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The future trend in global automobile development is electrification, and the current collector is an essential component of the battery in new energy vehicles. Aiming at the misjudgment and omission caused by the confusing distribution, a wide range of sizes and types, and ambiguity of target defects in current collectors, an improved target detection model DCS-YOLO (DC-SoftCBAM YOLO) based on YOLOv5 is proposed. Firstly, the detection rate of defects with different scales is improved by adding detection layers; Secondly, we use the designed DC module as the backbone network to help the model capture the global information and semantic dependencies of the target, and effectively improve the generalization ability and detection performance of the model. Finally, in the neck part, we integrate our designed Convolutional Block Attention Module (SoftPool Convolutional Block Attention Module, SoftCBAM), which can adaptively learn the importance of channels, enhance feature representation, and enable the model to better deal with target details. Experimental results show that the mAP50 of the proposed DCS-YOLO model is 92.2%, which is 5.1% higher than the baseline model. The FPS reaches 147.1, and the detection accuracy of various defect categories is improved, especially Severely bad and No cover, and the detection recall rate reaches 100%. This method has high target detection model efficiency and meets the requirements of real-time detection of battery collector defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clogging of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN), as an important device to connect the tundish and the mold, has been widely concerned. However, until now, the clogging of the SEN cannot be eliminated during the casting. Herein, the clogging behavior of the SEN during the casting of ultralow‐carbon steel is studied using an external DC electric field. The findings demonstrate that the DC electric field inhibits the growth of the clogging on the outlet and the thickness of the clogging layer is small, which ensures the integrity of the profile of the outlet. After DC treatment, the interface of the clogging is clear and the density is increased, which reduces the pollution to molten steel. At the same time, the fluctuation of the mold level is significantly improved, and the defect rate of cold rolling is effectively reduced to 30% of the original level, which is beneficial to the overall performance of the slab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been proposed as a valuable tool for detecting disease activity in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). However, previous studies have utilized different parameters, leading to variation in clinical assessment of this technique. Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of peak enhancement (PE) in CEUS for evaluating endoscopic disease activity in patients with CD. Material and Methods: Articles were obtained by searching PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, and CNKI databases. Only studies that investigated the effectiveness of PE in CEUS to discriminate endoscopic disease activity in patients with CD were considered. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were then calculated using a random effects model. Results: Overall, seven studies were included. The endoscopic disease activity of CD was determined based on the simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease and Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity scores. Pooled results showed that a high PE was associated with increased detection efficacy for endoscopic disease activity in CD. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios were 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.71–0.96), 0.88 (95% CI = 0.81–0.93), 7.60 (95% CI = 4.61–12.53), and 0.14 (95% CI = 0.05–0.35), respectively. The pooled receiver operating characteristic was 0.90 (95% CI = 0.87–0.92), suggesting a good discriminating efficacy of PE in CEUS for endoscopic disease activity of patients with CD. Conclusions: A high PE in CEUS displayed substantial distinguishing accuracy for assessing endoscopic disease activity of patients with CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudomonas fluorescens is a psychrophilic bacterium that can cause dairy spoilage through the production of heat‐stable enzymes. Bacteriophages are proved as one of the alternatives to control spoilage bacteria in the dairy industry. In this work, a lytic bacteriophage YZU_PF006 against P. fluorescens was isolated from sewage samples in China. Morphology and one‐step growth results indicated that this short‐tailed phage (a tail length of 5 nm and a head diameter of 58 nm) had a high burst size (180 PFU/infected cells) but a relatively short latent period (60 min). This phage can be inactive after pasteurisation and Clean‐In‐Place (CIP) procedures. The genomic sequence showed that phage YZU_PF006 had 47 open reading frames (ORFs) but did not have genes for virulence, lysogeny and antibiotic resistance. Phage YZU_PF006 effectively controlled P. fluorescens growth at 7°C and 28°C in milk, which indicates potential for the control P. fluorescens in the dairy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paraspinal muscle degeneration occurs with age; however, it is unknown whether strength and endurance change with muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and fatty infiltration (FI) parameters in Chinese healthy individuals. Methods: A total of 94 asymptomatic Chinese volunteers were enrolled in this study. The participants were divided into three groups: young (20–39 years old, n = 27), middle-aged (40–59 years old, n = 49), and elderly (≥ 60 years old, n = 18). CSA and FI of the psoas (PS), quadratus lumborum (QL), multifidus (MF), and erector spinae (ES) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. The Bionix Sim3 Pro was used to evaluate the maximum isometric torque and the Ito test to evaluate endurance. Results: The CSA of the PS and ES in the elderly group was smaller than those in the other groups, while the CSA of QL in the young group was larger than that in the other groups. There were differences in the MF and ES FI among the three groups. The maximum isometric torque and endurance test time decreased with increasing age; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Maximum isometric torque positively correlated with the average paraspinal muscle CSA and negatively correlated with the torque and FI of the MF and ES muscles. The endurance test was found to be positively correlated with the FCSA of the MF and to be negatively correlated with the FI of the MF and ES. PS and QL can predict the maximum isometric torque, and MF and PS can predict the endurance time. Conclusion: MF and ES showed earlier degeneration than PS and QL. MF is the first paraspinal muscle to undergo functional area atrophy, and it plays an important role in the endurance test. The maximum moment of equal length in all directions of the lumbar spine is not completely symmetrical, but it is correlated with the imaging parameters of the paraspinal muscles. QL and PS were more activated in the lumbar activity. Trial registration: The study was registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry and the registration number is ChiCTR2000039073 on 15/10/2020 (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=62785). Ethical Approval was obtained from the Peking University Third Hospital Medical Science Research Ethics Committee (IRB00006761-M2020305). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central nervous system Infections (CNSIs) is a disease characterized by complex pathogens, rapid disease progression, high mortality rate and high disability rate. Here, we evaluated the clinical value of metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of central nervous system infections and explored the factors affecting the results of mNGS. We conducted a retrospective study to compare mNGS with conventional methods including culture, smear and etc. 111 suspected CNS infectious patients were enrolled in this study, and clinical data were recorded. Chi-square test were used to evaluate independent binomial variables, taking p < 0.05 as statistically significant threshold. Of the 111 enrolled cases, 57.7% (64/111) were diagnosed with central nervous system infections. From these cases, mNGS identified 39.6% (44/111) true-positive cases, 7.2% (8/111) false-positive case, 35.1% (39/111) true-negative cases, and 18.0% (20/111) false-negative cases. The sensitivity and specificity of mNGS were 68.7% (44/64) and 82.9% (39/47), respectively. Compared with culture, mNGS provided a higher pathogen detection rate in CNSIs patients (68.7% (44/64) vs. 26.5% (17/64), p < 0.0001). Compared to conventional methods, positive percent agreement and negative percent agreement was 84.60% (44/52) and 66.1% (39/59) separately. At a species-specific read number (SSRN) ≥ 2, mNGS performance in the diagnosis of definite viral encephalitis and/or meningitis was optimal (area under the curve [AUC] 0.758, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.663–0.854). In bacterial CNSIs patients with significant CSF abnormalities (CSF WBC > 300*106/L), the positive rate of CSF mNGS is higher. To sum up, conventional microbiologic testing is insufficient to detect all neuroinvasive pathogens, and mNGS exhibited satisfactory diagnostic performance in CNSIs and with an overall detection rate higher than culture (p < 0.0001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To clarify the effects of maize straw retention combined with reduced fertilization and urease/nitrification inhibitors on the accumulation and leaching potential of mineral N in the deep soil profile of no-tillage agroecosystem. Methods: A 15N-tracing micro-plot experiment was conducted with four treatments (NPK, traditional NPK fertilization; NPKS, NPK with maize straw retention; RNPKS, NPKS with 20% fertilizer-N reduction; and RNPKSI, RNPKS with inhibitors application) in the Mollisol of Northeast China. We analyzed fertilizer-N transformation dynamics in different soil N pools, quantified the fertilizer N use efficiency in crops, and evaluated fertilizer-derived nitrate leaching losses throughout the complete maize growing period. Results: Our analyses revealed that, compared to the NPK treatment, NPKS, RNPKS, and RNPKSI remarkably reduced the accumulation of urea-derived mineral-N during maize seedling stage by enhancing the transformation of urea-N into fixed NH4+-N and organic-N pools, both of which could be quickly released for maize uptake following the extension of crop growth periods. At the maize ripening stage, soil NO3−-N and 15N-labeled urea-derived NO3−-N, which migrated vertically to a depth of 80–100 cm, were significantly reduced by treatments of RNPKS and RNPKSI without minimizing crop yields when compared with NPK. Conclusion: Our results suggest that combining maize straw retention with reduced fertilization and the application of urease/nitrification inhibitors can be efficient management practices for lowering urea N leaching risk, improving N use efficiency, and maintaining or even increasing crop yields by enhancing soil N retention and supply in the croplands of Northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional near-field acoustic holography based on compressive sensing either does not fully exploit the underlying block-sparse structures of the signal or suffers from a mismatch between the actual and predefined block structure due to the lack of prior information about block partitions, resulting in poor accuracy in sound field reconstruction. In this paper, a pattern-coupled Bayesian compressive sensing method is proposed for sparse reconstruction of sound fields. The proposed method establishes a hierarchical Gaussian-Gamma probability model with a pattern-coupled prior based on the equivalent source method, transforming the sound field reconstruction problem into recovering the sparse coefficient vector of the equivalent source strengths within the compressive sensing framework. A set of hyperparameters is introduced to control the sparsity of each element in the sparse coefficient vector of the equivalent source strengths, where the sparsity of each element is determined by both its own hyperparameters and those of its immediate neighbors. This approach enables the promotion of block sparse solutions and achieves better performance in solving for the sparse coefficient vector of the equivalent source strengths without prior information of block partitions. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method in reconstructing sound fields are verified by simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize the double-roll thin strip continuous casting process for the production of high-quality steels, it is necessary to seek a new type of refractory material tailored for delivery device employed in this process. Therefore, the present study aimed to design and prepare MgAl 2 O 4 –C refractories for this purpose as well as to study their physical and mechanical properties, thermal shock resistance, oxidation kinetics, and to perform molten steel experiments after pre-oxidation treatment. The results of the present study demonstrated that the specimens could maintain high mechanical and thermal shock properties even after pre-oxidation treatment. After pre-oxidation at 1100 °C/1 h, the cold compressive strength of the specimen reached 17.63 MPa, with a residual strength ratio (thermal shock resistance) of 77.99%. Analysis of oxidation kinetics based on the shrinking core model indicated an increase in the effective diffusion coefficient and complete oxidation time with higher pre-oxidation temperature. Pre-oxidation of MgAl 2 O 4 –C refractories has been shown to be effective in reducing carbon penetration into the molten steel from carbon-containing refractories, thus maintaining the stability of the molten steel composition. This effect was attributed to enhanced contact and wettability between the steel and refractories, an augmented thickness of the pre-oxidized decarburized layer, the formation of a dense magnesium oxide layer, and the emergence of the MgAl 1·9 Fe 1 O 4 phase. Consequently, an MgAl 2 O 4 –C refractories designed for the delivery device was proposed along with anticipated applicability in the double-roll continuous casting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the preoperative clinical state's impact on clinical outcomes after surgery for degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) based on the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). Preoperative and follow‐up (FU) scores in each Scoliosis Research Society‐22 (SRS‐22) domain were compared with age‐ and sex‐matched normative references. At baseline, patients were classified by differences from normative values in four groups: Worst, Severe, Poor, and Moderate. At 2 years postoperative FU, patients were divided into four groups (Worst Severe Poor Asymptomatic) based on the difference in MCID between postoperative and normal values. The changes in MCID were considered as the criterion for surgical efficacy. In addition, we calculated the classification of preoperative and FU clinical symptom severity in each domain in same patient. The distinction among curve types was also performed based on the SRS‐Schwab classification. A total of 123 patients were included. During FU, patients with more severe preoperative clinical symptoms were more likely to achieve clinical changes (>1 MCID, p < 0.05), but the rate of reaching "asymptomatic" was lower (p < 0.05). Kendall's tau‐b correlation analysis found that preoperative clinical severity was correlated with clinical changes category in Activity (Tau‐b = 0.252; p = 0.002), Pain (Tau‐b = 0.230; p = 0.005), Appearance (Tau‐b = 0.307; p < 0.001), and Mental (Tau‐b = 0.199; p = 0.016), and it also was correlated with FU clinical severity in Activity (Tau‐b = 0.173; p = 0.023), Pain (Tau‐b = 0.280; p < 0.001), and Mental (Tau‐b = 0.349; p < 0.001). There was a correlation between preoperative clinical severity and FU SRS‐22 score outcomes. Patients with severe preoperative clinical symptoms can experience better treatment outcomes during FU, but it is also more difficult to recover to the normal reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work assessed the prevalence and risk‐related phenotypes of Bacillus cereus in milk products. Bacillus was the most dominant genus of 113 collected strains from 41 milk samples, and B. cereus (19.27%) was the most abundant species showing a high genetic diversity with seven random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns. Most B. cereus isolates were strong biofilm formers with good motility, extracellular polymeric substance‐producing ability, high proteolytic and lipolytic activities. Antibiotic resistance analysis suggested the majority B. cereus strains were resistant to oxacillin (90.48%), tetracycline (95.24%), and penicillin G sodium (47.62%). Results revealed the genotypic diversity of B. cereus, and their potential risk in dairy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Omentectomy is an important procedure in surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer, but the scope of omentectomy is not recommended in the guidelines. This study was performed to evaluate the benefits and risks of infragastric omentectomy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: This trial is a single center prospective study. Primary epithelial ovarian cancer patients with normal-appearing omentum were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group and underwent infracolic or infragastric omentectomy, respectively. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. This trial is registered on Chinese clinical trial registry site (ChiCTR1800018771). Results: A total of 106 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for ovarian cancer were included during the study period. Of these, 53 patients underwent infracolic omentectomy, whereas 53 patients received infragastric omentectomy. Multivariate analysis revealed that infragastric omentectomy could improve the detection rate of omental metastases (OR: 6.519, P = 0.005). Infragastric omentectomy improved progression-free survival significantly for those cases with higher than stage IIB disease (HR: 0.456, P = 0.041). Based on the short-term results, infragastric omentectomy did not cause more perioperative complications. Conclusions: Compared with infracolic omentectomy, infragrastric omentectomy may be a more appropriate surgical procedure for stage IIB-IIIC epithelial ovarian cancer patients with normal-appearing omentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation is usually affected by many environmental factors, including divalent cations. The purpose of the current work was to analyze how calcium (Ca2+) affects the biofilm formation of dairy Pseudomonas fluorescens isolates by investigating their growth, swarming motility, biofilm-forming capacity, extracellular polymeric substance production, and biofilm structures. Moreover, the regulation mechanism of Ca2+ involved in its biofilm formation was explored through RNA-sequencing analysis. This work revealed that supplementation of 5, 10, 15, and 20 m M Ca2+ significantly reduced the swarming motility of P. fluorescens strains (P.F 2 , P.F 4 , and P.F 17), but the biofilm-forming ability and polysaccharide production were increased after the supplementation of 5 and 10 m M Ca2+. By the supplementation of Ca2+, complex structures with more cell clusters glued together in P. fluorescens P.F 4 biofilms were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, and increased biomass and coverage of P. fluorescens P.F 4 biofilms were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In addition, RNA-sequencing results showed that P. fluorescens P.F 4 showed a transcriptional response to the supplementation of 10 m M Ca2+, and a total of 137 genes were significantly expressed. The differential genes were represented in 4 upregulated Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways (nonribosomal peptide structures, quorum sensing, biosynthesis of siderophore group nonribosomal peptides, and phenylalanine metabolism), and 4 downregulated KEGG pathways (flagellar assembly, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, nitrotoluene degradation, and cationic antimicrobial peptide resistance). The results indicate that Ca2+ might serve as an enhancer to substantially trigger the biofilm formation of dairy P. fluorescens isolates in the dairy industry. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Color, nutrients and flavor are the key characteristics of pomegranate juice, but they are susceptible to processing methods and raw materials. In this study, the effects of aril juicing and whole fruit juicing methods on the composition of 'Black‐seed' pomegranate juice from three producing areas were studied, including physicochemical parameters, color attributes, organic acids, sugars, phenolic compounds, and volatile compounds. RESULTS: The whole fruit juicing method resulted in higher juice yields of pomegranate fruit with 69.01–72.59%, hue angle values were 5.95–6.45°, and the juice remained red. The highest level of citric acid (21.21 g L−1), total acids (24.78 g L−1), and total anthocyanin content (435.59 mg L−1) were found in whole fruit juice, and seven tannins were detected. The most abundant volatile compounds were (Z)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol and 1‐hexanol in all juice samples, with alcohol content increased and aldehydes content decreased by whole fruit juicing. Principal component analysis revealed that the 24 indexes (variable important in projection >1) clearly distinguished juice samples obtained by two juicing methods, with ellagic acid hexoside, (E)‐2‐heptenal, (+)‐catechin, and octanoic acid having the best discriminatory potential. CONCLUSION: Overall, the effects of juicing method on 'Black‐seed' pomegranate juice were greater than those of raw‐material‐producing areas. These results confirmed the potential for using the whole 'Black‐seed' pomegranate for processing, and also provided a theoretical basis for the healthy product development and utilization of dark‐color pomegranate varieties. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Psittacosis is a zoonosis caused by Chlamydia psittaci, the clinical manifestations of Psittacosis range from mild illness to fulminant severe pneumonia with multiple organ failure. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Chlamydia psittaci infection diagnosed based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS), as well as the risk factors affecting the progress of Chlamydia psittaci infection, in order to improve the effect of therapeutics. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients infected with chlamydia psittaci in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2021 to December 2021. The patient's past medical history, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, chest CT results, treatment status, and prognosis data were collected. we also investigated both the pathogenic profile characteristics and the lower respiratory tract microbiota of patients with Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia using mNGS. Results: All cases of Chlamydia psittaci in our research have been confirmed by mNGS. Among 46 cases of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia, Poultry exposure was reported in 35 cases. In severe cases of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia, Neutrophils, Procalcitonin (PCT), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase (HBDH), Creatine Kinase Isoenzymes-B (CK-MB) and D-Dimer levels were remarkably higher than that of non-severe cases, except for lymphocytes (all P < 0.05). Chest CT scans showed Bilateral (77.8%), multiple lobar lungs (85.2%), pleural effusions (44.4%) involvement in those suffering from severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia, whereas its incidence was 0%, 21.1% and 10.5% in non-severe patients, respectively (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that higher lymphocyte concentrations (OR 0.836, 95% CI 0.714–0.962, P = 0.041) were the only protective factor for survival. mNGS results indicated that 41.3% of patients (19/46) had suspected coinfections with a coinfection rate of 84.2% (16/19) in the severe group, much higher than that in the non severe group (p < 0.05). No significantly different profiles of lower respiratory tract microbiota diversity were found between non severe group and severe group. Conclusion: A history of poultry exposure in patients can serve as an important basis for diagnosing Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia, and patients with severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia are more likely to develop elevated inflammatory biomarkers as well as elevated cardiac markers. Higher lymphocyte concentrations are protective factors associated with severe C. psittaci pneumonia. The higher proportion of patients with coinfections in our study supports the use of mNGS for comprehensive early detection of respiratory infections in patients with C. psittaci pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) can be used to detect pathogens in clinical infectious diseases through the sequencing analysis of microbial and host nucleic acids in clinical samples. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of mNGS in patients with infections. Methods In this study, 641 patients with infectious diseases were enrolled. These patients simultaneously underwent pathogen detection by both mNGS and microbial culture. Through statistical analysis, we judged the diagnostic performance of mNGS and microbial culture on different pathogens.  Results Among 641 patients, 276 cases of bacteria and 95 cases of fungi were detected by mNGS, whereas 108 cases of bacteria and 41 cases of fungi were detected by traditional cultures. Among all mixed infections, combined bacterial and viral infections were the highest (51%, 87/169), followed by combined bacterial with fungal infections (16.57%, 28/169) and mixed bacterial, fungal, and viral infections (13.61%, 23/169). Among all sample types, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples had the highest positive rate (87.8%, 144/164), followed by sputum (85.4%, 76/89) and blood samples (61.2%, 158/258). For the culture method, sputum samples had the highest positive rate (47.2%, 42/89), followed by BALF (37.2%, 61/164). The positive rate of mNGS was 69.89% (448/641), which was significantly higher than that of traditional cultures (22.31% [143/641]) (P <.05). Conclusions Our results show that mNGS is an effective tool for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases. Compared with traditional detection methods, mNGS also showed obvious advantages in mixed infections and infections with uncommon pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the clogging problem associated with submerged entry nozzles (SEN) used for aluminum‐killed steel, the reaction behavior between the SEN and molten steel with high Al content with the influence of an external electric field is studied in this paper. The results showed that the application of an effective and positive voltage to the walls of the SEN would promote the decarburization of the SEN itself and the interfacial reaction between nozzle material and molten steel containing aluminum. On the contrary, these behaviors would be inhibited under the control of the negative voltage. Therefore, with the polarity of electric field applied on the SEN, it is necessary to determine whether the critical factor leading to clogging is the content of the Al2O3 inclusions or Al alloy content in the steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although the incidence of distal junctional problems (DJPs) following long construct‐based treatment for degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is lower, affected patients are more likely to require revision surgery when they occur. So the aim of this study is to identify risk factors associated with DJPs to avoid its occurrence by at least 1‐year follow‐up. Methods: A total of 182 DLS patients undergoing long instrumented fusion surgery (≥4 levels) between February 2011 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were placed into the DJP group if a DJP occurred at the final follow‐up; patients without mechanical complications were matched 1:2 according to age, sex