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Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) present in sewage sludge pose significant environmental and public health challenges. Composting has emerged as a promising method to mitigate these risks by reducing ARGs. This review paper evaluated the current progress in the removal of ARGs through composting, incorporating a bibliometric analysis of 228 publications from January 2010 to January 2024. This review highlights the increasing scholarly interest in this field, with a notable rise in publications since 2010. Key mechanisms identified include the denaturation of proteins and DNA at high temperatures, the adsorption of antibiotics and heavy metals by additives like biochar, and shifts in microbial communities, all contributing to the reduction of ARGs during composting. Despite these findings, challenges remain in achieving consistent ARG removal rates, addressing the potential for ARG regrowth, and understanding horizontal gene transfer post-composting. This review suggests further research into optimizing composting conditions and integrating additional treatment methods to enhance ARG removal and minimize associated risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-scale assessment of shear behavior in the tunnel carbonaceous slate is critical for evaluating the stability of the surrounding rock. In this study, direct shear tests were conducted on carbonaceous slates from the Muzhailing Tunnel, considering five bedding dip angles (β) and four normal stresses (σn). The micro-mechanism was also examined by combining acoustic emission (AE) and energy rate with PFC2D Version 5.0 (particle flow code 2D Version 5.0 software) numerical simulations. The results showed a linear relationship between peak shear stress and normal stress, with the rate of increase inversely related to β. Cohesion increased linearly with β, while internal friction angle and AE activity decreased; the energy release rate is 3.92 × 108 aJ/s at 0° and 1.93 × 108 aJ/s at 90°. Shearing along the preset fracture plane was the main failure mode. Increased normal stress led to lateral cracks perpendicular to or intersecting the shear plane. Cracks along the bedding plane formed a broad shear band with concentrated compressive force, and inclined bedding was accompanied by a dense tension chain along the bedding plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited evidence about the gender- and obesity-specific effects of personal care product and plasticizing chemicals (PCPPCs) on short sleep duration in adults. We evaluated the gender- and obesity-specific association of co-exposure to PCPPCs and short sleep duration among adults aged 20–60 years using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2016, a secondary data source from the United States. Seventeen PCPPCs, including five phenols, two parabens, and ten phthalates, were detected, and sleep duration was assessed among 3012 adults. Logistic regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were employed. We found that bisphenol A (BPA), mono (caboxy-isooctyl) phthalate (MCOP), and mono (3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP) were consistently positively associated with short sleep duration in both females and males regardless of obesity status, except for BPA with general obesity. In particular, mono benzyl phthalate (MBzP) revealed a positive association in females, mono (2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) revealed a positive association in males, and MiBP revealed a positive association in abdominal obesity. Similar associations were observed in the mixture. Our study highlights that PCPPCs are independently associated with an increasing risk of short sleep duration in adults both individually and as a mixture; however, gender- and obesity-specific differences may have little effect on certain individual PCPPCs on short sleep duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term ground subsidence (LTGS) is a relatively slow process. However, the accumulation of long-term subsidence has an adverse impact on the normal operation and safety of a subway, hindering sustainable urban development. A wide gap exists between early warning theory and its application in the control of LTGS during subway operation due to time span limitation. Providing decision support for LTGS in high-density urban areas during subway operation is difficult, and a collaborative decision system for real-time early warning and intelligent control is currently lacking. This study establishes the functional components of an intelligent early warning and decision platform, proposes a software system module, constructs an overall software framework structure, and develops a mobile intelligent early warning and decision platform. Moreover, this study introduces an early warning method for LTGS in high-density urban areas during subway operation. This method integrates an intelligent early warning decision-making platform, namely Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR), land subsidence monitoring, operation tunnel subsidence monitoring, and other multisource data coupling. The method is applied to sections of the Hangzhou Metro Line 4 Phase I Project (Chengxing Road Station (CRS)–Civic Center Station (CCS)–Jiangjin Road Station (JRS) and Xinfeng Station (XS)–East Railway Station (ERS)–Pengbu Station (PS)). This work can serve as a reference for ensuring urban safety and promoting sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UAV-assisted space–terrestrial integrated network provides extensive coverage and high flexibility in communication services. UAVs and ground terminals collaborate to train models and provide services. In order to protect data privacy, federated learning is widely used. However, the participation of UAVs and ground terminals is not gratuitous, and reasonable incentives for federated learning need to be set up to encourage their participation. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a federated reliable incentive mechanism based on hierarchical reinforcement learning. The mechanism allocates inter-round incentives at the upper level to ensure the maximisation of the server's utility, and performs inter-client incentive allocation at the lower level to ensure the minimisation of each round's latency. The reasonable incentive allocation enables the central server to achieve higher model training accuracy under the limited incentive budget, which reduces the cost of model training. At the same time, an attack detection mechanism is implemented to identify malicious clients participating in federated learning, preventing their involvement in aggregation and revoking their incentives. This better ensures the security of model training. Finally, we conducted experiments on Fmnist, and the results indicate that this method effectively improves the accuracy and security of model training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the frequency of natural disasters increases, the study of emergency communication becomes increasingly important. The use of federated learning (FL) in this scenario can facilitate communication collaboration between devices while protecting privacy, greatly improving system performance. Considering the complex geographic environment, the flexible mobility and large communication radius of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) make them ideal auxiliary devices for wireless communication. Using the UAV as a mobile base station can better provide stable communication signals. However, the number of ground-based IoT terminals is large and closely distributed, so if all of them transmit data to the UAV, the UAV will not be able to take on all of the computation and communication tasks because of its limited energy. In addition, there is competition for spectrum resources among many terrestrial devices, and all devices transmitting data will bring about an extreme shortage of resources, which will lead to the degradation of model performance. This will bring indelible damage to the rescue of the disaster area and greatly threaten the life safety of the vulnerable and injured. Therefore, we use user scheduling to select some terrestrial devices to participate in the FL process. In order to avoid the resource waste generated by the terrestrial device resource prediction, we use the multi-armed bandit (MAB) algorithm for equipment evaluation. Considering the fairness issue of selection, we try to replace the single criterion with multiple criteria, using model freshness and energy consumption weighting as reward functions. The state of the art of our approach is demonstrated by simulations on the datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this inquiry is to illuminate the attributes of heavy metal contamination and evaluate the potential ecological hazards inherent in the surface soil of Chenzhou City. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on 600 systematically collected soil samples within the study area, utilizing enrichment factors, geo-accumulation indices, comprehensive pollution indices, potential ecological hazard indices, and health risk assessment models to evaluate the degree of heavy metal contamination in the soil, potential ecological risks, and associated health hazards. The findings reveal that the average enrichment factor (EF) for each heavy metal is below 2, with the hierarchy from highest to lowest being Hg > Cd > Cu > Pb > Ni > Zn > Cr > As. Approximately 78.67% of soil samples exhibit no pollution to weak pollution levels based on heavy metal enrichment factors. Moreover, the comprehensive pollution index (IPIN) indicates that 95.17% of soil samples are within safe and pollution-free levels, indicating an overall environmentally secure setting. However, 2.67% of samples display heightened potential ecological risk levels, primarily concentrated in the southwestern region of the study area, influenced by nearby industrial activities. Additionally, it is noteworthy that both the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health hazards emanating from soil heavy metals to adult individuals lie within tolerable thresholds. Among these, arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) have been discerned as the principal non-carcinogenic agents. It is of particular significance that only a solitary soil specimen, located in the southwestern quadrant of the investigative region, manifests detectable health perils for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clearly realize the dynamic process as well as the dynamic fragmentation behavior of a long run-out rockslide, a novel numerical method for landslide simulation of the coupled finite-discrete element method (FDEM) was applied and the Jichang rockslide was used as a case. The calibrated simulation result of the FDEM in a rockslide deposit corresponds well with the real rockslide deposit. The main run-out process of the rockslide lasts for 75 s and can be divided into acceleration and deceleration stages, which last for 33 s and 42 s, respectively. The maximum overall rockslide movement speed is 35 m/s while the partial sliding mass reaches 45 m/s. The fracturing, fragmentation, and disintegration processes of the sliding mass can be clearly observed from the dynamic scenarios. Fracture energy generated by rock fracturing constantly increases with time in a non-linear form. Of the total fracture energy, 54% is released in the initial 5 s because of fracturing, and 39% of the total fracture energy is released because of fragmentation and disintegration in the last 35 s. The accumulated friction energy increases in the whole run-out process, and its magnitude is much greater than the kinetic energy and fracture energy of the sliding mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the 1991 rock avalanche, in Touzhai, Zhaotong, Yunnan, China, was considered the study object. The investigation of the landslide accumulation body revealed that the Touzhai rock avalanche accumulation body has the characteristics of wide gradation and poor sorting. A combination of field investigations, indoor and outdoor experiments, and numerical simulations were used to invert the occurrence and spreading range of rock avalanche-debris flow hazards. To invert and analyze its dynamics and the crushing process, a three-dimensional discrete element modeling was performed on the real terrain data. Simulation results showed that the movement time of the numerically simulated Touzhai rock avalanche was approximately 200 s. After 50 s of movement, the peak velocity reached 32 m/s, and the velocity gradually decayed after the sliding mass rubbed violently against the valley floor and collided with the mountain. Due to the meandering nature of the gully, the sliding mass makes its way down the gully and constantly collides with the mountain, making particles appear to climb, with some particles being blocked by the valley. After 150 s of movement, the average velocity rate decreased substantially, and the landslide-avalanche debris reached the mouth of the trench. After 200 s of movement, the average sliding velocity tends to 0 m/s, where the avalanche debris tends to stop and accumulate. When the rock avalanche movement reaches the mouth of the gully, the avalanche debris spreads to the sides as it is no longer bounded by the hills on either side of the narrow gully, eventually forming a 'trumpet-shaped' accumulation, and the granular flow simulation matched the findings of the landslide site accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smooth surface blasting control technology is aimed at blasting the rock body until it is left with a smooth surface and to protect it from damage; the current air spaced axial uncoupled charge and air spaced radial uncoupled continuous charge are effective charging structures for smooth surface blasting. Reserved air spacing can effectively reduce the blast wave and the peak pressure of the explosive gas, improving the quasi-static pressure of the explosive gas under the action of rock surface blasting with fracture seam quality. In order to ensure the effect of surface blasting, small-diameter light surface holes are more often used; with the development of drilling machinery, the use of large-diameter light blast holes with an oversized uncoupled coefficient of loading structure effectively improves the efficiency of the construction and at the same time achieves better blasting results. However, according to the bursting assumption of obtaining the theory of light surface blasting in the application of large uncoupling coefficient loading, light surface blasting has certain limitations. In this regard, the bursting theory explores the air spacing uncoupling charge in line with the multi-faceted exponential expansion of the critical uncoupling coefficient and is in accordance with the following: the requirements of light surface blasting and the field loading structure; the derivation of the quasi-static pressure on the wall of the gunhole under the action of large uncoupling, uncoupling coefficient, and the parameters of the spacing between the gunholes; the establishment of the axial uncoupling coefficient and the radial uncoupling coefficient-equivalent relationship between the uncoupling coefficient and the theoretical relationship between the selection of the spacing between the holes; the uncoupling coefficient and the selection of the theoretical relationship between the spacing between the holes. This study reveals the mechanism by which different parameters of surface blasting can achieve good results in engineering practices. A slope in Guizhou is an example of sample calculations and the application of two different charging structures applied to field loading, which have achieved good surface blasting results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the nonlinear variation characteristics of crack strain in the stage of rock crack stable propagation, rock deformation is expressed as the sum of matrix strain and crack strain. Thus, the longitudinal symmetry plane of the rock sample was abstracted as a model containing sliding crack structure in an elastic body, and the evolution equation of crack geometric parameters in the process of stable crack propagation was obtained. When the valve closing time increased from 5 s to 25 s, the difference in water hammer pressure was 0.72 MPa, and the difference in velocity fluctuation amplitude was 0.076 m/s. These findings confirm the following: the greater the flow, the greater the pressure change at the pipe end; the faster the speed change, the more obvious the water hammer effect. Special Issue Content Huang et al. (2022) [[1]] divided the pre-peak crack strain evolution curve of rock into three stages based on the triaxial compression test results of granite and the definition of crack strain. [Extracted from the article]

This paper aims to introduce a numerical technique for forecasting the hazard caused by the disaster chain of landslide blocking river-dam breach floods through an integration of the distinct element method (DEM) and a well-balanced finite volume type shallow water model (SFLOW). A toppling slope in a reservoir area, the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, was chosen for the study. Creep has been observed in the potential instability area, and a possible sliding surface was identified based on the data collected from adits and boreholes. Catastrophic rock avalanches may be triggered after reservoir impoundment, and the associated landslide disaster chain needed to be predicted. First, the landslide blocking river process was modeled by the DEM using the three-dimensional particle flow code (PFC 3D). The landslide duration, runout distance, and kinematic characteristics were obtained. In addition, the landslide dam and barrier lake were constructed. Then, the cascading dam breach flood propagation was simulated using the self-developed SFLOW. The flow velocity, inundation depth, and area were obtained. The hazard maps derived from the combined numerical technique provided a quantitative reference for risk mitigation. The influences of two involved parameters on the final hazard-affected area are discussed herein. It is expected that the presented model will be applied in more prediction cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overlying strata movement has an important effect on the stability of coal along goaf. In order to study the impact of overlying strata movement on the stability of coal during fully mechanized top-coal caving mining, a simulation experiment was conducted on the Liuxiang Coal Mine using digital image correlation (DIC) and stress electric measurement methods. The characteristics of overlying strata movement, stress concentration and deformation evolution of coal, and interlayer sliding between coal and rock are analyzed. The following conclusions could be drawn. The movement of overlying strata can be classified into two stages: the first stage is characterized by vertical displacement, while the second stage is characterized by horizontal displacement. In the first stage, the vertical movement of overlying strata causes the vertical stress concentration of the coal. In the second stage, the horizontal movement causes frictional sliding between coal and rock, which produces a shearing effect on the coal. Under these two effects, the coal along goaf gradually reaches its strength limit, and local deformation occurs, and the micro-cracks are further concentrated and fused in this area. When macro-cracks are formed, occur and expand unstable, the elastic energy is released suddenly, which will lead to dynamic disasters such as rock bursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition, the stepwise and cumulative energy ratio was defined in order to describe the energy distribution during cyclic loading and unloading. The results showed that the irreversible strain and plastic energy increased exponentially with the increase in the deviatoric stress, but the growth rate decreased with the increase in loading rate. In deep rock engineering, the stability of the rock is a key factor. The elastic modulus was the most sensitive to sample damage, but the energy density evolution could be used to describe the deformation damage process of tectonic coal in more detail. [Extracted from the article]

Since the launch of the Special Issue, a total of 39 well-known scholars have submitted their research work to this Special Issue. Special Issue Content Gao et al. [[1]] established a unified model based on transfer learning for cross-regional DFSM to realize the rational use of debris flow sample resources and improve the modeling efficiency. This Special Issue aims at soliciting contributions within the scope of the comprehensive risk assessment methods and hazards early warning system of geological hazards on major projects in the mountain area. [Extracted from the article]

As precious cultural heritage sites, the state of preservation of cave temples is closely related to the geological and climatic conditions in which they are located. This paper constructed an analytical method of sized slate stability based on the equivalent support stiffness method. The stability analysis of the roof slab of Yuanjue Cave was carried out by establishing a three-dimensional numerical calculation model. Through comparative analysis of the results of stress and displacement fields under different conditions, the stress and deformation characteristics of the roof slab of Yuanjue Cave were revealed, as well as the study of the main factors affecting the stability of the roof slab of Yuanjue Cave and the key slate to be monitored. The main research results are as follows. The stress deformation of the roof plate of Yuanjue cave is mainly divided into the initial uniform change stage, the medium-term stable change stage or the medium-term accelerated change stage, and the later rapid change stage. With the increase in the number of overhanging and broken slates and the increase in the damage factor of cracked slates, the vertical stress extremum of the stones increases continuously, and the equivalent support stiffness decreases, which aggravates the uneven stress deformation of the roof of the Yuanjue Cave. This study provides a reliable reference basis for the stability analysis and evaluation of the roof slab of a large number of cave temples existing in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracturing behaviors of serial coal pillars is significant for understanding their failure mechanism. To reveal this, the bearing stress, acoustic emission, electrical resistivity, local strain, force chain distribution, and cracks evolution of serial coal pillars under uniaxial compression were evaluated by experiment and numerical simulation. The results show that four bearing stages are observed during the fracturing process (i.e., nonlinear growth, linear growth, yielding growth, and weakening stages). The acoustic emission features, electrical resistivity responses, strain develops, force chain distributions, cracks evolutions, and local displacement are highly consistent to illustrate the fracturing behaviors. System fracturing of serial coal pillar specimens is appeared along with the collapse of lower uniaxial compressive strength coal pillar specimen. The limit bearing capacity of serial coal pillar specimens is almost equal to the strength of lower uniaxial compressive strength coal pillar specimen. The unbalanced deformation characteristics of serial coal pillar specimens are presented due to the strength differences. The evolution of the key deformation element is the rooted reason for the overall fracturing mechanism of serial coal pillar specimens. For serial coal pillar specimens with different strengths, the critical condition of system fracturing is that the sum of secant modulus of upper and bottom coal pillars is zero, which is expected to predict the system fracturing of serial pillars in the underground coal mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional oligosaccharides exert obesity-reducing effects by acting at various pathological sites responsible for the development of obesity. In this study, tamarind xyloglucan oligosaccharides (TXOS) were used to attenuate metabolic disorders via the gut–liver axis in mice with high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity, as determined through LC/MS-MS and 16S rRNA sequencing technology. A TXOS dose equivalent to 0.39 g/kg/day in humans restored the gut microbiota in obese mice, which was in part supported by the key microflora, particularly Bifidobacterium pseudolongum. Moreover, TXOS reduced the abundance of opportunistic pathogen species, such as Klebsiella variicola and Romboutsia ilealis. The bodyweight and weight gain of TXOS-treated (4.8 g/kg per day) mice began to decrease at the 14th week, decreasing by 12.8% and 23.3%, respectively. Sixteen fatty acids were identified as potential biomarkers in the liver, and