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Roof openings are typically fitted to naturally ventilated dairy building (NVDB) for better ventilation but their impact on air pollutant emission calculations has not been fully considered. Particulate matter (PM) emission rate (ER) for NVDB rely on the total ventilation rate (VR), outdoor PM concentration and average indoor PM concentration sampled either under the roof (Roof Sampling) or in the cubicle area (Cubicle Sampling), which may show large deviations due to its spatiotemporal variation of PM concentrations and complex airflow patterns. This study utilised a novel ER calculation method (Joint Sampling) that computes the respective emission from the roof and sidewall openings by matching each outlet's VR and PM concentration. By year-round field measurements of PM2.5 and the total suspended particulates (TSP), results showed that annual average ERs of PM2.5 and TSP were 10.8 mg h−1 cow−1 and 45.7 mg h−1 cow−1 for Roof Sampling, 12.7 mg h−1 cow−1 and 40.7 mg h−1 cow−1 for Cubicle Sampling, and 11.7 mg h−1 cow−1 and 45.9 mg h−1 cow−1 for Joint Sampling. Considering the Joint Sampling results were relatively true, Roof Sampling exhibited a maximum underestimate of PM2.5 emissions of 20.8% when sidewall curtains were fully opened, whilst Cubicle Sampling demonstrated a maximum overestimate of TSP of 10.2% when the aperture was closed. Using Joint Sampling, the roof opening contributed 39.3% and 24.4% of the annual PM2.5 and TSP emissions. When sidewall openings are partially or fully closed, the Joint Sampling calculation is preferable to estimate the ER of PM.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Bacillus subtilis (QST713) on the performance and intestinal health of yellow feather broilers under Coccidia and Clostridium perfringens (CP) challenge or CP alone. One-day-old yellow-feathered broiler roosters (n = 600) were randomly assigned to 5 groups (6 replicates with 20 roosters per replicate): the Con blank group, the CIC.p group (d24 Coccidia+d28-30 of CP challenge), the CIC.p + BS group (CIC.p +100 mg/kg B. subtilis), the C.p group (d 28–34 of CP challenge), and the C.p +BS group (C.p +100 mg/kg B. subtilis). The experiment lasted 80 d. The birds were evaluated for parameters such as average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed efficiency (F/G), intestinal lesion score, villus histomorphometry, intestinal tight junctions, inflammatory factors, and cecal microorganisms. The results revealed that 1) C.p. increased the F/G of broilers from 22 to 42 d (P < 0.05), whereas CIC.p. significantly decreased the 42 d and 80 d body weights (BW) and 22–42 d and 1–80 d ADG (P < 0.05) and significantly increased the 22 to 42 d and 1 to 80 d F/G (P < 0.05). The number of intestinal lesions significantly increased at 35 d and 42 d (P < 0.05). CIC.p significantly decreased the jejunum and ileum villus height (VH) and the ileum villus height/crypt depth (P < 0.05) at 35 d. The challenge significantly upregulated the expression of Claudin-1 and IL-4 mRNAs in the jejunum at 35 d and significantly downregulated the expression of IL-10 mRNA in the ileum at 35 d (P < 0.05); the number of unique OTUs in the challenge group decreased significantly after challenge treatment, and the relative abundances of Romboutsia at 35 d and Cladomyces and Lactobacillus at 42 d decreased significantly (P < 0.05). 2) Compared with the challenge groups, the addition of BS decreased the F/G of broilers from 22 to 42 d. Compared with the CIC group, the addition of BS significantly increased the F/G of broilers from 22 to 42 d. Compared with that in the CIC.p group, the addition of BS significantly increased the VH in the jejunum and ileum at 35 d (P < 0.05). Compared with the challenge groups, the BS groups presented significantly lower mRNA expression levels of Claudin-1 (P < 0.05) in the jejunum at 35 d. The Shannon and Chao indices suggested that BS increased the alpha diversity of cecum microorganisms in broilers. Dietary supplementation with B. subtilis can alleviate the damage to intestinal morphology and intestinal barrier function, as well as the altered cecal flora structure in broilers caused by Coccidia and C. perfringens infections.

BackgroundDue to the absence of biomarkers, the misdiagnosis of essential tremor (ET) with other tremor diseases and enhanced physiologic tremor is very common in practice. Combined radiomics based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging (3D-T1) with machine learning (ML) give a most promising way to identify essential tremor (ET) at the individual level and further reveal the potential imaging biomarkers.MethodsRadiomics features were extracted from 3D-T1 and DTI in 103 ET patients and 103 age-and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). After data dimensionality reduction and feature selection, five classifiers, including the support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), logistic regression (LR), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP), were adopted to discriminate ET from HCs. The mean values of the area under the curve (mAUC) and accuracy were used to assess the model’s performance. Furthermore, a correlation analysis was conducted between the most discriminative features and clinical tremor characteristics.ResultsAll classifiers achieved good classification performance (with mAUC at 0.987, 0.984, 0.984, 0.988 and 0.981 in the test set, respectively). The most powerful discriminative features mainly located in the cerebella-thalamo-cortical (CTC) and visual pathway. Furthermore, correlation analysis revealed that some radiomics features were significantly related to the clinical tremor characteristics in ET patients.ConclusionThese results demonstrated that combining radiomics with ML algorithms could not only achieve high classification accuracy for identifying ET but also help us to reveal the potential brain microstructure pathogenesis in ET patients.

Study region: Dongting Lake (DTL), the second largest freshwater lake in China, plays a crucial role in regulating and storing water within the Yangtze River Basin.Study focus: The study utilized the water balance method to extensively investigate the exchange volume of groundwater and DTL from 2003 to 2020. Furthermore, we analyzed the impact of climate change and human activities on the interaction between groundwater and DTL.New hydrological insights for the region: Unlike previous studies, our study further included the ungauged runoff, providing a more comprehensive assessment of the water balance of DTL. From May to July, groundwater recharge from DTL, with an average monthly recharge of 0.71 km³. Conversely, groundwater discharges into DTL from August to April of the following year, with an average monthly discharge of 1.12 km³. The net groundwater discharge into the lake from 2003 to 2020 amounts to 7.98 km³/yr. Intriguingly, precipitation over the lake contributes a mere 0.6% to the total inflow, while lake evapotranspiration constitutes only 0.4% of the total outflow. Inflow runoff and outflow runoff play a leading role in the water balance of DTL, significantly influencing the exchange capacity between the lake and groundwater. Groundwater discharge into the lake serves as compensation for diminished runoff stemming from extreme climate occurrences, like droughts, and anthropogenic actions such as dam construction.

