Lower Plateau Research Articles

Layer-Structured Multitransition-Metal Oxide Cathode Materials for Potassium-Ion Batteries with Long Cycling Lifespan and Superior Rate Capability.

Manganese (Mn)-based layer-structured transition metal oxides are considered as excellent cathode materials for potassium ion batteries (KIBs) owing to their low theoretical cost and high voltage plateau. The energy density and cycling lifetime, however, cannot simultaneously satisfy the basic requirements of the market for energy storage systems. One of the primary causes results from the complex structural transformation and transition metal migration during the ion intercalation and deintercalation process. The orbital and electronic structure of the octahedral center metal element plays an important role for maintaining the octahedral structural integrity and improving the K+ diffusivity by the introduced heterogeneous [Me-O] chemical bonding. A multitransition metal oxide, P3-type K0.5Mn0.85Co0.05Fe0.05Al0.05O2 (KMCFAO), was synthesized and employed as a cathode material for KIBs. Beneficial from the larger layer spacing for K+ to better accommodate and effectively preventing the irreversible structural transformation in the insertion/extraction process, it can reach a superior capacity retention up to 96.8% after 300 cycles at a current density of 500 mA g-1. The full cell of KMCFAO//hard carbon exhibits an encouraging promising energy density of 113.8 W h kg-1 at 100 mA g-1 and a capacity retention of 72.6% for 500 cycles.

Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan for the Mode of Ventilation During Critical Illness (MODE) Trial

For every critically ill adult receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, clinicians must select a mode of ventilation. The mode of ventilation determines whether the ventilator directly controls the tidal volume or the inspiratory pressure. Newer hybrid modes allow clinicians to set a target tidal volume; the ventilator controls and adjusts the inspiratory pressure. A strategy of low tidal volumes and low plateau pressure improves outcomes, but the optimal mode to achieve these targets is not known. Can a cluster-randomized trial design be used to assess whether the mode of mandatory ventilation affects the number of days alive and free of invasive mechanical ventilation among critically ill adults? The Mode of Ventilation During Critical Illness (MODE) trial is a cluster-randomized, multiple-crossover pilot trial being conducted in the medical ICU at an academic center. The MODE trial compares the use of volume control, pressure control, and adaptive pressure control. The study ICU is assigned to a single-ventilator mode (volume control vs pressure control vs adaptive pressure control) for continuous mandatory ventilation during each 1-month study block. The assigned mode switches every month in a randomly generated sequence. The primary outcome is ventilator-free days to study day 28, defined as the number of days alive and free of invasive mechanical ventilation from the final receipt of mechanical ventilation to 28 days after enrollment. Enrollment began November 1, 2022, and will end on July 31, 2023. This manuscript describes the protocol and statistical analysis plan for the MODE trial of ventilator modes comparing volume control, pressure control, and adaptive pressure control. Prespecifying the full statistical analysis plan prior to completion of enrollment increases rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the trial results. The trial was registered with clinicaltrials.gov on October 3, 2022, before initiation of patient enrollment on November 1, 2022 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05563779).

Effect of Yogurt Acid Whey on the Quality of Maize Silage

The increasing popularity of Greek yogurt generates large amounts of acid whey worldwide. The use of yogurt acid whey in animal nutrition is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a yogurt acid whey powder (YAWP) addition to maize forage prior to ensiling on the nutritional, microbial and fermentation quality of maize silage. Depending on the addition level of the YAWP to maize forage, there were the following four experimental treatments: YAWP 0, 2.5, 5 and 10% w/w. An increasing YAWP inclusion level linearly increased the maize silage dry matter, crude protein and ash concentrations, whereas it reduced the crude fiber, neutral-detergent fiber and acid-detergent fiber concentrations. The silage pH decreased quadratically with the increasing YAWP level, with the lower plateau noted for the YAWP 5% addition. Concentrations of total bacteria in the silage and Lactobacillus spp. decreased linearly with the YAWP increase. The silage acetic acid content decreased linearly, whereas propionic acid, lactic acid and the ratio of lactic to acetic acid increased linearly with the increasing YAWP level. The ammonia-N content decreased linearly with the increasing YAWP level. In conclusion, the incorporation of the 5 and 10% YAWP addition in silage preparation improved the nutritional and fermentative quality of the produced silage.

