The frequency and duration of observed concurrent hot and dry events(HDEs) over China during the growing season(April–September) exhibit significant decadal changes across the mid-1990s. These changes are characteriz...The frequency and duration of observed concurrent hot and dry events(HDEs) over China during the growing season(April–September) exhibit significant decadal changes across the mid-1990s. These changes are characterized by increases in HDE frequency and duration over most of China, with relatively large increases over southeastern China(SEC), northern China(NC), and northeastern China(NEC). The frequency of HDEs averaged over China in the present day(PD,1994–2011) is double that in the early period(EP, 1964–81);the duration of HDEs increases by 60%. Climate experiments with the Met Office Unified Model(MetUM-GOML2) are used to estimate the contributions of anthropogenic forcing to HDE decadal changes over China. Anthropogenic forcing changes can explain 60%–70% of the observed decadal changes,suggesting an important anthropogenic influence on HDE changes over China across the mid-1990s. Single-forcing experiments indicate that the increase in greenhouse gas(GHG) concentrations dominates the simulated decadal changes,increasing the frequency and duration of HDEs throughout China. The change in anthropogenic aerosol(AA) emissions significantly decreases the frequency and duration of HDEs over SEC and NC, but the magnitude of the decrease is much smaller than the increase induced by GHGs. The changes in HDEs in response to anthropogenic forcing are mainly due to the response of climatological mean surface air temperatures. The contributions from changes in variability and changes in climatological mean soil moisture and evapotranspiration are relatively small. The physical processes associated with the response of HDEs to GHG and AA changes are also revealed.展开更多
BACKGROUND Prophylactic antibiotics have significantly led to a reduction in the risk of postoperative surgical site infections(SSI)in orthopaedic surgery.The aim of using antibiotics for this purpose is to achieve se...BACKGROUND Prophylactic antibiotics have significantly led to a reduction in the risk of postoperative surgical site infections(SSI)in orthopaedic surgery.The aim of using antibiotics for this purpose is to achieve serum and tissue drug levels that exceed,for the duration of the operation,the minimum inhibitory concentration of the likely organisms that are encountered.Prophylactic antibiotics reduce the rate of SSIs in lower limb arthroplasty from between 4%and 8%to between 1%and 3%.Controversy,however,still surrounds the optimal frequency and dosing of antibiotic administration.AIM To evaluate the impact of introduction of a weight-adjusted antibiotic prophylaxis regime,combined with a reduction in the duration of administration of post-operative antibiotics on SSI incidence during the 2 years following primary elective total hip and knee arthroplasty METHODS Following ethical approval,patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty(THA)/total knee arthroplasty(TKA)with the old regime(OR)of a preoperative dose[cefazolin 2 g intravenously(IV)],and two subsequent doses(2 h and 8 h),were compared to those after a change to a new regime(NR)of a weight-adjusted preoperative dose(cefazolin 2 g IV for patients<120 kg;cefazolin 3g IV for patients>120 kg)and a post-operative dose at 2 h.The primary outcome in both groups was SSI rates during the 2 years post-operatively.RESULTS A total of n=1273 operations(THA n=534,TKA n=739)were performed in n=1264 patients.There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of deep(OR 0.74%(5/675)vs NR 0.50%(3/598);fishers exact test P=0.72),nor superficial SSIs(OR 2.07%(14/675)vs NR 1.50%(9/598);chi-squared test P=0.44)at 2 years postoperatively.With propensity score weighting and an interrupted time series analysis,there was also no difference in SSI rates between both groups[RR 0.88(95%CI 0.61 to 1.30)P=0.46].CONCLUSION A weight-adjusted regime,with a reduction in number of post-operative doses had no adverse impact on SSI incidence in this population.展开更多
BACKGROUND Tranexamic acid(TXA),a synthetic antifibrinolytic drug,effectively reduces blood loss by inhibiting plasmin-induced fibrin breakdown.This is the first study in the United Kingdom to investigate the effectiv...BACKGROUND Tranexamic acid(TXA),a synthetic antifibrinolytic drug,effectively reduces blood loss by inhibiting plasmin-induced fibrin breakdown.This is the first study in the United Kingdom to investigate the effectiveness of TXA in the surgical management of isolated spine trauma.AIM To assess the safety of TXA in isolated spine trauma.The primary and secondary outcomes are to assess the rate of thromboembolic events and to evaluate blood loss and the incidence of blood transfusion,respectively.METHODS This prospective observational study included patients aged≥17 years with isolated spine trauma requiring surgical intervention over a 6-month period at two major trauma centers in the United Kingdom.RESULTS We identified 67 patients:26(39%)and 41(61%)received and did not receive TXA,respectively.Both groups were matched in terms of age,gender,American Society of Anesthesiologists grade,and mechanism of injury.A higher proportion of patients who received TXA had a subaxial cervical spine injury classification or thoracolumbar injury classification score>4(74%vs 56%).All patients in the TXA group underwent an open approach with a mean of 5 spinal levels involved and an average operative time of 203 min,compared with 24 patients(58%)in the non TXA group who underwent an open approach with an average of 3 spinal levels involved and a mean operative time of 159 min.Among patients who received TXA,blood loss was<150 and 150–300 mL in 8(31%)and 15(58%)patients,respectively.There were no cases of thromboembolic events in any patient who received TXA.CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that TXA is safe for isolated spine trauma.It is challenging to determine whether TXA effectively reduces blood loss because most surgeons prefer TXA for open or multilevel cases.Further,larger studies are necessary to explore the rate,dosage,and mode of administration of TXA.展开更多
