This study demonstrates the long-term stability and low-energy operation of a continuous-flow granular sludge system for simultaneous nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal (SNDPR) from real domestic wastewater. The impacts of distinct hydraulic retention time (HRT) and sludge retention time (SRT) combinations (9 h and 33 days, 6 h and 22 days, 4.5 h and 17 days) on system performance, granular sludge characteristics and microbial community dynamics (specifically archaeal and bacterial populations) were systematically evaluated. The results showed that the performance decreased with shortening of HRT. At an HRT of 4.5 h, the settling performance and stability of SNDPR granules deteriorated, while loosely bound proteins (LB-PN) and the protein-to-polysaccharide ratio (PN/PS) significantly increased. This suggests that exogenous proteins in real domestic wastewater, which were difficult to fully hydrolyse under short HRT, likely accumulated on the outer layer of the granules. High-throughput sequencing analysis of bacterial and archaeal communities revealed that under real domestic wastewater conditions, the abundance of denitrifying and phosphorus-removing functional microorganisms significantly decreased, while the rapid proliferation of filamentous microorganisms was identified as the primary factor contributing to the deterioration of granular sludge structure. Finally, the phylogenetic classification of functional genera indicates that archaeal and bacterial communities played significant roles in denitrification, phosphorus removal and maintaining the stability of SNDPR granules.

BACKGROUND:Infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) patients requiring open necrosectomy (ON) as part of the step-up approach generally face high postoperative mortality. Our center proposed the step-cross approach as a supplement, but supporting evidence remains limited. This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes between the step-cross and step-up approaches in INP patients. METHODS:This retrospective cohort study included adult INP patients admitted to our center from 2017 to 2022. The step-cross approach consisted of percutaneous catheter drainage, followed by accelerated focused ON and personalized drainage or debridement as needed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for confounders. RESULTS:Of 509 included patients (median age 46 [34-55] years, 67.6 % male), 454 (89.2 %) and 55 (10.8 %) underwent the step-up and step-cross approach respectively. Overall, 180-day mortality was 20.2 % (103/509): 83 (18.3 %) in the step-up group and 20 (36.4 %) in step-cross group. After PSM (53 matched pairs), 180-day mortality did not differ significantly (35.9 %vs 49.1 %, relative risk [RR] and 95 % confidence interval [CI] with the step-cross approach = 0.73 [0.46-1.15], P = 0.169), but the step-cross group was associated with lower CRRT duration (2 [0, 16] vs 15 [3.5, 22] days, P = 0.005) and fewer minimally invasive necrosectomy procedures. Complications, hospital stays and costs were comparable between groups. CONCLUSIONS:The step-cross approach is a safe complementary strategy to the step-up approach, demonstrating trends toward lower mortality and reduced organ support requirements in selected INP patients. Nevertheless, these findings require validation through large-scale prospective studies.

Purpose:Hypertriglyceridemia-associated acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) has become the second leading cause of acute pancreatitis (AP) in China. Compared with other etiologies, patients with HTG-AP are more likely to develop severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). This study aimed to develop and validate a prediction model for severe HTG-AP. Patients and Methods:The derivation cohort consisted of 478 HTG-AP patients collected in a multicenter, prospective observational study (PERFORM study, 2020-2023, involving 36 tertiary hospitals in China). The external validation cohort included 145 prospectively enrolled HTG-AP patients from the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University (from January 2024 to May 2025). Clinical variables were collected within 24 hours of enrollment. After excluding variables with more than 20% missing data, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select predictors. An XGBoost-based prediction model was constructed. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA), and compared with traditional scoring systems. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis was employed to assess model interpretability. Results:A total of 113 patients (23.6%) in the derivation cohort and 23 patients (15.9%) in the validation cohort developed SAP, respectively. LASSO regression identified seven predictors: serum calcium (Ca2⁺), heart rate (HR), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer (D-D), respiratory rate (RR), serum creatinine (SCr), and pleural effusion. The XGBoost model achieved an AUC of 0.873 in both the derivation and external validation cohorts, thereby significantly outperforming APACHE II (0.708, 0.701), SOFA (0.699, 0.685), SIRS (0.656, 0.649), and CTSI (0.661, 0.658) (all P < 0.05). The model showed good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test P > 0.05) and provided a superior net clinical benefit across a wide range of threshold probabilities in DCA. SHAP analysis revealed that Ca2⁺ was the most influential predictor, followed by HR and CRP. To enhance clinical usability, we developed an interactive web-based calculator using the R Shiny framework. Conclusion:This study developed and validated an XGBoost-based prediction model that uses seven easily obtained clinical variables for early identification of severe HTG-AP. The model demonstrated favorable discrimination, good calibration, and meaningful clinical utility, and outperformed traditional scoring systems. It offers a promising tool to improve risk stratification in HTG-AP.

