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Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is a systematic approach to tracking and documenting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emission reductions. MRV can be used across all sectors and for all GHGs to track emissions patterns, evaluate programs, and promote transparency. As methane and other short-lived climate pollutants become critical to mitigating near-term climate change impacts, MRV systems become critical in improving emission inventories; facilitating the development of climate change policies and targets, and tracking and demonstrating progress towards sustainable development. This report focuses on current sectoral issues – including the emerging roles for satellites and remote sensing technologies - and international best practices in MRV policies and programs for non-carbon dioxide (CO2) GHGs including methane, nitrous oxide (N2O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in specific sectors. Based on international best practices and a review of China’s current MRV system, we offer suggestions for a possible path forward for developing and implementing a stronger non-CO2 MRV system.

Unprotected loss of flow accident is severe for sodium-cooled fast reactor in that it will cause the boiling of sodium and then cause severe accident. For large MOX fuel sodium-cooled fast reactors, the sodium void reactivity is positive, which can make the consequences of unprotected loss of flow accidents more severe. The design of the upper sodium plenum is an effective method for reducing sodium void reactivity in MOX fuel. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of upper sodium plenum design on the unprotected loss of flow accident in the large MOX fuel 1000 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor. Based on multi-group nodule diffusion method and perturbation theory, the total sodium void reactivity, spatial distribution and physical components of MOX fuel core with upper sodium plenum in 1 000 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor were calculated. Based on the results of the calculation of sodium void reactivity, the transient analysis of the 1 000 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor core was carried out by using the transient analysis code CODA developed by China Institute of Atomic Energy. The assessment of the CODA code was carried out, by using the code to model experiments that simulate a loss of flow accident in a sodium-cooled fast reactor. Comparison of the predictions with experiment, confirm the ability of the CODA code to predict the principal sodium boiling phenomena. In order to better evaluate the reactivity effects, especially the sodium void reactivity, the CODA code adopted a model that considered the spatial distribution of reactivity feedback. The unprotected loss of flow transients with and without sodium plenum were evaluated respectively by CODA code. For the traditional core without upper sodium plenum, sodium void reactivity is strongly positive. In the case of an unprotected loss of flow accident, rapid generation of sodium vapor in the central part of the core leads to introduction of positive reactivity, rapid increase of power, and finally leads to fuel melting and relocation. For sodium-cooled fast reactor designs with large upper sodium plenum, sodium void reactivity is negative in the upper part of the core. Sodium vapor generated in the unprotected loss of flow accident could be limited to the upper part of the core which leads to introduction of negative reactivity and decrease of power. The analysis results show that new design features of upper sodium plenum design are able to significantly improve this unprotected loss of flow accident behavior.

Lipophilic active substances are of great interest to the field of food and health products because of their natural advantages and potential functional properties. However, they are difficult to effectively digest and absorb in the human body due to their hydrophobicity, environmental sensitivity deficiencies (such as oxygen, light, temperature) and partial or complete degradation in the digestive tract after ingestion. Using alginate nano-delivery carriers with strong stability and barrier effect can effectively solve the above problems while prolonging the release of lipophilic active substances. This paper reviews the structure of alginate and its functional properties such as gelation properties, pH response and biological activity, with a focus on the current status of research on alginate nanocarriers, such as nanoemulsions, nanoparticles, nanogels and nanofibers for the delivery of lipophilic active substances as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different nanocarriers. Finally, this article summarizes the application status of alginate in the food field, aiming to provide a reference for the application of lipophilic active substances in the food field.

