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Increased COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality have been reported in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs). Most studies are underpowered for rigorous matching. We report infections, hospitalization, ICU care, mortality from COVID-19, and pertinent vaccination data in Swedish SOTRs 2020–2021. We conducted a nationwide cohort study, encompassing all Swedish residents. SOTRs were identified with ICD-10 codes and immunosuppressant prescriptions. Comparison cohorts were weighted based on a propensity score built from potential confounders (age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic factors, and geography), which achieved a good balance between SOTRs and non-SOTR groups. We included 10,372,033 individuals, including 9073 SOTRs. Of the SARS-CoV-2 infected, 47.3% of SOTRs and 19% of weighted comparator individuals were hospitalized. ICU care was given to 8% of infected SOTRs and 2% of weighted comparators. The case fatality rate was 7.7% in SOTRs, 6.2% in the weighted comparison cohort, and 1.3% in the unweighted comparison cohort. SOTRs had an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 (HR = 1.15 p < 0.001), being hospitalized (HR = 2.89 p < 0.001), receiving ICU care (HR = 4.59 p < 0.001), and dying (HR = 1.42 p < 0.001). SOTRs had much higher morbidity and mortality than the general population during 2020–2021. Also compared with weighted comparators, SOTRs had an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, being hospitalized, receiving ICU care, and dying. In Sweden, SOTRs were vaccinated earlier than weighted comparators. Lung transplant recipients had the worst outcomes. Excess mortality among SOTRs was concentrated in the second half of 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A participatory-based intervention was performed in Sweden, aimed at improving the sound environment in one preschool (n = 20) and one obstetric ward (n = 50), with two controls each (n = 28, n = 66). Measured sound levels, and surveys of noise annoyance, hearing-related symptoms and emotional exhaustion were collected before, and three and nine months after the interventions, comparing intervention and control groups over time. The results of this first implementation in a limited number of workplaces showed significantly worsening of hyperacusis, sound-induced auditory fatigue, emotional exhaustion and increased sound levels in the preschool, and worsening of noise annoyance in both intervention groups. Increased risk awareness, limited implementation support and lack of psychosocial interventions may explain the worsening in outcomes, as might the worse baseline in the intervention groups. The complexity of the demands in human-service workplaces calls for further intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the characteristics of the raindrop size distribution (DSD) is crucial to improve our knowledge of the microphysical processes of precipitation and to improve the accuracy of radar quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). In this study, the spatial variability of DSD in different regions of Beijing and its influence on radar QPE are analyzed using 11 disdrometers. The DSD data are categorized into three regions: Urban, suburban, and mountainous according to their locations. The DSD exhibits evidently different characteristics in the urban, suburban, and mountain regions of Beijing. The average raindrop diameter is smaller in the urban region compared to the suburban region. The average rain rate and raindrop number concentration are lower in the mountainous region compared to both urban and suburban regions. The difference in DSD between urban and suburban regions is due to the difference in DSD for the same precipitation types, while the difference in DSD between mountain and plains (i.e., urban and suburban regions) is the combined effect of the convection/stratiform ratio and the difference of DSD for the same precipitation types. Three DSD-based polarimetric radar QPE estimators were retrieved and estimated. Among these three QPE estimators, R(ZH), R(Kdp), and R(Kdp, ZDR), R(Kdp, ZDR) performs best, followed by R(Kdp), and R(ZH) performs worst. R(Kdp) is more sensitive to the representative parameters, while R(ZH) and R(Kdp, ZDR) are more sensitive to observational error and systematic bias (i.e., calibration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the fifth-generation European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data (ERA5), the real-time observation data from weather stations, and the radar products in Guangdong Province, we analyze the precipitation properties and formation mechanisms of the "5·31" extreme heavy rainfall process with record-breaking 3-h accumulated rainfall in South China during 2021. The results show that the extreme heavy rainfall process is caused by the joint actions of weather systems such as a weak upper-level short-wave trough, a surface stationary front, and a low-level southwesterly jet. Before the heavy precipitation process, there is large precipitable water content and deep warm clouds, which provides a potential for the occurrence and development of the heavy rainfall process in Longhua Town of Longmen County and its surrounding areas. Simultaneously, the low-level southwesterly jet provides abundant warm-wet water vapor for the heavy rainfall area. The vertical atmospheric environmental conditions, such as strong horizontal temperature gradient, high convective available potential energy, high-temperature difference between 850 hPa and 500 hPa, and low convective inhibition, maintain for a long duration in the heavy rainfall area, which are favorable for the occurrence and development of high-efficiency convective precipitation caused by water vapor condensation due to the uplift of low-level warm-wet airflows. The combined effects of the enhanced low-level southwesterly airflow, the stationary front, the mesoscale surface convergence line generated by cold pool outflows, the terrain influence, and the train effect of the precipitation echoes make heavy precipitation near Longhua last longer and stronger than other areas, leading to the extreme heavy rainfall with the record-breaking 3-h accumulated rainfall in Longhua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Many studies report that foreign-born healthcare workers (HCWs) in high-income countries have an elevated risk of COVID-19. However, research has not yet specifically evaluated the distribution of COVID-19 among foreign-born workers in different healthcare work groups. We examined the risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization among foreign-born HCWs in different occupational roles in Sweden. Methods We linked occupational data (2019) of 783 950 employed foreign-born workers (20–65 years) to COVID-19 data registered between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2021. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization in eight healthcare occupational groups vs. non-HCWs and assessed whether region of birth modified the association between healthcare occupations and COVID-19. Results All HCWs had a higher risk of COVID-19 outcomes than non-HCWs, but the risk differed by occupational role. Hospital-based assistant nurses had the highest risk (infection: HR 1.78; 95% CI 1.72–1.85; hospitalization: HR 1.79; 95% CI 1.52–2.11); allied HCWs had the lowest risk (infection: HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.10–1.35; hospitalization: HR 0.98; 95% CI 0.59–1.63). The relative hazard of the outcomes varied across foreign-born workers from different regions. For example, the relative risk of COVID-19 infection associated with being a physician compared to a non-HCW was 31% higher for African-born than European-born workers. Conclusions The risk of COVID-19 among foreign-born HCWs differed by occupational role and immigrant background. Public health efforts that target occupational exposures as well as incorporate culturally responsive measures may help reduce COVID-19 risk among foreign-born HCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have investigated associations between ABO blood group and risk of COVID‐19, with inconsistent results. Objective: To study associations between ABO blood group and risk of different stages of COVID‐19. Methods: The study was based on nationwide registers encompassing all blood‐grouped persons in Sweden, and all of their COVID‐19‐related outcomes. Associations between ABO blood group and COVID‐19 outcomes were estimated using Poisson regression models. Analyses were conducted overall and stratified by vaccination status. Results: A total of 4,986,878 individuals were included. The incidence rate ratios of testing positive for COVID‐19 were 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–1.08), 1.06 (95% CI, 1.05–1.07), and 1.01 (95% CI, 1.00–1.01) for blood groups A, AB, and B, respectively, as compared to O. Similar associations were seen for risk of hospital admissions, intensive care unit admissions, and risk of death. For most outcomes, associations with ABO blood group were much attenuated or even reversed in vaccinated individuals. Conclusions: Individuals with blood groups A, AB, and B are at increased risk of contracting COVID‐19 as well as developing more severe forms of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Little is known about the joint associations of multiple lifestyle risk factors including smoking, low body mass index, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, and low diet quality with risk of active tuberculosis. Methods We analyzed data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a prospective cohort study of 63 257 Chinese adults aged 45–74 years enrolled between 1993 and 1998. Incident cases of active tuberculosis were identified via linkage with the National TB Registry through 31 December 2016. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of tuberculosis risk in relation to the combined scores of lifestyle risk factors. Results Compared with participants with none of the risk factors, the adjusted HRs (95% CI) of active tuberculosis for participants with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 risk factors were 1.24 (1.02–1.51), 1.84 (1.51–2.23), 2.52 (2.03–3.14), 4.07 (3.07–5.41), and 9.04 (5.44–15.02), respectively (P trend < .0001). The HR for those with 5 factors was ~1.5 times the product of individual risk estimates from the 5 factors on a multiplicative scale. The stepwise increase in risk of active tuberculosis with increasing number of lifestyle risk factors was significantly stronger in participants with diabetes than their counterparts without diabetes at recruitment (P interaction = .01). Conclusions Multiple lifestyle risk factors were associated with risk of active tuberculosis in a synergistic manner. Our findings highlight the importance of public health programs and interventions targeting these factors simultaneously to reduce the tuberculosis burden among the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic waste degrades slowly in aquatic environments, transforming into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), which are subsequently ingested by fish and other aquatic organisms, causing both physical blockages and chemical toxicity. The fish immune system serves as a crucial defense against viruses and pollutants present in water. It is imperative to comprehend the detrimental effects of MPs on the fish immune system and conduct further research on immunological assessments. In this paper, the immune response and immunotoxicity of MPs and its combination with environmental pollutants on fish were reviewed. MPs not only inflict physical harm on the natural defense barriers like fish gills and vital immune organs such as the liver and intestinal tract but also penetrate cells, disrupting intracellular signaling pathways, altering the levels of immune cytokines and gene expression, perturbing immune homeostasis, and ultimately compromising specific immunity. Initially, fish exposed to MPs recruit a significant number of macrophages and T cells while activating lysosomes. Over time, this exposure leads to apoptosis of immune cells, a decline in lysosomal degradation capacity, lysosomal activity, and complement levels. MPs possess a small specific surface area and can efficiently bind with heavy metals, organic pollutants, and viruses, enhancing immune responses. Hence, there is a need for comprehensive studies on the shape, size, additives released from MPs, along with their immunotoxic effects and mechanisms in conjunction with other pollutants and viruses. These studies aim to solidify existing knowledge and delineate future research directions concerning the immunotoxicity of MPs on fish, which has implications for human health. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new time-delayed periodic boundary condition (PBC) has been proposed for discrete element modelling (DEM) of periodic structures subject to moving loads such as railway track based on a box test which is normally used as an element testing model. The new proposed time-delayed PBC is approached by predicting forces acting on ghost particles with the consideration of different loading phases for adjacent sleepers whereas a normal PBC simply gives the ghost particles the same contact forces as the original particles. By comparing the sleeper in a single sleeper test with a fixed boundary, a normal periodic boundary and the newly proposed time-delayed PBC (TDPBC), the new TDPBC was found to produce the closest settlement to that of the middle sleeper in a three-sleeper test which was assumed to be free of boundary effects. It appears that the new TDPBC can eliminate the boundary effect more effectively than either a fixed boundary or a normal periodic cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the high-accuracy linear shape–slope (μ–Λ) relationship observed by several two-dimensional video disdrometers (2DVD) in South China, a high-precision and fast solution method of the gamma (Γ) raindrop size distribution (RSD) function based on the zeroth-order moment (M0) and the third-order moment (M3) of RSD has been proposed. The 0-moment M0 and 3-moment M3 of RSD can be easily calculated from rain mass mixing ratio Qr and total number concentration Ntr simulated by the two-moment (2M) microphysical scheme, respectively. Three typical heavy-rainfall processes and all RSD samples observed during 2019 in South China were selected to verify the accuracy of the method. Relative to the current widely used exponential RSD with a fixed shape parameter of zero in the 2M microphysical scheme, the Γ RSD function using the linear constrained gamma (C-G) method agreed better with the Γ-fit RSD from 2DVD observations. The characteristic precipitation parameters (e.g., rain rate, M2, M6, and M9) obtained by the proposed method are generally consistent with the parameters calculated by Γ-fit RSD from 2DVD observations. The proposed method has effectively solved the problem that the shape parameter in the 2M microphysical scheme is set to a constant, and therefore the Γ RSD functions are closer to the observations and have obviously smaller errors. This method has a good potential to be applied to 2M microphysical schemes to improve the simulation of heavy precipitation in South China, but it also paves the way for in-depth applications of radar data in numerical weather prediction models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-shot neural architecture search (NAS) has recently become mainstream in the NAS community because it significantly improves computational efficiency through weight sharing. However, the supernet training paradigm in one-shot NAS introduces catastrophic forgetting, where each step of the training can deteriorate the performance of other architectures that contain partially-shared weights with current architecture. To overcome this problem of catastrophic forgetting, we formulate supernet training for one-shot NAS as a constrained continual learning optimization problem such that learning the current architecture does not degrade the validation accuracy of previous architectures. The key to solving this constrained optimization problem is a novelty search based architecture selection (NSAS) loss function that regularizes the supernet training by using a greedy novelty search method to find the most representative subset. We applied the NSAS loss function to two one-shot NAS baselines and extensively tested them on both a common search space and a NAS benchmark dataset. We further derive three variants based on the NSAS loss function, the NSAS with depth constrain (NSAS-C) to improve the transferability, and NSAS-G and NSAS-LG to handle the situation with a limited number of constraints. The experiments on the common NAS search space demonstrate that NSAS and it variants improve the predictive ability of supernet training in one-shot NAS with remarkable and efficient performance on the CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and ImageNet datasets. The results with the NAS benchmark dataset also confirm the significant improvements these one-shot NAS baselines can make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper contrast and sufficient illuminance are important in clearly identifying the retinal structures, while the required quality cannot always be guaranteed due to major reasons like acquisition process and diseases. To ensure the effectiveness of enhancement, two solutions are developed for blurry retinal images with sufficient illuminance and insufficient illuminance, respectively. The proposed contrast stretching and intensity transfer are main steps in both of the two solutions. The contrast stretching is based on base-intensity removal and non-uniform addition. We assume that a base-intensity exists in an image, which mainly supports the basic illuminance but has less contribution to texture information. The base-intensity is estimated by the constrained Gaussian function and then removed. The non-uniform addition using compressed Gamma map is further developed to improve the contrast. Additionally, an effective intensity transfer strategy is introduced, which can provide required illuminance for a single channel after contrast stretching. The color correction can be achieved if the intensity transfer is performed on three channels. Results show that the proposed solutions can effectively improve the contrast and illuminance, and good visual perception for quality degraded retinal images is obtained. Illustration of contrast stretching based on a signal colour channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Haar wavelet is improved based on the characteristics of retinal images. • The selection of optimal threshold for feature extraction is achieved. • Four-class classification is transformed into three two-class classification. • A hierarchical classification method is obtained based on basic classifiers. • Comprehensive performance analysis and discussion are provided. Cataracts, which are lenticular opacities that may occur at different lens locations, are the leading cause of visual impairment worldwide. Accurate and timely diagnosis can improve the quality of life of cataract patients. In this paper, a feature extraction-based method for grading cataract severity using retinal images is proposed. To obtain more appropriate features for the automatic grading, the Haar wavelet is improved according to the characteristics of retinal images. Retinal images of non-cataract, as well as mild, moderate, and severe cataracts, are automatically recognized using the improved Haar wavelet. A hierarchical strategy is used to transform the four-class classification problem into three adjacent two-class classification problems. Three sets of two-class classifiers based on a neural network are trained individually and integrated together to establish a complete classification system. The accuracies of the two-class classification (cataract and non-cataract) and four-class classification are 94.83% and 85.98%, respectively. The performance analysis demonstrates that the improved Haar wavelet feature achieves higher accuracy than the original Haar wavelet feature, and the fusion of three sets of two-class classifiers is superior to a simple four-class classifier. The discussion indicates that the retinal image-based method offers significant potential for cataract detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Norway and Sweden had different early pandemic responses that may have impacted mental health management. The aim was to assess the impact of the early COVID‐19 pandemic on mental health‐related care. Methods: We used national registries in Norway and Sweden (1 January 2018–31 December 2020) to define 2 cohorts: (i) general adult population; and (ii) mental health adult population. Interrupted times series regression analyses evaluated step and slope changes compared to prepandemic levels for monthly rates of medications (antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, hypnotics/sedatives, lithium, opioid analgesics, psychostimulants), hospitalizations (for anxiety, bipolar, depressive/mood, eating and schizophrenia/delusional disorders) and specialist outpatient visits. Results: In Norway, immediate reductions occurred in the general population for medications (−12% antidepressants to −7% hypnotics/sedatives) except for antipsychotics; and hospitalizations (−33% anxiety disorders to −17% bipolar disorders). Increasing slope change occurred for all medications except psychostimulants (+1.1%/month hypnotics/sedatives to +1.7%/month antidepressants); and hospitalization for anxiety disorders (+5.5%/month), depressive/mood disorders (+1.7%/month) and schizophrenia/delusional disorders (+2%/month). In Sweden, immediate reductions occurred for antidepressants (−7%) and opioids (−10%) and depressive/mood disorder hospitalizations (−11%) only with increasing slope change in psychostimulant prescribing of (0.9%/month). In contrast to Norway, increasing slope changes occurred in specialist outpatient visits for depressive/mood disorders, eating disorders and schizophrenia/delusional disorders (+1.5, +1.9 and +2.3%/month, respectively). Similar changes occurred in the pre‐existing mental health cohorts. Conclusion: Differences in early COVID‐19 policy response may have contributed to differences in adult mental healthcare provision in Norway and Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is unclear if improving diet quality after midlife could reduce the risk of physical frailty at late life. We aimed to associate changes in diet quality after midlife with physical frailty at late life. Methods: Diet quality in 12,580 participants from the Singapore Chinese Health Study was assessed with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores at baseline (1993–1998; mean age 53 years) and follow-up 3 (2014–2016; mean age 73 years). Physical frailty was assessed using the modified Cardiovascular Health Study phenotype at follow-up 3. Multivariable logistic regressions examined associations between DASH scores and physical frailty. Results: Comparing participants in extreme quartiles of DASH scores, the odds ratios (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] for physical frailty were 0.85 (0.73,0.99) at baseline and 0.49 (0.41, 0.58) at follow-up 3. Compared to participants with consistently low DASH scores, participants with consistently high scores (OR 0.74, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.94) and those with > 10% increase in scores (OR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.95) had lower odds of frailty. Compared to those in the lowest DASH tertiles at both time-points, significantly lower odds of physical frailty were observed in those who were in the highest DASH tertiles at both time points [0.59 (0.48, 0.73)], and in those who improved their scores from the lowest [0.68 (0.51, 0.91)] or second tertile at baseline [0.61 (0.48, 0.76)] to the highest tertile at follow-up 3. Conclusions: Maintaining a high diet quality or a substantial improvement in diet quality after midlife could lower the risk of physical frailty at late life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytoskeleton and nucleus are two important anatomic components in eukaryotic cells. Cell fluorescence images are employed to study their realignment and deformation during cell extrusion. Quantitative analysis and modeling of cell orientation are investigated in this paper. For orientation measurement, alignment orientation of microfilaments is calculated using structure tensor method. Nuclei is segmented and fitted to ellipses in nuclei images. Based on the fitted ellipse, orientation and aspect ratio of each nucleus are computed. A morphological model is proposed to describe the movement of microfilaments quantitatively. The parameters of the model are determined by in-plane stresses obtained by numerical simulation. The proposed automatic orientation measurement algorithms can help to analyze the relationship between cell orientation and stress qualitatively. The proposed morphological model is the first model to quantitatively describe the relationship of microfilament movement with stress. Experimental results show that cell and nucleus tend to align along in-plane maximum shear stress and the proposed morphological model is a reasonable model for cell movement. The modeling of cell behavior under different stress can facilitate biomedical research such as tissue engineering and cancer analysis. Graphical abstract ᅟ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We focus on the practical challenge of segmenting new retinal fundus images that are dissimilar to existing well-annotated data sets. It is addressed in this paper by a supervised learning pipeline, with its core being the construction