Monolayer Vacancy-Induced MXene Memory for Write-Verify-Free Programming.

The fundamental logic states of 1 and 0 in Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) are essential for modern high-speed non-volatile solid-state memories. However, the accumulated storage signal in conventional physical components often leads to data distortion after multiple write operations. This necessitates a write-verify operation to ensure proper values within the 0/1 threshold ranges. In this work, a non-gradual switching memory with two distinct stable resistance levels is introduced, enabled by the asymmetric vertical structure of monolayer vacancy-induced oxidized Ti3C2Tx MXene for efficient carrier trapping and releasing. This non-cumulative resistance effect allows non-volatile memories to attain valid 0/1 logic levels through direct reprogramming, eliminating the need for a write-verify operation. The device exhibits superior performance characteristics, including short write/erase times (100 ns), a large switching ratio (≈3 × 104), long cyclic endurance (>104 cycles), extended retention (>4 × 106 s), and highly resistive stability (>104 continuous write operations). These findings present promising avenues for next-generation resistive memories, offering faster programming speed, exceptional write performance, and streamlined algorithms.

Self-interaction corrected SCAN functional for molecules and solids in the numeric atom-center orbital framework.

Semilocal density-functional approximations (DFAs), including the state-of-the-art SCAN functional, are plagued by the self-interaction error (SIE). While this error is explicitly defined only for one-electron systems, it has inspired the self-interaction correction method proposed by Perdew and Zunger (PZ-SIC), which has shown promise in mitigating the many-electron SIE. However, the PZ-SIC method is known for its significant numerical instability. In this study, we introduce a novel constraint that facilitates self-consistent localization of the SIC orbitals in the spirit of Edmiston-Ruedenberg orbitals [Rev. Mod. Phys. 35, 457 (1963)]. Our practical implementation within the all-electron numeric atom-centered orbitals code FHI-aims guarantees efficient and stable convergence of the self-consistent PZ-SIC equations for both molecules and solids. We further demonstrate that our PZ-SIC approach effectively mitigates the SIE in the meta-generalized gradient approximation SCAN functional, significantly improving the accuracy for ionization potentials, charge-transfer energies, and bandgaps for a diverse selection of molecules and solids. However, our PZ-SIC method does have its limitations. It cannot improve the already accurate SCAN results for properties such as cohesive energies, lattice constants, and bulk modulus in our test sets. This highlights the need for new-generation DFAs with more comprehensive applicability.

A novel mRNA rabies vaccine as a promising candidate for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis protects animals from different rabies viruses.

Rabies, caused by the rabies virus (RABV), is the most fatal zoonotic disease. It is a neglected tropical disease which remains a major public health problem, causing approximately 59,000 deaths worldwide annually. Despite the existence of effective vaccines, the high incidence of human rabies is mainly linked to tedious vaccine immunisation procedures and the overall high cost of post-exposure prophylaxis. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an effective vaccine that has a simple procedure and is affordable to prevent rabies infection in humans. RABV belongs to the genus Lyssavirus and family Rhabdoviridae. Previous phylogenetic analyses have identified seven major clades of RABV in China (China I-VII), confirmed by analysing nucleotide sequences from both the G and N proteins. This study evaluated the immunogenicity and protective capacity of SYS6008, an mRNA rabies vaccine expressing rabies virus glycoprotein, in mice and cynomolgus macaques. We demonstrated that SYS6008 induced sufficient levels of rabies neutralising antibody (RVNA) in mice. In addition, SYS6008 elicited strong and durable RVNA responses in vaccinated cynomolgus macaques. In the pre-exposure prophylaxis murine model, one or two injections of SYS6008 at 1/10 or 1/30 of dosage provided protection against a challenge with a 30-fold LD50 of rabies virus (China I and II clades). We also demonstrated that in the post-exposure prophylaxis murine model, which was exposed to lethal rabies virus (China I-VII clades) before vaccination, one or two injections of SYS6008 at both 1/10 and 1/30 dosages provided better protection against rabies virus challenge than the immunization by five injections of commercial vaccines at the same dosage. In addition, we proved that SYS6008-induced RVNAs could neutralise RABV from the China I-VII clades. Finally, 1/10 of the dosage of SYS6008 was able to stimulate significant RABV-G specificity in the T cell response. Furthermore, we found that SYS6008 induced high cellular immunity, including RABV-G-specific T cell responses and memory B cells. Our results imply that the SYS6008 rabies vaccine, with a much simpler vaccination procedure, better immunogenicity, and enhanced protective capacity, could be a candidate vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis of rabies infections.

