Urethral plate (UP)-preserving urethroplasty is simple and has few complications, but it may affect the development of penis in the long term and lead to recurrent chordee. In this study, we used ...obliquely cut UP to repair hypospadias with mild chordee after degloving (15°-30°) and compared the results with onlay urethroplasty to explore its rationality and feasibility. Between April 2018 and October 2020, 108 hypospadias patients underwent onlay urethroplasty or modified onlay urethroplasty. Clinical data were prospectively collected, and medium-term outcomes were assessed at follow-up. The complications were compared between the two groups. Forty-four patients underwent the modified onlay procedure (Group I), with follow-up time (mean ± standard deviation s.d.) of 23.2 ± 4.5 (range: 17-31) months. Sixty-four patients underwent a standard onlay procedure (Group II), with follow-up time (mean ± s.d.) of 39.7 ± 3.9 (range: 32-46) months. There was no difference in age at surgery. The urethral defect length and operative time were longer in Group I. Six cases of fistula and one case each of stricture and diverticulum were reported in Group I. In Group II, 11 cases of fistula and one case each of stricture and diverticulum were reported. The complication rates were 18.2% and 20.3% in Group I and Group II, respectively (P > 0.05). These medium-term follow-up results demonstrate that the modified onlay procedure (oblique cut UP urethroplasty) is a safe and feasible technique for hypospadias with mild chordee after degloving. Compared with standard onlay urethroplasty, this modified procedure is conducive to the complete removal of scar tissue underlying the UP without increasing the risk of surgical complications.
Objectives
We aimed to investigate the safety concerns associated with placing double-J ureteric stents post-laparoscopic pyeloplasty surgery for congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) ...and hydronephrosis.
Methods
A total of 1349 patients with postoperative double-J stent placement at our center were included. Clinical variables for enrolled patients were collected by two independent authors. We compared clinical variables and the efficacy of stenting post-laparoscopic pyeloplasty.
Results
The mean age of the patients was 4.23 ± 2.39 years. A total of 58.49% of patients were diagnosed with left UPJO with hydronephrosis and 33.95% were diagnosed with right UPJO. Furthermore, 7.56% of patients had bilateral UPJO. In all cases, 96.96% of indwelling double-J stents were successfully removed 4 weeks post-surgery. A total of 3.04% of the patients still required further management, including stent migration to the renal pelvis (0.37%), stent migration to the bladder (0.30%), prolapse of the stent through the ureter (0.15%), blockage of stents (1.85%), and fouling of stents (0.37%).
Conclusions
Double-J ureteric stents used after laparoscopic pyeloplasty for treating UPJO in hydronephrosis for pediatric patients is a safe, feasible, and beneficial method, which can be recommended for routine procedures. However, caution should be practiced for follow-up and removal using this method.
An integrated cobalt disulfide (CoS2) co-catalyst passivation layer on Si microwires (MWs) was used as a photocathode for solar hydrogen evolution. Si MWs were prepared by photolithography and dry ...etching techniques. The CoS2-Si photocathodes were subsequently prepared by chemical deposition and thermal sulfidation of the Co(OH)2 outer shell. The optimized onset potential and photocurrent of the CoS2-Si electrode were 0.248 V and -3.22 mA cm-2 (at 0 V), respectively. The best photocatalytic activity of the CoS2-Si electrode resulted from lower charge transfer resistances among the photoabsorber, co-catalyst, and redox couples in the electrolyte. X-ray absorption near edge structure was conducted to investigate the unoccupied electronic states of the CoS2 layer. We propose that more vacancies in the S-3p unoccupied states of the CoS2-Si electrode were present with a lower negative charge of S22- to form weaker S-H bond strength, promoting water splitting efficiency. Moreover, the CoS2 co-catalyst that completely covered underlying Si MWs served as a passivation layer to prevent oxidation and reduce degradation during photoelectrochemical measurements. Therefore, the optimal CoS2-Si electrode maintained the photocurrent at about -3 mA cm-2 (at 0 V) for 9 h, and its hydrogen generation rate was approximately 0.833 mu mol min-1.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production is severely threatened by an increase in the frequency of drought events. It is crucial to determine stable and effective morphological, physiological, and ...associated oxidative stress indicators, to evaluate the drought tolerance of wheat for breeding and cultivation. Therefore, the cultivars Luohan 22 (LH 22, drought−tolerant) and Zhengmai 366 (ZM 366, drought−sensitive) were used as experimental materials to analyze the changes in 12 physiological and biochemical indicators, as well as the yield, when the stress was prolonged to different times. Re-watering after 6 days of drought can effectively alleviate the associated oxidative stress of drought to wheat. The physiological responses of plants were reversible when they were re-watered in the range of 6 to 12 days after drought. The degree of recovery of LH 22 was higher than that of ZM 366. Afterwards, seven indicators, including stomatal conductance, proline, malondialdehyde, soluble sugar, hexokinase, glucose, and the non−photochemical quenching parameter, were screened out to characterize tolerance of wheat to drought using the multivariate statistical analytical method. This study further investigated the method of evaluating and indexing tolerance of wheat to drought, from the physiological and biochemical levels. This study can provide a theoretical basis and reference for the selection of wheat cultivars to breed and cultivate against drought stress.