Mechanical enhancement of aluminum foam via in situ interfacial bonding

Aluminum foam (AF) has extensive application prospects due to its high specific strength and specific energy absorption. However, low compressive strength and plateau stress of AF limit their total energy absorption. This study introduces a combined way of melt foaming and infiltration casting for fabricating bi-continuous interpenetrating porous composites (BIPCs), which formed partial metallurgical bonding interfaces while ensuring three-dimensional mechanical bond constraints. Four types of three-dimensional structures were designed to reinforce AF. Mechanical behavior of AF and the composites under quasi-static compression was analyzed by combining compressive tests and the finite element method (FEM). The results showed that all reinforcements can efficiently improve the energy absorption of composites by preventing the expansion of cracks in aluminum foam. The structure reinforced along the body diagonal and the path of the center lines connecting the three pairs of parallel surfaces of the cube exhibited the best mechanical properties, whose energy absorption, specific energy absorption and specific compressive strength were 9.58, 3.48 and 2.89 times greater than those of AF, respectively. The critical stress of the rods to buckling and stretching failure of the four configurations were calculated. Results showed that large critical stresses tended to appear in the 1/4 and 1/2 round rods, which revealed that the fracture failure easily occurred at the intersection edges of plane surface and curved surface of struts.

Development of AB2-type TiZrCrMnFeCoV intermetallic high-entropy alloy for reversible room-temperature hydrogen storage

Intermetallic high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with C14 Laves phase structure have shown promise as hydrogen storage materials due to their ability to maintain the advantages of the AB2-type hydrogen storage alloys while offering the potential for the improvement of hydrogen storage properties through the use of multi-principal elements. However, some intermetallic HEAs are limited in their ability to scale-up production using the low-cost induction melting method and reversible hydrogen storage at room temperature due to their extremely low equilibrium desorption pressure. In this work, intermetallic HEAs with reversible room-temperature hydrogen storage are designed using an empirical model based on calculation of the electronic and geometrical factors. An orthogonal experiment was conducted to optimize the composition and the optimal (Ti1.3Zr0.7)1.1Cr1.1Mn1.8Fe0.3Co0.4V0.4 HEA with a single C14 Laves phase was found to exhibit the best overall hydrogen performance. It can reversibly store 1.84 wt% hydrogen with a relatively low plateau hysteresis factor (0.71) and slope factor (0.89) at a temperature of 15 °C. The dehydrogenation enthalpy and entropy of the optimal HEA were determined to be 35.0 kJ mol−1 and 115.3 J mol−1 K−1, respectively. To reduce the cost of HEAs, FeV80 was employed to replace the V. It was found that the optimal HEA could be successfully scaled-up for production, and our findings demonstrate the potential of intermetallic HEAs for efficient hydrogen storage.

Hydrothermal activity and metallogenic environment revealed by seismic wave tomography in Yunnan Province, China

S-wave velocity structures are revealed using double-difference tomography, which shows large-scale low-velocity anomalies around the Xiaojiang and Lijiang−Xiaojinhe fault zones at 10−25 km depth. In contrast, an obvioushigh-speed anomaly exists in the center of Emeishan area, which is consistent with the EmeishanLarge Igneousprovince. Combined with the geological and geophysical data, the low-velocity anomaly might relate to the lower crustal flowof central Tibetan Plateau. The high-velocity anomaly associated with mantle plume in Emeishan would obstruct the crustal flow and limit it around the large deep faults. Meanwhile, the results also show that many mineral resources are mainly concentrated on the major faults and low-velocity zones, indicating that the lower crustal flow and the large deep faults provide conditions for mineral fluids and minerals deposit.

