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Introduction: During the Omicron infection wave, diabetic patients are susceptible to COVID-19, which is linked to a poor prognosis. However, research on the real-world effectiveness and safety of Azvudine, a common medication for COVID-19, is insufficient in those with pre-existing diabetes. Methods: In this retrospective study, we included 32,864 hospitalized COVID-19 patients from 9 hospitals in Henan Province. Diabetic patients were screened and divided into the Azvudine group and the control group, via 1:1 propensity score matching. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was composite disease progression. Laboratory abnormal results were used for safety evaluation. Results: A total of 1,417 patients receiving Azvudine and 1,417 patients receiving standard treatment were ultimately included. Kaplan−Meier curves suggested that all-cause mortality (P = 0.0026) was significantly lower in the Azvudine group than in the control group, but composite disease progression did not significantly differ (P = 0.1). Cox regression models revealed Azvudine treatment could reduce 26% risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI: 0.583-0.942, P = 0.015) versus controls, and not reduce the risk of composite disease progression (HR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.750-1.109, P = 0.355). The results of subgroup analysis and three sensitivity analyses were consistent with the previous findings. Safety analysis revealed that the incidence rates of most adverse events were similar between the two groups. Conclusion: In this study, Azvudine demonstrated good efficacy in COVID-19 patients with diabetes, with a lower all-cause mortality rate. Additionally, the safety was favorable. This study may provide a new strategy for the antiviral management of COVID-19 patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: The bi-phase FeCoNiCr0.4Cu0.2/(FeCoNiCrCu)3O4 high-entropy composites are innovatively constructed for the first time by low-temperature oxygen bath strategy. The bi-phase high-entropy composites (BPHEC) can precisely regulate the electromagnetic genes, realizing the ideal ultra-broadband and temperature-stable electromagnetic wave absorption. Simultaneously, the formation mechanism of BPHEC during low-temperature oxygen bath and the regulation mechanism of electromagnetic genes are elucidated. Magnetic absorbers with high permeability have significant advantages in low-frequency and broadband electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. However, the insufficient magnetic loss and inherent high conductivity of existing magnetic absorbers limit the further expansion of EMW absorption bandwidth. Herein, the spinel (FeCoNiCrCu)3O4 high-entropy oxides (HEO) are successfully constructed on the surface of FeCoNiCr0.4Cu0.2 high-entropy alloys (HEA) through low-temperature oxygen bath treatment. On the one hand, HEO and HEA have different magnetocrystalline anisotropies, which is conducive to achieving continuous natural resonance to improve magnetic loss. On the other hand, HEO with low conductivity can serve as an impedance matching layer, achieving magneto-electric co-modulation. When the thickness is 5 mm, the minimum reflection loss (RL) value and absorption bandwidth (RL < − 5 dB) of bi-phase high-entropy composites (BPHEC) can reach − 12.8 dB and 633 MHz, respectively. The RCS reduction value of multilayer sample with impedance gradient characteristic can reach 18.34 dB m2. In addition, the BPHEC also exhibits temperature-stable EMW absorption performance, high Curie temperature, and oxidation resistance. The absorption bandwidth maintains between 593 and 691 MHz from − 50 to 150 °C. This work offers a new and tunable strategy toward modulating the electromagnetic genes for temperature-stable ultra-broadband megahertz EMW absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The parallel process latent growth curve model (PP-LGCM) was used to examine the longitudinal relationship between activities of daily living (ADL) and depression and further tested whether chronic diseases (CDs) were associated with depression via mediating variable ADL. Methods: A sample of 2014 Chinese older adults aged 60 and over from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) was used. The activities of daily living scale, self-rating depression scale, and chronic diseases scale were used to investigate the ADL, depression, and CD levels of older adults. Following certain statistical analysis steps, we used SPSS 26 and Mplus 8.0 to perform statistical analysis on the data. Results: Firstly, ADL significantly declined in older adults from 2011 to 2018, while depression had a significant rise. Secondly, the intercept of ADL was correlated with the intercept of depression (r = 0.487, p < 0.001), and the slope of ADL was positively correlated with the slope of depression (r = 0.844, p < 0.001). Finally, the intercept of ADL mediated 39% of the association of chronic diseases and the intercept of depression. Conclusions: Our findings showed the trajectories of ADL and depression in older adults and demonstrated that ADL have various associations with depression in longitudinal development. In addition, the effect of chronic diseases on depression is partially mediated by ADL. The ADL play a partial mediating role between chronic diseases and depression in older adults, with an indirect effect of 39%, indicating that ADL are very important. Grasping the mediating mechanism of ADL will help alleviate depression levels in older adults with chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weakly cemented red sandstone is common in the construction of shaft engineering in western China. Based on the actual working conditions, the dynamic mechanical behavior of this kind of rock under the combined action of multiple variables was studied. Based on the freezing temperature of the freezing method for shaft construction, the experimental temperature gradient was set at 25°C to −25°C. Using an modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) experimental system, the dynamic mechanical response of frozen weak-cemented red sandstone under lateral constraints was studied. Taking dynamic and static stress fields and temperature fields as the entry point, the relationship between dynamic load, confining pressure, temperature, and dynamic mechanical characteristics parameters of weakly cemented rock is established, and the strain rate effect, lateral constraint effect, and negative temperature effect of dynamic compressive strength are analyzed. The research results show that: 1) The confining pressure changes synchronously with the axial dynamic load, and undergoes three stages: rapid increase, slow increase, and unloading rebound. 