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The distribution of forest-dominant tree species is crucial for ecosystem assessment. Remote sensing monitoring requires annual ground sample data, but consistent field surveys are challenging. This study addresses this by combining sample migration learning and machine learning for multi-year tree species classification in the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China. Using the continuous change detection and classification (CCDC) algorithm, sample data from 2023 were successfully migrated to 2018–2022, achieving high migration accuracy (R2 = 0.8303, RMSE = 4.64). Based on migrated samples, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) algorithms classified forest tree species with overall accuracies above 70% and Kappa coefficients above 0.6. XGB. They outperformed other algorithms, with classification accuracy of over 80% and Kappa above 0.75 in almost all years. The final map indicates stable distribution from 2018 to 2023, with eucalyptus covering over 40% of the forest area, followed by horsetail pine, fir, cypress, and wetland pine.

Interface bonding conditions between concrete and steel materials play key roles in ensuring the composite effect and load-carrying capacity of concrete–steel composite structures such as concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) members in practice. A method using both surface wave and electromechanical impedance (EMI) measurement for detecting the existence and the location of inaccessible interface debonding defects between the concrete core and steel tube in CFST members using piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patches as actuators and sensors is proposed. A rectangular CFST specimen with two artificially mimicked interface debonding defects was experimentally verified using PZT patches as the actuator and sensor. By comparing the surface wave measurement of PZT sensors at different surface wave travelling paths under both a continuous sinusoidal signal and a 10-period sinusoidal windowed signal, three potential interface debonding defects are quickly identified. Furthermore, the accurate locations of the three detected potential interface debonding defects are determined with the help of EMI measurements from a number of additional PZT sensors around the three potential interface debonding defects. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed interface debonding detection method is verified with a destructive observation by removing the local steel tube at the three detected interface debonding locations. The observation results show that the three detected interface debonding defects are two mimicked interface debonding defects, and an unexpected debonding defect occurred spontaneously due to concrete shrinkage in the past one and a half years before conducting the test. Results in this study indicate that the proposed method can be an efficient and accurate approach for the detection of unknown interface debonding defects in existing CFST members.

Ionospheres over sea areas have an inevitable impact on maritime–satellite communications; however, due to geographic constraints, ionospheric observation and analysis over sea areas are far from adequate. In our paper, slant total electron content (STEC) along small-satellite constellation–automatic identification system (AIS) signal rays is used for computerized ionospheric tomography (CIT) over sea areas, and small-satellite constellations can provide more effective signal rays than a single satellite. An adjustment factor δ is introduced to optimize the initial electron density for the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART). The CIT results reconstructed by a traditional MART and our new method at 00:00 and 06:00, 15 March 2022, are compared, and our new method produces about a 15% and over 40% improvement in average deviation (AD) and root-mean-square error (RMSE). The results show that the bigger the difference between δ and 1, the better improvement will be in the 3D CIT process. The initial electron density is well selected during CIT when δ is approximate to 1, which is the case at 12:00, and the reconstructed 3D electron density, applying the initial ne and the adjusted initial ne, are both close to the true electron density. The small-satellite constellation–AIS signals are valuable resources for electron density reconstruction in sea areas.

As a renewable, environmentally friendly, natural, and organic material, wood has been receiving extensive attention from various industries. However, the hydrophilicity of wood significantly impacts the stability and durability of its products, which can be effectively addressed by constructing superhydrophobic coatings on the surface of wood. In this study, tung oil, carnauba wax, and silica nanoparticles were used to construct superhydrophobic coatings on hydrophilic wood surfaces by a facile two-step dip-coating method. The surface wettability and morphology of the coatings were analyzed by a contact angle meter and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The results suggest that the coating has a micron–nanosized two-tiered structure, and the contact angle of the coating is higher than 150° and the roll-off angle is lower than 10°. Sandpaper abrasion tests and UV diffuse reflectance spectra indicate that the coatings have excellent abrasion resistance and good transparency. In addition, the coated wood shows excellent self-cleaning and water resistance, which have great potential for applications in industry and furniture manufacturing.

Doping inorganic acid ions represents a promising pathway to improving the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, and oxygen vacancy has been regarded as the determinant factor for photocatalytic activity. A series of samples doped with Cl−, NO3−, and SO42− was prepared via a simple sol–gel method. Two different oxygen vacancies in the crystal layer of NO3−/TiO2 and Cl−/TiO2 were found, and those are [Ti3+]-V0-[Ti3+] and [Ti3+]-Cl, respectively. The photocurrent of NO3−/TiO2 with [Ti3+]-V0-[Ti3+] is significantly greater than that of Cl−/TiO2 with [Ti3+]-Cl. The least oxygen vacancy is in the gel layer of SO42−/TiO2, and the negligible photocurrent is due to difficulty in forming a stable sol. Furthermore, the process conditions for the application of TiO2 were investigated in this work. The optimal process parameters are to adjust the solution to pH = 3 during sol–gel preparation, to adopt 550 °C as the calcination temperature, and to use an alkaline electrolyte, while the rest of the preparation conditions remain unchanged. This work reveals a new avenue for designing efficient photocatalysts for air pollutant degradation.

Flexible conductive films are a key component of strain sensors, and their performance directly affects the overall quality of the sensor. However, existing flexible conductive films struggle to maintain high conductivity while simultaneously ensuring excellent flexibility, hydrophobicity, and corrosion resistance, thereby limiting their use in harsh environments. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to fabricate flexible conductive films via centrifugal spinning to generate thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiber substrates by employing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as conductive fillers. These fillers are anchored to the nanofibers through ultrasonic dispersion and impregnation techniques and subsequently modified with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This study focuses on the effect of different ratios of CNTs to CNFs on the film properties. Research demonstrated that at a 1:1 ratio of CNTs to CNFs, with TPU at a 20% concentration and PDMS solution at 2 wt%, the conductive films crafted from these blended fillers exhibited outstanding performance, characterized by electrical conductivity (31.4 S/m), elongation at break (217.5%), and tensile cycling stability (800 cycles at 20% strain). Furthermore, the nanofiber-based conductive films were tested by attaching them to various human body parts. The tests demonstrated that these films effectively respond to motion changes at the wrist, elbow joints, and chest cavity, underscoring their potential as core components in strain sensors.

During the excavation of tunnels in mountainous areas, groundwater may be lost, which affects the surface plants and ecology. In this article, taking Hengwu Tunnel in China as an example, based on the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum (SPAC) model, the relevant parameters were obtained by field test first, and then from the perspective of soil water matrix potential (SWMP) and soil water migration (SWM), the effect of groundwater level decline induced by mountain tunnel excavation on plant growth was studied, and the calculation method of ecological water level was put forward. The results show the following: (1) The wilting of plant roots is a dynamic process of gradual expansion from the middle of the root to both ends, and the response of SWMP in the root region to changes in atmosphere and groundwater level is lagging and non-uniform; (2) SWMP can be used to predict the degree of wilting of plant roots, while the final distribution and value of SWMP are only related to the position of the groundwater level, but not related to the decline rate of the groundwater level; (3) groundwater level and rainfall (P) will affect the value and proportion of each flux in the SPAC model, in which the relative transpiration ratio can be used to evaluate the growth of the plant and calculate the ecological water level of the plant.

BackgroundBabesia is a unique apicomplexan parasite that specifically invades and proliferates in red blood cells and can be transmitted via blood transfusion, resulting in transfusion-transmitted babesiosis. However, detecting Babesia in blood before transfusion has not received enough attention, and the risk of transfusing blood containing a low density of Babesia microti (B. microti) is unclear, possibly threatening public health and wellness.PurposeThis study aimed to determine the lower detection limit of B. microti in blood and to evaluate the transmission risk of blood transfusion containing low-density B. microti.MethodsInfected BALB/c mouse models were established by transfusing infected whole blood with different infection rates and densities of B. microti. Microscopic examination, nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (nested PCR), and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to evaluate the infection status of the mouse models. Meanwhile, the nested PCR detection limit of B. microti was obtained using pure B. microti DNA samples with serial concentrations and whole blood samples with different densities of B. microti-infected red blood cells. Thereafter, whole mouse blood with a B. microti density lower than that of the nested PCR detection limit and human blood samples infected with B. microti were transfused into healthy mice to assess the transmission risk in mouse models. The infection status of these mice was evaluated through microscopic examination, nested PCR tests, and ELISA.ResultsThe mice inoculated with different densities of B. microti reached the peak infection rate on different days. Overall, the higher the blood B. microti density was, the earlier the peak infection rate was reached. The levels of specific antibodies against B. microti in the blood of the infected mice increased sharply during the first 30 days of infection, reaching a peak level at 60 days post-infection, and maintaining a high level thereafter. The nested PCR detection limits of B. microti DNA and parasite density were 3 fg and 5.48 parasites/μL, respectively. The whole blood containing an extremely low density of B. microti and human blood samples infected with B. microti could infect mice, confirming the transmission risk of transfusing blood with low-density B. microti.ConclusionWhole blood containing extremely low density of B. microti poses a high transmission risk when transfused between mice and mice or human and mice, suggesting that Babesia detection should be considered by governments, hospitals, and disease prevention and control centers as a mandatory test before blood donation or transfusion.

To investigate the longitudinal gradient patterns and the factors influencing fish taxonomic and functional groups, a survey involving 28 sampling sites was conducted in the Anning River in November 2020 and April 2021. A total of 60 fish species were collected, and these species were classified into 4 locomotor groups and 4 trophic groups, resulting in 11 combined functional groups based on locomotor and trophic characteristics. The results of two-way cross similarity analysis (ANOSIM) revealed significant changes in both the fish taxonomic and functional groups along the longitudinal gradient, while no significant seasonal variation was observed in either group. Spatial changes in taxonomic and functional groups along the river were primarily due to turnover processes, as indicated by the similarity percentage analysis. Variance partitioning analysis demonstrated that local habitat conditions and land use/cover explained 37.56% and 41.33% of the spatial variation in taxonomic and functional organizations, respectively. Notably, the influence of landscape features on taxonomic organization was less significant than that of local habitat variables. Nevertheless, landscape conditions played a more important role than local environmental factors in explaining variations associated with functional organization. Our study helps in understanding the spatial patterns and formation mechanisms of taxonomic and functional groups driven by multiple-scale environmental factors in mountain rivers. In addition, our results showed that the response of functional groups to different scale environmental factors differ from taxonomic groups.

IntroductionT cells are the core of the cellular immunity and play a key role in the regulation of intestinal immune homeostasis. In order to explore the impact Moniezia benedeni (M. benedeni) infection on distributions of CD3+ T cells in the small intestine of the sheep.MethodsIn this study, sheep pET-28a-CD3 recombinant plasmid were constructed and expressed in BL21 receptor cells, then the rabbit anti-sheep CD3 polyclonal antibody was prepared through recombinant protein inducing. The M. benedeni-infected sheep (infection group, n = 6) and healthy sheep (control group, n = 6) were selected, and the distributions of CD3+ T cells in intestinal laminae propria (LP) and mucous epitheliums were observed and analyzed systematically.ResultsThe results showed that the rabbit anti-sheep CD3 polyclonal antibody had good potency and specificity. In the effector area of small intestine, a large number of CD3+ T cells were mainly diffusely distributed in the intestinal LP as well as in the mucous epitheliums, and the densities of intestinal LP from duodenum to jejunum to ileum were 6.01 cells/104 μm2, 7.01 cells/104 μm2 and 6.43 cells/104 μm2, respectively. Their distribution densities in mucous epitheliums were 6.71 cells/104 μm2, 7.93 cells/104 μm2 and 7.21 cells/104 μm2, respectively; in the infected group, the distributions of CD3+ T cells were similar to that of the control group, and the densities in each intestinal segment were all significantly increased (p

A mixed nitrate ester propellant composed of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, triethylene glycol dinitrate, and dendrimer DP-2 was studied to explore the effects of DP-2 on the rheological properties of the propellant during the solventless extrusion process. The results showed that the apparent shear viscosity of the propellant decreased gradually with the increased mass fraction of the DP-2 from 0 wt% to 2 wt%. Additionally, it was evident that the inclusion of 0.5 wt% DP-2 leads to a notable decrease in both the apparent shear viscosity of the propellant and the torque of screw by over 50%. However, in contrast to the change in fluidity observed from 0 wt% to 0.5 wt%, the enhancement trend of propellant fluidity becomes less significant as the DP-2 content continues to increase. The effects of DP-2 on thermal properties, chemical stability, mechanical sensitivity, mechanical property, and combustion behavior of the propellant were comprehensively assessed. The results demonstrated that DP-2 exhibited promising potential as a flow modification additive for the manufacture of the propellant by solventless extrusion process.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the association between sleep duration and muscle quality index (MQI) in middle-aged and older age groups, as limited evidence exists on this topic.MethodsIn order to assess the relationship between sleep duration and MQI, a cross-sectional study was undertaken, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) acquired during the period from 2011 to 2014. The study comprised a total of 4598 participants aged 20 years and above. To examine the association between sleep duration and MQI, sophisticated weighted multivariate linear regression models were employed. Additionally, smooth curve fitting techniques were applied to examine the possibility of any non-linear relationship between the two variables.ResultsThe average age of the adults who were enrolled in the study was 38.48±11.69 years, and 46.75% of them were female. The results of the multivariable linear regression models showed that sleep duration had a positive correlation with MQI. However, when subgroup analysis was conducted, it was found that this positive correlation only existed among women (β = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.014 to 0.167). To further confirm the differences between sexes in the relationship between sleep duration and MQI, a weighted generalized additive model (GAM) was used.ConclusionsThis research study provides evidence that there is a positive correlation between the duration of sleep and MQI specifically in females, while no such association was observed in males. These findings shed light on the existence of gender disparities in the connection between sleep duration and MQI.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a long preclinical phase. Although late-stage AD/dementia may be robustly differentiated from cognitively normal individuals by means of a clinical evaluation, PET imaging, and established biofluid biomarkers, disease differentiation between cognitively normal and various subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains a challenging task. Differential biomarkers for early-stage AD diagnosis with accessible biofluid samples are urgently needed. Misfolded phosphorylated tau aggregates (p-tau) are present in multiple neurodegenerative diseases known as “tauopathies”, with the most common being AD. P-tau181 is a well-established p-tau biomarker to differentiate AD dementia from non-AD pathology. However, it is unclear if p-tau181 is capable of diagnosing MCI, an early AD stage, from cognitively normal subjects, or if it can discriminate MCI subtypes amnestic MCI (aMCI) from non-amnestic MCI (naMCI). Here we evaluated the capability of p-tau181 in diagnosing MCI from cognitively normal subjects and discriminating aMCI from naMCI subtypes. We collected matching plasma and CSF samples of a clinically diagnosed cohort of 35 cognitively normal, 34 aMCI, 17 naMCI, and 31 AD dementia cases (total 117 participants) with supplemental CSF Aβ42 and total tau AD biomarker levels and performed Simoa p-tau181 assays. The diagnostic capabilities of Simoa p-tau181 assays to differentiate these cohorts were evaluated. We found (i) p-tau181 can robustly differentiate MCI or aMCI from cognitively normal cohorts with matching plasma and CSF samples, but such differentiation is weaker in diagnosing naMCI from cognitively normal groups, (ii) p-tau181 is not capable of differentiating aMCI from naMCI cohorts, and (iii) either factor of Aβ or total tau burden markedly improved differentiation power to diagnose aMCI from cognitively normal group. Plasma and CSF p-tau181 levels may serve as a promising biomarker for diagnosing aMCI from normal controls in the preclinical phase. But more robust new biomarkers are needed to differentiate naMCI from cognitively normal cases or to discriminate between MCI subtypes, aMCI from naMCI.

Background Sepsis is often accompanied by the formation of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Microparticles can exert their procoagulant and proinflammatory properties in a variety of ways. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between microparticle-associated tissue factor activity (TF+-MP activity) and the inflammatory response. Methods Data from a total of 31 DIC patients with sepsis and 31 non-DIC patients with sepsis admitted to the ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from December 2017 to March 2019 were collected. Blood samples were collected and DIC scores were calculated on the day of enrollment. The hospital’s clinical laboratory completed routine blood, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein tests. TF+-MP activity was measured using a tissue factor-dependent FXa generation assay. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were determined using ELISA kits. Results Compared with the non-DIC group, the DIC group had higher levels of leukocytes, neutrophils, procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, IL-1β, and TNF-α, and more severe inflammatory reactions. TF+-MP activity in the DIC group was higher than that in the non-DIC group. In sepsis patients, TF+-MP activity was strongly correlated with inflammatory response indices and DIC scores. Conclusion TF+-MP activity may play a major role in promoting inflammatory response in septic DIC.

Wireless ad hoc/sensor networks (WASN) have seen increased application in three-dimensional (3D) environments, such as underwater and aerial scenarios. However, WASN may be fragmented or unable to connect continuously due to the harsh surrounding environment or high mobility. Therefore, restoring the network connectivity and transmit data in real time is very important. This paper focuses on the critical task of restoring network connectivity in 3D WASN, a complex issue given that existing connectivity restoration algorithms for two-dimensional environments are not directly applicable or become overly complicated in 3D contexts. We present a comprehensive analysis of the current research landscape, summarizing key findings related to various aspects of 3D WASN connectivity restoration. These aspects include the application environment (underwater, in the sky, and recovery disaster), opportunities for restoration (active, passive, and active/passive), implementation strategies (clustering and sleep scheduling), and resource constraints (node deployment and movement control). Our study also proposes a classification of connectivity restoration solutions for 3D WASN, identifying existing gaps and suggesting potential future research directions. By providing specific insights and a structured overview of the field, we aim to contribute to the ongoing development of robust and resilient 3D WASN.

Introduction. Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) contributes to a poor prognosis. Reliable biomarkers to predict adverse outcomes during hospitalization are important. Aim. To investigate the relationship between the serum cholinesterase (ChE) level and adverse clinical outcomes, including hypoxemia severity, hypercapnia, duration of hospital stay (DoHS), and noninvasive ventilation (NIV) requirement, in patients with AECOPD. Methods. Patients hospitalized with AECOPD in the Wuhu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2017 and December 2021 were included. Results. A total of 429 patients were enrolled. The serum ChE level was significantly lower in patients with hypercapnia, who required NIV during hospitalization and who had a DoHS of >10 days, with an oxygenation index

Global climate change can affect tree growth and carbon sink function by influencing plant carbohydrate synthesis and utilization, while elevation can be used as an ideal setting under natural conditions to simulate climate change effects. The effect of elevation on tree growth may depend on organ type. However, the allocation patterns of nonstructural and structural carbohydrates (NSCs and SCs, respectively) in different tree organs and their response to elevation remain unclear. We selected four dominant tree species, Schima superba, Castanopsis eyrei, Castanopsis fargesii and Michelia maudiae, along an elevation gradient from 609 to 1,207 ​m in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and analyzed leaf, trunk, and fine root NSCs, carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and the relative abundance of SCs. Leaf NSCs increased initially and then decreased, and trunk NSCs increased with increasing elevation. However, root NSCs decreased with increasing elevation. The relative abundance of SCs in leaves and trunks decreased, while the relative abundance of root SCs increased with increasing elevation. No significant correlations between SCs and NSCs in leaves were detected, while there were negative correlations between SCs and NSCs in trunks, roots, and all organs. Hierarchical partitioning analysis indicated that plant C/N and C/P were the main predictors of changes in SCs and NSCs. Our results suggest that tree organs have divergent responses to elevation and that increasing elevation will inhibit the aboveground part growth and enhance the root growth of trees. A tradeoff between the C distribution used for growth and storage was confirmed along the elevation gradient, which is mainly manifested in the “sink” organs of NSCs. Our results provide insight into tree growth in the context of global climate change scenarios in subtropical forest ecosystems.

Abstract Two dimensional (2D) hybrid metal halides (HMHs) usually exhibit free excitonic (FE) emission, and self‐trapped excitonic (STE) emission can also be achieved by adopting appropriate halogens and organic cations. Recently, significant efforts have been made to modulate and then clarify the transformation and connection between these two types of excitonic emissions in 2D HMHs. In this study, intriguing pressure‐tuned transitions between FE emission and STE emission are observed in 2D (C7H7N2)2PbCl4. In contrast, only FE emissions with tunable emission energies are observed in 2D (C7H7N2)2PbBr4 which possesses a similar structure with (C7H7N2)2PbCl4 under compression. Such distinct halide‐dependent optical responses under pressure are experimentally revealed to arise from the intricate interplay among several factors in these HMHs, including the stiffness of the structure, the Coulomb force between the organic cations and the inorganic octahedra, and the magnitude of inorganic octahedral distortion. These high‐pressure optical explorations can unravel the underlying interrelationship between the crystal structure and excitonic emission in 2D HMHs.

Microgrid has been extensively applied in the modern power system as a supplementary mode for the distributed energy resources. The microgrid with wind energy is usually vulnerable to the intermittence and uncertainty of the wind energy. To increase the robustness of the microgrid, the energy storage system (ESS) is necessary to compensate the power imbalance between the power supply and the load. To further maximize the economic efficiency of the system, the system level control for the microgrid is desired to be optimized when it is integrated with the utility grid. Aiming at the aforementioned problem, this paper comprehensively analyzes the power flow of a typical loop microgrid. A transformer-based wind power prediction (WPP) algorithm is proposed and compared with recurrent neural networks algorithm. With the historical weather data, it can accurately predict the 24 h average wind energy. Based on the predicted wind energy and the time-of-use (TOU) electricity price, a day-ahead daily cycling profile of the ESS with particle swarm optimization algorithm is introduced. It comprehensively considers the system capacity constraints and the battery degree of health. The functionality of the proposed energy management strategy is validated from three levels. First, WPP is conducted with the proposed algorithm and the true historical weather data. It has validated the accuracy of the transformer algorithm in prediction of the hourly level wind energy. Second, with the predicted wind energy, a case study is given to validate the day-ahead daily cycling profile. A typical 1 MVA microgrid is utilized as the simulation model to validate performance of the daily cycling optimization algorithm. The case study results show that the ESS daily cycling can effectively reduce the daily energy expense and help to shave the peak power demand in the grid.

BackgroundThe gut microbiota (GM) is believed to be closely associated with symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis (SCAS), yet more evidence is needed to substantiate the significant role of GM in SCAS. This study, based on the detection of bacterial DNA in carotid plaques, explores the characteristics of GM in SCAS patients with plaque bacterial genetic material positivity, aiming to provide a reference for subsequent research.MethodsWe enrolled 27 healthy individuals (NHF group) and 23 SCAS patients (PFBS group). We utilized 16S rDNA V3-V4 region gene sequencing to analyze the microbiota in fecal samples from both groups, as well as in plaque samples from the carotid bifurcation extending to the origin of the internal carotid artery in all patients.ResultsOur results indicate significant differences in the gut microbiota (GM) between SCAS patients and healthy individuals. The detection rate of bacterial DNA in plaque samples was approximately 26%. Compared to patients with negative plaques (PRSOPWNP group), those with positive plaques (PRSOPWPP group) exhibited significant alterations in their GM, particularly an upregulation of 11 bacterial genera (such as Klebsiella and Streptococcus) in the gut, which were also present in the plaques. In terms of microbial gene function prediction, pathways such as Fluorobenzoate degradation were significantly upregulated in the GM of patients with positive plaques.ConclusionIn summary, our study is the first to identify significant alterations in the gut microbiota of patients with positive plaques, providing crucial microbial evidence for further exploration of the pathogenesis of SCAS.

Objective Treatment of syncope in older adults places a burden on healthcare systems. We used five risk stratification tools to predict short-term adverse outcomes in older patients with syncope. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of patients with syncope (age ≥60 years) in the emergency department of an urban academic hospital. The data were evaluated using the Risk Stratification of Syncope in the Emergency Department (ROSE), San Francisco Syncope Rule (SFSR), FAINT, Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS), and Boston Syncope Criteria (BSC) tools. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value (NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios of each tool were calculated and compared for adverse events within 1 month. Results In total, 221 patients (average age 75.6 years) were analyzed. Fifty-nine patients (26.7%) had experienced an adverse event within 1 month. For the ROSE, SFSR, FAINT, CSRS and BSC tools, sensitivities were 81.3%, 76.3%, 93.2%, 71.2%, and 94.9%, specificities were 88.3%, 87.7%, 56.8%, 71.6%, and 67.3%, and NPVs were 92.9%, 91.0%, 95.8%, 87.2%, and 97.3%, respectively. Conclusion The five assessed tools could be useful for physicians in screening older patients with syncope for the risk of short-term adverse events, according to the patient’s actual situation.

Maternal endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exposure, the common environmental pollutants, was capable of involving in adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the evidence of their connection is not consistent. Our goal was to comprehensively explore the risk of EDCs related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. One hundred and one studies were included from two databases before 2023 to explore the association between EDCs and adverse pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage, small for gestational age (SGA), low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB). We found that maternal PFASs exposure was positively correlated with PTB (OR:1.13, 95% CI:1.04–1.23), SGA (OR:1.10, 95% CI:1.04–1.16) and miscarriage (OR:1.09, 95% CI:1.00–1.19). The pooled estimates also showed maternal PAEs exposure was linked with PTB (OR:1.16, 95% CI:1.11–1.21), SGA (OR:1.20, 95% CI:1.07–1.35) and miscarriage (OR:1.55, 95% CI:1.33–1.81). In addition, maternal exposure to some specific class of EDCs including PFOS, MBP, MEHP, DEHP, and BPA was associated with PTB. Maternal exposure to PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA was associated with SGA. Maternal exposure to BPA was associated with LBW. Maternal exposure to MMP, MEHP, MEHHP, MEOHP, BPA was associated with miscarriage. Maternal PFASs, PAEs and BPA exposure may increase adverse pregnancy outcomes risk according to our study. However, the limited number of studies on dose-response hampered further explanation for causal association.

Single-based propellants containing 0.4 wt%, 0.8 wt% and 1.6 wt% nickel powders(NPs) were prepared and investigated in closed bomb tester and transparent combustion chamber, which can provide variable-pressure and constant-pressure conditions for propellant burning, respectively. In closed bomb tester, propellants burned to a pressure above 5–220 MPa. The results showed that burning rate of propellants was increased by 19.0 %, 12.5 % and 11.9 % in 5–8 MPa, 8–16 MPa and 20–200 MPa, when 1.6 wt% NPs used in propellant. Meanwhile, propellants burning in combustion chamber were with a constant pressure of 1.0 MPa, 1.5 MPa, 2.0 MPa, 3.0 MPa and 5.0 MPa. The burning rate of propellants can be increased by NPs in 1.0–5.0 MPa. While the catalytic efficiency(Z) had high dependence on NPs contents and burning pressure. At 5.0 MPa, 0.4 wt%, 0.8 wt% and 1.6 wt% of NPs enhanced burning rate of propellants by 42 %, 44 % and 68 % than that of original propellants. In pressure below 3.0 MPa, burning rate of propellants cannot be increased with 0.4 wt% and 0.8 wt% NPs, but that can be enhanced with 1.6 wt% NPs, suggested that higher NPs content and higher pressure were conducive to catalytic effect, which was significant with the pressure above 5 MPa. Furthermore, after NPs incorporating into propellant, the distance from flame zone to propellant burning surface was significantly reduced. And the potential catalytic mechanism was proposed.

Objective: This study aimed to find proteomic differences in endometrial receptivity between recurrent implantation failure (RIF) and recurrent implantation success (RIS).Methods This study was a basic proteomic analysis of endometrial biopsies from RIF and RIS women. Differentially expressed proteins between RIF and RIS were screened via isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Furthermore, bioinformatic analysis was launched to analyze the difference in the endometrial receptivity between RIF and RIS women. Quantitative P CR and Western blotting were used to validated the study.Results This study identified 625 differentially expressed proteins in the RIF women compared with RIS women. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that these differentially expressed proteins were enriched in ‘Wnt signaling,’ ‘Vascular smooth muscle contraction,’ ‘Ubiquitin mediated proteolysis,’ ‘Tight junction,’ or ‘TGF-beta signaling’ related processes or pathways. Quantitative PCR and Western blotting validation experiments revealed that Claudin-4, p38, PRKAB, IKB-b were unregulated, myosin-2, PKG2 were downregulated significantly in RIF.Conclusion This study indicated that the alternations of key signal pathways play important roles in the failure of embryo implantation, further studies are warranted to verify if targeting these molecules might be useful to improve the embryo implantation or not.

ABSTRACTPharmaceutical companies have recently focused on accelerating the timeline for initiating first-in-human (FIH) trials to allow quick assessment of biologic drugs. For example, a stable cell pool can be used to produce materials for the toxicology (Tox) study, reducing time to the clinic by 4–5 months. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the anti-COVID drugs timeline from DNA transfection to the clinical stage was decreased to 6 months using a stable pool to generate a clinical drug substrate (DS) with limited stability, virus clearance, and Tox study package. However, a lean chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) package raises safety and comparability risks and may leave extra work in the late-stage development and commercialization phase. In addition, whether these accelerated COVID-19 drug development strategies can be applied to non-COVID projects and established as a standard practice in biologics development is uncertain. Here, we present a case study of a novel anti-tumor drug in which application of “fast-to-FIH” approaches in combination with BeiGene’s de-risk strategy achieved successful delivery of a complete CMC package within 10 months. A comprehensive comparability study demonstrated that the DS generated from a stable pool and a single-cell-derived master cell bank were highly comparable with regards to process performance, product quality, and potency. This accomplishment can be a blueprint for non-COVID drug programs that approach the pace of drug development during the pandemic, with no adverse impact on the safety, quality, and late-stage development of biologics.

The accurate estimation of the aboveground biomass (AGB) is crucial for the sustainable utilization and management of grassland resources. Spatio-temporal inconsistencies between field samples and satellite images are major source of error in the estimation of grassland AGB. To solve this problem, this study selected the Three Rivers Headwater Region as the study area and proposed a selection strategy for base-period images of spatio-temporal fusion that was suitable for use at a large spatial scale in which cloud-free images are difficult to obtain. The spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM) based on the selection strategy was used to generate a synthetic Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset with high spatial-temporal resolution by using the maximum value composite of GF-1 NDVI and MODIS NDVI to enhance the spatial-temporal quality of the images for field-scale application. Three estimation models for grassland AGB were then constructed by the random forest algorithm using synthetic NDVI, MODIS NDVI, GF-1 NDVI respectively, together with ancillary data. Following this, the estimation model with the highest accuracy was used to generate a 16-m eight-day time-series AGB in the growing season. The results showed: (1) The synthetic NDVI was correlated closely with the observed GF-1 NDVI, with an average R of 0.825 and a RMSE of 0.087. The temporal trend of the synthetic NDVI for each grassland type was highly consistent with that of the MODIS NDVI in the growing season with a correlation higher than 0.9. (2) The synthetic NDVI reduced the spatial difference between field samples and images to 16-fold, and the temporal difference was controlled to within four days under ideal conditions. (3) The synthetic NDVI improved the estimation accuracy of grassland AGB by about 15.9% and 19.7% (R2), and 13.7% and 17.5% (RMSE) relative to MODIS NDVI and GF-1 NDVI, respectively. (4) The time-series AGB revealed accurately the spatial distribution of and seasonal temporal variations in the grassland biomass. The results of this study may serve as scientific guidance for timely monitoring of grassland conditions and precise management of grassland resources in China.

Vortex generators (VGs) have shown the potential to mitigate the train's operational instability issues caused by strong wind. Numerical simulations are used to predict the flow structures around a train with VGs of different heights. The improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) hybrid modeling method is adopted to predict the trailing vortices on the leeward field. The numerical method is validated by reproducing wind tunnel test results. The study results reveal that VGs are capable of reducing the rolling moment coefficient around the leeward rail of a train by about 5% ∼ 15% while keeping the drag of the train still lower than its operational drag without crosswind. The control mechanism lies on that the streamwise vortices generated by VGs are attracted to the large-scale trailing vortices, resulting in the pressure on the leeward wall rising. The differences in the domain frequencies between VGs and Baseline cases in POD modes indicate that the VGs changed the periodicity and symmetry of the vorticity fluctuation. This study provides a new method to improve the safety of trains under crosswinds.

Efficient energy conversion can improve Pelton turbine unit efficiency and bring higher economic benefits. However, the reasons that influence the energy conversion characteristics of the Pelton turbine have not been effectively revealed. The main reason is the lack of systematic research on the change process of flow patterns in the bucket and its relationship with the energy conversion characteristics. Experimental and numerical simulation studies of a Pelton turbine were conducted. The change process of the flow patterns from when the jet enters the bucket to when it is completely discharged is analyzed and three main flow patterns in the buckets are summarized. Through energy characteristic analysis, it was found that during the power change process of the bucket, the flow rate entering the bucket and the velocity moment at the inlet of the bucket shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, while the velocity moment at the outlet of the bucket and flow loss show an opposite trend, resulting in the most sufficient energy conversion when the jet is perpendicular to the bucket. The basic topology of the bucket energy conversion process is constructed to effectively understand the Pelton turbine's energy conversion characteristics.

Ducted fans have been widely used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various operations due to the high efficiency, low noise and high safety. Proximity effects caused by the confined environment, including the ceiling effect (CE), bring significant interference to the aerodynamic performance of ducted fans, which serves as a main challenge to stability. In this study, the computational fluid dynamic simulation with the sliding mesh technique and the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) method is conducted to evaluate the ceiling effect. Time-averaged simulation results show that the ceiling effect results in the increase of both rotor thrust and duct thrust. Transient simulation results show that there is a critical distance of 0.4 rotor radius. The ceiling effect leads to little fluctuation in thrust for distances greater than 0.4 rotor radius, but substantial unsteadiness in the flow field for distances less than 0.4 rotor radius. The unsteady movement of vortex structures results in thrust fluctuations with frequencies typically lower than the blade passing frequency of 200 Hz. The fluctuation accounts for up to 40% of the total thrust. The results are essential to the flight controller design and UAV path planning for enhancement of flight stability in ceiling effect.

The optimized operation of an inter-basin water transfer system is a widely used approach to achieving optimized regional water resource allocation. The costs of water transfers vary considerably, depending on the composition of the water source, the target audience and the route and distance of the transfer. This study proposes a multi-scenario optimization model for the operation of inter-basin water transfer-supply systems that balances the cost–benefit relationships. A two-objective optimization model is first established including minimizing the sum of squared water supply deficits and the cost of water transfers. Three water transfer scenarios are developed for different cost–benefit relationships. Based on these scenarios, the established optimization model is further converted into a single-objective optimization model to avoid the direct calculation of complex water transfer costs. The model is finally solved to obtain water transfer schemes. The proposed model is applied to the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China. The results show that with a contracted diversion of 60% of the Yangtze River, the reliability of the water supply is 78.2% and the water shortage index is 2.8%, which is a compromise between balancing the water shortage index and the volume and cost of water transfer. HIGHLIGHTS A multi-scenario optimization model for the operation of inter-basin water transfer-supply systems considering cost–benefit relationships is proposed.; The established optimization model is converted based on developed scenarios to avoid the direct calculation of complex water transfer costs.; The proposed model is applied to the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China.;

