Effect of titanium on the sticking of pellets based on hydrogen metallurgy shaft furnace:Behavior analysis and mechanism evolution

Direct reduction based on hydrogen metallurgical gas-based shaft furnace is a promising technology for the efficient and low-carbon smelting of vanadium-titanium magnetite.However,in this process,the sticking of pellets occurs due to the aggregation of metal-lic iron between the contact surfaces of adjacent pellets and has a serious negative effect on the continuous operation.This paper presents a detailed experimental study of the effect of TiO2 on the sticking behavior of pellets during direct reduction under different conditions.Results showed that the sticking index(SI)decreased linearly with the increasing TiO2 addition.This phenomenon can be attributed to the increase in unreduced FeTiO3 during reduction,leading to a decrease in the number and strength of metallic iron interconnections at the sticking interface.When the TiO2 addition amount was raised from 0 to 15wt%at 1100°C,the SI also increased from 0.71%to 59.91%.The connection of the slag phase could be attributed to the sticking at a low reduction temperature,corresponding to the low sticking strength.Moreover,the interconnection of metallic iron became the dominant factor,and the SI increased sharply with the increase in re-duction temperature.TiO2 had a greater effect on SI at a high reduction temperature than at a low reduction temperature.

Influence of mineral species on oil-soil interfacial interaction in petroleum-contaminated soils

The mineral species in soils vary in a wide variety of places,thus resulting in the petroleumcontaminated soil(PCS)with complex characters.Thus,the research on the effect of mineral species on oil-soil interactions in PCS takes on a critical significance.In this study,the desorption and adsorption behaviors of aromatic hydrocarbons(Ar)on two minerals surfaces were examined.Meanwhile,the interfacial forces between minerals and Ar were studied and the sources of these forces were analyzed.Moreover,molecular dynamics(MD)simulations were conducted to gain insight into the interfacial interaction mechanisms.As revealed by the results of this study,in comparison with Qs-Ar(quartz sand,Qs),Mnt-Ar(montmorillonite,Mnt)contaminants required higher temperature and activation energies for thermal desorption(201.95 kJ·mol^(-1)vs.127.82 kJ·mol^(-1))The above difference was generated since the adhesive forces between Ar and Mnt surfaces were greater than those between Ar and Qs.As indicated by the analysis of the adhesion force sources,the van der Waals forces were responsible for facilitating oil adhesion to mineral surfaces,even though the electrostatic force prevented oil-mineral adhesion.Furthermore,the hydrophobic forces facilitated adhesion in 3 nm.The MD results demonstrated that compared with the Qs system,there existed larger binding energies between Ar and Mnt,a lower diffusion coefficient for Ar on the Mnt surface,as well as more significant adsorption of Ar on Mnt.In general,the different mineral species affect the strength of the interaction at the oil-soil interface,which is a guideline for proposing targeted oil-soil separation measures.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence generated content

Artificial intelligence generated content(AIGC)has been a research hotspot in the field of artificial intelligence in recent years.It is expected to replace humans in performing some of the work of content generation at a low cost and a high volume,such as music,painting,multimodal content generation,news articles,summary reports,stock commentary summaries,and even content and digital people generated in the meta-universe.AIGC provides a new technical path for the development and implementation of AI in the future.

DNA N^6-methyladenine demethylase ALKBH1 enhances osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs

ALKBH1 was recently discovered as a demethylase for DNA N6-methyladenine （N6-mA）, a new epigenetic modification, and interacts with the core transcriptional pluripotency network of embryonic stem cells. However, the role of ALKBH1 and DNA N6-mA in regulating osteogenic differentiation is largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of ALKBH1 in human mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） was upregulated during osteogenic induction. Knockdown of ALKBH1 increased the genomic DNA N6-mA levels and significantly reduced the expression of osteogenic-related genes, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization. ALKBHl-depleted MSCs also exhibited a restricted capacity for bone formation in vivo. By contrast, the ectopic overexpression of ALKBH1 enhanced osteoblastic differentiation. Mechanically, we found that the depletion of ALKBH1 resulted in the accumulation of N6-mA on the promoter region of ATF4, which subsequently silenced ATF4 transcription. In addition, restoring the expression of ATP by adenovirus-mediated transduction successfully rescued osteogenic differentiation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ALKBH1 is indispensable for the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and indicate that DNA N6-mA modifications area new mechanism for the epigenetic regulation of stem cell differentiation.

