Driving pressure(ΔP)is a core therapeutic component of mechanical ventilation(MV).Varying levels ofΔP have been employed during MV depending on the type of underlying pathology and severity of injury.However,ΔP lev...Driving pressure(ΔP)is a core therapeutic component of mechanical ventilation(MV).Varying levels ofΔP have been employed during MV depending on the type of underlying pathology and severity of injury.However,ΔP levels have also been shown to closely impact hard endpoints such as mortality.Considering this,conducting an in-depth review ofΔP as a unique,outcome-impacting therapeutic modality is extremely important.There is a need to understand the subtleties involved in making sureΔP levels are optimized to enhance outcomes and minimize harm.We performed this narrative review to further explore the various uses ofΔP,the different parameters that can affect its use,and how outcomes vary in different patient populations at different pressure levels.To better utilizeΔP in MV-requiring patients,additional large-scale clinical studies are needed.展开更多
We read with interest the recent systematic reviewaArtificial intelligence and machine learning for hemorrhagic trauma careoby Peng et al.[1],which evaluated literature on machine learning(ML)in the management of trau...We read with interest the recent systematic reviewaArtificial intelligence and machine learning for hemorrhagic trauma careoby Peng et al.[1],which evaluated literature on machine learning(ML)in the management of traumatic haemorrhage.We thank the authors for their contribution to the role of ML in trauma.展开更多
Droplet transport still faces numerous challenges,such as a limited transport distance,large volume loss,and liquid contamination.Inspired by the principle of‘synergistic biomimetics’,we propose a design for a platf...Droplet transport still faces numerous challenges,such as a limited transport distance,large volume loss,and liquid contamination.Inspired by the principle of‘synergistic biomimetics’,we propose a design for a platform that enables droplets to be self-propelled.The orchid leaf-like three-dimensional driving structure provides driving forces for the liquid droplets,whereas the lotus leaf-like superhydrophobic surface prevents liquid adhesion,and the bamboo-like nodes enable long-distance transport.During droplet transport,no external energy input is required,no fluid adhesion or residue is induced,and no contamination or mass loss of the fluid is caused.We explore the influence of various types and parameters of wedge structures on droplet transportation,the deceleration of droplet speed at nodal points,and the distribution of internal pressure.The results indicate that the transport platform exhibits insensitivity to pH value and temperature.It allows droplets to be transported with varying curvatures in a spatial environment,making it applicable in tasks like target collection,as well as load,fused,anti-gravity,and long-distance transport.The maximum droplet transport speed reached(58±5)mm·s^(−1),whereas the transport distance extended to(136±4)mm.The developed platform holds significant application prospects in the fields of biomedicine and chemistry,such as high-throughput screening of drugs,genomic bioanalysis,microfluidic chip technology for drug delivery,and analysis of biological samples.展开更多
Molecular copper catalysts serve as exemplary models for correlating the structure-reaction-mechanism relationship in the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(eCO_(2)R),owing to their adaptable environments surrounding th...Molecular copper catalysts serve as exemplary models for correlating the structure-reaction-mechanism relationship in the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(eCO_(2)R),owing to their adaptable environments surrounding the copper metal centres.This investigation,employing density functional theory calculations,focuses on a novel family of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts.The modulation of their coordination configuration through the introduction of organic groups aims to assess their efficacy in converting CO_(2) to C_(2)products.Our findings highlight the crucial role of chemical valence state in shaping the characteristics of binuclear Cu catalysts,consequently influencing the eCO_(2)R behaviour,Notably,the Cu(Ⅱ)Cu(Ⅱ)macrocycle catalyst exhibits enhanced suppression of the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),facilitating proton trans fer and the eCO_(2)R process.Fu rthermore,we explo re the impact of diverse electro n-withdrawing and electron-donating groups coordinated to the macrocycle(R=-F,-H,and-OCH_3)on the electron distribution in the molecular catalysts.Strategic placement of-OCH_3 groups in the macrocycles leads to a favourable oxidation state of the Cu centres and subsequent C-C coupling to form C_(2) products.This research provides fundamental insights into the design and optimization of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO_(2) to value-added C_(2) products.展开更多
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is a blood-borne virus which globally affects around 79 million people and is associated with high morbidity and mortality.Chronic infection leads to cirrhosis in a large proportion of...BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is a blood-borne virus which globally affects around 79 million people and is associated with high morbidity and mortality.Chronic infection leads to cirrhosis in a large proportion of patients and often causes hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in people with cirrhosis.Of the 6 HCV genotypes(G1-G6),genotype-3 accounts for 17.9%of infections.HCV genotype-3 responds least well to directly-acting antivirals and patients with genotype-3 infection are at increased risk of HCC even if they do not have cirrhosis.AIM To systematically review and critically appraise all risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV-G3 in all settings.Consequently,we studied possible risk factors for HCC due to HCV-G3 in the literature from 1946 to 2023.METHODS This systematic review aimed to synthesise existing and published studies of risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3 and evaluate their strengths and limitations.We searched Web of Science,Medline,EMBASE,and CENTRAL for publications reporting risk factors for HCC due to HCV genotype-3 in all settings,1946-2023.RESULTS Four thousand one hundred and forty-four records were identified from the four databases with 260 records removed as duplicates.Three thousand eight hundred and eighty-four records were screened with 3514 excluded.Three hundred and seventy-one full-texts were assessed for eligibility with seven studies included for analysis.Of the seven studies,three studies were retrospective case-control trials,two retrospective cohort studies,one a prospective cohort study and one a cross-sectional study design.All were based in hospital settings with four in Pakistan,two in South Korea and one in the United States.The total number of participants were 9621 of which 167 developed HCC(1.7%).All seven studies found cirrhosis to be a risk factor for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3 followed by higher age(five-studies),with two studies each showing male sex,high alpha feto-protein,directly-acting antivirals treatment and achievement of sustained virologic response as risk factors for developing HCC.CONCLUSION Although,studies have shown that HCV genotype-3 infection is an independent risk factor for end-stage liver disease,HCC,and liver-related death,there is a lack of evidence for specific risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3.Only cirrhosis and age have demonstrated an association;however,the number of studies is very small,and more research is required to investigate risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3.展开更多
Risk assessment is a crucial component of collision warning and avoidance systems for intelligent vehicles.Reachability-based formal approaches have been developed to ensure driving safety to accurately detect potenti...Risk assessment is a crucial component of collision warning and avoidance systems for intelligent vehicles.Reachability-based formal approaches have been developed to ensure driving safety to accurately detect potential vehicle collisions.However,they suffer from over-conservatism,potentially resulting in false–positive risk events in complicated real-world applications.In this paper,we combine two reachability analysis techniques,a backward reachable set(BRS)and a stochastic forward reachable set(FRS),and propose an integrated probabilistic collision–detection framework for highway driving.Within this framework,we can first use a BRS to formally check whether a two-vehicle interaction is safe;otherwise,a prediction-based stochastic FRS is employed to estimate the collision probability at each future time step.Thus,the framework can not only identify non-risky events with guaranteed safety but also provide accurate collision risk estimation in safety-critical events.To construct the stochastic FRS,we develop a neural network-based acceleration model for surrounding vehicles and further incorporate a confidence-aware dynamic belief to improve the prediction accuracy.Extensive experiments were conducted to validate the performance of the acceleration prediction model based on naturalistic highway driving data.The efficiency and effectiveness of the framework with infused confidence beliefs were tested in both naturalistic and simulated highway scenarios.The proposed risk assessment framework is promising for real-world applications.展开更多
Extremely large-scale multiple-input multiple-output(XL-MIMO)and terahertz(THz)communications are pivotal candidate technologies for supporting the development of 6G mobile networks.However,these techniques invalidate...Extremely large-scale multiple-input multiple-output(XL-MIMO)and terahertz(THz)communications are pivotal candidate technologies for supporting the development of 6G mobile networks.However,these techniques invalidate the common assumptions of far-field plane waves and introduce many new properties.To accurately understand the performance of these new techniques,spherical wave modeling of near-field communications needs to be applied for future research.Hence,the investigation of near-field communication holds significant importance for the advancement of 6G,which brings many new and open research challenges in contrast to conventional far-field communication.In this paper,we first formulate a general model of the near-field channel and discuss the influence of spatial nonstationary properties on the near-field channel modeling.Subsequently,we discuss the challenges encountered in the near field in terms of beam training,localization,and transmission scheme design,respectively.Finally,we point out some promising research directions for near-field communications.展开更多
As a basic technology at physical layer of mobile communications,non-orthogonal multiple access has been attracting wide attention across the academia and the industry.During the standardization of the fifth-generatio...As a basic technology at physical layer of mobile communications,non-orthogonal multiple access has been attracting wide attention across the academia and the industry.During the standardization of the fifth-generation(5G)of mobile communications,3GPP conducted preliminary study on non-orthogonal multiple access without reaching the consensus to standardize the technology.展开更多
The reconstruction of images from their corresponding noisy Radon transform is a typical example of an ill-posed linear inverse problem as arising in the application of computerized tomography(CT).As the(naive)solutio...The reconstruction of images from their corresponding noisy Radon transform is a typical example of an ill-posed linear inverse problem as arising in the application of computerized tomography(CT).As the(naive)solution does not depend on the measured data continuously,regularization is needed to reestablish a continuous dependence.In this work,we investigate simple,but yet still provably convergent approaches to learning linear regularization methods from data.More specifically,we analyze two approaches:one generic linear regularization that learns how to manipulate the singular values of the linear operator in an extension of our previous work,and one tailored approach in the Fourier domain that is specific to CT-reconstruction.We prove that such approaches become convergent regularization methods as well as the fact that the reconstructions they provide are typically much smoother than the training data they were trained on.Finally,we compare the spectral as well as the Fourier-based approaches for CT-reconstruction numerically,discuss their advantages and disadvantages and investigate the effect of discretization errors at differentresolutions.展开更多
As a subversive manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing technology has many technical advantages such as high freedom of design and not limited by complex structure of parts. The application of additive manuf...As a subversive manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing technology has many technical advantages such as high freedom of design and not limited by complex structure of parts. The application of additive manufacturing technology to the charge molding of energetic materials will subvert the traditional manufacturing concept of energetic materials, realize the advanced charge design concept, shorten the research and development time of weapons and equipment, and improve the comprehensive performance of weapons and equipment, which is of great significance for the rapid development of high-tech weapons and equipment. This paper analyzes the research progress of additive manufacturing technology in the field of energetic materials at home and abroad and puts forward some suggestions for future research of this technology. .展开更多