Background Deep 3D morphable models(deep 3DMMs)play an essential role in computer vision.They are used in facial synthesis,compression,reconstruction and animation,avatar creation,virtual try-on,facial recognition sys...Background Deep 3D morphable models(deep 3DMMs)play an essential role in computer vision.They are used in facial synthesis,compression,reconstruction and animation,avatar creation,virtual try-on,facial recognition systems and medical imaging.These applications require high spatial and perceptual quality of synthesised meshes.Despite their significance,these models have not been compared with different mesh representations and evaluated jointly with point-wise distance and perceptual metrics.Methods We compare the influence of different mesh representation features to various deep 3DMMs on spatial and perceptual fidelity of the reconstructed meshes.This paper proves the hypothesis that building deep 3DMMs from meshes represented with global representations leads to lower spatial reconstruction error measured with L_(1) and L_(2) norm metrics and underperforms on perceptual metrics.In contrast,using differential mesh representations which describe differential surface properties yields lower perceptual FMPD and DAME and higher spatial fidelity error.The influence of mesh feature normalisation and standardisation is also compared and analysed from perceptual and spatial fidelity perspectives.Results The results presented in this paper provide guidance in selecting mesh representations to build deep 3DMMs accordingly to spatial and perceptual quality objectives and propose combinations of mesh representations and deep 3DMMs which improve either perceptual or spatial fidelity of existing methods.展开更多
The digital twins concept enhances modeling and simulation through the integration of real-time data and feedback.This review elucidates the foundational elements of digital twins,covering their concept,entities,domai...The digital twins concept enhances modeling and simulation through the integration of real-time data and feedback.This review elucidates the foundational elements of digital twins,covering their concept,entities,domains,and key technologies.More specifically,we investigate the transformative potential of digital twins for the wastewater treatment engineering sector.Our discussion highlights the application of digital twins to wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)and sewage networks,hardware(i.e.,facilities and pipes,sensors for water quality and activated sludge,hydrodynamics,and power consumption),and software(i.e.,knowledge-based and data-driven models,mechanistic models,hybrid twins,control methods,and the Internet of Things).Furthermore,two cases are provided,followed by an assessment of current challenges in and perspectives on the application of digital twins in WWTPs.This review serves as an essential primer for wastewater engineers navigating the digital paradigm shift.展开更多
Low-electrode capacitive deionization(FCDI)is an emerging desalination technology with great potential for removal and/or recycling ions from a range of waters.However,it still suffers from inefficient charge transfer...Low-electrode capacitive deionization(FCDI)is an emerging desalination technology with great potential for removal and/or recycling ions from a range of waters.However,it still suffers from inefficient charge transfer and ion transport kinetics due to weak turbulence and low electric intensity in flow electrodes,both restricted by the current collectors.Herein,a new tip-array current collector(designated as T-CC)was developed to replace the conventional planar current collectors,which intensifies both the charge transfer and ion transport significantly.The effects of tip arrays on flow and electric fields were studied by both computational simulations and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy,which revealed the reduction of ion transport barrier,charge transport barrier and internal resistance.With the voltage increased from 1.0 to 1.5 and 2.0 V,the T-CC-based FCDI system(T-FCDI)exhibited average salt removal rates(ASRR)of 0.18,0.50,and 0.89μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),respectively,which are 1.82,2.65,and 2.48 folds higher than that of the conventional serpentine current collectors,and 1.48,1.67,and 1.49 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Meanwhile,with the solid content in flow electrodes increased from 1 to 5 wt%,the ASRR for T-FCDI increased from 0.29 to 0.50μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),which are 1.70 and 1.67 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Additionally,a salt removal efficiency of 99.89%was achieved with T-FCDI and the charge efficiency remained above 95%after 24 h of operation,thus showing its superior long-term stability.展开更多
Thermal processes on the Tibetan Plateau(TP)influence atmospheric conditions on regional and global scales.Given this,previous work has shown that soil moisture−driven surface flux variations feed back onto the atmosp...Thermal processes on the Tibetan Plateau(TP)influence atmospheric conditions on regional and global scales.Given this,previous work has shown that soil moisture−driven surface flux variations feed back onto the atmosphere.Whilst soil moisture is a source of atmospheric predictability,no study has evaluated soil moisture−atmosphere coupling on the TP in general circulation models(GCMs).In this study,we use several analysis techniques to assess soil moisture−atmosphere coupling in CMIP6 simulations including:instantaneous coupling indices;analysis of flux and atmospheric behaviour during dry spells;and a quantification of the preference for convection over drier soils.Through these metrics we partition feedbacks into their atmospheric and terrestrial components.Consistent with previous global studies,we conclude substantial inter-model differences in the representation of soil moisture−atmosphere coupling,and that most models underestimate such feedbacks.Focusing on dry spell analysis,most models underestimate increased sensible heat during periods of rainfall deficiency.For example,the model-mean bias in anomalous sensible heat flux is 10 W m−2(≈25%)smaller compared to observations.Deficient dry-spell sensible heat fluxes lead to a weaker atmospheric response.We also find that most GCMs fail to capture the negative feedback between soil moisture and deep convection.The poor simulation of feedbacks in CMIP6 experiments suggests that forecast models also struggle to exploit soil moisture−driven predictability.To improve the representation of land−atmosphere feedbacks requires developments in not only atmospheric modelling,but also surface processes,as we find weak relationships between rainfall biases and coupling indexes.展开更多
