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Abstract Biochar is a carbon sink material with the potential to improve water retention in various soils. However, for the long‐term maintenance of green infrastructure, there is an additional need to regulate the water contents in the covers to maintain vegetation growth in semiarid conditions. In this study, biochar‐amended soil was combined with subsurface drip irrigation, and the water preservation characteristics of this treatment were investigated through a series of one‐dimensional soil column tests. To ascertain the best treatment method specific to semiarid climatic conditions, the test soil was amended with 0%, 1%, 3%, and 5% biochar. Automatic irrigation devices equipped with soil moisture sensors were used to control the subsurface water content with the aim of enhancing vegetation growth. Each soil column test lasted 150 h, during which the volumetric water contents and soil suction data were recorded. The experimental results reveal that the soil specimen amended with 3% biochar is the most water‐saving regardless of the time cost. Soil with a higher biochar content (e.g., 5%) consumes a more significant amount of water due to the enhancement of the water‐holding capacity. Based on the experimental results, it can be concluded that the appropriate ratio can be determined within 1%–3%, which can reduce not only the amount of irrigated/used water but also the time cost. Such technology can be explored for water content regulation in green infrastructure and the development of barriers for protecting the environment around deep underground waste containment.

DFOS (distributed fiber-optic sensing) technology has shown the potential to increase the accuracy of measurement after years of development and experimenting in geoengineering monitoring. To better understand the development of DFOS technology and its contribution to geoengineering, an objective and data-driven review of the development process of DFOS technology in construction was completed. The review was accomplished by using text mining methods on the Web of Science, covering a wide range of relevant data, including 3970 articles from 1989 to 2023. The results indicate that DFOS technology research demonstrates the typical characteristics of multi-author, multi-country, and multi-institution collaborations, spanning various research fields. Over the past 35 years, the number of published articles has exhibited exponential growth, with China making significant contributions and leading in terms of its total publication growth rate, which has been higher than that of the United States since 2016. In the analysis of author keywords, emerging technologies, such as machine learning and distributed acoustic sensing, have garnered attention. The findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the development, impact, and future trends of DFOS technology in geotechnical engineering, offering valuable insights for researchers, scholars, and students in the field and inspiring new approaches for research methods in this domain.

The leading cause of mortality worldwide is atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerotic plaques are well known to originate early in the childhood. Identifying hyperlipidemia in early childhood creates an opportunity to prevent major cardiovascular events in adults. Children with identified risk factors are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular incidents in later life. This article emphasizes the diagnosis and management of pediatric hyperlipidemia with reference to the recent guidelines. In terms of etiology pediatric hyperlipidemia are divided into primary and secondary causes. The mainstay of management includes high-risk target screening, early risk factor identification and lifestyle modifications in vulnerable population. Drug therapy is recommended in primary hyperlipidemia and in children with no response to lifestyle changes.

Abstract In the past few decades, numerous studies have been conducted to promote the use of biochar as a soil amendment and most recently, for compacted geo-engineered soils. In general, the definite trends of biochar effects on water retention and fertility of soils have been confirmed. However, the biochar effects on hydraulic conductivity, particularly unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil-biochar mix remain unclear, making it difficult to understand water seepage in both agricultural and geo-engineered infrastructures in semi-arid regions. This study examines the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function derived based on the measurements of soil water characteristic curves of soil with biochar contents of 0%, 5% and 10%. A new parameter “biochar conductivity factor (BCF)” is proposed to evaluate the inconsistency in reported biochar effects on soil hydraulic conductivity and to interpret it from various mechanisms (inter- and intra- pore space filling, cracking, aggregation, bio-film formation and piping/internal erosion). The impact of biochar content on unsaturated hydraulic conductivity appears to reduce as the soil becomes drier with minimal effect in residual zone. Qualitative comparison of near-saturated hydraulic conductivity with test results in the literature showed that the BCF is generally higher for smaller ratio of sand to fine content (clay and silt). Moreover, the particle size of biochar may have significant influence on soil permeability. Future scope of research has been highlighted with respect to biochar production for its applications in agriculture and geo-environmental engineering. Long term effects such as root decay and growth, aggregation and nutrient supply need to be considered. Graphical Abstract

