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Cities place a high priority on addressing urban flooding issues and have worked on flood prevention planning and construction efforts. This study aims to develop the improved coupling hydrologic-hydrodynamic model based on SWMM and TELEMAC-2D model by considering river runoff factors. Taking Tongzhou district of Beijing as an example, two different coupled models of the drainage network are constructed for comparison. The research focused on the drainage capacity of the study area and surface ponding water under different rainfall recurrence periods to evaluate the current flood resilience status and the priority of drainage network improvements. The results indicate that the demonstration area effectively mitigates urban flooding and can handle a 100-year return period rainfall event, with a maximum inundation depth of 0.407 m and an overflow node ratio of 20.8%. As the rainfall recurrence period increases, the number of overflow nodes tends to stabilize. Due to the high susceptibility of traffic hubs in cities to flooding, the result of contrast model analysis suggests prioritizing the drainage networks under main roads and overpasses and implementing Low Impact Development (LID) facilities around rivers to enhance urban infiltration and reduce river overflow risks. This coupled model demonstrates good applicability and high simulation accuracy for complex urban flood scenarios, emphasizing the importance of targeted urban planning and infrastructure improvements in enhancing flood resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing needs for sustainable and efficient energy sources have heightened interest in electrocatalytic water splitting (EWS), a promising method for hydrogen production as a clean and renewable energy carrier. EWS, which splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, faces efficiency challenges due to the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode. Developing effective electrocatalysts is essential to overcome these limitations. Among the various electrocatalysts studied, transition metal sulfides (TMSs) have garnered significant attention due to their low cost and abundant active sites. Despite the superior electrochemical performance of TMSs compared to other materials, their inherent low conductivity and sluggish reaction kinetics remain major challenges. Recent advancements have focused on the in situ growth of TMSs on conductive substrates to enhance electron transfer and overall catalytic performance, eliminating the need for polymer binders and improving electrode stability. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the key aspects involved in the synthesis of in situ grown TMS electrodes, including the selection of TMS active materials, various substrates, and preparation strategies. The review then offers a comprehensive overview of different types of in situ grown TMS electrodes, with a focus on the most extensively researched materials: molybdenum sulfides, cobalt sulfides, nickel sulfides, and their composites. Finally, the limitations and future perspectives are discussed, highlighting potential directions for advancing the development of in situ grown TMS catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of different component ratios and mechanical stiffness of the gelatin-sodium alginate composite hydrogel scaffold, fabricated through 3D bioprinting, on the viability and functionality of chondrocytes. Methods: Three different concentrations of hydrogel, designated as low, medium, and high, were prepared. The rheological properties of the hydrogel were characterized to optimize printing parameters. Subsequently, the printability and shape fidelity of the cell-loaded hydrogel scaffolds were statistically evaluated, and the chondrocyte viability was observed. Dynamic mechanical analysis was conducted to measure the modulus, thereby assessing the scaffold's stiffness. Following a 21-day culture period, RT-PCR, histological staining, and immunostaining were employed to assess chondrocyte activity, chondrosphere aggregates formation, and cartilage matrix production. Results: Based on rheological analysis, optimal printing temperatures for each group were determined as 27.8°C, 28.5°C, and 30°C. The optimized printing parameters could ensure the molding effect of the scaffolds on the day of printing, with the actual grid area of the scaffolds was close to the theoretical grid area. And the scaffolds exhibited good cell viability (93.24% ± 0.99%, 92.04% ± 1.49%, and 88.46% ± 1.53%). After 7 days of culture, the medium and high concentration groups showed no significant change in grid area compared to the day of printing (p > 0.05), indicating good morphological fidelity. As the hydrogel's bicomponent ratio increased, both the storage modulus and loss modulus increased, while the loss factor remained relatively constant. The highest number of chondrocytes-formed chondrosphere aggregates in the medium concentration group was observed by light microscopy. RT-PCR results indicated significantly higher expression levels of chondrogenic genes SOX9, Agg, and Col-II in the low and medium concentration groups compared to the high concentration group (p < 0.05). Histological staining results showed that the middle concentration group formed the highest number of typical cartilage lacunae. Conclusion: The aforementioned results indicate that in 3D bioprinted cell-loaded GA-SA composite hydrogel scaffolds, the scaffolds with the composition ratio (10:3) and mechanical stiffness (∼155 kPa) exhibit sustained morphological fidelity, effectively preserve the hyaline phenotype of chondrocytes, and are more conducive to cartilage regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Peanut production is being increasingly threatened by water stress with the context of global climate change. Film mulching have been reported to alleviate the adverse impact of drought on peanut. Lower phosphorus use efficiency is another key factor limiting peanut yield. Application of iron-modified and phosphorus-loaded biochar (BIP) has been validated to enhance phosphorus utilization efficiency in crops. However, whether combined effect of film mulching and BIP could increase water use efficiency and enhance peanut production through regulating soil properties and root morphologies needs further investigation. Methods: A two-year (2021-2022) pot experiment using a split-plot design was conducted to investigate the effects of phosphorus fertilizer substitution using BIP on soil properties, root morphology, pod yield, and water use of peanut under film mulching. The main plots were two mulching methods, including no mulching (M0) and film mulching (M1). The subplots were four combined applications of phosphorus fertilizer with BIP, including conventional phosphorus fertilizer rates (PCR) without BIP, P1C0; 3/4 PCR with 7.5 t ha-1 BIP, P2C1; 3/4 PCR with 15 t ha-1 BIP, P2C2; 2/3 PCR with 7.5 t ha-1 BIP, P3C1; 2/3 PCR with 15 t ha-1 BIP, P3C2. Results and discussion: The results indicated that regardless of biochar amendments, compared with M0, M1 increased soil organic matter and root morphology of peanut at different growth stages in both years. In addition, M1 increased peanut yield and water use efficiency (WUE) by 18.8% and 51.6%, respectively, but decreased water consumption by 25.0%, compared to M0 (two-year average). Irrespective of film mulching, P2C1 increased length, surface area, and volume of peanut root at seedling by 16.7%, 17.7%, and 18.6%, at flowering by 6.6%, 19.9%, and 29.5%, at pod setting by 22.9%, 33.8%, and 37.3%, and at pod filling by 48.3%, 9.5%, and 38.2%, respectively (two-year average), increased soil pH and organic matter content during peanut growing season, and increased soil CEC at harvest. In general, the M1P2C1 treatment obtained the optimal root morphology, soil chemical properties, WUE, and peanut yield, which increased peanut yield by 33.2% compared to M0P1C0. In conclusion, the combination of film mulching with 7.5 t ha-1 BIP (M1P2C1) effectively improved soil chemical properties, enhanced root morphology of peanut, and ultimately increased peanut yield and WUE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) pollution has emerged as a major global public health concern because of its adverse effects on human health. Our group has previously demonstrated that PM2.5 exposure can seriously impair ovarian function. However, the underlying mechanisms remain a mystery. This study verifies ovarian damage in mice, evidenced by inflammatory cell infiltration and follicular atresia, following 5 months of PM2.5 exposure via tracheal drip (35 µg/m³ for low dose and 150 µg/m³ for high dose). In addition, PM2.5 exposure inhibited the cell viability of human granulosa cells (KGN) and induced apoptosis at the concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 µg/mL for 24 h. The apoptosis of KGN cells induced by inflammation contributes to follicular atresia. Furthermore, we conducted RNA-sequencing analysis to identify the genes and pathways triggered by PM2.5 (100 µg/mL) exposure, which decreases the KGN cell viability. We found a significant increase in Activating Transcription Factor 3 (ATF3). Further mechanistic studies reveal a strong association between PM2.5-induced apoptosis, inflammation, and ATF3 with its downstream oxidative stress signals. In summary, the ATF3 pathway serves a vital role in the ovarian injury caused by PM2.5 exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of all‐perovskite tandem solar cells has recently surpassed that of single‐junction perovskite solar cells, showing great potential as a future photovoltaic technology due to its low manufacturing cost and high power conversion efficiency potential, yet the size of these cells is still at the laboratory level. It is highly required to develop scalable preparation methods to fabricate large‐area all‐perovskite tandem solar modules for commercial applications. Herein, the key challenges encountered in the laboratory of all‐perovskite tandem solar cells and the existing solutions are summarized and some views on the preparation of large areas and modules are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide‐bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) play crucial roles in determining the overall efficiencies of all‐perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs). Tailoring the grain growth process is a key route to improve the film quality and device performance. Herein, a facile passivator‐assisted close space annealing (PA‐CSA) strategy to simultaneously enlarge the crystal size and passivate the defects is demonstrated. Filter paper is used as the solvent permeable membrane to slow down the fast crystallization and enlarge the grain size. At the same time, a precisely selected volatile material (fluorizated‐phenethylammonium chloride) embedded in the filter paper is employed as the passivator to eliminate defects in wide‐Eg perovskite film during annealing. The PA‐CSA‐processed wide‐Eg PSCs obtain the champion efficiencies of 21.28% (1.68 eV) and 20.24% (1.73 eV), enabling high‐performance all‐perovskite TSCs with efficiencies reaching 27% in both four‐terminal and monolithic two‐terminal tandem configurations, respectively. This PA‐CSA strategy provides an in situ passivating process for high‐performance PSCs and TSCs upon further industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borehole destressing is one of the most widely used techniques for mitigating coal bursts. Understanding the working principle of destressing boreholes, exploring the main efficiency factors, and proposing a quantitative method for determining the drilling parameters for coal burst control are essential for maximizing coal burst control. This study establishes a unified damage mechanics model of borehole bursts (that is, dynamic collapse in boreholes) and roadway coal bursts, deduces the critical indices of borehole bursts, and identifies the main factors. The theoretical relationship between the critical stresses of borehole burst and roadway coal burst is quantitatively explored, and a theoretical criterion for borehole effectiveness in coal burst control is proposed using the critical indices of borehole bursts. Finally, a design principle, determination method, and calculation formulae for the drilling parameters, which are directly related to the roadway burst risk state, coal seam thickness, coal properties, and drilling size, are proposed. The optimized drilling parameters of typical coal burst mines in Hebei and Inner Mongolia verify the engineering applicability and effectiveness of the proposed design method. This study proposes a quantitative determination method for destressing drilling parameters that supports coal burst occurrence theory. Highlights: Critical conditions for borehole bursts, directly related to the mechanical properties of coal and borehole size, are theoretically provided. Theoretical relationship between boreholes and roadway coal bursts is explored. Quantitative description of the borehole destressing principle to mitigate coal burst is provided. Theoretical criterion for boreholes to mitigate coal bursts, which is directly related to the critical conditions of borehole bursts, is provided. Quantitative method for determining the drilling parameters to mitigate coal bursts is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic scaling of cobalt‐based catalysts is the feasible and sustainable approach for selective oxidation of biomass‐derived 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to produce bio‐plastic monomer of 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) under mild conditions. Here, a high‐efficiency dual single‐atomic Co/Cu supported on nitrogen‐doped carbon (a‐Co/Cu‐NC) is constructed. Leveraging exceptional oxygen activation ability, the Co/Cu dual‐atomic‐sites can accelerate the HMF oxidation, suppressing by‐product formation mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) in low‐oxygen environments. This leads to enhanced FDCA selectivity with a yield of 98% and a production rate of 298.8 mmolFDCA gmetal−1 h−1 under ambient conditions. Comprehensive experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that long‐range interactions between Co and Cu sites optimize reactant adsorption and lower energy barriers for •O2− and HMFCA formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the characteristics of low permeability, strong heterogeneity, small effective sand scale and poor connectivity of tight gas reservoir, well pattern infilling optimization is the main method to improve gas recovery. Taking Sulige gas field as an example, based on the study of sedimentary facies, effective sand-body distribution, combined with production performance and engineering parameters, the well control drainage was obtained. Meanwhile, the interwell connectivity and interference probability was qualitatively analyzed by interference well test, and the critical well spacing density was determined. In order to quantitatively reveal the gas grabbing degree at different well spacing density and determine whether the final cumulative gas production of gas wells with interference is economical and feasible, the evaluation index of "gas well production interference ratio (GWPIR)" was defined specifically, and the intersection plot of GWPIR relating to gas reserve abundance and well spacing density was draw. Different from the traditional method of well number interference probability, through the combination of GWPIR plot and economic evaluation, well pattern optimization from both two perspectives of pursuing higher economic benefits and recovery degree can be realized, providing technical support for improving gas recovery and long-term stable production of gas field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezocatalysis‐induced dye degradation has garnered significant attention as an effective method for addressing wastewater treatment challenges. In our study, we employed a room‐temperature sonochemical method to synthesize piezoelectric barium titanate nanoparticles (BaTiO3: BTO) with varying levels of Li doping. This approach not only streamlined the sample preparation process but also significantly reduced the overall time required for synthesis, making it a highly efficient and practical method. One of the key findings was the exceptional performance of the Li‐doped BTO nanoparticles. With 20 mg of Li additive, we achieved 90 % removal of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye within a relatively short timeframe of 150 minutes, all while subjecting the sample to ultrasonic vibration. This rapid and efficient dye degradation was further evidenced by the calculated kinetic rate constant, which indicated seven times faster degradation rate compared to pure BTO. The enhanced piezoelectric performance observed in the Li‐doped BTO nanoparticles can be attributed to the strategic substitution of Li atoms, which facilitated a more efficient transfer of charge charges at the interface. Overall, our study underscores the potential of piezocatalysis coupled with advanced materials like Li‐doped BTO nanoparticles as a viable and promising solution for wastewater treatment, offering both efficiency and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flux switching permanent magnet (FSPM) motor is a stator permanent magnet motor. The typical FSPM motor is doubly salient, which generates torque ripple and affects the rotation smoothness. In this paper, the influence of salient pole geometric sizes on motor torque performance is studied to reduce motor torque ripple and improve motor torque density. First, three indicators are defined to present the motor torque characters, including the average torque, torque ripple, and the volume of permanent magnet material usage. Then, the model of salient pole geometric sizes function to the three indicators is created. With this model, the optimal solution is obtained by the multi-objective numerical optimization. Based on the optimized results, the rotor shape is refined and analyzed as the supplementary to reduce the torque ripple further. Finally, the results show that the optimization procedure in this paper can effectively weaken the torque ripple, reduce the permanent magnet material usage, and improve the average output torque of the motor. Based on the optimized data, the prototype machine is built to verify the analysis results and prove the feasibility of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the continuous expansion of aquaculture and the vigorous development of the aquaculture industry, the breeding environment and diseases have become increasingly prominent, and the quality and output of aquaculture products have been affected to a certain extent, which has become one of the important factors restricting the development of aquaculture industry. Clostridium butyricum is a kind of clostridium bacillus, a gram-positive bacterium, strictly anaerobic, which can form spores and produce short-chain fatty acids, biofuel compounds, and biomaterial precursors such as H2, butanol, and 1,3-propanediol in the process of fermenting carbohydrates and sugars. This article reviews the isolation, identification, main biological functions, and mechanism of C. butyricum in the gastrointestinal tract of aquatic animals and summarizes the role of C. butyricum in improving the growth performance, digestibility, survival, immune response, disease resistance, and intestinal structure, as well as regulating the intestinal symbiotic microbiota and metabolic disorders of aquatic animals. To provide insights into the key research directions of C. butyricum in shrimp aquaculture in the future, including research on the relationship between C. butyricum and the host immune system and the possibility of using C. butyricum as an antibiotic substitute for disease prevention and treatment, this study aims to provide a reference for the comprehensive utilization of C. butyricum in shrimp aquaculture and promote the high-quality development of the shrimp aquaculture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TaxHf1–xC are promising candidates for many applications under harsh environments due to their unique properties. Up until now, low‐temperature densification is still a big challenge for these ceramics. Moreover, the effect of Ta:Hf ratio on microstructure development and mechanical behavior of the ceramics is not clear. In this work, highly dense TaxHf1−xC–SiC ceramics (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) were fabricated at 1700°C by a novel reactive hot‐pressing processing with 8 wt% Si as sintering aid, which present excellent mechanical properties. Fracture toughness of the ceramics is higher than 6.3 MPa·m1/2, with the highest toughness achieved in Ta0.6Hf0.4C–SiC (8.5 MPa·m1/2). With the increase of Ta content, hardness of the ceramics tends to increase, while the bending strength tends to decrease. The highest bending strength is achieved in Ta0.2Hf0.8C–SiC (637 MPa), and the highest hardness is achieved in Ta0.8Hf0.2C–SiC (17.6 GPa). This work lays the foundation for the composition design of TaxHf1−xC‐based ceramics and composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Many methods of acetabular reconstruction with total hip arthroplasty (THA) for Crowe type II and III adult developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) acetabular bone defect have been implemented clinically. However, there was no study comparing the results of integrated acetabular prosthesis (IAP) with bone grafting (BG). This study aims to investigate the efficacy of IAP and BG for acetabular reconstruction in Crowe type II and III DDH. Methods: The clinical data of 45 patients with unilateral Crowe type II and III DDH who underwent THA from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: 25 patients using 3D‐printed IAP (IAP group) and 20 patients using BG (BG group). The operation time and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. The clinical outcomes were assessed by Harris Hip Score (HHS) and full weight‐bearing time. The radiological outcomes were evaluated by the radiological examination. Accordingly, intraoperative and postoperative complications were observed as well. The data between the two groups were compared by independent sample t‐tests and the Mann–Whitney U rank sum test. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in Harris Hip Score (HHS) (preoperative, 6 months postoperative, and the last follow‐up), leg length discrepancy (LLD), cup inclination, cup anteversion, vertical center of rotation (V‐COR), horizontal center of rotation (H‐COR) (p > 0.05). The mean HHS in the IAP group was higher than in the BG group at 1 and 3 months postoperative (p < 0.001). The mean surgical time and blood loss in the IAP group were less than in the BG group (p < 0.001). The mean full weight‐bearing time in the IAP group was shorter than in the BG group (p < 0.01). No complications were observed in either group during the follow‐up period. Conclusion: IAP and BG have similar radiographic outcomes and long‐term clinical efficacy in THA for Crowe type II and III DDH, but the IAP technique has higher surgical safety and facilitates the recovery of hip joint function, which is worthy of clinical promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open biomass burning has significant adverse effects on regional air quality, climate change, and human health. Extensive open biomass burning is detected in most regions of China, and capturing the characteristics of open biomass burning and understanding its influencing factors are important prerequisites for regulating open biomass burning. The characteristics of open biomass burning have been widely investigated at the national scale, with regional studies often focusing on northeast China, but few studies have examined regional discrepancies in spatiotemporal variations over a long timescale in Guangxi province. In this study, we used the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) 375 m active fire product (VNP14IMG), combined with land cover data and high-resolution remote sensing images, to extract open biomass burning (crop residue burning and forest fire) fire points in Guangxi province from 2012 to 2023. We explored the spatial density distribution and temporal variation of open biomass burning using spatial analysis methods and statistical methods, respectively. Furthermore, we analyzed the driving forces of open biomass burning in Guangxi province from natural (topography, climate, and plant schedule), policy, and social (crop production and cultural customs) perspectives. The results show that open biomass burning is concentrated in the central, eastern, and southern parts of the study area, where there are frequent agricultural activities and abundant forests. At the city level, the highest numbers of fire points were found in Baise, Yulin, Wuzhou, and Nanning. The open biomass burning fire points exhibited large annual variation, with high levels from 2013 to 2015 and a remarkable decrease from 2016 to 2020 under strict control measures; however, inconsistent enforcement led to a significant rebound in fire points from 2021 to 2023. Forest fires are the predominant type of open biomass burning in the region, with forest fires and crop residue burning accounting for 76.82% and 23.18% of the total, respectively. The peak period for crop residue burning occurs in the winter, influenced mainly by topography, planting schedules, crop production, and policies, while forest fires predominantly occur in the winter and spring, primarily influenced by topography, climate, and cultural customs. The results indicate that identifying the driving forces behind spatiotemporal variations is essential for the effective management of open biomass burning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulators are essential for electrical insulation and structural support in transmission lines. With the advancement of deep learning, object detection algorithms have become primary tools for detecting insulator defects. However, challenges such as low detection accuracy for small targets, weak feature map representation, the insufficient extraction of key information, and a lack of comprehensive datasets persist. This paper introduces OD (Omni-dimensional dynamic)-YOLOV7-tiny, an enhanced insulator defect detection method. We replace the YOLOv7-tiny backbone with FasterNet and optimize the convolution structure using PConv, improving spatial feature extraction efficiency and operational speed. Additionally, we incorporate the OD (Omni-dimensional dynamic)-SlimNeck feature fusion module and a decoupled detection head to enhance accuracy. For deployment on edge devices, channel pruning and channel-wise distillation are applied, significantly reducing model parameters while maintaining high accuracy. Experimental results show that the improved model reduces parameters by 53% and increases accuracy and mean average precision (mAP) by 3.9% and 2.2%, respectively. These enhancements confirm the effectiveness of our lightweight model for insulator defect detection on edge devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apple orchards in Liaoning, one of the four major apple-producing areas in Bohai Bay, Northeast China, play a crucial role in regulating the carbon sink effect. However, there is limited information on the variation in carbon flux and its influential factors in apple orchards in this region. To address this, CO2 flux data were monitored throughout the entire apple growth seasons from April to November in 2017 and 2018 in the apple (Malus pumila Mill. cv Hanfu) orchard in Shenyang, China. The energy closure of the apple orchard was calculated, and variations in net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at different time scales and its response to environmental factors were analyzed. Our results showed that the energy balance ratio of the apple was 0.74 in 2017 and 1.38 in 2018. NEE was generally positive in April and November and negative from May to October, indicating a strong carbon sink throughout the growth season. The daily average NEE ranged from − 0.103 to 0.094 mg m−2 s−1 in 2017 and from − 0.134 to 0.059 mg m−2 s−1 in 2018, with the lowest values observed in June and July. NEE was negatively correlated with net radiation, atmospheric temperature, saturated vapor pressure deficit, and soil temperature. These findings provide valuable insights for predicting carbon flux in orchard ecosystems within the context of global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed cell death (PCD) plays critical roles in plant immunity but must be regulated to prevent excessive damage. In this study, a novel spotted leaf (spl11-1) mutant was identified from an ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) population. The SPL11-1 gene was genetically mapped to chromosome 12 between the Indel12-37 and Indel12-39 molecular markers, which harbor a genomic region of 27 kb. Annotation of the SPL11-1 genomic region revealed the presence of two candidate genes. Through gene prediction and cDNA sequencing, it was confirmed that the target gene in the spl11-1 mutant is allelic to the rice SPOTTED LEAF (SPL11), hereafter referred to as spl11-1. Sequence analysis of SPL11 revealed a single bp deletion (T) between the spl11-1 mutant and the 'Shuangkang77009' wild type. Moreover, protein structure analysis showed that the structural differences between the SPL11-1 and SPL11 proteins might lead to a change in the function of the SPL11 protein. Compared to the 'Shuangkang77009' wild type, the spl11-1 mutant showed more disease resistance. The agronomical evaluation showed that the spl11-1 mutant showed more adverse traits. Through further mutagenesis treatment, we obtained the spl11-2 mutant allelic to spl11-1, which has excellent agronomic traits and more improvement and may have certain breeding prospects in future breeding for disease resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Weaning stress affects the health of calves, inhibiting growth and disrupting gastrointestinal function. Benzoic acid (BA) is known for promoting growth and intestinal health. This study aims to investigate the effects of BA on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota of weaned Holstein dairy calves. Thirty-two Holstein dairy calves (60 days of age) were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8) supplemented with 0%, 0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75% BA to the basal diet (dry matter basis) for 42 days, respectively. The results showed that supplementation with 0.50% BA promoted growth performance by increasing feed intake and average daily gain and reducing feed-to-gain ratio, improved rumen fermentation parameters, and increased the relative abundance of probiotics in the rumen. This suggests that 0.50% BA supplementation might be an effective method for the efficient breeding of weaned calves. Supplementation with benzoic acid (BA) in animal feed can reduce feeds' acid-binding capacity, inhibit pathogenic bacterial growth, enhance nutrient digestion, and increase intestinal enzyme activities. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different doses of BA on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbiota of weaned Holstein dairy calves. Thirty-two Holstein calves at 60 days of age were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 8): a control group (fed with a basal diet without BA supplementation; CON group) and groups that were supplemented with 0.25% (LBA group), 0.50% (MBA group), and 0.75% (HBA group) BA to the basal diet (dry matter basis), respectively. The experiment lasted for 42 days, starting at 60 days of age and ending at 102 days of age, with weaning occurring at 67 days of age. Supplementation with BA linearly increased the average daily gain of the weaned dairy calves, which was significantly higher in the LBA, MBA, and HBA groups than that in the CON group. The average daily feed intake was quadratically increased with increasing BA supplementation, peaking in the MBA group. Supplementation with BA linearly decreased the feed-to-gain (F/G) ratio, but did not affect rumen fermentation parameters, except for the molar proportion of butyrate and iso-butyrate, which were linearly increased with the dose of BA supplementation. Compared with the CON group, the molar proportions of iso-butyrate in the LBA, MBA, and HBA groups and that of butyrate in the HBA group were significantly higher than those in the CON group. Supplementation with BA had no significant effect on the alpha and beta diversity of the rumen microbiota, but significantly increased the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, and reduced those of the harmful bacteria, such as unclassified_o__Gastranaerophilales and Oscillospiraceae_UCG-002, in the rumen. Functional prediction analysis using the MetaCyc database revealed significant variations in the pathways associated with glycolysis across groups, including the GLYCOLYSIS-TCA-GLYOX-BYPASS, GLYCOL-GLYOXDEG-PWY, and P105-PWY pathways. In conclusion, BA supplementation improved the composition and function of rumen microbiota, elevated the production of butyrate and iso-butyrate, and increased the growth performance of weaned Holstein dairy calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional methods for predicting the distribution of albacore (Thunnus alalunga) fishing grounds have low performance and accuracy. Uneven sampling can result in unreasonable evaluation indicators. To address these issues, three methods, equi-frequency, K-means clustering algorithm, and 1-R split, were applied to discretize the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of albacore in the South Pacific from 2016 to 2021 and partition the fishing grounds into abundance levels. Eight machine learning models were used to predict the fishing grounds. In addition to the traditional evaluation index based on confusion matrix, top-k index was also used to evaluate the accuracy of fishery abundance predictions. The results showed that (1) When sampling is unbalanced, the reported accuracy does not fully represent the actual performance of the model in predicting the abundance of albacore in the fishing ground. F1 value can be used as the index of the model effect and stability. (2) In binary classification, the quartile stacking algorithm has the best stacking performance, with F1 0.89. (3) The top-1 prediction accuracy of three-category fishery forecasting is the highest at 0.74, and the top-1 prediction accuracy of five-category fishery forecasting is the highest at 0.54. (4) The top-k accuracy of classification of fisheries with multiple abundance using K-means is significantly better than that of equal frequency discretization (p < 0.001). The top-k evaluation index was used to predict the fishing grounds of albacore across multiple abundance levels for the first time in this study, which is significant for pioneering a new method for this application and which provides a demonstration of the development of artificial intelligence techniques for fisheries in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of mixed‐halide perovskites has established a versatile optoelectronic platform owing to their extraordinary physical properties, but there remain challenges toward achieving highly reliable synthesis and performance, in addition, post‐synthesis approaches for tuning their photoluminescence properties after device fabrication remain limited. In this work, an effective approach is reported to leveraging hot electrons generated from plasmonic nanostructures to regulate the optical properties of perovskites. A plasmonic metasurface composed of Au nanoparticles can effectively tailor both photoluminescence and location‐specific phase segregation of mixed‐halide CsPbI2Br thin films. The ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal hot electron injection on the timescale of hundreds of femtoseconds. Photocurrent measurements confirm the hot‐electron‐enhanced photon‐carrier conversion, and in addition, gate‐voltage tuning of phase segregation is observed because of correlated carrier injection and halide migration in the perovskite films. Finally, the characteristics of the gate‐modulated light emission are found to conform to a rectified linear unit function, serving as nonlinear electrical‐to‐optical converters in artificial neural networks. Overall, the hot electron engineering approach demonstrated in this work provides effective location‐specific control of the phase and optical properties of halide perovskites, underscoring the potential of plasmonic metasurfaces for advancing perovskite technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem of incomplete perception of limited viewpoints of ore blocks in future remote and intelligent shoveling-dominated mining scenarios, a method of using new view generation technology to predict ore blocks with limited view based on a latent diffusion model is proposed. Initially, an ore block image-pose dataset is created. Then, based on prior knowledge, the latent diffusion model undergoes transfer learning to develop an intelligent ore block shape prediction model (IOBSPM) for rock blocks. During training, structural similarity loss is innovatively introduced to constrain the prediction results and solve the issue of discontinuity in generated images. Finally, neural surface reconstruction is performed using the generated multi-view images of rock blocks to obtain a 3D model. Experimental results show that the prediction model, trained on the rock block dataset, produces better morphological and detail generation compared to the original model, with single-view generation time within 5 s. The average PSNR, SSIM, and LPIPS values reach 23.02 dB, 0.754, and 0.268, respectively. The generated views also demonstrate good performance in 3D reconstruction, highlighting significant implications for future research on remote and autonomous shoveling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi‐2D perovskites light‐emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have achieved significant progress due to their superior optical and electronic properties. However, the blue PeLEDs still exist inefficient energy transfer and electroluminescence performance caused by mixed multidimensional phase distribution. In this work, transition metal salt (zinc bromide, ZnBr2) is introduced to modulate phase distributions by suppressing the nucleation of high n phase perovskites, which effectively shortens the energy transfer path for blue emission. Moreover, ZnBr2 also facilitates energy level matching and reduces non‐radiative recombination, thus improving electroluminescence (EL) efficiency. Benefiting from these combined improvements, an efficient blue PeLEDs is obtained with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 16.2% peaking located at 486 nm. This work provides a promising approach to tune phase distribution of quasi‐2D perovskites and achieving highly efficient blue PeLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The growing use of glass in architecture has driven research into reducing its energy consumption. Thermochromic (TC) glass technology shows promise for enhancing building energy efficiency by regulating solar heat dynamically. Although TC glass helps reduce heat radiation, additional solutions like Low-E or vacuum glass are needed to control heat convection and conduction. Low-E glass, while effective in lowering heat transfer, may increase surface temperature. Thermo-sensitive hydrogels, known for their light-scattering properties at high temperatures, have been explored to complement TC glass. However, their stability at elevated temperatures remains a challenge, especially for applications requiring durability under varying weather conditions. This study proposes enhancing the adhesion between hydrogel and glass by introducing silica–oxygen bonds. As a result, TC glass demonstrates stable performance over 100 cycles within temperature ranges from 85 °C to 30 °C in summer and 40 °C to −20 °C in winter. Furthermore, by incorporating ethylene glycol, the freezing point of TC glass is reduced to −26 °C, rendering it suitable for use in colder regions. The implementation of TC glass effectively addresses the dual requirements of summer shading and winter heating in areas with both cold winters and hot summers, significantly reducing building energy consumption. This study contributes substantially to developing advanced intelligent building materials, paving the way for more sustainable architectural designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing in shale gas production can induce felt earthquakes, making it crucial to understand and mitigate induced earthquakes. The Cen'gong shale gas block in South China offers extensive data—3D seismic, geological structure, microseismic data, and detailed stimulation operations—allowing a comprehensive investigation into induced earthquakes by hydraulic fracturing. Using a dense temporary seismic array and deep‐learning workflows, we build a high precision earthquake catalog and determine their focal mechanisms. Pre‐existing fractures are identified through the Ant Tracking attribute derived from the 3D seismic data. We analyze the distribution, frequency, magnitude, and focal mechanisms of induced earthquakes, compare them spatially with the distribution of the pre‐existing fractures, and track their temporal changes during and after hydraulic fracturing. Most induced earthquakes occurred along pre‐existing fractures, exhibiting relatively larger magnitudes and persistent trailing seismicity. The number of trailing seismicity is proportional to the response time of stimulation earthquakes. The focal mechanism solutions suggest that the rupture mechanism of the trailing seismicity remained unchanged. By analyzing four clusters of earthquakes, we found that in two of these clusters, the induced earthquakes initiated from the far side of the fractures, then linearly migrated along the pre‐existing fractures. This directional migration pattern is explained by stress rotation along the fractures. Our analysis suggests that both pre‐existing fractures and stimulation operations significantly influence induced earthquake occurrences. Therefore, this work may enhance our understanding of pre‐existing fractures, and optimizing stimulation operations can mitigate earthquake hazards in shale gas production. Plain Language Summary: Felt hydraulic fracturing‐induced earthquakes have been reported worldwide. Understanding the triggering mechanisms of induced earthquakes is essential to mitigate earthquake hazards. This study utilizes extensive data recorded in the Cen'gong shale gas block in South China to comprehensively investigate and understand the spatial and temporal distribution, magnitudes, focal mechanisms, initiation, and migration of induced earthquakes. Our results suggest that both pre‐existing fractures and stimulation operations significantly influence induced earthquakes. Thus, induced earthquakes can be mitigated by understanding the interaction of the pre‐existing fractures and the stimulation operations. Key Points: We construct an earthquake catalog and determine focal mechanisms for the Cen'gong hydraulic fracturing through machine‐learning seamless workflowsThe distribution and intensity of induced earthquakes are influenced by both pre‐existing fractures and stimulation operationsThe linear directional migration of induced earthquakes is observed and attributed to stress rotation along the fracture [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thyroid cancer is prevalent worldwide, including in China, where its incidence is on the rise. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the predominant subtype. Investigating the relationship between clinical data associated with PTC and gene mutations is crucial for improving detection and treatment. Patients and Methods: We collected samples and associated clinical data from 700 PTC patients at Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital. Using a panel of 57 genes linked to thyroid cancer, we sequenced the samples to determine the mutation frequency of thyroid cancer-associated genes in PTC. We further analyzed the correlation between gene variants and clinical information. Results: The mean age of patients in this study was 42.5 years. Females predominated, comprising 507 of the total patient population, resulting in a female-to-male ratio of 2.63 (507:193). Tumor distribution revealed 198, 257, and 142 cases on the left, right, and both sides, respectively. Among the 57 thyroid cancer-related genes analyzed, we identified at least one driver gene in 83.6% of patients. Notably, 76.4% had BRAF mutations, mainly BRAFV600E, which constituted 90.9% of all BRAF mutations, with 535 cases exhibiting these mutations. Other significant driver genes included CHEK2 (n = 84), RET (n = 42), PIK3CA (n = 7), and EGFR (n = 7). RET fusions (n = 28) were also identified. Notably, patients under 55 years old exhibit a higher tendency towards advanced N staging, suggesting that younger individuals may be more prone to lymph node metastasis. Additionally, male patients were more likely to have advanced N stages. Importantly, a positive correlation was observed between higher BRAF allele frequencies and more advanced T and N stages. Similarly, correlation analysis revealed that a greater frequency of RET fusions correlated with later T and N stages. Conclusion: This study uncovered several significant insights. Younger PTC patients exhibited a higher propensity for lymph node metastasis. An elevated mutation frequency of BRAF was correlated with a higher occurrence of RET fusions, predisposing individuals to lymph node metastasis and potentially indicating a poorer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technology for object detection in remote sensing images finds extensive applications in production and people's lives, and improving the accuracy of image detection is a pressing need. With that goal, this paper proposes a range of improvements, rooted in the widely used YOLOv7 algorithm, after analyzing the requirements and difficulties in the detection of remote sensing images. Specifically, we strategically remove some standard convolution and pooling modules from the bottom of the network, adopting stride-free convolution to minimize the loss of information for small objects in the transmission. Simultaneously, we introduce a new, more efficient attention mechanism module for feature extraction, significantly enhancing the network's semantic extraction capabilities. Furthermore, by adding multiple cross-layer connections in the network, we more effectively utilize the feature information of each layer in the backbone network, thereby enhancing the network's overall feature extraction capability. During the training phase, we introduce an auxiliary network to intensify the training of the underlying network and adopt a new activation function and a more efficient loss function to ensure more effective gradient feedback, thereby elevating the network performance. In the experimental results, our improved network achieves impressive mAP scores of 91.2% and 80.8% on the DIOR and DOTA version 1.0 remote sensing datasets, respectively. These represent notable improvements of 4.5% and 7.0% over the original YOLOv7 network, significantly enhancing the efficiency of detecting small objects in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) involve dysfunction of the heart and blood vessels and have become major health concerns worldwide. Multiple mechanisms may be involved in the occurrence and development of CVDs. Although therapies for CVDs are constantly being developed and applied, the incidence and mortality of CVDs remain high. The roles of natural compounds in CVD treatment are being explored, providing new approaches for the treatment of CVD. Pentacyclic triterpenes are natural compounds with a basic nucleus of 30 carbon atoms, and they have been widely studied for their potential applications in the treatment of CVDs, to which various pharmacological activities contribute, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor effects. This review introduces the roles of triterpenoids in the prevention and treatment of CVDs, summarizes their potential underlying mechanisms, and provides a comprehensive overview of the therapeutic potential of triterpenoids in the management of CVDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxide layer formed by ultra‐high melt point oxides (ZrO2, HfO2) and SiO2 glassy melt is the key to the application of traditional thermal structural materials in extremely high‐temperature environment. However, the negative effect of ZrO2 and HfO2 phase transitions on the stability of oxide layer and rapid volatilization of low viscosity SiO2 melt limit its application in aerospace. In this study, the ablation behavior of Cf/(CrZrHfNbTa)C‒SiC high‐entropy composite was explored systematically via an air plasma ablation test, under a heat flux of 5 MW/m2 at temperatures up to 2450°C. The composite presents an outstanding ablation resistance, with linear and mass ablation rates of 0.9 µm/s and 1.82 mg/s, respectively. This impressive ablation resistance is attributed to the highly stable oxide protective layer formed in situ on the ablation surface, which comprises a solid skeleton of (Zr, Hf)6(Nb, Ta)2O17 combined with spherical particles and SiO2 glassy melt. The irregular particles provide a solid skeleton in the oxides protective layer, which increased stability of the oxide layer. Moreover, the spherical particles have a crystal structure similar to that of Ta2O5 and are uniformly distributed in SiO2 glassy melt, which hinder the flow of SiO2 glassy melt and enhance its viscosity to a certain degree. And it reduces the volatilization of SiO2. In summary, the stable oxide layer was formed by irregular particles oxide and the SiO2 glassy melt with certain viscosity, thereby resulting in the impressive ablation resistance of the composite. This study fills a gap in ablation research on the (CrZrHfNbTa)C system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lack of physical activity is a common issue in modern society and is considered a major risk factor for various chronic non-communicable diseases. Bioactive factors secreted by skeletal muscle during exercise play a crucial role in inter-organ interactions. Since the concept of "myokines" was proposed in 2004, hundreds of regulatory myokines have been identified. Visual analysis of research on exercise-regulated myokines is significant to explore research hotspots and frontiers in this field. Methods: Research literature on exercise-regulated myokines from 2003 to 2023 in the "Web of Science" database was used as the data source. Knowledge maps were drawn using "VOS Viewer, CiteSpace, and R-bibliometrix" software. Results: A total of 1,405 papers were included, showing a fluctuating yet slow growth in annual publications. The United States and China led in the number of publications and collaboration networks. Harvard University ranked first with 120 publications. CIBER (centrality 0.16) and the University of California System (centrality 0.16) were pivotal in advancing this field. PEDERSEN BK led author rankings with 41 publications and 1,952 citations. FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY ranked first among journals with 64 publications and the highest g-index (39), while PLoS One had the highest h-index (25) and most citations (2,599). Key cocited reference clusters included #1 skeletal muscle dysfunction, #2 obesity, #6 ASCs, and #7 adaptive immunocytes. Pontus Boström's paper had a notable citation burst intensity of 77.37. High-frequency keywords were "exercise" (509), "skeletal muscle" (452), and "expression" (293), with long-term keywords such as #0 irisin, #2 insulin resistance, #3 transcription, and #6 physical activity. Recently, keywords like "physical exercise," "resistance exercise," "aerobic exercise," "insulin," and "oxidative stress" have emerged. Conclusion: Research in the field of exercise-regulated myokines shows an overall upward trend. The focus areas include myokines mediated by different types of exercise, the interaction of irisin-mediated muscle with other organs, and the important role of myokine-mediated oxidative stress in exercise simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The ability of facial expression recognition, the ability to decipher human emotions from facial features, and we can judge the emotional state of human beings by analysing facial expressions. Empowered by this technology, the related research of student sentiment analysis has become a focal point in the realm of educational technology. Teachers can now read the emotional state of their students and estimate the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, enabling them to implement appropriate intervention techniques to enhance teaching outcomes. However, facial expression recognition techniques are currently limited by their shortcomings. Network performance degradation and loss of feature information are key issues that hinder the effectiveness of sentiment analysis of student feedback. To overcome these limitations, in this paper, we propose RFMNet, a novel network model based on deep learning theory. RFMNet, with its higher extraction capability, is designed to accurately analyse student expressions. It introduces a relation‐aware global attention (RGA) module, which facilitates the integration of more discriminative expression features in the image, leading to more refined sentiment analysis. This innovative model also employs a Mish activation function and a focal loss function. The Mish activation function is of particular interest because it helps to avoid the loss of feature information due to neuron deactivation when the ReLU gradient is. This approach results in a more robust and accurate facial expression recognition model. Our model was tested on the FERPlus public dataset. The model achieved an average recognition accuracy of 89.62%, which is a testament to its performance in decoding the facial expressions of students. This precision allows for intelligent processing of teaching information and real‐time feedback, enabling teachers to adapt their teaching strategies to better suit the needs of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rechargeable zinc batteries are promising choices for eco‐friendly, safe and cost‐effective energy storage solutions. However, their commercial adoption faces challenges such as low Coulombic efficiency (CE) and poor reversibility of Zn anodes. To address these issues, a new green electrolyte based on N,N'‐Dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU) has been developed, affording a robust, dendrite‐free Zn anode with over 5000 h of cycle stability and a high average CE of 98.49%. Zn anode in DMPU‐electrolyte significantly outperforms aqueous electrolyte with 67 times longer cycle life, demonstrating excellent anode stability. Moreover, ultra‐stable Zn anode in DMPU‐electrolyte cycled for over 10 000 cycles at 1.0 mA cm−2 showcases excellent reversibility. The Dimethylpropyleneurea‐triflate anion generated solid electrolyte interphase enables homogeneous and rapid Zn2+‐diffusion at the electrode interface, leading to a structured hexagonal Zn deposit. Furthermore, as electrolyte additive, DMPU significantly stabilizes Zn anode at severe conditions (5.0 and 10.0 mA cm−2) along with remarkable enhancement in CE (99.12%). This study offers valuable insights into the development of hybrid and organic electrolytes to advance Zn battery technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after cardiac surgery is a severe respiratory complication with high mortality and morbidity. Traditional clinical approaches may lead to under recognition of this heterogeneous syndrome, potentially resulting in diagnosis delay. This study aims to develop and external validate seven machine learning (ML) models, trained on electronic health records data, for predicting ARDS after cardiac surgery. Methods: This multicenter, observational cohort study included patients who underwent cardiac surgery in the training and testing cohorts (data from Nanjing First Hospital), as well as those patients who had cardiac surgery in a validation cohort (data from Shanghai General Hospital). The number of important features was determined using the sliding windows sequential forward feature selection method (SWSFS). We developed a set of tree-based ML models, including Decision Tree, GBDT, AdaBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, Random Forest, and Deep Forest. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and Brier score. The SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) techinque was employed to interpret the ML model. Furthermore, a comparison was made between the ML models and traditional scoring systems. ARDS is defined according to the Berlin definition. Results: A total of 1996 patients who had cardiac surgery were included in the study. The top five important features identified by the SWSFS were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, preoperative albumin, central venous pressure_T4, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and left ventricular ejection fraction. Among the seven ML models, Deep Forest demonstrated the best performance, with an AUC of 0.882 and a Brier score of 0.809 in the validation cohort. Notably, the SHAP values effectively illustrated the contribution of the 13 features attributed to the model output and the individual feature's effect on model prediction. In addition, the ensemble ML models demonstrated better performance than the other six traditional scoring systems. Conclusions: Our study identified 13 important features and provided multiple ML models to enhance the risk stratification for ARDS after cardiac surgery. Using these predictors and ML models might provide a basis for early diagnostic and preventive strategies in the perioperative management of ARDS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by chronic inflammation that damages articular cartilage. At present, the treatment of OA includes drug therapy to relieve symptoms and joint replacement therapy for advanced OA. However, these palliatives cannot truly block the progression of the disease from the immunological pathogenesis of OA. In recent years, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation has shown great potential in tissue engineering repair. In addition, many studies have shown that BMSC paracrine signals play an important role in the treatment of OA through immune regulation and suppressing inflammation. At present, the mechanism of inflammation-induced OA and the use of BMSC transplantation in joint repair have been reviewed, but the mechanism and significance of BMSC paracrine signals in the treatment of OA have not been fully reviewed. Therefore, this article focused on the latest research progress on the paracrine effects of BMSCs in the treatment of OA and the related mechanisms by which BMSCs secrete cytokines to inhibit the inflammatory response, regulate immune