Al-50Si is promising for electronic packaging and automotive lightweighting. However, Si particles cause cutting defects, reducing wear resistance. Thus, pulse laser remelting ultrasonic vibration composite cutting was developed. The key to effectively suppressing particle fracture and stress concentration, reducing surface roughness and subsurface damage, and enhancing wear resistance is to set the ultrasonic cutting depth based on the remelting layer thickness. When the laser pulse width is 120 ns, the power is 25 W, and the cutting depth is 40 mu m, the roughness decreases to 0.121 mu m.The residual stress drops to -9.6 MPa. The wear depth of the surface in the wear test is reduced to 4.43 mu m. The wear mechanism is abrasive wear. The wear resistance is significantly improved.

Inorganic carbon (IC) plays a pivotal role in the stability of the Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen removal Over Nitrite (CANON) process, functioning as both an essential nutrient and a potential inhibitor. This review systematically unravels this "double-edged sword" effect through metabolic, spatial, and operational dimensions. First, we elucidate the energetic coupling mechanism, where nitrogen catabolism drives carbon fixation via ATP and reducing power supply (reverse electron transport), highlighting the metabolic vulnerability of AnAOB under IC limitation. Second, at the granular level, we highlight how spatial pH stratification-characterized by aerobic acidification and anaerobic alkalinization-regulates the critical trade-off between beneficial core nucleation (skeleton formation) and detrimental surface scaling. Third, the physiological role of carbonic anhydrase (CA) is redefined as a dual mechanism for carbon concentration and protection against free ammonia (FA) toxicity. Crucially, to bridge the gap between theoretical stoichiometry and engineering reality, we establish a quantitative operational framework based on the influent [Formula: see text] molar ratio. Considering the need to overcome mass transfer resistance and satisfy alkalinity consumption, we explicitly defining the limitation zone (<1.0), the economically optimal range (1.0-1.2), and the excess zone (>1.5). Finally, optimization strategies are upgraded from reactive feedback to AI-driven predictive control (e.g., Model Predictive Control) to manage influent fluctuations. Collectively, these insights establish a mechanistic and quantitative framework for IC management, paving the way for robust, low-carbon, and sustainable engineering applications of the CANON process.

The endogenous partial denitrifying phosphorus removal (EPDPR) process, driven by denitrifying polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (DPAOs), can provide a source of NO2- -N for anaerobic ammonium oxidation (annmmox). However, unstable phosphorus removal and insufficient NO2 - -N accumulation remain challenges. Previous studies have enhanced DPAOs activity by optimizing carbon sources and C/N ratios, the effects of staged anaerobic configuration on the EPDPR process remain unclear. In this study, one-stage, twostage, and three-stage anaerobic modes were implemented in a sequencing batch reactor to systematically evaluate the effects of staged anaerobic strategy on system performance and microbial community structure. Results showed that, under identical carbon conditions, the maximum phosphorus release rate of DPAOs increased from 12.35 to 17.24 mg P/(g VSS & sdot;h), and their contribution to endogenous carbon storage rose from 28.10 % to 43.19 %. Under the three-stage anaerobic condition, total phosphorus removal efficiency and nitrite accumulation rate reached 94.58 % and 74.01 %, respectively. The results of High-throughput sequencing revealed that the relative abundances of dominant DPAOs genera represented by Candidatus_Accumulibacter, Pseudomonas, and Thauera increased to 2.43 %, 5.85 %, and 5.24 %, respective. In comparison Nitrospira abundances decreased to 0.20 %, suppressing further NO2- -N reduction and providing favorable conditions for anammox process coupling.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are crucial for nitrogen removal in biological aerated biofilters (BAFs), but drivers of copiotrophic-AOA enrichment within these systems remain unclear. This study investigated two mainstream BAFs with counter-current and co-current flow patterns under varying air-water ratios to optimize AOA enrichment. The counter-current BAF, operating at a gas-water ratio of 0.85:1, achieved high ammonia-nitrogen removal efficiency (96.49% +/- 0.47%) and oxidation rate (11.12 mg N/(L center dot h)). Integrating computational fluid dynamics, biofilm biochemical analysis, microbial identification, and functional gene prediction revealed the enrichment mechanism. Counter-current flow generated lower air-water velocities, stimulating extracellular polymeric substance production and robust biofilm formation with increased biomass. This enhanced biofilm structure favored copiotrophic-AOA proliferation, identifying Nitrososphaera (63.10%) and Nitrosocosmicus (36.73%) as dominant populations. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for designing and operating BAFs to selectively enrich copiotrophic-AOA in-situ, advancing energy-efficient and green wastewater treatment technologies.

