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Epidemiological studies show an association between low body selenium and the risk of hypertension. However, whether selenium deficiency causes hypertension remains unknown. Here, we report that Sprague-Dawley rats fed a selenium-deficient diet for 16 weeks developed hypertension, accompanied with decreased sodium excretion. The hypertension of selenium-deficient rats was associated with increased renal angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT 1 R) expression and function that was reflected by the increase in sodium excretion after the intrarenal infusion of the AT 1 R antagonist candesartan. Selenium-deficient rats had increased systemic and renal oxidative stress; treatment with the antioxidant tempol for 4 weeks decreased the elevated blood pressure, increased sodium excretion, and normalized renal AT 1 R expression. Among the altered selenoproteins in selenium-deficient rats, the decrease in renal glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) expression was most prominent. GPx1, via regulation of NF-κB p65 expression and activity, was involved in the regulation of renal AT 1 R expression because treatment with dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an NF-κB inhibitor, reversed the up-regulation of AT 1 R expression in selenium-deficient renal proximal tubule (RPT) cells. The up-regulation of AT 1 R expression with GPx1 silencing was restored by PDTC. Moreover, treatment with ebselen, a GPX1 mimic, reduced the increased renal AT 1 R expression, Na+-K+-ATPase activity, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) generation, and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 protein in selenium-deficient RPT cells. Our results demonstrated that long-term selenium deficiency causes hypertension, which is due, at least in part, to decreased urine sodium excretion. Selenium deficiency increases H 2 O 2 production by reducing GPx1 expression, which enhances NF-κB activity, increases renal AT 1 R expression, causes sodium retention and consequently increases blood pressure. [Display omitted] • Long-term selenium deficiency causes hypertension. • Selenium deficiency increases renal AT 1 R expression and sodium retention. • Selenium deficiency elevates NF-κB activity via GPx1/H 2 O 2 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because chloroplast (cp) genome has more conserved structures than nuclear genome and mitochondrial genome, it is a useful tool in estimating the phylogenetic relationships of plants. With a series of researches for cp genomes, there have been comprehensive understandings about the cp genome features. The genus Bulbophyllum widely distributed in Asia, South America, Australia and other places. Therefore, it is an excellent type genus for studying the effects of geographic isolation. Results: In this study, the cp genomes of nine Bulbophyllum orchids were newly sequenced and assembled using the next-generation sequencing technology. Based on 19 Asian (AN) and eight South American (SA) Bulbophyllum orchids, the cp genome features of AN clade and SA clade were compared. Comparative analysis showed that there were considerable differences in overall cp genome features between two clades in three aspects, including basic cp genome features, SSC/IRB junctions (JSBs) and mutational hotspots. The phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation results showed that the AN clade has diverged from the SA clade in the late Oligocene (21.50–30.12 mya). After estimating the occurrence rates of the insertions and deletions (InDels), we found that the change trends of cp genome structures between two clades were different under geographic isolation. Finally, we compared selective pressures on cp genes and found that long-term geographic isolation made AN and SA Bulbophyllum cp genes evolved variably. Conclusion: The results revealed that the overall structural characteristics of Bulbophyllum cp genomes diverged during the long-term geographic isolation, and the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway may play an important role in the Bulbophyllum species evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early detection of colorectal neoplasms can reduce the colorectal cancer (CRC) burden by timely intervention for high-risk individuals. However, effective risk prediction models are lacking for personalized CRC early screening in East Asian (EAS) population. We aimed to develop, validate, and optimize a comprehensive risk prediction model across all stages of the dynamic adenoma-carcinoma sequence in EAS population. Methods: To develop precision risk-stratification and intervention strategies, we developed three trans-ancestry PRSs targeting colorectal neoplasms: (1) using 148 previously identified CRC risk loci (PRS148); (2) SNPs selection from large-scale meta-analysis data by clumping and thresholding (PRS183); (3) PRS-CSx, a Bayesian approach for genome-wide risk prediction (PRSGenomewide). Then, the performance of each PRS was assessed and validated in two independent cross-sectional screening sets, including 4600 patients with advanced colorectal neoplasm, 4495 patients with non-advanced adenoma, and 21,199 normal individuals from the ZJCRC (Zhejiang colorectal cancer set; EAS) and PLCO (the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial; European, EUR) studies. The optimal PRS was further incorporated with lifestyle factors