105 research outputs found
Transport of Ions Through Clays of the Peize and Waalre Formation
No full textHigh-level waste can be radiotoxic for thousands of years and should be carefully handled to prevent accidents. The research for geological disposal of radioactive waste focuses on the construction and durability of a geologic disposal facility in Dutch clays or salts. One of the challenges is assessing these host rocks’ capability to retard radionuclides and prevent them from entering the biosphere. This research focuses on disposal in clay. Because of clay’s low permeability, water movements are slow, and radionuclides transport is expected to occur predominantly by diffusion. The Peize and Waalre formations, situated on the interface between brackish and salt groundwater, serve as a natural analogue for targeted deeper, poorly indurated host rocks. The known disparity in chlorine levels between the aquifers adjacent to these clays qualify these formations for NaCl-tracer research. A cutting sampling study determined the conductivity of these clays’ porewater. Combining this with a one-dimensional modelling study, the saline history of this formation has been simulated. NaCl gradients were demonstrated at different drilling locations. The most manifested gradient is attempted to fit in the one-dimensional model. The model results suggest that this gradient originates from adjacent aquifer salinity, the clays’ physical properties and the difference in hydraulic head. The observed salinity discrepancy between aquifers and ion concentration gradient in the firstWaalre Clay confirm the assumption that the member can be a natural analogue. Uncertainty on the continuity of the total system prohibits concluding that diffusion-dominated transport in Dutch poorly indurated clays can be assumed. The best fitting scenario this research found fitting the empirical Waalre clay salinity curve is combined transport by diffusion and advection. The finding of diffusion-advection transport implies that the Waalre clay shows more complexity than initially expected.Applied Earth Science
Successful Treatment of Intractable Tuberculous Peritonitis in a Woman with Chronic Kidney Allograft Dysfunction Using Contezolid Containing Regimen
Get PDFWeijian Liu,* Liangzi Yang,* Hongjuan Qin, Peize Zhang Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis, The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Peize Zhang, Email [email protected]: Tuberculosis(TB) is a serious infection that affects transplant recipients, particularly in high TB burden countries. Clinical presentation of these patients is atypical, and the care and management are frequently tricky as multi-drug interaction and intolerable adverse effects. Contezolid, a novel oxazolidinone antibacterial agent, had been demonstrated to be effective for TB in vitro and had been shown in some clinical cases with a more favorable safety profile than linezolid, the first-generation oxazolidinone, which had a commonly seen myelosuppression and neuropathy. Additionally, Contezolid has a unique metabolic mechanism that leads to less drug interaction. Here, we report a case of multi-system TB in a transplant recipient with chronic kidney allograft dysfunction. She was intolerant to most first and second-line anti-TB drugs and repeatedly developed ascites and nocturnal low-grade fever. She finally achieved good efficacy and safety results after enhanced anti-TB treatment with the addition of contezolid. Given the increased risk of TB in patients with organ transplantation and multi-drug interaction in patients with severe comorbidities, further clinical studies are needed to investigate the application and appropriate dosage of contezolid in patients with active TB.Keywords: tuberculosis, contezolid, kidney dysfunction, kidney transplantation, tuberculous peritoniti
A renewed interpretation of old data: research of a farmstead site at Het Wold, near Peize.