Emerging Internet of Things(IoT)applications require faster execution time and response time to achieve optimal performance.However,most IoT devices have limited or no computing capability to achieve such stringent ap...Emerging Internet of Things(IoT)applications require faster execution time and response time to achieve optimal performance.However,most IoT devices have limited or no computing capability to achieve such stringent application requirements.To this end,computation offloading in edge computing has been used for IoT systems to achieve the desired performance.Nevertheless,randomly offloading applications to any available edge without considering their resource demands,inter-application dependencies and edge resource availability may eventually result in execution delay and performance degradation.We introduce Edge-IoT,a machine learning-enabled orchestration framework in this paper,which utilizes the states of edge resources and application resource requirements to facilitate a resource-aware offloading scheme for minimizing the average latency.We further propose a variant bin-packing optimization model that co-locates applications firmly on edge resources to fully utilize available resources.Extensive experiments show the effectiveness and resource efficiency of the proposed approach.展开更多
The field of mobility prediction has been widely investigated in the recent past,especially the reduction of the coverage radius of cellular networks,which led to an increase in hand-over events.Changing the cell cove...The field of mobility prediction has been widely investigated in the recent past,especially the reduction of the coverage radius of cellular networks,which led to an increase in hand-over events.Changing the cell coverage very frequently,for example,may lead to service disruptions if a predictive approach is not deployed in the system.Although several works examined mobility prediction in the new-generation mobile networks,all of these studies focused on studying the time features of mobility traces,and the spectral content of historical mobility patterns was not considered for prediction purposes as yet.In the present study,we propose a new approach to mobility prediction by analyzing the effects of a proper mobility sampling frequency.The proposed approach lies in the mobility analysis in the frequency domain,to extract hidden features of the mobility process.Thus,we proposed a new methodology to determine the spectral content of mobility traces(considered as signals)and,thus,the appropriate sampling frequency,which can provide numerous advantages.We considered several types of mobility models(e.g.pedestrian,urban,and vehicular),containing important details in the time and frequency domains.Several simulation campaigns were performed to observe and analyze the characteristics of mobility from real traces and to evaluate the effects of sampling frequency on the spectral content.展开更多
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries(ZABs)are a promising energy conversion device,which rely critically on electrocatalysts to accelerate their rate-determining reactions such as oxygen reduction(ORR)and oxygen evolution ...Rechargeable zinc-air batteries(ZABs)are a promising energy conversion device,which rely critically on electrocatalysts to accelerate their rate-determining reactions such as oxygen reduction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reactions(OER).Herein,we fabricate a range of bifunctional M-N-C(metal-nitrogen-carbon)catalysts containing M-Nx coordination sites and M/MxC nanoparticles(M=Co,Fe,and Cu)using a new class ofγ-cyclodextrin(CD)based metal-organic framework as the precursor.With the two types of active sites interacting with each other in the catalysts,the obtained Fe@C-FeNC and Co@C-CoNC display superior alkaline ORR activity in terms of low half-wave(E1/2)potential(~0.917 and 0.906 V,respectively),which are higher than Cu@C-CuNC(~0.829 V)and the commercial Pt/C(~0.861 V).As a bifunctional electrocatalyst,the Co@C-CoNC exhibits the best performance,showing a bifunctional ORR/OER overpotential(ΔE)of~0.732 V,which is much lower than that of Fe@C-FeNC(~0.831 V)and Cu@C-CuNC(~1.411 V),as well as most of the robust bifunctional electrocatalysts reported to date.Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory simulations reveal that the strong electronic correlation between metallic Co nanoparticles and the atomic Co-N4 sites in the Co@C-CoNC catalyst can increase the d-electron density near the Fermi level and thus effectively optimize the adsorption/desorption of intermediates in ORR/OER,resulting in an enhanced bifunctional electrocatalytic performance.The Co@C-CoNC-based rechargeable ZAB exhibited a maximum power density of 162.80 mW cm^(−2) at 270.30 mA cm^(−2),higher than the combination of commercial Pt/C+RuO2(~158.90 mW cm^(−2) at 265.80 mA cm^(−2))catalysts.During the galvanostatic discharge at 10 mA cm^(−2),the ZAB delivered an almost stable discharge voltage of 1.2 V for~140 h,signifying the virtue of excellent bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalytic activity.展开更多
Cost overrun is a common problem in construction projects worldwide.Most Indian construction projects,particularly those involving high-rise buildings,have had severe cost overruns.For managers,architects,engineers,an...Cost overrun is a common problem in construction projects worldwide.Most Indian construction projects,particularly those involving high-rise buildings,have had severe cost overruns.For managers,architects,engineers,and contractors,completing building projects within the specified cost budget has become the most important and hard assignment.Since it is common for high-rise building projects to go over budget,the aim of this study is to find out the causes of cost overruns and provide effective measures.The study found 70 cost overrun factors based on a comprehensive literature review and expert opinions.A Google form questionnaire was distributed to 150 construction professionals across India.After following up,101 of the 150 responses were received.A five-point Likert scale was used and the acquired data was analyzed and ranked using the Relative Importance Index(RII)technique.According to the findings of RII,the top ten critical factors influencing cost overruns were frequent change orders during construction by the owner,delay in construction,escalation of material prices,market inflation or deflation,rework,frequent changes in design,inaccurate evaluation of the project timeline,unforeseen ground condition,inaccurate quantity take-off,and delay in progressive payment by the owner.Spearman’s rank correlation test revealed that there is a very significant relationship between the rankings of factors provided by the owner,the consultant,and the contractor.In addition,a factor analysis tool in the SPSS software was also used to categorize the seventy factors into sixteen core components.The top ten critical factors were presented to subject matter experts,and their suggestions were being compiled.These results are expected to help construction professionals minimize cost overruns,improve cost control measures,and initiate future research.展开更多
A probabilistic seismic loss assessment of RC high-rise(RCHR)buildings designed according to Eurocode 8 and located in the Southern Euro-Mediterranean zone is presented herein.The loss assessment methodology is based ...A probabilistic seismic loss assessment of RC high-rise(RCHR)buildings designed according to Eurocode 8 and located in the Southern Euro-Mediterranean zone is presented herein.The loss assessment methodology is based on a comprehensive simulation approach which takes into account ground motion(GM)uncertainty,and the random effects in seismic demand,as well as in predicting the damage states(DSs).The methodology is implemented on three RCHR buildings of 20-story,30-story and 40-story with a core wall structural system.The loss functions described by a cumulative lognormal probability distribution are obtained for two intensity levels for a large set of simulations(NLTHAs)based on 60 GM records with a wide range of magnitude(M),distance to source(R)and different site soil conditions(SS).The losses expressed in percent of building replacement cost for RCHR buildings are obtained.In the estimation of losses,both structural(S)and nonstructural(NS)damage for four DSs are considered.The effect of different GM characteristics(M,R and SS)on the obtained losses are investigated.Finally,the estimated performance of the RCHR buildings are checked to ensure that they fulfill limit state requirements according to Eurocode 8.展开更多
When oral feeding cannot provide adequate nutritional support to children,enteral tube feeding becomes a necessity.The overall aim is to ultimately promote appropriate growth,improve the patient’s quality of life and...When oral feeding cannot provide adequate nutritional support to children,enteral tube feeding becomes a necessity.The overall aim is to ultimately promote appropriate growth,improve the patient’s quality of life and increase carer satisfaction.Nasogastric tube feeding is considered appropriate on a short-term basis.Alternatively,gastrostomy feeding offers a more convenient and safer feeding option especially as it does not require frequent replacements,and carries a lower risk of complications.Gastrostomy tube feeding should be considered when nasogastric tube feeding is required for more than 2-3 wk as per the ESPEN guidelines on artificial enteral nutrition.Several techniques can be used to insert gastrostomies in children including endoscopic,image guided and surgical gastrostomy insertion whether open or laparoscopic.Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages.The timing of gastrostomy insertion,device choice and method of insertion is dependent on the local expertise,patient requirements and family preference,and should be individualized with a multidisciplinary team approach.We aim to review gastrostomy insertion in children including indications,contraindications,history of gastrostomy,insertion techniques and complications.展开更多
Magnesium alloys are the lightest structural alloys and have attracted substantial research attention in the past two decades. However, their mechanical properties, including ductility and strength, are limited after ...Magnesium alloys are the lightest structural alloys and have attracted substantial research attention in the past two decades. However, their mechanical properties, including ductility and strength, are limited after forming due to the formation of coarse grains and strong texture. This study proposes and proves a new cryogenic-hot forming process concept. Cryogenic deformation is imposed before the hot deformation. The effect of the cryogenic step has been compared with a conventional direct hot deformation process. The mechanical properties, microstructure,and texture of both the novel and conventional process routes have been compared. The cryogenic-hot deformed sample exhibits the highest ductility and fracture strength(ultimate tensile strength: 321 MPa, ductility: 21%) due to effective grain refinement and texture weakening by cryogenically formed twin-twin interaction induced recrystallisation. The proposed cryogenic-hot forming process can be a potential innovative manufacturing method for producing high-performance magnesium components.展开更多