balance, and promote cell proliferation and differentiation. In addition, the application potential of BMSCExos as a new type of cell-free therapy for OA is described. This review aimed to provide systematic theoretical support for the clinical application of BMSC transplantation in the treatment of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the culture positivity and distribution of the conjunctival sac bacteria in the perioperative period of corneal refractive surgery. The selected time points of the perioperative period included before the use of antibiotic eye drops, before eye wash (after the use of antibiotic eye drops), after eye wash, and immediately after surgery. Conjunctival specimens obtained at the four time points were cultured to detect the positivity and distribution of bacteria. Before prophylactic antibiotic eye drops were administered, 49 eyes (50%) had positive bacterial culture results, with 45 isolates (91.8%) identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis. The culture positivity rates of the conjunctival sac specimens before eye wash, after eye wash, and immediately after surgery were 19.4%, 3.1%, and 4.1%, respectively. The difference was significant before and after the use of antibiotics and before and after eye wash (both P < 0.001). Staphylococcus epidermidis was the major pathogen in the conjunctival sac before corneal refractive surgery, and the culture positivity rate of the conjunctival bacteria was higher in males. Sixteen of 37 eyes (43.2%) with contact lenses had positive culture results, compared to 33 of 61 eyes (54.1%) without contact lenses (P > 0.05). The judicious preoperative use of antibiotic eye drops combined with the surgical sterile eye wash procedure maximised the removal of conjunctival sac bacteria. Skilled surgical manipulations generally did not increase the risk of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezocatalysis is attracting extensive attention in recent years because it can directly convert mechanical energy from the ambient environment (such as tiny vibrations and noise) into piezopotential for catalytic activities. Dyes are widely used in diverse industries, including paper, printing, and textiles, which cause serious environmental problems due to their persistence and toxicity. Unlike traditional catalysts that rely on chemical reactions to drive dye degradation, piezocatalysts offer a sustainable and cost‐effective alternative to breaking down complex molecules through creating highly reactive species, which have shown a significant promise in the treatment of organic pollutants in wastewater. In this review, the basic principles of piezocatalysis are first outlined, specifically describing two ubiquitous forms of driving force in nature. Following the catalytic mechanism, the current mainstream piezocatalytic materials are classified into two categories: organic and inorganic materials with detailed discussions. Moreover, after investigating and analyzing previous literature, effective strategies for improving piezocatalytic efficiency for dye degradation are systematically compared and summarized. In the end, current issues that need to be addressed in the future as well as potential research directions related to piezocatalysis are prospected. This work provides an insight into solving current issues to advance the piezocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the analysis of the functional status of forearm blood vessels, this paper fully considers the orientation of the vascular skeleton and the geometric characteristics of blood vessels and proposes a blood vessel width calculation algorithm based on the radius estimation of the tangent circle (RETC) in forearm near-infrared images. First, the initial infrared image obtained by the infrared camera is preprocessed by image cropping, contrast stretching, denoising, enhancement, and initial segmentation. Second, the Zhang–Suen refinement algorithm is used to extract the vascular skeleton. Third, the Canny edge detection method is used to perform vascular edge detection. Finally, a RETC algorithm is developed to calculate the vessel width. This paper evaluates the accuracy of the proposed RETC algorithm, and experimental results show that the mean absolute error between the vessel width obtained by our algorithm and the reference vessel width is as low as 0.36, with a variance of only 0.10, which can be significantly reduced compared to traditional calculation measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock burst is a worldwide prevention and control problem, and the main reason for its occurrence is the concentration of stress in the surrounding rock of the coal roadway. Therefore, it is of great significance to realize the rapid and accurate detection of the stress distribution in the surrounding rock of the roadway for the prevention and control of rock burst. Based on the principle of charge induction, this paper adopts a research method combining theoretical analysis and indoor and field tests to carry out a study on the charge induction detection of stress distribution of surrounding rock in coal seam roadways using the self-developed coal rock charge induction monitor. A theoretical analysis of the charge induction intensity in relation to the stress level is carried out. Indoor tests on the law of charge induction for graded loading of large sized coal samples are carried out. Field detection tests of the charge induction law at different drilling depths on the solid coal side and the large coal pillar side of the coal seam roadway are carried out. The results show a positive correlation between the charge signal intensity and the stress magnitude. The induced charge of coal samples has a tendency to increase with the increase in graded loading stress level. The magnitude of the induced charge can reflect the stress level of the coal body. On the solid coal side, the induced charge has a tendency of increasing and then decreasing with the increase in detection depth. The final results are in good agreement with the results of the drill chip method, which better reflects the distribution of the lateral support pressure of the roadway. On the side of the large coal pillar, the induced charge has a tendency to increase, then decrease, and then increase with the increase in probing depth, which is in good agreement with the distribution of lateral support pressure formed in the elastic core area of the large coal pillar. Therefore, the charge induction technology can be used as a fast, non-contact detection means for the partitioning and stress distribution of the roadway enclosure, which can provide guidance for the target prevention and controlling rock burst and for designing roadway support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the poor aqueous solubility of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), encapsulating it in egg yolk results in a reduction in the hydration properties of egg yolk powder (EYP), subsequently affecting its functional properties. In this study, the effects of vacuum low-temperature spray drying (VLTSD), high-temperature spray drying (HTSD), and freeze-drying (FD) on the hydration properties of DHA-enriched EYP were investigated. Firstly, we optimized the inlet temperature and feed rate for VLTSD (60 °C, 300 mL/h) and HTSD (170 °C, 800 mL/h), while FD was conducted under − 70 °C conditions. The most striking finding of this study was the DHA-enriched EYP prepared by VLTSD exhibited desirable solubility (54.86 g/100 g), water dispersibility (48.63%), and coefficient of stability (24.88%) during rehydration, which was well predicted by low-field NMR. Compared to HTSD and FD, the solubility increased by 16.18% and 45.17%, respectively. Furthermore, at the microscopic level, SEM images and FTIR spectra revealed that VLTSD enhanced the hydration properties by protecting the structural integrity and increasing the hydrogen bonding of the DHA-enriched EYP. The encapsulation efficiency of DHA-enriched EYP prepared by VLTSD, HTSD, and FD were 97.15%, 96.51%, and 81.31%, respectively. According to the quality analysis, VLTSD had the best protection for DHA-enriched EYP in terms of chromaticity, bulk density, storage stability, and sensory evaluation. Therefore, this study confirmed the applicability of VLTSD technology for microencapsulation of bioactive substances such as DHA to enhance the hydration properties of powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]