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Abstract Background This prospective cohort study focused on the predictive value of frailty or pre-frailty assessed by Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS) for postoperative delirium in spinal surgery patients. Methods The primary outcome measurement was postoperative delirium (POD) evaluated by Confusion Assessment Method at day 1, day 2, and day 3 after the surgery. Secondary outcomes included severity and duration of POD, severe postoperative pain measured by Faces Pain Scale-Revised. Patients scheduled for elective spinal surgery were enrolled and assessed for frailty by EFS before surgery. Demographic data, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative information were collected. Results 231 out of 325 patients were enrolled and analyzed in this study at last. The cohort with 36.8% being frail and 28.5% being vulnerable. Postoperative delirium was detected in 41 in 231 patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that vulnerable to frailty (OR = 4.681, 95% CI: 1.199 to 18.271, P = 0.026), after adjusted duration of surgery more than 3 h, using flumazenil at the end of surgery, using butorphanol only in postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia, moderate-to-severe pain at day 1 and 2, is a strong predictor of postoperative delirium. Frailty was associated with longer duration (frailty vs. fit, P = 0.364) and stronger severity of postoperative delirium in the first two days (P

Innovative superabsorbent hydrogels were synthesized from watermelon rind (WR), an abundant agricultural waste. The process involved free radical polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AAm) with WR particles activated by ammonium persulfate (APS), resulting in (AA-co-AAm)/WR hydrogels with high equilibrium swelling capacities of 749 ± 32 g/g. Notably, after eight cycles, the WR hydrogel maintained 94.88 % of its initial swelling capacity, significantly outperforming the (AA-co-AAm) hydrogel without WR (13.80 % retention). This durability, combined with excellent water retention across various soil textures and high adsorption capacity for methylene blue (MB), underscores the WR hydrogel as a superior soil moisture conservation agent. This study marks a significant advance in recycling organic waste and enhancing water management in agricultural soils, demonstrating the potential for sustainable hydrogel development.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a widely prevalent autoimmune bone disease that imposes a significant burden on global healthcare systems due to its increasing incidence. In recent years, attention has focused on the interaction between gut homeostasis and the immune system, particularly in relation to bone health. Dysbiosis, which refers to an imbalance in the composition and function of the gut microbiota, has been shown to drive immune dysregulation through mechanisms such as the release of pro-inflammatory metabolites, increased gut permeability, and impaired regulatory T cell function. These factors collectively contribute to immune system imbalance, promoting the onset and progression of Rheumatoid arthritis. Dysbiosis induces both local and systemic inflammatory responses, activating key pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Interleukin-6, and Interleukin-17, which exacerbate joint inflammation and damage. Investigating the complex interactions between gut homeostasis and immune regulation in the context of Rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis holds promise for identifying new therapeutic targets, revealing novel mechanisms of disease progression, and offering innovative strategies for clinical treatment.

Abstract The research investigated the tooth backlash influences the error in seedling picking trajectories of the gear train SPM. First, a sine function and the sum of random errors are taken into account is utilized to fit the tooth backlash of the firstly and secondary transmissions. Additionally, the analysis established the relationship between the fitting parameters and the tooth backlash of the firstly and secondary transmissions, in order to determine the appropriate fitting parameters. Next, the relationship between the tooth backlash of the firstly and secondary transmission in the seedling picking mechanism (SPM) and the x, y coordinates, as well as the velocity and acceleration of the seedling needle tip (SNT), is examined. This analysis is based on the error and movement variance of the coordinate and kinematic parameters of SNT. The results indicate that the tooth backlash of the firstly transmission has a more significant influence on the error of the seedling picking trajectory compared to the tooth backlash of the secondary transmission. When the tooth backlash of the noncircular gear in the firstly transmission reaches its maximum value of 0.24 mm, the x and y coordinates of the SNT can reach maximum values of 1 and 3.5 mm. The test of the jumping of the needle tip and idling trajectory description indicated that noncircular gears with larger tooth backlash exhibit higher positional jumping at the tip of the seedling needle.

