Practice patterns among ophthalmic surgeons in treating concomitant oculoplastic conditions in preoperative period:A questionnaire-based study

BACKGROUND Addressing oculoplastic conditions in the preoperative period ensures both the safety and functional success of any ophthalmic procedure.Some oculoplastic conditions,like nasolacrimal duct obstruction,have been extensively studied,whereas others,like eyelid malposition and thyroid eye disease,have received minimal or no research.AIM To investigate the current practice patterns among ophthalmologists while treating concomitant oculoplastic conditions before any subspecialty ophthalmic intervention.METHODS A cross-sectional survey was disseminated among ophthalmologists all over India.The survey included questions related to pre-operative evaluation,anaesthetic and surgical techniques preferred,post-operative care,the use of adjunctive therapies,and patient follow-up patterns.RESULTS A total of 180 ophthalmologists responded to the survey.Most practitioners(89%)felt that the ROPLAS test was sufficient during pre-operative evaluation before any subspecialty surgery was advised.The most common surgical techniques employed were lacrimal drainage procedures(Dacryocystorhinostomy)(63.3%),eyelid malposition repair(36.9%),and ptosis repair(58.7%).Post-operatively,47.7%of respondents emphasized that at least a 4-week gap should be maintained after lacrimal drainage procedures and eyelid surgeries.Sixty-seven percent of ophthalmologists felt that topical anaesthetic procedures should be preferred while performing ocular surgeries in thyroid eye disease patients.CONCLUSION Approximately 50%of ophthalmologists handle prevalent oculoplastic issues themselves,seeking the expertise of an oculoplastic surgeon under particular conditions.Many ophthalmologists still favor using ROPLAS as a preliminary screening method before proceeding with cataract surgery.Eyelid conditions and thyroid eye disease are not as commonly addressed before subspecialty procedures compared to issues like nasolacrimal duct obstruction and periocular infections.

Spatial Pattern and Influencing Factors of China’s Digital Trade Resilience under the Impact of Trade Frictions

In the era of the digital economy,digital trade has demonstrated strong vitality,becoming a crucial driving force for the highquality development of national and regional economies.However,understanding the resilience of digital trade in the face of external crises is an important topic.Taking the backdrop of Sino-US trade friction,this paper constructs a resilience index system for digital trade.It utilizes entropy method,kernel density estimation,and ArcGIS mapping to calculate and visually analyze the resilience of China’s digital trade from 2017 to 2021.Additionally,a Tobit model is constructed to explore the main influencing factors of digital trade resilience patterns.The research findings indicate:1)temporally,during the period of Sino-US trade friction,China’s digital trade resilience shows an overall upward trend,but there are regional differences in resilience levels across the country,with a severe polarization phenomenon.2)Spatially,high resilience is observed in the eastern and central regions of China,while the western and northeastern regions exhibit low resilience.3)From a dimensional perspective,the resistance of digital trade resilience displays a spatial distribution of high values in the east and low values in the west.The recovery force is aggregated along coastal areas,and the renewal force tends to aggregate along the eastern coastline.4)Factors such as economic scale,industrial structure,urbanization rate,government fiscal expenditure,and technological talents significantly promote the enhancement of digital trade resilience.This study reveals the dynamic characteristics and influencing factors of digital trade resilience in responding to external shocks,providing theoretical basis and policy suggestions for enhancing digital trade resilience,and promoting high-quality economic development in China.

Territorial Ecological Restoration with a High-carbon Storage Focus in the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration of China:Insights from Carbon Metabolism Spatial Security Patterns

