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Objective: Weight regain after weight loss is a challenge in obesity management. The metabolic changes and underlying mechanisms in obese people with weight fluctuation remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to profile the features and clinical significance of liver transcriptome in obese mice with weight regain after weight loss. Methods: The male C57BL/6J mice were fed with standard chow diet or high-fat diet (HFD). After 9 weeks, the HFD-induced obese mice were randomly divided into weight gain (WG), weight loss (WL) and weight regain (WR) group. After 10 weeks of dietary intervention, body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), intraperitoneal glucose tolerance, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (T-CHO) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. Morphological structure and lipid droplet accumulation in the liver were observed by H&E staining and oil red O staining, respectively. The liver transcriptome was detected by RNA sequencing. Protein expressions of liver cytochrome P450 3a11 (Cyp3a11) and E4 promoter-binding protein 4 (E4bp4) were determined by Western blot. Results: After 10 weeks of dietary intervention, the body weight, FBG, glucose area under the curve, T-CHO and LDL-C in WL group were significantly lower than those in WG group (P < 0.05). At 4 weeks of HFD re-feeding, the mice in WR group presented body weight and T-CHO significantly lower than those in WG group, whereas higher than those in WL group (P < 0.05). Hepatic vacuolar degeneration and lipid droplet accumulation in the liver were significantly alleviated in WL group and WR group, compared to those in WG group. The liver transcriptome associated with lipid metabolism was significantly altered during weight fluctuation in obese mice. Compared with those in WG group, Cyp3a11 in the liver was significantly upregulated, and E4bp4 was significantly downregulated in WL and WR groups. Conclusion: Obese mice experience weight regain after weight loss by HFD re-feeding, but their glucose and lipid metabolism disorders are milder than those induced by the persistence of obesity. Downregulated E4bp4 and upregulated Cyp3a11 are detected in obese mice after weight loss, suggesting that the E4bp4-Cyp3a11 axis may involved in metabolic mechanisms underlying weight regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A collection of bronze chariot-horses was discovered in the Yang'an Han tomb in Qionglai City, Sichuan Province. These bronzes was used as burial objects, symbolizing the high status of the tomb owner during his lifetime. To analyze the samples taken from the bronze chariot-horses, various scientific techniques were employed, including metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscope energy dispersive (SEM–EDS), multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) were used to analyze samples from the bronze chariot-horses. Unlike most Han bronzes made of leaded tin-bronze, the bronze chariot-horses were crafted using copper and tin, and their metallographic structure revealed that they were cast. The origin of the copper material used for the bronze chariot-horses differed noticeably from that of bronzes excavated in the Sichuan area from the late Warring States period and Western Han period. Historical documents and archaeological findings suggested that the owners of the bronze chariot-horses were possibly vassals. As the Sichuan region was governed by the central government of the Western Han Dynasty through the establishment of prefectures and counties rather than through the enfeoffment system, the presence of the bronze chariot-horses in Yang'an Han tomb may be related to the family of Liu Yue (刘越). The analysis of the lead isotope data indicated that the copper material likely originated from the southeastern Hebei and western Shandong, providing strong evidence for the link between the bronze chariot-horses and the family of Liu yue in terms of resource circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electricity consumption behavior of the inhabitants is a major contributor to the uncertainty of the residential load system. Human-caused uncertainty may have a distributional component, but it is not well understood, which limits further understanding the stochastic component of load forecasting. This study proposes a short-term load-interval forecasting method considering the stochastic features caused by users' electricity consumption behavior. The proposed method is composed of two parts: load-point forecasting using singular spectrum analysis and long short-term memory (SSA-LSTM), and load boundaries forecasting using statistical analysis. Firstly, the load sequence is decomposed and recombined using SSA to obtain regular and stochastic subsequences. Then, the load-point forecasting LSTM network model is trained from the regular subsequence. Subsequently, the load boundaries related to load consumption consistency are forecasted by statistical analysis. Finally, the forecasting results are combined to obtain the load-interval forecasting result. The case study reveals that compared with other common methods, the proposed method can forecast the load interval more accurately and stably based on the load time series. By using the proposed method, the evaluation index coverage rates (CRs) are (17.50%, 1.95%, 1.05%, 0.97%, 7.80%, 4.55%, 9.52%, 1.11%), (17.95%, 3.02%, 1.49%, 5.49%, 5.03%, 1.66%, 1.49%), (19.79%, 2.79%, 1.43%, 1.18%, 3.37%, 1.42%) higher than the compared methods, and the interval average convergences (IACs) are (−18.19%, −8.15%, 3.97%), (36.97%, 21.92%, 22.59%), (12.31%, 21.59%, 7.22%) compared to the existing methods in three different counties, respectively, which shows that the proposed method has better overall performance and applicability through our discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The segmentation of airborne laser scanning (ALS) point clouds remains a challenge in remote sensing and photogrammetry. Deep learning methods, such as KPCONV, have proven effective on various datasets. However, the rigid convolutional kernel strategy of KPCONV limits its potential use for 3D object segmentation due to its uniform approach. To address this issue, we propose an Integrated Point Convolution (IPCONV) based on KPCONV, which utilizes two different convolution kernel point generation strategies, one cylindrical and one a spherical cone, for more efficient learning of point cloud data features. We propose a customizable Multi-Shape Neighborhood System (MSNS) to balance the relationship between these convolution kernel point generations. Experiments on the ISPRS benchmark dataset, LASDU dataset, and DFC2019 dataset demonstrate the validity of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal laminated composites are widely used in industrial and commercial applications due to their excellent overall performance. In this study, the copper/graphene-aluminum-copper/graphene (Cu/Gr-Al-Cu/Gr) laminated composites were prepared by ingenious hot pressing design. Raman, optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), van der Pauw (vdP), and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) were used to investigate the graphene status, interface bonding, diffusion layer thickness, electrical conductivity, Miller indices and secondary phases, respectively. The results demonstrate that the Cu-Al interfaces in the Cu/Gr-Al-Cu/Gr composites were free of pores, cracks and other defects and bonded well. The number of graphene layers was varied by regulating the thickness of the Cu/Gr layer, with the Cu/Gr foils fabricated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The electrical conductivity of the composite was significantly improved by the induced high-quality interfaces Cu/Gr structure. The increased number of graphene layers is beneficial for enhancing the electrical conductivity of the Cu/Gr-Al-Cu/Gr composite, and the highest conductivity improved by 20.5% compared to that of raw Al. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in fire protection discipline has been sufficiently proved to be useful, but has encountered many barriers in China. Among which, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are considered sensitive to adoption costs and external funding support, play a critical role in the BIM adoption process in fire protection discipline. Therefore, identifying and analyzing the barriers of BIM application are essential to help small- and medium-sized fire protection enterprises to overcome these barriers. In this study, semantic analysis, which includes word frequency analysis and coword analysis, based on literature review was utilized to identify the main barriers. 20 main barriers, which were classified into software, people, organization, and environment group, were obtained. Then, Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis were utilized to hierarchically analyze and categorize the main barriers of BIM application in Chinese SMFEs. The findings revealed that the lack of external support and the lack of BIM laws and regulations applicable to fire protection discipline are the key barriers in general for the application of BIM in SMFEs. For the barriers at the enterprise level, through further analysis and discussion based on barriers in the people and organization clusters, the lack of funding support for proper BIM training and the lack of organization culture support were concluded as the key barriers of BIM application inside the scope of SMFEs. According to 80-20 principle, more effort should be focused on the key barriers to gain maximum management effect. The research result categorizes the barriers for easy intervention of fire protection enterprises' managers and policymakers. It contributes to the nascent studies of BIM application and provides guidance for the application of BIM in fire protection discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent glass-ceramics based on ZnO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 (ZAS) glass system exhibit excellent optical and mechanical properties that are dependent on crystal grains. Gahnite (ZnAl 2 O 4) was the main phase that crystallized in ZAS glass-ceramics via thermoelectric coupling treatment. The morphology and size of ZnAl 2 O 4 crystal were controlled by the electric field strength. Introduction of thermoelectric coupling field led to the refinement and dispersion of large and agglomerated ZnAl 2 O 4 crystal grains, which improved the transmission and Vickers' hardness of the ZAS-based glass-ceramics. Theoretical calculations revealed that crystal phase is the area of low electric field strength, which resulted in the migration of Zn ions (Zn2+) from glass phase to the ZnAl 2 O 4 crystal regions under the effect of thermoelectric coupling field. The decrease in the amount of Zn2+ in glass phase further limited its grain growth, and refinement of ZnAl 2 O 4 grains was achieved. This research shows an efficient and rapid approach to refine grains in ZAS glass-ceramics by application of thermoelectric coupling treatment. • In this work, it is the first time use of thermoelectric coupling field to precipitate ZnAl 2 O 4 nanocrystals in ZnO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics. • The application of a thermoelectric coupling field was used to refine and uniformly distribute ZnAl 2 O 4 crystals in ZnO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics. • The mechanism of a thermoelectric coupling field on crystal refinement is explained in detail, which provides ideas for the refinement and uniformly distribution of crystal grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are well-known regulators of cancer progression and chemoresistance in various types of cancers. This study was performed to investigate the function of hsa_circ_0000277 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods: RNA levels were analyzed via the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was applied to determine cell proliferation and half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of cisplatin (DDP). Colony formation ability was evaluated by colony formation assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were measured using flow cytometry. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), pull-down assay and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed for target interaction analysis. The protein levels were determined through western blot. Xenograft models were established for researching hsa_circ_0000277 function in vivo.Results: Hsa_circ_0000277 expression was increased in ESCC cells and tissues, and it had important clinical significance. Downregulation of hsa_circ_0000277 repressed ESCC cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, and DDP resistance. Hsa_circ_0000277 acted as a microRNA-873-5p (miR-873-5p) sponge and Sry-related high-mobility group box 4 (SOX4) was validated as a target of miR-873-5p. Moreover, hsa_circ_0000277/miR-873-5p axis and miR-873-5p/SOX4 axis regulated ESCC cell progression and DDP resistance. Hsa_circ_0000277/miR-873-5p axis activated SOX4/Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Hsa_circ_0000277 facilitated tumorigenesis and DDP resistance by miR-873-5p/SOX4 axis in vivo.Conclusion: These findings unraveled that hsa_circ_0000277 promoted ESCC progression and DDP resistance via miR-873-5p/SOX4/Wnt/β-catenin axis, showing a specific molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis and chemoresistance in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a variety of underlying factors influencing what and how people communicate in their daily life. The ability to capture and utilize these factors enables the conversational systems to generate favorable responses and set up amicable connections with users. In this work, we investigate two major factors in response generation, i.e., emotion and intention. To explore the dependency between them, we develop a hierarchical variational model that predicts in sequence the emotion and intention to be conveyed in a response. The response can then be generated word-by-word based on the predictions. We also apply a novel adversarial-augmented inference network to facilitate model training. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model as well as the novel adversarial objective. The hypothesis that emotion shapes human communication behavior is also validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In numerous fields such as digital health, soft robotics, and artificial intelligence, there is a growing demand for sensing various types of weak signals. In response to this need, flexible sensors should possess characteristics such as high sensitivity (i.e., gauge factor, GF), good conformability and high cyclic stability. So, in this study a simple method was employed to prepare flexible sensors using a polyimide (PI) fabric as a flexible substrate and hot-press molding technique. Furthermore, a strategy was proposed to adjust the GF using a macroscopic crack array. Compared to traditional film substrates, fabric substrates exhibit better conformability and can be designed into variable curvature structures, presenting greater potential for various applications. Experimental data illustrate that the designed flexible fabric sensor exhibits exceptional linearity within the 0–10% strain range, with a linearity value of 0.99747. Subsequently, an extremely simple and cheap strategy for modulating the GF was proposed based on such fabric structure. The strategy is engraving an array of cracks on the surface of the sensor. The GF of the crack arrays sensors was boosted to 25 times of