The effect of climate/environmental change has resulted in adverse water stress conditions which necessitates the sustainable approaches for improving the water use efficiency to boost agricultural production in Central Asia. Water-absorbing polymer (WAP) has emerged as one of the amendments for soil water stress management. WAP are chemically cross-linked structure capable of absorbing and storing a large amount of water. The agricultural land has different levels of fertilizers which can influence the performance of WAP because of its sensitivity due to external ionic medium. Therefore, the combined or hybrid use of WAP and organic/ inorganic fertilizers may inhibit the functionality of WAP, which needs to be thoroughly investigated. This study demonstrates the performance of two different WAPs (a commercially WAP (crosslinked potassium polyacrylate) and a laboratory synthesized WAP (crosslinked fly ash-polyacrylate superabsorbent composite)) with varying combinations of fertilizers in silt loam (agrarian soil). The combined use of fertilizers and WAP have improved the water retention properties of soils due to modification in the soil pore volume for both the WAPs. Quantification from water retention properties revealed a significant increase in plant wilting time (PWT) and plant available water content (PAWC) under the combined influence of fertilizers and WAP amended soils, indicating the possibility of high-water availability to plant roots. The study suggests the potential of WAPs as an efficient soil conditioner even in the presence of fertilizer for countering the negative impacts of water stress conditions. WAPs might minimize the requirement for chemical fertilizers, which helps to enhance the climate/environmental change and agriculture sector in the Central Asian region.

Nowadays, the use of new compound chemical stabilizers to treat marine clay has gained significant attention. However, the complex non-linear relationship between the influencing factors and the unconfined compressive strength of chemically treated marine clay is not clear. In order to study the influence of various factors (dosage, type of stabilizer, curing age) on the unconfined compressive strength of solidified soil during chemical treatment, experiments were performed to determine the unconfined compressive strength of soft marine clay modified with various types of stabilizers. Further, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was used to establish a prediction model based on the unconfined compressive strength test data and to verify the performance. Sensitivity and optimization analyses were further conducted to explore the relative significance of parameters as well as the optimal dosage amount. Research has found that when the content of aluminate cement is 89.5% and the content of curing agent is 30%, the unconfined compressive strength significantly increases after 28 days of solidification, and the change in quicklime content has the greatest effect on the improvement in the unconfined compressive strength. The influence of modifiers on the unconfined compressive strength is in the order: potassium hydroxide > kingsilica > quick lime > bassanite. The values of each factor were obtained when the unconfined compressive strength was the maximum, which provided support for the optimization of the treatment scheme. The analysis of chemical treatment is no longer limited to the linear relationship according to the test results, which proves the feasibility of non-linear relationship analysis based on the artificial neural network.

Field peas are one of the most common crops and are grown in various climatic zones. However, the productivity of this crop can be largely limited by climatic factors. This study investigated the influence of climatic factors on pea grain yield in the semi-arid conditions of the Rostov region of Russia in 2008–2020. To quantify climatic factors, agro-climatic variables were used, such as total temperatures below the minimum temperature, the number of days with temperatures below the minimum temperature, total temperatures above the critical temperature, the number of days with temperatures above the critical temperature, and the Selyaninov hydrothermal coefficient. Agro-climatic variables were calculated using daily climatic variables, such as maximum and minimum temperatures, relative air humidity, and precipitation during pea growing season (April–June). The yield of the pea varied from 90 to 250 kg/ha. In general, the productivity of peas is negatively affected by high temperatures and low humidification level. The yield is negatively correlated with accumulative temperatures above the critical temperature and the number of days with temperatures above the critical temperature and positively correlated with the Selyaninov hydrothermal coefficient and the precipitation in all analyzed areas. The influence of the accumulative temperatures above the critical temperature is the most significant. It explains between 6.6% and 78.9% of the interannual variability of the pea yield. The increase in accumulative temperatures above the critical threshold by every 1 °C will contribute to a decrease in pea grain yield by an average of 0.150 kg/ha. The maximum temperatures in May and June (the period of flowering–grain filling) have the most negative impact on the yield. A 1 °C increase in the average maximum temperature during this period will contribute to a decrease in pea yield by an average of 19.175 kg/ha. The influence of total precipitation during the growing season explains between 12.3% and 50.0% of the variability. The 1 mm decrease in the total precipitation for the growing season will lead to a decrease in pea yields by an average of 0.736 kg/ha. The results of this study can be applied to regional yield forecasting, as well as predicting the impact of climate variability on the grain yield of pea crops in arid areas.

