Event-triggered background-oriented schlieren: high-frequency visualization of a heated jet flow.

This Letter reports a novel, to our knowledge, event-triggered background-oriented schlieren (EBOS) technique using a combination of an event-triggered camera and pulsed laser speckle projection. The BOS images are reconstructed using the event data generated by the pulsed laser speckle projection and then processed to obtain the density and temperature distribution of the flow. This technique enables continuous visualization and recording of flows at kFPS frame rates with a very low cost, breaking through the short operating times of existing high-frame-rate BOSs. To examine the event-triggered BOS technique, tests are conducted on a hot air gun. The measured temperature distribution coincides with the thermocouple data with an error of no more than 10.8%. Measurements taken during the start-up of the hot air gun demonstrate that the presented technique can measure the evolution of the jet temperature for at least 150 s, as well as capture the localized unsteady turbulent structure in the heated jet flow.

CaSTH2 disables CaWRKY40 from activating pepper thermotolerance and immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum via physical interaction.

CaWRKY40 coordinately activates pepper immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum infection (RSI) and high temperature stress (HTS), forms positive feedback loops with other positive regulators and is promoted by CaWRKY27b/CaWRKY28 through physical interactions; however, whether and how it is regulated by negative regulators to function appropriately remain unclear. Herein, we provide evidence that CaWRKY40 is repressed by a SALT TOLERANCE HOMOLOG2 in pepper (CaSTH2). Our data from gene silencing and transient overexpression in pepper and epoptic overexpression in Nicotiana benthamiana plants showed that CaSTH2 acted as negative regulator in immunity against RSI and thermotolerance. Our data from BiFC, CoIP, pull down, and MST indicate that CaSTH2 interacted with CaWRKY40, by which CaWRKY40 was prevented from activating immunity or thermotolerance-related genes. It was also found that CaSTH2 repressed CaWRKY40 at least partially through blocking interaction of CaWRKY40 with CaWRKY27b/CaWRKY28, but not through directly repressing binding of CaWRKY40 to its target genes. The results of study provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying the coordination of pepper immunity and thermotolerance.

Sulfate-reducing bacteria decreases fractional pressure of H2 to accelerate short-chain fatty acids production from waste activated sludge fermentation assisted with zero-valent iron activated sulfite pretreatment.

The production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) is constrained by substrate availability and the increased fractional pressure of H2 emitted by acidogenic/fermentative bacteria during anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS). This study introduced a novel approach employing zero-valent iron (ZVI)-activated sulfite pretreatment combined with H2-consuming sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) mediation to improve SCFAs, especially acetate production from WAS fermentation. Experimental results showed that the combined ZVI-activated sulfite and incomplete-oxidative SRB (io-SRB) process achieved a peak SCFAs production of 868.11 mg COD/L, with acetate accounting for 80.55 %, which was 7.90- and 2.18-fold higher than that obtained from raw WAS fermentation, respectively. This could be firstly attributed to the SO4- and OH generated by ZVI-activated sulfite, which significantly promoted WAS decomposition, e.g., soluble proteins and carbohydrates increased 14.3- and 10.8-fold, respectively, over those in raw WAS. The biodegradation of dissolved organic matter was subsequently enhanced by the synergistic interaction and H2 transfer between anaerobic fermentation bacteria (AFB) and io-SRB. The positive and negative correlations among AFB, nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB) and the io-SRB consortia were revealed by molecular ecological network (MEN) and Mantel test. Moreover, the expression of functional genes was also improved, for instance, in relation to acetate formation, the relative abundances of phosphate acetyltransferase and acetate kinase was 0.002 % and 0.005 % higher than that in the control test, respectively. These findings emphasized the importance of sulfate radicals-based oxidation pretreatment and the collaborative relationships of multifunctional microbes on the value-added chemicals and energy recovery from sludge fermentation.

Integration of MoS2 Memtransistor Devices and Analogue Circuits for Sensor Fusion in Autonomous Vehicle Target Localization.