Objective To preliminarily summarize the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of functional movement disorder (FMD) based on movement disorders clinic in China. Methods and Results A total of 593 patients with movement disorders newly diagnosed in movement disorders clinic of 22 clinical medical centers from August to September in 2023 were included, including 37 patients (6.24%) with FMD and 556 patients (93.76%) with organic movement disorder. Comparison of the epidemiological characteristics of the 2 groups, the proportions of corona virus disease (COVID⁃19) infection (χ2 = 4.217, P = 0.040) and psychopsychological symptoms (χ2 = 18.694, P = 0.000) in the FMD group were higher than those in the organic movement disorder group, while age (t = 3.757, P = 0.000), age of onset (t = 3.720, P = 0.000) and proportion of hypertension (χ2 = 4.736, P = 0.030) were lower than those in the organic movement disorder group. Comparison of the clinical characteristics of the 2 groups, the FMD group had higher proportions of tremor (χ2 = 3.955, P = 0.047) and myoclonus (Fisher′s exact probability: P = 0.011) than the organic movement disorder group, and the proportions of parkinsonism (χ2 = 8.491, P = 0.004) and gait disorder (χ2 = 5.028, P = 0.025) were lower than those in the organic movement disorder group. Conclusions The age and age of onset, as well as the proportions of COVID⁃19 infection, hypertension, psychopsychological symptoms, tremor, myoclonus, parkinsonism and gait disorder with FMD were different from those with organic movement disorder in China.

Riboflavin (RF) as a photosensitizer has been used in corneal surgery and the inactivation of blood products. However, the effect of RF on immune cells after ultraviolet (UV) light stimulation has not been investigated. This study pioneered a novel application method of RF. Firstly, UV-stimulated RF was co-cultured with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro, and the apoptosis rate of lymphocyte subsets, cell proliferation inhibition rate and concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α were assessed. UV-stimulated RF was then administered intravenously to mice via the tail vein for a consecutive period of 5 days. The levels of immunoglobulin (IgG, IgM, IgA), complement (C3, C4) and cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL17, TGF-β) were detected by ELISA. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze the populations of CD3+T, CD4+T, CD8+T and CD4+T/CD8+T cells in spleen lymphocytes of mice. The data showed that UV-stimulated RF can effectively induce apoptosis in lymphocytes, and different lymphocyte subtypes exhibited varying degrees of treatment tolerance. Additionally, the proliferative capacity of lymphocytes was suppressed, while their cytokine secretion capability was augmented. The animal experiments demonstrated that UV-stimulated RF led to a significant reduction observed in serum immunoglobulin and complement levels, accompanied by an elevation in IFN-γ, IL-17 and TGF-β levels, as well as a decline in IL-4 level. In summary, the results of both in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that UV-stimulated RF, exhibits the ability to partially inhibit immune function. This novel approach utilizing RF may offer innovative perspectives for diseases requiring immunosuppressive treatment.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful joint disease that is common among the middle-aged and elderly populations, with an increasing prevalence. Therapeutic options for OA are limited, and the pathogenic mechanism of OA remains unclear. The roles of cytokines and signaling pathways in the development of OA is a current research hot spot. Interleukin (IL)-17 is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine produced mainly by T helper 17 cells that has established roles in host defense, tissue repair, lymphoid tissue metabolism, tumor progression, and pathological processes of immune diseases, and studies in recent years have identified an important role for IL-17 in the progression of OA. This narrative review focuses on the mechanisms by which IL-17 contributes to articular cartilage degeneration and synovial inflammation in OA and discusses how IL-17 and the IL-17 signaling pathway affect the pathological process of OA. Additionally, therapeutic targets that have been proposed in recent years based on IL-17 and its pathway in OA are summarized as well as recent advances in the study of IL-17 pathway inhibitors and the potential challenges of their use for OA treatment.

The direct 1,6-nucleophilic difluoromethylation, trifluoromethylation, and difluoroalkylation of para-quinone methides (p-QMs) with Me3SiRf (Rf = CF2H, CF3, CF2CF3, CF2COOEt, and CF2SPh) under mild conditions are described. Although Me3SiCF2H shows lower reactivity than Me3SiCF3, it can react with p-QMs promoted by CsF/18-Crown-6 to give structurally diverse difluoromethyl products in good yields. The products can then be further converted into fluoroalkylated para-quinone methides and α-fluoroalkylated diarylmethanes.

Objective To summarize the characteristics of cognitive function and sleep structure in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and to explore the correlation between them. Methods Total 73 patients with iRBD who visited Fujian Medical University Union Hospital from August 2018 to August 2021 were included, all of whom underwent neuropsychological tests and polysomnography monitoring. Pearson and partial correlation analyses were used to explore correlation between cognitive function and sleep structure parameters. Results 1) Neuropsychological tests: iRBD patients had lower Mini ⁃ Mental State Examination (MMSE; t = ⁃ 3.703, P = 0.000), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; t = ⁃ 4.811, P = 0.000), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT)⁃number of correct words (t = ⁃ 2.171, P = 0.032) than control group. Trail Making Test (TMT)⁃A (t = 2.500, P = 0.014), TMT⁃B (t = 2.430, P = 0.016) and Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT)⁃A (t = 2.507, P = 0.013), SCWT⁃B (t = 15.042, P = 0.000), SCWT⁃ C (t = 27.228, P = 0.000) completion times were longer than control group. 2) Polysomnography monitoring: total sleep time (t = 2.699, P = 0.008), sleep efficiency (Z = ⁃ 2.103, P = 0.035), number of sleep stage transitions (t = 3.965, P = 0.000), proportion of non⁃rapid eye movement sleep stage 1 (N1 stage) to total sleep time (t = 2.887, P = 0.005), periodic limb movement of sleep index (PLMSI; t = ⁃ 2.917, P = 0.004), periodic limb movement⁃related arousal index (Z = ⁃ 2.291, P = 0.022), and total arousal index (Z = ⁃ 2.609, P = 0.009) were higher than those in control group, and the time of wakefulness after sleep was less than those in control group (t = ⁃ 2.230, P = 0.027). 3) Correlation between cognitive function and sleep structure parameters: MoCA score was negatively correlated with the percentage of N1 stage (r = ⁃ 0.184, P = 0.035), and positively correlated with the percentage of N2 stage (r = 0.173, P = 0.049); SCWT⁃B completion time was negatively correlated with the number of awakenings (r = ⁃ 0.186, P = 0.033); SCWT⁃C completion time was positively correlated with the number of sleep phase transitions (r = 0.212, P = 0.015) and the percentage of N1 stage (r = 0.181, P = 0.039); VFT⁃number of correct words was negatively correlated with the periodic limb movement of wake index (PLMWI; r = ⁃ 0.216, P = 0.018); the number of correct China⁃Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (C⁃RAVLT) immediate recall was positively correlated with the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency (r = 0.183, P = 0.045); the number of correct C⁃RAVLT delay recall was negatively correlated with the PLMWI (r = ⁃ 0.196, P = 0.032) and PLMSI (r = ⁃ 0.180, P = 0.049); the Clock Drawing Test was positively correlated with sleep latency (r = 0.192, P = 0.035) and REM sleep latency (r = 0.199, P = 0.029), and negatively correlated with the percentage of REM sleep (r = ⁃ 0.189, P = 0.038). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score was positively correlated with total sleep time (r = 0.347, P = 0.000), sleep efficiency (r = 0.319, P = 0.000) and the percentage of REM sleep (r = 0.204, P = 0.026), and negatively correlated with the time of wakefulness after sleep (r = ⁃ 0.280, P = 0.002) and the percentage of N1 stage (r = ⁃ 0.299, P = 0.001). Conclusions Patients with iRBD have cognitive dysfunction mainly manifested by decreased attention, executive function and language function, and sleep structural disorders may affect the cognitive function of such patients.

