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Immune response is pivotal in the secondary injury of spinal cord injury (SCI). Polarization of macrophages (MΦ) influences the immune response in the secondary injury, which is regulated by several immune-related proteins. M2Φ plays the immunomodulatory role in the central nervous system. This study used bioinformatic analysis and machine algorithms to screen hub immune-related proteins after SCI and experimentally investigate the role of the target protein in the M2Φ polarization and immunomodulation in rats and in vitro after SCI. We downloaded GSE151371 and GSE45006, hub immune-related genes were screened using machine learning algorithms, and the expression of S100A9 was verified by datasets. Allen's weight-drop injury SCI model in Sprague–Dawley rat and bone marrow-derived rat MΦ with myelin debris model were used to study the effects of S100A9 on M2Φ polarization and immunomodulation at the lesion site and in vitro. Bioinformatic analysis showed that S100A9 acts as a hub immune-related gene in the SCI patients and rats. S100A9 increased at the lesion site in SCI rats, and its inhibition reduced CD206 and ARG-1 expression. Exogenous S100A9 promoted CD206 and ARG-1 expression in MΦ. S100A9 also increased the expression of PD-L1 and decreased MHC II at the lesion site in SCI rats and MΦ with myelin debris, and enhanced mitochondrial activity in rat MΦ with myelin debris. In conclusion, S100A9 is an indispensable factor in the immune process in secondary injury following SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of pristine formamidinium lead tri‐iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite films for solar cells applications can be very challenging without methylammonium containing additives. The pinhole‐rich films prepared by methylammonium‐free approach limit the performance of the pristine FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This work proposes a recrystallization method employing mixed solvent annealing (MSA) to heal the pinholes in pristine FAPbI3 perovskite films. The tetramethylene sulfoxide vapor is demonstrated most effective in grains‐merging and pinhole healing, while the addition of a secondary solvent vapor of anisole significantly improved the uniformity of TMSO vapor distribution. The pristine FAPbI3 PSCs prepared with MSA recrystallized film achieved power conversion efficiencies up to 22.43% and 16.54% on small cells (0.105 cm2) and mini‐modules (12.6 cm2), respectively, showing great potential in upscaling fabrication of perovskite photovoltaics with pristine FAPbI3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urban traffic congestion and environmental pollution have led to the embrace of bike-sharing for its low-carbon convenience. This study enhances the operational efficiency and environmental benefits of bike-sharing systems by optimizing electronic fences (e-fences). Using bike-sharing order data from Shenzhen, China, a data-driven multi-objective optimization approach is proposed to design the sustainable dynamic capacity of e-fences. A dynamic planning model, solved with an improved Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II), adjusts e-fence capacities to match fluctuating user demand, optimizing resource utilization. The results show that an initial placement of 20 bicycles per e-fence provided a balance between cost efficiency and user convenience, with the enterprise cost being approximately 76,000 CNY and an extra walking distance for users of 15.1 m. The optimal number of e-fence sites was determined to be 40 based on the solution algorithm constructed in the study. These sites are strategically located in high-demand areas, such as residential zones, commercial districts, educational institutions, subway stations, and parks. This strategic placement enhances urban mobility and reduces disorderly parking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have discussed ethnic disparities in school bullying victimization within developing countries. Based on an empirical survey of 1763 children in the Tibetan, Hui and Miao regions in China, this study reached two findings: First, there are significant ethnic disparities in bullying victimization within China's multiethnic regions, where a balanced representation of different cultures can contribute to reducing the risk of victimization. Second, the bullying victimization of different ethnicities is associated with microsystem factors, including the ethnic composition of a school, family dysfunction and children's aggressive behaviour, which displays more homogeneity than heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) has the ability to achieve multi-objective optimization, but there are still many challenges. The key to realizing multi-objective optimization in FCS-MPC lies in the design of the cost function. However, the different dimensions of penalty terms in the cost function often lead to difficulties in designing weighting coefficients. Incorrect weighting coefficients may result in truncation errors in calculations of DSPs and FPGAs, thereby affecting the algorithm's control performance. Therefore, this article focuses on a system driving an induction motor with a three-level Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) inverter, and selects stator current and switching frequency as penalty terms in the cost function. An improved method is proposed to unify the dimensions of both penalty terms in the cost function. By unifying the dimensions of the penalty terms, a simple design of weighting coefficients can be achieved. Subsequently, to balance the inverter's switching frequency and the dynamic response performance of the motor, a composite cost function is further proposed. Finally, the rationality of the proposed method is validated through simulation and experimental platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PRDC) is a promising technology providing a cooling strategy that radiates heat directly into outer space without additional energy consumption, a crucial consideration in controlling construction energy consumption. However, the preparation of PRDC materials with controlled radiative properties is still challenging because the radiative interface must be maintained in a clean environment. Herein, a densely distributed porous hybrid aerogel with controlled radiative properties was fabricated using the wollastonite and cellulose as building blocks for building energy-saving applications. To do this, the cellulose pulp was obtained by using waste paper as raw material. Then, the hybrid aerogels, comprising paper cellulose and wollastonite particles, were fabricated by combining the acrylic acid polymers (PAA) bonding, freeze drying and vapor deposition modification. The radiative cooling hybrid aerogel exhibits high solar reflectivity (94.6%) and high atmospheric emissivity (95.1%), due to the laminated design of wollastonite randomly dispersed in the radiative hybrid aerogel. The excellent PRDC capability is also proven by outdoor tests where practical temperature difference is ~ 6.3 ℃ and the maximum cooling power of 147.4 Wm−2 under direct sun irradiance. Wettability test infers that the hybrid aerogel has a static water contact angle of 144.07° ± 2°, thereby indicating its hydrophobicity. In addition, based on the Energyplus simulation, the hybrid aerogel exhibits an average annual cooling energy saving of 8% in buildings across China. The excellent radiative cooling and self-cleaning properties of hybrid aerogel make it durable for long-term outdoor PRDC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although previous studies have linked obesity and erectile dysfunction, the novel surrogate indicators of adipose accumulation are more essential and dependable factors to consider. Therefore, the primary objective of the current investigation was to examine and clarify the association between metabolic score for visceral