The influence of water and nitrogen (N) management on wheat have been investigated, but studies on the impact of long-term interactive water and N management on microbial structure and function are ...limited. Soil chemical properties and plants determine the soil microbial communities whose functions involved in nutrient cycling may affect plant productivity. There is an urgent need to elucidate the underlying mechanisms to optimize these microbial communities for agricultural sustainability in the winter wheat production area of the North China Plain. We performed high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR of the 16S rRNA gene on soil from a 7-year-old stationary field experiment to investigate the response of bacterial communities and function to water and N management. It was observed that water and N management significantly influenced wheat growth, soil properties and bacterial diversity. N application caused a significant decrease in the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and both Richness and Shannon diversity indices, in the absence of irrigation. Irrigation led to an increase in the relative abundance of Planctomycetes, Latescibacteria, Anaerolineae, and Chloroflexia. In addition, most bacterial taxa were correlated with soil and plant properties. Some functions related to carbohydrate transport, transcription, inorganic ion transport and lipid transport were enriched in irrigation treatment, while N enriched predicted functions related to amino acid transport and metabolism, signal transduction, and cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis. Understanding the impact of N application and irrigation on the structure and function of soil bacteria is important for developing strategies for sustainable wheat production. Therefore, concurrent irrigation and N application may improve wheat yield and help to maintain those ecosystem functions that are driven by the soil microbial community.
Unreasonably high irrigation levels and excessive nitrogen (N) supplementation are common occurrences in the North China Plain that affect winter wheat production. Therefore, a 6-yr-long stationary ...field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of irrigation and N regimes on root development and their relationship with soil water and N use in different soil layers. Compared to the non-irrigated treatment (W0), a single irrigation at jointing (W1) significantly increased yield by 3.6-45.6%. With increases in water (W2, a second irrigation at flowering), grain yield was significantly improved by 14.1-45.3% compared to the W1 treatments during the drier growing seasons (2010-2011, 2012-2013, and 2015-2016). However, under sufficient pre-sowing soil moisture conditions, grain yield was not increased, and water use efficiency (WUE) decreased significantly in the W2 treatments during normal precipitation seasons (2011-2012, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015). Irrigating the soil twice inhibited root growth into the deeper soil depth profiles and thus weakened the utilization of soil water and NO
-N from the deep soil layers. N applications increased yield by 19.1-64.5%, with a corresponding increase in WUE of 66.9-83.9% compared to the no-N treatment (N0). However, there was no further increase in grain yield and the WUE response when N rates exceeded 240 and 180 kg N ha
, respectively. A N application rate of 240 kg ha
facilitated root growth in the deep soil layers, which was conducive to utilization of soil water and NO
-N and also in reducing the residual NO
-N. Correlation analysis indicated that the grain yield was significantly positively correlated with soil water storage (SWS) and nitrate nitrogen accumulation (SNA) prior to sowing. Therefore, N rates of 180-240 kg ha
with two irrigations can reduce the risk of yield loss that occurs due to reduced precipitation during the wheat growing seasons, while under better soil moisture conditions, a single irrigation at jointing was effective and more economical.
Fracture width in coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir is an important parameter for hydraulic fracture and of great significance for studying the permeability of CBM reservoir after being fractured. To ...study the impact of fracturing position on fracture width, specimens made of similar materials were applied to replace coal rock, hydraulic fracturing experiment was conducted by means of hydraulic fracturing experimental device, and fracture width was measured by displacement meter timely. The effect of other factors on fracture width was analyzed by theoretical analysis. The research results show that fracture width is affected by the position of displacement meter, fracture morphology, natural fracture width, and permeability of coal seam. The fracture morphology of three fractured specimens was different from each other in hydraulic fracturing tests. Fracture morphology of specimen No. 1 is the most complex, and the fracture morphology of specimen No. 1 and No. 2 is all more complex than the one of specimen No. 3. Fracture width fluctuates and increases with the continuous injection of fracturing fluid. The growth rate of fracture width varies with the different position of displacement meter, which is a positive correlation with fracture morphology. Fracture width is inversely proportional to the permeability of coal seam; the permeability of coal seam increases with the decrease of fracture width. Fracture width is proportional to the negative value of natural fracture width, fracture width decreases with the increase of natural fracture width. The research results would provide technical support and theoretical reference for studying fracture width and hydraulic fracturing theory.
