Factors influencing further vertebral height loss following percutaneous vertebroplasty in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures:A 1-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures(OVCFs)contribute to back pain and functional limitations in older individuals,with percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)emerging as a minimally invasive treatment.However,further height loss post-PVP prompts investigation into contributing factors.AIM To investigate the factors associated with further height loss following PVP with cement augmentation in OVCF patients.METHODS A total of 200 OVCF patients who underwent successful PVP between January 2021 and December 2022 were included in this study.“Further height loss”during 1 year of follow-up in OVCF patients with bone edema was defined as a vertical height loss of≥4 mm.The study population was divided into two groups for analysis:The“No Further Height Loss group(n=179)”and the“Further Height Loss group(n=21).”RESULTS In comparing two distinct groups of patients,significant differences existed in bone mineral density(BMD),vertebral compression degree,prevalence of intravertebral cleft(IVF),type of bone cement used,and cement distribution patterns.Results from binary univariate regression analysis revealed that lower BMD,the presence of IVF,cleft distribution of bone cement,and higher vertebral compression degree were all significantly associated with further height loss.Notably,the use of mineralized collagen modified-poly(methyl methacrylate)bone cement was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of further height loss.In multivariate regression analysis,lower BMD and the presence of IVF remained significantly associated with further height loss.CONCLUSION Further height loss following PVP in OVCF patients is influenced by a complex interplay of factors,especially lower BMD and the presence of IVF.These findings underscore the importance of assessing and managing these factors when addressing height loss following PVP in OVCF patients.

An axenic strain reveals the responses of Phaeodactylum tricornutum to external organic carbon

The model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum is considered a promising source of various high value bioproducts,and developing cultivation processes is crucial for its commercialization.Although mixotrophy and heterotrophy have been recommended as effective strategies for microalgal cultivation,previous studies on P.tricornutum have yielded conflicting results in terms of cultivating this microalga.To verify the capacity of this microalga utilizing external organic carbon,both heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultivation with varied carbon sources were performed using an axenic strain.The results demonstrate that glycerol was the only organic carbon that substantially stimulated the growth of P.tricornutum in the presence of light.Sodium acetate(NaAc)at low concentrations could also promote growth,while at high concentrations led to severe inhibition under mixotrophic conditions.The addition of glucose imposed no appreciable impact on either cell density or biomass concentration,confirming that P.tricornutum cannot metabolize external glucose.Subsequently,a comparative analysis between mixotrophy and autotrophy was performed to reveal the influences of glycerol on the cellular metabolism based on growth performances,biochemical compositions,and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters.Results also indicate that the addition of glycerol did not have detrimental effects on the capacity of either pigments biosynthesis or photosynthesis,but enhanced the saturated fatty acids and reduced the unsaturated fatty acids.

Contact Stress Reliability Analysis Model for Cylindrical Gear with Circular Arc Tooth Trace Based on an Improved Metamodel

Although there is currently no unified standard theoretical formula for calculating the contact stress of cylindrical gears with a circular arc tooth trace(referred to as CATT gear),a mathematical model for determining the contact stress of CATT gear is essential for studying how parameters affect its contact stress and building the contact stress limit state equation for contact stress reliability analysis.In this study,a mathematical relationship between design parameters and contact stress is formulated using the KrigingMetamodel.To enhance the model’s accuracy,we propose a new hybrid algorithm that merges the genetic algorithm with the Quantum Particle Swarm optimization algorithm,leveraging the strengths of each.Additionally,the“parental inheritance+self-learning”optimization model is used to fine-tune the KrigingMetamodel’s parameters.Following this,amathematicalmodel for calculating the contact stress of Variable Hyperbolic Circular-Arc-Tooth-Trace(VH-CATT)gears using the optimized Kriging model was developed.We then examined how different gear parameters affect the VH-CATT gears’contact stress.Our simulation results show:(1)Improvements in R2,RMSE,and RMAE.R2 rose from0.9852 to 0.9974(a 1.22%increase),nearing 1,suggesting the optimized Kriging Metamodel’s global error is minimized.Meanwhile,RMSE dropped from3.9210 to 1.6492,a decline of 57.94%.The global error of the GA-IQPSO-Kriging algorithm was also reduced,with RMAE decreasing by 58.69%from 0.1823 to 0.0753,showing the algorithm’s enhanced precision.In a comparison of ten experimental groups selected randomly,the GA-IQPSO-Kriging and FEM-based contact analysis methods were used to measure contact stress.Results revealed a maximum error of 12.11667 MPA,which represents 2.85%of the real value.(2)Several factors,including the pressure angle,tooth width,modulus,and tooth line radius,are inversely related to contact stress.The descending order of their impact on the contact stress is:tooth line radius>modulus>pressure angle>tooth width.(3)Complex interactions are noted among various parameters.Specifically,when the tooth line radius interacts with parameters such as pressure angle,tooth width,and modulus,the resulting stress contour is nonlinear,showcasing amultifaceted contour plane.However,when tooth width,modulus,and pressure angle interact,the stress contour is nearly linear,and the contour plane is simpler,indicating a weaker coupling among these factors.