Wind erosion is one of the significant natural calamities worldwide, which degrades around one-third of global land. The eroded and suspended soil particles in the environment may cause health hazards, i.e. allergies and respiratory diseases, due to the presence of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and pollens. The present study evaluates the feasibility of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technique to mitigate wind-induced erosion of calcareous desert sand (Thar desert of Rajasthan province in India). The temperature during biotreatment was kept at 36 °C to stimulate the average temperature of the Thar desert. The spray method was used for bioaugmentation of Sporosarcina (S.) pasteurii and further treatment using chemical solutions. The chemical solution of 0.25 pore volume was sprayed continuously up to 5 d, 10 d, 15 d, and 20 d, using two different concentration ratios of urea and calcium chloride dihydrate viz 2:1 and 1:1. The biotreated samples were subjected to erosion testing (in the wind tunnel) at different wind speeds of 10 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s. The unconfined compressive strength of the biocemented crust was measured using a pocket penetrometer. The variation in calcite precipitation and microstructure (including the presence of crystalline minerals) of untreated as well as biotreated sand samples were determined through calcimeter, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX). The results demonstrated that the erosion of untreated sand increases with an increase in wind speeds. When compared to untreated sand, a lower erosion was observed in all biocemented sand samples, irrespective of treatment condition and wind speed. It was observed that the sample treated with 1:1 cementation solution for up to 5 d, was found to effectively resist erosion at a wind speed of 10 m/s. Moreover, a significant erosion resistance was ascertained in 15 d and 20 d treated samples at higher wind speeds. The calcite content percentage, thickness of crust, bulk density, and surface strength of biocemented sand were enhanced with the increase in treatment duration. The 1:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution was found effective in improving crust thickness and surface strength as compared to 2:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution. The calcite crystals formation was observed in SEM analysis and calcium peaks were observed in EDX analysis for biotreated sand.

Vegetation has been commonly used in sponge city to remediate problems related to rainstorm events. Unlike uniform rainfall which has been widely studied, effects of early-peak rainfall on hydrological responses in vegetated soils are unclear. Besides, there is a lack of quantitative method of accurately measuring wetting front (WF). This study aims to propose a new WF tracing method, and explore the hydrological responses to early-peak rainfall in unsaturated soils vegetated with dwarf mondo grass. During soil column tests, WF position, matric suction, volumetric water content, surface ponding and overflow drainage were measured. The new WF tracing method works reasonably well for all cases. As compared to uniform rainfalls, early-peak rainfalls caused (1) earlier onsets of ponding (by 20 minutes for vegetation case and by 5 minutes for bare soil) and overflow (by 52 minutes for vegetation case and by 37 minutes for bare soil), (2) greater overflow velocity (by 28% for vegetation case and by 41% for bare soil), and (3) slightly more total overflow amount. Vegetation delayed the ponding/overflow generations, and decreased total overflow drainage, due to enhanced infiltration of surface soil. At 5 cm depth, high-density mixture of fine and coarse roots caused an increase in the saturated water content (θs) and a reduction in the residual water content (θr), because of root-induced changes in soil structure. At 10 cm depth, low-density fine roots caused reductions in both θs and θr, and increased air-entry value, as roots occupy the pores.

We are privileged to serve as Guest Editors for this Special Issue (SI), “Improving Functioning of Soil–Plant Systems Using the Application of Sustainable and Intelligent Methods”, in the international journal Agronomy [...]

Background: The health implications surrounding a mass gathering pose significant challenges to public health officials. The use of syndromic surveillance provides an ideal method for achieving the public health goals and objectives at such events. In the absence of published reports of systematic documentation of public health preparedness in mass gatherings in the local context, we describe the public health preparedness and demonstrate the operational feasibility of a tablet-based participatory syndromic surveillance among pilgrims during the annual ritual circumambulation- Panchkroshi Yatra. Methods: A real-time surveillance system was established from 2017-2019 to capture all the health consultations done at the designated points (medical camps) in the Panchkroshi yatra area of the city Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. We also surveyed a subset of pilgrims in 2017 to gauge satisfaction with the public health measures such as sanitation, water, safety, food, and cleanliness. Results: In 2019, injuries were reported in the highest proportion (16.7%; 794/4744); most numbers of fever cases (10.6%; 598/5600) were reported in 2018, while 2017 saw the highest number of patient presentations of abdominal pain (7.73%; 498/6435). Conclusion: Public health and safety measures were satisfactory except for the need for setting up urinals along the fixed route of the circumambulation. A systematic data collection of selected symptoms among yatris and their surveillance through tablet could be established during the panchkroshi yatra, which can complement the existing surveillance for detecting early warning signals. We recommend the implementation of such tablet-based surveillance during such mass gathering events.

Background: Limitations of echocardiography have long been known for the assessment of right ventricular (RV) systolic function in postoperative tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients. In this study, we evaluated the role of RV-global longitudinal strain (GLS) for the assessment of RV systolic function. Materials and Methods: It was a single institution prospective observational study of ninety postoperative TOF patients. Detailed 2-dimensional echocardiography along with RV-GLS using speckle tracing imaging was done at baseline and after 1 year. The children were divided into three groups based on duration since total correction, i.e., group A (6 months to 5 years), group B (6–10 years), and group C (>10 years) to assess the differences in RV systolic function. Furthermore, correlation of RV-GLS with RV-fractional area change (FAC), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, and tricuspid valve tissue Doppler imaging s' velocity was done. Results: In group A patients, a statistically significant increase in RV systolic function was seen over a period of 1 year. However, in group B and C patients, no significant change was seen. There was a strong positive correlation of RV-GLS only with RV-FAC during the first follow-up (r = 0.41, P < 0.01) and second follow-up periods (r = 0.67, P < 0.01). Conclusion: RV-GLS has a strong positive correlation with RV-FAC, and it detects preclinical regional myocardial dysfunction even when the RV-FAC is normal and thus must be included in the evaluation of postoperative TOF children.

