ZnO nanostructures show great potential in hydrogen sensing at atmospheric conditions for good gas adsorption abilities. However, there is less research on low-pressure hydrogen sensing performance due to its low concentration and in-homogeneous distributions under low-pressure environments. Here, we report the low-pressure hydrogen sensing by the construction of Al–N-co-doped ZnO nanorods based on the adsorption-induced field emission enhancement effect in the pressure range of 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻³ Pa. The investigation indicates that the Al–N-co-doped ZnO sample is the most sensitive to low-pressure hydrogen sensing among all ZnO samples, with the highest sensing current increase of 140% for 5 min emission. In addition, the increased amplitude of sensing current for the Al–N-co-doped ZnO sample could reach 75% at the pressure 7 × 10⁻³ Pa for 1 min emission. This work not only expands the hydrogen sensing applications to the co-doped ZnO nanomaterials, but also provides a promising approach to develop field emission cathodes with strong low-pressure hydrogen sensing effect. Full article

This paper presents geometric analyses of welded frames after free relaxing and vibratory stress relief (VSR). The tested frames were components of a prototype packaging machine. Two types of relaxation were carried out to remove stresses introduced as a result of the welding process. One of the frames was subjected to free relaxation, while the other one was subjected to accelerated vibration relaxation. Detection of the frame geometry changes was performed using a photogrammetric system. In addition, an evaluation of the geometry change was conducted for fifteen variants of a steel frame support. A comparative analysis of the geometric deviations of the frames after free and vibratory stress relief confirmed the assumption that the frame post vibration stress relief better reproduces the nominal dimensions. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that after vibratory stress relief, the frame is not subject to further deformation, which is a desirable effect. In the case of free relaxing, the frame undergoes dimensional changes in a random manner. In summary, carrying out accelerated vibratory stress relief allows for control of spontaneous dimensional changes in the designed frame of a packaging machine resulting from spontaneous relaxation of stresses arising from the welding process. The shortening of the relaxation process of the welded frame is also an unquestionable advantage. Full article

In response to the growing demand for railway obstacle monitoring, lidar technology has emerged as an up-and-coming solution. In this study, we developed a mechanical 3D lidar system and meticulously calibrated the point cloud transformation to monitor specific areas precisely. Based on this foundation, we have devised a novel set of algorithms for obstacle detection within point clouds. These algorithms encompass three key steps: (a) the segmentation of ground point clouds and extraction of track point clouds using our RS-Lo-RANSAC (region select Lo-RANSAC) algorithm; (b) the registration of the BP (background point cloud) and FP (foreground point cloud) via an improved Robust ICP algorithm; and (c) obstacle recognition based on the VFOR (voxel-based feature obstacle recognition) algorithm from the fused point clouds. This set of algorithms has demonstrated robustness and operational efficiency in our experiments on a dataset obtained from an experimental field. Notably, it enables monitoring obstacles with dimensions of 15 cm × 15 cm × 15 cm. Overall, our study showcases the immense potential of lidar technology in railway obstacle monitoring, presenting a promising solution to enhance safety in this field. Full article

Based on air-, water-, and ground-source heat pump systems, a novel type of heat pump system, named the heat-source tower heat pump system (HSTHPS), has recently been developed in the southern area of China. The HSTHPS overcomes the evaporator frosting problems of the air-source heat pump system (ASHPS) when the ambient temperature is lower, and it avoids the geological condition constraints of the water- and ground-source heat pump systems. However, studies on the HSTHPS are insufficient, thereby limiting its development and applications. Thus, the present review provides a detailed literature review on the advancements of HSTHPSs in China, including the HSTHPS operation principle, heat-source tower (HST) structure, heat and mass transfer characteristics, HSTHPS performance, antifreeze solution use, and antifreeze solution regeneration. Studies on the heat and mass transfer characteristics of HSTs are sufficient for guiding the application. Regarding open systems, the solution drifting to the air needs to resolved, and future studies need to focus on structure optimization for heat exchangers in closed systems. Moreover, advanced defrosting technology should be applied to closed-type HSTs, and a suitable operation strategy for HSTHPSs should be developed. Future priorities should involve integrating HSTHPSs with additional renewable energy in order to achieve continuous, stable, and efficient heating in winter based on the characteristics of local climate and renewable energy. Full article

