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Purpose: This study aims to explore the differences in cervical degeneration between healthy people with and without cervical flexion-relaxation phenomenon (FRP) and to identify whether the disappearance of cervical FRP is related to cervical degeneration. Methods: According to the flexion relaxation ratio (FRR), healthy subjects were divided into the normal FRP group and the abnormal FRP group. Besides, MRI was used to evaluate the degeneration of the passive subsystem (vertebral body, intervertebral disc, cervical sagittal balance, etc.) and the active subsystem (deep flexors [DEs], deep extensors [DFs], and superficial extensors [SEs]). In addition, the correlation of the FRR with the cervical degeneration score, C2-7Cobb, Borden method, relative total cross-sectional area (rTCSA), relative functional cross-sectional area (rFCSA), and fatty infiltration ratio (FIR) was analyzed. Results: A total of 128 healthy subjects were divided into the normal FRP group (n=52, 40.63%) and the abnormal FRP group (n=76, 59.38%). There were significant differences between the normal FRP group and the abnormal FRP group in the cervical degeneration score (z=-6.819, P<0.001), C2-7Cobb (t=2.994, P=0.004), Borden method (t=2.811, P=0.006), and FIR of DEs (t=-4.322, P<0.001). The FRR was significantly correlated with the cervical degeneration score (r=-0.457, P<0.001), C2-7Cobb (r=0.228, P=0.010), Borden method (r=0.197, P=0.026), and FIR of DEs (r=-0.253, P=0.004). Conclusion: The disappearance of cervical FRP is related to cervical degeneration. A new hypothesis mechanism for FRP is proposed. The cervical FRP test is an effective and noninvasive examination for the differential diagnosis of healthy people, people with potential NSNP, and patients with NSNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective cohort study aimed to assess the influence of the number of fused segments in cervical paravertebral muscles by comparing the changes of the cervical flexion relaxation phenomenon (FRP) after single-level versus multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). A total of 115 patients who had undergone ACDF were retrospectively recruited and divided into a 1-level group (n = 44), a 2-level group (n = 40) and a 3- to 4-level group (n = 31). The flexion relaxation experiment was carried out 3 days preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively by surface electromyography (SEMG). Patients were examined using the neck visual analog scale, cervical Japanese Orthopedic Association score, Neck Disability Index, and C2–C7 range of motion (ROM). There was a significant difference in the time-related changes in flexion relaxation ratio (FRR) among the 3 study groups before and after surgery (F = 85.701; P <.001). Thirty-five patients (79.55%) with 1-level ACDF and 11 patients (27.5%) with 2-level ACDF had FRP were restored to normal at 12 months postoperatively; however, only 1 patient (3.33%) had normalized FRP after 3- to 4-level ACDF. There were significant differences in the time-related changes of the normalized SEMG root mean square values in each phase before and after surgery (P =.018, <.001, <.001, and <.001). A significant correlation was found between the changes in C2–C7 ROM and FRR in the 3 study groups (P =.007 for 1 level, P =.003 for 2 levels, and P =.036 for 3–4 levels). Single-level ACDF contributes to normalizing the FRP of cervical paravertebral muscles, which is not ideally recovered by 2-level ACDF. In contrast, 3- or 4-level ACDF could not normalize the cervical FRP. Our research supports the passive structure hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice-rich permafrost in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, is becoming susceptible to thermokarst landforms, and the most dramatic among these terrain-altering landforms is retrogressive thaw slump (RTS). Concurrently, RTS development can in turn affect the eco-environment, and especially soil erosion and carbon emission, during their evolution. However, there are still a lack of quantitative methods and comprehensive studies on the deformation and volumetric change in RTS. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively assess the RTS evolution through a novel and feasible simulation framework of the GPU-based discrete element method (DEM) coupled with the finite difference method (FDM). Additionally, the simulation results were calibrated using the time series observation results from September 2021 to August 2022, using the combined methods of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The results reveal that, over this time, thaw slump mobilized a total volume of 1335 m3 and approximately 1050 m3 moved to a displaced area. Additionally, the estimated soil erosion was about 211 m3. Meanwhile, the corresponding maximum ground subsidence and headwall retrogression were 1.9 m and 3.2 m, respectively. We also found that the amount of mass wasting in RTS development is highly related to the ground ice content. When the volumetric ice content exceeds 10%, there will be obvious mass wasting in the thaw slump development area. Furthermore, this work proposed that the coupled DEM-FDM method and field survey method of TLS-UAV can provide an effective pathway to simulate thaw-induced slope failure problems and complement the research limitations of small-scale RTSs using remote sensing methods. The results are meaningful for assessing the eco-environmental impacts on the QTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Observational studies have identified a dual effect of circulating inflammatory proteins and immune cells on cancer progression. However, the specific mechanisms of action have not been clarified in the exacerbation of cutaneous‐origin tumors. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory factors and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous malignant melanoma (SKCM), and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is regulated by immune cells. Methods: This study employed the Two‐Sample Mendelian Randomization (TSMR) approach to investigate the causal relationships between 91 circulating inflammatory factors and three prevalent types of skin cancer from a genetic perspective. Bayesian Weighted Mendelian Randomization (BWMR) was also used to validate correlation and reverse MR to assess inverse relationships. Subsequent sensitivity analyses were conducted to limit the impact of heterogeneity and pleiotropy. Finally, the two‐step Mendelian Randomization (two‐step MR) method was utilized to ascertain the mediating effects of specific immune cell traits in the causal pathways linking circulating inflammatory factors with BCC, SKCM, and cSCC. Results: The Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW) method and the Bayesian Weighted Algorithm collectively identified nine inflammatory factors causally associated with BCC, SKCM, and cSCC. The results from Cochran's Q test, mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR‐PRESSO), and MR‐Egger intercept were not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Additionally, the proportions mediated by CD4+ CD8dim T cell %leukocyte, CD4‐CD8‐Natural Killer T %T cell, and CD20 on IgD‐CD38‐B cell for FIt3L, CCL4, and OSM were 9.26%, 8.96%, and 10.16%, respectively. Conclusion: Immune cell levels potentially play a role in the modulation process between circulating inflammatory proteins and cutaneous‐origin exacerbated tumors. This finding offers a new perspective for the in‐depth exploration of cutaneous malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of ChatGPTin the medical field has sparked debate regarding its accuracy. To address this issue, we present a Multi-Role ChatGPT Framework (MRCF), designed to improve ChatGPT's performance in medical data analysis by optimizing prompt words, integrating real-world data, and implementing quality control protocols. Compared to the singular ChatGPT model, MRCF significantly outperforms traditional manual analysis in interpreting medical data, exhibiting fewer random errors, higher accuracy, and better identification of incorrect information. Notably, MRCF is over 600 times more time-efficient than conventional manual annotation methods and costs only one-tenth as much. Leveraging MRCF, we have established two user-friendly databases for efficient and straightforward drug repositioning analysis. This research not only enhances the accuracy and efficiency of ChatGPT in medical data science applications but also offers valuable insights for data analysis models across various professional domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postoperative pain is one of the most common complications after surgery. In order to detect early and intervene in time for moderate to severe postoperative pain, it is necessary to identify risk factors and construct clinical prediction models. This study aimed to identify significant risk factors and establish a better-performing model to predict moderate to severe acute postoperative pain after orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia. Methods: Patients who underwent orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia were divided into patients with moderate to severe pain group (group P) and patients without moderate to severe pain group (group N) based on VAS scores. The features selected by Lasso regression were processed by the random forest and multivariate logistic regression models to predict pain outcomes. The classification performance of the two models was evaluated through the testing set. The area under the curves (AUC), the accuracy of the classifiers, and the classification error rate for both classifiers were calculated, the better-performing model was used to predict moderate to severe acute postoperative pain after orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia. Results: A total of 327 patients were enrolled in this study (228 in the training set and 99 in the testing set). The incidence of moderate to severe postoperative pain was 41.3%. The random forest model revealed a classification error rate of 25.2% and an AUC of 0.810 in the testing set. The multivariate logistic regression model revealed a classification error rate of 31.3% and an AUC of 0.764 in the testing set. The random forest model was chosen for predicting clinical outcomes in this study. The risk factors with the greatest and second contribution were immobilization and duration of surgery, respectively. Conclusions: The random forest model can be used to predict moderate to severe acute postoperative pain after orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia, which is of potential clinical application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac ischemia, hypoxia, arrhythmias, and heart failure share the common electrophysiological changes featured by the elevation of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+ overload) and inhibition of the inward rectifier potassium (IK1) channel. IK1 channel agonists have been considered a new type of anti‐arrhythmia and cardioprotective agents. We predicted using a drug repurposing strategy that tetramisole (Tet), a known anthelminthic agent, was a new IK1 channel agonist. The present study aimed