This study focuses on urgent research on restoring and enhancing carbon storage capacity in the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomer-ation of China,a key area in the‘Belt and Road’Initiative,which aligns with carbon peaking and neutrality goals.This research ana-lyzes the spatial characteristics of carbon metabolism from 2000 to 2020 and uses models to identify stable carbon sink areas,positive carbon flow corridors,and carbon sequestration nodes.The goal is to construct a carbon metabolism spatial security pattern(CMSSP)and propose territorial ecological restoration strategies under different development demand scenarios.The results show the following:1)in 2020,the study area’s carbon sink decreased by 8.29×10^(4) t C/yr compared with that in 2010 and by 10.83×10^(4) t C/yr compared with that in 2000.High-carbon sinks were found mainly in mountainous areas,whereas low-carbon sinks are concentrated in urban con-struction land,rural residential areas,and land margins.2)From 2000 to 2020,the spatial security pattern of carbon metabolism tended to be‘high in the middle of the east and west and low in the gulf.’In 2000,2010,and 2020,16 stable carbon sinks were identified.The carbon energy flow density in Guangxi was greater than that in Guangdong and Hainan,with positive carbon flow corridors located primarily in Guangxi and Guangdong.The number of carbon sequestration nodes remained stable at approximately 15,mainly in Guangxi and Hainan.3)Scenario simulations revealed that under the Nature-based mild restoration scenario,the carbon sink rate will reach 611.85×10^(4) t C/yr by 2030 and increase to 612.45×10^(4) t C/yr by 2060,with stable carbon sinks increasing to 18.In the restora-tion scenario based on Anti-globalization,the carbon sink will decrease from 610.24×10^(4) t C/yr in 2030 to 605.19×10^(4) t C/yr in 2060,with the disappearance of some positive carbon flow corridors and stable carbon sinks.Under the Human-based sustainable restoration scenario,the carbon sink area will decrease from 607.00×10^(4) t C/yr in 2030 to 596.39×10^(4) t C/yr in 2060,with carbon sink areas frag-menting and positive carbon flow corridors becoming less dense.4)On the basis of the current and predicted CMSSPs,this study ex-plores spatial ecological restoration strategies for high-carbon storage areas in bay urban agglomerations at four levels:the land control region,urban agglomeration structure system,carbon sink structure and bay structure control region.

Impact of livelihood diversification of rural households on their ecological footprint in agro-pastoral areas of northern China

Human-environment relationship is a focus of academic researches and an understanding of the rela- tionship is important for making effective policies and decisions. In this study, based on rural household survey data of Taibus Banner, Duolun county and Zhengxiangbai Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China, we identified the impact of livelihood diversification on ecosystems in these agro-pastoral areas by using the ecological footprint theory and methodology together with the one-way analysis of variance （ANOVA） and correlation analysis methods. In 2011, the total ecological footprint of consumption （EFC） was 0.665 g hm2, and the total ecological footprint of production （EFP） was 2.045 g hm2, which was more than three times the EFC. The ecological footprint of arable land consumption （EFAC） accounted for a large proportion of the EFC, and the ecological footprint of grassland production （EFGP） occupied a large proportion of the EFP. Both the ecological footprint of grassland consumption （EFGC） and EFGP had a significant positive correlation with the income, indicating that income was mainly depended on livestock production and the households with higher incomes consumed more livestock prod- ucts. The full-time farming households （FTFHs） had the highest EFP, ecological footprint of arable land production （EFAP）, EFGP and EFGC, followed by the part-time farming households （PTFHs） and non-farming households （NFHs）, which indicated that part-time farming and non-farming employment reduced the occupancy and con- sumption of rural households on local ecosystems and natural resources to some extent. When farming households engaged in livestock rearing, both the EFAP and EFAC became smaller, while the EFP, EFC, EFGC and EFGP increased significantly. The differences in ecological footprints among different household groups should be taken into account when making ecosystem conservation policies. Encouraging the laborers who have the advantages of participating in non-farming employment to move out of the rural areas and increasing the diversification of liveli- hoods of rural households are important in reducing the environmental pressures and improving the welfare of households in the study area. Moreover, grassland should be utilized more effectively in the future.

Livelihood Diversification of Farm Households and Its Impact on Cultivated Land Utilization in Agro-pastoral Ecologically-vulnerable Areas in the Northern China

The relationship between livelihood diversification of farm households and cultivated land utilization has become a core research topic related to global environmental change.Agro-pastoral ecologically-vulnerable areas face challenges such as insufficient ecosystem conservation,low agricultural production,and weak economies.In this study,215 farm households from Zhengxiangbai Banner,Taibus Banner,and Duolun County of Inner Mongolia were surveyed.The sustainable livelihoods framework of the United Kingdom(UK)Department for International Development(DFID)was used to measure the livelihood capital of these farm households.A one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA)was applied to examine the differences in the livelihood capital of different types households,and a correlation analysis was applied to analyze its impact on cultivated land utilization.Results showed that households with non-farming activities accounted for 64.7%of the total surveyed households,and non-farming employment was becoming more prevalent.Physical and financial capital was the driving factors for livelihood diversity.Each livelihood capital had key factors that affected household farmland use behaviors,such as the age of householder,the labor ratio,proportion of income,farmland scale,number of machines,and these had a significantly positive or negative influence on farmland use.Full-time farming households were more likely to transfer the land into cultivation and invest more labor,while non-farming households with high income were likely to transfer farmland out and invest more money to develop efficient farming or improve the employment skills.The results of this study suggest that policymakers need to fully consider livelihood changes of local households.It is effective to strengthen labor training,create farmland market and improve the efficiency of farmland utilization.We hope to achieve a win-win scenario to improve local economies and ecosystem conservation.

