Considering that consumers are more willing to buy products online, companies are increasingly selling remanufactured products online through e-commerce platforms. Notwithstanding the high attention it elicits from researchers and companies, the study about the remanufacturing trading platform is in its infancy. Thus, we investigate 20 remanufacturing trading platforms related nowadays and make a gap analysis among them in terms of: (i) business model, (ii) product display, (iii) delivery products, (iv) quality assurance and after-sales service, (v) product review and star rate and (vi) transaction and payment. On this basis, we analyze features and trends for the development of remanufacturing trading platforms and propose six key applications aimed at filling the identified gaps. The consortium blockchain has the characteristics of security and transparency, high credibility, traceability and unfalsifiability, low cost, and strong scalability, which can provide effective support for the six key applications. Then, we construct the technical framework and the model of a consortium blockchain-supported remanufacturing trading platform. Further, we analyze the coupling mechanism between consortium blockchain and remanufacturing trading platform to explain how the remanufacturing trading platform supported by consortium blockchain achieves development characteristics. This study provides important guidance for the development, construction, and operation management of remanufacturing trading platforms.

Modeling and assessing the sustainability of machining systems has been considered to be a crucial approach to improving the environmental performance of the machining processes. As the most common machining system, the computer numerical control (CNC) milling system is a typical man-machine cooperative system where the activities of the machine tool and operator generate material and energy consumption. However, the energy consumption of the operator in the CNC milling system has often been ignored in most existing research. Therefore, existing methods fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability of the CNC milling system. To fill this gap, an exergy loss assessment method is proposed to investigate the sustainability of the CNC milling system, where the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, and material consumption are taken into consideration. The key performance indexes of the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, the exergy loss, and the specific exergy loss (SEL) are analyzed and modeled. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, a case study was carried out on a three-axis machining center (XH714D), in which SEL was found to be 88.04J/mm3. The proposed method is effective to assess the sustainability of the CNC milling system, and the established exergy loss models build a good basis for exergy efficiency optimization.

Objective: Identify factors associated with excessive day time sleepiness (EDS) in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and analyze the effects that obesity and gender have on excessive daytime sleepiness in such individuals. Methods: A total of 160 people were selected for this study. All the people have completed a clinical evaluation, and whose apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > 10 events/hour of sleep on polysomnography were included in the study from the Department of otolaryngology. Results: The Mean age was 43.87±11.34 years, mean EDS score was 14.09± 4.91, and mean AHI was 43.88±20.66 events/hour of sleep. Male presented lower mean age, higher EDS scores, and more time in apnoea, whereas females presented with higher mean age, lower EDS scores, and less time in sleep apnea. The EDS score showed best correlation with duration of apnoea (r = 0.448; p < 0.01), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂; r = -0.458; p < 0.01) and AHI (r = 0.484; p < 0.01). The mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.41±3.86 kg/m². Normal, Overweight, obese, and morbidly obese were observed in 20%, 61%, 18%, and 0.6% of cases, respectively. Severity of the disease best correlated with BMI (r = 0.421; p < 0.01). Conclusions: OSA is predominant in males (M/F 5:1), and obese population. Females diagnosed with OSA have higher mean age. However, EDS scores and time spent in sleep apnoea is lower in females. Higher BMI is associated with EDS, irrespective of gender.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) using In-Ga-Zn Oxide (IGZO) as active layer and the gate insulator was treated with NH3 plasma and N2O plasma, respectively, which is fabricated on flexible PI substrate in this work. The performance of IGZO TFTs with different plasma species and treatment time are investigated and compared. The experiment results show that the plasma species and treatment time play an important role in the threshold voltage, field-effect mobility, Ion/Ioff ratio, sub-threshold swing (SS) and bias stress stability of the devices. The TFT with a 10 seconds NH3 plasma treatment shows the best performance; specifically, threshold voltage of 0.34 V, field-effect mobility of 15.97 cm2/Vs, Ion/Ioff ratio of 6.33×107, and sub-threshold swing of 0.36 V/dec. The proposed flexible IGZO-TFTs in this paper can be used as driving devices in the next-generation flexible displays.

Purpose: School-age children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) often experience difficulties in speech-in-noise (SiN) perception, leading to increased listening effort that impacts their well-being and academic performance. This study aimed to investigate the SiN processing challenges faced by Mandarin-speaking children with ASC and its impact on their listening effort. Methods: Participants completed sentence recognition tests in both quiet and noisy conditions, with a steady-state noise masker presented at 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio in the noisy condition. We compared recognition accuracy and task-evoked pupil responses from 23 Mandarin-speaking children with ASC to 19 age-matched neurotypical (NT) counterparts to gauge their behavioral performance and listening effort during these auditory tasks. Results: The ASC group demonstrated notably decreased accuracy in noise compared to their NT peers, suggesting poorer SiN perception. Pupillometric data further revealed significantly larger peak dilations in the ASC group than in the NT group under comparable conditions. Importantly, the ASC group's peak dilation in quiet mirrored the NT group's in noise. However, the ASC group exhibited shorter peak latencies and reduced mean dilations than the NT group in similar conditions. Such patterns indicate the ASC group might initially experience a heightened cognitive load but utilize fewer cognitive resources as the task continued, indicating an atypical allocation of cognitive resources and a potential tendency towards relatively superficial and automated auditory processing. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the unique SiN processing challenges children with ASC face, underscoring the importance of a nuanced, individual-centric approach for interventions and support.

