Electric Field Switching of Magnon Spin Current in a Compensated Ferrimagnet

Manipulation of directional magnon propagation, known as magnon spin current, is essential for developing magnonic memory and logic devices featuring nonvolatile functionalities and ultralow power consumption. Magnon spin current can usually be modulated by magnetic field or current-induced spin torques. However, these approaches may lead to energy dissipation caused by Joule heating. Electric-field switching of magnon spin current without charge current is highly desired but very challenging to realize. By integrating magnonic and piezoelectric materials, we demonstrate manipulation of the magnon spin current generated by the spin Seebeck effect in the ferrimagnetic insulator Gd3Fe5O12 (GdIG) film on a piezoelectric substrate. We observe reversible electric-field switching of magnon polarization without applied charge current. Through strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling, the electric field induces the magnetic compensation transition between two magnetic states of the GdIG, resulting in its magnetization reversal and the simultaneous switching of magnon spin current. Our work establishes a prototype material platform that pave the way for developing magnon logic devices characterized by all electric field reading and writing and reveals the underlying physics principles of their functions

Different Physical Activity Subtypes and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese People

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is growing rapidly in China. Tai chi and dancing are common types of exercise among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. It remains unclear whether these activities are associated with a lower risk of MetS. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 15,514 individuals (6,952 men, 8,562 women) aged 50 to 70 years from the Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort in Shiyan, China participated in a cross-sectional study. Physical activity and other lifestyle factors were assessed with semi-structured questionnaires during face-to-face interviews. MetS was defined by the current National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult treatment Panel III criteria for Asian Americans. The prevalence of MetS was 33.2% in the study population. In the multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses, total physical activity levels were monotonically associated with a lower odds of MetS [OR 0.75 comparing extreme quintiles, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66–0.86, P<0.001]. Compared with non-exercisers in a specific exercise type, jogging (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.68–1.00, P = 0.046), tai chi (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.60–0.88, P<0.001), and dancing (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47–0.67, P<0.001) were associated with significantly lower odds of MetS. Furthermore, each 1–h/week increment in tai chi and dancing was associated with a 5% (95% CI 2%–9%) and a 9% (95% CI 6%, 12%) lower risk of MetS. Conclusions/Significance: Jogging, tai chi and dancing are associated with a significantly lower risk of having MetS in middle-aged and older Chinese. Future intervention studies should consider the role of jogging, tai chi and dancing in preventing MetS

Assessment of Artificial Forest Restoration by Exploring the Microbial Community Structure and Function in a Reclaimed Coal Gob Pile in a Loess Hilly Area of Shanxi, China

In this study, soil obtained from a reclaimed coal gob pile was expected to be rapidly improved with the use of artificial vegetation restoration practices, such as artificial forests, which increase the taxonomic variety in the soil microbial community and its functions. In order to successfully identify the effect of artificial forest restoration project on the soil’s quality, a field study was conducted on soil reclaimed from a coal gob pile in a loess hilly area located in Shanxi to assess the effects of five commonly used artificially restored coniferous forest species (i.e., Platycladus orientalis: PO, Sabina chinensis: SC, Pinus sylvestris: PS, Picea asperata: PA and Pinus tabuliformis: PT) on the soil’s physico-chemical properties, the bacterial community and functional gene attributes. The results showed that significant differences were observed in the bacterial community’s diversity and structure, as well as in functional genes, among the different artificial tree species. PS and PA presented lower pH and bulk density levels and higher soil alkaline protease (PRO), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and urease (URE) activities, in comparison to other tree species. The bacterial community’s diversity and functional genes were noticeably higher in both PS and PA. In addition, soil bulk density and pH can directly affect the soil keystone bacteria and microbial functions and can indirectly affect the soil keystone genus and microbial functions by affecting the soil nutrient elements and enzyme activity. Moreover, soil bacterial keystone bacteria significantly affect these functions. Finally, compared to the other coniferous tree species, PS and PA presented a significantly higher integrated fertility index (IFI) score. Therefore, PS and PA might be more suited to the forest restoration project using reclaimed soil obtained from a coal gob pile located in Shanxi’s mining region. The present research contributes to the understanding of how various tree species affect microbial populations and functions in similar mining zones and/or hilly terrains

Economical and balanced production in smart Petroleum Cyber–Physical System

In Petroleum Cyber–Physical Social workflows, monetary profit optimization is essential. In this work, a production optimization approach for the Petroleum Cyber–Physical System is proposed which spans the field production to the petroleum social market. Dynamic Programming technique, Linear Programming technique and Stochastic Programming technique are first utilized to improve the monetary profit for a single petroleum company. A market-driven petroleum social workflow aware production optimization technique is then proposed to facilitate profit optimization among multiple petroleum companies. The case study result shows that the monetary income can be increased up to 311.67% in an one year time span

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Microbial Community in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil under Silicon Fertilizer and Biochar Remediation

