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Integrated circuits are the core of a cyber-physical system, where tens of billions of components are integrated into a tiny silicon chip to conduct complex functions. To maximize utilities, the design and manufacturing life cycle of integrated circuits rely on numerous untrustworthy third parties, forming a global supply chain model. At the same time, this model produces unpredictable and catastrophic issues, threatening the security of individuals and countries. As for guaranteeing the security of ultra-highly integrated chips, detecting slight abnormalities caused by malicious behavior in the current and voltage is challenging, as is achieving computability within a reasonable time and obtaining a golden reference chip; however, artificial intelligence can make everything possible. For the first time, this paper presents a systematic review of artificial-intelligence-based integrated circuit security approaches, focusing on the latest attack and defense strategies. First, the security threats of integrated circuits are analyzed. For one of several key threats to integrated circuits, hardware Trojans, existing attack models are divided into several categories and discussed in detail. Then, for summarizing and comparing the numerous existing artificial-intelligence-based defense strategies, traditional and advanced artificial-intelligence-based approaches are listed. Finally, open issues on artificial-intelligence-based integrated circuit security are discussed from three perspectives: in-depth exploration of hardware Trojans, combination of artificial intelligence, and security strategies involving the entire life cycle. Based on the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the initial successful combination with integrated circuit security, this paper offers a glimpse into their intriguing intersection, aiming to draw greater attention to these issues.

Silicosis is the most prevalent and fatal occupational disease with no effective therapeutics, and currently used drugs cannot reverse the disease progress. Worse still, there are still challenges to be addressed to fully decipher the intricated pathogenesis. Thus, specifying the essential mechanisms and targets in silicosis progression then exploring anti-silicosis pharmacuticals are desperately needed. In this work, multi-omics atlas was constructed to depict the pivotal abnormalities of silicosis and develop targeted agents. By utilizing an unbiased and time-resolved analysis of the transcriptome, proteome and phosphoproteome of a silicosis mouse model, we have verified the significant differences in transcript, protein, kinase activity and signaling pathway level during silicosis progression, in which the importance of essential biological processes such as macrophage activation, chemotaxis, immune cell recruitment and chronic inflammation were emphasized. Notably, the phosphorylation of EGFR (p-EGFR) and SYK (p-SYK) were identified as potential therapeutic targets in the progression of silicosis. To inhibit and validate these targets, we tested fostamatinib (targeting SYK) and Gefitinib (targeting EGFR), and both drugs effectively ameliorated pulmonary dysfunction and inhibited the progression of inflammation and fibrosis. Overall, our drug discovery with multi-omics approach provides novel and viable therapeutic strategies for the treatment of silicosis.

Vegetation phenology can profoundly modulate the climate-biosphere interactions and thus plays a crucial role in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle and the climate. However, most previous phenology studies rely on traditional vegetation indices, which are inadequate to characterize the seasonal activity of photosynthesis. Here, we generated an annual vegetation photosynthetic phenology dataset with a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees from 2001 to 2020, using the latest gross primary productivity product based on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (GOSIF-GPP). We combined smoothing splines with multiple change-point detection to retrieve the phenology metrics: start of the growing season (SOS), end of the growing season (EOS), and length of growing season (LOS) for terrestrial ecosystems above 30° N latitude (Northern Biomes). Our phenology product can be used to validate and develop phenology or carbon cycle models and monitor the climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.