In order to further explore flavor peptides and their structure-activity relationship, umami peptides from Yangjiang Douchi were separated and purified by successive alcohol precipitation method, ultrafiltration and ion exchange resin adsorption. The amino nitrogen content, succinic acid content, nucleotide content, relative molecular mass distribution of peptides and free amino acid composition of the obtained fractions were compared. In addition, sensory evaluation and electronic tongue were used to verify the taste characteristics of each fraction. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to identify the amino acid sequences of the best flavor peptides. The results showed that among the fractions obtained alcohol precipitation and ultrafiltration (E1, E2, E3, E4, A1, A2 and A3), E3 and A3 were the best ones in terms of umami. Fraction A3-I, which was obtained after purification using XAD-7 ion exchange resin, had the strongest umami taste with an umami value of 7.65. Finally, through identification and molecular docking screening, the peptide sequence with the best umami taste was found to be TYDGDTEP. This study provides a theoretical basis and reference for the separation of flavor peptides from Douchi and further exploration of its flavor pattern.

Objective To evaluate the application value of ultrasound-guided suprainguinal iliaca fascia block combined with general anesthesia with laryngeal mask in elderly patients undergoing surgery for the great saphenous varicose veins. Methods Sixty elderly patients scheduled for unilateral high ligation and stripping of the great saphenous veins combined with endovenous laser ablation were randomly divided into Group A （general anesthesia with laryngeal mask alone， n = 30） and Group B （ultrasound-guided suprainguinal fascia iliaca block combined with general anesthesia with laryngeal mask， n = 30）. Intraoperative anesthetic consumption， hemodynamic fluctuations， and laryngeal mask removal time were recorded. Postoperative changes in static and dynamic Visual Analogue Scale （VAS） pain scores， 15-item Quality of Recovery （QoR-15） scores， Mini-Mental State Examination （MMSE） scores， and adverse events were also evaluated. Results The QoR-15 and MMSE scores at postoperative 24 h in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A （both P < 0.05）. The mean arterial pressure （MAP） and heart rate （HR） during skin incision in Group A were significantly higher than those in Group B （both P < 0.05）. The static and dynamic VAS pain scores at postoperative 5 min， 30 min， 6 h， and 12 h in Group B were significantly lower compared to those in Group A （all P < 0.05）. In Group B， the consumption of propofol and remifentanil was significantly less， and the laryngeal mask removal time was significantly shorter than those in Group A， with statistically significant differences （both P < 0.05）. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided suprainguinal fascia iliaca block combined with general anesthesia with laryngeal mask improves postoperative quality of recovery and cognitive function， reduces anesthetic consumption， shortens extubation time， enhances hemodynamic stability and alleviates postoperative pain， thereby promoting rapid recovery.

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the features of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss in patients with Bilateral Meniere's Disease. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 77 patients diagnosed with Bilateral Meniere's Disease. The features of endolymphatic hydrops in the affected ear were evaluated through gadolinium-enhanced inner ear Magnetic resonance imaging. The Spearman correlation coefficient, paired t-tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were employed for data analysis. Results The analysis revealed a significant correlation between the degree of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss across all frequencies(0.125–8 kHz), including the cochlear, vestibular, and overall degree of endolymphatic hydrops. The strongest correlation between the overall degree of endolymphatic hydrops and hearing loss was observed at low frequencies (r = 0.571, p

Abstract Recently emerged SAM-Med2D represents a state-of-the-art advancement in medical image segmentation. Through fine-tuning the Large Visual Model, Segment Anything Model (SAM), on extensive medical datasets, it has achieved impressive results in cross-modal medical image segmentation. However, its reliance on interactive prompts may restrict its applicability under specific conditions. To address this limitation, we introduce SAM-AutoMed, which achieves automatic segmentation of medical images by replacing the original prompt encoder with an improved MobileNet v3 backbone. The performance on multiple datasets surpasses both SAM and SAM-Med2D. Current enhancements on the Large Visual Model SAM lack applications in the field of medical image classification. Therefore, we introduce SAM-MedCls, which combines the encoder of SAM-Med2D with our designed attention modules to construct an end-to-end medical image classification model. It performs well on datasets of various modalities, even achieving state-of-the-art results, indicating its potential to become a universal model for medical image classification.

