Search

Abstract. Background:. To date, there is still a lack of standardized management strategies for gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD), which is a direct neoplastic precancerous lesion and requires specifically superficial destruction. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is expected to be an effective method for gastric LGD, but post-RFA pain may affect patients’ satisfaction and compliance. The current study aimed to evaluate the value of a submucosal injection prior to RFA (SI-RFA) for postoperative pain and treatment outcomes. Methods:. Between October 2014 and July 2021, gastric LGDs without risk factors (size >2 cm, unclear boundary, and abnormal microsurface and microvascularity) undergoing regular RFA and SI-RFA were retrospectively analyzed. Postoperative pain scores, wound healing, and clinical efficacy were compared. Propensity score matching, stratified analysis, and multivariable logistic regression were performed to control the confounding variables. Results:. One hundred and ninety-seven gastric LGDs in 151 patients received regular RFA. Forty-nine gastric LGDs in 36 patients received SI-RFA. Thirty-six pairs of patients were selected for the assessment of postoperative pain by propensity score matching. Compared to regular RFA, SI-RFA significantly decreased the degree and duration of postoperative pain (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13–0.84; P = 0.020), improved wound healing rate (80.0% [36/45] vs. 58.9% [89/151], P = 0.012), increased the complete ablation rate (91.8% [45/49] vs. 86.3% [170/197], χ2 = 1.094, P = 0.295), but correlated with higher rates of local recurrence and progression (25.6% [10/39] vs. 13.2% [18/136], χ2 = 3.471, P = 0.062; 8.3% [3/36] vs. 0.9% [1/116], P = 0.042). The multivariable logistic regression model confirmed that submucosal injection was associated with local recurrence (OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.13–7.58; P = 0.027). Conclusions:. Submucosal injections prior to RFA may reduce postoperative pain and scar formation while ensuring complete ablation of gastric LGD. However, local recurrence and progression should be considered seriously.

Abstract The study of the fluid inclusions of W–Mo deposits in the mineralization area of Ningshan–Zhen’an , Shaanxi Province, China shows that the gas–liquid two-phase inclusions are mainly present in W–Mo deposits, and the ore-forming fluid can be divided into four types: high-temperature type, middle–high-temperature type, middle-temperature type and low-temperature type. The formation depths of the W–Mo mineralization range from 4.2 to 8.4 km. The boiling and mixing of fluid may have been important mechanisms for the formation of W–Mo mineralization. The skarn-type mineralization is dominated by magmatic water, the quartz-vein-type mineralization includes both magmatic water and meteoric water, and the meteoric water is more involved in the quartz-fluorite-vein-type, beryl-quartz-vein-type and pegmatite-type mineralization. Magma is the main source of sulfur; that is, magma is the main source of mineralization. Combined with the metallogenic setting and geological characteristics of typical ore deposits, in the process of structural system transformation in South Qinling, the ore-forming magma fluid in the Late Indosinian–Yanshanian period was uplifted and emplaced along the NW–WNW direction and NE–NNE direction, and eventually, NW–WNW fault-controlled skarn-type W–Mo mineralization and quartz-vein-type W–Mo deposits accompanied by greisenization, albitization and potash feldspathization formed.

The forming, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of three kinds of vacuum electron beam welded joints with different shapes were studied. The results of X-ray inspection of the joints showed that the three shapes of welded joints could meet the requirements of the quality inspection. The results of microstructure characterization show that the worm or bone-like δ-ferrite appears in the upper and lower regions of the funnel-shaped and bell-shaped joints, while only a small amount of δ-ferrite appears in the local regions of the nail-shaped joints. The test results of mechanical properties show that the micro-hardness of the weld center in the three kinds of shaped joints is the lowest. All the specimens fracture in the weld, and the bell-shaped weld presents the highest impact energy and bending load. Funnel-shaped weld shows the worst corrosion resistance due to the element segregation of the weld. Thus, the bell-shaped joint exhibits the best comprehensive performance.

