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SUMMARY Peak ground acceleration (PGA) is a key parameter used in earthquake early warning systems to measure the ground motion strength and initiate emergency protocols at major projects. The traditional P-wave peak displacement-dependent PGA prediction model (Pd-PGA model) tends to underestimate the PGA for large earthquakes because it cannot make full use of the fault continuity rupture information hidden in the time-varying process of ground motion. In this paper, a continuous PGA prediction long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network model is proposed. The model takes eight sequential features of stations that are proxies of the energy and other physical parameters as input and provides the recorded PGA at the station as the target output. A total of 5961 records from 119 earthquakes recorded by the Japanese Strong-Motion Earthquake Network (K-NET) in Japan are used to train the neural network and 3433 records from 73 earthquakes are used as the test set to verify the model’s generalization ability. The results show that within the same data set, the residuals of the predicted PGA for the proposed model are smaller than those of the Pd-PGA model and that the problem of PGA underestimation is resolved. The prediction accuracy also improves with increasing sequence length, which indicates that the LSTM neural network learns the rules hidden in the time series. To further verify the model’s generalization ability, the model performance is analyzed for an M 7.3 earthquake that was not included in the training or test data sets. The results show that the residuals of the predicted PGA for the event are consistent with those for the test data set, indicating that the model has good generalization ability.

Prehabilitation employs exercise, nutrition, and psychological interventions to optimize physiological status in preparation for surgery. First, we described the extent to which material deprivation index score (MDIS) influenced prehabilitation participation. Second, we evaluated the extent to which prehabilitation influenced recovery as compared to control.Pooled patient records from prospective multimodal prehabilitation studies in oncologic surgery were retrospectively examined. Patient postal codes were linked to their MDIS, a validated area-level socioeconomic status (SES) metric, as quintiles 1-5 (1 = highest SES). Functional capacity was evaluated with the 6-min walking test (6MWT) at baseline, before, and 8 weeks post-surgery. Influence of prehabilitation on length of hospital stay (LOS) was explored using generalized linear models with a negative binomial distribution adjusted for age, sex, surgical population, and MDIS.Recruitment records were available from 2014 onwards, yielding 1013 eligible patients for prehabilitation participation with MDIS data. Fewer patients with a low SES enrolled (Q1:62% vs. Q5:47%; P = 0.01) and remained in prehabilitation studies (Q1: 59% vs. Q5: 45%; P = 0.07). Prehabilitation study records were available from 2008 onward, yielding 886 enrolled patients with MDIS data (n = 510 prehabilitation, n = 376 control). Preoperative 6MWT similarly improved by20 m in response to prehabilitation across SES strata (P0.05). Postoperative 6MWT could not be evaluated due to substantial missing data. Prehabilitation had a significant protective influence on LOS, as compared to control, in unadjusted and adjusted models [adjusted IRR:0.77 (95% CI:0.68 to 0.87; P0.001].Findings suggest that prehabilitation is effective across all SES; however, participation across SES quintiles was not equal. Barriers to participation must be identified and addressed. Once these barriers are addressed, prehabilitation may reduce surgical disparities among SES.

The synthesis of 2D C,N-co-doped ZnO/Co3O4@Ni(OH)2/NF heterostructure mesoporous nanosheets which show high activity for benzyl alcohol oxidation (a benzoic acid yield of 99%, and a faradaic efficiency over 97%) is reported.

Exploration of highly efficient and robust catalyst is pivotal for electrocatalytic degradation of dye wastewater, but it still is a challenge. Here, we develop a three-dimensional self-supported SnO2-Mn2O3 hybrid nanosheets grown on carbon cloth (noted by SnO2-Mn2O3@CC) electrode via a simple hydrothermal method and annealing treatment. Benefitting from the interlaced nanosheets architecture that enlarges the surface area and the synergetic component effect that accelerates the interfacial electronic transfer, SnO2-Mn2O3@CC electrode exhibits a superior electrocatalytic degradation efficiency for cationic blue X-GRRL dye in comparison with the single metal oxide electrode containing SnO2@CC and Mn2O3@CC. The degradation efficiency of cationic blue X-GRRL on SnO2-Mn2O3@CC electrode can reach up to 97.55% within 50 min. Furthermore, self-supported architecture of nanosheets on carbon cloth framework contributes to a robust stability compared with the traditional electrode via the multiple dip/brush coating accompanied by the thermal decomposition method. SnO2-Mn2O3@CC electrode exhibits excellent recyclability, which can still retain a degradation efficiency of 94.12% after six cycles. This work may provide a new pathway for the design and exploration of highly efficient and robust electrooxidation catalysts for dye degradation.

