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Objective To evaluate the antioxidant effect of American ginseng Rhodiola formula on ethanol-induced oxidative damage in model mice, and to explore its mechanism of action, providing a scientific basis for the development of healthy food. Methods Mice were randomly divided into blank control group, acute oxidative injury model group, low dose (330 mg/kg), medium dose (660 mg/kg) and high dose (990 mg/kg) groups according to body weight, 10 mice in each group. Each dose group was given test samples by oral gavage. Blank control group and model group were given equal volume of distilled water. After continuous gavage for 30 days, 50% ethanol was intragastrically administered at 12 mL/kg after fasting for 16 h in each group except blank control group. Blood and liver were collected from mice 6 h later. Malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-epoxyisoprostane (8-Isoprostane), protein carbonyl (PCO), glutathione (GSH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglyceride (TG), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin- 6 (IL- 6) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in mouse serum, MDA, PCO, GSH content and SOD activity in liver tissue were measured, and the protein expression of p-p38, p-ERK and p-JNK was detected by Western blotting.. Results Compared with the model group, the MDA content in the serum of mice in the low-dose group of American ginseng Rhodiola formula decreased (P

The pollination process of kiwifruit flowers plays a crucial role in kiwifruit yield. Achieving accurate and rapid identification of the four stages of kiwifruit flowers is essential for enhancing pollination efficiency. In this study, to improve the efficiency of kiwifruit pollination, we propose a novel full-stage kiwifruit flower pollination detection algorithm named KIWI-YOLO, based on the fusion of frequency-domain features. Our algorithm leverages frequency-domain and spatial-domain information to improve recognition of contour-detailed features and integrates decision-making with contextual information. Additionally, we incorporate the Bi-Level Routing Attention (BRA) mechanism with C3 to enhance the algorithm’s focus on critical areas, resulting in accurate, lightweight, and fast detection. The algorithm achieves a mAP0.5 of 91.6% with only 1.8M parameters, the AP of the Female class and the Male class reaches 95% and 93.5%, which is an improvement of 3.8%, 1.2%, and 6.2% compared with the original algorithm. Furthermore, the Recall and F1-score of the algorithm are enhanced by 5.5% and 3.1%, respectively. Moreover, our model demonstrates significant advantages in detection speed, taking only 0.016s to process an image. The experimental results show that the algorithmic model proposed in this study can better assist the pollination of kiwifruit in the process of precision agriculture production and help the development of the kiwifruit industry.

Abstract Reasonable design of the slopes of mining field is an important prerequisite for optimizing open-pit mine boundary, ensuring safe production and improving economic benefits of open-pit mines. This study took the open-pit coal mine coal mine in Block I of Thar coal field in Pakistan as the research background, based on the section morphology effect of slope stability and the occurrence characteristics of coal seam and weak layer, the section morphology of slope was optimized step by step from two-dimensional angle by using the rigid body limit equilibrium method. The three-dimensional numerical simulation method is used to analyze the three-dimensional spatial effect of slope stability and reveal the influence of the spatial geometry of the slope stability. The spatial morphology of the slope was optimized and the evolutionary mechanism of slope instability was revealed. By comparing the optimized slope morphology with the preliminary design and the slope morphology of the straight slope with equal flat plate, the economic benefits were further analyzed. The results showed that under the premise of meeting the safety reserve coefficient, compared with the preliminary design and the design of equal plate. The slope angle of the optimized section morphology was increased by 1° and 3° respectively, and the coal resource recovery was increased by 332 m2 and 1790 m2 respectively, and the economic benefits were $ 18,065,859 and $ 54,408,251 respectively. And the slope angle of the optimized spatial morphology was increased by 3° and 5° respectively, and the coal resource recovery was increased by 1188 m2 and 2726 m2 respectively, and the economic benefits were $ 72,082,808 and $ 108,417,368 respectively.