No full textIn the spring of 1930, Van Giffen was the first to excavate a farmstead site in the peatland of northern Drenthe. The excavation took place in the valley of the river Eelderdiep, north of Peize. Despite the interesting discoveries that were made, the excavation was never fully published. It was no less than 86 years before the excavated features and finds were analyzed in detail and (newly) interpreted inthe context of late-medieval peat reclamation, as part of a BA thesis by the author. Van Giffen refers to the site as an artificially raised dwelling mound or ‘terp’, built on a surface of natural peat. Although the excavated area was small, it revealed the postholes of two buildings, succeeding each other: an older building with slightly curved walls, and a younger one of a more rectangularshape. Of a third building only the fireplace could be traced, as well as the rectangular ‘foundation’ that consisted of a layer of loam on which a turf wall may have been present. The floors of the second and third structures consisted of yellowish loam. On the basis of the excavated ceramics, Van Giffen dated the start of the habitation to the 9th century AD. Besides the native globular pot (in Dutch: kogelpot), imported Pingsdorf ware and some fragments of braziers (in Dutch: komforen) were found. The presence of medieval brick suggests that the site remained inhabited into the 13th century. Based on the new analysis of features and finds, three different settlement phases can now be distinguished.The first habitation dates from the 10th-11th century. It is characterized by a house plan that belongs to a larger group of boat-shaped houses, typical of the peat and clay areas of the northern Netherlands (Wijnjeterp type). In the second phase, dated to the 11th-12th century, the rectangular building was constructed. It bears similarities to contemporary buildings in the (clay-on-)peat area of the western Netherlands (Assendelft type). The third and final phase, dated to the 13th-14th century, only left floor/foundation and hearth remains of yet another building. Like one of the houses in the Matsloot-Roderwolde peatlands, this building probably had turf walls. Habitation may have started on the flat peat surface around AD 1000, but over a period of 200-300 years the site was raised with extraneous soil and loam floors – resulting in what indeed was a (low) dwelling mound
A renewed interpretation of old data: research of a farmstead site at Het Wold, near Peize.
No full textIn the spring of 1930, Van Giffen was the first to excavate a farmstead site in the peatland of northern Drenthe. The excavation took place in the valley of the river Eelderdiep, north of Peize. Despite the interesting discoveries that were made, the excavation was never fully published. It was no less than 86 years before the excavated features and finds were analyzed in detail and (newly) interpreted inthe context of late-medieval peat reclamation, as part of a BA thesis by the author. Van Giffen refers to the site as an artificially raised dwelling mound or ‘terp’, built on a surface of natural peat. Although the excavated area was small, it revealed the postholes of two buildings, succeeding each other: an older building with slightly curved walls, and a younger one of a more rectangularshape. Of a third building only the fireplace could be traced, as well as the rectangular ‘foundation’ that consisted of a layer of loam on which a turf wall may have been present. The floors of the second and third structures consisted of yellowish loam. On the basis of the excavated ceramics, Van Giffen dated the start of the habitation to the 9th century AD. Besides the native globular pot (in Dutch: kogelpot), imported Pingsdorf ware and some fragments of braziers (in Dutch: komforen) were found. The presence of medieval brick suggests that the site remained inhabited into the 13th century. Based on the new analysis of features and finds, three different settlement phases can now be distinguished.The first habitation dates from the 10th-11th century. It is characterized by a house plan that belongs to a larger group of boat-shaped houses, typical of the peat and clay areas of the northern Netherlands (Wijnjeterp type). In the second phase, dated to the 11th-12th century, the rectangular building was constructed. It bears similarities to contemporary buildings in the (clay-on-)peat area of the western Netherlands (Assendelft type). The third and final phase, dated to the 13th-14th century, only left floor/foundation and hearth remains of yet another building. Like one of the houses in the Matsloot-Roderwolde peatlands, this building probably had turf walls. Habitation may have started on the flat peat surface around AD 1000, but over a period of 200-300 years the site was raised with extraneous soil and loam floors – resulting in what indeed was a (low) dwelling mound
Een hernieuwde interpretatie van oude gegevens: het onderzoek naar een huisplaats in Het Wold bij Peize
