The detection of abnormal regions in complex structures is one of the most challenging targets for underground space engineering. Natural or artificial geologic variations reduce the effectiveness of conventional exploration methods. With the emergence of real-time monitoring, seismic wave velocity tomography allows the detection and imaging of abnormal regions to be accurate, intuitive, and quantitative

The clinical application of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the assessment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia severity remains limited. Herein, we investigated the role of LUS imaging in COVID-19 pneumonia patients and the relationship between LUS findings and disease severity. This was a retrospective, observational study at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, on 48 recruited patients with COVID-19 pneumonia

Polysaccharides are widely present in herbs with multiple activities, especially immunity regulation and metabolic benefits for metabolic disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Functional metabolomics is increasingly used to investigate systemic effects on the host by identifying metabolites with particular functions. This study explores the mechanisms underlying the

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)—the third in a series of coronavirus infections—has caused a global public health event in the 21st century, resulting in substantial global morbidity and mortality. Building on its legacy of managing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), China has played a key role in the scientific community by revealing the viral

Craniomaxillofacial reconstruction implants, which are extensively used in head and neck surgery, are conventionally made in standardized forms. During surgery, the implant must be bended manually to match the anatomy of the individual bones. The bending process is time-consuming, especially for inexperienced surgeons. Moreover, repetitive bending may induce undesirable internal stress concentration

Additive manufacturing plays a vital role in the food, mechanical, pharmaceutical, and medical fields. Within these fields, medical additive manufacturing has led to especially obvious improvements in medical instruments, prostheses, implants, and so forth, based on the advantages of cost-effectiveness, customizability, and quick manufacturing. With the features of precise structural control, high

Rapid metastasis to vital organs such as the lung, liver, and brain is responsible for the vast majority of pancreatic cancer deaths. Liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer accounts for the high mortality rate in patients. Exosomes derived from pancreatic cancer cells tend to be enriched in proteins that are anchored to the cell membrane, supporting the reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment and

This study provides new insights into the comparison of cable-stayed and extradosed bridges based on the safety assessment of their stay cables. These bridges are often regarded as identical structures owing to the use of inclined cables; however, the international standards for bridge design stipulate different safety factors for stay cables of both types of bridges. To address this misconception

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which has a global prevalence of 20%–33%, has become the main cause of chronic liver disease. Except for lifestyle medication, no definitive medical treatment has been established so far, making it urgent to find effective strategies for the treatment of NAFLD. With the identification of the significant role played by the gut microbiota in the pathogenesis

In intercontinental trade and economics goods are bought from a global supplier. On occasion, the expected lot may include a fraction of defective items. These imperfect items still have worth and can be sold to customers after repair. It is cost-effective and sustainable to rework such items in nearby repair workshops rather than return them. The reworked items can be returned from the workshop to

Over the past 30 years, additive manufacturing (AM) has developed rapidly and has demonstrated great potential in biomedical applications. AM is a materials-oriented manufacturing technology, since the solidification mechanism, architecture resolution, post-treatment process, and functional application are based on the materials to be printed. However, 3D printable materials are still quite limited

Towards a deeper understanding of viable energy transitions. As we embark on a new decade, the challenges of establishing and maintaining economic wellbeing while confronting a range of sustainability challenges remain ever-present. Four socioeconomic megatrends are at play: population growth, rising gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization, and connectedness. Collectively, these trends will fuel

China Geodetic Coordinate System 2000 (CGCS2000) has been used for several years as a formal published reference frame. The coordinates of all global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations in China need to be corrected to align with the CGCS2000 frame. Different strategies can be adopted for the realization of an optimal reference frame. However, different strategies lead to different results

There has been an increasing demand for bioengineered blood vessels for utilization in both regenerative medicine and drug screening. However, the availability of a true bioengineered vascular graft remains limited. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting presents a potential approach for fabricating blood vessels or vascularized tissue constructs of various architectures and sizes for transplantation and

Burgeoning growth of tall buildings in urban areas around the world is placing new demands on their performance under winds. This involves selection of the building form that minimize wind loads and structural topologies that efficiently transfer loads. Current practice is to search for optimal shapes, but this limits buildings with static or fixed form. Aerodynamic shape tailoring that consists of

Many studies have been conducted on environmental flow (e-flow) assessment and supply, but e-flow shortages remain common in many urban rivers. In addition to known reasons such as ever-increasing competition among water users and inadequate execution of designed e-flow supply plans, we propose that designing weir heights without explicitly considering e-flows is another major cause of this problem