to stratify individual risk and ultimately tested in the PLCO and UK Biobank prospective cohorts, totaling 350,013 participants. Results: Three trans-ancestry PRSs achieved moderately improved predictive performance in EAS compared to EUR populations. Remarkably, the PRSs effectively facilitated a thorough risk assessment across all stages of the dynamic adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Among these models, PRS183 demonstrated the optimal discriminatory ability in both EAS and EUR validation datasets, particularly for individuals at risk of colorectal neoplasms. Using two large-scale and independent prospective cohorts, we further confirmed a significant dose–response effect of PRS183 on incident colorectal neoplasms. Incorporating PRS183 with lifestyle factors into a comprehensive strategy improves risk stratification and discriminatory accuracy compared to using PRS or lifestyle factors separately. This comprehensive risk-stratified model shows potential in addressing missed diagnoses in screening tests (best NPV = 0.93), while moderately reducing unnecessary screening (best PPV = 0.32). Conclusions: Our comprehensive risk-stratified model in population-based CRC screening trials represents a promising advancement in personalized risk assessment, facilitating tailored CRC screening in the EAS population. This approach enhances the transferability of PRSs across ancestries and thereby helps address health disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-modal attention learning in video question answering (VideoQA) is a challenging task, as it requires consideration of information recognition within modalities and information interaction and fusion between modalities. Existing methods employs the cross-attention mechanism to compute feature similarity between modalities, thereby aggregating relevant information in a shared space. However, heterogeneous features have different distributions in the shared space, making it difficult to directly match semantics, which may affect similarity calculation. To address this issue, a novel enhanced cross-modal attention mechanism (ECAM) is proposed in this paper that pre-fuses two modalities to generate an enhanced key with feature importance distributions to effectively solve the semantic mismatch. Compared with the existing cross-attention mechanism, ECAM can realize the semantic matching between multiple modalities more accurately and pay more attention to the relevant feature regions. In the multi-modal fusion phase, a two-stage fusion strategy is proposed to exploit the advantages of the two fusion methods to deeply explore the complex and diverse dependency relationships between the multi-modal features. Collectively supported by these two newly designed modules, we proposed the VideoQA solution based on two-stage deep exploration of temporally-evolving features with enhanced cross-modal attention mechanism which is able to conquer challenging semantic understanding and question answering tasks. Extensive experiments on four VideoQA datasets show that the new approach attains superior results in comparison with state-of-the-art peer methods. Moreover, experiments on the latest joint task datasets prove that ECAM is a general mechanism that can be easily adapted to solve other visual-linguistic tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisphenol A (BPA) can be metabolized by metabolic enzymes and may induce abnormal lipid metabolism. We hypothesized that BPA exposure and its interaction with metabolism-related genes might be associated with serum lipid profiles. We performed a two-stage study among 955 middle-aged and elderly participants in Wuhan, China. Urinary BPA level was estimated without (BPA, μg/L) or with (BPA/Cr, μg/g) adjustments for urinary creatinine and ln-transformed values (ln-BPA or ln-BPA/Cr) were used to normalize the asymmetrical distributions. A total of 412 metabolism-related gene variants were selected and used for gene-BPA interaction analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the interactions between BPA exposure and metabolism-related genes on serum lipid profiles. In the discovery stage, both ln-BPA and ln-BPA/Cr was associated with decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Gene-urinary BPA interaction for IGFBP7 rs9992658 was observed to associate with HDL-C levels in both discovery and validation stages, with P interaction equal to 9.87 × 10−4 (ln-BPA) and 1.22 × 10−3 (ln-BPA/Cr) in combined analyses. In addition, the inverse association of urinary BPA with HDL-C levels was only observed among individuals carrying rs9992658 AA genotype, but not in individuals carrying rs9992658 AC or CC genotypes. The interaction between BPA exposure and metabolism-related gene IGFBP7 (rs9992658) was associated with HDL-C levels. • The associations of BPA and its interactions with gene variants with serum lipids were estimated. • BPA- IGFBP7 rs9992658 interaction was associated with HDL-C. • BPA was inversely associated with HDL-C in rs9992658 AA carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tens of thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified through RNA-seq analysis, but the biological and pathological significance remains unclear. By integrating the genome-wide lncRNA data with a cross-ancestry meta-analysis of PDAC GWASs, we depicted a comprehensive atlas of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)-associated lncRNAs, containing 