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Objective. To summarize the clinical characteristics and treatment experiences of patients with plastic bronchitis (PB). Methods. All patients who were diagnosed with PB by bronchoscopic removal of tree-like casts at a single institution from January 2012 to May 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic and clinical data were retrieved from electronic patient records. Results. A total of 55 patients, with a median age of 5.3 years, were eligible for the study. Nineteen cases had underlying diseases, among which asthma was the most common. The median course of the disease before admission was 11 days. Clinical symptoms were characterized by cough and fever, while moist rales (78.2%) and dyspnea (61.8%) were the most common signs. The most common laboratory finding was elevated C-reactive protein (58.2%). Patchy opacity was the most frequent radiographic finding (81.2%), followed by consolidation (60.0%) and pleural effusion (43.6%). Respiratory pathogens were detected in 41 cases, and M. pneumoniae was the most common one (41.8%), followed by adenovirus (20.0%) and influenza B virus (10.9%). The casts were removed by alveolar lavage, combined with ambroxol immersion (63.6%) and forceps (30.9%). Patients received an average of 2.3 bronchoscopies, and the median time for the first procedure was 3 days after admission. Antibiotics were given to all patients, methylprednisolone to 33 (60.0%), and gamma globulin to 25 (45.5%). A total of 53 cases were improved with an overall mortality rate of 3.6%. Conclusions. PB in children is characterized by airway obstruction, mostly caused by respiratory infections, and timely removal of the cast by bronchoscopy is the most effective treatment.

IntroductionLand use classification plays a critical role in analyzing land use/cover change (LUCC). Remote sensing land use classification based on machine learning algorithm is one of the hot spots in current remote sensing technology research. The diversity of surface objects and the complexity of their distribution in mixed mining and agricultural areas have brought challenges to the classification of traditional remote sensing images, and the rich information contained in remote sensing images has not been fully utilized.MethodsA quantitative difference index was proposed quantify and select the texture features of easily confused land types, and a random forest (RF) classification method with multi-feature combination classification schemes for remote sensing images was developed, and land use information of the mine-agriculture compound area of Peixian in Xuzhou, China was extracted.ResultsThe quantitative difference index proved effective in reducing the dimensionality of feature parameters and resulted in a reduction of the optimal feature scheme dimension from 57 to 22. Among the four classification methods based on the optimal feature classification scheme, the RF algorithm emerged as the most efficient with a classification accuracy of 92.38% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.90, which outperformed the support vector machine (SVM), classification and regression tree (CART), and neural network (NN) algorithm.ConclusionThe findings indicate that the quantitative differential index is a novel and effective approach for discerning distinct texture features among various land types. It plays a crucial role in the selection and optimization of texture features in multispectral remote sensing imagery. Random forest (RF) classification method, leveraging a multi-feature combination, provides a fresh method support for the precise classification of intricate ground objects within the mine-agriculture compound area.

Inhibitory compounds generated from lignocellulose pretreatment would inhibit Poly (malic acid) (PMA) production by Aureobasidium pullulans, but the tolerance mechanism of A. pullulans to lignocellulosic inhibitor is poorly understood. In this study, the cellular response of A. pullulans to lignocellulosic inhibitor stress was studied. Among the three groups of inhibitors (furans, weak acids and phenolic aldehydes), phenolic aldehyde was the dominant inhibitor for PMA production. Phenolic aldehyde was mainly converted into phenolic alcohol by A. pullulans, and phenolic alcohol also exhibited severe inhibition on PMA production. Furthermore, the effect of detoxification methods on inhibitor-removal and PMA fermentation was investigated, both CaCO3 and overliming presented poor detoxification effect, whereas resin H103 could remove both furan derivatives and phenolic compounds efficiently, thereby producing 26.27 g/L of PMA with a yield of 0.30 g/g in batch fermentation. This study will be beneficial for the development of PMA production from lignocellulosic biomass.

Accurate estimating of above-ground biomass (AGB) of vegetation in urbanized areas is essential for urban ecosystem services. NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission can obtain precise terrestrial vegetation structure, which is very useful for AGB estimation in large forested areas. However, the spatial heterogeneity and sparse distribution of vegetation in urban areas lead to great uncertainty in AGB estimation. This study proposes a method for estimating vegetation heights by fusing GEDI laser observations with features extracted from optical images. GEDI is utilized to extract the accurate vegetation canopy height, and the optical images are used to compensate for the spatial incoherence of GEDI. The correlation between the discrete vegetation heights of GEDI observations and image features is constructed using Random Forest (RF) to obtain the vegetation canopy heights in all vegetated areas, thus estimating the AGB. The results in Xuzhou of China using GEDI observations and image features from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 satellites indicate that: (1) The method of combining GEDI laser observation data with optical images is effective in estimating AGB, and its estimation accuracy (R2 = 0.58) is higher than that of using only optical images (R2 = 0.45). (2) The total AGB in the shorter vegetation region is higher than the other two in the broadleaf forest and the coniferous forest, but the AGB per unit area is the lowest in the shorter vegetation area at 33.60 Mg/ha, and it is the highest in the coniferous forest at 46.60 Mg/ha. And the highest average AGB occurs in October–December at 59.55 Mg/ha in Xuzhou. (3) The near-infrared band has a greater influence on inverted AGB, followed by textural features. Although more precise information about vegetation should be considered, this paper provides a new method for the AGB estimation and also a way for the evaluation and utilization of urban vegetation space.

Abstract Background Exogenous lipoid pneumonia (ELP) is a rare disease caused by the inhalation of oily materials in the alveoli with the pathological characterization by the presence of laden‐lipid macrophages in the respiratory specimens. At present, the treatment norm for ELP has not well defined, and so the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of bronchoalveolar lavage in combination with glucocorticoids on children with ELP. Methods and Materials We retrospectively reviewed 17 children with a confirmed history of exogenous oily materials aspiration, admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from June 2012 to December 2021. Clinical features, blood investigations, tomographic evaluations, therapeutic bronchoalveolar lavage and glucocorticoids use were carried out at the beginning of therapy and throughout a follow‐up period. Results The included children are the median age of 2 years. Fever, dypnea and tachypnea were the most common symptoms. The most common radiological features were airspace consolidations (15, 93.75%). Chest CT scans showed areas of consolidation with air bronchogram (15, 93.75%), poorly defined centrilobular nodules (13, 81.25%), areas of ground‐glass attenuation (11, 68.75%) and ‘crazy‐paving’ pattern (6, 37.5%) in the both lower, right middle lung lobes. Neutrophil percentage of peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid exhibited a significantly higher than the normal range. After treatment with multiple bronchoalveolar lavages and local administration of budesonide during the hospital stay, taken by oral prednisolone (1 ~ 2 mg/kg) after discharge, all of children became asymptomatic and presented normal radiological imagings in the follow‐up period. Conclusion The most frequently findings in the CT scan of ELP were consolidations and ground‐glass attenuation in the both lower and right middle lung lobes. Multiple bronchoalveolar lavages in combination with oral prednisolone for children who had a confirmed history of exogenous oily substances ingestion were an efficient and safe for the clearance of oily materials from the lung and the prevention of fibrosis. This strategy contributed to reducing the damage of ELP in children patients.

China is the largest importer of iron ore resources. Analyzing the mineralogical characteristics of imported iron ore samples imported from different countries can provide a reference for identifying the source of iron ore and solid waste attributes. In this paper, iron ore samples imported from 11 countries were used to determine their elemental compositions and mineral assemblages by polarized light microscopy investigation, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and pyrite/magnetite LA-ICP-MS element analysis. These results are applied to explore the formation environment of iron minerals. XRF analysis results show that the main elements of iron ore samples are Fe and O, followed by Si, Ca, Al, Mn, Tb, Ti, Mg, P, and S. These elements are significant differences in iron ore among different countries. Polarizing microscopy investigation shows that there are great differences not only in mineral types but also in other aspects (e.g., accessory mineral types, accessory mineral content, and structure). These differences can be used as proxies for the identification of iron ore origin. Finally, in situ major and trace elements of magnetite were used to distinguish the genetic types of iron deposits. The magnetite deposits from Burma and Laos are skarn type, while those from Australia are mainly BIF type. In this study, multiple techniques were used to characterize the differences in element content, mineral facies composition and mineral-forming environment of iron ore samples and to comprehensively analyze the mineralogical characteristics of iron ore samples from different countries. These differences are of great significance for the identification, quality control and origin of imported iron ore resources.

In this paper, the mechanical properties of a typical four-component composite solid propellants with various designed Al/oxidizer interfaces have been studied. The Al/oxidizer interfacial control is mainly realized by using the core-shell composites AP@Al and Al@RDX with different particle sizes, where Al powder was coated with a thin layer of polydopamine (PDA) as the binding sites, so that the oxidizers could crystalize on it during a rapid spray granulation process. The stress-strain curves of the above propellants at different temperatures and different tensile rates have been obtained. The dependence of the loss factor on temperature was studied by using a dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA). It has been shown that the fracture elongation of the interfacial modified propellants can reach 51.81% at room temperature, which is 127.3% higher than that of the blank formulation under the same formulation. Moreover, the temperature and strain rate sensitivity of interfacial controlled HTPB propellants is much less than that of traditional ones. The microstructure of these propellants at the crack sites was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) supported with micro-area in-situ tensile CT scanning technology, to clarify their damage and failure mechanisms.

Abstract Water and electricity scarcity are two global challenges, especially in arid and remote areas. Harnessing ubiquitous moisture and sunlight for water and power generation is a sustainable route to address these challenges. Herein, we report a moisture-induced energy harvesting strategy to realize efficient sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) and 24-hour thermoelectric power generation (TEPG) by synergistically utilizing moisture-induced sorption/desorption heats of SAWH, solar energy in the daytime and radiative cooling in the nighttime. Notably, the synergistic effects significantly improve all-day thermoelectric power density (~346%) and accelerate atmospheric water harvesting compared with conventional designs. We further demonstrate moisture-induced energy harvesting for a hybrid SAWH-TEPG device, exhibiting high water production of 750 g m−2, together with impressive thermoelectric power density up to 685 mW m−2 in the daytime and 21 mW m−2 in the nighttime. Our work provides a promising approach to realizing sustainable water production and power generation at anytime and anywhere.

Measuring surface deformation is crucial for a better understanding of spatial-temporal evolution and the mechanism of mining-induced deformation, thus effectively assessing the mining-related geohazards, such as landslides or damage to surface infrastructures. This study proposes a method of retrieving surface deformation by combining multi-temporal digital surface models (DSMs) with image homonymous features using China’s ZY-3 satellite stereo imagery. DSM is generated from three-line-array images of ZY-3 satellite using a rational function model (RFM) as the imaging geometric model. Then, elevation changes in deformation are extracted using the difference of DSMs acquired at different times, while planar displacements of deformation are calculated using image homonymous features extracted from multi-temporal digital orthographic maps (DOMs). Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) points and line band descriptor (LBD) lines are selected as two kinds of salient features for image homonymous features generation. Cross profiles are also extracted for deformation in typical regions. Four sets of stereo imagery acquired in 2012 to 2022 are used for deformation extraction and analysis in the Fushun coalfield of China, where surface deformation is quite distinct and coupled with rising and descending elevation together. The results show that 21.60% of the surface in the study area was deformed from 2012 to 2017, while a decline from 2017 to 2022 meant that 17.19% of the surface was deformed with a 95% confidence interval. Moreover, the ratio of descending area was reduced to 6.44% between 2017 and 2022, which is lower than the ratios in other years. The slip deformation area in the west open pit mine is about 1.22 km2 and the displacement on the south slope is large, reaching an average of 26.89 m and sliding from south to north to the bottom of the pit between 2012 and 2017, but elevations are increased by an average of about 16.35 m, involving an area of about 0.86 km2 between 2017 and 2022 due to the restoration of the open pit. The results demonstrate that more quantitative features and specific surface deformation can be retrieved in mining areas by combining image features with DSMs derived from ZY-3 satellite stereo imagery.

Thermally-driven water-sorption refrigeration is a promising environmentally friendly technology, but finding suitable porous materials is challenging. The authors report a very high coefficient of performance using a low-cost zeolite-like aluminophosphate as a water sorbent, suitable for use with low-grade thermal energy.

BackgroundPost-traumatic malunion is one of the main causes of kyphosis and usually has serious consequences. We report a case of kyphosis caused by an old AO type B2.3 thoracic fracture, which was corrected with posterior hemivertebra resection and reconstruction.Case presentationA 41-year-old male was diagnosed with kyphosis caused by an old AO type B2.3 thoracic fracture. Preoperative examination and preparation were performed. His exam images showed a comminuted fracture in the left half of the T12 vertebral body, while chance-type fractures were seen in the right half of T12 vertebral body and its accessories. During the operation, posterior hemivertebra resection and reconstruction techniques were used to remove nearly half of the left vertebral body of the affected vertebra, preserve the right vertebral body and the facet joints of the affected vertebra, correct the kyphosis, and rebuild spinal stability. The patient's low back pain was completely relieved, and his thoracic kyphosis was corrected at the seventh post-operative day. CT reconstruction of the spine showed that the residual vertebrae healed well during his nine- and 18-month follow-ups. Continuous callus formation was observed inside and outside of the titanium cage at the reconstructed site, and there was no sign of subsidence of the titanium cage. The heights between the vertebrae were restored to within normal ranges and the physiological curvature of the thoracolumbar spine was achieved. The patient recovered well.ConclusionThis operation preserved the hemivertebral body and facet joints, and maintains intervertebral height and local stability, thus avoiding titanium cage collapse, titanium cage movement, and other complications. This surgical approach is ideal for treating complex thoracic vertebral kyphosis caused by old fractures, and is worth utilizing in the clinic.

Nanoflower-like MoS2 deposited on the surface of rectangular CaTiO3(CTO) was designed and synthesized via a simple template-free strategy. Through SEM, TEM, and other characterization methods, the MoS2 nanoflowers were confirmed to be well deposited on the surface of CTO. LED was used as the visible light source, and rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution was used as the model pollutant to assess the photodegradation activity of the samples. The results showed that the MoS2/CaTiO3(MCTO) composite significantly improved the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in water, compared with a single CTO, and with the MCTO-2 composite photocatalysts, 97% degradation of RhB was achieved in 180 min, and its photocatalytic activity was about 5.17 times higher than that of the bare CTO. The main reasons for enhancing photocatalytic performance are the strong interaction between the nanoflower-like MoS2 and rectangular CTO, which can lead to the effective separation of electron transfer and photoexcited electron–hole pairs in MCTO composites. This work provides a new notion for researching an effective method of recycling catalytic materials.

Water level is an important indicator of lake hydrology characteristics, and its fluctuation significantly affects lake ecosystems. In recent years, deep learning models have shown their superiority in the long-time range prediction of hydrology processes, while the application of deep learning models with the attention mechanism for lake water level prediction is very rare. In this paper, taking Poyang Lake as a case study, the transformer neural network model is applied to examine the model performance in lake water level prediction, to explore the effects of the Yangtze River on lake water level fluctuations, and to analyze the influence of hyper-parameters (window size and model layers) and lead time on the model accuracy. The result indicated that the transformer model performs well in simulating the lake water level variations and can reflect the temporal water level variation characteristics in Poyang Lake. In the testing stage, the RMSE values were recorded in the range of 0.26–0.70 m, and the NSE values are higher than 0.94. Moreover, the Yangtze River inflow has a great influence on the lake water level fluctuation of Poyang Lake, especially in flood and receding periods. The contribution rate of the Yangtze River in RMSE and NSE is higher than 80% and 270%, respectively. Additionally, hyper-parameters, such as window size and model layers, significantly influence the transformer model simulation accuracy. In this study, a window size of 90 d and a model layer of 6 are the most suitable hyper-parameters for water level prediction in Poyang Lake. Additionally, lead time may affect the model accuracy in lake water level prediction. With the lead time varied from one to seven days, the model accuracy was high and RMSE values were in the range of 0.46–0.73 m, while the RMSE value increased to 1.37 m and 1.82 m with the lead time of 15 and 30 days, respectively. The transformer neural network model constructed in this paper was the first to be applied to lake water forecasting and showed high efficiency in Poyang Lake. However, few studies have tried to use transformer model coupling with the attention mechanism for forecasting hydrological processes. It is suggested that the model can be used for long sequence time-series forecasting in hydrological processes in other lakes to test its performance, providing further scientific evidence for the control of lake floods and management of lake resources.

Plastic film mulching often increases the yield of winter wheat in the Loess Plateau of China, but the physiological mechanisms are unclear, especially in response to the interaction between mulch and water supply. In this study, we investigated the interactive effects of initial soil water (dry, moderate, and wet), soil cover (plastic mulch, bare soil), and seasonal conditions on the dynamics of dry matter partitioning, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and flag leaf senescence, and their relations with yield and its components. Plastic mulch increased dry matter accumulation at anthesis and maturity relative to bare soil, with no interaction with season or initial soil water. Allocation of dry matter to leaf, stem, and spike did not change with soil cover. Compared with bare soil, mulch increased WSC accumulation by 14% at anthesis and its translocation by 16%. Soil cover did not influence the senescence of flag leaf after anthesis as indicated by similar dynamics of the C:N ratio. Grain yield was higher under plastic mulch than bare soil in two out of three seasons, and was associated with a higher translocation amount of WSC and post-anthesis dry matter that linked grain weight, grain number, and harvest index.

Concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAAs) can obtain better performance than other antenna arrays. However, high overhead and excessive sidelobes still make its application difficult. In this paper, we consider the sparse synthesis optimization of CCAAs. Specifically, we aim to turn off a specific number of antennas while reducing the sidelobe of CCAAs. First, we formulate an optimization problem and present the solution space. Then, we propose a novel evolutionary method for solving the optimization problem. Our proposed method introduces hybrid solution initialization, hybrid crossover method, and hybrid update methods. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and the proposed improvement factors.

Cu nanowires and a nanoporous Ag matrix were fabricated through directional solidification and selective dissolution of Ag–Cu eutectic alloys. Ag-39.9at.%Cu eutectic alloys were directionally solidified at growth rates of 14, 25, and 34 μm/s at a temperature gradient of 10 K/cm. The Cu phase in the Ag matrix gradually changed from lamellar to fibrous with an increase in the growth rate. The Ag matrix phase was selectively dissolved, and Cu nanowires of 300–600 nm in diameter and tens of microns in length were prepared in 0.1 M borate buffer with a pH of 9.18 at a constant potential of 0.7 V (vs. SCE). The nanoporous Ag matrix was fabricated through selective dissolution of Cu fiber phase in 0.1 M acetate buffer with a pH of 6.0 at a constant potential of 0.5 V (vs. SCE). The diameter of Ag pores decreased with increasing growth rate. The diameter and depth of Ag pores increased when corrosion time was extended. The depth of the pores was 30 μm after 12 h.

Thermal stratification is a common phenomenon in lakes and reservoirs. It has a significant influence on water quality dynamics. The destruction of the thermal stratification of lakes and reservoirs can affect the water environment, improve the water quality and the water environment quality and prevent the occurrence of eutrophication. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combined with a Eulerian two-phase flow model is used to predict the damage caused by an airlift device to the thermal stratification phenomenon of lake water. The results show that the two devices with different sizes can contribute to a certain exchange of kinetic and thermal energy, affecting the liquid velocity and temperature in the lake water under the condition of different gas velocities. Furthermore, the degree of damage to the thermal stratification phenomenon of lake reservoir is small. However, with the same gas velocity, the device with a guide plate can have a greater impact on the liquid velocity and temperature in the lake water. Further prediction results show that the airlift installed with a guide plate can affect the heat transfer of liquid in the lake and reservoir better and destroy the thermal stratification phenomenon effectively. The quantitative results of model prediction can provide an effective basis for future field scale-up experiments.

The Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of metal materials has been widely used in photocatalysis, light sensing, biomarkers, solar cells and other fields. In this study, the surface plasmon characteristics of tungsten (W) nanowires with different diameters and lengths are analyzed using the finite element method. The thermal effect in the gap of crossed nanowires induced by the plasma resonance is studied. Results show that the resonance peak shifts red, and the resonance intensity increases with the increase in diameter. The increasing diameter results in decreasing electric field intensity and heat in the gap of the crossed tungsten (W) nanowires. The frequency of resonance peaks almost remains unchanged with increasing length. The two to six wave belly plasma modes are visible with increasing nanowire length. With exposure to incident light, the SPR in the shortened spacing results in increasing electric field intensity and the generated heat of gap between the two crossed tungsten (W) nanowires. Once the two crossed nanowires are welded, the heat production in the crossed part decreases, which indicates the self-limitation of plasma welding.

An α-galactosidase-producing strain named Anoxybacillus vitaminiphilus WMF1, which catalyzed the reverse hydrolysis of d-galactose and glycerol to produce isofloridoside, was isolated from soil. The α-galactosidase (galV) gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The galV was classified into the GH36 family with a molecular mass of 80 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature of galV was pH 7.5 and 60 °C, respectively, and it was highly stable at alkaline pH (6.0–9.0) and temperature below 65 °C. The specificity for p-nitrophenyl α-d-galactopyranoside was 70 U/mg, much higher than that for raffinose and stachyose. Among the metals and reagents tested, galV showed tolerance in the presence of various organic solvents. The kinetic parameters of the enzyme towards p-nitrophenyl α-d-galactopyranoside were obtained as Km (0.12 mM), Vmax (1.10 × 10−3 mM s−1), and Kcat/Km (763.92 mM−1 s−1). During the reaction of reverse hydrolysis, the enzyme exhibited high specificity towards the glycosyl donor galactose and acceptors glycerol, ethanol and ethylene glycol. Finally, the isofloridoside was synthesized using galactose as the donor and glycerol as the acceptor with a 26.6% conversion rate of galactose. This study indicated that galV might provide a potential enzyme source in producing isofloridoside because of its high thermal stability and activity.