基金the University of Reading, funded by the UK–China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund through the Met Office Climate Science for Service Partnership (CSSP) China as part of the Newton Fundsupported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42030603 and 42175044)+1 种基金supported by CSSP-China. NPK was supported by an Independent Research Fellowship from the Natural Environment Research Council (Grant No. NE/L010976/1)supported by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science via the NERC/GCRF programme “Atmospheric hazards in developing countries: risk assessment and early warnings ” (ACREW)。
文摘The frequency and duration of observed concurrent hot and dry events(HDEs) over China during the growing season(April–September) exhibit significant decadal changes across the mid-1990s. These changes are characterized by increases in HDE frequency and duration over most of China, with relatively large increases over southeastern China(SEC), northern China(NC), and northeastern China(NEC). The frequency of HDEs averaged over China in the present day(PD,1994–2011) is double that in the early period(EP, 1964–81);the duration of HDEs increases by 60%. Climate experiments with the Met Office Unified Model(MetUM-GOML2) are used to estimate the contributions of anthropogenic forcing to HDE decadal changes over China. Anthropogenic forcing changes can explain 60%–70% of the observed decadal changes,suggesting an important anthropogenic influence on HDE changes over China across the mid-1990s. Single-forcing experiments indicate that the increase in greenhouse gas(GHG) concentrations dominates the simulated decadal changes,increasing the frequency and duration of HDEs throughout China. The change in anthropogenic aerosol(AA) emissions significantly decreases the frequency and duration of HDEs over SEC and NC, but the magnitude of the decrease is much smaller than the increase induced by GHGs. The changes in HDEs in response to anthropogenic forcing are mainly due to the response of climatological mean surface air temperatures. The contributions from changes in variability and changes in climatological mean soil moisture and evapotranspiration are relatively small. The physical processes associated with the response of HDEs to GHG and AA changes are also revealed.
文摘BACKGROUND Prophylactic antibiotics have significantly led to a reduction in the risk of postoperative surgical site infections(SSI)in orthopaedic surgery.The aim of using antibiotics for this purpose is to achieve serum and tissue drug levels that exceed,for the duration of the operation,the minimum inhibitory concentration of the likely organisms that are encountered.Prophylactic antibiotics reduce the rate of SSIs in lower limb arthroplasty from between 4%and 8%to between 1%and 3%.Controversy,however,still surrounds the optimal frequency and dosing of antibiotic administration.AIM To evaluate the impact of introduction of a weight-adjusted antibiotic prophylaxis regime,combined with a reduction in the duration of administration of post-operative antibiotics on SSI incidence during the 2 years following primary elective total hip and knee arthroplasty METHODS Following ethical approval,patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty(THA)/total knee arthroplasty(TKA)with the old regime(OR)of a preoperative dose[cefazolin 2 g intravenously(IV)],and two subsequent doses(2 h and 8 h),were compared to those after a change to a new regime(NR)of a weight-adjusted preoperative dose(cefazolin 2 g IV for patients<120 kg;cefazolin 3g IV for patients>120 kg)and a post-operative dose at 2 h.The primary outcome in both groups was SSI rates during the 2 years post-operatively.RESULTS A total of n=1273 operations(THA n=534,TKA n=739)were performed in n=1264 patients.There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of deep(OR 0.74%(5/675)vs NR 0.50%(3/598);fishers exact test P=0.72),nor superficial SSIs(OR 2.07%(14/675)vs NR 1.50%(9/598);chi-squared test P=0.44)at 2 years postoperatively.With propensity score weighting and an interrupted time series analysis,there was also no difference in SSI rates between both groups[RR 0.88(95%CI 0.61 to 1.30)P=0.46].CONCLUSION A weight-adjusted regime,with a reduction in number of post-operative doses had no adverse impact on SSI incidence in this population.
文摘BACKGROUND Tranexamic acid(TXA),a synthetic antifibrinolytic drug,effectively reduces blood loss by inhibiting plasmin-induced fibrin breakdown.This is the first study in the United Kingdom to investigate the effectiveness of TXA in the surgical management of isolated spine trauma.AIM To assess the safety of TXA in isolated spine trauma.The primary and secondary outcomes are to assess the rate of thromboembolic events and to evaluate blood loss and the incidence of blood transfusion,respectively.METHODS This prospective observational study included patients aged≥17 years with isolated spine trauma requiring surgical intervention over a 6-month period at two major trauma centers in the United Kingdom.RESULTS We identified 67 patients:26(39%)and 41(61%)received and did not receive TXA,respectively.Both groups were matched in terms of age,gender,American Society of Anesthesiologists grade,and mechanism of injury.A higher proportion of patients who received TXA had a subaxial cervical spine injury classification or thoracolumbar injury classification score>4(74%vs 56%).All patients in the TXA group underwent an open approach with a mean of 5 spinal levels involved and an average operative time of 203 min,compared with 24 patients(58%)in the non TXA group who underwent an open approach with an average of 3 spinal levels involved and a mean operative time of 159 min.Among patients who received TXA,blood loss was<150 and 150–300 mL in 8(31%)and 15(58%)patients,respectively.There were no cases of thromboembolic events in any patient who received TXA.CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that TXA is safe for isolated spine trauma.It is challenging to determine whether TXA effectively reduces blood loss because most surgeons prefer TXA for open or multilevel cases.Further,larger studies are necessary to explore the rate,dosage,and mode of administration of TXA.