1,204 lncRNA (445 novel lncRNAs and 759 GENCODE annotated lncRNAs) and 4,368 variants. Furthermore, we found that PDAC-associated lncRNAs could function by altering chromatin activity, transcription factors, and RNA-binding proteins binding affinity. Importantly, genetic variants linked to PDAC are preferentially found at PDAC-associated lncRNA regions, supporting the biological and clinical relevance of PDAC-associated lncRNAs. Finally, we prioritized a novel transcript (MICT00000110172.1) of RP11-638I2.4 as a potential tumor promoter. MICT00000110172.1 is able to reinforce the interaction with YY1, which could reverse the effect of YY1 on pancreatic cancer cell cycle arrest to promote the pancreatic cancer growth. G > A change at rs2757535 in the second exon of MICT00000110172.1 induces a spatial structural change and creates a target region for YY1 binding, which enforces the effect of MICT00000110172.1 in an allele-specific manner, and thus confers susceptibility to tumorigenesis. In summary, our results extend the repertoire of PDAC-associated lncRNAs that could act as a starting point for future functional explorations, and the identification of lncRNA‐based target therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified over 100 colorectal cancer (CRC) risk loci, an understanding of causal genes or risk variants and their biological functions in these loci remain unclear. Recently, genomic loci 10q26.12 with lead SNP rs1665650 was identified as an essential CRC risk loci of Asian populations. However, the functional mechanism of this region has not been fully clarified. Here, we applied an RNA interfering-based on-chip approach to screen for the genes essential for cell proliferation in the CRC risk loci 10q26.12. Notably, HSPA12A had the most significant effect among the identified genes and functioned as a crucial oncogene facilitating cell proliferation. Moreover, we conducted an integrative fine-mapping analysis to identify putative casual variants and further explored their association with CRC risk in a large-scale Chinese population consisting of 4054 cases and 4054 controls and also independently validated in 5208 cases and 20,832 controls from the UK biobank cohort. We identified a risk SNP rs7093835 in the intron of HSPA12A that was significantly associated with an increased risk of CRC (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.08–1.41, P = 1.92 × 10–3). Mechanistically, the risk variant could facilitate an enhancer–promoter interaction mediated by the transcriptional factor (TF) GRHL1 and ultimately upregulate HSPA12A expression, which provides functional evidence to support our population findings. Collectively, our study reveals the important role of HSPA12A in CRC development and illustrates a novel enhancer–promoter interaction module between HSPA12A and its regulatory elements rs7093835, providing new insights into the etiology of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sheet-on-sheet and metal-free graphene/C 3 N 4 /carbon dots (GR/C 3 N 4 /CDots) ternary heterostructure with efficient visible-light photocatalysis for pollutants degradation has been reported. Via a convenient and hydrothermal method, large-sized GR nanosheets can serve as substrate for monodispersed dispersion of C 3 N 4 nanosheets. A subsequent loading of very small amount of CDots (1 wt%, 2–5 nm) onto sheet-on-sheet heterostructure significantly enhance visible-light-driven photoredox performances of catalysts, including oxidation of organics pollutant (RhB, 96.0%) and reduction of heavy metals [Cr(VI), 83.6%]. Excellent catalytic properties of GR/C 3 N 4 /CDots heterostructure can be predominantly ascribed to the intimate interfacial contact among constructing ingredients, increased specific surface area and enhanced light adsorption derived from GR and CDots carbon materials. Particularly, the synergistic sheet-on-sheet interaction between C 3 N 4 and carbon materials (GR and CDots) remarkably accelerate the electrons/holes separation, giving rise to significantly enhanced photoredox performances of GR/C 3 N 4 /CDots in comparison with other counterparts. The synergism effect between organic contaminants and heavy metals also contributed to the efficient performance of GR/C 3 N 4 /CDots, wherein the O 2− and OH were the main active species in the photoredox reactions. This metals-free heterostructure shows favorable photostability in cyclic experiments. We anticipate that our work could provide a classical paradigm for rational design of efficient and visible-light-driven photocatalysts for their sustainable applications in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoelectric Bi 3.15 Nd 0.85 Ti 3 O 12 –NiFe 2 O 4 (BNT–NFO) bilayer films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates by a simple SOL–GEL method and spin-coating process with different growth sequences of BNT and NFO yielding the following layered structures: BNT/NFO/substrate (BNS) and NFO/BNT/substrate (NBS). Such heterostructures present simultaneously strong ferroelectric and ferromagnetic responses, as well as magnetoelectric effects at room temperature. BNS thin films showed larger ME voltage coefficient than NBS films, revealing that the layer sequences have a significant influence on the magnetoelectric coupling behavior of these bilayer structures, which may be caused by a interfacial effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous construction of both rings of