Evidence of Kitaev interaction in the monolayer 1T-CrTe2_2

The two-dimensional 1T-CrTe$_2$ has been an attractive room-temperature van der Waals magnet which has a potential application in spintronic devices. Although it was recognized as a ferromagnetism in the past, the monolayer 1T-CrTe$_2$ was recently found to exhibit zigzag antiferromagnetism with the easy axis oriented at $70^\circ$ to the perpendicular direction of the plane. Therefore, the origin of the intricate anisotropic magnetic behavior therein is well worthy of thorough exploration. Here, by applying density functional theory with spin spiral method, we demonstrate that the Kitaev interaction, together with the single-ion anisotropy and other off-diagonal exchanges, is amenable to explain the magnetic orientation in the metallic 1T-CrTe$_2$. Moreover, the Ruderman-Kittle-Kasuya-Yosida interaction can also be extracted from the dispersion calculations, which explains the metallic behavior of 1T-CrTe$_2$. Our results demonstrate that 1T-CrTe$_2$ is potentially a rare metallic Kitaev material

A robotic arm control system with simultaneous and sequential modes combining eye-tracking with steady-state visual evoked potential in virtual reality environment

At present, single-modal brain-computer interface (BCI) still has limitations in practical application, such as low flexibility, poor autonomy, and easy fatigue for subjects. This study developed an asynchronous robotic arm control system based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) and eye-tracking in virtual reality (VR) environment, including simultaneous and sequential modes. For simultaneous mode, target classification was realized by decision-level fusion of electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-gaze. The stimulus duration for each subject was non-fixed, which was determined by an adjustable window method. Subjects could autonomously control the start and stop of the system using triple blink and eye closure, respectively. For sequential mode, no calibration was conducted before operation. First, subjects’ gaze area was obtained through eye-gaze, and then only few stimulus blocks began to flicker. Next, target classification was determined using EEG. Additionally, subjects could reject false triggering commands using eye closure. In this study, the system effectiveness was verified through offline experiment and online robotic-arm grasping experiment. Twenty subjects participated in offline experiment. For simultaneous mode, average ACC and ITR at the stimulus duration of 0.9 s were 90.50% and 60.02 bits/min, respectively. For sequential mode, average ACC and ITR at the stimulus duration of 1.4 s were 90.47% and 45.38 bits/min, respectively. Fifteen subjects successfully completed the online tasks of grabbing balls in both modes, and most subjects preferred the sequential mode. The proposed hybrid brain-computer interface (h-BCI) system could increase autonomy, reduce visual fatigue, meet individual needs, and improve the efficiency of the system

Mapping the distribution of invasive tree species using deep one-class classification in the tropical montane landscape of Kenya

Some invasive tree species threaten biodiversity and cause irreversible damage to global ecosystems. The key to controlling and monitoring the propagation of invasive tree species is to detect their occurrence as early as possible. In this regard, one-class classification (OCC) shows potential in forest areas with abundant species richness since it only requires a few positive samples of the invasive tree species to be mapped, instead of all the species. However, the classical OCC method in remote sensing is heavily dependent on manually designed features, which have a limited ability in areas with complex species distributions. Deep learning based tree species classification methods mostly focus on multi-class classification, and there have been few studies of the deep OCC of tree species. In this paper, a deep positive and unlabeled learning based OCC framework—ITreeDet—is proposed for identifying the invasive tree species of Eucalyptus spp. (eucalyptus) and Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) in the Taita Hills of southern Kenya. In the ITreeDet framework, an absNegative risk estimator is designed to train a robust deep OCC model by fully using the massive unlabeled data. Compared with the state-of-the-art OCC methods, ITreeDet represents a great improvement in detection accuracy, and the F1-score was 0.86 and 0.70 for eucalyptus and black wattle, respectively. The study area covers 100 km2 of the Taita Hills, where, according to our findings, the total area of eucalyptus and black wattle is 1.61 km2 and 3.24 km2, respectively, which represent 6.78% and 13.65% of the area covered by trees and forest. In addition, both invasive tree species are located in the higher elevations, and the extensive spread of black wattle around the study area confirms its invasive tendency. The maps generated by the use of the proposed algorithm will help local government to develop management strategies for these two invasive species.Peer reviewe

