A New Multi-Objective Comprehensive Optimization Model for Homogeneous Slope Reinforced by Anti-Slide Piles: Insights from Numerical Simulation

AbstractLandslides have posed a huge threat to the ecological environment and human society all over the world. As the most conventional reinforcement method, anti-slide piles are widely used in the reinforcement of slopes. Currently, more and more attention has been paid to the low-cost and high-efficiency optimal design of anti-slide piles. However, limitations in the method of the optimization design for slopes reinforced with piles still exist. In this paper, a new multi-objective comprehensive optimization method was proposed for the optimization of the slope reinforced with anti-slide piles. The factor of safety, internal force, and deflection of piles were selected as the optimization indexes, and the optimization index weight was determined by integrating the subjective and objective weights. The influence of pile locations, pile lengths, and pile spacings on the reinforcement effect of a homogeneous slope was analyzed via the numerical simulation. Through the simulation case analysis, the proposed model had achieved good effects on the optimization design of anti-slide piles, which could effectively reduce the engineering costs. The optimization results showed that the best reinforcement effect for the homogeneous slope could be obtained when the anti-slide piles with the critical pile length and small pile spacing were located in the middle of the slope. This provides a new solution for the optimization design of other types of complex slopes and has broad application prospects

Prenatal Diagnosis of Recurrent Distal 1q21.1 Duplication in Three Fetuses With Ultrasound Anomalies

Background: The phenotype of duplication of 1q21.1 region is variable, ranging from macrocephaly, autism spectrum disorder, congenital anomalies, to a normal phenotype. Few cases have been reported in the literature regarding prenatal diagnosis of 1q21.1 duplication syndrome. The current study presents prenatal diagnosis of 1q21.1 duplication syndrome in three fetuses with ultrasound anomalies.Case presentation: Three fetuses from three unrelated families were included in the study. The prenatal routine ultrasound examination showed nasal bone loss in Fetus 1 and Fetus 3, as well as duodenal atresia in Fetus 2. Chromosomal microarray analysis was performed to provide genetic analysis of amniotic fluid and parental blood samples. The CMA results revealed two de novo duplications of 1.34 and 2.69 Mb at distal 1q21.1 region in two fetuses with absent nasal bone, as well as a maternal inherited 1.35-Mb duplication at distal 1q21.1 in one fetus with duodenal atresia.Conclusions: The phenotype of 1q21.1 duplication syndrome in prenatal diagnosis is variable. The fetuses with nasal bone loss or duodenal atresia may be related to 1q21.1 duplication and chromosomal microarray analysis should be performed

Iron-modified biochar and water management regime-induced changes in plant growth, enzyme activities, and phytoavailability of arsenic, cadmium and lead in a paddy soil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of raw (RawBC) and iron (Fe)-modified biochar (FeBC) derived from Platanus orientalis Linn branches on the plant growth, enzyme activity, and bioavailability and uptake of As, Cd, and Pb by rice in a paddy soil with continuously flooded (CF) or alternately wet and dry (AWD) irrigation in a pot experiment. Application of RawBC (3%, w/w) significantly increased soil pH, while FeBC decreased it. The FeBC was more effective in reducing As and Pb bioavailability, particularly under the AWD water regime, while RawBC was more conducive in reducing Cd bioavailability under the CF water regime. The FeBC decreased As concentration, but increased concentrations of Cd and Pb in the straw and brown rice, as compared to the untreated soil. Soil catalase and urease activities were enhanced by RawBC, but decreased by FeBC treatment. The FeBC increased the grain yield by 60 and 32% in CF and AWD treatments, respectively. The FeBC can be recommended for immobilization of As in paddy soils, but a potential human health risk from Cd and Pb in FeBC-treated soils should be considered due to increased uptake and translocation of the metals to brown rice

Overexpression of serum extracellular vesicle microRNA-215-5p is associated with early tumor recurrence and poor prognosis of gastric cancêr

OBJECTIVES: Extracellular vesicle microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be reliable candidate biomarkers for clinical applications. However, the clinical application potential of serum EV-miR-215-5p for gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly understood. The goal of our study was to determine the efficacy of serum EV-miR-215-5p in predicting the prognosis of GC. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 118 patients with GC, 60 patients with benign gastric disease and BGD and 70 healthy controls. The relative levels of serum EV-miR-215-5p were measured using quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Compared to patients with BGD and normal controls, GC patients exhibited remarkably higher serum EV-miR-215-5p level, especially those with early tumor recurrence (ETR). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that serum EV-miR-215-5p was able to distinguish GC patients from BGD patients or healthy controls and GC patients with ETR from those without ETR. In addition, increased serum EV-miR-215-5p levels were notably correlated with invasive depth, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. Moreover, serum EV-miR-215-5p levels were greatly decreased after surgical treatment, but increased at the time of ETR. Survival analysis showed that patients with higher serum EV-miR-215-5p had shorter survival. Furthermore, serum EV-miR-215-5p was an independent risk factor for GC. CONCLUSIONS: Serum EV-miR-215-5p might be a novel biomarker for predicting ETR and prognosis of GC

Thermo-fluidic characteristics and performance in a distribute heating bubble pump generator

In some thermally driven two-phase natural circulation systems, bubble pumps serve as the key driving powers for the cycles. Recently a type of distribute heating bubble pump generator (BPG) is gradually receiving attention due to its compact structure and great potentials to utilize solar energy and low-grade waste heat recovery. The BPG provides a variety of promising features (e.g., passive heat transfer, enhanced reliability), which can benefit the advancing of heat transfer technology. For the primary study, we performed an experiment in a distributed heating BPG. Through utilizing multiple lift tubes and partial visualization configurations, it provides accesses to observe the flow pattern transition and monitor the flow instability, and thus to explore some of the underlying mechanisms affecting BPG performance. Results showed that heat input and immersion height were crucial parameters to enable the operation of distribute heating BPG. With low heat input or high inlet water subcooling level, the flow within the pump was unstable with intermittent flow interruptions. As the heat input increased, the fluid flow became more stable, the vapor generation increased linearly, while the lifted liquid flow rate initially increased then decreased. Correspondingly, the flow pattern at the outlet section of lift tubes gradually changed from slug flow to churn flow, and then to annular flow. The higher of the immersion was, the higher heat input was needed for the flow pattern transition. It was in the churn flow regime at the outlet of lift tubes for the BPG to lift a maximum liquid. At lower immersion level, liquid reflux in the lift tubes was obvious and affected the flow stability as well as the lifting performance. At higher immersion level, the fluid flow was more stable and faster, which lifted more liquid while generated less vapor depending on the inlet subcooling. In general, the BPG showed better performance (both the lifted liquid and vapor generation increased) at smaller inlet subcooling level or lower system pressure. This study highlights the flow pattern evolution and flow stability, which is helpful to the reliable design and effective operation of the distributed heating BPG

A narrative review on the role of temperature and humidity in COVID-19: Transmission, persistence, and epidemiological evidence

Since December 2019, the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has become a global pandemic. Understanding the role of environmental conditions is important in impeding the spread of COVID-19. Given that airborne spread and contact transmission are considered the main pathways for the spread of COVID-19, this narrative review first summarized the role of temperature and humidity in the airborne trajectory of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Meanwhile, we reviewed the persistence of the virus in aerosols and on inert surfaces and summarized how the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 is affected by temperature and humidity. We also examined the existing epidemiological evidence and addressed the limitations of these epidemiological studies. Although uncertainty remains, more evidence may support the idea that high temperature is slightly and negatively associated with COVID-19 growth, while the conclusion for humidity is still conflicting. Nonetheless, the spread of COVID-19 appears to have been controlled primarily by government interventions rather than environmental factors

The Influence of Phosphate Buffer on the Formation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine from Dimethylamine Nitrosation

Buffer solutions were widely used for almost all the investigations concerning N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a member of powerful mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds which are ubiquitous in the environment. However, whether or how the buffer matrixes influence NDMA formation is still unknown. The effect of buffer solutions on NDMA formation from the nitrosation of dimethylamine (DMA) by nitrite (NaNO2) was investigated at pH 6.4 in four kinds of buffer solutions, that is, Na2HPO4/C6H8O7, Na3(C6H5O7)/C6H8O7, NaH2PO4/NaOH, and NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4. Our observations demonstrate an unexpected inhibitory effect of the buffer solutions on NDMA formation and the phosphate buffer plays a more significant role in inhibiting NDMA formation compared to the citrate buffer. Moreover, the amount of the phosphate in the buffer was also found to greatly impact the formation of NDMA. A further investigation indicates that it is the interaction between NaH2PO4 and reactant NaNO2 rather than DMA that leads to the inhibitory effect of phosphate buffer during the DMA nitrosation reaction. This study expands the understanding of the influence of buffer solution on nitrosamines formation through the nitrosation pathway and further gives a hint for water plants to reduce the formation of nitrosamines

Priorization of River Restoration by Coupling Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) Models in the Taizi River Basin, Northern China

Identifying priority zones for river restoration is important for biodiversity conservation and catchment management. However, limited data due to the difficulty of field collection has led to research to better understand the ecological status within a catchment and develop a targeted planning strategy for river restoration. To address this need, coupling hydrological and machine learning models were constructed to identify priority zones for river restoration based on a dataset of aquatic organisms (i.e., algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish) and physicochemical indicators that were collected from 130 sites in September 2014 in the Taizi River, northern China. A process-based model soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) was developed to model the temporal-spatial variations in environmental indicators. A support vector machine (SVM) model was applied to explore the relationships between aquatic organisms and environmental indicators. Biological indices among different hydrological periods were simulated by coupling SWAT and SVM models. Results indicated that aquatic biological indices and physicochemical indicators exhibited apparent temporal and spatial patterns, and those patterns were more evident in the upper reaches compared to the lower reaches. The ecological status of the Taizi River was better in the flood season than that in the dry season. Priority zones were identified for different hydrological seasons by setting the target values for ecological restoration based on biota organisms, and the results suggest that hydrological conditions significantly influenced restoration prioritization over other environmental parameters. Our approach could be applied in other seasonal river ecosystems to provide important preferences for river restoration

Water temperature governs organophosphate ester dynamics in the aquatic food chain of Poyang Lake

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly recognized as pervasive environmental contaminants, primarily from their extensive application in flame retardants and plasticizers. Despite their widespread presence, the intricacies of OPE bioaccumulation within aquatic ecosystems remain poorly understood, particularly the environmental determinants influencing their distribution and the bioaccumulation dynamics across aquatic food chains. Here we show that water temperature plays a crucial role in modulating the dispersion of OPE in the aquatic environment of Poyang Lake. We quantified OPE concentrations across various matrices, uncovering levels ranging from 0.198 to 912.622 ng L−1 in water, 0.013–493.36 ng per g dry weight (dw) in sediment, 0.026–41.92 ng per g wet weight (ww) in plankton, 0.13–2100.72 ng per g dw in benthic invertebrates, and 0.31–3956.49 ng per g dw in wild fish, highlighting a pronounced bioaccumulation gradient. Notably, the intestines emerged as the principal site for OPE absorption, displaying the highest concentrations among the seven tissues examined. Among the various OPEs, tris(chloroethyl) phosphate was distinguished by its significant bioaccumulation potential within the aquatic food web, suggesting a need for heightened scrutiny. The propensity for OPE accumulation was markedly higher in benthic invertebrates than wild fish, indicating a differential vulnerability within aquatic biota. This study lays a foundational basis for the risk assessment of OPEs as emerging contaminants and underscores the imperative to prioritize the examination of bioaccumulation effects, particularly in benthic invertebrates, to inform future environmental safeguarding strategies