Application of a neural network model with multimodal fusion for fluorescence spectroscopy

In energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,the estimation of the pulse amplitude determines the accuracy of the spectrum measurement.The error generated by the amplitude estimation of the pulse output distorted by the measurement system leads to false peaks in the measured spectrum.To eliminate these false peaks and achieve an accurate estimation of the distorted pulse amplitude,a composite neural network model is proposed,which embeds long and short-term memory(LSTM)into the UNet structure.The UNet network realizes the fusion of pulse sequence features and the LSTM model realizes pulse amplitude estimation.The model is trained using simulated pulse datasets with different amplitudes and distortion times.For the pulse height estimation,the average relative error of the trained model on the test set was approximately 0.64%,which is 27.37% lower than that of the traditional trapezoidal shaping algorithm.Offline processing of a standard iron source further validated the pulse height estimation performance of the UNet-LSTM model.After estimating the amplitude of the distorted pulses using the model,the false peak area was reduced by approximately 91% over the full spectrum and was corrected to the characteristic peak region of interest(ROI).The corrected peak area accounted for approximately 1.32%of the characteristic peak ROI area.The results indicate that the model can accurately estimate the height of distorted pulses and has substantial corrective effects on false peaks.

钒钛铁精矿内配煤冷固结压力成型试验研究

采用正交试验方法研究了以PVA(聚乙烯醇)作为粘结剂,钒钛铁精矿和煤粉作为原料,在不同PVA含量、成型压力和水分含量下内配煤粉冷固结压力成型生球的性能。结果表明:在PVA含量为0.25%、水分含量6%、成型压力7 MPa的试验条件下,生球抗压强度可达84.76 N/球,生球落下强度可达63次/球,完全满足钒钛铁精矿转底炉煤基直接还原工艺要求。

A Metamodeling Method Based on Support Vector Regression for Robust Optimization

Metamodeling techniques have been used in robust optimization to reduce the high computational cost of the uncertainty analysis and improve the performance of robust optimization problems with computationally expensive simulation models. Existing metamodels main focus on polynomial regression（PR）, neural networks（NN） and Kriging models, these metamodels are not well suited for large-scale robust optimization problems with small size training sets and high nonlinearity. To address the problem, a reduced approximation model technique based on support vector regression（SVR） is introduced in order to improve the accuracy of metamodels. A robust optimization method based on SVR is presented for problems that involve high dimension and nonlinear. First appropriate design parameter samples are selected by experimental design theories, then the response samples are obtained from the simulations such as finite element analysis, the SVR metamodel is constructed and treated as the mean and the variance of the objective performance functions. Combining other constraints, the robust optimization model is formed which can be solved by genetic algorithm （GA）. The applicability of the method developed is demonstrated using a case of two-bar structure system study. The performances of SVR were compared with those of PR, Kriging and back-propagation neural networks（BPNN）, the comparison results show that the prediction accuracy of the SVR metamodel was higher than those of other metamodels under uncertainty. The robust optimization solutions are near to the real result, and the proposed method is found to be accurate and efficient for robust optimization. This reaserch provides an efficient method for robust optimization problems with complex structure.

Stochastic resonance in a time-delayed mono-stable system with correlated multiplicative and additive white noise

This paper considers the stochastic resonance for a time-delayed mono-stable system, driven by correlated multiplicative and additive white noise. It finds that the output signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） varies non-monotonically with the delayed times. The SNR varies non-monotonically with the increase of the intensities of the multiplicative and additive noise, with the increase of the correlation strength between the two noises, as well as with the system parameter.

Molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides for lithium/sodium-ion batteries: Beyond MoS2

Molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides have attracted tremendous attention in energy storage and conversion due to their outstanding physicochemical and electrochemical properties.There are intensive studies on molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides for energy storage and conversion,however,there is no systematic review on the applications of WS2,Mo Se2and WSe2as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)and sodium-ion batteries(SIBs),except Mo S2.Considering the importance of these contents,it is extremely necessary to overview the recent development of novel layered WS2,Mo Se2and WSe2beyond Mo S2in energy storage.Here,we will systematically overview the recent progress of WS2,Mo Se2and WSe2as anode materials in LIBs and SIBs.This review will also discuss the opportunities,and perspectives of these materials in the energy storage fields.

Stochastic resonance in a bias linear system with multiplicative and additive noise

In this paper, the stochastic resonance in a bias linear system subjected multiplicative and additive dichotomous noise is investigated. Using the linear-response theory and the properties of the dichotomous noise, this paper finds the exact expressions for the first two moments and the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR）. It is shown that the SNR is a non-monotonic function of the correlation time of the multiplicative and additive noise, and it varies non-monotonously with the intensity and asymmetry of the multiplicative noise as well as the external field frequency. Moreover, the SNR depends on the system bias, the intensity of the cross noise between the multiplicative and additive noise, and the strength and asymmetry of the additive noise.

Stochastic resonance in a monostable system driven by square-wave signal and dichotomous noise

This paper investigates the stochastic resonance in a monostable system driven by square-wave signal, asymmetric dichotomous noise as well as by multiplicative and additive white noise. By the use of the properties of the dichotomous noise, it obtains the expressions of the signal-to-noise ratio under the adiabatic approximation condition. It finds that the signal-to-noise ratio is a non-monotonic function of the asymmetry of the dichotomous noise, and which varies non- monotonously with the intensity of the multiplicative and additive noise as well as the system parameters. Moreover, the signal-to-noise ratio depends on the correlation rate and intensity of the dichotomous noise.

Multidimensional health literacy profiles and health-related behaviors in the elderly:A cross-sectional survey

Objectives:To investigate health literacy profiles using a multidimensional tool in the elderly,analyze the factors related to health literacy,and explore the relationships between health literacy and health-related behaviors.Methods:A cross-sectional survey including 440 participants was conducted at a community health center and a village health center in Changsha,Hunan Province,between June 2020 and August 2020.We used the Health Literacy Questionnaire(HLQ)to assess the elderly’s health literacy.Sociodemographic data and health-related behaviors of them were surveyed with a self-designed questionnaire.Latent profile analysis,Pearson’s chi-squared and ordinal logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Results:The median age of the 440 respondents was 68 years.The participants had the lowest scores in the“appraisal of health information”subscale(2.22±0.52),followed by“navigating the healthcare system”subscale(2.89±0.81)of HLQ.Based on the analysis of three profiles,respondents who were 60 e74 years(OR=2.06,95%CI:1.23e3.42,P=0.006),living in urban areas(OR=3.28,95%CI:2.17e4.94,P<0.001),with secondary education or above(OR=2.86,95%CI:1.92e4.27,P<0.001),and having health insurance(OR=1.89,95%CI:1.02e3.51,P=0.042)were significantly associated with health literacy.Statistically significant associations were found between health literacy level and health-related behaviors,including medical service-seeking behavior(χ^(2)=25.14,P<0.001),exercising regularly(χ^(2)=34.08,P<0.001),and taking a medical examination in the past 12 months(χ^(2)=24.76,P<0.001).Conclusion:The multidimensional health literacy survey has identified the low health literacy level among the elderly in community settings.It revealed the relationships of sociodemographic character-istics,including age,education level and residence,with health literacy.These findings emphasized the importance of health literacy in promoting health behaviors,guiding a profound understanding of the Chinese elderly’s health needs and health literacy to develop community-based health promotion interventions.

