Search Results (7)

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the non-inferiority between lidocaine-impregnated ligation bands (LLBs) and control bands (CBs) with respect to the efficacy of castration and tail docking. Secondary objectives were to compare castration and tail-docking success, evaluate local site reactions, and compare average daily gain (ADG) between the treatment groups. A total of 238 male lambs were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive LLBs or CBs on their tail and scrotum. Lambs were weighed, had a health assessment, and the band site was observed on −3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 days after the bands were applied. A linear regression model was built to assess average daily gain, whereas a repeated measures model was used to evaluate body weight differences at each of the measured timepoints. Furthermore, logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations with casting outcomes. Few differences were noted between treatment groups with respect to casting success for the scrotum and tail and ADG over the entire experimental period. Non-inferiority calculations demonstrated no differences in tail docking and scrotal casting success, with casting occurring for the majority of animals by d 21 and d 42 for castration and tail docking, respectively. However, lambs receiving LLBs gained more weight from d −3 to 7 (+0.03 kg/d; 95% CI: 0 to 0.07), which may be an indication of effective pain control during the first week following band application. Overall, the use of an LLB does not affect the time to successful casting of the tail and could improve short-term growth when compared to a control band. Further studies are needed to compare LLBs to multimodal methods of pain relief. Full article

The Liangzi Lake Basin (LLB) is an important ecological buffer for Wuhan’s urban agglomeration. It involves the ecological security of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Historical land misuse has altered the topography and impacted the ecosystem services value (ESV). Amid urbanization, it is vital to highlight changing land use methods and their effects on ESV valuation, understanding the underlying drivers comprehensively. The research is centered on the LLB as its designated study region, and utilizes remote sensing satellite data spanning from 2000 to 2020. This data is combined with a value equivalence table to quantify ESV. The GeoDetector method is employed to investigate the driving factors behind ESV fluctuations. The findings indicate a substantial shift in land use patterns within the LLB between 2000 and 2020. Notably, arable land decreased by 6.28% and water bodies decreased by 0.92%, while built-up areas expanded by 5.14% and forest land expanded by 2.05%. During this period, the LLB’s ecosystem services value decreased by approximately 2.035 billion yuan. This drop was mainly due to reduced water areas resulting from urbanization, negatively impacting the ecological regulatory services provided by these water bodies. Based on the geoprobe model, possible drivers of changes in ESV in the LLB were identified, with human activity intensity and NDVI detection results being the most obvious. The research emphasized protecting and restoring key ecological areas, like water bodies and forests, to maintain a delicate balance between the environment and socio-economic development. Additionally, they exemplify the effectiveness of ecological policies, including initiatives such as “Returning Farmland to Forest or Pasture” (RFFP), and the prohibition of lake and field reclamation. Full article

The long and large-diameter uncharged hole-boring (LLB) method is a cut-blasting method used to reduce vibration induced by blasting. This method typically involves creating an uncharged hole with a 382 mm diameter and drilling 50 m in the tunnel excavation direction at a time. This method is reported to provide relatively good vibration reduction and with high blasting efficiency through short hole blasting compared to traditional cut methods. In this study, an advanced LLB method incorporating deck charge blasting was investigated to improve the blasting efficiency during long hole blasting. Numerical analysis was performed via ANSYS LS-DYNA to investigate the effectiveness of the deck charge technique. In the original LLB method, explosives were used to break the rocks more finely, and the fragmented rocks were concen trated at the end of the blast holes. On the contrary, the modified LLB, in which two-part explosives were loaded into the blast holes, is expected to push the fragmented rocks to the tunnel face more effectively than the original LLB method. Therefore, it is expected that the proposed LLB method combined with a deck charge technique can achieve superior blasting efficiency. Full article