Treatment Outcomes of Delayed Definitive Surgery of Tibial Plateau Fractures

Background: Low energy tibia plateau fractures can be treated with definitive surgery within 48 hours. High energy tibia plateau fractures require a staged treatment plan that allows healing of the soft tissue envelope, with avoidance of devastating complications such as compartment syndrome and chronic infection. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of definitive tibial plateau surgery performed within 21 days from the date of injury to those done after 21 days in a resource-restricted center. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Group A consisted of patients that received their definitive surgery within 21 days of the injury. Group B were those who had definitive surgery after 21 days from the injury. Outcomes of interest included infectious complications (suggestive- and confirmed-fracture related infection (FRI)) and clinical outcomes (pain and range of motion). All patients were treated in one center between June 2018 and June 2020. Results: Forty-four (44) patients were included in the study. Twenty-three patients (23) were in group A while 21 were in group B. The median age was 40 (Inter quartile range [IQR]: 36 - 49) years in group A and 37 (IQR: 30 - 49) years in group B. Group A consisted of 15 males and 8 females while group B had 8 males and 13 females. Suggestive FRI rate in group A was 26% compared to 33% in group B. Confirmed FRI occurred in 2% of patients in group A compared to none in group B. The pain visual analogue scale (VAS) in group A had a median of 2 (IQR: 0 - 4) and 3 (IQR: 1 - 3) in group B. Range of motion was found to be 94.13 (range: 40 - 130) degrees on average for group A and 99.5 (range: 70 - 120) degrees for group B. Conclusion: Outcomes of surgeries performed after a delayed period of 21 days still were comparable to those performed before 21 days.

The Effect of Route of Administration and Vehicle on the Pharmacokinetics of THC and CBD in Adult, Neonate, and Breastfed Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Introduction: Basic pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic models of the phytocannabinoids Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are critical for developing translational models of exposure and toxicity. The neonatal period is a particularly important time to study the effects of cannabinoids, yet there are few studies of cannabinoid PKs by different routes such as direct injection or breast milk ingestion. To study this question, we have developed a translationally relevant rodent model of perinatal cannabinoid administration by measuring plasma levels of THC and CBD after different routes and preparations of these drugs. Materials and Methods: Adult animals and pups were injected with THC or CBD either intraperitoneally or subcutaneously, and plasma was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to measure cannabinoid levels collected at specified intervals. We also tested the effect of preparation of the drug using an oil-based vehicle (sesame oil) and an aqueous vehicle (Tween). Finally, we measured the plasma levels of cannabinoids in neonatal pups that were transmitted through breast milk after intraperitoneal injection to nursing dams. Results: We observed differences in the PK profiles of cannabinoids in adults and neonatal pups that were dependent on the route of administration and type of vehicle. Cannabinoids prepared in aqueous vehicle, injected intraperitoneally, resulted in a high peak in plasma concentration, which rapidly decreased. In contrast, subcutaneous injections using sesame oil as a vehicle resulted in a slow rise and low plateau in plasma concentration. Intraperitoneal injections with sesame oil as a vehicle resulted in a slower rise compared with aqueous vehicle, but an earlier and higher peak compared with subcutaneous injection. Finally, the levels of THC and CBD that were similar to direct subcutaneous injections were measured in the plasma of pups nursing from intraperitoneally injected dams. Conclusions: The route of administration and the preparation of the drug have important and significant effects on the PK profiles of THC and CBD in rats. These results can be used to create different clinically relevant exposure paradigms in pups and adults, such as short high-dose exposure or a low-chronic exposure, each of which might have significant and varying effects on development.

Exploring the Sensitivity of the Transient Response following Power Failure to Air Valve and Pipeline Characteristics

Air valves are protective devices often used in pressurised water pipelines, ideally admitting air to limit sub-atmospheric pressures and controlling the release of entrapped air. This work summarises a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the transient behaviour in a rising water pipeline with an air valve following a pump trip. The paper examines the water hammer stages associated with a pump trip, namely, the initial depressurisation, followed by air admission, then air expulsion, and finally the creation of a secondary pressure wave. For each air valve location and specific set of design conditions, the relationship between the transient magnitude and air valve outflow capacity is found to be non-linear, but to roughly follow the shape of a logistic curve having a lower left plateau for attenuated (type 1) behaviour and transitioning through type 2 behaviour to a higher right plateau for water-hammer-dominated (type 3) behaviour. Through an extensive set of simulations covering a wide range of conditions, the study identifies the size of the critical outflow orifices associated with both type 1 and type 3 responses and assesses the influence of the location of the air valve on the transient magnitude and on the timing of air pocket collapse. Furthermore, the paper highlights that a non-slam air valve is capable of effectively mitigating transient magnitudes provided that its design parameters are judiciously chosen and account for both the system’s attributes and the characteristics of the transient event.

