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Background Adult full-thickness cutaneous wound repair suffers from an imbalanced immune response, leading to nonfunctional reconstructed tissue and fibrosis. Although various treatments have been reported, the immune-mediated tissue regeneration driven by biomaterial offers an attractive regenerative strategy for damaged tissue repair. Methods In this research, we investigated a specific bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) sheet that was induced by the Traditional Chinese Medicine curcumin (CS-C) and its immunomodulatory effects on wound repair. Comparisons were made with the BMSC sheet induced without curcumin (CS-N) and control (saline). Results In vitro cultured BMSC sheets (CS-C) showed that curcumin promoted the proliferation of BMSCs and modified the features of produced extracellular matrix (ECM) secreted by BMSCs, especially the contents of ECM structural proteins such as fibronectin (FN) and collagen I and III, as well as the ratio of collagen III/I. Two-photon fluorescence (TPF) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) imaging of mouse implantation revealed superior engraftment of BMSCs, maintained for 35 days in the CS-C group. Most importantly, CS-C created a favorable immune microenvironment. The chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1) was abundantly produced by CS-C, thus facilitating a mass migration of leukocytes from which significantly increased expression of signature T H 1 cells (interferon gamma) and M1 macrophages (tumor necrosis factor alpha) genes were confirmed at 7 days post-operation. The number of T H 1 cells and associated pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages subsequently decreased sharply after 14 days post-operation, suggesting a rapid type I immune regression. Furthermore, the CS-C group showed an increased trend towards M2 macrophage polarization in the early phase. CS-C led to an epidermal thickness and collagen deposition that was closer to that of normal skin. Conclusions Curcumin has a good regulatory effect on BMSCs and this promising CS-C biomaterial creates a pro-regenerative immune microenvironment for cutaneous wound healing.

The dynamic system response curve (DSRC) has its origin in correcting model variables of hydrologic models to improve the accuracy of flood prediction. The DSRC method can lead to unstable performance since the least squares (LS) method, employed by DSRC to estimate the errors, often breaks down for ill-posed problems. A previous study has shown that under certain assumptions the DSRC method can be regarded as a specific form of the numerical solution of the Fredholm equation of the first kind, which is a typical ill-posed problem. This paper introduces the truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) to propose an improved version of the DSRC method (TSVD-DSRC). The proposed method is extended to correct the initial conditions of a conceptual hydrological model. The usefulness of the proposed method is first demonstrated via a synthetic case study where both the perturbed initial conditions, the true initial conditions, and the corrected initial conditions are precisely known. Then the proposed method is used in two real basins. The results measured by two different criteria clearly demonstrate that correcting the initial conditions of hydrological models has significantly improved the model performance. Similar good results are obtained for the real case study.

The comparative studies on micromorphological features in diagnostic horizons of Stagnic Anthrosols, Ustic Ferrosols and Ustic Vertosols in southwestern China were conducted to underpin the rationale for Chinese Soil Taxonomy. The following findings were explored： （1） Stagnic Anthrosols had the specific micromorphological features, e.g., the humic formation in anthrostagnic epipedon, the platy structures in plow subhorizon, the secondary formation of ferromanganese and the weakly optical-orientation clay domains in hydragric horizon, etc.： （2） The groundmasses of ferric horizon in Ustic Ferrosols appeared in hue of 2.5YR or redder, and had pellicular grain structure; （3） Ustic Vertosols had a crust horizon （Acr）, and crack structure dominated in Acr and angular blocky structure in disturbed horizon; （4） Because of the distinct differences in micromorphological features among these three soils, the specific micromorphological features might be employed as diagnostic horizons to differentiate soils while the quantifiable micromorphological features might potentially be selected as diagnostic indices for Chinese soil taxonomic classification.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the bottleneck that limits the energy efficiency of water-splitting. The process involves four electrons’ transfer and the generation of triplet state O 2 from singlet state species (OH - or H 2 O). Recently, explicit spin selection was described as a possible way to promote OER in alkaline conditions, but the specific spin-polarized kinetics remains unclear. Here, we report that by using ferromagnetic ordered catalysts as the spin polarizer for spin selection under a constant magnetic field, the OER can be enhanced. However, it does not applicable to non-ferromagnetic catalysts. We found that the spin polarization occurs at the first electron transfer step in OER, where coherent spin exchange happens between the ferromagnetic catalyst and the adsorbed oxygen species with fast kinetics, under the principle of spin angular momentum conservation. In the next three electron transfer steps, as the adsorbed O species adopt fixed spin direction, the OER electrons need to follow the Hund rule and Pauling exclusion principle, thus to carry out spin polarization spontaneously and finally lead to the generation of triplet state O 2 . Here, we showcase spin-polarized kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction, which gives references in the understanding and design of spin-dependent catalysts. Here, authors demonstrate the ferromagnetic catalyst to facilitate spin polarization in water oxidation reaction. They find the ferromagnetic-exchange-like behaviour between the ferromagnetic catalyst and the adsorbed oxygen species.

