Dissolved carbon in biochar: Exploring its chemistry, iron complexing capability, toxicity in natural redox environment.

Dissolved black carbon (DBC) plays a crucial role in the migration and bioavailability of iron in water. However, the properties of DBC releasing under diverse pyrolysis conditions and dissolving processes have not been systematically studied. Here, the compositions of DBC released from biochar through redox processes dominated by bacteria and light were thoroughly studied. It was found that the DBC released from straw biochar possess more oxygen-containing functional groups and aromatic substances. The content of phenolic and carboxylic groups in DBC was increased under influence of microorganisms and light, respectively. The concentration of phenolic hydroxyl groups increased from 10.0∼57.5 mmol/gC to 6.6 ∼65.2 mmol/gC, and the concentration of carboxyl groups increased from 49.7∼97.5 mmol/gC to 62.1 ∼113.3 mmol/gC. Then the impacts of DBC on pyrite dissolution and microalgae growth were also investigated. The complexing Fe3+ was proved to play a predominant role in the dissolution of ferrous mineral in DBC solution. Due to complexing between iron ion and DBC, the amount of dissolved Fe in aquatic water may rise as a result of elevated number of aromatic components with oxygen containing groups and low molecular weight generated under light conditions. Fe-DBC complexations in solution significantly promoted microalga growth, which might be attributed to the stimulating effect of dissolved Fe on the chlorophyll synthesis. The results of study will deepen our understanding of the behavior and ultimate destiny of DBC released into an iron-rich environment under redox conditions.

Causal relationship between inflammatory markers and left ventricle geometry and function: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Studies have shown that some inflammatory markers can predict the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and affect the structure and function of the heart. However, a causal relationship between inflammatory markers and the cardiac structure and function has not yet been established. Thus, we conducted a 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to explore the potential causal relationship between inflammatory markers and prognostically-related left ventricular (LV) parameters. Instrumental variables (IVs) for C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were selected from the databases of large genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Summary statistics for LV parameters, including LV mass, ejection fraction, end-diastolic and systolic volumes, and the ratio of LV mass to end-diastolic volume, were obtained from cardiovascular magnetic resonance studies of the UK Biobank (n = 16923). The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was the primary analytical method used, and was complemented with the MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, weighted mode, and MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods. Sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the robustness of the results. CRP was significantly associated with the LV mass in the IVW method (ß = -0.13 g [95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 g-1.00 g], P = .046). A higher standard deviation of genetically-predicted CRP levels was associated with a 0.13 ±â€…0.06 g lower LV mass. No causal relationships of IL-6 and MPO with LV parameters were found. No evidence of heterogeneity and pleiotropy was detected. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. Two-sample MR analysis revealed a causal association between increased CRP level and decreased LV mass, whereas IL-6 and MPO levels did not influence the LV parameters. However, further research is required to validate our findings.

Efficacy and Safety of Pharmacokinetically-Driven Dosing of Mycophenolate Mofetil for the Treatment of Pediatric Proliferative Lupus Nephritis-A Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial (The Pediatric Lupus Nephritis Mycophenolate Mofetil Study).

Background: The safety and efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for lupus nephritis (LN) treatment is established in adults and in some children. MMF is rapidly converted to the biologically active metabolite mycophenolic acid (MPA) whose pharmacokinetics (PK) is characterized by large inter- and intra-individual variability. Methods/Design: This randomized, double-blind, active comparator, controlled clinical trial of pediatric subjects with proliferative LN compares pharmacokinetically-guided precision-dosing of MMF (MMFPK, i.e. the dose is adjusted to the target area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-12h) of MPA ≥ 60-70 mg*h/L) and MMF dosed per body surface area (MMFBSA, i.e. MMF dosed 600 mg/m2 body surface area), with MMF dosage taken about 12 hours apart. At baseline, subjects are randomized 1:1 to receive blinded treatment with MMFPK or MMFBSA for up to 53 weeks. The primary outcome is partial clinical remission of LN (partial renal response, PRR) at week 26, and the major secondary outcome is complete renal response (CRR) at week 26. Subjects in the MMFBSA arm with PRR at week 26 will receive MMFPK from week 26 onwards, while subjects with CRR will continue MMFBSA or MMFPK treatment until week 53. Subjects who achieve PRR at week 26 are discontinued from study intervention. Discussion: The Pediatric Lupus Nephritis Mycophenolate Mofetil (PLUMM) study will provide a thorough evaluation of the PK of MMF in pediatric LN patients, yielding a head-to-head comparison of MMFBSA and MMFPK for both safety and efficacy. This study has the potential to change current treatment recommendations for pediatric LN, thereby significantly impacting childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) disease prognosis and current clinical practice.

