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Background: Ketamine has emerged as a prominent substance of misuse. Leptin, an adipocyte-derived polypeptide hormone, has been implicated in the development of addiction. Sex-specific changes in leptin levels have been demonstrated following acute ketamine administration; the persistence of long-term ketamine use on leptin levels is uncertain.Objectives: To assess the sex-difference of leptin levels, and their persistence, in individuals with ketamine use disorder (KUD) compared to healthy controls.Methods: Plasma leptin levels were measured in 62 healthy controls (37 males, 25 females) and 68 participants with KUD (50 males, 18 females) on the first day (baseline) and after 1 and 2 weeks of abstinence. As leptin levels are affected by body mass index (BMI), BMI-adjusted leptin (leptin/BMI ratio) was also examined. Mixed model for repeated measures was used to examine changes after ketamine abstinence.Results: Compared to same-sex controls, female, but not male, participants with KUD demonstrated lower leptin levels and leptin/BMI ratio at baseline, week 1, and week 2 (leptin levels: p = .001, 0.006 and 0.032, respectively; leptin/BMI ratio: p = .004, 0.022, and 0.09, respectively). Repeated measures showed that leptin levels and the leptin/BMI ratio increased after 2 weeks of abstinence in male participants with KUD (p = .002 and 0.011, respectively), but females did not show such an increase (p > .05).Conclusions: Sex-specific differences were observed in leptin levels and the leptin/BMI ratio in individuals with KUD compared to controls. Lower leptin levels in females with KUD persisted after 2 weeks of abstinence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐infrared (NIR) emitting phosphors draw much attention because they show great applicability and development prospects in many fields. Herein, a series of inverse spinel‐type structured LiGa5O8 phosphors with a high concentration of Cr3+ activators is reported with a dual emission band covering NIR‐I and II regions. Except for strong ionic exchange interactions such as Cr3+−Cr3+ and Cr3+ clusters, an intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) process between aggregated Cr ion pairs is proposed as the mechanism for the ~1210 nm NIR‐II emission. Comprehensive structural and luminescence characterization points to IVCT between two Cr3+ being induced by structural distortion and further enhanced by irradiation. Construction of the configurational energy level diagram enabled elucidation of this transition within the IVCT process. Therefore, this work provides insight into the emission mechanism within the high Cr3+ concentration system, revealing a new design strategy for NIR‐II emitting phosphors to promote its response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional supervised learning usually operates under the premise that data are collected from the same underlying population. However, challenges may arise when integrating new data from different populations, resulting in a phenomenon known as dataset shift. This paper focuses on prior probability shift, where the distribution of the outcome varies across datasets but the conditional distribution of features given the outcome remains the same. To tackle the challenges posed by such shift, we propose an estimation algorithm that can efficiently combine information from multiple sources. Unlike existing methods that are restricted to discrete outcomes, the proposed approach accommodates both discrete and continuous outcomes. It also handles high-dimensional covariate vectors through variable selection using an adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator penalty, producing efficient estimates that possess the oracle property. Moreover, a novel semiparametric likelihood ratio test is proposed to check the validity of prior probability shift assumptions by embedding the null conditional density function into Neyman's smooth alternatives (Neyman, 1937) and testing study-specific parameters. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method through extensive simulations and a real data example. The proposed methods serve as a useful addition to the repertoire of tools for dealing dataset shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the sufficient dimension reduction problem in regression analysis with real‐valued response and functional or longitudinal covariates. We propose a new method based on gradients of the conditional distribution function to estimate the sufficient dimension reduction subspace. While existing inverse‐regression‐type methods relies on a linearity condition, our method is based on the gradient of conditional distribution function and its validity only requires smoothness conditions on the population parameters. Practically, the proposed estimator can be obtained by standard algorithm of functional principal component analysis. The proposed method is demonstrated through extensive simulations and two empirical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronous colorectal cancer (sCRC) is characterized by the occurrence of more than one tumor within six months of detecting the first tumor. Evidence suggests that sCRC might be more common in the serrated neoplasia pathway, marked by the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), than in the chromosomal instability pathway (CIN). An increasing number of studies propose that CIMP could serve as a potential epigenetic predictor or prognostic biomarker of sCRC. Therapeutic drugs already used for treating CIMP-positive colorectal cancers (CRCs) are reviewed and drug selections for sCRC patients are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural language processing (NLP) has become an essential technique in various fields, offering a wide range of possibilities for analyzing data and developing diverse NLP tasks. In the biomedical domain, understanding the complex relationships between compounds and proteins is critical, especially in the context of signal transduction and biochemical pathways. Among these relationships, protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are of particular interest, given their potential to trigger a variety of biological reactions. To improve the ability to predict PPI events, we propose the protein event detection dataset (PEDD), which comprises 6823 abstracts, 39 488 sentences and 182 937 gene pairs. Our PEDD dataset has been utilized in the AI CUP Biomedical Paper Analysis competition, where systems are challenged to predict 12 different relation types. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art relation extraction research and provide an overview of the PEDD's compilation process. Furthermore, we present the results of the PPI extraction competition and evaluate several language models' performances on the PEDD. This paper's outcomes will provide a valuable roadmap for future studies on protein event detection in NLP. By addressing this critical challenge, we hope to enable breakthroughs in drug discovery and enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel MnTiNb 2 O 8 -based microwave dielectric ceramic was synthesized by solid-state route and its microwave dielectric properties were investigated. The effects of excess Mn2+ on the microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of Mn x TiNb 2 O 8 (x = 1.00–1.20) were investigated. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy results showed that MnTiNb 2 O 8 was the dominant crystalline phase in all samples, but TiO 2 , as a second phase, was consistently present. The complex impedance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis suggested that the addition of a small amount of Mn could inhibit the formation of oxygen vacancies and hinder the reduction of Ti4+. The study found that by adding a small amount of Mn, the quality factor (Q × f) of ceramics can be significantly improved without affecting the dielectric constant (ε r), thereby greatly optimizing the dielectric properties of ceramics. Subsequently, the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ f) of the ceramic was successfully adjusted to near zero by adding a small amount of Zr4+ instead of Ti4+. Among all Mn x Ti 1- y Zr y Nb 2 O 8 (x = 1.00–1.20, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.28) ceramics, samples with x = 1.05 and y = 0.1 sintered at 1200 °C showed the best microwave dielectric properties: ε r = 32.9, Q × f = 11,427 GHz, and τ f = 0 ppm/°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-culture systems of rice and aquatic animals (CSRAA) constitute a type of cultivation system that is important for blue–green revolution, as they provide environmental sustainability, economic profitability, and increased food productivity. However, little research has been conducted on how and to what extent CSRAA influences greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, we