Search Results (203,676)

In the context of an ultrafast laser interacting with solids, temperature plays a special role in the transformation processes. Some of these processes can be thermally activated, while others can be either solely driven or constrained by temperature—such as refractive index change (fictive temperature), nanopore erasure, micro-bubble formation, and phase transition-like crystallization. The objective of this paper is to use a recently developed analytic approximation to understand the limitations imposed by the spatial temperature distribution and its evolution over the writing time, based on the key laser parameter combinations, and subsequently determine the boundary conditions of these parameters. Full article

Pervious concrete is a promising sustainable pavement material for sponge city construction. The incorporation of Steel Slag Aggregate (SSA) as a substitute for natural aggregates has the double role of clean production with significant economic and environmental benefits. While the strength and permeability, known as two critical design parameters of pervious concrete, are closely linked to its porosity, there is limited research on the influence of the porosity on the mechanical properties of pervious concrete. In this paper, both experimental and numerical investigations were performed, focusing on the influence of target porosity on the strength and permeability of pervious concrete with and without SSA. Three different target porosities (15%, 20%, and 25%), five distinct water-to-cement (w/c) ratios (0.25, 0.28, 0.30, 0.33, and 0.35), and five SSA replacement ratios (0, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were considered in this study. A two-dimensional (2D) finite-element (FE) model was developed, with which the failure mode and the strength variation of pervious concrete under different target porosities were analyzed and verified with the experimental results. The results showed that the porosity had a significant influence on both the strength and permeability of pervious concrete, while the influence of the w/c ratio is marginal. There existed an optimal w/c ratio of 0.3, for which pervious concrete with porosities of 15%, 20%, and 25% achieved 28-day compressive strengths of 27.8, 20.6, and 15.6 MPa and permeability coefficients of 0.32, 0.58, and 1.02 cm/s, respectively. Specifically, at the lowest porosity of 15%, the replacement of 100% SSA resulted in the largest improvement in the compressive strength up to 37.86%. Based on the regression analysis, a series of empirical equations correlating the porosity, strength and permeability of pervious concrete was formulated and validated against the experimental data. The findings presented herein are expected to provide references to the practical evaluation of the optimal mix proportion of previous concrete, considering specific and demanding engineering requirements. Full article

Existing CO₂ leakage risk assessment frameworks for CO₂ capture, geological storage and utilization (CCUS) projects face limitations due to subjective biases and poor adaptability to long-term scale sequestration. This study proposed a dynamic risk assessment method for CO₂ leakage based on a timeliness analysis of different leakage paths and accurate time-dependent numerical simulations, and it was applied to the first CO₂ enhanced gas recovery (CCUS-EGR) pilot project of China in the Maokou carbonate gas reservoir in the Wolonghe gas field. A 3D geological model of the Maokou gas reservoir was first developed and validated. The CO₂ leakage risk under different scenarios including wellbore failure, caprock fracturing, and new fracture activation were evaluated. The dynamic CO₂ leakage risk of the CCUS-EGR project was then quantified using the developed method and numerical simulations. The results revealed that the CO₂ leakage risk was observed to be the most pronounced when the caprock integrity was damaged by faults or geologic activities. This was followed by leakage caused by wellbore failures. However, fracture activation in the reservoir plays a neglected role in CO₂ leakage. The CO₂ leakage risk and critical risk factors dynamically change with time. In the short term (at 5 years), the project has a low risk of CO₂ leakage, and well stability and existing faults are the major risk factors. In the long term (at 30 years), special attention should be paid to the high permeable area due to its high CO₂ leakage risk. Factors affecting the spatial distribution of CO₂, such as the reservoir permeability and porosity, alternately dominate the leakage risk. This study established a method bridging gaps in the ability to accurately predict long-term CO₂ leakage risks and provides a valuable reference for the security implementation of other similar CCUS-EGR projects. Full article