Changes in soil carbon stocks and related soil properties along a 50-year grassland-to-cropland conversion chronosequence in an agro-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia,China

Land use change significantly influences soil properties. There is little information available on the long-term effects of post-reclamation from grassland to cropland on soil properties. We compared soil carbon （C） and nitrogen （N） storage and related soil properties in a 50-year cultivation chronosequence of grassland in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia. Field surveys on land use changes during the period of 1955-2002 were conducted to build a chronosequence of cropland of different ages since the conversion from grassland. The results showed that soil C and N storage, soil texture, and soil nutrient contents varied with land use types and cropland ages （P〈0.01）. In the 0-30 cm soil layer, the soil organic carbon （SOC） density was significantly lower in the crop- lands （3.28 kg C/m2 for C50 soil） than in the grasslands （6.32 kg C/m2）. After 5, 10, 15, 20, 35, and 50 years of crop planting （years since the onset of cultivation）, the SOC losses were 17%, 12%, 19%, 47%, 46%, and 48%, respec- tively, compared with the grasslands. The soil total nitrogen （TN） density of the grasslands was 65 g N/m2, and TN density of the cropland soil was 35 g N/m2 after 50 years of crop planting. Both the SOC and TN densities could be quantitatively determined by a negative exponential function of cropland age （P〈0.0001, R2=0.8528; P〈0.0001, R2=0.9637）. The dissolved organic carbon （DOC） content, pH value were decreased; and the soil bulk density and soil available potassium （AK） content, clay content, and sand content were increased since the conversion of grassland into cropland during the 50-year period. Our results show soil nutrients were higher in grassland than in cropland. The conversion of grasslands to croplands induced a loss of soil C storage and changes of related soil properties. The reclamation time of cultivated soil （cropland age） had significant effects on soil properties in the study area.

Evaluation of Land Reclamation and Implications of Ecological Restoration for Agro-pastoral Ecotone: Case Study of Horqin Left Back Banner in China

The agro-pastoral ecotone has been recognized as the main distribution area of reserved land resource for cultivation. Accordingly, clarifying this assumption, as well as concerting land reclamation and ecological restoration, is important to ensure food security and environmental improvement in the agro-pastoral ecotone. We selected Horqin Left Back Banner(HLBB) as the subject of our case study. The landscape ecological security pattern of this area was determined using the minimum cumulative resistance model. Over-cultivation, quantity of reserved land resource for cultivation, and changes in landscape indexes before and after land use adjustment were then analyzed. Over-cultivation is a serious problem in the agro-pastoral ecotone. Reserved land resource for cultivation is less than that considered previously, and the area of reserved land resource for cultivation in HLBB only accounts for 11.50% of total uncultivated land. With regard to changes in landscape indexes, the adjusted land use pattern is effective for anti-desertification. The compensation standard for abandoned cultivated land should be improved and the comprehensive results of ‘Grain for Green' should be evaluated to further implement ecological restoration in the agro-pastoral ecotone.

Agricultural Vulnerability to Drought in China's Agro-pastoral Ecotone:A Case Study of Yulin City,Shaanxi Province

Agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China is the prominent area for agricultural production,but it is also the most typical ecological fragile area with frequent drought disasters.Taking Yulin City at Shaanxi Province in China as the case area,the paper aims to investigate the spatio-temporal changes of agricultural vulnerability to drought in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the period 2000 to2020.The results show that:1)the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City has shifted from high vulnerability in the period2000–2010 to low vulnerability in the period 2011–2020.2)There exist obvious spatio-temporal differences of the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City during the research period.3)Four sensitive events and 14 resilient events were identified in the research and the crops of Yulin had become more resilient to drought.Finally,the paper put forward with policy implications to make adaptive strategies of agriculture to climate change in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the future,e.g.,carrying out agricultural zoning based on agricultural production conditions,intensifying the construction of disaster prevention and relief system,and integrating with modern agricultural technology to develop new type agriculture.