In this study, we resequenced the mitogenomes of P. megacephalus from different regions using a “primer bridging” approach with Sanger sequencing technologies. The mitogenome of this species was found to contain two copies of the ND5 genes and three copies of the control regions. Furthermore, multiple tandem repeats were identified in the control regions. Notably, we observed that there was no correlation between the distribution of species and their genetic distance. However, our research revealed the discovery of the “missing” ATP8 gene in P. megacephalus as well as three other previously published Polypedates, as a result of manual data curation. Using the mitogenome, gene expression analysis was performed via RT-qPCR of liver samples and determined that COIII, ND2, ND4, and ND6 were reduced to 0.64±0.24, 0.55±0.34, 0.44±0.21 and 0.65±0.17 under the low-temperature stress (8℃), respectively, as compared with controls (P<0.05). Remarkably, the transcript of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) between positions 8029 and 8612 decreased significantly with exposure to low-temperature stress (8℃). Antisense ND6 gene expression showed a downward trend but this was not significant. These results reveal that modulations of protein-coding mitogenomes genes and lncRNAs of P. megacephalus play a crucial part in the molecular response to cold stress.

Purpose: Hearing assistive technology (HAT) has been shown to be a viable solution to the speech-in-noise perception (SPIN) issue in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, little is known about its efficacy in tonal language speakers. This study compared sentence-level SPIN performance between Chinese children with ASD and neurotypical (NT) children and evaluated HAT use in improving SPIN performance and easing SPIN difficulty. Methods: Children with ASD (n=26) and NT children (n=19) aged 6-12 performed two adaptive tests in steady-state noise and three fixed-level tests in quiet and steady-state noise with and without using HAT. Speech recognition thresholds (SRT) and accuracy rates were assessed using adaptive and fixed-level tests, respectively. Parents or teachers of the ASD group completed a questionnaire regarding children’s listening difficulty under six circumstances before and after a ten-day trial period of HAT use. Results: Although the two groups of children had comparable SRTs, the ASD group showed a significantly lower SPIN accuracy rate than the NT group. Also, a significant impact of noise was found in the ASD group’s accuracy rate, but not in the NT group’s. There was a general improvement in the ASD group’s SPIN performance with HAT and a decrease in their listening difficulty ratings across all conditions after the device trial. Conclusion: The findings indicated inadequate SPIN in the ASD group using a relatively sensitive measure to gauge SPIN performance among children. The markedly increased accuracy rate in noise during HAT-on sessions for the ASD group confirmed the feasibility of HAT for improving SPIN performance in controlled laboratory settings, and the reduced post-use ratings of listening difficulty further confirmed the benefits of HAT use in daily scenarios.

We show the enhancement in the intensity and emission rate of perovskite cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) and formamidinium lead bromide (FAPbBr3) nanocrystals in the presence of single and double gold layer cavities, which we refer to as Metal-Emitter (ME) and Metal-Emitter-Metal (MEM) nanostructures. Up to 1.9-fold photoluminescence intensity and up to 5.4-fold emission rate enhancements were obtained for FAPbBr3 nanocrystals confined by double gold layers, which are attributed to plasmonic confinement from the gold layers. The experimentally obtained values are validated by analytical calculations and electromagnetic simulations. Such an effective method of manipulation of the spontaneous emission rate by simple plasmonic nanostructures can be utilized in sensing and detection applications.