indole from primary amines and MBH acetate of cyclohexenone is established. This method employed montmorillonite K10 as a cheap catalyst and diethyl carbonate as a green solvent. The scope of the reaction was scouted, in which 37 N-substituted indoles including 1,1′-bisindole were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One novel Pb(II) coordination polymer formulated as [Pb(4-PyCOO)2]n (1) (Py = C5H4N) has been hydrothermally synthesized. The molecular structure of the polymer has been characterized by elemental analysis, IR and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The complex possesses three-dimensional solid-state structure. The thermal property of the complex has been determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subxiphoid video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is considered a safe and feasible operation for anterior mediastinal mass resection. However, diaphragmatic injury, presented as tearing or puncturing, may occur during subxiphoid VATS despite of low incidence. This study aims to explore risk factors for diaphragmatic injury in subxiphoid VATS, as well as strategies to reduce occurrence of the injury. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 44 consecutive adult patients who underwent subxiphoid VATS. These patients were divided into two groups: diaphragmatic injury group and non-injury group. Perioperative outcomes and anatomic features derived from 3D CT reconstructions were compared between the two groups. Results: Significant differences were observed in operation time (223.25 ± 92.57 vs. 136.28 ± 53.05, P = 0.006), xiphoid length (6.47 ± 0.85 vs. 4.79 ± 1.04, P = 0.001) and length of the xiphoid below the attachment point on the diaphragm (24.86 ± 12.02 vs. 14.61 ± 9.25, P = 0.029). Odds ratio for the length of the xiphoid below the attachment point on the diaphragm was 1.09 (1.001–1.186), P = 0.048 by binary logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: We identified the length of the xiphoid below the attachment point on the diaphragm as an independent risk factor for diaphragm injury during subxiphoid VATS. Prior to subxiphoid VATS, a 3D chest CT reconstruction is recommended to assess the patients' anatomic variations within the xiphoid process. For patients with longer xiphoid process, a higher incision at the middle and upper part of the xiphoid process, and partial xiphoid process resection or xiphoidectomy is preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic kidney disease is associated with the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and its metabolites. db/db mice were fed chow diet with or without 0.4% resveratrol for 12 weeks, after which the gut microbiota, faecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and renal fibrosis were analysed. Resveratrol ameliorated the progression of diabetic kidney disease and alleviated tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Further studies showed that gut microbiota dysbiosis was modulated by resveratrol, characterised by the expansion of SCFAs-producing bacteria Faecalibaculum and Lactobacillus, which increased the concentrations of SCFAs (especially acetic acid) in the faeces. Moreover, microbiota transplantation experiments found that alteration of the gut microbiota contributed to the prevention of diabetic kidney disease. Acetate treatment ameliorated proteinuria, glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis in db/db mice. Overall, resveratrol improved the progression of diabetic kidney disease by suppressing tubulointerstitial fibrosis, which may be involved, at least in part, in the regulation of the gut microbiota-SCFAs axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic cardiography is a completely new technology, it has great advantages in the rapid diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical value of the fourth heart sound (S4), cardiac systolic dysfunction index (SDI), and the cardiac cycle time-corrected electromechanical activation time (EMATc) in the prediction of post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) early ventricular remodeling (EVR) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We recruited 161 patients with AMI of 72-h post-PCI, including 44 EVR patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% and 117 Non-EVR patients (normal left ventricular systolic function group, LVEF ≥ 50%). EMATc, S4, and SDI were independent risk factors for post-PCI early ventricular remodeling in patients with AMI [S4 (OR 2.860, 95% CI 1.297–6.306, p = 0.009), SDI (OR 4.068, 95% CI 1.800–9.194, p = 0.001), and EMATc (OR 1.928, 95% CI 1.420–2.619, p < 0.001)]. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for EMATc was 0.89, with an optimal cutoff point of 12.2, EMATc had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 83%. By contrast, an optimal cutoff point of 100 pg/ml, Serum brain natriuretic peptide had a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 83%. Our findings suggest the predictive value of EMATc for the occurrence of EVR in these patients was also identified; EMATc may be a simple, quick, and effective way to diagnose EVR after AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new nanoscale metal Ti particle-reinforced Mg-3Al-1Zn matrix composite was successfully designed and prepared, which is mainly characterized by the fact that in addition to the "light" advantages of magnesium matrix composite, it also realizes bidirectional improvement of strength and ductility of the composite, and can be used as an alternative material for military light vehicle armor and individual armor. The SEM test shows that the nano-Ti particles are uniformly distributed at the grain boundary under the extruded state, which nails the grain boundary, inhibits the grain growth, and significantly refines the grain. XRD tests show that the addition of nano-Ti particles increases the crystallinity of the composite, which is consistent with the SEM test results. In addition, the EBSD test shows that the weakening of the texture of Ti/Mg-3Al-1Zn matrix composites and the increase in the starting probability of slip system are the main reasons for the improvement in ductility. Mechanical tests show that the yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation of the 0.5 wt% Ti/Mg-3Al-1Zn matrix composites exceed the peak values of ASTM B107/B107M-13 by 38.6%, 26.7%, and 20%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial evidence highlighted the critical role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) in driving hepatocarcinogenesis. We hypothesized that functional variants in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) associated loci might alter the expression levels of lncRNAs and contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we prioritized potentially cis -expression quantitative trait loci-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-lncRNA association together with the physical interaction by the analyses from Hi-C data in GWAS loci of chronic hepatitis B and HCC. Subsequently, by leveraging two-stage case-control study (1738 hepatitis B [HBV]) related HCC cases and 1988 HBV persistent carriers) and biological assays, we identified that rs2647046 was significantly associated with HCC risk (odds ratio = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.43, P = 4.14 × 10−4). Luciferase reporter assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that rs2647046 A allele significantly increased transcriptional activity via influencing transcript factor binding affinity. Allele-specific chromosome conformation capture assays revealed that enhancer with rs2647046 interacted with the HLA-DQB1-AS1 promoter to allele-specifically influence its expression by CTCF-mediated long-range loop. Cell proliferation assays indicated that HLA-DQB1-AS1 is a potential oncogene in HCC. Our study showed HLA-DQB1-AS1 regulated by a causal SNP in a long-range interaction manner conferred the susceptibility to HCC, suggesting an important mechanism of modulating lncRNA expression for risk-associated SNPs in the etiology of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of 2-methyl-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (H3MIA) with Co(NO3)2 in the presence of 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bipy) under hydrothermal condition, yielded one novel two-dimensional (2-D) coordination polymer [Co(HMIA)(H2O)(4,4'-bipy)0.5]·H2On (1). Single-crystal structural study reveals that the complex incorporates alternate left- and right-handed helical chains by 4,4'-bipy linkages. This is the first example of 2-D Co(II) helical coordination polymer with mixed HMIA and 4,4'-bipy ligands. Its thermal properties are also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This thesis investigates a novel solar‐assisted heat pump integrated phase change energy storage system. The defrosting performance of this system was studied experimentally and the results were compared with two traditionally used methods: reverse cycle defrosting (RCD) method and hot gas bypass defrosting (HGBD) method. The results show that the phase change energy storage system has superior performance compared with traditional defrosting methods. The indoor temperature drop recorded was relatively small and the defrosting time was 75% of the RCD system and 53% of HGBD system. The phase change energy storage system increased the condensation temperature which consequently increased the temperature difference of heat transfer resulting in higher conductivity in the defrosting progress. Compared with the method of RCD and the method of HGBD, the recovery time of the system was shortened by 90 and 160 seconds, respectively. The system works with low‐temperature heat source and circulating water, which considerably reduces energy consumption, thereby improving the performance of the defrosting system. A further experimental study was also conducted on the heating performance and the results also indicated that the value of COP can reach up to 3.6 in daytime, and the indoor temperature can be stably maintained above 18°C throughout the day. Novelty Statement: A new defrosting method for energy storage defrosting is proposed, and the defrosting performance is compared with two common defrosting methods. In addition, the performances of the heating system over the day were experimentally investigated. The experimental results show the system meets the heating needs of the building. Finally, the influence of the outdoor temperature on the exergy efficiency of the system was discussed. It shows that this system can improve the operational stability, the system economy and energy saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents a two-stage optimization method for a coupled capacity planning and operation problem, cast within the economical operation of Regional Integrated Energy System. The