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Although the suspension gap between a maglev train and its track is narrow, it has a significant impact on the aerodynamic performance of the train. This study investigated the effect of the suspension gap on the wake flow of a superconducting maglev train traveling at a speed of 600 km/h by comparing the aerodynamics and flow field structure of a tail car (TC) with suspension gaps of 8, 10, 12, and 14 cm. The results showed that with increasing suspension gap, the vortex structures in the wake region move closer to the TC, the airflow from the suspension gap inhibits the high-pressure region of the wake, and the pressure and velocity fluctuations significantly increase near the nose tip of the TC. Moreover, the suspension gap was found to have a significant impact on lift and almost no effect on drag. Increasing the suspension gap leads to a balance in the lift between the head car (HC) and the TC; as the gap continues to increase, the lift ratio of the HC and TC rapidly decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A bionic tunnel portal model was constructed based on the characteristics of shark gills. • The dependence of the micro-pressure wave on the opening ratio and oblique cutting angle of the bionic shark gill tunnel portal was elucidated. • The relationship between jet-stream energy and micro-pressure wave was studied. In this study, the bionic principle is used to relieve the micro-pressure waves (MPWs) at the tunnel exit. A bionic shark gill tunnel portal with holes was studied, and the effects of the opening ratios and oblique cutting angles of the bionic shark gill opening tunnel portal on the initial compression wave (ICW) and MPW induced by a high-speed train (HST) passing through the tunnel are examined. The results show that when the opening ratio of the bionic shark gill tunnel portal is 24%, the highest mitigation effect on the ICW pressure gradient and MPW is observed. In addition, the high-pressure region of the ICW in the tunnel decreased with increasing opening ratio. The greatest mitigation effect on the ICW pressure gradient and MPW is obtained for the oblique cutting angle of the bionic hole on the tunnel portal (with an opening ratio of 24%) of 16°, because the oblique cutting angle facilitates the expulsion of the jet-stream from the bionic hole at the tunnel portal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-site nucleic acid testing (NAT) plays an important role for disease monitoring and pathogen diagnosis. In this work, we developed an automated and fully-integrated nucleic acid analyzer by combining the automated liquid handling robot technique with the microfluidic droplet-based real-time PCR assay technique. The present analyzer could achieve multiple operations including sample introduction, nucleic acid extraction based on magnetic solid-phase extraction, reverse transcription and, sample droplet generation, PCR amplification, real-time and dual fluorescence detection of droplet array. A strategy of constructing an integrated compact and low-cost system was adopted to minimize the analyzer size to 50 × 45 × 45 cm (length × width × height), and reduce the instrument cost to ca. $900 with a single analysis cost less than $5. A simple chip was also designed to pre-load reagents and carry oil-covered PCR reaction droplets. We applied the analyzer to identify eight types of influenza pathogens in human throat swabs, and the results were consistent with the colloidal gold method. [Display omitted] • An automated and fully-integrated analyzer for on-site nucleic acid testing. • A simple chip for preloading reagents and carrying PCR reaction droplets. • A novel, integrated compact and low-cost system for multi-target detection. • Successful applications in the identification of influenza pathogens in throat swabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Doxorubicin (DOX) induces cardiotoxicity, shown by ECG changes, elevated markers, and lower heart rate, worsened by NET formation. • NETs accumulate in plasma and heart tissue after DOX, triggering inflammation that worsens cardiotoxicity. NET inhibition alleviate DOX-induced arrhythmias and cardiac damage. • NETs activate macrophages to release IL-18, which triggers T cells to produce IFN-γ, downregulating Cx43 and causing conduction abnormalities, a key pathway in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. • Ozone therapy inhibits NET formation and the JNK pathway, reducing inflammation and improving heart function, alleviating DOX-induced injury. • This study highlights NETs' role in DOX cardiotoxicity and suggests ozone therapy as a potential clinical strategy for cardioprotection. Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) is one of the most severe side effects of doxorubicin, yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Our results showed that Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) accumulated in plasma and cardiac tissue after doxorubicin treatment. The inhibition of NETs formation by Pad4 gene ablation significantly attenuated doxorubicin-induced arrhythmia, prolonged survival time and reduced the levels of Troponin T (cTnT) and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB) in mice. In addition, reductions in left ventricular fractional shortening and ejection fraction induced by doxorubicin were more severe in WT mice than in Pad4-/- mice. Immunostaining and qPCR analyses revealed that NETs activated macrophages to release pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-18, IL-1β, and TNF-α. IL-18, in turn, activated T cells to produce IFN-γ, which, along with TNF-α, downregulated the expression of Cx43, thereby inducing cardiac conduction abnormalities. We identify that IL-18-IFN-γ-Cx43-induced cardiac conduction abnormalities triggered by neutrophil extracellular traps is the key molecular and cellular determinants of DIC. Furthermore, targeting NETs formation using ozone therapy significantly alleviated DIC. This study highlights the critical role of NETs in the development of DIC and proposes ozone therapy as a potential therapeutic strategy for treating DIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]