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Abstract Backgrounds Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a common pathogen causing respiratory diseases in children. This study aimed to characterize epidemiological and disease severity shifts of M. pneumoniae: infections in Guangzhou, China during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods Throat swab samples were obtained from 5405 hospitalized patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infections to detect M. pneumoniae. Differences in epidemiological and clinical characteristics of M. pneumoniae: infections were investigated during 2020–2022 and after COVID-19 pandemic (2023). Results M. pneumoniae were detected in 849 (15.6%, 849/5405) patients. The highest annual positive rate was 29.4% (754/2570) in 2023, followed by 5.3% (72/1367) in 2022, 1.2% (12/1015) in 2021, and 2.0% (11/553) in 2020, with significantly increasing annual prevalence from 2020 to 2023. M. pneumoniae incidence peaked between July and December post-COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, with the highest monthly positive rate (56.4%, 165/293). Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with M. pneumoniae did not vary between periods during and after COVID-19 pandemic except that patients with M. pneumoniae post-COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to develop fever. Patients with severe M. pneumoniae pneumonia (SMPP) were more likely to develop respiratory complications, myocardial damage, and gastrointestinal dysfunction than those with non-SMPP. Patients with SMPP had lower lymphocytes, CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, and higher IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 levels than those with non-SMPP. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens from infected patients were obtained to identify macrolide resistance mutations. Macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae (MRMP) proportion in 2023 was 91.1% (215/236). Conclusion Outbreaks of M. pneumoniae: occurred in Guangzhou, China in 2023 upon Non-pharmaceutical interventions easing. Despite the increasing incidence of M. pneumoniae, the disease severity remained similar during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Introduction Lung cancer (LC) is the most common solid tumor and is currently considered the primary cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In clinical efficacy studies, it was not difficult to find that the combination of SFI and chemotherapy could improve the general condition of patients, reduce the side effects of chemotherapy drugs, and have a cooperative antitumor effect in NSCLC patients. However, whether SFI can be used as a novel antitumor drug is still unknown. Methods First, meta-analysis aimed to explore the efficacy of SFI in NSCLC patients, and SFI was identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry (UPLC‒MS). Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were explored by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), scratch healing, and Transwell assays, respectively. Cell cycle and apoptosis assays were performed by flow cytometry. Transcriptome sequencing analysis was performed in four NSCLC cell lines. Differential expression analysis was used to identify potential targets. Apoptosis-related protein levels were detected by Western blotting assays. The effects of SFI in NSCLC were further investigated by mouse xenografts. Results SFI could markedly improve the chemotherapy efficacy of NSCLC patients. The main active ingredients include flavonoids and terpenoids, which can effectively exert antitumor effects. SFI could not only inhibit tumor cell proliferation and cell migration/invasion but also regulate the cell cycle and promote tumor cell apoptosis. In NSCLC, SFI could enhance the transcription level of the CHOP gene, thereby upregulating the expression of the proapoptotic proteins Bax and caspase 3, and inhibiting the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. SFI hindered the growth of mouse NSCLC xenografts in vivo. Conclusions SFI hindered tumor progression and might promote apoptosis by increasing the expression of Bax, caspase 3 and decreasing the level of Bcl-2 in NSCLC.

