The interaction between selenium and cadmium in the soil-rice-human continuum in an area with high geological background of selenium and cadmium.

Natural selenium (Se)-rich areas in China are generally characterized by high geological background of cadmium (Cd). However, the interaction between Se and Cd in the soil-rice-human continuum in such areas remains elusive. The concentrations, bioaccessibilities, and biomarkers of Se and Cd in a typical Se-Cd rich area were determined through chemical analysis, in vitro digestion model and cross-sectional study, respectively. The results showed that the molar ratio of available Se/Cd in the soil was averaged at 0.55 and soil Se did not reduce Cd accumulation and transportation in rice. Se bioaccessibility increased from the gastric phase to the intestinal phase, but the opposite was the case for Cd bioaccessibility. Moreover, bioaccessible concentration of Cd was positively correlated to corresponding total concentration in rice but negatively associated with the logarithm of molar ratio of Se/Cd. The risk of Cd-induced nephrotoxicity for the exposure group was not higher than the reference group, which could be ascribed to the mitigative effect of Se. Males and elders were at higher risk of Cd-induced injury owing to higher urinary Cd (U-Cd) and ß2-microglobulin (U-ß2-MG), and lower urinary Se (U-Se). Our results suggested that Cd-induced health risk should be assessed from a soil-rice-human perspective and the interaction between Se and Cd should be taken into account.

[Lignans from flower buds of Magnolia biondii].

The present study aims to investigate the lignans from the flower buds of Magnolia biondii. The isolation and purification of the compounds were performed by column chromatographies on Diaion HP-20, silica gel, and Sephadex LH-20, combined with semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral data and physiochemical properties. Eighteen compounds were isolated and identified as magnolin (1), epimagnolin (2), eudesmin (3), kobusin (4), aschantin (5), lirioresinol B dimethyl ether (6), pinoresinol monomethy ether (7), (+)-de-O-methylmagnolin (8), isoeucommin A (9), syringaresinol 4-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (10), phillygenin (11), lariciresinol-4'-O-ß-1-D-glucoside (12), conicaoside (13), (7'S, 8'R)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferylalcohol (14), 7R*, 8S*-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (15), 7S, 8R-erythro-7, 9, 9'-trihydroxy-3, 3'-dimethoxy-8-O-4'-neolignan 4-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (16), 7S, 8R-erythro-4, 9, 9'-trihydroxy-3, 3'-dimethoxy-8-O-4'-neolignan-7-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (17), and (+)-isolariciresinol (18). Compounds 7-18 are isolated from this plant for the first time.

Four New Monoterpenoid Glycosides from the Flower Buds of Magnolia biondii.

Four new monoterpenoid glycosides 1-4, named magnoliaterpenoid A-D, were isolated from a 50% aqueous acetone extract of flower buds of Magnolia biondii, along with one known compound, (1'R,3'S,5'R,8'S,2Z,4E)-dihydrophaseic acid 3-O-ß-d-glucopyranoside (5). Their structures and relative configuration were identified by extensive spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV, MS, 1D and 2D NMR). The aglycones of these four new compounds possess seven-membered rings systems, which are very rare. A plausible biosynthetic route for the four new compounds was proposed via the biogenetic isoprene rule. Compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 showed no antimicrobial activity at the concentration range of 1.95-250 µg/mL.

Enhanced coalbed methane well production prediction framework utilizing the CNN-BL-MHA approach.

As the mechanization of the CBM extraction process advances and geological conditions continuously evolve, the production data from CBM wells is deviating increasingly from linearity, thereby presenting a significant challenge in accurately predicting future gas production from these wells. When it comes to predicting the production of CBM, a single deep-learning model can face several drawbacks such as overfitting, gradient explosion, and gradient disappearance. These issues can ultimately result in insufficient prediction accuracy, making it important to carefully consider the limitations of any given model. It's impressive to see how advanced technology can enhance the prediction accuracy of CBM. In this paper, the use of a CNN model to extract features from CBM well data and combine it with Bi-LSTM and a Multi-Head Attention mechanism to construct a production prediction model for CBM wells-the CNN-BL-MHA model-is fascinating. It is even more exciting that predictions of gas production for experimental wells can be conducted using production data from Wells W1 and W2 as the model's database. We compared and analyzed the prediction results obtained from the CNN-BL-MHA model we constructed with those from single models like ARIMA, LSTM, MLP, and GRU. The results show that the CNN-BL-MHA model proposed in the study has shown promising results in improving the accuracy of gas production prediction for CBM wells. It's also impressive that this model demonstrated super stability, which is essential for reliable predictions. Compared to the single deep learning model used in this study, its prediction accuracy can be improved up to 35%, and the prediction results match the actual yield data with lower error.

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8@polydopamine decorated carboxylated chitosan hydrogel with photocatalytic and photothermal antibacterial activity for infected wound healing.

