Search Results (8,034)

The redox behavior of nickel complexes with sulfur-containing ligands remains of considerable interest due to their significant value in coordination chemistry, catalysis, and bioorganic modeling. In this context, it is important to investigate how aqueous media and acid–base equilibria influence the stability and transformation pathways of such complexes. In this work, the electrochemical behavior of nickel complexes with phosphorylated dithiocarbamate was studied using cyclic voltammetry at various scan rates and pH values. Compared to similar systems in organic solvents, the complexes exhibited additional oxidation and reduction signals, indicating coupled chemical steps. The pH dependence of these peaks confirmed the role of hydroxo groups in the oxidation processes. Varying the scan rate revealed competition between ligand exchange pathways. At low and moderate scan rates, tris-dithiocarbamate nickel(III/IV) complexes are formed, whereas at higher scan rates, hydroxo-containing compounds make a greater contribution. Based on the experimental results and standard redox potentials derived from quantum chemical calculation data, a general scheme for the resulting electrochemical processes was proposed. The results demonstrate the key role of aqueous media and pH in regulating the redox process of nickel complexes with phosphorylated dithiocarbamate. Full article

Background: Stroke significantly increases morbidity and mortality in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This study evaluates the prognostic impact of stroke subtypes, acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS), and neurologic injury severity in a contemporary adult population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX federated electronic health record network, including adult patients who underwent ECMO between 1 October 2015 and 31 December 2025. Stroke was defined as a first-instance diagnosis of AIS, HS, or unspecified cerebrovascular event occurring within 24 h of ECMO cannulation during the index hospitalization. Propensity score matching (1:1 nearest neighbor) was performed to balance baseline demographics, comorbidities, anticoagulant use, and ECMO modality between the stroke and non-stroke cohorts. Primary outcomes included all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year. Secondary outcomes included cardiac arrest, seizures, palliative care utilization, and hospital readmission. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling were performed. Results: Among 18,981 ECMO patients, 1481 (7.8%) developed a stroke within 24 h of ECMO cannulation, including 814 AIS (54.9%), 454 HS (30.6%), and 213 unspecified cerebrovascular events (14.4%). After propensity score matching, stroke was associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality at 30 days (RR 1.16), 90 days (RR 1.18), and 1 year (RR 1.18), all p < 0.05. Stroke was also associated with higher rates of cardiac arrest, seizures, hospital readmission, and palliative care utilization (all p < 0.001). AIS was associated with significantly lower mortality than HS at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year (all p < 0.0001). In multivariable Cox regression, only HS was independently associated with increased 30-day mortality compared with no stroke. Markers of neurologic injury severity, including cerebral edema, brain compression, and coma, were among the strongest independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Stroke occurring early after ECMO cannulation is associated with substantially worse short- and long-term survival, with hemorrhagic subtype and markers of neurologic injury severity driving the strongest prognostic signals. These findings support early stroke recognition and subtype-informed prognostic discussions in ECMO patients. Full article

This study presents a closed-form analytical solution for large-deformation pressure-induced stress and displacement fields in thick-walled, functionally graded (FG) hyperelastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cylinders subjected to internal pressure. The formulation inherently satisfies incompressibility—an aspect not guaranteed by standard finite element methods (FEMs)—and provides explicit expressions for all stress and deformation components. Using a Mooney–Rivlin model with an exponential–logarithmic gradation law, the study examines bi-layer and tri-layer configurations under varying property-changing scenarios. The governing equations are reduced to a single nonlinear scalar relation for the radial mapping constant, ensuring computational efficiency. Analytical predictions demonstrate excellent agreement with FEM results (errors < 1%) and recover homogeneous limits, and demonstrate that continuous gradation significantly reduces stress concentrations compared to discrete layering. The proposed model offers an efficient tool for designing pressure-resistant FG hyperelastic components for engineering applications such as pipes, hoses, biomedical devices, and protective casings. Full article

To address supply–demand dynamics and inter-provincial resource mismatches under high-penetration renewable integration, this study proposes a tri-level collaborative trading framework for provincial power grids in Northeast China. The system integrates intra-provincial baselines, intra-regional synergy, and inter-regional optimized export through multi-stage optimization models. An improved Shapley value method is further introduced to ensure fair benefit allocation based on electricity contribution and transmission support. Simulation results for the Northeast region show that this collaborative approach reduces generation costs by 13.88% and enhances social welfare by 7.58% compared to independent trading. This framework effectively breaks inter-provincial barriers and provides a theoretical foundation for regional power market planning and security of supply. Full article

