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As container ports become increasingly important to the global supply chain, a growing number of ports are improving their competencies by consolidating multiple terminal resources internally. In addition, in the context of energy conservation and emission reduction, ports measure competitiveness not only in terms of terminal size, throughput and service level, but also in terms of low energy consumption and low pollution. Therefore, a nonlinear mixed-integer programming model considering the cost of carbon is developed for the multi-terminal berth and quay crane joint robust scheduling problem under uncertain environments to minimize the sum of expectation and variance of total cost under all randomly generated samples. The model considers the water depth and interference of quay cranes, etc. The expected vessel arrival time and the average operational efficiency plus relaxation are used as their actual values when scheduling. Finally, an improved adaptive genetic algorithm is developed by combining the simulated annealing mechanism, and numerical experiments are designed. The results show that the joint berth and quay crane scheduling with uncertainties and a multi-terminal coordination mechanism can effectively reduce the operating cost, including carbon costs and the vessel departure delay rate, and can improve resource utilization. Meanwhile, the scheduling with the multi-terminal coordination mechanism can obtain more significant improvement effects than the scheduling with uncertainties.

Leaf is the main organ of photosynthesis. Leaf phenotypic plasticity largely determines the adaptation of plants to enriched nitrogen (N) environments. However, it remains unclear whether the optimal number (proportion) of leaves representing the leaf traits of the whole plant is similar between ambient and N-enriched conditions. Moreover, whether alteration in ammonium (NH4+-N) to nitrate (NO3−-N) ratios in atmospheric N deposition will alter the optimal leaf number is unexplored. By adding three NH4+-N/NO3−-N ratios in a temperate grassland of northern China since 2014, three traits (leaf area, thickness and chlorophyll content) of two dominant clonal grasses, Leymus chinensis and Agropyron cristatum, were measured in August 2020. Results showed that under ambient conditions, the mean leaf area, thickness and chlorophyll content values of two fully expanded leaves were similar to these of all leaves at the plant level, except for the leaf area of L. chinensis, which needed five leaves (78.82% of leaves in the plant). The ratios of NH4+-N/NO3−-N increased the number of required sampled leaves and significantly changed the mean value of leaf traits and the maximum value along leaf order. Moreover, the ratios of NH4+-N/NO3−-N altered the trade-off among the three leaf traits, which is dependent on leaf order, by increasing leaf area and decreasing leaf thickness. Therefore, our study suggests that to better indicate the leaf traits’ value of the whole plant under N-enriched conditions, measuring all fully expanded leaves or providing a suitable scaling-up parameter is needed.

Tall clonal grasses commonly display competitive advantages with nitrogen (N) enrichment. However, it is currently unknown whether their height is derived from the vegetative or reproductive module. Moreover, it is unclear whether the height of the vegetative or reproductive system regulates the probability of extinction and colonization, and determines species richness (frequency). In this study, the impacts on clonal grasses were studied in a field experiment employing two frequencies (twice a year or monthly) crossed with nine N addition rates in a temperate grassland. We found that the N addition decreased species frequency and increased extinction probability, but did not change the species colonization probability. A low frequency of N addition decreased species frequency and colonization probability, but increased extinction probability. Species reproductive height is the best index to predict the extinction probability of clonal grasses in N-enriched conditions relative to the vegetative height, average height, and species biomass. No significant relationships were detected between plant height and species colonization probability. The low frequency of N addition may overestimate the negative effect from N deposition on clonal grass diversity, suggesting that a higher frequency of N addition is more suitable in assessing the ecological effects of N deposition. Moreover, this study illustrates that reproductive height, not the vegetative height, was associated with the clonal species extinction probability under N-enriched environment.

Background As a traditional Chinese therapy, acupuncture is proposed worldwide as a treatment for pain and other health problems, but findings on acupuncture analgesia have been inconsistent because of its variable modalities of therapeutic intervention. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the existing animal studies for evidence on acupuncture and its effect on glia in association with a reduction in pain conditions. Methods Literature searches were performed in four English- and Chinese-language databases (Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI) on October 8, 2021. Included studies reported the pain outcome (e.g., paw withdrawal latency, paw withdrawal threshold) and glia outcome (e.g., glial marker GFPA, Iba1, and OX42) in pain-induced animals during acupuncture treatment. Results Fifty-two preclinical studies were included in the meta-analysis. A single acupuncture treatment in rodents had an analgesic effect, which was more effective in inflammatory pain than in neuropathic pain in the early phase of treatment. The analgesic efficacy became more curative after repeated acupuncture. Furthermore, acupuncture treatment could effectively inhibit the activity of astrocytes and microglia in both inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain in a time-course pattern. Conclusions Acupuncture treatment improves analgesic effect in rodent pain conditions under the possible mechanism of glial inhibition. Therefore, these results provide an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia and neuroinflammation in animal models to research further neurobiological mechanisms and to inform the design of future clinical trials. Study registration PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020196011).

