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The COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted well-being and healthcare delivery, but its indirect effects on health services utilization among pregnant women and new mothers remain less understood. Understanding how big events like pandemics impact health behaviors is essential for anticipating healthcare needs during future crises. This study examined how the perceived COVID-19 threat influenced health concerns and service utilization among 378 participants who were either pregnant or mothers of infants less than 12 months old, 18 years or older, and lived within a 50-mile radius of healthcare sites in the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Consortium. An online Qualtrics survey assessed COVID-19 threat perception, distress related to health and resource concerns (e.g., access to medicine, baby supplies, mental and general healthcare, and social interactions), and changes to health service utilizations (e.g., induction schedule, hospital/birthing center choices, prenatal provider, and visit frequency) during the pandemic. Participants who perceived COVID-19 as a significant threat were more likely to report concerns about reduced access to general healthcare (p = 0.043). Pregnant participants, compared to mothers with infants under 12 months of age, expressed greater concern about reduced access to mental healthcare (p = 0.015). Additionally, the perceived COVID-19 threat was linked to changes in prenatal care providers and labor induction schedules (p < 0.001). These findings highlight the importance of integrating the perceived threat of pandemics or other major events into mental health screenings. Healthcare providers should proactively address potential changes in patient behavior during major events in anticipation of future crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The association between allogenic blood transfusions and all-cause mortality in surgically treated hip fracture patients with perioperative transfusion (STHFPT) remained unknown. The authors aim to introduce transfusion-related factors, new variables to develop, and validate models to predict mortality in these patients. Methods: A prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted with STHFPT hospitalized during January 2018 and June 2021. The database was divided into training cohort and validation cohort in a ratio of 70-30% using the randomization method. All participants received a minimum of 2-year follow-up and all participants' overall and eight time-specific survival status were recorded. Prediction models were developed using multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression for variable selection. Model performance was measured by determining discrimination, calibration, overall model performance or precision, and utility. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test robustness of the results. Results: A total of 7074 consecutive patients were prospectively screened and assessed for eligibility to participate. Finally, 2490 patients met our inclusion and exclusion criteria and 1743 (70%) patients were randomized to the training cohort and 747 (30%) to the validation cohort. The median duration of follow-up was 38.4 months (IQR 28.0-62.0). Our novel models highlight that preoperative transfusion is of significance for short-term mortality while mid-term outcomes are predominantly determined by severe complications, pulmonary complications, and advanced age. Our models showed high discriminative power, good calibration, and precision for mortality prediction in both training and validation cohorts, especially in short-term mortality prediction. Conclusions: The authors introduce transfusion-related factors, new variables to develop, and validatemodels to predict mortality with STHFPT. The models can be further tested and updated with the ultimate goal of assisting in optimizing individual transfusion strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post translational modifications (PTMs) can change the properties of a protein by covalent addition of functional groups to one or more amino acids, and influence almost all aspects of normal cell biology and pathogenesis. Lactylation is a novel identified PTM, and has been found in both histone and non-histone proteins. Since associated with the end product of glycolysis--lactate, lactylation modification could provide a new perspective for understanding the relationship between metabolic reprogramming and epigenetic modifications. Accumulated evidences suggest that lactylation play important roles in tumor progression and links to poor prognosis in clinical studies. Histone lactylation can affect gene expression in tumor cells and immunological cells, further promoting tumor progression and immune suppression. Lactylation on non-histone proteins can also regulate tumor progression and drug resistance. In this review, we aimed to summarize the roles of lactylation in cancer progression, microenvironment interactions and immune suppression, try to identify new molecular targets for cancer therapy and provide a new direction for combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 80 TBM jamming accidents had been recorded in the Water Diversion Project from the Hongyan River to the Shitou River in Shan'xi Province, China, resulting in substantial losses. This