that without engraved crack arrays. The sensors with and without crack arrays finally accomplished the sensing tests of finger bending signal, breathing signal, blinking signal, and speech signal successfully. Therefore, the proposed sensor preparation scheme and GF enhancement strategy in this study exhibit strong potential for applications in the field of wearable flexible electronics. [Display omitted] • The sensor utilizes a PI fabric as the flexible substrate and a hot-press molding process in its preparation. • The sensor has excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99) in its working range (10%). • The use of a macroscopic crack structure increases the sensitivity of the sensor by a factor of 25. • The sensor is capable of detecting voice signals and a variety of motion signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Li 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 (LAS) glass ceramics are prepared by one-step thermoelectric treatment. The influence of thermoelectric treatments on LAS glass-ceramics were studied. The crystal phase composition and microstructure of the LAS glass-ceramics were investigated by DSC, SEM, XRD and FTIR. Moreover, the thermal expansion performance and light transmittance of LAS nanocrystalline glass were characterized. The results show that low-expansion transparent LAS nanocrystalline glass can be produced in a short time by thermoelectric treatment. The free energy of nucleation and the degree of polymerization of the glass network are reduced by the electric field. The key is that the electric field polarizes Ti and Zr ions at the crystallization temperature, so that the crystal nuclei repel the same poles. This allows uniform crystal distribution, promotes crystallization and reduces one-step crystallization of crystal agglomeration. This proves that the rapid preparation of nanocrystalline glass by the one-step method is feasible, and provides a reference for the future one-step processing of glass-ceramics. • Thermoelectric treatment promotes crystallization in LAS nanocrystalline glass. • It eliminates crystal agglomeration in LAS nanocrystalline glass. • It can rapidly produce low-expansion transparent LAS nanocrystalline glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For general gravitational collapse, inside the black-hole region, singularities (r = 0) may arise. In this article, we aim to answer how strong these singularities could be. We analyse the behaviours of various geometric quantities. In particular, we show that in the most singular scenario, the Kretschmann scalar obeys polynomial blow-up upper bounds O (1 / r N) . This improves previously best-known double-exponential upper bounds O (exp exp (1 / r)) . Our result is sharp in the sense that there are known examples showing that no sub-polynomial upper bound could hold. Finally we do a case study on perturbations of the Schwarzschild solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove a sharp upper bound on the number of integer solutions of the Parsell–Vinogradov system in every dimension d ≥ 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based point cloud semantic segmentation has presented significant breakthrough using large-scale labeled aerial laser point cloud datasets. However, annotating such large-scaled point clouds is time-consuming. Self-Supervised Learning (SSL) is a promising approach to this problem by pre-training a DNN model utilizing unlabeled samples followed by a fine-tuned downstream task involving very limited labels. The traditional contrastive learning for point clouds selects the hardest negative samples by solely relying on the distance between the embedded features derived from the learning process, potentially evolving some negative samples from the same classes to reduce the contrastive learning effectiveness. This work proposes a hard-negative sample-aware self-supervised contrastive learning algorithm to pre-train the model for semantic segmentation. We designed a k-means clustering-based Absolute Positive And Negative samples (AbsPAN) strategy to filter the possible false-negative samples. Experiments on two typical ALS benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method is more appealing than supervised training schemes without pre-training. Especially when the labels are severely inadequate (10% of the ISPRS training set), the results obtained by the proposed HAVANA method still exceed 94% of the supervised paradigm performance with full training set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomiasis represents one of the most prevalent parasitic infections affecting over 249 million people worldwide. The pathological damage is mainly caused by the eggs laid by female schistosomes. Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) usually play critical roles in many biological functions. In this study, we cloned, identified and characterized the zinc finger protein SjZF of Schistosoma japonicum . SjZF ortholog proteins were also identified in S. mansoni , S. haematobium , Opisthorchis viverrini and O. sinensis . Fluorescence localization showed that SjZF was particularly expressed in the worm gut of both genders and the vitelline glands of females. In vitro RNAi assay indicated that decreased expression of SjZF could affect the survival rate of adult worms. The immune protection assay indicated that rSjZF did partially protect mice with 54.8% reduction in the worm burden and 34.1% reduction in the liver eggs. Taken in concert, our preliminary results suggest that SjZF may be a potential vaccine candidate for schistosomiasis and may further provide evidence for a possible role of SjZF in the development of schistosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variable temperature characteristics of isobaric phase transition process for zeotropic mixture can effectively reduce the heat transfer irreversibility between working fluids and heat sources or heat sinks for thermodynamic cycle systems. One of the key problems in the application of zeotropic mixtures for power generation systems is how to determine their optimal components and compositions. The traditional method is mainly based on the exhaustive method, which means that every considered component and their compositions in the mixture are optimized one by one and mainly caused by the independence and discontinuity of components. This process will consume a large amount of computing resources, which limits the optimization of zeotropic mixtures. In order to describe the discrete components and optimize them, the selective coefficient representing every component alternative is introduced and this paper recommends a simultaneous approach to achieve the optimal components and compositions of zeotropic mixture at the same time. Two case studies with different heat sources and sinks as well as system layouts are illustrated to show the proposed approach. Besides, it also proves the systems with zeotropic mixture have better performance than that of systems with pure fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem that the irreversible loss of the condensation process for the traditional LNG power generation system is too large, this paper presents four different two-stage condensation Rankine cycles based on different arrangements of pumps and turbines. The effects of the operating conditions (the first-stage and second-stage condensation temperatures) and various working fluids on the performance of the four cycles with different structures are investigated. The results show that when the arrangement of the turbines is the same, the arrangement of the pumps (series or parallel) has little effect on the net output power. However, when the arrangement for the pumps is the same, the arrangement for the turbines has a significant effect on the net output power. When the working fluid is n-pentane