Seasonality of precipitation in the Asian monsoon region has significant impacts on social and economic development. Here, we analyzed a seasonally resolved δ18O series of an annually laminated ...stalagmite from Xianglong Cave to assess its potential as a proxy for seasonal precipitation. The δ18O values reveal fabric-correlated annual cycles, with lower δ18O values occurring in the white porous layer (WPL) during summer monsoon (SM) season, whereas higher values occurring in the dark compacted layer (DCL) during non-summer monsoon (NSM) season. We calculated the seasonal amplitude of δ18O (∆18O) using the highest value minus the lowest value in an annual cycle. Comparisons suggest that the ∆18O series can record precipitation seasonality, with lower ∆18O values corresponding to increased SM/NSM rainfall ratios and higher values corresponding to reduced SM/NSM rainfall ratios. Our reconstruction suggests increased precipitation seasonality contrast (i.e., increasing SM/NSM rainfall ratio with more SM rainfall and/or less NSM rainfall) during 1914–1919, 1935–1942, 1958–1962, 1979–1985, and 1999–2005 (A.D.), with a probably 27-year cycle. The seasonality of precipitation in central China correlates well with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on a decadal scale. Increased SM/NSM rainfall ratio was observed during the warm phase of PDO, and decreased SM/NSM rainfall ratio was observed during the cold phase of PDO.
•Highly-resolved stalagmite δ18O is a good proxy of precipitation seasonality in monsoonal China.•The precipitation seasonality in central China during the past century was reconstructed.•PDO affects the precipitation seasonality in central China during past century.
In the field of remote sens., change detection is an important monitoring technology. However, effectively extracting the change feature is still a challenge, especially with an unsupervised method. ...To solve this problem, we proposed an unsupervised transformer boundary autoencoder network (UTBANet) in this paper. UTBANet consists of a transformer structure and spectral attention in the encoder part. In addition to reconstructing hyperspectral images, UTBANet also adds a decoder branch for reconstructing edge information. The designed encoder module is used to extract features. First, the transformer structure is used for extracting the global features. Then, spectral attention can find important feature maps and reduce feature redundancy. Furthermore, UTBANet reconstructs the hyperspectral image and boundary information simultaneously through two decoders, which can improve the ability of the encoder to extract edge features. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed structure significantly improves the performance of change detection. Moreover, comparative experiments show that our method is superior to most existing unsupervised methods.
To better understand the characteristics of fungal endophytes in the development of effective phytoremediation of heavy metals, the objectives of this study were to isolate a fungal endophyte ...tolerant Cd and Pb from rape roots grown in a heavy metal-contaminated soil, to characterize the metal-resistant fungal endophyte, and to assess its potential applications in removal of Cd and Pb from contaminated solutions and experimental soil. The isolate CBRF59 was identified as
Mucor sp. based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. From a Cd solution of 2.0
mM, the maximum biosorption capacity of Cd by dead biomass of
Mucor sp. CBRF59 was 108
mg
g
−1. Under the same conditions, the bioaccumulation capacity of Cd by active biomass of the strain was 173
mg
g
−1. The bioaccumulation capacity of Pb by active biomass of the strain was significantly lower than that by dead biomass in the initial Pb concentrations from 1.0 to 2.0
mM. The ratio of Pb to Cd and initial pH values in the mixed Cd
+
Pb solutions affected the bioaccumulation and biosorption capacities of the metals by CBRF59. The addition of the active mycelia of CBRF59 significantly increased the availability of soil Pb and Cd by 77% and 11.5-fold, respectively. The results showed that the endophytic fungus was potentially applicable for the decontamination of metal-polluted media.
The particle size of an electrode material is known to play an essential role in its electrochemical performance in Li-ion batteries. In Li-S batteries, porous host materials are applied to store ...sulfur and suppress the escape of polysulfides; yet the particle size of the host as an important parameter remains largely unexplored. Herein we chose ZIF-8, a metal-organic framework (MOF) proved promising for sulfur storage, as the proof-of-concept prototype, and systematically synthesized five sets of ZIF-8 samples of different particle sizes (from <20 nm to >1 mu m), using them as SMOF cathodes. The results show that sulfur utilization increases monotonically with the decrease of ZIF-8 particle size (<20 nm: >950 mA h g super(-1) at 0.5 C), while the best cycling stability (75% over 250 cycles at 0.5 C) is achieved with a moderate size ( similar to 200 nm).
To explore the mechanism of multiple conjunctural causation underlying differences in financial performance, this study selects 39 Chinese companies from the Fortune Global 500 as samples and applies ...configurational thinking and the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) approach to integrate five variable conditions concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR). The results show that 3 path configurations achieve high financial performance. Specifically, the first configuration includes highly responsible governance, superior employee rights and interests, and effective environmental protection. The second configuration includes highly responsible governance, superior employee rights, and active public charity. The third configuration includes highly responsible governance, active public charity, and effective environmental protection. The four dimensions involved in the above three path configurations have alternative effects in interpreting financial performance. When the level of responsible governance ability is high, as long as any two conditions among employee rights and interests, environmental protection and public charity also attain a high level, this situation can drive the corporation to achieve high financial performance. Based on the conclusions of this paper, management implications from the perspectives of firms are also proposed.