High-frequency vibration of beveled crystal plates by using subregional geometric fitting method.

The beveling process is an important process in the manufacturing of resonators, which has a significant impact on the frequency stability of resonators. Without understanding the frequency characteristics of the resonator after beveling, it is impossible to accurately design the beveled resonators. Thus, in order to investigate the vibration characteristics of AT-cut beveled resonators, we investigated the high-frequency vibration in this work by using the subregional geometric fitting method (SGFM) based on Mindlin's plate theory. Quartz crystal plates with nonuniform thicknesses are partitioned into three regions and each region is fitted by using the polynomial functions based on the measured geometric morphology data. The governing equations are obtained based on Mindlin's two-dimensional theory and the coupled vibrations are further solved using the partial differential equation module of COMSOL. In the numerical calculation, we compare the results obtained by the SGFM with those obtained by the global fitting method and the measured data. The accuracy and effectiveness of the SGFM are also verified. It is found that the frequencies obtained by the SGFM are slightly higher than the frequencies obtained by the global fitting method, and the results of SGFM are closer to the measured results. Meanwhile, as the beveling time increases, the frequency increases and the energy trapping effect becomes more significant. The proposed method can significantly improve the computational efficiency of thickness-shear vibration while ensuring accuracy. It is expected to provide a new geometric fitting method for the analysis of beveled crystal resonators.

Experimental Evaluation of Performance of a Low-Initial-Viscosity Gel Flooding System.

In order to effectively adjust reservoir heterogeneity and further exploit the remaining oil, a new type of low-viscosity gel was prepared by adding a regulating agent, retarder, and reinforcing agent on the basis of a polymer + Cr3+ crosslinking system. The new gel has the advantages of low initial viscosity, a slow gel formation rate, and high strength after gel formation. The effectiveness of the gel was verified through three-layer core displacement experiments, and the injection scheme was optimized by changing the slug combination of the polymer and the gel. The results showed that the gel can effectively block the high-permeability layer and adjust reservoir heterogeneity. An injection of 0.1 pore volume (PV) low-initial-viscosity gel can improve oil recovery by 5.10%. By changing the slug combination of the gel and polymer, oil recovery was further increased by 3.12% when using an injection of 0.07 PV low-initial-viscosity gel +0.2 PV high-concentration polymer +0.05 PV low-initial-viscosity gel +0.5 PV high-concentration polymer.

Geraniol (GER) attenuated chronic sleep restriction (CSR)-induced neuroinflammation in adolescent mice.

Sleep insufficiency is a significant health problem worldwide, and adolescent sleep restriction (SR) could induce multiple neurodevelopmental disorders in the central nervous system (CNS). Microglial-mediated neuroinflammation plays a vital role in multiple neurological diseases, and recent research showed the regulation effect of immunoproteasome on microglia functions. Geraniol (GER), an important ingredient in many essential oils, possesses diverse pharmacological properties like anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. The present study was designed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of GER on SR in adolescent mice and further investigate the underlying mechanisms. Our results displayed that 14 days of chronic sleep restriction (CSR) induced cognitive decline, and anxiety-like and attention-deficit behaviors, which were mitigated by GER pretreatment. GER administration also reversed microglial pro-inflammatory response under CSR stimulation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions by reducing the expression and secretion of cytokines like IL-1ß and TNF-α. Mechanism research showed that LMP7 mRNA was selectively up-regulated under CSR treatment but down-regulated by GER administration. Proteasome activity and protein expression of LMP7 were consistent with mRNA data. ONX-0914 was applied to inhibit LMP7 selectively, and data validated that GER might alleviate CSR-induced neuroinflammation by regulating LMP7. Our study provides evidence that LMP7 is a critical regulator of CSR-induced proinflammation, and geraniol might be a promising therapy against CSR-induced neurodevelopmental disorders.

