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While previous studies acknowledge intercropping as a climate-smart agricultural practice and confirm its prominence in developing countries, behavioral factors underlying farmers’ decision in intercropping adoption remain poorly understood. This study assesses and compares the heterogeneity in adoption of intercropping among smallholder farmers in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, through the lens of climate change adaptation. A sample of 1017 smallholder farmers was recruited for a household survey across the three countries using a convenient sampling approach. Principle component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify the main dimensions of farmers’ perception towards climate change and adaptation. Next, generalized order logit regressions were employed to assess the association between farmers’ adoption tendency of intercropping and their perception of climate change and adaptation, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of intercropping, and socio-demographic characteristics. The study shows that perceived climate severity was negatively associated with intercropping adoption tendency in Vietnam and Laos (p

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to increase in morbidity and mortality among all types of cancer. DNA methylation, an important epigenetic modification, is associated with cancer occurrence and progression. The objective of this study was to establish a model based on DNA methylation risk scores for identifying new potential therapeutic targets in HCC and preventing cancer progression.MethodsTranscriptomic, clinical, and DNA methylation data on 374 tumor tissues and 50 adjacent normal tissues were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas–Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma database. The gene expression profiles of the GSE54236 liver cancer dataset, which contains data on 161 liver tissue samples, were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We analyzed the relationship between DNA methylation and gene expression levels after identifying the differentially methylated and expressed genes. Then, we developed and validated a risk score model based on the DNA methylation-driven genes. A tissue array consisting of 30 human hepatocellular carcinoma samples and adjacent normal tissues was used to assess the protein and mRNA expression levels of the marker genes by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, respectively.ResultsThree methylation-related differential genes were identified in our study: GLS, MEX3B, and GNA14. The results revealed that their DNA methylation levels were negatively correlated with local gene expression regulation. The gene methylation levels correlated strongly with the prognosis of patients with liver cancer. This was confirmed by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical verification of the expression of these genes or proteins in tumors and adjacent tissues. These results revealed the relationship between the level of relevant gene methylation and the prognosis of patients with liver cancer as well as the underlying cellular and biological mechanisms. This allows our gene signature to provide more accurate and appropriate predictions for clinical applications.ConclusionThrough bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation, we obtained three DNA methylation marker: GLS, MEX3B, and GNA14. This helps to predict the prognosis and may be a potential therapeutic target for HCC patients.

During the operation of the lithium batteries, due to energy loss, the heat will be generated. Therefore, effective heat dissipation technique is required for operation of the lithium batteries under the safe temperature limit. To increase the safety, efficiency, and lifetime of these batteries, the thermal management is an important key factor. Nickel cobalt lithium manganate (NCM) batteries have high energy ratio and high voltage output. The thermal performance of phase change material (PCM) and air cooling system, as a combined cooling system, employed for single battery and battery packs is investigated in this study. NCM-21700 lithium-ion battery is considered for investigation. With boosting DR, the internal temperature of the battery is increased rapidly, and the temperature uniformity is decreased. The analysis of single cell equipped with the PCM showed that the PCM with δ = 12 mm is the best choice at DR = 3C. In addition, it was concluded that under the synergistic effect of air cooling and PCM, since the PCM continuously takes away the heat of the battery, and the air can remove the heat absorbed by the PCM with high rate, the performance of the battery can be improved. The final battery surface temperatures are 30.53°C, 29.97°C, 29.71°C, and 29.93°C for the PCM thicknesses of 5, 10, 12, and 15 mm, respectively. During the discharge process, the battery temperature under the synergistic effect of the air and the PCM increases gently and reaches to 30.6 °C. The PCM cannot fully control the battery temperature change at high discharge rates. The low thermal conduction in PCM leads to the inability to effectively transfer heat to the external surface of the PCM.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is related to arachidonic acid cascade and is over-expressed in a variety of diseases, making sEH an attractive target for the treatment of pain as well as inflammatory-related diseases. A new series of memantyl urea derivatives as potent sEH inhibitors was obtained using our previous reported compound 4 as lead compound. A preferential modification of piperidinyl to 3-carbamoyl piperidinyl was identified for this series via structure-based rational drug design. Compound A20 exhibited moderate percentage plasma protein binding (88.6%) and better metabolic stability in vitro. After oral administration, the bioavailability of A20 was 28.6%. Acute toxicity test showed that A20 was well tolerated and there was no adverse event encountered at dose of 6.0 g/kg. Inhibitor A20 also displayed robust analgesic effect in vivo and dose-dependently attenuated neuropathic pain in rat model induced by spared nerve injury, which was better than gabapentin and sEH inhibitor (±)-EC-5026. In one word, the oral administration of A20 significantly alleviated pain and improved the health status of the rats, demonstrating that A20 was a promising candidate to be further evaluated for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Abstract As a highly complex aqueous effluent, tannery wastewater from leather industry should be treated appropriately before discharging into the environment. Membrane technology has been shown to be a promising approach for tannery wastewater treatment as it may achieve “Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)”. This work, as the state-of-the-art, attempts to review the world-wide research trends of membrane technologies, the technical recapitulation and recent advances of such technology for tannery wastewater treatment. Generally, manufacture membrane, membrane-based integrated process, MBR, NF, UF and RO are the hotspots in this field. Details of different membrane technologies configured for tannery wastewater treatment, such as membrane materials, scale, membrane modules, operating conditions and removal efficiency of pollutants, are also summarized. It should be noted that membrane fouling is still a major challenge in the membrane technology during tannery wastewater treatment. Therefore, process coupling, either within diverse membrane technologies or between membrane and non-membrane technologies, is considered as a promising alternative to treat the leather tannery wastewater in the future. Graphical abstract