In response to the problem of no supporting equipment for the cultivation of Codonopsis in the hilly and mountainous areas of northwest China, a combined machine for transplanting outcrop of Codonopsis with micro ridge covered with film is designed. The key components of the prototype are analyzed and designed, and the structures and working parameters of the seedbed preparation device, seedling casting device, rotary tillage soil-covering device, film covering device, seedling head burial and film edge soil-covering device are determined. The transmission system scheme is established, and the working mechanism of the core components is analyzed. Field experiments show that when the target seedling spacing is 4.4cm and the machines moves forward at the speed of 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2m/s, the variation coefficient of planting spacing and the qualification rate of planting depth all meet the standard requirements. The qualified rate of planting posture and film side outcrop are greatly affected by the operating speed of the machine, and decrease with the increase of operating speed. When the operating speed reaches 0.1m/s, the average variation coefficient of planting spacing is 0.08%, the average qualified rate of planting depth, planting posture and film side outcrop is 95.83%, 94.17% and 93.33% respectively, which shows that the operating performance is better than that of the operating speed of 0.15m/s and 0.2m/s. This study provides new reference for the theoretical research and design of mechanized and automated transplanting machinery for Codonopsis seedlings.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) is an increasingly prevalent and serious health problem. Its onset is typically associated with metabolic disorders and disturbances in the gut microbiota. Previous studies have reported the anti-T2DM effects of Pueraria thomsonii Radix as a functional food. However, the mechanism of action is still unknown. In this study, the effects of Pueraria thomsonii Radix water extract(PTR) on db/db mice were evaluated by pharmacology, metabolomics, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that PTR could improve the body weight of mice, reduce fasting blood glucose(FBG), urinary glucose(UGLU), homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance(HOMA-IR), urinary albumin/creatinine ratio(UACR), and reduce pancreatic tissue damage. Metabolomics showed that the Model group produced 109 differential metabolites, of which 74 could be regulated by PTR. 16S rRNA sequencing was done in fecal samples and results showed that PTR could reduce the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio(F/B) associated with obesity and regulate 3 beneficial bacteria and 1 harmful bacteria. In conclusion, the results showed that PTR could ameliorate T2DM symptoms, metabolic disorder, and gut microbiota imbalance of db/db mice, and it was superior to metformin in some aspects. We suggested for the first time that γ-aminobutyric(GABA) may be involved in the regulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis(MGB) and thus affect the metabolic disorders associated with T2DM. This study will provide a scientific basis for the development of functional food with PTR.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the causative agent of infectious bronchitis, which causes considerable economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. It is imperative to develop safe and efficient candidate vaccines to control IBV infection. In the current study, recombinant baculoviruses co-expressing S1 and N proteins, mono-expressing S1 or N proteins alone of IBV were constructed and prepared into subunit vaccines rHBM-S1-N, rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N. The levels of immune protection of these subunit vaccines were evaluated by inoculating specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens at 14 days of age, boosting with the same dose 14 days later, and following challenge with a virulent GX-YL5 strain of IBV 14 days post-booster (dpb). The commercial vaccine strain H120 was used as a control. The IBV-specific antibody levels as well as the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected within 28 days post-vaccination (dpv). The morbidity, mortality, and re-isolation of virus from the tracheas and kidneys of challenged birds were evaluated at 5 days post-challenge (dpc). The results showed that the IBV-specific antibody levels and the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte in rHBM-S1-N group were higher than those of rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N groups, especially the cellular immunity response. At 5 dpc, the mortality, morbidity and virus re-isolation rate of rHBM-S1-N were slightly higher than those of H120 group, but were lower than those of rHBM-S1 group and rHBM-N group. The present study demonstrated that the protection of recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins was better than that of recombinant baculoviruses mono-expressing S1 or N protein alone. Thus, the recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins could serve as a potential IBV vaccine and this demonstrates that the bivalent subunit vaccine including the S1 and N proteins might be a strategy for the development of an IBV subunit vaccine.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the epidemic dynamics and clinical features of COVID-19 in southern Hainan Island, China, and provide experience for other tropical areas of the world. Methods: This retrospective study included confirmed cases of COVID-19 in southern Hainan. All enrolled patients were treated in Sanya, and data on epidemiological and clinical features of the disease and infection prevention and control measures adopted by the local government during the epidemic were collected. Results: Of the 74 cases, 71 (95.95%) were imported from Wuhan, Hubei Province (47, 63.51%), other cities in Hubei Province (11, 14.86%), or provinces other than Hubei and Hainan (13, 17.57%). Three (4.06%) patients were infected in southern Hainan, including one autochthonous case in Sanya. Fifty-four cases (72.97%) were detected in Sanya, and 27 cases (27.03%) were diagnosed in other cities. The rate of severe or critical cases was 28.38% (21/74), and mortality was 2.7% (2/74). The serum lactate levels and base excess of severe-critical patients were higher than those of patients with mild-moderate disease. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that chronic conditions were risk factors for severe and critical COVID-19. Seventy-four patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 over a 22-day period in Sanya, and the epidemic period in the city was 48 days. The outbreak was controlled rapidly because the local government adopted strict infection prevention and control measures. Conclusions: The clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in Hainan Island were similar to those reported in other regions. In Sanya, the rate of severe and very severe cases was higher than in other regions; however, most cases were imported, and there was only one autochthonous case. The rapid control of the outbreak in Sanya may be related to the tropical climate, adoption of strict infection prevention and control measures, daily reporting of new cases, increased public awareness about the epidemic, and other emergency actions implemented by the local government.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is one of the most common and refractory focal epilepsy syndromes. The molecular mechanisms of TLE are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and potential function of plasma exosomal miRNAs (miR-483-5p, miR-671-5p, and miR-150-3p) in a mouse mode and in temporal lobe epilepsy patients. It was found that exosomal miRNAs were differentially expressed in three phases of the mouse mode, and exosomal miRNAs were down-regulated in mTLE patients compared with healthy controls. A bioinformatics analysis showed that target genes of exosomal miRNAs were significantly involved in the apoptotic process, cell adhesion, nervous system development, neurotrophin signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and metabolic pathways. The areas under the curve of miR-483-5p and miR-150-3p were 0.8714 (sensitivity = 75.00%, specificity = 91.65%) and 0.8213 (sensitivity = 67.50%, specificity = 90.00%), respectively. More importantly, the exosomal miRNAs were significantly associated with clinical parameters. Exosomal miRNAs may have the potential to become diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers.