Additional Usage Research Articles

IMPACT OF CARBON QUANTUM DOT NANOPARTICLES ON COMBUSTION, PERFORMANCE AND EMISSIONS IN DIESEL/MICROWAVE-ASSISTED CANOLA OIL BIODIESEL BLEND

Usage of biodiesel produced with conventional transesterification methods decreases the conversion of biodiesel from vegetable oil. Microwave-assisted production enables higher reaction efficiency, providing better conversion of vegetable oils. It also causes to obtain poorer characteristics of biodiesel, such as higher viscosity and density. It was aimed to improving the properties of biodiesel with microwave-assisted production and mixing it with nanoparticles to investigate the performance, combustion and emission characteristics. The influences of nanoparticle addition (carbon quantum dot) on engine performance, combustion and emissions have been analyzed in a direct injection CI engine. A single cylinder water cooled CI engine was used in the experiments. Experiments were performed at 4.12, 9.61, 15.10, 20.60 Nm and 2200 rpm. Canola biodiesel was obtained via the microwave-assisted transesterification method and mixed with diesel at the ratio of 20% (B20). 50, 100 and 150 ppm nanoparticle were added to the obtained B20 and tested in a CI engine. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) raised by 2.03%, 4.83%, 4.40% and 1.69% with B20, B20CQD 50 ppm, B20CQD 100 ppm and B20CQD 150 ppm respectively compared that diesel at 15.10 Nm. Remarkable reduction was found on CO, HC with B20CQD 50 ppm, B20CQD 100 ppm and B20CQD 150 ppm according to B20. In addition, an impressive reduction was realized on soot emissions with the usage of nanoprticle addition. But, NOx increased using fuel blends. As a result, the usage of quantum dot nanoparticle improved the poor properties of canola oil biodiesel and test fuels were used easily without modification in a diesel engine.

Effects of Concomitant Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Usage and Different Cannulation Techniques on Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support in Terms of Organ Perfusion.

Various cannulation strategies for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) support are currently in use according to the clinical urgency and experience of the rescuing team. Although central V-A ECMO is considered more effective than a peripheral approach, the superiority of one cannulation configuration instead of another remains a controversial subject. This study mainly aims to compare the contribution of V-A ECMO circulatory support modalities to patients' improvement according to various cannulation site strategies and additional usage of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). The study design involved the categorization of all patients into two groups: isolated V-A ECMO support and V-A ECMO plus IABP support. Secondly, we divided the patients into four groups considering V-A ECMO cannulation sites, such as central (aorto-atrial), axillo-femoral, femoro-femoral, and jugulo-femoral. We analyzed the parameters regarding the outcome for each group. When comparing cannulation sites in relation to laboratory parameters for assessing organ perfusion, no statistically significant differences were observed among the groups. We found no statistically significant result within the groups affecting organ perfusion. The complication rates were higher in patients with concomitant IABP support, but the difference was not statistically significant likewise. V-A ECMO provides effective perfusion, no matter which cannulation site is preferred during the decision-making process, and the utilization of IABP support has no additional contribution to the outcomes. We believe that the most suitable strategy should be a tailor-made decision according to the clinical status of patients, the pathology, urgency, and cost-effectiveness.

Synchronous Modulation of H-bond Interaction and Steric Hindrance via Bio-molecular Additive Screening in Zn Batteries.

In addressing challenges such as side reaction and dendrite formation, electrolyte modification with bio-molecule sugar species has emerged as a promising avenue for Zn anode stabilization. Nevertheless, considering the structural variability of sugar, a comprehensive screening strategy is meaningful yet remains elusive. Herein, we report the usage of sugar additives as a representative of bio-molecules to develop a screening descriptor based on the modulation of the hydrogen bond component and electron transfer kinetics. It is found that xylo-oligosaccharide (Xos) with the highest H-bond acceptor ratio enables efficient water binding, affording stable Zn/electrolyte interphase to alleviate hydrogen evolution. Meanwhile, sluggish reduction originated from the steric hindrance of Xos contributes to optimized Zn deposition. With such a selected additive in hand, the Zn||ZnVO full cells demonstrate durable operation. This study is anticipated to provide a rational guidance in sugar additive selection for aqueous Zn batteries.