The enhancement of the electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency (EMI SE) for conductive polymer composites (CPCs) has garnered increasing attention. The shielding performance is influenced by conductivity, which is dependent on the establishment of effective conductive pathways. In this review, Schelkunoff’s theory on outlining the mechanism of electromagnetic interference shielding was briefly described. Based on the mechanism, factors that influenced the electrical percolation threshold of CPCs were presented and three main kinds of efficient methods were discussed for establishing conductive pathways. Furthermore, examples were explored that highlighted the critical importance of such conductive pathways in attaining optimal shielding performance. Finally, we outlined the prospects for the future direction for advancing CPCs towards a balance of enhanced EMI SE and cost–performance.

This study aims to provide a high-value and environmentally friendly method for the application of coal-based solid waste. Modified fly ash/polyurethane (MFA/PU) and modified coal gangue powder/polyurethane (MCG/PU) composites were prepared by adding different contents of MFA and MCG (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%). At the filler content of 30%, the compressive strengths of MFA/PU and MCG/PU are 84.1 MPa and 46.3 MPa, respectively, likely due to an improvement in interface compatibility, as indicated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MFA/PU and MCG/PU composites present their highest limiting oxygen index (LOI) values of 29% and 23.5%, respectively, when their filler content is 30%. MFA has advantages in improving the LOIs of composites. Cone calorimetry (CCT) and SEM demonstrate that the two composites exhibit similar condensed-phase flame-retardant behaviors during combustion, which releases CO2 in advance and accelerates the formation of a dense barrier layer. Compared with the MFA/PU composites, the MCG/PU composites could produce a more stable and dense barrier structure. Water quality tests show that heavy metals do not leak from FA and CG embedded in PU. This work provided a new strategy for the safe and high-value recycling of coal-based solid waste.

Abstract It is of great practical significance to carry out quantitative risk assessment of landslide disaster to protect people’s lives and property safety and maintain the sustainable development of social economy. The delineation of landslide disaster range is the key link of landslide risk evaluation in open-pit mine. This study took the open-pit coal mine coal mine in Block I of Thar coal field in Pakistan as the research background, and constructed a framework for landslide risk evaluation in open-pit mines. Based on the numerical simulation method of large deformation of landslide, the disaster range of landslide in open-pit mine was delineated. The stability of stope slope was analyzed based on rigid body limit equilibrium method. The probability of landslide instability was calculated based on Monte Carlo method. And the comprehensive fuzzy evaluation model was established to calculate the total risk value of landslide. The results showed that: through numerical simulation and empirical formula calculation, the landslide disaster range was accurately delineated, and the comprehensive vulnerability of the disaster bearing body was determined to be medium vulnerability; the annual probability of landslide instability under natural conditions was 0.003, which belongs to moderate risk. The annual probability of landslide instability under rainstorm conditions was 0.024, which was highly dangerous; the annual probability of landslide instability under seismic conditions was 0.018, which was highly dangerous. Under natural conditions, the total risk value of landslide was 114,686.4 rmb, and the annual mortality rate of population was 0.0255 people/year. The total risk value of landslide under rainstorm condition was 11,707,570 rmb, and the annual mortality rate of population was 0.18375 people/year. The total risk value of landslide under earthquake condition was 43,007,400 rmb, and the annual mortality rate of population was 0.135 person/year, which was an unacceptable risk. The economic loss was a small geological disaster risk under natural conditions, and it was a medium-sized geological disaster risk under both rainstorm and earthquake conditions. Therefore, landslide prevention and control and management measures such as slope deformation monitoring were proposed to ensure the safety of personnel and property in open-pit mines.