fat (METS-VF) and erectile dysfunction. Methods: Firstly, multivariate logistic regression analysis, smoothed curve fitting, and threshold effect analysis were employed to investigate the association between METS-VF and erectile dysfunction. Mediation analysis was also performed to evaluate the mediating role of homocysteine and inflammation. After that, subgroup analysis was carried out to examine the stability of the correlation of METS-VF with erectile dysfunction in various population settings. Furthermore, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm were utilized to assess the capability of identifying METS-VF in comparison to the other four obesity-related indicators in identifying erectile dysfunction. Results: After adjusting for all confounding factors, METS-VF was strongly and favourablely correlated with erectile dysfunction. With each additional unit rise in METS-VF, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction increased by 141%. A J-shaped relationship between METS-VF and erectile dysfunction was discovered through smoothed curve fitting. Marital status, physical activity, and smoking status can potentially modify this association. This finding of the ROC curve suggests that METS-VF had a powerful identifying capacity for erectile dysfunction (AUC = 0.7351). Homocysteine and inflammation mediated 4.24% and 2.81%, respectively. Conclusion: The findings of the current investigation suggest that METS-VF can be considered a dependable identifying indicator of erectile dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To introduce a modified guided bone regeneration (GBR) technique using intact periosteum and deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) for peri‐implant augmentation and compare the clinical outcomes with those of conventional GBR. Materials and Methods: Patients who received peri‐implant augmentation in posterior sites between 2015 and 2021 were reviewed in this study. Group A was treated with a modified GBR technique, and Group B was treated with conventional GBR. For group comparison, propensity score matching was performed with a sensitivity analysis. The implant survival rate, dimensional changes in hard tissue, marginal bone loss (MBL), and peri‐implant parameters were evaluated. Results: In total, 114 implants from 98 patients were included. The implant survival rates were 95.74% in Group A and 95.00% in Group B during the follow‐up period. At 6 months, the median horizontal thickness was recorded at 0.87 mm (IQ1–IQ3 = 0.00–1.75 mm) in Group A, exhibiting a relatively lower value compared to the corresponding measurement of 0.98 mm (IQ1–IQ3 = 0.00–1.89 mm) in Group B (p =.937). Vertical height displayed no statistically significant intergroup difference between the two groups (p =.758). The mean follow‐up period was 25.83 ± 12.93 months after loading in Group A and 27.47 ± 21.29 months in Group B (p =.761). MBL and peri‐implant parameters were comparable between the two groups. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the modified GBR technique using intact periosteum and DBBM grafting might be a viable alternative to correct bone defects around implants in molar and premolar sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the energy level misalignment between the hole transport layer (HTL) and the perovskite layer, coupled with the high-density defects at their buried interface, causes severe non-radiative recombination within PSCs. Herein, CuanCl (carbamoyl-guanidine amidino urea salt, hydrochloride salt) with multifunctional molecular groups is introduced to optimize the WBG perovskite/HTL interface. This strategic introduction aims to suppress non-radiative recombination, consequently mitigating open-circuit voltage loss (Vloss). The findings demonstrate the bifunctional chemical passivation effect of the carbonyl (C＝O) and imine cations (＝NH+–) within CuanCl molecules on surface defects of perovskite, effectively suppressing diverse defect-assisted non-radiative recombination. Furthermore, the surface-bound CuanCl on the perovskite provides supplementary electronic states at the valence band maximum, achieving a more harmonized energy level alignment and effectively inhibiting charge recombination at the interface. The resultant CuanCl-treated WBG PSCs produce a high open-circuit voltage of 1.27 V, and a decent fill factor of 77.28%, which leads to a power conversion efficiency of 19.36%. Furthermore, the devices exhibit superior stability, maintaining 84% of their initial efficiency after 1000 hours in air with a humidity of 40%. This work provides new insight for optimizing a defective interface with the molecular engineering approach for fabricating efficient and stable WBG PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Several clinical trials have suggested that fenfluramine (FFA) is effective for the treatment of epilepsy in Dravet syndrome (DS) and Lennox-- Gastaut syndrome (LGS). However, the exploration of its optimal target dose is ongoing. This study aimed to summarize the best evidence to inform this clinical issue. Materials and methods: We searched PubMed, Embase (via Ovid), and Web of Science for relevant literature published before December 1st, 2023. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies that evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of FFA in DS and LGS were identified and metaanalysis was performed according to doses. The study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023392454). Results: Six hundred and twelve patients from four randomized controlled trials were enrolled. The results demonstrated that FFA at 0.2, 0.4, or 0.7 mg/ kg/d showed significantly greater efficacy compared to placebo in terms of at least 50% reduction (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001) and at least 75% reduction (p < 0.001, p = 0.007, p < 0.001) in monthly seizure frequency from baseline. Moreover, significantly more patients receiving FFA than placebo were rated as much improved or very much improved in CGI-I by both caregivers/parents and investigators (p < 0.001). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were decreased appetite, diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss, with no valvular heart disease or pulmonary hypertension observed in any participant. For dose comparison, 0.7 mg/kg/d group presented higher efficacy on at least 75% reduction in seizure (p = 0.006) but not on at least 50% reduction. Weight loss (p = 0.002), decreased appetite (p = 0.04), and all-cause withdrawal (p = 0.036) were more common in 0.7 mg/kg/d group than 0.2 mg/kg/d. There was no statistical difference in other safety parameters between these two groups. Conclusion: The higher range of the licensed dose achieves the optimal balance between efficacy, safety, and tolerability in patients with DS and LGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) plays an important role in mitigating salt stress in tree species. We investigate the genotypic differences in the uptake of ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3−) and the importance for salt tolerance in two contrasting poplars, salt-tolerant Populus euphratica Oliv. and salt-sensitive P. simonii × (P. pyramidalis × Salix matsudana) (P. popularis cv. 35-44, P. popularis). Total N content, growth and photosynthesis were significantly reduced in P. popularis after 7 days of exposure to NaCl (100 mM) supplied with 1 mM NH4+ and 1 mM NO3−, while the salt effects were not pronounced in P. euphratica. The 15NH4+ trace and root flux profiles showed that salt-stressed poplars retained ammonium uptake, which was related to the upregulation of ammonium transporters (AMTs) in roots, as two of the four AMTs tested significantly increased in salt-stressed P. euphratica (i.e. AMT1.2 , 2.1) and P. popularis (i.e. AMT1.1 , 1.6). It should be noted that P. euphratica differs from salt-sensitive poplar in the maintenance of NO3− under salinity. 