Explore the vast range of titles available.

IntroductionElderly stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients frequently experience walking dysfunction. Research indicates that balance training holds promise for enhancing walking stability in these individuals, whereas respiratory therapy (RT) can enhance walking endurance effectively. However, existing balance training regimens tailored for COPD are intricate and lack specificity, and the impact of combined RT on patients’ walking function remains uncertain. This study aims to assess the influence of core training (CT) integrated with RT on walking function among elderly stable COPD patients.Methods and analysisThis randomised, assessment-blinded, routine rehabilitation-controlled trial will be carried out at the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Rehabilitation, the Second Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai. A total of 42 elderly patients diagnosed with stable COPD will be randomly allocated to either the study group (SG) or the control group in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups will undergo 6 weeks of standard rehabilitation training. Additionally, patients in the SG will receive CT based on RT. The primary outcome of the study is the 6 min walk test. Secondary outcomes encompass ultrasound indicators of the diaphragm and multifidus, pulmonary function tests, Berg balance scale test, trunk impairment scale test, COPD assessment test and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Second Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai (2023-01-01, see online supplemental file 1). All patients will provide written informed consent before participation. The results of the trial are intended for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration numberChiCTR2400080276.

A semi-solid microstructure of Mg–10Zn–6.8Gd–4Y alloys is acquired via an isothermal heat treatment process, and the effects of the holding time on the microstructure evolution of Mg–10Zn–6.8Gd–4Y alloys are investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the cast alloy is composed of primary α-Mg dendritic grains with a eutectic structure (W-phase and eutectic Mg) distributed at the grain boundaries. The primary α-Mg dendritic grains grow in size with increasing holding time, and they tend to grow into more globular structures in the initial stage; they then become a bit more dendritic, as small branches grow from the grain boundaries after holding the sample at 580 °C for 10 min. Meanwhile, the interdiffusion of magnesium atoms within the eutectic region, and between the primary α-Mg and eutectic structure, leads to the formation of fine and relatively globular eutectic Mg grains in the eutectic structure after holding for 10 min. The eutectic Mg grains begin to grow, coarsen, coalesce, or be swallowed by the surrounding primary grains, causing fluctuations of the general grain size. Over the whole isothermal heat treatment process, two mechanisms—coalescence and Ostwald ripening—dominate the grain coarsening.

Mg-based alloys are regarded as highly promising materials for hydrogen storage. Despite significant improvements of the properties for Mg-based alloys, challenges such as slow hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics and high thermodynamic stability continue to limit their practical application. In this study, to assess hydrogen storage alloys with enhanced properties, incorporating both internal microstructure modulation through the preparation of amorphous/nanocrystalline structures and surface property enhancement with the addition of Cu and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the kinetic properties of activation and hydrogenation, thermodynamic properties, and dehydrogenation kinetics are tested. The results reveal a complementary interaction between the added Cu and CNTs, contributing to the superior hydrogen storage performance observed in sample 7A-2Cu-1CNTs with an amorphous/nanocrystalline structure compared to the other experimental samples. Additionally, the samples are fully activated after the initial hydrogen absorption and desorption cycle, demonstrating outstanding hydrogenation kinetics under both high and low temperature experimental conditions. Particularly noteworthy is that the hydrogen absorption exceeds 1.8 wt.% within one hour at 333 K. Furthermore, the activation energy for dehydrogenation is decreased to 64.71 kJ·mol −1 . This research may offer novel insights for the design of new-type Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys, which possess milder conditions for hydrogen absorption and desorption.

For the purpose of expanding the application scope of HEA coating manufactured on the surface modification of materials, in this work, the Al1.5CrFeNiTi0.5 and Al1.5CrFeNiTi0.5W0.5 HEA coatings were successfully manufactured using laser cladding method on SUS304. The microstructures and wear resistance of coatings are researched systematically. It is found that the W0 and W0.5 HEA coatings all exhibit the dendritic structure, which are constituted by BCC phases and Laves phases. With W element addition, the phase structures of W0.5 coating remain unchanged. W is dissolved in both two phases, but the solid solubility in Laves phase is higher compared to that in BCC phase. W0.5 coating with the highest microhardness of 848.34 HV, and the W0 coating with the microhardness of 811.45 HV, both of whose microhardness are four times more than that of SUS304 substrate. Among all samples, the W0.5 coating shows the optimal wear performance because of its larger content of hard second phase ( Laves phase).

Underground fractures play an important role in the storage and movement of hydrocarbon fluid. Fracture rock physics has been the useful bridge between fracture parameters and seismic response. In this paper, we aim to use seismic data to predict subsurface fractures based on rock physics. We begin with the construction of fracture rock physics model. Using the model, we may estimate P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity and fracture rock physics parameters. Then we derive a new approximate formula for the analysis of the relationship between fracture rock physics parameters and seismic response, and we also pro- pose the method which uses seismic data to invert the elastic and rock physics parameters of fractured rock. We end with the method verification, which includes using well-logging data to confirm the reliability of fracture rock physics effective model and utilizing real seismic data to validate the applicability of the inversion method. Tests show that the fracture rock physics effective model may be used to estimate velocities and fracture rock physics parameters reliably, and the inversion method is resultful even when the seismic data is added with random noise. Real data test also indicates the inversion method can be ap- plied into the estimation of the elastic and fracture weaknesses parameters in the target area.