Wavelet analysis of spring climate characteristics in arid aeolian area of agro-pastoral ecotone in China

The unique regional climate characteristics are among the main reasons for the frequent wind-sand activity in arid and cold areas in the agro-pastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia, China. This paper focuses on the time series of temperature and precipitation in spring when sandstorms often occur in the area. Based on meteorological data for a 46-year period from 1959 to 2004, multi-scale variations and abrupt changes in temperature and precipitation were analyzed with the Mexican hat function （MHF） wavelet method, showing the multi-scale variation characteristics of temperature and precipitation, as well as the periods and change points at different time scales. The relationship between temperature and precipitation was obtained using the wavelet analysis method. Obvious staggered features of the variations of spring temperature and precipitation were observed in this agro-pastoral ecotone. The strongest oscillation periods of spring temperature variations were 1 and 22 years, while for precipitation, the strongest oscillation periods of variations were 2, 8, and 22 years. In addition, lower spring temperature corresponded to lower precipitation, whereas higher temperature yielded higher precipitation rate.

Wind Tunnel Study of Multiple Factors Affecting Wind Erosion from Cropland in Agro-pastoral Area of Inner Mongolia,China

In this paper,the process of wind erosion on two kinds of soil from the agro-pastoral area of Inner Mongolia are studied using wind tunnel experiments,considering the wind speed,blown angle of wind and soil moisture content.The results showed that the modulus of soil wind erosion increases with an increase of wind speed.When the wind speed exceeds a critical value,the soil wind erosion suddenly increases.The critical speed for both kinds of soil is within the range of 7-8m·s-1.For a constant wind speed,the rate of soil wind erosion changes from increasing to falling at a critical soil slope.The critical slope of loam soil and sandy loam soil is 20° and 10°,respectively.Soil moisture content has a significant effect on wind erosion.Soil wind erosion of both soils decreases with an increase of the soil water content in two treatments,however,for treatment two,the increasing trends of wind erosion for two soils with the falling of soil water content are no significant,especially for the loam soil,and in the same soil water content,the wind erosion of two soils in treatment one is significantly higher than treatment two,this indicates reducing the disturbance of soil surface can evidently control the soil wind erosion.

Determinants of Food Security in Selected Agro-pastoral Communities of Somali and Oromia Regions, Ethiopia

In spite of receiving a significant amount of food aid, achieving food security has been a major problem in Ethiopia. The claim is evidenced from the 2010 Global Hunger Index where the country fared dismally, coming only fourth from the bottom. There are several factors attributing to this problem of food insecurity in a country like Ethiopia which depends highly on agriculture and allied activities. Some of the factors can be linked to low food production and productivity thereby leading to pervasive poverty. In order to assess these factors, the study was conducted on some selected members of agro-pastoral communities of Somali and Oromia regions in Ethiopia. Using availability of food in the household for the last one month as a proxy for food security, the estimated results of a logistic regression model indicated that the most significant factors affecting household food security are educational level of the spouse and that of the household head, size of farm land, availability of household assets including livestock, peace and security. The paper suggests some leads to how these amenities and resources can be provided to household members as they endeavor to reduce food insecurity.

Corrigendum to“Migration pattern of a population of Barn Swallows(Hirundo rustica)breeding in East Asian tropical region”[Avian Res.15(2024)100192]

The authors regret that the caption of Fig.4 should be replaced as below.

Clinical manifestation,lifestyle,and treatment patterns of chronic erosive gastritis:A multicenter real-world study in China

BACKGROUND Although chronic erosive gastritis(CEG)is common,its clinical characteristics have not been fully elucidated.The lack of consensus regarding its treatment has resulted in varied treatment regimens.AIM To explore the clinical characteristics,treatment patterns,and short-term outcomes in CEG patients in China.METHODS We recruited patients with chronic non-atrophic or mild-to-moderate atrophic gastritis with erosion based on endoscopy and pathology.Patients and treating physicians completed a questionnaire regarding history,endoscopic findings,and treatment plans as well as a follow-up questionnaire to investigate changes in symptoms after 4 wk of treatment.RESULTS Three thousand five hundred sixty-three patients from 42 centers across 24 cities in China were included.Epigastric pain(68.0%),abdominal distension(62.6%),and postprandial fullness(47.5%)were the most common presenting symptoms.Gastritis was classified as chronic non-atrophic in 69.9%of patients.Among those with erosive lesions,72.1%of patients had lesions in the antrum,51.0%had multiple lesions,and 67.3%had superficial flat lesions.In patients with epigastric pain,the combination of a mucosal protective agent(MPA)and proton pump inhibitor was more effective.For those with postprandial fullness,acid regurgitation,early satiety,or nausea,a MPA appeared more promising.CONCLUSION CEG is a multifactorial disease which is common in Asian patients and has non-specific symptoms.Gastroscopy may play a major role in its detection and diagnosis.Treatment should be individualized based on symptom profile.

Plant-based dietary patterns and risk of esophageal cancer:A prospective cohort study spanning 17 years

Objective: Plant-based diets have multiple health benefits for cancers;however, little is known about the association between plant-based dietary patterns and esophageal cancer(EC).This study presents an investigation of the prospective associations among three predefined indices of plant-based dietary patterns and the risk of EC.Methods: We performed endoscopic screening for 15,709 participants aged 40-69 years from two high-risk areas of China from January 2005 to December 2009 and followed the cohort until December 31, 2022. The overall plant-based diet index(PDI), healthful plant-based diet index(h PDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet index(u PDI), were calculated using survey responses to assess dietary patterns. We applied Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate the multivariable hazard ratios(HRs) and 95% confidence intervals(95% CIs) of EC across 3plant-based diet indices and further stratified the analysis by subgroups.Results: The final study sample included 15,184 participants in the cohort. During a follow-up of 219,365person-years, 176 patients with EC were identified. When the highest quartile was compared with the lowest quartile, the pooled multivariable-adjusted HR of EC was 0.50(95% CI, 0.32-0.77) for h PDI. In addition, the HR per 10-point increase in the h PDI score was 0.42(95% CI, 0.27-0.66) for ECs. Conversely, u PDI was positively associated with the risk of EC, and the HR was 1.80(95% CI, 1.16-2.82). The HR per 10-point increase in the u PDI score was 1.90(95% CI, 1.26-2.88) for ECs. The associations between these scores and the risk of EC were consistent in most subgroups. These results remained robust in sensitivity analyses.Conclusions: A healthy plant-based dietary pattern was associated with a reduced risk of EC. Emphasizing the healthiness and quality of plant-based diets may be important for preventing the development of EC.

Surface Patterning of Metal Zinc Electrode with an In‑Region Zincophilic Interface for High‑Rate and Long‑Cycle‑Life Zinc Metal Anode

The undesirable dendrite growth induced by non-planar zinc(Zn)deposition and low Coulombic efficiency resulting from severe side reactions have been long-standing challenges for metallic Zn anodes and substantially impede the practical application of rechargeable aqueous Zn metal batteries(ZMBs).Herein,we present a strategy for achieving a high-rate and long-cycle-life Zn metal anode by patterning Zn foil surfaces and endowing a Zn-Indium(Zn-In)interface in the microchannels.The accumulation of electrons in the microchannel and the zincophilicity of the Zn-In interface promote preferential heteroepitaxial Zn deposition in the microchannel region and enhance the tolerance of the electrode at high current densities.Meanwhile,electron aggregation accelerates the dissolution of non-(002)plane Zn atoms on the array surface,thereby directing the subsequent homoepitaxial Zn deposition on the array surface.Consequently,the planar dendrite-free Zn deposition and long-term cycling stability are achieved(5,050 h at 10.0 mA cm^(−2) and 27,000 cycles at 20.0 mA cm^(−2)).Furthermore,a Zn/I_(2) full cell assembled by pairing with such an anode can maintain good stability for 3,500 cycles at 5.0 C,demonstrating the application potential of the as-prepared ZnIn anode for high-performance aqueous ZMBs.

