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Phosphine plays an important role in chemistry, materials science, physics, agriculture and other fields, and is widely used in semiconductor, plastic industry and storage fumigation. In order to systematically sort out the research hotspots of phosphine and deeply understand the research trends in the field of agriculture, this paper has utilized the Web of Science Core Collection database and employed CiteSpace for bibliometric analysis from dimensions such as annual publication output, keywords, authors, and institutions. The results showed that the publication output on phosphine research generally exhibited an upward trend, with research mainly concentrated in fields like chemistry and materials science. In the agricultural field, the United States, Australia, China, Greece, and Brazil occupy leading positions. In addition, attention should be focused on ' Journal of Stored Products Research ', ' Journal of Economic Entomology ' and ' Pest Management Science ' to keep up with the latest research trends in this field. In terms of research hotspots, current efforts are primarily centered on optimizing phosphine fumigation methods and investigating mechanisms of phosphine resistance. The application of RNAi technology in phosphine research may become one of the frontier hotspots in the future. This bibliometric study has emphasized elucidating the research dynamics of phosphine in the agricultural field, providing a systematic analysis of current research that can be utilized by industry professionals and researchers interested in this domain.

The quantitative determination of wool and cashmere mixed fiber is an indispensable quality control link in the textile industry, crucial for improving international trade status, ensuring product quality, and safeguarding consumer rights. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop a reliable method for estimating fiber contents in wool–cashmere blends based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. A total of 210 mixed samples of 21 different proportions of cashmere and wool are prepared in the experiment, and data are collected in the NIR spectral band of 1,000–2,500 nm. Convolution Savitzky–Golay (S–G) combined with the second-order derivative is then used for spectral preprocessing. The variable iterative space shrinkage approach (VISSA) optimizes the characteristic wavelengths, and 339 wavelength points are selected. The prediction model of the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is established by particle swarm optimization (PSO), fast positioning, and analysis of key information related to the target in complex spectral data. Finally, the training set and the prediction set are divided according to the ratio of 8 : 2. Experiments show that in terms of modeling and prediction, the PSO-LSSVM model based on the wavelength selected by VISSA has a prediction determination coefficient R-squared of 0.9821, a prediction root mean square error of 1.1263, and an mean absolute error of 0.6527. The hybrid modeling method of VISSA, PSO, and LSSVM based on NIR spectroscopy (VISSA–PSO–LSSVM) can provide a more accurate and stable method for the non-destructive detection of cashmere and wool blended fiber content.

The traditional thoracolumbar fracture image-assisted classification method has low accuracy and poor generalization ability. Therefore, based on deep convolutional neural network, this paper proposes an AI classification method for thoracolumbar fracture for auxiliary diagnosis. Firstly, a total of 698 CT images of patients with lumbar spine fractures were collected from Sichuan Integrative Medicine Hospital, and a data set was established, including 279 compression fractures (category A), 295 burst fractures (category B), and 124 normal (category C). Secondly, the convolutional neural network model ResNet-50 was modified and combined with transfer learning to train, verify and test the data set to obtain the AI classification model of thoracolumbar fracture. Then, the Confusion Matrix is used to evaluate the prediction model. The accuracy of the training set and the validation set of the model is 95.75% and 96.36%, respectively, indicating that the model obtained by training has good accuracy and generalization ability. This paper proposes an image-assisted classification method for thoracolumbar fracture, which can improve the efficiency and accuracy of manual diagnosis.

Objective To compare the detection rates of epileptogenic foci in drug - refractory epilepsy children using video electroencephalography (VEEG), MRI and PET. Methods The 24 h and 2 h VEEG, MRI and PET/CT or PET/MRI were conducted for 70 children with drug - refractory epilepsy in Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2020 to April 2022, and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) or Developmental Screening Test for Child under six (DST) based on their age (< 5 or ≥ 5 years old) were assessed for intelligence. Results Among 70 children, 44 seizures were detected during 24 h VEEG, while 31 seizures were detected during 2 h VEEG, and there was statistically significant difference between the two methods (χ2 = 5.760, P = 0.015). The consistency of diagnosing single location/ unilateral abnormalities, bilateral abnormalities, or normal results was poor among VEEG, MRI and PET/CT or PET/MRI (κ = 0.194, P = 0.000), and the difference among the three methods was statistically significant (χ2 = 33.068, P = 0.001). The VEEG (χ2 = 25.000, P = 0.000) and PET/CT or PET/MRI (χ2 = 11.764, P = 0.002) had higher diagnostic capabilities than MRI, and PET/CT or PET/MRI had higher diagnostic capability than VEEG (χ2 = 8.048, P = 0.014). There were 41 children (58.57%) showed mental retardation, among them children with onset age ≤ 2 years had a higher rate compared to those with onset age > 2 years (χ2 = 6.193, P = 0.013), and children with abnormal VEEG background had a higher rate compared to those with normal VEEG background (χ2 = 4.868, P = 0.027). Conclusions The detection rate of epileptiform discharges and clinical seizures can be increased by lengthening VEEG time at each time and increasing the number of times of VEEG. PET/CT or PET/MRI and VEEG can provide localization information of epileptic foci of children whose MRI results are negative. The mental retardation rate of children who have onset age ≤ 2 years and of abnormal VEEG background is higher.

Abstract Background To compare the operative effect and clinical efficacy of the Moses laser mode and the Raykeen holmium laser energy platform powder mode under flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy in patients with impacted upper ureteral stones. Methods From March 2022 to September 2022, 72 patients were divided into a Moses laser group and a Raykeen laser group according to surgical method, with 36 patients in each group. CT and ureteroscopy confirmed that all patients had isolated impacted upper ureteral stones. The stone volume (mm3), stone density (Hu) and severity of hydronephrosis were measured by CT. Postoperative complications were evaluated using the Clavien–Dindo score. Results There were no complications of ureteral stenosis related to the laser treatment. The operative time and lithotripsy time were lower in the Moses laser group than in the Raykeen laser group (P 0.05) or the Raykeen laser group (P > 0.05). Conclusions The contact mode of Moses technology and the powder mode of Raykeen laser lithotripsy can be used for the ablation of a single impacted upper ureteral stone. The ablation speed was related to the stone volume and the severity of polyp hyperplasia, not the stone density. We recommend the use of the powdered mode as a therapeutic measure for the treatment of impacted upper ureteral stones in flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy.

Abstract Microbot collectives can cooperate to accomplish complex tasks that are difficult for a single individual. However, various force-induced microbot collectives maintained by weak magnetic, light, and electric fields still face challenges such as unstable connections, the need for a continuous external stimuli source, and imprecise individual control. Here, we construct magnetic and light-driven ant microbot collectives capable of reconfiguring multiple assembled architectures with robustness. This methodology utilizes a flexible two-photon polymerization strategy to fabricate microbots consisting of magnetic photoresist, hydrogel, and metal nanoparticles. Under the cooperation of magnetic and light fields, the microbots can reversibly and selectively assemble (e.g., 90° assembly and 180° assembly) into various morphologies. Moreover, we demonstrate the ability of assembled microbots to cross a one-body-length gap and their adaptive capability to move through a constriction and transport microcargo. Our strategy will broaden the abilities of clustered microbots, including gap traversal, micro-object manipulation, and drug delivery.

Abstract [Objective] The study aims to examine the characteristics of innate immune physiological responses induced by chitin and flagellin-derived peptide flg22 in pepper seedlings, and to explore the relationship between innate immune physiological responses and pepper multiple resistance to diseases. [Methods] Five local pepper cultivars from Sichuan were used as experimental materials. The disease indexes of bacterial wilt and phytophthora blight in pepper seedlings were analyzed. Seedlings were cultured by hydroponics and treated with chitin and flg22 exogenously. Root growth, stomata aperture, callose deposition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, SOD, CAT activities as well as gene expression under different induction times were analyzed. The physiological responses and their relationship with disease resistance were evaluated comprehensively using biostatistics. [Results] (1) The lowest disease index of bacterial wilt and phytophthora blight was ‘Chuanteng No.10’ (‘CT10’) cultivar, which was the strongest in disease resistance. The highest disease index of bacterial wilt and phytophthora blight was ‘Tiaojiao’ (‘TJ’) cultivar, which was the weakest in disease resistance. (2) Exogenous chitin and flg22 inhibited the root growth rate of pepper seedlings in five cultivars, induced stomatal closure on detached leaves, promoted callose deposition in cell wall, and increased ROS levels with improved SOD and CAT activities. By calculating the average membership function value of the innate immune physiological response, it showed that the highest was ‘CT10’ and the lowest was ‘TJ’. The average membership function value has a significant negative correlation with the disease index of bacterial wilt and phytophthora blight. (3) flg22 and chitin induced the expression of genes involved in innate immune response in ‘CT10’, such as CaWRKY22, CaMAPK7, and ChiIV3. [Conclusion] Exogenous flg22 and chitin induce the innate immune physiological responses in pepper seedlings, with variations among the varieties. The average membership function of ‘CT10’ is the highest and the multi-resistance level is the best, due to the up-regulated expression of CaWRKY22, CaMAPK7, and ChiIV3.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) are important structures to maintain knee stability. The present study aimed to further enrich understandings of the morphology of the cruciate ligaments and explore the relationship between the diameter of ACL and PCL.

Abstract [Objective] Invasion of Trifolium repens occupies the living space of turfgrasses and has been seriously threatening the quality and function of turfs. Examining the impact of T . repens invasion on the functional traits of Poa pratensis and turf quality is helpful for understanding the invasion mechanism of T . repens and for establishing and maintaining gramineous turfgrass. [Methods] Taking the T . repens-invaded P . pratensis turf as object, the sample survey method was employed to investigate the differences in the functional traits and turf quality of P . pratensis under different degrees of T . repens invasion (control, low invasion, moderate invasion, and heavy invasion), and to evaluate turf quality by the membership function method. [Results] (1) With increase in degree of T . repens invasion, the carbon content of P . pratensis organs and the cost of leaf construction, as well as the ratio of carbon to nitrogen, carbon to phosphorus, and nitrogen to phosphorus were gradually decreased, while the specific leaf area and nitrogen and phosphorus content in the organs were increased. (2) At the same invasion level, the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents in the organs of P . pratensis were higher in leaves than in roots and stems, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio and carbon to phosphorus ratio were higher in roots and stems than in leaves, while the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio was higher in stems and leaves than in roots. (3) The density, texture, greenness index, and uniformity of P . pratensis turf were decreased with increase in T . repens invasion, while the aboveground biomass and belowground biomass were increased. (4) The comprehensive evaluation by the membership function method showed that turf quality was the best without T . repens invasion but the worst under heavy T . repens invasion. Leaf carbon content had the greatest influence on turf quality. [Conclusion] T . repens invasion alters P . pratensis functional traits as well as affects turf quality, landscape, and function.

BackgroundMelatonin (MLT) and its receptor deficiency have been shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive alternative intervention for patients suffering from hyperglycemia. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of taVNS on blood glucose modulation via intestinal melatonin receptors (MRs) and MLT secretion in hyperglycemia.MethodsAdult male Zucker diabetes fatty (ZDF) rats and Zucker lean (ZL) littermates were used. Forty ZDF rats were randomized into ZDF, taVNS, Px + taVNS and Lu + Px + taVNS groups (Px: pinealectomy, Lu: Luzindole). ZL rats served as a control group for comparison with ZDF rats without involvement in the taVNS intervention. Thirty min-taVNS interventions (2/15 Hz, 2 mA, 30 min/days) were administered once daily under anesthesia for 3 consecutive weeks in taVNS, Px + taVNS and Lu + Px + taVNS groups. Body weight and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were measured weekly in all rats, and real-time blood glucose was tested in the ZL and ZDF groups before, during and after the taVNS intervention. Plasma MLT concentration and the expression of MRs in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were measured by the end of experiments.ResultsCompared with the ZL group, the level of FBG and body weight increased (all p 0.05). In contrast, ZDF rats in which the pineal gland was excised by taVNS intervention and injected with the MRs antagonist Luzindole did not show these changes.ConclusionThe glucose reduction effect of taVNS may be related to regulating MLT levels and expressing intestinal MRs.

ABSTRACT We report a case of 59‐year‐old female with solitary bilateral renal metastases after surgery of stage IA primary lung adenocarcinoma who underwent next‐generation sequencing (NGS) of both lesions. The patient received right upper lobectomy and lymph node dissection, which revealed primary invasive lung adenocarcinoma (pT1cN0M0, stage IA3). Two years following this, positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) revealed multiple masses in both kidneys without other distant metastases, and ultrasonography‐guided puncture biopsy indicated the presence of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. The NGS of both the primary and metastatic lesions revealed the co‐alteration of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), RB transcriptional corepressor 1 (RB1), and mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MAP3K1), which is potentially associated with the risk of renal metastasis in early postoperative non‐small cell lung cancer.

In this study, we investigate several online and semi-online scheduling problems related to two hierarchical machines with a common due date to maximize the total early work. For the pure online case, we design an optimal online algorithm with a competitive ratio of . Additionally, for the cases when the largest processing time is known, we give optimal algorithms with a competitive ratio of 6/5 if the largest job is a lower-hierarchy one, and of − 1 if the largest job is a higher-hierarchy one.

Abstract Untethered miniature soft robots have significant application potentials in biomedical and industrial fields due to their space accessibility and safe human interaction. However, the lack of selective and forceful actuation is still challenging in revolutionizing and unleashing their versatility. Here, we propose a focused ultrasound-controlled phase transition strategy for achieving millimeter-level spatially selective actuation and Newton-level force of soft robots, which harnesses ultrasound-induced heating to trigger the phase transition inside the robot, enabling powerful actuation through inflation. The millimeter-level spatial resolution empowers single robot to perform multiple tasks according to specific requirements. As a concept-of-demonstration, we designed soft robot for liquid cargo delivery and biopsy robot for tissue acquisition and patching. Additionally, an autonomous control system is integrated with ultrasound imaging to enable automatic acoustic field alignment and control. The proposed method advances the spatiotemporal response capability of untethered miniature soft robots, holding promise for broadening their versatility and adaptability.

Urban agglomerations are the main spatial carriers of national and regional urbanization development. The study of their spatial association networks is of great significance for optimizing the allocation of urban resources, promoting the process of regional integration, and facilitating the high-quality development of urban agglomerations. The Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) is one of the most economically active regions in China. Its spatial association network structure was the main feature of economic and social development in China's "14th Five-Year Plan." Based on the perspective of flow spaces in terms of both the city and township scales, multi-source data were used in this study and included online car-hailing origin-destination travel data, combined with complex network models and a quadratic assignment procedure, to analyze the structural characteristics and driving mechanism of the spatial association network of the YRDUA. Results show that: 1) spatial association network based on online car-hailing flow in the YRDUA has spatial dependence and hierarchical characteristics, and intensities of network association are mostly coupled with levels of economic development; 2) spatial association network in the YRDUA displays spatial spillover effects, leading to an overall pattern of high equilibrium in southern development and strong single-point development capacity in the north; 3) the structural features of spatial association network in the YRDUA differ between townships and urban scales, with some high-level townships in certain transportation networks failing to exert their driving role at the urban level; and 4) economic development status, population vitality, the level of urban construction, and administrative division ownership and geographical location differences between townships have significant impacts on the spatial association network structure in terms of the township scale. The differences in administrative divisions are most important. Online car-hailing travel data were used in this study to effectively supplement the links between township streets within and between cities. This data also revealed intercity links. Thus, the development characteristics of spatial units on different scales were reflected, and research and social management needs were satisfied on a fine scale. In addition, by introducing spatial big data and analyzing the influence mechanism from various aspects, such as socioeconomics, the driving factors of the spatial network of urban agglomerations were systematically identified at the small-scale level, which will help with more reasonable planning within the city and play a role in the development of urban agglomerations by enhancing the attractiveness of individual cities. This study expands the research perspectives on the cooperative development of urban agglomerations on different scales, providing theoretical references and practical support for the promotion of the coordinated development of urban agglomerations as a whole.

The harsh environment of high dust and low lighting in the coal mine underground excavation working face results in low signal-to-noise ratio of the image, and a serious reduction in the number of effective feature points. The processed image has significant color difference and noise. When using the best seam-line algorithm for image stitching, there are problems such as fine section misalignment, unnatural transitions at the seam line, or obvious stitching traces. In order to solve the above problems, a mine image stitching method based on improved best seam-line is proposed. Firstly, the original image is subjected to HSV spatial transformation, and an improved Retinex algorithm is used for enhancement on the luminance component. Bilateral filtering is used instead of the center surround function to solve the halo problem caused by large brightness differences. The number of feature points extracted is effectively increased through the enhancement algorithm. Secondly, the SIFT algorithm is used to extract feature points, and cosine distance is used as the matching degree indicator. The method introduces pixel cosine similarity as a constraint, and uses morphological operations to improve color difference intensity, uses dynamic programming to search for the best seam-line to avoid misalignment at image stitching. Finally, combined with the gradual in and out algorithm, the image transition is smooth to achieve image fusion of the underground excavation working face. Experimental verification is conducted by simulating the actual working environment underground. The results show that the mine image stitching method based on the improved best seam-line avoids the phenomenon of misalignment stitching caused by color differences and noise compared to the traditional best seam-line algorithm. The image transition at the stitching seam is more natural, avoiding the generation of 'ghosts' and obvious stitching seams. The average gradient of the image is increased by about 2.38%, and the stitching time is increased by about 32.5%, making the fusion area smoother and more natural, improving the stitching quality.

The closed-cycle process will generate a large number of radioactive aerosols, and its high humidity, high acidity, and high radioactivity lead to rapid failure and high replacement frequency of glass fiber high-efficiency filters. In order to solve the above problems, hydrophobic modification of the traditional glass fiber filter material was proposed to improve its tolerance to severe conditions. The low surface energy modifier (polydimethylsiloxane) was used to realize the chemical hydrophobicity of filter material. The microstructure was constructed by introducing SiO2 nanoparticles to further improve hydrophobicity. The modification effect was analyzed by means of SEM, FTIR and contact angle measuring instrument, and the filtration performance of the modified filter material was further studied. The research results show that the modification can effectively improve the hydrophobicity of the glass fiber filter material and improve its moisture resistance. The static contact angle of the simply chemically modified filter material can reach 146°, and the modified filter material after the introduction of SiO2 nanoparticles exhibit an angle of more than 150°. When the mass fraction of polydimethylsiloxane and SiO2 nanoparticles is 2.0% and 0.5%, respectively, the corresponding filter material GF-PS-0.5 shows the best acid resistance, which is mainly due to the synergy of chemical hydrophobicity and microstructural hydrophobicity. The hydrophobicity of GF-PS-0.5 remains stable after a sufficient amount of γ-irradiation, indicating its good radiation resistance. The modified filter material maintains excellent filtration performance, and the filtration efficiency exceeds 99.99%. The modification process can improve the tolerance of the glass fiber filter material without influencing the filtration performance, showing a good application prospect.

Flaw tolerance performance of TC4 alloy was investigated for helicopter transmission systems design. The impact pit flaws and scratch flaws were investigated by fatigue specimens with same flaw depth for flaw tolerance design，and high-cycle fatigue S-N curve tests were conducted. The results show that both scratch flaws and impact pit flaws significantly reduce the fatigue limit of the TC4 titanium alloy. The scratch flaw has a higher flaw influence factor（Kflaw） of 2.29 compared to the impact pit flaw’s Kflaw value of 1.75 under the same flaw depth conditions. Fracture surface analysis provided laws of the fatigue crack initiation and propagation associated with these flaws. Scratch flaws mainly exhibit multiple sources，with crack initiated at the root of the scratch，while the characteristics of fatigue crack initiation for impact pit flaws vary with the applied stress. Multiple sources are observed under high stress lever，with crack initiated on the surface of the pit，while under low stress，the crack initiates at a subsurface of the pit.

Artificial helical microswimmers with shape-morphing capacities and adaptive locomotion have great potential for precision medicine and noninvasive surgery. However, current reconfigurable helical microswimmers are hampered by their low-throughput fabrication and limited adaptive locomotion. Here, a rotary holographic processing strategy (a helical femtosecond laser beam) is proposed to produce stimuli-responsive helical microswimmers (

This paper is devoted to the study of a multi-criteria scheduling problem on unrelated processors with machines’ learning effect, with the goal of minimizing makespan, machine cost and maximal flow-time simultaneously, which is an NP-hard problem. An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm equipped with the overloaded operators, as well as a procedure of Levy flight, is proposed to generate the Pareto-optimal solutions. The experimental results show that the Levy flight strategy can effectively improve the performance of the algorithm, which can generate more non-dominated solutions, and slightly reduce the execution time of the process.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the major chronic airway diseases, with the highest prevalence among individuals over 60 years old, significantly impacting the health of elderly patients. Both domestic and international COPD prevention and treatment guidelines recommend pulmonary rehabilitation as a complementary and effective adjunct to pharmacological treatment. Pulmonary rehabilitation can significantly improve patients' respiratory function and physical fitness, alleviate symptoms, and reduce hospitalization and mortality rates. However, the specific contents of pulmonary rehabilitation for elderly COPD patients differ depending on the stage of the disease. This expert consensus elaborates on the assessment and treatment contents of pulmonary rehabilitation for elderly COPD patients in the acute exacerbation period, acute exacerbation remission period, and outpatient stable period, aiming to provide guidance for pulmonary rehabilitation treatment at different stages of the disease. This consensus identifies common functional impairments in elderly COPD patients, including respiratory dysfunction, exercise tolerance impairment, psychological issues, swallowing dysfunction and cognitive impairment. It recommends a comprehensive assessment of elderly COPD patients' multifaceted impairments based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework, covering four aspects：body structure, body function (respiratory function, cardiac function, exercise function, psychological and cognitive function, swallowing function, and nutritional factors), activity and participation, and environmental factors. Pulmonary rehabilitation is suitable for all patients exhibiting relevant symptoms and/or those at high risk of acute exacerbations (high-level evidence). As the disease progresses, the rehabilitation team, treatment plan, and treatment location should be adjusted in a timely manner, forming a continuous rehabilitation cycle. Smoking cessation is a crucial intervention to slow down the decline in lung function and the progression of COPD (high-level evidence). Through adequate nutritional support, elderly COPD patients can improve their nutritional status, enhance physical strength and quality of life, better manage the disease, and promote rehabilitation (low to moderate-level evidence). Oxygen therapy is recommended for patients with advanced COPD who remain hypoxemic at rest (low to moderate-level evidence). Some emerging rehabilitation treatments (such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation, acupuncture, and certain traditional Chinese medicines) may have some value for elderly COPD patients (low to moderate-level evidence. This expert consensus divides rehabilitation treatment into three stages：Phase I Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Phase II Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and Phase III Pulmonary Rehabilitation, based on the different stages of elderly COPD patients. It further details the target population, implementation location, rehabilitation content, assessment content, participating disciplines, and rehabilitation goals for each stage, emphasizing the need for clinical respiratory specialists, primary care physicians, rehabilitation physicians/therapists, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, and social workers to actively coordinate and collaborate throughout the full-cycle rehabilitation process for elderly COPD patients.

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer type worldwide. Colorectal cancer treatment costs vary between countries as it depends on policy factors such as treatment algorithms, availability of treatments and whether the treatment is government-funded. Hence, the objective of this systematic review is to determine the prevalence and measurements of financial toxicity (FT), including the cost of treatment, among colorectal cancer patients. Methods Medline via PubMed platform, Science Direct, Scopus, and CINAHL databases were searched to find studies that examined CRC FT. There was no limit on the design or setting of the study. Results Out of 819 papers identified through an online search, only 15 papers were included in this review. The majority (n = 12, 80%) were from high-income countries, and none from low-income countries. Few studies (n = 2) reported objective FT denoted by the prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), 60% (9 out of 15) reported prevalence of subjective FT, which ranges from 7 to 80%, 40% (6 out of 15) included studies reported cost of CRC management– annual direct medical cost ranges from USD 2045 to 10,772 and indirect medical cost ranges from USD 551 to 795. Conclusions There is a lack of consensus in defining and quantifying financial toxicity hindered the comparability of the results to yield the mean cost of managing CRC. Over and beyond that, information from some low-income countries is missing, limiting global representativeness.

ObjectiveTo present the exploration and application of a prospective follow-up research method for acute infectious disease surveillance based on natural community populations， using COVID-19 infection as an example， and to provide a reference for improving the infectious disease surveillance and early warning system.MethodsA multi-stage probability proportional sampling method was employed to sample residents from all communities of 16 administrative districts in Shanghai， with households as the units. A cohort for acute infectious diseases based on natural community populations was established. The baseline survey was conducted for all cohort subjects， and COVID-19 antigen test kits were distributed. From December 21， 2022 to September 30， 2023， prospective follow-up monitoring of COVID-19 antigen and nucleic acid was carried out on the study subjects on a weekly basis. The baseline characteristics and follow-up information of the cohort subjects were described.ResultsThe cohort for acute infectious diseases included a total of 12 881 subjects， comprising 6 098 males （47.3%） and 6 783 females （52.7%）. The baseline survey revealed that 35.2% （4 540/12 881） of the subjects had a history of COVID-19 infection. During the follow-up period from December 21， 2022 to September 30， 2023， the average incidence density in the cohort was 0.61/person-year， with a higher incidence density in females （0.63/person-year） compared to males （0.59/person-year）. Individuals aged 60 and above （0.64/person-year） and those with underlying health conditions （0.67/person-year） had a higher incidence density. Healthcare workers showed a notably higher incidence density （0.84/person-year） than that in other occupational groups. As of September 30， 2023， a total of 340 subjects in the cohort experienced secondary infections， with a median interval of 170 days between the first and second infections.ConclusionThis study applies cohort study method to acute infectious disease surveillance， providing crucial data support for estimating infection rates and forecasting alerts for acute infectious diseases in the community. This method can be promoted and applied as a new approach for acute infectious disease surveillance.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease whose main characteristic is the destruction of articular cartilage, causing pain and disability in patients and seriously affecting their quality of life. OA can be induced by a variety of causes, and pathological changes in articular cartilage are considered to be one of the key driving factors for the occurrence of OA. High mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), as a non-histone protein in eukaryotic cells, can participate in regulating the inflammation and apoptosis process of OA chondrocytes, thus leading to the occurrence of OA. This article reviews the research on the mechanism of HMGB1 in OA chondrocytes, with a view to providing new ideas for the clinical prevention and treatment of OA.

The fumigant has been approved by the World Health Organization for use in grain storage, targeting the eradication of pests in areas where grain is stored or transported to reduce insect and mold activities, thereby minimizing storage losses. Phosphine is featured by its economic viability, application readibility, rapid diffusion, and lack of residue, making it advantageous for comprehensive pest control. It demonstrates high efficacy against various harmful organisms in storage, making it one of major fumigants worldwide. However, the elimination of some fumigants has increased dependence on phosphine. The lack of standardized guidance and inappropriate use of phosphine have led to severe resistance among stored grain pests, posing a threat to the effectiveness and sustainability of phosphine treatment. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current status and trends of phosphine resistance in stored grain pests on the global. It analyzes the genetic basis of resistance, focusing on respiratory and cuticle-related gene expression and detoxification enzyme mechanisms. A comparison of four resistance detection methods—FAO, discriminating does bioassay, rapid knockdown, and molecular identification—is rendered. The study explores key strategies for resistance management, including optimization of fumigation protocols, laboratory and field validations, and application recommendations. The aim is to offer reference information for the scientific and rational use of phosphine and the development of alternative pest control methods in the future.

ObjectivesTo identify potential treatment targets for spinal cord injury (SCI)-related neuropathic pain (NP) by analysing the differences in electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain network connections among SCI patients with NP or numbness.Participants and methodsThe EEG signals during rest, as well as left- and right-hand and feet motor imagination (MI), were recorded. The power spectral density (PSD) of the θ (4–8 Hz), α (8–12 Hz), and β (13–30 Hz) bands was calculated by applying Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) and Modified S-transform (MST) to the data. We used 21 electrodes as network nodes and performed statistical measurements of the phase synchronisation between two brain regions using a phase-locking value, which captures nonlinear phase synchronisation.ResultsThe specificity of the MST algorithm was higher than that of the CWT. Widespread non-lateralised event-related synchronization was observed in both groups during the left- and right-hand MI. The PWP (patients with pain) group had lower θ and α bands PSD values in multiple channels of regions including the frontal, premotor, motor, and temporal regions compared with the PWN (patients with numbness) group (all p

Background: Asthma is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide and is closely related to environmental exposure. The prevalence of asthma and the relationship between asthma and the duration of environmental exposure in adolescents has not been reported in Chongqing, China. Objectives: To examine the prevalence of asthma among adolescents in Chongqing and investigate the relationships between asthma and environmental exposure. Methods: The subjects were recruited from a previous cohort study. The data, demographics and respiratory characteristics were collected after a monthly follow-up visit. PM 2.5 concentrations were matched to the residential addresses of participants. Results: This study included 4146 samples (11.74 ± 0.71 years) and the prevalence of asthma was 3.98 % (165/4146). In terms of PM 2.5 exposure, the annual average PM 2.5 level was significantly higher in adolescents with asthma, and the annual average PM 2.5 was positively associated with asthma (OR = 1.252, 95%CI: 1.049, 1.495). After adjusting for multiple potential confounding factors, comparing with PM 2.5 concentration in the first interquartile range (Q1), seasonal PM 2.5 (OR = 1.791, 95%CI: 1.119, 2.866) and monthly PM 2.5 (OR = 1.484, 95%CI: 0.929, 2.373) in the third interquartile range (Q3), there was a statistically significant increased risk of asthma. In terms of weather-related factors, seasonal humidity (OR = 3.157, 95%CI: 1.168, 8.536), monthly humidity (OR = 2.397, 95%CI: 1.307, 4.397) and temperature (OR = 2.510, 95%CI: 1.157, 5.447), they were positively correlated with asthma. Conclusions: This study illustrated the impact of chronic exposure of PM 2.5, temperature and humidity on asthma in adolescents.

Impatiens is rich in germplasm resources, with more than 260 species in China. A study on the pollen micromorphology of Impatiens by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the pollen characteristics were richly diverse, and there was some correlation among the characteristics. In addition, the micromorphological index can be used for an effective cluster analysis of Impatiens. However, there was high interspecific similarity in some Impatiens, and the classification of Impatiens cannot be accurate to the species using pollen characteristics. Based on the classification conditions of Impatiens, the characteristics of the pollen structure were found to be useful to classify Impatiens into subgenera or smaller groups. The macroscopic characteristics and the number of sepals (NS) were used as references, which enabled the conclusion that there were 11 indices in the pollen micromorphological index, and the taxonomic effect was greater than the NS. In summary, the pollen micromorphology of Impatiens plays an important role in the classification of Impatiens. The purpose of this study was to explore this characteristic of Impatiens, which has some reference significance to supplement the pollen characteristics and palynological classification of Impatiens. The goal for this research was to aid in the interspecific identification and genetic breeding of Impatiens.

Abstract Introduction This study aims to investigate the pattern of intraocular pressure (IOP) changes in different postures among patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Methods A observational study was conducted on a total of 74 patients with OAG (148 eyes). IOP measurements were taken in a variety of positions, including supine, left lateral decubitus, right lateral decubitus, head tilted downwards position with immediate head-up (transient head tilted downwards), seated, seated with head tilted downwards, standing, and walking. Each position was held for 5 min before measurement. In all positions, the patient maintains both eyes looking forward and remains alert. In the head tilted downwards position, the angle of head tilt with respect to the sagittal plane was 30°. Results The overall trend of IOP changes showed a significant decrease with an increase in the position height (r = 0.037, p

Objective To investigate how histone demethylase inhibitor GSK-J4 could reduce body weight in obese mice fed high-fat diet(HFD). Methods After 16 weeks of feeding C57/BL6 mice with a HFD, GSK-J4 was injected intraperitoneally for 16 days, during which time the body weight and body temperature were monitored. The serum leptin expression was measured using ELISA kits. Direction of macrophage polarization in epididymis and subcutaneous adipose tissue was detected by flow cytometry. The browning degree of white fat in adipose tissue of epididymis and subcutaneous adipose tissue was evaluated by HE staining microscopy and immunohistochemistry.Quantitative PCR was used to analyze the levels of related cytokines and the expression levels of genes related to oxidative phosphorylation in macrophages. Results Compared with solvent control group, GSK-J4 reduced body weight in a time-dependent manner. Serum leptin expression was significantly decreased (P＜0.01); The surface marker CD11c+ decreased in epididymal and subcutaneous adipose tissue macrophages. The degree of browning of subcutaneous white fat was increased; The mRNA level of oxidative phosphorylation related genes was stimulated in brown adipose tissue, and the expression of IL-1β was decreased. Conclusions The histone demethylase inhibitor GSK-J4 can reduce M1 polarization of macrophages. After treatment with GSK-J4, the body weight of obese mice induced by HFD is significantly decreased and the energy consumption is increased.

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meloponini) play a significant ecological role in tropical and subtropical regions. They have good utilization value in pollination, medicinal applications, and industrial raw materials. However, the habitats of stingless bees have experienced fragmentation owing to anthropogenic interventions in the natural environment. Consequently, this disruption precipitated a substantial decline in both population abundance and species diversity, placing them at risk of endangerment. Recognizing this scenario, implementing measures to safeguard and judiciously exploit the stingless bee population has become imperative because it has a profound impact on the harmonized advancement of domains encompassing agriculture, medicine, and ecological diversity. From July 2020 to June 2021, comprehensive questionnaire surveys were methodically conducted. The methods employed included participatory interviews and random interception sampling techniques, culminating in a dataset of 291 validated questionnaires. These surveys indicated that the denizens of the communities surrounding the national park predominantly comprise ethnic groups such as Li and Miao. These groups continue to rely primarily on traditional natural resources for their sustenance and livelihood. However, their awareness of the importance of conserving the stingless bee population remains conspicuously deficient. Among the residents displaying the willingness and capacity to contribute to stingless bee conservation efforts, their inclinations appear to be influenced by factors such as prior experience in beekeeping, comprehension of stingless bee products, and demand for beekeeping techniques. Analysis of the survey results underscores a conspicuous gap in the fundamental understanding of the value of stingless bees and their products. Among the community residents, 64.04% lacked this essential comprehension. Furthermore, 91.67% of community residents did not engage in stingless bee breeding activities, and 39.06% were unwilling to learn beekeeping techniques. These findings underscore multifaceted issues within the community pertaining to legal and regulatory frameworks for stingless bee conservation, the popularization of science regarding stingless bees, stingless bee breeding techniques, and other aspects. These inadequacies pose substantial impediments to the sustainable development of stingless bee resources in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. Given these challenges, conservation of stingless bees within the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park has emerged as an enduring and pivotal undertaking. In the promotion process, a strategy that encompasses enhanced science communication and public consciousness campaigns is essential. Fostering a positive public disposition towards conservation efforts, encouraging autonomous participation by residents in the conservation of stingless bees, and fostering a balanced coexistence between managed breeding and the protection of wild populations are vital approaches to ensuring the sustainability of stingless bee resources.

The fires can be effectively detected by monitoring fire smoke. However, existing fire smoke segmentation algorithms have not performed well on the small smoke and edges of large smoke. This article proposed an improved lightweight DeepLabV3+ smoke segmentation algorithm based on deep learning, which effectively detects smoke. The feature extraction network of the DeeplabV3+ algorithm was replaced, which reduced the number of parameters. This improvement enhanced the algorithm's ability to extract smoke features and segment smoke. The convolutional block attention module (CBAM) was added to the encoder module to enhance the algorithm's perception of small smoke. This improvement enhanced the algorithm's segmentation capability for smoke in complex backgrounds, and effectively alleviate smoke mis-segmentation. Experimental results on the test set show a noticeable gain up to 6.46% in smoke intersection over union(sIoU), 4.28% in mean intersection over union(mIoU), and 1.72% in mean pixel accuracy (mPA), respectively. Moreover, the improved algorithm's weight size is only 10.76% of the original algorithm's weight size. The experimental results show that the improved smoke segmentation algorithm, which has higher smoke segmentation accuracy, shorter training time, and a smaller model size compared to the original DeepLabV3+ algorithm. The improved smoke segmentation algorithm is more suitable for real-time smoke monitoring tasks.

Abstract Inspired by the flexible joints of humans, actuators containing soft joints have been developed for various applications, including soft grippers, artificial muscles, and wearable devices. However, integrating multiple microjoints into soft robots at the micrometer scale to achieve multi-deformation modalities remains challenging. Here, we propose a two-in-one femtosecond laser writing strategy to fabricate microjoints composed of hydrogel and metal nanoparticles, and develop multi-joint microactuators with multi-deformation modalities (>10), requiring short response time (30 ms) and low actuation power (

AIM: To explore the progress of clinical trials for ophthalmic drugs in China in 2022 and discuss its changes with 2014 to 2021, thus providing the latest data reference for the development of new drug and the implementation of clinical trials, and a basis for decision-making.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we retrieved the drug clinical trials registration and information disclosure platform of National Medical Products Administration database. Drug clinical trials for eye diseases registered from January 1 to December 31, 2022 were included. Number(proportion)was used to describe the characteristics of clinical trials for ophthalmic drug, the indication, the trial phase, the efficacy and the geographical distribution.RESULTS:A total of 55 clinical trials for ophthalmic drug were included, which accounted for 1.66% of all clinical trials, showing a steady growth trend. Main drug type was chemical drugs with the highest proportion of 58.18%. The top three indications with the most clinical trials were age-related macular degeneration, myopia and dry eye. Two gene drugs emerged in 2022, and 7 drugs carried out ≥2 trials, of which atropine sulfate and recombinant anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)humanized monoclonal antibody were the most(7 and 5 respectively). Most trials were in phase I and phase III stages, accounting for 36.36% and 27.27% respectively. The median start-up time of phase I trials in 2022 was 2.72(0.77, 3.47)mo, which was significantly shorter than 3.87(3.00, 6.30)mo of 2014～2021(Z=-2.630, P=0.009), and there were no significant differences between BE, phase II, III, IV comparing with 2014～2021(P>0.05).CONCLUSIONS: In 2022, the number and implementation efficiency of clinical trials for ophthalmic drugs in China increased steadily. The indications are mainly fundus disease, myopia and dry eye. Most new drugs are in the early stage of research and development or close to market. Gene therapy drugs began to emerge.

This paper first introduces the relationship hypothesis between CSR and economic benefits and provides a mathematical model. Secondly, an index evaluation system is constructed based on CSR explanatory variables, and the constraints setting and index weights are calculated using multi-objective planning and ANP. Ultimately, an example analysis of CSR and economic benefits was carried out using data from companies listed on the A-share market. The results show that the minimum value of ROA is -0.015, the maximum value is 8.248, and the weight of creditors’ indicators is 0.2317. To balance CSR and economic benefits, creditors must change their mindset and improve their economic investment to promote CSR implementation.

We consider the scheduling problem on unrelated parallel machines in order to minimize the total late work. Since the problem is NP-hard, we propose a mathematical model and two dedicated exact approaches for solving it, based on the branching and bounding strategy and on enumerating combined with a dynamic programming algorithm. The time efficiencies of all three approaches are evaluated through computational experiments.

The effect of specimen thickness on the very high cycle fatigue （VHCF） properties of DD6 nickel-based single crystal superalloys for turbine blades with hollow air-cooled structure was investigated. Based on the finite element method （FEM）, a thin-walled vibration fatigue specimen with a thickness of 0.5 mm was designed with a natural frequency of 1425 Hz, which was a suitable test efficiency for VHCF test. The VHCF test was carried out by electrodynamic shaker at room temperature, and a VHCF S-N curve up to 109 cycles was obtained. Comparing with the rotational bending fatigue and vibration fatigue test data of conventional size specimens, the results show that the fatigue strength of DD6 single crystal superalloy continues to decrease after 107 cycles and the fatigue strength is decreased about 25%，from 107 to 109 cycles; The high cycle fatigue strength of the thin-walled specimen is basically the same as the standard rotary bending fatigue strength of the same material, and slightly lower than the conventional vibration fatigue strength. The cracks in the thin-walled specimen initiate on the surface of the dangerous section, showing the characteristics of line source. There are two propagation planes in the fatigue growth zone, showing the characteristics of cleavage like.

In order to reduce the occurrence of safety production accidents in coal mine industry, this paper combined the definition of safety behavior and unsafe behavior, behavior safety theory and MMEM system theory to put forward the standard definition of safety state of coal mine workers' behavior.According to the behavior influencing factors, this study established the coal mine workers behavior safety state evaluation index system, including 4 first-level indicators 21 secondary indexes.The Improved-AHP method, Entropy Weight method and variance coefficient method were adopted to determine the subjective and objective weights and weight combination.Taking one mine as example for analysis, this paper chose extension comprehensive evaluation method to construct the evaluation model. Results show that: For the coal mine industry, the defined-evaluation-improvement(D-E-I)model is universal.The empirical evaluation level is Ⅳ or "relatively safe".The evaluation results are in line with reality, and the model is scientific and practical.

Abstract Ongoing runoff declines in the Colorado River Basin have been shown to be predominately driven by decreasing albedo from warming‐driven snow‐cover loss, especially in late‐spring (hereafter snowmelt‐radiation feedback). Here, we explore the feedback's impact on annual runoff sensitivity to warming across the western U.S. (WUS) using hydrologic model simulations. For 1°C uniform warming, we show that runoff is most sensitive to warming in modestly snow‐covered, interior mountain headwaters, especially the Rocky Mountains. Runoff sensitivities are most associated with the snowmelt‐radiation feedback in basins with runoff coefficients between 0.2 and 0.6, where runoff sensitivity increases with more snow and lower winter temperature. In aggregate, ∼48% of WUS runoff sensitivity is attributable to the snowmelt‐radiation feedback and is especially pronounced in the warming‐sensitive river basins (annual runoff decreases >5%/°C). We also show that the feedback's impact decreases with increasing temperature, which has unresolved implications for streamflow declines in a less‐snow future.

Background Cyberbullying is a growing public health concern with clear, negative impacts on the mental, physical and social health of targeted victims. Previous research on cyberbullying has largely focused on examining its occurrence among children and adolescents. The present study aims to examine the prevalence of cyberbullying victimisation and its association with family dysfunction, health behaviour and psychological distress among young adults in Selangor, Malaysia.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a locality within Selangor, sampling a total of 1449 young adults. The Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey was used to measure cyberbullying victimisation. The Family APGAR scale, General Health Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and single-item measures were used to assess family dysfunction, psychological distress and health behaviour, respectively.Results The 1-month prevalence of cyberbullying victimisation among young adults was 2.4%. The most common cyberbullying act experienced was mean or hurtful comments about participants online (51.7%), whereas the most common online environment for cyberbullying to occur was social media (45.8%). Male participants (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.60, 95% CI=1.58 to 8.23) had at least three times the odds of being cyberbullied compared with female participants. Meanwhile, participants with higher levels of psychological distress had increased probability of being cyberbullied compared with their peers (AOR=1.13, 95% CI=1.05 to 1.21).Conclusions As evident from this study, cyberbullying victimisation prevails among young adults and is significantly related to gender and psychological distress. Given its devastating effects on targeted victims, a multipronged and collaborative approach is warranted to reduce incidences of cyberbullying and safeguard the health and well-being of young adults.

Li4SiO4 has been widely studied as tritium breeder and high temperature CO2 capture material. Tritium breeding rate and CO2 adsorption capacity are closely related to lithium content and microstructure. Since high sintering temperatures result in grain coarsening and lithium sublimation, it is a great challenge to prepare Li4SiO4 ceramics with a satisfactory mechanical strength at low sintering temperature. In this work, mesoporous silica was used as Si source to prepare Li4SiO4 spheres. The mesoporous structure might provide more reaction sites for lithium ions, thereby facilitating the reaction between LiOH and mesoporous silica. The sintering temperature of Li4SiO4 spheres was greatly reduced by using mesoporous silica as Si source. The Li4SiO4 spheres with a homogenous fine-grained microstructure (the average grain size of 2.2 μm) and high crushing load (41.65N) could be obtained at 675°C.

Abstract Background To evaluate the safety and efficacy of gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) in treating patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) who had failed prior incisional glaucoma surgery. Methods A consecutive case series of OAG patients aged ≥ 18 who underwent GATT with previous failed glaucoma incision surgery was retrospectively analyzed. Main outcome measures included intraocular pressure (IOP), the number of glaucoma medications, surgical success rate, and occurrence of complications. Success was defined as an IOP of ≤ 21 mmHg and a reduction of IOP by 20% or more from baseline with (qualified success) or without (complete success) glaucoma medications. For eyes with preoperative IOP of

