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Focused on the attractive emerging field of micro-/nanorobot swarms (microswarms). It introduces fundamental understandings of various microswarms, including pattern generation, transformation, locomotion, and imaging. This book also demonstrates applications of micro-/nanorobot swarms in different fields, such as biomedical, environmental, and electrical applications. The detailed theoretical analysis and experimental demonstrations in this book provide readers ranging from students to researchers with a realistic picture of progress achieved in the field of micro-/nanorobot swarms.

With the satisfaction of material basis, people have paid more attention to the spiritual field, and psychological treatment has attracted more people’s attention. As an important form of psychological treatment, art therapy plays an important role in regulating psychology. As the group with a high frequency of psychological problems, contemporary teenagers should be the main target of social attention. As an effective healing method that is more easily accepted by teenagers, art therapy needs to be noticed by more people. This article focuses on painting therapy and summarizes the development of art therapy. At the same time, aiming at the Chinese youth group, summarizes the current situation of Chinese art therapy, and puts forward suggestions. This paper has conducted research in two aspects: Firstly, through case studies, the effectiveness of painting therapy was explored; Secondly, through a literature survey, the effectiveness of painting therapy on teenagers was explored, and the influence of different painting styles and different fields on the healing effect is explored. The research results show that painting therapy can effectively improve the psychological condition of teenagers, and natural art is the most effective form of painting for teenagers’ healing effect.

Northeast China is a prominent base for commercial grain production nationwide. Soil erosion, a primary cause of land degradation and grain yield decrease, has become an imminent issue and is still not well documented in Northeast China. Thus, a comprehensive assessment of soil erosion in Northeast China is essential for deepening our understanding of various geological and agricultural issues, such as control of regional water and soil losses, anti-degeneration attempts on black soil, preservation of land fertility, and safeguarding of national food security. Based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) models, this paper comprehensively assessed the water and wind erosion in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020 and analyzed the current situation, as well as the spatial and temporal evolution of soil erosion. The results suggest the following: (1) The degree of soil erosion in Northeast China was mainly slight, and water erosion was more severe than wind erosion. Water and wind erosion in bare land and grassland were more intensive than in cropland and forests. The Liao River Plain (LRP) has undergone relatively intensive water erosion, while the wind erosion in the Greater Kinggan Mountains Region (GKMR) was more intensive than in other sub-regions. (2) A slight intensifying trend of water erosion could be observed in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020, where the area of slight water erosion decreased and that of light and intensive water erosion increased. The water erosion in the Changbai Mountain Region (CBMR), the Sanjiang Plain (SJP), and the Songnen Plain (SNP) intensified, while the LRP has undergone slower water erosion than before. The water erosion in bare land and cropland intensified, while the water erosion in grassland and forests slowed down. Compared to the first decade (2000–2010), the second decade (2010–2020) in the timespan of study had a reversed trend of water erosion from intensifying to moderating, which means water erosion was alleviated. (3) A moderating trend in wind erosion could be found in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020, where the area of slight wind erosion increased and that of light, moderate, and intensive wind erosion decreased. The wind erosion in the LRP showed a pronounced decrease, and the wind erosion in bare land and cropland also considerably decreased. Compared to the first decade, the amount of wind erosion in the second decade decreased by 18.2%, but the rate in the second decade decreased slowly or even increased. These two facts indicate that wind erosion in Northeast China has alleviated, but this trend is gradually slowing down. Soil erosion is caused by multiple factors, such as climate, topography, soil, and human activities. This study provides important implications for our understanding of soil erosion control and management in Northeast China. In sub-regions with severe erosion, such as the LRP and the GKMR, we can adopt methods such as zero tillage, cross ridge tillage, and straw mulching according to the local characteristics of soil erosion to slow down the process.

This paper proposes a differential evolution algorithm with elite archive and mutation strategies collaboration (EASCDE), wherein two main improvements are presented. Firstly, an elite archive mechanism is introduced to make DE/rand/3 and DE/current-to-best/2 mutation strategies converge faster. Secondly, a mutation strategies collaboration mechanism is developed to tightly combine both strategies to balance global exploration and local exploitation. As a result, EASCDE can effectively keep population diversity in the early stage and significantly enhance convergence speed as well as solution quality in the later stage. The performance of EASCDE is verified by experimental analyses on the well-known test functions. The results demonstrate that EASCDE is superior to other compared competitors in terms of solution precision, convergence speed and stability. Moreover, EASCDE is also an efficient method in dealing with arrival flights scheduling problem.