Rainfall infiltration, rainwater retention, runoff and evapotranspiration (ET) are important components of the water balance in green roofs. These components are expected to be influenced by variations in the structural configurations (i.e., substrate layers) of green roofs. This study explores the influence of layered soil and green roof configurations on the rainwater retention capacity (RRC) of the roofs as compared to conventional improvements (i.e., soil conditioning and enhanced substrate depth). Ten different extensive green roof modules were designed by varying the substrate materials, substrate depths, storage/drainage layers and vegetation layers. For all modules, the RRCs ranged from 34 to 59%. The RRCs of layered soil were 1–4% higher than that for single-layer soil. The RRC increased by 13% in the presence of a water storage module. It can be concluded that highest RRC corresponds to a combination of high-permeability soil in the upper layer along with a relatively large water holding capacity in the deep layer. Water storage layer and layered soil could significantly delay the water stress in vegetation. The importance of wick irrigation, vegetation types, back-to-back rain events and the ET rate on the RRC were also discussed. HIGHLIGHTS The capacity of rainwater management and substrate moisture replenishment of green roof with water storage layer was pointed out.; Layered soil could significantly improve the substrate rainwater retention capacity compared with those obtained in single-layer substrates.; The increase rate of rainwater retention declined with an increase in depth beyond a certain point.;

Background Hypocalcemia is a rare reversible cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in pediatric population. Myocarditis is another more frequent cause of cardiomyopathy with overlapping presenting features. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) is a vital modality capable of tissue characterization for the evaluation of cardiomyopathy. The present study is the first attempt to determine if any specific characteristics on CMR exist in patients with hypocalcemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Abstract Recent studies on water retention behaviour of biochar amended soil rarely considers the effect of pyrolysis temperature and also feedstock type into account. It is well known that pyrolysis temperature and feedstock type influences the physical and chemical properties of biochar due to stagewise decomposition of structure and chemical bonds. Further, soil density, which is in a loose state (in agricultural applications) and dense (in geo-environmental engineering applications) can also influence water retention behaviour of biochar amended soils. The major objective of this study is to investigate the water retention properties of soil amended with three different biochars in both loose and dense state. The biochars, i.e. water hyacinth biochar (WHB), chicken manure biochar (CMB) and wood biochar (WB) were produced in-house at different pyrolysis temperature. After then, biochars at 5% and 10% (w/w%) were amended to the soil. Water retention behaviour (soil suction and gravimetric water content) was studied under drying and wetting cycle simulated by varying relative humidity (RH, 50–90%). Results show that 10% WHB produced at 300 °C were found to possess highest water retention. CMB is found to possess higher water retention than WB for 10% amendment ratio. In general, the addition of three biochars (at both 300 °C and 600 °C) at 10% (w/w) significantly improved the water retention at all suction ranges in both loose and dense compaction state as compared to that of the bare soil. The adsorption (wetting) and desorption (drying) capacity of biochar amended soils is constant at corresponding RH.

Background: Transcatheter paravalvular leak (PVL) closure in recent times has emerged as a safe and effective alternate to redo-surgical repair. We sought to examine the clinical efficacy and safety of percutaneous PVL closure at our center. Methods and Results: A retrospective study from August 2012 to December 2019 of 19 patients who underwent 21 procedures for PVL closure. The mean age was 49.25 ± 14.72 years. The target valve was mitral in 11 (57%) and aortic in 7 (36%) cases. One (5%) patient had prosthetic valve in left atrioventricular valve with congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries. Majority of the cohort presented with heart failure without hemolysis (89%), with most of them being in NYHA functional class III (57%) or class IV (21%). A procedural success of 85% was achieved. Post procedure severity of regurgitation reduced from severe in thirteen patients and moderate in six patients to moderate in two patients and mild in fourteen patients. Symptomatic improvement was observed in all cases who had successful closure with NYHA function class improving from 3 ± 0.64 to 1.6 ± 0.94. The mean follow-up duration was 21 ± 13 months (median 24 months). There was one (4.7%) mortality with cumulative survival from all-cause mortality of 95%. Conclusion: The results of percutaneous PVL closure appear encouraging in our series with modest number of patients and offers a promising alternative to redo-surgery in this high-risk cohort.