Recently, emerging infectious viral diseases including Lassa fever, Ebola, COVID-19 and Nipah, have posed a great threat to the public health and development of human society. Developing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs is one of the major strategies to deal with them. The viral polymerase is responsible for the genomic replication and transcription and the protein sequence is highly conserved, making it an ideal target for drug development. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge about the working mechanisms of important human-infecting RNA virus polymerases and development of polymerase-targeting drugs, which will provide new insights into the control and prevention of emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common functional injuries observed in trauma patients. However, certain trauma medications may exacerbate renal injury. Therefore, the early detection of trauma-related AKI holds paramount importance in improving trauma prognosis. Methods: Qualified datasets were selected from public databases, and common differentially expressed genes related to trauma-induced AKI and hub genes were identified through enrichment analysis and the establishment of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Additionally, the specificity of these hub genes was investigated using the sepsis dataset and conducted a comprehensive literature review to assess their plausibility. The raw data from both datasets were downloaded using R software (version 4.2.1) and processed with the ''affy'' package19 for correction and normalization. Results: Our analysis revealed 585 upregulated and 629 downregulated differentially expressed genes in the AKI dataset, along with 586 upregulated and 948 downregulated differentially expressed genes in the trauma dataset. Concurrently, the establishment of the PPI network and subsequent topological analysis highlighted key hub genes, including CD44, CD163, TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 1, cytochrome b-245 beta chain, versican, membrane spanning 4-domains A4A, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, and early growth response 1. Notably, their receiver operating characteristic curves displayed areas exceeding 75%, indicating good diagnostic performance. Moreover, our findings postulated a unique molecular mechanism underlying trauma-related AKI. Conclusion: This study presents an alternative strategy for the early diagnosis and treatment of trauma-related AKI, based on the identification of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Additionally, this study provides theoretical references for elucidating the mechanisms of trauma-related AKI.

As a challenge to avoid the strength-ductility trade-off for Ti alloys, strength and ductility are contradictory, especially at a high content of primary α phase. This study proposed a new strategy to evade this trade-off dilemma by designing an 81% primary α phase/ultrafine-grained (UFG) secondary α phase lamellar heterogeneous structure(LPSlow-HS) in near-α Ti alloys. Compared to the bimodal structure, the LPSlow-HS offers a remarkable increase in the ultimate tensile strength(1119 MPa) and yield strength(1069 MPa), respectively, while the elongation (15%) is not sacrificed. Owing to the strong heterogeneous deformation-induced(HDI) strengthening, more number of delamination of interfaces, UFG microstructures and strong strain hardening render the Ti alloys high strength. This strategy may provide a new approach for achieving higher HDI strengthening effects in heterogeneous structures (HS) under high soft phases, and offer a feasible method for producing high strength-ductility Ti alloys under high primary α phase.

Natural gas hydrates (NGH) are considered a very promising source of clean energy due to their widespread distribution, high energy density, and pure combustion products. Currently, there are few studies on NGH reservoir well testing, and the models are often idealistic, lacking practical guidance for field application. In this paper, a well-testing model for partially perforated wells in the NGH reservoir is proposed, which takes into account the dynamic decomposition of hydrates. This model can simulate the performance of the perforated NGH well with a dynamic dissociation interface, which divides the reservoir into decomposed and undecomposed regions. Governing equations in cylindrical coordinates are formulated to depict fluid flow. Moving boundaries and dissociation coefficients are incorporated to describe the solid-to-gas transition within hydrates. Analytical solutions including the pressure transient behaviors of the NGH reservoir and the bottomhole pressure (BHP) of partially perforated wells are derived by utilizing the Laplace transform method of the separation of variables and the Stehfest numerical inversion algorithm. Sensitivity analysis is conducted using the parameters from partially perforated wells and NGH formation properties. We plot the pressure and pressure derivative curves in double logarithmic coordinates to study the pressure transient behaviors. There are seven flow regimes that are typical for partially perforated wells in the NGH reservoir, namely, pure wellbore storage, skin effect, spherical flow, pseudo-radial flow, composite effect, improvement, and radial flow regimes.