Principles of typical motion planning algorithms are investigated and analyzed in this paper. These algorithms include traditional planning algorithms, classical machine learning algorithms, optimal value reinforcement learning, and policy gradient reinforcement learning. Traditional planning algorithms investigated include graph search algorithms, sampling-based algorithms, interpolating curve algorithms, and reaction-based algorithms. Classical machine learning algorithms include multiclass support vector machine, long short-term memory, Monte-Carlo tree search and convolutional neural network. Optimal value reinforcement learning algorithms include Q learning, deep Q-learning network, double deep Q-learning network, dueling deep Q-learning network. Policy gradient algorithms include policy gradient method, actor-critic algorithm, asynchronous advantage actor-critic, advantage actor-critic, deterministic policy gradient, deep deterministic policy gradient, trust region policy optimization and proximal policy optimization. New general criteria are also introduced to evaluate the performance and application of motion planning algorithms by analytical comparisons. The convergence speed and stability of optimal value and policy gradient algorithms are specially analyzed. Future directions are presented analytically according to principles and analytical comparisons of motion planning algorithms. This paper provides researchers with a clear and comprehensive understanding about advantages, disadvantages, relationships, and future of motion planning algorithms in robots, and paves ways for better motion planning algorithms in academia, engineering, and manufacturing.

Producing hydrogen by water electrolysis suffers from the kinetic barriers in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that limits the overall efficiency. With spin-dependent kinetics in OER, to manipulate the spin ordering of ferromagnetic OER catalysts (e.g., by magnetization) can reduce the kinetic barrier. However, most active OER catalysts are not ferromagnetic, which makes the spin manipulation challenging. In this work, we report a strategy with spin pinning effect to make the spins in paramagnetic oxyhydroxides more aligned for higher intrinsic OER activity. The spin pinning effect is established in oxide FM /oxyhydroxide interface which is realized by a controlled surface reconstruction of ferromagnetic oxides. Under spin pinning, simple magnetization further increases the spin alignment and thus the OER activity, which validates the spin effect in rate-limiting OER step. The spin polarization in OER highly relies on oxyl radicals (O∙) created by 1 st dehydrogenation to reduce the barrier for subsequent O-O coupling. Water oxidation to triplet oxygen requires a spin polarization process for faster kinetics. Here, the authors show an interface spin pinning effect between ferromagnetic oxides and reconstructed oxyhydroxide surface layer, where the spin ordering in paramagnetic oxyhydroxide catalyst layer can be tuned to improve the intrinsic activity.

Smart home devices have great potential to improve the quality of life and independence of older people, positively impacting their health, safety, and comfort. However, Chinese research in this field is still in its early stages. Therefore, more comprehensive and in-depth studies are needed to comprehend the various aspects influencing the acceptance and use of smart homes by older users. This study adopted the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and included perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, usage intention, intergenerational technology support, perceived value, and perceived risk as extension variables to delve deeper into the behavioral intentions of older users in smart home services. The study used a convenience sampling method to randomly distribute 236 questionnaires among older adults over the age of 60 in the school's community and neighboring urban communities who have experience in smart home use and who can complete human-computer interactions either independently or with the help of others, mainly focusing on the four sections: user characteristics, family situation, experience of use, and usage intention. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) and factor analysis to analyze the completion of questionnaires. Finally, we conducted a validation analysis of the rationality and scientificity of the model and derived the six dimensions of the model of the influencing factors on the use of smart home products by the elderly and the weight sizes of their corresponding 13 influencing factors. The results show that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a positive effect on users' intention to use smart homes. Perceived ease of use has a positive effect on the perceived usefulness of smart homes. In addition, intergenerational technology support, perceived value, and perceived risk impact users' perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the smart home. This research aims to describe the factors influencing older users' willingness to use smart homes. The findings are not only significant for the elderly in China but also of broad value to other regions and countries facing similar demographic challenges. The development of smart homes not only involves the elderly but is also closely related to all segments of society. The government should increase policy support and guide more social forces to participate in the development of the smart home industry. Service providers and designers should fully understand the demand situation and user experience of target users to develop easy-to-use smart home solutions. At the same time, smart homes, as intelligent products for the elderly, need to focus not only on the basic needs of the elderly such as material life and home safety, but also on the spiritual needs of elderly users. Children or caregivers should always pay attention to the psychological state of the elderly and actively guide them to use smart homes to help them realize their self-worth. We look forward to more research focusing on this area in the future and further exploring the specific issues and solutions involved.