conducted a global meta-analysis to examine the responses of N2O and CH4 emissions to the transformation of rice paddy fields into CSRAA. Twenty-three published articles were included, which accounted for 75 effect sizes across three types of CSRAA: rice–fish, rice–crayfish, and rice–crab. The effect size (response ratio) of GHG emissions between rice paddies and CSRAA was calculated. The results showed that the CSRAA reduced N2O and CH4 emissions by 17% and 11%, respectively. Moreover, the rice–crayfish systems were the most effective at reducing N2O (32%) and CH4 (45%) emissions. The observed reduction in GHG emissions may result from changes in critical environmental factors. The effect size of N2O emissions was significantly positively correlated with increases in water-dissolved oxygen (P = 0.0082) and soil ammonium (P < 0.0001), whereas that of CH4 emissions was significantly negatively associated with increases in soil ammonium (P = 0.0055) and soil redox potential (P = 0.0041). We observed a significant quadratic linear relationship between N2O emissions and soil nitrate concentrations (P = 0.0456). Overall, our study demonstrated the potential of CSRAA to reduce GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Mitochondrial dysfunction, a characteristic pathological feature of renal Ischemic/reperfusion injury (I/RI), predisposes tubular epithelial cells to maintain an inflammatory microenvironment, however, the exact mechanisms through which mitochondrial dysfunction modulates the induction of tubular injury remains incompletely understood. Methods: ESI‐QTRAP‐MS/MS approach was used to characterize the targeted metabolic profiling of kidney with I/RI. Tubule injury, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fumarate level were evaluated using qPCR, transmission electron microscopy, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry. Results: We demonstrated that tubule injury occurred at the phase of reperfusion in murine model of I/RI. Meanwhile, enhanced glycolysis and mitochondrial dysfunction were found to be associated with tubule injury. Further, we found that tubular fumarate, which resulted from fumarate hydratase deficiency and released from dysfunctional mitochondria, promoted tubular injury. Mechanistically, fumarate induced tubular injury by causing disturbance of glutathione (GSH) hemostasis. Suppression of GSH with buthionine sulphoximine administration could deteriorate the fumarate inhibition‐mediated tubule injury recovery. Reactive oxygen species/NF‐κB signaling activation played a vital role in fumarate‐mediated tubule injury. Conclusion: Our studies demonstrated that the mitochondrial‐derived fumarate promotes tubular epithelial cell injury in renal I/RI. Blockade of fumarate‐mediated ROS/NF‐κB signaling activation may serve as a novel therapeutic approach to ameliorate hypoxic tubule injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging research has validated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) have indispensable regulatory functions in tumorigenesis, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Ferroptosis is a specific cell death form and implicates in the malignant progression of tumors. Here, this study aimed to investigate the biofunction of circ_0087851 in tumor progression and ferroptosis of CRC, as well as its underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: The expression pattern of circ_0087851 in CRC was validated by qRT-PCR. The biological characteristics of circ_0087851 in CRC were assessed through CCK-8, colony formation and transwell assays in vitro. The ferroptosis was measured using ferroptosis-related reagents on iron, Fe2+, and lipid ROS detection. Bioinformatics, luciferase reporter, and RNA pulldown assays were employed to reveal the circ_0087851-mediated regulatory network. In addition, the effect of circ_0087851 on tumor growth in vivo was detected using a xenograft model. Results: Circ_0087851 was notably diminished in CRC tissues and cells. Functionally, overexpression of circ_0087851 suppressed CRC cell growth, migration, invasion, and facilitated ferroptosis in vitro. Meanwhile, circ_0087851 upregulation impeded CRC growth in vivo. Mechanistically, circ_0087851 functioned as a molecular sponge for miR-593-3p, and BRCA1 associated protein 1 (BAP1) was identified as a downstream target of miR-593-3p. Besides, rescue experiments revealed that miR-593-3p overexpression or silencing of BAP1 reversed circ_0087851-mediated CRC progression. Conclusion: Circ_0087851 performed as a tumor suppressor and ferroptosis promoter by the miR-593-3p/BAP1 axis, providing novel biomarker and therapeutic target for the clinical management of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel ionic hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (iHOF-17 and iHOF-18) were obtained by integrating organosulfonic acids with amidine salts. Among them, iHOF-18 exhibits fast, reversible, and high-contrast UV-induced photochromic properties, and this property is solvent-controlled. This work provides valuable insights for designing advanced anti-counterfeiting techniques and encryption applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of maintaining consistent quality in injection molding is critical, yet conducting a comprehensive inspection is both costly and time consuming. Leveraging artificial intelligence, this study proposed using machine learning—specifically multilayer perception (MLP) models—to predict the quality of injection-molded parts. The accuracy of this approach largely relies on hyperparameter tuning, a process that can be cumbersome and suboptimal if performed through trial and error. The Taguchi method has the advantages of robustness, efficiency, and simplicity, and is a widely used robust optimization tool. However, this method assumes a linear relationship between factors, which limits the processing of complex systems where interactions between factors are nonlinear. Furthermore, the Taguchi method is sensitive to initial assumptions about factors and their levels, and the results may not reflect the true behavior of the system. To address this, a two-stage design-of-experiments method was devised that systematically identifies the optimal hyperparameter settings, including the maximum number of epochs, learning rate, momentum, activation function, minimum batch size, and numbers of hidden layers and nodes. The method is executed in two stages: (1) an L12 (21 × 35) orthogonal array is used to identify the primary factors affecting model accuracy and (2) an L8 (23) full-factorial experiment is conducted discover the combinations that yield the highest performance. Two experimental case studies, integrated circuit (IC) tray width prediction and optical component weight prediction, were used to validate the proposed method. The results revealed that the best hyperparameter settings resulted in validation and test accuracy of 96.83% and 95.30%, respectively, for IC tray width prediction. The average root-mean-square errors are 0.019 and 0.022 in model validation and test, respectively, for optical component weight prediction, with short computational time. The proposed method demonstrates how the systematic optimization of hyperparameters for MLP model can enhance the efficiency and stability of model training and can be used to advance quality control in the field of injection molding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concealment of rootkits makes them a significant security threat. Kernel-level rootkits can be extremely dangerous as they have high system privileges. A typical type of kernel-level rootkits is to hook system calls which are essential for overall system functionality. This paper presents drootkit, a tool to detect kernel-level rootkits that hook system calls. Additionally, drootkit can recover damaged systems. This tool utilizes eBPF technology, ensuring both flexibility and security. When installing new kernel modules, the virtual address range of the initial kernel code will not be affected. In light of this, drootkit conducts bounds checking on all system calls within the system. In the case of system calls being hooked, drootkit can detect and recover them while issuing warning messages. For testing purposes, this paper also implements a malicious kernel module that can hook system calls and run on the arm64 platform. We have conducted an experiment that confirms drootkit's capability to detect rootkits while also effectively restoring the system. Moreover, drootkit has very low system overhead and does not significantly affect system performance, making it a reliable choice for a backend program that can run for an extended period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurofilament light chain (NFL), as a measure of neuroaxonal injury, has recently gained attention in alcohol dependence (AD). Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is the major enzyme which metabolizes the alcohol breakdown product acetaldehyde. An ALDH2 single nucleotide polymorphism (rs671) is associated with less ALDH2 enzyme activity and increased neurotoxicity. We examined the blood NFL levels in 147 patients with AD and 114 healthy controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and genotyped rs671. We also followed NFL level, alcohol craving and psychological symptoms in patients with AD after 1 and 2 weeks of detoxification. We found the baseline NFL level was significantly higher in patients with AD than in controls (mean ± SD: 264.2 ± 261.8 vs. 72.1 ± 35.6 pg/mL, p < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that NFL concentration could discriminate patients with AD from controls (area under the curve: 0.85; p < 0.001). The NFL levels were significantly reduced following 1 and 2 weeks of detoxification, with the extent of reduction correlated with the improvement of craving, depression, and anxiety (p < 0.001). Carriers with the rs671 GA genotype, which is associated with less ALDH2 activity, had higher NLF levels either at baseline or after detoxification compared with GG carriers. In conclusion, plasma NFL level was increased in patients with AD and reduced after early abstinence. Reduction in NFL level corroborated well with the improvement of clinical symptoms. The ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism may play a role in modulating the extent of neuroaxonal injury and its recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-embolization syndrome (PES) is a frequent complication after receiving transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but only a few studies have focused on the factors influencing PES in those patients. In this study, the impact factors of PES were explored and a nomogram was constructed to predict the occurrence of PES in HCC patients with TACE. This was a retrospective cohort study of HCC patients who underwent TACE obtained from the third affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 1, 2020, and September 1, 2022. T‑test and Chi‑square test were used to search for factors influencing PES occurrence, and then the nomogram was further established based on multivariable logistic regression analysis. Validation of the predictive nomogram was also evaluated by calibration curve, concordance index (C-index), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The enrolled patients (n = 258) were randomly assigned to the primary cohort (n = 180) and validation cohort (n = 78) in a 7:3 ratio. Among 180 patients in the primary cohort, 106 (58.89%) experienced PES. TACE types (P = 0.015), embolization degree (P = 0.008), and tumor number (P = 0.026) were identified as predictors by the logistic regression analysis and were used to develop the predictive nomogram. The internally validated and externally validated C-indexes were 0.713 and 0.703, respectively. The calibration curves presented good consistency between actual and predictive survival. Types of embolic agents, embolization degree, and tumor number were found to be the predictors of PES after TACE. The nomogram could reliably predict PES in HCC patients with TACE. This predictive model might be considered for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunneling in coastal silty clay strata often faces the problems of clogging on the screw conveyor or the belt conveyor due to lumps of clay soils formed because of the large cohesion of clay particles. Soil conditioning using common foaming agents is not enough to alleviate the problem. Therefore, the novel dispersed foaming agent was studied in this work using performance and orthogonal compound tests. The foam microstructure was observed using an electron microscope to analyze the evolution mechanism of bubbles for different additives. Both laboratory and in situ tests were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the novel dispersed foaming agents. The testing results showed that 50 vol.% is an optimum foaming injection ratio to improve rheological properties and undrained shear strength of silty clay to avoid the unnecessary waste of conditioning materials. The half-life time (T1/2) and foam expansion ratio (FER) of novel foaming agents using the formation ionic solution as the solvent increased due to existing hydrophilic polar groups based on undisturbed soil samples taken from a Xiamen Metro construction site. It was shown that acids, alkalis, and salt ions had little effect on the FER and T1/2 of foaming agents (Foams A and B) using the macromolecular dispersant. The variations in the plasticity index were similar to those of the liquid limit for the muck conditioned using dispersed foaming agents with sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride at a concentration of 0.1 wt%. Sodium bicarbonate had the most significant impact on the foaming agents' anticlay effect. Compared with commercial and house-made foaming agents of the Fuzhou Metro project, the muck was effectively conditioned by Foams A and B based on the slump and temperature values. In addition, the average cutter-head torque was reduced by about 250 kN·m. The amount of foaming agents used was reduced by about 18.6% and 12.9% on average in the two testing sites, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) is a worldwide health concern. The hypothalamic orexin system regulates stress response and addictive behaviors. The genetic variation in the hypocretin receptor 2 (HCRTR2), rs2653349, is associated with substance use disorder. Objectives: We explored the gene-environment (GxE) interaction of rs2653349 and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with MUD susceptibility. Methods: Four hundred and one individuals (336 males, 65 females) with MUD and 348 healthy controls (288 males, 60 females) completed a self-report questionnaire evaluating ACEs, encompassing childhood abuse and household dysfunction categories, and were genotyped for SNP rs2653349. Methamphetamine use variables were collected using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies. We used regression analyses to assess the GxE effect on MUD risk. Results: The MUD group had a comparable genotypic distribution for rs2653349 to the control group, albeit with a higher prevalence and number of types of ACEs, correlating with an increased MUD risk (p <.05). No significant genetic impact of rs2653349 on MUD risk was found. However, we observed a GxE interaction effect between the minor allele of rs2653349 and the number of childhood abuse or household dysfunction types, correlating with a reduced MUD risk (OR = -0.71, p =.04, Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p =.08 and OR = -0.59, p =.045, Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p =.09, respectively). Conclusion: HCRTR2 SNP rs2653349 has no significant impact on MUD risk, but ACEs may increase this risk. GxE results suggest that rs2653349 could offer protection against developing MUD in individuals experiencing multiple types of ACEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Although studies in Western countries have investigated the quality of life (QoL) of heroin users, limited research on this topic has been conducted in Asia. The present study assessed QoL in patients with heroin dependence receiving medications to treat opioid use disorder. Methods: We performed a cross‐sectional study of patients with heroin dependence receiving methadone and buprenorphine treatment. The demographic and substance use variables of patients receiving methadone and buprenorphine were compared. The Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ‐12), Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale (OCDUS), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Short Form Taiwan version (WHOQOL‐BREF‐T) were administered to measure patient mental health problems, addiction severity, and QoL, respectively. Multivariate regression was used to identify the factors associated with QoL. Results: A total of 149 patients receiving methadone and 31 receiving buprenorphine completed the questionnaires. Individuals in the buprenorphine group were more likely to be married (p = 0.024) or employed (p = 0.024), have a higher educational level (p = 0.013), have lower drug craving (OCDUS: p = 0.035), or have higher QoL (WHOQOL‐BREF‐T: p = 0.004) than those in the methadone group. After adjustment for other variables, employment was positively associated with the physical, psychological, and environmental domains of QoL. Receiving buprenorphine treatment (p = 0.032) and longer treatment duration (p = 0.016) were associated with higher psychological QoL. Conclusion: Several factors were associated with QoL in patients with heroin dependence. Some measures may improve their QoL, such as reducing employment barriers, improving treatment adherence, or increasing accessibility to buprenorphine treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavation damage induced by the drill-and-blast method (DBM) of the surrounding rock zone in tunneling intensifies the loss of groundwater and causes serious hydroecological imbalance. Traditional theoretical analysis concerning tunnel seepage fields leads to an underestimation of groundwater inflow due to the ignoring of the factor of increased permeability in the DBM damage zone. Meanwhile, the composite liner widely used in DBM tunnels with the waterproofing and drainage system is difficult to simulate numerically. Taking into account the damaged zone, this work presents an analytical solution based on the axisymmetric modeling method suitable for deep tunnels to determine the groundwater inflow, permeability coefficient, and seepage force. The proposed solution combining the equivalent perimeter method is extended to noncircular tunnels. Comparisons of the numerical results with those of a previous study indicate that the proposed approach provides realistic predictions for the groundwater inflow and external water pressure. Introducing the concept of an equivalent liner, a series of numerical simulations for the center-diaphragm (CD) method are performed, in which 14 steps are divided for the tunnel construction and operation. The results indicate that the external water pressures significantly decrease after an upper-section excavation of the left drift and increase after support closure. The seepage velocity of the primary support and second liner reaches the maximum near the arch skewback. The maximum seepage volume Q occurs after a left-drift upper-section excavation and the maximum groundwater table drawdown h occurs before right-drift support closure. The impact of rainfall on h is far greater than that on Q. For damaged and grouting zones, the effects of permeability on Q and h are more significant than those of thickness. Furthermore, a significant advantage of the CD method compared with the full-face and bench methods is deduced for tunnels crossing unfavorable strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel slag, a by-product of steelmaking, can be used as backfill material for energy structures, and the granite residual soil is a common soil type in civil infrastructure. The thermal conductivity of backfill materials and soils surrounding the piles is the crucial parameter which has influence on the heat transfer. In this paper, the steel slag and granite residual soil were treated by enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) and the effect of the different number of treatment cycles (N) on the thermal conductivity of EICP-treated specimens was also investigated. The thermal conductivity was determined by the transient plane source method (TPS). Moreover, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests were carried out to investigate the microstructure of the EICP-treated specimens. The results showed that the thermal conductivity of steel slag and granite residual soil specimens can be significantly enhanced using EICP treatment. The thermal conductivity of bio-cemented specimens increased as the N increased. The maximum values of thermal conductivity were obtained for steel slag with a particle size = 0.55 mm, CCC = 6.17% and N = 12, and for granite residual soil with density = 0.7 g/cm3, CCC = 3.38% and N = 12. The heat transfer mechanism was revealed through microstructure analysis and it was discussed how the different patterns of CaCO3 crystal precipitation caused the different ratios of thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is an emerging and environment-friendly geotechnical technique for soil improvement. Despite the extensive amount of previous studies focusing on the mechanical properties of biocemented samples with varying calcium carbonate content, less is known about the cementitious property of calcium carbonate crystals generated in the EICP process. This paper presents a systematic study on the effect of cementation solution concentration (CCS) on cementitious property of calcium carbonate crystals. Solution tests were conducted to ascertain the dominant factor causing the retarding effect of CCS. Glass slide tests and ultrasonic oscillation tests were performed to evaluate the cementitious property of calcium carbonate crystal. The results of solution tests indicated that the higher CCS would affect calcium carbonate production and calcium conversion efficiency, which is mainly caused by the concentration of CaCl2 rather than urea. The increase in CCS will cause calcium conversion efficiency to decrease significantly, and calcium carbonate production will also decrease once CCS exceeds a threshold value. The higher CCS contributes to formation of larger calcium carbonate crystals and has little effect on the morphological characteristics of the crystal. Glass slide tests showed that mineral composition is controlled by the CCS of EICP solution. Increasing the CCS results in the increased vaterite content, which affects the cementitious property of calcium carbonate crystal, especially for CCS is higher than 1.0 M. The results are expected to help identify the retarding effect of CCS and to provide a reference for optimizing the cementitious property of calcium carbonate crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observational studies and clinical trials have evaluated the associations between vitamin D supplementation and cancer incidence/mortality and obtained mixed results. Previous meta-analyses have also yielded inconsistent conclusions. In this paper, we conduct an updated meta-analysis by including current randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to assess the association between vitamin D supplementation and cancer incidence and mortality. The PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases were systematically searched from their inception to 6 February 2022. Fixed-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Trial sequential analyses were performed using a risk ratio reduction threshold of 10% for cancer incidence and mortality. Twenty-six RCTs were eligible, and pooled results indicated that vitamin D supplementation, compared to placebo with/without calcium, was not associated with a reduction in total cancer incidence (risk ratio: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.94, 1.02; I2 = 0%). In contrast, vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced total cancer mortality (risk ratio: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.8, 0.96; I2 = 0%). Moreover, trial sequential analysis provided reliable evidence that supplementation with vitamin D lowered the relative risk of total cancer mortality by 10%. Our updated meta-analysis suggested that vitamin D supplementation did not reduce total cancer incidence but significantly lowered total cancer mortality. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2056574. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its robustness properties, marginal interpretations, and ease of implementation, the pseudo‐partial likelihood method proposed in the seminal papers of Pepe and Cai and Lin et al. has become the default approach for analyzing recurrent event data with Cox‐type proportional rate models. However, the construction of the pseudo‐partial score function ignores the dependency among recurrent events and thus can be inefficient. An attempt to investigate the asymptotic efficiency of weighted pseudo‐partial likelihood estimation found that the optimal weight function involves the unknown variance–covariance process of the recurrent event process and may not have closed‐form expression. Thus, instead of deriving the optimal weights, we propose to combine a system of pre‐specified weighted pseudo‐partial score equations via the generalized method of moments and empirical likelihood estimation. We show that a substantial efficiency gain can be easily achieved without imposing additional model assumptions. More importantly, the proposed estimation procedures can be implemented with existing software. Theoretical and numerical analyses show that the empirical likelihood estimator is more appealing than the generalized method of moments estimator when the sample size is sufficiently large. An analysis of readmission risk in colorectal cancer patients is presented to illustrate the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding field management techniques that increase crop output while protecting soil sustainability is essential for maintaining a long-term food supply in a changing environment. However, comprehensive evaluation of the effects of nitrogen (N) reduction combined with organic fertilizer on grain yield, N use efficiency (NUE), water use efficiency (WUE), and soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N (TN) contents of winter wheat–summer maize double cropping systems in drought-prone areas remains limited. Therefore, a 3-year field experiment (2018–2021) was conducted in