Fluctuating ammonia concentrations in wastewater often exceed the adaptive capacity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), thereby limiting the efficacy of partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) systems that rely on AOA-driven nitritation. Although nitrite addition may enhance process stability, the underlying microbial mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the response of an AOA/anammox bacteria enriched counter-current biological aerated filter under low intermittent aeration to nitrite shock loading. At an NO2--N concentration of 21.95 ± 1.36 mg/L and NH4+/NO2- ratio of 0.44 ± 0.027, the system achieved high nitrogen removal efficiencies: 99.10 ± 0.72 % for NH4+-N and 83.89 ± 0.35 % for total nitrogen. AOA were identified as the dominant nitrifiers via dual-inhibition, phylogenetic, and functional gene analyses. Metagenomics revealed upregulation of key functional genes, including AOA-associated nirK, anammox-related hzs/hzo/hdh, and denitrification genes nir/nap/nor/nos, enhancing AOA-anammox synergy. Copiotrophic AOA (93.49 % of AOA community, primarily Nitrososphaera and Nitrosocosmicus) and Candidatus Brocadia (35.95 % of bacteria) dominated the system. Genomic binning further revealed horizontal transfer of nap/nor genes between AOA and denitrifiers, reinforcing metabolic adaptability under selective conditions. Metabolic profiling indicated that AOA competitiveness under nutrient stress was reinforced by genes involved in nitrogen assimilation, urea utilization, polysaccharide synthesis and energy metabolism, thereby strengthening their partnership with anammox bacteria. These findings demonstrate that nitrite supplementation can reinforce AOA-based PN/A systems under variable ammonia loads, supporting energy-efficient mainstream wastewater treatment.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are promising candidates for replacing ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in wastewater treatment. However, limited efforts have been made to enrich copiotrophic-AOA in situ competitively. To this end, two laboratory-scale intermittent aerated biofilters (upflow-aerated biofilter (R1) and downflow-aerated biofilter (R2)) were comparatively employed for the treatment of mainstream wastewater. An extended non-aerobic cycling strategy led to higher residual ammonia-nitrogen levels (0.01-18.7 mg/L), denser biofilms, and facilitated the dominance of Nitrosocosmicus-like AOA (R1: 70.31 %; R2: 82.32 %). Additionally, the AOA in both biofilters were the main contributors (62 %-66 %) to the highly efficient nitrification process. Compared with R1, R2 had a higher abundance of Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira, a lower ammonia oxidation rate, and a simpler co-occurrence network of nitrifiers. The protein content induced by intermittent aeration significantly affected the AOA community. Candidatus Brocadia (3.62 %-7.82 %) was also auto-enriched in both biofilters. Therefore, in situ enrichment of Nitrosocosmicus-dominant nitrifying microorganisms is conducive to developing an environment-friendly, energy-efficient, high ammonia-nitrogen removal AOA-based partial nitrification-anammox process.