Background: Patients with large perimembranous ventricular septal defects (pm-VSDs) undergo surgical repair with prosthetic material during infancy. However, the effect of the presence of akinetic patch in the ventricular septum on the left ventricular (LV) mechanical synchrony and ventricular function has not been studied. In our study, we assessed LV function in postoperative pm-VSD closure patients on two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography (echo) after 1 year of surgery using biplane Simspon's method, fractional shortening (FS), and global longitudinal strain (GLS) to assess the regional strain pattern. Methods: This was a a single-institution observational study. Patients following up 1 year after surgical ventricular septal defect closure at our institute were enrolled. On follow-up, detailed 2D echo was done with special emphasis on left atrial size, LV size (by M-mode), and presence of any residual shunt. LV function was assessed using biplane Simpson's method and longitudinal strain on 2D echo. GLS was measured in three standard apical views. Results: Of the 121 patients enrolled, 101 patients fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were analyzed. Of these 101 patients, 75.2% were males. The median age at follow-up after surgery was 3.67 ± 2.7 years. About 92.1% of patients did not have residual VSD lesion. No patient had pulmonary arterial hypertension. All except one patient had normal ventricular function. Patients with ventricular dysfunction had LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of 47%, GLS –17.4%, and FS −20.5%. The mean values of FS, LVEF, and GLS were 32.0 ± 5.28%, 62.2% ± 4.2%, and −26.53 ± 2.93%, respectively, in pm-VSD closure patients. Regional strain pattern analysis showed significantly lower strain values in basal anteroseptal segment with a mean of −21.4 ± 2.7%. FS and GLS were noted to have significant correlation with each other (P = 0.01) and LVEF by biplane Simpson's method and GLS had significant correlation with each other (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: GLS has strong correlation with LVEF by Simson's method and FS. Basal anteroseptal segment in pm-VSD patients had significantly lower strain values compared to other segments. There is no significant correlation between age at surgery and GLS in pm-VSD closure patients who were operated within 1 year of age. The type of VSD closure does not have significant influence on GLS.

Abstract Permanent wilting point (PWP) is generally used to ascertain plant resistance against abiotic drought stress and designated as the soil water content (θ) corresponding to soil suction (ψ) at 1500 kPa obtained from the soil water retention curve. Determination of PWP based on only pre-assumed ψ may not represent true wilting condition for soils with contrasting water retention abilities. In addition to ψ, there is a need to explore significance of additional plant parameters (i.e., stomatal conductance and photosynthetic status) in determining PWP. This study introduces a new framework for determining PWP by integrating plant leaf response and ψ during drought. Axonopus compressus were grown in two distinct textured soils (clayey loam and silty sand), after which drought was initiated till wilting. Thereafter, ψ and θ within the root zone were measured along with corresponding leaf stomatal conductance and photosynthetic status. It was found that coarse textured silty sand causes wilting at much lower ψ (≈ 300 kPa) than clayey loam (≈ 1600 kPa). Plant response to drought was dependent on the relative porosity and mineralogy of the soil, which governs the ease at which roots can grow, assimilate soil O2, and uptake water. For clay loam, the held water within the soil matrix does not facilitate easy root water uptake by relatively coarse root morphology. Contrastingly, fine root hair formation in silty sand facilitated higher plant water uptake and doubled the plant survival time.

This study investigates and compares mechanical factor (a dimensionless parameter and defined as the ratio of the compressive strength of fiber reinforced soil to that of unreinforced soil) for soils reinforced with four different fibers (three natural fibers and one synthetic fiber). An integrated methodology was utilized, including 351 laboratory experiments for obtaining data and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) technique for developing functional relationships between mechanical factor and soil and fiber parameters. Soils reinforced with synthetic fiber (Polypropylene) and with natural fibers exhibited different characteristics when subjected to the same variation in soil parameters. This phenomenon can be attributed to the differences in surface morphology and water absorption capability of Polypropylene comparative to other natural fibers. Polypropylene–soil composite shows the maximum sensitivity to the soil moisture. It also shows the least sensitivity toward soil density and fiber content among all tested fiber–soil composites.

Post radiotherapy radiation trismus presents significant concerns for a patient’s quality of life and for the clinical monitoring for recurrence of head and neck oncology. Current treatments include scar band release surgery that has been shown to be safe and effective. We present a case with a rare, post-operative complication of difficulty of mouth closure that can pose a significant impact on quality of life that should be considered.