Urban and rural areas play an important role in the greenness change in China, despite exhibiting divergent landscape ecologies. Although recent studies have revealed an overall greening pattern in China, the relative contribution of urban and rural vegetation to nationwide greening trend and their driving mechanisms behind these changes remain poorly understood. Here, we first utilized a high-resolution land use/cover dataset (GlobeLand30) to establish a framework for distinguishing between urban and rural areas. We then assessed and compared the greenness changes in both urban and rural areas using multiple vegetation indices from 2000 to 2020. By employing Random Forest model and generalized linear model regression, we further investigated drivers behind the changes in urban and rural vegetation trends. Our results demonstrated a significant greening trend in China, and the greenness increased 13.71% from 2000 to 2020. Vegetation changes in both urban (+4.96%, 0.0011 yr −1 ) and rural areas (+14.25%, 0.0026 yr −1 ) have contributed positively to China’s greening trend, with their contribution being 11.3% and 88.7%, respectively. Urban core areas exhibited the largest trend magnitudes (0.0043 ± 0.0035 yr −1 ) among all the urban–rural subregions. Increased tree cover was identified as the primary driver of greening trends in both urban and rural areas, explaining 36% and 29% of the greening, respectively. However, the pathways of tree cover increase differed between urban and rural areas, with urban areas focusing on green space construction and rural areas implementing afforestation programs. In contrast, climate change and the CO 2 fertilization effect had a greater contribution to the greening trend in rural areas than in urban areas. Our study demonstrates the positive role played by both urban and rural areas in China’s greening trends and elucidates the underlying mechanisms driving these changes, highlighting the need for differentiated strategies in urban and rural areas for future vegetation restoration.

This study investigates the maximum temperature in tunnel fires under forced ventilation conditions by constructing a 1:10 scale experimental model and using numerical simulations. A dimensionless derivation of the maximum temperature is provided for the case where the fire source is at the end of the excavation tunnel. A correction factor for the maximum temperature prediction coefficient is suggested in situations when the fire source is situated in the center of the excavation tunnel. The results of the highest temperature in the experimental and FDS simulation results under different fire source conditions have a good fitting performance, and the correlation is 0.899 and 0.913. The effect of the forced ventilation outlet distance on maximum temperature was analyzed through wind flow and temperature field distributions. The study concludes that an optimal layout for the ventilation system is important, particularly by considering both the maximum temperature and the ventilation volume. This research addresses the gap in understanding maximum temperatures in excavation tunnel fires and offers valuable insights for fire suppression strategies, rescue operations, and the prevention of secondary disasters in such environments.

Butt welding is extensively applied in long-distance oil and gas pipelines, and it is of great significance to conduct non-destructive ultrasonic testing of girth welds in order to avoid leakage and safety accidents during pipeline production and operation. In view of the limitations of large transducer size, single fixed beam angle, low detection resolution and high cost of conventional ultrasonic inspection technologies, a 16-channel piezoelectric micro ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) array probe was developed through theoretical analysis and structural optimization design. After the probe impedance characterization, the experimental results show that the theoretical model can effectively guide the design of the ultrasonic transducer array, offering the maximum operating frequency deviation of less than 5%. The ultrasonic echo performance tests indicate that the average −6 dB bandwidth of the PMUT array probe can be up to 77.9%. In addition, the fabricated PMUT array probe has been used to successfully detect five common internal defects in pipeline girth welds. Due to the multiple micro array elements, flexible handling of each element, large bandwidth and high resolution of defect detection, the designed PMUT array probe can provide a good application potential in structural health monitoring and medical ultrasound imaging fields.

