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The recovery of the photoluminescence (PL) of p-type porous silicon (PSi), after its quenching by electron injected from the substrate, was investigated. Electrons were photo-generated in the space-charge-region of the biased substrate, and then forced into PSi. The PL was quenched as a result of fast Auger recombinations. After ending electron injection the PL recovered as electrons escaped from PSi back into the substrate by tunnelling through an energy barrier at the interface. The barrier was tuned by growing an oxide in PSi. The higher the injection level, or the less transparent the energy barrier, the slower the PL recovery. The PL recovery was energy selective, the higher energy part of the spectrum recovering earlier then the lower energy part, in agreement with a band emptying itself from the top down. Under high electron injection condition, the selectivity becomes less pronounced. A simple model was proposed to confirm the origin of the PL quenching and the electron escape process by tunnelling. In some cases, it took ∼10 min or more for the PL to fully recover, showing that electrons can stay in PSi for long periods of time without recombining.

BackgroundThe European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)1 recently provided updated guidelines regarding the initiation and modification of disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Therefore, real-world evidence studies are warranted to provide insights into first-line DMARD utilization and durability of response in the second-line setting.ObjectivesTo analyze RA treatment patterns in real-world data and compare durability of response between second-line DMARDs + anti-TNF (TNFi) therapies vs. TNFi monotherapy.MethodsElectronic health records (EHRs) from a large health system in the Northeast US were used to identify RA patients. Lines of therapy were defined based on confirmed prescriptions for DMARDs and TNFi therapies. Time to next treatment (TTNT) was the primary outcome to estimate durability of response. Time-to-event analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test methods. In addition, a Cox Proportional-Hazards (CoxPH) model was used to evaluate covariates as independent predictors of disease progression.ResultsOur study cohort consisted of 8,040 patients who had at least one line of therapy for RA. Conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs) were the predominant first line of therapy in this dataset (71.3%), followed by TNFi alone (11.1%) or TNFi combined with csDMARD (9.1%) (Figure 1).For patients who had csDMARD as their first line of therapy, 22.93% progressed to second line treatment. Among them 36.2% patients were TNFi with or without in combination with csDMARDs. In the second-line, TNFi + csDMARDs were associated with a longer TTNT (median time: 13.1 months vs 6.1 months, P < 0.005) compared to TNFi monotherapy. The multiple variable CoxPH model (adjusted for age, gender, and race) demonstrated that second-line TNFi + csDMARDs had a lower hazard rate when compared to TNFi monotherapy (HR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.36 - 1.12, p < 0.005).ConclusionWe demonstrated the first comprehensive treatment sequencing patterns in RA from a real-world setting. As a second-line therapy for patients with inadequate response to csDMARDS, the TNFi + csDMARDs combination may improve duration of response when compared to TNFi monotherapy. Results from this study will inform future sequencing strategies to improve patient outcomes.References[1]Smolen, Josef S., Robert B. M. Landewé, Johannes W. J. Bijlsma, Gerd R. Burmester, Maxime Dougados, Andreas Kerschbaumer, Iain B. McInnes, et al. 2020. “EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis with Synthetic and Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: 2019 Update.” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 79 (6): 685–99.Disclosure of InterestsLei Ai: None declared, Mitchell Higashi: None declared, Kyeryoung Lee: None declared, Zongzhi Liu: None declared, Lan Jin: None declared, Kalpana Raja: None declared, Yun Mai: None declared, Tomi Jun: None declared, William Oh Consultant of: JanssenPfizer, Aviva Beckmann: None declared, Emilio Schadt: None declared, Zachary Schadt: None declared, Rick Wallsten: None declared, Ediz Calay: None declared, Andrew Kasarskis: None declared, Qi Pan: None declared, Eric Schadt Speakers bureau: Eli Lilly, Consultant of: SAB of Eli LillyCelgene, Xiaoyan Wang: None declared

The photoluminescence (PL) of various porous silicon (PSi) layers was studied during chemical dissolution in HF. The relative PL quantum efficiency of some layers was also monitored. Typically, the PL increased, reached a maximum and then dropped down to complete extinction, accompanied with a PL blueshift. During PL fall, both the PL intensity and layer quantum efficiency fell sharply, accompanied by a decrease in full width at half maximum and a slowing blueshift. In the final stage, the PL intensity decreased without any further blueshift, the saturated PL peak wavelength being ∼515 nm (∼2.4 eV) for most layers, identifying a high energy limit for the achievable PL of hydrogen-terminated Si nanostructures. Our results show that sudden catastrophic mechanical failure of nanostructure cannot explain the sharp PL drop and saturation of PL blueshift. Rather, they support the idea of a critical size (∼1.5–2 nm) below which the PL quantum efficiency vanishes. The possible reasons were discussed, privileging the emergence of structural non-radiative defects below a certain size, though the decreasing intrinsic quantum efficiency of Si nanocrystals with decreasing size could also play an important role. Maximum PL intensity was generally obtained for a peak wavelength of ∼565 nm (∼2.2 eV).

Atmospheric CO2 enrichment usually increases the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of grassland vegetation, but the magnitude of the ANPP-CO2 response differs among ecosystems. Soil properties affect ANPP via multiple mechanisms and vary over topographic to geographic gradients, but have received little attention as potential modifiers of the ANPP-CO2 response. We assessed the effects of three soil types, sandy loam, silty clay and clay, on the ANPP response of perennial C3 /C4 grassland communities to a subambient to elevated CO2 gradient over 10 yr in Texas, USA. We predicted an interactive, rather than additive, effect of CO2 and soil type on ANPP. Contrary to prediction, CO2 and soil additively influenced grassland ANPP. Increasing CO2 by 250 μl l-1 increased ANPP by 170 g m-2 across soil types. Increased clay content from 10% to 50% among soils reduced ANPP by 50 g m-2 . CO2 enrichment increased ANPP via a predominant direct effect, accompanied by a smaller indirect effect mediated by a successional shift to increased dominance of the C4 tallgrass Sorghastrum nutans. Our results indicate a large, positive influence of CO2 enrichment on grassland productivity that resulted from the direct physiological benefits of CO2 augmented by species succession, and was expressed similarly across soils of differing physical properties.

The transient proper orthogonal decomposition (TPOD) method is applied for order reduction in the rotor system in this paper. A 26-DOFs rotor model with crack is established by the Newton’s second law, and the dynamical behaviors (bifurcation diagram, mplitude frequency curve, etc.) of the crack fault are discussed. The optimal reduced model can be provided by the proper orthogonal mode (POM) energy method, the TPOD method is applied to reduce the original system to a three-DOFs one at a certain speed corresponds to the maximum energy. The efficiency of the TPOD method is verified via comparing with the bifurcation diagram of the original and reduced rotor system. The order reduction method provides qualitative analysis to study the reduced model of the high-dimensional rotor system.

The western US Corn Belt is projected to experience major changes in growing conditions due to climate change over the next 50 to 100 yr. Projected changes include increases in growing season length, number of high temperature stress days and warm nights, and precipitation, with more heavy rainfall events. The impact these changes will have on soil organic carbon (SOC) needs to be estimated and adaptive changes in management developed to sustain soil health and system services. The process-based model CQESTR was used to model changes in SOC stocks (0-30 cm) of continuous corn ( L.) and a corn-soybean [ (L.) Merr.] rotation under disk, chisel, ridge, and no-tillage using projected growing season conditions for the next 50 yr. Input for the model was based on management and harvest records from a long-term tillage study (1986-2015) in eastern Nebraska, and model output was validated using measured changes in SOC from 1999 to 2011 in the study. The validated model was used to estimate changes in SOC over 17 yr under climatic conditions projected for 2065 under two scenarios: (i) crop yields increasing at the observed rate from 1971 to 2016 or (ii) crop yields reduced due to negative effects of increasing temperature. CQESTR estimates of SOC agreed well with measured SOC ( = 0.70, < 0.0001). Validated model simulated changes in SOC under projected climate change differed among the three soil depths (0-7.5, 7.5-15, and 15-30 cm). Summed over the 0- to 30-cm depth, there were significant three-way interactions of year × rotation × yield ( = 0.014) and year × tillage × yield ( < 0.001). As yield increased, SOC increased under no-tillage continuous corn but was unchanged under no-tillage corn-soybean and ridge tillage regardless of cropping system. Under chisel and disk tillage, SOC declined regardless of cropping system. With declining yields SOC decreased regardless of tillage or cropping system. These results highlight the interaction between genetics and management in maintaining yield trends and soil C.

Cellulosic biofuels are an important source of renewable biomass within the alternative energy portfolio. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a perennial C4 grass native to North America, is widely studied as a biofuel feedstock for its consistently high yields and minimal input requirements. The influences of precipitation amount and temporal variability on the fertilizer response of switchgrass productivity are not fully understood. Moreover, global climate models predict changes in rainfall patterns towards lower and increasingly variable soil water availability in several productive areas worldwide, which may impact net primary production of biofuel crops. We conducted a meta-analysis of aboveground net primary production of switchgrass from 48 publications encompassing 82 different locations, 11 soil types, 52 switchgrass cultivars, fertilizer inputs between 0 to 896 kg N ha−1 year−1, and 1 to 6 years of annual productivity measures repeated on the same stand. Productivity of the lowland ecotype doubled with N rates > 131 kg N ha−1 year−1, but upland ecotype productivity increased only by 50%. Results showed an optimum N rate of 30 to 60 kg N ha−1 year−1 for both ecotypes, after which biomass gain per unit of N added decreased. Growing season precipitation (GSPPT) and inter-annual precipitation variability (inter-PPTvar) affected both ecotypes similarly. Long-term mean annual precipitation (MAP) differentially affected lowland and upland productivity, depending on the N level. Productivity responses to MAP and GSPPT were similar for both upland and lowland ecotypes at none or low N rates. When N increased beyond 60 kg N ha−1 year−1, lowland cultivars had a greater growth response to MAP than uplands. Productivity increased with increasing GSPPT and MAP and had a positive linear response to MAP ranging from 600 to 1200 mm year−1. One third of the variability in switchgrass production was accounted for by inter-PPTvar. After accounting for MAP, sites with higher inter-PPTvar had lower switchgrass productivity than sites with lower inter-PPTvar. Increased inter-annual variation in precipitation reduced production of both ecotypes. Predicted changes in the amount and timing of precipitation thus likely will exert greater influence on production of upland than lowland ecotypes of switchgrass.

Decomposing animals alter soil biogeochemical cycles, and these natural ephemeral nutrient patches (or ‘hotspots’) are important for maintaining landscape heterogeneity and enriching local biodiversity. Soil nitrogen (N) enrichment associated with decomposing animals has been documented, but to date an integrated systems-level understanding of the fate and rates of N compound transformations is lacking. The goal of this study was to develop a comprehensive view of temporal changes in N biogeochemical cycling during vertebrate decay. Vertebrate decomposition significantly altered soil N cycling, and was divided into three main biogeochemical phases based on soil chemistry. Phase one included initial and early decay, distinguished by oxic soils with low, background carbon and N cycling rates. Fluid release and insect colonization during active and advanced decay, defined as phase two, stimulated soil microbial communities, particularly those able to degrade phospholipids and nucleic acids. This resulted in anaerobic soils, 250 times greater ammonium and ten times greater carbon dioxide than background, and the highest 15N-enrichment rates. The final biogeochemical phase, encompassing the early and late skeletal stages, was characterized by enhanced nitrification and denitrification as evidenced by significantly elevated nitrate, dissolved organic nitrogen, and enhanced nitrous oxide release. As a result of decay and multiple synchronous processes, soil δ15N was enriched by 6–10‰ above background, demonstrating the influence of decay on soil isotopic signatures. This work provides a systems-level synthesis of N redistribution during animal decay and has significant implications for our understanding of nutrient turnover rates and dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems.

BACKGROUND Macrophages are known to be crucial to timely and efficacious wound healing. They have been shown to modulate inflammation and the migration and proliferation of regenerative cells, promoting tissue deposition and wound closure. This study explored the use of the natural antigen Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R (α-gal), present in lower mammals yet absent in Old World primates and humans, to induce a transiently enhanced macrophage response and thereby direct accelerated wound closure and healing in a standard murine model. METHODS α1,3galactosyltransferase knockout mice were stimulated to produce anti-Gal antibodies at levels comparable with humans. α-Gal-containing micelle nanoparticles were generated and applied to full-thickness splinted wounds on the mice. At 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 days postoperatively, mice were killed, and wounds were analyzed histologically for macrophage invasion, epithelialization, vascularization, and granulation tissue deposition. Flow cytometry of wound tissue was performed to quantify relative levels of proinflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage subtypes. RESULTS Treatment of splinted full-thickness murine wounds with α-gal-containing nanoparticles led to accelerated wound healing and closure as demonstrated by accelerated rates of keratinization, vascular growth, and wound tissue deposition. Furthermore, treated wounds demonstrated early and enhanced macrophage invasion, as well as a lower M1-M2 ratio. CONCLUSION Application of α-gal-containing nanoparticles to wounds stimulated a transiently increased inflammatory response, accelerating the rate of wound healing. Use of α-gal may be a simple and effective way to stimulate the wound healing response in both normal and pathologic wound beds.

We investigate the topological properties of a trimerized parity–time ( P T ) symmetric non-Hermitian rhombic lattice. Although the system is P T -symmetric, the topology is not inherited from the Hermitian lattice; in contrast, the topology can be altered by the non-Hermiticity and depends on the couplings between the sublattices. The bulk–boundary correspondence is valid and the Bloch bulk captures the band topology. Topological edge states present in the two band gaps and are predicted from the global Zak phase obtained through the Wilson loop approach. In addition, the anomalous edge states compactly localize within two diamond plaquettes at the boundaries when all bands are flat at the exceptional point of the lattice. Our findings reveal the topological properties of the P T -symmetric non-Hermitian rhombic lattice and shed light on the investigation of multi-band non-Hermitian topological phases.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important for plant nutrient and water acquisition. Much is known about how nutrient addition and environment affect AMF, but little is known about nutrient by environment interactions. We measured AMF colonization with nutrient additions and along an environmental gradient to assess these interactions. We measured AMF colonization in roots of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx) Nash) with nutrient addition and across an environmental gradient. We assessed how AMF colonization changed across different fertilization treatments, and used ridge regression to determine nutrient, environment, and nutrient by environment interaction variables that predicted AMF colonization. The addition of nitrogen decreased AMF colonization, while mean annual temperature (MAT) and soil pH both positively predicted the percentage of AMF colonization in Schizachyrium scoparium. Additionally, we found an interaction term between MAT and phosphorus treatments that significantly affected percent AMF colonization. Our results show the importance of understanding environmental conditions on AMF as well as nutrient by environment interactions when assessing how AMF respond to nutrient addition. Here we present a full-factorial nutrient addition study along an environmental gradient to assess how AMF root colonization is influenced by abiotic factors in addition to nutrients.

This study assessed the effects of applying Pediococcus pentosaceus (PED) or Pichia anomala (PIC) in combination with chitinase (CH) on the conservation characteristics and rumen digestibility of large round‐bale high‐moisture alfalfa hay (HMH). Alfalfa was wilted in the field to 23%–27% moisture and baled without (Control) or with PED + CH, PIC + CH and propionic acid (PA). The study was repeated yearly from 2012 to 2014. The PED + CH‐treated HMH had the numerically lowest high degree day (bale internal temperature >30°C) in all 3 years, which was less (p

Continuing enrichment of atmospheric CO2 may change plant community composition, in part by altering the availability of other limiting resources including soil water, nutrients, or light. The combined effects of CO2 enrichment and altered resource availability on species flowering remain poorly understood. We quantified flowering culm and ramet production and biomass allocation to flowering culms/ramets for 10 years in C4 -dominated grassland communities on contrasting soils along a CO2 concentration gradient spanning pre-industrial to expected mid-21st century levels (250-500 μl/L). CO2 enrichment explained up to 77% of the variation in flowering culm count across soils for three of the five species, and was correlated with flowering culm count on at least one soil for four of five species. In contrast, allocation to flowering culms was only weakly correlated with CO2 enrichment for two species. Flowering culm counts were strongly correlated with species aboveground biomass (AGB; R2 = .34-.74), a measure of species abundance. CO2 enrichment also increased soil moisture and decreased light levels within the canopy but did not affect soil inorganic nitrogen availability. Structural equation models fit across the soils suggested species-specific controls on flowering in two general forms: (1) CO2 effects on flowering culm count mediated by canopy light level and relative species AGB (species AGB/total AGB) or by soil moisture effects on flowering culm count; (2) effects of canopy light level or soil inorganic nitrogen on flowering and/or relative species AGB, but with no significant CO2 effect. Understanding the heterogeneity in species responses to CO2 enrichment in plant communities across soils in edaphically variable landscapes is critical to predict CO2 effects on flowering and other plant fitness components, and species potential to adapt to future environmental changes.

There is growing interest in sugarcane straw removal from the field to use as raw material for bioenergy production. In contrast, sugarcane straw removal may have negative implications for many soil ecosystem services and subsequent plant growth. A two-year experiment was conducted at Bom Retiro and Univalem mills within the dry and wet seasons for assessing the impact of straw rates removal on plant production. The experimental design was randomized blocks with five treatments proportional to 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of straw removal. Plant parameters evaluated included: tillering, phytomass accumulation, stalk yield and stalk industrial quality. Straw removal increased plant tillering at Bom Retiro mill in both seasons and within dry season at Univalem mill, however the plant population at the end of each ratoon cycle was not affected by straw management. Phytomass yield across each ratoon cycle was fit to a sigmoidal model (R2 ≥ 0.92, p

Final heat treatment involving partial melting and recrystallization under a high pressure of 50–100 bar is not conducive to the preparation of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O x (Bi2212) magnets; it also greatly increases the cost of research into Bi2212 wires. To solve these problems, in this work a final heat treatment under 10 bar was used to prepare Bi2212 wires with a high bulk density and high critical current density (J c). The ambient pressure of the final heat treatment in this paper is only one-fifth of that of the traditional overpressure for final heat treatment of Bi2212 wires. The J c of the wires is more than 2.4 times higher than that of Bi2212 wires with a final heat treatment at 1 bar and is consistent with that of samples having a final heat treatment at the traditional 50–100 bar. The reason why the ambient pressure of the final heat treatment can be greatly reduced in this work is: (a) vacuum degassing of the precursor powder eliminated the adsorption and interstitial impurity gases in the long Bi2212 wires, and reduced the internal gas pressure of the wires; (b) pre-treatment at 800 °C and 250 bar compressed the Bi2212 wires to their full density. Thus, during the subsequent final heat treatment, the low ambient pressure of 10 bar can overcome the difference between the residual gas pressure inside the wires and the yield strength or creep strength of the Ag sheath, and prevent expansion of the internal gas in the wires, so that the Bi2212 wires are always close to full density. The ambient pressure of the final heat treatment in this paper needs to prevent the expansion of the Bi2212 wires not compress them, so the pressure can be very low. The 10 bar low pressure final heat treatment will solve the problems of the high cost of research into Bi2212 wires and the difficult overpressure heat treatment of Bi2212 magnets.

In this paper, the output regulation problem with dissipative property for a class of switched stochastic delay systems is investigated, based on an error-dependent switching law. Under the assumpt...

Acetylation of histone proteins is a major determinant of chromatin structure and function. Fertilisation triggers a round of chromatin remodelling that prepares the genome for the first round of transcription from the new embryonic genome. In this study we confirm that fertilisation leads to a marked progressive increase in the level of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation in both the paternally and maternally derived genomes. The culture of zygotes in simple defined media caused a marked increase in the global level of acetylation and this affected the male pronucleus more than the female. The culture created a marked asymmetry in staining between the two pronuclei that was not readily detected in zygotes collected directly from the reproductive tract and was ameliorated to some extent by optimized culture media. The increased acetylation caused by culture resulted in increased transcription ofHspa1b, a marker of embryonic genome activation. Pharmacological analyses showed the hyperacetylation of H3K9 and the increased expression ofHspa1bcaused by culture were due to the altered net activity of a range of histone acetylases and deacetylases. The marked hyperacetylation of histone 3 lysine 9 caused by culture of zygotes may serve as an early biomarker for the effects of culture on the normal function of the embryo. The results also provide further evidence for an effect of the stresses associated with assisted reproductive technologies on the normal patterns of epigenetic reprogramming in the early embryo.

The importance of rhizodeposit C and associated microbial communities in deep soil C stabilization is relatively unknown. Phenotypic variability in plant root biomass could impact C cycling through belowground plant allocation, rooting architecture, and microbial community abundance and composition. We used a pulse-chase 13C labeling experiment with compound-specific stable-isotope probing to investigate the importance of rhizodeposit C to deep soil microbial biomass under two switchgrass ecotypes (Panicum virgatum L., Kanlow and Summer) with contrasting root morphology. We quantified root phenology, soil microbial biomass (phospholipid fatty acids, PLFA), and microbial rhizodeposit uptake (13C-PLFAs) to 150 cm over one year during a severe drought. The lowland ecotype, Kanlow, had two times more root biomass with a coarser root system compared to the upland ecotype, Summer. Over the drought, Kanlow lost 78% of its root biomass, while Summer lost only 60%. Rhizosphere microbial communities associated with both ecotypes were similar. However, rhizodeposit uptake under Kanlow had a higher relative abundance of gram-negative bacteria (44.1%), and Summer rhizodeposit uptake was primarily in saprotrophic fungi (48.5%). Both microbial community composition and rhizodeposit uptake shifted over the drought into gram-positive communities. Rhizosphere soil C was greater one year later under Kanlow due to turnover of unlabeled structural root C. Despite a much greater root biomass under Kanlow, rhizosphere δ13C was not significantly different between the two ecotypes, suggesting greater microbial C input under the finer rooted species, Summer, whose microbial associations were predominately saprotrophic fungi. Ecotype specific microbial communities can direct rhizodeposit C flow and C accrual deep in the soil profile and illustrate the importance of the microbial community in plant strategies to survive environmental stress such as drought.

Background Nearly 6 million deaths and over a half trillion dollars in healthcare costs worldwide are attributed to tobacco smoking each year. Extensive research efforts have been pursued to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of smoking addiction and facilitate cessation. In this study, we genotyped and obtained both resting state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging from 64 non-smokers and 42 smokers. Smokers were imaged after having smoked normally (“sated”) and after having not smoked for at least 12 h (“abstinent”). Results While abstinent smokers did not differ from non-smokers with respect to pairwise resting state functional connectivities (RSFCs) between 12 brain regions of interest, RSFCs involving the caudate and putamen of sated smokers significantly differed from those of non-smokers (P

An improved understanding of the impact of tillage systems on soil hydraulic properties is necessary to conserve and manage soil water under a changing climate. The objective of this study was to specifically measure soil hydraulic properties (total porosity, water infiltration, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and water retention characteristics) in no-till, chisel plow, disk, and moldboard plow systems under rainfed continuous corn (Zea mays L.) after 35 yr on silty clay loam soils in eastern Nebraska. We measured ponded water infiltration (positive soil water pressure) and tension (−1 kPa matric potential) infiltration to exclude macropore (>125 μm diameter) flow. Tillage treatments affected ponded infiltration only. Moldboard plow significantly increased ponded infiltration rate by 21.6 cm h−1 at 5 min and by 8.8 cm h−1 at 60 min compared with no-till. However, when compared with disk and chisel, moldboard plow increased ponded infiltration rates at all measurements times, which lasted 3 h. Regarding cumulative infiltration, moldboard plow increased cumulative infiltration by 26.9 cm to 39.0 cm after 3 h compared with other tillage systems. Similarities in tension infiltration suggest that the higher ponded infiltration for moldboard plow was most likely due to the presence of voids or fractures (>125 μm) created by full inversion tillage. Total porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and water retention among the treatments did not differ. Overall, soil hydraulic properties did not differ among tillage systems except water infiltration in these silty clay loam soils after 35 yr of management.

Medicinal plants are the main source of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which provides the basic protection of human health. The research and application of medicinal plant classification methodology has important implications in the TCM resource preservation, TCM authentication, and the teaching method of TCM identification. This paper proposes an automatic classification method based on leaf images of medicinal plants to address the limitation of manual classification method in identifying medicinal plants. Our approach will first preprocess the leaf images of medicinal plants; then it will compute the ten shape feature (SF) and five texture characteristics (TF); finally, it will classify the leaves of medicinal plants using support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The classifier has been applied to 12 different medicinal plant leaf images and achieved an average successful recognition rate of 93.3%. The result indicates that it is feasible to automatically classify medicinal plants by using multi-feature extraction of leaf images in combination with SVM. The paper provides a valuable theoretical framework in the research and development of medicinal plant classification system.

SESSION TITLE: Medical Student/Resident Lung Cancer Posters SESSION TYPE: Med Student/Res Case Rep Postr PRESENTED ON: October 18-21, 2020 INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has set a precedent for medicine, especially vulnerable immunocompromised patients Cancer patients are facing a dilemma, uncertain of their treatment course, and the serious risk of contracting the viral illness, all while there is no current research showing mortality rates in this group We present a rapidly evolving undiagnosed COVID-19 patient after chemotherapy initiation for a recent lung cancer diagnosis CASE PRESENTATION: A 64-year-old Caucasian male with a history of COPD, tobacco use and a recent diagnosis of lung cancer presented to the emergency department after experiencing palpitations and 10 days of malaise and dyspnea on exertion Prior to this, he underwent lung cancer screening with a CT chest scan on April 19, 2020 (baseline CT chest, Figure 1) The results showed a left lower lobe mass without infiltrates, subsequently biopsied and confirmed small cell lung carcinoma Upon presentation to our hospital on May 1, 2020, our patient’s labs were significant for – absolute lymphocyte count (745), D-dimer (4 33), NT-proBNP (2149), troponin (0 05), ALT (97), AST (87), creatinine (1 39) There was no evidence of an elevated total WBC, abnormal thyroid studies or any labs suggestive of paraneoplastic syndrome His initial ECG showed atrial flutter with a rapid ventricular rate CT chest showed honeycombing lesions in the central right lobe and around the left lobe near the lung mass (Figure 2) Given the patient’s hemodynamic instability, the patient was admitted to the ICU and successfully cardioverted following a negative TEE A respiratory PCR panel returned negative on May 4 (did not include COVID-19) Chemotherapy was initiated with carboplatin, etoposide and dexamethasone A follow-up CT chest revealed evolution of the honeycombing lesions, now spread diffusely, raising concern for COVID-19 (Figure 3) A COVID-19 NAAT returned positive on May 6 DISCUSSION: This case illustrates the increased susceptibility of cancer patients to COVID-19 Given this, we recommend pre-emptive COVID-19 testing for all patients prior to starting any chemotherapy Secondly, this serves as an example of the rapid evolution of COVID-19, and the benefits of repeated imaging CONCLUSIONS: Prior reports from Chinese patients showed bilateral infiltrates upon admission 79% of the time and median 5 days of symptom onset to admission (Zhao1) CT chest scans typically showed ground glass opacities and bilateral patchy shadowing (Guan2, Shi3) If testing is not readily available or turn-around time is prolonged, repeat CT chest scans can help guide treatment Having a baseline CT chest helped initiate testing for COVID-19 after his symptoms worsened once he received chemotherapy The evolution is rapid, requiring a high index of suspicion for diagnosis and extensive testing to monitor the course in these patients This case hopes to set a standard for similar patients Reference #1: Zhao D, Yao F, Wang L, et al A comparative study on the clinical features of COVID-19 pneumonia to other pneumonias Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaa247, March 12, 2020 DOI: https://academic oup com/cid/advance-article/doi/10 1093/cid/ciaa247/5803302external icon Reference #2: Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, et al Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Chinaexternal icon N Engl J Med February 28, 2020 DOI: 10 1056/NEJMoa2002032 Reference #3: Shi H, Han X, Jiang N, et al Radiological findings from 81 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study The Lancet Published online February 24, 2020 https://www sciencedirect com/science/article/pii/S1473309920300864 DOI: 10 1016/S1473-3099(20)30086-4 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Ralph Apolinario, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Oziel Garza de la Garza, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by James Hanley, source=Web Response No relevant relationshi s by Luyang Jin, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Ayman Khaddam, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Henderson Lopez, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Jeann Maldonado Cintron, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Earl Mejia, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Alberto Montalvo, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Rafael Otero, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Nayeli Zarate, source=Web Response

1. This study aimed to investigate effects of dietary fibre and grit on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract development, and gizzard grit retention of geese. 2. The trial had a 3 × 2 factorial design consisting of three levels of dietary crude fibre (CF, 4%, 7% and 10%, adjusted by grass powder), with or without grit addition (1-4 mm river sand). 3. In total, 648, 22-d-old male goslings were randomly allotted to six treatments (six pens/treatment). At 49 d and 70 d of age, one goose per pen was euthanised to collect samples. 4. The birds fed 10% CF had decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) during 22-49 d, but this effect was less in older geese. Increasing dietary CF levels increased relative weights of gizzards for geese aged 49 d and 70 d. Grit addition decreased the relative weights of gizzard and duodenum of geese aged 49 d. The gizzard of geese could selectively retain grit from feed even with no grit added. With adequate supply, most grit in gizzard was 0.45-3 mm in size. 5. In conclusion, supplement of CF and grit mainly affected gastrointestinal tract, and the amount of CF affected FCR. Geese aged 22-49 d could utilise dietary CF levels of 4%-7% and older birds could feed on diets with up to 10% CF. The gizzard of goose selectively retained grit of a particle size of 0.45-3 mm.

β-delayed one-proton emissions of ^{22}Si, the lightest nucleus with an isospin projection T_{z}=-3, are studied with a silicon array surrounded by high-purity germanium detectors. Properties of β-decay branches and the reduced transition probabilities for the transitions to the low-lying states of ^{22}Al are determined. Compared to the mirror β decay of ^{22}O, the largest value of mirror asymmetry in low-lying states by far, with δ=209(96), is found in the transition to the first 1^{+} excited state. Shell-model calculation with isospin-nonconserving forces, including the T=1, J=2, 3 interaction related to the s_{1/2} orbit that introduces explicitly the isospin-symmetry breaking force and describes the loosely bound nature of the wave functions of the s_{1/2} orbit, can reproduce the observed data well and consistently explain the observation that a large δ value occurs for the first but not for the second 1^{+} excited state of ^{22}Al. Our results, while supporting the proton-halo structure in ^{22}Al, might provide another means to identify halo nuclei.

Understanding the impacts of long‐term fertilizer management and rotation diversity on soil C and N is needed under a changing climate. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of N fertilizer level and crop rotation diversity on soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil N stocks from a 34‐yr study located in eastern Nebraska. Seven crop rotations (three continuous cropping systems; two 2‐yr crop rotations; and two 4‐yr crop rotations) and three N levels were compared. Soil samples were taken to a depth of 150 cm. Differences in SOC stocks were largely confined to the 0‐ to 7.5‐cm depth, with greater SOC (P = .0002) in rotations than continuous cropping systems and greater SOC (P = .0004) in 4‐yr vs. 2‐yr rotations. Total soil N was greater with increased crop rotation diversity for the 0‐ to 30‐cm soil profile. Greater SOC levels occurred with N fertilization for the 0‐ to 7.5‐cm depth. At the 0‐ to 150‐cm soil depth, SOC stocks were similar between N levels and greater for the 4‐yr vs. 2‐yr crop rotations (P = .0492). Trends in total N stocks were similar to those of SOC stocks. Overall, crop rotation had a larger effect on SOC and N stocks than N fertilizer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Flow diverter–induced hemodynamic change plays an important role in the mechanism of intracranial aneurysm occlusion. Our aim was to explore the relationship between aneurysm features and flow-diverter treatment of unruptured sidewall intracranial aneurysms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR imaging, 4D phase-contrast, was prospectively performed before flow diverter implantation in each patient with unruptured intracranial aneurysm. Two postprocedure follow-ups were scheduled at 6 and 12 months. Responses were grouped according to whether the aneurysms were occluded or remnant. Preprocedural aneurysm geometries and ostium hemodynamics in 38 patients were compared between the 2 groups at 6 and 12 months. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed for significant geometric and hemodynamic continuous parameters. RESULTS: After the 6-month assessment, 21 of 41 intracranial aneurysms were occluded, and 9 additional aneurysms were occluded at 12 months. Geometrically, the ostium maximum diameter was significantly larger in the remnant group at 6 and 12 months (both P

左炔诺孕酮宫内缓释系统（LNG-IUS）是1种子宫腔内高效孕激素的缓释系统，全球获批的适应证包括避孕、月经过多、痛经以及雌激素补充治疗过程中预防子宫内膜增生，在中国获批的适应证目前限于前两种。本专家共识不仅对LNG-IUS用于各年龄段女性避孕，以及用于不同病因导致的月经过多的长期管理进行了系统的证据梳理并给出了推荐建议；也对LNG-IUS用于子宫肌瘤、子宫内膜异位症、子宫腺肌病、原发性痛经、子宫内膜息肉、子宫内膜增生等妇科常见病症的临床处理给予了专家建议和指导；还对LNG-IUS的常见不良反应的临床处理方法以及长期使用的安全性问题给予了以循证证据为基础的专家共识性指导建议，均旨在为广大妇产科医师提供临床使用LNG-IUS的实用参考和专家指导。.

In recent years, more and more female adult patients complained the aesthetic problems such as the decline of face fullness during the treatment. In the course of 2-3 years of orthodontic treatment, the age-related change of the facial bone structure in the adult is limited, and therefore, the shape change mainly depends on the change of the soft tissue. In this paper, the factors such as age-increasing factors, the structural factors of the face,the width of the arch and the change of the occlusal height were analyzed to explore the changes of facial soft tissue and related factors in the treatment with a view to providing a reference for clinical application.近年，越来越多的成年正畸女性患者提出矫治过程中面部丰满度下降等美学问题。在为期2~3年的正畸疗程中成年人面部骨骼结构的增龄性变化是有限的，因此，面形的变化主要取决于软组织的改变。本文通过分析正畸治疗过程中面部软组织变化的相关影响因素，如增龄性因素、面部自身的结构因素以及牙弓宽度、咬合高度变化等情况，探讨正畸治疗中面部软组织的变化及其相关影响因素，以期为临床提供参考。.

本文探讨建设项目职业病防护设施设计专篇编制中存在的问题并提出对策建议。分析设计专篇编制的基本情况及其主要内容，包括设计依据、设计范围、工程分析、危害因素分析、防护设施设计方案等部分存在的问题。建议完善法规、出台实施细则、建立培训机制，提升设计人员职业卫生专业素养，提高设计技能；注重防护设施技术参数设计，同时做好内部质量控制，落实专家评审制度，加强监管执法，以提高职业病防护设施设计专篇的质量。.

宫颈浸润性复层产黏液的癌（invasive stratified mucin-producing carcinoma，ISMC）是新近发现的一种宫颈浸润性黏液性腺癌，属于人乳头状瘤相关性腺癌，组织学特点为实性巢状，巢内细胞抱团式镶嵌排列，多层，叠瓦状，可见散在分布数量不等的产黏液细胞，周边细胞栅栏状排列。免疫组织化学染色表达腺癌标志物，p16弥漫阳性，阴性或弱阳性表达p63、p40等鳞癌标志物。ISMC可独立发生或与其他宫颈癌伴发，临床预后差于普通型腺癌，好于胃型黏液腺癌。.

外泌体作为一种小囊泡结构负责细胞间通讯工作，几乎可由所有细胞分泌。转移性前列腺癌90%以上部位为骨转移，前列腺癌这种特殊的"亲骨性"涉及到前列腺癌细胞与细胞外基质、血管内皮和骨髓微环境之间的细胞间信号通讯等复杂过程。本文就肿瘤源性外泌体（TDE）作为细胞间通讯工具诱导上皮-间质转化、血管通透性改变及血管生成、转移前微环境形成等以促使前列腺癌骨转移的发生进行了论述。.

A single unit cell contains all the information about the bulk system, including the topological feature. The topological invariant can be extracted from a finite system, which consists of several unit cells under certain environment, such as a non-Hermitian external field. We present an exact solvable non-Hermitian finite-size Kitaev chain with \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathscr{P}}{\mathscr{T}}$$\end{document}PT-symmetric chemical potentials at the symmetric point. The straightforward calculation shows that there are two kinds of Majorana edge modes in this model divided by \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathscr{P}}{\mathscr{T}}$$\end{document}PT symmetry-broken and unbroken. The one appeared in the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathscr{P}}{\mathscr{T}}$$\end{document}PT symmetry-unbroken region can be seen as the finite-size projection of the conventional degenerate zero modes in a Hermitian infinite system with the open boundary condition. It indicates a possible variant of the bulk-edge correspondence: The number of Majorana edge modes in a finite non-Hermitian system can be the topological invariant to identify the topological phase of the corresponding bulk Hermitian system.