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Abstract The multi-quay berth allocation problem (MQBAP) is an important problem in the planning of seaside operations (POSO) to find the best berthing solution for all the vessels. In this paper, an efficient method based on equilibrium optimizer (EO) is proposed for MQBAP. The dynamic multi-swarm strategy (DMS) is proposed to improve rapid decline problem in population diversity during the iterative process of EO, which is subsequently applied to MQBAP. In this paper, a certain improvement is also made on the original model of MQBAP by proposing an alternate quay selection mechanism, which aims to make the MQBAP model more complete. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm on MQBAP, this paper uses six test cases and seven comparative algorithms to verify it comprehensively from total service cost, berthing time, and berthing location. The results show that DEO achieved the smallest total service costs of 7584 and 19,889 on medium-scale, and 44,998, 38,899, and 57,626 on large-scale systems.

Abstract To examine the joint association of electronic screen time (EST), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time (MVPA) and overweight/obesity with early pubertal development (EPD) in girls. A case–control study of 177 EPD girls and 354 girls with normal pubertal development was conducted between October 2019 and August 2022. Overweight/obesity was defined as body mass index ≥ 85th percentiles for age and sex. We found a non-significant increase of EPD risk among girls with high EST alone [OR: 2.75 (0.65–11.58)] or low MVPA alone [OR: 2.54 (0.74–8.69)], but a significant increase of EPD risk among girls with overweight/obesity alone [OR: 4.91 (1.01–23.92)], compared to girls without any of the three risk factors (low MVPA, high EST and overweight/obesity). Girls with any two of the three risk factors faced increased risk of EPD, and girls with all three risk factors faced the highest risk of EPD [OR and 95% CI: 26.10 (6.40–106.45)]. Being overweight/obesity might be more important than having low MVPA or high EST as a correlate of EPD compared to girls without any of the three risk factors, but the co-presence of low MVPA, high EST and overweight/obesity would largely increase the risk of EPD in girls.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to develop a combined predictive model for early pubertal development (EPD) in girls based on both non-genetic and genetic factors.MethodsThe case-control study encompassed 147 girls diagnosed with EPD and 256 girls who exhibited normal pubertal development. The non-genetic risk score (NGRS) was calculated based on 6 independent biochemical predictors screened by multivariate logistic regressions, and the genetic risk score (GRS) was constructed using 28 EPD related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Area under receiver operator characteristic curve (AROC), net reclassification optimization index (NRI) and integration differentiation index (IDI) were used to evaluate the improvement of adding genetic variants to the non-genetic risk model.ResultsOverweight (OR=2.74), longer electronic screen time (OR=1.79) and higher ratio of plastic bottled water (OR=1.01) were potential risk factors, and longer exercise time (OR=0.51) and longer day sleeping time (OR=0.97) were protective factors for EPD, and the AROC of NGRS model was 83.6% (79.3-87.9%). The GRS showed a significant association with EPD (OR=1.90), and the AROC of GRS model was 65.3% (59.7-70.8%). After adding GRS to the NGRS model, the AROC significantly increased to 85.7% (81.7-89.6%) (P=0.020), and the reclassification significantly improved, with NRI of 8.19% (P= 0.023) and IDI of 4.22% (P

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a heterogeneous, high-mortality clinical syndrome with diverse pathogenesis and prognosis, but it lacks the effective therapy clinically. Its pathogenesis is associated with production of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and infiltration of inflammatory cells. To overcome these pathogenic factors and improve the therapeutic efficiency, we synthesized triptolide-loaded mesoscale polydopamine melanin-mimetic nanoparticles (MeNP4TP) as the antioxidant plus anti-inflammatory therapeutic platform to synergistically scavenge reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (RONS), inhibit the activity of macrophages and dendritic cells, and generate Treg cells for AKI therapy. It was demonstrated that mesoscale size was beneficial for MeNP4TP to specifically accumulate at renal tubule cells, and MeNP4TP could significantly attenuate oxidative stress, reduce proinflammatory immune cells in renal, and repair renal function in cisplatin-induced AKI mouse model. MeNP4TP might be a potential candidate to inhibit oxidative damages and inflammatory events in AKI.

The hydrogen recirculation pump is a key component of fuel cell systems. The aerodynamic performance of a novel co-rotating scroll hydrogen recirculation pump with the array scroll structure was investigated in this study. The performance differences between the co-rotating and orbiting scroll pumps were obtained via computational fluid dynamics approach. The flow loss mechanism of the co-rotating scroll pump was revealed by the entropy production analysis and omega vortex identification. The results show that compared with the orbiting scroll pump, the co-rotating one has a better over-compression consistency between adjacent working chambers, and a higher isentropic efficiency with a lower direct dissipation entropy production. Main flow losses of co-rotating scroll pump originate from the turbulent and direct dissipations in scroll chambers, and mainly occur in the discharge process. The large-scale omega vortices flow is responsible for the pump flow losses. The strengthened large-scale omega vortex expands the area of high entropy production in central discharge region. The suction flow losses increase due to the strengthened suction flow separations. The total area of omega vortex in the surrounding and central regions contrarily change with the pump isentropic efficiency. The smallest area of omega vortex represents the minimum flow loss of the co-rotating scroll pump at 7500 r·min−1.