Clay-based nanomaterials, especially 2:1 aluminosilicates such as vermiculite, biotite, and illite, have demonstrated great potential in various fields. However, their characteristic sandwiched structures and the lack of effective methods to exfoliate two-dimensional (2D) functional core layers (FCLs) greatly limit their future applications. Herein, we present a universal wet-chemical exfoliation method based on alkali etching that can intelligently “capture” the ultrathin and biocompatible FCLs (MgO and Fe 2 O 3 ) sandwiched between two identical tetrahedral layers (SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 ) from vermiculite. Without the sandwich structures that shielded their active sites, the obtained FCL nanosheets (NSs) exhibit a tunable and appropriate electron band structure (with the bandgap decreased from 2.0 eV to 1.4 eV), a conductive band that increased from −0.4 eV to −0.6 eV, and excellent light response characteristics. The great properties of 2D FCL NSs endow them with exciting potential in diverse applications including energy, photocatalysis, and biomedical engineering. This study specifically highlights their application in cancer theranostics as an example, potentially serving as a prelude to future extensive studies of 2D FCL NSs. Clay-based nanomaterials are of wide interest but problems extracting the 2D functional core layers have limited potential applications. Here, the authors report on the wet exfoliation of vermiculite by alkali etching to obtain the core layers and explore the application of the materials in cancer theranostics.

[1–3] Recent data from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO)[4] indicated that ECMO used as a bridge has increased by 20.5% over a decade. Before ECMO deployment, 9 of 17 patients required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 10 of 17 patients underwent invasive mechanical ventilation. [...]a prolonged duration of ECMO may increase the risk of complications, thereby leading to unfavorable outcomes. [...]treatment is an important determinant of survival. [...]VA-ECMO can be used as a bridge to HTx or LVAD for patients with AdHF experiencing a hemodynamically unstable stage, which may improve the possibility of further treatment and better prognosis.

The design and fabrication of a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) aptasensor for simultaneous detection of zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in wheat and corn samples is described. The capture and reporter probes were SH-cDNA-modified gold nanorods and SH-Apt-modified Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles, respectively. After recognizing OTA and ZEN aptamers and complementary strands (SH-cDNA), the reporter probe generated a strong SERS signal. The preferred binding of OTA and ZEN aptamers to OTA and ZEN, respectively, caused reporter probes to release the capture probes, resulting in a linear decrease in SERS intensity. The detection of OTA showed good linearity with an R 2 value of 0.986, which could be maintained across a wide concentration range (0.01 to 100 ng/mL), with the limit of detection of 0.018 ng/mL. For detection of ZEN, good linearity with an R 2 value of 0.987 could be maintained across a wide concentration range (0.05 to 500 ng/mL), with 0.054 ng/mL as the limit of detection. Good accuracy (relative standard deviation < 4.2%) during mycotoxin determination as well as excellent quantitative recoveries (96.0–110.7%) during the analysis of spiked real samples was achieved. The proposed SERS aptasensor exhibited excellent performance in the detection of OTA and ZEN in real food samples. Hence, by simply changing the aptamer, this new model can be applied to the detection of multiple mycotoxins in the food industry. Graphical abstract

Flexible piezoelectric materials have gained considerable attention due to their remarkable properties, including electromechanical coupling and high stretchability. These characteristics make them valuable in the realm of flexible electronic devices. However, the issue of fracture in these materials cannot be ignored. In general, these flexible/stretchable materials experience fractures when subjected to significant deformation, unlike brittle piezoelectric materials with low failure strain which have been extensively studied. There is a pressing need to investigate the fracture behavior of flexible piezoelectrics under finite deformation conditions. Within the framework of the phase field method, this work addresses the fracture of flexible piezoelectrics utilizing a nonlinear electromechanical material model. To investigate the influence of electrical boundary conditions on fracture behavior, a function related to the electric permittivity ratio and phase field variable is employed to degrade the electric energy density. By adjusting the electric permittivity ratio, the analysis encompasses the fracture behavior of flexible piezoelectric materials under the assumptions of electrically impermeable, semi-permeable, and permeable conditions, respectively. In order to solve the coupled governing equations, a residual controlled staggered algorithm (RCSA) is employed in the user element subroutine of commercial software ABAQUS. The simulation results indicate that fracture behavior in flexible piezoelectric materials is influenced by several factors, including material parameters, geometry, polarization direction, and the external electric field. Notably, when the poling direction is perpendicular to the electric field direction, variations in the external electric field have a minimal impact on fracture behavior. In contrast, when the poling direction is parallel to the electric field direction, the influence on fracture behavior is pronounced. These findings provide valuable insights for developing strategies to enhance the fracture resistance and durability of flexible piezoelectric materials in practical applications.

Catalytic depolymerization of lignin to produce bio-oil, liquid fuels, and aromatic chemicals in high yields is important for a biorefinery to remain competitive. In this study, undoped and Ni-doped catalysts for depolymerization of rice husk lignin (RHL) were developed and analyzed. The results showed that the catalysts had hydrotalcite-like structures with lamellar morphology. With suitable Ni-doping amount, the catalysts had high activity, thus better promoted the depolymerization of RHL. Among all catalysts, the Ni1/4MgAl catalyst could best promote the cleavage of the β-O-4 aryl ether bond in RHL molecule and thus could substantially increase the yields of bio-oil. The depolymerization catalyzed by this catalyst was also found to be temperature-, time-, and solvent-dependent. This study provides information that can be beneficial to the biorefinery industries and may help promote the valorization of lignin. Graphic Abstract