to experimentally identify the above prediction and further demonstrate that Tet has cardioprotective effects. Results of the whole‐cell patch clamp technique showed that Tet at 1–100 μmol/L enhanced IK1 current, hyperpolarized resting potential (RP), and shortened action potential duration (APD) in isolated rat cardiomyocytes, while without effects on other ion channels or transporters. In adult Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats in vivo, Tet showed anti‐arrhythmia and anticardiac remodeling effects, respectively, in the coronary ligation‐induced myocardial infarction model and isoproterenol (Iso, i.p., 3 mg/kg/day, 10 days) infusion‐induced cardiac remodeling model. Tet also showed anticardiomyocyte remodeling effect in Iso (1 μmol/L) infused adult rat ventricular myocytes or cultured H9c2 (2‐1) cardiomyocytes. Tet at 0.54 mg/kg in vivo or 30 μmol/L in vitro showed promising protections on acute ischemic arrhythmias, myocardial hypertrophy, and fibrosis. Molecular docking was performed and identified the selective binding of Tet with Kir2.1. The cardioprotection of Tet was associated with the facilitation of IK1 channel forward trafficking, deactivation of PKA signaling, and inhibition of intracellular calcium overload. Enhancing IK1 may play dual roles in anti‐arrhythmia and antiventricular remodeling mediated by restoration of Ca2+ homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permafrost in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) accounts for a total area of 1.05 × 106 km2. Many highway engineerings have been through the permafrost regions of the QTP, including the Qingkang Highway (QKH), Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH), and Gonghe-Yushu expressway (GYE), and the Qinghai-Tibet expressway (QTE) will be constructed in the future. Under the action of roadbed construction and global warming, permafrost under roadbed is degraded and causes serious pavement damage. Although many useful cooling measures have been applied to prevent permafrost degradation, their application presents significant challenges on account of the stronger endothermic action of asphalt pavement. This paper summarizes the working principle of existing cooling measures, and ascertains the relationship between pavement damage and ground temperature distribution of permafrost under roadbed. Based on the relationship, geotemperature distribution criteria and requirements for the cooling measures are proposed, and some suitable composite structures and measures are suggested. The results reported in this paper can provide a valuable guidance for the design and construction of the QTE in the future. • Relationship between temperature distribution and damage characteristics is revealed. • Geotemperature distribution criteria for the cooling measures are established. • Some composite measures are proposed for roadbed in permafrost regions of the QTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) will continue to exert a heavy burden for countries all over the world. Scientific collaboration has become the only choice for progress in biomedicine. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of scientific publications about scientific collaboration in CHD research. This study examines collaboration behaviors across multiple collaboration types in the CHD research. Methods: 294,756 records about CHD were retrieved from Web of Science. Methods such as co-authorship, social network analysis, connected component, cliques, and betweenness centrality were used in this study. Results: Collaborations have increased at the author, institution and country/region levels in CHD research over the past three decades. 3000 most collaborative authors, 572 most collaborative institutions and 52 countries/regions are extracted from their corresponding collaboration network. 766 cliques are found in the most collaborative authors. 308 cliques are found in the most collaborative institutions. Western countries/regions represent the core of the world's collaboration. The United States ranks first in terms of number of multi-national publications, while Hungary leads in the ranking measured by their proportion of collaborative output. The rate of economic development in the countries/regions also affects the multi-national collaboration behavior. Conclusions: Collaborations among countries/regions need to be encouraged in the CHD research. The visualization of overlapping cliques in the most collaborative authors and institutions are considered “skeleton” of the collaboration network. Eastern countries/regions should strengthen cooperation with western countries/regions in the CHD research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Decitabine is used to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of different dosing regimens of decitabine in treating intermediate and/or high-risk MDS. Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched up to October 23, 2015. Randomized controlled trials, prospective, cohort, and case series studies were included. Fifteen studies were included with a total of 1378 patients. The decitabine 100 mg/m2/course dosing regimen had a greater overall response rate than the 60-75 mg/m2/course (51 vs. 25%; P = 0.003). It also had higher complete response rate compared with the 135 mg/m2/course regimen (24.2 vs.13.7%; P = 0.016). The three dosing regimens were similar with respect to bone marrow complete response and partial response and hematologic improvement (P values > 0.05). Decitabine 135 mg/m2/course regimen had similar hematologic improvement as best supportive care (P = 0.066). The incidence of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, infections, and anemia was similar across treatment groups (range, 31 to 38%; P values ≥ 0.899). The 100 mg/m2/course decitabine regimen showed benefit with respect to overall response rate compared with the 60-75 mg/m2/course regimen, as well as greater improvement in complete response rate compared with the 135 mg/m2/course regimen. All three dosing regimens had similar frequency of adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One- and two-level osteotomies have been used to treat thoracolumbar kyphosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). However, the effectiveness and safety of the 2 methods have not been systematically compared, and few studies have reported on which method might be more suitable for treating AS. We performed a systematic literature search. All comparative studies of one- and two-level osteotomy for the treatment of thoracolumbar kyphosis caused by AS were included. Efficacy was determined by the radiographic outcomes, including global kyphosis, sagittal vertical axis, and lumbar lordosis and the Oswestry disability index. The complication rates were used to assess the safety. We analyzed the data using Review Manager software. A total of 10 studies were included and used for the meta-analysis. We pooled the studies according to the type of data they had reported to evaluate the radiographic correction and incidence of complications. We found that two-level osteotomy provided advantages compared with one-level osteotomy for spinal correction, including global kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. However, the correction was dependent on the degree of preoperative kyphosis. In addition, we found no differences between the 2 groups in the correction of the sagittal vertical axis or improvement in the Oswestry disability index. However, we did find differences in the incidence of neural complications, dural tear, and operative site infection. Our findings have shown that one-level osteotomy is safer than two-level osteotomy. For AS patients with nonsevere kyphosis, one-level osteotomy will be sufficient for spinal sequence correction and maintenance of balance, and two-level osteotomy will not be needed. For AS patients with severe kyphosis, two-level osteotomy can be recommended for better orthopedic effects; however, a careful surgical technique is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the deformation and evaluation of red–bed landslides in seasonally frozen ground regions, it is of great significance to study the mechanical properties of red–bed soft rocks subjected to freeze–thaw cycles and to establish an applicable constitutive model. Triaxial tests are conducted on red–bed soft rocks at conditions of different confining pressures and freeze–thaw cycles. The test results demonstrate that the freeze–thaw cycles significantly reduce the strength of the rock and make the ductile damage characteristics more significant. Based on the breakage mechanics for geological materials, the red–bed soft rocks are abstracted into two parts: the structural block and the weak zone. The structural block is transformed into the weak zone when the internal cementation is lost. The binary–medium structure composed of structural blocks and weak zones can reasonably explain the residual deformation mechanism and freeze–thaw damage mechanism of rocks. A constitutive model considering initial freeze–thaw damage is proposed based on the binary–medium structure and homogenization theory. The initial damage caused by the freeze–thaw cycle is reflected by introducing the initial breakage ratio parameter in the model. In addition, the inhomogeneous deformation characteristics of the structural block and the weak zone are reflected by introducing the strain concentration parameter. The model validation results demonstrate that the proposed model can accurately predict the deformation characteristics of red–bed rocks and can successfully reflect the deterioration characteristics caused by freeze–thaw cycles. • The mechanical properties of red-bed soft rocks under different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles are studied. • The freeze-thaw damage mechanism of red-bed soft rocks is analyzed. • A constitutive model considering freeze-thaw initial damage is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research collaborations are encouraged because a synergistic effect yielding good results often appears. However, creating and organizing a strong research group is a difficult task. One of the greatest concerns of an individual researcher is locating potential collaborators whose expertise complement his best. In this paper, we propose a method that makes link predictions in co-authorship networks, where topological features between authors such as Adamic/Adar, Common Neighbors, Jaccard's Coefficient, Preferential Attachment, Katzβ, and PropFlow may be good indicators of their future collaborations. Firstly, these topological features were systematically extracted from the network. Then, supervised models were used to learn the best weights associated with different topological features in deciding co-author relationships. Finally, we tested our models on the co-authorship networks in the research field of Coronary Artery Disease and obtained encouraging accuracy (the precision, recall, F1 score and AUC were, respectively, 0.696, 0.677, 0.671 and 0.742 for Logistic Regression, and respectively, 0.697, 0.678, 0.671 and 0.743 for SVM). This suggests that our models could be used to build and manage strong research groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]