Silicon fertilizer and biochar have been widely used to remediate soil contaminated by heavy metals. The effects and mechanism of silicon fertilizer and biochar addition on the heavy metal availability, soil biological properties, and microbial community characteristics need further study in soils contaminated by heavy metals. Therefore, this research determined how silicon fertilizer, biochar, and their combined using affected microbial communities related with nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. The abundance and composition of the microbial community were evaluated by quantitative PCR and phospholipid fatty acid analysis, respectively. Results showed that silicon fertilizer and biochar addition significantly changed soil properties, including pH, total organic carbon, ammonium, nitrate. The Cd and Zn speciation were significantly reduced by silicon fertilizer, biochar, and their integrated application. Microbial community abundance and structure were also significantly changed. Principal component analysis shows that the difference in soil microbial community structure is the most obvious under the combined addition of biochar, silicon fertilizer and biochar. In addition, the results of fluorescence quantitative PCR showed that with biological addition, the number of soil bacteria was significantly reduced. This study reveals the influence of silicon fertilizer and biochar on bacterial and fungal communities in heavy metal soils and the effect of soil heavy metal availability

Effect of one-time high load exercise on skeletal muscle injury in rats of different genders: oxidative stress and mitochondrial responses

ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate the impact of one-time high load exercise on skeletal muscle injury and analysis its mechanism in different genders. Methods: Twenty-four male and 24 female rats were divided randomly into four groups respectively: control, 0 h, 6 h, and 24 h after exercise. The activities of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and myohemoglobin (MYO) in serum, the expression level of oxidative stress markers, mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzyme, and the apoptosis related protein in quadriceps were detected. Results: The results showed that the activities of CK, LDH and MYO in serum increased immediately after exercise and restored faster in female rats. More obvious structural disorder and apoptosis in male rats were showed. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were increased while catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) were decreased in male rats. SOD, CAT and GSH were increased in female rats. Mitochondrial complex enzyme activity was decreased in males and increased in females. Conclusions: The skeletal muscle injury in both genders of rat could be induced by one-time high load exercise due to the mitochondrial respiratory enzyme dysfunction and oxidative stress, which was relatively mild and recovered quicker in female rats

The Effects of Topography and Urban Agglomeration on the Sea Breeze Evolution over the Pearl River Delta Region

Sea breezes are one of the most important weather processes affecting the environmental and climatic features over coastal areas, and the sea breeze from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) has significant effects on the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. We simulated a typical sea breeze process that occurred on 27 December 2020 in the PRD region using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to quantify the effects of topography and city clusters on the development of the sea breeze circulation. The results show that: (1) the topography on the west coast of the PRD tends to block the intrusion of the sea breeze and detour it along the eastern part of the terrain in the southeast of Jiangmen. The depth of sea breeze along the position of the detour is increased by 120 m, the penetration distance is increased by 40 km, the maximum intensity of sea breeze decreases by ~0.4 m/s, and the time of maximum speed delays for 4 h. However, on the east coast, the topography promotes the sea breeze, resulting in an occurrence about 4 h earlier due to the heating effects. The depth and the speed of the sea breeze are increased by 466 m and 1.2 m/s, respectively. (2) Under the influence of Urban Heat Island Circulation (UHIC), the sea breezes reach cities near the coast an hour earlier and are later inhibited from propagating further inland. Moreover, a wind convergence zone with a speed of 3–5 m/s and a width of about 25 km is formed along the boundary of suburbs and cities in the PRD region. As a result, two important convergence areas: Foshan–Guangzhou, and Dongguan–Shenzhen are formed. (3) Overall, the topography has a more remarkable impact on the mesoscale wind field especially in the mountain and bay areas, resulting in an average speed disturbance of 2.8 m/s. The urban heat island effect is relatively small and on average it causes only ± 0.9–1.8 m/s wind speed perturbations in the periphery of two convergence areas and over PRE

The effects of shift work on sleeping quality, hypertension and diabetes in retired workers.

BackgroundShift work has been associated with adverse health effects by disturbing circadian rhythms. However,its potential long-term health effects and the persistent effects after leaving shifts have not been well established.Methods and resultsWe studied 26,463 workers from Tongji-Dongfeng Cohort in China. All the participants are retired employees of Dongfeng Motor Company. Information on demographics, occupational history and medical history were gathered through questionnaires. After adjusting potential confounders in the logistic regression models, shift work was associated with poor sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension independently. We observed significant effects of shift work on poor sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension; the ORs (95%CI) are 1.18 (1.09-1.27), 1.10 (1.03-1.17) and 1.05 (1.01-1.09) respectively. In the further analysis, we found elevated ORs (95%CI) for participants with poor sleeping quality, the ORs (95%CI) are 1.34 (1.08-1.60), 1.13 (1.05-1.21), 1.05 (1.03-1.07) and 1.05 (1.01-1.09) for 1-4, 5-9, 10-19, ≥20 years of shift work respectively. However, with the extension of leaving shift work duration, the effects of shift work on sleep quality gradually reduced.ConclusionsShift work may be an independent risk factor for sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension even in retired workers. Applicable intervention strategies are needed for prevention of sleep loss, diabetes, and hypertension for shift workers

Gelatin-Based Metamaterial Hydrogel Films with High Conformality for Ultra-Soft Tissue Monitoring

Highlights Novel customized metamaterial gelatin-based conductive film (GCF) was developed to ensure good biocompatibility and biodegradability for implantable bioelectronics integrating monitoring with tissue repair. The metamaterial property demonstrated high conformal with soft tissues to promote the signal-to-noise ratio. The GCF revealed elastic modulus regulated from 20 to 420 kPa and Poisson's ratio from − 0.25 to 0.52. It was fabricated by embedding different 3D printing ultrafine fiber networks with metamaterial design into ultra-low modulus Gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel