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Systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) has been proven to be associated with the prognosis of coronary artery disease and many other diseases. However, the relationship between SIRI and acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) has rarely been evaluated. The study aims to assess the prognostic value of SIRI for clinical outcomes in individuals with acute tSCI. A total of 190 patients admitted within eight hours after tSCI between January 2021 and April 2023 were enrolled in our study. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between SIRI and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade at admission and discharge, as well as neurological improvement in tSCI patients, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the discriminative ability of SIRI in predicting AIS grade at discharge. After adjusting for confounding factors, SIRI positively correlated with the AIS grade (A to C) at admission and discharge, and negatively correlated with neurological improvement. The area under the curve values in ROC analysis was 0.725 (95% CI 0.647, 0.803). The study suggests that SIRI is significantly associated with an increased risk of poor clinical outcome at discharge in tSCI patients and has a certain discriminative value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BAs is a III–V semiconductor with ultra-high thermal conductivity, but many of its electronic properties are unknown. This work applies predictive atomistic calculations to investigate the properties of BAs heterostructures, such as strain effects on band alignments and carrier mobility, considering BAs as both a thin film and a substrate for lattice-matched materials. The results show that isotropic biaxial in-plane strain decreases the band gap independent of sign or direction. In addition, 1% biaxial tensile strain increases the in-plane electron and hole mobilities at 300 K by >60% compared to the unstrained values due to a reduction of the electron effective mass and of hole interband scattering. Moreover, BAs is shown to be nearly lattice-matched with InGaN and ZnSnN2, two important optoelectronic semiconductors with tunable band gaps by alloying and cation disorder, respectively. The results predict type-II band alignments and determine the absolute band offsets of these two materials with BAs. The combination of the ultra-high thermal conductivity and intrinsic p-type character of BAs, with its high electron and hole mobilities that can be further increased by tensile strain, as well as the lattice-match and the type-II band alignment with intrinsically n-type InGaN and ZnSnN2 demonstrate the potential of BAs heterostructures for electronic and optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emulsification of amphiphilic polymer is inevitably affected by the salinity environment in the preparation and flooding process. The variation of emulsions in stability and rheology has a significant influence on the efficiency of polymer flooding. Thus, the effect of NaCl and CaCl2 on the emulsification behavior of hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide (HMPAM) was investigated. A novel dynamic multiple light scattering method was proposed to analyze the variation of emulsion stability. Then, the emulsions with addition of salt were systematically researched in terms of oil droplet size, polymer adsorption, and rheology properties. With the increase of NaCl concentration, the emulsion stability with 1500 mg L−1 HMPAM (above the critical aggregation concentration) decreases monotonically; with the increase of CaCl2 concentration, the emulsion stability rises at first then decreases. It is found that the structural viscosity of the polymer solution is the dominant factor in stabilizing the crude oil emulsion. Modulation effect of the salt ions on the emulsion stability is achieved by regulating the aggregate structure in the aqueous solution. Oscillation-shear-oscillation rheological experiments were conducted to investigate the rheological properties of emulsions. The results show that the viscoelasticity of emulsion system at high salt concentration decreases after high-rate shearing and the recovery of the viscoelasticity is slowed down due to the inhibition of hydrophobic association. This study provides theoretical guidance for elucidating the regulation rules and mechanism of salts on the amphiphilic polymer-containing crude oil emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online Health Communities (OHCs) are a type of self-organizing platform that provide users with access to social support, information, and knowledge transfer opportunities. The medical expertise of registered physicians in OHCs plays a crucial role in maintaining the quality of online medical services. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of OHCs in transferring knowledge between physicians and most do not distinguish between the explicit and tacit knowledge transferred between physicians. This study aims to demonstrate the cross-regional transfer characteristics of medical knowledge, especially tacit and explicit knowledge. Based on data collected from 4716 registered physicians on Lilac Garden (DXY.cn), a leading Chinese OHC, Exponential Random Graph Models are used to (1) examine the overall network and two subnets of tacit and explicit knowledge (i.e., clinical skills and medical information), and (2) identify patterns in the knowledge transferred between physicians, based on regional variations. Analysis of the network shows that physicians located in economically developed regions or regions with sufficient workforces are more likely to transfer medical knowledge to those from poorer regions. Analysis of the subnets demonstrate that only Gross Domestic Product (GDP) flows are supported in the clinical skill network since discussions around tacit knowledge are a direct manifestation of physicians’ professional abilities. These findings extend current understanding about social value creation in OHCs by examining the medical knowledge flows generated by physicians between regions with different health resources. Moreover, this study demonstrates the cross-regional transfer characteristics of explicit and tacit knowledge to complement the literature on the effectiveness of OHCs to transfer different types of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extreme rainstorm hit Fuyang District, Zhejiang Province, China, on 22 July 2023. A record-breaking 320 mm of rain fell in less than 48 h. In the early evening of 22 July, more than 145 shallow landslides emerged in a 20 km2 hilly area of Fuyang amid turbulent flash flooding and claimed five lives. Post-event field investigations and laboratory experiments were urgently carried out, targeting two geologically typical shallow landslides, to decipher the initiation mechanism and distributing features of the regionally distributed landslides. The main findings are summarized as follows: (1) The week-long rainfall preceding the event and the intense storm on 22 July are presumably primary triggers for the landslides. Besides rainfall, convergent topography of hollows may be another important factor influencing the initiation of landslides. (2) The dominant moso bamboo has an extensive and interconnected root system, which could significantly stabilize slopes by enhancing soil strength and restricting cracks. (3) The sedimentary Heshangzhen Group area is more susceptible to landslides than the igneous Shuangxiwu Group area. Bedrock lithologies affect landslide distribution through controlling soil structures and properties to shape the hillslope hydrology and also through influencing landscape morphology. This study offers new evidence and insights into the lithological control on landslide initiation and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]