample-loading step required only 2 s. Together these capabilities indicate that the DSI-MS/MS is a simple and robust method and has promising applications in pharmacology studies without complicated sample pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common glomerular disease. The major pathological changes associated with it affect cell proliferation, fibrosis, apoptosis, inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. However, the molecular events underlying IgAN remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, an integrated bioinformatics analysis was applied to further explore novel potential gene targets for IgAN. The mRNA expression profile datasets GSE93798 and GSE37460 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. After data preprocessing, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of DEGs was performed. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of the DEGs were built with the STRING online search tool and visualized by using Cytoscape, and hub genes were identified through the degree of connectivity in the PPI. The hub genes were subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, and co-expression analysis was performed. A total of 298 DEGs between IgAN and control groups were identified, and 148 and 150 of these DEGs were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. The DEGs were enriched in distinct GO terms for Biological Process, including cell growth, epithelial cell proliferation, ERK1 and ERK2 cascades, regulation of apoptotic signaling pathway and ECM organization. The top 10 hub genes were then screened from the PPI network by Cytoscape. As novel hub genes, Fos proto-oncogene, AP-1 transcription factor subunit and early growth response 1 were determined to be closely associated with apoptosis and cell proliferation in IgAN. Tumor protein 53, integrin subunit β2 and fibronectin 1 may also be involved in the occurrence and development of IgAN. Co-expression analysis suggested that these hub genes were closely linked with each other. In conclusion, the present integrated bioinformatics analysis provided novel insight into the molecular events and novel candidate gene targets of IgAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ impedance spectroscopy of nanophase and bulk γ-Fe2O3 were performed using a fabricated microcircuit on a diamond anvil cell. The results provide evidence for the existence of grain and grain boundary effects that are separated in the frequency region. The analysis establishes that the grain boundary conductance of nanocrystalline γ-Fe2O3 is higher than that of the bulk material. Both the grain and grain boundary resistances of γ-Fe2O3 smoothly decrease with pressure. A remarkable phenomenon of discontinuity appears at 7.4 GPa for the nanocrystals. This critical value is interpreted by the space charge model and changes in charge densities between the grain boundaries. The impedance analysis further reveals that the relaxation frequency gradually increased with the effect of pressure and the γ-Fe2O3 samples' impedance imaginary part exhibits a typical capacitive characteristic. Within the given pressure range, the relaxation frequency of γ-Fe2O3 follows the Arrhenius behavior. This result was attributed to a dominant interfacial effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TNF-α processing inhibitor-1 (TAPI-1) is a known metalloproteinase inhibitor with potential anti-inflammatory effects. However, its anti-cancer effects on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not been uncovered. Aim: In the present study, the effects of TAPI-1 on ESCC cell viability, migration, invasion, and cisplatin resistance and the underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated in TE-1 and Eca109 cells. Methods: To this end, TE-1 and Eca109 cells were exposed to TAPI-1 for indicated time intervals. Cell viability was assessed using cell counting kit-8 assay and apoptosis was evaluated using flow cytometry assay. Migration and invasion were assessed using Transwell assays. Gene expressions were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The activation of NF-κB signaling pathway was elucidated via Western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Results: We observed that higher doses (10, 20 μM) of TAPI-1 inhibited ESCC cell viability, while a lower dose (5 μM) of TAPI-1 inhibited ESCC cell migration and invasion and enhanced the chemosensitivity of ESCC cells to cisplatin. Moreover, TAPI-1 suppressed the activation of NF-κB signaling and the target genes expression in the stage of transcription initiation. Furthermore, blocking NF-κB signaling in advance could abolish all the effects of TAPI-1 on ESCC cells. Conclusion: Overall, these results indicated that TAPI-1 impairs ESCC cell viability, migration, and invasion and facilitates cisplatin-induced apoptosis via suppression of NF-κB signaling pathway. TAPI-1 may serve as a potential adjuvant agent with cisplatin for ESCC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical application of Li 3 VO 4 anodes for lithium-ion batteries has long been hindered by the intrinsically poor electronic conductivity and fabrication of stable electrodes. Herein, we design a hierarchical Li 3 VO 4 /NC sponge structure (H-LVO/NC SS) for achieving the adhesion of ultrasmall LVO nanoparticles on the N-doped carbon sponge. The structure effectively shortens the charge transport path, increases the effective contact between electrolyte and host material, and promotes reaction kinetics. Based on the structural advantages, the H-LVO/NC SS anode exhibits outstanding lithium storage performance in terms of high reversible specific capacity (710 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1), excellent high-rate property (303 mAh g−1 at 8 A g−1 after 7 periodic rate performance) and superior cycling stability (266 mAh g−1 at the discharge current of 8 A g−1 after 4000 cycles). The pronouncedly improved electrochemical performance of H-LVO/NC SS demonstrates that this structure design strategy could provide a new reference for the new-generation electrode structures and provide in-depth insights for the structural design of other batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]