Abstract Background Surgical acute abdomen is a sudden onset of severe abdominal symptoms (pain, vomiting, constipation etc.) indicative of a possible life-threatening intra-abdominal pathology, with most cases requiring immediate surgical intervention. Most studies from developing countries have focused on complications related to delayed diagnosis of specific abdominal problems like intestinal obstruction or acute appendicitis and only a few studies have assessed factors related to the delay in patients with acute abdomen. This study focused on the time from the onset of a surgical acute abdomen to presentation to determine factors that led to delayed reporting among these patients at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and aimed to close the knowledge gap on the incidence, presentation, etiology, and death rates for acute abdomen in Tanzania. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at MNH, Tanzania. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of the surgical acute abdomen were consecutively enrolled in the study over a period of 6 months and data on the onset of symptoms, time of presentation to the hospital, and events during the illness were collected. Results Age was significantly associated with delayed hospital presentation, with older groups presenting later than younger ones. Informal education and being uneducated were factors contributing to delayed presentation, while educated groups presented early, albeit the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.121). Patients working in the government sector had the lowest percentage of delayed presentation compared to those in the private sector and self-employed individuals, however, the difference was statistically insignificant. Family and cohabiting individuals showed late presentation (p = 0.03). Deficiencies in health care staff on duty, unfamiliarity with the medical facilities, and low experience in dealing with emergency cases were associated with the factors for delayed surgical care among patients. Delays in the presentation to the hospital increased mortality and morbidity, especially among patients who needed emergency surgical care. Conclusion Delayed reporting for surgical care among patients with surgical acute abdomen in underdeveloped countries like Tanzania is often not due to a single reason. The causes are distributed across several levels including the patient’s age and family, deficiency in medical staff on duty and lack of experience in dealing with emergency cases, educational level, working sectors, socioeconomic and sociocultural status of the country.

Voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels play a role in the cellular processes of various cancer cells, including lung cancer cells. We previously identified and reported a salivary protein from the Xenopsylla cheopis, FS48, which exhibited inhibitory activity against Kv1.1-1.3 channels when assayed in HEK 293T cells. However, whether FS48 has an inhibitory effect on cancer cells expressing Kv channels is unclear. The present study aims to reveal the effects of FS48 on the Kv channels and the NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells through patch clamp, MTT, wound healing, transwell, gelatinase zymography, qRT-PCR and WB assays. The results demonstrated that FS48 can be effective in suppressing the Kv currents, migration, and invasion of NCI-H460 cells in a dose-dependent manner, despite the failure to inhibit the proliferation. Moreover, the expression of Kv1.1 and Kv1.3 mRNA and protein were found to be significantly reduced. Finally, FS48 decreases the mRNA level of MMP-9 while increasing TIMP-1 mRNA level. The present study highlights for the first time that blood-sucking arthropod saliva-derived protein can inhibit the physiological activities of tumour cells via the Kv channels. Furthermore, FS48 can be taken as a hit compound against the tumour cells expressing Kv channels.

The efficient treatment and clean disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) are crucial to urban environmental protection and economic development. Existing municipal solid waste treatment technologies mainly include landfill, incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal method, (aerobic) compost, (anaerobic) digestion/fermentation, etc. The production of domestic MSW is increasing, as well as the energy demand of the society, and thus the conversion from MSW to energy is of great importance. Under the goal of carbon neutrality, the treatment of MSW should develop toward greening, protecting environment and reducing carbon emission. It should not only achieve efficient utilization of MSW, but also accelerate the pace of reducing carbon emissions and guide innovation in green technology. This paper briefly described the classification and characteristics of waste to energy technologies. The research and application progress of main technologies were summarized, and the opportunities and challenges were analyzed towards low-carbon and environment-friendly development. Finally, the applications of sorting, artificial intelligence and green hydrogen technologies for MSW treatment were reviewed. This paper provides useful information from the views of energy conversion and carbon reduction, benefiting the development of MSW treatment.

Utilizing the Marangoni effect, miniaturized machineries can be endowed with self-propulsion. Here, the authors report high-performance Marangoni hydrogel rotors with asymmetric porosity and drag reduction profile and demonstrate multiple potential functionalities.

In order to truly reflect actual stress level borne by equipment, improve inherent reliability of product and reduce maintenance cost of product in the later period, in view of the problem that it is difficult to select test temperature level in the existing climate environment and reliability test standards, this paper analyzes thermal fatigue mechanism of products at measured ambient temperature and proposes a method for constructing test profiles. Through data processing, fatigue damage calculation and fatigue equivalence of the measured temperature data, test profile equivalent to the measured temperature data is finally obtained. Accelerated model is used to accelerate the equivalent test profile to obtain the accelerated test profile. Accelerated test results show that the error between test and computation results is 8.9%,which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed environmental test profile construction method based on measured temperature data.

Cashmere and wool are common raw materials in the textile industry. The clothes made of cashmere are popular because of the excellent comfort. A system that can quickly and automatically classify the two will improve the efficiency of fiber recognition in the textile industry. We propose a classification method of cashmere and wool fibers based on feature fusion using the maximum inter-class variance. First, the fiber target area is obtained by the preprocessing algorithm. Second, the features of sub-images are extracted through the algorithm of the Discrete Wavelet Transform. It is linearly fused by introducing the weight in the approximate and detailed features. The maximum separability of the feature data can be achieved by the maximum inter-class variance. Finally, different classifiers are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The support vector machine classifier can achieve the highest recognition rate, with an accuracy of 95.20%. The experimental results show that the recognition rate of the fused feature vectors is improved by 6.73% compared to the original feature vectors describing the image. It verifies that the proposed method provides an effective solution for the automatic recognition of cashmere and wool.

As governments are increasingly attaching more importance to environmental protection, many policies and regulations are being promulgated to restrict or prohibit river sand extraction. Thus, there is a growing tendency for concrete production to use desert sand-doped quartz sand as the fine aggregate. This paper investigated the microstructure, mechanical properties, durability, and volume stability of concrete with desert sand and quartz sand. In the study, the strength grades of concrete ranged from C30 to C100, while the substitution ratios of the desert sand for the quartz sand ranged from 0% to 100%. The results showed that a high substitution ratio of desert sand increased the concrete porosity and extended the interface zone width. The concrete strength generally decreased as the desert sand substitution ratio increased, however, for the C50 and C60 strength grades, concrete with 20% desert sand had minor positive effects. Basically, as the desert sand substitution ratio increased, the Cl- penetration resistance and frost resistance tended to be weaker, although there were a few exceptions. High substitution ratios of desert sand were also not good for the sulfate attack resistance of concrete. In most cases, concrete with 20% desert sand shrank more slowly than concrete without desert sand. These conclusions provide the experimental support for the promotion of desert sand applications in the concrete industry.

Distributed energy storage (DES) is a key component in smart distribution networks and microgrids. As one of the current disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to change the traditional modeling, analysis, and control methods of DES and make DES more intelligent. The development of the AI application in the field of power systems and the applicability of the modern AI methods in DES were briefly reviewed. Then, the AI application directions and the related research trends in three DES of different scales, micro-grid, smart building, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G), were considered. Finally, the future development of AI in DES was presented, in order to provide useful reference for intelligent research and development of distributed energy storage