bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of variable‐stiffness layup configuration on curing deformation of curved‐surface structures
Authors: Niu Xuejuan , Yao Yan
Published: October 2022

Accurate prediction the curing‐induced deformation is the key to the fabrication of high‐quality composite structures. Aiming at controlling shape distortion of curved‐surface parts during curing process, a layup optimization strategy is proposed based on a variable stiffness (VS) placement method, which uses geodesic curves as fiber‐tow paths. Taking an offset parabolic antenna reflector (PAR) for example, chemical shrinkage and thermal deformation of curved‐surface composites during the curing process and after demolding are modeled. By combining Fourier heat conduction theory, curing kinetics, and generalized Maxwell viscoelastic model, the interactions between chemical cross‐link reaction, heat transfer, and mechanical deformation are taken into account. By comparing the deformation characteristics of VS and traditional constant stiffness structures, the proposed simulation strategy of curing process for composites can predict the factors that influence the curing deformation of VS structures are analyzed. The results show that the maximum of VS PAR decreases by 11.02%, and the average magnitude decreases by 32.35%.
A model of spatial location: New data for the Gor River megalithic landscape (Spain) from LiDAR technology and field survey
Authors: Cabrero‐González Carolina , Garrido‐Almonacid Antonio , Esquivel Francisco Javier , Cámara‐Serrano Juan Antonio
Published: October 2022

The megalithic cluster of the Gor River valley (Andalusia, Spain) is one of the biggest dolmenic groups in Europe, made up of 151 preserved megaliths. In spite of this high number of known monuments, increasing loss and destruction of many of the graves has taken place during the last decades due to enormous soil erosion and anthropogenic activities. With the aim of recording the location of these lost megaliths, Digital Terrain Models and LiDAR data have been used to analyse the terrain showing a high quantity of structures that seem similar to those actually documented in the zone but that were not noticed until now. These possible new burial mounds have been tested by archaeological surface survey, choosing three contrasting areas as samples. Results have shown a high success rate for this methodology, even allowing the discovery of new megalithic graves in heavily researched areas. We interpret the likely higher number of burial mounds in the area to indicate greater territorial control in boundary areas between 4th and 3rd millennium BC.
Meiotic defects in human oocytes: Potential causes and clinical implications
Authors: Wu Tianyu , Gu Hao , Luo Yuxi , Wang Lei , Sang Qing
Published: October 2022

Meiotic defects cause abnormal chromosome segregation leading to aneuploidy in mammalian oocytes. Chromosome segregation is particularly error‐prone in human oocytes, but the mechanisms behind such errors remain unclear. To explain the frequent chromosome segregation errors, recent investigations have identified multiple meiotic defects and explained how these defects occur in female meiosis. In particular, we review the causes of cohesin exhaustion, leaky spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), inherently unstable meiotic spindle, fragmented kinetochores or centromeres, abnormal aurora kinases (AURK), and clinical genetic variants in human oocytes. We mainly focus on meiotic defects in human oocytes, but also refer to the potential defects of female meiosis in mouse models.
Recent advances in enzymatic biosensors for point‐of‐care detection of biomolecules
Authors: Gupta Upasana , Gupta Verruchi , Arun Ravi Kumar , Chanda Nripen
Published: October 2022

Late state‐of‐the‐art analytical methodologies in chromatography, spectroscopy, and electroanalysis have been developed to meet the challenges of changing environmental and health issues. The modern trends in developing new protocols emphasize economic, portable, nano, or even smaller sample sizes and less time‐consuming processes. This has led to the development of technology‐based biosensors which meet most of the above requirements. The lab‐on‐chip technology exploiting enzyme‐based biosensors has made the analytical processes very efficient, accurate, affordable, and requiring nano‐scale sample sizes. In this review, an attempt is being made to review the literature based on state‐of‐the‐art technology of enzyme‐based biosensors for the detection of biomolecules.
Implications of estrogen and its receptors in colorectal carcinoma
Authors: Das Plabon Kumar , Saha Joti , Pillai Suja , Lam Alfred K.‐Y. , Gopalan Vinod , Islam Farhadul
Published: October 2022

Estrogens have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various cancer types, including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Estrogen receptors such as ERα and ERβ activate intracellular signaling cascades followed by binding to estrogen, resulting in important changes in cellular behaviors. The nuclear estrogen receptors, i.e. ERβ and ERα are responsible for the genomic actions of estrogens, whereas the other receptor, such as G protein‐coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) regulates rapid non‐genomic actions, which lead to secondary gene expression changes in cells. ERβ, the predominant estrogen receptor expressed in both normal and non‐malignant colonic epithelium, has protective roles in colon carcinogenesis. ERβ may exert the anti‐tumor effect through selective activation of pro‐apoptotic signaling, increasing DNA repair, inhibiting expression of oncogenes, regulating cell cycle progression, and also by changing the micro‐RNA pool and DNA‐methylation. Thus, a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of estrogen and its receptors in CRC pathogenesis could provide a new horizon for effective therapeutic development. Furthermore, using synthetic or natural compounds as ER agonists may induce estrogen‐mediated anti‐cancer activities against colon cancer. In this study, we report the most recent pre‐clinical and experimental evidences related to ERs in CRC development. Also, we reviewed the actions of naturally occurring and synthetic compounds, which have a protective role against CRC development by acting as ER agonist.
Chemical Constituents of Cyperus esculentus Leaves and the Protective Effect against Agricultural Fungicide‐Induced Hepatotoxicity
Authors: Ma Jiannan , Feng Xu , Meng Haocong , Ma Yue , Zhang Xiangqian , Zhang Dejian , Lu Zhanyuan , Xu Haiyan , Ma Chaomei
Published: October 2022

