Cover Image

The cover image is based on the Research Article Observer‐Based Cooperative Distributed Fault‐tolerant Model Predictive Control with Imperfect Network Communication and Asynchronous Measurements by Guannan Xiao and Fei Liu, https://doi.org/10.1002/rnc.4994 .

     

Microenvironment and related genes predict outcomes of patients with cervical cancer: evidence from TCGA and bioinformatic analysis

Cervical cancer (CESC) is one of the most common cancers and affects the female genital tract. Consistent HPV infection status has been determined to be a vital cause of tumorigenesis. HPV infection may induce changes to the immune system and limit the host’s immune response. Immunotherapy is therefore essential to improving the overall survival of both locally advanced and recurrent CESC patients. Using 304 relevant samples from TCGA, we assessed immune cell function in CESC patients to better understand the status of both tumor micro-environment cells and immune cells in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, and PPI network construction were performed to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The analysis identified 425 DEGs, which included 295 up-regulated genes and 130 down-regulated genes. We established that upregulation of CCL5 was correlated with significantly better survival, meaning that CCL5 expression could serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for CESC patients. We further focused on CCL5 as a hub gene in CESC, as it had significant correlations with increased numbers of several types of immune cells. Cell-type fractions of M1 macrophages were significantly higher in the high-immune-scores group, which was associated with better overall survival. Finally, we concluded that CCL5 is a promising prognostic biomarker for CESC, as well as a novel chemotherapeutic target.     

Anchoring single Pt atoms on hollow Ag3VO4 spheres for improved activity towards photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction

The high cost of noble metal catalysts has been a great bottleneck for the catalyst industry. Using the noble metal at a single-atom level for catalytic applications could dramatically decrease the cost. The impacts of single Pt atoms on the photocatalytic performance of Ag₃VO₄ have been investigated and reported. In this report, single Pt atoms were anchored on the surface of Ag₃VO₄ (AVO) as a cocatalyst, and the resultant composite photocatalyst has been studied for photocatalytic H₂ production from water driven by visible light. The as-prepared AVO particles are hollow nanospheres in the monoclinic phase with a bandgap of 2.20 eV. The light absorption edge of AVO/Pt is slightly red-shifted compared to that of the pristine AVO, indicating more visible light absorption of AVO/Pt. The XPS peaks of Ag, V, and Pt exhibit a significant shift after AVO and Pt get into contact, suggesting the strong interaction between the surface Ag and V atoms, and single Pt atoms. After 3-h illumination, the photocatalytic H₂ evolution amount from AVO/Pt is improved up to 1400 μmol, which is 2.8 times that on the bare AVO. Such efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution on AVO/Pt is still maintained after five reaction cycles. The better photocatalytic performance of AVO/Pt has been attributed to the more efficient visible light utilization and the lower interfacial charge transfer resistance, as demonstrated in the DRS and EIS spectra. The presence of the surface Pt atoms also leads to a higher amount of reactive radicals, which could efficiently promote the surface redox reactions.     

A first-principles investigation on mechanical and metallic properties of titanium carbides under pressure

The titanium carbides are potential candidates to achieve both high hardness and refractory property. We carried out a structural search for titanium carbides at three pressures of 0 GPa, 30 GPa and 50 GPa. A phase diagram of the Ti-C system at 0 K was obtained by elucidating formation enthalpies as a function of compositions, and their mechanical and metallic properties of titanium carbides were investigated systematically. We also discussed the relation of titanium concentration to the both mechanical and metallic properties of titanium carbides. It has been found that the average valence electron density and tractility improved at higher concentrations of titanium, while the degree of covalent bonding directionality decreased. To this effect, the hardness of titanium carbide decreases as the content of titanium increases. Our results indicated that the titanium content significantly affected the metallic properties of the Ti-C system.     

溪洛渡水电站导流洞布置设计

溪洛渡水电站施工期采用左、右岸各布置3条导流洞的施工导流方案,无论是导流洞规模、单洞泄流量还是导流洞断面尺寸均居国内已建和在建导流洞的前列,特别是6条大断面尺寸的导流洞布置规模,在世界上位居首位。本文简要介绍了溪洛渡导流洞布置设计情况。     

铝合金热轧板锭熔铸技术及设备

本文概述了近年来铝合金热轧板锭的熔铸设备和熔铸技术的发展和最新成就，重点介绍晶粒细化、熔体净化、检测及铸造新技术，为国内铝板带企业跟踪国际铝合金板锭熔铸技术、开展技术攻关和进行技术创新提供有益的参考。     

现场总线在冶炼烟气制酸系统中的应用实践

分析了冶炼烟气制酸工艺的特点，介绍了由PROFIBUS-DP现场总线构建的冶炼厂烟气制酸监控系统，详细介绍了其硬件配置及相应的软件设计。     

二极管侧面抽运薄片激光器耦合系统研究

设计了二极管侧面抽运Nd:YAG薄片激光器,耦合系统由消像差透镜组和空心光波导组成,对二极管快轴和慢轴方向的抽运光进行压缩和均匀化.采用光线追迹法,同时考虑二极管在快轴和慢轴方向的发散特性及薄片侧面的散射特性,模拟并分析了光线在耦合系统内的传输和薄片内抽运光分布的规律.模拟结果表明耦合系统具有98.1%的耦合效率,同时薄片内具有理想的抽运光分布.     

基于AD9851的高频高压脉冲发生器设计

当前脉冲发生器里的脉冲形成器件,大部分是用火花气隙（spark gap）和高压电子开关（high voltageswitch）.采用火花气隙充当脉冲形成器件有很多弊病：（1）火花气隙在低于1kV时,在机械和电气上不稳定,所以对低于2kV的试验电压要通过分压器来得到.