Search

Rice spikelet rot disease (RSRD) caused by Fusarium proliferatumseriously reduces rice yield and produces mycotoxins that threaten human health. The root symbiotic endophytic fungus Phomopsis liquidambarisreduces RSRD incidence and fumonisins accumulation in grain by 21.5 and 9.3%, respectively, while the mechanism of disease resistance remains largely elusive. Here, we found that B3 significantly reduced the abundance of pathogen from 79.91 to 2.84% and considerably enriched resistant microbes Pseudomonasand Proteobacteriain the spikelet microbial community. Further study revealed that B3 altered the metabolites of spikelets, especially hordenine and l-aspartic acid, which played a key role in reshaping the microbiome and supporting the growth of the functional core microbe Pseudomonas, and inhibited the pathogen growth and mycotoxin production. This study provided a feasibility of regulating the function of aboveground microbial communities by manipulating plant subsurface tissues to control disease and mycotoxin pollutants in agricultural production.

Indicahybrid rice (Oryza sativa) production aims to achieve two crucial targets: high yield and good taste. This study selected three types of indicahybrid rice according to grain yield and taste value, including high yield and good taste (HYGT), low yield and good taste (LYGT), and high yield and poor taste (HYPT), to analyze yield components, corresponding growth characteristics, and rice taste quality. When values were averaged across varieties and years, there were almost no differences in taste value between HYGT and LYGT; HYGT showed a significant increase in yield, owing to a higher number of panicles and spikelets per panicle, with a respective increment of 16.2 and 20.6%. The higher grain yield of HYGT compared with LYGT was attributed to three key factors: a higher leaf area index (LAI) during heading, a higher ratio of grain to leaf, and a higher biomass accumulation at maturity. HYGT and HYPT achieved similar high yields; however, HYGT had more panicle numbers and lower grain weight. In addition, HYGT showed a significantly higher taste value than HYPT, attributed to its significantly lower protein and amylose contents, with reductions of 8.8 and 15.7%, respectively. Lower protein and amylose contents might be caused by a proper matter translocation from vegetative organs to panicle. This study suggested that reasonable panicle characteristics and translocation efficiency from vegetative organs to panicle during heading to maturity are the key factors in balancing yield and rice taste quality. These results will provide valuable insights for rice breeders to improve the grain yield and quality of indicahybrid rice.

BACKGROUND:: Bile duct injury (BDI), which may occur during cholecystectomy procedures and living-donor liver transplantation, leads to life-altering complications and significantly increased mortality and morbidity. Tissue engineering, as an emerging method, has shown great potential to treat BDI. Here, we aimed to explore the application of small intestinal submucosa (SIS) matrix composites with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to treat BDI in a rabbit model. METHODS:: Rabbit-derived BMSCs were used as seed cells. Porcine SIS was used as the support material. Five centimetres of the common bile duct was dissected, and 1/3–1/2 of the anterior wall diameter was transversely incised to construct the rabbit BDI model. Then, SIS materials without/with BMSCs were inserted into the common bile duct of the BDI rabbits. After 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks of implantation, the common bile duct was removed. Haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to assess pathological alterations in the common bile duct, while immunohistochemical staining and western blotting were used to detect expression of the epithelial cell markers CK19 and E-cadherin. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate BMSC growth. RESULTS:: Compared with BMSCs alone, SIS-attached BMSCs had increased growth. HE staining showed that the injured bile duct healed well and that the complex gradually degraded as the time from implantation increased. Immunohistochemical staining and western blotting showed that compared with the control group, the in vivocomplex group had significantly elevated expression levels of CK19 and E-cadherin. CONCLUSION:: BMSC implantation into SIS could improve BDI in rabbits, which might have clinical value for BDI treatment.

. • Heat management in porous material promotes hydrogen isotope separation. • Enhanced thermal conductivity leads to improved hydrogen adsorption. • High thermal conductivity is more beneficial to D 2 than H 2 adsorption. • Enhanced thermal conductivity contributes to low energy consumption. Separating high-purity hydrogen isotopes from their mixture still remains a huge challenge due to almost the identical physicochemical properties. Much importance has been attached to tune microstructure of porous materials, while heat management during hydrogen isotope separation tends to be ignored. Herein, a porous material 5A molecular sieve (5A) is mixed with graphene (GE) under ball grinding to enhance its thermal conductivity for hydrogen isotope separation. The thermal conductivity increases from 0.19 W m−1 K−1 of neat 5A, 0.75 W m−1 K−1 of 5A/GE2 (2 wt% GE) to 1.23 W m−1 K−1 of 5A/GE8. In addition, introducing GE into 5A promotes hydrogen adsorption and D 2 /H 2 adsorption ratio. 5A/GE2 shows the highest D 2 adsorption capacity (5.40 mmol/g) and the largest D 2 /H 2 adsorption ratio (1.07) among the composites. It also displays a high efficiency of heat transfer that contributes to a low energy consumption due to the shortened cycle time during hydrogen isotope separation. This work offers new insights into material design for improved hydrogen isotope separation, which is greatly crucial to scientific and industrial applications, such as fuel self-sustaining in fusion reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on III–V/II–VI materials have delivered a compelling performance in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, which enabled wide-ranging applications in sensing, including environmental monitoring, defense, and medical diagnostics. Continued efforts are underway to realize on-chip sensors via heterogeneous integration of mid-IR emitters on a silicon photonic chip, but the uptake of such an approach is limited by the high costs and interfacial strains, associated with the processes of heterogeneous integrations. Here, the black phosphorus (BP)-based van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are exploited as room-temperature LEDs. The demonstrated devices emit linearly polarized light, and the spectra cover the technologically important mid-IR atmospheric window. Additionally, the BP LEDs exhibit fast modulation speed and exceptional operation stability. The measured peak extrinsic quantum efficiency is comparable to the III–V/II–VI mid-IR LEDs. By leveraging the integrability of vdW heterostructures, we further demonstrate a silicon photonic waveguide-integrated BP LED.

Black phosphorus (BP), a narrow band gap semiconductor without out-of-plane dangling bonds, has shown promise for broadband and integrable photodetector applications. Simultaneously exhibiting high speed and high-efficiency operation, however, remains a critical challenge for current BP-based photodetectors. Here, we demonstrate a photodetector based on the BP-based van der Waals heterostructures. The developed photodetector enables broadband responses in the visible to mid-infrared range with external quantum efficiency ranging from 20 to 52% at room temperature. These results together with noise measurements indicate that the photodetector can detect light in the picowatt range. Furthermore, the demonstrated BP detector has ultrafast rise (1.8 ns) and fall (1.68 ns) times, and its photoresponse exhibits reproducible switching behavior even under consecutive and rapid light intensity modulations (2100 cycles, 200 MHz), as indicated by the eye-diagram measurement. By leveraging these features, we show our BP heterostructures can be configured as a point-like detector in a scanning confocal microscopy, useful for mid-infrared imaging applications.

Plant-associated microbiomes play important roles in plant health and productivity. However, despite fruits being directly linked to plant productivity, little is known about the microbiomes of fruits and their potential association with fruit health. Here, by integrating 16S rRNA gene, ITS high-throughput sequencing data, and microbiological culturable approaches, we reported that roots and fruits (pods) of peanut, a typical plant that bears fruits underground, recruit different bacterial and fungal communities independently of cropping conditions and that the incidence of pod disease under monocropping conditions is attributed to the depletion of Bacillusgenus and enrichment of Aspergillusgenus in geocarposphere. On this basis, we constructed a synthetic community (SynCom) consisting of three Bacillusstrains from geocarposphere soil under rotation conditions with high culturable abundance. Comparative transcriptome, microbiome profiling, and plant phytohormone signaling analysis reveal that the SynCom exhibited more effective Aspergillusgrowth inhibition and pod disease control than individual strain, which was underpinned by a combination of molecular mechanisms related to fungal cell proliferation interference, mycotoxins biosynthesis impairment, and jasmonic acid–mediated plant immunity activation. Overall, our results reveal the filter effect of plant organs on the microbiome and that depletion of key protective microbial community promotes the fruit disease incidence.

Objective: The existing literature on the combination of acute pancreatitis (AP) and COVID-19 is scarce. The objective of our study is to compare the clinical outcomes and occurrence of long COVID syndrome in AP patients with and without COVID-19, while investigating the potential impact of COVID-19 on the severity, mortality rate, and long COVID syndrome in these patients. Methods: This retrospective, observational study was conducted at a single center. It included patients aged 18 years and above who were diagnosed with AP during the pandemic. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the results of RT-qPCR testing: the SARS-CoV-2-positive group and the SARS-CoV-2-negative group. The study aimed to compare the severity of AP, mortality rate, and occurrence of long COVID syndrome between these two groups. Result: A retrospective review was conducted on 122 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis between December 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023. Out of these patients, 100 were included in the study. The analysis revealed no significant differences in mortality rate, severity, and sequelae between AP patients with COVID-19 and those without COVID-19 (p> 0.005). However, a statistically significant difference was observed in the occurrence of long COVID syndrome, specifically in the presence of cough (p= 0.04). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the presence of COVID-19 in patients with pancreatitis does not lead to an increase in the mortality and severity rate of pancreatitis.

This five‐year, retrospective, multicenter study evaluated the long‐term safety and efficiency of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) in Chinese patients with urinary voiding dysfunction. This is a Chinese national, multicenter, retrospective study that included 247 patients (51.2% female) who received an implantable pulse generator (IPG) (InterStim, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) between 2012 and 2016. Success was considered if the initial ≥50% improvement in any of primary voiding diary variables persisted compared with baseline. The results were further stratified by identifying patients who showed >50% improvement and those although showed <50% improvement but still wanted to receive IPG; these data were collected and analyzed for general improvement. Following test stimulation, 187 patients (43%) declined implantation and 247 (57%) underwent implantation using InterStim®. Among 247 patients, 34 (13.7%) had overactive bladder (OAB), 59 (23.8%) had interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), 47 (19%) had idiopathic urinary retention (IUR), and 107 (44.1%) had neurogenic bladder (NB). IPG efficiency rate for OAB, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, idiopathic urinary retention, and neurogenic bladder were 42.5, 72.4, 51.6, and 58.8%, respectively. The mean duration of follow‐up was 20.1 ± 12.8 months. SNM appears effective in the long term, with a total IPG implantation rate of approximately 57% (ranging between 42.5 and 72.4% depending on indication). Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome appear to be the best indication for stage I testing. Chinese neurogenic bladder patients are most inclined to choose SNM. SNM is relatively safe, with low postoperation adverse events of 16.1% and reoperation rate of 3.2% during the follow‐up period.

