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Eddy current method has been recently developed to characterize mechanical properties of materials and assess internal hydrogen content of high strength low alloy steels. The application of eddy current testing in evaluating hydrogen embrittlement state of 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V ferritic steel has been investigated using tensile test and electrochemical hydrogen charging test. The relationship between the embrittlement index and eddy current signal is well established. It found that there is a good linear relation between the hydrogen-induced plasticity loss and the eddy current signal. This shows eddy current testing is an effective method for evaluating hydrogen embrittlement state of 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present report, a new BDA for Cu 2+ has been disclosed for the first time. The presence of Cu 2+ caused an obvious fluorescence enhancement at 407 nm upon excitation at 360 nm, which could be distinguished by the naked eye under a UV lamp. It was found to have acceptable detection limits (0.12 μM), high selectivity and reversibility/reusability. The photoluminescence measurement indicates that BDA with Cu 2+ presence, showed very strong blue emission bands with CIE chromaticity coordinates (0.1652, 0.0723). Besides, the designed probe has shown potential applications in the area of sample monitoring, photo-printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on copper 1,10-phenanththroline (phen) derivatives continues to attract interest in the context of structure and biological properties. In this paper, two metal complexes [Cu(phen)(μ-Cl)]Cl ( 1), [Zn(phen)(HO)Cl]Cl·4HO ( 2) were synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures of 1 and 2 were determined by X-ray diffraction. In order to investigate the biological properties of the prepared complexes, spectroscopic and biological studies were performed. Results of X-ray diffraction showed that 1 and 2 form two types of crystal structures in a given system: dinuclear and mono-nuclear complex. The preliminary study on the DNA cleavage activity has shown that 1 under study behaved as the chemical nucleases. The DNA binding interaction of 1 & 2 with CT-DNA has been investigated by UV-Visible and fluorescence emission spectrometry and the apparent binding constant ( K ) values are 5.1 × 10 and 1.2 × 10 M, respectively. In addition, fluorescence spectrometry of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with 1 & 2 showed that the quenching mechanism might be a static quenching procedure with one binding sites for BSA. In addition, the cytotoxicity of 1 in vitro on tumor cells lines (MCF-7, HepG2 and HT29) was examined by MTT and showed better antitumor effect on the tested cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fluorescent sensor, 1-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)urea ( ocn) has been designed and applied as a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent probe for recognition of Al3+ in Tris-HCl (pH = 7.20) solution. The probe ocn exhibits an excellent selectivity to Al3+ over other examined metal ions, anions and amino acids with a prominent fluorescence 'turn-on' at 438 nm. ocn binds to Al3+ with a 2:1 binding stoichiometry and the detection limit was 0.3 μM. Furthermore, its capability of biological application was evaluated and the results showed that the sensor could be used to detect Al3+ in living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel SO luminescent sensor (Cu- p-CPIP) was developed and the presence of SO caused an obvious fluorescence enhancement at 420 nm upon excitation at 330 nm, which could be distinguished with the naked eye under a UV lamp. Remarkably, the compound exhibited excellent selective and sensitive response to SO over other common anions with a micromolar limit of detection (0.442 μM) in DMSO/HO (v/v, 1:1) buffer. The absorbance intensity and the color of Cu- p -CPIP solution changed gradually with the increase of SO concentration. The proposed method was applied to the determination of SO in milk samples and the recoveries were 97.5-105 %. The preparation of Cu- p -CPIP exhibited the quick, simple and facile advantages. The results showed that Cu- p -CPIP can be a good candidate for simple, rapid and sensitive colorimetric detection of SO in aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statins have been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis and tumor progression in cancer patients and statin use at the time of cancer diagnosis has been reported to be associated with reduced cancer risk and improved survival, irrespective of concomitant anti-cancer therapy. A systematic literature search of relevant databases through May 2015 was conducted to identify studies assessing the prognostic impact of statin use on prognostic outcomes in cancer patients. Literature search identified 95 cohort studies that met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of 55 articles showed that statin use was significantly associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.70, 95% Cl 0.66 to 0.74) compared with nonusers. The observed pooled estimates were retained for cancer-specific mortality (HR 0.60, 95% Cl 0.47 to 0.77), progression-free survival (HR 0.67, 95% Cl 0.56 to 0.81), recurrence-free survial (HR 0.74, 95% Cl 0.65 to 0.83) and disease-free survival (HR 0.53, 95% Cl 0.40 to 0.72). These associations almost remained consistent across those outcomes when stratified by publication type, tumour location, study design, sample size, initiation of statins, disease stage, research country, follow-up duration or research hospital involved. Subgroup analyses according to initiation of statins showed postdiagnosis statin users (HR 0.65, 95% Cl 0.54 to 0.79) gained significantly more recurrence-free survival benefit than prediagnosis statin users (HR 0.86, 95% Cl 0.77 to 0.96) ( p for interaction = 0.018). Statin therapy has potential survival benefit for patients with malignancy. Further large-scale prospective studies emphasising survival outcomes of individual cancer type are strongly encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new platinum(II) complexes: Pt L1·HO ( C1, H L1 = CHNO), Pt L2Cl ( C2, L2 = CHNO), Pt L3Cl·HO ( C3, L3 = CHN), Pt L4Cl·0.4HO ( C4, L4 = CHN) have been synthesized and characterized by using various physico-chemical techniques. The binding interaction of the four platinum(II) complexes C1- C4 with calf thymus (CT)-DNA has been investigated by UV-Vis and fluorescence emission spectrometry. The apparent binding constant ( K values follow the order: C3 > C1 > C2 > C4. In addition, fluorescence spectrometry of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with the four platinum(II) complexes C1- C4 showed that the quenching mechanism might be a static quenching procedure. For C1- C4, the number of binding sites was about one for BSA and the binding constants follow the order: C3 (7.08 × 10M) > C1 (2.82 × 10M) > C2 (0.85 × 10M) > C4 (0.15 × 10M). With the single condition change such as absence of an external agent, the DNA cleavage abilities of C3 exhibit remarkable changes. In addition, the cytotoxicity of C3 in vitro on tumor cells lines (MCF-7, HepG2 and HT29) were examined by MTT and showed better antitumor effects on the tested cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Temporal and spatial variations in reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from 1980 to 2012 were investigated for 33 meteorological stations in the three-river source region ( TRSR). Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration in the TRSR significantly decreased at a rate of 0.91 mm a−2 from 1980 to 2012, and the decrease was actually an offset of the positive effect of increasing air temperature on ET0 and the negative effect of decreasing net radiation, wind speed, and actual vapor pressure. A differential equation method based on the Penman-Monteith formula was used to attribute the change in ET0. As for the decrease of reference evapotranspiration from 1980 to 2012, the contributions of net radiation, wind speed, actual vapor pressure, and air temperature were −0.57, −0.49, −0.26, +0.41 mm a−2, respectively. Thus, 'net radiation decrease' was the major reason for the decrease in ET0 for the TRSR. In addition, it appears that the change in ET0 was more sensitive to meteorological variables in high-elevation regions than in low-elevation regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation regulates the exchange of terrestrial carbon and water fluxes and connects the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Over the last four decades, vegetation greening has been observed worldwide using satellite technology. China has also experienced a notably widespread greening trend. However, the responsiveness of vegetation dynamics to elevated CO2 concentration, climate change, and human activities remains unclear. In this study, we attempted to explore the impact of natural (precipitation, air temperature), biogeochemical (CO2), and anthropogenic drivers (nighttime light, afforestation area) on changes in vegetation greenness in the Haihe River Basin (HRB) during 2002–2018 at the county-level. We further determined the major factors affecting the variation in satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) for each county. The results indicated that over 85% of the counties had a significantly increased NDVI trend, and the average linear trend of annual NDVI across the study region was 0.0037 per year. The largest contributor to the NDVI trend was CO2 (mean contribution 45%), followed by human activities (mean contribution of 27%). Additionally, afforestation was a pronounced driving force for NDVI changes in mountainous areas, resulting from ecosystem restoration efforts. Our findings emphasize the crucial role of CO2 fertilization in vegetation cover change, while considering CO2 concentration, climate change, and human activities, and shed light on the significant influences of afforestation programs on water resources, especially in mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is poor, and the relevant prognostic factors are incompletely understood. We aimed to explore the prognostic factors and develop a validated prognostic prediction model for pPCL patients in the new era. This multicenter retrospective study was conducted across 16 hospitals in China. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to develop a prediction model. The predictive performance of the model was assessed using multiple metrics. Internal validation was conducted using bootstrap resampling. A total of 102 pPCL patients were included in this study, and 57 (55.9%) were male. The 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month OS rates for pPCL patients were 75.4%, 58.3%, and 47.6%, respectively. An overall survival prognostic nomogram for pPCL patients was established by integrating independent prognostic factors, including age, B2MG, and del17p. The nomogram exhibited good performance, with a C-index of 0.720 (95% CI 0.642–0.797) and an AUC of 0.653. Bootstrap validation yielded a C-index of 0.721 (95% CI 0.629–0.787) and an AUC of 0.653 (95% CI 0.546–0.759), indicating a relatively good fit of the calibration curve. A nomogram incorporating age, B2MG grade, and del17p were developed and validated to accurately and consistently predict the prognosis of pPCL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A modified Penman-Monteith method incorporated the CO 2 effect on surface resistance. • Historical and future variations in ET 0 and their attribution were examined. • The dominant factor shifted from wind speed to maximum air temperature after 1993. • The future changes in ET 0 could be dominated by maximum air temperature. Reference evapotranspiration (ET 0) is a key component of the water cycle. In this study, a modified Penman–Monteith method incorporating the CO 2 effect on surface resistance was used to estimate past change in ET 0 in China for 1961–2019 and to project future changes for 2040–2099. A partial-differential equation was used to attribute the changes in ET 0. Results indicated the following. (1) A shift point in the annual ET 0 series occurred in 1993, in which annual ET 0 in China had been decreasing and then increased significantly by −18.93 and 11.19 mm·decade-1 before and after 1993, respectively, with ET 0 having changed most drastically within the temperate continental climate zone. (2) Wind speed and solar radiation were the major dominant factors responsible for the change in ET 0 during 1961–1992, and their contribution rates were 48.30 and 38.92 %, respectively. During 1993–2019, increasing maximum air temperature was the dominant factor contributing to increasing ET 0 , with a contribution rate of 81.71%, yet wind speed was the dominant factor affecting ET 0 changes at 45% of the stations in China. (3) In future projections, maximum air temperature is expected to be the dominant factor influencing the increase in ET 0 , the values of which were projected at 1.49 and 16.05 mm·decade-1 during 2040–2099 under RCP4.5 and 8.5 scenarios, respectively, with projections from five GCMs. The increasing surface resistance response to elevated CO 2 was found to be an important contributor to the decrease in ET 0. Particularly for the RCP8.5 scenario, the increase in surface resistance was found to lead to the decrease in ET 0 by −0.68 mm·year−1 (-42.37%). This suggests that historical and future tendencies towards aridity in China may be considerably weaker and less extensive than previously assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the emerging knowledge about postoperative anal fistula recurrence (AFR) and the increasing number of clinical studies, there is no better understanding or consensus regarding the risk factors for AFR. The aim of this study was to generate international consensus guidance statements focusing on AFR.Methods: A two-round modified Delphi process was conducted among international surgical specialists via an online survey delivered by email with a secure link created with Google Forms. Surgeons were asked to use a 9-point Likert scale to rate the importance of patient-, fistula-, and surgery-related statements developed based on our previous systematic review. Consensus was reached when at least 70% of panel members rated a statement as being of critical importance (ratings of 7-9).Results: Of a total of 60 experts invited, 38 experts representing 13 countries from four continents agreed to participate in the first round of the Delphi process and 31 in the second round. In total, consensus was reached on 14 statements on the risk factors for AFR in three domains: patient-related risk factors included comorbid colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and use of immunosuppressants; fistula-related factors included transsphincteric fistula, number of fistula, horseshoe extension, undetected internal opening, location of anal fistula, recurrent fistula, suprasphincteric fistula, and height of the internal opening; and surgery-related factors included type of surgery, previous fistula surgery and surgeon.Conclusion: This Delphi study provides an evidence-based profile of risk factors for AFR in the patient-, surgery- and fistula-related domains from a global perspective. Clinically, these indicators can be incorporated to develop risk calculation tools for the early detection of AFR in high-risk patients, allowing early prevention and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced (CE) fat-suppressed three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted imaging with volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (FS-T1-3D-VIBE) and fat-suppressed T1-weighted turbo spin echo (FS-T1-TSE) sequence in characteristics of anal fistula. Methods: One hundred and two patients underwent perianal CE-MRI examination on a 3T scanner including FS-T1-3D-VIBE and FS-T1-TSE sequences before surgery. The performance of each sequence was evaluated in terms of fistula classification, clarity of internal opening, number and position of internal openings including the distance between internal opening and anal verge, presence of secondary tracts and blind-ending sinus tracts. MRI findings were compared with surgical findings. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of fistula, gluteus maximus, and subcutaneous fat were compared between CE FS-T1-TSE and CE FS-T1-3D-VIBE. Results: Compared with CE FS-T1-TSE, CE FS-T1-3D-VIBE displayed more accurate in secondary tract, lithotomy position of the internal opening and the distance between internal opening and anal verge (P < 0.05). CE FS-T1-3D-VIBE was found superior to CE FS-T1-TSE in the clarity of the internal openings and in the diagnostic accuracy of blind-ending sinus tracts and complex fistulas in Standard Practice Task Force classification (P < 0.05). CE FS-T1-3D-VIBE achieved higher SNRs and CNRs in fistula and gluteus maximus than CE FS-T1-TSE (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: CE-MRI of FS-T1-3D-VIBE might be a more valuable noninvasive technique than FS-T1-TSE to evaluate the anal fistula on evaluating the lithotomy position of internal opening, distance between internal opening and anal verge, clarity of internal opening, secondary tract, blind-ending sinus tract and classification of the complex fistula. The trial registration number for this prospective trial was Chi-TR1800020206 and the trial registration date was December 20, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural irrigation involves both water and energy consumption, especially in well irrigation districts. These two processes are closely linked considering to the energy consumed when pumping groundwater. This study analyzes the relationship between agricultural water consumption and energy consumption in the well irrigation areas of Hebei province. During the period of 1980–2015, irrigation efficiency increased while agricultural irrigation energy efficiency gradually decreased. In 1980, 0.8 m³ of water and 0.12 kWh of electric energy was required for irrigation to produce 1 kg grain, while in 2015, 0.4 m³ water and 0.45 kWh electric energy was required. This phenomenon is primarily attributed to the decline of the groundwater table leading to a necessary increase in energy consumption for pumping of groundwater. This study aimed to analyze the effect of saving both energy and water as well as the increase in energy consumption due to the decline in the groundwater table. The results show that 75.6 billion kWh of electrical energy was conserved due to water saving measures while the decline of groundwater table has resulted in an energy consumption increase of 174.4 billion kWh from 1986 to 2015. Which means the decline of groundwater table not only offset the effect of energy and water saving measures but also consumed an additional 98.8 billion kWh of electric energy. Moreover, the results show that since 1997, the quantity of irrigation energy saved through water saving measures has not been able to offset the increase in irrigation energy consumption caused by the decline in the groundwater table, and this difference is increasing. Finally, due to the decline in the groundwater table, irrigation energy consumption per unit water volume increases exponentially and the cost of irrigation energy consumption will become a factor that cannot be ignored. As irrigation water use efficiency cannot accurately reflect the regional water saving effect, this study suggests considering irrigation energy use efficiency (IEUE) from a water-energy nexus perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]