The contribution of remote sensing and input feature selection for groundwater level prediction using LSTM neural networks in the Oum Er-Rbia Basin, Morocco

The planning and management of groundwater in the absence of in situ climate data is a delicate task, particularly in arid regions where this resource is crucial for drinking water supplies and irrigation. Here the motivation is to evaluate the role of remote sensing data and Input feature selection method in the Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) neural network for predicting groundwater levels of five wells located in different hydrogeological contexts across the Oum Er-Rbia Basin (OER) in Morocco: irrigated plain, floodplain and low plateau area. As input descriptive variable, four remote sensing variables were used: the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals (IMERGE) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) precipitation, Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), MODIS land surface temperature (LST), and MODIS evapotranspiration. Three LSTM models were developed, rigorously analyzed and compared. The LSTM-XGB-GS model, was optimized using the GridsearchCV method, and uses a single remote sensing variable identified by the input feature selection method XGBoost. Another optimized LSTM model was also constructed, but uses the four remote sensing variables as input (LSTM-GS). Additionally, a standalone LSTM model was established and also incorporating the four variables as inputs. Scatter plots, violin plots, Taylor diagram and three evaluation indices were used to verify the performance of the three models. The overall result showed that the LSTM-XGB-GS model was the most successful, consistently outperforming both the LSTM-GS model and the standalone LSTM model. Its remarkable accuracy is reflected in high R2 values (0.95 to 0.99 during training, 0.72 to 0.99 during testing) and the lowest RMSE values (0.03 to 0.68 m during training, 0.02 to 0.58 m during testing) and MAE values (0.02 to 0.66 m during training, 0.02 to 0.58 m during testing). The LSTM-XGB-GS model reveals how hydrodynamics, climate, and land-use influence groundwater predictions, emphasizing correlations like irrigated land-temperature link and floodplain-NDVI-evapotranspiration interaction for improved predictions. Finally, this study demonstrates the great support that remote sensing data can provide for groundwater prediction using ANN models in conditions where in situ data are lacking.

Use of Hydrothermal Carbonization to Improve the Performance of Biowaste-Derived Hard Carbons in Sodium Ion-Batteries.

Over the last years, hard carbon (HC) has been the most promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its low voltage plateau, low cost and sustainability. In this study, biomass waste (spent coffee grounds, sunflower seed shells and rose stems) was investigated as potential material for hard carbon preparation combining a two-step method consisting of on hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), to remove the inorganic impurities and increase the carbon content, and a subsequent pyrolysis process. The use of HTC as pretreatment prior to pyrolysis improves the specific capacity in all the materials compared to the ones directly pyrolyzed by more than 100 % at high C-rates. The obtained capacity ranging between 210 and 280 mAh g-1 at C/15 is similar to the values reported in literature for biomass-based hard carbons. Overall, HC obtained from sunflower seed shell performs better than that obtained from the other precursors with an initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 76 % and capacities of 120 mAh g-1 during 1000 cycles at C with a high capacity retention of 86-93 %.

Tellurium with Reversible Six-Electron Transfer Chemistry for High-Performance Zinc Batteries.

Chalcogens, especially tellurium (Te), as conversion-type cathodes possess promising prospects for zinc batteries (ZBs) with potential rich valence supply and high energy density. However, the conversion reaction of Te is normally restricted to the Te2-/Te0 redox with a low voltage plateau at ∼0.59 V (vs Zn2+/Zn) rather than the expected positive valence conversion of Te0 to Ten+, inhibiting the development of Te-based batteries toward high output voltage and energy density. Herein, the desired reversible Te2-/Te0/Te2+/Te4+ redox behavior with up to six-electron transfer was successfully activated by employing a highly concentrated Cl--containing electrolyte (Cl- as strong nucleophile) for the first time. Three flat discharge plateaus located at 1.24, 0.77, and 0.51 V, respectively, are attained with a total capacity of 802.7 mAh g-1. Furthermore, to improve the stability of Ten+ products and enhance the cycling stability, a modified ionic liquid (IL)-based electrolyte was fabricated, leading to a high-performance Zn∥Te battery with high areal capacity (7.13 mAh cm-2), high energy density (542 Wh kgTe-1 or 227 Wh Lcathdoe+anode-1), excellent cycling performance, and a low self-discharge rate based on 400 mAh-level pouch cell. The results enhance the understanding of tellurium chemistry in batteries, substantially promising a remarkable route for advanced ZBs.