To obtain multifunctional materials suitable for guiding alveolar bone regeneration under infectious conditions, we prepared asymmetric membranes comprising space acquiring layer that involves fibroblast inhibitor poly(p-dioxanone-co-L-phenylalanine) (PDPA), an isolating dense layer that forms barrier between two layers and an osteogenesis inducing electrospinning layer which involves hydroxyapatite or hydroxyapatiteminocycline. Then the composition, crystallization, morphology, and hydrophilicity of asymmetric membranes were analyzed. Minocycline incorporated membranes controlled the expansion of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in vitro. Hydroxyapatite-incorporated asymmetric membranes promoted the expression of osteogenesis related genes RUNX2, OPN, ALP of MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro. The mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured with hydroxyapatite-incorporated asymmetric membranes were also promoted in vitro. Asymmetric membranes especially hydroxyapatite-incorporated ones guided the regeneration of the mandibular bone defect in vivo. Bone regeneration guided under infectious conditions was evaluated in a P. gingivalis infected alveolar bone defect model. Specifically, space acquiring layer containing asymmetric membranes effectively controlled connective tissue hyperplasia at defect sites. The excellent guided bone regeneration achieved by applying a single space acquiring layer membrane further indicates the importance of acquiring space actively to induce bone regeneration. Hydroxyapatite-minocycline incorporated symmetric membranes could simultaneously suppress alveolar bone reabsorption caused by infection and guide regeneration of defects. Therefore, the hydroxyapatite-minocycline incorporated asymmetric membrane may be more suitable to be applied in guiding regeneration of bone defects under complex infectious conditions.

PurposeNitrogen (N) enrichment through either artificial N application or atmospheric N deposition often increases ecosystem aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). Therefore, results from N addition experiments have been used to assess the effects of atmospheric N deposition on ecosystems. However, the frequency of atmospheric N deposition is higher than that of artificial N addition. Whether the frequency of N addition alters the long-term response of ecosystem ANPP remains unclear. MethodsWe conducted a N addition frequency experiment from 2010 in a temperate grassland, northern China. Plant community ANPP was collected in 2019 and 2020, and soil physicochemical properties were measured in 2020. ResultsPlant community ANPP was significantly enhanced by N addition, whereas these increments declined with the frequency of N addition. The responses of the grasses ANPP to the frequency of N addition were similar to those of the plant community ANPP. Forbs ANPP was not significantly altered by the frequency of N addition. Meanwhile, soil ammonium and nitrate (NO3−–N) concentrations decreased with increasing N addition frequency, while the soil water content (SWC) and pH were similar among the frequencies of N addition. Moreover, SWC and soil NO3−–N jointly promoted grasses ANPP, ultimately increasing the plant community ANPP. ConclusionOur findings extend the water and N co-limitation hypothesis by specifying the preference for NO3−–N in arid/semi-arid regions. This study also illustrates that a higher frequency of N addition is more suitable for assessing the long-term impacts of atmospheric N deposition on ecosystems.

Nitrogen (N) deposition often promotes aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), but has adverse effects on terrestrial ecosystem biodiversity. It is unclear, however, whether biomass production and biodiversity are equally altered by seasonal N enrichment, as there is a temporal pattern to atmospheric N deposition. By adding N in autumn, winter, or growing season from October 2014 to May 2019 in a temperate grassland in China, we found that N addition promoted peak plant community ANPP, but tended to decrease plant richness. Regardless of seasonal N additions, precipitation was positively correlated with plant community ANPP, confirming that precipitation is the primary limiting factor in this semiarid grassland. Unexpectedly, N addition in autumn or growing season, but not in winter, increased the sensitivity of plant communities to precipitation (i.e., the slope of the positive relationship between community ANPP and precipitation), indicating that precipitation determines the influence of seasonal N enrichment on plant community biomass production. These findings suggest that previous studies in which N was added in a single season, e.g., the growing season, have likely overestimated the effects of N deposition on ecosystem primary productivity, especially during wet years. This study illustrates that multi-season N addition in agreement with predicted seasonal patterns of N deposition needs to be evaluated to precisely assess ecosystem responses.