Electrocaloric effect driven by electric fields displays great potential in realizing highly efficient solid-state refrigeration. Nevertheless, most known electrocaloric materials exhibit relatively poor cooling performance near room temperature, which hinders their further applications. The emerging family of hybrid perovskite ferroelectrics, which exhibits superior structural diversity, large heat exchange and broad property tenability, offers an ideal platform. Herein, we report an exceptionally large electrocaloric effect near room temperature in a designed hybrid perovskite ferroelectric [(CH 3 ) 2 CHCH 2 NH 3 ] 2 PbCl 4 , which exhibits a sharp first-order phase transition at 302 K, superior spontaneous polarization (>4.8 μ C/cm 2 ) and relatively small coercive field (<15 kV/cm). Strikingly, a large isothermal entropy change Δ S of 25.64 J/kg/K and adiabatic temperature change Δ T of 11.06 K under a small electric field Δ E of 29.7 kV/cm at room temperature are achieved, with giant electrocaloric strengths of isothermal Δ S /Δ E of 0.86 J·cm/kg/K/kV and adiabatic Δ T /Δ E of 370 mK·cm/kV, which is larger than those of traditional ferroelectrics. This work presents a general approach to the design of hybrid perovskite ferroelectrics, as well as provides a family of candidate materials with potentially prominent electrocaloric performance for room temperature solid-state refrigeration. Most known electrocaloric materials show relatively poor cooling performance near room temperature, hindering their applications. Here, the authors achieve large electrocaloric effect near room temperature in a hybrid perovskite ferroelectric, useful for high-performance solid-state refrigeration.

This paper investigates the observer-based consensus control problem for linear parameter-varying (LPV) multi-agent systems (MASs) with unknown inputs. Firstly, an interval observer (IO) is designed to generate the state interval estimation for each agent. Secondly, an algebraic relationship is established between the system state and unknown input (UI). Thirdly, an unknown input observer (UIO) capable of generating estimates of UI and the system state has been developed through the algebraic relations. Finally, a UIO-based distributed control protocol scheme is proposed to realize the consensus of the MASs. In the end, to verify the validity of the proposed method, an example of a numerical simulation is given.

Braiding Majorana zero modes is essential for fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. Iron-based superconductors with nontrivial band topology have recently emerged as a surprisingly promising platform for creating distinct Majorana zero modes in magnetic vortices in a single material and at relatively high temperatures. The magnetic field-induced Abrikosov vortex lattice makes it difficult to braid a set of Majorana zero modes or to study the coupling of a Majorana doublet due to overlapping wave functions. Here we report the observation of the proposed quantum anomalous vortex with integer quantized vortex core states and the Majorana zero mode induced by magnetic Fe adatoms deposited on the surface. We observe its hybridization with a nearby field-induced Majorana vortex in iron-based superconductor FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 . We also observe vortex-free Yu-Shiba-Rusinov bound states at the Fe adatoms with a weaker coupling to the substrate, and discover a reversible transition between Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states and Majorana zero mode by manipulating the exchange coupling strength. The dual origin of the Majorana zero modes, from magnetic adatoms and external magnetic field, provides a new single-material platform for studying their interactions and braiding in superconductors bearing topological band structures. Braiding Majorana modes is essential for topological quantum computing, but it remains difficult to find a suitable platform. Here, the authors report the evidence of hybridization between field-induced and magnetic adatom induced Majorana modes in an iron-based superconductor FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 , providing a possible single-material platform for braiding Majorana modes.