IntroductionThe automatic precision detection technology based on electroencephalography (EEG) is essential in epilepsy studies. It can provide objective proof for epilepsy diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation, thus helping doctors improve treatment efficiency. At present, the normal and acute phases of epilepsy can be well identified through EEG analysis, but distinguishing between the normal and chronic phases is still tricky.MethodsIn this paper, five popular complexity indicators of EEG signal, including approximate entropy, sample entropy, permutation entropy, fuzzy entropy and Kolmogorov complexity, are computed from rat hippocampi to characterize the normal, acute, and chronic phases during epileptogenesis. Results of one-way ANOVA and principal component analysis both show that utilizing complexity features, we are able to easily identify differences between normal, acute, and chronic phases. We also propose an innovative framework for epilepsy detection based on graph convolutional neural network (GCNN) using multi-channel EEG complexity as input.ResultsCombining information of five complexity measures at eight channels, our GCNN model demonstrate superior ability in recognizing the normal, acute, and chronic phases. Experiments results show that our GCNN model reached the high prediction accuracy above 98% and F1 score above 97% among these three phases for each individual rat.DiscussionOur research practice based on real data shows that EEG complexity characteristics are of great significance for recognizing different stages of epilepsy.

Phase change materials and geometric structure of latent heat storage (LHS) devices constitute crucial factors affecting the performance of phase change thermal energy storage systems. In this study, focusing on the LHS system with a heat source temperature of 150 °C, a rectangular finned-tube latent heat storage device was designed and fabricated. Polyethylene wax (PEW) with a 10% mass fraction of expanded graphite was adopted to prepare the composite phase change material. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the device with varying inlet temperatures and mass flow rates. The experimental results showed that the process of heat storage and release was predominantly governed by thermal conduction due to the high viscosity of PEW. Although the temperature variations in various directions within the LHS device remain nearly consistent, the heat transfer in the non-fin regions on the rectangular LHS device walls and corners was comparatively inferior due to the absence of natural convective heat transfer. In comparison to the mass flow rate, the inlet temperature exerts a more significant impact on accelerating the heat storage/release processes. While an increase in the mass flow rate enhanced the heat transfer capacity, its slightly accelerates the heat transfer duration. Moreover, the heat release ratio of the device exhibits an initial increase followed by a decrease with an increasing mass flow rate. In practical applications, prioritizing an increase in inlet temperature difference proves to be more effective than adjusting mass flow rate to enhance the heat storage performance.

Abstract Background A new technique for analgesia called pectoral nerve block is widely used in surgeries of breast cancer. Pectoral nerve block type II (Pecs II) block has less influence on immunity when compared with general anesthesia method. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate whether Pecs II block has influence on the recurrence of breast cancer after surgical operation. Methods 526 breast cancer patients were recruited in this research and randomized into general anesthesia group and general anesthesia with Pecs II block group. Recurrence-free survival (RFS), distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated for the two groups. Results Based on the statistical data, only the consumption of remifentanil was dramatically reduced by the performance of Pecs II block when compared with general anesthesia method. The performance of Pecs II block had no significant influence on OS, RFS, and DRFS of breast cancer patients after surgery. ASA physical status III, TNM stage 2 + 3, and mastectomy were proved to have association with lower recurrence-free survival. Conclusion In conclusion, the performance of Pecs II block declined the remifentanil consumption during surgery of breast cancer. Meanwhile, the performance of Pecs II block had no significant influence on the OS, RFS, and DRFS of breast cancer patients after surgical resection.

A potted experiment was conducted to explore the accumulation of arsenic (As) and predict the uptake of As by a wheat-maize rotation system in calcareous soil with different rates of sewage sludge (SS) amendment over two consecutive years. The SS amendment decreased the pH value of calcareous soil but increased the cation exchange capacity (CEC), calcium carbonate (CC), organic carbon (OC) and As accumulation in soil and crops with increasing SS addition. The As bioconcentration factor (BCF) of wheat and maize had a significant negative correlation with pH, CC and a significant positive correlation with OC. Soil CEC had a significant positive correlation only with the As BCF of wheat. Regression analysis showed that soil As, pH, OC, CC and CEC were good predictors of the As concentration in wheat/maize. The regression model for each part of the wheat/maize plants had a high model efficiency value and explained 67~88% of the variability. The R2 values of the wheat and maize grain prediction models were 79% and 76%, respectively. Thus, these models contribute to the study of As risk assessment for sewage sludge utilisation in calcareous soil-wheat/maize rotation systems.