Cyperus esculentus is cultivated as a crop plant due to its edible and oily tubers (tiger nut). However, little is known about the phytochemicals and bioeffects of the leaves. This study was conducted to identify and quantify the chemical constituents of C. esculentus leaves and evaluate their bioactivities. By liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry, 30 compounds including flavan‐3‐ols, caffeic acid derivatives, and flavones, were identified from the leaves. The quantitative analysis revealed that gallocatechin (8), procyanidin B1 (15), catechin (16), chlorogenic acid (19), orientin (30), and luteolin 7‐O‐glucuronide (31) are the major chemical constituents of C. esculentus leaves. The contents of these six chemical constituents in the leaves collected in September in Hohhot, China, reached to 1460.85±7.66, 10178.77±302.65, 1048.35±17.37, 1722.15±26.13, 5318.62±277.16, and 1526.54±11.95 μg, respectively, in one gram of the dried leaves. The leaf extract (CELE) showed strong antioxidant activity in vitro, with compounds 8, 15, and 19 contributing the most. CELE showed significant protection against the agricultural fungicide tebuconazole‐induced developmental toxicity and hepatotoxicity in zebrafish.
Dynamics of metabolism and regulation of epigenetics during cardiomyocytes maturation
Authors: Hayat Rabia
Published: October 2022

Maturation is the last step of heart growth that prepares the organ over the lifetime of the mammal for powerful, effective, and sustained pumping. Structural, gene expression, physiological, and functional specialties of cardiomyocytes describe this mechanism as the heart transits from fetus to adult phases. The main cornerstones of maturation of cardiomyocytes are reviewed and primary regulatory mechanisms are summarized to facilitate and organize these cellular activities. During embryonic development, cardiomyocytes proliferate rigorously but leave the cell cycle permanently immediately after the parturition of the child and experience terminal differentiation. The activation of a host of genes specific for the mature heart is correlated with the exit from the cell cycle. Even when exposed to mitogenic stimuli, the bulk of mature cardiomyocytes do not re‐join the cell cycle. The reason for this permanent exit from the cell cycle is shown to be linked with stable switching off of the genes of the cell cycle directly involved in the G2/M transition phase and cytokinesis development. Researchers also trying to explain the molecular mechanism involved in stable inhibition of the gene and described structural changes (epigenetic and chromatin) in this mechanism. Substantial developments in the future with advances in the scientific platforms used for cardiomyocyte maturation research will broaden our understanding of this mechanism and result in better maturation of cardiomyocyte‐derived pluripotent stem cells and effective treatment approaches for cardiovascular diseases.
Erector spinae plane block for affective and safe analgesia in a patient with severe penetrating chest trauma caused by an explosion in the battlefield
Authors: Dmytriiev Dmytro , Dîrzu Dan Sebastian , Melnychenko Mykola , Eichholz Rudiger
Published: October 2022

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to generate many complex traumatic injuries and provides unique challenges to anaesthesiologists who provide medical care at various levels of medical evacuation. We report the successful use of an ultrasound‐guided continuous erector spinae plane (ESP) block in a patient with severe posterolateral chest trauma. The acute perioperative outcome of the patient was improved with the ESP block, the main benefits being excellent analgesia and minimal postoperative morphine requirements without influencing the risk of bleeding and coagulopathy. We conclude that continuous ESP block can be utilized to provide excellent analgesia following massive thoracic trauma. It's ease of placement under ultrasound guidance and low risk of complications makes this technique particularly useful in war medicine.
Graphdiyne: A Chelating Carbon for High Selectivity Direct Electrochemical Sensing of Trace Copper Ions
Authors: Shi Zhuanzhuan , Liu Liang , Li Yuan , Wu Xiaoshuai , Li Yunpeng , Li Qingyuan , Hao Xijuan , Li Chang Ming , Guo Chunxian
Published: October 2022

Graphdiyne (GDY), an emerging type of carbon allotropes with unique sp−sp2 carbon atoms, is firstly explored for high selectivity direct electrochemical sensing of ultra‐trace level copper ions (Cu2+). It achieves a wide detection range of 0.25–380 μM and a trace level as low as 8 nM, among the best performance of reported carbon‐based sensors. It is found that GDY with unique C≡C possesses both chelating and reducing abilities to efficiently anchor and reduce Cu2+ to Cu+, eventually leading to ultrasensitive detection.
Data point importance: Information ranking in multivariate data
Authors: Zade Somaye Vali , Neymeyr Klaus , Sawall Mathias , Fischer Christian , Abdollahi Hamid
Published: October 2022

