Ni-doped TiO2 nanotubes for wide-range hydrogen sensing

Doping of titania nanotubes is one of the efficient way to obtain improved physical and chemical properties. Through electrochemical anodization and annealing treatment, Ni-doped TiO(2) nanotube arrays were fabricated and their hydrogen sensing performance was investigated. The nanotube sensor demonstrated a good sensitivity for wide-range detection of both dilute and high-concentration hydrogen atmospheres ranging from 50 ppm to 2% H(2). A temperature-dependent sensing from 25°C to 200°C was also found. Based on the experimental measurements and first-principles calculations, the electronic structure and hydrogen sensing properties of the Ni-doped TiO(2) with an anatase structure were also investigated. It reveals that Ni substitution of the Ti sites could induce significant inversion of the conductivity type and effective reduction of the bandgap of anatase oxide. The calculations also reveal that the resistance change for Ni-doped anatase TiO(2) with/without hydrogen absorption was closely related to the bandgap especially the Ni-induced impurity level

cxcl12a plays an essential role in pharyngeal cartilage development

Background: Neural crest cells constitute a distinct set of multipotent cells that undergo migration along predefined pathways, culmination in the differentiation into a plethora of cell types, including components of the pharyngeal cartilage. The neurocranium is composite structure derived from both cranial neural crest and mesoderm cells, whereas the pharyngeal skeletal elements-including the mandibular and branchial arches-are exclusively formed by craniofacial neural crest cells. Previous studies have elucidated the critical involvement of the chemokine signaling axis Cxcl12b/Cxcr4a in craniofacial development in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Nonetheless, the function contribution of Cxcl12a and Cxcr4b-the homologous counterparts of Cxcl12b and Cxcr4a-remain largely unexplored.Methods: In the present study, mutant lines for cxcl12a and cxcr4b were generated employing CRISPR/Cas9 system. Temporal and spatial expression patterns of specific genes were assessed using in situ hybridization and dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques. High-resolution confocal microscopy was utilized for in vivo imaging to detect the pharyngeal arch or pouch patterning. Additionally, cartilage formation within the craniofacial region was analyzed via Alcian blue staining, and the proliferation and apoptosis rates of craniofacial neural crest cells were quantified through BrdU incorporation and TUNEL staining.Results: Our data reveals that the deletion of the chemokine gene cxcl12a results in a marked diminution of pharyngeal cartilage elements, attributable to compromised proliferation of post-migratory craniofacial neural crest cells. Subsequent experiments confirmed that Cxcl12a and Cxcl12b exhibit a synergistic influence on pharyngeal arch and pouch formation.Conclusion: Collectively, the present investigation furnishes compelling empirical evidence supporting the indispensable role of Cxcl2a in craniofacial cartilage morphogenesis, albeit cxcr4b mutants exert a minimal impact on this biological process. We delineate that Cxcl12a is essential for chondrogenesis in zebrafish, primarily by promoting the proliferation of craniofacial neural crest cells. Furthermore, we proposed a conceptual framework wherein Cxcl12a and Cxcl12b function synergistically in orchestrating both the pharyngeal arch and pouch morphogenesis

Resource Allocation for UAV Assisted Wireless Networks with QoS Constraints

For crowded and hotspot area, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are usually deployed to increase the coverage rate. In the considered model, there are three types of services for UAV assisted communication: control message, non-realtime communication, and real-time communication, which can cover most of the actual demands of users in a UAV assisted communication system. A bandwidth allocation problem is considered to minimize the total energy consumption of this system while satisfying the requirements. Two techniques are introduced to enhance the performance of the system. The first method is to categorize the ground users into multiple user groups and offer each group a unique RF channel with different bandwidth. The second method is to deploy more than one UAVs in the system. Bandwidth optimization in each scheme is proved to be a convex problem. Simulation results show the superiority of the proposed schemes in terms of energy consumption.Comment: Submitted to IEEE WCNC 202

accelerating wrf i/o performance with adios2 and network-based streaming

With the approach of Exascale computing power for large-scale High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters, the gap between compute capabilities and storage systems is growing larger. This is particularly problematic for the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), a widely-used HPC application for high-resolution forecasting and research that produces sizable datasets, especially when analyzing transient weather phenomena. Despite this issue, the I/O modules within WRF have not been updated in the past ten years, resulting in subpar parallel I/O performance. This research paper demonstrates the positive impact of integrating ADIOS2, a next-generation parallel I/O framework, as a new I/O backend option in WRF. It goes into detail about the challenges encountered during the integration process and how they were addressed. The resulting I/O times show an over tenfold improvement when using ADIOS2 compared to traditional MPI-I/O based solutions. Furthermore, the study highlights the new features available to WRF users worldwide, such as the Sustainable Staging Transport (SST) enabling Unified Communication X (UCX) DataTransport, the node-local burst buffer write capabilities and in-line lossless compression capabilities of ADIOS2. Additionally, the research shows how ADIOS2's in-situ analysis capabilities can be smoothly integrated with a simple WRF forecasting pipeline, resulting in a significant improvement in overall time to solution. This study serves as a reminder to legacy HPC applications that incorporating modern libraries and tools can lead to considerable performance enhancements with minimal changes to the core application.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2201.0822

An energy consumption estimation method for the tool setting process in CNC milling based on the modular arrangement of predetermined time standards