Abstract Background Chronic radiation dermatitis (CRD) is a late consequence of radiation with high incidence in patients receiving radiotherapy. Conventional therapies often yield unsatisfactory results. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the therapeutic potential and mechanism of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) for CRD, paving the way for novel regenerative therapies in clinical practice. Methods Clinical CRD skin biopsies were analyzed to character the pathological changes of CRD skin and guided the animal modeling scheme. Subsequently, an in vivo analysisusing mouse CRD models was conducted to explore their effects of ADSCs on CRD, monitoring therapeutic impact for up to 8 weeks. Transcriptome sequencing and histologic sections analysis were performed to explore the potential therapeutic mechanism of ADSCs. Following observing extensive apoptosis of transplanted ADSCs, the therapeutic effect of ADSCs were compared with those of apoptosis-inhibited ADSCs. Multiphoton imaging and analysis of collagen morphologic features were employed to explain how translated ADSCs promote collagen remodeling at the microscopic level based on the contrast of morphology of collagen fibers. Results Following injection into CRD-afflicted skin, ADSCs therapy effectively mitigated symptoms of CRD, including acanthosis of the epidermis, fibrosis, and irregular collagen deposition, consistent with the possible therapeutic mechanism suggested by transcriptome sequencing. Notably, in vivo tracking revealed a significant reduction in ADSCs number due to extensive apoptosis. Inhibiting apoptosis in ADSCs partially tempered their therapeutic effects. Mechanically, analysis of collagen morphologic features indicated that translated ADSCs might promote dermal extracellular matrix remodeling through enlarging, lengthening, crimping, and evening collagen, counteracting the atrophy and rupture caused by irradiation. Conclusions This study demonstrated that ADSCs underwent substantial apoptosis upon local skin transplantation, and paradoxically, this apoptosis is essential for their efficacy in promoting the regeneration of late radiation-impaired skin. Mechanically, transplanted ADSCs could promote the remodeling and rearrangement of radiation-damaged dermal collagen matrix.

Abstract There are no studies exploring the correlation between sleep duration and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC). This study aims to investigate this relationship and its significance. Additionally, given the higher prevalence of sleep disorders and AAC in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), we conducted further studies in this population. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013–2014. Sleep duration was assessed by a sleep questionnaire and categorized into 2–5, 6–8, and ≥ 9 h. The AAC-24 score is determined using the Kauppila scoring system and used for AAC assessment. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between sleep duration and AAC. Among the 2,996 participants, 14.29% reported nightly short sleep (2–5 h), 77.64% reported intermediate sleep (6–8 h), and 8.08% reported long sleep (≥ 9 h). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, among male participants with CKD, long sleep (≥ 9 h) significantly increased AAC-24 scores compared with intermediate sleep (6–8 h) (β: 2.12; 95% CI: 0.75, 3.50), and the risk of severe AAC (SAAC) was increased by 1.55 times (OR: 2.55; 95% CI: 1.02, 6.36). And among female CKD and non-CKD participants, sleep duration was not associated with AAC. Long sleep duration increases the risk of AAC among male adults with CKD. Prospective studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Abstract Background Sepsis is associated with a high incidence and mortality and poses a significant challenge to the treatment. Although esmolol has shown promise in sepsis treatment, its efficacy and safety remain contentious. This meta-analysis aims to clarify the role of esmolol in sepsis management. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library, clinicaltrials.gov and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry were searched and references of relevant reviews and meta-analysis were also screened for appropriate studies. Keywords and free words of ‘sepsis’, ‘esmolol’ and ‘randomized controlled trials’ were used for search. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results Fifteen studies involving 1100 patients were included. Compared with the control group, patients receiving esmolol exhibited significantly decreased 28-day mortality (RR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.81; P

Abstract Single-cell multi-omics sequencing is a powerful approach to analyze complex mechanisms underlying neuronal development and regeneration. However, current methods lack the ability to simultaneously profile RNA alternative splicing and chromatin accessibility at the single-cell level. We develop a technique, single-cell RNA isoform and chromatin accessibility sequencing (scRICA-seq), which demonstrates higher sensitivity and cost-effectiveness compared to existing methods. scRICA-seq can profile both isoforms and chromatin accessibility for up to 10,000 single cells in a single run. Applying this method to human retinal organoids, we construct a multi-omic cell atlas and reveal associations between chromatin accessibility, isoform expression of fate-determining factors, and alternative splicing events in their binding sites. This study provides insights into integrating epigenetics, transcription, and RNA splicing to elucidate the mechanisms underlying retinal neuronal development and fate determination.