Improving XYG3-type doubly hybrid approximation using self-interaction corrected SCAN density and orbitals via the PZ-SIC framework: The xDH@SCAN(SIC) approach.

XYG3-type doubly hybrid (xDH) approximations have gained widespread recognition for their accuracy in describing a diverse range of chemical and physical interactions. However, a recent study [Song et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12, 800-807 (2021)] has highlighted the limitation of xDH methods in calculating the dissociation of NaCl molecules. This issue has been related to the density and orbitals used for evaluating the energy in xDH methods, which are obtained from lower-rung hybrid density functional approximations (DFAs) and display substantial density errors in the dissociation limit. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of density on several challenging datasets and find that xDH methods are less sensitive to density errors compared to semi-local and hybrid DFAs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the self-interaction corrected SCAN density approach offers superior accuracy compared to the self-consistent SCAN density and Hartree-Fock density approaches, as evidenced by performing charge analysis on the dissociation of heterodimers, such as NaCl and LiF. Building on these insights, we propose a five-parameter xDH method using the SCAN density and orbitals corrected by the PZ-SIC scheme. This new xDH@SCAN(SIC) method provides a balanced and accurate description across a wide range of challenging systems.

Stitching Locally Fitted T-Splines for Fast Fitting of Large-Scale Freeform Point Clouds.

Parametric splines are popular tools for precision optical metrology of complex freeform surfaces. However, as a promising topologically unconstrained solution, existing T-spline fitting techniques, such as improved global fitting, local fitting, and split-connect algorithms, still suffer the problems of low computational efficiency, especially in the case of large data scales and high accuracy requirements. This paper proposes a speed-improved algorithm for fast, large-scale freeform point cloud fitting by stitching locally fitted T-splines through three steps of localized operations. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm produces a three-to-eightfold efficiency improvement from the global and local fitting algorithms, and a two-to-fourfold improvement from the latest split-connect algorithm, in high-accuracy and large-scale fitting scenarios. A classical Lena image study showed that the algorithm is at least twice as fast as the split-connect algorithm using fewer than 80% control points of the latter.

Androgen-induced insulin resistance is ameliorated by deletion of hepatic androgen receptor in females.

Androgen excess is one of the most common endocrine disorders of reproductive-aged women, affecting up to 20% of this population. Women with elevated androgens often exhibit hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. The mechanisms of how elevated androgens affect metabolic function are not clear. Hyperandrogenemia in a dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-treated female mouse model induces whole body insulin resistance possibly through activation of the hepatic androgen receptor (AR). We investigated the role of hepatocyte AR in hyperandrogenemia-induced metabolic dysfunction by using several approaches to delete hepatic AR via animal-, cell-, and clinical-based methodologies. We conditionally disrupted hepatocyte AR in female mice developmentally (LivARKO) or acutely by tail vein injection of an adeno-associated virus with a liver-specific promoter for Cre expression in ARfl/fl mice (adLivARKO). We observed normal metabolic function in littermate female Control (ARfl/fl ) and LivARKO (ARfl/fl ; Cre+/- ) mice. Following chronic DHT treatment, female Control mice treated with DHT (Con-DHT) developed impaired glucose tolerance, pyruvate tolerance, and insulin tolerance, not observed in LivARKO mice treated with DHT (LivARKO-DHT). Furthermore, during an euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, the glucose infusion rate was improved in LivARKO-DHT mice compared to Con-DHT mice. Liver from LivARKO, and primary hepatocytes derived from LivARKO, and adLivARKO mice were protected from DHT-induced insulin resistance and increased gluconeogenesis. These data support a paradigm in which elevated androgens in females disrupt metabolic function via hepatic AR and insulin sensitivity was restored by deletion of hepatic AR.