first stage optimization of the proposed model represents a regional integrated energy system planner whose purpose is to minimize its energy and environmental cost, while the second stage is an operation problem whose primary role is to achieve the optimal operation scheme of the system. The regional integrated energy system planner pursues best interests by co-optimizing the capacity configuration and power output of individual energy supply module, while the regional integrated energy system maximizes the installed capacity of renewable energy sources and minimizes the environmental costs. To illustrate the advantage of the proposed method, the NSGA-II algorithm and the mixed integer linear programming method are implemented to solve the model based on simulation. Besides, application of the optimization method proposed to the energy infrastructure of a regional integrated energy system in China is discussed, and the results obtained through simulation are compared to the bi-level optimization objectives. The results show that the proposed method is economical and effective in practical application. Highlights • A bi-level optimization model for integrated energy system is presented. • A decentralized optimization method is proposed for solving capacity planning. • Accuracy and economy of capacity planning are improved. • The economic efficiency of the RIES is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) displays strong potential applications in visible-light photocatalytic for water treatment, but its applications are greatly restricted by high recombination probability of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, as well as a weak reduction ability toward the heavy metals. In this work, we reported the synthesis of nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 nano-hybrid with highly efficiency toward the photodegradation of RhB and Cr(VI) under the visible light irradiation. The nZVI nanoparticles can well be immobilized and dispersed on the surface of g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets by a facile borohydride-reduction method. As-synthesized nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 has an improved photocatalytic activity much better than that of the pure g-C 3 N 4 , wherein over 92.9% of Cr(VI) and 99.9% of RhB can be removed by using nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 . The nZVI particles not only contributes to the reduction and immobilization of Cr(VI), but also accelerates the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of RhB due to a lower recombination rate of photoexcited holes and electrons. Moreover, nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 preserves superior photodegradation efficiency after five experimental cycles. It can be attributed that nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst is chemically stable, and part of nZVI can be recovered by g-C 3 N 4 . We believe that, the composite of nZVI-g-C 3 N 4 reported here could provide guidance for the design of efficient and reusable materials to remove both the organic compounds and heavy metal ions from waste waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the existence of non-trivial solutions for a class of second-order difference equations with resonance at both infinity and zero by using the critical point theory, the minimax methods and the Morse theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In this paper, we study the existence of nontrivial solutions for a class of second-order difference equations with multiple resonance at both infinity and the origin by applying the critical point theory and Morse theory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we study the existence of solutions for a class of resonant difference systems by using the minimax methods and the Morse theory. We prove that there exists at least one nontrivial solution for the systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A solar air-source heat pump system with phase change energy storage is investigated in this paper. By employing phase change storage in this system, it overcomes the frosting problem in the evaporator and improves the COP of heat pump under the extreme weather condition. The system is constructed and the experiment is carried out in Shijiazhuang. The testing results reveal that the average COP of the heat pump is around 4.92 in the clear days, 1.79 in extreme weather conditions, and 2.12 in the rainy or snow days, which is much higher than the traditional heating mode. Through economic analysis, it is found that the operating cost of the whole heating season is around 22.5% of the oil-fired boiler, 55.4% of the gas boiler, 27.1% of the electric boiler, and 65.6% of the air source heat pump. With the help of phase change storage, solar energy and air source can be utilized to the maximum extent to achieve the purpose of energy-saving and emission reduction in the extremely cold area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi energy demand response is an important measure to achieve the economic and efficient operation of the integrated energy system (IES), which is of great significance to promote the sustainable development of the IES. The concept of demand response (DR) is extended to IES, and a double objective operation optimization model of IES considering integrated demand response (IDR) mechanism is proposed. Firstly, based on the electro-thermal IES, this