Aim: To explore clinical features and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg)-serocleared patients and identify risk factors associated with postoperative recurrence after curative hepatectomy. Methods: Patients who had undergone initial hepatectomy for HCC from January 2010 through December 2022. Clinicopathological data were compared between HBsAg-seropositive and HBsAg-serocleared patients. Furthermore, risk factors associated with early and late postoperative HCC recurrence (early and late recurrences (ER and LR), respectively) were analyzed for HBsAg-serocleared HCC patients treated by curative hepatectomy. Results: A total of 2184 consecutive patients undergoing initial hepatectomy for HCC were enrolled, including 339 (15.5%) HBsAg-serocleared and 1845 (84.5%) HBsAg-seropositive cases. Tumor characteristics were comparable between the two groups. After curative hepatectomy, the ER rate was lower in the HBsAg-serocleared group than in the HBsAg-seropositive group (16.2% vs 26.3%; p = 0.000). LR rates in the HBsAg-seropositive and HBsAg-serocleared groups were similar (8.3% vs 6.9%, respectively, p = 0.418). Multivariate analysis showed that among HBsAg-serocleared patients, Hong Kong Liver Cancer stage and microvascular invasion were risk factors associated with postoperative ER, while γ-glutamyl transferase level and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were associated with LR. Conclusion: HBsAg-serocleared and HBsAg-seropositive HCC patients exhibited similar tumor characteristics. Curative hepatectomy-treated HBsAg-serocleared HCC patients experienced a lower ER rate and better short-term (⩽3 years) overall survival (OS) rates than their HBsAg-seropositive counterparts. LR, very late recurrence, and long-term (4-, and 5-year) OS rates were similar between the two groups.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified over fifty loci associated with lung cancer risk. However, underlying mechanisms and target genes are largely unknown, as most risk-associated variants might regulate gene expression in a context-specific manner. Here, we generate a barcode-shared transcriptome and chromatin accessibility map of 117,911 human lung cells from age/sex-matched ever- and never-smokers to profile context-specific gene regulation. Identified candidate cis -regulatory elements (cCREs) are largely cell type-specific, with 37% detected in one cell type. Colocalization of lung cancer candidate causal variants (CCVs) with these cCREs combined with transcription factor footprinting prioritize the variants for 68% of the GWAS loci. CCV-colocalization and trait relevance score indicate that epithelial and immune cell categories, including rare cell types, contribute to lung cancer susceptibility the most. A multi-level cCRE-gene linking system identifies candidate susceptibility genes from 57% of the loci, where most loci display cell-category-specific target genes, suggesting context-specific susceptibility gene function. Multiple genetic loci are associated with lung cancer risk, but the underlying genetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, the authors perform single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq analyses of lung cells from ever- and never-smokers; they report candidate cis-regulatory elements that colocalise with candidate causal variants in lung cancer risk loci and potential susceptibility genes.

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) technology has been widely used as a reliable method to address alveolar bone defects. To improve the clinical effects of GBR approach, there have been attempts to develop barrier membranes with enhanced regenerative properties. However, modifying the material and structure of GBR membranes to integrate physicochemical properties and biological activity remains challenging. The aim of this study was to develop a novel functionally graded bilayer membrane (FGBM) with a gradient structure and composition, and to evaluate its osteogenesis promotion effect for GBR. By combining the phase inversion method and electrospinning method, functionally graded bilayer membranes (FGBM) with gradient structure and composition of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA), and gelatin were fabricated in this study. The physicochemical and biological properties of the prepared FGBM, including structural and morphological characterization, mechanical properties, biodegradation, cell behaviors, and osteogenic bioactivity, were comprehensively evaluated. The findings demonstrated the successful fabrication of PLGA/nHA/gelatin FGBM with an asymmetric structure, exhibiting enhanced hydrophilic, mechanical, and degradation properties. The incorporation of gelatin not only improved the biological integration, but also enhanced the binding affinity between electrospun fiber layer and phase inversion layer. The FGBM with a 30% nHA mass fraction and a PLGA/gelatin mass ratio of 1:1 exhibited excellent barrier function and osteogenic bioactivities and . This work demonstrated the potential of PLGA/nHA/gelatin FGBM in bone regeneration and provided valuable insight for the development of barrier membrane.

The piezoelectric MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) scanning mirrors are in a great demand for numerous optoelectronic applications. However, the existing actuation strategies are severely limited for poor compatibility with CMOS process, non-linear control, insufficient mirror size and small angular travel. In this paper, a novel, particularly efficient ScAlN-based piezoelectric MEMS mirror with a pupil size of 10 mm is presented. The MEMS mirror consists of a reflection mirror plate, four meandering springs with mechanical rotation transformation, and eight right-angle trapezoidal actuators designed in Union Jack-shaped form. Theoretical modeling, simulations and comparative analysis have been investigated for optimizing two different device designs. For Device A with a 1 mm-length square mirror, the orthogonal and diagonal static tilting angles are ±36.2°@200 VDC and ±36.2°@180 VDC, respectively, and the dynamic tilting angles increases linearly with the driving voltage. Device B with a 10 mm-length square mirror provides the accessible tilting angles of ±36.0°@200 VDC and ±35.9°@180 VDC for horizontal and diagonal actuations, respectively. In the dynamic actuation regime, the orthogonal and diagonal tilting angles at 10 Hz are ±8.1°/Vpp and ±8.9°/Vpp, respectively. This work confirmed that the Union Jack-shaped arrangement of trapezoidal actuators is a promising option for designing powerful optical devices.