Heterogeneous Carbonylation of Alcohols on Charge‐Density‐Distinct Mo−Ni Dual Sites Localized at Edge Sulfur Vacancies

AbstractAlcohols carbonylation is of great importance in industry but remains a challenge to abandon the usage of the halide additives and noble metals. Here we report the realization of direct alcohols heterogeneous carbonylation to carbonyl‐containing chemicals, especially in methanol carbonylation, with a remarkable space‐time‐yield (STY) of 4.74 molacetyl/kgcat./h and a durable stability as long as 100 h on Ni@MoS2 catalyst. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the Mo−Ni dual sites localized at edge sulfur vacancies of Ni@MoS2 exhibit distinct charge density, which strongly activate CH3OH to break its C−O bond and non‐dissociatively activate CO. Density functional theory calculations further suggest that the low charge density in Mo−Ni, the Ni site, could significantly lower the barrier for CO migration and nucleophilic attack of methoxy species, and finally leads to the rapid formation of acetyl products. Ni@MoS2 catalyst could also effectively realize the carbonylation of ethanol, n‐propanol and n‐butanol to their acyl products, which may demonstrate its universal application for alcohols carbonylation.

High-Quality Thiophene-Based Two-Dimensional Perovskite Films Prepared with Dual Additives and Their Application in Solar Cells.

This study explores the optimization of (TMA)2MA4Pb5I16 perovskite films by regulating the film quality through the addition of MACl and MAAc additives. We found that adding MACl resulted in a film of larger grains with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.34%, while excessive MACl led to the formation of low-dimensional phases. Adding 7.5% MAAc improved the film quality with a PCE of 5.64%, although excessive MAAc induces pores and smaller grains. To address these issues, we proposed the combined use of MACl and MAAc additives, resulting in films with a larger grain size, smoother surface, and denser structure. Remarkably, the addition of MAAc + MACl achieved a champion PCE of 8.86% with good reproducibility. Mechanism studies revealed that TMA and MAAc formed a stable complex with PbI2 in solution, disrupting nucleation laws and promoting the formation of nuclei, leading to denser films with smaller grains. Additionally, the MACl treatment effectively promoted grain growth, resulting in high-quality films. This study presents novel insights into dual additive usage and their role in film crystallization, offering valuable guidance for the preparation of high-performance perovskite films.

New Antimicrobial Materials Based on Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride for Urinary Catheters: Preparation and Testing.

Given the constant increased number of nosocomial infections in hospitals, especially associated with prolonged usage of inserted medical devices, our work aims to ameliorate clinical experience and promote faster healing of patients undergoing urinary catheterization by improving the properties of medical devices materials. Within this research, nine different composites were prepared based on polyvinyl chloride, using three different plasticizers (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Proviplast 2646, and Proviplast 2755), and two different antimicrobial additives containing silver nanoparticles. The prepared materials were analyzed, and their physicochemical properties were determined: water absorption, relative density, plasticizer migration, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity by contact angle measurement, Shore A hardness, tensile strength, and elongation at break. Structure and morphology were also investigated by means of FTIR, SEM, and EDX analyses, and thermal (TG-DSC) and biological properties were evaluated. The most important aspects of obtained results are showing that plasticizer migration was significantly reduced (to almost zero) and that the usage of antimicrobial additives improved the materials' biocompatibility. Thus, based on the concluded favorable properties, the obtained materials can be further used for catheter development. Pressure-flow studies for different sizes and configurations are the next steps toward advanced in vivo and clinical trials.

Optimal directed acyclic graph federated learning model for energy-efficient IoT communication networks

Federated learning (FL) stimulates distributed on-device computation systems to process an optimum technique efficiency by communicating local process upgrades and global method distribution from aggregation averaging procedure. On-device FL is a standard application in wireless environments, with several mobile devices participating as nodes in the FL network. Managing extensive multi-dimensional process upgrades and resource-constrained computations in large-scale heterogeneous IoT cellular networks can be challenging. This article introduces a Lifetime Maximization using Optimal Directed Acyclic Graph Federated Learning in IoT Communication Networks (LM-ODAGFL) technique. The proposed LM-ODAGFL technique utilizes FL and metaheuristic optimization algorithms for energy-effective IoT networks. The Direct Acyclic Graph (DAG) model addresses device asynchrony in FL while minimizing additional resource usage. The Archimedes Optimization Algorithm (AOA) is designed to optimize the DAG model by reducing both user energy consumption and the training loss of the FL model. The performance validation of the LM-ODAGFL technique is performed by utilizing a series of experimentations. The obtained results of the LM-ODAGFL model demonstrate superior performance by consuming significantly less energy than SDAGFL and ESDAGFL, with values ranging from 0.373 to 0.485 kJ per round on the FMNIST-Clustered dataset and 16.27 to 20.34 kJ per round on the Poets dataset, compared to 0.000 to 1.442 kJ and 0.00 to 63.89 kJ respectively.