As a crucial vehicle for advancing the transition to a green low-carbon economy, the green supply chain plays a pivotal role in alleviating pollution pressures and facilitating the green transformation of products. Existing studies mainly focus on static optimization and cost coordination in green supply chains, with limited attention to the dynamic impact of consumer behavior on green production and channel coordination. Based on consumer green preferences and the evolution of reference prices, we developed a differential game model for a two-tier green supply chain composed of a manufacturer and a retailer. The model incorporates green goodwill and consumer memory variables to capture the dynamic interaction among product greenness, sales effort, and consumer perception. By comparing the dynamic optimal response paths under integrated and non-integrated strategies, the study analyzes how reference price effects and goodwill accumulation influence decision-making and system performance. The results show that the stable reference price of green products is significantly higher than the actual selling price. When consumer environmental awareness is strong, cooperative strategies can markedly improve both green performance and supply chain profits, offering potential for Pareto improvement. This research enhances behavior-oriented modeling in green supply chains and provides theoretical and empirical support for designing collaboration mechanisms in green product promotion. Full article

Although rectal temperature is reliable, its measurement requires manual handling and causes stress to animals. IRT provides a non-contact alternative but often ignores bilateral eye temperature differences. This study presents an E-S-YOLO11n model for the automated detection of the binocular regions of sheep, which achieves remarkable performance with a precision of 98.2%, recall of 98.5%, mAP@0.5 of 99.40%, F₁ score of 98.35%, FPS of 322.58 frame/s, parameters of 7.27 M, model size of 3.97 MB, and GFLOPs of 1.38. Right and left eye temperatures exhibit a strong correlation (r = 0.8076, p < 0.0001), However, the eye temperatures show only very weak correlation with rectal temperature (right eye: r = 0.0852; left eye: r = −0.0359), and neither figure reaches statistical significance. Rectal temperature is 7.37% and 7.69% higher than the right and left eye temperatures, respectively. Additionally, the right eye temperature is slightly higher than the left eye (p < 0.01). The study demonstrates the feasibility of combining IRT and deep learning for non-invasive eye temperature monitoring, although environmental factors may limit it as a proxy for rectal temperature. These results support the development of efficient thermal monitoring tools for precision animal husbandry. Full article

Objectives: To evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of TiAB, a compound based on silver-bound titanium dioxide, against clinical isolates from dermatological infections. Methods: We tested 155 strains clinically isolated from ulcers and skin infections, including MRSA, ESBL-producing Enterobacterales, and P. aeruginosa. MIC and MBC values were determined using broth microdilution according to CLSI guidelines. Time-kill assays were performed at 0.5×, 1×, and 2× MIC. Median values were used to describe susceptibility profiles. Results: TiAB exhibited strong bactericidal activity against Gram-negative bacteria, including ESBL-positive E. coli and K. pneumoniae, with complete killing at 2× MIC (4–8%) within 4–8 h. Gram-positive pathogens exhibited higher MICs (≥8%) and limited response within 24 h; however, extending exposure to 48 h resulted in enhanced activity. Conclusions: TiAB exhibited in vitro bactericidal activity with median MIC values ranging from 1% to 2% (w/v) against Gram-negative clinical isolates such as E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and 2% to 4% against Gram-positive strains including MRSA. Time-kill assays confirmed ≥3 log₁₀ CFU/mL reductions for Gram-negative bacteria at 2× MIC within 24 h. These results suggest TiAB’s potential as a topical antimicrobial agent, though further in vivo studies are needed to validate its safety and efficacy. Full article

This study compared the effectiveness of the Sequencing Batch Biofilter Granular Reactor (SBBGR) plant with and without the integration of ozone (BIO-CHEM process) in the remediation of medium-aged landfill leachate. Special attention is given to the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a group of bioaccumulative and persistent pollutants. The findings highlight the high SBBGR performance under biological process only for key wastewater contaminants, with 82% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), 86% for total nitrogen, and 98% for ammonia. Moderate removal was observed for total (TSS) and volatile (VSS) suspended solids (41% and 44%, respectively), while phosphorus and colour removal remained limited. Remarkably, the SBBGR process achieved complete removal of long-chain PFAS, while its performance declined for shorter-chain PFAS. BIO-CHEM process significantly improved COD (87.7%), TSS (84.6%), VSS (86.7%), and colour (92–96%) removal. Conversely, ozonation led to an unexpected increase in the concentrations of several PFAS in the effluent, suggesting ozone-induced desorption from the biomass. SBBGR treatment was characterised by a low specific sludge production (SSP) value, i.e., 5–6 times less than that of conventional biological processes. SSP was further reduced during the application of the BIO-CHEM process. A key finding of this study is a critical challenge for PFAS removal in this combined treatment approach, different from other ozone-based methods. Full article