Development and Validation of a User Friendly Morphology Grading System (PATENT) Predicting Aortic Remodelling After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair in High Risk Uncomplicated Type B Aortic Dissection.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to create a morphology grading system, solely based on 2D images from computed tomography angiography, to predict negative aortic remodelling (NAR) for patients with high risk uncomplicated type B aortic dissection (TBAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). METHODS: This single centre retrospective cohort study extracted and analysed consecutive patients diagnosed with high risk uncomplicated TBAD. Negative aortic remodelling was defined as an increase in the diameter of a false lumen or total aorta, or decrease in the diameter of a true lumen. The multivariate Cox regression model identified risk factors and a prediction model was created for two year freedom from NAR. A three category grading system, in which patients were classified into low, medium, and high risk groups, was further developed and internally validated. RESULTS: Of 351 patients included, 99 (28%) of them developed NAR. The median age was 52 years (interquartile range 45, 62 years) and 56 of them (16%) were female. The rate of two year freedom from NAR was 71% (95% CI 65 - 77%). After the multivariate Cox regression analysis, Patent false lumen, Aberrant right subclavian artery, Taper ratio, abdominal circumferential Extent, coeliac artery or reNal artery involved, and four channelled dissection (Three false lumens) remained independent predictors and were included in the PATENT grading system. The risk score was significantly associated with NAR (HR 1.21; 95% CI 1.14 - 1.29; p < .001). The medium and high risk groups demonstrated a higher rate of NAR (medium risk, HR 2.82; 95% CI 1.57 - 5.01; p = .001; high risk, HR 4.39; 95% CI 2.58 - 7.48; p < .001). The grading system was characterised by robust discrimination with Harrell's C index of 0.68 (95% CI 0.63 - 0.75). CONCLUSION: The PATENT grading system was characterised with good discrimination and calibration, which may serve as a clinician friendly tool to aid in risk stratification for TBAD patients after TEVAR.

Effects of acetylcysteine on micro-inflammation and pulmonary ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a serious complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often characterized by increased morbidity and mortality. In traditional Chinese medicine, AECOPD is linked to phlegm-heat and blood-stasis, presenting symptoms like thick sputum, fever, and chest pain. It has been shown that acetylcysteine inhalation in conjunction with conventional therapy significantly reduced inflammatory markers and improved lung function parameters in patients with AECOPD, suggesting that acetylcysteine may be an important adjunctive therapy for patients with phlegm-heat-blood stasis type AECOPD. AIM: To investigate the effect of acetylcysteine on microinflammation and lung ventilation in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD. METHODS: One hundred patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group received acetylcysteine inhalation (10% solution, 5 mL, twice daily) along with conventional therapy, whereas the control group received only conventional therapy. The treatment duration was 14 d. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) in the serum and sputum as well as lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity, and peak expiratory flow) were assessed pre- and post-treatment. Acetylcysteine inhalation led to significant reductions in inflammatory markers and improvements in lung function parameters compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05). This suggests that acetylcysteine could serve as an effective adjunct therapy for patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD. RESULTS: Acetylcysteine inhalation significantly reduced inflammatory markers in the serum and sputum and improved lung ventilation function parameters in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis type AECOPD compared with the control group. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The study concluded that acetylcysteine inhalation had a positive effect on microinflammation and lung ventilation function in patients with this type of AECOPD, suggesting its potential as an adjuvant therapy for such cases. CONCLUSION: Acetylcysteine inhalation demonstrated significant improvements in reducing inflammatory markers in the serum and sputum, as well as enhancing lung ventilation function parameters in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis type AECOPD. These findings suggest that acetylcysteine could serve as a valuable adjuvant therapy for individuals with this specific type of AECOPD, offering benefits for managing microinflammation and optimizing lung function.

