Animal carcass- and wood-derived biochars improved nutrient bioavailability, enzyme activity, and plant growth in metal-phthalic acid ester co-contaminated soils: A trial for reclamation and improvement of degraded soils

Reclamation of degraded soils such as those with low organic carbon content and soils co-contaminated with toxic elements and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) is of great concern. Little is known about the efficiency of plantand animal-derived biochars for improving plant growth and physicochemical and biological properties of co-contaminated soils, particularly under low content of organic matter. Hence, a pot trial was carried out by growing pak choi (Brassica chinensis L.) to assess the influence of different doses (0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4%) of animal (pig carcass) and wood (Platanus orientalis) derived biochars on soil properties, nutrient availabilities, plant growth, and soil enzyme activities in two soils containing low (LOC) and high (HOC) organic carbon contents and co-contaminated with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalic acid (DEHP) and cadmium (Cd). Biochar applications improved pH, salinity, carbon content, and cation exchange capacity of both soils. Addition of biochars significantly increased the bioavailability and uptake of phosphorus and potassium in the plants in both soils with greater effects from pig biochar than wood biochar. Biochar additions also significantly enhanced urease, sucrase, and catalase activities, but suppressed acid phosphatase activity in both soils. The impact of pig biochar was stronger on urease and acid phosphatase, while the wood biochar was more effective with sucrase and catalase activities. The biomass yield of pak choi was significantly increased after biochar addition to both soils, especially in 2% pig biochar treatment in the LOC soil. The positive response of soil enzymes activities and plant growth for biochar addition to the Cd and DEHP co-contaminated soils indicate that both biochars, particularly the pig biochar can mitigate the risk of these pollutants and prove to be eco-friendly and low-cost amendments for reclaiming these degraded soils

Short-term outcomes of robot-assisted versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for non-small cell lung cancer patients with neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy: a single-center retrospective study

BackgroundNeoadjuvant immunochemotherapy has been increasingly applied to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the comparison between robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the feasibility and oncological efficacy following neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy is scarce. This study aims to assess the superiorities of RATS over (VATS) concerning short-term outcomes in treating NSCLC patients with neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy.MethodsNSCLC patients receiving RATS or VATS lobectomy following neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy at Shanghai Chest Hospital from 2019 to 2022 were retrospectively identified. Baseline clinical characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and survival profiles were analyzed.ResultsForty-six NSCLC patients with neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy were included and divided into the RATS (n=15) and VATS (n=31) groups. The baseline clinical characteristics and induction-related adverse events were comparable between the two groups (all p>0.050). The 30-day mortality in the RATS and VATS groups were 0% and 3.23%, respectively (p=1.000). Patients undergoing RATS were associated with reduced surgical-related intensive unit care (ICU) stay than those receiving VATS (0.0 [0.0-0.0] vs. 0.0 [0.0-1.0] days, p=0.026). Moreover, RATS assessed more N1 LNs (6.27 ± 1.94 vs 4.90 ± 1.92, p=0.042) and LN stations (3.07 ± 1.03 vs 2.52 ± 0.57, p=0.038) compared with VATS. By comparison, no difference was found in surgical outcomes, pathological results, and postoperative complications between the RATS and VATS groups (all p>0.050). Finally, RATS and VATS achieved comparable one-year recurrence-free survival (82.96% vs. 85.23%, p=0.821) and the timing of central nervous system, LN, and bone recurrences (all p>0.050).ConclusionRATS is safe and feasible for NSCLC patients with neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy, reducing surgical-related ICU stay, assessing increased N1 LNs and stations, and achieving similar survival profiles to VATS

Model Tests on the Penetration Resistance of Bucket Foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines in Sand

Driven by the rapid development of offshore wind farms, bucket foundations have come to constitute a very promising form of foundation for offshore wind turbines, mainly owing to their efficient construction. However, the penetration resistance of the suction penetration of a bucket foundation, when calculated inaccurately, may lead to installation failure of the foundation. In this study, model tests were performed on the suction penetration of a mono-bucket mono-compartment foundation and a mono-bucket multi-compartment foundation in saturated fine marine sand, aiming to compare their penetration resistances and critical suctions, and the development of a soil plug in the two models was analyzed. The results will provide a design reference for the penetration construction of bucket foundations for offshore wind turbines

