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For pattern knots admitting genus-one doubly pointed bordered Heegaard diagrams, we give an immersed-curve approach to compute the knot Floer chain complexes of the corresponding satellite knots. In particular, this approach provides a convenient way to compute the knot concordance invariant τ . For patterns P obtained from two-bridge links b(p, q), we derive a formula for the τ -invariant of P (T 2 , 3) and P (- T 2 , 3) in terms of (p, q). We use this formula to study whether such patterns induce homomorphisms on the knot concordance group, providing a glimpse at a conjecture due to Hedden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intermediate vertebral collapse is a newly discovered complication of consecutive two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). There have been no analytical studies related to the effects of endplate defects on the biomechanics of the intermediate vertebral bone after ACDF. This study aimed to compare the effects of endplate defects on the intermediate vertebral bone biomechanics in the zero-profile (ZP) and cage-and-plate (CP) methods of consecutive 2-level ACDF and to determine whether collapse of the intermediate vertebra is more likely to occur using ZP. Methods: A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the intact cervical spine (C2–T1) was constructed and validated. The intact FE model was then modified to build ACDF models and imitate the situation of endplate injury, establishing two groups of models (ZP, IM-ZP and CP, IM-ZP). We simulated cervical motion, such as flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation, and compared the range of motion (ROM), upper and lower endplate stress, fusion fixation device stress, C5 vertebral body stress, intervertebral disc internal pressure (intradiscal pressure, or IDP) and the ROM of adjacent segments in the models. Results: There was no significant difference between the IM-CP model and the CP model in the ROM of the surgical segment, upper and lower endplate stress, fusion fixation device stress, C5 vertebral body stress, IDP, or ROM of the adjacent segments. Compared with the CP model, the endplate stress of the ZP model is significantly higher in the flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation conditions. Compared with the ZP model, endplate stress, screw stress, C5 vertebral stress and IDP in IM-ZP were significantly increased under flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation conditions. Conclusions: Compared to consecutive 2-level ACDF using CP, collapse of the intermediate vertebra is more likely to occur using ZP due to its mechanical characteristics. Intraoperative endplate defects of the anterior lower margin of the middle vertebra are a risk factor leading to collapse of the middle vertebra after consecutive 2-level ACDF using ZP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The injury of the annular ligament can change the stress distribution and affect the stability of the elbow joint, but its biomechanical mechanism is unclear. The present study investigated the biomechanical effects of different flexion angles of the annular ligament on elbow joint stability. Methods: A cartilage and ligament model was constructed using SolidWorks software according to the magnetic resonance imaging results to simulate the annular ligament during normal, loosened, and ruptured conditions at different buckling angles (0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120°). The fixed muscle strengths were 40 N (F1), 20 N (F2), 20 N (F3), 20 N (F4), and 20 N (F5) for the triceps, biceps, and brachial tendons and the base of the medial collateral ligament and lateral collateral ligament. The different elbow three‐dimensional (3D) finite element models were imported into ABAQUS software to calculate and analyze the load, contact area, contact stress, and stress of the medial collateral ligament of the olecranon cartilage. Results: The results showed that the stress value of olecranon cartilage increased under different conditions (normal, loosened, and ruptured annular ligament) with elbow extension, and the maximum stress value of olecranon cartilage was 2.91 ± 0.24 MPa when the annular ligament was ruptured. The maximum contact area of olecranon cartilage was 254 mm2 with normal annular ligament when the elbow joint was flexed to 30°, while the maximum contact area of loosened and ruptured annular ligament was 283 and 312 mm2 at 60° of elbow flexion, and then decreased gradually. The maximum stress of the medial collateral ligament was 6.52 ± 0.23, 11.51 ± 0.78, and 18.74 ± 0.94 MPa under the different conditions, respectively. Conclusion: When the annular ligament ruptures, it should be reconstructed as much as possible to avoid the elevation of stress on the surface of the medial collateral ligament of the elbow and the annular cartilage, which may cause clinical symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a lower bound for the double slice genus of a knot using Casson-Gordon invariants. As an application, we show that the double slice genus can be arbitrarily larger than twice the slice genus. As an analogue to the double slice genus, we also define the superslice genus of a knot, and give both an upper bound and a lower bound in the topological category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fox conjectured the Alexander polynomial of an alternating knot is trapezoidal, i.e. the absolute values of the coefficients first increase, then stabilize and finally decrease in