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Abstract The new power system is characterized by high penetration of renewable energy sources and a high proportion of power electronics (namely, double‐high). The grid‐forming control is an effective method to improve the grid‐connected stability of wind turbine generators (WTGs) in the “double‐high” grid. The control method based on the DC‐link voltage can effectively realize the grid‐forming control for WTGs. However, there is a disadvantage that the DC‐link voltage cannot be maintained at the given value. To address this, the grid synchronization mechanism of DC‐link voltage is explored and the specific implementation of a novel DC‐link voltage synchronous control applicable to full‐scale power conversion WTGs is proposed. Then, the boundary of the inertial coefficient is probed through the state‐space method. And a compensation control is proposed to enlarge the inertial response capability based on the mechanism of damping characteristics. Finally, the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation and RTLAB hardware‐in‐loop experiment show that the synchronization frequency can accurately map the grid frequency changes in real‐time under the premise that the DC‐link voltage remains constant. In addition, the inertial coefficient can be increased by more than five times with the compensation strategy, which can enhance the support capability of the WTGs to the power grid.

Abstract Background Fear of a global public health issue and fresh infection wave in the persistent COVID-19 pandemic has been enflamed by the appearance of the novel variant Omicron BF.7 lineage. Recently, it has been seeing the novel Omicron subtype BF.7 lineage has sprawled exponentially in Hohhot. More than anything, risk stratification is significant to ascertain patients infected with COVID-19 who the most need in-hospital or in-home management. The study intends to understand the clinical severity and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BF.7. lineage via gathering and analyzing the cases with Omicron subvariant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Methods Based upon this, we linked variant Omicron BF.7 individual-level information including sex, age, symptom, underlying conditions and vaccination record. Further, we divided the cases into various groups and assessed the severity of patients according to the symptoms of patients with COVID-19. Clinical indicators and data might help to predict disadvantage outcomes and progression among Omicron BF.7 patients. Results In this study, in patients with severe symptoms, some indicators from real world data such as white blood cells, AST, ALT and CRE in patients with Omicron BF.7 in severe symptoms were significantly higher than mild and asymptomatic patients, while some indicators were significantly lower. Conclusions Above results suggested that the indicators were associated with ponderance of clinical symptoms. Our survey emphasized the value of timely investigations of clinical data obtained by systemic study to acquire detailed information.

This study investigated the effects of varying amounts of added Cyperus esculentus polysaccharide (CEP) on the physicochemical and structural properties, as well as in vitro digestibility, of homologous Cyperus esculentus starch (CES). Compared to CES, the CES-CEP complexes showed reduced peak viscosity and breakdown value, and improved thermal paste stability of starch. Rheological properties showed that adding CEP reduced the consistency coefficient and pseudoelasticity of the complexes, thus increasing their resistance to shear thinning. FTIR analysis suggested the absence of covalent binding between CES and CEP. SEM showed a more homogeneous and dense gel structure, particularly in the CES-1.0%CEP sample. During in vitro digestion, the content of resistant starch in the complexes increased after CEP was added. Analysis of the interaction forces showed that the CES-CEP complexes had stronger hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. This study offers valuable insights into the potential applications of CEP in starch-based foods.

To study the influence of bond-slip on the numerical simulation of steel reinforced lightweight concrete(SRLC) members, the push-out test and finite element analysis are carried out first, and then the nonlinear finite element simulation of SRLC beams is conducted. The calculated results are compared with the experimental results. Four factors as the concrete protective cover thickness, stirrup ratio, concrete strength and anchorage length of section steel are considered in test. The constitutive relation of interface bonding slip between the section steel and light concrete is introduced in the finite element analysis based on the test results. Finite element analysis of push-out specimens results indicate that the normal stress of the section steel is the same on the same cross section and the stress gradient gradually decreases from the loading end to the free end. Specimens with equivalent restraint coefficient γe less than 0.01 will be subjected to split failure and those specimens with the coefficient γe greater than or equal to 0.01 will be subjected to push-off failure. The bearing capacity and slip value obtained by finite element computation is consistent with experiment results. The stress distribution, crack shape and load-deflection curve are analyzed in numerical simulation of SRLC beams. Influence factors involving shear span ratio and position of section steel are considered．Analysis results show that the mechanical properties of the SRLC beams are similar with that of the steel reinforced normal concrete (SRNC)beams. Diagonal shear failure are gradually transformed into flexural failure with the shear span ratio increasing. Load- deflection curve is obviously divided into three stages. Finite analysis results considering the slip between section steel and concrete agree well with the test results, while the capacity and stiffness without considering the slip are bigger than the experimental values.

Abstract. Background:. Red-cell transfusion is critical for surgery during the peri-operative period; however, the transfusion threshold remains controversial mainly owing to the diversity among patients. The patient's medical status should be evaluated before making a transfusion decision. Herein, we developed an individualized transfusion strategy using the West-China-Liu's Score based on the physiology of oxygen delivery/consumption balance and designed an open-label, multicenter, randomized clinical trial to verify whether it reduced red cell requirement as compared with that associated with restrictive and liberal strategies safely and effectively, providing valid evidence for peri-operative transfusion. Methods:. Patients aged >14 years undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery with estimated blood loss > 1000 mL or 20% blood volume and hemoglobin concentration

Abstract Background Urolithiasis with high prevalence and recurrence rate, has impacts on kidney injury in patients, becomes a socioeconomic and healthcare problem in worldwide. However, the biology of kidney with crystal formation and proximal tubular injury remains essentially unclear. The present study aims to evaluate the cell biology and immune-communications in urolithiasis mediated kidney injury, to provide new insights in the kidney stone treatment and prevention. Results We identified 3 distinct injured-proximal tubular cell types based on the differentially expression injury markers (Havcr1 and lcn2) and functional solute carriers (slc34a3, slc22a8, slc38a3 and slc7a13), and characterized 4 main immune cell types in kidney and one undefined cell population, where F13a1+/high/CD163+/high monocyte & macrophage and Sirpa/Fcgr1a/Fcgr2a+/high granulocyte were the most enriched. We performed intercellular crosstalk analysis based on the snRNA-seq data and explored the potential immunomodulation of calculi stone formation, and founded that the interaction between ligand Gas6 and its receptors (Gas6-Axl, Gas6-Mertk) was specifically observed in the injured-PT1 cells, but not injured-PT2 and -PT3 cells. The interaction of Ptn-Plxnb2 was only observed between the injured-PT3 cells and its receptor enriched cells. Conclusions Present study comprehensively characterized the gene expression profile in the calculi rat kidney at single nucleus level, identified novel marker genes for all cell types of rat kidney, and determined 3 distinct sub-population of injured-PT clusters, as well as intercellular communication between injured-PTs and immune cells. Our collection of data provides a reliable resource and reference for studies on renal cell biology and kidney disease.

Abstract Due to its excellent modularity and scalability, the cascaded H‐bridge solid‐state transformer (CHB SST) is a prominent candidate for interconnecting different grids in future hybrid ac/dc distribution systems. However, the CHB SST's large number of power switches are potential sources of faults that can disrupt the system's normal operation. Among other failure modes, a power switch open‐circuit fault (OCF) in a dual active bridge (DAB) module in the SST can result in overcurrent and previously ignored DAB high‐frequency transformer (HFT) saturation issues. The fault is generally addressed by installing redundant modules or additional devices, which would increase the cost, size, and complexity of the system. Based on the OCF analysis presented in this paper, a fault‐tolerant scheme using dc current injection and phase shift ratio adjustment is proposed to maintain the CHB SST operation with maximum remaining bidirectional power transfer capability of the faulty DAB. The overcurrent and HFT saturation issues are also eliminated. The proposed scheme features less cost and volume as compared with module redundancy methods. Moreover, it does not require modifications in the configuration and implementation of the SST. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme are verified through a 4.8 kVA CHB SST experimental platform.

As a commonly used material in the petrochemical, nuclear and aerospace fields, Inconel 625 has excellent strength and corrosion resistance. The accurate evaluation of material properties with small specimen volume is of great significance to ensure in-service equipment safety. To realize reasonable estimations of tensile strength based on the small punch test, load–displacement and slope–displacement curves of Inconel 625 were discussed in this study. The results prove that the first inflexion point can be used in the yield strength analysis based on the empirical correlation method and plate bend theory. Meanwhile, the lowest point of the elastic and plastic deformation stages in the slope–displacement curves were compared. A new deformation energy method was established to realize yield strength estimations. To analyze the ultimate tensile strength, a small punch deformation feature was discussed based on the geometric deformation model and microstructure analysis. The relationship between stress and displacement was obtained. Fm/dmt0 was proven to be a more appropriate parameter in ultimate tensile strength estimations.

Because large oil-immersed transformers are enclosed by a metal shell, the on-site localization means it is difficult to achieve the accurate location of the patrol micro-robot inside a given transformer. To address this issue, a spatial ultrasonic localization method based on wavelet decomposition and PHAT-β-γ generalized cross correlation is proposed in this paper. The method is carried out with a five-element stereo ultrasonic array for the location of a transformer patrol robot. Firstly, the localization signal is decomposed into wavelet coefficients of different scales, which would realize the adaptive decomposition of the frequency of the localization signal from low frequencies to high frequencies. Then, the wavelet coefficients are denoised and reconstructed by using the semi-soft threshold function. Second, a modified phase transform-beta-gamma (PHAT-β-γ) method is used to calculate the exact time delay between different sensors by increasing the weights of the PHAT weighting function and introducing a correlation function. Finally, by using the proposed method, the accurate localization of the transformer patrol micro-robot is achieved with a five-element stereo ultrasonic array. The simulation and test results show that inside a transformer experimental oil tank (120 cm × 100 cm × 100 cm, L × W × H), the relative error of transformer patrol micro-robot spatial localization is within 4.1%, and the maximum localization error is less than 3 cm, which meets the requirement of engineering localization.

Abstract Numerous studies on short‐term load forecasting (STLF) have used feature extraction methods to increase the model's accuracy by incorporating multidimensional features containing time, weather and distance information. However, less attention has been paid to the input data size and output dimensions in STLF. To address these two issues, an STLF model is proposed based on output dimensions using only load data. First, the load data's long‐term behavior (trend and seasonality) is extracted through the long short‐term memory network (LSTM), followed by convolution to obtain the load data's non‐stationarity. Then, using the self‐attention mechanism (SAM), the crucial input load information is emphasized in the forecasting process. The calculation example shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms LSTM, LSTM‐based SAM, and CNN‐GRU‐based SAM by more than 10% in eight different buildings, demonstrating its suitability for forecasting with only load data. Additionally, compared to earlier research utilizing two well‐known public data sets, the MAPE is optimized by 2.2% and 5%, respectively. Also, the method has good prediction accuracy for a wide variety of time granularities and load aggregation levels, so it can be applied to various load forecasting scenarios and has good reference significance for load forecasting instrumentation.

BackgroundThe optimal local treatment for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm is not well established. This research evaluated the effectiveness of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm.MethodsA total of 1210 HCC patients were enrolled in this study, including 302 and 908 patients that received EBRT and TACE, respectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to identify patient pairs with similar baseline characteristics. Overall survival (OS) was the primary study endpoint.ResultsWe identified 428 patients using 1:1 PSM for survival comparison. Compared with the TACE group, the EBRT group had a significantly longer median OS (mOS) before (14.9 vs. 12.3 months, p = 0.0085) and after (16.8 vs. 11.4 months, p = 0.0026) matching. In the subgroup analysis, compared with the TACE group, the EBRT group had a significantly longer mOS for HCC with tumor diameters of 5-7 cm (34.1 vs. 14.3 months, p = 0.04) and 7-10 cm (34.4 vs. 10 months, p = 0.00065), whereas for HCC with tumor diameters ≥ 10 cm, no significant difference in mOS was observed (11.2 vs. 11.2 months, p = 0.83). In addition, the multivariable Cox analysis showed that Child-A, alkaline phosphatase < 125 U/L, and EBRT were independent prognostic indicators for longer survival.ConclusionEBRT is more effective than TACE as the primary local treatment for HCC with tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm, especially for HCC with tumor diameter of 5-10 cm.

Bread and soup are two of the most important foods in daily life, thus dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration are more and more popular, but there is a lack of relevant low-cost and high-reliable household appliances on the market. Therefore, this paper proposes automatic control methods for dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration based on a special microwave oven. Fermentation theory, run-up microwave fermentation principle, microwave extraction principle, NTC temperature probe design and scalable fuzzy control algorithm are described in detail. Besides, the experimental platform is set up with a temperature chamber, an optical fiber thermometer and a power meter. Experimental results demonstrate that the relationship between the heating time and flour's mass is linear. For different ambient temperature tests, the volume ratios of the fermented dough to unfermented dough of different cases range from 2.2 to 2.62, and the inside of the dough after fermentation is fluffy, with small and dense cavities. Meanwhile, there is no acid taste and skin dryness, and the power consumption of microwave fermentation is less than half of that induced by grill, convection or steam fermentation. The detection error of the NTC temperature probe with microwave shielded is 0.48 °C, and the control error of the closed loop system is less than 0.5 °C. The temperature-rise slope of water is lower than that of ingredient, and the water's temperature is about 1 °C less than that of the ingredient. The soup after microwave elaboration is amber and clear, the ingredients are intact, the water loss is less than 50 g, and the total power consumption is 684 Wh. In short, microwave-based control methods for dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration are effective.

The bipolar low-voltage DC (LVDC) distribution system has become a prospective solution to better integration of renewables and improvement of system efficiency and reliability. However, it also faces the challenge of power and voltage imbalance between two poles. To solve this problem, an interface converter with bipolar asymmetrical operating capabilities is applied in this paper. The steady-state models of the bipolar LVDC distribution system equipped with this interface converter in the grid connected mode and off-grid mode are analyzed. A control scheme based on DC offset injection at the secondary side of the interface converter is proposed, enabling the bipolar LVDC distribution system to realize the unbalanced power transfer between two poles in the grid-connected mode and maintain the inherent pole voltage balance in the off-grid mode. Furthermore, this paper also proposes a primary-side DC offset injection control scheme according to the analysis of the magnetic circuit model, which can eliminate the DC bias flux caused by the secondary-side DC offset. Thereby, the potential core magnetic saturation and overcurrent issues can be prevented, ensuring the safety of the interface converter and distribution system. Detailed simulations based on the proposed control scheme are conducted to validate the function of power and voltage balance under the operation conditions of different DC loads.

The core loss calculation is essential for the design and performance evaluation of high-frequency transformers. It is related to the dimensions, temperature rises performance, and operating efficiency of transformer designs. Some scholars have examined the correlation between the characteristics of the core and losses, such as the core air gap length and the core structure; some investigations have also analyzed the effects of harmonics, distortion flux, and other factors on core losses. However, in reality, the core operating environment of high-frequency transformers is very complex, and achieving the required accuracy of loss model calculations is difficult. This paper discussed the insufficiency of the classical Bertotti loss separation model in estimating core loss under non-sinusoidal excitation of high-frequency transformers. Based on the derivation and modification of the classical loss model, the magnetic performance test platform of the nanocrystalline core material was established. In order to obtain a higher-order correction calculation method for the core loss of high-frequency transformers under trapezoidal wave excitation, the experimentally measured loss curves of nanocrystalline materials were further corrected. Finally, the accuracy of the correction model was verified by changing the loss results by varying the trapezoidal wave rise time constant.

With the continuous development of 5G, big data, the Internet of Things (IOT) and other technologies, the smart park will realize data sharing, information processing and transmission, and finally tend to be smart city. There are some problems such as unclear design dimensions, poor interactivity of subsystems and high expansion costs in the development of smart park. In the face of these problems, an application-oriented comprehensive management platform system of intelligent park is designed. It is built on a digital twin software-defined campus which is scalability and flexibility with wisdom in the cloud and application at the end as the core service concept. The overall system architecture and management platform module composition are introduced in which the software defined network (SDN) technology is used to separate the control plane and data plane and the four dimensions of people, things, affairs and space are digitalization in the smart Park. One application carries a variety of park services such as production, official business handling, property administration and so on to realize the effective application of the underlying network facilities. The project of high-tech information intelligent park of the Chinese Sixth Design and Research Institute of Machinery Industry Company Limited has been implemented. As an engineering case the platform system can provide personalized design for the park and carry out multi-professional and multi-terminal integrated management, application and display so as to improve the intelligent management level and the service experience to create greater economic and social value.

Modern industrial development is accompanied by the increasingly frequent occurrence of accidental release atmospheric dispersion events, causing extremely serious human and property losses and environmental pollution, in which rapid and accurate prediction of atmospheric dispersion is an important task to mitigate the unexpected consequences. In this paper, we take the case of previous years as the starting point, firstly, the occurred hazardous chemical atmospheric dispersion accidents in the past five years are shown, and the related concepts of hazardous chemical atmospheric dispersion are given. Then, the current state of atmospheric dispersion research is reviewed, well-known experiments on atmospheric dispersion of hazardous chemicals are summarized, and correspondingly the existing atmospheric dispersion prediction models are classified into simplified-experience models, mechanism- and rule-driven models and data-driven models. In particular, for the purpose of rapid atmospheric dispersion prediction, some research on atmospheric detection and identification are analyzed in detail. Moreover, the relevant professional software for atmospheric dispersion prediction are introduced, and also their calculation adaptabilities regarding time-consumption and output accuracy are discussed. Thereinafter, according to the shortcomings of existing atmospheric dispersion prediction models in research and application fields, the development trend of atmospheric dispersion prediction research and technology is foreseen, and some feasible future research directions are proposed as follows: (1) the fusion of image processing techniques, the establishment of a database of historical accident scene information and meteorological information, (2) new correction algorithms, and (3) an emergency response system for full-scene atmospheric dispersion prediction.

As a nonlinear control method, the Euler–Lagrange- (EL-) based passivity-based control (PBC) has been studied for grid-tied converters based on energy function to achieve better performance. However, the EL-based PBC method is dependent on an accurate mathematical model. In the traditional EL-based PBC research for LCL-filtered grid-tied inverter, the effect of the digital control delay is rarely considered and the stability under the grid impedance uncertainties is not discussed, especially in the capacitive grid or complex weak grid. To address these concerns, this study proposes a modified EL-based PBC method based on the output admittance reshaping for LCL-filtered grid-tied inverters. The system’ passive region is expanded by adding capacitor current feedback loop up to the Nyquist frequency. The potential resonance is thus eliminated irrespective of the grid impedance. Additionally, the stable region and control parameters design methods of the modified EL-based PBC method with inverter-side control are also carried out. To verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis, both simulation and experimental results are investigated from a 3 kW grid-tied inverter prototype.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare disease with poor prognosis, and surgery remains the only curative treatment option. However, surgery is inappropriate for the majority of patients with CCA. Conversion therapy may provide opportunities for the surgical treatment of these patients. Herein, we describe a patient with intrahepatic CCA who was first treated with albumin-bound paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine in combination with camrelizumab. The patient then successfully underwent surgery and achieved pathological complete remission. This report can serve as a reference for clinicians regarding conversion therapy for intrahepatic CCA.

Abstract Proposed to be the critical enabling component for future distribution networks, solid‐state transformers (SSTs) have drawn much attention lately. They have a massive potential to help reduce size and weight, improve efficiency, integrate microgrids, renewables and energy storages in distribution systems, and can fulfil multiple grid functions such as bidirectional power flow control, fault isolation, system reconfiguration, and post‐fault restoration. The introduction of these power electronics devices in distribution systems, however, also brings new challenges to the grid. Extra levels of electromagnetic interference, stray current, and personnel safety are among the most prominent practical issues that proper grounding arrangements can address. In this paper, considerations that should be factored into the grounding scheme design for SST ports with different voltage forms and levels are thoroughly reviewed and summarised. The characteristics of various grounding schemes used in AC and DC distribution systems are evaluated and compared in detail from different perspectives. Based on the comprehensive review, several combinations of grounding schemes are recommended for typical SSTs. In addition, the inclusion of new relay protection devices in the SST grounding scheme design, considering their characteristics and unique requirements, to enhance protection and reliability is also discussed.

Push-out tests of steel reinforced lightweight concrete(SRLC) were carried out for nine specimens which were designed according to the orthogonal test method considering four influence factors including strength of lightweight aggregate concrete, stirrup ratio, thickness of protective layer and anchorage length. The curves of average bond stress and loading-end slip were drawn, the characteristics of split failure and push-out failure were analyzed, and the characteristic bond strength was obtained. Combined with the test results of other scholars on the ultimate bond strength of steel reinforced concrete(SRC), it is found that the bond strength of SRLC is not worse than that of normal concrete(NC) which can be taken the same as 0.5MPa. Then the obtained bond strength can be used to calculate the shear strength of SRLC elements which may occur two forms of shear failure-diagonal shear failure and shear bond failure, however, shear bond failure is ignored in some specifications. Shear bond failure capacity computational formula of SRLC elements is deduced into which the bond strength is introduced.To verify the reasonability and accuracy of the proposed approach, the shear capacity and failure pattern are predicted by the proposed means with previous test results and are also compared with other provisions. The analyses and calculations indicate that the proposed method can accurately predict the shear failure mode and the calculated shear capacity values are in better agreement with the experimental results.

Perineal hernia after abdominoperineal resection (APR) is a troublesome problem, and severe cases require surgical treatment. However, perineal hernia repair is challenging, especially when combined with intestinal adhesions. The difficulty of the operation lies in performing adhesiolysis and mesh placement under poor visibility. While there are traditional, laparoscopic and even robotic methods of performing this procedure, no easy and minimally-invasive approach has been reported. Here, we report the case of a patient with perineal hernia, who underwent transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) port-assisted laparoscopic perineal hernia repair. The operation was successful, the postoperative recovery was uneventful, the patient’s symptoms improved significantly, and no recurrence was found during the 4-month follow-up. The availability and safety of TaTME port-assisted perineal hernia repair provide a promising approach for hernia repair. Compared with traditional perineal or laparoscopic abdominal approaches, this procedure is less invasive and results in a better field of vision.

BackgroundWhether intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) can enhance the efficacy of the programmed death (PD)-1 inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. Therefore, we conducted this multicenter retrospective study to investigate the efficacy of the combination of PD-1 inhibitors with anti-angiogenic therapy and IMRT.MethodsFrom April 2019 to March 2022, a total of 197 patients with HCC [combination of PD-1 inhibitors with anti-angiogenic therapy and IMRT (triple therapy group), 54; PD-1 inhibitors plus anti-angiogenic therapy (control group), 143] were included in our study. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to identify two groups with similar baselines. The objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) of the two groups were compared before and after matching.ResultsPrior to PSM, the triple therapy group had higher ORR (42.6% vs 24.5%, P = 0.013) and more superior median OS (mOS) (20.1 vs 13.3 months, P = 0.009) and median PFS (mPFS) (8.7 vs 5.4 months, P = 0.001) than the control group. Following PSM, the triple therapy group still exhibited better mPFS (8.7 vs 5.4 months, P = 0.013) and mOS (18.5 vs 12.6 months, P = 0.043) than the control group. However, the ORR of the two groups was similar (40% vs 25%, P = 0.152). No significant difference was observed in the treatment-related adverse events between the two groups (P < 0.05 for all). ConclusionsThe combination of PD-1 inhibitors with anti-angiogenic therapy and IMRT for HCC is a promising regimen.

AimA programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor coupled with radiotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy is a potential therapeutic strategy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to determine if circulating tumor cells (CTCs) positive for programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) could be employed as a predictive biomarker in HCC patients receiving triple therapy.MethodsIn this study, HCC patients received a PD-1 inhibitor in combination with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and antiangiogenic therapy. Following IMRT, the PD-1 inhibitor was administrated once every 3 weeks, while the antiangiogenic drug was given once a day. Treatment was continued until the disease progressed. Two mL of peripheral blood was collected at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after treatment for CTC enrichment using the CytoSorter® system with a CytoSorter™ CTC PD-L1 Kit (Watson Biotech., China).ResultA total of 47 HCC patients receiving the triple therapy were enrolled in this study. Patients with < 2 PD-L1+ CTCs at baseline had a higher objective response rate (ORR) and longer overall survival (OS) than those with ≥ 2 PD-L1+ CTCs (56.5% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.007; not reach vs. 10.8 months, p = 0.001, respectively). The count of PD-L1+ CTCs was found to be an independent predictive biomarker of OS. Furthermore, the objective response was more likely to be achieved in patients with a dynamic decrease in PD-L1+ CTC counts at 1 month after treatment.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that PD-L1+ CTCs could be a predictive biomarker for HCC patients receiving PD-1 inhibitors in combination with IMRT and antiangiogenic therapy.

Background and PurposeCurrently, there is no optimal dose recommendation for a 120-h continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil via arterial cannulation for advanced T-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MDT), along with the efficacy, late adverse events, and 10-year survival outcome of 5-fluorouracil administered continuously for 120 h combined with cisplatin via the superficial temporal artery in patients with advanced T-stage NPC.Materials and MethodsFifty-one patients with histologically confirmed advanced T-stage NPC were eligible for inclusion in this clinical trial. The patients received induction chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (20 mg/m2/d for 1–5 d) and 5-fluorouracil, administered continuously for 120 h at different dose gradients via a superficial temporal artery. To identify the MTD of 5-fluorouracil infused arterially, we employed a 3 + 3 design during study phase I. The initial dose administered was 200 mg/m2/d, which then was gradually escalated by 50 mg/m2/d until the MTD was reached. Following two cycles of induction chemotherapy, current radical chemoradiotherapy commenced. We assessed the efficacy, survival, toxicity, and quality of life of patients following treatment.ResultsThe overall response (complete response + partial response) rates following induction chemotherapy in the primary mass and lymph nodes were 100% and 100%, respectively. All 51 (100%) patients achieved T-category down-staging after intra-arterial chemotherapy. The MTD was 450 mg/m2/d for 120 h. No late neurological toxicities, such as brain stem injury, temporal lobe necrosis, and spinal cord injury, were observed. The 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 78.0% and 71.7%, respectively, with a median OS of 131 months.ConclusionContinuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil combined with cisplatin via the superficial temporal artery showed promising survival benefits and few toxicities in patients with advanced T-stage NPC.

Abstract In this study, a design of a medium‐voltage current source inverter (CSI) and a conventional voltage source inverter (VSI) is presented for high‐power (1 MW) photovoltaic (PV) applications. The characteristics of a new 1700 V/1600 A reverse‐blocking insulated‐gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) in the CSI are compared with the same generation of IGBT device in the VSI. The passive components design, including ac‐ and dc‐side filters, are developed based on a given design procedure. Power loss analysis is demonstrated to compare the CSI efficiency with the VSI's in the specified power range. Simulation and experimental results for the operation and control of the CSI in grid‐connected PV application in the central power range show the effectiveness of the proposed CSI and the possibility of applying it as a viable topological candidate.

The fan is one of the key components of the power transformer cooling system. The operating condition of fans determines transformers’ internal temperature rise and long-term reliability. However, at present, the fans’ condition monitoring only includes switch status (online) and regular maintenance (offline), online direct monitoring of the fans’ operating condition is lacking due to economic costs. In view of the above-mentioned problem, this paper proposes a transformer fan early fault detection method based on the oil exponent, which is monitored by the existing transformer top-oil temperature data, thereby detecting the abnormality of the fans. In this method, the oil exponent was chosen as the characteristic criterion. First, to obtain the range of oil exponent in different cooling modes, a set of physical models describing global oil flow and its interaction with air was established based on fluid dynamics and heat transfer principle. Then, regarding the constantly changing top-oil temperature, ambient temperature and load current, an oil exponent tracking algorithm using particle swarm optimization (PSO) was proposed within an improved IEC dynamic thermal model. The operation data from an oil-immersed transformer with a rated capacity of 120-MVA and rated voltage of 220-kV was selected to verify the above methods under two different scenarios.

Severe leakages of the elbow occur in the regeneration tower return pipeline of the LPG desulfurization unit, leading to the unplanned shutdown of the unit frequently over the period of four months. It is forced to apply additional steel plates to prevent the leakage. Elusively, it is found that the first wall contact with the fluid is fully eroded away in the vicinity of the bend, however, the walls of additional steel plates are intact. The clarification of this problem is required to ensure safe production. This strange phenomenon can be investigated by failure analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The failure analysis showed that the gas–liquid two-phase erosion–corrosion was the main cause of elbow leakage. The simulation shows that droplet erosion plays a dominant role in the erosion–corrosion process, and the elbow will leak in 4.3 months, which matches the actual situation very well. Furthermore, multiphase erosion–corrosion behavior was thoroughly investigated to expose the feature of the mentioned strange phenomenon. It was shown that when the corrosion holes are formed, the gas forms a fluid vortex in the holes. The vortex acts as flexible substrates, which plays a buffer layer to the droplet erosion, thus protecting the additional steel plate. The formation of the holes provides an effective way for elbow failure prevention.

Abstract In this paper, we prove that the existence of global attractors for a Kirchhoff wave equation with nonlinear damping and memory.

Abstract This paper is concerned with the asymptotic behavior of solutions to a non-autonomous stochastic wave equation with additive white noise, for which the nonlinear damping has a critical cubic growth rate. By showing the pullback asymptotic compactness of the stochastic dynamic systems, we prove the existence of a random attractor in H 0 1 × L 2 $H_{0}^{1}\times L^{2}$ .

Crepis desertorum from the Junggar Basin of northern Xinjiang, northwestern China, is described as a new species. Molecular studies indicate that the species is closely related to Crepis frigida. Morphological studies indicate that it is similar to Crepis sancta subsp. bifida but differs from the latter taxon in having glandular hairs on the stem, a flat receptacle and dimorphic achenes. Chromosome features and pollen and achene ultrastructure also are described for the new species. Keywords: Karyotype, Micro-morphology, Pericarp, Pollen, Taxonomy

The nanoscale size and controllable memristance of Memristor (MR) have shown evident superiorities for structuring new integrated circuits with different functions. With regards to the reported MR based filters, their cut-off frequencies could be hardly hot-line controlled on purposes. In this paper, by using the boundary values of memristance, a method for hot-line adjusting cut-off frequencies is newly proposed by inputting a preset DC voltage together with the to-be-filtered signal, without the requirement of extra memristance write circuits, which is hence beneficial for integrated implementation. The floating MR emulator is firstly presented and the saturation operation of its memristance is interpreted. A family of MR based low-pass filters with controllable cut-off frequency are proposed by combining the connection nodes of a memristive circuit network Z with the op amp. Two circuits of the low-pass filter family are chosen for demonstration, and the cut-off frequency and passband gain are calculated. Square and sinusoidal voltage signals are used to test the performance of the proposed low-pass filter family. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the proposed filters can achieve cut-off frequency adjustment with good filtering performance.

Code review as a typical type of user feedback has recently drawn increasing attentions for improving code quality. To carry out research on code review, sufficient review data is normally required. As a result, recent efforts commonly focus on analysis for projects with sufficient reviews (called “s-projects”), rather than projects with extremely few ones (called “f-projects”). Actually, through statistics on public platforms, the latter ones dominate open source software, in which novel approaches should be explored to improve their review-based code improvement. In this paper, we try to address the problem via building a review sharing channel where the informative review can be reasonably delivered from s-projects to the f-projects. To ensure the accuracy of shared reviews, we introduce a novel code clone detection model based on Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and build suitable “s-projects, f-projects” pairs through the clone detection. Especially, to alleviate the dataset heterogeneity between the training and testing, an autoencoder-based semi-supervised learning strategy is employed. Furthermore, to improve the sharing experience, heuristic filtering tactics are applied to reduce the time cost. Meanwhile, the LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation)-based ranking algorithm is used for presenting diverse review themes. We have implemented the sharing channel as a prototype system RSharer+, which contains three representative modules: data preprocessing, code clone detection and review presentation. The collected datasets are first transformed into context-sensitive numerical vectors in the data proprecessing. Then in the clone detection, data vectors are trained and tested on the BigCloneBench and real code-review pairs. At last, the presentation module provides review classification and theme extraction for better sharing experience. Extensive comparative experiments on hundreds of real labelled code fragments demonstrate the precision of clone detection and the effectiveness of review sharing.

Myripnois is a monotypic shrub genus in the daisy family constricted to northern China. Although wild populations of Myripnois dioica are relatively rare, this plant may potentially be cultured as a fine ornamental. In the present study, we sequenced the complete plastome of M. dioica, generating the first plastome sequences of the subfamily Pertyoideae. The plastome of M. dioica has a typical quadripartite circular structure. A large ∼20-kb and a small ∼3-kb inversion were detected in the large single copy (LSC) region and shared by other Asteraceae species. Plastome phylogenomic analyses based on 78 Asteraceae species and three outgroups revealed four groups, corresponding to four Asteraceae subfamilies: Asteroideae, Cichorioideae, Pertyoideae and Carduoideae. Among these four subfamilies, Pertyoideae is sister to Asteroideae + Cichorioideae; Carduoideae is the most basal clade. In addition, we characterized 13 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that may be useful in future studies on population genetics. Keywords: Myripnois, Asteraceae, Plastomes, Large inversion, Phylogenomic analyses

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been known to partake in the development and the immune escape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The initial microarray analysis of GSE115018 expression profile revealed differentially expressed lncRNA fetal-lethal non-coding developmental regulatory RNA (FENDRR) in HCC. Therefore, this study’s main purpose was to explore the mechanism of tumor suppressor lncRNA FENDRR in regulating the immune escape of HCC cells. Notably, it was further validated through this study that lncRNA FENDRR competitively bound to microRNA-423-5p (miR-423-5p), and miR-423-5p specifically targeted growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible beta protein (GADD45B). The effects that lncRNA FENDRR and miR-423-5p have on the cell proliferation and apoptosis, the immune capacity of regulatory T cells (Tregs), and the tumorigenicity of HCC cells were examined through overexpressing or the knocking down of lncRNA FENDRR and miR-423-5p both in vitro and in vivo. Subsequently, lncRNA FENDRR and GADD45B were revealed to have poor expressions in HCC. Meanwhile, miR-423-5p was highly expressed in HCC. Importantly, overexpressed lncRNA FENDRR and downregulated miR-423-5p diminished cell proliferation and tumorigenicity, and promoted apoptosis in HCC cells, thus regulating the immune escape of HCC mediated by Tregs. Taken conjointly, lncRNA FENDRR inhibited the Treg-mediated immune escape of HCC cells by upregulating GADD45B by sponging miR-423-5p. Keywords: long non-coding FENDRR, microRNA-423-5p, GADD45B, hepatocellular carcinoma, immune escape

Hypoxia is a serious issue that affects the marine environment, with a growing number of hypoxic “dead zones” occurring each year. Reports have indicated that hypoxia is detrimental to the reproductive function and sexual development of fish via the disruption of endocrine signaling in organs involved in the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonad axis, including the brain. While we previously reported that hypoxia induces transcriptome-wide alterations in the brain of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma), whether these effects were reflected at the protein level remains unclear. Therefore, the present study used high-throughput proteomic sequencing along with bioinformatics analysis to assess the short-term and multi-generational effects of hypoxia on the brain proteome of O. melastigma. We identified 36,567 peptides and 7,599 proteins (1% false discovery rate in brain samples), with functions involved in cellular and metabolic processes such as signaling and reproductive processes as well as energy production and conversion. Furthermore, we determined that hypoxia resulted in the significant differential expressions of 33 upregulated and 69 downregulated proteins in the short-term exposure group and 24 upregulated and 52 downregulated proteins in the multi-generational exposure group. Pathway enrichment analysis of the deregulated proteins indicated that hypoxia could impair brain function by altering arachidonic acid metabolism, tight junctions, and adrenergic signaling under short-term hypoxic exposure and by altering p53 and PI3K–Akt signaling under multi-generational hypoxic exposure, which may lead to the onset of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ingenuity pathway analysis of the deregulated proteins showed that hypoxia affected common signaling pathways in the brain (e.g., integrin, paxillin, and epithelial adherens junction signaling) under both short-term and multi-generational exposures. Hypoxia also deregulated pathways specific to short-term exposure (including integrin-linked kinase, calcium, and integrin signaling) and multi-generational exposure (including sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling, endocannabinoid neuronal synapse pathway, and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway). Overall, our results provide additional insights into the mechanisms of hypoxia disrupting neuronal function at the protein level in marine medaka.

Membrane fouling severely hinders the sustainable development of membrane separation technology. Membrane wetting property is one of the most important factors dominating the development of membrane fouling. Theoretically, a hydrophilic membrane is expected to be more resistant to fouling during filtration, while a hydrophobic membrane with low surface energy is more advantageous during membrane cleaning. However, conventional membrane materials do not possess the capability to change their wettability on demand. In this study, a stainless steel mesh–sulfosuccinate-doped polypyrrole composite membrane (SSM/PPY(AOT)) was prepared. By applying a negative or positive potential, the surface wettability of the membrane can be switched between hydrophilic and relatively hydrophobic states. Systematic characterizations and a series of filtration experiments were carried out. In the reduction state, the sulfonic acid groups of AOT were more exposed to the membrane surface, rendering the surface more hydrophilic. The fouling filtration experiments verified that the membrane is more resistant to fouling in the hydrophilic state during filtration and easier to clean in the hydrophobic state during membrane cleaning. Furthermore, Ca2+ and Mg2+ could complex with foulants, aggravating membrane fouling. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of wettability switching in membrane filtration and suggests promising applications of the SSM/PPY(AOT) membrane.

Pollination success is essential for hybrid oilseed rape (OSR, Brassica napus) seed production, and the pollination method has some influences on the OSR plant growth traits. In order to explore the roles of different pollination methods, four pollination methods of “unmanned agricultural aerial system” (UAAS), “natural wind + UAAS” (NW+UAAS), “honeybee” (HB), and “no pollinators” (NP) were set in a hybrid OSR field to investigate their effects on OSR plant traits and rapeseed yields in this study. The control check (CK) area with natural wind (NW) pollination was set as a reference for comparison. The experiments were conducted continuously for 20 days during the OSR plant early to full-bloom stage. The results based on the evaluated OSR plants showed that the growth traits and the rapeseed yields exhibited some differences under different pollination methods. The average plant height under NP pollination was maximum, which was 231.52 cm, while the average plant heights under the other pollination methods exhibited nearly no difference. Except for the HB pollination, the average first-branch heights of the evaluated plants all exceeded 100 cm under the other pollination methods. The average once branch quantity of all the evaluated plants under different pollination methods was 5–7. The average number of effective siliques per plant varied greatly. The average quantity of effective siliques in each OSR plant was about 160 under UAAS, NW+UAAS, and NW pollination, about 100 under HB pollination, and only 2.12 under NP pollination. The thousand-rapeseed weight was 7.32 g under HB pollination, which was the highest of all of the pollination areas. In terms of rapeseed yield, the average rapeseed yields per plant were all more than 10 g, except for the one under NP pollination; the yield per hectare was highest under NW+UAAS pollination, reaching 4741.28 kg, and the yield under NP pollination was lowest, which was only 360.39 kg. The research results provide technical support for supplementary pollination in hybrid OSR seed production.

This study introduces the second-hand market into the famous ski-rental model, presents an online rental problem of durable equipment with a transaction cost, and designs an optimal deterministic competitive strategy. The traditional competitive analysis is based on the worst-case scenario; hence, its results are too conservative. Even though investors want to manage and control their risks in reality, in some cases, they are willing to undertake higher risk to obtain greater benefits. Considering this situation, this study designs a risk strategy combining the decision makers’ risk tolerance with certain and probabilistic forecasts. Numerical analysis shows that the proposed risk strategy can improve the competitive ratio. This study introduces the idea of risk compensation into traditional competitive analysis and designs strategies for online rental of durable equipment based on forecast. The decision maker selects a strategy according to risk tolerance and forecast. If the forecast is correct, then a reward is obtained; otherwise, the risk is guaranteed to be within the decision maker’s risk tolerance. The optimal restricted ratio, that is, the competitive ratio of a risk strategy, is less than the optimal competitive ratio of a deterministic strategy. Therefore, the performance of the proposed risk strategy is better than a deterministic strategy. At the same time, the risk strategy based on the probabilistic forecast represents an extension of the strategy based on a certain forecast. In other words, the risk strategy based on a certain forecast is a special case of the risk strategy based on the probabilistic forecast.