Short‐ and medium‐term outcomes of video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery versus thoracotomy for carinal lung resection combined with carina reconstruction in locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer patients

Abstract Background The application of video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for complex carina surgeries in treating non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with involved carina is controversial. This study compared short‐ and medium‐term outcomes of VATS versus thoracotomy for carinal lung resection with carina reconstruction in treating locally advanced NSCLC, aiming to assess the potential benefit of VATS over thoracotomy for these patients. Methods A total of 37 consecutive NSCLC cases receiving VATS (n = 14) or thoracotomy (n = 23) for carinal lung resection with carina reconstruction from 2016 to 2021 were retrospectively identified. Baseline clinicopathological characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and survival profiles were investigated. Results Patients in the VATS and thoracotomy groups had comparable baseline clinicopathological characteristics (all p > 0.050). VATS decreased postoperative drainage volume compared with thoracotomy (1280 [1170–1510] vs. 1795 [1510–1905] mL, p = 0.012). Regarding surgical‐related pains, VATS reduced numeric rating scale scores on the postoperative day 1 (4 [3, 4] vs. 5 [4, 5], p = 0.021) and day 2 (3 [3, 4] vs. 5 [3–5], p = 0.023) than thoracotomy. No difference was found between the VATS and thoracotomy groups in other perioperative outcomes, postoperative complications, and assessment of lymph nodes (LNs) and LN stations (all p > 0.050). Moreover, patients in the two groups had comparable 3‐year disease‐free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence and mortality patterns. Further subgroup and Cox hazards regression analyses also observed no difference in DFS or OS between the two groups. Conclusions VATS reduced postoperative drainage volume and ameliorated surgical‐related pain, and achieved comparable medium‐term survival compared to thoracotomy for carinal lung resection with carina reconstruction in treating locally advanced NSCLC

A 4-bit 36 GS/s ADC with 18 GHz Analog Bandwidth in 40 nm CMOS Process

This paper presents a 4-bit 36 GS/s analog-to-digital converter (ADC) employing eight time-interleaved (TI) flash sub-ADCs in 40 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process. A wideband front-end matching circuit based on a peaking inductor is designed to increase the analog input bandwidth to 18 GHz. A novel offset calibration that can achieve quick detection and accurate correction without affecting the speed of the comparator is proposed, guaranteeing the high-speed operation of the ADC. A clock distribution circuit based on CMOS and current mode logic (CML) is implemented in the proposed ADC, which not only maintains the speed and quality of the high-speed clock, but also reduces the overall power consumption. A timing mismatch calibration is integrated into the chip to achieve fast timing mismatch detection of the input signal which is bandlimited to the Nyquist frequency for the complete ADC system. The experimental results show that the differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) are −0.28/+0.22 least significant bit (LSB) and −0.19/+0.16 LSB, respectively. The signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) is above 22.5 dB and the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) is better than 35 dB at 1.2 GHz. An SFDR above 24.5 dB and an SNDR above 18.6 dB across the entire Nyquist frequency can be achieved. With a die size of 2.96 mm * 1.8 mm, the ADC consumes 780 mW from the 0.9/1.2/1.8 V power supply

A Multi-Dimensional Calibration Based on Genetic Algorithm in a 12-Bit 750 MS/s Pipelined ADC

As the preferred architecture for high-speed and high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADC), the accuracy of pipelined ADC is limited mainly by various errors arising from multiple digital-to-analog converters (MDAC). This paper presents a multi-dimensional (M-D) MDAC calibration based on a genetic algorithm (GA) in a 12-bit 750 MS/s pipelined ADC. The proposed M-D MDAC compensation model enables capacitor mismatch and static interstage gain error (IGE) compensation on the chip and prepares for subsequent background calibration based on a pseudo-random number (PN) injection to achieve accurate compensation for dynamic IGE. An M-D coefficient extraction scheme based on GA is also proposed to extract the required compensation coefficients of the foreground calibration, which avoids falling into local traps through MATLAB. The above calibration scheme has been verified in a prototype 12-bit 750 MS/s pipelined ADC. The measurement results show that the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) and spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) are increased from 49.9 dB/66.7 dB to 59.6 dB/77.5 dB with the proposed calibration at 25 °C. With the help of background calibration at 85 °C, the SNDR and SFDR are improved by 3.4 dB and 8.8 dB, respectively