Metal oxide-based macroporous ordered double affinity molecularly imprinted polymer for specific separation and enrichment of glycoprotein from food samples: a co-modification of DMSA and boronate affinity.

Metal oxide-based macroporous ordered double affinity molecularly imprinted polymers (D-MIPs) were developed as solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorbents for the specific identification of ovalbumin (OVA) under physiological pH conditions prior to ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometric detection. Herein, macroporous alumina (MA) was used as a matrix; dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 3-aminophenylboric acid (APBA) were employed as dual-functional monomers; APBA is a self-polymerizing monomer. The effects of synthesis conditions, SPE conditions as well as selectivity, reproducibility, and reusability were studied. The co-modification of DMSA and boronate affinity renders the adsorbent exhibiting a high adsorption capacity (114.4 mg g-1) and short equilibrium time (30 min). The surface imprinting technology causes the adsorbent to have high selectivity towards OVA. The OVA recovery range is 91.1-99.6%. This study provides a promising method for the enrichment of OVA and other cis-diol-containing analytes in complex biological samples. A novel metal oxide-based macroporous ordered nanoparticle with a combination of DMSA and boronate affinity was successfully prepared for specific separation and enrichment of glycoprotein from complex biological samples.

[Identification, biological characterization, and fungicide screening of pathogens causing leaf spot of Belamcanda chinensis].

The leaf spot of Belamcanda chinensis often appears in May to June and spreads rapidly during the flowering stage(July to September) in the cultivation fields, seriously affecting the yield and quality of B. chinensis. To identify and characterize the pathogens of the leaf spot, we isolated two species of Alternaria, identified them according to Koch's postulates, and tested their pathogenicity and biological characteristics. Furthermore, we determined the inhibitory effects of 6 chemical fungicides, 1 plant fungicide, and 3 microbial fungicides on the pathogens by using mycelial growth rate and plate confrontation method to select the appropriate control agents. The results showed that the two pathogens causing B. chinensis leaf spot were Alternaria tenuissima and A. alternata. The conidia of A. tenuissima often formed long chains with no or a few branches, while those of A. alternata often formed short branched chains. The optimum growth temperature of both A. tenuissima and A. alternata was 25 ℃. The two pathogens grew well in alkaline environment. The indoor fungicide screening experiments showed that 40% flusilazole had good inhibitory effects on the two pathogens, with the EC_(50) values of 12.42 mg·L~(-1) and 12.78 mg·L~(-1) for A. tenuissima and A. alternata, respectively. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent theoretical research and field control of B. chinensis leaf spot.

[Identification, biological characteristics, and control of pathogen causing southern blight of Pinellia ternata].

In summer in 2020, Pinellia ternata in many planting areas in Hubei suffered from serious southern blight, as manifested by the yellowing and wilted leaves and rotten tubers. This study aims to identify the pathogen, clarify the biological characteristics of the pathogen, and screen fungicides. To be specific, the pathogen was isolated, purified, and identified, and the pathogenicity was detected according to the Koch's postulates. Moreover, the biological characteristics of the pathogen were analyzed. Furthermore, PDA plates and seedlings were used to determine the most effective fungicides. The results showed that the mycelia of the pathogen were white and villous with silk luster, which produced a large number of white to black brown sclerotia. The pathogen was identified as Athelia rolfsii by morphological observation and molecular identification based on LSU and TEF gene sequences. The optimum growth conditions for A. rolfsii were 30 ℃ and pH 5-8, and the optimum conditions for the germination of sclerotia were 25 ℃ and pH 7-9. Bacillus subtilis, difenoconazole, and flusilazole were identified as effective fungicides with PDA, and their half maximal effective concentration(EC_(50)) was all less than 5 mg·L~(-1). The effective fungicides screened with the seedlings were hymexazol and difenoconazole. Based on the screening experiments, difenoconazole can be used as the main agent for the prevention and treatment of southern blight.

Molecular understanding of charge storage and charging dynamics in supercapacitors with MOF electrodes and ionic liquid electrolytes.