The UK government plans to phase out pure diesel trains by 2040 and fully decarbonize railways by 2050. Hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) trains, electrified trains using pantographs (Electrified Trains), and battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) trains are considered the main solutions for decarbonizing railways. However, the range of these decarbonization options’ line upgrade cost advantages is unclear. This paper analyzes the upgrade costs of three types of trains on different lines by constructing a cost model and using particle swarm optimization (PSO), including operating costs and fixed investment costs. For the case of decarbonization of the London St. Pancras to Leicester line, the electrified train option is more cost-effective than the other two options under the condition that the service period is 30 years. Then the traffic density range in which three new energy trains have cost advantages on different line lengths is calculated. For route distances under 100 km and with a traffic density of less than 52 trips/day, BEMU trains have the lowest average cost, while electrified trains are the most cost-effective in other ranges. For route distances over 100 km, the average cost of HFC trains is lower than that of electrified trains at traffic densities below about 45 trips/day. In addition, if hydrogen prices fall by 26 %, the cost advantage range of HFC trains will increase to 70 trips per day. For route distances under 100 km, BEMU trains still maintain their advantages in terms of lower traffic density.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an essential thin film fabrication technique widely used in electronic and energy systems, but avoiding ALD in untargeted areas has been a long-standing challenge that excludes the possibility of creating patterns through bottom-up processes. We present a liquid sealing strategy to prevent unwanted ALD by combining shadow masks with viscous perfluoropolyether oil that conformally fulfills all gaps between the mask and substrate down to the molecular level. Due to the anti-adsorption and non-defective nature of the liquid sealant, ALD molecules are forced away from the masking areas, resulting in order-of-magnitude improvements in the patterning resolution compared with conventional shadow masks. The liquid sealant does not change the growth rate and film properties of ALD oxides and can be easily removed by solvents. This liquid sealing strategy applies to a variety of shadow masks (e.g., curved mask and anodic aluminum oxide), substrates (e.g., silicon, plastic, and elastomer), patterning materials (e.g., oxide and metal), and deposition methods (e.g., sputtering and thermal evaporation), providing new insights for bottom-up pattern fabrications.

The ecological relationships between tree growth and climate factors are important for the adaptation, growth prediction, and forest management of tree species against a background of global warming. Yet how these relationships for drought-sensitive conifer trees are changed and affected by elevation remains unclear. To investigate the effect of elevation on spruce tree growth–climate interactions, we collected a total of 1886 tree-ring cores (two cores per tree) from four spruce species, including Picea crassifolia Kom., Picea meyeri Rehd. et Wils., Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey., and Picea wilsonii Mast., in 10 pure forests at a pair of high- and low-elevation alpine sites with the same slope across two aridity zones in China. We then constructed 20 stand tree-ring chronologies for the low- and high-elevation sites. Overall, the growth of spruce trees was more sensitive to drought variability at sites in the semi-arid zone whereas it was weakly limited by drought in the semi-humid zone. Further, spruce trees growing at high-elevation sites were sensitive to temperature unlike the stronger positive drought responses of those at low-elevation sites. In the latter half of the 20th century, the positive drought–growth relationships of spruce were enhanced at both high and low elevation across both aridity zones due to warming and increased drought intensity. Our dendrochronology-based findings suggest that spruce trees’ radial growth in stands at high elevation may have faced drought stress during three recent decades. Nevertheless, the low-elevation trees incurred stronger drought stress compared to the first half of the 20th century.

Background: With the rapid ageing of the population, injuries are increasingly threatening the health of elderly individuals. A comprehensive evaluation of the injury burden is important for selecting and formulating strategies for injury prevention. Objective: To evaluate the temporal trends of injury burden among elderly Chinese individuals aged 60 years and older. Methods: Based on the results of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, the injury mortality, morbidity, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of elderly individuals from 1990 to 2019 were estimated by age and sex. The autoregressive integrated moving average model was used to predict the injury burden in the next decade. Results: In 2019, there were an estimated 304 373 deaths due to injuries in China, accounting for 3.55 % of all deaths. The main cause of injury-related death was unintentional injuries (67.28 deaths per 100 000), followed by transport injuries (30.44 deaths per 100 000). The standardized DALYs rate due to injuries among elderly individuals was 3488.54 DALYs per 100 000. In the past 30 years, the morbidity of injuries among elderly individuals in China has increased by 52.18 %. In 2030, we estimated that there will be 398 200 deaths of elderly individuals due to injury. Conclusions: Over 21% of injury-related deaths among elderly individuals occurred in China. The injury burden among elderly individuals is high, and efforts are needed to inform injury prevention policies and adopt injury prevention strategies to reduce the injury burden and promote the health and well-being of elderly individuals.