Abstract Background Diaphragmatic dysfunction is known to be associated with difficulties weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation and is related to worse patient outcomes yet our understanding of how to prevent diaphragmatic dysfunction remains incomplete. We examined potentially modifiable risk factors for diaphragmatic dysfunction and attempted to estimate benefits attributable to altering these modifiable risk factors. Methods This prospective multicenter observational study was undertaken in the general ICUs of two tertiary care teaching hospitals. Critically ill adults expected to receive invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 48 h were enrolled. Diaphragm function was assessed by ultrasound each study day, with dysfunction defined as thickening fraction less than 20%. Results From January to December 2019, 856 patients were screened and 126 patients were enrolled. Overall, 40.5% (51/126) of patients experienced diaphragmatic dysfunction during invasive mechanical ventilation. Patients with diaphragmatic dysfunction were more likely to develop ventilator associated pneumonia (risk difference [RD] + 12.9%, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.4 to 24.4%, P = 0.028), were more likely to experience extubation failure (RD + 8.5%, 95% CI 0.4 to 16.6%, P = 0.039) and required a longer duration of invasive mechanical ventilation (RD + 1.3 days, 95% CI 0.1 to 2.5 days, P = 0.035). They also required a longer hospital stay (RD + 1.2 days, 95% CI 0.04 to 2.4 days, P = 0.041) and were more likely to die before hospital discharge (RD + 18.1%, 95% CI 3.7 to 32.5%, P = 0.014). Multivariable analysis considered the impact of age, sex, pre-existing nutritional status, caloric intake, amino acid intake, acute disease severity, modes of mechanical ventilation, measures of respiratory status, sedation, pain control and baseline diaphragm thickness. Only SOFA score (P = 0.008) and early amino acid intake (P = 0.001) remained significant independent risk factors for the onset of diaphragmatic dysfunction. Causal path modeling suggested early amino acid intake may significantly reduce diaphragmatic dysfunction (RRR 29%, 95% CI 10% to 48%, P = 0.003) and may also reduce mortality (RRR 49%, 95% CI 25% to 73%, P

To solve the problems of large thermoelectric coupling in combined heat and power, high carbon emission of thermal power units, and insufficient resource flexibility on the load side in cogeneration units, a low-carbon dispatching model is established for the electricity-heat system. First, heat storage and carbon capture equipment is added on the source side while the demand response of electricity price and the heat load inertia of heating buildings are considered on the load side. Then, the sum of unit operating cost, carbon transaction cost and wind abandonment penalty cost are taken as the objective function with relevant constraints and solved by calling Gurobi solver. Finally, a comparative analysis of the economic cost, wind power consumption, and carbon emission rate of the system in different cases is conducted, which shows that the dispatching strategy proposed in this paper can improve the wind power consumption capacity while taking economy and low carbon emission into account.

The feasibility of the autothermic pyrolysis in situ conversion (ATS) process for low-grade oil shale (OS) has not been determined. In this research, the pyrolysis and combustion properties of Tongchuan OS, with a 4.04% oil yield, were systematically analyzed. The findings revealed that temperatures between 350 and 425 °C favored oil production, while temperatures from 450 to 520 °C resulted in a higher rate of gaseous generation. At 300 °C, the volume expansion and ignition coking caused by the large amount of bitumen generated resulted in severe pore plugging, which significantly increased the combustion activation energy of the residue, while the presence of substantial flammable bitumen also significantly decreased the ignition and combustion temperatures. From 300 to 520 °C, the combustion performance of residue decreases continuously. In addition, pyrolysis residues of Tongchuan exhibited a slightly higher calorific value, between 425 and 520 °C, owing to its higher fixed carbon content (10.79%). Based on the ideal temperature screening method outlined for Tongchuan OS, the recommended preheating temperature for Tongchuan OS was 425 °C, while the optimum temperature for the retorting zone should be 510 °C, considering a heat utilization rate of 40%. These findings contribute valuable insights for the application of the ATS process to low-grade OS.

The objective of this study is to create a planar solar light absorber that exhibits exceptional absorption characteristics spanning from visible light to infrared across an ultra-wide spectral range. The eight layered structures of the absorber, from top to bottom, consisted of Al2O3, Ti, Al2O3, Ti, Al2O3, Ni, Al2O3, and Al. The COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software (version 6.0) was utilized to construct the absorber model and perform simulation analyses. The first significant finding of this study is that as compared to absorbers featuring seven-layered structures (excluding the top Al2O3 layer) or using TiO2 or SiO2 layers as substituted for Al2O3 layer, the presence of the top Al2O3 layer demonstrated superior anti-reflection properties. Another noteworthy finding was that the top Al2O3 layer provided better impedance matching compared to scenarios where it was absent or replaced with TiO2 or SiO2 layers, enhancing the absorber’s overall efficiency. Consequently, across the ultra-wideband spectrum spanning 350 to 1970 nm, the average absorptivity reached an impressive 96.76%. One significant novelty of this study was the utilization of various top-layer materials to assess the absorption and reflection spectra, along with the optical-impedance-matching properties of the designed absorber. Another notable contribution was the successful implementation of evaporation techniques for depositing and manufacturing this optimized absorber. A further innovation involved the use of transmission electron microscopy to observe the thickness of each deposition layer. Subsequently, the simulated and calculated absorption spectra of solar energy across the AM1.5 spectrum for both the designed and fabricated absorbers were compared, demonstrating a match between the measured and simulated results.

Background: This study aimed to explore the association between cardiac fibroblast activation and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging parameters in patients with myocarditis following infection with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: In this prospective study, four patients with COVID-19-related myocarditis underwent 99mTc-labeled–hydrazinonicotinamide–fibroblast activation protein inhibitor-04 (99mTc-HFAPi) single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) and CMR imaging. Segmental 99mTc-HFAPi activity was quantified as the percentage of average segmental myocardial count × global left ventricular target-to-background ratio. T1/T2 values, extracellular volume (ECV), and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) were analyzed by CMR. The consistency between myocardial 99mTc-HFAPi activity and CMR parameters was explored. Results: In patients with myocarditis, the proportion of segments with abnormal 99mTc-HFAPi activity was significantly higher than in those with abnormal LGE (81.25% vs. 60.93%, p = 0.011), abnormal T2 (81.25% vs. 50.00%, p < 0.001), and abnormal ECV (81.25% vs. 59.38%, p = 0.007); however, they were similar in those with abnormal native T1 (81.25% vs. 73.43%, p = 0.291). Meanwhile, 99mTc-HFAPi imaging exhibited good consistency with native T1 (kappa = 0.69). Conclusions: Increased cardiac 99mTc-HFAPi activity is present in COVID-19-related myocarditis, which is correlated with the native T1 values in CMR.

This study involved direct doping of In2O3 into silicon carbide (SiC) powder, resulting in 8.0 at% In-doped SiC powder. Subsequently, heating at 500 °C was performed to form a target, followed by the utilization of electron beam (e-beam) technology to deposit the In-doped SiC thin films with the thickness of approximately 189.8 nm. The first breakthrough of this research was the successful deposition of using e-beam technology. The second breakthrough involved utilizing various tools to analyze the physical and electrical properties of In-doped SiC thin films. Hall effect measurement was used to measure the resistivity, mobility, and carrier concentration and confirm its n-type semiconductor nature. The uniform dispersion of In ions in SiC was as confirmed by electron microscopy energy-dispersive spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses. The Tauc Plot method was employed to determine the Eg values of pure SiC and In-doped SiC thin films. Semiconductor parameter analyzer was used to measure the conductivity and the I-V characteristics of devices in In-doped SiC thin films. Furthermore, the third finding demonstrated that In2O3-doped SiC thin films exhibited remarkable current density. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Gaussian-resolved spectra further confirmed a significant relationship between conductivity and oxygen vacancy concentration. Lastly, depositing these In-doped SiC thin films onto p-type silicon substrates etched with buffered oxide etchant resulted in the formation of heterojunction p-n junction. This junction exhibited the rectifying characteristics of a diode, with sample current values in the vicinity of 102 mA, breakdown voltage at approximately −5.23 V, and open-circuit voltage around 1.56 V. This underscores the potential of In-doped SiC thin films for various semiconductor devices.

In this study, a simple pyramid-like ultra-wideband absorber was designed to explore high absorptivity across a wide bandwidth. The absorber consisted of eight layers organized into four groups, and each group comprised a metal layer followed by an oxide layer, both of which were square with equal side lengths. Specifically, the chosen oxides, arranged from bottom to top, included SiO2 (t7 layer), Al2O3 (t5 layer), SiO2 (t3 layer), and Al2O3 (t1 layer). In the initial design phase, the thickness of the t8 Ti layer was set to 50 nm and assigned initial values to the thicknesses of the t7-t1 layers, and the widths of the four groups w4, w3, w2, and w1, decreased successively from bottom to top, creating a structure reminiscent of a pyramid. Comsol (version 6.0) was utilized to simulate and systematically vary one parameter at a time, ranging from the thicknesses of the t7-t1 layers to the widths of w4-w1, in order to identify the most suitable structural parameters. Our analyses demonstrated that multimode resonance arose due to the emergence of absorption peaks at lower wavelengths between larger and smaller areas. Additionally, surface plasmon resonance and interference effects between various layers and materials were attributed to the alternating arrangement of metal and oxide layers. The enhancements in the electric field observed at different resonance peak wavelengths illustrated the Fabry–Perot cavity effect, while the impedance matching effect was observed through variations in the real and imaginary parts of the optical impedance with respect to the wave vector. After simulating using these optimally found thicknesses and widths, the aforementioned effects manifested in the pyramid-like ultra-wideband absorber we designed, with its absorptivity surpassing 0.900 across the spectrum from ultraviolet A (335 nm) to middle infrared (4865 nm).

Abstract Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has been reported to play an anti‐inflammatory and antioxidative stress role in a series of human diseases, including major depressive disorder. However, its exact mechanism is still largely unknown. Mouse BV‐2 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce an in vitro inflammatory cell model of depression. Cytotoxic effects were assessed with MTT and lactate dehydrigebase release assays. Cytokine mediators were elevated by western blot and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Autophagy‐relators were determined by immunofluorescence and western blot analyses. Interaction relationships among molecules were evaluated utilizing chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual luciferase assays. Methylated miR‐29a‐3p was detected via methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction. EPA treatment at 60 μM had no cytotoxic effects on BV2 cells and significantly inhibited the LPS‐induced inflammatory response and NLRP3 inflammasome but activated autophagy, while all these effects were reversed by the autophagy inhibitor 3‐MA. Importantly, miR‐29a‐3p exhibited a role similar to that of EPA in LPS‐treated BV2 cells. Mechanistically, EPA treatment elevated miR‐29a‐3p by repressing its promoter methylation. MAPK8 was a direct target of miR‐29a‐3p. Inhibition of miR‐29a‐3p greatly diminished the regulatory roles mediated by EPA in LPS‐treated BV2 cells, while these roles were further impeded after MAPK8 silencing. To conclude, our data demonstrated that EPA treatment alleviated LPS‐induced NLRP3 inflammasomes by activating autophagy via regulation of miR‐29a‐3p/MAPK8 signaling, which further elucidates the potential antidepressant mechanism of EPA.

Objectives: Gaps in linkage-to-care remain the barriers toward hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination in the directly-acting-antivirals (DAA) era, especially during SARS Co–V2 pandemics. We established an outreach project to target HCV micro-elimination in HCV-hyperendemic villages. Methods: The COMPACT provided “door-by-door” screening by an “outreach HCV-checkpoint team” and an “outreach HCV-care team” for HCV diagnosis, assessment and DAA therapy in Chidong/Chikan villages between 2019 and 2021. Participants from neighboring villages served as Control group. Results: A total of 5731 adult residents participated in the project. Anti-HCV prevalence rate was 24.0% (886/3684) in Target Group and 9.5% (194/2047) in Control group (P

Tar-rich coal is a special coal resource with the property of oil and gas resources. Developing the oil and gas resources contained in the tar-rich coal is of great significance for ensuring energy security and realizing the goal of "dual carbon". In-situ pyrolysis of tar-rich coal is a new coal resource development technology. Through some artificial cracks in coal seams, multiple wells can be connected. The coal seam is then heated using some technologies such as electric heating or fluid heating to generate oil and gas resources from the pyrolysis of tar-rich coal. At present, some problems such as coal seam heating mode, optimal pyrolysis temperature, reservoir reconstruction technology and efficient extraction of pyrolysis oil and gas need to be urgently solved. ① There are some defects in the application of reaction heating, conduction heating, and radiation heating in the underground in-situ heating of tar-rich coal. Convection heating based on injection fluid heating is more suitable for the in-situ heating of tar-rich coal. According to different geological conditions, it is still necessary to carry out targeted research work for optimizing the economical and safe heat carrying fluid and creating an efficient pyrolysis atmosphere. The combination of various heating methods is expected to be the breakthrough direction of the underground in-situ heating method of tar-rich coal. ② At present, 350−450 ℃ is generally recognized as the efficient pyrolysis temperature. With different coal characteristics and different pyrolysis atmospheres, the corresponding dominant pyrolysis temperature range is slightly different. The methods of chemical thermodynamics and kinetics for the pyrolysis of tar-rich coal are effective means to predict pyrolysis temperature scientifically. ③ Hydraulic fracturing, supercritical CO2 fracturing, and liquid nitrogen fracturing have some limitations for the in-situ pyrolysis of tar-rich coal. For different geological conditions, it is necessary to select the appropriate reservoir reconstruction scheme through specific objective evaluation. Controllable shock wave technology has the advantage of high efficiency and control in rock fracturing and is expected to be widely used in the in-situ pyrolysis process in the future. ④ The combustible gases produced by the pyrolysis of tar-rich coal are mainly CH4, H2, and CO, accompanied by a high content of CO2, which is easy to be directly extracted. The oil produced by pyrolysis is coal tar with high density and high viscosity, which will condense in large quantities below 180 ℃. There is a risk of wellbore clogging and the key to improving the extraction efficiency of pyrolysis products is to formulate the temperature and pressure maintenance scheme of the extraction well. In addition, the systematic issues such as integrated geological engineering evaluation, in-situ pyrolysis reaction process monitoring, and the whole-process numerical simulation of tar-rich coal should also be focused on in the future research work.

Abstract Aims Frailty in older patients with stage B heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has not been fully explored. We evaluated the prevalence and prognostic significance of frailty in older patients diagnosed with stage B HFpEF. Methods Our prospective cohort study included inpatients aged ≥65 years who were followed up for 3 years. Stage B HFpEF was defined as cardiac structural or functional abnormalities with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50% without signs or symptoms. Frailty was assessed using the Fried phenotype. The primary outcome was 3‐year all‐cause mortality or readmission. Results Overall, 520 older inpatients diagnosed with stage B HFpEF [mean ± standard deviation age: 75.5 ± 6.25 years, male: 222 (42.7%)] were included in the study. Of these, 145 (27.9%) were frail. Frail patients were older (78.5 ± 6.23 vs. 74.3 ± 6.22 years, P