We performed constant-potential molecular dynamics simulations to analyse the double-layer structure and capacitive performance of supercapacitors composed of conductive metal-organic framework (MOF) electrodes and ionic liquids. The molecular modelling clarifies how ions transport and reside inside polarized porous MOFs, and then predicts the corresponding potential-dependent capacitance in characteristic shapes. The transmission line model was adopted to characterize the charging dynamics, which further allowed evaluation of the capacitive performance of this class of supercapacitors at the macroscale from the simulation-obtained data at the nanoscale. These 'computational microscopy' results were supported by macroscopic electrochemical measurements. Such a combined nanoscale-to-macroscale investigation demonstrates the potential of MOF supercapacitors for achieving unprecedentedly high volumetric energy and power densities. It gives molecular insights into preferred structures of MOFs for accomplishing consistent performance with optimal energy-power balance, providing a blueprint for future characterization and design of these new supercapacitor systems.

ZIF-based boronic acid functionalized metal-organic frameworks for the enrichment of cis-diol-containing luteolin from food samples prior to HPLC.

Zeolite imidazole framework-based boronic acid-functionalized metal-organic frameworks (ZIF-67@PDA@BA-Zr-MOFs) were developed as an adsorbent for solid phase extraction (SPE) of luteolin (LTL) from peanut shell samples. Herein, ZIF-67 as a support matrix, polydopamine (PDA) as a coating to introduce amino and hydroxyl groups on the matrix surface to fix metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4) as a precursor, terephthalic acid (TPA), and 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid (3-CPBA) as the mutual organic building blocks, and 3-CPBA was also a boronate affinity functional monomer. The effects of synthesis conditions, SPE conditions, selectivity, competitivity, reproducibility, and reusability were evaluated in detail. Under the optimal conditions, the maximum adsorption capacity is 71.4 mg g-1. The utility of ZIF-67@PDA@BA-Zr-MOFs as an adsorbent for SPE of LTL is supported by the presence of the abundant pore structure, as well as the boronate affinity sites facilitated the rapid binding of the adsorbent to the template. The concentration of the extracted LTL was determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV), with calibration plots being linear in the concentration range 0.05-100 mg L-1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.035 mg L-1. The method was applied to determine the LTL in peanut shell samples and recovered the target analyte in the range 85.6% to 99.2% (the standard deviations are less than 3.3%, n = 3). In addition, we incorporated boronate affinity and MOFs material into an SPE system to provide a promising strategy to detect other cis-diol-containing analytes in the complex matrix.

AR3D: Attention Residual 3D Network for Human Action Recognition.

At present, in the field of video-based human action recognition, deep neural networks are mainly divided into two branches: the 2D convolutional neural network (CNN) and 3D CNN. However, 2D CNN's temporal and spatial feature extraction processes are independent of each other, which means that it is easy to ignore the internal connection, affecting the performance of recognition. Although 3D CNN can extract the temporal and spatial features of the video sequence at the same time, the parameters of the 3D model increase exponentially, resulting in the model being difficult to train and transfer. To solve this problem, this article is based on 3D CNN combined with a residual structure and attention mechanism to improve the existing 3D CNN model, and we propose two types of human action recognition models (the Residual 3D Network (R3D) and Attention Residual 3D Network (AR3D)). Firstly, in this article, we propose a shallow feature extraction module and improve the ordinary 3D residual structure, which reduces the parameters and strengthens the extraction of temporal features. Secondly, we explore the application of the attention mechanism in human action recognition and design a 3D spatio-temporal attention mechanism module to strengthen the extraction of global features of human action. Finally, in order to make full use of the residual structure and attention mechanism, an Attention Residual 3D Network (AR3D) is proposed, and its two fusion strategies and corresponding model structure (AR3D_V1, AR3D_V2) are introduced in detail. Experiments show that the fused structure shows different degrees of performance improvement compared to a single structure.

[Content characteristics of mineral elements and its correlation with soil nutrients and effective components in Chrysanthemum morifolium from different producing areas in Macheng].