B. pseudolongum and caprylic acid were found to tightly regulate each other. This was associated with reduced inflammation in the liver, circulation, and adipose tissue and protection from metabolic disorders. The findings of this study indicate that TXOS can significantly increase the gut microbiota diversity of obese mice and restore the HFD-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microseismic monitoring has become a well-known technique for predicting the mechanisms of rock failure in deeply buried energy exploration, in which noise has a great influence on microseismic monitoring results. We proposed an improved microseismic denoising method based on different wavelet coefficients of useful signal and noise components. First, according to the selection of an appropriate wavelet threshold and threshold function, the useful signal part of original microseismic signal was decomposed many times and reconstructed to achieve denoising. Subsequently, synthetic signals of different types (microseismic noise, microseismic current, microseismic noise current) and with various signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs, −10~10) were used as test data. Evaluation indicators (mean absolute error μ and standard deviation error σ) were established to compare the denoising effect of different denoising methods and verify that the improved method is more effective than the traditional denoising methods (wavelet global threshold, empirical mode decomposition and wavelet transform–empirical mode decomposition). Finally, the proposed method was applied to actual field microseismic data. The results showed that the microseismic signal (with different types of noise) could be fully denoised (car honk, knock, current and construction noise, etc.) without losing useful signals (pure microseismic), suggesting that the proposed approach provides a good basis for the subsequent evaluation and classification of rock burst disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surrounding rock of deep roadway is mostly composed of fractured rock. The deformation of roadway surrounding rock is complicated, which not only involves the stress change, but also involves the support means. This paper aims to study the deformation and fracture evolution law of surrounding rock in deep underground engineering. According to the stress rebalancing characteristics, after roadway excavation, the development and evolution characteristics of surrounding rock cracks are studied. At the same time, different seepage zones are divided according to the relationship between surrounding rock failure and its total stress–strain, that is, complete seepage zone, seepage shielding zone, and proto-rock seepage zone. The crack distribution characteristics of surrounding rock are studied, and the graded control of gradient support is proposed. In the broken area, the gradient bearing shell outside the roadway is achieved by means of bolting and high-strength grouting. As the cracks and pore sizes in the plastic zone gradually decrease along the radial stress direction of the roadway, and the open cracks gradually change into closed cracks, it is difficult for ordinary grouting materials to complete better consolidation and filling. Therefore, small particle size grouting reinforcement materials are studied. The plastic zone (fracture zone) is reinforced with nano-scale grouting material, and the internal three-dimensional gradient bearing shell is formed by combining with the anchor cable. This research plays an important guiding role in the stability of deep roadway surrounding rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the dewatering of deep excavation, the existing man-made waterproof curtain has a significant influence on flow response in confined aquifers; the effect of the waterproof curtain must be considered when using the field data for hydrogeological parameter estimation. In this study, a closed-form analytical solution for constant discharge pumping in a confined aquifer within a rectangular-shaped drop waterproof curtain is obtained by making use of the image method coupled with the superpose principle. A straight-lined method is presented to determine the value of the hydraulic parameters of the confined aquifer and the application of the obtained results is illustrated by the usefulness of a field pumping test in Wuhan, China. The results show that the predicted drawdowns developed by the estimated parameters are in good agreement with the measured drawdown in the field. The proposed solution and parameter estimation are reliable and can provide important help for the design of dewatering in deep foundation pit engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in mining depth and the deterioration of mining conditions, thick and hard overburden movement frequently induces mine earthquakes and rock bursts. Some mines are expected to prevent and control super thick hard rock mine earthquakes through vertical ground well water fracturing technology. However, the dynamic underground disaster appears more intense. Taking the '11.30' mine earthquake in a mine in Shandong Province as the engineering background, the dynamic disaster mechanism of an extraordinarily thick and hard roof induced by hydraulic fracturing of vertical wells on the ground was studied utilizing field investigation, accident case analysis, similar material simulation test, and theoretical analysis. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) After hydraulic fracturing vertical wells on the ground, the movement mode of thick and hard roofs changed from layer-by-layer to overall sliding movement; (2) The influence range of the advanced abutment pressure of the working face is reduced by the hydraulic fracturing of the vertical shaft, and the peak value of the advanced abutment pressure increases. Furthermore, the advanced abutment pressure's peak is far from the coal wall; (3) The hydraulic fracturing technology of cross-arranged vertical surface deep and shallow wells and the hydraulic fracturing technology of cross-perforated surface multi-branch horizontal wells are proposed to avoid the dynamic disaster of overall sliding movement of an extremely thick hard roof induced by surface hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, these research results provide significance for preventing and controlling mine earthquakes and rock bursts in super thick hard roof mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain dynamic capability is becoming an indispensable core competency for organizations. However, it is still unknown how dynamic capability functions during actual use. Based on this reason, this study compiles research on supply chain dynamic capability, proposes the formation mechanism of supply chain dynamic capability, and validates it using data from Chinese companies. The results of structural equation modeling based on a sample of 162 Chinese companies show that environmental turbulence profoundly affects supply chain dynamic capabilities through direct and indirect effects. The dimensions of supply chain synergy have an important mediating effect on the dynamic capability of supply chains. Supply chain flexibility and agility, as the external manifestation of supply chain dynamic capability, are not only influenced by environmental turbulence and supply chain synergy, but also, the supply chain flexibility affects the supply chain agility. Based on these results, the formation mechanism of supply chain dynamic capability was further proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costume restoration is one of the important ways to study costume history and culture. The purpose of this paper is to show the characteristics of Chinese costumes more than 1000 years ago, through the research on the costume in the famous ancient Chinese painting DaoLian painting, and provide strong technical support for the research of Chinese ancient costume culture. DaoLian painting is the work of Xuan Zhang, a famous painter in Tang dynasty (618–907), China. From the perspective of clothing engineering, we analyzed the characteristics of costume style, color, and pattern and used the virtual fitting technology to realize digital restoration of the costume of 12 characters in the painting. The results show that it is a practical method to study costume from paintings. The