Browse Articles
Discover research articles across all indexed journals
Butorphanol decreased the median effective concentration of ropivacaine in ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block
Background Combining butorphanol with local anesthesia can enhance the analgesic effect of local anesthesia and prolong the duration of action for nerve block anesthesia. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of butorphanol on the median effective concentration (EC50) of ropivacaine in ultrasound-guided interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB). Methods This is a randomized, double-blind, up-and-down sequential allocation study. Fifty patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to the ropivacaine group or the butorphanol group in a 1:1 ratio. The former received 20 mL of ropivacaine for ultrasound-guided ISB, and the latter received a mixture containing 1 mg butorphanol and 20 mL ropivacaine. The concentration of ropivacaine for the first patient was 0.4%, and the ropivacaine concentration for the next patient was determined on the basis of the response of the previous patient to 0.4% ropivacaine using Dixon’s up-and-down sequential method with a ratio of 1:1.1. Results Forty patients completed this study. The bootstrap EC50 of ropivacaine was significantly lower in the butorphanol group (0.24%, 95% CI: 0.23%–0.24%) than in the ropivacaine group (0.30%, 95% CI: 0.29%–0.31%). Compared with the ropivacaine group, the dosage of ropivacaine in the butorphanol group decreased significantly during the test. Postoperative visual analog scale scores at 8 h and 12 h were lower in the butorphanol group than in the ropivacaine group, and the need for salvage analgesia within 24 h after surgery was significantly lower in the butorphanol group. Conclusion Butorphanol decreased the EC50 of ropivacaine required for ISB in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Trial registration It was registered on October 30th, 2022 (available at http://www.chictr.org.cn , identifier: ChiCTR2200065164).
Fecal and colonic microbiota differ in composition, function, diagnostic utility and correlation with inflammatory cytokines in ulcerative colitis
Bridging national climate targets and firm-level decisions: An agent-based model of China’s steel decarbonization pathways
China’s steel sector is pivotal to national and global climate goals, yet decarbonization is constrained by entrenched coal-based processes and regional disparities. Top–down and bottom–up models often neglect firm-level heterogeneity and behavioral dynamics. Here, we develop an agent-based model linking policy signals—carbon caps, pollution standards, and resource limits—with firm-level investment decisions. We evaluate four scenarios combining current and strengthened climate and air targets with neutral or accelerated technology progress. All scenarios achieve deep CO 2 reductions (90 to 95% by 2060), but only the integrated policy-plus- technology pathway eliminates blast furnaces before midcentury, achieving the steepest declines. Policy- or technology-only pathways entail trade-offs, including lock-in to carbon capture and storage or delayed reductions. Our results show that synchronizing stringent climate policy with rapid technology cost declines is essential to steer China’s steel industry toward a carbon-neutral trajectory.
Symptom profiles and health-related quality of life in Korean adults with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): A latent profile analysis
Background Post-Acute Sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (PASC) is characterized by persistent and heterogeneous symptoms that impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Although several studies have identified symptom subgroups in Western populations using person-centered approaches, data on Asian populations remain limited. Objectives In this study, we aimed to classify the symptom profiles of Korean adults with PASC using latent profile analysis (LPA) and examine the differences in HRQoL and associated factors between the identified profiles. Methods We conducted an online survey of 629 adults in Korea who experienced persistent symptoms ≥12 weeks after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis. Symptom burden was assessed using the Long COVID Symptom Tool (26 items), and HRQoL was measured using the SF-36 v2®. LPA was performed to identify the symptom subgroups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression were used to compare HRQoL across profiles and explore predictors. Results A four-class model provided the best fit: Class 1 (Low symptom, 23.3%), Class 2 (Moderate multisystem, 44.1%), Class 3 (Fatigue/post-exertional malaise dominant, 15.9%), and Class 4 (High multisystem burden, 16.7%). HRQoL differed significantly between classes ( p < .001), with a clear gradient of decreasing scores from low to high symptom burden. The independent predictors of lower HRQoL included lower education, presence of chronic disease, poor subjective health, hospitalization during acute infection, and prolonged symptom persistence. The model explained 32.9% of the variance in HRQoL. Conclusions Korean adults with PASC exhibit heterogeneous symptom patterns that substantially affect their HRQoL. The identification of distinct symptom profiles supports the need for tailored interventions, including rehabilitation, cognitive training, and psychological support. Our findings provide crucial evidence for developing Korean population-specific screening tools and management guidelines for PASC.