Context: We examined if empagliflozin was associated with modulation of cardiac autonomic tone among subjects with type 2 diabetes and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) relative to placebo. Methods: Using ambulatory 24-h Holter electrocardiographic data prospectively collected from a randomized trial, we compared changes in heart rate variability (HRV) parameters between empagliflozin- and placebo-assigned subjects over a follow-up period of 6 months. Measured HRV domains included: standard deviation (SD) of NN intervals (SDNN), SD of average NN intervals per 5-min (SDANN), root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD), % successive NN intervals differing >50 ms (ms) (pNN50), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and the LF/HF ratio (LF:HF). Differences in HRV parameters between the 2 groups were compared with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Statistical measures of significance were reported as adjusted differences between the 2 groups and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results: Sixty-six subjects completed 24-h Holter monitoring at baseline and 6-months. Over 6 months, the change in HRV was similar between subjects treated with empagliflozin vs. placebo for the following parameters: RMSSD -1.2 ms (-6.0 to 3.6 ms); pNN50 0.5% (-2.6 to 3.6%); VLF -907.8 ms2 (-2388.8 to 573.1 ms2); LF -341 ms2 (-878.7 to 196.7 ms2); HF -33.8 ms2 (-111.1 to 43.5 ms2); LF:HF -0.1 (-0.4 to 0.2). Subjects who received placebo experienced an increase in SDNN 18.6 ms (2.8–34.3 ms) and SDANN 20.2 ms (3.2–37.3 ms) relative to those treated with empagliflozin. Conclusion: Compared to placebo, empagliflozin did not result in changes in autonomic tone among individuals with type 2 diabetes and stable coronary artery disease.

Recent studies have proposed usage of biochar as a substrate amendment in green infrastructure, such as green roofs and bio-filtration units. However, understanding of the variation in physio-chemical properties of biochar due to the production process and feedstock is still lacking. The present study investigated the effects of pyrolysis temperature and feedstocks on the hygroscopic water content and physio-chemical properties of biochar. Biochars were produced from three feedstock types, invasive vegetation (i.e., water hyacinth), non-invasive vegetation (i.e., wood) and one animal waste (i.e., chicken manure). Biochar was produced at two different pyrolysis temperatures (i.e., 300 °C and 600 °C). Scanning electron microscopy + energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM + EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were performed on all samples to analyze the surface morphology, pore size, element content, functional groups, and chemical bonds. Relative humidity was adjusted to reflect the biochar’s hygroscopic property by measuring the maximum moisture content at the sample equilibrium state. The characterization reveals that the lowest carbon content (42.78%) was found at 300 °C for water hyacinth biochar (WHB). The highest carbon content (92.14%) was found at 600 °C for wood biochar (WB). As the pyrolysis temperature increased, the mean pore volume (from 0.03 to 0.18 cm3/g) and diameter (from 8.40 to 10.33 nm) of the WHB increased. However, the pore diameter of chicken manure (CB) decreased (from 9.23 nm to 7.53 nm) under an increase in pyrolysis temperature. For a given pyrolysis temperature, the hygroscopicity of WHB was highest among all biochars. With an increase in pyrolysis temperature, the hygroscopicity of biochars changed differently. The hygroscopicity of WHB decreased from 82.41% to 44.33% with an increase of pyrolysis temperature. However, the hygroscopicity of CMB and WB remained unchanged. This study suggests that production process of biochars need to be considered for appropriate selection as substrate material in green infrastructure. Further, it promotes the establishment of commercial production of biochar for usage in green infrastructure.

The influence of biochars on water retention, mitigating nutrient leaching, and pollutant removal in green infrastructure has been explored in the past. However, there is a lack of understanding on how feedstock (i.e., biomass) would affect biochar physicochemical properties and hence, overall erosion control (including infiltration, surface, and sub-surface runoff) in green infrastructure. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of biochars produced from three different feedstocks (pig manure, wood, and kitchen waste) on the erosion of granite residual soil. Flume experiments were conducted to measure and analyze soil erosion, runoff, and infiltration. The result showed that the runoff and soil erosion of kitchen waste biochar (KWB) samples were reduced by 17.7% and 21.7%, respectively. On the contrary, wood biochar (WB) and pig manure biochar (PMB) were found to enhance runoff and soil erosion. In addition, biochar particles were found in runoff and infiltration in erosion experiment. Thus, it is important to note that measures should be taken to prevent biochar loss when using biochar as a soil amendment. Additionally, the effects of different types of biochar on soil hydraulic and hydrophobicity properties should be taken into account as a selection criterion for choosing amendments in green infrastructure. This study finds that kitchen waste biochar has better performance in improving soil hydraulics and erosion.

