Understanding the planning of LLM agents: A survey

As Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown significant intelligence, the progress to leverage LLMs as planning modules of autonomous agents has attracted more attention. This survey provides the first systematic view of LLM-based agents planning, covering recent works aiming to improve planning ability. We provide a taxonomy of existing works on LLM-Agent planning, which can be categorized into Task Decomposition, Plan Selection, External Module, Reflection and Memory. Comprehensive analyses are conducted for each direction, and further challenges for the field of research are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure

2D MXene Ti3C2Tx nanosheets in the development of a mechanically enhanced and efficient antibacterial dental resin composite

The bacterial accumulation at the margins of dental resin composites is a main cause of secondary caries, which may further lead to prosthodontic failure. In this regard, this study for the first time incorporated 2D MXene Ti3C2Tx nanosheets (NSs) into epoxy resin at different mass ratios (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt%) by solution blending and direct curing for dental applications. Compared to the pure resin, the as-fabricated MXene/resin composite not only exhibited improved mechanical and abrasive results but also displayed gradually improved antibacterial activity with MXene loading which was further enhanced by illumination in natural light due to the high photothermal efficiency of MXene. In addition, the cytotoxicity result demonstrated that the MXene-modified resin did not cause severe damage to normal cells. This novel MXene/resin nanocomposite could pave the way for new designs for high-performance, multifunctional nanocomposites to effectively protect dental health in daily life

Male Patients With Dilated Cardiomyopathy Exhibiting a Higher Heart Rate Acceleration Capacity or a Lower Deceleration Capacity Are at Higher Risk of Cardiac Death

The effects of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) on cardiac autonomic regulation and electrophysiology, and the consequences of such changes, remain unclear. We evaluated the associations between heart rate acceleration capacity (AC) and deceleration capacity (DC), heart structural and functional changes, and cardiac death in 202 healthy controls and 100 DCM patients. The DC was lower and the AC was higher in DCM patients (both males and females). Multivariable, linear, logistic regression analyses revealed that in males, age was positively associated with AC in healthy controls (N = 85); the left atrial diameter (LAD) was positively and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was negatively associated with AC in DCM patients (N = 65); age was negatively associated with DC in healthy controls (N = 85); and the LAD was negatively and the LVEF was positively associated with DC in DCM patients (N = 65). In females, only age was associated with either AC or DC in healthy controls (N = 117). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that male DCM patients with greater LADs (≥46.5 mm) (long-rank chi-squared value = 11.1, P = 0.001), an elevated AC (≥-4.75 ms) (log-rank chi-squared value = 6.8, P = 0.009), and a lower DC (≤4.72 ms) (log-rank chi-squared value = 9.1, P = 0.003) were at higher risk of cardiac death within 60 months of follow-up. In conclusion, in males, DCM significantly affected both the AC and DC; a higher AC or a lower DC increased the risk of cardiac death

Epidemiology of human papillomavirus infection in women from Xiamen, China, 2013 to 2023

BackgroundCervical cancer is primarily caused by HPV infection. The epidemiology of HPV infection in specific areas is of great meaning of guide cervical cancer screening and formulating HPV vaccination strategies. Here, we evaluated the epidemiological characteristics of HPV infection in Xiamen population.MethodsIn total, 159,049 cervical exfoliated cell samples collected from female outpatients in Women and Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen between January 2013 and July 2023 were analyzed. HPV DNA detection was performed using HPV genotyping kits (Hybribio Limited Corp, China). An analysis was conducted on the prevalence of HPV infection, taking into account factors such as age, year, and multiple patterns of HPV infection. The differences in prevalence among age groups and years were compared using χ2 test.ResultsThe overall prevalence of any 21 HPV genotypes was 18.4%, of which the high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) positive rate was 14.6%. The age-specific prevalence of HPV infection showed a bimodal distribution, with two distinct peaks, one at <25 years (31.2%) and the other at 60–64 years (32.9%). There was a downward trend in the prevalence of HPV infection over time, decreasing from 26.2% in 2013 to 14.5% in 2021, and then increasing to 19.0% in 2023. The five most prevent HR-HPV genotypes were HPV52 (4.0%), 58 (2.6%), 16 (2.5%), 51 (1.8%), and 39 (1.7%). Among the positive cases, 76.7% were detected with only one genotype and 23.3% with multiple genotypes. The most common co-infection was HPV52 + HPV58 (0.24%), followed by HPV16 + HPV52 (0.24%), HPV52 + HPV53 (0.21%), HPV52 + HPV81 (0.21%), HPV51 + HPV52 (0.19%), HPV16 + HPV58 (0.18%), and HPV39 + HPV52 (0.17%).ConclusionThe study provided the largest scale information on the recent epidemiological characteristics of HPV infection in Xiamen, and even in Fujian Province, China, which would support making the prevention and control strategies for cervical cancer in the region

Reduction in the exposure risk of farmer from e-waste recycling site following environmental policy adjustment: a regional scale view of PAHs in paddy fields