In contemporary autonomous driving systems relying on sensor fusion, traditional digital processors encounter challenges associated with analogue-to-digital conversion and iterative vector-matrix operations, which are encumbered by limitations in terms of response time and energy consumption. In this study, we present an analogue Kalman filter circuit based on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) memtransistor, designed to accelerate sensor fusion for precise localization in autonomous vehicle applications. The nonvolatile memory characteristics of the memtransistor allow for the storage of a fixed Kalman gain, which eliminates the data convergence and thus accelerates the processing speeds. Additionally, the modulation of multiple conductance states by the gate terminal enables fast adaptability to diverse autonomous driving scenarios by tuning multiple Kalman filter gains. Our proposed analogue Kalman filter circuit accurately estimates the position coordinates of target vehicles by fusing sensor data from light detection and ranging (LiDAR), millimeter-wave radar (Radar), and camera, and it successfully solves real-word problems in a signal-free crossroad intersection. Notably, our system achieves a 1000-fold improvement in energy efficiency compared to that of digital circuits. This work underscores the viability of a memtransistor for achieving fast, energy-efficient real-time sensing, and continuous signal processing in advanced sensor fusion technology.

Application of a downward tract adherence method in the manual bedside placement of post-pyloric tubes in the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: At present, there are few studies on the technical requirements of manual bedside placement of post-pyloric tube in Intensive Care Unit patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application value of downward tract adherence method in the manual bedside placement of jejunal tubes. METHODS: In the downward group, 160 patients underwent manual bedside placement of jejunal tubes by a downward tract adherence method. In the conventional group, 144 patients were treated with conventional gas injection during the placement. The success rate, average time, and adverse reactions of the placement in the two groups were investigated and compared. RESULTS: The success rate of the placement in the downward group was significantly higher (95% vs. 75%, P< 0.001) and the average time for the successful placement was shortened (23 ± 5.91 min vs. 26 ± 5.49 min, P= 0.025) than that in the conventional group. No treatment-related adverse reactions occurred in either group, and there were also no significant differences in vital sign changes. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the downward tract adherence method in the manual bedside placement of postpyloric tubes for the intensive care patients at the bedside has a higher success rate, effectivity and safety.

CaIAA2-CaARF9 module mediates the trade-off between pepper growth and immunity.

To challenge the invasion of various pathogens, plants re-direct their resources from plant growth to an innate immune defence system. However, the underlying mechanism that coordinates the induction of the host immune response and the suppression of plant growth remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that an auxin response factor, CaARF9, has dual roles in enhancing the immune resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum infection and in retarding plant growth by repressing the expression of its target genes as exemplified by Casmc4, CaLBD37, CaAPK1b and CaRROP1. The expression of these target genes not only stimulates plant growth but also negatively impacts pepper resistance to R. solanacearum. Under normal conditions, the expression of Casmc4, CaLBD37, CaAPK1b and CaRROP1 is active when promoter-bound CaARF9 is complexed with CaIAA2. Under R. solanacearum infection, however, degradation of CaIAA2 is triggered by SA and JA-mediated signalling defence by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which enables CaARF9 in the absence of CaIAA2 to repress the expression of Casmc4, CaLBD37, CaAPK1b and CaRROP1 and, in turn, impeding plant growth while facilitating plant defence to R. solanacearum infection. Our findings uncover an exquisite mechanism underlying the trade-off between plant growth and immunity mediated by the transcriptional repressor CaARF9 and its deactivation when complexed with CaIAA2.

Concentrated Formic Acid from CO2 Electrolysis for Directly Driving Fuel Cell.

The production of formic acid via electrochemical CO2 reduction may serve as a key link for the carbon cycle in the formic acid economy, yet its practical feasibility is largely limited by the quantity and concentration of the product. Here we demonstrate continuous electrochemical CO2 reduction for formic acid production at 2 M at an industrial-level current densities (i.e., 200 mA cm-2 ) for 300 h on membrane electrode assembly using scalable lattice-distorted bismuth catalysts. The optimized catalysts also enable a Faradaic efficiency for formate of 94.2 % and a highest partial formate current density of 1.16 A cm-2 , reaching a production rate of 21.7 mmol cm-2 h-1 . To assess the practicality of this system, we perform a comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, showing that our approach can potentially substitute conventional methyl formate hydrolysis for industrial formic acid production. Furthermore, the resultant formic acid serves as direct fuel for air-breathing formic acid fuel cells, boasting a power density of 55 mW cm-2 and an exceptional thermal efficiency of 20.1 %.

Correction procedure for a tomographic optical setup employing imaging fiber bundles and intensified cameras.

For reliable tomographic measurements the underlying 2D images from different viewing angles must be matched in terms of signal detection characteristics. Non-linearity effects introduced by intensified cameras and spatial intensity variations induced from inhomogeneous transmission of the optical setup can lead, if not corrected, to a biased tomographic reconstruction result. This paper presents a complete correction procedure consisting of a combination of a non-linearity and flatfield correction for a tomographic optical setup employing imaging fiber bundles and four intensified cameras. Influencing parameters on the camera non-linearity are investigated and discussed. The correction procedure is applied to 3D temperature measurements by two-color pyrometry and compared to results without correction. The present paper may serve as a guideline for an appropriate correction procedure for any type of measurement involving optical tomography and intensified cameras.