15NO3− tracing and root flux profiles showed that P. euphratica maintained nitrate uptake and transport, while the capacity to uptake NO3− was limited in salt-sensitive P. popularis. Salt increased the transcription of nitrate transporters (NRTs), NRT1.1 , 1.2 , 2.4 , 3.1 , in P. euphratica , while P. popularis showed a decrease in the transcripts of NRT1.1 , 2.4 , 3.1 after 7 days of salt stress. Furthermore, salt-stimulated transcription of plasmalemma H+-ATPases (HAs), HA2 , HA4 and HA11 contributed to H+-pump activation and NO3− uptake in P. euphratica. However, salt stimulation of HAs was less pronounced in P. popularis , where a decrease in HA2 transcripts was observed in the stressed roots. We conclude that the salinity-decreased transcripts of NRTs and HAs reduced the ability to uptake NO3− in P. popularis , resulting in limited nitrogen supply. In comparison, P. euphratica maintains NH4+ and NO3− supply, mitigating the negative effects of salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As distributed generation (DG) becomes increasingly integrated into the distribution grid, the structure of the distribution network is becoming more complex. To enhance the safety and cost-effectiveness of distribution systems, distribution network reconfiguration is gaining significant importance. Achieving optimal distribution network reconfiguration entails two key considerations: A feasible topology and economic efficiency. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing a novel approach that combines the potential island detection in undirected-graphs and the application of a whale optimization algorithm (WOA) for network reconfiguration optimization. To begin, we identified island categories based on the type of switchable-branches connected to these islands, allowing for the construction of potential island groups. Subsequently, unfeasible topologies were eliminated based on the conditions under which islands form within these potential island groups. Feasible topologies were then used to construct a model for network reconfiguration optimization. The optimal distribution network topology is determined using the WOA. In the final phase, the proposed method's effectiveness was demonstrated through a case study on the IEEE-33 node distribution network under scenarios with and without DG integration. The results showed that the proposed method exhibited better performance than traditional approaches in distribution network reconfiguration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Erectile dysfunction is now a common disorder of sexual function, and its relationship to dietary calcium, phosphorus, and potassium has not been well studied. We set out to determine if dietary intakes of calcium, phosphorus, and potassium are related to erectile dysfunction in U.S. men. Methods: For this cross-sectional investigation, we used data from NHANES 2001–2004. To investigate the connection of dietary calcium, phosphorus, and potassium intake with erectile dysfunction, we employed multivariate logistic regression, smoothed curve fitting, and subgroup analysis. Results: This cross-sectional study comprised 3,556 eligible male subjects in total, with a weighted mean age of 49.93±18.13 years. After controlling for race and age, the greatest tertile of calcium consumption was found to have a 34% lower risk of erectile dysfunction than the lowest tertile (OR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.52–0.84; p = 0.0006). The risk of erectile dysfunction was found to be reduced by 33% (OR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.52–0.87; p = 0.0024) for the highest tertile of phosphorus intake compared to the lowest tertile of phosphorus intake and by 35% (OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.50–0.83; p = 0.0006) for the highest tertile of potassium intake compared to the lowest tertile of potassium intake in the fully adjusted model. Conclusion: Erectile dysfunction and dietary consumption of calcium, phosphorus, and potassium are inversely associated with the U.S. population. To confirm the accuracy of our findings, additional prospective studies are necessary. Furthermore, it is imperative to do further fundamental research at the molecular level to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The periosteum is known as the thin connective tissue covering most bone surfaces. Its extrusive bone regeneration capacity was confirmed from the very first century-old studies. Recently, pluripotent stem cells in the periosteum with unique physiological properties were unveiled. Existing in dynamic contexts and regulated by complex molecular networks, periosteal stem cells emerge as having strong capabilities of proliferation and multipotential differentiation. Through continuous exploration of studies, we are now starting to acquire more insight into the great potential of the periosteum in bone formation and repair in situ or ectopically. It is undeniable that the periosteum is developing further into a more promising strategy to be harnessed in bone tissue regeneration. Here, we summarized the development and structure of the periosteum, cell markers, and the biological features of periosteal stem cells. Then, we reviewed their pivotal role in bone repair and the underlying molecular regulation. The understanding of periosteum-related cellular and molecular content will help enhance future research efforts and application transformation of the periosteum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted extensive attention in the photovoltaic field, with their highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) reaching 26%. However, the commercialization of PSCs is severely hindered by the instability of precursor solutions and the narrow annealing window for perovskite films. Here, 2,3,5‐trichlorobenzaldehyde (3Cl‐BZH) is introduced into the organic salt precursor solution to eliminate excess organic amines through Schiff‐base reactions, avoiding subsequent irreversible amine‐cation reaction of formamidine‐methylammonium (FA‐MA+) and improve the stability of the precursor solution. Meanwhile, the chemical interaction between C═O group of 3Cl‐BZH and formamidinium (FA+) in the perovskite precursor contributes to the slow release of organic ions, which reduces the reaction rate between organic salt and PbI2, retarding the crystallization of perovskite film. The PSCs with a conventional annealing process achieve a champion efficiency of 24.08%, which derives from the defect passivation effect of 3Cl‐BZH. The PSCs with an ultrawide annealing window of 240 h for wet perovskite film in the air still maintain an efficiency of 22.01%. The aging‐resistant precursor and ultrawide annealing window are beneficial for reproducible, efficient, and low‐cost PSCs, which brings great prospects for the commercialization of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION (NLA), a plasma-membrane-associated ubiquitin E3 ligase, plays a negative role in the control of the phosphate transporter family 1 (PHT1) members in Arabidopsis and rice. There are three NLA homologs in the Medicago truncatula genome, but it has been unclear whether the function of these homologs is conserved in legumes. Here we investigated the subcellular localization and the responses of MtNLAs to external phosphate and nitrate status. Similar to AtNLA1, MtNLA1/MtNLA2 was localized in the plasma membrane and nucleus. MtNLA3 has three alternative splicing variants, and intriguingly, MtNLA3.1, the dominant variant, was not able to target the plasma membrane, whereas MtNLA3.2 and MtNLA3.3 were capable of associating with the plasma membrane. In contrast with AtNLA1, we found that MtNLAs were not affected or even upregulated by low-phosphate treatment. We also found that MtNLA3 was upregulated by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, and overexpressing MtNLA3.1 in Medicago roots resulted in a decrease in the transcription levels of STR, an essential gene for arbuscule development. Taken together, our results highlight the difference between MtNLA homologs and AtNLA1. Further characterization will be required to reveal the regulation of these genes and their roles in the responses to external nutrient status and AM symbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gait and weight carrying method may change the femoral neck load during stair descent. Applying specific gait and weight carrying methods may reduce the femoral neck load during stair descent, which may reduce hip pain, hip pain related falls and fall related fractures for the older population. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of different gait types (step-over-step v.s. step-by-step) and external weight carrying strategies (ipsilateral v.s. contralateral side) on the femoral neck load, discover which method could reduce the femoral neck load effectively. Seventeen healthy adults from 50 to 70 yrs old were recruited. The kinematic and kinetic analysis, musculoskeletal modelling method were used to estimate the joint and muscle loads for the lower extremities. Finite element analysis was used with the femur model to calculate the femoral neck strains during stair descent with different gait types and weight carrying strategies. The compressive strains were reduced for step-by-step gait method than step-over-step (p<0.015, 12.3–17.4% decrease of strains), the tensile strains were significantly increased for the trailing leg of step-by-step than the leading leg (p<0.001, 24.7% increase of strains). Contralateral weight carrying increased compressive and tensile strains than ipsilateral (p<0.001, 9.9–24.5% increase of strains) in most conditions. Applying step-by-step method and avoiding contralateral side weight carrying could be effective to reduce femoral neck strains. These outcomes could be helpful for the older population to reduce the risks of hip pain, femoral neck pain or pain related falls and fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heteroatom doping has emerged as a highly effective strategy to enhance the activity of metal‐based electrocatalysts toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). It is widely accepted that the doping does not switch the OER mechanism from the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) to the lattice‐oxygen‐mediated mechanism (LOM), and the enhanced activity is attributed to the optimized binding energies toward oxygen intermediates. However, this seems inconsistent with the fact that the overpotential of doped OER electrocatalysts (<300 mV) is considerably smaller than the limit of AEM (>370 mV). To determine the origin of this inconsistency, we select phosphorus (P)‐doped nickel‐iron mixed oxides as the model electrocatalysts and observe that the doping enhances the covalency of the metal‐oxygen bonds to drive the OER pathway transition from the AEM to the LOM, thereby breaking the adsorption linear relation between *OH and *OOH in the AEM. Consequently, the obtained P‐doped oxides display a small overpotential of 237 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Beyond P, the similar pathway transition is also observed on the sulfur doping. These findings offer new insights into the substantially enhanced OER activity originating from heteroatom doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heteroatom doping has emerged as a highly effective strategy to enhance the activity of metal‐based electrocatalysts toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). It is widely accepted that the doping does not switch the OER mechanism from the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) to the lattice‐oxygen‐mediated mechanism (LOM), and the enhanced activity is attributed to the optimized binding energies toward oxygen intermediates. However, this seems inconsistent with the fact that the overpotential of doped OER electrocatalysts (<300 mV) is considerably smaller than the limit of AEM (>370 mV). To determine the origin of this inconsistency, we select phosphorus (P)‐doped nickel‐iron mixed oxides as the model electrocatalysts and observe that the doping enhances the covalency of the metal‐oxygen bonds to drive the OER pathway transition from the AEM to the LOM, thereby breaking the adsorption linear relation between *OH and *OOH in the AEM. Consequently, the obtained P‐doped oxides display a small overpotential of 237 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Beyond P, the similar pathway transition is also observed on the sulfur doping. These findings offer new insights into the substantially enhanced OER activity originating from heteroatom doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To construct a scoring model based on MRI signs to predict massive hemorrhage during dilatation and curettage in cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) patients. Materials and methods: The MRIs of CSP patients admitted to a tertiary referral hospital between February 2020 and July 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The included patients were randomly assigned to the training and validation cohorts. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were adopted to identify the independent risk factors for massive hemorrhage (the amount of bleeding ≥ 200 ml) during the dilatation and curettage. A scoring model predicting intraoperative massive hemorrhage was established where each positive independent risk factor was assigned 1 point, and the predictive power of this model was evaluated both in the training and validation cohorts via the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: A total of 187 CSP patients were enrolled, who were divided into the training cohort (31 in 131 patients had massive hemorrhage) and validation cohort (10 in 56 patients had massive hemorrhage). The independent risk factors for intraoperative massive hemorrhage included cesarean section diverticulum area (OR = 6.957, 95% CI 1.993–21.887; P = 0.001), uterine scar thickness (OR = 5.113, 95% CI 2.086–23.829; P = 0.025) and gestational sac diameter (OR = 3.853, 95% CI 1.103–13.530; P = 0.025). A scoring model with a total point of 3 was developed and the CSP patients were divided into low-risk (Total points < 2) and high-risk groups (Total points ≥ 2) for intraoperative massive hemorrhage accordingly. This model possessed high prediction performance both in the training cohort (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.896, 95% CI 0.830–0.942) and validation cohort (AUC = 0.915, 95% CI 0.785–1.000). Conclusion: We first constructed a MRI-based scoring model for predicting intraoperative massive hemorrhage in CSP patients, which could help the decision-making of the patients' therapy strategies. Low-risk patients can be cured by D&C alone to reduce the financial burden, while high-risk patients require more adequate preoperative preparation or consideration of changing surgical approaches to reduce bleeding risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swarm intelligence algorithm is a very prevalent field in which some scholars have made outstanding achievements. As a representative, Slime mould algorithm (SMA) is widely used because of its superior initial performance. Therefore, this paper focuses on the improvement of the SMA and the mitigation of its stagnation problems. For this aim, the structure of SMA is adjusted to develop the efficiency of the original method. As a stochastic optimizer, SMA mainly stimulates the behavior of slime mold in nature. For the harmony of the exploration and exploitation of SMA, the paper proposed an enhanced algorithm of SMA called ECSMA, in which two mechanisms are embedded into the structure: elite strategy, and chaotic stochastic strategy. The details of the original SMA and the two introduced strategies are given in this paper. Then, the advantages of the improved SMA through mechanism comparison, balance-diversity analysis, and contrasts