AIM To characterize antiviral therapy eligibility among hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected adults at a university hospital in Zambia.METHODS Hepatitis B surface antigen-positive adults(n = 160) who were h IV-negative and...AIM To characterize antiviral therapy eligibility among hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected adults at a university hospital in Zambia.METHODS Hepatitis B surface antigen-positive adults(n = 160) who were h IV-negative and referred to the hospital after a routine or clinically-driven HBV test were enrolled. Alanine Aminotransferase(ALT),Aspartate Aminotransferase(AST),platelet count,hepatitis B e-antigen,and HBV DNA were measured. Liver fibrosis/cirrhosis was assessed by physical examination,AST-to-platelet ratio index,and transient elastography. In antiviral therapy-na?ve individuals,we described hBV stages and antiviral therapy eligibility per World health Organization(WhO) and by hBV test(routine vs clinical). Elevated ALT was > 19 in women and > 30 U/L in men. Among treatmentexperienced individuals,we described medication side effects,adherence,and viral suppression.RESULTS The median age was 33 years,71.9% were men,and 30.9% were diagnosed with HBV through a clinicallydriven test with the remainder identified via routine testing(at the blood bank,community events,etc.). Among 120 treatment-na?ve individuals,2.5% were categorized as immune tolerant,11.7% were immune active,35.6% were inactive carriers,and 46.7% had an indeterminate phenotype. Per WhO guidelines,13(10.8%) were eligible for immediate antiviral therapy. The odds of eligibility were eight times higher for those diagnosed at clinical vs routine settings(adjusted odds ratio,8.33; 95%CI: 2.26-29.41). Among 40 treatmentexperienced hBV patients,virtually all took tenofovir,and a history of mild side effects was reported in 20%. Though reported adherence was good,12 of 29(41.4%) had HBV DNA > 20 IU/m L. CONCLUSION Approximately one in ten HBV-monoinfected Zambians were eligible for antivirals. Many had indeterminate phenotype and needed clinical follow-up.展开更多
Diatomic catalysts(DACs)with two adjacent metal atoms supported on graphene can offer diverse functionalities,overcoming the inherent limitations of single atom catalysts(SACs).In this study,density functional theory ...Diatomic catalysts(DACs)with two adjacent metal atoms supported on graphene can offer diverse functionalities,overcoming the inherent limitations of single atom catalysts(SACs).In this study,density functional theory calculations were conducted to investigate the reactivity of the carbon dioxide(CO_(2))reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)on metal sites of both DACs and SACs,as well as their synergistic effects on activity and selectivity.Calculation of the Gibbs free energies of CO_(2)RR and associated values of the limiting potentials to generate C_(1) products showed that Cu acts as a promoter rather than an active catalytic centre in the catalytic CO_(2)conversion on heteronuclear DACs(CuN_(4)-MN_(4)),improving the catalytic activity on the other metal compared to the related SAC MN_(4).Cu enhances the initial reduction of CO_(2)by promoting orbital hybridization between the key intermediate*COOH 2p-orbitals and the metals 3d-orbitals around the Fermi level.This degree of hybridization in the DACs CuN_(4)-MN_(4) decreases from Fe to Co,Ni,and Zn.Our work demonstrates how Cu regulates the CO_(2)RR performance of heteronuclear DACs,offering an effective approach to designing practical,stable,and high-performing diatomic catalysts for CO_(2)electroreduction.展开更多
Objective: It remains unknown whether calcium metabolism has any effect on the clinical presentation of superior semicircular canal dehiscence(SSCD). Our aim was to analyse the adjusted calcium and vitamin D levels in...Objective: It remains unknown whether calcium metabolism has any effect on the clinical presentation of superior semicircular canal dehiscence(SSCD). Our aim was to analyse the adjusted calcium and vitamin D levels in SSCD patients compared to a control group.Methods: This was a prospective case-control study performed in a tertiary referral center, university teaching hospital in the UK. It included all new patients with SSCD seen in a dedicated skull base clinic over a 5-year period(2015-2019) compared to a gender and age matched control group. The main outcome of the study was adjusted calcium and Vitamin D levels between the two groups.Results: A total of 31 SSCD patients were recruited with a matched number of control patients. The mean Vitamin D level on the SSCD group was 44.8 nmoL/l(SD: 20.8) compared to 47.5 nmoL/l(SD: 27.4) on the control group(p = 0.702). Mean Adjusted calcium level was 2.34 mmoL/l(SD: 0.7) for SSCD compared to2.41 mmoL/l(SD: 0.11) for controls(p = 0.01), being within normal limits for both the SSCD and the control group.Conclusion: Our study did not identify a link between Vitamin D levels and presence of SSCD. Normal adjusted calcium values were found in both groups. Despite that a statistically significant lower calcium level was found in the SSCD group which could indicate that suboptimal levels of calcium may affect the micro-environment of the otic capsule at the SSC region.展开更多
Currently,there is no cure for traumatic spinal co rd injury but one therapeutic approach showing promise is gene therapy.In this systematic review and meta-analysis,we aim to assess the efficacy of gene therapies in ...Currently,there is no cure for traumatic spinal co rd injury but one therapeutic approach showing promise is gene therapy.In this systematic review and meta-analysis,we aim to assess the efficacy of gene therapies in pre-clinical models of spinal cord injury and the risk of bias.In this metaanalysis,registe red at PROSPERO(Registration ID:CRD42020185008),we identified relevant controlled in vivo studies published in English by searching the PubMed,Web of Science,and Embase databases.No restrictions of the year of publication were applied and the last literature search was conducted on August 3,2020.We then conducted a random-effects meta-analysis using the restricted maximum likelihood estimator.A total of 71 studies met our inclusion crite ria and were included in the systematic review.Our results showed that overall,gene therapies were associated with improvements in locomotor score(standardized mean difference[SMD]:2.07,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.68-2.47,Tau^(2)=2.13,I^(2)=83.6%)and axonal regrowth(SMD:2.78,95%CI:1.92-3.65,Tau^(2)=4.13,I^(2)=85.5%).There was significant asymmetry in the funnel plots of both outcome measures indicating the presence of publication bias.We used a modified CAMARADES(Collaborative Approach to M eta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data in Experimental Studies)checklist to assess the risk of bias,finding that the median score was 4(IQR:3-5).In particula r,reports of allocation concealment and sample size calculations were lacking.In conclusion,gene therapies are showing promise as therapies for spinal co rd injury repair,but there is no consensus on which gene or genes should be targeted.展开更多
We wrote and used an automated flare detection Python script to search for super-flares on main sequence stars of types A,F,G,K and M in Kepler's long-cadence data from Q0 to Q17.We studied the statistical propert...We wrote and used an automated flare detection Python script to search for super-flares on main sequence stars of types A,F,G,K and M in Kepler's long-cadence data from Q0 to Q17.We studied the statistical properties of the occurrence rate of super-flares.For the G-type data set,we compared our results with the previous results of Okamoto et al.by splitting the data set into four rotational bands.We found similar power-law indices for the flare frequency distribution.Hence,we show that inclusion of a high-pass filter,sample biases,gyrochronology and completeness of flare detection is of no significance,as our results are similar to those of Okamoto et al.We estimated that a super-flare on G-type dwarfs with energy of 10^(35) erg occurs on a star once every 4360 yr.We found 4637 super-flares on 1896 G-type dwarfs.Moreover,we identified 321,1125,4538 and 5445 super-flares on 136,522,770 and 312 dwarfs of types A,F,K and M,respectively.We ascertained that the occurrence rate(dN/dE)of super-flares versus flare energy,E,shows a power-law distribution with dN/dE∝E^(-α),whereα■2.0 to 2.1 for the spectral types from F-type to M-type stars.In contrast,the obtainedα■1.3 for A-type stars suggests that the flare conditions differ from those of the other spectral-type stars.We note an increase in flare incidence rate in F-type to M-type stars and a decrease in A-type to F-type stars.展开更多