Perioperative and Oncological Outcomes of Robotic-Assisted, Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic and Open Lobectomy for Patients with N1-Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Study

(1) Background: Despite the fact that robotic-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (RATL) has been prevalently applied for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), its superiorities are still to be fully revealed for patients with metastatic N1 lymph nodes (LNs). We aim to evaluate the advantages of RATL for N1 NSCLC. (2) Methods: This retrospective study identified consecutive pathological N1 NSCLC patients undergoing RATL, video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATL), or open lobectomy (OL) in Shanghai Chest Hospital between 2014 and 2020. Further, perioperative and oncological outcomes were investigated. (3) Results: A total of 855 cases (70 RATL, 435 VATL, and 350 OL) were included. Propensity score matching resulted in 70, 140, and 140 cases in the RATL, VATL, and OL groups, respectively. RATL led to (1) the shortest surgical time (p = 0.005) and lowest intraoperative blood loss (p < 0.001); (2) the shortest ICU (p < 0.001) and postsurgical hospital (p < 0.001) stays as well as chest tube duration (p < 0.001); and (3) the lowest morbidities of postsurgical complications (p = 0.016). Moreover, RATL dissected more N1 (p = 0.027), more N1 + N2 (p = 0.027) LNs, and led to a higher upstaging incidence rate (p < 0.050) than VATL. Finally, RATL achieved a comparable 5-year disease-free and overall survival in relation to VATL and OL. (4) Conclusions: RATL led to the most optimal perioperative outcomes among the three surgical approaches and showed superiority in assessing N1 and total LNs over VATL, though it did achieve comparable oncological outcomes in relation to VATL and OL for N1 NSCLC patients

A 12-Bit 2.4 GS/s Four-Channel Pipelined ADC with a Novel On-Chip Timing Mismatch Calibration

This paper presents a 12-bit 2.4 GS/s analog-to-digital converter (ADC) employing four time-interleaved (TI) pipelined channels with a novel on-chip timing mismatch calibration in 40 nm CMOS process. TI architecture can increase the effective sampling rate of ADC but the dynamic performance of TI-ADC system is seriously degraded by offset, gain, and timing mismatches among the channels. Timing mismatch is the most challenging barrier among these mismatches due to the difficulty and complexity of its detection and correction. An automatic wideband timing mismatch detection algorithm is proposed for achieving a wide frequency range of timing mismatch detection without complex calculations. By adopting the proposed mismatch-free variable delay line (VDL), the full-scale traversal timing mismatch correction accomplishes an accurate result without missing codes. Measurement results show that the spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of the prototype ADC is improved from 55.2 dB to 72.8 dB after calibration at 2.4 GS/s with a 141 MHz input signal. It can achieve an SFDR above 60 dB across the entire first Nyquist band based on the timing mismatch calibration and retiming technology. The prototype ADC chip occupies an area of 3 mm × 3 mm and it consumes 420 mW from a 1.8 V supply

A 3GSps 12-bit Four-Channel Time-Interleaved Pipelined ADC in 40 nm CMOS Process

This paper presents a four-channel time-interleaved 3GSps 12-bit pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The combination of master clock sampling and delay-adjusting is adopted to remove the time skew due to channel mismatches. An early comparison scheme is used to minimize the non-overlapping time, where a custom-designed latch is developed to replace the typical non-overlapping clock generator. By using the dither capacitor to generate an equivalent direct current input, a zero-input-based calibration is developed to correct the capacitor mismatch and inter-stage gain error. Fabricated in a 40 nm CMOS process, the ADC achieves a signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) of 57.8 dB and a spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of 72 dB with a 23 MHz input tone. It can achieve an SNDR above 52.3 dB and an SFDR above 61.5 dB across the entire first Nyquist zone. The differential and integral nonlinearities are −0.93/+0.73 least significant bit (LSB) and −2.8/+4.3 LSB, respectively. The ADC consumes 450 mW powered at 1.8V, occupies an active area of 3 mm × 1.3 mm. The calculated Walden figure of merit reaches 0.44 pJ/step