基金Supported by the Centre for Digital Entertainment at Bournemouth University by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC)EP/L016540/1 and Humain Ltd.
文摘Background Deep 3D morphable models(deep 3DMMs)play an essential role in computer vision.They are used in facial synthesis,compression,reconstruction and animation,avatar creation,virtual try-on,facial recognition systems and medical imaging.These applications require high spatial and perceptual quality of synthesised meshes.Despite their significance,these models have not been compared with different mesh representations and evaluated jointly with point-wise distance and perceptual metrics.Methods We compare the influence of different mesh representation features to various deep 3DMMs on spatial and perceptual fidelity of the reconstructed meshes.This paper proves the hypothesis that building deep 3DMMs from meshes represented with global representations leads to lower spatial reconstruction error measured with L_(1) and L_(2) norm metrics and underperforms on perceptual metrics.In contrast,using differential mesh representations which describe differential surface properties yields lower perceptual FMPD and DAME and higher spatial fidelity error.The influence of mesh feature normalisation and standardisation is also compared and analysed from perceptual and spatial fidelity perspectives.Results The results presented in this paper provide guidance in selecting mesh representations to build deep 3DMMs accordingly to spatial and perceptual quality objectives and propose combinations of mesh representations and deep 3DMMs which improve either perceptual or spatial fidelity of existing methods.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52321005,52293443,and 52230004)the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program(KQTD20190929172630447)+1 种基金the Shenzhen Key Research Project(GXWD20220817145054002)the Talent Recruitment Project of Guandong(2021QN020106).
文摘The digital twins concept enhances modeling and simulation through the integration of real-time data and feedback.This review elucidates the foundational elements of digital twins,covering their concept,entities,domains,and key technologies.More specifically,we investigate the transformative potential of digital twins for the wastewater treatment engineering sector.Our discussion highlights the application of digital twins to wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)and sewage networks,hardware(i.e.,facilities and pipes,sensors for water quality and activated sludge,hydrodynamics,and power consumption),and software(i.e.,knowledge-based and data-driven models,mechanistic models,hybrid twins,control methods,and the Internet of Things).Furthermore,two cases are provided,followed by an assessment of current challenges in and perspectives on the application of digital twins in WWTPs.This review serves as an essential primer for wastewater engineers navigating the digital paradigm shift.
基金supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program(JCYJ20230808105111022,JCYJ20220818095806013)Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong(2023A1515012267)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22178223)the Royal Society/NSFC cost share program(IEC\NSFC\223372).
文摘Low-electrode capacitive deionization(FCDI)is an emerging desalination technology with great potential for removal and/or recycling ions from a range of waters.However,it still suffers from inefficient charge transfer and ion transport kinetics due to weak turbulence and low electric intensity in flow electrodes,both restricted by the current collectors.Herein,a new tip-array current collector(designated as T-CC)was developed to replace the conventional planar current collectors,which intensifies both the charge transfer and ion transport significantly.The effects of tip arrays on flow and electric fields were studied by both computational simulations and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy,which revealed the reduction of ion transport barrier,charge transport barrier and internal resistance.With the voltage increased from 1.0 to 1.5 and 2.0 V,the T-CC-based FCDI system(T-FCDI)exhibited average salt removal rates(ASRR)of 0.18,0.50,and 0.89μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),respectively,which are 1.82,2.65,and 2.48 folds higher than that of the conventional serpentine current collectors,and 1.48,1.67,and 1.49 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Meanwhile,with the solid content in flow electrodes increased from 1 to 5 wt%,the ASRR for T-FCDI increased from 0.29 to 0.50μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),which are 1.70 and 1.67 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Additionally,a salt removal efficiency of 99.89%was achieved with T-FCDI and the charge efficiency remained above 95%after 24 h of operation,thus showing its superior long-term stability.
基金supported by the UK-China Research Innovation Partnership Fund through the Met Office Climate Science for Service Partnership (CSSP) China as part of the Newton Fundsupported by the Natural Environment Research Council as part of the NC-International programme (NE/X006247/1) delivering National Capability
文摘Thermal processes on the Tibetan Plateau(TP)influence atmospheric conditions on regional and global scales.Given this,previous work has shown that soil moisture−driven surface flux variations feed back onto the atmosphere.Whilst soil moisture is a source of atmospheric predictability,no study has evaluated soil moisture−atmosphere coupling on the TP in general circulation models(GCMs).In this study,we use several analysis techniques to assess soil moisture−atmosphere coupling in CMIP6 simulations including:instantaneous coupling indices;analysis of flux and atmospheric behaviour during dry spells;and a quantification of the preference for convection over drier soils.Through these metrics we partition feedbacks into their atmospheric and terrestrial components.Consistent with previous global studies,we conclude substantial inter-model differences in the representation of soil moisture−atmosphere coupling,and that most models underestimate such feedbacks.Focusing on dry spell analysis,most models underestimate increased sensible heat during periods of rainfall deficiency.For example,the model-mean bias in anomalous sensible heat flux is 10 W m−2(≈25%)smaller compared to observations.Deficient dry-spell sensible heat fluxes lead to a weaker atmospheric response.We also find that most GCMs fail to capture the negative feedback between soil moisture and deep convection.The poor simulation of feedbacks in CMIP6 experiments suggests that forecast models also struggle to exploit soil moisture−driven predictability.To improve the representation of land−atmosphere feedbacks requires developments in not only atmospheric modelling,but also surface processes,as we find weak relationships between rainfall biases and coupling indexes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.61571401 and 61901416(part of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant No.2021TQ0304)the Innovative Talent Colleges and the University of Henan Province under Grant No.18HASTIT021.
文摘Emerging Internet of Things(IoT)applications require faster execution time and response time to achieve optimal performance.However,most IoT devices have limited or no computing capability to achieve such stringent application requirements.To this end,computation offloading in edge computing has been used for IoT systems to achieve the desired performance.Nevertheless,randomly offloading applications to any available edge without considering their resource demands,inter-application dependencies and edge resource availability may eventually result in execution delay and performance degradation.We introduce Edge-IoT,a machine learning-enabled orchestration framework in this paper,which utilizes the states of edge resources and application resource requirements to facilitate a resource-aware offloading scheme for minimizing the average latency.We further propose a variant bin-packing optimization model that co-locates applications firmly on edge resources to fully utilize available resources.Extensive experiments show the effectiveness and resource efficiency of the proposed approach.
基金supported by the Czech Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports under project Reg.No.SP2021/25partially from the project“e-Infrastructure CZ”Reg.No.LM2018140.
文摘The field of mobility prediction has been widely investigated in the recent past,especially the reduction of the coverage radius of cellular networks,which led to an increase in hand-over events.Changing the cell coverage very frequently,for example,may lead to service disruptions if a predictive approach is not deployed in the system.Although several works examined mobility prediction in the new-generation mobile networks,all of these studies focused on studying the time features of mobility traces,and the spectral content of historical mobility patterns was not considered for prediction purposes as yet.In the present study,we propose a new approach to mobility prediction by analyzing the effects of a proper mobility sampling frequency.The proposed approach lies in the mobility analysis in the frequency domain,to extract hidden features of the mobility process.Thus,we proposed a new methodology to determine the spectral content of mobility traces(considered as signals)and,thus,the appropriate sampling frequency,which can provide numerous advantages.We considered several types of mobility models(e.g.pedestrian,urban,and vehicular),containing important details in the time and frequency domains.Several simulation campaigns were performed to observe and analyze the characteristics of mobility from real traces and to evaluate the effects of sampling frequency on the spectral content.
基金supported by the Shenzhen Government’s Plan of Science and Technology(JCYJ20190808121407676 and 20200813142301001)National Natural Science Foundation of China(22178223 and 22262010)+1 种基金Guangxi Science and Technology Fund for Distinguished High-Talent Introduction Program(No.RZ2200002233AC22035091).
文摘Rechargeable zinc-air batteries(ZABs)are a promising energy conversion device,which rely critically on electrocatalysts to accelerate their rate-determining reactions such as oxygen reduction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reactions(OER).Herein,we fabricate a range of bifunctional M-N-C(metal-nitrogen-carbon)catalysts containing M-Nx coordination sites and M/MxC nanoparticles(M=Co,Fe,and Cu)using a new class ofγ-cyclodextrin(CD)based metal-organic framework as the precursor.With the two types of active sites interacting with each other in the catalysts,the obtained Fe@C-FeNC and Co@C-CoNC display superior alkaline ORR activity in terms of low half-wave(E1/2)potential(~0.917 and 0.906 V,respectively),which are higher than Cu@C-CuNC(~0.829 V)and the commercial Pt/C(~0.861 V).As a bifunctional electrocatalyst,the Co@C-CoNC exhibits the best performance,showing a bifunctional ORR/OER overpotential(ΔE)of~0.732 V,which is much lower than that of Fe@C-FeNC(~0.831 V)and Cu@C-CuNC(~1.411 V),as well as most of the robust bifunctional electrocatalysts reported to date.Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory simulations reveal that the strong electronic correlation between metallic Co nanoparticles and the atomic Co-N4 sites in the Co@C-CoNC catalyst can increase the d-electron density near the Fermi level and thus effectively optimize the adsorption/desorption of intermediates in ORR/OER,resulting in an enhanced bifunctional electrocatalytic performance.The Co@C-CoNC-based rechargeable ZAB exhibited a maximum power density of 162.80 mW cm^(−2) at 270.30 mA cm^(−2),higher than the combination of commercial Pt/C+RuO2(~158.90 mW cm^(−2) at 265.80 mA cm^(−2))catalysts.During the galvanostatic discharge at 10 mA cm^(−2),the ZAB delivered an almost stable discharge voltage of 1.2 V for~140 h,signifying the virtue of excellent bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalytic activity.