When the open-ended pile penetrates the soil layer, the resistance generated by the soil plug cannot be ignored. A pile with a full-size pressure sensor installed at pile tip can detect resistance more accurately than a microsensor when the pile penetrates into the soil. In this paper, the pile installed full-size pressure sensor was used for penetration test and the relationship between formation parameters and pile tip force is obtained. Using the solution of the Kelvin problem in infinite space and the plane stress distribution function, the analytical solution of the bearing capacity of the soil plug is derived under the condition that the displacements of the bottom of the pile and the soil plug are consistent. The results show that the ultimate stress of the soil plug is closely related to the pile diameter and pipe thickness. The bearing capacity of the soil plug is closely related to the properties of the soil layer. The analytical solution of the bearing capacity of the soil plug has a linear relationship with the formation parameters SPT and CPT. The analytical solution of the ultimate bearing capacity of the soil plug has been verified by field test data and has a good match with the geometric dimensions of the pile tip and the formation parameters.

Rank bounds for design matrices with block entries and geometric applications, Discrete Analysis 2018:5, 24 pp. It is not hard to prove, when the statement is suitably formulated, that if $A$ is a random matrix, then it is not possible to reduce the rank of $A$ by changing only a few entries. However, it is remarkably hard to find an explicit example of such a matrix. It turns out that explicit examples would have major applications in theoretical computer science, and therefore the matrix-rigidity problem is a central question in the area. In order to make progress on this problem, one can ask a more basic question: are there any combinatorial conditions on a matrix that guarantee that it has a high rank? An interesting condition has recently been identified that does not solve the matrix-rigidity problem but that does have several applications, in particular to combinatorial geometry. Roughly speaking, the condition is that there should not be many non-zero entries in any row or too few non-zero entries in any column, and for any two rows the number of columns for which the entries in both rows are non-zero is small. Such matrices are known as _design matrices_, since the conditions resemble those for a design, though they are significantly looser. The proof that such matrices have high rank uses a beautiful technique called _matrix scaling_. The rough idea is to multiply rows and columns by non-zero scalars until the entries are of broadly the same magnitude, and then to show that the matrix $A^*A$ is dominated by its diagonal. From this it follows fairly easily that $A^*A$ has high rank, and therefore that $A$ does as well. The argument can be found in [a paper of Barak, Dvir, Wigderson and Yehudayoff](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1009.4375.pdf) that this paper generalizes. Such rank bounds are useful, because there are several problems in combinatorial geometry that lead naturally to design matrices. For example, the Sylvester-Gallai theorem and its generalizations concern families of points and collinearity relations between them. If the points are $v_1,\dots,v_n$, then one can write them as column vectors and put them together to form a matrix $M$. Three of the points will be collinear if there is a linear dependence amongst the columns of this matrix with three non-zero coefficients, or equivalently a vector $w$ with three non-zero entries such that $Mw=0$. Under suitable hypotheses, one can use such vectors $w$ to create a design matrix and apply rank bounds on the design matrix to deduce combinatorial consequences about the set of points $v_1,\dots,v_n$. The generalization in this paper concerns design matrices whose entries are themselves matrices, or "blocks". Rank bounds are proved for such matrices, which lead to new applications in combinatorial geometry. One of these applications is to the following question. Let $T$ be a set of triples of elements of $\{1,2,\dots,n\}$ and let $V(T)$ be the variety of all sequences $(v_1,\dots,v_n)$ of points in $\mathbb C^d$ such that for every triple $\{i,j,k\}\in T$ the three points $v_i, v_j$ and $v_k$ are collinear. Given a (non-singular) sequence $V\in V(T)$, how many degrees of freedom does it have? A trivial lower bound is 8, resulting from the fact that projective transformations preserve collinearity. The authors prove a general result that has as a consequence that if every pair $\{i,j\}$ belongs to exactly one triple in $T$ and no line contains more than half the points of $V$, then the number of degrees of freedom of $V$ is at most 15. A more precise statement, as well as other interesting applications, can be found in the paper.

Introduction: Skeletal maturation assessment has a great role in many health professions especially in Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics. Functional appliances have proved to be more effective when used at the peak of mandibular growth, rather than before. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the calcification stages of permanent maxillary canine are useful to assess skeletal maturity. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, samples were derived from panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms of 300 subjects (137 males and 163 females) with their age ranging from 9 to 18 years. Dental maturity {Demirjian Index (DI)} and skeletal maturity {Cervical Stages (CS)} were assessed from radiographs. The Pearson chi-square test (χ2 ) and Sakoda adjusted Pearson contingency coefficient (C*) were calculated to determine the correlation between DI and CS. Results: A highly significant association (C* = 0.851, p

