In this paper, we introduce a new notion of extended partial strong k-metric spaces with controlled operators and provide some examples to show that is different from extended k-metric spaces which initiated by Kamran et al. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of extended partial fuzzy strong k-metric spaces with controlled operators, which is a generalization of extended k-metric in the sense of Mehmood given. Finally, we establish fixed point theorems for self-mappings which satisfy Banach contraction principle on extended partial fuzzy strong k-metric spaces. Also, we provide some examples to illustrate our results.

In this research article, a new fractional derivative chaotic satellite system is presented. Nature of different fractional derivative (order) satellite systems with phase portrait analysis versus parameters are analysed through utilization of the fractional calculus in computational simulation. Phase portrait analysis of fractional derivatives of the different satellite systems is drawn and tabled with various parameters values. In new fractional derivative satellite systems, chaos is existed in less than 3D (dimensional) satellite systems. The results are validated by the different tools:- equilibrium points, dissipative, Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams. Feedback and active control techniques for controlling chaos synchronization of new fractional derivative satellite systems are achieved.

This paper proposes a HV (high-voltage) level shifter to shield the dV/dt noise. When there is the dV/dt noises, the proposed level shifter’s output is locked by the dV/dt noise shielding circuit. So, the proposed level shifter has infinite dV/dt immunity, which is not affected by the supply voltage, and processes. In the 0.5µm BCD process, the proposed level shifter is simulated, realizing the ±250V/ns dV/dt noises shielding function and less than 1.5ns delay time under the 400V HV power supply.

Background: Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) has recently become a promising option for the near-natural restoration of electrical activation. However, the clinical relevance of therapeutic effects in individuals with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and dyssynchrony remains unknown. Methods & Results: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception until June 2022. Data from each study was combined using a random-effects model, the generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird, to calculate standard mean differences and pooled incidence ratio, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 772 HFrEF patients were analyzed from 15 observational studies per protocol. The success rate of LBBAP implantation was 94.8% (95% CI 89.9 to 99.6, I2 = 79.4%), which was strongly correlated with shortening QRS duration after LBBAP implantation, with a mean difference of −48.10 msec (95% CI −60.16 to −36.05, I2 = 96.7%). Over a period of 6–12 months of follow-up, pacing parameters were stable over time. There were significant improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) with mean difference of 16.38% (95% CI 13.13 to 19.63 I2 = 90.2 %), −46.23 mL (95% CI −63.17 to −29.29, I2 = 86.82%), −7.21 mm (95% CI −9.71 to −4.71, I2 = 84.6%), and −44.52 mL (95% CI −64.40 to −24.64, I2 = 85.9 %), respectively . Conclusions: LBBAP was associated with improvements in both cardiac function and electrical synchrony. The benefits of LBBAP in individuals with HFrEF and dyssynchrony should be further validated by randomized studies.