NASICON-Structured NaTi2（PO4）3 for Sustainable Energy Storage

Several emerging energy storage technologies and systems have been demonstrated that feature low cost,high rate capability,and durability for potential use in large-scale grid and high-power applications.Owing to its outstanding ion conductivity,ultrafast Na-ion insertion kinetics,excellent structural stability,and large theoretical capacity,the sodium superionic conductor(NASICON)-structured insertion material NaTi2(PO4)3(NTP)has attracted considerable attention as the optimal electrode material for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)and Na-ion hybrid capacitors(NHCs).On the basis of recent studies,NaTi2(PO4)3 has raised the rate capabilities,cycling stability,and mass loading of rechargeable SIBs and NHCs to commercially acceptable levels.In this comprehensive review,starting with the structures and electrochemical properties of NTP,we present recent progress in the application of NTP to SIBs,including non-aqueous batteries,aqueous batteries,aqueous batteries with desalination,and sodium-ion hybrid capacitors.After a thorough discussion of the unique NASICON structure of NTP,various strategies for improving the performance of NTP electrode have been presented and summarized in detail.Further,the major challenges and perspectives regarding the prospects for the use of NTP-based electrodes in energy storage systems have also been summarized to offer a guideline for further improving the performance of NTP-based electrodes.

Stochastic resonance in a stochastic bistable system with additive noises and square-wave signal

This paper considers the stochastic resonance in a stochastic bistable system driven by a periodic square-wave signal and a static force as well as by additive white noise and dichotomous noise from the viewpoint of signal-to-noise ratio. It finds that the signal-to-noise ratio appears as stochastic resonance behaviour when it is plotted as a function of the noise strength of the white noise and dichotomous noise, as a function of the system parameters, or as a function of the static force. Moreover, the influence of the strength of the stochastic potential force and the correlation rate of the dichotomous noise on the signal-to-noise ratio is investigated.

Stochastic resonance in a time-delayed bistable system subject to multiplicative and additive noise

This paper investigates the stochastic resonance in a time-delayed bistable system subjected to multiplicative and additive white noise and asymmetric dichotomous noise. Under the adiabatic approximation condition, the expression of the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） is obtained. It finds that the SNR is a non-monotonic function of the delayed times, of the amplitude of the driving square-wave signal, as well as of the asymmetry of the dichotomous noise. In addition, the SNR varies non-monotonously with the intensities of the multiplicative and additive noise as well as the system parameters. Moreover, the SNR depends non-monotonically on the correlate rate of the dichotomous noise.

Boudouard reaction driven by thermal plasma for efficient CO2 conversion and energy storage

Conversion of CO2 into CO using plasma processing powered by renewable energy is a promising method to convert intermittent sustainable electricity into storable chemical energy.Despite extensive research efforts worldwide,there is currently no process that achieves economically viable values for both CO2 conversion fraction and energy recovery efficiency simultaneously.Here we demonstrate that a process that utilizes the Boudouard reaction,CO^2++C→2 CO,driven by a thermal plasma allows both 95%CO2 conversion to CO and energy recovery efficiency of 70%,values far higher than seen so far.By comparing the conversion process with and without CO2 excitation by a plasma and by using optical emission spectroscopy we show that the improved performance is due to a novel mode of operation where CO2 is pyrolyzed into an active mixture of CO,O and O2 by an arc discharge which is then introduced into a fixed bed to interact with carbon material.In this way,the free oxygen in the mixture combusts with carbon to form CO,and residual plasma excited CO2 is reduced by carbon.In the overall process,the endothermic Boudouard reaction is partially replaced by an exothermic reaction,and the excess electric energy to produce CO2 plasma is reused in the carbon bed.

Effects of precursor solution concentration on the properties and morphology of YBCO films deposited by TFA-MOD method

Epitaxial YBCO films were deposited on （100） LaAlO3 single-crystal substrates by metalorganic deposition of metal trifluoroacetate precursors with different concentrations. All the YBCO films have Tc around 91 K and Jc excess 2 MA/cm^2 at 77 K in zero field. XRD θ-2θscans show all the films have c-axis normal orientation. The FWHM （full width at half-maximum intensity） values of X-ray ω-scans of （005） reflection are 0.379°, 0.283°, and 0.543° for the YBCO thin films deposited with precursor solution concentrations of 1.52, 1.0, and 0.75 mol/L, respectively. With the concentration of the precursors decreasing, the thickness of the films decreases linearly. SEM micrographs show that porosities in the films become bigger with the precursor solution concentration decreasing. The big porosities in the film with the lowest concentration precursor deteriorate the superconducting property and make it have a wider superconducting transition and a lower Jc.