Small integral membrane protein 1(SMIM1) gene encodes Vel blood group antigen, and homozygous deletion of 17 bases pairs in its exon 3 leads to Vel negative phenotype. As a rare phenotype, accurate identification and prevention of transfusion reaction for Vel negative phenotype is particularly important. In addition to serving as a Vel blood group antigen, recent bioinformatics analysis suggests that SMIM1 protein may be a new tumor biomarker involved in the occurrence and development of numerous tumors. Due to the similarity in structure between SMIM1 protein and glycoprotein, and its phosphorylation in red blood cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum, it is speculated that SMIM1 protein may be involved in the development of malaria. Therefore, this article provides a review of the related research on SMIM1 and its coding protein in Vel blood type, tumor and plasmodium infection.

Functional movement disorder (FMD) is a common conversion disorder, and those who involve the face are called functional facial disorders. It seriously affects patients' social contact and work. Most clinicians have insufficient understanding of functional facial disorders, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment. This paper reviews the clinical features, electrophysiology, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, and treatment of functional facial disorders to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment.

The impact of a tunnel construction on the groundwater system depends on various parameters and cannot be easily predicted. Along these lines, a deep understanding of the hydrological relationship between tunnels and surface water is considered of vital importance for ensuring safety during railway construction. Upon completion, the North Taihang Tunnel will be one of four extra-long railway tunnels running through the natural ecotope and level-3 protection areas of the Tianshengqiao National Geological Park in Fuping County, Hebei Province. It will be 1 km away from the Tianshengqiao Nine Falls, which is known as a breathtaking landscape feature in Northern China. Local government, societies, and railway design units have raised concerns about whether the construction and operation of the North Taihang Tunnel will affect the Tianshengqiao Nine Falls. To effectively address this issue, in this work, hydrogeological mapping and hydraulic potential-energy calculations were performed in conjunction with hydrochemical and geological structure analyses. The groundwater system units in the study area were divided and the water source of the nine-level waterfall was determined retrospectively. In addition, the recharge of groundwater to the nine-level waterfall was calculated, the hydrogeological properties of the linear structure were analyzed, and the dominant channels of underwater discharge in surface water were compared and studied. The extracted results indicated that: (1) The Tianshengqiao Nine Falls represent a seasonal fall landscape, which is mainly supplied by surface water formed by precipitation and a low proportion of groundwater supply. (2) The water bodies of the North Taihang Tunnel project and Tianshengqiao Nine Falls belong to two independent groundwater systems. (3) No linear structure that connects these two groundwater systems has yet been discovered. It is widely accepted that a minor possibility of hydraulic connection might be present between the North Taihang Tunnel and Tianshengqiao Nine Falls. This work analyzed the water quantity of Nine Falls, determined the hydraulic relationship between the tunnel project and the waterhead of the Nine Falls, and addressed all stakeholder concerns. The conclusions could provide technological support for the scheduled construction projects.

The Xiashu loess exhibits expansion when in contact with water and contraction when water is lost, making it highly susceptible to the influence of rainfall. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the infiltration behavior of rainwater in Xiashu loess slopes under various conditions. The depth of infiltration in slopes directly affects the depth of landslide failure and serves as an important indicator for studying slope infiltration characteristics; only a handful of academics have delved into its study. This article is based on on-site rainfall experiments on Xiashu loess slopes, using three main factors, rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, and slope angle, as discrimination indicators for the infiltration depth of Xiashu loess slopes. The particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to optimize the BP neural network and establish a PSO-BP neural network prediction model. The experimental data are accurately predicted and compared with the multivariate nonlinear regression model and traditional BP neural network models. The results demonstrate that the PSO-BP neural network model exhibits a better fit and higher prediction accuracy than the other two models. This model provides a novel approach for rapidly determining the infiltration depth of Xiashu loess slopes under different rainfall conditions. The results of this study lay the foundation for the prediction of the landslide damage depth and infiltration of Xiashu loess slopes.