BackgroundTeriparatide is approved for osteoporosis. Post-marketing surveillance is critical given its widespread use.ObjectiveTo investigate adverse events (AEs) associated with teriparatide using the FAERS database, compare association strengths for key AEs, and explore potential applications to provide clinical reference.MethodsFAERS data from 2004 to 2023 were analyzed. Reports where teriparatide was the primary suspect drug were included. Adverse events were mapped to System Organ Classes and Preferred Terms. Disproportionality analysis using ROR, PRR, BCPNN and EBGM algorithms was conducted to detect safety signals.ResultsOut of 107,123 reports with teriparatide as the primary suspect, key AEs identified included pain in extremity (PRR: 4.54), muscle spasms (PRR: 5.11), fractures (PRR range: 17.67–552.95), and increased calcium levels (PRR: 50.73). Teriparatide exhibited a stronger association with increased calcium levels (PRR: 50.73) compared to fractures (PRR range: 17.67–552.95). Notably, only 10.86% of AE reports were submitted by physicians and another 10% by other health professionals. Subset analyses showed a higher consistency of reported AEs from health professionals compared to the general dataset. Off-label uses were noted in conditions such as arthritis (0.57%) and cancer (0.12%). For osteoporosis, main AEs were pain (18.2%), fractures (12.4%), muscle spasms (7.7%), and nausea (6.5%), while glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis AEs included fractures (24.1%), pain (13.2%), decreased bone density (9.8%), and nausea (5.1%).ConclusionOur findings provide real-world safety data on teriparatide, revealing key AEs and their association strengths. The low proportion of reports by healthcare professionals suggests the need for cautious interpretation. Continuous vigilance and further research are imperative to guide teriparatide’s clinical use.

Abstract Ion trapping has been found to be responsible for the performance degradation in electrochromic oxide thin films, and a detrapping procedure was proved to be effective to rejuvenate the degraded films. Despite of the studies on ion trapping and detrapping, its dynamics remain largely unknown. Moreover, coloration mechanisms of electrochromic oxides are also far from clear, limiting the development of superior devices. Here, we visualize ion trapping and detrapping dynamics in a model electrochromic material, amorphous WO3. Specifically, formation of orthorhombic Li2WO4 during long-term cycling accounts for the origin of shallow traps. Deep traps are multiple-step-determined, composed of mixed W4+-Li2WO4, amorphous Li2WO4 and W4+-Li2O. The non-decomposable W4+-Li2WO4 couple is the origin of the irreversible traps. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, besides the typical small polaron hopping between W5+ ↔ W6+ sites, bipolaron hopping between W4+ ↔ W6+ sites gives rise to optical absorption in the short-wavelength region. Overall, we provide a general picture of electrochromism based on polaron hopping. Ion trapping and detrapping were demonstrated to also prevail in other cathodic electrochromic oxides. This work not only provides the ion trapping and detrapping dynamics of WO3, but also open avenues to study other cathodic electrochromic oxides and develop superior electrochromic devices with great durability.

Abstract Epitaxial growth is a fundamental step required to create devices for the semiconductor industry, enabling different materials to be combined in layers with precise control of strain and defect structure. Patterning the growth substrate with a mask before performing epitaxial growth offers additional degrees of freedom to engineer the structure and hence function of the semiconductor device. Here, we demonstrate that conditions exist where such epitaxial lateral overgrowth can produce complex, three-dimensional structures that incorporate cavities of deterministic size. We grow germanium on silicon substrates patterned with a dielectric mask and show that fully-enclosed cavities can be created through an unexpected self-assembly process that is controlled by surface diffusion and surface energy minimization. The result is confined cavities enclosed by single crystalline Ge, with size and position tunable through the initial mask pattern. We present a model to account for the observed cavity symmetry, pinch-off and subsequent evolution, reflecting the dominant role of surface energy. Since dielectric mask patterning and epitaxial growth are compatible with conventional device processing steps, we suggest that this mechanism provides a strategy for developing electronic and photonic functionalities.