In this study, 24 copies of samples of Chrysanthemum morifolium and soil from two main production towns in Macheng city were collected, and the contents of 13 mineral elements, 5 effective components and 14 soil nutrient factors in Ch. morifolium were determined. The enrichment characteristics of available soil nutrients by mineral elements were analyzed and the dominant factors affecting the effective components of Ch. morifolium were screened. The results showed that the content of mineral elements and soil nutrients and effective components are very different, and variation of soil fertility was much greater than that of inorganic elements in chrysanthemum plants. In general, the level of element content in Ch. morifolium from different producing areas is K>N>P>Mg>Ca>Fe>Mn>Zn>Cu>Ni>Cr>Pb>Cd. The content of K, N and Mg is higher than that of common crops, and the content of Cu, Cd and Pb in Ch. morifolium from various producing areas does not exceed the relevant standards. The N, P and K enrichment capacity in soil was stronger than that of other elements, and the Ca enrichment ability was the worst. The content of AvCu in the soil was positively correlated with the contents of N, Mg, K, Fe and Cu elements in Ch. morifolium. The contents of chlorogenic acid, luteolin, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid reached the pharmacopoeia standard. The percentage of chlorogenic acid and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid in Ch. morifolium that from Huangtugang town in the active components were generally higher than that from Futianhe town, and the diffe-rences of luteolin contents in the two producing areas were relatively small. The correlation and regression analysis showed that the contents of Cu, Zn and Cr in Ch. morifolium were positively correlated with the active components, while the contents of Fe, Mn and Ni were negatively correlated with the contents of AvP, AvK, TK, AvMn and AvCu in soil. In general, Zn and Ca fertilizer should be added to the ecological planting of Ch. morifolium, K fertilizer should be added, and N and P fertilizer should be applied appropriately.

[Effect of different drying methods on drying characteristics, appearance and active components of Belamcandae Rhizoma].

In order to explore the effect of different drying methods(drying-in-the-shade, sun-drying, and hot air drying) on appearance characteristics, internal structure and composition of Belamcandae Rhizoma, so as to provide a theoretical basis for screening out suitable drying methods for primary processing. In this study, the Belamcandae Rhizoma's dynamic changes of the moisture content ratio and drying rate with different drying time under different drying methods, as well as the effects of different drying methods on the appearance, drying rate, density, ash, extractives and the contents of six flavonoids(mangiferin, tectoridin, iridin, tectorigenin, irigenin, irisflorentin) were compared. The results showed that fresh Belamcandae Rhizoma consumed the longest time to reach the water balance point by traditional dry drying in the shade, whiche was about 311 h; that by sun drying was 19.3%, which was shorter than drying in the shade; both drying curves were smoother. The section color of the sun drying samples was the closest to that of fresh samples, but the interior is full of holes, with a low density and loose structure. Hot air drying(40, 60, 80 ℃) could save about 27% to 88% of the drying time, which was greatly shorter, with less pores, a larger density and compact structure. Compared with the traditional drying method, the drying rate of hot air drying was reduced by 13.7%. Ash was affected by temperature, the drying conditions under 40 ℃ and below were not significantly different from those of conventional drying. The ash content decreased by 7.73% to 18.5% compared with conventional drying at 60,80 ℃. After conventional drying and 40 ℃ hot air drying, the contents of tectoridin and iridin(glycosides) in the samples were significantly higher than those in 60,80 ℃ hot air drying, while the contents of tectorigenin, irigenin and irisflorentin(aglycones) dried at 60 ℃ were the best. Therefore, considering comprehensive appearance characteristics and content of medicinal ingredients, traditional Chinese medicinal materials after 60 ℃ hot air drying show a solid texture, tight internal structure, good appearance, appropriate reduction of toxic parasides and higher aglycone content.

[Active fractions of Camellia nitidissima inhibit non-small cell lung cancer via suppressing epidermal growth factor receptor].

