Inter-layer Learning towards Emergent Cooperative Behavior

As applications for artificially intelligent agents increase in complexity we can no longer rely on clever heuristics and hand-tuned behaviors to develop their programming. Even the interaction between various components cannot be reduced to simple rules, as the complexities of realistic dynamic environments become unwieldy to characterize manually. To cope with these challenges, we propose an architecture for inter-layer learning where each layer is constructed with a higher level of complexity and control

Organic Geochemistry and Hydrocarbon Generation Characteristics of Shale of the Fourth Member of Yingcheng Formation in the South Shuangcheng Fault Depression, Songliao Basin

In order to evaluate the potential for oil and gas resources in the deep fault depression of the Northern Songliao Basin, shale from the fourth member of the Yingcheng Formation (K1yc4) in the South Shuangcheng Fault Depression was selected as an example. The organic geochemical characteristics such as abundance, type and maturity from experiments on low-maturity source rock samples, the hydrocarbon generation conversion rate, hydrocarbon generation amount and hydrocarbon generation period of the shale from K1yc4 were evaluated via the chemical kinetics method. The hydrocarbon generation threshold of shale from K1yc4 in the South Shuangcheng Fault Depression was analyzed by examining the organic matter (OM) in shale core samples from K1yc4. Based on the thermal simulations to an approximate buried depth of 750 m, the maximum oil-generation stage corresponds to an approximate buried depth of 1380 m. The amounts of generated oil and gas from the shale in K1yc4 are approximately 2.417 × 108 t and 0.546 × 1011 m3, respectively. The shale in K1yc4 generated crude oil mainly during the sedimentary period of the Qingshankou Formation, Yaojia Formation and Nenjiang Formation, and mainly generated natural gas during the sedimentary period of the Nenjiang Formation. In the South Shuangcheng Fault Depression, the high parts of the local structure are the favorable areas for oil and gas exploration of K1yc4 in the sag zone, which could be used for the combined production of shale oil, tight sandstone oil and conventional oil

Circular RNA circ_0003028 contributes to tumorigenesis by regulating GOT2 via miR-1298-5p in non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common malignant tumor, with high morbidity and mortality. Circular RNA (circRNA) circ_0003028 was reported to be upregulated in NSCLC. This study is designed to explore the role and mechanism of circ_0003028 on NSCLC progression. In this work, circ_0003028, microRNA-1298-5p (miR-1298-5p), and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase 2 (GOT2) level were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The localization of circ_0003028 was analyzed by subcellular fractionation assay. Cell proliferation, colony number, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis were measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, flow cytometry, transwell, and tube formation assays. Protein levels of Beclin1, light chain 3 (LC3)-II/LC3-I, GOT2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were examined by western blot assay. The binding relationship between miR-1298-5p and circ_0003028 or GOT2 was predicted by circular RNA Interactome or starbase and then verified by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP), and RNA pull-down assays. The biological role of circ_0003028 on NSCLC tumor growth was examined by the xenograft tumor model in vivo. We reported that circ_0003028 and GOT2 were upregulated, and miR-1298-5p was decreased in NSCLC tissues and cells. Moreover, circ_0003028 knockdown curbed cell proliferative ability, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and facilitate apoptosis and autophagy in NSCLC cells in vitro. Mechanical analysis discovered that circ_0003028 regulated GOT2 expression by sponging miR-1298-5p. Circ_0003028 silencing hindered the cell growth of NSCLC in vivo. Taken together, circ_0003028 knockdown could suppress NSCLC progression partly by regulating the miR-1298-5p/GOT2 axis, providing an underlying therapeutic target for NSCLC

Phosphorus Reduces Negative Effects of Nitrogen Addition on Soil Microbial Communities and Functions

Increased soil nitrogen (N) from atmospheric N deposition could change microbial communities and functions. However, the underlying mechanisms and whether soil phosphorus (P) status are responsible for these changes still have not been well explained. Here, we investigated the effects of N and P additions on soil bacterial and fungal communities and predicted their functional compositions in a temperate forest. We found that N addition significantly decreased soil bacterial diversity in the organic (O) horizon, but tended to increase bacterial diversity in the mineral (A) horizon soil. P addition alone did not significantly change soil bacterial diversity but mitigated the negative effect of N addition on bacterial diversity in the O horizon. Neither N addition nor P addition significantly influenced soil fungal diversity. Changes in soil microbial community composition under N and P additions were mainly due to the shifts in soil pH and NO3− contents. N addition can affect bacterial functional potentials, such as ureolysis, N fixation, respiration, decomposition of organic matter processes, and fungal guilds, such as pathogen, saprotroph, and mycorrhizal fungi, by which more C probably was lost in O horizon soil under increased N deposition. However, P addition can alleviate or switch the effects of increased N deposition on the microbial functional potentials in O horizon soil and may even be a benefit for more C sequestration in A horizon soil. Our results highlight the different responses of microorganisms to N and P additions between O and A horizons and provides an important insight for predicting the changes in forest C storage status under increasing N deposition in the future

Degradation Dynamics of Glyphosate in Different Types of Citrus Orchard Soils in China