Anti-drug Antibody Magnitude and Clinical Relevance Using Signal to Noise (S/N): Bococizumab Case Study.

Historically, the biopharmaceutical industry has used titer to characterize the magnitude of an anti-drug antibody (ADA) response. While reporting levels of antibodies in terms of titer is generally understood and accepted by regulatory and medical communities, titer values are inherently variable given the multiple serial dilutions and reporting a value either directly before or interpolated at the assay cut point on the lower plateau of the assay curve range. Using S/N is an appealing alternative approach to titer as it simplifies analysis with less dilutions, significantly reducing testing, time, and resources and provides a more precise value potentially differentiating low-level ADA responses. Current bridging electrochemiluminescence (ECL) ADA assays using Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) platform are also significantly more sensitive and drug tolerant with wider assay ranges compared to historic ELISA platforms; therefore, ADA response based on S/N may help differentiate and identify those ADA samples that are more likely to be clinically relevant. Bococizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which reduces plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Bococizumab was discontinued during Phase 3 clinical development based in part on the high rate of ADA and wide variation in LDL cholesterol responses among patients. The impact of anti-bococizumab antibodies on pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) endpoints was originally assessed using titer. Retrospective analysis of anti-bococizumab ADA responses using S/N ratios illustrates that S/N is an acceptable alternative to titer for characterizing the magnitude of ADA response and interpretation of clinically relevant ADA.

Fabrication of Internal Electric Field Sns/Sb2S3 with Engineered Porous Structure for Fast Kinetics Sodium Ion Storage

Benefiting from the abundance and low cost of sodium, sodium-ion batteries show great potential as lithium-ion batteries in application of large-scale energy storage. However, anode material graphite with high theoretical capacity 372 mAh g-1, low charge-discharge plateau potential and good cyclability, widely applied in lithium-ion batteries, exhibited poor electrochemical performance. The larger radius of Na-ion compared to Li-ion hinders the mass and ion transfer during charge-discharge cycling. Thus, anode material with large abundance, stability and high conductivity is crucial for the development and further application of sodium-ion batteries.Sodium-ion batteries have the potential to benefit greatly from metallic sulfide anodes, which offer high theoretical capacities. Unfortunately, the practical use of these anodes is limited by poor electrochemical performance, as sulfides tend to expand significantly in volume and Na+ ions exhibit sluggish kinetics during cycling. We have developed a facile and scalable approach to synthesizing a SnS/Sb2S3 heterostructure that is porous and bimetallic, with an additional sulfur and nitrogen co-doped carbon matrix encapsulation (SnS/Sb2S3@SNC). The PAN precursor is mixed homogeneously with SnSbx and S with a ball milling process. The sulfur evaporates from the mixture and reacts with the SnSbx alloy, leading to the formation of bimetallic sulfides SnS/Sb2S3. As a result, voids are generated, which in turn contributes to the development of a porous structure. At the same time, the PAN is carbonized, generating a S, N co-doped carbon matrix. SnS and Sb2S3 are two highly promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries, with high theoretical specific capacity of 1022 mAh g-1 and 947 mAh g-1, respectively. Moreover, bimetallic sulfides possess different bandgap make them ideal components for generating a strong internal electric field on the hetero-interface, which allows to improve the charge carrier transport and interface reaction kinetics. The porous nature of the structure can contain the volume expansion of sulfides during cycling, thereby ensuring superior structural stability. The distinctive heterostructure, in combination with the S, N co-doped carbon matrix, enables fast-charge transport and accelerate Na-ion storage kinetics.The SnS/Sb2S3@SNC anode demonstrates impressive electrochemical performance, with high capacities of 425 mAh g-1 at 200 mA g-1 after 100 cycles, and 302 mAh g-1 at 500 mA g-1 after 400 cycles. Additionally, the SnS/Sb2S3 @SNC anode exhibits remarkable rate capability, with a capacity of over 200 mAh g-1 at a high current density of 5000 mA g-1. Figure 1