The failure mode and evolution process of geosynthetic reinforced embankments under rainfall
mRNA delivery of a class 1/4 SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody protects against diverse sarbecoviruses in a lethal mouse challenge model
The unyielding antigenic drift of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as the threat of future zoonotic sarbecovirus spillovers, has prompted the search for broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) to inform rational therapeutic and vaccine design. Here, we isolated and characterized 20 receptor binding domain (RBD)-directed bNAb lineages from a serially sampled SARS-CoV-2 patient who was infected and vaccinated during the early months of the pandemic. Thirteen of these targeted the highly conserved, cryptic class 1/4 or class 4 RBD epitopes and had long (18 to 26 amino acid) heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 loops that utilized the IGHD3-22 gene segment. Five bNAbs potently neutralized all 18 viruses in a panel containing SARS-CoV-2 variants up to the recently emerged XBB.1.5 and JN.1 strains as well as diverse sarbecoviruses from other clades. Structural analyses of the Ab401 and Ab568 bNAbs complexed with RBD and Spike trimer, respectively, revealed recognition features in common with other class 1/4 bNAbs. Prophylactic administration of Ab401 as a recombinant protein afforded robust protection against infectious challenge with either SARS-CoV-2_WA1 or a related bat sarbecovirus with zoonotic potential. A similar level of protection was achieved when the heavy and light chains of Ab401 were delivered as lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNAs. These data expand the arsenal of SARS-CoV-2 bNAbs for clinical development and identify mRNA-based antibody delivery as a promising platform for both pandemic preparedness and protection of immunocompromised patients against emerging sarbecovirus variants.
Correction: Molecular Genetic Analysis of 103 Sporadic Colorectal Tumours in Czech Patients
Anti-fibrotic effects of evogliptin in fibroblasts derived from post-burn hypertrophic scars
Alpha-synuclein fibrils induce budding of mitochondrial-derived vesicles
α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregation is a hallmark of synucleinopathies, a class of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Several lines of evidence indicate the involvement of mitochondria in the disease pathology. Despite extensive study, the link between α-syn aggregation and mechanisms of mitochondrial toxicity remains not fully understood. Using high-resolution imaging with electron microscopy, we examined SH-SY5Y cells exposed to α-syn fibrils vs control cells with a focus on mitochondria. We found that upon exposure to α-syn fibrils, mitochondria cristae structure gets defects, and mitochondria enhance the budding of mitochondrial-derived vesicles (MDVs). MDV formation reflects an evolutionarily conserved mechanism reminiscent of bacterial outer membrane vesicle biogenesis. Structural proteomics analysis by mass spectrometry corroborates this microscopy observation by identifying changes in multiple proteins that regulate cristae structure, MDV formation, and trafficking. Our results suggest that α-syn may promote MDV generation, and support an important link between α-syn and mitochondria which will be important for future mechanistic studies. The processes we detected could be of interest for diagnostics and potential therapeutic interventions.
Machine learning approaches for predicting preventive maintenance costs of expressways in Xinjiang
With the expansion of high-speed road mileage and the aging of road networks, maintenance workloads have increased dramatically. Accurately forecasting preventive maintenance costs is a practical approach to rationally control maintenance expenditure, enhance capital utilization efficiency, and ensure the long-term stable operation of the road network. However, the current predictive model for preventive maintenance costs fails to adequately account for variations in types of preventive maintenance measures, limiting their ability to capture the actual cost variation patterns under different engineering conditions. Consequently, there remains scope for improvement in prediction accuracy. In this study, we developed three meta-heuristic-optimized hybrid models, each tailored to a specific asphalt pavement preventive maintenance measure: 1) the fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA)-enhanced XGBoost model for crack filling; 2) the hiking optimization algorithm (HOA)-enhanced RF model for surface sealing; 3) the particle swarm optimization (PSO)-enhanced BPNN model for overlay. A case study demonstrates that FOA-XGBoost (R² = 0.8622, MAE = 0.0552) improved XGBoost’s R² by 0.0526. In contrast, HOA-RF (MSE = 0.0032, RMSE = 0.0565) outperformed RF with lower error metrics. Furthermore, PSO-BPNN achieved the highest R² (0.9277) and the lowest MAE (0.0419) compared to BPNN. All models maintained MAPE below 5%. To further support the reliability of the results, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to assess the statistical significance of model performance differences. In addition, nested cross-validation and sensitivity analysis were performed to evaluate the robustness and stability of the proposed models. These findings indicate that the optimized hybrid model has demonstrated improvements in both predictive accuracy and stability. Consequently, the developed models may provide useful support for maintenance cost estimation and resource allocation in expressway maintenance management.
Advancing passenger next-station prediction via collaborative knowledge graph representational learning
Abstract Conventional passenger next station prediction models are often restricted by rigid graph structures, failing to account for the dynamic interactions between passengers and stations. This limitation results in an insufficient representation of travel patterns and associated knowledge. To address these shortcomings, this paper proposes a novel approach that integrates reinforcement learning with knowledge graphs to enable a holistic fusion of heterogeneous data. The proposed method enriches the environmental variables within reinforcement learning frameworks and introduces collaborative updating mechanisms for representing passenger-station interactions based on human travel knowledge graphs. These enhanced representations are then employed to improve the accuracy of next-station prediction. To evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, ablation experiments and comparative analyses with classical algorithms were conducted. The results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly outperforms existing models in predicting next-stations, routes, and travel distances, establishing its efficacy in capturing complex passenger travel behaviors.
A census of anti-CRISPR proteins reveals AcrIE9 and AcrIE13 as inhibitors of the <i>Escherichia coli</i> K12 type IE CRISPR-Cas system
CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity systems provide defense against mobile genetic elements and are often countered by diverse anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins. The type IE CRISPR-Cas of Escherichia coli K12 has been a model for structural and functional studies and is a part of the species’ core genome. However, this system is transcriptionally silent, which has fueled questions about its true biological function. To clarify the role of this system in defense, we carried out a census of Acr proteins in Enterobacterales and identified AcrIE9 as a potent inhibitor of the E. coli K12 type IE CRISPR-Cas system. While sharing little sequence identity, AcrIE9 proteins from Pseudomonas and Escherichia both interact with the Cas7 subunit of the Cascade complex, thus preventing its binding to DNA. We further show that AcrIE9 is genetically linked to AcrIE10, forming the most widespread anti-CRISPR cluster in Enterobacterales ; this module often co-occurs with an AcrIE13 protein with an unusual HTH-like architecture.
Digital media pattern design compression and optimization method based on K-means clustering and LLE dimensionality reduction
The rapid development of digital media demands higher quality in pattern design. Simultaneously, significant redundant information hinders the transmission and sharing of these patterns, creating an urgent need for image compression. However, traditional image compression methods struggle to balance efficiency and quality. To address this, a new image compression model for digital media patterns is proposed, based on K-means clustering and Locally Linear Embedding methods. This model creates an efficient compression solution by integrating dynamic clustering parameter selection based on color histograms, multi-dimensional image segmentation of color and texture, and a local linear embedding dimensionality reduction algorithm using dynamic neighborhood selection. The model achieves a compression ratio of 84% and a Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio of 41dB, with no significant quality difference before and after compression, validating the effectiveness of the improvements made to the basic methods. In practical application experiments, the model’s multi-scale structural similarity reaches 0.71. When processing a large number of patterns, the fastest response time is 189ms, with a minimum memory usage of 16.1M. The shortest processing time on a single-core processor is 0.34s. These experimental results demonstrate that the model balances compression efficiency and quality, offering superior compression performance, good robustness, and the ability to handle various complex tasks and adapt to different application scenarios, meeting the high standards of the digital media industry for image compression.
Efficient hydrogen generation from NaBH₄ methanolysis using a lithium-enhanced Dawson-type polyoxometalate catalyst
Psychedelics disrupt hierarchical cortical propagations in the default mode network of humans and mice
Psychedelic drugs are poised to become mainstream treatments, yet we lack a circuit-level account of how they reshape brain activity. Emerging evidence suggests that multiple psychedelic compounds modulate activity in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), often interpreted as either increased or decreased bottom–up hierarchical processing. Most imaging studies, however, quantify activity as if it were stationary, remaining agnostic to the ascending or descending movements of activity that defines hierarchical processing. Here, we adapt optical flow analyses to track frame-to-frame trajectories of DMN activity across four independent datasets (humans and mice; methylenedioxymethamphetamine, psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide; nine drug-vs.-control contrasts). In functional magnetic resonance and calcium imaging, all psychedelics attenuate signal flow magnitude and bottom–up directionality within the DMN. Propagation attenuation is not attributable to data quality or previously documented effects of psychedelics and is uniquely associated with self-reported outcomes. This replicable and generalizable attenuation of bottom–up cortical propagations provides fundamental clarification of the effects of psychedelics on macroscale hierarchical processing.
Cost-effectiveness of pre-emptive pharmacogenetic testing: An umbrella review
Background Consortia have been established and published pharmacogenetic-specific guidelines with pharmacotherapeutic recommendations. While these consortia and their guidance addressed important information gaps, implementation barriers, including determining the cost-effectiveness for further implementation in healthcare practice, remain unaddressed. Methods The authors systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to March 2023 for systematic reviews of pharmacoeconomic evaluations of PGx studies. A second search was conducted in October 2025. The studies from the databases were imported into Rayyan for screening the title and abstract, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The umbrella review was conducted in adherence to the proposal registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023408535). The quality of eligible systematic reviews was assessed by the AMSTAR-2 checklist. Results From the initial screening of the three databases, title and abstract screening, and full paper readings, 17 systematic reviews were included for the umbrella review. The evidence points to the fact that with an increasing number of evaluations, the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of PGx testing was increasing over the years. From the included reviews, data from 211 unique evaluation studies were extracted. 150 (71.1%) studies reported that PGx testing was cost-effective. The most frequently used type of economic evaluation was cost-utility analysis (n = 78). Most economic evaluations investigated the pharmacogene CYP2C19 (n = 46), followed closely by CYP2C9/VKORC1 (n = 28). Conclusions The number of economic evaluations demonstrating cost-effectiveness of PGx testing has increased over the years. However, the majority of these evaluations were conducted in a small number of countries. When interpreting findings for different countries, the evaluations need to be adjusted on a case-by-case basis for applicability.
Impact of butanol-sunflower oil biodiesel–diesel blends on engine performance, combustion, and after-treatment emissions (DOC + SCR)
Correction for McDonald et al., Can auxiliary indicators improve COVID-19 forecasting and hotspot prediction?
Multi-scale resistivity imaging for soil moisture and structure characterization in precision agriculture
Sustainable agriculture in tropical regions relies on precise understanding of soil water dynamics under varying topographic, textural, and climatic conditions. This study integrates Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) to characterize soil moisture distribution and subsurface textural heterogeneity across three contrasting agricultural landscapes in West Java, Indonesia—Subang (coastal lowlands), Bandung (uplands), and Sumedang (terraced highlands). ERT provided high-resolution vertical profiles to 5 m depth, revealing resistivity ranges that correspond to lithological and hydrological properties. In Subang, low resistivity (1.7–30 Ω·m) showed high-salinity clay loam with a shallow water table. Conversely, high resistivity in Bandung (70–300 Ω·m) reflected well-drained sandy layers with limited retention. Intermediate values in Sumedang suggested deep moisture storage within clay-rich layers beneath drier topsoil, influenced by terrace morphology. EMI mapping complemented ERT by capturing lateral resistivity variations at fixed depths, offering spatial continuity across the surveyed areas. The combined approach revealed that slope gradient, soil texture, and drainage conditions jointly govern water retention and availability. The integration of ERT and EMI provides complementary information on vertical and lateral variability of soil moisture distribution. Field observations and soil profile analysis confirm the reliability of the geophysical interpretation. These findings demonstrate that integrated geophysical imaging provides an effective non-invasive tool for mapping soil moisture variability and supporting precision agriculture strategies in tropical agricultural environments.