An ultrasound wave is a kind of acoustic signal with a frequency greater than 20 kHz,which is widely used in diverse fields such as medical imaging diagnosis,nondestructive testing and resource exploration.A variety o...An ultrasound wave is a kind of acoustic signal with a frequency greater than 20 kHz,which is widely used in diverse fields such as medical imaging diagnosis,nondestructive testing and resource exploration.A variety of ultrasound sensors have been developed for ultrasound detection.Particularly for photoacoustic imaging,specialized ultrasound sensors with high sensitivity,small size,and broad bandwidth are needed.However,achieving such sensor perform-ance still poses a great challenge to the current state-of-the-art in ultrasound sensor technology.A recent work pub-lished in Opto-Electronic Advances(DOI:10.29026/oea.2022.200076)proposes a microfiber-based ultrasound sensor that breaks the limitations of existing ultrasound sensors.Benefiting from the large evanescent field characteristic of mi-crofiber,combined with the coherent detection technology,the proposed sensor realized highly sensitive ultrasound de-tection and demonstrated excellent performance in high-resolution photoacoustic imaging.The highly sensitive and mini-aturized microfiber ultrasound sensor provides a competitive alternative for various applications,such as endoscopic photoacoustic imaging of the intestinal tract and blood vessels in animals.展开更多
Electrocatalytic splitting of water by means of renewable energy as the electricity supply is one of the most promising methods for storing green renewable energy as hydrogen. Although two-thirds of the earth’s surfa...Electrocatalytic splitting of water by means of renewable energy as the electricity supply is one of the most promising methods for storing green renewable energy as hydrogen. Although two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered with water, there is inadequacy of freshwater in most parts of the world. Hence, splitting seawater instead of freshwater could be a truly sustainable alternative. However, direct seawater splitting faces challenges because of the complex composition of seawater. The composition, and hence, the local chemistry of seawater may vary depending on its origin, and in most cases, tracking of the side reactions and standardizing and customizing the catalytic process will be an extra challenge. The corrosion of catalysts and competitive side reactions due to the presence of various inorganic and organic pollutants create challenges for developing stable electro-catalysts. Hence, seawater splitting generally involves a two-step process, i.e., purification of seawater using reverse osmosis and then subsequent fresh water splitting. However, this demands two separate chambers and larger space, and increases complexity of the reactor design. Recently, there have been efforts to directly split seawater without the reverse osmosis step. Herein, we represent the most recent innovative approaches to avoid the two-step process, and compare the potential application of membrane-assisted and membrane-less electrolyzers in direct seawater splitting(DSS). We particularly discuss the device engineering, and propose a novel electrolyzer design strategies for concentration gradient based membrane-less microfluidic electrolyzer.展开更多
Background One potential modifiable factor to improve the mental health of healthcare professionals(HCPs)during the pandemic is lifestyle.Aims This study aimed to assess whether an improved lifestyle during the pandem...Background One potential modifiable factor to improve the mental health of healthcare professionals(HCPs)during the pandemic is lifestyle.Aims This study aimed to assess whether an improved lifestyle during the pandemic is associated with improved mental health symptoms and mental well-being in HCPs over time.Methods This was a cohort study involving an online survey distributed at two separate time points during the pandemic(baseline(July–September 2020)and follow-up(December 2020–March 2021))to HCPs working in primary or secondary care in the UK.Both surveys assessed for major depressive disorder(MDD)(Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9)),generalised anxiety disorder(GAD)(Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7)),mental well-being(Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Score(SWEMWBS))and self-reported lifestyle change(compared with the start of the pandemic)on multiple domains.Cumulative scores were calculated to estimate overall lifestyle change compared with that before the pandemic(at both baseline and follow-up).At each time point,separate logistic regression models were constructed to relate the lifestyle change score with the presence of MDD,GAD and low mental well-being.Linear regression models were also developed relating the change in lifestyle scores from baseline to follow-up to changes in PHQ-9,GAD-7 and SWEMWBS scores.Results 613 HCPs completed both baseline assessment and follow-up assessment.Consistent significant cross-sectional associations between increased lifestyle change scores and a reduced risk of MDD,GAD and low mental well-being were observed at both baseline and follow-up.Over the study period,a whole unit increase in the change in novel scores(ie,improved overall lifestyle)over 4 months was inversely associated with changes in PHQ-9(adjusted coefficient:−0.51,95%confidence interval(CI):−0.73 to−0.30,p<0.001)and GAD-7 scores(adjusted coefficient:−0.32,95%CI:−0.53 to−0.10,p=0.004)and positively associated with the change in SWEMWBS scores(adjusted coefficient:0.37,95%CI:0.18 to 0.55,p<0.001).Conclusions Improved lifestyle over time is associated with improved mental health and mental well-being in HCPs during the pandemic.Improving lifestyle could be a recommended intervention for HCPs to help mitigate the mental health impact during the current and future pandemics.展开更多
文摘Driving pressure(ΔP)is a core therapeutic component of mechanical ventilation(MV).Varying levels ofΔP have been employed during MV depending on the type of underlying pathology and severity of injury.However,ΔP levels have also been shown to closely impact hard endpoints such as mortality.Considering this,conducting an in-depth review ofΔP as a unique,outcome-impacting therapeutic modality is extremely important.There is a need to understand the subtleties involved in making sureΔP levels are optimized to enhance outcomes and minimize harm.We performed this narrative review to further explore the various uses ofΔP,the different parameters that can affect its use,and how outcomes vary in different patient populations at different pressure levels.To better utilizeΔP in MV-requiring patients,additional large-scale clinical studies are needed.
基金JMW,RSS,EP,EK,WM,ZBP,and NRMT have received research funding from a precision trauma care research award from the Combat Casualty Care Research Program of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command(DM180044).
文摘We read with interest the recent systematic reviewaArtificial intelligence and machine learning for hemorrhagic trauma careoby Peng et al.[1],which evaluated literature on machine learning(ML)in the management of traumatic haemorrhage.We thank the authors for their contribution to the role of ML in trauma.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,Grant No.52275420)the National Key R&D Program of China(2022YFB3403304)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province[Grant No.2022JJ30136].
文摘Droplet transport still faces numerous challenges,such as a limited transport distance,large volume loss,and liquid contamination.Inspired by the principle of‘synergistic biomimetics’,we propose a design for a platform that enables droplets to be self-propelled.The orchid leaf-like three-dimensional driving structure provides driving forces for the liquid droplets,whereas the lotus leaf-like superhydrophobic surface prevents liquid adhesion,and the bamboo-like nodes enable long-distance transport.During droplet transport,no external energy input is required,no fluid adhesion or residue is induced,and no contamination or mass loss of the fluid is caused.We explore the influence of various types and parameters of wedge structures on droplet transportation,the deceleration of droplet speed at nodal points,and the distribution of internal pressure.The results indicate that the transport platform exhibits insensitivity to pH value and temperature.It allows droplets to be transported with varying curvatures in a spatial environment,making it applicable in tasks like target collection,as well as load,fused,anti-gravity,and long-distance transport.The maximum droplet transport speed reached(58±5)mm·s^(−1),whereas the transport distance extended to(136±4)mm.The developed platform holds significant application prospects in the fields of biomedicine and chemistry,such as high-throughput screening of drugs,genomic bioanalysis,microfluidic chip technology for drug delivery,and analysis of biological samples.
基金the HUST-QMUL Strategic Partnership Research Funding(No.2022-HUST-QMUL-SPRF-03),which funded the project“Design of Binuclear Copper Electrocatalysts for CO_(2) Conversion from First Principles”the China Scholarship Council for financial support。
文摘Molecular copper catalysts serve as exemplary models for correlating the structure-reaction-mechanism relationship in the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(eCO_(2)R),owing to their adaptable environments surrounding the copper metal centres.This investigation,employing density functional theory calculations,focuses on a novel family of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts.The modulation of their coordination configuration through the introduction of organic groups aims to assess their efficacy in converting CO_(2) to C_(2)products.Our findings highlight the crucial role of chemical valence state in shaping the characteristics of binuclear Cu catalysts,consequently influencing the eCO_(2)R behaviour,Notably,the Cu(Ⅱ)Cu(Ⅱ)macrocycle catalyst exhibits enhanced suppression of the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),facilitating proton trans fer and the eCO_(2)R process.Fu rthermore,we explo re the impact of diverse electro n-withdrawing and electron-donating groups coordinated to the macrocycle(R=-F,-H,and-OCH_3)on the electron distribution in the molecular catalysts.Strategic placement of-OCH_3 groups in the macrocycles leads to a favourable oxidation state of the Cu centres and subsequent C-C coupling to form C_(2) products.This research provides fundamental insights into the design and optimization of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO_(2) to value-added C_(2) products.
基金Supported by the Clinical Research Fellowship Grant from the Wellcome Trust,United Kingdom,No.227516/Z/23/Z.
文摘BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is a blood-borne virus which globally affects around 79 million people and is associated with high morbidity and mortality.Chronic infection leads to cirrhosis in a large proportion of patients and often causes hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in people with cirrhosis.Of the 6 HCV genotypes(G1-G6),genotype-3 accounts for 17.9%of infections.HCV genotype-3 responds least well to directly-acting antivirals and patients with genotype-3 infection are at increased risk of HCC even if they do not have cirrhosis.AIM To systematically review and critically appraise all risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV-G3 in all settings.Consequently,we studied possible risk factors for HCC due to HCV-G3 in the literature from 1946 to 2023.METHODS This systematic review aimed to synthesise existing and published studies of risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3 and evaluate their strengths and limitations.We searched Web of Science,Medline,EMBASE,and CENTRAL for publications reporting risk factors for HCC due to HCV genotype-3 in all settings,1946-2023.RESULTS Four thousand one hundred and forty-four records were identified from the four databases with 260 records removed as duplicates.Three thousand eight hundred and eighty-four records were screened with 3514 excluded.Three hundred and seventy-one full-texts were assessed for eligibility with seven studies included for analysis.Of the seven studies,three studies were retrospective case-control trials,two retrospective cohort studies,one a prospective cohort study and one a cross-sectional study design.All were based in hospital settings with four in Pakistan,two in South Korea and one in the United States.The total number of participants were 9621 of which 167 developed HCC(1.7%).All seven studies found cirrhosis to be a risk factor for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3 followed by higher age(five-studies),with two studies each showing male sex,high alpha feto-protein,directly-acting antivirals treatment and achievement of sustained virologic response as risk factors for developing HCC.CONCLUSION Although,studies have shown that HCV genotype-3 infection is an independent risk factor for end-stage liver disease,HCC,and liver-related death,there is a lack of evidence for specific risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3.Only cirrhosis and age have demonstrated an association;however,the number of studies is very small,and more research is required to investigate risk factors for HCC secondary to HCV genotype-3.
基金supported by the proactive SAFEty systems and tools for a constantly UPgrading road environment(SAFE-UP)projectfunding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program(861570)。
文摘Risk assessment is a crucial component of collision warning and avoidance systems for intelligent vehicles.Reachability-based formal approaches have been developed to ensure driving safety to accurately detect potential vehicle collisions.However,they suffer from over-conservatism,potentially resulting in false–positive risk events in complicated real-world applications.In this paper,we combine two reachability analysis techniques,a backward reachable set(BRS)and a stochastic forward reachable set(FRS),and propose an integrated probabilistic collision–detection framework for highway driving.Within this framework,we can first use a BRS to formally check whether a two-vehicle interaction is safe;otherwise,a prediction-based stochastic FRS is employed to estimate the collision probability at each future time step.Thus,the framework can not only identify non-risky events with guaranteed safety but also provide accurate collision risk estimation in safety-critical events.To construct the stochastic FRS,we develop a neural network-based acceleration model for surrounding vehicles and further incorporate a confidence-aware dynamic belief to improve the prediction accuracy.Extensive experiments were conducted to validate the performance of the acceleration prediction model based on naturalistic highway driving data.The efficiency and effectiveness of the framework with infused confidence beliefs were tested in both naturalistic and simulated highway scenarios.The proposed risk assessment framework is promising for real-world applications.
基金supported in part by National Key Research and Develop⁃ment Young Scientist Project 2023YFB2905100the National Natural Sci⁃ence Foundation of China under Grant Nos.62201137 and 62331023+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant No.2242022k60001the Research Fund of National Mobile Communications Research Laboratory,Southeast University,China under Grant No.2023A03.
文摘Extremely large-scale multiple-input multiple-output(XL-MIMO)and terahertz(THz)communications are pivotal candidate technologies for supporting the development of 6G mobile networks.However,these techniques invalidate the common assumptions of far-field plane waves and introduce many new properties.To accurately understand the performance of these new techniques,spherical wave modeling of near-field communications needs to be applied for future research.Hence,the investigation of near-field communication holds significant importance for the advancement of 6G,which brings many new and open research challenges in contrast to conventional far-field communication.In this paper,we first formulate a general model of the near-field channel and discuss the influence of spatial nonstationary properties on the near-field channel modeling.Subsequently,we discuss the challenges encountered in the near field in terms of beam training,localization,and transmission scheme design,respectively.Finally,we point out some promising research directions for near-field communications.
文摘As a basic technology at physical layer of mobile communications,non-orthogonal multiple access has been attracting wide attention across the academia and the industry.During the standardization of the fifth-generation(5G)of mobile communications,3GPP conducted preliminary study on non-orthogonal multiple access without reaching the consensus to standardize the technology.
基金the support of the German Research Foundation,projects BU 2327/19-1 and MO 2962/7-1support from the EPSRC grant EP/R513106/1support from the Alan Turing Institute.
文摘The reconstruction of images from their corresponding noisy Radon transform is a typical example of an ill-posed linear inverse problem as arising in the application of computerized tomography(CT).As the(naive)solution does not depend on the measured data continuously,regularization is needed to reestablish a continuous dependence.In this work,we investigate simple,but yet still provably convergent approaches to learning linear regularization methods from data.More specifically,we analyze two approaches:one generic linear regularization that learns how to manipulate the singular values of the linear operator in an extension of our previous work,and one tailored approach in the Fourier domain that is specific to CT-reconstruction.We prove that such approaches become convergent regularization methods as well as the fact that the reconstructions they provide are typically much smoother than the training data they were trained on.Finally,we compare the spectral as well as the Fourier-based approaches for CT-reconstruction numerically,discuss their advantages and disadvantages and investigate the effect of discretization errors at differentresolutions.
文摘As a subversive manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing technology has many technical advantages such as high freedom of design and not limited by complex structure of parts. The application of additive manufacturing technology to the charge molding of energetic materials will subvert the traditional manufacturing concept of energetic materials, realize the advanced charge design concept, shorten the research and development time of weapons and equipment, and improve the comprehensive performance of weapons and equipment, which is of great significance for the rapid development of high-tech weapons and equipment. This paper analyzes the research progress of additive manufacturing technology in the field of energetic materials at home and abroad and puts forward some suggestions for future research of this technology. .
基金Supported by School of Medicine at University of Alabama at BirminghamFogarty International Center,No.K01TW009998+1 种基金National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,U.S.National Institutes of Health,No.U01AI069924Swiss National Science Foundation(to Wandeler G),No.PZ0093_154730
文摘AIM To characterize antiviral therapy eligibility among hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected adults at a university hospital in Zambia.METHODS Hepatitis B surface antigen-positive adults(n = 160) who were h IV-negative and referred to the hospital after a routine or clinically-driven HBV test were enrolled. Alanine Aminotransferase(ALT),Aspartate Aminotransferase(AST),platelet count,hepatitis B e-antigen,and HBV DNA were measured. Liver fibrosis/cirrhosis was assessed by physical examination,AST-to-platelet ratio index,and transient elastography. In antiviral therapy-na?ve individuals,we described hBV stages and antiviral therapy eligibility per World health Organization(WhO) and by hBV test(routine vs clinical). Elevated ALT was > 19 in women and > 30 U/L in men. Among treatmentexperienced individuals,we described medication side effects,adherence,and viral suppression.RESULTS The median age was 33 years,71.9% were men,and 30.9% were diagnosed with HBV through a clinicallydriven test with the remainder identified via routine testing(at the blood bank,community events,etc.). Among 120 treatment-na?ve individuals,2.5% were categorized as immune tolerant,11.7% were immune active,35.6% were inactive carriers,and 46.7% had an indeterminate phenotype. Per WhO guidelines,13(10.8%) were eligible for immediate antiviral therapy. The odds of eligibility were eight times higher for those diagnosed at clinical vs routine settings(adjusted odds ratio,8.33; 95%CI: 2.26-29.41). Among 40 treatmentexperienced hBV patients,virtually all took tenofovir,and a history of mild side effects was reported in 20%. Though reported adherence was good,12 of 29(41.4%) had HBV DNA > 20 IU/m L. CONCLUSION Approximately one in ten HBV-monoinfected Zambians were eligible for antivirals. Many had indeterminate phenotype and needed clinical follow-up.
基金the China Scholarship Council for financial supportthe funding by the Leverhulme Trust(RPG2019-122)+4 种基金the ACT program(Accelerating CCS Technologies,Horizon2020 Project No.294766),which funded the FUNMIN projectFinancial contributions were made from Department for Business,Energy&Industrial Strategy(BEIS)together with extra funding from NERC and EPSRC research councils,United Kingdom,ADEME(FR),MINECO-AEI(ES)partially funded by EPSRC(EP/P020194/1)funded by EPSRC(EP/L000202)supported by QMUL Research-IT。
文摘Diatomic catalysts(DACs)with two adjacent metal atoms supported on graphene can offer diverse functionalities,overcoming the inherent limitations of single atom catalysts(SACs).In this study,density functional theory calculations were conducted to investigate the reactivity of the carbon dioxide(CO_(2))reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)on metal sites of both DACs and SACs,as well as their synergistic effects on activity and selectivity.Calculation of the Gibbs free energies of CO_(2)RR and associated values of the limiting potentials to generate C_(1) products showed that Cu acts as a promoter rather than an active catalytic centre in the catalytic CO_(2)conversion on heteronuclear DACs(CuN_(4)-MN_(4)),improving the catalytic activity on the other metal compared to the related SAC MN_(4).Cu enhances the initial reduction of CO_(2)by promoting orbital hybridization between the key intermediate*COOH 2p-orbitals and the metals 3d-orbitals around the Fermi level.This degree of hybridization in the DACs CuN_(4)-MN_(4) decreases from Fe to Co,Ni,and Zn.Our work demonstrates how Cu regulates the CO_(2)RR performance of heteronuclear DACs,offering an effective approach to designing practical,stable,and high-performing diatomic catalysts for CO_(2)electroreduction.
文摘Objective: It remains unknown whether calcium metabolism has any effect on the clinical presentation of superior semicircular canal dehiscence(SSCD). Our aim was to analyse the adjusted calcium and vitamin D levels in SSCD patients compared to a control group.Methods: This was a prospective case-control study performed in a tertiary referral center, university teaching hospital in the UK. It included all new patients with SSCD seen in a dedicated skull base clinic over a 5-year period(2015-2019) compared to a gender and age matched control group. The main outcome of the study was adjusted calcium and Vitamin D levels between the two groups.Results: A total of 31 SSCD patients were recruited with a matched number of control patients. The mean Vitamin D level on the SSCD group was 44.8 nmoL/l(SD: 20.8) compared to 47.5 nmoL/l(SD: 27.4) on the control group(p = 0.702). Mean Adjusted calcium level was 2.34 mmoL/l(SD: 0.7) for SSCD compared to2.41 mmoL/l(SD: 0.11) for controls(p = 0.01), being within normal limits for both the SSCD and the control group.Conclusion: Our study did not identify a link between Vitamin D levels and presence of SSCD. Normal adjusted calcium values were found in both groups. Despite that a statistically significant lower calcium level was found in the SSCD group which could indicate that suboptimal levels of calcium may affect the micro-environment of the otic capsule at the SSC region.
基金supported by Scottish Rugby Union,Graham and Pam Dixon,Medical Research Scotland,University of Aberdeen HOTSTART Scholarship Programme(to WH)。
文摘Currently,there is no cure for traumatic spinal co rd injury but one therapeutic approach showing promise is gene therapy.In this systematic review and meta-analysis,we aim to assess the efficacy of gene therapies in pre-clinical models of spinal cord injury and the risk of bias.In this metaanalysis,registe red at PROSPERO(Registration ID:CRD42020185008),we identified relevant controlled in vivo studies published in English by searching the PubMed,Web of Science,and Embase databases.No restrictions of the year of publication were applied and the last literature search was conducted on August 3,2020.We then conducted a random-effects meta-analysis using the restricted maximum likelihood estimator.A total of 71 studies met our inclusion crite ria and were included in the systematic review.Our results showed that overall,gene therapies were associated with improvements in locomotor score(standardized mean difference[SMD]:2.07,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.68-2.47,Tau^(2)=2.13,I^(2)=83.6%)and axonal regrowth(SMD:2.78,95%CI:1.92-3.65,Tau^(2)=4.13,I^(2)=85.5%).There was significant asymmetry in the funnel plots of both outcome measures indicating the presence of publication bias.We used a modified CAMARADES(Collaborative Approach to M eta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data in Experimental Studies)checklist to assess the risk of bias,finding that the median score was 4(IQR:3-5).In particula r,reports of allocation concealment and sample size calculations were lacking.In conclusion,gene therapies are showing promise as therapies for spinal co rd injury repair,but there is no consensus on which gene or genes should be targeted.