Farmland contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has drawn increasing attention across China with enhanced regulations and environmental policies proposed by government to protect soil environment safety. As the informal electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling activities were forbidden under recent environmental regulation, this study compared levels, compositions, spatial distributions, human health risks of PAHs in paddy soil within the vicinity of an e-waste recycling area in southeastern China, with 129 and 150 soil samples collected in 2011 and 2016, respectively. The soil contamination was dominated with high molecular weight PAHs. The mean concentration of EPA 16 PAHs decreased from 590.4 ± 337.2 μg kg in 2011 to 407.3 ± 232.2 μg kg in 2016. Distribution maps of soil PAHs concentration displayed the temporal change in spatial. Principal component analysis together with diagnostic ratios revealed the combustion of biomass and coal in industrial and unregulated e-waste dismantling were the main sources of PAHs in the study area. Both deterministic and probabilistic assessments demonstrated reduced exposure risk for farmers from 2011 to 2016. Sensitivity analysis revealed that exposure frequency (EF) is the most influential parameter for the total variance in the risk assessment model. This study implied that the more stringent environmental policy and regulation can lead reductions in soil contamination with PAHs. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Removal of Zn2+ from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) glycolytic monomers by sulfonic acid cation exchange resin

Glycolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has always been a research hotspot in PET waste recovery due to its high efficiency and sustainability. Zinc acetate (ZnAc2 center dot 2H(2)O) and urea/(ZnAc2 center dot 2H(2)O) are usually regarded as the most promising catalysts for the glycolysis of PET, while the residue of Zn2+ in glycolytic monomers (bis (hydroxyalkyl) terephthalate (BHET)) was identified as a big hassle, which caused the detrimental effect on the chromaticity of down-stream product. However, the removal of Zn2+ from BHET has almost not been reported previously. In the present work, ion exchange was adopted as effective measure to eliminate trace Zn2+ from BHET and more than 99% of Zn2+ can be removed by 001*7 sulfonic acid resin with resin dosage of 1.6 g/L at 298.15 K, 160 rpm for 120 min. Additionally, based on prevailing adsorption kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamic models and various precise instruments, comprehensive adsorption mechanism were exploited. Pseudo-second-order model (R-2 > 0.999) and Langmuir model (R-2 > 0.999) were found to match well with the experimental data, indicating the sorption of Zn2+ on 001*7 was homogeneous monomolecular layer adsorption and dominated by chemisorption. The thermodynamic model revealed the sorption was thermodynamically spontaneous. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) illuminated the sulfonic acid groups on 001*7 resin were the main binding sites for Zn2+. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) elucidated ion exchange and electrostatic interaction between the sulfonic acid groups and Zn2+ were responsible for the sorption of Zn2+. All the results obtained can prove 001*7 sulfonic acid resin is an efficient material for removal of Zn2+ from BHET

Ion-Exchange Resins for Efficient Removal of Colorants in Bis(hydroxyethyl) Terephthalate

Bis(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) obtained from waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) glycolysis often have undesirable colors, leading to an increased cost in the decoloration of the product and limiting the industrialization of chemical recycling. In this work, eight types of ion-exchange resins were used for BHET decoloration, and resin D201 showed an outstanding performance not only in the decoloration efficiency but also in the retention rate of the product. Under the optimal conditions, the removal rate of the colorant and the retention efficiency of BHET were over 99% and 95%, respectively. D201 showed outstanding reusability with five successive cycles, and the decolored BHET and its r-PET showed good chromaticity. Furthermore, the investigations of adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics have been conducted, which indicated that the decoloration process was a natural endothermic reaction. Adsorption interactions between the colorant and resin were extensively examined by various characterizations, revealing that electrostatic force, pi-pi interactions, and hydrogen bonding were the dominant adsorption mechanisms

Removal of trace amount impurities in glycolytic monomer of polyethylene terephthalate by recrystallization

Chemical recycling is a promising way to achieve the closed-loop recycling for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). During this process, the post-consumer PET is depolymerized into bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) through glycolysis and BHET can be polymerized again to produce recycled PET (rPET). However, since the applications of rPET is greatly limited to the color, recycling of PET fibers is challenged by the residual of colored impurities. In this study, a modified recrystallization process using ethyl acetate (EA) as the solvent was employed for the removal of colored impurities from the BHET. The process showed a decoloring rate of over 97.5% for the model colored impurities, performing better than the reported physical adsorption processes. Since almost no disperse dye was precipitated during the nucleation and crystal growth process due to the high solubility in EA, only a small amount of colored impurities adsorbed on the surface of crystals, leading to an excellent decolorization performance and post-consumer EA could be easily recycled through evaporation followed by condensation. Besides the model colored BHET, raw BHET obtained from the depolymerization of dark PET fibers was also purified by this modified recrystallization. By applying a composite purification strategy combining EA-based recrystallization and activated carbon adsorption, the whiteness (L*) of BHET greatly increased from around 65 to over 95 (L*=100 for pure white) and the whiteness of rPET produced from purified BHET (L*=86.21) was greatly improved compared with that from raw BHET (L*=44.01), showing the possibility of achieving the closed-loop recycling of dark PET fibers