colors, patterns, and character gestures in the paintings provide sufficient information for the archaeology and restoration of ancient costumes. The research results of this paper can provide a new idea for costume archaeology and a reference for modern fashion design and materials for the VR Museum of Ancient Costumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring Outing Painting of Madam Guo is one of the representative works of Zhang Xuan, a famous Chinese court painter of the Tang dynasty (618–907), who was the "leader" of the trend of figure painting in the Tang dynasty and had a great influence on later figure painting. The costumes of the characters in the paintings not only show the artistic aesthetics of the prosperous Tang dynasty, but also reflect the rich cultural connotation. At present, the research on this painting is mainly about character discrimination and painting appreciation. There are few studies involving the costumes in this painting. With the rapid development of digital clothing technology, it provides a new way and path for the restoration of ancient costumes. Based on the costume archaeology of Spring Outing Painting of Madam Guo, this paper uses 3D virtual simulation and reverse engineering technology to restore the costume style of the characters in the picture, realize the digital restoration and protection of the style drawing, paper pattern, and 3D simulation drawing of the characters' costumes in the picture. Finally, we introduce the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) to comprehensively evaluate the costume restoration effect. Our proposed method solves the problem of the constraints of time and space on the presentation of ancient traditional costumes, promotes the excellent historical culture of China, and provides a certain reference for the modern redesign of ancient costumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate theoretical model to predict the extent and mechanical behavior of the excavation damage zone (EDZ) in the surrounding rock of deep-buried tunnel is of great importance for the practical engineering applications. Using the elastic-plastic theory and combined with the analysis on the stress characteristics of the tunnel surrounding rock, this paper present a predict model for the EDZ formation and evolution. A three-zone composite mechanical model was established for the tunnel surround rock and the corresponding stress state and displacement field of three zones were derived. The effects of the strain softening and dilatancy during rock deformation was taken into account. The correctness of the proposed model was validated by the existing theoretical models. A sensitivity analysis for different influencing factors in this model was also performed. The results can benefit for the future numerical and experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1972, the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, received attention from various fields such as archeology, cultural relics conservation, textile and costume because of its light texture and exquisite craftsmanship. However, due to it being unearthed decades ago and imperfect preservation measures being used, it has been increasingly damaged by the influence of the external environment. Therefore, there is an urgent need to carry out archeology, restoration and protection of the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown. In this paper, the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown is taken as the research object, and the costume pattern is obtained through 3D interactive pattern-making technology. Then virtual simulation technology is used to digitally restore the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown in combination with the fabric, color and pattern of the costume. Finally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method are introduced to evaluate the virtual simulation effect of the costume. The results show that the virtual simulation effect of the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown is very good. From the results of the costume restoration, the AHP captures the uncertainty in the process of costume virtual simulation evaluation, quantifies the judgments with weights, reduces the subjectivity of the evaluation process, and provides a scientific and effective method for evaluating the virtual simulation effect of ancient costumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the tomb murals as the research object, and realizes the development of the costume patterns of the Tang tomb murals and the 3D simulation restoration of the costumes through 3D interactive clothing pattern-making technology and virtual simulation technology. Firstly, the 3D garment model is constructed in the virtual environment according to the costume outline of the Tang Dynasty tomb mural costume. Then, the structural curves of the garment are drawn on the 3D garment according to the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty tomb mural garment style, the 3D surface is expanded and surrounded by these curves into the 2D garment plane, and the expanded surface is adjusted to obtain the 2D garment plane pattern. We use 3D virtual simulation technology to sew the patterns of Tang Dynasty tomb mural costumes and realize the virtual simulation restoration of Tang Dynasty tomb mural costumes. Finally, we create a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the restoration effect of the restored costumes. Compared with the traditional costume restoration methods, the method proposed in this paper reduces the technical requirements for operators in the restoration process without destroying cultural relics, and provides a new method for the rapid simulation and restoration of ancient Chinese costumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal seam impact risk assessment is the premise of coal mine safety, which can reduce the occurrence of underground impact pressure accidents and directly affect the safety, coal production, economic and social benefits of coal mining enterprises. In order to evaluate the impact risk of coal seams more reasonably and comprehensively, and consider the weights of different influencing factors on the impact risk of coal seams, the neural network model is proposed to evaluate the impact risk of coal seams. Mining depth, impact tendency, geological structure and mining technology are selected as the influencing factors of coal seam impact risk. Each influencing factor contains different evaluation indices, a total of 18. The 18 evaluation indices and the impact risk level are normalized and quantified. The BP neural network model for evaluating coal seam impact risk level is established, and the impact risk of 2-1 coal seams in a mine in Inner Mongolia is comprehensively evaluated and analyzed in this study. The results show that the BP neural network model can represent coal seam impact risk level well. The application of the BP neural network model to evaluate coal seam impact risk level has the characteristics of high precision, fast calculation speed and less artificial calculation, which provides an efficient and convenient method for the evaluation of coal seam impact risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Forecasting the Landslide Blocking River Process and Cascading Dam Breach Flood Propagation by an Integrated Numerical Approach: A Reservoir Area Case Study" has been retracted by the journal Remote Sensing. The retraction was prompted by concerns raised by the authors themselves regarding the ownership of several figures in the article. An investigation confirmed that the ownership of these figures belonged to a third party and that appropriate permission had not been obtained. As a result, the article has been retracted in accordance with MDPI's retraction policy and the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics. The authors have agreed to this retraction. [Extracted from the article]

The construction of a self-formed roadway without coal pillars is a new mining technology based on short-arm beam formation through roof cutting. With it, mining, tunneling and retaining roadway construction can be accomplished in a 'three-in-one' process that removes the need to dig in advance at the working face and to leave behind coal pillars. In order to realize real-time monitoring and warnings regarding rock pressure during this process, a big data monitoring system was developed based on quasi-distributed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology and cloud technology. Firstly, real-time monitoring data on the stress and strain of the underground surrounding rock-support system are obtained by FBG sensor and transmitted to the main computer of the above-ground monitoring and early warning system by using an underground industrial ring network. These data are then sent to a big data remote online real-time monitoring system. Through the deployment of a cloud server, authorized users can observe changes in force and movement in the rock surrounding the supporting system during coal mining and roadway formation from anywhere and at any time. The successful application of the system in the S1201-II working face of the Ning Tiaota Mine shows that this remote real-time monitoring system can enable timely and accurate field data acquisition, feedback real-time production information and achieve good monitoring performance. This study thus provides a scientific basis for ensuring safe mining with the coal pillar-free self-forming roadway method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rock slope can be characterized by tens of persistent discontinuities. A slope can be massive. The slip surface of the slope is usually easier to expand along with the discontinuities because the shear strength of the discontinuities is substantially lower than that of the rock blocks. Based on this idea, this paper takes a jointed rock slope in Hengqin Island, Zhuhai as an example, and establishes a three-dimensional (3D) model of the studied slope by digital close-range photogrammetry to rapidly interpret 222 fracture parameters. Meanwhile, a new Floyd algorithm for finding the shortest path is developed to realize the critical slip surface identification of the studied slope. Within the 3D fracture network model created using the Monte Carlo method, a sequence of cross-sections is placed. These cross-sections containing fractures are used to search for the shortest paths between the designated shear entrances and exits. For anyone combination of entry point and exit point, the shortest paths corresponding to different cross-sections are different and cluttered. For the sake of safety and convenience, these shortest paths are simplified as a circular arc that is regarded as a potential slip surface. The fracture frequency is used to determine the probability of sliding along a prospective critical slip surface. The potential slip surface through the entrance point (0, 80) and exit point (120, 0) is identified as the final critical slip surface of the slope due to the maximum fracture frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of rock mechanics and engineering is an old and new subject encountered by human beings in their struggle with nature for survival and development. Special Issue Content Wang et al. [[1]] investigated the deformation behavior of crushed mudstones with different particle sizes under incremental loading with an innovative experimental device that simulated boundary conditions of the GERRF method. Since the launch of the Special Issue, a total of 15 well-known scholars have submitted their research work to this Special Issue. [Extracted from the article]

Intelligent unmanned mining is a key process in coal mine production, which has direct impact on the production safety, coal output, economic benefits and social benefits of coal mine enterprises. With the rapid development and popularization of 5G+ intelligent mines and coal mine intelligent equipment in China, the intelligentization of intelligent unmanned mining has become an important research topic. Especially with the promulgation of some Chinese policies and regulations, intelligent unmanned mining technology has become one of the key technologies of coal mine production. To understand the connotation, status quo and development trends of intelligent unmanned mining, this paper takes the relationship between key technologies and engineering application of intelligent unmanned mining in China as the perspective. It is proposed that the intelligent unmanned mining technology is in the whole process of working face mining. A research structure of unmanned follow-up operation and safe patrol is changing to the mode of intelligent adaptive mining, followed by the basic concepts and characteristics of intelligent unmanned mining. Relevant researches that maybe beneficial to the proposed research content are reviewed in four layers, which include basic theory, key technology, mining mode, and overall design system theory and technology. Finally, the current intelligent unmanned mining mode and future trends in this field in China are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rockslides along a stepped failure surface have characteristics of stepped deformation characteristic and it is difficult to predict the failure time. In this study, the deformation characteristics and disaster prediction model of the Fengning granite rockslide were analyzed based on field surveys and monitoring data. To evaluate the stability, the shear strength parameters of the sliding surface were determined based on the back-propagation neural network and three-dimensional discrete element numerical method. Through the correlation analysis of deformation monitoring results with rainfall and blasting, it is shown that the landslide was triggered by excavation, rainfall, and blasting vibrations. The landslide displacement prediction model was established by using long short-term memory neural network (LSTM) based on the monitoring data, and the prediction results are compared with those using the BP model, SVM model and ARMA model. Results show that the LSTM model has strong advantages and good reliability for the stepped landslide deformation with short-term influence, and the predicted LSTM values were very consistent with the measured values, with a correlation coefficient of 0.977. Combined with the distribution characteristics of joints, the damage influence scope of the landslide was simulated by three-dimensional discrete element, which provides decision-making basis for disaster warning after slope instability. The method proposed in this paper can provide references for early warning and treatment of geological disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropathic pain is a refractory disease that occurs across the world and pharmacotherapy has limited efficacy and/or safety. This disease imposes a significant burden on both the somatic and mental health of patients; indeed, some patients have referred to neuropathic pain as being 'worse than death'. The pharmacological agents that are used to treat neuropathic pain at present can produce mild effects in certain patients, and induce many adverse reactions, such as sedation, dizziness, vomiting, and peripheral oedema. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover novel drugs that are safer and more effective. Natural compounds from medical plants have become potential sources of analgesics, and evidence has shown that glycosides alleviated neuropathic pain via regulating oxidative stress, transcriptional regulation, ion channels, membrane receptors and so on. In this review, we summarize the epidemiology of neuropathic pain and the existing therapeutic drugs used for disease prevention and treatment. We also demonstrate how glycosides exhibit an antinociceptive effect on neuropathic pain in laboratory research and describe the antinociceptive mechanisms involved to facilitate the discovery of new drugs to improve the quality of life of patients experiencing neuropathic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, the uniaxial short-term creep tests with multi-step loading were conducted on the sandstone-coal composite samples, and the characteristics of creep strength, creep deformation, acoustic emission (AE), and creep failure of composite samples were studied, respectively. The creep strength of the composite sample decreased with the stress-level duration, which was mainly determined by the coal and influenced by the interactions with the sandstone. The creep deformation and damage of sandstone weakened the deformation and damage accumulation within the coal, resulting in the larger strength for the composite sample compared with the pure coal sample. The axial creep strain of composite sample generally increased with the stress-level or the stress-level duration under same conditions. The AE characteristics of composite sample were related to the creep strain rate, the stress level, the stress level duration, and the local failure or fracture during creep loading. The micro or macro failure and fracture within the composite sample caused the rise in the axial creep strains and the frequency and intensity of AE signals, especially the macro failure and fracture. The creep failures of composite samples mainly occurred within the coal with the splitting ejection failure accompanied by the local shear failure, and no obvious failures were found within the sandstone. The coal in the composite sample became more broken with the stress-level duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gob-side entry retaining formed by roof fracturing (GERRF) is a popular non-pillar mining method. The method uses crushed rocks in gob side to support and control the movements of the gob roof. These crushed rocks will deform under roof pressure and generate desirable lateral stress on support structures of gangue rib. In this study, the deformation behavior of crushed mudstones with different particle sizes under incremental loading was investigated with an innovative experimental device that simulated boundary conditions of the GERRF method. Influence of particle size of the crushed mudstones to the generation of lateral stress applied on support structures were concurrently observed and analyzed. Research outputs from the tests showed that: (1) The particle size exerted a significant influence on the accumulated axial deformation, period axial deformation, and lateral stress applied on support structure of crushed rocks. (2) Under the same axial stress, the larger the particle size, the smaller the accumulated axial deformation of the crushed rock; A skeletal loading-bearing effect was apparent in the rock samples with larger particles (S-2, S-3). The compressive deformation process of samples S-2, S-3 divided into structural adjustment, skeletal load-bearing and crushing cum filling phases. At skeletal loading-bearing phase, the crushed rocks showed better deformation resistance and stability than other phases; (3) Two types of periodic stress-strain curves were observed for crushed mudstones in the tests. The "down-concave" type implied the deformation for the crushed mudstones was primarily a consequence of the compression in the void spaces. While the "upper-convex" type curve was resulted in particle crushing cum filling again; (4) The lateral pressure generated by large-size samples was smaller than that of small-size samples. Additionally, a poor regularity of lateral stress was observed in compression test of large-size sample (S-3). The relationship between the axial stress and lateral stress generated on the support structure was found to be approximately linear relationship under the condition that lateral pressure shows good regularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, six groups of cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB) samples with varying amounts of kaolin (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%) instead of cement are prepared, and their mechanical properties are analyzed using uniaxial compression, acoustic emission, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The uniaxial compressive strength, peak strain, and elastic modulus of CGFB samples decreased with the kaolin content. The average uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and peak strain of CGFB samples with 10% amount of kaolin are close to that of CGFB samples with no kaolin. The contribution of kaolin hydration to the strength of CGFB sample is lower than that of cement hydration, and the hydration products such as ettringite and calcium-silicate-hydrate gel decrease, thereby reducing strength, which mainly plays a role in filling pores. The contents of kaolin affect the failure characteristics of CGFB samples, which show tensile failure accompanied by local shear failure, and the failure degree increases with the kaolin content. The porosity of the fracture surface shows a decreasing trend as a whole. When the amount of kaolin instead of cement is 10%, the mechanical properties of CGFB samples are slightly different from those of CGFB samples without kaolin, and CGFB can meet the demand of filling strength. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the application of kaolin admixture in fill mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cumulative displacement-time curve is the most common and direct method used to predict the deformation trends of landslides and divide the deformation stages. A new method based on the inverse logistic function considering inverse distance weighting (IDW) is proposed to predict the displacement of landslides, and the quantitative standards of dividing the deformation stages and determining the critical sliding time are put forward. The proposed method is applied in some landslide cases according to the displacement monitoring data and shows that the new method is effective. Moreover, long-term displacement predictions are applied in two landslides. Finally, summarized with the application in other landslide cases, the value of displacement acceleration, 0.9 mm/day2, is suggested as the first early warning standard of sliding, and the fitting function of the acceleration rate with the volume or length of landslide can be considered the secondary critical threshold function of landslide failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rock engineering, it is of great significance to study the failure mechanical behavior of rocks with holes. Using a combination of experiment and infrared detection, the strength, deformation, and infrared temperature evolution behavior of marble with elliptical holes under uniaxial compression were studied. The test results showed that as the vertical axis b of the ellipse increased, the peak intensity first decreased and then increased, and the minimum value appeared when the horizontal axis was equal to the vertical axis. The detection results of the infrared thermal imager showed that the maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and average temperature of the observation area in the loading stage showed a downward trend, and the range of change was between 0.02 °C and 1 °C. It was mainly due to the accumulation of energy in the loading process of the rock sample that caused the surface temperature of the specimen to decrease. In the brittle failure stage, macroscopic cracks appeared on the surface of the rock sample, which caused the energy accumulated inside to dissipate, thereby increasing the maximum temperature and average temperature of the rock sample. The average temperature increase was about 0.05 °C to about 0.19 °C. The evolution of infrared temperature was consistent with the mechanical characteristics of rock sample failure, indicating that infrared thermal imaging technology can provide effective monitoring for the study of rock mechanics. The research in this paper provides new ideas for further research on the basic characteristics of rock failure under uniaxial compression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Icariin (ICA) is a major flavonoid that contains the active compound Epimedii Folium. However, ICA's pharmacokinetic characteristics remain unsatisfactory due to its low bioavailability, and hence limited drugability. In order to improve its pharmacokinetics and achieve prolonged blood circulation time, a novel polymeric micelle, made of the self-assembled micelle between poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (L-lactic acid) (PEG-PLLA) and poly (D-lactic acid)-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PDLA-PNIPAM), was designed to encapsulate ICA. Our experimental results showed that this polymeric micelle formulation of ICA exhibited uniform nano-size distribution and high stability within 48 h. The new formulation also allowed sustained ICA release in an in vitro drug release study. Furthermore, in vivo experiments revealed that ICA bioavailability in the PEG-PLLA/PDLA-PNIPAM polymeric micelle formulation was significantly higher