Runxl protects against the pathological progression of osteoarthritis

Runt-related transcription factor-1(Runxl)is required for chondrocyte-to-osteoblast lineage commitment by enhancing both chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during vertebrate development.However,the potential role of Runxl in joint diseases is not well known.In the current study,we aimed to explore the role of Runxl in osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transaction(ACLT)surgery.We showed that chondrocyte-specific Runxl knockout(Runx1f/fCol2a1-Cre)aggravated cartilage destruction by accelerating the loss of proteoglycan and collagen II in early osteoarthritis.Moreover,we observed thinning and ossification of the growth plate,a decrease in chondrocyte proliferative capacity and the loss of bone matrix around the growth plate in late osteoarthritis.We overexpressed Runxl by adeno-associated virus(AAV)in articular cartilage and identified its protective effect by slowing the destruction of osteoarthritis in cartilage in early osteoarthritis and alleviating the pathological progression of growth plate cartilage in late osteoarthritis.ChIP-seq analysis identified new targets that interacted with Runxl in cartilage pathology,and we confirmed the direct interactions of these factors with Runxl by ChIP-qPCR.This study helps us to understand the function of Runxl in osteoarthritis and provides new clues for targeted osteoarthritis therapy.

MAPT as a predisposing gene for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the Chinese Han population

A previous study of European Caucasian patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis demonstrated that a polymorphism in the microtubule-associated protein Tau （MAPT） gene was significantly associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathogenesis. Here, we tested this association in 107 sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and 100 healthy controls from the Chinese Han population. We screened the mutation-susceptible regions of MAPT- the 3＇ and 5＇ untranslated regions as well as introns 9, 10, 11, and 12 - by direct sequencing, and identified 33 genetic variations. Two of these, 105788 A 〉 G in intron 9 and 123972 T 〉 A in intron 11, were not present in the control group. The age of onset in patients with the 105788 A 〉 G and/or the 123972 T 〉 A variant was younger than that in patients without either genetic variation. Moreover, the pa- tients with a genetic variation were more prone to bulbar palsy and breathing difficulties than those with the wild-type genotype. This led to a shorter survival period in patients with a MAPT genetic variant. Our study suggests that the MAPT gene is a potential risk gene for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the Chinese Han population.

A transformer generative adversarial network for multi-track music generation

This study proposes a new generation network based on transformers and guided by the music theory to produce high-quality music work.In this study,the decoding block of the transformer is used to learn the internal information of single-track music,and cross-track transformers are used to learn the information amongst the tracks of different musical instruments.A reward network based on the music theory is proposed,which optimizes the global and local loss objective functions while training and discriminating the network so that the reward network can provide a reliable adjustment method for the generation of the network.The method of combining the reward network and cross entropy loss is used to guide the training of the generator and produce high-quality music work.Compared with other multi-track music generation models,the experimental results verify the validity of the model.

Vertical Profiles of Volatile Organic Compounds in Suburban Shanghai

As Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs)are one of the precursors of ozone,their distribution and variable concentrations are highly related to local ozone pollution control.In this study,we obtained vertical profiles of VOCs in Shanghai’s Jinshan district on 8 September and 9 September in 2016 to investigate their distribution and impact on local atmospheric oxidation in the near surface layer.Vertical samples were collected from heights between 50 m and 400 m by summa canisters using an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).Concentrations of VOCs(VOCs refers to the 52 species measured in this study)varied minimally below 200 m,and decreased by 21.2%from 100 m to 400 m.The concentrations of VOCs above 200 m decreased significantly in comparison to those below 200 m.The proportions of alkanes and aromatics increased from 55.2%and 30.5%to 57.3%and 33.0%,respectively.Additionally,the proportion of alkenes decreased from 13.2%to 8.4%.Toluene and m/p-xylene were the key species in the formation of SOA and ozone.Principal component analysis(PCA)revealed that the VOCs measured in this study mainly originated from industrial emissions.

Machine learning phase transitions of the three-dimensional Ising universality class

Exploration of the QCD phase diagram and critical point is one of the main goals in current relativistic heavy-ion collisions.The QCD critical point is expected to belong to a three-dimensional(3D)Ising universality class.Machine learning techniques are found to be powerful in distinguishing different phases of matter and provide a new way to study the phase diagram.We investigate phase transitions in the 3D cubic Ising model using supervised learning methods.It is found that a 3D convolutional neural network can be trained to effectively predict physical quantities in different spin configurations.With a uniform neural network architecture,it can encode phases of matter and identify both second-and first-order phase transitions.The important features that discriminate different phases in the classification processes are investigated.These findings can help study and understand QCD phase transitions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

The role of externally-modulated electrostatic interactions in amplifying charge transport across lysine-doped peptide junctions