a symmetric way. Recently, Hirasawa and Murasugi further conjectured a relation between the number of the stable coefficients in the Alexander polynomial and the signature invariant. In this paper we prove the Hirasawa–Murasugi conjecture for two-bridge knots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Close contact was first identified as the primary route of transmission for most respiratory infections in the early 20th century. In this review, we synthesize the existing understanding of the mechanisms of close contact transmission. We focus on two issues: the mechanism of transmission in close contact, namely the transmission of the expired particles between two people, and the physical parameters of close contact that affect the exposure of particles from one individual to another, or how the nature of close contact plays a role in transmission. We propose the existence of three sub‐routes of transmission: short‐range airborne, large droplets, and immediate body‐surface contact. We also distinguish a "body contact," which is defined with an interpersonal distance of zero, from a close contact. We demonstrate herein that the short‐range airborne sub‐route may be most common. The timescales over which data should be collected to assess the transmission risk during close contact events are much shorter than those required for the distant airborne or fomite routes. The current paucity of high‐resolution data over short distances and timescales makes it very difficult to assess the risk of infection in these circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People constantly move their heads during conversation, as such movement is an important non-verbal mode of communication. Head movement alters the direction of people's expired air flow, therefore affecting their conversational partners' level of exposure. Nevertheless, there is a lack of understanding of the mechanism whereby head movement affects people's exposure. In this study, a dynamic meshing method in computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate the head movement of a human-shaped thermal manikin. Droplets were released during the oral expiration periods of the source manikin, during which it was either motionless, was shaking its head or was nodding its head, while the head of a face-to-face target manikin remained motionless. The results indicate that the target manikin had a high level of exposure to respiratory droplets when the source manikin was motionless, whereas the target manikin's level of exposure was significantly reduced when the source manikin was shaking or nodding its head. The source manikin had the highest level of self-exposure when it was nodding its head and the lowest level of self-exposure when its head was motionless. People's level of exposure during close contact is highly variable, highlighting the need for further investigations in more realistic conversational scenarios. [Display omitted] • A fixed head position resulted in a target having the greatest exposure. • Head movement during expiration generated a sweeping expired jet. • A sweeping jet traveled a shorter distance than a non-sweeping jet. • Head-shaking and head-nodding reduced the exposure of the target manikin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped mesoporous carbons (NSMCs) have been fabricated through a facile template-mediated pyrolyzing method using poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) as sources of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C), ferrous sulfate(FeSO 4 7H 2 O) as both precursor of sulfur (S) and activation reagent along with nanoscaled silica as sacrificial supports. The composition, morphology, and microstructure of the products are characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen sorption analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It reveals that these NSMCs possess a BET surface area over 1064 m 2 g −1 and abundant mesoporous structure with pore size ranged from 4 to 20 nm. The atomic percentages of N and S functionalities are found to be 4.00 at.% N and 0.83 at.% S, indication of successful incorporation of both nitrogenand sulfur into carbon network. Benefiting from the aforementioned characteristics, these NSMCs show perfect supercapacitive performances, which have been demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry and constant-current charge/discharge cycling techniques. In 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 electrolyte, the specific capacitance (SC) of the as-prepared NSMCs electrode can reach 280 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g. Even at a high rate capability of 100 A/g, the NSMCs electrode still shows the SC value as high as 232 F/g, retaining 83% of that at 1 A/g. Also, the electrode exhibits excellent charge/discharge cycling stability, and no measurable capacitance losses is observed even after 5000 cycles, making them potentially promising for high-performance energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate and scientific inquiries regarding airborne transmission of respiratory infections such as COVID-19 and influenza continue. Health authorities including the WHO and the US CDC have recognized the airborne transmission of COVID-19 in specific settings, although the ventilation requirements remain to be determined. In this work we consider the long-range airborne transmission as an extended short-range airborne route, which reconciles the link between short- and long-range airborne routes. The effective short-range distance is defined as the distance in