No specific triglyceride-lowering therapy is recommended in patients with hypertriglyceridemia-associated acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP), primarily because of the lack of quality evidence. This study aimed to describe practice variations in triglyceride-lowering therapies for early HTG-AP patients and assess whether more rapid triglyceride decline is associated with improving organ failure. This is a multicentre, prospective cohort study recruiting HTG-AP patients with elevated plasma triglyceride (> 11.3 mmol/L) admitted within 72 h from the onset of symptoms. Patients were dichotomised on study day 3 into either target reaching (plasma triglyceride ≤ 5.65 mmol/L) or not. The primary outcome was organ failure-free days (OFFD) to 14 days of enrolment. The association between target-reaching and OFFD was modelled. Additionally, the slope in plasma triglyceride over the first three days in response to treatment was calculated, and its association with OFFD was assessed as a sensitivity analysis. Among the 300 enrolled patients, 211 underwent exclusive medical treatment, and 89 underwent various blood purification therapies. Triglyceride levels were available in 230 patients on study day 3, among whom 122 (53.0

ObjectivesThere are scarce prospective data on recurrent hypertriglyceridemia-associated acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP). This study aimed to investigate the incidence, potential prognostic factors, and clinical relevance of recurrent HTG-AP.MethodsThis study is a multicenter, prospective cohort study. Adult patients with the first HTG-AP attack enrolled in the PERFORM registry between November 2020 and December 2021 were involved. All the study patients were followed up for more than two years with a two-round schedule. The Cox proportional-hazards model was applied to analyze the potential factors. Quality of life was evaluated using the EuroQol five-dimensional five-level health scale (EQ-5D-5L).ResultsA total of 184 patients from 25 sites were included in the study, and 161 patients completed the two-round follow-up. Among them, the mean follow-up time for the study patients was 31±4 months, and the incidence rate of recurrent HTG-AP attack was 23 % (37/161). All patients with recurrent episodes required readmission to the hospital. The EQ visual analog scale (VAS) score was significantly lower in patients with recurrent episodes compared to those without (76±10 vs. 82±12; P = 0.02) at the latest follow-up. Age <40 years old (hazard ratio [HR], 3.6; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.5–8.7; P = 0.004) and a history of diabetes (HR, 2.6; 95 %CI, 1.3–5.1; P = 0.005) were identified as potential predictor factors for recurrence.ConclusionsRecurrence of HTG-AP is common, especially for younger patients with diabetes. Recurrence necessitated additional hospital readmissions and was associated with compromised quality of life.

In recent years, the partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/A) process has been widely appreciated by many countries around the world. As an autotrophic nitrogen removal process, this process can save more than 60% of the aeration energy consumption, reduce 80% of the residual sludge yield, and do not need to add additional carbon sources. However, this process is faced with several kinds of problems. This paper summarizes several effects of operating parameters on the inhibition of NOB in municipal wastewater treatment, implications of the reactor configuration and operation, and fixed film processes vs. suspended growth systems. The fixed film processes based on Anammox granular sludge and AOB flocculent sludge are alternative. Finally, a new strategy of continuous flow PN/A process with partial nitrification flocculent sludge and Anammox granular sludge was proposed.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have shown that minimally invasive treatment for infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) may be safer and more effective than open necrosectomy (ON), but ON is still irreplaceable in a portion of INP patients. Furthermore, there is a lack of tools to identify INP patients at risk of minimally invasive step-up approach failure (eventually received ON or died), which may enable appropriate treatment for them. Our study aims to identify risk factors that can predict minimally invasive step-up approach failure in INP patients and to develop a nomogram for early prediction.METHODS:Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between minimally invasive step-up approach failure and factors regarding demographics, disease severity, laboratory index, and the location of extrapancreatic necrotic collections. A novel nomogram was developed, and its performance was validated both internally and externally by its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness.RESULTS:There were 267, 89, and 107 patients in the training, internal, and external validation cohorts, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that the computed tomography severity index (CTSI) greater than 8 points, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score of 16 points or more, early spontaneous bleeding, fungi infection, granulocyte and platelet decrease within 30 days of acute pancreatitis onset, and extrapancreatic necrosis collection located in small bowel mesentery were independent risk factors for minimally invasive step-up approach failure. The area under the curve and coefficient of determination ( R2 ) of the nomogram constructed from the above factors were 0.920 and 0.644, respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the model had good fitness ( P =0.206). In addition, the nomogram performed well in both the internal and external validation cohorts.CONCLUSIONS:The nomogram had a good performance in predicting minimally invasive step-up approach failure, which may help clinicians distinguish INP patients at risk of minimally invasive step-up approach failure early.

This cohort study evaluates the association between plasmapheresis and the incidence and duration of organ failure among patients with hypertriglyceridemia–associated acute pancreatitis.