A new characteristic term, data point importance (DPI), is introduced in order to quantify the information ranking in multivariate data. DPI defines an easily calculable value corresponding to each row or column of data matrix to reflect its impact for keeping the pattern of the data structure. Usually, a lot of data points have DPIs equal or very close to zero so that they do not carry on useful information about keeping the data pattern. DPI values for some of the data points are significant, and they have been sorted regarding to their importance values. The applicability of the proposed procedure is tested for three typical examples of simulated and experimental data including hyperspectral image data. The possible incorporation of the DPI values for more informative score plots is suggested.
Multi‐Resonant Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent (MR‐TADF) Compounds as Photocatalysts**
Authors: Prentice Callum , Morrison James , Smith Andrew D. , Zysman‐Colman Eli
Published: October 2022

Donor‐acceptor (D−A) thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) compounds, such as 4CzIPN, have become a widely used sub‐class of organic photocatalysts for a plethora of photocatalytic reactions. Multi‐resonant TADF (MR‐TADF) compounds, a subclass of TADF emitters that are rigid nanographene derivatives, such as DiKTa and Mes3DiKTa, have to date not been explored as photocatalysts. In this study both DiKTa and Mes3DiKTa were found to give comparable or better product yield than 4CzIPN in a range of photocatalytic processes that rely upon reductive quenching, oxidative quenching, energy transfer and dual photocatalytic processes. In a model oxidative quench process, DiKTa and Mes3DiKTa gave increased reaction rates in comparison to 4CzIPN, with DiKTa being of particular interest due to the lower material cost (£0.94/mmol) compared to that of 4CzIPN (£3.26/mmol). These results suggest that DiKTa and Mes3DiKTa would be excellent additions to any chemist's collection of photocatalysts.
Computer‐Aided Design of Crosslinked Polymer Membrane Using Machine Learning and Molecular Dynamics
Authors: Guo Wenjing , Chai Shiyang , Zhang Lei , Du Jian
Published: October 2022

The formation of crosslinking network between polymer chains has significant influence on polymer properties. In particular, the crosslinked structure of ionic networks like proton exchange membrane affects the conductivity performance. To further develop in this area, a framework for polymer membrane design based on the developed quantitative prediction model of the properties of crosslinked polymer is proposed. First, polymers with different crosslinking degrees are constructed by a crosslinking algorithm. Next, molecular dynamics is used to calculate the properties of crosslinked polymers. Then, the quantitative relationship between crosslinked polymer structures and macroscopical properties is developed. Subsequently, computer‐aided polymer design method is integrated with the developed quantitative predict model. The crosslinked polymer design problem is expressed as an optimization problem to obtain the optimal crosslinking degree. Bayesian optimization strategy is used to solve the established optimization model. Finally, two case studies of perfluoro sulfonic acid and perfluoro imide acid design are given to illustrate the application of the proposed polymer design framework.
Fuel properties and combustion performance of hydrochars prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of different recycling paper mill wastes
Authors: Assis Englatina I. N. C. , Chirwa Evans M. N.
Published: October 2022

The incineration of high‐moisture solid residues generated at the recycling paper mills represents an energetically unfavourable method of resource utilization. Alternatively, hydrothermal pre‐treatment is considered. In this study, low‐value paper sludges from three different recycling streams were hydrothermally carbonized at 205, 225, and 245°C for 3 h. The raw feedstocks and derived hydrochars were analyzed for energy properties, chemical characteristics, surface morphology, functional groups, and combustion performance employing energy densification and mass yield quantification, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyzer, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry. The increase in reaction temperature was reported to cause a decrease in mass yield and an increase in energy densification and calorific values corresponding to 5.98%–49.35% and 10.10%–58.51% for raw fibre rejects and final sludge‐derived hydrochar, respectively. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) had a non‐significant influence on the energy densification of primary clarifier sludge‐derived hydrochar. Higher reaction temperatures favoured the rate of dehydration and decarboxylation, leading to hydrochars with lower H/C and O/C ratios, thereby enhancing the overall fuel properties. The low‐nitrogen and low‐sulphur fuels obtained validated the effectiveness of HTC treatment to produce high‐quality cleaner solid fuel. The burnout temperature was mostly reduced with an increase in HTC temperature. At HTC‐205 and 225°C, the ignition temperature and the combustion performance increased as a result of the HTC reaction mechanisms. HTC effectively recovered hydrochar with increased carbon content, improved energy densification, and good combustion adequacy. Hydrochar derived from recycling mills may play a role in the energy sector as a substitute for coal or in co‐combustion at coal‐fired power plants.
Five‐day versus 7‐day treatment regimen with azacitidine in lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome: A phase 2, multicenter, randomized trial
Authors: Park Silvia , Park So Yeon , Lee Je‐Hwan , Choi Eun‐Ji , Lee Kyoo‐Hyung , Yoon Sung‐Soo , Hong Junshik , Shin Dong‐Yeop , Kim Yoo‐Jin
Published: October 2022

Background

Low‐dose azacitidine (AZA) regimens, primarily 5‐day AZA, have been used in lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LrMDS) but they have yet to be directly compared to the standard 7‐day, uninterrupted dosing schedule.