Background: Invasive Breast Cancer (IBC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Israel, regardless of ethnicity. This study compared IBC epidemiological, clinical, and pathological characteristics in Bedouin and Jewish patients in southern Israel. Methods: Medical records of 1514 Jewish and 191 Bedouin women with IBC treated at Soroka Medical Center between 2014-2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Baseline measures and tumor characteristics were compared between groups. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed using log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Bedouins were diagnosed at a significantly younger age (median 48vs62 years, pDiscussion: Despite a previous study showing worse OS for Bedouins than Jewish patients, we did not find a similar trend. This is likely due to improved cancer screening and prevention in Bedouin patients as a direct result of increased number of community clinics in Bedouin settlements. Moreover, Bedouins' access to healthcare improved as their lifestyle transformed from semi-nomadic to more modernized.

Offshore wind resources are abundant. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are suitable for working in the sea environment because of their low cost and high reliability. In this paper, an offshore floating inverted cone vertical axis wind turbine (ICVAWT) is proposed. The 3D unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is utilized to model the ICVAWT. The turbulence model SST k−ω is used to solve the Navier–Stokes equation, and the setting parameters of the solver and the independent grid are determined. The scale experimental prototype is designed using the similarity theory and the wind tunnel experiment is carried out. The experimental results verify the validity of the CFD model. The aerodynamic performance of nine ICVAWT configurations is analyzed by using the CFD model, and the effects of inverted cone angle and blade number on the power coefficient and operation stability of the ICVAWT are studied. It is found that when the inverted cone angle is 45°, and the number of blades is three (called the optimal configuration), the power coefficient is the highest at 0.309 (the optimal tip speed ratio is 3.5). With the increase in inverted cone angle and blade number, the fluctuation of wind turbine operating torque decreases. According to the distribution of each physical quantity in the flow field, the changes in aerodynamic performance are explained. Further research on the optimized configuration is carried out.

Research findings indicate Neuropilin-1 plays a critical role in lipid metabolism and obesity-associated insulin resistance, on such a basis, this study aims to explore the effects and working mechanism of Neuropilin-1 inhibition on the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in high-fat-diet induced obese mice.Firstly, the pcDNA3.1-NRP-1 recombinant plasmid containing Neuropilin-1 gene and the Neuropilin-1 gene RNA interference plasmid shRNA-NRP1 were successfully constructed. A total of 36 C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to 6 groups, blank group, control group, pcDNA3.1 injection group, pcDNA3.1-NRP-1 injection group, pGenesil-1.1 injection group and shRNA-NRP1 injection group. Expression of phospho-PI3K, phospho-AKT, phospho-mTOR and Neuropilin-1 in liver was measured as well as body and liver weight, blood glucose, serum transaminases and lipid levels of the mice.The weight and liver mass of high-fat-diet fed mice injected with pcDNA3.1-NRP-1 were significantly higher than those from the control group, but their body weight and liver mass decreased significantly after shRNA-NRP1 injection. The results also showed that Neuropilin-1 expression can significantly influence the severity of hepatic steatosis in high-fat-diet fed mice, decreased serum FPG, LDL, AST, ALT levels and the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 mRNA. In addition, the Neuropilin-1 expression will also influence the p-PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR in mice.This study concluded that the inhibition of Neuropilin-1 could improve Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by decreasing body weight and reduce inflammation in high-fat-diet induced obese mice by modulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

The impact of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) on blobs’ motions and structures in the SOL on the HL-2A tokamak is studied using a gas puff imaging diagnostic. Ellipse fitting is applied to study the structure and motion of blobs quantitatively. The radial locations, amplitudes and the scale sizes of blobs are obtained based on the fitted ellipse. Furthermore, based on the measurement of blob location, the radial and poloidal velocities of blobs are calculated. With the application of RMP, the edge poloidal shear flow is significantly weakened and the kr-kθ spectrum shifts from wider and less stretched to tilted. The application of RMP also causes the detected blob location to be much further into the far SOL and increases the blob amplitude. Blob’s poloidal velocity in the SOL is slowed. Larger size and longer lifetime of blobs are observed with RMP. With the application of RMP, stronger amplitude and larger size of blobs are detected in far SOL and they may cause more serious erosion problem to the first wall.