[Occurrence Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Antibiotics in the Surface Water of Luoma Lake and Its Main Inflow Rivers].

The concentration levels of 39 antibiotics, including sulfonamides (SAs), quinolones (QUs), tetracyclines (TCs), macrolides (MLs), and penicillins (PLs), in the surface water of Luoma Lake, and its main inflow rivers were analyzed using SPE-UPLC-MS/MS. The contribution rates of pollution of major rivers entering the lake were analyzed, and the potential ecological and health risks of antibiotics were assessed. The results showed that ρ(antibiotics)in 42 sampling sites was between 30.10 ng·L-1 and 582.37 ng·L-1, and a total of four classes of 23 antibiotics were detected. Among them, the average detection concentration of enrofloxacin (ERX) was the highest (88.05 ng·L-1), and the detection rate of lincomycin (LIN) was the highest (100%). The average concentration of antibiotics in the northern region of Luoma Lake was higher than that in the south, and among the two main rivers entering the lake, Yihe River was the main river contributing to the pollution of antibiotics in Luoma Lake, with a contribution rate of 53.91%. The results of risk assessment showed that ERX had the largest risk quotient. For the cumulative risk quotient (RQcum), RQcum of L6, R30, R31, R32, R33, and R42 was between 0.1 and 1, which is considered medium risk, and RQcum of other points was>1, which is considered high risk. The health risk assessment of 11 antibiotics showed that the health risk quotient (RQH) of adults and children ranged from 4.16×10-6 to 2.46×10-3, and there was no health risk to the human body.

Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers with a Cost-Effective Bottom-Up Fabrication Scheme for Millimeter-Scale Range Finding.

This study proposes a novel piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT), fabricated on a metal foil. Using a bottom-up, cost-effective micromachining technique, the PMUTs made of electrodes, a piezoelectric film, or electrode-sandwiched structures with versatile patterns were implemented on a large-area foil thinner rather than regular paper. The proposed microfabrication facilitated the PMUT to be able to generate ultrasonic waves with fundamental and harmonic resonances. The fourth-order resonances of the fabricated PMUT functionally operated at an ultrasonic spectrum of approximately 30 kHz as an ultrasonic emitter. The developed PMUT was paired with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphone module for range-finding applications in the range of several tens of millimeters. A signal-processing scheme was developed to extract the representative pattern from the acquired signals that were emitted and received. The pattern enabled finding the distance between the PMUT and the microphone using time-of-flight and strength-variation technology. The developed PMUT-microphone pair demonstrated its range-finding performance, displaying an error of less than 0.7% using the time-of-flight method.

The Effects of Pre-Operative Enteral Nutrition from Nasal Feeding Tubes on Gastric Outlet Obstruction.

We examined gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) patients who received two weeks of strengthening pre-operative enteral nutrition therapy (pre-EN) through a nasal-jejenal feeding tube placed under a gastroscope to evaluate the feasibility and potential benefit of pre-EN compared to parenteral nutrition (PN). In this study, 68 patients confirmed to have GOO with upper-gastrointestinal contrast and who accepted the operation were randomized into an EN group and a PN group. The differences in nutritional status, immune function, post-operative complications, weight of patients, first bowel sound and first flatus time, pull tube time, length of hospital stay (LOH), and cost of hospitalization between pre-operation and post-operation were all recorded. Statistical analyses were performed using the chi square test and t-test; statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. The success rate of the placement was 91.18% (three out of 31 cases). After pre-EN, the levels of weight, albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), and transferrin (TNF) in the EN group were significantly increased by pre-operation day compared to admission day, but were not significantly increased in the PN group; the weights in the EN group were significantly increased compared to the PN group by pre-operation day and day of discharge; total protein (TP), ALB, PA, and TNF of the EN group were significantly increased compared to the PN group on pre-operation and post-operative days one and three. The levels of CD3+, CD4+/CD8+, IgA, and IgM in the EN group were higher than those of the PN group at pre-operation and post-operation; the EN group had a significantly lower incidence of poor wound healing, peritoneal cavity infection, pneumonia, and a shorter first bowel sound time, first flatus time, and post-operation hospital stay than the PN group. Pre-EN through a nasal-jejunum feeding tube and placed under a gastroscope in GOO patients was safe, feasible, and beneficial to the nutrition status, immune function, and gastrointestinal function, and sped up recovery, while not increasing the cost of hospitalization.

Responses to climate and economic risks and opportunities across national and ecological boundaries: changing household strategies on the Mongolian plateau.

Climate changes on the Mongolian Plateau are creating new challenges for the households and communities of the region. Much of the existing research on household choices in response to climate variability and change focuses on environmental risks and stresses. In contrast, our analysis highlights the importance of taking into account environmental and economic opportunities in explaining household adaptation choices. We surveyed over 750 households arrayed along an ecological gradient and matched across the national border in Mongolia and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, asking what changes in livelihoods strategies households made over the last ten years, and analyzed these choices in two broad categories of options: diversification and livestock management. We combined these data with remotely sensed information about vegetation growth and self-reported exposure to price fluctuations. Our statistical results showed that households experiencing lower ecological and economic variability, higher average levels of vegetation growth, and with greater levels of material wealth, were often those that undertook more actions to improve their conditions in the face of variability. The findings have implications both for how interventions aimed at supporting ongoing choices might be targeted and for theory construction related to social adaptation.