We are interested in the existence of least energy sign-changing solutions for a class of Kirchhoff-type problem in bounded domains. Because the so-called nonlocal term b(∫Ω|∇u|2dx)Δu is involving in ...the equation, the variational functional of the equation has totally different properties from the case of b=0. Combining constraint variational method and quantitative deformation lemma, we prove that the problem possesses one least energy sign-changing solution ub. Moreover, we show that the energy of ub is strictly larger than the ground state energy. Finally, we regard b as a parameter and give a convergence property of ub as b↘0.
Attempts to uncover the “different voice” of female judges through testing the statistical significance of judges’ gender in decision making have offered inconsistent results. Meanwhile, a ...proliferation of research suggests that such “voice” might be detected through qualitative analysis. Existing findings indicate that when female judges have discretionary power regarding case management, they will typically foster a process of settlement. Based on this information, I conducted eight months of fieldwork in China and observed 68 victim–offender mediations in four district courts. I found that the criminal division is widely perceived as a masculine setting, and female judges are accustomed to employing mediation as a preferred dispute resolution method to facilitate reconciliation between the two parties and seek civil compensation for victims. Such judicial behavior is a result of propaganda from the Supreme People’s Court and a reflection of female judges’ life and work experience. By contrast, a neglect of mediation among male judges can be identified in the same workplace. The belief that mediation is feminine and time-consuming contributes to this neglect. In addition, rape lawsuits are an exception for mediation. This explorative research not only represents one of the first efforts to reveal a “different voice” in the Chinese criminal justice system but points out a direction of research for studying the judicial behaviors of female judges worldwide.
Controlling crystallization kinetics is key to overcome the temperature–time dilemma in phase change materials employed for data storage. While the amorphous phase must be preserved for more than 10 ...years at slightly above room temperature to ensure data integrity, it has to crystallize on a timescale of several nanoseconds following a moderate temperature increase to near 2/3 Tm to compete with other memory devices such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Here, a calorimetric demonstration that this striking variation in kinetics involves crystallization occurring either from the glassy or from the undercooled liquid state is provided. Measurements of crystallization kinetics of Ge2Sb2Te5 with heating rates spanning over six orders of magnitude reveal a fourfold decrease in Kissinger activation energy for crystallization upon the glass transition. This enables rapid crystallization above the glass transition temperature Tg. Moreover, highly unusual for glass‐forming systems, crystallization at conventional heating rates is observed more than 50 °C below Tg, where the atomic mobility should be vanishingly small.
Combining kinetic, thermodynamic, and microscopic measurements of crystallization kinetics in the classic phase‐change material Ge2Sb2Te5, it is demonstrated that Ge2Sb2Te5 crystallizes from the glassy phase at heating rates up to 10 000 K s−1 and from the undercooled liquid at higher rates. Due to the concurrence of emerging glass transition and crystallization, the activation energy of crystallization drops by more than fourfold.
Recent measurements on the semi-leptonic b→cℓν¯ℓ and b→sℓ+ℓ− decays imply possible hints of Lepton Flavor Universality (LFU) violation and therefore have attracted much attention. In this paper, ...motivated by these anomalies, we analyze the Bs→Dsτν¯ decay in some New Physics (NP) models, such as the Supersymmetry with R-parity violation (RPV SUSY) model, the W′ model, the vector leptoquark model and the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model (A2HDM). Using the parameter spaces obtained from various flavor constraints, we calculate the branching fraction B(Bs→Dsτν¯) and the ratio RDs of this decay process, and also show the effects of NP models on the differential branching fraction dBdq2, the differential ratio RDs(q2), the lepton-side forward-backward asymmetry AFB(q2), the convexity parameter CFτ(q2) and the τ polarization fraction PLτ(q2). We find that: (i) the effects of NP models are significant for B(Bs→Dsτν¯), but RDs is only sensitive to the effect of A2HDM; (ii) both dBdq2 and RDs(q2) in the four NP models show obvious deviations from the SM predictions; (iii) for AFB(q2), CFτ(q2) and PLτ(q2), only the A2HDM presents obvious effect because the scalar type interactions can be generated in such model.
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•Eu doping could enhance the SO2 resistance of Mn/TiO2 catalyst for SCR reaction.•The addition of Eu on Mn/TiO2 catalyst inhibited the formation of surface sulfate.•The SCR reaction ...(with SO2) over MnEu/TiO2 catalyst took place through L-H pathway.
Mn/TiO2 catalyst is a promising candidate for future utilization in low-temperature NH3-SCR reaction, but its bad resistance to SO2 is still a great challenge for practical application. In this study, Eu was successfully used as the additive to improve its resistance to SO2 under SCR conditions, while the pretreatment of Mn/TiO2 and MnEu/TiO2 catalyst by SO2 + O2 had a strong deactivation effect on them. In situ DRIFT study clarified that the deactivation of Mn/TiO2-S (SCR + SO2), Mn/TiO2-S (SO2 + O2) and MnEu/TiO2-S (SO2+O2) were mainly originated from the inhibited adsorption of NH3 and NOx species, as well as the formation of a large amount surface sulfate species on them, which had a strong blacking effect on the SCR reactions over the three catalysts via both E-R and L-H routes. After the addition of Eu, SCR reaction over MnEu/TiO2 catalyst with the existence of SO2 took place through L-H pathway, accompanied by the generation of less surface sulfate species, which brought about the excellent SO2 tolerance of MnEu/TiO2 catalyst under SCR conditions.
A liquid that is cooled below its melting temperature, referred to as a supercooled liquid, can solidify into an amorphous rigid state (i.e., glass), if cooling is fast enough and crystallization is ...avoided. The phenomenology of supercooled liquids has been in general established. However, there are pronounced exceptions (e.g., water) which do not fall into the class of ‘normal’ liquids but exhibit a transition behavior in their liquid states. The latest advances connect the unusual aspect of liquids to the properties of phase-change materials (PCMs) that are the basis for non-volatile memory and neuromorphic technologies. In this article, we review the liquid anomalies in the alloys based on group-IV, V, VI elements including technologically important compositions. Their different behaviors are rationalized in terms of liquid–liquid (metal-semiconductor, and fragile-strong) transitions. We discuss their implications for understanding unusual phase switching behaviors in these materials. Lastly, unsolved problems and new opportunities are outlined.
While fast-switching rewritable nonvolatile memory units based on phase-change materials (PCMs) are already in production at major technology companies such as Intel (16–64 GB chips are currently ...available), an in-depth understanding of the physical factors that determine their success is still lacking. Recently, we have argued for a liquid-phase metal-to-semiconductor transition (M-SC), located not far below the melting point, Tm, as essential. The M-SC is itself a consequence of atomic rearrangements that are involved in a fragile-to-strong viscosity transition that controls both the speed of crystallization and the stabilization of the semiconducting state. Here, we review past work and introduce a new parameter, the “metallicity” (inverse of the average Pauling electronegativity of a multicomponent alloy). When Tm-scaled temperatures of known M-SCs of Group IV, V, and VI alloys are plotted against their metallicities, the curvilinear plot leads directly to the composition zone of all known PCMs and the temperature interval below Tm, where the transition should occur. The metallicity concept could provide guidance for tailoring PCMs.
Compared with non-degradable materials, biodegradable biomaterials play an increasingly important role in the repairing of severe bone defects, and have attracted extensive attention from ...researchers. In the treatment of bone defects, scaffolds made of biodegradable materials can provide a crawling bridge for new bone tissue in the gap and a platform for cells and growth factors to play a physiological role, which will eventually be degraded and absorbed in the body and be replaced by the new bone tissue. Traditional biodegradable materials include polymers, ceramics and metals, which have been used in bone defect repairing for many years. Although these materials have more or fewer shortcomings, they are still the cornerstone of our development of a new generation of degradable materials. With the rapid development of modern science and technology, in the twenty-first century, more and more kinds of new biodegradable materials emerge in endlessly, such as new intelligent micro-nano materials and cell-based products. At the same time, there are many new fabrication technologies of improving biodegradable materials, such as modular fabrication, 3D and 4D printing, interface reinforcement and nanotechnology. This review will introduce various kinds of biodegradable materials commonly used in bone defect repairing, especially the newly emerging materials and their fabrication technology in recent years, and look forward to the future research direction, hoping to provide researchers in the field with some inspiration and reference.
SUMMARY
The sex of dioecious plants is mainly determined by genetic factors, but it can also be converted by environmental cues such as exogenous phytohormones. Gibberellic acids (GAs) are well‐known ...inducers of flowering and sexual development, yet the pathway of gibberellin‐induced sex conversion in dioecious spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) remains elusive. Based on sex detection before and after GA3 application using T11A and SSR19 molecular markers, we confirmed and elevated the masculinization effect of GA on a single female plant through exogenous applications of GA3, showing complete conversion and functional stamens. Silencing of GIBBERELLIC ACID INSENSITIVE (SpGAI), a single DELLA family protein that is a central GA signaling repressor, results in similar masculinization. We also show that SpGAI can physically interact with the spinach KNOX transcription factor SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (SpSTM), which is a homolog of the flower meristem identity regulator STM in Arabidopsis. The silencing of SpSTM also masculinized female flowers in spinach. Furthermore, SpSTM could directly bind the intron of SpPI to repress SpPI expression in developing female flowers. Overall, our results suggest that GA induces a female masculinization process through the SpGAI‐SpSTM‐SpPI regulatory module in spinach. These insights may help to clarify the molecular mechanism underlying the sex conversion system in dioecious plants while also elucidating the physiological basis for the generation of unisexual flowers so as to establish dioecy in plants.
Significance Statement
Using environmental factors such as hormones to induce sex conversion is an important approach to studying dioecy sex differentiation, which is a special character closely related to flowering, reproduction, and fruiting. In our research, exogenous GA3 can induce functional masculinization of individual spinach, and the GA‐regulating pathway was established: GA‐SpGAI‐SpSTM‐SpPI. This study provides new ideas and theoretical support for studying the sex differentiation mechanisms of spinach and other dioecious plants.
Abstract
Over the last decades, the Cache Side Channel Attack (CSCA) seriously threatens the security of user information, which repeatedly highlights the security of cache. Even though the secure ...cache design can mitigate or defend against this attack, the high design period and tap-out cost reduce the development of the specific designs. Therefore, many researchers focus on proposing a secure cache model to analyse the CSCA and simplify the secure design. Nowadays, the cache model can be divided into 1) Indicator analysis model; 2) Cache verify model; 3) Cache abstract model. However, most of these models focus on the establishment phase of CSCA, regardless of the usage phase of CSCA. On the other hand, the granularity of the cache model is either the entire cache or a single cache line, which can’t describe the cache behaviour in CSCA clearly. To overcome these limitations, we proposed a novel cache model based on state transition and gave a formal specification of CSCA by this model in this work. Firstly, we summarize 11 basic states of the cache set and point to the target state in the process of CSCA. Then we describe the CSCA from three aspects: pre-attack cost, state transition cost, and detection accuracy, which gives a more comprehensive analysis of CSCA.