Surgical approach (SA) is the standard treatment for infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) and endoscopic transgastric approach (ETA) is a promising alternative treatment. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of ETA versus SA in INP. Several databases were systematically searched for eligible studies that compared ETA with SA for INP. Predefined criteria were used for study selection. Three reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias. Primary outcomes included clinical resolution rate, short-term mortality, major complications, and hospital stay. Study-specific effect sizes and their 95% confidence interval (CI) were combined to calculate the pooled value using fixed-effects or random-effects model. Six studies were included with 295 patients. Major complication rate [odds ratio (OR), 0.13; 95% CI, 0.06-0.29], new-onset organ failure rate (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.12-0.54), postoperative pancreatic fistula rate (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03-0.28), and incisional hernia rate (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.85) were lower in the ETA group. There was a shorter hospital stay (mean difference, −17.72; 95% CI, −21.30 to −14.13) in the ETA group. No differences were found in clinical resolution, short-term mortality, postoperative bleeding, perforation of visceral organ, and endocrine or exocrine insufficiency. Compared with SA, ETA showed comparable effectiveness and safety for the treatment of INP based on current evidence.

The multidirectional forging (MDF) process was conducted at temperature of 753 K to optimize the mechanical properties of as-homogenized Mg–13Gd–4Y–2Zn–0.6Zr alloy containing long-period stacking ordered phase. The effects of MDF passes on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties were also investigated. The results show that both the volume fraction of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) grains and mechanical properties of the deformed alloy enhanced with MDF passes increasing till seven passes. The average grain size decreased from 76 to 2.24 μm after seven passes, while the average grain size increased to 7.12 μm after nine passes. The microstructure after seven passes demonstrated randomly oriented fine DRX grains and larger basal (0001)<11$$\bar{2}$$ 2¯ 0> Schmid factor of 0.31. The superior mechanical properties at room temperature (RT) with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 416 MPa and fracture elongation of 4.12% can be obtained after seven passes. The mechanical properties at RT after nine passes are inferior to those after seven passes due to the coarsening of DRX grains, which can be ascribed to the static recovery resulting from the repeated heating at the interval of MDF passes. The elevated temperature mechanical properties of the deformed alloy after seven passes and nine passes were investigated. When test temperature was below 523 K, the elevated temperature tensile yield strength and UTS after seven passes are superior to those after nine passes, while they are inferior to that after nine passes as temperature exceeds 523 K.

Common bile duct (CBD) suturing is a difficult procedure in laparoscopic CBD exploration. We sought to develop a simpler CBD suture technique using running barbed sutures. We retrospectively compared 2 suture techniques for CBD closure after T-tube placement. The barbed group comprised of 46 patients who underwent CBD closure using running barbed sutures, whereas the standard group comprised of 39 patients who received interrupted sutures. Mean CBD suturing time (6.2±0.9 vs. 12.2±1.1 min; P<0.001), total operating time (79.7±9.4 vs. 90.8±12.4 min; P<0.001), and hospital stay (6.1±1.8 vs. 7.0±1.7 d; P=0.024) were significantly shorter and less patients experienced leakage after T-tube flushing (P=0.041) with the barbed suture technique. There were 2 cases of postoperative bile leakage in the standard group, with no statistical significance. The running barbed suture technique is safe and effective for CBD closure, which can decrease operating time and risk of complications.

AbstractFor hydrogen isotope enrichment/separation applicable to fusion fuel processing, environmental tritium safety confinement, or recovery of tritium from heavy water reactors, a hydrogen displacement adsorption process system is recommended using molecular sieve 5A as the separation material. For simulation and optimization of the process, mathematical models and a solving method are provided to calculate the breakthrough curves during the displacement adsorption, in which various parameters including pressure drop and mass transfer coefficients are allowed to be changeable. Based on the calculated results, the effects of the column size, the flow rate, and the outlet pressure on the enrichment factor, the recovery ratio and the separation ability of the column are comprehensively analyzed. The conclusions have some theoretical guiding significance for the development of hydrogen isotope separation by the displacement adsorption method.

AbstractThe physical cause of amplified deep Arctic tropospheric warming in winter in the Barents–Kara Seas (BKS) is examined. The authors propose that changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns are important for deep Arctic tropospheric warming in winter. It is found that the retrograde Urals blocking (UB) event concurrent with a negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO−) that arises from a prior negative Arctic Oscillation (AO−) is not favorable for tropospheric warming because of less water vapor over the BKS. Such UB events are related to more winter BKS sea ice associated with the negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the BKS. In contrast, a UB occurring together with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) shows less movement and can significantly enhance tropospheric warming over the BKS through increasing tropospheric sensible heat energy due to a persistent BKS water vapor increase. This type of quasi-stationary UB event is related to prior less BKS sea ice associated with a positive BKS SST anomaly that coexists with the North Atlantic SST tripole structure. In summary, because warm, wet and low sea-ice winters in the BKS are related to UB events with an NAO+, and depend on the winter prior sea-ice condition, the tropospheric warming is to some extent a manifestation of the sea-ice–blocking–moisture feedback in the BKS.

AbstractAn index of a large-scale Kuroshio Extension (KE) sea surface height dipole (KED) mode is constructed using satellite altimeter sea level anomaly observations from January 1993 to December 2015 based on previous work of the second author. It is found that the KED mode that undergoes a decadal variation from a negative phase (a positive-over-negative dipole, KED−) to a positive phase (a negative-over-positive dipole, KED+) can affect the variability of the oceanic SST front and the North Pacific storm track. The results show that the oceanic SST fronts in the north of the KE region and in the KE region — referred to as the NSST and KSST fronts, respectively — are closely correlated with the KED mode. In the NSST front region, the SST front is stronger for KED−than for KED+, and the opposite is the case in the KSST region. It is further revealed that the decadal phase transition of the KED mode can change the location and strength of the North Pacific storm track, with the North Pacific storm track being slightly weaker and moving more northwards as a whole during the KED−mode than during the KED+mode. The westerly wind associated with the storm track on the downstream side of the KE region intensifies and shifts northwards under KED−compared to KED+. Furthermore, the transition of the KED mode gives rise to changes in the North Pacific storm track by changing the NSST and KSST fronts and meridional heat flux.

