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The utilization of hydrogen-based direct reduction methods for magnetite ore smelting is an important way to achieve the goal of reducing carbon emissions. At present, the coupling mechanism of the multi-step reaction during the reduction process is unclear, which restricts the understanding of the rate-limiting steps and the accurate description of kinetic parameters. In this paper, the reaction characteristics and multi-step kinetics of isothermal reduction of magnetite by hydrogen with varying concentrations are investigated at 600–900 °C. Results indicate that the coupling relationship between Fe 3 O 4 →FeO and FeO→Fe two steps is temperature-dependent. In the low-temperature range (600–700 °C), the coupling relationship between the two steps can be described by the parallel model. In the high-temperature range (750–900 °C), the coupling relationship can be described by the series model. Meanwhile, the first-step reaction Fe 3 O 4 →FeO is controlled by the nucleation or chemical reaction model, and the apparent activation energies are determined to range from 27.25 to 48.59 kJ/mol. The second-step reaction FeO→Fe is controlled by the combination of nucleation and diffusion models, and the apparent activation energies are determined to range from 30.70 to 45.14 kJ/mol. • Multistep kinetics of isothermal reduction of magnetite by hydrogen are studied by TGA. • The coupling relationship of two-step reduction is found to be temperature-dependent. • The parallel model and series model are used to decouple the two-step reactions in two temperature ranges respectively. • The relationship between activation energy and hydrogen concentration is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In human cooperation, people prefer to choose partners with high willingness and ability—while both are valued by partners, individuals often prioritize willingness. Two event‐related potential (ERP) experiments were conducted to discern the neural processes underpinning this preference. In the first experiment, participants made a choice between two potential partners and received feedback on the selected partner's willingness to cooperate. This was followed by feedback on the partner's task performance (ability) or a gambling outcome. In contrast, the second experiment first provided feedback on ability, then presented feedback on willingness or a gambling outcome. This study revealed that a potential partner's willingness trait significantly influences individuals' emotional evaluations and monetary allocations than the ability trait. Electrophysiological data indicated that low‐willingness feedback elicited a diminished feedback‐related negative (FRN) and an amplified P3 compared to high‐willingness feedback. In contrast, no such difference was discernible between high‐ and low‐ability feedback. Moreover, the P3 difference from high versus low willingness was considerably more pronounced than that from gambling outcomes, whereas the difference wave between high and low ability paralleled gambling outcomes. These findings bolster the novel finding that partner willingness may provide more substantial social rewards than ability. Furthermore, this study provides the first ERP evidence of willingness and ability trait perceptions in partner choice decisions. This study firstly combines behavioral analysis with event‐related potential (ERP) data to explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the preference for willingness over ability in partner choice. Our findings indicate that willingness feedback more significantly influences emotions, allocation behaviors, and feedback‐related brain electrophysiological components compared to ability feedback, suggesting that willingness may offer more substantial social rewards. The study offers a novel theoretical perspective in understanding the preference for willingness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of concentration resistance caused by bubble growth is a key factor affecting the photoelectrochemical water splitting efficiency. In this research, we employed an electrochemical workstation, a synchronized measuring system, and a CCD camera to investigate the in-situ evolution of oxygen bubbles on the surfaces of TiO 2 -NTAs and C/TiO 2 -NTAs electrodes. The connection among the critical nucleation, growth and departure behavior of a single bubble on the photoanode surface and photocurrent curves at different solution pH (1–13) has been investigated. For TiO 2 -NTAs, it was found that strong alkalinity significantly reduces the voltage required for critical bubble nucleation. The photocurrent rises approximately 1.5 times when the control voltage is 0.10 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) by pH increasing from 1 to 13 and while the bubble evolution cycles decline by approximately 3.2 times. The photocurrent rises by 10.4 times compared with pH = 9 and by 7.3 times compared with pH = 13 when the control voltage is 0.71 V (vs. RHE), respectively. We also found that the oxygen bubble evolution of C/TiO 2 -NTAs is similar to TiO 2 -NTAs. When pH = 3–13, the average photocurrent of C/TiO 2 -NTAs electrode is higher than that of TiO 2 -NTAs, and the average bubble evolution cycles are lower than those of TiO 2 -NTAs at the same pH. According to the results, carbon films can rise the absorption capacity of TiO 2 -NTAs and significantly improve the effectiveness of photogenerated holes and electrons departure. Meanwhile, based on the oxygen bubble force balance model on the photoanode surface, the concentration Marangoni force rises with the increase of pH, which leads to the growth of bubble departure diameter. The outcomes demonstrate that oxygen bubbles on the photoanode surface can be successfully eliminated in strongly alkaline settings. • Photocurrent roughly shows an increasing trend at a constant voltage as pH rises. • Bubble cycles roughly show a decreasing trend at a constant voltage as pH rises. • Gas production efficiency increases about 5 times as pH rises from 1 to 13. • Concentration Marangoni force on the bubble rises with the increase of pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Linezolid is a commonly used antibiotic in the clinical treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections. The impacts of drug interactions on the pharmacokinetics of linezolid are often overlooked. This manuscript aims to review the medications that affect the pharmacokinetics of linezolid. Methods: In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we queried the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library for publications from database establishment to November 3, 2023, using the search terms: "Linezolid" and "interaction," or "interact," or "drug-drug interaction," or "co-treatment," or "cotreatment," or "combined," or "combination." Results: A total of 24 articles were included. Among the reported medication interactions, rifampicin, levothyroxine, venlafaxine, and phenobarbital could reduce the concentration of linezolid; clarithromycin, digoxin, cyclosporine, proton pump inhibitors, and amiodarone could increase the concentration of linezolid, while aztreonam, phenylpropanolamine, dextromethorphan, antioxidant vitamins, and magnesium-containing antacids had no significant effects on linezolid pharmacokinetics. The ratio of mean (ROM) of linezolid AUC in co-treatment with rifampicin to monotherapy was 0.67 (95%CI 0.58–0.77) and 0.63 (95%CI 0.43–0.91), respectively, in 2 studies, and co-treatment with 500 mg clarithromycin to monotherapy was 1.81 (95%CI 1.49–2.13). Conclusions: This systematic review found that numerous drugs have an impact on the pharmacokinetics of linezolid, and the purported main mechanism may be that linezolid is the substrate of P-glycoprotein. In clinical practice, it is prudent to pay attention to the changes in linezolid pharmacokinetics caused by interactions. Conducting therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is beneficial to improve efficacy and reduce adverse reactions of linezolid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of human society and the surge of engineering construction, the disturbance of the geological environment has grown substantial. The influence of extreme climatic factors and the frequency of geological disasters have increased. Landslide is an important geological disaster. The foundational research in geological disaster detection or monitoring involves studying the physical phenomena associated with the occurrence of landslides, analyzing their signal characteristics, and indirectly determining their development and changes. This scientific area is worthy of in-depth exploration. However, research on the key design and specific implementation of electromagnetic instruments tailored for landslide detection remains lacking. This study is based on the interdisciplinary theoretical system of electronic circuits, embedded computer science, digital signal processing technology, geophysics, and engineering geology. It independently develops a functional prototype of an electromagnetic detector for landslide detection. This design combines the current level of development of electronic disciplines and applies the embedded multicore Da Vinci industrial-grade computer system in the field of earth detection instruments. This study then designs and implements a landslide detection system with independent intellectual property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance the quality of diamond composite materials, this work employs a Cu-Co-Fe and Ni-Cr-Cu pre-alloyed powder mixture as a transition layer, and utilizes laser-welding technology for saw blade fabrication. By adjusting the laser-welding process parameters, including welding speed and welding power, well-formed welded joints were achieved, and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints were investigated. The results demonstrate that the best welding performance was achieved at a laser power of 1600 W and a welding speed of 1400 mm/min, with a remarkable tooth engagement strength of up to 819 MPa. The fusion zone can be divided into rich Cu phase and rich Fe phase regions, characterized by coarse grains without apparent preferred orientation. The microstructure of the heat-affected zone primarily consists of high-hardness brittle quenched needle-like martensite, exhibiting a sharp increase in microhardness up to 550 HV. Fracture occurred at the boundary between the fusion zone and the heat-affected zone of the base material, where stress concentration was observed. By adjusting the welding parameters and transition layer materials, the mechanical properties of the joints were improved, thereby achieving a