Abstract Background The accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn), an essential step in PD development and progression, is observed not only in neurons but also in glia, including astrocytes. The mechanisms regulating astrocytic α-syn level and aggregation remain unclear. More recently, it has been demonstrated that a part of α-syn spreading occurs through extracellular vesicles (EVs), although it is unknown whether this process is involved in astrocytes of PD. It is known, however, that EVs derived from the central nervous system exist in the blood and are extensively explored as biomarkers for PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Methods Primary astrocytes were transfected with A53T α-syn plasmid or exposed to α-syn aggregates. The level of astrocyte-derived EVs (AEVs) was assessed by nanoparticle tracking analysis and immunofluorescence. The lysosomal function was evaluated by Cathepsin assays, immunofluorescence for levels of Lamp1 and Lamp2, and LysoTracker Red staining. The Apogee assays were optimized to measure the GLT-1+ AEVs in clinical cohorts of 106 PD, 47 multiple system atrophy (MSA), and 103 healthy control (HC) to test the potential of plasma AEVs as a biomarker to differentiate PD from other forms of parkinsonism. Results The number of AEVs significantly increased in primary astrocytes with α-syn deposition. The mechanism of increased AEVs was partially attributed to lysosomal dysfunction. The number of α-syn-carrying AEVs was significantly higher in patients with PD than in HC and MSA. The integrative model combining AEVs with total and aggregated α-syn exhibited efficient diagnostic power in differentiating PD from HC with an AUC of 0.915, and from MSA with an AUC of 0.877. Conclusions Pathological α-syn deposition could increase the astrocytic secretion of EVs, possibly through α-syn-induced lysosomal dysfunction. The α-syn-containing AEVs in the peripheral blood may be an effective biomarker for clinical diagnosis or differential diagnosis of PD.

Abstract Background Human adenoviruses (HAdV) have been known to cause a range of diseases, including respiratory tract infections (RTIs). However, there is limited information available regarding the genotype diversity and epidemiology of HAdV associated with RTIs in Nanning. Methods Between June 2019 and December 2021, throat swab, nasal swab, or nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from individuals hospitalized with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Statistical software was used to analyze the epidemiological data. The highly conserved 132-bp gene region of the HAdV hexon was targeted for the detection of HAdV using a qPCR assay. An 875-bp hexon gene fragment was subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Results Significant variations were observed in the age and gender distribution of HAdV-positive patients (P = 0.004 and P = 0.025, respectively). The age distribution of HAdV-positive patients showed that 67.89% of those who tested positive were the age group of 0–6 years. Furthermore, the prevalence of HAdV detection was highest during spring and autumn, with a peak in February. Additionally, genotyping of the 36 HAdV-positive samples with 875-bp fragments identified the presence of circulating HAdV species B, C, and E in Nanning between 2019 and 2021. Conclusions This study identified an association between HAdV prevalence and age as well as season. Among hospitalized patients with RTIs in Nanning, HAdV-B, HAdV-C, and HAdV-E were found to be co-circulating. The most commonly detected genotypes were HAdV-C1, HAdV-C6, and HAdV-E4.

The discipline of mine water prevention and control in China as a whole has undergone two major development processes: the initial development period in the 20th century and the growth and maturity period in the 21st century, with its basic structure and connotation already mature. According to the system theory, the generalized connotation of mine water has been expanded, the terminology and scientific scope of mine water prevention and control have been standardized, and a mine water system has been proposed, that is, a highly complex system involving a boundary from water supply to water inflow discharge and time-varying internal media structure. The water input and water inflow output are complete, and the system responds in a timely manner when mining disturbances are triggered; The basic framework of mine water prevention and control has been constructed, including two core systems: theoretical and technical systems and technical management systems; The theoretical and technical system covers theoretical basis, technical support, and engineering support, with disaster mechanism, condition evaluation, and prediction as the theoretical basis, condition exploration, prevention and treatment, and geological support as the technical support, and seven types of projects such as water exploration, waterproofing, water blocking, drainage, drainage, water interception, and water regime monitoring as the measure support; The technical management system includes advanced concepts, overall ideas, and working systems. Guided by the overall idea of “predicting and forecasting, exploring if there is any doubt, exploring before excavating, and treating before mining”, and guided by the advanced concept of combining prevention at the source, regional governance, engineering governance, and protection, the construction concept is advanced, the foundation is solid, exploration is clear, scientific and technological breakthroughs are tackled, and comprehensive governance is conducted, The “seven in one” water disaster prevention and control work system for effect evaluation and emergency rescue achieves the overall goal of reducing the impact of mine water, preventing water disaster accidents, and mitigating environmental impact. Looking forward to the future, the physical mechanism of flood disasters, the law of data driven disasters, or the integration of the two are key directions for fundamental theoretical breakthroughs, which will drive comprehensive breakthroughs in technology and engineering.

【Objective】Barthea barthei (Hance ex Benth.) Krass. is a unique shrub of the genus Barthea in Melastomataceae in China, which has important ornamental value. However, it is mainly distributed in the wild, and its artificial cultivation technology system has not been fully established, which greatly limits its application potential as a landscape plant. In this study, by comparing the effects of different types in nutrients and different application concentrations on the growth and root indexes of the seedlings, the main nutrient dosage affecting the growth of the seedlings was determined, providing a scientific basis for the cultivation of the seedlings.【Method】The tissue culture seedlings of B. barthei were used as materials, and they were transplanted into the seedling cups with yellow soil as the cultivation substrate. After 3 months' culture, 6 kinds of N nutrients (Glutamic acid, Alanine, Aspartic acid, Compound fertilizer, Urea, Controlled-released fertilizer) and 3 kinds of application amount (0.7, 1.4 and 2.8 mg/plant) were applied respectively. The seedling height and chlorophyll content of B. barthei were measured monthly, and the root indexes of B. barthei was measured after the experiment.【Result】Nutrient type and application amount had significant effects on the early growth and development of B. barthei seedlings. The highest increment of seedling height was 5.18±0.13 cm after 1 month of treatment with T9 (Aspartic acid, 2.8 mg/plant). The increment became smaller after 4~5 months. The seedling height increment of seedlings treated with T5 (Alanine, 1.4 mg/plant) was not significantly different from that of the control in the first 2 months, but it was much higher than that of the control after the 4th and 5th months. The increment of seedling height of T18 (Controlled-released fertilizer, 2.8 mg/plant) was the largest after 4 and 5 months. The root biomass of T14 (Urea, 1.4 mg/plant), T9 (Aspartic acid, 2.8 mg/plant) and T15 (Urea, 2.8 mg/plant) were the largest, which were 0.71 (±0.40) g, 0.65 (±0.21) g and 0.64 (±0.24) g, respectively. The root surface area with diameter less than or equal to 2 mm under T9 treatment was 273.63 cm2, which was significantly higher than that under other treatments.【Conclusion】Considering the seedling height and root index of root surface area with diameter ≤ 2 mm, the best nutrient for the early stage of B. barthei growth was Aspartic acid with the amount of 2.8 mg/plant.