Few studies have investigated the efficacy and safety of hydration to prevent contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and worsening heart failure (WHF) after cardiac catheterization in heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF; HF and EF ≥50%) patients. We recruited 1206 patients with HFpEF undergoing cardiac catheterization with periprocedural hydration volume/weight (HV/W) ratio data and investigated the relationship between hydration volumes and risk of CI-AKI and WHF. Incidence of CI-AKI was not significantly reduced in individuals with higher HV/W [quartile (Q) 1, Q2, Q3, and Q4: 9.7%, 10.2%, 12.7%, and 12.2%, respectively; P= 0.219]. Multivariate analysis indicated that higher HV/W ratios were not associated with decreased CI-AKI risks [Q2 vs. Q1: odds ratio (OR), 0.95; Q3 vs. Q1: OR, 1.07; Q4 vs. Q1: OR, 0.92; all P> 0.05]. According to multivariate analysis, higher HV/W significantly increased the WHF risk (Q4 vs. Q1: adjusted OR, 8.13 and 95% confidence interval, 1.03–64.02; P= 0.047). CI-AKI and WHF were associated with a significantly increased risk of long-term mortality (mean follow-up, 2.33 years). For HFpEF patients, an excessively high hydration volume might not be associated with lower risk of CI-AKI but may increase the risk of postprocedure WHF.

AbstractSatellite altimeter SSH data in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region gathered during the period January 1993 to December 2014 are analyzed using self-organizing map (SOM) analysis. Four spatial patterns (SOM1, SOM2, SOM3, and SOM4) are extracted, and the corresponding time series are used to characterize the variation of the sea level anomaly. Except in some individual months, SOM1 and SOM2 with single-branch jet structures appear alternately during the periods 1993–1998 and 2002–2011. However, during 1999–2001 and 2012–2014, SOM3 and SOM4 with double-branch jet structures are dominant. The sea level anomalies exhibit interannual variations, while the KE stream demonstrates decadal variation. For SOM1, the change in the KE path is less evident, although the KE jet is strong and narrow. For SOM2, the KE jet is weakened and widened and its jet axis moves towards the southwest. Compared with the SOM3, for SOM4 the trough and ridge in the upstream KE region are deeper in the northeast–southwest direction, and accompanied by a jet weakening and splitting. This study shows that SOM analysis is a useful approach for characterizing KE variability.

Percutaneous transluminal renal artery stenting (PTRAS) has been proved to have no more benefit than medication alone in treating atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS). Whether PTRAS could improve left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and reduce adverse events when based on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and ARAS is still unclear. A retrospective study was conducted, which explored the effect of concomitant PCI and PTRAS versus PCI alone for patients with CAD and ARAS complicated by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). A total of 228 patients meeting inclusion criteria were divided into two groups: (1) the HFpEF-I group, with PCI and PTRAS; (2) the HFpEF-II group, with PCI alone. Both groups had a two-year follow-up. The left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and other clinical characteristics were compared between groups. During the follow-up period, a substantial decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) was observed in the HFpEF-I group, but not in the HFpEF-II group. There was marked decrease in LVMI in both groups, but the HFpEF-I group showed a greater decrease than the HFpEF-II group. Regression analysis demonstrated that PTRAS was significantly associated with LVMI reduction and fewer adverse events after adjusting for other factors. In HFpEF patients with both CAD and ARAS, concomitant PCI and PTRAS can improve LVH and decrease the incidence of adverse events more than PCI alone. This study highlights the beneficial effect of ARAS revascularization, as a new and more aggressive revascularization strategy for such high-risk patients.

A fast-growing procedure (FGP) to fabricate dense perovskite films with millimeter-scale grain clusters is described. Planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells were fabricated based on the dense perovskite films.

Vibration suppression of the launcher is an important way to improve the firing accuracy of Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). In order to get a better control result from the course that pulse control mechanism generates pulses to restrain the vibration of MLRS launcher, this paper analyzed the process that pulse thruster control the vibration of launcher under the modulation of pulse width and pulse frequency (PWPF) modulator. And the simulation model of the control system is established through the SIMULINK software in MATLAB. Under repeated modifications of the structural parameters of PWPF modulator, the influence laws of these parameters are found out, and the best structure parameter values are obtained. The final simulation result shows that the vibration in the pitch and lateral direction is greatly reduced. It is a big help to improve the firing accuracy of MLRS.

In machine olfaction or electronic nose, sensor optimization is important to enhance pattern recognition efficiency and reduce redundant information. Highly correlated response of one sensor to two different odors implies less contribution of this sensor to the classification of these two odors. Variance difference is a significant index to measure the similarity of sensor responses. A sensor optimization method based on variance difference is proposed in this paper; both the average value of variance difference and cluster analysis of variance difference matrix were considered to identify several possible sensor subsets. Six Chinese herbal medicines and linear discrimination analysis (LDA) were applied to test the classification results in order to determine the best subset. LDA results indicated that the optimized sensor subset performed well in classification of the six Chinese medicines. The proposed sensor array optimization method could be applied to other kinds of odors classification as a novel method.

Efforts to prepare for a growing number of elderly patients, reducing the escalation of healthcare costs, and avoiding hospitals emergency room overcrowding are some of the driving forces for adopting wireless healthcare monitoring systems. However, due to the open-to-air commination nature of multilayer wireless networks, it is important to consider reliability, accuracy, security and privacy of such data transmission. We have developed a low-cost and wireless telehealthcare system for monitoring of basic physiological parameters and automatically transmitting the measured data to an electronic patient record. It employs off the shelf wireless products and a secure web-based application which have been tested in a hospital with satisfactory outcomes.

Several midurethral sling (MUS) procedures, such as tension‐free vaginal tape (TVT), TVT obturator (TVT‐O), tension‐free vaginal tape SECUR (TVT‐S), and pubovaginal sling (PVS), have been used for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI); however, which method is best for a particular patient group is not known. This study aimed to identify the best rationale for choosing the optimal MUS procedure for each patient. In total, 453 consecutive female patients with SUI who were treated with MUSs in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from September 2003 to September 2011 were enrolled in this study. All the patients underwent comprehensive pre‐, intra‐, and postoperative evaluations, including collection of demographic information, pelvic examination, and urodynamic testing, and operation‐related complications were recorded. The Incontinence Quality of Life questionnaire was also completed. Under local or general anesthesia, 105 cases were treated with TVT, 243 with TVT‐O, 90 with TVT‐S, and 15 with PVS. Patients with different profiles in terms of age, symptom duration, concomitant procedures, urodynamic parameters, and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) quantification score were treated successfully; the body mass index did not differ significantly among the various treatment options. The cure and improvement rates were similar among the treatment groups: 97.14% (102/105) in TVT, 100% (243/243) in TVT‐O, 98.89% (89/90) in TVT‐S, and 100% (15/15) in PVS. Only minor complications were experienced by the patients. In conclusion, each MUS procedure was observed to be safe and effective in different subpopulations of patients, and the results suggest that appropriate patient selection is crucial for the success of each MUS procedure.

Several midurethral sling (MUS) procedures, such as tension-free vaginal tape (TVT), TVT obturator (TVT-O), tension-free vaginal tape SECUR (TVT-S), and pubovaginal sling (PVS), have been used for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI); however, which method is best for a particular patient group is not known. This study aimed to identify the best rationale for choosing the optimal MUS procedure for each patient. In total, 453 consecutive female patients with SUI who were treated with MUSs in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from September 2003 to September 2011 were enrolled in this study. All the patients underwent comprehensive pre-, intra-, and postoperative evaluations, including collection of demographic information, pelvic examination, and urodynamic testing, and operation-related complications were recorded. The Incontinence Quality of Life questionnaire was also completed. Under local or general anesthesia, 105 cases were treated with TVT, 243 with TVT-O, 90 with TVT-S, and 15 with PVS. Patients with different profiles in terms of age, symptom duration, concomitant procedures, urodynamic parameters, and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) quantification score were treated successfully; the body mass index did not differ significantly among the various treatment options. The cure and improvement rates were similar among the treatment groups: 97.14% (102/105) in TVT, 100% (243/243) in TVT-O, 98.89% (89/90) in TVT-S, and 100% (15/15) in PVS. Only minor complications were experienced by the patients. In conclusion, each MUS procedure was observed to be safe and effective in different subpopulations of patients, and the results suggest that appropriate patient selection is crucial for the success of each MUS procedure.

A two-dimensional finite differential model is established to find the variation of displacements and stresses of culvert components. The time-history analysis is performed and a wide range of parametric studies are carried out to investigate the influences of height of embankment, ground acceleration and the propagation angle of seismic wave on the responses of the junctions between the culvert components under seismic loads. The results show that the horizontal displacements, the peak values of internal forces under seismic loads increase considerably and nonlinearly with the increases of the height of embankment. The peak values of stresses are sensitive to minor variations of acceleration. And the stresses in the culvert structure are reduced, when the propagation angle of seismic wave increases.

This paper designed a special welding machine for an aluminum cone bottom workpiece. This machine contains highly accurate positioner system, laser tracking system, and robotic welding devices. It is used to weld the transverse seams and the longitudinal seams of the workpiece. The interaction of welding robot with positioner and the real-time seam correcting can ensure high quality of welding.

Based on the fatigue crack propagation experiments did by A.-L. Gloanec et al., the fatigue crack propagation rates of TiAl alloy of two processing routes, namely casting and PM, and stress ratios had been tested, in order to find out the effects of microstructure and stress ratio. An improved fatigue crack propagation formula for region Ⅱ (the expansion region) was derived according to Paris formula. The specific values of the constants in the formula were calculated. Fatigue crack propagation resistance of nearly fully lamellar microstructure is superior to that of equiaxed γ grain. The experimental results present that both microstructure and stress ratio has a significant influence on fatigue crack growth rate.

A new feedback optimization design method based on arithmetic sequence is proposed to design free-form optical systems for an extended LED source. Taken LED lens designed by this method as an example, we find that the design process is simple and high regional illuminance uniformity and high light output efficiency could be simultaneously achieved.

The alloy rods with diameters of 3.0 mm of Cu50-xZr42Al8Agx(x=0,2,3,4)were prepared by means suspend melting-copper mold suction casting. The structure and thermal stability of the alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Subsequently, compression performance and fracture morphology of these bulk metallic glasses were investigated .we focus on analysis that influence of Ag micro-addition on the deformation and fracture of speciments. The results showed that the addition of Ag can enhance the forming ability and thermal stability of amorphous alloys. At the same time, with the increase of Ag content, the breaking strength of samples was improved from 1747Mpa to 2038Mpa. Without obvious plastic elongation percentage in bulk metallic owing to non-homogeneous modes of texturing at room-temperature. The compression failure behavior of test samples belong to elastic failure and the maximum failure extensibility is 3.7%.The fracture pattern of test samples all assume venation pattern.