Method

In this phase 2, multicenter, randomized trial, 55 patients with adult LrMDS (low and intermediate‐1 risk by international prognostic scoring system [IPSS]) were randomly assigned and received either 5‐day (n = 26) or 7‐day (n = 29) AZA between March 2012 and August 2020. The trial was stopped prematurely because of the slow accrual of patients. The primary end point was the overall response rate (ORR) of the 5‐day AZA as compared to that of the 7‐day regimen.

Results

Median patient age was 59 years, and IPSS intermediate‐1 risk comprised the majority (81.8%). The median number of cycles in both arms was six. In the ITT subset (n = 53), in each of the 5‐day and 7‐day arms, the ORR of 48.0% and 39.3%, hematologic improvement of 44.0% and 39.3%, and RBC transfusion independence of 35.3% and 40.0% were observed respectively, and none of these findings were significantly different between the two arms. A cytogenetic response rate was significantly higher in the 7‐day arm (8.3% and 53.8%, p = .027). Survival and adverse events were similar between the groups, although gastrointestinal toxicities, grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia, and febrile neutropenia were less frequent in the 5‐day arm.

Conclusion

The 5‐day AZA in LrMDS showed comparable efficacy to a 7‐day regimen in terms of similar overall response and other outcomes, despite significantly higher rates of cytogenetic responses in the 7‐day regimen.

Lay summary

Azacitidine (75 mg/m2/day for 7 consecutive days per 28‐day cycle) has shown survival benefit in patients with higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Although the use of azacitidine is less‐well studied for lower risk MDS, it is generally accepted as a feasible option for lower risk MDS (LrMDS).
Tuning Structure and Properties of Pt Catalysts Confined in Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) for Electrocatalysis
Authors: Hu Jiacheng , Zhou Linsen , Sang Ge , Xu Cigang
Published: October 2022

New approaches to enhance the activity of Pt electrocatalysts in the field of H2 energy are desirable, and recently Pt catalysts confined in SWNTs have been shown to possess an enhanced catalytic activity, but the way to control their structure and properties for optimized performance is still unexplored. Here, a facile two‐step process was developed to provide such control, in which Pt was firstly co‐filled with different ratio of Co in SWNTs and followed by acid treatment to remove Co. The resulting Pt catalysts (d‐Pt‐Co@SWNT) were appraised for two typical electrocatalytic applications with the correlation between structure and catalytic activity demonstrated: for amperometric hydrogen sensing, the d‐Pt90‐Co10@SWNT catalyst showed sensitivity 7 times higher than that of Pt100@SWNT; for hydrogen evolution, the d‐Pt10‐Co90@SWNT catalyst exhibited mass activity about 10 times higher than that of the commercial Pt‐C. Overall the approach provides a general route to tune structure and properties of metal catalyst confined in carbon nanotubes for different applications in many fields.
Electrification of water: From basics to applications
Authors: Jin Yuankai , Wu Chenyang , Sun Pengcheng , Wang Mingmei , Cui Miaomiao , Zhang Chao , Wang Zuankai
Published: October 2022

As the most common but indispensable matter to humankind, water usually stays in a macroscopically electric neutral state. Due to its inherent molecular polarity, however, water can be easily electrified, which builds a connection between water and electricity. Such a coupling of water and electricity abounds deep scientific basics and technological applications. The past several decades have witnessed extensive progress in studying the mutual effects between electricity and water, but a comprehensive review of its fundamentals and applications is still largely missing. In this review, we first reassess and classify the basic electrifying methods of water according to their mechanisms, then highlight how to leverage the bond nexus of water and electricity to achieve promising technical applications. We envision that this review will inspire multidisciplinary scientific communities to think and innovate more on the research of water, electricity, and their marriage.
Breeding system and geospatial variation shape the population genetics of Triodanis perfoliata
Authors: Tackett Morgan , Berg Colette , Simmonds Taylor , Lopez Olivia , Brown Jason , Ruggiero Robert , Weber Jennifer
Published: October 2022

Both intrinsic and extrinsic forces work together to shape connectivity and genetic variation in populations across the landscape. Here we explored how geography, breeding system traits, and environmental factors influence the population genetic patterns of Triodanis perfoliata, a widespread mix‐mating annual plant in the contiguous US. By integrating population genomic data with spatial analyses and modeling the relationship between a breeding system and genetic diversity, we illustrate the complex ways in which these forces shape genetic variation. Specifically, we used 4705 single nucleotide polymorphisms to assess genetic diversity, structure, and evolutionary history among 18 populations. Populations with more obligately selfing flowers harbored less genetic diversity (π: R2 = .63, p = .01, n = 9 populations), and we found significant population structuring (FST = 0.48). Both geographic isolation and environmental factors played significant roles in predicting the observed genetic diversity: we found that corridors of suitable environments appear to facilitate gene flow between populations, and that environmental resistance is correlated with increased genetic distance between populations. Last, we integrated our genetic results with species distribution modeling to assess likely patterns of connectivity among our study populations. Our landscape and evolutionary genetic results suggest that T. perfoliata experienced a complex demographic and evolutionary history, particularly in the center of its distribution. As such, there is no singular mechanism driving this species' evolution. Together, our analyses support the hypothesis that the breeding system, geography, and environmental variables shape the patterns of diversity and connectivity of T. perfoliata in the US.
Dung‐visiting beetle diversity is mainly affected by land use, while community specialization is driven by climate
Authors: Englmeier Jana , von Hoermann Christian , Rieker Daniel , Benbow Marc Eric , Benjamin Caryl , Fricke Ute , Ganuza Cristina , Haensel Maria , Lackner Tomáš , Mitesser Oliver , Redlich Sarah , Riebl Rebekka , Rojas‐Botero Sandra , Rummler Thomas , Salamon Jörg‐Alfred , Sommer David , Steffan‐Dewenter Ingolf , Tobisch Cynthia , Uhler Johannes , Uphus Lars , Zhang Jie , Müller Jörg
Published: October 2022

