Effects of Alexithymia to Stigma of Patients with Lymphedema

BACKGROUND: Secondary lymphedema is one of the common complications after malignant tumor surgery. It is a chronic and complex disease. Once lymphedema occurs, there will be discomfort such as limb swelling, pain, numbness and tension, which will eventually lead to changes in the appearance of the affected limb and will seriously affect the quality of life and require lifelong treatment and psychosocial support. This study investigated the current situation of stigma and alexithymia in patients with lymphedema, and discussed the impact of alexithymia on stigma in patients with lymphedema. AIMS: To understand the current situation of stigma and alexithymia in patients with lymphedema, and to analyze the influence of alexithymia on stigma. METHODS: 195 patients with lymphedema in a hospital were selected by convenient sampling. General information questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale and social impact scale were used to investigate respectively, to study the general situation, stigma and alexithymia of the respondents. RESULTS: The results showed that the total score of stigma in 195 patients with lymphedema was (60.36 ± 11.08), and the total score of alexithymia was (56.53 ± 8.43). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that alexithymia and family relationship were the influencing factors of stigma in patients with lymphedema. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with lymphedema have obvious stigma, and alexithymia and family relationship are the influencing factors.

Preprocessing and Efficacy Analysis of Comprehensive Anti-Inflammatory Treatment for Lymphedema in Patients with Irritating Contact Dermatitis

Objective: To explore the pre-treatment and efficacy analysis of comprehensive anti-inflammatory treatment for lymphedema in patients with irritating contact dermatitis. Method: Convenience sampling method was used to observe the skin of 160 patients with upper limb lymphedema admitted to the lymphedema outpatient department of our hospital. They were divided into an observation group (80 cases) and a control group (80 cases), and both groups received a course of comprehensive anti-inflammatory treatment (20 treatments). The control group received routine skin care;On the basis of the control group, the observation group received pre-treatment of the affected limb skin: Laofuzi herbal ointment was applied externally to the prone areas of irritating contact dermatitis (such as the upper arm, inner forearm, and cubital fossa). Result: The incidence of irritating contact dermatitis in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P 0.05). Patients in the observation group felt significantly better in terms of comfort, skin moisture, and itching relief after being wrapped with low elasticity bandages than those in the control group (P Conclusion: Preventive treatment can effectively reduce the incidence of irritating contact dermatitis, prolong the time of stress treatment, thereby increasing efficacy and improving patient compliance.

Optimization of the grain boundary diffusion process by doping gallium and zirconium in Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets

As the channel for grain boundary diffusion(GBD)in Nd–Fe–B magnets,grain boundary(GB)phases have a very important effect on GBD.As doping elements that are commonly used to regulate the GB phases in Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets,the influences of Ga and Zr on GBD were investigated in this work.The results show that the Zr-doped magnet has the highest coercivity increment(7.97 kOe)by GBD,which is almost twice that of the Ga-doped magnet(4.32 kOe)and the magnet without Ga and Zr(3.24 kOe).Microstructure analysis shows that ZrB_(2)formed in the Zr-doped magnet plays a key role in increasing the diffusion depth.A continuous diffusion channel in the magnet can form because of the presence of ZrB_(2).ZrB_(2)can also increase the defect concentration in GB phases,which can facilitate GBD.Although Ga can also improve the diffusion depth,its effect is not very obvious.The micromagnetic simulation based on the experimental results also proves that the distribution of Tb in the Zr-doped magnet after GBD is beneficial to coercivity.This study reveals that the doping elements Ga and Zr in Nd–Fe–B play an important role in GBD,and could provide a new perspective for researchers to improve the effects of GBD.