Background/Objectives: Optimal vascular access remains a critical determinant of outcomes in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. While an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is generally preferred over an arteriovenous graft (AVG), the impact of obesity and antithrombotic therapy on access-related complications remains incompletely defined. This study evaluated the association between vascular access type, obesity status, and adverse outcomes in a large real-world cohort. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using de-identified electronic health record data from the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network. Adult patients (≥18 years) receiving maintenance hemodialysis were stratified by vascular access type (AVF vs. AVG), body mass index (normal: 18.5–24.9 kg/m², obese: ≥30 kg/m²), and antithrombotic medication exposure. Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed within BMI strata. Primary outcomes included vascular access thrombosis, AVG failure, and AVF failure. Time-to-event analyses used Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: AVG was associated with significantly higher rates of thrombosis and access failure compared with AVF in both obese and normal-weight cohorts (all p < 0.0001). In patients with obesity, thrombosis rates increased from 10.47% (AVF) to 17.54% (AVG) at 3 months to 34.32% versus 42.24% at 5 years. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated early and persistent separation of thrombosis-free survival curves, with AVG associated with increased risk (HR 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07–1.41; log-rank p = 0.0001). Antithrombotic therapy reduced absolute risks but did not eliminate the relative disadvantage of AVG. Conclusions: In this large real-world cohort, AVG was consistently associated with higher risks of thrombosis and access failure compared with AVF, regardless of obesity status or medication exposure. These findings support preferential use of AVF and highlight the need for individualized vascular access strategies in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Full article

The Kubuqi Desert serves as a critical zone for both renewable energy development and ecological management in China. Large-scale photovoltaic (PV) deployment has fundamentally altered the regional underlying surface, impacting near-surface wind–sand dynamics. To elucidate these disturbance mechanisms, we selected three representative surfaces—a PV area, a resource base, and Qixing Lake—and conducted field observations from September to December 2023 using meteorological towers and wind erosion sensors. Results indicate that all surfaces significantly attenuated near-surface wind speeds by over 30% through modified flow field structures. A strong linear positive correlation existed between wind speed and friction velocity (R² ≈ 0.99). Notably, for the same friction velocity, the actual wind speed required to initiate sand movement was lowest in the PV zone (high k) and highest at Qixing Lake (low k), signifying enhanced surface stability due to PV infrastructure and moisture. Threshold analysis revealed distinct initiation speeds: >6.0 m·s⁻¹ in peripheral quicksand, >4.3 m·s⁻¹ in inter-panel zones, and >4.6 m·s⁻¹ beneath panels. The tilted PV panels accelerate airflow downward, generating cyclonic vortices that intensify sand particle impacts under and between panels. This study reveals the tri-dimensional mechanism of wind regulation–sand suppression–stability enhancement, providing theoretical support for mitigating wind–sand disasters while advancing green energy in desert regions. Full article

Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) offers new opportunities for intelligent clinical decision support, but deployment in emergency and crisis settings remains challenging because time-critical recommendations must often be generated under incomplete patient information and system constraints. Conventional clinical decision support systems rely on rule-based workflows that degrade when structured data are absent, while standalone language models lack coordination mechanisms to enforce mandatory safety checks. We present TriAgent, a multi-agent framework that unifies adaptive orchestration, iterative retrieval, embedded safety verification, and end-to-end auditability within a single crisis clinical decision support workflow. An Orchestrator Agent dynamically selects specialist modules for clinical assessment, retrieval, treatment planning, safety verification, and system coordination, with routing determined by model reasoning rather than fixed execution paths. A retrieval sub-agent performs iterative query refinement and relevance grading over 49,000 MIMIC-IV discharge notes, while medication-conflict screening and allergy-risk assessment are invoked in parallel only when clinically indicated. A Critique Agent reviews the full reasoning trace before recommendation finalization. In a retrospective evaluation on 1000 real emergency presentations under synthesized incomplete-information inputs, TriAgent achieved 85.0% critical-case recall and 65.7% overall triage accuracy, versus at most 14.7% and 43.4% for matched single-model and retrieval-only baselines, with safety checks executed on every continuation pathway and adaptive routing invoking only the modules each case required. These results support multi-agent orchestration as a promising design pattern for transparent and auditable AI in healthcare. These gains are internal system properties; clinical-safety benefit remains to be established through prospective, clinician-involved validation. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate whey fermentation with Enterococcus faecium ABMC-05 to obtain a product with three functional ingredients: probiotic strains, selenium enrichment, and hydrolysates with antioxidant and antihypertensive properties. Whey, with and without sodium selenite (184 mg/mL), was fermented by Enterococcus faecium ABMC-05 and analyzed for 120 h. Free amino groups (TNBS), protein hydrolysis (Tris-Glycine-SDS-PAGE), lower molecular protein fractions (Tris-Tricine-SDS-PAGE and SEC-HPLC), antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP), and antihypertensive activity (ACE inhibition) were determined. The results showed that selenium accumulation in Enterococcus faecium ABMC-05 gradually increased during fermentation, reaching 2.21 µg Se/Log CFU. This was associated with a delay in the initial stage of bacterial growth and a greater release of free amino groups. Partial hydrolysis of serum β-lactoglobulin was observed by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by HPLC only in the fermentation without selenium. The levels of inhibition of the DPPH radical decreased during fermentation in both systems, while FRAP remained unchanged during the fermentation time in the selenium system. In contrast, ACE inhibitory activity increased to 53% at 120 h of fermentation in the selenium system. Therefore, the combination of the three functional ingredients may enhance bioactivity and serve as an alternative in functional dairy foods. Full article

Background: Heart failure patients are frequently prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors, but the incremental real-world benefit of adding GLP-1 receptor agonists is uncertain. Methods: A retrospective propensity-matched cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network (171 healthcare organizations). Adults aged ≥18 years with incident heart failure who initiated either dual SGLT2 inhibitor and GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy or SGLT2 inhibitor monotherapy within 1 month of the first heart failure diagnosis were compared. Outcomes over 365 days included all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation/flutter, acute kidney failure, pulmonary edema, new-onset diuretic use, urinary tract infection, retinopathy, and laboratory hypoglycemia (glucose ≤ 70 mg/dL). Cox proportional hazards models were used; the proportional hazards assumption was formally tested. Bonferroni and Benjamini–Hochberg adjustments were applied for multiple comparisons. E-values quantified robustness to unmeasured confounding. Appendicitis was used as a negative control outcome. Results: After 1:1 propensity score matching, 3421 patients were included in each cohort. Cohorts were well-balanced (all standardized mean differences < 0.10). Over 365 days of follow-up, no significant differences were observed between dual therapy and monotherapy in all-cause mortality (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.77–1.09), all-cause hospitalization (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.96–1.40), acute myocardial infarction (HR 1.20, 95% CI 0.92–1.55), atrial fibrillation/flutter (HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.85–1.30), acute kidney failure (HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.89–1.26), new-onset diuretic use (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.78–1.09), or urinary tract infection (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.90–1.48). Dual therapy was associated with a significant increase in retinopathy (HR 2.66, 95% CI 1.81–3.93; Bonferroni p = 0.001; E-value 4.77, lower CI bound 3.01), and a modest increase in laboratory hypoglycemia (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04–1.44) and pulmonary edema (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06–1.70), both of which survived FDR but not Bonferroni adjustment. Prespecified subgroup analyses showed lower mortality with dual therapy in patients aged 18–64 (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43–0.93) and in women (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.45–0.81). The negative control outcome (appendicitis) was non-significant. Conclusions: In a propensity-matched real-world cohort with a conservative cohort definition, dual SGLT2 inhibitor and GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy was not associated with significant differences in mortality or major cardiovascular outcomes compared with SGLT2 inhibitor monotherapy. Subgroup signals favoring dual therapy in younger and female patients, alongside safety signals for retinopathy and laboratory hypoglycemia, are hypothesis-generating and should be confirmed in prospective trials. Full article