paper aims to investigate the rescue technology for the jamming accidents of the double-shield TBM in the project through a five-year geotechnical in-situ investigation. Firstly, the engineering background, the geological and hydrological conditions, the construction method, the possible jamming hazards, and the support system is introduced in detail. Then, the jamming accidents of the double-shield TBM are classified into the five kinds in total, namely, the shield jamming accident, the cutter head jamming accident, the jamming accident in the fault fracture zone, the jamming accident in the large-deformation section, and the jamming accident at water-rich and severely weathered broken rock section. And corresponding causes of accidents is analyzed at the same time. Afterward, the rescue technology adopted for the typical jamming accidents is explored, including the small pilot tunnel scheme, the advanced grouting scheme, the advanced large pipe shed scheme, the circular excavation scheme, and the auxiliary tunnel scheme. Finally, the prevent approaches for the jamming accident of the TBM are proposed, hoping to guide the same projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurence and development of tumors is a complicated process, which not only depends on the mutation or deletion of genes, but also is affected by epigenetic regulation. Accumulating evidences have shown that epigenetic modifications play fundamental roles in transcriptional regulation, heterochromatin formation, X chromosome inactivation, DNA damage response and tumor development. SET domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 (SETD7) was initially identified as an important lysine methyltransferase, which methylated histone and non-histone proteins. These modifications play fundamental roles. Once this modification disorders, it can directly lead to cell abnormalities and cause many diseases. Studies have shown that SETD7 is related to the occurence and development of various tumors, but the methylation sites of SETD7 and its regulatory mechanism have not been fully elucidated. Tis article summarizes the research progress of the role of SETD7 on histone and non-histone methylation modification in tumors and the molecular mechanism, in order to provide new therapeutic targets for tumor pathogenesis and diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Severe prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) is diagnosed by an indexed effective orifice area <0.65 cm2/m2, which is derived from stroke volume index. We examined the impact of flow, determined by stroke volume index, on severe PPM following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). METHODS: We included SAVR patients from the PARTNER 2A trial (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve 2A) and TAVR patients from the PARTNER 2 S3i (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve 2 S3i) registry. The primary end point was the separate analysis of all-cause death, cardiac death, and rehospitalization at 5 years. Following TAVR and SAVR, we compared the primary end points between severe versus no-severe PPM in all patients, in low flow (LF), and in normal flow. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine variables associated with the end points. RESULTS: Nine hundred fifty-four TAVR and 726 SAVR patients with PPM and flow data were included. Severe PPM following TAVR was significantly lower compared with SAVR in all patients (9% versus 28%, P<0.0001), in normal flow (5% versus 8%, P=0.04), and in LF (20% versus 42%, P<0.0001). Severe PPM was associated with rehospitalization following TAVR (odds ratio, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.01-2.29], P=0.0456) and SAVR (odds ratio, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.06-2.16], P=0.0237). Severe PPM in LF was independently associated with cardiac death following TAVR (odds ratio, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.06-3.23], P=0.0308). Following SAVR, severe PPM in LF and low ejection fraction was associated with increased cardiac death (35.26% versus 12.51%, P=0.01) and rehospitalization (37.59% versus 15.46%, P=0.006) compared with severe PPM in LF and preserved ejection fraction, respectively. Severe PPM in normal flow was not associated with clinical outcomes despite higher gradients and smaller valves compared with severe PPM in LF. CONCLUSIONS: Severe PPM is more common following SAVR compared with TAVR. Regardless of the implanted valve size or gradient, severe PPM impacts mortality only in patients with LF following TAVR and LF and low ejection fraction following SAVR. Severe PPM in normal flow is not associated with poor outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental temperature occurring during the grain filling stage is an important factor affecting starch synthesis and accumulation in rice. We investigated starch accumulation, amylase activity and starch granule size distribution in two low-amylose japonica rice varieties, Nanjing 9108 and Fujing 1606, grown in the field at different filling temperatures by manipulating sowing date. The two rice varieties exhibited similar performances between two sowing dates. Total starch, amylose and amylopectin contents were lower at the early-filling stage of T1 treatment (Early-sowing) compared with those at the same stage in T2 treatment (Late-sowing). In contrast, at the late-filling stage, when field temperatures were generally decreasing, total starch and amylopectin contents in T1 were higher compared to those in T2. The ideal temperature for strong activity of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase was about 22 °C. A higher temperature from the heading to maturity stages in T1 increased the activities of starch branching enzyme and suppressed the activities of granule bound starch synthetase and starch debranching enzyme. We found that rice produced larger-sized starch granules under the T1 treatment. These results suggested that due to the early-sowing date, the high temperature (30 °C) occurring at the early-filling stage hindered starch synthesis and accumulation, however, the lower temperatures (22 °C) at the late-filling stage allowed starch synthesis and accumulation to return to normal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of the air electrode structure is critical in the rechargeable zinc-air batteries. So far, the majority of previous articles have been reported on the process in boosting electrocatalytic bifunctional oxygen reaction activity. Nevertheless, the reason that caused the deterioration of air electrodes has been rarely investigated, which dramatically influences cell performance. Herein, self-supported MnO2 bifunctional electrocatalysts on nickel foam are integrated with the gas diffusion layer to form air electrodes. The charge voltage of the as-prepared electrode used in rechargeable zinc-air battery is reduced by 1.82% and the discharge voltage is decreased by 5.25% after 1000 cycles at the current density of 20 mA cm−2 under the mode of 5 min charge and 5 min discharge, which demonstrate the feasibility of the novel electrode structure design. Besides, The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were conducted to analyze the change of composition, structure, and performance. The origin of the decrease of the discharge profile was analyzed. Experimental studies revealed that the main cause of voltage loss is mainly attributed to the destroyed gas diffusion structure (at large current densities) and the activation loss of MnO2 caused by the (oxy)hydroxide film (at small current densities). The destroyed gas diffusion structure gives rise to the poor oxygen transfer and further water flooding due to the formation of large pore caused by oxygen evolution in the charging process and increased hydrophilicity by the carbon oxidation. Meanwhile, the film growing overtop of the electrocatalysts would result in mass transfer and activation losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) can facilitate inflammation that results in pain hypersensitivity. Proinflammatory cytokines produced by activated microglia and astrocytes damage the BSCB. This study aims to explore whether the BSCB is damaged in the bone cancer pain (BCP) model and to investigate a potential role and mechanism of JWH015 ((2-methyl-1-propyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1-naphthalenylmethanone), a selective cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) agonist, in preserving the BSCB integrity in the BCP model.Methods: We used a male mouse model of BCP. Pain hypersensitivity was measured over time. Evans blue dye extravasation, transmission electron microscopy and Western blotting were performed to investigate the permeability and structural integrity of the BSCB. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting were used to investigate the effect of JWH015 on the activation of glial cells and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines.Results: A single intrathecal injection of JWH015 ameliorated pain hypersensitivity, the BSCB disruption and microglia and astrocyte activation. Decreases in the expression of ZO-1 and claudin-5 were partially restored by JWH015. The levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α and the enzyme MMP9 were reduced by JWH015. However, all effects were prevented by pretreatment with a CB2R-selective antagonist, AM630 ((6-iodo-2-methyl-1-(2-morpholinoethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl)(4-methoxyphenyl)methanone).Conclusions: JWH015 alleviates neuroinflammation and maintains the BSCB integrity and permeability in a mouse model of BCP, which is probably mediated by inhibiting glial cells activation. This study reveals the new analgesic mechanism of JWH015 on BCP and provides a perspective to explore novel drugs that target the BSCB to control BCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, due to the development of biomass materials and their lowcost, renewable and environmentally friendly characteristics, the use of electrochemical processes to treat wastewater is considered to be a very attractive solution. The use of discarded corrugated paper to prepare high value corrugated paper activated carbon (CPAC) cathodes degrades phenol in wastewater by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs). The degradation efficiency in 120 min can reach 93.76%. CPAC can also be used in the field of supercapacitors. In a three-electrode system using 6MKOH as the electrolyte, the specific capacitance is as high as 415.66 F g-1 at the current density of 1 A g-1. When the current density is 10 A g-1, the specific capacitance can reach 310 F g-1. Furthermore, after 5000 cycles of charging and discharging, the capacitance retention rate was 89.99%. It can be seen that CPAC is a dual-functional material suitable for both electrocatalytic degradation and supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni3S2/CdS nanocomposites based on zero-dimensional Ni3S2 nanoparticles (NPs) and one-dimensional CdS nanowires (NWs) were synthesized via a two-step solvothermal approach. These nanocomposites were characterized using a combination of experimental techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemistry method. The Ni3S2/CdS nanocomposites exhibit much higher photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity than individual CdS NWs or Ni3S2 NPs under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 400 nm) from water. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photocatalytic properties of the Ni3S2/CdS nanocomposites were investigated as a function of the molar ratio between Ni3S2 and CdS. In addition, ultrafast transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy was employed to probe the charge carrier dynamics, which is about four times shorter in 10%-Ni3S2/CdS than pure CdS NWs. These results suggest efficient charge transfer between CdS and Ni3S2 at the interface, which is desired for PEC and photocatalytic applications [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing severity of the environment pollution and urban energy exhaustion cause the proposal of the concept called “Urban Energy Internet”, which adapts to the idea of sustainable urban development. The paper, based on the consumption sector of urban energy, proposed the quantitative comparison and analysis system facing the urban energy consumption feature from perspective of Urban Energy Internet. The system can make the comparison and quantification analysis of the urban energy consumption features comprehensively from the perspective of economy, security, environmental protection and convenience. The comprehensive comparison and quantification analysis results can reflect the feature and advantages of each type of urban energy consumption and help seeking the optimal way of using the urban energy. The method proposed can improve the efficiency of urban energy consumption, reduce the environment pollutions, and promote the energy consumption consciousness of China to speed up the transformation of energy consumption pattern in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft open point (SOP) refers to a novel power electronic device installed in the distribution system to replace the traditional tie switch. The application of SOP will promote the flexibility and resilience of the distribution system in spatial scale. However, the energy storage system (ESS) is effective in energy transferring in time scale. SOP integrated with ESS (E-SOP) will form a new comprehensive energy conversion and storage device, which can significantly benefit the operation of active distributed network (ADN). First, a sequential optimization model of ADN with E-SOP is established, in which the model of E-SOP is developed fully considering the losses of converters and ESS. Then, the sequential optimization strategy of ADN with E-SOP is obtained. Finally, the modified IEEE 33-node test feeder is used to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop a long-lifetime metal-air battery, oxygen reduction electrodes with improved mass-transfer routes are designed by adjusting the mass ratio of the hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in nickel foam. The oxygen reduction catalyst MnO2 is grown on the nickel foam using a hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer--Emmett--Teller analysis are employed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, chemical composition, and pore structure of the electrodes, respectively. The air electrodes are evaluated using constant-current tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A PTFE:CNT mass ratio of 1:4--2:1 with 3-mm-thick nickel foam yields the optimal performance due to the balance of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity. When the electrodes are applied in primary zinc--air batteries, the electrode with a PTFE:CNT mass ratio of 1:4 achieves the maximum power density of 95.7 mWcm-2 with a discharge voltage of 0.8 V at 100 mA cm-2, and completes stable discharge for over 14400 s at 20 mA cm-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injecting oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions stabilized with nanoparticles (NPs) or surfactants is a promising option for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in harsh-condition reservoirs. Stability and rheology of the flowing emulsion in porous media are key factors for the effectiveness of the EOR method. The objective of this study is to use microfluidics to (1) quantitatively evaluate the synergistic effect of surfactants and NPs on emulsion dynamic stability and how NPs affect the emulsion properties, and to (2) investigate how emulsion properties affect the sweep performance in emulsion flooding. A microfluidic device with well-defined channel geometry of a high-permeability pathway and multiple parallel low-permeability pathways was created to represent a fracture/matrix dual-permeability system. Measurement of droplet coalescence frequency during flow is used to quantify the dynamic stability of emulsions. An NP aqueous suspension (2 wt%) shows excellent