Background The study is to investigate the influence of high myopia on the consistency between optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual field in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods We enrolled 37 patients with POAG with high myopia (POAG-HM group), 27 patients with POAG without high myopia (POAG group), and 29 controls with high myopia (HM group). All subjects underwent Humphrey perimetry (30–2 and 10–2 algorithms). The peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thicknesses were measured using Cirrus HD-OCT. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was used to determine correlations between OCT and perimetric parameters. Agreement was analyzed by cross-classification and weighted κ statistics. Results In POAG group, the cross-classification analysis showed strong agreement between the inferior temporal GCIPL thickness and the mean sensitivity (MS) of 10–2 algorithms (κ = 0.5447, P = 0.0048), and good agreement between the superior and inferior RNFL thicknesses and 30–2 MS (κ = 0.4407 and 0.4815; P P = 0.0289) and none of the RNFL sectors were in good agreement with the corresponding MS. Conclusions In POAG patients with high myopia, changes in macular measurements were in accordance with visual field defects, and RNFL thickness did not consistently decline with visual field defects due to the effects of high myopia. This study suggests that during diagnosis and follow-up of glaucoma with high myopia, more attention need to be focused on structure and functional defects in macular areas.

For purpose of improving the waste heat recovery and utilization efficiency of high-temperature semi-cokes, a new heat exchanger with primary recovery method was creatively proposed, and the heat transfer performance of flowing irregular semi-cokes in the new primary heat exchanger was investigated experimentally for the first time. The effects of initial temperature, flow velocity and diameter of semi-cokes on the heat transfer performance of flowing irregular semi-cokes were analyzed, and the experimental correlation formula of Nusselt number between flowing irregular semi-coke and cooling wall was studied by dimensional analysis and experimental data fitting. Furthermore, the heat transfer performance of flowing irregular semi-cokes under the condition of steam flow was compared with those under the condition of no steam flow. Experiment results show that the initial temperature, flow velocity and diameter of semi-coke have significant effects on the heat transfer performance, and the initial temperature and flow velocity have positive effects. The experimental correlation formula of Nusselt number was obtained, and the average relative error of calculation and experiment is 4.46%, which indicates that the experimental correlation formula can well predict heat transfer performance. The heat transfer performance of flowing irregular semi-cokes under the condition of steam flow is better than that under the condition of no steam flow, and the heat transfer mechanism under the condition of steam flow was revealed. Meanwhile, the comprehensive heat transfer coefficient with steam flow is 79.5% higher than that without steam flow. The steam acts as an intermediate heat transfer medium of the flowing irregular semi-cokes and cooling wall, which occupies an important position on the heat transfer enhancement between the flowing irregular semi-cokes and cooling wall.

The impacts of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition amount on plant communities have been extensively explored. However, the responses of plant communities to the ratio of reduced (NH4+–N) and oxidized (NO3−–N) forms remain unclear in natural ecosystems. A field N enrichment experiment using different NH4+–N/NO3−–N ratios was conducted in a natural semi-arid grassland in northern China from 2014 to 2019. Nitrogen addition tended to reduce plant species richness and significantly enhanced plant community aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). Neither plant species richness nor plant ANPP at species and community levels was significantly affected by NH4+–N/NO3−–N ratios. At the plant functional group level, ANPP of grasses was not significantly affected by the NH4+–N/NO3−–N ratios examined, whereas ANPP of forbs was significantly increased at 1:1 NH4+–N/NO3−–N. Regardless of N supplied using the different ratios of NH4+–N/NO3−–N examined, plant community ANPP was positively associated with growing season precipitation. Unexpectedly, 1:1 NH4+–N/NO3−–N (NH4NO3) significantly improved the positive response of plant community ANPP to precipitation (it had the biggest slope value). Our results suggest that precipitation was the main determinant of the influence of NH4+–N/NO3−–N ratios on plant community ANPP. Therefore, the results of our study showed that without referring to NH4+–N/NO3−–N ratios and precipitation, models using NH4NO3 enrichment may overestimate the positive effect of atmospheric N deposition on ecosystem ANPP in semi-arid ecozones.

The study of flue gas desulfurization is of great significance to environmental protection. With the principle that sulfur dioxide (SO2) can be liquefied with the cooling of flue gas and further be removed with gas-liquid separation, a cryogenic desulfurization process was designed based on Aspen plus. The steady state process was simulated by using appropriate property methods included in Aspen plus, and the two-stage cryogenic desulfurization test bench was set up, to carry out the cryogenic process experiments. To explore the rule of cryogenic desulfurization and determine the appropriate process parameters, the influence of temperature, pressure, concentration of SO2 and the water vapor volume fraction were analyzed. It was found that the desulfurization efficiency can be improved from 33% to 73.2% with the temperature of fuel gas decreased from −12 °C to −45 °C, and can be further improved to the maximum of 90.2% with the cryogenic pressure increased from 0.5 MPa to 2.5 MPa. The desulfurization efficiency also can increase with the increase of SO2 concentration, but decrease with the increase of the inlet temperature. Based on the simulations and the practical application in engineering project comprehensively, the more suitable operating conditions were obtained.

