Effect of different concentrations of surfactant on the wettability of coal by molecular dynamics simulation

Anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SDBS)at varying concentrations was selected to investigate the influence on the wettability of Zhaozhuang Coal by molecular dynamics simulation.Six groups of water/surfactant/coal systems with different concentrations were constructed.The influence of surfactant with different concentrations on the wettability of coal was concluded by analyzing various properties from the energetic behaviors to the dynamic characteristics.The results show that the interfacial tension decreases sharply and then rises slowly with the increase of SDBS surfactant concentration,obtaining that surfactants can obviously reduce the interfacial tension.The surfactant molecules could be detected at the water/coal interface through analyzing the system’s relative concentration distribution.In addition,the difference in the wettability of surfactants on coal surfaces is caused by the spatial distribution differences of alkyl chains and the benzene ring of the surfactant molecules.And the negative interaction energy between SDBS and the coal surface indicates that adsorption process is spontaneous.Furthermore,it is of great practical significance for improving the dust reduction effect and reducing the disaster of coal dust by exploring the effects of surfactant molecules on the wettability of coal.

Recent progress on magnetic-field studies on quantum-spin-liquid candidates

Quantum spin liquids（QSLs） represent a novel state of matter in which quantum fluctuations prevent the conventional magnetic order from being established, and the spins remain disordered even at zero temperature. There have been many theoretical developments proposing various QSL states. On the other hand, experimental movement was relatively slow largely due to limitations on the candidate materials and difficulties in the measurements. In recent years, the experimental progress has been accelerated. In this topical review, we give a brief summary of experiments on the QSL candidates under magnetic fields. We arrange our discussions by two categories： i） Geometrically-frustrated systems, including triangularlattice compounds YbMgGaO4 and YbZnGaO4, κ-（BEDT-TTF）2 Cu2（CN）3, and EtMe3 Sb[Pd（dmit）2]2, and the kagom′e system ZnCu3（OH）6 Cl2; ii） the Kitaev material α-RuCl3. Among these, we will pay special attention to α-RuCl3, which has been intensively studied by ours and other groups recently. We will present evidence that both supports and rejects the QSL ground state for these materials, based on which we give several perspectives to stimulate further research activities.

Neoadjuvant toripalimab plus axitinib for clear cell renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus:NEOTAX,a phase 2 study

The potential benefit of neoadjuvant toripalimab plus axitinib in cases with clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)and inferior vena cava tumor thrombus(IVC-TT)remains unclear.NEOTAX was a phase 2 study to investigate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant toripalimab plus axitinib in patients with ccRCC and IVC-TT(ChiCTR2000030405).The primary endpoint was the down-staging rate of IVC-TT level.Secondary endpoints included change in TT length,response rate,percentage change in surgical approach,surgical morbidity,progression-free survival(PFS),safety,and biomarker analyses.In all,25 patients received study treatment,44.0%(11/25)patients had a reduction in thrombus level,and none experienced an increase in Mayo level.The median change in tumor thrombus length was−2.3 cm(range:−7.1 to 1.1 cm).Overall,61.9%(13/21)patients experienced changes in surgical strategy compared with planned surgery,three patients experienced major complications.The median PFS was 25.3 months(95%CI:17.0-NE).The 1-year PFS was 89.1%(95%CI:62.7-97.2).No any of grade 4 or 5 treatment-related adverse event was identified.Biopsy samples of nonresponders exhibited increased T cytotoxic cell infiltration,but these cells were predominantly PD-1 positive.Biopsy samples of responders exhibited lower T helper cells,however,their subtype,regulatory T cells remained unchanged.In surgical samples of the TT,non-responders exhibited increased CD8T_01_GZMK_CXCR4 subset T cells.NEOTAX met preset endpoints proving that toripalimab in combination with axitinib downstages IVC-TT in a significant proportion of patients leading to simplification in the procedure of surgery.