水热法制备石墨烯的原子结构演变

本研究通过球差校正透射电镜成像研究了氧化石墨烯还原到石墨烯的微观结构演变,并结合X射线光电子能谱和傅里叶红外光谱表征验证了还原过程含氧官能团的去除效果。氧化石墨烯的高分辨图像结构高度不均匀,氧化过程引入的氧原子与碳原子结合,破坏了C-C键结构形成sp^(3)杂化键,使单层氧化石墨烯部分呈无序结构。还原后石墨烯可以清晰看到大范围的蜂窝状单晶结构,表明水热还原方法去除了大量含氧官能团,恢复了大部分共轭π键和碳原子sp^(2)杂化结构,还原效果明显,碳氧比高达11.7。

Effect of hot isostatic pressure on the microstructure and tensile properties of γ'-strengthened superalloy fabricated through induction-assisted directed energy deposition

The microstructure characteristics and strengthening mechanism of Inconel738LC(IN-738LC) alloy prepared by using induction-assisted directed energy deposition(IDED) were elucidated through the investigation of samples subjected to IDED under 1050℃ preheating with and without hot isostatic pressing(HIP,1190℃,105 MPa,and 3 h).Results show that the as-deposited sample mainly consisted of epitaxial columnar crystals and inhomogeneously distributed γ’ phases in interdendritic and dendritic core regions.After HIP,grain morphology changed negligibly,whereas the size of the γ’ phase became increasingly even.After further heat treatment(HT,1070℃,2 h + 845℃,24 h),the γ’ phase in the as-deposited and HIPed samples presented a bimodal size distribution,whereas that in the as-deposited sample showed a size that remained uneven.The comparison of tensile properties revealed that the tensile strength and uniform elongation of the HIP + HTed sample increased by 5% and 46%,respectively,due to the synergistic deformation of bimodal γ’phases,especially large cubic γ’ phases.Finally,the relationship between phase transformations and plastic deformations in the IDEDed sample was discussed on the basis of generalized stability theory in terms of the trade-off between thermodynamics and kinetics.

Lotus root-like RuIr alloys with close-packed(0001)branches:Strain-driven performance for acidic water oxidation

Achieving composition tunability and structure editability of nanoalloys with high level strain may be an efficient strategy to remarkably boost catalytic performance toward oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in acidic water oxidation.Herein,lotus root-like RuIr alloys with native micro-strain were constructed by an epitaxial growth of Ru-richened hcp-(0001)branches on Ir-richened fcc-(111)seeds using a polyol thermal synthesis strategy.The resultant Ru_(60)Ir_(40) alloy shows an OER overpotential of 197 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2) and a Tafel slope of 46.59 mV dec^(-1),showing no obvious activity decay for 80 h continuous chronopotentiometry test in 0.5 M H_(2)SO_(4).The related characterizations including X-ray absorption fine structure(XAFS)spectroscopy and density functional theory(DFT)calculations show that that the remarkably improved activity of the lotus root-like alloy can be attributed to the(0001)facet-triggered strain,which can efficiently optimize the electronic band structure of the active metal and the weakening of the chemisorption of oxygen-containing substances to boost OER electrocatalysis.Therefore,this work provides a new strategy to designing a class of advanced electrocatalysts with high strain using diverse nanostructures as building materials for carbon-free clean energy conversion systems.

New process for treating boron-bearing iron ore by flash reduction coupled with magnetic separation

Boron is an important industrial raw material often sourced from minerals containing different compounds that cocrystallize,which makes it difficult to separate the mineral phases through conventional beneficiation.This study proposed a new treatment called flash reduction-melting separation(FRMS)for boron-bearing iron concentrates.In this method,the concentrates were first flash-reduced at the temperature under which the particles melt,and the slag and the reduced iron phases disengaged at the particle scale.Good reduc-tion and melting effects were achieved above 1550℃.The B_(2)O_(3) content in the separated slag was over 18wt%,and the B content in the iron was less than 0.03wt%.The proposed FRMS method was tested to investigate the effects of factors such as ore particle size and tem-perature on the reduction and melting steps with and without pre-reducing the raw concentrate.The mineral phase transformation and morphology evolution in the ore particles during FRMS were also comprehensively analyzed.

Construction of Pd-doped RuO_(2) nanosheets for efficient and stable acidic water oxidation

RuO_(2) has been considered a potential alternative to commercial IrO_(2) for the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)due to its superior intrinsic activity.However,its inherent structure dissolution in acidic environments restricts its commercial applications.In this study,we report a novel Pd-doped ruthenium oxide(Pd–RuO_(2))nanosheet catalyst that exhibits improved activity and stability through a synergistic effect of Pd modulation of Ru electronic structure and the two-dimensional structure.The catalyst exhibits excellent performance,achieving an overpotential of only 204 mVat a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2).Impressively,after undergoing 8000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry testing,the overpotential merely decreased by 5 mV.The PEM electrolyzer with Pd0.08Ru0.92O_(2) as an anode catalyst survived an almost 130 h operation at 200 mA cm^(-2).To elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the enhanced stability,we conducted an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)analysis,which reveals that the electron transfer from Pd to Ru effectively circumvents the over-oxidation of Ru,thus playing a crucial role in enhancing the catalyst's stability.Furthermore,density functional theory(DFT)calculations provide compelling evidence that the introduction of Pd into RuO_(2) effectively modulates electron correlations and facilitates the electron transfer from Pd to Ru,thereby preventing the overoxidation of Ru.Additionally,the application of the two-dimensional structure effectively inhibited the aggregation and growth of nanoparticles,further bolstering the structural integrity of the catalyst.

Particle Discontinuous Deformation Analysis of Static and Dynamic Crack Propagation in Brittle Material

Crack propagation in brittle material is not only crucial for structural safety evaluation,but also has a wideranging impact on material design,damage assessment,resource extraction,and scientific research.A thorough investigation into the behavior of crack propagation contributes to a better understanding and control of the properties of brittle materials,thereby enhancing the reliability and safety of both materials and structures.As an implicit discrete elementmethod,the Discontinuous Deformation Analysis(DDA)has gained significant attention for its developments and applications in recent years.Among these developments,the particle DDA equipped with the bonded particle model is a powerful tool for predicting the whole process of material from continuity to failure.The primary objective of this research is to develop and utilize the particle DDAtomodel and understand the complex behavior of cracks in brittle materials under both static and dynamic loadings.The particle DDA is applied to several classical crack propagation problems,including the crack branching,compact tensile test,Kalthoff impact experiment,and tensile test of a rectangular plate with a hole.The evolutions of cracks under various stress or geometrical conditions are carefully investigated.The simulated results are compared with the experiments and other numerical results.It is found that the crack propagation patterns,including crack branching and the formation of secondary cracks,can be well reproduced.The results show that the particle DDA is a qualified method for crack propagation problems,providing valuable insights into the fracture mechanism of brittle materials.

sTREM-1 as promising prognostic biomarker for acute-on-chronic liver failure and mortality in patients with acute decompensation of cirrhosis

BACKGROUND Acute decompensation(AD)of cirrhosis is associated with high short-term mortality,mainly due to the development of acute-on-chronic liver failure(ACLF).Thus,there is a need for biomarkers for early and accurate identification of AD patients with high risk of development of ACLF and mortality.Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1(sTREM-1)is released from activated innate immune cells and correlated with various inflammatory processes.AIM To explore the prognostic value of sTREM-1 in patients with AD of cirrhosis.METHODS A multicenter prospective cohort of 442 patients with cirrhosis hospitalized for AD was divided into a study cohort(n=309)and validation cohort(n=133).Demographic and clinical data were collected,and serum sTREM-1 was measured at admission.All enrolled patients were followed-up for at least 1 year.RESULTS In patients with AD and cirrhosis,serum sTREM-1 was an independent prognosis predictor for 1-year survival and correlated with liver,coagulation,cerebral and kidney failure.A new prognostic model of AD(P-AD)incorporating sTREM-1,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),total bilirubin(TBil),international normalized ratio(INR)and hepatic encephalopathy grades was established and performed better than the model for end-stage liver disease(MELD),MELD-sodium(MELD-Na),chronic liver failure-consortium(CLIF-C)ACLF and CLIF-C AD scores.Additionally,sTREM-1 was increased in ACLF and predicted the development of ACLF during first 28-d follow-up.The ACLF risk score incorporating serum sTREM-1,BUN,INR,TBil and aspartate aminotransferase levels was established and significantly superior to MELD,MELD-Na,CLIF-C ACLF,CLIF-C AD and P-AD in predicting risk of ACLF development.CONCLUSION Serum sTREM-1 is a promising prognostic biomarker for ACLF development and mortality in patients with AD of cirrhosis.