a winter wheat–summer maize double cropping system with five treatments: no N fertilizer (CK), conventional farmer fertilization (CF), recommended fertilization (R), organic N substitution of 20% of the recommended synthetic N (R20), and organic N substitution of 40% of the recommended synthetic N (R40). When results were averaged from 2018 to 2021, R20 had the highest annual grain yield, which increased by 42.15%, 7.69%, 7.58%, and 12.50% compared with CK, CF, R, and R40, respectively. Compared with CF, R20 increased winter wheat and summer maize NAE, NPFP, NUE, and WUE. In addition, the soil organic carbon content of R20 and R40 treatment increased with the increase in years. In conclusion, R20 was considered ideal for improving crop yield, promoting soil fertility, and increasing the fertilizer utilization rate in a semiarid winter wheat–summer maize rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many engineering applications, repeated wetting and drying is one of the most destructive processes which can lead to continuous damage to in situ rocks. Worse still, the situation is exacerbated if the action is coupled with flowing water conditions. In this work, the effects of wetting–drying (W-D) cycles on the failure characteristics of tunnels excavated in the gypsiferous strata were investigated by using the particle flow code. The meso-mechanical parameters of gypsiferous rock models under different W-D cycles at different flow rates (0, 10, and 20 l/h) were determined by the trial-and-error method. A two-dimensional 1/180 scale model of the tunnel was established based on the working principle of centrifuge. The evolution characteristics of force chains and fractures in the excavation disturbance zone (EDZ) under different conditions of W-D cycles and flow rates were analyzed. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the problems in the South Lvliang Mountain Tunnel was discussed, and some prevention measures were suggested. The results showed that with increasing W-D cycles and flow rates, the fractures and disappearance zones of force chains in the EDZ gradually increase, while the influence of flow rates on their distribution becomes significant. With increasing W-D cycles and flow rates, under the unsupported condition, the development characteristics of growth curves of fractures will gradually transition from “rapid growth to stability” to “rapid growth to slow growth.” Under the support condition, the development characteristics of growth curves of fractures will gradually transition from “rapid growth to stability” to “rapid growth to fluctuating growth, and then stability,” and then to “rapid growth to slow growth, and then rapid fluctuating growth.” The flow rates will greatly accelerate the deterioration of surrounding rocks caused by the action of W-D cycles, thus causing the lining damage in a shorter time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a general method is presented for the design of arbitrarily shaped 3D illusion devices with piecewise homogeneous parameters based on geometric divisions and linear coordinate transformations. Three illusion devices that can reshape the sizes or positions of the wrapped objects are demonstrated, namely, shrinking, amplifying, and shifting devices. The shrinking device can shrink a larger object into a smaller one with different material parameters, whereas the amplifying device can enlarge a smaller object into a larger one, and a shifting device can generate a new image with an identical size but located at a different position. In addition, based on the presented shrinking device, a perfect 3D invisibility cloak is achieved by shrinking the wrapped object to sufficiently small dimensions as compared to the operating frequency. An electromagnetic concentrator is also obtained by replacing the coated object of the amplifying device with a compression medium. The presented design approach can be easily extended to the design of other electromagnetic devices and even to other physical fields. It is believed that the presented piecewise homogeneous devices are more practicable in reality and can accelerate the potential applications of illusion devices in both military and commercial fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), small ubiquitin-like modifier molecules (SUMO), and pregnancy outcomes in couples with unexplained infertility (UI) undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment. We prospectively collected semen samples from 56 couples with UI and divided the spermatozoa into motile and immotile fractions by density gradient centrifugation (DSC). Immunofluorescence staining was used to examine the immunostaining and localization of nuclear pore complex (NPC), SUMO1, and SUMO2/3 in spermatozoa. We detected H2O2 levels by chemiluminescence methods. We found that H2O2 levels correlated with NPC (neck) (r = 0.400) and NPC (tail) (r = 0.473) in motile sperm fractions. In immotile fractions, H2O2 positively correlated with NPC (tail) (r = 0.431) and SUMO1 (neck) (r = 0.282). Furthermore, the positive NPC (tail) group had a significantly lower live birth rate than the negative NPC group (17.9% = 5/28 vs. 42.9% = 12/28). In conclusion, H2O2 positively correlated with SUMO1 (neck) and NPC (tail) in human spermatozoa. The DSC may partially eliminate defective spermatozoa (positive NPC staining); however, if defective spermatozoa remain in the motile fraction, this scenario is associated with a low live birth rate following IUI treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the monomers of proteins, amino acids are critical in chemistry and biology, playing important roles in multiple fields such as synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and materials chemistry. Unlike proteinogenic amino acids, unnatural amino acids can be difficult to obtain from living organisms and generally are synthesized chemically. Recently, a method involving the asymmetric N−H bond carbene insertion reaction with α‐diazoacetates as the carbene precursor has shown high enantioselectivity and good functional group tolerance, allowing for the facile synthesis of natural and unnatural amino acids and the introduction of new concepts in catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To establish a precise diagnostic method for serosal invasion in gastric cancer (GC) during surgery using therapeutic measures, and facilitate quick decision-making. Methods: A total of 19 GC patients treated in the department of gastrointestinal surgery of Fujian Provincial Hospital between April 2019 and December 2020 were enrolled. An electronic gastroscopy with a magnifying endoscope with narrow-band imaging was used to photograph the serosal surface of the GC lesion site and the normal gastric wall around the lesion during surgery. The endoscopic diagnosis was confirmed on the basis of the microvascular phenotype of the serosal surface and validated by comparison with the pathological diagnosis. Results: Under the specific endoscopy, serosal invasion, including subserosal tissue invasion and serosal layer invasion, was diagnosed by observing the capillary morphology change, and capillary diameter and density increase. According to the pathological diagnosis, the accuracy of serosal invasion diagnosis was 94.7%, the sensitivity was 100%, the specificity was 75%, the positive predictive value was 93.8%, and the negative predictive value was 100%. To further distinguish the subserosal tissue invasion and serosal layer invasion, the magnifying endoscope with narrow-band imaging possessed a 78.9% accuracy by distinguishing irregular changes in microvessels. Conclusions: Magnifying endoscope with narrow-band imaging is less time-consuming than pathological diagnosis. Intraoperative diagnosis using microvascular observation can accurately detect serosal invasion. It is of value for the intraoperative diagnosis in GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intelligent servo drive system for a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMASynRM) that can adapt to the control requirements considering the motor's nonlinear and time-varying natures is developed in this study. A recurrent wavelet fuzzy neural network (RWFNN) with intelligent backstepping control is proposed to achieve this. In this study, first, a maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) controlled PMASynRM servo drive is introduced. A lookup table (LUT) is created, which is based on finite element analysis (FEA) results by using ANSYS Maxwell-2D dynamic model to determine the current angle command of the MTPA. Next, a backstepping control (BSC) system is created to accurately follow the desired position in the PMASynRM servo drive system while maintaining robust control characteristics. However, designing an efficient BSC for practical applications becomes challenging due to the lack of prior uncertainty information. To overcome this