Conducting scientific research in craniomaxillofacial surgery presents distinct challenges, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. This study aimed to assess research interests, barriers, and support needs among surgeons in the region through an anonymous online survey conducted via Google Forms from 12 to 31 May 2025, with 169 responses collected. The survey included 13 structured questions and an open-ended comment section. Findings were compared with a similar survey done in Latin America in 2024, to identify regional differences. The results revealed a significant gap in research participation, with 18.3% of Asia Pacific respondents having no publications, unlike Latin America, where all had at least one. Familiarity and participation in the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen Program for Education and Excellence in Research (AO PEER) were lower in Asia Pacific (29% and 6.5%), and greater challenges were reported in establishing topics, research methodology, and data collection. Although interest was high, only 42% conducted research frequently, and 90.5% indicated a need for mentorship. Despite higher awareness of AO grant opportunities (58%), barriers, like inadequate support for scientific research, lack of training, and limited time, persist. These findings highlight the need for AO Craniomaxillofacial surgery (AOCMF) to implement targeted strategies, such as research training, mentorship, promotion of funding opportunities, and support for multi-center collaborations, to enhance research participation across the region. Full article

Background: The emergence and spread of the tigecycline resistance gene tet(A)-v1 in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) poses significant public health challenges. However, the prevalence of tet(A)-v1-positive CRKP, especially in pediatric patients, remains poorly understood. This study aims to address the gap by performing an in-depth analysis of isolates collected from a children’s hospital in China. Methods: A 4-year retrospective study was conducted in the children’s hospital in Suzhou, China. Non-duplicated specimens were obtained from pediatric patients, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were assessed. Whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics analyses were conducted to characterize the genetic background, antimicrobial resistance determinants, hypervirulence-associated genes, diversity of tet(A)-v1-carrying plasmids, the genetic environment of tet(A)-v1, and the potential for clonal transmission. Conjugative transferability of tet(A)-v1-carrying plasmids was also evaluated via conjugation assays. Results: Of the 73 tet(A)-v1-positive CRKP isolates from pediatric patients, 10.96% were non-susceptible to tigecycline. These isolates exhibited high genetic diversity, spanning across 13 STs (sequence types), with ST17 being predominant. Three carbapenemases were identified, with IMP being the most common. Isolates from diverse backgrounds, such as ST17, ST20, ST323, ST792, and ST3157, demonstrated evidence of clonal transmission. The tet(A)-v1 gene was located on 14 distinct plasmids across seven replicon types, with IncFIA/IncHI1 and IncFII being most commonly detected. All tet(A)-v1-carrying plasmids were multidrug-resistant, and 68.49% were conjugatively transferable, indicating a high potential for horizontal transfer. Four genetic contexts bordering tet(A)-v1 were identified, which points to active clonal dissemination. Conclusions: Although limited to a single hospital, this study represents one of the first in-depth investigations of tet(A)-v1-positive CRKP in pediatric patients, providing valuable insights into the prevalence and spread of tet(A)-v1 in this vulnerable group. These findings emphasize the urgent need for enhanced surveillance and infection control measures to curb the spread of tet(A)-v1-positive CRKP in pediatric healthcare environments, offering critical insights to mitigate its public health impact. Full article

(1) Background: Prematurity remains a leading contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality, with long-term consequences that extend well beyond the neonatal period. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify key maternal, perinatal, and neonatal factors that influence the short- and long-term evolution of preterm infants. It also seeks to evaluate the level of post-discharge follow-up care, parental involvement during NICU hospitalization, access to supportive therapies such as physiotherapy and RSV prophylaxis, and the impact of breastfeeding practices. Additionally, the study explores parental awareness and use of recent national initiatives in Romania, such as the “Premature and Vulnerable Newborn’s Notebook”. (2) Methods: A total of 360 mothers of preterm infants born between 2001 and 2025 responded to a structured questionnaire assessing clinical characteristics, NICU care, parental involvement, and post-discharge support. (3) Results: The findings indicate that assisted reproduction and pregnancy plurality were associated with higher maternal age, while vaginal delivery was associated with lower gestational age at birth. Notably, only 25% of infants were enrolled in structured follow-up programs, and a large proportion of families relied on private services for physical therapy. Kangaroo mother care was reported by just 16.4% of mothers. While breastfeeding rates improved after discharge, access to multidisciplinary follow-up and public physiotherapy remains limited. Encouragingly, most mothers endorsed the proposed national initiative for a “Premature and Vulnerable Newborn’s Notebook.” (4) Conclusions: This study underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive national follow-up strategy to ensure equitable and continuous care for Romania’s vulnerable preterm population. Full article