The early diagnosis of cancer is vital for effective treatment and improved prognosis. Tumor biomarkers, which can be used for the early diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic evaluation of cancer, have emerged as a topic of intense research interest in recent years. Nucleic acid, as a type of tumor biomarker, contains vital genetic information, which is of great significance for the occurrence and development of cancer. Currently, living cell nucleic acid probes, which enable the in situ imaging and dynamic monitoring of nucleic acids, have become a rapidly developing field. This review focuses on living cell nucleic acid probes that can be used for the early diagnosis of tumors. We describe the fundamental design of the probe in terms of three units and focus on the roles of different nanomaterials in probe delivery.

Study region: The study region of this paper is the Wusuli River basin, which is comprised of nine sub-basins. The basin is located on the border between China and Russia. Study focus: We investigated the hydrological connectivity of the Wusuli River basin, an international boundary river that has received little attention. The spatial and temporal evolution of hydrological connectivity over the last 38 years was characterized using a geostatistical connectivity function combined with the remote sensing technique. In particular, some key sub-basins were identified to help strengthen China-Russian cooperation on ecological protection of the basin. New hydrological insights for the region: The results show that the hydrological connectivity in the northwestern region of the Wusuli River basin was unstable with several surges from 1984 to 2021. Analyzed from a temporal perspective, the effective range of hydrological connectivity is expanding and connectivity is showing an overall upward trend due to increased fluctuations in rainfall. Analyzed from a spatial perspective, the connectivity of the right bank of the Wusuli River is better than that of the left bank due to the influence of topography. Stable connectivity pathways are a must for efficient hydrological connectivity within a watershed. Another finding is that the capacity of the Wusuli River basin to resist extreme rainfall is weakening.

Abstract Objective To compare the outcomes of patients undergoing Retroperitoneal laparoscopic Radical nephrectomy (RLRN) and Transperitoneal laparoscopic Radical nephrectomy (TLRN). Methods A total of 120 patients with localized renal cell carcinoma were randomized into either RLRN or TLRN group. Mainly by comparing the patient perioperative related data, surgical specimen integrity, pathological results and tumor results. Results Each group comprised 60 patients. The two group were equivalent in terms of perioperative and pathological outcomes. The mean integrity score was significantly lower in the RLRN group than TLRN group. With a median follow-up of 36.4 months after the operation, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed no significant difference between RLRN and TLRN in overall survival (89.8% vs. 88.5%; P = 0.898), recurrence-free survival (77.9% vs. 87.7%; P = 0.180), and cancer-specific survival (91.4% vs. 98.3%; P = 0.153). In clinical T2 subgroup, the recurrence rate and recurrence-free survival in the RLRN group was significantly worse than that in the TLRN group (43.2% vs. 76.7%, P = 0.046). Univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis showed that RLRN (HR: 3.35; 95%CI: 1.12–10.03; P = 0.030), male (HR: 4.01; 95%CI: 1.07–14.99; P = 0.039) and tumor size (HR: 1.23; 95%CI: 1.01–1.51; P = 0.042) were independent risk factor for recurrence-free survival. Conclusions Our study showed that although RLRN versus TLRN had roughly similar efficacy, TLRN outperformed RLRN in terms of surgical specimen integrity. TLRN was also significantly better than RLRN in controlling tumor recurrence for clinical T2 and above cases. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=24400 ), identifier: ChiCTR1800014431, date: 13/01/2018.

