Vocal fold bamboo node disease is a rare characteristic disease. Its clinical manifestation is hoarseness. Under endoscopy, it is a fat yellow strip disease on one or both vocal cords.

Double jets electrospinning method was adopted to fabricate In2O3/Co3O4 nanofibers (NFs). The morphology, structure, chemical composition, and gas sensing properties of the samples are comprehensively characterized. The results show that the addition of In2O3 can improve the response of Co3O4 to acetone. At 200℃, the response of In2O3/Co3O4 and Co3O4 to 100 ppm acetone is 18.69 and 1.29, respectively. In addition, the doping of Co3O4 has reduced the optimum working temperature of pure In2O3 from 300℃ to 200℃. Even more interesting is that the composite of Co3O4 and In2O3 not only enhances the sensing performance, but also leads to a conversion of p-n conductivity type. The phenomenon of the p-n transition is relevant to the proportion of In2O3 and Co3O4. While the enhanced acetone sensing properties of In2O3/Co3O4 NFs may be attributed to the p-n heterojunction between n-type In2O3 and p-type Co3O4 crystalline grains, which promotes the electron migration. The synergistic effects between In2O3 and Co3O4 and the large specific surface area of NFs also have an additional contribution to the improvements of acetone sensing performance.

Facial expression has been widely used in clinical practice to assess pain in newborns. However, the inherent visual attention required to make such vital inference is poorly understood. It is also unknown whether this inference occurs differently when comparing health professionals with other adults. To investigate these issues, we have recorded and monitored the pupil size signal of 102 subjects (44 experts, 29 parents, and 29 non-experts) while visually analyzing 20 frontal face images of 10 distinct newborns after a painful procedure and at painless rest. Our experimental results have showed that neonatal pain assessment is more cognitively demanding when analyzing the presence of pain rather than its absence. Moreover, our results disclose that a 2-second exposure to a facial expression is sufficient to make this assessment, regardless whether done by health professionals or non-health ones, suggesting that this highly specific visual task is not driven by clinical experience.

The six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) adaptive finite-time control for spacecraft with unknown uncertainties and disturbances approaching to a non-cooperative target is investigated in this study. The system of the spacecraft with coupled relative translation and relative rotation are modeled. Considering the unknown mass and inertia uncertainties and the state-dependent disturbances, a coupled 6-DOF adaptive finite-time tracking control law with a self-adjustment function is developed to achieve high precision proximity operations between chaser and non-cooperative target. The convergence performance is improved by the designed self-adjustment function. The unknown mass, inertia and disturbance are estimated by adaptive update laws. The properties of the proposed control law are discussed through the comparison of simulation results.

In the modern education system, individuals are raised from an early age to adhere to learning processes focused around the hypothetical. Such conceptual learning, however, has recently been found to be less effective than a comparable style of learning called Experiential Learning, which is the process of learning by doing. By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. However, the flexibility of Experiential Learning leaves it open to a wide range of interpretations, which does not establish a consistent benchmark.This research project focuses on establishing a concrete definition for Experiential Learning through the analysis of various experimental scenarios and how it is measured in the post-secondary learning environment. Taking into consideration the inductive processes we utilize to code our collected data, as well as the criteria we collect to filter our data. Such work would benefit a large part of the population through a more effective learning process and will allow other researchers to determine whether scenarios and other experiences fit the criteria to be evaluated as an experiential learning setting as well as design experiments that better reflect experiential learning as a whole.

Bubble evolution induced overpotential for hydrogen production by water electrolysis is an important issue and the generated gas bubbles will cover the internal/external surface of the electrode. Herein, a flow-through electrode loaded with Co-based nanosheets is presented. Under the condition of flow-through mode, the catalysts can be adequately exposed because the generated bubbles can be timely removed from the catalyst surface. The overpotential can be reduced by about 100 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 57 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under the condition of 300 mA cm-2 and electrolyte flux of 339 m3 m-2 h-1. A novel electrolyzer assembled with flow-through electrode for hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis is conducted. The cell voltage can be decreased by 100 mV at 400 mA cm-2 at 6 M KOH, 338 K, and 1 atm, with the energy of 5 kWh Nm-3 required.

