Study on the Attribute Characteristics of Road Cracks Detected by Ground-Penetrating Radar.

Cracks are a common form of road distress that can significantly impact pavement integrity. Accurate detection of the attribute characteristics of cracks, including the type, location (top and bottom), width, and orientation, is crucial for effective repair and treatment. This study combines numerical simulations with filed data to investigate how the amplitudes of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) early-time signals (ETSs) vary with changes in the crack top and width, as well as how variations in the crack bottom impact radar reflected wave amplitude.

Genome-wide identification and salt stress expression analysis of the PLATZ transcription factor genes in .

The PLATZ (Plant AT rich protein and zinc binding protein) transcription factor, which is a type of plant specific zinc dependent DNA binding protein, participates in regulating the process of plant growth and environmental stress responses. In order to clarify the characteristics of the family genes in birch (), the members of the family were screened and analyzed in this study. Totals of ten genes were identified in birch genome and classified into five groups base on phylogenetic relationship, genes in the same group usually possess a similar motif composition, exon or intron number.

Birch (Betula platyphylla) BES/BZR transcription factor BpBZR1-6 improves salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Salt stress is one of the major environmental factors affecting plant growth and productivity. BRI1-EMS suppressor 1/brassinazole-resistant 1 ((BES1/BZR1) plays an important role in responding to abiotic stress in plants. Although the impacts of BES1/BZR1 on plant growth and resistance have been documented, the potential mechanisms are not fully elucidated in Betula platyphylla.

Decoupling the influence of NO in flue gas on the application of nano-amorphous selenium for mercury removal.

Nitrogen oxides are inevitable hazardous components in coal-fired flue gas. This study designed a series of experiments and combined theoretical calculations to systematically investigate the effect of NO on the removal of element mercury (Hg) by nano-amorphous selenium (nano-a-Se). It was found that the impact of NO on the removal of Hg by nano-a-Se primarily involves two mechanisms: competitive adsorption between NO and Hg, and the induced reduction effect of NO on chemisorbed mercury (HgSe).

Quasi-Van der Waals Epitaxial Growth of γ'-GaSe Nanometer-Thick Films on GaAs(111)B Substrates.

GaSe is an important member of the post-transition-metal chalcogenide family and is an emerging two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor material. Because it is a van der Waals material, it can be fabricated into atomic-scale ultrathin films, making it suitable for the preparation of compact, heterostructure devices. In addition, GaSe possesses unusual optical and electronic properties, such as a shift from an indirect-bandgap single-layer film to a direct-bandgap bulk material, rare intrinsic p-type conduction, and nonlinear optical behaviors.

A Solvent Exchange Induced Robust Wet Adhesive Hydrogels to Treat Solid Tumor Through Synchronous Ethanol Ablation and Chemotherapy.

The treatment of tumors in developing countries, especially those with poor medical conditions, remains a significant challenge. Herein, a novel solvent-exchange strategy to prepare adhesive hydrogels for the concurrent treatment of tumors through synchronous ethanol ablation and local chemotherapy is reported. First, a poly (gallic acid-lipoic acid) (PGL) ethanol gel is prepared that can undergo solvent exchange with water to form a hydrogel in situ.

A portable microfluidic device for thermally controlled granular sample manipulation.

Effective granular sample manipulation with a portable and visualizable microfluidic device is significant for lots of applications, such as point-of-care testing and cargo delivery. Herein, we report a portable microfluidic device for controlled particle focusing, migration and double-emulsion droplet release thermal fields. The device mainly contains a microfluidic chip, a microcontroller with a DC voltage control unit, a built-in microscope with a video transmission unit and a smartphone.

Polariton design and modulation via van der Waals/doped semiconductor heterostructures.

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) can be supported in materials where the real parts of their permittivities along different directions are opposite in sign. HPhPs offer confinements of long-wavelength light to deeply subdiffractional scales, while the evanescent field allows for interactions with substrates, enabling the tuning of HPhPs by altering the underlying materials. Yet, conventionally used noble metal and dielectric substrates restrict the tunability of this approach.

Genome-Wide Characterization of Family Genes and Expression Analysis in Response to Osmotic Stress in .

The bHLH family, as a superfamily of transcription factors (TFs), has special functional characteristics in plants and plays a crucial role in a plant's growth and development and helping the plant cope with various stresses. In this study, 128 family genes were screened in the birch () genome using conservative domain scan and blast analysis. These genes are clustered into 21 subfamilies based on the phylogenetic tree construction and are unevenly distributed among the 14 birch chromosomes.

A novel compound heterozygous PEX1 variant in Heimler syndrome.

Heimler syndrome (HS) is a rare autosomal recessive hereditary disease that is caused by biallelic variants in peroxisomal biogenic factor 1 gene (PEX1), peroxisomal biogenic factor 6 gene (PEX6) or peroxisomal biogenic factor 26 gene (PEX26), resulting in intracellular peroxisomal dysfunction (PBDs). We report a patient with HS with a new compound heterozygous PEX1 variant. Exon sequencing was used to screen pathologic variants in the patient.

The molecular genetics of anterior segment dysgenesis.

Anterior segment dysgenesis is a severe developmental eye disorder that leads to blindness in children. The exact mechanisms underlying this condition remain elusive. Recently, an increasing amount of studies have focused on genes and signal transduction pathways that affect anterior segment dysgenesis;these factors include transcription factors, developmental regulators, extracellular matrix genes, membrane-related proteins, cytoskeleton proteins and other associated genes.

Correlation between sedentary activity, physical activity and bone mineral density and fat in America: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2018.

We compared the relationship between sedentary activity (SA) and physical activity (PA) with bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in the United States and found a negative association between SA and BMD and a positive association with body fat percentage. A positive association between PA and BMD and a negative association with body fat percentage. SA and PA are associated with changes in skeletal parameters and body fat percentage, and we aimed to investigate and compare the relationship between SA, PA and bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in men and women.

Dual-Mode Coupled Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Random Vibration Energy.

As a new energy harvesting technology, triboelectric nanogenerators are widely used for vibration mechanical energy harvesting. However, the current schemes ignore the composite characteristics of vibration, with problems such as utilization and low collection efficiency. In this paper, a random resonance cantilever beam triboelectric nanogenerator (RCB-TENG) with dual-mode coupled is presented, the working mode is a coupling form of in-plane sliding and vertical contact-separation that can effectively collect complex vibration energy in transverse and longitudinal directions.

RhoB affects colitis through modulating cell signaling and intestinal microbiome.

Background: The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is multifactorial, and diagnostic and treatment strategies for IBD remain to be developed. RhoB regulates multiple cell functions; however, its role in colitis is unexplored.

Results: Here, we found RhoB was dramatically increased in colon tissues of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and mice with DSS-induced colitis.

Video game treatment of amblyopia.

Amblyopia is visual impairment characterized by a structurally normal eye showing significantly lower visual acuity than the fellow eye. Traditional treatment of amblyopia includes patching the good eye to force the amblyopic eye to work during normal daily activities; however, this approach is are limited by low compliance. Recently, researchers proposed a new treatment for amblyopia: video game playing.

Establishment of a Ciliogenesis-Associated Signaling Model for Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Background: Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) represents the most prevalent inherited progressive kidney disorder in humans. Due to complexity of the genetic network behind the disease, the molecular mechanisms of PKD are still poorly understood yet.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop a ciliogenesis-associated gene network for PKD patients and comprehensively understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease.

Latest progress in the study of nanoparticle-based delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been harnessed to cleave a targeted DNA fragment via its Cas nuclease activity under the direction of guide RNA for rendering gene insertions, deletions, and point mutations in basic research and clinical applications. There are a number of vehicles, including lipofectamine, viruses, and nanoparticles, that can deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 system, but all these methods face numerous challenges during their application in life science contexts. Here, we focus on the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 via nanoparticles because this method has shown great advantages in terms of safety, simplicity and flexibility.

An infection-induced RhoB-Beclin 1-Hsp90 complex enhances clearance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Host cells use several anti-bacterial pathways to defend against pathogens. Here, using a uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) infection model, we demonstrate that bacterial infection upregulates RhoB, which subsequently promotes intracellular bacteria clearance by inducing LC3 lipidation and autophagosome formation. RhoB binds with Beclin 1 through its residues at 118 to 140 and the Beclin 1 CCD domain, with RhoB Arg133 being the key binding residue.

Enhanced Efficiency and Stability of Planar Perovskite Solar Cells Using a Dual Electron Transport Layer of Gold Nanoparticles Embedded in Anatase TiO Films.

Incorporating plasmonic nanostructures is a promising strategy to enhance both the optical and electrical characteristics of photovoltaic devices via more efficient harvesting of incident light. Herein, we report a facile fabrication scheme at low temperature for producing gold nanoparticles embedded in anatase TiO films, which can simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of n-i-p planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The PSCs based on rigid and flexible substrates with 0.

Exploiting Mechanistic Solvation Kinetics for Dual-Graphite Batteries with High Power Output at Extremely Low Temperature.

Improving the extremely low temperature operation of rechargeable batteries is vital to the operation of electronics in extreme environments, where systems capable of high-rate discharge are in short supply. Herein, we demonstrate the holistic design of dual-graphite batteries, which circumvent the sluggish ion-desolvation process found in typical lithium-ion batteries during discharge. These batteries were enabled by a novel electrolyte, which simultaneously provides high electrochemical stability and ionic conductivity at low temperature.

Enhancing Performance and Uniformity of Perovskite Solar Cells via a Solution-Processed C Interlayer for Interface Engineering.

Although some kinds of semiconductor metal oxides (SMOs) have been applied as electron selective layers (ESLs) for planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs), electron transfer is still limited by low electron mobility and defect film formation of SMO ESLs fabricated via low-temperature solution process. Herein, the C interlayer between TiO and (HC(NH)PbI)(CHNHPbCl) is prepared by spin-coating and low-temperature annealing for planar n-i-p PSCs. The resultant TiO/C ESL shows good surface morphology, efficient electron extraction, and facilitation of high-quality perovskite film formation, which can be attributed to the suitable nanosize and the superior electronic property of C molecules.

An annealing-free aqueous-processed anatase TiO compact layer for efficient planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells.

A facile aqueous-based fabrication scheme is developed for producing annealing-free anatase TiO (AF-TiO) films that exhibit efficient electron transport properties in planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). AF-TiO films are fabricated by spin coating on a substrate a colloidal solution of anatase TiO nanoparticles (NPs) prepared via a low temperature hydrolytic sol-gel method. The resultant AF-TiO films show low electrical resistance, high transmittance in the visible and near-infrared regions and facilitation of high-quality perovskite film formation, which can be attributed to their homogeneous surface morphology and nanocrystallinity.