ability to stabilize the macro-emulsion when mixed with a trace amount of surfactant (0.05 wt%), revealing a synergistic effect between NPs and surfactant. For a stable emulsion, when a pore throat is present in the high-permeability pathway, it was observed that flowing emulsion droplets compress each other and then block the high-permeability pathway at a throat structure, which forces the wetting phase into low-permeability pathways. Droplet size shows little correlation with this blocking effect. Water content was observed to be much higher in the low-permeability pathways than in the highpermeability pathways, indicating different emulsion texture and viscosity in channels of different sizes. Consequently, the assumption of bulk emulsion viscosity in the porous medium is not applicable in the description and modeling of the emulsion-flooding process. Flow of emulsions stabilized by an NP/surfactant mixture shows droplet packing in high-permeability regions that is denser than those stabilized by surfactant only, at high-permeability regions, which is attributed to the enhanced interaction between droplets caused by NPs in the thin liquid film between neighboring oil/water (O/W) interfaces. This effect is shown to enhance the performance of emulsion-blockage effect for sweep-efficiency improvement, showing the advantage of NPs as an emulsion stabilizer during an emulsion-based EOR process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background—Sex differences in the outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents and in the response to clopidogrel therapy have been reported; however, the differential risk of high platelet reactivity (HPR) on clopidogrel in women versus men is unknown. Methods and Results—We compared 8448 patients enrolled in the ADAPT-DES study (Assessment of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy With Drug-Eluting Stents) according to sex and the presence/absence of HPR on clopidogrel (defined as P2Y12 reactivity units >208). Study end points were definite and probable stent thrombosis (ST), clinically relevant bleeding, all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and major adverse cardiac events (comprising mortality, myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization). HPR was more common among women (1118/2163, 51.7%) than men (2491/6285, 39.6%). HPR was associated with a roughly double risk of 1-year ST in both women and men (women with versus without HPR: 1.4% versus 0.7%; hazard ratio [HR], 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82–4.95; P=0.12; and men: 1.2% versus 0.5%; HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.36–4.30; P=0.002; Pinteraction=0.73). HPR was associated with almost half the rate of clinically relevant bleeding in women (women: HPR versus no HPR, 5.3% versus 9.8%; HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.40–0.74; P<0.001), whereas men had similar rates of bleeding regardless of HPR status (men: HPR versus no HPR, 5.7% versus 5.9%; HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.78–1.18; P=0.70; Pinteraction=0.003). In propensity-adjusted models, HPR was an independent predictor of ST and myocardial infarction in men; although both associations were nonsignificant among women, no interaction was observed in the associations between HPR and either ST or myocardial infarction. Conversely, HPR was an independent predictor of reduced bleeding only in women (women: adjusted HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41–0.82; P=0.002; and men: adjusted HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.65–1.04; P=0.11; Pinteraction=0.01). Conclusions—In the current analysis, the associated risk of HPR for ST was similar in both sexes. However, HPR was associated with significantly reduced bleeding only among women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background--This study sought to evaluate the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Methods and Results--Data were evaluated in 1879 patients with baseline and discharge ECGs who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve (PARTNER) trial. A total of 1262 patients manifested sinus rhythm (SR) at baseline/SR at discharge, 113 SR baseline/AF discharge, and 470 AF baseline/AF discharge. Patients who converted from SR to AF by discharge had the highest rates of all-cause mortality at 30 days (P<0.0001 across all groups; 14.2% SR/AF versus 2.6% SR/SR; adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=3.41; P=0.0002) and over 2-fold difference at 1 year (P<0.0001 across all groups; 35.7% SR/AF versus 15.8% SR/SR; adjusted HR=2.14; P<0.0001). The presence of AF on baseline or discharge ECG was a predictor of 1-year mortality (adjusted HR=2.14 for SR/AF group and HR=1.88 for AF/AF groups; P<0.0001 for both groups versus SR/SR). For patients discharged in AF, those with lower ventricular response (ie, <90 bpm) experienced less 1-year all-cause mortality (HR=0.74; P=0.04). Conclusions--After transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the presence of AF at discharge, and particularly, the conversion to AF by discharge and higher ventricular response are associated with increased mortality. These data underscore the deleterious impact of AF, as well as the need for targeted interventions to improve clinical outcomes, in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]