Modeling and estimating the energy consumption of computer numerical control (CNC) milling systems have been recognized as essential ways to realize lean energy consumption management and improve energy efficiency performance. As the preparatory phase, considerable time and energy are consumed in the tool setting process. However, research on the tool setting process mainly focuses on accuracy and operational efficiency, and the energy consumption is usually ignored or simplified. Accurately estimating the energy consumption of the tool setting process is thus indispensable for reducing the energy consumption of CNC milling systems and improving their energy efficiency. To bridge this gap, an energy consumption estimation method for the tool setting process in CNC milling based on the modular arrangement of predetermined time standards (MODAPTS) is presented. It includes three steps: (i) operations decomposition and determination of the MODAPTS codes for the tool setting process, (ii) power modeling of the basic action elements of the machine tool, and (iii) energy consumption modeling of the tool setting process. Finally, a case study was conducted to illustrate the practicability of the proposed method via energy consumption modeling of the tool setting process using an XH714D CNC machine center with a square workpiece, in which the estimation values of the operating time and the energy consumption for the tool setting process were 210.786 s and 140,681.68 J, respectively. The proposed method can increase the transparency of energy consumption and help establish labor-hour quotas and energy consumption allowances in the tool setting process

Linking Incomplete Reprogramming to the Improved Pluripotency of Murine Embryonal Carcinoma Cell-Derived Pluripotent Stem Cells

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been proved capable of reprogramming various differentiated somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells. Recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) have been successfully derived from mouse and human somatic cells by the over-expression of a combination of transcription factors. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the reprogramming mediated by either the SCNT or iPS approach are poorly understood. Increasing evidence indicates that many tumor pathways play roles in the derivation of iPS cells. Embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells have the characteristics of both stem cells and cancer cells and thus they might be the better candidates for elucidating the details of the reprogramming process. Although previous studies indicate that EC cells cannot be reprogrammed into real pluripotent stem cells, the reasons for this remain unclear. Here, nuclei from mouse EC cells (P19) were transplanted into enucleated oocytes and pluripotent stem cells (P19 NTES cells) were subsequently established. Interestingly, P19 NTES cells prolonged the development of tetraploid aggregated embryos compared to EC cells alone. More importantly, we found that the expression recovery of the imprinted H19 gene was dependent on the methylation state in the differential methylation region (DMR). The induction of Nanog expression, however, was independent of the promoter region DNA methylation state in P19 NTES cells. A whole-genome transcriptome analysis further demonstrated that P19 NTES cells were indeed the intermediates between P19 cells and ES cells and many interesting genes were uncovered that may be responsible for the failed reprogramming of P19 cells. To our knowledge, for the first time, we linked incomplete reprogramming to the improved pluripotency of EC cell-derived pluripotent stem cells. The candidate genes we discovered may be useful not only for understanding the mechanisms of reprogramming, but also for deciphering the transition between tumorigenesis and pluripotency

Efficacy and safety of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with escitalopram in the treatment of major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis

ObjectiveThis study was designed to systematically review the efficacy and safety of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with escitalopram in treating major depressive disorder (MDD).MethodsDatabases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP Journal, and China Biomedical Literature databases were electronically searched for randomized controlled trials of rTMS combined with escitalopram intervention for MDD treatment from the inception of these databases to 27 May 2023. Two reviewers independently screened the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. R 4.2.2 was then used for a meta-analysis.ResultsIn total, 19 articles involving 1,032 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores were significantly lower in the group receiving rTMS combined with escitalopram (experimental group) than that in the control group [weighted mean difference (WMD) = −5.30, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): −6.44 to −4.17, p < 0.01]. The response rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group [odds ratio (OR): 5.48; 95% CI: 3.72 to 8.07; p < 0.01]. No significant difference in the adverse reaction rate was observed between the two groups (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.52, p = 0.82).ConclusionOur findings suggest that rTMS combined with escitalopram can benefit patients with MDD in a safe manner, which may help in guiding clinical practice.Systematic review registrationDOI number: 10.37766/inplasy2023.11.0114, INPLASY2023110114

An observational study on the effect of seasonal variation on peritoneal dialysis patients

Background: Seasonal variation has an impact on plants, wild animals, and also human beings. Data have shown seasonal variation has a significant impact on patients’ fluid status, biochemistry results, and outcomes in hemodialysis populations. The relevant data on peritoneal dialysis is scant.Methods: This was a cross sectional study. All patients followed up in our center had a peritoneal equilibration test and PD adequacy test every 6 months. All the peritoneal equilibration test and PD adequacy test data were collected during December 2019 to November 2020. The monthly delivery information of the whole center was collected from 2015 to 2019.Results: There were 366 patients and 604 sets of peritoneal equilibration test and PD adequacy test results in the study. Plasma albumin and phosphate levels were higher in summer. The monthly average outdoor temperature was positively correlated with plasma albumin. There was no seasonal difference in peritoneal dialysis ultrafiltration or urine volume. The percentage of low glucose concentration (1.5%) usage was higher in summer and lower in winter.Conclusion: Plasma albumin and phosphate levels were higher in summer in PD patients. Weaker glucose peritoneal dialysis dialysate was more widely used in summer. Understanding the seasonal variation of peritoneal dialysis is helpful in individualized treatment