with other counterparts are validated. The experimental results demonstrate that both mechanisms have a significant enhancing effect on SMA. Also, SMA is applied to four structural design issues of the welded beam design problem, PV design problem, I-beam design problem, and cantilever beam design problem with excellent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and robust localization using multi-modal sensors is crucial for autonomous driving applications. Although wheel encoder measurements can provide additional velocity information for visual-inertial odometry (VIO), the existing visual-inertial-wheel odometry (VIWO) still cannot avoid long-term drift caused by the low-precision attitude acquired by the gyroscope of a low-cost inertial measurement unit (IMU), especially in visually restricted scenes where the visual information cannot accurately correct for the IMU bias. In this work, leveraging the powerful data processing capability of deep learning, we propose a novel tightly coupled monocular visual-inertial-wheel odometry with neural gyroscope calibration (NGC) to obtain accurate, robust, and long-term localization for autonomous vehicles. First, to cure the drift of the gyroscope, we design a robust neural gyroscope calibration network for low-cost IMU gyroscope measurements (called NGC-Net). Following a carefully deduced mathematical calibration model, NGC-Net leverages the temporal convolutional network to extract different scale features from raw IMU measurements in the past and regress the gyroscope corrections to output the de-noised gyroscope. A series of experiments on public datasets show that our NGC-Net has better performance on gyroscope de-noising than learning methods and competes with state-of-the-art VIO methods. Moreover, based on the more accurate de-noised gyroscope, an effective strategy for combining the advantages of VIWO and NGC-Net outputs is proposed in a tightly coupled framework, which significantly improves the accuracy of the state-of-the-art VIO/VIWO methods. In long-term and large-scale urban environments, our RNGC-VIWO tracking system performs robustly, and experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our method in terms of robustness and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiOx‐based inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted growing attention due to their low cost and large‐scale application potential. However, the efficiency and stability of inverted planar heterojunction PSCs is still unsatisfactory owing to insufficient charge‐extraction caused by undesirable interfacial contact between perovskite and NiOx hole transport layers (HTLs). Herein an interfacial passivation strategy with guanidinium salts (guanidinium thiocyanate (GuASCN), guanidine hydrobromide (GuABr), guanidine hydriodate (GuAI)) as passivator is employed to solve this problem. We systematically study the effect of various guanidinium salts on the crystallinity, morphology, and photophysical properties of perovskite films. Guanidine salt as interfacial passivator can decrease interface resistance, reduce carrier non‐radiative recombination, and boost carrier extraction. Notably, the GuABr‐treated unencapsulated devices can still maintain more than 90 % of their initial PCE after aging for 1600 h at 16–25 °C and 35 %–50 % relative humidity in ambient conditions. This work reveals the significance of counterions in improving the photovoltaic performance and stability of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of modern industry and the increasing scarcity of petroleum resources, bio-based polymeric materials using biomass resources as the primary raw material, with dual roles in resource conservation and low carbon, are promising alternatives to traditional petrochemicals. The efficient and low-cost preparation of terephthalic acid (TPA), 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and ethylene glycol (EG), the monomers of the bio-based polyesters polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (PEF), has attracted substantial attention. Both chemical and biocatalysis can oxidize biomass to produce bio-based monomers; however, chemical catalytic methods often require high temperatures, high pressure, and precious metal catalysts, resulting in high production costs. Compared with chemical conversion, bioconversion, with its mild reaction conditions and high selectivity, is an important development for the efficient use of biomass resources, but currently has a lower yield. In this review, we discuss and summarize strategies for the preparation of TPA, FDCA and EG and their applications, focusing mainly on biocatalytic approaches. Next, we illustrate the need to optimise the generation of efficient biocatalysts using strategies such as protein, enzyme, and metabolic engineering. Finally, the challenges and recommendations that must be addressed for each monomer's biosynthesis pathway are discussed, and an outlook for future directions and prospects is provided. This review provides theoretical guidance for developing efficient and cost-effective green manufacturing technologies for TPA, FDCA, and EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are often withdrawn during long-term video-EEG monitoring (LTM) to allow pre-surgical evaluation. Herein, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of ultra-rapid withdrawal (URW) and rapid withdrawal (RW) of ASMs in an epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). Methods: This retrospective study examined all consecutive patients admitted to our EMU between May 2021 and October 2022. Patients were classified into the URW and RW groups according to the way ASMs were withdrawn. We compared the efficacy and safety of the procedures used in the groups in terms of duration of LTM, latency to the first seizure, and incidence of focal to bilateral tonic--clonic seizures (FBTCS), seizure clusters (SC), and status epilepticus (SE). Results: Overall, 110 patients (38 women) were included. The mean age of patients at the time of LTM was 29 years. All medications were stopped on admission for monitoring in the URW group (n = 75), while in the RW group (n = 35) ASMs were withdrawn within 1 day. In both groups, the duration of LTM was approximately 3 days: URW group (2.9 ± 0.5 days) and RW group (3.1 ± 0.8 days). The latency to the first seizure was significantly different between the two groups; however, there were no differences between the two groups in terms of the distribution of FBTCS, SC, or SE, number of seizures, and the requirement for intravenous rescue medication was low. Conclusion: The rapid withdrawal of ASMs to provoke seizures during monitoring for pre-surgical evaluation following the URW protocol was as effective and safe as with RW. Ultra-rapid ASM withdrawal has the benefits of reducing LTM duration and shortening the time to first seizure compared to rapid medication tapering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, people have relaxed their vigilance against COVID-19 due to its declining infection numbers and attenuated virulence. However, COVID-19 still needs to be concern due to its emerging variants, the relaxation of restrictions as well as breakthrough infections. During the period of the COVID-19 infection, the imbalanced and hyper-responsive immune system plays a critical role in its pathogenesis. Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS) is a fatal complication of immune system disease, which is caused by the excessive activation and proliferation of macrophages and cytotoxic T cells (CTL). COVID-19-related hyperinflammation shares common clinical features with the above MAS symptoms, such as hypercytokinemia, hyperferritinemia, and coagulopathy. In MAS, immune exhaustion or defective anti-viral responses leads to the inadequate cytolytic capacity of CTL which contributes to prolonged interaction between CTL, APCs and macrophages. It is possible that the same process also occurred in COVID-19 patients, and further led to a cytokine storm confined to the lungs. It is associated with the poor prognosis of severe patients such as multiple organ failure and even death. The main difference of cytokine storm is that in COVID-19 pneumonia is mainly the specific damage of the lung, while in MAS is easy to develop into a systemic. The attractive therapeutic approach to prevent MAS in COVID-19 mainly includes antiviral, antibiotics, convalescent plasma (CP) therapy and hemadsorption, extensive immunosuppressive agents, and cytokine-targeted therapies. Here, we discuss the role of the therapeutic approaches mentioned above in the two diseases. And we found that the treatment effect of the same therapeutic approach is different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban reservoirs serve many purposes including recreation and drinking water, and larger bodies of water can alter the surrounding air temperatures, making urban areas cooler in summer and warmer in winter. However, reservoirs may also be sinks for contaminants. One such group of contaminants, the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are persistent organic pollutants known to accumulate in sediments and suspended particulate matter (SPM). Few studies have been conducted on PBDEs in water, SPM, and sediment from reservoirs of Shenzhen which is a mega city in South China. To this end, 12 PBDEs were measured in water, SPM, and sediment samples during the dry season (DS) and wet season (WS), to explain the spatiotemporal distribution, congener profiles, sources, and risks of pollutants in four reservoirs (A–D) and their tributaries in the study region. The concentration of ∑12PBDEs during the DS was found to be significantly higher than that during the WS. Source apportionment suggested that commercial penta-, octa-, and deca-BDEs are the major components of PBDEs, resulting mainly from atmospheric deposition, wastewater discharge, and external water-diversion projects. Further, attention should be paid to electronic equipment manufacturing factories in the study area. Risk assessment indicated risk of PBDEs (especially BDE-209) in sediment and SPM to be of concern. This study provides important data support for the control of PBDEs in natural drinking water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the application of WS2 as a surface–enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, enhancing the charge transfer (CT) opportunity between WS2 and analyte is an important issue for SERS efficiency. In this study, we deposited few-layer WS2 (2–3 layers) on GaN and sapphire substrates with different bandgap characteristics to form heterojunctions using a chemical vapor deposition. Compared with sapphire, we found that using GaN as a substrate for WS2 can effectively enhance the SERS signal, with an enhancement factor of 6.45 × 104 and a limit of detection of 5 × 10−6 M for probe molecule Rhodamine 6G according to SERS measurement. Analysis of Raman, Raman mapping, atomic force microscopy, and SERS mechanism revealed that The SERS efficiency increased despite the lower quality of the WS2 films on GaN compared to those on sapphire, as a result of the increased number of transition pathways present in the interface between WS2 and GaN. These carrier transition pathways could increase the opportunity for CT, thus enhancing the SERS signal. The WS2/GaN heterostructure proposed in this study can serve as a reference for enhancing SERS efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pichia pastoris is well known for its ability to produce short and low-immunogenic humanized glycosyl chains onto recombinant glycoproteins, it was thus speculated to be applicable to synthesize oligosaccharides. In this study, generally recognized as safe (GRAS) microorganism Pichia pastoris GS115 was tested for its potential to be used as a new synthetic chassis to produce the most abundant human milk oligosaccharide 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL). Methods: To enable the de novo synthesis of 2′-FL, lactose transporter lac12, two enzymes of gmd, gmer, and fucosyltransferases futC were integrated into the genome of P. pastoris, under the control of constitutive PGAP promoter. Results: The resulting recombinant yeasts yielded up to 0.276 g/L through culture optimization in a 5 L bioreactor. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of 2′-FL production in engineered Pichia pastoris. This work is a good starting point to produce 2′-FL using Pichia pastoris as a viable chassis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on the sulfate resistance performances of Portland cement (PC) incorporating different amounts (0~60 wt%) of dolomite powder (DM) pre-cured at different temperatures (20 ℃ and 60 ℃). The results show that the PC-DM samples pre-cured at 20 ℃ for 28 d and then eroded by sulfate solution for 180 d exhibit the worse appearances and higher expansion values than the reference PC sample. On the opposite, the sulfate resistance performances of the PC-DM samples pre-cured at 60 ℃ are better than those of the PC sample. Furthermore, with the increase of the DM content, the sulfate resistance properties get better and better. The degradation of the pore structure may act as a major factor for the poor sulfate resistance of the PC-DM samples pre-cured at 20 ℃. However, for the PC-DM samples pre-cured at 60 ℃, the poor pore structure does not increase the risk of sulfate erosion. This is mainly due to that the formation of hydrotalcite (Ht) results in the decomposition of monosulfate, and SO42- may also be bound firmly by Ht in the PC-DM samples, thus contributing to the excellent sulfate resistance. Additionally, brucite can be identified in the PC-DM samples pre-cured at 60 ℃, especially with high DM dosages (≥40 wt%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to evaluate the association between epilepsy and suicidality, including suicidal ideation, attempts and completed suicide. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Online Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov from 1946 to June 21, 2021 and assessed the quality of the studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We calculated the pooled OR and the crude rate for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and completed suicide in patients with epilepsy (PWE). Results: We screened 2,786 studies and included 88 articles with 1,178,401 PWE and 6,900,657 participants as controls. Search terms included epilepsy and suicide. The pooled rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and completed suicide in PWE were 19.73% (95% CI: 17.00-22.62%), 5.96% (95% CI: 4.82-7.20%), and 0.24% (95% CI: 0.11-0.42%), respectively. Compared to the control group, PWE were at a significantly higher risk of total suicidality (pooled OR, 2.60; 95%: 2.13-3.18), including suicidal ideation (pooled OR, 2.70; 95% CI, 2.21-3.30), suicide attempts (pooled OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.08-3.61) and completed suicide (pooled OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.45-3.83). Subgroup analyses showed significant differences in the subgroups of the measurement of suicidality. Conclusion: The rate of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and completed suicide in PWE were about 19.73, 5.96, and 0.24%. And there was an increased risk of suicidality in PWE especially temporal lobe epilepsy and drug-resistant epilepsy. Clinicians need to be aware of this risk in PWE with early identification and prevention at the time of diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the exponential increase in the volume of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), and other types of air traffic control (ATC) data containing spatiotemporal attributes, it remains uncertain how to respond to immediate ATC data access within a target area. Accordingly, an original multi-level disaggregated