This paper presents an optimal switching strategy and a cost-effective hybrid configuration employing silicon (Si) IGBTs and silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs in a three-level active-neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converter for high-power off-board electric vehicle (EV) chargers. A three-stage switching scheme is proposed to achieve balanced current sharing and minimize switching losses over a wide load range. In addition, a cost-saving function (CSF) is introduced to quantify the total lifecycle cost of the converter utilizing hybrid parallel switch sets, encompassing both the initial device procurement cost and the operating cost arising from power losses over the system lifetime. The proposed CSF effectively identifies the optimal hybrid switch configuration for the ANPC converter. PLECS simulations using actual device data and characteristics from multiple suppliers demonstrate that the proposed design achieves up to a 12.02% reduction in power losses compared with single-Si-switch designs and a 66.42% cost saving relative to all-wide-bandgap solutions, thereby providing an effective efficiency–cost trade-off for next-generation EV charging systems.
Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) is an economically valuable bast fiber crop, yet a high-quality full-length transcriptome reference for sex-divergent lines remains lacking. To fill this gap, we combined PacBio Iso-Seq with Illumina RNA-Seq to construct a full-length transcriptome for the gynoecious mutant GBN09 and compared transcriptomes of four tissues (leaves, bast fibers, stems, and flowers) between GBN09 and the androecious mutant GBN10. The analysis generated 63,082 high-quality isoforms and annotated 30,885 genes. Regulatory element mining revealed 565 transcription factors (predominantly IAA, AP2/ERF, and WRKY families), 16,617 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and 31,759 simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Transcriptomic comparisons identified 8414 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with the most profound transcriptional shifts in floral and young stem tissues. Enrichment analysis linked these DEGs primarily to linoleic acid metabolism, phytohormone signaling cascades, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, highlighting their roles in sexual differentiation. Furthermore, we detected 274 sex-biased differential alternative splicing (DAS) events, many of which mapped to cell wall biogenesis and core auxin signaling components such as AFB2 and NPY2. These results indicate that post-transcriptional modifications provide an additional regulatory layer during ramie floral sex differentiation. Validated by qRT-PCR, this dataset establishes a robust molecular resource and identifies candidate genes to elucidate sex differentiation and support molecular breeding in ramie.
This study employs short-cut carbon fibers of varying contents as the reinforcing phase and prepares Csf/C-ZrC-CuNi composites via spark plasma sintering. The effects of short-cut carbon fiber content on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and ablation resistance of the composites are systematically investigated, and the fiber toughening and synergistic protection mechanisms are analyzed. The results indicate that the introduction of carbon fibers significantly suppresses the cracking tendency of the composites after ablation and promotes the formation of Cu2O and NiO, both of which act as sintering aids to densify the ZrO2 oxide layer, thereby synergistically enhancing the ablation resistance of the composites. At a carbon fiber content of 10 wt.%, the composites exhibit optimal comprehensive performance: the lowest ablation center temperature (2268 °C), a mass ablation rate of 2.00 mg/s, a linear ablation rate of −3.20 μm/s, and a flexural strength of 53.1 MPa. This study provides experimental evidence for the compositional design and performance optimization of ceramic composite high-temperature thermal protection materials.
Fibrosis is a common pathological consequence of chronic tissue injury, characterized by persistent fibroblast activation, excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, and progressive impairment of organ function. Although classical fibrogenic pathways, particularly transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling, have been extensively studied, growing evidence suggests that metabolic adaptation is an essential component that supports the persistence of the fibrotic phenotype. Among metabolic pathways, enhanced glycolytic activity can support fibrotic remodeling in specific cellular contexts while also participating in adaptive or reparative responses depending on cell identity and disease stage. The glycolysis–lactate–lactylation axis links metabolic alterations with transcriptional reprogramming, immune regulation, and extracellular matrix remodeling. This review summarizes the roles of key glycolytic regulators, including GLUT1, HK2, PFKFB3, PFKM/PFKP, PKM2, LDHA, MCT1/4, and PDK1, across pulmonary, hepatic, renal, cardiac, and cutaneous fibrosis. We further discuss the interactions among glycolytic metabolism, TGF-β signaling, HIF-1α activation, YAP/TAZ-mediated mechanotransduction, and immune-metabolic communication, highlighting emerging therapeutic strategies and challenges in targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in fibrosis.
Al2O3–TiO2–CaO-based ferrotitanium slag is a waste slag generated during ferrotitanium-alloy smelting. At present, the TiO2 resource (about 15 wt.%) in ferrotitanium slag has not been effectively utilized. In this study, aluminothermic reduction was used to extract Ti and prepare a Ti–Si alloy, while the low-density Al2O3–CaO-based molten tailing slag floating on the Ti–Si melt was separated to fabricate CA–CA2 tailing-slag cement. The TiO2 content decreased from 14.42 wt.% in the ferrotitanium slag to 1.63 wt.% in the tailing slag. The Ti–Si alloy was mainly composed of Ti5Si3 and Ti5Si4. The mineral composition and hydration behavior of the CA–CA2 tailing-slag cement were similar to those of commercial calcium aluminate cement Secar71. Under the adopted preparation and testing conditions, the mechanical strength of the tailing-slag cement paste reached approximately 85% of that of Secar71, indicating its potential as an alternative refractory binder. The co-production of Ti–Si alloy and CA–CA2 tailing-slag cement provides a potential route for the value-added utilization of ferrotitanium slag.