reliable connection between diamond composite materials and the metal substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban areas with limited underground space, the new tunnel construction introduces additional loads and displacements to existing tunnels, raising serious safety concerns. These concerns become particularly pronounced in the case of closely undercrossing excavation at zero-distance. The conventional elastic foundation beam model, which assumes constant reaction coefficients for the subgrade, fails to account for foundation loss. In this study, the existing tunnel is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam supported by the Pasternak elastic foundation, and the foundation loss caused by zero-distance undercrossing excavations is considered. Furthermore, an analytical solution is proposed to evaluate the mechanical response in segments, by establishing governing differential equations and boundary conditions for the excavation and neutral zones, and underpinning loads are also considered. The analytical solution is validated in two case studies. Finally, a parametric analysis is performed to explore the influence of various parameters on the mechanical response of the existing tunnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex gas-liquid mass transfer process dominated by bubbles adhered to the photoelectrode surface is a crucial factor affecting the energy and mass conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting reaction, which is of great significance for improving the efficiency of hydrogen production. The gas evolution process on a super-hydrophilic TiO 2 electrode surface with various pressures and laser powers was studied in this paper by combining the means of visualization and the electrochemical measurement method. The empirical formulas of gas evolution efficiency and bubble coverage characterized by photocurrent and bubble radius under decreased pressure were established. The results shows that the transient gas evolution efficiency and the transient bubble coverage both increase first and then remain almost unchanged in the range of 0∼0.42 and 0∼0.2 respectively with bubble growth. The average gas evolution efficiency and average bubble coverage increase first and then decrease when pressure drops in the range of 40 kPa∼97 kPa, and both reach their maximum at 80 kPa. The coefficients of the gas-liquid mass transfer process between bubbles and surrounding solution under different pressures were solved mathematically. It can be discovered that the transient mass transfer coefficients decrease with bubble growth, and the average mass transfer coefficients increase first and then reduce with the decreased pressure, and reach the peak at 80 kPa. The gas mass production rate and the average total mass transfer coefficient exhibit a similar variation trend with respect to pressure under the same irradiation conditions. It is discovered that the principal mass transfer mechanism for gas products that diffuse and transfer into static electrolyte under low pressure and low photocurrent density is the single-phase free micro-convection. • Mass transfer mechanism of single bubble evolution under various pressure is studied. • Average gas evolution efficiency at low pressure is higher than that at atmosphere. • Transient mass transfer coefficients reach their maximum when bubbles nucleate. • Average mass transfer coefficients and gas evolution efficiency peak at 80 kPa. • Single phase free convection dominates mass transfer at low current and pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid societal development and increased engineering construction have exacerbated the disturbance of the geological environment. The impact of extreme climatic factors has grown, leading to a surge in geological disasters, with landslides emerging as particularly significant. Consequently, fundamental research in geological disaster detection or monitoring necessitates an in-depth study of the physical phenomena accompanying landslides' development, evolution, and occurrence. Exploring the signal characteristics associated with landslides is crucial to indirectly understanding their development and change processes—a scientific question deserving thorough exploration. Despite this research's importance, there is a notable gap in the investigation of the key design and specific implementation of electromagnetic instruments tailored for landslide detection. This gap is particularly pronounced in designing and implementing data acquisition software for electromagnetic instruments. This interdisciplinary research draws on theoretical frameworks from embedded computer science, software engineering, digital signal processing technology, geophysics, and engineering geology. It focuses on developing specialized data acquisition application software for landslide detection or monitoring, contributing to the scientific understanding of landslide development and providing independent intellectual property in the electromagnetic wave signal detection field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving utilization of mine water in underground reservoirs requires determining the hydraulic connectivity between goafs. In this study, a new method for detecting the hydraulic connectivity between adjacent goafs based on a chemical tracer was proposed. First, based on the geological and mining conditions of the mine, a FLAC3D numerical model was established to analyze the distribution pattern of plastic zones on both sides of the coal pillar after mining, and the range of hydraulic connectivity testing in the goaf was preliminarily determined. Also, a tracer mass calculation model considering the water storage coefficient of goafs was established. The change rates of tracer concentration and water level of the goaf were used as the evaluation indexes for the hydraulic connectivity. The new detection method was applied to abandoned goafs in a coal mine and a plan was proposed to construct a coal mine underground reservoir, using the 31,301–31,307 goaf where the main reservoirs were constructed in the 31,303 and 31,305 goafs while the 31,307 goaf served as the auxiliary one. The 31,301 goaf cannot be utilized from the perspectives of cost and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To establish a multivariate linear equation to predict the diameter (outer diameter) of the acetabular prosthesis used in total hip arthroplasty. Methods: A cohort of 258 individuals who underwent THA at our medical facility were included in this study. The independent variables encompassed the patients' height, weight, foot length, gender, age, and surgical access. The dependent variable in this study was the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis utilized during the surgical procedure. The entire cohort dataset was randomly partitioned into a training cohort and a validation cohort, with a ratio of 7:3, employing the SPSS 26.0 software. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between the patients' height, weight, foot length, gender, age, surgical access, and the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis in the training cohort. Additionally, a multiple linear regression equation was developed using the independent variables from the training cohort and the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis as the dependent variable. This equation aimed to predict the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis based on the patients' characteristics. The accuracy of the equation was evaluated by substituting the data of the validation cohort into the multiple linear equation. The predicted acetabular prosthesis diameters were then compared with the actual diameters used in the operation. Results: The correlation analysis conducted on the training cohort revealed that surgical access (r = 0.054) and age (r = −0.120) exhibited no significant correlation with the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis utilized during the intraoperative procedure. Conversely, height (r = 0.687), weight (r = 0.654), foot length (r = 0.687), and sex (r = 0.354) demonstrated a significant correlation with the diameter of the acetabular prosthesis used intraoperatively. Furthermore, a predictive equation, denoted as Y (acetabular prosthesis diameter in mm) = 20.592 + 0.548 × foot length (cm) + 0.083 × height (cm) + 0.077 × weight (kg), was derived. This equation accurately predicted the diameter within one size with an accuracy rate of 64.94% and within two sizes with an accuracy rate of 94.81%. Conclusion: Anthropometric data can accurately predict the diameter of acetabular prosthesis during total hip arthroplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen ironmaking is the most ideal approach to reduce industrial carbon emissions. In this study, the isothermal reaction characteristics and multistep kinetics of hematite particles with hydrogen are investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at 650–725 °C. The two steps of Fe 3 O 4 –FeO and FeO–Fe of hematite reduction are discovered to proceed simultaneously. The reduction is divided into three stages according to the derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curves. For the three stages, the optimal kinetic models are the phase boundary and the 2D growth of nuclei. In the range of 75–130 mL/min, there is a critical hydrogen flow rate below which the apparent activation energy increases and above which it remains constant, which is 30.44 ± 3.30, 77.33 ± 0.41, and 49.56 ± 0.49 kJ/mol, respectively. A significant linear correlation between hydrogen flow rate above the critical value and the pre-exponential factor is found. [Display omitted] • The second and third steps of hematite reduction proceed simultaneously. • The reduction of hematite conforms to the phase-boundary and 2D growth of nuclei. • A critical hydrogen flow rate is found by the model-fitting and model-free methods. • The influence of hydrogen flow rate on reduction is estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of starch and hydrocolloids is a facile method for physically modifying native starch. Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) is a glucomannan with various applications in the food and cosmetic industries as a thickening agent. This study focused on investigating the impact of BSP on the pasting, rheological and adhesive properties of wheat starch (WS). Results from a Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA) revealed that the addition of BSP (below 0.2%) resulted in increases in peak viscosity, breakdown and setback values. However, for the addition of BSP at a higher concentration (0.3%), the opposite trend was observed. Rheological measurements indicated that the presence of BSP increased the viscoelastic properties of WS–BSP gels. TGA results demonstrated that the presence of BSP promoted the thermal stability of starch. FTIR results indicated the short-range order structure decreased at low addition concentrations of BSP (0.05% and 0.1%) and increased with higher BSP addition concentrations (0.2% and 0.3%). SEM observation showed that the BSP improved the hydrophilic property of starch gels and decreased the size of pores in the starch gels. Further, the mechanical properties of paper samples unveiled that the present of BSP in starch gels obviously increased its bonding strength as an adhesive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrain conditions and geological structure of the mountainous areas in western China are complex. To meet the design requirements for the expressway, the route adopts the design of deep-buried super-long tunnels in hilly areas. If the highway tunnel passes through faulty structures, such as improper selection of structure and foundation form, it can cause collapse and structural instability during construction. Therefore, basic characteristics of faults and information that is more accurate should be provided during the survey process to avoid subsequent problems. The frequency and magnitude of earthquakes in this study area are high and available data show that the Xiaojiang fault was still active during the Quaternary Holocene period, which is a high-risk area for earthquakes. Therefore, a set of comprehensive technologies, such as geophysical prospecting, geological survey, and drilling, and was used to identify faults and their characteristics and to visually display underground information within a certain depth range. Here, the magnetotelluric method was used to analyze the electrical characteristics and structure of the highway tunnel. In addition, the electrical characteristics and structure of the Xiaojiang fault were discussed. Geological surveys and drilling agree well with the analysis and interpretation of the research results and further proposed a processing and interpretation method for correcting the dip angle of the fault using the statistical results from the long axis dip angle of the tensor polarization map for the wave impedance. Thus, a large amount of information in the tunnel site can be effectively obtained for predicting and evaluating the Xiaojiang fault. Furthermore, our results provide strong technical support for designing and operating highway tunnels, with meaningful experience and reference for future geophysical processing and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text-to-image diffusion models (DM) have posed unprecedented challenges to the authenticity and integrity of digital images, which makes the detection of computer-generated images one of the most important image forensics techniques. However, the detection of images generated by text-to-image diffusion models is rarely reported in the literature. To tackle this issue, we first analyze the acquisition process of DM images. Then, we construct a hybrid neural network based on attention-guided feature extraction (AGFE) and vision transformers (ViTs)-based feature extraction (ViTFE) modules. An attention mechanism is adopted in the AGFE module to capture long-range feature interactions and boost the representation capability. ViTFE module containing sequential MobileNetv2 block (MNV2) and MobileViT blocks are designed to learn global representations. By conducting extensive experiments on different types of generated images, the results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our method in exposing fake images generated by text-to-image diffusion models. • Generating an image will introduce different traces compared with those of real one. • Attention mechanism is capable of capturing long-range feature interactions. • Global traces can provide reliable information for detecting fake images. • Different artifacts lead to performance degradation on other types of images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the climate warming, the ice avalanches (IAs) and glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) will continue or even intensify in the future. In order to find out the number, spatial distribution, and characteristics of hidden dangers of IA and GLOF-prone lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the first inventory is presented. (1) The study has identified and analyzed 581 IAs and 369 GLOFs on the TP. IAs and GLOFs are widely distributed in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), concentrating in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin and the Nyainqntanglha and Himalaya Mountain range. (2) Most of the IAs have an area of 0.1 ~ 1 km2. The IAs occur on vulnerable slopes ranging from 35 to 45°, with an elevation between 4500 and 5500 m and a north-friendly aspect. (3) Most of the GLOFs with a lake area of 0.1 ~ 0.3 km2 and a north-facing outburst direction are developed in an elevation range from 4500 to 5500 m. There are about half of the GLOF-prone lakes to be close to the front edge of the mother glaciers. (4) The front elevation of IAs changes regularly with the eastern Himalayan syntaxis region as the boundary. It generally increased from west to east on the west side, while a "V-shaped" trend first decreased and then increased, and decreased from south to north on the east side. (5) The IAs and GLOFs are mainly distributed in the southern and northwestern TP with "clustering" characters due to the topographical and climatic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers increasingly recycle end-of-life products to realize residual economic value and mitigate environmental impacts on the economic system. Concurrently, with the burgeoning growth of the product-service system, leasing models offer an alternative method to complete the material loop without direct collection. While prior research has delved into recycling channels, incentive mechanisms, and remanufacturing within closed-loop supply chain management, a comparative analysis between recycling and leasing strategies remains under-explored. This study seeks to bridge this gap by elucidating the manufacturer's strategic decision-making process, factoring in consumers' product ownership perceptions. We propose a manufacturer decision model anchored on consumer choices and segment it into three scenarios based on varying ownership perceptions. Our analysis contrasts market demand and profit outcomes across these scenarios. Notably, we discern that a hybrid strategy is optimal when ownership perception is low; however, when such perception is heightened, a dedicated recycling strategy proves more advantageous. Importantly, introducing a leasing option does not entirely overshadow the conventional sales market but is susceptible to being overshadowed itself. From a managerial standpoint, while integrating a leasing program might augment revenue streams, sole reliance on it is inadvisable. Furthermore, reshaping consumption paradigms to emphasize product functionality over ownership can pave the way for more expansive leasing strategies, optimizing revenue generation within a closed-loop framework. Plain Language Summary: This paper uses the consumer choice model and the decision model to analyze the two approaches for closing the loop, leasing and recycling. In contrast to previous studies of closed-loop supply chains, this paper considers leasing as another way of closing the loop and takes into account its cannibalization effect on the market for new products and its priming effect on consumers with lower willingness to pay. The paper concludes that the leasing strategy cannot completely cannibalize the selling market and is conditional on implementation, while the recycling strategy can completely cannibalize the leasing market and is always effective. This paper has some applications for closed-loop decision making for manufacturers to improve economic and environmental gains. Manufacturers and policy makers should advocate new forms of consumption that encourage consumers to care more about product function than property rights, thus leaving more room for the rental market to acquire greater benefits. This paper does not consider the supply of P2P platforms when portraying the leasing program and does not use empirical studies to verify the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When calculating the surface settlement caused by tunnel excavation, the conventional stochastic medium theory is complicated by integration. Particularly for tunnel undercrossing excavation, it shows large errors in calculating the surface settlement. In this paper, the conventional 2D stochastic medium theory is simplified by means of a nonuniform convergence. Based on the Sagaseta formula, the ground loss along the tunnel excavation direction is derived, and the 2D model is extended to calculate the 3D surface settlement. Furthermore, the effect of the existing tunnel is considered by the equivalent layered method, and the simplified 3D model is proposed for calculating the surface settlement induced by tunnel undercrossing excavation. The simulated and measured data are compared with the predicted results of the theoretical model, and the characteristics of the 3D surface settlement are investigated. The results show that compared with the surface settlement in the non-undercrossing section, the surface settlement in the undercrossing section has a larger lateral range. However, the maximum settlement value is significantly reduced, and the surface settlement trough curve is characterized as "wider and shallower." The results of the proposed model are in better agreement with the simulated and measured data than those of the conventional stochastic medium theory and have higher correlation and broader applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by joint swelling, pain, and deformation. RA patients have an increased risk of thyroid dysfunction, and drugs of RA treatment may have potential effects on thyroid function. Methods: This is a single-center cross-sectional study including 281 inpatients with RA in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between RA therapeutic drugs and thyroid function. The medical records of 281 inpatients with RA were collected, including general data, laboratory examination, complications, and RA treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the association of independent variables with thyroid function and antibodies in RA patients. Multinomial logistics and binary logistic regression were used for multivariate analysis. The statistically significance level was set as P < 0.05. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Patients taking methotrexate (OR = 0.067, 95%CI: 0.008–0.588, P = 0.015) had lower levels of total thyroxine (TT4) (TT4 < 78.38 nmol/L). There was a negative correlation between glucocorticoids (r = − 0.153, P = 0.010) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) level (TT3 ≥ 1.34 nmol/L), but it was not significant in the multivariate regression model of TT3, although the regression model was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Methotrexate is associated with decreased TT4 levels in RA patients, and glucocorticoids is associated with decreased TT3 levels. Drugs of RA treatment may affect the thyroid function of patients while treating RA, which may be one of the causes of secondary thyroid diseases in RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive chirp mode decomposition (ACMD) is a novel decomposition algorithm, which can decompose the multicomponent signals and identify its instantaneous frequencies (IFs) simultaneously. It is crucial for ACMD to predefine the decomposition parameter (i.e., the initial IF). However, the nonstationary signals with closely spaced frequency modes or heavy noise render it difficult to preset the initial IF based on the Fourier spectrum. To overcome the difficulty of predefining the initial IF of the ACMD, a tractable version of the ACMD, termed as the enhanced adaptive chirp mode decomposition (EACMD), is proposed in this study. The EACMD adopts an adaptive method based on the maximum entropy power spectrum to automatically determine the initial IF. A simulated dynamic signal is used to evaluate the characteristics and performance of the EACMD. Furthermore, the proposed EACMD is employed to identify the IFs of time-varying structures. The effectiveness of EACMD is illustrated and verified by using a 3-story shear building model and a cable with time-varying tension forces. The results show that the EACMD can overcome the difficulty of predefining the initial IF of the ACMD and is suitable for identifying the IFs of time-varying structures, providing more accurate results than the existing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, women around the world are still suffering from various female common diseases with the high incidence, such as ovarian cancer, uterine fibroids and preeclampsia (PE), and some diseases are even with the high mortality rate. As a negative feedback regulator in G Protein-Coupled Receptor signaling (GPCR), the Regulator of G-protein Signaling (RGS) protein family participates in regulating kinds of cell biological functions by destabilizing the enzyme–substrate complex through the transformation of hydrolysis of G Guanosine Triphosphate (GTP). Recent work has indicated that, the Regulator of G-protein Signaling 2 (RGS2), a member belonging to the RGS protein family, is closely associated with the occurrence and development of certain female diseases, providing with the evidence that RGS2 functions in sustaining women's health. In this review paper, we summarize the current knowledge of RGS2 in female common diseases, and also tap and discuss its therapeutic potential by targeting multiple mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic modulation classification (AMC) based on deep learning (DL) is gaining increasing attention in dynamic spectrum access for 5G/6G wireless communications. However, inconsistent feature parameters between the training (source) and testing (target) data lead to performance degradation or even failure of existing DL-based AMC. The primary reason for this is the difficulty in obtaining sufficient labeled training data in the target domain. Therefore, we propose a novel cross-domain AMC algorithm based on multimodal information and transfer learning, utilizing abundant unlabeled target domain data. We achieve complementary gains by fusing multimodal information such as amplitude, phase, and spectrum, which are used to train a network. Additionally, we apply domain adversarial neural network technology from transfer learning to learn from a large number of unlabeled data samples in the target domain to address the issue of decreased accuracy in cross-domain AMC caused by differences in sampling rate, signal-to-noise ratio, and channel variations. Furthermore, we introduce class weight weighting and entropy weighting to solve the partial domain adaptation problem, considering that the target domain has fewer modulation signal classes than the source domain. Experimental results on two designed modulation datasets demonstrate improved performance gains, thus validating the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms play an important role in the tobacco aging process. Before the aging process, raw tobacco leaves must be threshed and redried. In order to explore the differences of microbial community structure of threshed and redried tobacco leaves from different origins at home and abroad, 14 groups of tobacco leaves from 8 different countries were tested by high-throughput DNA sequencing and microbiology analysis. Then, through amplicon sequence variants (ASV) cluster analysis, Venn diagram and species labeling and other microbial diversity analysis, the dominant bacteria and fungi on the surface of threshed and redried tobacco leaves were obtained. The results showed that there were significant differences in the composition of tobacco bacteria and fungi after threshing and redrying from different geographical areas. The relative abundance of Microbacterium and Sphingomonas in domestic tobacco leaves was significantly higher than that of foreign tobacco leaves. The relative abundance of Pseudomonas in foreign tobacco bacterial colonies was significantly higher than that of domestic tobacco leaves. In terms of fungi, the relative abundance of Aspergillus and Alternaria in domestic tobacco leaves was significantly higher than that of foreign tobacco leaves. Septoria, Sampaiozyma, Cladosporium and Phoma account for significantly higher proportions of foreign tobacco leaves. These microorganisms may be indispensable in aging process to form different flavors of tobacco leaves. It provides an important theoretical basis for the further use of microorganisms to promote tobacco leaf aging. Key points: Different growth locations of tobacco at home and abroad affect bacterial and fungal communities. Proteobacteria and Actinomycetes were the dominant phylum in redrying tobacco leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postoperative patients with lung cancer mostly experience different degrees of dyspnea and decreased activity tolerance, and these symptoms all significantly affect postoperative quality of life. The concept of pulmonary rehabilitation applicable to patients with chronic respiratory diseases is also applicable to patients with postoperative lung cancer. The current application of postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation for lung cancer is inconsistent, and reliable guidelines are lacking. The purpose of this study was to further verify the efficacy and feasibility of postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation for lung cancer patients, and to find a suitable local pulmonary rehabilitation program for postoperative patients with lung cancer that is clinically promoted in our department through this study. Methods: We collected the clinical data of patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) wedge resection or lobectomy. The patients were divided into rehabilitation group (using three-ball breathing apparatus after discharge) and control group (routine follow-up after discharge) according to whether the patients were trained with three-ball breathing apparatus after operation. The detailed method using three-ball apparatus is as follows. To begin with, patients are required to put themselves in a comfortable position. Then, after the three-ball breathing apparatus put on the same plane of their eyes, patients hold the tube in their mouth closely and control their breath slowly. When patients inhale to their largest extent, the balls will rise up accordingly. Then they exhale. The evaluation results of pulmonary function, activity tolerance, anxiety scores and others were collected. All data was gathered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The effects of pulmonary rehabilitation training on wedge resection and lobectomy were compared. Results: A total of 210 patients were included in this study, including 126 patients with VATS wedge resection and 84 patients with VATS lobectomies. No discrepancy was noticed when FEV1 loss between two groups were compared in the wedge resection patients, and the same results were also shown in patients undergoing lobectomy (12.8% ± 2.0% vs. 12.7% ± 1.9%, P = 0.84, wedge resection; 12.6% ± 2.9% vs. 12.1% ± 1.8%, P = 0.37, lobectomy). The loss of FVC in the control group was greater than that in the rehabilitation group for patients undergoing lobectomy (11.7% ± 5.2%, vs. 17.1% ± 5.6%, P < 0.001, lobectomy). No difference was found in the wedge resection patients between the control and rehabilitation groups (6.6% ± 2.8%, vs. 6.4% ± 3.2%, P = 0.76, lobectomy). Moreover, all patients showed no significant difference in 6MWD regardless of surgical procedure and with or without breathing exercises at T3 (392.6 ± 50.6 m, rehabilitation group vs. 394.0 ± 46.6 m, control group. P = 0.87, wedge resection; 381.3 ± 38.9 m, rehabilitation group vs. 369.1 ± 49.3 m, control group. P = 0.21, lobectomy). Conclusions: For patients after thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection, the use of three-ball apparatus did not significantly improve postoperative pulmonary function and activity tolerance, dyspnea, and anxiety symptoms. In patients after thoracoscopic lobectomy, respiratory trainers were able to improve postoperative lung function but were unable to significantly improve dyspnea and anxiety symptoms. There was a significant benefit for the use of three-ball apparatus in patients after thoracoscopic lobectomy, whereas there was no significant benefit for the use of respiratory trainers after wedge resection. Registry: Medical Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. Registration number: no. 2022455. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper and iron are the basic metal elements that have attracted much attention in industry. Prussian blue (PB) is a significant class of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs); however, the lack of such linkages between the structure and properties, as well as properties differences, limits their potential applications. In this paper, the Cu-based Prussian blue nanocubes with and without Fe doping were synthesized. With the increasing reaction time, the morphology of the Cu-based Prussian blue nanocubes without Fe doping (PB:Cu NCs) changes from cuboidal to circular, and finally grows back to cuboidal. However, Cu-based Prussian blue nanocubes with Fe doping (PB: CuFe NCs) grow directly from the cube and eventually collapse. The nanocubes show a notable red shift with the tunable spectra from 400 nm to 700 nm. Compared with PB: Cu NCs, the PB: CuFe NCs have higher temperature rise under 808 nm irradiation and better photothermal efficacy. The catalytic efficiency of PB: CuFe NCs changes with the pH and reaches its maximum value of 1.021 mM with a pH of 5.5. The enhanced catalytic reaction by the near-infrared radiation plasmonic photothermal effect is also confirmed. This work highlights the potential of the developed PB: Cu and PB: CuFe NCs for photothermal-enhanced co-catalysis nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is widely applied to characterize the microscopic properties of hydrogen‐containing porous media. The transverse relaxation time cutoff (T2c) value is the crucial parameter for the quantitative analysis of NMR data. Currently, there is no universal method for the determination of the T2c in clayey soils. This study aimed to develop a laboratory method for determining the T2c of remoulded loess by the freezing point of loosely bound water. Malan loess, a kind of typical clayey silt, was used as test material. Based on the soil freezing characteristic, NMR measurements were performed on remoulded loess with different macro‐parameter controls during the cooling process to obtain the T2 spectrum at each target temperature. By analysing the variation of unfrozen water content with temperature reduction, the freezing point of loosely bound water and the T2c value within the freezing‐point range was determined. The freezing point of loosely bound water in remoulded loess is about −3 to −5°C and that of firmly bound water is less than −5°C. Accordingly, the T2c value of remoulded loess is determined to be 1.5–1.8 ms. The assessment of heating and cooling process and different methods for determining the T2c shows that the laboratory method by the freezing point is effective and reliable, and the T2c determined by statistical methods is worthy of further study and improvement. The saturated permeability of remoulded loess is evaluated according to the determined T2c, and two NMR‐based permeability equations can well reflect pore water distribution in remoulded loess, but to a certain extent, both equations ignore soil microstructure, pore connectivity and chemical effects of pore solution. The laboratory method by the freezing point and the determined T2c value of remoulded loess fill the gap of NMR measurement in loess analysis and are of great significance for low‐plastic clays and clay types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norovirus is a common cause of sporadic cases and outbreaks of gastroenteritis worldwide, although its prevalence and the dominant genotypes responsible for gastroenteritis outbreaks remain obscure. A systematic review was conducted on norovirus infection in China between January 2009 and March 2021. A meta-analysis and beta-binomial regression model were used to explore the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of norovirus infection and the potential factors contributing to the attack rate of the norovirus outbreaks, respectively. A total of 1132 articles with 155,865 confirmed cases were included, with a pooled positive test rate of 11.54% among 991,786 patients with acute diarrhea and a pooled attack rate of 6.73% in 500 norovirus outbreaks. GII.4 was the predominant genotype in both the etiological surveillance and outbreaks, followed by GII.3 in the etiological surveillance, and GII.17 in the outbreaks, with the proportion of recombinant genotypes increasing in recent years. A higher attack rate in the norovirus outbreaks was associated with age group (older adults), settings (nurseries, primary schools, etc.) and region (North China). The nation-wide pooled positive rate in the etiological surveillance of norovirus is lower than elsewhere in the global population, while the dominant genotypes are similar in both the etiological surveillance and the outbreak investigations. This study contributes to the understanding of norovirus infection with different genotypes in China. The prevention and control of norovirus outbreaks during the cold season should be intensified, with special attention paid to and enhanced surveillance performed in nurseries, schools and nursing homes from November to March. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive and life‐threatening disease characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling, which may cause right heart failure and even death. Accumulated evidence confirmed that microRNA‐26 family play critical roles in cardiovascular disease; however, their function in PAH remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the expression of miR‐26 family in plasma from PAH patients using quantitative RT‐PCR, and identified miR‐26a‐5p as the most downregulated member, which was also decreased in hypoxia‐induced pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) autophagy models and lung tissues of PAH patients. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis and luciferase reporter assays revealed that hypoxia‐inducible factor 1α (HIF‐1α) specifically interacted with the promoter of miR‐26a‐5p and inhibited its expression in PASMCs. Tandem mRFP‐GFP‐LC3B fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that miR‐26a‐5p inhibited hypoxia‐induced PAMSC autophagy, characterized by reduced formation of autophagosomes and autolysosomes. In addition, results showed that miR‐26a‐5p overexpression potently inhibited PASMC proliferation and migration, as determined by cell counting kit‐8, EdU staining, wound‐healing, and transwell assays. Mechanistically, PFKFB3, ULK1, and ULK2 were direct targets of miR‐26a‐5p, as determined by dual‐luciferase reporter gene assays and western blots. Meanwhile, PFKFB3 could further enhance the phosphorylation level of ULK1 and promote autophagy in PASMCs. Moreover, intratracheal administration of adeno‐miR‐26a‐5p markedly alleviated right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary vascular remodeling in hypoxia‐induced PAH rat models in vivo. Taken together, the HIF‐1α/miR‐26a‐5p/PFKFB3/ULK1/2 axis plays critical roles in the regulation of hypoxia‐induced PASMC autophagy and proliferation. MiR‐26a‐5p may represent as an attractive biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of PAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a comprehensive test to evaluate the performance of current colour‐difference models using available experimental datasets. In total, 28 individual datasets were accumulated to test 17 colour‐difference formulae, 13 of them based on Uniform Colour Spaces (UCSs) in terms of the Standardized Residual Sum of Squares (STRESS) measure. The 28 datasets were divided into three groups: Large Colour‐Difference data (LCD), Small Colour‐Difference data for surface colours (SCDs), and Small Colour Difference data for display colours (SCDd). For each colour model, four versions were tested: the original model, and that including kL‐, Gamma‐ and kL/Gamma, which are the lightness parametric factor, the colour‐difference exponent factor, and the combination of both, respectively, optimized to fit particular dataset(s). The statistical F‐test was applied to test the difference between each pair of models. Furthermore, parametric effects between the large/small colour‐difference magnitudes, and between surface/display colours were investigated. The results showed that CAM16‐UCS significantly outperformed the other models for all groups. It accurately predicted all types of data and should be proposed for colour‐difference evaluation across all industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The viscoelasticity of subsurface media is succinctly represented in the generalized wave equation by a fractional time derivative. This generalized viscoelastic wave equation is characterized by the viscoelastic parameter and the viscoelastic velocity, but these parameters are not well formulated and therefore unfavourable for seismic implementation. Here, we prove that the generalized wave equation is causal and stable by deriving the rate-of-relaxation function. Causality and stability are two necessary conditions for the applicability of the wave equation in seismic simulations. On this basis, we determine the physical parameters for the application of the generalized wave equation. First, we formulate the relationship between the viscoelastic parameter and the constant Q model. The proposed frequency-independent relation agrees with the theoretical solution and fits the field data. Then, we formulate the viscoelastic velocity in terms of the reference velocity and the viscoelastic parameter. These two formulations adequately represent the viscoelastic effect in seismic wave propagation and lead to an improvement in the accuracy of the numerical simulation of the generalized viscoelastic wave equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have evaluated the preoperative factors predicting the surgical difficulty of robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP). This study aims to explore such factors and provide guidance on the selection of suitable patients to aid surgeons lacking extensive experience in RDP. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent RDP to identify preoperative factors predicting surgical difficulty. High surgical difficulty was defined by both operation time and intraoperative estimated blood loss exceeding their median, or by conversion to laparotomy. Results: A total of 161 patients were ultimately enrolled, including 51 patients with high levels of surgical difficulty. Multivariate analysis revealed that male sex [OR (95% CI): 4.07 (1.77,9.40), p = 0.001], body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 OR (95% CI): 2.27 (1.03,5.00), p = 0.042], tumors located at the neck of the pancreas [OR (95% CI): 4.15 (1.49,11.56), p = 0.006] and splenic artery type B [OR (95% CI): 3.28 (1.09,9.91), p = 0.035] were independent risk factors for surgical difficulty. Regarding postoperative complications, high surgical difficulty was associated with the risk of overall complications and pancreatic fistula (grade B/C) (49.0% vs. 22.7%, p < 0.001; 39.2% vs. 19.1%, p = 0.006). Conclusion: Male sex, body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2, tumor located at the neck of the pancreas and splenic artery type B are associated with a high RDP difficulty level. These factors can be used preoperatively to assess the difficulty level of surgery, to help surgeons choose patients suitable for them and ensure surgical safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As negative modulators of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) signaling, regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins facilitate various downstream cellular signalings through regulating kinds of heterotrimeric G proteins by stimulating the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity of G-protein α (Gα) subunits. The expression of RGS proteins is dynamically and precisely mediated by several different mechanisms including epigenetic regulation, transcriptional regulation -and post-translational regulation. Emerging evidence has shown that RGS proteins act as important mediators in controlling essential cellular processes including cell proliferation, survival -and death via regulating downstream cellular signaling activities, indicating that RGS proteins are fundamentally involved in sustaining normal physiological functions and dysregulation of RGS proteins (such as aberrant expression of RGS proteins) is closely associated with pathologies of many diseases such as cancer. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms governing the expression of RGS proteins, and further discuss the relationship of RGS proteins and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to compare academic results and psychological factors of influence in the context of the use of deep learning technologies. The experiment involved 238 respondents who were divided into two groups – control and experimental. Students were tested for academic self-efficacy and well-being after taking the exam composition. Most of the students in the control group (n = 61) received satisfactory grades, and the index of academic results improved significantly. It was found that academic self-efficacy correlated much better with the results of the experimental group than with those of the control group. At the same time, the correlation between students’ well-being is somewhat lower than the previous indicator but remains high. This study has practical value and is important for further research because it demonstrates the impact of the two factors studied on academic achievement in music in the context of using deep learning technology versus traditional education methods. The study results can be used by universities, music schools, and other educational institutions that are interested in developing the musical skills of their students as part of the global digitalization of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an ultimatum game, the responder must decide between pursuing self‐interest and insisting on fairness, and these choices are affected by the intentions of the proposer. However, the time course of this social decision‐making process is unclear. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) is a useful technique for linking brain activity with rich behavioral data sets. In this study, electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure the time course of neural responses to proposed allocation schemes with different intentions. Twenty‐eight participants played an ultimatum game as responders. They had to choose between accepting and rejecting the fair or unfair money allocation schemes of proposers. The schemes were offered based on the proposer's selfish intention (monetary gain), altruistic intention (donation to charity), or ambiguous intention (unknown to the responder). We used a spatiotemporal RSA and inter‐subject RSA (IS‐RSA) to explore the connections between event‐related potentials (ERPs) after offer presentation and intention presentation with four types of behavioral data (acceptance, response time, fairness ratings, and pleasantness ratings). The spatiotemporal RSA results revealed that only response time variation was linked with the difference in ERPs at 432–592 ms after offer presentation on the posterior parietal and prefrontal regions. Meanwhile, the IS‐RSA results found a significant association between inter‐individual differences in response time and differences in ERP activity at 596–812 ms after the presentation of ambiguous intention, particularly in the prefrontal region. This study expands the intention‐based reciprocal model to the third‐party context and demonstrates that brain activity can represent response time differences in social decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moisture content has an important influence on the strength and stability of coal pillar dams in underground reservoirs. In this paper, the uniaxial compression test was performed on coal samples with three different moisture contents, to study the mechanical properties of them under water intrusion condition. The results show that, water has a significant damaging and softening effect on the mechanical properties of the samples. As the moisture content grows of coal samples, the peak strength and elastic modulus fall exponentially while the peak strain increases exponentially. In addition, the energy characteristics of coal samples with different moisture contents under uniaxial compression were analyzed. The releasable elastic strain energy, dissipated energy and total input energy all experience a decline with water content, and the proportion of the releasable strain energy in the total energy drops. The capacities of energy storage and strain energy release of coal samples both fall under influence of moisture, and more energy was transformed. Given this result, the damage variable on the basis of energy dissipation was introduced to explore the influence of moisture contents on the damage variable of coal samples and the damage evolution equations of coal samples with three different moisture contents were calculated from the results of uniaxial loading tests. Finally, the compaction coefficient considering the influence of immersion time was proposed to describe the compaction degree and being used to amend the damage constitutive model obtained, and the fitted results of the models were compared to experimental data. Results show that the values of damage variables increase exponentially with strains, and the modified damage constitutive equation can give a more accurate description of the compressive deformation of coal samples that contain varying contents of moisture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a major pathogen that causes acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) and is frequently associated with outbreaks. The HAdV prevalence and the predominant types responsible for ARTI outbreaks remains obscure in China. Methods: A systematic review was performed to retrieve literature that reported outbreaks or etiological surveillance of HAdV among ARTI patients in China from 2009 to 2020. Patient information was extracted from the literature to explore the epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of the infection of various HAdV types. The study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42022303015. Results: A total of 950 articles (91 about outbreaks and 859 about etiological surveillance) meeting the selection criteria were included. Predominant HAdV types from etiological surveillance studies differed from those in outbreak events. Among 859 hospital-based etiological surveillance studies, positive detection rates of HAdV-3 (32.73%) and HAdV-7 (27.48%) were significantly higher than other virus types. While nearly half (45.71%) of outbreaks were caused by HAdV-7 with an overall attack rate of 22.32% among the 70 outbreaks for which the HAdVs were typed by the meta-analysis. Military camp and school were main outbreak settings with significantly different seasonal pattern and attack rate, where HAdV-55 and HAdV-7 were identified as the leading type, respectively. Clinical manifestations mainly depended on the HAdV types and patient's age. HAdV-55 infection tends to develop into pneumonia with poorer prognosis, especially in children <5 years old. Conclusions: This study improves the understanding of epidemiological and clinical features of HAdV infections and outbreaks with different virus types, and helps to inform future surveillance and control efforts in different settings. Author summary: In this systematic review, we made an exhaustive search of published literature that reported outbreaks or etiological surveillance of HAdV among ARTI patients in China from 2009 to 2020. A total of 950 studies were included in this study, and we explored the epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of the infection of various HAdV types. Positive detection rates of HAdV-3 (32.73%) and HAdV-7 (27.48%) were significantly higher than other virus types according to the hospital-based etiological surveillance studies. Nearly half (45.71%) of outbreaks were caused by HAdV-7 with an overall attack rate of 22.32% among the 70 outbreaks for which the HAdVs were typed by the meta-analysis. Military camp and school were main outbreak settings with significantly different seasonal pattern and attack rate, where HAdV-55 and HAdV-7 were identified as the leading type, respectively. Clinical manifestations mainly depended on the HAdV types and patient's age. HAdV-55 infection tends to develop into pneumonia with poorer prognosis, especially in children <5 years old. This study will help improve the epidemiological and clinical understanding of different HAdV types of human infections and thus will promote the targeted surveillance and measures to control and prevent HAdV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of gout arthritis in patients with thalassemia and the association between them was indefinite. We aimed to give epidemiological evidence regarding the association between thalassemia and gout arthritis. This retrospective cohort study extracted data relating to the risk of gout arthritis from patients diagnosed with thalassemia between 2000 and 2013. We selected the control group at a ratio of 1:4 by propensity score matching (PSM). Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were performed to analyze the association between thalassemia and gout arthritis and to evaluate the hazard ratio (HR) of gout arthritis after exposure with thalassemia. The sensitivity analysis was performed to avoid the mislabeled thalassemia disease, the transfusion-dependent thalassemia was classified to compare the risk of gout arthritis. The secondary outcome for the risk of gout arthritis with antigout drugs treatment was also evaluated between study groups. In the age and sex matched cohort, the majority of thalassemia patients were women (62.03%) and aged younger than 30 years old (44.79%). There were 138 (4.2%) and 500 (3.8%) incident cases of gout arthritis in the thalassemia and non-thalassemia group. After PSM, the incidence rate, per 100 person-years, of gout arthritis was 0.48 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.56) and 0.60 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.72) in non-thalassemia individuals and patients with thalassemia, respectively. In the Cox proportional hazard regression, patients with thalassemia had no significant increase in the risk of gout arthritis (adjusted HR, 1.00; 95%CI: 0.80 to 1.25) after adjusting demographic variables and comorbidities. The Kaplan–Meier curve showed that the cumulative incidence of gout arthritis was not a significant difference in the thalassemia group than in the comparison group (p > 0.05). The sensitivity analysis showed the consistent results about the risk of gout arthritis in patients with thalassemia. Our study indicated that there was no significant increase in the risk of gout arthritis in subjects with thalassemia.Future research needs to clarify the biological mechanisms behind this connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the combined effect of load and steel corrosion on the flexural performance of recycled aggregate concrete beams, considering three types of aggregate replacement ratios (i.e., 0%, 50%, and 100%) and four levels of load (i.e., 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6), 12 beams were designed for accelerated corrosion test and four‐points bending test. The load was applied to beams by using a designed loading device before the accelerated corrosion test. After the accelerated corrosion test, four‐point bending test was conducted to measure the flexural performance of beams. The results showed that, with the increase of load level applied to beams before accelerated corrosion test, the number of bending cracks on the bottom of corroded beams after four‐points bending test decreased, while the average spacing of bending cracks increased. The effect of aggregate replacement ratio on the average spacing of bending cracks was more significant than that of steel corrosion. Yield moment capacity and ultimate moment capacity of corroded beams had a strong linear relationship with the maximum mass loss of tensile reinforcement, and both of which decreased with the increase of load level and aggregate replacement ratio. For every 1% maximum mass loss of the tensile reinforcement, the reduction of ultimate moment capacity of beams was approximately 4–6 times larger than that of ordinary concrete beams. The degradation model for ultimate moment capacity of corroded beams proposed in this paper had satisfactory prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2011 to 2013, a mega project, known as the Gully Land Consolidation Project (GLCP), was implemented in the hilly gully region atop China's Loess Plateau. However, the GLCP involved large-scale slope excavation and gully backfilling that changed the local geological environment, which led to serious geohazards, such as erosion, soil salinization, and dam failure. In this study, various geohazards caused by the GLCP in the Gutun watershed (GTW) were investigated by combined remote sensing analysis, geophysical exploration, and field surveys, and the relationships between the hazards were also explored. According to the achieved results, increased soil erosion with an average doubling from 2018 to 2020 is widely distributed in the GTW. Furthermore, 195 areas containing clear evidence of salt precipitates were observed in some of the newly created arable lands, especially downstream of the dam. This was mainly attributed to the high water table, evaporation, and soluble salt concentration of the loess. Fifty-nine newly built silt dams, primarily located in the branch channels and at the gully mouth of the Gutun channel, broke in 2020. The osmotic damage and softening caused by the combined effect of the incomplete compaction of the dam body and concentrated heavy rainfall were the main reasons of the dam breaks. The different types of disasters in the GTW after the implementation of the GLCP show a strong spatial relationship that follows the surface water flow path and forms a disaster chain consisting of slope erosion, silt dam breaks, and the soil salinization of near-dam farmlands downstream. This disaster chain amplifies disaster risks and losses. These findings can guide the improvement of the GLCP and inform geohazard mitigation strategies in areas impacted by the GLCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large ice/rock avalanches have been known to generate extremely powerful air blasts capable of causing fatalities and destruction far beyond the runout of the movement mass. Thus, an appraisal of their possible destructive air blast should be considered during the risk assessments. However, much less is known about how avalanche-induced air blasts occur and how destructive they are. Here an existing DEM-CFD coupled method was innovatively employed to quantitatively analyze the initiation and propagation mechanism of the air blast caused by the largest ice-rock avalanche during Nepal's 2015 Gorkha earthquake, and compared the results with some recorded events. Our results highlighted the contribution of valley morphology to air blast generation. Large high-velocity ice/rock avalanches that have an airborne trajectory or a travel path with turning points can suddenly release tremendous energy and more probably cause destructive air blasts. Additionally, the Langtang air blast presented a propagation of 1 km from the avalanche impact point and equivalent destruction to an EF2–EF5 tornado, causing mass casualties. The large impact region and destructive force of avalanche-induced air blasts suggests their disastrous consequences that should provoke assessment of such type of cascading effect during the landslide risk assessment, especially for the long-term sustainability of planned infrastructure in high-altitude regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How the crust in the core of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) deforms responding to the India‐Asia collision remains ambiguous. Here we present the first high‐resolution receiver functions image of crustal structure along a new NW‐SE trending dense nodal array crossing the core of the EHS. Two sets of low velocity zones (LVZs) are clearly observed: one with a flat style beneath the western Lhasa terrane and Higher Himalaya at 18–20 km depth and the other with two west‐dipping shapes below the western Yarlung‐Zangbo suture within 10–30 km depth. These LVZs caused by partial melting and aqueous fluids are disconnected, impeding the formation of crustal flow. A discontinuous east‐dipping intra‐crustal discontinuity and a sharp Moho offset of 7 km under the Aniqiao‐Motuo shear zone are identified, suggesting that the underthrusting of the Indian lower crust and pure shear mechanisms jointly dominate crustal deformation in the core of the EHS. Plain Language Summary: The tectonic evolution of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) involves complex tectonic activities such as collision, subduction, and rapid exhumation, making the EHS an ideal site for studying the dynamics of continental collision processes. Strong crustal shortening occurs during the formation of the EHS, but the specific mechanism that accommodates this crustal deformation remains unclear. In this study, we construct a novel seismic image of crustal structure with unprecedented details along a recently deployed dense nodal array that traverses the core of the EHS. We observe two unconnected groups of low velocity zones, which call into question the validity of the crustal flow model in the core of the EHS. Our observations indicate that the underthrusting of the Indian lower crust and pure shear mechanisms, rather than a model of vertically coherent deformation, account for the present crustal deformation in the core of the EHS. Key Points: First high‐resolution image of crustal structure in the core of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis is constructed from P receiver functionsTwo disconnected groups of low velocity zones are observed in upper to middle crust, which prevents the development of crust flowAn intra‐crustal interface and a Moho offset we find suggest that underthrusting and pure shear mechanisms dominate crustal deformation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of video double compression with the same coding parameters is a difficult problem in video forensics, since the recompression traces are extremely slight in this case. Although a series of methods have been proposed, detection of Versatile Video Coding (H.266/VVC) double compression with the same coding parameters is rarely reported. To address this issue, we propose a novel algorithm for the detection of H.266/VVC double compression with the same coding parameters in this paper. We first analyze the generation of H.266/VVC double compression traces, and explore the variation of coding modes caused by multiple compressions. Then we define Minimum Unit Mapping (MUM) and Subunit Prediction Mapping (SPM) to facilitate feature construction. The strength of the variation in the number of coding unit (CU) in each compression is calculated to form CU partition modes based feature set. We also use the consistency ratios of adjacent prediction mode pairs in the horizontal, vertical, major diagonal, and minor diagonal directions after multiple compressions to obtain prediction modes based feature set. These feature sets are further concatenated into a fusion feature for detection. With the thorough comparison to the state-of-the-art algorithms, it is verified that the proposed algorithm outperforms other current works in the field. Besides, the proposed method is robust against various encoding configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to propose a seismic performance analysis framework based on the oblique incidence theory, estimate a normalized damage response (RDVR) through seismic parameters and incident angles, and explore the variation in dynamic responses of concrete dams with arbitrary incident angles under near-fault vertically polarized shear (SV) waves. Several near-fault pulse-like records were selected, and their decomposed nonpulse (residual) components were used to guarantee the similarity of the response spectra. Furthermore, a seismic input model of the SV wave oblique incidence was developed based on the viscous-spring artificial boundary method, and its accuracy was verified using a numerical application. The effects of the incident angles of SV waves (−30° to 30° at 5° intervals), seismic intensity, and polarity on the damage and displacement responses of a gravity dam–reservoir–foundation