文摘Cost overrun is a common problem in construction projects worldwide.Most Indian construction projects,particularly those involving high-rise buildings,have had severe cost overruns.For managers,architects,engineers,and contractors,completing building projects within the specified cost budget has become the most important and hard assignment.Since it is common for high-rise building projects to go over budget,the aim of this study is to find out the causes of cost overruns and provide effective measures.The study found 70 cost overrun factors based on a comprehensive literature review and expert opinions.A Google form questionnaire was distributed to 150 construction professionals across India.After following up,101 of the 150 responses were received.A five-point Likert scale was used and the acquired data was analyzed and ranked using the Relative Importance Index(RII)technique.According to the findings of RII,the top ten critical factors influencing cost overruns were frequent change orders during construction by the owner,delay in construction,escalation of material prices,market inflation or deflation,rework,frequent changes in design,inaccurate evaluation of the project timeline,unforeseen ground condition,inaccurate quantity take-off,and delay in progressive payment by the owner.Spearman’s rank correlation test revealed that there is a very significant relationship between the rankings of factors provided by the owner,the consultant,and the contractor.In addition,a factor analysis tool in the SPSS software was also used to categorize the seventy factors into sixteen core components.The top ten critical factors were presented to subject matter experts,and their suggestions were being compiled.These results are expected to help construction professionals minimize cost overruns,improve cost control measures,and initiate future research.
文摘A probabilistic seismic loss assessment of RC high-rise(RCHR)buildings designed according to Eurocode 8 and located in the Southern Euro-Mediterranean zone is presented herein.The loss assessment methodology is based on a comprehensive simulation approach which takes into account ground motion(GM)uncertainty,and the random effects in seismic demand,as well as in predicting the damage states(DSs).The methodology is implemented on three RCHR buildings of 20-story,30-story and 40-story with a core wall structural system.The loss functions described by a cumulative lognormal probability distribution are obtained for two intensity levels for a large set of simulations(NLTHAs)based on 60 GM records with a wide range of magnitude(M),distance to source(R)and different site soil conditions(SS).The losses expressed in percent of building replacement cost for RCHR buildings are obtained.In the estimation of losses,both structural(S)and nonstructural(NS)damage for four DSs are considered.The effect of different GM characteristics(M,R and SS)on the obtained losses are investigated.Finally,the estimated performance of the RCHR buildings are checked to ensure that they fulfill limit state requirements according to Eurocode 8.
文摘When oral feeding cannot provide adequate nutritional support to children,enteral tube feeding becomes a necessity.The overall aim is to ultimately promote appropriate growth,improve the patient’s quality of life and increase carer satisfaction.Nasogastric tube feeding is considered appropriate on a short-term basis.Alternatively,gastrostomy feeding offers a more convenient and safer feeding option especially as it does not require frequent replacements,and carries a lower risk of complications.Gastrostomy tube feeding should be considered when nasogastric tube feeding is required for more than 2-3 wk as per the ESPEN guidelines on artificial enteral nutrition.Several techniques can be used to insert gastrostomies in children including endoscopic,image guided and surgical gastrostomy insertion whether open or laparoscopic.Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages.The timing of gastrostomy insertion,device choice and method of insertion is dependent on the local expertise,patient requirements and family preference,and should be individualized with a multidisciplinary team approach.We aim to review gastrostomy insertion in children including indications,contraindications,history of gastrostomy,insertion techniques and complications.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51922096)the Excellent Youth Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province,China(LR19E080003)the support from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council(RGC)(15200719)。
基金the financial support from the President’s PhD Scholarship of Imperial College Londonthe funding support by EPSRC under the Grant Agreement EP/R001715/1 on “Light Form: Embedding Materials Engineering in Manufacturing with Light Alloys”。
文摘Magnesium alloys are the lightest structural alloys and have attracted substantial research attention in the past two decades. However, their mechanical properties, including ductility and strength, are limited after forming due to the formation of coarse grains and strong texture. This study proposes and proves a new cryogenic-hot forming process concept. Cryogenic deformation is imposed before the hot deformation. The effect of the cryogenic step has been compared with a conventional direct hot deformation process. The mechanical properties, microstructure,and texture of both the novel and conventional process routes have been compared. The cryogenic-hot deformed sample exhibits the highest ductility and fracture strength(ultimate tensile strength: 321 MPa, ductility: 21%) due to effective grain refinement and texture weakening by cryogenically formed twin-twin interaction induced recrystallisation. The proposed cryogenic-hot forming process can be a potential innovative manufacturing method for producing high-performance magnesium components.