Evaluation of the use of additional capabilities of immunochemiluminescent analysis for determining the duration of infection with human immunodeficiency virus

Early assessment of HIV incidence is an important public health tool for understanding the state of the epidemic in a particular area, identifying high-risk groups, and assessing the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions.Objective. To assess the possibility of using the positivity rate (S/CO) in the HIV Ag/Ab immunoassay on the Alinity i analytical platform to determine the duration of infection during HIV screening.Materials and methods. The study included 316 HIV-infected patients with different infection durations. Immunochemical analysis was performed on an Alinity i automatic analyzer (Abbott Laboratories, USA) using the Alinity i HIV Ag/Ab Reagent Kit (Abbott Laboratories, Germany) in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.Results. Statistical analysis of 316 blood samples from HIV-infected patients at different stages of infection demonstrated the reactivity of the Alinity i HIV Ag/Ab test result and a dynamic increase in the positivity ratio during the first six months after the onset of the disease. Based on the data obtained, a threshold value (≤294 conventional units) was obtained for the positivity ratio, which allowed for a clear distinction between HIV-positive patients with a recent (<6 months) period of infection. At the same time, the sensitivity and specificity indicators for detecting recent infection in the CMIA analysis were 79,0% and 63,2%, respectively.Conclusion. The additional usage of the positivity ratio in the Alinity i HIV Ag/Ab CMIA analysis meets the acceptability criteria for assessing the duration of HIV infection and can be a useful tool for analyzing the stage of the epidemic in a particular territory.

Pi-based biochemical mechanism of endurance-training-induced improvement of running performance in humans.

Endurance training improves running performance in distances where oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is the main ATP source. Here, a dynamic computer model is used to assess possible biochemical mechanisms underlying this improvement. The dynamic computer model is based on the "Pi double-threshold" mechanism of muscle fatigue, according to which the additional ATP usage appears when (1) inorganic phosphate (Pi) exceeds a critical value (Picrit); (2) exercise is terminated because of fatigue, when Pi reaches a peak value (Pipeak); (3) the Pi increase and additional ATP usage increase mutually stimulate each other. The endurance-training-induced increase in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activity attenuates the reaching of Pipeak by Pi (and thus of O2max by O2) at increased power output. This in turn allows a greater work intensity, and thus higher speed, to be achieved before exercise is terminated because of fatigue at the end of the 1500m run. Thus, identical total work is performed in a shorter time. Probably, endurance training also lowers Pipeak, which improves the homeostasis of "bioenergetic" muscle metabolites: ADP, PCr, Pi and H+ ions. The present dynamic computer model generates clear predictions of metabolic changes that limit performance during 1500m running. It contributes to our mechanistic understanding of training-induced improvement in running performance and stimulates further physiological experimental studies.

Thoracoscopic three-port single versus multiple intercostal for radical resection of esophageal cancer: a retrospective analysis

BackgroundThe purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the safety and feasibility of single-intercostal totally minimally invasive Ivor Lewis esophagectomy (MIIE) with those of multiple-intercostal MIIE.MethodsBetween January 2016 and December 2022, clinical data were collected for 528 patients who successfully underwent totally minimally invasive esophagectomy. Among these patients, 294 underwent MIIE, with 200 undergoing the single-intercostal approach and 94 undergoing the multiple-intercostal approach. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to the cohort of 294 patients. Subsequently, perioperative outcomes and other pertinent clinical data were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsA total of 294 patients were subjected to PSM, and 89 groups of patient data (178 persons in total) were well balanced and included in the follow-up statistics. Compared to the multiple intercostal group, the single intercostal group had a shorter operative time (280 min vs. 310 min; p < 0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the incidence of major perioperative complications (p > 0.05). The total number of lymph nodes sampled (25.30 vs. 27.55, p > 0.05) and recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes sampled on the both sides (p > 0.05) did not significantly differ. The single intercostal group had lower postoperative long-term usage of morphine (0,0–60 vs. 20,20–130; p < 0.01), total temporary addition (10,0–30 vs. 20,20–40; p < 0.01) and temporary usage in the first 3 days after surgery (0,0–15 vs. 10,10–20; p < 0.01) than did the multicostal group.There were no significant differences in age, sex, tumor location or extent of lymphadenectomy or in the clinical factors between the single-intercostal group (p > 0.05).ConclusionsBoth techniques can be used for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Compared to multiple intercostal MIIE, the feasibility of which has been proven internationally, the single intercostal technique can also be applied to patients of different age groups and sexes and with different tumor locations. It can provide surgeons with an additional surgical option.Trial registrationThis study was retrospectively registered by the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and written informed consent was exempted from ethical review. The registration number was 20,230,326. The date of registration was 2023.03.26.

Synthesis and study of the properties of nanocomposite polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams obtained with the usage of Cloisite 30B nanoclay small additives

A series of nanocomposite polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams were obtained using chemically modified Cloisite 30B nanoclays. The influence of small additives of Cloisite 30B nanoclay on the morphology of the cellular structure and changes in the physical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of the synthesized materials was analyzed. It has been proven that the introduction of this filler into the composition in small quantities contributes to the ordering of the cellular structure and the improvement of the basic functional foams’ properties.

Inclusion of Histopathology in Dose Range-Finding Nonclinical Studies for Inhaled Drug Products.

Drug development is a lengthy process that promotes and protects the health and safety of future patients. Nonclinical safety studies follow essentially similar designs that fulfill regulatory requirements but are amended based on factors including the mechanism of action, class of molecule, and route of administration. Clinical observations, clinical pathology, and macroscopic pathology in dose range-finding (DRF) studies generally provide sufficient information to select doses for pivotal studies by most delivery routes. Inhaled drug candidates are recognized for producing adverse effects on the respiratory system at the microscopic level that may otherwise be unpredictable; therefore, unlike other routes of administration, inhalation DRF studies typically include histopathology of the respiratory tract. Histopathology evaluations can add several weeks to the Investigational New Drug (IND) application timeline along with additional costs but have been considered necessary to support accurate dose selection for adequate safety margins, thereby potentially avoiding additional studies and animal usage by ensuring achievement of a NOAEL in the pivotal studies. Therefore, DRF inhalation studies initiated from 2018 to 2021 at Labcorp were reviewed to determine whether inclusion of histopathology on preliminary inhalation studies was necessary for subsequent dose selection. Histopathology findings in the DRF impacted dose selection in pivotal inhalation studies for approximately 45% of rat and dog studies. This review identified histopathology findings in rat and dog that support continued inclusion of respiratory tract histopathology in DRF studies. Future investigations will evaluate potential surrogate endpoints for these findings, which could reduce nonclinical drug development timelines by several weeks.

Developing information technology for evaluating and enhancing application-layer DDoS attack detection methods

The subject matter of this article is the methods to detect distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks at the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) level with the purpose of justifying the requirements for creating software capable of identifying malicious web server clients. The goal of this article is to develop an information technology to evaluate the efficiency of DDoS attack detection methods, which will quantify their operating time, memory consumption, and approximate classification accuracy. In addition, this paper proposes hypotheses and a potential approach to improve existing application-layer DDoS attack detection methods with the intention of increasing their accuracy and identification speed. The tasks of this study are as follows: to analyse modern methods for detecting application-layer DDoS attacks; to investigate their features and short­comings; to develop a software system to assess DDoS attack detection methods; to programmatically implement these methods and experimentally measure their performance indicators, specifically: classification ac­curacy, operating time, and memory usage; to compare the efficiency of the investigated methods; to formulate hypotheses and propose an approach to improve existing methods and/or develop new methods based on the results obtained. The methods employed are abstraction, analysis, systematic approach, and empirical research. In particular, the datasets generated by DDoS utilities were processed using the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) to balance them. Furthermore, the studied DDoS attack detection methods were implemented, including fitting the required parameters and training artificial neural network models for evaluation. The following results were obtained. The average classification accuracy, operating time, and random-access memory (RAM) consumption during Internet traffic classification were determined for six DDoS attack detection methods under the same conditions. This study has demonstrated that the development of a novel method to detect DDoS attacks at the HTTP level with enhanced accuracy and classification speed is strongly required. The experimental results demonstrate that the time series-based method exhibited the shortest operating time (1.33 ms for 5000 vectors), whereas the deep neural network-based method exhibited the highest average classification accuracy (ranging from 99.07% to 99.97%) and the lowest memory consumption (39.09 KB for 5000 vectors). Conclusions. In this study, a software system was developed to assess the average accuracy of DDoS attack classification methods and measure the computational resources utilized. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the formulation of two hypotheses and a potential approach to the creation of a novel method for detecting DDoS attacks at the HTTP level, which will have both high classification accuracy and a short operating time to surpass previously studied analogues in these respects. The first hypothesis is based on the additional usage of HTTP request attributes during Internet traffic classification. The second hypothesis is to analyse a graph of user transitions between website pages. The article also superficially describes a potential approach that involves the implementation of the described hypotheses as well as the proposed software architecture of an application-layer DDoS attack detection system for the Kubernetes platform and the Istio framework, which addresses the issue of collecting web request parameter values for websites that use the cryptographically secured HTTPS protocol.

Oxidative stress markers in brain and gonads of rabbit bucks fed herbal supplements

BackgroundCurrently, there is an increase in the usage of phytogenic feed additives to help improve animal welfare and productivity, while less emphasis is now placed on metabolic and oxidative stability of neuronal and testicular tissues. This study aims at investigating the effects of Moringa oleifera, Phyllanthus amarus and Viscum album as feed additives on some metabolic indicators and oxidative status of rabbit testis and brain. Isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated with 5% supplementation of each of the phytogenic additive to 3 treatment groups and basal diet group.ResultsIt was revealed that moringa, mistletoe, and phyllanthus can modulate oxidative status in both the brain and gonads of rabbit bucks through their unique phytochemical compositions, thereby affecting reproductive and cognitive functions. Moringa, rich in crude protein, saponins, glycosides, and steroids, enhances protein and lactate dehydrogenase levels but increases lipid peroxidation in the testis. Mistletoe, with high crude fiber, ash, and antioxidants like flavonoids and tannins, boosts total antioxidant activity in several brain regions and reduces lipid peroxidation, indicating its potential for reducing oxidative stress. Phyllanthus, having the least fiber and ash but effective antioxidant properties, notably affects the oxidative balance in both the testis and brain, with varied impacts on different tissues. The result obtained showed that total antioxidant activity of the left testis was enhanced (p < 0.05) by inclusion of the phytogenic additives, while total antioxidant activity of the right testis in bucks fed on phytogenic additives were similar (p > 0.05) to bucks on basal diet. Bucks fed on moringa and phyllanthus additives had higher (p < 0.05) testicular lipid peroxidation, lowered testicular protein and/or lactate dehydrogenase. Result also shows that lipid peroxidation of hypothalamus, cerebrum, olfactory lobe and cerebellum were lowest in bucks fed on mistletoe, phyllanthus, phyllanthus and phyllanthus, respectively. High catalase activity of optic lobe, olfactory lobe and cerebellum were observed in bucks fed on mistletoe, moringa and mistletoe, respectively, while glutathione peroxidase activity in hypothalamus, cerebrum, olfactory lobe and pineal was enhanced (p < 0.05) in bucks fed on moringa and mistletoe compared to bucks on other treatment.ConclusionM. oleifera, P. amarus and V. album leaves as phytogenic feed additives in rabbit diets have negative effect on the metabolic activity of the testis, enhancing antioxidant activity in the brain.

Phase change energy storage using boron nitride/carbonized loofah sponge

Phase change thermal energy storage is a novel option for industrial waste heat recovery with the characteristics of high safety performance and low-cost. This work explores the potential novel composite phase change materials by encapsulating polyethylene glycol with boron nitride, carbonized loofah sponge fragments and boron nitride-carbonized loofah sponge fragments mixture using melt impregnation method. The results reveal that there is no chemical reaction between polyethylene glycol and the additives of boron nitride and carbonized loofah sponge fragments. The maximum thermal conductivity of the polyethylene glycol-based composites is 1.09 times of the pure polyethylene glycol. The thermal energy storage efficiency of polyethylene glycol/carbonized loofah sponge fragments composites with 2.5 wt% additives can be up to 80.13 %. The maximum temperature variation rates in the heating and cooling processes are attributed to polyethylene glycol/carbonized loofah sponge fragments, which are 0.096 °C/s and 0.057 °C /s correspondingly. Based on the numerical simulation considering utilization of waste heat from flue gases, the total melting time of composites with boron nitride, carbonized loofah sponge fragments, and boron nitride-carbonized loofah sponge fragments are 82.61 %, 85.25 % and 81.86 % of pure polyethylene glycol. These results imply the multiple usage of additives could not have superimposed effect on decrease of latent heat, and carbonized loofah sponge fragments is a cheap alternative to boron nitride.