Objective: Roadmap fluoroscopy has never previously been evaluated for axillary vein puncture in clinical practice. Our retrospective cohort study was performed to investigate the efficacy and safety of axillary vein puncture real-time guided by roadmap fluoroscopy in cardiac pacemaker implantation. Methods and Results: A total of 178 patients undergoing axillary vein puncture in permanent pacemaker implantation were included in the present cohort study during a 1-year period at our institution. All procedures were performed by the operators with previous experience in axillary approach. Primary endpoint was defined as axillary vein success rate. Secondary endpoints were venous access site change, time to obtain venous access, procedural time, and complication rate. For the primary outcomes, a higher success rate was observed in the roadmap group compared with the blind puncture group (95.2% vs 78.7%; P<0.001), as well as a lower rate of venous access site change (7.1% vs 35.1%; P <0.001) and shorter time to obtain venous access and procedural time, with lower complications (3.6 % vs 6.4 %; P<0.01). Conclusion: The roadmap fluoroscopy real-time guided axillary venous access is safer and has a better success rate and faster execution time compared with the blind axillary puncture in cardiac pacemaker implantation. However, further larger scale prospective randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the findings.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with a risk for cognitive impairment and dementia, which is more pronounced in patients with a history of clinical stroke. Anticoagulation use and efficacy impact long-term risk of dementia in AF patients in observational trials. Methods: The Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Patients with Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation (CAF) Trial was a randomized, prospective, open-label vanguard clinical study with blinded endpoint assessment involving patients with moderate- to high-risk (CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-Vasc scores of ≥2) non-valvular AF assigned to dabigatran etexilate or warfarin. The primary endpoint was incident dementia or moderate cognitive decline at 24 months. Results: A total of 101 patients were enrolled, of which 50 received dabigatran and 51 warfarin anticoagulation. The mean age was 73.7±6.0 years and 54(53.5%) were male. Prior stroke and stroke risk factors were similar between groups. Average INR over the study was 2.41±0.68 in the warfarin group. No patient experienced a stroke or developed dementia. Mini-Mental Status Evaluation, Hachinski Ischemic scale, cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, Disability Assessment for Dementia, Quality of Life Improvement as assessed by Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Scale and the Anti-Clot Treatment Scale Quality of Life Survey scores did not vary at baseline or change over 2 years. Biomarker analysis indicated a similar efficacy of anticoagulation strategies Conclusion: Use of dabigatran and well-managed warfarin therapy were associated with similar risks of stroke, cognitive decline, and dementia at 2 years, suggestive that either strategy is acceptable to mitigate these risks. The results of this Vanguard study did not support the pursuit of a larger formally powered study.

Barnard’s Loop is a famous arc of H\(\alpha\) emission located in the Orion star-forming region. Here, we provide evidence of a possible formation mechanism for Barnard’s Loop and compare our results with recent work suggesting a major feedback event occurred in the region around 6 Myr ago. We present a 3D model of the large-scale Orion region, indicating coherent, radial, 3D expansion of the OBP-Near/Briceño-1 (OBP-B1) cluster in the middle of a large dust cavity. The large-scale gas in the region also appears to be expanding from a central point, originally proposed to be Orion X. OBP-B1 appears to serve as another possible center, and we evaluate whether Orion X or OBP-B1 is more likely to be the cause of the expansion. Recent 3D dust maps are used to characterize the 3D topology of the entire region, which shows Barnard’s Loop’s correspondence with a large dust cavity around the OPB-B1 cluster. The molecular clouds Orion A, Orion B, and Orion \(\lambda\) reside on the shell of this cavity. Simple estimates of gravitational effects from both stars and gas indicate that the expansion of this asymmetric cavity likely induced anisotropy in the kinematics of OBP-B1. We conclude that feedback from OBP-B1 has affected the structure of the Orion A, Orion B, and Orion \(\lambda\) molecular clouds and may have played a major role in the formation of Barnard’s Loop.

This paper investigates the effect of liquid flow and oil pad thickness on the droplet size and separation performance. The findings show that increasing the inlet flow rates of the oil and water results in size reduction of the droplets. Increasing the thickness of the oil pad increases the size of the droplets. The measured data were fitted with a simple Gaussian model, and the fitted parameters of mean, standard deviation and amplitude were determined for each data set. Trends have been obtained from the fitted parameters as a function of the Reynolds number. The key parameter to predict and fix the position of the Gaussian distribution was found to be the mean droplet size. Simple Ab initio calculation methods to estimate this parameter was tested against the experimental data to identify the most promising method to predict this parameter for modelling purposes.