Background: Simulation is increasingly being integrated into medical education; however, there is little research into trainees’ perceptions of this learning modality. We elicited trainees’ perceptions of simulation-based learning, to inform how simulation is developed and applied to support training. Methods: We conducted an instrumental qualitative case study entailing 36 semi-structured one-hour interviews with 12 residents enrolled in an introductory simulation-based course. Trainees were interviewed at three time points: pre-course, post-course, and 4-6 weeks later. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive analytic approach. Results: Residents’ perceptions of simulation included: 1) simulation serves pragmatic purposes; 2) simulation provides a safe space; 3) simulation presents perils and pitfalls; and 4) optimal design for simulation: integration and tension. Key findings included residents’ markedly narrow perception of simulation’s capacity to support non-technical skills development or its use beyond introductory learning. Conclusion: Trainees’ learning expectations of simulation were restricted. Educators should critically attend to the way they present simulation to learners as, based on theories of problem-framing, trainees’ a priori perceptions may delimit the focus of their learning experiences. If they view simulation as merely a replica of real cases for the purpose of practicing basic skills, they may fail to benefit from the full scope of learning opportunities afforded by simulation.

This chapter presents a reliability study for an offshore jacket structure with emphasis on the features of nonconventional modeling. Firstly, a random set model is formulated for modeling the random waves in an ocean site. Then, a jacket structure is investigated in a pushover analysis to identify the critical wave direction and key structural elements. This is based on the ultimate base shear strength. The selected probabilistic models are adopted for the important structural members and the wave direction is specified in the weakest direction of the structure for a conservative safety analysis. The wave height model is processed in a P-box format when it is used in the numerical analysis. The models are applied to find the bounds of the failure probabilities for the jacket structure. The propagation of this wave model to the uncertainty in results is investigated in both an interval analysis and Monte Carlo simulation. The results are compared in context of information content and numerical accuracy. Further, the failure probability bounds are compared with the conventional probabilistic approach.

Foundations for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) are mainly open-ended piles that are subjected to cyclic loadings caused by winds, waves and currents. This study aims to investigate the dynamic responses of open-ended pipe pile under lateral cyclic loadings, as well as the characteristics of the soil plug and surrounding soil. Both large-scale indoor model test and discrete element simulation were adopted in this study. The test results show that the resistance of each part of the pipe pile increases linearly with depth during the process of pile driving. The pile side resistance degradation effect was also observed along with the friction fatigue. The soil plug formation rate decreases gradually with an increase in the pile depth. The influence range in the surrounding soil is about 5~6 times of the pile diameter. The cumulative displacement of the pile head increases with the number of cycles. Lateral tangential stiffness and lateral ultimate bearing capacity decreases with an increase in number of cycles. The severe disturbance range of soil around the pile is 2~3 times of the pile diameter. The center of rotation of the pile body is about 0.8 times of the pile body depth. The side frictional resistance and lateral pressure of the pile body is found to fluctuate along the pile body. Additionally, the lateral pressure and side friction resistance decreases gradually with decreasing tendency of the former more than the latter.

Background. Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis (EIPD) is an idiopathic benign chronic disease characterized by flask-like outpouchings of the esophageal wall. It is unknown whether there is a genuine association between EIPD and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Aims. To investigate a possible relationship between EIPD and EoE. Methods. Patients with radiographic or endoscopic evidence of pseudodiverticulosis were identified from the database at a single academic center. Cases were analyzed in three areas: clinical information, endoscopic findings, and course. Results. Sixteen cases of esophageal pseudodiverticulosis were identified. Five patients had histologic evidence of eosinophilic esophagitis. Patients with EoE had pseudodiverticula in the mid-to-distal esophagus while those with EIPD had pseudodiverticula predominantly in the proximal esophagus (p

Here we describe human spotted cell chips, a technology for determining cellular state across arrays of cells subjected to chemical or genetic perturbation. Cells are grown and treated under standard tissue culture conditions before being fixed and printed onto replicate glass slides, effectively decoupling the experimental conditions from the assay technique. Each slide is then probed using immunofluorescence or other optical reporter and assayed by automated microscopy. We show potential applications of the cell chip by assaying HeLa and A549 samples for changes in target protein abundance (of the dsRNA-activated protein kinase PKR), subcellular localization (nuclear translocation of NFkappaB) and activation state (phosphorylation of STAT1 and of the p38 and JNK stress kinases) in response to treatment by several chemical effectors (anisomycin, TNFalpha, and interferon), and we demonstrate scalability by printing a chip with approximately 4,700 discrete samples of HeLa cells. Coupling this technology to high-throughput methods for culturing and treating cell lines could enable researchers to examine the impact of exogenous effectors on the same population of experimentally treated cells across multiple reporter targets potentially representing a variety of molecular systems, thus producing a highly multiplexed dataset with minimized experimental variance and at reduced reagent cost compared to alternative techniques. The ability to prepare and store chips also allows researchers to follow up on observations gleaned from initial screens with maximal repeatability.