A deep-learning-based surrogate model for Monte-Carlo simulations of the linear energy transfer in primary brain tumor patients treated with proton-beam radiotherapy

Objective. This study explores the use of neural networks (NNs) as surrogate models for Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations in predicting the dose-averaged linear energy transfer (LET d ) of protons in proton-beam therapy based on the planned dose distribution and patient anatomy in the form of computed tomography (CT) images. As LET d is associated with variability in the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons, we also evaluate the implications of using NN predictions for normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models within a variable-RBE context. Approach. The predictive performance of three-dimensional NN architectures was evaluated using five-fold cross-validation on a cohort of brain tumor patients (n = 151). The best-performing model was identified and externally validated on patients from a different center (n = 107). LET d predictions were compared to MC-simulated results in clinically relevant regions of interest. We assessed the impact on NTCP models by leveraging LET d predictions to derive RBE-weighted doses, using the Wedenberg RBE model. Main results. We found NNs based solely on the planned dose distribution, i.e. without additional usage of CT images, can approximate MC-based LET d distributions. Root mean squared errors (RMSE) for the median LET d within the brain, brainstem, CTV, chiasm, lacrimal glands (ipsilateral/contralateral) and optic nerves (ipsilateral/contralateral) were 0.36, 0.87, 0.31, 0.73, 0.68, 1.04, 0.69 and 1.24 keV µm−1, respectively. Although model predictions showed statistically significant differences from MC outputs, these did not result in substantial changes in NTCP predictions, with RMSEs of at most 3.2 percentage points. Significance. The ability of NNs to predict LET d based solely on planned dose distributions suggests a viable alternative to compute-intensive MC simulations in a variable-RBE setting. This is particularly useful in scenarios where MC simulation data are unavailable, facilitating resource-constrained proton therapy treatment planning, retrospective patient data analysis and further investigations on the variability of proton RBE.

MDB-KCP: persistence framework of in-memory database with CRIU-based container checkpoint in Kubernetes

As the demand for container technology and platforms increases due to the efficiency of IT resources, various workloads are being containerized. Although there are efforts to integrate various workloads into Kubernetes, the most widely used container platform today, the nature of containers makes it challenging to support persistence for memory-centric workloads like in-memory databases. In this paper, we discuss the drawbacks of one of the persistence support methods used for in-memory databases in a Kubernetes environment, namely, the data snapshot. To address these issues, we propose a compromise solution of using container checkpoints. Through this approach, we can perform checkpointing without incurring additional memory usage due to CoW, which is a problem in fork-based data snapshots during snapshot creation. Additionally, container checkpointing induces up to 7.1 times less downtime compared to the main process-based data snapshot. Furthermore, during database recovery, it is possible to achieve up to 11.3 times faster recovery compared to the data snapshot method.