of a synthetic fundus image data set using the proposed R-sGAN technique. The resulting synthetic images are realistic-looking in terms of the query images while maintaining the annotated vessel structures from the existing data set. This helps to bridge the mismatch between the query images and the existing well-annotated data set. As a consequence, any known supervised fundus segmentation technique can be directly utilized on the query images, after training on this synthetic data set. Extensive experiments on different fundus image data sets demonstrate the competitiveness of the proposed approach in dealing with a diverse range of mismatch settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study evaluated the prospective association between the consumption of caffeine-containing beverages at midlife and the risk of physical frailty at late life within a population-based cohort of Chinese adults living in Singapore over a follow-up period of 20 years. Prospective cohort study. We used data from 12,583 participants from the baseline and third follow-up interviews of the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS). Participants had a mean age of 53 years at baseline (1993–1998), and a mean age of 73 years during the third follow-up (2014–2017). At baseline, habitual consumption of caffeine-containing beverages was evaluated using a validated semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. During the third follow-up, physical frailty was assessed using the modified Cardiovascular Health Study phenotype. Compared with non-daily drinkers, those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee daily had reduced odds of physical frailty [odds ratio (OR), 0.54; 95% CI, 0.38–0.76]. Similarly, compared with those who hardly drank tea, participants who drank tea everyday also had reduced odds (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71–0.95). Total daily caffeine intake at midlife was associated with reduced likelihood of frailty at late life in a dose-response relationship (P trend <.001). Relative to their counterparts in the lowest quartile of daily caffeine intake (0–67.6 mg/d), participants in the highest quartile (223.0–910.4 mg/d) had an OR of 0.77 (95% CI, 0.66–0.91). Higher caffeine consumption was associated with lower likelihood of being in the slowest quintile for timed up-and-go (TUG) and weakest quintile for handgrip strength. In this cohort of Chinese adults, higher consumption of caffeine at midlife, via coffee and tea, was associated with a reduced likelihood of physical frailty in late life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Our synthesis model can be effectively learned in data-driven fashion from a relatively small sample size of merely 10–20 images. • Based on a single ground-truth input, our approach is capable of synthesizing multiple distinct images. • Two variants of our proposed pipeline have been proposed and studied, which we refer to as Tub-GAN and Tub-sGAN , respectively. The Tub-sGAN variant is the first to incorporate style transfer into the GAN framework, to our best knowledge. It is worth noting that the synthesized images are shown useful in improving image segmentation performance. Graphical abstract Abstract This paper aims at synthesizing multiple realistic-looking retinal (or neuronal) images from an unseen tubular structured annotation that contains the binary vessel (or neuronal) morphology. The generated phantoms are expected to preserve the same tubular structure, and resemble the visual appearance of the training images. Inspired by the recent progresses in generative adversarial nets (GANs) as well as image style transfer, our approach enjoys several advantages. It works well with a small training set with as few as 10 training examples, which is a common scenario in medical image analysis. Besides, it is capable of synthesizing diverse images from the same tubular structured annotation. Extensive experimental evaluations on various retinal fundus and neuronal imaging applications demonstrate the merits of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single atom or cluster catalysts supported by two dimensional (2D) materials are the most promising low cost alternatives to the pure Pt catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, we have investigated the ORR mechanism on the g-C 3 N 4 supported single Ce atom (i.e., Ce/g-C 3 N 4 ) and cluster (i.e., Ce x Pt 6-x /g-C 3 N 4 ) theoretically. Our study shows that Ce atom can be tightly bound to the g-C 3 N 4 substrate and the presence of Ce atom is extremely favorable for the anchoring of Ce x Pt 6-x clusters on the substrate. The Ce/g-C 3 N 4 shows similar ORR catalytic activity compared with bulk Pt. The reaction is a four-electron process. The most favorable pathway is the hydrogenation of OOH to form O + H 2 O. On the other hand, Ce x Pt 6-x /g-C 3 N 4 (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 6) is thermodynamically stable and shows a very different catalytic behavior. Particularly, the working potential is predicted to be 0.50 V for Ce 3 Pt 3 /g-C 3 N 4 , implying that it is a potential ORR catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A contour-based automatic registration method of lateral cephalograms and profile photographs is proposed to facilitate the accurate measurement of anteroposterior (AP) position of maxillary central incisors relative to the forehead. There are mainly three steps in the proposed method. First, a hierarchical contour detection algorithm is employed to obtain contours of forehead and nose in lateral cephalograms and profile photographs, respectively. Curve deviation around Nasion of Soft Tissue (Ns) is further corrected using an iterative polynomial curve fitting algorithm according to the characteristics of cephalograms. Second, the coarse registration is performed based on four landmark pairs using a routine least squares method for each image pair, and then the contours are roughly matched. Finally, the coarse registration is further refined by applying the coherent point drift (CPD) algorithm to all the contour points. Using image pairs of lateral cephalograms and profile photographs from 49 Chinese patients, we show that the proposed method achieves higher performance in terms of accuracy and robustness than the existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The association between gout and cognitive impairment is unclear. • Our study found that gout at midlife was associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment in late life. • This risk was reduced in a stepwise manner with either longer duration of gout or lower age at first diagnosis of gout. • Uric acid may have neuroprotective effects on cognition which warrant further study. The association between gout and risk of cognitive impairment or dementia is not well established. We examined the relationship between having gout at midlife and the risk of developing cognitive impairment later on. We used data of 16,948 participants from the population-based Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort. Participants were recruited from 1993 to 1998 at mean age of 53 years and re-contacted for three follow-up interviews: 1999 to 2004 for follow-up 1, 2006 to 2010 for follow-up 2, and 2014 to 2016 for follow-up 3. History of physician-diagnosed gout was self-reported at follow-up 1 and follow-up 2, while cognitive function was assessed with the Singapore modified Mini-Mental State Examination during follow-up 3, when participants had a mean age of 73.2 years. Gout was reported by 1281 (7.6%) participants at either follow-up 1 or 2, and 2243 (14.4%) had cognitive impairment at follow-up 3. A history of gout was associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.65–0.93). This risk was reduced in a stepwise manner with either increased duration of gout or lower age at first diagnosis of gout (P trend <0.001). Compared to those without gout, those with gout for ≥20 years (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.39–0.80) and those with age of onset of gout <50 years old (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.37–0.94) had a lower risk of developing cognitive impairment. A young age of onset or a long history of gout was associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment in late life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Studies on sociodemographic differences in sick leave after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are limited and research on COVID-19 long-term health consequences has mainly addressed hospitalized individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the