Succession of soil bacterial and fungal communities of Caragana korshinskii plantation in a typical agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China over a 50-a period

Bacterial and fungal communities play critical roles in reestablishing vegetation structure,function and biodiversity in ecosystem restoration in arid and semi-arid areas.However,the long-term successional changes in bacterial and fungal communities that occur with artificial vegetation development are not fully understood.In this study,we investigated the successional changes in bacterial and fungal communities in Caragana korshinskii Kom.plantation over a period of 50 a(6,12,18,40 and 50 a)and their relationships with key soil environmental factors in a typical agro-pastoral ecotone,northern China.The results showed that bacterial and fungal diversities(α-andβ-diversity)were significantly affected by plantation age;moreover,the change in fungal community was more evident than that in bacterial community.Soil samples from 12 a plantation had the highest(P<0.05)bacterial and fungalα-diversity(i.e.,abundance-based coverage estimator(ACE)and Chao1 index)at 0-10 cm depth compared with other samples.However,soil samples from plantation at the late recovery stage(40-50 a)had the highestα-diversity at 10-20 cm depth.Soil bacterial community was not significantly affected by plantation age at the genus level;but,soil fungal community was significantly affected at the genus level.Overall,Mortierella and Chaetomium were the dominant genera at natural recovery stage(0 a);Inocybe was the dominant genus at the early recovery stage(6-12 a);Inocybe and Mortierella were the dominant genera at the mid-recovery stage(12-40 a);And Mortierella,Cladosporium and Humicola were the dominant genera at the late recovery stage(40-50 a).Redundancy analysis(RDA)showed thatβ-glucosidase activity,total nitrogen and soil organic carbon were closely associated with bacterial community composition,while alkaline phosphatase,urease activity and total nitrogen were associated with fungal community composition,indicating that changes in enzyme activity and soil nutrients were the most important determinants of dominant genera.Furthermore,pathogenic microorganisms(Cladosporium and Humicola)were dominant in soils from 40-50 a plantation,which may affect plant growth,resulting in the decline of C.korshinskii plantation.Overall,the findings of this study improve the understanding of ecological patterns of bacterial and fungal communities in artificial vegetation and provide an important scientific basis for comprehensive ecological restoration management in arid and semi-arid areas.

Extreme Meteorological Drought Events over China(1951-2022):Migration Patterns,Diversity of Temperature Extremes,and Decadal Variations

Recently,extreme meteorological droughts have affected China,causing terrible socioeconomic impacts.Despite previous research on the spatiotemporal characteristics and mechanisms of drought,two crucial issues remain seldom explored.First,an event-oriented drought chronology with detailed spatiotemporal evolutions is urgently required.Second,the complex migration patterns and diversity of synchronous temperature extremes need to be quantitatively investigated.Accordingly,the main achievements of our investigation are as follows.We produced an event-oriented set of extreme meteorological droughts over China through the application of a newly developed 3D DBSCAN-based detection method(deposited on https://doi.org/10.25452/figshare.plus.25512334),which was verified with a historical atlas and monographs on a case-by-case basis.In addition,distinctive migration patterns(i.e.,stationary/propagation types)are identified and ranked,considering the differences in latitudinal zones and coastal/inland locations.We also analyze the diversity of synchronous temperature extremes(e.g.,hotness and coldness).Notably,an increasing trend in hot droughts occurred over China since the late 1990s,predominantly appearing to the south of 30°N and north of 40°N.All drought events and synchronous temperature extremes are ranked using a comprehensive magnitude index,with the 2022 summer-autumn Yangtze River hot drought being the hottest.Furthermore,Liang-Kleeman information flow-based causality analysis emphasizes key areas where the PDO and AMO influenced decadal variations in coverages of droughts and temperature extremes.We believe that the achievements in this study may offer new insights into sequential mechanism exploration and prediction-related issues.