Abstract Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disease state that has an unclear pathogenesis, imposes a substantial burden on individuals and society. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most significant triggers of PTSD. Identifying biomarkers associated with TBI-related PTSD will help researchers to uncover the underlying mechanism that drives disease development. Furthermore, it remains to be confirmed whether different types of traumas share a common mechanism of action. Methods For this study, we screened the eligible data sets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, obtained differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through analysis, conducted functional enrichment analysis on the DEGs in order to understand their molecular mechanisms, constructed a PPI network, used various algorithms to obtain hub genes, and finally evaluated, validated, and analyzed the diagnostic performance of the hub genes. Results A total of 430 upregulated and 992 down-regulated differentially expressed genes were extracted from the TBI data set. A total of 1919 upregulated and 851 down-regulated differentially expressed genes were extracted from the PTSD data set. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes had biological functions linked to molecular regulation, cell signaling transduction, cell metabolic regulation, and immune response. After constructing a PPI network and introducing algorithm analysis, the upregulated hub genes were identified as VNN1, SERPINB2, and ETFDH, and the down-regulated hub genes were identified as FLT3LG, DYRK1A, DCN, and FKBP8. In addition, by comparing the data with patients with other types of trauma, it was revealed that PTSD showed different molecular processes that are under the influence of different trauma characteristics and responses. Conclusions By exploring the role of different types of traumas during the pathogenesis of PTSD, its possible molecular mechanisms have been revealed, providing vital information for understanding the complex pathways associated with TBI-related PTSD. The data in this study has important implications for the design and development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods needed to treat and manage PTSD.

Drought stress critically hinders agricultural productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. The results of this study show that the application of watermelon rind-based hydrogels (WR hydrogels), synthesized from a watermelon rind, acrylic acid (AA), and acrylamide (AAm), significantly enhanced soil water retention by 77.46% at a 0.3% concentration, increasing the plant height by 28.98% and biomass by 35.28% under controlled greenhouse conditions (25 °C/20 °C day/night temperature cycle, with a 12 h photoperiod at 400–500 μmol·m−2·s−1 of illuminance and 30–40% relative humidity). The accumulation of proline and soluble sugars decreased, indicating reduced osmotic stress in barley subjected to mild and severe drought conditions (6–15% FC and 17–26% FC). The chlorophyll content rose by 16.36%, boosting photosynthetic activity. A correlation and principal component analysis further highlighted the positive effects of hydrogel addition on plant growth and drought resistance. These findings underscore the potential of WR hydrogels as an effective soil amendment for promoting sustainable agriculture in water-limited conditions.

To reduce errors in sub-synchronous oscillation (SSO) modal identification and improve the accuracy and noise resistance of the traditional Prony algorithm, this paper focuses on SSOs caused by the integration of doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) with series compensation into the grid. A novel SSO modal identification method based on the hippopotamus optimization–variational mode decomposition (HO-VMD) and singular value decomposition–regularized total least squares–Prony (SVD-RTLS-Prony) algorithms is proposed. First, the energy ratio function is used for real-time monitoring of the system to identify oscillation signals. Then, to address the limitations of the VMD algorithm, the HO algorithm’s excellent optimization capabilities were utilized to improve the VMD algorithm, leading to preliminary denoising. Finally, the SVD-RTLS-improved Prony algorithm was employed to further suppress noise interference and extract oscillation characteristics, allowing for the accurate identification of SSO modes. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using theoretical and practical models on the Matlab and PSCAD simulation platforms. The results indicate that the algorithms effectively perform denoising and accurately identify the characteristics of SSO signals, confirming its effectiveness, accuracy, superiority, and robustness against interference.

Runoff in high-latitude water towers is crucial for ecological and human water demands during freeze–thaw periods but is highly sensitive to climate change and human activities. This study focuses on Changbai Mountain, the source of the Songhua, Tumen, and Yalu rivers, analyzing runoff variation and its environmental responses using the modified Mann–Kendall method and the water–energy balance equation. The results show significant non-stationarity in runoff trends, with an increasing trend in the Yalu River basin (p < 0.05), a decreasing trend in the Tumen River basin (p < 0.05), and complex trends in the Songhua River basin. Additionally, the relationship between runoff and driving factors during freeze–thaw periods was quantized. When the snowfall, potential evapotranspiration (E0), and subsurface changes increased by 1%, the snowmelt runoff changes were 1.58~1.96%, −0.58~−1.96%, and −0.86~−1.11% in the Yalu River basin; 2.16~2.35%, −1.04~−1.35%, and −1.56~−1.95% in the Tumen River basin; and 1.44~2.41%, −0.44~−1.41%, and −0.72~−1.62% in the Songhua River basin. The increased snowfall was the most prominent reason for the increase in snowmelt runoff during spring. The results of this study will benefit ecosystem conservation and the stability of downstream water supply in this high-latitude water tower.

Codonopsis pilosula is an important medicinal plant in China. Continuous cropping of C. pilosula affects crop quality and yield. However, comprehensive research on the impacts of continuous cropping on soil properties, microbial community structures, and soil metabolites is lacking. This study involved collecting rhizosphere soil samples from C. pilosula monocropped for 1 to 4 years to analyze variations in soil properties, microbial community structure, and metabolites across different continuous-cropping years (CCYs) through metabolomic and microbiomic analyses. Significant variations in the soil properties were observed; total phosphorus (TP) and available potassium (AK) in the rhizosphere soil increased with the number of CCYs, and pH declined. The microbial community structure significantly changed with continuous cropping. Overall, the soil bacterial diversity decreased with increasing CCY. The abundances of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes significantly decreased with increasing CCY, whereas the abundance of Acidobacteria significantly increased. The fungal diversity tended to decrease, with an increase in the abundance of beneficial Basidiomycota and an increase in potentially pathogenic Rozellomycota. Metabolomic analysis revealed 101 metabolites and significant changes in lipid compounds, organic acids, phenols, and carbohydrates. Notably, autotoxic substances such as 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol accumulated with increasing CCY. The results indicated that the main factors causing continuous-cropping obstacles in C. pilosula were soil nutrient imbalance and autotoxic substance accumulation. Continuous cropping of C. pilosula significantly altered the microbial community structure and metabolomic profile of rhizosphere soils. Effective management practices are needed to mitigate soil acidification, nutrient imbalances, and autotoxic substance accumulation during continuous cropping. Future research should focus on integrated soil management strategies to maintain soil health and crop productivity in C. pilosula continuous-cropping systems.

BackgroundBlood pressure (BP) is a key factor for the clinical outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) receiving endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). However, the effect of the circadian pattern of BP on functional outcome is unclear.MethodsThis multicenter, retrospective, observational study was conducted from 2016 to 2023 at three hospitals in China (ChiCTR2300077202). A total of 407 patients who underwent endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) and continuous 24-h BP monitoring were included. Two hundred forty-one cases from Beijing Hospital were allocated to the development group, while 166 cases from Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and Hainan General Hospital were used for external validation. Postoperative systolic BP (SBP) included daytime SBP, nighttime SBP, and 24-h average SBP. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), Boruta were used to screen for potential features associated with functional dependence defined as 3-month modified Rankin scale (mRS) score ≥ 3. Nine algorithms were applied for model construction and evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.ResultsThree hundred twenty-eight of 407 (80.6%) patients achieved successful recanalization and 182 patients (44.7%) were functional independent. NIHSS at onset, modified cerebral infarction thrombolysis grade, atrial fibrillation, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, hypertension were identified as prognostic factors by the intersection of three algorithms to construct the baseline model. Compared to daytime SBP and 24-h SBP models, the AUC of baseline + nighttime SBP showed the highest AUC in all algorithms. The XGboost model performed the best among all the algorithms. ROC results showed an AUC of 0.841 in the development set and an AUC of 0.752 in the validation set for the baseline plus nighttime SBP model, with a brier score of 0.198.ConclusionThis study firstly explored the association between circadian BP patterns with functional outcome for AIS. Nighttime SBP may provide more clinical information regarding the prognosis of patients with AIS after EVT.