Abstract Prospective inter-relationships among biomarkers were unexplored, which may provide mechanistic insights into diseases. We investigated the longitudinal associations of BMI change with trajectories of biomarkers related to cardiometabolic or breast cancer risk. A longitudinal study was conducted among 444 healthy women between 2019 to 2021. Cross‑lagged path analysis was used to examine the temporal relationships among BMI, cardiometabolic risk score (CRS), and obesity‑related proteins score (OPS) of breast cancer. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to investigate associations of time-varying BMI with biomarker-based risk score trajectories. Baseline BMI was associated with subsequent change of breast cancer predictors (P = 0.03), and baseline CRS were positively associated with OPS change (P

Abstract Background The introduction of multiparameter MRI and novel biomarkers has greatly improved the prediction of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). However, decision-making regarding prostate biopsy and prebiopsy examinations is still difficult. We aimed to establish a quick and economic tool to improve the detection of csPCa based on routinely performed clinical examinations through an automated machine learning platform (AutoML). Methods This study included a multicenter retrospective cohort and two prospective cohorts with 4747 cases from 9 hospitals across China. The multimodal data, including demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, and ultrasound reports, of consecutive participants were retrieved using extract-transform-load tools. AutoML was applied to explore potential data processing patterns and the most suitable algorithm to build the Prostate Cancer Artificial Intelligence Diagnostic System (PCAIDS). The diagnostic performance was determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for discriminating csPCa from insignificant prostate cancer (PCa) and benign disease. The clinical utility was evaluated by decision curve analysis (DCA) and waterfall plots. Results The random forest algorithm was applied in the feature selection, and the AutoML algorithm was applied for model establishment. The area under the curve (AUC) value in identifying csPCa was 0.853 in the training cohort, 0.820 in the validation cohort, 0.807 in the Changhai prospective cohort, and 0.850 in the Zhongda prospective cohort. DCA showed that the PCAIDS was superior to PSA or fPSA/tPSA for diagnosing csPCa with a higher net benefit for all threshold probabilities in all cohorts. Setting a fixed sensitivity of 95%, a total of 32.2%, 17.6%, and 26.3% of unnecessary biopsies could be avoided with less than 5% of csPCa missed in the validation cohort, Changhai and Zhongda prospective cohorts, respectively. Conclusions The PCAIDS was an effective tool to inform decision-making regarding the need for prostate biopsy and prebiopsy examinations such as mpMRI. Further prospective and international studies are warranted to validate the findings of this study. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100048428. Registered on 06 July 2021.

Development of extramural health care for chronic wounds is still in its infancy in China, and thus it is urgent and vital to establish a correct concept and practicable principles. The authors reviewed recent domestic and international literature and summarized the following treatment procedures and principles for extramural health care of chronic wounds. (1) The patient needs to do self-assessment of the wound by using available simple methods; (2) The patient consults with professional physicians or nurses on wound care to define the severity and etiology of the non-healing wound; (3) Professionals evaluate the existing treatment strategies; (4) Etiological treatments are given by professionals; (5) Patients buy needed dressings via the more convenient ways from pharmacies, e-commerce platform or others; (6) Professionals provide a standardized and reasonable therapeutic plan based on the patient's wound conditions; (7) Both professionals and the patient pay attention to complications to prevent adverse outcomes; (8) Professionals strengthen the public education on wound care and integrated rehabilitation. This review expected to provide new perspectives on the therapeutic strategies for chronic wounds in an extramural setting.

This study is aim at confirming the key stage where the formation of volatile constituents in the headspace above domestic whisky takes place. The static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to analyze the volatile constituents in the headspace above each production stage. The principal coordinates analysis was used for the selection of classification criteria for the beverage in each stage, after which the orthogonal partial least square discrimination analysis was utilized to establish the classification model. The results showed that volatile constituents in the headspace varied significantly in different stages (α=0.05), and that the soaking was sufficient to be the classification criteria. Altogether 17 key differential components, including 11 introduced by oaks during soaking and aging, were found in samples before and after soaking. The 11 oak introduced components, except acetic acid, butyraldehyde, and heptadecane, contributed to the aroma of the whisky. Meanwhile, dimethyl sulfide, furan, ethyl hexanoate, butanol, 2-methylproapn-1-ol, and n-propanol were reduced after oak soaking. Obviously, the key stage was soaking in the formation of volatile constituents in the headspace above domestic whisky.

Nanocellulose has various outstanding properties and great potential for replacing petrochemical products. The utilization of lignocellulose to produce nanocellulose is of great significance to the sustainable development of the economy and society. However, the direct extraction of nanocellulose from lignocellulose by chemical method is challenged by toxic chemicals utilization, energy and time consumption, and waste water generation. Therefore, this paper addressed the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) by the biological method. Moreover, this article highlights the recent advances in potentials and challenges of lignocellulosic biomass for BNC production through the bioconversion process, including biomass pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, glucose and xylose fermentation, GA accumulation, and inhibitor tolerant. The development in metabolic and evolutionary engineering to enhance the production capacity of BNC-producing strain is also discussed. It is expected to provide guidance on the effective bioproduction of nanocellulose from lignocellulosic biomass.

Cavitation is a quasi-periodic process, and its non-stationarity leads to increasingly complex flow field structures. On the other hand, characterizing the flow field with greater precision has become increasingly feasible. However, accurately and effectively extracting the most representative vibration modes and spatial structures from these vast amounts of data has become a significant challenge. Researchers have proposed data-driven modal decomposition techniques to extract flow field information, which have been widely applied in various fields such as signal processing and fluid dynamics. This paper addresses the application of modal decomposition methods, such as dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), and Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (SPOD), in cavitation feature detection in hydraulic machinery. It reviews the mathematical principles of these three algorithms and a series of improvements made by researchers since their inception. It also provides examples of the applications of these three algorithms in different hydraulic machinery. Based on this, the future development trends and possible directions for the improvement of modal decomposition methods are discussed.

The prestressed concrete–steel hybrid (PCSH) support structure, which replaces the lower part of the traditional support with a concrete segment, is a prospective support structure solution for ultrahigh wind turbines. Taking a 5.5 MW wind turbine support structure founded on a jacket substructure with pile foundation as an example, an optimized design of the corresponding PCSH support structure with pile foundation for offshore wind turbine is conducted considering the soil–structure interaction (SSI) and the effect of water pressure. The construction cost of the proposed structure is treated as the objective function and minimized with a parallel modified particle swarm optimization (PMPSO) algorithm where the physical dimensions of each part of the PCSH wind turbine support structure are treated as optimization variables. Eleven optimization constraints are considered under both the serviceability limit state (SLS) and the ultimate limit state (ULS) according to relevant specifications and industry standards. A penalty function strategy is introduced to make sure that these constraints are fulfilled. The mechanical behavior and the cost of the optimal PCSH support structure with pile foundation are analyzed and are compared with those of the original design with a traditional steel tube tower founded on a jacket substructure. The results show that the cost and levelized cost of energy (LCOE), a comprehensive evaluation, of the optimized PCSH support decrease obviously with the PMPSO algorithm, which can provide advanced mechanic behavior including natural frequency, top deformation, and anti-overturning capacity. Compared with the PSO algorithm, the PMPSO algorithm has better performance in the procedure of PCSH support for offshore wind turbine optimization.

Reproduction in goats is a highly complex and dynamic process of life regulation, involving coordinated regulation from various aspects such as central nervous system regulation, reproductive system development, oocyte maturation, and fertilized egg development. In recent years, researchers have identified numerous genes associated with goat reproductive performance through high-throughput sequencing, single-cell sequencing, gene knockout, and other techniques. However, there is still an urgent need to explore marker genes related to goat reproductive performance. In this study, a single-cell RNA sequencing dataset of oocytes (GSE136005) was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) was utilized to identify modules highly correlated with goat litter size. Through gene function enrichment analysis, it was found that genes within the modules were mainly enriched in adhesive junctions, cell cycle, and other signaling pathways. Additionally, the top 30 hub genes with the highest connectivity in WGCNA were identified. Subsequently, using Protein–Protein Interaction (PPI) network analysis, the top 30 genes with the highest connectivity within the modules were identified. The intersection of hub genes, key genes in the PPI network, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) led to the identification of the RPL4 gene as a key marker gene associated with reproductive capacity in goat oocytes. Overall, our study reveals that the RPL4 gene in oocytes holds promise as a biological marker for assessing goat litter size, deepening our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying goat reproductive performance.