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and outcomes of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19) in patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI), and analyze the risk factors of outcomes. Methods The clinical data of COVID-19 patients with AI in Peking Union Medical College Hospital in December 2022 were analyzed retrospectively and the patients were followed up to collect outcomes of their diseases. Results Among 28 COVID-19 patients with AI, 20 cases (71.4%) received basal corticosteroid replacement. Among the 18 patients with community-acquired COVID-19, 11 cases (61.1%) increased the corticosteroid dosage proactively at home. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 were fever (96.4%), gastrointestinal symptoms (82.1%) and consciousness disturbance (78.6%). Occurrence of severe consciousness disturbance was associated with older age and lower basal corticosteroid replacement dose(P＜0.05). Adrenal crisis(AC) occurred in 20 patients(71.4%), which was associated with lower basal corticosteroid replacement dose, hypochloremia, lower eosinophil, lower platelet, and longer activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT)(P＜0.05). 2 patients died during hospitalization.26.3 % (5/19) of surviving patient′s recovered consciousness longer than 48 hours. Delayed recovery of consciousness was associated with lower systolic pressure, higher blood creatinine, and higher fibrinogen(P＜0.05). Long COVID-19 symptoms such as fatigue and poor appetite occurred in 48.0 % (12/25) of patients. Among patients with increased corticosteroid dosage, 50.0 % (12/24) had their dose reduced to baseline within 3 weeks. Conclusions COVID-19 patients with AI have a high frequency of consciousness disturbance and AC. AI patients are lack of awareness of adjusting corticosteroid dosage proactively in case of infection stress, thus education of “sick day rules” for AI patients should be strengthened in clinical practice.

Abstract Background The primary objective of this investigation was to compare the nominal central ablation depth with the achieved central corneal stromal ablation depth after StreamLight transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (tPRK) for myopia with WaveLight® laser by Alcon Laboratories, TX, USA. Methods This ambispective study encompassed a retrospective analysis of 40 eyes who underwent treatment for myopia and astigmatism, followed by a prospective examination conducted 6–9 months postoperatively. Pre- and postoperative Avanti spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT; Optovue Inc., CA, USA) provided stromal and epithelial thickness maps. The difference between pre- and postoperative central stromal thicknesses at the corneal vertex was used to calculate the achieved stromal thickness ablation depth. This value was then compared with the corresponding central nominal depth on the laser ablation planning map. Results A total of 40 eyes (OD/OS:18/22) of 40 patients (31.4 ± 9.2 years) were available for evaluation. The mean treated spherical equivalent was − 2.98 ± 1.46 D. The mean nominal and achieved central stromal ablation depths were 51.22 µm and 59.67 μm, respectively, showing a mean stromal excessive ablation of 16.50%. The mean pre- and postoperative central epithelial thicknesses were 53.74 μm and 59.31 μm, respectively, showing a mean postoperative thickness increase of 10.46%. This increase in the epithelial thickness rendered the mean postoperative pachymetry reduction to 54.11 μm, only 2.33% greater than the mean nominal ablation depth. Conclusions The study revealed a central stromal ablation 16.50% greater than the nominal ablation depth. This excessive stromal removal was largely compensated for by the increase in epithelial thickness, resulting in a mean difference between the nominal ablation depth and the achieved central corneal pachymetry reduction of only 2.33%. This significant excessive central stromal ablation must be taken into consideration in the calculation of the residual stromal thickness.