A reconfigurable antenna array based on liquid crystal (LC) technology is proposed, which can dynamically tune operation frequency and achieve beam steering. The antenna element is composed of two ...parts: a microstrip patch array and a phase shifter using the inverted microstrip line (IMSL). The LC substrate is used to support the patch array for controlling its resonance frequency, while the LC-based IMSL phase shifter is adopted to tune the transmission phase by changing the effective permittivity of the LC. In order to verify the reconfigurable characteristics, the antenna array consisting of 1 × 4 elements are designed and numerically investigated. Simulation results show that this antenna can realize beam steering with a scanning angle range of (-20°, 20°), while its operation frequency can be actively tuned between 14.5 and 16.4 GHz.
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•Differences in the biochemical composition of seven types of tissues are analyzed.•A new one-dimensional convolutional hierarchical network (H-CNN) is proposed.•H-CNN classifies ...tissue samples in a hierarchy from coarse to fine.•H-CNN outperforms traditional classification models.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers with a long latent period and slow onset process. Early and accurate identification of the stage of cervical cancer can significantly improve the cure rate and patient survival time. In this study, we collected 699 Raman spectral data of tissue sections from 233 different patients. We analyzed and compared the characteristics and differences of the mean Raman spectra of the seven tissues and pointed out the main differences in the biochemical composition of the seven tissues. In this study, 1D hierarchical convolutional neural network (H-CNN) is proposed by integrating the prior knowledge of hierarchical classification relations with the research of deep learning in Raman spectroscopy. H-CNN is based on CNN and is added with three network branches. Hierarchical classification is performed from coarse to fine for tissue samples of cervicitis, Low-grade Squamous Cell Carcinoma, High-grade Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Well Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Moderately Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Poorly Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma. To evaluate the recognition performance of H-CNN, we compared it with traditional methods such as Bayesian classifier (NB), decision tree classifier (DT), support vector machine classifier (SVM) and CNN. The experimental results show that H-CNN can accurately identify different classes of tissue sections and has apparent advantages in several aspects such as recognition accuracy, stability and sensitivity compared with the other four traditional recognition methods. The classification Macro-Accuracy of H-CNN can reach 94.91%, Macro-Recall can reach 95.31%, Macro-F1 can reach 95.23%, and Macro-AUC can reach 97.35%. The hierarchical classification method proposed in this study can diagnose patients more accurately. This could lay the foundation for further research on Raman spectroscopy as a clinical diagnostic method for cervical cancer.
The influence of roasting on tea bitterness remains unclear. With Wuyi Rock tea (WRT) as an example, this study investigated the impact of roasting on WRT's bitterness, utilizing an integrated ...approach involving sensory evaluation, bitter compound profiling, and cell-based calcium imaging. Sensory analysis revealed that roasting effectively reduced the perceived bitterness of WRT. This reduction was supported by decreases in various bitter compounds, including 19 flavanols, 11 flavonols, 12 phenolic acids, 2 purine alkaloids, and 9 bitter amino acids, which diminished by 16%, 26%, 19%, 2%, and 70%, respectively. Furthermore, we established two heterogeneous bitter receptor expression systems: TAS2R39/Gα15-HEK293T and TAS2R14/Gα15-HEK293T cell lines. These systems quantitatively confirmed the reduction in bitterness, demonstrating 51% and 62% decreases in intracellular calcium mobilization within the transfected cells, respectively. These findings provide compelling evidence for the bitterness-ameliorating effect of roasting, expanding our knowledge of the role of roasting in shaping the flavor of tea.
Uranium recovery has profound significance in both uranium resource acquisition and pollution treatment. In recent years, metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much attention as potential ...uranium adsorbents owing to their tunable structural topology and designable functionalities. This review explores the research progress in representative classic MOFs (MIL‐101, UiO‐66, ZIF‐8/ZIF‐67) and other advanced MOF‐based materials for efficient uranium extraction in aqueous or seawater environments. The uranium uptake mechanism of the MOF‐based materials is refined, and the structure/functionality‐property relationship is further systematically elucidated. By summarizing the typical functionalization and structure design methods, the performance improvement strategies for MOF‐based adsorbents are emphasized. Finally, the present challenges and potential opportunities are proposed for the breakthrough of high‐performance MOF‐based materials in uranium extraction.