and the turbines are of series arrangement, the maximum net output power is increased by about 17% compared with the condition that the turbines are of parallel arrangement. In addition, for the same cycle, whether the isentropic efficiency of turbine is a constant value or not has a significant effect on the maximum net output power, the optimal operating conditions, and the optimal working fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henstock and Macbeath asked in 1953 whether the Brunn–Minkowski inequality can be generalized to nonabelian locally compact groups; questions along the same line were also asked by Hrushovski, McCrudden, and Tao. We obtain here such an inequality and prove that it is sharp for helix-free locally compact groups, which includes real linear algebraic groups, Nash groups, semisimple Lie groups with finite center, solvable Lie groups, etc. The proof follows an induction on dimension strategy; new ingredients include an understanding of the role played by maximal compact subgroups of Lie groups, a necessary modified form of the inequality which is also applicable to nonunimodular locally compact groups, and a proportionated averaging trick. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Sharir and Solomon (2015), Sharir and Solomon showed that the number of incidences between m distinct points and n distinct lines in R 4 is (1) O ∗ m 2 ∕ 5 n 4 ∕ 5 + m 1 ∕ 2 n 1 ∕ 2 q 1 ∕ 4 + m 2 ∕ 3 n 1 ∕ 3 s 1 ∕ 3 + m + n , provided that no 2-flat contains more than s lines, and no hyperplane or quadric contains more than q lines, where the O ∗ hides a multiplicative factor of 2 c log m for some absolute constant c . In this paper we prove that, for integers m , n satisfying n 9 ∕ 8 < m < n 3 ∕ 2 , there exist m points and n lines on the quadratic hypersurface in R 4 { ( x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , x 4 ) ∈ R 4 ∣ x 1 = x 2 2 + x 3 2 − x 4 2 } , such that (i) at most s = O ( 1 ) lines lie on any 2-flat, (ii) at most q = O ( n ∕ m 1 ∕ 3 ) lines lie on any hyperplane, and (iii) the number of incidences between the points and the lines is Θ ( m 2 ∕ 3 n 1 ∕ 2 ) , which is asymptotically larger than the upper bound in (1) , when n 9 ∕ 8 < m < n 3 ∕ 2 . This shows that the assumption that no quadric contains more than q lines (in the above mentioned theorem of Sharir and Solomon (2015)) is necessary in this regime of m and n . By a suitable projection from this quadratic hypersurface onto R 3 , we obtain m points and n lines in R 3 , with at most s = O ( 1 ) lines on a common plane, such that the number of incidences between the m points and the n lines is Θ ( m 2 ∕ 3 n 1 ∕ 2 ) . It remains an interesting question to determine if this bound is also tight in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove the discrete analogue of Kakeya conjecture over $$\mathbb {R}^n$$ . This result suggests that a (hypothetically) low-dimensional Kakeya set cannot be constructed directly from discrete configurations. We also prove a generalization which completely solves the discrete analogue of the Furstenberg set problem in all dimensions. The main tool of the proof is a theorem of Wongkew (Pac J Math 159:177-184, 2003), which states that a low-degree polynomial cannot have its zero set being too dense inside the unit cube, coupled with Dvir-type polynomial arguments (Dvir in J Am Math Soc 22(4):1093-1097, 2009). From the viewpoint of the proofs, we also state a conjecture that is stronger than and almost equivalent to the (lower) Minkowski version of the Kakeya conjecture and prove some results toward it. We also present our own version of the proof of the theorem in Wongkew (Pac J Math 159:177-184, 2003). Our proof shows that this theorem follows from a combination of properties of zero sets of polynomials and a general proposition about hypersurfaces which might be of independent interest. Finally, we discuss how to generalize Bourgain's conjecture to high dimensions, along the way providing a counterexample to the most naive generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Cu/EHEA composite was successfully fabricated via solid–liquid bonding. • Good metallurgical interface bonding was achieved by the element mutual diffusion. • The interface of Cu/EHEA composites possessed an excellent bonding strength. • An increase in hardness on the Cu side was associated with the formation of precipitates. In the present work, a layered composite consisting of pure copper (Cu) and AlCoCrFeNi 2.1 eutectic high entropy alloy (EHEA) was fabricated via solid/liquid bonding. The results demonstrated that the interface of Cu/EHEA layered composites had a good bonding strength. The element diffusion and mechanical property of the interface were analyzed. In the diffusion layer, no crack defects were formed. The interface microhardness was about 210 HV. The tensile strength of the Cu/EHEA composite was ∼ 150 MPa, indicating that the interface strength was higher than that of pure Cu. The layered Cu/EHEA composite is a promising candidate with the excellent comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we deal with the following problem: Given a set B consisting of n points, not all on a line or a circle. A circle passes through exactly three points of B is called an ordinary circle. What is the minimal possible number of ordinary circles determined by B? In this paper we improve the best-known lower bound $\frac{22}{247}{n\choose2}$ to $\frac{1}{9}{n\choose2}$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study an extension of the Falconer distance problem in the multiparameter setting. Given \ell \geq 1 and \mathbb {R}^{d}=\mathbb {R}^{d_1}\times \cdots \times \mathbb {R}^{d_\ell }, d_i\geq 2. For any compact set E\subset \mathbb {R}^{d} with Hausdorff dimension larger than d-\frac {\operatorname {min}(d_i)}{2}+\frac {1}{4} if \operatorname {min}(d_i) is even, d-\frac {\operatorname {min}(d_i)}{2}+\frac {1}{4} +\frac {1}{4\operatorname {min}(d_i)} if \operatorname {min}(d_i) is odd, we prove that the multiparameter distance set of E has positive \ell-dimensional Lebesgue measure. A key ingredient in the proof is a new multiparameter radial projection theorem for fractal measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Use of enhanced recovery after surgery(ERAS) protocol in the patients after esophagectomy is reported to be feasible and safe in recent studies. And in Prof. Yin Li's research, patients after minimally invasive esophagectomy(MIE) with Li's anastomosis took oral feeding on the 1st day after operation (POD1). However, all the esophagectomy-procedures were proceeded by experienced experts. There was no report regarding whether ERAS protocol after MIE with Li's anastomosis could be safely proceeded by a young surgeon after training course. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of 'Non-Tube No Fasting' ERAS Protocol in patients after MIE with Li's Anastomosis proceeded by a surgeon after the training course. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of patients who underwent MIE for cancer from December 2015 to September 2017 by a new surgical team finished MIE training course in our department. During the study period, the new team performed Mckeown MIE with Li's anastomosis for 127 esophageal cancer patients. We analyzed the data of 113 patients who followed the protocol of 'Non-tube No Fasting' ERAS. The primary end-points were the incidence of anastomotic fistula, the injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve, pneumonia, and postoperative length of hospital-stay. Results All the 113 patients began oral feeding on POD1. Two patients exited the ERAS protocol on account of bucking caused by recurrent laryngeal nerve injury on POD3. The incidence of anastomotic fistula, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and pneumonia were 3.5% (4/113), 12.4%(14/113) and 18.5%(21/113). The average length of postoperative hospital-stay was 8.6 ± 6.9 days. Both of the in-hospital mortality and 30-day mortality were 0. Conclusion Our date indicated that it was feasible and safe for a selected surgeon after 'Non-tube no fasting' ERAS and MIE training courses to proceed the protocol. Of course, more clinical researches are needed to confirm this result. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore whether the upper and/or middle mediastinal nodes (UMMN) should be dissected in Siewert type II adenocarcinoma (AC) according to the incidence of lymph node metastasis. Additionally, to investigate the association between the length of esophageal involvement (LEI) and the UMMN metastases. Methods: A cohort with Siewert type II AC who were operated on by a surgical team that routinely treated esophagogastric junction (EGJ) tumors with esophagectomy and extended lymphadenectomy were assessed retrospectively. The primary endpoint of the research was the metastasis rate of UMMN. Results: A total of 94 patients with EGJ tumor from July 2018 to September 2022 were enrolled. Station 106recR (6.4%, 6/94) was the only station among upper mediastinal nodes (UMN) that presented positive nodes. Middle mediastinal nodes (MMN) metastases of station 107, 109 and station 108 were 2.1% (2/94) and 5.0% (4/80), respectively. Among the 11 patients with MMN or UMN metastases, 63.6% (7/11) had lesser than seven metastatic nodes, and 54.5% (6/11) had a pathological N stage ≤2. LEI >3 cm (p = 0.042) showed a higher risk for MMN metastases in univariable logistic analysis. However, no independent risk factor for mediastinal node metastases was detected. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the incidence of positive MMN and UMN is relatively low in resectable Siewert type II AC, which indicated that it is not necessary to perform a routine dissection upon these stations. LEI >3 cm might be associated with higher risk for mediastinal node metastasis. Certain patients could benefit from extended lymphadenectomy since most of the patients with positive MMN or UMN have a limited number of metastatic nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An improved multi-timescale coordinated control strategy is proposed to be used in an integrated energy system. • A hybrid energy storage system is introduced into the system. • Operating costs and carbon emissions are considered as the optimization objectives. • General rules for sizing hybrid energy storage system are proposed in this paper. In view of the complex energy coupling and fluctuation of renewable energy sources in the integrated energy system, this paper proposes an improved multi-timescale coordinated control strategy for an integrated energy system (IES) with a hybrid energy storage system (HESS). The power response characteristics of various devices in IES at different time scales are analyzed which shows that the multi-timescale coordinated control method can be well coupled with the IES including HESS. The advantages of HESS over single energy storage system in stabilizing power fluctuation and extending energy storage life are compared and analyzed while the control method of supercapacitor under multi-time scale coordinated control strategy is proposed. The primary energy consumption, operating costs, carbon dioxide emissions and load shedding costs are considered the optimization objectives in the day-ahead rolling optimization stage according to the day-ahead forecast renewable energy (RE) data. In the intraday rolling adjusting stage, the proposed method can reduce the effect of the RE day-ahead forecasting errors to achieve the intraday energy scheduling balance and ensure the safe operation of the devices of IES. Considering the background of IES with a high proportion of renewable energy, this paper makes innovative use of the advantages of HESS to improve the power response characteristic of the system. The high-frequency part of RE is balanced by HESS in the real-time coordinated control stage. A typical structure of IES is applied and the simulation results are analyzed to show the performance of the proposed method in this paper. Moreover, general rules for sizing of HESS are also proposed. The influence of the hybrid energy storage capacity allocation ratio on battery capacity loss and carbon emission reduction is discussed. The Pareto front including the configuration and cost of supercapacitor has been obtained. As shown in the case, the application of HESS in the IES can improve the power response characteristic, extend the lithium-ion battery (LiB) life and has more benefits in reducing carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomes are parasitic platyhelminths that threaten over 600 million people globally. In recent years, RNA interference (RNAi) has been widely used as a molecular tool in research into the genomic function of parasites. We aim to develop effective protocols for application of RNAi technology in the intra-mammalian life stages of Schistosoma japonicum . In this work, the expression of the parasite gene encoding cathepsin B1 ( Sj CB1) was targeted by exposing the worms to 10 μg of long dsRNA dissolved in 0.1 ml of 0.7% NaCl injected into the tail vein of infected mice. This method was effective and specific for eliciting Sj CB1 gene suppression in both male and female adult worms in vivo (>79.4% in male and >91.5% in female knockdown relative to control). In 60 cercaria infected mice, RNAi suppression of gene expression was best achieved by using 10 μg of target dsRNA for at least 4 days. The recommended procedure for interference producing long-term suppression was an injection of dsRNA on the first day of infection with booster injections administered every 4 days for up to 26 days. Long-term suppression of three published functional genes (peroxiredoxin-1, mago nashi, insulin receptor) in S. japonicum provided more information about the role of the expression of these genes in producing particular phenotypes. The protocols described here may be more convenient, economical and applicable, than currently available technology and have contributed to the observation of more phenotypes during worm development from schistosomula to adult. These approaches may promote and facilitate further studies into functional schistosome genomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isothermal phase transition process of pure working fluids cannot effectively match the liquefied natural gas (LNG) gasification process, resulting in low efficiency of LNG cold energy power generation systems. In order to improve the temperature matching characteristics, mixed working fluids with a temperature glide during the phase change process can be adopted. In our previous study, the two-stage condensing process also effectively improved the temperature matching characteristics; thus, this paper presents a two-stage condensation combined cycle using zeotropic mixtures, and the effects of the type and number of components for mixed refrigerants on the two-stage condensing combined cycle system performance are studied. With the net power output as the objective function, the evaporation temperature, condensing temperatures, LNG expander inlet temperature, and working fluid mole fractions are optimised by the genetic algorithm. The results demonstrate that the net power output of n-C 5 H 12 is the largest among the studied pure fluids. The net power output of the binary mixed working fluid at the optimum mole fractions is obviously superior to that of pure working fluids. The system performance is improved when the hydrocarbon mixture is selected as a working fluid, and the optimum number of components is three. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we estimate the number of integers up to X which can be properly represented by a positive-definite, binary, integral quadratic form of small discriminant. This estimate follows from understanding the vector of signs that arises from computing the Legendre symbol of small integers n at multiple primes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the low efficiency of the traditional power generation system with liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy utilization, by improving the heat transfer characteristic between the working fluid and LNG, this paper has proposed a two-stage condensation Rankine cycle (TCRC) system. Using propane as working fluid, compared with the combined cycle in the conventional LNG cold energy power generation method, the net power output, thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency of the TCRC system are respectively increased by 45.27%, 42.91% and 52.31%. Meanwhile, the effects of the first-stage and second-stage condensation temperature and LNG vaporization pressure on the performance and cost index of the TCRC system (net power output, thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency and UA) are analyzed. Finally, using the net power output as the objective function, with 14 organic fluids (such as propane, butane etc.) as working fluids, the first-stage and second-stage condensation temperature at different LNG vaporization pressures are optimized. The results show that there exists a first-stage and second-stage condensation temperature making the performance of the TCRC system optimal. When LNG vaporization pressure is supercritical pressure, R116 has the best economy among all the investigated working fluids, and while R150 and R23 are better when the vaporization pressure of LNG is subcritical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to compare the feasibility of nab‐paclitaxel plus platinum‐based chemotherapy (nabTP) versus paclitaxel plus platinum‐based chemotherapy (TP) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as a neoadjuvant modality for locally resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Between April 2019 and March 2022, we identified ESCC patients who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy with both nabTP (n = 213) and TP (n = 98) at our institution and Henan Cancer Hospital. The patients in the ICIs‐nabTP and ICIs‐TP groups were pair‐matched (1:1) for tumor location, sex, smoking, drinking, clinical T and N stage. The primary endpoint was the hazard of 30‐day major postoperative complications. Second, logistic models were applied to estimate the risk factors for pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Results: All patients underwent esophagectomy with R0 resection. A statistically significant increase in the risk of developing major pulmonary (odds ratio [OR], 1.182; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.530–2.635; p = 0.683), anastomotic (OR, 1.881; 95% CI: 0.607–5.830; p = 0.267), cardiac (OR, 1.000; 95% CI: 0.426–2.349; p = 1.000) complications after neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus nabTP was not observed. The median interval to surgery was 39 days in the ICIs‐nabTP group versus 44 days in the ICIs‐TP group (p = 0.119). There was no 30‐day mortality in each group. However, there was a slight difference in the 30‐day readmission rate (p = 0.043) and the incidence of hydropneumothorax (p = 0.027) between the two groups. The pCR rates of the ICIs‐nabTP and ICIs‐TP group were 36.7 and 21.4%, respectively (p = 0.018). Conclusions: It appears to be feasible to add immunotherapy to nabTP regimen for locally advanced ESCC. Compared with TP, nabTP plus ICIs can achieve a better pCR rate in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study two polynomial counting questions in arithmetic statistics via a combination of Fourier analytic and arithmetic methods. First, we obtain new quantitative forms of Hilbert's Irreducibility Theorem for degree |$n$| polynomials |$f$| with |$\textrm {Gal}(f) \subseteq A_n$|⁠. We study this both for monic polynomials and non-monic polynomials. Second, we study lower bounds on the number of degree |$n$| monic polynomials with almost prime discriminants, as well as the closely related problem of lower bounds on the number of degree |$n$| number fields with almost prime discriminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the value and efficiency of routine brain MRI or CT in the preoperative workup for patients with potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC). Methods: This was a prospective cross‐sectional clinical trial (ChiCTR1800020304). A total of 385 patients with potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic ESCC diagnosed from October 2018 to August 2020 were included. Plain brain MRI or CT was performed preoperatively to detect brain metastases (BrM). The primary endpoint was BrM detected by imaging. Results: Of all 385 patients, the rate of positive brain MRI/CT findings was 1% (n = 4). BrM Patients received chemoradiotherapy, and the median OS was 6 months (95% CI: 4.303–7.697). All 381 remaining patients with initial negative brain MRI/CT diagnosis revealed no brain‐associated symptoms within 6 months. The median follow‐up for patients without BrM was 20 months (range, from 6 to 32). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of plain MRI or CT to detect BrM were all 100%. Conclusions: Preoperative plain MRI or CT is an effective method to detect BrM for potentially resectable (cT1‐4aN0‐3) thoracic ESCC. However, due to the low incidence, the value of brain MRI/CT as a routinely preoperational examination in potentially resectable esophageal squamous cell cancer is rather limited. Therefore, preoperative brain MRI/CT should not be recommended as a routine preoperative examination for ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This retrospective study aimed to explore risk factors for liver metastases (LiM) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) and to identify prognostic factors in patients initially diagnosed with LiM. Methods: A total of 28 654 EC patients were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database from 2010 to 2018. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized to identify risk factors for LiM. A Cox regression model was used to identify prognostic factors for patients with LiM. Results: Of 28 654 EC patients, 4062 (14.2%) had LiM at diagnosis. The median overall survival (OS) for patients with and without LiM was 6.00 (95% CI: 5.70–6.30) months and 15.00 (95% CI: 14.64–15.36) months, respectively. Variables significantly associated with LiM included gender, age, tumor site, histology, tumor grade, tumor size, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, bone metastases (BoM), brain metastases (BrM) and lung metastases (LuM). Variables independently predicting survival for EC patients with LiM were age, histology, tumor grade, BoM, BrM, LuM, and chemotherapy. A risk prediction model and two survival prediction models were then constructed revealing satisfactory predictive accuracy. Conclusions: Based on the largest known cohort of EC, independent predictors of LiM and prognostic indicators of survival for patients with LiM were identified. Two models for predicting survival as well as a risk prediction model were developed with robust predictive accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PIV used to study flow fields & turbulence in 5x5 rod bundle across 22 cases (Reynolds: 310-12296). • Higher turbulence intensity at lower Reynolds due to significant relative velocity gradient in rod bundle. • Transition Reynolds ≈ 900 in rod bundle, less distinct than in pipes. • Fluctuation velocity decreases with Reynolds, abrupt rise at transition Reynolds. • Non-uniform transition Reynolds leads to varying turbulence intensity in rod bundle. Utilizing the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, this study investigates the fully developed flow field and turbulence statistics in a 5×5 rod bundle across 22 cases, with Reynolds numbers ranging from 310 to 12296.Time-averaged, statistical, and spectral analyses were performed on the full field and instantaneous velocity vectors obtained through PIV measurements to examine the velocity distribution, turbulence characteristics, and spectral features in different subchannels under various Reynolds numbers. In conjunction with a differential pressure transmitter, the flow properties and fluid transitions were also explored.The experimental results reveal that the relative velocity gradient in the rod bundle channel is more significant at lower Reynolds numbers. As the Reynolds number increases, the relative velocity distribution becomes more uniform. A comparison of experimental results from different planes indicates that the fluctuation velocity in the gap subchannel is greater than that in the inner subchannel, suggesting that tightly arranged rods can generate higher turbulence intensity. Furthermore, the transition observed through the friction factor in the rod bundle channel is less distinct than those in pipes, with the transition Reynolds number being approximately 900. A low Reynolds number effect is present in the rod bundle channel, where the dimensionless fluctuation velocity decreases as the Reynolds number increases. Upon reaching the transition Reynolds number, the area-averaged dimensionless fluctuation velocity abruptly rises. By examining the turbulence intensity variations at different positions within the rod bundle, it becomes evident that the transition Reynolds numbers vary across different subchannel positions. Ultimately, the experimental data can be employed to validate the applicability of turbulence models for different Reynolds numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated the risk factors for severe weight loss (SWL) within one year after minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy. Methods: Esophageal cancer patients who underwent McKeown esophagectomy between January and July 2017 were prospectively enrolled. Preoperative body weight (PBW) was chosen as the initial body weight. Results: Forty‐four patients were enrolled and successfully followed up for one year. Median weight loss was 7.4% (quartile: 5.3–8.1%) and 12.6% (quartile: 8.8–17.7%) four weeks and one year after surgery, respectively. Accelerated weight loss occurred during the first two weeks after discharge, with median weight loss of 5.6% (quartile: 4.2–7.1%). Multivariable analysis showed that age ≥ 70 years (odds ratio [OR] 7.65; P = 0.030), preoperative sarcopenia (OR 7.18; P = 0.030), the first surgery in the daily schedule (OR 6.87; P = 0.032) and vocal cord paralysis (OR 12.30; P = 0.046) were independent risk factors for short‐term (4 weeks) SWL (> 7.5% PBW), while an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of 3–4 (OR 6.58; P = 0.047), a high fat‐free mass (OR 21.91; P = 0.003), and vocal cord paralysis (OR 25.83; P = 0.017) were independent risk factors for long‐term (1 year) SWL (> 13.0% PBW) after esophagectomy. Postoperative symptoms of insomnia, appetite loss, dysphagia, eating difficulties, and taste issues were also related to SWL. Conclusions: In esophageal cancer patients who have undergone esophagectomy, the first two weeks after hospital discharge is a key period for nutrition intervention. Patients with associated factors for SWL require postoperative nutrition support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chemical conversion method for the protection of the surface weathering stone artworks was explored. By this method, the harmful calcium sulfate weathering layer on the stone relics was converted into a protective calcium oxalate layer in situ . The calcium oxalate conversion layer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and polarizing microscope (PLM). The conversion layer was also estimated by chromatic aberration, capillary suction, adhesive force and dissolution stability tests. The calcium oxalate conversion layer with good weatherability, adherence and compatibility will be promising as a solution for the protection of the surface weathering rock relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Regions where feed-in tariff higher than valley price should follow dual objective optimization. • The economy of the household PV-BES-EV system mainly depends on the purchase cost of EVs. • Decreasing electricity price will not undermine the effectiveness of the household PV-BES-EV system. • The energy bills and carbon emissions decrease significantly with the optimal scheduling schemes. The household PV-BES-EV system (photovoltaic - battery energy storage - electric vehicle system) connected to the grid can guarantee the electricity demand of the household and facilitate the flexible trade with the grid to achieve the goals of cutting energy bills and reducing carbon emissions. In related issues, past studies often assume that renewable energy is both economical and environmentally friendly, and thus regarded it as the primary power source. While in fact, in some regions where the feed-in tariff is higher than the sales price at a certain time, households may be driven by arbitrage opportunities to frequently purchase electricity from the grid at the certain time to gain benefits, resulting in far greater carbon emissions than expected within the household measurement boundary. To avoid the environmental burden caused by pure economic incentives and to provide practical and sustainable solutions consistent with various energy price policies, the optimal scheduling schemes of the household PV-BES-EV system that considers both economic and environmental incentives for different scenarios solved by the genetic algorithm is proposed in this paper. Household data in Shanghai, China and Hamburg, Germany were selected for modelling, representing the dual-objective optimization scenario with arbitrage opportunities and the single-objective optimization scenario with sales price higher than feed-in tariff, respectively. Results show that for urban and rural residents in Shanghai, the energy bill and carbon emission would decline about 105%, 48% and 88%, 62%, respectively. As for Hamburg, the accordingly results would be 69% and 64%. In addition, based on the cost-effectiveness of the system in long-term, this paper puts forward policy recommendations that align with local conditions to further improve the economy of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the deadliest digestive tract cancer with poor prognosis. In our previous comprehensive genomics study, we identified that hotspot mutations in the solute carrier family 35 member E2 (SLC35E2) promoter region was significantly associated with worse prognosis in patients with ESCC. However, the biological function and molecular mechanism of SLC35E2 remains unclear. This study was to investigate the malignant function and mechanism of SLC35E2 in ESCC. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to assess the expression of SLC35E2 in ESCC cell lines. Luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay were used to assess the transcriptional inhibition of KLF4. Incucyte cell proliferation assay, colony formation assay and subcutaneous tumor formation in nude mice were used to assess the malignant function of SLC35E2. SLC35E2 can promote ESCC cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), a transcriptional repressor in ESCC, binds to the SLC35E2 promoter and represses the expression of SLC35E2. The transcriptional suppression of KLF4 can be blocked by the mutation at −118 site of the SLC35E2 promoter. Besides, the accumulation of SLC35E2 expression contributes to the malignant phenotype of ESCC. These results indicate that SLC35E2 may be used as a biomarker for prognosis as well as a therapeutic target for patients with ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The effect of fluorination on VPLi cathode investigated for the first time. • V4+ content is ranged from 16.3% to 23.8%. • VF 4 and Li 3 VF 6 converted into LiVP 2 O 7 increasing specific capacity. • The charge transfer from Li to O contributed to the cycle stability. Vanadium-based amorphous materials are an emerging category of lithium ion battery cathodes with high specific capacity and high voltage performance. In this study, we investigated the effect of fluorination on the performance of an amorphous vanadium-phosphorus-lithium (VPLi) cathode for lithium ion battery applications. Results show that the fluorinated product consists Li 3 VF 6 and VF 4 nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous phase when the V4+ content was in the range of 16.3% to 23.8%. VPFLi has an optimal specific capacity of 344.3 mAh g−1 in the first cycle and 269.7 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a current of 50 mA g−1 within the voltage range of 1.5–4.2 V. VPLi has an amorphous structure, and the reversible V4+/V5+ lithiation process corresponds to the conversion between V 2 O 5 and Li 2 V 2 O 5 during the charge–discharge cycle. Compared to VPLi, VF 4 and Li 3 VF 6 crystals were found to convert into LiVP 2 O 7 in VPFLi, which led to the increased specific capacity. Simulation based on density functional theory show that fluorine for oxygen has led to the movement of Fermi level moves towards the edge of the conduction band. Charge mostly transferred from Li to O which contributed to the improved cathode stability. This study provides a new perspective towards selecting novel cathode for lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The objective of this study was to describe a cosmetic skin incision for resection of large anterior mediastinal masses, and to review our experience with this technique. Methods From 1999 to 2010, 55 patients with a diagnosis of large anterior mediastinal masses underwent 'goblet'-shaped skin incision with midline sternotomy. The complications, mortality, details of surgery, and duration of hospital stay were observed from review. Patients were monitored via follow-up for a duration of one year after surgery. Results The mean hospital stay was nine days. Wound complications of infection were observed in one patient. There were no other complications, such as hematoma formation, necrosis of skin flap, split or infection of the sternum. No related mortality was recorded within the 30-day postoperative period. All of the patients verbalized the benefits of this technique, particularly the possibility of wearing open-collared clothing, as a result of the cosmetic chest wall and a camouflaging scar below the angle of Louis. At the follow-up periods, 52 of the patients were found to be well. Three patients did not complete follow-up at our facility. Conclusion Our primary experience with this procedure proved it was safe. The technique allows excellent access to the mediastinum and complete removal of large anterior mediastinal masses that are complicated with adjacent midline cardiovascular structures. This technique also provides a better cosmetic result than the standard vertical incision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First report to control the precipitation of crystal grains under thermoelectric coupling. • The number of crystal grains gradually increases with the electric field voltage. • Fracture of the Ti-O-Si bond causing [TiO 4 ] will be transformed to [TiO 6 ]. MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 (MAS) the basic glass was prepared by the traditional melt-quenching method, whereas the glass-ceramics was produced by subjecting the glass to thermoelectric coupling treatment. The MAS glass-ceramics were characterized by FTIR, XPS, and SEM. Clearly, the extension of the heat-treatment time did not change the crystal grains number in the absence of an electric field. However, with the electric-field voltage increase,the crystal grains number in the MAS glass-ceramics gradually increased when the electric-field voltage became steady at 1200 V. At high temperatures, Ti4+ participates in the silicon-oxygen network with four coordinations and produces good miscibility with the melt. By the introduction of electric field into the glass, a high amount of titanium transforms from a titanium-oxide tetrahedron to a titanium-oxide octahedron. Titanium was separated from the silicon–oxygen network framework to form a crystal nucleus and promote crystal growth. This study provides insights into the relationship between electric-field and glass-ceramics nucleation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power systems optimization is generally subject to the compromise between performance and cost. The 2021 Texas grid outage illustrates the worldwide dangers for the regional-centralized power grid, with comparable advantages to safety and flexibility for the distributed energy system. The storage of household batteries helps balance grid load and increase system stability and flexibility. However, household storage battery is still not widely used today because of its high costs. Currently, research on increasing household battery storage applicability is focused largely on optimizing economic strategies, such as configuration, dispatching and subsidy policies, which rely substantially more on technologies and financial perspectives. Consumers are not 'rational' individuals, and non-economic incentives can affect their decisions without raising prices. This paper consequently proposes to encourage users to acquire household battery storage to increase efficiency of power dispatching and economic advantages based on behavioral economics. In this paper, an empirical research builds upon the utility model of behavioral economics incentives and purchase willingness. Moreover, the multi-objective genetic algorithm is utilized to optimize the dispatching of household battery storage by using grid variance and user revenues as optimizing goals. The results of this paper show that the behavioral economics incentive improves intention to buy the household battery energy storage by 10.7% without raising subsidies. By improving the energy dispatching strategy, peak-load shifting performance and user revenues are improved by 4.2% and 10.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vanadium-based amorphous electrode material can realize the valence state conversion and increase its specific capacity through the multi-electron reaction. We have obtained V 2 O 5 –Li 3 PO 4 glass with a strong reducing agent CaC 2 , realizing a multi-electron reaction of V5+ to V4+ and then to V3+ in the model system. Moreover, we have explored the relationship between valence state, crystallinity, and conductivity limit to compare the cycle performances of amorphous glass batteries. The CaC 2 content of 20%, V4+ presented the dominating valence state with a content of 77.5%. VP-C20% exhibited a maximum specific capacity of 319.3 mAh g−1, and the specific capacity after 100 cycles was 280.3 mAh g−1, corresponding to a retention capacity of 87.8%. The electrochemical performance of amorphous vanadium oxide decreased with the increase of the LiV 2 O 5 's nanocrystallinity. Crystallinity and the controllable multi-electron reaction could provide an important reference for designing other new electrode materials with high capacity and long cycle life. Image 1 • Vanadium-based amorphous electrode material could realize valence state conversion. • V5+ was reduced to V4+, then to V3+ with CaC 2 , as reducing agent. • V4+ enhanced ion and electron transport and cycling stability. • The performance decreased with the increase of LiV 2 O 5 's nanocrystallinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]