short range at which long-range route has the same volumetric exposure value as that due to short-range route. Our data show that a decrease in ventilation rate or room volume per person, or an increase in the ratio of the number of infected to susceptible people reduces the effective short-range distance. In a normal breathing scenario with one out of five people infected and a room volume of 12 m3 per person to ensure an effective short-range distance of 1.5 m, a ventilation rate of 10 L/s per person is needed for a duration of 2 h. Our results suggest that effective environmental prevention strategies for respiratory infections require appropriate increases in the ventilation rate while maintaining a sufficiently low occupancy. Demonstration of the long-range airborne route as an extended short-range airborne route suggests the significant role played by building ventilation in respiratory infection exposure. The reconciliation of short- and long-range airborne transmission suggests that the commonly observed dominance of close-contact transmission is a probable evidence of short-range airborne transmission, following a separate earlier study that revealed the relative insignificance of large droplet transmission in comparison with the short-range airborne-route. Existing ventilation standards do not account for respiratory infection control, and this study presents a possible approach to account for infection under new ventilation standards. [Display omitted] • Exposure deteriorates in poorly ventilated or/and crowded environments. • The link between short- and long-range airborne routes was reconciled. • Specific ventilation requirements for prevention purpose were developed. • Prevention strategies require increasing ventilation and maintaining low occupancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tailings pond is a dangerous source of man-made debris flow with high potential energy. The oxidative acidification of tailings may cause the instability of the pond and induce serious safety accidents. The influence of oxidation and acidification degree on macro mechanical properties of tailings is discussed from the aspects of mineral composition and microstructure. The results show that as the degree of oxidation and acidification of tailings sand increases, the overall structural performance and load-bearing capacity decrease, and its cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (φ) show a decreasing trend. In fact, the engineering properties of tailings with different oxidation and acidification degrees are dominated by the physicochemical composition and structural characteristics. On the one hand, as the degree of oxidation increases, acidic substance will neutralize with CaCO3 and CaMg(CO3)2, resulting in the loss of cemented substance and the decrease of cementation force between tailing sand particles as well as the gradual destruction of the integrity of tailing sand. On the other hand, the increase of oxidation and acidification degree of tailing sand leads to a gradual reduction of outline (2D) fractal dimension and gray surface (3D) fractal dimension of surface laminated structure as well as the obvious reduction of laminated structure and its roughness of tailings sand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rockburst is a common geological disaster in the process of deep rock excavation, and stress gradient is an important factor affecting rockburst. In this paper, the concept of “stress concentration” was proposed. The relevant data of a large number of engineering rockburst cases were statistically analyzed, and a new rockburst criterion of stress–strength ratio considering stress gradient of surrounding rock was established. The research results revealed that the rockburst criterion considering the stress gradient distribution of surrounding rock could effectively overcome the problem of non-uniform division of rockburst criteria in the traditional strength-to-stress ratio. It can fully reflect the influence of tunnel size effect on rockburst. There was a significant correlation between rockburst strength and stress gradient, and different rockburst strengths showed obvious zoning concentration phenomenon on the two-dimensional plane. The established rockburst criterion considering the stress intensity ratio of surrounding rock had strong applicability, and the prediction accuracy could reach more than 90%. The proposed rockburst criterion in this paper has certain theoretical and engineering guiding value for the early warning of underground engineering disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is emerging as a critical regulator in multiple cancers. Recently, lncRNA PCAT-1 was found to be up-regulated in prostate cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, exerting oncogenic effects. However, the biological function and regulatory mechanism of PCAT-1 remain unclear in osteosarcoma (OS). In this study, we reported that PCAT-1 expression was also upregulated in OS tissues, and its overexpression was remarkably associated with tumor size, Enneking stage, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage and metastasis in patients with OS. Knockdown of PCAT-1 suppressed OS cells proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro , and inhibited the tumorigenicity of OS cells in vivo . Mechanistic investigations revealed that PCAT-1 could interact with EZH2, thereby repressing p21 expression. Additionally, rescue experiments indicated that PCAT-1 functioned as an oncogene partly via suppressing p21 in OS cells. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that PCAT-1 is a new candidate for use in OS diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algal bloom has been regarded as one of the key causes for the summer hypoxia phenomena in the bottom water adjacent to the Yangtze River estuary in the East China Sea. Although a series of biological processes within microbial loop are involved in the development of oxygen depletion during the bloom decay, little has been known about the dynamics of microorganisms in response to the decaying process of the bloom through trophic interaction context. Here, we report some preliminary results of our observations about the response of microbial loop to the bloom decay, based on the onboard incubation experiments for 10 days during a diatom bloom near the Yangtze River estuary in August, 2011. Light and dark incubations were conducted to simulate the bloom decay inside and below the euphotic layer, respectively. In the first stage of bloom decay (Day 0 to Day 4), rapid response was found in heterotrophic bacteria (HB) and ciliate growth, which was in accordance with the decrease of total Chl a , indicating a “bottom-up” control at the early stage of bloom decay. However, the increase of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) abundance was rather inconspicuous, suggesting predation pressure on HNF from ciliate or other predator at this stage. In the second stage (Day 4 to Day 8), HB and ciliate decreased rapidly with the increase of HNF, revealing the release of HNF form ciliate predation, which suggested a “top-down” control. In the last stage of our experiment (Day 8 to Day 10), the trophic interactions were more complex, but it also implied a “top-down” control within the microbial loop. Meanwhile, virus had been monitored in the whole process of our incubations. It was found that virus lysed microalgae at the first stage, and lysed HB at the second stage. In addition, the bacterial mortality was principally caused by HNF grazing in the light-sufficient incubations and by viral lysis in the light-insufficient incubations. Our results suggest tight trophic interactions within the microbial loop in the decaying process of the algal bloom, which may assist our understanding of the role of microbial loop in hypoxia formation in coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) along a vertical column of flats has been documented in several outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Guangdong and Hong Kong. We describe an outbreak in Luk Chuen House, involving two vertical columns of flats associated with an unusually connected two-stack drainage system, in which nine individuals from seven households were infected. The index case resided in Flat 812 (8th floor, Unit 12), two flats (813, 817) on its opposite side reported one case each (i.e., a horizontal sub-cluster). All other flats with infected residents were vertically associated, forming a vertical sub-cluster. We injected tracer gas (SF 6) into drainage stacks via toilet or balcony of Flat 812, monitored gas concentrations in roof vent, toilet, façade, and living room in four of the seven flats with infected residents and four flats with no infected residents. The measured gas concentration distributions agreed with the observed distribution of affected flats. Aerosols leaking into drainage stacks may generate the vertical sub-cluster, whereas airflow across the corridor probably caused the horizontal sub-cluster. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses also revealed a common point-source. The findings provided additional evidence of probable roles of drainage systems in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. [Display omitted] • The vertical cluster of the outbreak is probably associated with drainage stacks. • Tracer gas measurement and phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were applied. • The results of tracer gas monitoring agreed with the observed distribution of infected cases. • Leaked stack aerosols may have played the main role in the vertical cluster. • The chimney effect was the probable primary cause for the vertical spreading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stack aerosols are generated within vertical building drainage stacks during the discharge of wastewater containing feces and exhaled mucus from toilets and washbasins. Fifteen stack aerosol-related outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in high-rise buildings have been observed in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Currently, we investigated two such outbreaks of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, identified the probable role of chimney effect-induced airflow in a building drainage system in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We injected tracer gas (SF6) into the drainage stacks via the water closet of the index case and monitored tracer gas concentrations in the bathrooms and along the facades of infected and non-infected flats and in roof vents. The air temperature, humidity, and pressure in vertical stacks were also monitored. The measured tracer gas distribution agreed with the observed distribution of the infected cases. Phylogenetic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences demonstrated clonal spread from a point source in cases along the same vertical column. The stack air pressure and temperature distributions suggested that stack aerosols can spread to indoors through pipe leaks which provide direct evidence for the long-range aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through drainage pipes via the chimney effect. [Display omitted] • Two vertical outbreaks of COVID-19 were associated with drainage stacks. • Transport and leakage of stack aerosols probably explained the outbreaks. • Phylogenetic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences demonstrated point source spread. • Tracer gas monitoring agreed with the observed distribution of infected cases. • The chimney effect was the probable primary cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effectiveness of using siliceous–aluminous fly ash and cement in solidifying Dunkirk marine sediments was investigated by means of laboratory tests to evaluate the compatibility of solidified material as roadbed materials. For this purpose, the mechanical properties of various designed mixes were investigated by the modified Proctor compaction tests, the tensile strength tests and the unconfined compressive strength tests. The swelling properties and bearing capacity changes were studied under water immersion condition for 4days by standardized swelling test. For evaluating the impact of freezing–thawing cycles and water immersion damage on strength properties of cement/fly ash-sediment mixes, 20-cycle freezing–thawing tests and 32-day water immersion tests were realized on standard cured cylindrical samples. A coefficient of strength loss was defined to quantify the effect of freezing–thawing damage and water immersion aging on durability of designed mixes. XRD tests were carried out to verify the formation of cementitous compounds CSH and highlight the chemical transformation in sediments. The techniques help explain the change in mechanical properties of cement/fly ash-based sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Focusing on nonlinear static-dynamic structure-soil-structure interaction (SSSI). • SSSI is dominated by ground motion, structure spacing and number of structures. • SSSI significantly changes seismic response of inter-story drift. • SSSI increases the seismic response near the second natural period of the building. • SSSI significantly changes the peak shear force at the top of the pile foundation. Based on the 1–3 identical high-rise buildings with pile-raft foundation, a series of building-site two-dimensional finite element analysis models with different building spacings is established. Then, considering the nonlinear characteristics of soil and structure, the static-dynamic coupled numerical simulations are conducted to study the structure-soil-structure interaction (SSSI) under different ground motion. The results show that: 1) Adjacent high-rise buildings have the most unfavorable impact on the peak acceleration of the 1/4–1/2 height floors of the middle building, and increase the normalized response acceleration spectra value of acceleration near the second natural period of the structure; 2) Adjacent high-rise buildings have the most significant impact on the inter-story drift of the top, bottom and basement of the middle building; 3) Adjacent high-rise buildings redistribute the total horizontal shear force of the pile top of the middle building among the pile foundations, so that the peak value of the pile top shear force of each pile changes significantly, which is extremely unfavorable to the seismic safety of the structure. It should be taken seriously in the seismic design of structures. In addition, the structure spacing that results in favorable or unfavorable effects is discussed, and the reasons for the impact are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A biochar sphere was prepared through a one-step gelation and pyrolysis strategy. • The biochar sphere showed excellent flotation and magnetism performance. • The biochar sphere significantly decreased Cd(II) and As(V) concentrations in soils. • Fixed Cd(II) and As(V) in soils can be activated. • The biochar sphere can be recycled after use. Remediation of contaminated agricultural soils focused on fixing heavy metals in soils to reduce their bioavailability. However, with the influence of pH, redox potential, and microorganism in the soils, heavy metals were likely to be released from a fixed state. The study aims to investigate magnetic porous biochar spheres and their roles in in situ sorption and removal of heavy metal from the contaminated agricultural soil. The magnetic biochar spheres were prepared using alginate and FeCl 3 through a one-step gelation to obtain alginate-Fe3+ gel and subsequently pyrolyzed. Results of Ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer showed the decomposition of alginate and the formation of Fe 3 O 4 and FeCl 2 hydrates nanoparticles on the spheres when the spheres were pyrolyzed at 300 °C. Scanning electron microscope image showed that the CFe 300 sphere has a macro-porous structure. The CFe 300 sphere exhibited good adsorption capacity of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution. The CFe 300 sphere decreased the bioavailable and total cadmium (II) concentrations from 1.55 ± 0.08 to 0.32 ± 0.04 mg/kg and from 2.81 ± 0.02 to 1.39 ± 0.06 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, the CFe 300 sphere decreased bioavailable and total arsenate (V) concentrations from 1.26 ± 0.003 to 0.85 ± 0.01 mg/kg and from 60.23 ± 0.39 to 27.34 ± 0.94 mg/kg, respectively. Subsequently, addition of water into the soil induced the spheres to leave the soil and float on the surface of soil/water mixture. Thus, the magnetic biochar spheres can be much easier to separate from the soil using magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]