Dung beetles are important actors in the self‐regulation of ecosystems by driving nutrient cycling, bioturbation, and pest suppression. Urbanization and the sprawl of agricultural areas, however, destroy natural habitats and may threaten dung beetle diversity. In addition, climate change may cause shifts in geographical distribution and community composition. We used a space‐for‐time approach to test the effects of land use and climate on α‐diversity, local community specialization (H2′) on dung resources, and γ‐diversity of dung‐visiting beetles. For this, we used pitfall traps baited with four different dung types at 115 study sites, distributed over a spatial extent of 300 km × 300 km and 1000 m in elevation. Study sites were established in four local land‐use types: forests, grasslands, arable sites, and settlements, embedded in near‐natural, agricultural, or urban landscapes. Our results show that abundance and species density of dung‐visiting beetles were negatively affected by agricultural land use at both spatial scales, whereas γ‐diversity at the local scale was negatively affected by settlements and on a landscape scale equally by agricultural and urban land use. Increasing precipitation diminished dung‐visiting beetle abundance, and higher temperatures reduced community specialization on dung types and γ‐diversity. These results indicate that intensive land use and high temperatures may cause a loss in dung‐visiting beetle diversity and alter community networks. A decrease in dung‐visiting beetle diversity may disturb decomposition processes at both local and landscape scales and alter ecosystem functioning, which may lead to drastic ecological and economic damage.
Short‐term plant–soil feedback experiment fails to predict outcome of competition observed in long‐term field experiment
Authors: Beckman Noelle G. , Dybzinski Ray , Tilman David
Published: October 2022

Mounting evidence suggests that plant–soil feedbacks (PSF) may determine plant community structure. However, we still have a poor understanding of how predictions from short‐term PSF experiments compare with outcomes of long‐term field experiments involving competing plants. We conducted a reciprocal greenhouse experiment to examine how the growth of prairie grass species depended on the soil communities cultured by conspecific or heterospecific plant species in the field. The source soil came from monocultures in a long‐term competition experiment (LTCE; Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, MN, USA). Within the LTCE, six species of perennial prairie grasses were grown in monocultures or in eight pairwise competition plots for 12 years under conditions of low or high soil nitrogen availability. In six cases, one species clearly excluded the other; in two cases, the pair appeared to coexist. In year 15, we gathered soil from all 12 soil types (monocultures of six species by two nitrogen levels) and grew seedlings of all six species in each soil type for 7 weeks. Using biomass estimates from this greenhouse experiment, we predicted coexistence or competitive exclusion using pairwise PSFs, as derived by Bever and colleagues, and compared model predictions to observed outcomes within the LTCE. Pairwise PSFs among the species pairs ranged from negative, which is predicted to promote coexistence, to positive, which is predicted to promote competitive exclusion. However, these short‐term PSF predictions bore no systematic resemblance to the actual outcomes of competition observed in the LTCE. Other forces may have more strongly influenced the competitive interactions or critical assumptions that underlie the PSF predictions may not have been met. Importantly, the pairwise PSF score derived by Bever et al. is only valid when the two species exhibit an internal equilibrium, corresponding to the Lotka–Volterra competition outcomes of stable coexistence and founder control. Predicting the other two scenarios, competitive exclusion by either species irrespective of initial conditions, requires measuring biomass in uncultured soil, which is methodologically challenging. Subject to several caveats that we discuss, our results call into question whether long‐term competitive outcomes in the field can be predicted from the results of short‐term PSF experiments.
Application of sericin‐based edible coating material for postharvest shelf‐life extension and preservation of tomatoes
Authors: Tarangini Korumilli , Kavi Palepu , Jagajjanani Rao Korukonda
Published: October 2022

This paper studied the effects of sericin‐based edible coating material on the quality and shelf‐life of tomatoes over 40 days of storage at 25°C and relative humidity of 70%. The key constituents of the coating material are sericin (1.5%), chitosan (1.0%), Aloe vera (1.0%), and glycerol (1.5%) in an aqueous solution and applied onto tomatoes in a simple dip‐coating technique. Weight loss, firmness titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and lycopene content were investigated and scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the semipermeable nature and the thickness of the coating layer. The results stated that the developed coating material reduced weight and firmness losses in tomatoes. With increased storage time, fruit TA content was increased and the values of pH, TSS, lycopene content, total phenolic content, and total antioxidant concentration stood low in comparison with uncoated tomatoes. With no evidence of wrinkles (up to 21 days), visible cracks, or deterioration on coated fruits during the study period, the application of sericin‐based coating might be useful commercially for maintaining the postharvest quality control of tomatoes and even other fruits as well.
Characteristics and management of very elderly patients with heart failure: a retrospective, population cohort study
Authors: Olofsson Mona , Lindmark Krister , Stålhammar Jan , Törnblom Michael , Lundberg Anna , Wikström Gerhard , Boman Kurt
Published: October 2022

Aims

Unmet needs exist in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure (HF) in the elderly population. Our aim was to analyse and compare data of diagnostics and management of very elderly patients (aged ≥85 years) compared with younger patients (aged 18–84 years) with HF in Sweden.