Glyphosate formulations that are used as a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide have been widely applied in agriculture, causing increasing concerns about residues in soils. In this study, the degradation dynamics of glyphosate in different types of citrus orchard soils in China were evaluated under field conditions. Glyphosate soluble powder and aqueous solution were applied at 3000 and 5040 g active ingredient/hm2, respectively, in citrus orchard soils, and periodically drawn soil samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the amount of glyphosate and its degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in soils was reduced with the increase of time after application of glyphosate formulations. Indeed, the amount of glyphosate in red soil from Hunan and Zhejiang Province, and clay soil from Guangxi Province varied from 0.13 to 0.91 µg/g at 42 days after application of aqueous solution. Furthermore, the amount of glyphosate in medium loam from Zhejiang and Guangdong Province, and brown loam from Guizhou Province varied from less than 0.10 to 0.14 µg/g, while the amount of AMPA varied from less than 0.10 to 0.99 µg/g at 42 days after application of soluble powder. Overall, these findings demonstrated that the degradation dynamics of glyphosate aqueous solution and soluble powder as well as AMPA depend on the physicochemical properties of the applied soils, in particular soil pH, which should be carefully considered in the application of glyphosate herbicide

Enhanced Electrochromic Performance of All-Solid-State Electrochromic Device Based on W-Doped NiO Films

Electrochromic materials have attracted much attention due to their promising applications in smart windows and thermal control. However, NiO is a weak point for a complementary ECD and needs to be improved due to its low optical modulation and charge density. In this work, the W-doped NiO films are designed and prepared by RF magnetron co-sputtering to improve the performance of the NiO. The results shows that the optical modulation of the W-NiO (52.7%) is significantly improved compared with pure NiO (33.8%), which can be assigned to the increase in lattice boundaries due to the W doping. The response time of W-NiO is 8.8 s for coloring and 7.2 s for bleaching, which is similar to that of NiO film. The all-solid-state electrochromic devices (ECDs) that employed W-NiO as a complementary layer are prepared and exhibit a high-transmittance modulation of 48.5% in wavelengths of 450–850 nm and an emittance modulation of 0.28 in 2.5–25 μm, showing great application potential in the field of smart windows and spacecraft thermal control devices. The strategy of preparing NiO doped by W indicates an innovative direction to obtain ECDs with high performance

Natriuretic Peptides—New Targets for Neurocontrol of Blood Pressure via Baroreflex Afferent Pathway

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) induce vasodilation, natriuresis, and diuresis, counteract the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system and autonomic nervous system, and are key regulators of cardiovascular volume and pressure homeostasis. Baroreflex afferent pathway is an important reflex loop in the neuroregulation of blood pressure (BP), including nodose ganglion (NG) and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Dysfunction of baroreflex would lead to various hypertensions. Here, we carried out functional experiments to explore the effects of NPs on baroreflex afferent function. Under physiological and hypertensive condition (high-fructose drinking-induced hypertension, HFD), BP was reduced by NPs through NG microinjection and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) was enhanced via acute intravenous NPs injection. These anti-hypertensive effects were more obvious in female rats with the higher expression of NPs and its receptor A/B (NPRA/NPRB) and lower expression of its receptor C (NPRC). However, these effects were not as obvious as those in HFD rats compared with the same gender control group, which is likely to be explained by the abnormal expression of NPs and NPRs in the hypertensive condition. Our data provide additional evidence showing that NPs play a crucial role in neurocontrol of BP regulation via baroreflex afferent function and may be potential targets for clinical management of metabolic-related hypertension

Geo-Object-Based Vegetation Mapping via Machine Learning Methods with an Intelligent Sample Collection Scheme: A Case Study of Taibai Mountain, China

Precise vegetation maps of mountainous areas are of great significance to grasp the situation of an ecological environment and forest resources. In this paper, while multi-source geospatial data can generally be quickly obtained at present, to realize effective vegetation mapping in mountainous areas when samples are difficult to collect due to their perilous terrain and inaccessible deep forest, we propose a novel and intelligent method of sample collection for machine-learning (ML)-based vegetation mapping. First, we employ geo-objects (i.e., polygons) from topographic partitioning and constrained segmentation as basic mapping units and formalize the problem as a supervised classification process using ML algorithms. Second, a previously available vegetation map with rough-scale label information is overlaid on the geo-object-level polygons, and candidate geo-object-based samples can be identified when all the grids’ labels of vegetation types within the geo-objects are the same. Third, various kinds of geo-object-level features are extracted according to high-spatial-resolution remote sensing (HSR-RS) images and multi-source geospatial data. Some unreliable geo-object-based samples are rejected in the candidate set by comparing their features and the rules based on local expert knowledge. Finally, based on these automatically collected samples, we train the model using a random forest (RF)-based algorithm and classify all the geo-objects with labels of vegetation types. A case experiment of Taibai Mountain in China shows that the methodology has the ability to achieve good vegetation mapping results with the rapid and convenient sample collection scheme. The map with a finer geographic distribution pattern of vegetation could clearly promote the vegetation resources investigation and monitoring of the study area; thus, the methodological framework is worth popularizing in the mapping areas such as mountainous regions where the field survey sampling is difficult to implement

Highly Stable Zn Anodes Modulated by Selenizing In Situ Grown Metal–Organic Frameworks

The unsatisfactory cycling stability of Zn anode stemming from dendritic growth and side reactions has slowed the rapid development of aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs). Constructing a three-dimensional (3D) artificial interphase layer is an appealing solution since it could dictate Zn deposition at the interface. Here, the in situ growth of a Cu-based metal–organic framework (Cu-MOF) over commercial Zn foil followed by subsequent selenization endows selenized Cu-MOF (SCM) with a stabilized Zn anode. The 3D SCM coating could homogenize the electric field and function as a reservoir to tolerate the deposited Zn. As a result, both rampant dendritic propagation and the notorious side reactions are concurrently inhibited. The SCM@Zn symmetric cell displays an elongated cyclic life for over 500 h at 2.0 mA cm–2. The assembled AZIB full cell readily realizes high electrochemical reversibility under different current densities. Our investigation offers insights into the design of a protective layer for high-performance Zn anodes