Tectonic Evolution of Southeast Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Evidence from Geochronological Data and Paleontology of the Early Paleozoic Deposits in Inner Mongolia

In this study, we present detrital zircon U-Pb dating and paleontological data for the newly identified Ayadeng Formation in the northern margin of the North China Block(NCB) and Xibiehe Formation(molasse) in the Bainaimiao arc belt(BAB), which could provide strong evidence indicating the affinity of the BAB and the evolution of the southeast Central Asian orogenic belt(CAOB). Zircon U-Pb data of siltstone samples and paleontological data indicate the Ayadeng Formation dates back to the Early Ordovician. Although its location is near the NCB, its zircon age spectra and paleontology share a closer affinity with those of Tarim and NE Gondwana, as the U-Pb data suggest an age range of 490–2 192 Ma(peak age=629, 788, 965 and 1 935 Ma), and similar gastropod fossils are found in Tarim and NE Gondwana. The U-Pb ages of meta-sandstone samples in the Xuniwusu Formation indicate a shared inheritance with the Ayadeng Formation(before 440 Ma), and the U-Pb ages of sandstone samples in the Xibiehe Formation are concentrated, with age peaks centered at ca. 420 Ma. Fossil corals occur in these two formations, and their age components also indicate a collisional setting. Therefore, it is speculated that the BAB drifted away from Tarim or NE Gondwana during the Ordovician and became attached to northern NCB between 440–420 Ma as an exotic terrane. During the Early Paleozoic, there may have occurred a collision between an arc and a continental block.

Evidence for a Dirac nodal-line semimetal in SrAs_3

Dirac nodal-line semimetals with the linear bands crossing along a line or loop, represent a new topological state of matter. Here, by carrying out magnetotransport measurements and performing first-principle calculations, we demonstrate that such a state has been realized in high-quality single crystals of SrAs_3.We obtain the nontrivial ∏ Berry phase by analysing the Shubnikov-de Haas quantum oscillations. We also observe a robust negative longitudinal magnetoresistance induced by the chiral anomaly.Accompanying first-principles calculations identifies that a single hole pocket enclosing the loop nodes is responsible for these observations.

Depositional Responses to the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean Closure in the Central Area of the Great Xing’an Range: Insights into Thrust Faults and Foreland Basins

The Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean,which has been closing gradually from the west to the east beginning since the Late Paleozoic,was an important part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.It influenced the tectonic framework of Northeast Asia in the Mesozoic,especially the Late Mesozoic arc-basin system that is widely distributed in the Great Xing’an Range.However,the manner in which the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean affected the sedimentary basin development remains poorly understood.To address this issue,we conducted U-Pb dating of detrital zircon deposited sedimentary basins of the central Great Xing’an Range.By examining the possible provenances of the detrital zircon and the structural controls of the basins,we found that a key sedimentary unit was deposited around Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous.Its provenance was a felsic source in a back-arc setting of an active continental margin.The findings also suggest the existence of a unified geodynamic setting that affected the coeval development of basins in the northern Great Xing’an Range and the Yanshan fold-thrust belt along the northern margin of North China Craton.This research helps to better understand the complex tectonic processes which shaped the Northeast Asia during the Late Mesozoic.

Identification of immune cell infiltration pattern in diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy(DN)is now the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in the world.Inflammatory and immune responses play an important role in the pathogenesis of DN,but the specific mechanisms responsible for the development of this disease have yet to be fully elucidated.Numerous epidemiological and preclinical studies have shown that inflammatory response and immune response play an important role in the early stages of DN pathogenesis.

m6A RNA methylation-mediated HNF3γreduction renders hepatocellular carcinoma dedifferentiation and sorafenib resistance

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 3γ(HNF3γ)is a hepatocyte nuclear factor,but its role and clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)remain unclear.Herein,we report that HNF3γexpression is downregulated in patient HCC and inversely correlated with HCC malignancy and patient survival.Moreover,our data suggested that the HNF3γreduction in HCC could be mediated by METTL14-dependent m6A methylation of HNF3γmRNA.HNF3γexpression was increased during hepatic differentiation and decreased in dedifferentiated HCC cells.Interestingly,HNF3γdelivery promoted differentiation of not only HCC cells but also liver CSCs,which led to suppression of HCC growth.Mechanistic analysis suggested an HNF3γ-centered regulatory network that includes essential liver differentiation-associated transcription factors and functional molecules,which could synergistically facilitate HCC cell differentiation.More importantly,enforced HNF3γexpression sensitized HCC cells to sorafenib-induced growth inhibition and cell apoptosis through transactivation of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 expression,which are major membrane transporters for sorafenib uptake.Clinical investigation showed that patient-derived HCC xenografts with high HNF3γexpression exhibited a sorafenib response and patients with high HCC HNF3γlevels benefited from sorafenib therapy.Together,these results suggest that HNF3γplays an essential role in HCC differentiation and may serve as a therapeutic target and predictor of sorafenib benefit in patients.