social patterning of sick leave and determinants of longer sick leave after COVID-19 among mild and severe cases. Methods The study population, from the Swedish multi-register observational study SCIFI-PEARL, included individuals aged 18–64 years in the Swedish population, gainfully employed, with a first positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from 1 January 2020 until 31 August 2021 (n  = 661 780). Using logistic regression models, analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, vaccination, prior sick leave, comorbidities and stratified by hospitalization. Results In total, 37 420 (5.7%) individuals were on sick leave due to COVID-19 in connection with their first positive COVID-19 test. Individuals on sick leave were more often women, older, had lower income and/or were born outside Sweden. These differences were similar across COVID-19 pandemic phases. The highest proportion of sick leave was seen in the oldest age group (10.3%) with an odds ratio of 4.32 (95% confidence interval 4.18–4.47) compared with the youngest individuals. Among individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19, the sociodemographic pattern was less pronounced, and in some models, even reversed. The intersectional analysis revealed considerable variability in sick leave between sociodemographic groups (range: 1.5–17.0%). Conclusion In the entire Swedish population of gainfully employed individuals, our findings demonstrated evident sociodemographic differences in sick leave due to COVID-19. In the hospitalized group, the social patterning was different and less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclei assessment and segmentation are essential in many biological research applications, but it is a challenge to segment overlapped nuclei. In this paper, a new automatic method is proposed to segment overlapped nuclei robustly and efficiently. The proposed method mainly contains four steps: contour extraction, concave point detection, contour segment grouping and ellipse fitting. Blurry nuclei splitting and unobvious concave point detection are always difficult problems in nuclei segmentation. Contour extraction algorithm provides a smooth contour result and it is employed to estimate the blurriness degree of the image. The blurry level determines parameters in subsequent steps, which improves the accuracy of blurry nuclei splitting. Different methods to extract obvious and unobvious concave points from candidate points are proposed. In addition, grouping rules are proposed to assign segments divided by concave points into groups. Comparison study is performed and experimental results showed the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain insight into the processes leading to the convective initiation ( CI) of an isolated thunderstorm near the central urban area ( CUA) of the Beijing metropolitan region ( BMR) on 9 August 2011, a series of numerical sensitivity experiments by removing or modifying the CUA, terrain morphology, and convectively generated cold outflows is performed. Results show that the CUA accounts for the formation of cloud condensation near the top of the mixed layer at the CI site as a result of the growing boundary-layer depth through its urban heat island effects and urban-induced convergence between a warm and moist southerly flow and an easterly flow on the downstream side. The northerly approaching cold outflows from the mesoscale convective system ( MCS) facilitate the generation of northerly flows through 'a northwestward-concave valley' such that the enhanced low-level convergence with the southerly and easterly flows near the CUA could determine the timing of the outbreak of shallow clouds near the mixed-layer top into an intense thunderstorm. If the concave valley to the northwest of the CUA is eliminated, little northerly flow ahead of the cold outflow boundaries into the CI site would be present. The results obtained herein appear to have significant implications for understanding and forecasting the development of afternoon thunderstorms in the BMR under weak-gradient environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A statistical analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics of hourly heavy rainfall ( HHR) events and rainstorm days, defined as greater than 20 mm h−1 and 50 mm day−1, respectively, is performed using observations at 5-min intervals from 155 automated weather stations ( AWSs) over the Beijing metropolitan region ( BMR) during the warm seasons of 2007-2014. Results show pronounced variability in the frequencies and rainfall amounts of both HHR events and rainstorm days across the BMR of less than 150 km width from the west to east. That is, higher- (lower) frequency HHR events with more (less) accumulated rainfall amounts take place in eastern Haidian and over the BMR's northeast mountains (west and northwest mountains). Many extreme rainfall and even record-breaking events, in terms of the frequency, duration, rainfall amount and intensity, are found to occur in the regions of high-frequency HHR events and rainstorm days. The frequency of rainstorm days with HHR events accounts for more than 50% of that of total rainstorm days over the BMR's plains and near the northeast mountains. Results also show that HHR events occur most frequently in late July, and typically peak during 1600-2000 LST. A comparison of the averaged surface meteorological variables and upper-air sounding at 0800 LST between HHR and non- HHR days reveals that the occurrences of the HHR events coincide with the distribution of surface warmer and more humid air as well as organized convergence in the presence of an unstable environment with surface south- to southeasterly winds, low-level south to southwesterly flows and a deep layer of higher moisture content. These results suggest likely the positive influences of urban environment and mountain-plain circulations on the generation of the HHR events, given favourable larger-scale conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cataract leads to visual impairment. Among different types of cataract, posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) can develop rapidly and surgery is usually needed. An approach to detect PSC opacities in retro-illumination images is proposed. Watershed and Markov random fields (MRF) method are employed to opacities in anterior retro-illumination images. It results in a mixture of PSC, cortical opacities and noise. Then, information in both anterior and posterior retro-illumination images is utilized. Two features are extracted to identify PSC: mean gradient comparison (MGC) between anterior and posterior retro-illumination images, and spatial location. This is the first time that comparison between anterior and posterior retro-illumination images is proposed and MGC is proposed as the feature of comparison in PSC detection. Experiments show that the sensitivity and specificity of PSC screening is 91.2 and 90.1 %, respectively, based on the 519 pairs of testing images. To the best of our knowledge, it is the best performance reported in automatic detection of PSC. Compared with the methods in the literatures, considerable improvement is achieved when there are large areas of PSC opacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective The good quality of color retinal image is essential for doctors to make a reliable diagnose in clinics. Due to major reasons like acquisition process and retinal diseases, most retinal images can show poor illuminance, blur and low contrast, further impeding the process of identifying the underlying retinal condition. Methods Image formation model of scattering is proposed to enhance color retinal images in this paper. Two parameters of this model, background illuminance and transmission map, are estimated based on extracted background and foreground. The complex nature of the foreground of a retinal image, involving pixels with both low and high intensity, posed a challenge to the proper extraction of these pixels. Therefore, a new method combining Mahalanobis distance discrimination and global spatial entropy-based contrast enhancement is proposed to extract foreground pixels. It extracts background and foreground in high intensity region and low intensity region respectively and it can perform well in blurry image with tiny intensity range. Results The proposed method is evaluated using 319 color retinal images from three different databases. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method can perform well on illumination problems, contrast enhancement and color preservation. Conclusion This study proposes a new method of enhancing overall retinal image and produces better enhancement images than several state-of-the-art algorithms, especially for blurry retinal images. This method can facilitate analysis and reliable diagnosis for both ophthalmologists and computer-aided analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niche conservatism providing support for using ecological niche modeling in biological invasions has been widely noticed; nonetheless, the impacts of human disturbance on niche changes and model predictions are not fully recognized. In this study, climate niche changes during the invasion of Japanese beetle ( Popillia japonica) were studied under the framework of niche unfilling, stability, and expansion situations. The beetle might undergo niche expansion because of the small native range (Japan) relative to the broad invade range (North America). Relative roles of climatic and anthropogenic factors and their interactions in determining the spread of P. japonica were investigated. Results suggest that the climate niche was conserved during P. japonica invasion, climate niche unfilling rather than niche expansion was observed, suggesting there are suitable climate space remain unoccupied. Inclusion of anthropogenic factors into climate niche model has improved niche model prediction values in areas of high human activity. During P. japonica invasion, anthropogenic factors influenced the climate niche expression and altered the effect of climate suitability. In areas of poor or unsuitable climate, the human activities facilitated the establishment of P. japonica and functioned synergistically, whereas in highly suitable areas, including anthropogenic variables decreased climate suitability. These findings are pivotal to our understanding of climate niche conservatism and niche model transferability when predicting areas of invasion of P. japonica and can be applied elsewhere for predicting other pest's invasion potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrolysis of waste sludge in sewage treatment can achieve a substantial reduction in solid waste and obtain sludge-based biochars with multiple functions. However, the electrochemical properties of sludge-derived biochar as electrode modification material and the electrocatalytic ability of biochar-modified electrodes are still unclear. In this study, sludge-based biochars were prepared at various pyrolysis temperatures (400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C, and 800 °C) and then were cast on glassy carbon electrodes to fabricate composite biochar-electrodes (GC400, GC500, GC600, GC700, and GC800). The results of elemental analysis and Raman spectra showed that sludge-based biochar prepared at higher temperatures exhibited higher aromaticity and degree of defect structures. And the results of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectra confirmed that biochar-modified electrodes prepared at higher temperatures (>600 °C) possessed better electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability, and their higher oxygen evolution potential than control test could improve the electrocatalytic efficiency. In the electrocatalytic oxidation of methyl orange, the removal rate with GC800 was the highest, reaching 94.49% within 240 min, and the removal rates with other composite electrodes were 90.61% (GC700) > 86.96% (GC600) > 80.32% (GC). The free radical quenching experiment revealed that the electrocatalytic degradation of methyl orange mainly depended on the indirect oxidation of hydroxyl radicals generated by electrocatalysis, accounting for 81.3% of the removal rate. The biochar-modified electrode not only greatly improved the electrocatalytic ability of the electrode for the degradation of azo dyes, but also achieved the recycling application of products after pyrolysis of sludge waste. [Display omitted] • Sludge-based biochars were prepared at various pyrolysis temperatures (400–800 °C). • Sludge-derived biochars were used as electrode modification materials. • Biochar-modified electrode (>600 °C) possessed better electrocatalytic activity. • The oxygen evolution potential of biochar-modified electrodes increased up to 1.85 V. • The removal rate of methyl orange by electrocatalysis with GC800 reached 94.49%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A local precipitation event with several dispersedly distributed heavy rainfall centers exceeding 50 mm occurred in Beijing, China on 14 August 2008 during the Beijing Olympic Games. The heavy rainfall event was produced by a few scattered convective storms. Detailed observational analysis with data from automatic weather stations ( AWSs) as well as the meteorological radar in Beijing and a dynamic downscaling analysis with a diagnostic model, California Meteorological Model ( CALMET), showed that convergence zones caused by small-scale topography and colliding outflow boundaries were key influencing factors in the initiation and development of the convective storms. Convergence helped to induce upward vertical motion as well as concentrate moisture to reduce the convective inhibition ( CIN). Horizontal wind speed may modulate the effectiveness of convergence. Downscaled wind fields by CALMET not only retain the overall features of the original fields, but also present more detailed structures, especially near complex terrain, which is much helpful in analyzing and predicting the development of the storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic optic disc (OD) detection is an essential step for screening of eye diseases. An OD localization method is proposed in this paper, which aims to locate OD robustly in retinal image with pathological changes. There are mainly three steps in this approach: region-of-interest (ROI) detection, candidate pixel detection, and confidence score calculation. The features of vessel direction, intensity, OD edges, and size of bright regions were extracted and employed in the proposed OD locating approach. Compared with the OD locating method based on vessel direction only, the proposed method could handle the following cases better: OD partially appears in retinal image, retinal vessels are not obvious in retinal image, or there are bright lesions in retinal images. Four public databases with total 340 retinal images were tested to evaluate the performance of our method. The proposed method can achieve an accuracy of 100%, 95.8%, 99.2%, 97.8% for DRIVE database, STARE database, DIARETDB0 database, DIARETDB1 database respectively. Comparison studies showed that the proposed approach is especially robust in the retinal images with diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to evaluate the potential of water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) and solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w) emulsification techniques to prepare the altered collagen type II peptide AP268-270 (ACTP)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres to make ACTP more convenient as an rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Microspheres produced by the s/o/w method had higher drug encapsulation efficiency (69.7–79.8%) than those prepared by the w/o/w method (21.8–39.3%).In vitrodrug release was influenced by the microencapsulation technique, molecular weight, and composition of the polymer. After intramuscular injection of the optimal formulation to Lewis rats, the concentration of ACTP peptide in serum reached its maximum level on day 3 and then remained nearly stable for approximately 4 weeks. In a collagen-induced arthritis rat model, a single intramuscular injection of ACTP-loaded PLGA microspheres had comparable efficacy to the intravenous injection of ACTP peptide solution once every other day. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: Occupational exposure to particulate air pollution has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the risk to welders working today remains unclear. We aimed to elucidate the cardiovascular effects of exposure to welding fumes. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, structured interviews and biological sampling were conducted for 101 welders and 127 controls (all non-smoking males) from southern Sweden. Personal breathing zone sampling of respirable dust was performed. Blood pressure (BP) and endothelial function (using peripheral arterial tonometry) were measured. Plasma and serum samples were collected from peripheral blood for measurement of C-reactive protein, low-density lipoprotein, homocysteine, serum amyloid A, and cytokines. Results: Welders were exposed to 10-fold higher levels of particles than controls. Welders had significantly higher BP compared to controls, an average of 5 mm Hg higher systolic and diastolic BP (P≤0.001). IL-8 was 3.4 ng/L higher in welders (P=0.010). Years working as a welder were significantly associated with increased BP (β=0.35, 95%CI 0.13 – 0.58, P=0.0024 for systolic BP; β=0.32, 95%CI 0.16 – 0.48, P<0.001 for diastolic BP, adjusted for BMI) but exposure to respirable dust was not associated with BP. No clear associations occurred between welding and endothelial function, or other effect markers. Conclusions: A modest increase in BP was found among welders compared to controls suggesting that low-to-moderate exposure to welding fumes remains a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The feasibility of the discrete element method to model the performance of a cone crusher comminution machine has been explored using the particle replacement method (PRM) to represent the size reduction of rocks experienced within a crusher chamber. In the application of PRM, the achievement of a critical octahedral shear stress induced in a particle was used to define the breakage criterion. The breakage criterion and the number and size of the post breakage progeny particles on the predicted failure of the parent particles were determined from the results of an analysis of the experimental data obtained from diametrical compression tests conducted on a series of granite ballast particles. The effects of the closed size setting (CSS) and eccentric speed settings on the predicted product size distribution compare favourably with the available data in the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The use of firefighting foams at a military airport resulted in high levels of perfluorinated substances (PFAS) in the drinking water distributed to one-third of households in the Swedish municipality of Ronneby between the mid-1980s and the end of 2013. The Ronneby Register Cohort, a large cohort comprising all individuals (N = 60,507) who ever lived in the Ronneby municipality during the period of drinking water contamination, was linked to the Swedish Cancer Register 1985–2016. Individual exposure was classified based on comprehensive data on yearly residential address and water distribution. External analysis explored standardized cancer incidence ratios (SIR) for residents never, or ever, residing in the contaminated water district, compared with those residing in other towns in the same county as reference population. Cox models provided hazard ratios (HR) for different exposure groups within the cohort. 5,702 individuals with cancer were identified. SIR for overall cancer was 1.04 for men (95%CI 0.96–1.12) and 0.89 for women (95%CI 0.82–0.96) who ever lived in the contaminated drinking water area. Kidney cancer, which was reported with increased risk in C8 study, showed somewhat elevated HR in this study (HR 1.27; 95%CI 0.85–1.89). The HR was modestly elevated for bladder cancer (HR 1.32; 95%CI 1.01–1.72), and reduced for prostate cancer (HR 0.83; 95%CI 0.71–0.98). In subjects who ever lived in the contaminated water area during 2005–2013, when exposure was estimated to be highest, higher risks for kidney cancer (HR 1.84; 95%CI 1.00–3.37) but lower for prostate cancer (HR 0.76; 95%CI 0.59–0.98) were observed. Analysis of this large cohort exposed to high levels of PFAS, dominated by PFHxS and PFOS, revealed no evidence for an overall increased risk of cancer. A moderately increased risk of kidney cancer was observed, in accordance with previous findings after PFAS exposure dominated by PFOA. • One third of Ronneby residents were exposed to PFAS from firefighting foams via drinking water. • We included all individuals who had ever resided in Ronneby between 1985 and 2013. • The study population and study time period was fully covered by the Swedish Cancer Register. • We performed external and internal analyses, to obtain better estimate of cancer risk in relation to PFAS exposure. • No overall excess risk of cancer but modestly increased risk of kidney cancer in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic arsenic is a strong carcinogen, possibly byinteractionwith the telomere length. The aim of the study was to evaluate howchronic arsenic exposure from drinking water as well as the arsenicmetabolism efficiency affect the individual telomere length and theexpression of telomere-related genes. Two hundred two women with awide range in exposure to arsenic via drinking water (3.5–200μg/L) were recruited. Concentrations of arsenic metabolitesin urine [inorganic arsenic (iAs), methylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinicacid (DMA)] were measured. The relative telomere length in blood wasmeasured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Genotyping(N= 172) for eight SNPs in AS3MTand gene expression of telomere-related genes (in blood; N= 90) were performed. Urinary arsenic (sum of metabolites)was positively associated with telomere length (β = 0.65 ×10–4, 95% CI = 0.031 × 10–4–1.3 × 10–4, adjusted for age and BMI).Individuals with above median fractions of iAs and MMA showed significantlylonger telomeres by increasing urinary arsenic (β = 1.0 ×10–4, 95% CI = 0.21 × 10–4–1.8 × 10–4at high % iAs; β= 0.88 × 10–495% CI = 0.12 × 10–4–1.6 × 10–4at high % MMA) than thosebelow the median (p= 0.80 and 0.44, respectively).Similarly, carriers of the slow and more toxic metabolizing AS3MThaplotype showed stronger positive associations betweenarsenic exposure and telomere length, as compared to noncarriers (interactionurinary arsenic and haplotype p= 0.025). Urinaryarsenic was positively correlated with the expression of telomerasereverse transcriptase (TERT, Spearman r= 0.22, p= 0.037), but no association was foundbetween TERTexpression and telomere length. Arsenicin drinking water influences the telomere length, and this may bea mechanism for its carcinogenicity. A faster and less toxic arsenicmetabolism diminishes arsenic-related telomere elongation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The composite WpC (WC+W2C) material was prepared by the rapid route of consumable electrode D.C. arc in-situ metallurgy in the blind hole of the cutting pick, which has excellent metallurgical bonding with the substrate. The microstructure and microhardness of WpC were investigated by XRD, EDS, TEM and microhardness tester. The crystallization mechanism was analyzed. The results show that the microstructure of the sample is uniform, and the hard phases are WC, W2C, Fe3W3C. The average hardness of the alloy is 1290 HV0.2 and the average microhardness of WpC is 2253HV0.2. The two-dimensional microstructure morphology of WpC is triangluar and rectangular. The largest WpC grains can grow to 70μm in the molten pool. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Iron-based powders were deposited on the internal wall of a cylinder by means of plasma transferred arc centrifugal cladding. The as-fabricated coating was a functionally graded triple layer coating with microstructures varying from hypereutectic firstly to near eutectic, and then to hypoeutectic structures along the radial direction. Significant enrichment of carbides [M7C3 and M23(C, B)6] was observed in the inner layer. The centrifugal force was responsible for the chemical composition gradient which resulted in the microstructures gradient. Theoretical analysis revealed that Cr, C and B atoms moved toward the inner layer whereas Fe, W and Mo atoms moved toward the outer layer under the effect of centrifugal force, which was confirmed by the quantitative analysis and line-scan profile. Wear resistance of the inner layer of the coating was fairly higher than that of the substrate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A modified method, which combines chaos optimization method and simulated annealing algorithm, is proposed to calculate the Jiles-Atherton (J-A) model parameters. The new method is validated by comparing its computation results with measurement data. Then, the validated J-A model is used in numerical modeling of Epstein frame, and the numerical results are found to be in good agreement with measurement data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A mechanical vibration technique was applied into plasma cladding process by vibrating substrate for improving the microstructure and wear resistance of Fe-based alloy coating. In this work, steel substrates were cladded with Fe-based alloy coatings under different cases of vibration frequency. It has been found that when the vibration frequency is located in 100Hz, microstructure of the coating will be refined considerably; the solid solubility of solutes in supersaturated austenite γ-(Fe,Ni) can