Broadband miniaturized spectrometers with a van der Waals tunnel diode.

Miniaturized spectrometers are of immense interest for various on-chip and implantable photonic and optoelectronic applications. State-of-the-art conventional spectrometer designs rely heavily on bulky dispersive components (such as gratings, photodetector arrays, and interferometric optics) to capture different input spectral components that increase their integration complexity. Here, we report a high-performance broadband spectrometer based on a simple and compact van der Waals heterostructure diode, leveraging a careful selection of active van der Waals materials- molybdenum disulfide and black phosphorus, their electrically tunable photoresponse, and advanced computational algorithms for spectral reconstruction. We achieve remarkably high peak wavelength accuracy of ~2 nanometers, and broad operation bandwidth spanning from ~500 to 1600 nanometers in a device with a ~ 30×20 µm2 footprint. This diode-based spectrometer scheme with broadband operation offers an attractive pathway for various applications, such as sensing, surveillance and spectral imaging.

Pt Nanoparticle-Mn Single-Atom Pairs for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction.

The intrinsic roadblocks for designing promising Pt-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts emanate from the strong scaling relationship and activity-stability-cost trade-offs. Here, a carbon-supported Pt nanoparticle and a Mn single atom (PtNP-MnSA/C) as in situ constructed PtNP-MnSA pairs are demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst to circumvent the above seesaws with only ∼4 wt % Pt loadings. Experimental and theoretical investigations suggest that MnSA functions not only as the "assist" for Pt sites to cooperatively facilitate the dissociation of O2 due to the strong electronic polarization, affording the dissociative pathway with reduced H2O2 production, but also as an electronic structure "modulator" to downshift the d-band center of Pt sites, alleviating the overbinding of oxygen-containing intermediates. More importantly, MnSA also serves as a "stabilizer" to endow PtNP-MnSA/C with excellent structural stability and low Fenton-like reactivity, resisting the fast demetalation of metal sites. As a result, PtNPs-MnSA/C shows promising ORR performance with a half-wave potential of 0.93 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode and a high mass activity of 1.77 A/mgPt at 0.9 V in acid media, which is 19 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C and only declines by 5% after 80,000 potential cycles. Specifically, PtNPs-MnSA/C reaches a power density of 1214 mW/cm2 at 2.87 A/cm2 in an H2-O2 fuel cell.

Berberine modulates the immunometabolism and differentiation of CD4+ T cells alleviating experimental arthritis by suppression of M1-exo-miR155.

BACKGROUND: The inflammatory cascade mediated by macrophages and T cells is considered to be an important factor in promoting the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Our previous study found that berberine (BBR) can therapeutically impact adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rats through the regulation of macrophage polarization and the balance of Th17/Treg. However, whether BBR's effects on CD4+T cells response are related to its suppression of M1 macrophage still unclear. PURPOSE: The study aimed to estimate the mechanism of BBR in regulating the immunometabolism and differentiation of CD4+T cells are related to exosome derived from M1-macrophage (M1-exo). STUDY-DESIGN/METHODS: Mice model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was established to investigate the antiarthritic effect of BBR was related with regulation of M1-exo to balance T cell subsets. Bioinformatics analysis using the GEO database and meta-analysis. In vitro, we established the co-culture system involving M1-exo and CD4+ T cells to examine whether BBR inhibits CD4+T cell activation and differentiation by influencing M1-exo-miR155. Exosome was characterized using transmission electron microscopy and western blot analysis, macrophage and CD4+T cell subpopulation were detected by flow cytometry. Further, the metabolic profiles of CD4+T cells were assessed by ECAR, OCR, and the level of glucose, lactate, intracellular ATP. RESULT: BBR reinstates CD4+ T cell homeostasis and reduces miR155 levels in both M1-exo and CD4+ T cells obtained from mice with CIA. In vitro, we found exosomes are indispensable for M1-CM on T lymphocyte activation and differentiation. BBR reversed M1-exo facilitating the activation and differentiation of CD4+T cells. Furthermore, BBR reversed glycolysis reprogramming of CD4+T cells induced by M1-exo, while these regulation effects were significantly weakened by miR155 mimic. CONCLUSION: The delivery of miR-155 by M1-exo contributes to CD4+ T cell immunometabolism dysfunction, a process implicated in the development of RA. The anti-arthritic effect of BBR is associated with the suppression of glycolysis and the disruption of CD4+ T cell subsets balance, achieved by reducing the transfer of M1-exo-miR155 into T cells.