2) Under the combined effects of multiple variables, the dynamic mechanical behavior of the rock shows obvious compaction and rebound characteristics. 3) The dynamic compressive strength of the rock is jointly affected by strain rate, confining pressure, and temperature. Among them, lateral constraints have a strengthening effect. The dynamic compressive strength increases exponentially with increasing strain rate, and increases first and then decreases with decreasing temperature. At the same time, the degree of rock fragmentation is consistent with its strength characteristics. The research results have certain reference significance for the engineering design and safe operation and maintenance of frozen rock structures under dynamic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulverizing and sieving are commonly used techniques in the recycling of waste batteries to separate valuable components (electrode blackmass). However, this method results in the separated blackmass with high levels of Al and Cu impurities, making it unsuitable for direct regeneration (a promising post-treatment technique for electrode blackmass). Here, a process optimization scheme with multiple pulverizing and sieving was proposed to reduce the Al and Cu contents in the separated cathode and anode blackmass to 0.046% and 0.359%, respectively, well below the threshold for direct regeneration. Additionally, the recovery rate of cathode and anode blackmass was also achieved, reaching 95.392% and 98.674%, respectively. Specifically, the mechanisms affecting the separation efficiency and the synergistic effects of various factors (including mesh size, pulverizer load, pulverizing time, and process steps) in electrode blackmass separation during pulverizing and screening processes are deeply explored. The optimal process parameters and process steps were determined. Material characterization showed that the separated cathode and anode black powder can be directly used for regeneration. The process proposed in this study can realize large-scale production and provide a reference for the practical application of regeneration technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sonar image has limitations on the physical spatial resolution due to system configuration and underwater environment, which often leads to challenges for underwater targets detection. Here, the deep learning method is applied to enhance the physical spatial resolution of underwater sonar images. Specifically, the U-shaped end-to-end neural network which contains down-sampling and up-sampling parts is proposed to improve the physical spatial resolution limited by the array aperture. The single target and multiple cases are considered separately. In both cases, the normalized loss on the testing sets declines rapidly, and the predicted high-resolution images own great agreement with the ground truth eventually. Further improvements in resolution are focused on, that is, compressing the predicted high-resolution image to its physical spatial resolution limitation. The results show that the trained end-to-end neural network could map high resolution targets to the impulse responses at the same location and amplitude with an uncertain target number. The proposed convolutional neural network approach could give a practical alternative to improve the physical spatial resolution of underwater sonar images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop higher efficient heterogeneous solid acid catalyst for biodiesel production, H3PMo12O40 is impregnated in the covalent framework EB-COF forming composite of H3PMo12O40@EB-COF. The structure and composition of H3PMo12O40@EB-COF are characterized by FT-IR, TGA, XPS, SEM-EDX and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. The successful immobilization of H3PMo12O40 on the covalent framework EB-COF resulted in the uniformly distribution and heterogeneity of H3PMo12O40 in the porous EB-COF. Upon H3PMo12O40@EB-COF is applied as a heterogeneous acidic catalyst for the esterification reactions of oleic acid, it exhibited excellent catalytic activity with good recyclability under optimal conditions. The strikingly catalytical performance is attributed to uniformly distribution of catalytical site H3PMo12O40 and flexible covalent framework of EB-COF. Furthermore, the catalyst can catalyze the esterification of rapeseed oil with industrial application conversion rate of 85%. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first example that POMs@COFs catalyze commercially available vegetable oil for biodiesel preparation with competitive conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of metasurface technology, metasurfaces have gained significant attention in optical edge detection. Owing to their precise control over the phase, amplitude, and polarization state of electromagnetic waves, metasurfaces offer a novel approach to edge detection that not only overcomes the size limitations of traditional optical devices but also significantly enhances the flexibility and efficiency of image processing. This paper reviews recent research advances in metasurfaces for optical edge detection. Firstly, the principles of phase-controlled metasurfaces in edge detection are discussed, along with an analysis of their features in different applications. Then, methods for edge detection based on polarization and dispersion modulation of metasurfaces are elaborated, highlighting the potential of these technologies for efficient image processing. In addition, the progress in multifunctional metasurfaces is presented, offering new perspectives and application prospects for future optical edge detection, along with a discussion on the limitations of metasurface-based edge detection technologies and an outlook on their future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]