The Cu50Zr42Al8 dumbbell-shaped alloy with original scale distance of 25 mm and diameters of 4.5 mm was prepared by the suspend melting-copper mould suction casting. The structure tensile performance testing and the fracture morphology observation of Cu50Zr42Al8 BMG as-quenched and 400k/1h isothermal annealing were investigated, respectively. The deformation and fracture behavior of samples had been studied. The results showed that the structure of all samples were composed of amorphous phase and possess good glass formation abilitysample as-quenched is always in the elastic deformation stage during elongation and the tensile strength is 629MPa; however ,for specimen after 400k/1h isothermal annealing ,the yield phenomenon occurs before breaking and the maximum tensile strength is 755Mpa, and the same time, the maximum failure extensibility increases from 0.56% for sample as-quenched to 0.80% for 400k/1h isothermal annealing. The fracture pattern of test sample at annealing assumes venation pattern, which is similar to fractography of Cu50Zr42Al8 BMG as-quenched, in addition, which appeared apparent viscous flow behavior and melting characteristics.

The vibration method is usually used for field measurement of cable tension of cable system bridges. The cable tension evaluation method is mostly based on the simple taut string theory. However, the simple theory may cause unacceptable errors in many applications especially for the cables with big bending stiffness and two ends fixed boundary conditions. In this paper a cable tension estimation method based on iterative algorithm and optimization algorithm is presented and implemented using finite element method and ANSYS soft ware. Compared with the analytical method and empirical formulas the method presented in this paper is more convenient and the application range is more extensive. The accuracy of the method has been verified by a set of test. In the end, the method is used to estimate the cable tension of a tied-arch bridges suspenders.

Nowadays, wireless network technology in smart home is rapid gaining popularity duo to its flexible integration into everyday life. The paper introduces a method that adopts 433MHZ communication to establish the wireless network in smart home system based on Si4421 wireless modules. The paper designed the overall idea of how to establish the wireless network, it mainly talk about the wireless module, including both software and hardware. The difficulty lies in the realization of the custom wireless communication protocol. The Si4421 wireless module was tested in data communication and control in smart home system which can work efficiently and reliably, it proved that the wireless module is perfectly suitable for the wireless network construction in smart home with small size package, low consumption, low cost, and strong ability to leap obstacles.

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of a single subcutaneous injection of pegylated filgrastim with daily filgrastim as a prophylaxis for neutropenia induced by commonly used chemotherapy regimens. Fifteen centers enrolled 337 chemotherapy-naive cancer patients with normal bone marrow function. All patients randomized into AOB and BOA arms received two cycles of chemotherapy. Patients received a single dose of pegylated filgrastim 100 µgkg in cycle 1 (AOB) or cycle 2 (BOA) and daily doses of filgrastim 5 µgkgday in cycle 1 (BOA) or cycle 2 (AOB). Efficacy and safety parameters were recorded. The primary end point was the rate of protection against grade 4 neutropenia after chemotherapy defined as the rate at which the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) remained >0.5×109l throughout the entire cycle. Ninety-four percent of patients receiving pegylated filgrastim or filgrastim did not develop grade 4 neutropenia. The incidence of ANC<1.0×109l was 16.0 (50313) after support with either pegylated filgrastim or filgrastim. The incidences of febrile neutropenia and antibiotic administration were similar in both groups. Notably, faster ANC recovery was observed with pegylated filgrastim support. The ANC nadir was also earlier with pegylated filgrastim (day 7) support than with filgrastim support (day 9), although the depth of nadir was not significantly different. A single subcutaneous injection of pegylated filgrastim 100 gkg provided adequate and safe neutrophil support comparable with daily subcutaneous injections of unmodified filgrastim 5 gkgday in patients receiving commonly used standard-dose mild-to-moderate myelosuppressive chemotherapy regimens.

A single-carrier hole-only device of ITO/MoO3/NPB/Al was used to measure the hole mobility of NPB layer, where NPB is a hole transport material. The hole mobility of NPB at different electric fields was obtained from the hole transit time (τdc) which was extracted from the negative differential susceptance (ΔB) as a function of frequency. To eliminate the impact of the contact resistance on the mobility measurement, an equivalent circuit model has been introduced to calculate the capacitance and the conductance of the NPB layer. By fitting the Nyquist plot of the impedance spectroscopy using the equivalent circuit, the contact resistance can be extracted from the impedance measurements. It is found that the mobility at low electric field is lower than what was reported in literature after the consideration of the contact resistance. It is also found that the calculated hole mobility of the NPB layer follows the Poole-Frenkels rule.

To enhance the conductivity and reduce the surface roughness of ZnO films, electrodeposition of ZnO films on the ITO substrate had been studied for the application of inverted organic solar cells. ZnO films with the grain size range from 0.4 to 2 μm had been fabricated by varying the temperature, ion concentration and deposition potentials. Moreover, ZnO films with the impurity energy level of 2.28±0.20 eV origin from the oxygen vacancy, had been found in the PL emission. It is found that as the applied potential went more negative, the concentration of the oxygen vacancies increased, and the emission peak of the impurity level had higher intensity. By changing the ion concentration and temperature of the electrolyte, the controllable microstructure and impurity levels of ZnO thin films had been achieved.