As emerging functional materials, metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) are widely used in the removal and recovery of uranium. This paper comprehensively introduces the structure/functionality‐activity relationship of typical MOFs (MIL‐101, UiO‐66 and ZIF‐8/ZIF‐67) and advanced MOFs in uranium uptake. The design strategies including functional group modification, defective engineering, composite construction, and metal center‐ligand design for performance improvement were overviewed considering the features of different MOFs systems, which provides guidance for the design of high‐performance uranium adsorbents.
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•Characterization of spatiotemporal changes in NDVI and future trend.•Geographic detector model is used to quantify drivers of vegetation changes.•Land use type is the main factor ...influencing NDVI change.•Groundwater depth contributed 4.1% to the explanation of vegetation change.•A combination of anthropogenic and natural factors dominated vegetation change.
Vegetation is one of the most crucial components of terrestrial ecosystems, and monitoring vegetation change as well as studying the factors that drive its formation provide significant guidance for restoring ecological biodiversity. The choice of driving indicators for vegetation change in previous studies has not been comprehensive enough, and particularly groundwater depth has not been considered. Therefore, 10 natural factors and 5 human factors were chosen for our study. We adopted the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to measure vegetation growth. In this study, we utilized trend analysis, the Mann-Kendall test, and the Hurst index to investigate the spatiotemporal variance of NDVI in the YDRB. The geographical detector model (Geodetector) was employed to examine vegetation change attributed to human and natural variables. As a result of the study, we found that over the past 22 years, the NDVI in the basin increased from 0.62 to 0.70, with an increase of +0.0040/yr. Land use type is the most significant driver affecting NDVI changes. The interaction of two factors has a greater effect on vegetation change more than a single factor. The relationship between land use type and annual mean precipitation explained 34.5 % of the change in vegetation. Groundwater depth contributed 4.1 % to the explanation of vegetation change. Furthermore, we have determined the optimal range of specific variables conducive to vegetation growth. The results help us further understand the potential driving mechanism of vegetation cover change in the YDRB and provide a theoretical reference for relevant managers to formulate the ecological restoration measures in the basin.
Abnormal expression and dysfunction of adiponectin and the cognate receptors are involved in diabetes and diabetic kidney disease (DKD), whereas angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and ...angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) alleviate diabetic albuminuria and prevent development of DKD through upregulation of adiponectin expression. Here we report that high glucose stimulates expression of angiotensin II (AngII) receptors (AT1 and AT2) in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E). These receptors underwent hetero-dimerization with adiponectin receptor AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, respectively. High glucose inhibited the dimerization between AT1 and AT2. Interestingly, these hetero-dimers instigated tubulointerstitial injury by inhibiting the cytoprotective action of the adiponectin receptors. These modes of receptor-receptor hetero-dimerization may contribute to high glucose-induced renal tubulointerstitial injury and could be potential therapeutic targets.
In this study, a polyimide/aminopropyllsobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PI/A‐POSS) membrane with a novel 3D thermal crosslinking structure is prepared by electrospinning and subsequent ...imidization. Compared with the pure PI membrane, PI/A‐POSS composite membranes present better mechanical properties, narrower distribution of pore size, smaller average pore size, and better thermal stability. When A‐POSS content is 3 wt%, the composite membrane (A3) has outstanding electrolyte uptake, excellent ionic conductivity, low interfacial resistance, and the high electrochemical stability of anode. The battery assembled with the A3 separator has an excellent first discharge capacity of 137.8 mAh g−1 and its capacity retention rate is still as high as 76.49% after 100 cycles at 2.0 C. Furthermore, battery assembled with the A3 separator shows excellent rate capacity with a relatively high discharge capacity up to 169.7 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and a superior capacity recovery rate of 98.06% at 30 °C. Especially, the battery assembled with the A3 separator shows more prominent rate capacity with an excellent first discharge capacity up to 180.5 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and a superior capacity recovery rate of 95.79% at 60 °C.