A novel small RNA PhaS contributes to polymyxin B-heteroresistance in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

In recent years, polymyxin has been used as a last-resort therapy for carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections. The emergence of heteroresistance (HR) to polymyxin hampers the efficacy of polymyxin treatment by amplifying resistant subpopulation. However, the mechanisms behind polymyxin HR remain unclear. Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) play an important role in regulating drug resistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of sRNA on polymyxin B (PB)-HR in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. In this study, a novel sRNA PhaS was identified by transcriptome sequencing. PhaS expression was elevated in the PB heteroresistant subpopulation. Overexpression and deletion of PhaS were constructed in three carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strains. Population analysis profiling, growth curve, and time-killing curve analysis showed that PhaS enhanced PB-HR. In addition, we verified that PhaS directly targeted phoP through the green fluorescent protein reporter system. PhaS promoted the expression of phoP, thereby encouraging the expression of downstream genes pmrD and arnT. This upregulation of arnT promoted the 4-amino-4-deoxyL-arabinosaccharide (L-Ara4N) modification of lipid A in PhaS overexpressing strains, thus enhancing PB-HR. Further, within the promoter region of PhaS, specific PhoP recognition sites were identified. ONPG assays and RT-qPCR analysis confirmed that PhaS expression was positively modulated by PhoP and thus up-regulated by PB stimulation. To sum up, a novel sRNA enhancing PB-HR was identified and a positive feedback regulatory pathway of sRNA-PhoP/Q was demonstrated in the study. This helps to provide a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind polymyxin HR in carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae.

Pantothenate-encapsulated liposomes combined with exercise for effective inhibition of CRM1-mediated PKM2 translocation in Alzheimer's therapy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative condition characterized by metabolic imbalances and neuroinflammation, posing a formidable challenge in medicine due to the lack of effective treatments. Despite considerable research efforts, a cure for AD remains elusive, with current therapies primarily focused on symptom management rather than addressing the disease's underlying causes. This study initially discerned, through Mendelian randomization analysis that elevating pantothenate levels significantly contributes to the prophylaxis of Alzheimer's disease. We explore the therapeutic potential of pantothenate encapsulated in liposomes (Pan@TRF@Liposome NPs), targeting the modulation of CRM1-mediated PKM2 nuclear translocation, a critical mechanism in AD pathology. Additionally, we investigate the synergistic effects of exercise, proposing a combined approach to AD treatment. Exercise-induced metabolic alterations share significant similarities with those associated with dementia, suggesting a potential complementary effect. The Pan@TRF@Liposome NPs exhibit notable biocompatibility, showing no liver or kidney toxicity in vivo, while demonstrating stability and effectiveness in modulating CRM1-mediated PKM2 nuclear translocation, thereby reducing neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis. The combined treatment of exercise and Pan@TRF@Liposome NP administration in an AD animal model leads to improved neurofunctional outcomes and cognitive performance. These findings highlight the nanoparticles' role as effective modulators of CRM1-mediated PKM2 nuclear translocation, with significant implications for mitigating neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis. Together with exercise, this dual-modality approach could offer new avenues for enhancing cognitive performance and neurofunctional outcomes in AD, marking a promising step forward in developing treatment strategies for this challenging disorder.

A Review of Diamond Materials and Applications in Power Semiconductor Devices.

Diamond is known as the ultimate semiconductor material for electric devices with excellent properties such as an ultra-wide bandgap (5.47 eV), high carrier mobility (electron mobility 4000 cm2/V·s, hole mobility 3800 cm2/V·s), high critical breakdown electric field (20 MV/cm), and high thermal conductivity (22 W/cm·K), showing good prospects in high-power applications. The lack of n-type diamonds limits the development of bipolar devices; most of the research focuses on p-type Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) and unipolar field-effect transistors (FETs) based on terminal technology. In recent years, breakthroughs have been made through the introduction of new structures, dielectric materials, heterogeneous epitaxy, etc. Currently, diamond devices have shown promising applications in high-power applications, with a BV of 10 kV, a BFOM of 874.6 MW/cm2, and a current density of 60 kA/cm2 already realized. This review summarizes the research progress of diamond materials, devices, and specific applications, with a particular focus on the development of SBDs and FETs and their use in high-power applications, aiming to provide researchers with the relevant intuitive parametric comparisons. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on the parameters and development directions of diamond power devices.