and BMI as the control group. Patient characteristics, surgical variables, radiographic parameters, lumbar muscularity and fatty degeneration were analyzed statistically. The statistical differences in the results between the two groups (p values <0.05) and other variables selected by experts were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model, and the forwards likelihood ratio method was used to analyze the independent risk factors for DJPs. Results: Twenty‐four (13.2%) patients suffered a DJP in the postoperative period and the reoperation rate was 8.8%. On univariate analysis, the lowest instrumented vertebra (LIV) CT value (p = 0.042); instrumented levels (p = 0.030); preoperative coronal vertical axis (CVA) (p = 0.046), thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK) (p = 0.006), L4‐S1 lordosis (p = 0.013), sacral slop (SS) (p = 0.030), pelvic tilt (PT) classification (p = 0.004), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) (p = 0.021); TLK correction (p = 0.049); post‐operative CVA (p = 0.029); Overall, There was no significant difference in the paraspinal muscle parameters between the two groups. On multivariate analysis, instrumented levels (OR = 1.595; p = 0.035), preoperative SVA (OR = 1.016; p = 0.022) and preoperative PT (OR = 0.873; p = 0.001) were identified as significant independent risk factors for DJP. Conclusion: Longer instrumented levels, a greater preoperative SVA and a smaller PT were found to be strongly associated with the presence of DJPs in patients treated for DLS. The degeneration of the paraspinal muscles may not be related to the occurrence of DJPs. For DLS patients, the occurrence of DJP can be reduced by selecting reasonable fusion segments and evaluating the patient's sagittal balance and spino‐pelvic parameters before operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilms formed by pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms have become serious issues in the dairy industry, as this mode of life renders such microorganisms highly resistant to cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures, disinfectants, desiccation, and other control strategies. The advent of omics techniques, especially the integration of different omics tools, has greatly improved our understanding of the features of microbial biofilms, and provided in-depth knowledge on developing effective methods that are directly against deleterious biofilms. This review provides novel insights into the single use of each omics tool and the application of multiomics tools to unravel the mechanisms of biofilm formation, specific molecular phenotypes exhibited by biofilms, and biofilm control strategies. Challenges and future perspective on the integration of omics tools for biofilm studies are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, to provide theoretical foundation and experimental data for using electric field to control the service performance and improve the service life of submerged entry nozzle, the effect of the external electric field on the interfacial reaction and wetting behavior between the mold flux and the slag‐line materials is studied. The results show that the wettability of mold flux on the surface of the slag‐line materials is mainly affected by the dissolution and spreading under normal conditions. However, the electrochemical reaction and electric force generated by the applied electric field are also important factors for driving and changing the wettability between the mold flux and slag‐line materials. Under the positive electric field, the total duration of complete spreading and wetting is 227 s, which is 13 s shorter than that under normal conditions; the contact angle after complete wetting is about 17°, which is 1.5° lower than that under normal conditions. Under the negative electric field, the total duration of complete spreading and wetting is 260 s, which is 20 s longer than that under normal conditions; the contact angle after complete wetting is about 21°, which is 2.5° higher than that under normal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a comprehensive overview of the capacity and distribution of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in China from 2007 to 2021. The study found that the number of ICU beds in China increased significantly during this period, but the proportion of ICU beds in relation to hospital beds remained low at 0.91% in 2021. Furthermore, the number of ICU beds per 100,000 population in China was still insufficient compared to OECD countries. The study also identified regional differences in ICU bed distribution, with some provinces having higher ICU bed availability than others. The authors recommend increasing China's ICU capacity and improving the equitable distribution of ICU beds between regions to meet future demands. [Extracted from the article]

Modulating the coordination environment of single‐atom catalysts (SACs) is an attractive approach for maximizing the catalytic activity of single‐atom centers. Currently, the synthesis of low‐coordinated SACs is mainly confined to increasing the pyrolysis temperature (≥900 °C) to control C─N volatile fragments. Herein, a novel and universal strategy for the low‐coordinated SACs modulation is presented using transition metal (e.g., Ni, Co, Zn) ionic liquid precursors under relatively mild temperature of 600 °C, which regulates the L‐shell electronic structure and decreases nearly 50% electrophilic reactivity by ionization of 4‐position N atom, thereby orienting synthesis of the SACs with metal‐N3 centers. The Ni‐N3 SACs exhibit exceptional CO2 electroreduction performance of 99.7% CO Faraday efficiency with an ultra‐high CO partial current density of 467.55 mA·cm−2 as well as a CO production rate up to 10417.51 µmol·h−1·cm−2 in flow cell. The superior catalytic activity achieves over twofold increase compared with the Ni‐N4 SACs prepared by non‐metal ionic liquid precursors due to the lower free energy of the key intermediate *COOH and the stronger adsorption energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New gel system for preparing mullite porous ceramics by gel‐casting freeze‐drying was proposed, using pectin as gel source and alumina and silica as raw materials. Directional channels were formed due to sublimation of water during freeze‐drying and decomposition of pectin during high temperature sintering to prepare porous mullite ceramic membranes. Effects of solid content on the properties of mullite ceramics in terms of phase composition, microstructure, apparent porosity, bulk density, pore size distribution, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, pressure drop, and gas permeability were investigated. It was found that prepared porous mullite possessed high apparent porosity (56.04%–75.34%), low bulk density (.77–1.37 g/cm3), uniform pore size distribution, relatively high compressive strength (.61–3.03 MPa), low thermal conductivity (.224–.329 W/(m·K)), high gas permeability coefficient (1.11 × 10−10–4.73 × 10−11 m2), and gas permeance (2.18 × 10−2–9.32 × 10−3 mol⋅m−2⋅s−1⋅Pa−1). These properties make prepared lightweight mullite ceramic membranes promising for application in high temperature flue gas filtration. Proposed gel system is expected to provide a new route to prepare porous ceramics with high porosity and directional channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Paraspinal muscle degeneration affects the quality of life in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) and lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). We aimed to describe the characteristics and differences in the paraspinal muscle parameters between patients with DLS and LSS and investigate their correlation with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). (2) Methods: There were forty-four participants in each group, namely the DLS, LSS, and healthy groups, who were matched at a ratio of 1:1 according to age, sex, and BMI. Differences in paraspinal muscle parameters among the three groups were compared using analysis of variance or the Mann–Whitney U test, and paraspinal muscle degeneration and HRQOL were analyzed using Spearman's correlation analysis. (3) Results: In the upper lumbar, the psoas (PS), quadratus lumborum (QL), and multifidus (MF) cross-sectional area (CSA) in the DLS group were smaller than those in the other groups. In the lower lumbar region, the CSA of the PS, QL, erector spinae (ES), and gross CSA (GCSA) of the MF in the DLS group were not significantly different from those in the LSS group. These values were lower than those observed in the healthy group. The lean muscle fat index (LMFI) of the MF and ES groups was higher than those of the other groups. Regarding HRQOL, we found that PS and MF CSA were strongly associated with HRQOL in healthy individuals; however, only MF was associated with HRQOL in the LSS group. (4): Conclusion: PS in the upper lumbar region and MF degeneration were more severe in patients with DLS than in those with LSS. ES degeneration was similar between the LSS and DLS groups. MF muscle atrophy in patients with LSS and asymmetric changes in the MF in DLS are associated with quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large nitrogen (N) losses during fertilization in agricultural production may result in energy wastage, soil and water contamination, and potentially influence crop development. Thus, with the help of a 15N-labeled tracer, we carried out a field monitoring analysis of NH3 emissions in a long-term (9-year) conservation tillage agroecosystem of