The present study explored the effects and its underlying mechanisms of four active fractions of Camellia nitidissima(leaf polyphenols, leaf saponins, flower polyphenols, and flower saponins in C. nitidissima) in inhibiting the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) by suppressing the epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR). MTT assay was used to detect the effect of four active fractions on the proliferation of NCI-H1975 and HCC827 cells. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were adopted to evaluate the effect of four active fractions on the migration of NSCLC. The effect of four active fractions on the enzyme activity of EGFR was detected. Molecular docking was carried out to explore the direct action capacity and action sites between representative components of the four active fractions and EGPR. Western blot assay was employed to investigate the effect of four active fractions on the protein expression in EGFR downstream signaling pathways. The results of the MTT assay indicated that the cell viability of NCI-H1975 and HCC827 cells was significantly inhibited by four active fractions at 50, 100, 150, and 200 µg·mL~(-1) in a dose-dependent manner. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay revealed that the migration of NCI-H1975 and HCC827 cells was significantly suppressed by four active fractions. In addition, the results of the protein activity assay showed that the enzyme activity of EGFR was significantly inhibited by four active fractions. The molecular docking results confirmed that various components in four active fractions possessed strong binding activity to EGFR enzymes. Western blot assay revealed that four active fractions down-regulated the protein expression of EGFR and its downstream signaling pathways. It is concluded that the four active fractions of C. nitidissima can inhibit NSCLC. The mechanism may be related to EGFR and its downstream signaling pathways. This study provides a new scientific basis for the clinical treatment of NSCLC with active fractions of C. nitidissima, which is of reference significance for further research on the anti-tumor mechanism of C. nitidissima.

[Identification and biological characteristics of southern blight causing root rot on three medicine plants of Iridaceae in Dabie Mountains].

In order to identify the species and biological characteristics of the pathogen of southern blight from three kinds of Chinese medicine of Iridaceae(Belamcanda chinensis, Iris tectorum and I. japonica) in Dabie Mountains, the isolation, identification, pathogenicity and biological characteristics of the pathogens were studied according to Koch's postulates. In addition, 9 chemical fungicides, 3 botanical fungicides and 5 microbial fungicides were used to evaluate their inhibition to the isolates in vitro. The results showed that all the strains(SG-Q, YW-Q, and HDH-Q) isolated and purified from the diseased plants of B. chinensis, I. tectorum and I. japonica, respectively, were identified as Sclerotium rolfsii through morphological observation and sequence aligement of 18 S rDNA, rDNA-ITS and TEF. Field observations showed that the intensity of the disease incidence of three Iridaceae plants was B. chinensis>I. japonica> I. tectorum, and the pathogenicity of the strains was SG-Q>YW-Q>HDH-Q. For biological characteristics, SG-Q strain was suitable for growth under the 12 h light/12 h dark cycle, with the optimal growth temperature of 30 ℃ and pH of 5. Among the 9 tested chemical fungicides, 29% lime sulphure and 10% flusilazole had stronger inhibitory effect on mycelia growth of SG-Q. For 3 botanical fungicides, 1% osthol, 20% eugenol and 0.5% berberine could effectively inhibt the mycelial growth of SG-Q and cause the morphological variation of the pathogen. For 5 microbial fungicides, Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus subtilis had better inhibition on the mycelium growth of SG-Q.

Regulation of SEI Formation by Anion Receptors to Achieve Ultra-Stable Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Despite high specific capacity (3860 mAh g-1 ), the utilization of Li-metal anodes in rechargeable batteries are still hampered due to their insufficient cyclability. Herein, we report an anion-receptor-mediated carbonate electrolyte with improved performance and can ameliorate the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) composition comparing to the blank electrolyte. It demonstrates a high average Coulombic efficiency (97.94 %) over 500 cycles in the Li/Cu cell at a capacity of 1 mAh cm-2 . Raman spectrum and molecular modelling further clarify the screening effects of the anion receptor on the Li+ -PF6 - ion coupling that results in the enhanced ion dynamics. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) distinguishes the disparities in the SEI components of the developed electrolyte and the blank one, which is rationalized by the molecular insights of the Li-metal/electrolyte interface. Thus, we prepare a 2.5 Ah prototype pouch cell, exhibiting a high energy density (357 Wh kg-1 ) with 90.90 % capacity retention over 50 cycles.

Theory of ion aggregation and gelation in super-concentrated electrolytes.