be increased; moreover, main phase constituents of the coating are unchanged; both microhardness and wear resistance of the coating can be largely promoted by mechanical vibration. Dispersion strengthening, grain refining strengthening and solution strengthening lead to these results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The pyrolysis of excess sludge derived from wastewater treatment plants to prepare biochar can achieve the mass-reduction and harmlessness of solid waste, but it is also necessary to further explore the application prospect of these biochars as a resource for wastewater treatment. In this study, Fe-modified biochar (BC–Fe) was prepared by pyrolysis of excess sludge modified by FeCl 3 solution. The molecular structure, elemental valence state, and composition of biochars were comprehensively investigated. The results showed that, compared with the biochar prepared from sludge without modification (BC-blank), the O/C ratio of BC-Fe increased from 0.07 to 0.12, and the (N + O)/C ratio increased from 0.21 to 0.27, indicating increased polarity and weakened aromaticity. The ratio of integrated intensity of the D band and G band in the Raman spectrum increased from 1.34 to 2.40, showing the increased defect structure of the biochar obtained by Fe modification. In the reaction between BC-Fe and dicamba, the removal rate of dicamba reached 92.1% within 180 min, which was far higher than the 17.8% of BC-blank. It was confirmed the adsorption removal dominated and accounted for 70.6% of the dicamba removal by BC-Fe, and the adsorption capacity of biochar could be significantly enhanced by Fe-modification by 5.3 times. Moreover, the persistent free radicals (PFRs) on the surface of biochar was detected by an electron paramagnetic resonance analyzer, and the decline of PFRs signals after the reaction revealed that PFRs participated in the degradation process of dicamba. Through Q-TOF analysis, it could be concluded that dicamba was first converted to 3,6-dichlorosalicylic acid (DCSA) by PFRs reduction and then further transformed to 3,6-dichlorogentisic acid (DCGA). This study provided a reference for the understanding of the removal mechanism of dicamba by Fe-modified biochar and offered an application potential of biochar derived from Fe-containing sludge for the pollution control of dicamba pesticide pollutants. [Display omitted] • Fe-modified biochar possessed increased defect structure and weakened aromaticity. • By Fe-modified biochar, the removal rate of dicamba was 92.1% within 180 min. • Fe modification increased the adsorption capacity of sludge biochar by 5.3 times. • PFRs reduction of BC-Fe was directly involved in the degradation of dicamba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color retinal photography is an important tool to detect the evidence of various eye diseases. Novel methods to extract the main features in color retinal images have been developed in this paper. Principal component analysis is employed to locate optic disc; A modified active shape model is proposed in the shape detection of optic disc; A fundus coordinate system is established to provide a better description of the features in the retinal images; An approach to detect exudates by the combined region growing and edge detection is proposed. The success rates of disc localization, disc boundary detection, and fovea localization are 99%, 94%, and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of exudate detection are 100% and 71%, correspondingly. The success of the proposed algorithms can be attributed to the utilization of the model-bass methods. The detection and analysis could be applied to automatic mass screening and diagnosis of the retinal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new algorithm to automatically detect the boundary of optic disk in color fundus images is proposed. The optic disk is located by principal component analysis (PCA) based model, which is employed to initialize active shape model (ASM) to detect the disk boundary. ASM is modified with two aspects: one is the self-adjusting weight in the transformation from shape space to image space; the other is exclusion of outlying points in obtaining shape parameters. The modifications make the proposed algorithm more robust and converge faster than the original ASM method, especially in the case where the edge of optic disk is weak or occluded by blood vessels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The start-up and stability of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) could be greatly influenced by pH variation. The inner core in the aerobic granules provided adhesion sites for microbes by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) adhesion, the adhesion behavior of EPS and the properties of adhesion layer formed by EPS with pH changes might directly affect the start-up efficiency and stability of AGS. In this study, the adhesion behavior of EPS at an inorganic surface and the viscoelasticity of the EPS adhesion layer with pH variation was investigated by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and the response of functional groups and intermolecular interactions to pH changes was explored. Based on the interaction energy calculation, it was found that the charge repulsion between substances dominated the interactions between EPS components and between EPS and the surface by regulating protonation and deprotonation of the functional groups of EPS with pH variation. A lower energy barrier between EPS and the surface at a lower pH value could facilitate the adhesion of EPS at the surface, which favored the rapid start-up of AGS. Moreover, the high ratio of both α-helix and intermolecular hydrogen bond at an acid condition could enhance the gel-strength of EPS, which provide AGS the resistance ability against external disturbance. This study revealed the mechanism of the interactions in EPS adhesion process with the variation of pH and provided useful information for a better understanding of the stability of the AGS. • The effect of pH changes on the interaction between EPS and surface was investigated. • The charge repulsion dominated the interaction between EPS and the surface. • Lower pH favors the EPS adhesion to the intersurface and boosts the start-up of AGS. • Lower pH results in a higher ratio of α-helix and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. • Lower pH improved the gel-strength of EPS and enhanced the stability of AGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a hybrid optimization strategy for determining the setting values of burden surface through measured data and domain knowledge integration manner. The proposed hybrid optimization strategy, including broad learning-based soft sensing models for production indicators, novel twin information fusion based pre-setting model, knowledge-mining based feedback compensation model, data-based production status evaluation and knowledge-based adjustment model, can adjust the setting values of burden surface in response to the changes in production status and safe operation can be reached as well. Finally, comprehensive experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. [Display omitted] • A hybrid optimization strategy is designed to find burden surface setting values. • Computational-efficiency data-driven process models are established. • A multiobjective optimization and CBR based information fusion strategy is performed. • Production status evaluation and knowledge-based adjustment model are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical lesions progress continuously but previous grading strategies are not fine-grained enough to model the continuously changing features of lesions. For lack of temporal sequential medical data to provide lesion progression information, we propose to use the severity ranking of disease lesions as spatial ranking label to represent temporal progression. Absolute ranking labels and relative ranking labels are calculated from severity ranking of datasets. A two-branch framework with spatial-temporal feature encoder is designed which using ranking labels to exploit the ranking relation between query and reference images. Furthermore, ranking loss is designed to enforce that sample features should be distributed in the feature space based on ranking scores. Our model achieves five-grade accuracy of 0.9204 on myopic maculopathy dataset. Compared with discrete grading, great improvement for automatic diagnosis is achieved. Experiments on B-mode fatty liver ultrasound dataset and glaucoma dataset also show generality of our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]