In order to effectively enhance the stability of the slope within the soft base of the inner dump, this study focuses on the Baiyinhua No. 1 open-pit mine as the engineering background. Through direct shear tests, the shear mechanical characteristics of the waste-weak layer interface and the waste-sandstone interface were determined. A methodology is proposed to determine the equivalent shear mechanical parameters of the waste-base interface under localized replacement conditions. In this study, the limit equilibrium theory of rigid body is applied to calculate the slope stability coefficients under different replacement ratios. Additionally, an estimation method for the local replacement ratio of the soft base in the waste dump, based on strength parameters and subject to a safety reserve coefficient constraint, was put forward and verified using numerical simulations. The results indicate that the cohesive force and internal friction angle at the waste-sandstone interface in the Baiyinhua No.1 open-pit mine were determined to be 25.78 kPa and 17.58°, respectively. These two parameters at the waste-weak layer interface were found to be 7.50 kPa and 9.72°, respectively. A positive linear relationship was observed between the stability coefficient of the inner dump slope in the soft base under localized replacement conditions and the replacement ratio. The calculated results reveal that a replacement ratio of 20% for a certain stage of the dump's base satisfies the safety reserve coefficient requirement. After local replacement treatment, the landslide mode of the dump slope in the soft foundation remains characterized by combined sliding, with the arc acting as the lateral boundary and the weak base layer serving as the bottom interface.

Despite the considerable efforts made to increase the prevalence of autogenous fistula in patients on hemodialysis, tunneled cuffed catheters are still an important access modality and used in a high percentage of the hemodialysis population. However, because of the conundrum posed by tunneled cuffed catheters, patients can develop a multitude of complications, including thrombosis, infections, formation of a fibrin sheath, and central vein stenosis, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality as well as placing a heavy burden on the healthcare system. However, with an increasing number of studies now focusing on how to manage these catheter-related complications, there has been less translational research on the pathology of these complications. This review of the most recent literature provides an update on the pathological aspects of catheter-related complications, highlighting what we need to know and what is yet to be discovered. The future research strategies and innovations needed to prevent these complications are also addressed.

Abstract Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs commonly in the intensive care unit (ICU). Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), known as [TIMP-2] x [IGFBP7] (NephroCheck), have been identified as novel biomarkers for the prediction of AKI risk. However, the effective use of disease biomarkers is indispensable from an appropriate clinical context. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to find risk factors and assess the performance of the combination of NephroCheck with risk factors, so as to provide feasible information for AKI prediction. Methods All patients who were admitted in the ICU (from June 2016 to July 2017) participated in the study. The primary outcome was the detection of severe AKI within the first 7 days after patients being admitted to the ICU. The predictors were separated into three categories: chronic risk factors, acute risk factors and biochemical indicators. Results The study included 577 patients. 96 patients developed to severe AKI (16.6%) within 7 days. In addition to NephroCheck (+) (OR = 2.139, 95% CI (1.260–3.630), P = 0.005), age > 65 years (OR = 1.961, 95% CI (1.153–3.336), P = 0.013), CKD (OR = 2.573, 95% CI (1.319–5.018), P = 0.006) and PCT (+)(OR = 3.223, 95% CI (1.643–6.321), P = 0.001) were also the independent predictors of severe AKI within 7 days. Compared to NephroCheck (+) only (AUC = 0.66, 95% CI:0.60–0.72), the combination of NephroCheck (+) and risk factors (age > 65 years, CKD and PCT positive) (AUC = 0.75, 95% CI:0.70–0.81) led to a significant increase in the area under ROC curve for severe AKI prediction within 7 days. Conclusions Although NephroCheck is an effective screening tool for recognizing high-risk patients, we found that combination with biomarker and risk factors (age > 65 years, CKD, procalcitonin positive) for risk assessment of AKI has the greatest significance to patients with uncertain disease trajectories.

Waterborne polyurethane has been proven to be an ideal additive for the preparation of hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties. This work reports that a satisfactory adhesion of acrylamide hydrogels can be obtained by introducing a large amount of waterborne polyurethane into system. A series of polyurethane hydrogels was prepared by using one-pot method with acrylamide monomer and 2-hydroxymethyl methacrylate end-modified waterborne polyurethane emulsion. The hydrogels exhibit good strength (greater than 30 KPa), wide range of adjustable strain (200%–800%), and excellent compression fatigue resistance. The performance improvement is attributed to the fact that the polyurethane emulsion containing double bonds provides chemical crosslinking and forms polyurethane microregions due to hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. The hydrogel shows extensive and repeatable adhesion on diverse substrates. This simple preparation method through polyurethane crosslinked hydrogels is expected to become a low-cost and efficient preparation strategy for hydrogel adhesives.