No full textIn the spring of 1930, Van Giffen was the first to excavate a farmstead site in the peatland of northern Drenthe. The excavation took place in the valley of the river Eelderdiep, north of Peize. Despite the interesting discoveries that were made, the excavation was never fully published. It was no less than 86 years before the excavated features and finds were analyzed in detail and (newly) interpreted in the context of late-medieval peat reclamation, as part of a BA thesis by the author. Van Giffen refers to the site as an artificially raised dwelling mound or ‘terp’, built on a surface of natural peat. Although the excavated area was small, it revealed the postholes of two buildings, succeeding each other: an older building with slightly curved walls, and a younger one of a more rectangular shape. Of a third building only the fireplace could be traced, as well as the rectangular ‘foundation’ that consisted of a layer of loam on which a turf wall may have been present. The floors of the second and third structures consisted of yellowish loam. On the basis of the excavated ceramics, Van Giffen dated the start of the habitation to the 9th century AD. Besides the native globular pot (in Dutch: kogelpot), imported Pingsdorf ware and some fragments of braziers (in Dutch: komforen) were found. The presence of medieval brick suggests that the site remained inhabited into the 13th century. Based on the new analysis of features and finds, three different settlement phases can now be distinguished. The first habitation dates from the 10th-11th century. It is characterized by a house plan that belongs to a larger group of boat-shaped houses, typical of the peat and clay areas of the northern Netherlands (Wijnjeterp type). In the second phase, dated to the 11th-12th century, the rectangular building was constructed. It bears similarities to contemporary buildings in the (clay-on-)peat area of the western Netherlands (Assendelft type). The third and final phase, dated to the 13th-14th century, only left floor/foundation and hearth remains of yet another building. Like one of the houses in the Matsloot-Roderwolde peatlands, this building probably had turf walls. Habitation may have started on the flat peat surface around AD 1000, but over a period of 200-300 years the site was raised with extraneous soil and loam floors – resulting in what indeed was a (low) dwelling mound
Duration and Determinants of Delayed Diagnosis with Tuberculosis in Shenzhen, China: A Cross-Sectional Study
No full textYouli Jiang,1,* Lan Luo,2,3,* Min Gui,1 Linlin Liu,1 Yi Lin,2,3 Guofang Deng,2,3 Jingfang Chen,1,3 Peize Zhang2,3 1Hengyang Medical School, School of Nursing, University of South China, Hengyang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis, The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 3National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jingfang Chen; Peize Zhang, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Early diagnosis and timely treatment of tuberculosis are critical for disease control and management. However, diagnostic delay remains severe around the world. We aim to evaluate the duration and factors associated with diagnostic delay of tuberculosis in Shenzhen, China.Methods: We conducted a face-to-face interview to collect the whole care-seeking process of patients diagnosed with active TB in Shenzhen, China, from April 1 to September 30, 2021. The duration from symptom onset to confirmed diagnosis was recorded. The risk factors of diagnostic delay were identified by binary stepwise logistic regression analysis.Results: Among 288 confirmed TB cases, 170 (59.0%) were delayed diagnosis. The median diagnostic delay was 39.5 days. Median patient delay was 23 days and health system delay was 7 days. Income ≤ 315USD/month (OR = 2.97 [95% CI: 1.15– 7.69]), cough (OR = 3.00 [95% CI: 1.16– 7.76]), weight loss (OR = 15.59 [95% CI: 1.85– 131.56]), use of traditional Chinese Medicine (OR = 5.03 [95% CI: 1.04– 24.31]) and over-the-counter cough syrup (OR = 2.73 [95% CI: 1.10– 6.76]) were significant risk factors for patient delay. Fever (OR = 0.13[95% CI: 0.04– 0.48]) and hemoptysis (OR = 0.06 [95% CI0.01– 0.30]) were protective factors for patient delay. Cough (OR = 2.85 [95% CI: 1.49– 5.49]) and availability of chest X-ray (OR = 0.21[CI: 0.11– 0.39]) were factors associated with health system delay.Conclusion: Delayed diagnosis of tuberculosis remains an unresolved problem. Patients with low income, self-treatment with over-the-counter medicine and accepting TCM suffered from a higher risk of patient delay. It is important to give more help to the vulnerable people and strengthen tuberculosis knowledge among primary health providers. Keeping all health providers alert to TB symptoms can facilitate earlier TB diagnosis and better disease control.Keywords: tuberculosis, diagnosis, delay, patient delay, health system dela
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Diabetes in Patients with Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Cross-Sectional Study in Two Financially Affluent China Cities
No full textJing Li,1,* Yanhong Zhao,2,* Youli Jiang,3 Ying Zhang,4 Peize Zhang,1 Lingjun Shen,2 Zijiao Chen1 1Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis, the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Tuberculosis, the Third People’s Hospital of Kunming, Kunming, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, People’s Hospital of Longhua, Shenzhen, 518109, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Endocrinology, the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zijiao Chen; Lingjun Shen, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) present a dual burden to public health. The screening of DM in TB patients may aid in the early detection and management of diabetes, ultimately improving treatment outcomes for those with the comorbidity of TB-DM. We aim to examine the prevalence and identify risk factors of diabetes in individuals with active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in financially affluent China cities.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in adult patients with highly suspected TB in two cities of China, spanning from May 9, 2023, to June 30, 2023. We compare the clinical characteristics, nutrition status, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level, living style, and knowledge of TB and DM at admission between patients with and without DM. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify risk factors associated with TB-DM comorbidities.Results: Of the 322 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), 54 individuals (16.8%) had comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM). This included 43 males (13.4%) and 11 females (3.4%). The average age was 55.44 ± 12.36 in DM patients and 46.09 ± 16.87 in non-DM patients. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that male (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=3.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05– 10.30), age older than 47 years (aOR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01– 1.07), having a family history of diabetes (aOR = 5.09, 95% CI: 1.28– 20.32), and an elevated random blood glucose level (aOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.38– 1.86) were risk factors for DM in patients with PTB. Furthermore, it was found that diabetes awareness (aOR = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.03– 0.21) and zero, light to moderate alcohol consumption were associated with a lower risk of diabetes.Conclusion: Diabetes is prevalent in patients with active PTB. Screening and raising awareness of DM are recommended, particularly in men after middle age with a family history of diabetes and elevated random blood glucose. Early diagnosis of diabetes and effective diabetes prevention may reduce the dual burden of TB–DM comorbidity.Keywords: tuberculosis, diabetes, risk factors, diabetes awareness, waist-to-hip ratio, alcohol consumptio
6G Wireless Communications in 7-24 GHz Band: Opportunities, Techniques, and Challenges
Get PDFThe sixth generation (6G) wireless communication nowadays is seeking a new
spectrum to inherit the pros and discard the cons of sub-6 GHz, millimeter-wave
(mmWave), and sub-terahertz (THz) bands. To this end, an upper mid-band with a
Frequency Range (FR) spanning from 7 GHz to 24 GHz, also known as FR3, has
emerged as a focal point in 6G communications. Thus, as an inevitable
prerequisite, a comprehensive investigation encompassing spectrum utilization
and channel characteristics is the first step to exploiting potential
applications and prospects of using FR3 in the 6G ecosystem. In this article,
we provide FR3 synergies with emerging technologies including non-terrestrial
network (NTN), massive multi-input multi-output (mMIMO), reconfigurable
intelligent surface (RIS), and integrated sensing and communications (ISAC).
Furthermore, leveraging ray-tracing simulations, our investigation unveils the
similarity of channel characteristics in FR3 with other FRs. The analysis of
RIS-aided communication shows the insight of higher spectral efficiency
achieved in FR3 compared to other FRs when using the same RIS size. Finally,
challenges and promising directions are discussed for wireless systems in FR3.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, submitted to IEEE for potential
publicatio
A Near-Field Extension of the 3GPP Geometry-Based Stochastic Channel Model for Sub-THz Communications
No full textAbstract
Many conventional radio channel models, such as 3GPP TR 38.901, assume far-field conditions and rely on the plane wave approximation. However, as antenna arrays grow in size and link distances decrease, near-field propagation effects become significant, particularly at sub-THz frequencies. This letter proposes an initial extension to the 3GPP channel model to incorporate near-field characteristics at these frequencies. The approach models both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight paths using exact geometric distances. An image-theory-based method is introduced to model specular reflections. The extended model maintains consistency with the existing 3GPP framework while enhancing modeling accuracy in the near-field.Abstract
Many conventional radio channel models, such as 3GPP TR 38.901, assume far-field conditions and rely on the plane wave approximation. However, as antenna arrays grow in size and link distances decrease, near-field propagation effects become significant, particularly at sub-THz frequencies. This letter proposes an initial extension to the 3GPP channel model to incorporate near-field characteristics at these frequencies. The approach models both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight paths using exact geometric distances. An image-theory-based method is introduced to model specular reflections. The extended model maintains consistency with the existing 3GPP framework while enhancing modeling accuracy in the near-field
- …