Within the economic and cultural context of Xinjiang, the tourism industry has rapidly developed as a strategic pillar of the national economy, with the self-driving tour market emerging prominently. However, the uneven spatial layout and insufficient service facilities of self-driving camps limit their development potential. This study aims to enhance the attractiveness of tourism in Xinjiang and improve the visitor service experience by constructing an evaluation system for the layout of self-driving camps based on online travel blog data, utilizing methods such as literature review, surveys, ArcGIS spatial analysis, and web text analysis. The Delphi method and entropy weight method were applied to determine the weights of the influencing factors. The findings reveal spatial imbalances in the layout of Xinjiang’s self-driving camps and propose eight preferred scenic areas for camp location. This study also suggests sustainable development strategies. These insights and recommendations aim to optimize the layout of self-driving camps, enhance the tourism experience, and promote the sustainable development of Xinjiang’s tourism industry. Full article

Objectives—Metallic elements and fibrin clot properties have been linked to stroke. We examined metallic and nonmetallic elements, fibrin clot lysis time (CLT), and maximum absorbance (Abs_max) in relation to ischemic stroke. Design—A case–control study of ischemic stroke patients vs. healthy individuals. Subjects and Methods—Plasma and serum were collected from 260 ischemic stroke patients (45.0% women; age, 68 ± 12 years) and 291 healthy controls (59.7% women; age, 50 ± 17 years). Fibrin CLT and Abs_max were measured using a validated turbidimetric assay. Serum elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Data were analyzed by bivariate correlations and multiple or logistic regression. Results—In female stroke patients, copper, lithium, and aluminum were significantly lower compared with controls; in male stroke patients, potassium was lower, and beryllium was elevated. In female and male stroke patients, iron, zinc, nickel, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and silicon were significantly lower, while strontium was elevated. Positive correlations between fibrin clot properties and metals, observed in healthy controls, were lost in ischemic stroke patients. In multivariate regression analysis, fibrin CLT and/or Abs_max was associated with zinc, calcium, potassium, beryllium, and silicon in stroke patients and with sodium, potassium, beryllium, and aluminum in controls. In logistic regression analysis, stroke was independently associated with lithium, nickel, beryllium, strontium, boron, and silicon and with sodium, potassium, calcium, and aluminum but not with fibrin CLT/Abs_max. Conclusions—Various elements were associated with fibrin clot properties and the risk of ischemic stroke. Lithium, sodium, calcium, and aluminum abrogated the association of fibrin clot properties with ischemic stroke. Full article

Background and Objectives: Scrotal swelling or hydrocele is a rare complication of acute pancreatitis described in the literature. We present a case of penoscrotal swelling caused by the first attack of acute interstitial edematous alcohol-induced pancreatitis in a young male patient. Case report: A 22-year-old man was admitted to the emergency unit due to diarrhea and vomiting since morning which was followed by severe abdominal pain. Urgent abdominal multislice CT scan showed steatosis, pancreatic swelling and acute peripancreatic fluid collection (interstitial edematous pancreatitis). Also, scan showed fluid between small bowel loops and along the anterior renal fascia, while there was minimal amount of fluid in the Douglas space. There was no sign of penoscrotal swelling. On the second day of admission, the patient developed left scrotal swelling and mild pain without erythema. On the fourth day, a control CT scan showed progression to moderately severe pancreatitis (CT severity index 4). Dilated scrotal veins of the pampiniform venous plexus with an increased caliber of the testicular veins were present on both sides, from the scrotum to the level of the inguinal canal. Penoscrotal swelling was significantly reduced on discharge. Conclusions: Penoscrotal swelling is a rare complication or manifestation of acute inflammation of the pancreas. It is important to identify scrotal swelling caused by pancreatitis because in severe cases it can be related to possible infertility in the future. Full article

This study presents an innovative approach for the utilization of industrial by-products and municipal waste in the production of sustainable and environmentally friendly cement mortar. We explored stabilized stainless-steel reduced slag (SSRS) and polyethylene (PE) plastic waste as partial replacements for aggregates. Various engineering properties of the resulting cement mortar specimens, including the slump, slump flow, compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, water absorption, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), were investigated through comprehensive experimental tests. The influence of different water–cement (w/c) or water–binder (w/b) ratios and substitution amounts on the engineering properties of the cement mortar samples was thoroughly examined. The findings revealed that an increase in PE substitution adversely affected the overall workability of the cement mortar mixtures, whereas an increase in the SSRS amount contributed to enhanced workability. As for the hardened properties, a consistent trend was observed in both cases, with higher w/c or w/b ratios and substitution amounts leading to reduced mechanical properties. Water absorption and UPV test results validated the increased formation of porosity with higher w/c or w/b ratios and substitution amounts. This study proposes a promising method to effectively repurpose industrial by-products and municipal waste, transforming them into sustainable construction and building materials. Additionally, a comparative analysis of the transportation costs and carbon footprint emissions between SSRS–cement mortar and PE–cement mortar was conducted to assess their environmental impact and sustainability. Generally, higher w/c or w/b ratios and replacement levels corresponded with a reduced carbon footprint. The geographical location of the source of SSRS and PE remains a challenge and studies to overcome this challenge must be further explored. Full article

High-performance electrochromic (EC) and electrofluorochromic (EFC) materials have garnered considerable interest due to their diverse applications in smart windows, optoelectronics, optical displays, military camouflage, etc. While many different EC and EFC polymers have been reported, their preparation often requires multiple steps, and their polymer molecular weights are subjected to batch variation. In this work, we prepared two triphenylamine (TPA)-based and two tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based derivatives functionalized with terminal styryl groups via direct Suzuki coupling with (4-vinylphenyl)boronic acid and vinylboronic acid pinacol ester. The two novel TPE derivatives exhibited green–yellow aggregation-induced emission (AIE). The EC and EFC properties of pre- and post-thermally treated derivatives spin-coated onto ITO–glass substrates were studied. While all four derivatives showed modest absorption changes with applied voltages up to +2.4 V, retaining a high degree of optical transparency, they exhibited obvious EFC properties with the quenching of blue to yellow fluorescence with I_OFF/ON contrast ratios of up to 7.0. The findings therefore demonstrate an elegant approach to preparing optically transparent, heat-induced, cross-linkable styryl-functionalized EFC systems. Full article

The ability to overcome an opposition in team sports is reliant upon an understanding of the tactical behaviour of the opposing team members. Recent research is limited to a performance analysts’ own playing team members, as the required opposing team athletes’ geolocation (GPS) data are unavailable. However, in professional Australian rules Football (AF), animations of athlete GPS data from all teams are commercially available. The purpose of this technical study was to obtain the on-field location of AF athletes from animations of the 2019 Australian Football League season to enable the examination of the tactical behaviour of any team. The pre-trained object detection model YOLOv4 was fine-tuned to detect players, and a custom convolutional neural network was trained to track numbers in the animations. The object detection and the athlete tracking achieved an accuracy of 0.94 and 0.98, respectively. Subsequent scaling and translation coefficients were determined through solving an optimisation problem to transform the pixel coordinate positions of a tracked player number to field-relative Cartesian coordinates. The derived equations achieved an average Euclidean distance from the athletes’ raw GPS data of 2.63 m. The proposed athlete detection and tracking approach is a novel methodology to obtain the on-field positions of AF athletes in the absence of direct measures, which may be used for the analysis of opposition collective team behaviour and in the development of interactive play sketching AF tools. Full article