Five species of torrenticolid mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia), collected in the Anzihe and Qingliangfeng national nature reserves, R. P. China, are identified. Three species are described as new to science: Torrenticola pseudosiamis Gu & Guo, sp. nov., T. anziensis Gu & Guo, sp. nov., and Monatractides sichuanensis Gu & Guo, sp. nov. The other two species, M. macrocorpis Gu & Guo, 2019, M. xiaoxiensis Gu & Guo, 2019, are newly reported from Zhejiang Province. Descriptions and illustrations of these species are included.

Inflammation plays a significant role in the occurrence and development of acute kidney injury (AKI). Evidence regarding the prognostic effect of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in critically ill patients with AKI is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the association between SII and all-cause mortality in these patients. Detailed clinical data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Database (MIMIC)-IV. The primary outcome was set as the in-hospital mortality. A total of 10,764 AKI patients were enrolled in this study. The restricted cubic splines analyses showed a J-shaped curve between SII and the risk of in-hospital and ICU mortality. After adjusting for relevant confounders, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that both lower and higher SII levels were associated with an elevated risk of in-hospital all-cause mortality. A similar trend was observed for ICU mortality. In summary, we found that the SII was associated in a J-shaped pattern with all-cause mortality among critically ill patients with AKI. SII appears to be have potential applications in the clinical setting as a novel and easily accessible biomarker for predicting the prognosis of AKI patients.

Objective Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a common clinical condition associated with cardiovascular disease in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD); however, its prognostic implication among patients receiving PD remains controversial. Methods In a prospective study from January 2013 and June 2016, we enrolled 190 patients undergoing PD and followed them for 46.4 ± 30.7 months. We assessed the associations of clinical characteristics and measurements with diabetes mellitus (DM) status, MS, and prognostic outcomes among the included patients. Results We found that DM was associated with shortened duration of dialysis and poor survival. The prevalence of MS was 58.9% among all patients. We found significant differences in age, body weight, body mass index, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, leukocytes, platelets, neutrophil percentage, and pre-albumin between patients with and without MS. We found a negative correlation trend between serum intact parathyroid hormone and MS among our patients. The arteriosclerosis index was significantly elevated in the MS group compared with the non-MS group. Serum calcium concentration and frequency of hospital admissions were significantly associated with mortality and technique failure. Conclusions MS was positively associated with cardiovascular disease. DM, and hypocalcemia. Frequent hospital admissions can predict poor prognosis in patients undergoing PD.

In recent years, buried bellows have often had safety accidents such as pipeline bursts and ground subsidence due to the lack of adequate mechanical properties and other quality problems. In order to improve the mechanical properties of bellows, fly ash (FA) was used as a reinforced filler in high density polyethylene (HDPE) to develop composites. The FA was surface treated with a silane coupling agent and HDPE-g-maleic anhydride was used as compatibilizer. Dumbbell-shaped samples were prepared via extrusion blending and injection molding. The cross-section morphology, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the composites were studied. It was observed that when 10% modified FA and 5% compatibilizer were added to HDPE, the tensile yield strength and tensile breaking strength of the composites were nearly 30.2% and 40.4% higher than those of pure HDPE, respectively, and the Young’s modulus could reach 1451.07 MPa. In addition, the ring stiffness of the bellows was analyzed using finite element analysis. Compared with a same-diameter bellows fabricated from common commercially available materials, the ring stiffness increased by nearly 23%. The preparation method of FA/HDPE is simple, efficient, and low-cost. It is of great significance for the popularization of high-performance bellows and the high value-added utilization of FA.