compared to ICA alone, or ICA in the traditional Pluronic F127 micelle formulation. Finally, we show that metabolite analysis confirmed that ICA within the PEG-PLLA/PDLA-PNIPAM polymeric micelle formulation provided better drug protection, reduced drug metabolites production, and decreased undesired first-pass effects. Overall, these data show that ICA within PEG-PLLA/PDLA-PNIPAM polymeric micelle formulation exhibit advantages, in terms of improved physicochemical properties, sustained release of ICA in vitro, and improved bioavailability of ICA in vivo, which represent a feasible approach for improving the drugability of pharmaceutical small molecules with low bioavailability or poor stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockade of the immunosuppressive checkpoint receptors cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) or programmed death 1 (PD-1) and its cognate ligand, programmed death 1 ligand (PD-L1), has altered the landscape of anti-tumor immunotherapy. B7 family and tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily play a crucial role in T cell activation, tolerance, and anergy through co-stimulatory and inhibitory signal transduction. Investigating the immune molecular landscapes of the B7 and TNFR families is critical in defining the promising responsive candidates. Herein, we performed comprehensive alteration analysis of the B7 and TNFR family genes across six hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) datasets with over 1000 patients using cBioPortal TCGA data. About 16% of patients had both B7 and TNFR gene alterations. TNFR gene amplifications were relatively more common (1.73–8.82%) than B7 gene amplifications (1.61–2.94%). Analysis of 371 sequenced samples revealed that all genes were upregulated: B7 and TNFR mRNA were upregulated in 23% of cases (86/371) and 28% of cases (105/371), respectively. Promoter methylation analysis indicated an epigenetic basis for B7 and TNFR gene regulation. The mRNA levels of B7 and TNFR genes were inversely correlated with promoter methylation status. B7-H6 expression was significantly associated with worse overall survival, and B7-H6 mRNA was increased gradually in cases with gene copy number alterations. B7-H6 overexpression was associated with aggressive clinicopathologic features and poor prognosis in HCC. Downregulation of B7-H6 in HCC cells significantly inhibited cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and invasion. Knockdown of B7-H6 in HCC cells inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. B7-H6 promoted HCC metastasis via induction of MMP-9 expression and STAT3 activation. B7-H6 and STAT3 performed functional overlapping roles on enhancing the MMP-9 promoter activity in HCC cells. These results suggest that alterations of the immunologic co-stimulator B7 and TNFR families correlate with HCC metastasis and prognosis, and especially B7-H6 plays a critical role in promoting metastasis of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking Nanfen open-pit iron mine in Liaoning Province as the engineering background, this study analyzes the effect of water-rock circulation on the mechanical properties of rock through a combination of macro-mechanical experiments and microstructure tests in the laboratory. Uniaxial compression experiments and acoustic wave tests are used to determine the degradation law of the mechanical properties of chlorite under the periodic action of water. The experimental results show that dry-wet cycles have a continuous and gradual effect on the rock sampled: Its uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and acoustic velocity all decrease gradually with an increase in the number of cycles. After 15 wet-dry cycles, the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of the rock decreased by 34.21% and 44.63%, respectively. Electron microscope scans of the rock indicate that the particle size, characteristics, and pore distribution at the rock surface had changed significantly after water-rock interaction. Finally, a drainage system and sliding force monitoring devices have been arranged at the mine site that can effectively reduce the impact of water-rock interaction on the stability of the mine. This combination of macro-experiments and micro-analysis allowed the weakening effect of dry-wet cycles on slope rock to be studied quantitatively, providing a theoretical reference for stability evaluation in geotechnical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropathic pain is a refractory disease that occurs across the world and pharmacotherapy has limited efficacy and/or safety. This disease imposes a significant burden on both the somatic and mental health of patients; indeed, some patients have referred to neuropathic pain as being 'worse than death'. The pharmacological agents that are used to treat neuropathic pain at present can produce mild effects in certain patients, and induce many adverse reactions, such as sedation, dizziness, vomiting, and peripheral oedema. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover novel drugs that are safer and more effective. Natural compounds from medical plants have become potential sources of analgesics, and evidence has shown that glycosides alleviated neuropathic pain via regulating oxidative stress, transcriptional regulation, ion channels, membrane receptors and so on. In this review, we summarize the epidemiology of neuropathic pain and the existing therapeutic drugs used for disease prevention and treatment. We also demonstrate how glycosides exhibit an antinociceptive effect on neuropathic pain in laboratory research and describe the antinociceptive mechanisms involved to facilitate the discovery of new drugs to improve the quality of life of patients experiencing neuropathic pain.

Two novel glucosylated zinc(ІІ) phthalocyanines 7a-7b, as well as the acetyl-protected counterparts 6a-6b, have been synthesized by the Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between the propargylated phthalocyanine and azide-substituted glucoses. All of these phthalocyanines were characterized with various spectroscopic methods and studied for their photo-physical, photo-chemical, and photo-biological properties. With glucose as the targeting unit, phthalocyanines 7a-7b exhibit a specific affinity to MCF-7 breast cancer cells over human embryonic lung fibroblast (HELF) cells, showing higher cellular uptake. Upon illumination, both photosensitizers show high cytotoxicity with IC 50 as low as 0.032 µM toward MCF-7 cells, which are attributed to their high cellular uptake and low aggregation tendency in the biological media, promoting the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Confocal laser fluorescence microscopic studies have also revealed that they have high and selective affinities to the lysosomes, but not the mitochondria, of MCF-7 cells. The results show that these two glucosylated zinc(II) phthalocyanines are potential anticancer agents for targeting photodynamic therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This study aimed to explore the spectrum-effect relationships between high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprints and the uric acid-lowering activities of chicory. Chemical fingerprints of chicory samples from ten different sources were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and then investigated by similarity analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. Pharmacodynamics experiments were conducted in animals to obtain the uric acid-lowering activity information of each chicory sample. The spectrum-effect relationships between chemical fingerprints and the uric acid-lowering activities of chicory were established by canonical correlation analysis. The structures of potential effective peaks were identified by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed that a close correlation existed between the spectrum and effect of chicory. Aesculin, chlorogenic acid, chicoric acid, isochlorogenic acid A/B/C and 13,14-seco-stigma5(6),14(15)-diene-3α-ol might be the main effective constituents. This work provides a general model of the combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and uric acid-lowering activities to study the spectrum-effect relationships of chicory, which can be used to discover the principle components responsible for the bioactivity.