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Reservoirs exert a profound influence on the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in inland waters by altering flow regimes. Biological incubations can help to disentangle the role that microbial processing plays in the DOM cycling within reservoirs. However, the complex DOM composition poses a great challenge to the analysis of such data. Here we tested if the interpretable machine learning (ML) methodologies can contribute to capturing the relationships between molecular reactivity and composition. We developed time‐specific ML models based on 7‐day and 30‐day incubations to simulate the biogeochemical processes in the Three Gorges Reservoir over shorter and longer water retention periods, respectively. Results showed that the extended water retention time likely allows the successive microbial degradation of molecules, with stochasticity exerting a non‐negligible effect on the molecular composition at the initial stage of the incubation. This study highlights the potential of ML in enhancing our interpretation of DOM dynamics over time. Plain Language Summary: As a comprehensive man‐made infrastructure, reservoirs significantly influence the chemical composition, reactivity, and turnover time of dissolved organic matter (DOM) within inland waters. However, it remains elusive how DOM molecules respond to microbial processing over different time scales. Besides the well‐recognized predictive power of machine learning (ML) methodologies, we delved into the processes of tuning the ML models to acquire additional interpretability. We used an under‐sampling strategy to improve model performance and simultaneously observed the variations in model performance metrics for different biological reactivity pools over incubations with different durations. We find that shorter incubation periods result in a broader range of molecules disappearing, with a greater contribution of stochasticity, while the longer incubation allows the successive biodegradation of oxygen‐poor compounds, with a greater contribution of directed degradation. As a complement to traditional geochemical methods, we unveiled a novel perspective in understanding the DOM dynamics over time using ML. Key Points: Machine learning (ML) models were built to correlate the molecular composition and biological reactivity at the world's largest reservoirShorter incubations result in a broader range of molecules disappearing, with a greater contribution of stochasticityTuning the ML model contributes to yield additional interpretability beyond its well‐recognized predictive power [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though in physics "time" is considered to be continuous, how the brain and mind deal with time might be different. It has been proposed that in cognition, time windows provide logistic platforms for information processing, such as the low‐frequency 3‐s time window. The following series of behavioral experiments may shed light on the dynamics within such a time window. Using a duration reproduction paradigm, we first replicated a pattern of reproduced duration observed in a previous single‐case study. Specifically, the reproduction increases as the pause between standard duration and reproduction increases, but only within the time window of some 3 s; when the pause goes beyond 4 s, the reproduction reaches a plateau of a subjective set‐point. This increasing phase is named the "temporal transition zone." Three more experiments were performed to test the features of the transition zone as a low‐frequency time window. It is also observed with different standard durations (2, 3, 4.5 s, in Experiment 2), and even when the frequency of the auditory stimuli was different in standard and reproduction (300 Hz in standard duration and 400 Hz in reproduction, in Experiment 4). The transition zone was observed only with pause durations of 2 to 3 s; when the shortest pause duration was 5 s, the transition zone was no longer observed, and the reproduction was stable at the subjective set‐point (in Experiment 3). Taken together, we suggest that the temporal transition zone indicates a pre‐semantic logistic platform to organize and process the information flow; in such a time window of some 3 seconds, the identity of an ongoing event is substantiated, building the "subjective present." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous study indicates that there are two distinct behavioral patterns in the sensory‐motor synchronization task with short stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA; 2–3 s) or long SOA (beyond 4 s). However, the underlying neural indicators and mechanisms have not been elucidated. The present study applied magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology to examine the functional role of several oscillations (beta, gamma, and mu) in sensorimotor synchronization with different SOAs to identify a reliable neural indicator. During MEG recording, participants underwent a listening task without motor response, a sound‐motor synchronization task, and a motor‐only continuation task. These tasks were used to explore whether and how the activity of oscillations changes across different behavioral patterns with different tempos. Results showed that during both the listening and the synchronization task, the beta oscillation changes with the tempo. Moreover, the event‐related synchronization of beta oscillations was significantly correlated with motor timing during synchronization. In contrast, mu activity only changes with the tempo in the synchronization task, while the gamma activity remains unchanged. In summary, the current study indicates that beta oscillation could be an indicator of behavioral patterns between fast tempo and slow tempo in sensorimotor synchronization. Also, it is likely to be the potential mechanism of maintaining rhythmic continuous movements with short SOA, which is embedded within the 3 s time window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PDA/PEI modification technology is commonly employed to improve the resistance to membrane fouling of polymeric membranes used in the treatment of oily wastewater. Nevertheless, the surface characteristics of membrane materials frequently restrict the implementation of the modification technique in terms of both the amount and speed of deposition. The hydrophobic membranes, such as PVDF and PTFE, have a surface with very low surface free energy and only inert functional groups. This surface is not suitable for the deposition of PDA/PEI. This study utilized plasma etching treatment to break the C–H and C–F bonds on the surface of the PVDF membrane, resulting in the introduction of oxygen-containing functional groups. During the deposition process, the PDA/PEI exhibited a tendency to chemically connect to material surfaces that included oxygen-containing functional groups, such as –OH, by processes such as hydrogen bonding. During the modification procedure, the etched membrane experienced an increase in the mass of PDA/PEI deposition and the strength of interfacial bonding. As a result, the modified membrane acquired improved hydrophilicity and anti-fouling performance. In summary, this study offers useful insights for improving the surface properties of hydrophobic polymeric membranes to prevent membrane fouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy storage and vehicle industries are heavily investing in advancing all-solid-state batteries to overcome critical limitations in existing liquid electrolyte-based lithium-ion batteries, specifically focusing on mitigating fire hazards and improving energy density. All-solid-state lithium–sulfur batteries (ASSLSBs), featuring earth-abundant sulfur cathodes, high-capacity metallic lithium anodes, and non-flammable solid electrolytes, hold significant promise. Despite these appealing advantages, persistent challenges like sluggish sulfur redox kinetics, lithium metal failure, solid electrolyte degradation, and manufacturing complexities hinder their practical use. To facilitate the transition of these technologies to an industrial scale, bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research and applied R&D activities is crucial. Our review will address the inherent challenges in cell chemistries within ASSLSBs, explore advanced characterization techniques, and delve into innovative cell structure designs. Furthermore, we will provide an overview of the recent trends in R&D and investment activities from both academia and industry. Building on the fundamental understandings and significant progress that has been made thus far, our objective is to motivate the battery community to advance ASSLSBs in a practical direction and propel the industrialized process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate volumetric segmentation of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is essential for assessing and monitoring the tumor before radiotherapy and the treatment planning. The tedious manual segmentation leads to interindividual and intraindividual differences, while existing automatic segmentation methods cause under-segmentation of PCNSL due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the tumor. To address the challenges of small size, diffused distribution, poor inter-layer continuity on the same axis, and tendency for over-segmentation in brain MRI PCNSL segmentation, we propose an improved attention module based on nnUNet for automated segmentation. We collected 114 T1 MRI images of patients in the Huashan Hospital, Shanghai. Then randomly split the total of 114 cases into 5 distinct training and test sets for a 5-fold cross-validation. To efficiently and accurately delineate the PCNSL, we proposed an improved attention module based on nnU-Net with 3D convolutions, batch normalization, and residual attention (res-attention) to learn the tumor region information. Additionally, multi-scale dilated convolution kernels with different dilation rates were integrated to broaden the receptive field. We further used attentional feature fusion with 3D convolutions (AFF3D) to fuse the feature maps generated by multi-scale dilated convolution kernels to reduce under-segmentation. Compared to existing methods, our attention module improves the ability to distinguish diffuse and edge enhanced types of tumors; and the broadened receptive field captures tumor features of various scales and shapes more effectively, achieving a 0.9349 Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC). Quantitative results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in segmenting the PCNSL. To our knowledge, this is the first study to introduce attention modules into deep learning for segmenting PCNSL based on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), promoting the localization of PCNSL before radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero-shot sketch-based image retrieval (ZS-SBIR) has attracted increasing attention in computer vision, with the aim of searching the natural images that match a given sketch under the setting of zero-shot learning. In this paper, we propose a novel ZS-SBIR method based on the specifically developed domain-aware dual attention (DADA) module and similarity loss, which utilizes prior knowledge more fully than previous work. The DADA module emphasizes the importance of different channels and spaces according to the prior knowledge of whether the input is a sketch or a natural image. To preserve more prior knowledge from the models pre-trained on ImageNet, a similarity loss function is designed to supervise inter-class similarity. Furthermore, the center loss is introduced into our model, which can bridge the representation gap between the sketch domain and the natural image domain. We perform experiments on the TU-Berlin extended dataset and the Sketchy extended dataset, and the corresponding results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulose was directly used in itaconic acid production by a model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. The promoters of two clock control genes and cellobiohydrolase 1 gene were selected for heterologous genes expression by evaluating different types of promoters. The effect of overexpression of different cellulase was compared, and it was found that expression of cellobiohydrolase 2 from Trichoderma reesei increased the filter paper activity by 2 times, the cellobiohydrolase activity by 4.5 times, and that the itaconic acid titer was also significantly improved. A bidirectional cis-aconitic acid accumulation strategy was established by constructing the reverse glyoxylate shunt and expressing the transporter MTTA, which increased itaconic acid production to 637.2 mg/L. The simultaneous optimization of cellulase and metabolic pathway was more conducive to the improvement of cellulase activity than that of cellulase alone, so as to further increase itaconic acid production. Finally, through the combination of fermentation by optimized strains and medium optimization, the titers of itaconic acid using Avicel and corn stover as substrate were 1165.1 mg/L and 871.3 mg/L, respectively. The results prove the potential of the consolidated bioprocessing that directly converts lignocellulose to itaconic acid by a model cellulase synthesizing strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological ion channels can realize high‐speed and high‐selective ion transport through the protein filter with the sub‐1‐nanometer channel. Inspired by biological ion channels, various kinds of artificial subnanopores, subnanochannels, and subnanoslits with improved ion selectivity and permeability are recently developed for efficient separation, energy conversion, and biosensing. This review article discusses the advanced fabrication and functionalization methods for constructing subnanofluidic pores, channels, tubes, and slits, which have shown great potential for various applications. Novel fabrication methods for producing subnanofluidics, including top‐down techniques such as electron beam etching, ion irradiation, and electrochemical etching, as well as bottom‐up approaches starting from advanced microporous frameworks, microporous polymers, lipid bilayer embedded subnanochannels, and stacked 2D materials are well summarized. Meanwhile, the functionalization methods of subnanochannels are discussed based on the introduction of functional groups, which are classified into direct synthesis, covalent bond modifications, and functional molecule fillings. These methods have enabled the construction of subnanochannels with precise control of structure, size, and functionality. The current progress, challenges, and future directions in the field of subnanofluidic are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although the principles of hip reconstruction are consistent, due to lack of reliable anatomical landmarks, how to decide the acetabular cup reaming centre intraoperatively in Crowe IV patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) remains unclear. This study aims to address this question. Methods: Fifty-eight Crowe IV patients were enrolled from 2017 to 2019. By examining our previous clinical data, we analyzed the anatomical morphology of Crowe IV acetabulum and proposed a method of locating intraoperative reaming centering for implantation of a standard-sized acetabular cup, which is the upper two thirds of the posterior border of the true acetabulum. All patients included in this study were reamed according to this method. The average postoperative follow-up was 4.1 years (3–5 years). The position of the centre of rotation (COR), cup coverage (CC), and optimal range of joint motion (ROM) were examined by 3D computer simulation measurement. Postoperative complications and hip Harris score were collected and analyzed. Results: The morphology of the type IV DDH true acetabulum was mostly triangular. The intraoperative reaming centre were centered on the upper two thirds of the posterior border of the true acetabulum. The postoperative 3D CC was 80.20% ± 7.63% (64.68–90.24%, 44–48-mm cup size). The patients' mean Harris score improved from 39.7 ± 20.4 preoperatively to 91.5 ± 8.12 at the last follow-up. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that satisfactory CC and clinical results could be achieved by implanting a standard-sized cup with the reaming centre on the upper two thirds of the posterior border of the true acetabulum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a proper holomorphic surjective morphism f : X → Y {f:X\rightarrow Y} between compact Kähler manifolds, and a Nakano semipositive holomorphic vector bundle E on X, we prove Kollár-type vanishing theorems on cohomologies with coefficients in R q ⁢ f ∗ ⁢ ( ω X ⁢ ( E ) ) ⊗ F {R^{q}f_{\ast}(\omega_{X}(E))\otimes F} , where F is a k-positive vector bundle on Y. The main inputs in the proof are the deep results on the Nakano semipositivity of the higher direct images due to Berndtsson and Mourougane–Takayama, and an L 2 {L^{2}} -Dolbeault resolution of the higher direct image sheaf R q ⁢ f ∗ ⁢ ( ω X ⁢ ( E ) ) {R^{q}f_{\ast}(\omega_{X}(E))} , which is of interest in itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmon‐free surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) assisted by charge‐transfer (CT) resonance in semiconductors has drawn considerable attention in the past decades due to the extraordinary advantages in chemical stability and homogeneity. Unfortunately, the weak confinement of excitation light in semiconductor nanostructures and 2D materials, due to either their limited refractive indexes or atomic thickness, results in the Raman enhancement by nonmetallic SERS substrates significantly lower than the noble ones. Here a novel plasmon‐free SERS probe is reported by a tapered optical fiber (TOF) coated with monolayer‐MoS2 (ML‐MoS2), where the TOF‐supported whispering‐gallery modes (WGMs) simultaneously regulate multiple‐resonance processes, i.e., excitonic resonance, molecular resonance, charge‐transfer resonance and fluorescence resonance energy transfer processes, in the ML‐MoS2 and analytes. The contribution of the four processes promoted by WGM to enhancement factor of Raman intensity (EFRI) is quantitatively determined by four dye molecules with different energy levels. The Raman enhancement mechanism of WGM‐promoted multiple‐resonances is therefore revealed, for the first time. The maximum EFRI is up to 1.8 × 109 for the limit of detection (LoD) down to 10−14 M. The ML‐MoS2/TOF SERS probes also demonstrated their outstanding feasibility and stability facilitating to trace detection in microdroplets for practical applications in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the effect of morphology on the circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of chiral molecular materials is important for the development of CPL-active materials for applications. Herein, we report that the morphology of Gd(NO3)3/R-,S-AnempH2 [AnempH2 = (1-anthrylethylamino)methylphosphonic acid] assemblies can be controlled by solvent modulation to form spiral bundles Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·2H2O (R-,S-1), crystals Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·2H2O (R-,S-2) and spindle-shaped particles Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·3H2O·0.5DMF (R-,S-3) with similar chain structures. Interestingly, R-,S-1 are CPL active and show the highest value of dissymmetric factor among the three pairs of enantiomers (‖glum‖ = 2.1 × 10–3), which is 2.8 times larger than that of R-,S-2 , while R-,S-3 are CPL inactive with ‖glum‖ ≈ 0. This work provides a new route to control the morphology of chiral coordination polymers and improve their CPL performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to evaluate the Al3+ tolerance of sixteen camelina genotypes and to use melatonin or nano-selenium to alleviate Al3+-induced stress. A Petri dish study indicated seedling root length was suitable for describing the dose–response of seedling growth with increased Al3+ concentrations. Based on GR50 (Al3+ concentration causing a 50% reduction in the seedling root length), CamK6 (232.0 mg L−1) and CamK2 (97.0 mg L−1) were the most Al3+-tolerant and -sensitive genotypes, respectively. Under Al3+ stress, CamK6 and CamK2 treated by melatonin (50 μM) or nano-Se (0.4 mg L−1) showed a similar plant height and seed yield plant−1 (CamK6: 123.6 ± 9.8 cm and 0.562 ± 0.62 g; CamK2: 109.2 ± 8.7 cm and 0.49 ± 0.5 g) as the controls (CamK6: 121.1 ± 10.2 cm and 0.554 ± 0.4 g; CamK2: 110.0 ± 9.8 cm and 0.5 ± 0.4 g), and the values were greater than for the Al3+-treated plants (CamK6: 96.4 ± 9.2 cm and 0.48 ± 0.34 g; CamK2: 97.3 ± 8.1 cm and 0.42 ± 0.31 g). The results showed that melatonin or nano-Se through modulating biochemical reactions (e.g., antioxidant enzyme) can alleviate Al3+-induced growth inhibition in camelina. This study suggested melatonin or nano-Se can alleviate Al3+-induced growth inhibition by maintaining seed yield and improving oil quality in camelina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to verify the accuracy of intraoperative femurofibular angle combined with tibiofibular angle (FFA–TFA) measurement and compare it with traditional alignment line methods in open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO). Methods: A total of 174 knees of 122 patients undergoing OWHTO and using an alignment line or FFA–TFA measurement as an index of optimal correction were included in this retrospective study. The intraoperative alignment line passed through the targeted weight-bearing line (WBL) of the tibial plateau in the alignment line group. The intraoperative FFA–TFA aligned to the preplanned FFA–TFA angle in the FFA–TFA group. WBL, FFA, TFA, and knee joint-line convergence angle of the femur and tibia were assessed as radiological results preoperatively and one year after surgery. The Knee Society Score and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities were assessed as objective clinical results. Results: Postoperative WBL in the FFA–TFA group was closer to the target WBL than in the alignment line group (FFA–TFA vs alignment line group: 1.43 ± 1.20% vs 3.82 ± 3.29%; P < 0.001). The FFA–TFA group had fewer over-correction and under-correction rates than the alignment line group (28.7% and 12.6% vs 11.5% and 3.40%; P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the clinical results between the two groups one year after surgery (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The intraoperative measurement of FFA–TFA had fewer complications in terms of under-correction and over-correction compared with the alignment line measurement. No significant differences between the two methods were observed in clinical results one year after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relevancy transformation operators (RET operators) have been widely used in fuzzy systems modelling and the construction of weighted aggregation functions. Several construction methods of RET operators based on different aggregation functions such as t-norm, t-conorm and copula, have been proposed. In this paper, the attention is paid to the expression of RET operators, which is an important feature from an application the point of view. Polynomial RET operators are introduced as those RET operators in the form of polynomial functions of two variables. A complete characterisation of polynomial RET operators of degree less than 4 are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability analysis of a finite Stokes layer is of practical importance in flow control. In the present work, the instantaneous stability of a finite Stokes layer with layer interactions is studied via a linear stability analysis of the frozen phases of the base flow. The oscillations of two plates can have different velocity amplitudes, initial phases, and frequencies. The effects of the Stokes-layer interactions on the stability when two plates oscillate synchronously are analyzed. The growth rates of two most unstable modes when δ < 0.12 are almost equal, and δ = δ*/h*, where δ* and h* are the Stokes-layer thickness and the half height of the channel, respectively. However, their vorticities are different. The vorticity of the most unstable mode is symmetric, while the other is asymmetric. The Stokes-layer interactions have a destabilizing effect on the most unstable mode when δ < 0.68, and have a stabilizing effect when δ > 0.68. However, the interactions always have a stabilizing effect on the other unstable mode. It is explained that one of the two unstable modes has much higher dissipation than the other one when the Stokes-layer interactions are strong. We also find that the stability of the Stokes layer is closely related to the inflectional points of the base-flow velocity profile. The effects of inconsistent velocity-amplitude, initial phase, and frequency of the oscillations on the stability are analyzed. The energy of the most unstable eigenvector is mainly distributed near the plate of higher velocity amplitude or higher oscillation frequency. The effects of the initial phase difference are complicated because the base-flow velocity is extremely sensitive to the initial phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Though exercise generates beneficial effects on diabetes‐associated cardiac damage, the underlying mechanism is largely unclear. Therefore, we prescribed a program of 8‐week treadmill training for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and determined the role of irisin signaling, via interacting with AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), in mediating the effects of exercise on myocardial injuries and mitochondrial fission. Methods: Forty 8‐week‐old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into groups of control (Con), diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetes plus exercise (Ex), and diabetes plus exercise and Cyclo RGDyk (ExRg). Ex and ExRg rats received 8 weeks of treadmill running, and the rats in the ExRg group additionally were treated with a twice weekly injection of Cyclo RGDyk, an irisin receptor‐αV/β5 antagonist. At the end of the experiment, murine blood samples and heart tissues were collected and analyzed with methods of ELISA, Western blot, real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, as well as immunofluorescence staining. Results: Exercise effectively mitigated T2DM‐related hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, lipid dysmetabolism, and inflammation, which could be diminished by Cyclo RGDyk treatment. Additionally, exercise alleviated T2DM‐induced myocardial injury and excessive mitochondrial fission, whereas the beneficial effects were blocked by the administration of Cyclo RGDyk. T2DM significantly decreased serum irisin concentrations and fibronectin type III domain‐containing protein 5 (FNDC5)/irisin gene and protein expression levels in the rat heart, whereas exercise could rescue T2DM‐reduced FNDC5/irisin expression. Blocking irisin receptor signaling diminished the exercise‐alleviated mitochondrial fission protein expression and elevated AMPK phosphorylation. Conclusion: Exercise is effective in mitigating diabetes‐related insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, and inflammation. Irisin signaling engages in exercise‐associated beneficial effects on myocardial injury and excessive mitochondrial fission in diabetes rats involving elevated AMPK phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are able to catalyse the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides. This property has made them attractive catalysts for the synthesis of chiral sulfoxide drugs. Here, we have designed and synthesised an exhaustive combinatorial mutant library of the previously identified lansoprazole sulfide monooxygenase CbBVMOV1. From this synthetic combinatorial mutant library, the best mutant, CbBVMOV3, was selected with a specific activity of approximately 1 U mg−1 for lansoprazole sulfoxides. We then optimised the reaction conditions of a two-phase system, achieving the enzymatic asymmetric synthesis of (R)-lansoprazole in a space-time yield of 213 g L−1 d−1 and an enantiomeric excess of >99% (R) with no detectable by-products. In addition, CbBVMOV3 showed higher activity towards other prazole sulfides. These results indicate the potential application of CbBVMO in the chiral sulfoxide drug industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional assessment of right ventricle (RV) using gated myocardial perfusion single‐photon emission computed tomography (MPS) heavily relies on the precise extraction of right ventricular contours. Purpose: In this paper, we present a new deep‐learning‐based model integrating both the spatial and temporal features in gated MPS images to perform the segmentation of the RV epicardium and endocardium. Methods: By integrating the spatial features from each cardiac frame of the gated MPS and the temporal features from the sequential cardiac frames of the gated MPS, we developed a Spatial‐Temporal V‐Net (ST‐VNet) for automatic extraction of RV endocardial and epicardial contours. In the ST‐VNet, a V‐Net is employed to hierarchically extract spatial features, and convolutional long‐term short‐term memory (ConvLSTM) units are added to the skip‐connection pathway to extract the temporal features. The input of the ST‐VNet is ECG‐gated sequential frames of the MPS images and the output is the probability map of the epicardial or endocardial masks. A Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) loss which penalizes the discrepancy between the model prediction and the manual annotation was adopted to optimize the segmentation model. Results: Our segmentation model was trained and validated on a retrospective dataset with 45 subjects, and the cardiac cycle of each subject was divided into eight gates. The proposed ST‐VNet achieved a DSC of 0.8914 and 0.8157 for the RV epicardium and endocardium segmentation, respectively. The mean absolute error, the mean squared error, and the Pearson correlation coefficient of the RV ejection fraction (RVEF) between the manual annotation and the model prediction were 0.0609, 0.0830, and 0.6985. Conclusion: Our proposed ST‐VNet is an effective model for RV segmentation. It has great promise for clinical use in RV functional assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of visual representations of time is common in both research and daily life, with progress icons, such as bars and rings, being popular examples. Despite some studies investigating the advantage of different shapes, there has been no consistent result from questionnaires. This study aims to investigate this topic by using an objective temporal reproduction task to compare the potential difference between short and long waiting times, as evidence indicates that the temporal machinery could be different within and beyond 2–3 s. The study also explores the role of the percentage of progress icons. Two groups of participants first experienced a short (3 s) or long (15 s) duration with a dynamic progress icon, which varied by shape (bar vs. ring) and progress percentage (20% vs. 80%). Then they reproduced the duration with a button, seeing a neutral grey square on the screen. The results revealed that the reproduced durations of bars were significantly shorter than those of rings, but only for the long duration condition (15 s). Additionally, a larger progress percentage led to longer reproductions for both 3 s and 15 s. These findings suggest that the spatial configuration is significant when the waiting time is relatively long, supporting the hierarchical model of temporal perception. Overall, this study contributes to both industrial design and our understanding of the cognitive mechanism of temporal perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lanthanide peroxides show high reactivity in oxidative coupling of methane (OCM). However, the number of isolated and structurally characterized molecular species remains relatively small. To the best of our knowledge, homochiral molecule-based lanthanide peroxides have not been reported. Herein, two pairs of side-on peroxido-bridged dinuclear hexaazamacrocyclic dysprosium enantiomers with formulas [Dy2(LES/R)2L2O2](BPh4)2·CH3OH·CH3CN (where LE is derived from the condensation reaction between (1S,2S)/(1R,2R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine and 2,6-diformylpyridine; HL = 2,6-diphenylphenol) (1/2) and [Dy2(LES/R)2Cl2O2](BPh4)2·2CH3CN (3/4) are specially designed and created with the help of hydrogen peroxide. The out-of-phase alternating-current magnetic susceptibility of 1/2 gives rise to frequency-dependent peaks between 6 and 32 K under a zero applied direct current (dc) field, while no peak at any temperature and frequency was observed for 3/4 implying the presence of a weak axial crystal field (CF). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral hybrid metal halides have been widely studied in the field of photondetectors, chiral optics, and spintronics due to their great structural flexibility and suitable bandgaps. Inspired by such great progress made in the abovementioned fields, continuous efforts need to be paid to seek other interesting applications for chiral hybrid metal halides. Herein, the synthesis of a pair of one‐dimensional enantiomorphic hybrid metal halide piezoelectrics, R/SMPCdCl4(R/SMP = R/S‐2‐methylpiperazine), and their applications in piezoelectric energy harvesting and sensing are reported. Density functional theory calculations show that these chiral piezoeletrics possess low elastic properties and high piezoelectric constants (16.71, 8.39, and 7.35 pC N−1). In addition, devices made of RMPCdCl4/PDMS (PDMS = polydimethylsiloxane) composite films are fabricated for piezoelectric energy harvesting and sensing. The piezoelectric energy harvesters with optimized content of 15 wt% RMPCdCl4/PDMS show not only excellent performance with an open‐circuit voltage of 2.57 V, short‐circuit current of 0.37 μA, and power density of 0.55 μW cm−2 but also outstanding stability of more than 3500 cycles. Meanwhile, these piezoelectric energy harvesters exhibit prominent sensing properties for detecting tapping, finger bending, walking, and running. It is demonstrated that chiral hybrid metal halides hold great potential in intelligent wearable and sensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musa basjoo Siebold leaves extract (MBSLE) was utilized as green corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M H3PO4 solution. The inhibition behavior was studied through electrochemical tests. The chemical structure of extract was investigated by FTIR and UV–Vis spectra. The element compositions in adsorption film on the surface of mild steel were analyzed by XPS technique. The corrosion morphology of mild steel was observed. The adsorption mechanism of typical components in extract were theoretically calculated by DFT and MD. The results showed that the inhibition efficiency of MBSLE on mild steel increased with extract concentration and MBSLE acted as a mixed corrosion inhibitor. MBSLE contained carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, heterocyclic ring, benzene ring and other polar groups, and successfully adsorbed on mild steel to form the protective film. DFT simulations proved that the active components possessed the synergistic adsorption ability to donate and receive electrons. MD calculations demonstrated the parallel adsorption of typical ingredients on steel surface, the presence of physical adsorption and the inhibition mechanism of geometric coverage effect. Irenolone in MBSLE with more aromatic rings and polar groups shows an excellent corrosion inhibition performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To study the spectrum-effect relationship of Wuziyanzong pill on sperm damage protection. Methods The fingerprint of 12 batches of Wuziyanzong was established by UPLC method, and similarity evaluation was simultaneously performed with Similarity Evaluation System of Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingerprint. The common peaks were identified by comparing with the peaks of mixed chemical reference standards. Sperm suspension was prepared, and the oxidative damage model was induced by H202 system-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). The effect of each batch of Wuziyanzong pill on the level of superoxide dismutase ( SOD) in the sperm model were investigated with vitamin C as the positive control. The spectrum-effect relationship of Wuziyanzong pill on sperm damage protection was elucidated based on the grey correlation analysis and the active ingredients were verified. Results There were 17 common peaks in the 12 batches of samples, and the similarity with the control fingerprint was more than 0. 9. A total of 12 common peaks were identified by comparison with the peaks of the mixed chemical reference standards including genipiganic acid, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, hypericin, isoquercetin, verbascoside, astragalin, quercetin, kaempferol, gomisin A, schisandrin A and schisandrin B. Each batch of Wuziyanzong all significantly increased the content of SOD, and showed a certain protection effect on sperm oxidative damage. Grey correlation coefficient showed that the synergistic effect of multiple components, and the contribution of hypericin, chlorogenic acid and isoquercetin to pharmacodynamic activity was 0. 85, 0. 82 and 0. 78, respectively. Different concentrations of hypericin all increased the level of SOD, and the activity of SOD in medium and high dose groups was significantly higher than that in model group ( P < 0. 001) . Conclusions The protective effect of Wuziyanzong pill on sperm damage attributed to the synergistic action of several components. The identified hyperoside, chlorogenic acid and isoquercetin were major components that contributed to antioxidant effect, and the protective effect of hyperoside on sperm oxidative damage was verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: C1 transpedicular screw (C1TS) placement provided satisfactory pullout resistance and 3D stability, but its application might be limited in patients with basilar invagination (BI) due to the high incidences of the atlas anomaly and vertebral artery (VA) variation. However, no study has explored the classifications of C1 posterior arch variations and investigated their indications and ideal insertion trajectories for C1TS in BI. Purpose: To investigate the bony and surrounding arterial characteristics of the atlas, classify posterior arch variations, identify indications for C1TS, evaluate ideal insertion trajectories for C1TS in BI patients without atlas occipitalization (AO), and compare them with those without BI and AO as control. Methods: A total of 130 non-AO patients with and without BI (52 patients and 78 patients, respectively) from two medical centers were included at a 1:1.5 ratio. The posterior arch variations were assessed using a modified C1 morphological classification. Comparisons regarding the bony and surrounding arterial characteristics, morphological classification distributions, and ideal insertion trajectories between BI and control groups were performed. The subgroup analyses based on different morphological classifications were also conducted. In addition, the factors possibly affecting the insertion parameters were investigated using multiple linear regression analyses. Results: The BI group was associated with significantly smaller lateral mass height and width, sagittal length of posterior arch, pedicle height, vertical height of posterior arch, and distance between VA and VA groove (VAG) than control group. Four types of posterior arch variations with indications for different screw placement techniques were classified; Classifications I and II were suitable for C1TS. The BI cohort showed a significantly lower rate of Classification I than the control cohort. In the BI group, the subgroup of Classification I had significantly larger distance between the insertion point (IP) and inferior aspect of the posterior arch. In addition, it had the narrowest width along ideal screw trajectory, but a significantly more lateral ideal mediolateral angle than the subgroup of Classification II. Multiple linear regression indicated that the cephalad angle was significantly associated with the diagnosis of BI (B = 3.708, P < 0.001) and sagittal diameter of C1 (B = 3.417, P = 0.027); the ideal mediolateral angle was significantly associated with BMI (B = 0.264, P = 0.031), sagittal diameter of C1 (B = − 4.559, P = 0.002), and pedicle height (B = − 2.317, P < 0.001); the distance between the IP and inferior aspects of posterior arch was significantly associated with age (B = − 0.002, P = 0.035), BMI (B = − 0.007, P = 0.028), sagittal length of posterior arch (B = − 0.187, P = 0.032), pedicle height (B = − 0.392, P < 0.001), and middle and lower parts of posterior arch (B = 0.862, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The incidence of posterior arch variation in BI patients without AO was remarkably higher than that in control patients. The insertion parameters of posterior screws were different between the morphological classification types in BI and control groups. The distance between VA V3 segments and VAG in BI cohort was substantially smaller than that in control cohort. Preoperative individual 3D computed tomography (CT), CT angiography and intraoperative navigation are recommended for BI patients receiving posterior screw placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the composition, formation and evolution of the oldest continental crust is crucial for comprehending the mechanism and timing of crustal growth and differentiation on early Earth. However, the preservation of the ancient continental crust is limited due to extensive reworking by later tectonothermal events. In the Lulong area of eastern Hebei, abundant ca. 3.8–3.4 Ga detrital zircons of the fuchsite quartzite have been previously identified. Nonetheless, the provenance and Hf isotopic compositions of the fuchsite quartzite remain unclear. In this study, we present new detrital zircon ages and Hf isotopic for the fuchsite quartzite in the Lulong area to establish the timing of deposition, the provenance and the regional stratigraphic relationship. Zircon U-Pb dating indicates that the fuchsite quartzite was deposited between 3.3–3.1 Ga and most grains were sourced from the 3.8 Ga TTG gneisses and Paleoarchean magmas. Field investigations and regional correlations reveal that the fuchsite quartzite from the Lulong area is equivalent to that of the Caozhuang area. Zircon Hf isotopic data from eastern Hebei Province (Lulong and Caozhuang areas) and Anshan and Xinyang areas indicate that the oldest crustal growth event of North China Craton occurred in the Hadean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Nidulariaceae, consisting of five genera including Cyathus, is a unique group of mushrooms commonly referred to as bird's nest fungi due to their striking resemblance to bird's nests. These mushrooms are considered medicinal mushrooms in Chinese medicine and have received attention in recent years for their anti-neurodegenerative properties. However, despite the interest in these mushrooms, very little is known about their mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the mitogenomes of five Nidulariaceae species with circular genome structures ranging in size from 114,236 bp to 129,263 bp. Comparative analyses based on gene content, gene length, tRNA, and codon usage indicate convergence within the family Nidulariaceae and heterogeneity within the order Agaricales. Phylogenetic analysis based on a combined mitochondrial conserved protein dataset provides a well-supported phylogenetic tree for the Basidiomycetes, which clearly demonstrates the evolutionary relationships between Nidulariaceae and other members of Agaricales. Furthermore, phylogenetic inferences based on four different gene sets reveal the stability and proximity of evolutionary relationships within Agaricales. These results reveal the uniqueness of the family Nidulariaceae and its similarity to other members of Agaricales; provide valuable insights into the origin, evolution, and genetics of Nidulariaceae species; and enrich the fungal mitogenome resource. This study will help to expand the knowledge and understanding of the mitogenomes in mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of cardiac injuries is essential in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has become the gold standard for quantifying cardiac injuries; however, its routine application is limited. A nomogram is a useful tool for prognostic prediction based on the comprehensive utilization of clinical data. We presumed that the nomogram models established using CMR as a reference could precisely predict cardiac injuries. This analysis included 584 patients with acute STEMI from a CMR registry study for STEMI (NCT03768453). The patients were divided into training (n = 408) and testing (n = 176) datasets. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method and multivariate logistic regression were used to construct nomograms for predicting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40%, infarction size (IS) ≥ 20% on the LV mass, and microvascular dysfunction. The nomogram for predicting LVEF≤40%, IS≥20%, and microvascular dysfunction comprised 14, 10, and 15 predictors, respectively. With the nomograms, the individual risk probability of developing specific outcomes could be calculated, and the weight of each risk factor was demonstrated. The C-index of the nomograms in the training dataset were 0.901, 0.831, and 0.814, respectively, and were comparable in the testing set, showing good nomogram discrimination and calibration. The decision curve analysis demonstrated good clinical effectiveness. Online calculators were also constructed. With the CMR results as the reference standard, the established nomograms demonstrated good effectiveness in predicting cardiac injuries after STEMI and could provide physicians with a new option for individual risk stratification. • Constructed 3 nomogram models for the respective prediction of cardiac injuries. • CMR was used as the reference method for the outcomes. • Established models demonstrated good discrimination, calibration, and clinical effectiveness. • The individual risk of developing specific clinical outcomes could be easily calculated and the weight of each risk factor could be demonstrated through nomograms. • Online calculators for the nomograms were created, providing physicians with a convenient method for individual risk stratifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and its effects on planet Earth have received increasing public attention within the past two decades. The problems caused by climate-damaging human activities have become innumerable and seem to put the living generations under great pressure to mitigate the progress of global warming. Nevertheless, a majority of people struggle with implementing climate friendly behavior in their daily lives. In this paper, we try to answer the question of why it may be difficult to implement climate-friendly behavior in our daily lives by taking an environ mental-psychological perspective. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of a Metaverse-like virtual 3D world and analyze its potential to promote climate-friendly behavior in the real world. We make suggestions of how different key players could use a Metaverse to help solve some of the pressing problems going hand in hand with climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musa basjoo Siebold leaves extract (MBSLE) was utilized as green corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M H3PO4 solution. The inhibition behavior was studied through electrochemical tests. The chemical structure of extract was investigated by FTIR and UV–Vis spectra. The element compositions in adsorption film on the surface of mild steel were analyzed by XPS technique. The corrosion morphology of mild steel was observed. The adsorption mechanism of typical components in extract were theoretically calculated by DFT and MD. The results showed that the inhibition efficiency of MBSLE on mild steel increased with extract concentration and MBSLE acted as a mixed corrosion inhibitor. MBSLE contained carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, heterocyclic ring, benzene ring and other polar groups, and successfully adsorbed on mild steel to form the protective film. DFT simulations proved that the active components possessed the synergistic adsorption ability to donate and receive electrons. MD calculations demonstrated the parallel adsorption of typical ingredients on steel surface, the presence of physical adsorption and the inhibition mechanism of geometric coverage effect. Irenolone in MBSLE with more aromatic rings and polar groups shows an excellent corrosion inhibition performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a multi-factor rational design strategy combined with molecular dynamics simulation to improve the thermostability of Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus strain Ms1 tyrosinase. Candidate mutation sites were identified using Discovery Studio and FoldX software, and the double mutant G124W/G137W was obtained. The mutant was heterogeneously expressed in Escherichia coli strain Rosetta2 (DE3), and its thermostability was verified. Results indicate that the rational design method, combined with molecular dynamics simulation and protein energy calculation, improved the enzyme's thermostability more accurately and effectively. The double mutant G124W/G137W had an optimum temperature of 60°C, about 5.0°C higher than that of the wild-type TYRwt, and its activity was 171.06% higher than the wild-type TYRwt. Its thermostability was enhanced, 42.78% higher than the wild-type at 50°C. These findings suggest that the rational design strategy applied in this study can facilitate the application of industrial enzymes in the pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Tourism can contribute to the sustainable development of a rural destination, but tourists’ sustainable behaviours often determine the extent of impact. Thus, exploration of the factors that affect the sustainable behaviours of tourists participating in rural tourism may facilitate the development of sustainable rural tourism. Using self-transcendent emotions as a primary lens, our study proposes a theoretical framework to unpack the relationship between engagement with beauty, self-transcendent emotions, and sustainable behaviour. Based on questionnaire data collected from 437 tourists in Luanchuan, China and analysed using Mplus, results show that engagement with beauty (natural beauty, artistic beauty, and moral beauty) can stimulate tourists’ self-transcendent emotions. The stronger the perception of engagement with beauty, the stronger the self-transcendent emotions, which promote sustainable behaviour. This study offers a theoretical understanding of the sustainable development of rural tourism, showing that beauty of destination attractions can affect sustainable behaviours through the experience of self-transcendent emotions. It also provides management suggestions for the development of rural tourism. By optimising the management of tourists’ engagement with beauty and self-transcendent emotions, rural communities can guide tourists’ behaviour to improve sustainable tourism in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichenysin, a cyclic lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by Bacillus licheniformis, is composed of aspartate, glutamine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, and branched chain fatty acids. The synthesis of these amino acids and fatty acids requires pyruvate and NADPH as the primary precursor and cofactor. Therefore, a sufficient supply of pyruvate and NADPH is crucial for lichenysin production. This study aimed to increase lichenysin production by constructing a synthetic ED pathway in B. licheniformis WX02 through introducing phosphogluconate dehydratase (encoded by gene edd) and 2-keto-3-deoxygluconate 6-phosphate aldolase (encoded by gene eda) from Escherichia coli. Additionally, the NADP+-dependent glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (encoded by gene zwf) was overexpressed, resulting in an engineered strain WX02/pHY-edda(Ec)-zwf. Analysis of the fermentation process revealed that the concentrations of pyruvate, aspartate, glutamine, valine, leucine, branched-chain fatty acids (iC15:0, aC15:0, iC16:0, iC17:0), and NADPH in WX02/pHY-edda(Ec)-zwf were increased by 77.21%, 80.41%, 85.31%, 141.64%, 44.94%, 35.08%, 38.08%, 19.33%, 21.16%, and 425%, respectively, compared to the control strain WX02/pHY300, which resulted in a 45.43% increase of lichenysin titer. This work took advantage of the ED pathway to increase lichenysin production for the first time, and provides a promising strategy for boosting the productivity of biochemicals that require pyruvate and NADPH as precursor and cofactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare the antioxidant activity of litsea cubeba oil (LCO), cinnamon oil (CO), anise oil (AO), and eucalyptus oil (EUC) in vitro. The chemical compositions of the essential oils (EOs) were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity of the four EOs was evaluated through scavenging DPPH free radicals, chelating Fe2+, scavenging hydroxyl free radicals, and inhibiting yolk lipid peroxidation. The results showed that the major compounds found in LCO, CO, AO, and EUC are citral (64.29%), cinnamaldehyde (84.25%), anethole (78.51%), and 1,8-cineole (81.78%), respectively. The four EOs all had certain antioxidant activity. The ability to scavenge DPPH radical was ranked in the order of LCO > CO > AO > EUC. The hydroxyl radical scavenging ability was ranked in the order of EUC > CO > LCO > AO. The chelating Fe2+ capacity was ranked in the order of EUC > AO > CO > LCO. The yolk lipid peroxidation inhibition ability was ranked in the order of CO > AO > EUC > LCO. In different antioxidant activity assays, the antioxidant activity of the EOs was different. It was speculated that the total antioxidant activity of an EO may be the result of the joint action of different antioxidant capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among attitudes and practice about oral health, socioeconomic status, subjective oral symptoms, self-rated oral health, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a group of people from eastern China.Methods: Between January 2021 to February 2022, 2502 (87.4%) of the 2863 participants completed an online questionnaire. OHRQoL, Socio-demographics characteristics, attitudes and practice toward oral health, self-rated oral health and subjective oral symptoms were all covered by the questionnaires. Based on the hypothetical model, structural equation modeling with the bootstrap method was used to examine the interactions and the strength of the correlations between the measured variables.Results: The final model demonstrated acceptable data fit. Socioeconomic status (β = − 0.051), attitudes (β = − 0.100) and practice (β = − 0.127) toward oral health, self-rated oral health (β = − 0.493) and subjective oral symptoms (β = 0.294) were all significantly correlated with OHRQoL. Socioeconomic status was directly linked to attitudes (β = 0.046) and practice (β =0.070) about oral health, and attitudes play the role of intermediary between practice and socioeconomic status (β = 0.018). OHRQoL was indirectly linked with attitudes mediated by practice (β = − 0.092), practice mediated by subjective oral symptoms (β = − 0.107), subjective oral symptoms mediated by self-rated oral health (β = 0.031). OHRQoL was correlated with income, educational level, and socioeconomic status. Self-rated oral health was related to educational level and socioeconomic status.Conclusion: In a sample of eastern China residents, OHRQoL was influenced by socioeconomic status, attitudes and practice toward oral health, subjective oral symptoms, and self-rated oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity of the human brain to detect unattended deviant information from frequent information in our environment shows a hemispheric asymmetry, with stronger brain activation in the right temporal area. This lateralization is distinct from the functional left‐ward asymmetry of auditory information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Freeze-melt is an efficient way for removing contaminants from compressed leachate. • COD, TOC, NH 3 -N and TP are effectively removed by freeze-melt treatment. • Ice formation rate was a very important factor for removal rate of contaminants. • Contaminants in ice with small size are easier to melt-out of the ice. A small amount of leachate with complex composition will be produced during the compressing of municipal solid waste in refuse transfer stations. In this study, the freeze-melt method, a green and efficient wastewater treatment technology, was used to treat the compressed leachate. The effects of freezing temperature, freezing duration, and ice melting method on the removal rates of contaminants were investigated. The results showed that the freeze-melt method was not selective for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and total phosphorus (TP). The removal rate of contaminants was positively correlated with freezing temperature and negatively correlated with freezing duration, and the slower the growth rate of ice, the higher the purity of ice. When the compressed leachate was frozen at −15 °C for 42 h, the removal rates of COD, TOC, NH 3 -N and TP were 60.00%, 58.40%, 56.89% and 55.34%, respectively. Contaminants trapped in ice were removed during the melting process, especially in the early stages of melting. The divided melting method was more beneficial than the natural melting method in removing contaminants during the initial stage of melting, which contributes to the reduction of produced water losses. This study provides a new idea for the treatment of small amounts of highly concentrated leachate generated by compression facilities distributed in various corners of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamics of one double emulsion droplet under shear is investigated on the basis of a computational fluid dynamic simulation with the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. The morphological features of the deformed double emulsion droplet at steady state are quantitatively characterized by the deformation and tilt angles, and the potential mechanisms are explored through analyzing pressure and flow information. The existence of the inner droplet engenders two effects (namely enhancing effect and restraining effect) on the outer droplet deformation Dout, determined by which mechanism in a dominant position. With the increase in k, the character of the inner droplet on Dout transforms from enhancing effect into restraining effect under smaller Caout, while under larger Caout the restraining effect is presented in the leading role that inner droplet with different k all inhibits the outer droplet deformation. As the interfacial tension ratio increases under constant Caout, the higher-pressure region at the tip of the inner droplet turning to the "throat" region and the tilt angle θin enlarging both restrain the deformation Dout. In addition, with the increasing viscosity ratio λ12, the outer droplet deformation Dout increases whereas the inner droplet gets smaller deformation; the tilt angles θin and θout both increase and their tilt angle difference gradually increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the water pollution caused by antibiotics has seriously affected the ecological balance and human health. The development of a novel and efficient visible-light-responsive semiconductor photocatalysts is of great significance for the degradation of ciprofloxacin by visible light. In this study, solvothermal method was used to prepare ZnO and ZnO/Cu2O composite particles. The effects of ZnO addition on the microstructure, surface morphology and photoelectric properties of composite particles were studied by XRD, XPS, SEM, BET and UV-Vis techniques. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin by ZnO/Cu2O composite particles and the contribution of different active species in the degradation process were studied. The results show that the purity of the prepared product is high. ZnO/Cu2O has an octahedral morphology. Compared with Cu2O, ZnO/Cu2O has a clear difference, the absorbance is reduced, the band gap is increased, and the surface fitting resistance is significantly reduced. Among them, R3 sample has highest purity and degree of recombination, the surface fitting resistance is the smallest, the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes is improved, and the photocatalytic performance is improved. The degradation rate of ciprofloxacin by R3 sample is 80.4%, and the degradation of ciprofloxacin conforms to the first-order kinetic equation. After 5 repeated experiments, the ciprofloxacin degradation rate can still reach 75.3%, indicating that the composite material has good stability and reusability. Studies on active species in the process of degradation showed that ·OH played a major role in the degradation of ciprofloxacin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The universal cathode crossover such as chemical and oxygen has been significantly overlooked in lithium metal batteries using high‐energy cathodes which leads to severe capacity degradation and raises serious safety concerns. Herein, a versatile and thin (≈25 μm) interlayer composed of multifunctional active sites was developed to simultaneously regulate the Li deposition process and suppress the cathode crossover. The as‐induced dual‐gradient solid‐electrolyte interphase combined with abundant lithiophilic sites enable stable Li stripping/plating process even under high current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and synchrotron X‐ray experiments revealed that N‐rich framework and CoZn dual active sites can effectively mitigate the undesired cathode crossover, hence significantly minimizing Li corrosion. Therefore, assembled lithium metal cells using various high‐energy cathode materials including LiNi0.7Mn0.2Co0.1O2, Li1.2Co0.1Mn0.55Ni0.15O2, and sulfur demonstrate significantly improved cycling stability with high cathode loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The universal cathode crossover such as chemical and oxygen has been significantly overlooked in lithium metal batteries using high‐energy cathodes which leads to severe capacity degradation and raises serious safety concerns. Herein, a versatile and thin (≈25 μm) interlayer composed of multifunctional active sites was developed to simultaneously regulate the Li deposition process and suppress the cathode crossover. The as‐induced dual‐gradient solid‐electrolyte interphase combined with abundant lithiophilic sites enable stable Li stripping/plating process even under high current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and synchrotron X‐ray experiments revealed that N‐rich framework and CoZn dual active sites can effectively mitigate the undesired cathode crossover, hence significantly minimizing Li corrosion. Therefore, assembled lithium metal cells using various high‐energy cathode materials including LiNi0.7Mn0.2Co0.1O2, Li1.2Co0.1Mn0.55Ni0.15O2, and sulfur demonstrate significantly improved cycling stability with high cathode loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As infected and vaccinated population increases, some countries decided not to impose non-pharmaceutical intervention measures anymore and to coexist with COVID-19. However, we do not have a comprehensive understanding of its consequence, especially for China where most population has not been infected and most Omicron transmissions are silent. This paper aims to reveal the complete silent transmission dynamics of COVID-19 by agent-based simulations overlaying a big data of more than 0.7 million real individual mobility tracks without any intervention measures throughout a week in a Chinese city, with an extent of completeness and realism not attained in existing studies. Together with the empirically inferred transmission rate of COVID-19, we find surprisingly that with only 70 citizens to be infected initially, 0.33 million becomes infected silently at last. We also reveal a characteristic daily periodic pattern of the transmission dynamics, with peaks in mornings and afternoons. In addition, by inferring individual professions, visited locations and age group, we found that retailing, catering and hotel staff are more likely to get infected than other professions, and elderly and retirees are more likely to get infected at home than outside home. Author summary: Since 2019, we have witnessed the worldwide battle against COVID-19. As infected and vaccinated population increases, some countries chose not to impose any non-pharmaceutical measures and to live with COVID-19. In the literature, an extensive effort has been made to understand the effectiveness of intervention measures against COVID-19 and to predict its prevalence, but much less is known about the risk of choosing to coexist with COVID-19. Here, we conduct agent-based simulations overlaying a high-frequency mobility big data which records individual mobility tracks up to every second in a large-scale city in northern China, revealing the comprehensive transmission dynamics from a few initial infected individuals to city-wise infections. Such comprehensive understanding will provide useful insights into our battle against COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on Chlorine (Cl2)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Female BALB/c mice were exposed to Cl2 at 400 ppm for 15 min. H&E staining was used to observe the degree of lung injury. scRNA-seq was conducted to analysis of normal and Cl2-exposed mice lung tissues. Immunofluorescence was used to observe genes of interest. Thirty-two mice were randomly divided into four groups: Control, Cl2, Cl2+Fer-1, Cl2+PTX. TEM, WB and ELISA were used to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. The 5, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 clusters were epithelial cells and 4, 15, 18, 19, 21 clusters were endothelial cells. Pseudo-time analysis revealed the differentiation trajectory of epithelial cells and key regulatory genes (Gclc, Bpifa1, Dnah5 and Dnah9) during the process of injury. Cell–cell communication analysis identified several important receptor–ligand complexes (Nrp1-Vegfa, Nrp2-Vegfa, Flt1-Vegfa and Flt4-Vegfa). Ferroptosis were found up-regulated in epithelial and endothelial cells by GSVA analysis. Highly expressed genes to which closely related ferroptosis were found by SCENIC analysis. PTX could significantly decrease the levels of MDA and abnormal high expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11, the key transporter of cystine) as well as increase the expression of GSH/GSSG and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) (p < 0.05). This study revealed novel molecular features of Cl2-induced ALI. PTX may be a potential specific drug by inhibiting the process of ferroptosis in epithelial and endothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the restructured electricity market, retailers are intermediaries between the electricity wholesale market and consumers. Considering the uncertainty of wholesale market price, retailers should consider the risks of their profit caused by the uncertain wholesale price when participating in the retail competition. Indeed, retailers' risk preferences will impact their price bidding strategies. To examine the effects of retailers' risk preferences on their strategies and equilibrium outcomes in the retail market, an equilibrium model for price-making retailers is proposed by employing the mean–variance utility theory to model the risk preferences of retailers. The market share function is used to characterize consumers' price-elasticity and switching behavior in the retail market. Few works in the literature address the issue of bidding strategies of retailers with different risk preferences in the electricity market with switchable consumers. Moreover, the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium are theoretically proved. A theoretical analysis is presented to investigate the impacts of wholesale price uncertainty and retailer's risk preference on the bidding strategy. By adopting the nonlinear complementarity approach, the proposed game model is transformed into a set of nonlinear equations, which is further solved by the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. Finally, examples are included to verify the effectiveness of the proposed theory, and the results show that the bidding price of a retailer will increase with the increasing uncertainty of the wholesale price and the increasing risk-averse levels of itself and its rivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new guaianolide-type sesquiterpenoids chrysanthemulides K and L (1 and 2), together with six known analogues (3–8), were isolated from an CH2Cl2 extract of the aerial parts of Chrysanthemum indicum. The structures of new compounds 1 and 2 were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including UV, IR, MS, NMR and computational electronic circular dichroism (ECD) methods. Inhibitory effects of all compounds on nitric oxide production were investigated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Results showed that compounds 1–8 displayed NO production inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranged from 3.5 to 34.3 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid nanodiscs are popular mimetics of biological membranes for determining membrane protein structures. However, a recent study revealed that the choice of nanodisc scaffold directly influenced the structure of an ion channel. This finding prompts us to be cautious and calls for improved membrane mimetics for structure determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level to modulate the photogenerated charge behavior is a promising and challenging strategy for efficient hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) photosynthesis. Here, we introduce electron‐deficient 1,4‐dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ) into the framework of resorcinol‐formaldehyde (RF) resin, which modulates the donor/acceptor ratio from the perspective of molecular design for promoting the charge separation. Interestingly, H2O2 can be produced via oxygen reduction and water oxidation pathways, verified by isotopic labeling and in situ characterization techniques. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that DHAQ can reduce the energy barrier for H2O2 production. RF‐DHAQ exhibits excellent overall photosynthesis of H2O2 with a solar‐to‐chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency exceeding 1.2 %. This work opens a new avenue to design polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level for high‐efficiency artificial photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level to modulate the photogenerated charge behavior is a promising and challenging strategy for efficient hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) photosynthesis. Here, we introduce electron‐deficient 1,4‐dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ) into the framework of resorcinol‐formaldehyde (RF) resin, which modulates the donor/acceptor ratio from the perspective of molecular design for promoting the charge separation. Interestingly, H2O2 can be produced via oxygen reduction and water oxidation pathways, verified by isotopic labeling and in situ characterization techniques. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that DHAQ can reduce the energy barrier for H2O2 production. RF‐DHAQ exhibits excellent overall photosynthesis of H2O2 with a solar‐to‐chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency exceeding 1.2 %. This work opens a new avenue to design polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level for high‐efficiency artificial photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backscattering of β rays is one significant part of energy losses in betavoltaic batteries. However, few works have been carried out on this basic physical process and no guidance has been provided to minimize the impact of the backscattered electrons on the efficiencies of betavoltaics. In this work, a double-sided structure is proposed to recycle the backscattered electrons and reduce the backscattering loss. A systematical investigation has been conducted to minimize the backscattering loss in planar betavoltaic batteries. The double-sided structure has great advantages for utilizing the multiple times backscattering of electrons between the radioactive source and the semiconductor unit and for recycling the backscattered electrons. Our results show that thin source layers, high-energy sources, and sources with smaller effective atomic numbers can enhance the recycling effect and reduce the backscattering loss. 147Pm2O3 sources with the highest emitting energy and 14C(PMMA) sources with the lowest effective atomic number can recycle the most backscattered energy using the double-sided structure with a thin source layer. The method and the suggestions proposed in this work can be greatly useful in the battery design as well as other scenes where the electron backscattering should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]