Native MgO particles in Mg-alloy melts have been recently exploited as potential substrates for heterogeneous nucleation during solidification, leading to significant grain refinement of various Mg-alloys. However, our current knowledge of the nature of the native MgO particles is still limited. In this work, we study both the physical and chemical nature of the native MgO in commercial purity Mg and Mg-9Al alloy by means of advanced electron microscopy. We found that as oxidation products MgO aggregates exist in the alloy melt in three different forms: dominantly young oxide film, occasionally old oxide film and ingot skin, all consisting of discrete nano-sized MgO particles. Detailed analysis shows that the native MgO particles have an octahedral or cubic morphology, a nano-scale particle size and a log-normal size distribution. The mechanisms underlying the formation of the two types of MgO were investigated, and we found that octahedral MgO is formed by oxidation of Mg melt and cubic MgO by oxidation of Mg vapor. With a large lattice misfit with α-Mg, the native MgO particles are impotent for heterogeneous nucleation, but can be made effective for grain refinement.

An environmentally friendly phosphorous-nitrogen synergistic flame retardant, 6-monochloro-1,3,5-triazine-4-p-aminobenzenesulfonate-2-methylphosphinic acid dimethyl ester (CTSGP), was synthesized and applied to improve the thermal stability of cotton fabrics. The chemical structure of GTSGP was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the appearance of its group characteristic peaks indicated that the compound was successfully prepared. The flame retardant reacted with the hydroxyl groups of cotton fabrics to constitute covalent bonds that bunch firmly to the surface. The flame retardancy of the treated cotton fabrics was evaluated by the limiting oxygen index (LOI) and vertical flammability test. The results showed that the LOI value of cotton fabrics treated by CTSGP increased from 18.0 to 29.0%, the length of char residue was only 62 mm without after-flame time and after-glow time. The thermogravimetric and cone calorimetry test results showed that the char-forming ability of the treated cotton fabrics was significantly improved and the peak heat release rate decreased from 144.23 to 11.64 kW/m2. Besides, the mixed dyeing behavior of GTSGP and reactive dyes showed that the cotton fabrics can obtain the ideal color and flame retardant performance at the same time. The color fastness to wet rubbing of the flame-retardant/dyed fabrics reaches 4, and the softness is slightly improved compared with untreated cotton fabrics. The non-flammable nitrogen gas and organophosphate carbon layer generated by the treated cotton fabrics during combustion contribute to the flame resistance of fabrics.Graphic abstractA reactive phosphor-nitrogen flame retardant (CTSGP) was synthesized and applied to cotton fabrics to obtain excellent flame retardant property.

This study compared collegiate sprinters from two common admission routes in China to identify pathway-associated differences that may inform subsequent training for athletes entering via the Physical Education College Entrance Examination pathway. Twenty male collegiate sprinters were allocated to a Sports Independent Enrollment group and a Physical Education College Entrance Examination group, with ten participants in each. Participants completed isokinetic knee testing, drop jump tests, static balance tests, and drop jump electromyography assessment. Isokinetic outcomes were largely comparable between groups, although the Sports Independent Enrollment group showed faster time to reach peak torque in the nondominant-side knee extensors. In drop jumps, the Sports Independent Enrollment group demonstrated higher reactive strength, shorter ground contact time, greater leg stiffness normalized to body weight, and shorter propulsion duration. Electromyography patterns differed between groups across movement phases. Balance differences were mainly observed under the single-leg eyes-closed condition in unadjusted comparisons, but none remained significant after false discovery rate adjustment. Overall, between-group differences were more evident in rapid force production and neuromuscular control than in the magnitude of isokinetic strength. These findings provide practical targets for designing subsequent training priorities for athletes entering through the Physical Education College Entrance Examination pathway.