Transplanting mitochondria from gastric epithelial cells reduces the malignancy of gastric cancer.

Mitochondria are essential for energy supplementation and metabolic homeostasis of cancer cells. Using mitochondria transplantation to reduce the malignancy of gastric cancer (GC) cells is herein proposed. In our study normal human gastric mucous epithelium cell line (GES-1) showed a lower mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) compared to immortalized human vascular endothelial cell line (EAhy 926) and human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS). The transplantation of GES-1 mitochondria to AGS were confirmed both by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. After transplanting GES-1 mitochondria, the AGS showed a reduced cell migration, and invasion without affecting cell viability and apoptosis. Investigating the expression of proteins involved in epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT), transplanted GES-1 mitochondria reduced the expression of mesenchymal markers α-SMA, MMP-9, snail, vimentin and N-cadherin, whereas the epithelial markers E-cadherin and clauding-1 were not changed. The proteins implicated in the cell cycle such as cyclin B1 and D1 were decreased. In mice, inoculation with AGS carrying the transplanted GES-1 mitochondria resulted in smaller sized tumors. Further investigating the mitochondrial balance, the transplanted GES-1 mitochondria were more stably preserved compared to endogenous AGS mitochondria. The MMP, ATP production and mitochondrial mass decreased in GES-1 mitochondria and the mitophagic proteins LC3 II and PINK1 were up-regulated. In conclusion the decreased malignancy of AGS was a result of exogenous GES-1 mitochondria transplantation. This suggests for a therapy with low efficiency mitochondria transplantation in the treatment of cancer cells.

Genetic Variations of MSTN and Callipyge in Tibetan Sheep: Implications for Early Growth Traits.

Tibetan sheep are vital to the ecosystem and livelihood of the Tibetan Plateau; however, traditional breeding methods limit their production and growth. Modern molecular breeding techniques are required to improve these traits. This study identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in myostatin (MSTN) and Callipyge in Tibetan sheep. The findings indicated notable associations between MSTN genotypes and growth traits including birth weight (BW), body length (BL), chest width (ChW), and chest circumference (ChC), as well as a particularly strong association with cannon circumference (CaC) at 2 months of age. Conversely, Callipyge polymorphisms did not have a significant impact on Tibetan sheep. Moreover, the analyses revealed a significant association between sex and BW or hip width (HW) at 2 months of age and ChW, ChC, and CaC at 4 months of age. Furthermore, the study's results suggested that the genotype of MSTN as a GA was associated with a notable sex effect on BW, while the genotype of Callipyge (CC) showed a significant impact of sex on CaC at 2 months of age. These results indicated that the SNP of MSTN could potentially serve as a molecular marker for early growth traits in Tibetan sheep.

Recent design strategies for boosting chemodynamic therapy of bacterial infections.

The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria poses a significant threat to people's lives and health as bacterial infections continue to persist. Currently, antibiotic therapy remains the primary approach for tackling bacterial infections. However, the escalating rates of drug resistance coupled with the lag in the development of novel drugs have led to diminishing effectiveness of conventional treatments. Therefore, the development of nonantibiotic-dependent therapeutic strategies has become imperative to impede the rise of bacterial resistance. The emergence of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has opened up a new possibility due to the CDT can convert H2O2 into •OH via Fenton/Fenton-like reaction for drug-resistant bacterial treatment. However, the efficacy of CDT is limited by a variety of practical factors. To overcome this limitation, the sterilization efficiency of CDT can be enhanced by introducing the therapeutics with inherent antimicrobial capability. In addition, researchers have explored CDT-based combined therapies to augment its antimicrobial effects and mitigate its potential toxic side effects toward normal tissues. This review examines the research progress of CDT in the antimicrobial field, explores various strategies to enhance CDT efficacy and presents the synergistic effects of CDT in combination with other modalities. And last, the current challenges faced by CDT and the future research directions are discussed.