paper proposes a demand response mechanism considering electric load and thermal load. According to the load composition (transferable load, reducible load, adjustable thermal load), the load management strategy is established. Then, based on the DR mechanism of electro-thermal IES, a multi-objective operation optimization model is established for the first time, which takes the economic benefits and comprehensive energy efficiency as the objective function. The model involves the equipment constraint in the process of energy production and energy transmission. The relationship between total operation cost and comprehensive energy efficiency of electro-thermal IES is analyzed in the part of Data, Simulation Results and Analysis. Finally, the results show that the model effectively improves the economic benefits and comprehensive energy efficiency of IES, and reduces the pollutants emissions to a certain extent. • The information and energy flow framework of an integrated energy system is proposed. • An integrated demand response mechanism considering load composition is established. • A dual objective operation optimization model of integrated energy system is established. • The model aims at economy and comprehensive energy efficiency. • The model can improve the economic, efficiency and environmental benefits of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the coordination and complementarity of multiple energy sources, the optimal capacity planning of integrated energy system under limited financial constraints can promote the local absorption of renewable energy, realize the optimal utilization of resources and improve the utilization rate of comprehensive energy. Aiming at the integrated energy system formed by multi-energy coupling, this paper adopts three investment restraint schemes, simulates the economic operation of the system based on typical daily load characteristic curves in different seasons, and establishes an optimal capacity allocation model of the integrated energy system taking into account the investment cost restraint and minimizing the total annual cost and carbon dioxide emissions. Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA2) and Technology for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are used to optimize the solution. Finally, a park in Beijing is taken as an example to verify the model optimization results and the actual results. The deviation of the target results is less than 5%. This study realizes the scientific capacity allocation of integrated energy system, and provides theoretical basis and technical support for the planning and design of integrated energy system. • Capacity planning optimization under different equipment investment constraints. • Bi-level model framework for universal capacity planning optimization. • The model of multi-objective capacity planning considering economic-environmental cost. • Three schemes are simulated and compared, and sensitivity analysis is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A RIES energy network modeling and operation problem is studied. • An operation optimization model considering ladder environmental trading is established. • The optimization of the energy network is studied by optimizing the EH in the system. • The economic and environmental benefits of the system could be realized. The energy network is a hub center connecting the energy supply side and the energy demand side, which has high flexibility. At the same time, energy hub is the key to coupling different energy networks. Therefore, from the optimization of the output of the energy hub to the optimization of the coordinated operation state of the multi-energy network is the core of the regional integrated energy system operation optimization research. This paper focuses on the operation optimization of regional integrated energy systems based on modeling of Electricity-Thermal-Natural Gas Network. Firstly, a general model of Electricity network, Natural Gas network, and Thermal network is established, on this basis, according to the coupling mechanism of multi-energy network, a comprehensive model of Electricity-Thermal-Natural Gas coupling system is established. Secondly, considering the constraints such as energy balance and transmission power of external network, an economic dispatching model of regional integrated energy system considering ladder carbon trading mechanism is established with the objective of minimizing economic cost. Thirdly, Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm is used to solve the economic dispatch model, and the optimization results of the energy hub are obtained. Combined with the general energy network model, the optimization results of each energy network are further obtained according to the characteristics of energy balance and energy flow transmission of the system, including equipment output, gas turbine efficiency, thermal medium velocity, etc. Finally, in order to illustrate the advantages of this method, "Following power load", "Following heat load", and "Optimal scheduling" are set up in the simulation, and the simulation results show that the total operation cost of "Optimal scheduling" mode is reduced by 8.44% and the environmental emission is reduced by 15.03% compared with the other two modes, and the technical and economic characteristics of "Optimal scheduling" mode have strong advantages in the three modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]