Acute effect of foot strike patterns on in vivo tibiotalar and subtalar joint kinematics during barefoot running

Background:Foot kinematics,such as excessive eversion and malalignment of the hindfoot,are believed to be associated with running-related injuries.The maj ority of studies to date show that different foot strike patterns influence these specific foot and ankle kinematics.However,technical deficiencies in traditional motion capture approaches limit knowledge of in vivo joint kinematics with respect to rearfoot and forefoot strike patterns(RFS and FFS,respectively).This study uses a high-speed dual fluoroscopic imaging system(DFIS)to determine the effects of different foot strike patterns on 3D in vivo tibiotalar and subtalar joints kinematics.Methods:Fifteen healthy male recreational runners underwent foot computed tomography scanning for the construction of 3-dimensional models.A high-speed DFIS(100 Hz)was used to collect 6 degrees of freedom kinematics for participants’tibiotalar and subtalar joints when they adopted RFS and FFS in barefoot condition.Results:Compared with RFS,FFS exhibited greater internal rotation at 0%-20%of the stance phase in the tibiotalar joint.The peak internal rotation angle of the tibiotalar joint under FFS was greater than under RFS(p<0.001,Cohen’s d=0.92).RFS showed more dorsiflexion at 0%-20%of the stance phase in the tibiotalar joint than FFS.RFS also presented a larger anterior translation(p<0.001,Cohen’s d=1.28)in the subtalar joint at i nitial contact than FFS.Conclusion:Running with acute barefoot FFS increases the internal rotation of the tibiotalar joint in the early stance.The use of high-speed DFIS to quantify the movement of the tibiotalar and subtalar joint was critical to revealing the effects of RF S and FFS during running.

Surface crack evolution patterns in freeze-thaw damage of fissured rock bodies

To explore the effects of freeze‒thaw cycles on the mechanical properties and crack evolution of fissured sandstone,biaxial compression experiments were carried out on sandstone subjected to freeze‒thaw cycles to characterize the changes in the physical and mechanical properties of fissured sandstone caused by freeze‒thaw cycles.The crack evolution and crack change process on the surface of the fissured sandstone were recorded and analysed in detail via digital image technology(DIC).Numerical simulation was used to reveal the expansion process and damage mode of fine-scale cracks under the action of freeze‒thaw cycles,and the simulation results were compared and analysed with the experimental data to verify the reliability of the numerical model.The results show that the mass loss,porosity,peak stress and elastic modulus all increase with increasing number of freeze‒thaw cycles.With an increase in the number of freeze‒thaw cycles,a substantial change in displacement occurs around the prefabricated cracks,and a stress concentration appears at the crack tip.As new cracks continue to sprout at the tips of the prefabricated cracks until the microcracks gradually penetrate into the main cracks,the displacement cloud becomes obviously discontinuous,and the contours of the displacement field in the crack fracture damage area simply intersect with the prefabricated cracks to form an obvious fracture.The damage patterns of the fractured sandstone after freeze‒thaw cycles clearly differ,forming a symmetrical"L"-shaped damage pattern at zero freeze‒thaw cycles,a symmetrical"V"-shaped damage pattern at 10 freeze‒thaw cycles,and a"V"-shaped damage pattern at 20 freeze‒thaw cycles.After 20 freeze‒thaw cycles,a"V"-shaped destruction pattern and"L"-shaped destruction pattern are formed;after 30 freeze‒thaw cycles,an"N"-shaped destruction pattern is formed.This shows that the failure mode of fractured sandstone gradually becomes more complicated with an increasing number of freeze‒thaw cycles.The effects of freeze‒thaw cycles on the direction and rate of crack propagation are revealed through a temperature‒load coupled model,which provides an important reference for an in-depth understanding of the freeze‒thaw failure mechanisms of fractured rock masses.

Venous Doppler flow patterns,venous congestion,heart disease and renal dysfunction:A complex liaison

The World Journal of Cardiology published an article written by Kuwahara et al that we take the pleasure to comment on.We focused our attention on venous congestion.In intensive care settings,it is now widely accepted that venous congestion is an important clinical feature worthy of investigation.Evaluating venous Doppler profile abnormalities at multiple sites could suggest adequate treatment and monitor its efficacy.Renal dysfunction could trigger or worsen fluid overload in heart disease,and cardio-renal syndrome is a well-characterized spectrum of disorders describing the complex interactions between heart and kidney diseases.Fluid overload and venous congestion,including renal venous hypertension,are major determinants of acute and chronic renal dysfunction arising in heart disease.Organ congestion from venous hypertension could be involved in the development of organ injury in several clinical situations,such as critical diseases,congestive heart failure,and chronic kidney disease.Ultrasonography and abnormal Doppler flow patterns diagnose clinically significant systemic venous congestion.Cardiologists and nephrologists might use this valuable,noninvasive,bedside diagnostic tool to establish fluid status and guide clinical choices.