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common tumors in the worldwide, it develops resistance to radiotherapy during treatment, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of radioresistance generation is the urgent need for HCC therapy. Methods qRT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to examine MCM3 expression. MTT assay, colony formation assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling assay and In vivo xenograft assay were used to determine the effect of MCM3 on radioresistance. Gene set enrichment analysis, luciferase reporter assay, western blot and qRT-PCR were used to examine the effect of MCM3 on NF-κB pathway. Results We found DNA replication initiation protein Minichromosome Maintenance 3 (MCM3) was upregulated in HCC tissues and cells, patients with high MCM3 expression had poor outcome, it was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. Cells with high MCM3 expression or MCM3 overexpression increased the radioresistance determined by MTT assay, colony formation assay, TUNEL assay and orthotopic transplantation mouse model, while cells with low MCM3 expression or MCM3 knockdown reduced the radioresistance. Mechanism analysis showed MCM3 activated NF-κB pathway, characterized by increasing the nuclear translocation of p65, the expression of the downstream genes NF-κB pathway and the phosphorylation of IKK-β and IκBα. Inhibition of NF-κB in MCM3 overexpressing cells using small molecular inhibitor reduced the radioresistance, suggesting MCM3 increased radioresistance through activating NF-κB pathway. Moreover, we found MCM3 expression positively correlated with NF-κB pathway in clinic. Conclusions Our findings revealed that MCM3 promoted radioresistance through activating NF-κB pathway, strengthening the role of MCM subunits in the tumor progression and providing a new target for HCC therapy.

An isolated modular multilevel dc-dc converter (IMMDCC) consisting of two modular multilevel converters (MMCs) coupled via a medium-frequency transformer is competitive for medium- and high-voltage applications because of its high modularity and high-voltage handling capability. Employing the quasi square-wave modulation (QSM) scheme for MMCs of the converter can increase the dc-link voltage utilization ratio and realize soft-switching operation, compared with sinusoidal wave modulation methods. However, the accurate reactive power control at the ac side of the IMMDCC can hardly be achieved under the QSM mode. The ac-side reactive power and current stress increase considerably when the conversion ratio deviates from the transformer turn ratio. In order to address this issue, this paper presents an arm voltage decoupling control scheme for the IMMDCC by introducing a virtual buck/boost conversion stage between the dc-side voltage and the transformer voltage. The transformer primary and secondary voltages are kept matched to suppress the reactive power when the dc-side voltage varies. The theoretical analysis shows that the proposed control enhances the power transfer capability and reduces the ac-side current stress of the IMMDCC. In addition, submodule voltages are maintained even when the dc voltages exceed the designed value under the conventional control scheme, which implies that the voltage range of the converter is expanded. The simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed modulation and control strategy.

With the increasing penetration of wind power, the effective inertia of the power system reduces. Besides, a series of interactive instability issues including sub-synchronous oscillations and harmonic oscillations were reported due to the weak grid effects. Broadly speaking, those issues are closely related to the PLL and its tuning. Therefore, recent literature make efforts to avoid using the PLL for converter control, e.g., the virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control. However, the VSG control usually employs multiple loops, where a fast switching frequency of the converter is required to decouple each loop's dynamic. This prerequisite is usually not met for wind power converters with high capacity and low switching frequency. To address these issues but also inherit the merits of a VSG on the grid-integration, this paper employs a new concept of PLL-less control and applies it to the Type-IV wind turbine, in which the grid-synchronization is realized by the dynamics of dc capacitor voltage. The virtual capacitor control is designed and added to the machine-side converter to eventually deliver adequate inertia to the grid. To justify the effectiveness of the proposed control, both the soft start-up validation and the thorough analysis of the overall small-signal stability are presented. Several concerns of vital importance regarding the virtual capacitor design and stabilization control are discussed, where the mechanism of stability is revealed through the complex-power coefficient-based analysis. On this basis, a stabilization control method is proposed, which can enlarge the stable range of virtual capacitor coefficient and enhance the inertial response effect. Finally, the performance of the proposed method on the inertial response and the weak grid operation is evaluated by time domain simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC, which is proven effective overall.

In this paper, Au–Ag alloy hollow nanochains (HNCs) were successfully prepared by a template-free self-assembly method achieved by partial substitution of ligands. The obtained Au–Ag alloy HNCs exhibit stronger enhancement as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates than Au–Ag alloy hollow nanoparticles (HNPs) and Au nanochains substrates with an intensity ratio of about 1.3:1:1. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations show that the SERS enhancement of Au–Ag alloy HNCs substrates is produced by a synergistic effect between the plasmon hybridization effect associated with the unique alloy hollow structure and the strong “hot spot” in the interstitial regions of the nanochains.

By observing the processes of infiltration, flow generation, water flow characteristics and the spatial distribution of erosion in a designed rainfall test, and analyzing the infiltration, flow generation characteristics, water content change characteristics, soil moisture parameters change characteristics, and changes in the spatial patterns of erosion and sediment yield, this study draws the following conclusions: under different rainfall densities, the initial runoff generation time of sand-covered slope is 1~12 min longer than that of loess slope, the initial soil infiltration velocity of sediment-covered slope is about 1.23 times that of loess slope, and the time to reach stable infiltration of loess slope is shorter than that of sediment-covered slope. Under different rainfall densities, the rising time of the water content curve of sand-covered slope is earlier than that of loess slope. For the same duration of rainfall, the vertical infiltration performance of soil water of sand-covered slope is higher than that of loess slope, and when the rainfall density on the slope increases by 0.5 mm/min, the increase in runoff shear stress of the sediment-covered slope is about 1.5 times that of the loess slope, and the runoff power is about 1.13 times that of the loess slope.

To date, many experiments have revealed that the functional balance between hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) plays a crucial role in viral mobility, production, and transmission. However, whether and how HA and NA maintain balance at the sequence level needs further investigation. Here, we applied principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis on thousands of HA and NA sequences of A/H1N1 and A/H3N2. We discovered significant coevolution between HA and NA at the sequence level, which is closely related to the type of host species and virus epidemic years. Furthermore, we propose a sequence-to-sequence transformer model (S2STM), which mainly consists of an encoder and a decoder that adopts a multi-head attention mechanism for establishing the mapping relationship between HA and NA sequences. The training results reveal that the S2STM can effectively realize the “translation” from HA to NA or vice versa, thereby building a relationship network between them. Our work combines unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods to identify the sequence matching between HA and NA, which will advance our understanding of IAVs’ evolution and also provide a novel idea for sequence analysis methods.

Objective: The Pain Rating index (PRi) is a new parameter for regulating analgesic depth of anesthesia based on wavelet analysis. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of PRi for depth regulation of sevoflurane anesthesia. Methods: We conducted a monocentric randomized controlled study from September 2017 to June 2018 in patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) (n=44). Patients were randomly allocated into two groups and assigned 22 cases to each group: systolic blood pressure group (SBP group) and pain rating index group (PRi group). In SBP group, sevoflurane inhalation concentration (Cs) was adjusted to maintain SBP values at baseline values -20%?+20%; in PRi group, Cs was adjusted to maintain PRi values between 50 and 70. The primary endpoint was anesthesia recovery time. Secondary endpoints included extubation time, sevoflurane consumption, number of intraoperative hemodynamic instability events /interventions, number of adverse events and postoperative visual analogue scale for pain. Results: Patient demographic characteristics, surgical time and anesthesia time did not differ between groups. Anesthesia recovery time was shorter in PRi group than in SBP group (17.5±3.8min vs 21.5±2.8 min; P=0.001). Extubation time was also shorter in PRi group than in SBP group (21.9±1.7min vs 24.1±2.5min; P=0.001). Sevoflurane consumption was lower in PRi group than in SBP group (15.5±4.1ml vs 20.0±2.5ml; P=0.001). Conclusions: PRi was feasible to regulate depth of sevoflurane anesthesia, which could shorten anesthesia recovery time and extubation time, reduce sevoflurane consumption during general anesthesia in patients undergoing cervical vertebra surgery. Continuous...

The corrosion failure of the high-pressure heat exchanger in a petrochemical enterprise was simulated. A multiphase flow and heat and mass transfer simulation shows that the vortex core with a higher gas phase content and lower temperature is the region of easy crystallization, located on both sides of the center of the tube. The crystallization process occurs in the gas phase. As the reaction progresses, the crystallization range spreads from the tube wall to the center of the tube bundle, and the inner diameter of the tube bundle decreases continuously. In Fluent, a user-defined function, based on the ammonium chloride crystallization reaction, is loaded. The results show that crystallization first occurs in the tube bundles on both sides of the center of the tube and that the corrosion is aggravated by the erosion wall surface of crystal particles at the elbow, which is consistent with the actual corrosion failure location.

In order to study the influence of tooth surface friction on the non-linear bifurcation characteristics of multi-clearance gear drive system, a 6 degree-of-freedom bending torsional coupled vibration model was established. The time-varying mesh stiffness, backlash, support clearance and damping were considered comprehensively in this non-linear vibration model. Loaded tooth contact analysis was used to calculate the time-varying mesh stiffness. Based on the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication, the time-varying friction coefficient was calculated. Runge–Kutta numerical method was used to solve the dimensionless dynamic differential equation. Using phase diagram, Poincaré diagram, time history diagram, and spectrum diagram, the influence of tooth surface friction on bifurcation characteristics was studied. The results show that the system undergoes a change from 1-periodic motion, multi-periodic motion, to chaotic motion through bifurcation and catastrophe when the speed changes independently. When the friction coefficient of tooth surface changes from 0, 0.05 to 0.09, the chaotic motion of the system is suppressed. Similarly, with the increase in tooth friction, the chaotic motion characteristics are suppressed. Tooth surface friction is the main factor affecting chaotic motion. With the increase in friction coefficient of tooth surface, the chaos characteristic does not change obviously and the vibration amplitude decreases slightly.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis has adverse health effects on human body. Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment uses a variety of antibiotics typically for more than 20 months, which may induce gut microbiota dysbiosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the long-term effects of MDR-TB treatment on human gut microbiota and its related health consequences. A total of 76 participants were recruited at a hospital in Linyi, China. The study included one active MDR-TB treatment group, one recovered group from MDR-TB and two treatment-naive tuberculosis groups as control. The two treatment-naïve tuberculosis groups were constructed to match the sex and the age of the active MDR-TB treatment and the recovered group, respectively. The fecal and blood samples were collected and analyzed for gut microbiota and metabolic parameters. An altered gut microbiota community and a loss of richness were observed during the MDR-TB treatment. Strikingly, 3–8 years after recovery and discontinuing the treatment, the gut microbiota still exhibited an altered taxonomic composition (p = 0.001) and a 16% decrease in richness (p = 0.018) compared to the gut microbiota before the treatment. The abundance of fifty-eight bacterial genera was significantly changed in the MDR-TB recovered group versus the untreated control group. Although there were persistent and pervasive gut microbiota alterations, no gastrointestinal symptom such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, flatulence, and constipation was observed in the recovered group. However, chronic disorders may be indicated by the elevated level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) (p = 0.034) and total cholesterol (TC) (p = 0.017). These adverse lipid changes were associated with the altered gut bacterial taxa, including phylum Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobia and genera Adlercreutzia, Akkermansia, Butyricicoccus, Coprococcus, Clostridioides, Eubacterium, Erysipelatoclostridium, Fusicatenibacter, Klebsiella, Psychrobacter, and Streptococcus. Collectively, MDR-TB treatment induced a lasting gut microbiota dysbiosis, which was associated with unfavorable changes in lipid profile.

Membrane fouling can be efficiently mitigated by the vibration of the piezoelectric membrane stimulated by AC signals, but it is still a challenge to fabricate piezoelectric membranes with great efficiency, low energy-consumption, and no harm to the environment during its preparation. The present work provides a new approach to poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes with piezoelectric properties by directly poling β-phase PVDF membranes using green diluents, which revealed better piezoelectric properties than poling α-phase PVDF membranes. Basically, absolute β-phase crystals of PVDF membranes were induced over thermally induced phase separation with the addition of Acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC)/ionic liquid ([BMIM]PF6), which are regarded as green and environment-friendly diluents. To endow the piezoelectric property to the β-phase PVDF membrane, a poling process was necessarily conducted. The effect of the poling process on the membrane structure, morphologies, properties, and performances was investigated. Meanwhile, a vibration test for both of the poled and unpoled membranes was performed in an excitation of the alternating signal. The results demonstrated that the poling process positively endowed the piezoelectric property to the PVDF membranes. The membrane structure, morphologies, and performances of the membranes were also changed to some extent by the poling process. Additionally, filtrations of the poled membrane both with and without electrical signals were carried out to test their antifouling performance on the CaCO3 suspension system and BSA solution, respectively. It was observed that the stable flux of the membranes notably improved when subjected to an electrical AC signal. Thus, it depicted that the piezoelectric PVDF membrane directly poled from the β-phase possesses a promising antifouling performance due to its high piezoelectric vibration.