Schwann cells (SCs) dominate the regenerative behaviors after peripheral nerve injury by supporting axonal regrowth and remyelination. Previous reports also demonstrated that the existence of SCs is beneficial for nerve regeneration after traumatic injuries in central nervous system. Therefore, the transplantation of SCs/SC-like cells serves as a feasible cell therapy to reconstruct the microenvironment and promote nerve functional recovery for both peripheral and central nerve injury repair. However, direct cell transplantation often leads to low efficacy, due to injection induced cell damage and rapid loss in the circulatory system. In recent years, biomaterials have received great attention as functional carriers for effective cell transplantation. To better mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM), many biodegradable materials have been engineered with compositional and/or topological cues to maintain the biological properties of the SCs/SCs-like cells. In addition, ECM components or factors secreted by SCs also actively contribute to nerve regeneration. Such cell-free transplantation approaches may provide great promise in clinical translation. In this review, we first present the current bio-scaffolds engineered for SC transplantation and their achievement in animal models and clinical applications. To this end, we focus on the physical and biological properties of different biomaterials and highlight how these properties affect the biological behaviors of the SCs/SC-like cells. Second, the SC-derived biomaterials are also reviewed and discussed. Finally, the relationship between SCs and functional biomaterials is summarized, and the trends of their future development are predicted toward clinical applications.

A solid-state heat pump using the electrocaloric effect (ECE) provides a new idea for the future development of heat pumps. However, most of the electrocaloric (EC) heat pumps presented in the literature are low in efficiency and use at least one moving part, which significantly reduces the reliability of the heat pump and adds to its complexities. In this context, combining the positive and negative ECEs, we proposed a plate-laminar non-mobile EC heat pump adopting Gallium-based liquid metal as an intermediate medium to guarantee highly efficient heat transfer. Numerical simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics has been performed to investigate the correlation between different operating parameters and the performance of the EC heat pump. Changing the temperature span only, a COP of 8.13 and a UVHP of 746.1 W·dm−3 were obtained at a temperature span of 7 K. It was also found that the UVHP increased by 28.45% and COP increased by 25.46% after adding one layer of EC material. The electric-induced quantity of heat and cooling capacity was found to significantly affect the heating performance. The biggest heating power of 7132.7 W·dm−3 was obtained under 200 MV·m−1, and the biggest COP of 14.84 was obtained under 150 MV·m−1 at a cyclic period of 8 s. This study provides a highly efficient, non-mobile EC heat pump that employs fluid-thermal conjugated heat transfer, and exploration of the parameters makes the optimization of the heat pump possible by fine-tuning the operation parameters.

Nutrient conservation and greenhouse gas emission control during composting have attracted much attention. This study investigated the effects of different amounts of superphosphate (SSP) on greenhouse gas emissions and the dynamic changes in nutrients during pig manure composting. Six treatments were used: pig manure + straw (S1), pig manure + straw + 3% SSP (S2), pig manure + straw + 6% SSP (S3), pig manure (M1), pig manure + 3% SSP (M2), and pig manure + 6% SSP (M3). The results showed that the addition of SSP had no negative effect on organic matter composting, and all treatments met the requirement of being harmless. The contents of TN, TP, and TK increased during the composting process, but the content of organic matter decreased gradually. At the end of composting, the total nutrient content of the pig manure + straw + 6% SSP treatment was the highest (6.39%), while that of the pig manure treatment was the lowest (4.47%). The NH3 emission reductions with additions of 3% and 6% SSP were 37.13~56.80% and 45.63~77.04%, respectively, compared with the pig manure treatment. The treatment addition of 6% SSP reduced CO2 emissions by 10.3~20.1% compared with the pig manure treatment. The pig manure + 6% SSP treatment resulted in the lowest cumulative emission of N2O, which was 79.75% lower than that of the pig manure treatment. For the cumulative emission of CH4, the treatment of pig manure + 6% SSP was at least 23.14 mg·kg−1 and had the lowest global warming potential. In conclusion, adding 6% SSP to pig manure compost effectively reduces NH3 and CO2 emissions and improves compost quality.

Abstract In the vehicle turbocharger operating process, the diffusor walls are susceptible to oil droplet deposition. This deposition may cause deterioration in the diffusor flow performance, consequently resulting in the deterioration of compressor performance. In this paper, a three‐dimensional steady computational fluid dynamic (CFD) numerical investigation was performed to study droplet deposition on the walls of a centrifugal compressor diffusor. Firstly, the theoretical basis of oil droplet distribution and formation on the diffusor were presented. On the basis of these, the distribution rules of the capture efficiency and particle concentration for the diffusor were investigated considering six different droplet diameters (0.25 μm, 0.5 μm, 0.75 μm, 1.00 μm, 1.25 μm, 1.5 μm). The results indicate that the particle mass concentration on the hub side increased gradually, and the concentration on the shroud side decreased inversely. Furthermore, the area of high particle mass concentration focused on the small radius area of the hub side or at the downstream of the channel in the direction of the streamline. And the particle mass concentration on the shroud is equally distributed. Finally, the combination of turbulent diffusion and inertial theory was proposed to analyze the mentioned phenomenon, and the droplet deposition mechanisms on the centrifugal compressor diffusor were summarized.

Abstract Tartary buckwheat is rich in flavonoids. However, the health‐promoting effect of these flavonoids has not been adequately studied. In the present study, we investigated the impact of rutin, quercetin, and Tartary buckwheat on the lipid metabolism of rats on a high‐fat diet. Quercetin could significantly reduce body weight, serum triacylglycerol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, TNF‐α, insulin, and ameliorate glucose tolerance. It was surprising that Tartary buckwheat significantly increased the weight of the rats. Rutin, quercetin, and Tartary buckwheat tended to decreased fat deposition in the liver of rats but have little effect on short‐chain fatty acid production. The changes in the structure and diversity of the microbiota were found to be modulated by these diets. It was concluded that quercetin could attenuate high‐fat diet‐induced obesity, rutin, quercetin, and Tartary buckwheat can shape the specific structure of gut microbiota. Mechanism of Tartary buckwheat on lipid metabolism needs further systematic research.

In order to understand the work hardening phenomenon and mechanism of laser-assisted machining (LAM) of Si3N4 ceramics, the work hardening degree of LAM Si3N4 under different material removal modes was studied. Two sets of single-factor experiments were performed in which the laser power and the cutting depth were changed respectively. The results show that work hardening is the result of the combination of heat and cutting deformation during cutting. The work hardening degree decreases with the increase of material softening degree. When the material is removed plastically, the work hardening degree is 110−115%.

The interaction of SDF-1α (also known as CXCL12) with the CXCR4 receptor plays a critical role in the retention of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in bone marrow. The viral macrophage inflammatory protein-II (vMIP-II), a human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-encoded viral chemokine, can bind the CXCR4 receptor and inhibit endogenous ligand-induced calcium responses and cell migration. Previously, we used the bivalent ligand approach to link synthetically two unnatural D-amino acid peptides derived from the N-terminus of vMIP-II (DV1 and DV3, respectively) to generate a dimeric peptide, DV1-K-(DV3) (also named HC4319), which shows very high affinity for CXCR4. Here, we studied the biological effects of this dimeric peptide, HC4319, and its monomeric counterpart, DV1, on SDF-1α-induced signaling in CXCR4- or CXCR7-transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells and mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) in C3H/HeJ mice using an HPC assay. HC4319 and DV1 inhibited significantly the phosphorylation of Akt and Erk, known to be downstream signaling events of CXCR4. This in vivo study in C3H/HeJ mice showed that HC4319 and DV-1 strongly induced rapid mobilization of granulocyte–macrophage colony-forming units (CFUs), erythrocyte burst-forming units, and granulocyte–erythrocyte–monocyte–megakaryocyte CFUs from the bone marrow to the blood. These results provide the first reported experimental evidence that bivalent and D-amino acid peptides derived from the N-terminus of vMIP-II are potent mobilizers of HPCs in C3H/HeJ mice and support the further development of such agents for clinical application.

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is one of the most prevalent diseases of wheat worldwide and can lead to severe yield reductions. Identifying genes involved in powdery mildew resistance will be useful for disease resistance breeding and control. Calreticulin (CRT) is a member of multigene family widely found in higher plants and is associated with a variety of plant physiological functions and defense responses. However, the role of CRT in wheat resistance to powdery mildew remains unclear. TaCRT3 was identified from the proteomic sequence of an incompatible interaction between the wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar Xingmin 318 and the Bgt isolate E09. Following analysis of transient expression of the GFP-TaCRT3 fusion protein in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, TaCRT3 was localized in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane. Transcript expression levels of TaCRT3 were significantly upregulated in the wheat-Bgt incompatible interaction. More critically, knockdown of TaCRT3 using virus-induced gene silencing resulted in attenuated resistance to Bgt in wheat. Histological analysis showed a significant increase in Bgt development in TaCRT3-silenced plants, whereas the pathogen-related gene was significantly downregulated in TaCRT3-silenced leaves. In addition, overexpression of TaCRT3 in wheat enhanced the resistance to powdery mildew, the growth of Bgt was significantly inhibited, and the area of H2O2 near the infection site and the expression of defense-related genes of the salicylic acid pathway significantly increased. These findings imply that TaCRT3 may act as a disease resistance factor that positively regulates resistance to powdery mildew, during which SA signaling is probably activated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]