The CALPHAD (calculation of phase diagrams) method was applied to facilitate the design of a crack-free Al-Mg-Si-Ti alloy fabricated by laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF). Calculation and alloy characterisation show that Ti addition at 0.77 wt.% can offer a synergic effect of increasing the heterogeneous nucleation rate and the growth restriction factor (Q) in the initial solidification stage. Meanwhile, the increase of Mg/Si ratio can promote the formation of Al/Mg2Si eutectics to provide excellent backfilling ability in the final solidification stage. As a result, the experimental Al-Mg-Si-Ti alloy significantly improve the crack susceptibility. Also, the Al-Mg-Si-Ti alloy with dislocation interaction of Al/Mg2Si eutectics and Al3Ti particles show an excellent ultimate tensile strength of 447.8 MPa and elongation of 9.1% under as-LPBFed condition.

Coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) is common in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and is linked to an elevated risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Although modern medicine has made significant strides in researching CMVD, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms due to its complex and somewhat cryptic etiology. This greatly impedes the clinical diagnosis and treatment of CMVD. The primary pathological mechanisms of CMVD are structural abnormalities and/or dysfunction of coronary microvascular endothelial cells. The development of CMVD may also involve a variety of inflammatory factors through the endothelial cell injury pathway. This paper first reviews the correlation between the inflammatory response and CMVD, then summarizes the possible mechanisms of inflammatory response in CMVD, and finally categorizes the drugs used to treat CMVD based on their effect on the inflammatory response. We hope that this paper draws attention to CMVD and provides novel ideas for potential therapeutic strategies based on the inflammatory response.

Numerous bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms in the tobacco phyllosphere interstellar area participate in the physiological metabolism of plants by interacting with the host. However, there is currently little research on the characteristics of tobacco phyllosphere microbial communities, and the correlation between tobacco phyllosphere microbial communities and phyllosphere factor indicators is still unknown. Therefore, high-throughput sequencing technology based on the 16S rRNA/ITS1 gene was used to explore the diversity and composition characteristics of tobacco phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities from different maturation processes, and to identify marker genera that distinguish phyllosphere microbial communities. In this study, the correlations between tobacco phyllosphere bacterial and fungal communities and the precursors of major aroma compounds were explored. The results showed that as the tobacco plants matured, the density of glandular trichomes on the tobacco leaves gradually decreased. The surface physicochemical properties of tobacco leaves also undergo significant changes. In addition, the overall bacterial alpha diversity in the tobacco phyllosphere area increased with maturation, while the overall fungal alpha diversity decreased. The beta diversity of bacteria and fungi in the tobacco phyllosphere area also showed significant differences. Specifically, with later top pruning time, the relative abundances of Acidisoma, Ralstonia, Bradyrhizobium, Alternaria and Talaromyces gradually increased, while the relative abundances of Pseudomonas, Filobassidium, and Tausonia gradually decreased. In the bacterial community, Acidisoma, Ralstonia, Bradyrhizobium, and Alternaria were significantly positively correlated with tobacco aroma precursors, with significant negative correlations with tobacco phyllosphere trichome morphology, while Pseudomonas showed the opposite pattern; In the fungal community, Filobasidium and Tausonia were significantly negatively correlated with tobacco aroma precursors, and significantly positively correlated with tobacco phyllosphere trichome morphology, while Alternaria showed the opposite pattern. In conclusion, the microbiota (bacteria and fungi) and aroma precursors of the tobacco phyllosphere change significantly as tobacco matures. The presence of Acidisoma, Ralstonia, Bradyrhizobium and Alternaria in the phyllosphere microbiota of tobacco may be related to the aroma precursors of tobacco.