Wafer-scale 30°twisted bilayer graphene epitaxially grown on Cu_(0.75)Ni_(0.25)(111)

Twisted bilayer graphene(TBG) has been extensively studied because of its novel physical properties and potential application in electronic devices.Here we report the synthesis and characterization of 300 TBG naturally grown on Cu_(0.75)Ni_(0.25)(111) film and investigate the electronic structure by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.Compared with other substrates,our TBG with a wafer scale is acquired with a shorter growth time.The Fermi velocity and energy gap of Dirac cones of TBG are comparable with those of a monolayer on Cu_(0.85)Ni_(0.15)(111).The signature of moré lattices has not been observed in either the low-energy electron diffraction patterns or the Fermi surface map within experimental resolution,possibly due to different Cu and Ni contents in the substrates enhancing the different couplings between the substrate and the first/second layers and hindering the formation of a quasiperiodic structure.

Gradient coil design with enhanced shielding constraint for a cryogen-free superconducting MRI system

The relatively fragile low-temperature stability of cryogen-free superconducting magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)magnets requires the careful management of exogenous heat sources.A strongly shielded gradient magnetic field is important for the optimal operation of cryogen-free MRI systems.In this study,we present an enhanced shielding method incorporating a regionalized stray field constraining strategy.By optimizing the constraint parameters,we could develop engineering-feasible gradient coil schemes without increasing system complexity but with the stray field intensity reduced by half.In real measurement in an integrated MRI system,the developed gradient assembly demonstrated good performance and supported to output images of excellent quality.Our findings suggested that the proposed method could potentially form a useful design paradigm for cryogen-free MRI magnets.

日勾维多细菌源菌双重PCR快速检测方法建立

建立日勾维多细菌源菌快速检测方法,快速有效地检出样品中的日勾维多细菌源菌。利用日勾维多细菌源菌的看家基因gyrB和ropB,设计2对特异性的扩增引物,以培养液作为DNA扩增模板,建立双重PCR快速检测方法,并通过优化扩增反应的退火温度,提高双重PCR的特异性;利用引物gyrB-F/gyrB-R和ropB-F/ropB-R(insert)扩增4株日勾维多细菌源菌,可得到2条特异性的目标DNA条带,但非目标菌会出现非特异性DNA条带。优化后的退火温度为65℃,以4株日勾维多细菌源菌为DNA模板时,可扩增出特异性的目标DNA条带;以大肠埃希氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌、阴沟肠杆菌和洋葱伯克霍尔德菌为DNA模板时,均检测不到DNA条带。当样品中的日勾维多细菌源菌达到4.4 CFU/mL时,双重PCR即可高灵敏检出样品中的日勾维多细菌源菌。可用双重PCR方法快速检出沐浴露、洗发水等淋洗类化妆品中的日勾维多细菌源菌。

Ancient DNA unravels species identification from Laosicheng site,Hunan Province,China,and provides insights into maternal genetic history of East Asian leopards

DEAR EDITOR,The Laosicheng site in Yongshun County,Hunan Province,China,plays an important role in elucidating the animal population composition of the region prior to the middle Qing Dynasty(approximately 300 years ago).This site has yielded a substantial number of animal bones,11960 of which have been identified to the species level,serving as direct evidence of ancient animal populations(Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology,2018).