This paper presents the analysis, design, and simulation of a photovoltaic power system with bi-directional inverter, which can be controlled with a single-chip microcontroller, such as dsPIC30F4011. The bi-directional inverter can fulfill grid connection and rectification with power factor correction to regulate the dc bus to a certain range of voltages. So, it will no need energy storage elements to buffer power. But the two stage series can cause high current harmonic, so a predictive current control and modulation principle for the bi-directional inverter is designed and operated in high frequency to reduce the current harmonic. Simulation and experimental results have illustrated the discussed features and significantly demonstrated its feasibility, reliability, and stability.

Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is a popular method among pattern recognition algorithms of machine olfaction. However, “Small Sample Size” (SSS) problem would occur while using LDA algorithm with traditional Fisher criterion if the within-class scatter matrix is singular. In this paper, maximum scatter difference (MSD) criterion and LDA were combined to solve SSS problem, so that three kinds of Chinese herbal medicines from different growing areas were accurately classified. At the same time, the classification result was enhanced. It works out that only a few samples of Anhui Atractylodes are classified incorrectly, however, the classification rate reaches 97.8%.

This paper designed a control system for the full-automatic flap disc production machine, the whole control system was designed based on high-performance PLC of Mitsubishi Q series, QD75P positioning module, servo motor of Mitsubishi HF series and other advanced industrial control technology. The control system realizes the target of precise positioning and high-speed responding, and the hardware and software of control system has a stable performance.

This study's aim is provide an overview of the patients who suffered spinal cord injury (SCI) after the magnitude 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, including each patient's demographic and epidemiological characteristics, bladder management status, and quality of life (QOL). We also assessed the relationships between bladder management methods, symptomatic urinary tract infection (SUTI), and QOL. Two years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, a cross‐sectional face‐to‐face survey was conducted on 180 patients with SCI. A self‐administered questionnaire and the WHOQOL‐BREF assessment were used to assess injury‐related information, bladder management methods, and SUTI. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi‐square test and analysis of variance. A pvalue <0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study found that a male‐to‐female ratio of approximately 1.2:1, including 98 (54.4%) male patients and 82 (45.6%) female patients. Thoracic‐level injuries were seen in 82 patients (45.56%), 60 (33.33%) patients had lumbar‐level injuries, 18 (8.33%) patients had thoracolumbar‐level injuries, and a small number of patients had cervical‐ or sacral‐level injuries. Sixty‐two patients (34.44%) demonstrated normal voiding, 65 (36.11%) required manually assisted voiding, 29 (16.11%) required catheterization, and 24 (13.33%) used aurine‐collecting apparatus. The prevalence of SUTI was 43.89%. Patients who emptied their bladder via manually assisted voiding, catheterization, or with the use of a urine‐collecting apparatus demonstrated higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who voided normally (p< 0.05); the patients who required catheterization had higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who required manually assisted voiding (p< 0.05). When manually assisted voiding and catheterization were compared with the use a urine‐collecting apparatus, no statistically significant differences were observed in terms of the risk of developing SUTI. The patients in this study demonstrated low scores on the WHOQOL‐BREF physical domain (11.61 ± 3.80), psychological domain (10.11 ± 3.63), social domain (11.46 ± 2.84), and environmental domain (11.86 ± 2.51). The patients who reported normal voiding also demonstrated the best QOL in terms of physical, psychological, and social component scores (p< 0.05). In conclusion, the percentage of women in this study is higher than that reported in other studies on traumatic causes of SCI. Patients who suffered SCI following the Wenchuan earthquake demonstrate poor bladder management status and are unable to take advantage of urodynamic testing that is used to monitor the functional state of the bladder. This study's findings indicate that bladder management methods influence the rate of SUTI and the QOL of patients with SCI. Caring for SCI patients following a disaster requires comprehensive long‐term planning. Bladder management of patients with SCI is essential for improving the QOL of these patients.

This study’s aim is provide an overview of the patients who suffered spinal cord injury (SCI) after the magnitude 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, including each patient’s demographic and epidemiological characteristics, bladder management status, and quality of life (QOL). We also assessed the relationships between bladder management methods, symptomatic urinary tract infection (SUTI), and QOL. Two years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, a cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted on 180 patients with SCI. A self-administered questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF assessment were used to assess injury-related information, bladder management methods, and SUTI. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and analysis of variance. A pvalue <0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study found that a male-to-female ratio of approximately 1.2:1, including 98 (54.4%) male patients and 82 (45.6%) female patients. Thoracic-level injuries were seen in 82 patients (45.56%), 60 (33.33%) patients had lumbar-level injuries, 18 (8.33%) patients had thoracolumbar-level injuries, and a small number of patients had cervical- or sacral-level injuries. Sixty-two patients (34.44%) demonstrated normal voiding, 65 (36.11%) required manually assisted voiding, 29 (16.11%) required catheterization, and 24 (13.33%) used aurine-collecting apparatus. The prevalence of SUTI was 43.89%. Patients who emptied their bladder via manually assisted voiding, catheterization, or with the use of a urine-collecting apparatus demonstrated higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who voided normally (p< 0.05); the patients who required catheterization had higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who required manually assisted voiding (p< 0.05). When manually assisted voiding and catheterization were compared with the use a urine-collecting apparatus, no statistically significant differences were observed in terms of the risk of developing SUTI. The patients in this study demonstrated low scores on the WHOQOL-BREF physical domain (11.61 ± 3.80), psychological domain (10.11 ± 3.63), social domain (11.46 ± 2.84), and environmental domain (11.86 ± 2.51). The patients who reported normal voiding also demonstrated the best QOL in terms of physical, psychological, and social component scores (p< 0.05). In conclusion, the percentage of women in this study is higher than that reported in other studies on traumatic causes of SCI. Patients who suffered SCI following the Wenchuan earthquake demonstrate poor bladder management status and are unable to take advantage of urodynamic testing that is used to monitor the functional state of the bladder. This study’s findings indicate that bladder management methods influence the rate of SUTI and the QOL of patients with SCI. Caring for SCI patients following a disaster requires comprehensive long-term planning. Bladder management of patients with SCI is essential for improving the QOL of these patients.