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease with limited treatment options focused primarily on symptom management. Emerging evidence suggests that dietary interventions may influence inflammation and pain through modulation of the gut microbiome and metabolome. Methods: We conducted a 4-week open-label pilot trial evaluating the effects of an anti-inflammatory dietary intervention (ITIS diet) in 20 patients with knee OA (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05559463, registered prior to enrollment; sponsor: University of California, San Diego; responsible party: Monica Guma; study start date: 1 October 2021). The following were assessed before and after the intervention: (1) clinical outcomes; (2) gut and salivary microbiomes; and (3) salivary, stool, and plasma metabolomes. Responders were defined as patients achieving ≥30% reduction in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain scores. Results: The ITIS diet was well-tolerated, with good adherence (66.2%) and a significant improvement in clinical outcomes, including reduced pain and improved overall health measured with the visual analog scale (VAS). Responders (n = 8) showed distinct gut microbiome and metabolome profiles compared to non-responders (n = 12). Notably, taxa within the Lachnospiraceae family exhibited dynamic, bidirectional shifts post-intervention: Anaerostipes and Limivivens were enriched among responders and negatively correlated with pain scores, while Oliverpabstia and Fusicatenibacter were depleted following dietary intervention. These taxa also showed strong correlations with anti-inflammatory metabolites, including hydroxydecanoic acid derivatives and pyridoxine. Furthermore, subsequent network analysis revealed more structured and selective microbiome–metabolome interactions in responders, specifically post-intervention. Conclusions: This pilot study shows that a short-term anti-inflammatory dietary intervention was associated with meaningful changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome. Members of the Lachnospiraceae family emerged as key taxa associated with pain reduction and anti-inflammatory metabolite production. Our findings suggest that specific microbial responses—rather than global diversity changes—may underlie dietary responsiveness in OA. Although exploratory and limited by sample size, our results support further investigation into personalized, microbiome-informed nutritional strategies for OA management. Full article

Background: Circus arts are gaining popularity across the globe and lifespan. Despite growing participation rates, there is limited high-quality evidence describing the physical therapy evaluation and management of injury within this population. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and summarize evidence related to the injury characteristics and management of circus artists. Methods: With a research librarian, computerized searches were developed and performed using online databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Cochrane), gray literature and non-medical databases. Two authors independently voted on article inclusion with a third author blinded to previous voting used in case of conflict. Concept mapping identified five primary themes related to circus injuries and physical therapy treatment. Data was extracted from each article based on content relevant to the classification. Results: In total, 1095 titles were retrieved from electronic searches, of which 49 studies were included. Overall, 20 studies related to injury characteristics, 10 to risk factors, 9 to each psychosocial variables and interventions, and 8 to screening. Acrobats with required ground elements were the most commonly injured discipline, particularly at the shoulder, ankle and spine. Intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors were identified and numerous psychosocial and lifestyle contributing factors were reported. Literature guiding treatment is limited. Conclusions: This scoping review mapped and synthesized evidence related to the evaluation and management of circus artist injuries. While injury patterns and characteristics are generally understood, the treatment of this population is poorly described. Clear gaps in screening, injury prevention strategies, and interventions for this group were identified. Full article