The Dongting Lake Plain is a major ecological reserve for river and lake wetlands in the Yangtze River Basin, with complex river and lake relationships and frequent water flow exchange. Studies on the hydrochemical characteristics and the mechanism of interaction between groundwater and surface water will actively promote the scientific management, utilization of water resources, and protection of the ecological environment in the Dongting Lake Plain. Based on hydrogeochemical statistics, Gibbs diagrams, ion ratios, rock weathering end-element diagrams, hydrogen–oxygen isotope relationship diagrams, and other technical methods, the chemical characteristics, ion sources, and the distribution of hydrogen–oxygen isotopes of groundwater and surface water in “the Three Inlets” and “the Four Rivers” water system areas as well as the Dongting Lake water were analyzed. Additionally, the interactions between groundwater and surface water and the proportions of these contributions were discussed. The results show that both groundwater and surface water in the Dongting Lake Plain are weakly acidic or alkaline, and the anions are mainly HCO3−, the cations are mainly Ca2+and Mg2+, with the hydrochemical types being mainly HCO3−Ca−Mg and HCO3−Ca. The chemical characteristics of groundwater and surface water are mainly affected by the interaction between water and rock; the ions in surface water mainly come from the weathered dissolution of carbonate and silicate rocks, while the ions in groundwater mainly come from the weathered dissolution of carbonate and silicate rocks, with the dissolution of evaporite rocks locally. Groundwater and surface water are mainly distributed near the local meteoric water line (LMWL), and the slope of the local evaporation line is less than that of the LMWL, which indicates that atmospheric rainfall is an important recharge source for groundwater and surface water and that at the same time, it is affected by evaporation to a certain extent. Part of the groundwater in the Dongting Lake Plain is discharged into the surface rivers in “the Three Inlets” and “the Four Rivers” water system areas, and the other part is directly discharged into Dongting Lake. According to the mass balance relationship of isotopes, the proportions of surface water in “the Three Inlets” and “the Four Rivers” water system areas contributing to Dongting Lake’s water are 18.48% and 60.38%, respectively, and the proportion of groundwater in the lake plain contributing to Dongting Lake water is 21.14%.

Liaoning is one of the active regions for tornadoes in China, and the generation of a considerable number of tornadoes is associated with extratropical cyclones. In order to improve the understanding of environmental background and physical parameter characteristics, 42 extratropical cyclone tornadoes in Liaoning from 1979 to 2020 are statistically analyzed. The study is based on the reanalysis data of ERA5(ECMWF Reanalysis V5), combining with records of China Meteorological Disaster Classic and China Meteorological Disaster Yearbook. Results show that extratropical cyclone tornadoes are mainly distributed in the central and western Liaohe Plain and along the coast of the Bohai Bay. Significant tornadoes(EF2 and above) account for 28.6% of all extratropical cyclone tornadoes.Extratropical cyclone tornadoes occur mostly in the southwest and southeast quadrants of extratropical cyclones, corresponding to the warm area before the cold front. The high-value area of the storm relative helicity and convective available potential energy(CAPE) appear in the southwest-southeast quadrant of the extratropical cyclones, with a belt-like distribution. Extratropical cyclone tornadoes are mainly distributed within 1° of latitude in the northwest of the large-value area of storm relative helicity and the strong gradient area at the top of the large-value area of CAPE. The strong tornado parameter(STP) center is located near the -2° of longitude distance and -5° of latitude distance from the center of tornadic extratropical cyclones, and the maximum value is above 0.7. The large value area of STP corresponds to the high-incidence area of EF2 and above extratropical cyclone tornadoes. The cold front and dry line in the surface are the key trigger of extratropical cyclone tornadoes, and the induced tornadoes are mainly distributed near the warm ridge of temperature field and the top of the tongue of humidity field. Comparing the vertical distribution of humidity near the center of tornadic extratropical cyclones and the tail of the cold front, the strong cold pool caused by the strong high-level dry intrusion can generate excessively strong downdraft, which may be an unfavorable factor for tornado formation. Extratropical cyclone tornadoes are mostly distributed in the distributary area of the left air flow of the upper-level jet, corresponding to the strong upper-level divergence area. The large value area of 0-3 km vertical temperature lapse rate has a good correspondence with the high incidence area of weak tornadoes near the center of extratropical cyclones.

To improve the liquefaction resistance of calcareous sand foundations, microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology and fiber reinforcement technology was combined to treat the calcareous sand sampled from the South China Sea. Based on dynamic triaxial tests, the dynamic behaviors of MICP-treated and fiber-reinforced calcareous sand, including dynamic strain, dynamic pore pressure, stress−strain hysteresis loop and dynamic modulus of elasticity, were analyzed. Then, the strengthening mechanism of MICP and fiber on the mechanical properties of the treated calcareous sand was explored from the microscopic point of view, based on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) test results. The results show that: (1) MICP could improve the deformation and liquefaction resistance of calcareous sand. Compared with the untreated specimen, the dynamic strain and dynamic pore pressure of calcareous sand treated by MICP decreased by 95.74% and 92.46%, respectively. (2) The addition of fibers further improved the reinforcement effect of MICP. Compared to the MICP-treated samples, the dynamic strain and dynamic pore pressure of MICP-treated and fiber-reinforced specimens decreased by 74.32% and 74.18%, respectively. (3) Combined MICP treatment and fiber reinforcement technology improved the deformation and liquefaction resistance of calcareous sand subjected to cyclic loading by reducing the intensity of cyclic activity and energy dissipation, increasing the dynamic modulus of elasticity and reducing its attenuation rate. (4) The results of the SEM test showed that MICP treatment and fiber reinforcement had a synergistic effect on the improvement of the dynamic behaviors of calcareous sand. The addition of fibers provided more spots for bacterial adhesion and promoted the formation of calcium carbonate crystals, which not only increased the bonding strength between sand particles, but also enhanced the constraint of fiber network by fixing fibers and sand particles together.

BackgroundEssential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders. Histogram analysis based on brain intrinsic activity imaging is a promising way to identify ET patients from healthy controls (HCs) and further explore the spontaneous brain activity change mechanisms and build the potential diagnostic biomarker in ET patients.MethodsThe histogram features based on the Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) data were extracted from 133 ET patients and 135 well-matched HCs as the input features. Then, a two-sample t-test, the mutual information, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator methods were applied to reduce the feature dimensionality. Support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) were used to differentiate ET and HCs, and classification performance of the established models was evaluated by the mean area under the curve (AUC). Moreover, correlation analysis was carried out between the selected histogram features and clinical tremor characteristics.ResultsEach classifier achieved a good classification performance in training and testing sets. The mean accuracy and area under the curve (AUC) of SVM, LR, RF, and KNN in the testing set were 92.62%, 0.948; 92.01%, 0.942; 93.88%, 0.941; and 92.27%, 0.939, respectively. The most power-discriminative features were mainly located in the cerebello-thalamo-motor and non-motor cortical pathways. Correlation analysis showed that there were two histogram features negatively and one positively correlated with tremor severity.ConclusionOur findings demonstrated that the histogram analysis of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) images with multiple machine learning algorithms could identify ET patients from HCs and help to understand the spontaneous brain activity pathogenesis mechanisms in ET patients.