Utilization of PET derived hard carbon as a battery-type, higher plateau capacity anode for sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries

Trash to Treasure is a less energy-intensive approach for upcycling plastic waste into value-added products to generate sustainable, cost-effective, eco-friendly materials. The carbonization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) via a single-step process into hard carbon (HC) delivers a high-performing anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Direct pyrolysis of PET waste increases the interlayer spacing with partially closed slit-shaped micro and mesopores that significantly improves the lower potential plateau-based capacity to 68% of the total capacity, validating a battery-type anode material. The HC carbonized at 1000℃ delivers a reversible capacity of 337 mAh/g with capacity retention of 88% after 100 cycles at 30 mAh/g. The HC exhibits 80% capacity retention even after 1000 cycles at a 1C rate and is promising for fast cycling-high power density applications. In PIBs, the HC carbonized at 800℃ performs the best and shows a reversible capacity of 305 mAh/g, with a battery-type low voltage plateau contribution of 32%. The charge storage mechanism in SIBS and PIBs follows a three-stage storage mechanism, i.e., adsorption, intercalation, and pore-filling.

Segregational drift hinders the evolution of antibiotic resistance on polyploid replicons.

The emergence of antibiotic resistance under treatment depends on the availability of resistance alleles and their establishment in the population. Novel resistance alleles are encoded either in chromosomal or extrachromosomal genetic elements; both types may be present in multiple copies within the cell. However, the effect of polyploidy on the emergence of antibiotic resistance remains understudied. Here we show that the establishment of resistance alleles in microbial populations depends on the ploidy level. Evolving bacterial populations under selection for antibiotic resistance, we demonstrate that resistance alleles in polyploid elements are lost frequently in comparison to alleles in monoploid elements due to segregational drift. Integrating the experiments with a mathematical model, we find a remarkable agreement between the theoretical and empirical results, confirming our understanding of the allele segregation process. Using the mathematical model, we further show that the effect of polyploidy on the establishment probability of beneficial alleles is strongest for low replicon copy numbers and plateaus for high replicon copy numbers. Our results suggest that the distribution of fitness effects for mutations that are eventually fixed in a population depends on the replicon ploidy level. Our study indicates that the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens depends on the pathogen ploidy level.

Evaluation of the neurofilament light chain as a biomarker in children with spinal muscular atrophy treated with nusinersen

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a biomarker for treatment responses in children with a broad spectrum of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) under nusinersen treatment. MethodWe measured NfL levels in serum (sNfL) and cerebrospinal fluid (cNfL) in nusinersen-treated patients with SMA and children without neurologic disorders. Correlations between cNfL and sNfL levels and motor function scores were analyzed. ResultssNfL and cNfL levels were measured in eight patients with SMA (SMA type 1, n = 3; SMA type 2, n = 5). sNfL levels were strongly correlated with cNfL levels regardless of the SMA subtype (r = 0.97, P < 0.001). Patients with SMA type 1 had higher baseline cNfL and sNfL levels before treatment initiation than those with SMA type 2 and neurologically healthy children. In patients with acute stage of SMA type 1 and 2, the NfL level rapidly decreased during the nusinersen treatment loading phase followed by stabilization at a lower plateau level. In contrast, in a patient with a chronic stage of SMA type 2, the NfL level remained within the normal range with no apparent downward trend. Motor function scores showed a tendency toward an inverse correlation with NfL levels in patients with acute stage although not in patients with chronic stage. ConclusionscNfL and sNfL levels can be promising biomarkers for monitoring treatment response in patients within their acute stage, particularly in SMA type 1, although not in patients with a chronic stage of SMA type 2.