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a significant risk factor for stroke. Nevertheless, the evidence supporting stringent glycemic control to reduce macrovascular complications, particularly stroke, is not as clear as for microvascular complications. Presently, risk reduction strategies are based on controlling multiple risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, glycemia, smoking, and weight. Since 2008, new pharmacological therapies for treating T2DM have been required to undergo trials to ensure their cardiovascular safety. Remarkably, several novel therapies have exhibited protective effects against the combined endpoint of major cardiovascular events. Evidence from these trials, with stroke as a secondary endpoint, along with real-world data, suggests potential benefits in stroke prevention, particularly with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists. Conversely, the data on sodium–glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors remains more controversial. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors appear neutral in stroke prevention. More recent pharmacological therapies still lack significant data on this particular outcome. This article provides a comprehensive review of the evidence on the most recent T2DM therapies for stroke prevention and their impact on clinical practice. Full article

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has significant potential as a treatment for cancer by targeting specific genes or molecular pathways involved in cancer development and progression. The addition of siRNA to other therapeutic strategies, like photodynamic therapy (PDT), can enhance the anticancer effects, providing synergistic benefits. Nevertheless, the effective delivery of siRNA into target cells remains an obstacle in cancer therapy. Herein, supramolecular nanoparticles were fabricated via the co-assembly of natural histone and hyaluronic acid for the co-delivery of HMGB1-siRNA and the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) into the MCF-7 cell. The produced siRNA-Ce6 nanoparticles (siRNA-Ce6 NPs) have a spherical morphology and exhibit uniform distribution. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the siRNA-Ce6 NPs display good biocompatibility, enhanced cellular uptake, and improved cytotoxicity. These outcomes indicate that the nanoparticles constructed by the co-assembly of histone and hyaluronic acid hold enormous promise as a means of siRNA and photosensitizer co-delivery towards synergetic therapy. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a serious public health problem globally. During winter influenza seasons, more aggressive SARS-CoV-2 infections and fatalities have been documented, indicating that influenza co-infections may significantly impact the disease outcome of COVID-19. Both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses share many similarities in their transmission and their cellular tropism for replication in the human respiratory tract. However, the complex intricacies and multi-faceted dynamics of how the two pathogens interact to ensure their survival in the same lung microenvironment are still unclear. In addition, clinical studies on influenza co-infections in COVID-19 patients do not provide conclusive evidence of how influenza co-infection mechanistically modifies disease outcomes of COVID-19. This review discusses various viral as well as host factors that potentially influence the survival or synergism of these two respiratory pathogens in the infected lung microenvironment. Full article

This paper explores the development of a smart Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) platform tailored for long-span bridge monitoring, using the Forth Road Bridge (FRB) as a case study. It discusses the selection of smart sensors available for real-time monitoring, the formulation of an effective data strategy encompassing the collection, processing, management, analysis, and visualization of monitoring data sets to support decision-making, and the establishment of a cost-effective and intelligent sensor network aligned with the objectives set through comprehensive communication with asset owners. Due to the high data rates and dense sensor installations, conventional processing techniques are inadequate for fulfilling monitoring functionalities and ensuring security. Cloud-computing emerges as a widely adopted solution for processing and storing vast monitoring data sets. Drawing from the authors’ experience in implementing long-span bridge monitoring systems in the UK and China, this paper compares the advantages and limitations of employing cloud- computing for long-span bridge monitoring. Furthermore, it explores strategies for developing a robust data strategy and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin (DT) technologies to extract relevant information or patterns regarding asset health conditions. This information is then visualized through the interaction between physical and virtual worlds, facilitating timely and informed decision-making in managing critical road transport infrastructure. Full article

While high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) remain integral to the primary treatment of newly diagnosed transplant-elble multiple myeloma (MM) patients, the challenge of disease progression persists. The primary objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tandem ASCT compared to single ASCT. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing tandem ASCT with single ASCT in patients with newly diagnosed MM. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Clinical Trials databases for studies published up to January 2024. The primary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), complete response rate (CRR), and treatment-related mortality (TRM). We used a random-effects model to calculate pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Twelve studies involving 5057 patients met the inclusion criteria. Tandem ASCT was associated with a significantly higher CRR compared to single ASCT (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.03–1.71, I2 = 15%), but no significant differences were observed in PFS (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.42–1.34, I2 = 14%), OS (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.33–1.10, I2 = 27%), or the ORR (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.59–1.08, I2 = 33%). However, tandem ASCT was associated with a significantly higher risk of TRM (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.00–3.18, I2 = 0%). Tandem ASCT improves the CRR but does not provide significant benefits in terms of PFS, OS, or ORR compared to single ASCT in patients with newly diagnosed MM. Moreover, tandem ASCT is associated with a higher risk of TRM. The decision to pursue tandem ASCT should be made on an individual basis, carefully weighing the potential benefits and risks in light of each patient’s unique clinical situation. Future research should focus on identifying patient subgroups most likely to benefit from tandem ASCT and exploring strategies to optimize the efficacy and safety of this approach in the context of novel agent-based therapies. Full article

Background: The development of temporal bone pneumatization is related to the postnatal middle ear environment, where the development of air cells is suppressed with otitis media in early childhood. However, whether air cell formation restarts when mastoidectomy is performed during temporal bone pneumatization remains unclear. Herein, we evaluated temporal bone pneumatization after canal wall up (CWU) tympanomastoidectomy for middle ear cholesteatoma in children. Methods: In total, 63 patients, including 29 patients with congenital cholesteatoma (CC) and 34 patients with acquired cholesteatoma (AC), were assessed using a set of pre- and postoperative computed tomography images. The air cells of the temporal bone were divided into five areas: periantral (anterior), periantral (posterior), periantral (medial), peritubal, and petrous apex. The number of areas with air cells before and after surgery was compared to evaluate temporal bone pneumatization after surgery. Results: A total of 63 patients, comprising 29 with CC and 34 with AC (pars flaccida; 23, pars tensa; 7, unclassified; 4), were evaluated. The median age of patients (18 males and 11 females) with CC was 5.0 (range, 2–15 years), while that of the AC group (23 males and 11 females) was 8 (range, 2–15 years). A significant difference in air cell presence was identified in the CC and AC groups after surgery (Mann–Whitney U, p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively). Between the two groups, considerably better postoperative pneumatization was observed in the CC group. A correlation between age at surgery and gain of postoperative air cell area development was identified in the CC group (Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient, r = −0.584, p < 0.001). In comparison with the postoperative pneumatization rate of each classified area, the petrous apex area was the lowest in the CC and AC groups. Conclusions: Newly developed air cells were identified in the temporal bones after CWU mastoidectomy for pediatric cholesteatoma. These findings may justify CWU tympanomastoidectomy, at least for younger children and CC patients, who may subsequently develop air cell systems after surgery. Full article

Electrical models play a crucial role in assessing the radiation sensitivity of devices. However, since they are usually not provided for end users, it is essential to have alternative modeling approaches to optimize circuit design before irradiation tests, and to support the understanding of post-irradiation data. This work proposes a novel simplified methodology to evaluate the single-event effects (SEEs) cross-section. To validate the proposed approach, we consider the 6T SRAM cell a case study in four technological nodes. The modeling considers layout features and the doping profile, presenting ways to estimate unknown parameters. The accuracy and limitations are determined by comparing our simulations with actual experimental data. The results demonstrated a strong correlation with irradiation data, without requiring any fitting of the simulation results or access to process design kit (PDK) data. This proves that our approach is a reliable method for calculating the single-event upset (SEU) cross-section for heavy-ion irradiation. Full article

To determine the evolution of microbial community and microbial shift under anaerobic processes, this study investigates the use of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). In the DGGE, short- and medium-sized DNA fragments are separated based on their melting characteristics, and this technique is used in this study to understand the dominant bacterial community in mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion processes. Dairy manure is known for emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane, and GHG emissions from manure is a biological process that is largely dependent on the manure conditions, microbial community presence in manure, and their functions. Additional efforts are needed to understand the GHG emissions from manure and develop control strategies to minimize the biological GHG emissions from manure. To study the microbial shift during anaerobic processes responsible for GHG emission, we conducted a series of manure anaerobic digestion experiments, and these experiments were conducted in lab-scale reactors operated under various temperature conditions (28 °C, 36 °C, 44 °C, and 52 °C). We examined the third variable region (V3) of the 16S rRNA gene fingerprints of bacterial presence in anaerobic environment by PCR amplification and DGGE separation. Results showed that bacterial community was affected by the temperature conditions and anaerobic incubation time of manure. The microbial community structure of the original manure changed over time during anaerobic processes, and the community composition changed substantially with the temperature of the anaerobic process. At Day 0, the sequence similarity confirmed that most of the bacteria were similar (>95%) to Acinetobacter sp. (strain: ATCC 31012), a Gram-negative bacteria, regardless of temperature conditions. At day 7, the sequence similarity of DNA fragments of reactors (28 °C) was similar to Acinetobacter sp.; however, the DNA fragments of effluent of reactors at 44 °C and 52 °C were similar to Coprothermobacter proteolyticus (strain: DSM 5265) (similarity: 97%) and Tepidimicrobium ferriphilum (strain: DSM 16624) (similarity: 100%), respectively. At day 60, the analysis showed that DNA fragments of effluent of 28 °C reactor were similar to Galbibacter mesophilus (strain: NBRC 10162) (similarity: 87%), and DNA fragments of effluent of 36 °C reactors were similar to Syntrophomonas curvata (strain: GB8-1) (similarity: 91%). In reactors with a relatively higher temperature, the DNA fragments of effluent of 44 °C reactor were similar to Dielma fastidiosa (strain: JC13) (similarity: 86%), and the DNA fragments of effluent of 52 °C reactor were similar to Coprothermobacter proteolyticus (strain: DSM 5265) (similarity: 99%). To authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies where DGGE-based approach is utilized to study and compare microbial shifts under mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestions of manure simultaneously. While there were challenges in identifying the bands during gradient gel electrophoresis, the joint use of DGGE and sequencing tool can be potentially useful for illustrating and comparing the change in microbial community structure under complex anaerobic processes and functionality of microbes for understanding the consequential GHG emissions from manure. Full article

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a perennial tuberous plant from the genus Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) and has been widely used in foods for thousands of years. The present study examined the ethanol extract of turmeric for its chemical composition, antimicrobial activity, and free radical scavenging properties. UHPLC-MS/MS analysis tentatively identified eight compounds in the turmeric extract. Potential antimicrobial effects of 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mg turmeric equivalents (TE)/mL were evaluated in vitro against a variety of Gram-negative bacteria (i.e., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas sp.) and Gram-positive bacteria (i.e., Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria innocua, and Staphylococcus aureus). Concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0 mg TE/mL inhibited the growth of S. aureus and significantly suppressed that of Pseudomonas sp., E. faecalis, and L. innocua. The growth of all strains, including E. coli, was inhibited by 10 mg TE/mL. Moreover, free radical scavenging capacities were determined using HO^●, ABTS^●+, and DPPH^● (HOSC, ABTS, and RDSC, respectively) radicals. The turmeric ethanol extract had a TPC value of 27.12 mg GAE/g, together with HOSC, RDSC, and ABTS values of 1524.59, 56.38, and 1.70 μmol TE/g, respectively. Our results suggest that turmeric extract has potential applications for use in functional foods to reduce microbial burdens and oxidative stress-related health problems. Full article