Transfer learning: A new aerodynamic force identification network based on adaptive EMD and soft thresholding in hypersonic wind tunnel

The aerodynamic test in the pulse combustion wind tunnel is very important for the design, evaluation and optimization of aerodynamic characteristics of the hypersonic aircraft.The test accuracy even affects the success or failure of hypersonic aircraft development. In the aerodynamic test of pulse combustion wind tunnel, the aerodynamic signal is disturbed by the inertial force signal, which seriously affects the test accuracy of aerodynamic force. Aiming at the above problems, this paper innovatively proposes an aerodynamic intelligent identification method, that is the transfer learning network based on adaptive Empirical Modal Decomposition(EMD) and Soft Thresholding(TLN-AE&ST). Compared with the existing aerodynamic intelligent identification model based on deep learning technology, this study introduces the transfer learning idea into the aerodynamic intelligent identification model for the first time. The TLN-AE&ST effectively alleviates the problem of scarcity of training samples for intelligent models due to the high cost of wind tunnel tests, and provides a new idea for further implementation of deep learning technology in the field of wind tunnel aerodynamic testing. And this study designed residual attention block with soft threshold and dense block with adaptive EMD in TLN-AE&ST model. Residual attention block with soft threshold module can more effectively suppress the influence of instrument noise signal on model training effect. Dense block with adaptive EMD makes the deep learning model no longer a black box to a certain extent, and has certain physical significance. Finally, a series of wind tunnel tests were carried out in the Φ = 2.4 m pulse combustion wind tunnel of China Aerodynamic Research and Development Center to verify the effectiveness of TLN-AE&ST.

Development of the automatic navigation system for combine harvester based on GNSS

An automatic navigation system was developed to realize automatic driving for combine harvester,including the mechanical design,control method and software design.First of all,for the harvester modified with the automatic navigation system,a dynamic calibration method of the rear wheel center position was proposed.The control part included the navigation controller and the steering controller.A variable universe fuzzy controller was designed to the navigation controller,which used fuzzy control to change the fuzzy universe of input and output dynamically,that means,under the condition that the fuzzy rules remain unchanged,the fuzzy universe changes with the change of input,which is an adaptive fuzzy control method and can modify the control strategy in time.To realize the automatic navigation of the harvester,the decision result of the navigation controller based on the variable universe fuzzy control was input into the steering controller,and then the electric steering wheel was controlled to rotate.To test the performance of the designed automatic navigation system,the field experiment was carried out.When the combine harvester was navigating linearly at a speed of 0.8 m/s,the overall root mean square error(RMSE)of the lateral deviation was 5.87 cm.The test results showed that the system was designed could make the combine track the preset path smoothly and stably,and the tracking accuracy was at the centimeter level.

m6A RNA methylation-mediated HNF3γ reduction rendershepatocellular carcinoma dedifferentiation and sorafenibresistance

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 3γ(HNF3γ)is a hepatocyte nuclear factor,but its role and clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)remain unclear.Herein,we report that HNF3γexpression is downregulated in patient HCC and inversely correlated with HCC malignancy and patient survival.Moreover,our data suggested that the HNF3γreduction in HCC could be mediated by METTL14-dependent m6A methylation of HNF3γmRNA.HNF3γexpression was increased during hepatic differentiation and decreased in dedifferentiated HCC cells.Interestingly,HNF3γdelivery promoted differentiation of not only HCC cells but also liver CSCs,which led to suppression of HCC growth.Mechanistic analysis suggested an HNF3γ-centered regulatory network that includes essential liver differentiation-associated transcription factors and functional molecules,which could synergistically facilitate HCC cell differentiation.More importantly,enforced HNF3γexpression sensitized HCC cells to sorafenib-induced growth inhibition and cell apoptosis through transactivation of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 expression,which are major membrane transporters for sorafenib uptake.Clinical investigation showed that patient-derived HCC xenografts with high HNF3γexpression exhibited a sorafenib response and patients with high HCC HNF3γlevels benefited from sorafenib therapy.Together,these results suggest that HNF3γplays an essential role in HCC differentiation and may serve as a therapeutic target and predictor of sorafenib benefit in patients.