The carrier function and inhibition effect on benign prostatic hyperplasia of a glucan from Epimedium brevicornu Maxim.

Epimedium, a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used as a dietary supplement, contains polysaccharides and flavonoids as its main bioactive ingredients. In this study, a neutral homogeneous polysaccharide (EPSN-1) was isolated from Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. EPSN-1 was identified as a glucan with a backbone of →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, branched units comprised α-D-Glcp-(1→6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, ß-D-Glcp-(1→6)-ß-D-Glcp-(1→ and α-D-Glcp-(1→ connected to the C6 position of backbone. The conformation of EPSN-1 in aqueous solution indicated its potential to form nanoparticles. This paper aims to investigate the carrier and pharmacodynamic activity of EPSN-1. The findings demonstrated that, on the one hand, EPSN-1, as a functional ingredient, may load Icariin (ICA) through non-covalent interactions, improving its biopharmaceutical properties such as solubility and stability, thereby improving its intestinal absorption. Additionally, as an effective ingredient, EPSN-1 could help maintain the balance of the intestinal environment by increasing the abundance of Parabacteroides, Lachnospiraceae UGG-001, Anaeroplasma, and Eubacterium xylanophilum group, while decreasing the abundance of Allobaculum, Blautia, and Adlercreutzia. Overall, this dual action of EPSN-1 sheds light on the potential applications of natural polysaccharides, highlighting their dual role as carriers and contributors to biological activity.

Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in patients with symptoms of urinary tract infections: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Early and accurate diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) can prevent serious sequelae including chronic kidney disease. Multiple individual studies have identified urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) as a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of UTI. We sought to understand the distribution and diagnostic accuracy of uNGAL values in patients presenting with UTI symptoms. Methods: Our systematic literature reviews in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Reviews up to March 2024, identified 25 studies reporting mean/median, standard deviation/quartiles, and detection limits of uNGAL in symptomatic patients with and without culture-confirmed UTI. Seventeen studies were in children. Meta-analyses were performed using the quantile estimation (QE) method estimating the distributions of uNGAL, which were then compared between the UTI and non-UTI groups for identifying the best cut-off points maximizing the Youden index. Sensitivity analyses were performed on all 25 studies including adult patients. Results: We found that uNGAL levels were significantly higher in samples with confirmed UTI compared to those without. In pediatric studies, median and 95% confidence interval (CI) of uNGAL values were 22.41 (95% CI of 9.94, 50.54) ng/mL in non-UTI group vs. 118.85 (95% CI of 43.07, 327.97) ng/mL in UTI group. We estimated the cut-off point of 48.43 ng/mL with highest sensitivity (96%) and specificity (97%) in children. Sensitivity analysis including both pediatric and adult studies yielded similar results. Discussion: The level of uNGAL in symptomatic patients with confirmed UTI is much higher than that reported in patients without UTI. It may be used as a diagnostic tool to identify UTI early among symptomatic patients. The range of uNGAL concentrations and cut-off points reported in subjects with UTI is much lower than that reported in patients with acute intrinsic kidney injury. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/, PROSPERO (CRD42023370451).

Dispersion Behavior of a Droplet Impacting a Single Fiber.