An A3 separator with a novel thermal crosslinking structure can effectively inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites and enhance the migration rate of lithium ions in a working lithium‐ion battery. Therefore, this separator can effectively improve the safety performance, cycle performance, and rate capacity of the lithium‐ion battery.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plasma-activated water (PAW) during extrusion on the formation of endogenous starch complexes with wheat starch (WS) as a model material. Using ...PAW during the extrusion process resulted in an increase in amylose content from 27.87 % to 30.07 %. Results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the PAW facilitated the formation of endogenous starch-lipid complexes during extrusion. PAW120 (distilled water treated by plasma for 120 s) showed a better promotion effect than PAW60 (distilled water treated by plasma for 60 s). EWS120 (WS extruded using PAW120) exhibited lower peak viscosity and swelling power, but higher solubility, particle size, and resistant starch content compared with EWS0 (WS extruded using distilled water) and EWS60 (WS extruded using PAW60). In a word, the acidic substances in PAW may lead to hydrolysis of starch and generate more amylose, thus improving the amount of endogenous starch-lipid complexes. The present study provides a novel extrusion method to obtain modified starch with higher RS content than common extrusion, which has potential application in the industrial production of functional foods with low glycemic index.
•Extrusion with plasma-activated water (PAW) was used in wheat starch (WS) processing.•PAW could promote the formation of endogenous starch complexes during extrusion.•Extruded WS with using PAW showed larger particle size and more ordered structure.•Extruded WS with using PAW showed lower pasting properties and digestibility.•These changes might be attributed to the formation of endogenous starch complexes.
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum has been shown as a biomarker of traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is a significant global public health concern. Accurate and rapid detection of ...serum GFAP is critical for TBI diagnosis. In this study, a time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatographic test strip (TRFIS) was proposed for the quantitative detection of serum GFAP. This TRFIS possessed excellent linearity ranging from 0.05 to 2.5 ng/mL for the detection of serum GFAP and displayed good linearity (
Y
= 598723
X
+ 797198,
R
2
= 0.99), with the lowest detection limit of 16 pg/mL. This TRFIS allowed for quantitative detection of serum GFAP within 15 min and showed high specificity. The intra-batch coefficient of variation (CV) and the inter-batch CV were both < 4.0%. Additionally, this TRFIS was applied to detect GFAP in the serum samples from healthy donors and patients with cerebral hemorrhage, and the results of TRFIS could efficiently discern the patients with cerebral hemorrhage from the healthy donors. Our developed TRFIS has the characteristics of high sensitivity, high accuracy, and a wide linear range and is suitable for rapid and quantitative determination of serum GFAP on-site.
Graphical abstract
Ultrasonic vibration has been applied to improve the penetration of adhesive into the anodized layer, thereby enhancing the strength of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic/aluminum alloy bonding joints ...with anodizing pretreatment. The ultrasonic vibration-assisted adhesive bonding process was designed by orthogonal experiments, then verified experimentally. The strengthening mechanism was studied by analyzing the morphology and elemental distribution of the cross-section of the joint. The results show that the ultrasonic vibration-assisted adhesive bonding process can further strengthen the interfacial bonding. For the studied joints, the strength can reach 18.66 MPa, being 55% higher than without ultrasonic strengthening. The ultrasonic vibration creates shock waves in the adhesive layer, causing a high-speed adhesive jet toward the adherend surface, which makes the interfacial bonding tight and promotes penetration of the adhesive into the anodized layer. The bonding strength is thereby remarkably improved by forming a larger interfacial contact area and more mechanically interlocked structures.
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