Methods

Incidence of ≥2 HF diagnosis (ICD‐10) was identified from primary/secondary care in Uppsala and Västerbotten during 2010–2015 via electronic medical records linked to data from national health registers. Analyses investigated the diagnosis, treatment patterns, hospitalizations and outpatient visits, and mortality.

Results

Of 8702 patients, 27.7% were ≥85 years old, women (60.2%); most patients (80.7%) had unknown left ventricular ejection fraction; key co‐morbidities comprised anaemia, dementia, and cerebrovascular disease. More very elderly patients received cardiovascular disease (CVD)‐related management after diagnosis in primary care (13.6% vs. 6.5%; P < 0.0001), but fewer patients underwent echocardiography (19.3% vs. 42.9%; P < 0.0001). Within 1 year of diagnosis, very elderly patients were less likely to be hospitalized (all‐cause admissions per patient: 1.9 vs. 2.3; P < 0.0001; CVD‐related admissions per patient: 1.8 vs. 2.1; P = 0.0004) or prescribed an angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) plus a β‐blocker (45.2% vs. 56.9%; P < 0.0001) or an ACEI/ARB plus a β‐blocker plus a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (15.4% vs. 31.7%; P < 0.0001). One‐year mortality was high in patients ≥85 years old, 30.5% (CI: 28.3‐32.7%) out of 1797 patients.

Conclusions

Despite the large number of very elderly patients with newly diagnosed HF in Sweden, poor diagnostic work‐up and subsequent treatment highlight the inequality of care in this vulnerable population.
Electrodeless Nanogenerator for Dust Recover
Authors: Wang Wanli , Yang Dongfang , Huang Zhenxing , Hu Han , Wang Licheng , Wang Kai
Published: October 2022

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has the advantages of low cost, low weight, simple structure, and high efficiency. It is a promising low‐frequency mechanical energy capture technology, which shows great potential in dealing with energy and environmental crisis and promoting new electronic products. TENGs have demonstrated irreplaceable design freedom over traditional electronic devices, including its ability to work independently of electrodes. In fact, the displacement current is an unreal current, it can work independently without electrodes. Moreover, due to the lack of “shielding effect” of the electrode, the surface potential can be larger than devices worked with electrodes. Here, based on TENG's high‐voltage characteristic without electrode, the application of dust removal is explored, and a kind of electrodeless polyethylene triboelectric blackboard eraser was demonstrated as an example, which can effectively restrain the flying of chalk dust (limit the dust diffusion within 0.648 m). The electrostatic charge decayed blackboard eraser can be recharged by the electrodeless TENG without requirement of electrodes establishment. In fact, contact electrification may happen frequently in natural environment, and further design may be achieved without the limitation of electrodes.
Detached Vertical (Al,Ga)N Nanowires to Realize the Flexible Ultraviolet Photodetector with High Ultraviolet/Visible Reject Ratio and Detectivity
Authors: Zhou Min , Zhao Yukun , Yang Wenxian , Zhang Jianya , Jiang Min , Wu Yuanyuan , Xu Ziwei , Lu Shulong
Published: October 2022

Flexible ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) can meet the growing demands and wide applications of next‐generation portable and lightweight optoelectronic devices. Herein, a flexible UV PD based on (Al,Ga)N nanowires (NWs) is proposed and successfully fabricated by numerical and experimental approaches, which have high UV/visible reject ratio (1.5 × 104) and detectivity (8 × 1010 Jones). To accelerate the carrier transport and enhance the response, the top–down–top current pathway is demonstrated by introducing interdigitated electrodes and graphene. The UV/visible reject ratio of the flexible PD can be enhanced over 40 times by removing epitaxial silicon substrate to eliminate the corresponding visible response, leading to an excellent detection selectivity. By numerical simulations, the electric field intensities of the NWs are comparative in the unbending and bending states. After −120° bending, the PD performance remains quite stable. Under different bending states, the maximum variation of different response time can be kept within 0.15 s. According to the experimental data, the barrier height is essentially unchanged under different bending states, which should be a key factor contributing to the outstanding stability of the PD.
Biomass Waste‐Derived Solar Evaporator for Efficient and Low‐Cost Water Evaporation
Authors: Ma Sainan , Wang Qianqian , Chen Ke , Yuan Weiyong , Gao Xiang , Li Nian , Gao Neng
Published: October 2022

