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As environmental conservation and sustainability gain prominence globally, modern timber structures are receiving increased focus. Nonetheless, the combustible nature of timber raises significant fire safety concerns. This review explores the recent advancements in fire safety engineering for timber structures, emphasizing both contemporary high-rise buildings and historical timber constructions. It covers topics like inherently safer design principles, fire risk prediction, and evacuation methodologies. The review emphasizes the criticality of selecting suitable materials, structural design, firefighting systems, and advanced sensor technologies for early fire detection. Additionally, we analyze and compares various evacuation strategies, offering insights into the challenges and future directions for fire safety in modern timber structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the resource allocation hypothesis regarding the trade-off between growth and defence, compared with native species, invasive species generally allocate more energy to growth and less energy to defence. However, it remains unclear how global change and nutrient enrichment will influence the competition between invasive species and co-occurring native species. Here, we tested whether nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition under elevated CO2 causes invasive species (Mikania micrantha and Chromolaena odorata) to produce greater biomass, higher growth-related compounds and lower defence-related compounds than native plants (Paederia scandens and Eupatorium chinense). We grew these native and invasive species with similar morphology with the addition of N and P under elevated CO2 in open-top chambers. The addition of N alone increased the relative growth rate (RGR) by 5.4% in invasive species, and its combination with P addition or elevated CO2 significantly increased the RGR of invasive species by 7.5 or 8.1%, respectively, and to a level higher than that of native species (by 14.4%, P  < 0.01). Combined N + P addition under elevated CO2 decreased the amount of defence-related compounds in the leaf, including lipids (by 17.7%) and total structural carbohydrates (by 29.0%), whereas it increased the growth-related compounds in the leaf, including proteins (by 75.7%), minerals (by 9.6%) and total non-structural carbohydrates (by 8.5%). The increased concentrations of growth-related compounds were possibly associated with the increase in ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase content and mineral nutrition (magnesium, iron and calcium), all of which were higher in the invasive species than in the native species. These results suggest that rising atmospheric CO2 concentration and N deposition combined with nutrient enrichment will increase the growth of invasive species more than that of native species. Our result also suggests that invasive species respond more readily to produce growth-related compounds under an increased soil nutrient availability and elevated CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor tumour accumulation of nanoparticles (NPs) severely hampers the therapeutic efficacy of NPs, which is mainly attributed to the inadequate drug distribution within tumour tissues. Developing an intracellular in situ assembling system (IIAS) that can form micro-sized aggregations as drug depots for the prolonged retention of drugs inside tumour cells and deeply penetrate tumour tissues owing to the initial small size of the NPs is a promising strategy for enhancing the tumour accumulation of drugs and improving their chemotherapeutic efficacy. Herein, smart in situ assembling nanoparticles (named DOX-uNPs) with an ultrasmall size of approximately 8 nm were prepared by encapsulating doxorubicin (DOX) into the hydrophobic domains of human serum albumin (HSA). After extravasating into tumour cells, the DOX-uNPs aggregated into micro-sized particles as drug depots through a thio-disulfide exchange reaction between neighboring nanoparticles triggered by the elevated level of reduced glutathione (GSH) to achieve the sustained release of DOX, which was visually confirmed by the fluorescent imaging of the sections of tumours after systemic administration. Furthermore, the in vivo anti-lymphoma results of the DOX-uNPs demonstrated a dramatic tumour reduction of approximately 71% when compared with free DOX. Thus, this smart in situ aggregating nanoparticles system provides a promising nanoplatform for both deep tumour penetration and prolonged tumour retention, which is a robust strategy for higher tumour accumulation of intracellular targeted drugs for enhanced therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Russian official statistical data, this paper took accidents in coal industry of Russia during 2008 and 2018 as the analysis object. The results showed that, the annual coal mining volume in Russia is increasing year by year, in which the annual output of open-pit coal mine and its proportion in the total coal mining volume are increasing year by year; Russian coal industry has achieved “three declines” in the total number of accidents, deaths and the death rate of millions of tons of coal. At the same time, the number of illegal behaviors found in the process of safety inspection of Russian coal industry is decreasing year by year, however, the number of administrative penalties and fines included in them is increasing year by year, and the risk oriented supervision mechanism of Russian coal industry is running well. During 2008 and 2018, the federal district of Siberia was the main area of coal industry accidents in Russia. Coal industry fires accounted for the largest proportion of accidents, and gas and coal dust explosion accidents caused the largest number of casualties. Lax safety management in Russian coal enterprises, violation of operation regulations and labor discipline by employees are the main reasons for the above accidents.