The prediction of typhoon tracks in the Northwest Pacific is key to reducing human casualties and property damage. Traditional numerical forecasting models often require substantial computational resources, are high-cost, and have significant limitations in prediction speed. This research is dedicated to using deep learning methods to address the shortcomings of traditional methods. Our method (AFR-SimVP) is based on a large-kernel convolutional spatio-temporal prediction network combined with multi-feature fusion for forecasting typhoon tracks in the Northwest Pacific. In order to more effectively suppress the effect of noise in the dataset to enhance the generalization ability of the model, we use a multi-branch structure, incorporate an atmospheric reconstruction subtask, and propose a second-order smoothing loss to further improve the prediction ability of the model. More importantly, we innovatively propose a multi-time-step typhoon prediction network (HTAFR-SimVP) that does not use the traditional recurrent neural network family of models at all. Instead, through fine-to-coarse hierarchical temporal feature extraction and dynamic self-distillation, multi-time-step prediction is achieved using only a single regression network. In addition, combined with atmospheric field reconstruction, the network achieves integrated prediction for multiple tasks, which greatly enhances the model’s range of applications. Experiments show that our proposed network achieves optimal performance in the 24 h typhoon track prediction task. Our regression network outperforms previous recurrent network-based typhoon prediction models in the multi-time-step prediction task and also performs well in multiple integration tasks. Full article

The escalating utilization of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) in everyday products has sparked concerns regarding their potential hazards to pregnant females and their offspring. To address these concerns and shed light on their undetermined adverse effects and mechanisms, we established a pregnant rat model to investigate the impacts of TiO₂ NPs on both maternal and offspring health and to explore the underlying mechanisms of those impacts. Pregnant rats were orally administered TiO₂ NPs at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight per day from GD5 to GD18 during pregnancy. Maternal body weight, organ weight, and birth outcomes were monitored and recorded. Maternal pathological changes were examined by HE staining and TEM observation. Maternal blood pressure was assessed using a non-invasive blood analyzer, and the urinary protein level was determined using spot urine samples. Our findings revealed that TiO₂ NPs triggered various pathological alterations in maternal liver, kidney, and spleen, and induced maternal preeclampsia-like syndrome, as well as leading to growth restriction in the offspring. Further examination unveiled that TiO₂ NPs hindered trophoblastic cell invasion into the endometrium via the promotion of autophagy. Consistent hypertension and proteinuria resulted from the destroyed the kidney GBM. In total, an exposure to TiO₂ NPs during pregnancy might increase the risk of human preeclampsia through increased maternal arterial pressure and urinary albumin levels, as well as causing fetal growth restriction in the offspring. Full article

Background: This study aimed to systematically review case reports documenting rare adverse events in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) following the administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify case reports detailing previously unreported adverse drug reactions to ICIs in patients with SCLC. The scope of the literature reviewed was restricted to case studies on SCLC published up to 31 December 2023. Results: We analyzed twenty-four studies on ICI use for patients with SCLC. There were six reports on atezolizumab, four on durvalumab, and three on adverse events from monotherapy with nivolumab. Reports involving combination treatments were the most frequent, with a total of six, predominantly involving using nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab. Additionally, there was one report each on using pembrolizumab, nofazinilimab, sintilimab, tislelizumab, and toripalimab. We collected detailed information on the clinical course, including patient and disease characteristics, symptoms, treatment for each adverse event, and recovery status. Among the patients included in the case reports, 21 out of 24 (87.5%) had extensive-stage SCLC when initiating ICI therapy, with only 1 patient diagnosed with limited-stage SCLC. Respiratory system adverse events were most common, with seven cases, followed by neurological, endocrinological, and gastroenterological events. Three case reports documented adverse events across multiple systems in a single patient. In most cases, patients showed symptom improvement; however, four studies reported cases where patients either expired without symptom improvement or experienced sequelae. Conclusions: Efforts to develop reliable biomarkers for predicting irAEs continue, with ongoing research to enhance predictive precision. Immunotherapy presents diverse and unpredictable adverse events, underscoring the need for advanced diagnostic tools and a multidisciplinary approach to improve patient management. Full article