LOCAL TIME ANALYSIS OF ADDITIVE LVY PROCESSES WITH DIFFERENT LVY EXPONENTS

Let X1 XN be independent, classical Levy processes on R^d with Levy exponents ψ1,…, ψN, respectively. The corresponding additive Levy process is defined as the following N-parameter random field on R^d, X（t） △= X1（t1） ＋ ... ＋ XN（tN）, At∈N. Under mild regularity conditions on the ψi＇s, we derive estimate for the local and uniform moduli of continuity of local times of X = {X（t）; t ∈R^N}.

Mycoplasma hominis meningitis after operative neurosurgery:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Mycoplasma hominis(M.hominis),which causes central nervous system infections in adults,is very rare.It is also relatively difficult to culture mycoplasma and culturing requires special media,resulting in a high rate of clinical underdiagnosis.Therefore,clinicians often treat patients based on their own experience before obtaining pathogenic results and may ignore infections with atypical pathogens,thus delaying the diagnosis and treatment of patients and increasing the length of hospital stay and costs.CASE SUMMARY A 44-year-old man presented to the hospital complaining of recurrent dizziness for 1 year,which had worsened in the last week.After admission,brain magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)revealed a 7.0 cm×6.0 cm×6.1 cm lesion at the skull base,which was irregular in shape and had a midline shift to the left.Based on imaging findings,meningioma was our primary consideration.After lesion resection,the patient had persistent fever and a diagnosis of suppurative meningitis based on cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)examination.The patient was treated with the highest level of antibiotics(meropenem and linezolid),but the response was ineffective.Finally,M.hominis was detected by next-generation metagenomic sequencing(mNGS)in the CSF.Therefore,we changed the antibiotics to moxifloxacin 0.4 g daily combined with doxycycline 0.1 g twice a day for 2 wk,and the patient had a normal temperature the next day.CONCLUSION Mycoplasma meningitis after neurosurgery is rare.We can use mNGS to detect M.hominis in the CSF and then provide targeted treatment.

Coupled GIMP and CPDI material point method in modelling blast-induced three-dimensional rock fracture

Three-dimensional rock fracture induced by blasting is a highly complex problem and has received considerable attention in geotechnical engineering.The material point method is firstly applied to treat this challenging task.Some inherent weaknesses can be overcome by coupling the generalized interpolation material point(GIMP)and the convected particle domain interpolation technique(CPDI).For the media in the borehole,unchanged GIMP-type particles are used to guarantee a homogenous blast pressure.CPDITetrahedron type particles are employed to avoid the fake numerical fracture near the borehole for the rock material.A blasting experiment using three-dimensional single-borehole rock was simulated to examine the applicability of the coupled model under realistic loading and boundary conditions.A good agreement was achieved between the simulation and experimental results.Moreover,the mechanism of three-dimensional rock fracture was analyzed.It was concluded that rock particle size and material parameters play an important role in rock damage.The reflected tensile waves cause severe damage in the lower part of the model.Rayleigh waves occur on the top face of the rock model to induce a hoop failure band.

Composite rock-breaking of high-pressure CO_(2)jet&polycrystallinediamond-compact(PDC)cutter using a coupled SPH/FEM model

CO_(2) drilling is a promising underbalance drilling technology with great advantages,such as lower cutting force,intense cooling and excellent lubrication.However,in the underbalance drilling,the mechanism of the coupling CO_(2) jet and polycrystalline-diamond-compact(PDC)cutter are still unclear.Whereby,we established a coupled smoothed particle hydrodynamics/finite element method(SPH/FEM)model to simulate the composite rock-breaking of high-pressure CO_(2) jet&PDC cutter.Combined with the experimental research results,the mechanism of composite rock-breaking is studied from the perspectives of rock stress field,cutting force and jet field.The results show that the composite rock-breaking can effectively relieve the influence of vibration and shock on PDC cutter.Meanwhile,the high-pressure CO_(2) jet has a positive effect on carrying rock debris,which can effectively reduce the temperature rising and the thermal wear of the PDC cutter.In addition,the effects of CO_(2) jet parameters on composite rock-breaking were studied,such as jet impact velocity,nozzle diameter,jet injection angle and impact distance.The studies show that when the impact velocity of the CO_(2) jet is greater than 250 m/s,the CO_(2) jet could quickly break the rock.It is found that the optimal range of nozzle diameter is 1.5–2.5 mm,the best injection angle of CO_(2) jet is 60,the optimal impact distance is 10 times the nozzle diameter.The above studies could provide theoretical supports and technical guidance for composite rock-breaking,which is useful for the CO_(2) underbalance drilling and drill bit design.