Open wounds are susceptible to bacterial infections, and antibiotics are commonly used to treat these infections. However, widespread use of antibiotics will easily induce bacterial resistance. Green antibacterial agents serve as excellent alternative for antibiotics in infection therapy. In this work, polydopamine (PDA) was used to modify the surface of ZIF-8, which not only enhances the water stability of Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(ZIF-8) but also improves its photocatalytic and photothermal capabilities. ZIF-8@PDA was incorporated into carboxylated chitosan (CCS) films as an antibacterial agent, the resulting ZIF-8@PDA-CCS films exhibit excellent ionic/photocatalytic/photothermal antibacterial performance. The film exhibited an impressive 99% in vitro bacterial inhibition rate. After treatment with ZIF-8@PDA-CCS, the bacteria in infected wounds can be completely suppressed. These findings suggest that ZIF-8@PDA-CCS could serve as a potentional antibacterial dressing.

Experimental research on the influence of acid on the chemical and pore structure evolution characteristics of Wenjiaba tectonic coal.

The chemical and pore structures of coal play a crucial role in determining the content of free gas in coal reservoirs. This study focuses on investigating the impact of acidification transformation on the micro-physical and chemical structure characteristics of coal samples collected from Wenjiaba No. 1 Mine in Guizhou. The research involves a semi-quantitative analysis of the chemical structure parameters and crystal structure of coal samples before and after acidification using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments. Additionally, the evolution characteristics of the pore structure are characterized through high-pressure mercury injection (HP-MIP), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (LT-N2A), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental findings reveal that the acid solution modifies the structural features of coal samples, weakening certain vibrational structures and altering the chemical composition. Specifically, the asymmetric vibration structure of aliphatic CH2, the asymmetric vibration of aliphatic CH3, and the symmetric vibration of CH2 are affected. This leads to a decrease in the contents of -OH and -NH functional groups while increasing aromatic structures. The crystal structure of coal samples primarily dissolves transversely after acidification, affecting intergranular spacing and average height. Acid treatment corrodes mineral particles within coal sample cracks, augmenting porosity, average pore diameter, and the ratio of macro-pores to transitional pores. Moreover, acidification increases fracture width and texture, enhancing the connectivity of the fracture structure in coal samples. These findings provide theoretical insights for optimizing coalbed methane (CBM) extraction and gas control strategies.

The Lower Limb Movements of the Fetus in Uterus: A Narrative Review.

The fetus movements play an important role in fetal well-being. With the continuous advancement of real-time scanning machines, it is feasible to observe the fetus movement in detail. The characteristics of fetal lower limb movements in prenatal examination have not been systematically investigated. This review proposes the patterns of fetal lower limb movements, the maternal influence on fetal lower limb movements, and the application of fetal lower limb movements for the diagnosis of prenatal diseases. A systematic search of literature on the lower limb movements of the fetus in uterus was performed in the databases, namely, Web of Science and Scopus. Thirty-four publications were selected. This review demonstrates that isolated fetal lower limb movements are rare and always accompanied with the movements of other body segments. Detection of the presence of fetal leg movements seems to be of no diagnostic value for fetuses with prenatal diseases. The isolated lower limb movement was statistically significant different between fetuses of low- and high-risk pregnant women. The coordinated movements of the fetal lower limbs and other parts should be considered when analyzing fetal movements in the future study.

Biomechanical Risks Associated with Foot and Ankle Injuries in Ballet Dancers: A Systematic Review.

Professional ballet dancers can be classified as dance artists and sports performers. This systematic review aims to consider the biomechanical risk factors for foot and ankle injuries in ballet dancers, as this could potentially reduce the impact that 'cost of injury' may have on ballet companies. An additional outcome was to examine the effects of injury on the career of ballet dancers. This study searched articles in four electronic databases for information in peer-reviewed journals. The included articles examined the relationships between biomechanical factors and the relationship between ballet shoes and foot performance. There were 9 articles included in this review. Among these articles, two focused on the peak force of the foot using two types of pointe shoes, three focused on overuse injuries of the ballet dancer's foot, one article focused on the loading of the foot of a dancer, and three articles focused on the function and biomechanics of the foot in dancers. This review also found that the pointe shoe condition was the most important factor contributing to a foot injury; overuse injury related to high-intensity training and affected both the ankle and the foot; and metatarsophalangeal joint injury related to the function and structure of the foot. Finally, strengthening the lower extremity muscle is also a recommendation to improve muscle coordination and reduce injuries.

Computation of Fetal Kicking in Various Fetal Health Examinations: A Systematic Review.

Fetal movement has always been considered an essential indicator to evaluate the health of the unborn fetus. Many factors affect fetal movement. The frequency of fetal kicking is an important measurement of whether fetal development is progressing and healthy. Various instruments and methods of detecting fetal movement have been used and each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Although limited by the fetal environment in utero, the finite element method and musculoskeletal model can be used to calculate fetal lower limb movement. This review aims to summarize the current detection techniques for fetal movement, especially in the lower limbs. These will be outlined by describing the different measurements of fetal movement, and the related biomechanical analyses of fetal lower limb skeletogenesis and the associated muscular development to better evaluate and calculate the movements of the fetus in the womb.

A new model to identify node importance in complex networks based on DEMATEL method.