Prostheses and orthoses are common assistive devices to meet the biomechanical needs of people with physical disabilities. The traditional fabrication approach for prostheses or orthoses is a material-wasting, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has advantages that can solve these problems. Many trials have been conducted in fabricating prostheses and

Several studies have indicated that the oral and gut microbiota may exhibit differences in patients with cirrhosis. Less is known about the microbiota in the stomach, which is located between the oral cavity and the intestinal tract. In this study, the gastric mucosal microbiota of patients with liver cirrhosis and controls were analyzed with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) pyrosequencing. Cirrhotic patients

Wastewater sludge creates a difficult environmental problem for many large cities. This study developed a three-phase innovative strategy for sludge treatment and reduction, including thermal hydrolysis, fungal fermentation, and anaerobic digestion. Increasing the temperature during the treatment from 140 to 180 °C significantly improved the sludge reduction and organic release efficiencies (p < 0

Owing to its high heat storage capacity and fast heat transfer rate, packed bed latent heat storage (LHS) is considered as a promising method to store thermal energy. In a packed bed, the wall effect can impact the packing arrangement of phase change material (PCM) capsules, inducing radial porosity oscillation. In this study, an actual-arrangement-based three-dimensional packed bed LHS model was built

The application of intelligence to manufacturing has emerged as a compelling topic for researchers and industries around the world. However, different terminologies, namely smart manufacturing (SM) and intelligent manufacturing (IM), have been applied to what may be broadly characterized as a similar paradigm by some researchers and practitioners. While SM and IM are similar, they are not identical

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting based on traditional 3D printing is an emerging technology that is used to precisely assemble biocompatible materials and cells or bioactive factors into advanced tissue engineering solutions. Similar technology, particularly photo-cured bioprinting strategies, plays an important role in the field of tissue engineering research. The successful implementation of 3D

We are proposing a new subfield of engineering, called Inclusion Engineering, that is defined as the use of engineering tools, design, research, and thinking to create environments through which individuals whose abilities and contributions would previously have been marginalized by society can become productive members within society, and at the same time, organizations and society as a whole are

Rapid responses in the early stage of a new epidemic are crucial in outbreak control. Public holidays for outbreak control could provide a critical time window for a rapid rollout of social distancing and other control measures at a large population scale. The objective of our study was to explore the impact of the timing and duration of outbreak-control holidays on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The Knudsen effusion cell is often used to grow high-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film in co-evaporation processes. However, the traditional single-heating Knudsen effusion cell cannot deliver complete metal selenides during the whole deposition process, particularly for a low-temperature deposition process, which is probably due to the condensation and droplet ejection at the nozzle of the crucible

In the past few decades, additive manufacturing (AM) has been developed and applied as a cost-effective and versatile technique for the fabrication of geometrically complex objects in the medical industry. In this review, we discuss current advances of AM in medical applications for the generation of pharmaceuticals, medical implants, and medical devices. Oral and transdermal drugs can be fabricated

SARS-CoV-2, the causal agent of COVID-19, has become a major public health issue. The severe morbidity and mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 necessitate the development of effective vaccines to prevent epidemics. There is an unprecedented need to produce and distribute enough safe and effective vaccines to individuals globally. Here, we discuss the challenges in several aspects including the vaccine

The paper briefly discusses the relationship between chronic diseases and gut health, and points out that an imbalance of intestinal microflora and an inadequate intake of dietary fiber are two important causes of chronic diseases. This paper also summarizes the research status of probiotic fermented fruit and vegetables, and discusses the main achievements of our group in this field and future developments

No therapeutics have been proven effective yet for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To assess the efficacy and safety of Triazavirin therapy for COVID-19, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded controlled trial involving hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19. Participants were enrolled from ten sites

Wheat blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum (MoT) pathotype, is a devastating disease persistent in South America and Bangladesh. Since MoT generally fails to cause visual symptoms in wheat until the heading stage when the infection would have advanced, disease control by fungicide application solely based on the detection of visual symptoms is ineffective. To develop an accurate

Fast and accurate diagnosis and the immediate isolation of patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are regarded as the most effective measures to restrain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Here, we present a high-throughput, multi-index nucleic acid isothermal amplification analyzer (RTisochipTM-W) employing a centrifugal microfluidic chip

At present, most total knee replacement prostheses (TKR) on the market are designed according to the sizes of Caucasians. However, extensive studies have indicated that human anatomies differ among different ethnicities. A number of reports have indicated that Chinese TKR patients do not match with available prostheses. In this study, computed tomography (CT) images of 52 knees of Chinese men and women

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak has caused a serious global health emergency. Supporting evidence shows that COVID-19 shares a genomic similarity with other coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and that the pathogenesis and treatment strategies that were applied 17

Identifying the first infected case (patient zero) is key in tracing the origin of a virus; however, doing so is extremely challenging. Patient zero for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is likely to be permanently unknown. Here, we propose a new viral transmission route by focusing on the environmental media containing viruses of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or RaTG3-related

Complicated and large acetabular bone defects present the main challenges and difficulty in the revision of total hip arthroplasty (THA). This study aimed to explore the advantages of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in the reconstruction of such acetabular bone defects. We retrospectively analyzed the prognosis of four severe bone defects around the acetabulum in three patients who were

Fault is a common geological structure that has been revealed in the process of underground coal excavation and mining. The nature of its discontinuous structure controls the deformation, damage, and mechanics of the coal or rock mass. The interaction between this discontinuous structure and mining activities is a key factor that dominates fault reactivation and the coal burst it can induce. This paper

Disc cutter consumption is a critical problem that influences work performance during shield tunneling processes and directly affects the cutter change decision. This study proposes a new model to estimate the disc cutter life (Hf) by integrating a group method of data handling (GMDH)-type neural network (NN) with a genetic algorithm (GA). The efficiency and effectiveness of the GMDH network structure

The latest member of the azole family, the pentazolate or cyclo-N5−, has received increased attention since its first mass-spectral detection by Christe et al. in 2002. As it is carbon- and hydrogen-free, the pentazolate anion can release large amounts of energy while simultaneously decomposing to environmentally friendly nitrogen gas. Due to these attractive qualities, cyclo-N5− and related compounds

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to worldwide efforts to understand the biological traits of the newly identified HCoV-19 virus. In this mass spectrometry (MS)-based study, we reveal that out of 21 possible glycosites in the HCoV-19 S protein, 20 are completely occupied by N-glycans, predominantly of the oligomannose type. All seven glycosylation sites in human angiotensin I converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)

Due to their capability of fabricating geometrically complex structures, additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have provided unprecedented opportunities to produce biodegradable metallic implants—especially using Mg alloys, which exhibit appropriate mechanical properties and outstanding biocompatibility. However, many challenges hinder the fabrication of AM-processed biodegradable Mg-based implants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread throughout the world, leading to large-scale population infection. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of both severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. However, it is still controversial whether vertical transmission exists. In order to investigate the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing process. Accordingly, four-dimensional (4D) printing is a manufacturing process that involves multiple research fields. 4D printing conserves the general attributes of 3D printing (such as material waste reduction, and elimination of molds, dies, and machining) and further enables the fourth dimension of products to provide intelligent behavior

A new group of energetic metastable intermixed composites (MICs) was designed and fabricated by means of the spray granulation technique. These MICs are composed of aluminum (Al) as the fuel, ammonium perchlorate (AP) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the co-oxidizer. The AP/PVDF ratio was optimized by taking the maximum energy release as the criteria. A minor content of graphene oxide (GO) was

Thermomechanical, physical, and chemical processes in energetic materials (EMs) during manufacturing and processing or under external stimuli such as shock compression, involve multiple temporal and spatial scales. Discovering novel phenomena, acquiring new data, and understanding underlying mechanisms all require temporally and spatially resolved diagnostics. Here, we present a brief review of novel

As a future energy system, the smart grid is designed to improve the efficiency of traditional power systems while providing more stable and reliable services. However, this efficient and reliable service relies on collecting and analyzing users’ electricity consumption data frequently, which induces various security and privacy threats. To address these challenges, we propose a double-blockchain assisted

The development of an engineered non-contact multicellular coculture model that can mimic the in vivo cell microenvironment of human tissues remains challenging. In this study, we successfully fabricated a cell-container-like scaffold composed of β-tricalcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite (β-TCP/HA) bioceramic that contains four different pore structures, including triangles, squares, parallelograms, and

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays are a powerful genotyping tool used in genetic research and genomic breeding programs. Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is an economically-important aquaculture flatfish in many countries. However, the lack of high-efficient genotyping tools has impeded the genomic breeding programs for Japanese flounder. We developed a 50K Japanese flounder SNP

A compact multi-throttle aerostatic guideway is the preferred structure for high precision and acceleration motion in the variable-slit system (VS) of photolithography. The presence of microstructure, such as recesses and grooves, on the guideway working surface has been found to improve the loading performance. Nevertheless, the effects on the guideway performance of changing the microstructure on

Water-triggered materials are receiving increasing attentions due to their diverse capabilities such as easy operation, soft actuation, low cost, environmental friendliness, and many more other advantages. However, most of such materials generally have a long reaction time and require strict preservation conditions, which limit their adaptability in practice. In this study, a novel water-triggered

Efficient fast-charging technology is necessary for the extension of the driving range of electric vehicles. However, lithium-ion cells generate immense heat at high-current charging rates. In order to address this problem, an efficient fast charging–cooling scheduling method is urgently needed. In this study, a liquid cooling-based thermal management system equipped with mini-channels was designed

Inherent drawbacks associated with drug-eluting stents have prompted the development of bioresorbable cardiovascular stents. Additive manufacturing (3-dimentional (3D) printing) has been widely applied in medical devices. In this study, we develop a novel screw extrusion-based 3D printing system with a new designed mini-screw extruder to fabricate stents. A stent with a zero Poisson’s ratio (ZPR) structure

Deep-learning methods provide a promising approach for measuring in-vivo knee joint motion from fast registration of two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) data with a broad range of capture. However, if there are insufficient data for training, the data-driven approach will fail. We propose a feature-based transfer-learning method to extract features from fluoroscopic images. With three subjects

Owing to their extremely high energy density, single-bonded polymeric nitrogen and atomic metallic hydrogen are generally regarded as the ultimate energetic materials. Although their syntheses normally require ultrahigh pressures of several hundred gigapascals (GPa), which prohibit direct materials application, research on their stability, metastability, and fundamental properties are valuable for

In this paper, self-piercing riveting (SPR) and friction self-piercing riveting (F-SPR) processes were employed to join aluminum alloy AA5182-O sheets. Parallel studies were carried out to compare the two processes in terms of joint macrogeometry, tooling force, microhardness, quasi-static mechanical performance, and fatigue behavior. The results indicate that the F-SPR process formed both rivet-sheet

A non-pillar coal-mining technology with an automatically formed entry is proposed, which reduces the waste of coal resources and the underground entry drivage workload. Three key techniques in this technology cooperate to achieve automatic formation and retaining of the gob-side entry, and to realize non-pillar mining. Constant-resistance large deformation (CRLD) support ensures the stability of the

Designing and synthesizing more advanced high-energetic materials for practical use via a simple synthetic route are two of the most important issues for the development of energetic materials. Through an elaborate design and rationally selected molecular components, two new metal-free hexagonal perovskite compounds, which are named as DAP-6 and DAP-7 with a general formula of (H2dabco)B(ClO4)3 (H2dabco2+

Infectious keratitis is the most common condition of corneal diseases in which a pathogen grows in the cornea leading to inflammation and destruction of the corneal tissues. Infectious keratitis is a medical emergency for which a rapid and accurate diagnosis is needed to ensure prompt and precise treatment to halt the disease progression and to limit the extent of corneal damage; otherwise, it may

Up-to-date digital elevation model (DEM) products are essential in many fields such as hazards mitigation and urban management. Airborne and low-earth-orbit (LEO) space-borne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been proven to be a valuable tool for DEM generation. However, given the limitations of cost and satellite repeat cycles, it is difficult to generate or update DEMs very frequently

It is well-known that optimizing the wheel system of lunar rovers is essential. However, this is a difficult task due to the complex terrain of the moon and limited resources onboard lunar rovers. In this study, an experimental prototype was set up to analyze the existing mechanical design of a lunar rover and improve its performance. First, a new vane-telescopic walking wheel was proposed for the

The pentazolate anion cyclo-N5- has received considerable attention from researchers, most metallic and non-metallic salts synthesized from pentazole have decomposition temperatures exceeding 100 °C. The author thinks, anhydrous metallic pentazolates provides prospects for wide application in the field of green, non-toxic, high-energy primary explosives. Hydrazine pentazolate and hydroxylamine pentazolate