As nanoscale reinforcements, the graphene and graphene oxide nanoplates exhibit distinct mechanical and physical properties. The determination of the effective elasto-plastic behavior of nanoplate/ceramic nanocomposites and the different filling effects of graphene and graphene oxide nanoplate deserve systematic investigation. In this work, we intend to uncover how the graphene and graphene oxide nanoplates affect the macroscopic elasto-plastic characteristics of ceramic matrix nanocomposites and what differences in both nanoplates enhancements. A homogenization model is first utilized for determining the effective elastic parameters of nanoplate/ceramic composite with a perfect interface. Then the slightly weakened interface model is introduced to characterize the sliding effects of nanoplates in a ceramic matrix, and the effective elastic parameters of such nanoplates filled composites incorporating the interfacial sliding effects are explicitly formulated. Furthermore, a nonlinear micromechanics model is developed to investigate the macroscopic elastoplasticity and the yield behavior of graphene and graphene oxide nanoplate-filled ceramic nanocomposites subjected to confining pressure. The filling effects of the two kinds of nanoplates on the mechanical properties of such nanocomposite are comparatively examined. The calculated results demonstrate that types of the nanoplates and the imperfect interfaces between nanoplates and ceramic matrix have significant influences on the effective elasto-plastic behaviors of the nanoplate composites.

Abstract “China is by far the world’s largest importer of oil and emitter of carbon dioxide.” Therefore, clean energy development (CED) is of great practical significance to reduce carbon dioxide emission (CDE), ensure energy security, and achieve green economic growth. What is the role of CED in reducing CDE? Can CED, which requires significant investment, promote economic growth? For the above aims, according to the panel data of 30 provinces composed of accurate data during 1979 to 2016 and prediction data from 2017 to 2030 in China, this research employs “a non-parametric and additive regression model” to explore the linear and nonlinear influence of CED on CDE and economic growth. The results show that CED does not play an essential role in reducing CDE and fostering economic growth from a linear perspective; the influence of CED on CDE and economic growth in China’s western, central and eastern regions is significantly different from a nonlinear perspective. Hence, the Chinese government ought to fully play the critical role of clean energy in reducing CDE and fostering economic growth.

In the process of treating the dredged slurry under vacuum preloading combined with the prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), a dense “soil column” with low permeability will be formed around the PVD, which results in a poor drainage condition and an unsatisfactory treatment (i.e., the clogging effect). In this study, in order to predict the consolidation behavior of dredged slurry with different initial water contents, the compressibility and permeability of dredged slurry with different initial water contents are investigated. Based on the compression and permeability curves obtained by laboratory tests, the analytical solution to soil consolidation under vacuum preloading is derived. Both the clogging effect and the effect of the initial water content on the initial effective stress are considered. The developed analytical solution is validated through a series of consolidation tests of dredged slurry under vacuum preloading with different initial water contents. It shows that at a given vacuum preloading, the dissipation rate of excess pore water pressure in the dredged slurry decreases as the initial water content increases. The proposed analytical solution presents reliable predictions on the variation of settlement and degree of consolidation with time in the dredged slurry with different initial water contents under vacuum preloading.

This paper takes 10 times of obvious long-term continuous rise of water level in Bengbu Monitoring Center well from 2017 to 2020 as the research object. Multiple regression analysis was conducted on influencing factors of rainfall in different periods before and after 10 times of water level rise. Multiple regression equations were established. The results show that: the 10 times of obvious long-term sustained rise of water level from 2017 to 2020 are mainly related to the influence of rainfall during the rise. It has no significant relationship with other rainfall parameters. Combined with the analysis results of earthquake catalogs above ML2.5 in Bengbu area, the law of water level rising continuously for a long time corresponds to the law of earthquake frequency, which shows that rainfall and regional stress field change jointly affect the water level change of Bengbu Monitoring Center.

Background and objectiveEssential tremor (ET) is a common movement syndrome, and the pathogenesis mechanisms, especially the brain network topological changes in ET are still unclear. The combination of graph theory (GT) analysis with machine learning (ML) algorithms provides a promising way to identify ET from healthy controls (HCs) at the individual level, and further help to reveal the topological pathogenesis in ET.MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were obtained from 101 ET and 105 HCs. The topological properties were analyzed by using GT analysis, and the topological metrics under every single threshold and the area under the curve (AUC) of all thresholds were used as features. Then a Mann-Whitney U-test and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were conducted to feature dimensionality reduction. Four ML algorithms were adopted to identify ET from HCs. The mean accuracy, mean balanced accuracy, mean sensitivity, mean specificity, and mean AUC were used to evaluate the classification performance. In addition, correlation analysis was carried out between selected topological features and clinical tremor characteristics.ResultsAll classifiers achieved good classification performance. The mean accuracy of Support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), and naïve bayes (NB) was 84.65, 85.03, 84.85, and 76.31%, respectively. LR classifier achieved the best classification performance with 85.03% mean accuracy, 83.97% sensitivity, and an AUC of 0.924. Correlation analysis results showed that 2 topological features negatively and 1 positively correlated with tremor severity.ConclusionThese results demonstrated that combining topological metrics with ML algorithms could not only achieve high classification accuracy for discrimination ET from HCs but also help us to reveal the potential topological pathogenesis of ET.

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in the tumorigenesis, immunosuppression and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and can predict poor prognosis in patients with CRC. The present study aimed to construct a CAFs-related prognostic signature for CRC.Methods: The clinical information and corresponding RNA data of CRC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumor tissues (ESTIMATES) and xCell methods were applied to evaluate the tumor microenvironment infiltration from bulk gene expression data. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to construct co-expression modules. The key module was identified by calculating the module-trait correlations. The univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage operator (LASSO) analyses were combined to develop a CAFs-related signature for the prognostic model. Moreover, pRRophetic and Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) algorithms were utilized to predict chemosensitivity and immunotherapy response. Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases were employed to evaluate the protein expressions.Results: ESTIMATES and xCell analysis showed that high CAFs infiltration was associated with adverse prognoses. A twenty-gene CAFs-related prognostic signature (CAFPS) was established in the training cohort. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses reveled that CRC patients with higher CAFs risk scores were associated with poor prognosis in each cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses verified that CAFPS was as an independent prognostic factor in predicting overall survival, and a nomogram was built for clinical utility in predicting CRC prognosis. Patients with higher CAFs risk scores tended to not respond to immunotherapy, but were more sensitive to five conventional chemotherapeutic drugs.Conclusion: In summary, the CAFPS could serve as a robust prognostic indicator in CRC patients, which might help to optimize risk stratification and provide a new insight into individual treatments for CRC.