1,25(OH)2 D3 inhibits Lewis lung cancer cell migration via NHE1-sensitive metabolic reprograming.

High prevalence and metastasis rates are characteristics of lung cancer. Glycolysis provides energy for the development and metastasis of cancer cells. The 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2 D3 ) has been linked to reducing cancer risk and regulates various physiological functions. We hypothesized that 1,25(OH)2 D3 could be associated with the expression and activity of Na+ /H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) of Lewis lung cancer cells, thus regulating glycolysis as well as migration by actin reorganization. Followed by online public data analysis, Vitamin D3 receptor, the receptor of 1,25(OH)2 D3 has been proved to be abundant in lung cancers. We demonstrated that 1,25(OH)2 D3 treatment suppressed transcript levels, protein levels, and activity of NHE1 in LLC cells. Furthermore, 1,25(OH)2 D3 treatment resets the metabolic balance between glycolysis and OXPHOS, mainly including reducing glycolytic enzymes expression and lactate production. In vivo experiments showed the inhibition effects on tumor growth as well. Therefore, we concluded that 1,25(OH)2 D3 could amend the NHE1 function, which leads to metabolic reprogramming and cytoskeleton reconstruction, finally inhibits the cell migration.

Enabling efficient ample-level oxygen evolution on nickel-iron Prussian blue analogue/hydroxide via hierarchical mass transfer channel construction.

Enhancing double-phase mass transfer capability and reducing overpotential at high currents are critical in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst design. In this work, nickel-iron layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) loaded on nickel foam (NF) was used as a self-sacrificing template for subsequent growth of nickel-iron Prussian blue (NiFe-PBA) hollow nanocubes on its sheet arrays. The triple-scale porous structure is therefore in-situ constructed in the produced NiFe-PBA@LDH/NF catalyst, where NiFe-PBA nanocubes, NiFe-LDH sheets and NF skeletons provide pores at hundred-nanometers, microns and hundred-microns, respectively. Due to the successful construction of hierarchical mass transfer channels in the catalyst, the overpotential required to deliver 1000 mA cm-2 OER is only 396 mV, which is 80 mV lower than that of NiFe-LDH/NF with a double-scale porous structure, manifesting the importance of the appropriate mass transfer channels, promoting the potential application of the NiFe-PBA@LDH/NF catalyst in industrial-scale electrolysers.

Impact of Sapphire Step Height on the Growth of Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide.

Although the synthesis of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on sapphire has made a lot of progress, how the substrate surface affects the growth still needs to be further studied. Herein, the impact of the sapphire step height on the growth of monolayer MoS2 through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is studied. The results show that MoS2 exhibits a highly oriented triangular grain on a low-step (0.44-1.54 nm) substrate but nanoribbons with a consistent orientation on a high-step (1.98-3.30 nm) substrate. Triangular grains exhibit cross-step growth, with one edge parallel to the step edge, while nanoribbons do not cross steps and possess the same orientation as the step. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that nanoribbons are formed by splicing multiple grains, and the consistency of the orientation of these grains is demonstrated with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and second-harmonic generation (SHG). Furthermore, our CP2K calculations, conducted using the generalized gradient approximation and the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) functional with D3 (BJ) correction, show that MoS2 domains prefer to nucleate at higher steps, while climbing across a higher step is more difficult. This work not only sheds light on the growth mechanism of monolayer MoS2 but also promotes its applications in electrical, optical, and energy-related devices.

Symmetry-Engineering-Induced In-Plane Polarization Enhancement in Ta2NiS5/CrOCl van der Waals Heterostructure.

Van der Waals (vdW) interfaces can be formed via layer stacking regardless of the lattice constant or symmetry of the individual building blocks. Herein, we constructed a vdW interface of layered Ta2NiS5 and CrOCl, which exhibited remarkably enhanced in-plane anisotropy via polarized Raman spectroscopy and electrical transport measurements. Compared with pristine Ta2NiS5, the anisotropy ratio of the Raman intensities for the B2g, 2Ag, and 3Ag modes increased in the heterostructure. More importantly, the anisotropy ratios of conductivity and mobility in the heterostructure increased by one order of magnitude. Specifically speaking, the conductivity ratio changed from ~2.1 (Ta2NiS5) to ~15 (Ta2NiS5/CrOCl), while the mobility ratio changed from ~2.7 (Ta2NiS5) to ~32 (Ta2NiS5/CrOCl). Such prominent enhancement may be attributed to the symmetry reduction caused by lattice mismatch at the heterostructure interface and the introduction of strain into the Ta2NiS5. Our research provides a new perspective for enhancing artificial anisotropy physics and offers feasible guidance for future functionalized electronic devices.