challenge, this study introduces an RWFNN as an approximation for the BSC, aiming to alleviate the limitations of the traditional BSC approach. An enhanced adaptive compensator is also incorporated into the RWFNN to handle potential approximation errors effectively. In addition, to ensure the stability of the RWFNN, the Lyapunov stability method is employed to develop online learning algorithms for the RWFNN and to guarantee its asymptotic stability. The proposed intelligent backstepping control with recurrent wavelet fuzzy neural network (IBSCRWFNN) demonstrates remarkable effectiveness and robustness in controlling the PMASynRM servo drive, as evidenced by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taiwan's National Health Insurance has covered targeted therapy, namely cetuximab, for locally advanced head and neck cancers (LAHNC) since July 2009. This study examines treatment trends and survival effects of locally advanced head and neck cancer patients before and after Taiwan's National Health Insurance covered cetuximab. Methods: We examined treatment trends and survival effects for patients with LAHNC using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients who received treatment within 6 months were categorized as either nontargeted or targeted therapy groups. We analyzed treatment trends with the Cochran-Armitage trend test and explored factors associated with treatment selection and survival effects using multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Of the 20,900 LAHNC patients included in the study, 19,696 received nontargeted therapy, while 1,204 received targeted therapy. Older patients with more comorbid conditions, advanced stages and patients with hypopharynx and oropharynx cancers were more likely to receive targeted therapy with concomitant cetuximab treatment. Patients who received targeted therapy in addition to other treatment modalities had a greater risk of one-year and long-term all-cause mortality or cancer-specific mortality than those without receiving targeted therapy (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study found an increasing trend in cetuximab utilization among LAHNC after reimbursement in Taiwan, but overall usage rates were low. LAHNC patients receiving cetuximab with other treatments had higher mortality risk than those receiving cisplatin, suggesting cisplatin may be preferred. Further research is needed to identify subgroups that could benefit from concomitant cetuximab treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The full-bridge submodule (FBSM)-based modular multilevel converter (FBSM-MMC) offers promising performance due to its ability to output negative FBSM voltage. This paper studies this ability of the FBSM-MMC under zero-sequence voltage injection (ZSVI) and second-order harmonic current injection (SHCI). The focus of the research is to redistribute the FBSM powers by injecting an additional power degree of freedom, resulting in a smaller FBSM capacitor voltage ripple, while keeping the maximum AC output voltage for a given fundamental frequency component of the arm voltage reference. Accordingly, a control strategy was developed, based on non-sinusoidal ZSVI, and SHCI is proposed for further improving the performance of the FBSM-MMC. The proposed non-sinusoidal ZSVI contains a higher sinusoidal third-order harmonic component than that of pure sinusoidal third-order voltage injection (THVI) when operating under the same maximum AC output voltage. By implementing this solution, a smaller amplitude of the injected second-order harmonic current can be achieved, producing a lower power loss in the FBSM-MMC. Considering the proposed solution, the relationship of the arm powers and FBSM capacitor voltages are also discussed. Finally, the simulation results and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optoelectronic synaptic devices integrating light‐perception and signal‐storage functions hold great potential in neuromorphic computing for visual information processing, as well as complex brain‐like learning, memorizing, and reasoning. Herein, the successful growth of MoS2 monolayer arrays assisted by gold nanorods guided precursor nucleation is demonstrated. Optical, spectral, and morphology characterizations of MoS2 prove that arrayed flakes are homogeneous monolayers, and they are further fabricated as optoelectronic devices showing featured photocurrent loops and stable optical responses. Typical synaptic behaviors of photo‐induced short‐term potentiation, long‐term potentiation, and paired pulse facilitation are recorded under different light stimulations of 450, 532, and 633 nm lasers at various excitation powers. A visual sensing system consisting of 5 × 6 pixels is constructed to simulate the light‐sensing image mapped by forgetting curves in real time. Moreover, the system presents the ability of utilizing associated images to restore vague and incomplete memories, which successfully mimics human intelligent behaviors of association memory and logical reasoning. The work emulates the brain‐like artificial intelligence using arrayed 2D semiconductors, which paves an avenue to achieve smart retina and complex brain‐like system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-FU-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and oxaliplatin-based CRT are commonly used therapies for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). However, patients with a high expression of ERCC1 have a worse prognosis than those with a low expression. In this study, we investigated the effect of XPF–ERCC1 blockers on chemotherapy and 5-FU-based CRT and oxaliplatin (OXA)-based CRT in colorectal cancer cell lines. We investigated the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 5-FU, OXA, XPF–ERCC1 blocker, and XPF–ERCC1 blocker, and 5-FU or OXA combined and analyzed the effect of XPF–ERCC1 blocker on 5-FU-based CRT and oxaliplatin-based CRT. Furthermore, the expression of XPF and γ-H2AX in colorectal cells was analyzed. In animal models, we combined the XPF–ERCC1 blocker with 5-FU and OXA to investigate the effects of RC and finally combined the XPF–ERCC1 blocker with 5-FU- and oxaliplatin-based CRT. In the IC50 analysis of each compound, the cytotoxicity of the XPF–ERCC1 blocker was lower than that of 5-FU and OXA. In addition, the XPF–ERCC1 blocker combined with 5-FU or OXA enhanced the cytotoxicity of the chemotherapy drugs in colorectal cells. Furthermore, the XPF–ERCC1 blocker also increased the cytotoxicity of 5-FU-based CRT and OXA -based CRT by inhibiting the XPF product DNA locus. In vivo, the XPF–ERCC1 blocker was confirmed to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of 5-FU, OXA, 5-FU-based CRT, and OXA CRT. These findings show that XPF–ERCC1 blockers not only increase the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs but also increase the efficacy of combined chemoradiotherapy. In the future, the XPF–ERCC1 blocker may be used to improve the efficacy of 5-FU- and oxaliplatin-based CRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this machine-learning (ML) resting-state magnetoencephalography (rs-MEG) study involving children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and orthopedic injury (OI) controls were to define a neural injury signature of mTBI and to delineate the pattern(s) of neural injury that determine behavioral recovery. Children ages 8-15 years with mTBI (n = 59) and OI (n = 39) from consecutive admissions to an emergency department were studied prospectively for parent-rated post-concussion symptoms (PCS) at: 1) baseline (average of 3 weeks post-injury) to measure pre-injury symptoms and also concurrent symptoms; and 2) at 3-months post-injury. rs-MEG was conducted at the baseline assessment. The ML algorithm predicted cases of mTBI versus OI with sensitivity of 95.5 ± 1.6% and specificity of 90.2 ± 2.7% at 3-weeks post-injury for the combined delta-gamma frequencies. The sensitivity and specificity were significantly better (p < 0.0001) for the combined delta-gamma frequencies compared with the delta-only and gamma-only frequencies. There were also spatial differences in rs-MEG activity between mTBI and OI groups in both delta and gamma bands in frontal and temporal lobe, as well as more widespread differences in the brain. The ML algorithm accounted for 84.5% of the variance in predicting recovery measured by PCS changes between 3 weeks and 3 months post-injury in the mTBI group, and this was significantly lower (p < 10−4) in the OI group (65.6%). Frontal lobe pole (higher) gamma activity was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with (worse) PCS recovery exclusively in the mTBI group. These findings demonstrate a neural injury signature of pediatric mTBI and patterns of mTBI-induced neural injury related to behavioral recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting short-term congestions in ship traffic flow is important for water traffic safety and intelligent shipping. We propose a method for predicting the traffic flow of ships by applying the whale optimization algorithm to an extreme learning machine. The method considers external environmental uncertainty and complexity of ships navigating in traffic-intensive waters. First, the parameters of ship traffic flow are divided into multiple modal components using variational mode decomposition and extreme learning machine. The machine and the whale optimization algorithm constitute a hybrid modelling approach for predicting individual modal components and integrating the results of individual components. Considering a map between ship traffic flow parameters and congestion, fuzzy c-means clustering is used to predict the level of ship traffic congestion. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, ship traffic flow data of the Yangtze River estuary were selected for evaluation. Results from the proposed method for predicting ship traffic flow parameters are consistent with measurements. Specifically, the prediction accuracy of the ship traffic congestion reaches 76.04%, which is reasonable and practical for predicting ship traffic congestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is usually more prevalent among those with a lower socioeconomic status (SES), which can be driven by inequalities in the initiation and cessation of smoking, giving rise to SES disparities in health. This study aimed to gauge the SES inequalities in smoking related behaviours and their evolving trends based on a nationally representative database. Method: Data were extracted from repeated cross-sectional China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of adults aged ≥18 and <60 years in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. SES was constructed by principal component analysis based on income, education and occupation. Regression-based odds ratios and coefficients as the relative effect index of inequality were applied to quantify the degree of socioeconomic inequality in smoking related behaviours and to adjust for possible confounding factors. Multivariable regressions were utilized to explore the temporal trends in smoking inequalities. Results: The smoking prevalence among men decreased from 61.16% to 2012 to 57.88% in 2018, cigarette consumption among current smokers declined from 16.71 to 15.49 cigs/per day, and the cessation rate increased from 17.55% to 24.08%. Cigarette consumption for women decreased from 13.39 in 2012 to 11.01 cigs/per day in 2018. Smoking prevalence showed significant SES inequalities among men and women from 2012 to 2018 (men: OR2012 (95%CI)= 0.72 (0.63, 0.83), OR2014 = 0.60 (0.52, 0.69), OR2016 = 0.58 (0.50, 0.67), OR2018 = 0.56 (0.48, 0.66); women: OR2012 = 0.63 (0.41, 0.97), OR2014 = 0.50 (0.32, 0.79), OR2016 = 0.44 (0.26, 0.73), OR2018 = 0.50 (0.30, 0.85)). Cigarette consumption showed significant SES inequalities among men from 2012 to 2018 (β2012=-1.39 (-2.22, -0.57), β2014=-2.37 (-3.23, -1.50), β2016=-2.35 (-3.25, -1.44), β2018=-2.91 (-3.86, -1.97)). In 2018, inequality emerged in smoking cessation rates among men and smoking intensity among women. However, all tests for trends in changes over time were not statistically significant (P varied from 0.072 to 0.602). Conclusion: The smoking prevalence declined between 2012 and 2018 in China. However, SES inequalities in smoking persist, while socioeconomic inequalities in smoking were not alleviated among adults aged 18 ~ 59 in China. Tobacco control measures should be implemented by giving more attention to people with lower SES who are more vulnerable to tobacco use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Alcohol use problem is a risk factor for re-offense of DUI. • Alcohol treatment reduces risk of DUI recidivism during intervention. • We examined the lasting effect of alcohol treatment on DUI recidivism. • Two-year recidivism rate remained lower after 12-month treatment. Alcohol use problems are prevalent among recidivists of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). This 2-year postintervention follow-up study explored the preventive effects of 12- or 6-month alcohol treatment in relation to reoffense among repeat DUI offenders who participated in a community-based joint legal–medical intervention program. A total of 259 repeat DUI offenders with alcohol use problems were referred from a Prosecutors' Office to a psychiatric hospital to receive alcohol treatment. We divided these participants into two groups on the basis of treatment duration (6- and 12-month groups) and collected their official DUI offense records for 2 years after the intervention. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the hazard ratio of each treatment duration in relation to reoffense. The reoffense rates were compared with a group of DUI offenders (n = 4097) who did not participate in the intervention program (i.e., a nonintervention group). The baseline characteristics were similar between the two treatment groups. The 2-year reoffense rates for the 12-month treatment, 6-month treatment, and nonintervention groups were 12%, 19%, and 21%, respectively. The hazard ratio for reoffense was lower for the 12-month group than for the 6-month group (hazard ratio: 0.45; 95% confidence interval: 0.21–0.96). Survival analysis revealed that compared with the non-intervention group, reoffense was significantly reduced in the 12-month group but not in the 6-month group. The 12-month joint legal–medical intervention program for alcohol treatment yielded superior outcomes to the corresponding 6-month program in terms of preventing DUI reoffense for 2 years postintervention. This research is, however, subject to the limitation that we lacked the information of factors that might affect the reoffense risk, such as motivation level, readiness to change, personality traits, and familial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced by ozonolysis of styrene and other alkene compounds is a major part of fine particles in urban atmospheres. The atmospheric ozonolysis process of styrene is simulated in a smog chamber, and the formed SOA particles are detected on‐line by a synchronous radiation vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometer (VUV‐PIMS) in this study. Through molecular ion peaks in the photonionization mass spectra of SOA and the corresponding photoionization efficiency curve, combined with off‐line measurement verification of ultraviolet visible and infrared absorption spectra, it is determined that formaldehyde, formic acid, benzene, phenol, benzaldehyde, and benzoic acid are the main constituents of styrene SOA. These provide new information for studying the atmospheric ozonolysis oxidation mechanism of styrene. VUV‐PIMS can get over complicated sample preparation procedures, secondary pollution, and other shortcomings of the off‐line method and is a useful instrument to measure constituents and unveil the formation process of SOA particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the regularity of Wong–Zakai approximations of the non-autonomous stochastic degenerate parabolic equations with X-elliptic operators. We first establish the pullback random attractors for the random degenerate parabolic equations with a general diffusion. Then, we prove the convergence of solutions and the upper semi-continuity of random attractors of the Wong–Zakai approximation equations in Lp(DN) ∩ H. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents theoretical and numerical models for the backscattering of two-dimensional Rayleigh waves by an elastic inclusion, with the host material being isotropic and the inclusion having an arbitrary shape and crystallographic symmetry. The theoretical model is developed based on the reciprocity theorem using the far-field Green's function and the Born approximation, assuming a small acoustic impedance difference between the host and inclusion materials. The numerical finite element (FE) model is established to deliver a relatively accurate simulation of the scattering problem and to evaluate the approximations of the theoretical model. Quantitative agreement is observed between the theoretical model and the FE results for arbitrarily shaped surface/subsurface inclusions with isotropic/anisotropic properties. The agreement is excellent when the wavelength of the Rayleigh wave is larger than, or comparable to, the size of the inclusion, but it deteriorates as the wavelength gets smaller. Also, the agreement decreases with the anisotropy index for inclusions of anisotropic symmetry. The results lay the foundation for using Rayleigh waves for quantitative characterization of surface/subsurface inclusions, while also demonstrating its limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in food products may bring health risks. Meat is a rich source of AGEs due to high protein and fat content, and thermal processing and storage further