We previously demonstrated that for long-term spastic limb paralysis, transferring the seventh cervical nerve (C7) from the nonparalyzed side to the paralyzed side results in increase of 17.7 in Fugl-Meyer score. One strategy for further improvement in voluntary arm movement is selective activation of five target muscles innervated by C7 during recovery process. In this study, we develop an implantable multisite optogenetic stimulation device (MOSD) based on shape-memory polymer. Two-site stimulation of sciatic nerve bundles by MOSD induces precise extension or flexion movements of the ankle joint, while eight-site stimulation of C7 nerve bundles induce selective limb movement. Long-term implant of MOSD to mice with severed and anastomosed C7 nerve is proven to be both safe and effective. Our work opens up the possibility for multisite nerve bundle stimulation to induce highly-selective activations of limb muscles, which could inspire further applications in neurosurgery and neuroscience research., Optogenetic stimulation of damaged peripheral nerves has advantages over electrical stimulation but it’s limited to single-site stimulation. Here the authors develop a spiral-shaped LED implant for precise optogenetic stimulation of peripheral nerve bundles at multiple sites and use it to induce distinct limb movements in mice.

The self-focusing effect of annular beams propagating in the atmosphere to assist delivering powerful laser beams from orbit to the ground is studied in detail. It is found the annular beam is compressed more strongly due to the self-focusing effect as the beam obscure ratio increases. On the other hand, the self-focusing effect between annular, flat-topped and Gaussian beams is compared. It is shown that the self-focusing effect on the annular beam is stronger than that on flat-topped and Gaussian beams. However, the threshold critical power values of annular, flat-topped and Gaussian beams should be in sequence from small to large. Furthermore, the expression of the B integral of annular beams propagating from orbit to the ground in the atmosphere is derived, and the fitting equation related to the B integral of annular beams for maximal compression without filamentation is presented.

In magnetic resonant coupling wireless power transfer (WPT) system, the frequency splitting phenomena have a vital influence on the output power. This paper mainly focuses on the frequency splitting of two-coil and three-coil WPT. First, the frequency characteristics of transfer power and system efficiency of the two-coil WPT are analyzed by circuit theory. In addition, the magnetic field distribution of the two splitting frequencies is simulated to analyze which frequency is better for the operating frequency. Second, considering the reference resistance of RF power, the frequency splitting of two-coil and three-coil WPT is analyzed. Finally, the critical coupling, which determines the over coupled region, of two-coil and three-coil WPT is derived. Meanwhile, we propose a tuned frequency method according to the numerical results. In addition, the transfer power can be kept at a relatively constant level in the over coupled region.

In previously published articles, we evaluated the toxicity of four organophosphate (OP) pesticides (dichlorvos, dimethoate, acephate, and phorate) to rats using metabonomic technology at their corresponding no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL). Results show that a single pesticide elicits no toxic response. This study aimed to determine whether chronic exposure to a mixture of the above four pesticides (at their corresponding NOAEL) can lead to joint toxic action in rats using the same technology. Pesticides were administered daily to rats through drinking water for 24 weeks. The above mixture of the four pesticides showed joint toxic action at the NOAEL of each pesticide. The metabonomic profiles of rats urine were analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The 16 metabolites statistically significantly changed in all treated groups compared with the control group. Dimethylphosphate and dimethyldithiophosphate exclusively detected in all treated groups can be used as early, sensitive biomarkers for exposure to a mixture of the OP pesticides. Moreover, exposure to the OP pesticides resulted in increased 7-methylguanine, ribothymidine, cholic acid, 4-pyridoxic acid, kynurenine, and indoxyl sulfate levels, as well as decreased hippuric acid, creatinine, uric acid, gentisic acid, C18-dihydrosphingosine, phytosphingosine, suberic acid, and citric acid. The results indicated that a mixture of OP pesticides induced DNA damage and oxidative stress, disturbed the metabolism of lipids, and interfered with the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Ensuring food safety requires not only the toxicology test data of each pesticide for the calculation of the acceptable daily intake but also the joint toxic action.