It is still a hot research topic to identify node importance in complex networks. Recently many methods have been proposed to deal with this problem. However, most of the methods only focus on local or path information, they do not combine local and global information well. In this paper, a new model to identify node importance based on Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is presented. DEMATEL method is based on graph theory which takes the global information into full consideration so that it can effectively identify the importance of one element in the whole complex system. Some experiments based on susceptible-infected (SI) model are used to compare the new model with other methods. The applications in three different networks illustrate the effectiveness of the new model.

Do Novice Runners Show Greater Changes in Biomechanical Parameters?

PURPOSE: Examining and understanding the biomechanics of novice runners and experienced runners can further improve our knowledge within the field of running mechanics and running injuries. The purpose of this study was to classify the differences in lower limb biomechanics during a 3.3 m/s running task among both experienced runners and novice runners. METHOD: Twenty-four participants (12 experienced runners and 12 novice runners) ran at 3.3 m/s across a force plate; kinematics and kinetics data were collected by the Vicon motion system and Kistler force plate. Group comparisons were made using an independent samples t-test to identify differences in the impact peak, loading rate, contact time, ankle, knee, and hip joint kinematics and kinetics during the stance phase. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between novice and experienced runners for both ankle and knee joint kinetics except that the ankle joint plantar flexion torque was significantly greater in the novice runners. However, the plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, range of motion (ROM), plantar flexion torque, and max angular velocity of ankle joint significantly increased in novice runners than inexperienced runners. Additionally, the flexion angle and range of motion of the hip joint were observed to be larger in the novice runners. Moreover, the maximum extension torque and the maximum extension power in the hip joint were significantly increased in the experienced runners. There were no significant differences in the first peak, contact time, and average vertical loading rate. Novice runners showed a larger vertical instantaneous loading rate than experienced runners. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings indicate that novice runners are prone to running injuries in comparison to experienced runners. Novice runners showed larger kinematics and kinetic parameters in the joint of the ankle and hip. Novice runners should enhance muscle strength in the hip and choose scientific training methods.

Acute Effects of Heel-to-Toe Drop and Speed on Running Biomechanics and Strike Pattern in Male Recreational Runners: Application of Statistical Nonparametric Mapping in Lower Limb Biomechanics.

With the increased popularity of running, many studies have been conducted into footwears that are highly related to running performance and running-related injuries. Previous studies investigated different shoe types and running shoes with different heel-to-toe drops (HTDs). However, no research was found in investigating shoes with negative values with HTD. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the acute effect of HTD and running speed on lower limb biomechanics and strike pattern in recreational runners. Thirteen male recreational runners wearing shoes with two different HTDs (-8 and 8 mm) performed running at three different speeds (preferred speed [PS], 90% of PS, 110% of PS). Lower extremity kinematics and ground reaction forces were synchronously captured via Vicon motion analysis system and AMTI force platform. Strike index (SI), vertical average loading rate (VALR), vertical instantaneous loading rate (VILR), excursion, eversion duration, joint angles, and range of motion (ROM) of metatarsophalangeal (MTP), ankle, knee, and hip joints were calculated. Joint angles during the entire stance phase were analyzed applying the statistical nonparametric mapping (SnPM) method. SI and VILR in shoes with -8 mm HTD significantly increased by 18.99% and 31.836 BW/s compared to those with 8 mm HTD (SI: p = 0.002; VILR: p < 0.001). Significant alterations of ROM occurred in the MTP, ankle, and knee joints (p < 0.05), and HTD factor primarily accounted for these changes. Joint angles (MTP, knee, and hip) during the entire stance phase altered due to HTD and speed factors. Running speed primarily influenced the kinematics parameters of knee and hip joints, increasing knee angles in the frontal plane and hip angle in the horizontal plane at PS (p > 0.05). Compared to shoes with 8 mm HTD, shoes with -8 mm HTD may be useful to storage and return energy because of the increased ROM of MTP in the sagittal plane. Besides, forefoot strike gait retraining was recommended before transition from normal running shoes to running shoes with -8 mm HTD.

Effect of Running Exercise on Oxidative Stress Biomarkers: A Systematic Review.

Background: Exercise induced health benefits are limited by the overaccumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS and further oxidative stress could potentially induce muscle damage which could result in poor exercise performance. However, predicting ROS induced oxidative stress in response to endurance training has several limitations in terms of selecting biomarkers that are used to measure oxidative stress. Objective: The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate the suitable biomarkers that predict oxidative stress status among runners. Methods: According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, a search for relevant articles was carried out on PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar using related search terms such as oxidative damage, ROS, exercise, physical training, running, marathon, and ultramarathon. Results: Outcomes included (1) running programs like a half-marathon, ultramarathon, and iron-man race, (2) measuring biochemical assessment of oxidative damage markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), and F1-isoprostones, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants level. Conclusions: This study concluded that a running exercise does not elicit a response to specific biomarkers of oxidative stress, instead, oxidative damage markers of lipids, proteins, and various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants are expressed according to the training status of the individual.