accelerate the formation of AGEs in meat. However, there is no comprehensive review of the formation of AGEs in meat during processing and storage. This paper summarized the types, structures and the formation of AGEs in meat during processing and storage. Meanwhile, the pathologic effects of AGEs and the inhibition of AGEs generation were also highlighted. Finally, the remaining limitations and future research directions about AGEs were discussed. The review of AGEs has important implications for food and human health. Although great progress has been made both in medicine and food science about AGEs, more valuable references and suggestions for AGEs to people should be provided in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—Ti and carbon steel are the materials most commonly employed in numerous industries. Nevertheless, adverse hardness, wear and corrosion resistance restrict numerous applications. We combined two surface processes technologies, thermal spraying and MAO, to produce a TiO2/Ti/Fe composite material. Firstly, a titanium (Ti) layer was prepared by thermal spraying on AISI 1020 carbon steel, and then additives in varying amounts were added to the electrolyte of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) to improve the wear and corrosion resistance. MAO current density and voltages were set at 35 A/dm2 and 450 V, the operation time of MAO was 10 min. The concentration of graphene added to the electrolytes were 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09 g L–1, and indicated as TiO2/Ti-F, TiO2/Ti-G1, TiO2/Ti-G3, TiO2/Ti-G5, TiO2/Ti-G7, TiO2/Ti-G9, respectively. Subsequently, surface roughness, thickness, microstructure, hardness, crystal structure, and composition were measured to confirm the properties of the oxide layer. Then the results of corrosion and wear tests to measure the wear and corrosion resistance of the oxide layer. As the results indicated, the specimen containing graphene (TiO2/Ti-G) has higher hardness, lower surface roughness, and about twice the thickness of oxide layer than the specimen without graphene (TiO2/Ti-F). In corrosion resistance, TiO2/Ti-G was at least about 30% more improved than TiO2/Ti-F, and TiO2/Ti-G7 was about 5 times better. In wear resistance, TiO2/Ti-G was at least 47% more improved than TiO2/Ti-F, and TiO2/Ti-G7 was about 80% better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trochoidal milling becomes a popular strategy in high-speed rough milling, thanks to its advantages in lowering cutting force (and tool wear) and increasing tool life. However, it also suffers from the disadvantages of low cutting efficiency and prolonged machining time due to its reduced cutter-workpiece engagement in the cutting area and the idle tool path in the non-cutting area. In this paper, a new trochoidal tool path generation method is proposed based on a double-NURBS curve. Unlike traditional circular trochoidal tool path that combines circular and linear paths to approximate the trochoidal path, the double-NURBS tool path can truly represent a trochoidal path with C2 continuity throughout the entire tool path. In the front cutting area, the control points of the NURBS are modified to increase the cutter-workpiece engagement angles; in the rear non-active area, the NURBS curve is modified to shorten the non-cutting distance and the machining time. Degree elevation of the NURBS circle from 2 to 3 maintains C2 continuity to ensure the machining is smooth throughout all transitions. Cutting force simulations and pocket machining experiments are carried out to validate that the proposed double-NURBS approach deliver the expected result and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to optimize the extraction process of proopioid and allocryptinine from the root of Macleaya cordata with the aid of ultrasound. The optimal conditions of extraction time, liquid to solid ratio and extraction times were selected by single factor test, and the optimal extraction conditions were determined by orthogonal test. Proopioid and allocryptomine were purified by silica gel chromatography, and the products were characterized by liquid chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The results showed that the ratio of liquid to solid 30 mL/g, once extraction and the extraction time 30 min, the extraction rate of protoopium and allocryptomine was the highest, which were 92.64% and 90.93%, respectively. The results of characterization showed that the extracts purified by column chromatography were identified as allocryptomine and protoopioid. The experiment indicates that the method used in the experiment is simple and fast, which can provide reference for the utilization of the medicinal material resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C9H7ClN2OS, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 8.3507(3) Å, b = 12.3768(4) Å, c = 10.2340(4) Å, β = 96.857(4)°, V = 1050.17(7) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0673, wRref(F2) = 0.2013, T = 296(2) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a comparative study for the effect of nanoparticle networks on rheological behavior, electrical conductivity, and electromagnetic wave (EMW) shielding effectiveness (SE) is carried in conductive polymer composites (CPC). Two different polymers, that is, poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP), which have different dispersion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), are used as polymer matrices. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) are employed to determine the dispersion of MWCNTs in different polymer matrices. A rotational rheometer and a vector network analyzer are used to evaluate the percolation thresholds of storage modulus, complex viscosity and EMW SE, respectively. The results indicate that the EMW SE percolation thresholds are much larger than the electrical and rheological percolation thresholds. Specifically, the percolation thresholds of storage modulus and complex viscosity are 0.39 and 0.33 vol% for the MWCNT/PCL samples, and 1.57 and 1.57 vol% for the MWCNT/iPP samples, respectively. The electrical and EMW SE percolation thresholds are 0.33 and 1.99 vol%, 1.24 and 5.41 vol% for the MWCNT/PCL and MWCNT/iPP nanocomposites, respectively. The electrical and rheological percolation may happen in the samples with a sparse MWCNT network, while EMW SE percolation may require a dense MWCNT network in the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) have been reported to have exercise intolerance. However, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and their physical fitness remain unclear. We aimed to determine the exercise capacity of patients with MVP through the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). We retrospectively collected the data of 45 patients with a diagnosis of MVP. Their CPET and echocardiogram results were compared with 76 healthy individuals as primary outcomes. No significant differences regarding the patient's baseline characteristics and echocardiographic data were found between the two groups, except for the lower body mass index (BMI) of the MVP group. Patients in the MVP group demonstrated a similar peak metabolic equivalent (MET), but a significantly lower peak rate pressure product (PRPP) (p = 0.048). Patients with MVP possessed similar exercise capacity to healthy individuals. The reduced PRPP may indicate compromised coronary perfusion and subtle left ventricular function impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fused silica ceramics are widely applied for radome materials, crucibles, and vanes, but the mechanical properties were deteriorated due to the cristobalite crystallization. The fused silica ceramics added with by β‐Si3N4 whiskers were prepared by a slip‐casting method to retard the cristobalite crystallization. The influences of the sintering environments and the β‐Si3N4 whiskers on the microstructure and phase structure were investigated. The silanol (Si‐(OH)n) and oxygen vacancies (VO) in the fused silica in formed in different conditions were studied by Fourier Transform Infra‐Red (FT‐IR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the results indicated that the ball‐milled produced a large amount of the silanol groups onto the surface of the fused silica particles. The fused silica heated in the vacuum created the maximum oxygen vacancies (24.2%) on the surfaces. Silanol groups reacted with the β‐Si3N4 whiskers, and the O atoms in the silanol groups were fixed into the bulk materials. And the crystallization kinetics and the activation energy of Si3N4w/SiO2 ceramics at the temperature ranging from 1200 to 1400°C were calculated based on the JMA(Johnson‐Mehl‐Avrami) model. The activation energy of the fused silica ceramics with the addition of the β‐Si3N4 is 506.2 kJ/mol, increased by 23.6% than that of the pure fused silica ceramic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]