system under pulse-like and nonpulse motions were studied. Additionally, the relationships between the incident angle, seismic characteristics [including the peak ground velocity to peak ground acceleration (PGV/PGA) ratio and spectral acceleration Sa(T1)], and the proposed RDVR were established. The most unfavorable incidence angles for different cases were derived. The numerical results showed that the negative direction (from downstream to upstream) has a significant effect on the nonlinear responses of a dam. The seismic features of PGV/PGA exhibited a better correlation with RDVR than Sa(T1). Subsequently, the damage to the gravity dam was estimated using the multivariate fitted method according to the proposed prediction model. The results showed that the proposed prediction model with arbitrary incident angles provides a good estimation of the real results. Thus, it is important to consider the coupled effect of incident angles and seismological characteristics in the seismic assessment of concrete dams located in near-fault regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV)-driven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is on the rise globally. HR-HPV-driven HNSCC displays molecular and clinical characteristics distinct from HPV-uninvolved cases. Therapeutic strategies for HR-HPV-driven HNSCC are under investigation. HR-HPVs encode the oncogenes E6 and E7, which are essential in tumorigenesis. Meanwhile, involvement of E6 and E7 provides attractive targets for developing new therapeutic regimen. Here we will review some of the recent advancements observed in preclinical studies and clinical trials on HR-HPV-driven HNSCC, focusing on nanotechnology related methods. Materials science innovation leads to great improvement for cancer therapeutics including HNSCC. This article discusses HPV-E6 or -E7- based vaccines, based on plasmid, messenger RNA or peptide, at their current stage of development and testing as well as how nanoparticles can be designed to target and access cancer cells and activate certain immunology pathways besides serving as a delivery vehicle. Nanotechnology was also used for chemotherapy and photothermal treatment. Short interference RNA targeting E6/E7 showed some potential in animal models. Gene editing by CRISPR-CAS9 combined with other treatments has also been assessed. These advancements have the potential to improve the outcome in HR-HPV-driven HNSCC, however breakthroughs are still to be awaited with nanomedicine playing an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Genomic instability has several implications for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) prognosis. This article aims to construct a somatic mutation-associated risk index (SMRI) of genomic instability for AML to predict prognosis and explore the potential determinants of AML prognosis. Methods: We obtained differentially expressed lncRNAs from genomic instability subtypes and selected six lncRNAs to construct the SMRI through multivariate Cox regression analysis. The median SMRI classified patients into high and low SMRI groups. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to clarify the prognostic differences of SMRI subtypes. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to elucidate the value of SMRI as a prognostic indicator. Gene set variation analysis, tumor mutation burden (TMB) analysis, immune infiltration, and immune checkpoint expression analysis were performed to investigate possible causes for the differences in prognosis of SMRI subtypes. Results: The high SMRI group exhibited a poor prognosis, which was characterized by elevated levels of TMB, mutation counts (TP53, NPM1, DNMT3A, and FLT3-TKD), CD8+ T cell infiltration, and immune checkpoint (PD-1, PD-L2, CTLA4, LAG3) expression. The SMRI was still associated with prognosis, even after adjustment for age, sex, cytogenetic risk, DNMT3A status, FLT3 status, and NPM1 status. Gene set variation analysis showed that AML with FLT3-ITD mutation, CEBPA mutation, and LSCs (leukemia stem cells) were enriched in the high SMRI group. Conclusion: Our research suggests that the SMRI derived from genomic instability subtypes is a useful biomarker for predicting prognosis and may be beneficial for improving the clinical outcome of patients with AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium head blight is a destructive disease caused by Fusarium species. Little is known about the pathogenic molecular weapons of Fusarium graminearum. The gene encoding a small secreted protein, Fg02685, in F. graminearum was found to be upregulated during wheat head infection. Knockout mutation of Fg02685 reduced the growth and development of Fusarium in wheat spikes. Transient expression of Fg02685 or recombinant protein led to plant cell death in a BAK1‐ and SOBIR1‐independent system. Fg02685 was found to trigger plant basal immunity by increasing the deposition of callose, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the expression of defence‐related genes. The Fg02685 signal peptide was required for the plant's apoplast accumulation and induces cell death, indicating Fg02685 is a novel conserved pathogen‐associated molecular pattern. Moreover, its homologues are widely distributed in oomycetes and fungal pathogens and induced cell death in tobacco. The conserved α‐helical motif at the N‐terminus was necessary for the induction of cell death. Moreover, a 32‐amino‐acid peptide, Fg02685 N‐terminus peptide 32 (FgNP32), was essential for the induction of oxidative burst, callose deposition, and mitogen‐activated protein kinase signal activation in plants. Prolonged exposure to FgNP32 enhanced the plant's resistance to Fusarium and Phytophthora. This study provides new approaches for an environment‐friendly control strategy for crop diseases by applying plant immune inducers to strengthen broad‐spectrum disease resistance in crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the past few decades, globalization has rendered more frequent and intensive population movement between countries, which has changed the original disease spectrum and brought a huge health impact on the global population including China. This study aims to describe the spectrum and epidemiological characteristics of imported infections among foreign travelers travelling to China.Methods: The data on imported infections among foreign travelers were obtained from Custom Inbound Screening System (CISS) and the National Notifiable Infectious Disease Reporting System (NNIDRS). All the infections were classified into respiratory, gastrointestinal, vector-borne, blood/sex-transmitted and mucocutaneous diseases, of which case numbers and incidences were calculated and the proportions were compared among subgroups.Results: In total, 17,189 travelers diagnosed with 58 imported infectious diseases were reported from 2014 to 2018, with an overall incidence of 122.59 per million. Respiratory infection (7,351 cases, mainly influenza) and blood/sex-transmitted diseases (6,114 cases mainly Hepatitis B and HIV infection) were the most frequently diagnosed diseases, followed by vector-borne infections (3,128 cases, mainly dengue fever and malaria). The highest case number was from Asia and Europe, while the highest incidence rate was from Africa (296.00 per million). When specific diagnosis was compared, both the highest absolute case number and incidence were observed for influenza. An obvious seasonal pattern was observed for vector-borne diseases, with the annual epidemic spanning from July to November. The origin-destination matrices disclosed the movement of imported infection followed specific routes.Conclusions: Our study provided a profile of infectious diseases among foreign travelers travelling to China and pinpointed the target regions, seasons and populations for prevention and control, to attain an informed control of imported infections in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-source datasets, including the UAV-Lidar/Photogrammetry, InSAR, and field investigation data, have been used for revealing the complex surface displacement pattern and focal mechanism of the 2021 Maduo Mw 7.3 earthquake. First, a co-seismic surface deformation field was extracted from the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images captured by ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1 satellites. Second, the SAR pixel offset tracking results were adopted to detect the initial location of the seismogenic fault. Then, the Lidar digital elevation model with high spatial resolution and field investigation were employed to refine and verify the location of the seismogenic fault. It was found that bifurcated strike-slip rupture should account for the 2021 Maduo earthquake. As indicated by the estimated faulting model based on the InSAR data, the maximal fault slip was ~6.2 m, occurring in the southeast of the main seismogenic fault, and five remarkable slip concentrations controlled the surface displacement of the 2021 Maduo earthquake. Furthermore, the co- and post-seismic InSAR deformation, dilatation, shear strain, Coulomb failure stress, and aftershock sequence suggest that the co-seismic rupture of the two main seismogenic faults have triggered the aseismic slip along the Changmahe fault. Lastly, according to the Coulomb failure stress change due to the historical earthquakes and the 2021 Maduo earthquake, the 1937 M 7.8 earthquake predominantly controlled the Coulomb failure stress change along the Kunlun fault, and the Xidatan-Alake Lake and Maqin segments had a higher risk of future earthquake than the other segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autoclave curing process of the large-scale composite stiffened panel greatly affects the manufacturing quality of the component, especially the curing quality of stiffeners and the bonding quality between stiffeners and the panel. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization method is developed to optimize the curing cycle for the composite T-stiffened fuselage panel, which aims to minimize the temperature difference within the component to achieve better forming quality. The autoclave curing model considering thermal properties of composites is established and verified by the experiment first. The response surface models are then built up with the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The fgoalattain algorithm is applied to solve the multi-objective optimization problem with nonlinear constraints. Results show that the maximum temperature difference of the two groups of monitoring points decreases by 22.91% and 21.42%, respectively. Besides, the total curing time is also reduced by 11 mins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]