Sediment and nutrient retention have significant impacts on agricultural productivity and water quality. Obvious changes of climate and land-use have deeply affected freshwater ecosystem services in ...the last several decades. Nevertheless, it is unclear what the differences are in the impact of climate and land-use changes on freshwater ecosystem services.
The impacts of climate and land-use change on sediment and nutrient retention (two essential freshwater ecosystem services) were evaluated with the help of the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The results from the study area suggest a decreasing trend in sediment and nutrient retention from 1995 to 2015 when climate and land-use were changed simultaneously. A decreasing trend in sediment retention and an increasing trend in nutrient retention were presented under scenario A (climate change from 1995 to 2015 with land-use unchanged), while the sediment exported and nutrient retention exhibited a decreasing trend except sediment retained under scenario B (land-use change from 1995 to 2015 with unchanged climate). Rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility were more sensitive to the output of sediment retention, while retention efficiency produced more of an effect on nutrient retention.
Climate change played a dominant role in the change in sediment retention, while land-use change had a more significant effect on nutrient retention change than climate change. The results of this study provide explicitinformation for land-use managers to reduce the negative effects associated with sediment and nutrient retention.
Luminescence of monoclinic lithium metatitanate (Li2TiO3) powders activated with different quantities of Mn4+ is studied in detail. Its strong deep‐red emission arising from the Mn4+ 2Eg → 4A2g spin ...forbidden transition is centered at around 688 nm and is suitable for luminescence thermometry. Structural and electron paramagnetic resonance analyses show that Mn4+ ions are equally distributed in two almost identical Ti4+ sites in which they are octahedrally coordinated by six oxygen ions. Calculations based on the exchange charge model of the crystal field provided values of Racah parameters (B=760 cm−1, C= 2993 cm−1), crystal‐field splitting Dq= 2043 cm−1, and the nephelauxetic parameter β1=0.9775. The maximal quantum efficiency of 24.1% at room temperature is found for 0.126% Mn4+ concentration. Temperature quenching of emission occurs by a cross‐over via 4T2 excited state of the Mn4+ ions with T1/2=262 K and is quite favorable for the application in the lifetime‐based luminescence thermometry since relative changes in emission decay values are exceptionally‐large (around 3.21% at room temperature). We derived theoretical expressions for the temperature dependence of the absolute and relative sensitivities and discuss the influence of host material properties on lifetime sensitivities.
The luminescence of Mn4+ activated Li2TiO3 deep‐red phosphor provides the high‐performance temperature sensing with temperature resolution better than 30 mK over the wide temperature range. The engineering of the Mn4+ activated materials for the high‐precision luminescence thermometry via the control of the energies of 4T2g level and phonon coupling is shown.
The rheological properties and end-use qualities of many foods are mainly determined by the types and levels of grain storage proteins (GSPs) in wheat. GSP levels are influenced by various factors, ...including tillage management, irrigation, and fertiliser application. However, the effects of irrigation and nitrogen on GSPs remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, a stationary split-split block design experiment was carried out in low- and high-fertility (LF and HF) soil, with the main plots subjected to irrigation treatments (W0, no irrigation; W1, irrigation only during the jointing stage; W2, irrigation twice during both jointing and flowering stages), subplots subjected to nitrogen application treatments (N0, no nitrogen application; N180, 180 kg/ha; N240, 240 kg/ha; N300, 300 kg/ha), and cultivars tested in sub-sub plots (FDC5, the strong-gluten cultivar Fengdecun 5; BN207, the medium-gluten cultivar Bainong 207). The results showed that GSP levels and processing qualities were significantly influenced by nitrogen application (
< 0.01), N240 was the optimal nitrogen rate, and the influence of irrigation was dependent on soil fertility. Optimal GSP levels were obtained under W2 treatment at LF conditions, and the content was increased by 17% and 16% for FDC5 and BN207 compared with W0 under N240 treatment, respectively. While the optimal GSP levels were obtained under W1 treatments at HF conditions, and the content was increased by 3% and 21% for FDC5 and BN207 compared with W0 under N240 treatment, respectively. Irrigation and nitrogen application increased the glutenin content by increasing Bx7 and Dy10 levels in FDC5, and by increasing the accumulation of Ax1 and Dx5 in BN207. Gliadins were mainly increased by enhancing α/β-gliadin levels. Correlation analysis indicated that a higher soil nitrate (NO
-N) content increased nitrogen remobilisation in leaves. Path analysis showed that Dy10, Dx5, and γ-gliadin largely determined wet glutenin content (WGC), dough stability time (DST), dough water absorption rate (DWR), and sedimentation value (SV). Therefore, appropriate irrigation and nitrogen application can improve nitrogen remobilisation, GSP levels, and processing qualities, thereby improving wheat quality and production.
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