The development of advanced magnesium metal batteries (MMBs) has been hindered by longstanding challenges, such as the inability to induce uniform magnesium (Mg) nucleation and the inefficient ...utilization of Mg foil. This study introduces a novel solution in the form of a flexible, lightweight, paper‐based scaffold that incorporates gradient conductivity, magnesiophilicity, and pore size. This design is achieved through an industrially adaptable papermaking process in which the ratio of carboxylated multi‐walled carbon nanotubes to softwood cellulose fibers is meticulously adjusted. The triple‐gradient structure of the scaffold enables the regulation of Mg ion flux, promoting bottom‐up Mg deposition. Owing to its high flexibility, low thickness, and reduced density, the scaffold has potential applications in flexible and wearable electronics. Accordingly, the triple‐gradient electrodes exhibit stable operation for over 1200 h at 3 mA cm−2/3 mAh cm−2 in symmetrical cells, markedly outperforming the non‐gradient and metallic Mg alternatives. Notably, this study marks the first successful fabrication of a flexible MMB pouch full cell, achieving an impressive volumetric energy density of 244 Wh L−1. The simplicity and scalability of the triple‐gradient design, which uses readily available materials through an industrially compatible papermaking process, open new doors for the production of flexible, high‐energy‐density metal batteries.
A flexible paper‐based scaffold exhibiting gradient conductivity, magnesiophilicity, and pore size is fabricated using an industrially compatible papermaking process. This triple‐gradient design controls the Mg ion flux for bottom‐up deposition, facilitating superior cyclability. The high flexibility and minimal thickness of the scaffold align well with the emerging demand for flexible and wearable electronics, signaling a robust pathway for their advancement.
Spatial resolution is a key factor of quantitatively evaluating the quality of magnetic resonance imagery (MRI). Super-resolution (SR) approaches can improve its spatial resolution by reconstructing ...high-resolution (HR) images from low-resolution (LR) ones to meet clinical and scientific requirements. To increase the quality of brain MRI, we study a robust residual-learning SR network (RRLSRN) to generate a sharp HR brain image from an LR input. Due to the Charbonnier loss can handle outliers well, and Gradient Difference Loss (GDL) can sharpen an image, we combined the Charbonnier loss and GDL to improve the robustness of the model and enhance the texture information of SR results. Two MRI datasets of adult brain, Kirby 21 and NAMIC, were used to train and verify the effectiveness of our model. To further verify the generalizability and robustness of the proposed model, we collected eight clinical fetal brain MRI 2D data for evaluation. The experimental results have shown that the proposed deep residual-learning network achieved superior performance and high efficiency over other compared methods.
The rapid development of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer ...(NSCLC) harboring
mutations including but not limited to exon 19 deletions (19 del) and point mutation L858R in exon 21. However, the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs in patients with rare mutations, such as
kinase domain duplication (KDD), remains elusive.
-KDD often results from in-frame tandem duplication of
exons 18-25, causing subsequent constitutive activation of EGFR signaling. Several case reports have revealed the efficacies of EGFR-TKIs in advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) with
-KDD but yielded variable antitumor responses. In the present study, we report a 61-year-old male patient diagnosed with T1N3M0 (stage IIIB) LUAD harboring
-KDD involving exons 18-25. He was treated with afatinib and achieved partial response (PR) with progression-free survival (PFS) of 12 months and counting. Our work, confirming
-KDD as an oncogenic driver and therapeutic target, provides clinical evidence to administer EGFR-TKIs in patients with advanced LUAD harboring
-KDD.
In the context of electricity market, the heavy load of some inter‐provincial and intra‐provincial lines limits available transfer capability (ATC). As a series compensation device, static ...synchronous series compensator (SSSC) can reallocate the power flow of adjacent lines. In order to maximize the inter‐regional ATC, a two‐stage optimal SSSC allocation method considering the uncertainty and correlation of multi‐wind farm is proposed. Firstly, the initial wind power scenarios are generated based on latin hypercube sampling (LHS) and reduced by the improved iterative self‐organizing data analysis techniques algorithm (I‐ISODATA). Then, a multi‐objective optimization model is constructed with the maximum expected power flow transfer entropy (PFTE) and minimum expected SSSC investment cost in all typical wind power scenarios, and non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm‐II (NSGA‐II) method is used to determine the location of SSSC. In addition, based on the reduced wind power scenarios, the ATC calculation model containing SSSC is constructed, and the modern interior point method is used to determine the control parameters and configuration capacity of SSSC. Finally, based on the improved IEEE39 and IEEE118 node systems, case study proves that the proposed model can determine the optimal SSSC configuration scheme and significantly improves the ATC.
In order to maximize the inter‐regional available transfer capability, a two‐stage optimal static synchronous series compensator allocation method considering the uncertainty and correlation of multiple wind farms is proposed.
A new theranostic nanoplatform, comprising of monodisperse zirconium metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as drug carriers and carboxylatopillar5arene-based supramolecular switches as gating entities, is ...constructed, and controlled drug release triggered by bio-friendly Zn(2+) ions (abundant in synaptic vesicles) and auxiliary thermal stimulus is realized. This on-command drug delivery system exhibits large pore sizes for drug encapsulation, excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility, extremely low cytotoxicity and premature drug release, and superior dual-stimuli responsiveness, opening a new avenue in targeted drug delivery and controlled release of therapeutic agents, especially in the treatment of central nervous system diseases.
PDF