Sporocarps of macrofungi support other diverse fungal species that are termed fungicolous fungi. However, the external environmental factors that affect the diversity and composition of fungicolous fungal communities remains largely unknown. In this study, the diversities, composition, and trophic modes of fungicolous fungal communities residing in host macrofungi from diverse habitats in the Qinling Mountains were analyzed. Additionally, the number of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) encoded by saprophytic, pathogenic, and symbiotic fungi was also quantified and compared. The results revealed that the diversity and composition of fungicolous fungal communities varied with months of collection and the habitats of host fungi, and saprophytic fungi were more abundant on wood than on the ground. Meanwhile, it was also found that saprophytic fungi possessed higher abundances of cell-wall-degrading enzymes than pathogenic or symbiotic fungi. Based on the above findings, it was hypothesized that the greater abundance of saprophytic fungi on wood compared to the ground may be due to their possession of a more diverse array of enzymes capable of degrading wood cell walls, thereby allowing for more efficient nutrient acquisition from decaying wood.

To demonstrate the feasibility and improve the implementation of laser weeding, a static movable lift-adjustable closed fiber laser weeding device and system have been developed, followed by experiments and performance evaluations. Physical experiments were conducted on the energy required for laser cutting of weed stems, targeting four common larger weeds (Chenopodium album, Amaranthus spinosus, Setaria viridis, and Eleusine indica) in farmland and orchards. At the same irradiation distances, the energy required to cut the same type of large weed generally increases with increasing distances and stem diameters but decreases with increasing irradiation time. The variance of stems’ power density after irradiation was larger and the values were more dispersed for Chenopodium album and Setaria viridis weeds, and the values were relatively scattered, while the power density values of Amaranthus spinosus and Eleusine indica weeds were more concentrated. When the irradiation time was 10 s, the 3.892 W/mm2 laser was sufficient to eliminate weeds and plants with the irradiation distances of 2 m. The 2.47 W/mm2 laser was more effective, as it killed weeds within a distance of 1 m in less than 1 s. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the laser weeding device and system that can completely cut off the stems of large weeds, and this technology has the potential to promote sustainable agriculture.

The optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources is of great significance in ensuring sustainable food production and economic benefits of farmers. However, agriculture, as an important carbon cycle ecosystem, has paid limited attention to carbon sequestration in the optimal allocation of water and land resources. Therefore, this study developed a new water-carbon-economy coupling model (WCECM) for optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources. In this model, the minimum water scarcity, maximum carbon sequestration and maximum economic benefits are taken as the optimization objectives. In addition, surface water volume and groundwater volume and planting area etc. were defined as constraints, respectively. Then, the model was solved using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III) and the Entropy-weighted-TOPSIS evaluation method. The developed model was demonstrated in the largest Farm, Youyi Farm, which is one of commercial grain production base in China to analyze the optimization of water and land resources from 2010 to 2019. We found that the new WCECM, based on the simulation of a complex coupled water-carbon-economy system, can realize the optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources to protect regional water resources, increase carbon sequestration and adjust the agricultural planting structure. In detail, through the multi-objective optimization model, the planting structure and the allocation ratio of surface water and groundwater irrigation water consumption are more suitable for this study area. After the optimization, the area planted with Rice was significantly reduced, the area planted with Maize was increased, and the area planted with Soybean did not change significantly compared with the first two crops. The planting structure has changed from focusing on paddy cultivation to dryland cultivation, with the ratio of Rice area, Maize area and Soybean area being 3:6:1. The water consumption is constrained within manageable limits, with an average annual irrigation water consumption of 2.01 × 108 m3. The amount of carbon sequestered has increased significantly, with an average annual increase of 7.8 × 108 kg. Meanwhile, the optimized economic benefits increased slightly, with a value of ¥2.35 billion. In short, optimization of water and land resources is beneficial for improving farmers' incomes, increasing carbon sequestration in agriculture, and conserving water resources.