ABSTRACT: Yellow-feathered broiler chickens generally have a longer growth cycle than white broilers and therefore face different coccidiosis challenges. General single vaccine and drug regimens struggle to prevent coccidiosis for yellow broilers. In this study, a single vaccine, and a combination of coccidiostat regimens was employed to explore the preventative and control effects of different pilot regimens on coccidiosis in yellow-feathered broilers. A total of 2,000 one day old Chinese Huang Youma female broilers were allocated into 4 experimental groups, each with 5 replicates. All birds were fed the same starter feed from Days 1 to 25, and all groups were inoculated with a vaccine on Day 4. After Day 26, the groups were then fed as follows: (1) Negative control group: basal diet + vaccine (NC); (2) NC + maduramycin (NCMD); (3) NC + narasin (NCNR); and (4) NC + salinomycin (NCSL). From Days 26 to 75, the NCNR group had a lower FCR than the other groups. The 75-d BW was higher in the NCNR group than in the NCSL group but was not significantly higher than that in the NC and NCMD groups. The growth performance followed the same trend during the whole experiment (Days 1–75). Compared to the NC group, the NCNR and NCSL groups had higher intestinal mucosa SIgA concentrations at Day 40 and Day 60 (P < 0.001); however the NCMD group had lower IgG levels at Day 40 and Day 60 (P = 0.036, P = 0.006 respectively). The combination groups had significantly reduced AKP levels and urine acid concentrations at Day 60 in comparison to those of the NC group (P = 0.004). The NCNR and NCMD groups had less severe intestinal coccidiosis lesion scores than the NC and NCSL groups in older birds. Thus, a single vaccine and/or combinations with different coccidiostats had different effects on broilers. The NCNR group showed comparatively better growth performance, blood biochemical indices, immune response, and coccidiosis lesion scores.

Voice information processing technology is developing rapidly under the impetus of deep learning.The combination of speech synthesis and voice conversion technology can achieve real-time high-fidelity voice output of designated objects and content,and has broad application prospects in man-machine interaction,pan-entertainment and other fields.This paper aims to provide an overview of speech synthesis and voice conversion technology based on deep learning.First,this paper briefly reviews the development of speech synthesis and voice conversion technology.Next,it enumerates the common public datasets in these fields so that it is convenient for researchers to carry out related explorations.Then,it discusses the TTS models,including the classic and cutting-edge models and algorithms in terms of style,rhythm,speed,and compares their effects and development potentials respectively.Then,it reviews voice conversion by summarizing the voice conversion methods and optimization methods.Finally,it summarizes the applications and challenges of speech synthesis and voice conversion,and looks forward to their future development direction in model compression,few-shot learning and forgery detection,based on the problems faced by them in terms of model,application and regulation.

Objective To investigate the difference of the temporomandibular joint between patients with anterior open-bite and normal overbite with cone beam CT (CBCT).Methods Fifty-four patients with anterior open bites and 54 patients with normal overbites were selected from the Department of Orthodontics, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University from June 2014 to August 2020. Sagittal and coronal images of the temporomandibular joint were reconstructed with multiplanar reconstruction techique. The Kamelchuk method was used to measure the superior, posterior and anterior space of the temporomandibular joint, and the condylar morphology was divided into two types: normal and abnormal. The joint space and condylar morphology of the anterior open-bite group and the normal overbite group were statistically analyzed. The anterior open-bite group was divided into 3 subgroups: ① Ⅰ° open-bite (open bite distance < 3 mm), ② Ⅱ° open-bite (open bite distance ≥ 3 mm and ≤ 5 mm) and ③ Ⅲ° open-bite (open bite distance > 5 mm). The difference of overbite spaces of the temporomandibular joint was compared among these three subgroups.Results Compared to the normal group, no significant differences were found for the anterior and superior space of the temporomandibular joint in the anterior open-bite group (P > 0.05), but the posterior space increased significantly (P < 0.01). A total of 52.8% of patients in the anterior open-bite group had abnormal condyles, whereas 21.3% of patients in the normal group, overbite significant differences was found between the two groups (P < 0.01). Compared with patients with Ⅰ° and Ⅱ° openbite, the condyle of patients with III° open bites was more forward in the fossa (P < 0.05).Conclusion The position of the condyle in the fossa of patients with anterior open bites is more forward, and abnormal condylar bone is more common found.

This paper analyzes the trend of water radon data from Bengbu seismic station since April 15，2020. It is found that radon in Bengbu station is fluctuating. Through environmental investigation，comparison of meteorological factors and pumping sampling test，it is concluded that the change of radon in water has a positive and significant correlation with air temperature and water temperature. The air temperature changes the water temperature，and then changes the solubility and degassing rate of gas，thus causing the change of radon measurement value in water. According to the analysis results of previous earthquake cases，air temperature may not be the only factor causing the drop in radon readings. It should be the result of the interaction of environmental disturbance and earthquake precursory information. It is concluded that the reduction of correlation coefficient between water radon and temperature is related to the surrounding earthquakes.

The increasing interest in two-dimensional materials with unique crystal structures and novel band characteristics has provided numerous new strategies and paradigms in the field of photodetection. However, as the demand for wide-spectrum detection increases, the size of integrated systems and the limitations of mission modules pose significant challenges to existing devices. In this paper, we present a van der Waals heterostructure photodetector based on Ta2NiSe5/WSe2, leveraging the inherent characteristics of heterostructures. Our results demonstrate that this detector exhibits excellent broad-spectrum detection ability from the visible to the infrared bands at room temperature, achieving an extremely high on/off ratio, without the need for an external bias voltage. Furthermore, compared to a pure material detector, it exhibits a fast response and low dark currents (~3.6 pA), with rise and fall times of 278 μs and 283 μs for the response rate, respectively. Our findings provide a promising method for wide-spectrum detection and enrich the diversity of room-temperature photoelectric detection.