Many evolved biomolecular functions such as ion pumping or redox catalysis rely on controlled charge transport through the polypeptide matrix, which can be regulated by shifts in molecular protonation states and dependent supramolecular packing modes in response to environmental cues. However, the exact roles of such dynamic, non-covalent interactions in peptide charge transport have remained elusive. To tackle this challenge, here we report the modulation of charge transport in a series of lysine(Lys)-substituted hepta-glycine(Gly) peptide self-assembled monolayers(SAMs) on template-striped gold(Au^(TS)) bottom electrodes with eutectic gallium-indium(EGaIn) liquid metal top electrodes. We demonstrate systematic modulation of hydrogen bonding and more general electrostatic interactions by shifting the position of the charged Lys-residue and creating different protonation patterns by changing the environmental pH in the Au^(TS)/peptide//Ga Ox/EGa In junctions. The effective modulation is evidenced by current density-voltage(J-V) measurements combined with SAM characterization using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy(UPS) and angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(ARXPS), polarization modulation-infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy(PM-IRRAS), and molecular dynamics(MD) simulations. Decreasing the hydrogen bonding inside the peptide SAMs and increasing the electrostatic interactions by environmental counterions amplifies the charge transport differently with Lys-position, which means that the sensitive electrical response of peptide SAMs can be tuned by the peptide sequence. Our results provide insights into the relationship between molecular design and in situ modulation of charge transport properties for the development of bionanoelectronics.

Repurposing vitamin D for treatment of human malignancies via targeting tumor microenvironment

Tumor cells along with a small proportion of cancer stem cells exist in a stromal microenvironment consisting of vasculature, cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells and extracellular components.Recent epidemiological and clinical studies strongly support that vitamin D supplementation is associated with reduced cancer risk and favorable prognosis. Experimental results suggest that vitamin D not only suppresses cancer cells, but also regulates tumor microenvironment to facilitate tumor repression. In this review, we have outlined the current knowledge on epidemiological studies and clinical trials of vitamin D. Notably, wesummarized and discussed the anticancer action of vitamin D in cancer cells, cancer stem cells and stroma cells in tumor microenvironment, providing a better understanding of the role of vitamin D in cancer. We presently re-propose vitamin D to be a novel and economical anticancer agent.

The Interactions among DWARF10,Auxin and Cytokinin Underlie Lateral Bud Outgrowth in Rice

Previous studies have shown that DWARFIO （D10） is a rice ortholog of MAX41RMS1/DAD1, encoding a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase and functioning in strigolactones/strigolactone-derivatives （SL） biosynthesis. Here we use DIO. RNA interference （RNAi） transgenic plants similar to dlO mutant in phenotypes to investigate the interactions among DIO, auxin and cytokinin in regulating rice shoot branching. Auxin levels in node 1 of both decapitated DIO.RNAi and wild type plants decreased significantly, showing that decapitation does reduce endogenous auxin concentration, but decapitation has no clear effects on auxin levels in node 2 of the same plants. This implies that node 1 may be the location where a possible interaction between auxin and DIO gene would be detected. DIO expression in node 1 is inhibited by decapitation, and this inhibition can be restored by exogenous auxin application, indicating that DIO may play an important role in auxin regulation of SL. The decreased expression of most OsPINs in shoot nodes of DIO-RNAi plants may cause a reduced auxin transport capacity. Furthermore, effects of auxin treatment of decapitated plants on the expression of cytokinin biosynthetic genes suggest that DIO promotes cytokinin biosynthesis by reducing auxin levels. Besides, in DIO-RNAi plants, decreased storage cytokinin levels in the shoot node may partly account for the increased active cytokinin contents, resulting in more tillering phenotypes.

Effects of simulated microgravity on the alkaline phosphatase activity and intracellular calcium concentration of cultured chondrocytes

The effects of simulated microgravity on matrix mineralization of chondrocytes were examined using cultured chicken embryonic chondrocytes as the model. In four days, there was a time course decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity of chondrocytes, a marker of matrix mineralization.Meanwhile, in two days, there was a significant drop in intracellular calcium concentration in contrast to the control. These results indicate that simulated microgravity can suppress matrix calcification of cultured chondrocytes, and intracellular calcium may be involved in the regulation of matrix calcification as the second messenger.

Genomic footprints of Kam Sweet Rice domestication indicate possible migration routes of theDongpeople inChina andprovide resources for future rice breeding

The Dong people are one of China’s 55 recognized ethnic minorities,but there has been a long-standing debate about their origins.In this study,we performed whole-genome resequencing of Kam Sweet Rice(KSR),a valuable,rare,and ancient rice landrace unique to the Dong people.Through comparative genomic analyses of KSR and other rice landraces from south of the Yangtze River Basin in China,we provide evidence that the ancestors of the Dong people likely originated from the southeast coast of China at least 1000 years ago.Alien introgression and admixture in KSR demonstrated multiple migration events in the history of the Dong people.Genomic footprints of domestication demonstrated characteristics of KSR that arose from artificial selection and geographical adaptation by the Dong people.The key genes GS3,Hd1,and DPS1(related to agronomic traits)and LTG1 and MYBS3(related to cold tolerance)were identified as domestication targets,reflecting crop improvement and changes in the geographical environment of the Dong people during migration.A genome-wide association study revealed a candidate yield-associated gene,Os01g0923300,a specific haplotype in KSR that is important for regulating grain number per panicle.RNA-sequencing and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR results showed that this gene was more highly expressed in KSR than in ancestral populations,indicating that it may have great value in increasing yield potential in other rice accessions.In summary,our work develops a novel approach for studying human civilization and migration patterns and provides valuable genomic datasets and resources for future breeding of high-yield and climate-resilient rice varieties.