Population migration and urban traffic are two important aspects of the socioeconomic system. We analyze the trends of social production and resumption of life after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-influenced Spring Festival in 2020 with statistics on reported cases of COVID-19 from China's National Health Commission and big data from Baidu Migration (a platform collecting population migration data). We find that (1) the distribution of COVID-19 cases throughout mainland China has a specific spatial pattern. Provinces in eastern China have more reported cases than those in western China, and provinces adjacent to Hubei have more confirmed COVID-19 cases than nonadjacent provinces. Densely populated regions with well-developed economies and transportation are more likely to have cluster infection incidents. (2) The COVID-19 epidemic severely impacts the return of the migrant population in the Spring Festival travel rush, as demonstrated by the significant reduction in the return scale, along with the extended timespan and uncertainty regarding the end of the travel rush. Among 33 provinces, special administrative regions, autonomous regions and municipalities, 23 of them (approximately 70%) have a return rate below 60%. Hubei, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia have the lowest return rates (below 5%), whereas the return rates in Hainan and Shandong, 272.72% and 97.35%, respectively, indicate the best trend of resumption. Due to government regulations, the population return in densely populated and well-developed regions shows a positive trend. (3) The resumption of urban traffic is slow and varies greatly in different regions. The urban traffic conditions in 22 provinces and municipalities have a more than 60% level of resumption. Guizhou and Yunnan have the highest level of resumption of urban traffic, whereas Xinjiang, Hubei, and Heilongjiang have the lowest (29.37%, 35.76%, and 37.90%, respectively). However, provinces and municipalities with well-developed intercity traffic have a lower level of resumption, mainly because of regulatory methods such as lockdowns and traffic restrictions. The increased public awareness of epidemic prevention and the decreased frequency of outdoor activities are also two positive factors slowing the spread of the epidemic. (4) Time will be necessary to fully resume social production and life throughout China. Xining and Jinan have the highest levels of resumption, 82.14% and 71.51%, respectively. Urumqi and Wuhan are the cities with the lowest levels of resumption, only 0.11% and 0.61%, respectively. Currently, 12 of 33 provinces and municipalities have levels of resumption of more than 80%; among them, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Gansu have with the highest levels of resumption and have nearly resumed the 2019 levels of work and life, whereas Xinjiang and Hubei have the lowest resumption rates, only 0.09% and 7.57%, respectively. Thus, relevant government departments should focus more on densely populated and well-developed provinces and cities when applying epidemic prevention and work resumption methods. We reveal the general conditions of the epidemic and the population return scale across China, along with urban traffic conditions and the resumption of social production and life under COVID-19, providing a scientific basis for local governments to make further decisions on work resumption.

Activation of RIPK1 controls TNF-mediated apoptosis, necroptosis and inflammatory pathways 1 . Cleavage of human and mouse RIPK1 after residues D324 and D325, respectively, by caspase-8 separates the RIPK1 kinase domain from the intermediate and death domains. The D325A mutation in mouse RIPK1 leads to embryonic lethality during mouse development 2 , 3 . However, the functional importance of blocking caspase-8-mediated cleavage of RIPK1 on RIPK1 activation in humans is unknown. Here we identify two families with variants in RIPK1 (D324V and D324H) that lead to distinct symptoms of recurrent fevers and lymphadenopathy in an autosomal-dominant manner. Impaired cleavage of RIPK1 D324 variants by caspase-8 sensitized patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells to RIPK1 activation, apoptosis and necroptosis induced by TNF. The patients showed strong RIPK1-dependent activation of inflammatory signalling pathways and overproduction of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared with unaffected controls. Furthermore, we show that expression of the RIPK1 mutants D325V or D325H in mouse embryonic fibroblasts confers not only increased sensitivity to RIPK1 activation-mediated apoptosis and necroptosis, but also induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF. By contrast, patient-derived fibroblasts showed reduced expression of RIPK1 and downregulated production of reactive oxygen species, resulting in resistance to necroptosis and ferroptosis. Together, these data suggest that human non-cleavable RIPK1 variants promote activation of RIPK1, and lead to an autoinflammatory disease characterized by hypersensitivity to apoptosis and necroptosis and increased inflammatory response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as a compensatory mechanism to protect against several pro-death stimuli in fibroblasts. A dominantly inherited human autoinflammatory disease caused by mutations in RIPK1 is identified, and RIPK1 mutations that prevent caspase-8 cleavage sensitize cells to apoptosis, necroptosis and inflammation.

In the present work, a novel low-temperature heat-treatable recycled die-cast Al–Mg alloy was developed by adding Zn into non-heat-treatable Al–5Mg–1.5Fe–0.5Mn alloy. The results showed that Zn additions resulted in the formation of equilibrium phase T-Mg 32 (Al, Zn) 49 under as-cast condition, which can be dissolved into the α-Al matrix at a relatively low solution temperature (430 °C) and thus set the base for the low-temperature heat treatment. The mechanical test results indicated that Zn additions had a smooth liner improvement in the strength of all as-cast alloys and T6-state alloys with 1% and 2% Zn as its concentration increased but resulted in a sharp improvement on the strength of T6-state alloy when Zn concentration increased from 2 to 3%. TEM analysis revealed that the precipitate in T6-state Al–5Mg–1.5Fe–0.5Mn–3Zn alloy is η′ phase, rather than the widely reported T″ or T′ phase in other Al–Mg–Zn alloys with approximately same Mg and Zn concentrations. After the optimized low-temperature T6 heat treatment (solution at 430 °C for 60 min and ageing at 120 °C for 16 h), the Al–5Mg–1.5Fe–0.5Mn–3Zn alloy exhibits the yield strength of 321 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 445 MPa and elongation of 6.2%.