Solar‐driven interfacial water evaporation is a green and energy‐saving water treatment technology, yet key issues remain the low efficiency, high cost, and complicated fabrication of solar evaporators. With a unique natural structure, good environmental friendliness, and low cost, biomass‐based materials have attracted extensive research interest as solar absorbers. Herein, banana peel, one of the most common biomass wastes, is adopted as raw material for solar water evaporation and subjected to a carbonization process. The carbonized banana peel (CBP) presents a dark rough surface and a hierarchically inner porous structure, resulting in good solar absorption and water transfer ability. Consequently, a high water evaporation rate of 1.35 kg m−2 h−1 and corresponding solar‐to‐vapor conversion efficiency of 87.5% are achieved under 1 sun irradiation. Furthermore, the CBP also exhibits outstanding performance in seawater desalination and wastewater purification. This work demonstrates a sustainable strategy for low‐cost and efficient solar‐driven water purification.
Shaking‐table substructure test using a MDOF boundary‐coordinating device
Authors: Tian Yingpeng , Wang Tao , Zhou Huimeng , Du Chunbo
Published: October 2022

Boundary coordination is necessary for a shaking‐table substructure test (STST), which includes transferring forces and displacements between the tested and numerical substructures. Unlike other real‐time hybrid tests (RTHTs), the physical substructure is mounted on a shaking table and excited by the inertial force, which naturally requires a force control for boundary coordination. However, the natural velocity feedback in hydraulic actuators and high‐frequency noise in the force feedback signals makes it difficult to achieve force control. To solve these difficulties, in this study, a multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (MDOF) boundary‐coordinating device (BCD) is developed to simultaneously implement the boundary shear force and bending moment by the inertial force generated from shaking masses that are uniaxially driven by electromagnetic actuators. An STST framework was developed based on the BCD. The bottom two stories of a four‐story steel moment frame were selected as the physical substructure. A hydraulic shaking table was employed for ground excitation, and the BCD was used as the boundary coordinator for the numerical substructure, that is, the top two stories of the frame. To trace high‐frequency force signals, an enhanced three‐variable control (ETVC) method is proposed. Furthermore, an error‐response negative‐feedback compensation (ENC) method was developed to reduce the adverse effects of loading errors. Several rounds of STST tests demonstrated that the boundary commands were effectively traced by the BCD, so that the STST framework could consistently reproduce the seismic behavior of engineering structures.
Deep learning‐based evaluation for mechanical property degradation of seismically damaged RC columns
Authors: Miao Zenghui , Ji Xiaodong , Wu Minghui , Gao Xiang
Published: October 2022

The evaluation of mechanical property degradation (i.e., stiffness and strength degradation) for seismically damaged reinforced concrete (RC) components is a critical step in the post‐earthquake assessment of the residual seismic capacity of buildings. In this study, a novel approach based on deep learning (DL) was proposed to evaluate the stiffness and strength degradation of RC columns according to visible seismic damage. A database was constructed by linking the test photos of RC column specimens with the loading points on the hysteretic curves, from which the stiffness and strength reduction factors (λK and λQ, respectively) were analyzed. Two novel convolutional network (CNN) modules were designed to enable feature extraction and integration of seismic damage with a reduced number of parameters, and multitask learning was introduced to enable adaptive feature fusion for stiffness and strength degradation individually. A deep convolutional network (DCNN) was therefore proposed to model the correlation between visible seismic damage and mechanical property degradation of flexural‐dominated RC columns, which can integrate visual characteristics and spatial topologies of visible damage to estimate λK and λQ. The application to two test specimens validated the preferable accuracy and robustness of the proposed DL‐based approach, and demonstrated its high potential for use in post‐earthquake performance assessment of buildings.
The effects of time variable fracture conductivity on gas production of horizontal well fracturing in natural gas hydrate reservoirs
Authors: Hao Yongmao , Yang Shiwei , Guo Yingchun , Yang Fan , Li Shuxia , Wang Chuanming , Xiao Xinhai
Published: October 2022

Hydrate reservoirs in the South China Sea belong to muddy silt‐type hydrate reservoirs with low permeability. Horizontal well fracturing is one of the main stimulation methods for low‐permeability oil and gas reservoirs. For muddy silt‐type hydrate reservoirs, the stability and effectiveness of hydraulic fractures may be a severe problem due to poor reservoir cementation, reservoir deformation, and sand production. In this paper, the time variability of fracture conductivity is considered for the first time. According to the geological data at offshore gas hydrate production test site in the South China Sea, a multilayer hydrate reservoir model was established, and the influence of the time variable fracture conductivity on the production behavior in the process of horizontal well fracturing was analyzed. The simulation results show that, compared with the case of constant fracture conductivity, the gas production rate with the case of time variable fracture conductivity is greatly reduced, and the 5‐year cumulative gas production is reduced by 49.9%. Sensitivity analysis shows that the larger the initial fracture conductivity, the higher the peak gas production rate; the larger the attenuation magnitude of the fracture conductivity, the lower the gas production rate in the late production period; the larger the decline rate coefficient of the fracture conductivity, the higher the gas production rate in the early production period. The analysis of the orthogonal experimental design shows that the influence of the attenuation magnitude of fracture conductivity, the initial conductivity of fracture, and the decline rate coefficient of fracture conductivity on the cumulative gas production decreases in order. The actual production process should try to avoid excessive attenuation magnitude of fracture conductivity, while improving the initial fracture conductivity as much as possible to ensure high cumulative gas production.
Design and research of permanent magnet synchronous motor controller for electric vehicle
Authors: Huang Qi , Huang Qiuhong , Guo Hangcheng , Cao Jichao
Published: October 2022

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) have high power density, stable output torque, low noise, and good speed regulation performance, making them very suitable for electric vehicle propulsion. In this paper, a PMSM controller, based on Renesas MCU, is designed. To meet the requirements of small size, lightweight, wide speed range, and power generation of the PMSM controller the design has been carried out from three aspects: hardware circuit, structural components, and software algorithm, including electronic component selection, hardware protection circuit, printed circuit board layout, control algorithm, structural strength, and the cooling channel. The controller prototype was produced and an experimental platform was built. The controller efficiency test, generator test, field weakening test, and temperature rise test were carried out. The experimental results verify the rationality of the design scheme. Compared with earlier motor controllers, this controller is small in size, light in weight with low cost.
Environmental thermoeconomic performance analysis of gas turbine combined cycle under off‐design conditions
Authors: Wang Zhen , Duan Liqiang , Zhang Zuxian
Published: October 2022

Although the gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) system has better environmental performance, it still emits pollution gases such as CO2 and NOx. It is reasonable and necessary to add the environmental cost to the power production cost of the GTCC system. Based on the structure theory of thermoeconomics, through the reasonable pricing of pollutants (considering the environmental costs of CO2 and NOx emission), the system environmental thermoeconomic cost (ETC) model is developed in this study, which achieves absolute internalization of environmental costs. Taking GTCC with different gas turbine (GT) operation strategies as the research object, the influences of different operation strategies and environmental conditions on the GTCC system ETC are studied. The results of this study show that it is beneficial to maintain higher turbine inlet temperatures (T3) and turbine outlet temperatures (T4), thus ensuring better GTCC environmental thermoeconomic performance, and GTCC with the operation strategy (using inlet guide vane (IGV) control to maintain T3 at the design value and then to keep T4 at its maximum value (IGVT3‐650‐F) has the lowest ETC, which are 0.09429 $/kW·h at 75% gas turbine load rate (GTLR) and 0.10079 $/kW·h at 50% GTLR, respectively; reducing the emission of pollutants can reduce the unit ETC; for the combustion chamber, as the pollutant generation component of GTCC unit, it is most affected by the environmental damage cost; reducing the inlet air temperature can improve the system environmental thermoeconomic performance.
Smart contract assisted blockchain based public key infrastructure system
Authors: Panigrahi Amrutanshu , Nayak Ajit Kumar , Paul Rourab
Published: October 2022

Public key infrastructure (PKI) is a reliable solution for Internet communication. PKI finds applications in secure email, virtual private network (VPN), e‐commerce, e‐governance, and so on. It provides a secure mechanism to authenticate users and communications. The conventional PKI system is centralized, which exposes the infrastructure to many security issues. The digital certificate generation and validation processes in PKI suffer from high latency and inadequate authentication processes. Moreover, it needs enormous time and effort to mitigate the malfeasance of the certificate authority (CA). The complexity of employing the traditional key and certificate management increases by enforcing the centralized , which can compromise the transaction security. To overcome the aforementioned issues of PKI, three different solutions have been reported in the literature: Log based PKI (LBPKI), Web of Trust (WoT), and blockchain based PKI. The blockchain based PKI achieves more attention as it is the combination of LBPKI and WoT, which serves distributed trust, log of transactions, and constant sized data to verify the identity of users. Motivated by these facts, this article reports a blockchain‐based PKI system which has a lighter smart contract and less storage capacity and is also suitable for lightweight applications. The lighter smart contract in our infrastructure uses a , which validates the limit of one participating node for becoming the of any transaction inside the network. This approach can prevent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. This smart contract also checks the signer node address. The proposed smart contract can prevent seven cyber attacks, such as Denial of Service (DoS), Man in the Middle Attack (MITM), Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), 51%, Injection attacks, Routing Attack, and Eclipse attack. The Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm used in this model reduces the number of validators for each transaction which makes it suitable for lightweight applications. The timing complexity of key/certificate validation and signature/certificate revocation processes do not depend on the number of transactions. The comparisons of various timing parameters with existing solutions show that the proposed PKI is competitively better.
Performance evaluation of cooperative‐nonorthogonal multiple access‐based improved hybrid simultaneous wireless information and power transfer protocol
Authors: Amin Ahmed Al , Shin Soo Young
Published: October 2022

The integration of cooperative nonorthogonal multiple access (CNOMA) and the improved hybrid simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) (IHS) protocol (termed the CNOMA‐IHS scheme) is proposed in this article. The proposed CNOMA‐IHS scheme performs the energy harvesting to energize the cooperative relay operation from cell center user to cell edge user and also convey information to the users as well. Moreover, the proposed scheme also conveys multiple different symbols to the users to improve the user channel capacities, ergodic sum capacity (ESC), and energy efficiency (EE). Finally, the analytical and simulation results illustrated the proposed scheme outperforms the existing CNOMA based SWIPT schemes as well as orthogonal multiple access based IHS scheme in terms of ESC and EE.