：Vegetation blanket restoration techniques of different materials in mine drainage field provide different environments for plant growth, but effects of vegetation blanket cover on soil microbial community structure and their diversity characteristics were not well known， especially in arid areas. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used on the study site, located at Dafeng Mine, the Helan Mountains, Ningxia, China. Soil microbial communities were analyzed under four different treatments: Straw, Straw-Coir, Coir vegetation blanket types, and a bare soil control. The results showed that the contents of soil total nitrogen, available potassium, urease, and catalase were significantly increased in different types of vegetation blankets. High-throughput sequencing showed that the straw vegetation blanket increased bacterial diversity while the coir vegetation blanket increased fungal diversity. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi, whose main influencing factors were total nitrogen, catalase, urease, and protease. The dominant fungal phylum was Ascomycota, whose main influencing factors were alkaline phosphatase, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and electrical conductance. These results indicate that vegetation blanket cover can improve the physicochemical properties of soil, increase the diversity and richness of soil microorganisms, and improve the structural composition of the community, thus improving the soil environment in the mining areas in arid regions, while laying a good foundation for further restoration measures.

Rural revitalization stands as a pivotal strategy for enhancing the socio-economic fabric, infrastructure, and overall quality of life in developing countries. These nations, undergoing transitions from agrarian economies to more diversified, urbanized societies, grapple with challenges such as poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and disparities in access to services. This article sheds light on the significant role of rural revitalization in developing countries, emphasizing its economic importance, untapped potential, and the critical need to address challenges faced by rural communities. Drawing inspiration from the People's Republic of China's remarkable success in rural revitalization, the article explores the practical implications, strategies, and outcomes of China's experiences. China's achievements not only signify progress but also offer valuable insights for other developing nations seeking to navigate a similar trajectory. By closely examining China's rural development policies and outcomes, the article aims to illuminate effective strategies that can be applied globally, especially in nations facing similar challenges. Furthermore, the Chinese context provides a unique opportunity for cross-border knowledge exchange, fostering an environment conducive to sharing ideas, strategies, and best practices. The collaborative effort to uncover insights from China's experiences aims to promote progress and prosperity in rural areas across the global landscape. This exploration into effective rural development strategies contributes to the shared objective of achieving balanced, sustainable, and inclusive national development in developing countries.

Nanotechnology has expanded its wings in almost all sectors with special attention toward health, pharmacology and clinical diagnosis. Research studies investigated at the atomic and molecular level had contributed at large for this rapid technological expanse. This superior and compatible nano based approach has opened new vistas in identification of oral health related issues and its resolution by designing biocompatible (nano) dental materials in Nanodentistry. This review highlights a general overview of the evolution of Nanodentistry, novel nanomaterials and their potential dental applications with special relevance to restorative dentistry and periodontics. Relevance toward timely and precision diagnosis and the treatment regimen toward biofilm induced periodontal infections have also been briefly described and illustrated. Although, nano in dentistry are still at their infancy, there are some commercially available products developed for dental applications which are also enlisted in this review.

The study aims to assess the thermal inactivation of airborne SARS-CoV-2 in a 30 m 3 test room by an electric heater typically used to heat interior spaces during winter, particularly in resource-limited settings. Aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 was delivered to the test room at an ambient temperature of 20 oC and 40% humidity. Two electric heaters with different power and airflow rates were operated in the test room to compare their efficiencies in the inactivation of airborne SARS-CoV-2. The first and second electric heaters had power, airflow rates, and outlet temperature of 1.5 kW, 44 m 3/h, 220 oC, and 3 kW, 324 m 3/h, and 150 oC, respectively. A fan drew the outside air into the heater. Air forced through the heater tunnel absorbed heat energy by interacting with the stainless steel electric tube heating elements perpendicularly located to the airflow direction, increasing outlet air temperature. The first 1.5kW electric heater was operated in the test room for 80 minutes and inactivated 99.00% of the airborne virus. The second, 3 kW electric heater was operated in the test room for 75 minutes and inactivated 99.96% of the airborne virus. The control experiment of each test experiment was conducted without turning the heaters on under otherwise identical conditions.

Background: Existing research focuses primarily on common adverse events (AEs) in adults using Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGFR-TKI), systematic reports from real-world settings and safety research on off-label use in children are lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the safety profiles of VEGFR-TKIs via the FAERS. Method: Data regarding VEGFR-TKIs were extracted from the FAERS between 2004Q1 to 2022Q2. Reporting odds ratio (ROR) was performed to identify risk signals associations of VEGFR-TKIs with AEs. A reported AE would be defined as a potential risk signal if it simultaneously met the report cases ≥ 3, ROR ≥ 2, the lower limit of 95% CI ≥1, and χ2 ≥ 4. and categorized by the MedDRA terms. Results: A total of 51,841 reports containing 536 children were identified from May 18, 2005, to June 30, 2022. Despite some differences, 7 VEGFR-TKIs had similar safety profiles in the general population. The most significant ROR was PPES and the most frequent SOC was gastrointestinal disorders. In pediatrics, results varied in these agents, and the most frequent AE with significant ROR were PPES, followed by pneumothorax. Furthermore, blood and lymphatic system disorders and investigation abnormalities were both the most common SOCs. Conclusion: Disproportionality analysis based on the FAERS database is an effective path to recognize VEGFR-TKI-related AEs. Findings of the general population were largely consistent with real-world setting studies, and the widely recorded data in FAERS also made it possible to retrieve the safety of these agents in pediatrics.