The high-gravity reactor, known for its excellent mass transfer capability, plays a crucial role in the carbon capture process. The wire mesh packing serves as the core structure for enhancing mass transfer performance. Understanding the underlying dispersion mechanism requires a thorough exploration of the dynamics of droplet impact on a single fiber. This work aimed to numerically study the process of a droplet impacting a single fiber by applying the volume of fluid method. The effects of initial velocity (u0), initial diameter (D0), impact eccentric distance (e), and impact angle (θ) on the deformation evolution and dispersion characteristics of a droplet impacting a single fiber were systematically studied. Central or vertical impacts can be categorized into four main stages: splitting, merging, stretching, and breaking. Meanwhile, asynchronous breaking, sliding splitting, and oblique stages were observed during eccentric and nonvertical impacts. Subsequently, dimensionless time (t*) and the rate of increase of the gas-liquid interfacial area (η) were introduced to quantitatively analyze the dispersion characteristics postimpact. Increasing the initial velocity, reducing the droplet diameter, minimizing the impact eccentric distance, and maximizing the impact angle all contribute to enhanced dispersion performance. A correlation for the maximum increase rate of the gas-liquid interfacial area of the droplet was proposed, with errors less than ±15%. Finally, the deformation mechanism of droplet impact on a fiber was summarized by analyzing the influences of differential pressure inside and outside the liquid film, as well as gas vortices.

Centennial Records of Microplastics in Lake Cores in Huguangyan Maar Lake, China.

Microplastic records from lake cores can reconstruct the plastic pollution history. However, the associations between anthropogenic activities and microplastic accumulation are not well understood. Huguangyan Maar Lake (HML) is a deep-enclosed lake without inlets and outlets, where the sedimentary environment is ideal for preserving a stable and historical microplastic record. Microplastic (size: 10-500 µm) characteristics in the HML core were identified using the Laser Direct Infrared Imaging system. The earliest detectable microplastics appeared unit in 1955 (1.1 items g-1). The microplastic abundance ranged from n.d. to 615.2 items g-1 in 1955-2019 with an average of 134.9 items g-1. The abundance declined slightly during the 1970s and then increased rapidly after China's Reform and Opening Up in 1978. Sixteen polymer types were detectable, with polyethylene and polypropylene dominating, accounting for 23.5 and 23.3% of the total abundance, and the size at 10-100 µm accounted for 80%. Socioeconomic factors dominated the microplastic accumulation based on the random forest modeling, and the contributions of GDP per capita, plastic-related industry yield, and total crop yield were, respectively, 13.9, 35.1, and 9.3% between 1955-2019. The total crop yield contribution further increased by 1.7% after 1978. Coarse sediment particles increased with soil erosion exacerbated microplastics discharging into the sediment.

Fast-BEV: A Fast and Strong Bird's-Eye View Perception Baseline.

Recently, perception task based on Bird's-Eye View (BEV) representation has drawn more and more attention, and BEV representation is promising as the foundation for next-generation Autonomous Vehicle (AV) perception. However, most existing BEV solutions either require considerable resources to execute on-vehicle inference or suffer from modest performance. This paper proposes a simple yet effective framework, termed Fast-BEV, which is capable of performing faster BEV perception on the on-vehicle chips. Towards this goal, we first empirically find that the BEV representation can be sufficiently powerful without expensive transformer based transformation nor depth representation. Our Fast-BEV consists of five parts, We innovatively propose (1) a lightweight deploymentfriendly view transformation which fast transfers 2D image feature to 3D voxel space, (2) an multi-scale image encoder which leverages multi-scale information for better performance, (3) an efficient BEV encoder which is particularly designed to speed up on-vehicle inference. We further introduce (4) a strong data augmentation strategy for both image and BEV space to avoid over-fitting, (5) a multiframe feature fusion mechanism to leverage the temporal information. Among them, (1) and (3) enable Fast-BEV to be fast inference and deployment friendly on the on-vehicle chips, (2), (4) and (5) ensure that Fast-BEV has competitive performance. All these make Fast-BEV a solution with high performance, fast inference speed, and deployment-friendly on the on-vehicle chips of autonomous driving. Through experiments, on 2080Ti platform, our R50 model can run 52.6 FPS with 47.3% NDS on the nuScenes validation set, exceeding the 41.3 FPS and 47.5% NDS of the BEVDepth-R50 model [1] and 30.2 FPS and 45.7% NDS of the BEVDet4D-R50 model [2]. Our largest model (R101@900x1600) establishes a competitive 53.5% NDS on the nuScenes validation set. We further develop a benchmark with considerable accuracy and efficiency on current popular on-vehicle chips. The code is released at: https://github.com/Sense-GVT/FastBEV.