Expert consensus on pediatric orthodontic therapies of malocclusions in children

Malocclusion,identified by the World Health Organization(WHO)as one of three major oral diseases,profoundly impacts the dental-maxillofacial functions,facial esthetics,and long-term development of~260 million children in China.Beyond its physical manifestations,malocclusion also significantly influences the psycho-social well-being of these children.Timely intervention in malocclusion can foster an environment conducive to dental-maxillofacial development and substantially decrease the incidence of malocclusion or reduce the severity and complexity of malocclusion in the permanent dentition,by mitigating the negative impact of abnormal environmental influences on the growth.Early orthodontic treatment encompasses accurate identification and treatment of dental and maxillofacial morphological and functional abnormalities during various stages of dental-maxillofacial development,ranging from fetal stages to the early permanent dentition phase.From an economic and societal standpoint,the urgency for effective early orthodontic treatments for malocclusions in childhood cannot be overstated,underlining its profound practical and social importance.This consensus paper discusses the characteristics and the detrimental effects of malocclusion in children,emphasizing critical need for early treatment.It elaborates on corresponding core principles and fundamental approaches in early orthodontics,proposing comprehensive guidance for preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment,serving as a reference for clinicians engaged in early orthodontic treatment.

大气边界层内挥发性有机物的垂直观测方法及应用进展

总结分析了大气边界层内挥发性有机物(VOCs)的主要垂直观测方法与应用进展,着重对高层建筑物、系留气球、载人飞机、无人机和激光雷达等不同平台的VOCs垂直观测技术进行介绍,并对不同VOCs垂直观测平台的优缺点和主要应用场景进行归纳总结.同时,较为系统地总结了大气边界层内VOCs垂直观测的主要应用进展,着重对VOCs垂直分布特征的关键影响因素、排放通量计算、排放清单验证、光化学臭氧生成机制的垂直分布特征,以及夜间边界层内VOCs氧化降解的垂直分布特征等方面进行归纳总结.目前对于环境大气中VOCs化学过程的研究主要以地面观测数据为主,而获取大气边界层内关键VOCs组分浓度的垂直分布数据是深入解析区域大气二次污染成因机制的重要前提.

Effects of simulated microgravity on the cell growth and extracellular matrix of cultured chondrocytes

The effects of simulated microgravity on cell growth and extracellular matrix of chondrocytes have been examined by a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope using cultured chicken embryonic chondrocytes as the model. No notable difference of the cell density between the rotation group and the control group has been found. But during the same period,the growth spots of the rotation group were sparser than those of the control group. These results indicated that the lower level of cell development and differentiation happened in the rotation group. Observation by the scanning electron microscope showed that the extracellualr matrix decreased after rotating, and the fibres in the extracellular matrix were slighter and blurrier than those of the control group. It is concluded that the simulated microgravity can affect the secreting and assembly of the extracellular matrix. The possible mechanism for them is discussed.

GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF Na_(0.5)Bi_(0.5)TiO_(3)-K_(0.5)Bi_(0.5)TiO_(3)LEAD-FREE PIEZOELECTRIC CRYSTAL BY THE TSSG METHOD

The 0.96Na_(0.5)Bi_(0.5)TiO_(3)-0.04K_(0.5)Bi_(0.5)TiO_(3)(NKBT96/4)lead-free single crystal was successfullygrown by top-seeded solution growth method.The effective segregation coefficient for K was calculated to be 0.20.X-ray powder difraction measurement showed that the as-grown crystalpossesses rhombohedral perovskite structure at room temperature.X-ray rock curve measureindicated that the as-grown single crystal owned relatively higher quality.The NKBT96/4 singlecrystal exhibits apparent diffused dielectric behavior,where the diffusiveness index aαis 1.79 forthe[001]-oriented crystal planes.A notable thermal hysteresis,△T_(h),of 25℃was disclosed for thetetragonal antiferroelectric-tetragonal paraelectric phase transition in the dielectric propertystudies between heating and cooling.The highest remnant polarization,P_(r),16.8μC/cm^(2),wasobtained at 100℃.The electromechanical coupling coefficient k_(t)of the[001]-oriented crystalplanes at room temperat ure was determined to be 38%using resonance-antiresonance technique.The room temperature piezoelectric constant d_(33)reaches 120 pC/N.