Abstract Reliable and fast identification of high‐voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line faults is important to the safety of power system. In traditional DC transmission line protection, differential protection is invulnerable to high fault resistance, but it needs long time delay for the influence of distributed capacitance current. In order to solve this problem, a novel pilot protection is proposed. The characteristics of the voltage and current processed by low‐pass filter under different fault conditions are analysed, and based on it the protection criteria is proposed. When external fault occurs, it reflects the line capacitance where the first forward fault traveling wave passes, which is increasing until equal to the whole line capacitance, then remains constant. However, when internal fault occurs, its value is negative in the initial stage, and after that its value is very different from the whole line capacitance. The analysis proves that this pilot protection method has fast operation speed, and can be applied for a relatively long period of time. What is more, the applicable time of superposition principle is considered in the analysis, which is not considered in many literatures. An UHVDC system is modelled for simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC, and the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified.

The unresolved phylogenetic framework within the Selaginellaceae subfamily Gymnogynoideae (ca. 130 species) has hindered our comprehension of the diversification and evolution of Selaginellaceae, one of the most important lineages in land plant evolution. Here, based on plastid and nuclear data extracted from genomic sequencing of more than 90% species of all genera except two in Gymnogynoideae, a phylogenomic study focusing on the contentious relationships among the genera in Gymnogynoideae was conducted. Our major results included the following: (1) Only single-copy region (named NR) and only one ribosomal operon was firstly found in Afroselaginella among vascular plants, the plastome structure of Gymnogynoideae is diverse among the six genera, and the direct repeats (DR) type is inferred as the ancestral state in the subfamily; (2) The first strong evidence was found to support Afroselaginella as a sister to Megaloselaginella. Alternative placements of Ericetorum and Gymnogynum were detected, and their relationships were investigated by analyzing the variation of phylogenetic signals; and (3) The most likely genus-level relationships in Gymnogynoideae might be: ((Bryodesma, Lepidoselaginella), (((Megaloselaginella, Afroselaginella), Ericetorum), Gymnogynum)), which was supported by maximum likelihood phylogeny based on plastid datasets, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference based on SCG dataset and concatenated nuclear and plastid datasets and the highest proportion of phylogenetic signals of plastid genes.

Abstract While microbial biogeochemical activities such as those involving denitrification and sulfate reduction have been considered to play important roles in material cycling in various aquatic ecosystems, our current understanding of the microbial community in groundwater ecosystems is remarkably insufficient. To assess the groundwater in the Ryukyu limestone aquifer of Okinawa Island, which is located in the southernmost region of Japan, we performed metagenomic analysis on the microbial communities at the three sites and screened for functional genes associated with nitrogen metabolism. 16S rRNA amplicon analysis showed that bacteria accounted for 94–98% of the microbial communities, which included archaea at all three sites. The bacterial communities associated with nitrogen metabolism shifted by month at each site, indicating that this metabolism was accomplished by the bacterial community as a whole. Interestingly, site 3 contained much higher levels of the denitrification genes such as narG and napA than the other two sites. This site was thought to have undergone denitrification that was driven by high quantities of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In contrast, site 2 was characterized by a high nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) content and a low amount of DOC, and this site yielded a moderate amount of denitrification genes. Site 1 showed markedly low amounts of all nitrogen metabolism genes. Overall, nitrogen metabolism in the Ryukyu limestone aquifer was found to change based on environmental factors.

The decision-making process for pavement maintenance from a scientific perspective is based on accurate predictions of pavement performance. To improve the rationality of pavement performance indicators, comprehensive consideration of various influencing factors is necessary. To this end, four typical pavement performance indicators (i.e., Rutting Depth, International Roughness Index, Longitudinal Cracking, and Alligator Cracking) were predicted using the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database. Two types of data, i.e., local input variables and global input variables, were selected, and S-ANN and L-ANN models were constructed using a fully connected neural network. A comparative analysis of the predictive outcomes reveals the superior optimization of the L-ANN model. Subsequently, by incorporating structures such as self-attention mechanism, a novel predictive approach based on the Transformer architecture was proposed. The objective is to devise a more accurate predictive methodology for pavement performance indices, with the goal of guiding pavement maintenance and management efforts. Experimental results indicate that, through comparative analysis of three quantitative evaluation metrics (root mean square error, mean absolute error, coefficient of determination), along with visual scatter plots, the predictive model employing the fused Transformer architecture demonstrates higher robustness and accuracy within the domain of pavement performance prediction when compared to the L-ANN model. This outcome substantiates the efficacy and superiority of the model in terms of predictive performance, establishing it as a reliable tool for accurately reflecting the evolution of asphalt pavement performance. Furthermore, it furnishes a theoretical reference for determining optimal preventive maintenance timing for pavements.

Food grinding is an abnormal behavior in rodents and its influencing factors are unknown. Our study investigated the potential relationships between gut microbiota and food grinding in Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii (Radde, 1861)) by comparing the differences between groups with different degrees of food grinding. The strong food-grinding group showed more relative food ground, higher ratio of ground food to food consumption, and lower percentage of time spent in the central area. The structure of fecal microbiota community differed between the strong and weak food-grinding groups. Strong and weak food-grinding voles showed higher abundances of Alistipes and Aerococcus and Atopostipes, Paenalcaligenes, Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GMl, and Streptococcus, respectively. Strong correlations between the food ground to consumption ratio and abundances of fecal microbiota were found in Streptococcus and Paenalcaligenes. Fecal acetate and isobutyrate contents were higher in strong food-grinding voles and positively correlated with relative ground food and food ground to consumption ratio. Our study suggests that gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids may contribute to the regulation of food-grinding behavior. Key words: food grinding, Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), short-chain fatty acids, gut microbiota, Introduction Food grinding, also known as food wasting, is a phenomenon that occurs in laboratory rodents through which food is ground into small fragments that are then left uneaten and [...]

Abstract The nature of solid–liquid interfaces is of great significance in lubrication. Remarkable advances have been made in lubrication based on hydration effects. However, a detailed molecular-level understanding is still lacking. Here, we investigated water molecule behaviors at the TiO2–aqueous interfaces by the sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) and atomic force microscope (AFM) to elucidate the fundamental role of solid–liquid interfaces in lubrication. Combined contributions of water structures and hydration effects were revealed, where water structures played the dominant role in lubrication for TiO2 surfaces of varying hydrophilicity, while hydration effects dominated with the increasing of ion concentrations. Superior lubrication is observed on the initial TiO2 surfaces with strongly H-bonded water molecules compared to the hydrophilic TiO2 surfaces with more disordered water. The stable ordered water arrangement with strong hydrogen bonds and the shear plane occurring between the ordered water layer and subsequent water layer may play a significant role in achieving lower friction. More adsorbed hydrated molecules with the increasing ionic concentration perturb ordered water but lead to the enhancement of hydration effects, which is the main reason for the improved lubrication for both TiO2. This work provides more insights into the detailed molecular-level understanding of the mechanism of hydration lubrication.

Abstract Superlubricity control is of great interest in both industry and scientific research, and several methods have been proposed to achieve this goal. In this work, ultraviolet (UV) light was introduced into titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silicon nitride (Si3N4) tribosystems to accomplish photoinduced superlubricity. The friction coefficients (COFs) between Si3N4 balls and TiO2 plates in the mixtures of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution and glycerol solution were obviously reduced, and the system entered the superlubricity region (COF < 0.01) after UV illumination at a speed of 56 mm/s. However, the COF was much larger without UV treatment than that with UV treatment. The formation of silica (SiO2) layers on the surfaces of Si3N4 balls and the elastohydrodynamic effects were determined to be fundamental to the low friction in this experiment, and the enhancement of the combination between the TiO2 surface and the hydroxy group of glycerol by UV illumination was the key to the photoinduced superlubricity in this system. These findings showed one method for achieving superlubricity by introducing a light field that could be further applied to special working conditions.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with obesity seriously threats public health. Our previous studies showed that dark tea had more potential on regulating lipid metabolism than other teas, and theabrownin (TB) was considered to be a main contributor to the bioactivity of dark tea. Objectives: This in vivo study aims to reveal the effects and molecular mechanisms of TB on NAFLD and obesity, and the role of the gut-liver axis is explored. Methods: The histopathological examinations, biochemical tests, and nuclear magnetic resonance were applied to evaluate the effects of TB on NAFLD and obesity. The untargeted metabolomics was used to find the key molecule for further exploration of molecular mechanisms. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to assess the changes in gut microbiota. The antibiotic cocktail and fecal microbiota transplant were used to clarify the role of gut microbiota. Results: TB markedly reduced body weight gain (67.01%), body fat rate (62.81%), and hepatic TG level (51.35%) in the preventive experiment. Especially, TB decreased body weight (32.16%), body fat rate (42.56%), and hepatic TG level (42.86%) in the therapeutic experiment. The mechanisms of action could be the improvement of fatty acid oxidation, lipolysis, and oxidative stress via the regulation of serotonin-related signaling pathways. Also, TB increased the abundance of serotonin-related gut microbiota, such as Akkermansia, Bacteroides and Parabacteroides. Antibiotics-induced gut bacterial dysbiosis disrupted the regulation of TB on serotonin-related signaling pathways in liver, whereas the beneficial regulation of TB on target proteins was regained with the restoration of gut microbiota. Conclusion: We find that TB has markedly preventive and therapeutic effects on NAFLD and obesity by regulating serotonin level and related signaling pathways through gut microbiota. Furthermore, gut microbiota and TB co-contribute to alleviating NAFLD and obesity. TB could be a promising medicine for NAFLD and obesity.