This study aimed to analyze the surgical outcomes of pars plana Ahmed valve implantation in vitrectomized eyes with refractory glaucoma. We performed a retrospective case review of consecutive patients with refractory glaucoma after undergoing pars plana vitrectomy who underwent pars plana Ahmed valve implantation between July 2019 and December 2020 at the glaucoma unit of the Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University (Changshu, China). All the patients were followed up for ≥12 months postoperatively. We recorded pre- to postoperative changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), number of anti-glaucoma medication, corneal endothelial count, and surgical complications, if any. There was a significant improvement in the median BCVA from 2.30 (0.87, 2.30) logMAR preoperatively to 1.70 (0.70, 2.30) logMAR at discharge and 1.0 (0.52, 1.85) at final examination (p = 0.011, p = 0.001). Compared with the preoperative IOP level, there was a significant decrease in the postoperative IOP at each postoperative time point (p < 0.001). There was a significant reduction in the median number of anti-glaucoma drugs (including postoperative ocular massage), from 3.00 (2.00, 3.00) preoperatively to 0.00 (0.00, 1.00) at the last follow-up postoperative examination (p < 0.001). A 29-year-old woman with proliferative diabetic retinopathy who underwent surgical treatment at 5 months postoperatively for fibrous wrapping formed around the plate of the Ahmed valve showed an IOP of 14 mmHg at the last follow-up. Our findings indicated that pars plana Ahmed valve implantation can be safely performed for managing vitrectomized eyes with refractory glaucoma.

Two cyclones (C304 and C502) generated in the Jianghuai Basin on 3-5 March 2007 and 2-3 May 2016, affect the northeast region in a similar way. However, their intensities are different. The development of C304 is strong whereas that of C502 is explosive. Based on NCEP FNL analysis data and conventional data, their development dynamics are comparatively analyzed, through diagnosis of vorticity advection, temperature advection, moist potential vorticity and frontogenesis function, combining with the circulations of high and low altitudes. The result shows that the vorticity factor and thermal factor play roles in deepening cyclone development and guiding cyclone movement. There are strong cold and warm temperature advections at low attitudes in the process of the strong evolution of C304. High-level positive vorticity advection located above the ground cyclone provides high-level divergence field. During the explosive development of C502, cold and warm advections are inconspicuous. Highly positive vorticity advection is located in front of the high-attitude trough. The development of high-level closed circulation is promoted by the high-level positive vorticity advection. As for C304, strong frontogenesis and frontolyzes symmetrically develop on the lower troposphere, whereas the baroclinicity of C502 is inconspicuous. Positive moist potential vorticities strongly develop in the upper and lower troposphere unusually. C304 vorticity increases mainly in the lower troposphere, however, C502 vorticity increases mainly in the upper troposphere where the high-humidity vortex tongue develops drooping and merges with the troposphere below the positive wet-position vortex column. Two cyclones develop with coexistence of two high-level jets, non-latitude jet and the anticyclonic curved circulation. Southerly and northerly airflows are established in the background of the cyclonic circulation at 850 hPa. C304 is located on the left front of the southerly airstream, and C502 is located between the southerly and northerly airstreams. Under the effect of low-level intensity convergence and high-level intensity scattering, the vertical ascent motion of C304 increases in lower to upper middle troposphere above the ground cyclone center. Under the strong high-level intensity scattering and weak low-level convergence, the vertical ascent movement of C502 occurs on both sides of the ground cyclone center and middle troposphere. Low-level baroclinic forcing is the main starting development mechanism of C304, and high-level vortex downward transmission is the main mechanism of C502 development.

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is a fatal disease with limited therapeutic strategies. Combination therapy is regarded as the standard of care in PH and becoming widely used in clinical practice. However, many PH patients treated with combinations of available clinical drugs still have a poor prognosis. Therefore, identifying innovative therapeutic strategies is essential for PH. This study is designed to examine the effects of combined prevention with resveratrol and SR1001 on HPH in rats. The effects of combined prevention with resveratrol and SR1001 and each mono-prevention on the development of HPH, Th17 cells differentiation, expression of guanine nucleotide exchange factor-H1 (GEF-H1), Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) and Phosphorylated myosin phosphatase target subunit (MYPT1) were examined. HPH and RV hypertrophy occurred in rats exposed to hypoxia. Compared with normoxia group, the hypoxia group showed significantly increased ratio of Th17 cells. After treatment with resveratrol, HPH rats showed an obvious reduction of Th17 cells. SR1001 significantly reduced the increased p-MYPY1, RhoA, and GEF-H1 expression in the hypoxic rats. The mono-prevention with resveratrol or SR1001 significantly inhibited the Th17 cells differentiation, p-STAT3, p-MYPY1, RhoA, and GEF-H1 protein expression, which was further inhibited by their combination prevention. The combination of resveratrol and SR1001 has a synergistic interaction, suggesting that combined use of these pharmacological targets may be an alternative to exert further beneficial effects on HPH.

Laboratory tests have been carried out for simulating dredged-slurry treatment combining air-booster and conventional vacuum preloading methods. Settlement plate, micro pore water pressure transducer and miniature vane shearing instrument are adopted for monitoring the settlement, the pore pressure dissipation and the soil strength during the test. The tests results demonstrate that the air-booster vacuum-preloading method can significantly improve the soil strength, pore-water pressure dissipation and settlement. In particular, the real-time responses of pore-water pressure during the air-pressurizing process have been obtained that, in combination with the numerical simulations, help derive the reinforcement mechanism of the air-booster vacuum preloading method, which involves using micro cracks generated by splitting soil between the booster tube and PVD using the pressurised air. Those cracks improve the soil permeability, and have lasting effect even after air pressuring ceased.

As an effective structure health monitoring technology, acoustic emission (AE) has been developed rapidly in various fields over recent years. AE source localization is the core element of AE technology. In this paper, a Node Block Location Method (NBLM) based on the collaborative model of node and block matrix was proposed to meet the high-precision requirement of source localization in the quasi-cylindrical structure with complex hole. NBLM can not only bypass the empty area, but also fit the actual propagation of elastic waves better in the complex boundaries. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of NBLM, lead-breaking tests were carried out on two cylindrical structure: one with square hole and the other with circular hole. The lead-breaking points were used as AE source in the test. The source coordinates were inverted by three separate location methods according to arrivals. Test results verify the superiority of NBLM and show that the location accuracy of the NBLM has been greatly improved compared to the existing methods.

Realizing the transformation from “dual control of energy consumption” to “dual control of carbon emissions” is the inherent requirement of realizing the “dual carbon” goal. Scientific planning of the provincial decomposition method of total carbon emissions is an important content of the top-level design of carbon emissions management, and an important support for the implementation of total carbon emissions control. Based on the application research of greenhouse gas inventory in all fields, this paper conducts a full factor analysis of the total carbon emissions of the whole society, establishes a comprehensive decomposition index system, and proposes a simple and transparent provincial decomposition method of the total carbon emissions control target, which considers fairness and efficiency. The simulated decomposition results show that the decomposition method is scientific and operable and can be used as an important reference for future practical decomposition operations.