In concentrated electrolytes with asymmetric or irregular ions, such as ionic liquids and solvent-in-salt electrolytes, ion association is more complicated than simple ion-pairing. Large branched aggregates can form at significant concentrations at even moderate salt concentrations. When the extent of ion association reaches a certain threshold, a percolating ionic gel network can form spontaneously. Gelation is a phenomenon that is well known in polymer physics, but it is practically unstudied in concentrated electrolytes. However, despite this fact, the ion-pairing description is often applied to these systems for the sake of simplicity. In this work, drawing strongly from established theories in polymer physics, we develop a simple thermodynamic model of reversible ionic aggregation and gelation in concentrated electrolytes accounting for the competition between ion solvation and ion association. Our model describes, with the use of several phenomenological parameters, the populations of ionic clusters of different sizes as a function of salt concentration; it captures the onset of ionic gelation and also the post-gel partitioning of ions into the gel. We discuss the applicability of our model, as well as the implications of its predictions on thermodynamic, transport, and rheological properties.

High-Density Surface EMG-Based Gesture Recognition Using a 3D Convolutional Neural Network.

High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) and deep learning technology are becoming increasingly used in gesture recognition. Based on electrode grid data, information can be extracted in the form of images that are generated with instant values of multi-channel sEMG signals. In previous studies, image-based, two-dimensional convolutional neural networks (2D CNNs) have been applied in order to recognize patterns in the electrical activity of muscles from an instantaneous image. However, 2D CNNs with 2D kernels are unable to handle a sequence of images that carry information concerning how the instantaneous image evolves with time. This paper presents a 3D CNN with 3D kernels to capture both spatial and temporal structures from sequential sEMG images and investigates its performance on HD-sEMG-based gesture recognition in comparison to the 2D CNN. Extensive experiments were carried out on two benchmark datasets (i.e., CapgMyo DB-a and CSL-HDEMG). The results show that, where the same network architecture is used, 3D CNN can achieve a better performance than 2D CNN, especially for CSL-HDEMG, which contains the dynamic part of finger movement. For CapgMyo DB-a, the accuracy of 3D CNN was 1% higher than 2D CNN when the recognition window length was equal to 40 ms, and was 1.5% higher when equal to 150 ms. For CSL-HDEMG, the accuracies of 3D CNN were 15.3% and 18.6% higher than 2D CNN when the window length was equal to 40 ms and 150 ms, respectively. Furthermore, 3D CNN achieves a competitive performance in comparison to the baseline methods.

Quantitative HBcrAg and HBcAb versus HBsAg and HBV DNA in predicting liver fibrosis levels of chronic hepatitis B patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the quantitative markers of hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) and anti-hepatitis B core antigen antibodies HbcAb versus hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) in predicting liver fibrosis levels in chronic hepatitis B patients. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and 245 HBeAg-negative patients were enrolled. With reference to the Scheuer standard, stage 2 or higher and stage 4 liver disease were defined as significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, respectively. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the performance of the HBV markers investigated. RESULTS: The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of HBcrAg in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in HBeAg-positive patients (0.577 and 0.700) were both close to those of HBsAg (0.617 and 0.762) (both P> 0.05). In HBeAg-negative patients (0.797 and 0.837), they were both significantly greater than those of HBV DNA (0.723 and 0.738) (P=0.0090 and P=0.0079). The AUCs of HBcAb in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in HBeAg-positive patients (0.640 and 0.665) were both close to those of HBsAg. In HBeAg-negative patients (0.570 and 0.621), they were both significantly less than those of HBcrAg (P <0.0001 and P=0.0001). Specificity in predicting significant fibrosis and sensitivity in predicting cirrhosis in HBeAg-positive patients, using a single cut-off of HBsAg ≤5,000 IU/ml, were 76.5% and 72.7%, respectively. In HBeAg-negative patients, using a single cut-off of HBcrAg>80kU/ml, they were 85.9% and 81.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HBsAg has good performance in predicting liver fibrosis levels in HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients, and HBcrAg has very good performance in predicting liver fibrosis levels in HBeAg-negative patients.