framework for airspace, and its corresponding information management is proposed. Further, a multi-scale grid modeling and coding mapping method of airspace information represented by ADS-B is put forth. Finally, tests on the validity of the 4D airspace-temporal grid we named as the GeoSOT-AS framework were conducted across key areas based on the development of an effective data organization method for ADS-B, or an effective algorithm for extracting relevant spatiotemporal data. Experimentally, it was demonstrated that GeoSOT-AS conforms to the existing Chinese specification of civil aeronautical charting and is advantageous for its low deformation and high practicality; furthermore, the airspace grid identification code modeling was less costly, and improved performance by >80% when used for ADS-B data extraction. GeoSOT-AS can thus provide effective reference and practical information for existing airspace data management methods represented by ADS-B and can subsequently be extended to other forms of airspace management scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper contains the investigations with respect to the optical appearance, redshift distribution, and observed energy flux of the thin accretion disk described by the Novikov-Thorne model in modified gravity (MOG) proposed by Moffat. The results show that the gravity coupling parameter α plays an indispensable role in the size of direct and secondary images of the accretion disk, while the image profile is mainly affected by the observational angles. In addition, an increase of the parameter α leads to that of the redshift factor, but a decrease in the radiation energy flux of the accretion disk. These results are due to the enhancement of the parameter α that strengthens the black hole's gravitational effects. By comparing the accretion disk images of the Schwarzschild-MOG black hole, the Schwarzschild black hole, and the Reissner–Nordström black hole, we point out that the Schwarzschild-MOG black hole exhibits the largest inner shadow and the lowest luminosity. This finding provides a potential way to distinguish Schwarzschild-MOG black holes from their counterparts in General Relativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) are widely used in various industrial manufacturing processes; thus, their environmental impact in agglomerated industrial areas is of great concern. In this study, seventeen kinds of OPFRs and five kinds of organophosphate diesters (Di-OPs) in water and upper sediment samples from two urban rivers in the agglomerated industrial area of Shenzhen city, China, were investigated. The results showed that the total concentrations of detectable OPFRs ranged from 3438.83 to 12,838.87 ng/L with an average of 6494.94 ng/L in water samples and from 47.16 to 524.46 ng/g (dry weight, dw) with an average of 181.48 ng/g dw in sediment. The values were higher than those in other rivers worldwide. Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) is the predominant OPFRs in water and upper sediment, up to 10,664.23 ng/L in water and 414.12 ng/g dw in sediment. The total concentration of OPFRs of sediment samples in the Maozhou River was around twice as high as in the Guanlan River. The results indicated that the level of OPFRs was associated with the industrial activity intensity. Di-OPs exhibited lower concentrations than their parent compounds, and can be attributed to the degradation/metabolism of their parent compounds in the river. The sediment–water partition of OPFRs is significantly correlated with their log Kow values. Risk assessment revealed moderate ecological risks posed by OPFRs in water to aquatic organisms. The present study revealed the pollution status of OPFRs in rivers from agglomerated industrial and residential areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In electrocatalytic water splitting, low-cost dual-functional catalysts can not only reduce costs but also avoid cross-contamination of cathode and anode. However, the orderly aggregation of active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) into a specific catalyst is very challenging. In this study, a Co/Fe3O4 Janus heterojunction supported on carbon fiber paper (J-CoFe-CFP) is designed and successfully synthesized. Generally, Co-Fe oxides have preferable OER activity but weak HER activity. However, in J-CoFe-CFP, due to the intense and special electronic interaction of different substances (Co and Fe3O4) in the Janus heterogeneous interface, a huge number of tidy high-quality HER and OER active sites are uniformly distributed on the interface simultaneously, which endows the catalyst with both excellent HER and OER performance. In HER, the overpotential @10 mA·cm−2 (ηHER) is only 53.9 mV, and the Tafel slope is 43.7 mV·dec−1. In OER, the η is 272 mV, and the Tafel slope is 50.2 mV·dec−1, much lower than those of RuO2/CFP. In the J-CoFe-CFP‖J-CoFe-CFP two-electrode system, the required voltage is only 1.26 V at the beginning and 1.56 V@10 mA·cm−2, much lower than those of RuO2/CFP‖20% Pt/C/CFP. This work provides a Janus heterojunction pathway for bifunctional water electrolysis catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metaverse provides us with an attractive virtual space in which the value of the virtual property has been increasingly recognized. However, the lack of effective cross-metaverse trading tools and the reputation guarantee makes it difficult to trade items among different metaverses. To this end, a decentralized reputation system for virtual items trading forum named DVIT is devised. To the best of our knowledge, DVIT is the first decentralized cross-metaverse item trading prototype inspired by the online-game trading system. We designed the corresponding transaction function and realized the autonomous governance of the community by introducing the reputation mechanism. An improved election mechanism is proposed to improve efficiency based on Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS). Through token rewards associated with activity levels, users' motivation can be stimulated. The experiments indicate that our proposed scheme could dynamically measure the trustworthiness degree of the users through the dynamic reputation value and thereby exclude malicious users from the blockchain within 20 epochs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trauma-induced immune dysfunction has been a major barrier to achieving reduced mortality, which is poorly understood. Autophagy is a crucial catabolic mechanism of immune cells during times of stress. Few studies have investigated the immune regulatory effects induced by autophagy after trauma. Here, we use single-cell transcriptomics analysis in a major trauma cohort to demonstrate the dominant role of autophagy in innate immune cells during the early stages of major trauma. Method: Single-cell transcriptional profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was performed, which were sampled from three control participants and five major trauma patients within 6 hours of injury. In detail, after single-cell RNA-sequence data processing, cell type annotation and cluster marker identification were performed. A genetic toolbox with 604 autophagy-related genes was used to monitor the autophagy levels in immune cells. In addition, all transcriptome RNA sequencing data obtained from PBMCs in a cohort of 167 major trauma patients were downloaded from gene expression omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE36809). Key deregulated biological processes and important autophagic hub genes involved in immune cells were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis and gene ontology enrichment analysis. Results: A total of 20,445 differentially expressed genes were identified and five co-expression modules were constructed. Enrichment analysis indicated that activated autophagy is the most important biological process during the early stages of major trauma, and JMY (autophagy-related genes) were identified as hub genes. The single-cell transcriptional profiling of PBMCs demonstrated that all components of adaptive immune cells were significantly decreased, whereas components of innate immune cells (monocytes and neutrophils) were significantly increased in major trauma patients compared with control participants. Activated autophagy was detected in monocytes and neutrophils by monitoring the dynamic transcriptional signature of the autophagy-related genetic toolbox. Biological process analysis shows that antigen uptake, processing presentation, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II protein complex assembly pathways were up-regulated in autophagy-positive monocytes, whereas antigen processing and presentation of endogenous antigen and type I interferon signaling pathways were up-regulated in autophagy-positive neutrophils during the early stages of major trauma. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that autophagy is a biological process crucial to the development of immune disorders in the early stages of major trauma. Furthermore, the results of our study generated a comprehensive single-cell immune landscape for major trauma patients, in which we determined that autophagy profoundly affects the main functions of innate immune cells and provides insight into the cellular basis of immune dysregulation after major trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spermatogenesis is regulated by several Y chromosome-specific genes located in a specific region of the long arm of the Y chromosome, the azoospermia factor region (AZF). AZF microdeletions are the main structural chromosomal abnormalities that cause male infertility. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been used to overcome natural fertilization barriers, allowing infertile couples to have children. However, these techniques increase the risk of vertical transmission of genetic defects. Despite widespread awareness of AZF microdeletions, the occurrence of de novo deletions and overexpression, as well as the expansion of AZF microdeletion vertical transmission, remains unknown. This review summarizes the mechanism of AZF microdeletion and the function of the candidate genes in the AZF region and their corresponding clinical phenotypes. Moreover, vertical transmission cases of AZF microdeletions, the impact of vertical inheritance on male fertility, and the prospective direction of research in this field are also outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of numerous close-in planets has updated our knowledge of planet formation. The tidal interaction between planets and host stars has a significant impact on the orbital and rotational evolution of the close planets. Tidal evolution usually takes a long time and requires reliable numerical methods. The manifold correction method, which strictly satisfies the integrals dissipative quasiintegrals of the system, exhibits good numerical accuracy and stability in the quasi-Kepler problem. Different manifold correction methods adopt different integrals or integral invariant relations to correct the numerical solutions. We apply the uncorrected five- and six-order Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg algorithm [RKF5(6)], as well as corrected by the velocity scaling method and Fukushima's linear transformation method to solve the tidal evolution of exoplanet systems. The results show that Fukushima's linear transformation method exhibits the best performance in the accuracy of the semimajor axis and eccentricity. In addition, we predict the tidal timescale of several current close exoplanetary systems by using this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the early clinical effect of oblique lumbar interbody fusion with lateral screw fixation and percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (OLIF-PETD) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation with lumbar instability. Methods: A total of 22 patients with lumbar disc herniation and lumbar instability from August 2017 to August 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The general information, perioperative indicators and complications were recorded. The clinical outcomes and radiological outcomes were evaluated before the operation, seven days after the operation, and at the last follow-up. Vertebral fusion and degree of multifidus muscle injury were evaluated at the last follow-up. Results: In this study, OLIF + PETD showed shorter incision length compared to the MIS-TLIF (P < 0.001). In the two groups, the clinical outcomes and radiological outcomes were significantly improved compared with the preoperative (P < 0.001). At the seven days after the operation and the last follow-up, the VAS of OLIF + PETD group was lower than that of MIS-TLIF group (P < 0.05). OLIF + PETD could give superior outcome in restoring disc height (P < 0.001), but the fusion segment angle of OLIF + PETD group was larger compared to the MIS-TLIF group seven days after the operation and at the last follow-up (P < 0.05). In addition, the fusion rate was not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05), but OLIF + PETD could avoid the multifidus injury (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Compared to MIS-TLIF, OLIF-PETD can achieve satisfactory decompression effects and fusion rates with less multifidus injury and postoperative low back pain, which may be an alternative choice for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation combined with lumbar instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the kinematic responses of a pipe pile embedded in a poroelastic soil layer with rigid substratum under time-harmonic seismic P waves are studied with analytical development. The pipe pile is regarded as a two-dimensional (2D) hollow bar with both vertical and radial deformations, and its equations of motion are established by using the Hamilton's variational principle. Both the inner and outer soils around the pile are treated as three-dimensional fluid-filled porous continuum which are described with the Boer's poroelastic medium model. Firstly, the soil skeleton volume strain and the pore liquid pressure designated as intermediate variables are employed to cope with the soil's motion equations. Then with the aid of the separation variables method, the pile–soil motion equations are solved. Upon the pile–soil boundary and interfacial conditions, the analytical solutions for the kinematic amplification coefficient and kinematic response factor describing the pile–soil seismic effects are derived. The proposed solutions are verified by the comparisons with the numerical results of the reported solutions and the corresponding finite element model (FEM). Finally, the parametric analyses on the dynamic characteristics of the coupling pile–soil system under different pile–soil parameters are performed, and relevant meaningful conclusions are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a well-defined pincer manganese complex supported by PNP ligands for the conversion of glycerol to sodium lactate with dihydrogen liberation. Sodium lactate could be obtained in 96% yield with 96% selectivity under mild reaction conditions, with the Mn-3 complex as the catalyst. In this transformation, catalyst loadings even as low as 0.025 mol% could also result in high reactivity and excellent selectivity (up to 98%) at 180 °C in 36 hours. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that the manganese catalyst was mainly responsible for glycerol dehydrogenation, while the amount of sodium hydroxide had a crucial effect on the subsequent Cannizzaro reaction. In addition, the catalytically active species in the reaction were investigated by using in situ31P NMR spectroscopy. This catalytic system provides a green, efficient, and atom-economical approach for upgrading biodiesel waste into high-value chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]