Effect of preoperative oral ibuprofen on postoperative pain after dental implantation: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preemptive analgesia with ibuprofen on postoperative pain following single posterior tooth implantation, aiming to provide a clinical reference for its application. Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group trial was conducted. A total of 82 participants were included in the trial, meeting the eligibility criteria from April 2022 to April 2024 at the Capital Medical University School of Stomatology (40 cases), Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University (22 cases), Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University (20 cases). Participants were randomly assigned in a 1∶1 ratio to either the ibuprofen group or the control group, with each group comprising 41 individuals. Participants in the ibuprofen group received 300 mg of sustained-release ibuprofen capsules orally 15 min before surgery, while the control group received a placebo. Both groups received the same postoperative analgesic regimen for 3 days. Pain scores were assessed using the Numerical rating scale (NRS) at 30 min, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h postoperatively, and the additional use of analgesic medication was recorded from days 4 to 6 postoperatively. Results: A total of 82 participants were initially enrolled in the study, with 7 dropouts (4 from the control group and 3 from the ibuprofen group), resulting in 75 participants (37 in the control group and 38 in the ibuprofen group) completing the trial. There were no reports of adverse events such as nausea or vomiting among the participants. The ibuprofen group exhibited significantly lower pain scores at 4 h, 6 h and 8 h [1.0 (0.0, 2.0), 1.0 (0.0, 2.0), 1.5 (0.0, 3.0) ] postoperatively compared to the control group 4 h, 6 h and 8 h [2.0 (1.0, 3.0), 3.0 (1.5, 4.0), 2.0 (1.0, 4.0)] (Z=-1.99, P=0.047; Z=-3.01, P=0.003; Z=2.10, P=0.036). The proportions of patients requiring additional analgesic medication between days 4 and 6 post-surgery were 18.4% (7/38) in the ibuprofen group and 27.0% (10/37) in the control group, with no significant difference (χ2=0.79, P=0.373). The median additional medication usage postoperatively was [0.0 (0.0, 0.0) pills] in the ibuprofen group and [0.0 (0.0, 1.0) pills] in the control group, with no significant difference (Z=-0.78, P=0.439). Conclusions: Preemptive analgesia with ibuprofen effectively reduces postoperative pain following tooth implantation, representing a safe and effective perioperative pain management strategy.

Effects of FeSO4 and Organic Additives on Soil Properties and Microbiota during Model Soybean Planting in Saline-Alkali Soil

Saline soils are characterized by organic matter and nutrient deficiencies, and their mineral fraction consists almost exclusively of fine sand particles, resulting in an unstable soil formation process. Due to the high amount of soluble salts in the soil, the osmotic pressure of the soil is elevated, restricting water absorption. This ultimately leads to the death of the plant and adversely impacts crop growth and yield. Incorporating Fe2+ can improve fertilizer utilization efficiency by reducing the oxidation of NH4+ to nitrogen (N2). However, reports on the usage of iron addition for the improvement of saline-alkali soils are scanty. This study conducted an outdoor simulation in pots to assess the soils of soybean crops during the podding stage. The effects of Fe2+ along with organic fertilizer or bio-C addition were elucidated on the composition and function of saline and alkaline microbial communities. The findings were correlated with soil environmental factors to analyze the dynamic changes in soil microbial communities. The soil pH decreased by 1.22–2.18% and SOM increased by 2.87–11.77% with organic fertilizer (OF) treatment. Compared to the ck treatment (control without iron supplementation), other treatments showed an average increase in abundance of dominant phylum by 8.25–11.23%, and an increase in the diversity and richness of the microbial community by 1.73–10.87%. The harmful bacteria in the Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, and Basidiomycota groups reduced by 57.83%, 74.29%, and 67.29%, and the beneficial bacteria in Ascomycota increased by 18.23–20.39%. Fe2+ combined with organic fertilizer or bio-C treatment could weaken the competitive relationship between the various bacterial lineages, enhance synergistic ability, favor the function and structure of the microbial community, and thus, improve the soil environment. Overall, the application of Fe2+ combined with organic fertilizers improved the saline-alkali soil, while the biochar (C) treatment mainly affected the soil nutrients. Through its detailed analysis, the study provides actionable insights for farmers to manage soil fertility in saline-alkaline soils, thereby overcoming the challenges of poor yields due to salinity stress. This will lead to resilient and sustainable farming systems, contributing to global food security.

A novel design method for wideband bandpass filters with fewer inductors

Inductors that are widely used in wideband filter designs could result in large filter size and high insertion loss. A novel design method using admittance matrix based on direct circuit implementation is introduced for wideband bandpass filters. Firstly, a frequency transformation is performed on cross-couplings to realize the conversion between inductor and capacitor, thereby reducing usage of inductors. Moreover, by virtue of an enhanced resonator (type I), an approach of adding extra transmission zero is proposed to improve the out-of-band rejection without any additional usage of inductors. Thirdly, based on the frequency transformation, another enhanced resonator (type II) is introduced to further improve the frequency characteristics without compromising usage of inductors. Finally, by cascading the enhanced resonators of type I and type II, a novel filter can be constructed. This novel filter is designed and fabricated using a glass-based integrated passive device (IPD) technology. The measurement results are highly consistent with the simulation results. It is shown that the proposed design method can reduce the filter size and thus improve the chip integration. It enriches the freedoms during the filter design.