To enhance the hydrothermal performances of conventional mini-channel heat sinks, this paper experimentally and numerically investigates the impacts of channel convergence α on the pressure drop (ΔP), the maximum temperature (Tmax), the convective heat transfer coefficient (hs), and the coefficient of performance (COP) of a mirror Y-shaped convergent mini-channel heat sink (MYCMCHS) with a rectangular channel cross-section when the overall channel volume is fixed. The results show that ΔP of MYCMCHS initially decreases and subsequently increases with the growth of the channel convergence α; however, Tmax declines but hs grows with the drop of α. The different dependences of hydraulic and thermal performances on the channel convergence result in the COP of the MYCMCHS exhibiting an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease with the rise of α. The numerical results further indicate that at the inlet volume flow rates of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 L/min, the maximum COP achieved at α = 0.7 rises 19.91 %, 20.57 %, and 22.59 % respectively in comparison to the COP of the heat sink without channel convergence (α = 1). This work validates the performance advantages of channel convergence and provides a possibility to enhance the hydrothermal performances of heat sink.

Building upon the efficient transport capabilities observed in the fractal tree-like convergent structures found in nature, this paper numerically studies the transport process of the combined electroosmotic and pressure-driven flow within a fractal tree-like convergent microchannel (FTCMC) with uniform channel height. The present work finds that the flow rate of the combined flow first increases and then decreases with the increasing branch width convergence ratio under the fixed voltage difference and pressure gradient along the FTCMC, which means that there is an optimal branch width convergence ratio to maximize the transport efficiency of the combined flow within the FTCMC. The value of the optimal branch convergence ratio is highly dependent on the ratio of the voltage difference and pressure gradient to drive the combined flow. By adjusting the structural and dimensional parameters of the FTCMC, the dependencies of the optimal branch convergence ratio of the FTCMC on the branching level convergence ratio, the length ratio, the branching number, and the branching level are also investigated. The findings in the present work can be used for the optimization of FTCMC with high transport efficiency for combined electroosmotic and pressure-driven flow.

Enhancing soil stability through the incorporation of straw and biochar is well documented. Nevertheless, the combined impact of straw, biochar, and nitrogen supplementation on soil aggregates and organic carbon still needs to be explored, with limited attention given to various sieving methods in the existing literature. Therefore, the current experiment used four sieving methods—routine wet sieving (RoutW), fast-wetting sieving (FastW), slow-wetting sieving (SlowW), and wetting–stirring sieving (WetS)—to investigate the effects of adding straw (0 or 4.5 t ha−1), biochar (from maize straw, 0 or 15 t ha−1), and N (0 or 100 kg ha−1) on soil aggregate stability and soil organic C in silt–loam soil of rainfed farmland in northwest China. The field experiment was started in 2014; soil samples were collected in 2021. The results revealed that straw returned, biochar, and N addition significantly increased soil mean weight diameter (MWD) and soil organic C (SOC). Compared to CN0 (zero-amendment) plots, straw returned with nitrogen addition (SN100) significantly increased the MWD of aggregates by 130.3% (RoutW), 121.66% (FastW), 73.94% (SlowW), and 91.78% (WetS) in the 0–30 cm soil layer. The addition of biochar and nitrogen (BN100) treatment showed the most significant effects on the relative slaking index (RSI), relative mechanical breakdown index (RMI), and SOC; compared with CN0 treatment, BN100 plots can reduce RSI and RMI by 42.90% and 54.66% and increase SOC by 53.27% for all soil layers. Therefore, adding organic materials with N can enhance the stability of soil aggregates and SOC of silt–loam soils in northwest China. Integrating biochar as an organic soil amendment in the agricultural practices of northwest China presents a multifaceted solution that addresses soil health, crop productivity, and environmental sustainability. The current study provides valuable insights that support adopting this innovative approach, paving the way for future sustainable agricultural practices that can benefit both the region and the global community.