Assessing pediatric anesthesia outcomes and prognostic factors: a comparative study of ketamine vs. ketamine + propofol.

Objective: To investigate the anesthesia outcomes of ketamine and propofol in pediatric anesthesia and analyze associated prognostic factors. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 160 children who underwent anesthesia and operation in Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from 2020 to 2022. The anesthesia outcomes was analyzed by comparing the blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) at before (T1), during (T2) and after (T3) operations, recovery time after anesthesia, post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay, adverse reactions, as well as the Steward and FLACC scores between the control and research groups. Univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to identify the prognostic factors in pediatric anesthesia. Results: The changes in SpO2, HR, and MAP were different between the two groups at different time points (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in anesthesia recovery time, PACU stay, Steward and FLACC scores, and incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that operation time ≥ 49.5 minutes (P = 0.001, OR = 3.828, 95% CI: 1.715-8.544) and single use of ketamine for anesthesia (P = 0.048, OR = 2.257, 95% CI: 1.006-5.063) were independent risk factors for postoperative delirium. Conclusion: Combining propofol with ketamine for pediatric anesthesia yields superior clinical outcome compared to using ketamine alone. This combined approach can effectively maintain stable circulation during operation, lead to shorter anesthesia recovery time, ensure high recovery quality, reduce postoperative pain, adverse reaction rate, and risk of post-anesthesia delirium in children, thereby improving the prognosis.

Effects of laryngeal mask ventilation on postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: To compare the effects of laryngeal mask mechanical ventilation and preserved spontaneous breathing on postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery. METHODS: Children aged 3-7 who underwent elective day surgery were randomly divided into a spontaneous breathing group (n = 23) and a mechanical ventilation group (n = 23). All children enrolled in this trial used the same anesthesia induction protocol, the incidence and severity of atelectasis before induction and after operation were collected. In addition, the baseline data, intraoperative vital signs, ventilator parameters and whether there were complications such as reflux and aspiration were also collected. SPSS was used to calculate whether there was a statistical difference between these indicators. RESULTS: The incidence of atelectasis in the spontaneous breathing group was 91.30%, and 39.13% in the mechanical ventilation group, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in carbon dioxide (P < 0.05), and the severity of postoperative atelectasis in the mechanical ventilation group was lower than that in the spontaneous breathing group (P < 0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences in the vital signs and baseline data of the patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Laryngeal mask mechanical ventilation can reduce the incidence and severity of postoperative atelectasis in children undergoing day surgery, and we didn't encounter any complications such as reflux and aspiration in children during the perioperative period, so mechanical ventilation was recommended to be used for airway management. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The clinical trial was registered retrospectively at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. ( https://www.chictr.org.cn . Registration number ChiCTR2300071396, Weiwei Cai, 15 May 2023).

Regulating the electronic structure of metal-organic frameworks via ion-exchanged Ir dispersion for robust overall water splitting.

A facile ion exchange strategy to fabricate CoIrx-BDC with atomically dispersed Ir is developed towards overall water splitting. The optimized CoIr3-BDC requires only 12 and 81 mV to deliver 10 and 100 mA cm-2 alkaline HER, respectively, and only 245 mV to reach 100 mA cm-2 alkaline OER.

Watch out for the healthy trap! How food flavor influences healthiness evaluations and consumption.

Flavors are extensively used in food products to attract consumers, driving purchases successfully. But how do these flavors influence consumers' calorie estimation and healthiness evaluation? In a series of four behavioral experiments, we formally examine the effect of flavor information on consumer food healthiness evaluations and behavioral responses. We find that when a base food contains a healthy flavor (vs. unhealthy flavor), consumers perceive the food to be lower (vs. higher) in calories and healthier and are more likely to purchase such flavored food. In addition, such flavor-healthiness evaluation effect as a heuristic is attenuated when consumers are aware of this effect, and the indirect effect of calorie estimation on purchase intention is magnified among consumers with high dieting tendency. These findings shed light on how flavor information shapes consumers' responses to flavored food, contribute to food consumption-related literature, and provide practical implications for consumers and policymakers.