Purpose To compare the diagnostic powers of parameters of the RTVue and Cirrus-HD optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems in detecting glaucoma in highly myopic eyes. Methods For this study, 28 glaucoma patients with high myopia (HM-G) and 28 high-myopia controls (HM-C) were enrolled. The circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cp-RNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) parameters in the RTVue-OCT, and the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) and cp-RNFL parameters in the Cirrus HD-OCT, were obtained for each subject. The receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) was used to assess the diagnostic ability of each parameter, and the areas under the curves (AUROCs) of those parameters were compared. Results In both OCTs, the macular parameters showed significantly higher diagnostic power than the cp-RNFL thickness. The minimum GCIPL (0.977), inferotemporal GCIPL (0.947), and vertical cup/disc (C/D) ratio (0.968) showed the best performances among all of the Cirrus HD-OCT parameters. The focal loss volume (FLV) (0.964), global loss volume (GLV) (0.899), and vertical C/D ratio (0.899) showed the best performances among all of the RTVue-OCT parameters. Among the parameters with high diagnostic ability in each protocol of the two OCTs, the superior sector of the cp-RNFL had significantly lower abilities than the FLV and the minimum of the GCIPL (P < 0.05) in detecting glaucoma in high myopia. Conclusions The macular measurements had significantly better glaucoma detection abilities than the cpRNFL thickness in the high-myopia subjects in both RTVue-OCT and Cirrus HD-OCT, with no significant differences in the diagnostic ability between the two macular parameters.

The effect of spatial coherence on laser beam self-focusing in the atmosphere to assist delivering powerful laser beams from orbit to the ground is studied. It is found that a fully coherent beam is more strongly compressed on the ground than a partially (spatial) coherent beam (PCB), even so, for a PCB the compressed spot size on the ground may be reduced below the diffraction limit due to self-focusing effect, and a PCB has higher threshold critical power than a fully coherent beam. Furthermore, an effective design rule for maximal compression without beam splitting of the transported PCB from orbit to the ground is presented.

The aim of the study was to observe the effect of different artificial tears on healing the drug-induced keratopathy. To this aim, 64 rabbits received topical administration of 0.01% benzalkonium chloride to establish models and were divided into four groups. The control group received ocular saline solution (Saline), while the others were treated with Refresh Plus® (RF), Hycosan® (H) and Systane® Ultra (SU). Surface abnormalities were examined daily using slit-lamp. Fluorescein staining, histopathological and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination were performed at day 0, 2 weeks, and 1 and 2 months. A significant difference was observed between RF and SU, but not between H and SU at 2 weeks. TEM examination revealed new microvilli close to the cavity surface, and the number of microvilli in SU was greater than in H at 2 weeks and 1 month. Based on the results, the effect in the SU group was the most significant. Eye drops with nontoxic preservative such as SU are an alternative to treat drug-induced keratopathy.

Pains of various kinds--dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, and dyspareunia--are the major complaints from women with endometriosis, representing the most debilitating nature of the disease. Despite extensive research, our understanding as how endometriosis causes pain is still fragmentary. In this study, we examined transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1)-positive nerve fibers in ectopic endometrium from women with ovarian endometriomas and in endometrium from women without endometriosis and correlated the density with the severity of dysmenorrhea in cases. We also performed an immunohistochemistry analysis of TRPV1 in ectopic and control endometrium. After finding TRPV1 immunoreactivity in ectopic endometrial cells, we further examined whether TRPV1 is functional in ectopic endometrial stromal cells (EESCs). We found that the density of TRPV1-positive nerve fibers in ectopic endometrial implants is higher than that in control endometrium and correlates positively with the severity of dysmenorrhea in women with endometriosis. In addition, TRPV1 expression was also found to be elevated significantly in EESCs when stimulated with inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2) ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Finally, we found that TRPV1 activation can induce the release of nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in EESCs. The latter finding appears to be consistent with the reports of increased TRPV1 protein expression following peripheral inflammation. Our results suggest that the increased TRPV1-positive nerve fibers may integrate various stimuli on peripheral terminals or primary sensory neurons and generate hyperalgesia in endometriosis. The expression and functionality of TRPV1 in EESCs also suggest that TRPV1 may have neurosecretory functions that are yet to be elucidated.

A novel transverse-flux moving-magnet linear oscillatory actuator (TMLOA) for a compressor is proposed and analyzed, which features a unique configuration composed of usual laminated stators and moving-magnet mover. It not only offers low manufacturing cost and great dynamic characteristics, but also provides high thrust force density for its transverse flux path. The magnetic field and thrust force are analyzed by three-dimensional finite-element model. The proposed model is also used for studying effects of the axial dimensions variation on the thrust force and stroke, and then the selection of axial parameters is obtained with reference to the amplitude and smoothness of thrust force. Finally, the measurements of a prototype validate the predicted results. It shows the proposed TMLOA is very suitable for linear reciprocating motion drive applications such as compressors and pumps.