This paper presents a facile and low-cost strategy for fabrication lysozyme-loaded mesoporous silica nanotubes (MSNTs) by using silk fibroin (SF) nanofiber templates. The “top-down method” was adopted to dissolve degummed silk in CaCl2/ formic acid (FA) solvent, and the solution containing SF nanofibrils was used for electrospinning to prepare SF nanofiber templates. As SF contains a large number of -OH, -NH2 and -COOH groups, the silica layer could be easily formed on its surface by the Söber sol-gel method without adding any surfactant or coupling agent. After calcination, the MSNTs were obtained with inner diameters about 200 nm, the wall thickness ranges from 37 ± 2 nm to 66 ± 3 nm and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area was up to 200.48 m2/g, the pore volume was 1.109 cm3/g. By loading lysozyme, the MSNTs exhibited relatively high drug encapsulation efficiency up to 31.82% and an excellent long-term sustained release in 360 h (15 days). These results suggest that the MSNTs with the hierarchical structure of mesoporous and macroporous will be a promising carrier for applications in biomacromolecular drug delivery systems.

Understanding the effects of pollution on ecological communities and the underlying mechanisms that drive them will helpful for selecting a method to mediate polluted ecosystems. Quantifying the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes is a very important issue in ecology. However, little is known about their effects on the succession of microbial communities in different pollution levels rural ponds. Also, the processes that govern bacterial communities in polluted ponds are poorly understood. In this study, the microbial communities in water and sediment from the ponds were investigated by using the 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology. Meanwhile, we used null model analyses based on a taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics approach to test the microbial community assembly processes. Pollution levels were found to significantly alter the community composition and diversity of bacteria. In the sediment samples, the bacterial diversity indices decreased with increasing pollutant levels. Between-community analysis revealed that community assembly processes among water and sediment samples stochastic ratio both gradually decreased with the increased pollution levels, indicating a potential deterministic environmental filtering that is elicited by pollution. Our results identified assemblage drivers of bacterial community is important for improving the efficacies of ecological evaluation and remediation for contaminated freshwater systems.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and development of complex diseases. Predicting potential lncRNA−disease associations can improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of human diseases and help identify biomarkers for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Previous research methods have mostly integrated the similarity and association information of lncRNAs and diseases, without considering the topological structure information among these nodes, which is important for predicting lncRNA−disease associations. We propose a method based on information flow propagation and convolutional neural networks, called LDAPred, to predict disease-related lncRNAs. LDAPred not only integrates the similarities, associations, and interactions among lncRNAs, diseases, and miRNAs, but also exploits the topological structures formed by them. In this study, we construct a dual convolutional neural network-based framework that comprises the left and right sides. The embedding layer on the left side is established by utilizing lncRNA, miRNA, and disease-related biological premises. On the right side of the frame, multiple types of similarity, association, and interaction relationships among lncRNAs, diseases, and miRNAs are calculated based on information flow propagation on the bi-layer networks, such as the lncRNA−disease network. They contain the network topological structure and they are learned by the right side of the framework. The experimental results based on five-fold cross-validation indicate that LDAPred performs better than several state-of-the-art methods. Case studies on breast cancer, colon cancer, and osteosarcoma further demonstrate LDAPred’s ability to discover potential lncRNA−disease associations.