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) urgently requires new therapeutic strategies due to the limited efficacy of conventional treatments. Recently, PANoptosis, an integrated form of apoptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis, has emerged as a promising target in cancer therapy, though effective agents remain scarce. Paclitaxel, a Taxus-derived natural product, is often combined with other drugs to enhance efficacy, yet optimal combinations are limited. This study investigates the synergistic antitumor effects of paclitaxel and cephalomannine in TNBC, focusing on oxygen-regulated cell death pathways. Network pharmacology and molecular docking revealed that the combination targets multiple cell death- and inflammation-related proteins, including BCL2L1, MAPK14, SYK, TNF, and ADAM17, suggesting multi-target synergy. In vitro, the combination significantly inhibited MDA-MB-231 cell viability, proliferation, and migration, while inducing apoptosis and necrosis. Mechanistically, co-treatment markedly increased intracellular ROS levels and γ-H2AX expression, indicating oxidative stress and DNA damage, both of which were reversible by ROS inhibition. Further analysis demonstrated that the treatment activated the p38 and p53 pathways, regulated the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and initiated mitochondrial apoptosis. It also promoted RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL phosphorylation and MLKL membrane translocation, triggering necroptosis, as well as upregulated NLRP3, cleaved Caspase-1, and GSDMD, inducing pyroptosis. The use of specific inhibitors partially reversed these effects, confirming the involvement of ROS-mediated PANoptosis. Similar antitumor effects were also observed in BT-549 cells, indicating the broad applicability of this combination in TNBC. MCF-10A cells exhibited mild but acceptable cytotoxicity, reflecting manageable side effects typical of chemotherapeutic agents. In vivo experiments further validated the combination’s antitumor efficacy and safety. In summary, paclitaxel and cephalomannine synergistically induce PANoptosis in TNBC through oxygen-regulated cell death pathways, offering a novel therapeutic strategy based on oxidative stress modulation by natural compounds. Full article

Efficient production scheduling is a key challenge in industrial operations and continues to attract significant interest within the field of operations research. This paper investigates a range of methodological approaches designed to solve the permutation flow shop scheduling problem (PFSP) with sequence-dependent setup times (SDST). The main objective is to minimize the total weighted flow time (TWFT) while ensuring a no-wait production environment. The proposed solution strategy is based on using algorithms with a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation, heuristics, and their combination. The heuristics utilized in this paper include an advanced greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) based on a priority rule and Hybrid-GRASP-NEH (HGRASP), where Nawaz-Enscore-Ham (NEH) takes place to initiate solutions, based on iterative global and local search methods to refine exploration capabilities and improve solution quality. These approaches were validated using a comprehensive set of experiments across diverse instance sizes that proved the efficiency of HGRASP, with the results showing a high-performance level that closely matched that of the exact MILP approach. Statistical analysis via the Friedman test (χ² = 46.75, p = 7.04 × 10⁻¹¹) confirmed significant performance differences among MILP, GRASP, and HGRASP. While MILP guarantees theoretical optimality, its practical effectiveness was limited by imposed computational time constraints, and HGRASP consistently achieved near-optimal solutions with superior computational efficiency, as demonstrated across diverse instance sizes. Full article

Due to the severe hazard of aflatoxins (AFs) to humans, it is of great significance to detect the key aflatoxins, aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and aflatoxin G₁ (AFG₁), in food and feed in simple, rapid, and semi-quantitative ways. The hybridoma clone 3A1 was prepared in this study, and anti-AFB₁ monoclonal antibody (mAb) with high specificity and affinity (9.38 × 10⁸ L/mol) from 3A1 was purified. The indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) demonstrated that the linear detection range for AFB₁ was 0.029–1.526 ng/mL with a limits of determination (LOD) of 0.023 ng/mL. A latex microsphere-based immunochromatographic test strip (LM-ICTS) was constructed based on 3A1, which showed that the strip could detect AFB₁ (LOD: lower than 1.79 ng/mL) and AFG₁ (LOD: lower than 8.08 ng/mL), and the linear detection ranges for AFB₁ and AFG₁ are 1.79–48.46 ng/mL and 8.08–107.40 ng/mL, respectively. The average recoveries of intra-assay and inter-assay for peanuts were (98.4 ± 4.7)% and (92.6 ± 7.6)%, and the average coefficient of variation (CVs) were 4.38% and 8.15%, respectively. For sunflower seeds, the intra-assay and inter-assay recoveries were (94.4 ± 7.2)% and (89.2 ± 4.3)%, and the average CVs were 6.6% and 4.9%, respectively. In summary, the developed LM-ICTS exhibited excellent sensitivity and specificity, which provided a rapidly stable on-site detection choice for AFB₁ and AFG₁ to contaminated agricultural samples, including grain and feed. Full article