In arid area, the liquid water and water vapor states in soil profiles and fluxes at the upper and bottom interfaces are extremely complex due to heterogeneity of soil textures and the driving forces of heat and matrix potential. In this study, we used Hydrus-1D to simultaneously simulate liquid water, water vapor, and heat transports based on the observed data of atmosphere, soil and groundwater at three soil profiles in an arid area of northwest China. Comparison and contrast of the observed and simulated results at the three soil profiles show that there are diurnal vapor entry and outlet fluxes at the dry surface layer (DSL) of 30 cm in the summer season. The vapor entry and re-evaporation account for about 14% of annual precipitation for the heterogeneity soil profile with a mean groundwater depth of 210 cm. Because of limited soil moisture in this arid area, vapor induced re-evaporation occurs shortly in the early daytime. Moreover, the extent of vapor entry, condensation and re-evaporation strong depends on soil properties and water table depths. The lower water table produces the drier soil surface, allowing more vapor entry, condensation and re-evaporation. Whereas the finer grained soil layers benefits the vapor fixation to produce zero fluxes that substantially inhibit the upward liquid water and vapor fluxes, and thereby reduces soil evaporation. The reduced soil evaporation correspondingly decreases the capillary effect on phreatic evaporation, proven by that soil evaporation decreases slowly with decline of water table and the large extinct depth of phreatic evaporation for the finer grained soil profiles. The estimated extinct depth is 180 cm and 200 cm for the soil profiles consisting of silt loam and loamy sand, respectively, much larger than 100 cm of the sandy soil profile. Additionally, as water table is higher and lower than the extinct depth, the models neglecting the vapor - heat function could respectively overestimate and underestimate soil evaporation.

Floods claim a high toll in fatalities and economic impacts. Despite their societal relevance, there is much more to learn about the projected changes in discharge and flooding. Here we force an operational hydrologic model over the state of Iowa with high-resolution convection-permitting climate-model precipitation to evaluate the response of 140 watersheds to climate change. At the end of the century, under the most aggressive scenario in terms of fossil fuel use, we show that the transition from snow to rainfall and a ~30% increase in extreme precipitation rates lead to a doubling of maximum discharge during the spring and extended the flood season into the fall. Total discharge volumes are also expected to increase. Our results suggest that flood projections based on extreme precipitation increases alone substantially underestimate future risk due to the nonlinearity of the hydrologic response explained by long-term soil moisture memory and its feedbacks with precipitation.

Streamflow plays a key role in ecosystem and human society, which make it important to analyse the characteristics and influencing factors of streamflow. Using hydro-meteorological data series during 1961-2017 in the Upper Yongding River Basin (UYRB)( including Yang River Basin (YRB) and Sanggan River Basin (SRB)), Spatio-temporal variation characteristics of air temperature, precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (E 0) were analysed. Results showed that: precipitation has no significant trend; temperature shows a significant increase by 0.09–0.52℃ per decade; E 0 shows a significant decrease from -0.18 mm/yr to -2.04 mm/yr (in 18 stations); the estimated rates of streamflow change are –0.74, –0.80mm/yr for SRB and YRB. As to spatial distribution: the YRB presents a higher E 0 value than the SRB; and the mountain area has more precipitation than the plain area. And the change points of streamflow occurred in 1982 and 2003. Both Budyko and DMC method were used to evaluate the impacts of climate change and human activities on mean annual streamflow. In the variation stage Ⅰ (1983~2003), impacts of human activities account for 90.6% and 62.7% of the mean annual streamflow changes in YRB and SRB, respectively. In the variation stage Ⅱ (2004~2017), the percentages are 99.5% and 93.5%, respectively. It is also noted that the first change point in streamflow was indeed at the beginning of China’s land reform, when the farmers can manage their reallocated lands and therefore increased agricultural water consumption. The second change point coincided with “Capital Water Resources Planning” including water conservation projects and irrigation district construction programs. In general, human activities were mainly responsible for the significant decline in the annual streamflow of UYRB. This paper will provide valuable results for water resources planning and give guidance to the construction of water conservation function area and ecological environment support area of capital.

Editorial to the special issue “Environmental influences on childhood asthma”Back in 1892, Sir William Osler gave an accurate description of asthma as a disease that is associated with “spasm of the bronchial muscles, inflammation of the smaller bronchioles, bizarre and extraordinary variety of circumstances and cold infections, often running in families (1,2). This is basically a true reflection of our modern understanding of asthma which states that asthma is a complex genetic disorder that involves interactions between genetic and environmental factors.Since the human genetic makeup has not changed significantly in the last couple of decades, there is reason to believe that the overall increase in asthma prevalence (3) can be attributed to the changing environmental conditions of modern life. The role of environment in asthma is not limited to its role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Since it is currently not possible to change the genetic make-up of an individual underlying a complex genetic disorder such as asthma, modification of environmental conditions emerges as a significant tool for its treatment. Therefore, understanding the environmental factors that play an important role in asthma is crucial in understanding the disease pathogenesis as well as modification of factors that modulate the inception and progress of the disease as well as its treatment.Various studies published in the last years in the journal and included in this virtual issue have addressed these questions. Garcia-Serna et al. have found out that gestational exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) may increase the pro-inflammatory and Th2-related cytokines in newborns which might influence immune system responses later in life (4). Similarly, Pesce et al. (5) have investigated the association between prenatal exposures to heavy metals and atopic diseases. The serum concentrations of lead, cadmium and manganese were assessed in maternal blood samples collected during pregnancy and in cord blood of 651 mother-children pairs. The authors have concluded that the levels of cadmium in cord blood were associated with greater risk of asthma at the age of 8. Baek et al. have documented that exposure to phthalates are associated with airway dysfunction in childhood and this effect was partially attributable to increased serum periostin levels (6). Regarding the association between the genes and environment, Theodorou et al. (7) have investigated the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in 232 children who were selected from two cross-sectional cohorts and one birth cohort study. They have isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from children with asthma along with healthy controls and stimulated them with farm-dust extracts or lipopolysaccharide. The results have shown that the children with asthma have expressed significantly less dual-specificity phosphatase-1 (DUSP1) which is the negative regulator of MAPK pathway. They have conclusively indicated the possible role of DUSP1 for future therapeutical interventions regarding the anti-inflammatory features of farming environments.In an effort to further elucidate the environmental factors that are central to our understanding of asthma, the journal has started a review series to provide a comprehensive picture on the role of environment on various aspect of asthma. Major subheadings includedBiodiversityUrban exposuresGene-environment interactionsFarm effectAir pollutionClimate changeAllergensDiet microbiome and obesityIn the virtual issue of the journal Tari Haahtela (8) has focused on the effect of biodiversity. Evidence supports that the immunomodulating roles of different micro-organisms may be protective for asthma and allergic diseases. The studies from the neighboring Finnish and Russian Karelia regions, which the author named as “the living laboratory”, have shown strong evidence for the central role of environment and lifestyle which modify the human microbiome, immune balance, and thus allergy and asthma risk. Diversity of the human microbiome as well as the diversity of the natural environment that we live in and more contact with the nature are important determinants of physical health.Grant et al. (9) have focused on the influence of urban exposures on childhood asthma. The authors have meticulously summarized and analyzed the results of previous studies which aimed to investigate the interaction between indoor allergens, microbes, indoor and outdoor pollutants, social determinants and childhood asthma along with the opportunities for intervention. Multiple environmental exposures and influences contribute to the increased incidence of asthma and excess asthma morbidity among children with asthma living in urban communities. Indoor pest allergen and mold exposures have been repeatedly linked to increased asthma diagnosis, symptoms, and exacerbations in urban children. However, studies in high-risk urban populations also found that early life pest allergen exposure, along with microbial and endotoxin exposure may be associated with a decreased risk of wheezing and asthma suggesting that the association is more complex than previously thought.Since asthma prevalence varies widely depending on the socio-economical level, changes to help reduce inequities and inequalities in social determinants of health such as poverty, housing disrepair, higher rates of obesity, and chronic stress may produce positive effects at the population-level.Hernandez-Pacheco et al (10) have reviewed the latest gene-environment interaction (GxE) studies in childhood asthma. They have summarized the role of various environmental exposures and the current state of knowledge on asthma genetics. The field of GxE in asthma has drastically evolved together with technological advances over the last years. However, despite reports on the effect of numerous environmental factors on childhood asthma, the availability of detailed and diverse exposure data is limited. Tobacco smoke remains to be the most accessible and extensively explored factor followed by traffic-related air pollution in GxE studies.Airway epithelium seems to be central in gene-environment interactions. The effect of the exposure to certain environmental factors early in life on the modification of the risk and severity of asthma later in childhood is partially dependent on the functionality and integrity of the airway epithelium. It is known that the environmental exposures can trigger an inflammatory response and the disruption of the barrier and mucociliary function.Although there are several methodological and conceptual challenges with GxE interaction studies, recent data have led to new insights into childhood asthma pathophysiology which is best exemplified by the 17q12-21 asthma locus. Some of the SNPs at this locus seem to be associated with the onset of childhood asthma, thereby highlighting the importance of age related factors in gene environment interactions.The need for longitudinal and functional studies which provide insights into the biological mechanisms underlying the observed associations between environmental exposures and epigenetic changes that modify the asthma risk is highlighted.Another extensively studied environmental factor that is associated with childhood as is the so called “farm effect”. Frei et al. (11) have summarized the current knowledge on how “farm effect” influences the immune homeostasis during the intrauterine period and in childhood with a focus on immune mechanisms induced by environmental microbial diversity and microbial components. Farming lifestyle factors including nutrition influence the immune homeostasis either by regulating the innate immune system or by induction of regulatory T cells or TH1. We see diversity as a significant factor also in the farm effect. Diversity of environmental microbes, the diversity of the gut microbiome, or the diversity of the nutrition emerge as significant factors.Paciencia et al. (12) investigated the association and mechanisms between air pollution and asthma in children along with the precautions that should be taken to reduce the burden of air pollution on asthma. Environmental conditions are not shared equally across the populations, regions, and settings where people live, work, and spend their time. Urban conditions and air quality are not only important features for national and local authorities to shape healthy cities and protect their citizens from environmental and health risks, but they also provide opportunities to mitigate inequalities in the most deprived areas where the environmental burden is highest. Actions to avoid exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants should be complementary at different levels –individual, local, and national levels – to take strong measures to protect children.Taken together, these reviews provide a very comprehensive coverage on the role of environmental factors on childhood asthma and suggest that efforts to modify these factors may have beneficial effects not only on the individual level but also at the population level.S. Tolga Yavuz1Ömer Kalayci2Philippe A. Eigenmann3

We herein report a 76-year-old man with acquired hemophilia A (AHA) who developed gallbladder rupture due to Ceftriaxone (CTRX)-associated pseudolithiasis. The patient was admitted for an examination of systemic subcutaneous bleeding. A blood test showed a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time and sequentially revealed low factor VIII activity (<1%) and a high factor VIII inhibitor level of 143 BU/mL. The patient was thus diagnosed with AHA. After admission, he developed a high-grade fever and was administered intravenous CTRX, considering the possibility of psoas abscess or cellulitis. Although his high-grade fever was improved, computed tomography incidentally showed a high-density lesion in the gallbladder, suggestive of CTRX-associated pseudolithiasis without clinical symptoms. Despite cessation of CTRX, the pseudolithiasis never disappeared, and the patient suddenly died after rapid progression of abdominal bloating. An autopsy revealed that the gallbladder was severely swollen and had ruptured with hemorrhaging because of hemorrhagic cholecystitis, caused by CTRX-associated pseudolithiasis with AHA. Our case demonstrated that CTRX-associated pseudocholelithiasis can unexpectedly induce gallbladder hemorrhaging and rupture in a patient with a bleeding diathesis, including AHA. CTRX-associated pseudocholelithiasis can cause a fatal outcome in patients with a bleeding disorder, even if CTRX is ceased as soon as pseudocholelithiasis is detected.

Large eddy simulation (LES) is used to simulate flame acceleration (FA) and deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) of methane–air mixtures in a small-scale 3D channel. The simulation results show that, in the early stages, the flame velocity increases exponentially because of the expansion of combustion products and the wrinkle of flame surface. In the next stage, the interaction between flame and pressure wave makes flame accelerate continuously, and the acceleration rate of the flame velocity decreases first and then increases. As the pressure of the leading shock increases, the boundary layer is heated by the preheating area in front of the flame surface which causes the ultrafast flame propagates in the boundary layer. The ultrafast flame generates oblique shock waves continuously moving to the center of the channel and colliding with each other, which promote the occurrence of local explosion and the coupling of flame surface and leading shock wave.

This case a 59-year-old woman with asymptomatic overt hypothyroidism who presented with the Doppler ultrasound signs of increased thyroid exertion involving the autonomic nervous system. The findings suggest an increase in the rate of thyroxine deiodination and sufficiency of free triiodothyronine for the functional needs of the body.

Mucormycosis affects most commonly immunocompromised patients. We report two cases: a 61-year old female with diabetes whose the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a budding greyish process which corresponded with an invasive mycormucosis in histology and a 59-year old man who presented with worsening of general state. No patients survived.

Cone-beam computed tomography and clinical examinations including pulp vital testing and pocket probing depth showed a cemental tear with a severe labial alveolar bony defect, but no endodontic lesions in #25, which had a sinus tract at the labial site, in a 75-year-old woman.

We present a 15-year-old female with syndromic intellectual disability whose exome reanalysis identified paternal pathogenic BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants. We highlight the significant challenges posed by this finding in genetic counseling and cancer risk management of an adolescent with nonverbal intellectual disability.

Magnesium alloy materials are often affected by cyclic stress, resulting in fatigue fracture due to changes in mechanical properties. In this study, external cyclic loads were introduced to simulate the loading of AZ91D(Mg-9Al-0.5Zn) parts. Tensile tests under static and external circulation loads were performed on the same specimens, and the effect of loading conditions on the mechanical properties of the specimens (tensile strength, yield strength and elongation) were studied. The internal microstructure of the test specimens was analyzed, and the influence of cyclic loading on the microstructure change of the specimens was discussed. Compared with static load, under the condition of cyclic loading, the tensile strength and yield strength of the specimens are increased by more than 15%, and the elongation rate is increased by 3 times. In addition, the microstructure images showed that many twins and the second phase β-Mg 17Al 12 were generated inside the AZ91D microstructure under cyclic loading. The former results in specimens crack initiation and it is the root cause of fatigue fracture. And the latter accounts for the strengthening of the mechanical properties of specimens.

Conducting large-scale phylogeographic studies to understand processes affecting population structure and genetic diversity across multiple species is difficult because the key genetic (NCBI) and spatial (GBIF) repositories are disconnected. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Pelletier et al. (2022) demonstrate the power of connecting these in the program phylogatR. This program assembled 87,852 species and 102,268 sequence alignments in a taxonomic hierarchy, yielding multiple sequence alignments per species, mainly for animals (88%), composed mostly of mtDNA data. The authors discuss several caveats with these alignments and provide flags identifying particular problems associating locality and genetic data with certain taxa (e.g., multiple localities per individuals). They provide a test that nucleotide diversity should increase with area, but find a significant relationship in only 32% of taxa with no clear taxonomic or ecological factors accounting for this. To examine the potential of this program, I tested the idea that the degree of population expansion should increase with latitude given potential environmental stability in the tropics and instability in temperate regions. In under two hours, I downloaded all squamates (lizards and snakes) and regressed Tajima’s D on latitude and found a weak but significant negative relationship, indicating a potential association between latitude and population expansion. The phylogatR database is a powerful resource for researchers wanting to test the relationship between genetic diversity and some aspect of space or environment.

Vegetation restoration in ecologically fragile areas has a significant carbon sequestration effect, and the driving factors affecting it are complex. In particular, it is usually difficult to achieve quantitative assessment at the regional scale for this part of human activity intervention in the ecological environment. The Chinese government’s ex-situ poverty alleviation and relocation project has relocated approximately 10 million people from areas with a fragile ecological environment to urban centralized resettlement, which is a typical case of weakened environmental intervention by human activities. Guizhou Province, an ecologically fragile region in southwest China, was selected as the study area, with a relocated population of 1.92 million, accounting for approximately 20% of the total relocated population in China. The carbon sequestration (CS) model of vegetation photosynthesis and spatial analysis of geographic information were used to quantify the contribution of human activities to the natural restoration of vegetation carbon sequestration at the regional scale caused by the weakening of environmental interventions, based on the data of net primary productivity (NPP) of vegetation from 2000 to 2020. The results show that the implementation of the ex-situ poverty alleviation and relocation project acts as an external force to drive vegetation restoration and carbon sequestration, which increases the slope of the carbon density change trend (from k=30.9 to k=57.41), resulting in an overall carbon density increase of 26.51 tCkm -2. The results of the regional spatial analysis showed that the correlation coefficients between carbon density and relocation intensity in the 5-year and 10-year change intervals before and after relocation were r=0.976 (p<0.01) and r=0.949 (p<0.05), respectively, indicating a significant positive correlation between vegetation carbon sequestration and relocation intensity. Based on this, the carbon sequestration contribution of vegetation in 84 counties (districts) in Guizhou Province that implemented ex-situ poverty alleviation and relocation projects was calculated, showing that 79 counties (districts) contributed positively, accounting for 94%. The average contribution of carbon sequestration by vegetation restoration in each county (district) was 0.0556 Tg, and the CO 2 emissions during the emission reduction period were 0.2059 Tg. The other five counties (districts) with a negative contribution to carbon sequestration were distributed in regions with relatively stable ecosystems and mature forests. This shows that human intervention in the environment changes significantly in fragile ecological areas.

Discussion of the bioethics of human stem cell research has transitioned from controversies over the source of human em-bryonic stem cells to concerns about the ethical use of stem cells in basic and clinical research. Key areas in this evolving ethical discourse include the derivation and use of another human embryonic stem cell-like stem cells that have the capacity to differentiate into all types of human tissue and the use of all types of stem cells in clinical research. Each of these issues is discussed as I summarize the past, present, and future bioethical issues in stem cell research. The main bioethical issues associated with human stem cells involve their derivation and use for research. Although there are interesting ethical issues surrounding the collection and use of somatic (adult) stem cells from aborted fetuses and umbilical cord blood, the most intense controversy to date has focused on the source of human embryonic stem (hES) cells. At present, new ethical issues are beginning to emerge around the derivation and use of other hES cell-like stem cells that have the capacity to differentiate into all types of human tissue. In the near future, as the stem cell field progresses closer to the clinic, additional ethical issues are likely to arise concerning the clinical translation of basic stem cell knowledge into reasonably safe, effective, and accessible patient therapies. This Review summarizes these and other bioethical issues of the past, present, and future of stem cell research.

Drug discovery and development involve the utilization of in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Different models, ranging from test tube experiments to cell cultures, animals, healthy human subjects, and even small numbers of patients that are involved in clinical trials, are used at different stages of drug discovery and development for determination of efficacy and safety. The proper selection and applications of correct models, as well as appropriate data interpretation, are critically important in decision making and successful advancement of drug candidates. In this review, we discuss strategies in the applications of both in vitro and in vivo experimental models of drug metabolism and disposition.

The cocktail party problem refers to a challenging process when the human sensory system tries to separate a specific voice from a loud mixture of background sound sources. The problem is much more demanding for machines and has become the holy grail in robotic hearing. Despite the many advances in noise suppression, the intrinsic information from the contaminated acoustic channel remains difficult to recover. Here we show a simple-yet-powerful laser-assisted audio system termed REAL (Robot Ear Accomplished by Laser) to probe the vibrations of sound-carrying surfaces (mask, throat and other nearby surfaces) in optical channel, which is intrinsically immune to acoustic background noises. Our results demonstrate that REAL can directly obtain the audio-frequency content from the laser without acoustic channel interference. The signals can be further transcribed into human-recognizable audio by exploiting the internal time and frequency correlations through memory-enabled neural networks. The REAL system would enable a new way in human-robot interaction. Xiaoping Hong  Email:    hongxp@sustech.edu.cn