A Novel Multi-Stream Fusion Network for Underwater Image Enhancement

Due to the selective absorption of light and the existence of a large number of floating media in sea water, underwater images often suffer from color casts and detail blurs. It is therefore necessary to perform color correction and detail restoration. However,the existing enhancement algorithms cannot achieve the desired results. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a multi-stream feature fusion network. First, an underwater image is preprocessed to obtain potential information from the illumination stream, color stream and structure stream by histogram equalization with contrast limitation, gamma correction and white balance, respectively. Next, these three streams and the original raw stream are sent to the residual blocks to extract the features. The features will be subsequently fused. It can enhance feature representation in underwater images. In the meantime, a composite loss function including three terms is used to ensure the quality of the enhanced image from the three aspects of color balance, structure preservation and image smoothness. Therefore, the enhanced image is more in line with human visual perception.Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparison experiments with many stateof-the-art underwater image enhancement algorithms. Experimental results show that the proposed method provides superior results over them in terms of MSE,PSNR, SSIM, UIQM and UCIQE, and the enhanced images are more similar to their ground truth images.

Association between abnormal default mode network homogeneity and sleep disturbances in major depressive disorder

Background Sleep disturbance is a common comorbidity of major depressive disorder(MDD).However,network homogeneity(NH)changes of the default mode network(DMN)in MDD with sleep disturbances are unclear.Aims The purpose of this study was to probe the abnormal NH in the DMN in MDD with sleep disturbances and to reveal the differences between MDD with or without sleep disturbances.Methods Twenty-four patients with MDD and sleep disturbances(Pa_s),33 patients with MDD without sleep disturbances(Pa_ns)and 32 healthy controls(HCs)were recruited in this study.Resting-state functional imaging data were analysed using NH.Results Compared with Pa_ns and HCs,Pa_s showed decreased NH in the left superior medial prefrontal cortex and increased NH in the right precuneus.There was a negative correlation between NH in the left superior medial prefrontal cortex and sleep disturbances(r=−0.42,p=0.001)as well as a positive correlation between NH in the right precuneus and sleep disturbances(r=0.41,p=0.002)in patients with MDD.Conclusions MDD with sleep disturbances is associated with abnormal NH in the DMN,which could differentiate pa_s from pa_ns.The DMN may play a crucial role in the neurobiological mechanisms of MDD with sleep disturbances.

Research Progress on the Growth-Promoting Effect of Plant Biostimulants on Crops

A Plant Biostimulant is any substance or microorganism applied to plants to enhance nutrition efficiency,abioticstress tolerance,and/or crop quality traits,regardless of its nutrient content.The application of Plant biostimulants(PBs)in production can reduce the application of traditional pesticides and chemical fertilizers and improvethe quality and yield of crops,which is conducive to the sustainable development of agriculture.An in-depthunderstanding of the mechanism and effect of various PBs is very important for how to apply PBs reasonablyand effectively in the practice of crop production.This paper summarizes the main classification of PBs;Thegrowth promotion mechanism of PBs was analyzed from four aspects:improving soil physical and chemical properties,enhancing crop nutrient absorption capacity,photosynthesis capacity,and abiotic stress tolerance;At thesame time,the effects of PBs application on seed germination,seedling vigor,crop yield,and quality were summarized;Finally,how to continue to explore and study the use and mechanism of PBs in the future is analyzedand prospected,to better guide the application of PBs in crop production in the future.