Mollisols in northeast China, in order to determine whether a no-tillage regime and four levels of stover mulching (0%, 33%, 67%, and 100%), combined with urease and nitrification inhibitors, could improve fertilizer utilization efficiency in agricultural systems by reducing ammonia volatilization. Our results showed that in comparison with ridge tillage, no-tillage with stover mulching levels of 33%, 67%, and 100% significantly reduced NH3 emission rates and cumulative volatilization from 159.67 to 130.42 g N ha−1 and 15N-NH3 cumulative volatilization emission by 26% (on average). Furthermore, the application of urease and nitrification inhibitors significantly reduced 15N-NH3 volatilization levels from 1.19 to 0.98 g N ha−1. Our research results demonstrate that a long-term no-tillage regime and straw mulching can significantly reduce NH3 volatilization in fertilizers. Furthermore, when combined with the use of urease and nitrification inhibitors, these practices further enhance the reduction in NH3 volatilization. Although the volatilization of 15N-NH3 is minimally studied in Mollisols, these findings provide a solid foundation for improving fertilizer utilization efficiency, reducing crop production costs and mitigating subsequent environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Monitoring the microbiological and chemical hazards of dairy products in China" discusses the challenges and developments in ensuring the safety of dairy products in China, one of the largest producers and consumers of dairy products globally. The research covers topics such as testing for residues and microbiological safety, new product development, and controlling foodborne pathogens in dairy products. Various studies highlighted in the article focus on methods for detecting harmful microorganisms, developing analytical tools for dairy safety, and exploring the functional potential of fermented dairy products. Additionally, the article emphasizes the importance of government regulations and technological advancements in improving the safety and quality of dairy products in China. [Extracted from the article]

Study Design.: A retrospective analysis. Objectives.: The objective of this study was to calculate the range of minimum clinically important difference threshold values using anchor-based and distribution-based methods for back pain, leg pain, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and the Scoliosis Research Society 22R instrument (SRS-22R) in patients with de novo degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DNDLS) who underwent long-segment fusion surgery. Then, we sought to determine a statistically sound meaningful, minimum clinically important difference in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and compare our results with previously reported values for other adult spine deformity (ASD) populations. Summary of the Background Data.: Minimum clinically important difference thresholds for back pain, leg pain, and the ODI and SRS-22R have not been widely described in patients with ASD. Materials and Methods.: PROMs were obtained preoperatively and two years postoperatively in 128 patients with DNDLS. We applied different minimum clinically important difference calculation methods to the data, and the results were compared. Results.: There was a statistically significant improvement in the two-year postoperative PROM scores compared with the preoperative scores. Different preoperative calculation methods yielded an ~10-fold range of values. Minimum clinically important difference values were established as 1.9 for back pain, 1.5 for leg pain, 18.9 for the ODI, 0.8 for SRS-22R pain, 0.5 for SRS-22R activity, 1.6 for SRS-22R appearance, 0.8 for SRS-22R mental, and 0.98 for the SRS-22R subtotal. Compared with the previously reported minimum clinically important differences in ASD, the values for back pain, ODI, and SRS-22R appearance were higher in patients with DNDLS. Conclusions.: Sensitivity-based and specificity-based methods provide statistically sound minimum clinically important difference thresholds for the DNDLS population. The minimum clinically important difference thresholds for PROMs in patients with DNDLS were different from the threshold values previously reported for adult patients with spinal deformities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compliance and precision are two key aspects in designing flexure hinges for use in compliant mechanisms. A generalized method with the finite-discrete idea and beam transfer matrix is developed for quickly predicting the kinetostatic behaviors of single and multiple-axis notch flexure hinges. The transfer matrix of Timoshenko beams explicitly including the shear deformation effect is derived in a concise form of Taylor series expansion. The compliance and rotational precision matrices of general notch flexure hinges are then derived targeting for arbitrary cutout profiles with a step-by-step modeling procedure. It is easy to operate for comparing and synthesizing different flexure hinges within a unified modeling framework. All a designer has to do is to prepare the concerned profile function without being caught into the laborious and even unsolvable derivation of mechanics. Several groups of single and multiple-axis notch flexure hinges are adopted to verify the feasibility of the presented approach by comparing with the numerical and experimental results available in literature. The comparative results indicate the high prediction accuracy and easy operation of the proposed approach for a wide applicability of complex notch flexure hinges. [Display omitted] • Compliance and precision modeling of general notch flexure hinges are studied. • The analytical transfer matrix of spatial Timoshenko beams is derived. • A step-by-step modeling procedure without laborious formulas is provided. • Single-axis and hybrid multi-axis notch flexure hinges are used as a verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the clinical and radiographic characteristics of calcified thoracic disc herniation (CTDH) and explore the possible pathogeneses. Methods: This is a retrospective clinical review of prospectively collected imaging data based at a single institute from 2004 to 2021. Clinical and radiographic parameters of CTDH patients were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: All 31 patients included presented thoracic myelopathy with a 17.05-month preoperative disease duration. Three (9.7%) patients had a history of trauma, and the rest had insidious onset. The average spinal canal ventral-occupying ratio was 74.90 ± 15.16%. The most prominent radiographic feature was the calcification of the nucleus pulposus in the intervertebral disc and the calcified lesion contiguous with the disc space protruding into the spinal canal. Three main imaging forms of CTDH were found: calcium-ringed lesion (5), heterogeneous calcification lesion (19), and homogeneous calcification lesion (7). The radiographic manifestations, intraoperative findings, and postoperative pathologies of the three subtypes were different. The calcium-ringed lesion type was younger and had a shorter preoperative duration and significantly lower mJOA score. A special case was observed conservatively for five years, which suggested that a heterogeneous lesion could progress to a homogeneous lesion. Conclusions: Adult CTDH is a special thoracic disc disease with insidious onset, a long course, and a high spinal canal-occupying ratio. Calcium deposits in the spinal canal originate from the nucleus pulposus. The intraoperative findings and postoperative pathology of subtypes are different, which might indicate different pathological mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are no studies that have shown the role and underlying mechanism of Polyphyllin I (PPI)-mediated anti-apoptosis activity in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). The research aimed to evaluate the effects of PPI in interleukin (IL)-1β-induced NPCs apoptosis in vitro. Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell viability, and cell apoptosis was evaluated by double-stained flow cytometry (FITC Annexin V/PI). The expression of miR-503-5p was quantified by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 was quantified by Western blot. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to detect the targeting relationship between miR-503-5p and Bcl-2. Results: PPI at 40 μg·mL−1 markedly promoted the viability of NPCs (P < 0.01). Also, PPI inhibited apoptosis and reduction in proliferative activity induced by IL-1β in the NPCs (P < 0.001, 0.01). PPI treatment significantly inhibited the expression of apoptosis-related protein Bax, cleaved caspase-3 (P < 0.05, 0.01), and enhanced the level of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 (P < 0.01). The proliferative activity of NPCs was significantly decreased and the apoptosis rate of NPCs was increased under IL-1β treatment (P < 0.01, 0.001). Moreover, miR-503-5p was highly expressed in IL-1β-induced NPCs (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the effect of PPI on NPCs viability and apoptosis in IL-1β treatment was dramatically reversed by the overexpression of miR-503-5p (P < 0.01, 0.01). The targeted binding of miR-503-5p to the 3'UTR of Bcl-2 mRNA was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assays (P < 0.05). In further experiments, compared with miR-503-5p mimics, the effects of PPI on IL-1β-induced NPCs viability and apoptosis were greatly reversed by the co-overexpression of miR-503-5p and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05, 0.05). Conclusion: PPI suppressed the apoptosis of intervertebral disk (IVD) NPCs induced by IL-1β via miR-503-5p/Bcl-2 molecular axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of sound field reconstruction with fewer measurement points, a sound field reconstruction method based on Bayesian compressive sensing is proposed. In this method, a sound field reconstruction model based on a combination of the equivalent source method and sparse Bayesian compressive sensing is established. The MacKay iteration of the relevant vector machine is used to infer the hyperparameters and estimate the maximum a posteriori probability of both the sound source strength and noise variance. The optimal solution for sparse coefficients with an equivalent sound source is determined to achieve the sparse reconstruction of the sound field. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method has higher accuracy over the entire frequency range compared to the equivalent source method, indicating a better reconstruction performance and wider frequency applicability with undersampling. Moreover, in environments with low signal-to-noise ratios, the proposed method exhibits significantly lower reconstruction errors than the equivalent source method, indicating a superior anti-noise performance and greater robustness in sound field reconstruction. The experimental results further verify the superiority and reliability of the proposed method for sound field reconstruction with limited measurement points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The selective C H bond oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbon is an interesting but challenging task, it is desirable to develop efficient heterogeneous non-noble metal catalyst for this reaction. Herein, two kinds of spinel (FeCoNiCrMn) 3 O 4 high entropy oxides were fabricated via two different methods (i.e., c-FeCoNiCrMn, prepared by a co-precipitation method, and m-FeCoNiCrMn, prepared by physically mixing method). Different from traditional environmentally-unfriendly Co/Mn/Br system, the prepared catalysts were employed for the selective C H bond oxidation of p-chlorotoluene to p-chlorobenzaldehyde in a green approach. Compared to m-FeCoNiCrMn, c-FeCoNiCrMn have smaller particles size and larger specific surface area, which were related to the enhanced catalytic activity. More importantly, characterization results disclosed that abundant oxygen vacancies were formed over c-FeCoNiCrMn. Such a result facilitated the adsorption of p-chlorotoluene on the catalyst surface and promoted the formation of *ClPhCH 2 O intermediate as well as the desired p-chlorobenzaldehyde, as revealed by DFT (Density functional theory) calculations. Besides, scavenger tests and EPR (Electron paramagnetic resonance) results indicated that hydroxyl radical derived from H 2 O 2 homolysis was the main active oxidative species for this reaction. This work revealed the role of oxygen vacancy in spinel high entropy oxide and also demonstrated its promising application for the selective C H bond oxidation in an environmentally-benign approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed an ever-increasing research interest in experience-driven and topology-optimization design of flexure hinges for use in compliant mechanisms. In this paper, we report the bionic design of a new notch flexure hinge with adjustable curvatures inspired by the biconcave disk morphology of red blood cells. The biconcave shape maintains red blood cells excellent deformability and surface properties that motivates the bio-inspired design by learning from nature. By imitating the biconcave shape of red blood cells using the quartic Bézier curve, the contour of a cluster of bio-inspired flexure hinges in the presence of positive and negative curvatures can be parametrically adjusted. The closed-form equations of compliance, precision and the maximum stress of the bio-inspired flexure hinge are derived based on Castigliano's second theorem and Timoshenko beam theory. Comparative studies verify the well precision and low stress of such a new flexure hinge. At last, an amplified piezoelectric actuator is designed with the bio-inspired flexure hinge as an application case. Also interestingly, adjustable curvatures of the presented bio-inspired flexure hinge make the simultaneous shape and parameter optimization effective. [Display omitted] • The bionic design of a new notch flexure hinge inspired by red blood cells is reported. • The shape is adjustable in the presence of positive and negative curvatures. • The quartic Bézier curve is introduced to imitate the cutout profiles. • An amplified piezoelectric actuator is designed with the RBC-inspired flexure hinge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The objective of this study was to develop and validate an easy-to-use risk score (APRS) to predict which patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) will need intensive care unit (ICU) treatment within 48 h post-hospitalization on the basis of the ubiquitously available clinical records. Methods: Patients with acute pancreatitis were retrospectively included from three independent institutions (RM cohort, 5280; TJ cohort, 262; SN cohort, 196), with 56 candidate variables collected within 48 h post-hospitalization. The RM cohort was randomly divided into a training set (N = 4220) and a test set (N = 1060). The most predictive features were extracted by LASSO from the RM cohort and entered into multivariate analysis. APRS was constructed using the coefficients of the statistically significant variables weighted by the multivariable logistic regression model. The APRS was validated by RM, TJ, and SN cohorts. The C-statistic was employed to evaluate the APRS's discrimination. DeLong test was used to compare area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) differences. Results: A total of 5738 patients with AP were enrolled. Eleven variables were selected by LASSO and entered into multivariate analysis. APRS was inferred using the above five factors (pleural effusion, ALT/AST, ALB/GLB, urea, and glucose) weighted by their regression coefficients in the multivariable logistic regression model. The C-statistics of APRS were 0.905 (95% CI 0.82–0.98) and 0.889 (95% CI 0.81–0.96) in RM and TJ validation. An online APRS web-based calculator was constructed to assist the clinician to earlier assess the clinical outcomes of patients with AP. Conclusion: APRS could effectively stratify patients with AP into high and low risk of ICU admission within 48 h post-hospitalization, offering clinical value in directing management and personalize therapeutic selection for patients with AP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Orhan and Lake demonstrated the computational plausibility that children can acquire sophisticated visual representations from natural input data without inherent biases, challenging the need for innate constraints in human learning. The findings may also reveal crucial properties of early visual learning and inform theories of human visual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the gradual increase of residents' income and the continuous improvement of medical security system, people's demand for pursuing higher quality and better medical and health services has been released. However, so far little research has been published on China's high quality medical resources (HQMR). This study aims to understand the spatiotemporal variation trend of HQMR from 2006 to 2020, analyze regional disparity of HQMR in 2020, and further explore the main factors influencing the distribution of HQMR in China. Methods: The study selected Class III level A hospitals (the highest level medical institutions in China) to represent HQMR. Descriptive statistical methods were used to address the changes in the distribution of HQMR from 2006 to 2020. Lorentz curve, Gini coefficient (G), Theil index (T) and High-quality health resource density index (HHRDI) were used to calculate the degree of inequity. The geographical detector method was used to reveal the key factors influencing the distribution of HQMR. Results: The total amount of HQMR in China had increased year by year, from 647 Class III level A hospitals in 2006 to 1580 in 2020. In 2020, G for HQMR by population was 0.166, while by geographic area was 0.614. T was consistent with the results for G, and intra-regional contribution rates were higher than inter-regional contribution rates. HHRDI showed that Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin had the highest allocated amounts of HQMR. The results of the geographical detector showed that total health costs, government health expenditure, size of resident populations, GDP, number of medical colleges had a significant impact on the spatial distribution of HQMR and the q values were 0.813, 0.781, 0.719, 0.661, 0.492 respectively. There was an interaction between the influencing factors. Conclusions: China's total HQMR is growing rapidly but is relatively inadequate. The distribution of HQMR by population is better than by geography, and the distribution by geography is less equitable. Population size and geographical area both need to be taken into account when formulating policies, rather than simply increasing the number of HQMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work was to provide a feasible gel-casting method to develop a high-performance porous ceramic for high-temperature flue gas filtration. The calcium hexaaluminate (CA6) porous