Political elites have a tremendous influence on past, present and future socioeconomic and political developments in both western and non-western countries. Unsurprisingly, the analysis of China's elites has been crucial in the study of politics there. A large body of literature has examined the members of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a stronghold of the nation's political elites. Given the growing interest and research on elite politics in the PRC in recent years, this paper reviews studies of the pathways to political power and the personal qualifications of the members of the Central Committee that are central to studies of elite Chinese politics. This review paper is organized both chronologically and thematically. It shows a shift away from the study of demographics of Central Committee members toward theorizing of how recruitment into the Central Committee works. Some scholars have theorized succession politics in China as the rise of technocracy, while others have used institutionalization and factional politics to explain how China's leaders are selected. This paper summarizes and identifies several theoretical and methodological issues in existing studies as an effort to advance research on succession politics and political evolution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Islatravir (MK-8591) is a deoxyadenosine analog in development for the treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection. An islatravir-eluting implant could provide an additional option for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Setting: Previous data support a threshold islatravir triphosphate concentration for PrEP of 0.05 pmol/106 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Prototype islatravir-eluting implants were previously studied to establish general tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PKs) of islatravir relative to the threshold level. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial, a next-generation radiopaque islatravir-eluting implant (48 mg, 52 mg, or 56 mg) or placebo implant was placed for a duration of 12 weeks in participants at low risk of HIV infection. Safety and tolerability, as well as PK for islatravir parent and islatravir triphosphate from plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were assessed throughout placement and 8 weeks after removal. Results: In total, 36 participants (8 active and 4 placebo per dose arm) were enrolled and completed this study. Implants were generally well tolerated, with no discontinuations due to an adverse event, and no clear dose-dependence in implant-related adverse events. No clinically meaningful relationships were observed for changes in laboratory values, vital signs, or electrocardiogram assessments. Mean islatravir triphosphate levels at day 85 (0.101–0.561 pmol/106 cells) were above the PK threshold for all dose levels. Conclusion: Islatravir administered using a subdermal implant has the potential to be an effective and well-tolerated method for administering PrEP to individuals at risk of acquiring HIV-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a data set (N = 1,600) collected in the city of Urumchi in 2005, this article examines ethnic differences in arranged marriages in urban China. Data analysis shows a rapid decline in parental arrangement for both Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese in Urumchi. Han Chinese are less likely than Uyghur Muslims to report arranged marriages, with main background characteristics being controlled. However, the differences between Uyghur men and Han men fade away when background characteristics are controlled, whereas no similar patterns are found among women. These findings indicate that Uyghur women have a lower degree of autonomy in the marriage market than their Muslim brothers do. These findings suggest a new interpretation of the effect of ethnic culture and status attainment on intergroup differences in marriage. They also call for a partial revision of a convergence model and an ethnic culture model for research on marriage in developing societies. (Contains 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Energetic materials (EMs) are the core materials of weapons and equipment. Achieving precise molecular design and efficient green synthesis of EMs has long been one of the primary concerns of researchers around the world. Traditionally, advanced materials were discovered through a trial-and-error processes, which required long research and development (R&D) cycles and high costs. In recent years, the machine learning (ML) method has matured into a tool that compliments and aids experimental studies for predicting and designing advanced EMs. This paper reviews the critical process of ML methods to discover and predict EMs, including data preparation, feature extraction, model construction, and model performance evaluation. The main ideas and basic steps of applying ML methods are analyzed and outlined. The state-of-the-art research about ML applications in property prediction and inverse material design of EMs is further summarized. Finally, the existing challenges and the strategies for coping with challenges in the further applications of the ML methods are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]