Management of fetal head and neck masses: Evaluation of prenatal factors associated with airway obstruction and decision for definitive airway and ex-utero intrapartum treatment at birth.

OBJECTIVE: Fetal head and neck masses can result in critical airway obstruction. Our study aimed to evaluate prenatal factors associated with the decision for a definitive airway, including ex-utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT), at birth among at-risk fetuses. METHODS: A single-institution retrospective review evaluated all fetal head and neck masses prenatally diagnosed from 2005 to 2023. The primary outcome was the decision for a definitive airway at birth, including intubation, tracheostomy, or EXIT. RESULTS: Thirty four patients were included, with 23 deliveries occurring at our institution. 8/23 (35%) patients received a definitive airway at birth, six underwent an EXIT procedure, and two required intubation only. Patients who received a definitive airway had higher rates of polyhydramnios (50% vs. 7%, p = 0.03), tracheal narrowing on ultrasound (US) (50% vs. 0%, p = 0.01), tracheal displacement on US (63% vs. 0%, p < 0.01), abnormal fetal breathing on US (50% vs. 0%, p = 0.01), tracheal narrowing or displacement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (75% vs. 7%, p < 0.01), and larger mass maximum diameter (7.9 vs. 4.3 cm, p = 0.02). In our series, 100% of patients with polyhydramnios, tracheal narrowing or displacement on either US or MRI, and abnormal fetal breathing on US received a definitive airway at birth. CONCLUSION: Prenatal findings of tracheal narrowing or displacement, polyhydramnios, and abnormal fetal breathing are strongly associated with the decision for a definitive airway at birth and warrant mobilization of appropriate resources.

Long-term outcomes after aortic root replacement for bicuspid aortic valve-associated aneurysm.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with congenital bicuspid aortic valve often require root replacement. This study aims to describe their long-term rates of mortality and reoperation. METHODS: This is a multicenter retrospective study of 747 patients with bicuspid aortic valve who underwent aortic root replacement for aortic aneurysm between 2004 and 2020. Cumulative incidence curves for aortic valve and aortic reoperations were graphed. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve for the patient cohort was created alongside an age- and sex-matched curve for the US population. Multivariable Cox regression was used to determine characteristics associated with long-term mortality. RESULTS: The median age of our cohort was 54 [43-64] years old, and 101 (13.5%) patients were female. In patients with bicuspid aortic valve dysfunction, 274 (36.7%) had aortic insufficiency, 187 (25.0%) had aortic stenosis, and 142 (19.0%) had both. In-hospital mortality occurred in 10 (1.3%) patients. There were 56 aortic valve reoperations and 19 aortic reoperations, with a combined cumulative incidence of 35% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23%-46%) at 15 years. In addition, there was comparable survival between the patient cohort and the age- and sex-matched US population. Age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06), concomitant CABG (HR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.29-4.04), and bypass time (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01) were associated with increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo aortic root replacement with bicuspid aortic valve have an increased rate of aortic reoperation (35%; 95% CI, 23%-46%) while their survival appears to be comparable to the general US population (79%; 95% CI, 73%-87%) at 15 years.

CCUS development in China and forecast its contribution to emission reduction.

Nowadays environmental issues have been of great concern to the world, among which the problem of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions is particularly prominent. All countries in the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement have committed to control greenhouse gas emissions, and China, as the largest carbon emitter, has assumed a heavier burden. China has been striving to develop low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen, nuclear, wind, and solar energy, but the most attention should be paid to CCUS, which many scholars have high expectations that CCUS can help China reduce emissions to some extent. Therefore, this paper presents a prediction that CCUS can reduce 3.8% of carbon emissions for China in 2040 when CCUS emission reductions increase at a rate of 30%. The power and chemical industries could reduce carbon emissions by 2.3% and 17.3%, respectively.

Prediction of lithium-ion battery SOC based on the fusion of MHA and ConvolGRU.

If the charging state of the lithium-ion battery can be accurately predicted, overcharge and overdischarge of the battery can be avoided, and the service life of the battery can be improved. In order to improve the prediction accuracy of SOC, a prediction method combined with convolutional layer, multi-head attention mechanism and gated cycle unit is proposed to extract data feature information from different dimensions of space and time. Using the data set of the University of Maryland, we simulated the battery in real vehicle operating conditions at different temperatures (0 °C, 25 °C, 45 °C). The test results showed that the mean absolute error, root mean square error and maximum prediction error of the model were 0.53%, 0.67% and 0.4% respectively. The results show that the model can predict SOC accurately. At the same time, the comparison with other prediction models shows that the prediction accuracy of this model is the highest.

A novel CNTs functionalized CeO2/CNTs-GAC catalyst with high NO conversion and SO2 tolerance for low temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3.