ceramics were fabricated by an aqueous gel-casting process using CaCO3 and ρ-Al2O3 powders as raw materials. The properties of CA6 porous ceramics in terms of microstructural characteristics, phase composition, pore size distribution, open porosity, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and air permeability have been investigated. The results indicated that completely developed lamellar CA6 grains can form a stepped structure and an irregular structure due to enough growth space, which could significantly improve the properties of the CA6 porous ceramics. The CA6 samples showed a high open porosity of 68.1% at a low thermal conductivity of 0.48 W/(m/K). In particular, the CA6 samples possess high compressive strength of 7.9–62.0 MPa and high air permeability of 5.19 × 10−7 m2–2.01 × 10−6 m2 (Darcy permeability, k1). Based on these good properties, the CA6 porous ceramic could resist the impact of gas and reduce heat loss in flue gas in high-temperature environment, which indicated that it could be appropriative for applications of high-temperature flue gas filtration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilizer nitrogen (N) turnover is highly controlled by soil aggregation. However, the functions of the various aggregates that regulate long-term fertilizer N retention under conservation management remain unexplored. In this study, 15N-labeled fertilizer was initially applied in situ to investigate the effects of maize straw mulching on fertilizer N allocation in soil aggregates at a decadal scale. The topsoil was fractionated into macroaggregate, microaggregate, and silt-clay (SC) fractions. Macroaggregate was further divided into particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). A higher enrichment factor of fertilizer N than of soil total N in macroaggregate indicated that the fertilizer N was more apt to incorporation into macroaggregate. The fertilizer N in the bulk soil declined gradually to 84.0% by the 13th year. Temporally, the reduction proportion of fertilizer N in the SC fraction was the largest before 5th years, whereas macroaggregate was the main reactive spot for fertilizer N transformation from 9 to 13 years. Therefore, the function of aggregates was time-dependent in controlling fertilizer N retention and turnover via the release of previously entrapped fertilizer N, but encapsulated the subsequently applied N (i.e., unlabeled fertilizer), whereas mineral adsorption contributed to the long-term stabilization of fertilizer N. Compared with fertilization alone, straw mulching improved aggregates stability, favored the initial fertilizer N retention in macroaggregate by enriching fertilizer N in POM, and reduced the proportion of N loss in MAOM after 9 years. These finding indicate that the improvement in fertilizer N stability related to straw decomposition was sequentially attributed to the enhancement of aggregate encapsulation and persistent interaction with soil minerals. Therefore, this study provides new insights into the functional heterogeneity of soil aggregates at different time stages and the intricate interplay between carbon availability-controlled fertilizer N retention and the improvement in soil aggregation. • Control of fertilizer N retention and turnover by soil aggregates varied over time. • The protection of macroaggregate was performed as "release old but store new". • Maize straw mulching initially favored fertilizer N retention in macroaggregate. • Straw mulching enhanced mineral protection for long-term fertilizer N stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotic bacteria have been well-known to provide health benefits to human beings. However, several harsh conditions have threatened their survival rate during processing, storage, and transit through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This study investigated the survivability of biofilm-producing Pediococcus pentosaceus encapsulated in calcium alginate gel beads (CAGBs) against harsh conditions. The present study successfully produced biofilms- in situ culture of P. pentosaceus in the CAGBs (CAGB-bio- situ). The subsequently formed biofilms showed high survivability to the GIT environment (50%–74%), refrigerator storage (88.6%), and pH 2 (30.7%). In addition, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that no new chemical bonds were formed between the sodium alginate and the bacterial cell. Furthermore, the water content of the CAGBs averaged 10.06%, which was considered acceptable. A single-step weight loss was observed in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of CAGBs, while CAGB-bio- situ showed high thermal stability. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displayed bacteria aggregation on the beads surface in CAGB-bio- situ. As an alternative approach, this study speculates that the ability of P. pentosaceus to form biofilm would benefit from additional protection of CAGBs, which could serve as a fourth-generation approach to protect probiotics. [Display omitted] • Probiotic bacteria provide health benefits to human beings and their potent viability is worthy protecting. • Improving the survival of probiotic Pediococcus pentosaceus by using their ability to form biofilms combined with encapsulating materials i.e., Calcium alginate gel beads (CAGB). • Successful production of biofilms- in situ culture of P. pentosaceus in the CAGBs (CAGB-bio- situ). • Physicochemical properties of the calcium alginate beads containing biofilm-like structures. • Biofilm encapsulation provides a new insight into a protected process of probiotic delivery, which could serve as a fourth-generation approach to protect probiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Prostate cancer (PCa) located in the peripheral zone (PZ) and transitional zone (TZ) showed a different clinical and pathological characteristic. • Bi-parameter MRI could detect the zonal Heterogeneity of PCa by ADC value. • Zonal location diagnosed by bpMRI could bring added value in predicting PCa patients of ISUP ≥ 3 grades. Prostate cancer (PCa) located in the peripheral zone (PZ) and transitional zone (TZ) showed a different clinical and pathological characteristic. This passage aims to preliminarily evaluate the relationship between the zonal heterogeneity of PCa quantitatively assessed by bpMRI and pathological risk stratification of the primary lesion. This prospective study was conducted from January 2019 to February 2023. A total of 113 PCa patients whose bpMRI data indicated that the lesions located in only 1 single zone of the prostate were selected. A transrectal ultrasound and MRI-targeted biopsy were performed to verify the bpMRI results, and then radical prostatectomy (RP) was performed in 3 weeks after the biopsy. The high-risk (HR) group was defined as ISUP grades ≥ 3. Binary regression was performed to evaluate if the zonal heterogeneity could be an independent predictor of the HR group. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to analyze the added value of zonal location in predicting the HR group. PSA, T staging, and ISUP grades, incidence of positive surgical margins were significantly lower in the TZ PCa, and the ADCmin, and ADCmean values in the TZ PCa were significantly higher (all P <.01). The zonal heterogeneity could independently predict the HR group patients (OR: 5.170 [1.663-16.067], P =.005) and improve the predicting efficiency of HR patients (AUC 0.824, 95% CI, 0.741-0.889). BpMRI could quantitively assess the zonal heterogeneity of PCa precisely and increase the predicting efficacy of HR patients , which can provide better help for clinical individualized treatment. It has not been discussed that whether bi-parameter MRI (bpMRI) could be a detector of prostate cancer (PCa) zonal heterogeneity. The prospective-multicenter study recruited 113 peripheral zone (PZ)-only or transitional zone (TZ)-only PCa patients diagnosed by bpMRI. PZ-located patients showed a malignant clinical-pathological character. PZ-located lesion diagnosed by bpMRI could help predict the ISUP ≥ 3 patients. BpMRI could precisely detect PCa zonal heterogeneity quantitively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) with critical illness is linked to increased morbidity and mortality. Current risk scores to identify high-risk AP patients have certain limitations.Objective: To develop and validate a machine learning tool within 48 h after admission for predicting which patients with AP will develop critical illness based on ubiquitously available clinical, laboratory, and radiologic variables.Methods: 5460 AP patients were enrolled. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging variables were collected within 48 h after hospital admission. Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator with bootstrap method was employed to select the most informative variables. Five different machine learning models were constructed to predictive likelihood of critical illness, and the optimal model (APCU) was selected. External cohort was used to validate APCU. APCU and other risk scores were compared using multivariate analysis. Models were evaluated by area under the curve (AUC). The decision curve analysis was employed to evaluate the standardized net benefit.Results: Xgboost was constructed and selected as APCU, involving age, comorbid disease, mental status, pulmonary infiltrates, procalcitonin (PCT), neutrophil percentage (Neu%), ALT/AST, ratio of albumin and globulin, cholinesterase, Urea, Glu, AST and serum total cholesterol. The APCU performed excellently in discriminating AP risk in internal cohort (AUC = 0.95) and external cohort (AUC = 0.873). The APCU was significant for biliogenic AP (OR = 4.25 [2.08-8.72], P < 0.001), alcoholic AP (OR = 3.60 [1.67-7.72], P = 0.001), hyperlipidemic AP (OR = 2.63 [1.28-5.37], P = 0.008) and tumor AP (OR = 4.57 [2.14-9.72], P < 0.001). APCU yielded the highest clinical net benefit, comparatively.Conclusion: Machine learning tool based on ubiquitously available clinical variables accurately predicts the development of AP, optimizing the management of AP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cronobacter sakazakii is a foodborne pathogen that has become a significant challenge to public health and poses a serious risk to food safety, especially in powdered infant formula. This study applied a novel approach combining the Phage Amplification Assay with qPCR (PAA‐qPCR), amplifying the C. sakazakii phage EspYZU12 coupled with phage‐specific qPCR to detect viable C. sakazakii in milk samples. Results showed that the limit of detection of 6.58 × 102 CFU/mL of C. sakazakii could be assayed in less than 5.5 h with phage EspYZU12 (103 PFU/mL). Additionally, compared with plate counting, the accuracy factor value (Af), the bias factor value (Bf) and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the PAA‐qPCR method were 1.029, 1.026 and 1.808 respectively. The PAA‐qPCR method exhibited high sensitivity, rapidity and specificity for detecting live C. sakazakii in dairy products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the change and unpredictability of the mold flux containing rare earth oxides, the impact of controlling the erosion behavior of the mold flux containing rare earth oxide on the submerged entry nozzle is thoroughly investigated herein by applying an electric field. The extracted results show that the rare earth is reduced, and Ce3+ ions and compounds are formed. Under the control of electrochemical reaction in the negative enforced electric field, a stable and dense protective film with a multilayer structure is formed on the surface of the electrode. The existence of this film can effectively prevent the erosion of the submerged entry nozzle. In addition, the phase composition of the mold flux is not affected by the externally applied electric field. The implementation of the external electric field is anticipated to be used as a new method for the high‐quality and high‐efficiency continuous casting production of rare earth steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountainous area account for 94% in Yunnan, China. Among them, cultivated land only 16.20%. In order to classify and protect cultivated land contiguous, take Huaping, a typical mountainous area as an example, and integrates the entropy weight method, TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and spatial autocorrelation method to construct a zoning method based on CLQE (Cultivated Land Quality Evaluation). The results showed that the CLQE was divided into five grades. Class 1 and Class 2 was higher, respectively accounting for 24.98% and 29.98% of the total cultivated land area, Class 3 and Class 4 was accounting for 23.17% and 13.76%, Class 5 was the worst, accounting for 8.11%. In terms of layout, it can be divided into 4 areas, key protected areas are distributed in Class 1 and 2, accounting for 52.52% of the total, suitable adjustment areas are distributed in Class 1, 2 and 3, accounting for 9.02%, key control areas are distributed in Class 3 and 4, accounting for 25.41%, reduce reserved areas are distributed in Class 4 and 5, accounting for 13.05%. The results are consistent with the actual situation, and provide a feasible method for cultivated land classification and zoning protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed‐species biofilms represent the most frequent actual lifestyles of microorganisms in food processing environments, and they are usually more resistant to control methods than single‐species biofilms. The persistence of biofilms formed by foodborne pathogens is believed to cause serious human diseases. These challenges have encouraged researchers to search for novel, natural methods that are more effective towards mixed‐species biofilms. Recently, the use of bacteriophages to control mixed‐species biofilms have grown significantly in the food industry as an alternative to conventional methods. This review highlights a comprehensive introduction of mixed‐species biofilms formed by foodborne pathogens and their enhanced resistance to anti‐biofilm removal strategies. Additionally, several methods for controlling mixed‐species biofilms briefly focused on applying bacteriophages in the food industry have also been discussed. This article concludes by suggesting that using bacteriophage, combined with other 'green' methods, could effectively control mixed‐species biofilms in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). In addition, phase composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, and thermal shock properties have been systematically characterized. Introduction of Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 significantly increased mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance of these composite ceramics. MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) exhibited fine grain size. Reduced grain size may result in extraordinary properties. Experimental results showed that MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics had the highest flexural strength and hardness among all studied ceramics of 269.6 ± 9.22 MPa and 12.51 ± 0.29 GPa, respectively. Moreover, MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composites can reach 16 thermal cycle times. This shows that it is feasible to prepare high-performance MgO composite ceramics by SPS. Furthermore, introduction of Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 is effective method to improve mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance of MgO composite ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel inverters, owing to their high equivalent switching frequency, high quality of output waveforms, fast dynamic response, and high redundancy, contribute significantly to high-efficiency and high-power inverter applications. However, in practical scenarios, multilevel inverters also have negative impacts. The output common mode voltage is one of the typical problems, which may harm the reliability of systems. In this study, a combined three-phase full-bridge duplex inverter is proposed. Then, the general expression of the proposed inverter's output common mode voltage is derived based on the numerical double Fourier series. The generation mechanism of the output common mode voltage is subsequently revealed. A common mode voltage suppression strategy, which is universal and applicable to other multiple inverter topologies, is also proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed theory and control strategy is validated through the simulation and the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing demand for the use of Pediococcus pentosaceus in the dairy industry due to its remarkable abilities as a probiotic or starter culture bacterium. This study determines the physiological, survivability and genomic properties of P. pentosaceus to evaluate its potential as a starter culture. The strain showed great tolerance in low pH and high concentrations of bile salts. A good coaggregation ability against pathogens ranging between 71% and 84%, as well as strong biofilm formation ability and remarkable resistance to antibiotics. Whole‐genome sequence results reveal the presence of various genes responsible for stress tolerance, adhesion, biofilm formation, acids, and bile salts tolerance. The findings of this study can be used as essential criteria for selecting P. pentosaceus as a starter culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Similar-self nanoporous amorphous alloy models with various ligament sizes are established. • The stiffness and strength of nanoporous amorphous alloy under tension are greater than those under compression. • The tension-compression asymmetry is more pronounced for samples with smaller ligament sizes. • Plastic yielding-ruling and densification-ruling deformation are observed during compression processes. • At large tensile strains, ligament decay becomes more significant for samples with larger ligament sizes. Nanoporous amorphous alloys exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, including enhanced ductility, high strength-to-density ratio, and exceptional toughness. In this paper, atomistic models of nanoporous CuZr amorphous alloys (NP–CuZr AAs) with self-similar microstructures but varying ligament sizes are constructed. Molecular dynamics simulations are employed to examine the effects of ligament size on their mechanical properties. The yield strength, yield strain, and Young's modulus are found to be higher under tension than under compression. This tension-compression asymmetry stems from the surface effect, and it becomes more pronounced with decreasing ligament size. As the ligament size increases, the Young's modulus and compressive yield strength increase, while the tensile yield strength and ultimate tensile strength decrease. The tensile behavior comprises linear elastic deformation, strain-hardening, and ligament decay stages. During the ligament decay deformation stage, ligament necking and fracture are more severe with larger ligament sizes, resulting in relatively lower resistance stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]