Ensuring national food security is a perennial topic, and securing the grain planting area is an essential solution. Cost savings at scale from agricultural insurance policy adjustments could be a powerful incentive for grain production. In this study, 527 data sets from 31 provinces in China from 2006 to 2022 were used as the sample, and the author applied a multi-stage DID model to measure the effects of agricultural insurance policy adjustments on the grain planting area and planting structure, as well as the influence mechanisms behind them. The results can be summarized as follows: Firstly, agricultural insurance policy adjustments can make a significant contribution to increasing the grain planting area, with some positive impact on the ‘grain-oriented’ planting structure. Secondly, agricultural insurance policy adjustments can significantly increase the grain planting area by increasing the application of agricultural machinery, but this mechanism does not affect the ‘grain orientation’ planting structure. Thirdly, agricultural insurance policy adjustments can have a significant positive impact on the grain planting area and ‘grain—oriented’ planting structure in both high- and low-risk areas, with low-risk areas being more affected than high-risk areas.

Globally, 50% of people consume rice (Oryza sativa), which is among the most abundant and extensively ingested cereal grains. Rice bran is a by-product of the cereal industry and is also considered a beneficial waste product of the rice processing industry. Rice bran oil (RBO) is created from rice bran (20–25 wt% in rice bran), which is the outermost layer of the rice kernel; has a lipid content of up to 25%; and is a considerable source of a plethora of bioactive components. The main components of RBO include high levels of fiber and phytochemicals, including vitamins, oryzanols, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds, which are beneficial to human health and well-being. This article summarizes the stabilization and extraction processes of rice bran oil from rice bran using different techniques (including solvent extraction, microwaving, ohmic heating, supercritical fluid extraction, and ultrasonication). Some studies have elaborated the various biological activities linked with RBO, such as antioxidant, anti-platelet, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, anti-mutagenic, aphrodisiac, anti-depressant, anti-emetic, fibrinolytic, and cytotoxic activities. Due to the broad spectrum of biological activities and economic benefits of RBO, the current review article focuses on the extraction process of RBO, its bioactive components, and the potential health benefits of RBO. Furthermore, the limitations of existing studies are highlighted, and suggestions are provided for future applications of RBO as a functional food ingredient.

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) members have been widely used in civil engineering due to their advanced mechanical properties. However, internal defects such as the concrete core voids and interface debonding in CFST structures are likely to weaken their load-carrying capacity and stiffness, which affects the safety and serviceability. Visualizing the inner defects of the concrete cores in CFST members is a critical requirement and a challenging task due to the obvious difference in the material mechanical parameters of the concrete core and steel tube in CFST members. In this study, a curved ray theory-based travel time tomography (TTT) with a least square iterative linear inversion algorithm is first introduced to quantitatively identify and visualize the sizes and positions of the concrete core voids in CFST members. Secondly, a numerical investigation of the influence of different parameters on the inversion algorithm for the defect imaging of CFST members, including the effects of the model weighting matrix, weighting factor and grid size on the void’s imaging quality and accuracy, is carried out. Finally, an experimental study on six CFST specimens with mimicked concrete core void defects is performed in a laboratory and the mimicked defects are visualized. The results demonstrate that TTT can identify the sizes and positions of the concrete core void defects in CFST members efficiently with the use of optimal parameters.

Die-sinking micro-electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) is a potential method used to fabricate intricate structures without complex electrode motion planning and compensation. However, machining efficiency and poor discharge states are still bottlenecks. This study conducted a comparative investigation into the impact of ultrasonic vibration on die-sinking micro-EDM of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and pure titanium (TA2). By adjusting discharge parameters, this study systematically evaluated the influence of ultrasonic vibration on these two materials based on discharge waveforms, motion trajectories, effective discharge counts and groove profiles. At an open-circuit voltage of 100 V, ultrasonic vibration promotes die-sinking micro-EDM of PCD. However, when the open-circuit voltage increases to 200 V, ultrasonic vibration exhibits inhibitory effects in general. Conversely, for TA2, ultrasonic vibration shows a promoting effect at both voltages, indicating the differences of ultrasonic vibration-assisted die-sinking micro-EDM on PCD and TA2. For PCD, ultrasonic cavitation improves the discharge gap environment, accelerating the removal of discharge debris. For TA2, due to its poor thermal conductivity, ultrasonic cavitation acts to break the arc, accelerating heat transfer. These research findings provide guidance for ultrasonic vibration-assisted die-sinking micro-EDM in industrial applications.

Cold exposure exerts negative effects on hippocampal nerve development in adolescent mice, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Given that ubiquitination is essential for neurodevelopmental processes, we attempted to investigate the effects of cold exposure on the hippocampus from the perspective of ubiquitination. By conducting a ubiquitinome analysis, we found that cold exposure caused changes in the ubiquitination levels of a variety of synaptic-associated proteins. We validated changes in postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) ubiquitination levels by immunoprecipitation, revealing reductions in both the K48 and K63 polyubiquitination levels of PSD-95. Golgi staining further demonstrated that cold exposure decreased the dendritic-spine density in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. Additionally, bioinformatics analysis revealed that differentially ubiquitinated proteins were enriched in the glycolytic, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), and 5‘-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathways. Protein expression analysis confirmed that cold exposure activated the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/HIF-1α pathway. We also observed suppression of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) protein levels and the pyruvate kinase (PK) activity induced by cold exposure. Regarding oxidative phosphorylation, a dramatic decrease in mitochondrial respiratory-complex I activity was observed, along with reduced gene expression of the key subunits NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit V1 (Ndufv1) and Ndufv2. In summary, cold exposure negatively affects hippocampal neurodevelopment and causes abnormalities in energy homeostasis within the hippocampus.

Porous asphalt pavements are widely used in rainy and wet areas for their skid resistance, noise reduction, runoff minimization and environmental sustainability. Long-term moisture vapor erosion and the destabilization of large pore structures can easily result in pavement problems such as fragmentation, spalling, cracking, and excessive permanent deformation. To this end, four different preventive maintenance materials, including the rejuvenation (RJ), cohesion reinforcement (CEM), polymerization reaction, and emulsified asphalt (EA) types, were selected in this paper to improve the high-viscosity porous asphalt pavement. The effects of the different preventive maintenance materials on the temperature sensitivity, rheological properties and fatigue performance of high-viscosity modified asphalt were evaluated through temperature sweep, frequency sweep, multi-stress creep recovery (MSCR), linear amplitude sweep (LAS), and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests. The results showed that the four preventive maintenance materials exhibit different enhancement mechanisms and effects. RJ improves the fatigue properties, deformation resistance and low-temperature cracking resistance of aged asphalt by adding elastomeric components; CEM materials are more conducive to increasing the low-temperature crack resistance of aged asphalt; while GL1 and EA improve the viscoelastic behavior of aged asphalt, but the effect of the dosing ratio needs to be considered.