Low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 (NH3-SCR) for diminishing SO2 poisoning remains an issue in flue gas denitrification (DeNOx). Herein, A novel CNTs functionalized low temperature NH3-SCR catalyst CeO2/CNTs-GAC was prepared, which showed high NO conversion activity (100% at 150 °C) and SO2 resistance. The addition of CNTs restrained SO2 adsorption but improved the selective adsorption of NO, which restricted the deposition of (NH4)2SO4 and/or Ce2(SO4)3, and resulted in high SO2 resistance. The addition of CNTs facilitated the diffusion and transportation of NH3 and NO, and the electron transfer on CeO2/CNTs-GAC, leading to higher content of Ce3+ and adsorbed O species on the CeO2/CNTs-GAC surface and promoted formation of surface-adsorbed oxygen OA. Therefore, CeO2/CNTs-GAC provided abundant NO adsorption and activation sites, facilitating "fast SCR" reaction and enhancing the NH3-SCR reaction. The proposed CeO2/CNTs-GAC catalyst exhibited higher NH3-SCR activity, N2 selectivity, catalytic durability and SO2 resistance than CeO2/GAC.

Facile synthesis of novel 3D flower-like magnetic La@Fe/C composites from ilmenite for efficient phosphate removal from aqueous solution.

In this study, a novel 3D flower-like La@Fe/C magnetic composite was successfully synthesized by carbothermal reduction of ilmenite via microwave radiation. The physico-chemical properties of the composite were investigated. The results showed that La@Fe/C features a 3D flower-like morphology with an S BET and V mic of 114 m2 g-1 and 0.017 cm3 g-1, respectively. Zerovalent iron and metal oxides were detected by XRD and XPS on the surface of the adsorbent, which formed as a result of carbothermal reduction of ilmenite using coconut shell-based carbon followed by the introduction of lanthanum. This resultant magnetic La@Fe/C exhibited remarkable phosphate selectivity performance even in the presence of a 50-fold excess of competing ions, which is superior to the pristine ilmenite and coconut activated carbon. Adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics fitted well with the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model, respectively. A thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption of phosphate was spontaneous and endothermic. The adsorption-regeneration cyclic experiments of the La@Fe/C composite demonstrated a good level of recyclability. These results indicated that carbothermal reduction of ilmenite followed by the introduction of lanthanum could result in highly efficient and recoverable magnetic particles for the removal of phosphate from wastewater.

Low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO x with NH3 over an activated carbon-carbon nanotube composite material prepared by in situ method.

Ce-supported activated carbon-carbon nanotube composite (Ce/AC-CNTs) catalyst was prepared by in situ formation of CNTs on AC and then modified by Ce. This Ce/AC-CNTs catalyst was subsequently used for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO x with NH3 (NH3-SCR). The NO conversion of Ce/AC-CNTs was 1.41 times higher than that of Ce/AC at 150 °C with good SO2 tolerance. The catalysts were analyzed by N2 physisorption, SEM, XRD, NH3-TPD, XPS, and Raman technologies. The results showed that the introduction of CNTs could form new mesopores and increase the amount of surface chemisorbed oxygen and acid sites, which all contribute to the high NH3-SCR activity.

Role of vascular endothelial growth factor in the breakdown of the blood-aqueous barrier after retinal laser photocoagulation in pigmented rabbits.

PURPOSE: Retinal laser photocoagulation is used to treat a variety of retinal diseases. Breakdown of the blood-aqueous barrier has been noted after retinal laser photocoagulation. The effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the function of the blood-aqueous barrier after retinal laser photocoagulation remains undetermined. The current study was designed to evaluate the relationship between intraocular levels of VEGF and breakdown of the blood-aqueous barrier after retinal laser photocoagulation in rabbits. METHODS: Pigmented rabbits were treated with retinal laser photocoagulation in one eye; the other served as control. Laser flare photometry was carried out on post-treatment days 1, 3, 7, and 14. Animals were sacrificed at the time period just mentioned postlaser, the eyes were removed, and samples of vitreous and aqueous humor were collected. Intraocular VEGF levels were measured by using an immunoassay. An intravitreal injection of VEGF was administered, and the aqueous flare intensity and VEGF levels in the aqueous and vitreous humor were measured at the time periods just mentioned. RESULTS: A significant increase in the aqueous flare intensity after retinal laser photocoagulation was noticed on postoperative day 1, with the values returning to baseline levels on day 14. The VEGF levels in the vitreous of the lasered eyes were significantly increased on day 1 compared with the nonlasered control eyes. The VEGF levels in the aqueous humor of the lasered eyes were also significantly increased on day 1 compared with the control eyes. An intravitreal injection of VEGF induced a significant increase in the aqueous flare intensity and VEGF levels in the aqueous and vitreous humor. CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggested that retinal laser photocoagulation can produce a breakdown of the blood-aqueous barrier. VEGF may play a role in the blood-aqueous barrier dysfunction after retinal laser photocoagulation.