Background There are a certain number of acute pancreatitis (AP) patients who may suffer from multiple episodes and develop recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP), but recurrence rates and associated risk factors for RAP vary significantly in the published literature. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases to identify all publications reporting AP recurrence until October 20th, 2022. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed to calculate the pooled estimates using the random-effects model. Results A total of 36 studies met the inclusion criteria and all were used in pooled analyses. The overall rate of recurrence after first-time AP was 21% (95% CI, 18%- 24%), and pooled rates in biliary, alcoholic, idiopathic, and hypertriglyceridemia etiology patients were 12%, 30%, 25%, and 30%, respectively. After managing underlying causes post-discharge, the recurrence rate decreased (14% versus 4% for biliary, 30% versus 6% for alcoholic, and 30% versus 22% for hypertriglyceridemia AP). An increased risk of recurrence was reported in patients with a smoking history (odds ratio [OR] = 1.99), alcoholic etiology (OR = 1.72), male sex (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.63), and local complications (HR = 3.40), while biliary etiology was associated with lower recurrence rates (OR = 0.38). Conclusion More than one-fifth of AP patients experienced recurrence after discharge, with the highest recurrence rate in alcoholic and hypertriglyceridemia etiologies, and managing underlying causes post-discharge was related to decreased incidence. In addition, smoking history, alcoholic etiology, male gender, and presence of local complications were independent risks for the recurrence.

To explore the effect of temperature on the phase transformation of HCP→FCC during compression, the uniaxial compression process of AZ31 magnesium alloy was simulated by the molecular dynamics method, and the changes of crystal structure and dislocation evolution were observed. The effects of temperature on mechanical properties, crystal structure, and dislocation evolution of magnesium alloy during compression were analyzed. It is concluded that some of the Shockley partial dislocation is related to FCC stacking faults. With the help of TEM characterization, the correctness of the correlation between some of the dislocations and FCC stacking faults is verified. Through the combination of simulation and experiment, this paper provides an idea for the in-depth study of the solid-phase transformation of magnesium alloys and provides reference and guidance for the design of magnesium alloys with good plasticity and formability at room temperature.

BACKGROUND:Hypertriglyceridemia is a common cause of acute pancreatitis. Pregnant women are at risk of developing hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP); however, whether pregnancy increases the risk of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is unknown. AIM:We aimed to assess the association between pregnancy and IPN. METHODS:This 10-year retrospective cohort study was conducted at Jinling Hospital. Adult female patients of childbearing age with HTG-AP between January 2013 and September 2022 were screened. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the risk factors for IPN. Patients admitted within 7 days were assigned to the training and validation sets to develop a dynamic nomogram for IPN prediction. RESULTS:489 patients were included, and 144 developed IPN. Logistic regression analyses revealed pregnancy (OR: 2.578 95% CI: 1.474-4.510) as an independent risk factor for IPN. Gestation weeks, ARDS, albumin level, and serum creatinine level were selected as the predictors of the dynamic nomogram for IPN prediction, with good discrimination in the training set (AUC 0.867 95% CI: 0.794-0.940) and validation set (AUC 0.957 95% CI: 0.885-1.000). CONCLUSION:Pregnancy increases the risk of IPN in adult patients of childbearing age with HTG-AP, and the dynamic nomogram may help risk stratification for IPN.

Magnesium and its alloys have broad application prospects as lightweight materials, but there are few studies of crystal and dislocation lines based on the molecular level of magnesium single crystal. In this study, the mo-lecular dynamics method was used to establish the magnesium single crystal model, the properties of magnesium single crystal at different tensile rates at 300 K were studied. The results of stress -strain, Potential-strain, crystal structure change and dislocation density were analyzed. The results show that with the increase of tensile rate, the corresponding stress peak increases gradually, the corresponding strain value at the peak also increases, and the emergence of dislocation line generally lags behind the peak stress point. Come first and play a leading role was 1/3 <-1100 > incomplete dislocation and unknown dislocation, followed by 1/3 < 11-20 > dislocation. At the peak point, the crystal structure begins to change from hexagonal-closest packing structure to other struc-tures, after the peak, body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures begin to appear. With the increase of tensile rate, the corresponding strain increases gradually when body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures appear. The results are of great significance for the study of the deformation mechanism of magnesium single crystal