Multi-Branch Fault Line Location Method Based on Time Difference Matrix Fitting

The distribution network exhibits complex structural characteristics,which makes fault localization a challenging task.Especially when a branch of the multi-branch distribution network fails,the traditional multi-branch fault location algorithm makes it difficult to meet the demands of high-precision fault localization in the multi-branch distribution network system.In this paper,the multi-branch mainline is decomposed into single branch lines,transforming the complex multi-branch fault location problem into a double-ended fault location problem.Based on the different transmission characteristics of the fault-traveling wave in fault lines and non-fault lines,the endpoint reference time difference matrix S and the fault time difference matrix G were established.The time variation rule of the fault-traveling wave arriving at each endpoint before and after a fault was comprehensively utilized.To realize the fault segment location,the least square method was introduced.It was used to find the first-order fitting relation that satisfies the matching relationship between the corresponding row vector and the first-order function in the two matrices,to realize the fault segment location.Then,the time difference matrix is used to determine the traveling wave velocity,which,combined with the double-ended traveling wave location,enables accurate fault location.

Characterization of acute-on-chronic liver diseases: A multicenter prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Acute-on-chronic liver disease(AoCLD)accounts for the majority of patients hospitalized in the Department of Hepatology or Infectious Diseases.AIM To explore the characterization of AoCLD to provide theoretical guidance for the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of AoCLD.METHODS Patients with AoCLD from the Chinese Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure(ACLF)study cohort were included in this study.The clinical characteristics and outcomes,and the 90-d survival rate associated with each clinical type of AoCLD were analyzed,using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.RESULTS A total of 3375 patients with AoCLD were enrolled,including 1679(49.7%)patients with liver cirrhosis acute decompensation(LC-AD),850(25.2%)patients with ACLF,577(17.1%)patients with chronic hepatitis acute exacer-bation(CHAE),and 269(8.0%)patients with liver cirrhosis active phase(LC-A).The most common cause of chronic liver disease(CLD)was HBV infection(71.4%).The most common precipitants of AoCLD was bacterial infection(22.8%).The 90-d mortality rates of each clinical subtype of AoCLD were 43.4%(232/535)for type-C ACLF,36.0%(36/100)for type-B ACLF,27.0%(58/215)for type-A ACLF,9.0%(151/1679)for LC-AD,3.0%(8/269)for LC-A,and 1.2%(7/577)for CHAE.CONCLUSION HBV infection is the main cause of CLD,and bacterial infection is the main precipitant of AoCLD.The most common clinical type of AoCLD is LC-AD.Early diagnosis and timely intervention are needed to reduce the mortality of patients with LC-AD or ACLF.

Characterization of rock thermophysical properties and factors affecting thermal conductivity−A case study of Datong Basin,China

Rock thermal physical properties play a crucial role in understanding deep thermal conditions,modeling the thermal structure of the lithosphere,and discovering the evolutionary history of sedimentary basins.Recent advancements in geothermal exploration,particularly the identification of high-temperature geothermal resources in Datong Basin,Shanxi,China,have opened new possibilities.This study aims to characterize the thermal properties of rocks and explore factors influencing thermal conductivity in basins hosting high-temperature geothermal resources.A total of 70 groups of rock samples were collected from outcrops in and around Datong Basin,Shanxi Province.Thermal property tests were carried out to analyze the rock properties,and the influencing factors of thermal conductivity were studied through experiments at different temperature and water-filled states.The results indicate that the thermal conductivity of rocks in Datong,Shanxi Province,typically ranges from 0.690 W/(m·K)to 6.460 W/(m·K),the thermal diffusion coefficient ranges from 0.441 mm^(2)/s to 2.023 mm^(2)/s,and the specific heat capacity of the rocks ranges from 0.569 KJ/(kg·℃)to 1.117 KJ/(kg·°C).Experimental results reveal the impact of temperature and water saturation on the thermal conductivity of the rock.The thermal conductivity decreases with increasing temperature and rises with high water saturation.A temperature correction formula for the thermal conductivity of different lithologies in the area is proposed through linear fitting.The findings from this study provide essential parameters for the assessment and prediction,development,and utilization of geothermal resources in the region and other basins with typical high-temperature geothermal resource.