In order to evaluate the feasibility of tritium recovery from tritiated water by thermochemical decomposition using ZrNi5, the kinetics of reaction between ZrNi5 and water vapor was studied by thermogravimetric method in the temperature range from 673K to 823K. The result shows that reaction rate increased significantly with the increasing of temperature and H2O concentration; the reaction mechanism for ZrNi5 can be described by the first-order chemical reaction, and the reaction is first order for H2O concentration. The reaction activation energy of ZrNi5 is 55.8kJ/mol calculated from the Arrhenius equation.

In order to investigate the renovation and expansion of coastal high-pile on the possible environmental impact of erosion and deposition, the changes of ocean current field and bottom erosion before and after the current field of renovation and expansion were simulated in use of an average two-dimensional vertical flow theoretical simulation model and Dou theory, based on ocean current Speed, flow and other measured data, integrated hydrological, meteorological and other historical information. The results showed that after the construction of Suanshan Dock , the increased siltation of Yang gong-shan Dock and Budui Dock code were approximately 1m and 0.5m respectively. Due to the high pile and bridge-type structure of high-pile dock , although the construction of Suanshan Dock would cause coastal area occurring a certain flow pattern changes , there were not significantly changes to the topography of basin . The underwater slope area would remain in a relatively stable state.

Highly transparent Er:YAG ceramics with different Er concentration were fabricated by a solid-state reaction and vacuum sintering method. The optical properties, the microstructure and the upconversion luminescence of the Er:YAG ceramics were investigated. For 3 mm thick samples, the in-line transmittances of the as-fabricated Er:YAG ceramics at the wavelength of 1100 nm and 400 nm were about 84% and 82%, respectively, which was very close to the theoretical transmittance of YAG ceramics. The micrograph of the Er:YAG transparent ceramics exhibited a pore-free structure and the average grain size was about 10 μm. The grain boundary of the ceramics was clean and no secondary phase was detected. When pumped by a 980 nm LD, the strong green and red upconversion luminescences in the Er:YAG ceramics were observed. The different upconversion mechanisms depending on Er concentration in the Er:YAG ceramics were also discussed.

High quality holmium doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) transparent ceramics were fabricated by a reactive sintering method under vacuum. Fully dense Ho:YAG ceramics with the average grain size of ~ 10 μm were obtained after vacuum sintering at 1780 for 8 h. The optical properties, microstructures and photoluminescence spectra of the fabricated Ho:YAG ceramics were investigated. The transmittances of Ho:YAG ceramic are higher than 82% at 400 nm and 84% at 2400 nm. The absorption coefficient was 1.32 cm-1 for 1.5 at.% Ho:YAG at 1907 nm. And the absorption cross section of the Ho:YAG ceramic is 0.645×10-20 cm2.

Yb3+ doped YAG ceramics have been successfully fabricated using a vacuum reactive sintering method. High purity Y2O3, Al2O3 and Yb2O3 powders were used as the starting materials. Samples of 5.0 at.% Yb3+ doping concentration have been obtained. The in-line transmittance of the sample reaches 84% at 1100 nm wavelength. The absorption and emission bandwidth were measured to be 19.5 nm and 11.07 nm respectively. The results show that Yb:YAG ceramics will be a promising laser material for high power and ultrafast laser applications.

Tritium safety research on the tritium system of Test Blanket Module(TBM) was carried out. At first, according to safety analysis task and method of tritium system, the research process framework about the tritium safety analysis was given. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) on tritium system was carried out, analyzing the calculation process of permission value of TBM Tritium release. In order to compare and assess safety grade of the tritium system among all kinds of nuclear facilities, calculation formula was given, finally.

An iterative learning servo controller with RBF network feed-forward position compensation is proposed to control the mover of permanent magnet linear servo system to track reference position signal. The structure of RBF feed-forward position controller is analyzed in detail. The effective estimation of nonlinear load is realized by higher-order D-type iterative learning identification method. The feedback position control law was made up of load identification and feedback error signal. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that this method can assure system obtains good servo performance.

The overburden of high embankment culvert is over 10 m, such high fill always leads large earth pressure on the slab of the culvert. The imperfect ditch covered with geogrid method was employed to reduce the vertical earth pressure on the slab. A series of numerical analyses were performed to investigate the load reduction effect of the imperfect ditch. In the simulation, the number of geogrid layers, the geometry of the load reduction ditches, as well as the location and the stiffness of the geogrid are investigated to analyse the influences on the vertical earth pressures. The results show that the slope angle and the height of the ditch, the plane stiffness of the geogrid have great effect on the load reduction efficiency, ditches with higher height and a slope of 90°lead to a significantly reduction on vertical earth pressures on the crown of culverts. The width of load reduction ditch, number of geogrid layers, the location and spacing of the geogrids have little effect on load reduction, the results can provide references for load reduction of slab culvert.