BACKGROUND Eco-functional areas play an important role in soil and water conservation and biodiversity conservation. The Wushui River is a watershed located in the Nanling ecological function area. However, study on the content and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the soil of the upstream area of the watershed is scarce. OBJECTIVES To investigate the degree of heavy metals pollution and the potential ecological risk of soils in the upper reaches of the Wushui River. METHODS The soil samples of five land utilization types in the upper reaches of the Wushui River Basin, including mining, industrial, and cultivated land and forest, were collected to analyze the contents of seven heavy metals Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soil. The Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was used to evaluate the degree of heavy metal pollution, and the Hakanson potential ecological risk index was used to evaluate the potential ecological risk of heavy metals in soil. Principal component analysis was used to investigate the source of heavy metal pollution. RESULTS The results show that the average concentrations of Cd, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn in the upper reaches of the Wushui River were 1.28, 72.44, 54.62, 0.27, 68.32, 72.29 and 158.42mg/kg, respectively, which higher than the soil background values. The contents of the heavy metals, except mercury in mining land, were higher than those in other types of soils. The single factor pollution index of heavy metals in the mean state show that Cd and As were heavy pollution elements with factors of 5.07 and 3.25, respectively. In mining land, the Cd single factor pollution index reached 13.59. Heavy metal pollution in mining land was the most serious, followed by industrial land. Forest was in a safe state. Potential ecological hazard index evaluation results showed that Cd reached a very strong ecological hazard and As was a strong ecological hazard in mining land. Mining land and industrial land reached a strong ecological hazard, industrial land reached a moderate ecological hazard, and other types of soils were slightly ecologically harmful. The results showed that As, Cd, Cu and Zn came from industrial and mining activities, Ni and Hg mainly came from parent materials, and Pb came from transportation. CONCLUSIONS Heavy metal pollution of soil is relatively serious in the upstream area of the Wushui River Basin. Cd and As are the main risk factors in the area, mainly deriving from mining and industrial activities.

With the development of global positioning technology, sensor networks, and smart mobile terminal, a large number of trajectory data are accumulated. Trajectory data contains a wealth of information, including spatiality, time series, and other external descriptive attributes (i.e., features, travelling mode, and so on). Trajectory analysis and mining show the great value. The research of trajectory similarity measurement is the basis of trajectory data management and mining, which plays an important role in trajectory computing. Most trajectory similarity work only focuses on the spatial-temporal features. The addition of multi-attributes to the trajectories changes the trajectory similarity. However, there are few researches focusing on multi-attributes trajectory similarity. In this paper, we propose two novel trajectory similarity measurements, i.e. maximum-minimum trajectory distance and sum of minimum trajectory distance and analyze the correlation among the spatial-temporal similarity and textual similarity. Finally, the measurement validity is verified and visualized through clustering, by both a simulation dataset and a real dataset.

Objective To assess safety and efficacy of a novel intubation laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) during the recovery period following supratentorial tumour surgery. Methods Patients who underwent supratentorial tumour surgery at our centre from January 2012 to December 2016 were eligible for this prospective randomised, parallel group study. We developed a novel ILMA using closely fitting laryngeal masks (No. 4/5) with 7.0/7.5 mm endotracheal tubes (ETT) plus screw fixators and anti-pollution sleeves. Results In total, 100 patients were intubated with the novel ILMA and 100 the ETT. There were no differences between groups in haemodynamic variables, oxygen saturation, exhaled CO 2 , or bispectral index all recorded during the 72-hour recovery period. However, there were significantly fewer incidences of coughing, less fluid drainage and lower haemoglobin levels in surgical fluid in the ILMA group compared with the ETT group. Conclusion Our novel ILMA device was associated with reduced coughing, fluid drainage and blood in surgical drain during the recovery period following supratentorial tumour surgery.

This study investigates the influences of the prosocial and antisocial tendency of Weibo users on post transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. To overcome the deficiency of existing research on prosocial and antisocial emotions, we employ a web crawler technology to obtain post data from Weibo and identify texts with prosocial or antisocial emotions. We use SnowNLP to construct semantic dictionaries and training models. Our major findings include the following. First, through correlation analysis and negative binomial regression, we find that user posts with high intensity and prosocial emotion can trigger comments or forwarding behaviour. Second, the influence of antisocial emotion on Weibo comments, likes, and retweets are insignificant. Third, the general emotion about prosocial comments in Weibo also shows the emotion trend of prosocial comments. Overall, a major contribution of this paper is our focus on prosocial and antisocial emotions in cyberspace, providing a new perspective on emotion communication.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cyclophotocoagulation under microscopy combined with phacoemulsification in patients with primary chronic angle-closure glaucoma. We retrospectively reviewed the results of cyclophotocoagulation under microscopic direct vision combined with phacoemulsification in 35 eyes (35 patients) with primary chronic angle-closure glaucoma and coexisting visually significant cataracts, treated between January 2017 and April 2020 at the glaucoma unit of the affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University. All patients were followed up for at least 12 months postoperatively. The preoperative to postoperative changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), number of antiglaucoma medications, and surgery-associated complications were recorded. The BCVA improved from 1.15 ± 0.91 logMAR preoperatively to 0.86 ± 0.82 logMAR at the final postoperative examination (Z = −3.62, P

To study whether integrative fertilization [growing milk vetch in winter and reducing the dose of chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer] can improve rice yield, and to reveal the underlying regulatory mechanisms for integrative fertilization, a three-year field trial including two treatments, milk vetch-rice-rice (MRR) and winter fallow-rice-rice (FRR), was conducted in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Our results demonstrated that the MRR treatment could significantly improve rice yield compared with the FRR treatment, especially when the application ratio of milk vetch and chemical fertilizer was 1:2. MRR treatment increased the effective panicle number and the spikelet number per panicle. In addition, a higher tillering number, leaf area index, photosynthetic-potential and photosynthetic-potential to grain ratio were observed in MRR treatment, which could provide enough dry matter for yield formation. Moreover, in MRR treatment, we discovered a higher transportation ratio and transformation ratio of dry matter in culm and leaves, and a stronger total sink capacity and spikelet-root bleeding intensity at the heading stage and 15 d after heading. Furthermore, the MRR treatment showed higher total N, phosphorus and potassium uptakes than FRR treatment, which was associated with the higher root dry weight in each soil layers. These results suggest that growing milk vetch in winter can improve rice yield under less chemical N fertilizer application, which is due to the improvement of soil nutrient status and the increased of rice root growth and development.