The surface water area (SWA) and terrestrial water storage (TWS) are both essential metrics for assessing regional water resources. However, the combined effects of climate change and human activities on the dynamics of the SWA and TWS have not been extensively researched within the context of the CPEC. To fill this gap, we first analyzed the annual changes in the SWA and TWS in the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) region in recent decades using the methods of correlation analysis and Geodetector. Our findings indicate that Sindh exhibited the highest increase in the SWA at 8.68 ha/km2, whereas FATA showed the least increase at 0.2 ha/km2 from 2002 to 2018. Punjab exhibited a significant decrease in TWS, with a slope of −0.48 cm/year. Azad Kashmir followed with a decrease in TWS at a rate of −0.36 cm/year. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA exhibited an insignificant increase in TWS, with values of 0.02 cm/year and 0.11 cm/year, respectively. TWS was significantly positively correlated with the SWA in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, other regions showed inconsistent changes; in particular, a decline was observed in Gilgit–Baltistan. The changes in TWS in Balochistan were primarily influenced by the SWA and climate change, while TWS changes in FATA were mainly affected by climate change. In addition, human activities had a primary impact on the TWS changes in Azad Kashmir, Punjab, and Sindh. The influencing factors of TWS changes in different regions of the CPEC mainly involved a dual-factor enhancement and the nonlinear weakening of single factors. These results highlight that under the effect of climate change and human activities, TWS may not increase as surface water area increases. This study contributes to a better understanding of water resource dynamics and can aid in the development of strategies for the efficient and sustainable use of water resources in the CPEC.

Droplet collectors are commonly utilized to gauge the effect of pesticide deposition on crops. However, the varying surface characteristics of these collectors can lead to disparate data outcomes. Notably, water-sensitive paper is limited in humid environments, hindering rapid droplet deposition evaluation. Consequently, the selection of appropriate droplet collectors based on the environmental conditions is imperative. This study involved the use of five typical droplet collectors to establish a method for the swift and accurate evaluation of spray effectiveness, employing various spray liquids. It was observed that the surface free energy of five widely used droplet collectors was measured as follows: 35.11 mN m−1 for semigloss paper, 33.81 mN m−1 for coated paper laminated with polyvinyl chloride, 48.38 mN m−1 for kromekote paper (KP), 33.90 mN m−1 for polyvinyl chloride cards, and 39.95 mN m−1 for water-sensitive paper. When comparing the outcomes of deposition tests across these five collectors, it was noted that the results pertaining to droplet density were minimally influenced by the surface properties of the collectors with droplet coverage following. The volume of deposition was found to be the most susceptible to the surface characteristics of the collectors. Therefore, in the context of collecting and processing droplets, prioritizing droplet density as the metric for evaluation proved to be more reliable than using the other indicators.

BackgroundPeople with HIV (PWH) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has documented higher myocardial fibrosis, inflammation and steatosis in PWH, but studies have mostly relied on healthy volunteers as comparators and focused on men.MethodsWe investigated the associations of HIV and HIV-specific factors with CMR phenotypes in female participants enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study's New York and San Francisco sites. Primary phenotypes included myocardial native (n) T1 (fibro-inflammation), extracellular volume fraction (ECV, fibrosis) and triglyceride content (steatosis). Associations were evaluated with multivariable linear regression, and results pooled or meta-analyzed across centers.ResultsAmong 261 women with HIV (WWH, total n = 362), 76.2% had undetectable viremia at CMR. For the 82.8% receiving continuous antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the preceding 5 years, adherence was 51.7%, and 71.3% failed to achieve persistent viral suppression (42.2% with peak viral load