Honeycomb-like 3D ordered macroporous SiOx/C nanoarchitectures with carbon coating for high-performance lithium storage

SiOx anodes are garnering significant interest in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to theirs low voltage plateau and high capacity. However, critical drawbacks, including high expansion rate and low electronic conductivity, severely limit their practical applications. While 0D, 1D, and 2D scale nanostructures have been proven to mitigate these issues, these materials tend to accumulate after prolonged cycling, leading to adverse effects on the mass transfer processes within the electrode. Herein, we have developed a honeycomb-like SiOx/C nanoarchitecture with carbon coating based on a 3D ordered macroporous (3DOM) structure. The 3D interconnected pore windows facilitate the diffusion and transport of lithium ions (Li+) in the electrolyte, and the extremely thin walls (<15 nm) provide a shorter transport path for Li+ in the solid. The carbon cladding buffers volume expansion and enhances electronic conductivity. The as-prepared anode demonstrates a high reversible capacity of 1068 mAh/g and an initial coulombic efficiency of 70.7 %. It maintains a capacity of 644 mAh/g (capacity retention of 84.63 %) even at a high current of 1.0 A/g after 700 cycles. The unique honeycomb-like structure offers enormous insights into the study of energy storage in 3D materials.

Effect of isolated intracranial hypertension on cerebral perfusion within the phase of primary disturbances after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats.

Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and blood components are the main trigger factors starting the complex pathophysiological cascade following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). It is not clear whether they independently contribute to tissue damage or whether their impact cannot be differentiated from each other. We here aimed to establish a rat intracranial hypertension model that allows distinguishing the effects of these two factors and investigating the relationship between elevated ICP and hypoperfusion very early after SAH. Blood or four different types of fluids [gelofusine, silicone oil, artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF), aCSF plus xanthan (CX)] were injected into the cisterna magna in anesthetized rats, respectively. Arterial blood pressure, ICP and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were continuously measured up to 6 h after injection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to measure the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in brain cortex and peripheral blood. Silicone oil injection caused deaths of almost all animals. Compared to blood, gelofusine resulted in lower peak ICP and lower plateau phase. Artificial CSF reached a comparable ICP peak value but failed to reach the ICP plateau of blood injection. Injection of CX with comparable viscosity as blood reproduced the ICP course of the blood injection group. Compared with the CBF course after blood injection, CX induced a comparable early global ischemia within the first minutes which was followed by a prompt return to baseline level with no further hypoperfusion despite an equal ICP course. The inflammatory response within the tissue did not differ between blood or blood-substitute injection. The systemic inflammation was significantly more pronounced in the CX injection group compared with the other fluids including blood. By cisterna magna injection of blood substitution fluids, we established a subarachnoid space occupying rat model that exactly mimicked the course of ICP in the first 6 h following blood injection. Fluids lacking blood components did not induce the typical prolonged hypoperfusion occurring after blood-injection in this very early phase. Our study strongly suggests that blood components rather than elevated ICP play an important role for early hypoperfusion events in SAH.

Exploring Switzerland’s Land Cover Change Dynamics Using a National Statistical Survey

Timely and reliable Land Use and Cover change information is crucial to efficiently mitigate the negative impact of environmental changes. Switzerland has the ambitious objective of being a sustainable country while remaining an attractive business location with a high level of well-being. However, this aspiration is hampered by increasing pressures that are significantly impacting the environment and putting serious demands on land. In the present study, we used the national Land Cover (LC) dataset, named ArealStatistik, produced by the Federal Statistical Office, to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of Land Cover in Switzerland, providing a comprehensive assessment of land cover change at the national scale. Results indicate that, in general, Switzerland has undergone small, spatially dispersed, dynamic, and gradual change trends, with high rates of transition between low growing Brush Vegetation and forest LC classes in recent years. These pixel-level trends are more important in the lower altitude plateau and Jura regions, while greater changes in the spatial configuration of LC are observed in the alpine regions. However, findings also suggest that identifying drivers and understanding the rate of change are limited by the spatial resolution and temporal update frequency of the ArealStatistik. The ability to understand these drivers would benefit from a high-resolution annual LC dataset. Such a data product can be produced using the ArealStatistik together with dense satellite data time-series and Machine/Deep Learning techniques.