Accelerometer sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping automated behavior monitoring in precision livestock management, yet their joint deployment on extensive rangelands is constrained by energy and bandwidth budgets. Low-Power Long-Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) collars address these constraints by compressing the raw tri-axial signal on the device into a single scalar per reporting interval, the Motion Index (MI). This onboard compression preserves enough signal to separate active behaviors but discards the per-axis and frequency content that fine-grained classification typically relies on. On a dataset of 9222 labeled observations from 24 cows across four breeds, MI distinguishes walking from grazing reliably but fails to separate ruminating from resting; both correspond to a stationary animal and yield near-zero, statistically indistinguishable distributions. Earlier MI-only models reached only about 65% four-class accuracy, and ruminating was commonly merged into resting. We show that much of this loss can be recovered by treating the MI stream as a time series. Session-aware lag features, rolling statistics, and an autoregressive previous-behavior feature lift four-class macro-F1 from 0.647 to 0.94, with per-class F1 of 0.95 for ruminating and 0.92 for resting (and at least 0.92 for every behavior). In autonomous deployment the previous behavior must be predicted rather than observed; for this setting we add a Viterbi sequence-decoding step that combines the classifier’s per-step outputs with a learned behavior-transition model, recovering a substantial part of the ruminating signal from the activity stream alone while keeping walking and grazing reliable. The gain is consistent across seven classifiers and four genetically distinct breeds, indicating that it is driven by the features rather than by a specific model. Full article

Controlling macro-geometrical errors in the dry drilling of ductile cast iron remains a critical challenge for sustainable and cost-efficient automotive component manufacturing. This paper investigates the influence of cutting speed (v_c) and feed per revolution (f_n) on the dimensional and shape accuracy of holes drilled in EN-GJS-500-7 ductile cast iron using an HSS DIN 338 helical drill (Ø 11.8 mm, Ceratizit) on an AVIA VMC800 CNC milling centre. A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) experimental design was applied: the feed effect was evaluated at v_c = 10 m/min with f_n ∈ {0.10, 0.15, 0.20} mm/rev, while the speed effect was evaluated at f_n = 0.20 mm/rev with v_c ∈ {10, 25, 30} m/min. Cutting forces, torques, and vibration accelerations were recorded using an HBM MSC 10 transducer and a PCB 356A01 tri-axial accelerometer. Hole geometry was assessed on a Zeiss Contura G2 coordinate-measuring machine (CMM), and surface texture was evaluated with a TOPO 01P contact profilometer. The expanded measurement uncertainty (k = 2) was estimated based on duplicate test specimens. All drilled holes fell within the IT12 dimensional tolerance (PN-EN 22768-1:1999 grade c), with diameter oversizes ranging from +0.26 mm to +0.46 mm relative to the nominal bore. Cutting speed was identified as the dominant factor affecting both diameter oversize and cylindricity, which increased by 60% (from 0.10 to 0.16 mm) as v_c rose from 10 to 30 m/min. Vibration accelerations increased nonlinearly between v_c = 25 and 30 m/min (by a factor of 2.5×), indicating an approach to a structural resonance condition. The lowest surface roughness (R_a = 6.6 µm) was obtained at v_c = 25 m/min. These findings establish clear physical baselines for tool deflection limits, demonstrating that managing dynamic process stability is vital for optimising macro-geometrical accuracy in the dry machining of cast iron alloys. Full article