The HVDC transmission system has played an important role in modern power system. In traditional HVDC transmission line protection, the differential protection is invulnerable to high fault resistance, but its time delay is too long due to the distributed capacitance current. In order to solve this problem, a novel pilot differential protection is proposed in this paper. The compensating voltage on the setting point on the line can be calculated by using the voltage and current at two terminals of the line, separately. The difference value of the compensating voltages calculated by the voltage and current at rectifier side terminal and the inverter side terminal are defined as the differential voltage in this paper. When external fault occurs, the compensating voltage on the setting point calculated by the rectifier side terminal and inverter side terminal should be almost the same, so the differential voltage should be relatively small. However, when internal fault occurs, the compensating voltage on the setting point calculated by the two terminals are different, so the differential voltage should be relatively large. The analysis proves that the differential voltage can be used to identify the fault. A ±800 kV UHVDC system is modeled for simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC, and the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed protection method is verified.

In this paper, we proposed Mix-VIO, a monocular and binocular visual-inertial odometry, to address the issue where conventional visual front-end tracking often fails under dynamic lighting and image blur conditions. Mix-VIO adopts a hybrid tracking approach, combining traditional handcrafted tracking techniques with Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based feature extraction and matching pipelines. The system employs deep learning methods for rapid feature point detection, while integrating traditional optical flow methods and deep learning-based sparse feature matching methods to enhance front-end tracking performance under rapid camera motion and environmental illumination changes. In the back-end, we utilize sliding window and bundle adjustment (BA) techniques for local map optimization and pose estimation. We conduct extensive experimental validations of the hybrid feature extraction and matching methods, demonstrating the system’s capability to maintain optimal tracking results under illumination changes and image blur.

As a typical 2-dimensional material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has atomic thickness in longitudinal size, showing unique optical and electrical properties. MoS2 has become a research hotspot in the field of photodetection. The properties of MoS2 devices are highly dependent on their material characteristics, device structures, and fabrication techniques. Therefore, their photoresponse characteristics may be determined by multiple physical effects, which contribute to the development of MoS2-based broadband photodetectors. Here, we present an experimental study on the broadband MoS2 photodetector ranging from 410 to 1,550 nm, obviously wider than that of conventionally reported MoS2 photodetectors. Our results indicate that the performance of the MoS2 device is dependent on the fabrication procedures. Under the optimal process, the maximum responsivity is 33.75 A W−1 and the corresponding specific detectivity is 6.1 × 1011 cm Hz1/2 W−1 at 480-nm illumination. Through a series of electrical and optoelectronic experimental analysis, the working mechanisms of multiband photoresponse of the MoS2 device are clarified.

Wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing (WFEBAM) was utilized to repair the damaged Ti6Al4V (abbreviated as Ti64) alloy with B and Y modified Ti64 wire, and the effect of heat input on the repaired microstructure and properties of Ti64 alloy was investigated. The results indicated that the sizes of prior columnar β grains and α laths increased gradually with increased heat input. Besides the fine acicular α laths, continuous αGB, and retained β phase, bits of needle-like TiB and Y2O3 nanoparticles were formed in the deposited zone (DZ) due to the addition of B and Y elements in Ti64 wire. In addition, the increased heat input reduced the microhardness and wear resistance of the DZ, while still being superior to the mechanical properties of Ti64 substrate. It is attributed to the refinement of α laths and precipitates. Compared with Ti64 substrate, the DZ in as-repaired sample 1# with the lowest heat input (288 J/mm) showed the maximum microhardness (386HV), 18% higher than that of Ti64 substrate. While the DZ 1# also obtained the lowest friction coefficient (0.49), about 80.3% of Ti64 substrate. The tensile strength and elongation of the DZ 1# were 840.6 MPa and 14%, respectively, both of which remained above 88% of Ti64 substrate. Therefore, the as-repaired sample 1# with the lowest heat input could meet the repair requirements.

Background: As a population ages, blood pressure levels gradually increase, leading to a higher incidence of hypertension and increased cardiovascular diseases risk. This study examines factors affecting hypertension grading among centenarians in the Hainan Province. Methods: Data from 2014 to 2016 were accessed from the cross-sectional database “Hypertension Levels and Epidemiological Characteristics of the Elderly and Centenarians in Hainan province of China”. This study included 690 centenarians with hypertension. Hypertension grading was the dependent variable, analyzed against independent variables including demographic information (sex, age, ethnicity, education level, marital status, cohabitation, and regional distribution), lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity), body mass index (BMI), and comorbid conditions (diabetes and hyperlipidemia). Logistic regression models, adjusted for these factors, were used to assess the determinants of hypertension grading among the participants. Results: Multivariate regression analysis, after adjusting for other variables, revealed significant associations between BMI, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, and hypertension grades. Individuals with BMI below 18.5 kg/m2 had a 0.614-fold lower risk of developing grade III hypertension (odds ratio [OR]: 0.614, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.390–0.966, p = 0.0350) and a 0.586-fold lower risk for grade II hypertension (OR: 0.586, 95% CI: 0.402–0.852, p = 0.0052). Furthermore, individuals with elevated LDL levels had a 6.087-fold greater risk of progressing from grade I to grade III hypertension (OR: 6.087, 95% CI: 1.635–22.660, p = 0.0071) and a 4.356-fold greater risk of progressing from grade II to grade III hypertension (OR: 4.356, 95% CI: 1.052–18.033, p = 0.0423). Additionally, individuals of Li ethnicity had 1.823-fold greater risk of progressing from grade I to grade II hypertension compared to those of Han ethnicity (OR: 1.823, 95% CI: 1.033–3.218, p = 0.0383). Conclusions: A BMI below 18.5 kg/m2, elevated LDL, and ethnicity emerged the primary factors associated with hypertension grading in centenarians. To reduce the risk of hypertension, it is crucial for centenarians to maintain a healthy weight, normal LDL levels, and adopt dietary habits including a low-cholesterol and low-fat diet.

Ultrasonic frequency pulse assisted TIG welding (UFP-TIG) experiments were conducted to join Inconel 690 alloy (IN690) by adding Inconel 718 alloy (IN718) as the filler. The effect of the filler on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and ductility dip cracking (DDC) susceptibility of IN690 joints were investigated. The results show that a variety of precipitates, including MC-type carbide and Laves phases, are formed in the weld zone (WZ), which are uniformly dispersed in the interdendritic region and grain boundaries (GBs). The increase in the thickness of the IN718 filler facilitates the precipitation and growth of Laves phases and MC carbides. However, the formation of Laves phases in the WZ exhibits a lower bonding force with the matrix and deteriorates the tensile strength of IN690 joints. Due to the moderate content of Laves phases in the WZ, the IN690 joint with 1.0 mm filler reaches the maximum tensile strength (627 MPa), which is about 96.5% of that of the base metal (BM). The joint with 1.0 mm filler also achieves the highest elongation (35.4%). In addition, the strain-to-fracture tests indicate that the total length of cracks in the joint with the IN718 filler decreases by 66.49% under a 3.8% strain. As a result, the addition of the IN718 filler significantly improves the mechanical properties and DDC resistance of IN690 joints.