基金operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc.,under NASA contract NAS5-26555provided by the NASA Office of Space Science via grant NNX13AC07Gthe financial support of her PhD scholarship,held at Queen Mary University of London。
文摘We wrote and used an automated flare detection Python script to search for super-flares on main sequence stars of types A,F,G,K and M in Kepler's long-cadence data from Q0 to Q17.We studied the statistical properties of the occurrence rate of super-flares.For the G-type data set,we compared our results with the previous results of Okamoto et al.by splitting the data set into four rotational bands.We found similar power-law indices for the flare frequency distribution.Hence,we show that inclusion of a high-pass filter,sample biases,gyrochronology and completeness of flare detection is of no significance,as our results are similar to those of Okamoto et al.We estimated that a super-flare on G-type dwarfs with energy of 10^(35) erg occurs on a star once every 4360 yr.We found 4637 super-flares on 1896 G-type dwarfs.Moreover,we identified 321,1125,4538 and 5445 super-flares on 136,522,770 and 312 dwarfs of types A,F,K and M,respectively.We ascertained that the occurrence rate(dN/dE)of super-flares versus flare energy,E,shows a power-law distribution with dN/dE∝E^(-α),whereα■2.0 to 2.1 for the spectral types from F-type to M-type stars.In contrast,the obtainedα■1.3 for A-type stars suggests that the flare conditions differ from those of the other spectral-type stars.We note an increase in flare incidence rate in F-type to M-type stars and a decrease in A-type to F-type stars.
文摘An ultrasound wave is a kind of acoustic signal with a frequency greater than 20 kHz,which is widely used in diverse fields such as medical imaging diagnosis,nondestructive testing and resource exploration.A variety of ultrasound sensors have been developed for ultrasound detection.Particularly for photoacoustic imaging,specialized ultrasound sensors with high sensitivity,small size,and broad bandwidth are needed.However,achieving such sensor perform-ance still poses a great challenge to the current state-of-the-art in ultrasound sensor technology.A recent work pub-lished in Opto-Electronic Advances(DOI:10.29026/oea.2022.200076)proposes a microfiber-based ultrasound sensor that breaks the limitations of existing ultrasound sensors.Benefiting from the large evanescent field characteristic of mi-crofiber,combined with the coherent detection technology,the proposed sensor realized highly sensitive ultrasound de-tection and demonstrated excellent performance in high-resolution photoacoustic imaging.The highly sensitive and mini-aturized microfiber ultrasound sensor provides a competitive alternative for various applications,such as endoscopic photoacoustic imaging of the intestinal tract and blood vessels in animals.
基金King Abdullah University of Science and Technology for funding through the funding grant (BAS/1/1413-01-01)the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC,EP/V027433/1)+1 种基金the Royal Society (RGSR1211080IESR2212115)。
文摘Electrocatalytic splitting of water by means of renewable energy as the electricity supply is one of the most promising methods for storing green renewable energy as hydrogen. Although two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered with water, there is inadequacy of freshwater in most parts of the world. Hence, splitting seawater instead of freshwater could be a truly sustainable alternative. However, direct seawater splitting faces challenges because of the complex composition of seawater. The composition, and hence, the local chemistry of seawater may vary depending on its origin, and in most cases, tracking of the side reactions and standardizing and customizing the catalytic process will be an extra challenge. The corrosion of catalysts and competitive side reactions due to the presence of various inorganic and organic pollutants create challenges for developing stable electro-catalysts. Hence, seawater splitting generally involves a two-step process, i.e., purification of seawater using reverse osmosis and then subsequent fresh water splitting. However, this demands two separate chambers and larger space, and increases complexity of the reactor design. Recently, there have been efforts to directly split seawater without the reverse osmosis step. Herein, we represent the most recent innovative approaches to avoid the two-step process, and compare the potential application of membrane-assisted and membrane-less electrolyzers in direct seawater splitting(DSS). We particularly discuss the device engineering, and propose a novel electrolyzer design strategies for concentration gradient based membrane-less microfluidic electrolyzer.
基金This work was supported by a Barts Charity project grant(MGU0586).
文摘Background One potential modifiable factor to improve the mental health of healthcare professionals(HCPs)during the pandemic is lifestyle.Aims This study aimed to assess whether an improved lifestyle during the pandemic is associated with improved mental health symptoms and mental well-being in HCPs over time.Methods This was a cohort study involving an online survey distributed at two separate time points during the pandemic(baseline(July–September 2020)and follow-up(December 2020–March 2021))to HCPs working in primary or secondary care in the UK.Both surveys assessed for major depressive disorder(MDD)(Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9)),generalised anxiety disorder(GAD)(Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7)),mental well-being(Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Score(SWEMWBS))and self-reported lifestyle change(compared with the start of the pandemic)on multiple domains.Cumulative scores were calculated to estimate overall lifestyle change compared with that before the pandemic(at both baseline and follow-up).At each time point,separate logistic regression models were constructed to relate the lifestyle change score with the presence of MDD,GAD and low mental well-being.Linear regression models were also developed relating the change in lifestyle scores from baseline to follow-up to changes in PHQ-9,GAD-7 and SWEMWBS scores.Results 613 HCPs completed both baseline assessment and follow-up assessment.Consistent significant cross-sectional associations between increased lifestyle change scores and a reduced risk of MDD,GAD and low mental well-being were observed at both baseline and follow-up.Over the study period,a whole unit increase in the change in novel scores(ie,improved overall lifestyle)over 4 months was inversely associated with changes in PHQ-9(adjusted coefficient:−0.51,95%confidence interval(CI):−0.73 to−0.30,p<0.001)and GAD-7 scores(adjusted coefficient:−0.32,95%CI:−0.53 to−0.10,p=0.004)and positively associated with the change in SWEMWBS scores(adjusted coefficient:0.37,95%CI:0.18 to 0.55,p<0.001).Conclusions Improved lifestyle over time is associated with improved mental health and mental well-being in HCPs during the pandemic.Improving lifestyle could be a recommended intervention for HCPs to help mitigate the mental health impact during the current and future pandemics.