Cut blasting is one of the most essential processes to reduce blast-induced vibration in tunnel blasting. The long and large-diameter uncharged hole boring (LLB) method is an example of one of the cut blasting methods, which utilizes large-diameter uncharged holes drilled in the tunnel face. In this study, blasting simulations were performed to analyze its blasting mechanism, and the LLB method and the traditional burn-cut method were simulated to compare their blasting efficiency. A 3D numerical analysis using LS-DYNA code, a highly non-linear transient dynamic finite element analysis using explicit time integration, was used to simulate the blasting process, and a Johnson–Holmquist constitutive material model, which is optimal for simulating brittle materials under dynamic conditions, was used to simulate the rock behavior under blasting. The modified LLB method showed a 3.75-fold increase in the advance per round compared to the burn-cut method, due to the increased formation of long and large-diameter uncharged holes compared to blast holes. This modified LLB method used 30% less explosives, so its failure range was approximately 1.25 times less than that of the burn-cut method, but its advance was approximately 4 times larger than the burn-cut method, which was similar to the original LLB method. This confirmed that the modified LLB method is significantly more efficient in terms of increased blasting efficiency (particularly the advance per round) as well as reduced blast-induced vibration, compared to the traditional cut blasting method. Full article

As versatile energy harvesters, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted considerable attention in developing portable and self-powered energy suppliers. The question of how to improve the output power of TENGs using cost-effective means is still under vigorous investigation. In this paper, high-output TENGs were successfully produced by using a simple and low-cost lotus-leaf-bionic (LLB) method. Well-distributed microstructures were fabricated via the LLB method on the surface of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) negative triboelectric layer. 2D MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x) and graphene were doped into the structured PDMS to evaluate their effects on the performance of TENG. Owing to merits of the MXene doping and microstructures on the PDMS surface, the output power of MXene-doped LLB TENGs reached as high as 104.87 W/m², which was about 10 times higher than that of graphene-doped devices. The MXene-doped LLB TENGs can be used as humidity sensors, with a sensitivity of 4.4 V per RH%. In addition, the MXene-doped LLB TENGs were also sensitive to human body motions; hence, a foot health monitoring system constructed by the MXene-doped LLB TENGs was successfully demonstrated. The results in this work introduce a way to produce cost-effective TENGs using bionic means and suggest the promising applications of TENGs in the smart monitoring system of human health. Full article

An assessment of the stock status and historical changes in abundance of Coilia mystus and C. nasus in the Yangtze River Estuary, China, was carried out based on field surveys conducted in 2019–2020 and published length-frequency (L/F) data from earlier periods. These two species’ current and past relative biomasses (B/B_MSY) were estimated using a length-based Bayesian biomass estimation method (LBB). The LLB method also estimated their asymptotic lengths (L_inf), current and optimum mean lengths at first capture (L_c; L_{opt_c),} and their ratios of natural and fishing mortality to growth (M/K; F/K). In response to increasing fishing pressure, both species’ maximum lengths declined, along with their B/B_MSY ratio, which declined for C. mystus from 1.7 in 1982 to 0.47 in 2020 and for C. nasus from 1.7 in 2006 (or earlier) to 0.17 in 2020. These assessments show that both of the two Coilia species are overfished, with C. nasus impacted more severely than C. mystus. The prospect for the recovery of these two species is briefly discussed. This contribution will help toward the management of the population of these two Coilia species and provides a basis for evaluating the effect of the 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River. Full article

Castration is among the most common management procedures performed in the dairy and beef cattle industries and is mainly performed by surgery or elastic banding. Despite the various benefits of castration, all methods produce pain and distress. Castration by banding is simple, inexpensive, produces fewer complications, and can be performed in a high-throughput manner. Because lidocaine, a local anesthetic, can be delivered to trauma sites topically, we have formulated lidocaine-loaded castration bands (LLBs) to deliver local pain relief to calves during banded castration. The initial lidocaine content of three band types developed was between 80 and 200 mg per band. The transfer kinetics of lidocaine into tissue was determined in vitro, indicating a rapid release for the first 30 min, followed by a slow release lasting at least 48 h. Furthermore, the lidocaine delivery and pain mitigation effects of these LLBs were compared to standard lidocaine injections in vivo. Field studies indicated that LLBs performed at least as well as lidocaine injections for short-term lidocaine delivery into tissues and pain mitigation. Moreover, LLBs significantly outperformed lidocaine injections for long-term delivery and pain mitigation. The concentrations of lidocaine in the LLB-treated tissue samples were generally in the range of 0.5–3.5 mg of lidocaine per gram of tissue and were overall highest after 6 h. Lidocaine-loaded elastration bands deliver therapeutic quantities of lidocaine into scrotal tissues over a period of at least seven days in cattle. This approach would provide long-term pain mitigation to the animals and, by avoiding surgery or the administration of injections, would also decrease the time and handling costs for the producer. Full article