LncRNAs: the bridge linking RNA and colorectal cancer.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcribed by genomic regions (exceeding 200 nucleotides in length) that do not encode proteins. While the exquisite regulation of lncRNA transcription can provide signals of malignant transformation, lncRNAs control pleiotropic cancer phenotypes through interactions with other cellular molecules including DNA, protein, and RNA. Recent studies have demonstrated that dysregulation of lncRNAs is influential in proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, invasion, apoptosis, stemness, and genome instability in colorectal cancer (CRC), with consequent clinical implications. In this review, we explicate the roles of different lncRNAs in CRC, and the potential implications for their clinical application

Effect of Restricted Grazing Time on the Foraging Behavior and Movement of Tan Sheep Grazed on Desert Steppe

To investigate the effect of restricted grazing time on behavior of Tan sheep on desert steppe, forty 4-months old male Tan sheep with an original body weight (BW) of 15.62±0.33 kg were randomly allocated to 4 grazing groups which corresponded to 4 different restricted grazing time treatments of 2 h/d (G2), 4 h/d (G4), 8 h/d (G8) and 12 h/d (G12) access to pasture. The restricted grazing times had a significant impact on intake time, resting time, ruminating time, bite rate and movement. As the grazing time decreased, the proportion of time spent on intake, bite rate and grazing velocity significantly (p<0.05) increased, but resting and ruminating time clearly (p<0.05) decreased. The grazing months mainly depicted effect on intake time and grazing velocity. In conclusion, by varying their foraging behavior, Tan sheep could improve grazing efficiency to adapt well to the time-limited grazing circumstance

Effect of Annealing Temperature for Ni/AlOx/Pt RRAM Devices Fabricated with Solution-Based Dielectric

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices with Ni/AlOx/Pt-structure were manufactured by deposition of a solution-based aluminum oxide (AlOx) dielectric layer which was subsequently annealed at temperatures from 200 °C to 300 °C, in increments of 25 °C. The devices displayed typical bipolar resistive switching characteristics. Investigations were carried out on the effect of different annealing temperatures for associated RRAM devices to show that performance was correlated with changes of hydroxyl group concentration in the AlOx thin films. The annealing temperature of 250 °C was found to be optimal for the dielectric layer, exhibiting superior performance of the RRAM devices with the lowest operation voltage (104), the narrowest resistance distribution, the longest retention time (>104 s) and the most endurance cycles (>150)

Critical Role of Cysteine-Rich Protein 61 in Mediating the Activation of Renal Fibroblasts

ObjectiveTo explore the expression of cysteine-rich protein 61 (Cyr61) in ischemic renal fibrosis and the role of Cyr61 in mediating the activation of renal fibroblasts.Methods(1) The rat model of renal fibrosis was established after ischemia-reperfusion acute renal injury (IR-AKI). We detected the renal function by biochemical test, evaluated the fibrosis by Masson staining, and detected the expression of Cyr61 by western blotting. (2) Bioinformatics technique was adopted to analyze the expression of Cyr61 in activated renal fibroblasts. (3) Normal rat kidney fibroblast cells (NRK-49F cells) with over-expression of Cyr61 (Cyr61+) and low-expression of it (Cyr61--) were established by plasmid transfection. Then part of the cells were activated by TGF-β1 and NRK-49F cells were divided into control group, activated group, Cyr61+/Cyr61-- group and Cyr61+/Cyr61-- activated group. The expression of Cyr61 and fibrosis related factors (Col1α1, Col3α1, MMP9, and MMP13) were ascertained by PCR and western blotting. Cell proliferation was discovered by CCK8 method, cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the transcription of cell senescence related factors (P53, P21, Rb, and P16) were ascertained by PCR method.Results(1) In the process of fibrosis after IR-AKI, the area of collagen fiber was most obviously at AKI 1W, while the Cyr61 protein was at the lowest level at AKI 1W. (2) Gene chip analysis showed that the expression of Cyr61 was decreased in renal fibroblasts after IR. (3) Compared with control group, Cyr61+ group expressed less Col1α1 or Col3α1, as well as more MMP9 and MMP13. At the same time, the proliferation of Cyr61+ group decreased and cells in G1 phases increased with more transcription of P53, P21, and Rb (all P &lt; 0.05). Compared with activated group, the results of Cyr61+ activated group were similar to the above. The above effects of low expression group were just the opposite. In addition, there was no difference in the transcription of P16 among these groups (P &gt; 0.05).ConclusionCyr61 may not only inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of fibroblasts, but may also inhibit proliferation by promoting fibroblasts arrest in G1 phase through the P53/P21/Rb interrelated cell senescence pathway, subsequently affecting the process of ischemic renal fibrosis