Identifying new indications for existing drugs may reduce costs and expedites drug development. Drug-related disease predictions typically combined heterogeneous drug-related and disease-related data to derive the associations between drugs and diseases, while recently developed approaches integrate multiple kinds of drug features, but fail to take the diversity implied by these features into account. We developed a method based on non-negative matrix factorization, DivePred, for predicting potential drug−disease associations. DivePred integrated disease similarity, drug−disease associations, and various drug features derived from drug chemical substructures, drug target protein domains, drug target annotations, and drug-related diseases. Diverse drug features reflect the characteristics of drugs from different perspectives, and utilizing the diversity of multiple kinds of features is critical for association prediction. The various drug features had higher dimensions and sparse characteristics, whereas DivePred projected high-dimensional drug features into the low-dimensional feature space to generate dense feature representations of drugs. Furthermore, DivePred’s optimization term enhanced diversity and reduced redundancy of multiple kinds of drug features. The neighbor information was exploited to infer the likelihood of drug−disease associations. Experiments indicated that DivePred was superior to several state-of-the-art methods for prediction drug-disease association. During the validation process, DivePred identified more drug-disease associations in the top part of prediction result than other methods, benefitting further biological validation. Case studies of acetaminophen, ciprofloxacin, doxorubicin, hydrocortisone, and ampicillin demonstrated that DivePred has the ability to discover potential candidate disease indications for drugs.

The effects of optimized operation principles implemented at reservoirs on the Wujiang River in southwest China between September 2009 and April 2010 under drought conditions were analyzed based on operational data collected from the Guizhou Wujiang Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. A set of linear regression equations was developed to identify the key factors impacting the electric power generation at reservoirs. A 59% reduction in the inflow discharge at the Hongjiadu Reservoir led to a decrease of only 38% in the total electric power generation at the Hongjiadu, Dongfeng, Suofengying, and Wujiangdu reservoirs on the Wujiang River, indicating that optimized operation can play an important role in drought management. The water level and the amount of other water inputs at the Hongjiadu Reservoir and the outflow discharge at all of the reservoirs except the Wujiangdu Reservoir were key factors affecting the total electric power generation at reservoirs on the Wujiang River under optimized operation.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of different abutments and crowns on the color of implant-supported restorations. Methods: Zirconia and lithium disilicate (e.max) disks with A2 shade were fabricated to represent two crowns. The implant abutments were untreated titanium, opaqued titanium, anodized titanium, A2 shade zirconia and white zirconia. 4.0 mm-thickness zirconia and e.max specimens were used as references respectively. The crowns were placed on tested abutments with a drop of clear glycerin between them and the color was measured using a digital spectrophotometer. CIELab values were recorded to evaluate color differences (AE) between tested specimens and the references. Results: Titanium abutments presented higher color differences than zirconia. The AE values with untreated titanium were higher than those with opaqued titanium. No differences were found between untreated titaniurn and anodized titanium for zirconia crowns. The AE values of zirconia crowns showed no significant differences between shade A2 zirconia and white zirconia abutments; e.max crowns showed a significant difference. The zirconia crown AE values were lower than those of e.max for all titanium and A2 zirconia abutments. Lithium disilicate crowns and zirconia abutments may be more suitable for implant-supported restorations. Opaqued titanium abutment may improve color in esthetic regions when a ceramic abutment cannot be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense K0.5Na0.5NbO3 lead‐free ceramics were successfully fabricated by combining cold sintering process (CSP) with annealing in air atmosphere or low pO2 atmosphere. Acetic acid was used as transition liquid. By optimizing the liquid content and pressure during CSP, the CSP samples with relative densities 74.2% were obtained with adding 15 wt% acetic acid under 800 MPa. The CSP samples were then annealed in air atmosphere between 1000 and 1100°C. The ceramics annealed at 1050°C exhibit excellent electrical properties with piezoelectric constant d33 = 125 pC/N, dielectric constant εr = 509, dielectric loss tan δ = 0.04, and remanent polarization Pr = 38.17 μC/cm2. Additionally, the mixture of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 and base metal Ni powders was also cold‐sintered and then annealed in the low pO2 atmospheres in order to detect whether Ni was oxidized or not. The optimized low pO2 atmospheres to protect the Ni from oxidation are pO2 = 10−10 atm followed by reoxidizing in pO2 = 10−6 atm. The K0.5Na0.5NbO3 fabricated by CSP with annealing in the optimized low pO2 atmospheres exhibits comparable electrical properties of the ceramics annealed in air atmosphere, providing an optional approach for using base metals as electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]