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are ubiquitous in the global water environment and may pose potential risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Herein, we present a simple and efficient method for accurate quantification of nineteen OPEs in water based on automated liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) with dichloromethane and hexane, followed by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with isotope dilution calibration. This method demonstrated a negligible matrix effect, satisfactory recoveries (70–120%), and low limits of detection (0.46–2.32 ng/L). A total of 3, 9, 10, and 11 OPEs were detected in Wahaha pure water, tap water, river water, and seawater, respectively, with total OPE (∑OPE) concentration ranges of 8.23–18.5 ng/L, 159–218 ng/L, 202–623 ng/L, and 111–175 ng/L, respectively. Among the detected OPEs, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) were the predominant compounds in four test water matrices. The risk quotient (RQ) results revealed that OPEs exhibited a low risk to algae, crustaceans and fish in the river water of Zhoushan and seawater of Sanmen Bay. Overall, the proposed method is sensitive and reliable for routine OPE analysis in drinking and environmental waters. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study assessed whether endometriosis is associated with an increased risk of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders and investigated if assisted reproductive technology (ART) further increases the risk in patients with endometriosis. Methods: This retrospective study used multi-institutional data from the TriNetX database to identify patients who experienced delivery on or before 31 December 2024, with a prior diagnosis of endometriosis and ART therapy, as coded by CPT and ICD-10 codes. The primary outcomes included up to 7-day perinatal results, such as PAS (accreta, increta, percreta), and maternal complications, including peripartum hysterectomy, transfusion, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), ICU admission, and sepsis. Risk ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were calculated for endometriosis versus no endometriosis and endometriosis patients with ART versus without ART. Results: Out of 3,487,612 patients identified, 24,341 had a prior diagnosis of endometriosis prior to propensity score matching. Propensity score matching was used to control for age, demographic variables, previous procedures, and comorbidities. Compared to controls, endometriosis was linked to a higher risk of PAS disorders (RR 1.74), including accreta (RR 2.22), increta (RR 2.50), and percreta (RR 1.59). Additional complications included peripartum hysterectomy (RR 1.72), transfusion (RR 1.26), PPH (RR 1.35), ICU admission (RR 1.43), and sepsis (RR 1.56). Patients conceived via ART faced greater risks of PAS disorders (RR 2.00), accreta (RR 2.14), hysterectomy (RR 1.63), transfusion (RR 2.10), and PPH (RR 1.66). Conclusions: This study shows a positive link between endometriosis and the risk of PAS disorders and maternal complications, and the use of ART in patients with endometriosis further increases this risk, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive counseling and a multidisciplinary approach to delivery planning for this high-risk group. Full article

An anti-contamination agent (Zn/Al–ATMP–LDH) was synthesized by intercalation and used to correct the abnormal thickening and related operational risks caused by contact contamination between drilling fluids and cement slurries during high-temperature/high-pressure cementing. The experimental results show that the agent is chemically stable and exhibits good compatibility with conventional spacer fluid additives. When compared with the direct addition of amino tris(methylenephosphonic acid) (ATMP), confining ATMP within a layered double hydroxide (LDH) markedly mitigates the retarding effect. At a dosage exceeding 0.3 wt%, the compressive strength of cement stone increased from 0 to 32.84 MPa following curing at 90 °C for 1 day and continued to develop steadily after 7 days. Following conditioning at 187 °C and 145 MPa for 120 min, the spacer system formulated using the proposed agent as the core component served to enhance the rheology of the mixed slurry via synergistic adsorption–regulation–dispersion stabilization-controlled release. The mixed slurry maintained stable rheological properties before and after aging with no uncontrolled thickening. When mixing the cement slurry and drilling fluid at a 7:3 volume ratio, the slurry consistency exceeded 60 Bc within 1 h, failing to meet operational requirements. In contrast, the mixed slurry containing the anti-contamination spacer (cement slurry–drilling fluid–spacer = 7:2:1) exhibited a thickening time greater than 300 min and was successfully applied in field-cementing operations in a well in the Gaomo area. Full article

Despite rapid growth in the AI endorser market, the psychological mechanisms governing their effectiveness remain theoretically fragmented. This study proposes the AHICC (AI–Human Interface in Consumer Cognition) model—integrating the Stereotype Content Model, Uncanny Valley hypothesis, anthropomorphism theory, Source Credibility Model, and Parasocial Interaction theory—to explain consumer responses to AI endorsers. A fully crossed 3 (endorser type: AI vs. hybrid vs. human) × 3 (anthropomorphism level: low vs. moderate vs. high) × 2 (technological transparency: low vs. high) between-subjects factorial experiment (n = 252) was conducted. Twenty-one sub-hypotheses were tested using MANOVA, polynomial regression, SEM, and bootstrap mediation analysis. All 21 sub-hypotheses were supported. AI endorsers outperformed human counterparts on brand attitude and purchase intention. Polynomial regression confirmed an inverted U-shaped Uncanny Valley effect with an optimal anthropomorphism level of 4.7 (7-point scale). High technological transparency attenuated the Uncanny Valley effect by approximately 60%. Dual-pathway mediation through cognitive and affective routes was confirmed, and TRI and product complexity emerged as significant boundary conditions. The AHICC model offers the first comprehensive framework for the AI endorser context, providing theoretically grounded guidance on anthropomorphism calibration, transparency strategy, and product-category-specific endorser selection. Full article