Aim: This study has been designed to assess the bioequivalence of the newly developed delayed-release oral tablets (test) 30 mg nifedipine compared to its marketed counterpart (30 mg; reference) in healthy adult Chinese volunteers. Methods: We conducted randomized, open-label, four-period, crossover trials, including a fasting trial and a fed trial. The subjects were administered the test or reference products in a 1:1 ratio at random throughout each period with 7 days washout period. Then, in the next session, they got the alternate products. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and WinNonlin software were used to evaluate the bioequivalence of nifedipine peak blood concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC). Result: A total of 46 subjects participated in the fasting trial and 48 subjects in the postprandial trial. In both cases, the 90% CI of the geometric mean ratios of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were in the equivalence range (80-125%). When nifedipine was given concomitantly with a high-fat meal, tmax was approximately twofold earlier, absorption was approximately 4.8% less, and Cmax changed little compared to fasting conditions. In addition, no serious adverse events were observed in the subjects. Conclusion: This study confirms the bioequivalence of the test and reference formulations of nifedipine extended-release tablets under fasting and postprandial conditions. Food giving leads to a much earlier Tmax, which is different from the results of other studies. The effect of food effect on the pharmacokinetics of nifedipine needs to be further explored.

Background: In low-income nations, Rheumatic valvular heart disease remains a major cause of morbidity and premature deaths. Accurate prevalence data in Egypt are still lacking yet highly desirable to facilitate health care planning. Methodology: An cluster sample of school children in eastern Egyptian Governorates was examined clinically and echocardiographically (using abbreviated protocol) for detection of rheumatic valvular heart disease based on 2012 World Heart Federation criteria (the Doppler and the morphological criteria) for diagnosis. According to echocardiography interpretation, participants were categorized as having definite RHD, borderline RHD or no RHD. Results: A total A total of 1680 students aged between 6 and 18 years were screened, 119 echocardiographic studies were non-interpretable; so, a total of 1560 studies were evaluated. From the total screened students, 1560 studies were adequate and interpretable according to the criteria specified in the methods section. This revealed a prevalence of 2.3% of the sample with RHD without adding the equivocal cases. The most prevalent lesion as detected by echocardiography was mitral regurgitation (29% of definite RHD cases). Conclusion: Rheumatic valvular heart disease remains prevalent in Egypt and the findings of this study should influence early detection, primary and secondary prevention, and adequate future national health plans.

Background: Several biologics are now available as add-on treatment for severe asthma but, currently there are no universally accepted criteria to measure the response to these therapies. This survey aims to establish consensus criteria to use in practice for the initial evaluation of response to biologics after four months of treatment. Method: Using Delphi methodology, a questionnaire including ten items was developed and validated by a 13-member panel of international experts in asthma. The electronic survey circulated within the INterasma Scientific Network platform, Global Asthma Association membership, contact list of the co-authors, national associations for specialists, and social media. For each item, five answers were proposed graduated from “no importance” to “very high importance” and by a score (A=2 points; B=4 points; C=6 points; D=8 points; E=10 points). The final criteria were selected if the median score for the item was ≥7 and >60% of responses accorded “high importance” and “very high importance”. All selected criteria were validated by the thirteen experts. Results: Four criteria were identified to evaluate the efficacy of biologics in asthma: to reduce daily systemic corticosteroids dose by ≥50% (ideally complete withdrawal); to decrease the number of asthma exacerbations requiring systemic corticosteroids by ≥50%, (ideally no asthma exacerbation); to have no/minimal side-effects and to obtain asthma control according validated questionnaires. The consensual decision was that ≥3 criteria are needed to conclude a good response to biologics. Conclusions: Specific criteria were defined by an international panel of experts and could be used as tool in clinical practice.

A document by Stéphane Coupé. Click on the document to view its contents.

Using the 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, the effects of a nested pecan in a typical tea garden on soil bacterial group species composition and marker species were comparatively analyzed to determine whether the nested pecan contributed to an increased soil microbial diversity in the tea plant rhizosphere. We explored the effects of the underlying mechanisms of this complex ecosystem on tea quality by determining soil physicochemical properties and tea quality under two types of planting modes, intercropping of pecan versus pure forest. Our observations indicated that Allorhizobium, Neorhizobium, Pararhizobium, Rhizobium, and Enterobacter, with pollution-degrading effects, were enriched in the soil bacterial communities of interplanting pecan in the tea garden model. There was a significant enrichment of prebiotic functional bacteria, such as Pedosphaeraceae and the Coriobateriaceae_UCG-002 genus, which has growth stimulation and disease resistance, while Chloroflexi and Firmicutes, which dominate denitrification in the soil, were inhibited. The soil microbial co-occurrence network increased in complexity and decreased in mutual exclusivity, and the complex interactions among bacterial populations tended to be stable. The phenol ammonia ratio in tea leaf pieces was lower and the comprehensive quality evaluation of tea was improved in the intercropping model. We conclude that the soil microbial community composition under this complex model may not only promote material cycling in microecosystems but also effectively reduce the transmission risk of soil-borne diseases. The tea rhizosphere soil microbial community structure could be rebalanced and shifted toward a more favorable tea quality formation through the introduction of pecan into the tea plantations.

Disposal of blue algae (BA) and corn gluten (CG) wastes and simultaneous recovery of the abundant phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) by pyrolysis to obtain biochars with high fertility is a promising strategy. However, pyrolysis of BA or CG alone by a conventional reactor cannot reach the target. Herein, we propose a novel MgO-enhanced N and P recovery method by designing a two-zone staged pyrolysis reactor to highly efficiently recover N and P with easily available plant forms in BA and CG. The results show that a 94.58% TP retention rate was achieved by means of the special two-zone staged pyrolysis method, in which the effective P (Mg2PO4(OH) and R-NH-P) accounted for 52.9% of TP, while the total nitrogen (TN) reached 4.1 wt%. In this process, stable P was formed first at 400 ℃ to avoid rapid volatilization and then to form hydroxyl P at 800 ℃.

Separating hydrocarbons from refinery dry gas is a fundamental demand in petrochemical industry. Metal-Organic Frameworks are a class of promising advanced adsorbents, yet better moisture stability and higher adsorptive selectivity are still needed to meet the requirement of petrochemical industry. Herein, a multifunctional adsorbent urea@Cu-BTC was prepared from cheap building blocks at room temperature, which exhibits generally enhanced adsorptive separation performance towards CO2/CH4, CO2/N2, C3H6/C3H8, C2H4/C2H6, CH4/N2 separation. More interestingly, urea@Cu-BTC shows significantly enhanced stability against moisture. Combining structural characterization and molecular simulation, the improved adsorptive separation performance was ascribed to the enhanced confinement from the creation of ultra-micro porosity due to the presence of urea molecule in the microporous channel of Cu-BTC. The major components in refinery dry gas can be well separated using a column filled with urea@Cu-BTC, which demonstrates that micro-regulating the channel of MOFs is a feasible strategy for preparing high performance petrochemical adsorbents.

Drought is one of the most disastrous extreme climate events. In-depth studies on the response of drought to climate warming are beneficial to improve drought risk management. In this study, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) was calculated based on eighteen climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Four drought characteristic indices (drought frequency, duration, intensity, and peak) were extracted and the drought hazard index (DHI) was constructed to evaluate drought hazards in China for the historical reference period and future 2, 3 and 4 ℃ temperature rise scenarios, and then the change in future drought hazard was analyzed. The results showed that the drought frequency in the eastern monsoon region of China had a spatial pattern of high in the south and low in the north and increased overall with the increase in warming level. Drought duration, intensity and peak showed a spatial pattern of high in northwest China and low in southeast China and increased significantly with increasing warming level. The DHI was relatively high in the northwest inland and southeast coast of China. Under the 2, 3 and 4 ℃ temperature increase scenarios in the future, except for the southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the DHI in other climate regions in China will increase compared with that in the historical reference period. The national average increase values of DHI under the 3 ℃ and 4 ℃ temperature rise scenarios reach 1.5 times and 2 times that under the 2 ℃ temperature rise scenario, respectively.

Bio-inspired algorithms are powerful intelligent optimization tools capable of handling complex real-world problems by providing optimal solutions (values) of system parameters in various complex engineering and scientific problems such as the complex and highly nonlinear Twin Rotor MIMO System (TRMS) plant. Practically due to the near impossibility of trial and error method in obtaining the optimal gains or parameter values of the controller, it becomes inevitable/essential to employ metaheuristics optimization techniques to intelligently determine these values by allowing the optimization iterative simulation converge to the local or global solutions with ease. In designing a control system for the TRMS in this research, Jumping Spider Optimization Algorithm (JSOA), a new and very recent population based bio-inspired metaheuristics approach is used. It was well able to tune the parameters of Proportional Integral and Derivative (PID) controllers by solving a nonlinear optimization problem using multi-objective functions, subject to several intrinsic constraints or restrictions. Unlike other deterministic algorithms that get caught in a local minimum, the JSOA evolved an optimal/global solution after searching the entire solution search space in a vectorized fashion. The global solution corresponds to the best possible values of the controller parameters within the search space. Compared with several other well-established and widely used controllers and optimization techniques, the statistical results obtained through simulations presented showed that JSOA was able to find the gains of the PID controllers outperforming the other optimization methods well.

Photochromic hexaarylbiimidazoles (HABIs) enable reversible transformation between HABI and triphenylimidazole radicals (TPIRs) upon UV light irradiation, which have been applied in photo-patterning, super-resolution imaging, photoinduced self-healing materials and photomechanical hydrogels. Here, we designed and prepared a novel kind of polyurethane (PU) photoresist based on photo-cleavable HABI cross-linkers (HABI-PU), linear PU backbone and additive tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) radical quencher. Upon UV light irradiation, the C-N bond inside HABI unit is broken, causing the transformation of HABI into two TPIRs which are subsequently quenched by TBHQ. Therefore, the cross-linking points of HABI-PU in UV irradiation area were broken, forming flexible PU polymer chains with declined molecular weight, which can be dissolved in developer. HABI-PU films show excellent photosensitivity as a positive photoresist in photolithography. The reaction mechanism between HABI and TBHQ was studied by UV-vis absorption spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), mass spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The lithographic patterns were characterized through metallurgical microscope and scanning electron microscope with a resolution at about 5 µm.

Demographic correlations are pervasive in wildlife populations and can represent important secondary drivers of population growth. Empirical evidence suggests that correlations are in general positive for long-lived species, however little is known about the degree of variation among populations in relation to local conditions. For three widely geographically separated Atlantic puffin populations (Fratercula arctica), we compared the relative importance of survival-reproduction correlations for two cross-season correlations, reflecting either effects of non-breeding season or breeding season conditions. Demographic rates and their correlations were estimated with an integrated population model, and their respective contributions to variation in population growth were calculated using a transient-LTRE. Demographic correlations were positive for all three populations, but their strength differed. By comparing three populations with geographically distinct foraging areas throughout the year, this study shows that demographic correlations are, in part, driven by environmental conditions, which impacts their population viability and vulnerability to environmental change.

High-temperature damage characteristics related to the deformation behavior of Sanicro25 alloy were investigated under cyclic loading. The results show that the high mean stress can lead to creep-like deformation behavior. The increase of mean stress increased the strain rate and weakened the life. Comparatively, the increase in stress amplitude only accelerated the third-regime strain rate, leading to a decrease in life and fracture strain. Under different stress amplitudes, microcrack initiation at Z phase interfaces can be certified by observing micropore and high geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density around Z phase. Subsequently, the increase in stress amplitude can significantly affect crack propagation. Under constant loading ( σ a =0MPa ), the recrystallization of the transgranular crack tip at the grain boundary can change the tendency of crack propagation, making crack propagation along the grain boundaries. Conversely, transgranular cracks can continue to propagate, assisted by intragranular dislocation accumulation at higher stress amplitude ( σ a =130MPa ).

Sakuranetin is a plant-natural product, which has increasingly been utilized in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries for its extensive anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and immunomodulatory effects. Sakuranetin was mostly produced via extraction technology from plants, which is limited to natural conditions and biomass supply. In this study, a novel strategy to produce sakuranetin via de novo synthesis from glucose by engineering S. cerevisiae was introduced . After a series of heterogenous genes integration, a biosynthetic pathway of sakuranetin from glucose was successfully constructed in S. cerevisiae which sakuranetin yield reached only 4.28 mg/L. Then, a multi-module metabolic engineering strategy was applied for improving sakuranetin yield in S. cerevisiae: (1) adjusting the copy number of sakuranetin synthesis genes; (2) removing the rate-limiting factor of aromatic amino pathway and optimizing the synthetic pathway of aromatic amino acids to enhance the supply of carbon flux for sakuranetin; (3) introducing acetyl-CoA carboxylase mutants ACC1S659A, S1157A, and knocking-out YPL062W to strengthen the supply of malonyl-CoA which is another synthetic precursor of sakuranetin. The resultant mutant S. cerevisiae exhibited a more than 10-fold increase of sakuranetin titer (50.62 mg/L) in shaking flasks. Furthermore, the sakuranetin titer increased to 158.65 mg/L in a 1-L bioreactor, which is the highest sakuranetin titer among all publications reported yield of the engineered microbial cell.