Abstract: Land systems in drylands have been experiencing increasing conflicts among different land functions due to ecological vulnerability and growing demands. The improvement of one function is often at the cost of other functions, which causes trade-offs of functions. Understanding land multifunctionality and its trade-offs are prerequisites to alleviate land use conflicts and achieve land sustainability. But research often cannot well address the fuzziness and uncertainty within assessments, and neglect the nonlinear feature when quantifying the trade-offs. Taking the Heihe River Basin (HRB), a typical arid ecologically vulnerable area in China, as the study area, we applied the set pair analysis (SPA) to develop a novel framework for assessing land multifunctionality at a fine scale from the production-living-ecological angle. We then utilized the constraint line fitted with segmented quantile regression to identify the trade-offs among land functions and understand the bidirectional interaction between land systems. The results showed that the overall land multifunctionality in HRB showed an upward trend during 2000-2015, and especially the production and living functions had a larger magnitude. We used the coupling coordination degree to comprehensively indicate the interaction and found that the degree was high in the south and low in the north, which was mainly controlled by ecological function. The effects of different drivers on land functions showed nonlinear characteristics, and thresholds existed for some influencing factors. Our research provides reliable and detailed information to coordinated the development of land systems, which is helpful for sustainable land use and territorial spatial planning.

The goal of this study was to design genus-specific primers for rapid evaluation of the most abundant bacterial genera identified using amplicon-based sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in fish-related samples and surrounding water. Efficient genus-specific primers were designed for eleven bacterial genera including Alkalimarinus, Colwellia, Enterovibrio, Marinomonas, Massilia, Oleispira, Phaeobacter, Photobacterium, Polarbacerium, Pseudomonas, and Psychrobium. The specificity of the primers was confirmed by the phylogeny of the sequenced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons that indicated primers were genus-specific except in the case of Colwellia and Phaeobacter. Copy number of the 16S rRNA gene obtained by quantitative PCR using genus-specific primers and the relative abundance obtained by 16S rRNA gene sequencing using universal primers were well correlated for the five analyzed abundant bacterial genera. Low correlations between quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for Pseudomonas were explained by the higher coverage of known Pseudomonas species by the designed genus-specific primers than the universal primers used in 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The designed genus-specific primers are proposed as rapid and cost-effective tools to evaluate the most abundant bacterial genera in fish-related or potentially other metagenomics samples.

Despite the increasing number of liver and kidney transplants, the number of awaiting patients for a proper donor is still exceeding. Therefore, the preservation of donor's organs is critically advocated. Herein, we presented a successful liver and kidneys transplant from a brain dead donor who was found preoperatively to have simultaneous aortic dissection and intramural hematoma, and additionally developed left subclavian artery dissection and perforation following sternotomy. This case experience highlights the key role of cardiac surgeons to preserve visceral organs by rapid repair of aorta and its branches perforation site and dissection which culminate in lifesaving organ donation.

Intercalated laminar membrane with controllable interlayer spacing (d-spacing) is one of the most effective membranes for fast molecule separation. In this work, we demonstrate a versatile strategy to create nanosheet-templated water channels in laminar graphene oxide (GO) membranes. The 1.2 nm-thick nickel hydroxide nanosheets as sacrificed intercalators provide a chance to control the d-spacing and simultaneously retain hydrophilicity. The resultant membranes have controllable channels and exhibit over 6 times higher water permeance than the unintercalated membrane. The 880 nm-thick nanosheet-templated GO (NST-GO) membrane has accurate d-spacing of about 1.14 nm and shows high water permeance of 120.3 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and good molecule separation property, reflecting in high rejection for larger dyes (90.1% for erythrosine b (EB)), while low rejection for smaller dyes (58.3% for methylene blue (MB)). Furthermore, this strategy of intercalating and sacrificing nanosheets has higher potential than traditional intercalation in controlling d-spacing of laminar membranes.

A Rare Coincidence of Turner syndrome and Bronchiectasis: Case Report

Fine needle aspiration cytology, a simple and inexpensive technique can aid in early diagnosis of aspergilloma. Here, we present a case of 55 years old female with a past history of tuberculosis. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the right lung cavitary lesion was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of aspergilloma.

Autopsy was performed on a COVID-19 patient, who suddenly died despite the extensive anti-viral and anti-inflammatory therapies. Although moderate subpleural fibrosis was seen, pathology of DAD, a well-known cause for pulmonary failure, was minimum. Instead, severe hemorrhage was observed. Therapeutic effects were indicated, however why severe hemorrhage occurred was unclear.

Localized infection of the extraction socket can compromise bone quality and quantity within the socket and bone support for the adjacent dentition, precluding immediate rehabilitative interventions. The use of local scaffolds containing effective antimicrobial agents may help to control infection for successful regeneration and implant placement.

Appendiceal diverticulitis is a rare condition that can mimic other diseases' symptoms or cause different symptoms because of its various complications. However, one of the most frequent complications of this disease is perforation, leading to other serious problems such as peritonitis. This complication can threaten a patient's health condition.

We present a case of a 30-years-old man who was victim of aggression with a rake blow to the head. The surgery was delicate since two of the rake's teeth plunged into the superior sagittal sinus. Postoperatively, the patient was discharged with only a right upper limb monoparesia.

Article type: Letter to the Editor

Figure S1. Chemical characterization of a VO2memristive device. Energy-dispersive spectroscopic (EDS) elemental line-scan of a VO2 device.

In this article, the low cycle fatigue(LCF) behavior of a low silicon cast aluminum alloy Al-3.5Si-0.5Mg-0.4Cu with T6 treat-state at room temperature is investigated by extracting samples from aluminum steering knuckles. Initial microstructure, cyclic stress response behavior and fatigue fracture are studied. Low cycle fatigue experiment results and behavior performance of 6 different total strain amplitudes are included. OM, SEM, XRD and TEM are carried out to observe pre(post)-fatigue microstructures and fracture. The results demonstrate that cracks initiate from surface or subsurface defects and higher total strain amplitude leads to larger sum area of fatigue crack initiation region and steady crack propagation region, and wider fatigue striation bandwidth. Furthermore, crack propagates along the interface between eutectic silicon and α-Al under low strain amplitude while crack grows through eutectic silicon particle if higher strain amplitude is applied.

Human receives and transmits various information from the outside world through different sensory systems. The sensory neurons integrate various sensory inputs into a synthetical perception to monitor complex environments, and this fundamentally determines the way how we perceive the world. Developing multifunctional artificial sensory elements that can integrate multisensory perception plays a vital role in future intelligent perception systems, whereas prior spiking neurons reported can only handle single-mode physical signals. Here, we present a bio-inspired haptic-temperature fusion spiking neuron based upon a serial connection of piezoresistive sensor and VO2 volatile memristor. The artificial sensory neuron is capable of detecting and encoding pressure and temperature inputs based on the voltage dividing effect and the intrinsic thermal sensitivity of metal-insulator transition in VO2. Recognition of Braille characters is achieved through multiple piezoresistive sensors, taking advantage of the spatial integration capabilities of such spiking neurons. Notably, the traditionally separate haptic and temperature signals can be fused physically in the sensory neuron when synchronizing the two sensory cues, which is able to recognize multimodal haptic/temperature patterns. The artificial multisensory neuron thus provides a promising approach towards e-skin, neuro-robotics and human-machine interaction technologies.

The International Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Database Consortium (INSTRuCT) consists of a collaboration between the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee, the European pediatric Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG), and the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS). As part of the larger initiative of INSTRuCT to provide consensus expert opinions for clinical treatment of pediatric soft tissue sarcoma, we sought to provide updated, evidenced-based consensus guidelines for local treatment of parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma using both existing literature as well as recommendations from the relevant cooperative group clinical trials. Overall, parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma represents a distinctly challenging disease to treat given its location near many critical structures in the head and neck, frequently advanced local presentation, and predilection for local failure. Definitive chemoradiation remains the standard treatment approach for parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma, with surgery often limited to biopsy or salvage therapy for recurrent disease. In this consensus paper, we specifically discuss consensus guidelines and evidence for definitive local management with radiotherapy, with a focus on imaging for radiotherapy planning, dose and timing of radiation, approach for nodal irradiation, various radiation techniques including proton therapy, and the limited role of surgical resection.

Aims:  This study intends to compare AZI-M/CT's efficacy and side effect profile to the OLM/HCTZ in hypertensive patients.Materials and methods: Online databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched until January 15, 2022, for original articles exploring the effects of AZI-M/CT on pertinent outcomes among hypertensive patients in contrast to OLM/HCTZ. Data on baseline characteristics and endpoints were extracted. Review Manager version 5.4.1 and STATA 16.0 were used for analyses. Risk ratios (RR) and the weighted mean differences (WMD) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results: Four studies were included having 3146 patients in total (AZI-M/CT: 1931 and OLM/HCTZ: 1215). The pooled analysis exhibited that compared to OLM-HCTZ, mean DBP was significantly lower in the AZI-M/CT group (WMD –2.64 [-2.78, -2.51]; p= <0.00001, I2= 1%), whereas no significant differences were noted in mean SBP (WMD –2.95 [-6.64,0.73]; p= 0.12, I2=100%) and achievement of target blood pressure (RR 0.95 [0.84,1.07]; p= 0.36, I2= 80%). Additionally, the risk of any TEAE (RR 1.11 [1.03, 1.20]; p= 0.007, I2= 51%) and serious adverse events RR 1.58 [1.20, 2.08]; p= 0.001, I2= 11%) was significantly higher in the AZI-M/CT group. However, no significant differences were observed in the risk of mortality between the two groups (RR 0.74 [0.14, 3.91; p = 0.72, I2= 0%).Conclusions: Our pooled analysis indicates that AZI-M/CT is more efficient at lowering blood pressure in elderly hypertensive patients than OLM/HCTZ. However, given the limited number of studies, positive results should be discretely re-evaluated and require further research.  Keywords: Azilsartan-medoxomil; Meta-analysis; Chlorthalidone; AZI-M/CT; Olmesartan-medoxomil; OLM/HCTZ.  

Matthew Helm,1* Raksha Singh,1Stephen B. Goodwin,1 Denise Caldwell,2 and Anjali S. Iyer-Pascuzzi21 Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, U.S.A.2 Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, U.S.A.* Corresponding author : M. Helm; Email: Matthew.Helm@usda.govFunding: This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) research project 5020-21220-019-00D.

Primary consumers in aquatic ecosystems are frequently limited by the quality of their food, often expressed as phytoplankton elemental and biochemical composition. Effects of these food quality indicators vary across studies, and the relative importance of elemental (nitrogen and phosphorus) versus biochemical (fatty acid and sterol) limitation in aquatic food webs has been debated. Here we present results of a meta-analysis using >100 experimental studies, which confirms that limitation by N, P, essential fatty acids, and sterols all have significant negative effects on zooplankton performance. However, effects varied by grazer response (growth versus reproduction), specific manipulation, and across taxa. P limitation had greater effects on zooplankton growth than fatty acids, but P and fatty acid limitation had equal effects on reproduction. Furthermore, we show that nutrient co-limitation in zooplankton occurs, that indirect effects induced by P limitation exceed direct effects of mineral P limitation, that effects of nutrient amendments using laboratory phytoplankton isolates exceed those using natural field communities, and that algal physiology mediates zooplankton responses to nutrient limitation. Our meta-analysis reconciles contrasting views about the role of various food quality indicators, and their interactions, for zooplankton performance, and provides a mechanistic understanding of how environmental change affects trophic transfer.

Heat stress (HS) caused by ambient high temperature pose a threat to plants. In the natural and agricultural environment, plants often encounter repeated and changeable HS. Moderate HS primes plants to establishment of a molecular ‘thermomemory’ that enables plants to withstand a later-and possibly more extreme-HS attack. Recent years, brassinosteroids (BRs) have been implicated in HS response whereas little is known about whether BRs signal transduction modulates thermomemory. Here, we uncover the positive role of BRs signaling in thermomemory of Arabidopsis thaliana. Heat priming induces de novo synthesis and nuclear accumulation of BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR (BES1), the key regulator of BRs signaling. BRs promote the accumulation of dephosphorylated BES1 during memory phase, blocking BRs synthesis impairs dephosphorylation. During HS memory, BES1 is required to maintain sustained induction of HS memory genes and directly targets APX2 and HSFA3 for activation. In summary, our results reveal a BES1-required, BRs-enhanced transcriptional control module of thermomemory in Arabidopsis thaliana.

We report a rare case of multiple giant coronary artery aneurysms combined with anomalous aortic origin of left coronary artery in a 30-years old man precisely diagnosed by multimodality imaging, including echocardiography, coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and selective coronary angiography. The imaging results were finally confirmed by surgery. We present the clinical value of multimodality imaging in diagnosing coronary artery aneurysm and anomalous origin.

A 35-year-old man with 18-year history of epilepsy on Carbamazepine, was diagnosed with hydrocephalus complicated by secondary severe optic atrophy and underwent Ventriculo-Peritoneal shunt. Imaging revealed Falx Cerebri, Supratentorial calcification, biochemical tests showed hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and elevated parathyroid hormone. Patient was given Vitamin D and Calcium and his seizures resolved.

Symbiosis often occurs between partners with distinct life history characteristics and dispersal mechanisms. Bacterial symbionts often have genomes comprised of multiple replicons with distinct rates of evolution and horizontal transmission. Such differences might drive differences in population genetic structure between hosts and symbionts and among the elements of the divided genomes of bacterial symbionts. These differences might, in turn, shape the evolution of symbiotic interactions and bacterial evolution. Here we use whole genome resequencing of a hierarchically-structured sample of 191 strains of Ensifer meliloti collected from 21 locations in the native range to characterize population structure of this bacterial symbiont and its host plant Medicago truncatula. E. meliloti genomes showed high local (within-site) variation and little isolation by distance. This was particularly true for the two symbiosis elements pSymA and pSymB, which have population structures that are similar to each other, but distinct from both the bacterial chromosome and the host plant. The differences in population structure may result from differences in mobility or selection driving bacterial adaptation to life in the soil versus in association with plants. Discordant population structure between hosts and symbionts indicates that geographically and genetically distinct host populations in different parts of the range might interact with genetically similar symbionts, potentially minimizing the potential for local specialization.

The process of fatigue spalling in the rings of ball bearings at durability exceeding 10 8 cycles under in-service loading conditions is analyzed on the basis of fractography and the slices prepared in radial planes of rings. The cracks are shown to originate at subsurface from carbides inherent in the bearing steel or inclusions permissible by sizes for the material. Subsequently, the development of cracks perpendicular to the ring raceway surface takes place similarly as in the VHCF regime with the elliptical “fish-eye” formation. The subsequent crack growth was demonstrated step-by-step up to the ring material fragment separation. The total crack path by alternating stops of propagation and new crack nucleation under conditions of mixed-mode I+II+III mechanisms with the crack branching was discussed. In the final stage, the crack grows towards the ring raceway and either appears on the raceway surface or coalesce with a similar adjacent crack followed by fatigue spalling formation.

This paper contains the in-service fatigue fracture analysis for the first stage low-pressure compressor disk of the aircraft engines D30KU-154. Based on the results of the fractographic investigation on collapsed compressor disks the fatigue crack initiation and propagation mechanisms were established. It is shown that the crack initiation in the rim part of the compressor disk is due to a high frequency loading that leads to very high cycle fatigue fracture. The total fatigue life of the compressor disk is determined by simultaneous action of low amplitude loading due to blades vibration, and high amplitude loading due to flight cycle (centrifugal forces). To study the in-service fracture of the compressor disk the numerical simulation of the stress state in the damaged zone under corresponding loading conditions was evaluated. The estimation of fatigue life and crack path predictions were performed based on the multi-regime fatigue fracture model proposed by the authors.