Outburst floods can affect the survival adaptability of fish. Although the survival adaptability of many fish species under low steady-flow conditions has been studied, research on the survival adaptability of fish species under large outburst flood conditions is lacking. This paper takes the 2018 Baige landslide dam as an example. A breach model was developed to calculate the outburst discharge of the landslide dam. The outburst flood hydrograph is simulated with the breach model, which shows that the difference between the peak discharge of the dam break simulation results and the measured data is 0.13×104 m3/s. In addition, the simulated hydrographs are the same as the measured hydrographs. Furthermore, a two-dimensional fish habitat model was used to analyse the adaptability of Schizothorax to survival during the breaching process. For the survival adaptability of Schizothorax, we observed that as the flow rate increased the weighted usable area (WUA) decreased, which indicated a decrease in the adaptability of Schizothorax survival. In contrast, as the flow rate decreased and the WUA increased, the survival adaptability of Schizothorax improved. In addition, the WUA of Schizothorax changed with the substrate of the riverbed; the smaller the channel suitability index (CSI) the greater the WUA. This study revealed the impact of outburst floods triggered by landslide dam failure on the survival adaptability of Schizothorax, and a method for assessing the impact of outburst floods on fish habitat adaptability is provided.

Abstract Transformer winding turns often consist of multiple parallel strands. The spatial position variation of each strand affects the leakage inductance of each branch, resulting in an uneven distribution of short‐circuit currents within the winding turns. And this unevenness persists even when transposition structures are implemented. Traditional methods in transformer analysis frequently overlooked the distribution characteristics of short‐circuit currents when calculating electromagnetic forces. A frequency‐domain calculation method for analysing the current distribution in winding turns was proposed, with a deviation of less than 3% compared to existing analysis methods. Two typical 110 kV transformer models were utilised to investigate the influence of uneven current distribution on the spatial distribution of electromagnetic forces. The spatial distribution of short‐circuit electromagnetic forces in low‐voltage (LV) windings exhibited significant changes, with maximum change rates of 10% and 61.2% for axial and radial electromagnetic force, respectively, in a LV winding with 4 parallel strands. The research also analysed how strand radial width and axial height affect current distribution unevenness and proposed specific design principles to mitigate these disparities in winding design. The findings offer valuable insights for selecting structural parameters and assessing short‐circuit stability during transformer design.

Abstract Accurately calculating axial electromagnetic force is essential to analyse transformer winding axial stability. Prior research has mainly focused on the effect of winding structure on static axial electromagnetic force and studying vibration by substituting the static force in a time‐varying function. However, the coupling effect between axial electromagnetic force and winding vibration has not been addressed, and no calculation method for the axial electromagnetic force that considers both winding meso‐structures and vibration coupling effects has been proposed. Previously the authors presented an electromagnetic force calculation model that considers winding structure characteristics, and an iterative algorithm for magnetic‐structure coupling calculation. Currently, the winding vibration model was first proposed and the dynamic calculation method was formulated. By applying the method to a typical 110kV transformer, the spatial‐temporal distribution of winding axial short‐circuit electromagnetic force was obtained. It was found that the peak value of the axial short‐circuit electromagnetic force of some windings appears at the second or third peak moment of the short‐circuit current, which is called as peak time shift phenomenon. Further stress analysis indicates that existing evaluation methods may overestimate the short‐circuit resistance of windings by only considering short‐circuit electromagnetic force under maximum peak of short‐circuit current.

Objective The alteration in the mechanical environment of the necrotic area is the primary cause of the collapse observed in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). This study aims to evaluate the biomechanical implications of the China‐Japan Friendship Hospital (CJFH) classification system and hip flexion angles on the necrotic area in ONFH using finite element analysis (FEA). The goal is to provide valuable guidance for hip preservation treatments and serve as a reference for clinical diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Methods Hip tomography CT scan data from a healthy volunteer was used to create a 3D model of the left hip. The model was preprocessed and imported into Solidworks 2018, based on the CJFH classification. Material parameters and boundary conditions were applied to each fractal model in ANSYS 21.0. Von Mises stresses were calculated, and maximum deformation values were obtained to evaluate the biomechanical effects of the load on the necrotic area and post‐necrotic femur, as well as assess each fractal model's collapse risk. Results (1) At the same hip flexion angle, maximum deformation followed this order: M Type < C Type < L Type. The L3 type necrotic area experienced the most significant deformation at 0, 60, and 110° angles (1.121, 1.7913, and 1.8239 mm respectively). (2) Under the same CJFH classification, maximum deformation values increased with hip flexion angle (0